Way didn't know where to go after his confrontation with Ignis, how can he be angry with someone who was ready to lose everything for him.
Isn't this the exact plot on which great romance ballads were written?
Then why did it hurt so badly? Was he being selfish or vain because he wanted to be the one making sacrifices rather than continue to be the beneficiary?
Was he trying to one up on Ignis, was he being shallow?
Ignis has done everything possible for him, he risked his life and career for Way, he did what he wanted in bed and he was his best friend when he felt alone and his support system when he was low.
He put up with his tantrums and stupid demands. Way acted like a child with Ignis and he took care of him with a smile and kiss, never complaining.
He held his hands in public like he was proud of Way and had come to the hospital mixer party and charmed his colleagues, sent him flowers when his name was cleared, Ignis was the one who single handedly saved his life and still he was the one who congratulated Way.
And when Ignis needed support and understanding, Way had thrown a fit, broken his heart and walked away... because he wanted to feel better than Ignis by making more sacrifices than him, like he would ever be able to.
Way parked his car on the side of the road and started crying, words of Rubin coming back to him, 'Believe me he has lots of options to choose from.' And Ignis had chosen him and he had fucked it up. "FUCK!" He shouted in the closed car looking at the screensaver of Ignis's picture taken by him when they had gone to the beach. "YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT WAYLON DAVIS. They shouldn't allow you in a room with a knife and an unconscious person, because you can fuck up anything, no matter how perfect it is." Way hit the steering wheel repeatedly as tears refused to stop."FUCK! FUCK!FUCK!"
***
Bru picked up Ignis's stuff from Way's apartment, both brothers unable to look at each other's eyes.
Way was in pretty bad shape and hadn't gone to work or left the apartment for the week since he broke up with Ignis. He didn't have the strength to shave, get dressed or cook. He was drinking protein and working out at home, watching love stories and crying.
When Bru came home, Way was dressed in torn clothes, his hair still damn from the shower, he looked behind Bru with hope only to be disappointed.
Bru didn't talk to him and just packed Ignis things in the suitcase he had gotten with him. Bru wasn't sure if what he was packing was really Ignis's stuff but he wanted to get out of the awkward situation as quickly as possible and leave, which he did.
When Ignis opened the door he looked like nothing Bru was used to since two decades of knowing him, his hair was a mess, his eyes sunken and red and face more angular than normal, almost gaunt. He looked pale and there were stains on his T-shirt which Ignis wouldn't be found dead in any other circumstances.
Bru walked into the apartment and kept the suitcase on the floor, he was shocked to see that Ignis was packing the apartment.
"Going somewhere?" Bru asked quietly, Ignis nodded.
"You didn't want this stuff, right?" Bru asked folding his hands over his chest, Ignis nodded a NO.
"You wanted me to see how Way is doing?" Bru continued, Ignis looked down and nodded.
"El está bien?" Ignis asked quietly, almost a whisper.
"Don't speak to me in Spanish, Igs! That is my love language with you and I am not too hot for you right now!" Ignis looked down like a child being reprimanded.
"He is not good... he is in pain and he hasn't eaten or worked or left his apartment since a week now!" Bru got angry. "Way was always better than me, taller, more muscular, better looking, smarter... extraordinary... I always felt he was like a superhero, I never saw him as a brother, he is too larger than life for me. You are my brother and my best friend. Way pined for you but you disappeared and then the whole thing with your dad and then you joined this bizarre spy family business and I didn't want Way to be involved. Then you walked in and made everything better for him. He started glowing and it felt like I was wrong about you two, I was happy that my brother Ignis is with a great superhero boyfriend." Bru punched Ignis on his bicep with enough force to push him back.
Ignis kept looking down, slowly rubbing where he was punched.
"You wanted to disappear from his life? You think you are some tragic hero? You are not ... you are fucking pathetic! You are running just away from commitment...You are a fucking failure!" Bru was panting like he had been running for hours.
"If you have any fucking balls then talk to him and either fix it or close it properly." Bru pushed Ignis towards the door, who looked up and saw Way standing there.
Bru walked to the door to leave but Way obstructed him, "Bru, brother! I love you and thank you for bringing me here and letting me see Ignis but never hit him again."
Bru pushed Way with both his hands on his chest, "Don't tell me how I deal with my brother!" He shouted. "You motherfucker! That man risked everything to make you happy and you wanted to look better than him... you wanted to feel more sacrificing! He has been getting death threats since the day he gave the details to Hannah, he has been getting emails with his pictures clicked from multiple places. He was under so much stress but is out laughing with your friends and buying you fucking suits! You don't deserve him... you piece of shit!" He pushed Way again, "So get the fuck away from my way and feel lucky that this fucking idiot loves a fuckhead like you!" Bru stomped away without looking back.
Way closed the door and sat on the floor with his back to it, his head spinning and his eyes watering.
****
The two men just waited in the room without looking at each other or saying anything and not moving.
"Does it hurt?" Way cut the thick silence in the room with his deep voice.
Ignis nodded a NO, unsure if Way was even looking at him, but Way was looking nowhere else but him, like Ignis was focused in portrait mode with everything else blurred besides him.
"Were you getting threats when I dragged you down to the beach and all the other outdoor stuff when you insisted we stayed at home?" Way asked quietly.
Ignis nodded an affirmative.
"But still you were happy to run errands for me and get coffee and groceries, alone!" Way didn't know how to feel about this.
Ignis stayed motionless. "Talk to me... God dammit!" Way got angry and punched the chest of drawers next to him, rattling the stuff kept on it.
Ignis looked up and met Way's eyes, "Don't hurt yourself." He said quietly.
"What in freaking hell is wrong with you Ignis?" Way shouted at him. "Haven't I hurt you enough? Why the fuck are you still worried about me?" Way went and hugged Ignis to him, both sitting on the floor side by side.
"I love you!" Ignis whispered and put his head on Way's chest.
"We need to see a professional and talk about this, Babes! This work that you do and this obsession of sacrificing yourself, this is not how we should be. We are together in this, no one has to finish last." He hugged Ignis and kissed his head. "I have loved no one before you Ignis and I will never want to love anyone else because I want this to be ours forever." Way placed his chin on Ignis's head and continued, "We can't lay the foundation of our relationship with so much one sided sacrifice, you can't disappear on me. You need to know I will never be the same person again if you are not with me."
"I am tired ... I want to sleep." Ignis mumbled at Way's chest, Way laid his head on his lap, "Rest Baby!"
But Way didn't think that Ignis actually meant he wanted to rest, till he realised that Ignis had gone to sleep, his breathing had evened out and he looked so peaceful. Way fell in love with him all over again, more than before and he started crying quietly.
Ignis was ready to give everything up for the people he considered family and his life for the man he loved.
He was extremely good looking and was able to solve decades old case in weeks. He had a network that brought a group of criminals to trial and a billionaire to the negotiation table.
He was threatened but they weren't able to hurt him or Way and he was friends with the fucking Feds, but he took a punch from Bru. He took shit from Way and didn't say a word when he was yelled at and accused for loving someone more than him.
All he wanted was to stop running and worrying, all he wanted was to rest and he got anger and accusations from Way.
It's not Ignis who needed help because shouldn't everyone be as good as him, only if Way had a bit of Ignis in him, Way thought how lucky and stupid he was, as he petted Ignis and cried.
Way wanted to take Ignis to the bedroom but didn't have the heart to wake him up. He took his sweatshirt off and folded it under Ignis's head and then quickly got the cushions and throw blanket from the couch. He replaced the sweatshirt with a cushion and spooned Ignis as he covered them with the blanket.
Sometime in the night Ignis woke up feeling well rested after a very long and found himself wrapped in Way's arms on the floor. He got up, used the washroom and was brushing his teeth when Way came and hugged him from behind, both looking at each other in the mirror.
Ignis rinsed his mouth and turned around in Way's waiting arms. "I wasn't going to run away." Ignis folded his arms around Way's waist, "I was going to ask you to move to Canada. Which I now understand was a stupid and strange thing to ask you but I thought we would go away for some time and come back. You could practise there with your degree and I can get a job as a mall security or something..."