Chapter Text
It’s only them, and the air is thick with tension.
‘Volunteer vegan’ was a title Jeb only took for Terry’s sake, and he figured he needed support after the numbers at VAG had dwindled.
Terry was clearly exhausted, he always spent so long setting these things up, and always insisting to do it by himself, even after tending to the pumpkin orchard all day.
Jeb smiles, he wants to lighten the mood.
“Hey, Ter-“
“ Be quiet. ” Terry snaps, hand coming up to press against his forehead. He rolls his eyes, glaring at Jeb for a moment.
He averts his eyes once again, just staring off into the old chipboard wall.
Jeb clutches the mug of vegan coffee close to himself, he stands up, taking a pensive sip.
The mug is warm, inviting. Like Terry used to feel. Terry was home. Was.
Even though his voice was monotone, Jeb could always decipher how he felt. He knew Terry better than anyone else. Terry was his vegan in crime.
Terry wouldn’t even let Jeb call him that anymore.
“Why.. why are you even here.” The blatant layer of hurt in Terry’s voice hurts Jeb, it cuts so deep, too deep.
“Because I care about you..?” Jeb places the mug on a counter.
He loves that mug. Terry bought that mug for him. It was too big, he thought it was funny. Terry used to like when things made him laugh.
“You aren’t even a vegan .” The tone shifts, passive-aggressive now, Terry stands up in turn.
“I’m a volunteer vegan-on the weekends.” Jeb’s shoulders drop. His whole demeanour is desperately apologetic. “..For you… ” the soft whine in his voice causes him to speak a little louder.
Terry’s voice raises in turn.
“You’re just here to insult me!” He stamps his foot. “You don’t care about this! You just wanna rub it in my face that I’m the only one left!”
“Terry..” Jeb’s getting exasperated, dragging out the ‘Y’ in his name.
“No! No! ” Terry’s yelling, he never used to yell.
Jeb leans against the counter he lay his mug on, he felt.. hurt. Betrayed. This was a side of Terry that had never been in regards to him. Terry only got angry at other people. Never Jeb.
“You’re a born-again carnivore, Jeb! You’re what you hated Chet for!” Terry’s goading him, stepping closer. “And look where he is Jeb! He’s dead! ”
“He got murdered by Steel Wool! Just like us!” Jeb’s hands begin to shake, he grits his teeth. Terry’s beginning to get on his nerves.
He tenses up, glaring at Terry, Terry glares back.
“ Leave.” He demands, voice laced with malice.
Jeb groans, turning to grab his jacket. He throws it over himself halfway, kneeling to tightly lace up his shoes.
His footsteps are light and fast, he wants to leave as soon as possible.
He’s about to open the door, gripping his key and turning the handle, until-
“This wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t ruined what we had.”
Jeb’s mind goes blank, hand slipping off of the handle.
He still faces the door.
“ I ruined this? You think I was the one to ruin this?” He shakes his head, almost breathless.
Anxiety begins to consume him as he watches Terry walk to the edge of the room out of the corner of his eye.
“What did I ever do to you, Jeb? Care about you, comfort you when you were sad, look after you when you were sick? Was that all so bad?”
Terry’s eyes are intently focused on him, taunting him, yet he can’t muster the courage to say anything back.
“I mean, even after you chose to spit in the face of our thing, I still offered you a place here. Am I really that bad, Jebediah?”
“ Stop .” Jeb turns his head, pleading. “Just.. shut up. ”
“Why the hell would I? What was it for, lizards? Can’t veganism save more lizards? Or do you just want to hurt me?”
“Why would I ever want to hurt you.” It’s a rhetorical question, he doesn’t want nor expect an answer.
He gets one regardless.
“It’s because you’re sick of me. You just wanna parade yourself around with those filthy carnivores. I only spent time with Scott and Rex for you.”
“ Terry. ” Jeb’s firm in his tone, staring down at the floor. He doesn’t want to make eye contact. He doesn’t want Terry to see how weak he felt.
“You know that I care about you, I love you , Terry. You were my vegan in crime.”
“ WELL I'M NOT ANYMORE! ” Terry shouts, spreading his arms out. He looks terrifying, with hatred coursing through every inch of his body.
His teeth are bared, his jaw jutting out slightly.
“I want NOTHING to do with you! Ever again!”
Terry swings his arm along the counter.
The mug falls.
It’s almost slow motion, it’s captured all of Jeb’s vision.
Within no time at all it hit the floor. A loud and obnoxious high-pitched crash paired with it.
It’s shattered
It shattered like Terry had just shattered his heart.
It doesn’t even phase Terry, he looks down for a second then goes straight back to glaring at Jeb.
“ LEAVE! GET OUT!” He shouts once again, pointing at Jeb.
Jeb wastes no time getting away from Terry.
The door slams on his way out.
He’s out on the street, it’s cold and late, winter air nipping at his skin.
Jeb can’t leave. He doesn’t drive. Target Employee had dropped him off.
He grabs his phone out of his pocket, hands shaking, fingers painfully cold.
The text message is misspelled in various places, with a distinct lack of coherent grammar.
It’s to Rex, because even if he was brash and loud, he was still a great friend.
He’d be there soon, now all there was to do was wait.
His face is sore and red by the time Rex arrives, the cold really starting to get to him.
Scott’s in the car too, sitting in the back, Jeb can’t be bothered to ask why he’s there.
Jeb gets into the car, scowling as the rush of warmth hits him. It almost hurts.
“.. you okay?” Rex is unnaturally soft with it, laying a caring hand onto Jeb’s arm.
“What?” Jeb is confused and tired, he stays unmoving, Rex can touch him, he’s too busy basking in the heat of the beaten-up old car.
“We’re outside Terry’s.” Rex gives a light squeeze to Jeb’s arm before moving his hand back to the wheel. “And you seem.. really stressed.”
The car pulls away from the street at long last, there’s soft beeps and boops coming from the backseat.
“I’ll.. I’ll talk about it later.” He presses his palms to his eyelids, thumbs digging into his temples.
“Alright..” Rex nods, shifting the gear stick. “.. you guys up for Sonic?..”
Scott agrees with a noise, buttons clicking from whatever device he had at the time. Jeb just nods.
He appreciates Rex, but Terry’s words begin to creep up on him.
He really had just abandoned him to spend time with these two, hadn’t he?
Terry was right. Of course Terry was right, he was always right, wasn’t he?
The guilt surrounds him, overtaking every single one of his senses, a sharp pain hits his chest and his vision starts to blur.
His eyes squeeze shut and he curls into himself just a bit.
Scott’s game is too loud and Rex is humming alongside it.
The car feels so closed in and small, yet too big all at once.
It’s too fast, far too fast, and the streetlights are shining into his eyes even with them tight shut.
It goes on and on and on -then Rex touches him again.
And all those feelings slip aside.
The hand on his arm, it’s grounding and it’s important, it’s everything.
Jeb can vaguely make out Rex telling Scott something over the pounding in his eardrums, the game noises stop.
The noise in his head begins to quiet alongside it.
“We’re here.” Rex squeezes his arm again as he speaks. “Whaddya want?”
Jeb’s too upset to be hungry, but god does his throat hurt from arguing.
“Just a drink. Of anything.” Jeb keeps his eyes closed, tipping his head back and sighing.
He zones out again, just waiting for this all to be done and over with.
A few minutes later, Rex is parked and shaking his shoulder.
Jeb looks over at him, eyelids heavy.
Rex is passing him a cup of soda and a container of fries.
He really didn’t want food, but he appreciated it nonetheless. Ending up just grazing on them as everyone else eats their meals.
Scott talks again, and he can actually make out what he says this time.
“Do you wanna stay with me and Rex?”
Jeb looks at him, and there’s so much genuine concern in his face.
He didn’t mind going home and staying alone, but he couldn’t pass up the company.
Jeb just nods. Scott smiles.
They begin to drive again.
“We’re gonna play Gex..” Scott sticks his head between the driver and passenger seats, announcing it as he does with everything, but in a gentler tone than he usually does.
Jeb isn’t as mad anymore, in fact, he could swear he was happy, even if the guilt and sadness still picked at his heart like the cold had only a little bit ago.
This was fine, he’d make up with Terry tomorrow. Surely.
Chapter 2: Stay away from things that aren’t yours.
Summary:
The dopamine hit from making people cheat on Terry is like no other
-
Shoutout to the wozcord I wouldn’t have ever contributed to this tag without y’all, sorry that what I have made is so awful
Chapter Text
Jeb finds himself once again out on the street, of his own accord this time. It was getting too hot, sitting between Scott and Rex, with the heaters all on.
The Ohioan cold is biting, yet delightful at the same time.
It’s familiar, feeling drawn towards something that hurts, though the pain was passive, emotional even.
He stands with his shoes poking off the edge of the curb, eyes shut as he takes in and lets out shaking breaths.
“Jeb?”
He nearly falls off the sidewalk, the sudden mention of his name shocking him.
It’s just Rex, again.
“Where’d you go?..” Rex walks to stand beside him.
He’s unfit for the weather, sleeves rolled up on a grey zip-hoodie. Wearing sunglasses despite the time sitting neatly at 11pm, a thin beanie.
He looks prepared for an early summer evening.
“I needed some air, I’m sorry.” Jeb speaks softly, nervous to raise his voice even now, hours later.
“Don’t be. You’ve had it rough today, I get it.” Rex pats him on the back, his sunglasses tilted down to reveal a kind, warm look.
Jeb twists the ring on his finger, staring at the ground.
Rex is still staring at him. He sits on the pavement, legs crossed off the curb, looking up at Jeb and motioning his hand. Jeb sits next to him.
He can feel Rex’s breath on him, god, he’s close isn’t he..
Jeb’s gaze flicks down to Rex’s lips, they seem so.. welcoming.
He swears Rex is even closer, their breath mixing at this point.
Their lips touch. A mutual kiss, both pressing into it at once. No waiting for the other to kiss back, or awkward nose bumps.
It was natural. So, depressingly natural.
“Oh god …” Jeb’s eyes stay shut as he pulls just a few inches away.
“Hm..?”
“Don’t encourage this, Rexy..”
In stark contrast to what he was saying, Jeb lays his hands on either side of Rex’s face and pulls him closer.
The kiss is more intense, Jeb trying to get everything he can out of it. Rex pulls him closer, on top of him.
His legs are now on the sidewalk, Jeb sat on one of his thighs, hands sliding down to grab at his hoodie.
It’s as they pull apart again, that Jeb truly realizes the gravity of the situation.
He’s on Rex’s lap, kissing him like his life depends on it, all because Terry got mad at him.
And he doesn’t feel bad about it.
He knows he should, he knows this is awful of him, but something about the way Rex is holding him.. it alleviates all feelings of guilt.
“It’s cold..” Rex murmurs against his jaw.
“Yeah..”
Neither moves for another few minutes, still pressed against each other, illuminated by the apartment building behind them.
But once they finally stand, it all seems to move so fast. With the hurried steps through the lobby, Rex pressing kisses across Jeb’s face the entire way, and a confusing stumble up the stairs, they end up at the apartment door.
Rex’s hand remains firmly on Jeb’s hip as he opens the door, pulling him into the apartment.
Scott’s wandering around, switching things off. Jeb assumes he must be going to bed.
“Hey! You’re back.” Scott smiles at him, innocent, unaware. Jeb wishes he was Scott in that moment.
“Yeah.. sorry, we were just talking..” Jeb shakes his head slightly, forcing a smile.
“Alright, I’m going to bed-“ he stops listening at that point, Scott starting to ramble as he makes his way to his bedroom.
And as that door audibly closes, Rex is on him. Kisses pressed from his lips to his jaw, to all over his neck.
Jeb’s hands go to his shoulders.
Christ-for a sexhater, he sure is an aggressive kisser.
He gets a little lost in his own head, until Rex tilts his head down, and stares into his eyes.
“You alright?” His tone is so soft, and his sunglasses are still barely on his nose.
Jeb moves his hand to Rex’s face, gently pulling the sunglasses off. He sets them on the arm of the couch.
“I’m more alright than I’ve ever been.” Jeb affirms, pulling Rex in for another kiss.
It’s everything to Jeb, the way Rex holds him, the careful nips between kisses, the heat of Rex’s breath on his neck. He can’t get enough of it.
It goes on and on and on until-
“C’mon guys..”
Scott had caught them.
“Not in here, you’ve got a room, Rex.”
Oh. He doesn’t care.
“Right.. yeah, sorry Scott.” Rex turns away from Jeb, facing his tired roommate.
Scott does what he needs to do, which is grab his Luigi wii remote, for some reason , and leaves.
His door closes again, and now it’s too awkward.
At least, it was too awkward.
As Rex is insisting that Jeb just couldn’t sleep alone , especially after such a bad split. And they end up falling asleep in his bed.
-
For the following week, the kissing is on and off, with Scott scolding them for “ tainting the virginity in his home ” every so often. Although Jeb doesn’t understand why something as simple as kissing is so connected to virginity with him.
When he gets a moment alone, he calls Terry, who wants nothing to do with him. It’s torture.
His own husband, seemingly resenting him.
And it isn’t until the next VAG meeting rolls around, that Terry asks if he’ll see him again.
The looming sense of guilt builds up and gets knocked down as the week goes on, because Rex just keeps comforting him.
Hoping desperately that if- when -he and Terry make up, all of this with Rex would just.. end.
-
Rubbing the side of his neck, Jeb walks into the building, anxiety rising in his chest. He throws the hood of his hoodie over his head, pulling the strings to tighten it. He wants to leave, just skip this meeting, but he’s a liar, a cheater, he’s the worst man in the world. He had to make up for it.
He hadn’t seen Terry since their argument, a week prior, and when they had talked they hadn’t even tried to fix things.
He feels like he owes him the company, if he’d went through the effort of asking Jeb to come.
Terry legitimately lights up when he sees Jeb.
It nearly breaks his heart.
“ Jeb -.. You came..” Terry sounds so needy, almost speed-walking over to him.
Jeb backs up, awkwardly forcing a smile. “Yeah I-.. I guess I did..”
In an almost unnatural turn of events, Terry’s got Jeb trapped in a crushing hug. Jeb’s frozen in place, nervous.
Terry tugs his hood down, kissing him on the forehead, and Jeb leans into it, tears welling at his eyes.
“I’m so, so sorry..” He mumbles against the other’s head.
“No- no .” Jeb’s using one hand to tighten his hood again, trying to keep it hidden, his other hand is holding one of Terry’s wrists. “I should be the one apologising..”
“Why? I was the one that yelled, that sent you away..”
“I was so awful, I did exactly what you said.. I stayed with Scott and..”
“ Jeb it’s okay, they’re your friends.. I was just jealous.. I love you, you know that.. right?”
“Right..”
Terry pulls back, hands clutching Jeb’s hood. He’s admiring the other, so deeply.
He catches sight of something. His expression drops. His shoulders slump.
Jeb immediately tenses, he knows he’s seen it.
In an unusually aggressive manner, Terry grabs at his jaw, tilting Jeb’s head forcefully. He uses his other hand to run his fingers over the mark on Jeb’s neck.
“Did.. did I do this? No I couldn’t have done this-Jeb? Where’d this come from?”
Jeb stays silent.
Terry shoves him, nearly throwing him against the wall.
“Where did it come from?!” He almost shouts.
“Nowhere-Terry I-.. I fell -“ it’s a bad excuse, Jeb knows it’s a bad excuse.
“What! And only hit your neck?!”
The hood is tugged again, pulled to the side in various different directions. Terry’s carefully inspecting his neck, the look in his eyes lets Jeb know he’s pleading for it to just be the one.
It’s not. Lower down, toward his collarbone, he’s littered with the ugly red and purple marks.
He expects Terry to blow up at him, to scream about how awful he is, to send him away.
But he’s not.
He’s silent.
The tears start to well in Terry’s eyes, and he slumps to the floor. He sat on his knees, head in his hands, attempting to hide the tears.
And as he starts to sob, Jeb can’t force himself to stay.
So he doesn’t.
There he is again, out on the street, with the cold biting at him. Though this time, Jeb knows he deserves it.
In a sick and twisted string of coincidence, Rex texts him.
“ You 2 fix things? ”
Jeb’s almost excited to tell him that they haven’t.
Chapter 3: Scott’s designated filler chapter
Summary:
Y’know that scene in gaming revivals. Terry got a shotty. Yea <3
-
This one is much shorter but like. As the name states. Scott’s designated filler chapter.
Chapter Text
A loud knocking echoes into the living room, Scott rolls his eyes and groans. He slips off his couch and stretches.
He opens the door, and he’s staring down a loaded shotgun. Oh.
“Where the hell is that bitch ?!” Terry yells from behind the gun.
“.. who?” Scott lays a hand on the barrel, pushing it away from his face.
“JEB! Who else would I be looking for?!” Terry puts the gun to his side, grabbing Scott by the collar of his shirt with his other hand.
Scott shakes his head, moving his hand to rest his fingers on Terry’s wrist.
“He’s at Sonic I think, I wasn’t listening when he said he was leaving..” the beads of sweat start to roll down his face, and it’s really setting in just how scary Terry was being.
Within seconds after saying it, Scott finds himself kicked to the floor, with the gun pointed back at his head.
“ WOAH! What did I do?!” He shouts, trying to sit up.
“Well it’s gotta have been you that Jeb’s been..” Terry trails off, scowling.
“No! God no! F#ckin’..” the insinuation revolts Scott, and he sighs with relief as Terry pulls the gun back.
“Then who? Go on-“ Terry put one shoe onto Scott’s stomach, pressing with all his weight “-if it really isn’t you, you’ll have no problem telling me.”
Curling up into himself, Scott tries to push Terry off of him. The pain is near unbearable and he can barely get a word out.
“Rex-!” He shouts, still pushing at Terry.
Terry immediately lets up.
“He’s with.. he’s with Rex..” He finishes.
Scott scrambled out from underneath Terry, awkwardly trying to stand.
And within that time, Terry’s left, the door slamming shut behind him.
It takes nearly no time at all for Scott to go back to his couch. Chest heaving and stomach sore.
He’s tired. He doesn’t wanna deal with this.
He picks up the controller.
After a nap that Scott wasn’t aware he had, he was awoken by knocking.
He scowls briefly, tired of people coming in and out of his house.
The door opens, it’s Terry again. He’s soaking wet this time, and looks like he’d just been crying.
“.. Are you okay?..” Scott nervously asks, standing out of his way.
“They weren’t there. It started raining.” Terry walks inside, sitting on the floor and tugging off his boots. “I’m not okay.”
“No gun this time?” Scott comments, closing the door.
Terry glares for a moment, brows furrowed.
He then raises his eyebrows while maintaining a completely unreadable expression.
“It’s in the car.”
Oh. Lovely. A threat.
Scott shuts his mouth, awkwardly pursing his lips. Terry remains on the floor, pushing his head into his hands. He drags them back, slicking his hair out of his face.
He watches Scott walk into the kitchen, which is starting to make Scott feel a little nervous. He picks up a mug, sticking it under the nozzle of a cheap coffee maker.
“What, uh.. what do you have in your coffee?” Scott peeks his head out of the kitchen, looking back at Terry.
“Is it-“
“It’s vegan. I bought a bag for you.”
Terry gets off the floor, walking over to him. He’s about a foot behind Scott, silent.
The coffee is eventually made, no sugar and a little almond milk, a small vegan teabiscuit on the side. Terry didn’t ask for it, but Scott knows on some level he’ll appreciate it.
And he does, his hand stretches to Scott’s, which was leaving the small two seater dining table.
He holds it in place for a moment, thumb stroking the knuckles gently.
The silence is a thanks, Scott knows it is, he’s known Terry long enough now to understand this.
Scott doesn’t end up pulling his hand away, just rotating it so he can sit at the opposite side of the table.
Neither speak for a while. Terry sipped his coffee, offering to share the biscuit. Scott declines, he doesn’t like the texture.
Terry nods understandingly, finishing his drink.
“I’m.. so sorry. About.. all of that.” Terry sighs, head tilted down, staring at the table.
“It’s fine, I’d probably react like that too.” Scott waves it off, smiling. “I don’t think murder is very vegan anyways..”
“I’d say it is, not an animal, it’s a person.. doesn’t count.” Terry shrugs, smirking.
He’s joking, and Scott laughs. It’s a quiet and quick laugh, ending nearly as soon as it began, but it makes Terry smile.
He doesn’t smile as often anymore. It feels nice to do.
Scott’s combing his hair through his hands, almost grinning, he’s happy to see Terry happy.
Once he stops, they meet the table again, and Terry holds his hand again, gently stroking it.
A gentle quiet falls over them, and Terry’s glad to know he has someone on his side.
Chapter 4: I’m not a saint, that’s easy to tell
Summary:
I don’t quite know what happened with this one but oh my god there’s so many words
Chapter Text
“Can you even drive?”
Terry’s eyes widen, he chuckles.
“Yes, yeah, I can drive.”
“I thought you didn’t have a license?” Jeb tilts his head, clicking in his seatbelt.
“I don’t. I taught myself to drive.” Terry shrugs, reversing out of the driveway of the orchard.
Jeb lays in bed, awake, with Rex hanging off of him, snoring. The memory sits firmly in the front of his mind. He misses moments like that. He misses Terry.
He wants to make up with him, he’s sure he does, but as the days go on and Jeb spends nights without him, he wonders if this was for the better.
Though, he’s restless at night. It’s difficult to sleep, having been with the vegan for as long as he had. He looks down at Rex, and it reminds him of a searing jealousy. He starts to understand Terry’s feelings.
The morning where Scott had randomly decided he wanted to be an uncle, and set up some “speed dating” thing.
Jeb had stood away from it all, even after Terry begged him to come. He recalls the distinct pain in his chest as Terry had asked Scott “ you ever f*ck a vegan? ”
It was silly. Of course it was silly. Scott didn’t even hear it as a true sentence. Though, it still hurt him. The mere idea of Terry even being close to any other man, destroyed him.
Though, it faded away when Terry aggressively reminded Rex that Jeb, who Terry had, for some reason, called his girlfriend, drove them there, even though he’d just paid for the gas.
The memories keep trailing further and further back, until Jeb is picturing himself at the orchard, it’s his first morning after staying over.
Terry’s making him a vegan breakfast, the tantalizing scent of it is enough to make him want to stay forever.
It’s a cold and foggy morning, six am. Terry is wearing a heavy knit sweater and baggy sweatpants.
And Jeb just wants to kiss him again. Feel loved like that again.
He doesn’t escape his own head until Rex, in his sleep, kicks him in the leg.
From that point, he manages to escape his grip. Stumbling out of the bed, pulling his shirt over himself.
He grabs one of Rex’s pairs of sweatpants off the floor, sighing with a heavy heart.
His own clothes are still at the orchard. It’s all at the orchard.
Stepping to the kitchen, careful and quiet, he finds Scott. Silent at the table. He’s flipping through paperwork, brow furrowed and eyes scrunched.
“Scott..?” Jeb calls out to him quietly, the shorter man near jumps.
“Jeb-! Hey, hi-“ he’s whisper shouting, putting the paperwork down.
“What are you doing up this late..?”
“Remember on Halloween, when me, you, Rex, Target Employee and..” he trails off, clearly nervous, Jeb knows exactly who he doesn’t want to mention. “..anyway! We resurrected Steel Wool? Yeah I got my financial stability back!”
“Oh..?”
“And according to Kay Swiss, I put down a lease on this great house! I’ve just gotta do the rest of the papers here!”
Jeb nods, smiling.
He walks past Scott, pressing a hand onto his shoulder for a moment. Scott leans his shoulder into it.
The cups are in the same cupboard as the baby clams, just a little to the left.
He grabs a short and wide glass, filling it close to the brim with water.
It’s gone in seconds, Scott’s staring over at him.
“Wh-“ Jeb hiccups, eyes widening, he regrets drinking it so fast. “What?”
“Dry throat, huh?..” he asks, tilting his head.
“Y- hic -“ Jeb wipes his mouth, now annoyed. “Yeah.”
Scott nods, lowering his head. Jeb wants to go back to bed.
He makes his way, small hiccups making him bounce slightly as he walks.
Once he returns to Rex’s bedroom, his chest now sore, he sits on the bed.
The hiccups finally seem to stop, and he crawls back in, body pressed to Rex’s.
Rex traps him in a tight hug once again, Jeb smiles, he likes it. A lot. Maybe more than a lot.
Still, he swears he likes Terry’s hugs a little better.
Though he’s tired, and he’s knocked to sleep before he can think about it more.
He hears a car pull up, glancing out of the window in Target Employee’s small apartment.
He sees that it’s Rex, Jeb’s eyes widening, he wasn’t expecting Rex to come over.
Target walks over, a light smile on his face. He’s talking about his job again, overexcited as usual.
Jeb.. isn’t listening. He’s staring down at Rex. Who’s messing with his car and fumbling in his pockets.
In that short amount of time, Jeb receives a call.
“Oh-Target-sorry..” Jeb holds his hand up, grabbing his phone.
Unsurprisingly, it is Rex.
“Hey! I know you’re busy but-“ he can hear Rex giggling. “Come outside! I’ve got something awesome. ”
Target is staring at him patiently, waiting for the call to end. Jeb frowns at him, pulling his phone away from his ear.
“Uh.. Rex needs me I think,” he glances out of the window “I think I’m gonna have to cut this hang out short..”
He ends the call at that point, texting a single thumbs up emoji to Rex.
“Oh it’s fine! I totally get it.” He’s so sweet, Target’s always been sweet. “Next Sunday?”
“Yeah! Yeah next Sunday, of course. Thanks for having me, man!” Jeb’s happy to say the least, he likes spending time with Target.
“It’s no problem! I love hanging out with you!”
Jeb shakes his head, chuckling.
He’s walking out the door, his body feels light and airy, though it may just be the caffeine now in his system. He likes to think it’s Target’s energy, Target’s always so happy.
The happiness fades when he walks outside and sees Rex’s car.
It has a massive card paper sign hanging off the back. Rex is standing next to it like it’s his goddamn magnum opus.
“I’ve got us a business!” He’s so, so excited. “We’re gonna be the waste chasers !”
“The.. waste chasers..?” Jeb questions, unsure of what Rex is exactly saying.
“The waste chasers!” Rex repeats, smiling wide. “I’m doing it to help out my cousin, Dex, he’s my boss!”
“He’s your cousin, and your boss?” He hopes his tone will let Rex know he’s not keen.
“Yeah! Why?” It does not.
“No reason..” Jeb looks at Rex’s car, with the crude sign hanging on the back of it. He’s accepted his fate, helping his new lover with some silly project did sound fun after all.
He repeats himself, quieter now, “no reason..”
Rex takes his hand. He’s so excited, it’s making Jeb excited in turn.
“Besides.. Terry hates waste, right? Bad for the environment or whatever..” Rex reaches a hand up to touch Jeb’s face, his grin fading into a mischievous smirk. “Look at how he treated you.. why not do something that’ll make him sooo mad..”
“Yeah.. yeah alright..” Jeb’s hand meets Rex’s, and he swears the butterflies in his chest are because of Rex. Though the creeping suspicion comes in that maybe.. maybe he just wants to make Terry mad.
He blinks the thought away, centering himself back into reality.
“Let’s go be wasteful.”
It’s a fairly easy job, just throwing toys at Scott. He feels a little bad, because he’s still staying with the guy, but it’s nothing.
At least he’s got some farmland to call his own. Maybe it’ll rival the orchard. He doubts it.
Rex clicks his fingers, Jeb looks over at him, Scott’s rambling about the toys again. He tilts his head and gestures for Jeb to come over to him.
Scott still isn’t paying attention to them, he’s lost in his own little world. And will be for the next five to ten minutes.
He’s torn between sitting between the two of them, or on Rex’s lap. There isn’t a lot of space between them, he settles on sitting on top of Rex.
Within seconds of sitting down, Rex grabs his hips and pulls him closer.
“So what was that you said about the bigger toys..?” Rex chuckled, a hand sliding a little lower, coming to rest on Jeb’s thigh.
“What if, huh?” Jeb leaned close, whispering into his ear. “But I thought you were on duty.. didn’t you want me to stop..?”
Rex gives him an eyeroll, smiling. “Please-.. look at him, does he look like he’s paying attention? Besides..”
His arms move up, wrapping around Jeb’s waist.
“It wasn’t about the stupid toys.. it was about you ..”
Jeb laughs, he can’t help himself, the situation is too damn silly to not laugh. He leans his head into Rex’s shoulder, pressing kisses against his neck between giggles.
The kisses grow more fervent, with Rex’s hands sliding from his shoulder blades to the small of his back, and up again, over and over.
He’s laughing too, both caught in an indescribable joy. Jeb leans up, pressing a kiss to Rex’s lips.
They’re softer than usual, and he has to wonder if it was the joy they felt together or if Rex simply wore chapstick today.
Scott not so subtly coughs in their direction, and they stare at him.
“Guys.. I was talking..” he's clearly a bit upset, holding two of the toys that swap body parts.
“Sh#t-right.. I’m sorry, keep talking?” Rex physically adjusts Jeb, lifting him up so he’s now sat sideways on his lap.
“You’re gonna listen this time..?” Scott speaks with a heavy heart, hands fidgeting nervously.
“Of course..” Rex nods, Jeb can’t help but love that he’s so kind.
“Yeah, we’ll listen, don’t worry!” Jeb adds on, smiling.
“Thank you..” Scott moves around the pile, grabbing some Disney figures. “Because ohhh god do I have something to say about these.”
“A-alright FINE ! It wasn’t real! I just needed to get rid of these f#ckin’ skylanders!” Rex yelled, staring at Jeb for help.
Jeb glared back at him. He knew from the start this was a bad idea, but not to this extent.
“No! I’m not gonna back you up on this!” He shouts, walking a few feet away from the two of them and grumbling to himself.
He can hear Rex and Scott arguing, but he doesn’t wanna deal with it. Why would he? If he fights with Rex, then he’s got pretty much nowhere to stay.
But he looks back at them, and there’s this burning rage in his heart, that he could’ve easily pinned to indigestion a few hours ago, though he knows now that…
He doesn’t feel all that much for Rex, he just wants to make Terry upset. And they didn’t even do that. Rex had just used him for his own personal gain.
Though Jeb could admit he’d been doing the same, at the very least he wasn’t aware he was. Rex had come onto him first, when he was at his most vulnerable.
This was all Rex’s fault.
Jeb was seething over it.
The argument soon ends, with Scott sending Rex away to clean the toys up.
Scott’s helping Jeb load the tons of skylanders playsets into his car, taking a moment to stretch every few minutes.
“Bad back?” Jeb asks, looking over his shoulder to Scott.
“ Yeah . I don’t really do anything with it, do I?” Scott chuckles, leaning to grab another stack of toys.
Jeb raises his eyebrows and chuckles himself, shrugging his shoulders.
The main effort is soon over, with Jeb sitting in the passenger seat once it’s done.
Scott hops into the driver’s seat, smile bright on his face despite the argument the two just had with their friend.
“So where’d you say the place was?” Scott looks over at him expectantly.
The gps on Jeb’s phone beeps at him as he typed in the coordinates. Scott is glancing over at it.
“Just follow this.”
Eventually, they reach what Jeb’s decided will become a dump, and start to offload each and every waste of cardboard and plastic that took up the back of Scott’s car.
Scott slips at one point, but just laughs at himself as he gets up. Jeb starts to laugh as well, and gives him a helping hand.
“Are you still staying with me?” He asks, sweet and innocent.
“I.. I don’t know, I don’t think so?..” Jeb sighs, running a hand through his short hair.
Scott nods, he’s obviously a little sad.
“Where’re you staying?”
Jeb has to think long and hard about it, but he can’t even begin to decide. In all his thinking, he doesn’t realise for a few seconds that he blurts out “ the orchard ”
“Really? I thought you and Terry-“
“No-yes? I don’t know-“ Jeb cuts him off, if that’s where his heart lies.. then maybe that’s where he should go.
They walk to Scott’s car, Scott opens the passenger door for him. Jeb gets in. In the few seconds that Scott isn’t with him, Jeb starts to contemplate what he’s actually doing.
He spent all of that time vying for Terry’s attention, positive or negative, and it didn’t work. And now that it didn’t work, he’s running back.
The car starts, Scott normally talks in the car. From the second he gets in to arriving at their destination, if he’s driving he doesn’t shut up.
The silence continues through the drive, with Scott sniffling and wiping his face every so often.
Jeb wants to ask what’s the matter, but he knows he’s probably just a little miffed that Rex is mad at him.
They pull up, and it’s starting to get dark out.
The car whines to a stop, the engine still running just to keep the heating on.
“You’re sure you wanna be here?” Scott asks.
Jeb stares out of the car window, at the old, almost decrepit building that he’d learned to call home.
Rain is starting to fall, heavy, puddling up around the car.
“Yeah, yes.. yeah.. I wanna stay with Terry tonight.”
Jeb mutters, opening the car door. He looks back at Scott. “Thank you, I haven’t said that yet, have I?”
Scott chuckles. “It’s not like you needed to, any time..” the smile on his face is genuine, but there’s a clear sadness in his eyes.
“Be safe, there’s always space for you at New Locationer McGee..”
Jeb nods, closing the door and walking away from the car.
Even with his coat, he’s starting to get soaked. The rainfall is probably wonderful for the orchard, but Jeb’d be lying if he said it didn’t get on his nerves.
He reaches the front door, and there’s a sinking feeling in his chest.
He knocks.
Terry opens the door, and as expected, he’s downright beautiful . Jeb hadn’t truly realised how much he missed him.
Jeb’s stuck in his tracks for a second, but Terry starts to scowl and he realises he needs to speak.
“I’m sorry-I just need somewhere to stay tonight-“
“Why? Did you f#ck it all up again? ” Terry cuts him off, standing his ground in the doorway.
“Oh-wow! Just-wow Terry, of course. No, I didn’t f#ck it up. Rex did. He dragged me into even more sh#t to screw Scott over, because he always does.”
Terry looks taken aback, but he still doesn’t move out of the doorway. Jeb’s fists start to clench.
“And maybe I wouldn’t have followed along with it if you paid attention to me! I only did what I did because I wanted you to look at me for once! To just talk to me!” Jeb’s screaming at this point, raising his fist.
And it goes. Jeb isn’t thinking, he’s trying to punch Terry and it only clicks what he’s doing when he sees Terry using his arms to cover his face.
His arm stops midair. The fear that Terry had in that moment is nothing like Jeb had ever seen before.
He glances behind him, Scott is out of his car and watching it all unfold, wide eyed.
Jeb’s arm drops. He stares at Scott, then back at Terry.
“I.. am so sorry..” Jeb mumbles, watching Terry move out of his way.
Terry’s shaking, whether it be from the cold or from terror, Jeb can’t tell. He just knows that Terry’s shaking.
He falls onto their couch, facing the back of it. He’s still wet, jacket still over him, shoes still on.
He can hear the door closing, gentle footsteps, a car driving away.
A hand lays on his shoulder.
“Get up.. you’ll freeze in here..”
Jeb turns his head to look at Terry.
“Come to bed.. I’ve missed you, come cuddle..”
The air is hot and heavy, but Jeb can still feel the draft through the window. It’s always cold at the orchard.
He’s made another mistake, running back into Terry’s cold and unloving arms.
the scent of sweat and tattered love is layered on thick. Terry is sat on the other side of the bed, facing away, legs hanging off.
Jeb is lay in it, bedsheets pulled to cover his chest.
He hates himself. To a level he never thought he could. He truly, deeply, despises himself.
“I’m-“ Jeb stops to cough, his throat raw from yelling earlier “-I’m gonna go..”
Terry turns to him, puppy-dog eyes staring into Jeb’s own guilt ridden gaze.
“.. smoke. I’m gonna go smoke.”
Terry nods as he turns away. His slim body reflecting beautifully in the dim moonlight. It shone through the window, tracing him, encasing him.
Terry had always felt like the moon, Jeb thought of himself as his sun. Though he knows now he’s more like a cloud. Dreary, bringing darkness to others.. damp.
He considers showering before he leaves, but only pulls his robe over himself and his slippers on.
It’s comfortable, all of his clothes are still there, it was his bed after all.
He dreads how often he finds himself out in the cold, especially at night.
Fumbling around in his pocket, he finds three unused loose cigarettes , and a half empty lighter.
Softly thanking himself, Jeb puts one to his lips, lighting it.
As he inhales, Terry walks out and stands next to him.
He exhales, Terry raising his hand. Jeb offers the cigarette, Terry takes it. He takes a puff, then hands it back.
The relieved sigh he lets out sends a shiver down Jeb’s spine, though it could just be the cold. He doubts it.
He doesn’t know why he did it, abandoned Terry like that, he was so.. attractive, so fragile, so soft.
But the harsh edges shine through as Terry glares at him, and Jeb recognises that loveless look, the one that ruined his life just a few weeks prior, all too well.
The glare moves back off to the fields. Jeb’s eyes don’t leave Terry.
Jeb’s about to put it to his lips again, but Terry turns to him and grabs his wrist.
He pulls Jeb’s hand to his face, takes the cigarette into his mouth, and takes a long and exaggerated drag.
Jeb instinctively, gently, holds onto Terry’s face as he does it, watching with reddened cheeks and staggered breaths.
Terry moves his mouth from Jeb’s hand, and blows the smoke into his face. His eyes are half-lidded but his brows are furrowed, Jeb can’t even begin to guess how he’s feeling, and it’s even harder when smoke is getting in his eyes.
“Why’d you do it, baby?…” Terry questions, still holding onto Jeb’s wrist. “I've done so much more, been with you longer..”
Jeb tugs his wrist out of Terry’s grip, continuing to smoke.
“I can still do so much more than Rex ever could..”
“I know.” Jeb retorts. He stares at the burning stub, looking for an ashtray. “Where should I put this out?” Choosing to ignore what Terry had just said, he doesn’t want to deal with it right now.
There’s a significant snark in Terry’s tone as he grumbles out “on yourself.. ”
Jeb doesn’t know why he does it. It hurts. It burns . But he does it. He puts the cigarette out on the back of his hand, then stamps it into the dirt and gravel underneath them.
The look on Terry’s face is a strange mix of concern and pride. He’s staring directly at Jeb’s hand.
“I’m going back to bed.” Jeb mutters, walking back into their home.
Terry follows close behind.
Chapter 5: Just Leave The Scent Of Your Cologne.
Summary:
Rex is the centre focus this time! It’s Christmas, and things go very wrong.
Chapter Text
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
It’s incessant.
It’s annoying.
It’s stupid .
It’s Jeb blowing up Rex’s phone.
He’s desperate to be forgiven for storming off like that, for giving them up, little apologies spewed into paragraphs and paragraphs of wasted data usage.
Rex can’t help but take him back in. Though firmly doesn’t forgive him, even if he knows he’s in the wrong.
Jeb sees him almost everyday. Rex can’t understand why he still wants to apologise.
Terry’s always so busy, whether he’s promoting his diet choices, or tending to his farm.
Jeb has all the time in the world to sneak off to Scott’s and indulge in the lips of the sexhater.
Rex doesn’t like- hates -that Jeb does this.
He loves Jeb, with everything in his heart.
He loves Jeb like he hates sex. With a desperate and burning passion.
He loves Jeb like he loves chaperoning, with pride and careful practice.
Rex loves Jeb.
Though he’s well aware of Jeb’s true feelings. He knows he’s just a throwaway, a rebound. And as that dark sense of awareness peeks through again, Rex’s hand sweeps across the kitchen counter, grabbing an empty mug.
It slams against the wall in seconds, not a single logical thought left in him.
The mug was a cheap ceramic Scott had bought in a 4 pack due to this behaviour.
His roommate was overly considerate, despite his destructive tendencies.
Still, the mug is smashed on the floor. Small shattered pieces surrounding a much larger hunk of mug from the impact and how it fell.
The handle is still perfectly intact.
The kitchen door opens, Scott standing there with furrowed brows yet wide eyes.
“Are you okay..?” He asks.
Rex simply shakes his head, kneeling to the floor.
There’s an audible click as Scott clicks the handheld vacuum out of its charging cradle. Scott kneels next to him.
His hand bumps into it a few times, Rex picking up the larger chunks that wouldn’t fit up the vacuum.
A piece gets stuck in his finger.
As he plucked it out, a small bubble of blood began building up. Rex gives a tired groan, sucking on the pin prick wound.
Still, he continues to pick up the pieces. The bleeding quickly slows, then stops.
“You need to get out for once..” Scott sighs, lifting himself off the floor.
He reaches his hand out to Rex. Rex takes it as he stands.
“Yeah.” He agrees, shaking his head despite this. “You’re right.”
Rex doesn’t think too much about it as he leaves, just a simple pat on Scott’s head and walking out the door.
He travels the darkened hallways of the apartment building, reading off the numbers of various doors to himself.
Eventually, he reaches his car, and has an idea of where to go.
It’s a short drive, roughly twenty minutes long, enough time to blast some music in his tired old car.
He still finds himself turning it down though, he craved a sense of quiet.
And there he was, pulling up to Target, his car starting to choke on itself. The check engine light on and water leaking from it.
Rex can’t find it in himself to care.
He stalks the isles, looking for something- anything -to pick up.
After a glance at a crude blowup Christmas lawn decoration, he’s reminded that Scott had set up a secret Santa event a few days prior. He pulls his phone out, opening his notes.
Terry.
The growl that leaves him is embarrassing. Just a few months ago, he was fine with Terry, didn’t mind him, not one bit.
Then, everything with Jeb happened... he can’t think about this.
He won’t think about this.
He has a gift to buy.
“What do vegans like..?” He mutters, looking red and white painted shelves up and down.
In his lack of self awareness, he bumps into someone.
“Oh sh#t I am so- “ he looks up at the person, it’s Target Employee “.. nevermind.”
“What’re you doing here, Rex?” Target doesn’t even acknowledge it, his bright smile taking up all of Rex’s attention for a moment.
He’s wearing a Christmas sweater under the shirt of his uniform, black and patterned festively on the sleeves.
“I’m uh-looking for a secret Santa gift,” Rex’s hands start to flap gently at his sides, he’d feel bad for spoiling the surprise of the event-even though his gift wasn’t for Target “for Terry-I picked his name outta the hat.”
“Damn. That’s rough.” His friend chuckles, turning to reorganise the items on the shelf they stood by. “I’ll help you find something, don’t you worry.”
“Thank you Teej-..”
“It’s no problem, part of my job!”
“Yeah, I know..”
Target drags him along, and it’s all going just fine.. until Rex has an idea.
He grabs his friend’s wrist and pulls him to an entirely different aisle.
He picks something up and-..
“You’re… just getting him a box.”
Target’s cold blue eyes glare at him, the judgement intense.
They begin walking to the self-checkouts.
“No, I’m getting him nothing. ” Rex retorts.
He picks up a few things on their way, an energy drink, a pack of gum, and a $10 e-shop card that Scott had asked him to pick up.
They reach the machines and Rex gets right to scanning. There’s a roll of wrapping paper and a five pack of small cardboard boxes on it.
He decides to finish his thought from earlier.
“I mean, Teej, buddy.. don’t you think there’s nothing more vegan than nothing ?”
He looks behind him, Target is shaking his head. He sighs, turning back to the task at hand.
With a little help from Target’s “employee discount”, Rex has successfully bought a Christmas gift.
And he knows Terry will just hate it.
It’s Wednesday, late afternoon, and Rex is in the passenger seat of his own car.
Target Employee refused to let him drive, on the assumption that if Terry saw Rex pulling up, he’d end up with a bullet through the head.
The car’s exhaust starts to smoke, it’s loudly sputtering, Rex pops his head out of the window to assess the damage.
“Teej-.. the cars f#cked. ” He announces, pulling his head back into the car.
“We’re in luck then, because we’re here.” Target shrugs, stepping on the breaks.
Rex leans his head forward, looking out of the driver window, he can see Jeb already outside, smoking. The sight makes him frown, he doesn’t like that all his friends smoke, though there’s nothing he can do about it anymore.
Target honks the horn of the car, Jeb jumps, looks over, and his neutral expression drops.
He stamps out his cigarette and runs over, letting out a relieved exhale as he sees Target Employee in the driver’s seat.
“What’s the matter with you?” Target chuckles playfully, a smug smirk on his face.
“You know. And you better not say shit!” Jeb’s whisper-shouting, eyes darting to look behind him every few seconds, though he catches sight of Rex.
The fear drops for a moment as he smiles and says “Hi Rexy~..”
“Hey..” Rex loses himself for a second, staring at Jeb with a thoughtless smile on his face.
The moment is cut short when they can hear footsteps off in the distance, and both have a sense of anxiety flooding through them.
Target starts to ramble about his job, as loud as he can in a normal speaking voice, as if to cover up any interaction the others could have had. Rex silently thanks him with a hand on his arm, because Target’s just saved his ass a little more.
He’s still met with an icy glare as Terry gets to the car and sees him in the passenger seat.
Terry gets in behind Target, Jeb gets in behind Rex. Rex watches from the mirror as Terry’s hand slips around Jeb’s shoulders and he pulls Jeb against him.
The car is still sputtering as it starts back up, Rex lets out a relieved sigh as it manages to drive.
The drive is tense, Rex and Terry’s eyes meeting in the mirror every so often. The glare is traded back and forth, with Rex always resigning from it first.
It’s tiring, for Rex at least, he doesn’t want to fight with Terry. He wants to be his friend again, he doesn’t mind the guy.
The issue between them is just.. too easy for Rex to fight for. He likes Jeb too much.
“Jeb?..” Rex speaks up, tilting his head to look behind him.
Jeb glances at Terry, then Rex, then back at Terry. He’s right to be worried, because Terry’s glaring at Rex with a raised eyebrow.
“What’ve you been doing this week? Haven’t been seeing you..” he asks, smiling just a little.
“Just spending time with Terry, playing Gex.. the usual-“ Jeb is audibly breathless from nervousness.
“And that’s how it better stay.” Terry speaks up, pulling Jeb closer against him.
“Riiiight.. of course..” Rex nods, turning back to the front.
The silence is thick, tense, intentional . Rex is proud of himself.
It’s obvious, he’s got a smug smile on his face, watching Jeb try to shift out of Terry’s grip in the mirror.
It’s so obvious that it’s starting to piss Target Employee off. He hits Rex on the back of the head.
“Terry’s right, if you do anything like that again, I’m not gonna defend you.” He states, glaring at Rex. “You can’t just break your friend’s trust like that.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry . But it wasn’t just me-“
“I know. It was Jeb too. It’s still ridiculous.”
Now a few miles from the orchard, the noise of the car starts to get worse, and Target can smell the oil leaking.
The car stops.
The engine has finally pissed out.
Rex feels his eye twitch.
“What happened?” Terry leans over to push at Target’s shoulder.
“My car’s f#cked.” Rex groans, turning his head to glare at the vegan. “It has been for months .”
“Should we call someone?” Jeb asks, leaning between the front seats.
“No service out here, love..” Terry pats Jeb’s back, glaring at his phone.
Target opens the car door, stopping the engine as he gets out.
“We might as well just walk. Scott’s only about two miles away.”
Target frowns as he’s met with three judgemental and confused glares.
“The orchard’s six.”
“How do you even know that..?” Rex starts to leave the car, questioning him.
“Because we’re at the pond, which is two miles away from Scott’s new place, and I drive past it on my way to work everyday.” Target shrugs, opening one of the backseat doors for Terry and Jeb.
The two of them get out, Jeb taking both of Terry’s hands in his own as he stands up. Rex tries his best not to groan.
Beginning to walk, now ahead of the others, he makes a note on his phone of where his car is, and would indefinitely stay, until he could call a tow truck.
He tries to ignore the quiet conversation in the back, no matter how loud Terry was making Jeb laugh, or how many “ I love you ”s they shared. Rex was a better man than Terry. He had to remain calm.
Even if it was all too easy to drop the bomb.
Hearing a shout from behind him, and another few following, Rex quickly spins around to find Jeb laying flat on his back, pouting.
“You good man?” Rex kneels to the ground, reaching a hand out to the other.
Jeb takes it, Rex pulls him up. They’re chest to chest.
“Yeah, just slipped.. You’re basically walking on water here, man..” Jeb chuckles, shaking his head.
“You’re acting like he’s Jesus or something.” Target adds on, hand on the arm of an absolutely seething Vegan Terry Lesler.
“Hey, he might as well be!” Jeb continues to joke, still hanging onto Rex.
Rex spins around, holding onto Jeb as he does so.
“I sure am!” He’s a little convinced, being the only one able to walk across it.
The taller two continue to walk ahead, Target half-dragging Terry as Rex continues to spin around with Jeb in his grip.
Shared giggles burst into the night air, their faces are so close and breath is mingling. Rex just wants to kiss him.
He starts to lean in, but it’s quickly cut off by Terry screaming “HURRY IT UP!” from in front of them.
Rex rolls his eyes, grumbling.
“You trust me?” He asks, careful and quiet.
“Not really.” Jeb shakily admits.
Still, Rex slides across the ice, Jeb held tight in his arms as they slide along the pond.
They reach Terry and Target, Jeb nervously hanging off Rex’s neck. Rex hardly thinks about it as he spins Jeb towards the other two, the vegetarian getting caught by the vegan’s arms.
“Let’s just keep walking.” Target states, glaring at Rex once again.
Rex shrugs.
Jeb follows behind Jerry, fresh bruises covering his face. Scott glances up for a second, looks away, then his eyes go wide.
“What happened to you?!” He shouts, movement dramatic.
“Oh he beat the sh#t out of me!” Jeb states, bright smile on his face.
Jerry raises his glass. “I second that!”
Rolling his eyes and sighing exasperatedly, Rex begins to hate the Christmas party just a little more.
Though the hatred fades as Jeb speaks again.
“Hey Rex, can you get me some water?”
Nodding, Rex leans to look at the floor. He can only reach a bottle of wine. He chuckles.
Damn, I really am the son of God, aren’t I?
“I can only find wine.. Jesus does it again!” he picks it up, handing it off to Jeb.
Terry groans, loudly. All of them turn to him.
“You creep! You did not turn water into wine! You just wanna get Jeb drunk!” He yells, putting the glass he held to the side.
“It was all I could grab from the floor..” Rex grumbles.
“If you leaned two inches you could’ve grabbed water! Don’t even start!” Terry puts the gift down too.
The two glare at each other for a second. Rex stands up. Terry stands up in turn.
Scott’s face goes white. Jeb is tense, though still finds the courage to open the bottle of wine. Jerry leans down to hold onto Scott’s shoulder, protective. He can’t see Target Employee anywhere.
“I can’t stop a miracle! They just happen.” Rex sarcastically chuckles.
“It isn’t a miracle to try and get my wife drunk!”
“Yeah, yeah, your wife but he still wants me more.”
Another silence falls, Terry turns to look at Jeb. Jeb’s looking away, chugging the bottle.
“What’s that supposed to mean?..” Terry growls, tensing up.
“I mean that he’s been over here nearly everyday. I guess-“ Rex does air quotes with his fingers “- playing Gex , means coming over and kissing me.”
“You’re lying! Jeb wouldn’t have come back if that was true!” Terry stamps his foot on the ground, baring his teeth.
“Look at him,” Rex gestures to Jeb, who’s still drinking with an incredibly guilty look on his face. “Does he look like he hasn’t done anything? I mean.. how he acted in the car.. he was so nervous!”
“No! You’re a lying little creep that doesn’t know what he’s even talking about!”
“A lot coming from the eggnog drinker.” Rex snarks, folding his arms.
“What?! Scott told me this sh#t was vegan!” Terry yells, gesturing at it.
“Oh please , he just wanted you to be included, he thinks you hate all of us. And why wouldn’t he?” He doesn’t know where the sass has come from, but damn it feels good to get out. “You’re cold, forceful. Jeb felt that so bad that he came and made out with me. It isn’t anything new, you’re just an ass.”
Terry picks his glass up, throwing it at Rex. He misses.
He starts to storm off, shoving Jeb on his way. Rex has to restrain himself from attacking Terry, instead looking at Jeb to calm himself down.
The silence surrounds them for a moment, each of them frozen in place.
It’s broken when they hear violent gagging and forceful puking.
Rex turns, watching Jerry rush to Scott’s side. Scott is visibly shaking, Rex doesn’t understand why.
He understands even less as Jerry starts to quietly repeat “he doesn’t have a gun ”.
The bottle is finally out of Jeb’s mouth, he’s breathless and angry. The colour of the wine has stained his lips, Rex wants to kiss him, with everything in his soul, he wants to kiss Jeb.
He doesn’t, but he does walk over and yank the bottle out of his hand. Rex is conflicted. Part of him wants to swig the rest of it, the other part wants to walk outside and slam it off Terry’s head.
Resulting in him just drinking the last of it to get the thought gone. Rex hates the taste, hates alcohol. But he doesn’t care anymore.
Rex hands the now empty bottle back to a visibly surprised Jeb.
Jeb passes it to Scott, who takes it shakily.
The tensions rise, Target reenters the room. Neither of them care. Their eyes are just on each other, focused, intense.
All dignity and integrity is gone as Rex grabs Jeb’s face and pulls him into a desperate kiss. He swears his heart stops as Jeb reaches to hold his arms.
There are soft gasps and whispers as the two finally give up. Rex knows Jeb’s as sick of this as he is.
“Oh come ON !” Target Employee’s frustration is palpable. “I was gone for five minutes! ”
Rex doesn’t care, throwing a hand away from Jeb only to flip Target off. Through the intense kiss, Rex can feel the warmth of Jeb’s face increasing, he knows he’s embarrassing him a little. Doing this in front of everyone.
But god. It felt pretty rewarding. Like he was claiming Jeb, taking him away from Terry. Terry didn’t deserve him. Terry never treated him right.
They pull apart, Rex would give it all for that thin string of wine and spit between their lips.
The sound of Terry’s shoes squeaking across Scott’s floor is heard. Rex practically throws himself away from Jeb.
Terry sits back down, wiping his mouth using his sleeve.
Scott breathes in shakily, staring down at the floor.
“How about we do presents?” He suggests, holding onto Jerry’s arm with a near iron grip.
All of them just nod.
Target Employee receives a Target receipt from Jeb. The reaction he gives is disappointed, but faking enjoyment.
Jeb received trash. For his dump. From Terry. He forces a smile.
Rex receives viagra from Target Employee, which results in Target getting an unsure look and a chance to explain himself.
Though when he does, Rex is happy with his gift.
When the turn comes to Rex, he picks up the lazily wrapped cardboard box, and hands it off to Terry.
Terry opens it and-..
“There’s nothing in here.”
“What could be more vegan, than nothing? Ey Teej-“ Rex lightly pushes at the taller’s shoulder, looking for support.
Target just shakes his head.
The rest of the night goes fairly smoothly, despite the arrival of a resurrected officer Steel Wool, and Scott having a full meltdown.
Still, those aren’t Rex’s business. So he doesn’t get all too involved.
Steel Wool doesn’t care to stay long, just receiving his gift from Jerry and going home to Rex’s father knows where.
Later on, if only by half an hour, Terry gets an uber home with Jeb. Rex almost kills Terry when he sees him forcefully dragging Jeb away, all while clawing at his arm.
Target following suit soon after.
Jerry remained a little longer, mostly to just make sure Scott was managing okay.
But once he does leave, Scott retreats to his room, and Rex stays on the couch.
He didn’t think he could sink this low. Knocking back the rest of spiked eggnog, watching ‘Deal or No Deal’ on Scott’s couch, it’s a wonder he hasn’t kicked him out yet.
Scott’s audibly talking to his mirror again, discussing the Christmas party with his imaginary audience, Rex can hear him from the living room.
The frothed egg and liquor hits the back of his throat, and the bottle is empty.
He’s staring down at it, wondering if Scott has anything else in the house, until there’s a knock at the door.
He stands sluggishly, half-stumbling towards the door. All those years without drinking had left him with a much lower tolerance.
Still, he does reach the door, opening it up and being met with-
“CHET F#CKING SHAFT? ” Rex gawks, unable to believe his eyes, especially considering the orange glow from behind Chet is blinding him.
“Uh-yeah.. hey.” Chet steps back a little, flashing a gift in one of his hands. “I’m just here to uh-.. give Scott something.”
Rex shakes his head, standing away from the door.
“Oh, yeah sorry uh-.. come in. Scott’s in the room to the-you know what, you’ll just hear him.” He vaguely points in a random direction and slinks back off to the couch, half-watching Chet as he closes the front door behind himself and begins to look for Scott.
The door opens, and Scott has the same reaction as him. Rex is eavesdropping, listening in curiously. He doesn’t know how they’ll interact, considering Scott used to be openly afraid of Chet .
It seems to go well. Scott received a gift, just as he hoped.
He wonders what it is, until Scott says it directly out loud.
“Oh my god-Barrel Blast?”
Rex hopes, prays even, that they’re just catching up, even with barrel blast between them.
The door shuts, and he can no longer hear the quiet conversation between the two.
An audible groan leaves his lips, he’s about ready to pass out, still-he finds an open bottle of wine on the floor, and starts to chug.
He isn’t as mad as he was before. This’ll do.
This’ll do.
Chapter 6: First Few Desperate Hours
Summary:
In an effort to stop Jeb driving himself insane, Scott leaves Jeb and Jerry locked in his basement and gives up one of his prepaid therapy sessions for Jeb.
-
HEY! I’m genuinely so sorry I haven’t updated in so long. The final chapter is at roughly 3K words and isn’t even halfway done, so I’m hoping a quick backstory filler chapter will suffice for now, even if it’s disappointingly short. So sorry my friends.
Chapter Text
Scott’s basement is as good a therapy room as any, cooped up with Jerry and surrounded by the threat of GameCube wires.
Just looking at this mess Jeb feels the terror of the Anti-Gex creeping up his throat.
“I have.. just one question for you really.” Jerry slurs out, his Kubrick stare sending a shock through Jeb.
“Shoot.” Jeb gives the go ahead, watching the other man twiddle a pen between his fingers, before writing something down onto his clipboard.
His loosely crossed legs remind him of Terry’s, really, so do a lot of his mannerisms.
It’s almost scary.
Thankfully, a booming voice, full of emotion and vibrantly maroon in his mind, begs him the question;
“Do you ever ask yourself,” Jerry gestures around him “how did I get here?” Accompanied by air quotes.
Jeb leans back into the couch, hitting himself on a wiimote and groaning.
“How did I get here..” Jeb repeats.
He knows where this story begins.
And he doesn’t like it.
Bloody and bruised, with $16 to his name, Jeb stepped into the grocery store, hoping to just score a snack and leave.
He wanders the aisles, situating himself comfortably in the designated vegetarian and vegan aisle.
His hand reaches out for a pack of oreos, and he’s shocked by a voice beside him, dropping them onto the floor.
“Don’t those have milk in?” An average, thin man with thick black curls asks.
“Ah-no I don’t think so, doesn’t matter to me though-“ Jeb shrugs, leaning to pick the packet up off the floor. “I’m only vegetarian.”
“Ohh, hah. I don’t think I’ve ever met a vegan here, only you veggie types.” The man’s monotone voice did not match his chipper demeanour, and neither did his monochrome clothes.
Jesus Christ, this guy was the definition of greyscale.
“You okay? You look.. f#cked.” He asked, causing a still kneeling on the floor Jeb to jump up and stutter over himself again.
“Well-I dunno I’m fine -my dad just kicked me out and that’s fair I’m literally nineteen but it wasn’t even because of that he just got mad at me for being a-uh-.. veggie type. ” Jeb doesn’t know why he’s casting his backstory onto this fucking stranger, clearly a grown man with better things to do, using his own lingo back at him.
But the man just nods.
“Well.. I’m Terry Lesler, I run the pumpkin orchard south of town, if you need somewhere to go where you know you won’t be fed meat, then I can let you crash on my couch, if you’d like.” Oh Christ, this guy was offering him a place to stay? With diet comfortability and all? God. F#ck.
“That’d be great , I uh-I’m.. Jeb. Jeb. Jab. Yeah. Jeb Jab.” Jeb responds, practically gasping for air as he speaks.
Terry chuckles. Jeb smiles.
“Oh God. This is f#cking miserable.” Jerry groans, wide eyed stare piercing through him.
Jeb is almost shocked, shooting up when he hears that, not expecting the reaction, then again, when has Jerry ever been professional. Or nice.
”I know y’bastard! I lived it!” Jeb snaps back, throwing his hands in the air.
”Hey! Just calm down and get on with the story! You’re finally starting to make sense here..” Jerry leans comfortably into his chair, his pen back on the page
Jeb sighs, staring up at the ceiling. “Well.. then we just went grocery shopping and..”
Being trekked along in the cold to a car that reeked of smoke wasn’t something Jeb was entirely unfamiliar with, but there was something so unnerving about this guy.
He seemed.. normal. Normal enough. But how quick he was ready to let a stranger stay with him was f#cking creepy, to say the least.
“So tell me, why are you all bruised?” Terry asks, Jeb can see in his eyes he already knows the answer.
“My dad’s not very nice.” Jeb grumbles.
“I’d put it a little harsher than that.”
Jeb rolls his eyes, hugging himself, his body only warmed by the thick hoodie he’d scrounged from under his pillow.
He’d normally sleep in it, the light blue fabric tarnished with hints of wear and tears from years of love, but he had to leave fast and damn it, he knew it was freezing.
“So you know I’m nineteen, how old are you?” Jeb turns the questions back on Terry, looking at the other man.
“Someone looks grumpy… I’m twenty four, I know I look older. Field work does that to you.” Terry chuckles, his shoulders bouncing as they roll down the country roads.
Jeb nods, flicking through his phone as they drive. He stares at his texts, fully aware his parents won’t text, won’t call, won’t do anything.
The repetitive up and down motion of reloading the texts, then the app, is driving him insane.
His mom never cared, really. She’d pretend to, but it wasn’t him that mattered. It was the look of a perfect three person family.
And he remembers he only has a week. One f#cking week. To collect his things and be out of their life forever.
Jeb knocks his head back against the seat of the car, trying to will away the oncoming barrage of tears.
Terry tentatively reaches his hand out, offering it to Jeb. And through a few quick awkward glances, Jeb takes it.
“Y’know, I’ve always had family troubles too.” Terry begins to rub Jeb’s knuckles with his thumb, “I inherited the orchard from my aunt, when I was fifteen. And everyone just.. kept it a secret, until my eighteenth birthday, when I was kicked out, like you.”
He looks at Jeb, curious if he actually wants to listen or not. Jeb nods, Terry continues.
“I had to learn how to pay bills, how to balance money. I’m lucky I grew up with farmers because going down to the market once a month was my paycheque.”
Jeb’s heart races, the sensation of the other’s cold hand in his and the sound of his monotone voice relaying his miserable backstory feels like a panic attack on wheels.
“But, I survived. I managed. I’ve gotten pretty far on my own, and I know exactly how hard it is.”
The car slows to a stop, Terry looks into his eyes and raises his other hand to Jeb’s cheek.
“I don’t think you should have to. No one should have to. Look at you, you’re just a kid.”
Jeb’s face is wet. He isn’t sure why, or why Terry’s thumb is rubbing under his eye, and he brings his hand up to feel.
F#ck.
He’s crying.
Damn. He knew this would happen.
“We’ve known each other for twenty minutes!” Jeb starts to laugh, his face red as a cherry. “Why are you so nice to me?”
The other man shakes his head, chuckling softly. “Because I was you.” Terry looks towards a large sprawling field, parked in the driveway of a reasonably sized home. “And, we’re here.”
“And I take it, that’s why you’re here?” Jerry smirks, placing his clipboard down.
”Right on the money, asshole.” Jeb grumbles.
”Well, we’re only twenty minutes in. And it seems like you two were too.” Jerry rolls his eyes, sat in an almost sultry manner across from Jeb. “Keep talkin’, this is costing Scott good money, and I already need a drink.”
”Yeah, yeah alright.”
Chapter 7: Another Movie And We’re Gonna Have To Move
Summary:
ITS THE LASG ONE. OB GOD. it’s a little disjointed and the longest by far and it ties up a few loose ends and it also uh. Turns out. This entire fic is canon to a whole separate au I have. That I’m probably writing a fic for. Happy 2024. Fuck.
Chapter Text
Tense, heavy air in the back of a deep blue car, a type that Jeb can’t quite place.
Their Uber ride isn’t long. But it’s long enough.
Long enough for Terry to question him in front of the poor driver who had remained silent the whole journey, that is.
“Jeb..” Terry lays a hand onto his shoulder, his gaze intense. “Why do you smell like Rex’s cologne?”
“Terry.” Maybe it’s the half-bottle of wine talking, but Jeb isn’t in the mood to fight. “You were there. Rex f#cking lives there , you watched him hug me before we left.” Almost forgetting Rex had just shoved his tongue down his throat as he spat at Terry.
Terry groans, rolls his eyes, and looks away.
The sweat starts to roll down Jeb’s face, he swallows awkwardly, he turns his attention to the window.
Expansive Ohio roads all he could see outside the car, houses few and far between.
The stars were fairly visible, especially considering how close they still were to Scott’s. Though down at the orchard, a lack of light pollution around the area had always created a loving blend of a messy black-navy gradient and milky white shines.
He loves the orchard. Even if it’s cold, or damp, or far away from everything else in the state, or Terry is making him sleep on the couch.
That one always hurts the most.
Terry’s small frame emanated the slightest warmth on the coldest nights, only when it was below freezing would they cuddle anymore.
Streetlights fade into the distance, now on old bumpy roads.
The silence hangs between them.
And the field of the orchard is in sight.
Jeb lays a hand on Terry’s arm, gently nudging him.
“We’re almost home.” He whispers, stroking his thumb over Terry’s sweater-clad arm.
He spots some stray curls hanging over Terry’s face. Brushing them out of the way, Terry glanced at him. Their eyes meet, Terry sighs, Jeb begins to stroke his hair.
Terry leans into the touch, body language relaxed but a hardened look in his eyes.
There’s still a level of anger in it, but Jeb knows Terry can’t remain upset for long, by that point the patches fully seep in.
His own smoking habit doesn’t help Terry’s cravings, the scent is always the catalyst.
Jeb saw some kind of metaphor in it, how he needed it to function, but he’d probably be better off without it.
And maybe Terry felt the same way.
But they’re home now, and Terry’s half unbuttoned dress shirt reminds Jeb he doesn’t care whether or not this is good for him.
He just likes it. And that’s all that matters.
Terry is passing him the bottle of cheap vegan gin and a shot glass, he lazily takes them.
“Do you think we should still be drinking?” Jeb asks softly, throwing back a shot.
The drink is harsh on his throat, but in a pleasant enough way where he doesn’t exactly want a chaser.
“Why not, right?” Terry vaguely affirms, gently rubbing Jeb’s chest as he scoots closer to his lover.
Jeb chuckles, leaning into the touch.
“Good point, creep. ” Jeb jabs at the insult Terry threw to Rex earlier that evening.
Terry gives a soft laugh, but his expression indicates annoyance. Jeb slugs another shot.
He takes the time to analyse Terry’s frame, he’s drastically thin, his shoulders look like they’ve carried the weight of the world on them, weakened to the point of chronic pain. There’s lean muscle in his arms, but not a lot of it.
Legs tightly crossed. There’s still a gap between them. Jeb’s never worried about him before, he doesn’t know why he is now.
Terry is the opposite of him, in every sense of the word. He woefully takes in the image of his own body, he’s almost ashamed.
It’s as if Terry can hear Jeb’s racing thoughts, grabbing at the plush skin under Jeb’s shirt,
“You’re pretty.. y’know that? I feel like you don’t sometimes..” Terry’s voice has a barely there hint of affection to it.
Jeb can’t keep himself together.
The bottle of wine is still poisoning his blood, mixing unfortunately with the gin, making his vision start to shake, the ceiling starts to swerve.
Jeb stands, nearly falling, Terry stands with him.
With those hands on him, something snaps.
Maybe it isn’t concern, maybe he likes how worryingly thin Terry is.
The power Jeb holds, one different to what he imagined.
Terry’s got brains, but Jeb could break him over his knee.
F#ck.
Their lips meet in a desperate haze as Jeb stumbles towards their bedroom, that same eleven year back and forth, the battle of who’s wrong and who’s right, the one-story creaking home feeling their harsh footsteps every single pace of the way.
It’s so familiar, Jeb wants it to burn down around him.
He f#cking hates this part.
They hit their bed, Terry’s back against it with Jeb above him.
Between a sloppy, breathless, kiss, where Jeb’s fingers rush to tug at the end of Terry’s dress shirt, Terry gasps something out.
“I don’t mean it-“
Terry takes a pause to breathe.
The beginning of the statement leaves a sinking feeling in Jeb’s chest.
“-when I tell you.. that I don’t love you anymore..”
There’s a relieved sigh, but the tenseness in his chest remains, he still scatters kisses along Terry’s neck and under the slightly unbuttoned shirt collar.
Terry’s feelings were more important to him.
A lean and firm leg hooks around Jeb’s waist, there’s a strange tension in the air, one that Jeb hasn’t felt in a very long time.
And…
he can’t quite recall what happens after.
Simply waking up that morning, feeling…
Strange. Sickly, even.
Terry’s limbs still tangled with his.
Only one thought exists in his mind.
Damn you, Rex Mohs.
The thought doesn’t make much sense, damning his lover, his f#cking mistress, all because he f#cked his husband.
But the power fantasy wasn’t as fun as he wanted it to be, and he needs someone to blame.
And he wants to keep thinking about it-but Terry nuzzles his head into Jeb’s collarbone.
And that’s enough to make him shut up.
-
Things felt normal enough, he could see Terry digging in the field from the kitchen window.
His slipper nudged the leg of the small dining table, he clutched his mug of tea.
Jeb let a sigh slip, he eyed Terry’s body language completely changing as his shovel struck once again.
And there it was.
“F#CK.”
Even from roughly a quarter mile away, Jeb could hear the quieted yell. Something’s happened.
His shoulders tense as he watches Terry lean down, grab something, and toss his shovel.
He starts to stomp back toward the house, and Jeb instinctively starts to curl in on himself, his shoulders drawing upward to cradle his face as Terry disappears from his line of sight.
He sips his tea nervously, waiting for the next explosive noise.
The door swings open, then crashes closed.
Terry’s footsteps are heavy, loud, he’s yelling words Jeb can’t quite make out.
Eventually, Terry stops in front of Jeb, snapping his fingers to catch his attention.
“Give me your phone.”
“.. what?” Jeb near whispers.
“I said, give me.” Terry pauses to enunciate, raising his voice. “Your phone. I need it more than you.”
“But.. I pay for it and I use it and-...” Jeb’s pleading gaze meets Terry’s cold, almost dead, stare. A shiver runs down his spine. “.. let me get it for you.” He fumbled in his robe pocket for a moment, passing the device to his husband.
Terry nods, turns away, and leaves once again.
Jeb feels sick to his stomach, scrambling up from his own seat, leaving the warm mug still half-full abandoned on the table.
-
“Muh-nuh-nuh..-hmm.. Oh! Yeah!” Scott is mindlessly mumbling to himself, running his middle finger over the calendar on his kitchen wall as he clenches a pen between his thumb and the edge of his palm.
It’s nearing the end of January, Scott’s a little late on planning this year.
Rex is leaning on the counter next to him, watching him mark down dates as he prepares for the year ahead.
A sweep of uncontrollable disgust overcomes him as he sees a blanket-clad Chet come up behind Scott and wrap his arms around the ever so slightly smaller man’s waist.
“What’re y’doin’-“ Chet murmurs, followed by something incomprehensible against Scott’s ear, Chet whispers , to Scott.
Scott blushes.
Rex gags.
“I plan my year in advance..” Scott shrugs, turning to Rex- “is Jeb on for Gex night? It’s already Saturday, man.” He asks.
“Why would I know?” The taller man snarks back.
Chet looks up from where he rests his head, clearly confused.
The other two speak in near unison: “ it’s not your business. ”
And with that, and an unusually concerned look on his face, Chet resigns, slinking away into the living room quietly.
“.. You realise I mean tonight, right?” Messing with his glasses, Scott sighs.
All while erratically shifting on his feet, Rex nods.
“And I’m not an idiot, Rex. I can ask him myself, but I know that you already know.” The smaller continues.
Rex looks down at the floor, Scott won’t stop staring, and more importantly; he won’t stop speaking.
“Why don’t you wanna tell me?”
“Because.. I dunno, it won’t matter to you I just-“ Rex begins to tug at the hem of his shirt, slightly baggy and light grey, stains here and there, he’s overly focused on the minuscule details “Jeb called yesterday.. said that Terry doesn’t trust him, so if he does come tonight, Terry’s probably coming too.”
Scott shrugs, “I like Terry” he moves to mark something on the calendar “why the hell would I be mad about that?”
“Because I am. ” Rex complains. “He’s too controlling, why can’t he just let Jeb live his life!” He yells, gesturing wildly.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe it’s because Jeb likes Gex too much, or..let me think.. Jeb’s actively cheating on him?” The smaller man snarks, exaggerated eye rolls and all. “He’s not being unreasonable, Rex. The fact that Terry is letting you two hang out at all is amazing. He’s a.. Look. Just, get over yourself, let him come over. It won’t hurt.”
Hands sinking into the curls of his hair, Rex yells, storming out of the kitchen and into the living room.
“You don’t know him like I do!” Rex has to get the last word in.
And with that, he concedes.
He leans against the closest wall, taking a moment to calm down.
His growling breaths erratic, his hand grabbing at his chest.
And if not for Terry’s whole existence hoarding good oxygen, Scott would be the most selfish man on Earth.
He stomps further into the living room, he eyes the tidy space, aside from a small heap of blankets next to the arm of the couch.
Rex sits down, a little further from the blankets, there’s a whine from the opposite side.
Chet is half asleep next to him, curled into a ball, hugging the large blanket around himself tightly.
“Why… are you there.” He asks, nudging Chet’s lower leg.
“I’m tired..” he shuffles into a sitting position, the blanket slipping off of him.
The smaller is wearing Scott’s pyjamas, rubbing his eyes and yawning. There are soft red marks littered across his neck that Rex hadn’t noticed while in the kitchen.
Rex sticks up a hand, jabbing at a cluster of marks with his index finger.
“What are these about?” He questions, pulling a slightly disgusted expression.
Chet nudges his hand away, chuckling. “Run in with a wild vacuum cleaner, I survived the attack.”
Rex can’t stop himself from mumbling “ f#ckin’ barrel blast..” under his breath.
“He liked his gift, what can I say?” The smaller replies.
Rex swears he wants to kill him. These guys never f#cking shut it.
Chet looks disappointed, like a child with a new toy that doesn’t do what he wanted it to.
He clearly expected another response.
Throwing himself back into his blanket mound, Chet mumbles out a soft “goodnight” .
“It’s past noon.” Rex groans.
And now, he can do nothing but wait.
-
A phone beeps, indicating that Jeb’s arrived at Scott’s house.
Rex prays that Terry isn’t there as he rushes to let Jeb in.
Unfortunately for Rex, the second he opens up the door he locks eyes with the walking nightmare himself.
“Scott’s setting things up, come in.” Rex swings his head toward the living room.
Terry nods. He’s surprisingly nice about it.
In follows Jeb behind him, Rex struggles to hold himself together.
Their eyes meet, and Rex can’t help but wonder how Jeb is feeling..
… Jeb is f#cking terrified. He doesn’t know what he’s planning to do, or what Rex is going to do, or how Terry is coping with this whole situation.
He just stood there, sweating bullets, head spinning.
And when Rex sweeps him into a tight hug, it doesn’t exactly help things. Though he’s more swooning than panicking at this point.
He scans the area, Terry’s nowhere to be seen.
The reciprocation is slow, light, but meaningful. This hug means everything to Jeb.
“He keeps borrowing my phone, sorry..” They hadn't even texted that week, Jeb felt terrible.
“What an asshole..” Rex mumbles.
“No-his broke when he was in the field, it’s not his fault.” Jeb clarifies. “We should probably let go now.”
Despite his words, Jeb makes no effort to move away. Shuts his eyes and soaks it in.
Rex doesn’t move either.
That little moment, it means the world.
Just the warmth of Rex’s body against his own. It’s perfect.
It’s everything he’s wanted.
His eyes flutter open. Terry is across the room, just barely leaving some other area, he isn’t angry, at least visibly. He just seems.. sad. Confused. He’s just waiting for the hug to end.
Jeb pats Rex’s shoulders.
Speaking a little too loudly, “Good to see you, man!”
Rex comes across a little smoother. “Good to see you!”
He lets go of him, and they stand apart, both looking over at Terry.
“How’s it hangin’ big guy!” Rex speaks with a confidence Jeb could never even think to replicate, and he moves with it too.
He treks himself all the way over to Terry, and like the idiot he is, traps Terry in a hug.
If looks could kill, Rex would be severely dead by now, but this would’ve just been another blow on top of many others.
Terry is as liberal with his glares as he is gunshots, and Jeb’s all the more thankful Terry left the shotgun at home.
The damn thing’s a work of art, he won’t deny that. But flaunting it as he carries it into the trunk of their car every time they leave the house feels more like a threat than a promise to his safety.
And a horrible thought slips into his mind, Rex’s head blown off as Terry’s rage finally gets to him.
Chunks of skull and brain coating the walls and floor, Jeb’s lunch starts to crawl up his throat, he gags as he thinks.
But the thought finally cuts off as Rex frees Terry from his strong arms, and all of them trek downstairs to the basement with Scott leading the way.
Scott is quickly distracted by finding a game, being led around by someone that’s far too covered by a blanket for Jeb to be able to identify.
There’s clearly a voice there, but it’s whisper silent, almost thin sounding. It floats in the air in a way Jeb can only describe as wispy.
It’s probably just Target. Or that banker kid, Swiss, was it?
Either way, Scott’s weird around them.
Scott’s weird around everyone.
What they’re eventually set up with is Double Dash. Alright, Jeb can roll with this.
The GameCube controller feels nice in his hands. Luigi is in his grasp. He’s got a nice plan going on how to win.
Terry always picks Koopa Troopa when he’s forced to play, the shells are good. Good enough. Jeb focuses on driving like he always does, the plan’s going great (at least, in his head) and-
Terry’s not f#cking playing.
The blanketed figure has taken up both a controller and where Rex would be sitting, and Rex is between his feet, completely and utterly ruining the plan that was going to f#ck Scott harder than barrel blast on a Saturday night.
Rex has picked Wario. Of course he has.
And yet, they still manage to completely f#ck Scott up.
Just totally rock his shit.
And the other guy, but Jeb’s entirely focused on Scott.
Well, he’s focused until the blanket’s now only wrapped around his shoulders.
And that unforgettable face shows itself.
That’s none other than Chet Shaft.
The same Chet Shaft that defined his teenage years. The same Chet Terry didn’t like. The same Chet allegedly caught buying milk.
The same Chet he knew, now covered jaw to collarbone in hickeys. Okay, he knew that part quite well.
But he’s got a race to finish, so the questions would have to wait.
Jeb’s breath catches in his throat, an overwhelming feeling of guilt building inside of him.
He’s really trying not to drop his controller, the GameCube is starting to look fuzzy. From just a few feet away. He and Rex swap around. He’s on items.
He spams the buttons, hands shaking as he stares at the controller.
But his hand finally spasms, tossing the controller a foot or so away, and he leans into the couch.
His phone starts vibrating.
Rex’s hand is on his leg.
Somewhere, under his own heart beating in his ears, he hears Terry say something about leaving, and then the sound of his plastic leather boots clicking away.
Still, he doesn’t care.
Jeb swears he’s having a heart attack,
his chest is exploding, he can’t breathe,
the room is in a blur, there are hands all over him, he’s cold
and hot and his skin is prickling with sweat
and he’s so awake
yet so tired and-
Scott’s front door slams.
The air clears, and his vision begins to clear too.
The game is paused. He can see that much.
His chest is still pounding, there are tears streaming down his cheeks, but he isn’t hyperventilating anymore.
Chet is in front of him, holding one hand, firmly pressing his thumb into Jeb’s palm.
Jeb sobs.
“Where the f#ck have you been?”
Thin arms surround his broad shoulders.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m here. I’m here with these guys. He’s gone.” Chet rambles into his ear.
Rex is stroking his thigh, whispering something to him he can’t quite hear.
Scott is wide eyed on the other side of the couch.
“He said it was a vegan thing. He took your phone, you’re here for the night.” Scott affirms, laying a hand on his knee.
“I don’t care where he’s gone.” Jeb’s exhausted breaths cause his voice to sound almost scared, “he left when he saw..” Jeb looks at Chet again. “You..uh- he left me having a panic attack !”
Rex speaks up.
“That’s cause he sucks. But I didn’t leave. Cause I’m better. And I’m takin’ you to bed tonight.” The proposition clearly delights Jeb, because he takes one deep breathe in, beats the side of his fist on his chest once, and sits up properly, detaching a wide eyed Chet from his neck.
“We'll talk about you. But.. Some other time.”
-
Tonight comes as promised, and thankfully Chet didn’t want to talk about everything as much as he didn’t.
Jeb makes a dramatic sound, akin to a whine but too deep in his chest to be one. He looks over at Rex.
The aforementioned man is lying next to him on his side, head propped up on his hand.
“You have fun?” He asks, sliding his hand across the bed onto Jeb’s arm.
“You have no idea . I f#cking needed that.” Jeb affirms, despite getting more from Terry a few weeks before.
Rex nods. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself!” He smiles, even if it’s a little forced.
As happy as Jeb is to have finally gotten something substantial out of Rex, he feels a little guilty he can’t give it in return. The guy didn’t even blush, barely emoted. He was focused, intense. Surprisingly good despite how sloppy he was.
Jeb’s downright bewildered he bothered to get naked.
“But did you?” Jeb asks, and he isn’t surprised when Rex shakes his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry! I watched a ton of videos to figure it out, I didn’t wanna put that to waste.” Rex laments lightheartedly, softly grabbing and jiggling Jeb’s breast as he ends his sentence.
“Not the wastechaser I used to know..”
Rex shakes his head again. Jeb shuffles closer, immediately getting wrapped in thick and heavy arms.
No man could hold him like Rex could hold him. Jeb wonders if that’s what keeps him coming back.
“I love you.” Rex mutters into his hair.
Jeb finds himself frozen, a strange sense of panic overtaking him.
It feels like a transaction. Affection as a payment for satisfaction.
The anorexic bodies of his youth flash in his mind.
A new wave of sweat begins to roll down his body.
“Hey-hey. Jeb. It’s okay, go to sleep.” Rex kisses the top of his head, lets go of him, and flops onto his side.
“Right-it’s alright. Right.” Jeb allows a breath to escape. “You’re not- I’m not-I’m a grown man. I can-“
Rex cuts him off-“You can do whatever you want. Do you want me to sleep on the couch?” He leans up, looking him in the eyes.
“ No! No-nonono. I’m just-“ Jeb finds himself on the edge, heart pounding.
And Rex grabs him, sweaty, warm, musky, strong.
Thick arms wrap around Jeb’s shaking frame, head pressed into his shoulder.
Jeb starts to cry, ugly tears rolling down his face as sobs wrack his soft body.
“You’re okay. I know. I’m sorry.” Rex repeats those three things like a mantra, large hand stroking over his spine.
Jeb wants to thank him, to do anything for him, but can only scream and cry.
He knows in these arms, he’s allowed to feel.
Tonight, He is safe.
-
The next morning is fine, even if waking up with tear encrusted eyes wasn’t exactly fun.
Rex had held him through the night, and he’d woken up to drool caught in the little hair on his chest.
Scott had brought the two of them coffee, bought from the local coffee place closer into town, not homemade like he usually goes for.
He wonders if the new addition to the home is to blame for that.
Still, he and Rex are alone together again. Watching the sun settle comfortably into the middle of the sky as they finally prepare to leave Rex’s bedroom at 1pm.
Terry still hasn’t come for him. Hasn’t called to ask about him.
There’s a completely functional house phone inside of the orchard. Jeb cannot drive. Scott had been drinking with Chet since Terry got there.
Rex has really taken to wine.
Everything Terry saw and knew exactly how and why Jeb couldn’t just come home by himself.
So he figures he’ll stay here until Terry comes for him.
Hours pass, and still, he hasn’t came.
And Jeb’s back in the basement.
He stares Rex dead in the eyes, met with the most striking icy blue leaving him feeling like he was shot right in the chest.
“What was it Jerry said?” Rex muses, thinking back to Jeb’s therapy notes. “Something about getting allathat anger out?”
“Uhh.. yeah. He said I’d built some kinda outlet out of making Terry mad at me, and I need to find a different way to get all these fucking feelings outta me.” The hint of southern charm in Jeb’s voice starts to shine through in his discontent, he squishes his round cheeks between his palms and sighs.
Rex places his hands over Jeb’s, touching their foreheads together.
“Do you wanna fight?”
Jeb’s hands leave his face, hanging awkwardly in the air, as he jolts back shakily, like a puffed up cat frightened by a pickle, and tilts his head.
“What?”
“Like-physically?” Rex leans back, hands still cupping Jeb’s, “I think you’d like it! Just wrestle a bit.”
“You’re asking if I wanna roll around on the floor like a fucking idiot?” Cocked eyebrow, incredulous pout.
With a dramatic back and forth full body wiggle, Rex loudly, with a lying exasperation, sighs out “ Yes .”
“Alright-fine.” Jeb agrees.
.. “so how do we start..?” He asks.
Rex removes his hands from Jeb’s, places them firmly, but not painfully, on his upper arms, and rolls Jeb unceremoniously off of the coffee table, and himself off of Scott’s couch.
They land on the floor with a thud, Rex hovering over Jeb with a full, sharp toothed, grin.
Jeb is bright fucking red.
“Aw come on!” Rex laughs, shaking his head when Jeb’s hands start to trail up his stomach. “Don’t make this a sex thing, you cry after sex and-“
And in a fraction of a second, Rex is very much winded. Jeb has pushed him off, and taken control of the situation.
His soft palm meets one of Rex’s hairy arms, and manages to pin it down above his head. Rex can smell the floral moisturizer.
Rex is delightfully surprised, stroking Jeb’s cheek with his free hand.
“Like this?” Jeb smiles.
“Like that!”
Rex’s arm lurches forward, elbow first, pushing him out of Jeb’s hold and using his strength to keep Jeb tight against him.
It was just.. a hug. A very aggressive hug. And Jeb hated to admit Rex was right, he was loving this.
He wriggles himself out of Rex’s strong arms, laughing and smiling as he shoves the other away from him.
Despite shoving him away, Jeb launches, almost pouncing, at Rex, rolling them over to where they both lay on their sides, giggling like kids, both breathless and ribs hurting.
But he still wasn’t done, kicking Rex away again and sitting up, smiling, challenging him.
He’s pulled back to Rex by his shirt, still managing to slip out of the tight embrace.
Only to be pulled back by his neck, from behind, and pushed onto the ground with Rex’s full weight atop him.
The chokehold is loose, begging to be fought out of. Jeb loses the will to move, simply enjoying the sensation of being held down this time.
Rex’s body is plush on the surface, but he could feel muscle digging into him slightly here and there.
He’s so warm, and he smells great.
Well, he smells bad, but in a good way. He’s an acquired taste. Musky.
And in moments like this, Jeb’s glad he isn’t sniffing it off the collar of his own hoodie from too long and too tight hugs anymore.
“Fine.” Jeb laughs, nuzzling his cheek into Rex’s upper arm. “You were right. I like this.”
“I love you.” Is all Rex replies with.
“Yeah yeah, I love you too.” Jeb rolls his eyes.
..
Terry didn’t remember he was there until Monday.
-
The way Chet hangs off of Scott makes Jeb feel sick to his stomach. He’s lashing the back of his teeth with his tongue trying to ward off the feeling of puking, although it was probably the heavy breakfast he’d just forced down his own throat making him feel this sick.
Still, Jeb hasn’t seen Chet that happy in, give or take, fifteen years. And it makes him fucking miserable.
Jeb was there when Chet dropped out.
With hands clenched in Jeb’s hoodie as he sobbed, and a barely put together letter from his mom and dad in the front of his backpack.
And Jeb was there when Chet knew he’d be nothing.
As the depression finally set in, and he'd resigned himself to only playing shooters and drinking himself to sleep, and there was only Jeb to keep him company.
Jeb was there when Chet was almost something.
When in the spirit of keeping company, he’d opened his own small business. And it failed hard and fast. All because Chet met the future love of his life. Course Chet didn’t know it yet, he just knew he had to tell Jeb of the “Weirdo That Ruined Everything”.
Jeb was there when Chet wasn’t there. Because he managed to recover, and as selfish as ever, Chet didn’t.
He still doesn’t know how Chet got back here.
Half dead and looking as innocent as his empty eyes could let him.
And Scott had no idea. He had zero clue how much of Chet was broken down and built back up, and how Jeb was the one holding him together, how the Chet he has now is only so perfect because Jeb is intrinsically tied to him.
He almost loathes how happy they are together.
But.. he starts to feel like Terry for it. Looking down at his shaking hands.
They feel cold.
He glances back up to the two laughing together again.
No. Scott doesn’t need to know everything. Scott knows what Chet’s told him. What Chet felt comfortable telling him.
He shouldn’t force it out just so Scott knows.
…
Jeb stands up from the couch. Those sessions with Jerry are paying off.
-
Wednesday is quiet. It’s always quiet. Terry’s at the bank, Rex is at work, at least Jeb thinks he is, he’s never asked, and Jeb has nothing to do and nowhere else to go.
He finds himself rocking up to Scott’s house more and more these days. Every time an Uber arrives, the driver, a different person every time, simply says Scott’s address as though it was a question.
Wondering what those meetings are like, he has to imagine the drivers saying “this guy goes here, almost always.”
That’s not true. Sometimes he goes to the grocery store.
Still, he was in Scott’s home.
Scott has a mug of tea in one hand, an n64 controller in the other.
The television displays an obscure 64DD game from Japan.
Jeb knocks his head back against the sofa, glaring up at the roof of the basement.
He pouts and squints to look at the small chips and bubbles in the paint, eggshell white coating the whole room.
“I, uh-“ Jeb stops to give halfhearted less than a second long laugh, feeling deeply awkward “-didn’t know you were so minimalist.”
“Ahh- nah, I’m not allowed to paint it red, but I would if I could.” Scott smiles as he speaks, leaning his head back to mirror Jeb. “It’s in the lease, but Nintendo-red.. all over the room.”
Still, Jeb resumes pouting.
He opens his mouth to speak, and Scott cuts him off. “I’m not Jerry.”
“What?”
“Jeb. I’m really f#ckin’ new to this relationship shit.” Scott flicks his hands out, pointing in front of him with all four fingers. “I.. can’t help you man.”
There’s a sigh in there, Jeb rolls his head to look at Scott, Scott looks back at him.
“Do you want a hug?”
Jeb nods.
Scott leans into Jeb, his legs curling up onto the couch.
“You know I’m lying about that, I don’t.. know why I said it.” Scott shakes his head. “Can I use you for whining about guys for once? Instead of the other way around?” Scott looks down at him as he speaks. Jeb nods.
“I mean, Wendy’s counted right? Like he counts? And so does Target, but.. I don’t think I ever considered those as real as I do this.”
His gaze seeks reassurance again. Jeb nods again.
“I get it’s a weird one, he just comes back from the dead, hands me a wii game, and doesn’t leave after the fact! I thought it’d just be a one night stand, yknow? But nah, apparently Chet’s a committed man now. Barrel blastin’ his way into my heart….”
The two continue hugging in silence, but neither can let it sit long.
“I guess that’s what Rex feels like for you..”
“Yeah. It’s.. awkward. I don’t.. think I like Terry anymore. I don’t think I ever liked Terry. I just needed somewhere to go. And he liked me.”
“Didn’t you know Chet already though?”
“He’s told you about that?”
And when Scott answers “why wouldn’t he?” Jeb realises he’s kept a lot more to himself than he should have.
“You don’t wanna meet his brothers. The oldest one is fine, but holy shit that middle one. Never. Again.” Jeb breaks, both free from the hug and from the dam he’s built around his memories.
Scott leans back in his chair, listening intently.
“You think Chet’s neurotic? Maybe a little too fashion forward? It’s not just him, it’s the middle one. I don’t even remember his name dude-“
-
Hours later, when Rex is finally home, but Jeb isn’t just yet ready to do the whole hanging out thing, Jeb sits under the dim yellow light of a lamp in Scott’s upper living room, taking in the soft surroundings of an area barely lived in.
He raises his arm, watching the golden light cascade onto his skin, studying how the shadows curve around his fingers as he lazily flexes and contorts his hand.
There’s a soft knock on the wall, porcelain clinks against the door.
Jeb looks away from his hand, brows swept together and lips pursed. He’s almost pouting, strangely worried.
“Hey..” Scott keeps his voice low, he’s holding a sandwich.
Cut triangular, crust left on, side of chips.
“I thought you might want a snack.” He places the food on a small table beside Jeb’s chair.
“Are you sure?” Jeb questions, eyeing Scott nervously. “I don’t wanna take food-“
“ Jeb. ” Scott practically breathes his name. “Yes, yes I’m sure. We keep going over this.”
“The food thing?”
“Yeah, the food thing. Just eat. It pisses me off when you refuse it.”
“Reverse psychology doesn’t work on me.”
“Just eat the f#ckin’ sandwich man…”
-
Jeb’s not sure if he’ll ever be used to this domestic shit. Rex’s arms are wrapped around his waist, gently swaying side to side.
“I like what he’s done with the place,” Rex speaks softly, for once in his life, “the uh.. the paint’s nice. Scott just left it white when we moved in.”
“I honestly uhh.. never noticed,” Jeb forces a quiet laugh, reaching one hand into the cabinet above them. “He just drags me into the basement whenever I get here.”
Rex nods against his shoulder, watching as Jeb’s hands flit over the packs of cookies and into the plain crackers.
“Those are stale, I think.” Rex sees right through him, reaching his own hand up to guide Jeb’s back to the sweets.
“Well I don’t-“
“Terry called earlier. Don’t start.”
Jeb nods, pulling three different types of biscuit out of the cabinet, nudging Rex’s other hand off his waist and handing two to him. Rex presses a soft kiss to his temple.
Light steps followed by a heavy stride, the two of them walk single file back down the stairs and to where Scott, and his half dead blanket heap, lay on the corner section of the couch, watching a long video essay about God knows what.
The very same “he” that painted the kitchen peeks his head from his blankets.
“They’re back..” he mumbles to Scott, as the two separate and sit either side of them.
“You guys get y’r snacks?” Scott nuzzles his head into Chet, not bothered to look at them.
“Yeah, I got uhh… sh#t I dunno, the chocolate mint things, from target, you know the ones.” Rex stares at the items in his hands, “Aaand, the uhh.. the normal chocolate chip. Jeb got the fancy ones.”
Jeb nods, opening the crinkly packet.
“I’m glad someone likes them, they’re always what I had at home.” Chet glances over at Jeb, giving one of very few sincere smiles.
And maybe.. maybe he is getting used to all this.
He goes to bed that night with his hand in Rex’s back pocket.
-
Hands roam and breaths are traded for carbon dioxide- monoxide? Which one was the poison one?
The light confusion in his own self-narrating mind feels accurate, Jeb feels like his lungs are full. He’s choking on thick breaths and Rex’s tongue, was this meant to feel like an ugly fight?
It wasn’t rough. It wasn’t forceful. There was a fan on them, the sheets were off, their bodies weren’t tangled.
Rex was on one side of the bed, and Jeb was on the other. Only joined by hands groping and mouths clashing.
It had been months since this began, but it takes a while to break from 13 years of habit.
Jeb isn’t sure he’ll ever adjust to the body by his side being as wide as it is tall with tits to match, only ever used to small fragile objects of men falling into his lap, or being that fragile thing breaking as it’s thrown against a wall.
He likes to think of himself as poetic, all while worrying he’ll never stop existing for Terry, but in this moment there’s a haunting awareness hanging over his head- when did Rex stop kissing him?
“Dude.”
He looks panicked.
“Jeb. Jeb? Are you okay?”
A shiver runs up his spine, he shakes his head softly, blinking rapidly.
“Uh-yeah,” Jeb coughs, looking away for a moment, “I started thinking-I dunno-“
“You don’t wanna do this tonight?”
“.. I.. no. No I really-“
Rex doesn’t mean to interrupt him, he only sits up, but something stirs in Jeb’s gut that shuts him up, if only for a second, when he does.
“I mean!-if you want to! I can!” He’s speaking again, immediately flung into panicked action, reaching out for Rex’s hand.
“I’ve been flaccid this whole time.” Rex looks him dead in the eyes. “Don’t start feeling guilty.”
“.. eh?” Jeb cocks his head.
“You feel guilty and offer to do things you don’t want to when you think someone’s mad at you, you don’t want to f#ck. I’m not mad about that.”
Jeb stares into his eyes for just a moment, darts them away, and sits up straight.
“I think I’m gonna get a divorce.”
“Wait. Wait WHAT?! It’s not like I don’t like that idea but what does that have to do with-“
“Rex, this is like. This has… everything to do with that.” He swerves his head back around to Rex again, studying his face. “I don’t tell you what he’s actually like all that often, but… man. This is the first time I’ve said no to sex in years. And.. it feels good! It feels great!”
He throws his hands out, smiling, “I said no today! I’m too tired! And I’m happy about that!”
Rex still doesn’t get it, but.. he doesn’t have to. He simply leans closer to Jeb, pressing his head into Jeb’s side.
“You said no today, and I’m proud of you.”
“Love you, Rexy.”
“You know I love you too.”
Chapter 8: Hate, Rain On Me
Summary:
BOOM SECRET TERRY EPILOGUE DROP RAAAAHHGH
(One year time skip, this chapter takes place during 2022)
Chapter Text
It’s been a year. A long, long , year. The divorce papers have at long last been finalized, and Terry’s just about ready to pack another few shots and hit the highway.
Unfortunately, his support group surrounds him, and in the moment it feels like an insult.
They’d dragged him to a bar downtown, with Jerry, ever the functioning alcoholic, leading the way.
The bar is brown and orange in tone, windows at the front stained glass red and green. Just a small half empty local place. Nothing fancy.
Perfect for lonely, freshly divorced, broken men.
And that disgusting JabMohs combination that’s haunted him for so long can’t find him here. Jeb’s too good for drinking now, no matter the sneaky sips of beer whenever he’s at a gettogether.
A careful hand ends up on his shoulder, and it rips Terry from his destructive train of thought.
“Stop it.” Scott mutters, scruffy facial hair glimmering under the dim yellow lights with dribbled beer after pulling a revolted expression at the taste. “Stop thinking about it, just.. calm down.”
The younger man’s reassurance is taken with a grain of very disgruntled salt. Terry nods, shrugging the hand off his shoulder.
Terrence Larry Lesler is a grown man with a tough upbringing and an independent nature. He doesn’t need Jeb. He doesn’t need anyone.
And he doesn’t need these clowns here either. But that won’t stop them from following him like he’s the ringleader of their little circus.
He scans his troupe of fools.
Scott to his right, visibly wincing as he tries his best to get the drink down his gullet.
Jerry on his left, with Target Employee beside him. The therapist is listening with respectful silence as Target, as per usual, manages to make everything about his dead brother.
An ode to such grief, to lose the boy so soon. He truly was only a boy, after all. Seventeen years of age. Coming up to his eighteenth that November. Terry can see the corpse clear as day. The blood soaked into Scott’s warm beige carpet, he knows Scott never got it out, lost his deposit on that place.
Terry wishes it was himself that got struck. Not out of a selfless survivor’s guilt, but as awful as it sounds, he just wants to feel that nothingness surrounding him once again.
And this time, never come back.
Still, he starts to reminisce on a time long forgotten.
Oh how Jeb missed him back then, the softer having recovered first, Jeb loved him once.
But he doesn’t love him now. Doesn’t love him like he did yesterday. Won’t love him ever again.
And Terry’s fine with it. As long as he says he is, then it’s true.
Jerry lands a firm slap onto Terry’s back, a wordless suggestion to cheer up.
Wordless in the moment.
“If it’s that bad then I’d recommend something stronger!” His voice suddenly booms, there’s not a single hint of joke in that statement.
He always forgets how loud the therapist is.
How is he even a therapist? Terry silently asks himself. With the alcoholism, the murder, the constant yelling and the mere fact that for a long time he wasn’t even licensed, you’d expect him to be out of a job.
And yet here he was, not just Scott’s, not just his, but the entire friend group’s therapist.
Through a cruel twist of his own mistake, Terry once thought it a good idea he register Jeb and himself up for therapy, their sessions one after the other so neither of them had to drive more than necessary.
And it appeared the two of them were too lazy to reschedule, as every week, they’d pass each other in the lobby, with not so much as a hello.
Maybe Terry would blush, out of affection or embarrassment though? He couldn't tell anymore.
Jerry thinks affection.
Terry would rather he didn’t think that.
And he realises he’s been slugging an empty glass.
Maybe that’s why Jerry told him to get something stronger, to save him the ridicule.
The tight fitting black turtleneck starts to make him feel ill. It’s so restrictive ,
it’s closing in around him.
It feels like Jeb’s warm little forearms, swinging around his neck ten or so years ago.
It’s horrible.
Terry starts to sweat, or sweat more than he previously was, panic sweeps over him.
He feels insane.
A new drink is pushed toward him, no other thought goes through his head. It’s only an impulsive need to choke on the bitter liquid.
Well shit. Terry concludes that the doctor was correct.
Another firm pat on the back.
“Good boy!” Jerry laughs, smiling down at him.
Terry, with the most aggressive body language someone as frail and lanky as himself could muster up, gives the most genuine smile he’s shown in years in return.
It’s hardly a smile, more just a smirk with wide eyes.
“OH!-“ Jerry whips his head around to the Employee yet again “And happy birthday, Tanner.”
“Aren’t we here for Terry?..” Target mumbles back. “And don’t call me that, it’s too formal!”
Tanner.. he has a name?
But he doesn’t have enough time to think, as the bell at the door dings, and some overly familiar giggles delight his ears.
Jeb, who cannot drive at thirty three, has somehow gotten himself to the bar.
Terry turns.
Ding! There goes the bell! You’ve lost! He’s here!
There’s a large hand with dark thick creeping up it’s wrist on Jeb’s waist, and the giggles turn into a gasping laugh as the two of them stumble over to Scott, who at some point had moved over to the front windows without Terry’s knowledge.
Maybe he knew they were coming.
Unfortunately, Rex catches Terry’s intense gaze and comes striding over. His heavy footsteps audible on the wooden floor.
Terry didn’t even get a chance to speak, only sputters as his large hand slaps him on the back.
“Hey, Terry!” Rex draws out the ‘err ’ with his oddly placed accent and strange tone.
“Rex.” Terry coughs as he speaks, glaring at the larger man.
“How’s it goin’ man!” He’s smiling, looking directly at Terry. “Twenty one huh? Man, I met Teej when he was fourteen.. that’s crazy, he’s still just a kid to me..”
There’s a bittersweet feeling in how he’s speaking, Terry’s waiting for a bombshell about Jeb.
“Why are you talking to me.” Somehow falls from his mouth, bewildered and plain, flat toned in a whole new way.
The saddened smile drops into rage.
“Come the f#ck on, man.” Rex groans. “I’m trying so hard to be nice to you! I get it sucks that Jeb realized he didn’t need to be treat like shit and left you, but it’s Target’s f#ckin’ birthday, and you’re making it all about yourself.”
Rex stands up, eyes scanning the bar for his other half, spotting him laughing in a corner with Scott.
“Try talking to Tanner, just stop.. Like… imagining what I’m maybe doing to him.” Rex sighs as he walks away, grumbling ‘creep’ under his breath as he leaves.
That leaves him seething, Terry drops his drink, dashing off to the bathroom.
His hands land on the sides of a sink, staring deep into his own eyes.
They look dead.
CRASH-
Shattered glass splinters into Terry’s hand, a guttural scream rips through his chest.
His fist had collided with the mirror.
Within seconds he’s rolling on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he continues to scream, vision fading in and out from the pain.
Between the dark blotches and light patches in his eyes, he finds it all too bright, and finds a voice mumbling above him, gently pressing his body with a shoe.
Terry looks to the sky, a blinding light and silhouetted figure in front of him.
He reaches out mindlessly to his savior, bloodied hand squirting red into the white flares above him.
“You’re f#ckin’ pathetic,” a whiny tone airs in his ears. It remains quiet for what feels like 5 seconds yet 5 hours all at the same time.
“I’ve been mourning Warren all over again this whole damn week! And you’re here, breaking private property!”
The slim frame paces back and forth.
Terry murmurs under his breath “ Warren..?” , putting together that the two of them weren’t- aren’t just.. employees .
“People get divorced! That’s just life Terry! The love of my life is dead! I’ve had to move on with a new guy! His brother is alone out there! We don’t know what he’s gonna do!”
Somehow, it takes that for Terry to recognise that this isn’t an angel sent to berate him.
It’s just Scott.
His blurred vision attempts to trace the shapes of the younger man, watching the blobs that make his body shift back and forth as a panic attack visually begins to take hold.
”... you’re all exposition aren't you?” Terry mutters, repeating Scott’s latest rant in his mind.
He stills, even in his patchy vision Terry can see him clench his fist.
”What does that even mean?! ” Scott storms over once again, flying his sneaker into Terry’s sunken stomach.
Blood flies from Terry’s blue lips, Scott catches an unpleasant glance at rotting yellowed teeth.
”Y-you..” he coughs again ”over-explain yourself. Think you’re speaking a different language or something.. Or maybe you’re a paranoid narcissist. You think this is the Truman show.” Terry smiles, even if slightly, crows feet getting more defined as he squints up at Scott.
”Get.-” Scott grabs terry by his thin upper arms ”f#cked.”
Abusing the older man’s light weight, Scott shoved him towards the bathroom door. ”You did this shit to Jeb for years , I’m not taking it either.”
Scott violently tears the sleeve from Terry’s cheap synthetic shirt, judging the quality of the bootlegged half asbestos half plastic plaid.
He grabs Terry’s hand, forcing him over to the sinks, running hot water over his hand as he plucks the pieces of glass out.
Terry hisses, squinting and whining at the stinging pain as Scott tends to his hand.
His safe hand wanders, pressing against Scott’s lower back.
Scott attempts to shake it away, tightly wrapping Terry’s thin hand in the ripped sleeve.
“I’m not paying for that. I’m giving the owner your address. If you don’t pay it I’ll get Targ’s cousin to ruin you. ” Scott rambles on again. “Cause you and I both know that this pumpkin shit isn’t what’s keeping you afloat.”
Between exhausted breaths, Terry gasps out “I.. need.. you .”
“You need a fuckin’ hospital.”
“ Take me-“
And with that, Scott heaves him upward, taking Terry bridal style in his arms.
He carries him, fading in and out of consciousness from blood loss, through the dimly lit bar, and a crashing wave of nostalgia washes over the older man.
But all too suddenly, he’s cold. The air is thin and screaming against his brittle body, and Scott is going back through the door, leaving him in front of the window.
Terry can vaguely see the shape of Jeb, watching over his frail body. Rex is behind him, two glasses and a bottle of wine.
Jeb’s holding his phone, clearly he still cares.
Good. That’s how Terry wants it.
-
-
…
Sixteen hours earlier, 5am, Scott’s House,
…
Jeb’s little shorts rode up his thighs as he shifted further into Rex’s soft embrace, revelling in the warmth he provided even if they had a blanket covering them and the couch was cloth, soaking in their body heat regardless.
November was colder than ever, and for this moment alone, that made Jeb happy.
“Targ’s birthday is t’day,” Rex yawned, leaning into Jeb’s hair as another car blew up on their TV screen.
“Like.. we missed it today, or later today?” Jeb asks, nuzzling into Rex further.
“Later today, he wants to go out for drinks.”
“Is Terry-“
“I don’t know,” Rex shakes his head, “if he is, he won’t do anything.”
“He f#ckin’ hates birthdays, probably cause they’re not all about him.” Jeb’s eyes feel heavy, he pushes further into Rex’s chest.
Rex chuckles, nodding, his attention turns back to the screen, Vin Diesel saying something about family, his hand slips down Jeb’s back.
“Love you.” He murmurs into his hair.
Jeb is too busy snoring to respond.
gaybie666 on Chapter 1 Fri 26 Nov 2021 03:15PM UTC
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Aborealis on Chapter 2 Sun 19 Dec 2021 12:06PM UTC
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