affection

ten

thursday

"i'm not even surprised." jake exhales and his shoulders slump.

elliot had been telling him about their father, which resulted in a long conversation to casually comfort one another with words. he spins around in the chair his brother uses for gaming and lets himself sink into it. the faux pillow rests above his head, he sinks even more until his elbows touch the seat. he watches jake, who sits at the end of his bed staring at his feet, he wasn't going to say anything, he knows how close he and their dad used to be. he only decided last night, while fighting sleep, that he should know the truth, so here they are.

the hanging fan whirs noisily, but the room is still warm. the sun is out already, early warmth to warn for a warmer day. there's some type of bird, he isn't sure which type, nestling just beneath jake's window. they're not quiet, he complains they make sounds in the night, though he's up playing video games mostly, so he can't even hear them well.

jake's room is a mixture of both messy and tidy, the bed is made neat, but there are clothes sprawled all over the floor and his wardrobe is stuck hanging ajar because the sleeves of a sweatshirt he hasn't worn in years are in the way of it closing properly. it's one of those bedrooms that feel weirdly like home, elliot wanders in here when he's on his computers often, just to sit around doing nothing, and sometimes listening to the birds.

a honk is heard outside, making elliot jump and sit upright in the chair. jake begins his way out of the room, but stops and turns to the boy in his chair.

"i just hope mom's going to be okay."

elliot sighs, "me too."

he watches jake from his bedroom window which looks out onto the street, he gets in his friends' car and they drive out of sight. he waits patiently for the knock on his door he's expecting, but nothing. ten minutes go by, still nothing. he takes his phone out and calls kai once, then twice, voicemail. after another ten minutes, elliot frowns and makes his way to school alone. he tries to think of excuses he'd make along the way, maybe he's sick. yeah, sick of you.

he anxiously waits in class, staring out of the window a few seats away in pathetic attempts to distract himself, and after another slow ten minutes, he arrives. he apologies to the teacher for being late, and sheepishly sits down.

"i'd give you detention but you probably already have one."

kai only nods, he begins writing. he doesn't spare a glance towards elliot for a few moments, but he passes a small piece of paper to the boy beside him, who passes it down to elliot.

'sorry i'm late, mom wanted us all to have breakfast like a real family. then had to help her look for her keys lol.'

elliot grins, at least he isn't bored of him, and mouths to him that it's fine. kai passes another note, which says, 'i'll make it up 2 u (:'

class ends and they go to another, heading in different directions. time passes slow but lunch soon rolls around and they meet back up. kai asks if he could stay over tonight, just in case his mother demands another "family breakfast" and so they can get ready for the party when they get home. his boyfriend tells him it's a good plan, so of course he can.

elliot's phone vibrates in his pocket, he fishes it out and pulls a face.

'i will not be pressured by my own son.'

'nine days' he replies back, adding a smiley emoji at the end just to rub it in.

a bubble appears, then disappears, then, 'until you tear your own family apart?'

elliot thinks for just a moment, 'until i call u out for being a POS husband and father. i'm counting.' and again, for good measure, a happy emoji to finish off. he doesn't say a word, but kai reads the messages and laughs, even though he knows how scared his boyfriend is.

he just hopes he can be there for him, always.

...
wc: 730
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i need to edit this and lengthen it a tiny bit but whatever