Becoming

Children Of The Damned

Ade woke earlier than he preferred, but simply burrowed closer to Dave, not wanting to face his lover's imminent departure.

Dave wrapped reassuring arms around his lover. "Shh, love. I know. Promise me you'll at least call Nathalie today, even if she's got plans and can't see you. But I'm hoping you won't have to be alone all day."

"Yeah," Ade mumbled, his voice muffled against Dave's chest. "I'll call her, I promise."

"Good," Dave said softly, kissing the top of Ade's head. He didn't want to move either, but eventually he had to get up to shower and dress ahead of going to the airport.

Ade fixed coffee and made a cup of tea for Dave while his lover was in the shower. As soon as Dave dressed and tossed his toiletries into his suitcase, Ade handed him the tea. "Thought you might want a little something to get started with," he murmured.

"Thanks, love," Dave replied, taking the cup with a kiss. They sat cuddled together as they drank their coffee and tea, but all too soon, Dave had to leave for the airport. He pulled Ade close for a long moment, giving hm a loving kiss. "I'll call here when I get there," he said softly. "I'm not sure where I'll be staying – it might be the Carlson's Honolulu flat, or maybe their place on Maui, depends where Tamar is, if she's still in hospital or if she's in for physical therapy yet and where. But as soon as I know, I'll give you that number so you can reach me if you need me."

Ade nodded as he clung tightly to Dave, pressing his face into his lover's neck. "Thanks, baby," he murmured. "Love you so much."

"Love you too," Dave murmured in reply, lifting Ade's face to his for one more lingering kiss. "Try to call Nathalie once I leave, yeah? And if you can't get hold of her, go sign up for a fishing trip or something. Try to stay busy, cos you know about how long my flight will be."

"Yeah, I will," Ade agreed. He managed a small smile for his lover, then stole one last little peck. "Go, before I try to keep you here," he said softly. "Safe trip, baby." He pulled away and moved over to look out the window at the Los Angeles skyline in the distance.

Dave understood perfectly. "Take care of yourself, love," he said softly, then slipped out of Ade's room to go rumple the unused bed in his own room and grab the rest of his luggage. Then he headed downstairs to check out and catch the shuttle to LAX.

*****

After the door closed gently behind Dave, Ade threw himself back onto the bed, where he dozed fitfully for about an hour. When he got up again, he showered, dressed, and pulled out Nathalie's number. He took a deep breath, then picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?" Nathalie's voice sounded in his ear.

"Hi, Nathalie," he answered. "It's Ade. I, erm, we just finished the tour and I'm in Los Angeles... I, erm, wondered if you might have some free time to go fishing or whatever?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Nathalie said warmly. "Donna had to leave this morning; the show might not be for over a week yet, but she's been sent out to cover the Philadelphia portion of the Live Aid shows. Worst part is, we'd planned for me to go with her, I got my vacation time approved, but her boss sent a second reporter with her, 'to make sure they'd cover everything between them,' and that means she's stuck sharing a hotel room with her co-worker and won't be able to have me there."

Ade smiled a bit, his voice warming as he said, "So it sounds like we both could use a bit of distraction. I know it's probably a bit late to arrange to get out on the water today, but we can meet up and make plans, yeah?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Nathalie said. "What hotel are you at? I can come out and pick you up if you'd like to go for lunch or something."

"Or something," Ade said with a chuckle. "I went back to sleep after Dave left for the airport, so I've not had breakfast yet." He told her his hotel and gave her his number there.