Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:50:10 +0000
From: Mike Pryor <writerguy85@hotmail.co.uk>
Subject: Ascendancy

	Streets away, ambulances and the police all surround a car that's been
badly smashed up. Two cars, one on either side of the road, a blue Volvo on
the far side, a black Nissan Micra on the near side. The black Nissan being
the worst off of the two...

	Nathan stirs in bed, a strange feeling looming over him like he was being
watched. Which he was. He takes a second to collect himself and rub his eyes
before he looks at the doorway and sees him stood there, he looks different
this morning, but that's probably just the drowsiness Nathan thinks to
himself.
	"I thought you'd left?" Nathan says, flopping his head back onto the
pillow.
	"Couldn't leave without saying goodbye..." comes the reply.
Caleb walks slowly over to the edge of the bed, and looks down at Nathan in
wonderment. So handsome, even when he'd just woken up.
	"So are you leaving then?" Nathan says, feeling that Caleb wasn't going to
continue.
	"Not just yet. I have a few minutes left before I have to go."
Caleb reaches down and is just about to run his finger down the cheek of
Nathan when he stops himself, recomposing himself quickly, he walks over to
the window and looks down at the deserted street below.
	"Why don't you lie with me for a few minutes until you have to go?" Nathan
says after a few seconds pass.
	"Because I'd probably fall asleep."
Turning over in bed to look at Caleb stood at the window, the slightest
feeling of deja vu coming over him, he'd been in the exact same place last
night.

Last Night.

	Caleb sat on the edge of the bed, the strewn up bed which had yet to be
slept in so far tonight even though it was well after two in the morning.
His thoughts were racing and his emotions had run on empty for most of the
evening after the argument he had had, which was finally over.
He raises his head and looks at the lone figure stood at the window, looking
out into the darkness through the rain streaked window, the light and
shadows playing upon his naked skin making him look even more magnificent to
Caleb's lustful eyes.

The room was almost dark except for the light from the window, from some
streetlamp just outside, hard to even believe they could have had an
argument in there, but they had. The tensions between them were building
more and more recently, and the arguments were following, funny really, that
in the last two years previous to the last three months they had only had
one real bust up, and now they seemed to be a weekly thing.

	Moving from the bed he stands behind the figure at the window, admiring his
back, his tousled hair, his baggy black boxers.
Nathan.
	A picture of perfection, reaching his hands out he takes him by his hips
just above the waistband of his boxers, holding his perfect skin, pulling
himself into this boy wonder.
Pressing himself hard into Nathan's back, Nathan feeling the warmth of the
hot flesh pressing against his bare back.
Nathan leans his head back slightly as he feels Caleb's chin on his left
shoulder, his cheek rubbing against Caleb's, who moves his hands from
Nathan's hips round his stomach and clasps them together just under his
navel.
	"I'm sorry," Caleb says in no more than a whisper into Nathan's ear.
Nathan lets out a deep breath.
	"You've nothing to be sorry for," Nathan says as he looks at the reflection
of them both in the black glass that acts more as a mirror than a window.
	"So are we all right?" Caleb looks at Nathan in the reflection, his eyes
looking tired and drawn, Caleb wanting nothing more than to just lay down
with him and let him fall asleep in his embrace.
	"Yeah, we're good," Nathan answers, even his voice sounded weak from over
exhaustion.
Taking Nathan by the hand, Caleb leads him over to the bed and crawls under
the sheets with him, again holding him from behind, their bodies tight
together and Caleb's left arm over Nathan's body with Nathan clasping the
back of his hand with his left hand.
	"Night, Cal," Nathan whispers as he closes his eyes and relaxes his body
into Caleb's warm, loving hug.
	"Night, sweet prince," Caleb whispers back and kisses Nathan's cheek.
Caleb lay awake for a few minutes listening to Nathan's deep breaths as he
sleeps peacefully.

Now.

	"Are you okay?" Nathan says, Caleb had never really been one for mindless
chatter but even now he seemed a little too quiet.
	"I'm fine. Just thinking."
	"Thinking about what?" Nathan asks, sitting up in bed and resting his head
against the wall.
	"About the first time we made love."

Nathan had thought about that a lot too lately - great minds think alike, or
whatever...
It had been nearly a year ago now but he remembered how scared he had been,
but how reassuring Caleb had been. He remembered how patient Caleb had been
with him, even after he had made Caleb wait nearly a year into their
relationship before he had let Caleb take him to bed passionately.
Caleb was a great guy, but lately everything had been going wrong. The
arguments had been pointless.

	"Do you remember how nervous I was?" Nathan chortles.
	"Christ, yeah," Caleb responds. "But to tell you the truth...I would've
waited forever for you."

Last Night.

	Caleb listens intently as Nathan breathes softly as he sleeps. Sweet Nate,
his pet name that Caleb had given him, everyone else had come to call him
Nathe, but to Caleb that sounded...well it didn't sound right. Although Nathan
wasn't even his full name, only a select few people knew that, Caleb
included...Nathaniel, but even to Caleb that had its own sexiness to it.

He moves from the bed slowly, having to free his hand from Nate's grip in
the process. Sitting himself at Nathan's desk, after he had plugged the
headphones into the hi-fi and put his CD of choice in.
The song made him feel sad, then again knowing that his time with Nate was
nearly up made him sad also, he could feel the end coming, the arguments and
the fact that they hardly had anything new to say to one another were big
giveaways.

	The words to the song had more meaning tonight, he wrote the letter he was
going to leave for Nathan letting his tears fall onto the page. Could this
really be the end, he hoped not, but if it were...well he had written down his
feelings for Nate, just in case he didn't get a chance to tell him.

Now.


	"Well...I have to go," Caleb says somewhat solemnly. "I'll see you soon."
	"Yeah, see ya," Nathan tags on.
Caleb stands in the doorway and turns, just about to say something but he
doesn't, then mutters under his breath, "I love you," then leaves.
	"Goodbye," Nathan shouts after him, but gets no reply.
The room stays in silence, an eerie silence that sends a shiver through
Nathan as he sits himself at the end of the bed.
He rubs his eyes again, then for the first time notices the piece of paper
on his desk...he'll read that later.

He looks over and through the sheets of his bed to find the remote control
to his hi-fi, clicking it on, to whatever had been last listened to on CD
the night before, the sound distant thanks to the headphones that were still
plugged in.
Nathan goes over and unplugs them, the music suddenly very loud. Opening the
piece of paper, the ink almost unreadable thanks to the tears, only words
like: I; miss; love; promise and forever, visible.

(The Click Five - Baby Just Say Goodnight, re-repeats itself once more on
the hi-fi.)

A few streets away, the paramedics pull a body from the Black Nissan, oddly
familiar too...
But it couldn't be?
Caleb...

		The End.


All comments and criticism welcome - email: writerguy85@hotmail.co.uk