Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 06:20:07 -0500
From: post modern sleaze <postmodernsleazefics@googlemail.com>
Subject: Anonymity Nowhere part 4

Anonymity Nowhere
By DeadCaffeineJunkie & Keishi
Chapter Four

Back at home (after having not gone to school) Iki was alone in the house
while Mrs. Weatherman went out to sign papers for his transfer back and her
new girls transfer in. Or at least that's what Iki knew what she meant by
'posting a letter'. He felt like telling her that he wasn't stupid and had
been there and done this, but really didn't want to waste the energy. All
his energy was centered on one carefully looked after piece of paper.

He'd looked over the digits so many times that he had fairly committed them
to memory, and if it wasn't for his lack of trust in his appalling memory
he'd have felt safer about throwing the paper away. As it was, it was grey
around the edges from where he'd been handling it for so long, sitting by
the phone and wondering if he had the courage to call. Twice, after school
had ended, he picked up the phone and dialed the first digit, but had put
it down each time. He paced a bit... wandered into the kitchen and had a
drink, nicking a small measure of brandy from Mrs. Weatherman's cupboard,
to settle his nerves. And then another one for Dutch courage. And then he
picked up the phone and dialed.

Alerio lay looking up at his ceiling, counting the cracks. It wasn't like
he had nothing to do, there was just nothing he wanted to do. His sister
was asleep on the couch against the wall in his room, and his mother was
(thankfully) gone. He didn't know where, he didn't care. It was as simple
as that. When the phone rang out of nowhere, he stared at it for a few
seconds as if it had mutated into a new life form, then tentatively lifted
the handle. "Yeah?"

Iki slid down the wall and sat with his back against it, setting the phone
on the floor and absently beginning to twirl the cord round his
finger. "Uhm hey, is Alerio there please?" He asked, pretty sure it was
him, but still thinking it would be better to be polite.

Alerio's pulse sped up noticeably. He'd only been waiting for this call
since that day on the bridge. He hadn't even been able to catch a glimpse
of Iki in school since then, and had almost written the boy off as a lost
cause. "Hey, it’s me," he said, trying to make his voice sound casual. He
instead sounded like a donkey to his ears. He winced.

Damn... it was Alerio and he was on the other end of the phone and now he
had nothing to say... "Oh, hi." He said nervously. "It's an okay time to
call right?"

Alerio chuckled into the phone, keeping his voice down so as not to wake
his sister. "Yeah, it's cool," he said, sitting up on his bed. "What's up?"

"The harridan just left to do something so I thought I'd give you a
call... she gets cranky if she thinks I'm on the phone too long... you up
to anything?" The phone cord was restricting blood flow now, so he let it
unravel and started again.

"Not a thing." Maria shifted on the sofa, mewling softly in her sleep, and
Alerio glanced at her briefly. "Uh, can you hold on a sec? I'm gonna switch
phones."

"Sure." Iki said, quickly thinking about what the hell he was gonna say.

It was a few minutes before Alerio came back on the line, some fumbling and
shuffling could be heard over the phone. A creak then sounded, like a rusty
door being opened, and Alerio finally spoke. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't want
to wake my sister, so I'm out on the back porch now."  "Aww, that's cool."
Iki grinned over the phone. He couldn't help it; Alerio was too sweet to
his sister. "But yea, I was thinking... uhm... thinking about what you said
and... as much as it terrifies me, I wanna try... with you. Try and trust
you I mean..." He chewed his lip nervously so much that he suddenly tasted
the diluted tang of blood in his mouth.

Alerio's chest constricted. He didn't expect this so fast, but he couldn't
say he was unhappy to hear the words. "Fuck, Iki, you better not be messing
with my head. I mean it. You better fuckin' be serious." His throat was dry
suddenly, making his voice low and ragged.

"I'm not!" Iki protested. "I wouldn't. I promise, I really. I really wanna
try." His voice softened. "You're right. No one's ever gone as far as you
have to have me and I just want to see if we could be something more. Even
though I'm very, very afraid...." He sighed wearily. "I'm just tired of not
feeling secure. And I think you'd let me."

Alerio smiled, relief flooding through him. "God, I want you," he growled,
throaty. "And not just like that-- but I want that, too, don't get me
wrong. Gah!" He was getting frustrated, his words twisting around, what was
in his head becoming convoluted as it left his mouth. "You fucking make me
second-guess every action, you know that? No one's ever done that to me
before. Fuck, you're so amazing."

Alerio's first words made something in the pit of Iki's stomach swirl, and
it was sickly pleasant, like being on a merry-go-round or going over a
small hill in the road very fast. Like skimming across a pond. Towards the
end of what the other boy was heatedly telling him, Iki grew oddly
anxious. He didn't know how to respond to someone telling him those
things. "I- I...." He wanted to protest, he wasn't made for being put on a
pedestal like that. "I wanna meet up." He said fast. "Can you meet up? I
can meet up now, or when you're ready..."

"I can't go anywhere right now..." Alerio spoke slowly, perplexed by Iki's
rushed words. "You can come here, I guess, if you want. Maria won't bother
us and I'm pretty sure my mom will be out until late. She's got a new
boyfriend," he said, a bite sarcastic. 'A new fuck toy is more like it,' he
added silently.

Iki heard the tone and wondered if he should say anything. "Oh..." Well,
that was crap. "You okay?" he asked suddenly, feeling... decidedly odd
about this.

"I'm fine," Alerio sighed. "If you came, though, I'd be better," he said
teasingly into the receiver, his voice dropping seductively.

Alerio's words curved Iki's mouth into a grin. "I have to agree with you on
that point." he said, a laugh in his voice. "Okay... uhm... where do you
live exactly? And do you want me to bring anything?"

"Pen and paper?" Alerio rapidly rattled off directions to his house, which
was situated in the poorer end of town. "That okay? And you don't have to
bring anything unless you want to-- uh..." Alerio trailed off, biting his
lip. "I don't ha-have anything like... uh..."

Iki looked over the directions. "Yea... oh, I know where this is,
yea... "He found Alerio's stammering cute."And it's cool, just wanted to
know if you wanted me to bring something. I didn't have anything in mind."
he laughed. "So I'll be over in about fifteen minutes to half an
hour. Okay?"

Alerio said a breathless goodbye and hung up, grinning like a fool. He shot
up from the porch and tore through his house, pulling his lounge t-shirt
over his head and trying to find something decent to wear. It took him a
full ten minutes to finally decide on an old, tight Clash shirt and some
even tighter workmen's pants. He tried his best to tidy up the place, but
nothing seemed to make it any less shabby, so he settled on shoving the
newspapers under the couch and making sure his bed was made.

Twenty minutes later and Iki was checking the address on the paper with the
house in front of him and knew he was in the right place. He'd quickly
pulled a plain black hoodie on over his short bog-standard Nirvana t-shirt,
checked his blue jeans were clean before leaving (they were) and then left
the house just in time to miss the bus. Luckily, he'd caught one that
should have gone by ten minutes before he'd left the house but was late, so
he'd made it to Alerio's house on time. And now, standing outside the door,
he was suddenly really nervous. He knocked and then shifted his weight from
foot to foot anxiously.

Alerio's head shot up when he heard the knock. He was tucking in Maria on
her spot on his couch, after having wakened her to tell her some company
was coming over for him. He closed the door quietly, making sure the night
light was burning for when it got dark, and rubbed his clammy palms on his
pants. Passing the hall mirror, he flipped one errant strand of hair back,
then grabbed the door handle. With a deep, calming breath, he opened the
door. "Hey. Come in."

Iki grinned brightly at him. "Hey…" He said as he stepped in, and then
stood nervously, chewing on his lip ring as ever. "So uhm... where's your
sister?" He asked, all conversational skills fleeing in the face of nervous
first date jitters.

"Uh, she's in the back, in my bedroom. I think she fell back asleep,
though..." Alerio led Iki into the tiny front room, which consisted of a
battered, paisley couch, an equally battered striped seventies lounge
chair, a coffee table held up by milk crates, and the world's ugliest,
hugest TV set in all the world. The antenna stuck up like it was a space
alien sent to charter new lands. Alerio indicated for Iki to sit, and sat
down himself on the sofa, almost sinking into the cushion. "Want anything
to drink or eat or smoke?"

Iki perched himself on the edge of the couch but next to Alerio. "Uhm, I
got my own ciggys..." he said, offering Alerio the packet."Wotcha got to
drink?"

Alerio chuckled nervously. "Well, of the alcoholic variety, I can offer
tequila, rum, gin, vodka, or whiskey. Of the nonalcoholic, I can only offer
water or Kool-Aid." He raised his eyebrows inquiringly. "What shall it be?"

"I'll have what you're having." he said, unhelpfully. "I'll drink any of
the above really, so surprise me." He grinned.

Alerio smiled back, leaned in and kissed Iki on the lips, boldly. He'd only
been wanting to do that (and much more) since he'd opened the door to the
boy on his stoop. "Be right back," he murmured against his lips, running a
hand through his hair and drawing away slowly. He deliberately stalked to
the kitchen, the sway of his hips more pronounced in the tight pants.

Iki was stunned, but the kiss at least let him know that Alerio wasn't
having second thoughts about their... whatever this tiny, fragile, budding
thing was. He touched his lips with his fingers, rubbing them back and
forth gently, wondering why Alerio's kisses left them wistful, and then
followed the swish of Alerio's hips into his kitchen.

Alerio laughed as he turned to see Iki behind him. "I thought I told you
I'd be back in a sec," he said teasingly as he pulled down two glasses from
the cabinet.

Iki smiled lopsidedly at him and wandered over to stand and watch Alerio
move round the kitchen without getting in the way. "I was scared and
lonely. I think your TV spoke to me. Something about base command and Mars
I think it said." he quipped.

Alerio paused from pulling a bottle of vodka down from the top of the
refrigerator to glare at Iki. "Ha. Ha." He poured a shot or two's worth of
vodka on the ice in the glasses, then filled them to the top with
strawberry Kool-Aid. He handed one glass over to Iki and raised his
own. "Cheers."

Iki laughed quietly at Alerio's affected offense. He took the offered cold
glass and tilted it back at Alerio before taking a good drink, his
subconscious in the back of his mind somewhere griping about how much he'd
been drinking recently. He lowered the glass and licked his lips, tasting
boozy strawberries. "So what’re we doing?" He asked his host inquiringly.

"Hey, slow down," Alerio admonished, taking the drink from Iki's hand and
placing it on the counter next to them, standing a little closer than
necessary. "We're not here to get drunk, so make this last, alright?"

"Sorry." Iki apologized softly, forgetting about the drink and gingerly
stepping closer and reaching out to very lightly hold onto Alerio's waist,
watching his face carefully in case Alerio didn't like it or it wasn't
wanted.

Alerio unconsciously turned into the hold, their bodies lightly
touching. He stared down at Iki with unreadable eyes, tracing the curve of
his jaw, the slope of his nose, as if memorizing him. His face was neutral,
but when he snaked an arm around Iki's back, there was nothing platonic in
the embrace.

Feeling surer that Alerio wanted this and wasn't going to react badly like
that time on the hill (half-remembered) Iki flushed under Alerio's
scrutiny, but tilted his head up to nearly chastely kiss Alerio's mouth,
moving just the very tip of his tongue over Alerio's bottom lip.

Alerio opened his mouth automatically to the touch of Iki's tongue,
brushing his own against it softly, unsurely. Most of the kisses they'd
shared in the past had been passion-filled or angry, not soft and sweet
like this. It unsettled Alerio, actually, in a very good way. Reaching up,
he threaded his fingers through Iki's hair.

One of Iki's hands shifted just a little bit sideways and rested more on
Alerio's hip, the hand on his waist curling a little in the shirt in
response to Alerio's fingers in his hair. His tongue flirted with Alerio's
but he pressed just a little closer.

Alerio quickly became aroused, every touch of Iki's tongue against his
intoxicating, every brush of Iki's fingers across his side intensified as
he kissed back, running both of his hands under Iki's shirt and caressing
his back, pressing them chest-to-chest and drinking him down. He could
never, ever, ever get enough of Iki, not ever. He was as a drug to Alerio.

Iki curled his leg round Alerio's to get in closer, as he'd done before in
the theatre; knowing that he turned Alerio on like this just from kissing,
just by being him, turned HIM on as well. The feel of Alerio's hands on his
bare skin was something his skin seemed to remember long after the touch
was gone. He knew Alerio would push him as far as he needed to be pushed,
and as their combined arousal climbed, so the kiss got deeper.

Alerio turned, pushing Iki against the counter. Breaking the kiss only for
a second, he hauled Iki upwards, placing him on the counter like some
living form of china, and dived right back in, licking along Iki's mouth as
if he were an ice cream cone, taking his bottom lip into his mouth and
sucking the piercing.

Alerio sucking on his lip ring made Iki hot, and he reeled Alerio in with
his legs crossed behind the other boy, one hand holding to the back of
Alerio's head while the other one tugged ineffectually at Alerio's shirt.

Alerio broke the kiss, his lips running along Iki's cheek before taking the
lobe of his ear in his mouth. "Fuck, you're so beautiful," he breathed,
moaned, his fingernails scratching at Iki's sides, clawing somewhat
ungently just above the waistline of his pants.

Iki's eyes closed and he panted feeling Alerio's mouth on his ear, telling
him that. He blushed though. "I'm not..." he disagreed."Don't compare to
you..." he said shortly, cutting off with a hybrid moaned whimper at
Alerio's nails scoring his skin. He twisted in Alerio's grip, trying to
move his shirt without actually letting go of where he was holding Alerio.

Alerio helped Iki with his shirt, tearing it above his head and throwing it
across the room. As his arousal grew, his patience lessened, and he
attacked one of Iki's nipples fervently, licking it then biting, his hand
gripping Iki's hip forcefully, firm but not enough to bruise. He liked the
taste of Iki's skin.

Iki was enveloped in cloth for way longer than he liked to be parted from
Alerio for, and was planning on resuming kissing when Alerio attacked his
chest. When Alerio bit down Iki grabbed the counter edge and cried out
'Fuck, Rio' writhing oddly against the hand on his hip and clutching one of
Alerio's shoulders, suddenly unable to breath without panting like a dog.

Alerio worked first one nipple, then the other, before working his way
downward. It was only a handful of minutes before he found himself kneeling
between Iki's legs, grinning up at him wickedly. He took the button to
Iki's pants between his thumb and forefinger, playing with it,
teasing. With a flick, he opened it, the ripping sound of a metal zipper
loud in the quiet kitchen, despite Iki's panting. With one quick move,
Alerio reached inside and closed his fist around Iki's cock.

Iki looked down at Alerio with huge lust dazed eyes, mewling as he nibbled
down his chest, then watching him with held breath as he looked back at Iki
evilly. When Alerio opened his pants, he remembered to breathe, but his
breathing sped up as Alerio reached in and grabbed his cock. He nearly slid
down off the counter, a startled noise that could have been Alerio's name
but could have been a swear word jumped out of his mouth. His heart felt
like it would break out of his chest and he held still, barely trembling,
watching Alerio. This was better than ANY porn movie he'd ever see.

Alerio watched Iki's face carefully as he drew out his arousal, already
rock hard and waiting for him. The head bobbed angrily, pointed straight
for his mouth as if it already knew where it was intended, and Alerio
lapped gently, quickly up the underside, tongue flicking out and just
catching the slit of the tip. Iki was salty, earthy, his scent wonderful as
Alerio breathed him in, letting his mouth relax over the head and slowly
taking him in.

Iki gasped like he'd been dumped in ice water and the sharp intake of
breath was let out in a high pitched moan. Iki turned his foot to clutch
Alerio's side and his grip on the counter top turned white-knuckled. His
head flung back, missing the cabinets above it by just centimeters, but his
hand flew up to grab hold of the edge, half to protect his head from
collision, half just to hold onto something. "Oh god, oh god, oh god, yes,
please, please..." He babbled as Alerio's mouth sucked him in.

Alerio decided to take his time with Iki this time, utterly fascinated by
the reactions he was pulling out of him. He experimented, going fast then
going slow, sucking hard at just the tip then attempting to take in as much
of him as he could without gagging. He nibbled at the sides, grazed his
teeth lightly over the sensitive skin, all while he dug one hand inside his
jeans to fondle his balls. He was doing whatever he could think of to Iki,
gauging his reaction and stowing away the information for future reference.

Iki whined and moaned under Alerio's mouth. He liked it fast, harsh and
with an edge to it, so when Alerio slowed down he'd whimper and beg for
more... when he sped up, Iki moaned high and long and STILL pleaded for
more, but when Alerio used his teeth on him his head cracked the wall
behind him he arched so far back and his leg kicked out when it fell from
where it was held against Alerio, missing Alerio by inches, until he
finally came.

Alerio swallowed everything Iki had. His hips rocked the air fitfully, his
own erection full and hard and desperate for any sort of friction, but he
ignored it, concentrating only on Iki and the way he sounded when he
came. His throat constricted as he deep-throated Iki one last time, fingers
gripping his hips, then pulled back and sat on his haunches, grinning up at
his new lover, licking his lips.

Iki panted for breath, lying collapsed bonelessly at an awkward angle on
the counter, half-slid down the wall under the cabinets above. He carefully
sat up, wary of bumping his head and then slid down off the counter and in
front of Alerio. He was still getting his breath, and he didn't say
anything, but leant in and kissed Alerio, holding his face between his
hands and chasing his tongue thoroughly.

Alerio whimpered as Iki kissed him, his fingers threading through Iki's
hair as he let him take control. His knees were weak, causing him to
collapse backward, laughing as he hit his head on the side wall. They were
a mess on the floor, arms and legs entwined.

Iki fell down with Alerio, smiled when he laughed, but felt that he still
hadn't come yet. Wickedly, he planted his mouth on Alerio's collarbone and
applied a firm suction kiss there, while one hand undid Alerio's pants with
practiced speed, holding firm to Alerio's erection and jacking him off
expertly.

"No, Iki, you don't ha..." Alerio moaned, letting his head fall limply to
the floor, when he heard a noise outside, like a car engine turning off,
cooling down. He grabbed Iki's wrist and pulled his hand out of his pants,
and froze. His head cocked, then his eyes widened when he heard loud,
drunken laughter. "Fuck! Hurry, get up!" he hissed to Iki as he scrambled
to stand himself, his erection poking through the zipper of his pants.

Iki hadn't heard the car, but caught the laughter and guessed that this
meant they were near to being caught... not good. "Sorry..." he apologized
quickly for having to leave Alerio as he jumped around, pulling his jeans
back up and then quickly snatched up his t-shirt, pulling it over his head
fast and praying no one would come in.

Alerio fastened his pants hurriedly, wincing only slightly as the zipper
rubbed roughly against his half-erect cock. The fear that ran icily through
him was enough to make any lustful thoughts disappear completely. He looked
around the room wildly before his eyes landed back on Iki, in his
disheveled, kiss-swollen state. "You have to hide," he said abruptly,
almost robotically, pushing on Iki's shoulders. He guided him to the
kitchen pantry, then thought better, and ran to the back kitchen door,
opening it. "Go!" he said hurriedly, waving his hand frantically.

Iki followed Alerio and skidded to a stop outside the open back
door. "Rio." he paused and took his arm. "Come with me, come on..." he
didn't stop to ask why or what, because he could guess. From what Alerio
had told him about his mum so far... his grip tightened. "Come on."

Alerio shook his head furiously. His eyes were wide, like a post-trauma
victim who'd just gone into shock. "No," he said, breathed. "Maria.... no!"
He grabbed his head, falling down on his knees, noises coming out of his
mouth that were not words, just sounds. He rocked for only a second,
clutching at his hair, then tore through the small house as he heard the
front screen door creak open. He was headed for his room, where Maria was
still huddled on his couch, looking up at him with wide, brown eyes. He
scooped her up and held her to him as he heard his mother call for him.

"Rio?" Iki followed Alerio through the house and into his room, waving an
uneasy 'hi' at Maria and turning his head towards the sound of Alerio's
mum's voice. He looked back at Alerio and approached nearer, but not too
near, giving Rio his space. He smiled weakly at Maria, wondering what Rio's
mum was like...

Maria looked at Iki wordlessly, staring at him as if he were a new
doll. She wasn't overly concerned about her mama being home, since she had
big brother 'Lerio to protect her.  "Alerio!" The voice that called out his
name was rough with age, and angry. Alerio winced at the sound, holding
Maria closer. "Go," he muttered to Iki. "You won't help anything by being
here."

Iki winced in sympathy hearing Alerio's mum's voice, and caught Alerio's
wince as well. He side stepped closer. "I'm not leaving you, so there." he
said softly, a little afraid, but steadfast.

Alerio turned, hoisting Maria up into his arms, blanket still encased
around her. "Don't you get it?" he said hoarsely. "I don't want you to get
hurt, too! Fucking go!" He could hear muffled voices coming down the hall,
and his mother was calling for him again, her words slurred. He closed his
eyes briefly. "It's too late." He sat Maria down in his bed, and pushed Iki
further into the room. "Just don't interfere, okay?"

Iki flinched when Alerio warned him about being hurt, and guessed this was
going to be bad. He heard Alerio's mum call out and guessed she was
drunk... he'd heard the same from his own mum. Iki pressed him a quick kiss
as he was pushed back into the room (just in case) then hurriedly told
him. "I'm not promising anything."

Alerio just gave him a look as he quickly closed the door. His mother came
reeling down the hallway at that exact moment, on the warpath for some
reason or another. Her sleazy, ten-years-younger boyfriend leered at him
from over her shoulder. Alerio shuddered.

"There you are!" Alerio's mother was furious, her face twisted up in a
drunken parody of a scowl. She was small, smaller than Alerio though not by
much, but she had a fiery temper and a genuine dislike for her only
son. "Didn't you hear me when I called? Why’re you always making my life
hell?"

Alerio flinched at the words, as if she'd slapped him. His mother acted as
if she didn't see, and advanced, crowding him, their faces mere inches
apart. "Guess who I ran into tonight, ruining my nice dinner with Larry
here?" 'Larry's’ creepy grin widened, if possible. "One of your
teachers. They told me you weren't in school the other day." Alerio's eyes
got wide, and his mother leaned in even further, her face breaking into a
stinking, yellow-toothed grin. "I could really make you regret doing that,
son." Her eyes flicked to the doorway she knew exactly where her daughter
was. "You've been spending an awful lot of time with your baby sister, dear
Alerio. Perhaps too much time?"

Alerio's face was red with anger. He couldn't even hear his mother anymore,
could barely see her through the red haze that was his vision. He knew what
she was insinuating, though his heart couldn't believe what he was
hearing. She really cared that little for her children? He knew she hated
him, blamed him for everything wrong in her life, but Maria? Sweet
innocent, taciturn Maria, who couldn't hurt anyone or anything, was too
young to even understand what was going on? His jaw clenched, as did his
fists. His mother didn't fail to notice his anger.  "Did I hit a nerve?"
She chuckled sinisterly, then turned to pat Larry's hand. "Larry, here,
told me how pretty he thinks you've become." At this, the man stepped
forward, reaching out a hand to grab at Alerio's chin. Alerio jerked away,
hitting his head on the door, biting his lip to keep from swearing. His
mother laughed again, swaying on her feet, anger still flashing in her
eyes. "I could make your life hell," she snapped, suddenly reaching forward
and grabbing Alerio by the hair, wrenching him forward until she was
hissing in his ear. "I could make your life as much a living, fucking HELL
as you've made mine. Do you hear me?!" She screamed into his ear, and he
cringed, trying to bodily push her away. He hadn't realized it, but Larry
also had a hold of him from around the waist, holding him in
place. Screaming himself, he scrambled to get away, get away from the
imprisonment, but the hold on him was unrelenting. His mother's slap across
his face was resounding, snapping his head back.

Iki listened to the conversation, hating Alerio's mother from her first
word. He heard her have a go at him about skipping school and hated himself
for that... that was his fault. He heard them talk about Maria, but didn't
look round at her (he'd approached the door to listen better). He heard
what she was saying about someone called Larry and shuddered, feeling sick,
literally sick. He jumped at the thump on the door, tensed to do something
but holding himself back, hearing that bitch scream at Alerio until Alerio
screamed too and Iki snapped. He slammed out of the room and saw some man
holding Alerio round the waist while a woman- obviously his mother- slapped
him. He jumped at the man's back, trying twice despite a running start as
the guy was so tall, hooked one arm round his neck and shoved his thumb
hard into the dip behind the man's ear, knowing how painful that was, and
kicking him in the back of the knees as he did so. "Get the fuck off him,
you bastard, leggo of him you two-bit cunt." He snarled, gouging at the
guy’s eyes.

Alerio coughed, something wet coming out the side of his mouth, but he
didn't need to see it to know what it was. It was rare than his mother ever
physically abused him, she usually just satisfied herself with emotional
and mental abuse, but when she did she never went halfsies. He realised
with a start that he was no longer confined, heard someone yell, and turned
to see Iki on the back of his mother's sleazy boyfriend, choking and
clawing at his face.

Larry was staggering backwards, and hauled his back into the wall, trying
anything to get the kid off of him. Without a thought, Alerio dove for
Larry as well, punching him in the jaw with everything he had. A flare of
protectiveness washed over him, similar to how he felt about Maria. He
couldn't let Iki get hurt.

All the breath was driven out of Iki when Larry smashed him into the wall…
Larry was a big guy... but Iki was a brawler and wriggled his way out from
behind Larry while Alerio punched him. He stood up, using the wall for
help, and then side booted Larry in the waist, knowing that his kick had
hit under the man's ribs when he felt cushy resistance rather than a
crackable one. He rebalanced, then grabbed the man's arm, biting him where
he could, kicking him in the side of the knee and still grabbing at the
man's face.

Larry staggered on his feet, half doubled over and gasping for air, howling
as Iki bit him. Alerio took one look at his mother and grabbed Iki, hauling
him off the other man. "Come on, fuck, let's go!" They bolted from the
house, breathless.

Iki was reluctant to let go of a fight and Alerio DID have to drag him
off. He was panting hard, a previously unseen vicious light shining out of
him, his tiny body practically vibrating. He yelled and squalled like a
scalded cat as he was dragged downstairs, swearing and threats, and it was
only when Alerio started to run that he had calmed down a little.

"Fuck... fuck... Maria... FUCK!" Alerio stopped halfway down the street,
finally letting go of Iki and slamming his fist into the pavement. It had
already hurt due to Larry's uncommonly hard jaw, but now it was bleeding
and throbbing, the pain draining any fear or adrenaline from him. He stood
up and began pacing in the middle of the deserted street. It had begun
raining sometime ago, a light drizzle painting them where they stood, but
Alerio took no notice.

Iki, still visibly shaking, jumped when Alerio punched the street, and
immediately started pacing like Alerio, chewing on his thumb knuckle. "You
want we should go back in and get her?" He asked passionately.

"No," Alerio sighed, defeated. "We can't. I have a feeling my mom would
call the cops on us. I don't know what to fucking do!" The look on his face
was helpless, and there were tears peeking out angrily from the corners of
his eyes. He grabbed at his hair, frustrated. "I was so scared in there..."
He wrapped one arm around himself and turned to Iki. "I... I'm sorry you
had to get involved in all of this," he apologized meekly.

Iki didn't hesitate, stepping forward and cautiously hugging Alerio, tight,
but not so tight that he couldn't back away if he wanted to. "I'm not
sorry. I want to be involved..." He let go and started pacing again. "She
can't fucking call the cops, WE should fucking call the cops, have her done
for fucking child abuse, she can't DO things like that to you and get away
with it; you just say and I can tell the home and they'll do something
about it, even if they are fucking whores the lot of them, we can still get
the police on her and get your sister out and make sure she goes somewhere
safe..."

Alerio slumped, defeated. "There's nothing. You heard her. If I don't do
exactly what she wants, she'll tell the authorities that I've..." he
shuddered, "that I've hurt Maria in some way. I don't know if you've
noticed, but Maria doesn't talk. Ever. She hasn't since she was a
toddler. I still don't know why, but she hasn't even really cried out loud
in years, so she wouldn't be able to testify that I've done nothing to
her."

Iki growled. "Will she be okay alone there? That bitch won't hurt her?"

Alerio broke away from Iki, began pacing again. After a pensive moment, he
shook his head. "I don't think she'll do anything to her." He closed his
eyes, gulped back a sob. "At least, I used to not think so. I don't really
know anymore. Come on," he said, walking away from the house, down the
road. "I can call my mom's old boss at a gas station. He's a good guy;
he'll check up on Maria for me."

Iki followed Alerio, then ran to walk at his side. "Some ‘good guy.’ If
he's so good then why hasn't HE called anyone?" He groused.

Alerio rounded on Iki, gathering him in his arms. "Because the only one
who'll get in trouble is me. Understand? This isn't the first time she's
threatened with laying all the blame on me. And they're not just threats;
my mom and me... we've come to blows before. She hates me, Iki. She'd do
anything to get me out of her life, if I wasn’t so valuable to her. And I'd
do anything to be out of it," he finished, muttering.
	
Iki squeaked, oddly thinking Alerio was going to hit him, but relaxed
immediately when he was held tight instead, listening to Rio's catch-22. He
had one hand on the small of Alerio's back and was stroking it gently,
resting his cheek on Alerio's chest as his caustic anger pushed back to a
distant simmer as he thought. "Why don't you just leave her then?" He asked
eventually. "Tell this guy to make a call when we're gone. Get him to tell
them the truth... you won't be around... they have ways to speak to kids
what won't talk I'm sure... we'll be away."

Alerio shoved Iki away, forcefully but not ungently. "I leave, and Maria's
all alone. I leave, and I don't know what will happen to her. The only
reason my mother keeps me around is because I pay more than half the
bills. I leave, and someone else will have to stoke her addictions. Who
knows what she may do to Maria? And no one will get the truth out of my
mother. You don't know her; she's good at lies and deceit."

Iki stood back with his eyes downcast, arms crossed and hugging himself. He
bit his lip hard to not cry, because he knew it would be the last thing
Alerio needed. "I just want you out of there." he said quietly.

"I can't get out," Alerio said just as quietly, his voice sad. He hugged
himself, arms suddenly cold despite the warm rain. "And I want to be, I
do..." he trailed off, bit his lip. "I guess I'm staying the night with
Krueger again," he said ruefully, changing the subject.

Iki resolved to keep turning this thing in his head until he came up with a
solution. He wasn't going to stop until Alerio and his sister were both
free from their mother, even if the final answer was for him to beat her to
death himself. For now though, he reached out with one hand. "Come and stay
with me." he said. "I'll fix your hand as well."

Alerio reached out tentatively, pausing when just their fingers were
touching. He still held his injured hand to his chest. and he glanced at
it, fascinated by the way the blood seeped out in fat, slow drops. "You
sure your foster lady won't mind?"

Iki moved just enough to curl his fingers round Alerio's. "She won't say no
when I ask her," he promised. He'd guilt trip her with his upcoming
eviction.

Alerio smiled softly, still sadly, and bent his head. He touched his
forehead to Iki's, looking into his eyes, though the view was slightly
fuzzy due to the closeness. "You're sweet," he said, and kissed Iki,
slowly, catching his bottom lip and sucking on it.