Happier (Michael x Noah)

Michael

I'm pacing in a small circle, wondering when Noah will arrive. Could he have lied to me? It feels like I've been waiting here at the main entrance for hours!

"Michael!" Gregory shouts, trying to get me to stop.

I cringe at the loud noise and look at him, no longer pacing. "What?" I ask.

"Calm down," he demands. "You're barely breathing and you've torn your other forearm to shreds." He points at my arm, frowning.

I look down at my arm. He's right. My other forearm is bleeding. Oops.

I sigh. "Let's just go to the Daycare. I don't want to go all the way back to the underground tunnels."

"Are there FA supplies there?"

"Yeah."

He chuckles. "Okay. Let's go."

** Forty-five minutes later **

As soon as Gregory helps me treat my other arm, we go back to the main entrance with Jeremy. We found him in the Daycare, cleaning up for the night. 

As we walk down the first set of stairs, I spot him.

Noah is hovering close to the entry turnstiles, not wanting to get caught by the security S.T.A.F.F bot by the fountain. But when he sees me frozen at the top of the staircase, his eyes seem to light up yet cloud with worry at the same time.

Without realizing it at first, I take off in a sprint, then tackle him in a hug. He laughs as he stumbles backward from the impact. As soon as he finds his balance, he hugs me back, but only with one arm. When I pull away from the hug, I notice that he's holding something.

"I brought some chicken alfredo," Noah tells me with a sheepish smile. "The kids wanted it for dinner, and we had some leftovers, so I brought him some for you, Gregory, and Jeremy."

"O-Oh, uh, thanks," I say. "You didn't have to do that."

He shrugs, then chuckles nervously. "So, how is this going to work? Do you want my company? Someone to talk to? Someone to scream at? I'm okay with anything you want."

"I don't know. I just need you here with me."

He smiles softly and brushes the hair out of my eyes, his fingers lingering on my face. I can feel my cheeks warm. Gosh, I've missed him. I want to kiss him, but I don't know if he'd want me to.

His fingers drift from the side of my head to my warm cheeks, then underneath my chin. I swear he's trying to make me want to kiss him. If he doesn't cut this out soon, I might as well.

"May I?" he queries quietly, slightly pulling my face closer to his. "It's just that... It's been so long, and I miss--"

I gently grab his face and press my lips into his, shutting him up. He inhales a sharp breath of surprise, not expecting me to do this. Though he's quick to smile into the kiss. He pulls me in close, wrapping his arms around my waist. I smile, too, and pull him in closer. His grip on me tightens protectively and he presses deeper into the kiss, making me lean back ever so slightly. I move my hands from his face to his shoulders, our bodies pressed as close as they can be. He pulls away seconds later, just to kiss me again. And again. And again. He lingers longer and longer with each one, which makes my face burn, but I don't mind. I've missed him so fucking much--I didn't even realize how much I truly missed him.

"Gosh, get a room, you two!" Jeremy exclaims jokingly, laughing.

Noah pulls away, laughter bubbling out of him. "If you had a partner and couldn't kiss them for months on end, you would kiss them the minute you could, too."

"I'm sure I would. But right now, you're kissing the man that needs to get started on his portion of the night shift."

I back away and grab Noah's hand, ready to bring him with me on my rounds. He gasps and pulls his hand out of mine, surprised by the bandages on my forearms.

"What happened to your arms?" he asks sadly.

"Panic attacks," I tell him. "But it doesn't matter. I'm fine now." I take his hand back and tug on his arm a little, trying to get him moving. "Come on. Let's go get started on my half of the rounds."

"We gotta feed Gregory first, Mikey," he reminds me. "And you should eat, too. You look like you could use the energy."

I laugh nervously. "I'm fine. I don't need anything. Save it for Gregory and Jeremy who actually need it. I don't need it."

He gives me a look of suspicion, but he gives the bag of food to Jeremy. "You two go eat," he tells them. "I need to talk with Michael for a moment."

Gregory grins excitedly and runs off, shouting at Jeremy to hurry up. I chuckle, glad to see that he's happy. Even as a homeless orphan, he manages to find a way to get excited about something every day. Whether it's being provided food from the dumpster or finding a piece of gum on the ground to repair a hole in his box. I'm not joking. I've seen both scenarios.

As soon as the boys are out of earshot, Noah gently grabs my chin and inspects my face. His thumb softly grazes over the bags under my eyes.

"Have you been sleeping?" he finally asks moments later.

"Of course not."

His frown deepens. "Why not?"

I laugh. "Why do you think?"

He sighs, then takes his hand off my face before nervously crossing his arms. "I'm so sorry for last month's incident. I didn't mean to hurt you, especially not that badly." I can see tears starting to form in his eyes. "Vanessa called me the day after. She told me how you needed three shots of remnant to bring you back. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I don't mind."

"But I mind! I can't imagine how many flashbacks you had because of my poor self-control."

"Believe it or not, I didn't have any. I was more in shock from my injury. I didn't even think of her. I was just trying to get to the First Aid station." I can't help but laugh when he looks away. I gently hold his head in my hands, forcing him to make eye contact with me. "Noah, none of this is your fault. I needed the break for your safety, and the kids' safety." I give him a small smile. "Life at home is extremely stressful, especially now that a disabled child is living with us. All of my therapists, current and past, have told me numerous times that stress can be one of the biggest triggers for my flashbacks and nightmares."

"But--"

"I'm not done." I move my hands from his face and intertwine his hands in mine. "Vanessa did a shitton of research and talked to my therapists numerous times. Together, they came up with this huge list of healthy coping mechanisms and strategies to deal with my nightmares and flashbacks, as well as a treatment plan. And I finally have a coping mechanism that works."

He chuckles. "That's great. Good for you."

"I haven't found anything for my nightmares and flashbacks. We've also gotten very little done in my treatment plan. That fucker is long. So I'm still working on it." I laugh softly and give his hands a gentle squeeze. "Until I've got it all figured out, I'm going to have to stay at Vanessa's. But I'm glad we got this stuff between us figured out."

He kisses my forehead. "Me, too. But what am I supposed to tell the kids?"

"Just tell the truth. I'm working on helping myself so nothing bad will happen in the future."