(Disclaimed: 'Yonder Blue', Christine Lavin)
[I see on the news it's raining in London
Forty-six degrees
I hope you packed your raincoat darling
A scarf to protect you from the chilly breeze
I'm looking at the balmy Pacific
A kick line of palm trees
Oh, you're in London, it's raining
Forty-six degrees]
Darren stared out the window at the ocean and the beach as his taxi drove by. Instead of being impressed by the beautiful scenery, the best of the coast of California, he merely amused himself by counting the palm trees as they passed. It wasn't that he found the view displeasing; he just wished that he had someone to share it with. A very specific someone...
Darren shook his head. He must've be getting more sentimental as he got older. Odd. He'd always thought that the exact opposite would happen. But then, the whole Savage Garden break-up had taken away his right to revel in romantic thoughts. Now that Savage Garden was no more, he had nowhere else to flaunt his exquisite relationship with Daniel. Unfortunately, dwelling on the relationship also meant that he was dwelling on the problems.
The most immediate problem was geographic. Darren had been sent to attend a bunch of press conferences along the west coast of North America, while Daniel was in England doing some promotional work for his new pet project. They talked over the phone, but Darren would have much preferred to see Daniel in person. Several times, he had considered calling up his manager and asking if Daniel could secretly come with him the next time he was sent off somewhere. But he knew if that happened, he would probably never leave his hotel room. To distract himself from such thoughts, he instead thought of his conversation with Daniel the previous night.
"Hi, Danny," he'd practically purred when the other's voice came through the phone.
"Hi Darren. Running up the phone bill again?"
Darren had grinned. "Nope. This one's on the company, not on me."
Daniel had chuckled. "I guess this would fall into the category of the company's 'other expenses'. I thought your record company just had a meeting last week about excessive spending?"
"Yup. Ironic, isn't it?"
"So, aside from work, which I know you consider boring, how is it there?"
"Great!" Darren had said. "I'm working on my tan."
"Lucky devil," Daniel had replied. "It's pouring rain over here. Not that it matters. You never tan anyhow."
He had chosen to ignore the snide comment about his disability to tan. "I thought you liked the rain."
"I do, but too much of it can be depressing."
"Well, try to stay dry, love. I don't want you catching a cold."
"Hmm."
Sitting back in the taxi and reminiscing, Darren smiled to himself and wondered if it had stopped raining yet where Daniel was. He supposed he could always check the weather report later.
[I read in the paper it's foggy in Paris
They forecast scattered showers
I picture you standing in a light drizzle
At the base of the Eiffel Tower
I am due to arrive in Vancouver
In about a couple of hours
Oh, you're in Paris, it's foggy
Expecting scattered showers]
The next day, Darren was still pensive. Of course, he had lots of time on his hands to be pensive. He was now sitting on a plane headed to Vancouver, where his next press conference was scheduled. Happily, this was one of the last ones. He'd been away from Daniel for over a week now, and he was starting to feel lonely. Of course, he still talked to Daniel on the phone, but it was hardly the same. Daniel was heading to the old city of Paris that day. I guess I should be jealous, he thought, having him go without me to one of the most romantic cities on Earth. It had been a little harder to be jealous, though, when Daniel had informed him that the weather in Paris wasn't much better than it had been in England. Darren knew, though, that Vancouver wasn't exactly promising sunny skies either.
[Half the world away are we
Worry about you constantly
Are you dry? Are you warm?
Are you safe from the storm?
Are you taking your vitamins regularly?]
Looking down at the clouds below, Darren wondered for the thousandth time where Daniel was at that moment and what he was up to. Not knowing for a week whether or not Daniel was warm and happy was driving him nuts. He knew that Daniel had been through worse during their tours, but at least he was there to keep the loneliness away. Again, he seriously considered asking his manager to let them travel together the next time, keeping it hushed so that the media would never know. What made this course of action more difficult was that he didn't really have an official excuse to take Daniel with him. After all, they weren't really married.
[I'd trade all I've got to be with you
That's something you have not asked me to do
So I travel around I barely touch ground
When you call from yonder blue]
Darren sighed. That was another one of the aspects of their relationship that bothered him. He and Daniel lived together, but as far as the law was concerned, they might as well have had nothing to do with each other. It made Darren extremely frustrated to see Colby already re-married, while Daniel was too shy to bring up the subject. Darren frowned. Well, shy wasn't the right word for him. He wasn't shy, just introverted. Darren sometimes worried if he even knew how much he was loved. There were no doubts as to his undying love and devotion to Darren, but did he truly know, without a trace of uncertainty, that his feelings were returned? Darren also tread warily around the subject of marriage, partially because he was worried about scaring Daniel off. However, he had begun to realize that he wanted to be recognized as being married to Daniel, and that if he waited for Daniel to bring up the subject, he would probably be in his sixties at least before that happened.
Darren continued thinking along these lines as the plane landed in Vancouver. He got off the plane and went to look for a phone so that he could call his lover.
[The pilot says it's warm and sunny in New York
The skies are crystal clear
I'm descending from the west, you're descending from the east
Please let this be our year]
Darren hurried through the terminal, looking for the right gate number. Outside, the weather seemed to reflect his mood with its sunny skies and gentle breezes. Finally! He was going to see Daniel again after more than a week of absence. It was odd how when he was with Daniel, a week hardly seemed like any time at all, but when they were apart, it seemed like an eternity.
[I can't wait to see your face
Hold your sweet body near
Oh, it's warm and it's sunny in New York City
The skies are crystal clear
The future looks rosy
Let's get cozy
Hey stranger! Over here]
Finally having found the right gate, Darren waited impatiently for the passengers to disembark. When they did, he scanned the crowd until he spotted the familiar tousled golden hair. As soon as he spotted it, he was off and running. He went into a flying tackle, and had Daniel in his arms before the other even realized what was happening. Darren looked up and grinned.
"Miss me?" He asked.
Daniel responded with his typical quiet mumble, looking at the ground and not at him.
"Is that a yes mumble or a no mumble?" Darren teased.
Instead of answering verbally, Daniel grabbed him around the waist, pulled him over to a relatively private corner, and kissed him passionately. "Does that answer your question?" He asked, pulling away.
Darren nodded emphatically. Then his smile faded and he took a deep breath to steady himself.
Daniel observed the change. "Is something wrong?" He asked.
Darren shook his head, then wordlessly pressed something into Daniel's slim hand. Daniel looked at it. It was a small black box.
"Darren, this isn't what I think it is...is it?"
Darren shifted nervously. "Well, that would depend on what you think it is, now wouldn't it?" He grinned. "Well, you can open it and see after we get your baggage and head outside, okay?"
An evil smile crossed Daniel's face, and he handed the box back to Darren. "Uh-uh. I'm not going to accept it unless you present it to me properly. Knowing you and your love of comfort, I think I'm correct in assuming that you'd rather kneel on the carpet in here than on the pavement outside."
"Well, okay. If you put it like that." Darren took a deep breath, then dropped to one knee and opened the box to show the simple ring inside. "Daniel Jones, will you marry me?"
"Yes." Daniel had never been one to beat around the bush.
Darren was more than thrilled. He jumped up, pulling Daniel into another heated kiss, this time pushing him against the wall and stroking the back of his neck, not breaking away, not even for breath.
"Get a room!" Somebody yelled at them, and they broke apart, blushing and reflecting that their little corner of the terminal was not quite as private as they thought.
Darren took one look at Daniel's crimson face and burst out laughing. "Come on," he managed in between chuckles, "Let's get your luggage."
And they walked off together.
~finis~
back
