𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙱𝚘𝚢 (𝚋𝚡𝚋)

3.

Shawn takes a seat at the bar, smiling at Gav. "Sup man. Can I get a beer?"

Gavin nods his head. "Why aren't you at work? Indulging in your dad's alcoholism?"

Shawn chuckles. "Yup. Following in his footsteps precisely. Might have a kid just to be an asshole to him."

Gavin sets the beer in front of Shawn, leaning against it. "Nah, seriously? What are you doing here? It's like four...Shouldn't you be at home with you Mister?"

Shawn shakes his head. "He's tutoring. Thought I'd swing by and see my boyfriend."

Gavin laughs at him. "You're so annoying."

Shawn takes a sip from his beer. "Jaxon kinda sad lately. I think it's school but he's super vague about it. Not sure what's going on."

"Is he...I don't know. Depressed?"

"Not sure. I don't know what to ask cause I don't wanna trigger him or anything but...He's being weird."

Gavin shrugs as he grabs a glass to clean. "So fuckin' ask him."

Shawn furrows his eyebrows, taking another sip from his drink. "I don't wanna just ask him. I don't wanna freak him out or-."

"You guys have been together damn near six years. There should be no beating around the bush with you guys. You're about to get married, so grow some balls and go talk to your fiancé."

Shawn sighs and looks down at the bar. "Alright," He stands up and sets a twenty down. "Keep the change, Campbell."

**
Shawn walks into the apartment, setting his things down before going to look for Jaxon. "Babe? You home yet?"

"In the room!"

Shawn walks in and sees Jaxon unbuttoning his pants. He smiles a little as he steps over to him. "What are you doing?"

Jaxon smiles a bit. "I'm about to shower." He backs up before Shawn can grab his ass. "Hands off, Mister."

Shawn crosses his arms. "Can I at least get a kiss?"

Jaxon leans forward, puckering his lips. Shawn pecks his lips once. "Thank you."

Jaxon licks his lips before sliding his pants off. "You taste like beer. Were you drinking?"

"Stopped by to talk to Gav."

Jaxon stops as he looks at Shawn. "You drove?"

"I had barely two sips. I'm still legally sober."

Jaxon slides his shirt off his head. "It's still not right, Shawn. You can't just be doing stuff like that."

"Jaxon, it was two sips."

"It doesn't matter. What if you got pulled over or something?"

Shawn shakes his head. "Can we just let it go? Please? I wanna take you out for dinner."

"I need to shower and do some work." Jaxon walks off into the bathroom.

Shawn follows him. "Okay? We can still go grab something quickly? Please?"

"Okay," Jaxon sighs and glances back at the shower. "Can I please shower now?"

Shawn nods his head. "Go ahead."

Jaxon nods as Shawn backs up and he closes the door. Shawn furrows his brows and puts his ear against the door. When he doesn't hear anything concerning he leaves to the kitchen.

**
Jaxon was picking around his plate. All he ordered was a salad but he wasn't really eating anything.

Shawn bites down on his lip and sits up with his arms crossed. "Do you wanna order something else?"

Jaxon looks up and sets his fork down. He runs his hand's down his thighs. "Not really hungry, sorry."

Shawn shrugs his shoulders. "Did you eat lunch today?"

"Yes."

"What about breakfast?"

Jaxon furrows his brows. "Yes.."

"Are you lying to me?" Shawn asks.

"No! Why are you being like this?" Jaxon crosses his arms as he felt attacked.

"Cause," Shawn shakes his head and looks down at his empty plate.

"Because what?"

"You're acting like you did when you were b-...," He stops when he sees Jaxon's face. "When you were going through that eating disorder."

Jaxon blushes and grabs his drink. "I don't do that anymore." He takes a gulp.

"Then what's been going on? You've been acting so weird lately and you're not talking to me."

"I'm fine, Shawn."

"No, you're not. Look me in the eyes and tell me everything's okay and I'll let this go."

Jaxon doesn't look up before leaning back in his seat. "It's not an eating disorder. I'm just not...Happy."

"With what? Is it me?"

"No, of course not." Jaxon sighs. "It's mostly...school. I don't have any motivation and...It makes me sad because I don't like not having a goal. I'm such a failure sometimes."

Shawn frowns and reaches out for Jaxon's hand. "A failure?"

"I used to be good at school. I'm getting bad grades, I don't wanna get up for school. Just leaving the apartment makes me anxious."

"That doesn't make you a failure, Jaxon."

"For me it does! I have no idea what I even wanna do. And...We keep talking about the future and...How we're gonna grow together but I'm the one falling behind."

Jaxon shakes his head. "I mean you're becoming this amazing tattoo artist. People book you almost daily and you're somehow managing a diner job and I can barely make it to class."

"Jaxon, look at me, please," Shawn waits for Jaxon's eyes to meet his. "You are not a failure. You've been top of your class, straight A's, joining all of these clubs since day one. You're allowed to feel burnt out but that doesn't make you less as a person."

Jaxon feels a tear slip but reaches up to wipe it off his face. "And the future talk? It's all hypothetical. We're moving towards it, it doesn't have to happen tomorrow."

"And...My work ethic? Guess who taught me that? Guess who taught me to pursue the things that I love? Who taught me that there's so much more to life than just sitting on my couch, watching old shows, and drinking beer?"

Jaxon purses his lips, feeling them begin to quiver. Shawn looks around at the restaurant before nodding his head. "Why don't we get out of here?"

Jaxon nods his head quickly. Shawn stands up and nods. "I'll go get the bill."

Jaxon watches as Shawn walks away and sits back, wiping his eyes a few times. He takes a deep breath before chugging his drink empty.

Shawn walks back, smiling. He holds his hand out for Jaxon's. "Come on, princess."

Jaxon takes his hand in Shawn's, standing up from the table. Shawn pulls a twenty from his back pocket, slapping it down on the table.

**