atelophobia 🖤 lawrusso

- 18 -

They were captivating. Johnny's breath caught in his throat, and his mouth fell opened slightly as those eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul. Both boys stared at each other rather uncertainly, not frowning but not smiling either. The wet cloth slipped from Johnny's forehead and landed in his lap with a quiet 'plop' that had his cheeks darkening in color.

"Are you just going to stare at him, or are you going to help him? It's not like I'm asking you guys to make out, I just want you to take care of this so we can all get at least some sleep tonight." Annoyance dripped from Jess' voice, but Johnny knew she was worried.

"Uh... Yeah, sure." Now Daniel was blushing, too, and he tore his gaze away from Johnny's. The blonde wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed, but he looked down too, moving his arms to reveal the bruising patches on his stomach and sides. He was sure his cheek was bruising, too, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad. Or as painful, he thought with a wince.

Warm and hesitant hands touched Johnny's shoulders carefully, and he tensed, eyes widening. Daniel started to pull him up onto his feet, sliding Johnny's arm over his own shoulders as a support, even though he was a little shorter. Johnny tried not to lean on him too much, since his legs were fine, but he clutched his middle with shaky breaths as he tried to straighten up and just ended up hunched back over.

"I'm just gonna to take him home," Daniel told Jess softly. "I have some stuff that'll help. Thanks for, you know. Callin' me." She nodded slowly, watching with wide eyes as Johnny was guided up and out the door. He let himself be tugged along, even though he was nervous to be alone in the car with Daniel, and turned when he was eased into the seat to look at Jess again.

"Is it okay if I leave my car here for the night?" He asked quietly. She had followed them outside to see them off. She nodded again, a bit more vigorously.

"Anything you need, Johnny." She handed him his jacket, nicely folded, and he managed a small smile, taking it and placing it in his lap while Daniel's car started. She gave Johnny a careful kiss on his uninjured cheek, ruffling his hair.

"See ya," he said half-heartedly. She smiled sadly.

"Yeah. See ya, Johnny." Then he was alone with Daniel, and everything was silent except for the turn of the wheels against the pavement. Johnny fiddled with his jacket silently, cheeks starting to heat up for no reason other than the fact that his boyfriend was less than a foot away from him.

"If you wanna talk about it, I'm here to listen," Daniel said suddenly, and his voice nearly caused Johnny to jump out of pure surprise at the sound. He hesitated, glancing at the boy behind the wheel, who's gaze was fixed firmly on the road. Johnny frowned, considering his options.

"Some punks at the beach. I'm sure you know what that's like." His voice trailed off near the end, and guilt gripped his heart when Daniel's frown deepened.

"You're sure, huh?" Daniel asked, and the slight teasing tone in his voice caused Johnny's heart to skip a beat. He looked over at him, watching the boy's lips quirk up into a slight smile. "I mean, I'm just curious. How sure are you?"

"Pretty sure, Daniel," Johnny replied softly, unable to return his smile. His voice had come out a little raspy. The breeze gave him goosebumps, so he put on his jacket and shoved his hands in his pockets. He glanced out of the car as they started to take a turn and realized they were heading to Miyagi's place.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." He stopped the car and got out, hurrying around to open the door for Johnny, who bit back a sharp remark about how he could do it himself when he tried to move and his torso felt like it had caught fire. Daniel pulled him up carefully and led him around back to his room, before walking into the main house. Johnny stood there awkwardly, unwilling to make himself too comfortable considering the fact that Daniel would probably kick him out when he was done.

"Sorry," Johnny blurted out the second he got back. Daniel's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then he made a face, placing a gentle hand on Johnny's chest and backing him up until he sat down on the bed. He put down the large bowl-shaped pan he was holding and poured steaming water into it, setting down the small can of green powder Miyagi kept that Johnny had seen come out a few times when Daniel had still been training with Mr. Silver. He poured a bit of the substance in then submerged a cloth. Johnny watched, eyes wide, as Daniel waited patiently for the cloth to soak up the liquid, ringing it out a little before turning to him while on his knees and pressing it firmly against his midsection. Johnny hissed, flinching away, but a firm hand caught his, linking their fingers together, and although Daniel wasn't looking at him, he could see a hint of a smile on the boy's face when he didn't pull away.

"Sorry for what?" Daniel finally asked, lifting his eyes to meet Johnny's gaze. The blonde hesitated, suddenly at a loss for words. How could Daniel be so calm towards him when he was supposed to be so angry?

"For making you get up late at night like this... For saying all that stupid stuff back at my house. And while we're at it, for beating you up on the beach, at school, and after the Halloween dance... Even though you kinda asked for that one." The last part was said with a hint of a smile. He couldn't bring himself to look at Daniel as those unbelievably warm hands lifted from the cloth and cupped his cheeks. They were damp and hot holding the towel, but Johnny didn't mind. His head was turned, and suddenly he was looking into those eyes again.

"I wasn't sleepin', anyway," Daniel admitted. "It didn't feel right, bein' in a fight with you." Johnny scoffed.

"That's funny, considering the fact that all we used to do was fight," he pointed out, but he was smiling a little bit wider now. "Anyway, I'm still sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry for being optimistic, Johnny. I just forgot that for a little while. I didn't really mean everything I said, I just wanted you to know that." His eyes said it all, like they usually did, and suddenly Johnny was a lot closer to him than he had been, but not too close.

"So it's really okay?" Johnny asked uncertainly. Daniel leaned a bit closer, resting their foreheads together and rubbing his thumb against Johnny's cheek tenderly.

"Listen, Johnny... I should be the one apologizin'. I'm sorry. And for what it's worth, I do love you, and I don't wish I didn't. I was just upset, and I exploded—" Johnny cut him off by placing a soft kiss on his nose. Daniel bit his lip and then smiled anyway, tilting his head and fitting their mouths together gently. Johnny sighed into the kiss, and everything clicked into place as his arms slid around his boyfriend's waist to pull him closer.

"I love you," Daniel said again as they pulled away. "I love you, and I'm never gonna stop until the day I die." Johnny knew that a joke would either make or break the situation. But he was Johnny, so he smirked and said it anyway.

"Really? You got a girl waiting for you up in heaven, huh? Gonna love her once you're dead?" He poked Daniel's cheek with a teasing smile as the boy blushed, dealing him another searing kiss.

"Who says I'm goin' to heaven?" He replied with a low chuckle. Johnny laughed at that, pulling his boyfriend into a tight embrace. Daniel climbed into his lap, legs around Johnny's waist and arms draped around his shoulders as he practically squeezed the life out of him. "I guess that means you don't love me too, huh?" There was a playful tone in his voice, but Johnny panicked nonetheless.

"What? No! Of course I love you too, you dipshit. God, I'm stupid," the last part was more of an offhanded comment to himself, but Daniel sat up and gripped his face, cutting him off with another firm kiss. Johnny blushed, eyes fluttering shut as their mouths worked together in sync, deepening the kiss. Daniel worked his magic, running his tongue smoothly along Johnny's lower lip and tugging his mouth opened in order to dominate it.

"Mine," Daniel whispered against his lips, pulling away immediately after. Johnny sat, dazed, for a long moment. Then a lazy smile spread across his face and he laughed a little.

"Yeah. Yours."