Leaving - Part 1 - ReitaxRuki, KaixRuki
Leaving
Part I
Rating: PG-13 - NC-17
Warnings: MxM relationship, violence, strong language, gore
Pairings: ReitaxRuki, KaixRuki, ShouxHiroto, AoixUruha
Genre: AU, Action, Smut, Sci-Fi, Horror, Humor
Summary: He had been a mere businessman when the infection broke out; a son, a brother and a lover. He had been all that and then, it had all been ripped out from beneath him in a mere moment. It was a moment that cost billions of people something; a family, daughter, son, wife, husband.
Comments: Another zombie fic I had the urge to do. All thanks to the zombies movies I’ve been watching. No real storyline; just something I had to get out of my system. Probably really crappy lol Enjoy ♥♥♥
He had been a mere businessman when the infection broke out; a son, a brother and a lover. He had been all that and then, it had all been ripped out from beneath him in a mere moment. It was a moment that cost billions of people something; a family, daughter, son, wife, husband.
Living the life of looking over your shoulder every moment and sleeping with one eye open; it was exhausting and if not, it drove you to insanity. Because you saw faces everywhere. You saw your family at every turn, on every undead face, you saw them. He saw his mother, father and his brother; he saw them. It never seemed to ease pain of losing them, despite how they weren’t close; he still cared for his family.
So, here he was; nearly two years later after the infection. He was still on his own, armed to the teeth, ready for anything. In two of those years, he’d only met a handful of people, never staying with them long enough to actually get to know any of them. Which he found was the best, because then, he’d never have to go through the pain of losing someone he loved. That was until now.
Running hard through the trees of the forest, hissing as a branch caught him along the face; he kept pushing himself. A large herd of zombies were after him. He had ammo, but not enough to take out all of them. He needed to find someplace to wait them out.
Looking over his shoulder, he cursed under his breath. There were more following after him; all the noise had attracted at least twenty more of them. This wasn’t good at all. Taking out a large combat knife, he jabbed it right through the skull of one, bone breaking and dead tissue tearing beneath the blade.
Taking a breath, he hurdled over a fallen tree, stumbling and falling. Rolling across the ground and jumping back to his feet in a split second, the action seemingly slowing down all of the walkers. He continued to run across the foliage, trying to get as far ahead as he could; put as much distance between him and the undead.
“Hey!” someone called out to him.
Skidding across the dead leaves to a stop, he looked towards the voice, seeing a man with arms above his head waving to him. Taking a look back the way he had come, making a quick split decision, he ran towards the man. The stranger motioning for him to go down the ladder into the ground; it was a bomb shelter.
“Hurry up!”
He watched the man latch the door shut and finish climbing down. Leaning over his knees to continue catching his breath, he looked around the very large space. Spotting several other people, they all stared at him as if trying to dissect what type of person he was. It was rather annoying and uncomfortable, but, it was something that happens when a stranger is pulled into a group of survivors.
“Get him some water,” the guy who had saved him ordered.
A red head stood, with a nod, “sure.”
Jerking slightly as the man pulled him towards a seat and being handed bottled water, he thanked breathlessly, “thank you.”
“No problem,” he smiled, a lone dimple appearing on the side of his face. “I’m Yutaka, but, you can call me Kai.”
“Ruki,” he gasped, downing half of the bottle.
“Those guys over there,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, to the other people, “Saga.”
The red head lifted his hand with a smile, “hey.”
“That’s Tora.”
“Yo,” a taller black haired man smiled.
“Those two, are Uruha and Aoi,” he pointed, where a dark haired man had his arms wrapped around the honey blonde. Kai then pointed to another couple lying on a bed together, “Shou and Hiroto.”
Nodding to the two pairs of couples, Ruki looked up at Kai, “is this all of you?”
“No,” he shook his head, kneeling beside the man, “I have a brother and then two other people of our group; they’re out hunting, you’ll get to meet them when they get back.”
“I guess we can go ahead and make a spot for you,” he said thoughtfully, looking around the space.
“You don’t have to,” he swallowed another mouthful of water. “I don’t plan on staying.”
“Well, we’re not going to send you back out there,” Kai argued.
“No, really,” he forced a half hearted smile, “I want to leave.”
“Good, because we definitely don’t plan on feeding another mouth,” a blonde dropped in from the top. The man looked down at Ruki and then he looked to the other, “leave it to you to bring in a stray, baby brother.”
“We couldn’t leave him out there,” the other argued.
“Sure we could,” he growled, pushing him aside. Swinging a line of gutted and skinned rabbits and squirrels over his shoulder, “we’ve done it with countless others, why would he be any different?”
Kai frowned when the blonde said that, “maybe you could, but, I couldn’t.”
“I know,” he said softly. Setting the mutilated bodies of the animals on the table, he turned around and stared at Ruki, questioning, “Which way did you come from?”
“North,” he answered.
“How the hell did you make it through the north?” he cocked a brow with surprise.
Taking another quick drink, Ruki snorted, “Ran like hell.”
“Just you?” the blonde continued asking.
Nodding, he sighed, “yeah, it’s just me.”
“You must be one hell of a survivor,” he chuckled, turning to his brother. Giving his younger brother a pointed look and then gave a shake of his head, “give him my spot for the night, I’ll be up in the snipers nest for now.”
“You can’t, Reita,” Kai gaped, “its autumn. You’ll get sick if you stay out there all night.”
“I’ll be fine,” he shrugged, going to where his bed was and grabbing another jacket.
“You don’t have to give up your bed,” Ruki spoke up, looking determinedly at the man. He glanced at Kai and then back to the blonde, “I’ll stay up in the sniper’s nest. It’s just the one night and I’m gone.”
Reita looked at the man for a short moment, a slow smirk curling as he turned and grabbed a few other items. “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll stay up in the nest. Like you said, ‘it’s just one night’. A little cold isn’t going to kill me.”
Grimacing tightly as the blonde brushed past and went back up the ladder, he looked to Kai, brow arching, “Is your brother always this charming?”
“Charming?” Shou laughed, sitting up from his bed, “that’s him being civil. Reita being charming, is him giving you swift kicking in the ass.”
“I think he likes you,” Aoi chuckled, leaning back, “when me and Uruha came to the group, he wasn’t as welcoming with us.”
Scoffing, he looked up the ladder. He wouldn’t lie and say he didn’t find the man intriguing and not the less bit sexy. Ruki just didn’t like the small fact that it was the group’s way of welcoming him into their crowd. He’d never expected or wanted to be welcomed; at all.
“My brother is a little rough around the edges,” Kai smiled apologetically.
Ruki cocked a brow with a smirk, “A little?”
The younger brother laughed, waving off the situation “anyways, take his bed and I’ll go ahead and start dinner.”
Looking to the bedroll that he only assumed belonged to the blonde; Ruki shrugged his bag off and plopped onto the blankets. Groaning softly as he was met with the softness. It had been a very long time since he’d had anything remotely close to a bed. Lying on his side, facing the wall, he fell asleep.
Waking up an hour later, mouth watering at the smell of food, Ruki sat up, stretching arms over his head. Satisfied by how well he had slept. It had been far too long since he’s had such a good hours rest.
“You’re awake,” Hiroto smiled, “just in time too. Kai’s just finished with dinner.”
“Hey, Kyo,” Kai called to a man Ruki hadn’t met yet, “can you take this up to Reita?”
“Do it yourself,” the man snapped, turning away.
Frowning, Ruki stood, holding his hand up, “I can take it up to him.”
Walking towards the younger brother, he could feel the eyes of Kyo and the other man, whose name he had yet to learn. Grabbing his pistol and holstering it on his thigh, Kai telling him where and which tree the sniper’s nest was. He climbed the ladder with the food in hand, going to the tree he’d find Reita in.
Going up the tree, he pushed aside the netting to keep the nest hidden. Finding Reita calmly cleaning his weapons, he cleared his throat, “hey, Kai wanted me to bring this to you.”
The blonde only glanced out of the corner of his eye, continuing to clean the gun. Ruki grimaced, pulling himself the rest of the way up, setting the bag of food next to the blonde. He looked around, seeing what almost felt like the entire forest.
“There something else you need?” Reita grumbled, putting the rifle together quickly.
Biting the inside of his lip, staring at Reita, he asked, “Is it just you and Kai?”
The question stopped the blonde in his actions, face tightening, “Yeah, it’s always been us. Anything else you’d like to ask?”
“Did you ever have a girlfriend or wife?”
Reita looked up, eyes narrowing, “what is this? I didn’t agree to play twenty one questions with you?”
“I had a boyfriend, his name was Takeru,” he smiled, ignoring the question.
A small silence passed between them, Reita shuffled slightly, “a wife. She died a year before the breakout; I had been deployed at the time of the breakout and then, they had us all returned to the states to help with the outbreak.”
“Army?” he asked.
“Marines,” he tilted his head with a smile. Lifting the rifle and keeping it snug against his shoulder, Reita scanned the woods, “my enlistment had been nearly up before all of this shit.”
“No way, you were in the marines?”
“Yep,” Reita murmured, continuing to scan the woods.
“So, you’re like their leader?”
“I suppose,” he lowered the rifle, glancing to the man, “you barely met me an hour ago and you want to know my whole life story?”
Breaking off a small twig, continuing to break into more small pieces, he shrugged, “I hadn’t run into anyone else in five months. You’re the first group of people I’ve come across in a while, so, I’m being a little like a-”
“A drunk chick who can’t take a hint,” the blonde grumbled. Shaking his head and moving around Ruki to get to the ladder, “I need to go and check some of the bait traps.”
“I’ll come with,” he announced, following the blonde down the ladder.
“No, I don’t need you following me around and yapping my ear off.”
Frowning as the man walked off, Ruki looked up to the nest and then back to the blonde. He shook his head and went back to the shelter. It was a good thing he was only staying the night, because this would turn out very awkward. And he didn’t need to become caught up in people or even a person.
When morning came, Ruki woke up first. Looking around the space to find that everyone was still fast asleep, he quickly gathered his belongings up. Going to the ladder, only to be yanked back roughly and thrown to the ground. Hissing when his head slammed against the hard concrete, he looked up into the face of Kyo.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” the man hissed, choking the brunette.
Choking and trying to shove the man away, “leaving, like I said.”
“You’re stealing from us,” he hissed, tightening his hand on the neck.
Gagging as more of his air was cut off, Ruki reached to his thigh, pulling his combat knife from its sheath. Growling he brought his knee up into the man’s side as hard as he could, bringing up his hand and slicing into the arm of Kyo. Coughing out loud as the other released him, he scrambled away as fast as he could.
“What the hell is going on here?” Reita jumped down, glaring between the two. Reaching out and grabbing Ruki, “what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Defending myself,” he coughed, gripping the wrist of the blonde. “H-He… attacked first. I was leaving… like I said.”
“Bullshit!” the bleeding man snarled. “He was stealing from us.”
“Fuck you!” the brunette snapped. Trying to fight out of the hold of the blonde, “I didn’t take shit! I’m going to slit your fucking throat!”
“He’s telling the truth!” Shou shouted, going to Kyo and kicking him. Turning to Reita who still held Ruki tightly, “Kyo did attack first. Ruki didn’t take anything. He was only leaving like he said.”
Growling, the blonde dropped Ruki. Going and grabbing Kyo, slamming him up against the wall harshly, “one more chance, Kyo. What the fuck is going on?”
The man coughed, eyes narrowing as he gave his answer, “He was stealing from us.”
The ex-marine bristle and he slammed the man down on the ground, “I’ve fucking had it with you Kyo!”
“I’ve had it with you too, soldier boy!” the man snarled, jerking the hand away. Looking to everyone, he shook his head, “I’m out of here. I don’t need this shit.”
“Go; I don’t fucking care,” Reita shoved the other, “get your shit and get the fuck out of here!”
Ruki could only stand there off to the side. He hadn’t wanted to cause any trouble inside the group, much less, get anyone kicked out; it was far from being the last thing on his mind. Taking a slow step back, clutching his bag tightly as Reita watched the man grab his things; grumbling and cursing under his breath the entire time.
“I-I… I didn’t mean for this-”
Clicking his tongue, Reita shook his head, “don’t worry about it. Kyo was getting on all our damned nerves.” He turned to Shou, giving a nod towards the other man, “make sure he gets out of here, will you?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, smiling to the brunette, “to bad you’ve got to leave. You take care of yourself, Ruki.”
“Thanks,” he gave a nod, turning to the blonde expecting something from him, but, nothing came from him. Giving one look around the shelter, Ruki went up the ladder, “You guys take care too.”
Following the younger man up the ladder, Reita walked behind the man. His eyes completely focused on the ass of the brunette, he cleared his throat, “you know my brother isn’t going to like that you’re leaving.”
Stopping, a brow arching, Ruki spoke slowly, “what are you talking about?”
“He likes you,” he shrugged, walking past.
“How can you tell?” he questioned, following the man.
“I’m his older brother,” was the snip answer, “I can tell when he’s got a hard on.”
Rolling his eyes, Ruki opened his mouth and effectively shut it as he watched the ex-marine take a large combat knife from his boot. Holding his hand up and shushing him softly, kneeling in the high grass.
Keeping his mouth shut and doing the same, Ruki watched as five zombies came out of the brush. Licking his lips, he slipped up beside the blonde, he took his own knife from it’s sheathe. Side glancing the man, they waited in the brush.
One of the walkers looking their way and catching sight of them, he watched Reita jump up and rush the undead, stabbing it right it in the middle of the eyes. Letting the body fall to the dirt in a heap, turning to another one, not noticing how close another was.
Getting to his feet as well, the brunette quickly rushed the walker that reached for the man, shoving it back and slicing through its head. Turning quickly as another grabbed a hold of his shoulder, he shoved the body back, gasping as a knife flew right past his head; getting coagulated blood all over his face. Ruki glared at the man who shrugged with a laugh.
Yanking the knife out of the skull, tossing it back to its owner, he kicked one of the last two back. The walker fell to the ground; it sluggishly got back up, the brunette going up with one stride, plunging the knife into its left eye.
Shoving the walker to the ground, he kneeled to clean the blade of dead flesh on dirtied, bloody clothes.
“You’re not half bad,” Reita murmured, going through the clothing; making a sound of triumph as he pulled a half pack of cigarette from a pocket, “fuck yes.”
Watching as the blonde patted a cigarette from the soft pack, he asked, “So, was that your way of asking me to stay?”
“I can ask you, but,” he lit the end of the tobacco stick; inhaling deeply, he looked at the other through blonde fringes, “I won’t. It’s a matter of if you’re tired of being on your own. I can tell you’re uneasy about getting close and I don’t blame you.”
“So,” he leaned against a tree, “you’re basically telling me, I just got to say I want to stay.”
“Exactly,” he blew smoke through his nose, gazing around the woods. Putting the filtered stick to his lips, Reita paused, looking at the forest floor, “are you tired of being alone?”
Swallowing uneasily, Ruki shrugged. Taking a deep breath and looking up at the sky, replying in a soft murmur, “I don’t know.”
Snorting at the answer, the man inhaled the cigarette; “you think you could take care of him?”
“What?” he asked shocked.
“Kai; my brother,” stating softly.
Grimacing, shaking his head, the brunette laughed snidely, “Look, your bro seems like a nice guy and all. Don’t get me wrong, he’s good-looking, but, he ain’t my type.”
Snorting as he blew smoke through his nose, Reita narrowed his eyes, “worlds gone to shit and you’re talking about type; fucking typical. What,” he sneered, flicking the ash off the end, “You waiting on some fucking white picket fence type of guy; like a little virgin.”
“No,” Ruki answered simply, not bothered at all by the statement, “I just like a badass who think they hot shit.”
Stopping and eyeing the brunette up and down, the blonde questioned, “Is this you flirting?”
“You tell me.”
“Look,” he stubbed out his now finished cigarette, “I’m not the least bit impressed by you.”
“Yeah right,” he snorted, “you totally didn’t eye my ass up earlier.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Shorty,” Reita turned away, going towards the sniper nest. Ruki right on his heels as he went up the ladder, he asked derisively, “So, is this your way of saying you’re going to stay with the group?”
“Maybe it is,” Ruki plopped down, setting his bag off to the side.
Laughing, the blonde took the sniper rifle, scanning the forest with the scope. While the brunette leaned back against the tree, staring at the other until Reita couldn’t take it, “will you fucking stop that.”
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Stop eye raping me, it’s not going to happen.”
“What?” he snapped, using the man’s words against him, “You waiting on some fucking white picket fence type of guy?”
“White picket fence my ass,” he snorted, taking another cigarette and lighting it up, “I think I’d prefer a chick who wants a good fuck, but, my options are limited.”
Frowning slightly, he asked in disappointment, “So, you’re a straight shooter?”
Laughing loudly, Reita eyed the man out of the corner of his eye, “you sound disappointed.”
“I am,” Ruki looked away. Pressing his lips into a firm line, he shrugged, “guess I’ll take my things back down.”
“My bro will be happy,” he murmured, watching the brunette climb down.
Stopping in motion, giving the man a look before going down the ladder; he went to the manhole in time to see Kyo come out. The both of them staring each other down, before the man shoved past him, disappearing off into the woods. Ruki still felt guilty about getting the man kicked out, but, in the back of his mind, he thought the other deserved it.
Jumping off the ladder, he turned and smiled at everyone, “guess I’m staying.”
“Reita convinced you into staying?” Aoi sat up shocked.
“Not exactly,” he shrugged, setting his bag down, “but, close enough.”
“He must really like you,” Hiroto laughed.
Lowering his head when the man had said that, Ruki momentarily wondered if the act Reita was putting up was no more than to ignore what he wanted. The way the other spoke to him and even looked at him, he could see the truth under the tough exterior. And then, he looked to Kai, seeing the pure joy in the man’s eyes.
“So, where should I make myself comfortable?”
“Not by me, that’s for damned sure,” the last man whose name Ruki still wasn’t aware of.
“Oh come off,” Shou snapped, throwing a pillow at the man’s head. Turning to the brunette, laughing, “Toshiya’s had an eye on Reita’s ass since he’s come to the group. That tough guy persona, it’s just a way to
try and get his attention.”
“I’m glad you decided to stay,” Kai walked up, smiling.
“Yeah,” he nodded.
It took some time to adapt to being part of the group, but, eventually he did. It was slightly awkward at the same time, because by then, Kai had began to show more interest in him. While he showed more interest in the older brother, who ignored him and stayed far away.
All his advances were ignored by the blonde, that it kind of infuriated him. So, he decided to play a different game by trying to make him jealous. He didn’t like that he’d resorted to such a petty thing, but, for some reason, he was desperate for the man.
One night he and Kai had stayed up late talking; they talked of their lives before the zombie apocalypse. They shared stories of what happy memories they had. Suddenly, the brother had tugged Ruki to him, kissing him softly.
It had surprised Ruki, but, with the lack of human contact he’s had, the only thing he could think of is and was getting off. Shifting slightly, so he could quickly unbutton his pants, Kai doing the same; they took each other’s cocks into their hands. Stroking one another unhurriedly, he moaned into the man’s neck.
Remaining quiet as possible, as not to rouse their roommates, the brunette clutched onto a shoulder with a hand, while stroking with is other steadily. He panted heavily and groaned against slick sweaty neck. And then he heard him. He heard the blonde coming down the ladder and immediately, he moaned louder. The shuffling of boots stopped for a moment, before Reita quickly did what he needed to do and went back up.
Letting out a soft groan, Ruki panted softly, “faster.”
Stroking the brunette faster, he kissed and bit him along the neck, asking him huskily, “You like that?”
Releasing another groan, he nodded, “yes.”
Their hands quickened, that familiar build of pressure brought tears to Ruki’s eyes. He was close, so close to oblivion. Jerking his hips against movement, Kai doing the same, he cried out softly as he came into the hand; the man following him shortly with an almost quiet groan.
Swallowing, he kept his eyes down as he fixed his pant. Sitting back against the wall, he stared up at the ceiling listening to the quiet breaths of Kai and then, he shifted and lain beside him. Still, Ruki did not look at the other, feeling like he had betrayed someone.
Waiting for several minutes until he was sure the younger brother had fallen asleep, he had wriggled quietly from his side. Slipping his boots and a jacket on, he looked at the others for a moment; he went up the ladder. Quietly shutting the door to the shelter, he went through the trees swiftly to the snipers nest. Climbing the ladder to find the blonde wrapped in a blanket, staring at nothing.
“What?”
Taking a deep breath, Ruki crawled to the man, straddled him and kissed him harshly. He had half expected the man to shove him away, but, when the kiss was returned as heatedly, he groaned into the mouth.
Gloved hands were on his hips swiftly, gripping him tightly. Mouths moved passionately, he whimpered every time the gloved fingers ghosted over the flesh peeking from beneath his shirt. Suddenly, he was yanked back, the blonde panting harshly.
Their hot breath created soft, wispy steam clouds. Reita picking Ruki up and setting him off to the side, his voice heavy, “leave.”
“What?” he panted, reaching back to the man.
Shoving the hand away, he took a deep breath, ordering loudly, “leave.”
Swallowing, Ruki shook his head, “Reita, you-”
“Get. The FUCK, away,” he growled, taking another deep breath.
The ex-marine rubbed his face tiredly. Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the man he had just passionately made out with, the man who didn’t move an inch. Scowling tightly, he rolled his eyes as he went to make a move to get around the brunette. Only to be shoved onto his back and the man straddled him again, kissing him heatedly once more.
Groaning against the sweet mouth of Ruki, he sat up and held the other closer. Growling gutturally when the ass of the man put just the right pressure against his dick. That snapped him out of his stupor, he gripped the wrists of the brunette tightly; shaking his head as he pushed him off and he went down the ladder.
“Reita,” Ruki called, following the man down. Running after him as he walked into the woods, “Reita, wait; where are you going?”
“Away from you,” he snapped.
“Why-why-”
“You know what,” he whirled around shoving Ruki back, “this isn’t happening. Not after I had just heard you and Kai; I’m not going to do this.”
Mouth falling open, Ruki shook his head, “I-I… I know it’s wrong.”
“Wrong?” Reita laughed in disbelief. Running both hands through his hair, he threw his hands up, “I-I… I cannot fucking believe you. Not fucking twenty minutes ago, you were just with my brother and you come up… a-and try to-get me to fuck you!”
“What happened with Kai, just… i-it just happened,” he argued.
“I’m not playing your fucking manipulative shit,” he snarled, shoving him back again. Taking two steps back, face still contorted with fury, “you don’t get to fuck with my brother’s emotion. You don’t get to fuck with him and think that’s going to give you some leverage to fuck with me.”
“Reita,” he tried again, going toward the blonde.
“Don’t,” he took another step back, “Don’t fucking touch me.”
The blonde turned on his heels, disappearing into the woods. Ruki shoulders fell with guilt and every other negative emotion possible to mankind. Releasing a heavy sigh, he went back to the bomb shelter, going to his separate makeshift bed and fell asleep immediately.
“What the fuck do you mean he’s gone?”
Literally jumping out of bed when he heard whoever screams, Ruki looked about the shelter blearily, but, slightly wide eyed. Yawning, he asked, “What’s going on?”
“Reita’s gone,” they all answered.
“What?” he gaped, looking to Kai to find him crying. Turning to Aoi and Uruha, he shook his head in denial, “no; he-he’s just… this is some fucking joke.”
“He’s gone,” Shou murmured, holding a piece of paper out, “left this.”
Ripping it from the man, he read it over quickly. Feeling that guilt hit him again, he looked up at Kai, gazing at him apologetically. What Reita had written seemed believable, but, he knew the real reason as to why. The man had left because of him.
“He went west,” Aoi sighed, sitting on his and Uruha’s bed. “I can’t believe he left.”
“He’s ex-marine,” Kai shrugged, slowly sitting down as well, “my brother’s always believed that he belonged on the frontlines.”
“How does he know that they’ve still got the armed forces fighting the infection?” Uruha questioned softly, looking around the solemn faces.
“He doesn’t,” Toshiya stated, rubbing his eyes, “the army fell apart fast; but-”
“That’s fucking ridiculous though,” Ruki snapped, looking at all the other men, “it’s suicidal to go looking for something that doesn’t exist.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Kai spoke up, giving everyone a look, “if he thinks that there could possibly be a form of the government left, I completely stand behind him on his decision. I don’t like that he’s gone, but, he’s taken care of us long enough.”
Staring at Kai disbelievingly, Ruki quickly stood and left the shelter. Going to the sniper’s nest Reita had fondly spent all his time, getting to the top and finding the entire place cleaned of the blonde. Licking his lips, he sat crossed legged in the middle of the makeshift nest. Staring out at the top of the trees, feeling lost and guilty; this was why he never stayed with a group. Someone always left him.