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rsadelleI feel so guilty about this story. My writing group and I have been doing two-hour write-ins every Thursday. I've been trying to work on my novel during that time because I have no problem writing fic whenever but I find it harder to concentrate on my novel without dedicated time. But today, I couldn't stop thinking about this, and I had to get it out before I could do anything else. (I did write a bit of the novel before I abandoned it for this.)
More notes about the origins of this at the end.
***
It's Different This Time
"I'm in love." Chris settled onto the couch next to Dave.
Dave exhaled a mouthful of smoke and groaned. "Again?" He offered the joint to Chris, who waved it off.
"It's different this time." Chris popped the cap off of his beer and took a deep drink.
"You say that every time." Dave tipped his head back against the back of the couch and brought the joint up to his lips.
"This time I mean it." Chris threw his bottle cap at Dave.
"You say that every time, too," Dave said on his next exhale.
Chris just shook his head and threw his feet up onto the coffee table. "It's different. You'll see."
***
Chris and the new guy he was playing with only knew three songs together. It made for a short set. Afterwards, Chris brought the guy over.
"Hey, man, good to see you." Chris stepped away from the guy to catch Dave in a half-hug, half-handshake.
"Sounded good up there." Sure, they'd only had three songs, but those three had sounded good.
"Thanks." Chris pulled the other guy forward. "This's my new songwriting partner, Steve. Steve, my best friend Dave." There was something almost puppy-like about the way Chris was looking at him from behind Steve, like he desperately wanted Dave and Steve to like each other.
"Nice to meet you." Steve's hand, when Dave shook it, was, like Chris's, a mass of calluses and rough spots.
"You too, man," Steve answered. "Chris has told me a lot about you."
Whereas Dave hadn't heard a damn thing about this Steve guy except that Chris was playing this party with him. "Not all bad, I hope."
Steve laughed, and behind him Chris's shoulders came down, like, a thousand feet. "Only some of it," Steve said.
"Ingrid here?" Chris asked, and Dave felt his smile freeze on his face.
"Nah, not tonight."
Chris patted his shoulder but thankfully didn't say anything, and he took Steve off with him to meet someone else.
***
Dave could hear Chris laughing even through the apartment door. He'd thought it was going to be just them, but maybe Chris was only on the phone.
He knocked once and then pushed the door open. Chris was in the kitchen laughing and Steve was there laughing with him.
Dave held up his offering of beer in greeting.
"Hey, man." Chris waved him toward the fridge. "Steve's teaching me how to cook."
"Trying," Steve corrected. He shook his head. "How you can be so good with a guitar and so bad with a knife." He stepped behind Chris and reached around him to reposition both the onion and the knife.
Dave paused with his beer halfway to his mouth.
"Like this." Steve guided Chris's hands through the motion once and then took his hands away and watched over Chris's shoulder as Chris did it himself. "Better." He squeezed Chris's arm and stepped away.
Dave brought his beer the rest of the way to his mouth. It was nothing. It was just Steve demonstrating. Except that Dave remembered Chris saying, "I'm in love," and then introducing him to Steve just a few weeks later. And the smile playing around Chris's lips was one Dave had seen before, every damn time there'd been some girl holding Chris's heart in her hands.
Maybe he should've asked Chris what made this time different.
***
"Divorce was final today," Dave said as soon as Chris picked up the phone.
"Shit, man. Wanna get drunk?"
"God, yes." That was the whole reason he'd called Chris and not someone else.
Two hours later, empty shot glasses lined the bar in front of them and Dave wasn't sure he'd be able to stand up now and Chris, the fucker, was ordering them another round.
"Who needs women anyway?" Dave said to the bartender.
"Last round for you two." The guy shoved their shot glasses at them.
"Yeah," Chris said. "Fuck 'em." But he didn't sound mad about it, and they toasted and slammed back their shots.
"You in love with Steve?" Dave asked because, hell, he was wasted and he wanted to know.
Chris smiled and blushed, actually blushed, and this was a guy who'd told Dave about the time with the college girl and the Jell-O and the stuffed panda in exquisite detail without breaking a sweat, and said, "Yeah."
Well, hell. Dave had no fucking idea what to say to that.
"He know?" he finally asked.
Chris shrugged and started building a pyramid out of their empty shot glasses. Man could hold his liquor like nobody's business. "Dunno. Maybe."
Dave started to laugh because this was Chris, who fell in and out of love every fucking week, and once he started laughing he couldn't stop.
He was still bursting into little fits of giggles when Chris shoved him into a cab.
***
Dave caught the ball with an oomph. Fucker could throw.
"The fuck is wrong with you?" He squinted into the sun and threw the football in a lazy spiral.
"Nothing," Chris called back. He threw the ball hard again.
"We gotta move back if you're gonna keep throwing like that." Dave took a half dozen steps back and Chris did the same. It put them too far apart to talk, but at least he wasn't in any danger of being bruised by Chris's passes anymore.
Whatever the fuck was wrong with Chris was giving him a hell of a lot of energy and Dave finally had to signal an end. He walked the ball in and collapsed onto the ground next to the cooler. Chris popped the caps off of a pair of bottles and handed one to Dave. Dave took a deep swallow of beer and then pressed the blissfully cool bottle against the back of his neck. He nudged Chris's ankle with his foot.
"You gonna tell me what the hell's going on?"
Chris sighed heavily. "You gonna keep pestering me if I don't?"
Dave took a sip of his beer as he considered it. "Yeah," he decided.
Chris exhaled a loud puff of breath but didn't say anything. It didn't matter. Dave didn't have anywhere else he needed to be, and it was a nice day to be outside, even if he wasn't allowed to spend much time in the sun.
"Steve didn't kiss me back," Chris finally muttered.
Dave knocked his shoulder against Chris's. "I'm sorry, man."
***
Dave could hear Chris laughing through the apartment door and experienced a brief moment of déjà vu that just kept going when he knocked and opened the door to find Chris and Steve laughing in the kitchen.
"Still trying to teach Chris to cook?" Dave put the beer in the fridge and the tequila on the counter.
"He's getting the hang of it." Steve stepped up behind Chris and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. He looked at Dave while he did it. "I'll make a chef out of him yet."
Chris flushed a little and looked down at the tomato he was slicing, baring his neck for another of Steve's kisses. His eyelids dipped closed, and then he looked up at Dave. It was the same puppy dog look he'd given Dave when he'd introduced Steve.
Dave raised his beer in a silent toast. "I'm sure Chris can do anything he puts his mind to."
***
Origins and Whatnot
Obviously there's the thing I said earlier about wanting fic where Steve teaches Chris to cook and they fall in love.
Then there's the thing I've been thinking about how maybe Chris the badass isn't quite the right image. I mean, he writes a lot of love songs.
And then I was watching the adorable video of Steve talking about how he and Chris met, and combined with the thing about Chris writing love songs, I wanted Chris fresh from either first meeting Steve or the Cinco de Mayo party saying, "I'm in love," and it's not the first time he's said that. I kind of intended Chris to tell the story, but when I realized it might be Dave he was telling it to, Dave became the narrator.
I have attempted to more or less stick with a reality-based timeline.
More notes about the origins of this at the end.
***
It's Different This Time
"I'm in love." Chris settled onto the couch next to Dave.
Dave exhaled a mouthful of smoke and groaned. "Again?" He offered the joint to Chris, who waved it off.
"It's different this time." Chris popped the cap off of his beer and took a deep drink.
"You say that every time." Dave tipped his head back against the back of the couch and brought the joint up to his lips.
"This time I mean it." Chris threw his bottle cap at Dave.
"You say that every time, too," Dave said on his next exhale.
Chris just shook his head and threw his feet up onto the coffee table. "It's different. You'll see."
***
Chris and the new guy he was playing with only knew three songs together. It made for a short set. Afterwards, Chris brought the guy over.
"Hey, man, good to see you." Chris stepped away from the guy to catch Dave in a half-hug, half-handshake.
"Sounded good up there." Sure, they'd only had three songs, but those three had sounded good.
"Thanks." Chris pulled the other guy forward. "This's my new songwriting partner, Steve. Steve, my best friend Dave." There was something almost puppy-like about the way Chris was looking at him from behind Steve, like he desperately wanted Dave and Steve to like each other.
"Nice to meet you." Steve's hand, when Dave shook it, was, like Chris's, a mass of calluses and rough spots.
"You too, man," Steve answered. "Chris has told me a lot about you."
Whereas Dave hadn't heard a damn thing about this Steve guy except that Chris was playing this party with him. "Not all bad, I hope."
Steve laughed, and behind him Chris's shoulders came down, like, a thousand feet. "Only some of it," Steve said.
"Ingrid here?" Chris asked, and Dave felt his smile freeze on his face.
"Nah, not tonight."
Chris patted his shoulder but thankfully didn't say anything, and he took Steve off with him to meet someone else.
***
Dave could hear Chris laughing even through the apartment door. He'd thought it was going to be just them, but maybe Chris was only on the phone.
He knocked once and then pushed the door open. Chris was in the kitchen laughing and Steve was there laughing with him.
Dave held up his offering of beer in greeting.
"Hey, man." Chris waved him toward the fridge. "Steve's teaching me how to cook."
"Trying," Steve corrected. He shook his head. "How you can be so good with a guitar and so bad with a knife." He stepped behind Chris and reached around him to reposition both the onion and the knife.
Dave paused with his beer halfway to his mouth.
"Like this." Steve guided Chris's hands through the motion once and then took his hands away and watched over Chris's shoulder as Chris did it himself. "Better." He squeezed Chris's arm and stepped away.
Dave brought his beer the rest of the way to his mouth. It was nothing. It was just Steve demonstrating. Except that Dave remembered Chris saying, "I'm in love," and then introducing him to Steve just a few weeks later. And the smile playing around Chris's lips was one Dave had seen before, every damn time there'd been some girl holding Chris's heart in her hands.
Maybe he should've asked Chris what made this time different.
***
"Divorce was final today," Dave said as soon as Chris picked up the phone.
"Shit, man. Wanna get drunk?"
"God, yes." That was the whole reason he'd called Chris and not someone else.
Two hours later, empty shot glasses lined the bar in front of them and Dave wasn't sure he'd be able to stand up now and Chris, the fucker, was ordering them another round.
"Who needs women anyway?" Dave said to the bartender.
"Last round for you two." The guy shoved their shot glasses at them.
"Yeah," Chris said. "Fuck 'em." But he didn't sound mad about it, and they toasted and slammed back their shots.
"You in love with Steve?" Dave asked because, hell, he was wasted and he wanted to know.
Chris smiled and blushed, actually blushed, and this was a guy who'd told Dave about the time with the college girl and the Jell-O and the stuffed panda in exquisite detail without breaking a sweat, and said, "Yeah."
Well, hell. Dave had no fucking idea what to say to that.
"He know?" he finally asked.
Chris shrugged and started building a pyramid out of their empty shot glasses. Man could hold his liquor like nobody's business. "Dunno. Maybe."
Dave started to laugh because this was Chris, who fell in and out of love every fucking week, and once he started laughing he couldn't stop.
He was still bursting into little fits of giggles when Chris shoved him into a cab.
***
Dave caught the ball with an oomph. Fucker could throw.
"The fuck is wrong with you?" He squinted into the sun and threw the football in a lazy spiral.
"Nothing," Chris called back. He threw the ball hard again.
"We gotta move back if you're gonna keep throwing like that." Dave took a half dozen steps back and Chris did the same. It put them too far apart to talk, but at least he wasn't in any danger of being bruised by Chris's passes anymore.
Whatever the fuck was wrong with Chris was giving him a hell of a lot of energy and Dave finally had to signal an end. He walked the ball in and collapsed onto the ground next to the cooler. Chris popped the caps off of a pair of bottles and handed one to Dave. Dave took a deep swallow of beer and then pressed the blissfully cool bottle against the back of his neck. He nudged Chris's ankle with his foot.
"You gonna tell me what the hell's going on?"
Chris sighed heavily. "You gonna keep pestering me if I don't?"
Dave took a sip of his beer as he considered it. "Yeah," he decided.
Chris exhaled a loud puff of breath but didn't say anything. It didn't matter. Dave didn't have anywhere else he needed to be, and it was a nice day to be outside, even if he wasn't allowed to spend much time in the sun.
"Steve didn't kiss me back," Chris finally muttered.
Dave knocked his shoulder against Chris's. "I'm sorry, man."
***
Dave could hear Chris laughing through the apartment door and experienced a brief moment of déjà vu that just kept going when he knocked and opened the door to find Chris and Steve laughing in the kitchen.
"Still trying to teach Chris to cook?" Dave put the beer in the fridge and the tequila on the counter.
"He's getting the hang of it." Steve stepped up behind Chris and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. He looked at Dave while he did it. "I'll make a chef out of him yet."
Chris flushed a little and looked down at the tomato he was slicing, baring his neck for another of Steve's kisses. His eyelids dipped closed, and then he looked up at Dave. It was the same puppy dog look he'd given Dave when he'd introduced Steve.
Dave raised his beer in a silent toast. "I'm sure Chris can do anything he puts his mind to."
***
Origins and Whatnot
Obviously there's the thing I said earlier about wanting fic where Steve teaches Chris to cook and they fall in love.
Then there's the thing I've been thinking about how maybe Chris the badass isn't quite the right image. I mean, he writes a lot of love songs.
And then I was watching the adorable video of Steve talking about how he and Chris met, and combined with the thing about Chris writing love songs, I wanted Chris fresh from either first meeting Steve or the Cinco de Mayo party saying, "I'm in love," and it's not the first time he's said that. I kind of intended Chris to tell the story, but when I realized it might be Dave he was telling it to, Dave became the narrator.
I have attempted to more or less stick with a reality-based timeline.
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Date: 2009-01-16 02:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-02-18 10:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-27 06:00 am (UTC)So, SO adorable!!!! Chris is so tender in this- I love it :)
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Date: 2009-08-27 04:04 pm (UTC)