Matt
MATT
Tossing his to-go container of coffee into the trash outside, he entered the dining hall. Ethan sat at one of the fold-out tables where the men ate their meals or propped their feet up, concentrating intensely on his phone.
Just seeing him washed away the faint feeling of irritation and the ache in his back from scrubbing the garage floor. He never knew how the damn thing always got so dirty, but he didn’t care anymore.
They had been official for almost a week, and couldn’t decide if it felt longer than that or shorter. He also didn’t know if the feeling would stick, but he hoped it would. Only a week with Ethan, and he already felt happier to see him than he could ever remember feeling with anyone else before.
In his opinion, the weekend hadn’t been long enough, but to his surprise, Ethan had stayed the entire time. His father had kept out of their hair for the most part, but hadn’t exactly returned the favor. Ethan hadn’t minded when switched his attention to his father, whether talking to him or arguing with him when the man got stubborn about something. And the moments they’d had alone were still buzzing in his thoughts.
He stepped up behind Ethan, the man grunting and looking up. A smile spread over Ethan’s face, and ’s heart skipped a beat. That smile always got to him, no matter what he was doing or who he was around. He was thankful no one seemed to notice how drawn to Ethan was or how distracting he found him.
They were at the station, and worse still, Keith was lurking somewhere. A flare of rebellion sparked in him and he bent forward, wrapping his arm around Ethan’s neck and hugging him from behind. Ethan didn’t tense, in fact, he leaned back into the touch with a low, pleased chuckle.
Warmth flooded at the light gesture. It was such a small thing, but it lit from within, and he gently nuzzled Ethan’s temple. That earned him a warm hand, strong fingers squeezing his forearm.
Throwing caution to the wind, leaned forward just as Ethan tipped his head back. took the opportunity, pressing their lips together in a soft, gentle kiss. Another heady rush of warmth flashed through him as he felt Ethan smile against his lips, fingers still warm and firm on ’s arm.
“What the fuck ?” a horrifyingly familiar voice bellowed.
“Shit,” Ethan swore, pulling away from , and they turned as Keith advanced on them.
It was the most pissed had ever seen the man, even when Elias had threatened him. Keith’s face and neck burned lividly with color, his pupils swollen to the point of almost completely overtaking the rest of his eyes, and would swear every muscle and tendon was sticking out as he stomped toward them.
“Keith,” Ethan began and then fell silent, mouth moving silently.
couldn’t blame him. He was at the same loss for words as Keith reached them, chest rising and falling rapidly. He’d known it was a bad idea for them to do anything at the station, especially when Keith could be around any corner. His stomach twisted in knots as Keith’s eyes turned toward him, blazing with fury.
Worse yet was the look of blind terror and indecision on Ethan’s face as he remained frozen in the chair. Eyes wide, mouth slack, could see his breath catching, knuckles white as they gripped the tabletop and the back of the chair.
“What the fuck are you doing with my brother?” Keith raged.
opened his mouth, no idea what he was going to say. He was spared having to come up with an answer as Keith’s hands closed around the collar of his shirt and shoved him backward. hit the wall, pain radiating from the back of his head as it thumped against the plaster.
“You son of a bitch!” Keith screamed. “Not him, don’t you fucking dare!”
“Keith, stop!” Ethan called, voice strangled as he pushed out of his seat.
grunted, wrapping his arms around Keith’s wrists as he tried to push him off. “Keith. Listen to me. Calm down.”
“Don’t you tell me to calm down,” Keith hissed, eyes burning into ’s. “Don’t you...you...you?—”
“Don’t,” grunted, trying to free himself before things escalated further.
“I’ve put up with your shit for years,” Keith grunted, slamming against the wall again. “And everyone sticking up for your disgusting bullshit. But you are not doing that to my brother. Not to him.”
Ethan was behind Keith, trying to pull his brother away, but to no avail. ’s head swam as his head hit the wall again, and he couldn’t hear Ethan’s words. He could hear Keith quite clearly and stared at the man in shock.
His shit? What had ever done but live his life quietly? He didn’t consider himself a saint but always tried to keep his parents’ lessons close to heart. He tried to be a good person, to understand people, and to forgive them.
had even tried to forgive Keith. Ignorant and nasty as the man was, there had to be a reason for his anger, his hate. was happy to live without intruding on another person, but Keith always took issue with his existence. No matter how much left him alone, no matter how much he tried to keep walls between them, sparing both of them from having to deal with the other, Keith was always there to break them down and give him hell.
“Let go,” whispered, feeling Keith’s fists beginning to push into his throat.
He couldn’t tell what Ethan was doing, and he’d swear there was more noise in the station than before. Blood pounded in his ears as he stared into Keith’s eyes, so full of unrestrained hate and fury it left sick to his stomach.
Keith pulled him toward him again, and knew he would slam him again, or maybe even worse. His stomach clenched, breath stopping, and he felt the dam break.
He had done nothing to this man except be himself. And here he was, being punished for the crime of existing, for being who he was. Yes, Keith was furious about Ethan, but this was so much more. This was years of stupidly placed hate and ignorantly lain blame. He hated for who he was, and there was no excuse, no remorse.
shoved Keith away, slamming himself back into the wall. It was enough to make Keith stumble. It wasn’t enough, and lashed out. His frustration, hurt, and anger boiled over as he slammed his fist into the man’s face. Pain lanced up his arm, but didn’t stop, shoving off the wall and tackling Keith onto the foldout table behind him.
The table buckled beneath the sudden weight, crashing to the ground in a cacophony that barely heard. All he saw was Keith’s face, pinched with confusion and pain but bearing the same sneer had seen for years. lashed out again, connecting with the side of Keith’s face. And again, and this time, he felt something give, heard a crunch, and saw the sudden spray of blood smearing Keith’s twisted features.
It was only when huge arms wrapped around him, yanking him off his feet as though he weighed nothing, that was forced to stop. He flailed, trying to break free and get to Keith. It didn’t matter how much he threw his arms and kicked his legs, though, he was held tight by the giant of a man who held him close to his chest.
“Stop,” he heard Elias’s familiar voice hiss in his ear. “, stop. It’s over.”
“Fuck you,” screamed at the bloody-faced man as he sat up. “Fuck you! Fuck every fucking thing about you!”
Keith’s face twisted. “Motherfucker.”
“Get fucked!” heard himself yell, still fighting against Elias. “You absolute bastard. I never did anything to you. It was you! It’s always been you, you hateful, bigoted, spiteful prick. Don’t ever fucking touch me ever again, you hear me? Elias, let me the fuck go!”
“Not happening,” Elias grunted in his ear, still holding him tight.
Keith stood up, but Cade was there at his side, laying a hand over Keith’s chest. The furious man glanced at Cade, who only shook his head in warning.
“You started it, man,” Cade told him. “You try to finish it, and I’ll tell Elias to let go. And it looked like he was the one who was going to finish it.”
“Keith,” Ethan breathed from somewhere to ’s right. “Please, stop.”
The absolute heartache in Ethan’s breath managed to punch through ’s fury-induced fog. His head snapped to the man, heart sinking when he saw a bruise on Ethan’s face and what looked like a black eye forming. Apparently, Keith had lashed out when Ethan tried to separate them. But the pain filling Ethan’s eyes really did it for , deflating the last of his rage.
“Oh God, Ethan,” whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
Keith had already turned on Ethan. “What the hell were you thinking? I told you to watch him and look what he’s fucking done!”
Ethan’s mouth opened and closed, and ’s heart broke as he saw a shudder go through him. His hazel eyes, normally bright and eager, were dull and awash with pure terror. ’s heart went out to him, knowing then exactly what Ethan was going to do and not blaming him in the slightest.
“I have to…” Ethan began, voice fading as he turned away, shaking his head.
And then he was gone, pushing past Davis, who stood in the doorway, gaping at the disaster. let out a low moan, hanging his head. What had he done? Not only had he exposed Ethan before he was ready to tell Keith, but then he’d lost control and worsened the situation.
“?” Elias asked, voice gentle and quiet.
“I’m okay,” told him. “You can let go.”
Keith’s head snapped toward him. “You. Stay away from my brother, you?—”
Cade’s hand slammed onto Keith’s shoulder, squeezing hard enough that Keith winced, and Cade’s knuckles turned white. “I really, really wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you. Otherwise, it’s not you’ll have to deal with.”
Davis inched into the room, looking unsure. “Keith. C’mon, man, enough. It’s done.”
Keith yanked away from Cade, stumbling toward Davis but not coming close. “Don’t fucking tell me you’re alright with this shit. You gonna be like one of them too?”
Davis leaned away from Keith’s fury. “I mean, the fight’s done. It’s over. Stop trying to make it worse. You need to get checked out.”
“He means gave you the beating you’ve been missing for years,” Cade told him with a smirk.
And to make matters worse, Chief Irons’s voice boomed into the room as the man appeared in the doorway. “What the hell is going on in my station?”
Everyone looked at , who was still being held, albeit loosely, by Elias, and at Keith who was still seething. Chief Irons looked between the two of them, eyes narrowing.
He snapped his head toward Davis. “Get this one to the clinic. If that’s not a broken nose I’m looking at, I’ll retire on the spot.”
“I’m fine ,” Keith spat out.
“You’ll go to the clinic if you want a chance of keeping your job,” Chief Irons told him.
For a moment, swore Keith looked tempted to tell the chief to shove the job and stomp off. Instead, he shot a venomous glare and stomped out, careful not to bump into Irons as he went.
Davis followed him, stopping to glance back at and wince. “Sorry, man, I really am.”
And with that, he was gone, leaving , Cade, and Elias to face the chief amid the ruin of the dining hall. Apparently, the fight had done more than break one table. There was a puddle beside it, as one of the chairs had somehow slammed into the coffeemaker, spilling it all over the floor. Bits of the table lay scattered about, and a few chairs were bent under it when it broke.
“So,” Chief Irons said, crossing his arms and looking between the three of them. “Someone want to tell me what happened here?”
“That,” Cade began slowly, “is kind of a good question.”
“I know you three boys are friends, but don’t start coverin’ up. I can always look at the cameras later,” Chief Irons warned them.
“They showed up...later,” told him miserably. “They didn’t see the whole thing.”
“Yeah, all we saw was beating the living shit out of Keith,” Cade said.
“Cade,” Elias warned.
“What? He did. And the bastard had it coming for ages.”
“Cade.”
“What?”
“Stop.”
Chief Irons was looking at . “This true?”
“I…” sighed, slowly nodding. “Yeah. It was me and Keith.”
Chief Irons grunted. “Never knew you had it in you, Howell.”
winced but said nothing. He wasn’t exactly proud of what he’d done.
“You start it?” Irons asked.
Elias scoffed. “Chief, be real. We both know Keith has been an ass to from day one, and we know why .”
“True, we do,” Irons agreed. “But why pick a fight this time?”
looked away. “It’s kind of personal, sir.”
“Personal?” Chief Irons snorted. “Yeah, that’s why I’m asking, son. If he’s coming at you for your whole, uh, liking men thing, that’s him out the door.”
“It’s not,” struggled, trying to find the right way to put it without blurting it out, “exactly that.”
“He saw you and Ethan, didn’t he?” Cade asked.
’s head snapped up, eyes widening. “You know?”
Cade shrugged. “I mean, you’re kind of obvious. You spent the first couple of weeks tripping over yourself, literally, every time he showed up. Didn’t figure him out until a few days ago. Turns out, he’s as obvious as you, just with less chance of injury.”
Chief Irons grunted. “You’re tellin’ me that his brother?—”
sighed, closing his eyes. “Yes.”
“And with you?”
“Yes,” said quietly, knowing that wouldn’t be a thing anymore.
Chief Irons whistled. “Bet that was a bit of a nasty shock to ’em. All the shit he’s tried to give you, and his own brother?”
“I don’t need the reminder, sir,” told him softly.
“No, I’m sure you don’t. Still don’t change what happened. If what you say is true, it’s that boy’s time to go. I tolerated it because he kept his hands to himself, but this is too much,” Chief Irons said, shaking his head.
“Don’t,” said in a hurry. “Please, Chief Irons, don’t.”
Cade stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t be serious, , c’mon. This is your chance to be rid of him. You don’t have to be a nice guy about this.”
“I probably broke his nose. There’s not much nice about that,” told him.
“And he attacked you because you like dick,” Cade added.
turned to look at Chief Irons. “No, he attacked me because he was pissed I was dating his brother. That’s not the same thing. That’s not harassment.”
Chief Irons stared at him for almost a full minute before grunting. “No, I suppose it’s not. Fighting, though…from both of you? I can’t have that.”
Elias squeezed his shoulder. “Either you let the Chief fire him, or you both get in trouble for this, . Think carefully.”
“It was a fight,” said. “I’ll take the punishment for that.”
Chief Irons sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t get you, boy. But so be it. First off, you can clean this fucking mess up. And when you’re done, you’re gonna come see me in my office, and we’ll talk about your suspension.”
“Understood,” said as Chief Irons walked off.
“What the hell are you doing, ?” Cade demanded.
Elias patted on the shoulder. “Leave it be, Cade. It’s not our decision. You know that.”
“I know, it just…” Cade motioned at . “This was a prime opportunity.”
“Everyone has to make their own choices in life,” Elias told him, and though it sounded benign enough, sensed the weight of meaning behind it, one he didn’t catch.
Cade seemed to, though, his lip curling. “Fine. Fine. Whatever. Let’s get a mop.”
shook his head, staring over the mess. “You heard Chief. Me only.”
“Aw, we can help,” Cade insisted.
“I think,” Elias said, stepping over the ruined mess of the table and taking Cade by the elbow. “That was a hint for us to give him space and time.”
Cade glanced over his shoulder, worry twisting his features. “You know where to find us if you need us. And call us if you need one of us to come over, alright? You don’t have to do this alone, .”
smiled at him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
When they were gone, the smile fell from ’s lips as he stared at the mess. The jumble of wood, metal, and plastic, spattered with food, coffee and some of Keith’s blood, all seemed to be a perfect result for the day he was having.
In seconds, everything that seemed stable and steady had fallen apart and exploded . Now, all that was left were pieces of what once was, never to go back together. And just like the people, the objects were stained and bloodied.
Before he let the prick of tears take hold, wiped his face, took a breath, and went to find a mop and broom.