by Katsura
"Jude..." he whispered in a hopeless sounding voice. "Oh God, Jude...no..."
Vinny's trembling fingers finally seemed to find courage again, and he gripped the front of Judas's shirt. He pulled pointlessly and stared down at Judas's blood stained face in obvious despair.
There was such torment in every action that the young man took, from the way he attempted to neaten Judas's clothing to the tender way his fingers moved through Judas's hair. The gun lay close by, and Vinny lifted it. He got to his feet shakily and pointed it at Fergus.
"You killed him. You bastard, you killed him." He looked totally distraught and Fergus stared back him sick of having another trembling gun pointed at him. "All of you stand there like he never mattered to anyone. Well he mattered to me!
He...matters to me, and you killed him."
Mikhail, seemingly having regained a little of his composure, strode quickly over, put himself between Vinny and Fergus and shook his head firmly.
"No. Fergus didn't kill him. He saved him." Mikhail lifted his chin, though it was clearly a struggle for him not to give into his emotions. "Judas was about to kill himself and Fergus shot the gun from his hand and saved him. Now please...please let's all calm down and stop this."
Vinny looked to be in shock at this version of events, perhaps not really believing it.
But he lowered the gun and let it fall once more to the dirt.
"Cain?" Mikhail turned to the tall mysterious man who had watched the whole debacle impassively but who now stepped forward.
"Please take Mr MacGregor back to the cottage. If we don't get him out of those wet things and into the warmth, he may actually die of the cold."
Without any hesitation Cain went over and began to lift Judas from the ground, and after staring murderously at Fergus for a few moments, Vinny went to help him.
Between them they carried Judas back to the cottage. Fergus walked slowly behind them with Mikhail, both of them in silence until they reached the back door where Fergus turned and looked at him.
"What must you think of me now, Mikhail?"
The night before the robbery they had made love so slowly, both kneeling upright bathed in the glow of an open fire, Fergus behind Mikhail, caressing him in such a tender way as he moved deeply within him. It had felt glorious and so right. Mikhail's head rested back against Fergus's shoulder in bliss and their mouths sought each other's lips eagerly as they climaxed together at exactly the same moment. Not in a frenzied way like they had done so many times before, but in a heavenly melting of their bodies which left them both tingling for hours after.
When Fergus looked at Mikhail then, it seemed to him that they were meant to be together and that everything in his life had just been leading up to that point. He even mulled over the fact that it had been Judas who introduced them and had briefly considered not going through with the planned betrayal of the man.
But Judas had been singled out a long time ago for this punishment and not just by Fergus. Fergus's father had never liked Judas, and in fact not only did he blame him for his son being behind bars, he wrongly blamed him for his son's sexual preference too.
Judas was criminally open about his exploits, and much as the guys laughed this off a few of them were actually a bit disgusted by him, Callum included.
Vinny was a nobody really, and if it had been Fergus's place that he had taken in prison there would have been no one clamouring to avenge that miscarriage of justice. With no pun intended, Judas had it coming to him for years for being cocky, arrogant and too much in your face. The only reason it hadn't happened to him sooner was because it just seemed appropriate to Callum, and even to Fergus himself, that Fergus should have the honour.
The bitch needed taken down a peg or too.
He had been cock of the walk for far too long.
But what had been his real crime?
Fear?
Fergus lowered his eyes and shook his head then he walked on into the relative warmth of the cottage.
Vinny crouched close to Judas, who was now lying on the sofa, and he slapped his face gently. Fergus hung back and decided to remain close to Cain. It hadn't gone unnoticed that before, when Vinny had tried to attack Fergus on his arrival at the cottage, Cain had stopped him. Fergus considered that to have The Legend's protection right now, as Judas appeared to be coming round, wouldn't be such a bad thing.
"Why do they call you The Legend?" He couldn't help himself, his idle curiosity got the better of him despite all that was going on around them. Cain never answered. He just smiled knowingly.
Judas suddenly let out a great groan. He opened his eyes and looked momentarily stunned, perhaps by the fact that he was still alive.
"Fergus...I shot Fergus," he gasped and tried to sit up and Vinny helped him, his young face flooding with relief.
"You did, you dolt." Vinny laughed and ruffled Judas's hair gently. "Then he shot you, so that's you quits."
Fergus looked across at Judas, trying to gauge whether or not he still had murderous intentions, and he thought that he should speak first and get it over with.
"I shot the gun from your hand. I saved your life." He took a deep breath and waited for Judas's response.
Judas nodded slowly, and when he spoke his voice sounded much calmer than it had done previously. "Why did you do that?"
His eyes met Fergus's eyes, and Fergus waited for a moment before replying.
"Because I owed you." Fergus lifted his chin and they still stared at each other. So much had happened, and Fergus knew now that what he had done was wrong, but he had more than made up for it. Judas would be dead now if it hadn't been for him.
Judas should be grateful to Fergus for being alive, and the skinny tattooed freak at his side should be grateful for the fact that someone tried to avenge what had happened to him. Who else ever cared that Vinny's innocent ass went to prison, other than the Campbells? So Vinny would swing for Fergus? It was an empty threat.
There was no death penalty so no one needed to swing for anyone.
Judas seemed to accept Fergus's brief explanation, and again he nodded. Vinny sat on the floor next to him, his exhaustion obvious. He had his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands and Judas reached out and gently pulled at one of Vinny's wine-coloured braids. "Hey, I'm no dolt...I'll kick your ass..." He gazed at Vinny, the affection between them noticeable.
Vinny looked up at him, and he laughed quietly, his eyes creased slightly at the corners. "Fuck you." He grinned, and Judas grinned too.
"You gonna give me a hug?" Judas still held one of Vinny's braids.
Vinny shook his head and waved his hand under his nose. "Naw. You fucking stink, man!" He gave a great snort of a laugh.
"You fall in the sewer? And your hair's like...all bloody."
Judas nodded.
"Something like that." He struggled to get to his feet. "I'll get washed up. God knows I need it."
Vinny slipped one arm around Judas's waist and took one of his arms around his shoulder to support him.
"Then when you're all clean, I'll see what I can do." He walked slowly with Judas, and when they passed Fergus, Vinny stared at him.
Fergus looked directly into Vinny's eyes and he could feel the threat from the young man, just as much as if Vinny had punched him in the face. Vinny had given up his liberty for Judas before and perhaps wouldn't think twice about doing it again, and Fergus made a mental note to always watch his back from now on.
Mikhail stayed where he was outside. He took a few deep breaths before he suddenly looked up at the moon in accusation, and he gritted his teeth. How unfair. The moon was still just shining and really deserved no blame, and Mikhail mused over Fergus's question.
What did he think?
He thought that they were all grown men who acted like foolish children and at least two of them could have died over their stupidity and crazy notions about loyalty and revenge. He wanted to go and shout that at them but realised they would all probably laugh, and he coul
d almost hear their voices speak to him in unison.
"Oh, what do you know, Mikhail?"
Not much at all, apparently. After all, he had been wrong about Fergus. Obviously Judas had been set up by him. Mikhail touched his cheek gingerly as he pursed his lips. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and stared out into the night. So he finally managed to find out that there was such a thing as love, and the man he fell in love with was a thieving thug hell bent on spending the rest of his life in prison, it appeared. Again he blamed the celestial aid of lovers. He looked up at the moon and shook his head at the irony.
Somehow, when he never believed in love,
things
were
easier
and
he
considered that even meeting Fergus had changed his life, not for the better but for the worse. Love had not enriched him, it had just brought him an almost constant feeling of worry.
Were matters of the heart always like that?
Always so fraught and full of conflict?
Gradually he took his eyes from the silvery guiltless orb as it appeared to be as clueless about it all as he was. Then he became aware that there was a figure standing at the trees, and he squinted to see if he could make out who it was. He considered whether to shout for Fergus and alert him in case it was the police, but then he realised.
It was Hugo.
The young man walked silently towards him until he was only about a foot away.
"Such silly men, yes?" Hugo smiled. He tilted his head to the side and although his words implied that he was amused, his voice betrayed a touch of sadness.
"Indeed." Mikhail nodded as he didn't quite know what else to say to him.
Hugo stared openly and Mikhail felt much the same way as he had felt at the brothel on his last encounter with Fergus's spouse.
Judged and somewhat ridiculed.
Mikhail looked down at the rip on his fine coat and unconsciously rubbed a hand across his eyes, sighing as his palm came away stained with mascara. He knew what he must look like and didn't need Hugo's sarcastic expression to remind him of this.
"So...Mikhail. I have watched you all since I arrived here. I heard the gunshot...watched Judas stumble from the back door, fleeing like a wounded animal.
And I wanted to rush to kneel by my husband's side and look at him with grief, the way I later saw Vinny kneel over Judas. I wanted to fix his shirt and stroke his hair...but no. You beat me to it. I have lost him. I have lost him to a sad, pathetic and tragic fop with a bad dye job, makeup that even a whore wouldn't have the nerve to wear and an apparent addiction to fake tan. Oh, if only I had known that was all it took to satisfy him, I could have saved myself from many a sore ass."
"Don't, Hugo." Mikhail didn't react to the insults but just shook his head slowly.
"You don't know what you are talking about."
"Don't I? So maybe I am wrong. Who knows." Hugo took a painful sounding breath. They both turned and glanced through the window to where Vinny helped Judas into dry clothes, and Hugo smiled, appearing resigned.
"Oh well. I suppose it's over for me anyway. Fergus saves Judas and you save Fergus...everyone saves Vinny...but who saves me, Mikhail? Who would want to save someone like me?" He looked into Mikhail's eyes. "He will know that I told.
And he will kill me."
"He won't kill you." Mikhail's voice was a little flat. He was sick of all the talk and threats to kill. He was in the business of life and satisfaction, not death. Lust not vengeance.
"He will leave me and that is as good as killing me because I will have nothing. He is all that I have. That hateful brute of a man is all that I have, and I love him. You see the scars on my face? They are nothing to the scars on my body. He gave me those, and I wore them with pride because that made him mine. If I don't have him, I just have the scars."
Mikhail stared at him. Practically all of what Hugo had just said was nonsense, but he was such a wretched looking creature, despite the fine clothes that he wore.
Hugo was truly wrong when he said that Mikhail was the pathetic one. Mikhail was just having a very bad day, and yes, he was aware that right now he was not looking his best. But Hugo was always pathetic.
Mikhail faced a reluctant truth.
Hugo really seemed to need Fergus more than he did.
It wasn't easy for him to even think that as he was sure that he loved Fergus and that Hugo really didn't, but love was not the same as need. Before Fergus came along Mikhail had been doing quite well for himself in his own successful but loveless world. What had Hugo been doing for the last five years? It wasn't difficult to work that one out. He had been sitting at home sliding into alcoholism while awaiting the return of his husband.
Mikhail gave a deep sigh and nodded his head slowly. There really was not much that he liked about the man that stood before him, and no matter how many people considered him to be a boy, he was actually a man. A man who had built his life around another and who would slip further into self-destruction if he was left on his own again. Mikhail realised then what he had to do, and he walked into the cottage. All of the men there, including the now cleaner and less pungent Judas, lifted their faces to stare at him.
"Look who I found." Mikhail smiled in the way he always smiled when he greeted a frequent patron to his brothel, a warm and welcoming smile. "Hugo..."
He beckoned Hugo into the room and Hugo complied, appearing a little wary.
He stood and looked at them all, not seeming to know what reaction he was going to get from them.
"Jude," Mikhail continued, "I feel that I can call you that now. If it were not for Hugo being concerned that he had not heard from Fergus and so coming to me, we would never have ventured here...and things may have turned out very differently."
Vinny looked at Mikhail with a curious expression but said nothing, and Judas, who still appeared very drained, nodded slowly in apparent understanding. "Seems I owe you then, Hugo." Judas turned to look at Hugo's face. "Thank you."
They regarded each other in silence for a moment, then Hugo stepped into the centre of the room with a smile. "That's okay, Jude...I was just so worried and I could find no one to help me. I found Mikhail's card and I am so glad that I went to him. I didn't know what else to do. Please don't be angry with me for snooping in your wallet, Fergus. I was really only looking for contact details for Ewan or Rasputin. I was afraid to just come here in case I was followed."
Fergus, who had since moved to sit by the fire, got to his feet. He wore an unfathomable expression. "I forgot my phone." He shrugged by way of an explanation, and Hugo walked to his side and touched his hand.
A look of indulgence slipped over Hugo's face as he gazed at his husband. "But darling, you are hurt?"
"It's nothing." Fergus shook his head and didn't protest as Hugo looked at the wound on his arm, but his eyes strayed briefly to Mikhail. Mikhail simply nodded to him with a genial expression. Hugo then slid his hands gently to Fergus's shoulders and embraced him in silence. Fergus looked awkward but still did not resist.
Judas looked into Mikhail's eyes and Mikhail smiled at him, seemingly content that he had once more managed to make everyone satisfied.
That was his business after all.
About the Author
Katsura is an avid collector of Asian Ball Jointed Dolls (BJD). She enjoys writing black comedy and yaoi, which she works on with talented artist Yuramei, and is a huge fan of British comedy, especially vintage movies. She has had her comedy scripts performed in and around the stand up scene in Glasgow, the city in which she was born. Katsura lives in Scotland and likes nothing more than to travel up north and look at the hills.
About the Artist
Yuramei is predominantly an artist but also writes her own Yaoi fiction. She currently lives in Germany and enjoys playing action games, smoking, BJD, drinking coffee and being a slave to her pet cats.
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