Title: It Was Raining
Author: emo_chick_87
Pairing,Character(s): Mike Chang/Matt Rutherford
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1204 words
Spoilers: Season One.
Genre: Romance/ Angst
Warnings: Talk of child abuse.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Summary: For Matt, the rain means something.
Authors Note: Written by request. I'm usually a Puck/Kurt girl so be gentle.

It's raining when Matt Rutherford hears his doorbell ring. The pounding rain drowns out the sounds of his mother fighting with her most recent boyfriend in her bedroom. The wind forces the door open faster than he would have liked and he gasps at what he sees on the other side.

Mike's clothes are soaked through and cling tightly to him. Making him look even thinner. He's folding in on himself and Matt has know him long enough to know that he's seconds from crumbling. Mike's knees give out under him and he falls against the door jam. That's when the light finally hits his face.

His right eyes is swollen shut and his top lip is split. His battered right hand is clinging to a small gym bag. Matt takes one look at it and knows. Defensive wounds. Things got bad tonight.

Mike is silent as Matt leads him to his room. Mike is silent when Matt peels the wet clothes back to expose the large angled bruising along his torso. They look suspiciously like boot prints. Mike is silent when Matt runs his fingers across fresh welts on the back of his legs. Mike is silent when Matt folds him into his chest, cradling the shaking form. Mike is silent until the muscles in his back unclench. Until he surrenders himself to the heat and comfort of Matt's body. A sudden shaking sob breaks the silence.

Mike whispers into his chest before curling further into Matt. Tears burning through his shirt.

"He knows."

Matt just hugs him harder, pulls him in deeper. Soon enough the soft puffs of breath hitting his neck are even and sure. Mike is finally fell asleep. Here with Mike in his arms and the sound of his mother making up with Rob in the next room, Matt remembers.

It was raining the day they met.

.

.

Four Years Earlier

Miss Rae's first period math class was Matt's least favorite place to be. The other kids were loud and it was hard to concentrate on what Miss Rae was saying because Puck was always throwing pieces of eraser at his head. Miss Rae is explaining something about exponents when it happens. When he happens.

A small Asian boy with his head down opens the door and shuffles towards Miss Rae's desk. She reads the note he hands her, gives him a small nod and tells him to take an empty seat. As he heads toward the empty seat next to him, Matt has a chance to look at him.

His clothes are a few sizes to small. Frantic, tiny hands are pulling at the bottom of his shirt to keep it from riding up. The wet shoes that squeak across the linoleum have holes in them. As the kid slides into the seat next to him, Matt sees the wince. He's well acquainted with the wince. The tender skin on the hard unyielding wood of the desk chair. All Matt feels is sorry for him. Until his dark brown eyes slide up to meet Matt's.

He's unprepared for the spark at goes through him and the warmth that settles in his chest. From the wide eyes of the other boy, Matt knows he felt it too. They share a small smile before turning their attention to the front of the room.

Recess is practically canceled that day. The rain forces the teachers to keep them in their homerooms for the fifteen minutes that they would usually get their freedom. They're forced to play Seven-up. Matt hesitates for a moment but in the end he taps the tip of the new boy's thumb and rushes back to the front. When he guesses that it was Matt on the first try, he can't help but smile.

The thunder keeps them inside for lunch too. Four classes that overflow from the cafeteria settle into the gym. He sees the new boy sitting with his back to the bleachers. When Matt asks if he can sit with him all he gets is a shy smile and a nod.

"My name's Matt. Matt Rutherford."

"I'm Mike Chang."

Looking back, this is when it all starts.

.

.

Over the next few weeks they become inseparable. Matt started hiding a spare set of clothes at the bottom of his backpack when he left for school every morning. He would wait until after first period to slide the clothes across the floor. At lunch he would take pride in the fact Mike was wearing his sweater.

They're friends for two months before they become more. The knock on the door makes Matt's mom stutter in her sleep. He closes his eyes and prays that she stays asleep on the couch. After a quiet hrmp he knows he's safe. When he opens the door he sees Mike crying on the other side. He sees dark fingerprint marks on Mike's neck and his hiccuping breaths are making them do a macabre dance. They play Mario until Mike calms down enough to tell him what happened.

He says his dad walked in on him practicing some of his dance moves and that it didn't go down well. He talks about the words faggot and fairy hurting more than any of the blows. That he really tries not to like boys but he can't help it.

The shy press of lips on lips are Matt's undoing. He knows that this is it. That Mike is iit/i.

The next day they sit closer to each other in the cafeteria and share small smiles over their meatloaf. Their knees are brushing against each other under the table when Puck walks up to their table.

"Rutherford, is Chang your new boyyyyfriend?"

Matt just glares at him until he walks away. Then he laces his fingers together with Mike's, fixes him a heated glance and whispers yes.

.

.

From then on they're Mike and Matt, Matt and Mike.

When Mike had a major growth spurt and decides he wants to play football too, Matt shows him everything he needs to know.

When Matt want to join glee club but is nervous about it, Mike teaches him how to dance.

When the glee club walks in on them, they just hold hands and nod. Say that "yes, we are together."

When they talk about college, it's always a given that they're going to the same one.

When Matt's dad leaves, Mike is the one that holds him when he cries.

When Mike says I love you after the first time they make love, Matt says it back.

.

.

Matt doesn't get much sleep that night. He knows that Mr Chang will be a problem and that this means he'll probably have to come out to his mom. He spends the night thinking about how quickly he could put together a duffel bag. Wonders if Kurt's offer of a place to stay if they ever needed it was genuine. Thinks about how long the bruises on Mike's face will take to heal.

So yeah, that night he didn't get much sleep but that doesn't really matter so much. Because when he wakes up the sun is shining and Mike is smiling.

.

.