Fanfic: A guest for Christmas 13/14
A guest for Christmas 13/14
by Marea67
About: Kevin/Scotty
Rate: for now G, if it changes I'll let you know ;)
Disclaimer: Written with love not for money
Summary: Guy meets guy and, well, you know how it goes....
Just remember: This is an AU, so the usual applies; Things can/will be different. Don't like it? Don't read it.
*****
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
*****
Kevin's and Scotty's bodies are entangled under the blankets, it's close and intimate and warm. They had both been quite aroused by the time they had gotten to their room and satisfaction had followed all too soon, but it's alright with both of them. They simply enjoy their little moment together.
"I'm glad it all went well. I had expected that we'd have bigger fight. I wanted a bigger fight, but when I saw Greg and Mark, ... it was like 'whatever' and I just couldn't care anymore." Kevin explains, his finger makes a pattern on Scotty's chest.
"I know what you mean. I couldn't care much anymore either."
"I'm happy with you." Kevin kisses Scotty's shoulder. Scotty smiles and rolls Kevin on his back, while he gets on top of Kevin.
"Are you?" He asks. Kevin can only nod. Scotty kisses him tenderly.
"I'm happy with you too. Please, don't let me wake up to find that this is all a beautiful dream."
"No dream." Kevin confirms. "You're really here. I really love you. My family is really crazy about you and you really have a beautiful future ahead of you."
"And you're okay that we don't take it that far just yet?" Scotty motions with his head to the condoms and lube on the nightstand.
"I'm fine. To be honest, I was surprised at first, I thought that maybe you didn't want me as much as I want you..." Kevin says. Scotty shakes his head, kisses Kevin, but Kevin makes him stop. "I just want you know that I'm glad that you wanted to wait. I'm satisfied with how things are between us now."
"With 'satisfied' being the operative word?" Scotty teases. Kevin smiles.
"I have all the satisfaction I need right now. Though, I would never say that I've had enough....?" He hesitates and looks at Scotty with a grin.
"You're insatiable." Scotty says, gently tapping Kevin's nose.
But he proceeds to kiss Kevin on the lips, chin, throat and moving on down to his chest. Kevin spreads his legs, letting Scotty lie between them, loving the feel of that warm body on his own. Scotty's head disappears under the blanket and Kevin closes his eyes, when Scotty's shows him once again what he can do with his mouth.
******
In the Jennings house, Mark slips out of bed, out the door and down the stairs to the living-room. Once there he turns on the light on the desk and he opens his own laptop. He's been up half the night. Lying awake and running images in his head. But he has reached a decision and he's too uneasy and restless now.
He may not be the smartest one in the village, he's no fool either. Tonight he had finally understood why Greg had wanted to come here. He had wanted to hurt Kevin by parading the relationship with Mark before Kevin. It's something that Mark doesn't understand. He's not resentful to either Kevin or Scotty.
It disturbs him that Greg could be so mean. It had been some sort of wakeup call. Mark has seen Greg's true colors and he doesn't think they're all that pretty. And now he has no idea what to do with himself. He's in an unknown place and he knows nobody here. He has no idea where to go, but he feels that he can't stay where he is either.
The mere thought of Greg touching him again or that he has to spend even more day with Greg somehow, it makes him nauseous. He searches Google for options, but it's Christmas, there's nowhere to go. Clean Water Springs doesn't have a hotel and the next village might, but how will he get there?
He goes back upstairs to find Greg sound asleep. He had finished a bottle of wine on his own, tumbled into bed, fallen asleep and he's been snoring ever since. Quiet as a mouse Mark gathers his belongings. He shoves everything into his two overnight-bags. Just like Kevin had bought clothes for Scotty, Greg had done the same for Mark.
Mark leaves it all behind and he only takes what he needs urgently. Once he's back in LA he'll be fine. Papers, passport, ... small toiletry bag .. shoes, boots... He carefully closes the door behind him... It's nearly 6 in morning and there's only one place where he can think of where he wants to go. And that is to Scotty.
*****
Of course with two children in the house, sleeping in on Christmas morning is out of the question. Cooper managed to wait until 7.48, but then he runs up the stairs to wake the entire family, so they would gather for breakfast. This means that Scotty gets rudely awakened by the banging on the door, but Kevin is less impressed.
When Scotty tries to get up, all Kevin does is gently pull Scotty back on the bed.
"The kids can wait." He mumbles, before kissing Scotty.
"Don't you remember what it was like to be a kid..? On Christmas morning?"
"No, I'm too old and I'm too selfish. I just want to be in your arms, that's all I want."
"You're not too old, and I appreciate that your selfish, but I'm curious as well. I hope your parents will like the gifts we bought." Scotty says and Kevin sighs.
"Alright, you win... We'll get up. But I want a kiss first.... I can't get up without a kiss." Kevin says, making Scotty laugh and kiss him.
*****
Scotty is halfway the stairs, with Kevin behind him, when Tommy comes up the stairs to find Kevin and Scotty.
"Scotty, you have a visitor." Tommy says pointing to the living room.
"Me?" Scotty asks. Curious he descends the stairs to find out who his visitor is.
Mark sits at the breakfast table, looking half-frozen. Nora pours him some hot tea and Julia puts an extra blanket around him.
"I found him. He was trying to walk from the Jennings-place to our house." Tommy explains with a sigh.
"I was higher up on the road. And saw him carrying two over-night bags. I think he didn't realize how deep the snow is and how cold it gets in the morning. Anyway, saw him walking along the road and decided to jog back to the house to pick him up with the car, before he'd die of hypothermia.
"I wanted to leave Greg. I couldn't stay there anymore. Not after last night... I didn't know where to go... All I could think was you... It didn't seem like it was that far away." Mark's teeth chatter and Scotty doesn't know exactly what to do. "G-G-Greg had pointed out where you guys lived. I thought I could walk over here from the Jennings house..."
"Don't you guys have a car? Why didn't you use that one?" Scotty asks.
"Because there's only one car and then Greg wouldn't have anything... Besides, I didn't bring my driver's license with me. Greg said I wouldn't need it." Mark explains. Scotty rubs his face. Unbelievable! Mark was never the sharpest tool, but this is foolish.
"And now what?" Scotty asks.
"I don't know. You're always the one who comes with ideas." Mark answers still trembling from the cold. Scotty sinks down on one of the chairs.
"I don't have one. This...." Scotty stops. This is not his problem. He can't fix this. He can't get involved. Mark is his ex. They're through. But...
"What can we do?" Scotty asks, looking at the Walkers. "I'm completely out of my league here." The Walkers look at each other, out of answers themselves, until William says:
"Well, first we have breakfast, get the kids to unpack their gifts. That will give us time and energy to come up with something..."
"Good idea..." Nora agrees and the kids, who have no idea what is going on, ask if they can start unpacking the gifts now. "No. You know the rules. First, we get the breakfast-table ready... And don't mope! The more you guys help, the faster you'll have your gifts." She escorts them to the kitchen, while Robert excuses himself and goes upstairs.
Kitty follows him.
"Robert? Is everything alright?" She asks. She has seen the frown on his face and she's worried that something might be upsetting Robert.
"Yes, honey, no worry. I just had news that Jason will land at the airport this afternoon."
"Seriously? He'd be a week early." She's clearly happy with the news. Jason is Robert's younger brother, a friend of the family and Kitty loves him.
"He has asked if he, and his new boyfriend, Chad, can stay with us. He wants to introduce him to us...."
"How cute!"
"Yes. I've asked my pilot to fly Jason and Chad here, which he agreed to do, for a nice payment and the promise that he could fly right back to LA... And I've been thinking that perhaps he could take this Mark back with him to LA...."
"That's ... fast..." Kitty says hesitantly. Robert nods. "You, and he, will have to leave in about one hour..."
"The sooner the better. I think it's best to get Mark as far away from Scotty as possible and that we make sure that Greg can't get back at Kevin. If you catch my drift..."
"You want to make sure that Kevin and Scotty stay separated from Greg and Mark...?" Kitty understands.
"Exactly. Scotty is concerned is about Mark. Which in itself isn't bad, of course. It shows that Scotty has a certain maturity.
But Kevin might misread the signs and think that Scotty might still have feelings for Mark... I don't like to meddle in other people's lives, but Kevin is clearly not in the best place just yet." Robert says. Kitty agrees quietly. "I think we should help Scotty and we'd all be better off if Mark was out of here as soon as possible."
"Make the calls. Get rid of Mark. I'll talk to mom." Kitty decides and she goes back downstairs to let Robert do his job. She quickly joins her mother in the kitchen and updates Nora on Robert's plan.
"Excellent idea." Nora's face is serious. "The sooner the better."
Kitty joins the others in time to see Robert come down the stairs again, a smile on his face.
"Well, it looks like I might have the solution to Mark's worries." He says, making everyone, including Mark, look up at him.
"I have to pick up my brother Jason and his new boyfriend from the airport, they will join us for Christmas and New Year after all."
"That's good news." Justin agrees.
"Yes. It means that I have to go to the airport and I can take Mark with me."
"That is good news, isn't it?" William is all smiles when he speaks to Mark, who is obviously not entirely happy with the news.
"I don't know...." He stammers. He looks at Scotty hoping for some words of wisdom, but Scotty is remarkably quiet.
"You don't have to pay for anything. It's a private plane. Not very luxurious I'm afraid, but you'll be back in LA before the end of the day..." Robert promises. "Greg will never be able to get there before you. You'll have the chance to deal with matters on your own time. Move your things and get away from him would be a good idea."
Mark turns to Scotty.
"Will you come with me?" He asks and the family quietly gasp at the audacity. Scotty is Kevin's boyfriend now! Mark dumped Scotty! Surely Scotty wouldn't be stupid enough to go back to Mark???
"I'm sorry, Mark, but I'm staying here. With Kevin. I'm happy with him." Scotty says quietly. "And even if I hadn't been with him, if I had been alone, I wouldn't have gone back to you. You crossed a line. I can't forgive you for that. I'm sorry."
"I see." Mark's shoulders sink. He looks deflated.
Nora knows that somewhere she should feel sorry for him, but she can't. Not with her son's happiness on the line.
"Robert, I will make a lunch for Mark and your pilot, so they'll have something nice to eat on their way back to LA." She says therefore.
The little nod she gives Robert is to signal to Robert that he did right.
"We have to leave in one hour. Can you be ready by then?" He asks Nora, knowing very well that she'll have lunch ready in 15 minutes.
"Will do." She says and she disappears to the kitchen.
"We will put the two bags in your car, so Mark can defrost some more." Justin gives Tommy a punch to move to the shed, where the cars are. Remarkably, the others also suddenly find something else to do and Mark, Kevin and Scotty are left alone in the living-room.
"I think I've ruined the Christmas-breakfast for everyone. The kids haven't even been allowed to open up more than one present." Mark looks miserable and it's a bit too much for Kevin. Scotty looks at Kevin, his eyes begging Kevin to be nice to Mark, regardless of how he personally feels about him.
"You didn't ruin anything." Kevin says therefore. "But this is a bit new to us as well. If we wouldn't have had a full house, with Jason and his boyfriend now staying as well, my mom would probably have offered you one of the rooms here and asked you to join us for the Christmas-celebrations. We don't hate you, you know. This is not about you."
"Thanks. I'm sorry. I didn't stop to realize that Scotty is with you now, when I asked Scotty to go back home with me... I ... I'm still trying to understand what is going on with me, with Greg, with you two." Kevin doubts if Mark is really that naïf, but he decides, for Scotty's sake, to keep his mouth shut.
"Well, my brothers are putting your things in Robert's car, he will take you the airport, you'll be back in LA tonight...." Kevin tries to sound cheerful, but the question remains: And then what? By the defeated look on Mark's face he doesn't seem to know it either. Scotty sighs. As usual, he'll have to the thinking for Mark.
"Do you just want a time-out from Greg? Do you want to try and salvage what is left of your relationship with him?" He asks Mark.
"No." Well, there's a decided answer. Scotty closes his eyes, wondering why he even bothers to help Mark. It's not his problem. But he can't just push Mark away.
"Alright, here's what you do. You'll go back to our old apartment, find out if your things are still there and if you can move back in there. If you can, then beg, cry and whine your way back into that place. Do you have money?"
"Yes. More than enough. Greg managed to sell a few of my painting these last three weeks."
"Good. Pay our former landlord three months in advance if you have to, so you'll have a roof over your head. Tomorrow, you call Jordan. I will talk to him later today to ask him to help you. If I ask, he and his family will help. So, get whatever of your belongings that is still at Greg's and get it back to our old apartment.
Do not take anything that belongs to Greg. Not even if it was a gift. If you can't prove it's yours, leave it. Only your own things. And don't forget to take your paintings and other artwork with you. Good chance that Greg will make trouble once he finds out you're gone. And you'll want your things out of his apartment."
"If Greg makes any problems whatsoever, which I don't really believe in, here's my business-card. Call me. I'd love to lock horns with Greg." Kevin gives Mark his card. "Does he have access to your bank-account? Or anything else?" Mark shakes his head. "Because Scotty is right, take everything that is yours and get out while you can."
Mark shakes hands with Kevin, who gets up.
"You two better say goodbye.. I'll leave you two alone." Kevin leaves the room as well.
"Let's walk to the shed. Robert will joins us there, I suppose." Scotty takes the door to the shed and they are alone.
"Take good care of yourself." Scotty says. Mark nods, tears slowly forming in his eyes. "Do you want me to make a list of what you need to do, or will you remember it?"
"I'll be fine." Mark nods again.
"Call me. Let me know you're okay."
"I will.... I'm so sorry, Scotty."
"I know you are. I believe you. But it won't change anything, even though I still care for you. I want you to be safe and alright.... But my future lies with Kevin. I really love him."
"Oh, before I forget... I didn't forget my promise to you... The one I made earlier this year... Here!" He hands Scotty a little envelope. "Greg managed to sell a few of my paintings for a very good price. I hadn't had a chance yet to get back to you on this, but ... this is my end of the deal."
"Mark, this is a cheque for nearly 25.000 dollars!" Scotty gasps. Mark grins.
"I know! I owed you that. For everything. I've been very selfishly trying to follow my dream and I forgot that you had put your dreams on the back-burner for me. This is the least I could do.... Take it, Scotty! Get your dream-restaurant. You've earned it."
"Thank you." Scotty is nearly in tears of shock. He hugs Mark tightly. "Thank you... It's good to know, that I won't have to fully depend on the Walkers..."
"You've never owed anyone anything. " Mark smiles. "No reason to start now. I'm sure they'll be good to you, but you'll have no obligation to stay if you don't want to."
They hug one last time, but then Robert enters the shed, with the lunches that Nora had prepared. They are ready to leave. The Walker politely say goodbye to Mark. And then Scotty watches Mark drive away. For a moment, he wonders if he shouldn't feel more sad, but the feeling passes. He puts an arm around Kevin and they return to the kitchen.
END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN
/
by Marea67
About: Kevin/Scotty
Rate: for now G, if it changes I'll let you know ;)
Disclaimer: Written with love not for money
Summary: Guy meets guy and, well, you know how it goes....
Just remember: This is an AU, so the usual applies; Things can/will be different. Don't like it? Don't read it.
*****
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
*****
Kevin's and Scotty's bodies are entangled under the blankets, it's close and intimate and warm. They had both been quite aroused by the time they had gotten to their room and satisfaction had followed all too soon, but it's alright with both of them. They simply enjoy their little moment together.
"I'm glad it all went well. I had expected that we'd have bigger fight. I wanted a bigger fight, but when I saw Greg and Mark, ... it was like 'whatever' and I just couldn't care anymore." Kevin explains, his finger makes a pattern on Scotty's chest.
"I know what you mean. I couldn't care much anymore either."
"I'm happy with you." Kevin kisses Scotty's shoulder. Scotty smiles and rolls Kevin on his back, while he gets on top of Kevin.
"Are you?" He asks. Kevin can only nod. Scotty kisses him tenderly.
"I'm happy with you too. Please, don't let me wake up to find that this is all a beautiful dream."
"No dream." Kevin confirms. "You're really here. I really love you. My family is really crazy about you and you really have a beautiful future ahead of you."
"And you're okay that we don't take it that far just yet?" Scotty motions with his head to the condoms and lube on the nightstand.
"I'm fine. To be honest, I was surprised at first, I thought that maybe you didn't want me as much as I want you..." Kevin says. Scotty shakes his head, kisses Kevin, but Kevin makes him stop. "I just want you know that I'm glad that you wanted to wait. I'm satisfied with how things are between us now."
"With 'satisfied' being the operative word?" Scotty teases. Kevin smiles.
"I have all the satisfaction I need right now. Though, I would never say that I've had enough....?" He hesitates and looks at Scotty with a grin.
"You're insatiable." Scotty says, gently tapping Kevin's nose.
But he proceeds to kiss Kevin on the lips, chin, throat and moving on down to his chest. Kevin spreads his legs, letting Scotty lie between them, loving the feel of that warm body on his own. Scotty's head disappears under the blanket and Kevin closes his eyes, when Scotty's shows him once again what he can do with his mouth.
******
In the Jennings house, Mark slips out of bed, out the door and down the stairs to the living-room. Once there he turns on the light on the desk and he opens his own laptop. He's been up half the night. Lying awake and running images in his head. But he has reached a decision and he's too uneasy and restless now.
He may not be the smartest one in the village, he's no fool either. Tonight he had finally understood why Greg had wanted to come here. He had wanted to hurt Kevin by parading the relationship with Mark before Kevin. It's something that Mark doesn't understand. He's not resentful to either Kevin or Scotty.
It disturbs him that Greg could be so mean. It had been some sort of wakeup call. Mark has seen Greg's true colors and he doesn't think they're all that pretty. And now he has no idea what to do with himself. He's in an unknown place and he knows nobody here. He has no idea where to go, but he feels that he can't stay where he is either.
The mere thought of Greg touching him again or that he has to spend even more day with Greg somehow, it makes him nauseous. He searches Google for options, but it's Christmas, there's nowhere to go. Clean Water Springs doesn't have a hotel and the next village might, but how will he get there?
He goes back upstairs to find Greg sound asleep. He had finished a bottle of wine on his own, tumbled into bed, fallen asleep and he's been snoring ever since. Quiet as a mouse Mark gathers his belongings. He shoves everything into his two overnight-bags. Just like Kevin had bought clothes for Scotty, Greg had done the same for Mark.
Mark leaves it all behind and he only takes what he needs urgently. Once he's back in LA he'll be fine. Papers, passport, ... small toiletry bag .. shoes, boots... He carefully closes the door behind him... It's nearly 6 in morning and there's only one place where he can think of where he wants to go. And that is to Scotty.
*****
Of course with two children in the house, sleeping in on Christmas morning is out of the question. Cooper managed to wait until 7.48, but then he runs up the stairs to wake the entire family, so they would gather for breakfast. This means that Scotty gets rudely awakened by the banging on the door, but Kevin is less impressed.
When Scotty tries to get up, all Kevin does is gently pull Scotty back on the bed.
"The kids can wait." He mumbles, before kissing Scotty.
"Don't you remember what it was like to be a kid..? On Christmas morning?"
"No, I'm too old and I'm too selfish. I just want to be in your arms, that's all I want."
"You're not too old, and I appreciate that your selfish, but I'm curious as well. I hope your parents will like the gifts we bought." Scotty says and Kevin sighs.
"Alright, you win... We'll get up. But I want a kiss first.... I can't get up without a kiss." Kevin says, making Scotty laugh and kiss him.
*****
Scotty is halfway the stairs, with Kevin behind him, when Tommy comes up the stairs to find Kevin and Scotty.
"Scotty, you have a visitor." Tommy says pointing to the living room.
"Me?" Scotty asks. Curious he descends the stairs to find out who his visitor is.
Mark sits at the breakfast table, looking half-frozen. Nora pours him some hot tea and Julia puts an extra blanket around him.
"I found him. He was trying to walk from the Jennings-place to our house." Tommy explains with a sigh.
"I was higher up on the road. And saw him carrying two over-night bags. I think he didn't realize how deep the snow is and how cold it gets in the morning. Anyway, saw him walking along the road and decided to jog back to the house to pick him up with the car, before he'd die of hypothermia.
"I wanted to leave Greg. I couldn't stay there anymore. Not after last night... I didn't know where to go... All I could think was you... It didn't seem like it was that far away." Mark's teeth chatter and Scotty doesn't know exactly what to do. "G-G-Greg had pointed out where you guys lived. I thought I could walk over here from the Jennings house..."
"Don't you guys have a car? Why didn't you use that one?" Scotty asks.
"Because there's only one car and then Greg wouldn't have anything... Besides, I didn't bring my driver's license with me. Greg said I wouldn't need it." Mark explains. Scotty rubs his face. Unbelievable! Mark was never the sharpest tool, but this is foolish.
"And now what?" Scotty asks.
"I don't know. You're always the one who comes with ideas." Mark answers still trembling from the cold. Scotty sinks down on one of the chairs.
"I don't have one. This...." Scotty stops. This is not his problem. He can't fix this. He can't get involved. Mark is his ex. They're through. But...
"What can we do?" Scotty asks, looking at the Walkers. "I'm completely out of my league here." The Walkers look at each other, out of answers themselves, until William says:
"Well, first we have breakfast, get the kids to unpack their gifts. That will give us time and energy to come up with something..."
"Good idea..." Nora agrees and the kids, who have no idea what is going on, ask if they can start unpacking the gifts now. "No. You know the rules. First, we get the breakfast-table ready... And don't mope! The more you guys help, the faster you'll have your gifts." She escorts them to the kitchen, while Robert excuses himself and goes upstairs.
Kitty follows him.
"Robert? Is everything alright?" She asks. She has seen the frown on his face and she's worried that something might be upsetting Robert.
"Yes, honey, no worry. I just had news that Jason will land at the airport this afternoon."
"Seriously? He'd be a week early." She's clearly happy with the news. Jason is Robert's younger brother, a friend of the family and Kitty loves him.
"He has asked if he, and his new boyfriend, Chad, can stay with us. He wants to introduce him to us...."
"How cute!"
"Yes. I've asked my pilot to fly Jason and Chad here, which he agreed to do, for a nice payment and the promise that he could fly right back to LA... And I've been thinking that perhaps he could take this Mark back with him to LA...."
"That's ... fast..." Kitty says hesitantly. Robert nods. "You, and he, will have to leave in about one hour..."
"The sooner the better. I think it's best to get Mark as far away from Scotty as possible and that we make sure that Greg can't get back at Kevin. If you catch my drift..."
"You want to make sure that Kevin and Scotty stay separated from Greg and Mark...?" Kitty understands.
"Exactly. Scotty is concerned is about Mark. Which in itself isn't bad, of course. It shows that Scotty has a certain maturity.
But Kevin might misread the signs and think that Scotty might still have feelings for Mark... I don't like to meddle in other people's lives, but Kevin is clearly not in the best place just yet." Robert says. Kitty agrees quietly. "I think we should help Scotty and we'd all be better off if Mark was out of here as soon as possible."
"Make the calls. Get rid of Mark. I'll talk to mom." Kitty decides and she goes back downstairs to let Robert do his job. She quickly joins her mother in the kitchen and updates Nora on Robert's plan.
"Excellent idea." Nora's face is serious. "The sooner the better."
Kitty joins the others in time to see Robert come down the stairs again, a smile on his face.
"Well, it looks like I might have the solution to Mark's worries." He says, making everyone, including Mark, look up at him.
"I have to pick up my brother Jason and his new boyfriend from the airport, they will join us for Christmas and New Year after all."
"That's good news." Justin agrees.
"Yes. It means that I have to go to the airport and I can take Mark with me."
"That is good news, isn't it?" William is all smiles when he speaks to Mark, who is obviously not entirely happy with the news.
"I don't know...." He stammers. He looks at Scotty hoping for some words of wisdom, but Scotty is remarkably quiet.
"You don't have to pay for anything. It's a private plane. Not very luxurious I'm afraid, but you'll be back in LA before the end of the day..." Robert promises. "Greg will never be able to get there before you. You'll have the chance to deal with matters on your own time. Move your things and get away from him would be a good idea."
Mark turns to Scotty.
"Will you come with me?" He asks and the family quietly gasp at the audacity. Scotty is Kevin's boyfriend now! Mark dumped Scotty! Surely Scotty wouldn't be stupid enough to go back to Mark???
"I'm sorry, Mark, but I'm staying here. With Kevin. I'm happy with him." Scotty says quietly. "And even if I hadn't been with him, if I had been alone, I wouldn't have gone back to you. You crossed a line. I can't forgive you for that. I'm sorry."
"I see." Mark's shoulders sink. He looks deflated.
Nora knows that somewhere she should feel sorry for him, but she can't. Not with her son's happiness on the line.
"Robert, I will make a lunch for Mark and your pilot, so they'll have something nice to eat on their way back to LA." She says therefore.
The little nod she gives Robert is to signal to Robert that he did right.
"We have to leave in one hour. Can you be ready by then?" He asks Nora, knowing very well that she'll have lunch ready in 15 minutes.
"Will do." She says and she disappears to the kitchen.
"We will put the two bags in your car, so Mark can defrost some more." Justin gives Tommy a punch to move to the shed, where the cars are. Remarkably, the others also suddenly find something else to do and Mark, Kevin and Scotty are left alone in the living-room.
"I think I've ruined the Christmas-breakfast for everyone. The kids haven't even been allowed to open up more than one present." Mark looks miserable and it's a bit too much for Kevin. Scotty looks at Kevin, his eyes begging Kevin to be nice to Mark, regardless of how he personally feels about him.
"You didn't ruin anything." Kevin says therefore. "But this is a bit new to us as well. If we wouldn't have had a full house, with Jason and his boyfriend now staying as well, my mom would probably have offered you one of the rooms here and asked you to join us for the Christmas-celebrations. We don't hate you, you know. This is not about you."
"Thanks. I'm sorry. I didn't stop to realize that Scotty is with you now, when I asked Scotty to go back home with me... I ... I'm still trying to understand what is going on with me, with Greg, with you two." Kevin doubts if Mark is really that naïf, but he decides, for Scotty's sake, to keep his mouth shut.
"Well, my brothers are putting your things in Robert's car, he will take you the airport, you'll be back in LA tonight...." Kevin tries to sound cheerful, but the question remains: And then what? By the defeated look on Mark's face he doesn't seem to know it either. Scotty sighs. As usual, he'll have to the thinking for Mark.
"Do you just want a time-out from Greg? Do you want to try and salvage what is left of your relationship with him?" He asks Mark.
"No." Well, there's a decided answer. Scotty closes his eyes, wondering why he even bothers to help Mark. It's not his problem. But he can't just push Mark away.
"Alright, here's what you do. You'll go back to our old apartment, find out if your things are still there and if you can move back in there. If you can, then beg, cry and whine your way back into that place. Do you have money?"
"Yes. More than enough. Greg managed to sell a few of my painting these last three weeks."
"Good. Pay our former landlord three months in advance if you have to, so you'll have a roof over your head. Tomorrow, you call Jordan. I will talk to him later today to ask him to help you. If I ask, he and his family will help. So, get whatever of your belongings that is still at Greg's and get it back to our old apartment.
Do not take anything that belongs to Greg. Not even if it was a gift. If you can't prove it's yours, leave it. Only your own things. And don't forget to take your paintings and other artwork with you. Good chance that Greg will make trouble once he finds out you're gone. And you'll want your things out of his apartment."
"If Greg makes any problems whatsoever, which I don't really believe in, here's my business-card. Call me. I'd love to lock horns with Greg." Kevin gives Mark his card. "Does he have access to your bank-account? Or anything else?" Mark shakes his head. "Because Scotty is right, take everything that is yours and get out while you can."
Mark shakes hands with Kevin, who gets up.
"You two better say goodbye.. I'll leave you two alone." Kevin leaves the room as well.
"Let's walk to the shed. Robert will joins us there, I suppose." Scotty takes the door to the shed and they are alone.
"Take good care of yourself." Scotty says. Mark nods, tears slowly forming in his eyes. "Do you want me to make a list of what you need to do, or will you remember it?"
"I'll be fine." Mark nods again.
"Call me. Let me know you're okay."
"I will.... I'm so sorry, Scotty."
"I know you are. I believe you. But it won't change anything, even though I still care for you. I want you to be safe and alright.... But my future lies with Kevin. I really love him."
"Oh, before I forget... I didn't forget my promise to you... The one I made earlier this year... Here!" He hands Scotty a little envelope. "Greg managed to sell a few of my paintings for a very good price. I hadn't had a chance yet to get back to you on this, but ... this is my end of the deal."
"Mark, this is a cheque for nearly 25.000 dollars!" Scotty gasps. Mark grins.
"I know! I owed you that. For everything. I've been very selfishly trying to follow my dream and I forgot that you had put your dreams on the back-burner for me. This is the least I could do.... Take it, Scotty! Get your dream-restaurant. You've earned it."
"Thank you." Scotty is nearly in tears of shock. He hugs Mark tightly. "Thank you... It's good to know, that I won't have to fully depend on the Walkers..."
"You've never owed anyone anything. " Mark smiles. "No reason to start now. I'm sure they'll be good to you, but you'll have no obligation to stay if you don't want to."
They hug one last time, but then Robert enters the shed, with the lunches that Nora had prepared. They are ready to leave. The Walker politely say goodbye to Mark. And then Scotty watches Mark drive away. For a moment, he wonders if he shouldn't feel more sad, but the feeling passes. He puts an arm around Kevin and they return to the kitchen.
END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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