Stolen Moments
Do You Promise?
The bus started moving again that night, highways once again merging together, the landscape outside left unnoticed and unknown by the entourage inside. They had all sat down together and talked about Jaime’s fight as the bus started to leave, and, by the middle of the story, Tony (the last to sleep the night before, and the earliest to wake that morning) was the first to leave to his bunk. By the end of the story, Mike (the laziest of them all recently) was second to fall asleep, though he didn’t quite make it to his bunk and instead sat, asleep, on the opposite side of the bus from Vic and Jaime. Jaime’s proud retelling ended quietly with him grinning.
“So, you spit on him? Are you sure you didn’t go a little too far, Hi-Me?”
“I don’t think so, no. He went too far when he called you a bitch…he completely pushed himself off a cliff when he spat on Tony. He deserved it.”
“I get what you mean, I just…Wow. I never thought you would be the one to do something like that. Beat the hell out of someone, I mean,” Vic said, smiling softly, his fingers drumming anxiously against the table top. The thought of Jaime fighting made him uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to admit to it.
“Well, neither did I, and yet here we are. I’m just glad Tony got me off him; I’m afraid that I could have put him in the hospital, I was so mad.”
Vic laughed softly, which earned him a very confused look from Jaime that was border line for being appalled.
“My little Jaime was the big, bad hero,” he whispered, reaching forward to run a hand down Jaime’s arm. The younger male blushed and looked down.
“A hero can’t be bad.”
“…Have you seen the Hulk, Jaime? I’m pretty sure he’d be classified as both bad and a hero.”
“You have a point, but I’m not the Hulk.”
“Nope, you’re just a prince, right?”
The question made Jaime stop and think back to the night before when he had told Vic he was head over heels for him. He kept telling himself he meant it as a joke, but, as the hours rolled on, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Vic, I think we should talk.”
“We are talking, Jaime.”
“I mean about last night…in the dressing room.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“But what abou-“
“Nope. Nothing.”
“Vic, come on, you know I need to explain about,”
“No, you really don’t,” he insisted, throwing his hands up. The raw redness of three fingers on his right hand caught Jaime’s eye and he remembered how Vic had touched the hot metal siding the night before. He reached forward and grasped Vic’s hand, pulling it slowly to his mouth and kissing his fingertips lightly.
“Alright, if you insist…” he whispered as Vic’s face reddened. Vic was dying to ask where their relationship was headed, but he was afraid that Jaime was going to laugh and tell him that the night before was a joke. He wished that he could tell Jaime all about his fears of things changing if their relationship came out into the light. He couldn’t, though. He was afraid of letting down Jaime and, worse, of Jaime letting him down. He was lost, hopelessly in love with Jaime, just as he had been for years. Whether or not Jaime felt the same, though, he didn’t know, nor did he want to find out.
“I do insist…You look tired, Jaime. Maybe you should go get some sleep?” Vic asked, watching as his boyfriend (could he even technically call him that?) stifled a yawn.
“Nah, I’ll be,” he yawned slightly again, “fine, I promise.”
“Please go get some sleep,” he whispered, adding a silent ‘baby’ at the end in his own mind, “I’ll still be here when you wake up. In the tour bus, I mean. Maybe not sitting right here, of course. That would probably be stupid,” he rambled on, unable to stop the butterflies in his stomach from forcing more words out. Jaime laughed softly.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go get some sleep if you promise to do the same soon.”
“I can do that,” Vic said with a grin. Jaime kissed his sore fingers once more.
“Goodnight, Vic. Sleep well.”
“I will, and you should have an amazing dream for me, okay?”
“Okay,” Jaime confirmed, leaning over the table to kiss Vic softly before disappearing into his bunk. A soft smile spread across Vic’s face as he listened for Jaime’s quiet breathing to settle down into sleep, a million happy thoughts tracing through his mind as he also wondered how Jaime was really doing. Vic had caught him with some of the saddest looks he had ever seen when Jaime thought no one was looking, and it pained Vic to see the man he cared so much about hurting and to not know why. His head dropped into his hands as he thought, his ears alert and monitoring the bus for any wakers as he did. It was almost silent for almost half an hour after Jaime fell asleep, but then Vic began to hear someone’s breathing change, quicken then halt then repeat again. He could hear tossing; at one point he heard someone’s arm (he hoped it was their arm) connect with the wall beside them. Then, he heard the soft whimpering that comes with stifled tears.
Vic jumped up; someone was having a nightmare. It obviously wasn’t Mike, he was out cold across from Vic still. Neither Tony nor Jaime were known to have nightmares, though. Vic walked the bus slowly, listening for which bunk it was coming from. He pulled back the curtain on Tony’s bunk just enough to see that the boy was sleeping peacefully.
“Jaime!” he whispered softly, rushing to his bunk, to his side. He threw open the curtain and his eyes fell on the panicking boy. Something was very, very wrong inside of Jaime’s head, and it was scaring Vic. He reached out and laid his hand on Jaime’s forehead, slowly running his fingers down the sleeping man’s face.
“Shhh, it’s alright. I’m here, Jaime, I’m here,” he whispered, trying to calm his best friend. Vic had never seen him have a nightmare before, and he didn’t know what to do. He did his best to try and calm him down but nothing was working. Finally, he took Jaime’s face in his hands and leaned in close.
“Jaime, wake up!” he said in a rather loud whisper, “It’s only a bad dream, please wake up. Please…for me…” he begged, not wanting him to have to go through another scary moment in his dreams. Jaime gasped, his eyes opening wide as he gripped onto Vic’s arms, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
Jaime had just witnessed Vic die in one of the most horrifying ways he could ever think of, and he was overjoyed to see him alive, but he was also afraid that this was a dream, that it was a trap to make him think everything was okay right before it was ripped away again.
“Jaime, shhh, baby. Calm down, it was a dream.
“You died…”
“It was only a dream, I promise. I’m right here. I’m right here, Jaime, now please be here, too. You looked so scared, you still do, I won’t let it happen again.”
“Do you…do you promise, Vic?”
“Yeah, I promise, Jaime. I promise a thousand times over.”
“Could you…could you please…sleep with me? Don’t walk away tonight, please, Vic…” Jaime begged, still trying to convince himself that he really had just dreamed it all.
“Of course. Scoot!” Vic said with a light smile, kissing him on his forehead. Jaime moved back, his back bumping the wall of the bus before he patted the spot in front of him. Vic crawled in, closing the curtain carefully as he did. He laid facing Jaime, kissing his nose softly, a light hand laid on his warm face.
“I promise, no more nightmares for Hi-Me tonight if I can help it,” he whispered, wrapping an arm lightly around Jaime. Both of Jaime’s arms circled Vic as Vic nestled into his chest.
“Thank you, Vic. It means a lot.”
“Don’t mention it, Jaime. Now sleep, you really do need it…” he whispered softly, closing his eyes and kissing Jaime’s neck once softly. Jaime feinted sleep, and Vic ended up passing out long before he did. In the end, it was Vic’s quiet and rhythmic breathing that put Jaime back under, and he didn’t have a single nightmare.
“So, you spit on him? Are you sure you didn’t go a little too far, Hi-Me?”
“I don’t think so, no. He went too far when he called you a bitch…he completely pushed himself off a cliff when he spat on Tony. He deserved it.”
“I get what you mean, I just…Wow. I never thought you would be the one to do something like that. Beat the hell out of someone, I mean,” Vic said, smiling softly, his fingers drumming anxiously against the table top. The thought of Jaime fighting made him uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to admit to it.
“Well, neither did I, and yet here we are. I’m just glad Tony got me off him; I’m afraid that I could have put him in the hospital, I was so mad.”
Vic laughed softly, which earned him a very confused look from Jaime that was border line for being appalled.
“My little Jaime was the big, bad hero,” he whispered, reaching forward to run a hand down Jaime’s arm. The younger male blushed and looked down.
“A hero can’t be bad.”
“…Have you seen the Hulk, Jaime? I’m pretty sure he’d be classified as both bad and a hero.”
“You have a point, but I’m not the Hulk.”
“Nope, you’re just a prince, right?”
The question made Jaime stop and think back to the night before when he had told Vic he was head over heels for him. He kept telling himself he meant it as a joke, but, as the hours rolled on, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Vic, I think we should talk.”
“We are talking, Jaime.”
“I mean about last night…in the dressing room.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“But what abou-“
“Nope. Nothing.”
“Vic, come on, you know I need to explain about,”
“No, you really don’t,” he insisted, throwing his hands up. The raw redness of three fingers on his right hand caught Jaime’s eye and he remembered how Vic had touched the hot metal siding the night before. He reached forward and grasped Vic’s hand, pulling it slowly to his mouth and kissing his fingertips lightly.
“Alright, if you insist…” he whispered as Vic’s face reddened. Vic was dying to ask where their relationship was headed, but he was afraid that Jaime was going to laugh and tell him that the night before was a joke. He wished that he could tell Jaime all about his fears of things changing if their relationship came out into the light. He couldn’t, though. He was afraid of letting down Jaime and, worse, of Jaime letting him down. He was lost, hopelessly in love with Jaime, just as he had been for years. Whether or not Jaime felt the same, though, he didn’t know, nor did he want to find out.
“I do insist…You look tired, Jaime. Maybe you should go get some sleep?” Vic asked, watching as his boyfriend (could he even technically call him that?) stifled a yawn.
“Nah, I’ll be,” he yawned slightly again, “fine, I promise.”
“Please go get some sleep,” he whispered, adding a silent ‘baby’ at the end in his own mind, “I’ll still be here when you wake up. In the tour bus, I mean. Maybe not sitting right here, of course. That would probably be stupid,” he rambled on, unable to stop the butterflies in his stomach from forcing more words out. Jaime laughed softly.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go get some sleep if you promise to do the same soon.”
“I can do that,” Vic said with a grin. Jaime kissed his sore fingers once more.
“Goodnight, Vic. Sleep well.”
“I will, and you should have an amazing dream for me, okay?”
“Okay,” Jaime confirmed, leaning over the table to kiss Vic softly before disappearing into his bunk. A soft smile spread across Vic’s face as he listened for Jaime’s quiet breathing to settle down into sleep, a million happy thoughts tracing through his mind as he also wondered how Jaime was really doing. Vic had caught him with some of the saddest looks he had ever seen when Jaime thought no one was looking, and it pained Vic to see the man he cared so much about hurting and to not know why. His head dropped into his hands as he thought, his ears alert and monitoring the bus for any wakers as he did. It was almost silent for almost half an hour after Jaime fell asleep, but then Vic began to hear someone’s breathing change, quicken then halt then repeat again. He could hear tossing; at one point he heard someone’s arm (he hoped it was their arm) connect with the wall beside them. Then, he heard the soft whimpering that comes with stifled tears.
Vic jumped up; someone was having a nightmare. It obviously wasn’t Mike, he was out cold across from Vic still. Neither Tony nor Jaime were known to have nightmares, though. Vic walked the bus slowly, listening for which bunk it was coming from. He pulled back the curtain on Tony’s bunk just enough to see that the boy was sleeping peacefully.
“Jaime!” he whispered softly, rushing to his bunk, to his side. He threw open the curtain and his eyes fell on the panicking boy. Something was very, very wrong inside of Jaime’s head, and it was scaring Vic. He reached out and laid his hand on Jaime’s forehead, slowly running his fingers down the sleeping man’s face.
“Shhh, it’s alright. I’m here, Jaime, I’m here,” he whispered, trying to calm his best friend. Vic had never seen him have a nightmare before, and he didn’t know what to do. He did his best to try and calm him down but nothing was working. Finally, he took Jaime’s face in his hands and leaned in close.
“Jaime, wake up!” he said in a rather loud whisper, “It’s only a bad dream, please wake up. Please…for me…” he begged, not wanting him to have to go through another scary moment in his dreams. Jaime gasped, his eyes opening wide as he gripped onto Vic’s arms, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
Jaime had just witnessed Vic die in one of the most horrifying ways he could ever think of, and he was overjoyed to see him alive, but he was also afraid that this was a dream, that it was a trap to make him think everything was okay right before it was ripped away again.
“Jaime, shhh, baby. Calm down, it was a dream.
“You died…”
“It was only a dream, I promise. I’m right here. I’m right here, Jaime, now please be here, too. You looked so scared, you still do, I won’t let it happen again.”
“Do you…do you promise, Vic?”
“Yeah, I promise, Jaime. I promise a thousand times over.”
“Could you…could you please…sleep with me? Don’t walk away tonight, please, Vic…” Jaime begged, still trying to convince himself that he really had just dreamed it all.
“Of course. Scoot!” Vic said with a light smile, kissing him on his forehead. Jaime moved back, his back bumping the wall of the bus before he patted the spot in front of him. Vic crawled in, closing the curtain carefully as he did. He laid facing Jaime, kissing his nose softly, a light hand laid on his warm face.
“I promise, no more nightmares for Hi-Me tonight if I can help it,” he whispered, wrapping an arm lightly around Jaime. Both of Jaime’s arms circled Vic as Vic nestled into his chest.
“Thank you, Vic. It means a lot.”
“Don’t mention it, Jaime. Now sleep, you really do need it…” he whispered softly, closing his eyes and kissing Jaime’s neck once softly. Jaime feinted sleep, and Vic ended up passing out long before he did. In the end, it was Vic’s quiet and rhythmic breathing that put Jaime back under, and he didn’t have a single nightmare.
and going along with your other story,its amazing!!! Keep itup
10/27/13