Breathe Anew
Transformed
Guys, holy rhubarbs! You are so awesome! A landslide of reviews for the last chapter! I've never gotten so many for one chapter! I am seriously tickled pink by it; thank you!
This chapter originally, did not exist. After writing chapter 13, I thought of it, but then I figured I put enough twists and you had gone through enough misery. However, after speaking with euphoria_anger, she got me to write it. This chapter is her child and our love child. In the end, though, this chapter was needed for the ending of it, my brain child of our brain child, only helps to bring the story in the right direction.
That being said, read it completely! Don't jump to any conclusions! Wait until you read the last word!
A special thanks to P. for reluctantly letting me do this! Aha.
Characters: Gilbert, Matthew, Jake, Francis
Disclaimer: The last of the twists, pinkie swear.
Breathe Anew
Transformed
As the weeks went by, Gilbert called up Jake a few times and met up with him every now and then for lunch or coffee. The older man was a pleasant change to be around and he had a wicked sense of humour. Gilbert found his mood improving by a lot and his hatred for Valerie wasn't as high as it had been. He even found himself exchanging jokes with her, once or twice.
He thanked Francis for introducing him to his new friend and the older man was pleased that Gilbert was doing better. The weather was improving with each passing day and the spark of life in Gilbert's eyes was back as well.
At the current moment, Gilbert was busy looking for something he needed to make a report for work. Since he couldn't find the paper in his briefcase, he made his way to the main floor and happened to pass by the living room where Matthew was chatting on the phone. He was about to continue on with his task, but the conversation his blonde friend was having caught the best of his curiosity.
"I'll have to think about it, really. I mean, there's nothing sure yet, but it's been a while now and it would be more practical. The price for the land is really good, but it'll depend of funds and all. I'm sure she'll be happy, but I'll definitively let you know, bye now." Gilbert watched as Matthew closed the phone and put it away. He watched the happy little smile on the younger man's face and he could feel his heart turn cold. This was the last straw, the end of his hope and everything else that came with it.
The file forgotten, he made his way back to his bedroom where he locked himself up. So, so this is how it was going to be? Matthew was apparently planning to move out and by what he heard, he wasn't simply moving out on his own, no, he was doing it with Valerie.
Gilbert really felt as though his whole body was going to explode with pent up rage. It was almost a year, since the accident. Ten months and a half to be exact and the only thing Matthew remembered was that they went fishing together once and that he used to work in a bistro. But that was a very long time ago.
He punched his pillow in frustration and then buried his head in it. He stayed like that, mulling his thoughts over and wishing he could put an end to all of this. At some point or another, he fell asleep and when he woke up, it was to find that night time had fallen.
Gilbert had half a mind to just sleep until he had to go to work again, but when his stomach grumbled, he decided to get up and make himself something to eat and maybe get completely plastered as well.
When he got to the kitchen, he found a note on the table from Matthew telling him that he was going out and he didn't even read the full of it, before crumbling it up and throwing it in the garbage. He walked to the fridge and was about to open it, when a little green post-it note caught his attention. He easily recognized his own handwriting, but what struck him as important was Jake's number that he recopied on the piece of paper.
Well, the older man told him to give him a call whenever and Gilbert was in dire need of company. Without giving it a further thought, he grabbed the cordless and dialled the familiar number. The phone rang twice, before it was picked.
"Hello?"
"Hey man, it's Gilbert. Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner at my place."
"Sure, sounds great, just gimme your address." Gilbert gave him the needed information along with some directions, before going off to start the dinner preparations. Since everything was sort of last minute and there wasn't that much food in the pantry, he made a special recipe his brother's friend taught him, many years ago.
The meal consisted of spaghetti, cream, salmon, chives, white wine and a squirt of lemon juice. Surprisingly, he had all of that. By the time everything was simmering in a pan, Jake was at the door. Gilbert let him in and took his coat, before walking him to the kitchen.
"Here, I brought you some wine; figured it was the least I could do." The older man leaned against the counter and watched his host go about preparing the food.
"Thanks, you didn't have to though." Jake shook his head and the both of them fell into casual conversation. Gilbert poured them a generous glass of wine and they sipped at it, while munching on some vegetables and dip that was taken out earlier, while they waited for the meal to be ready.
Everything was very casual and friendly about the evening. The wine flowed freely and when the first bottle was finished, Gilbert simply went to get another one.
They polished off their plates of pasta and there wasn't even any left to put away for the following day's lunch. Once their bellies were full of delicious food and their minds slightly dulled by the welcoming buzz of alcohol, they made their way to the couch to continue talking.
During the two weeks or so that Gilbert knew of Jake's existence, he found out that his new friend went through quite a lot when he was younger. Much like Matthew, his parents perished in an accident and he was raised by his much older brother. The two were close due to their age difference and his brother never accepted his sexuality.
Jake followed a past flame to England, where he lived for five years and pursued his career as a hairstylist. However, the man he was seeing turned out to be nothing but a violent, cheating, drunk and after one too many beatings, he returned to his home country and opened up a salon there.
He was quite successful for a few years, but one day, he found his shop burning to the ground and now, while he waited for his new salon to be built, he was working for Francis at the bakery store. Other than that, his luck on the relationship side never lasted more than a month or two and he was used more than once.
Despite all of this, Jake still had a bright outlook on life and Gilbert admired him for it. He didn't know where the other man found the strength to get up in the morning, but Gilbert found him strong.
"So how have things been on your side?" Jake asked him. Gilbert sighed as he summed up how his past few weeks had been. He watched as his companion nodded his head that caused a strand of his brown hair, which he tied at the nape of his neck, to fall loose. It landed to the side of his face and framed it rather well.
"You have to tell yourself that it could be worse. That's how I see things." Gilbert looked away from Jake's hair and focused back on his face.
"Yeah, how? I don't think this could get any worse." He grumbled. The other man chuckled at that.
"Oh, trust me, it could. For starters, Matthew could not even like you as a friend, he could still be in a coma, he could have died, your friends could have turned their backs' on you, Arthur could have done some real damage to you, Matthew could have knocked up Valerie, and I could go on, you know." Gilbert gave him a glare, but otherwise said nothing.
"I'm telling you, it works all the time." The younger man returned to watching Jake, as he continued listing things that could have been worse. He wasn't really listening, as his mind was concentrating on those pale lips and deep brown eyes. He noticed how Jake's lips would quirk up every now and then as he said something funny, or how his eyes would grow a bit when he would think of something else to mention.
Perhaps it was the alcohol speaking, or maybe it was his aching heart, or just his need for proximity, but Gilbert found himself looking at Jake under a new and different light. He saw his hands, which were slim with long fingers, nails that were cut back, but not eaten, rebellious strands of hair adorning his facial features. Gilbert found himself sliding closer to his companion, until their hands brushed close. Jake stopped talking at the contact.
"Are you okay?" He asked. He turned his head ever so slightly and their eyes locked. Gilbert got closer still and Jake hesitated for a moment, but there seemed to be a force drawing them together until Gilbert's lips were only a few breaths away. They stayed that way for a moment, their eyes searching for answers to questions and then, in one fluid movement, Gilbert closed the distance and kissed him.
It was hesitant and short and Jake was the first one to pull away. His eyes were bright and his cheeks were rosy.
"Gilbert, are you sure about this? I don't want you to have any regrets." The younger man didn't even pause to think as he gave his answer.
"Yes, I'm sure." And to backup his words, he pressed his lips to Jake's once more, faintly tasting the coffee he had a little while ago.
From gentle sweet kisses, Gilbert pressed himself closer to the other body that offered warmth and comfort. He twined a hand in Jake's hair and released it from the band that was holding it in place all evening long.
Jake waited for Gilbert to do something before responding. He didn't want to push the other man into something he didn't want and at the same time, he knew this would not last long, but he was okay with it. He let Gilbert pull at his shirt, let himself fall against the couch, he allowed Gilbert to murmur a name that wasn't his against his skin and he allowed himself to enjoy this tender moment even if it wasn't his own.
Matthew sighed as he stepped into his house. He had a long day and his meeting with his boss took up the majority of his afternoon, but then again, it wasn't every day that he got promoted to head architect. And with a new job came new responsibilities.
For some reason, Matthew was looking forward to telling this good news to Gilbert and perhaps celebrating with some good beer and videogames. He was about to call out to his friend, but just as he stepped into the living room, his voice died within himself.
Gilbert was busy pushing off Jake's shirt past his shoulders, while both men were occupied in a deep embrace and a passionate kiss that made Matthew feel many different things all at once.
For starters, he felt bad for intruding on something so private. He would have apologized, but that would have made things just the more awkward. Matthew also felt slightly pissed off that his friend was making out on their couch and for some strange reason; there was something else that was swimming in his stomach.
He couldn't identify the feeling, but he couldn't stand there and watch the intimate exchange. He backed away as quietly as possible and made his way out. From the couch, neither Gilbert nor Jake moved from their exchange.
Gilbert successfully succeeded in removing Jake's shirt and his own was discarded some time ago. He was currently trying to remove the older man's pants, but the belt buckle was causing problems and it didn't help that his hands were shaking.
Jake broke their kiss once more and put his hands on top of Gilbert's. He looked up at the contact and came face to face with the other man's soft gaze.
"This has gone far enough, Gilbert; you aren't fooling anyone with this. I know it's not what you want." Gilbert pulled back and looked at the other man straight in the face. They stared at each other for a minute or so, before Gilbert's shoulders started to shake and he collapsed on his friend.
"Shh, there, there now, it's okay." Jake hugged the younger man to him and patted him on the back, as sobs wracked the other's body.
"I'm – I'm sorry." Gilbert mumbled from the confines of Jake's shoulder.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. I should have stopped you, before things got out of hand, if anything it's my fault. I'll leave if you want." Jake tried to get up, but Gilbert held him down.
"No, please, don't go, just hold me a little longer." The older man gave him a sad, little smile and nodded, before pulling the blanket over them and wrapping his arms around Gilbert.
For the first time in ten months, Gilbert slept the whole night through and was not plagued with his usual night terrors.
Matthew ran out of the condo and jogged away from the building. The scene he stumbled upon was still replaying in his mind and for some reason or another; he simply couldn't push it aside. He couldn't understand what any of this meant and the only thing he wanted to do at this point was seek solace from someone.
When he was younger, his mother or father did the job quite well, but seeing as they were no longer around, there was perhaps only one other person who could help him and even though he hadn't spoken with his brother in a really long time, Matthew needed Arthur's guidance.
He continued his fast walk to the house he was raised in and somewhere along the line, the skies opened up and it started raining. Matthew welcomed the rain for it masked his tears and seemed to help his jumbled thoughts; somewhat.
When the house came in sight, he picked up his pace and rang the doorbell. He didn't have to wait long and soon Francis was at the door. He seemed slightly surprised to see the younger man, but pleased nonetheless, if a little worried.
"Mathieu, est-ce que tout va bien?"/ "Matthew, is everything alright?" Francis stepped aside and let Matthew in. He didn't know what to tell his brother's lover and he found the words fighting to come out of his mouth.
"Is – is my brother here?"
"Non, he has been away for the past two days. Business trip, I think. Is there anything I can do for you? Some warm clothes perhaps?" The younger one nodded and Francis went to get the articles. He returned a moment later with a towel, a pair of sweatpants and a sweater that Matthew recognized as one Arthur made Francis for his birthday, a while back.
Once he was changed, Francis made him sit on the couch, while he prepared a cup of tea. Matthew observed him and was thankful that he got along quite well with him.
From the moment he met Francis, (he remembered Gilbert introducing him to Francis a while back now, but he knew that the older man was with his brother), the two clicked. Whether because of their common understanding of French or something else, Matthew felt he could talk to Francis for reasons unknown.
"Qu'est-ce qu'il y a, Mathieu?"/ "What's wrong, Matthew?" Francis asked him as he sat down beside him and handed him a steaming mug of tea.
"Francis, how did you – how did you know you liked Arthur?" The older man's eyes widened slightly as a flicker of understanding flashed through his blue eyes.
"There was something about him, something about the way he acted; I could see that it was only a façade, that behind his gruffness he truly cared. Something like that, I believe." Matthew nodded and accepted the answer.
"Can I be frank with you?"
"Of course you can. What is on your mind?"
"What should someone do, if they're in a relationship with someone and start feeling something for someone they've been told is their best friend?"
"That person should take a moment to reflect on their feelings and sort things out before doing anything rash." Matthew looked up to the man he considered to be his other older brother and nodded once more.
"Would you mind if I stayed here for the night?"
"Bien sûr que non. You know where your old room is. Arthur has not changed much to it."/ "Of course not…" Francis chuckled at that and Matthew smiled as well.
"Merci Francis."/ "Thank you Francis." The older man passed it off as nothing as Matthew got up and headed for bed. It was about time things started taking a turn for the best.
OWARI 14
TO BE CONTINUED
Oh look, we have thoughts from Matthew! Oh look, something's happening!
One more under the belt! The ending is approaching, sadly…
I do accept anonymous reviews.
Started writing: September 19th 2010, 4:10pm
Finished writing: September 20th 2010, 5:14pm
Started typing: October 7th 2010, 6:40pm
Finished typing: October 7th 2010, 9:57pm