𝙰𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 ~ 𝙴𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗

𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚎

Dinner was close to being ready, and Sebastian was exuberant with how it was going. Nathan had been teaching him how to cook some family recipes for dinner over the past two weeks, so that when he chose to move out, he would have some more skills up his sleeve that his joke of a father never did.

It would be an understatement for Sebastian to say that he was grateful to have Nathan in his life. He was the true definition of what a father should be. Someone Sebastian could rely on, could trust for the first time in a very long time. Sebastian could not wait for his mother and Nathan to marry, if that is what they wanted.

The timer on his phone goes off and Sebastian allows an easy smile to travel onto his lips, taking the rice, creamy beef and mushrooms off the elements. He turns and picks up one of the bowls he had set out, missing the sound of padding footsteps entering the kitchen.

Sebastian begins to walk back over to the stove, unaware of his surroundings, when he whacks right into the person's back, the bowl crashing to the tiled floor. Pieces shatter everywhere and what the person doesn't expect is for Sebastian to drop to his knees in between shards and begin to pick them up with his bare hands, tears in his eyes.

"I..I'm so sorry," Sebastian stammers out, hands shaking as the sharp edges dig into his hands. "I..I didn't mean to, I .. I swear." he was trembling, gasping in breaths at the sight of the mess he had made across the tiled floor. "I..I'm so sorry!"

Liam looks down at him with a mortified expression. "It's fine, Sebastian, really." He says a little too loud for Sebastian's racing heart to handle, the hands falling before his face causing Sebastian to cower away.

He clings onto the broken bowl as though his life depended on it, hands shaking and skin burning as the sharp edges dig into them. "Pl-please don't hurt me.."

Liam tries to stay calm, tries to ask Sebastian to drop the pieces so that he could go and grab a broom, when Chris is all of a sudden knelt in front of Sebastian, taking a gentle hold of his hands. He is able to get Sebastian to let go of the shards, talking calmly and slowly.

"It's okay, angel." Chris whispers. "It was an accident, Liam knows that."

Sebastian whimpers in response, unconvinced, and shakes his head in a short and sharp motion. "He's mad." Says Sebastian, allowing a small sob to slip past his lips. "He.."

Chris cuts him off from his next sentence, unable to ignore the racing of his heart and the pain flowing through his veins at the distraught sight before him. ""He's not mad, love. He's not gonna hurt you, it was an accident."

Standing to his feet, Chris lifts Sebastian gently into his arms, carrying him away to the bathroom without another word to Matthew and Liam. He sets Sebastian down on the edge of the sink, before kneeling and grabbing the first aid kit from the bottom drawer, cleaning and plastering Sebastian's hands as he calms himself down.

Sebastian allows Chris to slowly rub his hands up and down the sides of his thighs in a comforting and calming manner, bringing him back from that mindset he had begun to lose himself in. When he is ready to speak, Sebastian lets out a shuddering breath, scrubbing his hands down his face. "I'm sorry." He whispers, voice cracking. "They probably think I'm crazy."

Shaking his head, Chris presses the sweetest of kisses to Sebastian's forehead, caressing his red cheeks with gentle thumbs. "No they won't, love." Chris says gently. "They will be confused, yes. But don't think you're crazy."