Lying in bed watching doctor who.
"Cole, why would you save a mad man from a mad house, if he's still mad?" Dalton asked worried.
"You're not mad, you're something different" Cole replied.
"You always say that but seriously I'm the one switch personalities every second, 'being stupid and immature, like a child' as you put it. And then there's the sensual boner jokes that apparently you find cute and now I'm laughing like a maniac!" Dalton said laugh hysterically for no apparent reason.
"Are you laughing seriously? Are you?" Cole teased Dalton tickling him making him laugh harder.
"Stop, Cole it hurts!" Dalton laughed between breaths.
Cole kept tickling him making him roll and fidget.
"Cole, STOP!" Dalton said sternly, grabbing Cole's wrist, making him scream. Ouch!
"Ah, Dalton!" Cole screamed as he peeled himself away from Dalton, looking directly into Dalton's eyes.
What he saw wasn't Dalton, his eyes were filled with anger. Who was he?
"Cole, I'm so sorry!" Dalton said with a concerned voice, reaching for Cole's wrist but Cole retreated.
"It's fine, I'm just fine." Cole said rubbing his wrist and flopping downing with his back to Dalton on the bed.
Cole silently sobbed as Dalton tried to get closer to him but Cole just shifted away each time, until they both feel asleep.
"Cole, I'm so so so so sorry. Can we cuddle?" Dalton whispered later that night. Cole didn't respond.
He slid his arm around Cole but lazily fidgeted in his sleep and shook Dalton's arm off.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Cole had had his share of crying himself to sleep but it wasn't because of the pain Dalton caused him. It was because of the look that always seemed to appear in Dalton's eyes.
Every time Cole saw that look he realized that even though he had saved his mad boy from his mad house, it didn't mean that his boy wasn't still quite mad in his own mind.
Dalton always asked Cole why he time and time again forgave him, saved him.
Why? Cole knew exactly why because he knew that Dalton was different. Dalton was misunderstood and broken. Beautifully broken and needy.
Cole wanted to fix him, to show him that he's not insane or alone but when he tries Dalton does something impulsive and frightening.
Dalton had no control over it though he had been isolated, he didn't know how to act with people. He was cut off from the world for so long in his mad house that he just lost his ability to communicate.
Cole couldn't watch him lose himself, day by day, so he saved him knowing that he couldn't function like he used to. Cole knew that this would happen but he saved him anyways because no matter what he'd never be able to live without Dalton much less watch him slowly lose himself.
He loved him and he wouldn't let him go, not until he was sure he'd be alright.
