The final chapter...is here...
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TW: Harm, mention of gore, panic-attacks
***
Tom sat at the edge of the bed, smiling softly as he admired Lea in a semi-peaceful form. He could feel all his previous worries and doubts melt away simply at this scene. Then again, it was replaced by a pounding heart and an over aggressive stimuli of emotions. Regardless, Tom was smiling, as sweetly as his partially-missing lips would allow him to.

That's when a small murmur came from Lea, catching Tom's attention.

"P...d.....n...g...?" Lea muttered.

"What?" Tom whispered.

Lea stretched slightly before yawning, glancing down to acknowledge that Tom was watching him sleep, looking swiftly away, before propping his sunglasses back onto his face, "Did you get my pudding cup?"

Tom suddenly shook his head from any previous expectations and/or hopes and shuffled around in his jumpsuit's pocket before feeling a round pudding cup and tossing it to Lea who lazily caught it, throwing it down to his lower bunk for later and then scooting back so he was laying more on the left side of the small bed.

"Yeah," Tom filled in the silence, beginning to unbutton his jumpsuit as he knew he'd be staying her until dinner, not wanting to have to wear it for the hours that followed, plus, he had a comfortable outfit of a gray shirt and black cargo-shorts on underneath anyway, "I got it before talking with Valery and Terrance." He could suddenly feel Lea noticeably tense from behind him while Tom kicked the jumpsuit off to the floor in the following moment.

"Those two...huh?" Lea's words came out cold and Tom's mind uncomfortably jumped to what the two had told him about Lea.

Lea sat up suspiciously, moving his sunglasses back on his forward as he looked at Tom with a concerned gaze, "What did they tell you exactly?"

"Just..." Tom looked away, not wanting to look at the intensity that Lea always brought forward when actually making eye-contact with someone, "How they got in here- I- kinda' lied about how I got in here-"

"Lied how?"

"Changed some names and roles and- doesn't matter- they um...they told me about how you...bit some newb's face off or something..." Tom's voice trailed off.

Lea suddenly groaned and flopped back down on the bed, "They're over-exaggerating it- I didn't bite his face off, I only but the earlobe off- and like- snapped at his neck-"

Tom still seemed a bit unsettled.

Lea sighed, "I didn't do it psychotically, the guy had me in a choke-hold- he called me by my first name- you...know how that goes- and, it was a life or death situation, it's not as if I enjoyed it or anything, it was fucking disgusting if you ask me but I needed to a. Get people to stop messing with me, and b. Save my goddamn life, he would have snapped my neck." Lea flipped his sunglasses back onto his face defensively.

Tom sighed in relief, "So...you regret it?"

"Well, I think he deserved it- but I do regret people making those stories about me, yes." Lea shrugged.

Tom nodded silently, which then followed with an awkward tension before Tom finally began to speak again, "Would you...ever hurt me like that?"

Lea looked taken aback but didn't look at Tom, "I'd like to think I wouldn't.."

"That's...good enough." Tom looked back at Lea before flopping down beside him, back facing him, not negatively or anything, he was just fairly sure he couldn't stand another minute looking at the boy without blushing.

Again, silence followed.

Lea placed a hand on Tom's back gently.

Tom grimaced, flinching slightly.

Lea frowned, "That's...where I hurt you?"

Tom paused before nodding.

Lea grabbed the hem of the back of Tom's shirt and lifted it gently, inspecting the arches of cuts where the fingernails had been before pressing a small kiss to the central area of the wound.

This caused for goosebumps to form all over Tom and Lea lowered the rear of the shirt back down.

Lea sighed, "I promise...I will do everything in my power to make sure I don't hurt you..."

Tom turned to face Lea with a sad smile, "That's okay...we can only try- I'll do everything in my power to make sure I don't provoke you."

Lea smiled in return and the moment of bliss was held for some time before a loud knock form the door thundered through the room.

Tom practically threw himself away from Lea, scrambling down the ladder and missing the last few steps as he leaned against it to keep his balance, just as a guard opened the door to the cell slowly.

Lea sat up casually, "Yes?"

The guard looked between the two and then shrugged, continuing, "Be prepared for another cellmate, the rest of the blocks are filling up, so figure out how to make two beds work for three people." He then shut the door.

"Well, looks like I'll have an excuse for stealing your bunk then, Snake-Boy." Lea snickered.

Tom's face heated up before he went to the window of the door, peaking out, "Let's see who the newbs are..." He murmured as Lea hopped down from the top bunk, ready to join Tom.

However, before Lea could so much as fake another step, he heard Tom make a choking noise and stopped as Tom began to scramble back from the door.

"Tom?"

"D-down the hall-" Was all
Tom could get out before falling back into Lea who swiftly caught him, turning him around so they faced each other as Tom looked up at him helplessly and looking absolutely terrified.

This worried Lea who lead Tom to the bottom bunk quickly and sat him down on the edge, sitting beside him as Tom began to stare at the ground, hands on his temples and shaking slightly.

Lea was completely and utterly confused, "Tom...? Thomas...? Thomas- Tom, are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

"I-It's him..." Tom whispered.

"Who?"

"The boy." Tom's voice was getting shallower.

"Which boy?" Lea's voice had a hint of jealousy, which would soon be justified.

"Th-the- leg- I-I broke his leg and h-he broke my hea-"

Tom was cut off as the door swung open to reveal someone standing in the doorway.

The moment Lea saw him, he fit the exact description. Lea felt his heart rate increase with rage and jealousy and everything in between that hadn't bothered him this bad for quite some time. He smiled sarcastically, which, to anyone else, would look sinisterly genuine, "What a coincidence...so this is the Virgil I've heard so much about?"

***

///I really love Lea and Tom so much and especially their ship together

So

With that

We've reached the end of this book...

And on to the sequel!

Curtain Call

Marking the end of all these books together...

Cover:

(Cover Art Not Mine)

So, I hope to see you guys there, and thank you so so much for reading, it means the world to me <3

-Jay ❤️