fic
Faking Normal, part 3. Which I've had started... pretty much since I posted part 2 and finally managed to hammer out what was sitting in my brain. Edward/Ivan. PG. Same as before.
[Tiger & Bunny isn't mine]
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There are times when Ivan wakes in the middle of the night to find Edward gone and his heart does this awkward little lurch in his chest. A half-skipped beat at the sensation of not having anyone curled up close with an arm lazily slung across his chest. The emptiness leaving him just a little bit chilled and he ultimately gets up and pads the few feet of distance between the futon and the kitchenette to settle in and wait.
Edward always looks as if he's been caught doing something he shouldn't in that first moment when he slides up through the floor to find Ivan waiting up for him with a cup of tea. A single moment of panic before his face smoothes back into something almost distant and one night it's far too much. Ivan blurting, "Do you want to leave?"
Edward's face crumples into a different sort of panic at that. Wide eyed and grabbing at Ivan's shoulders while he shakes his head emphatically and insists over and over again, "No. No no no no no no. I... I don't want to. I... I couldn't. Not ever."
He's never said "I love you". Not once before and this moment is no different. Not that Ivan has ever worried or thought much of it. Not until recently at least and he hates the almost petulant whine his voice seems to take on when he asks, "Why do you keep vanishing in the middle of the night then?"
"It's not.... It's not anything bad. It's just... there's some guys I met. Other NEXTs. We hang out."
The last few words ring false, not quite all the way into a bold-faced lie but a little more than a simple fudging of facts or half-truth. Ivan knows this, and he's pretty sure Edward knows that he knows, unable to stop the way his mouth tightens into a disapproving line in response. His teeth clenching just a little bit and his chest feels tight like there's something in there desperate to escape. A scream all ready to claw its way up his throat and out if he doesn't hold it back.
"It's just bitch-sessions," Edward keeps babbling like he's hoping that the sheer number of words will somehow make things seem better than they are. "We're all just pissed at the way NEXTs get treated sometimes so we get together and complain."
"In the middle of the night?"
"I guess... some of them are kind of hardcore. It's not the sort of stuff you talk about out in the open. But it's still just talk. None of us are out to hurt anyone."
It's that last sentence that makes Ivan's mouth go dry and an awkward sort of churning fear hits him right in the gut. His voice just barely above a whisper when he replies, "If you weren't you wouldn't need to say that," and Edward flushes. Although whether it's from embarrassment or anger Ivan can't quite tell.
"I'm- I'm not getting involved in that kind of shit, Ivan. I swear. Besides, most of the guys don't have the right kind of power sets to go around causing serious trouble."
"But some of them do."
"Yea, some of them do. Me included if you want to get technical. What the hell do you want me to say, Ivan? What do I have to swear on for you to believe me when I say that I'm not going to turn into some kind of crazy pro-NEXT terrorist? We just talk shit. That's all."
Ivan is quiet for a moment, tracing patterns on the table in front of him with a fingertip and just out of the corner of his eye he can see Edward growing more and more frustrated with the silence. Finally blurting, "I want to go with you next time," when Edward looks about ready to blow his top.
"You?..."
"I want to meet them. I just.... I don't understand why you hid it from me." That petulant whine back and a part of Ivan cringes at the sound.
"I didn't know how you'd feel about the whole thing. I figured it was better to just...." Edward heaves a sigh, quickly closing the last few feet between him and Ivan letting his arms coil around Ivan's shoulders in some sort of awkward apology. "I fucked up, I can admit it. If this is what it takes to make you trust me...."
"I do trust you," Ivan murmurs back, leaning into the contact. "I just don't know if I trust them. Not without knowing them."
"Fine." Another sigh, right next to Ivan's ear before Edward's mouth moves on and he presses a kiss against the side of Ivan's neck. "Next time I won't sneak out and you can come with. Good enough?"
"Good enough."
[Tiger & Bunny isn't mine]
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There are times when Ivan wakes in the middle of the night to find Edward gone and his heart does this awkward little lurch in his chest. A half-skipped beat at the sensation of not having anyone curled up close with an arm lazily slung across his chest. The emptiness leaving him just a little bit chilled and he ultimately gets up and pads the few feet of distance between the futon and the kitchenette to settle in and wait.
Edward always looks as if he's been caught doing something he shouldn't in that first moment when he slides up through the floor to find Ivan waiting up for him with a cup of tea. A single moment of panic before his face smoothes back into something almost distant and one night it's far too much. Ivan blurting, "Do you want to leave?"
Edward's face crumples into a different sort of panic at that. Wide eyed and grabbing at Ivan's shoulders while he shakes his head emphatically and insists over and over again, "No. No no no no no no. I... I don't want to. I... I couldn't. Not ever."
He's never said "I love you". Not once before and this moment is no different. Not that Ivan has ever worried or thought much of it. Not until recently at least and he hates the almost petulant whine his voice seems to take on when he asks, "Why do you keep vanishing in the middle of the night then?"
"It's not.... It's not anything bad. It's just... there's some guys I met. Other NEXTs. We hang out."
The last few words ring false, not quite all the way into a bold-faced lie but a little more than a simple fudging of facts or half-truth. Ivan knows this, and he's pretty sure Edward knows that he knows, unable to stop the way his mouth tightens into a disapproving line in response. His teeth clenching just a little bit and his chest feels tight like there's something in there desperate to escape. A scream all ready to claw its way up his throat and out if he doesn't hold it back.
"It's just bitch-sessions," Edward keeps babbling like he's hoping that the sheer number of words will somehow make things seem better than they are. "We're all just pissed at the way NEXTs get treated sometimes so we get together and complain."
"In the middle of the night?"
"I guess... some of them are kind of hardcore. It's not the sort of stuff you talk about out in the open. But it's still just talk. None of us are out to hurt anyone."
It's that last sentence that makes Ivan's mouth go dry and an awkward sort of churning fear hits him right in the gut. His voice just barely above a whisper when he replies, "If you weren't you wouldn't need to say that," and Edward flushes. Although whether it's from embarrassment or anger Ivan can't quite tell.
"I'm- I'm not getting involved in that kind of shit, Ivan. I swear. Besides, most of the guys don't have the right kind of power sets to go around causing serious trouble."
"But some of them do."
"Yea, some of them do. Me included if you want to get technical. What the hell do you want me to say, Ivan? What do I have to swear on for you to believe me when I say that I'm not going to turn into some kind of crazy pro-NEXT terrorist? We just talk shit. That's all."
Ivan is quiet for a moment, tracing patterns on the table in front of him with a fingertip and just out of the corner of his eye he can see Edward growing more and more frustrated with the silence. Finally blurting, "I want to go with you next time," when Edward looks about ready to blow his top.
"You?..."
"I want to meet them. I just.... I don't understand why you hid it from me." That petulant whine back and a part of Ivan cringes at the sound.
"I didn't know how you'd feel about the whole thing. I figured it was better to just...." Edward heaves a sigh, quickly closing the last few feet between him and Ivan letting his arms coil around Ivan's shoulders in some sort of awkward apology. "I fucked up, I can admit it. If this is what it takes to make you trust me...."
"I do trust you," Ivan murmurs back, leaning into the contact. "I just don't know if I trust them. Not without knowing them."
"Fine." Another sigh, right next to Ivan's ear before Edward's mouth moves on and he presses a kiss against the side of Ivan's neck. "Next time I won't sneak out and you can come with. Good enough?"
"Good enough."