Trigger warning for cigarettes and mention of smoking! Stay safe, loves <3
* * *
Grian looked panicked at Lizzie's reaction. "W-well, he- he's been upset lately," he stammered quietly. "And- a-and he was yelling earlier b-because-"
"He wasn't yelling at you, was he?" Lizzie asked.
Grian shook his head anxiously. "No, he was mad 'cause a v-vase broke," he said. The two shared a moment of silence before Grian looked away and muttered, "Please don't be mad at him."
Lizzie sighed. "Why don't you wait in here while I go get our food?" she offered. "I'll grab some medicine for you while I'm up." Joel can eat by himself if he wants to be a douche.
It took Grian a moment to agree to Lizzie's offer, but once he did, she smiled and left to the kitchen, leaving Grian's door slightly cracked open.
Joel had finally gotten the cooktop to work properly by the time Lizzie walked out of the hallway, and he was pouring the water into a mug with a tea bag when she saw him. The woody smell of unsweetened honey filled the kitchen, Lizzie sighing happily as she walked in.
"I love that smell," she breathed, reaching for the bag with the bento boxes.
Joel glanced over his shoulder at her. "Want some?" he offered, and Lizzie's eyes brightened.
"Sure, why not?" She grabbed a red and a pink box from the bag, pausing for a moment to consider having Joel eat with them then remembering how worried Grian was about getting yelled at. "Hey, Joel?"
"Hm?"
Lizzie bit the inside of her cheek. "Were you yelling at Grian earlier?" she asked finally.
Joel didn't hesitate for a second before lifting his head and whirling around to face his girlfriend. "I'm sorry?"
"Were you yelling at Grian earlier?"
The brunette looked taken aback at the question, seeming utterly confused. "What? No," he answered defensively. "Of course not. Why would I yell at him?"
Lizzie huffed, hugging the bento boxes to her chest. "I don't know, Joel," she sighed. "But he's scared because he thinks you're going to yell at him if you find out he has a fever."
Several emotions crossed Joel's features - frustration, confusion, regret, sadness. "I-"
"Joel, what did you do?"
"I- I didn't-"
Lizzie quirked a brow, ultimately shutting Joel up for the moment. "You didn't do anything?" she questioned. "Is that what you're going to tell me?"
Shaking his head, Joel looked more confused than ever. "No, I-" He shook his head again in attempt to clear his thoughts. "First of all, I would never yell at him because he has a fever," he began, "I don't know where he got that from."
"Oh, really?" Lizzie's narrowed into a scowl. "He said you were yelling about a vase breaking."
"A vase-" Joel paused, then sighed. "I wasn't yelling, I was just upset," he said slowly. "It was a vase I made with my mother that Grian accidentally knocked over. It shattered, and I... maybe I did raise my voice a little bit, but I never yelled at him."
Lizzie sighed. "Okay, then what did you tell him?"
Joel was hesitant to answer, nervousness evident in his eyes. "Well... I told him to go to his room," he said finally, speaking just barely loud enough for Lizzie to hear.
"And?"
"I didn't do anything else, I swear," Joel said, though Lizzie didn't believe him, giving him a skeptical glare. "What?"
Looking away and pointing her nose up, Lizzie let out a hmph. "Nothing," she sighed. "But you can have your dinner by yourself. I'm going to eat with Grian in his room."
Joel looked absolutely offended by that. "I'm- You're eating without me?"
"Is that not what I said?"
"Wha- why?"
Shrugging, Lizzie turned away. "You tell me, Sherlock," she huffed.
"Because I told Grian to go to his room?" Joel asked incredulously. Lizzie couldn't see his face, but by the anger in his voice, she could just tell that he was scowling. "That's ridiculous!"
"What's ridiculous is you lying to me," Lizzie retorted, looking over her shoulder at Joel. "I'm your girlfriend, you shouldn't lie to me."
Joel scoffed. "What lie?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "You weren't even here, how would know if I lied or not?"
"Well, you're acting pretty suspicious for one," Lizzie said. "And why would Grian be so terrified if you only told him to go to his bedroom?"
Joel opened his mouth to speak, hesitating before saying anything. "I..." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, I know what I did," he grumbled.
Concern filled Lizzie at Joel's sudden realization, not liking his reaction a single bit. "Joel, what did you do?"
A pathetic, solemn laugh left Joel. "You're going to hate me for it," he warned. He shifted under Lizzie's unimpressed gaze and reached into his pocket to pull out a box, practically slamming it onto the counter. "He probably saw me with these and thought of his parents."
Lizzie gasped. "Joel!" she exclaimed. "I thought you said you stopped smoking!"
"I did," Joel grumbled. "I just... I've been stressed lately, okay? I needed some... relief."
"Relief by hurting your body and scaring the poor little boy you're meant to be taking care of?"
Joel sighed. "I didn't mean to scare him," he murmured. "I didn't think he'd see."
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, you'd better apologize to him, young man," she scolded.
"It wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for you," Joel grumbled.
"I'm sorry?"
"I said, this wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for you," Joel repeated.
Lizzie scoffed. "Because of me?" she asked, shocked. "Am I the one who decided to be a grumpy dick to a poor kid who's trying to adapt to new living conditions? Last time I checked, I have been taking better care of him than you have, Mr. I-Want-To-Adopt-Him-And-Give-Him-A-Safe-Place."
"Yeah? Well, I wouldn't be so goddamn stressed out if you hadn't brought up my dead fucking mom, Liz!" Joel shouted, startling Lizzie.
"I-"
"It took me forever to forget about it and let it go," Joel continued, angry tears in his eyes, "and you just brought her up like it's nothing! You wanna know why I started smoking again? Because you decided it would be a good idea to bring up the fact that I'm more of an orphan case than Grian is!"
Lizzie froze. "I... I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Joel barked out a laugh. "Yeah, you sure look like you're sorry, standing there and telling me to eat by myself because I was showing a little bit of discipline to Grian to breaking a vase," he spat, turning around. He lifted the kettle off the counter and continued to pour water into the half-full mug. "I understand more than anyone else that I need to be gentle with him, but I can't just let everything slide because he had a bad relationship with his parents." He paused and looked over his shoulder at Lizzie, whose eyes were watering. He sighed and turned back to face her, stepping closer in an attempt to hug her. "Liz, I'm s-"
"No," she huffed, moving away. She sniffled and attempted to wipe her wet eyes on her shoulder. "No, I get it. You hate me."
"Oh my god," Joel muttered, running a hand down his face. "Liz, I don't hate you-"
"I'm going to go have my dinner with Grian," she interrupted, "and you can ask him if he wants you to eat with us. I don't care." With one last huff, she turned around and stormed off, leaving Joel by himself again.
"Are you okay?" Grian asked when Lizzie walked in.
She stopped and gasped. "Oh, I forgot to get medicine," she said. "Ugh, and the tea, too-" Sighing, she handed Grian the two bento boxes. "Here, the red one is for you. You can go ahead and start eating while I go get you some medicine, okay, hun?"
Grian blinked, slightly confused. "Uh..."
"I'll be right back." After kissing Grian's forehead, Lizzie rushed out of the room, nearly hitting her shoulder on the doorframe. "Joel," she drawled, peeking her head into the kitchen. "Where do you keep your ibuprofen?"
Joel gave her a confused look. "Ibuprofen?" he repeated. "For what?"
Lizzie groaned. "For Grian's fever, you nut job," she said, rolling her eyes. "Where is it?"
"Don't give him ibuprofen," Joel said as he came around the island counter.
"Why?"
"Rebound headaches."
Lizzie nodded in understanding, and her eyes followed her boyfriend as he slid past her to reach into the linen closet, where he had a small bin filled with packages of Band-Aids and over-the-counter medications.
"I should have some aspirin in here somewhere," Joel mumbled as he rummaged around in the basket. "Aha!" He pulled out a small bottle and shook it. "'Bout half full," he guessed before opening it. "Yep."
Sighing, Lizzie held her hand out. "I'll take it to him," she said.
Joel was hesitant giving her the bottle, staring blankly at her for a moment. "Only give him one," he said softly, looking away. "These ones are pretty strong."
"They look big." Lizzie scrunched her nose as she peeped into the bottle to look at the pills.
"He should be fine to take them."
Shrugging, Lizzie didn't object. "Well, thanks," she said, though not sounding very grateful. "Do you still have that tea? He'll need something to drink with it."
Joel shifted. "Uh, yeah," he answered. "I'll go get it." He walked into the kitchen, Lizzie following behind. The two cups were still on the counter, but the kettle had been put back on the cooktop to reheat. Joel reached for the kettle after dumping the now cool tea from one of the cups, carefully pouring the much warmer water into it.
"Don't put too much," Lizzie said, startling Joel. "I'll have a hard time carry-" She gasped when Joel fumbled with the kettle, hot water spilling out of it as he tried to regain his grip. "Joel-"
"Fuck," Joel hissed as the water dripped onto his foot, burning his skin through his sock, and he dropped the kettle, the ceramic shattering into pieces. "Goddammit-"
Lizzie jumped away immediately, doing her best to avoid the hot water. "It was ceramic?!"
Joel let out a frustrated growl as he ran a hand over his face. "Yes, it was ceramic," he bit out through gritted teeth, "it was a gift from your mother!" Lizzie mouthed a silent 'oh,' recalling Josephine giving Joel the kettle after teaching him how to use the cooktop. "And wy is the fact that it's ceramic what you're worried about?"
"Well, I didn't expect it to shatter," Lizzie said in defense, raising her voice slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't know-"
"You seem to not know a lot of things, huh?"
Lizzie stared at Joel a moment before scoffing. "What is your deal?" she asked, incredibly irritated at how rude Joel had been since she got there. "I get that you're upset, but I'm your girlfriend! You should be talking to me, not screaming at me!"
"I'm not screaming!"
"You're raising your voice, it's practically the same thing!"
Joel rolled his eyes. "Well, you're certainly one to talk, now, aren't you?" he spat. "You aren't being particularly nice either if you hadn't fucking noticed."
Lizzie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, at least I'm not an asshole and I take care of the people that I give myself the responsibility of taking care of, unlike you, who ignores the-" She cut herself off with a gasp, her head suddenly facing the hallway and her cheek stinging. She could see Grian standing with a hand over his mouth.
"Did you just hit her?" the dirty blonde asked, his voice shrill and cracking, and Joel whipped his head around to look at him.
"Fuck, Grian, I-"
"I'm fine, Grian," Lizzie interrupted with a soft smile, earning herself a glare from Joel.
Grian didn't seem to believe her. "Get away from her," he said, staring angrily at Joel from his place in the hallway.
The brunette looked back over at Grian. "Bud-"
"Get away from her!"
Grian's shout caught Joel off guard and he stepped back. "I'm getting away," he said softly. "I'm sorry."
Lizzie scoffed. "No, you're fucking not," she grumbled. She sighed and set the bottle of aspirin onto the island counter before glancing down at the gold band on her finger. I hate to do this in front of Grian, but... She slipped the ring off and placed it on the counter, then grabbed the green bento box that was meant for Joel. "You can feed yourself, you prick," she said, making sure to keeo her voice down so Grian didn't hear. "And you better take care of Grian, or so help me, I will skin you."
Joel opened his mouth to respond, but before he had the chance to say anything, Lizzie was turning on her heel and making her way toward the door.
"You're leaving?" Grian asked quietly. Lizzie's heart broke at his sad tone.
"I'm sorry, babes," she whispered, shrugging into her coat. "Call me if you feel unsafe, okay?"
Grian looked like he wanted to say something but ultimately didn't as he nodded slightly.
"I love you."
"Love you," Grian murmured.
With that, Lizzie blew a kiss to Grian, who smiled slightly and lifted his hand to pretend to catch it, and left.