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"What do you need?" Michael asked, wiping away his tears.Jeremy sniffed loudly, staring hard into Michael's eyes. "Don't leave me."And so Michael didn't leave Jeremy's side for the rest of the night. Or rather, he dragged Jeremy out to cry on the couch instead of in the workshop and then didn't leave his side. Even Jeremy had to agree that it was a better place to have a breakdown than an old desk chair.He wanted to let out all the swirling thoughts in his head, about his parents and everything they put him through, but all that came out was more sobs. Michael didn't pressure him to talk. Jeremy was pretty sure he was no longer capable of coherent human speech anyway.Michael offered up dinner options, but they just ordered pizza in the end. It meant that Jeremy didn't have to experience the mortifying ordeal of Michael getting up to cook while he sat aside, alone with his thoughts and the news. The pizza arrived all too quickly and not soon enough.They largely ate in silence, what little Jeremy could bring himself to eat. His parents were dead. How was he supposed to deal with that? He kept coming back to the headlines in his head.
Weapons Genius Killed in Crash
Hero Couple Gone Too Soon
Accident or Assassin
Heere Industries to be Inherited
Jeremy Heere, soon to be CEO of the family company. He didn't think the day would come so soon. The concept always felt a little fake, even when he himself made plans for 'when I inherit.' The words never held any meaning before now. Now they held all too much.He felt a little better after eating, if no longer sobbing uncontrollably was enough to constitute 'better.' Michael was still pressed into his side, one arm wrapped around him on the couch. Jeremy didn't want to lift his head from Michael's shoulder. It was such a warm and comforting place to be.But Jeremy was nothing if not self-destructive."I'm going to bed," he finally mumbled. It was early by his standards, not even eleven.Michael frowned. "You sure?"Jeremy nodded absently. He was exhausted, moreso emotionally than physically. His trip to Texas had gone so great despite starting the day with a hangover, but the news of his parents' death completely drained the life out of him. He couldn't even be happy about what he'd accomplished.Michael watched him stand and slink away. "M'kay. Night, Jeremy."Jeremy hummed in response while Michael took care of the leftovers. He wanted to collapse into his bed and sink into eternity. Or sleep, or whatever. He just didn't want to think about his parents anymore. Scratch that, he didn't want to think at all. Any thoughts he'd want to entertain would find a way to link themselves back to his parents or Heere Industries somehow.He got as far as finally changing out of his undersuit before taking a hard look around the room, soaking in the vast and complete lack of any personality whatsoever. No posters or knickknacks, not even a coat of colored paint to add some kind of zing. So sleek, so lifeless, so...Cold.Sanitized.So Heere Industries.Michael was unperturbed when Jeremy beelined right back to his room and into his arms."It's ok," he whispered into Jeremy's hair, rubbing circles into his trembling shoulders. "I'm right here."Jeremy wanted to elaborate through the shaky breaths and broken sobs that he couldn't even stand to be in his own fucking room, but he couldn't get more than a couple words out before his voice crumbled under the tension. He gave up before long and just wept into Michael's shoulder. It seemed like all the explanation he needed.They stayed like that for a couple minutes. Michael hardly pretended that Jeremy wasn't weightless to him when he scooped him up and took him to the bed, not that Jeremy had ever been very heavy in the first place.His teary eyes lingered on every little touch of Michael sprinkled about the room. The photos, the little pride flag, the consoles and controllers under the TV. It was hardly distinct from Jeremy's own room, but it was something. It was even the same damn pristine bed sheets, but they smelled like Michael. It was just different enough to distance itself from cold, sanitized Heere Industries.The lights were shut off and Michael was crawling into bed next to Jeremy, who was quick to bury his face in his chest at the first chance he got. Michael took this in stride and threaded his fingers through Jeremy's hair. It was so gentle, so caring, so...Warm.Welcoming.So Michael Mell."I'm not goin' anywhere, Jer." There was a slight hesitation before Michael pressed a kiss to his forehead. Jeremy swore he just about melted into it.He could almost hear a flat 'I told you so' from Squip, if the AI had been programed for that kind of more overt snark. Of course, he surely would've gotten that response in relation to Drunk Jeremy's escapades if he was going to get it at all.He didn't even care that the AI was passively on in the background, silently watching him fully relax into Michael's embrace, having known almost since the beginning that Jeremy felt something other than contempt for him. All he cared about was warm, welcoming Michael Mell."G'night, Jeremy."And that was all he needed."Night, Michael."