floratic:

LAUGHTER  FANS  OUT  SOFTLY , & he  wipes  at  the  corner  of  his  mouth  with  a  sleeve  as  if  to  smear  down  the  scent  of  alcohol  scent  off .       ❝ you  wouldn’t  want  her  living  under  the  same  roof  as  you .  although . .  i  do  think  your  mom  has  a  bit  of  a  favoritism .   ❞    catching  parrish’s  arm ,  he  rises  up  to  stand  in  front  of  him ,  brushing  down  a  thumb  over  the  side  of  parrish’s  face  in  fond  gesture .  a  pause ,  &  he  presses  a  light  kiss  against  parrish’s  cheek ,  fingers  lightly  tapping  against  the  nape  of  his  neck .       ❝ to  each  their  own , right ?  i’m  your  favorite ,  so  that’s  fair .   ❞   whispering  quietly  ,  he  leans  back  to  give  another  soft  peck  against  parrish’s  lips  before  moving  away ,  a  hand  pressed  against  the  mirror  as  he  turns  his  gaze  away . 

through  the  thick  &  thin ,  this  boy  had  been  by  his  side  all  along .  forget  the  years  of  his  sudden  absence —,  the  rage  he  had  formerly  held  against  parrish  had  dissipated  to  nothing  but  a  sigh  of  relief  when  he  caught  side  of  his  familiar  face  by  the  driveway .  there  was  nothing  to  blame ,  because  he  knew  that  he  too ,  would  have  ran &  the  thought  of  parrish’s  step - brother  had  always  lingered  by  the  back  of  his  mind ,  the  urge  to  crush  his  fist  through  the  bastard’s  mouth  growing  only  bolder  with  each  thought .  (  &  he  had ,   the  bastard  had  a  gun  on  him  as  well ,  but  elliot  had  made  out  of  it  just  alright . )   

once ,  while  he  was  going  through  the  storm  of  his  withdrawal ,  parrish  had  stood  by  his  side  then  as  well .  watched  him  drain  the  bottle  empty  from  its  pills , &  made  sure  that  elliot  had  flushed  everything  down  the  toilet  before  he  could  leave  again .  he  could  still  remember  the  shaky  hands ,  cold  sweat  drenching  by  his  back - side ,  the  terrible  nausea  that  ate  through  his  stomach  inside  out .  —–-&  now ,  he  had  been  clean  for  nearly  a  whole  year .   

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 but  really ,  i  promise  that  i’m  trying  to  behave  more .  ❞    turning  his  gaze  back ,  he  yanks  parrish  in  closer  to  him ,  drawing  him  in  for  a  momentarily  hug .  his  heart - beat  seemed  to  slow  down  to  its  regular  rhythm ,  his  face  pressed  against  the  slope  of  parrish’s  shoulder  as  he  closed  his  eyes   in  the  silenced  comfort .   ❝  know  what  they’ve  been  saying  about  me ? — said  that  i’m  finally  mellowing  out . old  johnson  thinks  he  wants  to  write  my  recommendation  letter . ❞     oh  yeah haven’t  gone  back  to  juvie .   the  day  of  his  release ,  the  guard — ,  hater  harrington ,  they  all  called  him  from  his  bastardish  attitude  violent   tempter  against  elliot  &  the  others ,   he  had  promised  elliot  that  he  would be  back  for  good  in  a  few  months  again .  but  he  hadn’t ,  so  it  was  a  triumph  fuck  you  against  harrington .      ❝ &  come  on ,  let’s  go  before  your  mom  decides  to  ram  the  door  down  . ❞   

Parrish lets a sigh escape his lips, slow and with sweet intentions as he feels a familiar sense of bliss wash over him. He leans into Elliot’s caresses with a fluttering heart, only to be calmed when Elliot presses his lips to his, and buries his face in his shoulder.

“You’re lucky you’re cute, or else I’d have kicked you to the curb a long time ago.” He laughs, shakes his head, immediately denies that as a complete farce and nothing more than a playful jab. They’d been through too much, far too much, for either one to abandon the other. It wasn’t a relationship built on unhealthy co-dependency, but rather, the simple knowledge that they were two separate people who could lean on the other whenever it was needed.

There were worse months than others, that was true; but on the whole, Elliot was right with what he was saying, as was everyone in their community. Elliot was doing better, and it finally seemed as though all the long nights filled with gentle crying and the cleaning of wounds old and new (he’ll never forget the murderous look in his eyes after he’d come over, telling him just how badly he’d roughed up his half-brother), and the withdrawal symptoms that shook Elliot to the core just as it did Parrish to watch him suffering, vomiting over the toilet and trembling so hard Parrish though he limbs might just pop right off - it seemed like, for the first time, all the hardships were paying off.

He visibly perks up when he hears that exciting news, and squeezes Elliot tight, hugs him around the waist as he smiles. “Wow, he really said that? Look at you, my little scholar!” He reaches up to rake fingers through the mop that Elliot calls his hair, ruffling it and looking upon his face with nothing but beaming pride. “Finally starting to care about his classes! Aw, I hope you’ll still make time for my tutoring sessions though. Even if they start to include more goofing off than actually, you know, studying. I don’t mind either way, you know me!”

He’s hushed for a moment as he listens to Elliot further, and he just shakes his head again and holds him closer, as close as they could possibly be as he murmurs, “I appreciate that. Just, don’t think you have to change who you are entirely, as if that would make me happier or something. I love you like you are, you’ve made so much progress and change already… I’m really proud of you, I hope you know that.”

After that moment of privacy, when they’ve both collected themselves, they finally decide to exit the bathroom, and June is on them in an instant. It seems as though she’s been lurking in the hallway, just waiting to hear the click of the lock signaling her son and his boyfriend’s return. The first thing she does is come up to them and deliver each of them a suffocating hug, and unusually, she doesn’t comment on the gauze covering Elliot’s hands. She simply nods as though she understands, and she’s leading the boys into the kitchen, where she’s thrusting her aforementioned four cheese mac & cheese into Parrish’s hands, along with a pair of forks.

“Here! Thought you both might be a little hungry, you’ve barely been home all day, Parrish! You and Elliot take that to your room and relax for a while. I’ll be down here if you need me at all.”

Parrish expresses his thanks and goes to hug his mom, where she whispers into his ear, large grin puffing her cheeks, “Just make sure you keep that door open, okay, P?” She laughs as she says it, clearly intending it to be a joke, but Parrish’s face and the tips of his ears aren’t any less red as he nudges her away and rolls his eyes.

They find themselves in Parrish’s room, a sanctuary for the two of them. Whenever they’re having great, fantastic days, or days in which they simply need to be quiet and hold each other, they more often than not find themselves in this room, sitting on the floor, watching cheesy movies or stupid videos online, anything to brighten their day just a little, or a lot more, depending on the occasion.

“So,” Parrish starts as he plops down onto the edge of his bed, hands clasped together on his lap over the container of food he’s carrying as he looks up at Elliot. “I figure you’ve got a little bit of time left here, wanna spend it chowing down with me? My mom’s cooking will make it worth your while…!”

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