Oneshots - Kayce Dutton Book 2

He needed to feel love.

Can you do one where you and Kayce are dating and you live on the ranch and you haven't seen Kayce all day and then Tate comes running up to you saying that he needs your help because his dad got a phone call this morning and then he locked himself in his room and Tate can hear things crashing and his dad crying but his dad won't open the door for him. So you go running over and sure enough you head Kayce crying and throwing things, and after some coaxing Kayce finally opens the door for you and he eventually tells you that he got a call that a bunch of people he served with died on a mission and then you figure out that he started having flashbacks and a panic attack, and you see Tate just standing in the doorway so you let him in and Kayce just keeps apologizing to you and him.

"Where's your shadow?" Rip asked as the two of you walked back to the barn.

"My shadow?" You looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I meant Kayce," Rip chuckled. "He ain't usually farther than five feet from you."

"Oh," You rolled your eyes. "He's..."

Come to think of it, you hadn't seen Kayce all morning. When you left the house this morning, he said he needed to call someone, but would be right behind you. A few hours later and you realized Kayce never came down to help with the new horses. It must have been a work call or something.

"Tate?" Rip said.

"What?" You looked back at him but Rip nodded ahead of you.

Looking forward you saw Tate running up to you. He looked scared almost, as if he was trying not to cry. You immediately got nervous as you leaned down to look at him.

"Tate, what's wrong?" You asked him.

"It's...Dad," Tate was breathing hard.

"What about your dad?" You asked.

"He's...crying up there...in his room," Tate coughed. "I can hear him...throwing things...too."

You looked at Rip but couldn't get a good read on him either. Reaching out, you held onto Tate's shoulders.

"Breathe, Tate," You watched him take a deep breath. "Now, try again...your dad is throwing things?"

"I don't know," Tate shook his head. "He's angry and after he was on the phone, he went into y'all's bedroom and then I heard loud noises."

You frowned, looking back at Rip.

"Tate, come with me while we put up these new horses and then you can go follow Y/N," Rip grabbed Tate's shoulder, not really giving him an option.

You hurried toward the house, confused at Tate's story but also worried about Kayce. Usually, Kayce was a strong presence, he calmed your nerves on the daily and his heart is what made you fall in love with him. He was also protective of Tate and how Tate was describing his father just didn't add up to you. Getting inside, you made your way upstairs to the larger bedroom you shared with Kayce.

The door was shut and as you got closer you did hear a loud thud from the other side. You paused, listening against the wood. It was faint, but you heard a noise that sounded like muffled, deep cries.

The doorknob was locked though when you tried it. Your heart dropped a little bit. Leaning your lips close to the door, you tried another tactic.

"Kayce?" You asked softly. "It's me...can you open the door?"

Any noise from the other side stopped. You listened for a few seconds but didn't hear anything. Your knuckles knocked against the door three times.

"Kayce?" You tried again. "Are you there? Can you open the door for me?"

Another round of silence, but you eventually heard what sounded like steps. Then it was like you could feel Kayce on the other side. You glanced down the hallway.

"It's just me, Kayce," You tried to keep your voice calm. "Please...can you open the door for me?"

You heard a click and stepped back. The door opened slightly but you didn't see him. Blinking quickly, you reached out and pushed open the door, peaking your head inside. The room seemed okay, except everything that was typically on top of your long dresser was now on the floor. The bed was also a mess now, sheets tangled, and pillows thrown about. You could tell one pillow had been shredded with the fluff around the floor by the bed.

Your eyes moved along the wall and saw the small mirror hanging had been shattered. There was a smaller hole in the middle of it, meaning something must have "hit" it just right to shatter. But where was Kayce?

You stepped into the room and walked over to the doorway into the bathroom. Even though it was the afternoon, the curtains and blinds hadn't been opened so it was darker than normal in there. Looking to the right you saw Kayce sitting on the edge of the tub, his head hanging low while his elbows rested on his knees. He looked absolutely broken to you.

"Kayce..." You whispered out, walking over to him.

Not knowing what was wrong you kneeled in front of him but tried to not touch him yet. When you got down, you could see his face. Tear streaks covered his pink cheeks, and his eyes were bloodshot red. His eyes were trained on the floor. You could see the knuckles on one of his hands were cut and bloody, meaning you found the culprit of the smashed mirror.

"Kayce?" You asked a little more firmly. "Did something happen to you? A-Are you hurt?"

You gently reached for his hand, but Kayce jerked it away quickly. You felt like you were lost in how to help him. You sat down on your legs and looked up at him, waiting. He sniffed heavily as he shook his hair out of his face. His troubled eyes finally ended up looking down at you. It seemed like, while Kayce was in front of you now, his mind was elsewhere.

"Baby..." You felt your own eyes water. "Please talk to me...what's going on?"

This time when you placed your hand on his knee he didn't jerk away. You let out a breath of air as you rose back up on your knees, your other hands resting on his other knee. Kayce swallowed, almost as if he was trying to say something to you but didn't know how.

"I'm here..." You rubbed his thighs gently.

"I uh..." Kayce cleared his throat, but you were just glad to hear something from him.

You waited a few more seconds with him.

"I got a call," Kayce said. "From my old teammate."

You were confused for a few moments but then it clicked that Kayce meant someone he was in the military with. Kayce had been out for almost four years now, and he rarely spoke of his time in the military.

"Okay," You said, merely to fill the silence with something.

"There was a...incident," Kayce's voice was rough, his eyes looking over your shoulder now. "A few men I had been with...there was an IED..."

You were slowly starting to piece together what Kayce was trying to tell you.

"None of 'em made it," Kayce seemed to let out the remaining air in his lungs as his eyes shut.

He had teammate killed. That must have been the missed call he was returning. You weren't entirely sure of the details, but he must have lost friends just now. Kayce delt with his own PTSD and you had seen a few moments with him going through it. None of them were even close to this, but Kayce hadn't lost a comrade since you've been with him.

You looked at your knees over his jeans and tried to figure out what to do. Your heart broke of Kayce right now, having no idea what he was going through but the thought of him being in any pain made your heart shatter. You looked back up at him and his face looked slightly less tense then when you had arrived.

"What do you need?" You asked him softly.

Kayce's eyes locked on yours and you almost jumped at his quick he did. But realizing he could "see" you now made you scoot closer to him, between his knees. You reached one hand up, making sure Kayce could see it, and placed it on his neck.

"What can I do for you?" You tried again.

You watched tears well up in both his eyes and your frowned deepened. Kayce brought one of his hands up to cover his face as he started to cry again. He moved to slide down to the floor but this time you didn't let go of him. You couldn't let him not feel your arms around him anymore. Moving onto his lap somewhat, you wrapped your arms around him and hugged him close to you. Your lips pressed against his ear as you held him, his sobs wracking both of you.

"M'sorry," Kayce mumbled.

You held him tighter, letting a tear roll down your own cheek.

"I-I'm s-sorry," Kayce stuttered into your shoulder.

"Stop," You told him. "Don't apologize to me."

You held Kayce for a while, not sure how long the two of you sat there on the bathroom floor. Kayce's sobs quieted down and soon you were simply holding him as the two of you breathed in and out. Kayce dropped his hand from his face and rested it over your legs. You were able to move your arm around him more as he leaned his face into your neck. When you looked up though, you saw Tate standing in the doorway of the bathroom, watching you both.

'Hey,' you mouthed to him.

Tate nodded at you, but you saw his eyes move to his father. You cleared your throat and felt Kayce tense slightly in your arms.

"Everyone is okay," You told Tate, whose eyes met yours again.

"Dad?" Tate stepped into the bathroom.

Kayce pulled his head up quickly and looked over at his son. You held on, knowing that Kayce would try to pull away from you.

"We're all okay," You spoke up again. "Your dad just got some really sad news, buddy."

Tate walked over to where you both were and slid down to sit with y'all. You thought this was a good sign if nothing else.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Kayce's voice was hoarse sounding. "M'sorry."

"What happened?" Tate asked him.

You noticed Kayce's lip quiver, so you spoke up again.

"Tate," You offered him a sad smile. "Your dad learned that he lost some of his friends earlier...they were soldiers, like your dad used to be."

"What happened to them?" Tate asked you since you were the one talking to him.

"They were killed," You frowned. "And so, it really upset your dad...but he's going to be okay, we will all get through this, and you and I are gonna help him, aren't we?"

Tate nodded even though you were sure he didn't fully understand. But you did watch Tate stand back up and hug Kayce. With how you were holding him it was hard for Kayce to hug back so you pulled your arm out and wrapped it around Tate too.

"Sorry," Tate mumbled.

"Th-thanks, bud," Kayce sniffed.

You smiled at Tate as he pulled back. The little boy looked over at you as if to ask what now.

"Do you want to go watch a movie?" You asked him, thinking a dark room where you could hold onto Kayce for a few more hours might be the best option for your boys.

Tate nodded his head.

"Alright, how about you go pick it out and get things ready," You smiled. "We'll be down there here in a few minutes."

Tate turned and walked out of the room. You waited until you knew he was out of earshot and then looked at Kayce. He still wasn't looking great, but there was some color back in his face. Reaching up, you pushed some of his hair back off his face. Your fingers danced across his beard, coaxing his eyes to look at yours.

"Kayce, I am so sorry," You told him. "We'll figure this out though...I promise you, you are not alone in this."

Slowly, you watched him nod his head and counted that as a very tiny victory for you getting his mind clear. Taking a deep breath, you gently stood up and held out both your hands to him.

"Come on," You told him as you helped Kayce stand up. "Let's get you with your son and I'll clean this up here and then join y'all."

"I'm-"

"If you tell me you're sorry one more time I will literally kick your ass," You snapped, and Kayce's eyes widened slightly.

You smiled at him, hugging him around his waist.

"Kayce...this is all okay," You told him. "It's going to work out, I promise."

You got Kayce downstairs and sitting next to Tate before you headed back up and cleaned up the bedroom as best you could. You let yourself cry a little as you cleaned, not waiting Kayce to feel worse seeing you upset. When you finished and walked back out into the hallway you passed John. HE looked like he knew so you didn't feel the need to explain. As you passed him, John reached out and held your hand. You stopped and looked at him.

"Thank you," His voice was rough as he squeezed your hand and continued on.

Making your way back down you saw Tate entrenched in the movie. Kayce was sitting next to him, looking exhausted. His eyes did look to you when you came around the couch. Grabbing another blanket, you sat next to Kayce and leaned against him, wrapping your arm around his chest in a semi-hug. You felt Kayce's arm across your back and you leaned your head against his.

You didn't watch the movie, more so just wanted Kayce to feel you next to him. You weren't sure what was to come in the next few days or week, but you knew that if you could just love Kayce, that would hopefully remind him he had love in this world.

Close to the end of the movie, you felt Kayce's lips press gently against your temple. It was soft and brief, but you hugged him tighter against your as the credits started to roll.