The Darker Side of Twilight
Hobbes and Darien placed the shovels in the soft dirt after piling the last of the earth into Kevin's resting place. Darien bent down and hung his head over the fresh grave, gingerly placing a hand on the ground beneath his feet.
"Goodbye Kevin..." he whispered. "...again." his saddened face went blank and he stood.
"You okay, partner?" Hobbes inquired in a concerned manner.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Fawkes affirmed, shaking his head. But Hobbes knew better. Darien was lying because his face went blank. It always did that when he was fibbing. He had a reason to not want to talk about it though, that much was understood. He lost his brother for god's sake.
"You want to talk about it?" Bobby pressed. If Darien suppressed this it could come out in a violent quicksilver madness episode later. But Fawkes shook his head 'no' and shoved his hands in his pockets. It was getting harder and harder to see what kind of face he was making, if at all, because it was getting very late. There were no lamps or light poles in this graveyard to cast eerie shadows on everything, and this eased Hobbes' apprehension a bit. But the fact that it was indigo in the sky and dark everywhere else made him a little uneasy despite earlier thoughts and observations. "Well, do you want to go eat? You'll probably need to eat something soon, before you completely waste away." he suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, let's hit the Waffle House. 24 hours, man." Darien consented to this distraction and followed Hobbes out of the cemetery. He trudged to the white Intrepid ES he had rented and instead of taking Hobbes' offer to ride shotgun, clambered into the backseat and lay on his side, knees folded in the fetal position. He rested his head on his left arm and buried his face in the cushioned seat. Gotta love the Dodge indented seats, however uncomfortable the raised part in the middle was to his back.
At Waffle House, not much conversation passed between Darien and Bobby. Darien nibbled at his sausage and egg sandwich and Bobby scarfed down a waffle, 2 eggs, and bacon. When asked why he wasn't eating his food, Darien responded, "I don't know what it is, you just don't have much of an appetite when you put your flesh and blood in the ground," he paused. "...for the second time."
It was then put forth for them to go back to the hotel and get some sleep. According to Bobby this would probably help better than food. Better to let the subconscious deal with some things, he reasoned.
Hobbes unlocked the door and let himself in. Darien drug behind him and closed the door half-heartedly. He didn't bother to lock it or anything, he just flopped down on the bed, with his back turned to Bobby. Hobbes instictively locked the door and put in the deadbolt, then threw the keys on a nearby table. He sat on the bed next to Darien, not moving him or touching him, not even bothering to sit in his line of sight. They sat there for the longest time, and after a long moment of staring at him, Hobbes placed a caring hand on Darien's shoulder.
"Are you going to be okay, Darien?"
"Bobby, I--" Darien paused, and sat up. The use of his partner's first name showed he was emotionally unshielded. He faced Bobby and hugged him gratefully. "I didn't think you cared."
"You're my partner, I'm supposed to care. Bobby Hobbes does not abandon his partner." Darien let a lone tear roll down his cheek. When Bobby heard him sniffling slightly, but saw no tears, he realized that Darien was crying Quicksilver. It wasn't enough to bend light in the normal fashion, but appeared like shimmering beams of pewter running down Darien's face. Fawkes buried his face in Hobbes' shoulder.
"I wanted him back, Bobby. I wanted him back so bad," he said through choked sobs.
"I know, Darien. I know you did." Hobbes responded, still holding on to his partner, who was crying like an infant. A while passed like this, crying, hugging, then Darien looked up, silver streaks covering his face and neck. "You okay now?"
"Thanks Bobby." Darien affirmed, nodding his head. He stood, walked a few paces to the other bed, turned down the sheets, and crawled in, not bothering to change out of his dingy clothes. He was asleep practically before his head hit the pillow.
"Any time." Hobbes smiled, and turned out the light.
* * *
Darien paced slowly through the cemetary, finding his way to the frightfully all too-familiar place where Kevin was buried. He knelt at first, clutching some of the damp ground in his fists. Then, he fell face first onto the grave, weeping.
"I'm sorry Kevin...it should have been me...it should have been me..." he cried through Quicksilver tears. Suddenly, a warm hand was pressed against his shivering form, on his back. Darien looked up to see the caring, gentle face of Bobby, who was always there to reassure him when he was down.
* * *
Darien awoke from his dream and rolled over in the darkness. He looked in the direction of Bobby and located him by his deep, rhythmic breathing. Darien quicksilvered his eyes and saw Hobbes' form strung out on the bed as if he had fallen asleep watching Darien dream. Fawkes blinked off the quicksilver and rose from bed quietly. He gently placed Bobby's body under the sheets and covered him. He went back to bed, and lay his weary head on the pillow.
"Thanks Bobby." Darien whispered, smiling to himself.
--End
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