The Dragon

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Three came back to visit two more times.

Of course, nothing happened. No rape, no assault, no arguing.

Strangely enough, all we did was talk.

"He absolutely loved it," I found myself telling Three, who leaned against the wall by the door as he listened, "Cheeseburgers are probably his new favorite thing." Three stared at me, his arms folded over his chest to create a wall between us, but there was a hope in his eyes that gleamed whenever I told him about Six experiencing the outside world.

"He always hated food," Three admitted with a frown now, "He would skip his daily meal to train instead."

"He told me he only eats once a day," I murmured. Three nodded.

"He's a little fatter than the rest of us, so he needs to lose some weight, that's all. He hit an ideal weight when he was thirteen, but ever since then, all he has to do is look at an apple and he gains weight," he explained. I grimaced at that. An apple? That was their comparison? And weight? What weight? Six was perfect. He was thick, he was muscular, he was sexy. I couldn't imagine anyone looking at him and thinking he needed to lose weight.

"He's not fat," I said. Three frowned.

"Of course he is. He's at least thirty over what he should weigh."

"Who said?"

"Our doctors."

"And you believe them?"

"He's... I mean, he's not skinny."

"No."

"He's muscular."

"Yes. That's not the same as fat, and even if he was fat, who cares?" I demanded. Three scowled.

"Have you ever seen a fat guy win a fist fight?"

"Yes, actually."

"Well, I sure as fuck haven't. Fat gets you killed around here," Three said, "Just ask Seven. The little brat was a chunky ass kid and always got his ass whooped."

"He got his ass whooped because he was ganged up on by kids who were eating better diets and allowed to train more appropriately. He wouldn't have stood a chance, fat or not. Fat doesn't make you weak and it doesn't make you worthless."

"I never said Six was worthless," Three said angrily, "I just said he was fat."

"Yeah, but you're saying it like it's a bad thing."

"It is if it gets you killed."

"But it won't."

"God, your way of thinking is so fucking weird," Three snorted, "You glorify unhealthy body standards and encourage eating weirdly named foods. And tell me that people actually eat sheep. That's insane. It sounds like a made up game you're using to trick me."

"It's not a game and it's not a trick," I said, "Ask Six. He loved the outside world. Why do you think he spent so much time in it?" Three glared.

"Because of you," he responded coldly. I fell silent at that. I didn't know what to say. It was partially a compliment in my eyes, because it meant Six loved me enough to go out and see me every chance he had, but it was also an insult from Three's point of view.

"We need to set the record straight," I said, making Three narrow his eyes, "I love Six. He's beautiful in every sense of the word, from his perfect skin to his little smile to the way his eyes light up when he tries something new. He's strong and resilient, because he spent years married to someone who abused him." Three stiffened.