Trigger warning: violence, swearing, injuries

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Alex

Alex was greeted by the typical smell of a home, a bit of food and something else unidentifiable. He walked in the first few steps and noticed the light coming from what he assumes is the living room.

“Hey honey, I’m home!” Jack called out, trying to hide the shaking of his voice. But Alex noticed it. He gave the younger man an encouraging little smile.

There was a grunting and Matt seemed to get up. He looked scary and serious but the moment he saw Alex, his expression changed to a nicer one.

“Oh, hello! Jack, who have you brought me here?” he asked. Alex was confused. Wasn’t Matt supposed to be awful?

Maybe it was just an act, he suddenly realized.

“This is Alex. Matt – Alex, Alex – Matt,” Jack replied, trying his best to smile.

“Hey,” Alex said, holding out his hand. Matt took it and they shook hands.

“Where do you know Jack from?” Matt asked.

“From church. I am the new priest.”

“Is that so… And why have you come here today?”

“I- Well I actually wanted to address an issue I have noticed. You see, Jack is pretty beaten up and I was thinking you might know more about it,” Alex said, trying to sound friendly. He hadn’t planned to be this straight-forward but this was the perfect opportunity.

“Me? Why would I know more? All I know is that he is very clumsy and falls and runs into things all the time,” Matt said, smiling sweetly at Alex. Alex couldn’t believe it, he was this bold?!

“I’m not sure, some of the bruises on his body look like they don’t come from falling… And he’s never fallen or been clumsy at church,” Alex answered equally sweetly.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re getting at. And anyways, what does it have to do with you?” Matt asked, suddenly an edge to his voice.

Alex was so angry now, he just couldn’t help it. “What I’m getting at is that I am pretty sure you have caused all these injuries on him.” He looked Matt dead in the eye. He didn’t even feel regret or fear.

“What the fuck?! Get the fuck out of my house you little cocksucker!” Matt barked.

“I’m not going anywhere! You are disgusting, hitting your boyfriend,” Alex snapped.

Jack was just standing between them, looking increasingly scared.

“You shut your whore mouth right now or you’ll get it filled,” Matt hissed.

“Thought so that you’d reply like that. I got you on this one. You are hitting Jack, you are abu-“

Alex wasn’t able to finish the sentence because a fist met his face with a lot of force.

He was thrown back, fell down on the ground. Jack shrieked and kneeled down to help Alex but Matt hit him in the back. Jack groaned but didn’t leave Alex; he tried to help him up and when Matt saw this, he screamed in frustration and kicked them a few more times until they just lay there. But Jack managed to sit up and say something.

“Matt, I’m no longer putting up with this. I- I’m going to go to the police and tell them so you can receive what you deserve. I’m staying with Alex tonight and tomorrow, I’ll go to the police station and talk to the officers.” His voice was quiet and slow but it had a lot of impact on Matt. He stopped pacing and looked at Jack, a look of bitterness and contempt on his face. But if Alex wasn’t completely mistaken, there was a bit of fear too.

“Do that. Go and fuck your priest friend. And tell the cops how awful I am. See you,” he sneered. With that, he turned on his heels and left, grabbing his keys and going out the door.

Jack burst into tears and they mixed with the blood on his face from a small cut on his forehead. Alex tried his best to comfort him but he himself was so shocked that he couldn’t really do a lot. After about ten minutes of sniffling and cringing in pain, Jack slowly got up and brought something to care for Alex’s wounds.

He dabbed them diligently and applied disinfectant to them, soothing Alex’s whimpers at the sharp sting of alcohol with little shushing sounds. In that moment, Alex realized how incredibly brave Jack was. He had been blinded by love, yes, but he had never given up even after having realized that he needed to leave but couldn’t. He had always gotten up again after having been pushed to the ground and even now, he was putting Alex before himself. Alex gently pushed him off after some time and cared for his wounds in return. He tried to do it as well as possible but he wasn’t nearly as good as Jack. The only thing he did well was the soothing although Jack seemed to be used to the sting already.

They packed up some things and slowly got to the car. Everything hurt but Alex started up the engine and drove them to his house. Neither of them said a single word, Alex too shocked, Jack too tired from standing up for himself to say anything. They quickly got into bed and Alex did his best to comfort Jack, he spooned him and gave him a little backrub. He could feel how upset Jack was; this had practically been a break-up.

“Jack, I’m so proud of you,” he whispered into the dark.

Jack was already very sleepy but he mumbled a reply, “Thank you so much.”

Alex counted his heartbeats before he fell asleep, feeling how Jack’s heartbeat slowed down until he was asleep. It wasn’t long before he drifted off too, completely exhausted from all that had happened.

Notes

Oh Jack and Alex! Big step, but at what price?

Did anyone get the song reference I hid in this chapter? It's in the last third ;)

-Laura