Thinking of Winter

I awoke at the sound of Liam's voice, and smiled. Opening my eyes I looked up at him, my smile got wider. I sat up and rubbed my hand over my face, feeling something metal. Pulling my hand away, I stared at the ring in shock. Taking it off, I studied it closer. Glancing at Liam through slit eyes, I held up the ring in question. "Care to explain?"

"In a question," he replied, grabbing the ring and walking around the bed. He sat down next to me and twirled the ring around in his fingers. "Jace, these last couple of years have been one hell of a roller coaster for us. So much pain and happiness blended together in one hot mess." Liam looked at me with a warm smile before continuing. "I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. Knowing that you're by my side, I know I'll be very happy. So," he said, getting off the bed and going on his knee, "Jace Peters, will you do me the honors of becoming my partner?"

I stared at him in shock, which turned to happiness, which turned to excitement. "As long as you will be my penguin!" I said, causing him to laugh and place the ring back on my finger. He stood up a bit and pressed kisses on my lips, both of us grinning.

"Penguins, huh?" Liam asked after a few minutes. I laughed for a moment before answering.

"Everyone knows when a penguin finds its partner, it's forever," I replied, snuggling closer to Liam. He tightened his arms around me and kissed my forehead. We laid like that for a while before my legs started hurting from falling asleep on me.

Removing myself from Liam's grasp, I ran out of the bedroom before my legs deceived me and caused me to fall in the living room floor. "Legs asleep?" Liam asked as he grinned and walked towards me. I nodded and gave him an irritable look. He then got on top of me and whispered, "Let's make good use of your incapacitated state," causing me to shiver in excitement.

"I hate you," I said, but was quickly cut off by his plump lips. It wasn't long before we were undressed and were back in the bedroom.

Time Elapse

Around dinner time, Zeth showed up. I haven't seen him in about a month so when he walked through the door, I tackled him to the floor. "Hey, baby brother!" he said, wrapping his arms around me. After a moment, we untangled and stood up. My ring must have caught the light because Zeth grabbed my hand and looked at it closely. "When did this happen?" he asked, looking between me Liam.

"About nine this morning," I said, grinning. Zeth smiled warmly before wrapping his arms around me again.

"Congratulations, bro," he said, pushing me back and looking at me closely. "I'm happy for you, the both of you." He then walked over to Liam and hugged him. "Take care of my little brother, you hear?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he replied. I smiled and then got worried.

"Where are you going, Zeth?" I asked, looking at him through tear-filled eyes. Zeth stared at me for a long moment, causing me to panic a little.

"I've got to get out of New York for a little while, Jace. After, well, you know, I'm sure the police will be looking for me. I'm going to head to Japan for a bit and pick up some stuff. I'll email and call you first chance I get, okay?" he said, placing a hand on my face and brushing a tear away as it fell.

I wrapped my arms around him tightly, and felt his arms around me just as tight. "Stay safe, Zeth. Remember, round here we always stand up straight," I said, pulling away a little bit to look at his face.

In unison, "Round here something radiates." He hugged me one more time before shaking Liam's hand. I saw a look pass between them, and then disappear. Looking at me one last time, Zeth gave a small smile and turned away, walking out of my life for who knows how long this time. I knew Liam knew why, and possibly how long, but I decided I wasn't going to ask. It would be better if I just waited until my only living family returned.

As Liam and I went inside, I silently prayed that nothing bad came over Zeth and I lost him again, but permanently. Grabbing a plate of food, I sat it down on the table and stared at it for a long moment. "I'm going to lay down," I said, walking back into the living room and lying down on the couch.

I couldn't make myself eat, knowing my brother was going to be on the other side of the world because of Jarrek. I let the tears run down, and barely noticed Liam sitting down next to me. He grabbed my hand, and sat there well into the night.