Bonded

Twenty Five and a Half Part Two

*NSFW - I consider the things within this chapter mild and tame but it is within the BDSM world. If you have any triggers in that area read until where you're comfortable and then skip down to the -----

Louis curled up under the covers, and scooched himself over to James's side of the bed. He pulled his partners pillow under the blanket with him and buried his face into it, inhaling deeply. Everything smelled better on James's side. It smelt sweet and peaceful. It smelt safe, and for a moment that's how everything felt. Like there was nothing in the world that he could ever do, that would hurt the people he loved. 

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall pulled Louis from his thoughts and he wrapped the blanket around himself tighter. His moment of respite was over and it was time to face the music. 

James opened their bedroom door a crack and peeked inside. The giant lump on the bed told him that he had found Louis's hiding spot. He entered into the room, shutting the door behind him, and came to sit on the bed. He placed a heavy hand on the blanket, offering comfort before words. 

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I know you already know what happened, so don't even bother asking," came Louis's muffled reply. 

"I do already know about Ethan being a little shit," James said as he started rubbing small circles on the body under his hand. "I just wanted to know how you were doing."

Louis huffed and sat up a little, keeping his back to James and using the blanket to hide his face.

"I really did shove him," Louis angrily whispered. "He fell over his chair and landed, really loudly, on the floor. He was screaming bloody murder too. I know he likes to exaggerate, but I feel like maybe I really did break his tailbone or something."

"Good," came James's stoic reply. "Maybe next time he won't run his mouth." 

Guilt came rolling off of Louis in waves. James always, always took his side, but Louis knew it came at a price. After today's incident, Ethan was going to lean into his family's influence to give James a hard time, and that meant that James was going to have to go and seek help from his friends. Louis was well aware of the insecurities James felt in having to rely on others and yet he constantly allowed Ethan to get under his skin and used it as an excuse to lose control.

Today's incident wasn't their typical verbal confrontation either. Things had actually gotten physical, with Louis being the main aggressor. He couldn't imagine what would happen if the day ever came where Ethan and Darren became Elite. At the very least, life would become a living hell and worst case, they would have to move away or be ruined.

James lightly tugged on the blanket, without revealing the one hiding underneath. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, knowing exactly what Louis was thinking. "Edward has a fair amount of influence, now that he's an Elite, plus Jakov has been secretly buying out all the supplier companies that Ethan's family is dependent on. It won't be long before we're the ones applying pressure to them." 

Louis turned his head just enough to peek at his partner. "But if Ethan's really hurt it might be more than just his family who's against us."

James shook his head. "Darren took Ethan straight to the hospital where he got checked out. He already sent a message to Edward explaining that Ethan's fine, it's only bruising, and no real damage has been done."