Something witty needs to do a dance here...
Title: What Do You Say.
Pairing(s): Bradley/Colin.
Warnings: Flashbacks, second person narrative. Some slightly odd metaphors, but I like to think they work.
Spoiler(s): Nope.
Word count: 1517.
Rating: G.
Summary: It is New Year's Eve, and Bradley does not want to be alone.
Author's Notes: I was listening to Taking Chances ( the Glee version ) and started getting ideas. As usual, this fic has very little to do with the song at all, but that is where it started from. With many thanks to the long suffering Muffin - aka woodsgal - for encouraing me even when she shouldn't, and for being awesome and beta-ing the fluff that comes from my head. ILY, Muffin.
Don't know much about your life,
Don't know much about your world but,
Don't want to be alone tonight,
On this planet they call Earth.
You don't know about my past and,
I don't have a future figured out,
And maybe this is going too fast,
And maybe it's not meant to last.
----
It has been five years.
Five years since it all came to an end. Five long years.
It has been four years since you last saw him. Four long years.
You are still not really sure what happened. You were close, so close, but all good things must come to an end. You were jealous, and your relationship fell apart, and you haven’t spoken to him since. You lost touch with the others shortly afterwards, and you are somewhat of a hermit now, hidden away in your little London flat, venturing out only when necessary.
It is New Year’s Eve, and the sun is just rising, the first bright tendrils coiling through the gap in the curtains, illuminating the dust motes as they dance their lazy, celestial dance. You watch them absently, curiously, marvelling in their twirling movements, the way they float softly in the air, unseen except for when the light hits them, lighting them up brightly, those tiny specks, so insignificant yet so great in number.
You feel like them. You feel lost in a world of things much bigger and grander than yourself, invisible except for when the light hits you and you feel warm and cared for. The sun, bright and shining, makes you feel alive, lights you up like the sky during a storm.
It is New Year’s Eve, and you are alone. You don’t want to be alone tonight, and you know who it is that you want to be with.
You haven’t seen him for four years.
----
Do you trust me?
His voice is low and soft and unclear, how it always is when he is unsure of something, uncertain. You blink beneath the blindfold.
Of course.
You’d trust him with anything. You’d trust him with your life. You have trusted him with your heart. You have trusted him with your everything. He is your everything now.
Then jump.
Jump?
Jump.
You tentatively stick your foot forward, looking for something solid. You are standing on sand, you think, but there is nothing in front of you, and you bring your foot back in.
There is nothing there.
I know.
I might get hurt.
I know.
Then why do you want me to jump?
Do you trust me?
Yes.
Then jump. I’m here.
You feel his hand find yours, long and slender, and he laces his fingers through yours, squeezing reassuringly.
I’ll jump with you.
We both might die.
We might. What do you say to taking chances?
What?
What do you say to taking chances?
I say that it’s a good thing. You don’t know until you try.
And you trust me?
More than anything.
Then jump. Let’s jump. Together.
You take a deep breath.
Okay.
And you jump, hands clasped tightly, off the edge.
----
You don’t know if he will be there, but it is your only chance. You are sat in your car, driving towards the place where the ferry leaves from. You have to get there today. You have to.
You have no idea where you are going when you get there, but you hope that the signs will help you. There will be signs, right? You don’t know. You’ve never been there before.
Once you are on the ferry, you go up onto the deck. The sea is gray and calm and barely even rocks the boat. The gentle lap of it against the hull is soothing, and you lean against the railing and close you eyes, inhaling the bitter, salty tang of the ocean and letting the lapping of the water lull your mind.
----
You roll and roll, and it becomes clear that you are on sand from the gritty texture of it. You land in a pile of body and limbs, all tangled up together, hands still clutching at each other. You are laughing, both of you, his low, hiking guffaws mixing with your huffy chuckles.
He tugs his hand from yours and removes the blindfold from your eyes. His face is close, fuzzy because your eyes can’t focus, and his eyes are lost in his smile but sparkling, sparkling.
What was the blindfold for?
It was a test.
You frown, then smile, realising what the test was.
Did I pass?
He smiles and presses a kiss to your forehead.
With flying colours.
----
The ferry docks and you hurry to your car, impatient to get going. You have no idea where you are going but you want to start going there as soon as possible. As soon as the car in front of you moves, you are off, driving out and staring up at the angry sky above your head.
A storm is brewing.
The clouds are thick and dark, glowering menacingly at the land below. You grit your teeth, wanting to get away and start driving. You ask directions and a bemused looking official points you in the right direction. You throw the thanks out of your window.
There are no signs for a while, and then there are, signs that are big and bright in the onslaught of the rain, pounding down on your windscreen. Your wipers are sweeping back and forth, back and forth. The rhythm makes your head spin, but you keep driving, keep pushing forward. Each time the signs appear, telling you that you are on the right path, your heart swells with hope.
The number of miles on the signs slowly dwindles.
Your car breaks down half way there.
----
You lie there for a long time, tangled together. Your lips move together perfectly, fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Everything is perfect. The sand moves gently beneath you, your tongues dance fluidly, your hands map the contours of each other, stroking and exploring in long, soft strokes.
There is no one around for miles in the sand dunes. You could be the only two people in the world.
And in that moment, you wish that you were.
----
You trudge through the pouring rain, hitching some of the way but never very far. You arrive at the bus station and manage to get on a bus going in the right direction. Your car has been left on the hard shoulder. Someone said they’d be there to pick it up in a couple of hours. You waited about ten minutes before starting to walk.
You have your backpack, but no umbrella. You have a jacket, but no hood. You are soon drenched, and you hug your bag to your chest, trying to keep the precious scrap of paper in the centre dry. Above all else, that has to stay dry - it has the address of your final destination on it, and you need to get there.
You do not arrive until one in the mornings.
You saw the fireworks celebrating the New Year. It is still raining, but that never puts anyone off, especially not when they are sufficiently inebriated. You aren’t, but right now you wish that you were as you stand in front of the door. It is the right address, you are sure of it.
You take a deep, shuddering breath and raise a hand to knock.
He opens the door. He is skinnier than you remember, ears more sticky outy, cheekbones sharper, lips fuller. He is more beautiful than any of your memories, and your breath hitches and tears prickle in your eyes.
Bradley? What are you doing here?
His voice is soft and low and unclear, as it always is when he is unsure of something, uncertain. Hearing his brogue saying your name again makes the tears start falling, and you fling yourself at him, dripping as you are, in a vague approximation of a hug.
Happy birthday, Colin Morgan.
----
You have stopped kissing now and are just lying on your sides next to each other. His eyes are blue - impossibly, achingly blue - and you lose yourself in them. He reaches out to brush some hair from your eyes and the words fall out before you have time to think about it.
I love you.
He smiles, warm and sweet, and his eyes vanish so you know he means it.
I know. I love you too.
You stare at him, warmth seeping through every cell of your body. You smile slowly, beam at him, big and bright and full of teeth, and he beams back.
In that moment, everything is right in your world.
----
And I had my heart beaten down,
But I always come back for more, yeah,
There's nothing like love to pull you up,
When you're laying down on the floor there.
So talk to me, talk to me,
Like lovers do,
Yeah walk with me, walk with me,
Like lovers do,
Like lovers do.