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Desmond just drummed the fingers of his left hand idly against the steering wheel of his car. His right hand was currently captured, held tightly by Gabriel's. The younger man had latched on early and was refusing to let go. And given the past few hours? Des wasn't about to question it or blame him. Now Des himself, hadn't said where they were going or just what it is that he wanted to show Gabriel, and Gabriel hadn't started asking questions either.

They turned down an old dirt road that was littered with trees and fields. They were maybe a half hour, forty-five minutes from the city tops, so the usual light pollution was gone. It was dark to say the least... Which was nice in some sense. The city was clearer out here. One could see far more stars out here then in the city. But this time, it wasn't stars Desmond wanted to show Gabriel. "We're almost there Angel."

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Des chuckled lightly, pulling Gabriel's hand over to kiss it. They drove a few more minutes before Des eventually pulled off to the side. In the distance there was what looked like remains, but even with the headlights, it was still hard to tell in the distance. Des just smiled slightly before wordlessly, letting go of Gabriel's hand climbing out of the car. Trudging out into the darkness, he glanced back at the car only once.

"Years ago," Des started when Gabriel finally joined him. "A family use to live out here. A Mom, a Dad, and a little kid. Probably no older then four or five. It was Christmas. Or, well, so I've been told." Des simply shrugged. "Anyway... Christmas. They had spent the morning with each other, opening present, playing with toys. The usual, and then later on that day the met up with some other friends. It was late when they came back, the child fast asleep. Worn out from the day's activities." As Desmond spoke, he began to move about carefully, almost as if he were afraid to disturb the scene around them. "Later that night though, instead of the usual carols and sounds of the season, the only thing people out here would hear were the sirens. Cops, Ambulance, Fire Truck.. You name it and it was probably here. The house had caught fire. Don't ask me how. I don't know. Some people say it's arson. Some people say the tree caught fire, others say its something stupid like electrical wiring or freak lightning." Another shrug. "It was crazy, and it was fast. The child, not really knowing any better, was probably running around the house screaming their head off. The smoke was thick, and heavy. In their hysterics... The child got pinned. A table snapped in half from the fire and tumbled. Crashing into the kids back. I heard, it was enough to knock the kid out, because when they came too they were outside. A neighbor or firefighter, someone, had managed to get inside and get the child out. The child was lucky." Des shrugged again, looking up to the sky. "The parents? Not so much. They died in the fire. Too much smoke inhalation or something. I don't really remember."

Finally he looked down. "The kid was taking in by some family friends, having no real family around anyway. It worked, I guess. The family had too kids. A girl and her younger brother. Both, not much older then the kid in question." Des patted a stump of wood beside him. "I heard the three moved away from here not long after... But like most people, they couldn't help but come back to their roots.. I heard the kid's doing good. Living on their own, they have a boyfriend now."

Then Desmond crossed his arms, leaning against the stump he patted earlier. "Don't you think it's weird? That I would sooner tear a bigger hole in my shirt, instead of just taking it off?"

"Upper back, across my shoulder blades." Des patted the arm that rested around his waist. "I don't talk about it. Neither do Skylar or Luka." He didn't like talking about it. He sighed, staring off for a moment before shaking his head. "Everything was destroyed, as you can see." Some small part of Desmond was surprised this was even still here. But then again, it was in the middle of almost nowhere. "It's been fifteen years... And I don't remember a single thing about them." What they looked like, what they sounded like. How they acted. "We moved down south soon after, and then the three of us moved back here about two years ago. Ah well.. Me and Luka did, Skylar was already up here for college."

Desmond just shook his head. "It's fine. Really. You didn't know and I didn't exactly jump the gun to tell you to stop. It was fun, in a weird way, listening to you talk about them." The purple haired boy just smiled, leaning back on the shorter male ever so slightly. "That's kinda why Sky dotes on me the way she does."

"It happens Angel. I'm sure they wanted to make things right with you, even if it didn't exactly look like it. You just have to remember they loved you." And then he laughed. "She drugs me to sleep with tea. What mother does that? She likes flowers way to much.."

"Right, because your schedule is so much healthier." Desmond snorted. "At least I sleep. ....Sometimes." The purple haired boy patted Gabriel's arms again. "I was going to tell you... At some point." But how did one casually bring up that their parent's were dead. "Anyway... When we get home, I'll show you it. The burn, if you were curious." Then he turned his head slightly, to look at Gabriel. "Did you want me to take you home? Or uh, would you just prefer to stay the night?"

"Your schedule is no better then mine." Des said, smiling. "Maybe I should make you some of that tea." Wrapping an arm around Gabriel's shoulders, he pulled him close as they walked back to the car. "I'll show you." His arm slipped just a bit and he rubbed the side of Gabriel's arm. "I understand. Just remember you're not alone alright? You're never alone."