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Joe pushes Secretary Jim aside and runs into the room where he finds a body covered by a white sheet, Ming sitting on the floor and a report laying on the floor. He picks up the documents and takes a deep breath before looking down.
DNA match: 99.9%
A silent tear falls down his cheek as his hopes of finding his body and getting back his life disappear in front of his eyes.
He looks around the room trying to calm down before he breaks down and notices that Ming hasn’t moved since he arrived.
“Ming... Ming?”
He gets no response and moves to approach him but a hand on his shoulder stops him.
“He... He’s been like this for the last three hours now” Secretary Jim tells him.
Joe’s eyes widen in surprise and he looks back at Ming. He notices the tears on his face, his trembling breath and his shaking hands.
“Ming?” he asks again as he kneels in front of him and wipes his tears with his thumbs.
“Hey, Ming. Say something, please. Talk to me”
Joe holds his chin in his fingers and moves his face until their eyes meet and the empty look he sees on Ming’s eyes scares him.
“Ming, please. Just say something! Anything! Please!” he’s shouting now.
“He’s gone...” Ming whispers. Joe can barely hear him in the empty room.
“What?”
“Joe... He’s gone... I’ll never... I thought... He’s...” Ming can’t finish a sentence in between sobs, tears running free down his face.
“Ming...”
“It’s my fault... I- I thought... he’s gone. It’s my fault. All this time... I thought... I thought he was... I kept waiting... waiting.... for him... He... he was supposed... to- to come... Come back to me. P’Joe... My p’Joe...”
Joe’s heart breaks seeing Ming like this. He always wondered what he was going to say before their call ended, he had a pretty good idea, but now he’s sure. And as much as he tries not to, he still loves this broken man.
“Ming, listen to me. It’s me. Joe. Your Joe. I’m here”
“No, no. He’s d- He’s gone. Never coming back. I- I lost him. Forever. I can never... I should’ve told him. And now...”
“Hey, it’s me. Ming, it’s me. I swear”
“No! Stop pretending! He’s gone! I lost him and it was my fault!” he sobs loudly.
“Ming! It really is me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But it is really me”
“No, no, no! My p’Joe...”
Joe keeps trying to convince Ming that it’s really him, but there’s no way to make him listen. So he decides to remind him of their moments together.
“Remember that first night, when you tripped at the top of the stairs and I held you, unable to resist kissing you? Or when you hugged me and agreed to sleep with me? Or when I got home to the lights turned on and the smell of warm food made by you? You agreed to move in with me that night. I thought you wouldn’t like living in such a tiny and old apartment, but you seemed to belong there”
Ming looks up at him, not saying anything but with a frown on his face.
“And remember when you came to see me at work? I was so afraid we would get caught, but I couldn’t resist you. I never could. Remember our walks through town, waiting to see the sunset, looking in each other’s eyes and smiling without a care in the world”
Now Joe is sobbing softly as he remembers all the good times they shared before everything went to Hell. When the curtain fell and he understood that it was all in his head. He saw a future with Ming but he just wanted a stand-in.
His cries get louder and he hugs his arms around himself, feeling small and lost. He should hate the man in front of him, he’s the main reason he lost everything, and still, he can’t bear to see him in pain. He feels so stupid.
He feels a hand on his cheek and looks up.
“P’Joe? Is... Is it really you?”
A loud sob escapes his throat and immediately there are arms wrapping him in a tight hug. Ming burying his face on his shoulder.
“It’s you! P’Joe... My p’Joe... I found you”
“Ming...”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have realized sooner... You are the one I love. No one could ever compare to you. My p’Joe. I promise I will never hurt you again. I love you. I only love you. Always you. P’Joe. My p’Joe. I’m sorry I hurt you. Sorry. So sorry...”
Joe tries to stop the sobs long enough to talk but his throat is closed up with tears and he just holds Ming tighter and buries his face further into his neck with a broken whisper of his name.
“Ming...”
“It’s okay. P’Joe... You are here. You came back. I waited. I told you I would wait. I waited for you. Just as I promised. You’re back... I found you. After so long... I found you. I’ve got you back. You are here...”
They both stay like that, holding each other in tears whispering sweet words into each other’s necks.
After a while, Secretary Jim knocks on the door to check that everything is alright and they both have managed to calm down enough to at least be able to move, even if tears still run free down both their faces.
Ming looks up at him with a nervous look, as if afraid to ask what he wants.
“Will you-” “Let’s go home” They say at the same time.
Joe can see Ming drop his shoulders in relief and a small smile on his lips. That’s what he was afraid of? Idiot.
He leans closer, holds Ming's face in his hands and gives him a soft kiss on the lips.
Ming gasps and holds his waist tightly, as if afraid he will disappear again. Joe guesses that’s normal, seeing what they’ve both been through.
“Let’s go home” he repeats.
“Home...”
“Our home. We need to rest. We can talk afterwards. There's a lot of things we should talk about”
Ming gulps and slowly nods his head, but Joe opens his hand palm up and wiggles his fingers. Ming immediately interlaces their fingers and brings the hand to his lips to lay a soft kiss on it.
“Yes, let’s go home”
Tomorrow will be difficult but Ming will explain everything and he will spend the rest of his life making it up to Joe.