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We Meet Again	By : LindaG Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Savage Garden Views: 2076 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the members of Savage Garden. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Disclaimer and notes: I don’t own any former member of Savage Garden. Although I do own the characters I created to support them, so don’t steal them until my story is finished. No harm is intended by this bit of FANTASY. None of this is real. Any resemblance to any living persons in this chapter is completely coincidental. Thanks to Amre, Ashley, Caedn, Cally, Cynthia, and Yvonne for helping me work through this chapter. May contain controversial subject matter.

We Meet Again – Part 13

Darren woke later that evening.

At some point Daniel must have either kicked off, or taken off his pants, because one leg was again draped between Darren’s.

Moving carefully, Darren eased himself out of bed, thankful that he needn’t stumble around getting dressed. He didn’t want to wake Daniel.

‘What will the fans think?’

Leonie’s harshly spoken question came back to him. He padded silently out of the bedroom in his bare feet, closing the door just as quietly behind him.

Walking down to Daniel’s study, Darren switched on his laptop, then went out to the kitchen and put a mug of water in the microwave to heat.

He glanced through the cupboards while he waited. It was too late to cook, but the late-morning breakfast bagels had long ago left him.

The microwave dinged.

Darren grabbed a teabag from a box of peach-flavored herb tea and dropped it into the mug, holding the tag end of the string while he dunked it to wet the bag. Then he let it settle to steep.

His stomach growled, and he shook his head slightly.

He looked through the fridge, then moved to the pantry.

Soup. Canned goods. Pasta. Cereal.

Darren’s eye’s lit up, and a small smile appeared on his lips as he reached in and picked up a slightly thin, rectangular, cellophane-wrapped package.

‘I didn’t know Danstilstill liked these!’

Had it been nostalgia for the old days that led to the purchase? Or some other terrible part of life with Michelle that Darren had yet to ferret out?

He got a bowl out, tore the package open, then placed the hard noodles in the bottom.

Turning on the faucet, he ran water over the noodles then sprinkled the flavor packet over the top. He placed the bowl in the microwave, and started it once again.

Turning back to his tea, he dropped the tea bag in the sink, then sweetened his tea. The microwave dinged.

He turned the noodles, started the microwave one last time, and sipped his tea while he waited.

‘What will the fans think?’

Leonie’s words echoed again as he removed the bowl of noodles and sat down at the kitchen table with his food and drink.

He hoped he knew what the fans would think. He knew what he wanted them to think.

He believed what he’d told Leonie, but he wasn’t completely sure.

Darren stirred the noodles absently, his mind going over Leonie’s visit.

Without warning, tears began spilling down his cheeks.

He dropped the fork, and covered his face with his hands as his body shook…

“Darren?”

‘Oh, God. Why now? I can’t let him see me like this… He’ll think it’s his fault… and it’s not… it’s not…’

He tried to take a deep breath. Wanted to speak normally, so Daniel wouldn’t know, but—

“Wh-” the word, and his voice, broke at the same time as sobs wracked his body again.

He felt the chair being turned from the table.

“N-no, Danny,” he pushed feebly against the body beside him with one hand, as the other covered his eyes. “Go ‘way… C-can’t l-let y-you—”

“Of course you can, Dazza.” Daniel spoke softly as his arms surrounded Darren’s shaking body.

Pulled him close.

“It’s just me. Jonesy,” his voice chuckled lightly. “I’ve seen you like this before, remember?”

A hand began caressing the back of Darren’s head while Daniel held him. Murmured low, soothing sounds. Rocked him gently.

Darren didn’t know how long Daniel held him, but it felt wonderful. Just like the old days.

He suddenly remembered he was sitting. It must be hard on Daniel—

“You can let me go now, Jonesy.” Darren spoke quietly and pulled his head back from Daniel’s chest. His slightly blurred gaze met Daniel’s concerned one and he managed a small smile. “Thank you.”

Daniel put his right hand on the table and slowly stood up.

Darren winced as joints popped. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll live. You going to be okay?”

Darren nodded. Watched as Daniel went through nearly identical motions, and ended up sitting beside him, with his own tea and two
bowls of noodles.

“You must really be hungry.” Darren observed as he nodded toward the bowls.

“Nah,” Daniel pushed Darren’s bowl of cold noodles aside, and pushed one of the steaming bowls over. “I just remember how bad cold noodles taste.”

They shared grins over old memories.

“Thanks.” Darren whispered.

They ate in silence for a bit.

“Want to talk about it?”

Darren could feel Daniel’s gaze on him, and shrugged.

“Paul said it’s not good for you to hold your feelings in.”

“You? Or me?” Darren was confused. When had he spoken to Paul about him?

“You.”

Darren looked at Daniel. “Me.”

Daniel nodded and smiled gently.

“When?”

“When he talked to me upstairs. He said he could tell by the way you were acting. He told me you were doing it for me.anieaniel finished quietly.

“It’s not your fault.” The words came out harshly, and Darren cringed visibly.

“Oh God. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay, Dazza.” Daniel leaned a bit closer and patted Darren’s shoulder as he spoke, then he sat back.

“So, what brought it on?”

Darren looked back down at his nearly empty bowl.

“Leonie…” he whispered. “She really hurt me… more than I dared to admit, I guess…”

“I appreciate you wanting to hold it in for me, Dazza. You’ve been so good to me these last few days. But you need to let it out sometimes, too.”

“I can’t. You know how I get… I might hurt you… I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you.”

Daniel laughed then. Low. Deprecatingly.

Then he leaned over the table and hugged Darren before shaking him gently.

“God I love you,” he kissed Darren on the cheek. “It’ll be okay, Darren. I’m actually beginning to believe it will. Just like Paul said.”

Daniel’s smile, the tone of his voice, combined to bring a flood of relief.

It washed over Darren as suddenly as the tears had come earlier, and he sighed as he smiled in return.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Daz?” Daniel questioned as Darren sat a bit shakily in front of his laptop.

“Well… I’d rather it be without you looking over my shoulder…” Darren looked at him, knowing his uncertainty was plain in his eyes.

Daniel’s response was simply to hug him again.

“I’d rather face the fans *with* you, Dazza, than on my own.”

Darren nodded, inhaled deeply, and sighed. Rolled his shoulders and forced himself to relax.

“Guess I’ll start with the fan club.”

Darren punched a few keys. Waited. Realized from the silence that they were both holding their breath, and breathed out in a loud, quick breath.

Soon the splash page for ‘The Official Darren Hayes’ fan club appeared. In large letters at the top of the home page, was the current poll: RUMOR OR TRUTH? DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT MICHELLE SAID?

“Here goes.”

Darren clicked on truth, and waited.

The page loaded after a moment. Of the thousands who had responded so far, the vote was almost evenly split. Fifty-two percent believed Michelle told the truth. Forty-eight percent didn’t.

There was another question on the results page.

Darren stared at it.

IF TRUE, WOULD YOU BE HAPPY FOR DARREN AND DANIEL? YES, NO or UNDECIDED.

Darren rubbed his chest nervously with his left hand as he licked his lips. His right hand rubbed nervously on his pant leg.

Daniel reached across, took Darren’s left hand in his right. Squeezed gently.

Darren turned toward him. Sapphire gaze met emerald as he grinned uneasily.

Up nod toward the computer. “Go ahead, Dazza.”

Darren swallowed noisily. Wiped his forehead with the back of his free hand, then turned back to the laptop and clicked YES.

Waited.

Watched the little loading indicator bar creep across the bottom of the screen, with eyes that couldn’t blink for fear he’d miss it.

Daniel squeezed his hand again, and he looked over anxiously.

He saw Daniel grin, a glint in his eyes, and looked back.

A long, black bar dominated the top third of the screen, and burned into his dazed mind. Two smaller bars were below it, one almost indistinguishable.

He stared at the smallest one. Undecided.

He looked at the next one up. No.

That meant that the largest one—

Darren slumped back in his seat and began giggling nervously.

Eighty-nine percent had voted Yes.

Tears of relief trickled down his face. Then he jumped up, knocking his chair across the room. “Yes!”

He pulled Daniel up, and hugged him.

He looked up at Daniel with a huge *Cat ate the canary* grin on his face. Saw the same on Daniel’s face.

“They’re happy for us, Danny. They really are!”

“So it seems, Darren. And I must admit I’m relieved. But don’t you think we should check some of the other sites? Or the chatrooms?”

Darren sighed, and released Daniel from his hold.

“Do you have to be so logical, Jonesy?” He pouted.

Daniel’s grin faded just long enough for him to place a kiss on Darren’s pouting lips.

“Yes,” he replied as his smile returned.

Darren shuffled one of his bare feet on the carpet, then waggled his shoulders. “Oh, okay. There are still a lot of Savage Garden fan sites. Let’s check those first.”

“Be right back.” Daniel excused himself as Darren picked up his chair, and sat back down in front of the laptop.

Daniel returned a few moments later with a couple of glasses of dark liquid and ice.

Darren raised his eyebrows as Daniel handed him one of the glasses, smiling broadly.

‘That smile,’ Darren thought as he melted inside and returned his smile.

“Cherry cola.” Daniel explained.

They clinked glasses, giggling like a couple of children. Then Darren turned back to the laptop.

“This website automatically updates their poll every five minutes,” he remarked to Daniel. “It’s at ninety-one percent right now.”

He clicked on a tab, and a new window popped up.

“This one’s only sixty-seven percent. It’s one of my fan sites,” he commented a bit sadly.

Another click.

“Ninety-five percent,” he whispered. “Have you seen the fanfiction at this site?” He asked absently.

Daniel put his right hand on Darren’s knee, while sitting backwards on his own chair.

“Daz, you can’t realistically expect better than that. I think what we’ve seen so far is amazing. Truly wonderful.”

“Yeah,” Darren smiled again. “Our fans *are* wonderful, aren’t they?”

“Let’s try the chat rooms now.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Daniel. They’re probably swimming with sharks right now.”

be sbe so, but we’ll get a more honest picture of what the fans are really thinking when we can see the words.”

Darren glanced at him. Daniel grinned broadly as his eyebrows rose and he tilted his head as if saying, ‘right?’.

“I hate it when you’re right,” Dn ren replied with a cheeky grin. Then he turned back to the keyboard and sighed.

“Well, I’ve been putting it off, but I guess we should look at Sony’s website.”

“All the teeny-boppers? They’ll be trouble, Daz.”

Darren nodded as he hit the enter key.

“But as you said, a more honest opinion, even if it is adolescent.”

Darren’s Angel: I’m telling you, it’s NOT POSSIBLE!!!
LuvDarren4Evr: Just because *he’s* queer doesn’t mean Darren is. He’s too sweet!
2Gethr4Evr: Well *I* think it’s wonderful! Didn’t you ever see them in concert?
Demented Angel: The way Darren would hang all over Dan? Yumm!
4Dan: Oh yeah! The concert in Germany! :D
SpinMe: Oh, groan! U can’t B serious! :o
Darren’s Angel: That was just an act! :|
4Dan: He nearly pulled Dan off his feet! ;)
Dazza’sGrrl: My dad says everybody who’s gay is into leather.
WishIWereFree: That’s SO not true! :{
Demented Angel: Everybody that’s *gay* isn’t into leather.
4Dan: And everyone into leather isn’t gay…
Demented Angel: Darren sure knew how to wear it, though! :p~~~
LuvDarren4Evr: He.Is.Not.Gay! + _ +
Darren’s Angel: He just dressed that way for the younger fans.
Dan’sGrrl: Like You!
2Gethr4Evr: I’m sure all the fans liked it. ;)
WishIWereFree: Yeah, *all* the women, and some of the men too! :D
SpinMe: U make me sick…
4Dan: Dan only wore leather half the time.
SpinMe: Because he’s only half gay!
WishIWereFree: Darren was married.
2Gethr4Evr: And he divorced after he met Daniel! :D
Darren’s Angel: That was coincidence!
Demented Angel: To SOME, maybe…
LuvDarren4Evr: Ewww, how gross…
2Gethr4Evr: *I* think it would be GREAT!
WishIWereFree: If they were ha I’d I’d be happy.
LuvDarren4Evr: Darren is NOT GAY!
4Dan: He might be.
Darren’s Angel: He’s never commented.
Dan’sGrrl: Would you?
WishIWereFree: He’s never denied it, either.
Demented Angel: I heard he’s been at Daniel’s house for the last week! :)
4Dan: No Way!
Demented Angel: Yes way. A friend of mine saw him and Daniel come out of a theater together, and LEAVE together. And that was about a week ago.

Darren’s Angel: I won’t believe it until I hear it from Darren!
Dan’sGrrl: What would you do then?
Darren’s Angel: What do you mean?
2Gethr4Evr: I’d send them my congratulations!
SpinMe: My dad would take my CDs…
LuvDarren4Evr: I’d throw out all my CDs!
Dan’sGrrl: Send them to me!
Darren’s Angel: Who’d want them?
Dan’sGrrl: I would!
Darren’s Angel: But he’s Gay!
Demented Angel: *I* thought *you* said he *wasn’t*!
Darren’s Angel: I mean if he said he was…
Demented Angel: I don’t think you know what you mean.
WishIWereFree: They’d still be Savage Garden, or they would be if they were together.
2Gethr4Evr: And Darren would still be Darren… :)
4Dan: The Gay community would probably unite behind them…
Demented Angel: LMAO… unite *behind* them… what a picture! :p~~~
4Dan: *blushes* You know what I meant…
LuvDarren4Evr: I’d never listen to them again!
SpinMe: I probably wouldn’t either.
4Dan: U R both pathetic!
LuvDarren4Evr: That would be just too disgusting for words!
Dazza’sGrrl: My dad says gay people should burn in hell.
Demented Angel: Well, I feorryorry for you growing up with a sorry homophobe for a father.
WishIWereFree: Yeah. Jesus didn’t preach hatred.
4Dan: Even the Vatican has said homosexuality is normal.
Dazza’sGrrl: We aren’t Catholic!
Demented Angel: You’re obviously not very good Christian’s either..

SNAP. Darren blinked. Daniel had closed the laptop. Darren realized tears were going down his cheeks. A shudder ran through his body.

Daniel reached down and took his hand. Daniel’s hand was so warm.

“You’re hands are like ice, Darren,” concern filled his voice. He sighed. “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea, after all. I think we’re moving too quickly.”

Darren stood up slowly, and pulled Daniel in for a hug.

“You’ightight,” he spoke quietly. “I’m sorry. I… got a bit…”

“Impulsive. You’ve always been like that, Darren… It’s just, I only just told Ben and Lee. And my parents. I’m not sure I’m ready to tell the world yet.”

Darren kissed him on the lips, then sighed himself.

“I got carried away. Because Leonie’s accusation keeps haunting me. I’m sorry, Danny. I’ll try to stay focused better.”

“I’m ready for bed.”

“I could use some sleep.”

“Only sleep?”

Darren grinned as his cheeks flushed.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

Daniel shook his head.

“Nah. ‘S fine with me, Dazza.”

…tbc…
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- 14
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We Meet Again