Tyrus One Shots

I'm Here

                               By: Seraph_Novak
Talking to Cyrus through a computer screen just wasn't the same. TJ wished he could reach through the webcam and touch his boyfriend, stroke his cheek and tell him everything was going to be okay. But he couldn't. They were stuck communicating from opposite sides of the country, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I miss you so much," Cyrus whispered, his voice squeaky with tears.

TJ forced himself to stay strong. "Don't worry, Underdog. I'll be back in a couple months for Thanksgiving."

"A couple months is too far away."

"I know..."

"It's not the same here without you," Cyrus admitted with a sniff. "I've been spending a lot of time on the swings. I know it sounds silly, but it's the only way I can feel close to you."

TJ swallowed the lump in his throat, smothering his sadness with a shaky smile. "Have you managed to get up high without me?"

"No. I'm a coward."

"Don't say that."

"It's true." Cyrus wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "Without you, I'm like the old me again... I can't do anything by myself."

TJ shook his head. "That's a bunch of crap, and you know it."

"I need you."

"No, you don't. There's a difference between missing and needing, okay?"

Cyrus slumped in his chair. "Can't I do both?"

"Look, Cy... I know this sucks, but we have to give it a go. You can't give up so soon."

"I'm not giving up," Cyrus said. "I just wish you hadn't picked a college so far away. Did you really have to choose Kentucky?"

TJ shrugged. "You know their basketball program is amazing."

"Yeah, I know. I'm glad you're doing what you love, I just... I wish you could do it a little closer to home."

"Me too, Underdog."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, simply watching each other through the webcam, until TJ couldn't help but yawn. He was two hours ahead of Cyrus, and he'd waited until midnight for his boyfriend to finish his homework before they could talk.

"You should get some rest," Cyrus told him, his voice soft. "I'll try and ring earlier tomorrow."

TJ smiled sleepily. "I'll be here."

"I love you."

"I love you too." He blew a kiss at the webcam (a habit he'd begged Cyrus not to share with anyone else) and ended the call, his heart instantly aching at the loss of his boyfriend's company.

With legs like jelly, he dragged himself to bed and collapsed on top of the sheets, his head swimming with thoughts of muffins and swing sets as he drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~

TJ was starting to panic. It was verging on midnight the next day, and Cyrus still hadn't called him. He'd tried video messaging him several times, but no one was answering. He couldn't even get a hold of his cell phone. Images of his boyfriend lying dead in a ditch kept plaguing his mind, so he took a drastic step and called Buffy.

"This better be good."

"Have you spoken to Cyrus today?" he asked, ignoring Buffy's biting tone of voice. "He was supposed to call me tonight, but he's not answering his phone."