UNMASKED

#03

Eli wasn't a morning person.

He'd been that way for as long as he could remember, and the only reason he even knew what morning looked like was because of school, work, and other ridiculous parts of life. Still, he'd never have guessed getting breakfast for his stupidly reckless boyfriend would be one of those. Yet, there he was, making his way home with a bag of food while he cursed the chill in the morning air.

It was a relief to finally make it back home. The warmth he felt as he stepped inside reminded him of how tired he was, and of how much he just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that just yet. There was an idiot that needed to be fed. Not to mention that Eli was owed an explanation on what the fuck Matthew had been up to for the last day.

With a new sense of purpose, Eli walked to the kitchen to set down the food before he could go to wake Matthew. Only to find that Matthew was already up and standing by the coffeemaker.

For a moment, Eli just stood there and stared at Matthew, who was frozen in place with a mug of freshly brewed coffee in his hand. Eli took a second to note that Matthew still looked like hell, but he credited that to all the bruises and bandages. At the very least, he looked well rested enough. Still, Eli wasn't happy to see him up and moving around, especially so early in the morning.

"Why are you up?" he asked, and wasn't surprised to see Matthew look sheepish. Clearly, he knew he shouldn't be wandering around so soon.

"Well, I woke up and you weren't around, so I got up to see if you were in the kitchen. And you weren't. But then I figured I might as well make some coffee." He held out the mug in his hand, as if it were some offering to appease Eli's fury. Eli couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Don't walk around when you look half dead," Eli muttered, walking over to set his bag of takeout on the counter. "I just went out to get some food."

He would have cooked, but they'd both decided long ago it would be safer for everyone if Eli didn't. Cooking was one of those life skills that had just decided to completely elude Eli.

"I'm fine," Matthew said, just as he always did. Eli didn't believe him for a second—just like he always did.

"You'd say that even if you were dying." Eli was pretty sure those would be Matthew's last words. He'd say he was fine, kick the bucket, and Eli would have to put his final words on his gravestone just so everyone knew how stupid Matthew was.

"Well, I'm fine this time."

Eli decided he wasn't going to argue that point. Mostly because they both knew Matthew was lying through his teeth. That was made very clear by the poorly concealed wince Eli saw on Matthew's face as he tried to sit down at the kitchen table.

"No, yeah, you look great. Totally not like you got the crap kicked out of you." Eli was very proud to note that his sarcasm was still in top shape. It was enough to get an annoyed look from Matthew. Eli ignored that in favor of unpacking their breakfast. "Now, eat."

He pushed a container full of french toast, bacon, and eggs towards Matthew. Eli was vaguely amused to see his face light up at the sight of food. Then, the thought crossed his mind that Matthew probably hadn't eaten since he'd gone missing. Eli did his best not to focus on that as he grabbed some coffee and settled down to eat.

"So, when are you gonna question me?" Matthew asked after a while, right before stuffing his mouth with more food.

"When I've had enough coffee and you've had enough food," Eli said. He still felt like he wanted to sleep for a week, but the coffee he'd drank was helping. Matthew, on the other hand, wasn't.