Fear - 45

For the next two weeks, Gene and Shawn went out to supper several times and spent one Sunday hiking one of Gene's favorite trails outside of town, taking a picnic lunch with them. Gene still considered them just friends and had no intention of upping the ante to 'friends with benefits' for the time being.

He enjoyed Shawn's company. He found the younger man to be both quite intelligent and often amusing, now that he was learning to trust that it was all right to say what he felt without fearing reprisals.

One evening, on a whim, Gene stopped at the local bookstore to see if by any chance they carried sketchpads. They did and he bought one, plus a box of pencils and a hand sharpener for them before going on to the restaurant where he was meeting Shawn for supper.

Shawn eyed the bag Gene was carrying but didn't say anything about it. When Gene handed it to him, he was obviously more than surprised from the look on his face, asking, "What is this?"

"You won't know until you open it, now will you?" Gene said with a grin.

When he saw the sketchpad, Shawn beamed. "For me?"

"Well for damned sure it's not for me. I can't draw a straight line, to say the least of a picture. I remembered you said at one point that you used to like drawing so I figured what the heck." He shrugged. "It'll give you something to do to keep you out of trouble."

Shawn was smiling ear to ear as he sharpened one of the pencils then studied the customers at the other tables. "Do you mind?" he asked, even as he started sketching.

Gene shook his head. "As long as you stop to eat somewhere along the way. That is why we're here."

"I will. I promise."

Gene watched with interest as Shawn filled the first page with quick line drawings of the other diners. They weren't professional quality but he could still recognize who the people were. "You're not bad at all," he commented after a few minutes.

Shawn looked up and smiled. "I'm not great either, and I know it. I'm better with things, or scenery, than with people."

"We'll have to test that theory next time we go hiking."

"Oh yeah!"

When their meals came, Gene insisted Shawn stop and eat, which he did, hurriedly. Then he turned to a fresh page in the sketchpad and looked at Gene.

"Oh no, don't you dare," Gene muttered, knowing it was a lost cause when Shawn just smiled and started drawing.

It took a few minutes, with Shawn grumbling occasionally that if Gene didn't sit still it wouldn't turn out right. Then he turned the pad to show Gene the results.

"Damn, that's good. You made me look… better than I really do."

"Not even," Shawn protested.

"I'm not that good looking by a long shot."

"Yeah, you are. Look in a mirror and you'll see."

Gene snorted. "I look in one every morning when I shave. Trust me, that picture is…"

"Oh shush. It's you." Shawn closed the sketchpad, slipping the pencil he'd been using in the coils. "Now, dessert?" He grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

Gene shook his head in amusement. "You do keep asking."

"And you keep saying 'no', but someday you'll say 'yes' and I'll die of shock."

Gene reached across the table to take his hand. "Someday, maybe."

"But not today. I get it." Shawn squeezed Gene's hand. "It will happen though. I know it."

Gene nodded. "Probably, maybe."

"Probably, probably, definitely. I've made up my mind."

Laughing, Gene told him, "And when you do that, there's no changing it."

"Damned straight there isn't. Now can we order dessert, the real kind?"

"You bet."