Oz Ficlet: "Take Two"
2nd of 5 unconnected stories for tv_universe's "Otherwordly" challenge.
Title: Take Two
Fandom: Oz
Characters: Sean Murphy, Tim McManus
Rating: PG
Word Count: 565
Summary: Tim needs Sean. And Sean had thought he'd reached the point where he didn't want Tim.
Notes: Welllll, I'm not sure where this little McMurph ficlet came from, but I'll take it. Season Three of Oz. Written for the prompt "nazlanmark" (pretending reluctance or indifference when you are actually willing or eager)
Take Two
by Severina
"So what do you think?"
Sean swallows, switches the receiver to his other hand so that he can swipe a sweaty palm on his trousers.
He doesn't know how long Tim's been talking, or how much of Tim's pitch he missed. His gaze flicks to the old black and white television in the corner of his living room, and he's surprised to see the Zamboni on the ice. He's fairly certain there was at least five minutes of the second left when the phone rang.
"Sean?"
Sean shakes his head, grips the phone a little tighter in his left hand. "Uh," he says, "I don't know, Tim."
"Look, I know you've got it good there at Attica, I get that-"
And he does, Sean thinks. He's got the respect of the other CO's; he's got the warden's ear. He's captain of the softball team, and he likes the guys he works with well enough to spend his weekends with them, just hanging out at the lake or shooting pool down at Rosie's. He's got a good fucking pension and the cons don't give him any shit. He'd be a fool to give that up.
"-but this is an opportunity to make a real difference-"
He's already making a difference, Sean thinks. The boxing program at Attica is his baby, and it has reduced violent incidents in the cell blocks by thirty seven percent. He's got a discretionary fund to start another program in the autumn, and a real good shot at making Assistant Warden by the time the decade is out. Then the real changes can start.
"-to the inmates, and to me. I need someone I can trust, Sean. I need you."
He hasn't seen Tim in five years, hasn't even had a phone call in almost a year. He'd made a life for himself without Tim. He's got a little house that's almost paid off, and a decent salary, and while the thing he's got going with Dave might still be in the early stages it's got the potential to be the real thing.
Yet it only takes the sound of Tim's voice - with all that enthusiasm, all that fervent passion - for all the longing to come back. He spent all his teen years and half his adulthood following Tim around because of that enthusiasm, that lust for life. It's time for him to stop.
"I'm pretty happy where I am, Tim," he says.
"Just drive down and take a look around, see if Oz feels like a good fit," Tim says. "Will you do me that much?"
He opens his mouth to say No, to say My life doesn't revolve around you anymore, to say I stopped thinking about you a long time ago.
"Sure," he says. "I guess I could do that. But I ain't making no promises."
"You won't regret it," Tim says confidently. "See you Thursday."
Sean hangs up the phone, watches blankly as the teams skate onto the ice at the beginning of the third. Tries to pretend that his heart isn't beating faster, that his pulse hasn't sped up at the thought of seeing Tim again. At the thought of working day after day at Tim's side.
Then he picks up the phone book to look up the number for his realtor. He's going to have to put his house on the market.
.
Title: Take Two
Fandom: Oz
Characters: Sean Murphy, Tim McManus
Rating: PG
Word Count: 565
Summary: Tim needs Sean. And Sean had thought he'd reached the point where he didn't want Tim.
Notes: Welllll, I'm not sure where this little McMurph ficlet came from, but I'll take it. Season Three of Oz. Written for the prompt "nazlanmark" (pretending reluctance or indifference when you are actually willing or eager)
Take Two
by Severina
"So what do you think?"
Sean swallows, switches the receiver to his other hand so that he can swipe a sweaty palm on his trousers.
He doesn't know how long Tim's been talking, or how much of Tim's pitch he missed. His gaze flicks to the old black and white television in the corner of his living room, and he's surprised to see the Zamboni on the ice. He's fairly certain there was at least five minutes of the second left when the phone rang.
"Sean?"
Sean shakes his head, grips the phone a little tighter in his left hand. "Uh," he says, "I don't know, Tim."
"Look, I know you've got it good there at Attica, I get that-"
And he does, Sean thinks. He's got the respect of the other CO's; he's got the warden's ear. He's captain of the softball team, and he likes the guys he works with well enough to spend his weekends with them, just hanging out at the lake or shooting pool down at Rosie's. He's got a good fucking pension and the cons don't give him any shit. He'd be a fool to give that up.
"-but this is an opportunity to make a real difference-"
He's already making a difference, Sean thinks. The boxing program at Attica is his baby, and it has reduced violent incidents in the cell blocks by thirty seven percent. He's got a discretionary fund to start another program in the autumn, and a real good shot at making Assistant Warden by the time the decade is out. Then the real changes can start.
"-to the inmates, and to me. I need someone I can trust, Sean. I need you."
He hasn't seen Tim in five years, hasn't even had a phone call in almost a year. He'd made a life for himself without Tim. He's got a little house that's almost paid off, and a decent salary, and while the thing he's got going with Dave might still be in the early stages it's got the potential to be the real thing.
Yet it only takes the sound of Tim's voice - with all that enthusiasm, all that fervent passion - for all the longing to come back. He spent all his teen years and half his adulthood following Tim around because of that enthusiasm, that lust for life. It's time for him to stop.
"I'm pretty happy where I am, Tim," he says.
"Just drive down and take a look around, see if Oz feels like a good fit," Tim says. "Will you do me that much?"
He opens his mouth to say No, to say My life doesn't revolve around you anymore, to say I stopped thinking about you a long time ago.
"Sure," he says. "I guess I could do that. But I ain't making no promises."
"You won't regret it," Tim says confidently. "See you Thursday."
Sean hangs up the phone, watches blankly as the teams skate onto the ice at the beginning of the third. Tries to pretend that his heart isn't beating faster, that his pulse hasn't sped up at the thought of seeing Tim again. At the thought of working day after day at Tim's side.
Then he picks up the phone book to look up the number for his realtor. He's going to have to put his house on the market.
.