Hey guys, I hope everyone is doing okay with the recent news, including the twins. It's heartbreaking to know that Sean is gone, my thoughts go out to them and their family.

Trigger Warning - Domestic Abuse

Grayson could look out for himself, Ethan knew that but he also knew there was something off with Grayson and his new boyfriend, Beck.

Normally Grayson was always his happiest when he was in a relationship but this latest one has had the opposite affect. Grayson would sleep in until 1:00pm now instead of his previous 8:00am. Ethan hadn't seen him eat without being told to for the past month and he was always locked away in his room. It's almost like he's depressed. At first Ethan didn't think Beck was connected to Grayson's behavior at all but after spending time together with them, Ethan started to notice some things.

Like how tense Grayson always seemed to be when Beck was over, or how Grayson would cringe against Beck's touch, flinching at any sudden movements. Or the abnormal amount of bruises Grayson seemed to be getting recently. These behaviours confused Ethan more than anything, he only really started piecing things together during one of their movie nights.

It was Friday night and for once Beck wasn't over, so Ethan seized the opportunity to spend time with Grayson, as he's been so busy with Beck lately.

So they both set out to find as many blankets as they could and made their way to the living room. They nestled deep into the cocoon of blankets, Grayson seemed the most content Ethan had seen him in weeks. Wishing Grayson's happy mood could last forever, Ethan opened up Netflix.

"I'm feeling a horror movie" Ethan said.

"Alright, guess that's cool. Which one?"

"How about this one?" Ethan said, referring to one with a dark figure on the cover. "Netflix just put it on here a few days ago."

"Can't, promised Beck I'd watch that one with him."

"Cmon he doesn't have to know"

"No, he'd find out somehow, trust me." Grayson said, good mood briefly leaving him.

"It's just a movie but alright, how about this one then?"

"Looks stupid."

"Fine, this one?"

"No, seen it."

"This one?"

"Okay, looks interesting." The movie had a picture of a creepy looking teenage couple on it.

They played rock, paper, scissors over who would leave the blanket fortress to go make popcorn, Grayson lost. Once they had their popcorn, and shut off the lights to make things spookier, they started the movie.

They quickly realized what they were in for when the opening scene started. The main character was being beaten by her abusive boyfriend.

Ethan was too focused on the movie to notice Grayson's change in body language. He stopped leaning against Ethan and started fidgeting with his hands, eyes refusing to look at the screen.

"Jeez, just leave his ass!" Ethan blurts out, throwing a piece of popcorn at the tv.

Grayson's fidgeting increasing at these words, along with his breathing. He can feel tears in his eyes but he digs his nails into his arm to keep them from falling.

By the end of the unnecessarily long abuse scene, Grayson is finds it hard to keep it together. His hands are shaking and he can't get his breathing to slow down. He wants to tell Ethan to shut it off, but he knows he would ask why.

Grayson takes a deep breathe and tries to distract himself by reaching for the popcorn that was on Ethan's lap. Unfortunately for Grayson, Ethan notices his shaking hands right away.

"Hey, you okay? You're shaking" Ethan says pausing the movie. "Too scary?"

Grayson can only choke out a shaky "no."

"You sure? You look like you're about to have a panic attack. Was the abuse scene too much?" This is when something clicks inside Ethan. He thinks of Beck and Grayson's dementor around him. He thinks of the bruises Ethan's been seeing on Grayson lately. Ethan's breathing stops. "Hey Is there something going on with Beck that you're not telling me?" Ethan says softly, taking one of Grayson's fidgeting hands in his.

"What?! No!" Grayson says, pulling his hand back. A panicked look crosses his face, and his eyes won't meet Ethan's. "I need to go" Grayson says, breathing rapidly. He struggles to free himself of the blankets, making him panic more. "Get off, get off, get off" growing more panicked still. Grayson finally manages to get the blankets off but falls off the couch and on the floor with a thud.

Ethan hyperaware of the fact that Grayson is definitely having a panic attack, Ethan stands up to help him. A look of terror crosses Grayson's face as he looks up at Ethan. Grayson holds his arms in front of his face as though to protect himself. Grayson is full on sobbing at this point, muttering incoherent words to Ethan. Only later does Ethan realize he was repeating the words 'I'm sorry.'

"Gray?" Ethan bends down to try and comfort Grayson, but Grayson only sobs harder, trying to crawl away. "Gray, it's me, Ethan your brother. You're okay, I'm not going to hurt you." Ethan pulls Grayson's arms away from his face. "It's okay buddy, it's just me." Grayson struggles in Ethan's grip for a second before a look of recognition passes over his face. Ethan takes this moment to open his arms in a hug, giving Grayson the option to reject it. Grayson gladly falls into his arms, gripping the back of his shirt tightly. Crying hard and shaking against Ethan.

"What does Beck do to you, Gray?"

"I c-can't, he said he'd kill me if I told you."

Ethan takes a deep breath "Gray, you need to tell me."

Staying silent at first, Grayson pulls away to lift his shirt to reveal a mess of bruises, he looks skinner than last time he saw him too. "I-i didn't know what to do" Grayson finally sobs out. Ethan feels the air leave his lungs as he takes in Grayson's damaged torso. A rush of anger passing through him, he can't believe he didn't realize sooner."

"I love you" Ethan holding his hand again, rubbing circles across his knuckles, trying to calm him down. But Grayson didn't seem to be calming down, he seemed to be getting more anxious.

"Oh my god, he's going to kill me, I shouldn't've t-told you. I need to go see him." Grayson said, trying to stand up, but Ethan pulled him back down.

"No you aren't, you're never seeing that asshole again. He's not going to hurt you, I won't let him."

"What if he tries to hurt you? I need to apologize before he finds out I told you." Grayson said frantically.

"He's not going to, and you have no reason to apologize, I'm glad you told me." Ethan says, pulling Grayson back into a hug.

Ethan continues to console him, vowing to protect Grayson from Beck at all costs. Slowly but surely Ethan feels Grayson start to relax in his arms, falling asleep soon after. Ethan makes a mental note to deal with Beck as soon as possible.

He quietly reaches onto the couch and grabs a pillow. He slowly lays down with Grayson still in his arms. Knowing there will be much to talk about in the morning, he drifts off to sleep.

let me know if you'd want a part two to this! And if you have any feedback or suggestions for what I should write next!