Trope Meme!
Sep. 21st, 2012 02:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rsadellePick a trope from this list and provide a fandom/pairing and I'll tell you something about the story I'd write for that combination (i.e. write a snippet from the story or write not!fic or tell you the title and summary for the story I would write).
1. genderswap
2. bodyswap
3. drunk!fic
4. huddling for warmth
5. pretending to be married
6. secretly a virgin
7. amnesia
8. cross-dressing
9. forced to share a bed
10. truth or dare
11. historical au
12. accidental-baby-acquisition
13. apocalypse fic
14. telepathy
15. high school / college au
I restrained my impulse to annotate this list (What is "drunk!fic" anyway? Is it just fic where people get drunk? How does that reach the level of a trope?), but since I've seen other people do it, I did cross out the things that made me hesitant to do this meme for fear that someone would want me to write them. I will take hockey prompts, obviously, and possibly other things - feel free to ask and I'll see if it's something I think I can do.
1. genderswap
3. drunk!fic
4. huddling for warmth
5. pretending to be married
6. secretly a virgin
8. cross-dressing
9. forced to share a bed
10. truth or dare
12. accidental-baby-acquisition
14. telepathy
15. high school / college au
I restrained my impulse to annotate this list (What is "drunk!fic" anyway? Is it just fic where people get drunk? How does that reach the level of a trope?), but since I've seen other people do it, I did cross out the things that made me hesitant to do this meme for fear that someone would want me to write them. I will take hockey prompts, obviously, and possibly other things - feel free to ask and I'll see if it's something I think I can do.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-09-21 11:40 pm (UTC)The Best Friend (1/3)
Date: 2012-09-23 02:15 am (UTC)Taylor gets dumped while they're on a road trip. By text. The night before they have a day off that she was going to use to strip for him over Skype.
Marshy and Looch and Ference buy her drinks, enough that she's pretty drunk and ranting and glad they're in the hotel bar instead of somewhere it'll take longer to get back to her room from, and it all sucks. Sucks.
"And I can't even have ice cream," she whines. (She know she's whining, and she doesn't care, because she got dumped and it sucks.) "The trainers would kill me if I got it myself, and Tyler would order it for me and just have it sent to my room, but they have a game and he doesn't even know yet, and why does this always happen?"
And, okay, she knows she's been going on about this for a while, but it's totally not long enough for Marshy to get mad at her and say, "Jesus, Segs, how dumb are you?"
"What?"
"You know all those stupid movies you make me watch where the girl's really in love with her best friend the whole time?"
"I thought you liked those movies!"
"So not the point, Taylor! You're that girl. You only date assholes when you have a best friend who calls you his wife and buys you ice cream when you're sad. Get your shit together!"
Taylor gets up and leaves before her eyes can do more than prickle with tears, because she just got dumped and her friends aren't supposed to be yelling at her now.
Ference catches up with her just before the elevators, and he takes her elbow and lets her brace herself against him when the elevator lurches its way upwards and doesn't make fun of her when she sniffles because he can be just as much of an asshole as the rest of them but not when she just got dumped.
He asks, "You gonna be okay, little girl?" when they get to her door and he has to swipe her keycard for her.
Taylor doesn't even bother trying to smile at him. "Yeah," she says, "I'm just going to go cry myself to sleep like the dumb girl I am."
Ference squeezes her arm, but doesn't try to stay, so she lets the door fall shut behind him and throws herself onto the bed. She can see the clock on the nightstand from there, and it's late. Late enough that Tyler's probably done with his game.
Taylor digs her phone out of her pocket and calls him.
"We just got in," he says when he picks up. "You have either really good or really shitty timing."
Taylor manages a little bit of a laugh. "Did you win?"
"Yep. Three-two. I had an assist."
"Sweet."
"Yeah, it was a good game. What's up? You sound weird."
Taylor squeezes her eyes shut against a sudden rush of tears. "I got dumped," she says, and then she's crying and pouring out the whole story, right up to, "And then Marshy yelled at me, and I don't even get to have ice cream," and then she's just drunk and crying and alone in a hotel room with her best friend on the other end of the phone.
"Oh, honey," Tyler says, and it feels like a hug, almost, as close as she can get over the phone anyway, and Taylor just cries harder and Tyler stays on the phone until she falls asleep without even getting under the covers.
*
Taylor makes it out of bed for the day off team bonding tourist experience thing in the morning, although she skips breakfast in favor of just a cup of coffee and she stays away from Marshy and sidles up to Ference instead.
"How are you feeling this morning?" he asks.
"Hungover as shit." Taylor pushes her sunglasses a little more firmly onto her nose, trying to dim as much light as possible.
Ference slings an arm around her shoulders. "Little girl, you have got to learn to hold your liquor."
Taylor elbows him, but not hard enough to make him move away. "Fuck you."
He ruffles her hair - she glares and tries to smooth it back into place - and grins at her.
The Best Friend (2/3)
Date: 2012-09-23 02:16 am (UTC)*
Marshy shows up at her door after practice the next day, and she lets him in even though she spends a minute thinking about ignoring him.
"Looch threatened to throw me into the boards if I didn't apologize," he says. "I don't know why he didn't threaten the douchebag who dumped you by text, but I am sorry. Yelling at you was a dick move."
Taylor says, "Because he can make it look like an accident if he hits you," and makes Marshy pay for lunch. She's pretty sure he sees the note from Tyler still sitting on her counter, but he doesn't say anything about it and he doesn't try to eat her chocolates.
*
Being Taylor Seguin in Boston has its advantages. She can get served pretty much anywhere, even though she's underage, strangers on the street thank her, and she can pretty much get laid whenever she wants, but somehow she always forgets the part of all of that where it doesn't magically make everything easy.
Like now. She got dumped three weeks ago, had a couple of rebound fucks two weeks ago, and now has to get herself a cab because Marshy abandoned her to go home with some girl he picked up at the last bar. Getting a cab isn't the hard part, and thank God everyone just takes cards because she can still swipe her card while she's drunk.
The hard part is that there's no one for her to lean on in the elevator up to her place, or to open the door when she fumbles with the key, or to take her phone away when she decides to call Tyler even though it's so late it's early and he's probably asleep.
He picks up, at least, and says, "What the hell? Do you know what fucking time it is? This better be good, Taylor."
"Are you the best friend? Because Marshy said I was dumb and you were the best friend and I should get my shit together."
Tyler groans. "It's two o'clock in the morning, and I have no fucking idea what you're talking about."
"You bought me chocolates," Taylor says. "And you buy me ice cream and call me your wife and you are my best friend but are you that kind of best friend?"
"I still don't know what you're talking about."
"Are we supposed to get together at the end of the movie?"
There's a silence that goes on for too long, and then Tyler says, "You're drunk," and his voice is all flat and weird. "Take some aspirin, drink some water, and go to bed." And then he hangs up on her.
Taylor swallows down whatever it is she's feeling (Disappointment? Hurt? He never hangs up on her.) and does what he told her to because he's probably right about that.
The Best Friend (3/4)
Date: 2012-09-23 02:17 am (UTC)Taylor mopes around the house, goes to practice and puts up with the guys making fun of her hangover, and doesn't really start feeling better until after she takes a nap. She lies in bed for a while after she wakes up, thinking about it. Tyler is her best friend, he's hot enough that she would totally hit that, and she knows they can live together. She tries it out in her head, thinking about dating him and fucking him and living with him and marrying him so she would really be his wife. It's really good, like she could do that.
But he hung up on her, and if this really is her romcom ending, that probably means she has to do something that will get him back and/or show him she's serious. But that's never what happens. In all the movies (and they're not stupid, no matter what Marshy says), it's always the guy who makes the big gesture at the end. And they're hundreds of miles apart anyway.
Taylor can't quite believe she's doing this, but she thumbs her phone on and calls Marshy. He's probably the worst person to call for advice, but he brought it up in the first place and Jesse would just turn around and tell Tyler about it, so Marshy it is.
"You were right," she tells him when he picks up the phone. "He's totally the best friend. But he hung up on me, so I don't think he's going to make the whole romantic gesture, so I have to, but I don't know what because we're not even in the same state. What would work on you?"
"Naked pictures," Marshy says, "but I've actually dumped a girl by text so I think I'm the asshole, not the best friend." There's a pause, and then he says, "Oh, God, I'm the other best friend. The girl who gives advice, not the guy you're in love with."
Taylor dissolves into laughter, because he totally is.
"Laugh all you want," Marshy says, "but I'm not going shopping with you. I don't even want to be talking about this with you."
Taylor stops laughing and sighs. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Day off on Sunday. Get in your car on Sunday morning and drive up there. You can be back for practice on Monday."
"Oh," Taylor says, "that might work." She opens her laptop and pulls up the Phantoms' schedule. "They have a game on Sunday, but they're at home."
"Great," Marshy says. "Go watch him play, and then take off your shirt."
Taylor snorts. "I don't think that'll work, but at least I'll be there."
The Best Friend (4/4)
Date: 2012-09-23 02:17 am (UTC)Of course, she doesn't tell Tyler she's coming, so he's not home when she gets there. She sits on the steps and sends texts to a couple of friends, has a whole conversation with her sisters about how Lady Gaga is way more awesome than Katy Perry, and gets three hideous pictures of Marshy's dog and two adorable ones of Ference's kids.
"Segs?"
Taylor looks up, and then grins and puts her phone away and goes down the steps to Tyler.
"What are you doing here?" Tyler asks, even as he pulls her into a hug that's pretty much the best thing she's ever felt. And, oh, Marshy was right; she is dumb.
Taylor shrugs, trying to play it cool, even though her heart is pounding and she wants to kiss him. "I came to see you."
Tyler backs off a little, and Taylor's not cool enough not to grab at his sleeve.
"Marshy was right," she says. "I am dumb and you are the best friend and I do love you and, oh, shit, you have to play in a couple of hours and I probably shouldn't have said that until after your game."
"All right," Tyler says, "let's not talk about this on the street." He lets her into his apartment, and then says, "You just got dumped."
"It's been almost a month! And he was an asshole anyway."
Tyler half smiles at her. "You always date assholes."
"You're not an asshole."
"No," Tyler says, but then he crowds her against the wall, and she never notices that he's just a little taller than her unless they're really close together.
"Oh," Taylor breathes, and she smiles up at him. "I still have your note, from the chocolates, and I want to always be your wife." She puts her arms around him, and he doesn't stop her. "And I really want you to fuck me because that's the only part of this we haven't done yet." She kisses him before he stops laughing, and he kisses back, and it's both the sweetest thing she's ever tasted and the second-best moment of her life (because nothing can ever top winning the Cup).
"Hey," Tyler says, and he nudges her hip, "is this where the credits are supposed to roll?"
Taylor laughs, can't help herself, joy bubbling out of her. "I think it's supposed to be the wedding, but here is good." She smiles up at him, watching him smile down at her. "This is a happy ending."
Suddenly-a-girl not!fic (1/2)
Date: 2012-09-24 02:39 am (UTC)He wakes up a girl, and there's not much to do about that except go on with his life. At least it's summer, so it's all just training and not having to actually go out in front of crowds. He figures as long as he has the parts, he should take advantage of them, so he spends some time touching himself, which is awesome, and then he goes on the internet and buys a vibrator (because he still looks too much like himself to go buy one in person and have that end up in the press) that he has shipped overnight, and that's also awesome. So then he figures as long as he has the body, he might as well see what actual sex is like in it. He doesn't have anything like the things he usually sees girls wearing, and he's a little afraid to go shopping for that stuff, but he fashions an outfit out of tight jeans (his ass hasn't changed that much), a t-shirt that's usually a little too small but just hugs his tits in this body, and a dress shirt over that. (Dress shirts on girls are always sexy, right?)
It's not quite the success he expects. The guys who hit on him are mostly creepy, and one of them calls him names when Segs turns him down. There's a girl, though, who comes up to talk to him, and it takes him a bit, but he finally realizes she's a lesbian, and she's pretty subtly hitting on him. He's had sex with girls before, so even though it wasn't what he was planning on doing with his night, he starts flirting back, and he says yes when she asks if he wants to come back to her place.
She looks at him a little dubiously when he goes down on her and says, "You've done this before, right?" She doesn't really wait for him to answer before she's grabbing his hair and telling him what to do and how she likes it.
Segs didn't even know girls could be bossy like that, or maybe it's just the kind of girls he picks up who aren't like that. It's hot, and he feels like he just scored a goal when he makes her come and she smiles at him. She goes down on him then, and, oh, fuck, he is never ever going to be upset about doing this for a girl now that he knows how good it makes them feel.
It's some of the best sex of his life, and if this were his real body, Segs would definitely get her number, but he figures that's not really fair to her and doesn't ask before he leaves.
Suddenly-a-girl not!fic (2/2)
Date: 2012-09-24 02:39 am (UTC)Brownie peers over his shoulder. "That's the same thing you make every day. The way you were concentrating, I thought you were doing something different."
"No," Segs says, and then he looks at Brownie. "Would you fuck me?"
Brownie eyes him up and down, lingers at his tits and his waist, then shrugs. "Sure."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. After we eat."
They eat their eggs, Brownie puts the dishes in the sink, and then they go upstairs to Segs' room. It turns out that the two years Brownie has on him translates to way more than Segs would have expected in sexual expertise. It's pretty great sex, and because it's Brownie, there are all these other things he doesn't have to worry about, like getting laughed at (because he expects Brownie is going to do that no matter what) or getting hurt (because Brownie's his best friend and would never do anything to hurt him that didn't involve checking him into the boards on the ice). They fuck around a couple more times, but it's never serious - they're just bros helping each other out - and then eventually Segs wakes up with his old body, which is a fucking relief.
The whole experience does a lot to shift Segs' view of girls. (And makes him worry a hell of a lot more about his sisters.) When he goes out, he still sometimes picks up the same kind of hot girls he's always picked up, but he also starts paying attention to and getting to know other types of women. Eventually he meets this woman who reminds him a little of the lesbian he went home with over the summer. Not that she really looks like the lesbian - the lesbian was, actually, more like one of the hot girls than anything else, and this woman has short hair and pretty much always wears jeans and t-shirts - but she's pretty direct about wanting him, and really direct about what she wants once they're in bed. There's been a lot less guesswork now that Segs knows what it's like to have sex in a girl's body, but there's pretty much none now, because she tells him exactly what she wants and what makes her feel good, and he knows now that he totally gets off on that. He doesn't even care that she doesn't know much about hockey because the sex is amazing and she seems to actually like him as a person, and he definitely likes her for more than just the sex. And then they live happily ever after.
Re: Suddenly-a-girl not!fic (2/2)
Date: 2012-09-24 03:10 am (UTC)Re: Suddenly-a-girl not!fic (2/2)
Date: 2012-09-24 11:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-09-24 02:42 pm (UTC)I think Segs probably is kind of a good hearted douche, and this line rang so true:
Segs didn't even know girls could be bossy like that, or maybe it's just the kind of girls he picks up who aren't like that.
Also, also, A++++ to Tyler Brown. Fandom is giving me such a crush on this dude.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-09-24 11:14 pm (UTC)♥ Thank you!
Re: Suddenly-a-girl not!fic (2/2)
Date: 2012-10-23 07:01 pm (UTC)Re: Suddenly-a-girl not!fic (2/2)
Date: 2012-10-24 02:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-09-22 12:26 am (UTC)A Sacred Exchange (1/3)
Date: 2012-09-24 01:49 am (UTC)The problem with being a telepath, instead of an empath or something, is that it only gets you so far over the language barrier. If Sid can take the time to visualize something and it's not too abstract a concept, he can get it across to Geno even without the language, but you don't have that kind of time on the ice, so at the beginning it's him thinking, "pass," and Geno thinking things at him in Russian that he doesn't know if they mean Geno's open or has two men on him or if they just mean he's having fun. (Usually they mean he's having fun, no matter what else is supposed to be contained in the message. Geno loves hockey as much as Sid does.)
That part gets better over time. Geno learns more English, Sid learns enough Russian for them to communicate even if Geno laughs at his pronunciation when he tries to say it with his mouth instead of his mind, and it makes them pretty effective on the ice.
It's all normal, until Sid's taking a nap in the middle of summer and wakes up from a dream he knows wasn't his feeling like he might cry. He doesn't even know what the dream was about - the dialogue was all in Russian his dreaming mind couldn't quite catch, and images in dreams don't always help make sense out of things - but he knows it felt like Geno, and like sadness and loneliness.
Sid grabs his phone and texts, What's wrong? even though he knows it's the middle of the night in Magnitogorsk, before he realizes that nothing about that is right. It's not that he's never had anyone else's dreams before, but telepathy isn't supposed to work over that kind of distance, and telepaths aren't supposed to be able to exchange emotions without some kind of empath in the mix.
Sid gets up from his nap and makes sure to keep his phone close, so he's ready when it vibrates with Geno's reply: nothing wrong
Sid hits call and listens to barely half a ring before Geno answers and says, "Nothing wrong."
"I had a dream," Sid says. "Your dream, I think," and he was so, so sure about that because everything about the dream felt like Geno's mind in his, but if everything's fine, maybe he was wrong. "It was sad."
Geno makes an admonishing noise. "Was just a dream. Nothing wrong. Stop worrying."
Sid makes a face. "I'm the Captain," he says. "It's my job to worry."
"Worry about negotiations," Geno says.
Sid's exasperation comes out in a sigh. "I wish we could just sign an agreement already. I just want to play hockey."
"You always want to play hockey," Geno says.
It's not until much later that Sid realizes Geno never said it wasn't his dream.
A Sacred Exchange (2/3)
Date: 2012-09-24 01:49 am (UTC)It takes some work to wind his way through the room to Ovechkin, but he manages it, just as Ovechkin turns away from the guys he was talking to.
Sid manages the whole hi-how are you-I'm fine small talk portion of the conversation before he asks, "Have you talked to Geno lately?"
Ovechkin raises his eyebrows and says, "Some."
"Does he seem okay?"
Ovechkin's eyebrows go up even further. "Zhenya's fine."
Sid must be projecting freaked out all over the place, because he gets hit with a wave of calm, and they've been in the same place often enough that Ovechkin usually respects Sid's boundaries. Words are fine, but Sid doesn't like it when empaths push feelings at him.
The hell of it is that it does actually make him calm down, enough that he can share a silent joke with Ovechkin when the media isn't content with Don's statement and wants to talk to him.
*
It's near the end of the summer when Sid says, "When you get back-" and Geno interrupts him to say, "Not coming back."
"What?"
"Not now." Geno sighs. "Going to be a lockout. You know, I know, everyone know. I'm staying here, play for Magnitogorsk. Already have a contract."
"Oh," Sid says. "Good for you."
"You come play with me," Geno says.
"Maybe. I'm hoping this isn't going to last long, and I should probably stay here for a while, be the face of things, at least until the end of the year, I think."
"You should play hockey," Geno says.
"Yeah," Sid says. "We're going to try to keep up some sort of schedule so no one gets out of shape."
Geno laughs, a giant sound that warms Sid all the way through. "And you on ice more than anyone."
"Probably," Sid admits.
*
The lockout drags on, Sid keeps up with practices and watches Geno's games when he can, and then suddenly they have an agreement and seventy-two hours for everyone to get back to their teams for mandatory practices. Sid gives a lot of interviews about what it all means, for the league and for him, and he's doing his best to maintain his media presence, but he's pretty sure he's smiling more than he's supposed to be.
Geno shows up at his door two hours before their first mandatory practice and locks him into a crushing hug, a litany of SidSidSid pushing into Sid's head. He sends back his own litany of GenoGenoGeno.
Sid pulls on Geno's arm after they've hugged for a ridiculously long time and guides him right back out the door. "You have to show me what you were doing in Russia. I think we can do some of that here." He sends an image of a play he saw Geno make, and gets a rush of mixed English and Russian back that makes him laugh and say, "Slow down," and by the time they get to the rink, they're only halfway through thinking out the list of everything Sid wants them to do this season.
They put their gear on and head out onto the ice to try some of it out.
"Too slow," Geno yells when one of his passes doesn't connect. "Not enough hockey."
Sid laughs and sends the retrieved puck sailing across the ice to Geno. He follows after it, battling to get it away from Geno. "Not enough Russians to practice with."
"Lots of Russians in Magnitogorsk." Geno swings away from Sid with the puck.
Sid doesn't bother to reply to that out loud, and he follows the old patterns he knows from playing with Geno and the new ones he thinks he's learned from watching him until he can get the puck.
They don't stop, alternating passing drills with variations on keep away, until there's a whistle from down the ice and they pass the puck back and forth on a lazy skate to where Dan's standing behind the boards.
"Practice isn't for twenty minutes," Dan says with a smile, "but I should have known you two would be out here. Good to have you back."
"Good to be back," Sid says, with Geno echoing him just a beat behind.
Dan waves them back out onto the ice. "Let's see what you've got."
A Sacred Exchange (3/3)
Date: 2012-09-24 01:50 am (UTC)He's tiny, under a year old, but old enough to be a little aware of his surroundings. Sid gets to hold him for a while, until Geno elbows into his space and says, "My turn. Soft hands, easy pass."
Sid chuckles, and hands the baby to Geno, so he can have his turn before they have to go do something that isn't stand around with an adorable baby.
Sid had been speaking mostly French, but Geno talks to the baby in Russian, and maybe it's that or maybe it's that the baby is taking up Geno's conscious attention, but Sid gets a flash of too many things in quick succession to make sense, and then that same sadness and loneliness from Geno's dreams, no matter how impossible that is.
Geno doesn't look sad, or lonely. He looks happy, delighted to be saying whatever it is he's saying to the baby, and the feeling only lasts a few seconds.
The memory of it lasts longer, and this time Sid pays attention to it. It was easier to dismiss when it was just a dream, but harder when it's something he felt when they were both awake.
He nudges Geno into his car after practice, and makes them both lunch. They keep talking about practice - Sid thinks they can do better with their passing; Geno thinks he's worrying too much - but Geno shuts down the mental side of their conversation for a moment when Sid flashes on the visit with Tanger's kid.
Sid opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again. "Do you want a baby?" is what finally comes out. "Is that why you were sad this summer?"
Geno looks like he's going to deny it for a moment, and then he floods Sid with a host of images of kids and babies and Sid holding Tanger's kid, along with a long mix of Russian and English that's too fast and garbled for Sid to get more meaning out of than that he was right.
"So many kids," Geno says, and now he actually looks sad. "And little ones, babies. Visited them at the-" he flashes a series of images at Sid, a building, kids, adults who aren't their parents.
"Orphanage?" Sid suggests.
Geno nods. "Not wanted. I want."
He looks so miserable that Sid frowns with him. "You could," he says. "Adopt one of them, or something."
Geno makes a face. "Big mess." He sends the rest of it mentally, fuzzy images of imagined press coverage, him with a baby alone, a rosier image of him with another indistinct adult and a baby.
Sid absorbs all of that, turns it around in his head, wraps it up with the kind of media attention he's used to, and says, "It would be like that anyway, however you got or had a baby, right?" He doesn't wait for Geno's agreement before saying, "So you should have a baby if you want one. Or an older kid. Or whatever."
"Hard to do alone," Geno says.
"We could do it together," Sid says before he can talk himself out of it.
"You would?" Geno asks, and he sends an image of the two of them and a baby in a Penguins jersey that's clear but also manages to be a question.
Sid grabs onto the image greedily, because they look so happy in it, and they would be. "Yes," he says. "The media circus would be worse and we'd need a nanny" - he sends back the image with a hazy person waiting by a stroller in the background - "but yes."
Geno grins at him, and even though he shouldn't be able to, Sid can feel how happy he is.
--
End note: Title loosely taken from Jamie Lee Curtis: "We look at adoption as a very sacred exchange. It was not done lightly on either side. I would dedicate my life to this child."
(no subject)
Date: 2012-09-24 03:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-09-27 03:50 am (UTC)Not!Fic: Hockey Practices and Half-Credit Cooking Classes (1/6)
Date: 2012-10-01 01:29 am (UTC)Claude's been working at a coffee shop for the last two years, but he's not really excited about it (and the early morning shifts are brutal), so his junior year he decides he's going to find a better part-time job. Enter the classified ad looking for someone who can babysit three boys five afternoons a week every other week. Claude doesn't really expect to get a call back, but it sounds like a reasonable gig, so he applies.
Much to his surprise, he ends up in an interview with a guy in a well-fitting suit who introduces himself as Danny and explains that he's divorced and shares custody, and that his previous babysitter quit so now he needs a new one. Danny keeps saying he's frazzled by trying to do it himself while he's between sitters, but he seems perfectly calm to Claude.
Claude likes Danny, and Danny seems to like the fact that Claude played hockey growing up (it's Canada, so of course his boys all play hockey), but Claude's still a little surprised that he ends up with a second interview, this one at Danny's (giant) house where he meets the kids. Caelan, the oldest, is a little cautious, and it takes a while before he smiles at Claude. Carson, the middle one, talks (and talks and talks and talks) and seems to be the instigator of trouble. Cameron, the youngest, is sweet and a little shy.
Claude's even more surprised when Danny offers him the job, but he says yes, and then every other week he spends his afternoons picking the kids up at school, taking them home or to hockey practice or wherever it is they need to be, and basically keeping an eye on them until Danny gets home from work.
He thinks it's going to be a lot easier than it actually is, and he gives in and asks Danny for advice a couple of times.
"You're the adult," Danny tells him. "You get to be more of their friend than I do, but you're still the adult."
Claude starts bringing his homework with him, because the kids get a kick out of him doing homework too while they do their spelling and math worksheets, or have quiet reading time.
Danny invites him to stick around and watch a hockey game with them a couple of times. They always order in for dinner; Danny sort of ruefully confesses that he doesn't know how to cook. It's always a big treat for the kids, because they have to change into their pajamas early, but then they get to watch the game until bedtime. Danny always takes them up and tucks them in, and then comes back downstairs and he and Claude finish their beers in front of the game.
They talk a little, over those hockey games, and Claude finds that he likes Danny, even beyond the part where he's a pretty good boss.
Not!Fic: Hockey Practices and Half-Credit Cooking Classes (2/6)
Date: 2012-10-01 01:31 am (UTC)Claude rubs his back and says, "Come on, buddy, I think it's time for a nap," which sets off another round of tantrum that Claude ignores as he carries Cameron upstairs and gets him to lie down. He doesn't really know what he's doing, but Cam feels pretty warm when Claude puts the back of his hand to his forehead.
Claude sits with him until he falls asleep, and then he goes downstairs and googles fevers. It's probably nothing - kids get sick all the time - but he's not sure if he needs to call someone. In the end, he decides better safe than sorry and calls Danny at work.
"Yeah," Danny says, "all the neighborhood kids have been sick. There's a thermometer in my bathroom. If he wakes up, take his temp and call me back. Otherwise, just let him sleep."
Cameron's still asleep when Caelan and Carson get home. Danny goes upstairs to check on him when he gets home, and comes back downstairs carrying Cameron, who's just young enough to be okay with that sometimes.
Cameron raises his head from Danny's shoulder to say, "I don't feel good," to Claude.
"I know, buddy." Claude holds out his hand for a sleepy fist bump from Cameron. "Feel better, okay?"
Danny says, "Thanks, Claude," before Claude leaves.
Danny calls him the next day and says, "Cameron's still sick. I stayed home with him and I don't need you to stay this afternoon, but could you pick Caelan and Carson up?"
"Yeah, of course."
Cameron's on the couch when Claude brings Caelan and Carson home, and he says, "I don't like being sick."
Claude says, "No one likes being sick, buddy," and he leans down to hug Cameron.
"You're going to get sick," Carson says.
"I never get sick," Claude says.
He gets sick. It's over the weekend and the boys are with their mom next week, so at least it doesn't impact his job. He has to confess to it, because Danny asks him about it, and he gets Danny shaking his head and saying, "I told you so."
*
Every once in a while, Danny calls to say he's going to be home late, and there's always cash on top of the fridge, just in case, so Claude can order them dinner. Sometimes, Claude makes them grilled cheese instead, which the kids love.
Claude's friends and roommates pretty much just get used to Claude being gone afternoons every other week, and it's not a big deal until it's time to register for classes for spring semester. Claude makes sure he doesn't have any afternoon classes and, thinking about those nights he gets dinner for the boys, signs up for a half-credit cooking class.
Then he gets a lot of shit from his friends about trying to impress the kids' dad. Claude just laughs it off.
Not!Fic: Hockey Practices and Half-Credit Cooking Classes (3/6)
Date: 2012-10-01 01:31 am (UTC)"Mama, this is Claude!"
The kids' mom looks him over, and there's a sort of amused smile on her face when she says, "Hello, Claude."
Claude says, "Uh, hi," because he's not sure what to call her.
That only makes her look even more amused, and she says, "Call me Sylvie. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
They talk for a minute about the kids, because Claude knows almost as much about their lives as Sylvie does, and then Danny shows up and Sylvie turns her amusement and a pair of raised eyebrows on him. Danny's mouth tightens for a moment, and then he says, "Thank you for bringing the boys over."
"Sure," Claude says. "No problem. I guess I'll-"
"No," Cameron says, pulling on his hand again. "You have to stay!"
Neither Danny nor Sylvie look like they're going to object to it, so Claude stays for the whole thing and gets introduced to a lot of parents and kids whose names he's probably not going to remember and the boys' teachers who he probably will.
*
As glad as Claude is to go see his family over Christmas break, he's going to miss the boys, and he and Danny work it out so he's not gone too long and there isn't too much extra coverage Danny has to arrange for.
The boys all get new skates and sticks for Christmas so they spend a lot more time playing hockey or horsing around on the ice in January. Claude started keeping his skates in the trunk of his car so he can go with them as soon as it got cold.
Claude's cooking class goes well, and he starts cooking for the boys on nights when Danny's going to be home late, and sometimes they're still at the table when Danny comes home and he joins them with a smile that makes the corners of his eyes crinkle up.
One night, Danny comes home a little late, but the boys and Claude are so involved in their game that they don't even notice. Danny slips by them and comes back downstairs in a jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt and asks the boys about dinner and Claude if he wants to stay.
"You have to stay," Carson says. "I want grilled cheese, and you're the best."
Danny shakes his head. "I didn't mean we should make Claude keep working."
Claude shrugs. "I don't mind making grilled cheese."
Danny smiles at him and says, "Okay, but maybe you can teach me how."
The boys hang around the kitchen and watch Claude walk Danny through the exact way he makes grilled cheese.
Danny cuts the first sandwich into fourths and gives one piece to each of the boys and the fourth piece to Claude.
"You cooked it," Claude says. "You should get to try it."
"You're the expert," Danny says, so Claude takes a bite and gives the rest of it back to Danny.
"It's good," Claude says.
The boys make muffled agreements through their pieces of sandwich, and Danny smiles at Claude and takes a bite out of the piece Claude shared with him.
Later, Claude will look back and remember this as the moment he fell in love with Danny, but right now all he knows is that Danny's smile takes his breath away, and it takes an act of sheer willpower not to lean over and find out what it tastes like.
He manages to say, "Let's see if you can do it again," and cuts up carrot sticks while he supervises Danny's sandwich making.
When he leaves Danny says, "Thanks," and, "We should do this again sometime."
Claude goes home and throws himself onto the couch and tells whichever of his roommates are around, "I'm totally into Danny."
His roommates are very unsympathetic and say things like, "Yeah, we already know that," and "You want to be his kids' stay at home mom."
Not!Fic: Hockey Practices and Half-Credit Cooking Classes (4/6)
Date: 2012-10-01 01:31 am (UTC)Caelan and Cameron are already there with Sylvie, and Cameron spots Claude and yells at him to come sit with them. Danny gets there a few minutes after Claude does, and he ends up on Claude's other side. They cheer for Carson's team, and Cameron spends half the game moving around so he can sit with Sylvie, Claude, and Danny in turn. It's Sylvie's weekend with the boys, so they go home with her and Danny invites Claude out to lunch.
It's great. Aside from a few stolen moments here and there and the occasional hockey game that runs past the boys' bedtime, Claude doesn't get to spend that much time just with Danny, and he loves it. Danny's easy to talk to, he seems to like Claude, and Claude definitely likes him.
Danny walks Claude out to his car. "This was fun," he says. "We should do it again sometime."
"Yes," Claude says, "we should."
Danny looks at him for a moment and then says, "If you ever need a quiet place to study, you're welcome to come over, even if the boys are at Sylvie's."
Claude feels his breath catch at the extent of what Danny's offering. "Okay," he says. "Thanks."
Danny squeezes his arm, and Claude forces himself to get into his car instead of standing around grinning.
*
Claude does start taking his homework over to Danny's sometimes. It's silent in the afternoons when the kids are at Sylvie's, and Claude tries to stay out of Danny's way because even though Danny said he could be there, he doesn't want to intrude too much, but every time he loses track of time and is still there when Danny gets home, Danny invites him to stay for dinner.
"You just like my cooking," Claude says one evening as they're putting the dishes away, because his class is going well and they cook most of the time now.
"Not just your cooking," Danny says with a smile, and Claude looks up because that tone isn't just warm, it's flirtatious.
Claude does his best to return both the smile and the interest. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Danny moves a few inches closer. "I like you."
Claude smiles a little more. "I like you too." He puts his hand on the back of Danny's head. "Can I?"
Danny tilts into his touch. "Yes."
They make out for a while in the middle of the kitchen, until Danny pulls away.
"You can stay," he says. "Come upstairs with me."
Claude takes in a breath. "Just like that?"
Danny looks at him, so fond that Claude just wants to do whatever it is he's just done to make Danny look at him like that all the time. "I've been trying to date you for months."
"Oh," Claude says, "but you never said."
"I'm your boss. I didn't want you to think-"
Claude surges forward and kisses him again. "I don't. Let's go upstairs. That's a great idea."
The sex isn't perfect, or even great, but it's good, and afterwards Claude lies there looking at Danny and blurts out, "I love you." He puts his hand over his face after he does. "That makes me sound like the dumbest kid, and it's not because we just hooked up. I really do."
Danny pulls his hand away and kisses him. "I don't think you're a dumb kid." He doesn't say he loves Claude, but it's okay because he does kiss him some more. He also says, "I really didn't hire you just because I wanted you."
Claude looks at him for a moment. "Is that why Sylvie's always laughing at me?"
Danny groans. "She knows my taste."
Not!Fic: Hockey Practices and Half-Credit Cooking Classes (5/6)
Date: 2012-10-01 01:32 am (UTC)They also have an awkward conversation about money that results in Danny still paying Claude what he's been paying him, but with Claude's assurances that he'll quit or break up with Danny anyway if he really wants to, which Danny insists on even though Claude can't imagine wanting to do either of those things.
It's one of the nights that Claude stays for dinner when they tell the boys they're dating. The boys take it as just another thing that's happening in their lives, and Cameron asks, "Are you going to live with us?"
Claude exchanges a look with Danny before he says, "Not right away, but maybe sometime."
Things don't change much after that, although the kids sometimes treat him like more of a dad than a babysitter, which always gives Claude a quick glow of satisfaction.
*
The boys have a lot of things going on in the summer, camps and playdates and birthday parties. Claude goes home and gets spoiled by his mom for the two weeks they're at Sylvie's and then away at hockey camp, and comes back to spend the rest of the summer alternately driving the boys around and hanging out by the pool during the day and seeing Danny at night.
Danny takes the boys on a yearly vacation to a rented cottage in the Laurentians for a week, and invites Claude along with them. They spend most of the time hanging out by the lake, with the boys running around and hanging out with the kids from another family they see there every summer. They switch off with the other family, so they have all of the kids one night and the other family takes them all another.
As much as he loves the boys, it's nice to have a night to themselves as part of their vacation, when Claude can be as loud as he wants, make Danny be even louder. It's afterward - or between, really - that Danny runs his hand through Claude's hair and says, "I love you."
Claude wasn't sure he could get any happier, but that does it. "Yeah?"
"Mmhmm." Danny's fingers keep playing through Claude's hair. "Do you want to move in with us?"
Oh, and there Danny goes again, making him happier. "Yes."
*
Claude breaks the news to his roommates when he gets home, and he moves in while Sylvie has the boys. As much as he would like to have the boys around on his first night officially living there, it's a lot easier to do the moving part of things without the three of them underfoot.
Danny stops paying him, and they combine their finances instead. Claude worries about not contributing, but Danny just kisses him and says, "You're taking care of the boys, and you're in school."
The boys are delighted to have Claude around all the time, even if being a full-time caregiver means he ends up putting his foot down in a parental way more often. For his part, Claude is perfectly happy to be part of their family.
Not!Fic: Hockey Practices and Half-Credit Cooking Classes (6/6)
Date: 2012-10-01 01:32 am (UTC)They also have an awkward conversation about money that results in Danny still paying Claude what he's been paying him, but with Claude's assurances that he'll quit or break up with Danny anyway if he really wants to, which Danny insists on even though Claude can't imagine wanting to do either of those things.
It's one of the nights that Claude stays for dinner when they tell the boys they're dating. The boys take it as just another thing that's happening in their lives, and Cameron asks, "Are you going to live with us?"
Claude exchanges a look with Danny before he says, "Not right away, but maybe sometime."
Things don't change much after that, although the kids sometimes treat him like more of a dad than a babysitter, which always gives Claude a quick glow of satisfaction.
*
The boys have a lot of things going on in the summer, camps and playdates and birthday parties. Claude goes home and gets spoiled by his mom for the two weeks they're at Sylvie's and then away at hockey camp, and comes back to spend the rest of the summer alternately driving the boys around and hanging out by the pool during the day and seeing Danny at night.
Danny takes the boys on a yearly vacation to a rented cottage in the Laurentians for a week, and invites Claude along with them. They spend most of the time hanging out by the lake, with the boys running around and hanging out with the kids from another family they see there every summer. They switch off with the other family, so they have all of the kids one night and the other family takes them all another.
As much as he loves the boys, it's nice to have a night to themselves as part of their vacation, when Claude can be as loud as he wants, make Danny be even louder. It's afterward - or between, really - that Danny runs his hand through Claude's hair and says, "I love you."
Claude wasn't sure he could get any happier, but that does it. "Yeah?"
"Mmhmm." Danny's fingers keep playing through Claude's hair. "Do you want to move in with us?"
Oh, and there Danny goes again, making him happier. "Yes."
*
Claude breaks the news to his roommates when he gets home, and he moves in while Sylvie has the boys. As much as he would like to have the boys around on his first night officially living there, it's a lot easier to do the moving part of things without the three of them underfoot.
Danny stops paying him, and they combine their finances instead. Claude worries about not contributing, but Danny just kisses him and says, "You're taking care of the boys, and you're in school."
The boys are delighted to have Claude around all the time, even if being a full-time caregiver means he ends up putting his foot down in a parental way more often. For his part, Claude is perfectly happy to be part of their family.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-01 01:35 am (UTC)