Peaches 'N Cream

17. Concrete

AFTER HE USHERED JERICHO INTO THE PASSENGER SEAT OF HIS CAR, THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY BACK FROM THE TATTOO SHOP AND TO HIS HOUSE.

There was a rap song playing softly in the background, and the heat billowing through the vents was on the lowest setting, but other than that, it was silent. Ezekiel glanced to the right, dark eyes searching the other's face for a moment as he stared outside the window.

Brows furrowed and chewing on his noticeably swollen bottom lip, reaching up ever so often to fiddle with his piercing and probably overthinking about the slightly discolored cheerio that ended up in his cereal bowl this morning.

Jericho's always been an over-thinker, always worried about this or that. It could get annoying, mostly when his intuition was right. The second thing he still is? A needy little thing who requires constant reassurance and praise. It wasn't his fault, though, Ezekiel certainly didn't mind.

Now, his version of wanting attention was not to be mixed up with wanting to be the center of attention. It was more intimate than that. He craved just one person showering him with unconditional love and affection.

Ezekiel was more than willing to fill that role, but it seemed like one Joseph Turner had, unfortunately, taken the spot before he could. That drove him mad; frankly, he was bored out of his mind until he moved here. Kylie Parker was the first person who aroused his interest.

For him, making friends was like breathing, thanks to his personality. The most natural thing in the world to do but it can get annoying pretty fast. He had difficulty trusting other people's intentions, so he never allowed anyone close enough to screw him over.

The downside of keeping everyone at arms distance? There was no one to play with, no fun to be had. But there were always exceptions. Kylie and Jericho, of course, being two of the few. Now, he liked Kylie a lot, but his feelings for her never went beyond that. Jericho though? Bit of a problem.

He's a control freak. Years ago, when he started to feel things for him, emotions that were innocent enough but also ones that he had no business having, made him nervous. He'd never liked another guy before and his dad and priest always talked about how disgusting and unnatural it was.

It scared the living hell out of him; he hated the uncertainty and fear. So, he tried to get rid of him. He was convinced that his feelings would disappear along the way too. But, the methods he used were... ineffective at best.

Ezekiel trying to "push" him away mostly included emotional and, sometimes, physical abuse if he pissed him off. Mostly things his own parents said or did to him when he acted out because that's all he knew. He despised them for doing it to him, so he figured the same actions and words would work on Jericho.

But, because of his dad, he was a delicate case. The whole ordeal only served to drive them closer together and further solidify whatever the hell he was feeling, love, or otherwise.
It was a destructive, co-dependent relationship that did absolutely nothing besides hurt them in the end.

At the time, Ezekiel had no clue that it was a trauma response; for them both, he just thought they were fucked up in the head. Now, it was a lot easier to see that it was the former because it made sense considering how they were raised.

Ezekiel's parents were overbearing, and being in high positions of power in the navy only inflated their egos. They wouldn't even let him leave the house half the time, so he didn't have a lot of freedom growing up, it never got any better. The resentment and the hatred festered and ended up growing with him too.

After he moved out, he cut all ties with them, and the only thing remaining now is the guilt money they wire him every month. Jericho had it even worse. His dad, Ismail, was a shit-bag who only paid him any mind when he was hitting or yelling at him.