Is Yet Slash Yaoi Original Fiction Novel Story

“Sweetie!” Tori shouted as he climbed out of his car. “Did you miss me?”

“How can I miss you, we talk everyday.”

“See? This is why no one likes you.” He pulled the small overnight bag from the backseat and hurried up the porch steps. “You look better than I feared.”

“How much trouble can I get into in a few weeks?”

Tori just raised his eyebrows. “Lets see these cats you talk of, do we have time before rehab?”

“Enough, yeah, come in…” He held the door and let Tori go in ahead of him. “And no bitching about the boxes, I’m working on it.”

“Again… reason number one why people don’t like you. I missed you too. Oh this paint looks nice and so glad that ugly carpet is gone!”

Rehab was better than normal because of having company. Jamie was pleased to show off his progress and talk about Epi like some prized show animal. He tolerated it mostly because he wasn’t actually being worked and that was fine by him. When they were finished Tori took him to dinner and back home.

“We’re going to have too many walnuts. Nick says the tree there by the lane is black walnuts but those back there on the other side of the out buildings are English. He’s going to pick them up for me and put them in a box. Says they have to cure or something before I should crack them…or something.” Epi finally said as they sat on the porch swing watching nothing more than birds and clouds close to dark.

“Mr. Hot Stuff would know…speaking of which, where is he?”

“Hot date or something, I think he feels guilty about going out and leaving poor little crippled me all alone.”

“I bet she’s a cheerleader.”

“A blonde cheerleader.” Epi added.

“Ew with pom poms.”

That made Epi snicker and soon Tori was laughing along.

“You seem…I don’t know… more at ease here.”

“I guess I am.”

“Must do you good not to have me babying you every five seconds.”

“Tori…it isn’t that…it’s just…”

“Hush I know. You were a pain in my ass too. I’m just saying you’re more like yourself than you have been in a long time and if solitude in bumfuck does that for you, it’s a good thing. Even if you’re covered in cat hair now.” He tossed an arm around Epi’s shoulder and didn’t worry about walnuts or if they needed to be cured, he was only concerned with the country air curing his friend.

Sunday morning Epi found the house oddly empty feeling again. Tori had left late Saturday and Nick’s car wasn’t in the lane. He puttered about the house, made coffee, found he didn’t want it and tossed it out to make tea. EMP sat and watched him.

“Evil kitty… evil….” He spoke just to have some noise in the house. “I know I should try…it’s just not easy, you know? You wouldn’t, you’re a cat.”

Epi gave in and plunked himself down into the wheelchair to be able to take his tea with him into the library. It was a slow progress, he’d learned to be very careful with hot drinks and food. There was no way he could balance, walk, juggle food and crutches at the same time but he’d learned that even with the wheelchair he still sometimes burned himself. Slow it was but he got into the library unharmed and the mug of tea easily slipped onto the desk.

With a groan he got to his feet long enough to transfer himself to his desk chair but he propped crutches and chair together within easy reach. The computer took a long time to boot up and he wondered if maybe it had died during the move. Some small part of him hoped it had, he’d have the excuse then not to try, at least for a little longer. He wasn’t so lucky, it booted up after the pause and soon a blank word processing screen was blinking at him.

It was still blank and blinking at him ages later when he heard Nick’s car roll up the lane. That seemed like the perfect excuse to stop torturing himself so he quickly shut the computer down and grabbed his crutches. He made it to the kitchen door in time to see Nick at the top of his steps, wearing nice fitting blue jeans and a button down shirt with a tie. It took Epi a moment to understand that the more formal clothes combined with being missing on a Sunday morning meant the man had gone to church.

He hated his tendency to lurk about the doors and windows and watch the other man’s life. It seemed foolish and childish but he still did it. This time he soothed his ego by going outside and starting the long way down the ramp. His theory was that he was supposed to keep trying to walk on uneven ground and he really wanted to see some of the plants closer up. If the upside was that he was outside and easy to talk with if Nick returned, well that was pure chance.

He was at the end of the ramp when the door over the garage opened. Nick had changed into older, looser jeans and a t-shirt that stretched tight over his shoulders. There was no way Epi could force himself not to gawk for a moment longer than was decent. He liked shoulders, and strong arms, and the shirt seemed made to accent the squared strength of Nick’s body. He shook his head.

“Be real Epi…stupid fool.” He whispered and glanced back to the ground as he carefully picked his way across the yard. He deliberately ignored the sound of Nick on his steps as he moved easily and quickly down and he didn’t turn to see where the other man had gone.

He was navigating a particularly rough patch by the side of the house when a loud hammer bang made him jump. His knee locked, his fake foot caught on a root and Epi felt his balance spin out of control. He staggered but his balance was gone and soon fell hard to the grass. There was no instant cussing, no frustrated anger, he just hit the ground braced for it to hurt and grunted a little as pain lit up in his body. Before he could wrangle his body into moving and try to get back to sitting up, strong hands closed on his shoulders and gently moved him.

“You okay? Are you hurt?” Nick asked as he moved the crutches out from under the fallen body.

“I’m fine.” Epi answered stubbornly. He was going to have bruises from where he’d fallen on the metal but he was used to that too.

“You jumped like one of the cats, sorry about that, didn’t think it would startle you so. Nothing broken?”

“I’m fine.” He started to bunch his body up close, knowing that to get up from the ground he had to have his butt as close to his legs as possible so when he pushed up with his arms his right leg had as little distance to lift him as possible.

Epi didn’t make it that far, as soon as he started to try to stand, Nick had a steady grip on his arm and back and helped. Unlike most people, Nick didn’t just yank him to his feet. The hands steadied him and gave Epi something to hold on to but Epi got to his feet by his own strength. He clung to Nick’s arm an extra moment as he found his balance and got the crutches safely under him.

“Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

The t-shirt looked even more strained over shoulders up close and if Epi hadn’t had some pride left he might have faked falling again just to be able to tumble against the strong chest. Fortunately, he had more pride than to grope a straight guy just for a cheap thrill. “I’m okay.” He finally announced and the strong hands left him.

Nick went right back to where he’d been working on the long zig zagging wood ramp. Epi watched as he took up the hammer again and smacked at the side rail. With a few pounds the side came off.

“What are you doing?” Epi asked, almost shocked to see the other man disassembling his main means of going from porch to ground.

“You don’t need such a low grade. Aunt Minnie was frail as could be but you aren’t. It takes too long to go down this thing at such a low grade. It’ll be steeper but not bad and none of this switchbacking. Think I can get it down to a few dozen steps, it’ll let you come down easier.” He paused with the hammer in hand. “Unless you don’t want me to?”

“I…” He glanced at all the wasted length and thought about how annoying it was to go back and forth to get from the porch to the yard. “Sure you won’t be missing Sunday dinner or something?”

“I don’t go to that much anymore.”

“Let me get up it before you rip it apart. You can have it done today right?”

“Couple hours.”

“I’ll make sandwiches, you like chicken salad?”

“Thanks.” Nick nodded and let Epi get a good halfway up the ramp before he started knocking it apart again.

By the time Epi had sandwiches made and lemonade poured and everything out on the picnic table on the porch, Nick had most of the ramp knocked apart. He was prying off some of the last floor boards when Epi returned with a bag of potato chips.

“Hungry?”

Nick glanced up and put the hammer and wood down. “Yeah.”

“Sorry I don’t really cook.”

He shrugged. “Mind if I go in to wash up?”

“Oh no, go ahead.”

“Thanks.”

They ate in awkward silence and Epi wasn’t sure what to say to change it.

“Tori get home safe?”

“Yeah, it was late but he made it. There was an accident outside of DC on 95, traffic was backed up for miles.”

“Huh.” Nick swallowed a few more bites. “You going to want the leaves raked up or left? They’ll be down in a couple of weeks.”

“I don’t know I haven’t thought of it. Will it hurt anything to leave them?”

“Naw, I’ll just mow over them come spring.”

“Leave them.”

“You really have lived in a city your whole life.”

“Mostly, yes.”

Nick shook his head. “It drove me nuts. When’s your new leg supposed to be in?”

“A week or so, the socket has to be custom molded.” He’d called the man Jamie had recommended and liked the staff at his office better than the referral he’d brought with him. When he met the man, someone else on a fake leg, he’d had them cast him for the new socket that day. “This doesn’t bother you at all does it?”

“What?”

“The whole lost leg, gross looking stump thing.”

“Should it?”

“It freaks me the hell out.”

Nick shrugged. “Is just a thing. I think the technology is pretty neat. Freaks people out because they don’t want to think that it could happen to them.”

“Grosses me out.”

“I’d think it’d be quite a lot to get used to.”

Epi just snorted and finished his sandwich.

Before the afternoon progressed too far the old ramp supports were quickly dug out and soon Epi found himself sitting on the porch just watching. Nick moved silently but securely. He leveled things, checked grades, dug new holes for new posts and resized everything. More tools where broken out from saws to drills and before Epi’s eyes a new ramp was built. The grade was steeper but not impossible and it would cut down on how far he had to go get off the porch.

“Hand rails will have to wait, I’ve got to tear them all apart and get some fresh wood for it. But this will work.”

“Huh. Thanks.”

Nick nodded. “I…look some of the guys from town get together sometimes, I was going to go over. You wouldn’t want to go would you?”

“Would I be welcome?”

“Everyone is, people are mighty wondering about you.”

“Should I change?”

“I’m not. It’s nothing fancy.”

Nick was sweaty still and had bits of saw dust stuck to his jeans. If he could go out like that Epi wasn’t going to worry about his casual clothes. “Yeah, I’ll go.” As he made his slow way down the new ramp, Nick watched him carefully. “Wasn’t sure it was going to hold me?”

“Wasn’t sure you wouldn’t tumble over the edge.”

“Give me a few more tries at it.” He grumbled but Nick grinned and moved to the car. There was no offer to help him in and Epi found he liked that, liked being considered normal enough to open his own door and juggle his own crutches.

“This isn’t much, just so you know.”

“Okay.”

“Just a bunch of folks from the town.”

“Okay.”

“We won’t stay long.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of going along?”

“No…no…” Nick shoved the keys into place and glance over. “It’s just, it’s a bunch of Dutchmen, we’re kind of an acquired taste.”

		Is Yet Chapter Nine
		“Sweetie!” Tori shouted as he climbed out of his car. “Did you miss me?” “How can I miss you, we talk everyday.” “See? This is why no one likes you.” He pulled the small overnight bag from the backseat and hurried up the porch steps. “You look better than I feared.” “How much trouble can I get into in a few weeks?” Tori just raised his eyebrows. “Lets see these cats you talk of, do we have time before rehab?” “Enough, yeah, come in…” He held the door and let Tori go in ahead of him. “And no bitching about the boxes, I’m working on it.” “Again… reason number one why people don’t like you. I missed you too. Oh this paint looks nice and so glad that ugly carpet is gone!” Rehab was better than normal because of having company. Jamie was pleased to show off his progress and talk about Epi like some prized show animal. He tolerated it mostly because he wasn’t actually being worked and that was fine by him. When they were finished Tori took him to dinner and back home. “We’re going to have too many walnuts. Nick says the tree there by the lane is black walnuts but those back there on the other side of the out buildings are English. He’s going to pick them up for me and put them in a box. Says they have to cure or something before I should crack them…or something.” Epi finally said as they sat on the porch swing watching nothing more than birds and clouds close to dark. “Mr. Hot Stuff would know…speaking of which, where is he?” “Hot date or something, I think he feels guilty about going out and leaving poor little crippled me all alone.” “I bet she’s a cheerleader.” “A blonde cheerleader.” Epi added. “Ew with pom poms.” That made Epi snicker and soon Tori was laughing along. “You seem…I don’t know… more at ease here.” “I guess I am.” “Must do you good not to have me babying you every five seconds.” “Tori…it isn’t that…it’s just…” “Hush I know. You were a pain in my ass too. I’m just saying you’re more like yourself than you have been in a long time and if solitude in bumfuck does that for you, it’s a good thing. Even if you’re covered in cat hair now.” He tossed an arm around Epi’s shoulder and didn’t worry about walnuts or if they needed to be cured, he was only concerned with the country air curing his friend. Sunday morning Epi found the house oddly empty feeling again. Tori had left late Saturday and Nick’s car wasn’t in the lane. He puttered about the house, made coffee, found he didn’t want it and tossed it out to make tea. EMP sat and watched him. “Evil kitty… evil….” He spoke just to have some noise in the house. “I know I should try…it’s just not easy, you know? You wouldn’t, you’re a cat.” Epi gave in and plunked himself down into the wheelchair to be able to take his tea with him into the library. It was a slow progress, he’d learned to be very careful with hot drinks and food. There was no way he could balance, walk, juggle food and crutches at the same time but he’d learned that even with the wheelchair he still sometimes burned himself. Slow it was but he got into the library unharmed and the mug of tea easily slipped onto the desk. With a groan he got to his feet long enough to transfer himself to his desk chair but he propped crutches and chair together within easy reach. The computer took a long time to boot up and he wondered if maybe it had died during the move. Some small part of him hoped it had, he’d have the excuse then not to try, at least for a little longer. He wasn’t so lucky, it booted up after the pause and soon a blank word processing screen was blinking at him. It was still blank and blinking at him ages later when he heard Nick’s car roll up the lane. That seemed like the perfect excuse to stop torturing himself so he quickly shut the computer down and grabbed his crutches. He made it to the kitchen door in time to see Nick at the top of his steps, wearing nice fitting blue jeans and a button down shirt with a tie. It took Epi a moment to understand that the more formal clothes combined with being missing on a Sunday morning meant the man had gone to church. He hated his tendency to lurk about the doors and windows and watch the other man’s life. It seemed foolish and childish but he still did it. This time he soothed his ego by going outside and starting the long way down the ramp. His theory was that he was supposed to keep trying to walk on uneven ground and he really wanted to see some of the plants closer up. If the upside was that he was outside and easy to talk with if Nick returned, well that was pure chance. He was at the end of the ramp when the door over the garage opened. Nick had changed into older, looser jeans and a t-shirt that stretched tight over his shoulders. There was no way Epi could force himself not to gawk for a moment longer than was decent. He liked shoulders, and strong arms, and the shirt seemed made to accent the squared strength of Nick’s body. He shook his head. “Be real Epi…stupid fool.” He whispered and glanced back to the ground as he carefully picked his way across the yard. He deliberately ignored the sound of Nick on his steps as he moved easily and quickly down and he didn’t turn to see where the other man had gone. He was navigating a particularly rough patch by the side of the house when a loud hammer bang made him jump. His knee locked, his fake foot caught on a root and Epi felt his balance spin out of control. He staggered but his balance was gone and soon fell hard to the grass. There was no instant cussing, no frustrated anger, he just hit the ground braced for it to hurt and grunted a little as pain lit up in his body. Before he could wrangle his body into moving and try to get back to sitting up, strong hands closed on his shoulders and gently moved him. “You okay? Are you hurt?” Nick asked as he moved the crutches out from under the fallen body. “I’m fine.” Epi answered stubbornly. He was going to have bruises from where he’d fallen on the metal but he was used to that too. “You jumped like one of the cats, sorry about that, didn’t think it would startle you so. Nothing broken?” “I’m fine.” He started to bunch his body up close, knowing that to get up from the ground he had to have his butt as close to his legs as possible so when he pushed up with his arms his right leg had as little distance to lift him as possible. Epi didn’t make it that far, as soon as he started to try to stand, Nick had a steady grip on his arm and back and helped. Unlike most people, Nick didn’t just yank him to his feet. The hands steadied him and gave Epi something to hold on to but Epi got to his feet by his own strength. He clung to Nick’s arm an extra moment as he found his balance and got the crutches safely under him. “Thanks.” “Welcome.” The t-shirt looked even more strained over shoulders up close and if Epi hadn’t had some pride left he might have faked falling again just to be able to tumble against the strong chest. Fortunately, he had more pride than to grope a straight guy just for a cheap thrill. “I’m okay.” He finally announced and the strong hands left him. Nick went right back to where he’d been working on the long zig zagging wood ramp. Epi watched as he took up the hammer again and smacked at the side rail. With a few pounds the side came off. “What are you doing?” Epi asked, almost shocked to see the other man disassembling his main means of going from porch to ground. “You don’t need such a low grade. Aunt Minnie was frail as could be but you aren’t. It takes too long to go down this thing at such a low grade. It’ll be steeper but not bad and none of this switchbacking. Think I can get it down to a few dozen steps, it’ll let you come down easier.” He paused with the hammer in hand. “Unless you don’t want me to?” “I…” He glanced at all the wasted length and thought about how annoying it was to go back and forth to get from the porch to the yard. “Sure you won’t be missing Sunday dinner or something?” “I don’t go to that much anymore.” “Let me get up it before you rip it apart. You can have it done today right?” “Couple hours.” “I’ll make sandwiches, you like chicken salad?” “Thanks.” Nick nodded and let Epi get a good halfway up the ramp before he started knocking it apart again. By the time Epi had sandwiches made and lemonade poured and everything out on the picnic table on the porch, Nick had most of the ramp knocked apart. He was prying off some of the last floor boards when Epi returned with a bag of potato chips. “Hungry?” Nick glanced up and put the hammer and wood down. “Yeah.” “Sorry I don’t really cook.” He shrugged. “Mind if I go in to wash up?” “Oh no, go ahead.” “Thanks.” They ate in awkward silence and Epi wasn’t sure what to say to change it. “Tori get home safe?” “Yeah, it was late but he made it. There was an accident outside of DC on 95, traffic was backed up for miles.” “Huh.” Nick swallowed a few more bites. “You going to want the leaves raked up or left? They’ll be down in a couple of weeks.” “I don’t know I haven’t thought of it. Will it hurt anything to leave them?” “Naw, I’ll just mow over them come spring.” “Leave them.” “You really have lived in a city your whole life.” “Mostly, yes.” Nick shook his head. “It drove me nuts. When’s your new leg supposed to be in?” “A week or so, the socket has to be custom molded.” He’d called the man Jamie had recommended and liked the staff at his office better than the referral he’d brought with him. When he met the man, someone else on a fake leg, he’d had them cast him for the new socket that day. “This doesn’t bother you at all does it?” “What?” “The whole lost leg, gross looking stump thing.” “Should it?” “It freaks me the hell out.” Nick shrugged. “Is just a thing. I think the technology is pretty neat. Freaks people out because they don’t want to think that it could happen to them.” “Grosses me out.” “I’d think it’d be quite a lot to get used to.” Epi just snorted and finished his sandwich. Before the afternoon progressed too far the old ramp supports were quickly dug out and soon Epi found himself sitting on the porch just watching. Nick moved silently but securely. He leveled things, checked grades, dug new holes for new posts and resized everything. More tools where broken out from saws to drills and before Epi’s eyes a new ramp was built. The grade was steeper but not impossible and it would cut down on how far he had to go get off the porch. “Hand rails will have to wait, I’ve got to tear them all apart and get some fresh wood for it. But this will work.” “Huh. Thanks.” Nick nodded. “I…look some of the guys from town get together sometimes, I was going to go over. You wouldn’t want to go would you?” “Would I be welcome?” “Everyone is, people are mighty wondering about you.” “Should I change?” “I’m not. It’s nothing fancy.” Nick was sweaty still and had bits of saw dust stuck to his jeans. If he could go out like that Epi wasn’t going to worry about his casual clothes. “Yeah, I’ll go.” As he made his slow way down the new ramp, Nick watched him carefully. “Wasn’t sure it was going to hold me?” “Wasn’t sure you wouldn’t tumble over the edge.” “Give me a few more tries at it.” He grumbled but Nick grinned and moved to the car. There was no offer to help him in and Epi found he liked that, liked being considered normal enough to open his own door and juggle his own crutches. “This isn’t much, just so you know.” “Okay.” “Just a bunch of folks from the town.” “Okay.” “We won’t stay long.” “Are you trying to talk me out of going along?” “No…no…” Nick shoved the keys into place and glance over. “It’s just, it’s a bunch of Dutchmen, we’re kind of an acquired taste.”
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