ONE ENEMY, TWO HEARTS.

Chapter: 4.

*****

“Welcome to SinCity."

With bulging eyes they beheld for the first time the beauty of the city, it was nighttime already and lights could be seen from every angle like tiny dots of stars radiating from skyscrapers to smaller buildings and street lamps that burn beautiful colors to the many roads that lay on both sides. 

"Wow!" Jason breathed out. "This is so beautiful!" 

"I totally agree with you, my friend." Eric whistled as he drove on.

"We should have said one month." Jason regretted.

"We need to find a place to sleep tonight," he made a turn for the left.

"I think we found one." Jason pointed to a skyscraper right in front of them with a big sign that reads 'HOTEL' shining in neon lights. 

"Looks expensive." Eric spotted a space in the parking lot. "Are you sure we can afford a place like this?" He asked when they got out of the car. 

"Let's find out." Jason made his way towards the glass doors which slide open, they both entered the beautiful lobby decorated with the world's finest.

"Hello, Good evening, and welcome to SinCtiy, How may I help you fine gentlemen this evening?" The lady in front of the desk greeted on seeing them. 

"How do you know it's our first time here?" Eric asked, a suspicious glint in his eyes. She smiled, pointing to his wrist, they looked down to find the blue number blazing brightly, Eric rubbed at it but it stayed. "Oh, don't worry, it comes off once your visitation is over." Smiling at their confused expressions, she asked again. "How may I help you?"

"We need a room with two queens," Jason told her.

"I need your numbers."

"What?" Eric asked.

"The number, on your wrist."

"Oh." Jason showed her his wrist and she tapped down on her computer. "Would you like to spend all three weeks in this hotel?" She asked not looking at them.

They were shocked once again at how she knew they would only stay for three weeks. 

"Yes," Jason whispered. 

"Don't look so surprised, with that number, you can be tracked from anywhere in SinCity and you can't get lost with it since all your information is in that number." A beeping sound came from underneath her desk and she stopped talking long enough to pull two cards out and then handed them over to them. "Your room keys." They took the cards and waited. "Enjoy your stay." She smiled at them. 

"Don't we. . . don't we, like need to pay or something?" Jason asked.

"Oh, you pay when you checkout, Hotel policy." She pointed in the direction of the elevator and waved them goodbye, they walked away, glancing behind their shoulders every now and then. 

Eric observed the vast lobby with seating areas but not a single person was in sight, the car park did indicate with the number of cars parked out there that they were others staying at the hotel but where were they? Not to mention the violation of the rules they got at the Gate and now the Hotel policy, it seems like everything has rules around here. Could that be the reason why no one was out of their rooms? Either that or his mind is just overreacting.

"This place is beautiful yet very strange," he said as they reached the elevator, the doors slide open and they both got in, after the doors shut tight, Eric panicked when he couldn't find any button to press on. "What the fuck!" He yelled out. 

Jason stared at the walls and saw a slot that was big enough for one card, he took his card and pushed it into the slot, and just immediately the elevator began its ascension. 

"How did you figure that out?" Eric asked.

"I saw the slot, I put two and two together." He smiled.

"Smart-ass." 

The door beeped, slot spitting Jason's card out and they made their way out of the box and into a bright hallway, beautiful chandeliers hung on the ceiling as they searched for Room 1103. 

"Found it!" Jason yelled and Eric reached him just in time before he pushes his card into the keyhole and the door opened to reveal a very elegant room. 

"Woah!" They both gasped, stepping into the big space, eyes darting around so fast, taking in everything that was in the room. The walls were painted white, a big flat-screen TV hung on the wall, three sofas circled one big glass center table, two big beautiful beds adorned in white and black sheets, an alcove with golden lights flickering luminously around it, a closet and two closed doors. "What is behind those doors?" Eric asked. 

"I don't know," Jason replied. "Get one and I will get the other." 

Together, they reached each brown door and pulled them open. One door revealed a small kitchen while the other held their bathroom. 

"Wow!" Jason blinked multiple times. 

"Are you sure we can afford this place?" Eric asked again.

"Just shut up and enjoy these moments, will you?" Jason walked towards the bed and fell into the soft mattress. "Feels like heaven." He moaned.

"Fuck, I am so tired." Eric stretched out on the other bed.

"Same here, but I'm hitting the bathroom, I feel sticky." Jason got naked in an instant and dashed into the bathroom. 

"How's the water??" Eric yelled.

"Warm!" Jason called back. 

"Make room, I'm coming in!" He got naked and soon joined him in the bathroom.

"So, what should we do first now that we are here," Jason asked as his best friend helped him wash his back. 

"How about finishing bathing, ordering food, and sleeping then tomorrow we can check out the City." Eric turned around so Jason would return the favor. 

"That is not entirely a bad idea," Jason replied as he washed his back.

"Thank you!" Eric breathed a sigh of relief.

A few minutes later after Eric had ordered food and they had finished in the bathroom, they now lie on the same bed with Eric's head on Jason's chest, they both scrolled through their phones, returning missed calls and text messages from their parents and of course the angry messages from Karla who was upset they didn't include her in their dream vacation, she was calling them names and making promises on how she would beat them into oblivion the second she lay eyes on them. 

The doorbell rang and Eric got out of bed to go get it.

"Food's here!" He yelled for his friend and when Jason got there, the woman who had brought the food stared at them strangely. They were both shirtless and Jason was pressing into Eric's back with his lips touching his shoulder as if kissing him.

"Are you brothers?" She asked with a frown.

"Yes," Jason replied flatly before taking the food cart from her. "Thank you." He shut the door and shrugged at Eric. 

"What the fuck is the matter with her? She was all smiles when she saw me and as soon as you showed up she went pale as a ghost." Eric sat on a chair and Jason served them dinner. 

"That's her problem, I'm starving,"

"Me too, but why did you tell her we were brothers?" Eric took his fork and poked at the meat on his plate.

"I wasn't in the mood to start explaining myself to some rude SinCity woman." Jason took his seat. "Now, shut up, and let's eat." He pointed his fork at Eric and the boy smiled.

*******

The night was windy as the man drove home in his car. The city shines brilliantly with lights that glow from all around. Today had been quite an eventful day, one that filled him with hopes, hopes he had long lost as time seemed to fly and they remain trapped inside these walls. The sight of the familiar bungalow came into view as he neared the little gate that guarded his home and just as he had thought, sitting on the short fence and scrolling through his phone was his brother. 

The boy just wouldn't rest until he was home, just like a wife waiting for her husband, he would always be found every other night, waiting on his return. The younger man saw the car pulling up slowly, a smile so bright graced his face, he jumped down from the fence and stood in wait watching his brother drive into the garage and park in his spot. The younger man shut the gate and walked over to give his brother a long deserving hug. 

They both met halfway and gripped onto each other tightly, breathing together and smiling with contentment as warmth filled them, making them feel alive and loved. 

"I missed you." Snow whispered into their hug and the older man squeezed him into his chest. 

"Sorry, I kept you waiting for long." He apologized, the day was a busy one with all the new vacationers coming into the city, he had returned home later than usual.

"The food is cold but I promise to get it heated while you take a bath." Snow smiled, pulling his brother into the house and their shared bedroom. 

******

After the day he had murdered his parents and set the house on fire, the D.A had taken him in for questioning but he was grateful his brother was one of them and he helped get him out the next few minutes, saving him from the suspicious glares their step-sisters threw at him and he had brought him home and for the first few nights, he was tormented by his nightmares, the horrifying ones that always wakes him up at three in the morning, leaving him yelling out for help and seeking his brother who would rush into the room, comfort him and carry him into his own bedroom. This had gone on for two weeks until he decided its best they shared his bedroom and when he gets his nightmares, he would be there to hold onto him and protect him from the monsters that haunt his sleep. 

He had no idea what he would have done without his brother by his side and he would not be parted from him ever again. 

******

Humming sweetly to the soft music playing in the background, the younger man heated the food and returned them to the dining table, he began setting the table and dishing out food on his and his brother's plates, pouring them water into drinking glasses and checking again to be certain he got everything set and ready.

"Lover??" Snow yelled out for him, he was taking forever and he didn't want the food getting cold again.

"Almost done!" He replied from the bedroom, where he was throwing both legs into his sleeping shorts as fast as he could.

"Hurry!" Snow called out with a chuckle.

"Here, love." The older man replied softly as he came down the stairs, he walked towards his brother to give a gentle kiss on his cheek before sitting on a chair next to the waiting boy. Food already served they just dug in and ate. "You spoil me with extravagant gifts of deliciousness." He mumbled after a few bites.

"I love you." Was the gentle reply he got from his brother? 

Silence filled the room after that until their plates are left with crumbs and bones. 

"Anything interesting happened at work today?" Snow asked after returning from the kitchen having just dumped the plates in the dishwasher. 

"Yes," he replied with excitement in his eyes. 

"Then tell me." The eager boy pulled his brother out of the chair and led him to the couch in the sitting room, he grabbed the TV remote and turned it to his brother's favorite show, returning to the couch, he lay on it, his head resting on his brothers' laps, he asked again. "What happened?" 

"Today we had eight vacationers come into the city." 

"Really?" Snow couldn't believe what he was hearing, all his life he had never heard anyone visiting the city and he's always wondered why, well, either he never saw one or he may not have heard but since he lived with his brother, a member of the D.A he tends to learn so much about the city, things that left him in total confusion.

"In all eight of them, I was breath-taking by just two." 

"Two?" 

"Yes, eighteen-year-old boys, the most handsome young men I had ever seen in all of my life." 

"I have never heard you compliment a man's beauty before." Snow gave him a raised brow and a twisted smirk.

"Not true, I compliment your beauty all the time." 

"That doesn't count." Snow shoved him playfully and returned to resting his head on his lap.

"Same height, broad-shouldered and heavily muscled, both had soot-black eyes, an aquiline nose, and a proud chin. There was a dignity about one and a quiet aloofness about the other, one dark and the other red. God, they were beautiful." 

Snow listened, mouth agape with incredulity, although, his brother had told him on the first night they came home about his attraction towards men, he had learned this truth about himself from his years in the Academy, it was his darkest secret and it was hard to hide from everyone, especially from the women they bring in to them every third and last day of the week to satisfy their raging needs. 

At first, he had wondered what they did with all those women and where they sent them to after they got used by angry sex-deprived Agents but, he later learned that the government had a house for women they kept for just that one purpose, they were kept in a boarding house, taken care of and paid, for just that one purpose, they neither get married nor have affairs with other men. He felt pity for them but what could he possibly do?

Most were taken from their families at very tender ages and brought to the boarding house to be groomed until they reached the age of sixteen then they are ready to be sent into the D.A camps and assigned men for the nights. His brother had also told him that his first sexual experience was at the age of fifteen, he was confused since he had no idea what he was supposed to do but was relieved to learn that the sixteen-year-old girl they sent into him that night was much experienced in the act and she did all the work while he laid in bed and just stared into her eyes with tears streaming down his face.

Snow hated all his brother had to go through in that horrid place but in some ways, it has its benefits since no one knows the city, its secrets, and Dark places better than he does. 

Seeing the looks on his brother's face, he need not be told that his brother was falling for an outsider and a man for that matter. SinCity would cut them to bits and pieces if they found out and fear struck the boy as a knife.

"H-How long are they staying?" 

"Three weeks." 

"Where are they staying?" 

"Get me my laptop and I will put in their numbers so we can find out." 

Snow quickly hurried into their bedroom, grabbed the laptop from the table, and rushed back to his brother. 

The older man took the laptop and tapped away, Snow watched in amazement seeing that his brother had already memorized the numbers. 

"Crystal Palace." They both read out loud once the Hotel sign appeared on the computer screen. 

"We need to find them, Lover." Snow met his brothers' eyes. 

"I was thinking the same thing, they could be our ticket out of here if they don't break any rules and get themselves in trouble before their times are over." 

"But, if we make friends, you can help them even if they got into trouble, right?" Snow asked.

"I know my way around the city and they know theirs outside the city, so I guess we can do something together."

"Let's go find them, please, Lover. They need to know the rules." Snow was near tears. 

"We will but tomorrow, I will take off work and we can go, I need you to do something for me, we have to go in disguise. " 

"What?" Snow was confused. "But, why?" 

"I saw the looks on their faces when I was scanning them and believe me, they do not look like they like the D.A one bit and I wouldn't want to scare them off if they saw me in uniform, so we will go but we won't disclose who I am or where I worked, Ok?" 

"But you scanned them, won't they recognize you?" 

"If any would recognize me, it would be the Dark one, Eric, but even he couldn't look me in the eyes and you know when we are all suited up we all look like cloned people, so I can bet you they won't." 

"You're right." Snow smiled. "Do you think it is time we finally leave this city?" 

"Maybe, Baby Brother, Maybe." 

"Thank you." Snow yawned.

"Time for bed, baby?"

"Mmmm. . ." he moaned.

The older man shut down his laptop and pushed it aside, he got up and carried his brother's bridal style into their bedroom, kicking the door shut with one leg, he walked towards the bed then he put his brother on his side before climbing in next to him. 

Snow moved closer until he was squeezed into his brother's chest who held him in a warm cuddle.

“Good night, Lover.”

“Night, Snow.”

***~~***