Flash! Bam! Alakazam!
Title: Flash! Bam! Alakazam!
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Brian/Matt
Summary: This one might be heaven-sent, Matt, so don't screw it up!
Disclaimer: The only thing here that is mine is the plot. I do not intend to besmirch any actual people, whom I also don't own. The title belongs to Nat King Cole from "Orange Colored Sky."
Ah, Friday. When Matt stepped out of his small house at 5:15, he took a deep breath of air in. He hoped the weather stayed this nice for the weekend, because he really wanted to get some jogging time in. He picked up the newspapers he had left on the front walk all week, and brought them inside. As he pulled out of his garage that morning, he made note of things he hadn't seen before. Like the fact that he didn't have a garden, and there weren't any interesting shrubs around the front of his house. Something clicked in his head as he came near to the first toll booth: his house was just that - a house. Not a home.
He rolled up to Brian with a huge smile across his face. Brian looked a little more tired today than usual, which made Matt dim his act down a little.
"You OK?" he asked Brian as he handed him a five.
Brian grinned. "Long night at the restaurant. Saw a little more action at the bar than I thought I would." He handed back the change. "Have a good day at work."
"You too," Matt said automatically, and without thinking. As he drove away, he kicked himself mentally. Would Brian have taken that as a slight? Matt gripped his steering wheel tightly all the way to work.
====
The day had taken a turn for the worse. Matt could almost feel the sway of the hand-basket as he headed for hell. He looked at the performance review, and then at the list of jobs in his department that would be getting cut. Jimmy was out right now, trying to break it to people that they no longer worked for the business. Some of these names were more than just names to him. They were a part of his well-oiled machine. He had been doing so well, and had been so sure of his rise to the top. Matt was in the middle of self-loathing when his blackberry rang. The number said, "Brian Haner." He sighed, and debated whether or not to pick it up.
By the time he decided to pick it up, it had already stopped ringing. He dialed Brian's number and the phone was picked up by the second ring.
"Hey! How are you?"
"Not so great," Matt replied honestly. He hated to put a damper on everything, but he didn't have it in himself to hold this back.
"Oh. What's up?"
"Work is just getting really stressful. So, what did you call me for earlier?"
Brian cleared his throat. "Well, I have a new idea for dinner. How about I meet you after work?"
"Alright," Matt said. He already felt horrible, because deep down he knew that he wouldn't be able to handle a night out.
"Well I'll see you then. And you can tell me about work, OK?" Brian asked in what could almost be described a motherly tone.
Matt smiled despite himself. "OK. Bye."
"Bye-bye!"
There was no awkward "You hang up first" at the end of their conversation, but that was completely fine by Matt. It was better if things were more simple for the rest of the day.
He kept his door shut so that he wouldn't have to see the laying-off going on around him. He stored the paper away in his files so the names wouldn't stare back at him. Yes, things would be much better if they weren't so complicated. He even waited until after-hours to leave, and knew that Brian might be frustrated. Well, he had to pay for his selfishness sometime, he reminded himself as he dialed Brian's cell.
"Hello?" came a hopeful voice.
"Hey, it's me," Matt said offhandedly as he got in an elevator. "I'm just getting out now."
"OK, I'll meet you at the front entrance," Brian replied quickly. Before Matt could respond, the other end disconnected.
Dreading this exchange, he walked out the door and waited in the cooling night air. When the other man appeared, Matt let the words spill out of his mouth.
"I can't go out tonight. I'm really sorry..."
Brian stopped walking and Matt tried to read his facial expression from where he was. The next words were a total surprise to him.
"Maybe it's a bad idea to be alone, then. If you don't want to go out tonight, we could do something at home." Matt was completely taken aback with Brian's frankness. He had never in his life thought that he would be getting involved with someone that could match his own brutal honesty. Then again, Matt hadn't thought he'd ever be getting involved with a guy.
"Uh, OK," Matt said before he could stop himself. He led the way to his car - still under the trance of his own stupidity - and while his back was turned to Brian, he quietly muttered, "Motherfucker." He wondered why he was outwardly going along with everything Brian wanted.
The car beeped twice in the still night air, lights flashing briefly. Matt cleaned off the passenger seat of all two CDs laying there. When he started his car and began the journey home, the car was totally silent. Matt cleared his throat.
"So... How was your day?" He could practically feel Brian turn and stare at him.
"There was a five car pile-up beyond the booth heading West. That's about it. I don't think anyone died... Did you have any casualties at work today?" Brian joked; no response. "Matt?" The tone of Brian's voice sounded a little worried. "Hey, what's wrong? You know, you never told me what happened at work tod-"
"I fucked up a major presentation, and the board of directors fired a bunch of my employees."
Silence.
More silence.
Matt turned on NPR.
But beyond that was silence.
"Those don't count as casualties," Brian said. Matt almost drove off the road.
"Enlighten me," Matt growled. He could feel his temper flaring for absolutely no reason.
"There is life in unemployment. Maybe not successful life by society's standards, but life nonetheless." Brian paused, but Matt didn't jump in. "I know a lot of people who found a wonderful life after unemployment. I'm one of them." Matt snorted, and instantly regretted it. "You have something to say?" Brian shot at him. The air in the car was suddenly tense on top of the awkwardness.
"No, I... I'm sorry," Matt said. He could see Brian shrug out of the corner of his eye.
"Whatever," Brian replied. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't said in a nasty tone. On the contrary, it was a very light-hearted response. "Do you think you'll be OK after this?"
Matt gripped the steering wheel harder, and let it go. He gripped and released several times before he said, "I don't know." He couldn't burden Brian with his problems; he was an adult, not a child who could ask for help anywhere.
"I think you'll be fine. As long as you have someone, you're always in the clear." Matt refused to choke up at Brian's words. He. Would. Not. His stubbornness held out, and the rest of the ride was mostly quiet.
They finally pulled into Matt's garage, and Brian stretched out. "Wow, I'm not used to such long rides. You do that every day?"
"Twice," Matt answered as he opened the door into the kitchen. He held it open for Brian, then went about turning on lights. When he got back to the kitchen, Brian was sitting at the small table. "What do you want for dinner?"
Brian shrugged and smiled. "How about pizza? And we can watch a movie or something."
"Sure, I'll call. You go pick something. What sort of toppings do you want?"
"Anchovies." Matt's head snapped in Brian's direction. The other man had a straight face, but a smile quickly grew. "Nah, just kidding. Pepperoni." With that, Brian went into the living room.
Matt shook his head, and dialed the number to the closest pizza place. He wandered into the living room after hanging up, and sat down on the couch, next to Brian. He looked over at Brian, whose attention was completely focused on the TV. There were a few DVDs in his hands, but he wasn't making any move to get one of them playing. "What are we watching?" Matt asked. There was a lapse of time before Brian answered.
"Animal Planet."
Matt snorted. "Why?"
"Just watch."
Matt did, and immediately cringed and turned away when he saw a man being tossed twenty feet into the air by a raging bull. That lasted for a second before morbid curiosity got his attention back to the screen. "What is this show?" Another lapse.
"I don't know." They watched with rapt attention up to the commercial break, and then the spell was broken. Matt then turned to Brian again.
"What movies did you pick?"
"I actually would rather watch this show," Brian said. Matt chuckled.
"OK."
The pizza arrived, and they devoured it while watching the show. Very few words were exchanged between them, but that didn't stifle the warm feeling growing inside Matt. He couldn't figure out what exactly was creating it, but he was almost certain that it had something to do with the fact of another human being near him after so long. A person basking in the same yellow glow of lamps in the evening as he was. Nearly an hour and half had passed, and Matt was getting tired. Until he realized that he would have to get Brian home.
"Hey Bri-" Matt stopped short when he saw that the other man was fast asleep. Matt smiled and got up, going to the guest room. It was small, and the bed was just a mattress on a simple wooden frame. He fixed it up with soft sheets and blankets, and few fluffy pillows. He went back out and gently shook Brian.
"Mm, what?" Brian asked softly.
"You going to bed?"
"Yeah..."
"C'mon," Matt said, trying to get Brian up. Brian didn't struggle, but he didn't cooperate either. He was dead weight that Matt was attempting to muscle into a room. "Work with me here," he muttered under his breath.
"Mm..." Brian sighed softly, as if he were agreeing with Matt. It was one of the most gorgeous noises Matt had ever heard, but he tried to brush it off. They eventually got to the room, and Brian started sleepily taking off his clothes. Matt felt his heart jump into his throat.
"What're you doing?"
"Going to bed," Brian said through a yawn. Matt blushed, not believing his own stupidity. To hurry the process, Matt took Brian's clothes as they came off, and set them on a chair in the corner. He looked away when the boxers came off and Brian stumbled to bed. Once the sheets started rustling, Matt dared to look. Brian was under the sheets already.
"Good night," Matt said softly as he left the room.
"Mm," Brian said back. Matt shivered at the noise, and made for his own bed. As he settled into the lovely softness and closed his eyes, the noise came back.
Mm was Matt's last thought.
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Brian/Matt
Summary: This one might be heaven-sent, Matt, so don't screw it up!
Disclaimer: The only thing here that is mine is the plot. I do not intend to besmirch any actual people, whom I also don't own. The title belongs to Nat King Cole from "Orange Colored Sky."
Ah, Friday. When Matt stepped out of his small house at 5:15, he took a deep breath of air in. He hoped the weather stayed this nice for the weekend, because he really wanted to get some jogging time in. He picked up the newspapers he had left on the front walk all week, and brought them inside. As he pulled out of his garage that morning, he made note of things he hadn't seen before. Like the fact that he didn't have a garden, and there weren't any interesting shrubs around the front of his house. Something clicked in his head as he came near to the first toll booth: his house was just that - a house. Not a home.
He rolled up to Brian with a huge smile across his face. Brian looked a little more tired today than usual, which made Matt dim his act down a little.
"You OK?" he asked Brian as he handed him a five.
Brian grinned. "Long night at the restaurant. Saw a little more action at the bar than I thought I would." He handed back the change. "Have a good day at work."
"You too," Matt said automatically, and without thinking. As he drove away, he kicked himself mentally. Would Brian have taken that as a slight? Matt gripped his steering wheel tightly all the way to work.
====
The day had taken a turn for the worse. Matt could almost feel the sway of the hand-basket as he headed for hell. He looked at the performance review, and then at the list of jobs in his department that would be getting cut. Jimmy was out right now, trying to break it to people that they no longer worked for the business. Some of these names were more than just names to him. They were a part of his well-oiled machine. He had been doing so well, and had been so sure of his rise to the top. Matt was in the middle of self-loathing when his blackberry rang. The number said, "Brian Haner." He sighed, and debated whether or not to pick it up.
By the time he decided to pick it up, it had already stopped ringing. He dialed Brian's number and the phone was picked up by the second ring.
"Hey! How are you?"
"Not so great," Matt replied honestly. He hated to put a damper on everything, but he didn't have it in himself to hold this back.
"Oh. What's up?"
"Work is just getting really stressful. So, what did you call me for earlier?"
Brian cleared his throat. "Well, I have a new idea for dinner. How about I meet you after work?"
"Alright," Matt said. He already felt horrible, because deep down he knew that he wouldn't be able to handle a night out.
"Well I'll see you then. And you can tell me about work, OK?" Brian asked in what could almost be described a motherly tone.
Matt smiled despite himself. "OK. Bye."
"Bye-bye!"
There was no awkward "You hang up first" at the end of their conversation, but that was completely fine by Matt. It was better if things were more simple for the rest of the day.
He kept his door shut so that he wouldn't have to see the laying-off going on around him. He stored the paper away in his files so the names wouldn't stare back at him. Yes, things would be much better if they weren't so complicated. He even waited until after-hours to leave, and knew that Brian might be frustrated. Well, he had to pay for his selfishness sometime, he reminded himself as he dialed Brian's cell.
"Hello?" came a hopeful voice.
"Hey, it's me," Matt said offhandedly as he got in an elevator. "I'm just getting out now."
"OK, I'll meet you at the front entrance," Brian replied quickly. Before Matt could respond, the other end disconnected.
Dreading this exchange, he walked out the door and waited in the cooling night air. When the other man appeared, Matt let the words spill out of his mouth.
"I can't go out tonight. I'm really sorry..."
Brian stopped walking and Matt tried to read his facial expression from where he was. The next words were a total surprise to him.
"Maybe it's a bad idea to be alone, then. If you don't want to go out tonight, we could do something at home." Matt was completely taken aback with Brian's frankness. He had never in his life thought that he would be getting involved with someone that could match his own brutal honesty. Then again, Matt hadn't thought he'd ever be getting involved with a guy.
"Uh, OK," Matt said before he could stop himself. He led the way to his car - still under the trance of his own stupidity - and while his back was turned to Brian, he quietly muttered, "Motherfucker." He wondered why he was outwardly going along with everything Brian wanted.
The car beeped twice in the still night air, lights flashing briefly. Matt cleaned off the passenger seat of all two CDs laying there. When he started his car and began the journey home, the car was totally silent. Matt cleared his throat.
"So... How was your day?" He could practically feel Brian turn and stare at him.
"There was a five car pile-up beyond the booth heading West. That's about it. I don't think anyone died... Did you have any casualties at work today?" Brian joked; no response. "Matt?" The tone of Brian's voice sounded a little worried. "Hey, what's wrong? You know, you never told me what happened at work tod-"
"I fucked up a major presentation, and the board of directors fired a bunch of my employees."
Silence.
More silence.
Matt turned on NPR.
But beyond that was silence.
"Those don't count as casualties," Brian said. Matt almost drove off the road.
"Enlighten me," Matt growled. He could feel his temper flaring for absolutely no reason.
"There is life in unemployment. Maybe not successful life by society's standards, but life nonetheless." Brian paused, but Matt didn't jump in. "I know a lot of people who found a wonderful life after unemployment. I'm one of them." Matt snorted, and instantly regretted it. "You have something to say?" Brian shot at him. The air in the car was suddenly tense on top of the awkwardness.
"No, I... I'm sorry," Matt said. He could see Brian shrug out of the corner of his eye.
"Whatever," Brian replied. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't said in a nasty tone. On the contrary, it was a very light-hearted response. "Do you think you'll be OK after this?"
Matt gripped the steering wheel harder, and let it go. He gripped and released several times before he said, "I don't know." He couldn't burden Brian with his problems; he was an adult, not a child who could ask for help anywhere.
"I think you'll be fine. As long as you have someone, you're always in the clear." Matt refused to choke up at Brian's words. He. Would. Not. His stubbornness held out, and the rest of the ride was mostly quiet.
They finally pulled into Matt's garage, and Brian stretched out. "Wow, I'm not used to such long rides. You do that every day?"
"Twice," Matt answered as he opened the door into the kitchen. He held it open for Brian, then went about turning on lights. When he got back to the kitchen, Brian was sitting at the small table. "What do you want for dinner?"
Brian shrugged and smiled. "How about pizza? And we can watch a movie or something."
"Sure, I'll call. You go pick something. What sort of toppings do you want?"
"Anchovies." Matt's head snapped in Brian's direction. The other man had a straight face, but a smile quickly grew. "Nah, just kidding. Pepperoni." With that, Brian went into the living room.
Matt shook his head, and dialed the number to the closest pizza place. He wandered into the living room after hanging up, and sat down on the couch, next to Brian. He looked over at Brian, whose attention was completely focused on the TV. There were a few DVDs in his hands, but he wasn't making any move to get one of them playing. "What are we watching?" Matt asked. There was a lapse of time before Brian answered.
"Animal Planet."
Matt snorted. "Why?"
"Just watch."
Matt did, and immediately cringed and turned away when he saw a man being tossed twenty feet into the air by a raging bull. That lasted for a second before morbid curiosity got his attention back to the screen. "What is this show?" Another lapse.
"I don't know." They watched with rapt attention up to the commercial break, and then the spell was broken. Matt then turned to Brian again.
"What movies did you pick?"
"I actually would rather watch this show," Brian said. Matt chuckled.
"OK."
The pizza arrived, and they devoured it while watching the show. Very few words were exchanged between them, but that didn't stifle the warm feeling growing inside Matt. He couldn't figure out what exactly was creating it, but he was almost certain that it had something to do with the fact of another human being near him after so long. A person basking in the same yellow glow of lamps in the evening as he was. Nearly an hour and half had passed, and Matt was getting tired. Until he realized that he would have to get Brian home.
"Hey Bri-" Matt stopped short when he saw that the other man was fast asleep. Matt smiled and got up, going to the guest room. It was small, and the bed was just a mattress on a simple wooden frame. He fixed it up with soft sheets and blankets, and few fluffy pillows. He went back out and gently shook Brian.
"Mm, what?" Brian asked softly.
"You going to bed?"
"Yeah..."
"C'mon," Matt said, trying to get Brian up. Brian didn't struggle, but he didn't cooperate either. He was dead weight that Matt was attempting to muscle into a room. "Work with me here," he muttered under his breath.
"Mm..." Brian sighed softly, as if he were agreeing with Matt. It was one of the most gorgeous noises Matt had ever heard, but he tried to brush it off. They eventually got to the room, and Brian started sleepily taking off his clothes. Matt felt his heart jump into his throat.
"What're you doing?"
"Going to bed," Brian said through a yawn. Matt blushed, not believing his own stupidity. To hurry the process, Matt took Brian's clothes as they came off, and set them on a chair in the corner. He looked away when the boxers came off and Brian stumbled to bed. Once the sheets started rustling, Matt dared to look. Brian was under the sheets already.
"Good night," Matt said softly as he left the room.
"Mm," Brian said back. Matt shivered at the noise, and made for his own bed. As he settled into the lovely softness and closed his eyes, the noise came back.
Mm was Matt's last thought.