Ivan came home early to surprise Julian. It was his birthday and he'd made arrangements to come home early for a romantic dinner. When he got home he heard unmistakable sounds coming from the bedroom. Standing there for a moment with his arms across his chest, he chewed the inside of his cheek before shaking his head, and with determination strode over to the bedroom door; which remained open. 

Much more calm and collected on the outside than on the inside, Ivan nonchalantly strolled into the bedroom as if this was an occurrence that he witnessed frequently, grabbed a duffle bag from the closet, and began packing his things. 

"Ivan!" Julian called to him in a state of panicked shock, neither of the two in bed realizing he was there until he opened one of the dresser drawers. 

"Oh, don't let me interrupt. Please, continue." Ivan gestured toward them before turning to continue packing his things. 

Julian, wrapping the sheet around his waist in a sudden moment of modesty, approached his scorned lover. He grasped Ivan's arms to turn him, but the movement backfired and he found himself shoved away. When his knees hit the side of the bed, he involuntarily sat upon its surface. "Don't you fucking touch me. You don't have the right to touch me anymore. I'll be back at an undisclosed time to get the rest of my things."

"And I left," Ivan said. "I called Sammy in an utter rage and crashed in his spare room until I found the apartment I was in when we met."

"Did you ever see him again?"

Ivan nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, when I went to get my shit. I was hoping he wouldn't be there when I returned, but he waited for me. I came back a few days later..."

Ivan didn't see Julian's car and half wondered if he'd parked somewhere else. When he opened the door his suspicions were confirmed as Julian sat on the couch. Ivan chuckled to himself as he closed the front door. 

He said nothing as he walked past him toward the bedroom. He did notturn as he heard his former lover follow behind him.

"Ivan, can we talk about this please?" Julian asked as he grabbed a suitcase from the closet. 

"Nope," Ivan said as he continued throwing clothes into suitcases. 

"Ivan, come on. We can work through this. I'm sorry." Julian's pleading only served to piss him off further. 

"Oh, you're sorry now? You're not fucking sorry, you're sorry you got caught and that's all. Well, now I'm doing you a favor. You don't have to sneak around anymore. Happy fucking birthday, Julian. Goodbye."

"And I left. And I left most everything there. I took my clothes. I took the few things my mother gave me before she died, and I left." 

Corbin frowned. "You weren't upset? I mean...you seemed calm...I would have lost my mind."

Ivan pulled Corbin's chin up to meet his eyes. "That's not something you have to worry about ever. And yes...I was absolutely heartbroken. My father isn't really the nurturing type...I felt isolated growing up...even from my mother, even though she and I were closer than my father and me. I tried to steer clear of him most of the time. He never hit me, but he had a sharp tongue. Julian got me to open up, he made me feel wanted, you know?" Corbin nodded not wanting to speak and break Ivan's pace. "It was when I got back to Sammy's that everything went to hell."

Ivan walked into Sam's house, the place noisy with two energetic toddlers. He schooled his expression as two little girls came thundering down the hallway straight toward him. 

"Uncle Ivan! Uncle Ivan!"

He put on a smile as his heart crumbled and scooped up both girls, who giggled. He kissed both their cheeks, the stubble on his cheek tickling their faces. "Go play, girls." 

As he walked past Sam's office Sam called to him, causing Ivan to make a sharp turn right into the room. He closed the door behind him. He wrapped his arms around himself, standing in the middle of the room, feeling his world crumbled around him. "It's done. I packed up the rest of my clothes and what things I needed. I'm a fucking idiot, Sammy."

"He's the idiot, Ivan. He fucked up a really good thing." Sam squeezed Ivan's arm. Ivan shook his head but didn't comment, his eyes welling up against his will. "Awe man...Ivan..." Sam pulled Ivan into his arms just as the emotional dam broke. Quietly against his best friend's shoulder Ivan wept. 

"I fell into a really deep depression after that. My work is the only thing in my life that didn't go on a down slide. I was still in that place when I met you."

Corbin crawled further into Ivan's lap, burrowing lovingly into his chest. "You were an angel. He never hid his abuse of me. No one ever stepped in before you. No one ever said a word, just...went about their lives. I loved you for stopping him. And I was so scared of you." Corbin heard Ivan inhale sharply. "It wasn't ever anything you did. You were so wonderful...treated me like a person. You were always so gentle, even now...and sometimes to this day that scares the shit out of me. But especially then...I kept waiting for it to end. For me to screw up and make you mad...I thought my luck had run out a couple months later. That day I went to see him."

"I'd never raise my hand to you." 

Corbin nodded. "I know that now. Back then I always expected it."

Ivan came home from work, the apartment eerily quiet. When he found Corbin, he for a moment was in a state of shock. His shirt was torn, his face bloodied and bruised, as well as various tears and rips in the fabric of his jeans. He was sitting on Ivan's bedroom floor, balled into as small a form as he could mold himself into. His breathing was erratic, and Ivan could see he was shaking. Ivan approached slowly. "Corbin." Corbin looked at him briefly before he looked away, his tears falling in quicker succession. Ivan bent down slowly, coming to his level. "Will you allow me to help you up? We should get you cleaned up. Is that okay?" Corbin studied him for a moment before faintly nodding and, after several moments of hesitation gave him his hand. Ivan helped him to the bed and eased him down onto it. "Stay here, okay? I'm gonna go get some stuff to bandage you up."

Corbin nodded and he walked into the adjoining bathroom. As Corbin listened to him gather supplies, his mind ran a million miles a second. He knew Ivan would have questions. He certainly didn't look like this when Ivan left for work this morning. Ivan came back into the bedroom, his arms loaded down with various things. Corbin almost smiled as he dumped the items next to him on the bed. 

"Alright," Ivan said gently, "I wet this wash rag with warm water. I'm gonna wipe down your face and neck. Okay?" Corbin nodded again and as Ivan's hand drew closer he tried not to get up and run. Corbin remained quiet and Ivan did not try to get him to speak, speaking only when he was about to do something in Corbin's aid. When he was done wiping up the blood from his face and bandaging the open cuts, Ivan suggested he change into more comfortable clothes before proceeding to gather said clothes. "Do you need me to help you change?" Corbin's eyes watered as he bit his lip, winced as a sharp pain erupted across his jaw, let go his lip. 

"O-okay," Corbin consented dubiously. He knew that this was a ploy to get him in a more vulnerable state, as so many had before him. Gentle as ever Ivan helped him undress and dress one part of him at a time. His shirt. Then his pants. Never once did he make an inappropriate glance, remark, or gesture. Corbin didn't know what to make of this and he was left confused, his head muddled. 

"Are you hungry?" Corbin nodded. "Alright. I'll go make us some dinner." As he went to stand Corbin's hand shot out, grasping his wrist and hand with both of his. 

"Please don't leave me."

Ivan nodded, stood and sat next to him on the bed. "Corbin, what happened today? Who did this?"

Corbin's feeling of safety drained like sand in an hour glass. "I'm scared to tell you." His voice was so low and chopped up Ivan almost didn't understand him. 

"I won't ever hurt you, Corbin. No matter what you do or don't do...you never have to worry about my raising my hand to you."

Corbin looked at him, wanting to believe him, but not quite. "I went and s-saw Blane." Corbin waited for the yelling and berating to begin. 

"Yeah? Why did you feel compelled to do that?" Ivan's tone confused him as much as his actions. He reached out to wipe away stray tears, hesitating only slightly as Corbin's breath caught. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm sorry," Corbin whispered shamefully.

"Sorry for what, love?" Ivan traced his fingers down the unmarred section of his cheek. 

"For going. I know I shouldn't have. I knew what would happen. I don't know why I went." More tears fell when Ivan reached for him again, causing Corbin to intake sharply, fear surging through his veins. He whimpered, pulling back slightly, wincing like a kicked dog. 

"Easy now. I'm not going to hurt you." Ivan told him as he made soft contact. 

"I'm sorry." 

"Corbin." He waited until Corbin looked at him. "You don't need to apologize. You're fine. I'm not going to yell at you or anything else. Take a breath." Ivan demonstrated deep breathing, Corbin following suit soon after.

"You're not mad at me?"

Ivan smiled gently. "No, love."

Corbin frowned. "Why?"

"Why would I be? Corbin, you don't need me to be mad at you. It wouldn't be prudent to get mad and scream and yell...do I agree with it? Do I think you should do it again? No. No, he's no good in your life and he does nothing but hurt you."

Corbin shrugged slightly. "It isn't anything I'm not used to, Ivan."

"When you told me that it broke my heart. I wanted to just...scoop you into my arms and not let you go." Ivan smiled softly to himself. "You'd been staying with me for a while by that point and at that moment is when I realized my feelings for you had, at some point, grown. I didn't know then how far that depth ran, but I knew it was there. And I knew that I wanted somehow to...one day explore that further."

Corbin grinned slightly. "I still don't understand what you saw in me. What you see in me to love me so much. But I'm glad that you do."

Ivan kissed Corbin gently, his knuckles tilting Corbin's face up slightly. "I just see you, beautiful."

Corbin smiled and through his smile pressed his lips against Ivan's. "I love you so much, Ivan. No one has ever shown me what love was like before you. All I ever knew was fear and pain." Ivan caught a tear falling from Corbin's eye as he spoke. "Until you. You've always been so patient and loving and I don't understand, but I'm so grateful that it was you in the park that night and not anyone else. I've always felt at ease with you and that scared me, too." Corbin touched Ivan's face with the ghost of his fingertips and smiled. "I love you. So much."

Ivan kissed him once again, the barest contact but the message of love was loud and clear. "I love you too, beautiful. Nothing will ever change that."

Corbin smiled, his tears that of a different nature. "I'm starting to see that."