Prompt Post: ROUND TWO
ROUND TWO IS CLOSED
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Rules post.
Flat view.
ROUND TWO: Updates Post (WIPs only)
ROUND TWO: Fills Post (completed Fills only)
damalur's firstclasskink on Delicious.
Volunteers always welcome.
Please use the Discussion Post if you want to talk about community alterations or get my modly attention. Do not ( Read more... )
<< ROUND ONE | ALL ROUNDS | ROUND THREE >>
Rules post.
Flat view.
ROUND TWO: Updates Post (WIPs only)
ROUND TWO: Fills Post (completed Fills only)
damalur's firstclasskink on Delicious.
Volunteers always welcome.
Please use the Discussion Post if you want to talk about community alterations or get my modly attention. Do not ( Read more... )
“I’ll be fine.” Erik allowed himself a brief moment of rest. In a second, he’d get up and drive home. Just one second. One more second. One-
When Erik opened his eyes, something wasn’t right.
For one thing, it was light out. Judging by the sunlight filtering in through the windows, it was well into the morning.
For another, a blanket had been thrown over Erik.
And lastly, he was sprawled on a couch that wasn’t in his apartment.
Erik jolted fully awake and swung his legs over the side of the couch. The blanket fell away and something else fluttered to the ground. He reached down and picked it up. It was a small yellow scrap of paper with writing on both sides.
Erik - If you’re reading this, then you must be awake. I don’t have anything edible in the apartment, so I’m out buying breakfast. I’m also using your car. If you’re thinking of sneaking away you’ll have to do it on foot. - C
Erik searched his shirt pocket. Predictably, his car keys were missing.
That was when Erik fully realized what had happened. He’d fallen asleep in Charles’s apartment. On his couch. He glanced at his watch. Eleven in the morning; he’d slept a good six hours. “Damn it,” he said. Emotions stirred in his chest. Annoyance, embarrassment and relief fought a battle for dominance.
There was a certain intimacy in sleeping around someone-a person was helpless when he slept. Passing out on this couch had left Erik completely at the mercy of someone he’d known for all of a day. Charles could have easily shot him, gone through his pockets, used his cell phone to contact any of Erik’s friends-few as they were-and lead them into some sort of trap. Erik didn’t know Charles, not really. He certainly didn’t trust him. Not when there was a traitor in the FBI and a serial killer on the streets. Erik couldn’t afford to trust him.
As if on cue, the doorknob turned and Charles kicked the door open. He carried a two coffee cups, one stacked on top of the other and a paper bag was tucked under one arm. He managed to nudge the door shut and deposit his burden on the counter without dropping anything. “Good morning,” he said cheerily.
Erik’s annoyance flared up again. “You let me pass out on your couch?” he snapped.
Charles held up both hands, palms out. “In my defense, I did try to wake you up. I tapped you on the shoulder and without even opening your eyes, you bared your teeth and said, ‘Fuck off, Emma’. I decided it was safer to leave you be after that.”
Erik struggled against Charles’s words, tried to find a way to refute them, but he gave up. Erik had done far more violent things in his sleep than merely swear at someone. And the mention of Emma had a ring of truth to it. Erik felt a flush creep along his cheekbones, but he managed to keep his expression neutral. “There’s an explanation for that.”
Charles shrugged. “None of my business. The point is, you weren’t going to wake easily. Besides,” he added, “you were exhausted. Frankly, I think I was doing the streets a favor by keeping you off of them. You probably would’ve ended up falling asleep and rear-ending some poor sap.”
Erik scowled. “You stole my car.”
“Borrowed, my friend, borrowed.” Charles reached into the paper bag and withdrew a small container of fruit salad and a plastic fork. “Come on, have something to eat before you head out. Everything looks better on a full stomach.” He held out the food and coffee and for a brief moment Erik had the mental image of a fisherman impaling bait on a hook, and of that hook sinking into shallow waters. Then the image was gone and it was just Charles, with an open smile and the offer of a free breakfast. You can’t trust him, part of Erik whispered silently. It was the voice he’d so often listened to in crisis situations-it kept him alive. But another, quieter part of Erik replied, Charles had every opportunity to hurt you last night. He didn’t.
Later, Erik would say he stayed for the free breakfast. (Later, Emma would laugh in his face.)
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I knew he would fall asleep ♥
I love Charles as a fisherman with a bait, very clever XD
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Not remotely where I thought this AU was headed next, but I'm completely enchanted by the adorableness! Nnnngh
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Mooooore.
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