Dreamnotfound Smut(emotional)

Protection

George's POV
The next morning, I woke up first. I was wrapped in Clay's arms and my face was buried in his chest. I took a deep breath, breathing in Clay's scent. I snuggled up next to him for a while longer.

Eventually I rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom. When I came back out, I spotted Nick in the kitchen. I was gonna sneak back to bed, but he spotted me and waved. I figured there's no point in running. I got some food from the fridge and sat down on the couch. Nick sat down next to me, leaving a cushion between us.

I ate in silence, looking over at Nick to see he's drinking a beer.
"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" I asked.
"It's five o'clock somewhere." Nick said and took another sip. I finished my food and walked away, taking my plate to the kitchen. Nick grabbed my arm.
"Wait-" he said and I flinched so hard I fell over.

My plate shattered on the floor.
"Get away!" I yelled and looked around to notice that Nick barely moved. He held his hands up in a surrender.
"Sorry. I just... can I talk to you? When you're ready." Nick said. I picked myself up and cleaned up the shattered plate. Clay came out of the bedroom and scanned the room, looking at me.

"Are you okay? I thought I heard something break." Clay asked.
"False alarm." I said. Clay nodded.
"If you need me, I'll be in bed." Clay said and I nodded. I looked at the couch and took a breath.
Here we go.

"What did you want, Nick?" I asked and sat back down. Nick took a breath.
"I'm sure Karl told you." Nick said.
"Told me what?" I asked.
"That I'm owning up to my mistakes lately." Nick said.
"He didn't tell me, no." I said.
"Well, I am. So I'll start with a sorry. I should have never bothered you that night. And I'm also sorry I got Clay arrested, that was a dick move." Nick said and finished his beer.

"Have you done anything else like that?" I asked. Nick exhaled dramatically.
"Let's just say this isn't my first apology for that night." Nick said and looked down.
"You're helping us now." I reassured.
"As much as I can. Techno's got his thumb on me too." Nick said.

My eyes widened.
"What do you mean?" I asked, fear lacing my voice.
"He's got a few moles. He offered me a job and I declined. He keeps offering." Nick said.
"Why did you decline?" I asked.
"Cause, I have no choice. If I'm ever going to be a better person, I'm gonna have to try." Nick said.

I moved closer and put my hand on his shoulder.
"You'll get through this. It sounds like you have a great support system." I said. He smiled.
"Karl." He simply said then laughed.

"So, I don't mean to break this up," I hear someone and look up.
"But, that's my boyfriend." Clay said and sat next to me, pulling me closer.
"It's okay Clay. He was just apologizing for the past." I said and Clay looked over at Nick. Nick shot him a peace sign.

"Okay. I trust you." Clay said and kissed me. Nick shifted and stood up.
"I owe you an apology as well Clay." Nick said. He walked into the kitchen and came back with another beer.
"What are you apologizing for?" Clay asked.
"Getting you jailed. I cleared your record." Nick said and opened his beer.
"Thank you, I noticed." Clay said back. We all sat on the couch together, waiting for the others to awaken.

Once the others were all here, Nick handed us all a folder.
"Welcome to your new lives." Nick said and we all opened our folders together.
Skeppy and Bad smiled.
"Hell yeah, Missouri!" Skeppy yelled. Bad rolled his eyes.
"Don't act too disappointed." Bad joked.
"I am going to make so many jokes." Skeppy said.

"Please note every quality of this process. You are not you anymore." Nick said.
"Wait. Mine says I'm a single guy." Clay said and I looked at mine.
"So does mine." I said.
"That's because you're not together." Nick said. Clay looked at me and I looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You both are the prime targets, so I thought it would be best to separate you." I looked at Clay. Clay looked like he was about to punch someone. I grabbed his arm.
"I don't want to leave you." I said to Clay. Clay turned to Nick.
"You probably thought your chances would be better with George if I was in a different state." Clay said.

"Well, we only do couples for married people." Nick said.
"Well that's a lie, Bad and Skeppy match." Clay said and Nick crossed his arms. Realization hit both of us and we turned to them to see them both smiling nervously.

"When were you gonna tell me you two got hitched?" Clay asked.
"We did it when we weren't speaking Clay, I didn't mean to cause any trouble." Skeppy said. Clay looked at his file, then closed it and handed it back.
"I don't need this." Clay said and left the house. He sat on the steps outside.

"What is his problem?" Nick asked.
"You separated us." I said and handed back my file. I looked at Bad and Skeppy and they both looked down.
"Are you guys coming?" I asked.
"We're taking the out, George." Bad said. My heart sunk.
"We never asked to be on the run. We're sorry." Skeppy said. I looked down and took a breath.

"It's not for everyone. I understand." I said and walked out. Clay saw me and smiled.
I helped him up and he hugged me.
"Are the other two in there still?" Clay asked.
"They're taking the out." I said and Clay hugged me tighter.
"Are you?" He asked.
"I can't." I said and Clay started crying. I pulled back and wiped his tears away.

"Hey. It's okay. I'm right here." I said. Clay held me.
"I thought you'd leave for sure." Clay said and I laughed.
"I couldn't do that. Ever." I said and Clay kissed me.
"I love you." He said and continued kissing me. I kissed him back.
"I love you too." I said and pulled back.

"We should say goodbye to the others." Clay said.
"Then we'll figure out our other options." I said. Clay hugged me.
"I like my other options."