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Matthew was a man of order.
Not- not physically. Sometimes, not all the time. His hair was sometimes a mess, as to where Ness would laugh softly and run his fingers through the front of Matthew’s locks, ruffling them. Or the waiter would help him gel it back.
But schedule wise? Matthew was a bit stressful on himself. Or at least, that's what Ness told him. He was up by six, or whenever he was scheduled, and he was out the door by seven, unless asked to work late. Even then, he was always out by the hour. Matthew liked order, he liked the looks of clocks lining up and knowing he was doing something right.
And yeah, sometimes the passage of time felt like it was rushing him, felt like it was pedaling him forward and forward until he had nowhere to go and no time left to use, but order helped. It helped him remember that there were no more stakes. No more challenges and no more time limits. Mornings before his schedule helped, mornings where he lay in bed with Ness and stroked his hair and just realized yeah, I'm okay now.
Ness, however, did not share the same notion. Considering he had basically sold his fucking soul to Sparky, he was always on call and always away. Sometimes day shifts, sometimes night shifts, and he was always apologetic for each. Matthew would try to stay up when he could, but it was basically impossible sometimes. And yet every time, he bit his tongue and avoided telling Ness what he really wanted to say. To quit his damn job.
Matthew eventually learned to live with the outcome. Him and Ness just had to hold onto their free time when they could, because the two would almost always have a conflicting schedule.
One thing he could count on, was the fact that Ness would always be home when he was. Maybe just briefly, maybe he was just running out the door when Matthew turned his key in the lock, but he was always there. Unless, once again, it was a day where Matthew was working late.
Today just had to be one of those days.
As Matthew dug around his desk, looking for his keys, his shoulders carried a specific ache to them that was slowly traveling down his back. God, he wanted nothing more than to see Ness, but he had lost his hope for today. The waiter had said he'd be working from the evening to dawn, and that he hoped he'd be able to catch Matthew before he left. But today, the chief just had to need Matthew for some paperwork ventures that could have been handled ages ago, but were pushed back until now. By the time he got the green light to go, the clock already read eight.
Needless to say, when he got home, Matthew was surprised to open the door and immediately spot Ness's shoes to the side, still tucked near their coat closet.
As he unbuttoned his coat, Matthew looked up, peering into the hallway.
“Sweet?”
He didn't get an answer, for a moment. During that moment, Matthew humored the idea that maybe Ness had worn a different pair of shoes today. But no, Sparky would never let him out of uniform. At the thought of Sparky, he instinctively frowned.
And then he finally heard a reply.
“...I'm in here.”
Matthew immediately shoved his shoes off, digging his toes into the back of his heels and discarding them near the door. He'd place them properly later. Ness was sitting in the living room, by the sounds of it, and yet the sound of it also seemed to be oddly melancholic.
Now, Ness had his days. Days that Matthew always made sure to be there for, even when he had no time. He'd always make time. But the sound in his voice was different today, defeated. Maybe he hadn't meant for Matthew to hear the tone, but the detective did anyway. He couldn't help it, he observed it all, and he could tell something was wrong with his boyfriend.
When he entered the room, Ness was sitting on the couch. He was staring at the television, which remained completely turned off. Matthew repeated the name.
“Sweet?” He was slightly less curious now, more unsure. “What happened?”
Ness turned towards him, for a second. And Matthew noticed the way his bottom lip trembled. He moved forward, or practically lunged, but by the time he wrapped his arms around Ness, the waiter was already in tears. Matthew clutched onto his boyfriend, who was currently sobbing into his arms.
He ran his hand up and down Ness’s back, but it didn't soothe the waiter. For once, Matthew had no idea what to do, as he stared at his boyfriend. Ness had cried before, briefly, in front of him. But never like this, never these desperate tears. Never shuddering tears that wracked his body. Ness clutched onto Matthew's arm, held it close to his chest as he sobbed.
And once he had finally calmed down enough to speak, he answered Matthew's earlier asked question.
“Sparky fired me.”
Instantly, the detective felt a distant dread start to form in his stomach. “He- what?”
Ness’s face, slowly shaping back into a calmer expression, crumpled again as he recalled the event. “He fired me!”
Ness buried his head in his hands, propping his elbows on his knees, and Matthew immediately wrapped both arms around his shoulders, mind racing.
Fired? As much as Ness hated the job, he was damn good at it. Sparky had no choice but to admit that, after all. After years of working there, Ness knew everything there was to know. It made no sense to fire him out of the blue!
Well…
“Is there a reason?” Matthew asked, bringing one hand up to Ness’s chin, tilting it towards him. Ness looked him in the eye, clearly trying not to burst into tears again.
“Last week.” He murmured.
This time, Matthew's heart sank. Last week, which probably alluded to Ness’s sick week, where…
Matthew totally threatened Sparky.
“No.” Matthew breathed, licking his lips. “That can't be- he wouldn't fire you just because of that!”
Matthew's hand moved from Ness’s chin, to his own hair, running his fingers through the strands. Had he gotten his boyfriend fired? All because he wanted to stand up for him? God, Ness was a great boyfriend ever fucking day and the moment Matthew tries to reciprocate it, it backfires so spectacularly that-
“Matt.” Ness whispered, leaning into Matthew's arms fully yet also looking up. “It's okay. He's just- he's such an asshole. I guess he wanted to punish me for-” Ness’s voice breaks off, and he buries his face back in his hand. “Oh god Matthew, what am I gonna do? I can't find another job this fast.”
Matthew brings his hand down to the small of Ness’s back, keeping it there. He speaks in a soothing tone, and realizes they're both simultaneously taking turns comforting one another. “It's okay. It's okay- you don't have to do anything fast. You can take as long as you need, Ness. If anything, we both know that we can live off of my salary.”
At the mention of that, Ness snaps his head up. The look in his eyes isn't dismay, or frustration, like he thinks Matthew is saying he can't handle himself. It's just guilt. Pure guilt. “Matthew, I can't do that to you.” He says softly.
Matthew's immediate response is to kiss Ness’s forehead. “You can do whatever you want, Sweet. I'm right here.”
He watches the man's expression, for a second. Trying to gauge out how he feels. When tears start rolling down Ness’s cheeks, silently this time, he pulls the waiter in for another hug.
No, not the waiter. Not anymore. That was okay.
He was still Ness. He was still his boyfriend.
That was enough.