Hell's Reign (Patrick Stump/Fall Out Boy Fanfiction)

Chapter 26 - Tomorrow Has to Be Better...

"Patrick," Tori breathed, her voice shaking just as much as his. Her eyes widened and she leaned away from him, but she didn't take her hand off his chest. "Patrick, we...we can't."

"Why not?" he asked, desperation weighing his voice down. "How much longer can we stay here anyways? How much longer can we feed five people? I want an out, Victoria. I want a life...with you."

"Patrick," she whispered again, a smile gracing her lips despite her confusion. "I want that too. But we can't just leave them...we're supposed to be a family."

"Yeah, well maybe...maybe we'd all be better off separate, you know? Less fighting, less opinions to deal with. Just us, you and me."

"...Just us," Tori repeated uncertainly. She leaned away from him again, flattening her back against the door. She ran her fingers through her hair, her mind reeling. This was so sudden, and where had it even come from? Because he was so pissed at Pete over his hand?

"Victoria," Patrick whispered, moving to kneel in front of her on the carpeted floor. There was still a stain where he knelt, where the venue manager had been shot. "We could leave tonight. They won't even know until morning, and by then, we'll be long gone. We'll leave them the van, we'll find our own way."

"Patrick, we can't just leave them," Tori said again, tears beginning to fill her eyes. She wasn't upset with him, and she wiped the tears away before he could think that she was. Rather, she was scared, because she wanted everything he was talking about. She wanted to run away with him, she would do so in a heartbeat, but she loved Pete, Andy, and Joe too. "We're a family," she whined, "You said that yourself, Trick."

"I know," Patrick whispered, reaching his hand up to touch her face. Instead, the cold metal of his hook shocked her, making her jump. He frowned at this, then cupped his right hand around the other side of her face. " I know I said that, and they are, but...you and I both know that this isn't working. This," he gestured around the room with his hook, "This isn't a life. We can't hole up in this apartment forever. They'll always be family, Tori, but right now, you're my family. I want to protect you, and be with you, and not have to worry about having three other mouths to feed when we can barely feed ourselves."

Tori nodded along as he spoke, knowing he was right, but still feeling guilty. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach, just thinking about abandoning the boys, yet her heart fluttered at the thought of being alone with Patrick, only having to care for themselves. "We might never see them again," she whispered darkly, her voice breaking as Patrick nodded along, already having come to terms with that statement.

"I know. Please, Tori." A single tear fell from his eyes, rolling down his cheek unnoticed by him. Tori watched it until it dripped from his chin, landing as a darkened spot on his jeans. Then, she turned her eyes back up to his and found herself smiling. Patrick smiled back, a broken laugh, something between a chuckle and a sob, escaping his lips, and then he leaned into her. He kissed her long and hard, desperately pushing his tongue against her lips until she yielded to him. He'd never kissed her quite like this before, and as much as she loved it, it also scared her. Patrick had been out of his mind since the accident, and although she knew he was only showing signs of depression, she wondered if this was the only reason for his wanting to run away. Would he regret it later?

Patrick finally broke the kiss, leaning his head against hers and panting heavily. "I love you," he breathed, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Tori whispered, again clutching at his shirt. He smiled widely at her, his eyes glistening. She couldn't break his heart like that, even if it meant breaking everyone else's. "Let's do it," she whispered, so softly that she almost didn't even hear herself. Had she really agreed to this?