Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2004 22:27:53 -0500 From: rhaven Subject: Beyond the Pale Chapter Five This story contains Man/Boy situations. This is a work of pure fiction, words on a page, nothing more than fictional fancy. The phrase `Beyond the Pale' is used to describe people that live an unusual life... doesn't that depict us all? If you like this story please check out www.rhavenlore.com for more. Beyond the Pale By Rhaven CHAPTER FIVE "Come on in." Victor said as Mason peeked around the open door. "I've got lunch ready... I'm... I'm sure you are famished." Mason sat down at the new kitchen table and looked across the table filled with food. "Did you cook all this?" Mason asked, looking over the roast, mash potatoes, green beans and salad. "Davis actually cooked it, but I did warm it up, so that should count for something." Victor said with a weak smile. "It smells good." Mason smiled back. Victor slammed his fist onto the table. "What the hell were you thinking? Why the fuck would you want to die?" He screamed. Mason gasped for breath; Victor's sudden outburst had shocked him. "I... I didn't try to kill myself." He stuttered. "Then what the fuck..." Victor slammed his fist into the table again, sending the green beans over the edge and crashing to the floor. "What the fuck were you doing? Did you think... did you think how I ..." Mason dared to look up at Victor, he had expected to see the man's face red with anger, but it was painted in tears. "I'm sorry Victor." Mason whispered. "Sorry?" Victor said quietly, staring out the window to the oak tree. "The whole goddamn world is sorry." Victor turned away from the window and walked to his room. Mason remained at the table, staring at the marvelous banquet before him, wondering what he should do now. Despair consumes all other emotions, it overpowers fear, loneliness and sadness. Mason hid his face in his hands as he cried; it was the only emotion that could escape from the conquering misery. "Silence is so painful; I've lived in a quiet world all my life. Avoid of feeling and love..." masked by shades, Victor stood in the hallway. "I've never known love... until I met you." Victor whispered. "Now my quiet world is filled with ... your voice." Mason stood, his knees wobbled, threatened to break as he took a step towards Victor. "What would I have done without you Mason? What would I have done?" Victor turned to go back to his room. "No! Don't leave me... please don't leave me." Mason screamed and ran to Victor. The ecstasy of Victor grabbing him up and hugging him was the heaven Mason had been looking for. They held each other and cried, shedding tears of love and completed comfort. It was hard for Mason to release Victor, but once his tears had subsided, they parted and gave each other a smile. "Are you still hungry... Davis would be very disappointed if we let his meal go to waste." Victor said wiping the tears from his face. "Come on, we'll eat and then test out my new television." "You... you got a TV?" Mason looked over to the living room and spotted the flat screen television. "That's pretty cool." He said sniffing back the last of his tears. The meal was wonderful, even without the green beans that covered the floor. "I've been thinking..." Victor said looking up from his plate. "What if we took a trip to the country? I... I have a cabin in the Black Mountains, I haven't been there since my mother died, but I remember it being nice." "Could we really?" Mason said excitedly. "I've never been to the country!" "All right then, I'll get with Davis and see how soon we can go. I'm sure the place will need to be cleaned up first." Victor said proudly. "How about that TV now." Mason stood, but suddenly stopped as he looked at the table. "Shouldn't we clean off the table first?" "Plenty of time for that." Victor laughed. "I believe I saw in the TV guide that all the Batman movies were on tonight." "Batman? How... how did you know I like Batman?" Mason asked as he followed Victor to the couch. "Davis brought all your belongings over, I happened to notice your comic book collection." Mason grinned foolishly, as he sat next to Victor. "Do you like comic books?" "To be completely honest, I've never read one before." Victor laughed awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed from the confession. "Later, maybe we could read one together." Mason said happily. "I think you'll like them." "I'm sure I will." Victor turned his attention back to the TV, flipping through the channels until he finally found the Batman movie. "Someone told me this was a good movie." Mason tried not to act surprised by the fact that Victor hadn't seen Batman. It made him sad to think of all the things Victor had missed. "I'm glad you got a TV." "So am I." Victor said patting Mason on the leg. Mason loved the Batman movies, especially the first movie, even though it didn't have Robin in it, he loved the darkness of the movie. However, this time Mason had a hard time watching the film, he kept glancing over at Victor. It was odd to think that he now lived here with this man. It was still a little frightening, but comforting at the same time. He loved watching Victor's reaction to the movies, cheering and booing as if he was watching a real event in front of him. Victor was more entertaining than the movie. After they had sat through Batman and the next movie Batman Returns, Victor stood up and rustled Mason's hair. "I'm going to clean up the kitchen; you go ahead and watch the movie." Mason quickly jumped up. "I've seen it a hundred times; I'd rather help you clean up." Victor laughed and motioned for Mason to join him. Mason had never enjoyed cleaning the kitchen before; Mrs. Bakonyi had made those kinds of tasks unbearable. However, working with Victor, splashing water on each other as they washed the dishes, that was fun. "Do you want to watch the rest of Batman & Robin?" Mason asked once the kitchen was completely cleaned. "You are still recovering, it's probably best to go ahead and call it a night." Victor said sounding very parent like. "You can read a comic book to me, before you go to sleep, how does that sound?" Mason almost squealed with excitement, the idea of sharing his comic books with Victor was better than having a TV. "Ready to see your room?" Victor grabbed Mason's hand and let him to the hallway. He stopped at the first door and opened it slowly. The first thing Mason saw was the bookcase, his comics neatly stacked upon the shelves. They were truly his only possession, seeing them here, was joyous. "Davis took it upon himself to buy you some new clothes." Victor walked over to the bright blue dresser and opened a drawer. "New pants, shirts, the works here." Mason looked through his comic books until he found his favorite. He didn't want to hurt Victor's feelings, but he really didn't care about clothes. "I found the perfect comic book." He announced, holding up the comic book for Victor to see. "Davis bought you some pajamas." Victor said as he dug into another drawer. Mason just laughed as he pulled off his clothes. "No thank you." "Didn't think you'd wear them, but I thought I'd ask... Jesus Mason, look how skinny you are." Victor cringed as he looked down at Mason's naked body. Mason frowned and looked down at himself, he was thinner, but didn't think he looked too bad. "Come on let's read the comic book." Mason pulled the sheets back on his new bed and climbed on top. Victor joined him on the bed, still looking over Mason's body and frowning. "I'm fine Victor... I only lost a few pounds." Mason said shoving the comic book into Victor's face. "I know... I know." Victor sighed. "Okay let's read this thing." Mason read every panel of the comic book to Victor, he would pause only to explain a little history of the hero or to let Victor get a good look at the artwork. Mason felt so proud of himself, changing voices for Batman and the Joker, he felt as if he had put on an excellent play for Victor. "I can see why you like comic books. That's was better than most movies I've seen." Victor confessed as he flipped through the comic book again. "Do you mind if I read some of your other comic books?" Victor climbed out of bed and started browsing the bookcase. "You should try some of the Superman, they're good too." Mason said with a yawn. "All right, time for sleep." Victor smiled and pulled the blanket over Mason and kissed him on the forehead. Mason yawned again and snuggled into his pillow. "Good night Victor." "Good night Mason." Victor said and switched off the light. Mason kept his eyes open as long as he could; Victor remained in the doorway for a while, watching him. Mason could see that Victor was smiling; he took that smile into his dreams as sleep swept over him. Mason rolled over on his side and moaned. He opened his eyes and sat up with a start, he had forgotten where he was. He was staring at the wall where his door would normally be. Mason laughed once he remembered that he was in Victor's apartment, feeling stupid for waking up so confused. He threw back the blanket and crawled out of bed, his bladder was screaming to be emptied. Mason tiptoed across the hallway, but paused before he made it to the bathroom. There was a flickering light in the living room, too bright to be a candle. Unable to calm his bladder, Mason decided bathroom first then investigate the light. Once his bladder had been relieved, Mason sneaked back into the hallway and towards the living room. The flickering light still illuminated the room, but the closer he got, he heard music and someone speaking. It was the light and sound from the television. Mason peeked around the corner to see Victor lying across the couch in his underwear. He was so involved in the movie that he didn't notice Mason walk into the room until he was next to him. "Holy shit!" Victor yelped and grabbed his chest. "You scared the crap out of me." Victor started to laugh. "Did the TV wake you up?" "No, I had to go to the bathroom." Mason said sitting on the couch and relaxing back into Victor's chest. "What are you watching?" "Something called Armageddon." Victor whispered. "I love this movie." Mason whispered back and lay down, moving Victor's arm around him. "Snuggle time." "Snuggle time?" Victor laughed and gave Mason a tight hug. "Snuggle time." He repeated softly. Mason sighed heavily and watched TV; he was right where he belonged. Victor's arms around him were much better than a blanket. Their bodies pressed together were softer than a bed. Mason didn't see much of the movie, his eyes betrayed him and closed, sending him into a reassuring sleep. Even in his deep sleep, Mason was aware of Victor's embrace. He would reach out of his misty dreams to the physical world, sensing the light pressure of Victor's arms wrapped around him, of Victor's chest pressed into his back. It was a feeling of protection, safety from the world's nightmare. Mason opened his eyes to the noise of pots banging. He was shocked when he realized Victor was no longer lying with him. He pulled himself upright, stretched out his arms and moaned, as his body remained stiff and sore. "Oh you're up." Victor said with a smile. He was frantically working over the stove, looking like a lost puppy. "Breakfast is almost ready... I think." "What are you making?" Mason asked as he dragged his still sleepy body into the kitchen. "I think it's scrabbled eggs." Victor laughed. "Have a seat at the table, it's almost ready." Mason obeyed and watched Victor finish cooking. He was still feeling tired, almost weak, which made him mad. He wanted to be full of energy for Victor, to show him that he was healthy, so he wouldn't worry. "Here we are!" Victor said happily, spooning off a heaping amount of eggs on Mason's plate. "You'll need something to drink!" Victor rushed back to the kitchen and poured them both a glass of milk. Once Victor was satisfied he had supplied everything for the meal, he sat down. "Not the best looking scrabbled eggs, but they should be eatable." Victor laughed and sampled a taste of his eggs. "Taste good to me." Mason encouraged and shoved more eggs into his mouth. The fact was, Victor had burnt the scrambled eggs, but Mason didn't care, they didn't taste that bad. "Are you feeling all right?" Victor asked, making Mason wince. It was nice to have someone notice you weren't feeling well, but Mason had hoped to hide it from Victor. "I'm okay." Mason lied. He was feeling weaker and his eyes started to hurt as a headache bloomed. "Maybe we should see the doctor today." Victor pushed his plate away and stared intently at Mason. "You did just get out of the hospital." "I'm okay... really. I'm just tired." Mason smiled. "I'll get some rest today." Victor frowned. "I don't know Mason..." "We could read comic books or just watch TV all day." Mason quickly added. Mason watched Victor as he thought over his suggestion; finally, Victor rolled his eyes and smiled. "I'll agree as long as you get some rest. The minute you start feeling worse, I want to know." "I promise." Mason put his hand over his bare chest. "I promise to let you know the very second I feel worse." Mason squinted his eyes as a wave of pain flushed over his forehead. "Maybe a hot bath will make you feel better." Victor said standing up. "Some aspirins would be nice." Mason added as he rubbed his forehead. He was now very mad at himself. He was nothing more than a wimp, with a body that betrayed him. Why did he have to feel bad today? His first full day with Victor, they could have been doing so much, like teasing Mrs. Molino or hanging out at Mr. Schultz coffee shop. Maybe they could have gone to the movies. But no... Mason had to be a wimp and feel bad. Batman never go sick, so why couldn't he be more like Batman. Victor walked him to the bathroom, filled the tub and helped him sit down. Mason hated to see Victor look so concerned. This was more tension placed on Victor, tension he didn't need. What if Victor decided he couldn't handle caring for Mason. Would he order him out of the house? Send him out into the streets? Stupid wimpy body was going to screw everything up. The warm water lapped at his body and though it felt good and relaxing, Mason was tense. He kept looking up at Victor's expression and wondering how long before Victor cracked and kicked him out. Mason didn't want to cry, but he could feel the tears beading up at the corners of his eyes. What would happen to him, living on the streets? How long could he really live, all by himself? What was he going to do?