Tony helped Joel find his body after many sleepless days of research. Tony held his lover's hand as they stood next to his sleeping body.

"We finally did it, babe. After so long.. we found your body." Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, I can finally be back." Joel smiled, tears forming in eyes.

Tony turned to him and cupped his hands on his cheeks. He kissed his nose, “Don’t cry. Be happy, kiddo~ You’ll finally be able to have a normal life back~”

“Thank you so much, Tony~ I’ll be awake in a bit and I’ll be able to really kiss you as a human being~” Joel chuckled softly.

“Stop stalling and go, shorty~” Tony turned him to face his body and pushed him closer. He stood back, not knowing what would happen when he went back.

Joel took a deep breath, trying not to show his lover how scared he was to go back. He had no idea what would happen when he was in his body again. He slowly touched his own forehead and his soul was quickly sucked back into his body with a bright light.

Tony waited for a second before going to his bedside, “Joel? Are you awake? Can you hear me?” He waited for a response.

Joel’s body started to wake up, “Huh? Where? Where am I?” His eyes opened and looked around, they stopped on Tony.

“You’re at the abandoned science lab, Joel.” Tony smiled and ran his hand through Joel’s hair, “You’re even prettier in an actual body, babe~”

“Uh, ‘babe’? I’m not in a relationship, dude. Layoff.” Joel snapped and smacked his hand away.

Tony gasped in shock, “Joel.. It’s me, Tony.. Remember? I helped you get back to your body.. You and I are.. Together.. We..”

“I don’t know who you are so you can get out of here before I find the closest sharp object and stab you with it.” Joel sat up and faced Tony.

“W-Wait.. I have to at least get you to the city. You can’t make it on your own.. Come on.” Tony’s hands started to shake.

“Like I’m getting in the car with a stranger. That’d be a brilliant idea.” Joel growled.

“Look, kiddo.. You can’t stay here, you’re out in the middle of nowhere.” Tony tried to reason with him.

Joel rolled his eyes and thought of his options, “Fine, but only to the hospital, then I don’t want to see you again.”

Tony’s heart cracked at that comment, “Right.. Come on…” He kept his head lowered and walked to his car. It was a long and silent car drive back to the city. He drove to the hospital and had Jess meet him there.
“Hey, Tony, what’s wrong?” Jess saw him as he walked in with Joel.
“I-I found this kid.. At an old abandoned lab.. He was in a coma, but then he just woke up.. I was hoping maybe you could get some info on him or something..” Tony sighed.
“Yeah of course, but that will have to be after he gets checked out.”

Joel walked with the nurses to the back and saw Jess follow, but had no idea who she was.

Tony stayed in the lobby messing around with his glove and his hands. He called Richard to pick him up because he knew he couldn’t drive himself in the state he was in.
“Hey, Tony-Baloney~” Richard walked in and put his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “What are ya doin’ here boss?”
“I found this kid, Richard.. He.. He’s getting checked out now, Jess is already in there trying to figure out something about this kid.. I’m going to go say goodbye and then I need you to take me home, alright?”
“Yeah, sure thing, Tony. Come on, I’ll take you to him and then you’re going home to sleep.” Richard smiled.
Tony took him to Joel’s room. He knocked on the door and walked in, “Hey Jess, hey Joel. Um, this is Richard, he’s taking me home..”

Joel didn’t respond, he didn’t know this stranger.

“Hey, Richard~ Thank you for taking care of him~” Jess smiled.
“It’s no problem~ I’d do anything for him~” Richard side hugged him.
“Y-yeah.. Oh uh Joel, don’t worry about the expenses.. I’ll pay for them, get anything the doctors tell you that you need.. I’ll even pay for you to get a five star hotel..” Tony offered.
“There’s no need in that Tony, he can stay at my place~ I have plenty of room and he’d practically be living in a 5 star hotel~” Richard smiled. He pulled out his wallet and a business card for both Tony and himself. He walked over to Joel, “Here, feel free to call either of us~”

Joel’s eye caught sight of Richard quickly, “R-Right, okay.. Thanks.”

Richard smiled and waved as he and Tony walked out, “He seems nice, Tony~”
“Yeah.. sure..” Tony started to hear soft voices and his anxiety started to come back.

Joel called Richard up before the week ended and he moved in right away. He got close to Richard and in return Richard helped him with his therapy and trying to remember how life works after years of being in a coma. Joel eventually showed how he felt toward Richard. Richard noticed and asked him out. They took their relationship slowly and didn’t do much, Richard was too focused on getting Joel to better health.

Tony didn’t know about their arrangement. He started to go back to a therapist to try to control his schizophrenia, depression, psycho and sociopathy, and worst of all, anxiety. His therapist had helped him try to suppress these illnesses before and it worked, but this time it was worse. He couldn’t control most of his body and his speech turned into a stutter.
Eventually, he noticed Richard was no longer coming to work. He went to his desk one day and Richard’s resignation folder was on it. He decided to make a visit and went by Richard’s house after work. He knocked and waited for an answer.

Richard heard the door and got up, “I’ll get it, love~” He opened the door and saw a pale, malnourished, dehydrated, and depressed Anthony Rivers. The only other time he saw him like this was after he killed his foster mother. “Tony, what are you doing here bud?”

“I-I j-just w-wanted to kn-know wh-why... y-your resignation f-file... w-was on my.. desk..” Tony struggled to get out.

“Oh, right. I have to take care of Joel 24/7 now, Tony. I couldn’t work at River anymore.” Richard sighed.

“W-Wait.. Joel.. Th-The k-kid I-i.. found?” something clicked inside Tony’s head and he balled his fist in anger.

“Yeah, Tony~ He’s living with me and we’re in a relationship.” Richard smiled.

“No!” Tony slammed his fist on the wall next to him, “You can’t have him! You can’t leave me and neither can he!”

“T-Tony..” Richard stepped back in fear.
“Richard, what was that?” Joel got up and walked over to Richard.

“You can’t take him, not like she took her! Not like she took everything from me!” Tony’s schizophrenia flared up and he got angry. He pushed Richard back violently.

“Tony, please, calm down.. Just, calm down..” Richard stood in front of Joel.

“Give him back to me! I found him! He loved me first!” Tony threw a punch to Richard’s jaw, but it didn’t connect. Tony looked up to see Joel holding his fist.

“Leave now, Rivers. Leave or I’ll call the cops and you’ll be either taken to jail or put in an insane asylum.” Joel said without any emotion or sympathy toward him.

Tony started to violently shake and pulled away from Joel. He ran out the door and back into his car.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Joel. He isn’t stable, he could get himself killed on the road.” Richard turned to Joel and hugged him.
“There wasn’t any other option, I wasn’t going to have a pyscho hurt you.” Joel sighed.

Tony sped away, tears blocking his vision. He drove to his sister’s grave and slept there instead of home. His sleep was invaded by nightmares and voices. The next morning he got out of the cemetery and went to his therapist. They talked for a few hours about everything that had happened. She suggested that he continue to talk to her and be put on meds to help with a few things. He’d try being sedated to fall asleep, and being drugged to at least be able to drive in the morning. They worked for a few years and then the meds stopped working. His therapist put him on an experimental drug that was a one in all, specific for his case. It worked well until she told him devastating news. The med he had taken showed signs of giving their users a deadly disease that no one knew. They tried to cure one patient, but nothing worked. The doctors gave him a few months to live. He went to treatments for getting it out of his system but nothing worked. He painfully lived through the due date his doctors told him, but then after that his body couldn’t take the pain or the treatment anymore. His doctors gave him a new date. The day before he was told was his last day, he went to Richard’s house and knocked on the door.

Joel heard the door, “I’ll get it~” He kissed his fiance and got up from the couch. He opened the door and saw Tony standing on his porch. “Anthony, what are you doing here?”

“H-Hey, J-J-Joel.. I-I j-just w-w-wa-wanted t-to s-s-see h-how y-you w-were doing.. B-but I kn.. I knew you were okay.. b-but.. But I kn-.. Knew you were f-fine, be-because you’re w-with Ri-Richard and he-he’s great a-and all. H-He probably t-takes re-really g-good c-... care of y-you be-because he’d a g-great g-guy. B-but, uh.. I’m s-sorry t-to.. B-bother you.. S-so I’ll j-just g-go n-now.. S-sorry I’ll g-go…” Tony stuttered badly and felt like a complete idiot. He looked away and tried to walk back to his car.

“Wait, Tony..” Joel walked after him and grabbed his arm, “Would you like to come in and have a drink?” He smiled softly.

“O-Oh, I-I don’t kn-know..” Tony looked down at his feet.

“Come on, just one drink~” Joel pulls him back to the house.

“O-Okay..” Tony walked with him back into the house.

“Joel, who was at the-” Richard turned around to see Joel holding Tony and bringing him inside, “Tony?”

“H-H-Hi, R-Richard..” Tony gulped in fear.

“Richard, Tony came to stop by and see how we were doing~ He’s staying for a drink to talk for a little while~” Joel smiled and brought him to the sofa.
“It’s been awhile, Tony~” Richard smiled.

“Y-Yeah.. I-it h-has.. I’ve t-tried t-to.. t-tried to g-get better s-since our l-last m-meeting..” Tony sat down and messed with his hands.

“Your stuttering’s back.. You haven’t been doing well, have you?” Richard sighed.

“N-No.. Th-that’s j-just a-a side e-effect f-from m-my an-anxiety a-and sc-schiz-schizophrenia…” Tony explains.

“I’m so sorry, Tony.. I know how bad it was before..” Richard sympathized with him.

“I-It’s okay.. I’ve got m-meds t-to help with it..” Tony tapped on his knee trying to calm himself down.

“Would you like some hot tea, Tony?” Joel offered.

“O-Oh.. U-uh, sure, th-thank you~” Tony tried to smile and nodded.

Joel nodded and went to the kitchen to make it. Richard watched Tony’s body movement. When Joel came back minutes later with the cup in his hands, “Watch out~ It’s hot~” He gently put it in Tony’s hands and walked back to sit with Richard.

Tony’s hands shook and splashed the tea around the cup, “H-H-How h-has life b-been for you t-two?”

“Well, I quickly recovered from the coma with Richard’s help and after a few months we got together and recently Richard proposed~” Joel held out his hand and showed him his ring.

“W-Wow~ Th-Thats.. Thats great~ C-Con-Congrats~” Tony slightly smiled.

“Thank you, Tony~ Joel laid against Richard’s side.
“What has been going on with your illness, Tony?” Richard asked.

“W-Well, I’ve b-been go-going to a th-therapist.. Sh-She’s helped me g-g-get rid of s-some stress, b-but the sc-schiz-schizophrenia is b-bad st-still.. I-I have to t-take m-med-medicine t-to sup-supress it d-during the n-night be-because i-if I d-don’t th-then I ha-have ni-night-nightmares…” Tony gulped and started to drink his hot tea.

“Aw, I’m so sorry, Tony..” Richard knew how hard it was before but he never had to take meds for it.

“I-It.. I-It’s fine~ I-I’m c-co-coping w-well e-enough..” He took another sip of his tea, “Th-This is r-really g-good, J-Jo-Joel~ Th-Thank you~”

“I’m glad you like it, Tony~” Joel smiled.

Tony talked to them until he finished his tea and he noticed the time when his watch went off, “O-oh, I-I th-think I-I have t-to g-go n-now..”

“Thank you for coming over, Tony~ It’s good to see you~” Richard smiled.

Tony took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, “It..was good...to see..you two...as..well~” He slowed down his speaking so he wouldn’t stutter as much.

Richard noticed and perked up, “Wow Tony!~ That was great~ You’re learning how to control it, that’s wonderful~”

Tony smiled fully, loving the praise he had longed for after so many years, “Thank...you~ I’m...glad that I...decided to..come over~ I..had fun~”

“Feel free to come over anytime, Tony~ Just because I’m not at River anymore doesn’t mean we aren’t friends anymore~” Richard assured him.

Tony stood up and put his cup down, not shaking as much as before, “I will have to...clear my schedule~”

“Good~ Drive safely, Tony~” Richard got up and helped him to the door. He turned to Joel, “I’m glad he came over, but I’m so sad that he’s gotten this bad..”
“I think talking to us helped him~ He didn’t stutter much at the end~” Joel held onto Richard’s arm and kissed his cheek, “Come on, Richie~ Time for us to hit the hay as well~”

Tony drove home in silence. Spending his last few hours in Joel and Richard’s comforting presence helped him remember what smiling was. He got home, took his medication, changed into night clothes and went to bed. He fell asleep quickly. During his sleep, Tony’s heart stopped suddenly. He died peacefully and thinking of Joel and Richard.

Two days later, the paper caught wind of the tragic story. Joel went out to get the paper and brought it inside. He sat at the bar in the kitchen, drinking coffee and getting the paper out. His eyes widened when he read the front page.
CEO of River Co. Found Dead in his House yesterday morning
“Richard!” Joel called out as he put down the paper.
Richard ran out into the kitchen quickly, “Joel, what’s wrong, what is it?”
“The paper! Read the front page!” Joel handed him the paper.
Richard quickly read it and his eyes widened, “No, that can’t be true! That was right after we saw him..”
“Keep reading. Read it out loud.” Joel told him.
Richard started to read:
“CEO of the world’s largest owned company, Anthony Rivers, was found dead in his home yesterday morning by his therapist. After his mental break a few years ago, Rivers had been re-diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. He took pills to control his mind better and continue his work at River Co. We learned from officials and doctors that after a year or two, regular pills no longer worked. He was put on a new experimental drug that was supposed to deplete his symptoms even more than before. The doctors found out too late that anyone who took this drug would eventually perish. Rivers’ doctors and therapist gave him an approximate date of when his life would end. He pushed through that date due to treatment. Doctors reported that they stopped treatment due to Rivers being in pain. They gave a new date to Rivers, which came out to be correct as he died around 6 o’clock. The officials told us that his will statements will not be revealed to the public, only that he chose to donate his personal family funds, which have billion dollars in them alone, to charities his father had chosen. What he decided to do with the money he had from his company has not be released and will not be. We were told from his autopsy report that Rivers had not died in pain. He fell asleep peacefully and his heart stopped near the morning. A friends and family funeral will be held on a private date while a public funeral and memorial will be revealed later.”

Richard finished with tears in his eyes, “So its true… He’s gone.. He’s really…” Tears fell and he fell to his knees, “dead…”

“Oh Richard..” Joel put his drink down and went to the floor to comfort him.

“He knew and he didn’t tell me!” Richard held onto Joel’s body and sobbed into his shoulder.

“You can look at this in a good way, dear. He came to us in his last hours. He knew he wasn’t going to make it to morning so he spent his night happy with us~ I don’t know if you realized it, but when you praised him, his face lit up. He was so happy to be here~” Joel ran his fingers through Richard’s hair as his own tears were shed.

“I wish I wouldn’t have pushed him away! I could’ve known before, I could’ve helped him!” Richard gripped Joel’s shirt.

“He’s in a better place, Richard.. He doesn’t have to suffer anymore.. You heard what the papers said, the treatment hurt him… He doesn’t have schizophrenia anymore, no more stutter, no more depression or anxiety…” Joel smiled, trying to comfort him.

“But I'll never get to see him again! I won't be able to say I'm sorry! I left him alone, his biggest fear was of people leaving him!” Richard blamed himself for Tony’s death.

Joel tried to comfort him as he cried, but nothing worked.

Tony’s spirit stayed with them and it broke his heart to see Richard so broken up about his death. He put his hand on his back softly, barely able to be detected by human senses.

Joel and Richard got contact from Tony’s lawyer. In his will, Tony stated he wanted the money that he got from working at Rivers to go to them. Billions of dollars were given to them and so was his mansion. Since Tony didn’t have an heir, his company was given to Richard if he wanted it. Richard accepted everything from him. He became CEO and Joel worked as his assistant like Richard was to Tony. It stayed like that for about a year until Mr. Richard and Joel Shäde adopted a child. They named him Anthony Sebastian Shäde after Tony and his father. They were surprised when their little Tony opened his eyes, he had a blue eye and a green eye. Richard held him for hours, crying and hugging him. Joel smiled and watched his husband love their new son. Tony stayed with them and became their guardian angel. He watched over them and gave the new baby the sight to see him, just as he had the sight to see Joel.