A/N: Well...nothing special to say here. This is a request from a close friend. The pairing...um...is not my best favourite but I just happen to have the inspiration for this! So yeah, hope you enjoy xD

Disclaimer: I don't own HTF. All the characters in this story belong to Mondo Media.

01

The heist didn't go as planned.

He should have envisioned that.

He should have foreseen the mishap.

And yet, he did nothing to prevent it.

He realized he was merely a disposable tool, to be kept a company of his twin, to be abandoned at some point when the first sight of peril emerged.

As usual, he was forsaken, taken granted of and thrust aside as if his entire existence was only to serve his brother's greed.

It was perfectly fine though. For Lifty, being betrayed by his brother was just a mundane affair. It shouldn't have flustered him that much. He wasn't irritated either. If one could predict their doom long ago, they would simply confront the predicament like it was an unavoidable routine.

What went out of his expectation was the abject trap he was inadvertently cast into.

Clumsy, inept, burdensome, he was ditched by Shifty in a flash when the soldier, also the owner of the house they ransacked, interrupted their robbery. The sergeant came prepared, with a handgun. He was shoved forward by his brother like a shield, absorbing the agonizing pain for him. It was his duty as a devoted younger twin, as a guileless lackey. He was meant to be exploited, or so he was told. He couldn't resist. He wouldn't defy Shifty's whims. Because he was supposed to suffer and perish in his place. His pure life was to be sacrificed to safeguard that of the other boy. He had always been convinced that way.

He watched Shifty slung the sack over his shoulder and leap out of the window, leaving the wounded him lying in a puddle of blood, groaning painfully as his captor loomed closer.

The soldier was slightly bewildered, as if he didn't think the older brother would actually double-cross Lifty without even dithering for a second. The younger boy used as an object to distract the enemy's attention somewhat resembled a strategy of ambush in the battlefield.

The boy, willing to die for his brother, would be a gallant soldier willing to die for his nation.

The soldier was deeply impressed, to a point he decided to fool around with his unfortunate prey for a while. He flipped the writhing boy over. A growl escaped Lifty's mouth as he clamped his hand over his shot waist. The blood was squirting out incessantly. Soon, his consciousness would ebb away, alongside his life.

"It's you again." The soldier mused with a frown. He had seen the boy before. In fact, he had met him several times, in the town, in his house. The twins had burgled his house once but failed miserably. They never learned their lessons though. They were, like two wild unrestrained animals, never recognizing the ultimate limit to their misdeeds. Their downfall was always self-explanatory. Their lack of collaboration, inadequate mutual trust and their immense greed always plunged them in irreversible state of adversity.

"Hah…Hm…" The injured boy squirmed in the crimson pool, stealthily reaching into his pocket for a hand knife. He aimed at the soldier's leg but was stomped violently on the chest. He lay back down and moaned, his eyes drenched in aching tears.

"P-Please…don't kill…me." And if retaliation was impossible, he could only beseech for mercy. He didn't want to die. Not when his brother was alive.

It wasn't fair.

Life never is.

The soldier smirked. For some reason, he found the current feeble boy exceptionally enticing. The melancholy in his shimmering tears, the gorgeous, heart-wrenching groan buried deep in his throat, the futile defense and struggle, altogether made him so vulnerable, so intoxicating. And must he admit, he relished his suffrage very much.

Fair skin. A meager body hidden in the oversized clothes. A pair of strikingly emerald eyes. Lips of cherry colour that reminded him of the scrumptious taste of blood.

He wanted to punish him for messing his house, for stealing his valuable antique collection. He wanted him to pay for his crime. He wanted to make him suffer.

It was all something to do with a predator laying his eyes on a unique prey. Encountering such a refined, stunning prey was a rare opportunity. Certainly, he wasn't going to let it go.

He had made up his mind.

He would have him to fill the emptiness of his heart, to suture the places of his solitude.

"W-What…What…are you d-doing?" Lifty gasped, his eyes clenched reflexively at the contact of their skin. "S-Stop…Stop it, Flippy! Please…don't…don't hurt me…I'm sorry…Please…"

"I'm not killing you." Flippy replied calmly, gingerly sucking on the other boy's pale, smooth skin. The blood in his opinion was more luscious than he thought, just like the boy himself.

"D-Don't touch me…you…stop it…"

Something was going astray and he knew it.

He just didn't have the sufficient strength to stop it.

Lifty wiggled beneath the soldier's firm grasp. He was yanked up and savored on the lips. The terror finally reached his heart and he squealed. He flailed his hands deliriously, only to have his palms pinned on the ground with two sharp daggers. He wailed as the pain engulfed him. More blood oozed out of his wound.

"No! S-Stop! Don't…What're you…What do you…want?"

"What I want," The soldier stared at the agitated boy with a grin. "is something delicious."

The boy's mind went blank at once. His eyes glared back hollowly at Flippy as if he couldn't find the appropriate way to respond. He heard something, something disturbing. It was the sound of his clothes being ripped apart, the fibre being shattered into pieces. It was the sound of his belt being unbuckled, his pants being tugged down to his feet. It was the sound of slurping as his blood was guzzled down aggressively.

What on earth is happening?!

"P….P….Pervert…" He screeched.

"Since violence couldn't really deter you from stealing at my house, perhaps this would." The soldier smiled, revealing his glittering canines as he bit the boy in the neck harshly.

"AH!"

The pain was sharp.

It penetrated his heart right away.

It muddled his mind.

He felt the essence of life being lifted off him. And yet, he hadn't died yet.

He would prefer to be slaughtered than to be ravished. He thought of many, many things. Many, many possibilities. Maybe if he hadn't agreed to tag along with his brother, maybe if he had been more cautious during their heist, maybe if Shifty hadn't ditched him midway through their discovered robbery, maybe…

Maybe if they had never picked his house, he would never end up in such torment.

He felt the soldier pant in anticipation. He felt him forcing his way into his body. The pain intensified with the compelling intrusion. His moans soon blended with the slapping of their hips. He couldn't move at all. He couldn't squawk. He could only gaze ahead, at the swirling ceiling, at the sinister, cunning expression, at his own blood down at the bottom of his body. It was nauseous. Unsightly. Repulsive. He wished he could evade the scene. It was one thing to be caught red-handed, another thing to be held captive, the worst thing was to be penalized in the most humiliating manner.

He found his body unwillingly complying with the coercion. The rigid movement was stirring up a whirl of unspeakable pleasure within him. The pain was quelled by the sensation of his own arousal and his desperate search for release. The soldier wrapped one of his hands roughly around his length, causing him to whine.

It took him forever to endure the ghastly ordeal. He was ravaged over and over again.

Until his body eventually broke down in exhaustion, in unbearable pain.

His insides were melting. His blood kept dripping to the floor. His tears kept trickling down his face.

For once, he understood what it meant to be in the hell.

02

He awoke to the searing pain. His body ached in every joint.

Darkness enveloped him. He couldn't recall a thing at all. Only vague remnants of lost memories.

Shifty's face flashed across his mind. This dark cell he was caged in resembled their attic. He wondered if he was locked up by his slovenly, despicable brother again.

"S-Shifty…?"

Lifty reached out his hands into the chilling dark, startled by the additional weight on his wrists. The chains rattled as he moved his limbs. And flashbacks began to swarm in his head.

And so he remembered. He was still being held a hostage.

The door creaked open. The light filtered in through the gap. It blinded his eyes so much that he had to flinch. A click of the switch brought immediate illumination to the gigantic room. The soldier trod forward and stopped in front of Lifty, who cringed instinctively in one corner.

"I see, you're awake." Flippy smiled.

"W-What…is this?" Lifty widened his eyes incredulously and gawked at the chains attached to his limbs.

"How are you feeling, Lifty? You've lost quite a lot of blood."

"What? Wait, you're…you're Flippy…right?" The boy gasped fretfully and slouched against the wall. "Not…Not Fliqpy? Not that split…split personality, right? You're…in your normal self?"

"I've always been normal, Lifty." Flippy grinned mirthfully and crouched in front of the trembling boy. "I took out the bullet and bandaged your wounds."

"Hm…um…w-why…why are you…chaining…me up?" Lifty stuttered.

"Because if I don't do so, you'll run away."

"H-Huh?"

"I've grown extremely fond of you, Lifty." Flippy admitted frankly, cupping the other boy's cheeks. "I'll forgive you for ransacking my house. You have to stay here with me though."

"What?" Lifty gulped, petrified. "No…this…this is…ridiculous! Let me go! Please, I beg you. Don't do this to me. Please-"

"You're going to stay here with me." The soldier reiterated, wrapping his fingers around the boy's neck. "You heard that?"

Intimidated by the thought of being strangled, Lifty hushed and didn't say more. He gazed down at the ground as two streams of tears rolled down his face.

"Why are you crying?" The soldier interrogated.

"Are you…going to kill me one day?" The thief asked in despair.

"It depends."

"Why don't you kill me now? Just do it. If you're going to take your revenge on me, do as you please…" Lifty urged as if he had long been accustomed to death. He truly was.

"I do not kill someone I'm interested in."

"It's disgusting."

"Is it?" The soldier laughed, clasping the boy's chin in amusement. "Well then, you've got to learn to enjoy it."

"Bastard."

"I take offense in that." The soldier smirked and slapped the boy.

"The rumors…are true then…" Lifty wheezed, his check swollen from the brutal attack. "You're out of your mind. You sickening psycho."

"Let me be honest with you, young boy." Flippy smiled and lifted the boy's face. "My mind is delicate. I'm susceptible to insults and disobedience. I guarantee you, no one has ever messed with me before. Those who have attempted to do that never once escaped from my grip. You're different and you'd better keep me interested. Don't even think about fleeing here because you will never step out of this room again. Is that clear?"

"You might as well shoot me. I don't want to be abducted by someone like you!"

"Don't speak to me like that." The soldier grasped the boy by his hair and crushed his head against the concrete wall.

Lifty cried, feeling as if his skull had fractured upon the tremendous shock.

"Answer again." Flippy ordered. "Have I made my point clear to you?"

"Erm…."

"I can't hear you." The boy was hoisted up by the collar and tossed back onto the floor. The chains let out a thunderous cracking sound.

"Y-Yes…" Lifty coughed up some blood and replied.

"See, that's the correct answer." The war veteran said, kneeling down to caress the wounded boy. "Why couldn't you say it from the beginning? Don't piss me off. I don't want to use unnecessary violence on you."

"You're…really…insane…" Lifty muttered, his eyes brimming with tears.

Why had things become so distorted? How was he to escape now?

How had he gotten himself involved with such a menacing being?

"You sure are a rebellious one."

03

He had a dream.

He dreamed of being rescued.

He dreamed of returning to his brother's side.

He dreamed of the future, the possibilities, the chances.

Every now and then, he found himself drifting off, often caught up in a haze.

As Flippy had said, he started to learn how to bask in the torture and the pain.

It was intolerable at first.

But now, nothing seemed to matter.

He got used to the soldier's violation. He got used to his insatiable desires. He got used to his fondling, to his embrace, to his body.

He wouldn't repel anymore because he couldn't. And he knew it was pointless.

Instead of praying for it to be over, he became increasingly infatuated with it. Flippy could be magnanimous at times. He spared him a lot. The boy had acquired the way to please his captor. As long as he serviced him right and behaved gratefully, he would survive without a trace of wound.

When they had sex, he would indulge in the pleasure instead of lingering in the pain. Sometimes, he would mistake the man above him for his own brother. But he was different. Flippy was just different.

His brother was a ruthless oppressor. He enjoyed tearing Lifty apart and showing him just who was more superior. He usually rammed into him with force and recklessness. He never once heeded the younger boy's cries.

The soldier was a manipulative tyrant. He enjoyed devouring his possession bit by bit, often in the most passionate way. He cherished his toy but at the same time loved to monopolize him. He would spend days and nights making Lifty moan from dawn to dusk, until the younger boy finally succumbed to fatigue, until he finally submitted to his control, to his twisted affection.

"I…I…ah…please…s-stop…I…I can't take it…any…longer…" Lifty panted, clinging to the soldier weakly. He felt his energy draining. The session was too demanding. He couldn't…persist anymore. The pleasure and the pain were expanding in his body, bombarding his every nerve. The soldier slowed down a bit but continued to thrust into him. He bent down to plant a kiss on Lifty as an appeasement. The boy groaned and shut his eyes in exhaustion.

How long had they been doing it, he had no clue.

He had lost track of time. In fact, he couldn't calculate the number of days he had been locked up in this room.

The windowless room was enormous and luxurious, to an extent that it was equipped with a bathroom. It couldn't have been situated in the basement. There was a bed for him to rest on, a closet full of clothes, a table to dine at, a couch, a television and a couple of shelves with books to kill his boredom when he was left alone.

Simple but thoughtful.

"F-Flippy..." The boy moaned, loosening his grip around the sergeant's shoulders. He fell back on the mattress drowsily, his body quivering in orgasm. He was going to faint.

"We'll stop here today." Flippy mumbled and shot his last blow into the younger boy's rear, filling his body with so many of his seeds.

Lifty nodded and breathed in relief, his lids half dropping.

"T-Thank…you….." The boy muttered as he had been trained to show gratitude towards mercy.

He had also been trained to accept the soldier's love, to pleasure him, to obey him and to cry out his name whenever he climaxed.

He wouldn't mind doing all sorts of things if it meant to keep him alive and away from pain.

If it meant for him to be treasured and loved despite the basis for their relationship being simple enslavement and coercion.

"You've become more submissive than before, Lifty, which makes me really glad." Flippy praised and kissed the boy tenderly on the head.

"You…you taught me….to always…listen to you…" The thief said.

"That's right. You only have to listen to me and stay here forever."

"F-Forever…" Lifty pondered, blinking giddily at the soldier with a faint smile. "is a very…long time."

"Correct. It's a very long time." Flippy repeated.

"Shifty also said I ought to listen to him and be with him forever…" Lifty babbled. "I wonder…"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it." Flippy snapped. "Don't even mention your brother in front of me again! Get it? You only have to talk about me."

"O-Okay…" Lifty sealed his lips subserviently in fear of getting whacked.

"Good boy." The soldier grinned and held the boy in his hands. "You don't have to think about anything else. From now on, you're mine, Lifty. You belong to no one else, not that impudent brother of yours. He doesn't even care about you, does he? He always uses you as his shield. He betrays you. He dumps you and hands you into someone else. He sacrifices your life for his."

"Uh…you…you're right." Lifty wept, nestling helplessly against the soldier.

"He never loves you. You've been fooled, Lifty. It's never worthwhile to die for someone like him. He always takes all your loot, remember? He often kicks you out of your house, right? Don't think I don't know it. I've always been watching you guys. He blames you for everything that doesn't work out. He feeds on your inferiority and gets the pride out of it. He condemns you and coaxes you into believing that your devotion for him is obligatory."

"But…he's still…my…brother." Lifty sobbed.

"He doesn't love you. He never has and never will."

"He will…come for me."

"No! He won't!" The soldier yelped. "You'll stay here, Lifty. Forever."

"Forever…"

"That's right. Forever." Flippy asserted and squeezed the body tightly in his arms.

"You'll never leave my side."

"Never…"

"Yes, never."

The idea of eternity was intimidating. And yet, so very oddly, Lifty couldn't retort. He couldn't object to Flippy's unreasonable request.

There was something depressing about the soldier he couldn't fathom.

And maybe he never could.

By the time the night closed in, the boy dozed off completely in the soldier's arms.

04

He found the soldier's diary.

It was on one of the book shelves in his room. Flippy was probably oblivious to it. He might have even forgotten all about it.

Lifty's puzzle was somehow solved.

And now he realized from where the soldier's lunacy stemmed. It was something to do with the trauma he got from the war. A psychological disorder. A cureless disease. A dissociative identity issue.

That did explain a number of things, especially the co-existence of Flippy's gentleness and cruelty.

He wondered if he could make use of the fact that the soldier possessed a split personality to flee the house.

Maybe he could touch upon Flippy's soft side? Upon his less devilish half?

Maybe not.

"I brought you lunch." The soldier smiled as he strutted into the room with a tray full of food. Lifty got up from the couch and lumbered towards the table, settling down silently like a kid ready to be fed.

"You look energetic today." Flippy remarked. "Thank goodness. Thought I was too forceful last night."

"You…You…are always so…vigorous." The boy blushed and took a sip of the water.

"Really? I did try to be gentle but you were too alluring." The soldier giggled and sat down across the chained boy.

"F-Flippy…" The boy spluttered, fidgeting with his hands anxiously.

"Yes?"

"Um…er…can…can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why…er…why do you lock me up…"

The soldier didn't reply but retained the smile.

"I mean...well…actually…I…"

"You want to go out?" Flippy scowled. "You want to meet your brother? You want to leave me?"

"No, not that…I…I wouldn't dare leave you…" Lifty whispered. "Just…why…am I chained up…at least…free…free my limbs…I won't ask any more than that. Just…I feel really uncomfortable in these…"

"The chains?"

"Yes…if you're going to lock the room every time you leave…you don't really have to cuff me because I won't be able to escape."

"You have a point. I was too determined."

The soldier got up and paced towards Lifty. He took out a ring of keys and uncuffed Lifty.

"Feeling better now?"

"Y-Yes…" The boy nodded. "Tha-Thanks…"

"Just so you know, I'll do anything for you as long as you don't leave me." The soldier confessed and hugged the boy tightly.

"W-Why…me?" Lifty murmured in confusion.

"Because you're beautiful. You've me mesmerized. The first time I met you, I couldn't get you out of my head. The second time you burgled my house, I knew I had to make a move. I couldn't let you go away. I have to keep you in my cage forever."

It was the first time Lifty had heard something so sincere and bold. He wasn't going to comment on the soldier's morbid affection towards him.

It made his heart slump a bit just to hear those words pouring out of his mouth, in such a gloomy, bleak tone.

No one had ever considered him beautiful as Flippy did.

No one had ever considered him mesmerizing.

He was just a notorious thief, always a fugitive, an orphan boy who chose the wrong path in his life, a contemptible, unpardonable lowlife everybody in the town despised. Even his own brother viewed him as a nuisance, especially when he blundered in their heist.

Why would someone like him attract a person?

No matter how tattered and pessimistic Flippy was, it was impossible for him to feel for a person as sordid and insignificant as him.

It was absurd.

It was just outlandish.

Maybe he was going berserk.

Maybe he was losing his own mind.

He had been caged for too long, his wings ripped, his feathers burned into ashes.

The route to freedom had long disappeared. His soul was trapped forever in this place.

He used to loathe him very much.

But when he thought of his own brother, Lifty couldn't really say he loved him either. Compared to Shifty, Flippy never betrayed him.

At least, he was less heinous than a man who kept abusing him and watching proudly as he descended into the abyss.

"I'm so hopeless." The boy whispered so quietly that it almost came out as a breath instead.

"Lifty, let me touch you."

After his meal, they had sex again on the floor. It was only during sex that Lifty could forget all about time. It might have been months since he was imprisoned here. It might have even been years. He didn't know.

Someone did come for him, he thought.

But Flippy always managed to tackle them.

And he would always return to the room afterwards stating that no one would ever discover Lifty's whereabouts because he would have him concealed very carefully.

Lifty wouldn't feel crestfallen anymore because he had forgotten how.

The light of salvation was growing dimmer and dimmer but he didn't mind.

It was actually a very daunting matter that he had grown accustomed to being caged.

He had forgotten how to yell for help, how to break free from the invisible threads around him, how to seek redemption.

He had forfeited the craving for money. He had forgotten how to feel greedy and ambitious, to act mischievous and boorish.

Maybe he would never get out.

Maybe he never wanted to get out.

Maybe he would never see the light of the sun again.

Maybe he never wanted to see the moon again.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

He was okay with being caged and dominated.

"A-Ah…Ah…ah….ah…F-Flippy…F-Flippy…d-deeper…" The boy moaned sheepishly, burying his face in the soldier's chest.

"You've learned to moan so graciously, Lifty." Flippy chuckled and nibbled the boy's neck.

"F-Flippy…"

The soldier surged his hips forward, thrusting in and out of the boy in rhythm, penetrating him deeper as he had desired.

"You're tight. You feel so warm, so hot, so amazing, Lifty." The soldier complimented and kissed the boy thoroughly on the chest, occasionally teasing him by trekking his sensitive nipples.

"Ah…ah…." The boy flung his head backwards and groaned bashfully upon being pricked at the ears. The soldier hooked his slender legs over his shoulder and bumped all the way into Lifty, causing him to shriek in ecstasy.

"You're so adorable, Lifty, even more so than any chicks in the town."

The boy wasn't sure how to react to the flattery.

Even when Shifty fucked him, he never uttered those stimulating words. Not even once. Instead, his brother would keep grumbling and cussing as he violated him to pursue his own satisfaction. He wouldn't even care if Lifty couldn't obtain his own pleasure at all. There were times the boy couldn't climax due to his twin's callousness and nonchalance.

Tears dribbled down his face soundlessly.

Did he miss Shifty?

Did he miss anything from the outside world?

Well, did he?

Lifty couldn't think straight anymore.

He had no one to depend on, except Shifty. And his brother only treated him as a burden, a sex slave to fend his frustration, a servant to assist him in the heist.

There was no one else in the world he could turn to, even if he was to be released from this cell.

No one loved him.

No one valued him.

He was alone. He had always been alone.

Perhaps it was why he had lost the will to struggle and fight against Flippy long ago.

He would rather be pinned down and destroyed.

Flippy, nonetheless, didn't destroy him.

He kept him, as his pet, as his exclusive lover, as his precious slave.

What difference would it make if he was to flee? Life on the other side of the wall was never better. He seldom succeeded in stealing. On top of being arrested and hunted down regularly by the cops, he had to live in that grisly apartment he shared with Shifty and spent the rest of his life wandering in poverty.

"Lifty…" The soldier halted. He frowned at the boy apprehensively. He was crying. Not in pain. But in grief.

What have I done? Flippy suddenly wondered to himself.

He loved Lifty. Yes, he did. He was tempted by him. His initial purpose was to wreck his life and deliver retribution to his crime personally. And then, he was struck by his beauty. He was glued to him like a magnet. He wanted him. He yearned for him. He incarcerated him and made him his possession.

He wasn't entirely hysterical. He still had his sanity buried somewhere in his mind. When he saw Lifty whimper, Flippy realized what he had done was completely unforgivable. He was even more ominous than the twins.

"F-Flippy? Why…did you stop?" Lifty asked curiously.

The soldier pulled out of the boy with a growl and kissed his tears.

"We'll stop for now. I'm sorry." Flippy cooed.

"I'm not hurt."

"I know." The soldier smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry."

05

The soldier never laid his hands on him again.

He would still visit him days and nights, feed him, shower him. He would chat with him, read with him, give him snacks and lull him to sleep.

But he just wouldn't touch him again.

Lifty couldn't help thinking that Flippy had lost his interest in him.

And if he had, wasn't he supposed to kill him like he said in the first place?

"I brought you a cake, Lifty." The soldier smiled as he placed the plate on the table. "You told me you like pastries."

"Yes…" The boy nodded and stared glumly at the cake.

"What's it? You don't like cheese?"

"No, it's not that." Lifty flopped down on the chair and picked up the fork. "Thank…thank you…for…the treat."

"No problem." The soldier grinned and sat next to the boy.

"F-Flippy…why…why are you doing this?" The boy finally mustered the courage to ask.

"Why?"

"I mean…didn't you loathe me at the beginning? For stealing your stuff. You…wanted to shoot me and my brother…You wanted to torture us. But then…you said you love me. You keep me here and give me food and…well, I thought I'm just your sex slave."

"I never see you as my sex slave." Flippy said bluntly. "How difficult do you think it is…for someone like me to get what I really want? How am I supposed to make you love me without keeping you here and training you to harbour that sort of feelings for me? Once I let you run away, you will never come back. And I don't want that to happen. That's why you're here. I feel vexed whenever you speak about someone else, especially Shifty. I never…well, I apologize for hitting you before. I just…couldn't control my temper. I love you. But I know you probably hate me to death. Still, I want you here with me. At least, I can have you physically even if not mentally…"

"No one has ever loved me," Lifty muttered indifferently. "not in any way."

"Lifty, do you hate me? Even now?"

"I…don't know." The boy answered.

"Are you afraid that I'll get angry with the answer? Just tell me the truth."

"I really…don't know." Lifty ogled the soldier in perplexity.

Flippy sighed.

"We'll talk again tomorrow. Go to sleep."

The question rendered him restless. He couldn't comprehend why his heart ached whenever the question was replayed in his head like a tape. Over and over again.

Did he actually hate him?

Did he love him?

The former one sounded untrue.

The latter one sounded outrageous.

There was no way he would fall for someone who once abused him, though he couldn't deny Flippy had been gentle to him at times.

He couldn't bring himself to detest him wholly either.

The sole person he had ever loved in this world was Shifty.

But he…discarded his love so effortlessly and even exploited it for his own advantages.

Every time he felt that he could trust him, his brother came back deceiving him and breaking his heart. He wallowed in upsetting Lifty, in toying with his fragile soul.

He had never been able to leave Shifty, in spite of his maltreatment.

And now, he was snatched away by another man who claimed to love him but locked him up for his own gratification.

Whom was he to trust?

What was he to do?

He had seen Flippy bearing those forlorn expressions before. It was an expression of getting lost in time and space. An expression of loneliness. Of craving. Of desolation. The soldier was just as lonely as him.

And perhaps it was the reason why he had chosen him.

He had said that he had been watching him.

He must have observed the dynamics between the twins and realized Lifty's place in his brother's heart. Knowing he was as loveless as him, he decided to keep him and force him to love him in return.

Aging was never a matter.

Solitude was.

06

One morning, the soldier came in with a disconcerted expression. He strode to the bedside and woke the slumbering boy with a chaste kiss on his forehead.

"Lifty…" The voice was tender and doleful.

The boy blinked his eyes groggily and stared quizzically at the soldier hovering above him. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes.

"There's someone at the door asking for you."

Lifty gasped. "What?"

"It's him. Your brother." Flippy said apathetically.

"Oh…" The boy only tilted his head impassively, not even showing the slightest bit of reaction.

"Do you want to see him?"

"Okay." Lifty's brows furrowed. "Can I?"

"Yes, you may." The soldier said, much to Lifty's astonishment. He leaped out of bed and examined Flippy's face, searching for signs of puns. He looked solemn though.

"Come here." The soldier crooned and took Lifty's hand, gently leading him out of the room he had dwelled in for the past few months. They plodded downstairs and headed towards the front door. The bell kept chiming and whoever outside was banging the door powerfully.

"Open up, you son of a bitch! Release my brother! I know Lifty's in there! You bastard! You kidnapped him!"

"Flippy! Open the door or else I'll have to blast it!" They could hear the town's superhero, Splendid, howl.

Lifty's heart skipped a beat at the commotion outside. The soldier remained unfazed and turned the knob.

"There you are! Damn you! Splendid, this guy abducted Lifty! Arrest him!" Shifty bawled.

"Wait, we'll have to search the house first." Splendid glowered at the soldier. "Flippy, Shifty said that last time he dropped by, you told him that Lifty was staying over at your place on his own accord but you refused to let him see his brother. Do you mind?"

"You don't have to search. He's here." Flippy stood aside and let everyone see the boy standing behind the shadow.

"Lifty! Gosh, what the heck have you done to my brother?!" Shifty hollered and dashed towards the guileless boy, hugging him tightly.

"Flippy, is that true you've been keeping him in your house by force?" Splendid growled.

"It is so! Every time I came here, he said Lifty was staying with him willingly! I don't believe it!" Shifty barked. "I knew something fishy was going on. Lifty would never refuse to see me!"

"Is that the truth, Flippy? You have abducted Lifty and held him hostage?" Splendid interrogated.

The soldier remained speechless. He glimpsed the boy and smiled.

"Lifty, say something! We're here to rescue you! That beast said you did it out of your own will. It isn't true, right? Tell me! Tell everyone else how much this monster has tortured you! We'll have him executed in front of the town! Lifty!"

"Lifty, did Flippy lock you up against your will?" Splendid asked.

Lifty took a peek at the motionless soldier, who stared back at him with an unexpectedly tranquil and dejected expression. He didn't attempt to argue things over, nor to deny anything. He just stared at Lifty, passionately and peacefully as if he had given him the permission to decide everything for himself, whether to turn him in or not.

"No."

Was Lifty's final answer. The word baffled all the other boys gravely. Shifty tumbled backwards and glanced at his brother. "What?"

"Lifty? Did you just say-" Splendid gulped.

"Yes." Lifty nodded. "I agreed to stay with Flippy. He didn't force me or anything."

"But…Lifty! You don't have to lie! Tell me! We're all here to witness! Just say the truth! Did this guy blackmail you or something? He must have threatened you, right? Right?"

"He didn't blackmail me." Lifty said. "I did stay in this place willingly."

"No! It can't be! Lifty, your home….your home isn't here! You're with me, Lifty! I've come back for you, brother! To fetch you home! Lifty, just leave this crazy savage and we'll go back to our old life! I promise you. I won't let you down again! I'm sorry!"

"It's okay…I'm not mad at you, Shifty…" Lifty smiled. "But I've promised Flippy I will never leave him. I have to stay here forever."

"Lifty…" Splendid scowled. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I never knew you and Flippy are in that kind of relationships…"

"That's not true! You're lying, Lifty. The one you want to be with is ME!" Shifty bellowed. "Have you forgotten who your brother is? Have your mind been corrupted by this man? Whatever he's fed you! He must have manipulated you! Damn it. You brat! You don't even know you're being tricked! You've always been emotionally handicapped ever since you were a kid! You're always so prone to influences, to deception, to maneuver! You aren't supposed to stay with this lunatic! He's insane! He's supposed to be in an asylum, NOT HERE! Someday, he's going to kill you!"

"The one who's been killing me repeatedly is you…Shifty." Lifty blurted out.

Shifty hushed and glared at his brother in disbelief.

"You…"

"Well, if it's what you want, Lifty, we can't possibly meddle with your choice." Splendid said contemplatively. "My apology for the misunderstanding. Sorry for intruding you two so abruptly."

"What? Wait! Lifty, I'm giving you one last chance!" Shifty roared. "Is this war veteran really worth severing our ties forever? I'm your brother!"

"Yes, I know."

"Come home with me."

"I can't."

"Fine! Whatever! I don't want a cumbersome jerk like you anyway! Just so you know, don't come back pleading to me in the future! I won't shelter you again! You ungrateful, perfidious piece of scum!" Shifty snarled and tramped out of the house, dragging the hero with him in exasperation.

The door was left hanging by its hinge.

The soldier was silent.

So was the boy.

Everything was over.

Over.

Lifty watched the glistening sunlight creep into the house.

It was the first time since his imprisonment he saw the glimmering light again.

It gleamed so brightly and so beautifully.

The door opened a pathway for the freedom he had been deprived of for so long.

And yet, he couldn't step out of it.

He couldn't step out of this cage.

"Why…did you…lie to them?" The soldier asked, mystified as anyone in his place would be.

"Maybe…" The boy slowly raised his head and looked into those sparkling orbs. It was the first time he ever spotted Flippy's tears. "Just maybe…I don't hate you."

"You should have run away when you could."

"I know."

"Then, why? Why didn't you do so?"

The boy shrugged and trudged towards the soldier. Serenely, he leaned against him as tears filled his own eyes.

"I don't know."