❛ ・. ˚ 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 *

you promised me you'd stop doing that.

that wasn't their call anymore , was it . the hackles at the back of his neck raise anew with that reignited frustration at ashley , but how could she know ? fighting demons turn bitterness into a seasick nausea in his belly , holding the pair of them up by the rope of a dropping anchor , desperately desperately trying not to drown by the wind-licked waves . the slopes of their foreheads meet , daydream plucked from rainbow idealism is stomped between a boot when kasey becomes tangible , when he no doubt feels the small pinpricks of distressed sweat breaking out upon kent's face . " i —- . . . " emerald eyes flick down to the sweat curve of kasey's mouth . " kase , i —- " a strong swallow accompanied by a slow blink as he tries to quell that storm brewing . " i don't think we have another choice . i think —- i think it's the only explanation . "

gaze wants to hold onto kent's , stay close and linger on him but his body instead , leans into him . head finds home in the crook of his neck . lips ghost over soft skin there , and his eyes flutter closed . deep breath in , the tinge of cologne sticking to his skin from the night before and the general scent of kent fills his lungs . deep breath out . " yeah . " he murmurs . please don't let this change us - but then that's not kent's fault , is it ? it's not kent keeping them in the shadows or away from the world , it's not kent putting a dmn wet blanket on their relationship , is it ? he frowns , those thoughts and that guilt beginning to clog his veins and mind more now . " -- . . . " mouth opens but he's wordless , but a sigh leaves him . " if you think it'll work . but . . no , never mind . yeah . if it'll work . "

from iris to iris kent looks for validation . that this is recoverable , that they can explain away kasey's one covered anomaly from pattern , and it's so significantly deviating , at that . only one palm serves as tripod , remaining weighted counterbalance against kasey's shoulder . the other lifts to quivering jaw , shaking like he's hypothermic . the tightly-trimmed brunet thumbs against the knife's edge of kasey's jawline , swiping hot , saline streams against his skin . " well . . . " kent's adam's apple is sticky in his throat , bobbing slowly . " she —- " fear laces his wide eyes on kasey's behalf . heated palm drags up from the cap of kasey's side , fingers splaying like branches across his jumping jugular , cupping at the opposing side of that marbled jaw . between kent's palms , he holds kasey's despondent visage , wanting to be nothing more than a beacon of hope , when his own cheeks are tear-stained . " think about it , kasey . " stomach tight in knots , butterflies fluttering in his esophagus . can his boyfriend see his filleted heart ? " it's perfect . " deep wrinkles in his forehead as he attempts to swim up this white-water creek without a paddle . " it'll let —- " there goes that betraying trachea , squeaking without permission . his bottom lip dares to wobble , so he sucks it between his teeth . " it'll let me see you . "

" let you - kent , i don't want this to end . " despite all the fear in him , that boils over onto saline slick cheeks and has his body and hands quivering - he can't and couldn't let go of kent . his touch , hands on his face , is grounding . he leans into it , and his eyes find find some comfort finally with a long blink . " i can't . . . " how dependant he has become on kent , on their relationship , the very thing he once ran from . " what do we tell her . . . ? " he questions , eventually blinking eyes open once again . he gets lost in the same forest he's dove into so many times before , and leans in more , forehead pressed to kent's . shared space and breath , he can nearly taste him . but he can't let that thought linger , or the memory of their night before . kent touching him , kent inside him . he takes a breath and shoulders roll while his weight shifts - physically shaking it away . not the time .