Warning: This story does not contain any sex. None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to resemble any living or dead people.

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Blake's Saga – You and Me

Chapter 5 – The Fight

Blake walks down the stairs and finds Ian reading a piece of paper. There has been an uneasy feeling in the house over the last twenty-four hours. His dads need to get a handle on the situation because it is wearing on him. Blake can see that Ian is upset and it is upsetting him. He's been quiet for too long, and it's time for someone to start talking.

"Dad, what is going on between you and Trace?"

Ian does not want to put Blake into the middle of the fight, but he deserves to know what is going on between his dads.

"I got hit on at the conference and the guy who hit on me gave me a note, but I forgot to read it and just shoved the note into my pocket, and now I am paying for it."

Blake does not know what to think about the situation that his family finds themselves in now. He wonders if Trace knows that Ian made a silly mistake.

"Did you tell Dad about you getting hit on and the note?"

Ian looks down at the floor with the look of defeat stamped across his face.

"No, I told him about getting hit on, but all I could think about when I was given the note was leaving the conference and getting home, so yeah, I didn't get rid of the that stupid note."

Blake could not blame his Dad for wanting to get home. Still, he should have thrown the note away and that would have stopped all of this from happening.

"How did Dad find it?"

Ian again looks down at the floor and then looks back up at his son.

"I'm guessing he found it in my pants pocket."

"I hate to say this, Dad, but you should have thrown note away, and then came home."

His dad smirks at his son's comment. "Yeah, I think that would have been a very good idea."

"Are you going to tell him the truth?"

"If I don't tell him, then I'll end up just making things worse."

Blake nods his head in total agreement with everything that his dad just said, and then he gets up and walks away, leaving his dad with the note.

= = =

Ian decides that he needs to sit down and talk with his husband, but first he needs to find him. He gets up and looks for Trace, but he cannot find him downstairs. Climbing the stairs, he checks the guest bedroom, the master bedroom, the office, and Blake's room. He quickly realizes that Trace is not in the house and goes back up to the office. All he wants is a chance to explain this to him in a way that Trace will listen.

= = =

While Ian searches for his husband, Blake is sitting in his room hoping, praying that Trace will listen to Ian. He is worrying about how his dads are going to handle the situation. Blake has to trust that the love that his dads have for each other is strong enough to get through whatever happens next. Suddenly, his cellphone rings and he glances at the screen and sees that Ashley is calling.

"Hey, Aunt Ashley, what can I do for you?"

"Seriously, you can cut the "Aunt" stuff out, but you should also know that you might want to get ready for some troubled waters."

`How can it get any worse?' He must have pause too long.

"Hello?" Ashley says.

A bit of added fear creeps into his heart, and the fear is building in him.

"What do you mean by "troubled waters"?"

Ashley did not mean to upset her nephew, but she thought he should know about the problems heading his way.

"Trace called my mom about Ian cheating on him, but I don't believe that Ian would ever do that."

"He didn't cheat! The note is some made up lie meant to hurt Ian."

"Blake, I believe you, but Trace and Ian have to figure this out on their own. I am always here if you need me. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Trace takes a break from being with Ian."

She pauses and finally says, "I need to go, Blake."

"Bye, Ashley."

He looks at the picture of his family and just stares at it, and none of it feels right. His perfect family is all he ever wanted and now it seems that it may all be for nothing.

= = =

After Blake hangs up, the front door opens and in comes Trace, and he knows his husband is home and he is ready to talk. At this point, Trace has only one thing on his mind, and that is approaching his husband and dealing with all of this crap. Even though he is mad at his husband, he has to find a way to talk to Blake, and hope that he is not suffering too much. Trace wonders how important the family is too Ian, now that he's found this other person.

= = =

As Trace stands in the living room, it hits him that he really needs to talk to Blake. If things get loud, he really does not want his son to be worried, or worse. He slowly walks up the stairs to Blake's room, and he is feeling more and more anxious with each step. The door to the bedroom is open so he knocks on the door to get his son's attention.

"Hey, Dad, it's okay to come in."

"Thanks Blake, I just wish that this was going to be a nice visit."

It doesn't take long for Blake to figure out what this visit is about.

"Oh?"

"We try to do our best to keep our disagreements civilized, but this time, things could get loud, so I'm apologizing now for what might be said between Dad and me."

"Can't the two of you just talk this out, whatever it might be?"

Trace frowned because he wishes that Ian had mentioned this note before he came home.

"Blake, I don't think a simple conversation is going to clear this up."

Trace is wrong; the problem could be easily fixed if Ian and he would just simply listen to each other.

`I wonder how bad they'll get.'

"I think that I had better head downstairs and have that conversation with Dad."

"Dad, promise me that you'll listen to Ian."

Trace did not say a thing, although he did hear his son's request, but instead of responding, he walked out of the room. Blake is left to feel a little alone in his fear and a little frustrated with Trace.

= = =

Trace sits a couple steps from the bottom of the staircase, and with his head now resting on his arms, he thinks about the note and about his relationship. Trace's temper is at a level that he usually holds for people who run from him in his role as an officer, or for those who are abusive to their spouses and especially their children. All he wants to do is to get the emotions off his chest, and that could make this conversation go from quiet to loud in the blink of an eye. Ian needs to know how finding that note has hurt his soul mate, and how this is affecting their family. If Trace can contain the rage he is feeling, all will be well, and make for a better discussion. There is no reason for him to raise his voice, other than his emotions getting the best of him. He is very much aware of where he is anger-wise, and he knows that loud is the only volume option open to him.

= = =

When Ian enters the room, Trace immediately gets up and approaches him. Seeing his husband's face has a surprising ever-so-slight calming effect on him.

"Ian, we need to talk, because if we don't, things will only get worse."

Ian sits down, feeling confident that he will get his side out in the open without a big argument erupting. He knows that over the last twenty-four hours Trace has not been himself. Trace's emotions are just going to get in the way and nothing is going to change that.

"So did Kim really chase that guy away or was it just a lie to cover the fact that you had hit on him too?"

Ian cannot believe that Trace really thinks that he would lie about something like this, when he made a vow at the wedding that he would always remain true to Trace.

"Would you like me to call Kim so she can tell you about it in her usual robust manner?"

One thing Trace did not need right now was Kim's blaring mouth adding to his headache. Besides, he doesn't want to drag anyone else into their problems.

"No, I don't want her nose in our business."

"Fair enough, I suppose. Look, I don't know what you think happened, but nothing, and I mean nothing, happened between Alan and me."

Trace did not respond verbally, instead he just rolled his eyes.

`You're just super mature there, Trace.'

Trace takes off towards the kitchen to grab the note and comes back into the living room.

= = =

Ian watches as Trace walks back into the living room and he can see the tears in his eyes.

"I- I thought that I mattered to you, that our wedding vows meant something, that Blake meant something to you."

Trace wipes the tears from his eyes and pauses to give Ian a chance to speak.

"Trace, it's a lie," he said, pointing to the paper in his husband's hand, and he begins to tear up too.

"I would never cheat on you. Come on, you know in your heart that I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Fuck, I love you, but I... can't."

Trace cannot face Ian right now, and it is tearing him up inside, but at the same time, it is killing Ian.

"Trace, I swear that I didn't do anything. Alan was the guy who hit on me at lunch. He gave me the note as I leaving the conference, I stuck it in my pocket, and I left the conference."

Trace didn't react at all to what his husband said, but since he promised Blake that he would listen, he made sure that he did.

"Trace, I knew about you finding the note, but it was too late to say anything to you at that point."

Ian takes his turn at waiting for his partner to speak up, silently hoping that Trace will drop it.

"How do I know that you're being honest with me? You seemed to be keeping this piece of paper from me."

Ian just sits there unable to come up with anything to say. `Get real!' he thinks.

"You know damn well that I'm not lying to you. If you still care, then you'll drop this and forget it."

Silence is still the preferred method of communication between them. Trace does not see any reason to talk to Ian at the moment. He's not buying anything that is coming out of his partner's mouth.

"The only reason I'm having this conversation is because of our son, and if he means anything to you, then you'll come clean."

Ian gets up with tears in his eyes and walks into the dining room. It's clear that this mistake is costing both of them something sacred.

= = =

Trust is dying, even as the couple stands facing away from each other. Trace is not sure if they break up that he'll ever want to deal with Ian again. He knows way too many people who have broken up and then their kids end up being pawns in a battle that they did not ask for in the first place. He knows that he still loves Ian, but at the same time, he does not know if he can stay in the relationship. Seeing Ian standing there crying is getting to Trace, so he walks up and gives him a friendly hug. It is a hug that simply says you do not need to cry. "That hug does not change how I feel."

"If it means nothing, then why did you do it?"

Trace is not about to lie to his husband, so he decides to do the right thing.

"I don't hate you, so why wouldn't I hug you? I mean, you are crying."

`Maybe we aren't as bad off, as I once thought we were.'

Ian starts to feel a little bit better until he turns around to see Trace's eyes. Usually, Trace's eyes are warm and inviting, but now they are distant and cold.

"I look at your eyes and all I see is how much you just want your space."

Trace just smirks at Ian's comments as he stares directly at him. "Don't be an asshole. Even if you didn't lie to me about the note, you didn't tell me about. Instead I had to find it, and it just makes me wonder what you're hiding."

"I'm not hiding anything."

`It's getting harder to stand there and face him. Why am I even trying to get him to see that I didn't do anything wrong?"

Ian just wants to walk away from the mess, and walking away could most definitely make things go from bad to worse.

"You may have kept your promise to Blake, but you're breaking a part of your vows to me."

Trace's face is now red with anger, and Ian, for once, does not care because he is slightly pissed off too.

"I'm, breaking vows? What about you?"

Ian turns again from Trace. `The hell with him; I'm going outside.' Ian does just that, hoping that Trace will not follow him to the backyard. Trace slouches in one of the dining room chairs, but he finds it uncomfortable, so he moves into the living room.

= = =

Blake has kept his door closed because he does not want to hear what is going on downstairs. What he has managed to hear is not promising at all, in fact, it sounds like maybe things are worse than he thought. Trace may have kept his promise to him, but apparently, he did not listen with his heart. His dads have been quiet for the last few minutes, so maybe this is a good sign. He opens his door and sticks his head out to see if he can hear anything. Blake cannot hear anything going on downstairs, so the question is, are they okay or is just a break in the chaos. Blake is scared that there might be problems bigger than just this argument. He is afraid of losing his dads to divorce and hatred. At some point, he has to trust that things will be okay, or he may have to leave and find his way to Ben's house. The sound of the door catches his attention, but he does not know if someone came in or if one of his dads left. Maybe he can get Trace to listen to him. All he needs is a chance to talk with him, so Blake starts his way down the stairs. He sees Ian walking towards the dining room, so Blake pauses to see if he needs to return to his room.

= = =

Blake is about to head upstairs when he hears his dads beginning to talk. Something must have upset them because the volume goes up in the dining room. Blake can see Ian turning and looking in Blake's direction before turning back to Trace. One of the things that Blake noticed is the sadness in Ian's eyes. Trace also turns and looks at Blake, but his eyes are filled with sadness tinged with anger. This last glimpse of his dads' faces is all it takes to persuade Blake to return to his room. As Blake returns to his room, he decides to make a plan that, when put into action, may just cure the hate that he saw in Trace's eyes.

= = =

Meanwhile back in the dining room, two upset adults are in need of a time out so they can cool down before they do something stupid or say something foolish.

"Trace, we aren't solving anything by standing here and arguing."

Ian is right, they are not accomplishing much, all things considered. Trace quietly agrees with his husband. Trace gets a little teary eyed as he looks into his love's eyes.

"Honestly, Ian, I think the best answer is to just walk away, and in case you don't understand what I'm saying, let me put this way, I think we need a break from each other."

"You want to split up?"

Ian can hardly believe what just came out of Trace's mouth.

"Yeah, I think we need to separate until we know what we want from each other, because I don't know and I'm having doubts about us."

Ian just sits down, tired of the arguing and from all the standing that he has been doing. Trace turns and walks out of the room, grabbing his car keys as he passes the little table under the phone. Seeing him pick up the keys makes Ian want to curl up and cry, but what he doesn't know is that this scene has been planned in his lover's mind since early this morning.

Blake is walking to his room, tears coming down his face knowing that his plan needs to go into action, and that scares him. It is a different type of fear that Blake is feeling now versus what he felt when Trace was shot. All he knows right now is that he is losing Trace, and there is no way of knowing what will happen once Trace leaves. It could be weeks, or even months, before he comes back to the house. For now, Blake just listens.

= = =

Ten minutes later, Trace enters Blake's room and sits on the bed.

"It's okay to cry, heck look at me. I am leaving and going to stay at Grandpa's house. I expect a phone call from you every day, or face time would even be nicer. I'll call you when I get there, so you had better answer."

Blake nods his head, but he does not want to agree to any of this, and he thinks his dad needs to be hit so some smarts can be smacked into him. Blake wants to tell him not to go, and to give it a night before making a decision, but it is too late. Trace has no clue of the hurt that he is inflicting on his family.

"How long are you going to be gone?"

Trace's face does not give any hope of getting a good answer.

"I'll be gone until Dad and I can settle this issue."

"What happens if you can't settle it?"

Trace is not going to answer that question and Blake knows it, but he had to ask. At least he has the plan to fall back on and that will at least shift his attention from the hurt.

"Okay, I don't want to drag this goodbye out any longer. I love you, Blake."

Blake stares into Trace's eyes. `Don't go!'

Trace turns and walks out of the room, and into his room.

= = =

Grabbing his suitcase, Trace heads downstairs to say goodbye to Ian for what could be a long time.

"I'm leaving."

Ian can't get himself to get up to say goodbye. He's hurt because of things that Trace said; he's upset at himself for not throwing the note away, which now sits on the dining room table. Seeing that Ian isn't getting up, Trace walks to the front door, opens it, and walks out without looking back. Ian turns and watches as his husband walks out on Blake and him. The door closes and is followed a few minutes later by a car starting and pulling away. Tears start to fall from Ian's eyes and he doesn't want to move from the chair, so he doesn't. An hour and a half later, he heads up to check on Blake who appears to be asleep, and then he heads into his room.

= = =

Blake waits until he hears the bedroom door close before he puts his plan into action. If this plan works, then things will be back to normal. Otherwise, he will figure out life as he goes. No one, not even Ben or Ashley, can know anything about the plan. In the meantime, he has to get the backpack packed for at least three days away from the house. Not to mention, he has to sneak past Ian's ever-watchful eyes.

= = =

Ian cries himself to sleep and, at the moment, would not know if bomb went off downstairs. From his bedroom, Blake peeks into his parents' bedroom to check if the path is clear. The house is now dead quiet, so Blake grabs his pack and heads downstairs. Grabbing the pen by the phone, he starts writing a note that he knows will immediately start Ian's mind and heart into action. A teardrop or two on the paper and Blake is done with the note. Setting the note down on the dining room table, Blake leaves the house and heads out to the streets. Taking one final look at his home, Blake heads out on his own one more time... for what will hopefully be his last time.

= = =

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