It Wasn't Meant For You (Melix and Elemental Son)

[Elemental Son]

Dominic was in one of his happy places, so to speak – sacred ground. That sacred ground was lying underneath the chassy of a ’66 Corvette, recalibrating the fuel lead’s tension. Slowly working away to restore something from unuseable to perfect. He’d wanted to work on a bike, but the car had just been brought to the workshop, and he couldn’t resist. Something about the classics had a way of getting to him. Dom was completely focused on his task when he heard his phone – on the workbench at the other side of the shop – beep. For a couple of minutes he ignored it, aiming to get the resistance tension juuuuuust right. Then, somewhat resigned, he rolled out from under the car and went to check it.


Dom read the text and frowned. Hopefully Lyall was just in as a precaution. In typical Dominic style, now he’d had some time to process what had happened earlier, he’d completely written it off. However he’d felt about it at the time, if he chalked it up to nothing important, he could get on with that he needed to do – work on the car, look after his mate. Things were easier when kept simple. He typed back a response: ‘Yeah man, just at the workshop. Sarah’s going to drop by in 10. Want me deliver the letter? I’ll come by after.’


(Will be out a bit today, so replies might be somewhat sporadic, sorry)

 

[Melix]

Yes, texted Lyall. I wanted her to know so bad. Lyall was now in the hospital, having traveled the short distance quickly in the ambulance. He was now snuggled up against a thousand used teddy bears in the children's ward, spending time halfway between killing zombies in a mini-game and half the time considering asking Dominic a really important question. He felt like this was looming over his head. How could his best friend honestly believe Lyall was in love with him? What did you mean to happen? Those words echoed in his mind. I don't have a response for you, yet.


Of course you don't, thought Lyall. You're straight. You've established this a billion times.





He paused his zombie game again, not having realized he was hitting the screen so hard he was killing every zombie he could see and every zombie behind them. He'd beat his old high score three times over, but he didn't care.


Can I ask you something important, Dominic? he texted. I need to know.  
(I'll be back later.)

 

[Elemental Son]

Dominic paused, thinking. So far as he knew, Sarah thought of Lyall as more like another younger brother, which was rarely a starting block for a relationship. As mixed up as things were, he still felt obligated to give his friend some warning. He typed back 'Alright, but you know how she is. You might have to fight past the 'you're all like kid brothers to me' thing before you get anywhere, just saying.'


Dominic had just hit send when Lyall's second text came through. He could hear what sounded like Sarah's car outside, so started packing up the tools he'd been using with one hand, typing out a quick 'What's up?' to Lyall. The tone of the question made him oddly apprehensive, however. What had happened earlier in the day probably hadn't been forgotten by either of them yet, but Dominic would still be happy to never talk about it. Chances are he would not get off that lightly.


(Back - should be good to post for the rest of the day. Really sorry about yesterday, plans went awry.)

 

[Melix]

(Sorry for not replying. Had to hang out with my cousins. Tomorrow and another few days- more cousins. Right now and for the next few hours? I'm good.)


Lyall read the first text and grinned. Without expressing his confidence verbally, he knew he could convince Sarah to go on a date with him. She was out of his league- charming, beautiful, funny, and older- but, she was exactly the type he knew. She was exactly what he'd dated before, in every girl he ever dated. Her type liked cheeky boys like him. Once they went out on one date, more would follow, like dominoes. Sarah was the easy-to-understand sibling.


Then came the second text. Lyall spent more minutes on these two words than he had on the previous twenty-eight. It really wasn't one question he wanted answered. How could you think I'm gay? He paused over the send button. Did he want to know that? He deleted it and started over. Do other people think I'm gay? No, not that either. Fudging...He deleted it and pounded out How could you have thought I liked you? No, that wasn't right either. How about just not talking about it right now? On the screen next to him, he could see his blood pressure rising. If you were Sarah, would you date me? he sent, and flopped backwards into the pillows.


It was a few moments before he decided to send something else. I'm sorry for putting it in your locker, Dominic.

 

[Elemental Son]

(All good - welcome back. If you want to take some control over Sarah as well, feel free.)


Locking his tools in one of the metal cabinets lining the walls of the workshop, Dominic went back to his backpack and took out the letter, ready to pass it on. Then he had an odd thought. Part of him wanted to take a photo of the letter, and he wasn't sure why - just so he wouldn't forget, perhaps. If nothing else, he could use it to make fun of Lyall later. He took his phone out, set it to camera, and paused. His better nature told him to forget it, and before he could make up his mind, Sarah's horn blared out. Guess that solves that. Dominic folded the letter back up, shouldered his pack, and walked to the door.


As he got out into the carpark, locking the pull-down metal grate over the door behind him, his phone beeped again. 'If you were Sarah, would you date me?' Dominic smirked. And the World's Most Loaded Question Award goes to... Before he could think up a suitably sarcastic, 'I'm not at all freaked out' answer, his phone beeped again, and the second text came through. Walking to the car, he typed out a reply. 'Don't worry about it. Also, I guess you'll find out if she would, 'cause she just got here. See you soon man.' Feeling like that suitably dodged the underlying, more uncomfortable questions Lyall might've been implying, Dominic pulled open the car door and got in.


"Hey sis. Thanks for picking me up - Lyall's still in hospital, so if you want to just drop me off, I'd appreciate it." After a second, he remembered his other task on Lyall's behalf. An odd tension rose in his chest, and Dominic ignored it resolutely. However, it was no coincidence that his tone was a little flat when he said "I'm playing errand boy, by the way - you got a letter", and passed it over.

 

[Melix]

"Oh," said Sarah. She took the letter and opened it, smiling. Her little brother's friends, and occasionally friends of friends, liked to send her letters. Usually they were very cute and made her proud to put them on her wall back at the den, like a mother proudly displaying her many macaroni necklaces, or a hunter displaying his deer heads, or however that went.


This one was different. It was from Lyall (she recognized the handwriting), one of Dominic's best friends (his only best friend?) and kind of a personal joke in her mind. She always heard about his amazing girlfriends, but they were all vaguely similar in the way all of her gay friend Lawrence's past beards had all been vaguely similar. Actually, she was pretty sure some of them were the same girls, but she'd decided to never bring that up again after the long awkward conversation they'd had about this last year when he'd dated the third Heather. He was like an extra brother to her.


According to this note, she really was just like a sister to him. "Awwww," she said after reading it. "Puppy love." She fluffed Dominic's hair. "I kind of figured Lyall liked you. Did you ask him out yet?"


(Sarah: Drawing the exact same wrong conclusions as her brother, but not for any good reason!)

 

[Elemental Son]

Dominic stared at her, stupefied. Then he started laughing. "Holy shit, he's not going to believe this. He means you, Sar." The part of Dominic not still focused on laughing his ass off, was deeply relieved. If Sarah had assumed Lyall meant him, then surely Dominic's own reaction earlier had been reasonable, right? He'd intended to keep his mouth shut about the incident earlier in the day, but Sarah just had a way of making him talk. "I thought the same thing you did. Goddamn that was awkward."


Then the rest of his brain caught up. "Wait - wait, why would I ask Lyall out? Come on Sarah, you know I'm not into that." While Sarah - older, and probably a little more emotionally switched on than her younger brother - was comfortable with the concept of guys dating guys, Dominic was not - at least, not when it involved him. Besides that, Lyall had made it entirely clear where his interests lay, and irrespective of anything else, Dominic was his mate. That meant not crossing those kind of lines. Not that he'd consider it or anything. Not at all.


Laughter turned to feeling mildly pensive as Dominic started overthinking the situation. This was not how he'd planned on the day turning out. It'd be much easier to forget it and focus on other things if Sarah and Lyall hooked up, and that was the end of it. That was how these things were meant to work, right?

 

[Melix]

Sarah laughed at him. Then she got focused. She crumpled the note. "I don't date younger guys," she said seriously. "Especially not guys your age, nor guys I think are a better match for you than me." She put her hand up before he could protest. "I'm entitled to my opinion, and my instincts. And both say that you and Lyall are more than best mates." She put her hands through her hair. "Still, him thinking he likes me, that makes it awkward. Tell him I'm with someone or something."


Lyall waited a solid few minutes before sending more texts. I'll love you forever if you try to get her to give me one shot. He added a smily-face and a winky face and more happy faces. Also, rescue me. Please? I need you to flirt with the needle-happy nurse. She's cute, I guess? For you, anyway.

 

[Elemental Son]

Processing what she said, Dominic scowled. Convincing Lyall of something he didn't want to hear could be difficult, and besides, he seemed sure that he was into Sarah. This was re-affirmed when Dom's phone beeped. Rock and a hard place, damn it. Caught between his loyalty to Lyall, his sister's boundaries, and whatever the weird fear response he'd been having since he first found the letter was, Dominic had few options. Staring out the window, he figured he probably owed it to Lyall to at least try - especially after how badly he'd handled the whole incident earlier.


Deciding not to tell Lyall that Sarah had assumed the same thing he had, Dominic tapped out a very quick 'I'll see what I can do', and started trying to form something like an argument on Lyall's behalf in his head. After a second, he decided honesty was the best policy.


"Sarah - do me a favour. Go on one date with him. You're wrong about him and me, but that's not why I'm asking." Taking a breath, he explained. "I thought the same thing you did - the idiot put that note in my locker by mistake, okay? I can't... I don't think I can deal with talking to him about that yet. I don't know why, but it threw me off. Probably because I never... Anyway - he's so caught up in you he doesn't know what he's doing. I said I'd pass the letter on, so if I tell him you're seeing someone, Lyall's going to know it's just you brushing him off, because if you were seeing someone else, you'd just tell him yourself. He doesn't just like you - he listens to you. Go on one date, even if just to let him down easy, okay? Worst comes to worst, you can run your insane theory by him and scare him off, but at least give him a shot?" It was a big ask, but Dominic felt like he at least had to try.

 

[Melix]

Sarah pursed her lips and thought about this. Her brother was trying very hard to convince her to give Lyall a chance. "What's in it for me?" she asked finally. "I'd almost rather say yes, but you show up." She smiled good-naturedly, but nodded. "Don't worry. Some day in some medium, I'm sure you'll be able to talk about it." Even though she was driving, she reached over and tapped his heart. Driving left-handed made her swerve, narrowly avoiding a cat and a mailbox, but smacking into a trashcan. She nervously put her other hand on the wheel and continued driving as if that hadn't just occurred. "Try and think about him, though. It would be handy for me- and it might be helpful for you- to know exactly what you feel about him, and in what capacity. I like to think about deserted tropical islands. Get rid of the rules and it's just the two of you, alone, on a deserted island. No link to civilization. What happens?" She looked at him. "I don't want an out loud answer, by the way."


Lyall read his text and smiled. He wanted to send about a million smilies or something that expressed his gratitude in an appropriate way, but there wasn't an emoji for the swelling feeling in his chest. So he sent a simple Thank you and found that didn't at all suffice, so he followed it with an I love you, man.





"I'll give him a shot," said Sarah, "to let him down easy."


Lyall fluffed up his pillows and curled down. Trying to stay awake for Sarah and Dominic made it harder to stay up. He didn't know yet if he would be given a chance, but he hoped so. He fell asleep dreaming of the quality that had first attracted him to Sarah: her gorgeous eyes. Incidentally, the exact eyes Dominic had, but, of course, prettier, because they were on a girl. Either way, he fell asleep thinking about both of their eyes, and spent his time dreaming of Dominic.

 

[Elemental Son]

Ignoring the latter part of what she said about being able to talk about it, as charmingly as he could, Dominic responded with: "What's in it for you is helping out your very confused younger brot- Jesus!" The effect of his charms were more than a little spoiled by the thunk of the car hitting plastic as the trashcan went flying. Deciding not to mention it, considering the fact she was technically doing him a favour already by dropping him at the hospital, and might be on the verge of agreeing to another one, Dominic settled for laughing slightly nervously instead. Whether that came off as derisive in response to her 'tropical island' idea, he couldn't tell, but thinking about something like that was the last thing he wanted to do right now.


His phone beeped, giving him an excuse to be preoccupied with something else - well, sort of, considering it was Lyall again. Dominic was halfway through typing 'Any time' when the second text came through. Reading it, he erased what he'd written. Really, he wasn't in a position to answer that, even if Lyall meant it as platonically as Dominic thought he did.


Sarah agreeing to give Lyall a chance was a pleasant distraction, though, and Dom smiled appreciatively. "Thanks sis." He said it and meant it. Even if all she did was turn Lyall down, it was enough for now to have some space between talking to Lyall about the messed up day they'd had, and those damn, creeping tropical island style thoughts that he hadn't quite managed to keep out of his head.


As they pulled up to the hospital, Dominic found his wallet, and took out the small amount of cash he had on him - about fifteen bucks - and put it on the car's console. "For petrol. I appreciate the lift. I guess I'll see you at home this weekend." He opened the car to get out, slinging his pack onto a shoulder, and waving to her. A very small part of his mind acknowledged that he was trying to get inside before she could change her mind.


Walking in to the hospital's reception, he found it empty. Looking down at the patient list on the desk, he found Lyall's name and walked towards the elevator. In the quiet, the thoughts Dominic had been fighting off seemed to gain power. What would he do, if they were ever in a situation where nothing mattered? Somewhere without consequences? At the same time, it was a stupid train of thought, and he knew it. Even if he had wanted to... Even if things had been like that... Dominic tipped his head back against the inside wall of the lift, eyes closed. He was thinking too much. The strange feeling of vulnerability surged, Lyall's words from earlier echoing in the back of his head. "It would not be you." Of course not.


The elevator beeped and the doors open. Walking to the door of Lyall's room, Dominic took a deep breath, preparing to give his friend the sort-of good news. Why then, as he opened the door, did it feel like delivering his own guilty verdict? 
(Just a heads' up, got training tonight, so I'll have to disappear reasonably soon)

 

[Melix]

(That's fine. Do have a nice night.)


Sarah nodded. "Mmm. See you this weekend."


Lyall woke to the sound of the elevator opening, but he didn't feel very awake when he noticed his best friend walk through the doors. "Hi..." he mumbled, yawning. He sat up. "I kind of feel like I'm still dreaming," he yawned again. "Wanna pinch me so I know whether I'm about to fall down the rabbit hole again?" He came forward and tried to give his best friend an awkward hug- not too huggy, just enough to apologize for what had occurred earlier- only to be hindered by his lousy intravenous pole. For whatever reason, they put it on the side away from the door, so he had to drag it, needles and all, across his bed to give Dominic a proper hug. He may as well, since it cost him so much time and energy. He wrapped his arms around Dominic at an appropriate height and tightness and rested his head on Dom's chest.


After a moment he pulled back and realized he was staring right into those eyes. A pinch was no longer needed. Lyall felt like he'd had a few cups of strong coffee. He looked down uncomfortably. "So, how's Sarah?" he asked politely, scuffing the ground with his shoes. A pleasant breeze filtered through his legs and tickled his underwear, reminding him of his hospital gown, that which would be called a dress in the outside world. He smoothed it down over his underwear, working so Dominic, and, for that matter, any of the nurses walking by, didn't need to see anything unnecessary. "Did she agree to give me a chance?"


He blew out through his mouth, awaiting his answer.


(Sorry, it's short.)

 

[Elemental Son]

Looking his friend over as he walked in, Dominic frowned. Lyall looked like hell, and the needles hanging out of his arms didn't help the picture. The half asleep rambling was concerning too - was it the medication, or was he still sick? As Lyall fought to move, Dominic kept staring, half his mind still lost in the thoughts of the elevator. So much so, Lyall had pulled Dominic into a hug before he'd registered what was happening. As he pulled away, Dominic still found himself staring. It wasn't until Lyall looked down that Dominic managed to pull his thoughts back together.


Lyall seemed to have switched on too - he looked more alert, more aware. Giving his friend some vestige of privacy, Dom stared out the small window in the room. He'd been in one of those hospital outfits himself after a motorbike accident, and knew they didn't exactly feel like you were wearing what counted as clothes.


"Sarah's good." It was a long pause before he answered the second question - in part because the news wasn't totally positive, and in part because Dominic simply didn't want to answer. Quite suddenly, he'd become tired of being the messenger of news he couldn't make himself enthusiastic about. Christ, I really need to get into a boxing ring. Shake this off. Get back to neutral. Sighing despite himself, Dom crossed his arms over his chest, unconscious of the fact, his body language defensive. "Well, you've got a date, but I don't know about a chance. She had some...crazy ideas about what she thinks is your type, and doesn't seem convinced she fits the bill. You've got your work cut out for you, but at least it's a date, right?"


(All good - no pressure)

 

[Melix]

"It's a date," Lyall muttered dreamily. He looked at Dominic and pursed his lips. "What does she think my type is?" he asked. "Am I too...what's the word...it means I date a lot of girls?" He bit his lip. This time it really wasn't the medication; Lyall was awful at remembering words, especially bad words, names, and names of animals. Like frogs. He could never remember they were called that. "I don't have any diseases," he pointed out defensively. "Not even gum disease. I'm a virgin." Sensing that he may have just taken the conversation into a right turn onto Awkward Street, he moved along quickly. "Nevermind. Does she prefer Italian or Chinese food? Or Thai food? Or Mexican food? What does she think of corny restaurant bands?" He hurried along with more questions, thinking maybe if he talked fast enough they'd both forget he'd just announced too much information. A date with Sarah he could handle, but he did not want his best friend heckling him about his status. "You're a life saver," he mumbled when he was finished rattling off questions. "A wingman as good as you is hard to find."


He really admired his friend Dominic. It had occurred to him before, how far he would go for his friend's approval. Dominic had never gotten him a date before, that he recalled, though. Looking at him now was like staring at a god. Lyall had the weirdest urge to kiss his shoes. He held off, though, as that would be gross (for him, not the shoes). Instead, he leaned up and kissed Dom on his cheek before flopping down on the hospital bed and putting on his shoes. "Can you ask them to take the I.V.s and stuff out? I want to go home. I promise to drink lots of water and not faint. I'm so bored...." He groaned. "I'd rather watch you work on cars than this." Watching Dominic work was the epitome of boring.

 

[Elemental Son]

"Promiscuous, but I don't think that's her concern." Dominic replied absentmindedly, having expected an onslaught of questions. "I'll believe you have no diseases when the doctors here say you're good to go - those burritos looked lethal, man." Dom raised an eyebrow at the virgin part. That was unexpected. Lyall had dated several girls, and he was what, seventeen? Thinking back to the conversation he'd had with his sister, Dominic felt that Lyall wasn't really helping his own case, here. Still, Dom would let it slide - for now. He had every intention about making Lyall every bit as uncomfortable as Lyall had made him today with that information, and his expression said as much. He would just have to get to it later.


"Thai or Mexican - she likes spicy food. Music good, corny bands, no idea. Damn straight I am." Satisfied that that was the end of the questioning, for now at least, Dominic relaxed a little. If that was as awkward as the whole 'best friend dating sister' thing got, he could cope. That said, the awkwardness was increasing by the minute - Lyall was looking at him really strangely. It increased exponentially again, when for the second time that day, Lyall kissed him. Quite unintentionally, as Lyall rambled about needles and boredom, Dominic said what he was thinking out loud, if through gritted teeth. "Really not helping your damn case, man."


Oops. Another awkward pause stretched out before Dominic made at least a cursory attempt to recover the situation, reverting to talking about something he was comfortable with. "Just because you have no appreciation for my form of artwork doesn't mean cars are boring, Ly - you just haven't paid them enough attention." This was said half jokingly, half serious - Dom was passionate about his cars. "I'll uh, find a nurse or something. I'm holding you to your promise - Don't pass out, yeah?"


Turning and walking to the door behind him, Dominic stuck his head out into the hallway, looking for someone in a hospital uniform. Well this just gets better and better.

 

[Melix]

Lyall's eyebrows raised when Dominic mentioned his 'case', then abruptly changed the subject. It was nice to know Sarah liked things...spicy, and he didn't care what Dominic had to say about cars; they were boring. He didn't even like riding in them. He was bored again; but Dominic had mentioned a case, and that always spelled mystery. He got up, and, walking carefully and lifting his I.V. pole so as not to make noise, crept up right behind him. "What's my case?" he whispered in Dominic's ear, grabbing the back of his shirt. "Don't just say something intriguing and then try to run away." He peeked out the door. "Also, what's going on? I can't see anything past you; you're like a whale of some sort." He quickly realized. "Not that you're fat. Just broad. A good kind of broad. Definitely very muscular and not fat." He patted Dominic's back and continued to try to look past him, eventually forcibly squeezing his head out from under Dominic's armpit. "If nothing's going on, don't leave me, okay?" He hugged Dominic a bit again and then pulled away, keeping his grip on the back of Dom's shirt.

 

[Melix]

Lyall, from the bed, groaned. "You think I'm not aware? The female nurse wrote 'homosexual' down as my chosen form of contraception." He buried his face in a pillow and dug his claws into the bed. "She didn't even ask." He ignored Dominic's car comment, because who honestly cared? Well, he did. Watching Dominic work was boring, but the expressions on his face, in the way he moved when he worked, made Lyall happy, because Dom was happy and focused. He refused to ever admit that, though. Actually, he was starting to resent admitting anything, ever.


If I never tried to make a move on Sarah, I never would have been mistaken as gay by Dominic. If that hadn't happened, I could do anything, and neither of us would think twice.





He fussed and looked out the window. "Go away, then," he said. Lyall could care less about nurses and their stupid opinions. Once Dominic convinced them to let him out, he was heading straight for work and going on autopilot mode. It was the only thing that was going to relax him right now. He didn't want to see Dominic, he didn't want to see his parents, he sure as h*** didn't want to see...who was texting him?


Alan. Nope, Lyall definitely did not want to talk to his only non-straight friend right now. That might make things even weirder.


Lyall shuddered from cold air blasting about the room he hadn't noticed before. Dominic was paused at the door. "Why are you still here?"

 

[Elemental Son]

Just like the hospital reception room, the hallway was deserted. Where is everyone? Emptiest damn hospital I’ve ever seen. Hearing Lyall’s comment in the background, Dom frowned. Yesterday, it would have been hilarious, and he’d’ve been making fun of his best friend for at least a week over it. Today, it was an indication that things weren’t the same any more.


Dominic’s concern only grew when Lyall ordered him to leave. There were generally only two times when that happened – on the rare occasion the soccer team lost a game and Lyall really needed space, and on the rarer occasions when the two of them were genuinely mad at one another. This time, Dominic wasn’t convinced it was either.


At Lyall’s question, Dom turned around, looking him over more carefully. “No one’s around. You know, you don’t really sound like a guy who just got a date with a pretty girl.” Walking over, Dominic took a seat in the uncomfortable plastic chair next to the bed. Maybe Lyall was annoyed that two people had mistaken his sexuality in the same day. Well, three, but Dominic wasn’t going to tell him about Sarah. Maybe something else was going on.


In either case, Dominic was past the point where he was panicked. He was past the point where he was confused. Being at the workshop had given him time to cool off. Now that even Lyall couldn’t seem to act unaffected, maybe Dominic would get some answers.


“Don’t get mad at me, man. In all seriousness though… what’s going on with you?”

 

[Melix]

"Oh, nothing." snapped Lyall. "I'm fine." He looked straight at the door. "If you close the door, I'll tell you every reason I wouldn't be fine, though." He was freezing. Why couldn't he get warm? He wrapped arms around himself in a slight hug. Keeping his voice flat, he stated, "It won't help. Telling you anything will only make it worse."


He just wanted to go away from this cold, empty hospital. Well, empty except for the nurse that reminded him of a serial killer. He wanted to be back at work, where he could control everything, where the people needed him to run things smoothly, but anything these people said couldn't hinder him. At work, he followed the same routine, or a routine variation on that. At work, Lyall didn't need to worry about his friends or his parents not wanting him around or finding a place to live; he just had to worry about which customer wanted what food and where and trivial things of that nature. And, of course, being caught by the police. It wasn't illegal to be a waiter, unless you were a seventeen year old waiter at a strip club. Lyall also didn't want to get caught by those he knew.


"Hurry up," he muttered.

 

[Elemental Son]

Without a word, Dominic stood up, and carrying the chair, walked to the door. He closed it, and leaned the chair back, fitting it under the handle as a rudimentary lock. Whatever Lyall had to tell him, clearly he needed some security before he'd feel something like approaching comfortable in doing so. Dominic could work with that - while he wasn't great at feelings, he was unshakeable when it came to loyalty.


Walking back over, he took his jacket off, and threw it onto the bed next to Lyall, hoping he'd get the unspoken hint to use it to ward off the cold he was clearly feeling. Leaning against the wall, Dom crossed his arms - not aggressive, not defensive - and just waited. Lyall would talk when he was ready.

 

[Melix]

Lyall looked at the gestures Dominic had gone through to help him and felt tears welling up in his eyes. Dominic was so sweet. He wasn't sure where to start. "My parents don't like me, anymore," was the first thing bothering him that came out of his mouth. "You know how we're kinda poor? Now that I have a job that pays well, my mom and dad argue over what my job is. My mom thinks I'm selling illegal items and my dad thinks I'm 'selling illegal items', basically." He gestured to himself when he explained what his dad thought he was doing. "I heard them arguing." His face was heating up from anger. "They won't listen to me. They want me out of the house. I was going to leave, anyway, but now I feel offended."


"Also, everyone I know thinks I'm gay. My dad thinks I'm gay. Nurses think I'm gay. My ex-girlfriend said she caught me staring at guys' butts all the time, and that's why she dumped me. Even you think I'm gay. Don't deny it, you've said it and I can see it on your face." He glared at Dom, an I-dare-you-to-say-something-different glare.


"And I hate my job." That was about it. Lyall hated that it made him feel better. "And I don't like complaining about anything because straight white male is the lowest difficulty level in life, but I basically suck, so I'm going to complain anyway."

 

[Elemental Son]

Dominic just listened, keeping his expression neutral. When Lyall had finished talking, he said "Jackets generally do more if you actually put them on, man", using it as a place-holder while gathering his thoughts. There was a lot packed into Lyall's rant, and Dominic knew that this conversation could affect their friendship for a long time ahead. Eventually, he added more thoughts to his speech - concessions perhaps, but true ones. "Straight white male is still human. That means parts of life are going to screw you around, no matter what difficulty setting you play on."


The next bit was sensitive ground, and Dom knew it. They had never really talked about money, but he knew Lyall's situation. If it was causing his best mate stress, the least he could do was try and offer an alternative. "You've never really told me what you do do for a job. I know you can't be playing rent boy, because in your half-asleep rambling before, you mentioned you're still a virgin. If you don't want to talk about it, all good. If I can help make you hate it less, or if you want me to ask if there's any extra jobs going at the workshop, I'll do what I can."


"As for the rest..." Dom took a drawn out breath, trying to find the words. Eventually, he settled on being straightforward, and said, "Yep - I think you're gay. I also don't care; and yeah, I was freaked out. That's to do with my issues with me, not you. So I'm going to make this easy." Looking Lyall dead in the eyes, he continued. "I'm going to ask you if you are. I don't care if the answer's different from what you told me this afternoon. You can say yes, no, or 'I don't know'. After that, I won't bring it up again. If the answer's no, I'll talk to my dad. He'd probably let you stay in Sarah's old room if we worked something out. If the answer's something else...you might not want to live with him, let's put it that way."


"So - are you?"

 

[Melix]

Lyall looked at him and everything dropped. His stomach was in his feet; his head was in his chest, his limbs were writhing on the ground. In reality, he was twitchy and nauseous, but not in the earlier way that let him know he was really going to be sick. His head and his heart beat simultaneously. "I work for a nice man. I serve him and his customers food and drinks, which I make and cook. I play cards. I clean and I entertain the guests. I make the rowdier guests leave. I guess I'm the young male equivalent of a housewife hostess. My problem is, I work at a casino. It's mostly a casino. It also has a gentleman's club." His face was red. "No matter how stupid the job, it's still embarrassing to say you work at a place like that. So I don't like to talk about it. Please don't tease me about that."


He was rambling and he was aware. It was a defense mechanism. He needed to babble while he got his head in place. The combination of the job offer and the house offer was intriguing, but when his brain coupled that with Dominic saying he had issues and then blatantly asking him if he liked boys...something clicked in Lyall. That click had caused the pause before he spoke and the dropping feeling and the nausea. It was the realization that Lyall kind of wanted to kiss Dom. Badly. Lyall realized he was staring at Dominic now and looked away, hoping his thoughts weren't written plainly on his face. "I'm not sure," said Lyall. "And I have no feasible way of finding out. And I don't want to find out." I don't even like 'gay', thought Lyall. Yet here I am. "You can fix the door now. I'm done talking about this. Thank you for listening."

 

[Elemental Son]

Something moved in Dominic's chest - a burning, furious thing. It was unexpected, and it took him a moment to identify. A possessive sense of protectiveness, laced with rage. Unconscious to it, the more Lyall described his job, the more Dom ground his teeth. By the time the words 'gentleman's club' hit the air, part of Dominic was ready to kill something, and he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the blatant injustice that Lyall's circumstances had necessitated him doing something that clearly made him feel ashamed. Perhaps it was the dark mental image the too-vague description gave. Regardless, he kept silent as Lyall continued.


By the time Lyall was done talking, Dominic's anger had been tempered somewhat by an empathetic sadness. He wasn't good at emotions, or figuring them out, but he understood exactly what he was being told - possibly too well. By the time he spoke, Dominic's tone was incredibly gentle, despite the serious threat in what he said. It was rare that Dominic was aggressive, much less violent, but he was a talented boxer. It was moments like these where he appreciated that fact. Dominic stepped closer to the bed, placing both hands on Lyall's shoulders and looking down at him. "If anyone hurts you, I will end them. Thank you for trusting me."


With that, he walked towards the door and took hold of the chair, just in time to intercept the nurse trying to push through from the other side. She would probably be suspicious, but right now, Dominic did not give a damn what she thought they'd been up to.

 

[Melix]

The nurse walked forward, eyeing them warily. "Excuse me, visiting hours are over," she said with a pointed look to Dominic. "I need to check you over." She looked at Lyall. "If you haven't passed out since entering the hospital and you show no signs of head trauma or wooziness, you should be good to go. The doctor says the...whatever weird cleaning chemical you ate...has probably waned."


Lyall frowned unhappily. Cleaning chemical? What the heck were the cafeteria ladies trying to make, mustard gas? "If I'm leaving in a few minutes anyway, can he stay until then?" He didn't want Dominic to leave, not after saying those sweet things. He wanted- needed- to thank him. The nurse looked dubious, so Lyall put on his sweetest face and began to shamelessly lie. "Please. He's my fiance, and I want to stay by his side." The nurse looked taken aback. She struggled to form her thoughts on this.


"How old are you?" she asked. "You seem a little young to be deciding who you want to marry. How do you know you will be happy, later?"


Lyall just blushed, grinning up at Dominic like a fool. True, he was thinking about Sarah in a swimsuit, but whatever worked to keep Dom around while the nurse prodded him was enough. And he wasn't quite ready to think about Dom himself in a swimsuit just yet. "I'm always happy when he's around."


The nurse blushed and nodded, did all the necessary things, and didn't order Dominic to leave again. When she was done, she determined that Lyall was good to go and closed the door on them accidentally as she hurried to sign them out. Lyall walked over and nudged Dom. "I'll pay if you want to get food," he said, which was as close as he was coming right now to a thank you.