Bad Ideas
Some bad ideas are actually good ones but we just don't know it at the time, right? Right. And now, some Dartmouth dork fic...
Title: A Very Bad Idea
Author: m_buggie
Fandoms: “Band of Brothers”/“Generation Kill”/”The West Wing”
Pairing: pre-slash Colbert/Fick
Word Count: 1,330
Rating: PG
Standard Disclaimer: This is based off performances in the HBO miniseries, not the actual soldiers. The only thing I own is the computer I wrote this on. I make no profit and mean no disrespect so please don’t sue.
Author’s Note: This takes place in the world of the Big Damn Modern Day Crossover AU of Doom…I think that says it all.
~x~x~
“Have you lost your mind?”
When his question was met with laughter, Henry Jones IV just shook his head. He was shocked and appalled at the words that had just come out of his typically reasonable roommate’s mouth. The thought had crossed his mind once or twice before but this latest announcement had confirmed the fact in Henry’s mind: his best friend had, indeed, gone crazy. There was no other explanation for it.
“Nathaniel,” he said - Henry only used his friend’s full name when discussing matters of the utmost importance. “Are you nuts?”
Nathaniel Fick sighed under his breath and continued transferring the contents of his bookshelf into a large moving box. His roommate’s reaction was one that he’d expected but had still somehow hoped against.
“It’s only until January, Henry,” Nate remarked in some effort to placate the other young man. “I’ll be back in the dorms for the winter term, same as you.”
Henry was still shaking his head, tossing socks into a suitcase as though they’d done something to offend him personally. “The duration of the arrangement doesn’t matter, it’s still a very bad idea.”
It was the first week of September and Nate and Henry were in the process of putting everything they’d accumulated in their dorm suite during the past quarter into boxes, bags, and suitcases. At the end of December they would be returning to Dartmouth for their senior year at the university but until then they were moving out.
Henry was going down to Washington DC for an internship in the White House Chief of Staff’s office. He’d fought tooth and nail against stiff competition for the position, which was going to earn him both course credits and valuable first-hand experience towards his degree in Government. From September until December he’d be staying in a university-furnished studio apartment and working as an administrative assistant on the Deputy Chief of Staff’s team. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Nate, on the other hand, was…
“I can’t believe you’re moving in with Colbert,” Henry exclaimed.
While Henry was off to fetch coffee and file documents for Josh Lyman in Washington DC until the end of the autumn quarter, Nate would be holding down a far more menial form of employment.
Nathaniel Fick attended Dartmouth on full academic scholarship, something that paid for nearly all his expenses from room and board to textbooks. What it didn’t provide for was life beyond college. With his junior year completed and senior year four months away, Nate made the decision to get a job at one of the local bar and grills. Waiting tables at Off the Wagon wasn’t exactly experience he could put towards his own double major in Government and Classical Studies but it was a weekly paycheck and that was better than nothing, seeing as how Nate didn’t have any kind of inherited wealth to fall back on like his friend and roommate since freshman year, Henry.
With summer term concluded and neither of them attending classes for the autumn quarter, Henry and Nate were vacating their dorm suite. Thus, Nate made the decision to temporarily move in with another friend.
“Brad assured me that he didn’t mind,” Nate explained. “He said that it wasn’t any kind of an inconvenience to him and that he wouldn’t mind my help with the rent. It’s not that big a deal, Henry.”
Four and a half months ago, Brad Colbert happened. It had been a subject of disagreement between Nate and Henry since.
“Not that big a deal?” Henry sputtered, repeating the words as if that would help them make more sense. “Are you kidding me? Nate, you hardly know the man.”
“I know him well enough. He’s a good guy.”
“He could be a psycho killer.”
“In this day and age, anyone can be a psycho killer.”
“But…”
“Henry, do you remember how I met Brad?”
Henry heaved a great sigh and folded his arms, knowing precisely what was coming. “Yeah, I remember.”
“He saved my life,” Nate went on to say. “The man saved my life, Henry. He went out of his way to stop a total stranger from being hit by a truck, okay? I’m no expert in psychology or sociology or whatever but as far as I can tell that’s not an action of the sort of person who’s going to turn around and strangle me in my sleep. If Brad wanted to kill me he could’ve just stood by and watched me get hit but he didn’t; he pulled me out of the way.”
Henry nodded. “I know, I know, and I believe me I am grateful for what he did. But just because he saved you one day doesn’t make him your knight in shining armor.”
Nate sighed and glanced away, slightly embarrassed that that was exactly how he saw Brad Colbert. He tried to shift the course of the discussion away from his feelings on the man in question. “Look, I know you think I’m making a mistake with this but, believe it or not, I’ve actually thought this through.”
Henry snorted in a way that made it clear he had some serious doubts as to the validity of that statement.
“Staying with Brad for a couple of months is my best bet. It’s either that or find a place to stay on Craigslist with a complete stranger. Given the option, I’d prefer sharing an apartment with someone that I’m familiar with. Brad might be a little rough around the edges but he’s also an intelligent and well-traveled individual with a dry, witty sense of humor.”
“You’re just saying that because you’ve got a crush on him,” Henry sighed.
“Shut up, I do not!” Nate countered with a little too much vehemence.
Henry rolled his eyes. “Very mature, Nathaniel.”
Nate huffed and then stilled, book in hand and eyes directed to some point in space beyond the glass of the nearest window. He pursed his lips.
Henry unfolded his arms and remarked quietly, “You really do like Colbert, don’t you, Nate? And not just a silly man-crush kind of way, am I right?”
“It’s not like that,” Nate uttered, but the words came out in barely a whisper.
“So I guess I’m hallucinating every time I see him pick you up and drop you off with that Mona Lisa smile on your face?” Henry’s tone was affectionately teasing. “I’ve seen the two of you together, Nate. You can barely take your eyes off one another.”
Nate bit his lower lip and shook his head. “No, it’s not…Brad’s straight, Henry. He’s just a friend.”
Henry’s voice softened even further and he walked over to rest a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Then why are you moving in with him? There are other places for you to stay, you know that. Mike Wynn got a place off-campus the other week and I’m sure he’d be happy to put you up until the winter quarter started. You don’t have to do this.”
“I don’t want to move in with Mike,” Nate whispered.
“Nathaniel, this is a very bad idea.”
“It’s only for a couple of months,” Nate said, finding his voice again. “I’ll be fine. Brad’s a good guy, I trust him. He’s gotten to be a real good friend and he looks out for me. He would never hurt me, Henry.”
“What about you hurting yourself?”
Nate raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“You know it’s going to be hard on you, being in the same apartment with Colbert if that’s the way you feel about him.”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel about him because it’s not going to happen,” Nate quickly responded. “Brad is my friend. That’s what I’m going to focus on.”
And with that, Nate returned to packing, his mind made up.
Henry sighed again and went back to his own suitcase. “I still say it’s a bad idea.”
Nate didn’t pause or look up, but he did mutter, “I know.”
Title: A Very Bad Idea
Author: m_buggie
Fandoms: “Band of Brothers”/“Generation Kill”/”The West Wing”
Pairing: pre-slash Colbert/Fick
Word Count: 1,330
Rating: PG
Standard Disclaimer: This is based off performances in the HBO miniseries, not the actual soldiers. The only thing I own is the computer I wrote this on. I make no profit and mean no disrespect so please don’t sue.
Author’s Note: This takes place in the world of the Big Damn Modern Day Crossover AU of Doom…I think that says it all.
~x~x~
“Have you lost your mind?”
When his question was met with laughter, Henry Jones IV just shook his head. He was shocked and appalled at the words that had just come out of his typically reasonable roommate’s mouth. The thought had crossed his mind once or twice before but this latest announcement had confirmed the fact in Henry’s mind: his best friend had, indeed, gone crazy. There was no other explanation for it.
“Nathaniel,” he said - Henry only used his friend’s full name when discussing matters of the utmost importance. “Are you nuts?”
Nathaniel Fick sighed under his breath and continued transferring the contents of his bookshelf into a large moving box. His roommate’s reaction was one that he’d expected but had still somehow hoped against.
“It’s only until January, Henry,” Nate remarked in some effort to placate the other young man. “I’ll be back in the dorms for the winter term, same as you.”
Henry was still shaking his head, tossing socks into a suitcase as though they’d done something to offend him personally. “The duration of the arrangement doesn’t matter, it’s still a very bad idea.”
It was the first week of September and Nate and Henry were in the process of putting everything they’d accumulated in their dorm suite during the past quarter into boxes, bags, and suitcases. At the end of December they would be returning to Dartmouth for their senior year at the university but until then they were moving out.
Henry was going down to Washington DC for an internship in the White House Chief of Staff’s office. He’d fought tooth and nail against stiff competition for the position, which was going to earn him both course credits and valuable first-hand experience towards his degree in Government. From September until December he’d be staying in a university-furnished studio apartment and working as an administrative assistant on the Deputy Chief of Staff’s team. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Nate, on the other hand, was…
“I can’t believe you’re moving in with Colbert,” Henry exclaimed.
While Henry was off to fetch coffee and file documents for Josh Lyman in Washington DC until the end of the autumn quarter, Nate would be holding down a far more menial form of employment.
Nathaniel Fick attended Dartmouth on full academic scholarship, something that paid for nearly all his expenses from room and board to textbooks. What it didn’t provide for was life beyond college. With his junior year completed and senior year four months away, Nate made the decision to get a job at one of the local bar and grills. Waiting tables at Off the Wagon wasn’t exactly experience he could put towards his own double major in Government and Classical Studies but it was a weekly paycheck and that was better than nothing, seeing as how Nate didn’t have any kind of inherited wealth to fall back on like his friend and roommate since freshman year, Henry.
With summer term concluded and neither of them attending classes for the autumn quarter, Henry and Nate were vacating their dorm suite. Thus, Nate made the decision to temporarily move in with another friend.
“Brad assured me that he didn’t mind,” Nate explained. “He said that it wasn’t any kind of an inconvenience to him and that he wouldn’t mind my help with the rent. It’s not that big a deal, Henry.”
Four and a half months ago, Brad Colbert happened. It had been a subject of disagreement between Nate and Henry since.
“Not that big a deal?” Henry sputtered, repeating the words as if that would help them make more sense. “Are you kidding me? Nate, you hardly know the man.”
“I know him well enough. He’s a good guy.”
“He could be a psycho killer.”
“In this day and age, anyone can be a psycho killer.”
“But…”
“Henry, do you remember how I met Brad?”
Henry heaved a great sigh and folded his arms, knowing precisely what was coming. “Yeah, I remember.”
“He saved my life,” Nate went on to say. “The man saved my life, Henry. He went out of his way to stop a total stranger from being hit by a truck, okay? I’m no expert in psychology or sociology or whatever but as far as I can tell that’s not an action of the sort of person who’s going to turn around and strangle me in my sleep. If Brad wanted to kill me he could’ve just stood by and watched me get hit but he didn’t; he pulled me out of the way.”
Henry nodded. “I know, I know, and I believe me I am grateful for what he did. But just because he saved you one day doesn’t make him your knight in shining armor.”
Nate sighed and glanced away, slightly embarrassed that that was exactly how he saw Brad Colbert. He tried to shift the course of the discussion away from his feelings on the man in question. “Look, I know you think I’m making a mistake with this but, believe it or not, I’ve actually thought this through.”
Henry snorted in a way that made it clear he had some serious doubts as to the validity of that statement.
“Staying with Brad for a couple of months is my best bet. It’s either that or find a place to stay on Craigslist with a complete stranger. Given the option, I’d prefer sharing an apartment with someone that I’m familiar with. Brad might be a little rough around the edges but he’s also an intelligent and well-traveled individual with a dry, witty sense of humor.”
“You’re just saying that because you’ve got a crush on him,” Henry sighed.
“Shut up, I do not!” Nate countered with a little too much vehemence.
Henry rolled his eyes. “Very mature, Nathaniel.”
Nate huffed and then stilled, book in hand and eyes directed to some point in space beyond the glass of the nearest window. He pursed his lips.
Henry unfolded his arms and remarked quietly, “You really do like Colbert, don’t you, Nate? And not just a silly man-crush kind of way, am I right?”
“It’s not like that,” Nate uttered, but the words came out in barely a whisper.
“So I guess I’m hallucinating every time I see him pick you up and drop you off with that Mona Lisa smile on your face?” Henry’s tone was affectionately teasing. “I’ve seen the two of you together, Nate. You can barely take your eyes off one another.”
Nate bit his lower lip and shook his head. “No, it’s not…Brad’s straight, Henry. He’s just a friend.”
Henry’s voice softened even further and he walked over to rest a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Then why are you moving in with him? There are other places for you to stay, you know that. Mike Wynn got a place off-campus the other week and I’m sure he’d be happy to put you up until the winter quarter started. You don’t have to do this.”
“I don’t want to move in with Mike,” Nate whispered.
“Nathaniel, this is a very bad idea.”
“It’s only for a couple of months,” Nate said, finding his voice again. “I’ll be fine. Brad’s a good guy, I trust him. He’s gotten to be a real good friend and he looks out for me. He would never hurt me, Henry.”
“What about you hurting yourself?”
Nate raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“You know it’s going to be hard on you, being in the same apartment with Colbert if that’s the way you feel about him.”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel about him because it’s not going to happen,” Nate quickly responded. “Brad is my friend. That’s what I’m going to focus on.”
And with that, Nate returned to packing, his mind made up.
Henry sighed again and went back to his own suitcase. “I still say it’s a bad idea.”
Nate didn’t pause or look up, but he did mutter, “I know.”