𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁 // BL

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦. (𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝)

I didn't know how to react when Kace started crying.

    At first I just sat there, shocked. I let my hand rest on his lower back for awhile but soon I just pulled him into my arms. I didn't know what else to do, all I knew was that I instinctively wanted to shelter him.  

      I didn't cry a lot. In fact, I think the last time I cried was at least two years ago. I wasn't emotionless by any means, but when when I felt the need to cry there was just....nothing. No tears. Just a painful silence, and a storm furiously raging within me.

     I guess that's why I felt so protective and helpless when he began to cry.

     It was like seeing that part of me that lacked expression for so long being represented in Kace. I was in awe, and even full of admiration at his ability to express his pain in tears. That's something I wasn't really capable of.

     I held him against my chest, burying my nose into his ginger hair. It smelled like lilacs.

***

     By the time we had gone inside, it was already dark again. I felt a pang of sadness as I shut his screen door behind me, marveling at how fast time flew by when I was with him.

       I didn't say a word as I stood in his dark dining room. I just listened to his footsteps as he shuffled around to find a light switch. Looking up at the glass roof, I could see the stars that were barely out. They were scattered across the sky and in the darkness of the house they looked so bright. Suddenly a harsh light floods the kitchen and I blink quickly, squinting my eyes.

     "Sorry." Kace says quietly, walking into the dining room to click on another light. I rub my eyes, stretching my arm out with a yawn. "It's alright."

     His eyes still look red and puffy. He had been crying for a long time, crying years and years worth of repressed tears.
       We had sat there in that embrace for a long time, him crying and me not saying anything. It felt better that way, him letting me be the strong one so that he could finally rest, if not just for a moment.

       I hear something crash in the living room, startling me out of my thoughts. I rush over to where the sound came from, leaning my arm against the wall while my eyes adjust to the situation.

      "Hey, you okay?" I ask as my eyes come into focus.

      "Y-yes I'm fine." I hear him say in an embarrassed tone. I can see a hunched over dark figure on the ground, and with my heart giving a jolt, I quickly click a light on.

     I see Kace, kneeling on the floor as he tries to pick up pieces of glass from something that looks to be a shattered flowerpot. There's dirt everywhere and the glass from the pot glints accusingly at me. Kace's eyes look glassed over, like he's about to cry all over again.

      "Uhhh hey! Don't worry! Let me...let me clean it up. Uh, you got a broom somewhere?" I say quickly, kneeling down to the floor and quickly picking up the pieces.
      "Maybe we can get this plant to a new pot. You go find a new pot, okay?" I say gently, giving him a firm but encouraging look.

     He nods absent-mindedly, biting his lip like a small child. Then he rises, going back to somewhere in the kitchen in a zombie like state.

I sigh as soon as he leaves, running my hands through my hair in worry and exasperation. This guy has a lot going on. I hope he'll be okay. I muse to myself quietly. Then, after a long moment, I go back to gathering the dirt in my hands, hoping to save whatever life is left in this plant.