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fellowshippers2007-02-03 12:11 am
v-angelique.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2007-02-03 12:11 am
Entry tags:
- au,
- craig/david,
- r
Fic: Of Best Friends and Lunchboxes (5/12)
Title: Of Best Friends and Lunchboxes (5/12)
Author: Viktoria Angelique (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
v_angelique)
Pairing: DW/CP
Rating: series up to R; PG-13 this part
Disclaimer: This is very, very untrue, and AU in fact, so even more untrue! Also, I'm borrowing real people including Dave's wife and daughter, but only the names are real, the rest--completely fictional.
Warning: Het discussed.
Chapter Summary: Dave's wedding anniversary isn't exactly a celebration
Previous Chapters
It was two weeks before Dave saw Craig again. When Kate found out that he had left their daughter with the neighbour while at work, she was livid and forbade him to spend any time with Craig. He did manage to slip an apologetic note in the man’s mailbox one morning, though, and Dave found a pleasant response tucked under his windscreen wiper the next day.
For two weeks, it was sunny, but this night, a Saturday, the rain was relentless again. And, though it was nearly midnight, Craig opened his front door at the sound of the bell and found Dave, wearing nothing but a pair of pyjama pants, absolutely soaked.
“Hey, I’m really sorry, I just didn’t know where else to…”
“Don’t worry about it, mate, please, come in,” Craig urged, gesturing for Dave to come inside and locking the door behind him. “Here, have a seat in the kitchen, I’ll grab you a towel and you can tell me what happened.”
Sure enough, Craig returned with a big fluffy towel, wrapping it around Dave’s shoulders, and put the kettle on for tea before pulling up a chair and sitting facing him. “Hey, wasn’t tonight you and Kate’s…?”
“Wedding anniversary, yeah. It was.”
“Oh. Where’s ‘Liza?”
“At her grandmother’s.”
“Are you all right?” Craig asked, noting Dave’s kicked puppy look.
“Not… not really. Did I ever tell you about my family, Craig?”
Craig frowned, not really seeing the connection, but shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
“I’m the youngest of seven,” Dave explained.
“Damn!”
“Yeah. We’re Catholic, you know, so….”
“No birth control?”
“Right. I have five older sisters and one older brother. My parents are still married, of course, though I’m not honestly sure, God help me, that that’s best. But anyway, that’s six siblings, all older, all successful, all my parents’ pride and joy.”
Craig waited, patiently, rubbing Dave’s knees comfortingly as he got his story out.
“In high school, I was a bit of a nerd. I liked arts and stuff; I wasn’t a typical teenaged boy. My mother worried about me. And so, when I met Kate, she was thrilled. Kate was the cheerleading captain, I don’t know if I mentioned that. She was homecoming queen our junior year. She was gorgeous, still is, obviously. And we became best friends.”
“Not lovers?”
“Not yet. We got along well, though. I complimented her well, you know, I was kind of shy and she loved to talk. She had great plans—big, detailed plans—and I fit nicely into them. She wanted me to study business, so I did. She wanted me to have a good job, so I took the realty exam. She wanted to get married, and I proposed. She wanted a child, and I…” Dave paused here, coughing. “I…”
“Gave her one?” Craig smiled, sympathetically, squeezing Dave’s leg. Dave shut his eyes.
“Craig, I’ve never told this to anyone but the priest, but… well I’ve always wanted kids, but I never really wanted to have sex with a girl. I was afraid there was something unnatural about me, you know? I tried everything I could think of to make it appealing, but the problem just didn’t come up until we were married, because of my religion. I’d never even kissed a girl before Kate came along. She thought that was sweet, but… well…”
“It’s okay, honey, take your time,” Craig urged. “Here, let me get you some tea,” he suggested, standing up and pouring a cup of the hot water over a bag. Dave tried not to think about the feeling of loss when Craig stepped away.
“It’s really hard to say this out loud, but… our wedding night, it was the first time I ever tried having sex with a girl, and… it didn’t work.”
“You didn’t get an erection?” Craig guessed.
“Not even close. I guess I just… never felt that way, towards her. I mean, she’s beautiful, and I’m attracted to that aesthetically, but it never made me… horny, I guess.” Dave blushed deeply and Craig wanted to hug him, the poor man was so innocent, but clearly Dave was deeply troubled.
“Did it get better, then? After the first time?”
“Well yeah, a little. Kate was understanding, and she didn’t pressure me. I learned how to make myself enjoy it enough to get hard, and I figured out how to pleasure her in other ways, which helped a lot, but it was really hard for me to, you know…”
“Come?” Craig suggested when it was apparent Dave wasn’t going to be able to speak the word.
“Yeah, that,” Dave agreed, blushing so deeply Craig could’ve sworn his bare chest was tinged pink. “Well, you know, that didn’t help much trying to have a kid. The first one was miscarried, and I suspect that might have been my fault…”
“What? Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to have sex with my wife. Because God knew that the act of conceiving that child wasn’t something I enjoyed.”
“And Eliza Jane?”
“Well, we prayed a lot together for a baby. That’s when we started seeing our marriage counsellor, as well. And we finally were successful.”
“You must have been relieved.”
“Oh, you have no idea. And I was so happy to be a father, you know, despite the fact that I don’t like sex, I really did want kids.”
“I can see that with Eliza. You make a wonderful father,” Craig said with a smile.
Dave grinned at that, taking a sip of his tea. “Thank you. That means a lot. You know, for a while I thought I might be unfit to be a father. I don’t love my wife, and that’s not right. That’s not the kind of house you want to raise a child in. Kate is always talking about bad influences; she even says you’re a bad influence and doesn’t want Eliza growing up around you, but I think she’s wrong. Being the child of a loveless marriage has to be worse, no matter what kind of a charade we might put on.”
“Do you think your marriage is a charade, then?” Craig asked.
“I… I don’t know. Kate and I are comfortable. I work, she takes care of our daughter, we go to church and volunteer. We’re just the kind of family you would want to raise a child in.”
“But you’re not happy.”
“Not entirely. But maybe I want too much, Craig. Maybe love is too much to ask for. I don’t want to tempt fate….’
“You deserve love, David. You really do.”
“I… how do you know that?” Dave asked, his gaze sincere. Craig felt slightly lost in those blue eyes, and had to take a deep breath before saying something he shouldn’t.
“You’re a good person. You really are, whether you believe it or not. And everyone deserves the chance to fall in love.”
“Well… I’ve missed that chance,” Dave replied, sighing and staring at his hands folded in his lap. “And now I’m afraid I’ve fucked things up irrevocably.”
“How? What happened tonight?”
“I took Kate out to dinner like I’d planned, and it was nice. We went to a restaurant we both like, we went dancing at her parent’s country club, and then we came home. And… Craig, she hasn’t asked me to sleep with her in nearly a year. Our marriage counsellor says it’s not necessary, and perfectly healthy for a busy couple with a young child. But tonight, she said she had such a great time, and then she started undressing…”
“Did that make you uncomfortable?”
“You have no idea. I panicked, I asked if there wasn’t something she’d rather do, and she said of course not, that she wanted to make love to her husband. And then she accused me of being… abnormal.”
“Dave, you’re not…”
“You don’t know that!” Dave replied, a little harshly. “She… she said that she can’t handle it anymore, that I don’t satisfy her, and I’m not fulfilling my vows to her. She asked me when the last time I felt truly happy was, and… I don’t know where that question came from, but I couldn’t answer it.”
“You don’t remember when?”
“No, I do remember. It was two weeks ago. Outside, in the rain. With you.”
Craig sucked in a breath. “Oh.”
“Yeah. So what was I supposed to say? ‘Sorry honey, I haven’t been happy with you in over a year, but I had a fantastic weekend with my new friend a couple of weeks ago, who, oh yeah, happens to be homosexual?’ She’d have a heart attack!”
Craig snorted. “I’m not trying to convert you.”
“Well I know that!”
“Does she?”
“I don’t know… you don’t think she suspects that I’m…”
Craig shrugged. “She might. You could fix that pretty easily though by telling her you’re not. But that still leaves a big problem.”
“I don’t love my wife.”
“Right.”
“God, I am so freaking screwed. No, actually, you know what? I’m so fucking screwed,” Dave corrected himself, grinning widely at the use of a word that Kate generally banned. “And I am a fucking adult, and I can make my own fucking decisions!”
Craig grinned in return, and soon found himself with his arms full of a wet, warm, shirtless Dave. He bit his lip, hard.
“Thanks, Craig. You’re the best.”
“I didn’t actually do anything…”
“No. You did,” Dave insisted, not letting go. “I’ve never had a friend quite like you,” he whispered, still clinging tightly.
“Me neither, Dave. Me neither.”
Author: Viktoria Angelique (
v_angelique)Pairing: DW/CP
Rating: series up to R; PG-13 this part
Disclaimer: This is very, very untrue, and AU in fact, so even more untrue! Also, I'm borrowing real people including Dave's wife and daughter, but only the names are real, the rest--completely fictional.
Warning: Het discussed.
Chapter Summary: Dave's wedding anniversary isn't exactly a celebration
Previous Chapters
It was two weeks before Dave saw Craig again. When Kate found out that he had left their daughter with the neighbour while at work, she was livid and forbade him to spend any time with Craig. He did manage to slip an apologetic note in the man’s mailbox one morning, though, and Dave found a pleasant response tucked under his windscreen wiper the next day.
For two weeks, it was sunny, but this night, a Saturday, the rain was relentless again. And, though it was nearly midnight, Craig opened his front door at the sound of the bell and found Dave, wearing nothing but a pair of pyjama pants, absolutely soaked.
“Hey, I’m really sorry, I just didn’t know where else to…”
“Don’t worry about it, mate, please, come in,” Craig urged, gesturing for Dave to come inside and locking the door behind him. “Here, have a seat in the kitchen, I’ll grab you a towel and you can tell me what happened.”
Sure enough, Craig returned with a big fluffy towel, wrapping it around Dave’s shoulders, and put the kettle on for tea before pulling up a chair and sitting facing him. “Hey, wasn’t tonight you and Kate’s…?”
“Wedding anniversary, yeah. It was.”
“Oh. Where’s ‘Liza?”
“At her grandmother’s.”
“Are you all right?” Craig asked, noting Dave’s kicked puppy look.
“Not… not really. Did I ever tell you about my family, Craig?”
Craig frowned, not really seeing the connection, but shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
“I’m the youngest of seven,” Dave explained.
“Damn!”
“Yeah. We’re Catholic, you know, so….”
“No birth control?”
“Right. I have five older sisters and one older brother. My parents are still married, of course, though I’m not honestly sure, God help me, that that’s best. But anyway, that’s six siblings, all older, all successful, all my parents’ pride and joy.”
Craig waited, patiently, rubbing Dave’s knees comfortingly as he got his story out.
“In high school, I was a bit of a nerd. I liked arts and stuff; I wasn’t a typical teenaged boy. My mother worried about me. And so, when I met Kate, she was thrilled. Kate was the cheerleading captain, I don’t know if I mentioned that. She was homecoming queen our junior year. She was gorgeous, still is, obviously. And we became best friends.”
“Not lovers?”
“Not yet. We got along well, though. I complimented her well, you know, I was kind of shy and she loved to talk. She had great plans—big, detailed plans—and I fit nicely into them. She wanted me to study business, so I did. She wanted me to have a good job, so I took the realty exam. She wanted to get married, and I proposed. She wanted a child, and I…” Dave paused here, coughing. “I…”
“Gave her one?” Craig smiled, sympathetically, squeezing Dave’s leg. Dave shut his eyes.
“Craig, I’ve never told this to anyone but the priest, but… well I’ve always wanted kids, but I never really wanted to have sex with a girl. I was afraid there was something unnatural about me, you know? I tried everything I could think of to make it appealing, but the problem just didn’t come up until we were married, because of my religion. I’d never even kissed a girl before Kate came along. She thought that was sweet, but… well…”
“It’s okay, honey, take your time,” Craig urged. “Here, let me get you some tea,” he suggested, standing up and pouring a cup of the hot water over a bag. Dave tried not to think about the feeling of loss when Craig stepped away.
“It’s really hard to say this out loud, but… our wedding night, it was the first time I ever tried having sex with a girl, and… it didn’t work.”
“You didn’t get an erection?” Craig guessed.
“Not even close. I guess I just… never felt that way, towards her. I mean, she’s beautiful, and I’m attracted to that aesthetically, but it never made me… horny, I guess.” Dave blushed deeply and Craig wanted to hug him, the poor man was so innocent, but clearly Dave was deeply troubled.
“Did it get better, then? After the first time?”
“Well yeah, a little. Kate was understanding, and she didn’t pressure me. I learned how to make myself enjoy it enough to get hard, and I figured out how to pleasure her in other ways, which helped a lot, but it was really hard for me to, you know…”
“Come?” Craig suggested when it was apparent Dave wasn’t going to be able to speak the word.
“Yeah, that,” Dave agreed, blushing so deeply Craig could’ve sworn his bare chest was tinged pink. “Well, you know, that didn’t help much trying to have a kid. The first one was miscarried, and I suspect that might have been my fault…”
“What? Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to have sex with my wife. Because God knew that the act of conceiving that child wasn’t something I enjoyed.”
“And Eliza Jane?”
“Well, we prayed a lot together for a baby. That’s when we started seeing our marriage counsellor, as well. And we finally were successful.”
“You must have been relieved.”
“Oh, you have no idea. And I was so happy to be a father, you know, despite the fact that I don’t like sex, I really did want kids.”
“I can see that with Eliza. You make a wonderful father,” Craig said with a smile.
Dave grinned at that, taking a sip of his tea. “Thank you. That means a lot. You know, for a while I thought I might be unfit to be a father. I don’t love my wife, and that’s not right. That’s not the kind of house you want to raise a child in. Kate is always talking about bad influences; she even says you’re a bad influence and doesn’t want Eliza growing up around you, but I think she’s wrong. Being the child of a loveless marriage has to be worse, no matter what kind of a charade we might put on.”
“Do you think your marriage is a charade, then?” Craig asked.
“I… I don’t know. Kate and I are comfortable. I work, she takes care of our daughter, we go to church and volunteer. We’re just the kind of family you would want to raise a child in.”
“But you’re not happy.”
“Not entirely. But maybe I want too much, Craig. Maybe love is too much to ask for. I don’t want to tempt fate….’
“You deserve love, David. You really do.”
“I… how do you know that?” Dave asked, his gaze sincere. Craig felt slightly lost in those blue eyes, and had to take a deep breath before saying something he shouldn’t.
“You’re a good person. You really are, whether you believe it or not. And everyone deserves the chance to fall in love.”
“Well… I’ve missed that chance,” Dave replied, sighing and staring at his hands folded in his lap. “And now I’m afraid I’ve fucked things up irrevocably.”
“How? What happened tonight?”
“I took Kate out to dinner like I’d planned, and it was nice. We went to a restaurant we both like, we went dancing at her parent’s country club, and then we came home. And… Craig, she hasn’t asked me to sleep with her in nearly a year. Our marriage counsellor says it’s not necessary, and perfectly healthy for a busy couple with a young child. But tonight, she said she had such a great time, and then she started undressing…”
“Did that make you uncomfortable?”
“You have no idea. I panicked, I asked if there wasn’t something she’d rather do, and she said of course not, that she wanted to make love to her husband. And then she accused me of being… abnormal.”
“Dave, you’re not…”
“You don’t know that!” Dave replied, a little harshly. “She… she said that she can’t handle it anymore, that I don’t satisfy her, and I’m not fulfilling my vows to her. She asked me when the last time I felt truly happy was, and… I don’t know where that question came from, but I couldn’t answer it.”
“You don’t remember when?”
“No, I do remember. It was two weeks ago. Outside, in the rain. With you.”
Craig sucked in a breath. “Oh.”
“Yeah. So what was I supposed to say? ‘Sorry honey, I haven’t been happy with you in over a year, but I had a fantastic weekend with my new friend a couple of weeks ago, who, oh yeah, happens to be homosexual?’ She’d have a heart attack!”
Craig snorted. “I’m not trying to convert you.”
“Well I know that!”
“Does she?”
“I don’t know… you don’t think she suspects that I’m…”
Craig shrugged. “She might. You could fix that pretty easily though by telling her you’re not. But that still leaves a big problem.”
“I don’t love my wife.”
“Right.”
“God, I am so freaking screwed. No, actually, you know what? I’m so fucking screwed,” Dave corrected himself, grinning widely at the use of a word that Kate generally banned. “And I am a fucking adult, and I can make my own fucking decisions!”
Craig grinned in return, and soon found himself with his arms full of a wet, warm, shirtless Dave. He bit his lip, hard.
“Thanks, Craig. You’re the best.”
“I didn’t actually do anything…”
“No. You did,” Dave insisted, not letting go. “I’ve never had a friend quite like you,” he whispered, still clinging tightly.
“Me neither, Dave. Me neither.”
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Angie
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*hugs*
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