~ Years Ago ~
"All you do is pick on him."
The sixteen year old Lucius stared at his annoying younger brother, raising an unbothered eyebrow as he debated whether to kill them both, knowing his father would probably get over it if he did. Bronsted had annoyed him by talking too much. He was already in a very bad mood since Draco had decided to make him experience one of the most horrific trainings and they didn't allow him any sleep until he stopped sobbing from the heartache, which only made Draco bruise him even more.
That meant he only got two hours asleep, and his mind was still replaying the petrifying screams from that infant that it felt as he merely had a blink before he was forced to head to breakfast with the rest of his irritating feeble brothers. None of them had any idea the traumatizing training that he had to face; he got the worst of it. That was why the simplest things could set him off and this morning, the thirteen year old Bronsted had not only chewed too loud, but the unhumorous jokes and giggles at the end of the table, as if there was anything to laugh about in this destructive base, made him lose his cool.
He could barely see straight when he slammed his plate of food directly into the face of Bronsted that it shattered across his nose. Tiny cuts across his face began to bleed, and he stared up in fear as he watched Lucius step closer to him. Lucius, with a blank stare behind his gaze, felt his own wounds begin to ache underneath his baggy clothes that he pounced over Bronsted. However, he only got one hit directly across Bronsted's jaw, before he felt a hefty shove that caused him to stumble sideways.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Reno growled, the rage causing veins to bulge from his neck as he stepped in front of the grunting Bronsted who was still on the floor. "He did nothing wrong and you're beating him up again."
Lucius' eyes were blank. "He laughed too loud."
Dante, Tessa, Melissa, and Eleanor were all seated. It was only the five year old Melissa who shuddered; for the others, this was a regular occurrence that they continued to eat their food as if there were no commotion going on. Mostly because stepping in when Lucius had some sort of fit was practically a death sentence. Plus, they were all dealing with their own troubles and barely even liked one another.
"Why are you so angry all the time?" Reno shouted, broadening his shoulders and squeezing his fists, although they quivered since he knew Lucius was way stronger than him. "We can't even laugh without having you beat us up?"
"Move Moreno, unless you want to fight too."
"No one wants to fucking fight you, Lucius!" He pointed to the table where the others ate in silence. "We came to have a meal, that's all!"
"I'm not going to say it again," Lucius hissed as he raised his fists.
"I heard that baby crying last night, alright? I don't know what dad had you do, and I get that you're going through intense training with him, but that doesn't mean that you can—"
Before Reno could even finish his sentence, Lucius had already started launching his hits, punches and kicks, slamming his forehead into his, not stopping until he saw one of Reno's tooth fall from his bloody mouth. Then, he stepped over the both of them and left the dining space.
The same day was when, during their training, Bronsted had failed miserably that Draco slammed his foot into his ribs, cracking one and causing Bronsted to tumble to the floor in unbearable pain. Then he said, "You're such a foolish little nuisance; you were never meant to be born."
It wasn't that they had a bedtime routine, but Reno felt it was automatic that his lethargic body dragged itself to Bronsted's bedroom to tell him goodnight. That late afternoon though, Bronsted wasn't in bed. Although Reno didn't want to worry, Bronsted did have a pretty rough day; Reno's brain wouldn't let him fall asleep if he didn't visually see Bronsted. That was why he yawned as he made his way throughout the base, avoiding knocking on doors that he knew he would get in trouble if he did, skipping past Lucius bedroom and peering inside Melissa's room, who tiredly rose from her bed and mumbled that she hadn't seen him.
Although, it was nice that he now had company since she decided to follow him, caressing her teddy bear that was as big as her head. To her five year old mind, it was somewhat of an adventure, and Reno gripped her palm as he reached the last bedroom of his siblings. He was hoping Dante would have answers, because if he didn't, then he would have to face his father and it was always a fifty-fifty chance that they would be killed whenever they approached Draco.
"Bronny was a little weird after dinner," Dante grumbled with boredom, rolling his eyes as he kept his hand on the doorframe. "Said he was heading out into town or something."
"Maybe he'll find himself some girl for the night," Eleanor suggested from behind Dante, her hands snaking around his waist from behind, which never failed to make him grin.
Reno grimaced; Eleanor had never been one of his favourites. It wasn't that he despised her, but he definitely enjoyed his surroundings even more when she was absent. "Did he say anything else?"
Dante furrowed his brows for a moment before he sniggered and added, "Told me to take care of myself." Reno's face drained of colours. "Look, I don't fucking know and I'm busy, can you leave?"
It didn't take a second for Reno to be bolting towards the exits of the base. They weren't allowed to leave the base without Draco's permission but in this moment, in his bedtime slippers and Melissa on his back clutching around his neck, he sprinted out of the exit and rushed through the forest into the city. There was only one place Bronsted visited when he felt alone, and if those were the words Bronsted had said, he would definitely be there.
The city had a bridge that passed over a lake, but it was quite high and definitely lethal if anyone attempted to take a dive. However, it was also one of the most beautiful sights to watch the sunrise and the sunset, since there were walkways for pedestrians and they could watch the sunlight glimmer along the lake surface. They had visited multiple times, but never had he thought he would find Bronsted seated on the railings, preparing himself to leap to his death.
"You better not fucking do it, Bronsted!"
Bronsted flinched and almost lost his balance. It wasn't helping that there was wind that was blowing him in every direction. He didn't expect to hear anyone's voice, especially his own brother who was breathing so heavily that it was alarming. Reno was wearing his matching pyjama's with slippers that had bunny ears. Both Reno and Bronsted always decided to celebrate their birthdays together without anyone else, and Bronsted had gifted those to him one year.
"Get off the fucking railing."
"Why did you bring Melissa?" It was obvious Bronsted had been crying from the way his voice coiled and sounded as if it was stuck on the palate of his mouth. "She shouldn't have to see this."
Reno inhaled a sharp breath, feeling his eyes beginning to sting. He needed to be strong, that was his only hope in getting Bronsted down from there. That was why, after grinding his teeth together, he growled, "I shouldn't have to fucking see this either, so you better get down."
Bronsted eyed him for few seconds before vigorously shaking his head, sobbing so hysterically that it sounded as if he would choke from his own cries. If he had been alone, this would have been much easier, but through the tightness in Reno's face, he could still see his quivering eyes overwhelmed with fright. The fact that Melissa was also on his back, staring with frightened uncertainty as she gripped her teddy bear tighter, made his chest clench. He hadn't expected anyone to be here and part of him wanted to get down, but...
An image of Draco flashed across his mind. His bold golden eyes, his large built and tightened muscles, the rage and disappointment in his eyes whenever the stared at Bronsted. He thought of the horrendous training, the sweat dripping from every skin cell in his body, feeling as though his body was shutting off on its own and unable to resist it, which only made him receiving more beatings and punishments. The thought of needing to go through that again...he wiped his nose, his throat clenching on itself as he stared at the serenity amongst the waves.
"I'm really tired, Reno." His face relaxed; the thought of falling into the lake, letting the water engulf him and put him into a deep resting sleep, made him want to let go. "I'm really, really tired."
And he almost did, until he heard, "Then go ahead and jump." He had been staring at the lake that he hadn't realized that Melissa was now standing on her own since Reno was climbing the railings now.
Suddenly, the peace was demolish with panic, seeing Reno struggle to reach the top of the railing as well. "What are you doing?" Bronsted hissed, waving his hand to stop Reno. "Get down, Reno!"
"I'll get down when you get down." He reached the top, a few feet away from Bronsted. As he stared down at the lake, he realized why this scenery was probably making Bronsted feel as if this was such a relaxing way to leave; the moonlight glossed over the water, the quiet gentle breeze forming the quietest of waves, the wind itself seemed to be an instrumental, a woodwind that sang a lullaby to ease the soul. The lake almost seemed welcoming, almost as if the waves were reaching upwards to caress them.
However, all Bronsted could picture now was Reno's body slamming into the water's surface, the blood pooling in the water and not being able to ever hear his voice again; it would all be his fault. "Reno, please..."
"Please what?" Reno snapped, narrowing his eyes towards Bronsted before returning his sight towards the water. It was evident through his rising breath and the sweat forming on the corner of his forehead that he was deathly afraid of heights, especially this one. "You said you wanted to jump, so let's just do it."
Bronsted's eyes widened in horror, his eyes no longer focused on the lake but instead on the fright overwhelming Reno's features as he peered longer down at the bottom of the bridge. "I'm not letting you jump, are you insane?"
"Are you insane?" Reno exhaled sharply, gritting his teeth. "It was one bad day, Bronny."
"It's not one bad day, this is every fucking day," Bronsted whimpered, wiping his nose from the snot that was racing down to the top of his lips. Tears overflowed his eyes even more at the thought of the horrendous day he had faced. "I can't keep going through this," he coughed through sobs, his quivering fingers roughly wiping more tears even though they continued to overwhelm his coiled face. "I have to get away."
Reno didn't know what to respond; in all honesty, part of him was secretly hoping from Bronsted to leap since it would give him an excuse to do it too. They had gone through enough torment and suffering, to the point that existence felt as if it was an unending struggle. Every day was merely a game of waiting until they failed another task and berated as if they weren't even human. Merely soldiers that had to be refined until they lost their individuality, their souls.
"I'm not like any of you," Bronsted cried, shaking his head; Reno watched a few tear droplets leak from his chin and dive into the waves. "I can't pick up drills and techniques as fast as you," his bottom lip quivered harshly, "and I'm blamed for the smallest mistakes. I was beat up today because I laughed!" After a few coughs to clear his throat, he sniffled quietly, "Even being happy for one second is a problem."
"It's not always going to be like this."
"It doesn't matter where we are Reno, or where we end up," he muffled in his sleeve as he wiped his nose again. Then, through a shaky breath, "It'll always be the same because Dad's right, I was never meant to be born."
Reno couldn't hold in his own tears anymore. The thought of losing Bronsted was so gut-wrenching that it felt as though his lungs had stiffened, unable to breathe. The only reason he had been able to make it this far was because Bronsted had been by his side. The only reason he hadn't come to the lake and jumped himself was not only because he couldn't even fathom the idea of leaving Bronsted behind, but because he envisioned such an illuminated future, away from all the hardships and suffering their father forced them to endure.
"I want to grow old with you, Bronny."
Bronsted faced him, seeing Reno's lips shaking as well as he reached for Bronsted's shoulder. He bit his bottom lip for a moment before wailing, "The only reason I want to go through this life is because I'm doing it with you. You're the only reason I'm here, the only reason why I'm willing to endure the worst possible tortures and pain on this earth." Bronsted felt Reno's fingers tightened around his shoulder that his nails were digging in the fabric of his sweater. "So you can't say you were never meant to be born, because if you hadn't been, my life wouldn't have any meaning to it. My heart beats because of you."
Bronsted inhaled a sharp breath.
"You mean so much more to me than you realize, Bron. I wish I could take all your pain from you and make myself go through it." He shrugged his shoulders, pausing for a moment as he looked down at the lake. "I'm not saying Dad will be better and I'm not saying it won't get tougher, but I am saying that I want to see this through." He lifted his eyes towards the moon and exhaled, "I know we're going to leave this place and start our lives one day, but I can't do that without you."
Bronsted wasn't certain what he was feeling in his chest, but it was almost as if he could feel tiny fingers picking up the pieces and wrapping bandages around it.
"If you think it's better that we jump, then I'll do it with you. I will be right behind you, whatever you decide. Because at the end of the day," he paused for a second, his eyebrows curling and his eyes overwhelmed with tears that the only thing he could see was Bronsted's blurred face as he whispered, "I love you, Bronsted. I'll always love you, you're the only thing keeping me alive."
Bronsted looked back down at the lake; the rhythm of the waves suddenly appeared in such a discordance that it was appeasing him anymore. The lake appeared dark and somber, as if a demonic presence loomed within it and the shadows were moving in hopes to prey on them. When he returned his gaze onto Reno's face, the reflection of the moonlight amongst his glinting tears oddly felt welcoming, as if Bronsted had finally been heard. The way his cheeks quivered with his lips, or the way his eyes were barely visible from how much they squinted—all of that suddenly made him feel much more at ease than the false illusion of safety amongst the waves.
"You mean everything to me too, Reno."
Reno saw it within Bronsted's face that suddenly relaxed; he was getting through to him. He exhaled a long soothing breath as he pointed towards the lake and screamed, "If you jump, I will fucking jump with you and we will die together, so you better not jump Bronny. I need you, I've always needed you, and if you're not good enough for anyone else, it shouldn't fucking matter because you're good enough for me."
Finally, a small smile pulled Bronsted's lips apart. "I'm sorry for scaring you," he sighed, glancing down and seeing Melissa with her face buried within her teddy bear. "Let's go home, Moreno."