Chapter 26 (Surprise!!)

Mitchel

He hated hospitals. They reminded him of his lowest times- or at least, what everyone thought were his lowest times. Every time he breathed in the sterile and dry air that was the hospital's staple as they walked, he couldn't help but see images flash before his eyes.

The beds.

The food.

The blood.

The straps.

The machines.

He really hated hospitals.

As they made their way into the building, they stopped at the front desk. Mitchel kept his eyes down at the dusty white tiles. The white floor was decorated with black slabs of tiles that made intricate designs that didn't really need to be there.

From behind him, he heard the sound of automatic doors opening. Fresh spring air pushed past the people that walked in, demanding to contaminate the clean filtered air that circled the building. Mitchel shuddered as the wind teased his arms and he felt Christian's warm hand lightly squeeze his.

Mitchel looked up to see him offer a small smile before leading him down the hall. They had a routine: Christian signed the both of them in on the clipboard stuck to the counter. Mitchel took his hand. Christian led him down the hall and up the stairs to Clinton's room. They stayed there for about an hour- sometimes more, sometimes less- and then they left.

He never went without him. Christian would never make him- no, he'd never let him do that. It would be too much for him anyway. And whenever Mitchel made the hasty decision to leave, neither Clinton nor Christian opposed. They just left. It was as if they were willing to do anything Mitchel wanted. He could tell it was so by the way they exchanged a quick glance before saying goodbye. It was their own way of communicating with him being right there. He never knew what they said in the few seconds they held each other's eyes, but he had no reason to wonder.

Mitchel hadn't noticed that Christian was speaking to him until he felt him gently shake his shoulder. His eyes focussed as he snapped out of his trance. He hadn't even noticed that they stopped walking. It was scary how time passed so quickly and he barely noticed it go by. He didn't even remember climbing the stairs, but there he was, standing outside Clinton's room.

He turned his head to look at Christian, the unfamiliar feeling of having no braids to tickle his face as he moved his head snapping him to focus. He was starting to miss his long intertwined coils, but every time he thought of them, he thought of Jordan. He would always associate a fond feeling with her but being with her only hurt the both of them.

"Look," Christian grinned, gesturing to the room in front of them. The door was slightly opened to reveal Clinton sleeping on his mattress, as well as someone else. Mitchel furrowed his brows and looked closer to see that the man who slept on his chest was no one other than Jesse Boyle. He smiled to himself and looked up at Christian again. In a way, Jesse was to Clinton what Christian was to him.

Even though Clinton was making a fast recovery, he was still dealing with the emotional pain of no longer having a fiance. It was comforting to know that even without Sydney, Clinton would be okay. And Jesse would make sure of that.

He felt Christian's hand snake around his waist to pull him closer.

"Should we leave them or...?"His voice trailed off as they met each other's eyes.

"Or what?" Mitchel asked, his eyes darting to Christian's lips. The younger man flashed him a toothy grin.

Before Mitchel knew what he was doing- or why he was doing it, his hands were at the collar of Christian's shirt and he was tugging him to his lips. Christian's arms slid around him with ease as he pressed light kisses to Christian's face. His skin was soft against his mouth. The kisses were light and a little playful as Mitchel explored the surface. His lips grazed against his cheek and pressed to the corner of his mouth and then moved to his chin and then cheekbone.

Christian chuckled as he pecked him until they heard the sound of approaching steps. They pulled away quickly. Mitchel had been pressing his best friend against the wall and now they were standing in front of the door, glancing at a doctor that passed them. He didn't even seem to be aware of their presence as he checked his watch and scuttled past them.

They glanced at each other and cracked a smile.

"Alright, that's enough nap time for them," Christian murmured to Mitchel and he nodded, turning and pushing the door to his brother's room open.

As soon as they stepped in, Mitchel kind of wished that they hadn't. He felt his heart drop as he took in the sight of Jesse balanced on his elbows with Clinton's hands rubbing the skin of his back under his shirt, and he could have sworn he heard a little groan escape one of their throats as they kissed. (Yes, actual groanage!)

Christian's voice was low in his ear as he said, "Wait a fuckin' minute-"

At the sound of his voice, Jesse rolled off of the bed with a curse and fell to the floor with a splat. Neither of them rushed to the man's side to see if he was okay- Mitchel was frozen in his place and Clinton sprung to sit up. His face was completely red and he looked kind of... mad?

Jesse finally stood up. His shirt was back on properly and he barely looked at the two of them in the eye as he said, "I'm gonna get going now. I'll text you later, Clinton." His voice sounded weird when he said Mitchel's older brother's name but he was too stunned to say so. Clinton was swearing under his breath as he ran a tired hand through his hair.

"Well don't just stand there, you idiots," He mumbled. It was Christian who asked, "Respectfully, what the fuck was that?"

"He took the words right out of my mouth," Mitchel said with raised brows.

"Please, like you're in a position to judge," Clinton said, eyeing them both.

Christian sighed and allowed himself to slide onto Clinton's bed. He slipped off his sneakers and let them fall to the floor before pulling his legs into a crossed position. Mitchel sighed and did the same thing a few moments later.

They'd been in awkward positions before, there was no denying that. But the context was all messed up. Sydney died just over a week ago. Molly died less than a month ago. Jesse was supposed to be in Australia, and Mitchel could have sworn that Clinton was as straight as he was vegan. It just didn't make sense!

Sure, Clinton and Jesse kissed- they'd kissed almost as often as Christian kissed Clinton. But that was different. There was never any shirt tugging or hair pulling or groans. Mitchel studied Clinton's stoic expression. It seemed like he wouldn't say anything else until he started to play with his comforter.

"That was the first time... it happened."

"Like hell, it was"

"Mitchel!" Christian warned.

Mitchel pursed his lips.

"Just tell us what happened," Christian said, turning to face the eldest man of the three.

"It was nothing," Clinton said.

It doesn't seem like that, Mitchel thought to himself but resisted saying it.

"Jesse flew in two days ago. He didn't tell anyone because of the jetlag and he wanted to surprise me. Because, y'know, I kinda needed a win."

He glanced at the flowers that were laying on the desk that sat beside the bed. Mitchel hadn't noticed the daisies that stood brightly in their vase until he pointed them out.

"Those are from him?" He asked. Clinton nodded.

"He called me and told me that he was here. I didn't believe him but when he walked in... well I almost shit the bed, to be honest."

Christian grinned as Clinton recalled the previous events. Mitchel couldn't help but admit that it was adorable that Jesse did such a thing for him. He'd stay for a few weeks and then head back to Australia to work on his music again. Judging by the way Clinton talked about him, he could tell that he was happy. He never thought he'd see him so happy again and the thought was a little scary- but at least Clinton was okay. And he was right. Who was he to judge? People grieve differently and Clinton was just clinging to whatever thing he could. Mitchel was doing the same. Maybe it ran in the family.

Clinton leaned back in his bed and rested his head against his pillow.

"Now tell me about you guys," He said, studying at both of them. Christian pursed his lips and glanced at Mitchel.

"Tell you what?" He asked and Clinton scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"C'mon guys, enough with the denial shit."

Mitchel wet his lips and resisted the urge to grab onto his best friend's hand. He itched to do it but instead, he faced his brother.

"It's complicated," He said finally. He looked towards Christian for support and he nodded, tucking a few strands of hair behind his ear.

"We fucked," Christian blurted. Mitchel jumped in his spot and hissed his best friend's name but Clinton's fist shot into the air.

"I knew it!" He practically shouted. "I fucking knew it!" Christian and Mitchel exchanged surprised glances. Maybe the pain was finally getting to him. Maybe the meds were getting to his head in a way they shouldn't have been- because there was no way that Clinton was... excited.

"Because," Clinton stopped short and shuttered. "I mean, gross, but I knew it."

"How-" Christian began, his brows knitting together in a confused line. Clinton gave a little shrug.

"You look at Mitchel like you're a puppy. Like- all the time. I mean, you've always looked like you had a crush on Mitchel, but now it's something else like l-"

"Okay, okay, we get it," Christian cut him off and waved his hand. Mitchel looked away, feeling his stomach flutter and his face redden.

If Clinton saw it in Christian then that meant that he wasn't imagining it. It meant that maybe he really did have a chance of being with Christian forever. He felt the warmth of Christian's hand on his thigh and looked to see it resting over the cloth of his pants.

Neither of them said anything for a long time- they all had a lot to think about. So much had happened in a short amount of time and Mitchel wondered if this was the last of the surprises.

Clinton

Jesse was the one who kissed him first. He didn't really know what to do about it. He'd desperately missed him and he knew that he felt the same by the way his lips moved against his. So he let him kiss him. He could sense how different it felt compared to the other kisses they shared, but all he could think about was how soft Sydney's lips used to feel. A pang of guilt struck his stomach and just as he was about to pull away, he heard Christian speak.

Jesse was off of him in a flash, and the last people that he'd wanted to see were standing in front of him.

Well shit.

Clinton studied the two of them. Christian had his hand on Mitchel's thigh. Mitchel leaned into him as if he were going to whisper a secret to him.

He longed for that closeness. They were so lucky to have each other. They were lucky to be able to hold each other and exchange kisses and feel each other's warmth...

Clinton forced a smile.

"So what now?" He asked. Christian shrugged. "We get you out of the hospital and then make some good music I guess," He said. Clinton nodded.

"Sounds good to me."

But even though the mood was light and it seemed that all was well, he couldn't help but feel his stomach turn. He could feel it. Something was going to happen, but he didn't know what.