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Its winter, its cold and raining and John B is bored. He used to like the rain, but ever since his dad went missing two months previous, he’d been keeping himself distracted by always being on the move, whether it was surfing, or working on the Cameron's boat or just messing around with his friends, he couldn’t dwell on the fact his dad might be….
..Well it was best for him to keep busy. Less time for his thoughts to spiral that way.
Except now it was pouring rain, the sky seemingly exploding with lightning and thunder every few minutes.
So unless he wanted to get washed away John B was stuck inside for the foreseeable future.
And the worst part was that he was stuck inside alone.
Pope was grounded after their latest “hare-brained scheme” as Heyward had put it, and they hadn’t seen Kie in months.
It seemed to John B like she’d succumb to the vacuum of the Kook academy. Not that he blamed her, they had always known that she’d been slumming hanging out with them after all.
Then there was JJ, who had barely left John B’s side since Big John had gone missing. He had gone on one of his occasional runs back to his own house to grab some clothes, and make sure his father hadn’t OD’d in his absence.
John B had offered to go with him, but JJ had shrugged his offer off.
John B didn’t take it personally. He knew JJ didn’t want him around Luke. The feeling was mutual.
John B would keep JJ at the chateau with him forever if he could, as it was JJ practically lived there anyway, since long before Big John had disappeared.
One day when they were 12 Big John had made a big production of showing John B and JJ that he’d hidden a spare key under a table on the porch, making pointed eye contact with JJ as he carefully pointed the location of the key out.
The memory made John B’s eyes sting with tears.
He’d fought with his dad right before he’d gone missing. The man was obsessed with a treasure hunt, and it often distracted him from the life right in front of him, and sure maybe the man wasn’t winning any father of the year contests, but he never said anything about JJ always being at their house, never moaned about the extra mouth to feed, and as much as John B could tell he wanted to sometimes by the way his Dad would frown, and chew at his bottom lip when JJ came over covered in bruises that he couldn’t hide behind clothes, he never said anything about JJ’s home life.
He always made it clear that the chateau was JJ’s home too.
John B had to blink back tears at that thought.
Hindsight’s a real bitch, he thought to himself bitterly. Wishing he could talk to his dad again, thank him for being the father that he was.
A particularly loud burst of thunder made him jump and jolted him out of his thoughts, looking out the window at the grey sky worriedly.
JJ hated storms. The sudden bangs and crashes that came with a thunder storm made him nervous and jumpy. The two of them had spent countless storms like this one, squished together on the couch.
As much as JJ would hate to have to admit it out loud, John B knew he was JJ’s security blanket.
John B was the only person JJ would allow pass the tough exterior he needed to keep to in order to survive. They were brothers, in everything but blood.
They soothed each other from nightmares, wiped away each other’s tears, and patched up each other up when they were hurt.
In middle school a teacher had called them “co-dependent” but little did she know that their co-dependency was born from practically raising each other.
So what if they were a little co-dependent? Nobody on the Island cared about two derelict kids from the cut, so they had to care for each other.
It was that care that found John B standing in his doorway, staring out at the storm contemplating the best way to head out in the rain to search for JJ.
Where is he? John B worried, gnawing at his bottom lip anxiously.
A roar of thunder cracked through the sky, seemingly right above the chateau, quickly followed by a bolt of lightning striking the water out on the marsh, it was so close that it lit up the entirety of John B’s front yard, illuminating it enough that he could see a figure at the end of the drive slowly making its way towards the house.
‘JJ!’ John B yelled running out into the rain to his best friend, cursing as he slipped and slid in the mud.
‘JJ’ He puffed breathlessly as he reached JJ. Squinting as he tried to get a look at his friend in the dim moon light, and flashes of lightening.
‘Hi’ JJ said in a soft, quiet voice. Causing immediate alarm bells to start ringing in John B’s mind.
Soft and quiet wasn’t JJ’s style. The only time John B knew JJ to be so meek was when his dad had done a real number on him.
It was worst then the usual beatings. JJ was the strongest person John B knew. He could take the punches and the cruel words his dad threw at him on the regular.
But the really bad nights, when Luke was jonesing really bad and couldn’t get his hands on enough to scratch the itch.
Luke was always an asshole, but those nights he was something else entirely. JJ had learnt the signs of an upcoming crash over the years and normally managed to make himself scarce during the worst of it, but as John B caught a glimpse of JJ’s bloody face in the next flash of lightening, he could tell JJ hadn’t seen this one coming.
JJ - tough, hard as nails - JJ, had a steady stream of silent tears running down his face. He had one arm wrapped tightly around his stomach and the other was reaching out for John B.
‘Hey buddy, hey.’ John B soothed softly wrapping an arm around JJ’s back, his other hand taking JJ’s stretched out hand and interlocking their fingers and squeezing gently. ‘I got you dude, lets get inside huh? You must be freezing.’
They slowly made their way into the house, John B taking more and more of JJ’s weight the closer they got, until finally they were crashing through the front door.
John B carefully sat JJ down on the couch, putting a gentle but restraining hand on the younger boys shoulder when he immediately tried to curl in on himself.
‘M’okay’ JJ slurred tiredly as he shook and trembled from both his injuries and his walk in the cold rain.
‘Uh huh.’ John B murmured draping the throw blanket from the back of the couch across JJ’s shoulders before he quickly walked to the bathroom to grab a hand towel, quickening his pace when JJ let out an involutory whimper as John B disappeared from his sight. That alone told John B just how okay JJ was.
‘Its okay bubba.’ He soothed as he came back into the living room. ‘I’m here, I just need to clean the blood off your face so I can see the damage, okay?’ He said kneeling on the floor in front of JJ and holding up the damp cloth questioningly.
‘…Kay.’ JJ whispered.
‘Atta boy.’ John B reached out and squeezed JJ’s knee before lifting the cloth and gently dabbing at the blood on JJ’s face.
There was a big gash right on his hairline that was responsible for most of the blood streaming down JJ’s face, and it was simultaneously a relief and a concern.
A relief because John B knew headwounds tended to bleed a lot and while the gash looked painful he didn’t think it would need stiches, of course though any head would was a concern, but this wasn’t John B and JJ’s first run in with a concussion so at least they knew what to do.
John B quickly cleaned the wound, whispering encouragingly to JJ as he took note of the blossoming black eye and the spilt lip that had been hiding beneath the blood, even as JJ kept his head down, staring at his lap silently.
‘Okay,’ John B shifted up from his knees so he could sit beside JJ on the couch, ‘Lets get you out of these wet clothes and see the rest of the damage.’
JJ, who had managed to get his breathing under control during John B’s ministrations with the damp cloth shook his head lightly. ‘I’m okay man.’
John B levelled him with a knowing look. ‘Jay.’ He said softly.
JJ kept looking down, wringing his not quite steady hands together anxiously in his lap.
John B didn’t want to rush JJ. It normally took him a little while to calm down, and open up enough to let John B tend to his wounds after a particularly bad run in with his dad, but John B didn’t want JJ to get sick on top of everything else, and he had just trudged through a thunderstorm in the middle of winter to get to the chateau, so he knew the other boy had to be freezing.
‘C’mon man just let me give you a quick once over then you can warm up with a hot shower and get into some dry sweats.’ John B tried to entice him.
JJ looked up at that giving John B his first proper look at his friends’ face, and he couldn’t keep the gasp from escaping at what he saw.
JJ had a ring of angry red and purple bruises around his throat, John B could see where the finger tips were cutting his best friends oxygen off from the placement of the bruises.
‘JJ…’ He exhaled in shock, and for the first time he didn’t know what to say, because while he’d been patching JJ up since they were 8, it’s never been this bad.
Luke must have nearly killed JJ for the bruises to be that stark already.
John B could feel his blood begin to boil at the thought and he wanted more then anything to storm over to JJ’s house right now and punch Luke in the face.
But he couldn’t because JJ was sitting on his couch, bruised and bleeding, shriving and crying and dammit if that doesn’t make John B’s eyes well with tears too.
Once when they were 12 JJ cut his leg open on a rusty nail sticking out of the pier, he'd needed 7 stitches and he hadn’t shed a single tear.
But here he was, sitting on John B’s couch, tears streaming down his face, he took a shuddered breath and his bottom lip began to wobble and something in John B broke.
‘Oh bubba.’ He whispered, leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around JJ, careful of his injuries.
Now JJ and John B were always pretty tactile with each other. John B’s dad loved him, but he was distant, Big John’s mind always elsewhere, and Luke well, he was something else entirely. Neither boy got much in the way of physical affection from their parents, so they’d always given it to each other, it was the norm for them.
The moment John B wrapped his arms around him JJ absolutely melted into the embrace, the floodgate opened and his soft tears turned into gut wrenching sobs, he pushed himself further into John B’s embrace, desperately seeking comfort as he shook uncontrollably.
JJ was pressed tightly against his chest, his hands grabbing at John B’s shirt as he tried to pull himself even closer to the other boy.
John B felt like his heart was shattering at seeing JJ so broken. Mindful of JJ’s still undisclosed injuries, he wrapped one arm around JJ’s shoulders and used the other to lift JJ’s hips up and gently heave him up so that he was sitting on John B’s lap.
JJ curled around John B, tucking his head into John B’s neck as his shoulders shook with sobs. ‘I-I…He was gonna kill m-me JB…’
John B brought his free hand up to the back of JJ’s head switching between cupping the back of JJ’s head gently and running his fingers through the messy blonde locks.
‘I got ya.’ He whispered into JJ’s ear, over and over. ‘I’m here. You’re okay now. I have you. You’re safe now.’
Neither boy knew how long they sat there for, wrapped up in each other’s arms, but after a long while JJ’s shoulders stopped shaking and he pulled back with a sniff.
JJ wiped at his eyes, ‘Sorry.’ He muttered, a faint blush rising up on his cheeks as he realized that he was still sitting on John B’s lap. He shifted to move off, but John B stopped him, reaching out a hand to tilt JJ’s face up so they were eye to eye.
‘Don’t be.’ He said simply before wrapping his arms around JJ again, in a hug ‘Never, okay?’ He muttered into JJ’s hair.
JJ sighed contently in John B’s ear and he felt some of the tension leave the younger boys shoulders.
John B rubbed a hand up and down JJ’s back, frowning to himself at how damp and cold he was.
‘You need to have a shower and warm up.’ John B said pulling back to look JJ in the face, he reached out and pushed the damp hair out of his eyes, ‘And don’t think I’ve forgotten that I still need to check your ribs.’ He said knowingly.
‘John Beeeeee’ JJ groaned. ‘I’m fine, I’ve been sitting in your lap for half an hour, do you really think I coulda done that with broken ribs?’
JJ’s voice was slightly hoarse and John B’s eyes fell to the ring of bruises around his neck, he snapped them back up to JJ’s face as soon as he realized what he was doing but it was too late.
JJ’s face fell as he saw John B looking at the bruises and he shifted off his lap with a small wince.
‘Jayje.’ John B began.
‘John B can we not right now?’ He sighed, ‘I’m cold and tired, I just wanna shower and go to bed.’
‘JJ…’
’Please?’
John B sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes. ‘Yeah okay.’ He agreed, ‘Later though.’
‘Yeah sure,’ JJ agreed pulling himself up from the couch with a soft groan. ‘Later.’
John B watched as JJ shuffled towards the bathroom stiffly. ‘You gonna be alright?’ He asked.
‘You’re not helping me in the shower dude.’ JJ quipped, one hand on the bathroom door, he hesitated before turning around to look at John B, a soft look on his bruised face.
‘JB?’ He called softly. Waiting until John B looked up at him to croak out a quiet but sincere ‘Thanks bro….Love you.’
John B smiled at him warmly, ‘Love you too Jay. I’ll put some clean pyjamas out for you.’
Later that night, after JJ had allowed John B to poke and prod at his ribs until the older boy was satisfied that they were just bruised. The two boys laid next to each other in bed, listening to the rain still falling outside, JJ flinched closer to John B at a particularly loud crash of thunder.
‘I got cha’’ John B said shifting closer to JJ, who curled up into John B’s side instantly, resting his head on John B’s chest and closing his eyes tightly at another crash of thunder.
‘M’sorry.’ JJ muttered into John B’s chest. ‘My dads right, I’m a pussy.’ He sniffed. ‘I’m 15. I’m way too old to be scared of some dumb storm.’
John B started running his fingers through JJ’s hair. ‘You’re not a pussy.’ He said firmly. ‘Your dads an asshole, don’t listen to him.’
JJ murmured something softly.
‘Huh?’
‘You’re not scared.’
‘I’m scared of plenty of thing’s JJ.’
‘Like what?’ JJ slurred tiredly and John B could tell that he was fighting sleep.
He hummed thoughtfully, his fingers still combing through JJ’s hair softly. ‘I’m scared I’ll never see my dad again; I’m scared of what that means for me…’
JJ’s breathing slowed down and become steadier as he began to drift off, losing his battle with exhaustion.
‘…I’m scared for you.’ John B admitted softly, his eyes drifting to JJ’s neck where he knew the ring of bruises was.
‘I’m scared that one day your dad won’t stop, and you won’t come home.’
Like my dad
JJ stirred at that, tilting his head up on John B’s chest to look him in the eye in the dim light of the moon lit room. His blue eyes glowing in the pale light.
‘I’ll always come home JB.’ He promised, wrapping the arm he had flung across John B’s chest around him tighter. ‘Always.’
John B squeezed him back gently, ‘You better.’
‘I pinky promise.’ JJ swore, reaching out to wrap his pinky around John B’s.
John B huffed out a laugh and the room suddenly felt lighter.
‘Go to sleep you dork.’ He whispered, turning his hand in JJ’s so that their fingers were intertwined.
‘Mmm okay.’ JJ muttered softly, sinking deeper into John B’s warm embrace. ‘G’night JB, love you.’
‘Love you too JJ.’
Thunder crashed outside and lightening continued to flash across the night sky, but the two boys slept soundly, with the knowledge that as long as they had each other, they’d never be alone.