Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2020 02:12:46 -0600
From: Keith Yates <keith.96@att.net>
Subject: Devyn's Struggle V2-33

This is a fictional story that might involve sexual acts between two or
more men.

If this offends you, then please do not read any further. If you are under
the legal age to read sexually explicit material then do not read any
further.  This story in no way represents any person living or dead.  Any
resemblance to any real person is purely coincidental. This story is the
property of the author and no copying or posting to any other website is
permitted without the author's written consent.

Please help keep Nifty going by donating to the awesome service.
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and
whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by
scripture. Thomas Paine

Devyn's Struggle
Chapter 33

Devyn felt as though his and Joe's talk last night had pushed things back
into perspective. He knew that he still had things to work through, where
Brent was concerned, but he also knew that Joe was there to support
him. Even if Joe was with Ethan, he still had Joe as a friend and mentor.

Devyn came downstairs to find Ethan in the kitchen, fixing breakfast. The
college guy looked like he knew his way around a kitchen. "Good morning,"
Devyn said.

"Ah good morning," Ethan said. "I hope you are hungry. I am fixing eggs,
sausage and toast."

"I'm starving," Devyn said.

"Good," Ethan said.

"How did you sleep?" Devyn asked.

"Great," Ethan said.

"Joe isn't a bed hog?" Devyn asked.

"Nope he is a good bed companion," Ethan said.

"Yeah, I bet he is," Devyn said, feeling a stab of jealousy that he quickly
pushed down.

"What are you two talking about?" Joe said coming into the kitchen.

"Just you," Ethan said and intercepted Joe on the way to the coffee pot. He
pulled him into a tight hug and kissed his sexy lips.

"Didn't you two do enough of that last night?" Devyn teased.

"There is never enough of that," Ethan said while looking into Joe's blue
eyes.

Ethan dished up breakfast and the three of them sat in silence for a
while. It was nice to just relax, eat and slowly start the day.

"I had better get going," Ethan said. "I have to work today and I don't
want to get caught speeding again."

"When did you get caught speeding?" Joe asked.

"On the way here," Ethan said. "I have a heavy foot. I'll have to watch
it." Ethan turned to Devyn. "When does school start?"

"Soon," Devyn answered. "We got a few weeks left."

"I have about the same," Ethan said. "Then I will lose most of my free
time."

"Do you have a heavy load?" Joe asked.

"You should know," Ethan said.

"I should," Joe said a bit puzzled. "Did you tell me the classes you were
taking?"

"Oh, you meant my classes," Ethan said innocently. "I thought you were
talking about that other load. That big load that you had a hand in."

"You are impossible," Joe said.

"You just need to be more specific," Ethan said.

"Oh, I am sure you would still find some way to pervert it," Joe said and
shook his head, grinning.

"Well," Ethan said getting up and taking his dishes to the sink. "I had
better get going."

"I'll take care of the dishes," Devyn volunteered.

"Thanks," Ethan said.

"Will you be back out this week?" Joe asked.

"Um, I don't know," Ethan said. "I'm trying to get in a lot of hours before
the semester starts. I will try though."

"I hope you can," Joe said and got up from the table to walk with Ethan to
the door.

"If not, I'll definitely make it out Friday or Saturday," Ethan said. "I'll
stay over again...if that is ok."

"It is definitely ok with me," Joe said and he pulled Ethan in for a long
kiss. His hands sliding up and down the younger man's back and down to grip
that hot butt. "I will have another heavy load to take care of by
then. Hopefully, you will have one too."

"Oh, I will," Ethan said. "I have an idea or two on how we can merge those
loads."

"Mmmm," Joe said and kissed Ethan again.

"Um, guys," Devyn said from the kitchen sink "I am still in the room."

"Oh," Ethan said. "Feeling left out?" Ethan darted across the room and
kissed Devyn on the lips. It was a short peck compared to what Ethan and
Joe had shared.

"Um, I wasn't expecting that," Devyn said blushing

"You are so damn cute." Ethan reached out and playfully tapped Devyn's
nose. Ethan could tell the guy was feeling better and he was glad of
that. Devyn was important to Joe and Ethan was starting to have big brother
feelings for the younger man.

"Yes, he is," Joe said. Then he crossed the room and kissed Devyn too.

"Shit," Devyn said. "What has gotten into you two...No don't answer that. I
have some idea what got into you two last night."

The three of them laughed and then Ethan said again he had to go and rushed
out the door. He threw gravel as he took off towards the road and then the
highway.

"He does have a heavy foot," Joe said and sighed.

"Are you going to be ok?" Devyn said. "I mean without him here, to, um,
take care of your load?"

"Hey," Joe said. "Crossing a line."

"Um, buddy," Devyn said. "I think that line got crossed a while back."

Joe laughed. "Yeah, I guess it did."

* * *

Joe set about getting the baler ready for putting up hay. He was going to
try and get a second cutting done. He always liked having extra just in
case it was a hard winter. He then gave Devyn a crash course on how to load
the twine and operate the baler.

Devyn never thought he would enjoy all this manual labor, but it was
turning out he did. Working with Joe kind of reminded Devyn of all those
trips he took to his Dad's work sites. When Devyn was young, his dad was
just another guy on the crew. Then he moved up until that last year he was
the boss. Devyn still remembered the fun he had at some of those sites when
he was little. He took his set of toy dump trucks, tractors and
semi-trailers to the site and played for hours in the loose dirt while his
Dad worked. He was remembering how his mom had tossed a fit when he came
home covered in dirt and mud. His Dad and he had just laughed. Later he
went to the sites and helped his Dad with some of the manual labor. Since
he had been too young to have a driver's license, his Dad never let him
drive any of the equipment. His Dad had also not been big on telling Devyn
why stuff was done the way it was. Joe on the other hand explained
everything, even the reason behind why they greased this part first or
connected this hose last. Devyn liked knowing there were reasons for doing
something in an order other than just "because I said".

Joe's friend Lee came out to the farm a couple nights during the week. He
helped them haul hay in from the field. Devyn knew they would be seeing
more of Lee as the harvest started. Lee helped Joe a lot last year. Devyn
had been too caught up in drinking and smoking pot with Dewayne and Terry
and did not really give Joe the help he should have. Devyn vowed to make up
for it this year.

Thinking about Dewayne and Terry reminded Devyn that he had outed himself
this summer. He knew Dewayne and Terry were going to give him a bad
time. He was sure Dewayne would want to get even for the bloody nose Devyn
had given him.

* * *

One morning before they started their day, Devyn decided to bring up the
topic. He thought he had better let Joe know a little of the new situation
Devyn was going to be in this year.

They were sitting in the kitchen drinking their morning cups of coffee. It
was nice to sit there and talk during the early morning. In some ways Devyn
found this the most intimate part of their day. It was when they would
often talk about the hard stuff. It had been during the early morning when
Devyn had come in from that all-night drinking and smoking that he had
really opened up to Joe and let him know how bad he was hurting
inside. Devyn could still feel the man holding him and the feeling of
safety that being in those strong arms had given him. That had been the
catalyst Devyn had needed.

"Um, Joe," Devyn said. "I think there is something I need to tell you."

Joe picked up on the serious tone in Devyn's voice. He gave Devyn his full
attention. "It sounds serious."

"It kind of is," Devyn said.

"If you are going to tell me that you are gay," Joe said. "News flash, I
know."

"Well, I am sure you do," Devyn said. "After all, I did try to get into
your pants the first day we met. But it does kind of touch on that."

"You being gay or getting into my pants," Joe asked.

"Me being gay," Devyn said. "Something happened at Julie's party earlier
this summer," Devyn began. "I planned to tell you but then Hannah's
accident and everything...well it didn't seem that important."

"But now," Joe prompted when Devyn paused.

"Well I think it is something you should know," Devyn said and paused
again. "Just in case you get some fallout from it. I never meant to cause
you any trouble. I hope you know that."

"This sounds really big," Joe said.

"It might not be," Devyn said. "I might be making it out to be bigger than
it is. It is just... well at Julie's party Dewayne and Terry showed
up. They were causing a problem so I was trying to get them to leave. I
didn't want them to screw up Julie's party."

"Did you go off drinking with them?" Joe asked. He was sure Devyn had not
had anything to drink or smoke all summer. Joe was satisfied that Devyn had
managed to overcome some of the demons from the past.

"No nothing like that." Devyn was worried that Joe would think he had been
trying to hide something. He had truly not given it much thought with
everything else that had been going on during the summer. He took a deep
breath before continuing. Devyn said. "But they wanted me to leave Julie's
party and go with them. They were quite insistent and causing a scene and
stuff was said. I got mad and, well I think I broke DeWayne's nose. He was
bleeding everywhere."

"Shit," Joe said.

"There is a little more. Dewayne called me a... a... well faggot and that
was when I hit him. I said something like ?and this faggot is about to kick
your ass.? I basically came out right there to everyone at Julie's party. I
could have just blown it off as the heat of the moment but my friends
asked. I did not want to lie to them. I didn't want to hide it any longer."

"Damn Devyn," Joe said. "What a way to make a statement."

"It was probably stupid." Devyn looked down into his coffee cup before
looking back up and meeting Joe's eyes. He could see the caring in the
depths of those blue pools. "But you know my friends; my real friends were
fine with it."

True friends can be like that," Joe said. "I told you once it was your
decision and I would support it no matter what. I stand by that. Coming out
is your choice and you should get to do it when you are ready and, in a
way, that you want."

"Well," Devyn said thoughtfully, "I kind of wish I had not done it quite
like that but I am glad I did. I am glad that I don't have to pretend. I
want to just be me. I want to just be Devyn. I don't want to pretend to be
straight Devyn or gay Devyn. I just want to be me."

"Then be you," Joe said. "I will back you up but..."

"I knew there would be a but," Devyn said, "and not the good kind of butt."

"I understand times are different than when I went through this." Joe could
still remember the hardships he had endured after coming out. He could
still remember how some people had treated him. He knew there were a few
that still did not accept him. "It sounds like you have more support than I
did which is great."

"I have you," Devyn said and placed his hand on Joe's.

"Yes, you do," Joe said and enclosed Devyn's hand in his own. "I still had
a really rough time. There are some folks in this town that will never
accept us. They will hate us for just being Joe and just being Devyn. I
suspect that you will have a rougher year this year."

"I know," Devyn said. "I suspect I'll take some crap for it. I am sure I
will be called fruit, fairy, queer, homo, and fag. I think I can handle
some name calling."

"It might not just be from some kids." Joe was concerned that Devyn might
be underestimating how hard life might be for a while. The boy might be
able to handle name calling from some kids but how would he handle the
attitude of adults. "Like I said there are some adults that are not too
accepting. If anyone gives you too much shit, you let me know."

"Sure," Devyn agreed but doubted he would need Joe's help with some name
calling.

"And I do love you kiddo," Joe said. "You are a hell of a man."

"Um, thanks," Devyn said and felt his face blush.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Joe asked.

"Um, just one thing," Devyn said. "After I came out um another guy ... kind
of ... possibly came out to me."

"That is good," Joe said. He was glad that Devyn might be able to have
another gay friend his own age. "Anyone I know?"

"Yeah," Devyn said. "Um, you won't say anything right?"

"You know very well that I would never out someone." Joe's voice conveyed
his bit of annoyance. He knew Devyn knew him better than that.

"Yes, I do," Devyn said feeling a bit stupid for having even voiced that
random thought. "Um, well Charlie Atwood thinks he is gay."

"Wow," Joe said. "I have known his family for a long time. I'm not sure
exactly how they are going to take it. His Mom is open minded and I think
his Dad is alright with other people being gay. He and I have never had a
problem. It is simply different when it is your own son."

"Well, the thing is," Devyn said. "I am not sure how he is taking it. We
had like this brief special moment and then our summer went a little
crazy. We only got to talk a few minutes this summer, you know when he and
his Mom came out."

"Yes, after the funeral," Joe said.

"Right," Devyn said. "Then his grandparents gave him a trip to visit them
in California. We haven't really had a chance to talk at all."

"Wow," Joe said. "That is really getting away."

"It was a surprise they gave him for his birthday. I am hoping when he gets
back, we can talk more."

"Well feel free to invite him out," Joe said. "He is a good kid. If he is
gay and fighting it, he will need your support and understanding. Remember
you cannot force it on him; you have to let him find his way through it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Devyn said, "and thanks for being so
understanding. You know, as it gets out that I am gay, people will talk
about us. They will talk about you. I never wanted to cause you any
problems. I know sometimes I have been a headache. But I don't know what
would have happened to me without you and Hannah. I... I don't know how to
say it..." Devyn's voice cracked, then he choked out "other than, I love
you."

Moving closer Joe pulled Devyn to his side. His strong arms were wrapping
around the smaller man for a firm hug. His face pressed against Devyn's. "I
love you too." Joe held Devyn for a long moment.

"Sorry," Devyn said. "I don't know what has gotten into me lately. I'm a
fucking mess." Devyn pulled back and hung his head trying to hide his
emotions.

Joe took Devyn's face into his hands and forced their eyes to meet. "You
never have to hide from me," he said. "Having all of these feelings, having
all of the caring you have inside of you is what drew Hannah and me to
you. It is a good thing. Don't lose it."

"Thanks," Devyn said and forced a grin. "I do want to be done with the
emotions for a bit though." Devyn took a deep breath and let out some of
his tension, "Again, I am sorry and I hope my coming out doesn't cause you
problems."

"Well, as for that," Joe said, shrugging. "I have been talked about
before. People talking doesn't bother me. If they are talking about me,
they are leaving someone else alone. The folks that really know me, know
what kind of man I am. I am not worried about it."

"But you know they may think," Devyn paused trying to decide exactly how to
say it, "That we are, um, fucking." Blunt was the best way he
decided. "That is one of the things that Dewayne and Terry were mouthing
off at Julie's party."

"Is that what started it," Joe asked, "them talking about us?"

"It was a bunch of stuff," Devyn said. "But that was one of the things they
were spouting."

"Well lucky me," Joe said grinning. "I am an old man who has these two sexy
hot guys. Between you and Ethan it is a wonder that I have any energy left
for farming."

"I'm glad you are taking it so well," Devyn said. "But it isn't a joke."

"You know Hannah once asked me if you and I were, well to put in your
words, fucking."

"Really?" Devyn said shocked.

"She thought you might be the right guy to bring me out of my shell," Joe
said. "I hadn't really had a relationship in a long time. She knew in many
ways you were no longer a kid. You might be only 16 years old, but
emotionally, you are much more mature. She would never promote me, or
anyone else, fooling around with a kid, but I think she knew that you were
special and not really an innocent."

"But you never considered it," Devyn said. "You never, um, wanted to go
there with me. You know I would not mind at all."

"I wanted and still want you to enjoy being a kid," Joe said. "I want you
to experience those first times with someone. That was taken away from you
and it was forced upon you. Being able to have it with someone might give
you back some of what you missed out on."

"I'll have to think about that," Devyn said.

"But she was right," Joe said. "You did get me out of my self-imposed dry
spell. You got me back out there and now there is Ethan."

"Ethan is a good guy," Devyn said. "He balances you out. He is funny and
goofy. It balances out your serious side."

"Am I serious?" Joe asked.

"You like being the adult and um, I guess I needed that," Devyn said. "I
messed up a lot in the beginning. I didn't like myself. I also thought that
you... well I thought that I could only be one thing and you showed me that
isn't true."

"You are so much more than just a hot piece of ass," Joe said. "Although
after seeing it yesterday it is hot."

"Stop teasing me," Devyn said his face burning slightly.

"You need to look in the mirror," Joe said. "You have gotten so filled out
and sexy over this last year. The change is amazing. You were so skinny
this time last year. It was painful to look at. Now you are filled out and,
well, hot."

"But you are not interested," Devyn said.

"Devyn, I can appreciate your sex appeal without acting on it. If I only
wanted sex... well I still wouldn't have my eyes set on you because with
you it would be much more than sex."

"Anyway, back to where I was going with this," Devyn said. "People will
think you and I are having sex. They are going to talk."

"Let them talk," Joe said. "And again, the folks that matter know that is
all just bullshit."

"I hope one day I can be like that about everything," Devyn said.

"It takes time," Joe said. "It wasn't easy for me. But know[1] all I can
say is I don't have time for that. I have too much work to do and need to
get to it."

"We both need to get to it," Devyn said. "I just want to call Charlie
first. I want to see if he is back and if he might want to come out this
weekend or sometime before school starts. I would like to talk to him and
find out where things stand with us...that is, if there is an us."

"Ok," Joe said. "Make it quick. We do have a lot to do and we need to get
it done while the weather is cooperating."

"Will do," Devyn said and headed to the phone while Joe headed off to work.

* * *

Devyn did not get to talk to Charlie. He got Charlie's Mom again. She told
Devyn he was due back tomorrow and that she would have Charlie call
him. So, Devyn headed off to help Joe.

Devyn tried calling Charlie the next night but found out that he was not
home. He had gone off with his Dad to the hardware store. Charlie's dad
owned the local hardware store and provided typical plumbing and repair
services. "I think he tried calling you earlier today," she told
Devyn. Devyn had been out in the barn with Joe trying to pull a calf. They
had lost the calf and the cow was messed up. She was not able to get up
again. Joe and Lee were going to turn her into hamburger and Devyn wanted
no part of that. He headed to the house hoping to talk to Charlie."I was
probably out working," Devyn said. "Just let Charlie know I called."
Charlie's mom said she would. Devyn had no desire to see what Joe and Lee
were doing so he decided to go hang with Travis for a little while.

Devyn tried again the next night and the next night and kept missing
Charlie. He wondered if he was ever going to talk to him before school
started. He also wondered if Charlie was avoiding him. He wondered if maybe
Charlie was regretting the talk they had after Julie's party. He wondered
if maybe Charlie was reconsidering their friendship.

* * *

On Friday Lee came out. He and Joe were in the barn and Devyn tried calling
Charlie again. He still did not get to talk to him. He went back to the
barn to see what Joe and Lee were doing.

"Why are you spreading straw all over the floor?" Devyn asked after
watching the two for a few minutes. They had the round bales of straw
against the walls and a very thick layer of straw on the floor between
them.

"Lee has agreed to help teach you," Joe said.

"Teach me?" Devyn said looking from Lee to Joe and back again.

"Just some self-defense," Lee said.

"I'll be watching and giving pointers while Lee attacks you over and over
again," Joe said. "I want you to know the best way to defend yourself. Just
in case someone tries to harass you again. I don't want you to go around
picking a fight..."

"But he damn well wants you to finish it," Lee said. "Which is why I am
here."

"Do we bow to each other or anything?" Devyn asked moving into the
makeshift ring.

"Nope," Lee said.

They circled each other and Joe watched as they moved. He gave Devyn
pointers and how to use Lee's weight against him. Devyn ended up on the
straw covered floor but by the end he was knocking Lee to the ground about
half the time. He knew tomorrow he was going to be sore but it was kind of
fun learning. Plus it was kind of nice getting to feel up Lee's lean sexy
body. Devyn had never noticed before, how solid the guy was. There was a
great deal of wiry strength under those clothes.

"How did you learn all of this?" Devyn asked, as he and Lee took a
break. Lee's shirt was damp and clung to his chest. The man's faded jeans
were hugging him. Devyn likewise was damp with sweat. His long brown hair
was dripping with perspiration.

"I learned it somewhere along the way," Joe said.

"Oh, don't give him that bull shit," Lee said. "When he was living out on
his own, he worked for a former special ops guy. He learned all this stuff
from him. I think Joe knows more ways to bring down an opponent than just
about anyone."

"He's exaggerating," Joe said. "He wasn't special ops."

"Sure, he wasn't," Lee said his voice thick with sarcasm. "He just taught
you how to shoot any kind of gun, hand to hand combat and some sort of
crazy Asian martial arts that I still haven't found out the name for."

Devyn looked from Lee to Joe. He could remember the battle in the barn with
Tom. He had seen Joe using that pitchfork like it had been an extension of
his own arm. "How much of that is true?" Devyn asked looking at Joe.

"He is exaggerating but I did learn a few things," Joe said.

"I have seen you fight," Lee said. "I have seen you take more than one guy
to his knees."

Devyn looked at Joe. He had a hard time seeing it. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Lee said.  Without any warning, Lee moved like a striking
snake. He went for Joe. Joe moved instinctively. In only moments Lee was
down on the floor, his arm behind his back. "Damn that hurts," Lee
muttered.

"Fuck!" Devyn felt a little awe at how quickly Joe had taken Lee
down. Devyn had been sparring with the man for over an hour and knew how
hard Lee's lean body was. He knew that the guy had a damn lot of muscle on
that body. Plus, he knew Lee had to have some sort of self-defense training
for his job as the town cop. "I didn't even see the move, it was so fast."

"Watch the language," Joe said.

"Remind me to never piss you off," Devyn said.

Lee was up and brushing the straw from his clothes. "Damn Joe that fuckin'
hurt."

"Don't do it again then," Joe said. "And sorry. I forgot to hold back."

"Bullshit," Lee said. "You knew exactly what you were doing."

"You're right," Joe said. "I just like having you down with your ass in the
air."

"Well just ask next time," Lee said. "Next time I'll just turn and bend
over."

"Wow," Joe said. "I didn't know you were that easy."

"Fuck you," Lee said laughing. "Well I had better get home. I have been
gone just long enough to piss Melissa off again. Plus, I think the kid has
learned enough for one day."

"I think he has some basics now," Joe said. "It is a good start."

Copyright 2020 by Keith yates (keith.96@att.net) all rights reserved.

Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to
it. Thomas Paine

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from
oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that
will reach to himself. Thomas Paine