Chapter Text
Head down, shoulders slumped, Chay walked down the dimly lit street - ear buds in - music loud - his school back pack carelessly slung over one shoulder. His steps were slow.
Though he was on his way home from the library - there was no sense of anticipation to reach his intended destination. His brother wasn't home. He had not been so in almost seven weeks. Having taken a new job - supposedly on a private island - Chay had been left to his own devices ever since - alone.
Lonely.
Sleep - wake - school - study - eat; Day in and day out for seven weeks this had been his life. Porsche had upped and left mysteriously. His uncle had all but disappeared. Even the loan sharks had not made one of their notorious uninvited entrances since that fateful day. That last one - the sudden disappearance of debt collectors - the only good thing to come of it all.
Chay was sad, bored, confused, angry... scared.
He trusted, Hia - totally and completely in that he knew Hia thought he was doing what was best. Of course, Chay also knew totally and completely that Hia was lying to him about where he was - the job - everything.
Porsche had lied to him - for his own good of course - all of Chay's life. Chay understood why and didn't hold it against him, especially when Chay was younger. There were just not certain talks an adult - and Chay used this term lightly - had with a child.
In the name of protection - in the name of guardianship - in the name of overprotective big brotherhood - Porsche preserved his right to make these decisions in Chay's best interest. And a huge majority of the time he had made the right call.
But now - after this - when Hia finally came back home - Chay decided it was time to sit down with his brother and talk. He was no longer a child. He could start shouldering some of the burden even if just by listening to Porsche vent about the load he carried. Chay wouldn't begrudge him that at all. Because he did carry the weight of the world on his shoulders or at least the weight of one younger brother that he had sacrificed enough for.
This was at least what Chay hoped for. At the bare minimum he would like to share in the emotional worry. Better yet he hoped to finally convince Porsche to let him get a part time job so he could even help with some of the financial stress. Up till now, Porsche had refused, insisting he remained focused on school.
But up until now Porsche had been by his side.
Now he was off doing God knows what; risking his mental health - his physical health - his overall wellbeing...
Chay had trouble stomaching just the thoughts. His insomnia had kicked up a notch - his anxiety was getting worse - his concentration was out the window. Enough was enough. When Porsche finally came home - new ground rules would have to be set.
Chay turned up the music, wanting to drown his thoughts out knowing he could do nothing about any of them until his brother showed back up. Allowing them in only let other darker thoughts in... and fears - ones he just wanted to ignore right now.
Head still down, one foot in front of the other he, he picked up his speed, noting it was getting dark fast. A quick glance up showed gloomy clouds had rolled in and rolled in fast. He stood a slim chance of making it home dry.
Two minutes later the skies opened up. Large fat dollops of rain splashed around him - on him, drenching him fast. In a split second he decided to take a shortcut he usually never took. It was a darker and by far creepier way home but if he ran as fast as he could it would cut twenty minutes if not more off the time it would otherwise take him.
Without giving himself time to reconsider, Chay took off, his feet splashing loudly as he ran. With his arm up and head semi down trying to protect his face from the cold drops Chay suddenly barreled into a solid warm mass that had from out of nowhere darted across his path.
The two figures collided, a grunt of pain from one - a shocked screech of fright from the other. Chay felt strong arms surround him tightly almost protectively as they fell to the ground from the impact and rolled on the saturated pavement.
"Fuck!"
Chay heard the hissed-out expletive - strong fury behind the singular syllable. Chay flinched and pushed back into the concrete where he now lay flat - a very hot and muscle hardened body pinning him down.
"I'm sor..."
I'm sorry was what Chay had been about to say when a rain-soaked hand quickly covered his mouth. The face looming over him pressed down even closer, lips tickled at his ear as a low masculine voice bit out a roughly ordered - shut up.
Instinct told Chay to struggle, scream, flee - but the blackest eyes he'd ever seen suddenly pierced his own, daring him to make a sound. Chay inhaled through his nose, the breath unsteady, to say the least. The eyes stared back at him like a cat, watching - barely blinking as Chay tried to breathe.
The hand did not lift but eye contact was broken when the man leaned in closer to his ear once more.
"I'm not going to hurt you but someone else might if they find me - and therefore you by association. So - just be a good boy... hmm Lashes?" he murmured, a touch of humor and something else flavoring his words with a hint of spice.
Chay's face flushed despite the cold downpour that had not yet lightened up. Indignation coupled with something... foreign but no less frustrating flared to life.
As if his last word finally connected with Chay's overstimulated brain he frowned and mouthed lashes up into the face he could barely see as it was shrouded in shadows unlike his own that was more exposed by the overhead street lamp.
The body on top of his rumbled and Chay clutched at it - startled - before realizing the rumbling was suppressed laughter - at him. The face dipped down again to his ear.
"Your eyelashes," the man clarified - his words more puff than sound. "They're fucking ridiculous - long and thick. Fake?"
Chay's head jerked back instinctively at his words and even more outrageous question, wanting to get a better look at the man's face to see if he was being even remotely serious. It was a strange thing to say at an even stranger time. It was almost as if he were flirting with Chay which made zero sense.
The body atop his rumbled again seeming to enjoy Chay's knee-jerk reaction to his teasing, obviously uncaring of their cold and wet surroundings - not to mention the supposed danger he'd just warned him of.
Right at that moment, clomping footsteps could be heard heading in their direction. The man stilled, his hand once again covering Chay's mouth as his body pressed downward, his head ducking into the curve of Chay's neck - his lips pressed into his throat as he seemed to be trying to make them as inconspicuous as possible.
Chay - not having a clue as to where their bodies had even landed after their tumble closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that they would not be noticed. As the wet slicked clambering receded Chay slowly let out the breath he had not known he had been holding, eyes squinting open as he peered up into the night sky.
The man shifted, not letting Chay go but reaching downward. Chay stiffened at the intimate touch of a hand at his groin. It took him a few seconds to realize the man was not trying to cop a feel but reaching into his own pockets searching for something.
"Fuck - god damn it!" he growled, his other hand repeating the process in his other pocket.
Chay froze while he searched. Though the man might have zero intentions towards Chay - at that moment his body seemed to think otherwise - and was... liking it - too much. It seemed to be taking every jostle and wiggle and reach in a very personal way. Chay's face felt on fire as he felt his body react of its own free will and in a more than obvious way.
The man froze as his hand brushed against that hardened obviousness and Chay wanted to dissolve into water to blend into the other millions of drops that had fallen around him - and hide away. But of course, luck never on his side - he remained very much visible - soaked and trapped and aroused and unbelievably mortified - underneath a scary stranger no less.
Damn teenage hormones he cursed silently to himself - the adrenaline and the fear, too. It wasn’t personal and it wasn’t his fault, he assured himself in desperate chagrin.
It was cool… He was okay… he just needed to breath and calm down. It could happen to anyone – he wasn’t the first – and at least, he consoled himself - things really couldn't get much worse.
But then again...