Stay With Me

- Smile Again -

By: Lil' Amethyst Angel

Warnings: Slight swearing, shounen-ai, slight violence, and mentions of past abuse.

"Stay away from JJ." Drake boomed. Getting over his initial fear, Sean sneered.

"JJ is mine to do with what I wish. Why should I do anything you say?" Sean smirked. Drake growled and decked him.

"JJ is not and never was yours. You have to right to hurt him like you have been. You're lucky I'm not going to kill you for what you've done to him. There's no way in hell any of JJ's other friends or I will let you within a hundred feet of him. I will protect him from you!"

"You've been doing such a good job of protecting him thus far, haven't you?" Sean drawled sarcastically. Drake's eyes widened and he glowered at the man in front of him in a mixture of anger, shame, and regret. Drake couldn't take looking at that smug face for another second. He roughly pushed Sean, who fell to the floor.

Punches and kicks rained down on the sniveling man on the floor. Sean's shaky hands were lifted in a weak attempt to protect his face.

"P-please, stop this." He pleaded.

Drake looked at the pathetic sight in disgust. He knelt down and pulled up Sean's head by his hair, so they were face to face. Sean was actually asking him to stop? What nerve this monster had.

"Did JJ ask you to stop? Did he beg you to stop? And did you ever stop?" Drake spat out the question, already knowing the answer. Sean let out a whimper. Drake scowled and stood up. "But I'm not like you. I will stop. I won't lower myself to the level of scum like you."

Sean let out a breath of relief and uncurled slightly.

"Stay away from JJ." Drake repeated his earlier statement. Sean narrowed his eyes at Drake. The two both glared at each other for some time until Sean's spiteful voice spoke up.

"Fine, I'll leave your little slut alone."

Drake growled, but held himself back from ripping Sean's throat out.

"If you ever go near him again, so help me God," Drake paused and dropped to Sean's side again and whispered into his ear, "I will do everything in my power to make you wish you were dead. What you did to JJ will seem like nothing compared to what I do to you." With that Drake got up and left the apartment to go back to the hospital.

After the door closed Sean continued to glare at it, as if the door was Drake himself.

"I will get back what is mine." Sean's promise echoed through the quiet apartment.

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Drake returned to the hospital in time to see Dee finish talking to the doctor.

"What did he say?" Drake asked.

"JJ will be released soon." The other officer answered. "How'd it go?"

Drake shrugged noncommittally in reply. To be honest, he was partly scared he was going to find himself being sued for assault. But another part of him knew that if Sean did that, then his abusive ways would be made known and he could get in just as much trouble as Drake, if not more.

"Is JJ still up?" Drake changed the subject.

"Yeah. Ryo's with him, but he won't talk to or look at either or us." Dee sighed. Drake nodded in acknowledgement.

Drake knocked and entered JJ's hospital room. His young partner was lying on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling. Ryo looked up at the new occupant in the room. Seeing the look in Drake's eyes, Ryo left him alone with his partner.

"Hey, JJ." Drake got no response, though he didn't expect one. "I went to your apartment." JJ's head snapped to face Drake. "To picked up some clothes for you." Drake added hurriedly. "JJ…Sean was gone. He must have returned after we took you to the hospital and left shortly after. I'm sorry."

JJ looked stricken. Drake hated himself for causing his partner more pain and felt awfully guilty, but knew he did the right thing in keeping Sean away from JJ.

"I know you probably don't want to go back there without him. You can stay with me if you want?" Silence. He could see the conflicting emotions on JJ's face. "I would really like that." Drake added softly, taking JJ's limp hand into his.

Thoughts shot through JJ's head at a hundred miles per minute. Sean had left him? But what had he done wrong? He shouldn't have called Drake. Sean had already thought he was cheating on him with the other officer. And why would Drake want JJ to live with him? He couldn't, he would be too much of a bother to his sempai. Did the others think of him as weak and pathetic as he felt? He needed his lover. He needed Sean. He needed to feel wanted. He needed to be loved…But had Sean ever really loved him?

"JJ?" Drake's voice interrupted his musings.

"Okay, Drake-sempai. I appreciate you offering me a place to stay. Thank you for that…and for before." JJ said quietly, referring to when Drake had brought him to the hospital.

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For the next few days JJ rarely spoke and a sad, lost look always adorned his face. It was finally time for JJ to leave the hospital. Drake, Dee, and Ryo had all gathered there. The three officers had already moved JJ's belongings to Drake's place. Drake was pleased to find Sean's stuff gone when he had returned, proving that Sean really had left. Even though all three were glad that JJ could finally leave the hospital, they were disheartened that JJ had yet to smile since he was brought to the hospital. JJ had requested that the others tell the chief that he was on sick leave and would return shortly. Drake, after talking with Ryo and Dee, decided too take a few days off work under the pretenses of going on vacation. They had reluctantly admitted that they were afraid that JJ may do something stupid. While Drake refused to believe that JJ would try to kill himself, he was worried that his lavender-haired partner would go looking for his missing lover. Drake recalled the conversation he had had with Dee and Ryo the day before.

Flashback

"JJ would not kill himself! He's not like that. I know him." Drake insisted fervently.

"I think this last week has proven that we don't know JJ as well as we thought we did." Dee shot back. Drake shut up quickly. The statement was bluntly painful, but true.

"Sometimes abuse victims bring pain to themselves afterwards because they are used to it and think they deserve it." Ryo added softly.

"JJ would not hurt himself!" Drake denied. "I know he wouldn't do something like that, but I'll take a couple days off to watch him, anyway."

End Flashback

Drake frowned at the memory.

"Hey, JJ. Dee and I gotta get back to work soon, but we just wanted to stop by and say hi. You have our numbers if you need anything. Feel free to call anytime." Ryo said.

JJ nodded silently.

"C'mon, JJ. We can pick up some pastries on the way home. I know this awesome bakery just by my place." Drake tried to coax a reaction with JJ's weakness for sugar. He was answered with another nod. Drake sighed at his failed attempt.

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JJ had spent the rest of the day in his new room. Drake brought him his meals, but decided to give JJ space and busied himself with paperwork he had brought home to work on. Before Drake knew it, it was almost midnight and he decided to hit the sack. After saying goodnight to JJ and receiving a quiet acknowledgement, he headed to his room. It was two o'clock in the morning when Drake woke up. As he lay in bed, trying to fall back asleep he heard muffled noises coming from JJ's room. He walked to the next room and gently knocked on the door. The noises stopped suddenly. Drake frowned.

"JJ?" He called softly. There was no answer. A panic filled moment followed. What if Sean had found them and came to get JJ? Drake opened the door, which JJ had left unlocked. Drake walked in to see the light-haired man sitting on the bed, blankets pulled up around him. JJ was furiously wiping away tears and his hands were still shaking. Drake didn't move, not knowing what to do. In all the time JJ had been at the hospital he hadn't cried. He would stare blankly, never showing much emotion. All Drake had wanted was for his partner to show any emotion, scream or cry, but now that he was, Drake didn't know what to do.

JJ finally gave up trying to keep the tears at bay and let them fall. Crystalline crops ran down his cheeks, dampening the surrounding blanket. JJ looked up at his partner and with a quivering voice, asked the one question that had been plaguing him, "What did I do so wrong to make Sean leave?"

Drake felt a stab of pain in his heart. Seeing JJ in such pain fought away any doubts Drake had of what to do. He rushed to JJ's side and took him into his arms.

"Gods, JJ, it's not your fault. None of this was your fault. I'm sorry I didn't see what was happening sooner. I'm sorry you suffered. I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm so sorry." Drake rubbed JJ's back gently and spoke in soothing tones. JJ buried his head in Drake's shoulder and continued to cry. The two friends stayed like that for a while, until they both drifted off to sleep, JJ still cuddled in Drake's protective embrace.

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As the weekend rolled around, things had not improved much with JJ. He was pretty much healed physically, but rarely spoke or smiled. It had been three days since the first night Drake comforted JJ's tears and JJ hadn't had any emotional outbursts since. Well, if he had, he never alerted Drake to them. Drake was distressed that JJ didn't seem to be improving. He missed his cheerful partner and was determined to get him back. Drake had seen an advertisement of a new amusement park opening up, just an hour away from where he lived. Drake remembered how JJ had once said that he loved fast rides, the lights, and sweets at amusement parks. As much as Drake hated crowds and roller coasters, it would be worth putting up with those small annoyances if it made JJ happy again.

"Hey, JJ, an amusement park opened up by here a little while back. Do you wanna go check it out today?"

JJ looked surprised. He did like rides and he loved cotton candy… "Sure, Drake-sempai. That'd be fun." JJ thought for a moment. "But don't you dislike crowds? I know you told me how whining kids annoy you. And aren't you terrified of roller coasters?"

Drake sputtered indignantly. "I am NOT terrified of a ride. I just…dislike…them."

JJ raised an eyebrow. He remembered a certain outing he had had with Drake and some other friends. They had gone to a passing fair, which happened to have rides. After going on the roller coaster, Drake looked like he was going to pass out, not to mention the fact that his throat hurt from screaming for through the whole ride.

"Anyway, c'mon, you like that stuff right? Let's go." Drake mumbled, embarrassed.

JJ's eyes widened. He realized Drake was doing this for him, to make him happy. A tender smile flitted across his face. Drake was taken aback by it.

"Thank you, Drake." JJ said warmly.

"Uh, yeah, n-no problem. Well, let's go already, before it gets too late." Drake hurried out the door before JJ could see his blush. Drake thought to himself, 'Why the hell am I blushing? I've seen JJ smile plenty of times before. What the heck is going on with me?'

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JJ and Drake were having a fun time at the amusement park. JJ took pity on Drake and only went on a few roller coasters. Drake was glad to see JJ openly smiling and enjoying himself. They were walking past an ice-cream stand when Drake stopped.

"How 'bout I go get us some ice-cream? You like chocolate fudge, right?" JJ nodded in response. Drake hurried off to buy their treats while JJ took a seat on the bench.

'Drake-sempai is being really great. He bought me that stuffed animal I wanted and he's even buying me sweets. He's acting like we're on a date…' JJ blushed and looked confusedly at Drake, who was now heading towards him carrying two ice-cream cones.

Drake sat down and handed an ice-cream to the younger man next to him. He had caught JJ's look and was clueless as to what caused it. 'What? I just bought him ice-cream. Just like I bought him that toy and went on all the rides he suggested.' Realization dawned on Drake. 'Oh my God! It seems like I'm taking him out on a friggin' date! Oh jeez…that's why he's lookin' at me like that.' Drake grabbed the rubber toy hammer he had won at a game and banged himself in the head. JJ looked at him, weirded out. Drake blinked in confusion and JJ burst out laughing. Drake smiled at seeing JJ laugh.

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The two officers arrived home just after eight o'clock.

'Thanks for taking me, Drake-sempai. It was fun and I don't think I'll ever forget the look on you face when that little girl attacked you." JJ giggled at the memory.

"You wouldn't laugh if it had happened to you. She was crazy! She friggin' bit me! I might have to get a rabies shot or sumtin' now. And she blames me for the whole thing! Why would I be trying to steal her balloon anyway? She just wanted a reason to attack." Drake pouted, which only made JJ laugh more.

Drake flopped down on the couch and turned on the television. JJ took a seat next to him and let his mind trail off as Drake flipped channels. As JJ thought about the events earlier that day he realized that he hadn't thought of Sean in all of that time. Drake made him happy and made him forget.

"Drake?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Drake looked at JJ questioningly, but the lavender-haired man just smiled and cuddled close to his sempai. Drake's eyes softened and he put his arm around his partner.

'I feel safe in Drake's arms,' JJ thought to himself, 'not like in Sean's.'.

To Be Continued

Author's Note: Well, happy belated Christmas and happy early New Year. Thanks to all of my reviewers, I appreciate that you're still sticking with this story. I have exams coming up (shudder) so I don't know when my next update will be. Hopefully I can make time. Please continue to R&R!

art chic: Thanks for the review! I didn't mean to sound like I was trying to make cops look bad. I know they wouldn't do such foolish things as charging into an apartment and such, but Drake isn't acting as an officer. He's acting as a friend. They would have, also, probably arrested Sean, as you pointed out, but again, I wanted them to be acting more as JJ's friends as opposed to cops. Sorry that some of the events I wrote about were improbable, I just kinda need it to be that way for the plot to work out. I hope to hear from you again!