There wasn't a war, like I'd suspected. But they were unusually quiet. Apparenly Nathen had tried to make peace, and Achillies wasn't really going to have any of that. So they both left it at that. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't. I'd asked Nathen if he needed anything at home. He told me he did and the directions to get there. The drive was quiet. Partly because none of us felt like talking. And the tension was slowly draining away. Still there, but sitting quietly in a shadow. Which was good enough for me. The neighborhood was quaint. Cute houses lined up. With large monstrous lawns. Small picket fences, or metal fences lined up guarding their property. I imagined each house having some kind of Labrador dog inside. Each lawn was mowed, and was tended to regularly. I suddenly thought about Nathen's Labrador, and realized I was right. Most of these people did have all the same kinds of dogs. There were some outside, some leaning on the door posts, some on the porches. I felt like I was lost in some Ken and Barbie neighborhood. Or stuck in a Desperate Housewives flick of some kind. Nathen's was at the end of the neighborhood. It was the same, humble obode as the rest. White hurricane shudders. I wondered why they'd need those in Texas. But wasn't stupid enough to ask. It was painted an off white, or leaning towards tan. The yard was smaller than the rest. It was mowed. And had two flower boxes and the large windows matching either side of the large door. There was no porch. But brick stairs, leading to the huge, dark, thick wood door. It was massive. And thick as brick just by looking at it. There was a large glass window inside of it. But you couldn't see what was on the other side, if you tried. It just made it look so less...wood. It looked like it were meant to keep lions out. Then I thought of his people he worked for...and realized that might just be why. It was a pretty house. They must've paid him well. It was smaller than the rest. But, still, not less nice at all. I looked over to the side of the house, and saw an ordinar metal gate, that looked like, if you walked farther back would house a dog or something. Then I saw how the fence was shredded. One massive hole dug in the center. Oh. He did eat his dog. I pulled my eyes away from the metal shredds. Thinking if that were a person, what the hell'd they look like now. Or even if they would be in one whole. The road was slick and black. Fresh and new. The Texas sun beat down on the hood of the car. The hotel wasn't very far from the neighborhood. So the airconditioner was just now kicking in gear. I was hoping Nathen would have the air on inside. I parked the car at glanced back at Nathen, who was still staring at his metal fence. I patted his knee. His eyes lazily, wide eyed, found mine. Staring at me, shell shocked. He didn't say anything. He just opened the door and got out. Walking to his front door, just pushing open. He had it unlocked. I glanced back at Achillies who was sitting in the passenger seat. "Coming?" I asked. He shrugged. "I think I'll wait." He was playing with the end of his shirt. I caught his fingers threading them through mine. He looked up at me. I moved his hair out of his face. So I could see those eyes of his. I smiled at him. He looked harmless, it was a good fake. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. His voice rough, and not as deep as it usually was. The accent was soft, back to the usual considerate tone. I smiled, leaning over kissing him lightly on his lips. I thought about that for a moment. With Nathen I just did it to make him feel better. To not look so solemn. I knew that's what Achillies thought. But in the back of my mind. It's not what I wanted. It's not what I thought. I wanted him to hold me. I wanted to cuddle with him. I wanted to look at every inch of his body, and know it was mine. All mine. No one elses. He had his eyes squeezed closed. An almost pained look, I had mine opened. Watching him. I opened my mouth considering if I should deepen the kiss. When he pulled back breathing roughly. I stopped right where I was. He pulled my fingers out of his. Sitting silently in the seat. Staring at the wheel as if it heald some terrible secret I had to know. I sat there for another moment. Listening to Achillies slow his breathing, from rough to silent. "I'm sorry..." "It's okay." I mumbled, getting up and out of the car. "Hunter I didn't..." I closed the door. Rejection was such a bitch. I didn't glance back. I blocked Achillies out of my emotions, like he had me. Knowing it felt like I'd slapped him in the face. My shields were up, and they were tight. A stone wall blocking everyone out. Even myself. I sighed, opening the metal fence that had swung shut with Nathen. I silently walked up the stone path I'd missed seeing when we drove up. It was pretty, imbedded in concrete. None of the other houses had it. Or I might have just missed it like I had his. I stepped up the brick way and pushed open the heavy door. It was heavy. I had to heave it open. I stepped through his door. Looking around. This ungodly smell hit me. The smell of Nathen. It smelled like...coa coa butter. Utter Coa Coa Butter. I hadn't realized he smelled like that. But the house reaked of it. I loved it. After about 2 minutes of smelling it, the scent had dulled. And wasn't as lovely as I walked in. But still ungodly. I looked around. The living room was also pretty. A little dull, but none the less. The carpet was a light tan. He had white leather couches. Thinking they must have cost him an arm and a leg. The windows were just as large inside then they were outside. See-through white drapes lay heavenly around them. I couldn't see them from the outside. They swayed to the floor, beautifully. The ceilings were high. And they had wood beams arched above them. There was a plain white ceiling fan hanging very low to the ground. It must sway when it was turned on. There was a dull light of dawn still outside. No lights were turned on. So the room wasn't dark. Just, light. The early morning spill of light was flushing through kitchen windows. Spilling out from the doorways, into the living room. The carpet was flushed and vacuumed. I suddenly toed off my shoes. I hated walking in on nice houses with shoes, even if they weren't dirty. Sometimes, on special occasion I even felt strange with my socks on. But I kept those on. I smiled. Nathen didn't strike me as the clean freak he is. Then again, he was a butler. I shrugged. Glancing at his quiant t.v.. I was expecting some huge monstrous thing. But it wasn't. It was set in the corner of the room. It was flat screen, and thin. The new silver and black type. Facing the couches. The coffee table was thick dark rich wood. The same cherry looking wood as the door was made. There was glass covering some car magazines. You could see them through the glass, but you couldn't touch them. They were special edition. I smiled, it totally didn't match the room or Nathen. But it woke me up that this wasn't a woman's house. There was nothing on the table, except for one small silver remote. I was guessing it was to the t.v. And that was really it. There was a backdoor. That was the same rich wood. It had a cut-off on the carpet, that lead to some type of glass tiling. I looked back at the door and realized that I was stepping on tile, and not carpet. It was very plain white, but it was still that cleanly pretty type. The walls were bare. No pictures, no paintings, just bare. It looked like a show house, take away the car magazines. I walked forward, looking to my left to the same humble kind of kitchen. It was soft, and cheery. A little musculine, but if you didn't know who was living here, you would have figured by now it were a woman. The counter tops were the same dark cherry, polished wood. Thick as hell and just as lovely and musculine. The cabinets were beautiful. But very contrasting against the wood and pure white tiles. They were also a very bilnding white. You could see through the glass that was plastered at the front. Plain white dishes. I looked through all of them. Cereal, whole grains, captain crunch, all white mugs. I got to the very end and found a garfield mug. The only one. And on it, it read, "Purrrfect morning." I smiled, how fitting. All of this, for the short amount of time that I've known Nathen, seemed exactly like him. Humble, quiet, sweet, musculine. And coa coa butter. I breathed in deeply. Opening my mouth, I could practically taste it on my tongue. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but I didn't really care. He had a new dishwasher and refrigerator, all white appliances. There were two monstrous windows. That matched the same as the living room and back door. It was a lovely little house, and I had only seen a part of it. The ceiling wasn't as high as the one in the living room. But still above average. There was a small dining room table. Same cherry wood. Except the chairs were a blinding white covered in...plastic? I laughed out loud, plastic. The man had plastic on his chairs. Oh, we were going to get along juuust fine. I noticed for the first time he had a lovely clear vase, holding exquisit orchids. They looked to the extreme of tropical. The flowers were just as blinding white as the rest of the house. Green sprouting out of the large vase. I thought it was fake until I got closer. The bottom of the orchid was welting. A light honey brown. They were getting old. They were real. I raised my eyebrows at that. I hadn't expected real flowers. But hey, what the hell. I'd already been surprised, in a good way. I padded out through the doorless pathway leading back into the lovely living room. I looked down the only hallway there was. No paintings, but one large picture. The hallway was bare, and white. The carpet was still the same tanish off-white color. There was a door on my far left, and two doors on my right. One was open and I heard noise, I was suspecting that was Nathen's room. One door was pushed a creak open, I glanced in and found that was the bathroom. I didn't look in it though, I was distracted by the picture. It was hung in a black frame, looking oddly enough right at home on the white wall. The hallways had ended at an ubrupt halt. Ending with a black and white photo. It was of a man holding a woman. The woman was in a striking dress. Backless. I couldn't tell what color, but it apparently matched the same striking lipstick she had on. The dress swung down to the floor, spiralling around him and her. I couldn't see her shoes, but I saw one bare foot. She was gorgeous. I saw one side of her face, and she was looking up at an original tall, dark, and handsome man. Black hair filtered curly down his back, also spiralling around her and him. They looked lovely together. He had a white shirt on, no dress jacket. It went nicely with her bare feet. His were bare too. They were on a beach. You saw the water, and the sand curling around them. It explained their bare feet. I hate wading in sand with nice shoes on, too. He had black dress pants, and there was this look on his face or pure determination. Or happiness, I couldn't tell the difference. Her hair was black too, going over one of her shoulders to expose her back. It was just as curly as his, and just as long. They looked like perfect equals. But perfect equals don't exist. I looked away quickly. Taking my mind of that to go bug Nathen. I pushed open the door a little more. Finding him putting more clothes into a black bag. I couldn't tell if he knew I was there, or was just concentrating on other things. I betted on the former. He was quiet, and so was the house. All I could hear was the birds chirping happily outside. The room was the same as the house. Bare walls. A medium sized, king bedroom. I was guessing the only bedroom. The bed was black framed, and very musculine. But when I looked closer, the bed was actually the same cherry wood as the rest. It was just the thick black covers that threw me off. The bed was high, and raised. The blankets were thick and full when I put my hand on them. And they were down. Oh, I loved down blankets. The pillows were the same. I couldn't see what was under it, the blankets swept to the floor, dramatically. It added to the 'oh so plain' room. He had one closet. It was closed. I wasn't nosey enough to open it. They were french style, and large. I would have expected a walk-in. It would have matched perfectly. The ceilings were high, adding to the dramatic effect, but lacked the full wood poles in the ceiling. No ceiling fan, just a light. With a soft glass glove going over it. It wasn't turned on. No t.v.. Just a dresser. Same cherry wood. I was seeing a connection here...or was it just me? I was pretty sure it wasn't, though. I walked over to the silent Nathen. I placed my hand on his strained back. He relaxed under my touch. I smiled, liking the way I could do it. "Your house is lovely." He half turned to me, smiling. "I know that's probably not what you need to hear right now, but I just thought I'd let you know." I grew quiet, waiting for him to say something. All he did was zip up his large black bag, turning around to face me. He laid his hands lightly on my hips. I didn't even feel them on me. As if they were hovering. I hugged him. Wrapping my petite body around his tall, broud one. He tensed for a moment, then fell into it. For once, I actually felt my dominance, running under neath my skin. And it felt right. And Nathen felt right with me, and everything was alright. "Everything's alright Nathen." And for once it was. I wasn't even telling myself that. I was telling Nathen, just in case he didn't feel what I was feeling. I heard him laugh, softly, quietly. "I was just thinking that." So I wasn't the only one. That was good to know. I let go, smiling. But before I could look at him, he caught my face. Looking into me. "Thank you for all of your hospitality Hunter." I smiled. Placing my hands over his. "Thank you for letting me give it to you." I smiled deeper, my grin probably looking rediculous on my small face. But it made him smile, and that was all I cared about at the moment. His smile was so handsome, even better looking than Achillies. It was just...right on him. It fit him in every way the word 'right' could define. His hair was slacking lazily around his neck. Looking so handsome on him. It still looked black. He reached over me, grabbing his bag over my head. "I have to make some calls, shut off the water and electricty till I come back." He started to let go. Then he turned back to me. "I don't know why I feel I should ask this, but I do. Is that what you want me to do, Hunter?" He stopped, looking at me harder. "Is that what you want me to do?" I smiled. Patting his shoulder. His tention drained away, like water going to a sink. "Do what you have to. I'll be waiting in the car." He smiled. Hugging me. He pulled me off my feet. I don't even think he noticed. He hugged me tightly, putting his face in the crook of my neck. He felt right there. I breathed in his hair. Putting my arms around his shoulders. Not sure about my legs, so I left them dangling. "God, thank you so much." He said it roughly, like he were holding something back. I let it go. Breathing in his hair. "It's okay. My home, is your home. Now, do what you must." I pulled back smiling. He pulled back, looking into me. Burning through me. I finally realized what was weird about him. Nathen had lost the 'lost' look in his eyes. He finally, felt at home. Not that he was in his home, but that he'd found the person to guide him there. And that made me utterly and truelly happy. I don't even know how to explain it. It filled a part of me that had been shut down for so long, I hadn't even realized it were empty. Until I felt it filled, I hadn't realized how horrible I felt. I let go, pushing him towards the door. He smiled, shuffling into the hallway. I was behind him. I looked at the door for a moment. Nathen opened it soundlessly, I peaked through the crack. A washer and drier. I could be really nosey AND over dramatic sometimes. I rolled my eyes. Feeling happy again. I practically skipped out the door and through the yard. But then I remembered Achillies. And my happiness was drained away. Not like water in a drain. More like shit in a toilet. I felt like crap. Great. And he was going to live with me for God know's how long. I stopped practically skipping. He was looking the other way. I sighed. Giving up. I shoved open the metal gate. And opened my black door. I scooted in silently. Not saying a word. The car I'd left on for Achillies. It was just too damn hot for him to be sitting there in the sun. Even as much I'd felt...a little hurt by him. Oh well, I was just being over dramatic again. I smiled when he looked at me. He wasn't smiling. I didn't want to be trapped in this car with him all the way back to Mississippi. I lived in the upper part. I was born on the coast, but decided to get away from there as fast as I could. I'd moved to Florida, then Alabama, but they just weren't home. So I got as far away from the coast as possible. But I stayed. In Mississippi, at least. It was a good 7 hours or so all the way back. And that was if I was high-tailing it. Which I probably would. My car was alright. It was a black Honda Accord. I trusted a honda to get me wherever I needed to go. Which was everywhere and often. I didn't keep up with new cars, this one was 4 years old. And I kept good care of it. I waited patiently for Nathen. Who was still inside. "Hunter." I didn't let him finish. I didn't look at him, in fact I looked away from him. It was cowardly, I know. But I didn't trust myself to look at him. "It's okay. I was being stupid, wasn't thinking. I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have pulled that. I am really sorry." It would have sounded a lot more true or honest if I'd been looking at him. But I wouldn't. I was too stubborn for that. He laid his hand on mine, and I snatched it away as if he'd burned me. I looked at him. Scooting to the edge of my seat. As far away as I could get from him. To say the least, it wasn't far enough. He scooted closer. I pulled back more. "Look, Achillies, I said I was sorry, I am. I'm being childish when I say this but, I don't wanna talk about it." He was frowning. "I wanted to kiss you love. I was just caught off guard." I settled back in my seat. Staring at the steering wheel again. "You don't have to lie, I watched you..." I waited a moment. Honest to God I wasn't trying to be childish. Just with him, I usually was. It made me think less of myself. Less of myself, as if I couldn't get any lower than the dirt. "...You hated it." I was silent after that. Only my ragged breathing. I had been through hell and back. Literally. I would not cry in front of Achillies over something stupid. But, the sad thing was, it wasn't something stupid. I needed Achillies, and he didn't need me. Simple truth, nothing more to it. I turned to him, smiling. "Forget it. Over reaction. I'm just a little pissy over last night. Didn't get a lot of sleep." I smiled honestly. But, I knew he wouldn't buy it. And he didn't. "I don't believe you." "You don't have to." My face showed nothing. I turned back to the wheel. My voice was tight, and my throat was tighter. I wanted to cry over something pathetically little girlishly stupid. There's no fucking way. I felt his hand on my chin, pulling me to look at him. I shook my head the other way. Not wanting to look at him. And that my friend, was the point of no return. He grabbed my chin, a littel roughly. Demanding more like it, not roughly. Basically a warning. At least I took it as one. His face was solemn. His killing face, no pity, no regret, just doing what's necessary. Then I felt hot tears spread across my cheeks. I couldn't even really see that well, without tears falling. God, I was a fucking 2 year old who didn't get the candy she wanted for breakfast. But I couldn't look away from him. He captured me, in that way he does. My lower lip quivered. And the thought and image of him rejecting me flowed over me. In a wash. A tidal wave. And I silently gasped for air. My voice came out shaky and unsteady. Like a small boat in a hurricane. "You just don't love me like that." His face grew soft, softer than soft. I cut him off again. "Forget it." I violently thrashed at my eyes. Getting all the stupid fucking tears out. I wouldn't and couldn't look back at him. "Hunter I do love you." He stopped talking at that sentence. I knew he was going to say more, maybe even do more. But the door opened. And outpoured our emotions. Nathen stepped in quietly, smiling. When he closed the door, I heard him sniff the air. Then he grew very quiet. I looked in my rear view mirror and I caught his eyes. They were sympathetic, and wondering. But he didn't ask. He just sat quietly. Good man. I put the car in drive. And we were gone.