"So you're the psycho that's been fucking my—"

"Fucking my—"

"...my—"

My?

His what?

Joseph was starting to see red; it took quite a bit to get him riled up. But he's been on a violent streak lately and the words kept playing in his head like a broken jukebox. He had the other man against the brick wall, tattooed fingers clawing at his wrist, crushing Ezekiel's trachea.

He needed to take it easy before he actually killed the guy, not kidding when he said getting out of a murder charge is a lot trickier than it seems. The blond forcibly yanked his own arm away but stood stock still, visibly glaring down at the shorter still having a coughing fit.

"I'm gonna preface this with somethin' simple, ain't shit," he spat at the ground in front of him, missing his ugly Balenciagas by a narrow margin "yours 'round here. My family owns this fuckin' county; pigs, hospitals, lawyers. You want somethin', you ask. So, I'll make this easier for both of us because I promised I wouldn't break your legs. What the fuck do you want with mine?"

The raven-haired man rubbed at his inked throat, still wheezing but had enough wits about him to keep that sneer on his face. Joseph folded his arms and waited. He had all the time in the world to sort this out.

"What..." he gasped again, "did you do to Kylie?"

The quarterback paused for a second, that was his first priority?

"Nothin'."

Zeke pushed off the wall, "what the hell do you mean—!" taking an aggressive step in his direction before he pushed him back against the wall.

"Did I say you could move?"

He could tell the man was mad already, but Joseph's disrespect would send him teetering over the edge. That was the plan, though, because if he wanted to sock it to him, he'd need a reason, and what's better than the classic 'he swung first?'

And swing first, he did. The taller boy didn't know if Ezekiel was still disoriented from the lack of oxygen or if anger sped up his reflexes, but he easily evaded the fist heading his way. Joseph couldn't afford another blow to the face, regardless.

It had only been about a day and a half since his last altercation with Hunter, and he still needed a few more weeks to heal. His knuckles connected with the other's nose, a satisfying 'crack' resonating his ears. He shook out his already battered fingers and grinned.

"It'll be somethin' more important next."

Seeing Ezekiel tilt his head back with a wince and cradle his now bloodied nose quelled the bloodlust running through Joseph for the moment.

"You're insane."

He relaxed his posture with an exhale, loosening his shoulders and unclenching his jaw in the process.

"Maybe, sure you still wanna do this?"

He glowered at him warily; the quarterback watched him study his body language. Probably anticipating another broken bone just in case the wrong thing came out of his mouth again. He eventually shook his head 'no.'

"I'm gonna keep this short and sweet then. As I said, I didn't do anythin' to Kylie. My brother, on the other hand, is a different story. You don't need to know the details, but she got into some stuff at my house she had no business seein'. The only way to keep her out of harm's way and cover for my brother's crazy ass was to shut her up and lie about it."

The shorter man still looked skeptical, pulling himself up straighter to lean more of his weight against the wall.

"So you're telling me it was all fake? Everything she told me, the rumors, your abusive 'relationship,' all of it?"

Joseph laughed before answering with a "yup" Ezekiel should be the last person inquiring about an abusive relationship. He didn't want to pity the guy, but he wasn't an unfeeling monster either, though.

He knew exactly what it was like—finding out that there was never a plausible reason to hate somebody in the first place. Losing the only thing holding all that nasty resentment together, he knew what would come next, too.

"Bullshit. She wouldn't lie to me about that kind of thing."

Denial.

"Listen, I ain't know her well enough, so I can't confirm or deny, that's the truth, though. I don't ever want to see you near this house again. Touch him and I'll fuckin' skin you."

He walked back over to the door, opening it and then shoulder-checking him on the way in. The blond wanted to slam it shut before locking it, but he'd decided against it.

The neighbors had probably heard enough out of him tonight already; he was hoping that his mouth wouldn't get Jericho in trouble. He felt a headache coming on, didn't usually get them, so it was probably a side-effect of his injuries.

"'Jericho?"

He carefully ran a hand down his face after looking around and not seeing the brown-haired boy downstairs anywhere. Joseph let out a frustrated growl. The quarterback doubted Ezekiel would be satisfied with the explanation he was given, and it definitely wouldn't be the last time they saw each other.

It didn't matter. If he ever touches Jericho again or finds out about it, he'll kill him. Because there was something else there. He's not the best at reading people, but he can easily recognize his own emotions in others.

The man cared about 'Cho in his own sick and twisted way, but clearly not enough to even use his real name in the few minutes they spoke. Joseph made his way up to the second floor and down the hall to the other's room, knocking before opening it.

He was stretched out on the bed, scrolling through his phone. The quarterback rounded the mattress before climbing in next to him and then over his body.

"Hi, Princess." 

He knew the nick-name annoyed him, his face would twist up whenever he'd use it, there was definitely a story behind that. The taller took the phone out of his hand before shutting it off and placing it on the nightstand when he didn't immediately pay attention to him.

"Cowboy."

Joey leaned down to kiss him, chuckling at the familiarity of the situation. A bedroom instead of the sterile bathroom at school, in love instead of pretending he was okay with just being 'the best friend.' He felt the tension leaving his body already.

'Honey, I'm home.'

"You walk up here? Thought I took care of that."

Jericho rolled his eyes, hooking a long leg around his waist, and flipped them over, wincing. Pushing him down until his head plopped against the soft pillow and strong thighs were suddenly on either side of his hips.

The blond let out a surprised huff, eyes nearly popping out of his head; putting one hand on each thigh to steady him and squeezed, fingers barely covering the expanse of the warm skin.

"You did; unfortunately, I had to drag myself across the floor. Didn't even want to see his shadow through the window. He leave?"

Joseph hummed, palms moving further up his quads and letting his thumbs massage the stretch marks on the innermost part. He felt the brown-haired boy twitch slightly against him, dug his nails in so he'd stop trying so hard to move away. Would have gladly carried him back up the stairs if he'd waited a little longer.

"How bad did it get?"

The quarterback grinned when he finally stilled.

"Pretty sure I broke his nose."

He heard him sigh into a chuckle above him.

"Joseph..."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry, but he tried to knock me out, no warnin' or anythin'. What I did, it was self-defense, right?"

Jericho mumbled with a raised brow, 'Right.'

"So what's my reward for not killin' him?"

He gave the other boy his biggest smile.

"Reward?" he put a hand on his chest, over the even heartbeat, and then leaned forward until their noses were almost touching, whispering, "What do you want?"

'Everything. Everything, everything—'

He acknowledged the intrusive thought and then tried to let it go. Too possessive and not the good kind either, fueled by his anxiety and irritation from earlier. He thought about other things, and many came to mind.

But there was only one Joseph wanted to do right now, wasn't joking in the least when he mentioned it on their FaceTime call.

"Turn around for me."

He raised an eyebrow but complied. Getting back up and onto his knees, maneuvering carefully until he was a familiar weight settling down on his waist this time, ass facing him. Jericho was already his. He had to keep reminding himself, though. The blond knew it was jealousy, but he really couldn't do much about it.

"Knowin' you trust me is the best feelin' in the world." he spoke quietly, fingertips tugging on the soft fabric of the shorts the other was wearing "take 'em off, everythin' but my shirt."

Finding out that the shorter boy was his first love hit him like a truck. So, he would keep him as long as he could, certainly not going to let some ex friend ruin his relationship. Anyone else that got in the way would be dealt with accordingly.

"Right here? What if I kick you in the face?"

"I won't let that happen, but even if it does, I can take it, sweetheart. Promise." He smacked the side of his thigh, rubbing the heated skin afterward, growling "off."

——————————————————————————

Jericho didn't know that a guy could eat ass like that, he didn't know what to make of the situation either. His cheeks were burning, still, and he was dead tired; the blond was so casual about it too.

Eyes closed and probably on the edge of sleep like he didn't just have him sit on his face 15 minutes ago. The brown-haired boy changed the shirt already, threw on a different pair of boxers as well, and contemplated whether or not he'd be joining him on the bed.

He'd already gone through multiple articles of clothing in one night, and Joseph's sex drive wasn't something he was used to yet. The other was also the kind of guy who put his partner's pleasure before his own but would make sure he got his fill afterward.

"C'mere."

The quarterback made even more space for him on the mattress and slowly patted the area next to his body, eyes still lidded. Jericho hesitated. If they weren't careful, he'd be sore in yet another place tomorrow morning, and he could barely walk now as it was.

"I'll massage your ass and let you play with my hair."

The blond laughed at how fast he filled up the empty spot next to him. It was an offer he couldn't pass up, nothing more than that. He felt the other boy kiss and then speak against the juncture between his neck and shoulder.

"I love you."

The hands kneading his sore muscles always felt heavenly, knew damn well where most of the pain was too because it was Joseph's fault in the first place.

"I love you, too."

His heart felt completely light for the first time in a while. Half an hour had passed, and neither of them was fully asleep yet. Trying to stave off the desire to do so in favor of spending more time with each other before it was time for the blond to leave in the morning.

The shorter kept his fingers in the golden hair, detangling the few knots he could find and lightly scratching his scalp.

"What do you plan on majoring in?"

He felt him bury his head further into Jericho's collar, murmuring, "Woulda did Kinesiology if I didn't get a scholarship to play football, you?"

Every institution in the region would give him a full ride and beg on their knees for Joseph to play at their school. He knew that for a fact.

"Physics on a pre-med track or nursing, back home, though. Carolina's alright, but I miss the city. My ma's a nurse, so I'll probably end up doing the same thing."

Joseph stopped his movements, "you're movin' back to Brooklyn for university?" Voice muffled by their proximity.

He was mostly just thinking aloud, so it slipped, but they'd never discussed plans after high school. Always so tied up with shit from the past amidst trying to live in the present that it never crossed his mind until now. Whenever there was a moment of peace, disaster followed right behind.

"That's the plan for now. I'm keeping my options open."

Joseph didn't respond after that. Jericho should've just shut the hell up. He didn't want to think about a future where they were together but half a thousand miles apart either.

It was always at the back of his mind, though. They still had time, but the further their relationship developed and the day of graduation was a negative correlation.

"Joey..."

The other remained uncharacteristically silent, wrapping his arms around Jericho's waist instead and pulling their bodies closer.

"Joseph."

He mumbled a disgruntled "what." And the brown-haired boy laughed softly, kissing the crown of his head and turning in his arms.

"You're not practicing what you preach, communication remember? What's on your mind?"

"You."

Jericho hummed.

"What about me?"

"How I'll be losin' the sunshine of my life in less than eight months."

"Hey, woah," managing to create enough distance so that he could see his face, "baby, look at me." he did, pouting as well. "Where am I right now?"

"With me."

"And whose am I?"

"Yours and mine."

"Exactly. So we need to stay right here where we're supposed to be, in the present and taking things one day at a time. We'll be okay."

He finally went back to cuddling him. Felt like they switched roles for the day, Joseph was getting rolled over by pessimism, and he'd been trying to reassure him for the last 10 minutes. There was only one other way he could think of to cheer him up.

"Will you go to homecoming with me?"

The blond snorted.

"Where's the finesse? The grandeur? And, you know I wanted to ask, had a creative ass way to do it too..."

Jericho rolled his eyes and yanked on a lock of his hair.

"Ask me then, damn. I've been waiting on you all night."

"Shit! Alright, alright. So, I know I've already spent a night in Parris, but it would mean the world if you'd spend one more with me at homecomin'?"

"...All you think about is sex."

The brown-haired boy felt lips on his throat, "You love that about me, though." And then a wide smile.

"Fine," he couldn't stop a grin of his own from forming "I'll go with you."

"Told ya you wouldn't wanna say no."