Nature's Gift

The plane touched down at LAX with an uncomfortable bump. It had been a rather uncomfortable flight, as the plane had repeatedly encountered rougher than normal turbulence. Never in his life had Night ever been happier to feel Mother Earth beneath the wheels of a plane. There had been a few moments over Washington State when he and the other passengers honestly feared the plane was about to crash. But, the skilled pilot had managed to overcome the turbulence time after time, and they were now safely on the ground. During the last hour of the flight, Night had been holding Kevin’s hand tightly, to reassure himself. Normally, he wouldn’t have been so easy to allow his fear to overtake him, but he knew that Kevin had been licensed for about a year now to fly, and Kevin was obviously nervous. When Kevin got nervous enough for his fear to show in his eyes, Night knew that there was indeed cause for alarm.

Kevin breathed an audible sigh of relief as the plane taxied to a stop at the gate. This had been the most nerve wracking flight he had ever experienced, due to the incredible amount of turbulence. During the flight, Kevin had been allowed to briefly speak to the co-pilot privately, who explained that the jet stream was the cause of the trouble. Ordinarily, the jet stream would be several miles above or below them, but for some reason it was currently a factor at 31,000 feet, which is the altitude they had been cleared to cruise at. As a result, the plane had been forced to cross the jet stream several times during the flight, and this was the cause for the bad turbulence. Still, Kevin had been concerned that they might encounter wind-shear or a strong downburst, either of which could crash them. Now, as he stood with Night to exit the plane, he was just happy they had arrived in one piece.

As the two men walked to Kevin’s car, Kevin tried for the fifth time to reach Kristin on the phone. He was about to give up again when she finally answered. Night tried not to listen to the conversation, though he found that a bit difficult.

“Kris? Are you ok? I’ve been trying to reach you…” He asked, obviously worried.

“I’m fine. Where are you?” She replied with a distinct coolness in her voice.

“LAX… on the way to the car. Are you home?”

“No… I’m in Key Biscayne, Kevin. I had to fly down for a shoot…” She sounded a bit impatient.

“Movie?”

“Nah… a music video… I’ll probably be here at least a week…”

“A week?!? For a video shoot?”

“Yeah… these guys are amateurs… they keep fucking up, delaying the shoot… one of them didn’t even show up till after lunch today… but that’s more money for me! By tomorrow this time, we’ll be in golden time…” She laughed.

“Who is it?” His right eyebrow arched up… a sign that he was thinking ahead of her.

“You don’t want to know…”

“Who is it?” He repeated in a more level voice.

“When do you hit the studio?”

“Kris…” His voice took on a very quiet, serious levelness.

“Ok… its O-Town…” She said with an impatient sigh. She knew he wouldn’t like the idea of her being in one of their videos… and part of her had taken the job for that very reason.

“ What!?!?!?!?!” Kevin shouted into the phone, obviously not happy at the moment.

“I told you that you didn’t want to know…” Kris laughed coldly.

“I can’t believe…”

“Kev… it’s a job, ok?” She snipped. He could see her rolling her eyes in his mind.

“Fucking O-Town???”

“Look… I took the job… I’m here… I’ll be here a week… end of discussion!” She yelled.

“Fine! I’ll be working when you get back… the album drops in six weeks, and we have a lot to do before then…” He was sick of this… they always ended up shouting at each other, and it tore him up inside.

“When do you tour this time?”

“Tour starts in 8 weeks… rehearsals start in 7… talk show circuit on release day… so, as you can see, I won’t get to see you until after the first leg of the tour…” His voice now had a bitter, acid edge.

“Sorry! I’ve got that movie to do… I have to report to the set the day after I get back from here… Shooting could take up to a year…” Kris wondered if Kevin was hearing the irritation in her voice. She was ready for this conversation to be finished. At this point, she really didn’t care if she saw him or not, and she wondered how it had gotten this bad between them.

“That’s fucking great!” He said softly as he exhaled.

“What?”

“Nothing… just wanted to spend some time with my wife, that’s all…”

“We’ll spend time together later… Look… I gotta go, Kev… I’ll… I’ll see you when I see you…”

“I guess…”

“Bye…” She hung up quickly.

“Bye…” He said softly as he heard the phone go quiet. She fucking hung up on me… he thought as his brow furrowed deeply.

“Is everything ok, Kevin?” Night asked quietly.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah… snafu… situation normal… all fucked up…” Kevin faked a laugh trying to hide his emotional pain. Night saw right through it.

“Perhaps this isn’t a good idea…”

“No! It’s a great idea, Night! I need you here with me… I need your love… it’s a great idea…” Kevin looked him in the eye as they stopped next to the car. Night could clearly see the hurt in Kevin’s eyes, and it broke his heart.

“Ok… it’s a great idea, then! So are we going to your house, or shall we camp here in the parking deck?” Night smiled, breaking Kevin from some deep, haunting thoughts he was having.

“Wha… Oh… yeah, we’re going home! Hop in, Night!” Kevin smiled a genuine smile, and Night climbed into the car, relieved to see the twinkle return to his emerald eyes.

They were quiet for a short time, both of them lost in their thoughts. Kevin was glad he had convinced Night to come to LA with him. He was even happier that Night had agreed to tour with him so that his Shamanic training could continue uninterrupted. He had a feeling that he was going to need Night now, more than ever, especially since he knew that the Kristin situation had to end immediately. It was obvious to him that both of them were miserable, and the longer they remained married, the worse it would likely get. It had been nearly a year since the two of them had slept in the same bed… and sex never happened anymore. He just hoped that both of them could go their separate ways without becoming bitter enemies. He glanced over at Night and a wave of calmness washed over him. He could feel the love this man had for him. He could almost reach out and touch that love, and it was mutual. It was so good to be loved again… it gave Kevin a reason to go on… it made him feel alive and whole again. That was something he had never really had with her.

“So… am I going to hear your music any time soon?” Night said suddenly, breaking Kevin’s chain of thought.

“You’ve really never heard of us?” He smiled.

“No… I don’t keep up with popular culture that much anymore…”

“Well, its time you got a crash course in Backstreet 101, then… Listen to this…” Kevin smiled broadly as he clicked the remote on the car’s CD changer. Night enjoyed the music, as they listened to a few songs from each of the previous CDs, but he wanted to hear Kevin sing. As the last strains of “Back To Your Heart” faded out, he turned to Kevin and told him what he wanted to hear. With a smile, Kevin clicked the remote once more, and “Nobody But You” started to play. He sang along with the CD for Night, who listened with a huge smile on his face. Kevin’s mood had definitely improved during the drive.

By the end of the song, they were driving through the gate at the house. Kevin turned off the music as he brought the car to a stop and shut off the engine. He turned slowly to look at Night, who was smiling at him.

“Well?”

“Well… you have a beautiful voice, Kevin. And a beautiful house, too! Are we going in?”

“Only if you’ll kiss me first…” He smiled slyly.

“You want a kiss, do you?”

“Uh huh…”

“Then shut up and come here…” Night smiled as he pulled Kevin over to him. They kissed for what seemed like eternity, before getting out of the car and going inside the house. Neither of them heard the distant sound of the camera shutter as it took frame after frame of film from its hiding place in a nearby tree…

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