It had taken equal parts will, fear and pinning Jethro or Clay or Vincent or - you get my point - to the ground to stop them all from leaving before the signal.

The second they received it, however, all hell broke loose.

Damien was torn from Clark by his shoulders and, before anyone could really register what was going on, a fist collided sharply with Damien's jaw.

And another then with his nose.

Another his eye.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't Jethro they were pulling from Damien's chest. Nor was it Ophelia or Clay or Vincent or even Nick.

In fact, it had been Geo that yanked harshly enough to bring Damien off kilter and make him drop Clark heavily to the ground and it was George that was now sat on his chest, delivering punch after ruthless punch until his face was black, blue and bloody.

Vincent and Clay worked together to tug George away, Clay wrapping around him protectively, when the sound of sirens faded in. Zak and Ophelia shielded Darryl and Keres away bodily, despite Zak having a smaller stature than Darryl, and Jethro had immediately made his way to Clark's side, cradling him closely into his lap.

He delicately pressed Clark's head to his chest, gathering as much as he could of Clark's body into his other arm and holding desperately and tightly.

There was a pounding at the door and Geo was quick to answer, guiding police and paramedics in and answered questions left by the call. Apprehending and escorting Damien to the car was easy.

Prying Clark from Jethro? Not so much.

Jethro was in an almost animalistic state, curling around Clark possessively and dazed, even when approached by paramedics.

"Jethro, dude, you gotta let him go, they're going to help him. It's okay, Damien's gone." Zak tried carefully, Ophelia and Geo crouching beside him.

"He'll be okay, you just have to let them help him." Darryl murmured gently and watched as Jethro loosened his hold.

Just like that, the whirlwind was back in motion, Clark being whisked away with Jethro trailing helplessly. He was stopped, however, at the doors of the ambulance. "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't come back here."

Jethro peeled his gaze from where Clark was laid, distant, and took a moment to register what they'd said. "Please." Was all he asked in response.

The paramedic, clearly young and sympathetic, turned to address their coworker for a short second in question. The elder sighed before answering. "You better not get in the way, kid." Jethro shook his head in a silent promise, taking the step forward before being pulled back.

It was Ophelia.

"I'm going to his office." Jethro tilted his head, not entirely certain as to why she needed to tell him that now. "We all heard what he said. If there's any chance that that note is still around, Clark deserves to read it."

"Take someone with you." Jethro managed to reply. His reasoning was wordless yet heard. She nodded.

"Take care of our idiot, Ro." She murmured shakily and Jethro pulled her into a tight hug.

"I will."

////:\\\\

Mrs B
Lamb?
16:16pm
Care to tell me why I have hundreds of messages asking about Clark?
16:16pm

Kerrie
Well
16:17pm
You see
16:19pm

Mrs B
Is he alive?
16:21pm

Kerrie
Um
16:21pm

Mrs B
You children will be the death of me
16:27pm
Which hospital is he in?
16:27pm

Kerrie
[location shared]
16:27pm

Mrs B
And you?
16:27pm

Kerrie
?
16:28pm

Mrs B
Where are you?
16:28pm

Kerrie
About that
16:31pm

Mrs B
Where are you right now, Keres?
16:31pm

Kerrie
Hypothetically
16:32pm
If me, Zak, Darryl, Ophelia and Geo broke in to Damien's place of work in order to get something that may or may not be there for Clark
16:33pm
Would you be mad?
16:33pm
Hypothetically
16:34pm

Mrs B
Depends
16:35pm
Where is Damien during this?
16:35pm

Kerrie
Probably still in the back of a cop car
16:36pm

Mrs B
Then no
16:36pm
But know that your father would have a heart attack if he found out
16:37pm

Kerrie
That's why he'll never know :)
16:37pm

Mrs B
I'm away for two hours and everything goes tits up
16:39pm

Kerrie
In my defence
16:39pm
You already knew I shouldn't be without adult supervision xx
16:40pm
Seen

////:\\\\

"Darryl we cannot just go and ask someone, are you insane?" Zak hissed, holding tightly to Darryl's arm.

"Why not?" Darryl asked, looking between Zak and the small flock of people that inhabited the ground floor.

"Because we're breaking in, Bad! Do you not know what breaking in means?"  Zak asked, incredulous. Geo, Ophelia and Keres were simply watching the little lovers spat.

"Well, I'm going to go ask someone. Look, he looks friendly!" And before anyone could protest, Darryl was making his way towards a tall, angular man that was loitering by a movie-esque water cooler. "Excuse me?"

The man turned, looking Darryl up and down with evident confusion. "Can I help you?"

"Hi! Yes, my boyfriend and our friends are looking for Damien Bèste's office?" Darryl asked politely, smile sunny and bright. The man glanced along to where Zak, Ophelia, Keres and Geo looked like a heard of dear in headlights, Geo waving nervously.

"It's the top floor in the elevator but you'll need the code." He replied, to everyone but Darryl's surprise.

"Oh muffins, my memory is so awful, I must have forgotten it!" Darryl sighed, jutting out his bottom lip and knitting his eyebrows. "Is there anywhere in which I could get the code again?" The corners of his lips twitched and the man simply chuckled.

"Landi!" He called. A small woman popped her head above a large, outdated computer screen. "Have you still got the code to Damien's floor?" She nodded, disappearing behind the screen again for a moment before she rounded it with a slip of paper in hand. She held it out to Darryl with a smile and Darryl thanked her, receiving some sort of gesture in response.

"Thank you so much, I promise we won't be long! You won't even realise we're here!" Darryl grinned and the man smiled with a nod.

When Darryl came practically skipping back with the code in hand, Zak kissed the smug expression from his face.

////:\\\\

@Sapnap
I know you're all worried, we are too, but we promise to update you all once we know exactly what's going on. Everyone is safe, that we know.
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retweets      likes
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@fleep_floop
I am about to start barking. You better not be lying.
    |
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@sapnapp
Please focus on yourselves first. As long as we know you're safe, we can wait to hear the rest or never hear it at all
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@GoodUsername
Can we know which account got deactivated? It's okay if not, please look after yourselves.
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     @Sapnap
     It was Clark's account. Thank you, we will.
     ————————————————
     retweets      likes

////:\\\\

"Am I dead?"

Though the words were slurred on a heavy tongue and hoarse throat, Jethro was able to decipher them relatively easily.

"No but you tried your best."

He squeezed Clark's hand lightly between his own and waited, watching, as Clark took in his surroundings. He took twice as long simply staring Jethro up and down and three times as long frozen on their clasped hands.

"Are you my boyfriend?" Clark asked bluntly and Jethro found himself chuckling. And then he was laughing.

If he was entirely honest, Clark had no fucking clue why the very hot man sat beside his bed was laughing so hard but he decided he rather liked the noise. It made something shift in his stomach, and not in the really-need-to-shit way.

"Maybe." Jethro finally responded, not bothering to wipe the smile from his face.

Clark tilted his head like a dog before flinching, realising that was a bad idea. "Why maybe?" Jethro looked to be thinking for a moment.

"Can you keep a secret?" Clark nodded eagerly "I haven't asked you out yet. I was planning to, when things got easier."

"Yeah?" He asked, sounding much too elated. Jethro nodded. "Where were you going to ask me out to? I won't tell me."

"The aquarium, first. The one you always look at longingly when we walk past it. I'd take you round and tell you about all the fish there. I'd just be reading the signs but you wouldn't notice." Jethro began "then I'd take you to the planetarium, if the nights clear. The one with the massive telescope you always tell me about. I'd let you tell me all about the stars and the constellations. Half of it would be made up but I'd believe you anyways."

Clark looked as though he had the stars in his eyes already. "You should definitely ask me." He assured. "I think I'd say yes."

"You think so?" Jethro questioned, lifting Clark's hand to press his lips to the knuckles.

"Yeah."

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1.5k words

Look! Clark was just being a theatre kid! You guys don't want to unalive me anymore, right?

Feedback is welcome and appreciated!!

Yours, Dandelion