Tseng lay on his back and stared at the bright expanse of sky above him, hoping that the other boys would forget that he was there. He knew it was a pathetic wish, but he hoped that if he stayed still long enough they would tire of kicking him in the ribs and punching him in the gut. All of their blows landed between the belt and the neck and landed no where that would be noticed by anyone but him, his ragged breathing the only visible sign that he was in pain. He gave an inaudible sigh of relief as the boys walked away, upset at his lack of response. He hadn't let out so much as a pained grunt the entire time they were pummeling him and he was proud of himself for it. If he pretended hard enough he could convince himself that his stomach didn't hurt and he could sit up. He winced and gurgled slightly as he pushed himself into a sitting position, pained hisses brushing out of his lips. He was used to the pain, had grown to tolerate the abuse, and had learned to stay quiet. Silence was probably the only thing that kept him alive, if he said what he wanted to say to his attackers he would most likely be bleeding to death in an alley instead of purpling with unseen bruises in front of his school.

Once Tseng finally managed to stand he noticed for the first time that the crowd that usually watched his beatings and then dispersed had not scattered completely yet. He tucked his head down and slung his bag over his bruised shoulders and rushed as fast as he could into the school, afraid to acknowledge the bright blue eyes studying him. He had learned early on in his life that making eye contact was forbidden for him. Everyone else could have meaningful conversations, stare at others, exchange secret glances, everyone except for him. The last time he had made direct eye contact with someone he had been hurt for it, it was part of the reason why he was now gasping slightly as he rushed down the hall to his first class. He was still being punished for his bad habit of absentminded staring, a habit he had broken years ago. It didn't surprise him, he was a publicly hated target who was easily beaten to a bloody pulp without any consequences. He was so used to the beatings and bruises that he didn't realize how unhealthy it was to have a tan line made of swelling black lumps.

He sat quietly in his classes. Always in the back, always quiet, always attentive to the teacher and nothing else for fear of accidentally incurring the wrath of new tormentors. He absorbed every word his instructors spoke as if he were a sponge and their words water. His intelligence was part of the reason he was ostracized and hunted down for use as a human punching bag. He wasn't sure what his attackers were trying to beat into him and he was somewhat convinced that they might be trying to beat something out of him instead. He just wished he knew what it was so that he could get rid of it himself and be left alone.

He groaned in exasperation as he listened to his final lecture of the day, the first noise he had made since the pained gasps earlier that morning. His instructor was forcing a group project upon them all and partners were to be picked by the students. Tseng quickly counted through his classmates, hoping that there wouldn't be enough partners and that he could be the odd wheel allowed to do the project on his own, but the numbers were even and chances of him being a last minute partner were high. He sat quietly at his empty table, waiting for the unlucky soul that didn't have enough friends to approach him and resentfully become his partner. It wasn't long before he heard a pronounced cough to his left and he had to look up out of courtesy, hoping that he hadn't been forced into the company of one of his demons.

Brown eyes met blue-green as a red-haired beauty stared down at him. "Need a partner yo?" Tseng nodded and quickly dropped his eyes to avoid contact. The boy sat down and stuck out his hand. "Name's Reno, you're Tseng right?" Again Tseng nodded mechanically, ignoring the proffered hand. The red-head chuckled and stuck his hand into his backpack, pulling out pencils and paper. "Listen yo, it's not like I'm gonna bite ya alright? Just relax a little bit." Tseng gave a very quiet disbelieving snort in response. He wasn't one to drop his guard, caution itself had been used as a weapon against him. There was no way that he was going to even consider relaxing around this complete stranger. Reno chuckled. "So you're the strong silent type eh? I think I can make that work." Reno received a raised eyebrow in response and he laughed at the puzzled expression crossing Tseng's features. "So do you wanna go to my place after school to work on this?"

Tseng chewed his lower lip in thought, mulling the idea over. He knew what the consequences would be if he didn't go home right after school, but he knew what would inevitably happen if he went home at all. Not all of his bruises were gifts from his fellow classmates. "Alright."

"So you can talk!" Reno sniggered in mock surprise. "Here I was thinkin' ya might be a mute."

Tseng snorted and gathered his books together as the bell rang, regretting the fact that he had missed the final half of the lecture because of his chattering table partner. He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder with a wince as it bumped against his bruised back. He then waited patiently as Reno did the same and followed as Reno led him out of the school and across the campus lawn, nodding and waving to people on all sides. Tseng didn't fail to notice the strange looks the boisterous red-head was getting and he knew they were because he was within talking distance of the boy. Most of the people watching Reno wave at them with confused looks didn't fail to notice Tseng's presence. A good number of them seemed shocked by the instance as it was unheard of for Tseng to willingly get within arms length of anyone.

Tseng followed silently as Reno chattered about his plans for their project and fell on his face as he was tackled from behind. Tseng immediately rolled to his feet and started to run but was caught by the scruff of the neck and thrown back to the ground. He closed his eyes and threw his hands in front of his face in an attempt to block the inevitable blows.

He gave a gasp of surprise when none came and opened shocked eyes to see his tormentor whimpering in the hands of Reno. The red-head had twisted the bully's arm behind his back and wrapped a thin arm around a beefy neck. Reno was panting as he struggled to keep his hold on the thrashing demon that had happily beat Tseng just that morning. Tseng sat on the ground in a state of shock and awe as the lanky red-head managed to keep his grip on the far stronger boy in his hands.

Reno growled menacingly. "What the hell's the big idea ya fat prick?"

The fat prick gasped for air and managed to choke out a response. "He was followin' ya."

Reno rolled his eyes and squeezed tighter on the boys windpipe, smirking as he received a squeak for his efforts. "You leave him the fuck alone ya understand? He's with me and I'm not gonna stand by and watch fucks like you wail on him." He gave another hard squeeze as he spoke, the fuck turning purple under the carefully applied pressure. "Ya don't touch him again unless ya want my foot up your ass, got it?" The bully nodded as best as he could and Reno threw the large boy from him, disgusted. "Get the fuck outta my sight." The bully didn't need telling twice and ran from the scene as fast as his legs would carry him.

Reno brushed off the front of his shirt with an aggravated growl. "My ma is gonna kill me for lettin' him rip this."

Tseng's lower jaw was hanging somewhere around his feet as he stared from his position on the ground. It took him awhile to re-hinge it enough to regain speaking capabilities. "You stopped him."

Reno snorted and rolled his eyes, extending a hand down to Tseng. "What the hell was I supposed to do? Watch him wail on you again? I would have stopped him and those other guys this morning but I didn't make it to school on time so I only saw the tail end of the fight."

Tseng reached a stunned hand up to grasp the one dangling in front of his face and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. He ignored the aggravated throbs that racked his swollen body all hours of the day and night and continued to stare at Reno in disbelief. "Why?"

"Woke up late." Reno shrugged and resumed his walk off of school grounds like nothing had happened.

To Tseng it felt like his entire world had been flipped on its axis. "Why didn't you just let him hurt me? You owe me nothing."

Reno stopped in his tracks and turned to face Tseng, hands on his hips. "You think everyone who does something good in this world does it because they owe someone? That's not how I work and if no one's ever done anything for you before then everyone else needs to get their ass kicked. Listen kid, I'm new around here but there's not an ice cubes chance in hell that I'm gonna sit back and watch you get the shit kicked outta ya, alright?"

Tseng blinked and stared at Reno like he had come from another planet. "They'll go after you too now."

Reno laughed aloud and continued walking. "I can take care of myself Tseng, didn't you see how purple he got?"

Tseng couldn't help but laugh, something he hadn't done in as long as he could remember. He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth with a small. "Sorry."

Reno gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. "Jeez somebody did a number on you didn't they? Ya don't need ta apologize for laughing, who the hell doesn't laugh?"

Tseng looked down and tugged on the corner of his tattered shirt. "I don't remember the last time I laughed."

"For real? Shit yo I laugh all the time! Don't worry, I'll have you laughing your ass off in no time once you get that stick outta your ass and relax a little bit." Reno stuffed his hands in his pockets with a smug smile.

Tseng weakly smiled back, unsure of how to respond. He cleared his throat and gestured to the small tear in the front of Reno's shirt. "I can sew that up for you if you want."

"No shit? I didn't know anybody but moms knew how to sew anymore." Reno laughed and examined the rip with his fingers. "Sure, you can fix it if ya want to. How did ya learn ta sew anyways?"

Tseng shrugged. "I had to learn or else I wouldn't have any clothes."

Reno frowned and looked Tseng over from head to toe, noticing the miniscule paths of thin stitches that made designs on the boys shirt. He knew those wandering and seemingly random lines of sewn together fabric were testament to how often the boy got beat up and felt injustice stab at his skull. "How often do they wail on you Tseng?" Tseng didn't respond and Reno bit off a growl. "Don't you worry buddy I'll protect ya alright? Hell, I'll teach ya how ta protect yerself." He turned into a driveway and skipped up to the door of a small brick house, fishing keys out of his pocket as he went. He unlocked the door and ushered Tseng inside before closing it behind them with a loud yell. "I'm home ma! Brought a friend!"

Reno's mother poked her head around the corner and gave them a cheery smile. "Hi Reno. You boys want some snacks?"

Reno eagerly kicked his shoes off and dumped his bag onto the floor, gesturing for Tseng to do the same. "Heck yes we do!"

Reno's mother suddenly frowned. "What happened to your shirt Reno?"

Hands were quickly pressed over the small rip that suddenly seemed a hundred feet long as Reno gave a hurried answer. "Nothin!"

A loud sigh erupted from the throat of Reno's mother as she waved a spatula in Reno's direction. "Reno Sinclair did you get in another fight?"

Reno gave a whine and jerked his thumb in Tseng's direction. "Ma the jerk was trying to pummel Tseng! I wasn't gonna just stand there and watch!"

Mrs. Sinclair looked over and noticed Tseng standing behind Reno, trying desperately to blend into the wall and escape her motherly gaze. She smiled at him and he shrunk back a little more. "Nice to meet you Tseng." She turned back to Reno and continued her lecture. "Can't you go one day without gettin' yourself into a fight? It was your first day of school and that was a brand new shirt!"

"Tseng can fix it ma! He knows how ta sew!" Reno looked to Tseng for support and Tseng quickly nodded to affirm what Reno had said. Reno beamed back at his mother. "See ma? It can be fixed! It's not even a big one!"

Reno's mother gave him a piercing stare before beckoning them into the kitchen with a laugh. "Reno you could talk your way out of a locked box."

Reno grinned and dragged Tseng behind him as he ran towards the kitchen. "Why am I in a box ma?"

"Because I said so." Mrs. Sinclair rolled her eyes and handed each of them a small stack of the warm, gooey cookies she had just pulled from the oven. She smiled as Reno immediately stuffed a cookie in his mouth and gave an appreciative hum. "Don't get crumbs all over your room all right? I don't want to cart the vacuum up there and I know you won't do it unless I beat the snot out of ya so keep the cookies in your mouths all right boys?"

Reno gave what sounded like a very muffled 'yes ma'am' before giving his mother a very crumb-filed peck on the cheek and dragging Tseng up the stairs towards his bedroom. He plopped himself on the plush blue carpet that covered his floor and crammed another cookie into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before speaking. "My ma makes the best cookies in the world! Try one!"

Tseng took one of the cookies from his pile and nibbled the edge of it before giving a happy groan and taking a real bite. He chewed and examined the cookie with a large smile. "I haven't had cookies since I was little." He was careful to keep any and all crumbs off of the floor as instructed as he examined the room, identifying the exits out of habit. The walls were a pale shade of blue that matched the carpet and bedspread. There were several posters plastered to the walls above unpacked boxes that were filled almost to bursting.

Reno's jaw dropped in disbelief after he finished swallowing his mouthful of cookie. "Really? Wow yo that stinks! My ma makes 'em all the time, its a wonder I'm not fat as hell. Doesn't yer ma ever make cookeis?" Tseng's smile faded and he looked at the carpet with interest. Reno slapped himself in the forehead and swore. "Aww dammit I said somethin' insensitive and stupid didn't I?"

Tseng gave him a weak smile and toyed with the edges of his quickly cooling cookie pile, careful to keep crumbs from touching the floor. "It's alright. She just doesn't talk to me much."

"Fie lat?" Reno garbled through a mouthful of cookie but quickly swallowed as Tseng raised an eyebrow at him and tried again. "Why not?"

Tseng shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about it if that's alright." Tseng hadn't spoken this much in months. Usually he only said one or two words and rarely did he ever use complete sentences. He didn't converse with his parents any more than necessary and Reno was the first person at his school that had ever willingly said more than three words to him without punching him. He felt that his world being turned on its side might be a good thing until he thought about what awaited him at home. He shuddered involuntarily and decided to enjoy the first friend he had ever had while he could. For all he knew Reno could be playing a sick joke on him and his guard stayed high even though his tongue loosened and his shoulders relaxed.

Reno gave an understanding nod and popped the last of his cookies into his mouth with a happy moan. "Cookies are wonderful." Tseng nodded in agreement as he chewed on his own cookie. Reno jumped to his feet and ran from the room. "Stay right here!" Tseng raised an eyebrow, every fiber of his body suddenly alert for an attack as he heard footsteps rocket down the stairs. He sat on the floor, tense and nervous about what could possibly be coming back up the stairs with Reno's stomping feet.

Reno threw their bags into the room and shut the door behind him. He tossed a large bag of chips at Tseng's feet and sat across from him. "I figured we needed more snack stuff so we could do our homework. Brain food, ya know?"

Tseng highly doubted that any licensed doctor would consider potato chips and pop brain food, but he didn't argue as Reno set a plastic cups on the floor and began pouring the black fizz into them.

Reno finished pouring their drinks and ripped open the bag of chips with a happy smile. "How long has it been since you had potato chips Tsengy-poo?"

Tseng raised an eyebrow as Reno popped a chip into his mouth. "Tsengy-poo?"

Reno smirked and held a chip in front of Tseng's face. "It's called a nickname, you'll get used to it."

Tseng decided not to question the nickname for now, he'd never had one but he didn't mind having one. It made him feel special to have his name garbled and abused by Reno's tongue. "Why are you shoving a chip in my face?"

Reno rolled his eyes and pressed the chip against Tseng's lips. "Because I want you to eat it stupid!"

Tseng opened his mouth to speak and Reno shoved the chip inside, gagging him slightly. He chewed before speaking as Reno laughed and pulled out his schoolwork. "I can feed myself you know."

"It's not as fun when you feed you." Reno sniggered and tapped a pencil against his nose. "Wanna explain to me what the heck the teach was talking about with all the numbers today?"

Tseng began teaching Reno all he knew about the assignment, his voice soon becoming weary from disuse. He continued talking even though the parts of him that worried about his self-preservation screamed for him to run out the door and home before Reno could hurt him. He didn't know why, but he believed Reno when he said he would protect him. He didn't like the dishonorable and helpless feeling of having to have someone protect him, but it was better than the dishonorable and helpless feeling of not being able to protect himself.

He ticked away the minutes and hours in his head as night drew closer and began to shudder at what his parents were sure to do to him for his lateness. He hoped that by the time he got home they would be drunk and high enough not to notice his presence, but he knew it was a silly wish for him to make. No matter how many drugs they forced into their bodies his parents always had the time and brain-function to spare in lashing out at him, the outlet for all their frustrations.

When Reno realized what time it was he yelped and rushed to pack their stuff away. He hadn't had so much fun in a long while. He and his mother had had to move constantly throughout the year to try and escape his alcoholic father and he hoped with all his heart that they had finally found someplace far enough away from Junon to be safe. He didn't know the full story behind his new friend's frightened disposition, but he was determined to find out. He was a protector at heart and there was no way he would ever let anyone hurt Tseng while he was around. He liked the handsome, silent boy that had agreed to be labeled his friend and would do whatever it took to keep him safe from harm.

Reno dragged Tseng downstairs and found his mother making dinner in the kitchen. The kitchen was the nook of the house that she had always loved best and when she wasn't at work, she was cooking. He wondered why he hadn't gained even an inkling of weight with all the food she gave him. "Hey ma can Tseng stay for dinner?"

Mrs. Sinclair smiled sweetly at them both as she set food on the table. "I set a place for him didn't I?"

Reno grinned happily and pulled Tseng by the hand towards the table. He had a smug sense of satisfaction about him when Tseng didn't shake his hand off despite all the dragging he was doing. He scootched his chair towards Tseng's as his mom sat down across from them. She gave him a strange look that he shrugged off as he started eating. She cleared her throat and gently kicked him under the table. "Reno! What do we do before we eat?"

Reno sighed and set his fork down. He folded his hands in front of his face and closed his eyes, peeking at Tseng out of one of them. Tseng was raising an eyebrow at him and Reno elbowed him to let him know he should do the same. Tseng folded his hands in front of him with a confused sort of obedience and carefully watched Reno and his mother as if he wanted to know what other peculiar things he needed to do. Reno cleared his throat and began his prayer. "Dear Gaia, thank you for this food which ma' has given us and please protect us and keep us safe from harm. Amen." He unfolded his hands and began eating.

Tseng stared at his folded hands. He had never prayed before and barely even knew what Gaia was. He noticed Reno's mother looking at him and he quickly dropped his hands and began to eat. She gave him a warm motherly smile. "Tseng, do you believe in Gaia?"

Tseng looked up at her, scared what her reaction would be when she heard his answer. "I don't really know what Gaia is."

Reno kicked his mother under the table, hoping that she wouldn't try and pry into his quiet friend's religious beliefs. She kicked him back and continued to talk to Tseng. "Have you ever been to church?" Tseng shook his head and she frowned. "Are your parents religious at all?"

Tseng's head waved back and forth and Reno swallowed. "Ma he doesn't hafta believe in Gaia! Didn't ya tell me it was a parent's choice whether or not their child learned about her?"

Mrs. Sinclair sighed and conceded the point. "Sorry Tseng dear, I was just curious."

Tseng spoke before he truly thought about his words. "Who's Gaia? Will you teach me about her?" He knew his parents would never speak to him about religion and he was curious about what he seemed to be missing out on. Almost everyone else seemed to know about Gaia and talked about her often and he figured the fact that he didn't know her was one of the reasons he was singled out for punishment.

Reno's mother beamed and spent the rest of the meal telling Tseng all she knew about Gaia, Reno interjecting his thoughts as she went. Tseng listened with rapt attention to their casual banter of subjects they seemed to disagree on and asked questions to make them continue their friendly arguments. He was fascinated by Reno's relationship with his mother, he had never seen a person so at ease around their family because his broken family kept him from the knowing about domestic tranquility.

Even when they piled into the car so that Reno's mother could take him home he noticed the differences between his family and theirs. Reno was able to choose where he sat, opting to sit in the front so he could twist around and lean over the back of the chair while he talked. Reno's mother drove in a straight line and didn't swear at people who drove past, something Tseng wasn't used to. It was hard for him to grasp the concept that two people could be so normal and kind around him.

When the car finally stopped in front of Tseng's outwardly pleasant green house dread flitted back into his mind. He profusely thanked Reno's mother for her hospitality and brushed off Reno's offers to walk him to the door. He still didn't understand Reno's kind attentions but he knew that there was no way Reno would enter his house while his parents were in it if he had anything to say about it. Home was where his demons slept and someone as loved by Gaia as Reno seemed to be didn't need to be exposed to such horror.

He watched their car drive off and a heavy cloak of hopelessness and fear draped itself over his shoulders once more. He turned and marched to the front door of his home with steady steps, praying to Gaia for the first time in his life that his parents wouldn't be home.

It would seem he wasn't as loved by Gaia as Reno thought because his parents were in the living room waiting for him with the angry scowls he had learned to fear.

Tseng took their verbal and physical abuse with all the outward emotion of a blank wall. When the pain began to dull and his parents stepped over his huddled body and out the door he dragged himself towards his room. He knew he had to stop the blood that was seeping in thin rivers out of his leg before he passed out from the pain in his now empty stomach and he managed to crawl around the pile of sick that had been once been a delicious meal. He shut the door to his small room and began peeling off his tattered and bloody clothes. After he had dressed the bleeding wound in his thigh and placed a band-aid over the dripping scratch under his eye he crawled into his bed, willing sleep to ease the hot throbs of pain that pulsed along with his heart as he prayed that Gaia would forgive him for whatever horrible thing he had done to deserve his fate.