Seth was very proud of the fact that he was a patient person. He knew that it would get him nowhere to rant and rave when there was a long line at the grocery store or the person driving in front of him was coasting along at ten miles per hour below the posted speed limit. Oh sure, those were annoyances, but they were so minor in comparison to life's major annoyances that he just didn't bother getting upset about them.
When he did become impatient, he made it a point not to take it out on innocent bystanders. An over-worked waitress just couldn't help it if she took just a moment longer to get his food to the table. No matter how hungry he was or how much of a hurry he was in, if she were doing her best, he couldn't fault her. The same went for visits to the doctor's office. Everyone always seemed to get upset when they were kept waiting for a long time, but the moment they got in there, they wanted to discuss every ailment, every ache, every pain, every symptom they could think of; they did not want the doctor rushing off to see another patient until they were through.
Having said all this, Seth was definitely feeling impatient at the moment and he was close to the boiling point. He rarely let his temper go, which made it all the more dangerous once it was allowed to erupt. He watched as nurses bustled up and down the hall or stood at the nurse's station across from his room and gossiped about their evenings from yesterday.
It was 9:00 a.m. and he had been told he'd be released at 8:00 a.m. His brother was here and Seth was ready to go. Dillon was waiting for him and this would be their first chance to spend the whole day together without either of them hiding their feelings.
Of course, that could only happen if he could manage to LEAVE THE DAMN HOSPITAL! Seth sighed and rubbed his forehead with one hand, trying to remind himself that getting upset would do him no good.
It didn't work. Pushing off from the bed, he began to pace the room. Since it was a small semi-private hospital room (and he was incredibly grateful that he had not had a roommate this go-around!) pacing consisted more of marching from the nightstand to the opposite wall four strides away, executing a smart turn, and marching back only to start over again. Eric simply sat in the chair placed in the corner by the window and watched him, saying nothing.
Even that got on Seth's nerves all of a sudden. Usually he and Eric could communicate without ever saying anything. They were always comfortable just being together, even if nothing was ever said. Today, though, Seth only wanted to see one person and Eric wasn't him.
He whirled, starting toward the door. Rude or not, Seth was ready to demand that the nurses get off their asses and find his doctor so that he could be discharged. Before he even reached the door he turned back again. Yelling at the nurses would do no good. They didn't have the authority to summon his doctor if his life weren't in danger.
An hour later and Seth was feeling more like a caged animal than ever before. He was bristling with impatience, his hands clenching in fists as he fought to restrain himself.
Finally the doctor arrived for his final check-up before he could be released. Seth barely managed to restrain himself throughout the exam. He was obvious in his impatience, he couldn't help it, but he refused to be rude.
The final formality was almost the last straw. He had been walking for the past two hours, pacing up and down his room. It seemed absurd to require him to ride in a wheelchair as he left. When he pointed that out to the orderly standing next to the wheelchair, he was just given a blank look. Seth sighed and got in. Catching sight of Eric's attempt to hide a grin, he growled.
"I love you too, baby bro," Eric replied.
The sun was bright in the sky as they left the hospital. Eric had run ahead to get his car while Seth was being brought down. Now, the black Saturn Ion sat idling at the curb. Eric opened the door with a grin as the orderly wheeled the chair forward. Extending his hand, Eric offered Seth a pair of sunglasses and he gratefully took them, slipping them onto his face.
Once they were in the car and driving off the hospital's property, Seth leaned his head back against the seat with a sigh. "I was beginning to think they were never going to let me go."
"I noticed," Eric chuckled. "What happened to my patient little brother?"
"He fell in love and then wasn't allowed to spend any time with his man!" Seth replied.
"Well, we're on the way there now, so you don't need to scowl anymore. You wouldn't want to scare Jeremy into slamming the door in your face, now do you?"
Seth couldn't stop a smile from forming on his face. The closer they got to Dillon, the lighter his heart felt. By the time they pulled into Jeremy's driveway, Seth felt as though he could have floated to the door.
When Jeremy answered the door, there was a tense expression on his face. "Hey, Seth, how you feeling?" he asked, stepping back to let them in.
"Great!" Seth replied. "It's so good to be free and I can't wait to see Dillon. Is he in the living room? Never mind, I hear his voice," Seth said, following the sound of Dillon's voice. He didn't notice the hand Jeremy raised to stop him.
Entering the living room of Jeremy's house, Seth looked around. Dillon was seated on a couch next to a man Seth didn't recognize. Before Seth could even open his mouth to speak, Dillon took the man's hand and said, "You know I'll always love you Brad."
**
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Brad asked.
"And if I say no?" Dillon responded, sinking back down onto the couch.
"Then, I'll go away," Brad said. "But I think we'll always both regret that we didn't have this conversation."
"I guess it's a pretty important conversation then," Dillon reasoned. "We might as well have it."
He felt the cushion next to him sink as Brad sat down next to him. There was an awkward silence. Brad didn't seem to know how to start and Dillon wasn't really sure he had much to say.
"I heard what happened," Brad began hesitantly. "Are you alright?"
"I'm pretty good," Dillon said. "Definitely better than Seth. He went through a lot more than I ever did."
Again there was an uncomfortable silence. Finally, Brad cleared his throat and tried again, "About this thing with Seth . . ."
Dillon waited. He didn't know that his relationship with Seth was any of Brad's business and he took offense at having it called a "thing", so he didn't feel any need to respond.
"I mean, how serious are the two of you?"
"Very serious," Dillon answered honestly. "Seth is more to me than you could ever imagine."
"Does that mean there's no longer room for me in your life?" Brad questioned.
Floored would be a good way to describe Dillon at that point. The question Brad had just asked was the last one Dillon had expected to come out of his mouth. Brad had wanted out of his life. He hadn't asked to leave, he had told Dillon he was leaving. Now he was saying that he wanted back in?
