[right][sub][color=lightgray]TIMESTAMP: Sometime after six [/color][/sub][/right]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/mbmJIzj.png[/img]
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[color=lightgray][indent][indent]Walking all the way from Eastbrook to Westwood in the middle of a torrential downpour was not how Gavriel thought he would be spending his evening. The strong winds buffeting his soaked clothes left him bone-achingly chilled before he’d even left his own neighborhood, and the barometric pressure had his ears ringing off the chart, but he remained teary eyed and red faced with emotion as he kept his hands shoved deep into his pockets and did his best to ignore the gnawing pain in his shoulder.

JP had [i]moved[/i]. Gone, out of their family household and across town without a single word to Gavriel beforehand. And they’d [i]talked[/i], they’d have a video call once a week at the [i]least[/i], so it wasn’t like the older man didn’t have a chance to tell him! All he could think about was waking up this morning with JP gone, missing his chance to see him on his way to see Niles, and then missing him again while he and Niles had been home having early dinner with those in his family that were home. Niles had left before the storm got too bad to try and ride through, and the conversation had still been light hearted at the time, but once the storm began to pick up Gavriel had expressed worry over JP’s drive home.

Only for Momma Robbie to reveal that he was most likely [i]’at his own place by now’[/i], sending a jolt of panic through her step-son’s chest. He’d let his questions fall from fumbling lips and listened distantly as Robyn explained that JP had gotten an apartment in Westwood and had been planning on moving in for a while. Eventually her words became white noise as his heart rate picked up and the ringing in his ears rose along with his blood pressure. He stomped his way out the house, only just remembering to grab a jacket as his tunnel vision led him down their stoop and on the most direct route to his step-brother, the constant thought of [i]he left me, he left me, he left me,[/i] echoing on repeat under the roaring of both the storm and his ears.

All of which brought him to here, turning the corner past Uncle Eddie’s house and making his way down Pleasant Street to get to the Pleasantview Apartments where JP now resided. He couldn’t stop wondering if he had been the final push, the reason JP felt he needed to leave and have his own space. They’d shared damn near everything since the day they first kissed in an alcove at Gardenview, and Gavriel had definitely had times when he worried he was being too invasive or clingy, but every time he brought it up with JP the other man calmed his nerves and reminded him that it was his anxiety whispering lies into his ear. Now he wasn’t so sure, and he just wanted to know why JP hadn’t [i]told[/i] him anything, and what the final straw was that made him leave.

Pressing the buzzer for the unit number Robyn had given him, the still red faced Gavriel stood as still as a statue and kept his bloodshot eyes staring blankly at the intercom box.

Jericho wasn’t the strongest at processing his emotions, he was even worse at communicating them. Today after he left his mothers’ house, without waking Rye, he made sure to drown himself in work. He needed to keep himself busy. He didn’t know what made today different out of the rest of the week but he found himself needing to distance himself from the one person that meant the world to him. 

His mom told him he stretched himself too thin, trying to support a town that would eat him alive. JP knew he was a fixer, a lover, and a fighter. He loved to fix people yet not fix himself. Every scar but his own. He made sure the lonely and the broke could find a home in him. He loved unconditionally no matter what walk of life the person chose. And last but not least, he fought every single day to be a positive light in this town. He fought so hard even while he was a heartbreak away from going into a horrible, dark place. All he had to do was let someone down and he’d likely succumb to the thoughts he battled every single night. Thoughts he never really disclosed to anyone. Thoughts that made him hate himself. 

This wasn’t the time to show weakness. This wasn’t the time to admit he couldn’t fix everything, especially himself. This wasn’t the time to struggle by carrying so much weight on his shoulders. This wasn’t the time to be unhappy. He would bury himself in bandages before saying he needed someone to lean on. That’s just how JP was. That’s how he’s always been. 

After taking a hot shower, since he did get caught in the rain, JP was quick to put on muted blue boxers, black sports shorts, and a worn out t-shirt with the Gallows logo on it. With a towel on his head, he opened his fridge and grabbed a beer can. He pulled the tab off with his pointer finger and proceeded to take a long, much needed sip. His eyes were dull and tired, a visible tale of his never ending struggle with insomnia. He himself was on auto-pilot, simply walking around like he was in a dream. When he heard the buzzer, he yawned, not knowing who would visit him this late. Before he answered the call, he took another swig, this time a leisure gulp (this was his sixth beer -- he had already downed five cans before his shower). Belching, he pressed the red button and answered, [color=a8d16a]“Yeah?”[/color]    

[color=28e0af]"Jericho,"[/color] Gavriel spoke back, voice shaking with poorly contained emotion. His thoughts on what he would do upon getting here and his actual actions were different, as per usual. Just more of him stressing to plan for every scenario while simultaneously feeling there's nothing he can contribute to any of them to make them better. He can see why JP needed space from him, he just didn't understand the complete omission of this large step in his life. Has he been walking on eggshells with Gavriel since he returned home and the curly haired man hadn't noticed? Has Gavriel been too wrapped up in himself and his friends that he'd made JP feel ignored, or was he being too clingy and this was just going to make things worse? He was always so good at making things worse.  [color=28e0af]"We need to talk, [i]please[/i]."[/color]

There was no verbal response. Instead there was a loud buzzing noise which signaled the apartment entrance was unlocked. Back in the apartment, JP shuffled to his door, cracked it open, and made his way to one of two pieces of furniture he had in the living room. The couch. The other piece being his record player, not on a table yet, surrounded by boxes filled with music. He still needed to buy more furniture and decor but he was hoping Rye would help him with that. He was never really good at this whole interior design thing and making a room look nice. He wasn’t much of a stylist either. The only thing he was good at was making a captivating song. Beyond that? JP was mediocre, at best. With the towel still on his head, he fell back into the couch and rested his head by leaning it on the back of it. His eyes were covered by the towel and the can of beer was in his grasp, resting on his right leg. He waited. 

Gavriel wiped his runny nose with the arm of his soaked jacket and yanked the door open, trudging inside with a shiver caused by both the storm inside him and the one raging outside. The fluorescent lights wreaked havoc on his tinnitus and by the time he got to JP's cracked door he was just a bit disoriented and quite a bit more miserable. He pushed inside but stopped right on the other side of the door after closing it, arms crossed in a clear sign of agitation but also in hopes to conserve a bit of his body heat. He stared over at his lover on the couch and focused on the visible part of his face: his lips. He didn't seem particularly upset or irritated with Gavriel's presence, no downturn of the muscles around his lips or even a pout. Just relaxed, slackened lips taking air in and out at an even pace while a can of beer sat in his hand.

[color=28e0af]"I don't get it,"[/color] he started defensively, even more stressed out at the fact that JP didn't seem to be feeling [i]anything[/i] much at the moment. [color=28e0af]"Did you leave without waking me to avoid telling me you were moving or because you thought I wouldn't care?"[/color]

[color=a8d16a]“Neither,”[/color] JP cooly answered, sitting up and pulling the towel off his head. Glancing over to the soaked boy at his door, Jericho sighed at the sight. His emotions were unreadable even when he carried himself in a welcoming fashion. A light smile and a charming glance. Once he was standing, he made his way to his lover, sipping his beer as he walked, and dropped the towel on Rye’s head. In good ol’ Jericho fashion, he didn’t give an explanation. What he did do was ruffle the towel against Rye’s hair, drying as many strands as he could. [color=a8d16a]“You’re soaked,”[/color] he stated, before downing the rest of his beer and tossing the can into the kitchen sink. He’d deal with the can later. With both hands freed up, he placed them on the towel and tousled Rye’s hair, drying as much as he could, [color=a8d16a]“I can get a bath ready if you want.”[/color]

[color=28e0af]"What-stop JP, no!"[/color] Gavriel argued, fighting his instincts to lean into his lover's touch and pulling away while pushing the towel-and JP's hands- off his head. His eyes went to the can in the sink before cutting back to JP. [color=28e0af]"How many of those have you had, it's all over your breath,"[/color] he scrunched his nose up and pulled the towel over his shivering shoulders before getting back on track. [color=28e0af]"You leaving? Not saying anything? I wanna talk about that, about why you didn't want to tell me,"[/color] He glared at the faded logo of JP's shirt and kept a foot of space between them. [color=28e0af]"Was it me? Did I wake you up too many nights with my nightmares, or- or overstep with how many times I slept in your room? It's like everyone knew except me, so where's the joke, Jericho? I'm tired of missing the punchlines."[/color]

[color=a8d16a]“Jesus fucking Christ,”[/color] Jericho exasperatedly muttered before stepping back, making the distance in between them more apparent. Closing his eyes, he placed his hands on the back of his neck and unenthusiastically responded, answering his questions one by one: [color=a8d16a]“Six. It takes 12 for me to get drunk. No it wasn’t you. No you’re not the reason why I can’t sleep. No, if you overstepped I would’ve told you. You know I would’ve. And, dude, there was no joke. There was no punchline.”[/color] Suddenly annoyed, JP turned on his heel to get himself another beer, [color=a8d16a]“Make yourself at home. I can’t believe you went out in this storm just because you thought I forgot about you.”[/color] Before he knew it, he was already at his fridge with another beer in hand. In a matter of seconds, the tab was off and he was downing his seventh, more motivated than ever to not be sober. This was ridiculous.

[color=28e0af]"Then why didn't you tell me,"[/color] Gavriel persisted, dropping the beer debate with the trust that JP can take care of himself in that area. Not like he'd be going out any time soon anyways. [color=28e0af]"This is kind of a big thing? Like yeah it's not like you're moving out of town but I thought I'd at least get a little heads up about what you were thinking of doing."[/color]

The next empty can dropped into the sink and JP was staring at his boyfriend, his demeanor cold. Unfortunately since he hadn’t slept much the past few days, he was going almost three days with at least an hour of sleep, he was coming off more harshly than he intended to, [color=a8d16a]“So you don’t trust me, great.”[/color] Yeah they weren’t going to do this right now. Not while he was getting more and more pissed by the minute. [color=a8d16a]“I’m going to lay down, you’re going to take a fucking shower. I’ll have clothes ready for you in the bedroom. Before you even go inside, I want you to open that drawer right there,”[/color] he pointed to the silverware drawer, near the fridge. He wasn’t even going to point out the vase by the bananas that held Rye’s favorite flower. A single flower. [color=a8d16a]“When you’ve done all that, then we can fucking talk and it better be in a way where you aren’t accusing me of whatever the fuck your mind is thinking of right now.”[/color] Opening his fridge again, he grabbed another beer, slammed the door shut, and strode away, not turning back to see what expression Rye was wearing. Jericho was livid. 

[color=28e0af]"I didn't say I didn't trust you!"[/color] Gavriel desperately called after JP, but it fell on deaf ears as the door shut, leaving him huffing in frustration and dissatisfaction at still not having a straight answer. Of course he trusted JP, that was never a concern of his. JP was one of the best people in the world and Gavriel always believed and trusted in him. Something about all of this just felt so [i]wrong[/i] and Gavriel felt that he himself was the root of the issue, not Jericho. Taking a moment to wipe away the tears leaving hot tracks down his cheeks, Gavriel took deep shuddering breaths and crossed his arms so that he was holding himself together. When he felt more centered, he sniffed harshly and moved towards the drawer JP had pointed out before his retreat. Inside was a small black box with a soft lavender ribbon tied around it, and Gavriel's face went red with shame as he pulled the ribbon loose and lifted the lid to reveal a shiny key with JP's apartment number engraved on it. He leaned against the counter to stare at it and once more his favorite color caught his eye. Sitting there in a wide ceramic vase with pebbles decorating the dirt top was a Hyacinth, his favorite flower, with a note tied around its stem. Tears continued to fall from his eyes as he turned the note around and read the single word in JP's handwriting on the other side.

[i]Yours.[/i]

He thought of when JP picked him up from the airport, and they'd called each other [i]Mine.[/i] He thought of all the times JP had whispered that possessive term in his ear in the dark, in the heat of passion, even during the times he and Rye were sleeping around with others. He'd never said [i]'I'm yours'[/i] in those exact words before, and here he had been trying to do it while Gavriel bitched about not being told of his moving. God, what a piece of work he was. 

Another shiver racking his body had him making his way to the bathroom and turning on the showerhead. The shower he took was brief with most of the time spent letting the stream pound into his shoulder and relax some of the tension and aches. He wallowed in his shame and thought about how wired he’d been since that first day he returned home from helping his savta and found out about everything that had happened. It was making him more irrational than he was on a normal basis and it was risking putting strain on the few relationships he still had. It worked with Niles because he needs someone to get through his thick skull before he can see their softer sides, and that meant he needed an aggressive start. But Danny wasn’t like that, he needed his soft friend, Rye the jokester full of dry reads and sarcasm and willing to pretend for years that he didn’t know the dude was bi. And JP was like neither of them, only having ever wanted Gavriel to be his completely natural and neurotic self. Unfortunately, that included moments like these where the anxieties swarming his head cloud his rational thought, making him feel like a burden that everyone around him only puts up with, making him scared and  angry and full of empty confrontation.

When he stepped out of the shower he grabbed the same damp towel and scrunched the water out of his hair before wrapping it around his waist, not bothering to wipe the fog off the mirror and look stupidity in the face. He shuffled bashfully to the closed door of JP's room, knocking lightly before slowly opening the door and casting a glance around the room. As if to add to his shame, there were light purple sticky notes around the room that showed his lover's constant thoughtfulness towards him. The wall next to the left side of JP's bed has a sticky note saying [i]Sprinkles' nightstand?[/i] and another on the wall space next to the window that said [i]Sprinkles' bookshelf?[/i] and at a glance there were at least three more sticky notes with reference to his presence in the room. He suddenly realized that the key wasn’t just for when he visited JP, it was something more. 

[color=28e0af]"I'm sorry,"[/color] he whispered from the doorway, looking down at his shuffling feet as he held the towel in place. [color=28e0af]"I was acting like [i]such[/i] an asshole an-"[/color]

[color=a8d16a]“Come here,”[/color] Jericho leaned against his bed frame, waiting for his lover to join him. He had a pillow supporting his back and had his reading glasses on, having spent the time waiting writing phrases that he wanted to work in his current song he was writing. He was too exhausted to actually pick up his guitar.  

Closing his composition journal, with the pen inside of it, he leaned to the side to drop it on the floor (he didn’t have a side table yet, since it would need to match Rye’s). [color=a8d16a]“Your clothes are there,”[/color] He pointed at the end of his bed. [color=a8d16a]“Or you can come as is, that’s fine too,”[/color] he jokingly suggested. Regardless of how Rye would come to him, and what he was wearing, he knew Rye would come. He always did. 

Despite knowing the offer to be a joke, Gavriel did little more than pull a pair of boxers on before collapsing into JP and stuffing his face into his chest with a shaky exhale. He wrapped his arms around his lover and held him tight, afraid of losing him while also fearing that clinging too tightly would push him away. Enveloped in Jericho’s warm embrace, he mumbled, [color=28e0af]“I didn’t see it, I’m sorry,”[/color] without moving his face away, hiding the shame he still felt in Jericho’s collar. [color=28e0af]“But please JP, why didn’t you say anything?”[/color]

[color=a8d16a]“I suck at communicating and romantic gestures it seems. I knew the family would’ve thought I’d told you so they wouldn’t have brought it up. That bought me some time to attempt to be I don’t know, cute? Sweet? Lovey? Not enough apparently,”[/color] JP explained, locking those brown eyes that were hues of solid oak and polished amber with Gavriel’s soulful, deep gaze when the smaller man finally looked up. While Rye’s gaze brought warmth, like drinking hot chocolate by a hearth, his gaze reminded you of the Earth, keeping whoever that stared into them to the soil. A gaze that grounded. 

[color=a8d16a]“With Eddie’s stroke last week, I had to rush the process. I’m not even fully moved out of moms. I thought hey, maybe I could decorate or something, but where the hell do you start? So I got that box today, and your flower. Thank god because you’re fucking crazy. Walking from moms in a torrential storm? Why?”[/color] That was more of a rhetorical question than anything. JP furrowed his eyebrows at the thought before finishing his spiel, [color=a8d16a]“It’s whatever, you’re here, you’re safe, and that’s what matters. Like you said, this is a big step and I was overthinking it. I just wanted to make it special. Sorry, I suck.”[/color] While JP never brought up his self-deprecating, self-worth issues, they were noticeable in the comfort of his room, especially from someone that spent plenty of time with him as much as Rye did. [color=a8d16a]“I’m a dick, I should’ve just told you,”[/color] he heavily sighed, internally beating himself up at his failed attempt to be a good boyfriend. 

Commitment in itself was a huge step for JP and with the apartment, he thought he could try to make them more an item, more of an exclusive thing. Neither he or Rye did the whole monogamy thing usually but lately, JP couldn’t find himself sleeping around and enjoying it. Every day when he went about his day it was Gavriel on his mind. Gavriel had grown to be his favorite lover to the person he wanted as his only lover. He couldn’t put that in words so for now, he’d take it one step at a time. 

He wanted Rye to live with him, away from their parents so they could be there to hold one another, without prying eyes. The idea of changing their routine from brothers to roommates was what made this move worth it. Decisions could be made just between them and not their moms and sisters. This would be their roof to call their own and even though there are days that Rye could be frustrating as hell, like today, JP wanted him. He wanted all of him. The good, the bad, and the ugly. JP wanted to make moves no longer for the family but for them, as a couple. That’s why he wrote ‘yours’. That was the best way to convey his true intentions without sounding desperate. That was the best way for him to show his heart without struggling on finding the right words to say. That was the best way to assure Rye that he wasn’t going anywhere. That he was here.

[color=28e0af]“Hey,”[/color] Rye interrupted his train of thought by rising from his position to look deeper into those troubled eyes that somehow always reminded him of safety, even as they are now. [color=28e0af]“You’re not a dick, and you were trying to be sweet- I mean, it was sweet!”[/color] Rye cupped JP’s cheek in his hand and put their foreheads together, eyes still locked. [color=28e0af]“It was beautiful, really. I’m just going off the fucking walls recently. I’ve been in my own head and when I’m not I’m just bulldozing through conversations, for all I know someone tried to tell me and I didn’t hear them since I’ve had my music louder recently too. [i]I’ve[/i] been crazy, I came in here like a raging dick and all you were doing was planning to romance me. Jericho, you’re amazing,”[/color] he kissed the older man like he was a roaring fireplace on a rainy winter day, like he was an oasis in a desert, or the first song that ever made him cry with overwhelming emotion. He kissed him with as much passion as he could muster, wanting to show him that [i]hey, I’m yours too[/i], before he said it out loud for the first time. When he pulled away, he took a second to regain his breath before continuing. Reality, they need reality for just a moment longer. 

[color=28e0af]“But babe, I don’t even have a job, and I’m still a mess, like it takes the whole household to deal with my shit on the bad days. Are you sure-I mean did you think about this? I could start looking for a job but with my panic attacks and lack of degree [i]or[/i] further talents, I don’t know where will even accept me…”[/color] The self deprecation wasn’t intentional, it wasn’t meant to get JP to feel bad for him and there was no emotional manipulation behind what he said. They were just facts. He barely graduated highschool, he hasn’t worked any more than occasionally helping JP out at MSM on slow days, and he’d never picked up any trade. He still couldn't lift much more than thirty pounds with his bad shoulder before the pain became unbearable, and he still had anxiety and panic attacks nearly daily, weekly if he was doing well. Gavriel was well aware of how much his mental health after the shooting had stunted his growth into an autonomously functioning young adult, and he never said any of these things to bring himself or those around him down. They were just the facts, just how the cards fell.

[color=a8d16a]“I actually thought about that,”[/color] Jericho pulled away from Rye, getting off his bed to retrieve his backpack. When he got it, he pulled out a folder and handed it to his lover, smiling, [color=a8d16a]“I looked around, talked to some people, and these seem like the best jobs for you to get your footing.”[/color] Dropping his bag on the floor, he took a seat beside Rye and gestured at the applications as the other boy skimmed through them, [color=a8d16a]“Beau is always hiring. I don’t know if you know much about Penelope James, but he adjusted her work so she was strictly backend. The shooting messed her up too, but Beau’s been helping her slowly but surely. Yesterday she made my coffee so I think she is getting better.”[/color]

They went to the next application.

[color=a8d16a]“Swerve Arcana is a chill place. Oz swears by it. If you want a place to be your absolute self, with no fucks given, that’s a great place to start and Avery is pretty knowledgable in all things nerdy. I think your classmate… Marco Brady? He’s in your year. He goes there all the time. Quinton Woods, also your year, used to frequent there too. Had a group called Midnight Society. All who suffer socially one way or another, but find adventure in each other.” [/color]

As he waited for Rye to look at the next piece of paper, Jericho absentmindedly started drumming his legs. When Rye did switch to the next one, Main Street Music, JP glanced over at his desk with boxes stacked on top of it, [color=a8d16a]“You already know a bit of my job. Really, you don’t need to talk unless someone approaches you. And more often than not, it’s people asking where they can find an artist, or if we got a certain album. I can handle suggesting instruments and offering lessons, you can run the cash register, organize the records, and listen to music. Honestly, most of the time, it’s just me listening to music. Most people know what they’re looking for when they’re coming to us and it’s not like everyone owns a record player. We stay afloat because of the lessons we offer, online sales, and our loyal customers. The only problem with that one is,”[/color] JP grinned, from ear to ear, lifted Rye’s chin and gave him a gentle, tender kiss, [color=a8d16a]“We’d have to behave.”[/color] 

[color=28e0af][i]’Oh, we would [b]not[/b] be able to behave.’[/i][/color] Rye thought, tilting his head a bit.

Mischievously, JP trailed his kisses around Rye’s face, showing him how much he meant to him. His worries from earlier were gone, at least for this moment in time. No one else mattered. It was him, it was Gavriel. It was them. In their own paradise, away from the world, in the form of an apartment. JP seemed to find himself more and more at peace now that his issues with Rye were being resolved. Communication does wonders when you actually talk. Too bad he wasn’t the best at articulating how he felt. It took a crazy Rye to get him to speak about his problems, instead of carrying the burdens on his own. Putting an inch between their faces, he shrugged, indifferent to Rye’s decision, just hoping he’d be encouraged to start walking in life, even if he still needed to hold his hand, [color=a8d16a]“Whatever you decide, you’ll rock it. Hell, I can call Maya and see if Pietro’s is hiring. You have options and you have me.”[/color]

Their souls had owned each other at first glance, and no matter how far they stray they always came back to each other. Like clockwork. This was another case of their cosmic yo-yo effect with each other, and god did he love the ride back to the hand just as much as he hated the initial castout. It was time they lost themselves in each other for the evening, enjoy the ride back to the hand.

Reality could wait.

Giddy and nervous in equal parts about these new steps in life, Rye nodded and surged forward to kiss JP again, dropping the folder behind him on the other half of the bed while he pushed his lover back and threw a leg over him to straddle his hips and kiss him again. JP had never been leaving him behind, hadn’t even thought of it. He’d been making plans to take him with him the [i]whole time[/i]. Settling on his lover’s lap and stealing his breath one more time, Rye pulled back and looked deep into JP’s eyes, basked in the attention and the love he felt there. 

[color=28e0af]“I do have you, Apollo,”[/color] he whispered the nickname, tenderly cupping the older man’s face once more. His Apollo, his god of music, the one that brought light into his life and became his muse just as much as Rye became his. [color=28e0af]“Because you’re [i]mine[/i],”[/color] He kissed him again, capturing Jericho’s lower lip between his teeth as he pulled back before kissing him once more quickly after and locking their gazes. [color=28e0af]“And you have me. I’m [i]yours[/i]. I’ve [i]always[/i] been yours.”[/color] Even when he was messing around with Decky and the other serpents, even when he and Danny were having their game, and even in his darkest moment, Jericho Phillips-Shomer was never far from his mind. 

As Gavriel straddled him, Jericho pulled him close, embracing him, longing for him. Rye’s petite body was pressed tightly against his, leaving absolutely no space in between them. Together, they were two lovers who ached for each other. Two lovers who always wanted and needed each other. Two lovers who couldn’t live without each other. This is what it felt to have someone’s heart. This is what it felt to be wanted. 

While they might not make sense to some people, especially those who know what type of lovers they’ve been, lovers to many, they made sense to each other. They were brothers not by blood but by marriage. That was questionable, but not immoral. In all honesty, they got involved with each other before the big reveal that their mothers were dating, and at the time neither would’ve admitted how deeply they were caught up and madly whipped. At the time, neither would’ve held the other down, be it fear or simply not wanting to suffocate and trap. At the time, neither would’ve known what it meant to have your world become a person. At the time, neither understood what it meant to be in love.

Now all JP wanted to do was hold Rye down. Not in a way that prevents him from doing what he wants to do in life, but like a kite and a line. His Gavriel. His world. He was a creature of the clouds, just waiting to get back out there and fly, and JP was grounded in the Earth. They needed each other and deep down they always knew that. Without him, Rye would break from the line and float away. Without Rye, JP would crash straight to the ground and lose his purpose. His kite. 

Grabbing onto Rye’s soft hair, JP roughly tugged at the curls, forcing distance between their faces as the smaller man squirmed and moaned, [color=a8d16a]“Good.”[/color] He sucked on Rye’s neck, claiming what was his. In a matter of seconds, JP had flipped the boy around to where he was on top and held Rye’s arms above his head, holding his wrists down while the other man stared up at him with a heated gaze, [color=a8d16a]“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”[/color]


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