Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 12:42:53 -0500
From: rye encoke <rye_encoke@hotmail.com>
Subject: Mark-and-Rye-03

This story is about male/male relationships and may contain
graphic descriptions of sexual acts between consenting adults.
If it is illegal for you to read this story due to your age
or residence please stop now.

This is a work of fiction.  It may use names of real locations,
places and/or people but only to make the story more accessible to
its readers.  The use of these names in no way implies or is meant
to imply anything about the sexuality, personality or behaviour of
the actual person named.  Please be clear here - THIS IS A WORK OF
FICTION.

This story is the sole property of its author and may not be
copied in whole or in part or posted on any website without
the express written consent of the author.  The author wishes
to acknowledge and thank the archivist for Nifty for allowing
this story to be published here.

Questions/commentary can be sent to "rye_encoke@hotmail.com"
Criticism, both good and bad are appreciated, rants and hate
mail are forwarded to the senders email provider and deleted.

Authors Notes: Sorry no sex yet, it's coming though, chapter 6.
I should let you all know right now, this story is sappy, and
romantic.  It's meant to make you cry.  It's also a fairy tale
ending.  Nobody is gonna die, although there may be some hardships
along the way.  The sex once we get into it should be hot enough
for those of you who like sex in their stories.

- The Gangs All Here -

Rye came down from a set of steps at one end of the loft carrying
a handful of towels and clothes.  He himself was now in a pair of
sleep pants and a t-shirt.  He wordlessly handed out towels, sweat
pants and t-shirts to the men now standing in his home.  Jill took
off up the same stairs Rye had come down.  The men stared blankly
at each other as Rye headed towards an area of the loft that was
obviously the kitchen.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Bryan started taking off his wet
clothes and dropping them on the floor.  The others soon followed
his lead and in a minute they are all standing there in Rye's
clothes with their own wet clothes in piles on the floor with the
wet towels.

Jill came down the steps in her own set of Rye's sweats and a big
sweatshirt.  She looked at them all standing there and a smile
crossed her face.  She shook her head and pointed to a nearby
door.  "Laundry room is there, throw it all in the dryer.  Looks
like Rye has decided you are all spending the night."  She headed
into the kitchen and came back in a minute with a tray of hot
drinks, followed closely by Rye who was carrying a tray of food.

The guys all joined the two as they set everything up on one of
the tables in the main area and take their seats.  The drinks are
some kind of alcoholic coffee drink and the food is cheese, meats
and bread.  Wordlessly the six people sit and drink, looking out
the huge glass wall onto the park.

The rain had almost stopped but there were still the occasional
flashes of lightning.

Everyone jumped as Mark cleared his throat behind them.  Suddenly
all four guys jumped up and surrounded Mark in an embrace.

"I'm so sorry," Kian is crying again.

"You scared me so much. I thought I might lose you," Shane also
was crying.

"It was a stupid mistake, we love you," Bryan kept saying over
over.

"It's all our fault, please forgive us," Nicky mumbled, seeming to
be afraid to even ask for forgiveness for what they had done.

Mark was overwhelmed and was crying again.  "I'm okay.  Rye told
me what happened and proved it to me.  I should have known better.
If I had just stayed longer none of this would have happened."

"We shouldn't have been doing worse case without you," Shane
stated.

"No we shouldn't have.  Please forgive us." It was Nicky asking
for forgiveness again.

"I forgive you if you forgive me okay," Mark smiled.

Rye's breath caught as he saw the smile.  Nobody else noticed
except Jill who sat beside him.

The group was in a huddle now, comforting each other and taking
the time to re-establish their bond.  When they broke up they all
looked at the two outsiders who sat side by side on a nearby
couch.  Then they all smiled and got in line to hug Jill and then
Rye.

As Kian hugged Jill she murmured into his ear, "Now watch the two
of them."  Kian recalled their earlier conversation as he moved on
to hug Rye.

Kian saw that Mark was holding back and so as the others finished
their hugs he quickly whispered into their ears to watch the faces
of Mark and Rye.

Finally Mark came up to Jill.  "Hi, I'm Mark, I'm the freak show
for the night."

Jill giggled and hugged him warmly holding him for much longer
than she held the others and whispered something in his ear.  His
eyes went wide at whatever she had said but smiled at her as they
broke the embrace.  She moved to sit down next to Kian.

All eyes were on them as Mark stepped towards Rye.

"Thank you Rye for saving me tonight."

"I didn't save you.  I just got you in from the rain and dried
off."

Mark shook his head as tears started to flow again.  "No you saved
me, you just didn't know it.  I had been thinking about killing
myself and had just decided to go and buy some pills to do it
with."

Shane's heart broke at those words.  He thought he might be sick.
He felt the blood leave his face and he felt like someone had
punched him in the chest.  Tears started falling from his eyes,
and though he didn't know it at the time, everyone else in the
room was crying as well.  Mark spoke again, and he spoke directly
to Rye.

"I thought nobody cared about me.  I wasn't thinking right.  I
hurt so much I just wanted it all to stop.  And then someone sat
down beside me and spoke to me.  And the voice was so full of
love and caring, and it seemed to just wrap around me and I
could feel your voice inside me.  I thought you were an angel at
first."  Nobody noticed Jill as she nodded her head in agreement.
"And suddenly I was alright.  You knew my name and were telling me
it was all a mistake and that my friends still loved me and were
worried about me.  And I believed you.  Without questioning you at
all I believed you.  And you told me you could prove it if I just
came with you.  And I wanted to say you didn't need to prove it
because I believed you already but I wanted to go with you so I
said okay."

Mark paused a long time then finally said, "So you see.... you
saved me."

Rye stood there in front of the man that he now knew he loved and
finally, very gently embraced him and held him close as Mark
finally broke down into those deep cleansing sobs.  Neither of
them noticed the tear streaked, but smiling, faces of the five
people sitting behind them.

Finally they stepped apart and Rye sat down on the couch.  Mark
looked at his friends seated around the table and sat down next
to Rye and, probably without even thinking about it, snuggled in
close to Rye who, also without thinking, wrapped his arm around
the shoulders of the man and pulled him closer.  Five sets of
eyes all saw what Jill had promised they would see.  The fates or
God or someone had brought these two together, through hell and
back, but these two souls were joined in a way that went beyond
explanation and woe to the person who would try to separate them.

As if to punctuate the point, there was a flash of lightning that
illuminated the whole room leaving bright spots in front of
everyone's eyes, and a long rolling thunder that shook the room.
Then the rain stopped.

Finally Bryan broke the silence, "God what a night."

Everyone laughed nervously, but the mood was broken and people
started to drink and eat.  They chatted about nothing.  Making
small talk for a while.  Finally Shane asked a question.

"Rye, how did you know Mark had left and was upset?"

Rye smiled and moved to the bank of monitors, rewinding the tape.
They all watched as the scene unfolded in front of them.  This
time though, it was 6 sets of eyes that saw Rye's breakdown.  Rye
however had missed it again as he had returned to the kitchen to
get more of the coffee drink.

Noticing all eyes on him as he returned, he smiled and showed the
coffee.  "You guys still have stuff to discuss right?  Thought
something warm and slightly alcholic would be needed."

Everyone nodded, realizing that Rye seemed unaware of what they
had all seen.  Mark had an odd look in his eyes as he once again
reclaimed his place in Rye's arms.

The others refilled plates and cups and Shane said, "Okay Mark my
love, its your show til its ours"

Mark smiled again and this time the expression on Rye's face as he
saw Mark's smile could be seen by everyone and was without a doubt
a look of love.  Shanes heart pounded but not from fear, this time
it was from excitement at the look of love clearly visible in Rye's
eyes.  He saw the hope and longing in Rye's face and knew, he just
knew, that everything was going to be alright.

"Okay," Mark began, "I guess everyone had it all figured out long
ago but I haven't actually said it yet.  I'm gay."  He waited.

Finally with a big grin on his face Nicky said, "Well I would
suggest worse case but we already did that and I don't think any
of us mentioned the possibility of you running away and killing
yourself.  I guess we don't really do that game as good as we
thought.  So lets just get to the part you missed."  He reached
for his coffee cup and raised it.

All five of the boys raised their glasses, and Shane spoke,  "No
matter what happens we are together, if that means giving up
everything else to be with you, I would do it in a second.  You
mean more than my own life Mark, you are my best friend and my
brother"

Then to everyone's surprise he looked right at Rye and said, "You
are one of us now, please join us in our toast."  Rye smiled shyly
and raised his glass as Shane nodded at Jill, "You too."  Jill
blushed but also raised her glass.

"To us," Shane intoned.

Everyone followed suit and then drank.

After a minute or two of silence Kian spoke up, "I'm sorry but
this night has been exhausting.  Are we staying here Rye?"

"Yes, most of these couches pull into beds.  There's lots of room.
I'll grab bedding."  Rye headed back up the stairs to grab pillows
and sheets.

"Jill?" Bryan looked at her questioningly, "What's with all the
couches and chairs?"

Jill just burst into hysterics as the night took its toll on her
emotions.

Within moments everyone was laughing, letting the night drain away
from them.  Rye came to the balcony and looked down at them.
"What are y'all laughing at?"

Jill looked up at him and in between giggles said "Chairs" and
"So many" and "freak".

Rye looked at them all as if they were insane which just made them
laugh harder.  He started lobbing pillows and sheets onto the
giggling mass of bodies on the floor.

"I don't suppose anyone called security to let them know where you
guys are?"

"Shite." Shane sobered up immediately.

"Shane you gotta learn another curse," Rye replied from somewhere
upstairs, but was ignored as Shane was already on the phone
explaining that they were okay and staying at a friends.

"Rye?" Shane shouted up.

"Yeah?"

"How long we staying for?"

"How long you got?"

"10 days til we leave for the last part of tour."

"Then my guess is you're staying ten days."

"Right," Shane yelled back and then spoke into the phone before
hanging up.  The guys all just sorta looked at each other after
this exchange, confused at Shane's behaviour with Rye.

The others had been busy pulling open couches and making beds.
Jill pointed out bathroom and kitchen.  "I have a room upstairs."

"You live here?" Kian asked.

"No, but I stay over lots so he just gave me a room upstairs next
to his."  Everyone nodded as they started to settle in.  "Guys?"

Five sets of eyes focused on her.

"Rye is a great guy," she said then looked right at Mark, "And he
loves Mark."

"We know that Jill, we all saw it tonight just like you said we
would," Kian spoke but looked at Shane then looked back at Jill,
"Please understand why I say this though okay?"

She nodded at Kian.

"We still have to be careful.  Tonight was emotional but when the
emotion is gone we have to be practical.  Do you understand?"

Jill's eyes narrowed a bit as if she was angry, but then she
looked into Mark's eyes and saw a look of hope mingled with fear
and she softened.  She glanced up at the balcony where Rye's
bedroom was and leaned in and whispered to the group.  "Tell me
what you need to know and I will help you get it if I can."

They all smiled at her, knowing she meant it.  Everyone nodded
and lay down as Jill got the lights.

"Night guys."

Five sleepy voices all responded.

After the first few minutes of silence Bryan's voice could be
clearly heard in the darkness "Chairs".

There was a burst of laughter and then Shane squeaked out amidst
the laughter "So many."

The group was in hysterics again until finally someone, it wasn't
clear which one, whimpered out "Freak".  The laughter went on for
about a half hour.  Just as everyone would start to calm down
one of them would say "chairs" again and start the whole thing
over.

Up in his bedroom Rye himself was laughing, in fact he had the
pillow over his head so that nobody would hear him laughing.  He
didn't want to be caught laughing over a joke about him.  It was
just so damn funny.  Eventually sleep overtook the men downstairs
and was creeping towards Rye.

Suddenly he sensed movement and saw Mark at the top of the stairs
looking around.  "Over here," he called softly.

Mark came over and stood beside Rye's bed.  Without a word Rye
pulled back the covers in invitation.  Mark smiled.  Rye knew he
smiled even though in the dark he couldn't see it and he felt his
entire body blush.  Mark climbed in beside Rye and snuggled close.

"Rye?" Mark whispered.

"Mmm?'

"I think I love you."

"You think?"

A pause.  "I love you."

"I love you too.  Let's sleep now my love"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me, for giving me my friends back, for loving me."

"I would do anything for you Mark, just no more tonight okay, I am
exhausted."

Mark giggled softly and leaned forward and gently kissed Rye's
lips.  Rye returned the kiss and then they both fell asleep
wrapped up in each others arms.

- Rye's and Shine -

Jill was up and sneaking past Rye's bedroom.  Calling it a bedroom
was kind of deceiving, the upper part of the loft was really just
another floor with a great big divider down the center.  It hadn't
even always had the divider.  One section was used by Rye as his
bedroom, the other used by Jill on her frequent visits.  It was
all open and you were basically in Rye's bedroom once you hit the
top of the stairs.  So it was pretty easy for Jill to see Mark and
Rye snuggled together.  She just gazed at the two of them, smiling
happily.  She soon realized that Rye was awake and watching her
watching him.  He smiled and placed his head back down on the
pillow, Mark snuggled against him again.  Jill stayed watching the
two of them for several minutes.

Jill headed downstairs and noticed the sun shining in.  She hit
the button for the shades and the glass wall slowly dimmed as
tinted glass rolled down.

"That's cool," Bryan whispered.

"Sorry didn't mean to wake you," Jill whispered back.

"Didn't, we are all awake I think, just not sure what to do until
you or Rye got up."

"Oh," Jill smiled in what can only be described as a devilish
manner, "Wanta see something cute?"

Four heads turn towards her then everyone climbed out.

"Hey where's Mark," Nicky said a little louder than whisper mode.

"SHHHH," Jill put her finger to her lips and led them up the
stairs.

All four guys and Jill stood there and looked at the two men
cuddled together.  All five of them had silly grins on their faces,
like they had just discovered a basket full of kittens.

It didn't take long for both Rye and Mark to realize something was
odd, even sleeping you can't help but feel five sets of eyes on
you.  They woke at the same time, gazing into each others eyes.
They moved to kiss when a sudden giggle brought their eyes to the
top of the stairs and the group of peeping toms.

"Don't let us stop you," giggled Bryan.

"We won't," Mark giggled back, and he didn't, he turned right back
around to Rye and kissed him tenderly on the mouth.

"Alright guys, enough of this, let's leave these two to get rid
of any incriminating evidence and go make us all some breakfast,"
Jill said with her best big sister voice.

Rye chuckled and looked at Mark who had a slightly confused look
on his face.

"Incriminating evidence?" Mark asked.

Rye smiled and moved his hand to gently brush Marks erection
beneath the covers.  Mark closed his eyes and moaned softly.  Rye
moved his hand up and under Mark's shirt and gently kissed his
neck.  He saw the goosebumps break out all over Mark's skin.  He
was pleased, and aroused, at the effect he was having on Mark but
also was a little unsure if he should continue.

An embarrassed cough from the top of the stairs made him stop,
although he kept his hand under Mark's t-shirt gently rubbing
his nipple.  They both turned to see Shane still standing there
in sweats and tee.

"Um, I don't want to interrupt, but before anything goes too far,
maybe I could talk to you."

"Sure," Rye said as he got out of bed, "Just give me a sec to
clear out."

"No, both of you I mean," Shane said stopping Rye.

Rye sat back down in bed and Shane came over and sat next to Mark.
Taking Mark's hand in his own he looked at his friend.

"This is hard to say, but please hear me out okay.  Listen to all
I have to say and believe me when I say that as much as I know
this has to be said, it kills me to say it."

Mark gulped audibly but nodded.

Shane looked at Rye.  Oddly Rye smiled encouragingly at Shane and
nodded as well.

"Okay.  First off I think Rye is a great guy.  But we have known
him for less than a day.  Last night emotions were raw and open.
You thought you had lost your four best friends.  And then an
absolutely beautiful man comes and saves you.  And then he gives
you your friends back.  And he is gay too.  And you may think you
are in love with him, but maybe its not real.  Maybe its just the
whole situation.  I think that we should all take the next ten
days we have and get to know each other.  I think that sex right
now would be a mistake.  There are still too many emotions flying
around that could confuse things."  Shane finished what he was
saying and looked like he was expecting to be hit.  He hoped he
had not just lost his friend after so nearly losing him last
night.  Amazingly it was Rye's voice he heard next.

"Shane is right," Rye breathed quietly.

"What?" Mark asked.  He seemed on the verge of a breakdown again.

"It's true Mark."  Rye placed his hand on Mark's chest and rubbed
his hand gently across his t-shirt.  He leaned in close, nuzzling
Marks neck and said softly,  "Look at you, you are on the edge of
hysterics again.  This is going way too fast.  We have to slow
down.  Not stop just slow down."

"You don't want me?"  Mark choked out, he sounded so small at
those words, and Shane swallowed hard around a sudden lump in his
throat as tears threatened.

"I want you more than anything I have ever wanted before.  But we
both have to know that it's real.  We have ten days together, with
Jill and the guys helping us to figure it out.  We can still kiss
and hold hands and cuddle," he brought Mark's hands to his lips and
gently kissed them, "but not alone.  We need our friends to make
sure we know what's real and what's infatuation.  Also to keep us
in line when we are out in public.  I don't imagine we can be seen
to be a couple in public and we will need someone around to keep
an eye on us."

"Shite," Shane thought, "hadn't thought about that.  What are we
gonna tell management."  Looking at the two men in front of him he
smiled and thought, "Fuck management, we have ten days to figure
that out."

Mark finally looked into Rye's eyes. "Alright, I guess you are
right, both of you," he glanced at Shane and smiled shakily.

"Breakfast's ready," Jill's voice shouted up.

They all got out of bed.  The intense talk they had just had
killing any evidence that might have been present earlier.

As they walked down the stairs Mark commented, "Kinda dark, is it
gonna rain today?"

Rye chuckled again, and noticed as Mark shivered and goosebumps
appeared again, he loved that he could do that to him.  He hit the
button for the screens and watched Mark's face break into a smile
as the screens moved slowly up and let in the sun.

From the kitchen he heard Bryan's voice say, "That is so cool."
He smiled to himself and followed behind Shane and Mark as they
headed in to sit with the rest of the group.

Shane could not help thinking how right this all seemed, but also
felt guilty about what he had to do in the next few days.  He
hoped when it was over he still had Mark and Rye as friends.

...to be continued