All but forgotten

Hi everyone,
This is the first original story, I am posting here and only the second one total. I would therefore really appreciate some feedback. Also I am looking for a beta, so if anybody likes the story and is interest please let me know. English is not my first language and though I try to check on the chapters, I make mistakes, please point them out in a constructive way. Also there will be more warning regarding content by chapter. I don't like giving stuff away right at the start and I also don't always know what will happen.


These characters are all mine and so is the story.

Chapter 1

Daniel woke up drenched in sweat. Momentarily disoriented he looked around and noticed the figure lying next to him. Lars was still asleep and looked blissfully happy. Daniel hated himself for that. Why on earth did he allow him to stay over? He was just getting the poor guy’s hopes up. Since there was nothing he could do about that now, he snuck out of the bedroom to take a shower. Hot water was pounding on him and his thoughts started to drift. It was annoying that he woke up in the middle of the night more and more frequently lately. He knew why, but refused to let his thoughts drift there. Instead he focused on the water- water on his head, running down his back. He watched as the water dripped from his fire-red hair. He was probably getting clean enough now, but there was no harm done in staying a little longer and his thoughts began to wander again. A knock on the door and he screamed startled. “Fuck not again”, he thought, “What a wimpy guy Lars must think I am?”
“Yeah, come in. You surprised me a bit.” Daniel regained control of himself and snapped back to his usually cool and composed self, a sly grin on his lips.
“But this time I knocked.” whispered Lars as he slowly opened the door to the small bathroom and peeked in. Daniel pulled back the curtain and looked at the short, slim figure, through the haze of humidity in the room. Tears of water ran down mirrors and walls. Lars’ strawberry blond hair started to curl in reaction to the moisture. Daniel guessed he must have been in here for a while.
“I was wondering, when you would come back to bed. You have been showering for at least an hour.” Lars was worried about Daniel – always had been, but lately Daniel’s nerves seemed frail. He looked at the much taller man, waiting for a reaction. Lars knew something was wrong, when Daniel let him stay over. He had hoped, he had finally been able to get closer to him, but knew he was deceiving himself.
“I will be out in a second or do you want to join me?” Daniel smiled, his evil little smile, fully aware of what effect he had on the blond. He was hot, there was no doubt about it and he knew it. Water running down his broad chest, he moved his hands to his hips and struck a pose, giving Lars his most seductive look. The other man swallowed his lust and just chuckled. ”We both know, you don’t want that, and it’s 5 am. Just come to bed, when you are ready.” Daniel pouted as Lars left for the bedroom.

When he woke up again, he knew where he was. The sun was up and warmed his face. He felt Lars’ body cuddle up behind him, one arm possessively on his hips. He guessed that was ok for now. Lars felt small and soft against him and he liked that feeling. He liked the physical contact and had been craving it for a while. That must have been the cause of his lapse in judgement, when he had let him stay the night. He liked Lars he did, but knew he was not the right guy for him or anyone for that matter. Lars stirred against him and a small sigh escaped his lips. Quickly the arm was pulled away from Daniel’s body. “I guess he is awake” Daniel thought.
“Sorry about that.” He heard Lars’ voice say hoarsely.
“It’s ok.” Daniel turned around and looked into the other man’s calm grey eyes. He stroked his head slowly enjoying the feel of the soft golden locks glowing in the sun. Lars moaned softly and closed his eyes, easing into his touch.
“Do you want more?”
“Mmmh.” Was Lars response as a hand slowly made its journey down his chest resting on each of his pink nipples for a while and caressing them. “His skin is so white and soft.” Daniel thought as he leaned forward to brush his lips over the other man’s. Lars leaned back inviting Daniel to do more. Slowly Daniel crawled on top of him carefully pulling the sheets close. Then the phone rang. A look was exchanged, the man on the bottom asking for the phone to be ignored, but to no avail. Daniel rolled over the bed, picked up the cordless phone and left the room. Lars stared after him looking at his boxer briefs as they walked through the door.

An hour and a bit later the two men where sitting at the table having breakfast. They were both silent waiting for the other to start a conversation. Lars was a little upset, that Daniel had wasted his precious time by spending an hour on the phone with someone, totally disregarding him. Finally Daniel started to speak, “That was my sister just now. I don’t know, if I have told you, but she is getting married in a month and wants me to be there. I guess she was trying to make sure, I would really show up.”
No, he hadn’t told Lars. He never told Lars anything and he knew that well enough.
“I was wondering, if you would like to go with me? I could really use the reinforcement in Straight Town.”
Lars knew that ‘Straight Town’ referred to Daniel’s red-necky hometown of Sault Ste Marie. Daniel must really be desperate, if he was asking him to go. Usually he kept his past to himself. Maybe this was Lars’ opportunity to finally secure himself a place in the other’s life. “Sure, if I can take time off work, I will go with you.”
“Thanks, I know this is short notice and it’s not like it is a great tourist destination or something, but I really appreciate it. It might not be pleasant though, so be warned”
Lars had an idea, what he was talking about. Apparently his family, except for his sister would be all too pleased, if they were to never see his face again. The embarrassing stain on a perfect family history was all he was to them, something that was to be covered up or cut out. He probably just wanted him there to aggravate people, to rub in what he was. Lars didn’t like the idea of being a prop in Daniel’s show, but he knew there was nothing he wouldn’t do for him. Sadly the other knew this as well.

Lars worked as a psychiatric nurse in a nearby hospital. He had met Daniel, while clubbing in “the Village”, where they both lived. Daniel had made quite the impression on him. Tall, broad shoulders and a cute ass in very, very tight black cords had caught the blonde’s attention from afar. Man, the guy could dance, too. Lars was not really the shy type, but Daniel was very intimidating. Yet the tall man had picked up on his interest and picked him up at the same time. “He was looking for a one night stand and nothing more and now here we are five months later.” Lars was painfully aware of Daniel’s lack of attachment to him, especially now that he was sitting next to him in his night blue Mini Cooper on their way to his sister’s wedding. The drive was a seven and a half hour drive and that was probably the most time, he had ever spent awake with Daniel. Daniel liked it that way. They went out occasionally, maybe once a week at most. Mostly clubbing, but sometimes to a bar or café around the corner. They had sex after, usually at Lars’s place, so it would be easier for Daniel to get away. It was uncomplicated and it felt wrong at least to Lars. So now stuck in the vehicle with Daniel, he felt the need to talk and didn’t know about what.
Daniel brushed his hand. “Let me fill you in on my family a bit, so you are not to anxious when we get there.”
“OK.” Lars wasn’t sure this was going to help, since Daniel was getting more and more anxious himself. He had had an extremely short temper, when the date of the trip neared, but now he seemed to get more nervous with every kilometre.
“See. My sister Jessica is marrying her old high school sweetheart Jeff. He was on the football team and one of those popular sporty guys. They are both two years older than me and we all went to the same high school.”
“So how long have they been together?” Lars was getting curious. This was his chance to find out more about Daniel and his former life.
“They have been together for close to five years now, I guess. They got together in grade twelve. But it really only got serious after they finished high school, when they moved in together. I think my sister wanted to make sure she was with the right man, before committing fully.”
“Yeah, it’s always good to know, who you are sharing your life with.” Lars tried not to sound accusatory, but he did slightly. He glanced at Daniel and knew, the other man had understood.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Anyway, we will be staying at their place, for this week, since she refused to let me stay at a hotel. I’m warning you, it is all small town bliss. They have a cute little house, with a cute little dog and everything.” That had sounded just a tad too bitter.
“I think I can handle that. It’s not like, I’ve never lived like that.” Lars looked out of the window again. After they had past the outliers of cottage country, it had been nothing but trees and rocks. Then there was a hand on his thigh, slowly gliding up and down. His skin began to tingle under the touch, especially when it wandered up. He looked at the other man, questioningly. Daniel wanted to say more, he could tell.
“Yeah, ehm. What I really want to tell you or better need to tell you is that you will have the horrible burden of meeting my parents. They will not talk to you or me for that matter. At least I don’t think they will…. . At least not directly. But don’t worry, they will also try not to make a scene in front of people fearing to embarrass themselves or spoil my sister’s wedding.” Daniel’s eyes glanced at him waiting for a reaction, but then quickly turned back to the road. He hated his parents and somehow it still hurt. It hurt to admit to others and the hurt made him angry. It wasn’t his fault after all.
“I understand. I’m sorry Daniel. This must be hard for you.”, came as a whisper. The hand on Lars’ thigh first had stopped moving and was now withdrawn back to the steering-wheel. Lars wanted the warmth of the hand back.
“No, I’m used to it, so don’t worry about it. I just want to warn you, since I know, your parents were more accepting and I don’t want you to feel bad or responsible, if or better when you get a couple of evil looks and overhear some remarks.” Daniel sighed. Why had he brought Lars here? It had been a very selfish decision and nothing else. He needed him here, he knew that. He needed some support, but to drag him into this, after they had had nothing but a casual relationship for the past months. It wasn’t really fair. Lars was his partner for occasional sex and someone to hang out with a little, when he got lonely that was it.
Silence again, the car was starting to seem smaller than it was, which was tough for a Mini, but Daniel had something else to say. Lars’s was trying to sleep. His head was bobbing against the window with every depression in the road. His feet were pulled up onto the seat, knees against the dashboard. He looked vulnerable, like a little boy, a little boy that was three years older than Daniel.
“Mmhh, Lars I know, you aren’t asleep yet. There is something else… .” Lars heard Daniel whisper and turned his face to meet him again. “Okay.”
“Aah, forget about it. I will tell you later. Why don’t you grab that pillow from the backseat? It will be more comfortable, hon.”
“Okay.” Lars looked at Daniel a little longer, thinking about what had just occurred. Daniel had called him “hon”. That could mean one of two things, he was finally making a place for himself in Daniel’s heart, which was very unlikely, or Daniel was trying to please him. For a while it looked like Daniel might still say something else, but he remained quiet. With a shrug, Lars fumbled for the pillow on the backseat and then settled down to sleep. “Let me know, if you want me to drive.” He mumbled more to be polite than anything else really. Listening to the roar of the engine and the calming and persistent noise of the tires on the pavement, Lars drifted off to sleep.

They arrived in Sault Ste Marie a little before 4pm. Lars had woken up as soon as the vehicle had slowed down upon entering town. Daniel pointed out a few things along the way as they were driving to his sister’s home. Lars was looking at the few people he could see outside walking. There weren’t many by any means, people here drove and didn’t walk. But Lars noticed something else; they would stick out like a sore thumb in this town. Maybe not that much, but they were definitely a little different. He glanced at Daniel. Daniel was wearing tight black pants, tight as in nothing but a thong would fit underneath. They were fake suave and just looking at the fabric you wanted to touch and feel them. At least Lars wanted, too. The pants were flared at the bottom, so that they hid more than half of Daniel’s platform shoes. The sleeveless shirt Daniel wore was no less eye-catching. It was pink, strategically washed out at certain spots and it was also tight, tight enough for Lars to admire the other’s nipple ring. Some logo grazed the front and the back showed the outlines of two white wings on it. That in combination with the dog collar around Daniel’s neck and the various piercings that graced his face and ears made him look stunning, but a misfit for this small town. Lars felt Daniel had chosen his wardrobe on purpose to aggravate people or maybe to just show them who he was and that he wasn’t hiding anymore. To be fair, Daniel wore similar clothes when they hung out together, but Lars knew full well that the other man did own just regular jeans and flat shoes and usually wasn’t that hung up on wearing a stud or ring in all of the five holes that were spread out evenly along the shells of his ears. Lars sighed as they pulled into the small driveway this was going to be more confrontational than he thought. “Here we are. I hope this is the right house, I have never been to their place here, but I’m pretty sure this is it.” Daniel said with a tired voice as he opened the door. Lars jumped out of the car and stretched his arms and legs. They had not really taken more than a washroom break for the whole drive. They were still standing by the vehicle, when Lars heard the front door open and saw what he assumed to be the happy couple approaching.
“Daniel!!!!” the small, slim woman screamed and hurried towards them, Jeff slowly and hesitantly coming up behind her. She threw her arms around Daniel and though he looked a little uncomfortable at first, he soon smiled broadly. “Hi, Jess. I’m glad to see you. It has been a while.”
“That is an understatement, brother. It has been at least a year, since I chased you down in Toronto and you haven’t been in town for what 3 or 4 years?” She said accusingly, pouting her lips, but then quickly returning them to smile. Her eyes fell on Lars. “So who is this? Your boyfriend? What happened to…”
“This is Lars.” Daniel interrupted her quickly. “And yes, he is my new boyfriend. We have been seeing each other for the past five months.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Lars held out his hand.
“We hug in this family.” Jessica said and wrapped herself around Lars quickly, who looked like a teddy bear in the clutches of a little girl.
“Ooh, sure.”
Daniel looked at Jeff, who had been standing a bit off behind the rest of the group.
“Hi Daniel, I like what you did to your hair.” Jeff said calmly, clearly expressing his dislike for Daniel’s fire red spikes.
“Yeah, you should have seen them in blue, when I last visited.” Jessica laughed, oblivious to her fiancé’s real opinion.
“Nice to meet you Lars.” Jeff nodded towards the smaller man smiling. Obviously, Jeff didn’t hug. Lars plastered a smile on his face and nodded back too afraid to offer his hand.
“Let’s go inside. I’m going to get supper ready; while Jeff can help you carry things and show you your room. You must be exhausted and you probably want to freshen up a bit”
Jessica said, while already on her way back inside the house.
“Then why don’t you tell me what you want me to carry?” Jeff said to Daniel now a little bit friendlier. Daniel opened the trunk. Something was wrong with Jeff and he knew it. Jeff and he had always gotten along well, the older much bulkier man always protecting the then much scrawnier Daniel. “You don’t seem too pleased to see me, Jeff.”
“It’s not that Daniel. You know we are friends. It’s just; do you have to be so obvious?” Jeff sighed.
“You mean obviously gay?” Lars moved closer to Daniel, in case he needed some support.
“No, it’s not that. You know, I don’t have a problem with that. It’s just that this is our wedding … and all and your outfit and your hair are just an invite for confrontation.” Jeff said defeated.
“I don’t want to hide anymore! Not in front of my parents and not in front of your high school buddies!” Daniel raised his voice, hoping Jeff would understand.
“I know, Jeff said quietly. “I’m sorry. It’s just such an important day for your sister.” He looked to the ground.
“Now give me a hug, or are you worried I would make my sister’s man gay? I will behave. I know how important this is for Jess.” Daniel opened his arms and approached the taller man. Jeff hugged him close. “It’s good to see you and to see your sister this happy.” He released Daniel from his hug turning to Lars, who was standing pretending to be busy with his backpack of to the side. “We do hug in this family, you know. Let’s try this again. Nice to meet you Lars.” Jeff stated now with a genuine smile holding his arms out, while approaching Lars.