This chapter takes place the morning after last chapter.

Trigger warning for mention of sa and mention of abuse (don't worry, there's fluff, I promise /srs). Stay safe, my loves <3

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Grian's eyes opened, taking in a sliver of sunlight that barely managed to peak through the space between two dark grey, black-out curtains. Odd. His curtains were red, weren't they? He sat upright, pushing off a heavy blanket. When did he get a weighted blanket? A look around told him it wasn't even his bedroom he was in.

There were lots of Marvel and anime posters on almost every wall, which cancelled out the possibility that he was in Joel's bedroom, and shelves decked out in figurines and books. He didn't recognize much of anything, only being able to tell some of the posters were of Marvel characters because of the logos. He'd never seen any Marvel before. His mother never let him watch TV, and the only shows he watched were what was played at Jimmy and Lizzie's house.

But where was he?

The door creaked open, and in peaked a boy who looked a little older than Joel, though he had white hair. "Oh, hey, you're up," he said, then let himself in. "You feeling okay?"

Grian blinked. The other's face looked familiar, but he couldn't put a name to it. And trying to remember what happened before he fell asleep wasn't working either. "Where am I?" he asked. "And who are you?

The boy chuckled. "I'm Joel's friend, Etho," he said. "You're in my room."

"Why am I in your room?" Grian asked with his head tilted to the side.

Etho walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "You passed out yesterday in the kitchen," he explained. "I figured you'd want somewhere comfy to sleep, so I brought you in here. Are you feeling any better? Can I get you anything?"

Grian looked away. "My head hurts," he mumbled. "My throat is kinda dry..."

Etho nodded. "Pain killers and water. Anything else?"

There was a short moment of quiet, the only sound being the soft growl of Grian's stomach. His face flushed at the sound, and Etho snickered.

"And some breakfast, got it." He stood up and seemed to almost brush off his legs as if he were covered in dirt. "What do you want?"

Grian looked up at the other with curious eyes. "You're... letting me choose?"

"No, I'm asking the Enderman over there," Etho deadpanned, pointing to a plush Enderman that sat on a shelf above the bed. "Yes, I'm letting you choose. It's your meal."

"Oh. Right, of course." Grian shifted. "Uh... What do you have?"

Etho hummed. "Well, I have muffins, waffles, bread for toa-"

"Do you have strawberry jam?" Grian asked with wide eyes.

"Are you kidding? Who doesn't have strawberry jam?" Etho snorted. "Lemme guess, toast?" He laughed again at Grian's excited nodding. "Alright, come on."

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Jimmy stood in front of the door to Scott's hospital room, contemplating whether he should just go back home with Lizzie and Daniel.

"No," he told himself. "Scott's probably having the worst time of his life right now. He needs comfort." He looked down at the box of chocolate and the cookies and cream milkshake in his hands. "Hopefully this helps him feel better." He knocked on the door, letting out a sigh of relief when he heard Scott's voice tell him to come in.

Scott gasped when Jimmy stepped inside the room, looking like he was going to cry. "Jimmy-"

"I brought chocolate and a milkshake," the blonde said. He walked over and handed the items to Scott, who took them happily. "How are you feeling?" He sat on the edge of the bed.

Scott sighed. "I mean, I'm not shivering anymore," he said. "They bandaged up my hands and feet so they could heal."

Jimmy hummed. "Does it hurt?"

"Not so much anymore," Scott replied. He set the milkshake and chocolate on the tray next to his bed. "This fucking sucks." He groaned when there was a knock at the door, the nurse on the other side waiting just a moment before opening the door.

"Toasties and tomato soup for Scott," the nurse said, holding up a tray with food.

Scott scowled. "I said I'm not hungry."

The nurse sighed and stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her. "You haven't had anything to eat since you got here," she said softly. "Please have something."

"Not hungry," Scott said simply, and he crossed his arms and looked away to show his stubbornness.

"You'll be put on a feeding tube if you continue to refuse to eat," she warned. "They're not very comfortable, so I suggest you eat something."

Scott shook his head. "Not hungry."

The nurse sighed. "Fine," she surrendered. "But I'll leave this with you in case if you change your mind." She set the food onto Scott's tray and left the room.

Jimmy shifted awkwardly. "I... I think you should probably eat something," he murmured, not sure if Scott would even hear him over the heart rate monitor.

Scott let out a loud scoff. "Yeah?" he said. "And what's the point of doing that? Not like I have anywhere to go once I get out of here..."

Right, his parents were arrested... "Uh, well..." Jesus, what do I say? We don't have room at home for Scott now that Grian's staying with us. "I mean, what about your friends?"

Scott looked up at Jimmy, giving him an expression that almost called him dumb. "I don't have friends, Jimmy," he said.

"Oh..."

"There's just no reason for me to be here anymore," Scott sighed.

Jimmy frowned. "Scott, I know you're having a tough time, but you shouldn't think like that," he scolded.

The loud laugh that Scott let out was anything except for happy. "Oh, please! Because you of all peopld would understand. Yeah fucking right." He rolled his eyes. "Never in a million years will you understand how I feel."

"What do you mean?"

Scott looked up. "Your life is perfect, Jimmy," he said, tears welling in his eyes. "You are perfect. You're so pretty" - Jimmy didn't miss the way Scott's eyes softened as he spoke - "and you never care about what other people think of you. You've always had a loving family... You have a dad who accepts you, who doesn't try to 'fix' you by raping you or making you watch someone else be raped. You have a sister that you've never had to worry about attempting suicide every time she was by herself. God, and for fuck's sake, you have your sister. You have a roof over your head, a warm bed to sleep in every night, a shower to use whenever the hell you want, good food that you can eat as much as you want of... And your family isn't fucking ashamed of you for acting 'girly' and being gay. You have friends who actually give two shits about you, even if they make fun of you half the time-" Scott let out a soft sob. "I've never had a single one of those things before."

Jimmy was speechless. What the hell was anyone supposed to say to that? Apologizing that Scott didn't have a good life didn't seem like the best option knowing Scott hated those kinds of apologies. Luckily for him, he didn't have to worry too much about responding when Scott sniffled loudly and spoke again.

"You have no idea how jealous I am that you're so fucking happy, all the goddamn time," he said, wiping aggressively at his wet cheeks. "I wish I had what you have, be it some kind of potion or whatever, that makes you so happy. I just-" He let out a frustrated groan and threw his head back against the hospital bed, covering his face with his forearms. "I hate you! You're too perfect, too- too smiley and bright all the time! And it's not like you never had any trauma either. Your mom died only four years ago!" Jimmy winced at the memory of his mother. He didn't expect Scott to bring her up. "It makes me so angry that so many awful things can happen to me, but close to nothing bad happens to you. It's not f-fair-" He broke out into another round of sobs, turning onto his side and shoving his face into his pillow. "It's not fucking fair! Why do I have to lose everything while everybody else is happy?! Why can't I be happy, too?!"

Jimmy's heart broke as Scott wailed into his pillow, his body shaking with every cry. The fact that he was so broken over people that hurt him...

"Hey," Jimmy said gently, reaching over to rub Scott's arm. "Scott."

The latter looked up and sniffed, scowling and looking angry. "What?" he huffed.

Jimmy tried to give his best smile to try and make Scott feel a little bit better. "What if this is for the best?" he suggested, almost regretting opening his mouth when Scott stared at him like he was stupid. "W-well, I mean, like- Your parents were abusive, weren't they? And Zach was a douche bag. Maybe it's a good thing that they're out of your life for good now." He paused, Scott's expression unchanging. "You can get help now, and you can be happy. And you'll always have me, if it's worth any consolation."

Scott's scowl faded. His eyes began to water again, and he let out a sob. "Jimmyyyyy," he cried, drawing out his name. He tossed the pillow aside to throw himself onto Jimmy, crying into his shoulder. "I love you so much!" He broke the hug to give Jimmy a long, heartfelt kiss, peppering more kisses all over his face after. "You're the best." He wrapped his arms around Jimmy again, holding him tightly.

Jimmy could've sworn his face was on fire with how red it was, and the way his stomach did cartwheels almost made him think he'd throw up, but in a good way. He said he loves me, Jimmy thought, heart fluttering in his chest. He said he loves me!

Jimmy couldn't imagine a better feeling than what he felt right then.

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"Hey, sorry I'm back late," Joel said as he walked in the front door, gaining the attention of Etho and Grian.

Etho laughed. "Yeah, I'd say you're a just little bit late," he teased.

Joel rolled his eyes as he toed off his shoes. "Oh, be quiet," he said. "Doc wanted to talk to me afterwards and I ended up passing out in the break room." He laughed at himself. "God, how dumb am I?"

"Joel!" Grian jumped off his seat and ran over, barrelling into the brunette.

Joel let out a quiet oof and stumbled backward, but smiled anyway and wrapped his arms around Grian in return. "Hey, buddy," he said. "You look like you're feeling better." He chuckled when Grian nodded aggressively. "That's good."

Grian pulled away suddenly, fidgeting with his hands. "I'm sorry for calling you dad," he apologized. He looked down at his feet.

"Kiddo..." Joel knelt down in front of the other and took his hands in his own to get his attention. "You don't need to apologize for something silly like that. In fact, it would make me the happiest person in the world if you continued to call me dad." He smiled. "As long as you're comfortable with it, of course."

"You're not mad?"

"Not a single bit."

"And I can still call you dad?"

"As many times as you want."

Grian threw himself onto Joel, squeezing him around the shoulders tightly. "I love you, Dad," he said.

Joel smiled and closed his eyes, feeling a happy tear roll down his cheek. "I love you, too, kiddo."

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I cried writing this. Like, a lot. I also smiled a lot whilst writing this, so much so that my cheeks hurt lol /pos

I hope you enjoyed the fluff, there will be a lot more in the next chapters. /srs/gen

Have a great rest of your day/evening, love y'all!! <33 /p