[fic] "Here For You, Always"
Title: "Here For You, Always"
Fandom: Popslash
Characters/Pairing(s): Brian, Nick, Brian/Nick
Word Count: 1078
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Written for strippedhalo in the 2012 Make the Yuletide Gay challenge.
We meet on a Tuesday.
He walks in and he's crying, and I go right to him and wrap an arm around his shoulders, and introduce myself. "My name's Nick, and I'm here if you need anything. Just let me know."
And he whispers, "Tell me my son is going to be okay."
I know I shouldn't say it, because I don't know the answer, but he's so heartbroken and he needs the reassurance and none of us here want our guests to leave but with healthy children so I go ahead and say, "Of course he's gonna be okay. He'll be okay and then you'll be able to go home with him."
A smile cracks. It causes me to smile. He thanks me and rubs his eyes. They look tired, from lack of sleep, or crying, or both. I direct him to one of our rooms so he can sleep. Or at least attempt to sleep. Some nights I end up staying up with guests while they need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on. They need that sometimes.
That's why I'm here.
I'm here for them. I'm here to make sure they're happy, and fed, and calm enough to sleep. I'm here to reassure them that it'll be okay and they're children will be okay, and everything will be okay.
And as I walk past our new guests room, he's on his phone, talking to his son's doctor, I assume, because I hear words like "tests" and "syndrome" and "condition." I frown. I hope his son will pull through.
I want to help him. I want to make him stop being sad. His hurt hurts me.
He comes back on a Friday.
There's a woman with him, who I assume is his wife and the boy's mother, because she was just as visibly upset as he was. I can hear them talking about how the boy's doing better, but still has a long road to go.
And that's when I get his name.
Brian.
His name is Brian.
I walk up to them, greet Brian. "Nice to see you again. And who is this lovely lady?" I'm polite, because I don't need to let my personal feelings get in the way of their pain.
He smiles. "This is Leighanne. She's a friend of mine, and my son's mother." She doesn't flinch, or give him a dirty look when she introduces her as his friend. Okay, maybe she wasn't his wife. "And I never got to give you my name the other day. I'm Brian."
"It's nice to meet you, Leighanne, and nice to finally have your name Brian. How's your boy?"
"He's doing better, but he's not completely out of the woods yet. It's hard, to see him in such pain."
"I'm sure it is," I run a hand through my hair. "Well, you're more than welcome to stay here again tonight. You're welcome to stay any time, for as long as you like. That's why we're here."
They both nod to me through sad eyes, "Thank you. So, you have a room for us?"
"Of course. We always have room. And there's food in the kitchen if you're hungry."
They nod appreciatively. It's the least I can do.
The third time I see him is on a Monday, about a week later.
His demeanor is much improved from the last couple times I saw him. This is good news. I smile. "Well, nice to see you here, I hope it's not under similar circumstances as before."
"No, no it isn't. In fact, my son's been home from the hospital for a couple days. They caught everything in time and he's going to be okay. They have to follow up for a while, but no more hospital stays. It's so awesome to have my little guy back. I wanted you to meet him. Baylee!"
A little boy peeks out from behind him and smiles. "My daddy says you helped him not feel sad when I was sick."
I smile back at him. He was the spitting image of his father, it was amazing. "I did. I let him stay here, and we gave him food, and a bed."
Baylee grins. "That's cool! My mommy and daddy were really sad cause I was sick, and they didn't want to go home cause it was so far away, so this place is really neat!"
I give him a high five. "It is, isn't it? That's what we do. We let mommies and daddies who are very sad because their little boys and little girls are sick like you were stay here so they don't feel so alone."
"When I grow up I wanna help mommies and daddies with sick kids too, just like you!"
I blush a bit. Brian catches it, he smiles. "You know, you're good with kids. Really good." And then, "You wanna grab a bite to eat sometime? You know, my treat since you've given me quite a few meals already?"
I smile. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
We see each other a lot after that.
Lunches, dinners, movies.
I find out his life story. That he came out in college, that he roomed with Leighanne after graduation. That they had Baylee because they both wanted a child, weren't getting any younger, and decided to just do it.
I find out he's been looking for love for a while. That he was about to give up.
That he ended up finding it in the most surprising of places.
I smile at him and kiss his cheek. I let him know that I kinda found love in a surprising place as well.
He kisses me the second time. On the lips.
"I want you to be there for me, everyday, for the rest of my life. You keep me grounded, even when I think there's no chance of it. You're an amazing guy and I don't want to lose you."
I blush. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. I'd like to be your rock, Brian. Let's do this. I'd love to be there for you like I was when you needed me the most." And I take his hand, interlock his fingers within mine.
"I'm glad everything turned out alright. I got my boy back, and I managed to find a partner. Who would have thought?"
"Not me, but I'm here when you need me. Now, and forever."
Fandom: Popslash
Characters/Pairing(s): Brian, Nick, Brian/Nick
Word Count: 1078
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Written for strippedhalo in the 2012 Make the Yuletide Gay challenge.
We meet on a Tuesday.
He walks in and he's crying, and I go right to him and wrap an arm around his shoulders, and introduce myself. "My name's Nick, and I'm here if you need anything. Just let me know."
And he whispers, "Tell me my son is going to be okay."
I know I shouldn't say it, because I don't know the answer, but he's so heartbroken and he needs the reassurance and none of us here want our guests to leave but with healthy children so I go ahead and say, "Of course he's gonna be okay. He'll be okay and then you'll be able to go home with him."
A smile cracks. It causes me to smile. He thanks me and rubs his eyes. They look tired, from lack of sleep, or crying, or both. I direct him to one of our rooms so he can sleep. Or at least attempt to sleep. Some nights I end up staying up with guests while they need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on. They need that sometimes.
That's why I'm here.
I'm here for them. I'm here to make sure they're happy, and fed, and calm enough to sleep. I'm here to reassure them that it'll be okay and they're children will be okay, and everything will be okay.
And as I walk past our new guests room, he's on his phone, talking to his son's doctor, I assume, because I hear words like "tests" and "syndrome" and "condition." I frown. I hope his son will pull through.
I want to help him. I want to make him stop being sad. His hurt hurts me.
He comes back on a Friday.
There's a woman with him, who I assume is his wife and the boy's mother, because she was just as visibly upset as he was. I can hear them talking about how the boy's doing better, but still has a long road to go.
And that's when I get his name.
Brian.
His name is Brian.
I walk up to them, greet Brian. "Nice to see you again. And who is this lovely lady?" I'm polite, because I don't need to let my personal feelings get in the way of their pain.
He smiles. "This is Leighanne. She's a friend of mine, and my son's mother." She doesn't flinch, or give him a dirty look when she introduces her as his friend. Okay, maybe she wasn't his wife. "And I never got to give you my name the other day. I'm Brian."
"It's nice to meet you, Leighanne, and nice to finally have your name Brian. How's your boy?"
"He's doing better, but he's not completely out of the woods yet. It's hard, to see him in such pain."
"I'm sure it is," I run a hand through my hair. "Well, you're more than welcome to stay here again tonight. You're welcome to stay any time, for as long as you like. That's why we're here."
They both nod to me through sad eyes, "Thank you. So, you have a room for us?"
"Of course. We always have room. And there's food in the kitchen if you're hungry."
They nod appreciatively. It's the least I can do.
The third time I see him is on a Monday, about a week later.
His demeanor is much improved from the last couple times I saw him. This is good news. I smile. "Well, nice to see you here, I hope it's not under similar circumstances as before."
"No, no it isn't. In fact, my son's been home from the hospital for a couple days. They caught everything in time and he's going to be okay. They have to follow up for a while, but no more hospital stays. It's so awesome to have my little guy back. I wanted you to meet him. Baylee!"
A little boy peeks out from behind him and smiles. "My daddy says you helped him not feel sad when I was sick."
I smile back at him. He was the spitting image of his father, it was amazing. "I did. I let him stay here, and we gave him food, and a bed."
Baylee grins. "That's cool! My mommy and daddy were really sad cause I was sick, and they didn't want to go home cause it was so far away, so this place is really neat!"
I give him a high five. "It is, isn't it? That's what we do. We let mommies and daddies who are very sad because their little boys and little girls are sick like you were stay here so they don't feel so alone."
"When I grow up I wanna help mommies and daddies with sick kids too, just like you!"
I blush a bit. Brian catches it, he smiles. "You know, you're good with kids. Really good." And then, "You wanna grab a bite to eat sometime? You know, my treat since you've given me quite a few meals already?"
I smile. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
We see each other a lot after that.
Lunches, dinners, movies.
I find out his life story. That he came out in college, that he roomed with Leighanne after graduation. That they had Baylee because they both wanted a child, weren't getting any younger, and decided to just do it.
I find out he's been looking for love for a while. That he was about to give up.
That he ended up finding it in the most surprising of places.
I smile at him and kiss his cheek. I let him know that I kinda found love in a surprising place as well.
He kisses me the second time. On the lips.
"I want you to be there for me, everyday, for the rest of my life. You keep me grounded, even when I think there's no chance of it. You're an amazing guy and I don't want to lose you."
I blush. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. I'd like to be your rock, Brian. Let's do this. I'd love to be there for you like I was when you needed me the most." And I take his hand, interlock his fingers within mine.
"I'm glad everything turned out alright. I got my boy back, and I managed to find a partner. Who would have thought?"
"Not me, but I'm here when you need me. Now, and forever."