Author's note: Whoa whoa. Normally I think overly emotional stuff easily becomes cheesy or unrealistic, but it was refreshing to write big, BIIIIG emotions like those that Eusine and Morty have in this fic. I hope you see this fic as hurtfully bittersweet as I see it.

I guess there are already lots of fanfics about Morty and Eusine fighting (because For Ho-oh the Bells Toll! is what it is), but I hope I brought something even remotely new into the picture.

Ps. For you guys who hate break-up fics... just keep reading.

"Morty, wait!"

The blonde didn't response. He just kept walking.

"Morty!"

Haunter flew beside him, with a little worried look on its face. Morty gave it a quick, calming smile before going back to bathe in anger again.

"You have more important things to do than keep running after me, don't you think?" he growled to the person following him.
"Morty, you know I didn't mean it", was the response. "I just –"

Morty stopped suddenly, turning around to face the other man. "What? You didn't mean it when you told me to leave you?"
"No – I – uh." Now that Morty finally faced him, Eusine was feeling very awkward.
"You made your opinion very clear", Morty said calmly.
"I really didn't mean it", Eusine forced himself to say.
Morty looked at him with ice in his eyes. "I guess you haven't meant it for the last ten times either?"
Eusine could've almost blushed. Almost. "Morty, you know my temper."
"Yes, I've certainly become familiar with it", Morty nodded. "But I, too, have my limits. I've had enough of this."

Eusine didn't say anything. He couldn't. He really didn't know how to deal with this kind of situations; it just wasn't his thing. He just stared at Morty and blurted: "You can't be serious."

Apparently, it was a bad thing to say. Morty turned around again. "I'll come back later to get my stuff."
"Morty!" Eusine cried out.

Morty didn't react in any way. He just kept heading towards the gate.

Eusine was slowly starting to feel a little panic. Had he really messed it all up this time?

"Morty, I'm sorry", he mumbled.
His voice was almost too quiet to be heard, but Morty stopped. "What?"

"I'm sorry", he repeated, even though the words were unbelievably hard for him to say. "I'm being a fool."
"Oh, you realized? Congratulations", Morty said sarcastically.
Eusine sighed. "Dude, I'm trying to apologize here."
"Go on."
"I –" Eusine swallowed.

What were the right words?

"Just – just come back, okay? Let's talk or something."

Morty sighed deeply, suddenly looking awfully tired as he looked Eusine into the eyes. "I hardly ever lose my temper", he said. "And yet you've already managed to make me almost leave you several times before. And you never even say you're sorry. It feels like you aren't sorry. But I've always come back. I don't know why. The pattern never changes."

Eusine felt bad. Actually, 'bad' wasn't a right word to describe the shame inside him, but he really wasn't used to describe emotions. He knew Morty was right; he had snapped at him more than once because of something the other man wasn't responsible of. Morty had the right to be angry at him. Eusine never paid attention to the patience Morty had – until now, when Morty really seemed willing to leave.

"I'm sorry", he said again. "Just give me another chance."
"Why? So you can convince me everything's alright and you have become able to behave yourself, then start bitching at me again?"
"No."
"It's always the same. Every fucking time. I guess I'm just too stupid to actually leave even though it's clear that I'm completely meaningless to you."
"That's not true."
"Then what is? What am I to you?"
"Morty, you know I can't handle this kind of conversations."
"Then learn how to."
"No."

Morty stared at him. "Excuse me? Do you actually think you have any right to –"

But Eusine stepped forward and pulled Morty against him, bringing his arms around the back of the other guy's neck but not completely hugging him; he kept eye contact from just a few inches away. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what to say or do but I... I don't want you to leave."
Morty's expression was still annoyed. "Eusine, I'm tired of this."
"I'm sorry." Eusine pressed his forehead against the other, asking for a kiss, but Morty turned his head away.
"This is not the first time."
"I'm sorry", Eusine said again, kissing Morty lightly on the cheek.
Morty sighed. "You don't even realize how hard it is to get along with you."
"I'm sorry." A kiss on the temple.
"Eusine, are you even listening?"
A kiss on the jaw. "Yes."
"Is it just sex?"
A kiss on the neck. "Hmm?"
"Between us. Is it only sex?"
A kiss on the earlobe. "Hmm-uh."
"Eusine, answer me."
A kiss on the cheekbone. "It's not."
"Then stop kissing me."
A kiss on the corner of the mouth. "No."
"You're hopeless."

A kiss on the mouth, first a light, tender one. Morty really didn't answer, but Eusine was determined. He brought his tongue over Morty's lower lip and then nipped it gently with his teeth. Morty gasped lightly, very lightly. Eusine recognized the sound only because he had gotten used to it.

"I can't stand it", Eusine whispered.
"What?"
"Being this hopeless. I can't stand it that I have to ask you to stay over and over again."
"Then do something about it", Morty sighed.
Eusine almost smiled. "Will you be around and watch?"
Morty turned his head again, trying to get a hold of himself. "Do you realize you hurt me with that? Acting as if everything's so easy to solve."
Eusine's weak smile dropped. "I'm sorry. You know I'm bad at these emotion things. I can only say 'I'm sorry' a thousand times and kiss you. I just can't do any more than that."

Morty stared at the ground in silence.

"I've never had to fear that you'd actually leave", Eusine said quietly. "I knew you would always come back after a while. But this time is different. You are serious. Even an emotionally handicapped person like me can tell that." Eusine paused for a bit to think about it, watching Morty's expressions changing.
"And it feels awful", he continued with a quiet voice.

He gave Morty's hair a light, gentle stroke. "I'm asking you to still remain stupid enough to stay."

Morty took a deep breath, eyes closed. Eusine waited. He had never felt like this; desperate, annoyingly desperate to keep the other person around, not willing to give up on him. And on the other hand, he felt guilty. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to hold Morty like this. The tense body burned his fingers.

Then the blonde guy looked at him.
"I always end up with the most stupid decisions with you", Morty said.
Eusine pressed their foreheads together again. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to overdo those apologies."
"I want to be sure."
"You can't rely on those words forever."
"I know. You've said that before." Eusine sneered. "I guess I'm just a jerk."
Morty nodded with no doubt. "You are."
"Ouch", Eusine said playfully. "Couldn't you hesitate even a bit or something before agreeing? Just a bit nicer touch?"
"No, because you are a jerk", Morty chuckled a bit.

Eusine tightened his grip of Morty, just a bit. That was a laugh, or at least something like a laugh. Was Morty coming back from his anger?

Suddenly Eusine remembered something. He frowned deeply, staring at Morty. "Where did you get the idea it's all about sex?"
Morty shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "I don't know. You just don't… you know…" He thought about it for a while. "Uh. I'm not sure."
"Would I be this persistent to keep you if it was all just for that?"
"Well, I –"
"I'm just no good with words. You know I love you."
"Hmm."

Morty was still avoiding eye contact. Eusine felt frustrated. He didn't know how to express it, how to say it, but he never wanted to see Morty cross the yard like that, about to leave him. He wanted a lifetime with him, and his stupid fear of words was apparently going to make it impossible. It had to end now. All childishness had. If he only figured out how.

"Tell me what you're thinking", Morty asked.
"What?"
"Your expression. You're struggling with something."

Morty knew him, Eusine realized suddenly. Morty knew what he was made of but he had to say it himself.

"I love you", Eusine managed to say again.
A sigh, not a tired, hopeless one, but a sigh of content. "I know."
Eusine frowned. "No, I mean I love you."

Morty studied Eusine's face. Gritted teeth, tight lips, wide eyes full of determination. Eusine stared back, desperately hoping to make him understand.

"Okay", Morty said.
"Okay?"
"Okay. A lifetime."

He understood.

"Yes", Eusine breathed.
"But you're going to have to use words."
"Yes."
"And to stop blaming me for your bad days."
"Yes."
"Stop saying yes."
"I love you."
"Stop saying I love you."
"No."

As Eusine kissed Morty, deep and slow and with all the meaning in the world, he felt all the tenseness melt away from his body; it felt like every bit of his strength just disappeared now that he didn't have that huge, overwhelming fear holding him up.

A lifetime. He would give Morty a lifetime, and at some point he would have learned not to fear words. He'd make Morty never to regret staying. He was going to make it work.

This was only the beginning of it.