Fight By My Side

The knock started us and we both sat up straight. It must've been Ronnie who had knocked, but we weren't sure. Vic led the way as we crawled to the trap door, pressing our ears against it.

"Open up! It's Ronnie!" The man pounded on the wood. He sounded a slight bit panicked and not annoyed. Vic threw it open and Ronnie hopped back down. His hair was frazzled from the Shift.

"What now?" Vic rolled his eyes. When Ronnie explained, I immediately hopped up and through the door. I was ready for round two. Vic leaped up and held me as I struggled to get out of his arms.

"Let me at him! This time I'll kill him!" I promised Vic. Ronnie followed Vic, who looked at him wildly. I thrashed about, twisting around in Vic's strong grasp.

"Ow, ow, ow! Let me go rip his throat out! That'll keep him from talking!" I promised.

"Radke, go get Jack!" Vic gasped as I elbowed him in the chest. I cried out again and again for Vic to let me go. Currently, we were in the middle of the abandoned kitchen with only the rusty pots to witness the struggle.

"Calm down, Wyn! You'll get to him eventually! You just need to heal!" He promised. He hugged me tighter to his chest.

"I just want to fix the mistake! I want to be brave and finally not run away!" I gasped for breath. Jack came up in front of me. I stared up to him, wild eyed and pleading.

"Jack, tell Vic to let me go!" I begged him. Jack smirked slightly, but made no move to help me.

"You are so hellbent on revenge, aren't you?" He asked me. With a final twist, I slipped out of Vic's grasp, only to be caught in Jack's.

"I don't want to run away anymore." I muttered. I was tired of running away. I was sick of it! Jack, Vic, Mike, they were always the ones to throw themselves out on the live wire for the rest of us. I just hid in the Sanctuary and felt ashamed. I kept wriggling in his arms, but I felt the fight go out of me. Eventually I gave up after minutes of silence and hung there limply in Jack Barakat's arms, but he didn't lose his tight hold. Vic still stood behind me.

"You done fighting yet?" He looked down to me. I nodded my head. Round two would come, but today was not the day. Ronnie had disappeared

"Yes." I muttered into his chest. He gave me a hug before going back downstairs. Vic immediately tackled me. I landed on the worn tiles with a thud.

"What was that for?!" I complained. Vic grinned down, pinning my wrist over my head.

"First, I thought you were going to make a break for it. Second, I win again!" He crowed joyously. He didn't let me up.

"FLIRT!" Jack called from the stairs. Vic blushed but yelled back at him, denying the statement. I grinned at his red cheeks. A chorus of two other voices joined from the open entrance to the Sanctuary.

"Someone's a flirt!" The little brother teased. Vic yelled back at them, telling them to shut up.

"Victor Vincent Fuentes! Let me up!" I grumbled. Vic leaned down until we were only inches away. The moonlight of the growing evening tumbled through the broken window and splashed down to rest on his face.

"Aww, someone's adorable when they're mad." He chuckled. I pouted. Victor softened a bit.

"Tiger, would you please let me up." I begged him. Vic sighed and rolled over, pulling me with him.

"You get to carry me downstairs." I told him. He grinned and swung me over his shoulders, as if he was carrying a sack of flour over his shoulders. I closed the door behind us as we stepped down the stairs, locking the bolts on the way.

Mike and Jack were drinking at the bar. Mike looked like he had a little to much and Jack was enjoying the reactions he had. Vic set me down on the usual bean bag, crawling up next to me and resting his head on my lap. I gently played with the soft brown hair that glowed in the dim light.

"Cuddle time!" Mike stated, his words slightly slurred. He came up, sitting on the floor and resting his head on my legs. Suddenly, I became the human pillow. Jack followed over, the last to join in. He sat on the other side of me, curling up with his head on my chest.

This had happened multiple times before, mostly when we watched movies. If there was a thunderstorm going on loud enough to shake the basement, Jack would get scared and sit next to me, then Vic would get jealous that I was paying more attention to one brother than the other, and then Mike just didn't want to be lonely. Over the years of this occurrence, I discovered the boys' soft spots. Jack had one right in the hollow behind each ear, Mike had one right along his jaw, and Vic's was if you rubbed the back of his neck right at the hairline, or along the left side of his neck.

After thinking this over, I decided that Mike's proclaimed, 'cuddle time' had happened more times than I thought. Hey, that's what family was for! The thunder cracked and sent the basement shivering. Jack looped one arm around my chest, like one might hug a pillow, and held me a little tighter. Poor little Jack always got nervous when the thunder was to big for his taste. The thunder didn't stop, but kept shaking the ground. Jack buried his face into my shirt as I ran my fingers through his hair.

Honestly, Vic Fuentes and Jack Barakat were like over sized kittens.

Jack rumbled happily as I ran my fingers through his hair down to the soft hollow under his right ear. He curled up right against me, sharing the warmth he radiated so brightly. Within minutes he had fallen asleep. Mike was quickly starting to drift off as well. Vic looked up, staring straight into my blue eyes. Even in the dim light, I saw the sparkle they contained.

"You're beautiful when you're angry. Do you realize that?" He murmured sleepily. I moved my hand to scratch right in the sensitive spot on his neck. He murmured his pleasure as I softly ran my fingers through his hair, always landing on the soft spot. His words made my brain pause for a moment.

"Hmm. You're wonderful, Wynter." He smiled in the dark. I opened my mouth, trying to figure out something to say.

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" I asked him. He turned his head from resting in my lap to face me.

"You are the most stunning girl I have ever seen." He murmured to me before closing his eyes and starting to fly away on a dream.

"Why, thank you Vic. I'd say you're just as gorgeous." Mike murmured. I resisted laughing.

Notes

OOOOOHHHHHH VICTOR FUENTES....WHO CAN RESIST THE MEXICAN?