AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, this is an AU fic an anon from my Salex blog requested. I was only gonna post this on tumblr, but then I figured I'd post it on here as well so more people could read it. I mean, there needs to be more Sean&Alex fics, after all. I'm also gonna be working on a gifset to accompany this fic (sort of - the gifset probably won't be anything like this fic, but I don't really know yet).

Anyway, hope you all like this & feedback is always appreciated :)

Sean stopped what he was doing and set his textbook back down on his desk, pushing his chair away from his desk and standing up. He went over to his door, opened it a crack, and listened to what was going on downstairs. His father's hoarse voice upstairs and he could hear his mother's, hear her trying to placate him. There was no doubt that they had gotten into another fight. These fights had been becoming more consistent over the years. Not only more consistent, but more violent. The bruise on Sean's face – which he'd gotten last week when he had tried to intervene in a fight between his parents - was still healing.

He was about to check on his sisters when he remembered they were out with friends. Relieved that they, at least, weren't hearing this, Sean was about to close his door when he heard glass smash. Alarmed now, he stepped out of his room and hurried downstairs. "What's going on?" he asked, upon entering the living room and finding his mother with her back to his father, her arms shielding her eyes. He saw the bottle of Whiskey, half empty. When she turned, he saw that a piece of glass had gotten stuck in her cheek. "Mom?"

"Leave us," his father said, not looking at him. When Sean didn't move, his father finally turned to look at him, his cold eyes fixed on him. "I said – leave us." When Sean fixed him with a steely glare, he moved towards his son, lifted his hand, and punched him in the face – bloodying his nose. Sean gasped, cupping his face and stumbling back. Madeline cried out for Sean, telling him to leave, but Sean only looked at his father and lunged after him.

"You son of a bitch!" he yelled, pushing him down. Sean kicked him and Madeline grabbed him by the arms and tugged him away. Sean yanked his arm away from her, kicking his father one more time. "I'm sick of you hurting us," he yelled again, but before he could kick him his father had pulled himself up using the edge of the chair and threw himself at Sean, throwing him against the wall. He smelled his breath, the stench of whiskey making him sick to his stomach.

Grabbing him by the shoulders, Sean's father threw him to the ground and stood over him, staring down at him. "When I tell you to leave, son," he began, lifting his foot and placing it on his chest, turning him over onto his back and pressing his foot down. "Leave." He kicked Sean's side several times, holding Madeline back with one arm as she fought to stop him. Fed up, he shoved her forcefully and she fell back, hitting her head against the edge of the table, her vision becoming blurry.

Sean rolled over onto his side, wrapping his arm around him and clutching his side. With his dad distracted, he pushed himself up and looked around for something to use as a weapon, found an old trophy of his from high school, and as he was distracted hovering over Madeline, Sean stumbled over to his father and hit him over the head with the trophy.

His father slumped to the floor, unconscious. Sean looked from his father's body to the trophy in his hand, letting go of it and hearing it hit the floor with a dull thud. Madeline pushed herself up and went over to Sean, rubbing the back of her head, panic starting to set in. When he felt his mother's hand on his arm, he looked over at her and turned and fell into her arms. "You have to get out of here. Just for a little while," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him. "You were out with friends, okay?" She continued, pulling away to look at him. "You were out with friends."

Sean nodded in understanding, and as he did so his mother reached up and cupped the side of his face. She kissed his forehead and then gestured for him to go upstairs and clean himself up and then go out. He followed her orders, hurrying upstairs, quickly washing his face and changing his clothes. Before he left, he helped his mother move his father's body up to the bedroom so his dad would wake up in bed. Hopefully he wouldn't remember the fight and just think he had passed out drunk again.

He wasn't sure where to go, so he just walked. Pulling his hoodie up and sticking his hands in his jeans pockets, Sean let his legs lead the way and got lost in his thoughts. Should he have just left his mother alone like that? He knew she could take care of herself. And with his dad out cold like that, it'd be a while before he would wake up. Besides, Madeline would most likely want some time to herself, collect herself and gather her courage, clean the place up. The more he thought about his father, though – the more he thought about all the times he had hit his mom, hit him – Sean grew angry and felt himself clenching his fists.

When he unclenched his fists and looked up, he realized he had no idea where he was. Wait, he did kind of know. This street looked familiar. He had walked a few miles away. Several miles. He was close to lost.

"Sean?" Spinning around at the sound of a familiar voice, Sean looked at Alex in surprise, his mouth hanging open. He felt like he'd been caught perving on her or something. And then he realized he was standing across from her house. She raised her eyebrows at him as if to put emphasis on those exact thoughts. "Is there a reason you're standing across the street from my house?" she asked him. It was dark and he was in shadow, but she could still recognize his figure. She should, after all. She sat behind him in all their classes at school and they've known each other for years.

"Um, I was just -" He struggled for a credible answer, something she'd believe and not something that sounded lame or, well, perverted. Not that his reason for being out here was perverted. He hadn't even meant to come here. Why was he here? "I was just out for a walk and found myself here. I forgot you lived here. I'm sorry. I just – I-" He turned to face her, running his tongue over his lips as he was close to telling her what had happened.

Alex heard the desperation in his voice and stepped closer to him, and as she did so the light from the street lamp highlighted his face and she saw the bruise on his face. "Sean, what happened?" she asked, reaching up to gingerly touch his face. He leaned his cheek into her touch and then looked away and took a step back. He hadn't been in school at all this week and she'd been so worried about him. It wasn't like him to skip school. He was just as studious as she was. Looking over at her house, Alex gestured for Sean to follow her. "Come on," she said, leading the way across the street and along the side of her house, along the path leading to the backyard. She opened the gate leading to the backyard and led the way over to a bench and took a seat, patting the spot next to her. Sean hesitated, but he eventually sat beside her, pushing his hoodie down. "What happened," she said, more ordered this time instead of asked.

Her command brought a flicker of a smile to his face and he looked at her with some amusement. Sighing, he looked down at his hands and said, "I can't tell you everything, but – my dad drinks. A lot. And he beats me and my mom now and then." He paused to look at Alex, who was waiting patiently and gazing at him with a compassionate expression on her face. For a moment, he also thought she looked like she wasn't surprised at hearing all this, but a part of her face was in shadow, so he wasn't sure. "They fought earlier tonight. Not too long ago, actually. I stepped in and he beat me. I took off after and, well, now here I am."

Sean gazed at Alex for a few moments and then sniffed and looked away. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and gazing down at his hands. As he looked down at them, he realized they were shaking. How odd, he thought, that he hadn't noticed they were shaking until now. He rubbed his hands together and cracked his knuckles, feeling Alex's gaze on him and seeing her watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"You already know, don't you?" he asked, a corner of his mouth turning up in a bittersweet smile.

"I had my suspicions. I saw you during a softball game a few weeks ago and noticed a bruise on your abdomen. And your dad, well," she paused, taking a deep breath and exhaling heavily. Sean looked up and over at her as she continued. "He's a bit intimidating. I don't like him."

"That makes two of us." Sean smiled at her, the first smile he's displayed all day. Alex lifted her hand and placed it on his back, rubbing it affectionately. "I'm sorry for burdening you with this, but it feels good to talk to someone."

"You can always come to me, Sean," she said, sliding her hand up and running her fingers through his hair. "I care about you and don't want you to get hurt."

Several beats passed and then they leaned in at the same time, Sean flinching briefly at the pain but ignoring it as they met for a kiss. He reached up to cup the side of her face, running his hand through her hair and tucking the strands behind her ear. When he pulled away, he placed his hand on the side of her neck and slid it down to rest on her shoulder, leaning his forehead against her own. Sean rubbed his lips together as he listened to her breaths. He tilted his lowering his gaze, and staring at her chest for just a fraction of a second – how it rose and fell with every breath.

He looked up at her, his hand on her knee and his eyes dropping down to her lips. Sean swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. "I like you, Alex," he said. He'd had a crush on her for years; had admired her from afar because he had figured she'd never go for a guy that had so many family problems. What girl would go for someone with a father like his? But now that they had kissed, he felt the urge to let her know how he felt. Even if she didn't feel the same way he wanted her to know.

Alex smiled, and then just as quickly it vanished. She bit down on her bottom lip as she looked up at the windows of her house. They were all dark, indicating everyone was asleep. Looking back at Sean, she slipped her hand in his and pushed herself off the bench and led him in through the backdoor of the house and up to her bedroom as quietly as possible.

Closing her door, she went over to Sean and stood in front of him, looking up at him. She placed her hands on his chest as he slid his hands up along her arms. "Are you sure?" he asked her, wanting to make sure she was certain this is what she wanted.

"Yes," she said, nodding with a smile on her face. She leaned up and kissed him, sliding her hands underneath his sweatshirt and t-shirt to run her hands up along his chest. Sean let out a grunt feeling her hands on his torso, his ribs sore from where his father had kicked him. Alex pulled away when she heard him grunt and and frowned, pulling his shirt up as he took his sweatshirt off. When she saw the bruises, her lips parted in dismay and she felt an ache in her heart. She dropped her hands and looked up at him, letting out a heavy sigh and stepping closer to him and kissing him more fiercely this time, taking his face between her hands.

Sean slipped his arms around her and lifted her up, wrapping Alex's legs around his waist and carrying her over to her bed. He continued to kiss her as he set her down. He reluctantly pulled away, pulling his shirt up and over his head and tossing it on her floor. Alex admired him for a moment and then pushed herself up, kissing his bruises and up to his collar bone, meeting his lips once more. Both of them on their knees, they gazed at one another for a moment and then Sean dropped his gaze and brought his hands up to undo the buttons of her plaid shirt. Her room was dark, but the half moon outside her window lent a little light and he could see her neck and chest become flushed as her breathing became heavier.

Removing her shirt and tossing it on the floor with his own shirt, Alex reached out and unfastened Sean's pants and pulled them down. She crawled back on the bed as he tossed his jeans and briefs on the floors. He leaned down on the bed and followed after Alex, pressing kisses to her abdomen while undoing her jeans, tugging them off along with her underwear. She looked up at him and into his eyes, the shade of brown reminding her of her father's bottle of cognac he had stored in his study.

Hovering over her, he took his cock in his hand as she spread her legs, and he slipped himself inside her. She let a groan and tipped her head back, digging her fingertips into Sean's shoulders. This wasn't her first time (nor was it his) but several months had passed since she had had sex and she had forgotten how good it felt, and sometimes how the penetration hurt at first.

Alex turned her head and pressed her mouth against his shoulder, grazing her teeth against his skin. Sean slid his hand down along her thigh and drew her leg up as he moved, her walls closing around his cock. He strained against her, pushing harder and deeper inside her. "Shh, what was that?" Alex hissed, pressing her fingers against his lips as she studied her door. He stopped moving, feeling his heart stop beating for a fraction of a second and afraid her father or mother would walk in on them, but they didn't. No one came in. "Sorry," she said, looking back up at him and dropping her hand.

"It's, uh, fine," he said, hesitating a moment before getting off of her since the moment had been ruined, though not completely. He stretched out beside her, their bodies mirroring each other. He reached down and pulled the blanket on the end of her bed up and over her, and she smiled gratefully at him.

"You can stay here as long as you want," she said, propping her head on her arm underneath her pillow.

"Thank you."

Alex placed her hand in the middle of her bed and a moment later Sean followed suit, placing his hand right beside hers. With a little smile, Alex reached out with her pinky finger and brushed it against his hand and then moved her whole hand over his. She watched as he turned their hands over and laced their fingers together, their hands becoming a perfect fit. She kept her gaze on their hands until her eyes grew too heavy and she had to close them. When her grip, which had been firm, began to slacken and she drifted off, Sean reached his free hand over and he brushed a strand of her brown hair out of Alex's eyes and smiled at her sleeping form. He knew he should get back to his mother, but he wanted to stay with Alex for just a little while longer. He was happy here with her.