Fic: (House Arrest, Matt/T.J., PG)
I got carded in a bar yesterday! That is awesome. Actually, it wasn't really even a bar so much as a 'lounge'. It's one of those dives where there are darts and a pool table and a refrigerator case full of bottled beer and soda behind the bar. Still, $2 beers and a 'bartender' with bad enough eyesight to mistake me for under 21! My new favorite establishment.
Yesterday I posted a meme in order to distract me from myself, and one of my responses was too long to post in a comment, so I have to make a separate post. Once again, Caroline fails to grasp the concept of 'snippet'. Surprise! Though considering how recklessly I abandoned this fandom, it was only fair that I do the scene as much justice as I can manage while I'm at work and kind of punchy.
So this is House Arrest fic, Matt/T.J., PG-ish, 1396 words. It's actually a sequel of sorts to Paper Lanterns, the first fic I ever wrote in this fandom. I would link you, but I'm afraid to visit my own web site from work. If you really want the prequel my site is linked on the sidebar of my journal, though.
"I hope you know I'm never speaking to you again!" Matt shouted through the door. He could hear the hysteria creeping into his voice, but he didn't really care. He knew exactly what Grover was up to, and he was going to kill him. "I'm going to kill you, and I'm not going to your funeral!"
"Dude, chill," T.J. said from behind him, and that definitely wasn't helping. Because T.J. was completely clueless, and as far as Matt was concerned he could stay that way. The second he figured out why Matt was losing it in Grover's basement he'd ditch Matt so fast both their heads would spin, and if that happened...well, Matt was planning to kill Grover either way, but it would be easier if T.J. was still around to help him hide the body.
"Let him play his lame joke," T.J. added, even closer now and God, this was so not what Matt needed. Just like he didn't need T.J. reaching around him, arm sliding around Matt's waist as he reached for the door handle and jiggled. "I don't get it, but he has to get sick of it eventually, right?"
"Are you forgetting how long he left his parents locked up down here?" Matt asked, and he was not going to turn around and look T.J. in the face. He was just going to stay here with his forehead pressed against the door until Grover let them out so Matt could kill him.
"Yeah, but that was...wait. Why did he lock us down here?" T.J. asked, suspicion creeping into his voice and oh, God, Matt wasn't going to have time to kill Grover, because he was going to die of humiliation. He was going to die in this basement and he'd never even get to first base with any guy, let alone T.J.
And he really didn't want T.J. to figure it out, which was why they needed to get out of here. It hadn't really been that long since Matt figured it out, and there was no way he'd be able to explain it to T.J. Because it didn't mean anything; it was just a stupid crush, and Matt was pretty sure it would go away. Eventually. Maybe when they all went away to college.
For now, though, he liked things the way they were. And sure, maybe he'd like things even more if T.J. felt the same way he did, but that just wasn't going to happen. If it was, it would have happened already, right? They spent practically all their time together, and if T.J. wanted to be more than friends he would have done something about it by now.
Matt reached for the door handle to rattle it again, harder this time and he wasn't all that strong, but he was determined. And he should have known this was a trap, really, because Grover never invited him over anymore. They never hung out at all, not since Brooke and...well, okay, and T.J. But Grover was the one who'd dumped him, so if this was all some weird revenge against Matt for finding a new best friend, Matt was definitely going to kill him. He yanked even harder on the door, knocking himself off balance and slamming into the solid warmth of T.J.'s chest.
"Whoa," T.J. said, voice way too close to his ear and his hands felt way too good on Matt's arms. "What's going on?"
"Grover's gone crazy, obviously," Matt answered, but he still sounded desperate and he knew T.J. wasn't buying it anymore. He wasn't stupid, for one thing, no matter what Matt and Grover used to think of him.
"Dude," T.J. said, and Matt's heart skipped a beat. Because he knew what was coming, and there was nothing he could do about it now except face it. He was going to lose his best friend over this, and then he was going to dedicate the rest of his miserable life to making Grover pay.
Matt swallowed hard and turned around, leaning against the door so he wouldn't do something totally embarrassing like fall on his ass. And that was a definite possibility, especially when he saw the way T.J. was looking at him. His forehead was furrowed in that way that let Matt know he was working something out, like when he reached a new level on a video game and he had to figure out a whole new landscape. It was the first time he'd ever looked at Matt like that, though, and Matt was glad he was leaning against the wall when his knees started to shake.
"Did he lock us down here because he thinks...?"
Before he could stop himself Matt nodded, then he realized what he was doing and shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, who knows what Grover thinks. He never talks to me anymore, how would I know? Anyway, it doesn't matter what he thinks, because it isn't true. He probably just wants to get back at me for spending all my time with you."
"Why do you spend all your time with me? I mean, I was kind of an asshole for awhile there."
By 'awhile', Matt was pretty sure he meant 'most of our lives', but he didn't point that out. Instead he just shrugged and said, "You're my best friend."
"I thought Grover was your best friend."
And Matt knew he couldn't answer that, because 'he was, but I like you better' didn't sound right. And it wasn't that he liked T.J. better; the way he felt about T.J. was different than the way he felt about...anybody, but he couldn't say that either. He couldn't say anything without making it worse, so instead he just shook his head.
For awhile neither of them said anything. T.J. was still standing there, leaning into his personal space and just looking like he was trying to read Matt's mind. Or maybe he was just realizing for the first time how much time they spent together. Or he was just deciding on the best way to kill Matt. It didn't really matter, because there was nowhere to go even if Matt's knees hadn't abandoned him awhile ago. Then T.J. leaned in a little more and his lungs stopped working too, whole body shaking because T.J. was either about to kiss him or try a Vulcan mind meld on him. And it didn't even matter which one he chose, because Matt was going to explode as soon as T.J. touched him.
Then T.J. stopped, face hovering just a few inches from Matt's and looking again, and Matt was definitely going to die. Maybe he already had, and this was his own personal hell. He was going to spend eternity with T.J. standing in front of him, thisclose to kissing him without ever following through, and Matt wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He heard someone say 'oh God' in a breathy voice, realized it was his own just a second before T.J. moved again. And this time he didn't stop, so if Matt was dead it turned out this was heaven, because kissing T.J. was more amazing than he ever imagined.
T.J.'s hands gripped his waist, fingers digging into his sides and he was glad T.J. was holding on, because his legs still weren't working with him. His arms were, though, and somehow they managed to slide around T.J.'s neck before Matt even thought about it. Not that he was doing much thinking, because T.J.'s mouth was warm against his and his hair was tickling the side of Matt's face. It was different than Matt had always imagined it would be; he'd always thought if T.J. ever kissed him that it would be forceful and exciting and kind of rough. Instead it was slow, kind of tentative like maybe T.J. was just as clueless as Matt was. Like maybe he really hadn't thought about it until Grover decided to lock them in his basement.
And when he pulled back he looked a little nervous, but he was smiling and Matt decided to take that as a good sign. "So this is why he locked us down here?"
Matt shrugged, but he couldn't help grinning back at T.J. "Who knows. I told you, Grover's crazy."
"Yeah," T.J. murmured as he leaned in again. "Remind me to thank him later."
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Also as a result of that meme, I wrote:
+ Heroes mpreg (my first mpreg ever! Aww)
+ Speed/Tyler breakup fic which doubles as (canonical) deathfic
+ Sunglasses of Justice fic which takes place in the Denial!Verse
+ and just to top it all off I slashed Warrick Brown with Horatio Caine.
I failed at teaching a computer class last night, but I win at crackfic. It evens out.
Yesterday I posted a meme in order to distract me from myself, and one of my responses was too long to post in a comment, so I have to make a separate post. Once again, Caroline fails to grasp the concept of 'snippet'. Surprise! Though considering how recklessly I abandoned this fandom, it was only fair that I do the scene as much justice as I can manage while I'm at work and kind of punchy.
So this is House Arrest fic, Matt/T.J., PG-ish, 1396 words. It's actually a sequel of sorts to Paper Lanterns, the first fic I ever wrote in this fandom. I would link you, but I'm afraid to visit my own web site from work. If you really want the prequel my site is linked on the sidebar of my journal, though.
"I hope you know I'm never speaking to you again!" Matt shouted through the door. He could hear the hysteria creeping into his voice, but he didn't really care. He knew exactly what Grover was up to, and he was going to kill him. "I'm going to kill you, and I'm not going to your funeral!"
"Dude, chill," T.J. said from behind him, and that definitely wasn't helping. Because T.J. was completely clueless, and as far as Matt was concerned he could stay that way. The second he figured out why Matt was losing it in Grover's basement he'd ditch Matt so fast both their heads would spin, and if that happened...well, Matt was planning to kill Grover either way, but it would be easier if T.J. was still around to help him hide the body.
"Let him play his lame joke," T.J. added, even closer now and God, this was so not what Matt needed. Just like he didn't need T.J. reaching around him, arm sliding around Matt's waist as he reached for the door handle and jiggled. "I don't get it, but he has to get sick of it eventually, right?"
"Are you forgetting how long he left his parents locked up down here?" Matt asked, and he was not going to turn around and look T.J. in the face. He was just going to stay here with his forehead pressed against the door until Grover let them out so Matt could kill him.
"Yeah, but that was...wait. Why did he lock us down here?" T.J. asked, suspicion creeping into his voice and oh, God, Matt wasn't going to have time to kill Grover, because he was going to die of humiliation. He was going to die in this basement and he'd never even get to first base with any guy, let alone T.J.
And he really didn't want T.J. to figure it out, which was why they needed to get out of here. It hadn't really been that long since Matt figured it out, and there was no way he'd be able to explain it to T.J. Because it didn't mean anything; it was just a stupid crush, and Matt was pretty sure it would go away. Eventually. Maybe when they all went away to college.
For now, though, he liked things the way they were. And sure, maybe he'd like things even more if T.J. felt the same way he did, but that just wasn't going to happen. If it was, it would have happened already, right? They spent practically all their time together, and if T.J. wanted to be more than friends he would have done something about it by now.
Matt reached for the door handle to rattle it again, harder this time and he wasn't all that strong, but he was determined. And he should have known this was a trap, really, because Grover never invited him over anymore. They never hung out at all, not since Brooke and...well, okay, and T.J. But Grover was the one who'd dumped him, so if this was all some weird revenge against Matt for finding a new best friend, Matt was definitely going to kill him. He yanked even harder on the door, knocking himself off balance and slamming into the solid warmth of T.J.'s chest.
"Whoa," T.J. said, voice way too close to his ear and his hands felt way too good on Matt's arms. "What's going on?"
"Grover's gone crazy, obviously," Matt answered, but he still sounded desperate and he knew T.J. wasn't buying it anymore. He wasn't stupid, for one thing, no matter what Matt and Grover used to think of him.
"Dude," T.J. said, and Matt's heart skipped a beat. Because he knew what was coming, and there was nothing he could do about it now except face it. He was going to lose his best friend over this, and then he was going to dedicate the rest of his miserable life to making Grover pay.
Matt swallowed hard and turned around, leaning against the door so he wouldn't do something totally embarrassing like fall on his ass. And that was a definite possibility, especially when he saw the way T.J. was looking at him. His forehead was furrowed in that way that let Matt know he was working something out, like when he reached a new level on a video game and he had to figure out a whole new landscape. It was the first time he'd ever looked at Matt like that, though, and Matt was glad he was leaning against the wall when his knees started to shake.
"Did he lock us down here because he thinks...?"
Before he could stop himself Matt nodded, then he realized what he was doing and shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, who knows what Grover thinks. He never talks to me anymore, how would I know? Anyway, it doesn't matter what he thinks, because it isn't true. He probably just wants to get back at me for spending all my time with you."
"Why do you spend all your time with me? I mean, I was kind of an asshole for awhile there."
By 'awhile', Matt was pretty sure he meant 'most of our lives', but he didn't point that out. Instead he just shrugged and said, "You're my best friend."
"I thought Grover was your best friend."
And Matt knew he couldn't answer that, because 'he was, but I like you better' didn't sound right. And it wasn't that he liked T.J. better; the way he felt about T.J. was different than the way he felt about...anybody, but he couldn't say that either. He couldn't say anything without making it worse, so instead he just shook his head.
For awhile neither of them said anything. T.J. was still standing there, leaning into his personal space and just looking like he was trying to read Matt's mind. Or maybe he was just realizing for the first time how much time they spent together. Or he was just deciding on the best way to kill Matt. It didn't really matter, because there was nowhere to go even if Matt's knees hadn't abandoned him awhile ago. Then T.J. leaned in a little more and his lungs stopped working too, whole body shaking because T.J. was either about to kiss him or try a Vulcan mind meld on him. And it didn't even matter which one he chose, because Matt was going to explode as soon as T.J. touched him.
Then T.J. stopped, face hovering just a few inches from Matt's and looking again, and Matt was definitely going to die. Maybe he already had, and this was his own personal hell. He was going to spend eternity with T.J. standing in front of him, thisclose to kissing him without ever following through, and Matt wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He heard someone say 'oh God' in a breathy voice, realized it was his own just a second before T.J. moved again. And this time he didn't stop, so if Matt was dead it turned out this was heaven, because kissing T.J. was more amazing than he ever imagined.
T.J.'s hands gripped his waist, fingers digging into his sides and he was glad T.J. was holding on, because his legs still weren't working with him. His arms were, though, and somehow they managed to slide around T.J.'s neck before Matt even thought about it. Not that he was doing much thinking, because T.J.'s mouth was warm against his and his hair was tickling the side of Matt's face. It was different than Matt had always imagined it would be; he'd always thought if T.J. ever kissed him that it would be forceful and exciting and kind of rough. Instead it was slow, kind of tentative like maybe T.J. was just as clueless as Matt was. Like maybe he really hadn't thought about it until Grover decided to lock them in his basement.
And when he pulled back he looked a little nervous, but he was smiling and Matt decided to take that as a good sign. "So this is why he locked us down here?"
Matt shrugged, but he couldn't help grinning back at T.J. "Who knows. I told you, Grover's crazy."
"Yeah," T.J. murmured as he leaned in again. "Remind me to thank him later."
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Also as a result of that meme, I wrote:
+ Heroes mpreg (my first mpreg ever! Aww)
+ Speed/Tyler breakup fic which doubles as (canonical) deathfic
+ Sunglasses of Justice fic which takes place in the Denial!Verse
+ and just to top it all off I slashed Warrick Brown with Horatio Caine.
I failed at teaching a computer class last night, but I win at crackfic. It evens out.