Shaun

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Tonight, Lee was prepared.
Or at least, as prepared as he could be.
He stood up straight, looking warily around his own muddy back garden. It was dusk, and the garden was completely silent, but for the odd rustling of the leaves of the bushes. Lee inhaled deeply, and for some reason, a rush of strawberries caught him, dipping his senses in an almost unbearably sweet salve. He stepped forward boldly, ready for the dream to take hold, but nothing was happening.
"Hello?" he called out loudly, and no reply came, not even an echo.
Lee glanced about his old garden, taking in his surroundings. Then, as if by magic, a wave of nostalgia washed over him. There, the old rusty swing swung back and forth lazily; causing Lee's mind to spin with memories of Kira's skinny legs flying in the air as he called to her to come down. From that ledge over there, he would jump half-naked into the sky with his first, fresh little wings bursting forth. The three year old Lee had circled this garden so many times he could still recall the exact taste of exhilaration he'd felt as he'd flapped his wings and they'd kept him in the air. Then look- the old dog pen. They'd had no pet, but his parents had never thought to remove the darn thing. Bethany used to climb all over it like a monkey- and as a matter of fact, it was were Lee found her and her first boyfriend making out.
That was the day he learnt was first base was. Such fun.
"This place is nice."
The ubiquitous silence broke, and Lee turned to find Madeleine watching him from the swing; her perfect blue eyes now that same striking chocolate brown he'd come to know so well.
"Your eyes are blue," he grinned, approaching her with a bounce in his step.
"I know," she smiled- a beauty not even his subconsious had really quite managed to capture.
Her legs dangled to the ground, her bare toes just brushing against the dew-drenched blades of tangled grass. They were crossed, but she still swung back and forth melodically, humming to herself.
"You're keeping in tune," he said slowly, approaching her.
She winked. "I'm full of surprises."
"Will I like them?" he laughed.
Madeleine paused, her head tilted curiously as she observed him. "Would you like to meet my brother?"
Lee's heart jolted. "What?"
"Shaun," she laughed musically, the sound sending goosepimples up and down his skin. "My brother. My dead brother, Shaun. Would you like to meet him?"
"How can I?" he asked dumbly.
"Easy," she replied, nodding. "He's right behind you."
Lee turned robotically, and suddenly a great hulking figure built like Madeleine's father but with her mother's loose, brown curls in a messy mop across his half-familar face. Lee was acutely aware of his mouth falling open.
"Hey, Lee."
The voice was gruff- much gruffer than Mr Baudelaire's had been.
"Hi."
And his voice was a squeak. Typical.
Shaun snorted, rolling his eyes at his little sister. "Nice catch, there, sis."
"You're dead," Lee pointed out stupidly.
Shaun blinked a huge pair of brown eyes. "I am. Too bad really. You never got to meet me."
"I'm meeting you now."
"What you imagine me to be," shrugged Shaun. "I mightn't look like this. Or be like this. I could be a right weed." He glanced at Madeleine, and they both snorted. "Yeah, right!" He flexed, looking quite at home in Lee's back garden as he gazed around jovially. "Nice. Pretty. Reminds me of... oh well, I suppose you'd know all about it."
Lee frowned, shaking his head slowly.
Maddie suddenly appeared behind him, shaking her head too. "I never told him."
Shaun's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Or what about the time when...?"
Her head continued to shake.
As round as coins, Shaun's eyes wheeled to Lee. "Gosh. Okay. How come?"
Madeleine shrugged. "I dunno. I never thought to. I didn't think he needed to know."
"Know what?" Lee asked curiously.
They both half-glanced at him, then their gazes once more locked on each other. "So how much does he know?"
"That we moved a lot," she shrugged. "That you're dead, that Mum's a telepath, Dad's scary, and that I am scary too."
Shaun laughed. "Right. A.K.A. nothing."
"He knows enough!" she laughed, then paused. "But, yeah. You're right. Nothing."
"Poor Lee."
"Poor Lee," she echoed sweetly, tilting her head as she finally looked at him properly.
Lee was beginning to feel slightly sick. "Then... I mean, why don't you tell me?"
Maddie snorted. "You didn't tell me about you- why should I tell you about me?"
"But I did..."
"Not that much," Madeleine cut in, somewhat resentfully. "Then you said you'd rather talk about it with Kira, remember?"
"Who's Kira?" Shaun asked curiously.
"His cousin," Madeleine shrugged. Then she sighed. "I miss you, Shaun. You'd know what to do about Kira. She hates me..."
"No!" Shaun cried, in surprise, turning on Lee. "Why would she hate Maddie? What did Maddie do?"
"Maddie-"
"You're calling her 'Maddie', now?" Shaun hissed, his eyes narrowing.
"She said I could!" Lee cried indignantly- though he was more hurt than anything else. He didn't really have a good grip on what was going on- how the atmosphere had turned on him like that, and it scared him. "She said-"
"No, I didn't..." Madeleine said slowly, her round brown eyes quite alarmed as she watched him turn to her pleadingly. "Why would you do that, Lee? You know how it gets to me..."
"What's with this guy, anyway?" Shaun demanded of his sister. "His relatives hate you- you can't trust him enough to tell him about your past- and now he has the nerve to call you that? Why the hell are you going out with him?!"
"Because..." Madeleine stopped, and gulped. "Because he cares about me."
"Do you really?" Shaun now demanded of Lee. "Do you love her?"
"Of course!" Lee growled, looking at her. "Of course I love her!"
"And does you love him?"
"Y- yes..." But she didn't look sure.
"You'd better be careful then, Lee," Shaun said darkly to his, his thick fists curling threateningly. "You'd better not hurt her."
"Too late," Madeleine said softly, barely above a whisper.
"What?" Shaun said sharply, turning to Madeleine.
She bowed her dark head. "He... he kissed another girl, and lied to me about it. After I dumped him, he got together with her. Then... then when I was finally being happy with another guy, he came and told me 'he still wanted me', whatever that means..."
"This is crazy, Maddie!" Lee interrupted desperately. "We've talked about this! We both made mistakes, we know that, but-"
"Ever made you cry?" he asked her.
And there it was. She raised her head, and now, great fat tears of scarlet dribbled unchecked down her cheeks, staining her porcelein skin crimson.
"He doesn't even know," she laughed hollowly, but her voice was horribly hoarse. "He doesn't even know if he's made me cry!"
Before Lee could even react, Shaun was upon him. That first punch cracked full blow into his stomach and sent him flying into the wall of his old house. The bricks cracked around him, and Lee slid down pathetically, completely winded.
Shaun stood over him, a hulking mass in the shadows- but those brown eyes still managed to gleam evilly down at him, as though relishing every single second.
Lee coughed, and scarlet ribbons tumbled from his mouth; snaking themselves down around his neck. Shaun bent down and with one hand, his huge hand gripped Lee's neck, and pinned him to the cracking wall. Lee scrabbled uselessly at the merciless fist, but eventually he fell limp in his desperate gasps for air. The dark eyes narrowed, and he was dropped to the ground again. Before he could catch his breath, a huge boot began to kick at him, again and again.
And the punches rained like hailstones. Every single searing second seemed to last lifetimes. Ribbons exploded from him, and his eyes soon clouded over.
But the one thing that struck him after he finally woke up... he never once protested against it. He never once tried to get up, defend himself or just run. Never once did he try to plead with Madeleine as she returned to the swing and watched them in silence.
Almost like he didn't want to.
He'd always feel like he deserved it. That got to him more than anything else.