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Matt, as he slowly crumpled down onto the hard ground below him, had a few revelations.
Firstly, he realized (a little too late) that diplomacy wasn't ever the way to go when guns were pointed at him while he was in gang territory.
Second. He needed help. Kelly was in an apartment just a block away. His phone in his pocket. He felt himself fading quickly, he knew the metallic taste in his mouth wasn't a promising sign.
And third, a last fleeting thought before he heard the squeal of tires as a car sped away, this could be his last moment on earth. His very last moment. He'd obviously imagined what it'd be like before, he knew he'd probably die trying to save someone on a call, that always seemed the most likely scenario. Not this. Not random, not so unexpected and not so quick.
Kelly anxiously paced the emergency room. The room was packed with strangers and he knew he was irritating multiple people with his incessant movement, but he couldn't bring himself to sit down. The bright white lights combined with a TV mounted on the wall, advertising an in-home chair lift, brought on a sensory overload to his already rampant mind.
Kelly wanted to shut down and crawl in a hole because he knew that he couldn't face a world that Matt wasn't a part of. And that's the way it was looking.
A nurse had eventually updated him on Matt's situation, but she didn't seem hopeful. Kelly, despite the bleary circumstances, kept telling himself everything was fine, because it was until it wasn't, right?
He continued trying to mull it over in his mind, long after the nurse had left him in an emotional heap on the floor against a wall. He wished it was him getting sewn back together, he wish it was him that was on the brink of death. Hell knows he was the one that deserved it. Not Matt. Not that precious, sweet angel walking among men.
Kelly kept replaying the moments after Matt left his apartment just hours ago. He flicked through every moment, trying to find the single millisecond, the single thing he could have changed in order to get him to stay the night.
"You seem tired." Kelly commented as Matt stood wearily from the couch. "You can crash here."
"Thanks. I should be getting back though."
"Back to what?" Kelly replied incredulously. It sounded harsher than he'd meant it and the implications of Matt's perpetual loneliness sat heavily in the tension between them. "Sorry, I—"
"You're always sorry, aren't you?" Matt sighed wearily. He seemed more than tired, Kelly decided; it was in his bones, in his entire being. "Thanks for having me."
"Matt, c'mon—"
"Bye, Severide." Matt breathed out, sliding his jacket on and grabbing his wallet off the table.
Kelly stood up then and crossed the room. "Please stay." He spoke after a too-long silence and a look that was somewhere between lost puppy and scared kitten. He slowly slipped a hand along Matt's jaw, sliding it up against the day old stubble to cup his cheek. "Please."
Matt pulled away, "You gotta figure out what you want. You can't just have me when you feel like it and treat me like shit the other ninety percent of the time. I can't—" Matt cleared his throat, composing himself even though the moistening of his eyes gave him away. "It hurts. So. Figure it out."
"Matt, I'll—"
"Figure it out." Matt replied quickly, opening the door to leave, "I'll see you later."
Kelly didn't have a clue what he'd been doing to Matt. Truth was, he knew Matt deserved better. He deserved someone who'd never take him for granted, someone who was good at talking about feelings, someone who treated Matt like he was a fucking treasure.
But Matt wanted Kelly, and Kelly didn't know what to do with that because he wanted Matt right back.
He wanted Matt and that scared him. It scared him in every part of his entire being and that never went well because really, coping had never been a strong suit. He woke up from cold sweats every fucking night because all he ever dreamed about was losing Matt. Ironic, since he didn't even really have him in the first place, never really could hold on.
He had two one-night stands and a little kissing to hold onto; fleeting moments and barely there memories, but that's all. (Too much alcohol — blessing + curse.) And maybe he could see it now, maybe he could see why fucking Matt one minute and kicking him out the next could make Matt hurt so badly.
He felt this overwhelming need to wholeheartedly pull Matt in, take every inch of him into the safety of his embrace. Kelly wanted to lay in bed at night, Matt in his arms while the rest of the world left them alone. He wanted to sleep, just for one night, so he could think straight and find a way to stop ruining every good thing that had ever entered his life. Maybe Kelly just wanted happiness, and really, was that too much to ask of himself?
Maybe it was the slowly emptying room, or maybe it was the sun that began shining through the glass doors that finally caused Kelly to come back to reality.
A doctor, covered in blood with a somewhat grim expression approached him slowly. "Kelly Severide? A nurse told me you were waiting. Technically I'm not supposed to say anything because you're not listed as the emergency contact but—" He moved on to motion to Kelly's current position, "—You've been here all night. It's obvious you care."
Kelly's heart sunk, he tried to stand but his legs wouldn't obey his mind's orders. Maybe it was better anyway, if he got the news he was expecting, it was probably better that he was already sitting on the ground. With reluctant, bloodshot eyes and firm look of weariness on his face, Kelly nodded, the first movement his body had made in hours. "How's Matt?" He surprised himself with the weakness of his own voice.
"He uh—" The doctor paused for an undeterminable amount of time. To Kelly, it could have been weeks. "He was bleeding internally, three entry wounds, no exits wounds—"
Kelly hung his head, he couldn't bear to listen, but he did anyways because the alternative was thinking about how he could have stopped Matt from leaving his apartment, and that same thought process had already torn him apart in about sixteen different ways.
"—one bullet hit his lung, the second hit his spleen, third hit the stomach—"
Kelly was reeling. His heartbeat boomed in his ears and everything felt raw. He wasn't sure why the doctor was still talking.
"—spleen was the biggest source of blood but we stitched it up, and his stomach leaked some of its contents so his risk of infection is elevated. His lung should recover well and—"
Recover. Kelly's head shot up and his eyes locked onto the doctor's, "He's alive?"
"Well, yeah. I guess I should have led with that. Sorry." The doctor gave Kelly an apologetic smile, or at least the closest to a smile that Kelly figure the man was able to get.
"He's?—" Kelly's eyes were watering, his hands were shaking, adrenaline started pumping through his body. He'd already begun grieving, he'd already felt the loss and now suddenly he felt hot, like lava was travelling through his veins and heart. He began falling into a cold sweat as he stood, shakily bracing against the wall. His heart might be stopped or beating three-hundred times in a moment, he didn't know. His ears were roaring and he felt dizzy, he needed to see Matt.
"Can I?" Kelly couldn't feel his head or his hands or his legs. He tried to say more, but his body was shaking with adrenaline and he was too focused on trying to stand.
"I'm afraid you can't see him. He's been moved to the ICU and only family will be allowed right now."
"But he doesn't have any family." Kelly's voice was strained as he tried to get ahold of himself.
"His mother is with him now."
"His mom?" Kelly spoke incredulously, "What?"
"Listen, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm not allowed to speak about my patients, but you saved my family half a year ago. I feel like I owed you something."
"I understand." Kelly nodded. "Thanks."
Kelly found a waiting room near to the ICU in hopes that, by some miracle, he'd eventually be let in to see Matt. He was exhausted, he didn't know how Matt was doing, and he certainly didn't want Matt to wake up to his mother. He wanted Matt to wake up to him, he wanted to take care of the blond, protect him.
But time passed with no updates. The hours seemed long, so long. But they were nothing compared to the days that followed.
Four days.
It had been four days that Kelly spent sitting in the same uncomfortable waiting room chair. He didn't talk or eat, often stuck in his own little world, dreaming about Matt. The seldom times he did speak, it was usually with the nurses. He was starting to make a name for himself around the nurses station, he was in quite good standing with them due to his patience and calm, respectful demeanour. Kelly would be forever grateful to them not only for not kicking him out, but also constantly updating him on Matt's condition. He was sure they were breaking rules, but wasn't about to tell them to stop. All the nurses wanted to let Kelly in to see Matt, but his mother was watching him like a hawk and wouldn't allow any other visitors because she was convinced that she was the only one who had any idea how to care for her son. The doctors harboured a strong dislike for her too and Kelly often heard them talking in the halls, explaining to each other what she'd done this time.
It started off small, she'd load him with blankets while the nurses weren't looking, because he looked deathly cold. Really, he was just pale from the trauma his body was still trying to recover from, but Nancy wouldn't have any of that. As a result, nurses had come in to a very sweaty and uncomfortable looking Matt. They'd have to change his sheets and sponge bathe him in order to get him settled again, often taking up quite a bit of time.
The sponge baths were another thing all in themselves. Any nurse trying to give Matt one, would often have a hell of a job trying to get it done. This was only because Nancy seemed to consider it a very interactive activity that she needed to be involved in every time.
Her behaviour escalated to more serious things, such as messing with his intravenous drip or changing the levels and settings on different pieces of equipment Matt was hooked up to. It was all because she had this delusion that she, as Matt's mother, knew more about his care than the doctors that had trained for years.
They had to permanently have a nurse stationed in Matt's room to ensure the safety of Matt's wellbeing. At the nurses station they joked around, calling it babysitting duty. Nobody ever wanted to be the one to do it, but they all loved Matt already, despite him never having a conscious moment, and they all wanted to protect him. Movements had been made to try and remove Nancy from the room, seeing as she was regularly compromising his care, but she was dating a lawyer these days and she'd squawk about her rights to anyone who would listen.
The doctors were hopeful that Matt would pull through. The big worry had been infection, because when a bullet had ripped through his intestines, the contents had leaked into his abdominal cavity. However, they detected no signs of any issues in that area, and everything was healing satisfactorily. They'd managed to save most of his spleen, and his lungs were doing well despite going through their own little version of hell.
Kelly was sitting quietly in his special chair in the corner of the waiting room when he had his own special experience of getting pounced on by Nancy.
"Why are you still here?" She sneered, storming up to him. "I'll never let you see him."
Kelly's calmness easily turned into a screaming fire under his skin. Luckily he was trained to put out fires for a living, so he was able to remain passive. He hadn't talked to or really seen Nancy since the first day. He'd tried so hard to persuade her to let him see Matt, just to see for himself that he was okay, but Nancy was stubborn and entitled. She'd hated Kelly from the very first moment they'd met for reasons she'd never divulged.
As much as he hated Nancy, she was still Matt's mother. "I just want to make sure he pulls through." Kelly said politely, almost diplomatically. The last thing he wanted was to cause a huge scene, and he knew with Nancy that was almost an inevitability, but he had to try.
"Have doesn't want you here." Nancy shook her head at him with the grace of a middle-aged woman that wanted to speak to the manager.
"Did he wake up? Did he say that?" Kelly was almost hopeful. He could take the rejection if it meant that Matt was awake.
"No, but I know my son." Nancy spoke with clear condescension in her shrill voice. "He wouldn't want the likes of you here, so it's better if you just go."
Kelly would do a lot of things in his life, but following the advice of Nancy Casey would never be one of those things. "I may not be allowed in his room yet, but I'm staying here."
"Security!" Nancy called with disgust in her voice, "Remove this man please."
There were three security guards that worked alternating shifts on the ICU floor, and Kelly knew them all by name. It was their job to make sure nobody snuck in during the night and they had enforce the visiting guidelines when needed. They let Kelly stay in the waiting room during the night, against protocol as it might be.
As the guard that Kelly knew as Bernie came sauntering over, he shot Kelly a knowing look. It wasn't his first rodeo with Nancy and he was positive it wouldn't be the last. "No, ma'am. He's under no obligation to leave the premises, he hasn't caused any disruptions."
"He's disrupted me."
"Ah yes, he was just sitting here and disrupted you when you came over to talk to him. I see."
"Well, I never..!" Nancy looked flushed, "Do any of you do your job around here?"
Kelly gave Bernie an apologetic look before scrubbing a hand across his weary features.
"He's needs to be out by the end of the day or else I'll be talking to your manager." She muttered, storming off in a huff.
"Sorry, Bernie." Kelly murmured with a sigh, brushing his hair back.
The older man chuckled. "It's alright, Kelly, I've seen worse moms in my day if you can believe it."
"Hard to." Kelly gave Bernie a smile.
Bernie nodded and then paused for a moment, "Listen, I'm going to give you some advice."
Kelly looked up at the man curiously.
"Don't stop fighting for him. I seen what people like his mom can do, it's never pretty. Don't let her win."
"I won't. I could never." Kelly shook his head, heart skipping a beat at the admission.
When Matt woke up, it was to the sound of two people having an argument. His eyes were too heavy to open, and his body felt like it was disconnected from his mind. As the first moments of consciousness that rolled into his fuzzy head, he began to realize that what he was hearing wasn't really a fight, one person was yelling and one person was calmly trying to diffuse the situation. Upon listening to the irritating voice, he realized it sounded familiar. He also became aware of the deep anxiety that was settling into his chest, as if his body knew something about this voice that his mind couldn't yet figure out.
Then it dawned on him. It was his mother's voice.
He immediately started thrashing about, trying to get away as the adrenaline flooded through his veins. His heart was shooting pain from every angle as he moved, making him wonder if he was having a heart attack. He must be dead, he thought to himself, he must've died and gone to hell because that's the only place his mother would be waiting for him.
"He's just having a bad dream, leave him alone!" His mother shouted as the nurse she'd been yelling at shot into action.
The nurse called out for some assistance and set to work on helping Matt.
Kelly heard the commotion and seen Matt's doctor run toward his room, and immediately thought the worst. His heart sunk as he went over all the possibilities, he could have gotten that infection after all, he could be coding, he could be dead.
Inside, Matt was still in a panic, trying to get away from his mom. She was hovering over him and speaking loudly to him, like he couldn't hear. His eyes were open now, so he could see it was really her, and that terrified him. He couldn't speak or breathe at this point, and he was choking on the tube that was down his throat.
"Matt," A doctor's calm voice cut through his inner turmoil, making him freeze for a moment. "I need you to calm down for a moment, okay? You still have the ventilator in but you're breathing fully on your own now, so we can take it out."
Matt nodded slowly, eyes wide with fear as he looked up at the doctor.
"His name is Matthew!" Nancy yelled at the doctor, making Matt flinch and start breathing erratically again.
The doctor visibly took a deep breath as he buried his anger toward Nancy. He gave Matt an encouraging look as he set to work on removing the tubing that went down Matt's throat. When he was finished Matt looked up at him with moist eyes, "Kel. Need Kel." He rasped in fear, his voice raw from disuse.
"Somebody get Kelly," he called out quickly.
A nurse approached Kelly moments later, a large grin on her face. "He's awake, and he asked for you."
Kelly looked up at her in shock, "He—?"
"Yes!" She beamed, "I should warn you though, he woke up in a big panic and he's really disoriented. His mom isn't helping things at all. Maybe you can help him."
Kelly nodded, standing up from his chair and following the nurse eagerly.
"Kel—" Matt choked out when Kelly came into the room, immediately reaching out for him.
Kelly rushed to his side, carefully sitting down on the edge of the bed. He leaned over and very gently wrapped his arms around Matt's weak frame. Matt tucked his head into Kelly as choked sobs started erupting from his chest. Kelly didn't think he'd ever seen Matt this shaken up, so he continued to hold him, physically protecting him from Nancy.
"Kelly I said you were not allowed in here." Nancy yelled, "Get out this instant."
"Matt's awake. He's calling the shots now." The doctor said gruffly.
"Kelly, you're smothering him." Nancy exclaimed, reaching forward and trying to yank Kelly away. Except Kelly didn't move at all, he'd always been strong, but the need to protect Matt made him even stronger. Nancy couldn't budge him the slightest as he continued to hold Matt.
Eventually she gave up and started complaining to the doctors and nurses that were slowly filtering out. They all left Kelly and Matt to finally have a moment together, hoping that Nancy would let them do the same.
But no. Nancy was dead set on getting rid of Kelly.
Matt slowly began calming down in Kelly's arms and though he was in pain, he was starting to feel okay.
Kelly eventually pulled away, but continued to sit on the edge of the bed, holding Matt's hand.
"Alright! Enough handholding." Nancy snapped, yanking Matt's arm away from Kelly.
"Stop." Matt murmured painfully, eyes beginning to water again.
"Matthew I've always done what's best for you and I won't stop now." Nancy muttered in annoyance.
"You don't know what's best for him," Kelly retorted sharply.
"Oh! And I suppose you do?" She spat angrily.
"No, but he does." Kelly looked down at Matt, watching as Matt took his hand again. "No offence, but you need to stop acting all high and mighty, and maybe ask your son what he needs, instead of assuming."
"I don't need to ask, I already know." Nancy sighed, rolling her eyes at the man sitting next to her son.
"No." Matt shook his head. "I need Kelly."
"I know you think that honey, but you're on some strong medications right now and—"
"Oh would you just shut up and let him rest?" Kelly huffed, running his thumb across the back of Matt's hand gently.
"Well he wouldn't have gotten shot if it wasn't for you!" Nancy yelled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kelly shot up then.
"You know exactly what that means!" Nancy exclaimed.
Kelly's fists balled up by his sides and he was just going over the consequences of punching Nancy when a weak hand slid over one of his tightly clenched hands. He looked down at Matt and immediately felt the anger fizzle away.
"Wasn't your fault." Matt murmured to him, "I'm the one who left, you tried to get me to stay."
"But I should have done more, I should've—"
"There's a lot of could'ves, would'ves, and should'ves in this one, Kel." Matt was looking at him with heavy lidded eyes. "But I'm okay now."
"Far from okay, Matt." Kelly looked down at him with a small smile.
"You're not looking so great either, hotshot." Matt smiled softly. "When's the last time you slept?"
Kelly glanced away, cheeks reddening. "I—"
"He's been sitting in the waiting room like an idiot." Nancy shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Hasn't showered in days! Disgusting. Obviously his mother didn't teach him anything."
Matt looked to Kelly, "Any of that true?"
Kelly looked down at Matt and gave him a little smile, "Wasn't allowed to see you."
"And for good reason!" Nancy interjected, "You've already tired Matt far beyond his limits."
Kelly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying so hard not to hit that damn woman.
"He deserves much better friends than you." She shrilled, shaking her head.
"And I deserve better than you, mom, but here we are." Matt sighed.
"Matthew!" Nancy exclaimed, smacking him on the chest, "How dare you talk to me like that."
It wasn't necessarily a hard hit, but it hurt Matt nonetheless. He grimaced and curled in on himself a little, trying hard to internalize the pain. All he could see was static as his wounds stung, making him feel like he'd been shot all over again.
"Breathe, Matt." Kelly murmured, choosing to focus on Matt in this moment instead of going haywire on Nancy, which in this moment, was quite tempting.
"Oh get over it." Nancy barked, "I didn't hit you that hard."
"You might recall he's been shot." Kelly grumbled, placing a soothing hand on Matt's chest as he silently helped him through the pain.
Matt's hand covered his as he looked up at him through bleary vision. There was a slightly pained, twisted smile on his face, barely noticeable but there enough that Kelly could see it. "You should probably go—" He murmured, needing to pause in order to take a deep breath.
Kelly looked slightly hurt, "Oh, I—"
"See! I told you."
"No I didn't finish." Matt said slowly, giving his mother an annoyed look. "You should probably go home and have a shower, maybe get some sleep, eat something, and then, if you still want to, come back?"
Kelly nodded slowly, "I don't really want to leave you alone."
"He's not alone." Nancy interrupted, "I'll be taking care of him, no sense you coming back, just go home and stay there."
Matt squeezed Kelly's hand as a signal to listen to him instead of his mother.
"Do you want me to come back?" Kelly asked softly.
Matt nodded, "Yeah."
Kelly looked at his watch. "It's two AM now, I'll be back by six."
"Sleep for an extra couple of hours if you want. Not like I'm going anywhere." Matt gave Kelly a little smile. "I'll just be sleeping anyways." He glanced at his mother for a split second and shared a look with Kelly, "Maybe."
"You sure you'll be okay?" Kelly asked resolutely, anxiously kicking the ground. "If you want me to stay—"
Matt squeezed his hand, "I'm sure. Just come back."
"I promise." He murmured, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on Matt's forehead while Nancy wasn't looking. He leaned down next to Matt's ear and whispered, "The nurses have my number if you need me, okay?"
Matt nodded, "See you soon, and don't forget to eat."
"I won't."
"Pics or it didn't happen," Matt's voice floated out the door as Kelly left, causing Kelly to grin.
"Where are you going?" One of the nurses asked as he walked out.
"Matt's making me go home and sleep for a bit." Kelly smiled, ducking his head sheepishly.
She laughed gleefully, "I'm happy to hear that, you were starting to look a little rough."
"Yeah. I'm going to need the rest. Especially if I have any hope of dealing with his mom tomorrow." Kelly teased knowingly, "I'll be back in the morning."
"Sounds good." She said, bidding him a good night and watching him go.
Kelly returned as promised in the morning feeling refreshed. He'd had a long shower, eaten something with a higher nutritional value than a pudding cup, and even slept for a few hours.
When he got to Matt's room at 5:47 in the morning, he was greeted by a handsome smile and a pair of eyes that looked at him like he was the world.
"Why are you awake?" Kelly whispered as he sat down on the side of Matt's bed, unable to help the smile that spread across his face.
"Nancy was keeping me up with her incessant chatting. Telling me all the reasons why I'm just like my father, why I haven't achieved enough in my life, and why I've become a disappointment to myself. You know, normal mom stuff." Matt laughed silently, "She just fell asleep."
Kelly looked over to where Nancy was snoring in the chair by the opposite side of the bed. "But you're not asleep yet?" Kelly whispered in reply.
"No." Matt murmured, shaking his head.
"Why not?" Kelly asked with a curious tilt of his head.
Matt shrugged, "I don't know, too on edge I guess."
"Because of your mom?"
Matt nodded, "Her, and I keep think about the shooting. It started coming back to me."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kelly asked softly.
Matt shook his head, "I just want to get my mind off it."
"I might be able to help with that." Kelly replied after a few moments.
"Yeah?" Matt smiled hopefully.
Kelly nodded, "You know, you gave me a lot of time to think."
"Almost five days." Matt said after a couple seconds of silence.
"Almost five days," Kelly nodded. "I kept thinking about what you said to me before you left that night. That I needed to make up my mind. And I did. I took a long look at myself and I realized what an idiot I've been. I haven't treated you nearly as well as I should have and I was taking you for granted, and I know I was horrible. I was scared and I was acting like an idiot. I know that I hurt you." Kelly paused, overwhelmed by the sudden emotions that seemed to be surging through him. "Matt, I hurt you a lot and I know that I've never been easy. I totally understand if you don't want me anymore, but I just wanted to say that if you do, I'm ready to start acting like an adult and treating you like an absolute fucking treasure, because you are. You're a treasure and you're important and you mean everything to me. And I want to show you that, I want to show you that every day for the rest of your life, if you'll let me. I understand if you want to say no, and I'll respect your wishes and we can still be best friends."
"Kelly Severide, are you asking me to go steady with you?" Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Kelly replied without hesitation, instantly worried that this had all been too much for Matt this soon after waking up.
"I should have gotten shot years ago." Matt whispered with a little smirk.
Kelly laughed quietly, "Is that a yes?"
"Of course that's a yes." Matt replied gently, "As long as this isn't just because I almost died."
"It's not." Kelly shook his head. "But it probably did help me put things in perspective."
Matt nodded, "For me too."
"I'm going to sound like a love-struck teenager here for a sec, but—" Kelly smiled as he watched Matt yawn sleepily. "Can I call you my boyfriend?"
Matt's eyes lit up. "You're that serious?"
"I am," Kelly watched Matt with warm eyes, reaching out to capture his hand in his. "And I want to take you out. When you're outta here."
Matt thought about it for a moment, "Let's go for weekend away somewhere. Assuming I have any money left after the hospital bills."
Kelly didn't want Matt worried about the financials right now, "A weekend where?"
"Somewhere warm and sunny, always wanted to go to LA." Matt yawned again and rubbed his eyes, "Maybe fishing cabin—" He trailed off, setting his hand on Kelly's.
"You should try to get some sleep." Kelly murmured, cupping Matt's cheek gently and rubbing his thumb along his cheekbone.
"Will you get in here with me?" Matt asked wearily, looking up at Kelly hopefully.
Kelly nodded, "As long as it doesn't hurt you."
"I'm on more painkillers than a horse giving birth." Matt smiled, gingerly moving to one side of the bed so he could leave room for Kelly. He selfishly chose to be on the farthest side from his mother because he sincerely didn't want to wake up to that again.
Kelly tried his best to evade Nancy as he got into the bed, and was relieved when she didn't wake. He settled into the bed easily and pulled the blankets over both of them. The bed wasn't big by any means, but it was able to support them both comfortably. As soon as Kelly was in, Matt clambered close and tucked his head against the little spot between his chest and shoulder. Kelly sighed contently as he wrapped his strong arms around Matt, holding him tightly. "Night, Matty."
"Just a heads up, my mom's a homophobic prick who's gonna freak out when she sees us." Matt slurred, the sleepiness and painkillers having almost completely taken him over by now.
"I'll protect you." Kelly smiled, leaning over to leave kisses in Matt's hair.
"Thanks." Matt grinned sloppily, his arm wrapping around Kelly's chest.
"You're welcome," Kelly laughed to himself softly, listening as Matt's breathing evened out slowly.
Matt was right. Kelly was woken up with a slap to his face, and Matt was woken by the sound of it.
"The hell?!" Kelly frowned, immediately awake and angered.
"You're corrupting my son!" Nancy seethed, "Get out!" Waking up to the image of her son sleeping against a man like it was the most comfortable place in the world? Awful. Impure. A disgrace.
"What are you talking about?" Matt asked tiredly.
"Honey get up we're leaving." Nancy demanded, rounding the bed and yanking Matt up by his arm. "Now."
Matt cried out in pain, feeling all his still healing wounds pull tightly. Kelly was instantly in action, jumping out of bed and getting in front of Matt as he collapsed back into bed, physically blocking Nancy from getting near him.
Nancy hit Kelly again and was about to go for another whack, but Kelly caught her hand in midair and held it still, probably too tight if Nancy's expression was anything to go by, but he couldn't be bothered to care. His parents had always taught him to never to lay a hand upon a woman, but they didn't know Nancy Casey.
"Stop hurting him," Kelly shook his head, throwing her hand back to her. It was a miracle that he wasn't beating her face into the ground, but he knew that violence was the last thing Matt needed.
"I know he's pretty but he's not GAY." Nancy exclaimed, shaking her head in disgust. "You are repulsive, a sexual predator."
Matt back in bed trying to breathe through the pain when spoke up, "Kelly just make her go away, please just—"
"Matthew, I am the only one who really cares about you, no one else wants you—"
A couple of nurses who had heard the commotion came into Matt's room, "Ah, there you are. We need to file a sexual predation report."
"Mom!" Matt uttered in annoyance, "He's my boyfriend."
Kelly felt a surge of warmth travel through him at the words, but he continued to do his job, acting as a human shield for Matt.
"Mom you need to leave," Matt sighed, "You no doubt woke up the whole floor and if you can't respect Kelly, then you need to go."
"Has he really brainwashed you this extensively, Matthew?"
"For fucks sakes!" Matt grunted, sitting up in the bed despite the pain. "Nurse, I hate to be a bother, but do you think security could escort her out?"
"Of course, Matt."
"His name is Matthew!" Nancy exclaimed defensively to the nurse, before turning to her son. She had to peek around Kelly's arm in order to see Matt. "And really, Matthew, I know that recovery is hard, but don't you think I should be the one helping you? I'm the only one who knows you."
"You don't know me. You're only here because you're my next of kin and the hospital called you."
"But I'm here."
"But if they didn't call you, you wouldn't be."
"Matthew!"
"And nobody calls me that! You and dad ruined that name. It's Matt now."
"Get rid of that attitude you spoiled brat!" Her voice turned into poison and if looks could kill, Matt would be more dead than he already felt.
"You pretend like you're mother of the year, but we haven't even talked in years."
"Not like I could ever brag about you." She spat, giving Kelly a shove for good measure.
Just then, two security guards entered and that was that, Nancy was gone.
It took Matt a while to recover from the morning's drama, and he was understandably exhausted. He just wanted to sleep but he couldn't seem to relax, so instead, he lay awake mindlessly chatting with Kelly, his brain half mush.
Turned out that all he needed in order to finally fall asleep, was to get Kelly to lay in bed with him. The nurses thought it was the most adorable thing ever, and the doctors were just happy he was finally resting.
When Matt was finally discharged, there was no question of where he'd be going.
As he pushed further into Kelly's side on an early morning a few days later, he let out long, soft sigh.
"You alright?" Kelly murmured, half-awake.
"Mhmm." Matt nodded, smiling when Kelly turned his body to face him and wrapped a strong arm around him.
"Good." Kelly planting a small kiss to Matt's forehead before tucking the blond shock beneath his chin, "Need your pain meds?"
Matt shook his head and yawned, pressing further into Kelly's warm, tight embrace.
"Go back to sleep, it's still early." Kelly murmured softly, trailing a finger up and down Matt's bare spine.
"What happened to you going on a run today?" Matt raised an eyebrow curiously.
"I underestimated how much I'd want to lay here and hold you like this," Kelly replied after a beat, a smile crossing onto his lips, "I'm not going anywhere."