It's been ten years since Adam and Lawrence met face to face in the bathroom. Even though life has changed for both of them, they are still living with the trauma of that day.
I still haven't decided if this fic is done, so please R&R and tell me if you think I should build more into this.
Days Go By...
Lawrence picked up his day planner off the desk and turned to that day's entry page. He was immediately taken back once he realized the date. How could he have forgotten? He stared down at the blank page as the memories flooded back to his mind. The fear, the pain. The unexpected course it had placed him on.
He shook away the memories. Yes, they still remained, but they weren't as vivid. Sometimes, it's as though it had been just a dream. Both he and Adam had weathered the nightmares and the anxiety together, both of which had abated years earlier. They had served as each other's therapist, for only they had the slightest inkling as to what the other was enduring.
Together, they had pulled through, and their time spent together had forged an unexpected bond. Love had been the last the thing either of them had been looking for, yet it was the main thing they had given each other. Lawrence had returned to work at the hospital after a year of therapy and rehabilitation. Adam now had his own studio and often did photography projects for major companies. They had successfully picked up the pieces of their lives and reassembled them to form what had become the best ten years of their lives.
The announcement of their relationship had only confirmed that Adam's family was searching for any reason to disown him. For Lawrence, it had weeded out his social circle, leaving it painfully bare. Out of all those he has once called his friends, only two had been willing to stay by his side and support him.
It's great how controversy causes one's true colours to come through.
Scandal was a mild term for the ridicule and torment they had endured. It wasn't until a few years earlier that the media had begun to back off. The only story that was able to outdo the Lawrence and Adam scandal was the arrest of John "Jigsaw" Kramer and his accomplice, Amanda Young. After they had captured the spotlight, Lawrence and Adam could at long last walk freely among the townspeople without causing a stir.
Lawrence finished in his office and made his way to the kitchen where he found Adam cooking dinner. He had a knack for it, but never realized it until Lawrence had taught him the basics.
Ten years, Lawrence thought in awe. For a man that was now in his mid fifties, only the last ten years if of his life was worth remembering. Adam was in his late thirties now, yet he hadn't changed a bit since that day so long ago. He had yet to experience his first gray hair.
Adam looked up from the counter and smiled.
"Hey, you wanna set the table for me?"
"Sure," Lawrence obliged.
He set the table and Adam served dinner. Eating dinner together was something they made a point of doing. Little moments here and there were more important and more memorable that one big outing per week. Nothing can compensate for the intimacy of sharing a home cooked meal.
Adam gazed at Lawrence longer than usual. He had noticed that Larry's blond hair was mostly gray now, and a few wrinkles had crept up around his eyes. Their age difference was more apparent now than ever before.
Lawrence noticed the forlorn look in Adam's eyes. "What are you thinking?" he asked as he set down his water glass.
"A lot of things," Adam sighed. He glanced down at his watch. "I'm just having trouble with… today."
Lawrence nodded.
"I remember…exactly what happened… at this exact moment…ten years ago," he stammered.
Lawrence glanced at the clock. Ten after six.
He knew, too.
Adam set his fork down and rubbed his face. "Will this ever go away?"
Lawrence wanted to reassure him, to take him in his arms and take the pain away. But he couldn't. "It's never going to do away entirely. Time will heal it, but there will always be scar."
Interesting choice of words, Adam thought.
"But…ten years…you think a guy could get over it," Adam said.
"You can expect to completely forget an event that changed your life, can you? You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
Adam looked to Lawrence. "I don't understand how you can be so…accepting of it. You had the most at stake and you…you…"
Adam couldn't bring himself to say the words.
"I remember just as you do," Lawrence said, "But if I hadn't, neither one of us would he sitting here today. The past ten years wouldn't have happened for either of us. We'd probably still be in that place had I not done what I did."
Adam knew he was right, but it did little to relieve the cold, dark feeling that had settled upon him. Lawrence reached across the table and took his hand.
"Look, if it's any consolation, it was worth it. You were worth it. All this was worth it."
Adam said nothing as he dropped his gaze.
Lawrence stood up. "C'mon," he said to Adam.
"Where are you going?"
Lawrence bent down and kissed him softly and pulled away, their eyes locking.
"To take your mind off your troubles," Lawrence whispered.