Missing You (Gawsten)

He Isn't A China Doll

"No the fuck you're not," Geoff says with a definite tone, staring at Awsten with wide eyes.

Kellin stops pacing and resumes his position beside Travis. He nods.

Travis makes a slight agreeing noise. "I don't hate that idea- it could work."

"No! Absolutely not," Geoff firmly says.

"Geoff, it might be the only option," Patty mentions softly.

Geoff starts shifting from one foot to the other. "Otto, help me out!"

Otto is silent for a moment. He looks at Patty, and then Awsten. He studies the purple-haired boy carefully, trying to come to a conclusion.

"Are you sure?" He whispers.

Awsten nods. He looks scared out of his mind, but he also has so much determination- it's coming off of him in thick waves.

"Awsten goes with Patty," Otto agrees after another moment.

"Otto, what the fuck! He can't do this. He won't be able to handle it!" Geoff raises his voice, and the curly-haired boy turns to face him.

"Geoff, he isn't a china doll that needs to be handled carefully. If he were, he'd be broken beyond repair right now. You would've found him broken when you came home. He is, without a doubt, one of the strongest people I have ever met. Don't you ever say what he can and can't handle immediately after forcing him to test his own limits. If he says that he can handle this, then he can handle this," Otto calmly responds, but not without an undertone of venom.

Geoff sighs shakily and casts his gaze to the ground.

Patty clears his throat, capturing everyone's attention, and sends a nod to Awsten. "Travis, Kellin, Otto, come here for a sec," the blond boy softly says, then leads the other three off toward his car.

"Please don't," Geoff quietly begs once the others are out of earshot. He takes Awsten's shaking hands in his own.

The younger boy looks up at him and shakes his head. "Patty can't take you and I'm not letting Otto go- he already knows it."

"There has to be something else we can do. Another safehouse, someone we can call- something, anything," the brunet says, desperately trying to think of something. The anxiety of letting Awsten get so close to this situation pricks at him, nearly drawing blood.

"Geoff, I'm going with Patty. You and Otto are going with Kellin and Travis. Alex and the guys are gonna get this all under control, and we're gonna meet up again, and we're gonna go home. It's going to be okay," Awsten says shakily.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared, but someone has to go with Patty. Geoff has been put in so much danger already, all in the name of making sure his home is safe, and Otto put everything aside to take care of him when Geoff was missing. They've both sacrificed so much for each other and their home. It's time Awsten puts a little sacrifice in.

"I love you," Geoff says, and takes Awsten into his arms.

"I love you."

They squeeze each other, and Awsten commits Geoff's scent to memory. The musky yet slightly floral smell reminds him of picnics in the forest under dogwood trees.

Geoff can feel the purple-haired boy shaking- he hasn't stopped since they left the safehouse. He plants a kiss on top of his hair and inhales the scent of mango shampoo- a very different smell from Awsten's usual strawberry shampoo.

"Things are going to be a bit different with Patty than they've been with Kellin and Travis. If anything happens- you call me immediately. Understand?" Geoff whispers, letting the horror of what could happen set in.

"I understand," Awsten answers, his voice muffled by Geoff's chest.

After a few more moments, the two boys break apart and the night air invades the space between them. The crickets switch to a new song, and the moon comes out from behind a cloud. Geoff puts his hands on the sides of Awsten's face and admires the cold moonlight slithering through his hair and reflecting in his eyes. He almost seems to be glowing.

The purple-haired boy's eyes trace the gentle shadows being casted on Geoff's face. He stands on his tippy-toes and kisses the brunet in a reassuring way.

He makes sure that it doesn't feel like a goodbye kiss. He's scared, and he doesn't know what's going to happen, but he will see Geoff again soon. He can feel it.

***

The ride to the boys' apartment is quiet.

Now that they have at least somewhat of a plan, Patty is confident again.

Awsten, however, is not. He's hardly holding himself together.

Seeing Geoff's face in the car's side mirror as he drove off with Patty was an absolute nightmare- one that you can't shake for days. He finally had Geoff back, and then he had to leave him.

Patty is unsure of what to say. He's noticed Awsten and Geoff's bond, and he knows this has to be incredibly hard. He decides that maybe taking Awsten's mind off of it will help.

"Hey, listen. I know that we don't really know each other super well, but we have to trust each other. Trust is immeasurably necessary in these types of situations. So, let's talk. Maybe by the time the sun comes up we'll know each other a little better."

***

Once the two boys arrive at the apartment, Awsten isn't shaking anymore.

Patty likes lemon ice cream, super old black-and-white movies, and pop music from the early 2000's. Knowing these things, the purple-haired boy feels more comfortable with him. He feels like he knows him.

Patty knows just as much about Awsten, and he can already tell that, as long as everything remains calm, he's gonna be just fine.

The blond boy is slightly worried about Awsten anxiety though. If there's an emergency, Patty and Aws are gonna be on their own- at least for the foreseeable future, anyway. If Awsten freezes up, it could end badly.

Patty leads Awsten into the empty apartment, and Awsten takes a cautious look around.

This isn't what he was expecting at all. Where's the wall of gun racks, the super computer, and the genetically-altered guard dog?

"I'll give you a tour, tell you the rules and protocols, and then we'll get you settled in, okay?"

A quick and slightly detailed tour of the two floor apartment ensues, and Awsten can't get over how normal everything is. It really doesn't look like a team of vigilantes live here- aside from the security room, most homes don't have that.

"You can stay in Alex's room, I'll clean it up for you and give you new sheets and everything. I would give you my room since you know me a little better than you know Alex, but I sleep in the security room- I don't think you want that room," Patty explains.

Awsten nods. "Yeah, I'm fine with Alex's."

"A small portion of the supply crew is at the old safehouse collecting all of your things. They'll take it all to Geoff- since he's closest- and he'll sort through everything. They'll then take Otto his stuff and bring you yours. Shouldn't take more that a couple of days," the blond boy says as he makes himself comfortable on the couch.

Awsten sits on the other couch across from him. He isn't tired. He's been waiting on sleepiness to hit, but it just isn't coming. He doesn't know what time it is, but the sun is beginning to come up. The black sky is turning navy.

"What was it you said about rules and protocols?"

...