''Told you,'' Lester lectures, leaning closer, grip tightening. Dan looks into the wide eyes, can feel the warm huffs of air against his lips. He tries to imagine how Lester had looked defending what was his all along, how that glossy mixture of grey and blue had flared with the fire of madness. ''Pride can be taken.''
''Submission can't,'' Dan finishes the quote, earning an unsettling smile from Lester. Dan hopes Kendall will never forget that smile, that it will forever be engraved in the back of his mind, appearing every time he closes his eyes to sleep. Dan can see the man's followers in the corners of his eyes, watching with concealed fear. Most of them are beaten black and blue, eyes swollen and lips split. They will never think of touching him again.
''They're staring.''
''Let's give them something to stare at, then,'' Lester responds and lets go of Dan's thigh, grabbing him by the collar instead, pulling him closer. He captures Dan's lips in a greedy, messy kiss, tongues fighting for the dominance Dan knows now belongs to Lester. The lunatic burrows his teeth in Dan's lower lip, drawing blood.
-x-x-x-
''Howell, man,'' Liguori exclaims as Dan appears in the entrance to their shared cell, Lester standing with crossed arms behind him. The man had been sitting peacefully in his bed, but their arrival makes him jump up, hands stretched out defensively in front of him; the same way you'd behave while trying to calm down a wild carnivore, ready to attack any moment. There's no bruises across his face. ''Look, I'm sorry.'' He guesses Lester has saved him for last, wanting Dan to watch.
''Do you want me to hurt him?'' Lester asks and places his head on Dan's shoulder, lips grazing the sensitive skin on his neck. ''Make him regret what he did?'' His voice is soft and gentle despite the macabre words, makes Liguori shake his head desperately. Dan enters the cell, begins packing his few belongings. He's transferring to Lester's cell, it's part of the arrangement, part of the submission.
''Please don't,'' Liguori pleads as Lester enters too, cracking his knuckles while smiling. He grabs him by the collar, looks to Dan with a tilted head, prompting him to make a decision. Dan takes place in front of them, crosses his arms over his chest, contemplating. The man had just watched while Kendall stripped him from his pride, had just stood there. ''I had no choice.''
''Let him go,'' Dan responds, Lester frowning as he reluctantly does. Liguori looks relieved for a brief moment, lips parting to express his gratitude. Dan smashes his fist into the man's face before he gets to say anything, feels the bone of his nose crack underneath his knuckles, blood instantly oozing out from his nostrils. Liguori screams in pain, Lester laughs in amusement. ''I'm not your friend,'' Dan mimics as he turns to leave.
-x-x-x-
''You look like shit,'' Adrian states as Dan enters the visitation area, a small, claustrophobic room scattered with inmates trying to get their weekly dose of reality, to converse with the people they've left behind, the ones that can still prove there's a world behind the prison's fence, that life goes on even if it feels like the earth has stopped rotating. He's allowed one hug upon entering, which he savours deeply as he wraps his sore arms around the fragile shell of his brother, keeps him close until the guards tells him to let go.
''So do you,'' Dan finally responds as they retreat, sitting down on their chairs. Silence briefly dwells between them, Dan taking his time to study every crook of Adrian's face for any changes. Last time he saw him was in court during the trial, which must be months ago now; back then he had still had a full head of hair, but now only a few patches is left across his nearly bald scalp. Even though they're only separated by a small steel table he feels as if they're more than worlds apart right now.
Free Birds Shouldn't Bee Kept In Cages part II
Start from the beginning
