Uncaging Bunny/LT Fanfiction

Chapter 44 - Manny's Arraignment

After his call with Matt, Laurent sat for a while, his mind racing.  He felt emotionally exhausted.  As much as he wanted to speak with Larry tomorrow, he dreaded having to tell him about the request his husband made to meet with him.  Sandoval was the last person on the planet he knew Larry wanted to meet with. And personally, Laurent wanted Larry to be nowhere near Sandoval, especially since he wouldn't be able to be there with him.

Laurent blew out a rough sigh and ran his hands across his face.  He didn't know how he was going to break this to Larry or more to the point, how Larry was going to react to the request.  Larry had been traumatized by Sandoval enough.  Now he might have to sit across from him, his husband, the man whose last deed was to have Larry drugged and kidnapped, and then confined to a room and followed around like he was a criminal. 

The same man who should have been Larry's greatest ally, but who instead lied to him, abused him, and denied him the full life he should have been living for the past 10 years or so. Now Sandoval wanted to plead his case for Larry to continue to remain tied to him, through marriage, like some noose around his neck.  Sandoval was an arrogant, sick, madman, Laurent determined. How dare he expect Larry to stay married to him after all he'd done to Larry. Though that hadn't been openly admitted, Laurent knew this was Sandoval's plan. What other reason could there be for him to want to see Larry given he now knew Larry intended to divorce him.

The very thought of it made Laurent sick.  He sat forward; his long legs spread wide as he braced his elbows on his knees.  He groaned, lowering his head.  If Sandoval was standing before him at that moment, he'd be hard pressed not to tear him limb from limb with his bare hands, and then throw his torn carcass over his terrace railing.

He blew out a breath in an effort to calm himself.  Down boy, Laurent silently chastised.  He had a big task ahead of him.  He had to keep a cool head.  Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe Larry meeting with Sandoval, knowing he never had to live under the same roof with him again would empower Larry, give him the closure he would need to move forward. 

Larry had been merely a young man of sixteen or seventeen, still a minor, when it was Sandoval's minions who'd snatched him from a park bench and trafficked him on a boat, traveling over two thousand miles away to a foreign land, held in shackles with initial plans to sell him to the highest bidder. The very thought of it was so beyond inhumane to be unthinkable to rational people, and it made Laurent very angry.

But as horrific as that was, when Laurent thought of what Larry's life might have been, he supposes he had to give Sandoval an atom-sized grain of gratitude that he was as captivated by Larry upon first seeing him, as he himself was, and took care of him...instead of selling him.  For that, and only for that, Laurent was grateful. 

Now, Larry was going to get the life he should have always had, and Sandoval would get what he deserves, which Laurent hoped would be at the bare minimum, twenty years in the slammer, or preferably life in prison, without parole...if the justice gods ruled in his and Larry's favor.

Suddenly, Laurent's stomach rumbled.  He had to smile at himself. His last meal had been at lunch time.  It had consisted of a half-eaten turkey and Swiss sandwich munched between phone calls and paperwork, and a salad, both washed down with iced raspberry tea.  He dragged himself up from the sofa on his way to the kitchen. He'd asked Larry to take care of himself, to eat when he should and to get enough quality sleep.  The least he himself should do was heed his own suggestion, Laurent thought.  What he needed was a satisfying meal, a hot shower and a good night's sleep.

Several minutes later, as he finally sat at his kitchen island to eat heated up leftover grilled chicken, green beans, and yellow rice, Laurent was at least pleased things were starting to move with respect to Sandoval.  Soon, Larry would be out of the safe house and back here where he belonged, with Sandoval on his way to becoming a distant memory in their lives.