two-fers

i've doubled up.... three word wednesday (qualify, jinx, capture) and carry on tuesday (we think we know the ones we love)

hide and seek

it’s a quality very few have in life, a quality he’d discovered when he was a teen. it was his ability to really know someone, to know who they were inside, to see past the layers of deceit and bullshit and look deep into their souls. his skill didn’t qualify him for any great position in the ladder of corporate life. instead, it seemed to jinx him, causing him to lose jobs when he’d blurt out that someone was lying, or had been stealing or when he saw something deeper and darker in their nature, things they wished to never have told. and, so, he remained one of those behind a counter or washing windows or spreading tar on a hot summer day. silent and alone.

he carried on through life, dodging those who had stains that couldn’t be removed, secrets best not told, dreams even they were afraid of in the light. he moved forward, silent and alone, never trusting. he knew their wells of despair, and had no reason to want to be part of that pit.

he met nate. wonderful, warm, loving, giving nate, who shared his aversion to the bulk of society, who was happy to stay home, stay away from others....nate, his nate. it was on a trip to maine, to stay for a week in a distant cabin when things changed.

it was a shock to find out nate was one of those with deep dark holes in the place where a soul should be... a shock to discover nate didn’t suggest the handcuffs and gag as a sexual stimulus, that the game of 'capture the bad boy' wasn't a game. it was a shock realising his nate was adept at hiding a great deal of his own life. a shock to find those who find no wrong in what they do, have nothing to hide, to be ashamed of...they see themselves as perfectly acceptable humans. yes, all of these shocks were far more painful than the feel of the knife moving through skin and muscle and stopping a split second away from his heart... “you said you wanted to give me your heart,” nate said, leaning in to smile. “we just have different ideas of how to hand over your present."

with that, nate pushed the knife forward that nth bit and full understanding hit william at the same time--allowing him to accept you may know strangers intimately, but, you never, ever really know the one you love.