Prompt- The physical fight between Jer and Ace (mentioned in the last chapter of AT)
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Ace sat at the kitchen table, loosening his tie. He was tired and he smelled like a combination of foods. He'd worked a large table before his shift ended, and all of them had been rude as hell. He was ready to get, shower, and go out to the bars.
Jer was currently cooking dinner at the stove. Ike and Christian were in the living room watching the news.
The house was too quiet. None of them had realized just how together they were when Alexis lived here. None of them realized how lively having a child, even one as shy and quiet as Micah, could make the house.
But it didn't matter. Alexis and Micah had moved out, just like Alexis said he was going to.
The house was a lot quieter these days. They didn't eat together as much. The food never tasted as good as when Alexis had made it. But none of them had admitted to missing Alexis. Not outright, anyways. But it slipped out in subtle ways from time to time.
"Hurry up," Ace said. "You're probably overcooking it."
"Shut up. You cook next time," Jer said in annoyance.
"I work at a restaurant all day, why the hell would I want to cook?" Ace said. He leaned back, kicking his feet up on the table.
"You don't cook at your restaurant. You're a fucking waiter," Jer said, turning the stove off and draining the pasta.
"I have to be around food all day. I don't want to cook it when I get home. Shit, you cook so slow," Ace said with a sigh.
"Who cares how fast I cook? I made you food, so shut up. Besides, you're just going to eat and then go get laid," Jer said.
"No, I'm going to eat, then shower, and then I'll go get laid," Ace said with a smirk.
"You're such a waste of space. Do something useful for once," Jer growled.
"Like what? Be an asshole all day?" Ace said, smirk growing. "Or should I be an asshole while also overcooking dinner for everyone?"
"We wouldn't have to eat overcooked food all the time if you hadn't fucked Alexis over," Jer said flatly.
The smirk on Ace's face turned dangerous. "I didn't do anything wrong to Alexis."
"You emotionally manipulated a small child and simultaneously ruined the only two sources of happiness the guy had," Jer said. "I'd say that's a little wrong. Then again, what would a psycho like you know about right and wrong?"
"Shut up," Ace said, dropping his feet to the ground and standing up. "I was keeping him around. Now he's gone and look at the rest of us."
"Christ Ace, he's not a damn animal. You can't lock him in a cage," Jer said. "You're lucky he left. If he hadn't, we would've dumped your ass on the streets in a heartbeat. That'd be the second time you'd be out on the streets with no one looking for you and no one sparing a thought to you."
Ace felt rage crash over him. Only Alexis had ever been able to calm Ace down once he got this angry, but Alexis wasn't here anymore.
Ace let his fist fly, colliding with Jer's jaw. Jer stumbled off balance, banging his hip against the counter.
"You piece of shit," Jer snarled.
"Fuck you, Jericho! You and your parents should've all died of overdoses, you fucking scum"! Ace snapped, throwing another punch at Jer.
"Your dad should've hit you more than he did. But since he didn't, I fucking will!" Jer said, driving his fist into Ace's shoulder to throw him off balance. He nailed Ace in the chest before throwing him against the refrigerator.
"Cut it out you two!" Ike said, voice irritated. He and Christian hurried into the room and circled the other two, wondering how to pull them apart without getting sucked into the fight.
Ace threw himself against Jer, slamming him into the counter. He grabbed Jer's arm and twisted it, kicking him in the back of the knee, hard.
Jer's knee gave out and he collapsed onto one leg. He let out a snarl and yanked his arm free, pulling Ace forward as he did so. He caught Ace's shirt and flipped Ace over his shoulder, feeling satisfied as the whole house shook when Ace slammed into the ground.
Ace rolled over slowly, forcing himself back to his feet as Jer also got up. They lunged back at each other, fists flying, trying to wrap their arms around each other's necks, elbows jamming into ribs and stomachs, body weight being thrown around.
Finally, Ike managed to tackle Ace back against the refrigerator, pinning him there. Christian darted in front of them, his cold eyes warning Jer to back off.
"Go," Christian said.
Jer curled his lip before spinning around and storming out of the room, bruises claiming his face. Ace, being physically smaller than Jer, looked in no better shape.
"Calm down!" Ike said as Ace struggled against him.
Ike pinned Ace there for several minutes before Ace's struggles finally died down. He looked furious.
"I'll beat that smug asshole's damn face in," Ace said, clenching his fists.
"Shut up, both of you are assholes," Ike said, slowly releasing Ace. "Go shower and calm down. And stay away from Jer, or we're kicking both of you out for the night to cool off."
"Fuck you," Ace said, shoving Ike off of him.
He pushed past Christian and went upstairs, slamming the bathroom door. He stripped out of his clothes, turning the water on. He was shaking with rage, wishing they hadn't gotten in the damn way.
Jer sat in his bedroom, trying to calm himself down. He'd always been bad at controlling his temper.
He sat down and took a few deep breaths. Damn, sometimes it was hard to live in the house without Alexis there to unite him.
