Okay so I got about five or six different emails asking for a Beauty and the beast or little red riding hood type story but with m/m. So here it is. If you have any ideas for stories feel free to comment about it or email me. This just proves that I do listen to what my readers want, hope you like it!
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Cormac stepped quickly down the winding stairs. His shoes clicked on the old stone floors and the small windows let in beams of light from the bright summer day outside. He scowled at the cheeryness of the day and finally reached the bottom floor of his house, if you could call it that. He had inherited the mansion from a long line of family members, whom he had never even met.
It was three stories tall and looked like something out of a book of fairy tales. In a secluded spot its beauty was not often seen by the general public. The outside of the home was decorated with flowers and plants, most of which Cormac had never even seen. His housekeeper took care of most of the house. Including the surounding grounds. The first floor consisted of the opening hallway, with two winding stairs reaching up to the second floor. Also on the bottom floor was the kitchen, very large and modern in comparison to the midevil house, the dinning room, and the living room. The living room was the largest room of the house and held the beautiful grand piano facing the large bay windows that were never open. And the fireplace served as the heart of the living room. Up the winding stairs held the second floor, with bedrooms and bathrooms. And up the single winding staircase led to the attic.
He sat down and the old piano and began playing. The music drifted through the house Richard walked down the stairs and watched him play for awhile, before interupting him. He cleared his throat loudly and Cormac stopped playing.
"Sir, it's getting late." Richard said. Cormac stayed silent for a moment.
"Go to bed, Richard. I'll be up awhile longer." Cormac said. Richard watched his slim back slouch over the keys of the piano as he wiped invisible pieces of dust off of them.
"Yes, sir." Richard turned and left the room, leaving Cormac behind.
It was midnight when Cormac heard the quiet voices. The house had long gone dark, he prefered the dark. The voices were unmistakeably children's voices. They were whispered and at one of the bay windows in the living room. Cormac sighed and walked over to the large windows. He opened them quickly and the whispering children gasped and turned to face him with eyes wide with fear. They stood in pure fright, unable to move or speak.
"Get out of here." Cormac growled. The children screamed and ran away from his scarred and pale face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Breakfast is ready, sir." Richards cheery voice pierced his sleep clogged mind and the bright morning sun broke through the barrier his eyelids created. He opened one eye to see Richard pulling back the blinds, letting in the bright morning sun. He turned his head away and growled.
"It's nothing I havent seen before, sir." Richards laughed and walked back downstairs. Cormac sighed before swinging out of bed and getting dressed.
He stepped into the dining room to see his breakfast laid out before his usual seat.
"You're to good to me, Richard." Cormac chuckled. Richard poked his head out of the kitchen doorway.
"With how much you pay me, I'm not good enough and I never will be." He smiled.
"You deserve every penny." Cormac sat and ate. He had inheritted a large amount of money and would never have to work a day in his life, for that he was thankful for. Years before he had highered Richard as a housekeeper, butler, groundskeeper, and more. Richard did an amazing job and was paid more then most doctors made. He was also allowed free room and food.
"Arent you going to come join me?" Cormac called with his Teutonic accent.
"Afraid not, sir. I have to go to the store. Speaking of which-"
"I'll fill out the check." Cormac said with a mouth full of bacon.
"Thank you,sir." Richard said from inside the kitchen.
As soon as he was done eating he went to the piano and got to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David finished unpacking the last of the boxes and moved to get dinner ready. He prepared some steaks and potatoes with biscuits. He set the two plates down and called for his son.
"Aiden, dinner is ready!" He yelled out the door. He heard a few goodbyes and then his soon appeared in the back door. He sat down and began eating.
"Make some new friends?" David asked as he chewed steak.
"Yeah, a couple. Theres a monster here." Aiden said. David raised an eyebrow.
"A monster?" He tried not to laugh.
"Really there is! My friends saw it last night!" Aiden said.
"Uh huh... And where does this monster live?" David asked.
"Down the street, in that big house." David swallowed.
"If a monster has that much money he has the right to be a monster." David laughed. Aiden rolled his eyes and continued eating.
A year ago David had divorced his wife, after telling her he was gay. He had always known it but when their parents set them up he had gotten her pregnant and they did what they thought was the responsible thing and got married. They had stayed married for four years until David couldn't stand being unhappy anymore. It had been a messy divorce but because she didn't have a job, and had a history of drug abuse, he had won custody of Aiden. Now five years old Aiden was happy to live with his father and they had decided to start somewhere new by moving to a new town.
After dinner the two got ready for bed and David took a shower. Once he stepped out of the hot shower and wiped the steam off the mirror he studied himself for a moment. He was six feet tall with well defined muscle. Not a body builder, but well enough so that when he flexed you could see the work he put into keeping his body fit. His brown hair was wet from his shower but was cut short and clean. His green eyes reflected the light and made them glow. He studied himself for a moment before nodding.
'I can still get a man.' He told himself. He dried himself off and looked down at his flaccid dick.
"We can still get a man." He muttered to his six inch soft cock. He chuckled before he crawled into bed and slept.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard returned a short time later with groceries that he put away quickly. He moved on to clean the house and do the laundry. When he was finished with his duties around the house he went to find Cormac.
"Sir, any requests for dinner tonight?" Cormac sat in the living room at the piano, the room was dark and the curtains were drawn tight.
"No." Cormac said bitterly. Richard sighed and moved over to the windows and opened the curtains.
"Hey!" Cormac growled.
"You cant just sit here and pout all day. Go outside, do something. Everyday it's the same old thing." Richard said.
"Do I look like I could go do something in public?" Cormac asked. Richard starred at his scarred face.
"Yes, just don't let the people get to you." Richard said.
"Liar." Cormac growled. He stroked one of the longer scars on his face in thought.
"You have nearly a whole continent of land. Maybe don't go in public but at least go outside." Richard said.
"For once Richard, mind your own damn business and get back to work." Cormac said. Richard starred at him for a moment before leaving the room. He stopped at the entrance and without turning said,
"Just because you have a messed up face doesn't mean you have a messed up life."
Cormac stared at the pearly white keys of the piano silently. He stood and went up to his room, without dinner. He quickly stripped and crawled into bed, falling asleep quickly.
"Come on baby, just give me a few bucks." Charlie begged.
/////"I told you, I don't feel comfortable giving you money." Cormac said as he wrote down another note.
"Why not, you have tons and all you do is sit here all day and write music!" Charlie stood and paced the room with boredom.
"Fine, what do you want to do?" Cormac put down the pen and paper, and closed the piano.
"I don't know lets go clubbing or something." Charlie said. Cormac grimaced.
"Alright fine." He stood to go find something to wear.
"Why do you always have that attitude?" Charlie growled as he walked away.
"I don't mean to, its just that I always have to do something that you want to do. And if I don't I have to give you money so you can go do it without me. Why don't you ever want to do something that I like?"Cormac turned in the doorway to face him.
"Well what do you want to do?" Charlie crossed his arms.
"Lets play music, I can teach you how to play piano, or violin, guitar, or any of the other ones I play. Or we could go outside and have a picnic, or watch a movie, or something." Cormac shrugged.
"What are you forty? You're twenty-one for Christs sake, you're supposed to be out partying and getting laid." Charlie made a dancing motion.
"Is that what you do when I don't want to go with you? Just go get laid by someone else?" Cormac glared.
"That's not what I meant." Charlie rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." Cormac turned. Charlie grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"Don't walk away from me like that." He growled.
"You're hurting me."
"Good." Cormac twisted out of his grip and rubbed his arm. "Now go get dressed, we're going out." Charlie grinned.
"I don't feel like going right now." Cormac sighed. He could feel a bruise forming on his upper arm.
"Why the hell not?" Charlie glared at him.
"I just don't, you know I don't like it when you get rough with me, Char." Cormac said. His head whipped around and the smack echoed in the room. It took a moment before he could feel the stinging pain in his cheek, his eyes filled with tears and he looked up at Charlie.
"I don't give a shit what you like or don't like, now go get dressed, we're leaving in twenty minutes." Charlie growled and left the room. Cormac stood stunned, holding his cheek which was throbbing with pain.
"Are you alright, sir?" Richard entered the room. Cormac nodded silently.
"Go get dressed, sir. I'll get you an ice pack." Richard frowned.
"You're to good to me, Richard." Cormac whispered his usual thanks when Richard did something kind.////
"Sir!"
Cormac bolted up and felt Richard shaking him, he was in his night clothes and looked worried. He could feel himself sweating and tears fell down his eyes.
"You were having another nightmare, sir." Richard said quietly. Cormac swallowed and looked at the clock, four a.m.
"Thank you, Richard. Go on back to bed I'm going to stay up." Cormac said. Richard sighed and stared at him a moment longer, worried.
"Alright, sir. Feel free to wake me if you need anything." Richard walked back to bed and Cormac rubbed his face with sleep, feeling each of the individual scars that marked his face.
Getting up he headed towards the master bathroom and stepped into a hot shower. He hissed as the water burned his skin but soon relaxed into the sensation of the hot water trickling down his back. He took his time and by the time he got out of the shower it was five thirty. He climbed down the stairs to see that Richard was already up and had a pot of coffee made. He grabbed a cup and sipped it.
"So I was thinking, sir. Maybe we could go out today, there's a bunch of baby ducks swimming around the pond behind the mansion." Richard said casually, in his delicate english accent.
"Not going to happen, Richard." Cormac turned away from. He heard Richard sighed and pour himself another cup of coffee.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dad, can we go to the park today!" Aiden came bouncing into the living room as David sipped his coffee.
"Sure, It's sunday I don't have to work." David said, ever since he started his job at the construction site he didn't have as much time to spend with Aiden as he would have liked. After breakfast and getting ready they headed out to the park. As they played catch they sat a very nice looking car go buy.
"That guy works for the monster." Aiden said.
"Huh?" David asked.
"The man in the car, he works for the monster." Aiden repeated. With the car window rolled down he could see the man in his white shirt and black vest, obviously a uniform.
'Damn, the guy is rich enough to have a butler?' He thought to himself.
"So who is this 'monster'?" David asked.
"He never comes out of his house, but he looks like a monster." Aiden said.
"Aiden, you know better then to judge people on the way they look." David scowled.
"But really dad, he's a monster!" Aiden said.
"Enough, I don't want you talking about someone like that just because they're different. Come on we're going home." David said. As they passed the home that Aiden had been talking about David looked at the giant mansion. The fountain out front was probably more expensive then Davids entire house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cormac finished up his music earily and was about to crawl into bed when he heard the hushed whispers again. He sighed and rubbed his temples.
'Why cant these damn kids just leave me alone?' He said to himself. He walked downstairs in the dark and heard them at the front door. He cursed and opened the door, they sat there much like they had a few nights back, wide eyed and jaw slacked.
"Get out of here!" He growled. They screamed and ran back down the steps and around the fountain. While running one of the young boys looked back, and in the process tripped over a rock. The other kids left him there and kept running. He began crying and even in the dark Cormac could see the blood.
"Ugh." He sighed. He looked around before stepping outside and down the steps. It had been so long since he had been outside the breeze felt unusual. He stepped closer to the kid who turned around onto his back and looked up at him with fear. His knee was badly cut from where he had fallen and hit it on the fountain and the edge of his shorts were stained with blood.
"Come on, kid. Lets get you cleaned up." He sighed. The kid stared, jaw open and eyes filled with terrror.
"Look I'm not going to hurt you, kid. Just get up and I'll help you." Cormac said, frustrated. The kid slowly stood up, trying not to put weight on his leg. Cormac picked him up and carried him inside the house.
"Richard, get down here." He yelled. He heard Richards feet on the floor above and in a moment he was dressed and downstairs.
"Sir?" He asked when he saw the small kid. Cormac had sat him on the couch and was standing there awkwardly.
"Richard, will you get the first aid kit, please?" Cormac asked. Richard nodded and disapeard. He came back, white gloved hands holding the first aid kit. He knelt in front of the boy and with a smile began cleaning the cut. The boy flinched when he touched him with the cloth.
"I'm Richard, what's your name?"
"Aiden." The small boy whispered.
"That's Cormac, he's all bark and no bite." Richard winked at Aiden. Aiden smiled and Richard wrapped his knee in gauze. He picked him up and held him on his hip before grabbing the keys.
"Do you know where you live, Aiden?" Richard asked, the boy nodded.
"I'll be back soon, sir. You'll be alright wont you?" Richard asked. Cormac nodded silently. He moved to open the door for Richard and kept his face turned down away from the boy. Though Aiden still got a glimpse at the badly scarred man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David heard a knock at the door and looked over to see what time it was. The clock showed midnight and David growled.
'Who the hell would be knocking at midnight? I don't even know anyone here, yet." David cursed as he pulled on a shirt. He quickly hurried down the steps and opened the door to see a well dressed younger man holding Aiden.
"Aiden? What the hell are you doing?" He asked his son, the well dressed man handed him over and Richard sent him up to his room, telling him he would be up in a minute to talk to him. He invited the man in and he turned on a few lights so they weren't talking in the dark.
"Excuse me for knocking so late." The man said.
"It's not a problem, What exactly was he doing out?" David asked.
"Yes, my name is Richard. I work down at Mr. McCarthy house." Richard introduced himself. David shook his gloved hand and recognized him as the butler driving the expensive car earlier.
"David Shaw."
"Yes well, it seems Mr. McCarthy caught Aiden and his friends at his front door." Richard cleared his throat, Cormac didn't need to tell him what happened, it had happened before and it would again.
"Jesus." David rubbed his temples. "I am so, so sorry. I don't know what has gotten into that boy. Theres just been this talk amongst the children and it's gotten to him." David sighed.
"Talk, sir?" Richard asked. David looked embarrassed.
"Uh, yes. Well the kids think that, Mr. McCarthy is a... Uh... Monster." David said. Richard smiled but it hardly reached his ears, it showed sadness and irritation, and a little bit of anger.
"Yes, that is a popular one." He muttered quietly, David almost didn't hear him.
"I'm so sorry about this." David repeated. " Is Mr.McCarthy alright?"
"Oh yes, he will be fine. Things like this happen quite often, actually." Richard spoke.
"Again, really sorry." David continued to apologize. Richard stood and the two men shook hands again.
"No harm done, I hope Aiden's knee isn't to bad." Richard smiled. David showed him out and the two said goodbye. As soon as the door was closed David stormed up to Aidens room.
"What the hell were you thinking? You broke into his property, and spied on the man?" David shouted. "Jesus, I thought I had raised you better then that Aiden!"
"The other kids do it all the time." Aiden said.
"That doesn't make it alright! Can you imagine how Mr. McCarthy feels?" David shouted. Aiden lowered his head and cried quietly. David sighed and sat on the bed to hug him.
"That wasn't okay, Aiden. Tomorrow, after school, I want you to go and apologize to him." David said. Aiden nodded.
"I hope this at least proves that he isn't a monster right?" David laughed.
"But he is!"
"Oh my god, really Aiden? You sat face to face with the man and you still think he's a monster?" David said, astonished.
"Yes! Dad his face is all messed up!" Aiden said.
"I cant believe my son would judge someone just because they're different. You know I'm different does that make me a monster?" David asked. When they had decided to fight for custody of Aiden, David had made sure Aiden knew why they were splitting up.
"No, but dad his face-"
"No, I don't want to hear another word about this. Tomorrow, after you get home from school, we are both going to go apologize to Mr. McCarthy. Understood?" David stood up.
"Yes." Aiden said, defeated.
"Good, now go to sleep. By the way, you're grounded. No video games for a month." David said as he walked out. Aiden looked sad but didn't disagree with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day at school Aiden spoke about the 'monster' and what had happened, of course none of his friends believed him and said he had lied about the whole thing. They were convinced that if the monster had caught him he wouldn't be alive to speak about it. Still, Aiden dreaded the end of school when he would have to face Cormac again.
"Don't bother taking you're shoes off we are just about to leave." David called out when he heard Aiden get inside the house. He heard his son sigh and drop his backpack on the floor.
"Dad, do I have to?" Aiden said.
"Yes, now go put you're backpack in you're room and we will walk down there." David said. Aiden did as he was told and soon they left. The walk to the house was short but seemed shorter for Aiden. He watched the tall house grow closer and closer until they were at the front door. His dad knocked and looked down at him, smiling. Richard answered the door and looked almost shocked to see them.
"Richard, hi. I was wondering if Mr. McCarthy was home, I would like to apologize to him and Aiden wants to do the same." David said. Richard looked slightly worried but covered it up quickly.
"Please, come in." As soon as they stepped inside the house soft piano music was heard. Directly in front of the door was the staircases leading up to the second floor. To the right was the dining room and he could see the kitchen door from where he stood, and two the left was the room where the music was coming from.
"Stay here a moment." Richard said as he walked over to the man playing the piano. He bent and whispered something in his ear and the music stopped suddenly. The man turned his had and said something. Richard shrugged and seemed to reply. David could see the man sighed and rub his temples. Richard whispered something else.
"Sir, young Aiden is back, with is father. They wish to apologize for last night." Richard said. Cormac stopped playing.
"What? I thought you took the kid home and talked to his dad." Cormac growled.
"I did, but I guess he felt the need to apologize in person." Richard shrugged. Cormac sighed and hunched over the piano to rub his forehead in frustration.
"It's not that bad sir, you will never see them again who are they to care?" Richard tried to comfort him.
"Fine, send them in." Cormac said bitterly.
"Try not to be so angry, they're only being nice." Richard said as he walked off in the direction of the front hall. Once back he smiled at David and Aiden and nodded his head towards the living room. They walked up and David only now noticed how dark the house was kept. Aiden clung to his side and David rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. McCarthy. My name is David, I'm Aidens' father, I just wanted to apologize for what happened last night." David said, the man still didn't turn around. After a moment of silence he stood and turned.
"Please, call me Cormac. And it's quite alright." He kept his face slightly down and to the side, like he was looking at something on the floor behind David. Even with his head turned and the darkness of the room David could still see scars on his face. He spoke with a Teutonic accent and David couldn't help but find it attractive.
"Aiden has something he would like to say, also." David nudged Aiden forward.
"I'm sorry for spying on you." He whispered, looking up at Cormac. Cormac looked down at Aiden and his face showed discomfort and nervousness.
"I really hope he didn't cause any property damage or anything, if he did I'll pay for it completely." David said. At that moment Richard wandered in and began cleaning. It as obvious he was trying to listen in. While dusting he 'accidentally' flipped the light switch.
"Oops." He said innocently. David saw Cormac's face completely and swallowed to hold back a gasp.
"Richard!" Cormac growled.
"What, I'm just cleaning." Richard shrugged innocently.
"You're a bad liar, Richard. And a worse butler, get out of here." Cormac nodded towards the front hall.
"But I was just-"
"Richard!" Cormac shouted. Richard through his hands into the air and wandered out. Cormac cursed silently, and for the first time met David's eye.
"There was no property damage. You're apology is accepted." He looked down at Aiden who had gone back to clinging to his fathers leg.
"What about the broken fountain?" Richard called out from the front hall. Cormac sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Get out of here, Richard!" He screamed at him. Footsteps could be heard walking up the stairs.
"I swear-" Cormac muttered to himself.
"I would be happy to fix anything that's broken, including the fountain. I'm a construction worker."David said. Cormac sighed.
"Really, it's fine I can pay someone to do it." Cormac said.
"Please, let me fix it my son caused the damage I take full responsibility for that. I'll do it for free of course." David said. Cormac was about to disagree, when from upstairs he heard.
"He is thankful for you're help and will gladly accept it!" Cormac growled and stormed upstairs. Aiden giggled quietly.
"I swear to god, Richard I will fire you!" Cormac shouted up the stairs.
"No you wont!" Richard shouted back down.
"No, I wont. But I will cut you're pay check in half!" Cormac shouted. There was a moment of silence before Richard was heard again.
"That's still more then a doctor would make in a year." Richard said. Cormac couldn't help but chuckle.
"You have me there." He smiled. He walked back into the living room and sighed.
"I will be thankful for you're help." He said to David.
"Alright then, do you mind if I get started this afternoon?" David asked, it was still early and he could at least take note of what he needed to buy to fix the fountain.
"Whatever you like." Cormac said. He sat down at the piano and turned the page of sheet music he had been playing. He began playing once more and David assumed it was the end of the conversation. He left the grand house and returned home. After calling a babysitter for David he grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, along with some other materials and headed back to Cormac's house. He began looking at the old fountain and saw the part that had broked when David had tripped over it. He began repairing it when he found that the fountain had been badly built. Obviously whoever had built it had no clue what they were doing and had thrown together some pipework and cement to create what would serve as a fountain. He stepped inside the spotless house and heard Richard bustling around in the kitchen. Cormac still sat at his piano.
"The whole fountain should come down." He said. Cormac turned, once again David fought not to react at his face.
"What?" He asked.
"The fountain, it's was built by someone who obviously didn't know what they were doing. I can rebuild the whole thing for you, it would be pointless to just fix that one piece." David shrugged. Cormac thought for a second.
"Alright then. Do what you like to the fountain. If its anything major consult Richard. I don't care much about it but god knows that man does." Cormac laughed. David smiled and Richard looked at them from the dinning room. As David was leaving he heard Cormac call out to him.
"Also, help yourself to anything you would like in the kitchen. If theres nothing in there then feel free to request something, Richard is an excellent cook." Cormac said, awkwardly. As though starting a conversation was new to him.
"Thank you." David said. Cormac nodded before turning back to his piano. Once David was outside again writing down what he thought he would need, he noticed he didn't hear piano music. He was wondering what Cormac was doing but knew it would be awkward to just go in and look. As soon as he was done he headed home and thought about Cormac and what had happened to him. It was obvious he was extremely bitter about... well everything. But he seemed to be the best of friends with Richard. It seemed like Richard was the only one he could trust. David wondered if they slept together.
'What? Where did that come from. He gave you no hint that he was gay.' David thought to himself. He shrugged, 'doesn't mean I cant dream.' He crawled into bed and had sweet dreams of Cormac.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cormac tossed and turned in his sleep.
The thundering music of the night club hurt his ears. He sighed and sipped his drink while looking around the room. Charlie stood in the center of the dance floor, with two young men dancing around him. The blonde haired thin men looked like dolls. Cormac sighed. He had dragged him here and didn't even want to dance with him. What was the point? He set down his barely touched drink and paid before heading out. As he was going a man stopped him at the door.
"You wanna dance?" He yelled over the music. Cormac hesistated, but he wasn't like Charlie.
"I'm taken, sorry." He said.
"At least you're honest enough to say no. Most guys just lie, i'll give you points for that." The guy said with a smile before walking off. He exited the club and began walking to the parking lot. He felt a hand on his arm and was spun around roughly.
"Who the fuck was that?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know, some guy." Cormac shrugged. Now he would have two bruises on his arm.
"Why the hell were you talking to him?" Charlie asked.
"I wasn't he just asked me if I wanted to dance." Cormac shrugged.
"What the fuck, you cheating on me?"
"What? No, how did you get that out of some stranger just asking me to dance."
"Don't talk to me like that. We're going home, now." Charlie dragged him by the wrist to his car and drove home in silent anger. Cormac knew when Charlie got mad that he could get out of control. He only hoped Richard was home. When they arrived at his house he saw that the car Richard normally used to run erands was gone, it was only ten and he could be out for quite awhile.
"Fucking cunt, who the hell do you think you are to cheat on me?" Charlie yelled once they were inside.
"I didn't cheat on you Char, and I never have. Don't call me names." Cormac tried to keep calm. He wasn't surprised when Charlie smacked him across the cheek that already had a bruise on it from earlier. He landed on the floor with a thud and hit his head on the cold tile. His vision blurred and his limbs felt like jell-o.
"Stupid slut, i'll make it so no one will ever touch you again." Charlie said. The last thing Cormac saw was the silvery blade of the knife.
~~~~~~~~~~
David came back the next day and got to work on the fountain early. Which was why he was surprised to see Richard and Cormac already awake and running.
"Good morning, David." Richard greeted him.
"Morning, Richard. How are you?" David replied.
"Alright, and you?" Richard began his work for the day, starting with caring for the plants.
"Good, so Cormac told me to talk to you about the fountain. Is there any specific design you want? Or I could just replicate the old one." David said. Richard sighed.
"I swear that man doesn't care about anything unless its on a piece of sheet music." Richard rolled his eyes. "Surprise me, nothing to Greek gody thought." Richard smiled. The two went to their separate work. Soon after his conversation with Richard, David saw Cormac walking down the large stairs. He looked tired and pissed off.
"I wouldn't get to close to him this morning, he has his days." Richard whispered while watering the flowers in the front garden. For once Cormac didn't go straight for his piano but instead went into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of scotch and a glass, and sat on the couch in the living room. He sat there facing the fireplace and starred at the pictures above it, while pouring himself glass after glass of scotch.
"Oh, one of these days, is it?" Richard sighed. He put down the hose he was using to water the plants and went inside. He saw them speak for a moment, Cormac obviously angry as usual. Richard turned and picked up a picture off of the mantle and threw it in the trash before turning and saying something to Cormac, who stared silently. A moment passed when the two looked at each other but it was broken when Cormac poured himself another glass. Richard rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the 'I give up' motion. He stormed back outside and left the door open, before continuing to water the plants. With much more anger this time around.
David began to get back to work on the fountain. After watering the plants Richard puttered around doing small tasks, seeming to try and stay in the warmth of the morning sun. Eventually he had to go inside and make lunch. When Richard came out and told David he had made him lunch David saw Cormac still slouched in the couch in front of the fireplace.
"Isnt he eating?" David asked as they sat down to eat.
"On days like this its best if we just leave him alone. Things will be better for him tomorrow." Richard said without looking up. They continued to eat, making small talk when they heard a large crash and saw Cormac storm upstairs.
"Huh, he usually waits until later to do that." Richard sighed and grabbed the broom from a closet. He came back a few minutes later with the remains of a broken bottle and a towel soaked with wasted scotch.
"At least he didn't drink the whole bottle this time." He muttered as he put away the broom and dumped the glass into the trash.
"He does this often?" David asked. Richard looked up like he had forgot David was there.
"Yes actually, like I said. He has his days."
"And this is a bad day?" David asked.
"Oh no this is actually about a six on a scale of 1 to 10." Richard nodded his head as he sat back down to finish eating.
"Jesus, what the hell is a 10?" David laughed.
"You hear about the earthquakes in japan?" Richard joked. They chuckled quietly before the silence got awkward with the obvious question in the air.
"What happened to him?" David asked, laughter gone. Richard stared at him for a moment, as if trying to decide if he should tell him or not.
"That's not my story to tell." He finally said. David just nodded in understanding. After eating David thanked Richard for lunch and Richard told him if he needed anything to find him. David headed out to get back to work on the fountain and looked up at the beautiful house.
The large windows all had their curtains drawn but were perfectly clean, even though they were never used Richard kept them clean just in case.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
David returned home that evening and paid the babysitter. Aiden continued to rant about how he was old enough not to need one and David brought up the breaking and entering thing, which shut him up quickly. After making dinner they watched a movie before Aiden started falling asleep. While carrying him up to bed Aiden woke up.
"Dad." He said, voice filled with sleep.
"Yes?"
"What is Cormac like?" Aiden asked.
"He's... troubled." David chose his words carefully.
"Is that like being mad?" Aiden asked.
"No, not exactly. Troubled is when.... something happens that you cant control. Causing you problems. Making you worried or angry." David tried to explain.
"Why is he troubled?" Aiden began to fall asleep again.
"I don't know." David looked in the direction of the large mansion.
"I wish I knew. Maybe we could help him."
"Some people don't want help." David said, still staring out the window.
"Why not?" Aiden was nearly asleep now.
"Some people aren't ready to be helped yet. It takes time." David said. When his son asked no more questions he looked down to see that he had fallen asleep. David stood and crawled back into his own bed.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Jesus Christ." Cormac heard. He tried to open his eyes but found one of them swollen shut. He hurt everywhere. And his one good eye was blurry and covered in something sticky. He didn't need eyes to know who had spoken though. He would have recognized that English accent anywhere. He worked to be able to see and when he did he saw Richard standing before him. His skin was pale and he looked like he was going to be sick.
"Richard." He spoke and was rewarded with a coughing fit.
"Quiet, don't speak. We need to get you to a hospital." He felt Richards arms under him. Picking up his small frame and pushing the door open with a shoulder.
"Cant see." He coughed.
"No shit?" He could hear the panic in his voice. He felt himself being laid down in the back seat. After a drive that seemed like eternity he felt the car stop and Richard pick him up again. He heard the sounds of a hospital and heard Richards frantic voice.
"Can we get some help over here?" He shouted. He heard orderly's and doctors speaking.
"What happened?" A woman's voice asked.
"I don't know, I found him like this. If I had to guess though it would be his boyfriend. He's an abusive asshole." Richard cursed.
"You know him?" The woman asked.
"Yes."
"What's his name?"
"Cormac McCarthy."
"Okay, we will let you know how he is but you have to stay here." He heard the woman say. He no longer felt the familiar presence of Richard.
"Cormac, we're going to take care of you okay?" He heard, but her voice was fading fast. Soon he drifted off into nothingness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cormac sat up in bed.
"Fucking nightmares." He cursed and rubbed his forehead. He stood up and went down to the kitchen. He poured himself another drink even though his throbbing head ache told him to do otherwise. He swallowed it quickly before pouring himself another.
"For Christ's sake, sir. You have to stop drinking like that." Richard said from behind him.
"I'll do what I want. Leave me alone, Richard." Cormac cursed.
"Yeah I did that last time you told me to and That's how you ended up with the scars. Do you really want to replay all of that?" Richard crossed his arms. Cormac stayed silent.
"Cormac, you're my best friend. I know you're pissed and you have every right to be. But it's been five years. It's time to move on. Find someone new, someone who will treat you right. Someone who doesn't just want you for your money or to use you as a punching bag or a lovely tool to sharpen their knives." Richard said.
"Quiet!" Cormac screamed. Richard stayed silent for a moment.
"You know I will always be here for you. Even if one day you just stopped paying me, I would still be here. But there's only so much I can do. Eventually a friends duties end where a lovers duties begin. I cant cover both bases, Cormac." Richard said.
"You seem to be doing a good enough job." Cormac whispered.
"Yes, god knows I'm that good in bed." Richard did a stereotypical gay voice which made Cormac spit his drink over the count.
"Now I have to clean that up, see what you put me through." Richard said in his usual voice. He grabbed a rag and began cleaning up the mess. Cormac sighed.
"I hate my life." He said quietly. Richard put down the rag and hugged him tightly.
"I know you do. And I wish that I could fix that but like I said. My duties end here." He shrugged and headed back upstairs to bed. Cormac stood in the dark kitchen for a moment longer before taking the bottle and going to sit on his couch in front of the fire place.
~~~~~~~~~~~
David walked up the steps to the house two days later to talk to Richard about ideas for the fountain. The old one had already been removed and now the new one just needed building. Halfway up the steps he heard screaming and things crashing. He saw Richard in the window rubbing his temples. Richard looked up and saw David. He seemed to look into the living room before quickly dashing to the door and stepping out, closing the door behind him.
"I think it would be best if you came back another day." Richard said. The sound of wood splintering came from inside the house. Richard flinched and sighed.
"That was a six hundred dollar coffee table." He whispered.
"What the hell is going on?" David asked.
"Remember how we talked about the scale of 1 to 10 and the earthquakes and what not?" Richard asked. David nodded.
"Today is about a 9.5" Richard said. David nodded his head and turned to walk back down the driveway.
"You going to be okay? He isn't going to set you on fire or anything while I'm gone is he?" He turned and asked. Richard nodded his head and waved his hand in the 'go' gesture.
"I'll be fine, nothing to worry about. I handle him and his rampages all the time." Richard smiled. The sound of two glass bottles hitting the front door were heard.
"Take me with you." Richard begged and chased after David.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They sat in David's living room discussing fountain plans when Richard looked at his watch.
"Damn, it's already seven. I need to get back home. Lord knows the man cant cook for himself. He could be in a house full of food and would starve to death." Richard rolled his eyes. He grabbed his vest which he had taken off an hour ago and put it back on, along with his white gloves.
"Well I'm glad we got something done today." David looked down at the design they had picked out.
"I think it will look fantastic." Richard smiled.
"Call me if you need anything, fountain details, help with anything, shopping...." He looked up at Richard. "Animal control." Richard smiled and laughed.
"He isn't a wild animal!" He said and straightened his vest. He headed for the door. "Most wild animals are to scared to get near him." He said and dashed out the front door. David laughed and wrapped up the fountain plans.
'I do love that man.' He thought about Richards humor and how such a light hearted man could befriend someone with such anger in him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard returned to find the house in ruins. Much of the furniture was broken broken glass was everywhere, a few broken windows, the kitchen torn apart. And Cormac sitting in the middle of it all.
"Are you finished?" Richard asked. Cormac nodded silently. Tears fell from his eyes silently and he saw, balled up, on the floor. Richard moved and picked him up, bringing him into his bedroom and putting him to bed. Once he was sure he had fallen asleep he returned downstairs and began cleaning up.
'This makes up for the other 95% of the year that I don't actually have to work doesn't it?' Richard asked himself. He made calls to have the windows replaced the next day and for someone to come and help fix that walls that had been scratched with several knives. After calls were made he picked up the broken glass and fixed everything else, before throwing out the broken pieces of furniture. It took several hours but about an hour before Cormac would wake up he was finished. He sleepily crawled into bed and fell asleep instantly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The uncomfortable hospital bed made him miss home. As soon as he thought about home Richard walked into the room.
"How are you feeling, sir?" The panic was gone and his usual polite formal self was back.
"Alright I guess." Cormac knew what was coming. Richard sat down and began telling him that he had handled the legal matters and preparing for him to come home.
"Just say it Richard." Cormac sighed.
"Say what? Sir." He added.
"'I told you so.'" Cormac fought back the tears. Richard stared at him silently.
"What kind of friend would I be if I did that, sir?" Richard smiled. Cormac gave a bitter laugh. He flinched when he smiled.
"An honest one."
"Who the hell wants an honest friend?" Richard smiled. Cormac wanted to smile but it hurt to bad.
"Thank you, Richard." Cormac leaned into him and Richard gave him a firm hug.
"Of course, sir." A moment of silence passed between them.
"Sir, have you spoken to any plastic surgeons?" Richard asked. Cormac sighed.
"I have, they said there is nothing they can do." Richard looked almost angry.
"Well why the hell not?" He cursed.
"They said there is already to much scar tissue." Cormac said, tears began to fall from his face.
"I'm sorry, sir." Richard said. Cormac nodded silently.
"You can return home soon, though." Richard tried to cheer him up.
"Thank you, I would like that." Cormac said.
Cormac woke up and cursed.
'Just because its a memory, not a nightmare, doesn't mean its not painful.' He thought to himself. He stood and walked downstairs. He found the entire house cleaned except for a few missing windows and torn up walls. Richard came down the stairs, yawning and looking exhausted.
"They are coming to replace the windows and wall paper today." Richard said, eyes still half closed.
"Go back to bed Richard, you were up late last night. Take a day off." Cormac said. For once Richard didn't argue with him.
"Yes, sir." He said and went back up the stairs like a sleepy child rubbing his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~
David arrived later in the day, and without coming in got to work on the fountain. Cormac saw him from outside the window and around noon stepped into the kitchen, Richard was still sleeping and he didn't want to wake him. He looked at the unfamilure room and poked around before making two sandwiches. He was sure they were the best but they were edible.
"Hungry?" Cormac said from the door way, he made sure to stay out of the light as he usually did.
"Yeah actually, what's Richard making?" David asked.
"Nothing, he's still asleep." Cormac said.
"What? Really? It's like noon." David looked at his watch.
"He was up late cleaning, I made sandwiches." Cormac said and stepped back inside David thought for a moment before following him inside. He noticed the scratched walls and the broken windows but said nothing. The food was edible. Not good, but edible.
"I apologize for my poor culinary skills." Cormac said, David laughed.
"I... See why you hired Richard." He kept it polite but Cormac got the point.
"Yes, I couldn't cook if my life depended on it." He chuckled.
"How long has Richard been working for you?" David asked.
"About ten years. I was orphaned when I was ten and my uncle hired him. When my uncle died eight years later I got the money the house, and Richard. Of course I nearly tripled his pay. We were best friends growing up." Cormac said.
"Damn, how old is he?"
"32."
"What?" David shouted. He laughed, "No way, he doesn't look older then 25." David said.
"Yup, he started working for us when he was twenty and I was fifteen. He takes good care of himself." Cormac shrugged.
"So who is older?"
"He is, by five years." Cormac took another bite of his sandwich and grimaced before setting it down.
"So that makes you 27, right?" David asked. Cormac nodded and forced himself to swallow the poorly made food.
"What happened to your parents, if you don't mind me asking."
"Car wreck. And no I don't mind, we were never very close." Cormac shrugged.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Cormac smiled. "So what about you? Tell me more. I've never heard about your wife. I assume you have one since you have Aiden?" Cormac asked.
"No actually, we divorced. We had Aiden when we were young and our parents pressured us into getting married. We did and we were both unhappy. I knew she was seeing people on the side but I honestly couldn't have cared. We were really only together for Aiden's sake. When I told her I was gay we both knew it had been over years ago." David shrugged.
"And you got Aiden out of it, that has to be a bonus, yes?" Cormac asked.
"Definitely." David smiled, glad that Cormac had said nothing of him being gay.
"I inherited the house and the money, of course there were always the people who claimed they love you but really just wanted a piece of the wealth." Cormac said, staring off into space like he was remembering something.
"It's to be expected isn't it?" David shrugged. Cormac looked at him and nodded in agreement.
"I let myself get fooled one to many times and paid the price for my naivete." Cormac brushed his fingers over his scarred face. David was about to say something when another voice joined the conversation.
"Oh don't go grouching about how you deserved it." Richard came in from the front hall, dressed in his usual formal clothing.
"I have no idea why you wear that, I never said you had to." Cormac said, as Richard straightened his vest.
"I like it. Makes me feel fancy." Richard raised his nose. He passed by the table and saw the hardly eaten food.
"Oh good god did he make you eat his food?" Richard looked at David like he had just eaten a bug. "I am so sorry, we will pay for the hospital bills." He glared at Cormac and smacked him on the head as he picked up the plates and walked into the kitchen. Cormac glared after him.
"It's not that bad!" He shouted.
"I'll make you both something to eat." Richard said, ignoring Cormac. Cormac seemed to sigh.
"You're to good for me." Cormac said. David laughed and they continued talking for awhile. When Richard came out with a home made pizza all three of them ate and talked. The more he got to know him the more Cormac spoke and spent less time hiding in the shadows. David had become used to his appearance and was no longer shocked by it.
After eating, David grabbed two more slices and headed home. Once he got home he gave Aiden the slices of pizza and finished doing some work on the fountain, including how much it would cost and other boring aspects of the job. Sometimes at night he would think about how glad Aiden and his friends and spied on Cormac and had broken his fountain. Otherwise he would have never met him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm going to bed, sir. Do you need anything before I turn in?" Richard poked his head inside Cormacs room.
"No, I think I'm alright." Cormac said. "Thank you, Richard."
"Of course, Good night, sir." Cormac said goodnight and Richard disapeared into the dark hallway. Cormac sighed and tried to get comfortable. He prayed that maybe tonight he wouldn't be haunted with memories of the past.
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