.jpg)
"I'm sure you've done other good things," Cyrus soothed, "But if this is what you find tangible, and what makes you feel most content, then I'm happy for that."
He stroked his boyfriend's hair.
"I know I'm bad about dwelling on the past and mistakes I've made, too, but… I think that's something we can work on together. When this is all over, we can build a new life for ourselves, love."
“This feels like it’s the most important to me. More accomplished…” he replied, smiling wider at his boyfriend. He looked tired, but didn’t hint towards any sort of rest further than laying down.
“I’d like that. A new life, being free to work on our issues… sounds like a dream come true.”
"It really does, huh?" Cyrus mused, "It's actually within reach now too."
He returned the smile.
"You're very strong, and you'll pull through this.:
“That’s so strange to think about. It’s in reach… I’m so happy.” He laughed softly to himself, closing his eyes and sighing deeply.
“Mm thanks Cyrus… I love you a lot.”
"I love you too," Cyrus hummed sleepily, letting his weight sink back into the pillows.
He fought to keep his eyes open, despite the fact he'd had a cupof coffee and was in the middle of a conversation.
Even talking like this seemed to be sapping his energy.
Marcus slid closer to Cyrus, curling up next to him. He listened to the sleepy words, smiling softly. Cyrus was cute when he was sleepy. Marcus liked it.
He hummed softly to himself, closing his own eyes and relaxing into the bed.
"Wanna take a nap?"
"I don't think my body is making that a choice," Cyrus murmured in reply, "Even sitting here, just talking to you is making me exhausted."
He carefully maneuvered to press himself closer to Marcus so he could take in his warmth, cautious to not hurt himself any more.
“I’m sure you’re exhausted.” He replied with a soft laugh, reaching up to play with the others hair. “Sleep. I’ll be right here with you until you wake up, okay?”
Marcus knew he’d probably be out along with Cyrus, he just hoped he could wake up before the other did so he could help more.
"Okay," Cyrus replied softly.
He fell asleep alongside the other, but was weaving in and out of sleep the whole time. Occasionally, Cyrus woke up with his heart pounding, his thoughts racing. But he saw the sunlight trickling through the window and Marcus next to him. It was just reassuring enough.
Marcus was completely out himself. He was fast asleep, his mouth slightly open and drooling a little.
He stirred a little when Cyrus woke, though didn’t quite wake up.
It would take a little longer for him to open his eyes and wipe at his face, yawning.
“Mm I’m sore.” Was the first thing he said, pressing his face into Cyrus’s hair. “‘N you smell good…”
Cyrus had been lying awake for a bit, mulling over everything that had passed in the last day, but he managed a slight laugh when he heard Marcus.
"You're cute, love," he whispered back.
He started to reach over, but he suddenly felt even more like he had been hit by a truck, though he didn't vocalize it. He could probably have used stronger pain meds, but he didn't exactly feel like going through anything to get them.
“I’m not cute. You are.” He retorted sleepily, smiling softly. He glanced at Cyrus’s face, blinking at the light that offended his eyes.
“How do you feel? Do you hurt?”
(Sorry for the wait, it’s been a rough week.)
(That's understandable. Please take care of yourself first! Hope you're doing alright.)
"Mhm," Cyrus replied, "It's kind of getting worse before it gets better, I think. But I'll be fine."
He stayed laying down, as his body still needed the rest, even if he was awake.
(Thank you, just a bit of depresso espresso and my idiot decision to have 17 credits for school. I’m doing much better today)
“Rest all you need too…” Marcus murmured, closing his eyes once again. He sighed deeply, letting his stress-ridden body relax for a moment.
“I might have to go back to the gang house again. Just to get a few things done.”
(God, I feel that. I took 18 credits one semester and it was absolute hell. Good to hear you're doing a bit better though! That stuff can be pretty rough tbh. It's a lot to juggle)
"Okay," Cyrus agreed, his voice very soft and tired-sounding at first, "Please be careful, my love. I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you."
He paused for a moment.
"Do you want to see if Nina will stall Marx a bit?"
(Yeeaaaahhhhh it’s not too fun is it? XD I’m going to be smarter next semester and not take so many classes. Though 18 is a looott I don’t know how you managed that. I’m impressed)
“I’ll be the most careful I’ve ever been, baby. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to me. It’s just the standard check in. Marx shouldn’t be there and I just have to talk to Thomas.”
Marcus paused with Cyrus, his entire body tensing at the name spoken on a different tongue.
“Yes… please. I need him to be busy enough he won’t come for me. Not yet.”
(LOL trick question. I didn't manage it- at least not very well. I mean tbf one of my classes was stupid easy, but the same can't be said for the rest. And I also wasn't working in addition to school at the time.)
Cyrus gave a short nod.
"Okay, good to hear. Could you call Nina in here? I don't think I can get up," Cyrus said softly.
(OOOf. Thats a mood though. but dang. 18 credits is hard.)
Marcus stretched out his stiff muscles before he slowly sat up, nodding gently. "Yeah, I can. I'll go grab her. Do you know where she'll be?" He asked quietly, slipping off the bed and onto his feet with a large yawn.
He rubbed at his arms as he waited for a response, biting his lip. He hadn't been cutting or burning recently, which felt nice, but the older ones were just starting to heal now that they were able to, and it itched like crazy.
"If not in the kitchen or living room, probably her bedroom. It's two doors down, next to the little hallway closet," Cyrus explained.
His eyes wandered to where Marcus rubbed at his arms, but he didn't say anything else.
“Okay, thank you.” He leaned over to steal a quick kiss, smiling weakly. “I’ll be back. You rest up.” He hummed, leaving the comfort of the bedroom to look for Nina. He peeked his head into the kitchen, eyes searching.
Nina was pacing around the living room, on a phone call when Marcus came in. She was just finishing up, and hung up a few seconds later, then plopped down on the couch with an annoyed sigh. She heard Marcus come into the kitchen and glanced over at the bar area, where the kitchen and living room were divided.
"Did you need something?" she asked.
Marcus nodded gently, gesturing for her to follow him. “Cyrus does. Well, we both do but I don’t want Cyrus walking.” He replied quietly, offering a tired smile.
(I'm sorry, a bunch of stuff came up at work and school, and I haven't been in a good headspace to respond to anything.)
Nina tilted her head.
"Oh, is it about that 'favor' he wanted to ask of me?" she asked, "He mentioned something on our call earlier, though he didn't specify what."
The young woman followed Marcus back towards the bedroom, very obviously wary of what he might e about to ask her. After all, last 'favor' was to let him kill Lazarus, and that had been a disaster.
(You’re okay. You come first. Take the time you need to rest and recover. If you’re overwhelmed then you’re allowed to take a break. I won’t mind :))
“Yeah it’s the favor. It shouldn’t be too big of a thing, hopefully.” He murmured quietly, shivering at the thought that maybe he wouldn’t get the time he needed. Maybe Nina couldn’t hold Marx off.
Once in the bedroom, Marcus crawled back into the bed and curled up next to Cyrus.
"Ah, well, okay."
Nina leaned up against the doorframe in Cyrus' bedroom. He looked away from Marcus and up to meet her gaze.
"This is about Marx. The Silence leader," he said, "He's… he's basically under his thumb and has been for years. I don't know how much he's willing to share, but- but we need you to like… hold him off. He could seriously hurt Marcus next time he's around."
"Sounds like you're prolonging the inevitable," Nina replied, "Wait… unless… Don't tell me you're planning to kill him too? How far is this going to go?!"
Cyrus frowned.
"I… yeah… Look, Nina, if you knew half of what he did…"
"I can't keep getting involved in this shit, Cy."
"Nina. Just do something to hold him off for a bit. You have to touch base with him anyway."
He turned to Marcus.
"You understand the whole situation better than I do. Is there anything you'd like to add?"
Marcus remained silent. Terror clouded his mind when the conversation seemed to go down hill, when Nina put two and two together. She needed to get involved. If not Marcus could… Marx would… he squeezed his eyes shut at the thought, biting his lip hard enough he drew blood.
“Just tell him to stay… please. Tell him to stay and finish whatever work he’s doing in that other place. I can’t have him…” the panic rose in his voice, causing it to crack and falter. “Cyrus he’ll touch me again.” Marcus whispered quietly, hugging Cyrus’s arm.
Cyrus held Marcus close, stroking through his hair.
"Nina, please. Take whatever our old man did to me and multiply that by ten. That's what he's been through. I just need you to hold him off. That's basically no effort on your part."
Nina tilted her head.
"Cyrus… What exactly do you want me to do?"
She seemed to be considering. Nina wasn't completely heartless, especially not when it came to matters of rape and sexual abuse. She'd definitely caught on to the clues they were dropping.
Marcus shuddered lightly. He didn’t think his abuse was any worse than Cyrus’s but hearing his boyfriend say it stirred something in him.
The psychological manipulation, the sexual abuse, the raw emotions… it was a lot. That much Marcus would admit to.
“Convince him to stay on his mission.” Marcus spoke up, turning his face to look at Nina. “He’s in another city at the moment. He’ll want to come back and work out the new leadership change but you can convince him to finish what he’s doing, right?”
"What if I offered to meet him there to take care of power transfer stuff?" Nina suggested, "He doesn't need to come back here for that. What city is he in? I can always find other work to do there, chances are."
She shifted her stance a bit.
Cyrus continued to touch Marcus, trying to soothe him.
“The next one over. I think it’s called [insert creative city name here cuz I’m brain dead and I can’t think of anything creative 😂]… it’s not too far. It’s the other gang headquarters for us,” he explained softly, leaning into Cyrus’s touch. He offered him a weak smile, thanking him silently.