Sebastian sat in the big empty flat, staring out the window and smoking a cigarette. It'd been almost 3 months now, since then. The first few days of it, he was foolish enough to think Jim still alive, so he sent him texts, asking him to come home. There was never any reply though, so he'd given up hope.

He took a long slow drag of his cigarette, then put it out in the overflowing ash tray beside him. He reached down to his feet and grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took a swig of it. This was his life now. Filled with nothing, and no-one. He put the bottle down again and closed his eyes, leaning back on the sofa.

"Why'd you do it…" he murmured to himself, still not getting an answer. "Why did you go a blow your brains out? It couldn't have been for that stupid game, could it?"

He didn't want to think about it anymore, so he got up from the sofa and wandered into his old bedroom. The curtains were pulled permanently shut, leaving the room pitch black. He threw his clothes off, laying in his bed in his underwear. He stared up at the darkened ceiling and drifted off to a restless sleep.

Jim watched Seb on the monitors of the camera's that he'd had placed so long ago, he could barely make out Seb in the blackness of the screen. Watching Seb he felt bad for leaving him, but it had to be done, no-one knew about him and that was the way he wanted it. If his plan had backfired Seb would have been free to get away far away. To deny he had ever known Jim, to live his life free just as he deserved. He hadn't expected Seb to stay stuck waiting for him like this, well he had wanted it, but he hadn't really expected him too.

The texts the first few days were hard to ignore he'd just wanted to run back home and crawl into bed into Seb's arms and sleep, he hadn't slept properly since the night before he supposedly shot himself dead. Sighing as he watched Seb touching the screen shaking his head Jim pulled out his phone and sent a txt to Seb, watching as he received it and read it…

[txt] Get up out of bed, your a mess…

Watching Seb's puzzled look he sighed and sent another.

[txt] You are worth more than this…

Sighing Jim turned away from the monitors. He was fed up of being alone, it was time to bring Seb back… if he wanted to come back. He really hoped so.

Sebastian glanced at his phone, checking the time when a message popped up onto the screen.

[txt from unknown] Get up out of bed, your a mess…

Sebastian looked at the message quizically. "Who the fuck—" His phone pinged and another message showed up on the screen, coming from the same unknown number.

[txt from unknown] You are worth more than this…

This message confused him, even more so that the last. He tilted his head and frowned, deciding whether he should respond to the message or not. Finally, Seb gave in and texted a reply to the unknown sender.

[txt] I don't know who you are, or how you have this number, but I'm not worth much anymore. Just sod off. -SM

He sighed and lay back in bed, holding his phone close to his chest, thinking about Jim once again. He had the same nightmare everytime he fell asleep, always about when he shot himself. He hated the man for not telling him it was going to happen, for making him watch. The imprint of Jim, that look in his eyes, then BANG! he was gone. He closed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the image, but there it remained, and became clearer. "Jim…"

Finally he received a message from Seb and as he read it he frowned and sent back..

[txt] Quit wallowing Moran, get your arse in gear and sort yourself out. There's work to be done…

He watched again as Seb's phone went off and he read the text, frowning as Seb still wasn't moving he tapped out again.

[txt] Enough Moran, enough… get yourself in gear. Who do you think, I am … you think I'll take this from you. Sort yourself out.. Come home NOW..

Jim didn't dare look at the monitor as the text went through he got up and moved to couch, rubbing at his temples. He flexed his jaw and itched at the back of his head, two inches either way and his gamble wouldn't have paid off. In hindsight it was blood foolish and to trust someone other than Seb was well idiotic, but he knew that George and Doris would take care of him either way they always had, no matter what he'd asked of them.

Just as Sebastian had relaxed, nearly drifting back into a restless sleep, his phone pinged, another message from the same number. He frowned and read it.

[text from unknown] Quit wallowing Moran, get your arse in gear and sort yourself out. There's work to be done…

Sebastian frowned, the sender was really starting to annoy him. He knew his last name? And it seemed as though he was somehow watching him…PING

[text from unknown] Enough Moran, enough… get yourself in gear. Who do you think, I am … you think I'll take this from you. Sort yourself out.. Come home NOW..

Sebastian quickly read the new message, the words tearing through his mind. "'Home'?" he murmured. He felt a shiver go up his spine as the word passed his lips. He hadn't spoken that word in some time, nor had he tried to even think about it. That empty place wasn't 'home' without—

[txt] JIM? IS THIS YOU? IS THIS REALLY YOU? -SM

Sebastian sent the message frantically, his breathing a bit excited. He couldn't help but let his hope soar. 'Jim…he might be alive!' he thought to himself, his feelings of joy nearly overflowing from him. He felt his eyes watering slightly, the hot tears burning.

Jim heard his phone beep and pulled it back from his pocket, reading Seb's text he smiled.

[txt] Who else where you expecting Seb. Come home please. The house is so quiet without you here. Please just come home. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for leaving you come home. ~JM

Hitting send he swiped at the itch behind his eyes, he didn't care, he couldn't he had to keep telling himself that, but it wasn't working. He'd missed his sniper so much, chuckling sadly he shook his head .. Sniper, no Seb was so much more than his sniper, so very much more than that.

Sebastian was frantically waiting for the next message, having gotten up out of the bed and pulled some pants on, he paced about the flat, waiting until: PING!

[txt] Who else where you expecting Seb. Come home please. The house is so quiet without you here. Please just come home. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for leaving you come home. ~JM

He read the message quickly, his eyes watering again. Jim sounded so…emotional. Which was odd, for him. He smiled and held his phone close to him, kissing the message.

[txt] I'll be there in five. I've missed you… -SM

He sent the message and then frowned, his eyes narrowing. He was letting Jim off easy, why on earth was he doing that? The bastard shot himself, and disappeared from his life for 3 months, and he was just going to forgive him like this? He quickly started another message.

[txt] On second thought, I won't be. You should be the one to come to me. I've waited 3 months for you Jim. THREE MONTHS! -SM

When his phone beeps once and then a second time a few minutes later Jim smiles… He bounces a little at the first text, but when he reads the second his face drops and he frowns. Anger washing over him, as he taps out another text.

[txt] FUCK YOU I was there, you never looked round for me. I was always nearby, you should have known that. Don't come then, stay away. I don't need you, I don't. ~JM

After the text has gone Jim threw his phone across the room, smiling at the crash as it hits the wall. "Fuck you Seb, I don't need you. I really don't." Eyes smarting he lays back down on the couch. "I don't I really don't"

Sebastian stormed out of his room and went to the kitchen. He started making himself something to eat, when his phone PING-ed.

[txt] FUCK YOU I was there, you never looked round for me. I was always nearby, you should have known that. Don't come then, stay away. I don't need you, I don't. ~JM

Sebastian read the message, getting angrier by the second. "The fucking bastard!" he yelled and threw the pan he was using through the window nearby. The glass shattered onto the floor and the concrete below. He grumbled and cleaned it up, only stepping on a bit a hissing in pain.

He made some tea to calm himself down, and then went back and replied to Jim's message with his new-found calm.

[txt] If you were always there, why didn't you just tell me? Why did you stay hidden? And how was I supposed to find you, when everywhere I looked I saw you, knowing [or rather thinking] that it was all an illusion. My mind playing tricks on me. Jim…I was going crazy without you. You swore to me once that you would only pull that trigger on yourself after you pulled it on me… -SM

He sent the message and sat staring at his screen for awhile, not expecting a message back. He knew Jim was angry, because he was angry too. He hated what Jim had done to him, but he would never admit how much it actually hurt him. He broke down and tried to fix himself at one point. He closed his eyes and buried his head in his hands, missing the man that had been dead. He was so close now, yet it seemed he was even more unreachable than when he was dead.

"Ya shouldna dun tha Jim lad, we dun told ya to tell him ya were alive all along lad, ya shouldna dun tha.." Looking up as the older man walked into the room and helped him up from the couch and into the wheelchair… Looking down at himself Jim moaned. "How could I look at me, besides I wanted him to have a chance at a normal life and without me he could have that. How was I to know he would take it this way. I need him back George, I really need him back."

A small cough sounded at the doorway and Jim turned himself in the chair to face Doris. "You going to tell me off too?" "Now Jim love don't take on so, I only came to say that dinner was ready, you two come along now and eat. Then we'll send George off to go get your young man and you can explain to him properly, like you should of to start with."

"OK, OK if you say so…" moving to wheel the chair out of the room he stopped when George took the handles from behind him and started to push him into the kitchen. "It'll all git straighten'd out Jim lad ya'll see it'll all git sorta'd out."