"Oh my god, what happened?" Scotty asks while getting up from the couch. The sight of Kevin with bruises and a dirty sweater made his heart beat faster.
"It's just a…" Kevin starts, pulling off his jacket.
"Who did this?" Scotty asks while helping with the jacket, carefully placing it on a chair to focus all his attention on Kevin.
"Tommy." Kevin answers, avoiding Scotty's eyes. He knows how childish it sounds. He can defend it in front of his family, but not to Scotty.
"Kev…" Scotty exhales heavily. His eyes land on Kevin's fingers, and Kevin notices his hurt look.
"You should see the other guy." He gestures with his healthy hand.
"Come sit." Scotty takes the hand and leads the way to the couch. "Tell me what happened."
"Well…" Kevin sits in one end of the couch, Scotty in the other. Kevin places his leg so it touches Scotty's.
"Rebecca invited us both to Justin's one year… exam." Kevin starts.
Scotty hears it in Kevin's voice. He sounds incredibly hurt and vulnerable, just like he's done so many times lately, and so few times before.
"We both promised to be civil, but…" Scotty reaches out to stroke Kevin's calf, urging him to go on.
"We met for two seconds." Kevin's eyes look up directly at Scotty. They're red and swollen, and it's not just from the fight. Scotty feels his pain. He himself has experiences ups and downs, both with career and with family, Kevin hasn't, not like that. And going through this kind of life-changing process, it's not easy. Whoever said that identity crises are for teenagers should get a beating.
"He provoked me." Kevin sees in Scotty's face that he's not buying it. "He really did."
"Kevin, I do believe you. But does he know that he provoked you?" Scotty asks.
"I don't know." Kevin shakes his head, again looking down. He sees his injured fingers. They hurt, and he wants them to. This should hurt, he knows that much.
"He pushed me out, Scotty."
"I know."
"He pushed me out of the family business, the thing that's been gluing my family together forever." Kevin's voice is closer to breaking with every word he speaks. "He pushed me out."
Scotty sits up and holds out his arms.
"Come here." He invites. Kevin hungrily agrees to the hug, pressing himself against his husband, seeking warmth and comfort. Scotty can feel Kevin sobbing into his sweater, all the feelings inside of him coming out at the same time.
Scotty wraps his arms tighter around Kevin, leaning his head on Kevin's. When Kevin's breathing becomes slower and more peaceful, Scotty slowly jerks apart.
"Maybe we could go for some sandwiches?" He asks. Kevin nods like a child that just stopped crying after it was hurt.
"Grilled with mozzarella, tomato and pesto?" Scotty suggest, knowing how to trigger Kevin's happy sides, food wise. His suggestion is immediately greeted with a big smile. "Why don't you take a shower, and I'll fix things when you're away?" Scotty asks.
Kevin gets up, but hesitates before he starts to walk away.
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Taking care of my battle injured husband?" Scotty asks. "It is kind of entertaining, yeah. Now go." He gestures Kevin away. He smiles, picks up his mobile phone and enters his room of power – the kitchen.
While starting to prepare the food he also dials the number he by now knows by heart. Three rings, and then…
"Hi Scotty."
"Hi Julia. How are you?"
"Fine and cooking. You've got a soldier down too, huh?" She asks.
"You know it." Scotty puts the phone between his head and his shoulder, carefully slicing the tomato into perfect round pieces. "Whatcha making?"
"Grilled cheese. His favorite."
"Oh, I'm making his favorite too, but the gay version, with Italian cheese and mixed fresh herbs."
They share a laugh and casually comment on their cooking before needing to hang up. Kevin enters the kitchen, wearing only a towel round his hips.
"Brunch tomorrow?" Scotty asks into his cell phone. "Great, see you then." He closes the phone and puts it on the bench.
"You're quick." He says and kisses Kevin on the lips.
"Brunch? With Jordan? I thought he had this new hot-shot job?" Kevin asks, leaning over Scotty's shoulder to localize and steal some mozzarella.
"No, with Julia." Scotty answers.
"Julia?" Kevin asks, putting the cheese in his mouth, reaching for some tomato.
"No! You have to wait." Scotty protectively waves his knife round the tomatoes, showing where his space is.
"Our Julia?"
"Yes." Scotty says, determined to avoid all questioning from Kevin's side about taking sides in their respective spouse's fight. "We get together sometimes and share tips on how to survive with a Walker."
Kevin doesn't reply. He watches Scotty place the sandwiches in the grill, closing it with a firm hand. He knows it's not in his place to be annoyed that they meet. He wants to object, but he can't find a single good reason to keep them distanced from each other. He spots a left-over tomato on the cutting board and pops it into his mouth.
"Tell her hello." He finally says. He can see Scotty exhale with relief.
"I promise, we do not sit around and trash talk either of you." He kisses Kevin on his cheek and places a hand on his butt. "Now get me some wine."