"something really gay and cute and soft" The Lion and his Gift

Nathaniel meets a boy who reminds him of a lion, from his hair to his name to his pride, and he falls in love.

The sun rose over the mountainous view of a small town in Southern Maine, casting a beautiful hue of pink and red throughout the sky. In a small Victorian style home placed neatly by a cul de sac, a young boy of 16 years sat up in bed and stretched his arms as he gave a big yawn. He rubbed his eyes, and stared out the window. Normally, such a beautiful thing would make this boy smile with glee, but for some reason he didn't feel it in himself to smile. Or even feel the tiniest shard of happiness. 

Nathaniel Barnes had recently lost his closest friend. His once bright green eyes had become a sad, dark forest. Cancer. The same monster that had claimed his grandfather 3 years ago, had come back to take another meaningful life from the poor boy. At this point, he didn't really feel there was a point in continuing. 

Nathaniel slid out of bed, standing on weary and tired legs. Sleep never seemed to do any justice anymore. He always felt tired. He spent no time in finding a matching outfit as he usually would do. He grabbed the nearest shirt and jeans, putting them on in no rush. He grabbed his book bag, slung it over his shoulder, and went to the kitchen. He did not take any of the breakfast his mom had left for him before going to work. He made his way to the bus stop. He felt like a robot, and like everything was just an automatic process. Nothing had changed, but everything felt different to him now that his friend was gone. 

He stood by the stop sign that marked where the school bus was to pick up Nathaniel. He was the only one at this stop, it had always been that way since he moved here. He ran a hand through his short, thick brown hair. The bus meandered up the small hill towards the stop, the brakes screeching loudly as it came to a halt. He sighed, and boarded the big yellow vehicle reluctantly. The other kids stared at him. Was it sympathy they had in their eyes, sorrow maybe? Nathaniel couldn't tell. He sat in the middle on the right side, and put his headphones on, drowning out the quiet whispers. 'That's the kid whose friend died.' 'He looks like he's next, he's probably really depressed.' Nathaniel couldn't hear anything, but he knew they thought he was considering suicide. They weren't wrong.

The bus slowly came to a halt at the next stop. But it wasn't a usual stop, this one was new, in a part of the neighborhood Nathaniel had never been to before. He looked up as 3 people came onto the bus. A long haired girl with vibrant blue eyes, who strode right past Nathaniel without even stopping. The next person was a short, pudgy boy, probably in the middle school that was attached to his high school. The boy sat in the very first seat on the right, clearly the shy type. A few minutes passed. The bus driver looked impatient. Then, a tall and slim boy, with black rimmed glasses and fluffy golden hair stepped on the bus. His deep brown eyes scanned the seats, and settled directly on Nathaniel. 

He sat up straighter, getting nervous already. The taller boy came up to Nathaniel. "Mind if I sit here?" He had a slight lisp, and seemed incredibly nervous, sharing in Nathaniel's feelings equally, if not more. He shuffled his foot as he waited for an answer from Nathaniel, who couldn't force words out and just nodded, putting his headphones back on. But the golden haired boy, his hair reminding Nathaniel of a lion's mane, spoke before the play button could be pressed. "I am new to this school...um, are the people nice here?" The lion maned boy seemed to stare deep into Nathaniel's soul.

"Only if you're nice to them." Nathaniel responded, chuckling softly. That didn't seem to make things any better, in fact the lion maned boy looked a little startled at this response. "I was joking. They are pretty nice, I guess." Nathaniel quickly covered up his tracks, not wanting to unsettle this poor kid anymore than he already was.

The lion maned boy seemed lost in thought for a moment, his brown eyes looking spacey and still scared. But some of his nervousness seemed to have vanished. After a moment's silence, he spoke. "Oh, um, my name is Lionel." How fitting. "What's yours?" Nathaniel had to hold back a small laugh at how appropriate Lionel's name was for his appearance. He smiled, but he still didn't feel happy. Not yet.

"My name is Nathaniel. People just call me Nate or Nathan though. I guess Nathaniel can be kind of a mouthful sometimes." He shrugged, running a hand through his hair again. The bus was on the way to school now after hitting the last two stops, it was chugging down the freeway behind another bus headed for the same destination. Some of the kids were watching Lionel and Nathaniel now, seemingly shocked that Nate was talking to somebody else.

"I like that name...Nathaniel.." Lionel let it roll off his tongue. It felt smooth, like butter. He looked Nate over, his dark brown eyes taking in every detail of the smaller, fragile looking boy. "You look sad." He said softly, concern in his eyes. "May I ask why?" His interest was off-putting to Nate, who raised an eyebrow. How could the lion maned boy with a lion's name possibly know that he was sad?

Nate was about to speak, when the bus pulled to a stop and the doors swung open. "Um..I'll tell you later." He mumbled, standing up. "I don't know if we'll see each other school, so I'll tell you on the bus, okay?" He pocketed his phone and headphones, and squeezed past the lion. But Lionel shook his head, taking out his phone and putting a hand on Nate's shoulder. Nathaniel grunted in surprise.

"Here, take my number, you can tell me in private so nobody else sees or hears. I don't want you being embarrassed or anything." He smiled, showing the phone screen to Nate, who sighed and took out his phone again to enter this boy's number. Lionel put his phone away once the exchange was complete, and made his way out of the bus behind Nathaniel. He said goodbye to Nate as they parted ways.

Nathaniel walked to class, simply dumbfounded. He felt like prey. Could he really trust the boy with the lion's mane and a lion's name? He looked down at his phone, at the number still there. And then as he walked, he set to texting out the story of why he was sad. He figured he could trust him enough to tell him why he felt sad. But little did Nathaniel know, this trust would blossom into something much more than a casual friendship. 

--

Two years later, Senior year in high school. The first day. A beautiful, golden sunrise blossomed over the mountains, Nathaniel was already sitting in bed, watching it. He smiled, his green eyes brightened by the sunrise's amazing colors. His phone vibrated, and he grabbed it. 'Good Morning, my sweet little present.' It was from Lionel. He was so clever when it came to names and their meanings, as Nathaniel's name meant "a gift from God". Nate blushed, texting back 'Morning, fluffy lion'. He stood and stretched, yawning loudly.

He tossed on an outfit he had chosen last night. Today was the day big things began. Lionel and him had been going out for nearly two years. He twirled as he trotted out to the kitchen, laughing a little. His mom was still there, as it was early. She was cooking pancakes for Nathaniel, and when she saw him she smiled. "You're awfully happy today." She served the pancakes, and went back to the stove to make more for herself.

"Of course I am! It's senior year, mom, and Lionel and I have big plans!" He stuffed his face, texting the lion boy as he ate. His mom simply chuckled, sitting beside her son and eating while she read the newspaper. Once finished, Nathan took his dishes to the sink, rinsed them off and then frolicked back to his room to grab his school stuff. "I'm off, mom. Bye!"

Nate planned to get to Lionel's place so they could ride the bus together. He frolicked the whole way there, happily humming to himself. 

When he made it to Lionel's he knocked on the door with a big happy smile. Lionel opened the door and pulled Nate into a big hug instantly, then planted a kiss on the smaller boy's cheek. "How was your summer, love?" He asked as he got his things together. He would glance at Nate every now and then, filled with pride each time he saw his special present. 

"It was amazing, even greater because you were part of it." Nate smiled, sitting on an ottoman as he watched Lionel. "I went camping, like I told you, and it was so gorgeous. Every bit of nature reminded me of you." He crossed his legs, raising his eyes to the ceiling dreamily as he thought of it all. "You know, Lionel..you really make me happy. I didn't think anybody else could ever do that once Henry died.." He lowered his eyes and Lionel was staring at him. Those dark brown eyes full of so much emotion, so much feeling and passion. A small smile played across Lionel's lips.

"Nathaniel. Remember how unsure of me you were when we met?" He asked. "You were scared. Scared to trust anybody else because you'd just lost somebody you loved. You did, but you didn't recognise it as love." Lionel spoke with a soft voice that comforted Nathaniel. He came over and kneeled to meet Nate's green eyes. "Then you met me. And you were so afraid to trust me, to give me the same things you gave to Henry. But look now, Nathaniel. I'm sure Henry is smiling down on us from wherever he may be, I bet he's so proud of you." By now, Nathaniel was near tears.

"I'm proud of you, Nate. You've come so far. You wanted to die the day I met you, you never told me but I could certainly tell by the way you held yourself, the way you looked at me. You were hopeless. And now look." He grabbed Nathaniel in a big hug as Nate broke into tears. "You really are a gift to me, you know. I was scared too. I've been pushed around my whole life, beaten at times, but then I met you. I saw you. I looked in your eyes and I knew you were the one." He held Nathaniel in front of him.

"Lionel.." Nate whimpered, wiping tears away. "You really think I'm that special..?" He stared into Lionel's eyes. Lionel only nodded. 

"I swear I'll protect you, with all the ferocity of a lion itself, I will keep you safe." Lionel hugged Nathaniel again. 

--

Years passed. They stand at the alter. It's their wedding day, their family watches them in the audience, wiping tears away. Lionel and Nathaniel stare at each other, hands grasped together. Lionel speaks the end of his vows. "I swear I'll protect you. With all the ferocity of a lion itself, I will keep you safe." He smiles, tears falling down his cheeks as well. Nathaniel looks to the reverend, pride glowing in his eyes as the reverend speaks the well known lines. 

"I now pronounce you both as loving, wedded husbands. Til death, do you part. You may kiss." He shuts his book, and bows as the two kiss and their family claps and cheers in prideful celebration. 

"You'll always be my sweet little gift, Nathaniel." Lionel whispers, kissing Nathaniel's cheek before turning and leading his new husband from the alter. The once hopeless, lost young boy, now a proud and determined young man, follows after in excitement as they go to greet their family. 

And thus concludes the story of how the lion received his most favorite gift ever. Love.