Chapter Text
“Please don’t do this here.”
Daniel whispered from behind clenched teeth, his fingers turning a pale purple the tighter Terry squeezed them. At some point during dinner the snake had managed to get his hand on Daniel’s, his agitation now finding an outlet. Nails dug and scraped at Daniel’s cuticles and soft tan skin, leaving behind small scabs and indentions that swelled with dark blood. The teen could only twitch in discomfort, moving to pull his hand away every once in a while, only to have it forcibly placed back in Terry’s lap.
The other members of the dinner party were none the wiser to what was going on underneath the table. To those who noticed Terry’s arm move, it looked as though the couple were holding hands, a sweet gesture of love. One of the other couples commented on how close the two seemed, and all Daniel could do was give a weak smile. An urge to scream filled him as the grip tightened around his palm when the comment was made. Brown eyes met with electric blue orbs, brows furrowing at the teen despite the kind smile that Terry wore.
“We just have a strong connection. Don’t we, sweetheart?” Terry’s words danced around Daniel’s head, not even rousing a response from him.
What had he even said this time to make him act like this? Had it even been him? Sometimes Daniel didn’t even have to do anything for Terry to become paranoid and cling to the teen like he was never going to see him again. That’s when it dawned on Daniel that one of the men they were having dinner with had made a passing remark about how nice his shirt was. Had that been why?
The brunette dared a glance at the man only to have his fingers twisted. His teeth clamped down on the inside of his cheek, averting his eyes to anywhere else in the room so no one noticed the glassy haze that surfaced. That was it then, a punishment for being complimented. Terry was no doubt shooting the guy glares though Daniel was too busy avoiding his own problems to look.
As dinner ended, Daniel’s anxiety escalated. The other couples shook each other’s hands and hugged one another, and here he was just waving at everyone, doing his best to keep his distance. A few got their hugs though, including the man who had complimented him, he made sure to sneak one from him before the group disbanded. Terry didn’t say anything, didn’t even bat an eye when the man grabbed hold of Daniel and squeezed him. After the way he had reacted over the praise, it made no sense, yet Daniel wasn’t ready to hang around and ask questions. He was eager to leave the restaurant and go home, back to somewhere safe.
He was the first to get into the car, not waiting for Terry to hold the door for him like he usually did, settling into the passenger seat. When it took Terry a little longer than usual, Daniel figured he was having a cigarette, just trying to ease his nerves after the disaster that was dinner. But when the man finally got in the car, he didn’t smell of smoke, he smelt of rage.
Daniel’s senses bristled, the hair standing up on the back of his neck. There are moments right before a predator attacks it’s prey, where the field grows quiet and all anyone can hear is breathing. That was one of those moments, and both knew what was about to happen. Daniel’s hand began to drift to the door handle, careful so he wouldn’t be seen but before Daniel could get to it Terry was on him. A hand gripped the brunette by the hair, while the other wrapped firm around his throat, pressing his face into the window. A chill rushed through his body as he was pinned against the cold glass, a gasp catching in his throat.
“What did I do!?” He screamed, only to be pulled back and smacked back into the seat. “T-Terry, tell me!”
“You know what you did!” Terry hissed, barring his teeth at his lover, a finger pointed in his face. “Fucking whore. Did you think I wouldn’t notice!?” Again, he jerked Daniel around, this time by the front of his shirt, the car swaying as the two moved.
Daniel wailed as his back slammed into the door, nails buried into Terry’s arms. He could smell blood, but he couldn’t tell in the heat of things if it was his or Terry’s. He couldn’t be serious. Did he really think he was having an affair with some random guy from the company? Apparently so, and Terry was beginning to want answers that Daniel didn’t have.
“When did it start, huh? When you left me?” His voice raised while he clutched Daniel’s wrists, leaning over the center console to torment his partner. “One just isn’t enough for you, is it? You always have to have more!”
No amount of pleading caught Terry’s attention, and struggling only made the man violent. Daniel was sure his back would be bruised from the contact he had with the car door, head swimming from how hard it had smacked against the window. The entire situation was bizarre, and it was almost like Terry wanted Daniel to lie to him, tell him that he had been cheating on him with this guy. He couldn’t do that, he wouldn’t. But God, Terry was making it hard not to break.
Terry eventually let go, giving Daniel one last shove into the door before he leaned back into the driver’s seat. His breathing slowed, now gripping the steering wheel instead of taking his stress out on poor Daniel. That’s when clarity dawned on him, followed by the crashing wave of guilt.
“You wouldn’t know him.” he muttered, not looking over at Daniel. “He’s new, he just…he just got transferred a couple weeks ago.” All that hatred and anger wrapped up in his scent dissipated into a pitiful swirl of cigar smoke. “Shit.”
He turned his stare to Daniel who had half curled into the passenger seat, pulling on the locked car door for dear life. Doe eyes stared blankly at his feet, sweat clinging to his forehead while he waited for the next round to start. He hadn’t heard anything Terry said, autopilot turned on and the rest of the world turned off.
It wasn’t the first time Terry had broken him, but each time was like the first. Why it was always such a surprise he didn’t understand. That idea of Terry he had in his head, of that sweet, polite gentleman, the man he met that day in the dojo with Mr. Miyagi, that’s who he wanted. His soul yearned for that man who he knew damn well didn’t exist and was a lie the entire time. That fact alone killed him every day.
One pull to the handle and the car door opened, startling him back to reality and how disappointing it all was. They were no longer parked outside the restaurant anymore, the Porsche idling on the opposite side of the fence of Miyagi-Do. The entire ride had been a blur of memories and now that he was home Daniel wasn’t sure it was the right place to be. Where else was he going to go, back to Terry’s? Not after that experience.
So he stepped out of the car, without a word or a glance back at the man in the driver’s seat. Terry didn’t make an effort to say anything either, giving Daniel a chance to get out of the car before he revved the engine on the little 911 Turbo and darted out of the muddy driveway, leaving an uncertain Daniel standing alone in the night.