Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:53:22 +0000 From: Chris Salter Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 47 If you're under the legal age, it's illegal in your city, town, village, cult, Himalayan whistle kid camp, principality, region, etc or the though of homosexuality offends, leave now. Disclaimer: I don't know Jake Gyllenhaal, nor am I claiming to know anything about his personal life. This work is fictional. Chapter 47: "What's wrong?" Chris sighed and walked over to Danny, "I'm just over-thinking things as usual." "Let him explain himself tomorrow." Danny whispered softly as he brought Chris under his jacket. "It's a nice apartment, and I can't wait to be invited over for dinner." Letting out a small snort, Chris smiled, he felt safe being encapsulated within Danny's jacket and warm arms. "I love you Daniel. I sure hope you're right." Standing on the tips of his toes, Danny kissed Chris on the forehead, "You're such a silly boy." "You haven't called me boy in a long time you know." Chris muttered. "You deserve it this time." Danny replied with a cheeky smile. "Everything will be okay tomorrow. He still loves you." Chris let out another sigh and admitted, "You know when I heard the taxi pull up, I secretly hoped it was Jake." Keeping Chris firmly within his jacket, Danny softly brushed his lips over Chris'. "See, you do want to get back together with him." "I do." Chris admitted shyly. "But not if I'm going to be treated like I don't exist." "You said it yourself Chris," Danny whispered softly. "Dating Jake wasn't like dating me or anyone else." "I know." Chris replied softly as he rested his head against Danny's. "I think I just let everything get to me until I finally blew." While he enjoyed the feeling of Chris close to his body, Danny knew it was time to head home. "Come on, let's get you to bed." "Okay." Chris sighed as he freed himself from Danny's jacket. Not willing to let Chris go far, Danny quickly grasped his hand and started off down the street. "Do you know what time he will be there tomorrow?" Chris squeezed Jakes hand slightly as they passed a couple walking in the opposite direction, "I don't even know if he will show up." "I wouldn't be so sure of that." Danny whispered. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was already there." "I don't think I'd be ready to see him so quickly," Chris admitted as they approached the door of the building. Using his free hand to pull the door open, Danny led Chris towards the elevator and waited for the door to open. "Do you want to stay at my place, or yours?" Chris smiled for the first time in a while. "Can I stay at yours?" "Sure." Danny whispered as he pressed the right floor number. A short time later, the elevator came to a complete stop and Danny led Chris down the hallway towards the door. "You're staying in my bed tonight, okay?" "Thank you." Chris whispered. Continuing to grasp Danny's hand, he followed him up the spiral staircase and into the bedroom. Hanging his jacket in the wardrobe Danny kicked off his shoes and turned to see Chris sitting on the bed. Staring blankly at the floor, Chris sighed deeply, "What if he doesn't show up tomorrow?" Squatting down in front of him, Danny grasped both of Chris' hands and brought them up to his lips. "He will be here." Gently stroking his hand, Danny looked down. "You look naked without that ring." "I know." Chris sighed before beginning to stand up. "Come on," Danny insisted, "Let's get you out of these clothes." Following Danny to the expansive white bathroom, he pulled his sweater over his head, revealing his chest to the cold air. "Do you have a toothbrush I can use?" Danny furrowed his eyebrows, "I think so, let me have a look around for a minute." "Sure," Chris replied softly as he turned the water on in the shower. Once the water had heated up significantly, he unbuckled his belt and slowly unbuttoned the jeans. Not caring about Danny seeing him naked again, he finally dropped the jeans to the ground and stepped under the water. Smiling at seeing Chris naked again, Danny continued searching for a toothbrush in his cupboards. Finally, he kneeled on the ground and looked over at Chris. He was standing under the hot water resting his head on the wall. "I can't find one." "That's fine." Chris squeaked through the noise of the falling water. Making his way over to the shower, Danny pulled the heavy glass door open and gently dragged Chris' head over to his own. "It will be fine tomorrow. You'll get back together with Jake, you'll crash in your home and get on for three days straight and then Jake will move his ass over here." Chris wrapped his arms around Danny and hugged him tight, making sure to get him as wet as possible. "I wish I had your confidence." "You do Chris," Danny muttered. "Look at what you've done in your life. Most people wouldn't have done what you've done." "I suppose." Chris replied solemnly. "Did you say you couldn't find a toothbrush?" Danny shook his head. "I can't, but I can go down to your place and get yours." Smiling again, Chris kissed Danny firmly on the lips. "That's so sweet." "Come on, finish up in the shower, then you're coming to bed." Danny insisted before searching through Chris' pockets for the key and disappearing out of the bathroom. Thinking under the water for a few minutes longer, Chris finally switched the shower off and grabbed the towel. After drying himself off, he stumbled his naked body out of the cold bathroom and into the warm and inviting bedroom. He didn't know if Danny was going to bring him clothes or not, so instead, he decided to search through his wardrobe for something to wear. Finding a pair of shorts, he slipped them on before heading back into the bathroom to grab his clothes. Hearing a knock coming from the door downstairs, Chris panicked for a moment before carefully padding his way down the stairs towards the door. "Please don't be Jake." He whispered to himself as he looked through the peephole. There was another bang on the door. "Come on Chris, I left my keys inside!" "Okay, hang on!" Chris muttered as he struggled with the unfamiliar lock. Finally getting it, he pulled the door open, revealing Danny dressed in only his pajama bottoms and his glasses. He was holding Chris' toothbrush like the Olympic torch. "Fuck," Danny groaned as the door shut behind him. "It's freezing out there." Chris grabbed the toothbrush out of Danny's hand and hugged him tightly. "I thought you were Jake again." Tightly wrapping his arms around Chris' waist, Danny kissed him on the cheek lightly. "I think it's bed time for you." "I think you're right." Chris conceded. "I'm going mad." Dragging Chris back up the spiral staircase and into the bathroom once more, Danny positioned him in front of the sink and turned the water on before hugging Chris from behind. Applying the toothpaste to the brush and shoving it in his mouth, he smiled as he felt Danny's warm arms around his naked torso. Mumbling with a mouth full of toothpaste, he enquired, "Don't trust me brushing?" "You just look like you needed a hug." Danny whispered. "You're sweet." Chris mumbled before spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing his mouth. "Right, now I'm ready for bed." Taking the toothbrush out of Chris' paw, Danny placed it in the holder next to his before moving Chris into the bedroom. "You'll love this bed. It's so comfortable." Letting out a small snort, Chris pulled the sheets back and slipped in before lying on his back and watching Danny pounce his way onto the other side of the bed and crawling around in circles. "What the hell are you doing?" Chris asked as he tried to stifle his laughter. "Trying to make you laugh." Danny replied coyly as he gave up his actions and slipped under the sheets. Chris chuckled as he looked over lovingly at Danny. "It worked." Turning over to face him, he let out a sigh. "I wonder what Jake is doing right now." "He's either here somewhere." Danny replied. "Or he's still in LA and will come out tomorrow." "Or he's not coming out at all, and deciding Reese is less work than myself." Chris muttered. Danny groaned and pulled Chris into his warm arms. "Stop thinking like that. He had good reasons for doing what he did. He loves you." "I wish I could be sure of that." Chris mumbled as he began playing with the patch of hair running from Danny's chest towards his naval. "But I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning." Keeping Chris within his arms, Danny closed his eyes and whispered, "You can't change things out of your control. But I have a feeling he will be here, bright and early." Closing his eyes to try to sleep, Chris remained on Danny's chest for a few hours longer before peeling himself off and stumbling over to the window. Sitting on the plush carpet and stared out the full-length windows down to the street below. Sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, Chris played with his big toe while looking out at the city. He hoped somewhere in the expanse of buildings that Jake would be out there somewhere doing the exact same thing, however, he knew there was a good chance that he wasn't. He really wished he hadn't blown up so much when he confronted Jake about the images. He was an idiot for allowing it to get to him so much without hearing Jakes side of the story. Closing his eyes briefly, Chris felt tears beginning to well up again. Sure Danny was asleep; he let his guard down and finally broke down. The thought of not having Jake in his life ever again left him breathless. Wheezing softly from lack of air, he continued to let his tears get the better of him. Noticing the light suddenly switch on behind him, Chris tried to quiet down and compose himself before Danny could work out what was happening. However, it was too late. "Chris?" Danny asked as he sat down on the floor next to him. "What's wrong?" There was no point keeping his guard up, Danny knew he was terrified and heartbroken. Looking over at Danny, he felt his lower lip trembling as more tears began to spill freely from his eyes. Danny had never seen Chris like this. The look in his eyes was frightening, his eyes were wide and bloodshot, he looked more scared than he'd ever been. "I don't know what to do!" Chris exclaimed as he tried to grab a breath of air. "I'm so frightened that he's going to give up on me. I wouldn't blame him, I'm an idiot." He continued to rant for a few more moments before he began gasping for air again. Looking over at Danny absolutely terrified, he grasped his knee tight and squeaked, "I.......can't....breathe!" "Fuck!" Danny screamed as he jumped up and bolted towards the bathroom. Fishing around in his medicine cabinet he ran back to Chris, who was still wheezing on the floor. "Here," He whispered as he ran his hand down Chris' back and held his asthma puffer in front of him. "I'll count to three, and then try to breathe in. Okay?" Continuing to panic, Chris nodded and tried to follow his commands. Once Danny called out the time to inhale, he attempted to do so, having the contents of the puffer sprayed into his lungs. The effect was immediate. Straight away, he was able to inhale large amounts of air again with relative ease. Staring into Chris' eyes, Danny could see Chris was still terrified. Kneeling over, he gently stroked his cheek to wipe away a few of the tears. "Have you slept at all tonight?" Immediately shaking his head, Chris admitted. "I'm too scared to, it means it will be the morning soon, and my life falls further into the shit pile as I realize that Jake can't stand me being an absolutely fucking drama queen who deserves to be left alone or studied from a distance by a team who work for Animal Planet, or National Geographic and probably commentated by Richard Attenborough and..." He was suddenly cut off by Danny. "You're rambling." Chris sighed, "I know. I'm trying to delay the inevitable." "Well." Danny whispered as he moved behind Chris and pulled him to his feet. "I want you to come to bed." "I can't sleep Daniel." Chris admitted, "There's no point of me staying in there, I just spent the whole time thinking about Jake and how much I miss him. I just kept hoping that you'd magically change into him." Sitting Chris down on his side of the bed, Danny pulled the top drawer of the cupboard opened and pulled out a small bottle. "After the shit I had to go through after Alex, the doctor gave me these." Shaking out a couple of the pills, he handed them to Chris. "These will make sure you sleep." "I don't think I want to be taking drugs Daniel." Chris replied shyly. He knew he needed to take them, but still, he felt irresponsible taking medication that wasn't actually prescribed to him. Danny shook his head, "They're for exactly the same situation you're in. It's not like you haven't had these before." Finally closing his grip around the two pills, Chris looked up at Danny. "If you say so." "I'll get you a glass of water." Danny whispered as he leaned over and kissed Chris briefly before heading downstairs. Leaning his head over onto Danny's pillow, Chris let out a deep sigh and looked at his reflection in the window. He looked worse than he felt, which was no small accomplishment, as he felt worse than ever. Hearing the sound of footsteps on the landing outside the bedroom, he rolled over and watched Danny quickly strut his way back to the bed. "Here you go." Cautiously throwing the pills to the back of his throat, Chris swallowed them, along with the glass of water. "Thank you." He squeaked as he gently placed the glass on the table. "It will take a while for them to fully kick in." Danny whispered as he crawled back into the bed. Chris smiled as he watched Danny stretch slightly and placed his hands behind his head. "If that's the case, I need to use the bathroom." Danny smirked as he watched Chris shuffle his way into the bathroom. He let out a small chuckle as he watched Chris jump slightly when the lights suddenly switched on. "What the hell?!" Chris yelped softly. "There's a motion sensor in there." Danny replied. "It's switches off when no one is in there." He continued to explain as he watched Chris stumble around the bathroom, "That way you don't leave the light on accidentally wasting power, or you don't trip over something when you have to get up in the middle of the night." Chris smiled and looked back at the bedroom, "Sounds like witch doctor stuff to me." Finding the toilet, he closed the door. Sighing slightly, Danny was happy Chris' humor was starting to return slowly. Realizing he too was finding it hard to sleep, he too grabbed some of the medication as well as a mouthful of water. He was also worried about whether Jake would actually show up in the morning. He was pretty sure he would, and on the off chance he didn't, then Danny knew deep down that Jake wouldn't be the man for Chris. A few minutes later Chris returned from the bathroom and jumped slightly when the room switched itself off. "Okay, that thing creeps me out." "Why?" Danny laughed. Chris shrugged. "I don't know why. It just leaves me with a feeling of someone watching me all the time." Slipping back under the covers, he turned to face him and rested his head on his clenched fist. "What's going to happen if he doesn't show up tomorrow?" "Don't say that." Danny replied seriously. "He will show up." He then smiled innocently, "If he doesn't everyone will kick his butt into line. He'd be giving up the best thing in his life. You're too sweet and cute to be dropped like that." Carefully grabbing the tip of Chris' nose between his fingers, he continued. "I don't think Peter or Maggie would give him an easy time either. We all love you Chris. Never forget that." Letting a tear of happiness creep out of his eye for the first time in what seemed like an eternity; Chris smiled at Danny. "That's so sweet of you. I love you too." "Well it's true." Danny admitted. "You know I still love you." Nodding in agreement, "I know, but we just can't be a couple." "God knows we still act like one." Chris sighed. "Can I ask you a hypothetical question?" "Sure," Danny replied immediately. He had an idea where Chris was heading. Chris shifted again so he was closer to his face. "If Jake hadn't come along, and Alex hadn't fucked you over, do you think?" He paused for a moment, "Do you think we would have given it another try?" Thinking for a moment of how to word it, Danny finally admitted, "I think so. I would have liked to try and work things out." "I guess." Chris replied shyly. "If things were different, I probably would have moved across the country...." He blushed, "Wait, I've already done that." Pulling Chris onto his chest, Danny could tell the medication was finally kicking in; he was beginning to ramble more incoherently than usual. "I know what you mean." Then kissing the top of Chris' head and switching the light off, Danny wrapped his arm around Chris' warm back and whispered, "Go to sleep, everything will be okay tomorrow." -48 soon- Well, I suppose this was a predictable chapter! It was needed however. I wanted to convey the feelings of hurt and fear associated with this. So there we go. I've got a bit more free time on my hands for a while (If I discount the fact I have yet to study for my final exam). So feel free to give me a reason to procrastinate! Drop me a line, I love hearing from you all. Anyhoo, thanks for reading guys! I need sleep. Several hours in 2 days is NOT fun. Chris.