Status: FINISHED.
For Always, Forever
Twelve.
After what seemed like hours, Martin had finally sobered up enough to go home. His head felt vaguely dizzy and spinny, and he had a pretty good idea that he’d made out with his date for a long while. All in all, it wasn’t one of the worst things that had ever happened to him. Zack was going to be pretty pissed at him when he got home, though. He didn’t want to think about that. Okay, so maybe he was still slightly drunk; he dropped his keys three times before he managed to connect the right one with the lock. He would just hope Zack was already asleep, and that he was in a very deep, almost coma-like state... If Zack found out that he had been making out with John fucking O’Callaghan, he would not be impressed. The whole ‘make Zack jealous’ plan had failed miserably.
It probably would have helped if Jack had set him up with someone he found even remotely attractive, he thought to himself. He had been thinking of Zack the whole time, anyway, and even that hadn’t helped. John’s skinny frame felt so wrong pressed against him, all sharp angles that didn’t fit neatly under into his hands. So he tried to move silently through the apartment, leaning into the wall for balance. “Fuck,” he muttered as he lost his balance, smashing his knee against the coffee table. “Motherfucker, that hurt.” The light in the kitchen blinked on.
“Martin?” Zack called softly. “That you?”
“You’re still awake,” Martin said. “It’s late. You should be in bed. You have to fuckin’ give Jack away in the morning... Go to bed, little Zack. Or are you waiting for Rian to come home?” He burst into a fit of highly inappropriate giggles. “Zack, Zack, do you know I made out with John Oh tonight? And your boyfriend is face-down in a plant that fuckin’ Vinny pissed in.”
Zack frowned at him. “Martin, you need to go to bed. You’re drunk.” He giggled some more as Zack slid an arm around his waist, trying to guide him to his bedroom. It was probably the most affection he’d gotten from the younger man in weeks. “Do me a favour and don’t tell me who gave you alcohol, because I’m going to tear them a new asshole once I find out. Also, John? Seriously? That’s kind of disgusting.”
“Well, it’s not like you were fuckin’ offering,” Martin said. His words were coming out slurred; awesome. “You spend all your time with Rian.”
“That’s still no excuse to go get piss-drunk. You were doing so well, Martin. I can’t believe you’d blow all that progress you made over something so stupid. You can do so much better than that.” Zack led him down the hall, giving him the occasional nudge until they were in front of Martin’s bedroom door. “Come on, you need to go to bed. I’m going to stay up for a bit in case Ri comes back, but you really need to sleep. Okay?”
Martin tried his best not to say anything stupid in that moment. “Okay,” he said softly, biting back the tears he knew were coming. “Good night, Zack.” He shut his door behind him, slumping to the floor and leaning against it miserably. How could he ever have thought he had a chance with Zack? He was just an outsider looking in on their lives. Maybe he would start looking for another place on the west coast after the wedding... It was becoming more and more obvious that he didn’t belong in Zack’s life. Everything would work out fine in the end – maybe not for him, but for everyone else. Alex was better and he and Jack were getting married in the morning; despite being sick, Zack had found someone that loved him. That was good enough. Martin could live with that.
**
By the time Alex woke up in the morning, Jack had already gone. He was probably with Martin, freaking out because he had finally realized that he didn’t know how to tie his tie properly or something. This was the first hangover he’d had in over a year. A couple of people were still passed out in random places; Vinny, as usual, was snuggled up to his bottle of Captain Morgan. Pretty normal stuff, in other words. Rian was sitting on the couch in the living room, looking rather melancholy. That wasn’t exactly normal, but it wasn’t exactly out of character either. He was too nervous to care either way.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be with Zack?” he asked. What he really meant, of course, was ‘Get the fuck out of my house, I’m getting nervous and I still need to shower and do some serious manscaping,’ but he didn’t say that once he saw the Rian’s face. “Ri, what’s the matter?”
“I can’t even face Zack right now.”
“Did you two have a fight or something? ‘Cause you guys are kind of the men of honour, so... you know... don’t ruin my wedding or I will cut your dick off and feed it to Jack’s grandma at the reception.” Alex paced the length of the room anxiously. This was supposed to be the happiest day of his life, goddammit.
Rian said in a low, lifeless voice. “I went to Zack’s to pick up my suit and shower, and I found a note from Martin to Zack. He... he’s leaving, Alex. Like, he’s legit flying back to L.A. this afternoon because he feels like no one wants him here. I couldn’t even... What am I supposed to do? I’ve been so selfish this whole fucking time, and I don’t know how I can honestly face Zack today knowing that his best friend is leaving because of me.”
Alex sighed. “Well, this is fucking great. So Zack has no idea?”
Rian shook his head. “This is going to break him. I don’t know what to do, ‘Lex. If he finds out I knew the whole time and I didn’t do anything, he’s going to hate me for the rest of my life. And it’s not fair to Martin, you know? The guy is fuckin’ head-over-heels for Zack. So I don’t want to be responsible for him being heartbroken, either, but at the same time I kind of want to keep my boyfriend.”
They both stared at the clock. “Ri, I don’t know what to tell you. Every second that passes is another second closer to Martin leaving. And you’re the best man at my fucking wedding – which is in about four hours, by the way. So you need to figure out how you’re going to face Zack, because you’re not going to be able to catch up to Martin in time if he’s already left. What time did you go to Zack’s at?”
“An hour ago,” Rian said miserably.
Alex took his car keys from him. “Go get dressed. I’m getting fucking married today, and if anyone cries today due to your complete and utter fucking idiocy, I will donate your organs on the black market and give the proceeds to the Westboro Baptist Church. Also: don’t let Jack hear about this.” Alex stalked off, fully prepared to strangle the next person that came to him with a problem. He was really too hung-over to care, and his friends tended to have really complicated problems. Everyone knew that Zack belonged with Rian anyway, so it wasn’t like it was that big a problem. Martin could go back to where he came from and everything would be fine. Plus, it would be super adorable if Zack and Rian ended up getting married someday, too.
It probably would have helped if Jack had set him up with someone he found even remotely attractive, he thought to himself. He had been thinking of Zack the whole time, anyway, and even that hadn’t helped. John’s skinny frame felt so wrong pressed against him, all sharp angles that didn’t fit neatly under into his hands. So he tried to move silently through the apartment, leaning into the wall for balance. “Fuck,” he muttered as he lost his balance, smashing his knee against the coffee table. “Motherfucker, that hurt.” The light in the kitchen blinked on.
“Martin?” Zack called softly. “That you?”
“You’re still awake,” Martin said. “It’s late. You should be in bed. You have to fuckin’ give Jack away in the morning... Go to bed, little Zack. Or are you waiting for Rian to come home?” He burst into a fit of highly inappropriate giggles. “Zack, Zack, do you know I made out with John Oh tonight? And your boyfriend is face-down in a plant that fuckin’ Vinny pissed in.”
Zack frowned at him. “Martin, you need to go to bed. You’re drunk.” He giggled some more as Zack slid an arm around his waist, trying to guide him to his bedroom. It was probably the most affection he’d gotten from the younger man in weeks. “Do me a favour and don’t tell me who gave you alcohol, because I’m going to tear them a new asshole once I find out. Also, John? Seriously? That’s kind of disgusting.”
“Well, it’s not like you were fuckin’ offering,” Martin said. His words were coming out slurred; awesome. “You spend all your time with Rian.”
“That’s still no excuse to go get piss-drunk. You were doing so well, Martin. I can’t believe you’d blow all that progress you made over something so stupid. You can do so much better than that.” Zack led him down the hall, giving him the occasional nudge until they were in front of Martin’s bedroom door. “Come on, you need to go to bed. I’m going to stay up for a bit in case Ri comes back, but you really need to sleep. Okay?”
Martin tried his best not to say anything stupid in that moment. “Okay,” he said softly, biting back the tears he knew were coming. “Good night, Zack.” He shut his door behind him, slumping to the floor and leaning against it miserably. How could he ever have thought he had a chance with Zack? He was just an outsider looking in on their lives. Maybe he would start looking for another place on the west coast after the wedding... It was becoming more and more obvious that he didn’t belong in Zack’s life. Everything would work out fine in the end – maybe not for him, but for everyone else. Alex was better and he and Jack were getting married in the morning; despite being sick, Zack had found someone that loved him. That was good enough. Martin could live with that.
**
By the time Alex woke up in the morning, Jack had already gone. He was probably with Martin, freaking out because he had finally realized that he didn’t know how to tie his tie properly or something. This was the first hangover he’d had in over a year. A couple of people were still passed out in random places; Vinny, as usual, was snuggled up to his bottle of Captain Morgan. Pretty normal stuff, in other words. Rian was sitting on the couch in the living room, looking rather melancholy. That wasn’t exactly normal, but it wasn’t exactly out of character either. He was too nervous to care either way.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be with Zack?” he asked. What he really meant, of course, was ‘Get the fuck out of my house, I’m getting nervous and I still need to shower and do some serious manscaping,’ but he didn’t say that once he saw the Rian’s face. “Ri, what’s the matter?”
“I can’t even face Zack right now.”
“Did you two have a fight or something? ‘Cause you guys are kind of the men of honour, so... you know... don’t ruin my wedding or I will cut your dick off and feed it to Jack’s grandma at the reception.” Alex paced the length of the room anxiously. This was supposed to be the happiest day of his life, goddammit.
Rian said in a low, lifeless voice. “I went to Zack’s to pick up my suit and shower, and I found a note from Martin to Zack. He... he’s leaving, Alex. Like, he’s legit flying back to L.A. this afternoon because he feels like no one wants him here. I couldn’t even... What am I supposed to do? I’ve been so selfish this whole fucking time, and I don’t know how I can honestly face Zack today knowing that his best friend is leaving because of me.”
Alex sighed. “Well, this is fucking great. So Zack has no idea?”
Rian shook his head. “This is going to break him. I don’t know what to do, ‘Lex. If he finds out I knew the whole time and I didn’t do anything, he’s going to hate me for the rest of my life. And it’s not fair to Martin, you know? The guy is fuckin’ head-over-heels for Zack. So I don’t want to be responsible for him being heartbroken, either, but at the same time I kind of want to keep my boyfriend.”
They both stared at the clock. “Ri, I don’t know what to tell you. Every second that passes is another second closer to Martin leaving. And you’re the best man at my fucking wedding – which is in about four hours, by the way. So you need to figure out how you’re going to face Zack, because you’re not going to be able to catch up to Martin in time if he’s already left. What time did you go to Zack’s at?”
“An hour ago,” Rian said miserably.
Alex took his car keys from him. “Go get dressed. I’m getting fucking married today, and if anyone cries today due to your complete and utter fucking idiocy, I will donate your organs on the black market and give the proceeds to the Westboro Baptist Church. Also: don’t let Jack hear about this.” Alex stalked off, fully prepared to strangle the next person that came to him with a problem. He was really too hung-over to care, and his friends tended to have really complicated problems. Everyone knew that Zack belonged with Rian anyway, so it wasn’t like it was that big a problem. Martin could go back to where he came from and everything would be fine. Plus, it would be super adorable if Zack and Rian ended up getting married someday, too.