The Yarn Defines The Course (Brian-centric, PG)
And once again I fail so HARD. I find myself being in the position of not really wanting to write anything, and I don't wanna force it. So, once again, I'm gonna post a snippet of a longer piece I'm working on. Man, I'm sorry.
But! This is a piece that I so far have a lot of affection for and really hope to finish soon. It's all up in my head, it's just a matter of getting it down on paper. So I hope you'll like this.
The Yarn Defines The Course
Brian-centric | PG | 900 words
Brian found his first scarf in a knitting shop in Berlin. To this day he still wasn't sure how he ended up in a knitting shop, except that when you went shopping with AJ you ended up in strange places.
Even though the scarf was knitted, it didn't feel scratchy when he held it in his hands. Brian could still remember that winter as a child when his mother decided to make scarves for both him and Harold, and he'd spent a miserable two weeks scratching away at his throat until he finally just started stuffing it in his backpack when he left the house. But this scarf was soft, and when he bundled it up it was heavier in his hands than it looked like it should be. It was grey and brown dispersed in a ruby pattern, and the laundry tag stuck out at the bottom near the fringes. When he wrapped it around his neck it felt big and warm, long enough that he could get it all the way up to cover his nose and not have to tighten it so much that he couldn't breathe.
"I'm getting this," he said as he once again removed the scarf and rolled it into a ball.
AJ peered over the mounds of yarn on the other side of the table where he was scrutinizing a pair of pink earmuffs. "Cool," he said, and when he nodded Brian could see his own reflection in AJ's sunglasses bop up and down. "It's getting pretty chilly here. In fucking September, man, I don't know how these people can stand it."
"They probably don't know how you can stand a tropical Christmas," Brian said, sticking a hand in his pocket to retrieve his money. He just hoped he'd grabbed enough D-marks from the hotel room ashtray he'd dumped all his coins and bills in. "I know I don't."
"Man was not meant to freeze," AJ said, and pointedly stuck the earmuffs on his head.
When they got back to the hotel, still talking about the cashier at the knitting shop who AJ kept insisting had been giving Brian clear signals ("I'm telling you, girls over here dig a guy with an accent," he said enthusiastically, and Brian rolled his eyes), they walked into their hotel room to find Nick on the floor in front of the TV.
"Um," AJ said. "And you got in here how?"
Nick didn't even look away from the screen. His thumbs were flying back and forth on the Nintendo controller like they were on fire. "Kevin let me in," he said absently. "Used the master key. Him and Howie went out, and I'm all done with homework so I wanted to hang with you guys when you got back."
Brian toed off his sneakers and removed his new scarf as AJ said, "Aw man, not again. What is that, the fifth time they've gone out this week?"
"Ah, the wild youth," Brian sighed, and threw a grin at AJ over his shoulder as he went to dump his backpack on his bed. "It'll be your turn in a couple of months. Just hang tight."
"Yeah, but then I get to go back home and wait three more years," AJ grumbled, raking a hand through his hair. Brian watched him as he rolled up his scarf. "Assuming we ever actually get to go home again … ah, fuck it. Nick, get a second controller out, man, tonight's the night I beat you."
AJ walked into the bathroom before he could hear Nick's answering snort, and it was so unassumingly derogatory, like the possibility was so out of Nick's realm of possibility that it was barely worth responding to, that Brian had to bite back a smile. He walked over to Nick and sat down next to him, mirroring his cross-legged position. He bumped his shoulder into Nick's, and Nick paused the game to grin at him.
"What'd you get?" he asked, bumping Brian's shoulder back. His head looked too small for his body in the oversized t-shirt he was wearing, and Brian knew how much Nick worried if he'd ever grow out of this awkward stage and not trip over limbs that were growing so fast he couldn't catch up. Knew because Nick sometimes talked to him about it, his voice small and thin in the darkness of their shared hotel room at night.
Brian held up the bundled scarf he still had in his hands. "Just this."
Nick raised an eyebrow and touched the fringes that stuck out at the bottom. "Cool," he ended up saying, the way he always did when Brian showed him new stuff he'd bought. He rubbed at his arms like an absent-minded afterthought. "It's been getting colder in the hotel rooms lately too, have you noticed?"
"Yeah?" Brian said, watching Nick. He looked at his scarf as Nick started up the game again, and without a word he unfurled it and looped it carefully around Nick's neck.
Nick turned surprised eyes on him. "Oh, I didn't mean-"
"I know," Brian said mildly, wrapping it two more times around Nick's neck before tying a loose knot with the ends. Once he was done, he sat back and smiled. "But it looks good on you. I can always get another one."
Nick's lips quirked up slightly in pleased confusion. "Thanks," he said.
"Anytime." Brian picked up the second controller and plugged the cord in, his smile slipping seamlessly into a grin. "Wanna mess with AJ's controller before he comes back out?"
(more coming soon!)
But! This is a piece that I so far have a lot of affection for and really hope to finish soon. It's all up in my head, it's just a matter of getting it down on paper. So I hope you'll like this.
The Yarn Defines The Course
Brian-centric | PG | 900 words
Brian found his first scarf in a knitting shop in Berlin. To this day he still wasn't sure how he ended up in a knitting shop, except that when you went shopping with AJ you ended up in strange places.
Even though the scarf was knitted, it didn't feel scratchy when he held it in his hands. Brian could still remember that winter as a child when his mother decided to make scarves for both him and Harold, and he'd spent a miserable two weeks scratching away at his throat until he finally just started stuffing it in his backpack when he left the house. But this scarf was soft, and when he bundled it up it was heavier in his hands than it looked like it should be. It was grey and brown dispersed in a ruby pattern, and the laundry tag stuck out at the bottom near the fringes. When he wrapped it around his neck it felt big and warm, long enough that he could get it all the way up to cover his nose and not have to tighten it so much that he couldn't breathe.
"I'm getting this," he said as he once again removed the scarf and rolled it into a ball.
AJ peered over the mounds of yarn on the other side of the table where he was scrutinizing a pair of pink earmuffs. "Cool," he said, and when he nodded Brian could see his own reflection in AJ's sunglasses bop up and down. "It's getting pretty chilly here. In fucking September, man, I don't know how these people can stand it."
"They probably don't know how you can stand a tropical Christmas," Brian said, sticking a hand in his pocket to retrieve his money. He just hoped he'd grabbed enough D-marks from the hotel room ashtray he'd dumped all his coins and bills in. "I know I don't."
"Man was not meant to freeze," AJ said, and pointedly stuck the earmuffs on his head.
When they got back to the hotel, still talking about the cashier at the knitting shop who AJ kept insisting had been giving Brian clear signals ("I'm telling you, girls over here dig a guy with an accent," he said enthusiastically, and Brian rolled his eyes), they walked into their hotel room to find Nick on the floor in front of the TV.
"Um," AJ said. "And you got in here how?"
Nick didn't even look away from the screen. His thumbs were flying back and forth on the Nintendo controller like they were on fire. "Kevin let me in," he said absently. "Used the master key. Him and Howie went out, and I'm all done with homework so I wanted to hang with you guys when you got back."
Brian toed off his sneakers and removed his new scarf as AJ said, "Aw man, not again. What is that, the fifth time they've gone out this week?"
"Ah, the wild youth," Brian sighed, and threw a grin at AJ over his shoulder as he went to dump his backpack on his bed. "It'll be your turn in a couple of months. Just hang tight."
"Yeah, but then I get to go back home and wait three more years," AJ grumbled, raking a hand through his hair. Brian watched him as he rolled up his scarf. "Assuming we ever actually get to go home again … ah, fuck it. Nick, get a second controller out, man, tonight's the night I beat you."
AJ walked into the bathroom before he could hear Nick's answering snort, and it was so unassumingly derogatory, like the possibility was so out of Nick's realm of possibility that it was barely worth responding to, that Brian had to bite back a smile. He walked over to Nick and sat down next to him, mirroring his cross-legged position. He bumped his shoulder into Nick's, and Nick paused the game to grin at him.
"What'd you get?" he asked, bumping Brian's shoulder back. His head looked too small for his body in the oversized t-shirt he was wearing, and Brian knew how much Nick worried if he'd ever grow out of this awkward stage and not trip over limbs that were growing so fast he couldn't catch up. Knew because Nick sometimes talked to him about it, his voice small and thin in the darkness of their shared hotel room at night.
Brian held up the bundled scarf he still had in his hands. "Just this."
Nick raised an eyebrow and touched the fringes that stuck out at the bottom. "Cool," he ended up saying, the way he always did when Brian showed him new stuff he'd bought. He rubbed at his arms like an absent-minded afterthought. "It's been getting colder in the hotel rooms lately too, have you noticed?"
"Yeah?" Brian said, watching Nick. He looked at his scarf as Nick started up the game again, and without a word he unfurled it and looped it carefully around Nick's neck.
Nick turned surprised eyes on him. "Oh, I didn't mean-"
"I know," Brian said mildly, wrapping it two more times around Nick's neck before tying a loose knot with the ends. Once he was done, he sat back and smiled. "But it looks good on you. I can always get another one."
Nick's lips quirked up slightly in pleased confusion. "Thanks," he said.
"Anytime." Brian picked up the second controller and plugged the cord in, his smile slipping seamlessly into a grin. "Wanna mess with AJ's controller before he comes back out?"
(more coming soon!)