I'm having a terrible day; I remembered the guy that hurt me so deeply, remembered all the pain and trouble he caused me, and I'm crying as I write this. This year has been really hard, I can only hope 2014 comes soon. ..Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this Kames one shot. Warning: Abuse, mentioned verbal and actual physical, Jett x James relationship at the beginning, then ends with Kames with hints to a love-making scene but not completely. This was came from me listening to the song by Mario...I have to say that some of things described happened to me; I used my own experiences to work the Jett x James relationship, please don't feel bad for me and I'm sorry I won't say just how much of the story is from personal experience. Sometimes personal experiences help inspire someone...

Kendall watched with a heavy heart as he saw James clutching the balcony railing of his and his boyfriend's bedroom window. The beautiful brunette was sobbing; angry red eyes with salty, heated tears running down his high cheeks, he cradling his swollen, now split lip. He was in nothing but black boxers, a white robe around his strong, perfect body, dripping water from a shower. He was curled up on the floor, shoulders shaking.

Kendall ducked behind the nearest bushes, bottle green eyes almost black with anger as he watched Jett back out of the garage in his car, blood still on his hands from where he punched James. He ran a hand through his always carefully brushed hair and bit his lower lip, shooting James a nasty look via rearview mirror before he disappeared into the dark.

To his slutty, conniving, heartless bitch of a girlfriend Jo Taylor, no doubt. He's been cheating on James with her for about a year now.

Those two deserved each other...

Kendall got free from the bushes and began climbing up the vine wall, the vine wall that led to James' bedroom.

He didn't bother to keep quiet; James was already back inside, sitting on his (now his, just his) bed and curling up as he cried harder into his elbows.

"James." The dirty blonde whispered. James shivered but looked up, a broken frown on his angelic face. Kendall flinched.

Not only was James sporting a split lip but his right eye was blackened. Blood was dripping from his swollen lower lip, and there were scratches on his arms from where Jett put his hands on him.

Kendall had to bit the inside of his cheek to keep from running after Jett and murdering him.

"K-Kendall...he left me. He left me, but he..." The beauty couldn't finish his sentence, collapsing to the bed as if suddenly drained.

Kendall swallowed his own building tears and stripped his jacket to the floor; he kicked off his shoes and crawled over next to James, hugging the other close. He didn't say more, just held James and stroked his soft, sweaty hair as the other sobbed and sobbed into his chest.

'You don't deserve this...'

- Love isn't about getting hurt -

A couple of weeks passed; James didn't talk nor see Jett directly, yet it was obvious that it hurt him to see the bastard flaunting his slutty beauty queen around town.

How could that guy live with himself, Kendall wondered, when he broke and abused such a beautiful, amazing, loving person like James?

Kendall watched as James picked out a sky blue for his latest painting. It was a self-portrait; one side of him was bruised, bleeding and crying, with a dark night and clouds in the background. The other was blank, and James was hesitating to use the sky blue. After a few minutes he sighed and replaced the small tube back into his case of paints, leaving his seat and crawling back to his bed.

Kendall sighed and followed suit, spooning James so that the taller, older man's back pressed into his chest. James didn't say a word but expressed his thanks for the comfort by placing one hand over Kendall's protecting arm and giving it a light squeeze. The other met with the blonde's free hand, fingers intertwining against James' right cheek.

The brunette's right eye was all healed, so was the split lip. The scratches on his arms were barely visible now, but he still wore long sleeved shirts and jackets to keep them out of sight, like he was right now.

He was wearing a long sleeved button-up shirt in a dark purple that brought out his soft dark skin and his deep hazel-green eyes. A black tie hung loosely around his neck, a few buttons undone and his jeans were discarded on the carpet floor, leaving him in gray boxers. He had pulled off his shoes and socks, nothing left of his work uniform on. His hair, that was once long and shiny back when he and Kendall were teenagers, was now short and slightly wind-swept. He was still beautiful and his slender, muscular body didn't have many bruises left, Kendall thanks God for that, but his heart and confidence were still broken.

Jett literally destroyed whatever love and respect James had for himself.

'You deserve so much better.' Kendall thought sadly, watching over the fragile brunette as he went to an uneasy sleep.

He lightly touched James' right eye, remembering how he had to wait until the other had fallen asleep before patching him up that night.

The night that Jett played James with that liar of a mouth and his disgusting, horrible hands.

Kendall nearly cried himself when he heard James let out a fearful whimper, he tightening his grip on his waist. The brunette's trembling ceased a little, he snuggling close to the blankets and Kendall's shoulder as if really cold.

Kendall's been staying over every day and night since Jett left James. He's been there to keep James company, comfort him and make sure he didn't do anything...self-harming. He knew James once did that as a teen and even though the brunette swore he gave that up years ago, Kendall couldn't help but be overprotective. James still took care of himself, eating when he was hungry and taking the time to look his best, but it was obvious to Kendall and their friends that the other wasn't okay.

Even when Jett hit him, James stayed; when he knew the other was cheating, he just swallowed it all and pretended he believed all the damn stupid excuses the narcissistic blonde told; when Jett would call him names, insult his looks or say he was fat, James took the tears and pain and locked them away.

And because Kendall didn't act when he thought to, James was broken.

'He's not a real man and never will be, but he still left you like this.' Kendall thought, stroking James' hand as the brunette's eyes fluttered open weakly, they meeting concerned, caring bottle green ones.

James was so beautiful; he was beautiful and perfect and he deserved so much fucking better than what Jett gave him. Kendall let a lone tear escape his eye, it hitting James lightly across the face.

'Love isn't suppose to hurt you.' Kendall thought as James pulled the covers over them, sleep no longer on his mind as he snuggled close once again to the dirty blonde. There was a picture of him and Jett on the bedside table, the glass cracked heavily down the middle.

Kendall was about to ask if James wanted him to put that away when the brunette suddenly lost control and lashed out at the picture in anger; the frame fell apart as it hit the carpet floor quite hard, the glass now in pieces.

James glanced down at the light scratch on his palm now but ignored it as it didn't bleed and pressed his face into the crook of Kendall's neck, silently asking him to not move. He was silently asking him not to move, not to say a word; he just wanted to be held, held by him.

So Kendall did just that; even when they both fell asleep around midnight, one's grip on the other didn't falter, and vice-versa.

- Love is suppose to be sweet -

Kendall and James smiled at each other as they danced like fools in the middle of James' bedroom, the dirty blonde's hands on the other's hips as they pressed close together and went back to swaying after the little spin they did.

Even though James was taller than Kendall it felt right to be held so protectively, so carefully as if he was made of priceless, beautiful stained glass. He laced his fingers behind Kendall's neck, resting his head in the crook of the shorter male's neck. Both closed their eyes as they swayed to the song, slowly pulling away when the chorus started again, James meeting Kendall's eyes.

He was surprised at the deep emotion behind the other's expression, how with tender love and care Kendall cupped his face, stroked his cheeks and brushed away some stray hair from his forehead.

'I love you.' Kendall hoped that thought was clear in his eyes, his hope a truth when James' own eyes grew wide and soft tears filled them.

Kendall slowly leaned forward, giving James time to pull away if he didn't want this, before his lips met the other's softly, gently. James didn't push him away, even if he was a little afraid; he closed his eyes slowly and kissed back, threading his fingers through soft tangles of dirty blonde hair.

They were lost among the sheets, Kendall pulling away to kiss James' cheeks, forehead, nose, wrists and hands. He didn't rush anything; he took his time and showered love and attention to the brunette's neck and collarbone, the outer shells of his ears and eyebrows as he unbuttoned his shirt slowly, taking his time to kiss each new piece of skin revealed to him.

James shivered, cheeks flushed red with half-lidded eyes. He trailed his hands across the smooth, firm skin of Kendall's back, feeling the strong muscles contract and relax under the touches.

Kendall searched the other's face for fear, for uncertainty and self-doubt.

There was a little fear in those hazel-green eyes, but not of him. It was fear of falling in love again, the fear that this love isn't real. There was a little uncertainty, because despite living with Jett for so long and sharing the same bed, James never had sex with the other blonde. After learning just who Jett really was and his cheating ways, James didn't want to give his virginity to someone who didn't really love him. This would be his first time. As for self-doubt, he was a virgin and he's never done anything of the sort like this. He had no idea what to do, at all.

But that was okay...

'I'll take care of you, the right way. I promise, James...' Kendall thought, taking one of those large, thin hands in his and pressing it to his chest.

James was confused, at first, as to why Kendall pressed his right hand to his chest until he caught on; the realization made his tears finally fall down his face.

'I'm not lying, this heart wants to love you.'

And with that, James nodded and pressed his lips to Kendall's.

- Like the way I want to love you -

James hung up his finally finished work up in the living room, smiling with a smudge of sky blue paint on his cheek. He turned and his smile grew at seeing Kendall coming from the kitchen with a nice lunch he prepared for his husband.

Wow, they've been married for five years now; time goes by fast.

"You like them?" James asked as they sat down together on the couch, the brunette snuggling close to his dirty blonde lover as he nibbled on his sandwich. Kendall kissed his forehead lovingly, turning his eyes and smiling to the artwork.

There were three paintings: the one on the left was the self-portrait James made of himself, with the blood and tears and the dark sky; he finished the other half, it mirrored the tear-streaked face and bloody cheeks. The one to the left was of a pair of bottle green eyes emerging from a cloud of darkness; those eyes were deep and piercing, as if they had the power to read someone's soul with one look.

Kendall loved all three of them; he loved his husband's artwork, not just because it was so well done but it expressed his inner feelings as well.

He loved all three of them, but the middle one always made him want to cry.

It was of a clear blue sky, with two hands coming together to shape a heart between the clouds and the bright sun. The hand to the right was dark, rich brown skin; the hand to the left was pale as snow, glowing in the rays. The hands contrasted a lot in texture, tone and fragility but the twin golden bands on the ring fingers shared the same engraving:

You are the one I've been waiting for all my life.

Kendall met James' eyes and pressed a kiss to his lips, passionately yet softly. Through his lips he said, "I love them."