Title: You Should Be Dead Word Count: 335 Warnings: Mentions of Death Created for the Tropetember Event - (Reunion) He remembers the funeral like it was yesterday. Remembers writing his eulogy and reading it in front of his distraught family members. He remembers the soft spoken words that it was too soon, and he was much too young.
He remembers sobbing in the bathroom that they didn’t understand, and all these false reassurances only hurt more.
They didn’t spend nearly every waking moment with him. He wasn’t their person. They didn’t understand that they lost a family member, and he lost his world.
So, to walk into this bar and see him? He wasn’t sure if he should slap him or kiss him. The thought bounced around in his mind for a moment before he strode forward and slapped his deceased — or not — boyfriend so hard he fell from the bar stool.
“Where have you been? I buried you! You’re dead! Legally dead!” He screamed only to feel a hand grip his arm and wrench him backwards.
“Sir, you need to calm down.”
“No, no, fuck you. He was dead. I buried him. I read his eulogy. I drafted his obituary. I buried him.”
“It’s fine, Dave… I had this coming.” The man on the floor sighs and the bartender raises his hands in surrender. “Leave him be. And call off your goons. I know you already paged for the bouncers.” It looked as though Dave wanted to argue, but instead he reached for the pager and spoke a quick message to tell them it had been a false alarm.
“Jace, I don’t.. I don’t understand. You died.”
“Can we just be happy for a few seconds that I am alive? And we’re together, Ben?” Jace whispered and Ben’s shoulders sagged. “I’ll explain everything, but it’s been hard for me too. I need you to know that.”
“I — Okay.” Ben wasn’t sure he’d get the answers he wanted, and Jace wasn’t sure he could legally give them. But they were reunited at last, even if it had not gone the way either had hoped.