WIPs: February 2013
So hanet did a wip meme on Tumblr and then marycontraire made a post of wips and I'm failing at doing anything useful this evening, so here's a post of things I'm actively working on.
Danny goes to college
Danny's at the kitchen table, dogs flopped at his feet, staring down an integral that just won't make sense, when Claude shows up unannounced. In the kitchen, because it was easier on everybody if he just kept a key.
"Wow, you're taking this seriously." Claude rubs his thumb over Danny's forehead where it's no doubt creased from frowning at his problem set.
Danny turns his scowl on Claude. "If I don't pass this class, I have to take it all over again when I start at Wharton."
Claude says, "You're the one who wanted to go back to school. This is what you get for it," and then, "Want to fuck?" without any transition.
Danny looks at him, and looks at his problem set. It's tempting.
"Come on," Claude says. "You can work on this later. A break might help."
Danny laughs. "You're only saying that because you want to fuck."
Claude grins at him and shrugs unrepentantly. "It might help anyway. Get your mind on something else."
"Your pick up lines are terrible."
Claude grabs at the front of his shirt, and Danny lets himself be pulled out of his chair. "They always work on you."
*
Tyler Brown planned baby acquisition
One of his texts is from Segs, who says, Skype sesh when you get home. No excuses, so after he calls his parents, he opens his laptop and texts Segs back.
"Holy shit," Segs says as soon as he appears on the screen, grinning wide enough for both of them. "You're a dad."
"Yeah," Tyler says. "Yeah, I'm a dad."
On the screen, Segs tips his head down to look at his phone. "Her face is a little squished, but she's cute."
"She's perfect," Tyler says, and his voice breaks. He puts his hand over his eyes, because Segs might be able to hear that he's crying, but he doesn't need to see it. "Fuck," he mutters.
"No, come on," Segs says, "this is good. Someday when she's a teenager, she's going to be mad at you and say you don't love her, and you can say that you love her so much you cried with happiness when she was born."
Tyler chuckles a little and wipes at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "You think that'll work?"
"Not even a little bit," Segs says. "Teenagers aren't logical like that. But you tell her you love her enough times and she'll believe it. And you do." He holds up his phone. "You're even all starry-eyed in the picture."
Tyler chuckles again, watery though it is. "Starry-eyed?"
"Dude, I've never seen you look at anyone like that."
Tyler swallows against the lump in his throat. "I've never loved anyone like that."
*
Post-Switzerland Tyler Seguin
Tyler can feel Brownie looking at him, but he doesn't look up, just shrugs and takes another bite of eggs he doesn't taste.
"Was she hot? Are you going to do the long-distance thing now?"
"No, it's over." Tyler answers the easier question first. "We both knew it was just a thing while I was there." He sneaks a quick glance at Brownie before he says, "And, um, yeah, he was hot."
There's this horrible, awful, endless moment of silence.
"You- Really?"
"Yeah." Tyler puts his fork down because he feels kind of sick now. "And I wasn't just, you know, hooking up with him a lot. It was, like, we went on dates and stuff like that." He doesn't quite smile because it's not really funny, but he also says, "It was better than any of the times I dated girls."
"So you're," there's the barest hesitation, "gay?"
Tyler's whole body goes hot. He is, and he's kind of come to terms with the word as it applies to him, but he's not used to saying or hearing it out loud yet. It kind of sticks in his throat, but he says, "Yeah."
"Okay." Brownie bumps their shoulders together. "As long as you're happy and shit."
*
Briouxs + desserts
The other guys take off, and the waiter moves them to a small table in the corner that was occupied by a couple holding hands earlier.
The dessert menu has three kinds of cake. They all sound delicious, but Danny settles on the chocolate.
"You could get chocolate cake anywhere."
"It's a classic for a reason."
Claude gets the creme brulee, and they talk about nothing until their dessert plates arrive.
"Carson texted me to say you're acting weird," Claude says when Danny has a mouth full of cake and can't defend himself. "What's up?"
"I wasn't acting weird," Danny says. "I missed them."
"If Carson says you're acting weird."
Danny rolls his eyes. "Carson's in junior high. He thinks everything is weird." He pushes his plate forward. "This is really good. Do you want to try it?"
Claude takes a bite of the cake and lets Danny take a spoonful of creme brulee in return.
"You'd tell me if you really were being weird, right?"
"Yes, Claude. You're my friend and my captain, and I will tell you if I'm being weird."
*
Nonsexual kink
Mike takes that in and watches Jeff not look at him. "I liked making you feel that," he says. "I did not like you provoking your way into it."
Jeff doesn't answer, and Mike lets them sit in silence until Jeff offers up, "Sorry."
Mike nods. "Now let's talk about the whole thing. Once or twice is helping you out. Three times is the start of a pattern."
The flush on Jeff's face spreads all the way up to his hair and down to his neck. "I guess."
"I'm not saying no."
That gets Jeff to look at him. "You're not?"
"No. You're a good sub. I like playing with you. I'm saying let's talk about it instead of you winding us both up for days to get what you want."
Jeff makes a face. "That makes me sound like a terrible sub."
Mike concedes the point with a nod and half a smile. "You're good when we're playing. So let's figure this out, or let's find you a dom."
"I'd rather it be you."
Mike would rather have that too. "Okay," he says. "Just to put this out there, I don't want to fuck you."
The face Jeff makes at that makes him laugh.
"I don't want to fuck you either."
"Good," Mike says. "We're on the same page. So, what? You want to just ask me when you want something? Want to make regular play dates?"
"Um."
Mike tries his best to stay patient when he says, "You're going to have to learn to ask for things."
*
Biz kidfic I'm in denial about and still only lives in my email
It takes a minute for the moms to notice him, but then they smile at him and one of them says, "Which one's yours?"
"Maisie." Paul points her out. She's in the Coyotes jersey Pyatt had made for her that says "Little Biz" on the back.
"Oh," one of the moms says brightly. "You must be Josh's partner! You know, all the kids just love him."
"And Maisie's very well behaved," the other mom says.
"We're not-" Paul tries to say, but a third mom comes over and they all start talking about their kids and preschool admissions, and they sort of include him in the conversation, but he's a little off-balance and not quite at his best.
At the end of the lesson, Paul goes down to help Maisie change from her skates to her shoes, and then he takes her home and makes her half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a snack.
"Why," he asks Josh once Maisie's settled at the table kicking her feet and licking jam off her fingers, "do the moms at the rink think I'm your partner?"
"Do they?" Josh laughs. "Like I'd ever date you."
"Hey," Paul says, "I'm a catch."
Danny goes to college
Danny's at the kitchen table, dogs flopped at his feet, staring down an integral that just won't make sense, when Claude shows up unannounced. In the kitchen, because it was easier on everybody if he just kept a key.
"Wow, you're taking this seriously." Claude rubs his thumb over Danny's forehead where it's no doubt creased from frowning at his problem set.
Danny turns his scowl on Claude. "If I don't pass this class, I have to take it all over again when I start at Wharton."
Claude says, "You're the one who wanted to go back to school. This is what you get for it," and then, "Want to fuck?" without any transition.
Danny looks at him, and looks at his problem set. It's tempting.
"Come on," Claude says. "You can work on this later. A break might help."
Danny laughs. "You're only saying that because you want to fuck."
Claude grins at him and shrugs unrepentantly. "It might help anyway. Get your mind on something else."
"Your pick up lines are terrible."
Claude grabs at the front of his shirt, and Danny lets himself be pulled out of his chair. "They always work on you."
*
Tyler Brown planned baby acquisition
One of his texts is from Segs, who says, Skype sesh when you get home. No excuses, so after he calls his parents, he opens his laptop and texts Segs back.
"Holy shit," Segs says as soon as he appears on the screen, grinning wide enough for both of them. "You're a dad."
"Yeah," Tyler says. "Yeah, I'm a dad."
On the screen, Segs tips his head down to look at his phone. "Her face is a little squished, but she's cute."
"She's perfect," Tyler says, and his voice breaks. He puts his hand over his eyes, because Segs might be able to hear that he's crying, but he doesn't need to see it. "Fuck," he mutters.
"No, come on," Segs says, "this is good. Someday when she's a teenager, she's going to be mad at you and say you don't love her, and you can say that you love her so much you cried with happiness when she was born."
Tyler chuckles a little and wipes at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "You think that'll work?"
"Not even a little bit," Segs says. "Teenagers aren't logical like that. But you tell her you love her enough times and she'll believe it. And you do." He holds up his phone. "You're even all starry-eyed in the picture."
Tyler chuckles again, watery though it is. "Starry-eyed?"
"Dude, I've never seen you look at anyone like that."
Tyler swallows against the lump in his throat. "I've never loved anyone like that."
*
Post-Switzerland Tyler Seguin
Tyler can feel Brownie looking at him, but he doesn't look up, just shrugs and takes another bite of eggs he doesn't taste.
"Was she hot? Are you going to do the long-distance thing now?"
"No, it's over." Tyler answers the easier question first. "We both knew it was just a thing while I was there." He sneaks a quick glance at Brownie before he says, "And, um, yeah, he was hot."
There's this horrible, awful, endless moment of silence.
"You- Really?"
"Yeah." Tyler puts his fork down because he feels kind of sick now. "And I wasn't just, you know, hooking up with him a lot. It was, like, we went on dates and stuff like that." He doesn't quite smile because it's not really funny, but he also says, "It was better than any of the times I dated girls."
"So you're," there's the barest hesitation, "gay?"
Tyler's whole body goes hot. He is, and he's kind of come to terms with the word as it applies to him, but he's not used to saying or hearing it out loud yet. It kind of sticks in his throat, but he says, "Yeah."
"Okay." Brownie bumps their shoulders together. "As long as you're happy and shit."
*
Briouxs + desserts
The other guys take off, and the waiter moves them to a small table in the corner that was occupied by a couple holding hands earlier.
The dessert menu has three kinds of cake. They all sound delicious, but Danny settles on the chocolate.
"You could get chocolate cake anywhere."
"It's a classic for a reason."
Claude gets the creme brulee, and they talk about nothing until their dessert plates arrive.
"Carson texted me to say you're acting weird," Claude says when Danny has a mouth full of cake and can't defend himself. "What's up?"
"I wasn't acting weird," Danny says. "I missed them."
"If Carson says you're acting weird."
Danny rolls his eyes. "Carson's in junior high. He thinks everything is weird." He pushes his plate forward. "This is really good. Do you want to try it?"
Claude takes a bite of the cake and lets Danny take a spoonful of creme brulee in return.
"You'd tell me if you really were being weird, right?"
"Yes, Claude. You're my friend and my captain, and I will tell you if I'm being weird."
*
Nonsexual kink
Mike takes that in and watches Jeff not look at him. "I liked making you feel that," he says. "I did not like you provoking your way into it."
Jeff doesn't answer, and Mike lets them sit in silence until Jeff offers up, "Sorry."
Mike nods. "Now let's talk about the whole thing. Once or twice is helping you out. Three times is the start of a pattern."
The flush on Jeff's face spreads all the way up to his hair and down to his neck. "I guess."
"I'm not saying no."
That gets Jeff to look at him. "You're not?"
"No. You're a good sub. I like playing with you. I'm saying let's talk about it instead of you winding us both up for days to get what you want."
Jeff makes a face. "That makes me sound like a terrible sub."
Mike concedes the point with a nod and half a smile. "You're good when we're playing. So let's figure this out, or let's find you a dom."
"I'd rather it be you."
Mike would rather have that too. "Okay," he says. "Just to put this out there, I don't want to fuck you."
The face Jeff makes at that makes him laugh.
"I don't want to fuck you either."
"Good," Mike says. "We're on the same page. So, what? You want to just ask me when you want something? Want to make regular play dates?"
"Um."
Mike tries his best to stay patient when he says, "You're going to have to learn to ask for things."
*
Biz kidfic I'm in denial about and still only lives in my email
It takes a minute for the moms to notice him, but then they smile at him and one of them says, "Which one's yours?"
"Maisie." Paul points her out. She's in the Coyotes jersey Pyatt had made for her that says "Little Biz" on the back.
"Oh," one of the moms says brightly. "You must be Josh's partner! You know, all the kids just love him."
"And Maisie's very well behaved," the other mom says.
"We're not-" Paul tries to say, but a third mom comes over and they all start talking about their kids and preschool admissions, and they sort of include him in the conversation, but he's a little off-balance and not quite at his best.
At the end of the lesson, Paul goes down to help Maisie change from her skates to her shoes, and then he takes her home and makes her half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a snack.
"Why," he asks Josh once Maisie's settled at the table kicking her feet and licking jam off her fingers, "do the moms at the rink think I'm your partner?"
"Do they?" Josh laughs. "Like I'd ever date you."
"Hey," Paul says, "I'm a catch."