Hah, I say to you! As I still yet breathe, I may still yet write!
Or in other words....
I just finished the newest part of "Roundabout"!!!!!! ^_______^
Yay!
And here it is, I hope that you guys like it. *crosses fingers*
Disclaimer - I do not own these characters. If I did R.J. and Casey would both be shirtless a lot more.
Reveille
Casey wakes to warmth.
Well, okay, he also wakes to a slightly sore back, a crick in his neck, a Charley Horse in his left leg, and the smell of coffee in his nose. He notes, judges, and dismisses all but the smell of coffee as irrelevant. (It’s not like a Charley Horse really has anything on being thrown into a car by a truly ludicrous looking monster anyway.) The warmth however is new and unexpected, though not unpleasant, so Casey’s focus swings right back to it after lingering on the coffee smell for another moment.
The warmth is almost overwhelming, and carries with it comfort, and weight. Literal weight. Casey can feel it pressing into his shoulder and encircling his waist. The weight is comfortable, and comforting, and every instinct Casey has is purring like a contented, well, cat. He stays very still and opens his eyes.
It has the feeling of a momentous occasion, and so Casey is a little consternated that the first thing he sees is the ceiling of the loft. It’s a very nice ceiling, high and dappled with early morning sunlight, but it is not a momentous ceiling. Casey blinks, but the ceiling is still before him. He takes a deep breath and his eyes flick to the side, and Casey feels his mouth stretching into what he’s sure is the goofiest grin to ever cross his face.
R.J. is asleep, with his head on Casey’s shoulder, and his arm around Casey’s waist, which Casey is quietly grateful for. If it weren’t for R.J.’s arm holding him down, Casey is sure that he would be floating up to the not-very-momentous ceiling from pure joy. Casey has absolutely no desire, what so ever, to do anything at all that would break this moment. He doesn’t think he would move even if God and his mother both suddenly appeared and demanded it.
Instead he stays very still and indulges his increasingly frequent habit of R.J. Watching.
In sleep R.J. is peaceful. Stilled in a way that he never is while awake. Even at rest, or during meditation, R.J. thrums with something; a lust for life, an eagerness to know and embrace whatever’s coming next, or (more recently) a quiet desperation and worry for his father.
It’s that thought that wipes the goofy grin right off Casey’s face. R.J.’s dad, and the Shark Spirit Ranger, and last night, and the fact that they still don’t know where the Masters are.
They still don’t know what’s happened to Master Finn.
And, of course, (because the universe has a sense of humor, unfortunately it’s that of a sick and twisted twelve-year-old) it’s as Casey thinks that thought that he feels R.J. moving in his arms. Casey turns under R.J.’s arm, and feels the muscles in the other flexing against his ear. ‘Huh, so that’s what I had my head on’, he thinks and then promptly loses the thought as R.J.’s eyes open.
The two stare at each other, and Casey watches the rapid fire play of thought and emotion through R.J.’s eyes, so he’s sees the surprise, and the comprehension that comes with memories of the previous night, and then the terrible, heart-shattering moment when R.J. remembers why everything that happened last night occurred. Casey watches R.J.’s eyes, and for the very first time in his career of R.J. Watching he sees R.J.’s soul.
It’s too much. It’s too intimate, too shattered, too longing. It’s too precious to just see. Casey feels wrong just looking into those eyes; it feels like he’s trampling somewhere he shouldn’t be without invitation. He feels like he’s stealing something wonderful and rare.
R.J. looks back at him, and Casey gives the only thing he can in recompense. He stares back, and lets everything into his own eyes.
Casey can’t say how long they stare. It feels like forever, and an instant at the same time. Then R.J. blinks, and it’s like cold water sprinkled on his face. Casey pulls back into himself.
R.J.’s arm is still around his waist; the other is still beneath his head. Casey listens to R.J.’s pulse pound through the veins in the crook of his elbow, and makes an intense study of R.J.’s stubble. Unsurprisingly, it’s much more untamed in the morning.
R.J.’s fingers flex against his hip, and Casey’s eyes snap back up to R.J.’s. The pain, and the sadness is still there, but it’s tempered by something that makes Casey’s breath catch. R.J. leans in, and catches Casey’s lips with his, and it’s like the night before, except for how it’s nothing like the night before.
The night before was fast, intense, almost harsh. R.J. was running on pain, and frustration, and fury and needed to feel something, anything else. This morning he’s soft, gentle, careful even, and Casey is astounded. R.J. can kiss. There are teeth nibbling his lips, a tongue teasing his, a hand stroking his hip in small light circles, and Casey feels his world flip upside down.
Casey feels devastated. Casey feels wonderful.
The kiss breaks as they both feel the pressing urge to breathe, and Casey feels the grin from earlier make its’ (much more restrained) return. R.J. smiles back and Casey feels the world shift a little. They’re going to be all right. Everything’s going to be just fine. Casey knows it, he can feel it in his bones, and he can see the same knowledge reflected in R.J.’s eyes. They’re going to be fine.
The two disentangle themselves, and Casey’s bladder makes him aware that this is a good and necessary thing. He gets up from the mat, as R.J. does and stretches. Casey makes a gesture toward the hallway, (and the bathroom that is housed there) and R.J. smiles again as he heads towards the stairs to the kitchen.
Casey turns to make his way towards the hallway, when something tickles his memory. He smelled coffee when he woke up. R.J.’s coffeemaker is good, but not computerized. Somebody was in the kitchen this morning.
Casey spins n place, and sees R.J. on the stairs heading up, and Lily in the kitchen; a cup of coffee in her hand, and her back firmly to the rest of the loft. Casey grins and resolves to do something amazing for Lily. She deserves it.
Maybe after all the fighting is done he’ll take her on a road trip to Disneyland. Casey has a sudden vision of Theo in a pair of Mickey Mouse ears, sandwiched between a similarly attired Dom and R.J., of Lily in a Snow White costume, of Fran in Belle’s ball gown, and of himself being kissed by R.J. in the middle of the park as the fireworks go off, and grins even more brightly in the dark hallway.
Yeah, after they win, everybody’s going to Disneyland.
So there it is. Phew. ^____^
I just finished the newest part of "Roundabout"!!!!!! ^_______^
Yay!
And here it is, I hope that you guys like it. *crosses fingers*
Disclaimer - I do not own these characters. If I did R.J. and Casey would both be shirtless a lot more.
Reveille
Casey wakes to warmth.
Well, okay, he also wakes to a slightly sore back, a crick in his neck, a Charley Horse in his left leg, and the smell of coffee in his nose. He notes, judges, and dismisses all but the smell of coffee as irrelevant. (It’s not like a Charley Horse really has anything on being thrown into a car by a truly ludicrous looking monster anyway.) The warmth however is new and unexpected, though not unpleasant, so Casey’s focus swings right back to it after lingering on the coffee smell for another moment.
The warmth is almost overwhelming, and carries with it comfort, and weight. Literal weight. Casey can feel it pressing into his shoulder and encircling his waist. The weight is comfortable, and comforting, and every instinct Casey has is purring like a contented, well, cat. He stays very still and opens his eyes.
It has the feeling of a momentous occasion, and so Casey is a little consternated that the first thing he sees is the ceiling of the loft. It’s a very nice ceiling, high and dappled with early morning sunlight, but it is not a momentous ceiling. Casey blinks, but the ceiling is still before him. He takes a deep breath and his eyes flick to the side, and Casey feels his mouth stretching into what he’s sure is the goofiest grin to ever cross his face.
R.J. is asleep, with his head on Casey’s shoulder, and his arm around Casey’s waist, which Casey is quietly grateful for. If it weren’t for R.J.’s arm holding him down, Casey is sure that he would be floating up to the not-very-momentous ceiling from pure joy. Casey has absolutely no desire, what so ever, to do anything at all that would break this moment. He doesn’t think he would move even if God and his mother both suddenly appeared and demanded it.
Instead he stays very still and indulges his increasingly frequent habit of R.J. Watching.
In sleep R.J. is peaceful. Stilled in a way that he never is while awake. Even at rest, or during meditation, R.J. thrums with something; a lust for life, an eagerness to know and embrace whatever’s coming next, or (more recently) a quiet desperation and worry for his father.
It’s that thought that wipes the goofy grin right off Casey’s face. R.J.’s dad, and the Shark Spirit Ranger, and last night, and the fact that they still don’t know where the Masters are.
They still don’t know what’s happened to Master Finn.
And, of course, (because the universe has a sense of humor, unfortunately it’s that of a sick and twisted twelve-year-old) it’s as Casey thinks that thought that he feels R.J. moving in his arms. Casey turns under R.J.’s arm, and feels the muscles in the other flexing against his ear. ‘Huh, so that’s what I had my head on’, he thinks and then promptly loses the thought as R.J.’s eyes open.
The two stare at each other, and Casey watches the rapid fire play of thought and emotion through R.J.’s eyes, so he’s sees the surprise, and the comprehension that comes with memories of the previous night, and then the terrible, heart-shattering moment when R.J. remembers why everything that happened last night occurred. Casey watches R.J.’s eyes, and for the very first time in his career of R.J. Watching he sees R.J.’s soul.
It’s too much. It’s too intimate, too shattered, too longing. It’s too precious to just see. Casey feels wrong just looking into those eyes; it feels like he’s trampling somewhere he shouldn’t be without invitation. He feels like he’s stealing something wonderful and rare.
R.J. looks back at him, and Casey gives the only thing he can in recompense. He stares back, and lets everything into his own eyes.
Casey can’t say how long they stare. It feels like forever, and an instant at the same time. Then R.J. blinks, and it’s like cold water sprinkled on his face. Casey pulls back into himself.
R.J.’s arm is still around his waist; the other is still beneath his head. Casey listens to R.J.’s pulse pound through the veins in the crook of his elbow, and makes an intense study of R.J.’s stubble. Unsurprisingly, it’s much more untamed in the morning.
R.J.’s fingers flex against his hip, and Casey’s eyes snap back up to R.J.’s. The pain, and the sadness is still there, but it’s tempered by something that makes Casey’s breath catch. R.J. leans in, and catches Casey’s lips with his, and it’s like the night before, except for how it’s nothing like the night before.
The night before was fast, intense, almost harsh. R.J. was running on pain, and frustration, and fury and needed to feel something, anything else. This morning he’s soft, gentle, careful even, and Casey is astounded. R.J. can kiss. There are teeth nibbling his lips, a tongue teasing his, a hand stroking his hip in small light circles, and Casey feels his world flip upside down.
Casey feels devastated. Casey feels wonderful.
The kiss breaks as they both feel the pressing urge to breathe, and Casey feels the grin from earlier make its’ (much more restrained) return. R.J. smiles back and Casey feels the world shift a little. They’re going to be all right. Everything’s going to be just fine. Casey knows it, he can feel it in his bones, and he can see the same knowledge reflected in R.J.’s eyes. They’re going to be fine.
The two disentangle themselves, and Casey’s bladder makes him aware that this is a good and necessary thing. He gets up from the mat, as R.J. does and stretches. Casey makes a gesture toward the hallway, (and the bathroom that is housed there) and R.J. smiles again as he heads towards the stairs to the kitchen.
Casey turns to make his way towards the hallway, when something tickles his memory. He smelled coffee when he woke up. R.J.’s coffeemaker is good, but not computerized. Somebody was in the kitchen this morning.
Casey spins n place, and sees R.J. on the stairs heading up, and Lily in the kitchen; a cup of coffee in her hand, and her back firmly to the rest of the loft. Casey grins and resolves to do something amazing for Lily. She deserves it.
Maybe after all the fighting is done he’ll take her on a road trip to Disneyland. Casey has a sudden vision of Theo in a pair of Mickey Mouse ears, sandwiched between a similarly attired Dom and R.J., of Lily in a Snow White costume, of Fran in Belle’s ball gown, and of himself being kissed by R.J. in the middle of the park as the fireworks go off, and grins even more brightly in the dark hallway.
Yeah, after they win, everybody’s going to Disneyland.
So there it is. Phew. ^____^