When Linder's eyes opened, he wasn't alone and the sun's light had filled up the entire room.

    Half naked, he forced himself not to flinch when he felt the large hands roaming over his thigh.

    Linder had his back against Carl as they had lain that way till morning, right after the man had reminded him of 'what they should've been doing all this time instead of fighting it'.

"Last night was amazing baby," said Carl. Linder could feel his morning wood pressing against his ass.

     He didn't respond because he was thinking too hard about everything. Right before he had left, Linder had told Tadashi everything.

   Not because he wanted to put him in danger; he knew the man could more than take care of himself. He told him because that was the only way his plan was going to work.

   It was a plan that would take five days exactly. He'd predicted correctly that Carl wouldn't keep his word and it had all been calculated.

     He also knew that even after four days, Carl still wouldn't let them go. He knew him that well at least. But that was where Tadashi was to come in.

   Three days was enough for him to extract the information of their whereabouts, and all he had to do, was find a way of letting Tadashi know.

   Linder couldn't help when his mind darted to the little kiss they had right outside his house in his car.

He was slowly starting to change his mind about the plan. If Carl could easily find his way out of prison that easily, then he would never leave them alone.

   "I need two things from you Carl," said Linder while he turned to face him.

"You used to call me honey," said Carl. He traced Linder's cheek with the back of his index finger, a forlorn look in his eyes. "Go ahead and ask."

    "I need to see Mikhail and Eden," said Linder. "Even for five minutes."

  "So that's his name," said Carl while staring right at Linder.

"I think we should leave, go somewhere else... just the two of us," said Linder.

   Carl immediately sat up. "You really think so?! I was thinking the same thing!"

  Linder nodded. "We could start over," he said and then intertwined their fingers. "It will be like how it used to be, how it's meant to be."

   Carl chuckled so heartily it reminded Linder of the first times they were together. When everything was perfect and this same man made him forget his dad for a moment, however little.

"But," Linder said and Carl went still. "Only if you let them go, and I'm not talking to you unless you take me to see them."

"Lin," said Carl, resting a hand on his knee.

       Linder folded his arms over his chest and looked away to the side, away from Carl.

       He knew it would work, he was only taking advantage of the weakness Carl seemed to always have when he was involved.

"Fine," the man said and Linder could hear his smile, he knew he'd made him happy, so much that he would agree to anything. "If you're ready, we can go now."

"Really?" Linder asked, the excitement clear on his face. He'd forgotten to keep folding his arms and they slowly loosened on either side of him.

Carl chuckled. "I missed seeing that beautiful face light up like that, because of me."

    As he heard him, Linder reminded himself to control his features and not smile too much or get carried away.

    He feigned shyness in the hopes that Carl would completely be fooled by him. At this point, he'd do just about anything for the people he cared about.

    "Aww, I love you so much," said Carl. He leaned forward and peppered kisses all over Linder's shoulder and collarbone.

    Linder had to force himself to stay still and remind himself he was doing this for a reason.

    For a disgusting moment, he was reminded of the night before, when he let himself get intimate with Carl.

   He'd endured it all; his moans, his grunts and his desperate declarations of love.

    There was only one thing Linder couldn't bring himself to do no matter how hard he tried. He could never tell Carl he loved him too, even if it was only pretense.

    It wasn't true, and it would never be.

  He wasn't in love with Tadashi either, but every time the four-letter-word came up, he was the only person he pictured. His warm smile, his gentle hands and the amount of patience he had for someone like Linder himself.

    None of that touched his heart like the way Tadashi treated his siblings. But the decision he made at the moment, meant that he couldn't expect to be a part of that.

"Let's go," said Carl, getting off the bed completely naked.

   Linder nodded as he momentarily pulled the sheets tighter against his body.

•••

"Linder told me everything," said Tadashi over a light dinner he had prepared for himself and Lily. "He told me his plan and it should only take five days."

It was a long time apart from each other if you asked him.

"I don't trust him," said Lily.

Tadashi stopped eating to regard her. This was the last thing he expected to come out of her mouth. "He's your brother."

"Which is why I'm paranoid," she said. "Lin will do something stupid."

Weirdly they'd had the same line of thought, like they'd thought it up together.

"I almost thought the same," said Tadashi. "So I made my own plan."

They discussed as they continued to eat. Tadashi knew Lily wasn't the type that wanted to be left out, whether you were protecting her or not.

Lily listened and asked every single question possible. All the while Tadashi was worried about her. Both her brothers were missing after all.

She wasn't freaking out, she didn't even look worried. He couldn't tell if she was hanging on the edge or close to breaking down. She never let anything show.

Finally, she linked her fingers on the table before her and regarded Tadashi for a while. They needed to stop having their little staring contests.

"Lin usually has terrible taste in men," she said with a face as expressionless as it could get. "I'm a little impressed."

•••

   Linder couldn't stop his feet when he saw Mikhail. He threw every other thought away and ran towards his brother.

  "Mikky!" He said when the boy was up in his arms. He held on to him so tight he feared he was making it hard for him to breathe.

"Lin," said Mikhail. His hands balled up as he held Linder.

   Linder set the boy down and went over to Eden. He had an ugly bruise near his lip.

"This is all because of me," said Linder. "It won't happen again. You're safe now."

That only seemed to confuse him further.
"Linder, what are you–"

Before Eden could continue, Linder leaned in and whispered to him. "Tadashi will come for you soon."

He pulled back and smiled weakly at Eden.

"I think, I'd have really loved to get to know you," said Linder. His words were coming straight from the inside unfiltered, exactly how he felt them.

"What?" Asked Eden, more than a little confused. "You can still do that. What do you mean?"

Linder made to get up and in that moment, Eden panicked. Maybe it was his confusion or the bizarre feeling that if he let Linder go now, he might never see him again.

"Eden," whispered Linder. "I'm sorry for getting you into this mess." He had lost his balance when Eden grabbed him, and right now he was looking at the man beneath him.

Linder didn't expect to be so frozen in the spot. Had he really ever noticed just how green his eyes were?

They did nothing but stare at each other for what seemed like three heartbeats too long.

Linder didn't understand what was happening but it seemed like Eden was getting closer. Or was it him?

The way they looked at each other was intense. Maybe he was starting to unravel what he believed was purely curiosity when he looked at Eden, and maybe it wasn't just that.

Their breaths fanned their faces when the gap was almost fully closed, their lips probably less than an inch away from each other.

"Any further and I'll snap his neck," said Carl. His footsteps got closer.

Linder closed his eyes and sighed, putting some distance between them both. "Relax Carl, we agreed you'd give me my space for this part."

   The footsteps stopped.

This was what he had chosen; Carl in exchange for their safety and peace. He couldn't go around fucking it up now.

He knew right after they left, it wouldn't take long before they were released. And that's where Tadashi would come in, but he'd only find out that their plan had changed.

"Please, take care of Mikhail for me," said Linder. "Be patient with Lily, she just needs enough love." He chuckled. "By enough, I mean a lot of it."

"I don't know what's going on, but don't speak like it's the end," said Eden.

"It could be," Linder replied as he hugged Mikhail again, rubbing his hands up and down his back.

"There's something I need you to know," said Eden. "I'd feel better if you knew."

"What?" Asked Linder.

"I like you," said Eden. "It's complicated but I really, really do."

    Linder had a look of mild shock on his face. There was a chance that this could be mutual but he couldn't find how to respond.

"It's really true," continued Eden. "And when we get out of this, I intend to prove it to you."

  It was the last time he'd see Eden, but how he wished what he said could come to pass.

  After kissing Mikhail at least one thousand times all over his face, Linder let Carl's arm tighten around him and take him away.