Unbreakable smile

Chapter 2

Traitor

He hasn't seen those words in... ten years. They'd been scrawled on his parents walls, on their front door, pissed over their porch. And they shouldn't have been, Feliciano had nothing to do with... well anything, honestly, but her family moved out and there had been nowhere else to vent all the frustration that was boiling over in this tiny town. 

The years passed and the graffiti got less inspired, until it dwindled down into the regular insults. They'd stopped, they'd tired, so why this, why... now?

"Feliciano?"

Jamie's eyes are wide as he stares at the word. Feliciano tries to remove it by sheer force of will, but it remains on the wall, unchanging. He forces out a laugh.

"Kids these days. Always throwing words around. Must be some slang we haven't heard yet."

His boyfriend turns towards him, frowning.

"They were gossiping about us in the square."

Feliciano shrugs. Play it off, play it off. 

"They knew about the funeral. Someone probably texted them about my stunt, things travel fast around here."

He tugs Jamie into the yard, ignoring the word. As if not looking at it will actually help. As if it isn't fucking with him anyway. 

Jamie tries to ask about it, but Feliciano plants his ass infront of the computer and starts answering work emails. Which on it's own is suspicious as hell, since Feliciano would rather pull out all his teeth then do anything remotely associated with his job on his spare time. 

Mostly he ends up staring at the screen. Traitor. No matter how he twists the word, turning it this way and that, it only show up on his wall when she's involved. But she'd been gone for a decade, so why all of a sudden...

The funeral. The death of the old man. That's the only thing that had changed around here. But why would that mean that they'd start harassing him again? Unless -

Unless-

She didn't show up at the funeral. But maybe, just maybe, she showed up somewhere else. Feliciano digs his fingers into the desk. Ofcourse. The cottage. Someone needs to take care of the abandoned property. Ofcourse. Ofcourse.

He stands.

"I'm going to the Badger."

Jamie tilts his head.

"Now? On a tuesday?"

Feliciano struts into their bedroom, contemplating his outfit. Something discreet, flattering without being too eye catching. He settles on a grey cashmere sweater and dark slacks. Jamie studies him from the door.

"Don't go. If people are angry with you, you shouldn't be anywhere near Blade."

He fixes his hair, going for natural, but attractive. He should probably lay of the make up tonight.

"If people are angry with me, I should know why."

There. He tilts his face, pushes some wayward strands into place.

"You look fine." Jamie rolls his eyes. "You could roll around in dirt and wear a garbage bag and still look like you came of the runway."

Feliciano grins.

"Leverage tesoro. Attractive people get away with almost anything."

His boyfriend snorts and shakes his head.

"That's only reason you're still in one piece. I can't believe they just let you waltz out of the church."

Feliciano grins at him through the mirror and straightens his shirt.