Forces of Nature, Chapter 6 by DGB
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The alarm clock woke both guys in the morning. Jake silenced the alarm and was moving to get out of bed until Alex tightened the arm about his waist and pulled him back.
"Good morning sleeping beauty. You fell asleep on the couch last night while we were watching TV. I figured you needed the sleep so I didn't wake you," Alex said.
Turing to face him Jake responded, "Yeah, I guess I was pretty out of it. I convinced myself Tuesday night that if I went to sleep I was going to explode and level the block, but with you I felt safe and I guess I just drifted off. I brought you in here because the guest bed doesn't have sheets or anything. I hope you don't mind."
"Aww darn," Alex grinned. "I thought you were just trying to take advantage of me."
Jake blushed and ducked his head, "Thank you for taking care of me, again. You've been such a good friend and I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you. I'm sorry I have to be such a spaz about everything."
"Don't worry about it, that's what friends are for. Just remember you don't have to push me away, ok? Are you feeling better today? I can call in sick if you need me to stay with you."
"You don't have to do that, I'm a lot better now. And anyway, I have to go to the office today. My boss called and said they are having a company meeting at ten this morning to update everyone on the reopening."
"Oh," Alex sounded a bit disappointed. "I guess you can't come to observatory today then either."
"That would be a lot more fun, but they are technically still paying me so I really should go in. Do you want to hang out tonight, maybe game a bit?"
"I can't. I promised grandpa I'd watch the lab tonight so he could go bowling with some of his buddies after the council meets."
The guys could feel each other's disappointment dampening the mood. "Hey I've got an idea. Come out to the observatory around 5, and you can have dinner with me and grandpa at his place, and then we can finish your tour. The forecast was clear last I checked, so maybe I can even show you the telescope in action!"
"Are you sure Ralph won't mind me coming to dinner?" Jake was a little hesitant.
"Of course he won't mind. I'm the one cooking anyway. I think it is the only time he eats more than canned tuna or sandwiches." Glancing at the clock Alex groaned, "ugh, I better get up and get going."
"You can shower here and borrow a shirt if you want," Jake offered. "It's probably quicker than you driving home first."
Jake had a travel mug full of coffee waiting for Alex by the time he emerged from the bedroom freshly showered. He could have just grabbed some of his spare clothes from grandpa's apartment, but borrowing clothes was more fun. Besides, returning the clothes would give him an excuse for another visit.
The guys shared a quick hug before Alex headed off.
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He hadn't even made it past reception when the page came over the intercom to report to the director's office. Alex wasn't surprised, but he had expected the interrogation to wait until lunch. The old man was sitting at his desk waiting for him to talk.
"I had to see him and make sure he was ok," Alex started. "I don't think he had eaten since we went to lunch Tuesday, and he hadn't slept much either. He blames himself for his mother's death, and he was just a mess. I couldn't just leave him like that."
Ralph just nodded.
"He told me everything about his mom and his powers. Showed me too – he stopped the rain between my car and the back door so I wouldn't get wet."
"If I'm not mistaken, you never made it home last night," Ralph observed.
Alex blushed, "Nothing happened. He fell asleep watching TV and I was afraid I'd wake him up if I moved. He woke me up in the middle of the night and we moved to his bed but all we did was sleep."
"You're an adult so it's none of my business. Jake is a good kid and I'd have no qualms about you two, but right now I think he might need a friend more than anything."
"I know," Alex sighed. "I haven't told him everything about myself yet, the timing just hasn't felt right. And I don't even know if he's interested in more than friends."
Ralph chuckled. "I might be old and out of touch but I don't think straight men your age are really into sleep over's and sharing clothes."
"I hadn't thought about it like that," Alex was now grinning like an idiot.
"On a more serious note, we need to get our story straight so we can protect him. We both know he's more powerful than all the other stormies in town put together; some of the elders will see him as a threat. And we need to get him to convincingly lie that he was only a focus for the lightning strike a few weeks back, and there is no way he caused it."
Alex's grin had quickly vanished. "I wish I had thought of that before I invited him to come over for dinner tonight. I forgot some of the elders might want to talk to him."
"Hmmm," Ralph grunted in thought. "We'll both talk to him at dinner, and I do want him to know I care about him. It's probably a good idea if you keep him out of sight until the meeting starts though. Everyone will be in a rush to leave and get to the bowling alley afterwards."
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Across town Jake had taken his time getting ready for the day. He wasn't exactly a neat freak, but he did like to keep his home fairly clean, but with the past two days he dropped Kleenex all over the place, and half-drunk water glasses were dotted around the place. Twenty minutes later everything was back in order with the dishwasher started.
He had left the bathroom for last, figuring he could pick up in there while the shower heated up. Alex had been a good house guest, putting his towel in the hamper, and had left his shirt on the counter. Jake picked up the shirt and inhaled deeply before he realized what he was doing. He didn't mean to perve on his friend exactly, but he couldn't deny he had a crush. Alex just made him feel so calm and loved, in a way no one else ever had.
Ralph told him Alex would understand, so maybe tonight after dinner Jake would reveal his last big secret. It was foolish to expect the attraction to be mutual, but hopefully his friend wasn't repulsed by the idea. Either way he owed it to Alex to be honest with him.
At the office the employees were checked in one by one, turning in their old security badges and taking pictures for new ones. Jake was sure the new system must have either been completely paid for by insurance, or just cheaper than the old one. The company never parted with money voluntarily. Thankfully the elevators had been repaired first, and were working again with no issues. Actually, most of the office looked to be more or less back to normal. Half a pallet of new monitors sat in the corner opposite a pile of empty boxes as IT worked to hook equipment up.
The meeting was painfully boring, one power point slide with bad clip art after another. Jake could never understand why management made presentations as bland as possible when they wanted everyone to pay attention. Building security went over new procedures for before and after standard hours, new safety procedures were presented by human resources, and IT had new rules for saving work daily to the server for offsite duplication. An hour and a half in they were given a five minute coffee break before departmental breakout sessions.
He had just finished pouring a cup of coffee when Jake noticed the lawyer he met in the hospital talking to a man in a cheap polyester suit. Something about the man just gave him the creeps, but he shrugged it off as he headed for the room his department was meeting in, taking a chair against the back wall. This ritual was one more reason he had never liked working here; management expected the junior staff to know their place and sit in the back. Chairs at the table were reserved for senior engineers and management only. It was almost impossible to juggle a cup of coffee and take notes on a notepad sitting in your lap.
Jake got agitated the longer he sat there waiting for the meeting to start. That five minute break apparently didn't apply to anyone above his paygrade. It would be another ten minutes before his manager finally walked in, and another five by the time he hooked his laptop up to the projector. Jake wondered what Alex was up to today, sure it was far more exciting than this meeting. Come to think of it, Jake couldn't remember losing contact with his crush today.
Now that he was aware of it, Jake focused hard to try and detect the conduit they shared. It was very faint and he couldn't be sure, but he felt a very weak yearning stretching in the general direction of the observatory. Jake concentrated and tried to amplify the emotion and strengthen the connection until the vibration of his cell phone caught him off guard. Glancing around the room first to make sure he was being ignored like usual, he took out his phone and saw a text from Alex, "Hey man u ok?"
"Yeah, sorry. Was just trying to see if we were still connected."
"Guess so :-P" A second message quickly followed, "Was just a sensation that made me think of you, nothing specific. Guessing you are bored."
"LOL yes. TTYL."
Jake waited until he was sitting at subway eating his lunch before texting again. "I forgot how depressing my job was. Management and admin staff are back today, and I have to go in Monday."
"At least you still have a long weekend?"
"I guess," Jake sighed before texting more. "I should have used the time off to look for another job. I have some experience now so I'm not quite the desperate fresh grad now."
"Still on for dinner? Grandpa was happy you are coming."
Jake smiled, relieved that Ralph wasn't mad at him for running out. It had been one of the many fears he had Tuesday night. "Yeah I'll be there :-)".
"Cool. I've got big repair job this afternoon so might not have phone on me. See you tonight," Alex ended the conversation.
After he finished eating his sandwich Jake ran by the loft to take inventory of his kitchen. Being at home so much the last few weeks had emptied his pantry and freezer, so it made sense to do a big grocery trip to restock that afternoon. Jake had worked up a bit of a sweat by the time the car was unloaded, the one downside of living in a loft with no elevator. He took a quick shower so that he'd be fresh and clean for dinner.
Jake debated whether or not to take Alex his shirt. On the one hand, he knew it would be a thoughtful gesture, but on the other hand leaving the shirt sit on his counter was a reminder of the night before. He left the shirt behind. If the conversation after dinner went well, he would invite Alex over to pick it up. If the conversation went poorly, he could always run the shirt out to Ralph's over the weekend.
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Jake could feel the warmth emanating from Ralph when they reconnected a few blocks from the observatory, and he was finally able to relax completely. Even after Alex's earlier text he had been worried the old man might be upset. The connection to Alex had strengthened to the point he could easily read moods shortly after he left the loft. His friend was happy after a long day at work, a little tired, and excited about something. Jake didn't have enough experience yet to sense the cause of emotions, just general indications.
Ralph had the door to the apartment open already as Jake walked up. The old man grabbed him in a bear hug, "I'm so glad to see you smiling again. I knew you were upset when you left but I didn't realize just how much until Alex told me. I apologize for not being more considerate when I told you what I knew."
Momentarily too choked up to speak Jake just hugged the old man tighter. "I don't think there was an easier way to tell me."
The two finally parted and made their way to the kitchen, "Alex was covered in gunk from crawling under some of the equipment this afternoon, so he's in the shower cleaning up. He tells me you told him everything, but it was kind of hard for me to find out exactly what everything entails without revealing what I know."
Jake answered, "I told him about my powers and everything about my mom."
"Ah, so not quite everything everything," Ralph smirked mischievously.
Jake blushed, "No, not that. But I'm going to after dinner tonight. I feel guilty for not being upfront with him, but everything just happened so fast. He's just been so kind to me I was afraid of screwing it up."
"I told you that you have nothing to fear in that regard."
"I know," Jake sighed. "I'll tell him tonight."
"Tell me what?" Alex emerged fresh from the shower, still drying his hair.
"Oh I was just telling your grandfather that you snore horribly and I woke up with a headache," Jake retorted.
Alex popped his towel in the other boy's direction, "Jerk. Next time I'll wake you up drool boy."
The argument was cut off by Ralph's laughter.
Jake was pleasantly surprised when his friend opened the oven to check on dinner. "Wow, that actually smells really good."
"Did you doubt me?" Alex faked a pout. "I put together lasagna on my lunch break; I'm just baking it now. It only needs a few more minutes while I make a salad."
Even the salad was impressive, with Alex actually washing fresh lettuce and grating a carrot instead of opening a premixed bag. He noticed Jake's shock when he pulled out a block of feta to crumble in so he explained, "My mom was an amazing cook, and taught me everything I know. We almost never went out to eat. She always told me that cooking for her family was her favorite way of showing us how much she loved us."
"She sounds amazing, I wish I could have met her," Jake answered honestly.
"I still miss her and my dad every day," Jake could feel the flicker of sadness from his friend. "Cooking with grandpa always reminds me of the good times," Alex finished.
Ralph changed the subject after a few moments of silence and soon they were back to normal conversation. Jake was rather glum as he shared his day, particularly at the mention of going back to work. "I mean I always knew this time off was temporary, but I forgot how soul sucking that place is. Being back there today was dreadful and I realized they are always going to view me as the new guy that doesn't know anything. There has to be something better."
Ralph had an idea but decided not to share until after he had discussed it at the council meeting. It was traditional within the manipulator community to offer employment to their kind, as it was easier to both protect their secrets as well as look after one another.
All three chipped in to clear away dinner and store the leftovers before Ralph opened the tin of ginger cinnamon cookies Alex had baked. "These are my favorite cookie, but Alex and his mother have always refused to give me the recipe."
"You don't cook anyway," Alex teased.
"True, but that's not the point," Ralph huffed. "In any case the council will start showing up soon, so Jake we need to talk to you a bit first."
Jake was caught off guard by the abrupt change, and nodded to the older man to continue. "I don't have time to go into all the details right now, but as you already know you are powerful. Very powerful, more than both the storm manipulators on the council combined and then some. Frankly they might see you as a threat. In medieval times council positions were sometimes taken by force in duels and the like, and I'm afraid some still have that mentality even now that we are elected by the communities we serve. Sort of like a manipulator city council. In any case, some people vote for who they see as being most powerful, since our duties include balancing energies. At any rate, I think it would be best if we keep your power more or less secret between us."
Alex was sending comforting emotions towards his friend, and had unconsciously moved to stand beside him with an arm around his shoulder. Jake leaned into the half hug before answering, "Is it because I'm dangerous?"
"Oh heavens no my boy," Ralph quickly replied. "I'm sorry I should have realized that is the way you'd take it. I don't believe you are a danger to yourself or anyone else or I would tell you."
Dropping his arm Alex moved to stand right in front of his friend. Reaching out with his right hand he tilted Jake's face up till they were looking eye to eye, "I'll take you into the testing chamber later to prove it, but I want you to know I'm almost as powerful as you are as a star mage. If I have been able to safely control my powers and not hurt anyone, so can you, so stop worrying about it." Alex took a deep breath before continuing, "And now you are only the second person alive that knows the truth."
Ralph hadn't quite planned for the conversation to go like this, but none the less he was pleased. Both boys had tears in their eyes, and he sensed a wide range of feeling pass over them as they silently communicated. Eventually he felt them both calming, a growing sense of happiness mixed with a hint of something stronger before Jake finally stepped forward and hugged his friend close. "Thank you. Your secret will always be safe with me."
"And yours will be safe with us," Ralph interjected. "Now one other thing, under no circumstances are you to let on that the surge from a few weeks ago might have come from or be amplified by you. The official story is that it was purely nature rebalancing, and you just happened to unknowingly act as a focal point. That will be easier for them to accept than to think of you as having that much power."
Jake let himself smile again, "No problem. You know with my dad being a lawyer I had to learn how to keep a story straight when I was little, so this is no different."
"I know," Ralph reached out and ruffled the man's hair. "Just don't go teaching Alex any tricks. In twenty six years he hasn't been able to hide a single thing from me."
Alex smiled sweetly at his grandfather, "Well, not that you know of."
The old man guffawed before advising the boys to keep out of sight for a bit until after the council meeting started. The pair set off for the energy observation room first, and much like the telescope tour Alex went through an explanation of each of the devices. The casual contact between them as things were pointed out wasn't lost on Jake, his body tingling slightly every time, his guilt growing more and more.
As they headed into the research complex to see the telescope in operation Alex could tell a wall was forming between them, but he didn't know how to address the subject. Jake wasn't enthusiastic at all by the time he was explaining how the data feed was recorded. When his friend shied away from his touch he had had enough. "Ok I give," Alex said in exasperation, "Did I do something wrong?"
Jake ducked his head again, unable to look the redhead in the eye. "Sorry, it's me being a spaz again. There's one more secret I haven't told you yet, and I'm just scared you'll look at me differently." Not getting a response for several seconds he plowed on, "I meant to tell you before but everything just happened so fast and... I'm gay."
The other boy started giggling, causing Jake to look up. "I kind of figured that out," Alex explained, "so am I."
"Oh," Jake was incredibly embarrassed. No wonder Ralph had been so adamant it wouldn't be a problem.
Alex continued, "I've still been filtering our connection because I kind of have a crush on you."
The point was driven home when dropped the shield between them completely. Jake's body responded immediately, the tingling sensations from all the contact suddenly focusing in his groin. Alex's face flushed red to match his hair in reaction to Jake dropping his shield. "I've got a crush on you too," he admitted.
An awkward silence filled the room, the sexual tension quickly tempered by Ralph's joy flitting over them. "Ugh, this is almost as bad as when my nanny almost walked in on me when I was 14," Jake joked.
Alex started laughing hysterically, "Oh man, I never had that problem, but you better believe my dad had `the talk' with me when I was pretty young and just starting to hit puberty."
"I bet that sucked," Jake was laughing now too. "Being able to feel your mom in the house had to really be a damper on jacking off."
"So, uh, where does this leave us?" Alex had to ask.
Jake was still giggling, "Well we certainly aren't going to do a date night at the observatory."
"What about someplace else?"
Jake knew it was a loaded question, "Yes, I'd like to try date night with you." Now that the idea was out in the open they were both grinning. "Since you cooked for me tonight, why don't I cook for you tomorrow? I mean that way we can talk and whatever without worrying about who is around us or what they might think."
"Deal. I'll run home after work to clean up, and then head over if that's ok."
Somehow the guys ended up holding hands after they bumped into each other leaving the lab, neither quite sure who had started it. They both felt it when Ralph somehow toned down the connections they shared, most likely his way of giving them some privacy. Alex made a mental note to thank him for it later.
Back in the apartment Alex pulled the other man into a hug, not quite ready to let him go. There was no longer a reason for Jake to hesitate or hold back so he returned the hug with gusto. Time stood still for a few moments as they held each other.
Jake had his head resting against Alex's shoulder, breathing in his friend, when a random thought popped into his head. "Alex, is this your shirt?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well I just realized you borrowed mine this morning, but if you haven't been home yet," he trailed off, feeling Alex stiffen slightly.
"I keep some clothes here, but I sort of got turned on thinking about wearing your shirt this morning," Alex admitted.
Jake was shaking in a giggle fit but didn't break the hug, "It kind of turned me on seeing you in it too."
"Then maybe I should wear it tomorrow," Alex whispered into his ear.
Jake's body reacted immediately, Alex's bulge pressing into his own. He shifted his head just until their lips met in a tentative kiss. Feeling their passion ignite, Jake took control of the kiss, cradling Alex's head in his hand. The raw emotions raged between them, inflaming the need of the other.
Alex gently pulled away before things went too far. "Grandpa just sent me a little emotional tug. I think that was his way of letting me know he and his buddies will be coming through here soon."
"Probably not the best way for them to meet me," Jake grinned. "I guess I should be going then."
"Text me when you get home so I know you're safe?"
Jake nodded in agreement before moving in for a quick kiss goodnight. Alex watched from the doorway, waving as his friend drove off.
Author's note: The next chapter just needs one final edit, so it should be posted in a day or two. Originally there was going to be an apology here about the delay, but well, it's my story so... ;-) Honestly both of these chapters wove together and I needed to be happy with them both before releasing either. Comments to donbon@gmail.com appreciated (and I try to respond, so I DO apologize if I miss(ed) your message).