LOVERBOY [bennett x razor]

chapter 25: see you soon

ac: @shuangeng_0v0 on twt

razor felt bennett's soft hand squeeze his, and he knew everything would be alright. the knot in his stomach untangled and he squeezed back. he knew this would be hard, but not as hard as it would be be if he was alone.

"i don't even know where to begin..." bennett started. "i only just learned of this today."

kaeya leaned forward and put a hand on bennett's shoulder. "what is it, kiddo? you can tell us anything."

"i know, pops." he sighed before saying his next words.

"razor is in danger."

it was albedo's turn to lean forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "what exactly do you mean?"

bennett continued. "well, i'm sure you noticed the bruises by now. on his face?" he turned back to razor, and spoke quietly to him. "raze? is it okay if we show them your torso?"

razor hesitated. he thought the bruises were ugly. they painted his skin in such a horrible way. he didn't want anyone to see them. still, he knew it would help bennett's explanation, and he trusted the couple. so he nodded, and lifted his shirt with his free hand.

he revealed his skinny, bony body, with large bruises running down his sides and back. shades of purple and green littered his body, above previous scars. razor felt so ashamed, so vulnerable in that moment. he quickly pulled down his shirt, looking away so no one could see him cry. bennett pulled his face into his shoulder, and razor was grateful. he didn't want to see the looks kaeya and albedo gave him.

"oh, god..." he heard albedo say in a shaky voice.

kaeya was quick to pull himself together after his initial shock. "who did this to you, razor?"

he didn't respond, keeping his head buried in bennett's shoulder. razor tightened his grasp on bennett.

"i'm sorry, you might not be ready to tell us yet. take all the time you need, razor." softly, kaeya reassured him.

bennett answered for him. "it's his mother-"

"his mother?!?" albedo interrupted him, still aghast.

"yes, his foster mom. he lost his parents at a young age. he has a little brother too, and he's getting the same treatment." the thought of his little brother made razor shake. he felt incredibly guilty for letting him go through what he did.

"little brother? how old?" kaeya somehow seemed even more concerned, despite his calm facade.

"uhh.. i'm actually not sure." bennett turned to razor, his cheek bumping with razor's head due to their proximity. "how old is elliot?"

"eight." still resting on bennett, he mumbled, "kylee is my mother's distant cousin. not related to elliot." he opened up a bit. he figured it would help.

"i see..." kaeya rested his chin on his hand in thought. "so this kylee person is your legal guardian, but has been abusing you and your brother both physically and verbally for years. is that correct?"

"yes," razor replied. "since my parents passed."

albedo chimed in after being silent for a while. "god, razor, who else have you told? kaeya we need to do something!"

"just bennett."

"honey, i know we need to do something. but we need to stay calm and gather evidence. of course i believe you razor, but to take you out of her care requires legal action. we need evidence to prove to the courts that she is unfit to care for you." kaeya explained. "what we can do right now is provide a home for you, while we sort out the legalities. would that be okay with you? staying with us?"

kaeya and his family looked at him expectantly, and razor almost agreed, if not for his brother.

"thank you, but... i can't leave my brother alone with her."

it was albedo's turn to talk. "we understand, razor. but we can take him in too, can't we?" he looked at kaeya for support, who responded with a nod. "excellent! you and your brother can stay here, then. you don't mind staying in the same room, do you?"

razor was taken aback, to say the least. he couldn't contain the smile on his face. "yes. thank you, yes."

"that means we'll get to live together, razor!" bennett beamed. "isn't that awesome?!" he was so bright, every time razor tried to look at him, he had to retract his gaze, blinded by him. he held back tears, relieved that his brother would finally be safe.

"i'm sorry to ask, razor, but could i see your injuries again? i want to take some pictures, if thats okay, as evidence for the future." kaeya spoke gently to him, with an uncharacteristic serious expression.

not knowing how else to respond, razor simply stood up and lifted his shirt to show the bruises. he rotated as kaeya snapped pictures, feeling quite uncomfortable but aware that this was needed. once they finished up, he dropped his shirt back down. he wanted to go back to bennett's room, and speak with him, feel safe with him again.

"thank you, razor. i promise i'll do everything in my power to keep you and your brother safe. in the meantime, please let us know if you need anything. we're always here for you." placing his phone down, kaeya leaned back and rested an arm around his husband.

"although i may not be as well prepared to deal with this sort of thing as kaeya is, know that i am also here to support you in any way possible." albedo added. "and as soon as you're ready, you can come live with us whenever you can. bring your brother, too. we'd love to meet him. but i'm sure you must want to be alone now. go on, kids. to your room." he gently swatted them away.

once again, razor thanked the couple for their generosity. never in his life had he met parents as caring and gentle as them, although he supposed any parent would be a better one than his own. he was pulled way by bennett, who smiled and ran up the stairs to his room.

"this is amazing! we can hang out whenever we want now, just a door away!" bennett settled into his room, pulling razor in with him. "i know shouldn't be this excited given the circumstances but still. gotta look on the bright side, right? i mean, who wouldn't want to live with their—"

he stopped suddenly, swallowing back whatever words he was gonna say, covering it up with nervous laughter.

"benny," razor smiled. "what were you saying?"

"uhh... their best friend! yeah! who wouldn't want to live with their best friend?"

"hmm... are you sure that's what you were gonna say?" razor narrowed his eyes, like a predator looking at his prey, still smiling. even though razor was pretty novice when it came to human interaction, he knew that what he and bennett had was more than a friendship at this point. he wanted to hear him confirm it though.

"i— that's a secret! now come on, shouldn't you go get elliot so you guys can leave? let's go." flustered, bennett grabbed razor's stuff, dropped them in his hands, and dragged him to the front door.

"go on, its getting late anyways. he must be out of school by now. my dads and i will be waiting for you guys here."

for a second, razor hesitated leaving, but thought better on it and grabbed bennett's hand, bending down slightly to kiss it. he looked up under his eyelashes. 

"i'll see you soon, benny."

rant time:
the way its been months since this has been updated 💀💀 i literally dont even play genshin anymore, so its a bit hard to get into the characters but im trying. life got in the way. my grades dropped severely and i had to get them up, then my bf broke up with me, led me on for two months after, and then found a gf after not talking with me for a week, while i still thought he wanted something. im the idiot i guess. and now i have testing to do for two weeks, its a whole mess. like fr this has been the worst year of my life and if i car ran into me i wouldnt mind. life really sucks rn. but i hope everyone out there is good. im not even sure about the quality of this chapter. i'm so tired.
-b