(TW - depression and self harm sorry guys)

Lafayette's P.O.V.

I woke up to a gunshot.

How I slept up until this point was beyond me, but when I actually did wake up, I saw James Reynolds fleeing the scene and Hercules limp on the floor beside me.

"Hercules!" I raced to his side, my heart pounding. He let out a sharp breath and I fumbled with my phone, calling 911. "Hercules, baby, stay with me."

I talked to the operator, explaining our predicament. Hercules was shot right above his gut, and was bleeding badly. The operator said it'd take about five minutes to get to our place. After that, she hung up.

"Baby, what happened? C-can you tell me? Talk to me... Hercules..." I noticed blood beginning to come from his mouth, staining his pink lips. "Baby... Don't leave me..."

~flashback~

Hercules P.O.V.

Laf had fallen asleep on me in the middle of watching Sleeping Beauty, so I took him upstairs and set him in bed.

I went back downstairs, watching TV until I heard glass breaking upstairs, like a window shattering.

My first instinct: to protect Lafayette. Thankfully, it wasn't the bedroom window that was broken, but the intruder must've been expecting me to go to Laf first because he had us cornered.

"Reynolds." I spoke softly, as to not wake my sleeping husband up.

"Mulligan." Laf's ex boyfriend responded, a wide smirk appearing on his face.

"What do you want, James?" He just kept his smirk, walking closer to me. I took a step back, defensively holding my hands out so he couldn't touch Lafayette.

"Why, my prince." James' smirk never faltered, and I stopped walking backwards. "You're not gonna get him. You'd have to go through me first." I continued to speak quietly, hoping this could be over soon and Laf would never have to know why we moved across the country.

James reached to his side, quickly pulling out a gun. "Thank god I came prepared." Adrenaline coursed through my body as I stood my ground. "You'll wake him up." I said, trying to find a rational way out of this.

James shrugged. "I'll be getting revenge. He'll learn not to leave me." I scoffed. "He left you for good reason, Reynolds. You abusive shit." He looked furious.

I knew that if he shot me, he would be done and wouldn't bother Laf again. So, my plan was to make him mad at me so I could protect my love.

"You'll never get him. I'll always be around to protect him." Reynolds chuckled coldly. "So you think." He pointed his pistol at me and shot, causing me to fall to the ground, a massive pain in my stomach.

~present~

Lafayette's P.O.V.

I held Hercules' head in my lap, sobbing. "Don't leave me, Baby.. Please.. It's going to be okay. I promise. We'll get you to the hospital and you'll be okay." He looked at me, blood trailing down his face from his stained lips.

"Laf..." His voice was weak and raspy. "Shh... Shh... Save your strength..." I rocked back and forth slightly, moving hair from his face. "Laf... I... I l-love you b-baby..." More tears rolled down my face. "Shh... I know... I know.... Stay alive for me baby... Hang in there..." He moved his hand, grabbing onto mine and clutching onto it for dear life. I let out choked sobs at his action. "It's going to be okay, baby..." He moved his head in a weak nod, and I let out more sobs.

His eyes closed halfway, and I caressed his cheek. "Stay awake... Until the paramedics arrive.. It'll be okay, I promise." He nodded weakly and I wiped a mixture of blood, sweat, and tears off his cheek.

It seemed like hours before the paramedics arrived, although it was only a few minutes. They lifted him onto a stretcher, and they let me ride with him in the back.

As soon as we got to the hospital, they sent me to the waiting room as they helped Hercules.

In this time, I called John.

It rang a few times before it picked up. "Laf? It's three in the morning. What's going on?" John's voice was groggy, I had obviously just woken him up.

I let out a choked sob, thinking back to the events of earlier.

I hear rustling on his side of the phone and a faint "Alex, get up." before his voice returned. "Laf? Where are you?"

My heart ached. I just wanted Hercules to be okay.

"Th-the h-hospital.."

I heard voices on the other side of the phone; John and Alex. They had a conversation before John returned his focus to the phone.

"We'll be there in... Five minutes. Don't worry, Laf. It'll be okay." After that, he hung up.

I couldn't do anything but sob. The one person I loved was on the verge of dying, and, if my suspicions were correct, it was all my fault.

If I hadn't dated stupid James Reynolds, this wouldn't have happened. My husband wouldn't be in the hospital, half dead.

I dropped my head into my hands and sobbed. I didn't care what other people thought about a grown man crying; my Hercules was in the hospital. That in itself scared me. Hercules was always the strong one; he was always there for me when something happened. Even after my depression squeezed it's way into our lives he still stayed with me. He was the rock I leaned on when the road got long.

John and Alexander entered the waiting room, immediately rushing to my side. They tried comforting me, but all their words were muffled by my sobs.

"What happened, Laf?" John's voice rang through out my loud cries. My body was racked with more sobs as I wept. John rubbed circles in my back, trying to calm me down, however, to no avail.

I could barely hear their muffled voices as the spoke behind me, but I couldn't care at the moment.

I sobbed until I couldn't anymore. I couldn't cry, couldn't breathe, couldn't live. I needed to know if he was okay. "Can you talk to us now, Laf? Tell us what happened." John's voice was soft and warm, as if trying to coax a child out from hiding.

My breath was shallow, and I couldn't stop inhaling sharply. I opened my mouth, trying to speak to my best friend, forcing words out.

"J-j-j-Ja-James R-r-r-Rey-Reynolds..." The only words I could manage to get out, and even then it was barely. However, John nodded in understanding.

"He'll pay, Laf. Don't worry. Everything will be fine." I nodded, but I didn't believe him. I wish I could, but I couldn't be too sure.

~The Next Morning~

I had fallen asleep at the hospital, waiting for news on Hercules. When I woke up, my head hurt and my eyes burned. I saw Alexander and John asleep on each other, making me wonder if I'd have that again.

After a few minutes, a nurse walked swiftly my way. She had long, curly blonde hair and tanned skin. She was pretty, but only if you were into girls, which I wasn't.

"You can see him now." I nodded, quickly getting up and following her to his room.

When I got into his room, I immediately collapsed by his bed, clutching his hand and sobbing again. He gently squeezed my hand, and I gasped slightly. I had assumed he was unconscious, but when I looked at him I saw his beautiful dark brown eyes looking at me weakly.

I brought his hand up to my lips, planting a firm kiss onto his knuckles. I used my other hand to wipe my cheeks; wiping away tears. He smiled weakly, causing me to smile back. Even with everything going going on, he was still strong for me.

"H-Hercules..." My voice faltered as I took ragged breaths. "Shh, baby.. It'll be okay. I'm going to be fine." I nodded, caressing his cheek. "I l-love y-y-you, baby..." He smiled at my words. "I love you too, Laf." I sniffled, smiling softly.

Just then, a doctor came in. She had short, black hair that was shaved on one side, and to be honest, she didn't look like someone you'd expect to be a doctor.

She clutched a clipboard, glancing at it. "Mr. Mulligan?" I nodded. Technically, that's both of us.

She looked at her clipboard. "We're going to move you to room thirty-eight in recovery. You should make a full recovery..." I smiled happily, looking to Hercules, who was smiling as well. I looked back to the doctor, who continued. "We're putting you on some pain medication. You'll be taking..." I zoned out for a bit. It was going to be okay!

(Legit only doing this coz I'm not a doctor and I don't know what medication they'd put him on and shit...)

"...You'll stay here for about a week so we can monitor your recovery. Visiting hours are eight to ten." She looked at me, and I hummed in acknowledgment. She nodded. "Nurse Sanders will be in to help you move there in a minute." With that, she left.

I looked to Hercules. "I told you everything would be okay." I nodded to him. "I know..."

After a few minutes, the blonde nurse came in, and I left, planting a small kiss on his forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow, babe. I'm going to go home and get some sleep." He nodded. "I love you, Laf." I smiled softly. "I love you too." And then I left.

~a few hours later~

It was lonely without Hercules. Our home was empty without him around, not to mention the fact that I had run out of my prescription of Sertraline and they were having trouble contacting my doctor to get more in.

This happened often, it should be resolved in a couple days. However, this time, I didn't have Hercules to help me through the raging depression that my medicines helped me fix.

I was laying on the couch. Everything hurt. Not in a physical sense, at least not yet. It was becoming unbearable. I couldn't be with Hercules. I couldn't text him, talk to him, call him. Nothing.

I knew I'd see him soon, but being without him hurt. I wanted to die, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave him here, alone. I had to be here for him.

That doesn't mean you can't hurt a little too.

I knew that the little voice in my head was right. This was my fault, and Hercules was hurting. I should pay for that.

I stood up, walking to the kitchen with trembling hands. I grabbed a knife, the sharpest one I could find.

Not too deep, not enough to send you to the hospital. You have to be here for him and you can't do that when you're in the hospital with him.

My hands shook as I gently set the knife against my skin. I pressed down and slid it across, creating a cut; not too deep, but enough to hurt. Enough to bleed.

Good. Now keep going.

My brain urged me on, like a whole different person, a different part of me I never realized I had.

I moved the knife down, making swift, repetitive movements on my arms.

More.

My brain continued to urge me on, and I couldn't seem to stop. It was addicting; slicing up my own arms, watching the thick, red blood trickle down, little bits at a time, seeing as the cuts weren't too deep.

Stop.

I removed the knife from my arm, admiring my work. My arm was covered in blood from the many cuts, and the red liquid fell onto the floor. I kept it off my clothes, though; it was bad enough I had to wash out Hercules' blood from my other outfit I had on earlier.

I threw the knife across the kitchen floor.

Now. Clean up.

I went to the bathroom, cleaning my arm and bandaging up the bad ones, not bothering with the other ones that would stop bleeding in a couple minutes.

I cleaned the floor, grabbing the knife and cleaning it. After this, all the smaller cuts had clotted, and so I went upstairs and threw on one of Hercules' hoodies. I hissed at the pain that shot through my arm as the sleeve caught on a few of the cuts, however, ignoring it and going back downstairs.

This became a nightly routine; slicing up my arms then cleaning it up. It wasn't like anyone was going to notice, anyways.

The day soon arrived where Hercules was discharged and could come home. My arms were sliced from my wrists to my elbows, barely any unharmed skin to be seen. It hurt like hell, but the emotional pain of having Hercules gone was ten times worse.

However, he was back now and I could finally stop listening to that stupid voice in my head. I would finally have a new voice. Maybe a better voice of reason.

We walked inside, hand in hand. As soon as I shut the door, Hercules pushed me against it, kissing me deeply. I moaned softly and he pinned my hands above me, taking advantage of my open mouth and sliding his tongue in. I moaned into the kiss as he held my waist with one hand, my wrists tightly in the other.

I had to try not to wince at the harshness he had put into my wrists. It hurt, but I couldn't let him see that. He pulled his mouth away from mine, exhaling the words "I missed you." before moving down and roughly kissing my neck.

What if he sees? Stop this, now.

I moaned softly as he nipped at my sweet spot. "Herc~" He quickly pulled off my hoodie before I could stop him, stopping abruptly. "Wh-what...?"

I looked down, pulling my arms away. "L-Laf...?" I didn't look at him.

"D-don't be mad a-at me.... I... It f-felt r-right... I... I... I c-couldn't stop...." He took my hand. "Oh, baby..." He examined my arms, gently running his thumb over a few cuts, causing me to wince.

"Désolé... I'm so sorry, Hercules.... I... I just... Désolé... Je suis désolé..." He pulled me into a large embrace. "Shh, baby... It's okay.. It'll be okay... I'm here now..." He sounded like he was about to cry, and it killed me. I broke down, sobbing into his chest.

He rubbed comforting circles on my back, holding me tightly. "Shh.... It'll be okay. We're together now.. It's going to be fine, baby."

I nodded.

We're together now. That's all that matters.

Word count: 2465

Yo, yo, yo. Look who's back with angsty fluff. Whoop.

I found out how bad I am at writing angst, even if I'm that one angsty teen.

I just can't. I can't kill off characters. It makes me cry.

It's also a matter of trying to get an angst prompt.

Anywhoo

Song: The Me Inside Of Me from Heathers

So yeah. That's it folks! Hope you enjoyed this one. See you guys later. Stay cool my little chicklets! Peace out!