Second Chances [BxB]

thirty nine

"He's just so...he's so fucking..." Calvin's brows twitched into a frown, his jaw tightening, "I really liked him. I thought...I thought he liked me, too."

"He did." Harvey assured him, "He does."

"Then why doesn't he want me?"

Sebastian released a heavy sigh, "It's not about you." He said plainly, "Evan is still learning to trust people again; you can't expect him to just jump straight into a relationship with you - he's not ready."

Harvey dropped a hand onto Calvin's shoulder, and gave it a squeeze, "Evan doesn't want to cut you out of his life completely." He said gently, "He still wants to be friends."

Calvin shook his head, "I don't think I..." He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, "I need some time...before I see him again, just to...to recover, y'know?"

Sebastian and Harvey exchanged a nervous glance. Evan never wanted to hurt Calvin - he was just trying to protect himself. But nevertheless he had hurt Calvin - and himself - and there was nothing either of them could do to fix the mess they had made; they just had to learn to live with it.

"Oi!" Sebastian's Father called out to them from across the construction site, "Get back to work! Your lunch break isn't for another hour!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes, and readjusted his hard hat, "You'll be alright, Cal." He offered him a weak smile, and patted him on the back.

The next hour went by agonisingly slowly, and when it was finally time for his break, Sebastian bolted off before anyone could stop him.

When he got to the skatepark, Declan was already settled on their usual bench, dressed in his work clothes, with a coat thrown on top, and his skateboard sitting between his legs. His lips twitched at the corners when Sebastian sat down beside him, his eyes gleaming, "Hey." He leant forward and pressed a kiss to Sebastian's cheek, "Thank god you're here - I'm starving."

Sebastian snorted, pulling his backpack into his lap, and ripping the zip open, "How much time do you have?" He asked, rummaging around in his bag distractedly.

"My break ends in twenty minutes." Declan replied apologetically.

Sebastian handed Declan a sandwich, nodding in acknowledgement, "How's your day been?"

Declan shrugged, slowly unwrapping the foil around his sandwich, "Fine. Busy." He sighed, "Evan's been distracted - Winnie's given him so many warnings, I'm surprised he hasn't been fired yet." He said, "Calvin?"

"Not much better." Sebastian confessed, "He's been in a bad mood all week."

"It's not fair." Declan murmured, "Evan's ex has already taken so much from him - he can't take this, too."

"I know." Sebastian draped an arm around Declan's shoulder, enjoying the way Declan instinctively nuzzled into his side, "Evan just needs time, that's all."

"That's all?" Declan echoed hopelessly, "Is that all you needed - time - after Alex?"

"Well, I..." Sebastian no longer stiffened at the mention of Alex, but the sound of his name in Declan's mouth still startled him.

"Sorry." Declan breathed out, shaking his head dismissively, "Forget I said that. I shouldn't have brought him up."

"You're allowed to." Sebastian reminded him, "You're allowed to bring him up - to ask me about him. I'll never get angry at you for it."

"You never get angry at me for anything."

Sebastian rose his brows, "Is that a challenge?"

Declan shrugged, "Maybe." He murmured.