Your Innocence ( Brallon )

Chapter 13; At The Dead-End Of Unsteadiness

Dallon awoke to the sound of his alarm, groggily reaching over and shutting it off. It was the big day, well a big day. Glancing down at the boy that was curled into his side, he gently stroked Brendon's soft hair. The teen had crawled into the man's around 11:30 last night, shaking just from the fear of having a nightmare, it was also fear of the courtroom tomorrow.

"Okay Bren, time to get up. We got a long day ahead of us." Dallon pushed himself off of the bed, disrupting a sleeping Brendon next to him.

The little whine that came out of the boy's mouth made Dallon's heart melt. The older couldn't help but pull the adorable younger into a soft embrace. Brendon jumped at the sudden, unexpected contact, then relaxing into the warm hug and resting his head on the older's chest. The older intertwined his arms behind the younger's back, holding him close to his chest.

"That man will never hurt you again, he will never touch you, he will never talk to you, and he will never even look at you without getting punched so hard in the face that his front teeth fall out. You hear me, I will always look after you." Dallon whispered softly into the boy's ear, reassuring himself more than the adolescent. "Now let's go find you something nice to wear okay."

Brendon nodded and the two walked back across the hall into what was now the refugee's room.

"He needs to look vulnerable, scared, and small. He's not in front of the court yet, but he needs to have the same feeling. A large sweater or something oversized will make him look small and he might feel safer like that. " Andie had instructed Dallon outside of the bedroom the night before.

"I won't be able to keep him calm, what happens when he freaks and he can't calm down. If I start hugging or touching him they might find something to use against us." Dallon muttered softly, starting to realize all the possible situations they could run into.

"Technically he's nineteen and legal. Look you are the one credited with his rescue, no one can blame him for having a deep trust in you. You know him better than anyone else, if he starts to freak out just try to be subtle about keeping him calm." Andie patted her hand softly on the taller's shoulder and following Duckie out the door of the apartment and leaving Dallon alone in the hallway.

After examining countless outfits Brendon had bought on their mall outing the other day, the pair finally decided a pair of black skinny jeans with the cream sweater that had buttons on the shoulders. Dallon left the younger to get dressed and chose a nice pair of black slacks and a white button up. When he looked at himself in the mirror he felt dressed up, most of the time it was a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, never anything fancy.

Dallon sighed, he never thought this day would come, that he'd be at a preliminary hearing for a kidnapper, rapist, and murderer. There was a picture of Ryan and him when the graduated from the academy. Both of their faces held huge smiles as the friends held up their new shiny badges, the man could remember the happiness that coursed through his veins that day. Dallon was exactly where he wanted to be, a hero, but yet he was still so far away. The pain out weighed the pride sometimes, and even though now he had a duty to protect Brendon, there were still times he would trade it all just to have his best friend back.

"Ryan would be proud of you ya' know." Dallon whipped around to see Duckie leaning against the door frame. "You've come so far from when you and him first got to the station, you aren't the shy guy that couldn't even talk to anyone. You're a hero to that boy and everyone else. Dallon, he loves you."

"Thanks Duckie." Dallon sniffled a little, taking one last glance in the mirror before following Duckie out of the room, not questioning how the detective got into the apartment.

As they passed the closed door of the boy's room, he stepped out wearing his sweater and skinny jeans. It made Dallon's heart melt when he saw how the cream jumper swallowed up his skinny frame. Brendon appeared so small and vulnerable, more than usual, and the expression on his face didn't help.