~On the Telephone Line~

Darren looked out at the ocean - his eyes unseeing - the words he had just read playing over and over again. "Savage Garden is done…."
"Oh my God…………….Danny" racing back to the car he pulled out his phone, fingers shaking as he dialed the familiar number.

Daniels voice was cool as he said Hello and Darren felt his heart sink.
"Danny I am so sorry - he swore that it wouldn’t be printed for another week"
"And you believed him , come on Darren, this is the Press we are talking about here" Darren could hear the hurt in Daniels voice "It just wasn’t the way I wanted it to happen"
Taking a deep breath Darren spoke again "Danny, you know I would never hurt you, you know how I feel about you" His voice shook with emotion and he fought to keep it under control, not wanting Daniel to hear. He hadn’t counted on Daniel knowing every nuance, every note, every emotion he was feeling.
Daniels tone softened considerably as he realised Darren had actually believed the interview would be held off. He sighed at Darrens naiveté "Maybe I should have left before the tour" he said reflectively "Then none of this would have happened"
Darren shook his head "Don’t say that Danny, didn’t that tour mean anything to you?"
The memories came flooding back - the joy of making music, of hearing Darrens voice, the satisfaction of hearing the notes he had written………………and that one night. That golden night when he and Darren had watched the sunrise over their home town, having spent the whole night just reminiscing about how they had begun, those first struggles to get their music recognised. The night that Daniel had finally confessed to Darren the real reason he hadn’t been able to leave, it wasn’t the band, it was Darren himself.
"Darren, you know how much that tour meant to me, how much you mean to me." Daniel smiled softly at the thought of Darren, he could picture him as they spoke, the dazzling colour of his eyes, the full lips, the sensitive fingers, the body he knew as well as he knew his own. He ached to feel Darrens touch, to see his face, to be there with him instead of having this distance between them.
"Daniel…..." Darrens voice was soft, hesitant "Danny, this is only about Savage Garden isn’t it, I mean, we’re still…………." His voice trailed off and Daniel was quick to reassure him.
"Darren , do you still love me?" he asked teasingly and Darren let out the breath he had been holding.
"Of course I do" he replied
"And I love you - does that answer you" Daniel smiled "So, when are you coming to Sydney for this clip?"
Darren sat down on the soft sand at the edge of the beach, his grip on the phone loosening as his body relaxed. He hadn’t realised until then how scared he had been of losing Daniel over this. His soul mate, the other half of him. "Daniel, I miss you, I was so scared when this came out…….I thought I’d lost you, I can’t believe I was so stupid"
"If you lost me every time you were stupid we’d have lasted about 5 minutes" he heard Darren laugh and grinned, knowing the crisis was over. Lowering his voice he spoke again "And when you get back to Sydney I’m going to show you just how much I have missed you"
Darren felt a delicious shiver go up his spine as Daniel proceeded to tell him exactly how he was going to do that………………………………