CesarxMonse One Shots

"You Got Jumped In."

She places a hand on top of one of his, "You don't have to protect me. You have to protect yourself. You have to leave."

"You don't get it," he replies pulling his hand from hers, "This is my life Monse. You have a future ahead of you. You're gonna be a famous writer. Ruby's going to go to college like his brother. Jamal is going to get his way out. I'm not. I'm tied here by blood. My future is here. There's no way out. It's all I have."

Monse didn't know what to say. She knew it wasn't true. He could have any future he wanted. He just needed a way out. And she was going to help him see that. He turned his face so he could look at her. She could see the pain in his eyes.

"You're wrong. It's not all you have," and with that she leaned in and kissed him. He immediately responded and kissed her back. It had been so long since they shared a moment like this. She placed a hand on his cheek as her other hand went to the bottom hem of his shirt to lift it off of him. She failed because that would mean breaking lip contact and that was not going to happen. He wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer and deepen the kiss.

She wanted to feel him. She needed to know that this thing between was something real.

His lips moved from mouth to leave kisses slowly down her neck. Monse sighed with pleasure in response. She tried to take his shirt off again, but this time he pushed his shirt back down.

"Cesar, take your shirt off."

He ignored her request and continued to leave a trail of kisses back up her neck, traveling back up to her lips.

She couldn't take this anymore. She needed her hands to feel his skin. She pulled away and used the moment of shock on Cesar to pull his shirt up. "Monse, no do-"

But it was too late.

Her eyes roamed his abdomen full of bruises. They were all over him. Some were lighter and other darker, but all of it looked painful.

She couldn't believe it. "You got jumped in."

Cesar closed his eyes in embarrassment. Of all the people to see his bruises, he definitely didn't want it be her. He didn't want her to look at him differently. And not tonight. Not tonight when things took an unexpected turn.

He had been wanting to kiss her since the moment she stepped out in front of his brother's car. He knew she would find out about what he said eventually. Jamal was never one to keep a secret. He just wanted to be able to explain himself to her. Which is why he came over tonight. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance talking to her during the day. Jamal and Ruby wouldn't leave her alone with him.

So he used the spare key she had given him before she left to come in. His plan was to explain, apologize and leave. Never did he expect to be kissing her. Or having the need to take his clothes off.

"Monse, please don't start a fight about this. I just want to be with you right now and pretend this," he gestures down to his abdomen, "never happened." He could see her internal fight on whether or not to let it go.

She wanted to fight about this. She wanted to tell him how stupid he was for allowing this to happen. She wanted him to know how scared she was for him. She wanted to scream and yell and cry. But she couldn't. She could see his fear and his sadness when she looked at him. She couldn't bear it if she added more pain to him.

So instead, she did what he pleaded her to do, and dropped it. She didn't want to fight with him either right now. She had been so angry with him since she got back. She didn't want to be angry with him anymore.

She lightly touched one of the darker bruises, "Does it hurt still?"

She could feel him searching her, wondering if she really did just decide to drop it. "A little. Not nearly as much as it did before. It's been a couple weeks since it happened though."

Monse winced at the time span. She was still at camp when it happened. She wondered if it would have happened if she was here.

Cesar grabs her hand and holds in his. He plays with her fingers and is looking down when he speaks, "You know, I missed you. A lot. I was so happy to see you when you got back. Even though I knew you would hate me."

Her heart tugged at his words, "I don't hate you."

He looks up at her then, eyes full of hope, "Really? Because I would hate me."

And she feels the truth in his words. He really does hate what he did. She could feel him slipping away from her. She could feel his brother's grip on him tightening, and she didn't like it. She couldn't let that happen.

"Yes really. I could never hate you," she says, "and I missed you too."

Cesar's entire body relaxed at her words. This was probably the first time since before summer that he looked like her Cesar.

She couldn't resist him. She wanted to pretend that these past few days didn't happen either. She just wanted to be with him.

She leaned forward and closed the gap between them again. Kissing him was like knowing herself again. He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid her back on the bed, him hovering above her.

Her hands go to lift his shirt and take it off of him finally. She's careful not to touch the bruises.

"Are you sure Monse? I don't want to do this if you aren't ready."

Was she ready? Did she trust him again?

Yes, she trusted him. She would always trust him.

"Just shut up and kiss me."

He let out a soft chuckle, "God I love it when you're bossy."

Monse knew that she needed to get him out. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she knew that she would. It was going to take a lot more than a stupid gang to take Cesar away from her.