IV

They arrived at the airport, Hayden helped Gavin unload his stuff, they walked through the lanes, finding Gavin's ticket, getting him ready for his flight to Germany.

"Mãe, nós vamos para o banheiro," Gavin said pointing to the bathroom.

"Okay," his mother retorted

"Só não dures muito, lembra que só temos umos minutinhos antes que nós temos que ir embora." His mother added

"Tá bom, mae," Gavin said.

They walked to the bathroom, calm, but their hearts were beating rapidly. Once they got into the bathroom Hayden quickly closed the door and rushed over to Gavin, cupping his face with both hands and kissing him passionately, but softly.

"Wow." Gavin sighed, pulling away slightly.

"I don't want you to go without giving me one last chance to steal your breath away."

"I really am going to miss you," Gavin explained, looking down to the floor.

"As long as I get to see your beautiful face at least once a week and hear your beautiful voice at least once a day, I think I'll be okay." Hayden reassured him.

They spent the rest of the little bit of time they had been allotted holding hands and simply enjoying each other's presence.

Gavin's phone began to vibrate, it was his mother.

"Meu filho, aonde você está? Quasi é tempo."

"Tá mãe. Eu vou agora."

With that they unlocked from their embrace and walked out of the bathroom, heading towards the gate. They got there and they hugged, " I'll call you when I get there," Gavin reassured him.

"Vamos." Gavin's father said and he walked to the plane, boarded it and left.

Hayden went back home and awaited the call.

Ten hours had passed.

"Hey!" Gavin exclaimed over the phone.

"How was the flight?"

"It was… ummm… long." Sighed Gavin

" Like really long," He chuckled

"Where are you now?"

"I'm at my Oma's house, that's like German for granny," He chuckled again

"Okay Mr. Germany."

"Hey, listen, I'll have to call you later okay? We're going out somewhere."

Hayden was reluctant, but he said okay and just as Gavin was about to hang up, he heard indistinctive words in the background, he figured it was German and then the line went dead.

Things were going well, at least for one person.

Every time they video chatted, Hayden was hearing about all the things Gavin was doing with his family in Hamburg (Hamburg was the place where Gavin's grandparents lived). He heard about Gavin going to the Alster which is this river that runs through Germany and one of Hamburg's biggest attractions. He heard about the time when his father took him to Heidepark, the amusement park that he went to when he was a child. His father took him around to all the places he had gone when he was young and every time they talked Gavin always had a smile on his face. He seemed to be enjoying Germany, even though he barely spoke the language. Hayden, always tried to smile, for Gavin, he didn't want to ruin his mojo. But things were becoming increasingly difficult in his household. Stef and Lena, Hayden's adoptive mothers were fighting, and at first it was just small arguments, but then it began escalating and to Hayden it frankly scared him, he was afraid that he'd be removed from the home and he couldn't deal with that, especially since Gavin was so far away. One night, before going to sleep, Hayden and Gavin were on Skype and Hayden explained to Gavin what was happening. About the fighting, Gavin tried his best, to soothe the aches of his boyfriend with words, but it just wasn't enough, wasn't the same as having him there, to hold, to touch.

"G, there's a party tonight, at Giovanni's house, I think it might be a good idea to go, might be good to just get out of the house for one night." Hayden proposed.

"Giovanni's house? Like, Alisa's Giovanni? The one who fucked me over during the school year?" Gavin inquired, sounding a bit angry, his smile fading slightly.

"Yeah, I know, but I want to go to the party, it just so happens that he is the one throwing it."

"I don't know if i'm completely comfortable with you attending a party that someone I don't like is throwing."

"Okay." Hayden sighed. Disappointment sweeping his face. He bowed his head, and quirked at the sound of Gavin uttering the all too familiar nickname.

"Amor, okay, I see how much you're afflicted by your moms fighting, and I'm sorry I can't be there to make you feel better. I'm okay with you going to the party, but you have to make me a promise."

"What is it?"

"Promise me you won't drink. Or if you do, promise me you won't get drunk; I know how you are when you get drunk and I really don't like it."

"I promise."

They both reached towards the screen, index fingers touching it, they tried their best to match their fingers, to simulate the "touch" of the promise and made do with what they got, they both giggled as they struggled to align their fingers together and eventually ceased trying. They weren't on for much longer, Germany was 8 hours away, which meant that when Hayden was sleeping, Gavin was just starting his day. Before he left, Gavin told Hayden that his cousins were taking him out to meet his other family in Frankfurt. Gavin was alone in his room, so he puckered his lips and kissed Hayden goodbye, and with a wink, the line ended and Hayden was left alone once again.