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fellowshippers2007-03-09 02:07 pm
v-angelique.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2007-03-09 02:07 pm
Entry tags:
- au,
- craig/david,
- r
Fic: Of Best Friends and Lunchboxes (10/12)
Title: Of Best Friends and Lunchboxes (10/12)
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.
Chapter Summary: More Queer as Folk, Craig's birthday, and Eliza gets snarky.
Previous Chapters
"Kitty! Daddy, you got a kitty!!"
Kate stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, expression extremely displeased as Eliza Jane darted past Dave's knees after a quickly fleeing Ruby.
"You bought her a cat?"
"Well technically, Craig found me a cat."
"What?"
"Craig," Dave repeated slowly, an edge of sarcasm in his tone. "The guy I live with? Found Ruby, in an alley."
"In an alley? David, you could be exposing our daughter to rabies!"
"She's fine, Kate. We got her checked out, and she was just left there by a little boy who couldn't keep her. She's just like Ginger, and Craig knew I'd want her…"
"Like who?"
"Ginger. My old cat. I guess I never told you…"
"No, you didn't. David, I'm your wife and…"
"Ex wife," Dave corrected, particularly glad to be able to say that now that the divorce had gone completely through. "And can you stop calling me that, please?"
"Ex wife," she repeated with a particularly deadly glare. "And this… this… roommate of yours knows more about your life than I do?"
"You never asked," Dave said with a shrug. "Look, if you're done…"
"Don't do this," she interjected. "There's something going on here that I don't like… and when I find out exactly what it is, you'll regret it," she warned with a cold stare.
"Are you threatening him?" Craig asked, appearing over Dave's shoulder in the doorway with a positively lethal look. "Look, lady, you're not the only one with money and lawyers, kapeesh? And if you dare do what you're insinuating, I will sue your arse so fast…"
"Oh go to hell, Parker."
"You're on my property, Kate," he replied with a level stare.
"Yes, and you're in possession of my child, you filthy Sodomite!"
Craig raised an eyebrow as if impressed, his hand reaching out to gently catch Dave by the hip before he tried to step forward and object. "Your child, Kate, has been ordered by the court to see her father every other weekend. After everything else you've taken from Dave—his Church, his home, his dignity—I'll be dead before I let you take the one thing that matters most to him. Now get off my God-damned property," he insisted in a low, warning tone.
Kate huffed, and sputtered, but finally turned on her heel and stomped down the walk without a word. Craig smiled and shut the door behind her, turning to Dave and reaching up to gently cup his cheeks with both hands.
"You're fine, love. We're fine. I'm not going to let that bitch hurt you anymore."
"Craig, you can't…"
"Can't what? Can't spend my money on you? Can't defend you? You're wrong."
Dave looked as if he wanted to object, but finally gave up, moving closer and falling into Craig's embrace, his head resting on the shorter man's shoulder.
"There, there, Daisy. You're okay, love. You're okay. Now come on. We've got a child and a cat to entertain."
Dave grinned at that and nodded, wiping his tears on his sleeve and letting Craig lead him into the living room.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?" Dave sat on his own bed, holding Eliza's hand through the bars of her trundle as he always did when he sat with her before bed.
"Do you love Uncle Cwaig?"
Dave blushed, but nodded. "Of course I do, sweetheart. It's like you say, he's my bestest friend," he pointed out, reaching out to tickle her stomach.
"Eep!" She giggled, trying to roll away, but didn't drop the subject as he'd hoped. "No Daddy, I mean, do you love Uncle Cwaig like you loved Mummy?"
Dave went even redder. "Um, I'm not sure, sweetheart."
"Do you kiss him goodnight? People who love each other kiss each other good night," she explained in the matter of fact tone that only the very blissfully innocent can carry off.
"Sometimes," Dave agreed. "But these are big questions for a little girl, 'Liza. Why do you ask?"
Eliza shrugged. "I like Uncle Cwaig. I want him to stay around. And I want you to be happy, Daddy. Since Mummy doesn't make you happy anymore."
Dave sighed, his heart breaking for the confused little girl. "He does make me happy, sweetheart. But no more questions for tonight, okay? It's bedtime."
"Oh, all right," she agreed with a little huff that Dave had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at. "Sing me a song?"
"Just one."
"Just one," she agreed, and he smiled as he turned on the nightlight and turned off the big light.
"Rock a bye baby, in the tree tops. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And down will come cradle, 'Liza and all."
She giggled as always at her name and leaned up for a kiss as Dave stood. "Night night, Daddy."
"Night night, 'Liza."
"You wanna maybe sleep in my room tonight? Give Eliza some privacy?"
Dave raised an eyebrow incredulously, turning towards Craig on the couch. "She's four!"
Craig shrugged. "My bed's bigger."
"My bed only has one person in it."
"I guess."
For a moment, they watched the telly in silence, warmth passing between them where their thighs touched, sipping their beer.
"Why now?" Dave asked, turning to look at Craig again.
Craig shrugged. "I wanted to ask you before, but I figured I needed a good reason. This is the best I've got."
Dave laughed at that. "You're sweet, but you could've asked. I could always say no."
"Would you?" Craig looked slightly worried.
"No," Dave replied in a soft tone. "Assuming all we're doing is sleeping."
Craig pouted. "Well I wouldn't object to a little cuddle…"
Dave snorted and pulled Craig's upper half bodily into his lap, grabbing the beer away at the last minute to avoid upsetting it. "Get comfortable. I won't break."
Craig grinned and settled with his head in Dave's lap, feet up on the armrest. "I just want you to be comfortable with everything, you know?"
Dave smiled fondly and nodded, stroking Craig's hair. "I do know. And I am. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."
"You watch who you're calling little," Craig warned with an indignant look, but Dave knew all was right between them.
"Whatcha making?" Craig came home from rehearsal to find Dave in the kitchen, his sleeves rolled up and flour coating his forearms as he rolled small balls of dough.
"Oatmeal cookies."
Craig smiled. "Are they your favourite?"
"Yeah." Dave gave Craig a slightly childish smile and turned back to his work.
"Can I help?"
"Not really much to help. You can have a seat and keep me company though. How was rehearsal?"
"Not bad," Craig replied as he straddled a kitchen chair. "You'll be there for opening night, right?"
"With bells on."
Craig grinned. "And how was work… dear?"
Dave snickered as he bent down to slide the cookies in the oven and then squeaked when Craig gave him a sharp smack on the arse. "Fine… I'm working on tweaking that layout, almost have it done."
"That's good…so how about we sit on the couch tonight, eat cookies and drink milk, watch Queer as Folk, and make out like teenagers?"
Dave laughed as he walked between Craig and the table, and Craig turned around in his chair to face front. "We never did finish that, did we?" He grinned as he lowered himself into Craig's lap, his hands going immediately to Dave's waist.
"No indeed. You need to see more hot mansex. You know, for your education."
Dave rolled his eyes. "You know, I do, contrary to popular belief, get the concept of sex."
"Not good sex." Dave raised an eyebrow. "Did Kate ever give you a blowjob?"
Dave blushed, burying his head in Craig's neck. "Well not… often."
"Hmm… I think we need to work on that, then. I mean, when you're ready, of course."
"Jesus. I think you're doing a frighteningly good job of making me ready," Dave mumbled into Craig's neck, rolling his hips for emphasis.
Craig smiled and shook his head. "I'd hate myself if I forced anything on you too soon. Now come on, beautiful. Give me some sugar."
Dave raised his head and rolled his eyes when he found Craig sitting there with eyes closed and lips comically puckered, waiting. "Nerd," he whispered before placing a kiss to them, and then snaking his tongue between Craig's lips when he relaxed them.
They kissed, leisurely, for several minutes, Dave's feet propped on the lower rungs of the chair while Craig's hands held him steady by the waist, one drifting up from time to time to card through his hair. It was only their sense of smell that alerted them to the finished cookies, and so they reluctantly parted, bringing the piping-hot tray into the living room to cool on trivets while they popped in the DVD.
When Ethan was introduced, Dave made appreciative noises around his mouthful of cookie, and Craig rolled his eyes. He was a big Brian fan, but Dave pointed out Ethan's fingers on the violin strings and what else those fingers might be able to do and Craig just stared for several minutes, sneaking peeks even when Dave had quit paying attention to him and had turned back to the screen.
Dave's skin was always surprisingly soft to Craig's questing fingers, though Craig was pretty sure he didn't moisturise. As Dave watched the show intently, Craig traced every inch of that soft skin that was visible, as well as the plump swell of his slightly kiss-swollen lips and the harder planes of his chest and shoulders beneath his shirt. Turning his eyes back to the screen, Craig couldn't resist spider-walking his fingers up Dave's denim-clad thigh, smiling to himself at the little hitch in Dave's breath despite the fact that neither man looked away from the television. As his fingers kneaded gently at Dave's upper thigh, just a few centimetres away from 'highly inappropriate,' the near hand slipped behind Dave's back, inching up under his shirt and stroking the warm skin. Dave sighed and cuddled closer, and Craig grinned, keeping both hands moving steadily until Dave slowly turned his head and raised an eyebrow pointedly.
"You're not going to let me get through more than one episode tonight, are you?"
Craig grinned playfully and shook his head, leaning in to drop a quick peck on Dave's lips. "Nope."
"Well as long as we're both on the same page…"
And both were grinning as they moved forward to press their lips together.
When Craig's birthday rolled around, the day passed relatively normally—Dave did his work as usual, with no mention of the special day, and then Craig went to rehearsal after supper. He was a teeny bit disappointed, as he had made Dave supper and done his best to make his birthday extra special back in September, but it would be in bad taste to complain and so he kept his chin up. Nothing prepared him, however, for the kiss he got when he stepped in the doorway.
"Holy fuck," he gasped against Dave's lips, his whole body pressed up against Dave's on one side and the doorframe on the other, lips to toes. "And a jolly good evening to you, too."
Dave laughed and nipped playfully at Craig's ear. "Happy birthday, Craig. Here, come open your presents."
"Presents? You got me presents?"
"Of course I got you presents," Dave agreed with a roll of his eyes. "Did you think I'd forgotten?"
'Well…"
"Craig, you are such an idiot. How could I ever forget you? Now come here, you thirty-six year old stud. I made cake."
"Cake!"
Craig was grinning like a three year old when he found the double chocolate avalanche cake, a single red rose and two glasses of champagne next to it along with a couple of wrapped presents.
"Daisy, you are too much…"
Dave just smiled shyly and nodded to the boxes. "Well go on, open them. I'll cut you a piece of cake," he offered.
"All right," Craig agree, grabbing for the first thing he saw, a silver gift bag. Inside he found a dark blue knit hat, complete with a little poufy ball on top and little strings hanging down from the sides.
"I know winter's over, but it'll keep your ears warm," Dave explained, and Craig burst out laughing.
"Honey, this is so gay. I love it."
"It's not gay!"
"It has a poufy ball on the top!"
Dave rolled his eyes and passed Craig his plate. "Open the next one."
"Fine, fine," Craig agreed, taking a bite of cake first. "Mmm. Fantastic."
"I thought you might like it."
"I do. It's absolutely glorious, in that chocolatey sort of a way. All right, next present," he announced, picking up a box and tearing off the paper. Inside was a ceramic coffee mug with one of the photos of Craig and Eliza on the carousel in the park back when Kate and Dave had first gotten separated on it that said "World's Best Uncle."
"That was kind of a joint effort," Dave explained, and Craig grinned.
"I'll be sure to thank her as well. Okay, last one…"
"Well it's kind of two things," Dave explained as Craig unwrapped the framed photo of the two of them, taken with a self-timer and a lot of careful planning. "Look in the back of the frame."
"All right…" Craig turned the frame over, and pulled out the slender envelope, opening it and then grinning when he saw the tickets inside.
"You got us tickets to RENT! You are gay!" Craig squealed, tackling Dave into a hug. Dave just rolled his eyes and decided not to comment. It was Craig's birthday, after all.
"Daisy! Where you at, babe?"
"In your room! And when did you turn into a gangster?" Dave called, making Craig grin as he shrugged off his jacket and threw it over a chair, pausing in the bedroom doorway with one hand holding the frame over his head.
"Got some news for you, beautiful."
"What's that?" Dave asked, smiling as he looked up from his computer. Craig almost laughed at the scene—Dave lying on his stomach on the bed, computer in front of him at the foot of it, apparently unperturbed by the fact that Ruby was dozing happily on his lower back.
"Got you a little gig. The theatre wants a redesign of their website before the opening of this show."
"Really? Baby, that's great!" Dave exclaimed, jumping up to his knees and making Ruby yowl in annoyance at the move, giving Dave a particularly pissed-off look before scampering off to find food.
"I thought you might like that," Craig replied, stepping forward as Ruby ran by and bending down to press a kiss to his lips. "Also, I have a teeny favour to ask."
"Sure, what's that?"
"Well, our headshots will need to be on the site, and mine is ages old. I mean, so many ages it's embarrassing. Do you think you could photograph me?"
"Of course," Dave agreed with a grin. "I love photographing you. Here, sit," he urged, patting the bed next to him. "What did you have in mind?"
Craig shrugged as he toed off his shoes and went to lie on his stomach next to Dave, idly scratching Dave's back underneath his shirt until the man was purring in spite of himself. "Doesn't matter, really. I mean, head and shoulders, maybe outdoors. You can pick what I wear."
"Pink boa?"
Craig rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue, jumping back in surprise when Dave tried to snap his teeth at it.
"Hey! You might need that some day."
"Some day?" Dave raised an eyebrow and scooted closer, throwing his leg over and between Craig's. "Was hoping today…"
"Oh babe, don't tempt me," Craig murmured as he leaned in and sucked lightly at Dave's lower lip. Too bloody gorgeous, that man was. Too bloody tempting.
"Daddy told me you're going to be in a play soon," Eliza Jane announced as the three of them sat in a sandbox at the park, building a castle that was really impressive for a playground creation and if truth be told was more the result of Craig's ambition than anything.
"That's right, sweetie. I'm an actor," Craig replied, carefully smoothing the side of a turret with the pad of his finger.
"That's so cool," Eliza replied admiringly. "I might be an actress when I grow up. That's like a girl actor," she explained in a slightly self-important tone. "Or I might be a ballerina. Do you ever do ballet?" she asked, ignorant of her father's stifled snicker behind her.
Craig shot Dave a dirty look before turning back to Eliza with a smile and shaking his head. "Not really. I've taken some modern dance classes, but I like acting and writing best."
"Oh, I see. We do some writing at my school."
"You do?"
"Yeah! My teacher says I'm good at it. We practice our letters, and sometimes we do poetry, too."
"You write poems?" Craig asked.
"Well, yeah, but Miss Alison writes them down for us."
"Well, that's all right," Craig reasoned. "You'll learn to write yourself soon, I'm sure."
"Yeah, I think that's when we're bigger. Like five, or maybe six," Eliza confirmed with a nod. "Want me to tell you a poem, Uncle Cwaig? I can make it about you."
"Sure, 'Liza. I'd be honoured," Craig agreed, and Dave rolled his eyes behind Eliza's head, being completely ignored.
"Okay, let's see… Uncle Cwaig is a very cool guy. He's even better than a strawberry pie. He loves my Daddy, and he loves me too… because… um…. roses are red, and violets are blue!" she finished with a grin. Then, looking worried, she crawled forward and leaned up to whisper in Craig's ear, holding one sandy hand next to her mouth. "I kinda copied that last part."
Craig smiled and hugged her with one arm. "That's all right, Eliza. It's called artistic license. That was a beautiful poem, though."
Dave snorted. "And Uncle Craig has no ego, whatsoever."
"What's an ego, Daddy?" Eliza asked as Craig took advantage of her turned back to stick his tongue out at Dave.
"Well, it's when someone likes themselves a little too much."
"Oh," she replied, nodding. "Like Maggie."
"Who's Maggie, sweetie?"
"She's in my class. She likes herself very much. She's Queen of the Playground."
Craig raised an eyebrow. "What's Queen of the Playground?"
"Oh, it's kind of like the Queen of England," Eliza explained. "Except just for the playground. She elected herself."
Dave snorted. "Well, that doesn't sound very nice."
"No," Eliza agreed. "Me and Jane don't think it is. We're going to overthrow her. Jane's brother told her that when you don't like a queen, you can overthrow them. It's called a revolution!" she explained proudly.
"Ah," Dave replied, clearly trying not to laugh. "Well, you know something else that might help your case?"
"What's that, Daddy?"
"Queens aren't elected at all. You have to be in a certain family to be Queen."
"You do?" Eliza frowned, biting her lip. "Does that mean I can't be Queen of Australia?" she asked, looking a bit distraught.
"Well… yes," Dave replied carefully. "But Australia doesn't have its own Queen. That's why we share England's."
"Oh, right," Eliza replied, nodding. "Is Elizabeth your Queen, too, Uncle Cwaig?"
"As a matter of fact, she is."
"Daddy told me you're from another country. But you still have the same Queen?"
"Yep. New Zealand shares England's Queen, too."
"Oh. Does that mean you can't be the Queen of New Zealand, either?" Dave barked out a laugh, and Craig just glared at him.
"That's right, honey. I can't be King of New Zealand. But that's okay. I don't really want to be in the government. I like acting."
Eliza frowned. "Is that why you talk funny then, because you're from another country?"
"I talk funny?" Craig exclaimed indignantly. "Maybe you talk funny!"
"I do not, silly!" Eliza shrieked. "Say…. say rabbit!"
Craig rolled his eyes. "Rabbit."
"See!" she squealed, delighted. "That's not a rabbit, that's what a frog says!"
"All right, you little Australian monster, I'll show you what a frog says," Craig growled, and Eliza squealed as she ran off, Craig chasing behind him, Dave just sitting in the sand rolling his eyes at the both of them and finishing reinforcements on the moat.
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.
Chapter Summary: More Queer as Folk, Craig's birthday, and Eliza gets snarky.
Previous Chapters
"Kitty! Daddy, you got a kitty!!"
Kate stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, expression extremely displeased as Eliza Jane darted past Dave's knees after a quickly fleeing Ruby.
"You bought her a cat?"
"Well technically, Craig found me a cat."
"What?"
"Craig," Dave repeated slowly, an edge of sarcasm in his tone. "The guy I live with? Found Ruby, in an alley."
"In an alley? David, you could be exposing our daughter to rabies!"
"She's fine, Kate. We got her checked out, and she was just left there by a little boy who couldn't keep her. She's just like Ginger, and Craig knew I'd want her…"
"Like who?"
"Ginger. My old cat. I guess I never told you…"
"No, you didn't. David, I'm your wife and…"
"Ex wife," Dave corrected, particularly glad to be able to say that now that the divorce had gone completely through. "And can you stop calling me that, please?"
"Ex wife," she repeated with a particularly deadly glare. "And this… this… roommate of yours knows more about your life than I do?"
"You never asked," Dave said with a shrug. "Look, if you're done…"
"Don't do this," she interjected. "There's something going on here that I don't like… and when I find out exactly what it is, you'll regret it," she warned with a cold stare.
"Are you threatening him?" Craig asked, appearing over Dave's shoulder in the doorway with a positively lethal look. "Look, lady, you're not the only one with money and lawyers, kapeesh? And if you dare do what you're insinuating, I will sue your arse so fast…"
"Oh go to hell, Parker."
"You're on my property, Kate," he replied with a level stare.
"Yes, and you're in possession of my child, you filthy Sodomite!"
Craig raised an eyebrow as if impressed, his hand reaching out to gently catch Dave by the hip before he tried to step forward and object. "Your child, Kate, has been ordered by the court to see her father every other weekend. After everything else you've taken from Dave—his Church, his home, his dignity—I'll be dead before I let you take the one thing that matters most to him. Now get off my God-damned property," he insisted in a low, warning tone.
Kate huffed, and sputtered, but finally turned on her heel and stomped down the walk without a word. Craig smiled and shut the door behind her, turning to Dave and reaching up to gently cup his cheeks with both hands.
"You're fine, love. We're fine. I'm not going to let that bitch hurt you anymore."
"Craig, you can't…"
"Can't what? Can't spend my money on you? Can't defend you? You're wrong."
Dave looked as if he wanted to object, but finally gave up, moving closer and falling into Craig's embrace, his head resting on the shorter man's shoulder.
"There, there, Daisy. You're okay, love. You're okay. Now come on. We've got a child and a cat to entertain."
Dave grinned at that and nodded, wiping his tears on his sleeve and letting Craig lead him into the living room.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?" Dave sat on his own bed, holding Eliza's hand through the bars of her trundle as he always did when he sat with her before bed.
"Do you love Uncle Cwaig?"
Dave blushed, but nodded. "Of course I do, sweetheart. It's like you say, he's my bestest friend," he pointed out, reaching out to tickle her stomach.
"Eep!" She giggled, trying to roll away, but didn't drop the subject as he'd hoped. "No Daddy, I mean, do you love Uncle Cwaig like you loved Mummy?"
Dave went even redder. "Um, I'm not sure, sweetheart."
"Do you kiss him goodnight? People who love each other kiss each other good night," she explained in the matter of fact tone that only the very blissfully innocent can carry off.
"Sometimes," Dave agreed. "But these are big questions for a little girl, 'Liza. Why do you ask?"
Eliza shrugged. "I like Uncle Cwaig. I want him to stay around. And I want you to be happy, Daddy. Since Mummy doesn't make you happy anymore."
Dave sighed, his heart breaking for the confused little girl. "He does make me happy, sweetheart. But no more questions for tonight, okay? It's bedtime."
"Oh, all right," she agreed with a little huff that Dave had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at. "Sing me a song?"
"Just one."
"Just one," she agreed, and he smiled as he turned on the nightlight and turned off the big light.
"Rock a bye baby, in the tree tops. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And down will come cradle, 'Liza and all."
She giggled as always at her name and leaned up for a kiss as Dave stood. "Night night, Daddy."
"Night night, 'Liza."
"You wanna maybe sleep in my room tonight? Give Eliza some privacy?"
Dave raised an eyebrow incredulously, turning towards Craig on the couch. "She's four!"
Craig shrugged. "My bed's bigger."
"My bed only has one person in it."
"I guess."
For a moment, they watched the telly in silence, warmth passing between them where their thighs touched, sipping their beer.
"Why now?" Dave asked, turning to look at Craig again.
Craig shrugged. "I wanted to ask you before, but I figured I needed a good reason. This is the best I've got."
Dave laughed at that. "You're sweet, but you could've asked. I could always say no."
"Would you?" Craig looked slightly worried.
"No," Dave replied in a soft tone. "Assuming all we're doing is sleeping."
Craig pouted. "Well I wouldn't object to a little cuddle…"
Dave snorted and pulled Craig's upper half bodily into his lap, grabbing the beer away at the last minute to avoid upsetting it. "Get comfortable. I won't break."
Craig grinned and settled with his head in Dave's lap, feet up on the armrest. "I just want you to be comfortable with everything, you know?"
Dave smiled fondly and nodded, stroking Craig's hair. "I do know. And I am. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."
"You watch who you're calling little," Craig warned with an indignant look, but Dave knew all was right between them.
"Whatcha making?" Craig came home from rehearsal to find Dave in the kitchen, his sleeves rolled up and flour coating his forearms as he rolled small balls of dough.
"Oatmeal cookies."
Craig smiled. "Are they your favourite?"
"Yeah." Dave gave Craig a slightly childish smile and turned back to his work.
"Can I help?"
"Not really much to help. You can have a seat and keep me company though. How was rehearsal?"
"Not bad," Craig replied as he straddled a kitchen chair. "You'll be there for opening night, right?"
"With bells on."
Craig grinned. "And how was work… dear?"
Dave snickered as he bent down to slide the cookies in the oven and then squeaked when Craig gave him a sharp smack on the arse. "Fine… I'm working on tweaking that layout, almost have it done."
"That's good…so how about we sit on the couch tonight, eat cookies and drink milk, watch Queer as Folk, and make out like teenagers?"
Dave laughed as he walked between Craig and the table, and Craig turned around in his chair to face front. "We never did finish that, did we?" He grinned as he lowered himself into Craig's lap, his hands going immediately to Dave's waist.
"No indeed. You need to see more hot mansex. You know, for your education."
Dave rolled his eyes. "You know, I do, contrary to popular belief, get the concept of sex."
"Not good sex." Dave raised an eyebrow. "Did Kate ever give you a blowjob?"
Dave blushed, burying his head in Craig's neck. "Well not… often."
"Hmm… I think we need to work on that, then. I mean, when you're ready, of course."
"Jesus. I think you're doing a frighteningly good job of making me ready," Dave mumbled into Craig's neck, rolling his hips for emphasis.
Craig smiled and shook his head. "I'd hate myself if I forced anything on you too soon. Now come on, beautiful. Give me some sugar."
Dave raised his head and rolled his eyes when he found Craig sitting there with eyes closed and lips comically puckered, waiting. "Nerd," he whispered before placing a kiss to them, and then snaking his tongue between Craig's lips when he relaxed them.
They kissed, leisurely, for several minutes, Dave's feet propped on the lower rungs of the chair while Craig's hands held him steady by the waist, one drifting up from time to time to card through his hair. It was only their sense of smell that alerted them to the finished cookies, and so they reluctantly parted, bringing the piping-hot tray into the living room to cool on trivets while they popped in the DVD.
When Ethan was introduced, Dave made appreciative noises around his mouthful of cookie, and Craig rolled his eyes. He was a big Brian fan, but Dave pointed out Ethan's fingers on the violin strings and what else those fingers might be able to do and Craig just stared for several minutes, sneaking peeks even when Dave had quit paying attention to him and had turned back to the screen.
Dave's skin was always surprisingly soft to Craig's questing fingers, though Craig was pretty sure he didn't moisturise. As Dave watched the show intently, Craig traced every inch of that soft skin that was visible, as well as the plump swell of his slightly kiss-swollen lips and the harder planes of his chest and shoulders beneath his shirt. Turning his eyes back to the screen, Craig couldn't resist spider-walking his fingers up Dave's denim-clad thigh, smiling to himself at the little hitch in Dave's breath despite the fact that neither man looked away from the television. As his fingers kneaded gently at Dave's upper thigh, just a few centimetres away from 'highly inappropriate,' the near hand slipped behind Dave's back, inching up under his shirt and stroking the warm skin. Dave sighed and cuddled closer, and Craig grinned, keeping both hands moving steadily until Dave slowly turned his head and raised an eyebrow pointedly.
"You're not going to let me get through more than one episode tonight, are you?"
Craig grinned playfully and shook his head, leaning in to drop a quick peck on Dave's lips. "Nope."
"Well as long as we're both on the same page…"
And both were grinning as they moved forward to press their lips together.
When Craig's birthday rolled around, the day passed relatively normally—Dave did his work as usual, with no mention of the special day, and then Craig went to rehearsal after supper. He was a teeny bit disappointed, as he had made Dave supper and done his best to make his birthday extra special back in September, but it would be in bad taste to complain and so he kept his chin up. Nothing prepared him, however, for the kiss he got when he stepped in the doorway.
"Holy fuck," he gasped against Dave's lips, his whole body pressed up against Dave's on one side and the doorframe on the other, lips to toes. "And a jolly good evening to you, too."
Dave laughed and nipped playfully at Craig's ear. "Happy birthday, Craig. Here, come open your presents."
"Presents? You got me presents?"
"Of course I got you presents," Dave agreed with a roll of his eyes. "Did you think I'd forgotten?"
'Well…"
"Craig, you are such an idiot. How could I ever forget you? Now come here, you thirty-six year old stud. I made cake."
"Cake!"
Craig was grinning like a three year old when he found the double chocolate avalanche cake, a single red rose and two glasses of champagne next to it along with a couple of wrapped presents.
"Daisy, you are too much…"
Dave just smiled shyly and nodded to the boxes. "Well go on, open them. I'll cut you a piece of cake," he offered.
"All right," Craig agree, grabbing for the first thing he saw, a silver gift bag. Inside he found a dark blue knit hat, complete with a little poufy ball on top and little strings hanging down from the sides.
"I know winter's over, but it'll keep your ears warm," Dave explained, and Craig burst out laughing.
"Honey, this is so gay. I love it."
"It's not gay!"
"It has a poufy ball on the top!"
Dave rolled his eyes and passed Craig his plate. "Open the next one."
"Fine, fine," Craig agreed, taking a bite of cake first. "Mmm. Fantastic."
"I thought you might like it."
"I do. It's absolutely glorious, in that chocolatey sort of a way. All right, next present," he announced, picking up a box and tearing off the paper. Inside was a ceramic coffee mug with one of the photos of Craig and Eliza on the carousel in the park back when Kate and Dave had first gotten separated on it that said "World's Best Uncle."
"That was kind of a joint effort," Dave explained, and Craig grinned.
"I'll be sure to thank her as well. Okay, last one…"
"Well it's kind of two things," Dave explained as Craig unwrapped the framed photo of the two of them, taken with a self-timer and a lot of careful planning. "Look in the back of the frame."
"All right…" Craig turned the frame over, and pulled out the slender envelope, opening it and then grinning when he saw the tickets inside.
"You got us tickets to RENT! You are gay!" Craig squealed, tackling Dave into a hug. Dave just rolled his eyes and decided not to comment. It was Craig's birthday, after all.
"Daisy! Where you at, babe?"
"In your room! And when did you turn into a gangster?" Dave called, making Craig grin as he shrugged off his jacket and threw it over a chair, pausing in the bedroom doorway with one hand holding the frame over his head.
"Got some news for you, beautiful."
"What's that?" Dave asked, smiling as he looked up from his computer. Craig almost laughed at the scene—Dave lying on his stomach on the bed, computer in front of him at the foot of it, apparently unperturbed by the fact that Ruby was dozing happily on his lower back.
"Got you a little gig. The theatre wants a redesign of their website before the opening of this show."
"Really? Baby, that's great!" Dave exclaimed, jumping up to his knees and making Ruby yowl in annoyance at the move, giving Dave a particularly pissed-off look before scampering off to find food.
"I thought you might like that," Craig replied, stepping forward as Ruby ran by and bending down to press a kiss to his lips. "Also, I have a teeny favour to ask."
"Sure, what's that?"
"Well, our headshots will need to be on the site, and mine is ages old. I mean, so many ages it's embarrassing. Do you think you could photograph me?"
"Of course," Dave agreed with a grin. "I love photographing you. Here, sit," he urged, patting the bed next to him. "What did you have in mind?"
Craig shrugged as he toed off his shoes and went to lie on his stomach next to Dave, idly scratching Dave's back underneath his shirt until the man was purring in spite of himself. "Doesn't matter, really. I mean, head and shoulders, maybe outdoors. You can pick what I wear."
"Pink boa?"
Craig rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue, jumping back in surprise when Dave tried to snap his teeth at it.
"Hey! You might need that some day."
"Some day?" Dave raised an eyebrow and scooted closer, throwing his leg over and between Craig's. "Was hoping today…"
"Oh babe, don't tempt me," Craig murmured as he leaned in and sucked lightly at Dave's lower lip. Too bloody gorgeous, that man was. Too bloody tempting.
"Daddy told me you're going to be in a play soon," Eliza Jane announced as the three of them sat in a sandbox at the park, building a castle that was really impressive for a playground creation and if truth be told was more the result of Craig's ambition than anything.
"That's right, sweetie. I'm an actor," Craig replied, carefully smoothing the side of a turret with the pad of his finger.
"That's so cool," Eliza replied admiringly. "I might be an actress when I grow up. That's like a girl actor," she explained in a slightly self-important tone. "Or I might be a ballerina. Do you ever do ballet?" she asked, ignorant of her father's stifled snicker behind her.
Craig shot Dave a dirty look before turning back to Eliza with a smile and shaking his head. "Not really. I've taken some modern dance classes, but I like acting and writing best."
"Oh, I see. We do some writing at my school."
"You do?"
"Yeah! My teacher says I'm good at it. We practice our letters, and sometimes we do poetry, too."
"You write poems?" Craig asked.
"Well, yeah, but Miss Alison writes them down for us."
"Well, that's all right," Craig reasoned. "You'll learn to write yourself soon, I'm sure."
"Yeah, I think that's when we're bigger. Like five, or maybe six," Eliza confirmed with a nod. "Want me to tell you a poem, Uncle Cwaig? I can make it about you."
"Sure, 'Liza. I'd be honoured," Craig agreed, and Dave rolled his eyes behind Eliza's head, being completely ignored.
"Okay, let's see… Uncle Cwaig is a very cool guy. He's even better than a strawberry pie. He loves my Daddy, and he loves me too… because… um…. roses are red, and violets are blue!" she finished with a grin. Then, looking worried, she crawled forward and leaned up to whisper in Craig's ear, holding one sandy hand next to her mouth. "I kinda copied that last part."
Craig smiled and hugged her with one arm. "That's all right, Eliza. It's called artistic license. That was a beautiful poem, though."
Dave snorted. "And Uncle Craig has no ego, whatsoever."
"What's an ego, Daddy?" Eliza asked as Craig took advantage of her turned back to stick his tongue out at Dave.
"Well, it's when someone likes themselves a little too much."
"Oh," she replied, nodding. "Like Maggie."
"Who's Maggie, sweetie?"
"She's in my class. She likes herself very much. She's Queen of the Playground."
Craig raised an eyebrow. "What's Queen of the Playground?"
"Oh, it's kind of like the Queen of England," Eliza explained. "Except just for the playground. She elected herself."
Dave snorted. "Well, that doesn't sound very nice."
"No," Eliza agreed. "Me and Jane don't think it is. We're going to overthrow her. Jane's brother told her that when you don't like a queen, you can overthrow them. It's called a revolution!" she explained proudly.
"Ah," Dave replied, clearly trying not to laugh. "Well, you know something else that might help your case?"
"What's that, Daddy?"
"Queens aren't elected at all. You have to be in a certain family to be Queen."
"You do?" Eliza frowned, biting her lip. "Does that mean I can't be Queen of Australia?" she asked, looking a bit distraught.
"Well… yes," Dave replied carefully. "But Australia doesn't have its own Queen. That's why we share England's."
"Oh, right," Eliza replied, nodding. "Is Elizabeth your Queen, too, Uncle Cwaig?"
"As a matter of fact, she is."
"Daddy told me you're from another country. But you still have the same Queen?"
"Yep. New Zealand shares England's Queen, too."
"Oh. Does that mean you can't be the Queen of New Zealand, either?" Dave barked out a laugh, and Craig just glared at him.
"That's right, honey. I can't be King of New Zealand. But that's okay. I don't really want to be in the government. I like acting."
Eliza frowned. "Is that why you talk funny then, because you're from another country?"
"I talk funny?" Craig exclaimed indignantly. "Maybe you talk funny!"
"I do not, silly!" Eliza shrieked. "Say…. say rabbit!"
Craig rolled his eyes. "Rabbit."
"See!" she squealed, delighted. "That's not a rabbit, that's what a frog says!"
"All right, you little Australian monster, I'll show you what a frog says," Craig growled, and Eliza squealed as she ran off, Craig chasing behind him, Dave just sitting in the sand rolling his eyes at the both of them and finishing reinforcements on the moat.
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And Craig standing up to Kate made me swoon a little.
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Except Kate, of course. I'm really looking forward to seeing Craig sue her bitchy ass off some day, since the likelihood of getting to see her run over by a steamroller is unfortunately low. [heavy, theatrical sigh]
Angie
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No, not really.
But wouldn't that be fun?
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