A/N - I uh, completely forgot about the story I wrote, which I think I posted an early draft somewhere but cannot remember... Um. Well, anyways, here!

Cleaned his desk out the other day, searching for something, some clue, and under a pile of paperwork is where I found a note. Just a note, folded in half with my name on it, and even though I promised myself that I wouldn't get excited over something like this my heart skipped a beat, or three, and I had to put it down on the desktop because my hands were shaking that bad. But when I opened it all it said was: 'Cain, please clean up the laundry I asked you to do last month, your clothes stink."
Just a note, from when I couldn't remember.

No sign off, no final message and I guess it's not like he knew he was going to go out and not come back. Turned it over searching for something, anything, and on the back was written 'oh, by the way, I love you'
And I couldn't help then but sink down to the floor, reading the words over and over and over again, furious with myself for getting tears on the paper and ruining it. IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou. Fold it over and slip it into my pocket, just as a reminder.

So I didn't hear him turn the key in the lock, and I didn't hear him walk into the house quietly, sneaking through it, the only thing I heard was a gasp and then Abel was on me, patting at my face and chest and speaking too fast like he does when he's panicked:

"Cain! Cain oh my god, what's wrong! What happened! Are you hurt? Are you injured!?"

I must be hallucinating. Finally driven to insanity by him. Of course.

"Cain, Cain! What's wrong! Talk to me!"

And it happens like I'm not even in control of my body, it just acts of it's own accord and it feels like slow motion, like moving through water but I know it must be fast because Abel gasps and he looks worried and scared, tearing up already, but all I can think of is that I need to grab his jacket and get him closer to me to make sure he's real, or if he's a hallucination, and he overbalances and crashes his head into mine, tries to recoil and huffs but I keep him right there in front of me because I need to be sure.

"Are you fucking real or not?"

"W-what? Of course I'm real! Cain what's wrong, what happened?"

"Then where the fuck have you been?"

Abel's frown deepens, looking more and more concerned, until suddenly his eyes get really big and his whole face drops and says in a whisper: "Oh, oh no."
"That's not a fucking place"
He ignores me, just pulls back to put a hand to my forehead, then moves it to feel the rest of my head while I just keep glaring at him waiting for an answer.

"You hit your head or something, didn't you? Oh my god. Oh my god, Cain, I'm so sorry, I should've gotten someone to check up on you, but I didn't think..."

I shove his hand away from my head, not interested in what he's saying because it makes no sense.

"No, I'm fucking fine, but you left!"

Abel blinks at me.

"I know-"

"You've been gone for a month!"

"Yeah, I know. Wait. Wait, so you remember? Then what's wrong?"

Abel goes back into panicky mode, trying to searching some injury on me but grab his arms and hold them down at his side.

"Ow,"

"What the fuck do you mean you know! You've been gone for a fucking month! No note! No phone call! No nothing! I thought you were gone forever!"

I thought you'd finally gotten some sense into your stupid head and left me.

"What the... I left you a note! On the fridge!"

"Bullshit!"
"But I did! You were at work, on that weekend trip and you forget your phone here, so I left you a note on the fridge on the grocery list."

Oh. Shit.

Abel suddenly looks at me very sternly.

"You threw it out without looking at it, didn't you?"

I gulped. Abel narrowed his eyes.

"Because you thought it was just another one of my stupid lists?"

I continued my silence.

"CAIN! I told you a million times! Don't throw them out!"

I can't help myself. It's an automatic reaction.
"But they're so fucking stupid!"

"UGH!"

Abel finally shoves away from me, getting up to pace up and down the room muttering under his breath before he stops and closes his eyes, inhales deeply and comes back down to crouch in front of me, eyes level with mine.
"Okay. Okay. Look. I got a call from work last month to go out to Mars to help with their new starships, they were having some issues with their transportation system and needed me to get out and help them. I sent you a bunch of e-mails explaining what happened, but you never replied, so I figured you must be pissed with me for leaving and I just-" Abel took a deep breath here, calming himself down again, "just didn't have the time to deal with it then. Okay? Did you check your computer?"

I shook my head no, because of course I hadn't thought of that. Idiot. And Abel groaned, leaned forwards to bury his face in my neck.

"You idiot. God, you are such an idiot."

Then he pulled back, frowning.

"Wait, so why were you crying?"

"I wasn't crying."

Abel snorted.

"I wasn't crying!"

"Yeah, okay. Did it never occur to you to call Keeler or my parents and ask where I was?"

I shrugged.
"I thought you'd left me. Didn't want to intef..."

Trailed off because Abel recoiled like he'd been slapped, looking horrified before grabbing me around the shoulders and pulling me into a hug, and finally, finally I felt at home again.

"You're such an idiot, Cain! I told you I wouldn't do that."

"You swear?" though it came out garbled because I was trying to swallow around the lump in my thorat, and Abel just nodded his head, "Yes, I mean no, I won't leave you."

Reached my hand to my back pocket to finger at the note. I love you, too.