Holy Diver

Zion did something that he hadn't done in front of someone else for years; he started to cry. It wasn't pretty, either. Snot dribbled out of his nose and his body shook with each inhale.

"I said I fucked up! You don't have to love me anymore, I get it, but--please. He's blackmailing me. He told me he wanted to bang again, and when I said no he said he was going straight to TMZ if I didn't. Now he wants money and he wants me to fuck him."

"...and?" he said, gnashing his teeth together. "Can't you fix your own problems on your own? Do you even know how fucking shitty and selfish this is? Coming to me because your cheating on me fucked you over? Why should I help you at all?! You...you fucking..."

Lars pulled away from him, biting his lip to stop the tears stinging at his own eyes. It hurt. It hurt so bad. He wasn't enough, he was never enough, and no Zion was in trouble because of him and he wants to blame Zion but it's ultimately his fault, isn't it? Because he can't be strong enough to quit and he drove the only other man he's ever loved away from him.

"...why would you do this to me?" he said, biting back the tears still.

"I was lonely, and stupid, and the only person I've ever been this close to had just betrayed me," he said honestly. Both of their shirts were damp with his tears by now. "He offered, and I used him. I know I fucked up.

"But please. We've both worked for so long. I tried to come up with the money, but...I don't know what to do. I don't want anything to do with him. I just want this fucking nightmare to end. If you help me, you don't even have to look at me again. I'll...I'll find a new manager, or something. But you're the only one I can ask. I'm sorry."

Lars took a deep breath and turned away from him, wiping his eyes. He couldn't be petty about this, it wasn't fair, and most of all, he really loved Zion. He didn't want to actually fuck this up more than it already was.

So he took another deep breath and turned back to Zion.

"Look. Just...give me a second," he said, trying to keep his emotions in check. What he wouldn't give for a fix. More now than ever. "I'll fix this for you. But you owe me big time. And...I don't want us to...break up."

Zion wrapped his arms around him pathetically, nuzzling his face into Lars's chest.

"...Thanks," he mumbled, unable to think of anything else. "What are you gonna do?"

"I...I'll figure something out," he said, petting Zion's hair reassuringly. It had been a while since they'd been affectionate like this, and it felt rather nice. Even if he was still pretty pissed off at Zion.

He sighs.

"Come on, let's sit down and I need you to tell me everything."

Zion nodded, shuffling to the bedroom without any further instruction. He sat down on the plush fur covering Lars's massive bed, his eyes red and bloodshot. He wiped his nose and face on his sleeve.

"What did you wanna know?"

Lars sighed and cupped Zion's face, drying his cheeks with the sleeve of his own shirt.

"You're a mess," he said, but he smiled slightly. "Okay. Tell me exactly what happened, from the beginning."

"Well. We fought," he began awkwardly. "Then I was avoiding you. Then I ran into him, and he came onto me. Said he knew I was gay. Then...are you sure you want me to talk about all this?" He spun his rings around his fingers.

Lars winced, looking away and running a hand through his long hair.

"Just...what does he have on you, blackmail wise?" he said. "And what does he want from you specifically?"

He folds his hands to steady his shaking.

His face reddened. "Well, like I said, he found me today and said he wanted to fuck again. I told him no, and he, uh...he showed me the video he has. It's pretty bad. Then he said he wanted 100k for it, or he's gonna send to to TMZ. I'm fucking over if he does that."

Great. A video. He definitely doesn't want to see a video of Zion fucking another guy but he has the worst feeling he's going to have to endure at least some of it at some point.

"Is it damning?" he asked, trying to look him in the eyes.

"It's uh...pretty fucking clear, yeah," he grumbled, toying with his hair and tucking and re-tucking it behind his ears. "I didn't fucking know he was taping it. Never run into that kinda shit before."

He avoided Lars's eyes, his ears warm with shame.

Lars sighed. Of course it was. At least it couldn't get any worse than it already was, he supposed. He rubbed his chin in thought, frowning deeply. This was certainly not ideal. He really didn't want to pay the man, but getting him to destroy the video was probably also an impossibility. If it was just cash he were after, it would be one thing, but...

"What's the deadline?" He asked, still trying to think of a way to wiggle out of this situation.

His eyes widened. "I don't know--he didn't say! I could...I could call him. I could ask. Fuck, I ran out of there so fast..."

He fumbled for his phone, his rings clinking against his flashy gold case.

"How do you...how do you ask someone when a bribe is due, do you think?"

Lars gently pushed Zion's hand down.

"Don't...do that," he said softly, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of that. "Well, since I haven't received a large amount of calls yet, it's safe to assume he hasn't done anything hasty. We likely have a day or two before he contacts you again. In the meantime, I'll put together a plan and we can figure this out. Okay?"

He wanted to sound reassuring, but he had never been in this situation before either, somehow. Perhaps because he chose people so removed from celebrity life, or perhaps just luck. Regardless, he had to figure this out for Zion's sake, as well affairs his own. It would certainly not reflect well on him, after all.