Fill: Downtown (Charles/Erik, Pretty Woman AU) 4c/5
anonymous
November 1 2011, 21:51:23 UTC
‘…after the foster homes I was just like any other runaway. I thought I’d get a little apartment and a job and a cat and just live on my own,’ Erik said musingly. ‘Turned out there was only one job I could get that made the rent.’
As tales of woe went, Charles had to admit that this one was bloody woeful. He wrapped himself tighter round Erik. The zoo had closed, so now they were curled together with their backs against the broad trunk of a tree in Griffith Park. They’d well and truly missed the dinner meeting and it was all getting a little bit intense.
Every time he looked at Erik his breath caught.
‘I’m so sorry about your parents,’ he said, ‘you must miss them.’
Erik sighed. ‘Strange, isn’t it? I don’t take any shit, I can handle myself in a fight, I make decent money sucking cock, and I miss my mom and dad.’
‘It’s not strange,’ Charles said. He’d often wanted parents he could love, but from the sound of Erik’s voice he was better off the way things were.
‘I do have a teddy bear, though,’ Erik added, ‘that I kiss every night before I go to sleep.’
Charles looked at him. Ok, that was a little strange. He tried to work out if he was being teased, then decided to play it safe. If he said, ‘you’re kidding,’ and it turned out that Erik wasn’t then he would be the world’s biggest jerk.
‘That’s nice,’ he ventured.
‘I call him Mr Huggles.’
‘Lovely.’
‘He’s pink.’
‘Really?’
‘No,’ Erik said seriously, ‘but it’s good to know that you’re such an accepting person.’
Charles gritted his teeth. ‘You’re a horrible human being. You’re going to be reincarnated as a worm.’
Erik squeezed him. Charles huffed, pretending irritation that he didn’t feel. He’d got lost driving home one night, that was all, and somehow it had brought him to this - spending a perfect afternoon with an intelligent, gorgeous, forceful man who teased him and laughed with him and cried at the opera. It was utterly implausibly. It was also the only thing in his life that made sense.
They talked on and on in the lowering dusk, about life and families and loves and loneliness. ‘I hate being a CEO,’ Charles said eventually. ‘I don’t know why I’m doing it. I’ve got a standing job offer at Columbia, a faculty position. I could go any time. And I’d get a little apartment and maybe a cat…’ He trailed off, not quite sure how to end the thought.
‘Then you should go,’ Erik said.
‘Do you really think so?’ It almost seemed possible, relaxed against the solid support of Erik’s body. The night was still and there were even a few stars starting to peep through the haze of air pollution. It was as close as LA came to a fairytale evening.
Erik nodded. ‘If there was something I wanted,’ he said, ‘I’d take it.’
Charles almost laughed. His life was infested with bloody metaphors. He couldn’t help himself, he pressed closer, tilting his head in that age-old way that means, ‘kiss me.’
As tales of woe went, Charles had to admit that this one was bloody woeful. He wrapped himself tighter round Erik. The zoo had closed, so now they were curled together with their backs against the broad trunk of a tree in Griffith Park. They’d well and truly missed the dinner meeting and it was all getting a little bit intense.
Every time he looked at Erik his breath caught.
‘I’m so sorry about your parents,’ he said, ‘you must miss them.’
Erik sighed. ‘Strange, isn’t it? I don’t take any shit, I can handle myself in a fight, I make decent money sucking cock, and I miss my mom and dad.’
‘It’s not strange,’ Charles said. He’d often wanted parents he could love, but from the sound of Erik’s voice he was better off the way things were.
‘I do have a teddy bear, though,’ Erik added, ‘that I kiss every night before I go to sleep.’
Charles looked at him. Ok, that was a little strange. He tried to work out if he was being teased, then decided to play it safe. If he said, ‘you’re kidding,’ and it turned out that Erik wasn’t then he would be the world’s biggest jerk.
‘That’s nice,’ he ventured.
‘I call him Mr Huggles.’
‘Lovely.’
‘He’s pink.’
‘Really?’
‘No,’ Erik said seriously, ‘but it’s good to know that you’re such an accepting person.’
Charles gritted his teeth. ‘You’re a horrible human being. You’re going to be reincarnated as a worm.’
Erik squeezed him. Charles huffed, pretending irritation that he didn’t feel. He’d got lost driving home one night, that was all, and somehow it had brought him to this - spending a perfect afternoon with an intelligent, gorgeous, forceful man who teased him and laughed with him and cried at the opera. It was utterly implausibly. It was also the only thing in his life that made sense.
They talked on and on in the lowering dusk, about life and families and loves and loneliness. ‘I hate being a CEO,’ Charles said eventually. ‘I don’t know why I’m doing it. I’ve got a standing job offer at Columbia, a faculty position. I could go any time. And I’d get a little apartment and maybe a cat…’ He trailed off, not quite sure how to end the thought.
‘Then you should go,’ Erik said.
‘Do you really think so?’ It almost seemed possible, relaxed against the solid support of Erik’s body. The night was still and there were even a few stars starting to peep through the haze of air pollution. It was as close as LA came to a fairytale evening.
Erik nodded. ‘If there was something I wanted,’ he said, ‘I’d take it.’
Charles almost laughed. His life was infested with bloody metaphors. He couldn’t help himself, he pressed closer, tilting his head in that age-old way that means, ‘kiss me.’
And Erik kissed him.
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