Helpless

Markus

Now that he knew the truth, he was seeing signs of the abuse everywhere. How Simon flinched when Josh simply raised his hand, how he kept to himself and did anything Josh asked without hesitation, how he would stay quiet unless spoken to, the way he sat up straighter and tensed whenever Josh walked into the room. It was so painfully obvious something wasn't right and Markus hated himself for not realising sooner.

He stays quiet as he sits next to Simon in the living room, eating some cereal out of a bowl and glancing to him - more specifically, his face and eyes. He could get lost in those eyes any day.. study his face for hours on end. He shakes himself out of his thoughts, finally speaking.
"Did you eat already?"
Markus only just realised, but he's never seen Simon eat breakfast since he got there.. and his dinners were only small meals. He was concerned again. God, would he ever stop feeling concerned for the blue eyed boy next to him?

"I'm not really hungry.." He shakes his head, looking at Markus and glancing to Josh who's sat on the other sofa, watching the two as though he's expecting something to happen.
Simon was hungry, but every time he ate he just felt sick. Josh said he was disgusting. He said he was getting fat, even if he was rather skinny and all he used to eat was just the ordinary three meals.

Of course the comments got stuck in Simons mind and they weren't going away, so every time it came to eating, he'd either skip the meal altogether or have a smaller amount than everyone else, no matter how hungry he felt. No ones noticed it. If they have, they've stayed quiet and not said anything. To be honest, he hopes they hadn't realised because it was an unhealthily small amount and if they did see it, maybe they didn't care.

Markus looks at Simon, doubting his statement but nodding anyway. He's aware of the fact that if he asks him whether he's hungry, he'll get the same answer or the shake of his head. He has a feeling it's got something to do with Josh, but he doesn't want to bring back any bad memories or hurt his feelings, so he stops asking, fearful of getting Simon into trouble later.

When he's finished his food, he picks up his bowl and walks to the kitchen, placing it on the side and turning the hot water tap on. He wasn't surprised when he heard Simons quiet footsteps behind him. Josh might follow him, which is what scares him most. He doesn't turn around to face him though. Instead he looks out the window that's above the sink, watching a bird that's flying above the trees.

Simon takes a place next to him, standing and resting his hands on the side, Looking up at Markus and watching how the light shines on his face. His eyes look brighter in the sun. His freckles stand out more.

He looks away when he sees Markus look back at him, a faint blush on his cheeks.
He hates when he's caught looking at people, but he just can't help it. Markus really is beautiful.

Markus turns the tap off when the sinks full, flicking some water in Simons face playfully and he couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Simon gasp in surprise.
"Oops." Markus rolls his eyes, tapping Simons nose and turning his attention back to the sink.

"..You don't have to wash up Markus, I can do that." Simon laughs quietly, wiping the water off of his face with his sleeve. He always did the jobs like that. He took laundry out to dry, he ironed everyone's clothes, he washed the dishes (if you couldn't tell, they don't have a dishwasher - They have a Simon. Pfft sorry)

"You always do this." He looks down, smiling to himself and rolling his sleeves up, glancing to the other man. He washes the dishes, even with Simons protests about it. He would have shut him up with a kiss if he wasn't with Josh.
Wait what? Why was he even thinking like that? Simons going through a lot right now, he doesn't need Markus falling in love with him.
(If only they both knew smh)

"So why should it change now?" He looks back at him, raising an eyebrow with a small smile on his face. He liked moments like this. Moments that go from quiet looking out the window to actually fun conversations.
He doesn't have to be afraid when he's with Markus. He feels safe. He finds himself wanting him. You could even say needing him. He really did fall for people too easily.

"It's called taking a break, Si." He looks at him, a soft smile on his face. He wouldn't even be surprised if Simon didn't know what a break was, Josh really didn't seem to be giving him one.

"Don't steal my name for him." Josh looks over, walking to them both and wrapping an arm around Simons waist, hand gripping almost painfully harsh at his waist.
Great way to ruin their moment josh.

"We're just messing around." Markus looks at him, laughing and shaking his head. The laugh wasn't genuine. He hadn't even realised the other man had walked into the room. He wonders when he did. His thoughts were immediately returned to Simon, who shifted uncomfortably under his Boyfriends hand, keeping his eyes on the floor.

This really needed to get sorted, and it had to be done soon. Markus didn't know how long he could handle watching Simon and Josh like this.

If there's one person he knows can do something about this, it's North.
He had to go find her and ask for her help. Simon might not appreciate her knowing, but Markus knows he can trust her not to say anything. It'll be painful for her to learn that Josh isn't who she thought he was. It hurt Markus. But maybe they can change him. They can stop him from hurting Simon and make him a better person.

|| I love josh too much lmaoo. They're going to change him and he might have a redemption arc or Markus might beat the shit out of him it's undecided ||