Summer Heat [Yaoi]

[Colorful Catharsis]

A hangover? Yes...that would do. How long could he pull that though? How long could he lie? Thomas did his best to return the smile, though his eyes didn't carry the expression. He knew he'd need to fix this...and soon.

"... It's something else... isn't it...?" Cid asked hesitantly, clutching his shirt tightly within his strong hands. He gulped, but gazed directly into Thomas's eyes, as if demanding a straight, honest answer, even if it wasn't one he liked.

Thomas looked up, eyes wide. Cid had caught on. "I-I....Cid..." he couldn't find his train of thought. "I...dammit..." he had to say something. "Cid, I'm a fucking drunk." he dinally blurted out, with little to no finesse.

Cid sighed. "I don't care, Thomas. Does that really excuse fucking with my head? Promising me things unobtainable just to get what you want? Saying you fucking LOVE me just for a midnight romp in the car?"

He couldn't drum up the effort to make himself sound angry. He just sounded... tired. The man silently pulled on his shirt and buttoned it up, steeling his face so that Thomas couldn't see the hurt he was secretly going through.

"Guess it's my fault..." he muttered quietly. "I spent all this time practically encouragin' ya. 'N foolin' myself t'think you were actually bein' serious. Not anymore, though." A pause. "Next time you just want someone to fool around with in one of your drunken escapades..." he continued afterwards, voice quivering slightly, "... call yourself a hooker or somethin'. I'm done with all these mind-games."

He exited the room, jaw clamped shut. The presents he'd picked up before visiting caught his eye before he left the door. "And also!" he called out. "I'm takin' these back!" He exited, slamming the door behind himself.

Moments later, the door swung open again. "Changed my mind. Keep 'em." The sound of the box of chocolates breaking open and the candies skidding on the ground. "I don't want 'em, anyway."

The man stormed out again, trampling his thirty-dollar bouquet in the process.

He was left in silence, but the blonde still felt as if everything was falling around him in a roar. He clutched his chest again, the stinging pain returning with full force. He flet himself shattering...breaking. He'd made a mistake, and a big one. How could he hurt Cid like this...? That kind of a man...how could he lie? He told him he loved him....and those words...they stung like fire on his skin. "Cid..." He needed to fix this. He knew he couldn't stand to have the mechanic mad at him...but...

Cid rushed home, undressed, got closely reacquainted with his couch and a few six-packs, and just sat there, drinking in his underwear with the curtains drawn and the house dark.

And silent.

But there were no tears.

Thomas stubborn pride didn't allow him to call the man...to try and make amends with the mechanic. No...instead he tried to grab his attention through other means. He couldn't leave this the way Cid had. Not after all he'd done to him He tried to get him at work, by calling him into the library for random repairs...anything he could find. He could never work up the grit to talk to him again.

[2Foxxie4U]

Dell spent a total of five days in his room, sulking and drinking, and watching TV.

One day, a Friday evening, he found himself unwillingly recalling a vivid memory - the time Thomas had blown him while driving. His heart filled with sick remorse, and bitter hints of betrayal, but his body reacted much differently.

It'd been so long since he'd felt warmth like that... Since he'd held someone, and pressed their willing body against his...

A slight, stifled moan as his member swelled, remembering the how tight... how warm... how slick...

Guiltily, he reached into his boxers and grasped the base of his cock, moaning once more. He bit his lower lip, eyes filling with tears as he satisfied himself. He felt like a dirty pervert, but he couldn't help himself.

I miss him...

A broken, heartbroken sigh.

I miss you...

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas continuously tortured himself over his choice. He was painfully alone...and he'd made up his mind far too late. He knew he needed the mechanic, but...

The man paced about in his apartment, looking for something...anything that might bring the man back. He'd tried to coax Dell back with the remnants of his clothing that he'd left behind at his apartment, only to receive a gruff reply of "I don't need 'em."

Until one day, at the last of the week, his pale eyes rested upon his AC unit. A simple, hidden device. Quiet thankfully. Thomas hated a noisy air conditioner. However that wasn't the point. The point was the plan that was weakly working in the blonde's head. Maybe...maybe this was the way he could get him back.

And unfortunately for the AC unit, Thomas was giving it a whirl. And a bang. And a straight beating. He quickly searched his house for anything to break the device and finally came across a baseball bat under his bed. He put a good swing into the air conditioning unit, first putting a sizable dent into it before it finally quit, sputtering it's last of cool air. Panting lightly the man stumbled back onto the couch behind him, picking up his cellphone and calling Dell's work. Maybe this way...

[2Foxxie4U]

Dell was huffing after his climax, wiping his eyes furiously. What was he doing? Sobbing like a little damn girl over this... Thomas was GONE. That was the past now, and now Thomas couldn't use him anymore. It was for the best.

He was just getting done with wiping himself clean, when the phone rang. He picked up and gave a weary, "Hello?"

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas felt his heart skip a beat. Why did hearing the man's voice do this to him? Why did Dell do this do him...?

"I-I..." he stuttered a moment, before quickly composing himself. "Dell...? I need a repair..." he said. He confidence was lost in his voice...no longer as robust as it used to be. He was sure Dell would hear it and become disinterested, but he wanted the man here...needed him here.

[2Foxxie4U]

"Hmpf..." came the soft reply. There was an icy silence, then a cold, "Are you drunk again?"

The contempt in his voice was tangible. It perfectly hid the hurt directly underneath.

[Colorful Catharsis]

That stung. That cold tone...it wasn't natural. It wasn't Dell.

"No. I'm not. I threw away all the alcohol in my apartment..." he responded. He didn't put any combative tone in his voice. This didn't call for it.

"Please...I know you don't want it like this so just...talk to me." he said, almost begging. And he would too. He would throw down his pride and get on his knees in front of the man if it meant he could have him back...

[2Foxxie4U]

A pause. Dell bit his lower lip, hesitating. "... I wish I could trust you again..." he murmured softly. "But at the very least I can let you talk... Just..." A sigh, then a firm, "No. More. Bullshit. You hear me?"

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas gasped softly, excited merely at being given a chance. He clutched the collar of his shirt nervously, cursing himself mentally for getting so worked up over something so simple.

"I hear you." he said quietly. "...I miss you." he immediately said afterword. It was a bad start, he knew he was. But he wanted Dell to know how he felt...

[2Foxxie4U]

"............."

Dell was silent, waiting for more than that. It'll take more than that, princess.

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas closed his eyes, laying down longways on the couch.

So you're going to make me do this.

"I was wrong. Stupid. Idiotic. Drunk...and insensitive." he said. He paused a moment. This reminded him of when he'd get into trouble with Savannah. He'd have to break down his pride...his walls and his vanity to earn her forgiveness. And even then, he'd still earn hard glares from the woman. How strange that Dell would remind him of such an occasion.

"I...used you. I said things I shouldn't have...and you have all the right in the world to be angry with me. But Dell..." he stopped, opening his eyes again to stare at the ceiling a moment before finishing.

"It hurts."

[2Foxxie4U]

"Thomas, get real," Dell sighed, a snarl contorting his friendly face. "You had a wife. You had a KID. And you NEVER showed any interest in me UNLESS you were drunk. YOU'RE NOT ATTRACTED TO ME. You never were, and you never will be - what are you trying to pull, huh?"

A pause. "Why are you DOING this? I want to know, Thomas." Hurt and mistrust laced his voice.

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas' expression hardened a moment.

"I'm not drunk now. I'm completely sober. I have been since..." he trailed off a moment. "Why would I call you sober if I wasn't interested?"

"And Don't bring my wife and child into this. Don't talk about things you don't know about Dell." Thomas responded, his tone sharp.

[2Foxxie4U]

A sigh. "I'm... sorry, Thomas... I just... don't know what you want from me. You're... you're straight. I don't... Thomas.... you..."

He trailed off, sounding lost and forlorn, almost like a child. In order to keep quiet, he began biting on his knuckle, trying to focus on the physical pain instead of the emotional.

[Colorful Catharsis]

"What does it matter what I am if I care about you? If it hurts when I know you're angry with me...?" he asked, biting his lip a moment. This was baring his heart now...this seemed dangerous...

"I...she's..." his voice shook a moment...broke his smooth tenor and threatened to shake free of the man's control. "Savannah...is gone...what's important now is you." Thomas swallowed harshly, trying to push down tears. He couldn't do it like this....

"Dell...please...just come over. I need someone to fix this fucking air conditioner anyway. I can't talk like this..."

[2Foxxie4U]

"I... I probably... shouldn't..."

A very, very long pause.

"A....Alright.... I'll come over.... Take a look... alright? And.... Maybe we can talk..." There was a feeble note of hope of in his voice. He very much wanted to believe Thomas, even if his mind told him it was a very bad idea.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas clicked the phone shut abruptly and sat up on the couch quietly, the baseball bat still in hand. It was going to look stupid. But he didn't care. He just wanted to see the mechanic again...maybe fix things. At the very least, he didn't want Dell to hate him. He at least wanted his forgiveness.

The blonde quietly waited for Dell to get to his home, waiting for a smile from the man, if even meek and untrue. He just didn't want to see scorn on his eyes when he got there...

[2Foxxie4U]

He waited all night, but Dell never came. Nor did he pick up whenever Thomas tried to contact him by phone.

It seemed he'd had a change of heart, and simply didn't want to hear from Thomas any longer.

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas waited impatiently...quietly. When an hour had passed, he tried to call...no answer. It continued this way for at least a few more hours. Perhaps he got held up...? Or maybe...

Maybe he was getting the blonde back for what he'd done...? Maybe he'd lead him on as well...let him hurt and wait for something that was never going to be his...? He couldn't answer now...not when he was nodding off, waiting for the man.

[2Foxxie4U]

Suddenly, his phone started ringing, jarring him awake. The caller ID said that it was Dell's cell phone.

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas jumped slightly, nearly falling off the couch as a result. He shook his head a moment, trying to wake himself completely before answering.

"Nn...Hello..?" he asked over the line.

[2Foxxie4U]

"Hello?" a strange voice asked. "Is this... Er..." A pause. "Thomas G.? This is doctor Hill from the Kurian Hospital. How are you today, sir?"

The hospital was the nearest one - about 4 miles away from Thomas's house.

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas sat up. He knew Kurian, he usually got his prescriptions there...but....why were they calling him this late?

"...I'm fine..." he answered carefully, as if the wrong tone would give him news he didn't want.

[2Foxxie4U]

"Recently, your colleague Dell Conagher was hospitalized in a hit and run on highway 74. He isn't critically injured, but he... well, he requested that I call you as soon as he came to his senses. Do you think you could come by tomorrow afternoon?"

[Colorful Catharsis]

Thomas felt breath leave him. Felt his body shiver with dread and his eyes widen in horror. No. Not that.

"No, I'm coming now." he said, almost in monotone, though he clutched the phone so harshly his knuckles turned white.

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