Fic: "Another sunny day"
Author's name: sofiawonderland
Written for: chibinecco
Pairing/characters: Chris/Zach, Noah
Rating: PG-13 to be on the safe side
Prompt: Chris and Zach out for a walk on the beach with Noah, maybe playing Frisbee, cuddling on a beach towel, surprise me. A happy, sunny family outing together.
Warnings: None, I think.
Disclaimer: Definitely not true, definitely not mine. I'm just a compulsive liar.
Length: 1450 words
A/N: Probably made this a bit more introspective than the prompt called for, sorry for that.
This is probably a bad idea. Chris paces around Zach’s front porch, heart beating fast, feeling like a thirteen year old girl. He reaches for the doorbell, but gives up and puts his hand back on his pockets, pacing some more. He takes a deep breath, checks his cell phone for no reason at all, runs his hand through his hair and works up the courage to ring the door bell. The sound is louder than he had expected, and he cringes. For a moment, he considers running away, but he’s a grown man, damnit, and he doesn’t run away from people he’s nervous about meeting.
He can hear footsteps coming his way, as well as some movement from the animal occupants of the house. He bites his lip, as he does when he’s nervous, and tries to look natural. What do I even do with my hands most of the time? He opts for keeping them in his pockets, plastering a hopefully warm smile on his face. Chris is sure his façade of calm and serenity is not as good as he hoped when Zach opens the door and gives him A Look.
Zach’s hair is damp, and he’s wearing low slung sweatpants and an old t-shirt, which means he probably just got out of the shower. Damn good timing, Pine. He eyes Chris questioningly, not quite figuring out why he’s on his door step without calling first, especially when they haven’t seen each other for months. The silence starts to grow awkward, and Zach opens the door wide, taking a step back to let Chris in. Chris does so, trying to deliver the little speech he’d been planning all the way there, but words fail him. Zach is the first to speak.
“Long time no see, huh?”
Chris laughs, a terribly awkward, nervous, borderline hysterical laugh.
“Hm, yeah. Two or three months, I guess.”
Silence again. Chris licks his lips and looks at his own feet, not quite knowing what to say. Zach watches him, an eyebrow quirked, looking like he’s expecting something, a reason for Chris to be here even if their last meeting hadn’t gone quite smoothly.
“Hm. So, I know we haven’t spoken to each other in a while. But, you know, I thought it was time to put all that shit behind us, so I came here in a peace offer.”
Zach’s expression softens, and his whole body relaxes.
“It’s Sunday morning, and I thought it would be an appropriate gesture if I showed up and we could, you know, take Noah on a walk. Like we used to. Because I miss it. Kind of.”
When Chris looks up and meets Zach’s eyes, he’s greeted with a smile. A smile, that’s good. Easier than I thought. His confidence is building up, and it shows in his voice.
“What do you say? Let’s go?”
Zach pretends to ponder it for a while, and Chris wonders if he’s just trying to make him nervous.
“Yes, Chris, let’s.”
Chris lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and starts going for the door.
“Wait, wait, not so fast!”
Chris stops abruptly, and turns around to face Zach again.
“First of all, I need to get Noah and put him on a leash and change into something I can go out of the house in.” The sentence comes complete with eye rolling, and then Chris is sure he’s getting on Zach’s good side again. “And I also thought maybe we could go to the beach with Noah. I’ve been meaning to do so for a while now, but we need to drive up there and driving Noah without someone to keep him company on the way it’s always a nightmare. Sounds good?”
He wasn’t really planning on going to the beach, and he considers his own clothes. As long as he’s not planning on going in the water, he’s probably fine, and, honestly, he’ll get whatever he can right now. He shrugs.
“Yeah, sounds great!”
…
The drive up to the beach is… nice. Chris, usually so eloquent, can’t think of a better word to describe it. He and Zach aren’t back up to their normal level of easiness and quick banter yet, but their conversation flows just right. No awkward silences, no stupid things being said. Just them, talking and catching up - albeit superficially - and Noah, barking from time to time as if he wants to take part in the fun.
After a while, they stop talking, and are left listening to the music coming from the radio. Zach drives with intent, Noah starts to doze off in the back seat, and Chris looks through the window, feeling more relaxed than he has felt in a while. This whole situation between him and Zach was unpleasant and unnecessary, and Chris was just glad it was over. All because of his own selfishness and his habit of saying hurtful things due to spite, and jealousy, and those sort of childish emotions that got hold of him sometimes and would not let go. All because he couldn’t deal with Zach coming back to LA just as easily as he’d left for New York, because he thought he deserved to be terribly missed, that he deserved some sort of grand gesture and demonstration of love. Not that they were a couple or anything - okay, maybe something, but not a couple, not exactly -, but Chris just had to feel abandoned, like a scorned lover. And he absolutely just had to let Zach know exactly how he felt through a few definitely rude choice words after one too many drinks during what was supposed to be a pleasant party. It seemed like Chris had lost his way with pleasantries.
He’s startled out of his reverie as the car comes to a halt. He gets out of his seat and opens the back door to let a very enthusiastic Noah out, holding his leash in an attempt to not let him run like crazy towards the water. The sun is up and the sky is blue, an almost cinematographic summer morning, and the soft breeze coming from the sea smells like salt. It’s been a while since Chris has last been to the beach, and he finds himself enjoying the turn of events.
Zach is talking now, talking about how he misses the beach, how he should come more often. Talking about how nice this is, about how the weather is perfect and the beach is not as crowded as he thought it would be. Chris has nothing to add, really, so he nods in agreement, a silly grin on his face, the kind of smile that you can’t help taking over you when pieces fall into place. Noah is still tugging at his leash, running haphazardly and consequently throwing sand everywhere, so excited to be in an unfamiliar environment. For a second, Chris thinks that dogs are easy to please, but then he takes into account the warm feeling inside him and comes to the conclusion that maybe he’s not so different from Noah in that aspect.
Zach stretches out and sits down, beckoning Chris to join him. The second he sits down, Noah starts running in circles around the towel, covering them in sand and tangling the leash in unbelievable knots. Instead of fretting over it, both Chris and Zach laugh, deep, loud, honest laughs. They end up laying down on the towel, Chris with his head on Zach’s shoulder, Noah tangled by the leash on Chris’ right leg, distracted with digging a hole in the white sand.
…
The sun is nearly setting, and they are still there. Noah is wet and sandy and terribly dirty, but asleep, exhausted from all the running around. Zach is lying on his back, eyes closed, breathing in the cool late afternoon air, while he threads his hand through Chris’ hair. Chris is on his side, head propped on Zach’s chest, barely awake, watching the waves through half-lidded eyes.
A lot of things go through his mind. He thinks Zach’s going to have a hard time giving Noah a bath later. He thinks they haven’t talked anything through and maybe he should apologize in a better way. He thinks the paparazzi would be delighted if they could take a snapshot of this precise moment. He thinks his publicist would be just as angry as the paparazzi would be delighted. But, for the first time in a long, long time, he chooses to ignore it.
It’s a beautiful summer day in California, he’s in the arms of someone he loves, and, at least for a while, he likes to believe this is enough.
Written for: chibinecco
Pairing/characters: Chris/Zach, Noah
Rating: PG-13 to be on the safe side
Prompt: Chris and Zach out for a walk on the beach with Noah, maybe playing Frisbee, cuddling on a beach towel, surprise me. A happy, sunny family outing together.
Warnings: None, I think.
Disclaimer: Definitely not true, definitely not mine. I'm just a compulsive liar.
Length: 1450 words
A/N: Probably made this a bit more introspective than the prompt called for, sorry for that.
This is probably a bad idea. Chris paces around Zach’s front porch, heart beating fast, feeling like a thirteen year old girl. He reaches for the doorbell, but gives up and puts his hand back on his pockets, pacing some more. He takes a deep breath, checks his cell phone for no reason at all, runs his hand through his hair and works up the courage to ring the door bell. The sound is louder than he had expected, and he cringes. For a moment, he considers running away, but he’s a grown man, damnit, and he doesn’t run away from people he’s nervous about meeting.
He can hear footsteps coming his way, as well as some movement from the animal occupants of the house. He bites his lip, as he does when he’s nervous, and tries to look natural. What do I even do with my hands most of the time? He opts for keeping them in his pockets, plastering a hopefully warm smile on his face. Chris is sure his façade of calm and serenity is not as good as he hoped when Zach opens the door and gives him A Look.
Zach’s hair is damp, and he’s wearing low slung sweatpants and an old t-shirt, which means he probably just got out of the shower. Damn good timing, Pine. He eyes Chris questioningly, not quite figuring out why he’s on his door step without calling first, especially when they haven’t seen each other for months. The silence starts to grow awkward, and Zach opens the door wide, taking a step back to let Chris in. Chris does so, trying to deliver the little speech he’d been planning all the way there, but words fail him. Zach is the first to speak.
“Long time no see, huh?”
Chris laughs, a terribly awkward, nervous, borderline hysterical laugh.
“Hm, yeah. Two or three months, I guess.”
Silence again. Chris licks his lips and looks at his own feet, not quite knowing what to say. Zach watches him, an eyebrow quirked, looking like he’s expecting something, a reason for Chris to be here even if their last meeting hadn’t gone quite smoothly.
“Hm. So, I know we haven’t spoken to each other in a while. But, you know, I thought it was time to put all that shit behind us, so I came here in a peace offer.”
Zach’s expression softens, and his whole body relaxes.
“It’s Sunday morning, and I thought it would be an appropriate gesture if I showed up and we could, you know, take Noah on a walk. Like we used to. Because I miss it. Kind of.”
When Chris looks up and meets Zach’s eyes, he’s greeted with a smile. A smile, that’s good. Easier than I thought. His confidence is building up, and it shows in his voice.
“What do you say? Let’s go?”
Zach pretends to ponder it for a while, and Chris wonders if he’s just trying to make him nervous.
“Yes, Chris, let’s.”
Chris lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and starts going for the door.
“Wait, wait, not so fast!”
Chris stops abruptly, and turns around to face Zach again.
“First of all, I need to get Noah and put him on a leash and change into something I can go out of the house in.” The sentence comes complete with eye rolling, and then Chris is sure he’s getting on Zach’s good side again. “And I also thought maybe we could go to the beach with Noah. I’ve been meaning to do so for a while now, but we need to drive up there and driving Noah without someone to keep him company on the way it’s always a nightmare. Sounds good?”
He wasn’t really planning on going to the beach, and he considers his own clothes. As long as he’s not planning on going in the water, he’s probably fine, and, honestly, he’ll get whatever he can right now. He shrugs.
“Yeah, sounds great!”
…
The drive up to the beach is… nice. Chris, usually so eloquent, can’t think of a better word to describe it. He and Zach aren’t back up to their normal level of easiness and quick banter yet, but their conversation flows just right. No awkward silences, no stupid things being said. Just them, talking and catching up - albeit superficially - and Noah, barking from time to time as if he wants to take part in the fun.
After a while, they stop talking, and are left listening to the music coming from the radio. Zach drives with intent, Noah starts to doze off in the back seat, and Chris looks through the window, feeling more relaxed than he has felt in a while. This whole situation between him and Zach was unpleasant and unnecessary, and Chris was just glad it was over. All because of his own selfishness and his habit of saying hurtful things due to spite, and jealousy, and those sort of childish emotions that got hold of him sometimes and would not let go. All because he couldn’t deal with Zach coming back to LA just as easily as he’d left for New York, because he thought he deserved to be terribly missed, that he deserved some sort of grand gesture and demonstration of love. Not that they were a couple or anything - okay, maybe something, but not a couple, not exactly -, but Chris just had to feel abandoned, like a scorned lover. And he absolutely just had to let Zach know exactly how he felt through a few definitely rude choice words after one too many drinks during what was supposed to be a pleasant party. It seemed like Chris had lost his way with pleasantries.
He’s startled out of his reverie as the car comes to a halt. He gets out of his seat and opens the back door to let a very enthusiastic Noah out, holding his leash in an attempt to not let him run like crazy towards the water. The sun is up and the sky is blue, an almost cinematographic summer morning, and the soft breeze coming from the sea smells like salt. It’s been a while since Chris has last been to the beach, and he finds himself enjoying the turn of events.
Zach is talking now, talking about how he misses the beach, how he should come more often. Talking about how nice this is, about how the weather is perfect and the beach is not as crowded as he thought it would be. Chris has nothing to add, really, so he nods in agreement, a silly grin on his face, the kind of smile that you can’t help taking over you when pieces fall into place. Noah is still tugging at his leash, running haphazardly and consequently throwing sand everywhere, so excited to be in an unfamiliar environment. For a second, Chris thinks that dogs are easy to please, but then he takes into account the warm feeling inside him and comes to the conclusion that maybe he’s not so different from Noah in that aspect.
Zach stretches out and sits down, beckoning Chris to join him. The second he sits down, Noah starts running in circles around the towel, covering them in sand and tangling the leash in unbelievable knots. Instead of fretting over it, both Chris and Zach laugh, deep, loud, honest laughs. They end up laying down on the towel, Chris with his head on Zach’s shoulder, Noah tangled by the leash on Chris’ right leg, distracted with digging a hole in the white sand.
…
The sun is nearly setting, and they are still there. Noah is wet and sandy and terribly dirty, but asleep, exhausted from all the running around. Zach is lying on his back, eyes closed, breathing in the cool late afternoon air, while he threads his hand through Chris’ hair. Chris is on his side, head propped on Zach’s chest, barely awake, watching the waves through half-lidded eyes.
A lot of things go through his mind. He thinks Zach’s going to have a hard time giving Noah a bath later. He thinks they haven’t talked anything through and maybe he should apologize in a better way. He thinks the paparazzi would be delighted if they could take a snapshot of this precise moment. He thinks his publicist would be just as angry as the paparazzi would be delighted. But, for the first time in a long, long time, he chooses to ignore it.
It’s a beautiful summer day in California, he’s in the arms of someone he loves, and, at least for a while, he likes to believe this is enough.