wow! writers block is a jerk! this took me forever to write... and when did 90% of it hit me? when i was about to go to sleep... so I woke back up, wrote and here it is. next chapter. enjoy lovelies!

Matthew sat on a metal chair in the waiting room of the police station. he barely paid any attention to the other people in the place. he chewed his knuckles nervously, eyes glued on the door Allen would come out of. his feet tapped impatiently as he leaned back. they had been back there so long. what if they wouldn't let him out? what if he was stuck in there until his hearing? what if- his thoughts were cut off by the jiggle of the door knob

the door swung open quickly and Matthew was on his feet, relief flooding his face. A giant smile spread across Allen's face as their eyes met. it only took a couple of wide steps each before they were on each other. Matthews arms were around Allens shoulders, Allens snaking around Matthews waist. both held tightly, Matthews breathing hitching now and then as he fought to stay composed.

"I'm so glad you're okay" Allen muttered against his shoulder.

Matthew pulled back a bit to study the shorter boys face, two black eyes, made more noticeable by the white strip over his nose. a line of stitches over his once pierced eyebrow. bruises coloured his face. Matthew frowned and bit his lip at the sight. he ghosted a hand over a bruise on Allens cheek, his sigh wavering. placing a soft kiss on the bruise he muttered "you big idiot"

Allen gave a smirk, "your big idiot"

Matthew laughed quietly "yes, my big idiot"

"boys… i don't mean to interrupt you reunion…" Matthew looked too oliver who was standing awkwardly. "but perhaps we could continue this in the car?"

a deep pink spread over Matthews cheeks as he pulled back and turned to follow Oliver to the door. Allens brow furrowed at the motion and he grabbed Matthew's hand, apparently unwilling to be without contact. Matthew was only too happy to walk as closely as comfortably possible.

there wasn't a single word of objection when both boys entered the back seat. Matthew turned in his seat as much as he could and buried himself in Allens chest, the other boy wrapping his arms around Matthew and laying a kiss against blonde curls. "I'm sorry I wasn't there earlier… I should have been…"

Matthew shook his head, a sudden lump in his throat stopping him from speaking. tears stung the corner of his eyes and he shook. the buckles made it hard to get any closer, but he did his best, clinging for comfort and trying to stop the thoughts. Allen just held him tighter, letting him shake silently, not adding anymore.

The boys stayed like that until they arrived at Matthew's house. Matthew looked up at Allen who was currently shooting a desperate look at his father. Oliver looked between the boys and sighed.

It ended up being agreed between Francine and Oliver that Allen could spend the night. One night. They would be sleeping in the basement game room and Amelia was going to be joining them. Arthur had grumbled at the arrangement, but he had no pull over the matter.

Allen had reluctantly left briefly with his father to go and gather his things for the night. when he came back he was wearing a back pack. Matthew frowned thoughtfully. had Allen even worn one at school? not that he could remember.

Oliver had stayed at the house for the afternoon. sitting in the family room next to Allen while the two teenage boys were glued to one and other. Matthew rarely left his spot safely under Allen's arm the whole time, only relenting when there was a bathroom need.

Amelia and Allen wound up doing a lot more talking then everyone else. they had a lot in common, from baseball, to horror movies and protecting Mattie of course. it wasn't until the issue of cheeseburgers came up that any controversy was sparked. Allen insisted 'but it's so good!' was not a good enough reason for murder, while Amelia protested that veggie burgers had no taste! Matthew didn't even wanna get involved in this one, until Allen used his fat line again, resulting in both siblings giving him the exact same look and 'a-hem' in unison. everyone laughed t that point.

Oliver ended up staying for dinner, they ordered in so that this time Allen wasn't just eating side dishes. It wasn't exactly an ideal way for families to meet each other… one child black and blue fresh out of the cop shop, the other a nervous mess clinging to his boyfriend. But it was what it was.

After dinner Oliver took Allen to the side for a private moment and Matthews mother did the same. thankfully Francine had the good sense to skip the 'don't have sex' talk in light of the previous night's events.

with ten minutes of being fussed and cooed over Matthew finally retreated upstairs to change. he grabbed a plain black t-shirt and a pair of red sleep pants covered in hockey sticks . he was coming out of his room when he came face to face with Allen

"hey" he said sheepishly. it was there first time alone since before the hockey game. Matthew wasn't exactly sure what to do or say... when there were other people around there wasn't any expectations, as long as he wasn't crying, they let him be quiet... but when he was alone? was he suppose to say anything about what happened? I'm sorry... thank you... I almost got raped, and i'm freaked out, but I think I'm okay when you touch me. not like the after school specials went over this much.

Luckily Allen wasn't nearly as unsure as Matthew. His arms wrapped around the blonde tightly in a hug. Matthew relaxed into it, returning the embrace. Allen pulled back and stretched a bit to kiss him on the forehead "I'm gonna grab a shower and get dressed, I'll be down there soon. your sister is waiting." Matthew nodded cringing internally, he hadn't thought of the fact that Allen had been stuck in the same clothing without a shower… he felt a bit guilty as they parted. Matthew was walking towards the stairs when he heard the short teen again "hey, feel free to think of me in here Williams" he added a cheesy wink and Matthew couldn't help but chuckle. trust Allen to break the tension by being a smart ass.

" sure I will, the thought of you slipping and falling on your ass should cheer me right up Jones" Matthew stuck out his tongue cheekily and took off down the stairs, Allen's laugh following him.

Matthew got down to the basement and walked into a wall of tension. Amelia was making the pull out couch bed, while Francis was tucking sheets around two foam mattresses. both looked up at the sound of the last step squeaking and smiled at him. "Hey Mattie!" Amelia announce cheerfully, Matthew winced but offered a small smile. he was going to change his name to Stephan just so he never had to hear that nickname again.

"hey Amelia, Allen will be down soon." he added as he moved towards the middle of the room all of the beds were set up near the TV, so they could watch movies, the tabled had been moved to the side of the room and was covered in junk food. Matthew raised an eyebrow. it had to of been a cold day in hell for his mother to buy any of that, he suspected his sister presence in the house had something to do with it.

When Allen came down the fun began. Movies it seemed were veto'd fairly quickly. Amelia and Allen had agreed horror.. but Matthew really didn't need any more nightmare fuel. Allen couldn't stand romance, Amelia didn't want any dumb comedies… So Amelia settled on the couch bed, which she had claimed, and yanked out her phone, content to sit and fiddle with it.

That left Allen and Matt to sit and try and come up with something to do.

"oh yeah! almost forgot!" Allen got up and grabbed the backpack he had placed by the stairs, walking back over he sat again. "I uhmm... well I made something for you. I mean, It's not like you could take the wall home, so…" Allen fished in his bag and pulled out a plastic slip covered picture. Matthew's blushed, mirroring the one Allen wore, and took it looking on in awe

it was in the same style as the first had been, all swirling colours in amongst the more dominant ones. Matthew was smiling in this one, but just barely. his face played host to more pink than average, showing a bush. glasses were behind him, placed on a locker shelf in the back ground. his eyes were wide, holding a shy affection. how did he even do this?

"it's amazing Allen… I could never do anything like this…"

Matthews eyes went up to Meet the red-brown ones. Matthew wasn't sure what the smirk was for, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it much.

Allen took the picture placing it to the side and reached back into his bag. he pulled out two pencil cases, and two notebook sized drawing pads. he placed the boxes between them, flipping the lids open, pastels, charcoal, erasers of every kid, pencils, pens, markers… wow… he handed one of the pads to Matthew "you said you liked art, I don't have paints here, but lets see what you can draw."