Chapter Fourteen
Author: Keishi
BIG FAT WARNING:
Contains m/m relationships
ONLY read if you are of age and open-minded!!
"No!" Drayne pulled himself out of Gade's arms, turning to look at the stunned brunet. "No, please Gade, don't."
Gade looked incredulous. "You don't even know what I'm going to say."
Drayne shook his head. "Please, don't say it, not until you hear what I have to say."
Gade's gaze faltered. "D, you're not making any sense."
Carly was silent in the front of the car, but Gade could feel her quiet gaze on him. He shut his eyes, confusion and hurt etching his face.
"Gade..."
Drayne's hand burned like fire down his forearm, but he resisted jerking away. He craved Drayne's touch so much; wanted it, needed it, like he needed the air in his lungs. "Tell me then."
Drayne smiled softly. "Can we wait until we get to Chasey's?" He prided himself on the fact that his voice wavered only a little.
Gade opened his eyes, focused them on Drayne's soft grey ones. He wanted desperately to kiss him, watch that pliant mouth kiss him back. He wondered briefly what flavor Drayne's tongue was. It made his own mouth slacken.
"Gade?" Drayne's voice was soft, questioning. Gade realized he had been staring at Drayne, bending his head down to kiss him. His cell phone buzzing in his pocket again brought him back to reality. He quickly kissed Drayne's forehead before pulling back and answering his phone.
"Yeah?"
"Gadrien McKay, where is my son?"
Gade cringed at the full name. "Mr. Sigvasson?"
An impatient sigh. "Do you have any idea what time it is? I want to talk to my son, Gadrien."
"How do you know he's with me?"
"Look, I have no time for games. I know he's with you, because he's always with you, you little heathen. Now please hand the phone over to David."
Scowling at the phone, Gade shoved it at Drayne. "It's your loving father," he murmured balefully. Drayne's face lost all color.
"Hello?"
"David, do you have any idea how worried your mother and I have been? It's two o'clock in the morning, and you're out gallivanting around with God-knows-who, doing God-knows-what!"
Drayne took a breath. "I've just been out with Will and--"
"That-- that faggot? I'm right, aren't I? I saw him kiss that black-haired kid the other day in front of the house. I forbid you to see that young man ever again."
Drayne squeezed his eyes shut. "Father--"
"Don't 'Father' me! That isn't going to get you out of trouble, young man! Do you hear me? You're grounded for three months." A snort. "Calling me Father isn't going to get you any sympathy from me."
Suddenly, Drayne veins boiled in anger. He gripped the phone hard, lips curling back into a snarl. "I don't expect any sympathy from you, 'Father,' because I know I'll never get it. Because I know the truth!" Tears leaked hotly out of his eyes, and Drayne barely registered Gade's hand wiping them away. "I know I'm not your son!"
Silence reigned for a moment. "David, please listen--"
"No. You listen, you goddamned homophobe! You've made my life miserable! All I ever wanted as a child was your love; I strived for it every day, thinking I could win it through perfect grades, being the perfect son. And all the time I knew, but I refused to believe it. Elena was the only one you ever loved, wasn't she?!" He was crying openly now. "You could never love me, and now I've made sure you never will!"
"David, what are you talking about?"
Drayne laughed, the taste of it bitter in his throat. "Congratulations, 'Dad,' you've raised a faggot. How does that make you feel?"
"David!!"
"'David!!'" Drayne mocked, grinning crazily. His gaze locked on Gade's bewildered face, and apologized for his next words with his eyes, voice growing quiet. "How does it make you feel, 'Father,' to know that the child you raised to be an upstanding gentleman almost sucked some stranger's dick tonight? Give mother my love."
He heard an enraged yell from the phone's speaker as he pulled it away from his ear, but he shut it off without a word. He stared down at his lap, not wanting to meet Gade's eyes because he was afraid of what he'd see there. Everything was officially out on the table.
A light cough brought both guys to look toward the driver's seat. "We're here," Carly said, smiling weakly.
--
A knock on the door brought Drayne out of his stupor. He was kneeling in the Thomasen's bathtub, stripped to the waist and huddling himself. "Come in," he said softly.
The door opened, revealing a sheepish Will. "You okay?"
Drayne smiled ruefully, watching his toes. "Hmm, let's see. I almost fucked some stranger tonight, got mugged, and most likely got thrown out of my own house. Sadly enough, the only thing that's pissing me off is that I probably won't be able to get my Ziggy Stardust poster from my room." He looked up at Will, and gasped. "What the hell happened?"
"What?" Will held a hand to his face. "Oh, this? A gift from Gade," he chuckled, gingerly touching his black eye. "Now, don't go getting pissed at him," he added when he saw Drayne's expression darken. "I only got what I deserved." He leaned down and kissed Drayne on the top of the head. "He'll be here in a minute; I asked for a bit of alone time with you first." He walked to the door and opened it.
"Will," Drayne said, making Will pause. He looked up at him earnestly. "You're a good friend."
Will smiled sadly. "Don't exactly feel like one right now. Glad you think so."
"I'm not the only one."
Will cocked an eyebrow.
Drayne smiled brightly up at him. "There's a certain Tinkerbell-tattooed guy out there waiting for you to make him very, very happy."
Will shook his head, his smile fading. Drayne could see the raw pain in his eyes. "That's more complicated than you know."
Drayne sighed, turning his head to the side. "Tell you what. If I allow myself to finally love and be loved, then you have to do the same. It's all the same pain, Will. Trust me."
Will's mouth quirked up. "Maybe, kid. Maybe." With one last attempt at a grin, he left Drayne to his solitude.
Another couple of minutes passed before the door opened again. Drayne looked up from his quiet contemplation of his ankles to Gade's green eyes. They never quite failed to make him fall in love with him all over again. "Hey."
"Hey," Gade smiled in response, carrying in a first-aid kit and kneeling behind Drayne in the bathtub. His own feet were bare, and his cold toes wriggled against Drayne's heels, making him laugh and shiver at the same time.
"Sorry," Gade grinned as he began to lightly clean the scrapes on Drayne's lower back with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.
"Fuck, that hurts worse than the bruises!" Drayne yelped a bit at the stinging pain. Gade just chuckled as he bandaged the cuts.
"Do you think I need to bind your ribs or anything?" he asked softly, his fingertips running down Drayne's spine, careful to avoid the bandages.
Drayne shook his head, shivering at Gade's touch. "No, I'll be okay. They're just..." he looked up at Gade as the larger boy shifted, sitting next to him on the tub's edge. "...bruised." His mouth slackened involuntarily.
Gade leaned forward, drawing Drayne into a lax hug, not wanting to hurt him any further. "I'm so glad you're okay, man," he murmured into his shoulder, his loose hair tumbling across Drayne's skin and making him arch slightly. Drayne closed his eyes and circled his own arms around Gade's broader shoulders. The combined feel of rough cotton, warm skin and the tickling sensation of Gade's hair made Drayne heady. He began to rub circles into Gade's back, drawing his hands lower and lower.
Gade pulled away slightly to look into Drayne's eyes. They were a hazy silver, gold where they reflected the low bathroom light. Pressing Drayne to him a bit more firmly, his mouth hovered over the raven-headed boy's parted lips. "I want you to know," he said huskily, "that no matter what, I'll always be here." He smoothed back Drayne's bangs. "You can tell me anything."
Drayne's eyes lifted from Gade's mouth to his eyes. The green was startlingly clear. "You lie," he breathed softly. Gade's head quirked a bit to the side in confusion. "I can't tell you that you love me." Gade's eyes widened, but Drayne pressed on. "You have to do that yourself." Before he could respond, Drayne pressed his mouth to Gade's in what he intended to be a brief, if heated, kiss. He had waited too long for this opportunity to pass it up.
The simple kiss exploded into something much more than either had thought possible. There, in Chasey's bathroom with the cracked tile and peeling wallpaper, Gade's love was spoken without a word. Clinging to one another the pair kissed, long and deep and slow. Their lips moved, open-mouthed, against one another as Drayne linked his arms around Gade's neck, drawing them closer. He found himself cradled in Gade's lap, their perch precarious on the edge of the tub. His fingers ran through thick, silky hair as his heart pounded in time with Gade's own.
Breaking off the kiss, Drayne tipped his face up to look at Gade heavy-lidded. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?" His breathing was labored.
At a complete loss for words, Gade shook his head. He held Drayne close to him, hands running over his bare back, luxuriating in the feel of the smooth skin. He winced at how prominent his shoulder blades stuck out, realizing how thin Drayne was for the very first time.
"Four years..." Trailing off, Drayne captured Gade's mouth again, velvety tongues brushing against each other, Drayne's lip ring pressed between their lips. Gade's eyes closed slowly, as he allowed himself to just feel. "Four agonizing years I've been afraid of loving you."
Gade's lips grazed Drayne's lightly. "Don't be," was all he said. He noted with surprise that Drayne tasted like nothing he'd ever experienced before. Deepening the kiss, he decided that the flavor of Drayne was fast becoming his favorite.
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