(no subject)
I'm really starting to fall in love with these two.
opal; cobweb; bewildering; mouthpiece; aplomb
“So right now we have our next caller up. Hey there.”
“Hi Lance.”
Lance’s brows knitted as he recognized the voice, inwardly groaning. “Hi. Is there a song you wanna hear, or a story you wanna share, um-”
“Alex.”
“Alex?” Lance was trying very hard not to scream into his mouthpiece for AJ to put the damn phone down and stop messing around. He’d only been at the station for a few months now, and things were finally going all right for him - he didn’t need anyone messing this up.
There was a short pause, “There’s just this girl. You know? I caught her with this - I’m not sure how to say this - there was another guy, nothing serious. Kissing, that’s it. But they both mean something to me. Something big. So I think that since I saw them, and it’s out in the open now, I think maybe she owes me an apology, you know? For cheating on me?” and it was said with such aplomb that Lance was annoyed. He hated that around AJ everything felt so new, so bewildering, like he was caught no matter what he did; he didn’t even know why he was being chased.
He set his jaw, “Are you two exclusive?”
“What?”
“Well, *Alex*,” Lance was sure AJ could hear the sarcasm in his voice, “For someone to be cheating on you, you’d actually have to *be* in a relationship with them in the first place.”
There was a slight edge in AJ’s voice, “He-she. I thought there was an us.”
“But did she?” Lance left the question hanging, the atmosphere tense, for a few minutes, and then forced a cheerful tone. “So… is there any song you’d like to dedicate to her? Maybe try the whole let’s-make-up deal?”
“How about Five For Fighting’s Superman?” Lance couldn’t put his finger on the emotion in AJ’s voice, there was something tender beneath the gruff surface. “I know she’s done a lot for me lately ‘cause I’m in a funk. I need her to know I get that she’s sacrificed a lot of shi-stuff, for me. You know? She doesn’t have to be strong for me all the time. So yeah.”
Lance hooked them up with the song, and then turned his attention back to the phone call. “What do you want me to do to make it up to you, huh? Buy you a fucking opal ring? ‘Cause that was not fucking funny, McLean.”
“Good, because funny wasn’t what I was going for.”
“What the hell do you want, hmm? I mean, really. We weren’t. We aren’t even. Okay? So don’t start talking about apologies and what I’ve done and. God, I don’t understand you.”
“Chill, all right?” AJ was actually starting to feel nervous - all the feelings were hitting him hard, confusing him. He couldn’t remember what it was like before his whoring days. And now he was being thrown right back into it all, and he had never dealt with vulnerability well - he didn’t know how to make Lance see that. “Fine, I’ll forget about the whole JC thing, if we can talk like adults for two seconds.”
“Your two seconds are up.”
“Look.” AJ sighed. “I’ve been cleaning this place up - you wouldn’t believe the number of cobwebs around, dude, I mean really - and I was just. I made dinner. So, maybe, when you get home, we can talk.”
There was a pause, before AJ surged on, “I mean. I. I want there to be an ‘us’, Lance. I thought that much was pretty obvious - I *am* your bitch.” Lance allowed a small smile to slip at that. “And, well, if we’re together, I want. You know. It’s exclusive. I’ve just. I’ve never done this before - and you’re getting me all tongue-tied already, and god*damn*, I know it’s not supposed to be this hard - but I-”
“Yes,” Lance cut in. “Yes, okay. I’ll be home in. In a few.”
Lance could almost see the smile slowly crossing AJ’s face. “Okay. And. I mean, I know I have issues. I’m still working on them, but. Okay. Okay.”
They went back on air just as Lance said, “So, Alex, you feeling any better now?”
“Oh yeah.” There was a smile in AJ’s voice. “Yeah, I’m feeling great.”
opal; cobweb; bewildering; mouthpiece; aplomb
“So right now we have our next caller up. Hey there.”
“Hi Lance.”
Lance’s brows knitted as he recognized the voice, inwardly groaning. “Hi. Is there a song you wanna hear, or a story you wanna share, um-”
“Alex.”
“Alex?” Lance was trying very hard not to scream into his mouthpiece for AJ to put the damn phone down and stop messing around. He’d only been at the station for a few months now, and things were finally going all right for him - he didn’t need anyone messing this up.
There was a short pause, “There’s just this girl. You know? I caught her with this - I’m not sure how to say this - there was another guy, nothing serious. Kissing, that’s it. But they both mean something to me. Something big. So I think that since I saw them, and it’s out in the open now, I think maybe she owes me an apology, you know? For cheating on me?” and it was said with such aplomb that Lance was annoyed. He hated that around AJ everything felt so new, so bewildering, like he was caught no matter what he did; he didn’t even know why he was being chased.
He set his jaw, “Are you two exclusive?”
“What?”
“Well, *Alex*,” Lance was sure AJ could hear the sarcasm in his voice, “For someone to be cheating on you, you’d actually have to *be* in a relationship with them in the first place.”
There was a slight edge in AJ’s voice, “He-she. I thought there was an us.”
“But did she?” Lance left the question hanging, the atmosphere tense, for a few minutes, and then forced a cheerful tone. “So… is there any song you’d like to dedicate to her? Maybe try the whole let’s-make-up deal?”
“How about Five For Fighting’s Superman?” Lance couldn’t put his finger on the emotion in AJ’s voice, there was something tender beneath the gruff surface. “I know she’s done a lot for me lately ‘cause I’m in a funk. I need her to know I get that she’s sacrificed a lot of shi-stuff, for me. You know? She doesn’t have to be strong for me all the time. So yeah.”
Lance hooked them up with the song, and then turned his attention back to the phone call. “What do you want me to do to make it up to you, huh? Buy you a fucking opal ring? ‘Cause that was not fucking funny, McLean.”
“Good, because funny wasn’t what I was going for.”
“What the hell do you want, hmm? I mean, really. We weren’t. We aren’t even. Okay? So don’t start talking about apologies and what I’ve done and. God, I don’t understand you.”
“Chill, all right?” AJ was actually starting to feel nervous - all the feelings were hitting him hard, confusing him. He couldn’t remember what it was like before his whoring days. And now he was being thrown right back into it all, and he had never dealt with vulnerability well - he didn’t know how to make Lance see that. “Fine, I’ll forget about the whole JC thing, if we can talk like adults for two seconds.”
“Your two seconds are up.”
“Look.” AJ sighed. “I’ve been cleaning this place up - you wouldn’t believe the number of cobwebs around, dude, I mean really - and I was just. I made dinner. So, maybe, when you get home, we can talk.”
There was a pause, before AJ surged on, “I mean. I. I want there to be an ‘us’, Lance. I thought that much was pretty obvious - I *am* your bitch.” Lance allowed a small smile to slip at that. “And, well, if we’re together, I want. You know. It’s exclusive. I’ve just. I’ve never done this before - and you’re getting me all tongue-tied already, and god*damn*, I know it’s not supposed to be this hard - but I-”
“Yes,” Lance cut in. “Yes, okay. I’ll be home in. In a few.”
Lance could almost see the smile slowly crossing AJ’s face. “Okay. And. I mean, I know I have issues. I’m still working on them, but. Okay. Okay.”
They went back on air just as Lance said, “So, Alex, you feeling any better now?”
“Oh yeah.” There was a smile in AJ’s voice. “Yeah, I’m feeling great.”