Title: After The Ball
Fandom: Romeo and Juliet
Rating: PG
Length: ~400 words
Content notes: n/a
Author notes: n/a
Summary: Mercutio, Benvolio, the morning after the Capulet party



“I’m never touching alcohol again,” Mercutio says from under a ratty blanket on the couch as Benvolio walks past him and catches his eye on the way to the kitchen.

Benvolio thinks that if Mercutio were capable of sticking to his resolutions for longer than a few hours, he might actually have a chance at becoming a decent person. He grins to himself as he makes coffee for the two of them and takes it back to the living room.

“To ease your pains, cousin,” he says and watches Mercutio all but inhale it. He passes the empty cup back to Benvolio with a look that makes Benvolio’s chest feel tight. There’s a lot of pain there that the coffee won’t touch.

Benvolio dumps the empty mugs in the sink and calls Romeo with no real hope of getting an answer, and is not surprised when he’s told that no, the young gentleman isn’t at home.

It’s not as if Mercutio doesn’t know Romeo chases every bit of skirt, and it’s not like Benvolio doesn’t know how much it hurts Mercutio. But this time, he made off with the girl right in front of them; left them shouting after him in the road like a pair of drunk idiots, and if you asked Benvolio he’d tell you that isn’t how you treat friends, much less family. But he’s cleaned up both his cousins’ messes for longer than he can remember, so he supposes he shouldn’t be surprised everyone takes it for granted.

Mercutio jerks his head back when Benvolio comes back to the living room. “Got hold of your wayward cousin?”

Benvolio claps his hands. “Didn’t make it home last night. Whoever she is, she sure made him forget Rosaline.”

He says it in the cruellest, most off-hand way possible, and he watches Mercutio’s face fall, watches him try and compose himself again and fail because it’s too early in the morning and there’s a lot still buzzing around his system besides caffeine and leftover alcohol.

“Clearly we’re not worth his time.”

Clearly he’s not worth your time is what he doesn’t say. Instead he sits down next to Mercutio on the couch, flicks on some mindless breakfast telly, and watches Mercutio doze off again, wishing he had the strength and determination to make him happy just a little instead of merely taking the edge off his pain on occasion. But that's a resolution just as futile as his, and so he doesn't make it.