Ideas and Extras

Forever Yours - Rhys

Okay, first of all, I know I haven't exactly been active on Wattpad lately, so thanks to those who have: 1) stuck with me, and 2) made me want to come back on here.  :)  I haven't done a great deal of writing in the last couple months, but this is something I did a while ago for the lovely @ThoughtsOnPaper.  It isn't going to be a part of Forever Yours, it was a little extra, an aside that I wrote, with Rhys.  Mainly because I needed some ideas so I thought this would help. :)  In my mind it took place at the end of FY (I haven't fully planned out the ending yet, hence the vagueness).  

This is the first thing I've uploaded in a while, and I wrote it when I didn't feel like writing, so please be nice.  It's a little scary. xD ~ Erin

"I know what he did was wrong, but he's my brother, and he needs me. I can't turn my back," Rhys sighed deeply, his gaze fixed on the view from their window. He often looked out at the city, and watched the hustle and bustle, when he had things on his mind. Looking at the vast swarms of people going about their business made him feel insignificant, and made him feel as though his problems mattered less. Marc watched him out of the corner of his eye, trying, and ultimately failing, to see things from his point of view.

"He's a creep, to be frank," he said crisply. "I don't like this, Rhys." Rhys' head swung round to face his boyfriend. His green eyes swam with unshed tears.

"He needs somebody in his life, for God's sake! What, you're telling me I should just cut all ties with him, leave him on his own? What the hell is that going to achieve?" he exploded with frustration, furiously wiping at his eyes. His cheeks reddened with anger and embarrassment. "I'm all he's got, and I love him...I don't think he even realises that. He's as much a part of me as you are, and I'm sorry, but that's not going to change. It can't change." Marc nodded slowly, weighing up his response in his mind.

"I just don't like the idea of you getting all mixed up in this. I can see you coming out of this hurt, and I don't want that to happen to you. You're not going to like me saying this, but I think he's a weirdo, and I can't just welcome him in here, because for me, that's saying that what he did was okay. It's not okay," he drew out his reply, as though he was trying each word out for the first time. "And before you even think about saying it, you haven't done anything wrong. He was your dad's responsibility, not yours." Rhys shook his head, turning back to face the window. The last person he wanted to think about was his father.

"We should have been brothers," his voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "Instead, we were more like strangers. That's the biggest regret." This time he didn't stop the tears that began spilling over from his eyes. He stoically kept his face turned towards the window, though his vision was too blurry for him to see anything. Marc hoisted himself out of his chair, joining Rhys at the window. He wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his head on Rhys' shoulder.

"I love you," he whispered, softly kissing Rhys' cheek. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. But we've been here before, you getting all cut up over your dad, or your brother. I've been there, comforting you when you cried over them. Don't you think enough's enough?" Rhys freed himself from Marc's embrace so he could turn around to face him. His mouth was set in a firm, hard line.

"How can you say that? I understand why you don't want him here, okay?" Anger flooded his features, causing Marc to take a small step back in surprise. "But you don't know him like I do. He's not a monster, like you seem to think he is."

"Well, I'm sorry if I can't look past his behaviour right now. It's not normal!" Marc stared at his boyfriend, matching the intensity in his eyes. "If you like someone, you don't follow them around creepily. You don't send them weird messages like some kind of psycho. You didn't do that when we met, did you? Did you?" He persisted when he didn't get an answer. Rhys ignored the question, still focusing on Spencer, and the events of the last few months.

"He did it because he needed attention from her. Think about it. He got zero attention from our dad, and he didn't get enough from me. That's what he needs, and I'm the person to give him that attention. It's gonna get us back on track," Rhys broke the silence that hung heavily in the air between them.

"No. I don't buy it. He knew exactly what he was doing. Don't deny it. Don't look at me and tell me he didn't know what he was doing."

"Look, he's going in the right direction. He knows that what he did was...inappropriate," Rhys said. "This is really important to me. It's like, he's all I have of me, if that makes any sense."

"Rhys, can you hear yourself, babe?" Marc's eyes were filled with confusion, and pity. "Come on, this so isn't us. We don't fight like this. Look, I get it. You're all he has. But that doesn't mean I'm prepared to welcome him with open arms. Thinking about what he did makes my skin crawl." He shuddered, as if to demonstrate his point.

"If someone in your family needed help, you wouldn't hesitate, would you?" Rhys asked, his heart torn.

"Yeah, but my family aren't nuts like yours," Marc shot back, a hint of a smile forming on his lips. Rhys smirked back, revealing the dimples in his cheeks. The worry and pain faded from his face as his lips crushed against Marc's, delivering a brief but searing kiss.

"I'm sorry I've been so wrapped up in Spencer and his stuff," Rhys murmured, enveloping Marc in a tight hug. "I promise once I've gotten him straightened out, we're gonna do stuff like we used to."

"It's okay," Marc grinned. "I'd prefer it if you were wrapped up in me."

“I like the sound of that,” Rhys smiled his first real smile in the last few weeks. “But I am sorry. I don't want you to think I've been choosing Spencer over you. And I'm not choosing you over him.” Marc laughed softly to himself.

“You were always going to win that one, weren't you?” he said, good-naturedly. “Okay, I'll make sure the spare bedroom's all ready for him. When can we expect him?” Rhys looked at him a little sheepishly, before averting his gaze once more. A pink tinge spread slowly across his cheeks.

“I don't know, I guess we'll figure something out in the week?” he mumbled, extracting himself from Marc's arms and heading for the living room door. Marc followed, hot on his heels, wondering just what Rhys was hiding from him.

“Let me know if I'm wrong, but I have this vague idea that you're not telling me everything,” he kept the smile on his face; since Rhys had apologised, his boyfriend was finding it near impossible to stay mad at him. It was easily Rhys' biggest talent.

Rhys stopped at their bedroom door and looked up at Marc, a nervous smile on his lips. Idly, he played with a strand of his immaculate blond hair.

“I don't know what tipped you off,” he shrugged, his shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh. “Don't be mad, please? We've done enough of that for now.” He pleaded, giving him the puppy-dog eyes. Marc nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“Okay, well Spencer may have been told he could stay,” Rhys said, shooting his boyfriend his most charming smile. “I'm not sure where he got that idea from, but I said to him, seeing as he'd been told he could stay, it wasn't exactly fair for me to then tell him he couldn't. I mean, that wouldn't be so great, would it?” He added nervously, hoping he'd played it right. His mischevious eyes flickered up to meet Marc's brown orbs. He paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond to the scheming that had clearly gone on behind his back. Eventually, he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“It's a damn good thing you're cute,” he muttered, laughter escaping his lips despite his slight annoyance about Rhys' devilish plotting. “But, seriously, when is your brother getting here? Or is he already here, and you hid him from me until you got me onside?”

“Hey, I'm not that bad,” Rhys feigned offence. “Well, whoever told Spencer he could stay paid his train fare up here. They happened to book it for tomorrow so he should get here at around seven.”

“Good thing they told you what time he was coming,” Marc murmured, something that did not go unnoticed by Rhys.

“Someone had to be kept in the loop,” he laughed, before his face became serious, with a tender smile on his lips. “But thank you. For everything. I wouldn't be able to get through all of this without you.”