Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 02:26:29 EDT
From: Double A
Subject: Raven Hair(36)

Disclaimer:

     After a hiatus of sorts, I am back with another story! Yay!
Anyway, due to personal problems, I've been unable/unwilling to write much
of anything for a long time. Here is a new story from me to you. For those
of you who know my style and enjoy it, you should really like this
one. Like I said, though, I haven't written anything for a while, so I may
be a bit rusty. For those who don't know my style, I tend to use a lot of
build-up and "storyline".  So, if you came on to find a story for a quick
jack-off, then this probably ain't for you. However, if you want to take
the time to read a beautiful tale of young love, then sit back, take a sip
from your glass of wine, and enjoy!

And remember...Always stand up for what you think is right, don't listen to
bullshit, no matter who is saying it, and always speak with your fists and
swear a lot to be heard!

******************

Part 36:

	As it turned out, gay marriage was not legal in Calgary. However,
it didn't mean that they couldn't live together, even though Alberta didn't
officially recognize gay common-law status either.

	The news was taken very well by David's mother. In fact, her actual
words were, "You're moving out? Well, that's good, because I would have
kicked you out sooner or later anyway."

	Aaron's father took it a lot less gracefully. He argued with Aaron,
telling him that he was wasting his life by leaving Cegep and that, if he
couldn't find a job in Calgary, he'd be on the streets. Aaron had become a
very reasonable and rational person over the years, but in this case, he
was adamant about wanting to follow his desire to move to Calgary with his
boyfriend and start a new life. It wasn't a very good time for either of
the two boys. Aaron didn't feel right going, unless he could leave on good
terms with his family, and David didn't know what he would do if Aaron
couldn't go. He could go himself, he guessed, but David didn't think he had
the drive to succeed in such a new environment, unless he had Aaron beside
him.

	Several very tense weeks went by, and David wasn't sure what to
do. He sat at home a lot, got a lot of heat from his mother, about how he
was not welcome back, if things didn't work out in Calgary. It was a
miserable time, in which David's only pleasure was going on the Internet
and checking "Yahoo Travel" for ticket prices for two people from Montreal
to Calgary. A round-trip ticket was cheaper than a one-way ticket, even
though David had no intention of ever returning to Montreal, a city of
nothing but bad memories and misery for him.

	It was the middle of September and the school year had already
gotten started. David hadn't heard from Aaron for over three weeks and he
was beginning to get very worried. Again, he wasn't sure what he would do
in Calgary, without Aaron, but now he had no choice but to go.

	It was on September nineteenth, 1999 that there was a knock at the
door.  David was sitting in his room, playing `Ruthless.com' on his
computer. He was too involved in the game, so his mother went and got the
door. He paused the game, when he began to hear talking from the direction
of the vestibule.  After listening for a few seconds, David slowly got up
and opened the door of his room. He couldn't believe it; Aaron was standing
there in the hallway, holding a two suitcases in his hands, talking to his
mother.

	He quickly walked over to them and David asked, "What's going on?"

	Aaron looked over and smiled at David, then said, "My father and I
just aren't agreeing on the matter of me going, so I left. I was going to
simply stay with Alex, but I decided to see if I could possibly stay with
you, until we go. I do spend most of my time here anyway."

	David turned to his mother and shot her an inquisitive look. His
mother responded by nodding her head and replying, "Aaron can stay you,
until you go. He can sleep on the couch, if he wants."

	Aaron smiled and replied, "Actually, if you don't mind, I think I'd
prefer to sleep with David."

	She nodded and smiled too, "Of course."

	And so Aaron moved in with David. As far as David was concerned,
things were finally looking up in his life. He now had the pleasure of
waking up every morning and going to bed every night with the boy of his
dreams and, in a little while, they would be alone in their own place.

	The days went by quickly for David, with Aaron being around. They
went to the park a lot and saw movies, then, at night, they would lie in
bed together and talk about what their future would be like. David talked
about how sure he was that he'd be able to work and go to school in Calgary
and how great it would be to live together. Aaron even mentioned possibly
seeing about adopting a child in a few years. It all seemed so perfect for
David.  Too perfect, and he couldn't help but feel that the other shoe was
going to drop anytime now. He now fully trusted Aaron, but he didn't trust
fate and so, with that doubt in the pit of his belly, he had a lot of
trouble sleeping.

	One night, he actually dreamt that Aaron had been out the night
before, and had gotten killed in a car accident. He dreamt that he was
woken up early in the morning by the sound of the phone ringing. He lazily
got out of bed and picked it up. It had been Aaron's father, frantically
explaining that Aaron had been driving home with a bunch of people at about
four am and some fucking drunk driver had hit the car and smashed it up
against a wall. Aaron and the driver had been killed instantly and another
guy had died before the ambulance arrived. David had felt all the blood
drain from his body when he heard the news. He had asked a bunch of
meaningless questions, before collapsing on the floor in tears, the phone
left hanging from the bureau. It was like one of those Road Runner
cartoons, when the coyote is cutting a hole around the road runner, but
instead of the part that the Road Runner is on falling, the whole cliff
falls and the small part of the cliff with the stupid bird is left floating
in the air. David's whole world had collapsed around him and all meaning
was sucked out of his life, like a super powered vacuum. He had gone to the
funeral and just cried a lot. Nobody cared, it seemed, as much as
him. Nobody could have understood just what Aaron had meant to David. Aaron
had been more than David's safety blanket. He had been the only person he'd
ever truly loved and the last person that David would ever truly
love. Aaron's death had caused a very large part of David to be sliced
clean off and tossed in the grave alongside the casket. Aaron wasn't just a
person to David...He was his life. He was his life, and his meaning, and
his justification for opening his eyes every morning to greet the day.  He
was the spring in David's step, the smile on David's face and the twinkle
in his eye. With Aaron, David was something, but without him, he was less
than a zero. David just went into a downward spiral from there. He went to
Calgary without Aaron, stayed there for a grand total of three days, before
being coming back, unable to cope with being alone in the strange new city.
True to her word, David's mother did not allow David back into her home, so
he had to rely upon the generosity of the father who abandoned him, in
order to pay for an apartment. From there, unable to find work and unable
to do it, even if he could, David had gone on Welfare and spent the next
seven months sitting in his tiny little hole, playing computer games,
growing thin from lack of food, and contemplating death on a daily
basis. Some days, he wouldn't even get out of bed. He'd just lie underneath
the covers and cry on and off until bedtime, intermingled with stumbles to
the bathroom. He grew ever more thin, ever more depressed and, eventually,
when the police came to forcibly evict him from the apartment after two
months of not paying rent, they found his dead corpse. He had finally
succeeded in overdosing on sleeping pills, but in reality, he had died of a
broken heart.

	On another night, he had dreamt that Aaron had broken up with
him. This time, for good. They had been lying in bed, snuggling, just like
they did almost every morning. Suddenly, Aaron had sat up and slid out of
the bed, shaking his head. "What's wrong?" David had asked. Aaron turned to
look at him and, a sad look on his face, Aaron had said, "I just can't do
this anymore, David." Again, David had replied, "What's wrong?" Aaron sat
back down on the bed and said, "David, I've been with you for several
months now.  I care a lot for you, but...jesus christ, I see you spending
your days sitting at home and doing nothing. You don't even try to find any
work!"  David looked down at his feet and mumbled, "You know I can't do it,
Aaron."  Aaron shook his head and replied, "Exactly! I've tried to be here
for you and, dammit, I've been nothing if not patient. I've been an amazing
boyfriend, I feel. I've listened to you complain about your worries and
I've been very sympathetic! I've always hoped that, somehow, my words of
encouragement would instill in you the ability to succeed at work, at
school...hell, at anything, except sitting on your ass, day after day.
You've been going to a therapist for quite a few months now and how has it
helped you, hmm Dave? What progress have you made?" David shrugged, totally
submissive under Aaron's verbal attack, "I think I'm almost ready to try
work or school again." Aaron smiled, but shook his head, "You're not, Dave.
You know you're not. That wouldn't be too much of a problem, except that
you're not making any progress with therapy and you got us going to Calgary
now. What'll happen when we get to Calgary, Dave? Tell me that? Are you
going to be able to work? I know that I can, but can you? Can you work the
hours it'll take to pay to live there?" David shrugged, "I dunno." Aaron
stood up again and said, "Well, I can't do it, Dave. I've stuck by you for
a while now, but I'm just not feeling secure, knowing that when we arrive
in Calgary, I'm, most probably going to have to do all the work and support
both of us. I can't do that, Dave." "So we won't go to Calgary." David
mumbled. Aaron smiled and shrugged, "What does it matter where we are,
Dave?  If I go back to Dawson now, I might have a chance at a future and,
I'm really sorry Dave, but it doesn't look like you're part of it. I need a
boyfriend who will offer some give, as well as some take, but so far all
you've done is take all I've been able to give. I really wanted this to
work, David, but it doesn't look like it's going to." David sniffled, tears
flowing down his face, and hiccupped, "So, you're breaking up with me
again?" Aaron sighed and said, "I'm really sorry, but, yeah, I am. Also, I
think it would be best if we just broke clean away. I don't think I could
be your friend again. Not after everything we've been through." David
nodded.  And so, Aaron packed what little things he had brought, said
goodbye to David's mother and left David's life. David had been
miserable. Of course, he had gone to Calgary alone and, just as Aaron had
predicted, he was unable to work, so he had to return to Montreal. Of
course, his mother had been telling the truth about him not being allowed
back in her house, so he ended up getting some money from his grandmother
to rent an apartment. Once he got on Welfare, he continued his therapy in
the hopes of trying to find and keep a job someday, but so far it didn't
look good. He would see Aaron on the bus about twice a month. Sometimes,
he'd be alone and sometimes he'd be with Alex. David would say hi, but
neither Aaron nor Alex even acknowledged his presence with so much as a
look. They had advanced in their lives. They had finished Cegep and gone on
to Concordia University. Meanwhile, David still didn't have the sanity to
attend a single class at Cegep and, due to a recent fondness for rats, he
now smelled like wood chips and rat turds. He was beyond a nobody. He was a
failure and he deserved death, but he was too much of a chicken to even
attempt suicide anymore.

	David had woken up from those dreams in a cold sweat, with tears
streaming down his cheeks. He was filled with misery, until he turned his
head and saw Aaron sleeping peacefully beside him. He had gently poked
Aaron until he woke up.

	"Yeah?" Aaron inquired in a tired voice.

	Sniffling back the tears from his nightmares, David asked, "Do you
love me?"

	Aaron smiled and replied, "Always, sweetie."

	Swallowing hard, David asked, "Would you ever leave me, because you
gave up on me and thought that I would never be able to work when we get to
Calgary?"

	Aaron reached up with his hand and stroked David's wet
face. Through sleepy eyes, Aaron replied, "You're going to do fine in
Calgary, sweetie, and if you have any panic about working and you just
can't do it, then we'll think of something, I promise. Don't worry, baby. I
won't ever give up on you."

	That response had just made David cry harder and Aaron had reached
over and wrapped his arms around David's body and hugged him. "Don't
worry." Aaron reassured his sobbing boyfriend, "You'll do just fine. I
believe in you."

	The weeks continued to pass, until winter came again. The two boys
had planned on leaving the evening of December twenty-fifth; Christmas
Day. The whole day was spent packing and saying final goodbyes to
people. David's mother had agreed to pay for shifting the furniture from
his room to Calgary. Aaron had made his peace with his father before he
went, as well.

	The plane trip was uneventful. Slightly turbulent. Food was
good. Aaron and David sat next to each other and held hands the whole
flight. It had taken almost five hours, due to good wind. It was late when
they arrived, though, so they stayed over in a hotel for the night and
decided to explore the city the next day.

	David was confident, though, because with Aaron beside him, he
could do anything he wanted to.


EPILOGUE:

	The next two months of Calgary were very productive. New Years Day
2000 had been an incredibly fulfilling experience for David. He was free,
finally.  Finally, he was free. Soon, Aaron got a job in an office
downtown, doing general office stuff, like filing and such. David had been
nervous at first, but eventually, Aaron's confidence allowed him to get a
job too, at a Subway Sandwich shop downtown. It wasn't the most glamourous
work, but David could do it. Sure, he felt panicky sometimes, but he just
had to keep in mind that there was no pressure to succeed. Aaron would be
proud of him, whether he did the job or not and, somehow, that made him
work harder and be able to succeed. They had an apartment in a fairly poor
area, but David had his furniture and he had his Aaron, so he was
happy. With the money they earned, they bought a few more things to
decorate the apartment with. Calgary was truly a beautiful city too. David
and Aaron both got their licenses, but couldn't afford cars just yet, so
they were content to ride on the ample public transportation there. In May,
they both enrolled in school for the fall. David was nervous at first, but
he would be going with Aaron, so everything was going to be just fine.

THE END