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fellowshippers2002-08-29 07:04 am
juweldom.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2002-08-29 07:04 am
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Title: "Slightly Crooked"
Part: 5/? EW/SA, DM/SA
Author: Diamond (juweldom@yahoo.com )
Rating: PG this chapter
Pairings: Multiple Pairs for series.
Category: Romance, Angst, a lot of PWP
Archive: just ask.
Disclaimer: I do not know the actors and make no claims about their lifestyles or sexual preferences. This is purely fictional for entertainment purposes and no money is being made. Again--it might be true, but if it is, I sure as heck don't know the details!
Summary: The title says it all--it's a crooked path for crooked people to find love.
*****
*Crooked*: Webster's Dictionary: 1. Not straight. 2. Dishonest.
*****
*Elijah*
It was 8pm when Sean called.
It had been a fun day. Elijah had never really got to spend time alone with Billy--now he wanted to, definitely. The man had a nice peaceful air around him, a quiet wisdom and self confidence that went really nicely with his sweet flirtatious manner. Not brash-in-your-face flirting like Dom. Shy, coy, demure flirting that made you want to laugh and squeeze him affectionately. He listened more than talked and that meant *really* listening, not just nodding and making inane comebacks. Elijah had found himself talking about far more than he had ever expected to with the Scot.
Um, his taste in music was a bit archaic. Elijah tried to help him with that--*Madonna*, for pete's sake? God help him. So he directed Billy to some lighter stuff--Travis, Buffaloes Daughter, Stone Roses, Sea and Cake--mellow stuff to match his mellow style. Of course, while doing that, Elijah had to go on the prowl to search for new stuff as well--L.A. had bigger selection, but there was some British and international stuff here not found back home. Kind of nice. So he'd kind of lost himself in the hunt, dragging poor Billy everywhere and trying to educate him into a late nineties frame of mind.
It was at dinner that he'd spilled about Sean. Billy had griped a little at the choice of restaurant--Thai --saying it was a little girlie--especially with the lack of decent beer. Elijah quipped that he needed to expand his horizons a bit more--in food as well as music. Billy resigned--he wasn't really one for fighting, Elijah noted. Another part of his appeal.
And he noticed stuff. "So is something wrong between you and Sean? I've noticed ye've not been quite comfortable with him the last couple of days."
Hoo boy. How much to say. "Well, we kind of had an awkward moment there in the gym the other day. It's nothing, really. We'll get over it in a few days, I'm sure."
Billy looked at him with a knowing gleam in his green eyes, a slight tilt of the head showing his interest. "Ehm, let me see if I can figure this one out. 'Awkward moment.' I'm not thinkin' that's having to do with a mistake on the weight equipment. Did one or the both of you get a bit *interested* in the other?"
Gees, how did he do that--pierce right through the shit? "Yeah. I have . . . a history. With guys. And I just suddenly got--well--you know. And he noticed. Pretty embarrassing, huh?"
Billy smiled, such a sweet smile, not weirded out, not disgusted, but supporting. Understanding. "And what did Sean do?"
Oh boy. Fuck. Was he *really* ready to talk about this? "Ummm . . . ." He twiddled his fork in the panang, wishing there was something left of his nails to chew on. Maybe a cigarette. This wasn't L.A. Nobody cared if you smoked in the restaurant. He lit up and took a puff.
Billy continued to eat his lamb, quietly watching him. After a moment, he spoke. "There's only two ways I can think of how it went. Either he wasn't interested, or he was. So which was it?"
Elijah laughed without humor. "Interested. Very."
Billy nodded. "And so now the two of you aren't certain where to go from there."
Elijah blew out a breath in relief that it was out, the secret was out now. He went back to eating. "Exactly! I mean I've done stuff with co-stars before--both sexes--but this time, it's different. I'm not sure how; it just is. He's married, for one. And I'm really not comfortable about that. I like Christine. I like Ali. I don't want to fuck anything up for any of them. But I *really* like Sean."
"So talk to him about it. Tell him just what you told me. It's the only way you'll get things sorted out, I'm thinkin'" Billy swooped over to another table to grab an ashtray and offered it to Elijah, who belatedly realized he was creating a small pile of ash on the table. He nodded in thanks and flicked off the ash.
"I guess what I really want to know is--have I screwed things up? Is this going to mess with the comraderie and shit between all of us? I mean, what are you going to think about me, and Dominic, what will he . . . . You seem like you're taking it pretty well. You're straight, right?" Elijah took another drag, to calm his nerves, to keep his hands busy, especially talking about stuff like this where he just wanted to get up and start pacing. Outside it was getting dark. He wondered where the hell Dom and Sean were. He'd left both of them messages hours ago.
Billy leaned back, sipping on a hot tea--a poor substitute for beer, he'd moaned--and pushed back his plate. Elijah realized he'd hardly touched his. He took a couple more bites, not really tasting anything. Finally Billy spoke. "Yes--eh--I'm straight. But not ramrod straight like an arrow, you understand--have a bit of a kink here and there. In theatre I don't know too many actors who haven't done at least a little bit--eh--experimentin'. So maybe I'm a wee bit crooked." He grinned sheepishly.
Elijah's eyebrows were trying to find a home in his hairline. He coughed and cleared his throat. "And Dom? What do you think about him?" He remembered Dom's look at him at that lunch, his touchy-feely flirting with Sean--yeah, and Billy, and everybody else . . . but wait. Never him. Why not?! What was wrong with him?
Billy grinned into his tea. "Gay as a lord, mate. Can't you tell? Bless, but I love the little fucker. You and Dom--you're quite alike, you know."
Elijah hadn't much to say after that. He wanted to get to his apartment, call Sean, have a talk. While they were paying the bill, Dom called Billy, asking if they had eaten and reporting that he'd just driven Sean home. Home team had won--pretty decent game. Not much else to report. Elijah, for no apparent reason, suddenly had a bad feeling about the two of them together. He didn’t know why, but it had to do with that look.
He tried to call Sean as soon as he got home, but Christine picked up and said she was serving dinner--could he call back? Sure, he said, and spent the next hour tearing off all that stupid packaging material on his new CD's and checking his email. He put some of his older music on--he wasn't in the mood to focus on the new stuff yet. He really needed to talk to Sean.
He was debating what to do next--it was kind of depressing, really; Saturday night and he had absolutely no plans--why hadn't he and Billy asked Sean and Dom to go to a pub or something? Because something wasn't right--it wasn't right, and they all knew it. Well, he guessed that said something about their bonding, if they could sense when something was off. Hopefully it meant they could fix it too.
The ringing of the phone made him jump to his feet; he turned off the CD player and hurried to answer. It was Sean. He sounded scared.
"Elijah, I did something really stupid. Are you doing anything tomorrow? I really need to come and talk. Could listen to your new music too--I'm sure you found some good stuff. We could maybe make a day of it?" Elijah could hear Christine and Ali in the background, in another room by the sound of it, playing the 'Mommy, chase me' game that always sent Ali running, laughing and screaming all at once.
"Sean, what's wrong? What happened?" Elijah had been planning on coming to their place, actually, so Sean could have some family time. But this was good--they could talk more freely. He just had to wonder what Christine would think, if she would suspect anything strange was going on. Fuck it, why had he ever started this? And time alone with Sean. That could be dangerous too. The shower incident had only served to increase his want for something he should not have. But fuck it all, it had been a long time. A very long time, since he'd fucked anybody. If the opportunity came, he probably would take it, even if it was a mistake. And that just made him hate himself the more.
He could hear Sean breathing on the other end, hard and fast, nervous. "Um, well, I can't really say right now. We'll talk tomorrow. I've got kind of a splitting headache right now, actually. I drank too much at the game. So I'm just going to go to bed early. Did you and Billy have a good time?"
Either Christine was within hearing distance, or Sean was in worse shape than Elijah had imagined. "Um, yeah--he complained a little at my choices of places, but he's really sweet. It was good to get to know him a little more. And Dom? How did that go--the game was fun? I don't know if I could sit through a whole one."
"Um, yeah. It was fun. Dom tried to explain the moves to me."
Okay, since when did Sean *not* want to talk about sports? Something definitely wrong here. "Um, well, it sounds like things are kind of busy there. Guess I'll see you tomorrow? Say like eleven or so?" So should he call Billy, Elijah wondered, or maybe phone Dom and demand to know what was up? This was driving him insane. He wasn't going to sleep much; that was certain.
"Sounds good. You take care, 'Lij. I'll see you tomorrow." And his voice; so flat, so unnatural for the usually tender guy. Elijah wished he could see his face. That face could never hide anything. Tomorrow, then. They'd work it out tomorrow.
Elijah did call Billy, but there was no answer--it wasn't that late, so probably he and Dom had decided to hit the pubs. He really didn't feel like joining them, now. His shoulders were aching with tension, and soon he'd have a headache of his own to contend with. He popped open a beer from the fridge and drank it down quickly, hoping to blunt the edges, but it only made his headache worse and his body heavy, dragged down by fear, maybe regret. He wasn't sure. Fuck, if that Dom had pulled anything, he was going to--okay, maybe he wasn't really a good candidate for messing someone up. But he'd make revenge somehow. 'Accidentally' stab him with a practice sword or something. Loosen his horse's tackle. Something.
With those dark thoughts, he spent his time surfing the net and getting steadily drunker.
It was going to be a long night.
*****
TBC
*****
Part: 5/? EW/SA, DM/SA
Author: Diamond (juweldom@yahoo.com )
Rating: PG this chapter
Pairings: Multiple Pairs for series.
Category: Romance, Angst, a lot of PWP
Archive: just ask.
Disclaimer: I do not know the actors and make no claims about their lifestyles or sexual preferences. This is purely fictional for entertainment purposes and no money is being made. Again--it might be true, but if it is, I sure as heck don't know the details!
Summary: The title says it all--it's a crooked path for crooked people to find love.
*****
*Crooked*: Webster's Dictionary: 1. Not straight. 2. Dishonest.
*****
*Elijah*
It was 8pm when Sean called.
It had been a fun day. Elijah had never really got to spend time alone with Billy--now he wanted to, definitely. The man had a nice peaceful air around him, a quiet wisdom and self confidence that went really nicely with his sweet flirtatious manner. Not brash-in-your-face flirting like Dom. Shy, coy, demure flirting that made you want to laugh and squeeze him affectionately. He listened more than talked and that meant *really* listening, not just nodding and making inane comebacks. Elijah had found himself talking about far more than he had ever expected to with the Scot.
Um, his taste in music was a bit archaic. Elijah tried to help him with that--*Madonna*, for pete's sake? God help him. So he directed Billy to some lighter stuff--Travis, Buffaloes Daughter, Stone Roses, Sea and Cake--mellow stuff to match his mellow style. Of course, while doing that, Elijah had to go on the prowl to search for new stuff as well--L.A. had bigger selection, but there was some British and international stuff here not found back home. Kind of nice. So he'd kind of lost himself in the hunt, dragging poor Billy everywhere and trying to educate him into a late nineties frame of mind.
It was at dinner that he'd spilled about Sean. Billy had griped a little at the choice of restaurant--Thai --saying it was a little girlie--especially with the lack of decent beer. Elijah quipped that he needed to expand his horizons a bit more--in food as well as music. Billy resigned--he wasn't really one for fighting, Elijah noted. Another part of his appeal.
And he noticed stuff. "So is something wrong between you and Sean? I've noticed ye've not been quite comfortable with him the last couple of days."
Hoo boy. How much to say. "Well, we kind of had an awkward moment there in the gym the other day. It's nothing, really. We'll get over it in a few days, I'm sure."
Billy looked at him with a knowing gleam in his green eyes, a slight tilt of the head showing his interest. "Ehm, let me see if I can figure this one out. 'Awkward moment.' I'm not thinkin' that's having to do with a mistake on the weight equipment. Did one or the both of you get a bit *interested* in the other?"
Gees, how did he do that--pierce right through the shit? "Yeah. I have . . . a history. With guys. And I just suddenly got--well--you know. And he noticed. Pretty embarrassing, huh?"
Billy smiled, such a sweet smile, not weirded out, not disgusted, but supporting. Understanding. "And what did Sean do?"
Oh boy. Fuck. Was he *really* ready to talk about this? "Ummm . . . ." He twiddled his fork in the panang, wishing there was something left of his nails to chew on. Maybe a cigarette. This wasn't L.A. Nobody cared if you smoked in the restaurant. He lit up and took a puff.
Billy continued to eat his lamb, quietly watching him. After a moment, he spoke. "There's only two ways I can think of how it went. Either he wasn't interested, or he was. So which was it?"
Elijah laughed without humor. "Interested. Very."
Billy nodded. "And so now the two of you aren't certain where to go from there."
Elijah blew out a breath in relief that it was out, the secret was out now. He went back to eating. "Exactly! I mean I've done stuff with co-stars before--both sexes--but this time, it's different. I'm not sure how; it just is. He's married, for one. And I'm really not comfortable about that. I like Christine. I like Ali. I don't want to fuck anything up for any of them. But I *really* like Sean."
"So talk to him about it. Tell him just what you told me. It's the only way you'll get things sorted out, I'm thinkin'" Billy swooped over to another table to grab an ashtray and offered it to Elijah, who belatedly realized he was creating a small pile of ash on the table. He nodded in thanks and flicked off the ash.
"I guess what I really want to know is--have I screwed things up? Is this going to mess with the comraderie and shit between all of us? I mean, what are you going to think about me, and Dominic, what will he . . . . You seem like you're taking it pretty well. You're straight, right?" Elijah took another drag, to calm his nerves, to keep his hands busy, especially talking about stuff like this where he just wanted to get up and start pacing. Outside it was getting dark. He wondered where the hell Dom and Sean were. He'd left both of them messages hours ago.
Billy leaned back, sipping on a hot tea--a poor substitute for beer, he'd moaned--and pushed back his plate. Elijah realized he'd hardly touched his. He took a couple more bites, not really tasting anything. Finally Billy spoke. "Yes--eh--I'm straight. But not ramrod straight like an arrow, you understand--have a bit of a kink here and there. In theatre I don't know too many actors who haven't done at least a little bit--eh--experimentin'. So maybe I'm a wee bit crooked." He grinned sheepishly.
Elijah's eyebrows were trying to find a home in his hairline. He coughed and cleared his throat. "And Dom? What do you think about him?" He remembered Dom's look at him at that lunch, his touchy-feely flirting with Sean--yeah, and Billy, and everybody else . . . but wait. Never him. Why not?! What was wrong with him?
Billy grinned into his tea. "Gay as a lord, mate. Can't you tell? Bless, but I love the little fucker. You and Dom--you're quite alike, you know."
Elijah hadn't much to say after that. He wanted to get to his apartment, call Sean, have a talk. While they were paying the bill, Dom called Billy, asking if they had eaten and reporting that he'd just driven Sean home. Home team had won--pretty decent game. Not much else to report. Elijah, for no apparent reason, suddenly had a bad feeling about the two of them together. He didn’t know why, but it had to do with that look.
He tried to call Sean as soon as he got home, but Christine picked up and said she was serving dinner--could he call back? Sure, he said, and spent the next hour tearing off all that stupid packaging material on his new CD's and checking his email. He put some of his older music on--he wasn't in the mood to focus on the new stuff yet. He really needed to talk to Sean.
He was debating what to do next--it was kind of depressing, really; Saturday night and he had absolutely no plans--why hadn't he and Billy asked Sean and Dom to go to a pub or something? Because something wasn't right--it wasn't right, and they all knew it. Well, he guessed that said something about their bonding, if they could sense when something was off. Hopefully it meant they could fix it too.
The ringing of the phone made him jump to his feet; he turned off the CD player and hurried to answer. It was Sean. He sounded scared.
"Elijah, I did something really stupid. Are you doing anything tomorrow? I really need to come and talk. Could listen to your new music too--I'm sure you found some good stuff. We could maybe make a day of it?" Elijah could hear Christine and Ali in the background, in another room by the sound of it, playing the 'Mommy, chase me' game that always sent Ali running, laughing and screaming all at once.
"Sean, what's wrong? What happened?" Elijah had been planning on coming to their place, actually, so Sean could have some family time. But this was good--they could talk more freely. He just had to wonder what Christine would think, if she would suspect anything strange was going on. Fuck it, why had he ever started this? And time alone with Sean. That could be dangerous too. The shower incident had only served to increase his want for something he should not have. But fuck it all, it had been a long time. A very long time, since he'd fucked anybody. If the opportunity came, he probably would take it, even if it was a mistake. And that just made him hate himself the more.
He could hear Sean breathing on the other end, hard and fast, nervous. "Um, well, I can't really say right now. We'll talk tomorrow. I've got kind of a splitting headache right now, actually. I drank too much at the game. So I'm just going to go to bed early. Did you and Billy have a good time?"
Either Christine was within hearing distance, or Sean was in worse shape than Elijah had imagined. "Um, yeah--he complained a little at my choices of places, but he's really sweet. It was good to get to know him a little more. And Dom? How did that go--the game was fun? I don't know if I could sit through a whole one."
"Um, yeah. It was fun. Dom tried to explain the moves to me."
Okay, since when did Sean *not* want to talk about sports? Something definitely wrong here. "Um, well, it sounds like things are kind of busy there. Guess I'll see you tomorrow? Say like eleven or so?" So should he call Billy, Elijah wondered, or maybe phone Dom and demand to know what was up? This was driving him insane. He wasn't going to sleep much; that was certain.
"Sounds good. You take care, 'Lij. I'll see you tomorrow." And his voice; so flat, so unnatural for the usually tender guy. Elijah wished he could see his face. That face could never hide anything. Tomorrow, then. They'd work it out tomorrow.
Elijah did call Billy, but there was no answer--it wasn't that late, so probably he and Dom had decided to hit the pubs. He really didn't feel like joining them, now. His shoulders were aching with tension, and soon he'd have a headache of his own to contend with. He popped open a beer from the fridge and drank it down quickly, hoping to blunt the edges, but it only made his headache worse and his body heavy, dragged down by fear, maybe regret. He wasn't sure. Fuck, if that Dom had pulled anything, he was going to--okay, maybe he wasn't really a good candidate for messing someone up. But he'd make revenge somehow. 'Accidentally' stab him with a practice sword or something. Loosen his horse's tackle. Something.
With those dark thoughts, he spent his time surfing the net and getting steadily drunker.
It was going to be a long night.
*****
TBC
*****