The past and the future

This is prompted by 'aphass' and set around the 10th January. Chris tells Nate about his exes and discusses his old job as a mechanic.

Nate narrowed his eyes suspiciously as Chris emerged from one of the rooms in the Hospital followed closely behind by an attractive young male nurse. He sensed some tension between them, particularly when the nurse laid a hand on Chris' shoulder, causing it to raise slightly.

"You've made some good progress" the nurse told Chris in a gentle British accent, "Good luck with your new job, I'm sure you'll be great"

Chris smiled slightly, "Thanks"

The nurse patted his back, "Your hand shouldn't affect your work too much, but if it does cause you any problems then just pop back and we'll see what we can do"

Chris nodded, "Cheers mate" he replied quietly

"Well, I guess I'll see you around" he suggested

Chris nodded in agreement and the nurse smiled before giving a brief wave and heading over to reception. Inwardly, Chris was sceptical about the possibility of seeing him again considering that he barely saw any of his exes once they had broken up.

Nate stood up, still eyeing the nurse, "I don't think I've seen him around here before"

Chris glanced over at the nurse, "Who, Will?" he questioned, "He's just filling in for my nurse while she's off sick"

Nate sniffed, "So he has a name" he murmured

Chris nodded slowly, "Yeah, people generally do" he pointed out

Nate ignored the comment, "It just seemed like there was something weird going on between you two"

Chris shrugged and Nate was more intrigued, "Do you know him?"

Chris glanced away and tried to be as nonchalant as possible, "He was kind of the last person I dated before I met you" he admitted awkwardly

Nate looked surprised and Chris tried to reassure him, "We were only together for about a week, and he was just a rebound to be honest"

"A rebound from…?" Nate prompted

"My ex" Chris replied quietly, "But don't worry, you won't be running into him any time soon"

"Why not?"

Chris shifted uncomfortably, "He's in prison" he confessed, "For manslaughter"

Nate's jaw dropped slightly in shock, "Wow, that's pretty intense" he responded thoughtfully

Chris nodded, "That's one word for it" he replied grimly before glancing around, "Look, this probably isn't the best time or place to be talking about this"

Nate nodded in agreement but was reluctant to end the conversation. He wanted to know about Chris' exes: not out of jealousy, but because he was genuinely interested.

"Ok, I'll take you back home and we can talk about it on the way" he proposed

Chris was taken aback by Nate's suggestion, wondering why he wanted to know about the guys he had dated before him. Nate didn't offer an explanation, and instead prompted Chris to talk about his exes. Chris hesitantly obliged and decided to start from the beginning, telling Nate about meeting Aidan after being attacked at the garage and the struggle that he had about revealing their relationship to his parents. Nate nodded in understanding at Chris' troubles: although he hadn't gone through any experiences like that, he could empathise with Chris' worries about telling his dad about the relationship, considering what their history was like. Chris told Nate about his and Aidan's second attempt at a relationship, as well as all of the secrets that Aidan had kept from him. Again, Nate could understand Chris' anguish towards Aidan's secrecy and realising that his habits wouldn't change.

Afterwards, Chris divulged into his relationship with Hudson: starting with the drug taking, then the rivalry with Josh followed by the hit-and-run. Nate was surprised to learn of Hudson's crime as well as Chris' downward spiral of sleeping pills, one-night-stands and punching Josh, though he understood Chris' state of mind at the time. Similarly, he sympathised with Chris' subsequent conflict between his long-distance relationship with Hudson and his attraction to Will, and realised what Chris meant by Will being a 'rebound'. In some ways, Nate was pleased by that because it meant that Chris was over Hudson by the time that they had met, and that Nate hadn't been the first guy that Chris had dated following the end of a serious relationship. Chris reiterated that his current relationship with him was the most serious one that he had ever been in, and that he hoped that it would stay that way. Nate agreed whole-heartedly with him, also glad that he knew about Chris' dating history and that it wasn't as intimidating as he had expected.

xxx

Chris grimaced as he removed his shirt. Nate – who was lying under the covers of Chris' bed – sat up worriedly.

"Are you ok?"

Chris nodded and stretched his right hand, "Yeah, I just had hand-cramp" he muttered

"I thought those exercises were supposed to be helping" Nate pointed out

"They are" Chris replied, "According to Will, that's a sign that my hand's improving"

Nate rolled his eyes, "Well if Will says it, then it must be true" he murmured

Chris scoffed as he slumped down onto the bed beside him, "Are you jealous?" he teased

Nate folded his arms, "No" he replied unconvincingly

Chris stared at him disbelievingly and Nate shrugged before admitting, "A little"

Chris chuckled, "That's actually kind of sweet, unless you get paranoid about it I mean" he told him, "It just shows that you care"

Nate blinked at him, "Of course I care" he argued gently, "I love you"

Chris smiled, "I love you too" he responded before kissing him tenderly, "And you don't have to be jealous of any of my exes" he reassured a doubtful Nate, "Our relationship is completely different from anything I've ever experienced in my whole life and it means everything to me. What we have is the real deal… I hope" he joked

Nate sniggered and there was a pause as Chris joined his boyfriend under the duvet.

Nate glanced over at him, "So, how are you feeling about your new job?"

Chris shrugged and reached for his mobile, "Fine" he replied quietly as he checked his messages

Nate shook his head, "Come on, you can be honest" he reminded him

Chris pulled a face as he returned his mobile to the nightstand, "You'll get another wet shoulder if that happens"

Nate shrugged, "I don't care" he replied, "I know how much working at the garage meant to you, so it's ok for you to be upset"

Chris glanced at him, "Ok, I hate the thought that all the effort I put into working there has been for nothing" he confessed bitterly, "I was an apprentice for over three years and it became a huge part of my life, but in one moment it's all over"

Nate nodded, "Yeah, but it wasn't wasted" he pointed out, "You learnt a valuable skill, and it's one that you'll probably be able to do again one day if you're optimistic"

Chris considered this, "I guess"

Nate smiled slightly, "I remember how your eyes lit up when you told me about how you got inspired to be a mechanic"

Chris raised an eyebrow, "They did?"

Nate nodded, "That's part of the reason why I went ahead with the talk at Erinsborough High" he replied, "I realised how passionate you were about it, and if I could get someone to feel that passionate about working in the military, then it would be worth it"

Chris nodded slowly and linked their fingers together, "I know how lucky I am" he murmured, "Not many people leave one job and get offered another the same day"

"But it's not what you want to do" Nate gently pointed out

Chris shook his head, "I never really thought about working at a hotel until our conversation earlier" he admitted, "I spent years not knowing what I wanted to do, so when I started training as a mechanic, I knew that I'd found my career. And even though after the attack I considered the idea that I wouldn't be able to work there again, I never really let myself believe that it would actually happen"

Nate nodded, "I get that, you wanted to keep positive"

"I still do" Chris told him, "What I said to Josh earlier about looking forward to working at Lassiter's, I was telling the truth. It's a whole new adventure, a new chapter in my life – in our life"

Nate smiled and glanced away coyly and Chris kissed him again before letting go of his hand and rolling over with his back to his boyfriend. Nate pulled a face, "That's it?" he questioned as he realised that Chris was going straight to sleep

Chris glanced at him over his shoulder, smiling as he caught on to his insinuation, "Yeah, I've got a busy day tomorrow. I can't be having too late of a night"

"Who said anything about having a late night?" Nate teased

Chris turned onto his back with a wicked grin on his face and pulled him down on top of him as he kissed him passionately.

Thanks for reading, and thanks 'aphass' for the prompt: I hope this was close to what you were hoping for and that you (and everyone else) enjoyed it. I wasn't sure how I was going to have Chris talking about his past relationships, so I hope my summary was ok. Obviously, not a lot about Nate's romantic past has been revealed, so I decided just to keep it about Chris instead of making up a load of information. As usual, if anyone has any ideas for Chris related stories then feel free to let me know, and reviews are always welcome!