Repost: Once Again
Title: Once Again
Pairing: Marat Safin/Andy Roddick
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: not true
Summary: It's been sixteen years since Andy's seen Marat.
Prompt: We were friends once but then we became lovers.
For the prompt challenge at tennisslash. 2nd place finish.
Pouring a healthy glass of red wine, Andy sits down before hollering out to his son. “Ben! Dinner’s ready!”
Moments later, a reflection of Andy’s youth comes into the kitchen and settles in beside his father. Everyone, especially Andy, is surprised to see how much Ben looks like his dad, the resemblance is a little eerie, but Andy wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves how it’s just him and Ben, him and his son.
“So, Jeremy’s dad said he’ll drop you off Sunday, probably in the morning, unless you want me to pick you up?”
Busy shoveling the pasta into his mouth, Ben simply shakes his head, slurps up a string of fettuccini and gives Andy a big grin. “No, that’s fine.”
Andy just laughs, amazed at how much he sees himself in Ben. “Alright, alright. Excited about the party?”
Ben just shrugs and Andy nudges him. “Come on, I remember what it’s like to be sixteen and all the honeys running around.” When Ben releases a painful moan, Andy roars with laughter. “Don’t tell me you’re not going to be pimpin’ it.”
“Please, Dad, just stop!” Ben moans as his cheeks redden. “You sound so stupid.” Teasing his son is Andy’s favorite pass time. He’s about to continue when Ben speaks up.
“Oh! I almost forgot. Someone called for you, dad. I think it was a tennis buddy. Something Safin? I don’t remember the first name, sounded funny though.” When he doesn’t get a reply, Ben looks up from his food. “Dad?”
“Oh. Yeah. He’s… We used to play tennis together. What did he say? Wait. Marat Safin?” A thousand thoughts are running through his head and apparently he’s voicing every single one.
“Yeah, must be him, is he foreign? Had a weird accent that made it hard to understand him. He asked for you. I said you were out, ‘cause you were. He gave his number then said that he’ll call again for you.” The doorbell rings and Ben is up and out of his seat in no time and flies up the stairs to grab his bag. When he comes back down to say goodbye, Andy’s still sitting looking quite dumbfounded.
“I left the message by the phone in the den. I’ll see you on Sunday, ok?” He gives his dad a half-hug and leaves.
After Andy finishes his meal in silence, he cleans up the kitchen as best as he can with his distracted mind. Marat Safin? Calling for him? After 16 years? It’s been that long his Andy hung up his tennis shoes and had Ben. It’s been even longer since he had been with Marat. They had always been friends, got along great, both passionate for tennis. Somehow they ended up together one night and were inseparable. Until. Until Marat decided, at the age of thirty, he was going to retire. He had a great career, but the latter half was injury-ridden. With Andy’s love and support, he took it easy for a while, but still accompanied him to some of the tournaments. People began to ask questions. If Marat Safin is retired, then why is he still on tour? Why is he hanging out the Americans, not the Russians? Andy panicked in Andy Roddick fashion and ended their relationship so abruptly. Days afterward he was seen with multiple girls, drinking and having fun. Needless to say, they haven’t spoken since.
Somehow, Andy finds himself in the den, with a bottle of red wine in one hand and a glass in the other. He puts them down in exchange for the phone and the notepad with Ben’s scribble on it.
Dad
Dude named Safin called. 305-985-8877. Gave number but said will call you
Andy stares at the number, tapping the phone against his chin. He wants to call him, wants to talk to him, apologize even. When he presses his fingers against the number pad, they slip just a little. When it starts ringing, his breathing picks up a little.
“Hello?”
The sound of the familiar accented voice has Andy’s throat clamming up.
“Hello?”
“H-Hi, Marat?”
There’s a slight pause then: “Andy, is that you?”
For some reason that Andy can’t explain right now, he smiles. “Yeah, its me. How… How’s it going?”
He can almost see the big Russian shrugging as he says. “Alright. You?”
“I’m doing ok… It’s been a while, huh?”
Marat’s silky laughter fills his ears. “Yes, quite so.” He quiets down, whispering almost. “I’m in town, thought I’d call you… and see if you wanted to meet up.”
Andy freezes. In town? Where did he get his number? Wait, Marat wants to see him? “Um, yeah sure. I’m at home right now. Where did you want to meet?”
“Doesn’t really matter.”
Andy looks around, making up his mind before he even realizes it. “How about you come here?”
He hears Marat’s hesitation. “At your house? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Unless you don’t want to.”
Marat, obviously, does. Andy quickly rattles off his address, trying his best not to sound nervous. After Marat promises to be there in twenty minutes or less, they hang up. Andy stares at the phone resting in his hand, wondering what the hell has he just done.
{*}
Ever since he hung up the phone, Andy’s been thinking about how he should greet Marat. Just a “hi” seems too impersonal, like Marat doesn’t know every inch of him, inside and out. A handshake seems ridiculously informal. Maybe a hug?
The doorbell rings and Andy’s there to open it in a heart beat. The ‘greeting decision’ is taken out of his hands as Marat smiles and envelopes him in a big hug. Strong arms envelope Andy in a familiar embrace he didn’t know he was missing until now. With a squeeze, Marat eases back and Andy begins to look over him. He looks exactly like he did years ago. Sixteen years ago, when he last saw him. Sure, there are a few wrinkles by his eyes, but besides that, its like he hasn’t aged a day. Still very fit, hair still unruly as ever. And it makes Andy smile.
“Good to see you again, Andy.” Marat says as he follows Andy into the main sitting area.
“You too.” Andy nods for Marat to take a seat as he moves quickly to get another wine glass. After pouring wine for both of them, Andy takes a seat next to Marat, body turned in slightly.
“So… How have you been? What have you been up to?”
Marat lets out a low laugh. “Good. Pretty good. Life’s been different since leaving tennis, but I’m going to complain, not really. I live out here now, in Miami. I’m a coach to the best up coming female tennis stars.”
“A coach huh?”
He smiles around his glass. “Yeah, who would have thought. But little Anika’s pretty insistent, must be that Russian blood.” He laughs again.
Andy smiles weakly, hating himself for not wanting to hear how Marat has moved on. “If she’s anything like her dad, then she’ll be a star in no time.”
“More like her mom, actually,” Marat says raising a brow. “Anika’s my niece, Dinara’s daughter.”
Andy straightens. “Oh?”
“Yeah, but she’s plays a bit like her dad too. Dinara married Youzhny.”
“How did that happen?”
Marat laughs. “He waited until I left to ask her out. Said he was scared of me. But Micha’s a good guy though.”
“Scared of you.” Andy laughs, cheeks tinting a little already. “A lot of people were scared of you.”
“Yeah, so Anika wanted me to coach her, why I have no idea. And Dina kept asking too, so we’re all out here for now, working on her tennis. But she really is something.”
The smile on Marat’s face has Andy grinning too. Times sure have changed. “ So where do you two train?”
“At the Royal Palm.”
“Oh! I know that place. The kids there are really great.”
“Yeah, that’s where I found your number from.” Andy pauses as he goes to take a drink from his class, raising a brow. “The owner was going on about how some ex-players come by and give lessons, said you’re a regular. Really good with the kids.”
Andy blushes, laughing to hide his embarrassment. “Bob’s too nice for his own good. But yeah, I do help out there. The kids are awesome, always so eager to learn.”
Marat sips on his wine, loving the way Andy gushes about the kids, loving the way his face lights up. Their conversation continues with ease and familiarity, so much so that neither man notices the gap between their bodies disappearing.
{*}
“You had to see it, Andy. Micha was hiding behind Dina when they told me they were engaged.”
Marat and Andy both collapse, giggling, holding on to each other. Needless to say that they’re well beyond one bottle of wine, on their third actually. Marat’s doing a little better than Andy, who is a little more than tipsy. They’re sitting next to each other, turned in so their thighs and knees are pressed against each other.
“And then Dina, I love her. She tells Micha that they can’t get married unless I approve of it. S-so Micha” Marat doesn’t finish as he breaks out in giggles. Andy pokes him in the middle.
“Maraaat. What does he do?” He whines and puts on his best pouting, hoping Marat will continue with the story.
“Micha starts crying! First, he gets mad, saying that I shouldn’t have any say. Then he starts sucking up to Dina and me. It was the funniest shit ever.”
Andy laughs so hard, he’s hiccupping, which causes Marat to laugh even more. Somehow their arms end up around each other’s shoulders.
{*}
“So, the boy that answered your phone?”
Andy’s sobered up a little after snacking on some fruit and crackers when his stomach rumbled. “Ben. He’s… He’s my son.”
“Oh”
“Yeah. He’s sixteen.”
“Oh”
Marat’s just stares at him, trying to do calculations in his foggy mind. But all that is beat out by one single thought. “He sounded like a really nice boy, really polite. You and his mother must be proud.”
Andy smiles weakly. “We are. Ben’s a good kid, not like how I was at all. But Ben lives with just me.”
Marat straightens up with interest.
“A-after you retired, I hooked up with a friend one night. It was really stupid, because it broke up our friendship and we were really good friends. We had Ben, but she realized that she didn’t want the responsibility. So, I have Ben, but I love him and couldn’t have any better.
“That’s…” Marat trails off, not wanting to voice his true opinion.
“It’s not that bad. It’s not like she doesn’t see him or talk to him. She comes and visits at least once a month and talks to him every other day. He understands completely, doesn’t blame her or anything.
“Oh”
“Yeah. So. How about yourself? Anyone special?” Andy asks with strain, not really wanting to hear the answer.
“No, not really. No time.” Marat’s nonchalant, knowing what Andy’s up to.
“No? That’s hard to believe.” Andy snorts. “Remember all those time we’d all go out and you ended up with like four different people?”
Marat shakes his head. “Not like that anymore. Haven’t been like that in years. You should know.”
Andy stares at him, watching as Marat lowers his eyes. “Yeah, I do.”
{*}
Standing up, Marat sticks out his hand. “Well, Andy it was good seeing you again. Really good. Maybe we could meet up for coffee or dinner or something?”
Andy nods, shaking Marat’s hand briefly before pulling him in for a hug. The embrace lasts longer than expected and Andy whispers, “You know, you don’t have to leave.”
That has Marat pulling back to look at Andy. “What do you mean?”
“Ben’s at a friend’s for the weekend. You could stay and we could talk. I-I missed you.”
Marat just stares and Andy pushes on. “I’ve been wanting to tell you all night. I fucked up, Marat. Fucked up big time. I’m… I’m sorry.”
When Marat doesn’t instantly respond, Andy deflates. He’s about to turn away, when Marat tugs him closer and kisses him. Carefully. Gently.
“You know, Andy. I’m not young anymore. I don’t up with games.”
He’s teasing, if the smile on his lips is anything to go by, but Andy takes it seriously, kissing his lips over and over again. “I know. And I’m sorry. No more games.”
{*}
Sighs and moans fill the night’s air. Bodies re-introduce each other; skilled fingers try to remember the familiar paths of before. All doubts and wrong doings from the past are washed away as the two bodies dance in the shadows of the night.
*~~~~*
Sunday morning finds Andy making breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast are plated and ready to be eaten as Marat comes down the stairs, freshly showered and dressed in Andy’s clothing. He hasn’t left since Friday night.
He takes a seat and begins to eat as Andy takes the seat next to him. Every so often, they’ll stop, either eating or talking, and share an eggy-bacony-toasty kiss that leaves them grinning like fools. Neither of them notice the young man staring at them.
“Uhh, hi Dad.”
Andy turns and smiles when he sees Ben. “Ben! How was the party? Oh, this is Marat. Marat, this is Ben, my son.”
Ben smiles and waves awkwardly. “Hi. The party was great.” He moves to make his escape to the stairs as quickly as possible.
“Do you want some breakfast? There’s plenty.” Andy sees Ben’s discomfort and tries to soothe over as much as possible.
“Uh, no. That’s ok. I’m going to head up stairs.”
After he exited, Marat lets out a nervous laugh. “I don’t think he likes me.”
Andy just shakes his head. “No, it’s not that. He knows… He knows I’m gay, but still struggles with it a little. I’ll talk to him later.”
As breakfast comes to a close, Marat promises Andy that he’ll be back. Andy didn’t want him to go, after all he finally just got him back, but he does need his own clothes and there are people probably wondering where he is.
Walking to the front door, Andy lets Marat go with one last kiss. As he closes the door, he thinks about everything that has happened this weekend when he remembers Ben. Sighing, he runs up the stairs and knocks on Ben’s bedroom door before entering. Andy takes a seat on the bed, next to Ben who is lying down with a book.
“Hey, bud.”
“Hey, dad.”
“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for springing that on you. What happened down there.”
“That’s ok.”
“No, it’s not. But…”
“He’s more than just a tennis buddy, right, Dad?”
Andy breathes deep. “Yeah. Back in the day… We were friends once, but then… then we became lovers. But then, your smart awesome dad goes and fucked it all up.”
Ben sits up, intrigued. “Yeah? What did you do?”
“Just was stupid and insecure of who I am. We… We hadn’t seen each other for sixteen years.”
“So… Are you two back together then?”
Andy smiles and shakes his head. “It’s not that easy, but for now we’re going to take it slow.” When Ben just stares at him with a smile on his lips, Andy asks, “what?”
“Nothing. It’s just good to see you happy again.”
Shaking his head and laughing, Andy swats Ben on the knee. “Ok Benzo, I want this room clean then we’ll go to the movies if you want?” Ben agrees and Andy leaves him with a hug.
Walking down the stairs, Ben’s words echo throughout his head. It’s good to see you happy again. Who would have ever thought that after sixteen years, after the heartache Andy had put him through, that Marat would call him up and accept him as though nothing had ever soured between them? Well, Andy definitely didn’t but he’s more than happy to have this second chance and he’s not going to let it slip away.
Pairing: Marat Safin/Andy Roddick
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: not true
Summary: It's been sixteen years since Andy's seen Marat.
Prompt: We were friends once but then we became lovers.
For the prompt challenge at tennisslash. 2nd place finish.
Pouring a healthy glass of red wine, Andy sits down before hollering out to his son. “Ben! Dinner’s ready!”
Moments later, a reflection of Andy’s youth comes into the kitchen and settles in beside his father. Everyone, especially Andy, is surprised to see how much Ben looks like his dad, the resemblance is a little eerie, but Andy wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves how it’s just him and Ben, him and his son.
“So, Jeremy’s dad said he’ll drop you off Sunday, probably in the morning, unless you want me to pick you up?”
Busy shoveling the pasta into his mouth, Ben simply shakes his head, slurps up a string of fettuccini and gives Andy a big grin. “No, that’s fine.”
Andy just laughs, amazed at how much he sees himself in Ben. “Alright, alright. Excited about the party?”
Ben just shrugs and Andy nudges him. “Come on, I remember what it’s like to be sixteen and all the honeys running around.” When Ben releases a painful moan, Andy roars with laughter. “Don’t tell me you’re not going to be pimpin’ it.”
“Please, Dad, just stop!” Ben moans as his cheeks redden. “You sound so stupid.” Teasing his son is Andy’s favorite pass time. He’s about to continue when Ben speaks up.
“Oh! I almost forgot. Someone called for you, dad. I think it was a tennis buddy. Something Safin? I don’t remember the first name, sounded funny though.” When he doesn’t get a reply, Ben looks up from his food. “Dad?”
“Oh. Yeah. He’s… We used to play tennis together. What did he say? Wait. Marat Safin?” A thousand thoughts are running through his head and apparently he’s voicing every single one.
“Yeah, must be him, is he foreign? Had a weird accent that made it hard to understand him. He asked for you. I said you were out, ‘cause you were. He gave his number then said that he’ll call again for you.” The doorbell rings and Ben is up and out of his seat in no time and flies up the stairs to grab his bag. When he comes back down to say goodbye, Andy’s still sitting looking quite dumbfounded.
“I left the message by the phone in the den. I’ll see you on Sunday, ok?” He gives his dad a half-hug and leaves.
After Andy finishes his meal in silence, he cleans up the kitchen as best as he can with his distracted mind. Marat Safin? Calling for him? After 16 years? It’s been that long his Andy hung up his tennis shoes and had Ben. It’s been even longer since he had been with Marat. They had always been friends, got along great, both passionate for tennis. Somehow they ended up together one night and were inseparable. Until. Until Marat decided, at the age of thirty, he was going to retire. He had a great career, but the latter half was injury-ridden. With Andy’s love and support, he took it easy for a while, but still accompanied him to some of the tournaments. People began to ask questions. If Marat Safin is retired, then why is he still on tour? Why is he hanging out the Americans, not the Russians? Andy panicked in Andy Roddick fashion and ended their relationship so abruptly. Days afterward he was seen with multiple girls, drinking and having fun. Needless to say, they haven’t spoken since.
Somehow, Andy finds himself in the den, with a bottle of red wine in one hand and a glass in the other. He puts them down in exchange for the phone and the notepad with Ben’s scribble on it.
Dad
Dude named Safin called. 305-985-8877. Gave number but said will call you
Andy stares at the number, tapping the phone against his chin. He wants to call him, wants to talk to him, apologize even. When he presses his fingers against the number pad, they slip just a little. When it starts ringing, his breathing picks up a little.
“Hello?”
The sound of the familiar accented voice has Andy’s throat clamming up.
“Hello?”
“H-Hi, Marat?”
There’s a slight pause then: “Andy, is that you?”
For some reason that Andy can’t explain right now, he smiles. “Yeah, its me. How… How’s it going?”
He can almost see the big Russian shrugging as he says. “Alright. You?”
“I’m doing ok… It’s been a while, huh?”
Marat’s silky laughter fills his ears. “Yes, quite so.” He quiets down, whispering almost. “I’m in town, thought I’d call you… and see if you wanted to meet up.”
Andy freezes. In town? Where did he get his number? Wait, Marat wants to see him? “Um, yeah sure. I’m at home right now. Where did you want to meet?”
“Doesn’t really matter.”
Andy looks around, making up his mind before he even realizes it. “How about you come here?”
He hears Marat’s hesitation. “At your house? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Unless you don’t want to.”
Marat, obviously, does. Andy quickly rattles off his address, trying his best not to sound nervous. After Marat promises to be there in twenty minutes or less, they hang up. Andy stares at the phone resting in his hand, wondering what the hell has he just done.
{*}
Ever since he hung up the phone, Andy’s been thinking about how he should greet Marat. Just a “hi” seems too impersonal, like Marat doesn’t know every inch of him, inside and out. A handshake seems ridiculously informal. Maybe a hug?
The doorbell rings and Andy’s there to open it in a heart beat. The ‘greeting decision’ is taken out of his hands as Marat smiles and envelopes him in a big hug. Strong arms envelope Andy in a familiar embrace he didn’t know he was missing until now. With a squeeze, Marat eases back and Andy begins to look over him. He looks exactly like he did years ago. Sixteen years ago, when he last saw him. Sure, there are a few wrinkles by his eyes, but besides that, its like he hasn’t aged a day. Still very fit, hair still unruly as ever. And it makes Andy smile.
“Good to see you again, Andy.” Marat says as he follows Andy into the main sitting area.
“You too.” Andy nods for Marat to take a seat as he moves quickly to get another wine glass. After pouring wine for both of them, Andy takes a seat next to Marat, body turned in slightly.
“So… How have you been? What have you been up to?”
Marat lets out a low laugh. “Good. Pretty good. Life’s been different since leaving tennis, but I’m going to complain, not really. I live out here now, in Miami. I’m a coach to the best up coming female tennis stars.”
“A coach huh?”
He smiles around his glass. “Yeah, who would have thought. But little Anika’s pretty insistent, must be that Russian blood.” He laughs again.
Andy smiles weakly, hating himself for not wanting to hear how Marat has moved on. “If she’s anything like her dad, then she’ll be a star in no time.”
“More like her mom, actually,” Marat says raising a brow. “Anika’s my niece, Dinara’s daughter.”
Andy straightens. “Oh?”
“Yeah, but she’s plays a bit like her dad too. Dinara married Youzhny.”
“How did that happen?”
Marat laughs. “He waited until I left to ask her out. Said he was scared of me. But Micha’s a good guy though.”
“Scared of you.” Andy laughs, cheeks tinting a little already. “A lot of people were scared of you.”
“Yeah, so Anika wanted me to coach her, why I have no idea. And Dina kept asking too, so we’re all out here for now, working on her tennis. But she really is something.”
The smile on Marat’s face has Andy grinning too. Times sure have changed. “ So where do you two train?”
“At the Royal Palm.”
“Oh! I know that place. The kids there are really great.”
“Yeah, that’s where I found your number from.” Andy pauses as he goes to take a drink from his class, raising a brow. “The owner was going on about how some ex-players come by and give lessons, said you’re a regular. Really good with the kids.”
Andy blushes, laughing to hide his embarrassment. “Bob’s too nice for his own good. But yeah, I do help out there. The kids are awesome, always so eager to learn.”
Marat sips on his wine, loving the way Andy gushes about the kids, loving the way his face lights up. Their conversation continues with ease and familiarity, so much so that neither man notices the gap between their bodies disappearing.
{*}
“You had to see it, Andy. Micha was hiding behind Dina when they told me they were engaged.”
Marat and Andy both collapse, giggling, holding on to each other. Needless to say that they’re well beyond one bottle of wine, on their third actually. Marat’s doing a little better than Andy, who is a little more than tipsy. They’re sitting next to each other, turned in so their thighs and knees are pressed against each other.
“And then Dina, I love her. She tells Micha that they can’t get married unless I approve of it. S-so Micha” Marat doesn’t finish as he breaks out in giggles. Andy pokes him in the middle.
“Maraaat. What does he do?” He whines and puts on his best pouting, hoping Marat will continue with the story.
“Micha starts crying! First, he gets mad, saying that I shouldn’t have any say. Then he starts sucking up to Dina and me. It was the funniest shit ever.”
Andy laughs so hard, he’s hiccupping, which causes Marat to laugh even more. Somehow their arms end up around each other’s shoulders.
{*}
“So, the boy that answered your phone?”
Andy’s sobered up a little after snacking on some fruit and crackers when his stomach rumbled. “Ben. He’s… He’s my son.”
“Oh”
“Yeah. He’s sixteen.”
“Oh”
Marat’s just stares at him, trying to do calculations in his foggy mind. But all that is beat out by one single thought. “He sounded like a really nice boy, really polite. You and his mother must be proud.”
Andy smiles weakly. “We are. Ben’s a good kid, not like how I was at all. But Ben lives with just me.”
Marat straightens up with interest.
“A-after you retired, I hooked up with a friend one night. It was really stupid, because it broke up our friendship and we were really good friends. We had Ben, but she realized that she didn’t want the responsibility. So, I have Ben, but I love him and couldn’t have any better.
“That’s…” Marat trails off, not wanting to voice his true opinion.
“It’s not that bad. It’s not like she doesn’t see him or talk to him. She comes and visits at least once a month and talks to him every other day. He understands completely, doesn’t blame her or anything.
“Oh”
“Yeah. So. How about yourself? Anyone special?” Andy asks with strain, not really wanting to hear the answer.
“No, not really. No time.” Marat’s nonchalant, knowing what Andy’s up to.
“No? That’s hard to believe.” Andy snorts. “Remember all those time we’d all go out and you ended up with like four different people?”
Marat shakes his head. “Not like that anymore. Haven’t been like that in years. You should know.”
Andy stares at him, watching as Marat lowers his eyes. “Yeah, I do.”
{*}
Standing up, Marat sticks out his hand. “Well, Andy it was good seeing you again. Really good. Maybe we could meet up for coffee or dinner or something?”
Andy nods, shaking Marat’s hand briefly before pulling him in for a hug. The embrace lasts longer than expected and Andy whispers, “You know, you don’t have to leave.”
That has Marat pulling back to look at Andy. “What do you mean?”
“Ben’s at a friend’s for the weekend. You could stay and we could talk. I-I missed you.”
Marat just stares and Andy pushes on. “I’ve been wanting to tell you all night. I fucked up, Marat. Fucked up big time. I’m… I’m sorry.”
When Marat doesn’t instantly respond, Andy deflates. He’s about to turn away, when Marat tugs him closer and kisses him. Carefully. Gently.
“You know, Andy. I’m not young anymore. I don’t up with games.”
He’s teasing, if the smile on his lips is anything to go by, but Andy takes it seriously, kissing his lips over and over again. “I know. And I’m sorry. No more games.”
{*}
Sighs and moans fill the night’s air. Bodies re-introduce each other; skilled fingers try to remember the familiar paths of before. All doubts and wrong doings from the past are washed away as the two bodies dance in the shadows of the night.
*~~~~*
Sunday morning finds Andy making breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast are plated and ready to be eaten as Marat comes down the stairs, freshly showered and dressed in Andy’s clothing. He hasn’t left since Friday night.
He takes a seat and begins to eat as Andy takes the seat next to him. Every so often, they’ll stop, either eating or talking, and share an eggy-bacony-toasty kiss that leaves them grinning like fools. Neither of them notice the young man staring at them.
“Uhh, hi Dad.”
Andy turns and smiles when he sees Ben. “Ben! How was the party? Oh, this is Marat. Marat, this is Ben, my son.”
Ben smiles and waves awkwardly. “Hi. The party was great.” He moves to make his escape to the stairs as quickly as possible.
“Do you want some breakfast? There’s plenty.” Andy sees Ben’s discomfort and tries to soothe over as much as possible.
“Uh, no. That’s ok. I’m going to head up stairs.”
After he exited, Marat lets out a nervous laugh. “I don’t think he likes me.”
Andy just shakes his head. “No, it’s not that. He knows… He knows I’m gay, but still struggles with it a little. I’ll talk to him later.”
As breakfast comes to a close, Marat promises Andy that he’ll be back. Andy didn’t want him to go, after all he finally just got him back, but he does need his own clothes and there are people probably wondering where he is.
Walking to the front door, Andy lets Marat go with one last kiss. As he closes the door, he thinks about everything that has happened this weekend when he remembers Ben. Sighing, he runs up the stairs and knocks on Ben’s bedroom door before entering. Andy takes a seat on the bed, next to Ben who is lying down with a book.
“Hey, bud.”
“Hey, dad.”
“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for springing that on you. What happened down there.”
“That’s ok.”
“No, it’s not. But…”
“He’s more than just a tennis buddy, right, Dad?”
Andy breathes deep. “Yeah. Back in the day… We were friends once, but then… then we became lovers. But then, your smart awesome dad goes and fucked it all up.”
Ben sits up, intrigued. “Yeah? What did you do?”
“Just was stupid and insecure of who I am. We… We hadn’t seen each other for sixteen years.”
“So… Are you two back together then?”
Andy smiles and shakes his head. “It’s not that easy, but for now we’re going to take it slow.” When Ben just stares at him with a smile on his lips, Andy asks, “what?”
“Nothing. It’s just good to see you happy again.”
Shaking his head and laughing, Andy swats Ben on the knee. “Ok Benzo, I want this room clean then we’ll go to the movies if you want?” Ben agrees and Andy leaves him with a hug.
Walking down the stairs, Ben’s words echo throughout his head. It’s good to see you happy again. Who would have ever thought that after sixteen years, after the heartache Andy had put him through, that Marat would call him up and accept him as though nothing had ever soured between them? Well, Andy definitely didn’t but he’s more than happy to have this second chance and he’s not going to let it slip away.