Poached Pear 30, Pistachio 13: Conversations
Title: Conversations
Main Story: In the Heart -- The Caramel Project
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Poached pear 30 (part & parcel), pistachio 13 (a decision), malt (PFAH: Summer : kiss the girl), caramel, fresh peaches (Open up the gates of communication and let the stampede charge through.).
Word Count: 1561
Rating: PG-13 for slightly less cussing.
Summary: Zack and Summer talk.
Notes: Follows Revelations. And last pistachio! That went much faster than rocky road.
Their townhouse was quiet when he finally got in, lights off, the faint light from the street turning everything to liquid black and sheetrock white. Zack hung his coat on his hook by the door and called Summer's name, quietly, in case she was asleep.
She wasn't, obviously, since a light flicked on in the kitchen, and Summer came ghosting out into the hall, bare feet silent against the floors, the whisper of her oversized plaid pajamas the only sound. "You're home late," she said, not an accusation, but a question.
"Yeah, sorry. Felipe needed to talk to me," he said, crossing to her. Then he'd needed to take a very long walk to digest what Felipe had said. "And now I need to talk to you."
She tilted her head to one side, looking up at him. "A good talk or a bad talk?"
With anyone else Zack would have been flippant, but Summer was not asking flippantly. Instead he considered it for a moment, then said, "Honestly, it has the potential to go either way."
"All right," she said. "Will it be easier for you in the dark?"
He shook his head, leaned down and kissed her, once on her mouth, once on her brow. “Thank you, but no. I need to see your face.”
“All right,” she said again, and drew him back into the kitchen. "Come sit down."
The lights were all on now, but from the way she blinked she must have been sitting in the dark. A cup of tea sat on their kitchen table, by the window... "Watching the snow?" he asked.
She nodded. "It doesn't look like it'll be too bad. But it's lovely. I didn't enjoy it when I was younger, but I do much more now."
Zack pulled out the chair across from the mug of tea and sat down, crossing his arms on the table. "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? When you're a kid all you see is sledding and snowball fights, but when you're a grownup you see all that crap like shoveling the driveway and reduced visibility."
Summer shrugged. "There isn't much room for sledding in New York City. There's some, but it always seemed like too much trouble. And snowball fights were only fun until my sister got competitive. It just seemed like a lot of trouble for no reward." She rested her chin in her head and looked out the window, her eyes soft. "Now... I see how difficult it is, but I can also see the beauty in it. Like little shreds of lace falling from the sky."
"Beauty in the beast," he said, watching the snow fall. "I like it."
She turned her head in her palm and smiled at him, then let her hand fall to the table and clasped both of them in front of her. "So. What did Felipe say?"
Ah. Time for the awkward. At least it was Summer, so he didn't have to dance around it or try to prepare her for it. "He said he's in love with us," he said. "Both of us."
Summer's eyes opened very wide, and her mouth made a silent 'o' of astonishment.
Zack gave her a crooked smile. "Yeah. That was approximately my reaction."
"But he told me he wasn't," she said, sounding uncertain. "In love with me, anyway."
He blinked. "When was this?"
"A few weeks after we started dating." She shrugged. "I wanted to know what he kept calling me, so I looked up querida. It means beloved. So I asked him, and he said no. He said it was just an endearment and it didn't mean anything." She met his eyes then. "Did he lie to me?"
"I honestly don't know," he said. "I asked him how long he'd been in love with me-- three years, apparently-- but we didn't say anything about you. You should definitely chap his ass for it, though."
Summer giggled. "I don't think so," she said. "That's really more something you do. He and I..." She went quiet, then, a thoughtful sort of quiet. "Zack, why did he tell you?"
He felt his mouth compress. "Because he's leaving, apparently. He said he can't take it anymore, watching us, so he's quitting the force and going somewhere else."
Summer's eyes rounded again, this time in distress. "But he can't!" she exclaimed. "He's... he can't!"
"Again," Zack said, "my reaction exactly." He sighed, and propped his own chin in his hands. "I made him promise not to do anything stupid for twenty-four hours, but that's all we've got."
"Unless?" she asked.
He blinked at her. "Unless what?"
"You have an unless," she said. "You wouldn't have made him promise unless you had an unless. So what is it?"
"Unless..." Zack chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "I don't know, Summer. It's... it's just a thought. I'm not even sure I like it yet."
She began to trace circles along the table, still looking at him. "I'd still like to know what it is."
He chewed his lip some more, then said, "What if... what if we took away the reason for him going?"
"We can't," Summer said, and when he lifted his eyebrows at her, a little surprised by that summary dismissal, she added, "We can't make him not in love with us. That isn't how it works."
"And that isn't what I meant," he said. "I meant... I meant what if we date him? Both of us, I mean. He's poly, he's made it work before."
She gave him an incredulous look that morphed, slowly, into a very thoughtful one.
Zack let her think about it, and spent the time poking at it himself. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. After all, it had always been the three of them, right from the very start. He and Summer, antagonizing each other to cover attraction, Felipe and Summer, fast and easy friends, he and Felipe, partners and best friends. The Dacre case, both of them protecting Summer, all of them trying to find the homicidal bastard, working in close and comfortable quarters.
Then he'd started dating Summer, but that was still right, because the two of them spent time together by themselves, but he and Felipe still worked together (or did until Felipe transferred to homicide-- Zack was fucked if he'd do that again), still met for beers outside of work, and Summer and Felipe still ate lunches together, still went to see plays and movies and came home laughing. And every so often the three of them would have dinner, and that felt right.
Less often recently, he realized, looking back. Less and less often since he'd asked Summer to marry him, and she'd said yes.
It was so goddamn obvious. Stupid hindsight.
"I have to ask a question," Summer said finally, and he blinked out of his own thoughts, gave her his full attention. "I don't think this, not really, but I need to ask it."
"All right," he said.
She looked him straight in the eye then. "Is this because you're dissatisfied with me?"
It was a damn good thing she'd said she didn't really believe it, because even as it was that stung a little. "No," Zack said, as patiently as he could. Summer was asking this because she didn't know, because she couldn't read him like he could read her, and he had to be nice about it. "I'm perfectly satisfied with you. I just..."
When he trailed off, groping for words, Summer said, softly, "Feel unbalanced, being without him."
"Yes," he said, relieved. "That exactly. I feel... I feel like you and I were meant to be, but so were he and I. And you and him, for that matter. I feel like it was supposed to be the three of us, and if it becomes the two of us it won't be complete, somehow. But it isn't you. It's not you. You are wonderful, perfect, and I really hope you know that."
She smiled at him, and something inside him relaxed. "I do. I told you, I don't believe that. I just have to ask because..." She faltered, then shook her head and gained strength again. "Because I don't always know. You know."
"I do," he said, leaned over the table, and kissed her, just to reinforce it. "I love you, Summer. This... if we do this, it won't change that. Nothing could ever change that."
"I know," she said, smiling just a little wider. "But Felipe... we could change that. You and I."
He nodded. "We could. I... can't say if I'm in love with him, yet, but I do love him."
And Summer, thank God, knew the difference between those; she nodded. "So do I. I always have, I think. I'd like to try to be in love with him." She hesitated, then said, "But mostly, I really don't want him to go. I think we would be wrong apart."
The knot inside him relaxed still further. "Good," he said. "Me too. So we're agreed that we'll try this."
"Yes," she said. "But don't tell him alone. Bring him here. Tomorrow, after work. Bring him here and the three of us will talk."
"I wouldn't leave you out of this for the world," he said, and meant it.
Main Story: In the Heart -- The Caramel Project
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Poached pear 30 (part & parcel), pistachio 13 (a decision), malt (PFAH: Summer : kiss the girl), caramel, fresh peaches (Open up the gates of communication and let the stampede charge through.).
Word Count: 1561
Rating: PG-13 for slightly less cussing.
Summary: Zack and Summer talk.
Notes: Follows Revelations. And last pistachio! That went much faster than rocky road.
Their townhouse was quiet when he finally got in, lights off, the faint light from the street turning everything to liquid black and sheetrock white. Zack hung his coat on his hook by the door and called Summer's name, quietly, in case she was asleep.
She wasn't, obviously, since a light flicked on in the kitchen, and Summer came ghosting out into the hall, bare feet silent against the floors, the whisper of her oversized plaid pajamas the only sound. "You're home late," she said, not an accusation, but a question.
"Yeah, sorry. Felipe needed to talk to me," he said, crossing to her. Then he'd needed to take a very long walk to digest what Felipe had said. "And now I need to talk to you."
She tilted her head to one side, looking up at him. "A good talk or a bad talk?"
With anyone else Zack would have been flippant, but Summer was not asking flippantly. Instead he considered it for a moment, then said, "Honestly, it has the potential to go either way."
"All right," she said. "Will it be easier for you in the dark?"
He shook his head, leaned down and kissed her, once on her mouth, once on her brow. “Thank you, but no. I need to see your face.”
“All right,” she said again, and drew him back into the kitchen. "Come sit down."
The lights were all on now, but from the way she blinked she must have been sitting in the dark. A cup of tea sat on their kitchen table, by the window... "Watching the snow?" he asked.
She nodded. "It doesn't look like it'll be too bad. But it's lovely. I didn't enjoy it when I was younger, but I do much more now."
Zack pulled out the chair across from the mug of tea and sat down, crossing his arms on the table. "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? When you're a kid all you see is sledding and snowball fights, but when you're a grownup you see all that crap like shoveling the driveway and reduced visibility."
Summer shrugged. "There isn't much room for sledding in New York City. There's some, but it always seemed like too much trouble. And snowball fights were only fun until my sister got competitive. It just seemed like a lot of trouble for no reward." She rested her chin in her head and looked out the window, her eyes soft. "Now... I see how difficult it is, but I can also see the beauty in it. Like little shreds of lace falling from the sky."
"Beauty in the beast," he said, watching the snow fall. "I like it."
She turned her head in her palm and smiled at him, then let her hand fall to the table and clasped both of them in front of her. "So. What did Felipe say?"
Ah. Time for the awkward. At least it was Summer, so he didn't have to dance around it or try to prepare her for it. "He said he's in love with us," he said. "Both of us."
Summer's eyes opened very wide, and her mouth made a silent 'o' of astonishment.
Zack gave her a crooked smile. "Yeah. That was approximately my reaction."
"But he told me he wasn't," she said, sounding uncertain. "In love with me, anyway."
He blinked. "When was this?"
"A few weeks after we started dating." She shrugged. "I wanted to know what he kept calling me, so I looked up querida. It means beloved. So I asked him, and he said no. He said it was just an endearment and it didn't mean anything." She met his eyes then. "Did he lie to me?"
"I honestly don't know," he said. "I asked him how long he'd been in love with me-- three years, apparently-- but we didn't say anything about you. You should definitely chap his ass for it, though."
Summer giggled. "I don't think so," she said. "That's really more something you do. He and I..." She went quiet, then, a thoughtful sort of quiet. "Zack, why did he tell you?"
He felt his mouth compress. "Because he's leaving, apparently. He said he can't take it anymore, watching us, so he's quitting the force and going somewhere else."
Summer's eyes rounded again, this time in distress. "But he can't!" she exclaimed. "He's... he can't!"
"Again," Zack said, "my reaction exactly." He sighed, and propped his own chin in his hands. "I made him promise not to do anything stupid for twenty-four hours, but that's all we've got."
"Unless?" she asked.
He blinked at her. "Unless what?"
"You have an unless," she said. "You wouldn't have made him promise unless you had an unless. So what is it?"
"Unless..." Zack chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "I don't know, Summer. It's... it's just a thought. I'm not even sure I like it yet."
She began to trace circles along the table, still looking at him. "I'd still like to know what it is."
He chewed his lip some more, then said, "What if... what if we took away the reason for him going?"
"We can't," Summer said, and when he lifted his eyebrows at her, a little surprised by that summary dismissal, she added, "We can't make him not in love with us. That isn't how it works."
"And that isn't what I meant," he said. "I meant... I meant what if we date him? Both of us, I mean. He's poly, he's made it work before."
She gave him an incredulous look that morphed, slowly, into a very thoughtful one.
Zack let her think about it, and spent the time poking at it himself. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. After all, it had always been the three of them, right from the very start. He and Summer, antagonizing each other to cover attraction, Felipe and Summer, fast and easy friends, he and Felipe, partners and best friends. The Dacre case, both of them protecting Summer, all of them trying to find the homicidal bastard, working in close and comfortable quarters.
Then he'd started dating Summer, but that was still right, because the two of them spent time together by themselves, but he and Felipe still worked together (or did until Felipe transferred to homicide-- Zack was fucked if he'd do that again), still met for beers outside of work, and Summer and Felipe still ate lunches together, still went to see plays and movies and came home laughing. And every so often the three of them would have dinner, and that felt right.
Less often recently, he realized, looking back. Less and less often since he'd asked Summer to marry him, and she'd said yes.
It was so goddamn obvious. Stupid hindsight.
"I have to ask a question," Summer said finally, and he blinked out of his own thoughts, gave her his full attention. "I don't think this, not really, but I need to ask it."
"All right," he said.
She looked him straight in the eye then. "Is this because you're dissatisfied with me?"
It was a damn good thing she'd said she didn't really believe it, because even as it was that stung a little. "No," Zack said, as patiently as he could. Summer was asking this because she didn't know, because she couldn't read him like he could read her, and he had to be nice about it. "I'm perfectly satisfied with you. I just..."
When he trailed off, groping for words, Summer said, softly, "Feel unbalanced, being without him."
"Yes," he said, relieved. "That exactly. I feel... I feel like you and I were meant to be, but so were he and I. And you and him, for that matter. I feel like it was supposed to be the three of us, and if it becomes the two of us it won't be complete, somehow. But it isn't you. It's not you. You are wonderful, perfect, and I really hope you know that."
She smiled at him, and something inside him relaxed. "I do. I told you, I don't believe that. I just have to ask because..." She faltered, then shook her head and gained strength again. "Because I don't always know. You know."
"I do," he said, leaned over the table, and kissed her, just to reinforce it. "I love you, Summer. This... if we do this, it won't change that. Nothing could ever change that."
"I know," she said, smiling just a little wider. "But Felipe... we could change that. You and I."
He nodded. "We could. I... can't say if I'm in love with him, yet, but I do love him."
And Summer, thank God, knew the difference between those; she nodded. "So do I. I always have, I think. I'd like to try to be in love with him." She hesitated, then said, "But mostly, I really don't want him to go. I think we would be wrong apart."
The knot inside him relaxed still further. "Good," he said. "Me too. So we're agreed that we'll try this."
"Yes," she said. "But don't tell him alone. Bring him here. Tomorrow, after work. Bring him here and the three of us will talk."
"I wouldn't leave you out of this for the world," he said, and meant it.