Hi everyone, this is the second story I'm doing. After doing my first story I found that I liked writing the whump more than I liked writing the actual combat. I think for this story I'm going to do a collection of whump focusing on Clay and Sonny.
For the timeline of the story, I think I'll start after they come back from Mexico with an alternate timeline while they were there and then get to the current timeline with the show
Clay kicked over a beer bottle as he trotted out of his bedroom. His apartment was a mess, days of empty pizza boxes, beer bottles, and cans, strewn all over the floor. Opening the fridge he discovered the fridge to contain a pizza box. He took it out and set it on the counter expecting it to contain his breakfast. "For fuck's sake," he muttered as he opening the lid, seeing no pieces. Clay tossed the box into the trash as he walked over to the couch, sitting in his spot, normally Stella would snuggle up against him her head on his chest as they watched a movie they selected.
Clay slipped into semi-consciousness as he reminisced Stella, the girl who he thought would become his wife. The memory that he dived into this time was from a couple months ago, well before Stella had become uncertain of their future together. Clay had just come back from an op in Cameroon where he had caught a piece of frag, shielding Cerberus from the suicide bomber that had cornered the team in a dead-end alley. The injury seemed at first to be minor, a mere flesh wound, but when they were getting off the helicopter to get dejocked, he collapsed, yards from the C17. The wound had already gone septic, sending him into a delusional fever. Spenser was hurriedly transferred to a military hospital in Germany where he spent two weeks, recovering. In the two weeks, Stella had been in a worried frenzy, wondering if he would come home to sweep her off her feet. When he, did Stella was overjoyed, throughout the two weeks there had been many sleepless nights, tears, all triggered through the fear of losing Clay.
As they lay on the couch, Stella in Clay's arms, carefully avoiding his wound, the pair of them felt a sense of security that neither of them had ever experienced with someone before.
"What did I tell you, I always come home"
"Did I ever doubt you"
Clay's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Slightly annoyed he walked over to the door He opened the door six inches, his body standing behind it to guard his emotional mess, to find Sonny standing at the door, his arms crossed, his facing wearing a serious but worried look. Spenser had seen that look only once before, I've only seen him like this when he found out about Stella leaving, he knows something's up
"Hey, Big Shooter, you haven't returned my calls or texts," Sonny said. Clay shifted, he rarely ever did that.
"My phone was off" Clay lied, he hated doing it, he knew that it never panned out, lying to a teammate.
"But it says read" Sonny pulled his phone out, showing Clay their texts.
"Must have slipped my mind" Clay muttered, staring at this shoes as if they would provide the answer for why he hasn't responded
"Clay" Sonny drawled
"Uh, I have to go," Spenser said starting to close the door
"Blondie, I swear to god, if you don't open this damn door I will kick it off its hinges," Sonny said, stepping forward, putting his forearm on the door. Not in an attempt to prevent him from closing the door but showing Clay he worried about him, trying to show he cared. Clay closed the door and slid his back down the door until he was sitting on the floor. As he leaned back against the door his heart felt a heavy pang. Days before when Stella had come to collect the last of her stuff from Clay's apartment, him saying "I didn't die in Mexico" backfired almost immediately. Stella nearly broke right in front of him, something that neither expected to happen. After Clay put the key on the TV stand he paced around the apartment for a few minutes, all of the places he tried sitting feeling uncomfortable and unnatural. He finally settled on sitting with his back against the door, the only place he could feel close to Stella. Little did he know, Stella had walked around the end of the hallway and into the stairwell, She closed the heavy stairwell door behind her and slid down the door until she was on the floor. Stella hugged her legs and let the tears silently stream down her face. She and Clay sat there for nearly two hours, each wishing the other there. Clay nearly called her twice, but stopped himself, he didn't know why, but he hated himself for it.
Sonny walked out of Clay's apartment building and sat in his truck. "The fuck is wrong with the kid". Sonny had never seen Clay like this, sure he had his demons, he had tried to shut out the world after Alana died, but it had been Clay that got through to him, found him in the backseat of Sonny's truck outside of his house. He had been hugging himself, lines of tears down his face. Clay found him like that, he knew he left the reception at Jason's house, he knew that Sonny was struggling to hide his emotions behind his thick Texan shell, but he didn't expect to find him like that, sobbing in the backseat of a pickup truck. Clay had left Stella at Jason's house in order to go find Sonny. Clay took Sonny's keys and drove out to a field in rural Virginia where they spent the night, drinking and shooting the shit. Sonny realized that he had to do something just like that for Spenser, or his demons would eat him alive. Sonny opened the door of his truck and swung his feet out the side, took a deep breath walked back in the building.
Sonny knocked twice on Clay's door "Hey Spens'" his drawl was soft and understanding "Can I come in." There was a long silence before he heard Clay get up off the floor and unlock the door
"Yeah?" Clay asked, standing in the open doorway, his normally proud shoulders slouched, his eyes puffy and red.
"Can I come in?" his genuine concern in his voice showing through
"Yeah" Clay sighed, relieved he had come back to the apartment. Sonny stepped through the open door and shut and locked it behind him. Clay walked over to the couch and slumped into it, mentally and emotionally drained. Sonny quickly noted the state of disarray in Clay's apartment with the beer and pizza
"I uh… like what you did with the place" Said Sonny, his sarcastic, joking nature coming back to him.
"Thanks" he blandly replied. Clay rolled his eyes and stared out of the window. Sonny stooped down to pick up empty beer bottles and discarded pizza boxes and then started stacking them on the kitchen counter. There was a deafening silence for a couple of minutes while Sonny decided his next move. He couldn't remember the last time he had to help a brother through with some mental stuff
"Hey, Carla's is open down the street" Sonny suggested
"Not hungry"
"Look, Wonderboy, I know that Stella and the shit that happened in Mexico aren't making you exactly hungry for anything other than pizza and beer, but you need to go out and get some real food to eat," Sonny said, walking over to stand over Clay. Sonny paused, "And you know you want some of those ribs" he smiled and poked clay in the ribs. A small smile spread across Clay's face as he poked back at Sonny
"Ok fine, just let me get some shoes." Clay got off the couch and walked to his bedroom
"I'll be right here waiting" Sonny replied
() () ()
The two were shown to a seat near the back of the restaurant. Clay ordered the ½ rack of ribs with pit beans and Sonny ordered the pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw. While they waited for the orders the pair were quiet until Sonny broke the silence "Have you talked to Brock about Mexico, I think it would help put your heart at rest" Sonny said, looking up at Clay. Clay lowered his head
"No" He mumbled, his eyes starting to water.
"You know you should, it'll help both you and him," said Sonny, unrolling his utensils.
"I know I should, I feel kinda guilty though, we never should have left the back of that church exposed like that. I should have gone up there when Ray came down." said Clay, looking up to meet Sonny's eyes. Sonny was about to respond when a waiter in a plaid top came and delivered the two plates. Sonny looked up and smiled,
"Thanks". The waiter sweetly smiled back
"My pleasure" She turned around and walked back to the kitchen. Sonny returned his eyes to Clay, a little grin spread across his southern face, despite the topic they were just discussing.
"Eat up there, Stud, it'll make you feel better," Sonny said, picking up his sandwich. Each nickname he dreamt up was something he enjoyed about their friendship. Actually, this is more than just a friendship, he's my brother. Sonny meant every word of it, from the first op they rolled on together, Abu Samir, he knew that Spenser was something special, but until he saved he saved his ass in Afghanistan by schwacking three talis' did he call him his brother. Now there was no one he would rather trust with his life. Truth be told, all of the Bravo guys thought of Spenser as the little brother they never had. They all gave him shit and they all took a shit, but they would knock anyone who did so little as to touch their boy straight onto their ass. Sonny was definitely the closest with the kid, however, when he found Sonny in the back seat of his truck, the tough outer shell that everyone knew had melted away revealing the raw and hurt Texan soul. Spenser consoled and comforted him, but never told anyone else about what he saw. By showing his soft belly Sonny felt more at home with Spenser, and that was saying something.
Sonny finished his meal and got up to pay the bill, something that under normal circumstances the two would jokingly bicker about until the "loser" got up to pay. He returned with the receipt and grabbed Spenser and walked him briskly outside and into the truck. "You want to tell me why we left so fast?" Spenser inquired once he closed the door, Sonny didn't answer instead he pointed. Stella and two of her girlfriends walking in the door. Clay started for the door handle but Sonny locked it before he could get to it.
"Here is not the place or time," Sonny said, his southern drawl softening again. Clay started for the door again
"Hey," Sonny said lightly grabbing onto Spenser's arm, "You love her, I get that, but here, at a diner in front of all her girlfriends, is not the place you want to be making up". Clay sat back in his seat
"Please let's just go back to your place and we can hang for the rest of the afternoon"
"Fine, let's go," Clay said, putting his seatbelt on.
"Thank you" Sonny flashed his good ol' boy smile and let go of Clay's arm. He back out and drove started down the avenue back towards the apartment
Thanks for reading! I know that this one is short but I definitely liked writing this whump more than I liked writing my last story. Something satisfying about getting into the emotions of the characters ;). Definitely more to come but I do have exams coming up in the next two weeks.