Prompt Seven: Heroines & Heroes

Prompt Seven: Heroines & Heroes : Word count 843

Sej had been at the nearest Inn to the tailors for an hour when David arrived. He'd nursed just a single drink during the time though, wanting to be clearheaded. David nodded at the barkeep as he moved to their table, and the man began preparing a drink. Must be a regular here, Sej thought.

"Glad you came."

"Nearly didn't." There was a ghost of a smile on David's lips, but the reply had been barely a whisper.

"It's so strange to be seeing you after all this time. And good too."

David just nodded. Sej was going to have to work for it, it seemed. He adopted a hurt expression, similar to the one he'd used during the story earlier, and brought his voice down.

"I always assumed I must have done something awful, for you to vanish like that. Although what, I've never remembered."

The slight catch in his voice wasn't faked, although the analytical part of him was praising it all the same.

David looked down, and the blush was back, visible even in the relative dark of the inn. "It was nothing you did," he murmured.

Years of exasperation, tinged with relief it wasn't something he'd done, exploded out of Sej. "Then what! What was it that meant I lost my only friend? What was it that has meant I've spent the last 6 years alone with just a bottle of whiskey and the local barkeep for company? We used to be able to tell each other anything!"

A few heads around the bar looked up at the commotion, but didn't pay attention for long. Sej regretted it immediately - yelling had never worked with David - but the man was looking up, a strange determination set in his jaw.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Even if," David paused, and swallowed. "Even if you'll hate me after, and want nothing to do with me?"

It was Sej's turn to pause. What in the world could he have done? The moment was past for deep thought though. He was committed, he needed to know.

"I can't imagine what such a thing could be, but yes, tell me."

The determination switched to a sad resolute look, and he began his own story.

"I first realised a couple of years before the party. We'd been spending the summer down at the lake, the whole group of us, you remember?"

Sej nodded, but kept quiet.

"Five guys, all that swimming and playing. I thought it might have just been a short term thing, something I could control until it went away. But it didn't. I tried everything. We had that Halloween party the next year, I was going out with Rachel, you were with Jen. I thought it was sorted."

Sej twitched a little. A small voice in his head thought it knew where this was heading and was trying to make itself heard.

"And then the end-of-school party. We were both single. There was drinks everywhere. You came over, completely sloshed. You put your arm around me, started saying how happy you were at finishing school, how amazing the party was, how... ...great I was. I knew it was just the alcohol talking, but I'd had a few too. My control slipped. I... I..." David stopped, shaking his head back and forth as if somehow the memory could be denied.

"You kissed me." Sej's voice was a similar murmur now. He didn't remember it still, but he'd read enough trash romance novels, in his search for inspiration, to recognise the premise.

"You... you remember?"

Sej shook his head. "Just an educated guess. You took off after that I assume."

David nodded, his face a picture of misery and shame.

Sej knew he needed to respond, and to respond correctly. His thoughts swirled at a thousand miles an hour trying to process it. So all of this was due to his friend having a crush on him, and a drunken kiss at a party. Sej felt a tumult of emotions - relief it was such a (relatively) minor thing, a brief shudder at having kissed a man, worry over what others might say if they knew, the pride and flattery at having been worthy of a crush (whomever it was from), a crippling empathy at what David had been through, awe at what his friend had sacrificed and done to prevent any scandal. And true sympathy for the broken puppy dog sat in front of him. What he'd done had been nothing short of heroic. Misguided too of course, but no one was perfect.

On impulse Sej stood, moved around the table, and sat next to David, pulling him into a hug.

"You stupid fool, why didn't you say anything. You know I don't care about things like that. Hell, guys like you are the best girl bait there is. Two handsome lads like us could have made a killing with the ladies, and guys alike!"

David let out a choking laugh, muffled by his face buried in the hug. Sej held both his friend's shoulders and pushed him out to arms length, staring him straight in the eye. "Friends again?"

David nodded, his face all smiles.