"Forget about the past Forget about the guilt I'm going back to the house that love built"
Dominic stood on the street, staring into his past. It seemed like ages had gone by since he had last seen the house. Karl's house during the filming, but Dominic had come to think of it as his own throughout the course of their relationship.
The house was dark. The "For Sale" sign in the front yard leaned slightly in the wind. Dominic wondered if the inside was the same, or if it had been changed over the last year. He thought about the other hobbits, sitting in a pub in town, waiting for him to join them for drinks. But being back in New Zealand had revived memories for Dominic, memories that had to be put to rest.
He looked both ways up the street. Sure that no one was watching him, he crossed the yard to the house, winding through the bushes to the back. He knew how to jimmy open the sliding door to the rear deck. The door opened silently, allowing him access to the banished ghosts of his former self.
He walked through the house to the front door. He stared at the mounted barrier, his mind traveling back to the first time he had stepped through into Karl's domain.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
"Dom, what on earth are you doing out there? Get inside," Karl exclaimed, ushering the younger man into the warm, comfortable living room. Dominic was soaked to the bone, and near to frozen.
"Sorry for coming by unannounced, but...well, we need to talk," Dominic replied through chattering teeth. Karl looked at him curiously.
"First, we get you dried. Then we talk," he said, leading Dominic down the hallway to a bathroom. Karl handed Dominic a fluffy towel, then walked into another room, returning shortly with a t-shirt and sweat pants. The wet clothes were laid across the side of the tub and Dominic hung the damp towel on the rod.
Karl was standing by the window, staring out into the rain, when Dominic walked in behind him. Dominic stood a moment before hesitantly placing his hand on the taller man's shoulder. Karl turned to him with a friendly smile.
"So, what brought you out in the rain tonight, Dom?" he asked, handing Dominic a beer. They stood frozen for a moment as Dominic considered his reply. Unable to find the right words, he opted instead to use actions. He sat the beer down on the sill and leaned up, pressing his lips to Karl's, whose posture stiffened in response. Dominic moved his lips gently, but relentlessly, until Karl finally sighed and wrapped his arms around the smaller man.
"I couldn't hide it anymore, Karl. Couldn't lie to myself anymore," Dominic whispered into the kiss.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
Dominic stared out the window, his fingers tracing the rings left in the wood by their two forgotten beer bottles that first night. The house was full of memories, good and bad. So much time spent here, so much love shared. And anger. Fights, with yelling and regretted words.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
"What the hell are you saying, Karl? You thought she was me, or some shit?" Dominic yelled, ignoring the anger growing on his lover's face.
"No, I didn't think she was you. That was the point! She wasn't you!" Karl shouted in reply. Dominic froze, confusion clear on his face as Karl continued, "You're consuming me, Dominic. I can't handle it. It has to stop."
"What are you saying, Karl?" he asked softly, his shoulders sagging slightly as defeat settled.
"I don't know who I am when I'm with you, Dom. I can't see myself anymore, only you," Karl answered. They stared at each other across the room, tension filling the air. Dominic was never sure who moved first, but they met in the middle, groping, clutching, the kiss hard with anger and desire.
Karl slammed Dominic back against the wall, grinding his hips, nipping flesh. Dominic's hands gripped the wall, trying to hold himself up as his lips fought against Karl's delicious onslaught. He felt the wallpaper curling under his fingernails as his hands clenched and loosened.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
Dominic traced the gouge marks in the wall, his mind filled with memories of all the nights they fought, then fucked. It had been an ongoing cycle with the two of them.
Passion. That's what their relationship had revolved around. Whether it was a fight or sex, it was always about the passion, the emotion. He walked through the house, back towards the back door. He stopped just inside, looking at the glass set in it's metal frame. His fingers found the grooves in the metal, and he remembered that last night. The night they had fought, but never made up.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
"Karl, let me in, dammit!" Dominic yelled through the door. Karl stood on the other side, throwing things into a suitcase. Dominic pounded on the door, but Karl refused to look his direction.
"Karl, fucking open this door!" he yelled again. Karl finally turned towards him, sadness and determination mingled in his eyes.
"I'm leaving, Dominic. I won't let you in, because if you touch me, I won't be able to leave," he said so softly that Dominic barely heard him.
"I'm sorry, Karl, please open the door and we can talk. I was drunk, and I didn't mean for it to happen," Dominic pleaded.
"Dom, you never mean for it to happen. I never mean for it to happen. But it does. It's over," Karl finished in an anguished whisper. Dominic grabbed a tool from a box on the porch. He desperately tried to pry the door open. When he finally made it inside, he heard only the sound of the front door closing.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
He turned and stared at the empty spot where the bed should have been. His mind drifted back over the nights of passion this room had seen. Nights of hard fucks, nights of love that lasted for hours as they drew out each other's pleasure, nights when they had simply lain in each other's arms and talked about their dreams.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
"You didn't really do that, did you?" Dominic asked increduously, fighting to contain his laughter.
"Yes, I really did. Why is so hard to believe that I flashed?" Karl asked with an amused grin on his face. His bed partner gave up the battle with his laughter, holding his sides as he tried to catch his breath.
"It really isn't that funny," Karl commented dryly.
"Oh, but it is," Dominic countered. Karl grinned again, and his eyes held a predatory gleam. His hands snaked out so fast that Dominic had no chance to move. Karl's fingers deftly found the ticklish spot among his lover's ribs, reducing Dominic to a giggling, wriggling heap.
"Stop...please...Karl..." Dominic gasped, trying to worm off the side of the bed. Karl grabbed him and pulled him to the center of the mattress, straddling his hips to hold him in place. At the feeling of a hard erection pressing against his own, Karl gave up his ticklish assault and began rubbing his hips against Dominic's, who responded with a groan and bucking hips.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
Good times and bad. Dominic sighed and slid open the back door, pausing to breathe deeply in the clean night air. He closed the door firmly behind him, stepping away from his past and into his uncertain future. He had felt empty without Karl. Empty without the endless circle of pain and love. For better or worse, he was now alone, his other half gone. He walked away with his head down and his hands shoved into his pockets. Behind him sat the house that love had built and destroyed.