Winter Advent 2011 - Day 24
adventchallenge Day: 24
Title: Believe
Fandom: none
Pairing/Characters: Archie/Rhett, Steph
Rated: PG Words: 1384
Warnings: toddler goofiness, mild language, mild drug reference
Summary: Archie doesn’t do Christmas. Rhett does, kind of. He wants to give his boyfriend something to believe in, only to discover that Archie already believes in something wonderful.
Background: UK in 1976. Archie is 17, Rhett 16. They started up in May. Rhett ran away in November and began living with Archie.
Rhett ignored Archie’s scowl.
He knew the twig broken from a fir tree would piss his punk boyfriend off, and continued colouring his design for the Amateur Theatre’s autumn program as if he hadn’t noticed.
Archie stomped into the bathroom to shower. Rhett’s cheek puffed out as he exhaled through pursed lips in relief. They wouldn’t be arguing about Christmas again today.
*~~~*
There were balls on the twig when Archie came home. Two, made of glass, and so tiny they should be classed as large beads. “What’s this shit?” he asked gruffly, flicking one.
“Our Christmas twig,” Rhett said cheerily from the single-burner stove.
His brightly sparkling eyes, a vivid and electric blue that made everything else in the world stop, stopped Archie cracking a shit. Rhett was the only truly beautiful thing in his life. If sticking reject beads on a daft twig made Rhett shine like the fictional Christmas star, then Archie could live with it.
“Fair enough.”
Rhett’s delight was irresistible. Archie kissed him until their dinner began to burn.
*~~~*
Rhett found the sentence Archie had written on a blank page in his school sketchbook. He risked smudging the incredible words by lightly touching them. How could Arch write something as spiritual as this, say incredibly deep things to Rhett and mean it, without believing in a higher power?
“I love you, and hope I’ll always love you.” Rhett whispered it several times, rehearsing in fact, searching for the courage to say it without them arguing or getting sexy first. Until then, perhaps his pencils could do the talking. He took out his test pad and pencils then began blending colours. He had to get the red of Archie’s hair and the hazel of his eyes exactly right. Archie’s heart was in his eyes. Once Rhett could capture that then the rest of the sketch would take care of itself.
*~~~*
“You have a Christmas tree in your flat!” Steph exclaimed. It was the puniest most adorable thing she’d ever seen and needed to be rescued from her toddler twins, immediately. “Don’t touch, baby girls.”
Archie whizzed Luna through the air and over his shoulder. “Where’d she go?” He turned in clockwise circles, then counter clockwise, keeping a firm hold on Luna so she didn’t slip off his shoulder or down his back. Her chubby chuckles filled the air like bubbles.
Steph and Star laughed too. “Where’s your sister, Star? Where’d Luna go?” Steph asked with wide eyes. Star pointed and Archie put on a pantomime-worthy performance of looking for Luna.
“What’s this? I’ve developed a hump?” He lifted Luna into the air with a broad hand under each armpit. “There she is!” He gently rubbed his nose against hers. Luna nuttered his face when she copied him. “Ow! Be careful with that big boof head, Little One.”
“So,” Steph said once she’d finished laughing. “You’re doing Christmas again.”
Archie put Luna down, not roughly, but without his previous jollity. Christmas and seeing in the New Year had brought about major changes in the relationship with his first boyfriend, Derek. They’d been together eight months when they broke up in February. He’d only been with Rhett for seven so far and didn’t want to jinx it.
“I didn’t mean…” Steph apologised. “I only meant to ask if there’s anything you wanted, you know, what can I get you as a gift?”
“One of these would be nice,” Archie said seriously, fingers curling Luna’s blond ponytail. “Sans contact with yucky girlie bits beforehand.”
“Now that would be a miracle!” Steph’s heart went out to him when he didn’t crack a smile. “You can be godfather. Jon’s agreed to be Star’s.”
“I’ll have to talk it over with Rhett.”
Steph took that to mean ‘no’. Rhett hated being around the girls.
*~~~*
“Don’t you have to believe in God to be a godfather, Darl? Or at least convincingly pretend you do?” Rhett asked as they converted the sofa into the narrow bed they shared.
“If you think it’s stupid…!” Archie’s temper flared.
“I don’t. Arch, I truly don’t. You’ll be terrific.” And if you’re like traditional Godparents you’ll soon lose interest and we’ll never see the child again, hooray! Rhett detested children in general, Stephanie’s daughters no more than others, but he wasn’t losing Archie over someone else’s baby. Archie adored the wretched things. Children may be hideous creatures but they revealed the true beauty of Archie’s soul. Rhett adored seeing his lover at play, in any situation.
“Yeah?” Arch asked, almost bashful.
Rhett reached across to touch Archie’s uncertain lip and then leaned over the bed to kiss it. “Yeah,” he assured him gently. He had to let Archie do this. Rhett loved him too much to stifle the best part of him for his own selfish reasons. “I didn’t want you getting all excited then having some priest telling you to forget it. You’d nutter the priest and the Pope or someone would whip your arse with those tassel things dangling from their robes.”
Archie grinned. Rhett opened his mouth to say the words he’d been rehearsing. Nothing came out.
“Love you too, Darl,” Arch said into the silence and returned Rhett’s kiss, hauling him onto the bed.
*~~~*
The sketch Rhett gave him Christmas morning was extraordinary.
Communication between them wasn’t always easy. Both had histories they’d rather not talk about but Archie hoped they’d be together long enough for that to stop being an issue. He’d expressed this hope in a book from Rhett’s schoolbag, intending to add other lyrics and make it a song for Rhett, but never found the page again. Rhett obviously had and turned it into an artwork of their profiles, almost kissing beneath the words. Only their eyes, hair and lips were in colour, the rest in lead pencil. Archie’s hazel and ginger, Rhett’s blue and black, fire meeting ice above matching lips, both so beautiful when Archie knew he was an ugly shit - he didn’t want to put it down.
“Sorry Arch. I haven’t got you a proper present.” Rhett looked at his fingers and kind of curled in on himself.
Archie stroked Rhett’s cheek from the corner of one eye down along his jaw to encourage him to look up. “Do you think this is true?” he asked hoarsely, gesturing to his words. Someday, we’ll reach the point where we won’t hold anything back because our souls were joined before our first kiss.
“I hope so,” Rhett replied nervously.
“Then there’s no better gift you can give me.”
Rhett’s proud smile proved Archie wrong.
*~~~*
“What do you believe in, Arch?” Rhett asked as they lay on their bed, passing a spliff back and forth.
Archie sat up and angled onto his side to stare at Rhett. Rhett didn’t want to fight, not after the incredible day they had, and edged away. Archie’s eyes narrowed.
“Get back here.” He grabbed a belt loop in Rhett’s waistband and brought him close again. “Give me time to think before assuming I’ll crack a shit at you.”
Rhett wriggled even closer with a smile and Archie bent down to kiss his forehead, so gentle it made Rhett’s eyelids drift together in mimicry. Archie crushed the spliff’s end against the metal basket kept beside the bed for pencil stubs, empty biros, tissues, scrunched up paper and split condoms. They broke so many that Rhett suggested they shouldn’t bother. Archie insisted and so they persisted. Rhett’s thoughts were brought out of the bin by his lover’s voice.
“I believe,” Archie said at the same slow and careful pace that his fingers caressed Rhett’s side, “in love.” When Rhett didn’t laugh or deride him, he continued. “I believe love is the greatest treasure you can give or receive, and that it should never be hidden. I also believe that you and I could be something wonderful, the most inspiring love story about two boys, afraid of almost everything, who found each other and in time shared each other’s fears then replaced them with...”
“Love,” Rhett concluded breathlessly.
Archie nodded and kissed Rhett’s mouth as softly as he’d kissed his brow. Their arms curled tightly around each other without hurting and the love they made gave Rhett hope that he would come to believe as Archie did.
Title: Believe
Fandom: none
Pairing/Characters: Archie/Rhett, Steph
Rated: PG Words: 1384
Warnings: toddler goofiness, mild language, mild drug reference
Summary: Archie doesn’t do Christmas. Rhett does, kind of. He wants to give his boyfriend something to believe in, only to discover that Archie already believes in something wonderful.
Background: UK in 1976. Archie is 17, Rhett 16. They started up in May. Rhett ran away in November and began living with Archie.
Rhett ignored Archie’s scowl.
He knew the twig broken from a fir tree would piss his punk boyfriend off, and continued colouring his design for the Amateur Theatre’s autumn program as if he hadn’t noticed.
Archie stomped into the bathroom to shower. Rhett’s cheek puffed out as he exhaled through pursed lips in relief. They wouldn’t be arguing about Christmas again today.
*~~~*
There were balls on the twig when Archie came home. Two, made of glass, and so tiny they should be classed as large beads. “What’s this shit?” he asked gruffly, flicking one.
“Our Christmas twig,” Rhett said cheerily from the single-burner stove.
His brightly sparkling eyes, a vivid and electric blue that made everything else in the world stop, stopped Archie cracking a shit. Rhett was the only truly beautiful thing in his life. If sticking reject beads on a daft twig made Rhett shine like the fictional Christmas star, then Archie could live with it.
“Fair enough.”
Rhett’s delight was irresistible. Archie kissed him until their dinner began to burn.
*~~~*
Rhett found the sentence Archie had written on a blank page in his school sketchbook. He risked smudging the incredible words by lightly touching them. How could Arch write something as spiritual as this, say incredibly deep things to Rhett and mean it, without believing in a higher power?
“I love you, and hope I’ll always love you.” Rhett whispered it several times, rehearsing in fact, searching for the courage to say it without them arguing or getting sexy first. Until then, perhaps his pencils could do the talking. He took out his test pad and pencils then began blending colours. He had to get the red of Archie’s hair and the hazel of his eyes exactly right. Archie’s heart was in his eyes. Once Rhett could capture that then the rest of the sketch would take care of itself.
*~~~*
“You have a Christmas tree in your flat!” Steph exclaimed. It was the puniest most adorable thing she’d ever seen and needed to be rescued from her toddler twins, immediately. “Don’t touch, baby girls.”
Archie whizzed Luna through the air and over his shoulder. “Where’d she go?” He turned in clockwise circles, then counter clockwise, keeping a firm hold on Luna so she didn’t slip off his shoulder or down his back. Her chubby chuckles filled the air like bubbles.
Steph and Star laughed too. “Where’s your sister, Star? Where’d Luna go?” Steph asked with wide eyes. Star pointed and Archie put on a pantomime-worthy performance of looking for Luna.
“What’s this? I’ve developed a hump?” He lifted Luna into the air with a broad hand under each armpit. “There she is!” He gently rubbed his nose against hers. Luna nuttered his face when she copied him. “Ow! Be careful with that big boof head, Little One.”
“So,” Steph said once she’d finished laughing. “You’re doing Christmas again.”
Archie put Luna down, not roughly, but without his previous jollity. Christmas and seeing in the New Year had brought about major changes in the relationship with his first boyfriend, Derek. They’d been together eight months when they broke up in February. He’d only been with Rhett for seven so far and didn’t want to jinx it.
“I didn’t mean…” Steph apologised. “I only meant to ask if there’s anything you wanted, you know, what can I get you as a gift?”
“One of these would be nice,” Archie said seriously, fingers curling Luna’s blond ponytail. “Sans contact with yucky girlie bits beforehand.”
“Now that would be a miracle!” Steph’s heart went out to him when he didn’t crack a smile. “You can be godfather. Jon’s agreed to be Star’s.”
“I’ll have to talk it over with Rhett.”
Steph took that to mean ‘no’. Rhett hated being around the girls.
*~~~*
“Don’t you have to believe in God to be a godfather, Darl? Or at least convincingly pretend you do?” Rhett asked as they converted the sofa into the narrow bed they shared.
“If you think it’s stupid…!” Archie’s temper flared.
“I don’t. Arch, I truly don’t. You’ll be terrific.” And if you’re like traditional Godparents you’ll soon lose interest and we’ll never see the child again, hooray! Rhett detested children in general, Stephanie’s daughters no more than others, but he wasn’t losing Archie over someone else’s baby. Archie adored the wretched things. Children may be hideous creatures but they revealed the true beauty of Archie’s soul. Rhett adored seeing his lover at play, in any situation.
“Yeah?” Arch asked, almost bashful.
Rhett reached across to touch Archie’s uncertain lip and then leaned over the bed to kiss it. “Yeah,” he assured him gently. He had to let Archie do this. Rhett loved him too much to stifle the best part of him for his own selfish reasons. “I didn’t want you getting all excited then having some priest telling you to forget it. You’d nutter the priest and the Pope or someone would whip your arse with those tassel things dangling from their robes.”
Archie grinned. Rhett opened his mouth to say the words he’d been rehearsing. Nothing came out.
“Love you too, Darl,” Arch said into the silence and returned Rhett’s kiss, hauling him onto the bed.
*~~~*
The sketch Rhett gave him Christmas morning was extraordinary.
Communication between them wasn’t always easy. Both had histories they’d rather not talk about but Archie hoped they’d be together long enough for that to stop being an issue. He’d expressed this hope in a book from Rhett’s schoolbag, intending to add other lyrics and make it a song for Rhett, but never found the page again. Rhett obviously had and turned it into an artwork of their profiles, almost kissing beneath the words. Only their eyes, hair and lips were in colour, the rest in lead pencil. Archie’s hazel and ginger, Rhett’s blue and black, fire meeting ice above matching lips, both so beautiful when Archie knew he was an ugly shit - he didn’t want to put it down.
“Sorry Arch. I haven’t got you a proper present.” Rhett looked at his fingers and kind of curled in on himself.
Archie stroked Rhett’s cheek from the corner of one eye down along his jaw to encourage him to look up. “Do you think this is true?” he asked hoarsely, gesturing to his words. Someday, we’ll reach the point where we won’t hold anything back because our souls were joined before our first kiss.
“I hope so,” Rhett replied nervously.
“Then there’s no better gift you can give me.”
Rhett’s proud smile proved Archie wrong.
*~~~*
“What do you believe in, Arch?” Rhett asked as they lay on their bed, passing a spliff back and forth.
Archie sat up and angled onto his side to stare at Rhett. Rhett didn’t want to fight, not after the incredible day they had, and edged away. Archie’s eyes narrowed.
“Get back here.” He grabbed a belt loop in Rhett’s waistband and brought him close again. “Give me time to think before assuming I’ll crack a shit at you.”
Rhett wriggled even closer with a smile and Archie bent down to kiss his forehead, so gentle it made Rhett’s eyelids drift together in mimicry. Archie crushed the spliff’s end against the metal basket kept beside the bed for pencil stubs, empty biros, tissues, scrunched up paper and split condoms. They broke so many that Rhett suggested they shouldn’t bother. Archie insisted and so they persisted. Rhett’s thoughts were brought out of the bin by his lover’s voice.
“I believe,” Archie said at the same slow and careful pace that his fingers caressed Rhett’s side, “in love.” When Rhett didn’t laugh or deride him, he continued. “I believe love is the greatest treasure you can give or receive, and that it should never be hidden. I also believe that you and I could be something wonderful, the most inspiring love story about two boys, afraid of almost everything, who found each other and in time shared each other’s fears then replaced them with...”
“Love,” Rhett concluded breathlessly.
Archie nodded and kissed Rhett’s mouth as softly as he’d kissed his brow. Their arms curled tightly around each other without hurting and the love they made gave Rhett hope that he would come to believe as Archie did.