lukewarm (krii7y)

son

⚠️ **non-consensual drug use

taking this story in a different direction than intended but it works lol

just realised I'm showcasing my whole playlist on this story lmao
— —
"When it all comes crashing
Stay, who you are don't be afraid"

The Score - Stay
— —

John and Jaren woke up the next day in a mess of blankets and pillows. Sleeping in a car would have been uncomfortable, but it was the first time in ages John felt settled.

"So we had sex in the car," Jaren thought he'd point out, just to get on his boyfriend's nerves.

John nodded, wondering what point he was getting at there.

"Thought it was too public for you," he commented.

The American scoffed as he reached into his bag and ruffled about for something to wear.

"You'd be surprised," John replied casually, using his free had to flick Jaren's nose.

Jaren scowled in response and wanted him to respond, but didn't. He knew not to push John too far. The Canadian was good at reading people, and he sensed that John was carrying around some heavy emotional past with him. He figured he would be ready to talk about it at some point, so he didn't see any reason to rush him.

A phone call interrupted the moment. Jaren clocked the caller ID and saw that it was Eric, so he quickly snatched the phone away from John. His boyfriend looked back at him, confused. That was when Jaren realised that he needed to be more discreet.

"No interruptions."

"It's Eric. It might be important."

"It's not like he's your dad. Just leave it."

John didn't like how he was acting and grew a little annoyed. He knew Jaren tolerated his ambiguity when they were travelling to England, but his behaviour was getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

"But he's also the closest thing I have to one," John expressed, emotion behind his eyes.

When he saw that, Jaren stopped pushing. The call ended, and he passed the phone back. He watched as John scrolled through the texts. Jaren felt relieved when John opted to text him back with I'm staying at Tyler's.

— —

Eric knew he shouldn't really have been there, but he couldn't help where his feet took him. He found himself in the hospital visiting Ezra. He couldn't remember much from when he'd interviewed him a year ago apart from his attitude.

From eavesdropping on the nurse's conversations, he found out that Ezra had recently woken up and was claiming not to remember anything. Casually, he walked into his room and closed the door.

The eighteen year old made eye contact with him and his expression stiffened.

"Thought you were dead. Haven't seen you patrolling lately," Ezra commented.

Eric looked back at him and frowned.

"Maybe because I have a conscience after witnessing you drive into a crowd of protestors and innocent people last year," he replied flatly.

The boy was visibly uncomfortable. He knew that Jaren disliked officer Souls, but he didn't know that Eric fully knew what had happened that day a year ago. Still, there was some truth missing and Ezra was not going to go down like that.