Happy New Years To Me - Jaurens [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter Eight

John sighed as he sifted through the utter mess that was the bar. Hercules went home, saying that if John was so focused on work, he could clean up the mess himself. John didn't care however, he wanted to keep his mind occupied, and putting fallen-over stools upright and cleaning up broken glass from smashed beer bottles sure did the trick. "This is all Thomas' fault," John tried to tell himself, in a weak attempt at trying to convince himself he hated Thomas. "If he wouldn't have stood up to that douchebag, I wouldn't be in this mess and he wouldn't have gotten hurt," he muttered as he swept up a pile of broken glass.

"And I would have lived with the guilt that I didn't defend you," Thomas said, nearly making John jump out of his skin.

"How the hell did you get in here?!" John asked, holding the broom close to his chest.

"The door was unlocked," Thomas shrugged, as if waltzing into the bar and scaring the living hell out of John was just a casual thing. "I want to talk to you John, you left so suddenly. We never got a chance to speak." John felt a pang in his heart at the sight of Thomas' face bruised. The usually caramel colored skin was dotted with purple, almost as if a kid decided to finger paint all over Thomas' face.

"We didn't need to speak," John mumbled, returning his focus to his sweeping. "There's nothing to talk about."

"John, I like you," Thomas said, resting a hand on John's shoulder, making the smaller man tense under the sudden contact. "Why do you insist that I shouldn't? Stop pushing me away, I know you like me."

"Don't touch me," John said calmly, making Thomas retract his hand with a frown. "Your heart belongs to someone else, and that someone broke up with you. You should figure out your feelings first-"

"I'm not letting my heart belong to him anymore!" Thomas said defensively, crossing his arms. "John, I don't think Alex ever loved me-"

"Alex," John echoed in a voice barely audible.

"What?" Thomas asked. John mumbled a quick "nothing", deciding that it was a coincidence. "Well anyways, if he could drop me that easily, he never loved me in the first place. I've known that for a while, I was just hoping that maybe if I proposed he would be different. John, I'm not letting you get away just because Alex left me. I like you a lot, John."

"I've got other things to worry about," John muttered, shaking his head, trying to push away the thought of what Thomas' arms around him would feel like. "I can't worry about dating right now. I've got work-"

"You're a bartender," Thomas said flatly. "And I'm not saying that's not hard, but John, that's not a job you need to pour your life into. Come on, please just give me a chance," John turned towards Thomas. "Please?" John sighed, cupping Thomas' face, pulling him into a soft kiss that lasted a mere moment before John pulled away. "Is that a yes?"

John smiled, still uneasy, though he felt comfortable as Thomas wrapped his arms around his waist. "Yes."