Seeing the look shift in Chris’s eye and listening intently to every word he said, Sammy felt that guilt bloom in his chest. He wasn’t exactly the easiest person to date or even just get along with but Chris had put up with a lot these first few months of there relationship. He’d put up with too much. Sammy asked for too much. God, he knew that. He just hadn’t known how much this had all impacted Chris. Sammy wanted so much to tell him that this was never gonna happen again but he couldn’t manage it. He had no idea where his job would take him.
Swallowing, Sammy shook his head slowly. “Chris, I’d let my family tare me apart before they got to you and if you went after them, I do the same. Not that I think you’d go after them.” He clarified. “There wouldn’t be any choosing.” He mumbled. That wasn’t a choice he was willing to make. Fuck, if it came down to it he’d probably just shoot himself in the head because choosing between Chris and his family was like choosing between not eating or not drinking. In the end he’d die no matter what. “And If I fall because of you I’d be happy to do it. Okay? Downfall or whatever you’re scared of, I am not scared. M’not scared because I got you.” He promised. “Right now. M’not the controller of all things, I don’t know about tomorrow but right now, I got you. You got me.” He ranted a bit as he held Chris’s face between his hands.
Sammy tipped his head to the side a bit and listened to Chris speak. he could feel his boyfriend’s pain. Sence the raw tang in his voice. God he looked so broken. He slipped forwards and wrapped his arms around Chris’s shoulders in a tight hug as his voice broke off. “I’ll be more careful,” Sammy mumbled in Chris’s ear as he stroked the back of his head slowly. “I’ll be more careful, Chris, I promise. Okay? I promise.” He mumbled again feeling his own throat tighten suddenly. He hated seeing Chris in pain. This was just- Well, it was heartbreaking. “Worlds a big fuckin’ scary place, dangerous but I’ll do what I can to be safe-er, okay?” Sammy asked pulling back to look at Chris again.
His brow furrowed for a moment as his chest suddenly tightened. A thought pushed through the rest and made Sammy’s heartbeat kick up. “If this is too much, Chris,” Sammy got in a wobbly voice. “If it’s hurting you more than-than you can take. I’d get it if you didn’t wanna keep seeing me. I- It’s not like- I’d get it.” Sammy managed to the words out although his own eyes grew watery with the idea of losing Chris. First his father, then his mother, then Amelia, and now Chris? He couldn’t stand it but he would if Chris needed him too.
Such words were so easy to say, but Chris couldn’t ask him to make a big sacrifice this way. If it ever came down to it, Chris would never be able to go after Sammy, or his family for that matter. Just because of how involved he was with each and every one of them. But when it came down to it, wouldn’t family be chosen? What if they became enemies? What if he got killed next time? The thoughts that ran through his mind were the repetitive ones, the ones he couldn’t stop thinking about no matter how many times Sammy sat there to tell him that he would always be here , that he’d go down for him rather than go against him.
“You just have to promise me one thing Sammy, you cannot die on me. No matter what. If you know that whatever it is you’re about to do is going to get you killed or arrested, then you have to drop it and run and I mean run.” Was it moralistic for an officer to advise someone that had trouble with the law often to run if it ever got bad? Or even ethical for that matter? No. But Chris didn’t give a shit. He didn’t know the details of what his family was capable of aside from what the citizens knew.
How was he not afraid when every part of Chris felt nothing but fear. The fear of losing him, the fear of being the one to make the worst happen. How was he so calm about this? Chris wished there was more he could do than just stay safe because he wanted to make sure nothing touched him. Ever. He savored this moment, with the way the man held him, caressing his head, whispering words into his ear that should ease him. And all Chris could do was hold him tighter;
His next set of words suddenly caused an internal panic attack, just at the thought of ending things? Fuck no. Chris pulled back almost instantly just to be able to look at him. “Don’t you dare-” he started before the other could even finish the damn thought that crossed his mind. “If I didn’t want this, I wouldn’t be sitting here, you and I would have ended long ago. So don’t you fucking dare.” he warned before pulling the man in close, just to be able to lean his forehead against the others. “I love you.” he whispered, eyes closed just enough to hold back the tears that threatened to pour out. “Don’t you dare.” he repeated before pulling away just a bit. “Just promise me that you’re going to stay safe, that if you had to choose between saving yourself and something else that might seem priceless, you will choose yourself. No matter what it takes.” illegal or not, Chris knew his words could never be taken back, but he’d rather have him here than dead.