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Colors of the Rainbow

Part 4

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"I know you're busy, hon, but we need to have a talk soon about something. ... Yeah, I know. ... ... ... Well, what about tonight then? ... Do they ever give you a break there? ... Well, they need to start then. ... ... ... ... ... Alright then, if that's the only way you can do it. ... It's complicated, which is why I was hoping that your work place would be cutting you some slack soon. ... An outline? You remember Zane, right? ... Yeah, that's right. Let's just say that a lot of bad things have been happening for him, and I-... ... ... I know that, bu-... ... ... ... ... Can you remind me why I married you again? ... Nothing, hon. Look, when they decide to stop passing all of their work to you, just give me a call. I really don't care if we have to meet at a hotel overnight for this right now. It's that important. ... That's all I'm asking for. ... Alright, I'll let you get back to work then. ... Love you too, Sara. Bye."

Terin kept his gaze at the sky outside of his window as his dad closed his cell phone and put it in his pocket before turning in to the hospital parking lot. "Mom's still being rushed?"

"Yeah. You'd figure they'd give her some slack after going at it for four days in a row," he sighed out as he shut off the car and got out. "But, of course, your mom is always right when she says that it won't be a problem to handle."

"Are you still gonna meet her tonight?"

"She's going to call me about that. She's the only one that they ask to work overtime over there anymore, she says, so if we do manage to meet, it'll be late tonight."

Terin frowned as they walked into the hospital. "Are they even going to let her come home tomorrow?"

Eric shook his head. "If they don't, I know some people I'm going to get very irate with if she doesn't do so before me." They stopped outside of Zane's room as Terin's father grabbed his shoulder. "I'm going to head back to the house before going to the police station to see if I can talk to them about all this. Think you'll be ok by yourself here?"

The young wolf nodded. "I already ended up staying the night here, so I'll manage."

Eric pulled out his wallet and handed some money to his son. "Here, so you can get some dinner later." Terin accepted it with a nod. "I'll check in on you when I finish, alright?"

"Alright dad. Later," Terin said with a wave as his father left. He sighed as he opened the door to Zane's room and walked in. He saw the light blue fox still sleeping quietly as he closed the door and sat down in the chair he had moved earlier; he figured no one else had been in his room since he left.

As Terin moved the chair slightly, Zane stirred a little from the squeaking of the feet of the chair against the tile. The wolf paused as he watched the fox, making sure he didn't actually wake him up. Eventually, the fox's eyes opened slightly and looked over at Terin. "... H-hey," he managed to say lowly.

Terin shook his head slowly as he spoke quietly to Zane. "Go ahead and go back to sleep if you need. I'm sorry I woke you."

The light blue fox just turned his head a little more towards the brown wolf. "... It's ok. ... I d-didn't want to s-sleep anyways."

"You need to get your strength back though," Terin replied worriedly.

"... I-I'll be ok,... but..." Zane closed his eyes for a moment. At first, the following silence made the wolf think that Zane had fallen back asleep anyways, but after a moment, the fox spoke again. "... why did you come back?"

Terin had been asking himself that same question before. He wanted to call it a whim at first, but when he found out just how emotionally attached he really was to Zane, he couldn't figure out what it was. All he knew was one thing out of it. "... Because I wanted to." It was a weak one, but Terin could tell that there was confusion in Zane's eyes. Watching them a moment longer, he started to see it again. It was still confusing to him as well, but after a moment, he added to his answer. "... Because I see something that... I don't want to see disappear."

"... Does it... have anything to do with... ... ... h-how you held me?" the fox asked shakily.

The young wolf started to wonder if the medicine was making Zane bold with his questions. The fox was mostly introverted and took things as they hit him without questioning them out loud, but here he was asking questions that Terin was asking himself, questions that slowly ate him to the point of frustration. He didn't know how to answer him. He was feeling things that he hadn't known before, he was feeling things that he had been rejecting in the past, he was seeing things from such a different perspective that everything just seemed different from before, and it left him at a loss. All Zane did was open up to him; how could he tell the fox that he might even in the slightest have feelings for him? Then he clenched his eyes as his chest grew tight:

Did he really just ask himself that question?

Zane gave the wolf a slightly scared look. "T-... Terin?" he asked, his voice a little shaky again.

Terin did his best to think for a quick response. "I-it's nothing. I... don't really like hospital environments. ... Makes it hard to breathe for me for some reason," he said with a sigh as he looked away, trying to hide his guilt from lying.

Zane looked away after nodding. He knew that Terin was lying about the breathing, but he didn't want to push the subject. He was satisfied enough with Terin being there and not hating him; he didn't want to risk that and lose him again.

A knock at the door was followed by a dalmatian walking in with a tray. "Oh, I didn't know you were able to have guests," she said to Zane. All he could do was give her a confused look, to which she just smiled. "One moment, I'll bring another tray then."

"Um, it's ok, miss. I just got back from eating earlier," Terin said quickly, but she was already back out the door. He wasn't surprised when she walked back in with a second tray for him.

"Here you go," she said cheerfully. "The cafeteria made too many hamburgers again, so we have some excess trays. That kid is good at cooking, but apparently not so good at counting." She giggled as she walked back out, closing the door.

Terin just looked at Zane. Neither one of them knew what just happened, but Zane just shook his head lightly as Terin shrugged. Terin was serious about not liking hospitals, but one thing he couldn't deny was that this hospital actually had decent food, unlike that one he had to stay at when he had pneumonia as a pup. He didn't say anything as he started in on his food. After a moment, he noticed that Zane was having problems with his, apparently unable to bite down all the way. He figured that the fox had just gotten weak over the past while because of everything happening. The silence was awkward as Terin thought of what to do or say. After watching Zane for another moment, he set his tray aside. "You ok?" he asked the fox.

It took a moment for Zane to get the food to go down his throat before he frowned a little and shook his head. Terin bit his lip for a moment in thought before feeling around in his pockets. On his last birthday, Zane had somehow managed to get a little money and buy a pocket knife that the wolf had been debating getting for a while. Afterwards, he had always kept it with him, even keeping it in his pocket at school even when his dad tried to make sure he didn't take it with him. He walked over to the restroom and took a paper towel, soaking it and wiping the blade before coming back out with it as the fox watched him curiously. He walked over a little nonchalantly and put a paw on Zane's hamburger, using his knife to cut it into smaller parts for him. He looked over at the fox for a moment, noticing the disappointment in his eyes. Terin sighed as he spoke. "If you don't want it cut up or anything, jus-"

Zane shook his head, his ears slowly settling against his head. "I-it's not that. ... I..." He pulled his tray back closer to himself. "... I just don't... want you doing everything for me." His gaze stayed away from Terin as his voice got quieter. "... I don't want you gone again."

Terin sighed as he looked away. If he was going to say anything, he knew that it would be now, but he couldn't get his voice to work in order to say anything. Eventually he shook his head. "You aren't gonna lose me over something small like this, ok? I just want to help you right now." Zane's breathing froze for a second before being followed with a sigh as he let Terin resume cutting his food. The fox couldn't stop wondering what made Terin change so much, or even why the wolf was so easily flustered. He would always have a stern and straight-to-the-point attitude, but now, he could see that those walls were melted down. What really happened to cause this much change in Terin?

After a moment, he finished whittling the hamburger down for smaller bites that Zane might be able to handle better. "There," he said rather softly. "Sorry I couldn't cut it more neatly."

The fox started to give him an odd look but just shook his head instead. "N-no, it's fine," he said as he started in on the smaller portions. Another mark against Terin was the fact that he usually wasn't concerned about neatness with anything. What was going on? Why was Terin seeing him with such a different view? He tried to keep the questions inside as he continued eating while the wolf walked back around to his sit and resumed eating his own food.

After a while, they both finished their meal, someone walking in and taking their trays shortly after. Afterwards, they both sat in silence, wondering what was on the other's mind but not wanting to risk anything by being the one to ask. Eventually, Terin looked away with closed eyes, and Zane decided to be the one to try to break the hour long silence. He tried to take a deep breath to steady his own nerves, but since it hurt to do so, he had to settle for less as he asked quietly, "Terin,... what's, um,..." He started fidgeting a little when Terin looked back up at him, his courage waning until he finally managed to ask. "... What... what is it that... y-you really think of me?"

Terin sighed as he closed his eyes and looked away again. Everything had been set up. He could answer the fox, he could tell him what was on his mind right now, he could open up to him about the truth, but his voice stopped. He could feel that tension again, he could feel distance being placed, but he couldn't understand why. His eyes squeezed tightly shut, his breathing a little heavier as he bit his lower lip. He wanted to answer, he wanted to get it out.

A knock at the door startled them both before Terin's dad opened the door and walked in. "Did I interrupt anything?" The two younger furs just shook their head. "Alright, I'll let you two talk some more in a moment, but I need to talk to my son first," he said with a light smile that made Terin a little curious. The young wolf nodded to Zane before standing and walking out of the room with his dad. When he closed the door behind him, his dad started talking to him in a lower voice. "I was thinking about giving him the news, but I think you should tell him instead."

Bewilderment could not have been more obvious on Terin's face. "Tell him what?"

"It seems that someone else had reported a 'disturbance' over at Zane's house," Eric started. "Zane's mom and dad are in jail right now, and the current word is that they'll be gone for a few years."

Terin didn't know if this was good news or bad news. "But... what'll happen to Zane then? Won't they send him to another relative? I don't think he has any other family around here."

The smile on Eric's face showed a little more. "There's no one listed as a next of kin for where to send Zane if something like this happens," he said calmly. "Because of this and his age, he can choose whether to stay with someone he trusts or go through the system."

A gasp of shock hit Terin. He didn't know how to take this news as everything seemed to stop. "S-so he can stay with us then?"

"If he says he wants to stay with us, then yes."

His dad's reply was met with a vice-like hug from the younger wolf. He didn't know what else to do, he was so ecstatic inside. "Are you going to tell Kerin about it?"

Eric returned the hug with a chuckle. "I called her up as soon as I found out. I still have to let your mom know, but it seems that you'll have a brother now."

Friend, brother, it didn't matter what he was, all Terin cared about was that he wasn't going to lose Zane and that Zane wouldn't have to go through this anymore. His grip on his dad weakened though slowly as it came back to him that there was still the gap that was between them right now. Before he could do anything, if he couldn't close that gap with Zane, then Zane might end up saying he wanted to be somewhere else. The fear of losing him slowly sunk back in as that thought occurred to him. Eric looked at his son as Terin's grip continued getting loose. "Is something wrong?"

Terin shook his head and let go of his dad. "No, I... I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to tell Zane about it right now."

Eric nodded. "Start off slow with it. Don't want him to get too excited while he's injured. Otherwise, he'll be stuck in here longer," he said with a chuckle. "I'm going to see if I can meet with Kerin again after I tell Sara about what's happening. Be good, alright?"

Terin gave a weak nod. "Y-yeah. Later, Dad," he said as Eric walked off. He sighed as he opened the door and walked back in. Zane was looking out the window at the occasional clouds as Terin shut the door again behind him before walking back to his chair. He had thought earlier that losing the fox because of Zane's parents was a scary thing, but the realization of possibly losing him because of the gap between them scared him even more. He had to say something. If he didn't, then Zane might end up being gone for good. The moisture that hit his eye was greeted by a rubbing paw.

Zane heard a sigh from the wolf and looked back over at Terin. "... Um,... w-what did your dad want?" he managed to say, wanting the silence to go away.

Terin was a little startled. "O-oh, it's nothing. He was... looking into something and decided to come and tell me about it is all."

"Oh," was all the light blue fox said as he looked away, his gaze on the sky again. Terin cursed himself under his breath again.

The wolf tried to think of something to say. After what seemed like hours of deafening silence, he managed to find his voice again. "Zane?" he asked softly. The fox just glanced over at Terin, not saying anything, though the expression on his face asked enough. "... Do you want to go back to your family?"

The fox looked down at the sheet on his bed. "... No,... but I have to."

"... What if they were gone? What if you didn't have to deal with them anymore?"

Zane shook his head slightly. "... I've wished it sometimes,... but no one ever believes me. ... I tried for two years,... and all that happened was that... I got beat."

Terin could feel a growl forming in his throat. Had he known something like that before, he would've killed Zane's himself. Then he thought about how he was in the past and started to wonder if that would have really been the case. He shook his head and tried to move forward; if he could close the gap, then Zane wouldn't be lost to someone else. "... My dad believed you. He wanted to help, remember? That's why we left when you fell asleep."

"... What could he do?"

"Zane,..." he spoke with a half held breath. The only way he could tell him the situation of right now is if he started from the beginning, but he didn't want to crash the fox into another spiral of depression. The last thing he needed for this was to end up weighing the balance of the ending risks of losing Zane or hurting him. He breathed deeply before finally starting off. "... Zane, your family was trying to get rid of you. They le-"

"I know," interrupted the fox.

Terin stopped suddenly. If Zane knew the whole time, why didn't he say anything? Then it reoccurred to him about what he did start that chain; he couldn't expect Zane to tell someone that just wished him dead. He was no different from the fox's family because of that, and it made his stomach turn. He couldn't do it anymore. He had to break through. "Zane, I want you to stay with us. I don't want you to be around them anymore." Zane started to say something, but Terin didn't catch it as he kept going. "Someone finally called your family in, and they're being put away for a while. My dad said you could stay with us if you wanted instead of being dropped off with some other family. You don't have to deal with them anymore!"

"... But I..."

"Zane, please, I don't want to lose you again."

They both froze in silence as their eyes met, shock in Zane's eyes meeting the fear in Terin's. All sound seemed to drown out, the light seemed to dim. Their minds froze as time itself seemed to just stop suddenly. Terin had broken through his own walls as well as Zane's. What else could he do now? Should he keep going? Should he leave it hanging as it is? He closed his eyes tightly as tears started to form. He was so close to the fox now, but how could he continue? How could he finish closing the gap?

Zane became scared as he saw the tears form in the wolf's eyes. He couldn't get over it. He knew the wolf promised that he'd be there for him, he knew that the wolf had held him close and didn't want to leave Zane alone anymore,... but Terin was scared now of losing the fox. So scared that he just broke down. He tried to move a paw closer to the wolf. "... T-Tehr?" he said with a soft voice that hid none of his own fear.

Terin's voice shook. He had to let it out. He couldn't keep it inside of him anymore, he had to finish it. "Zane,... when I finally saw your eyes again,... I saw something in them that I didn't ever want to see disappear. ... I saw that rainbow. ... I saw that peace. I don't want it to ever disappear. ... I don't want you to disappear." His teeth were clenched tightly as he tried to contain that fear. Zane shook, nervous, not knowing what to do or say, not knowing what it was exactly that the wolf was feeling. Terin raised his head back up again, and the fox saw what it was in his eyes, the wolf's next words stopping everything around the fox.

"... Zane,... ... ... I love you."