Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel) - Chapter 21
Title: Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel)
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Twenty One
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 3855
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
The next morning Pierre was surprised to find that David was already awake, though he was just laying in bed staring off into space. Pierre rolled over onto his side and wrapped his arm around David’s middle, pulling him into him and planting gentle kisses on David’s jaw. The bruises that had been there were barely visible and Pierre found himself more comfortable with touching and kissing the other boy, less scared now that he was going to hurt him with his affection. David blinked his eyes and took a slow breath in as Pierre’s action brought him out of his thoughts and back to his bedroom. He smiled and leaned into the other boy’s embrace, cuddling into him. “Good morning,” he said sweetly.
Pierre nuzzled into David’s neck and closed his eyes, smiling as he replied, “Good morning.”
“This might sound kinda weird but… do you wanna go for a run together?” David asked.
Pierre’s brow furrowed a little and he pushed himself up, tilting his head as he looked down at the other boy with surprise. “You always hated running,” he pointed out skeptically.
David’s eyes flashed down and he nodded a little. “Yeah but… I want to get stronger again,” he explained, his voice growing quiet. The smile slowly fell from Pierre’s lips as he thought of David’s words, understanding the desire behind that immediately. “I was in the best shape I’ve ever been in last year and… I think it’d be good for me to get back to that, at least as much as I can,” David continued, blushing a little now.
Pierre nodded and placed a soft kiss on David’s forehead before pulling back and saying, “That’s not a bad idea.” David’s eyes flashed up to Pierre’s and they shared a meaningful look. Soon they were getting up and getting ready, not speaking much as they did. This time Pierre took it much easier on David, allowing him to set the pace and jogging along next to him, stopping whenever he needed to stop without complaint. David was disappointed in how much stamina he had lost since he had quit working out with Pierre at the end of their hockey season way back in March, though he was at least glad to see that he hadn’t fallen back to where he had been before playing hockey at all. He wouldn’t be starting back at zero, he thought, and he continued to push himself forward.
As they ran, David continued to see Hunter’s face, to flash back to how helpless he had felt being pinned against the wall with his feet dangling in the air and his arms held to the building; it drove him further than he might have normally gone and he continued to tell himself he would never be a victim like that again. It didn’t matter that Hunter was three inches taller than him, or that his body was wider, or that he was stronger; David was going to do whatever it took to keep himself safe.
Pierre watched David as they ran, glancing at him every so often from the corner of his eye, seeing the look of anger and determination on the younger boy’s face and feeling pretty certain he was thinking of what Hunter had done to him. He felt a warm glow swell inside of himself as he watched David, proud of the way he was clearly refusing to lay down despite how hard he had been kicked. Somehow, some way, David had found it in himself to pick himself up off the ground and dust himself off, and for the first time Pierre really started to believe the other boy was going to be okay when he left.
When they got back to the house Pierre was even happier to see how David went straight to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast. David felt hungry for the first time in months and he made them eggs and toast, feeling no nausea or hesitation this time as he ate. Perhaps physically exerting himself had helped his appetite, though there was a type of mental clarity and strength running through him that he thought was the true reason behind his sudden hunger. He knew he had made himself weaker by not eating properly for months, and that he had made it exponentially worse for himself the last month between his depression and anxiety surrounding Hunter. The way he had allowed himself to starve until he was near passing out daily stuck out to him now and he couldn’t believe he had done that to himself. Never again would he weaken himself so severely.
He had Pierre continue to run him through practicing hitting, wanting to be sure it felt as natural as possible a response should it be necessary. Pierre held his hands up in front of his face this time, wanting to mimic Hunter’s general facial height. He wanted David to feel what it was like to punch up instead of straight out in front of him, knowing that any hit he had to land would be significantly more effective on his jaw or nose or even right to the throat. It felt odd to David at first but he soon adjusted and he found himself able to punch stronger and more effectively, fueled by the anger and the food in his body. The more he continued, the more angry he felt toward Hunter and what he had done to him, the way he had held him against his will and ignored his cries and his screams, the way he had gotten angry over the sound and punched him to get him to be quiet. He found it truly disgusting and loathed him now more than he ever had before.
Pierre could see as David’s determination turned to rage and though he had never seen that expression on the other boy’s face before, he was glad for what it meant. He could see how the fear had left him, even if it was only temporary, and more than anything he knew it meant that David had finally stopped blaming himself and was properly furious with Hunter over what he had done. Seeing David so broken and fragile those first few days had been devastating and he had worried that the other boy would be torn apart forever but he saw a strength and a resolve in him now that reassured him David was going to be okay.
They continued this way the next couple of days and David was reassured at the way each morning run started to feel better and easier. Pierre began to show David how to get out of different holds, ways to move his body to wiggle out of his grasp, or where he could elbow, stomp, kick, or even headbutt if held against his will. Pierre grabbed him from behind and showed David how he could slam his head backwards into his face, though of course David didn’t carry through any of these actions with actual force, knowing it would certainly hurt Pierre if he did so. Still, he began to see all of the possibilities in front of him that had never occurred to him before and by the end of the first week of Pierre’s stay he was feeling significantly more prepared to defend himself if he needed to. He felt indebted to Pierre more than he would ever be able to intimate to the other boy.
David woke on Christmas morning to the smell of something sweet and almost cakelike and he opened his eyes slowly, confusion encompassing him immediately. He looked to the side and saw an empty bed and his confusion turned quickly to curiosity. Without waiting he got out of bed and followed the smell which led him down the hall and into the kitchen. He stood in the framed opening for a moment, absorbing what he saw with surprise. Pierre was standing at the stove, his face and shirt splattered with flour as he watched a pan full of pancakes with a turner in his hand as if he was waiting for exactly the right moment and he wasn’t sure when that would be. David smiled and leaned against the frame, crossing his arms over his chest as he did.
Pierre noticed David out of the corner of his eye and he turned, smiling at him a little sheepishly and apologetically. “I tried to make pancakes,” he said, earning a wider smile from the other boy.
David pushed himself off of the wooden frame and walked forward, unable to take his eyes off of Pierre. As he got close enough to touch the other boy he reached up and gently wiped the flour off of his cheek, his eyes sparkling with adoration. “It looks like you didn’t just try,” David pointed out, a hint of amazement in his voice.
Pierre leaned down and placed a soft kiss on David’s lips before turning quickly back to the pancakes, looking for there to be enough ‘popped bubbles’ in the surface so he knew they were ready to flip. It was the first time he had ever tried to cook all on his own, and though the first couple of pancakes had burned and had been sacrificed to the trash, he had adjusted the heat on the stove and the rest of the pancakes had turned out okay, he thought. He supposed they would find out once they tried one. “I hope they actually taste good,” he said as he began to flip them over.
David stood behind Pierre and wrapped his arms around his middle, hugging him and resting the side of his face against the taller boy’s shoulder. “I’m sure they will,” he said softly, allowing his eyes to fall closed as he enjoyed the sweet moment.
After another minute Pierre moved the pancakes to the stack to the right of him. He turned off the burner, having used the last of the batter, and picked up the plate. The pancakes may not have been the most round, and maybe the color of them varied from batch to batch that he had cooked, but he felt accomplished that he had set out to make them and had done so without even setting off the fire alarm. David released his hold and moved to the fridge, getting out the butter and maple syrup before following after Pierre to the kitchen table. Pierre went back to the kitchen to get them plates and utensils, feeling an incredible sense of domestic bliss washing through him.
Together they sat and ate and to Pierre’s absolute delight the pancakes were pretty good. Some were a little more cooked than others but none were so far as to be raw inside and he had barely burned any of them at all. David was glowing as he watched Pierre, impressed and smitten all at once, thinking that this may have reached the top of the list of the sweetest things his boyfriend had ever done for him. He couldn’t believe the difference he saw in the older boy and how far he had come in the time he had really begun to get to know him. Pierre never ceased to amaze him with the way that he wanted to grow and how his kindness seemed to know no bounds. It was such a stark contrast compared to the boy who had grown up bullying him and there were parts of him that had a hard time believing he was even the same person, despite having watched it all happen over the course of a year. More than anything, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have ended up with him and how deeply in love he truly was.
After breakfast was eaten and the kitchen was cleaned up, the two sat on the couch together and cuddled up to watch a Christmas movie. Pierre wished he had been able to do something to give David an actual Christmas but Hunter’s attack had wiped out any plans he’d had. He had wanted to take David to get a Christmas tree and to get him some decorations, he’d wanted to get him presents and a stocking and cookies and candy canes because he knew David had been alone since his mother had died and hadn’t celebrated, but David had been too fragile in the days leading up to the holiday in order for that to be feasible.
“Next year I’m getting you the biggest Christmas tree I can find,” Pierre said randomly, not taking his eyes off of the movie in front of them.
The announcement felt random to David and he looked over at the other boy with curiosity and confusion. “Huh?”
“I wanted to make Christmas special for you this year but things kind of… went a little sideways,” Pierre admitted, glancing over at David and giving him a sad, crooked smile.
“Pierre, just you being here makes today special,” David responded honestly. “I don’t need a big tree or lights or any of that. That stuff is nice, yeah, but the best gift you could have given me is not being alone.”
Though he knew David was trying to reassure him, this statement only made Pierre feel sad for the other boy. Still, he smiled and nodded before pulling him deeper into his arms and turning back to look at the movie. “What do you think about doing something tomorrow?” he asked casually.
David tilted his head to the side and glanced at Pierre, curious again. “What did you have in mind?”
“I have something I wanted to get you for Christmas but I kinda didn’t get the chance and honestly I was worried I’d pick out the wrong thing ‘cause I don’t really know anything about it,” Pierre admitted, his cheeks flushing a little.
“You don’t have to get me anything,” David told him gently but Pierre shook his head in response.
“I want to get you one of those dress things you talked about, for putting the dresses on,” Pierre insisted, knowing it would be better to ruin the surprise for the sake of picking out the right thing.
David blinked rapidly and pulled back a little to look at Pierre better, stunned that he had remembered such a thing. Again, he found himself surprised at how thoughtful Pierre could be, like with the art supplies he had surprised him with the prior year. Guilt picked at him over the fact that for a second year he had honestly forgotten about Christmas and hadn’t thought to get Pierre anything. “Those are expensive, you don’t have to do that,” David told him firmly, blushing at the idea.
“Nope, I’m getting you one whether you want me to or not, so you can either come help me pick out a good one or I’ll probably end up getting the wrong thing,” Pierre replied, turning to look at David with a stubborn smile.
David blushed more deeply and he knew there was no use in arguing with him. He felt an odd shyness take over him and he shrunk into himself a little as he nodded, feeling completely uncomfortable at the idea of so easily accepting something like that. He had to remind himself that Pierre had a trust fund that he got paid out of every month and that he had barely been using that money, and that he had grown up with such an unfathomable amount of money that it was something that didn’t even cross his mind.
Pierre smiled, seeing that David wasn’t going to fight him and he kissed his forehead before looking back at the TV in front of them. Another thought struck him and he glanced sideways at David, not sure how he was going to take the next thing he was going to say but determined just the same. “I’m getting you pepper spray and a taser too,” he added, sounding apprehensive as he spoke.
A look of shock and bewilderment took over David’s features and he sputtered a little. “A TASER?!” he asked loudly, unable to contain his stupor.
Pierre looked at him, his face now serious and a little dark. “It’s legal for you to have it, you don’t need a permit or anything,” he reasoned. David stammered at him, horrified at the idea of having such a thing but Pierre grabbed his arms gently and continued to stare into his eyes. “I’m not negotiating on this one. It’s good that you want to get stronger and you’ve learned how to defend yourself a bit, but I don’t want to take any chances. I’d rather you have it and don’t need it than you need it and don’t have it.”
David’s face was bright red at the idea but again he saw how much Pierre meant the words he had spoken and he could see there would be no changing his mind. He gave a tiny nod, blinking rapidly in his nervousness. Pierre moved his hands to David’s face and he leaned toward him, a sadness he hadn’t allowed to show the past few days creeping into his eyes as he did. “You have no idea how hard it’s gonna be for me to go back to Anchorage next weekend and leave you here alone after what happened. Just keep it in your hoodie pocket when you’re going to your car, or if you have to go to the library for anything. Anytime he might be able to sneak up on you alone, I want to know you have it.”
David nodded again, allowing the surprise to fade from him as Pierre’s words ran through his mind. The seriousness of Pierre’s words allowed some of the fear he had been pushing down to creep back into him; he knew the other boy was right, no matter how much the idea of it scared him. “Okay,” he said meekly.
Pierre’s eyes closed and he leaned forward to press his forehead against David’s, glad that he had agreed fairly easily. It wouldn’t be enough to put his mind at ease while he was so far away but it would be better than nothing, he told himself. Unable to stop the gripping fear and despair that overwhelmed him suddenly he wrapped his arms around David’s middle and pulled him in, holding him tightly to his body and burying his face in the smaller boy’s neck. David blinked in surprise, frozen for a moment though quickly he melted into Pierre’s embrace and he allowed his eyes to fall closed. He wrapped his arms around Pierre’s head and held him against him, feeling for once that he was the one doing the comforting, that he was the supporting force. He could feel Pierre’s sorrow and it made him want to reassure him.
“Everything’s gonna be okay,” David breathed into his hair. The two sat like that for several minutes before Pierre began to pull away, and even though Pierre tried to turn quickly back to the movie in front of them David saw something that caused him to reach forward and grab the other boy’s face, forcing him to look back at him. Pierre blinked, his cheeks flushed with awkward embarrassment, but David could see nothing but his teary eyes. Pierre clenched his jaw and looked down at David’s legs in front of him, blinking to try to clear his eyes. “Hey,” David said gently, and reluctantly Pierre looked up at him, trying to stiffen his features but not quite succeeding. “I promise, it’s gonna be okay.”
A new type of protective feeling overcame him and David reached forward, pulling Pierre back into his arms. Pierre leaned forward and allowed himself to be held by David, allowed David to pull him back to lay with him, allowed David to be the dominant one between them for the first time in their relationship. He wrapped his arms around David’s torso and clung to him in the way that David usually did to him. He had been working so hard to be strong and supportive for the other boy but the trepidation he felt over having to leave the other boy behind while having done nothing to stop Hunter had finally become too much for him to continue to ignore and he felt weak and terrified. He hated that he was going to allow David to handle this on his own and that he would soon be hundreds of miles away from him, completely incapable of protecting him. Despite how hard he fought against it, soon there were tears leaking out of his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, falling down to land silently on David’s shirt. The idea of anything else happening to the other boy - the person he loved most on the planet - terrified him more than he could cope with.
They stayed like that the rest of the movie, David moving between running his fingers soothingly through Pierre’s hair and rubbing gentle circles across his back. He continuously placed random kisses on the top of his head, the occasional quiet sniffing sound making him aware that Pierre had been unable to fight his tears but he didn’t say anything about it. It was only the second time in all of his years of knowing him that he had ever seen Pierre cry, the first being when the other boy had seen his injuries several days prior; he knew his boyfriend well enough to know that crying was not something he did often or was comfortable with other people seeing. This more than anything impressed upon David the toll all of this had taken on Pierre no matter how strong and comforting he had tried to seem. He could see the way his decision to handle this on his own was eating at Pierre. Suddenly David felt guilty for not taking Pierre’s feelings into account over the last week, and not stopping to contemplate how all of it had been affecting him. He was just so used to Pierre being such a stable rock who was cocky and unbothered and who occasionally got angry; the idea of him being scared of anything felt surreal to David.
With that in mind, he knew he would take the pepper spray, he would take the taser, he would carry them with him and wouldn’t argue even a little bit. He would continue to work to make himself stronger and more resilient, he would eat every meal he should, he would go out of his way to surround himself with other people so that Hunter couldn’t get him alone. He would do whatever he could to help Pierre feel reassured of his safety because it was the only thing he could offer. He told himself firmly that no matter what it took, he was going to keep himself safe and whole and that Hunter would never be allowed to touch a single hair on him ever again. For Pierre’s sake even more than for his own, he was going to protect himself.
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Twenty One
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 3855
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
The next morning Pierre was surprised to find that David was already awake, though he was just laying in bed staring off into space. Pierre rolled over onto his side and wrapped his arm around David’s middle, pulling him into him and planting gentle kisses on David’s jaw. The bruises that had been there were barely visible and Pierre found himself more comfortable with touching and kissing the other boy, less scared now that he was going to hurt him with his affection. David blinked his eyes and took a slow breath in as Pierre’s action brought him out of his thoughts and back to his bedroom. He smiled and leaned into the other boy’s embrace, cuddling into him. “Good morning,” he said sweetly.
Pierre nuzzled into David’s neck and closed his eyes, smiling as he replied, “Good morning.”
“This might sound kinda weird but… do you wanna go for a run together?” David asked.
Pierre’s brow furrowed a little and he pushed himself up, tilting his head as he looked down at the other boy with surprise. “You always hated running,” he pointed out skeptically.
David’s eyes flashed down and he nodded a little. “Yeah but… I want to get stronger again,” he explained, his voice growing quiet. The smile slowly fell from Pierre’s lips as he thought of David’s words, understanding the desire behind that immediately. “I was in the best shape I’ve ever been in last year and… I think it’d be good for me to get back to that, at least as much as I can,” David continued, blushing a little now.
Pierre nodded and placed a soft kiss on David’s forehead before pulling back and saying, “That’s not a bad idea.” David’s eyes flashed up to Pierre’s and they shared a meaningful look. Soon they were getting up and getting ready, not speaking much as they did. This time Pierre took it much easier on David, allowing him to set the pace and jogging along next to him, stopping whenever he needed to stop without complaint. David was disappointed in how much stamina he had lost since he had quit working out with Pierre at the end of their hockey season way back in March, though he was at least glad to see that he hadn’t fallen back to where he had been before playing hockey at all. He wouldn’t be starting back at zero, he thought, and he continued to push himself forward.
As they ran, David continued to see Hunter’s face, to flash back to how helpless he had felt being pinned against the wall with his feet dangling in the air and his arms held to the building; it drove him further than he might have normally gone and he continued to tell himself he would never be a victim like that again. It didn’t matter that Hunter was three inches taller than him, or that his body was wider, or that he was stronger; David was going to do whatever it took to keep himself safe.
Pierre watched David as they ran, glancing at him every so often from the corner of his eye, seeing the look of anger and determination on the younger boy’s face and feeling pretty certain he was thinking of what Hunter had done to him. He felt a warm glow swell inside of himself as he watched David, proud of the way he was clearly refusing to lay down despite how hard he had been kicked. Somehow, some way, David had found it in himself to pick himself up off the ground and dust himself off, and for the first time Pierre really started to believe the other boy was going to be okay when he left.
When they got back to the house Pierre was even happier to see how David went straight to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast. David felt hungry for the first time in months and he made them eggs and toast, feeling no nausea or hesitation this time as he ate. Perhaps physically exerting himself had helped his appetite, though there was a type of mental clarity and strength running through him that he thought was the true reason behind his sudden hunger. He knew he had made himself weaker by not eating properly for months, and that he had made it exponentially worse for himself the last month between his depression and anxiety surrounding Hunter. The way he had allowed himself to starve until he was near passing out daily stuck out to him now and he couldn’t believe he had done that to himself. Never again would he weaken himself so severely.
He had Pierre continue to run him through practicing hitting, wanting to be sure it felt as natural as possible a response should it be necessary. Pierre held his hands up in front of his face this time, wanting to mimic Hunter’s general facial height. He wanted David to feel what it was like to punch up instead of straight out in front of him, knowing that any hit he had to land would be significantly more effective on his jaw or nose or even right to the throat. It felt odd to David at first but he soon adjusted and he found himself able to punch stronger and more effectively, fueled by the anger and the food in his body. The more he continued, the more angry he felt toward Hunter and what he had done to him, the way he had held him against his will and ignored his cries and his screams, the way he had gotten angry over the sound and punched him to get him to be quiet. He found it truly disgusting and loathed him now more than he ever had before.
Pierre could see as David’s determination turned to rage and though he had never seen that expression on the other boy’s face before, he was glad for what it meant. He could see how the fear had left him, even if it was only temporary, and more than anything he knew it meant that David had finally stopped blaming himself and was properly furious with Hunter over what he had done. Seeing David so broken and fragile those first few days had been devastating and he had worried that the other boy would be torn apart forever but he saw a strength and a resolve in him now that reassured him David was going to be okay.
They continued this way the next couple of days and David was reassured at the way each morning run started to feel better and easier. Pierre began to show David how to get out of different holds, ways to move his body to wiggle out of his grasp, or where he could elbow, stomp, kick, or even headbutt if held against his will. Pierre grabbed him from behind and showed David how he could slam his head backwards into his face, though of course David didn’t carry through any of these actions with actual force, knowing it would certainly hurt Pierre if he did so. Still, he began to see all of the possibilities in front of him that had never occurred to him before and by the end of the first week of Pierre’s stay he was feeling significantly more prepared to defend himself if he needed to. He felt indebted to Pierre more than he would ever be able to intimate to the other boy.
David woke on Christmas morning to the smell of something sweet and almost cakelike and he opened his eyes slowly, confusion encompassing him immediately. He looked to the side and saw an empty bed and his confusion turned quickly to curiosity. Without waiting he got out of bed and followed the smell which led him down the hall and into the kitchen. He stood in the framed opening for a moment, absorbing what he saw with surprise. Pierre was standing at the stove, his face and shirt splattered with flour as he watched a pan full of pancakes with a turner in his hand as if he was waiting for exactly the right moment and he wasn’t sure when that would be. David smiled and leaned against the frame, crossing his arms over his chest as he did.
Pierre noticed David out of the corner of his eye and he turned, smiling at him a little sheepishly and apologetically. “I tried to make pancakes,” he said, earning a wider smile from the other boy.
David pushed himself off of the wooden frame and walked forward, unable to take his eyes off of Pierre. As he got close enough to touch the other boy he reached up and gently wiped the flour off of his cheek, his eyes sparkling with adoration. “It looks like you didn’t just try,” David pointed out, a hint of amazement in his voice.
Pierre leaned down and placed a soft kiss on David’s lips before turning quickly back to the pancakes, looking for there to be enough ‘popped bubbles’ in the surface so he knew they were ready to flip. It was the first time he had ever tried to cook all on his own, and though the first couple of pancakes had burned and had been sacrificed to the trash, he had adjusted the heat on the stove and the rest of the pancakes had turned out okay, he thought. He supposed they would find out once they tried one. “I hope they actually taste good,” he said as he began to flip them over.
David stood behind Pierre and wrapped his arms around his middle, hugging him and resting the side of his face against the taller boy’s shoulder. “I’m sure they will,” he said softly, allowing his eyes to fall closed as he enjoyed the sweet moment.
After another minute Pierre moved the pancakes to the stack to the right of him. He turned off the burner, having used the last of the batter, and picked up the plate. The pancakes may not have been the most round, and maybe the color of them varied from batch to batch that he had cooked, but he felt accomplished that he had set out to make them and had done so without even setting off the fire alarm. David released his hold and moved to the fridge, getting out the butter and maple syrup before following after Pierre to the kitchen table. Pierre went back to the kitchen to get them plates and utensils, feeling an incredible sense of domestic bliss washing through him.
Together they sat and ate and to Pierre’s absolute delight the pancakes were pretty good. Some were a little more cooked than others but none were so far as to be raw inside and he had barely burned any of them at all. David was glowing as he watched Pierre, impressed and smitten all at once, thinking that this may have reached the top of the list of the sweetest things his boyfriend had ever done for him. He couldn’t believe the difference he saw in the older boy and how far he had come in the time he had really begun to get to know him. Pierre never ceased to amaze him with the way that he wanted to grow and how his kindness seemed to know no bounds. It was such a stark contrast compared to the boy who had grown up bullying him and there were parts of him that had a hard time believing he was even the same person, despite having watched it all happen over the course of a year. More than anything, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have ended up with him and how deeply in love he truly was.
After breakfast was eaten and the kitchen was cleaned up, the two sat on the couch together and cuddled up to watch a Christmas movie. Pierre wished he had been able to do something to give David an actual Christmas but Hunter’s attack had wiped out any plans he’d had. He had wanted to take David to get a Christmas tree and to get him some decorations, he’d wanted to get him presents and a stocking and cookies and candy canes because he knew David had been alone since his mother had died and hadn’t celebrated, but David had been too fragile in the days leading up to the holiday in order for that to be feasible.
“Next year I’m getting you the biggest Christmas tree I can find,” Pierre said randomly, not taking his eyes off of the movie in front of them.
The announcement felt random to David and he looked over at the other boy with curiosity and confusion. “Huh?”
“I wanted to make Christmas special for you this year but things kind of… went a little sideways,” Pierre admitted, glancing over at David and giving him a sad, crooked smile.
“Pierre, just you being here makes today special,” David responded honestly. “I don’t need a big tree or lights or any of that. That stuff is nice, yeah, but the best gift you could have given me is not being alone.”
Though he knew David was trying to reassure him, this statement only made Pierre feel sad for the other boy. Still, he smiled and nodded before pulling him deeper into his arms and turning back to look at the movie. “What do you think about doing something tomorrow?” he asked casually.
David tilted his head to the side and glanced at Pierre, curious again. “What did you have in mind?”
“I have something I wanted to get you for Christmas but I kinda didn’t get the chance and honestly I was worried I’d pick out the wrong thing ‘cause I don’t really know anything about it,” Pierre admitted, his cheeks flushing a little.
“You don’t have to get me anything,” David told him gently but Pierre shook his head in response.
“I want to get you one of those dress things you talked about, for putting the dresses on,” Pierre insisted, knowing it would be better to ruin the surprise for the sake of picking out the right thing.
David blinked rapidly and pulled back a little to look at Pierre better, stunned that he had remembered such a thing. Again, he found himself surprised at how thoughtful Pierre could be, like with the art supplies he had surprised him with the prior year. Guilt picked at him over the fact that for a second year he had honestly forgotten about Christmas and hadn’t thought to get Pierre anything. “Those are expensive, you don’t have to do that,” David told him firmly, blushing at the idea.
“Nope, I’m getting you one whether you want me to or not, so you can either come help me pick out a good one or I’ll probably end up getting the wrong thing,” Pierre replied, turning to look at David with a stubborn smile.
David blushed more deeply and he knew there was no use in arguing with him. He felt an odd shyness take over him and he shrunk into himself a little as he nodded, feeling completely uncomfortable at the idea of so easily accepting something like that. He had to remind himself that Pierre had a trust fund that he got paid out of every month and that he had barely been using that money, and that he had grown up with such an unfathomable amount of money that it was something that didn’t even cross his mind.
Pierre smiled, seeing that David wasn’t going to fight him and he kissed his forehead before looking back at the TV in front of them. Another thought struck him and he glanced sideways at David, not sure how he was going to take the next thing he was going to say but determined just the same. “I’m getting you pepper spray and a taser too,” he added, sounding apprehensive as he spoke.
A look of shock and bewilderment took over David’s features and he sputtered a little. “A TASER?!” he asked loudly, unable to contain his stupor.
Pierre looked at him, his face now serious and a little dark. “It’s legal for you to have it, you don’t need a permit or anything,” he reasoned. David stammered at him, horrified at the idea of having such a thing but Pierre grabbed his arms gently and continued to stare into his eyes. “I’m not negotiating on this one. It’s good that you want to get stronger and you’ve learned how to defend yourself a bit, but I don’t want to take any chances. I’d rather you have it and don’t need it than you need it and don’t have it.”
David’s face was bright red at the idea but again he saw how much Pierre meant the words he had spoken and he could see there would be no changing his mind. He gave a tiny nod, blinking rapidly in his nervousness. Pierre moved his hands to David’s face and he leaned toward him, a sadness he hadn’t allowed to show the past few days creeping into his eyes as he did. “You have no idea how hard it’s gonna be for me to go back to Anchorage next weekend and leave you here alone after what happened. Just keep it in your hoodie pocket when you’re going to your car, or if you have to go to the library for anything. Anytime he might be able to sneak up on you alone, I want to know you have it.”
David nodded again, allowing the surprise to fade from him as Pierre’s words ran through his mind. The seriousness of Pierre’s words allowed some of the fear he had been pushing down to creep back into him; he knew the other boy was right, no matter how much the idea of it scared him. “Okay,” he said meekly.
Pierre’s eyes closed and he leaned forward to press his forehead against David’s, glad that he had agreed fairly easily. It wouldn’t be enough to put his mind at ease while he was so far away but it would be better than nothing, he told himself. Unable to stop the gripping fear and despair that overwhelmed him suddenly he wrapped his arms around David’s middle and pulled him in, holding him tightly to his body and burying his face in the smaller boy’s neck. David blinked in surprise, frozen for a moment though quickly he melted into Pierre’s embrace and he allowed his eyes to fall closed. He wrapped his arms around Pierre’s head and held him against him, feeling for once that he was the one doing the comforting, that he was the supporting force. He could feel Pierre’s sorrow and it made him want to reassure him.
“Everything’s gonna be okay,” David breathed into his hair. The two sat like that for several minutes before Pierre began to pull away, and even though Pierre tried to turn quickly back to the movie in front of them David saw something that caused him to reach forward and grab the other boy’s face, forcing him to look back at him. Pierre blinked, his cheeks flushed with awkward embarrassment, but David could see nothing but his teary eyes. Pierre clenched his jaw and looked down at David’s legs in front of him, blinking to try to clear his eyes. “Hey,” David said gently, and reluctantly Pierre looked up at him, trying to stiffen his features but not quite succeeding. “I promise, it’s gonna be okay.”
A new type of protective feeling overcame him and David reached forward, pulling Pierre back into his arms. Pierre leaned forward and allowed himself to be held by David, allowed David to pull him back to lay with him, allowed David to be the dominant one between them for the first time in their relationship. He wrapped his arms around David’s torso and clung to him in the way that David usually did to him. He had been working so hard to be strong and supportive for the other boy but the trepidation he felt over having to leave the other boy behind while having done nothing to stop Hunter had finally become too much for him to continue to ignore and he felt weak and terrified. He hated that he was going to allow David to handle this on his own and that he would soon be hundreds of miles away from him, completely incapable of protecting him. Despite how hard he fought against it, soon there were tears leaking out of his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, falling down to land silently on David’s shirt. The idea of anything else happening to the other boy - the person he loved most on the planet - terrified him more than he could cope with.
They stayed like that the rest of the movie, David moving between running his fingers soothingly through Pierre’s hair and rubbing gentle circles across his back. He continuously placed random kisses on the top of his head, the occasional quiet sniffing sound making him aware that Pierre had been unable to fight his tears but he didn’t say anything about it. It was only the second time in all of his years of knowing him that he had ever seen Pierre cry, the first being when the other boy had seen his injuries several days prior; he knew his boyfriend well enough to know that crying was not something he did often or was comfortable with other people seeing. This more than anything impressed upon David the toll all of this had taken on Pierre no matter how strong and comforting he had tried to seem. He could see the way his decision to handle this on his own was eating at Pierre. Suddenly David felt guilty for not taking Pierre’s feelings into account over the last week, and not stopping to contemplate how all of it had been affecting him. He was just so used to Pierre being such a stable rock who was cocky and unbothered and who occasionally got angry; the idea of him being scared of anything felt surreal to David.
With that in mind, he knew he would take the pepper spray, he would take the taser, he would carry them with him and wouldn’t argue even a little bit. He would continue to work to make himself stronger and more resilient, he would eat every meal he should, he would go out of his way to surround himself with other people so that Hunter couldn’t get him alone. He would do whatever he could to help Pierre feel reassured of his safety because it was the only thing he could offer. He told himself firmly that no matter what it took, he was going to keep himself safe and whole and that Hunter would never be allowed to touch a single hair on him ever again. For Pierre’s sake even more than for his own, he was going to protect himself.