In Memoriam - An Unus Annus Fanfiction

21.12 - 12/21 - What was the most painful thing we've ever endured?

A loud clang echoed through the empty rooms of the large house. Annus was instantly wide awake. His eyes wandered around the dark room. He held his breath, listening to the noises of the night.
There it was again. The sound of metal scraping against a surface, followed by the tapping of footsteps. Somebody was inside the house.

He swung his legs out the side of the bed, not bothering to turn on the light. He sneaked over to the door, grabbing an aluminum baseball bat on his way out.
Placing one foot before the other, he made his way downstairs. One step creaked treacherously, and he stopped dead, holding his breath.
He waited for a painful long second. The pattern of movement downstairs didn't change. Whoever it was, they didn't hear him.

He grabbed the bat tighter. There was a light coming from the kitchen. He moved closer, hiding just around the corner.
The person inside moved. Something must have alerted them. A chair scraped across the floor. Quiet steps closed in on him. A shadow fell through the doorframe.

He swung. His ears picked up a scream, but he wasn't sure if it had been him or... Unus.
The bat came to a halt inches away from his chest. He looked down at it, then back up to Annus.
     »What was that for? You scared the crap out of me!«
With a sigh, Annus lowered the bat. »Ditto. What are you doing down here in the middle of the night?«
     »I... I couldn't sleep.« He looked away. »Figured a midnight snack might help.«
»Is something wrong?«
      »No, everything's fine. Why do you ask?«
»You just seem bothered by something, that's all.«
Unus tried his best to keep a straight face. »No, I'm fine.«

»Is it because of what Dark did to you?«
He looked up from the plate, a mixture of surprise and fear on his face.
     »How do you know about that?«
»Dark told me everything in a dramatic monologue. You remember it, don't you?«

Unus was quiet for a long time. He stared at his plate, pushing the leftover pancake from breakfast from one side to the other.
He opened his mouth, and closed it again. His head had almost sunken to his chest.
     »Yes I do.« He admitted with a coarse voice. »But I don't want to talk about it.«

Annus simply nodded. He could understand his request too well. He'd also rather not think about the things he saw, and did, on their way from the first safe room to here.
      »Just know that I'm always here if you want to talk.«
»Yeah. Thanks.«

As they sat at the table, all alone in Marks large empty home, Annus felt as if they still were stuck on the ocean inside Darks pocket dimension, slowly drifting away from each other.