new fic for some very old fandoms
Hey guys! I highly doubt anyone will like this weird shit lol but I need to write it to get it out of my head and figured...what the hell? Why not post it anyway? XD If anyone is even still using this site and gives a shit about shows that have been off the air for over a decade, um... enjoy?
Title: Time Bomb
Chapter: 1/?
Fandom: Angel/Charmed
Rating: R, mostly
Pairing: Chris Halliwell/Connor Angel
Summary: When a twist of fate brings two young men who shouldn't exist together, it's time to find out the hard way if love is enough to keep them from being forced apart.
WARNINGS: swearing, sex (eventually), weirdness...the usual
Note: This is what happens when I'm bored, restless, and keep finding things (both scripts and fiction) so badly written, they make me go "holy shit, I could have done this SO much better!" (considering how bad my writing is, that really says something about the shit I've been reading/watching lol)
Also, I know season 4 of Angel and season 6 of Charmed didn't exactly line up, but... pretend they did, okay? XD
Chris was startled when he orbed into the mostly-abandoned hotel, only to come face-to-face with a boy who looked close to his age. He could have sworn the area was clear; it was why he'd chosen that spot to appear in the first place! "Uhh... hi."
Leaning against the wall, the other boy gave him a faint smile. "Cool. How did you do that?"
"It's, uh... a long story." He fidgeted, turning to stare down over the railing at the floor below. "Is this Angel Investigations? I'm looking for a..." He glanced down at the Post-It in his hand, mumbling, "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."
"It is, but he's not here anymore."
"Damn." Chris sighed, shoving the little yellow paper in his pocket. "Do you know where I can find him? It's kind of important."
The teen shook his head. "Sorry, no. Fred and Gunn know where he lives, but I doubt they'd tell you."
"Why? Because they don't know me?"
"No. Because they don't like him."
"Connor? Who's up there with you, honey?"
Connor moved over to the railing and leaned over it, calling down to the woman below, "I don't know. He teleported in and started asking about Wesley."
"It's called..." Chris shook his head. "Never mind."
"Come on." Without waiting to see if his strange companion would follow, the younger boy turned and started jogging down the stairs.
Chris shrugged, figured he'd already blown his cover, and orbed down to the first floor. He was equal parts surprised and mildly disappointed that the lady he popped up next to didn't react to his sudden appearance.
"Why are you looking for Wesley?"
He paused, wondering how much he should tell her as Connor vanished into the office and returned with a bald black man in tow. "I heard he's an expert on demons. I need to track one down and stop it from...hurting someone."
"Well, that's kinda what demons do," the newcomer grumbled, though he still held out his hand for Chris to shake. "Charles Gunn. Fred and I run this little operation now."
"Because there's no one else," the pretty brunette mumbled. More clearly, she told him, "I'm Fred. And...you are...?"
"Chris Perry." The fake surname still stuck on his tongue, but even six hours away from anyone who knew them, he didn't dare utter the name Halliwell. "I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to find Mister Wyndam-Pryce."
"Well, you ain't gonna find him here," Gunn snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "We don't really like spending time around kidnappers."
Chris snorted. "Kidnappers? Great. Wonderful expert on evil."
"There were extenuating circumstances," Fred hastily pointed out, jabbing Gunn with her elbow. "Wesley's not a bad person."
"Just easily manipulated, I guess."
"Charles!"
"Look..." He sighed, waving his hand between the two to regain their focus. "This is all very entertaining, really, but I'm sort of against the clock, here."
Connor eyed him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "What exactly do you need his help with?"
"I told you - I need help finding a demon."
"I can track better than any of them. What kind of demon is it?"
Torn between face-palming or smacking the other young man upside the head, Chris grumbled, "If I knew that, I would just hunt it down myself." He received three identical dubious looks and huffed. "I'm from the future. Something happened to someone important to me, but I don't know the details because it happened before I was born. I came back to stop it and save him."
There was a long, uncomfortable silence, and then Gunn shook his head. "And yet, somehow, not the weirdest thing we've ever dealt with."
Connor snorted, while Fred giggled and agreed, "Not even close."
"That's it?" It was Chris's turn to look incredulous. "You just accept that I'm from the future, just like that?"
She shrugged. "I spent some time in another dimension. It's actually where Charles and I met. Connor was raised in one and aged seventeen years in about a week. Time travel's... Really not such a huge leap, here. Say... How did you do that flashy, teleport-y thing?"
"It's called orbing." He felt like he was stuck in the Twilight Zone. Utterly baffled, Chris gave up on logic or secrecy for the time being and simply told them, "It's how white lighters - sort of like guardian angels for witches - get around."
"So..." Connor smirked. "You're a guardian angel?"
"Half. And they're called white lighters."
"Lame."
"Connor, be nice." Fred flashed Chris a soft, if a bit sad, smile. "Like we said, Wesley doesn't work here anymore. Most of the books he'd be poking through to find your demon are here, though. Maybe we can help you?"
"You know where he lives," Connor pointed out. "Why not just send this guy there?"
She hesitated, carefully angling her face away from her lover. "Because we agreed not to go there."
He rolled his eyes, in no mood to be diplomatic; not that he ever was. "More like Gunn throws a fit every time it's brought up, and you're too afraid to piss him off."
"Boy, you're about two seconds from a beat-down if you don't watch what comes out of that smart mouth!"
Jesus, what the hell had he gotten himself into? Torn between being somewhat entertained by the soap opera playing out in front of him, and frustrated by the utter lack of progress in his search, Chris cleared his throat and waved again to regain their attention. "Look, whatever issues you all have going on, I really don't care. No offense. I just really need to find someone who can help me save my brother."
"Your brother?" Beautiful, puppy-dog brown eyes gazed up at him in a sort of horrified sadness. "Demons took your brother?"
Oops. He sighed. Oh well. At least he was better at keeping his mouth shut around his family. "Kind of. He turns evil and brings San Francisco to its knees in the future. I'm trying to stop that from happening."
"Maybe your brother's just evil," Connor suggested lightly. "Maybe there is no way to save him, because he's just naturally rotten."
"No." Chris's blood ran cold at the thought, and he shook his head. "If you knew my family, you'd know that's not possible. Right now, he's a sweet kid. I just want to keep it that way."
He didn't miss the way Fred and Gunn both shot Connor furtive glances, or the snarky glare they got in return, but it ceased to matter when Gunn moved over to the counter, scribbled something on a piece of paper, and handed it to Connor. "That's the address. Make sure he gets there safe, okay?"
Though he wasn't sure why he needed an escort, Chris still smiled and shook Gunn's hand. "Thank you. My only other option was to go to England, and while I can get there pretty much instantly, the time change messes with my head like you wouldn't believe."
"I can imagine," the other man said with a laugh. "What's in England?"
A quick glance at the crumpled Post-It, and then he shoved it back in his pocket again. "Rupert Giles. He's supposed to be the big kahuna of experts, but your guy came in at a close second. I figured I'd try my luck in my own time zone, first."
"Yeah, I don't blame you."
"Come on." Connor tugged on Chris's sleeve and headed for the door. "This address isn't far from here."
"Thanks again," Chris called out as he hurried after the other boy. "So, Connor... Which demon dimension did you grow up in?" It was a dumb question and he knew it; until five minutes ago, he hadn't even known there were other dimensions, unless the Underworld counted. Still, even dumb questions were better than walking in silence, right?
"Quor'toth." Connor was constantly scanning their surroundings for threats as they walked, but still found himself glancing back at the odd stranger beside him more often than he'd ever admit. "The worst one."
"Well, that had to suck. Lucky you survived." Poor kid, he thought, not aware he was speaking out loud when he muttered, "Must have been terrifying."
The teen smirked, finally looking him in the eye. "It was... for the demons. They called me The Destroyer."
Okay, so this kid was kind of creepy. Chris couldn't help but laugh a little at the pride and confidence in his tone. It was mostly nervous laughter, but still... "Remind me to stay on your good side."
"There's an easy way to do that." Connor stopped, waited for Chris to do the same, and said almost shyly, "Stick around for a while. Hang out with me. I don't...have any friends, really, and I've gotten better about the whole...everything not human has to die...thing."
He wasn't the only one with no friends. Chris's heart ached for the loneliness he saw in those piercing blue eyes. The pain he saw there matched his own, and made the white lighter in him almost desperate to make it go away. He couldn't spend too much time away from his mission, but with how quickly he could get to wherever he wanted to go... "I can do that. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to who I don't have to pretend to be someone else around."
"You have to pretend with your own family?" That sounded uncomfortably familiar.
He flinched and tried to hide it with a dismissive shrug, as if it was no big deal. In truth, his skin was still crawling from Love Goddess Phoebe hitting on him. "They know what they need to know; I can't tell them more, or I run the risk of changing too much of the future."
"Isn't that what you came here to do, though?"
"Well, I don't want to change everything; I might make everything worse if I'm not careful." Hoping to lighten the mood a bit, he nudged the younger boy playfully and added, "Wouldn't wanna risk not meeting you, for instance." He seemed like a nice, if strange and damaged, kid, and though Chris knew they'd likely never see each other again after he went back to his own time, he didn't see the point in waving that fact in his face now. The last thing he wanted to do was make the loneliness in those haunted blue eyes even worse.
Remembering the only other friend he'd ever made in this dimension and the way she'd reacted to words that made her smile, Connor rested one hand on Chris's shoulder and leaned up for a kiss. That was what friends did when they were happy, right? After all, it was what Sunny had done...before she took that evil 'medicine' and died.
"Whoa, wait a second." Startled, Chris took a step back, even as he grabbed the other boy's hand and gave it a light squeeze, hoping to let him know he hadn't done anything wrong. It didn't work; he didn't need Phoebe's empathic power to see that he'd hurt his feelings. "Connor, I'm flattered, but I've got someone waiting for me back home."
The flash of confusion was clear as day, too, and he sighed. Right; demon dimension. Probably wasn't too familiar with the nuances of human interaction and all that. How the hell was he going to explain this? Choosing his words as carefully as he could, Chris explained slowly, "I'm in a relationship. After I do what I came here to do, I'm going back to my own time and getting married."
"Okay... and?"
Wow, this kid really had no idea what he was doing, did he? "Kissing you would be betraying her."
Connor frowned, not quite getting it. "How so?"
Stumped, he tried for a different approach. "What do you think a kiss means?"
"It means something?" Before Chris could beat his own head against a nearby wall - which was pretty much what this conversation felt like - something finally clicked into place. "Oh! You mean, why people kiss at all?"
Eh, close enough. He could work with that. "Yeah, sure."
"Isn't it to show you're happy?"
"A smile pretty much covers that. A kiss is a sign of affection, and..." He hesitated, once again not sure how to say what he was trying to say. "Okay, it depends on the kind of kiss, and a bunch of other factors, but to simplify it the best I can... Friends don't kiss on the lips. Lovers do. And when you're in a relationship with one person, kissing another like that is a betrayal." He'd get into confusing things like polyamory later, he decided, if it came up.
"So...where is it okay to kiss a friend?" If friends weren't supposed to kiss on the lips, why did Sunny shove her tongue in his mouth?
Chris stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded, and then started cracking up.
Frowning again, Connor stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're laughing at me."
"I'm sorry, I just..." He shook his head, still laughing, but eventually managed to gasp out, "You're adorable. I've never met anyone this innocent over the age of ten."
"Innocent?" Connor looked away, muttering, "That's certainly not a word anyone around here would use to describe me."
God damn it. Why were the broken ones always so frickin' attractive? It was getting a bit difficult to remember why kissing this kid was a bad idea. Shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from letting one of them land on Connor's ass, he felt the ring he carried with him everywhere and immediately felt a wave of guilt wash through him. Bianca was waiting for him. He absolutely could not make out with the cute, sulking, broken boy.
"You didn't answer my question."
Those pouting pink lips were just made for kissing; it was so unfair! Not quite aware of what he was doing, Chris leaned in, one hand coming up to cup the back of Connor's head. Just before he could do something he would regret, he redirected himself just a bit and let that hand rest on Connor's jaw, instead, while he gave him a soft peck on the cheek. "There," he whispered. "That's more friendly, less suggestive."
"More innocent?"
"Perfectly." He didn't need to see the smirk turning up the corners of those lips that so fascinated him to know that he was being mocked, just like he didn't need to be told that his own voice was husky; far from 'innocent', and even sweet, dumb little Connor had picked up on it.
The smirk grew, just a bit. "You want to kiss me."
He nodded; why deny it? "I do."
"But you won't."
Finally, reluctantly, he forced himself to back up. "I can't."
"Because of her?"
"Yeah."
The smirk didn't budge. "But you won't see her for another twenty years or so, right?"
Laughing, Chris shook his head. "Not really how time travel works, kiddo."
Connor laughed, too, giving him a light shove. "I'm pretty sure I'm older than you. Don't call me 'kiddo'."
"By at least eighteen years," he confirmed with a playful grin, "squirt." He was only a couple of inches taller, but it was fun to pick on him, nonetheless.
Deciding to let that one slide, Connor got back on topic. "She's not here and I am, so what's the problem?"
"I don't even know you," he pointed out, teasing smile only faltering a little. "I am not cheating on my fiancée with some dude I just met ten minutes ago."
"So... When we know each other better, I'll have a chance?"
Though he could tell it was mostly a joke, Chris still scowled a little. "Connor, if you really want to be friends, drop it. Yes, I'm attracted to you, and no, I'm not gonna act on it. Move on."
"Sorry." The smirk vanished as if it had never been there, and Chris almost kissed him just to bring it back. Anything was better than the kicked puppy look he was getting now. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"I'm not upset, just... mildly annoyed." He sighed, then ruffled Connor's hair and forced a smile. "It's fine. Let's just get to this Wesley guy's house, okay? I really need to see if he can help me save my brother."
"Oh, right." Connor blushed, immediately turning and hurrying down the sidewalk. "I forgot."
Grinning, Chris teased as he followed him, "Well, nice to know I'm so hot I make you forget everything else."
Title: Time Bomb
Chapter: 1/?
Fandom: Angel/Charmed
Rating: R, mostly
Pairing: Chris Halliwell/Connor Angel
Summary: When a twist of fate brings two young men who shouldn't exist together, it's time to find out the hard way if love is enough to keep them from being forced apart.
WARNINGS: swearing, sex (eventually), weirdness...the usual
Note: This is what happens when I'm bored, restless, and keep finding things (both scripts and fiction) so badly written, they make me go "holy shit, I could have done this SO much better!" (considering how bad my writing is, that really says something about the shit I've been reading/watching lol)
Also, I know season 4 of Angel and season 6 of Charmed didn't exactly line up, but... pretend they did, okay? XD
Chris was startled when he orbed into the mostly-abandoned hotel, only to come face-to-face with a boy who looked close to his age. He could have sworn the area was clear; it was why he'd chosen that spot to appear in the first place! "Uhh... hi."
Leaning against the wall, the other boy gave him a faint smile. "Cool. How did you do that?"
"It's, uh... a long story." He fidgeted, turning to stare down over the railing at the floor below. "Is this Angel Investigations? I'm looking for a..." He glanced down at the Post-It in his hand, mumbling, "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."
"It is, but he's not here anymore."
"Damn." Chris sighed, shoving the little yellow paper in his pocket. "Do you know where I can find him? It's kind of important."
The teen shook his head. "Sorry, no. Fred and Gunn know where he lives, but I doubt they'd tell you."
"Why? Because they don't know me?"
"No. Because they don't like him."
"Connor? Who's up there with you, honey?"
Connor moved over to the railing and leaned over it, calling down to the woman below, "I don't know. He teleported in and started asking about Wesley."
"It's called..." Chris shook his head. "Never mind."
"Come on." Without waiting to see if his strange companion would follow, the younger boy turned and started jogging down the stairs.
Chris shrugged, figured he'd already blown his cover, and orbed down to the first floor. He was equal parts surprised and mildly disappointed that the lady he popped up next to didn't react to his sudden appearance.
"Why are you looking for Wesley?"
He paused, wondering how much he should tell her as Connor vanished into the office and returned with a bald black man in tow. "I heard he's an expert on demons. I need to track one down and stop it from...hurting someone."
"Well, that's kinda what demons do," the newcomer grumbled, though he still held out his hand for Chris to shake. "Charles Gunn. Fred and I run this little operation now."
"Because there's no one else," the pretty brunette mumbled. More clearly, she told him, "I'm Fred. And...you are...?"
"Chris Perry." The fake surname still stuck on his tongue, but even six hours away from anyone who knew them, he didn't dare utter the name Halliwell. "I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to find Mister Wyndam-Pryce."
"Well, you ain't gonna find him here," Gunn snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "We don't really like spending time around kidnappers."
Chris snorted. "Kidnappers? Great. Wonderful expert on evil."
"There were extenuating circumstances," Fred hastily pointed out, jabbing Gunn with her elbow. "Wesley's not a bad person."
"Just easily manipulated, I guess."
"Charles!"
"Look..." He sighed, waving his hand between the two to regain their focus. "This is all very entertaining, really, but I'm sort of against the clock, here."
Connor eyed him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "What exactly do you need his help with?"
"I told you - I need help finding a demon."
"I can track better than any of them. What kind of demon is it?"
Torn between face-palming or smacking the other young man upside the head, Chris grumbled, "If I knew that, I would just hunt it down myself." He received three identical dubious looks and huffed. "I'm from the future. Something happened to someone important to me, but I don't know the details because it happened before I was born. I came back to stop it and save him."
There was a long, uncomfortable silence, and then Gunn shook his head. "And yet, somehow, not the weirdest thing we've ever dealt with."
Connor snorted, while Fred giggled and agreed, "Not even close."
"That's it?" It was Chris's turn to look incredulous. "You just accept that I'm from the future, just like that?"
She shrugged. "I spent some time in another dimension. It's actually where Charles and I met. Connor was raised in one and aged seventeen years in about a week. Time travel's... Really not such a huge leap, here. Say... How did you do that flashy, teleport-y thing?"
"It's called orbing." He felt like he was stuck in the Twilight Zone. Utterly baffled, Chris gave up on logic or secrecy for the time being and simply told them, "It's how white lighters - sort of like guardian angels for witches - get around."
"So..." Connor smirked. "You're a guardian angel?"
"Half. And they're called white lighters."
"Lame."
"Connor, be nice." Fred flashed Chris a soft, if a bit sad, smile. "Like we said, Wesley doesn't work here anymore. Most of the books he'd be poking through to find your demon are here, though. Maybe we can help you?"
"You know where he lives," Connor pointed out. "Why not just send this guy there?"
She hesitated, carefully angling her face away from her lover. "Because we agreed not to go there."
He rolled his eyes, in no mood to be diplomatic; not that he ever was. "More like Gunn throws a fit every time it's brought up, and you're too afraid to piss him off."
"Boy, you're about two seconds from a beat-down if you don't watch what comes out of that smart mouth!"
Jesus, what the hell had he gotten himself into? Torn between being somewhat entertained by the soap opera playing out in front of him, and frustrated by the utter lack of progress in his search, Chris cleared his throat and waved again to regain their attention. "Look, whatever issues you all have going on, I really don't care. No offense. I just really need to find someone who can help me save my brother."
"Your brother?" Beautiful, puppy-dog brown eyes gazed up at him in a sort of horrified sadness. "Demons took your brother?"
Oops. He sighed. Oh well. At least he was better at keeping his mouth shut around his family. "Kind of. He turns evil and brings San Francisco to its knees in the future. I'm trying to stop that from happening."
"Maybe your brother's just evil," Connor suggested lightly. "Maybe there is no way to save him, because he's just naturally rotten."
"No." Chris's blood ran cold at the thought, and he shook his head. "If you knew my family, you'd know that's not possible. Right now, he's a sweet kid. I just want to keep it that way."
He didn't miss the way Fred and Gunn both shot Connor furtive glances, or the snarky glare they got in return, but it ceased to matter when Gunn moved over to the counter, scribbled something on a piece of paper, and handed it to Connor. "That's the address. Make sure he gets there safe, okay?"
Though he wasn't sure why he needed an escort, Chris still smiled and shook Gunn's hand. "Thank you. My only other option was to go to England, and while I can get there pretty much instantly, the time change messes with my head like you wouldn't believe."
"I can imagine," the other man said with a laugh. "What's in England?"
A quick glance at the crumpled Post-It, and then he shoved it back in his pocket again. "Rupert Giles. He's supposed to be the big kahuna of experts, but your guy came in at a close second. I figured I'd try my luck in my own time zone, first."
"Yeah, I don't blame you."
"Come on." Connor tugged on Chris's sleeve and headed for the door. "This address isn't far from here."
"Thanks again," Chris called out as he hurried after the other boy. "So, Connor... Which demon dimension did you grow up in?" It was a dumb question and he knew it; until five minutes ago, he hadn't even known there were other dimensions, unless the Underworld counted. Still, even dumb questions were better than walking in silence, right?
"Quor'toth." Connor was constantly scanning their surroundings for threats as they walked, but still found himself glancing back at the odd stranger beside him more often than he'd ever admit. "The worst one."
"Well, that had to suck. Lucky you survived." Poor kid, he thought, not aware he was speaking out loud when he muttered, "Must have been terrifying."
The teen smirked, finally looking him in the eye. "It was... for the demons. They called me The Destroyer."
Okay, so this kid was kind of creepy. Chris couldn't help but laugh a little at the pride and confidence in his tone. It was mostly nervous laughter, but still... "Remind me to stay on your good side."
"There's an easy way to do that." Connor stopped, waited for Chris to do the same, and said almost shyly, "Stick around for a while. Hang out with me. I don't...have any friends, really, and I've gotten better about the whole...everything not human has to die...thing."
He wasn't the only one with no friends. Chris's heart ached for the loneliness he saw in those piercing blue eyes. The pain he saw there matched his own, and made the white lighter in him almost desperate to make it go away. He couldn't spend too much time away from his mission, but with how quickly he could get to wherever he wanted to go... "I can do that. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to who I don't have to pretend to be someone else around."
"You have to pretend with your own family?" That sounded uncomfortably familiar.
He flinched and tried to hide it with a dismissive shrug, as if it was no big deal. In truth, his skin was still crawling from Love Goddess Phoebe hitting on him. "They know what they need to know; I can't tell them more, or I run the risk of changing too much of the future."
"Isn't that what you came here to do, though?"
"Well, I don't want to change everything; I might make everything worse if I'm not careful." Hoping to lighten the mood a bit, he nudged the younger boy playfully and added, "Wouldn't wanna risk not meeting you, for instance." He seemed like a nice, if strange and damaged, kid, and though Chris knew they'd likely never see each other again after he went back to his own time, he didn't see the point in waving that fact in his face now. The last thing he wanted to do was make the loneliness in those haunted blue eyes even worse.
Remembering the only other friend he'd ever made in this dimension and the way she'd reacted to words that made her smile, Connor rested one hand on Chris's shoulder and leaned up for a kiss. That was what friends did when they were happy, right? After all, it was what Sunny had done...before she took that evil 'medicine' and died.
"Whoa, wait a second." Startled, Chris took a step back, even as he grabbed the other boy's hand and gave it a light squeeze, hoping to let him know he hadn't done anything wrong. It didn't work; he didn't need Phoebe's empathic power to see that he'd hurt his feelings. "Connor, I'm flattered, but I've got someone waiting for me back home."
The flash of confusion was clear as day, too, and he sighed. Right; demon dimension. Probably wasn't too familiar with the nuances of human interaction and all that. How the hell was he going to explain this? Choosing his words as carefully as he could, Chris explained slowly, "I'm in a relationship. After I do what I came here to do, I'm going back to my own time and getting married."
"Okay... and?"
Wow, this kid really had no idea what he was doing, did he? "Kissing you would be betraying her."
Connor frowned, not quite getting it. "How so?"
Stumped, he tried for a different approach. "What do you think a kiss means?"
"It means something?" Before Chris could beat his own head against a nearby wall - which was pretty much what this conversation felt like - something finally clicked into place. "Oh! You mean, why people kiss at all?"
Eh, close enough. He could work with that. "Yeah, sure."
"Isn't it to show you're happy?"
"A smile pretty much covers that. A kiss is a sign of affection, and..." He hesitated, once again not sure how to say what he was trying to say. "Okay, it depends on the kind of kiss, and a bunch of other factors, but to simplify it the best I can... Friends don't kiss on the lips. Lovers do. And when you're in a relationship with one person, kissing another like that is a betrayal." He'd get into confusing things like polyamory later, he decided, if it came up.
"So...where is it okay to kiss a friend?" If friends weren't supposed to kiss on the lips, why did Sunny shove her tongue in his mouth?
Chris stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded, and then started cracking up.
Frowning again, Connor stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're laughing at me."
"I'm sorry, I just..." He shook his head, still laughing, but eventually managed to gasp out, "You're adorable. I've never met anyone this innocent over the age of ten."
"Innocent?" Connor looked away, muttering, "That's certainly not a word anyone around here would use to describe me."
God damn it. Why were the broken ones always so frickin' attractive? It was getting a bit difficult to remember why kissing this kid was a bad idea. Shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from letting one of them land on Connor's ass, he felt the ring he carried with him everywhere and immediately felt a wave of guilt wash through him. Bianca was waiting for him. He absolutely could not make out with the cute, sulking, broken boy.
"You didn't answer my question."
Those pouting pink lips were just made for kissing; it was so unfair! Not quite aware of what he was doing, Chris leaned in, one hand coming up to cup the back of Connor's head. Just before he could do something he would regret, he redirected himself just a bit and let that hand rest on Connor's jaw, instead, while he gave him a soft peck on the cheek. "There," he whispered. "That's more friendly, less suggestive."
"More innocent?"
"Perfectly." He didn't need to see the smirk turning up the corners of those lips that so fascinated him to know that he was being mocked, just like he didn't need to be told that his own voice was husky; far from 'innocent', and even sweet, dumb little Connor had picked up on it.
The smirk grew, just a bit. "You want to kiss me."
He nodded; why deny it? "I do."
"But you won't."
Finally, reluctantly, he forced himself to back up. "I can't."
"Because of her?"
"Yeah."
The smirk didn't budge. "But you won't see her for another twenty years or so, right?"
Laughing, Chris shook his head. "Not really how time travel works, kiddo."
Connor laughed, too, giving him a light shove. "I'm pretty sure I'm older than you. Don't call me 'kiddo'."
"By at least eighteen years," he confirmed with a playful grin, "squirt." He was only a couple of inches taller, but it was fun to pick on him, nonetheless.
Deciding to let that one slide, Connor got back on topic. "She's not here and I am, so what's the problem?"
"I don't even know you," he pointed out, teasing smile only faltering a little. "I am not cheating on my fiancée with some dude I just met ten minutes ago."
"So... When we know each other better, I'll have a chance?"
Though he could tell it was mostly a joke, Chris still scowled a little. "Connor, if you really want to be friends, drop it. Yes, I'm attracted to you, and no, I'm not gonna act on it. Move on."
"Sorry." The smirk vanished as if it had never been there, and Chris almost kissed him just to bring it back. Anything was better than the kicked puppy look he was getting now. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"I'm not upset, just... mildly annoyed." He sighed, then ruffled Connor's hair and forced a smile. "It's fine. Let's just get to this Wesley guy's house, okay? I really need to see if he can help me save my brother."
"Oh, right." Connor blushed, immediately turning and hurrying down the sidewalk. "I forgot."
Grinning, Chris teased as he followed him, "Well, nice to know I'm so hot I make you forget everything else."