Gus woke up early and readied himself for work, letting Aaron sleep. Aaron was on his side with his scars, tattoo and four toes exposed, a body pillow between his legs. His skin had a softness and warmth to it that were visible to Gus as he made his way in and out of his bedroom preparing for work. Aaron snored softly, it was calming to Gus, almost like the purr of a complacent cat. Gus liked everything about this man. His agreeable nature, his ruggedness, his caretaker instincts, his openness, his honesty, his drool inducing body, his soft fur, his piercing blue eyes, and his captivating smile. Gus couldn't help but putter around with a hard on all morning, just knowing this sexy Marine was in his bed. He wanted to get into the office early so he could use his Friday afternoon to get some gear readied up for he and Aaron's weekend. He leaned over the bed and kissed Aaron softly on the forehead, not waking him, and left for work, placing a note on the butcher block the two had made love on the evening before. It read:
"Good morning Marine,
You looked so peaceful and handsome sleeping in my bed that I didn't want to wake you. Please make yourself at home and be here as long as you want. There are some eggs in the fridge and the pot of coffee is still on, cups are in the cabinet above it. When you leave, just lock the handle on the front door from the inside on your way out. I'm at work, and should be off by the early afternoon. Feel free to shoot me a text or give me a call over the lunch hour. I'll see you soon.
xo,
Gus"
About an hour later Aaron stirred, he rolled over and there was no Gus, causing him to sit up abruptly and look around. "Gus, where are you?" Aaron said loudly. No response. Feeling a bit awkward being in Gus' place for the first time and not knowing where he was Aaron grabbed Gus' robe out of the bathroom and covered himself as he made his way downstairs still calling for his fisherman. When get into the kitchen he noticed Gus' note which was sitting next to his cell phone on the butcher block. Aaron smiled, happy that Gus had felt so comfortable with him that he didn't wake him before he left, but also partly wishing that he had woken him. Aaron made himself a cup of coffee and sat on Gus' couch with his phone. Gus had left Aaron's pile of clothes, ripped off in their passionate embrace last night, folded on the side of the couch. Aaron sipped his coffee and turned on his phone to a barrage of messages. One from Gus saying good morning and seeing if he was awake, and three from Mark's family, one from his mom, and two from his sister.
Aaron opened the messages from Mark's sister.
"OMG Aaron, Mark spoke today, you have to see this."
The next message was a video message of Mark, sitting on the back porch of his family's farm, smiling. "Mark say hi to Aaron, I have you on video, come on, we know you can do it." Mark looked into the camera, and as clear as the day said, "Hi Aaron," and then looked back out over the field.
"Holy shit," Aaron thought, "He can talk, holy shit." To Aaron it was overwhelming to hear Mark's voice again, for the first time in three years. He didn't know what to do, how to respond, what to say back. He was in shock. It sounded like the Mark he knew, his mind filled with too many thoughts and questions to process and he set his phone down and stood up. He grabbed another cup of coffee from Gus' pot and paced around his living room.
He picked up his phone and texted Mark's sister back.
"Holy Shit Callie, that's amazing, that's the first time I've heard his voice in three years. Is he talking a lot, does he know what's going on around him, is he having conversations?"
Aaron's phone rang shortly after, it was Mark's sister. He answered,
"Hello"
"Hey Aaron, good morning."
"Mark? Is that you?"
"Yep. It's me. You must have a million questions."
"I do, it's so good to hear your voice. Could you talk this whole time?"
"Physically, I guess the answer is yes, I could, but mentally and emotionally, no, not until yesterday. I know that probably sounds insane."
"What happened yesterday to flip the switch?" Aaron asked still in shock that he was having a conversation with his husband for the first time since the attack that took most of his limbs, and left him inches from death. His mind filled with so many things. He'd told Mark everything, and Mark had understood. He'd poured his heart out to him so many times over the last three years. Brutal honesty, anger, depression, anxiety, fear, Mark had heard it all. On top of that, he was sitting naked in Gus' house, talking to Mark. Aaron's entire world was spinning.
"I just wasn't ready to communicate, Aaron, I'm sorry."
"Weren't ready to communicate? I don't understand. You know I'd do anything in the world for you, Mark."
"I know, and that's part of why I couldn't say anything," Mark responded.
"That makes no sense to me. I'm sorry, this is really overwhelming. I'm so glad to hear your voice again, Mark."
"I'll put it this way, Aaron, I saw you happy for the first time, in many years on Wednesday night, when Gus came over. I know that you've met someone special, I like him too. I could tell by the way you talked about the fishing trip you took with him. I know that you love me, and that you'll never abandon me. I want happiness for you in all that it entails. And there are certain things I'm physically unable to do any longer. When I had seen with my own eyes that you'd finally opened yourself up to someone else, it made it easier for me to come to the decision to start communicating. I know that probably doesn't make any sense." Mark responded.
"No, it doesn't Mark, but it doesn't matter. We can talk about it now, which makes me so happy. So you hadn't forgotten who I was, forgotten that we were married, forgotten about who we were before the attack?" Aaron asked.
