(no subject)
Title: PS, I love you.
Part: 2/?
Rating: For everyone.
Pairing: FletchJones.
Storyline: Based on the book "PS, I love you" by Cecelia Ahern.
Disclaimer: I own Danny. That is all.
Posted in: mcflyslash and mcslash.
Tom closed the front door behind him, falling back onto it in an exhausted state. He rubbed his hands over his eyes and then dragged them down his cheeks, resting his head back against the wooden frame. He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and left that hectic day behind him.
“G’evening, gorgeous.” A cheery voice echoed from the kitchen and Tom opened his eyes, to be greeted by a beaming smile and a pair of bright blue ones. He heard the rusty sound of boiling water coming from the kitchen.
“That had better be the kettle boiling, Dan, because I have had the worst day.” Tom groaned, finding himself unable to move due to exhaustion.
“I must be a mind reader, because it is, and they say a cup of tea solves all your worries.” Danny continued to smile, making his way out of the kitchen and over to Tom. “Tell me about your day.”
“Eugh, Dan, it was terrible. The customers are so rude! One of them even started shouting at me. Swearing and everything! And when I went to my boss, to say that I shouldn’t have to put up with this, and he told me to get lost. I hate it there, I really do. I want to quit and work on my music.” He emitted a long sigh.
“Then why don’t you?” Danny asked, stroking his hands rhythmically along Tom’s sides. “You can’t stay in a job you hate, Tom. You only live once.” He leant in, pressing a gently kiss on Tom’s chin.
“I know, Dan, so you keep saying.” Tom huffed. “But it’s not that simple. I need to keep working until I get enough money to do that. I can’t just up and leave. And besides, what if I don’t get anywhere with my music? I’d have to go crawling back to work, beg for my... beg for...” He was silenced by a series of butterfly kisses on his neck. Danny brushed his hands over Tom’s chest, up the smooth cotton of his white work shirt, trailing his kisses up Tom’s neck. Tom tried to finish his sentence, but only managed a quiet moan.
Danny smiled, licking attentively at Tom’s earlobe, gently nibbling as he pressed himself up against him. Tom moved his hands to rest on Danny’s waist, his body relaxing and, soon, all stress escaping from him. All his worries and cares disappearing.
Danny licked slowly along Tom’s jaw line, patterning his tongue round and up to Tom’s lips. He smiled, parting his lips and accepting Danny’s tongue, suddenly finding enough energy to take hold of Danny tightly, and kiss him passionately.
The kettle clicked in the kitchen, signalling that the water had boiled and Danny pulled his lips back from Tom’s, a smirk spreading over his face.
“Tea’s ready...” He murmured quietly, nudging his nose affectionately against Tom’s.
“Screw the tea!” Tom grinned, placing a hand either side of Danny’s head and pulling him back into the hungry kiss.
“Oh... okay. I thought you wanted a cup of tea?” Dougie asked confused, looking from the kitchen to Tom, two mugs in his hands.
Tom opened his eyes, startled. He’d slipped into another memory. He stood up from the door, still clutching the envelope in his hands, and cleared his throat.
“Err... yeah, I do. Sorry.” He said, blushing, embarrassed by what he must have said aloud. Dougie nodded, without making eye contact with Tom, and sat down at the kitchen table. He placed both of the mugs on the table and Tom slowly made his way into the kitchen to perch on the chair opposite Dougie. He sighed as he put the envelope in front of him, eyes still fixated on it.
“I, err,” Dougie spoke quietly to break the silence, looking into his mug of tea. “I didn’t put any sugar in yours.”
“Okay, thank you.” Tom said in a rush, for no particular reason, only that it decided to come out that way. They both fell silent again.
Dougie pulled the sleeves of his long shirt down to his finger tips, pressing his lips together. He straightened up from his hunched position slightly, eyes flicking up to look over to Tom, who reached a hand for his cup of tea. His fingers wrapped around the handle, lifting the mug to press against his lips.
“They say a cup of tea solves all your worries.” Tom muttered quietly, as Dougie looked at him. Tom let a small, ironic laugh pass his lips. “It’s true, isn’t it? You’ve broken up with someone; you put the kettle on. You’ve had an argument; you put the kettle on.” He clears his throat, eyes zoning out. “You have a bad day at work; you put the kettle on. Someone dies...”
The silence returned for a few moments.
“Danny always made the tea.” Dougie stated and Tom’s head shot to him, burning his eyes into him for even daring to mention a memory aloud, but Dougie continued. “I remember the day I moved in here with you two, the first thing he did was put the kettle on. He could see how nervous I was-”
“I know!” Tom raised his voice, placing his mug back on the table. He exhaled heavily and then stretched a hand over his forehead, massaging his temples with his thumb and middle finger. “I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, Tom. I shouldn’t have...” Dougie sighed, eyes falling back to the envelope. He found the package being pushed to him all of a sudden, jerking back a little and looking to Tom in bemusement. Tom looked straight back at Dougie. His eyes were big, a lot softer than a second ago.
“Will you open it, Dougie?” Tom asked, the first time he’d addressed him by his name for a while. Dougie took note of this, as his stomach bubbled with feelings of nerves and honour. Tom was placing a serious responsibility on his shoulders, one that Dougie would have expected Tom to push him away from and keep to himself. After all, it was his name on the envelope. But, in light of this being a terrible situation to be in, he felt closer to Tom than he had done for weeks. Months, even. Since everything started. Something that Dougie had needed, had been longing for, throughout. He sighed, almost slightly contented, at the thought that it was Danny who had brought them together again.
“Are you sure? I mean... it says your name. Maybe there’s things that Danny doesn’t want me to read.” He felt he had to question Tom’s choice, despite desperately hoping he wouldn’t change his mind.
“No. Please. I can’t.” Tom stumbled over his words, chewing on his thumb, and leaning back on his chair. Dougie continued to look straight at him. “Please. Do it now before I-. Please, Dougie.”
Dougie gave a nod, taking in a gulp of air and holding it in his chest. He picked up the envelope carefully, treating it like something so fragile and delicate. He turned it over to finger the seal, pinching a corner in his fingers and beginning to peel it up. He could feel Tom’s eyes watching his every move intently, as he carried on until the seal was completely broken. The seal that had last been touched by Danny.
After another glance up to Tom, who gave him a small nod to continue, he turned the envelope upside-down, and carefully let the contents spread onto the kitchen table. Six smaller envelops fell onto the table, followed by a piece of paper that was folded in half. Each envelop had a month written on it and the piece of paper had “open me first” on one of the folded sides.
“Oh God...” Tom trembled, eyebrows furrowing as one of his hands flew to his mouth. “He really did it!” He mumbled into his cupped palm. He lent back in his chair, eyes moving rapidly over the envelopes, from one to the other. His shaky breathes echoing into his hand.
“What... what would you like me to do?” Dougie asked, his voice croaky but remaining composed.
“Erm...” Tom thought, blinking back his tears. “Open the main letter. Read it.” The hand that covered his mouth balled into a fist, bending his wrist slightly to bite on his knuckles. A nervous habit he had picked up from his childhood.
“Dear Tom,” Dougie began. “I think this is the strangest thing I’ve ever written. Apart from my GCSE History paper, because I had absolutely no idea what I was going on about. Probably didn’t help that I spent most of the time at the back of the class. Anyway, I am going off the subject. I bet you never thought I was being serious, eh? But I know what you’ll be like, Tom. You are probably biting at your knuckles. Am I right?” Dougie paused for a moment to look over to Tom, who was still doing exactly that.
Tom cleared his throat, almost to disguise the fact that Danny had indeed been correct, and placed his hands on his lap.
“Carry on.” Tom swallowed, and Dougie continued with the letter.
“So, I decided to go through with this, so you have some knuckles left, at least.” Dougie inhaled deeply before continuing again. “In this envelope, there are six smaller ones. On each of them, there is the name of one of the next 6 months. ONLY OPEN ONE ENVELOPE EACH MONTH! I know how nosy you can be, Fletcher, but don’t even try it! I’ll be watching you, remember!”
“Oh god...” Tom muttered again. He leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees and covering his mouth with his hands. Those familiar tears began to stream once again.
“Inside each envelope is a task. Something I’d like you to complete for me each month. Haha, just call me Big Brother! Joking aside, I do have every faith in you, Tom, that you WILL do them for me. I trust that you’ll keep your promise to me, even if you did think I was joking when I mentioned this before. I want to help you.” Dougie frowned slightly as he noticed a gap in the letter, filled with a few randomly placed scribbles. He lifted the page nearer to his eyes to get a closer look, noticing only what could have been a couple of tear drops underneath the blue scrawl.
“Wh... what?” Tom asked, removing his hands from his mouth, and looking to Dougie with a tear stained face.
Dougie looked back; his lips parted and ready to reply. Danny had always been so strong, and not once throughout the whole ordeal had Dougie seen him even close to tears. His eyes met Tom’s. If a stranger had seen Tom’s eyes right that moment, they would have been able to tell he’d been crying for weeks. Dougie have become accustomed to his puffy, red eyes. It was as if those big, chocolate eyes that once were, belonged to a different person completely. That glance was enough to break Dougie’s heart.
“Nothing. Sorry. I’ll keep going.” Dougie swallowed, trying to keep Danny’s strong image - which he had obviously fought to keep up - alive. He continued from where he left off. “I love you, Tom. I started from the moment I met you, and I will never stop, I can promise you that. That’s why it is so important to me to see you live a happy life. Don’t worry about me. I know I’ll be in a good place right now, watching over you. Please, just follow these envelopes for the next few months. I want you to promise me now that you’ll complete the tasks. I also want you to promise me that you’ll be there for Dougie, too. He needs you just as much right now, even if he won’t admit it. I want him to be involved in this, so you can be there for each other. Please don’t push him out, Tom. I know what both of you are like and he wants to be there for you. Let him be. Also, tell him I love him with all my heart. You were both the best friends any guy could ask for. I had it good. Really good. I’ll leave it here, for now, but you’ll hear from me soon. This month, if I’m correct. Take care of yourself, you. Your Danny, xxx.” Dougie’s eyes trailed down to the bottom of the page. “P.S. I love you.”
There was silence between the pair for a few minutes, complete silence. Neither moved, nor even dared to breathe, but both were aware that Danny had just been in the room with them again. He’d spoken to them both and really was watching over them. It was an unbelievable experience for either to absorb.
Dougie dared to speak, before he was interrupted by the screech of Tom’s chair against the kitchen tiles, as he stood up abruptly. Tom scrambled for the envelopes, snatching the letter out of Dougie’s hand. He was sobbing loudly, panting for breath desperately.
“Tom, please!” Dougie stood up, reaching out to him.
“NO!” Tom’s face boiled red as he shouted, knocking Dougie’s hand away from him, the constant flow of his tears burning against his shiny cheeks. “Just...” He tried to continue, but found himself running out of the kitchen and to the stairs, stomping up them with the letter and envelopes clutched tightly in his hands.
Dougie stood in the kitchen, in complete shock. He’d seen Tom work himself up before, but never to this extreme state. He felt his head spin and his vision fuzz over, as he looked to the floor. The tiles spun around, and he suddenly found himself being drawn closer to them.
Dougie felt his legs buckle beneath him, falling to his knees on the hard kitchen floor. A lashing of pain shot up from his kneecaps, but it didn’t faze him. For the first time in weeks, he felt two warm drops of water hit his pale cheeks, dropping to his lap and staining his trousers. Soon he found those tears falling faster, and more of them developing, until he was curled into a ball under the table, his sobs echoing off of the kitchen walls. Finally emitting his pent up emotions into the atmosphere.
Upstairs, Tom collapsed on his bed, immediately shifting to Danny’s side. The side that he had avoided since it had become vacant. He curled up, pulling the covers over his head and smothering his face into the pillow. He took a deep breath before screaming into Danny’s pillow, screaming until he couldn’t physically make anymore noise. There was still a slight “smell” of Danny locked into the fibres of their bed. He allowed himself to become lost in the bedclothes for a moment, as his breathing began to calm.
He lifted his head, the cold air stinging his eyes and he looked down to the envelopes and letter in his hand. He had an overwhelming feeling that Danny was there with him, in the room. It was a strange feeling but he felt himself physically calm down, feeling at ease. He pulled the contents of his hands close to his chest, hugging it tightly against himself as he rested his head back on the pillow.
“I promise, Danny.” Tom whispered quietly, knowing that Danny could hear him. Where ever he was right now.