FicWad

It gets pretty cold here on the coast, especially in January. The biting winds sweep up from the sea and hold everything in a tight embrace. We’re actually a good hour or so from the beach itself, but everything smells like saltwater, and the seagulls are relentless. Which Gee is now launching snowballs at from a gazebo, cackling madly as they shriek and caw at him from the safe harbors of the tree branches and electrical wires. I, however, am sitting on the sidelines, curled up on a wrought iron bench and nursing a large cup of coffee, trying to keep my temperature up. Gee lets out a loud yelp, and half-dives off the banister of the gazebo, crashing into a dune of snow. I roll my eyes and peek at him over the wide brim of the lid, trying to hold in my amusement.

“You weren’t watching Bert!” he whines, stomping his foot into the ice indignantly.

“I’ll watch this time, okay?” I shout back, trying to conceal my bouts of shivering with laughter.

He smiles coyly and stumbles toward me, keeping a firm hand plastered on his stomach. His face is pale, imperfected by cheeks flushed with exposure. He bites down on his lip softly, sinking into the bench beside me. His arms snake around me, stealing and soaking up any heat I have to offer, while his icy face burrows into my neck. I smile softly and start to pet his hair, “Feeling cold, Gee?”

“N-N-No… just f-f-f-fine!” He lies, grinning sheepishly.

I stand up, pulling on his wrist to guide him up with me, “Come on. You need to get inside.”

He grins and falls into my arms, snuggling back into my chest, “We didn’t get to build our snowman,” he whined, his voice muffled my heavy coat.

I rub a small circle n the center of his back, feeling his shorter frame quake against mine. I really don’t want him out here much longer. I mean, after the hypothermia and the OMFG-he’s-pregnant! scenario, I’m more than a bit paranoid about his health. He takes a few steps away from me, his boot crunching in the deep snow, more flakes still falling silently around us. The whole park seems to be silent now. No birds or leaves crackling in the wind. Not even the sounds of dogs or other people. Just Gee’s soft breathing and the gentle squelch of the snow.

“Then lets do it now.”

His eyes graze up my cheek, a smirk ghosting across his lips. He bolts towards a patch of untouched snow beneath a pair of naked Birch trees, they’re twisted roots barely breaking the surface of the fresh flurries. Gee is already hard at work rolling the base by the time I get to him, his tongue jutted out in concentration and his brow furrowed as he grunts and pushes the ball. I stand on the other side, packing in powder and smoothing out the ridges. After an exhausting (and soaking) 30 minutes, Gee backs away from his “creation” and looks at it through a square he’d formed with his fingers.

There’s two of them, side by side and joined by a pair of branches we’d found tangled together. With a few artistic touches, from Gee of course, you could almost say it looked like he and I holding hands. Or me trying to break his arm off, I kinda fucked up my own snowman. He steps back towards them, and pulls a tattered scarf from his coat pocket, wrapping it around the neck of my snowy alter-ego.

“He looked cold,” He whispers through a smile, becoming a kind o human scarf as he envelops me in a loving embrace.

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“Gee! Hurry up in the shower! We have 20 minutes to get there!”

Living with Gee, I’ve leaned not only is he extremely stubborn, he also defiant as hell. I’ve been up for two hours, getting ready for our court appearance, while he lounged in our bed. Yes, it’s our bed now. So, now’s he’s rushing to get a shower and get dressed and look presentable. I’ll admit, I’m scared as fuck about what’s gonna happen today. I haven’t been in court before, I mean, not like this. I’ve served on a jury or two, but I didn’t pay much attention and just assumed someone was guilty of something or other. But this is so radically different. It’s me and Gee versus Frank and the fucking state of North Carolina.

The police stopped by yesterday and collected evidence, mostly pictures snapped on Polaroid’s, and a few statements from neighbors and possibly our landlord. Gee was locked in his room for most of it, only emerging once or twice to use the bathroom and talk to the police chief. The entire time his hand was practically glued to his middle and he had tears coursing down his cheeks. He looked broken and pathetic and I hope that they won’t use his fractured emotions against him.

I hear the bathroom door creak open and Gee stumbles out, naked and pale and bawling silently. He's holding the towel in his left hand, trying to control his shaking as he walks towards the room. He gasps for air, biting back his sobs with a dignified sigh. "B-Bert do you have any s-suits? I d-don't... I don't--"

He falls down to his knees and screams into the dingy carpet, his hands scrabbling in his hair, pulling out ratty black tufts. I let out a yelp and fall down beside him, grabbing onto his wrists and jerking them away from his scalp.

"Stop it!" I screech, yanking him violently towards me.

He lets out another scream and starts wrenching away from me, his legs flailing wildly against mine. I grunt and drag him back towards me, "What has gotten into you?!" I shout, bringing the back of my hand against his cheek.

Then everything stops. He stops struggling against my grip, and I feel everything in me go
slack. I just hit him. I fucking [i]slapped[/i] the person I was supposed to be protecting. He looks up at me, bringing shuddering fingers up to the side of his face. I let out a strangled whimper, my tongue feeling like a lump of hot lead inside my mouth.

"G-Gee... I-I don't... Gee," I mutter, backing away from him and huddling against the wall.

He bites down on his lip and cries out, bolting from his lowly spot on the carpet and into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. I just sit there, lost in myself and feeling like a total asshole. No, worse. Nothing could possibly describe the guilt pooling inside my chest as I sit slumped in the hallway, choking back tears. I can hear Gee wailing, as well as things falling to the floor. What have I done?

There's a loud crash, and the sound of glass breaking, before Gee lets out a sustained howl of pain. I pick up my head look towards the door, his voice becoming thick with panic and agony. I stand up quickly, and nearly burst open the door.

"What happened?" I call, trying to keep my voice low and tone even.

He glances up at from the floor, cradling a limp arm. I kneel beside him, ingoring the fact he flinched when I began to stroke his brow, "D-Don't hurt me..." he whispers, keeping his head down.

I sigh deeply and peck his cheek, "Please know how sorry I am... please," I reply, keeping my lips planted on him.

He sits there a moment, before nodding slowly and starting up another howl of pain. I back up a bit, relaxing back onto my legs, "What happened, Gee?"

He sniffs heavily and places a ginger hand on his left shoulder, "I-I threw your lamp. And m-my arm... I'm sorry." he explains, stuttering madly.

I shake my head, "Shhhh, don't apologize. Lemme see your shoulder."

He nods dutifully and removes his hand, revealing a huge black bruise and a mound of swollen flesh. His arm hangs limply to his side, the blood pooling in his hand, making his fingers gorged and pink.

"I think you disloacted it, babe..." I murmur, taking ahold of his good hand.

He quakes slightly, "C-Can you fix it?"

I nod slowly, lifting his chin so our eyes connected, "It's gonna hurt. A lot. Probably more than anything you've felt before. But trust me, I know what I'm doing and if you ignore it, it will be permanent."

He bites down on his lip, and cuddles into my neck, "Just do it."

I look around, and grab one of my belts lying on the floor, "Bite down on this. And just hold onto me."

He does as he's told, snaking his arms around my waist and hiding into my chest. I put both hands around his bicep, slowly straighting out his arm and feeling for any weakness in the bone. He whimpers and winces with each touch, and I can feel his jaw clenching around the thick leather of the belt.

"Shhhhhh, just hold onto me." I croon, putting my palm into the now empty socket.

I take in a deep breath and hold his arm steady, "I'm gonna count down okay?"

"Okay..." he mutters, his arms creating a vice grip around my waist.

"3... 2... 1..."

I push my palm upward and force his arm into the socket. There's a loud crack, and I can hear Gee's screams as he gnaws away at my belt. I gather him up into my arms, cradling him gently. "Shhh, breathe. You need to breathe." I cajol, rubbing his back slowly.

We sit on the floor of the room, me rocking him slowly as he sobs bitterly inot my chest. I look up at the clock on my desk. We only have 10 minutes. I shake him gently, "Hey, you gotta get dressed, we have to go."

He sniffles heavily, "N-Now?"

I stand up, wrapping a hand around his waist and pulling him with me, "Yes, now."

I set him down on the bed and start throwing clothes at him, helping him dress himself and nearly pushing him out the fron door. God, I hope we can make it through this.