"Anoa'i, let's go! Visiting hours." Joe had been up a while considering wake up time was a six thirty on the dot, but after breakfast they had time to relax before going to their assigned posts or classes, if they had signed up for them. Since it was only his first week in the prison, still being somewhat of a newbie, the only privileges he had was in the laundry room and from the sound of things, that's as good as it was going to get until he earned his keep. Thanks to a fight on the second night, though, most of the prisoners here knew that the 6'3", 265 pound man wasn't one to mess with. He'd already made a few friends and knew that that's how things were going to have to be for the next four years and fifty one weeks.
It had been three days since he was able to talk to Jon, who he hadn't seen since his last court date. The younger man was having a hard time accepting the fact that he was now only going to be able to see his boyfriend through a bulletproof plated glass window in a small booth with a phone as their only source of communication. Jon thought that kind of shit only happened in movies and yet here he was; like those mob wives who were so dedicated to their husbands, they came to the prison once a week with their herd of kids to see a man who'd been locked up for seventeen years. Though Joe only had a five year stretch, it didn't make anything any easier. He cried himself to sleep every night, friends and family telling him that it would be easier just to wait until the five years were up to see Joe again. To not torture himself, to just ride it out, but they didn't know how hard this was. They wouldn't understand unless it was the love of their life having to spend all that time behind bars, alone and scared.
"Come on, inmate. Don't got all day." Joe rolled his eyes, reaching up to brush his hair back before holding his hands out for them to be shackled along with his ankles before being transferred from the cell block to the visiting room downstairs. He wished he didn't have to see Jon like this, lip busted, black eye and only one week in, not wasn't shaved and he felt completely dirty. It wasn't how Jon was used to seeing the son of a CEO and secretary of the mayor, but he knew it was something they'd both have to get used to. He had no business associating himself with drug dealers, being out there that night trying to be someone that he wasn't. Trying to fit in with the family that his parents shunned years ago once they started getting a little bit of money and moved into 'white' territory across the lake from where his father was raised. Cousins he never knew reached out and he desperately wanted to know where he came from, but that ended him in a place he never pictured himself, paying the price.
Being tugged into the stuffy visitors room, he looked at the identical cubicles and saw Jon, his stomach tightening as he was led over to his assigned seat. He didn't even feel his ass hit the chair before he was grabbing the phone, chains rattling violently as he stared wide eyed at his lover, heart beating faster than ever.
Jon hesitated, but eventually grabbed the other phone with tears staining his eyes, clearing his throat before allowing himself to squeak out three little words. "..I miss you."
"I miss you, too, baby. I'm so damn sorry-"
"Don't apologize, Joe. You know it won't change anything."
"It helps me to apologize for putting you through this. You deserve better. You warned me so many times.."
Jon shook his head and shifted in his seat, deciding to change the conversation. "How are you? Have you been eating?"
"Don't worry about me, Jon." Joe sighed, looked back at the guard who was standing a little too close for comfort, but he knew he had to get used to not having any personal space around here.
"How can I not when you're caged up here like an animal?"
"It's done. Look, I know it's hard, but it's done. I'm gonna do these five years, three if I get out on good behavior, and then we can put all of this behind us. Baby, please.."
Jon shook his head and sighed softly, brushing a hand through his short, messy hair. "And what about me? You're just gonna leave me alone, not even ask how I feel about this whole.. bullshit."
"It's not about you, Jon. I'm sorry, I really am, but I can't turn back now. If I snitch.. it can be a hell of a lot worse for us than being apart for five years."
"Five years, Joe. Five fucking years for a crime you didn't fucking commit. You'll be thirty-four by the time you get out and for what? We can run away together, somewhere that they can't find us."
"No! Just no, Jonathan. I'm not gonna live my fucking life on the run. If I do this, I'm free. No worries once I'm out. We can be together again without being scared, fearing for our lives, looking over our shoulders, and moving every two weeks. We can be just as happy as we were before all of this."
The young blond bit his lip to keep himself from crying further, fingers picking at the edge of the glass, wishing it wasn't acting as a barrier between the two men. He couldn't even remember the last time the two of them touched, his lips aching for the feel of Joe's against him, or just a hug from his big, warm, tattooed arms to make him feel safe again. "I'm gonna go.."
"We still have five more minutes, baby.."
"You can spend them thinking about how you're selfishly ruining my life along with yours."
Joe scoffed and licked at his lips, blue grey eyes boring into Jon's. "I'm not the selfish one here. One day you'll realize that."
"We'll see how I feel in five years." Jon finalized before putting the phone back on its hook and standing up, nodding to the guard who led him through the gates and to the front of the large jail. The younger man didn't think he was being the unreasonable one here, calling Joe out on his stupidity whenever he had the chance. He was so worried about image, worried about what his savage relatives may or may not do that he's cowering into a corner before even seeing if he belongs there.
Joe was escorted back to his cell for a short time before yard time came up, wishing he could just opt out that day, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He stayed by himself on the bleachers, watching the other guys, smoking a cigarette, thinking about what Jon said, every single word. And yet, he couldn't even imagine changing his mind, making a deal with the Feds to put his cousins away and foolishly thinking that he and Jon could go back to their pizza eating, beer drinking perfect life with any backlash. He was doing this for them, for their future, so he was going to get really fucking comfortable in this place he was able to call home for the next five years and do what needed to be done.
Flicking his cigarette to the side, Joe got up and tied his hair back in a messy bun, making his way over to a small group of Hispanic guys who pretty much ran the cell block, having connections with the guards to get some things from the outside smuggled in. They were also who he had to speak to in order to get some privileges around here, to see how he could 'earn his keep' as they say. After a short talk, he and one of the guys, Jose, made their way over to secluded part of the yard where the guards kept clear for the Hispanics to use as they pleased, which was usually only for one thing.
"Drop 'em, big boy." Hector spoke like a true Mexican, bald, short, tan skin covered in tribe tattoos. Definitely not someone Joe would consider a dominate over him, but he was paying the price, doing what he had to do in order to move forward in this system.
Looking over to the other prisoners who were getting their peep show on, Joe shook his head and turned around, eyes forward on the brick wall as he hooked his fingers along the hem of his orange pants and pulled him down, leaning forward with his forehead pressed against the cool material. The whole uncomfortable nightmare lasted about ten minutes, Hector obviously enjoying himself more than Joe as he got his quick nut, letting it pool on the grass before they fixed themselves up, shook hands, and went their separate ways. And just like that, the Samoan was now on the upwards path towards getting an easy ride here in the state penitentiary.
