Where There Is Peace

[clementine]

Jonas woke up hours later the next day in his Medibox, physical wounds healed but he still just had an overall shitty feel. He sat up, smacking a dry mouth as he rubbed at a kink in his neck. Definitely a trip to a mesuse was in order.

Blinking back the blur of the artificial light, he tried to remember the trip to the hospital, only coming up with a fuzzy haze. He clearly remembered Xero though and the things he said to the kid. Regret was starting to set in now that he was starting to calm down. Had he really said those horrible things to just a kid? The answer was evidently yes by the way Kirle was glaring at him.

"Let's go asshole." Dr. Kirle sighed, pushing pain killers and a cup of water into Jonas' hands, knowing that the killer headache coudln't be taken away by the Medibox. "You have some very big apologies to make. I'm very disappointed in you."

"What?" Asked a still slightly incoherent Jonas. However, next thing he knew, the devil doctor was leading him to the room where Xero was out like a light, leaving him alone with the boy. Sighing, the burning his heart intensifying, he curled up in a free chair. The sight of Xero laying there made him want to cry, knowing that it was his fault the boy was like this. He ached to touch the boy, but crushed the feel valiantly.

[praiseofblood]

Xero woke to an intense churning in the pit of his stomach. He was up like lightening, in the bathroom, throwing up in a moment.

"Fuck." was all he could say as he momentarily rested his head againt the toilet bowl. He stood, going to the sink to rinse out his mouth and brush his took with the disposable wrapped toothbrush they supplied. His stomach clenched even as the taste of toothpaste hit his tongue.

Finally, after a few moments, Xero was able to successfully brush his teeth. He had a slightly green hue to his pale skin as he walked from the bathroom. Xero jumped in surprise at seeing Jonas sitting in a chair.

He drew his bottom lip into his mouth, working it nervously as he prepared to be told that Jonas was leaving him again. He moved to sit down on the bed, still naked. The sunlight shinned on Xero's skin, making him seem almost glowy in the daylight.

After a moment of silence, Xero looked into his mate's eyes, holding back tears as he cleared his throat. "So...how are you feeling?" He asked, pulling the covers over himself and drawing his legs up to his chest.

[clementine]

Jonas stayed where he was during Xero's whole puking fiasco, curled up in his chair like an unblinking sentinel. The whole time his mind slowly clicked away at the situation both he and Xero had all but been forced into.

"Fine." He murmured darkly, cross with himself for thinking how beautiful Xero looked in the sunlight. The fact that the boy looked like he was about to cry didn't escape him either. "Thank you, by the way, for saving my ass last night. You didn't have to." Jonas only thought that Xero had saved him because he was suddenly mated, pretty sure he would have been on his own under any other circumstances. He stifled a shudder at the thought.

"Well?" Jonas sighed heavily, shutting his eyes against the light, thinking how Xero was about his own bro--he cut the thought off abruptly. "What do you want to do about this kid?" The mechanic decided to be honest with himself, knowing that he liked Xero a little but didn't actually love the kid. He wondered if he ever could.

[praiseofblood]

Xero frowned, a little miffed at Jonas' whole asshole routine. He was tired of it already. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he looked at Jonas. He didn't know why or how in all the seven hells this man was his one soul mate in all the universe, but he was sure the gods loved to fuck with him.

"For your information, yes I did have to help you. You're a part of me now, and if you'd got hurt it'd totally fuck me up. Even if we weren't mated, I'd help you, so that's all I have to say about that." Xero sighed, not wanting to argue with Jonas right now.

"As for what we're going to do--there really is nothing we can do about it. I didn't mean for this to happen and it's obvious that you didn't. But the facts are that we are mated, I'm pregnant, and you're stranded here and in whatever the hel kind of trouble you're in. You can try to get a shuttle off world or something, and I can go talk to the shodan about anyway to get us unmated, if that's what you want. Like you said, you don't love me and I don't see any reason why we should be together, if we're always going to be angry with each other." The boy said wisely, sighing even as his heart felt like lead. The words were mechanical, with no real feeling behind them. Xero could feel his beast dying inside as he even talked about trying to break the mating bond.

[clementine]

Jonas didn't mean to be an asshole, not really. He didn't want to make the kid cry, but the facts were the facts here. Through the course of one sexual experience, he'd gotten saddle with a mate who was unlucky enough to get pregnant on the first go. Life was fucked up.

Messaging his temples just trying to think, the halfbreed sighed gustily, belaying his own irritation and insecurities over the entire problem. He could only dream of what Xero was feeling. The sound of an un-mating had him perking up. Jonas believed that he and Xero were all wrong for each other.

"You can do that? Break a bond like that?" Jonas blinked up at Xero, the prospect exciting because it offered him a way out. "Well, why the hell don't we do that? There's obviously been some cosmic mistaken being made here. I'm practically an old man and you're just...you're just you. And don't accuse me of not loving you. I know that you don't feel the same about me. How could you? We just met less than twenty four hours ago. You cannot seriously tell me that you've fallen in love with me."

Sometime during his rant, Jonas stood, pacing the small room as he muttered to himself. Whether it was because he wasn't Zercan or because he was in such deep denial about the matebond, the halfbreed didn't feel half the things Xero was. Perhaps if Jonas had paused a minute to listen to what his heart was telling him, he'd know that Xero was the only one for him.

[praiseofblood]

Xero just blinked. Unbelieveable. All this guy thought of was himself. Fucking unbelievable.

Xero stood calmly, his eyes hard as stones. He was pissed. "The truth is, I don't know if we can. It could possibly kill one or both of us, if it even can be done. I don't know." he said. "So I'll go ask the Shodan, get your hotel room set up, and get the hell out of your face, no problem.Hey, while I'm out, why don't I go see about getting an adoption set up, that way you don't have to worry about a kid tying you down either. That sound nice too?" At this point he was so upset with Jonas he didn't know what to do. He headed to the door, still nude.

"Oh, and for the record, you're not even thirty yet, so stop acting like you're fucking ancient. You've got to be like what: twenty-five, twenty-six? That's hardly old; you've only got a few years on my brother, so stop calling me a kid, because the only one here acting like one is you. Fucking jackass." he said, walking out the door and slamming it hard. Forcing his feelings down deep in his belly. Transforming right there in the hospital, Xero ran out of the building and into the forests for a long run. He needed to get away from all of this.

[clementine]

Jonas burned in shame, looking away as Xero fled the room. He had forgotten about the damn baby. He wasn't planning on abandoning it or anything. He just wanted to null the bond. That was it. Jonas knew he was being a fucking jackass. He knew it, but he didn't like having to worry about other people. He grew up like that, making sure everyone was comfortable but himself. He wanted to be selfish damnit, his child-like attitude stemming from his nonexistent childhood. He always wanted to apologize and the need coiled in his stomach, curdling like old milk.

Swear loudly, he stalked from the hospital, roaming the streets for a time as he was surrounded by a vague cloud of worry for Xero and how he had treated the boy. His wanderings somehow got him back to Xero's place. Sighing in resignation, he climbed the stairs, wanting to wait for the Zercan to return.

Jonas easily picked the access pad, the entire thing taking two seconds. It was cake. Inside, he huffed about in the dark, settling down with an old box of useless chords and plugs he had found, trying to do...something to keep from drowning in his own maliciousness.

[praiseofblood]

Xero cried as he ran, crystalline tears leaking from his eyes as he whizzed through the forest. He roared his pain as he ran. Jonas was an unbelieveable fucking jerk. How could he? Jonas didn't know the fucking first thing about him! Xero loved him like fucking Jeskarians loved the fucking moon--He didn't know how, or even why, but he did. Everything he did was to make the bastard happy, even though all Jonas cared about was beinig a selfish, uncaring bastard who was probably cursing his name.

Tripping over his own feet, Xero crashed hard. He skidded to a halt, having flipped on his back to protect the kit. Curling up into a ball, he sobbed. It seemed all he had been doing for days and days was crying. No one who was supposedly right for him should cause him so much pain, should they? He didn't even register the sound of a twig snapping until it was too late.

"What the--" came a voice. Xero blinked, it sounded familiar. "Hello there, are you hurt?" the man asked, stepping cautiously towards the cat. A man came into Xero's vision--tall, around 6'4, long golden hair with black spots, and startling grey eyes. Xero's spirits soared as he shifted back to his human form and all but tackled the man.

"Darren! Oh Darren, it's you," he cried happily, grabbing the taller man and fisting his hands in the man's shirt.

"Xero?" came the cheetah's baritone."Xero, what's wrong?" he asked, he had never seen the boy so upset.

"Is it something the matter with your mom? Has he gotten worse?" Darren asked, holding on to the lithe frame. How he had missed the boy so much. He had grown since they had last met.

Xero could only sob in response, shaking his head. This wasn't fair! Why couldn't Darren have been the one for him? He was kind, sweet, and he cared for him more than that bastard Jonas did. Even Jonas' name sent pain shooting through Xero's heart and he simply tried to choke in his sobs. He knew he was being unfair. Jonas was not a Zercan, and Xero couldn't expect an instantaneous love like the ones he'd always heard of.

"I've missed you, love." Said the man holding him. He was a bit older than the boy, and hadn't seen him in a year, due to going on a mission to Earth to search for his mate.

"How did you know where to find me?" Xero asked.

"Kirle called, how else? My ship was just docking when my A.I got a buzz saying you left the hospital all in a tizzy. Mind telling me why?" he asked, eyebrow raised. The boy seemed fine.

Xero shut down. No. No he would not tell Darren about Jonas or anything else he'd been through the past two days. Darren would no doubt hunt down his mate and kill him, and Xero couldn't have that. As much as he couldn't stand his mate, he still loved him.

Darren sighed, recognizing this as being a fight he wasn't going to win unless he coaxed it out of the boy. "It must be something really big for you not to tell me, love." He scopped the boy up easily. "Come one love, it's time to go home. Where you can tell me about this," he said, smiling at the boy.

Xero sighed, relaxing against his former lover's chest. It had been so long since he could feel the man, but it wasn't the same. Darren was more of a good friend, rather than a possible love interest. All sexual feelings he had for the man were gone, it seemed that Jonas really was his one and only. Xero cursed, no matter what he was thinking about, his thoughts all lead to Jonas. 'This blows!' he thought as Darren took off towards the city.

~~~~

Darren was slightly panting by the time they reached Xero's apartment. He reached for the door handle but stopped as he noticed the lock had been picked. He cautiously set Xero down, drawing a long bladed knife from behind him. Stepping cautiously into the room, Darren looked about as he motioned for Xero to stay in the doorway.

Darren's sharp grey eyes came across a figure in the middle of the floor, he was about to lunge, until the light clicked on and revealed a man around his age, on the couch playing with bits of wire.

Needlessly, Darren could only say: "Who the fuck?"

[clementine]

Jonas probably should have heard the two coming, but he was so engrossed in stripping the rubber from the copper and threading the pieces through what looked like a little tennis ball that he didn't hear. His concentration was shattered though when the lights flicked on, making him blink at two blurry figures in the doorway.

"Oi!" He cried, jumping from the couch as he tried to regain his sight. His pet project hit the floor with a thunk, rolling away. "Give a buddy some warning, yeah?" Vision finally clearing away the yellow fuzz of the artificial lightl. His heart sank at the sight of Xero with some other strange male. A stab of jealously shot through him but he stamped it down.

"That's my line buddy." Jonas squinted at Darren, surprised at himself for wanting to snarl at the other male. He barely manged to hold himself back as he dropped to the floor to hunt around for what he had dropped. "If you're here to play white knight and kick my ass, take a number." He growled, head underneath a table as he grabbed his ball.

Jonas sat back on his haunches, looking again at the two males. "Hi, Xero." He said rather sheepishly. The tinkering seemed to have cooled him down.

[praiseofblood]

"Who the hell are you?" Darren asked, thouroughly confused.

Xero just slunk past silently heading to his room and shutting the door. He locked it too, cause he didn't want to face either male when the shit hit the fan.

Darren noticed Xero's retreat but thought nothing of it. The boy was probably just going to get some clothing. He crossed his arms, looking at the strange male. "Well? Why the hell did you break into Xero's apartment? And how do you know him?" he asked.

Xero pulled on some boxers and pants, debating if he would survive jumping from the window. Darren had a hell of a temper...

He opted for hiding in the wall closet instead.

[clementine]

"I broke in cause I didn't have a key." Jonas replied in a cool, matter-of-fact voice. Trying to act that he wasn't fussed about Xero completely fleeing the room, the mechanic reseated himself on the couch where he once again started stripping wire. Seeing Xero leave like that made something in him clench.

For all intents and purposes Jonas wanted to ignore the boisterous male in front of him, but decided to answer the last question. "As for who the hell I am," He stated, not even looking up. "I'm Xero's lover." That was as close as he was to admitting that him and Xero were mates. He wanted to say the word, but the syllables choked up in his throat.

"And now I think it'd be great if you'd leave." Jonas added in a condescending voice, tempting fate. The sight of the other male was making him green with jealousy and he wanted him gone.

He fell silent once again, the only sound in the room was that of Jonas clipping the wires with a pair of scissors.

[praiseofblood]

Darren saw red. "Excuse me? I am Xero's lover, always have been, always will be. I've known Xero for two years now, so who the fuck are you to be telling me when to leave?" The cheetah growled. "Xero is mine."

Xero flinched, even from his closet. This wouldn't turn out well. Nope nope nope, not well at all. Of course he wouldn't let Darren hurt Jonas, but he didn't neccesarily want to be out there either.

[clementine]

"Yeah, you were." Jonas drawled, followed by the sound of more annoying clipping. He still wasn't looking at Darren. He was steadily growing angrier and angrier. Until the mate bond was somehow smashed, if it ever was, Xero belonged to Jonas and vice versa. He believed that much.

Thinking to shut the cheetah up, he added, "Xero is my mate." Was there some pride in his voice? He wasn't sure. "So, why don't you put the claws away puss and take a walk." Jonas looked at Darren and hissed a challenge, eyes glowing red from his vampire genes. "He's mine and you can't have him."

[praiseofblood]

Xero felt his heart swell when Jonas challenged the larger, faster...scarier Darren. But--he felt that moving would not bode well on his part right now, so he stayed in the closet and listened.

Darren growled low. "Are you challenging me, half-breed. I will disembowel you. You are not my Xero's mate. Why would he mate a bastard like you? You didn't even seem to care that he was out in the forests crying, where anything could've preyed on him." Darren moved to a more solid position, ready to launch himself across the room towards the smug bastard.

"And I don't need your fucking permission. Xero is mine, and I can and will take him by force!" Darren growled loudly, his claws extending and eyes flashing.

Xero thought of a cartoon on Earth that he once saw. Jackie something or other. He believed he agreed with the yellow colored man when he said: "Bad day, bad day, bad day!" Xero sighed quietly, praying that the two didn't destroy his house.

[clementine]

Boy was Darren scarier, but Jonas didn't back down, his own claws extending. "Yeah I'm challenging you, you spineless fucker. I can drain you dry before you can even blink." He stood, body slimmer than Darren's but still taunt with muscle. He gripped his strange creation in one hand while clenching his other. "I didn't mean for him to cry and don't give me that shit about him being preyed on. He's predator not prey."

Jonas circled, snapping his fangs at Darren, angrier than he had been in his entire life. This bastard was trying to take Xero from him and he wasn't going to have that. "I'd like to see a pussy like you try and take him away from me." Jonas taunted, making the first lunge at Darren and swiping at the guy's face.