"Stuff" Happens

Thanks for your reviews. Yes, I am back with another story and I hope this one will please you all. This chapter is a tad shorter, but I always give myself five days before my deadline when I publish the next chapter, and today is day 5, so I wanted to post something.

Enjoy!!

--Scribbles05


Chapter II

Austin kept his promise and decided to let Max stay at home by himself, come Monday morning. The soldier proved himself capable, when Austin DID go to the movie store Sunday. “Are you sure you going to be okay by yourself?” Austin asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and tied the laces to his black dress shoes.

“Yes.” Max said, already annoyed by that morning. “I proved myself Sunday, didn’t I?” He pulled a green t-shirt over his head and wheeled himself down the hall.

Austin was beginning to grow numb to all the smart-ass remarks Max threw at him. He had no clue why he was so bitter all of a sudden, but he conformed himself to the point of overlooking it when Max did snap at him. Austin never raised his voice with Max, even though the soldier would have no problem shouting out at him; just putting it off as his lover only venting over whatever endeavors he was solely dealing with. The times it would happen, Austin just buried his emotions and continued to try to help Max anyway. “I just want to be sure.” Austin said as he slipped on his black suit jacket. “I’ll be gone for longer than it took me to go to the movie store Sunday.”

“Austin.” Max called from the den.

“Okay. Okay. I wont say anything else about it.” Austin walked into the den and stood in the doorway, watching Max turn the tv on. “I’m leaving.” He said in a expecting tone.

“Okay.” Max kept clicking the tv.

“I don’t get a kiss goodbye?” Max shrugged. Austin sighed and did it himself. He walked to where Max was and kissed his forehead. “See you later.”

************

“Austin, how’s your copy on the child pornography case coming?” Thomas Shutler, the copyreader, asked Austin as he stood near the man’s cubicle.

“It’s coming, Mr. Shutler.” Austin replied as he rapidly typed on his computer keys. “I haven’t finished putting it together yet.”

“You haven’t finished? You said you were going to work on it at home and come back here to put it on our file.”

“I know. I know. I’ve been having stuff going on at home that I had to deal with.” He kept typing.

Mr. Shutler sighed. “You know the deadline is tomorrow at three? Your story is front page, for pete’s sake.”

Austin suddenly stopped typing and turned his head towards the balding overweight man. “I know, Mr. Shutler!” The brunette quickly turned his head away when he realized he had snapped. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just get the job done by three tomorrow. You know Austin, you are one of our best writers here. Your stories always carry the most interest with readers. That’s why I’d hate to see you get fired because of your slothfulness. Don’t let ‘stuff going on at home’, get you reported to Mr. Cutlis at work.”

“Yes, sir.” Austin murmured.

***********

Days of Our Lives went to commercial and Max felt the need to grab something to eat. He wheeled into the kitchen and rummaged the fridge for food. He nuked a lean pocket in the microwave and grabbed a can soda from the fridge.

Upon returning to the den and the soaps, Max preferred to sit on the couch. He was yet to get used to the feeling of a wheelchair and opted for the soft comfort of the couch. Setting the food on the coffee table, Max pulled himself out the chair and onto the couch. “And he says I can’t take care of myself.” He mumbled, referring to Austin. Max sat back in the soft cushions and ate, while watching the rest of his soaps.

Max jumped awake when he heard the phone start to ring. He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep. He looked to his left and saw the cordless phone by the far wall, resting in it’s base, on top of the circular table. Max sighed and began to pull over his wheelchair. Rushing and being neglectful, Max again forgot to lock the wheels and the chair came out from under him as he was pulling himself on. He fell down with a loud thud that knocked the wind out of him and wounded his head against the hardwood floor.

************

Austin hung up his phone after he didn’t get an answer. *Why didn’t he answer the phone?* He thought. Austin was only going to call home and check on Max before he was going to leave for his one o’clock lunch break. He was absolutely starving and was dying to get a hot sub from the italian restaurant down the street, but his concern over why Max didn’t answer the phone had him a bit worried. He picked up the phone and called one more time. No answer. *Shit.* Austin grabbed his jacket and slipped it on on his way out.

************

Max eyes snapped open and he blinked a few times. The drop to his head still had him a bit dazed, but nothing serious. He looked around with his brown eyes and saw he was still laying on the floor, a few feet from the phone.

There was the sound of the lock on the door, then the door opening. “Max?!” Austin yelled as he slammed the door behind him. “Honey, where are you?!” He walked through the livingroom to the kitchen. No Max. The bedroom. No Max. Finally, he checked the den. He found Max lying on his back. His wheelchair was a few feet away from him, turned over.

Austin gasped and ran to him. “Max! Oh God! Baby, are you okay?” He placed a gentle hand to the side of his lover’s face.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Help me get in my chair.”

Austin grabbed the tumbled over chair and wheeled it back to where Max was laying. He locked the wheels and helped Max get into the chair. “What happened?”

“I was sitting on the couch. The phone rang. I tried to get into my chair and answer it, but the damn thing came out from under me. I forgot to lock the wheels.”

Austin sighed. “I knew this staying at home alone thing wasn’t going to work.”

“I just fell. It’s not that big a deal.”

“Of course not. It’s never a big deal with you. What if I didn’t come home today and instead went to lunch like I had planned? You’d still be on the floor at 5:30 when I get home.”

“I would’ve made my way back to the chair, Austin.”

“Well, I don’t want something like this to happen again. I’m going to make a call and schedule a nurse to come by on weekdays and watch you while I’m at work. That way you can get your leg exercises over with early, instead of having to wait until I get home.” Austin walked to the phone and picked it up.

“I don’t want a damn nurse!”

“Too bad. You’re getting one.”

“Austin!”

“You’re getting a nurse, Max.” Austin dialed the number and scheduled a Regina Cross to come by and watch Max starting tomorrow. He hung up the phone and looked at his watch with a sigh. “Great. Now I’ve missed my lunch break.”

“Yeah? Well who’s fault is that?” Max asked sharply.

“Yours, actually. If you weren’t so hardheaded and let me make this call days ago, there’d be a nurse here today who could’ve been watching you.”

“I can handle myself! I don’t need some fucking nurse watching every move I make like I might break! I’m not a.........” Max stopped.

“Not a what, Max? An invalid? A cripple? Well, you are.” Austin kneeled in front of Max’s chair and grabbed the handles. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I think you do need to hear it. Because obviously you’re not getting it. I have faith that this will not last forever. And soon, you’ll be back to doing things on your own. Without this chair. But in order for you to get back there and in order for it to get better, you’ve got to learn to accept help. You can’t get better on your own, Max.”

“I WILL get better on my own.” Max gave Austin a glare. “I’ve been in harder situations than this overseas. I’m a man. I’m a fucking soldier. I can handle this. What I don’t need is a nurse looking over my back every second of the day.” Max jerked his wheels backwards and Austin’s hands dropped for the chair’s handles.

Austin stood up and looked down at him. “Who are you trying to convince, Max? Me or you?”

Max wheeled himself out the den. “Isn’t it time for you to go back to work?”

*************

Austin returned home at 5:30, thinking that Max would be calmer than he was earlier and they could have dinner and relax in peace. He was wrong. Max never spoke a word to him when he returned. Even dinner at the table was quiet.

Austin helped Max into the shower harness and stepped in the shower stall with him. “You still made at me for calling a nurse?” Austin asked the larger man as he soaped his hair.

“......”

“Don’t be mad, baby. I had to do it. I just can’t leave you here by yourself. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let something happen to you.” He rinsed his hair, while Max kept his face turned away. Austin stopped the bathing and wrapped his arms around Max’s shoulders and pressed his face inches away from his lover’s. “Why is it, after three days of you being back home, the only time I see you naked is in the shower? We’ve been separated from each other for a year and six months. You haven’t touched me in a year and six months. I’m ready to change that, aren’t you?” He started to plant kisses up Max’s neck. He didn’t get a response from Max, but the sudden sigh and licking of the lips gave Austin his answer. Max turned his head towards his lover and closed his eyes as Austin continued his kisses to his cheek then his eyelids.

Austin laid soft kisses on Max’s lips until Max started to respond. Only then did Austin begin to deepen his kiss and slide his tongue in Max’s mouth. Austin was feeling hot. No sex for a year and a half -except the manual stimulation- had left him very lonely and EXTREMELY horny. He trailed kisses down Max’s chest and over his muscular stomach.

Max was getting turned on, but he looked around and saw himself strapped down to the shower harness and just couldn’t go through with it. “No. No. Stop, Austin.”

Austin looked up at him from on his knees. “What? Why?”

“I just........I can’t.”

Austin stood up looked at Max puzzled. “I don’t understand, Max.”

“I just don’t want to, okay?!”

The brunette’s face fell. “Okay. Whatever you want.”

“Get me out of this damn thing.” Max grumbled frustrated.

************

Max sat in the den with the tv on, but wasn’t WATCHING anything. After their shower together, Austin had since shut the door to their bedroom and crawled into bed for the night. Max ran his fingers threw his hair and sighed. He wanted so bad to touch Austin. To make love to him. He even considered going through with the blowjob he was about to receive, but he took one look at that damn harness, remembered he couldn’t move his legs, and he backed out.

He knew Austin deserved better than this. He deserved to be the one taken care of, spoiled, put first. He certainly didn’t deserve to be stuck with a man who couldn’t love him the way he should be. Max felt inadequate, unqualified, incapable, pitiful. That was the real reason why he was so hostile to Austin. He loved Austin with all his being, but he hoped that his antagonism would send his lover away. To another man’s arms that would be able to love him fully, like he used to. Max felt like he was becoming a weight, a burden on Austin’s shoulders instead of an equal partner and lover.

“What am I going to do?” He whispered to himself.


More to come. Please review.