Why Don't We One Shots

Everything Has Changed - Zorbyn

"Corbyn." It wasn't a question as to whether or not he had come home, it was a statement from Zach. "Can you come in here please?"

Uh oh, Corbyn thinks. What happened now? He sits with Zach on the sofa.

"Christina called," Zach says. Only then does Corbyn notice the redness of his teary eyes. "Left a message. I think you should listen to it." He presses play on the voicemail. Christina's voice comes through, shaking.

"Hey Corbs," she says. She sounds like she's been crying. "I know we weren't going to talk about it any further, that it was a one-time thing, but...but I'm pregnant, Corbyn. And she's yours. Call me when you can. Or don't. I'll understand either way."

The line goes dead as Corbyn looks as Zach, fearing the reaction.

"Zach, I-"

Zach puts a hand up, stopping him mid-breath, and stands, walking away from him. "Save it." He takes a few deep breaths through his nose, trying to control the bubbling anger within. "When?"

Corbyn hung his head. "Four months ago."

Zach blinks. "You've been keeping this from me for four months?"

Corbyn tries to take hold of his hand. "Babe, I'm so sorry. I never meant for anything to come of it. I never meant to hurt you."

Zach turns away from him, thinking that if Corbyn got any closer he would slap him. He would lash out. Right now, what Zach would do in anger was unpredictable. "I can't even look at you right now." Zach's voice comes out soft and disappointed. Somehow, that makes Corbyn feel even worse than if Zach had been screaming at him.

A few minutes of silence past, each second becoming increasingly painful to both of them.

"Why?" Zach asks, turning to face Corbyn after he'd walked halfway across the room. "Why would you do this to me?"

Corbyn opens his mouth to answer, and closes it when he realizes he doesn't have one. There was no excuse for what he'd done.

Zach, his ring glinting in the light as he runs his hand through his hair, walks back toward Corbyn, anger boiling. "How could you?" He shouts, punching Corbyn's chest. Corbyn stood there and took it all, knowing that Zach's intention was never to hurt him, but a reflection of the pain and anger and frustration inside. Zach would never hurt Corbyn; he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he did. And yet, right now, Zach wanted Corbyn to hurt, emotionally, the way Corbyn had hurt him. "I loved you! I still love you, even after all of this! So how - how - could you do this to me?" After a few moments, Zach's anger turns to tears, not knowing what else to do except cry, crippling into Corbyn's arms. Corbyn gently lowers him down onto the couch, holding him as he sobs.

"This doesn't have to change anything," Corbyn finally speaks. His words come out softly, as though he was afraid of the reaction. It seems as if those words were chosen carefully, thought about meticulously before he put them out into open air.

Zach looks stricken, taken aback, hit hard with Corbyn's words. "What?"

Corbyn's eyes were filled with regret, knowing that he was letting his marriage to Zach slip through his fingers over one stupid night, one rash decision. He wished he could take it back, rewind and reset. "I don't have to be part of her life. Christina's, or the baby's. Nothing has to change. I promise."

"Corbyn," Zach says, shaking his head. He slowly stands, untangling himself from Corbyn's grasp. "Are you kidding? Everything has changed."

"Please, Zach," Corbyn says, watching his husband grab his keys. "Don't leave me."

Zach ignores him. "And if you were going to leave that little girl alone without a father-" he looks back into Corbyn's icy blue eyes, his set with fire and fear and determination - "then I don't know the man I married."

~