Haunted

Latch

"Can you keep your hands to yourself?" Maddox squirmed away as Brent tried again to grab him. "I'm holding Hannah."

"I'm trying," Brent huffed. "Your ass just looks so good in those pants."

"Thanks, but I'm afraid I'm going to drop her if you keep grabbing at me."

"Why are you so jumpy? It's a wedding, you love weddings."

"Yeah, and I want this one to be good," Maddox shrugged as Adam started walking their way.

"I didn't know you cared that much about Ty and Ashton."

"They're not who I'm worried about."

"Oh," Brent said. Zack and Cole had just walked in. "Well we can always leave early. Someone has a bedtime after all."

"I'm counting on it," Maddox admitted. "Right, Hanners?" he tried to see her face but she was leaning against his shoulder. Hannah made a happy sound so he just went with it. "Yeah, that's right. Should you and I go sit down so we can watch Dada looking yummy in his tux?"

"Oh, now who's crossing the line?" Brent laughed. He gave Hannah a kiss and then kissed Maddox. "You two be nice and quiet like I know you can, okay?"

"You know me," Maddox joked. He waited until Brent was done fussing with Hannah's dress and then went out to sit down.

"It must be so nice to have a built in excuse to leave whenever you want," Cole said as Maddox got Hannah settled in her infant seat.

"That seat is taken," Maddox said without looking at him.

"Yeah, by me," Cole sat down. "I need a friend too, you know."

"You have Zack," Maddox shrugged.

"Dax, please," Cole said. Maddox finally turned to look at him. "Please? I need you."

"You need a kick in the teeth," Maddox crossed his arms.

"Maybe I do," Cole sighed. "Can you just let me explain?"

"I'd love to hear this," Maddox said. "Seriously, Cole, you said so many times you were in love with Adam and you were so worried he would hurt you. Now you're pushing him away."

"I know it doesn't make sense," Cole said. "I still don't want to lose him but I don't want to lose Zack either. Not until I understand what this is."

"This is you being a greedy, selfish prick like always," Maddox said. "This is you fucking up the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"Wow," Cole looked away. "Wow, Dax."

"Someone had to say it," Maddox said, but when he saw the tears in Cole's eyes he started to wonder if he really should have said it that way. Maybe he should have tried to be a little nicer about it.

"You know, I guess I thought you would understand," Cole was staring at his hands. He still had his wedding ring on. "After you let Brent spend all that time with Adam somehow I just thought you would get it."

"I do get it. I've felt everything Adam's feeling before. I know what it's like to feel sick every time I see the love of my life with someone else, to wonder if he'll come back to me or decide I'm not really the one for him."

"I was never going to leave Adam. I'll always want him, I'm still in love with him. So in love with him."

"If you love Adam as much as you say you do then you should realize no matter what you feel for Zack it will never come close to what you have with Adam," Maddox said. "It just won't. Human hearts get lost in love, so completely wrapped up that there can't be anything else."