(no subject)
a save situation
tom conrad / william beckett, 309 words
william calls tom on his birthday and actually, it's not that awkward.
he does hesitate for a little too long when tom answers, says a cheerful "hello," into the receiver and listens for a reply. he's about to say it again when bill clears his throat on the other end.
"happy birthday, tom-bo."
it's almost as if william can hear him smiling through the phone. "oh," he says. "well," and "thank you, william."
they talk over each other for a moment. rushed, how are you's and laughter followed by more questions and stuttered statements-- "what have you been up to?" "how's the album coming along?" "johnny was asking about you." "this was a surprise."
"it was?" william asks, slightly amused. he probably shouldn't be so shocked that tom didn't expect a call from him. he didn't get one last year, but then, the wounds were still fresh last year and william didn't think it was appropriate. he does a sort of dance around the words he's going to say next, because they are crucial to this moment in time and he wants them to be the right words. "i just--" he starts, and already, he's fucked it up.
there is a laugh on the other end and he thinks this might not have been a good idea. but then, he hears in a distinctly tom conrad sort of way, "i missed you too," and after a moment's pause, "what are you doing right now?"
--
rise of the fall is next. celine."there were moments of gold and there were flashes of light
there were things i'd never do again but then they'd always seemed right"