Fic: The Lighting of a Fire (2/7)
Title: The Lighting of a Fire (2/7)
Word Count: 2400
Pairings: Lipton/Speirs, Winters/Nixon
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own, mean no disrespect
Summary: Teacher!au. Dike finally does something inexcusable, Speirs has feels, Nix and Dick have dinner, and Carwood meets Dike’s replacement.
Notes: Apologies for the long wait. I meant to have this done ages ago, but then I discovered Blue Bloods, in which Sgt. Donnie is just fabulous. He’s really rough in it, though, more than Lip usually is, so if Lip seems kind of soft here, it’s just me overcompensating.
The day Dike really, truly messes up is the day of the Annual District-Wide Poetry Reading. It’s not a difficult field trip, really, but it is tradition and has been for four years, ever since Dick started the thing in his first year at the school. It’s a day when all the schools in the district bring their junior literature classes together and allow them to hear local poets read their work aloud. It’s one of Dick’s finest contributions to the school, he thinks. Nix disagrees, but Nix is something of a philistine, so that’s not unexpected. It’s also not unexpected that Dike manages to mess up, but that doesn’t mean Dick’s not livid when he finds out.
The thing is, Dick went over the whole thing with Dike at least three times. The host school this year is only two towns over. All Dike had to do was take two headcounts- one before leaving the school and one before coming back- and keep the kids under control during the reading. Dike had seemed to understand all that, nodding along and yawning in that way he does. So it’s beyond Dick, really, how the man managed to leave five of his students behind.
Dick gets the call at 2:15, fifteen minutes before the school day is over. The bus with all the kids is supposed to be back by that point so that those kids who take busses home can catch them. That’s what it said in the permission form and that’s what needs to be done. It’s going to be a close call, probably, but he’s not worried. That is, until Nix pages him on the intercom with a terse, “Dick, there’s an emergency on line one for you.”
Nix sounds worried, and that’s what really catches Dick’s attention. Emergencies in the generally-accepted definition of the word tend to amuse Nix. If Nix is concerned, it’s probably reason enough to panic. But panicking never helps anything, so Dick takes a deep breath and picks up his phone.
“Dick Winters,” he says, calmly.
“Principal Winters?” The voice on the other end is young, almost definitely a student. He can’t tell who it is, but they sound pretty upset.
“Yes?” He pitches his voice low, soothing. “How can I help you?”
“Um, this is Popeye Wynn. I’m real sorry, sir, but we were at the, the poetry reading today and now we’ve been left behind and I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to get left behind but the bus was just gone and now we can’t get home.”
It’s exactly what Dick doesn’t want to hear. He doesn’t even know how this could have happened. Everything in him wants to grab his keys and run for his car, but he knows that isn’t going to work. Another plan is already forming in his mind, though. “All right, Popeye. Calm down. Everything’s going to be okay. How many of you are there and where are you specifically?”
“There’s five of us, sir. We’re in the auditorium, still.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I’m going to hang up now and I’m going to call the main office of the school. Someone is going to come find you guys and stay with you while I arrange for you to be picked up. I’m going to need you guys to just stay put, okay?”
“Yes, sir. We can do that, sir.” Popeye sounds relieved rather than on the verge of tears, so that’s one problem taken care of, at least.
Dick hangs up and clicks the intercom. “Nix,” he says, and hopes his voice conveys his urgency. “I’m going to need the number for the main office of Douglas MacArthur High School.”
Nix relays it within a minute. The other school’s principal sounds pretty incredulous about the whole thing, but promises to send one his teachers to find the kids, so that’s two problems down. Now the only thing left to do is arrange for someone to go pick them up. Dick knows just the man for the job.
Carwood gets called out of his class with five minutes until the last bell. It’s slightly odd, but Nix sounded pretty tense on the phone, so he just puts Foley in charge of the class and heads down to the office, where Nix ushers him straight into Dick’s office. He steps inside and is shocked to see Dick full-out yelling at Dike. It’s odd, to say the least, because Carwood’s never heard Dick even raise his voice before. Dike’s pale and shaky, but there’s something blank in his eyes, too, like he’s not really in the room.
When Dick sees Carwood, he breaks off, mid-sentence and switches gears almost immediately.
“Lipton,” he says, and he’s not shouting anymore, but he still sounds angry beyond belief. “I need you to take one of the school vans to MacArthur. Five of our students have been left there without supervision and must be brought home as soon as possible. This is an emergency.”
He doesn’t explain the circumstances that brought about five kids being left alone at another school, but Carwood’s heard his kids talking excitedly about the poetry field trip all week. He can put the pieces together easily enough. “Yes, sir,” he says and hurries off to the bus garage. The bus mechanics seem to have been informed of his mission, because there’s a van already out and ready by the time he gets there.
Carwood doesn’t exactly break the speed limit getting to MacArthur, but he cuts it pretty close. He can just imagine how those poor kids feel, all alone at a school that isn’t theirs with people they don’t know. Still, though, as bad as this situation is, some good of it might come in the long run. The school board can’t just ignore Dike’s faults, not now that he’s done something like this. Surely they’ll have to bring someone else in to finish the year. Maybe Principal Winters will even get some say in it, this time.
Children always fidget when he looks directly at them, Ron knows, especially for an extended period of time. These children, the ones who were left behind by their incompetent teacher, they’re especially fidgety. It’s nerves, probably. Ron doesn’t get them, often, but he knows most people feel them all the time, especially in unknown situations like the one these kids are in. One of them tried to defuse the situation by beginning a conversation about the poetry reading, but he broke off into nervous giggles after Ron watched him for long enough. He’d even smiled at the kid, but that made things worse, just like it always does.
The children are all silent and scared by the time their teacher hurries in. He’s not the lazy, stupid teacher Ron had made note of during the reading. He’s someone else, someone new, and the first thing he does is check up on each of the kids, talking to them all in turn. He even actually listens to their answers. This man cares, Ron can tell.
He does feel something, then, but it’s not nervousness. Instead, it’s the dark, aching want that happens sometimes. The man is undoubtedly attractive, though Ron’s seen better, but that’s not what makes him desirable. It’s probably his smile that does it. When he’s sure the children are all okay, he smiles at them, and it’s so sweet and soft that Ron can’t help but to want it for himself. This man cares about these children. It’s been a long, long time since someone looked at him that way.
When he’s done with the kids, the man comes to stand in front of Ron. His eyes are very nice: gentle, like the rest of him. The scar running across his cheek should make him look rugged, but even that seems soft. “Carwood Lipton,” he says, holding out a hand for Ron to shake.
Ron takes it. “Speirs,” he says, curtly, the only way he knows how.
Carwood (and it’s a nice name, too) smiles at Ron. It’s a polite smile, not the same as the caring one he’d given the kids, but it’s still so very soft. “Thank you, Mr. Speirs. I really appreciate you looking out for these guys. We have to get back, but seriously, thank you.”
Then he leaves. He smiles and nods and leaves, taking the fidgeting children with him. Except, they’re not fidgeting anymore, and Ron knows why. Anyone who’s in the presence of a man like that would never need to fidget.
Nix waits an extra half-hour for Dick to be done with his meeting with Sink, the head of the school board. He could be at home by now, he knows. Dick knows how to lock up after himself. He’s even done it on occasion. But they have dinner plans, and nothing gets in the way of dinner with Dick.
Sink’s a tough bastard, to be sure, but he’s fair. He knows that this kind of fuck-up can’t go unpunished. There’s no way in hell the school board will be able to keep Dike on after this afternoon, no matter what kind of connections he has. As soon as this meeting’s over and the termination of Dike’s contract has been finalized, Nix is going to make some very satisfying phone calls. After dinner, obviously.
Finally, finally, Sink storms out of the room. Nix would hold the door for him, but, well, he’s off the clock. It’s just as well, anyway, because Sink doesn’t even look at him, just trumps off to have what’s probably going to be a very difficult discussion with the rest of the board. Nix watches him go, mostly amused but a little bit pitying, too. Sink’s not too a bad guy, really.
When he looks back, Dick is leaning against his office door. It’s a position Nix has come to associate with hard days at the office. Hopefully, with Dike gone, there’ll be less of those. “Come on,” he says, grabbing for his coat. “Let’s get Chinese.”
Nix would never guess it, if he didn’t know, but Dick is actually really fond of spicy foods. It doesn’t suit his temperament or his complexion, but it’s true. Every time they get Chinese food, Dick gets the hottest, most spicy dish they have. His face always flushes, too, when he eats it. He’s a real sight, with his eyes closed in bliss and his cheeks tinged red. It’s the kind of face he’d probably make in bed. He’s probably a fox in bed, too, Nix thinks. He doesn’t know, obviously, but that’s just the kind of thing best friends can tell about each other. He clears his throat and looks away from Dick’s face. He can feel his own face flush a bit, but that’s just from the General Tso’s.
“Dike’s definitely gone, then?” He asks. They can’t go a meal without talking about work, but Dick lives and breathes the place and Nix wouldn’t even get out of bed if he didn’t have Dick’s passions driving him.
Dick swallows his mouthful of rice, because he’s polite and would never talk with his mouth full. “Definitely. Sink confirmed in the meeting. I just can’t believe he left those kids there. Their parents probably had kittens. You’d better be prepared to take complaints for the next few days.”
“I’m always taking complaints, Dick. I’ve taken at least two complaints a day about Dike since the school year started. It’ll be worth this shitstorm just to get rid of him.”
“You haven’t even heard who’s replacing him yet,” Dick says, with one of his rare mischievous smiles. “You just wait. You’ll be fielding calls from now until May over this appointment.”
That’s pretty ominous, honestly, but Nix knows Dick. The man cares about the kids at school. He won’t do anything that might hurt them, no matter what his smile might suggest. Still, a mystery kills Nix and he spends the rest of the evening trying to get the name out of Dick. Dick’s frustratingly close-lipped, though, and by the time Nix is home, alone, in his bed, he still doesn’t know who Dike’s replacement is.
Carwood gets to school early the next morning. He’s supposed to monitor two morning detentions Shames had given out while he was covering Dike’s classes yesterday. They’re probably baseless, but it’s good policy for Principal Winters to back teachers up when they punish students, especially with something as minor as detention.
He drops his bag off in his room, then decides he has enough time to grab coffee in the teacher’s lounge before the kids show up. Carwood remembers a time when he didn’t drink coffee, but that was before he had to deal with things like morning detention or Norman Dike. By this point, it’s a necessity. The school coffee always tastes slightly burnt, but he grabs a mug, anyway, and pours himself a cup. He’s just about to take a sip when he hears a quiet sound behind him and turns.
It’s the man, the one from yesterday. Speirs, Carwood thinks. He’s watching Carwood with the same intense stare he had yesterday, the one the kids had told him he’d worn the entire time they’d waited for him to show up. It’s a scary look, no doubt about it, but there’s also something in it that makes Carwood pause. Something behind the man’s eyes.
“Hi,” he says, at last, when the man doesn’t speak. “Coffee?”
Speirs nods and brushes past Carwood to get to the machine. He grabs a mug and pours, brings it to his mouth mechanically. He doesn’t even seem to mind that it’s still steaming. Once he takes a sip, he goes back to staring at Carwood.
Another awkward, silent minute passes, where they both stare at each other and drink coffee. Eventually, Carwood realizes he’s going to be late for detention. “I have to go,” he says, apologetically, though he doesn’t even know what he’s apologizing for. “I’ll see you later.” He grabs a quick refill and leaves the room. When he glances back, once he’s in the hallway, the man’s still watching him, silent and staring.
When he reflects on it later, while the kids in detention are doing homework, he realizes the man must just be shy. He never said and Carwood never asked, but he’s probably here as a substitute, today. He’ll be gone by tomorrow and Carwood will never have to have such an awkward silence with anyone else ever again. That’s what really keeps him going until lunch, when he finds out the truth: Speirs isn’t a sub, he’s Dike’s replacement. He’s here to stay.
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Masterpost
Word Count: 2400
Pairings: Lipton/Speirs, Winters/Nixon
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own, mean no disrespect
Summary: Teacher!au. Dike finally does something inexcusable, Speirs has feels, Nix and Dick have dinner, and Carwood meets Dike’s replacement.
Notes: Apologies for the long wait. I meant to have this done ages ago, but then I discovered Blue Bloods, in which Sgt. Donnie is just fabulous. He’s really rough in it, though, more than Lip usually is, so if Lip seems kind of soft here, it’s just me overcompensating.
The day Dike really, truly messes up is the day of the Annual District-Wide Poetry Reading. It’s not a difficult field trip, really, but it is tradition and has been for four years, ever since Dick started the thing in his first year at the school. It’s a day when all the schools in the district bring their junior literature classes together and allow them to hear local poets read their work aloud. It’s one of Dick’s finest contributions to the school, he thinks. Nix disagrees, but Nix is something of a philistine, so that’s not unexpected. It’s also not unexpected that Dike manages to mess up, but that doesn’t mean Dick’s not livid when he finds out.
The thing is, Dick went over the whole thing with Dike at least three times. The host school this year is only two towns over. All Dike had to do was take two headcounts- one before leaving the school and one before coming back- and keep the kids under control during the reading. Dike had seemed to understand all that, nodding along and yawning in that way he does. So it’s beyond Dick, really, how the man managed to leave five of his students behind.
Dick gets the call at 2:15, fifteen minutes before the school day is over. The bus with all the kids is supposed to be back by that point so that those kids who take busses home can catch them. That’s what it said in the permission form and that’s what needs to be done. It’s going to be a close call, probably, but he’s not worried. That is, until Nix pages him on the intercom with a terse, “Dick, there’s an emergency on line one for you.”
Nix sounds worried, and that’s what really catches Dick’s attention. Emergencies in the generally-accepted definition of the word tend to amuse Nix. If Nix is concerned, it’s probably reason enough to panic. But panicking never helps anything, so Dick takes a deep breath and picks up his phone.
“Dick Winters,” he says, calmly.
“Principal Winters?” The voice on the other end is young, almost definitely a student. He can’t tell who it is, but they sound pretty upset.
“Yes?” He pitches his voice low, soothing. “How can I help you?”
“Um, this is Popeye Wynn. I’m real sorry, sir, but we were at the, the poetry reading today and now we’ve been left behind and I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to get left behind but the bus was just gone and now we can’t get home.”
It’s exactly what Dick doesn’t want to hear. He doesn’t even know how this could have happened. Everything in him wants to grab his keys and run for his car, but he knows that isn’t going to work. Another plan is already forming in his mind, though. “All right, Popeye. Calm down. Everything’s going to be okay. How many of you are there and where are you specifically?”
“There’s five of us, sir. We’re in the auditorium, still.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I’m going to hang up now and I’m going to call the main office of the school. Someone is going to come find you guys and stay with you while I arrange for you to be picked up. I’m going to need you guys to just stay put, okay?”
“Yes, sir. We can do that, sir.” Popeye sounds relieved rather than on the verge of tears, so that’s one problem taken care of, at least.
Dick hangs up and clicks the intercom. “Nix,” he says, and hopes his voice conveys his urgency. “I’m going to need the number for the main office of Douglas MacArthur High School.”
Nix relays it within a minute. The other school’s principal sounds pretty incredulous about the whole thing, but promises to send one his teachers to find the kids, so that’s two problems down. Now the only thing left to do is arrange for someone to go pick them up. Dick knows just the man for the job.
Carwood gets called out of his class with five minutes until the last bell. It’s slightly odd, but Nix sounded pretty tense on the phone, so he just puts Foley in charge of the class and heads down to the office, where Nix ushers him straight into Dick’s office. He steps inside and is shocked to see Dick full-out yelling at Dike. It’s odd, to say the least, because Carwood’s never heard Dick even raise his voice before. Dike’s pale and shaky, but there’s something blank in his eyes, too, like he’s not really in the room.
When Dick sees Carwood, he breaks off, mid-sentence and switches gears almost immediately.
“Lipton,” he says, and he’s not shouting anymore, but he still sounds angry beyond belief. “I need you to take one of the school vans to MacArthur. Five of our students have been left there without supervision and must be brought home as soon as possible. This is an emergency.”
He doesn’t explain the circumstances that brought about five kids being left alone at another school, but Carwood’s heard his kids talking excitedly about the poetry field trip all week. He can put the pieces together easily enough. “Yes, sir,” he says and hurries off to the bus garage. The bus mechanics seem to have been informed of his mission, because there’s a van already out and ready by the time he gets there.
Carwood doesn’t exactly break the speed limit getting to MacArthur, but he cuts it pretty close. He can just imagine how those poor kids feel, all alone at a school that isn’t theirs with people they don’t know. Still, though, as bad as this situation is, some good of it might come in the long run. The school board can’t just ignore Dike’s faults, not now that he’s done something like this. Surely they’ll have to bring someone else in to finish the year. Maybe Principal Winters will even get some say in it, this time.
Children always fidget when he looks directly at them, Ron knows, especially for an extended period of time. These children, the ones who were left behind by their incompetent teacher, they’re especially fidgety. It’s nerves, probably. Ron doesn’t get them, often, but he knows most people feel them all the time, especially in unknown situations like the one these kids are in. One of them tried to defuse the situation by beginning a conversation about the poetry reading, but he broke off into nervous giggles after Ron watched him for long enough. He’d even smiled at the kid, but that made things worse, just like it always does.
The children are all silent and scared by the time their teacher hurries in. He’s not the lazy, stupid teacher Ron had made note of during the reading. He’s someone else, someone new, and the first thing he does is check up on each of the kids, talking to them all in turn. He even actually listens to their answers. This man cares, Ron can tell.
He does feel something, then, but it’s not nervousness. Instead, it’s the dark, aching want that happens sometimes. The man is undoubtedly attractive, though Ron’s seen better, but that’s not what makes him desirable. It’s probably his smile that does it. When he’s sure the children are all okay, he smiles at them, and it’s so sweet and soft that Ron can’t help but to want it for himself. This man cares about these children. It’s been a long, long time since someone looked at him that way.
When he’s done with the kids, the man comes to stand in front of Ron. His eyes are very nice: gentle, like the rest of him. The scar running across his cheek should make him look rugged, but even that seems soft. “Carwood Lipton,” he says, holding out a hand for Ron to shake.
Ron takes it. “Speirs,” he says, curtly, the only way he knows how.
Carwood (and it’s a nice name, too) smiles at Ron. It’s a polite smile, not the same as the caring one he’d given the kids, but it’s still so very soft. “Thank you, Mr. Speirs. I really appreciate you looking out for these guys. We have to get back, but seriously, thank you.”
Then he leaves. He smiles and nods and leaves, taking the fidgeting children with him. Except, they’re not fidgeting anymore, and Ron knows why. Anyone who’s in the presence of a man like that would never need to fidget.
Nix waits an extra half-hour for Dick to be done with his meeting with Sink, the head of the school board. He could be at home by now, he knows. Dick knows how to lock up after himself. He’s even done it on occasion. But they have dinner plans, and nothing gets in the way of dinner with Dick.
Sink’s a tough bastard, to be sure, but he’s fair. He knows that this kind of fuck-up can’t go unpunished. There’s no way in hell the school board will be able to keep Dike on after this afternoon, no matter what kind of connections he has. As soon as this meeting’s over and the termination of Dike’s contract has been finalized, Nix is going to make some very satisfying phone calls. After dinner, obviously.
Finally, finally, Sink storms out of the room. Nix would hold the door for him, but, well, he’s off the clock. It’s just as well, anyway, because Sink doesn’t even look at him, just trumps off to have what’s probably going to be a very difficult discussion with the rest of the board. Nix watches him go, mostly amused but a little bit pitying, too. Sink’s not too a bad guy, really.
When he looks back, Dick is leaning against his office door. It’s a position Nix has come to associate with hard days at the office. Hopefully, with Dike gone, there’ll be less of those. “Come on,” he says, grabbing for his coat. “Let’s get Chinese.”
Nix would never guess it, if he didn’t know, but Dick is actually really fond of spicy foods. It doesn’t suit his temperament or his complexion, but it’s true. Every time they get Chinese food, Dick gets the hottest, most spicy dish they have. His face always flushes, too, when he eats it. He’s a real sight, with his eyes closed in bliss and his cheeks tinged red. It’s the kind of face he’d probably make in bed. He’s probably a fox in bed, too, Nix thinks. He doesn’t know, obviously, but that’s just the kind of thing best friends can tell about each other. He clears his throat and looks away from Dick’s face. He can feel his own face flush a bit, but that’s just from the General Tso’s.
“Dike’s definitely gone, then?” He asks. They can’t go a meal without talking about work, but Dick lives and breathes the place and Nix wouldn’t even get out of bed if he didn’t have Dick’s passions driving him.
Dick swallows his mouthful of rice, because he’s polite and would never talk with his mouth full. “Definitely. Sink confirmed in the meeting. I just can’t believe he left those kids there. Their parents probably had kittens. You’d better be prepared to take complaints for the next few days.”
“I’m always taking complaints, Dick. I’ve taken at least two complaints a day about Dike since the school year started. It’ll be worth this shitstorm just to get rid of him.”
“You haven’t even heard who’s replacing him yet,” Dick says, with one of his rare mischievous smiles. “You just wait. You’ll be fielding calls from now until May over this appointment.”
That’s pretty ominous, honestly, but Nix knows Dick. The man cares about the kids at school. He won’t do anything that might hurt them, no matter what his smile might suggest. Still, a mystery kills Nix and he spends the rest of the evening trying to get the name out of Dick. Dick’s frustratingly close-lipped, though, and by the time Nix is home, alone, in his bed, he still doesn’t know who Dike’s replacement is.
Carwood gets to school early the next morning. He’s supposed to monitor two morning detentions Shames had given out while he was covering Dike’s classes yesterday. They’re probably baseless, but it’s good policy for Principal Winters to back teachers up when they punish students, especially with something as minor as detention.
He drops his bag off in his room, then decides he has enough time to grab coffee in the teacher’s lounge before the kids show up. Carwood remembers a time when he didn’t drink coffee, but that was before he had to deal with things like morning detention or Norman Dike. By this point, it’s a necessity. The school coffee always tastes slightly burnt, but he grabs a mug, anyway, and pours himself a cup. He’s just about to take a sip when he hears a quiet sound behind him and turns.
It’s the man, the one from yesterday. Speirs, Carwood thinks. He’s watching Carwood with the same intense stare he had yesterday, the one the kids had told him he’d worn the entire time they’d waited for him to show up. It’s a scary look, no doubt about it, but there’s also something in it that makes Carwood pause. Something behind the man’s eyes.
“Hi,” he says, at last, when the man doesn’t speak. “Coffee?”
Speirs nods and brushes past Carwood to get to the machine. He grabs a mug and pours, brings it to his mouth mechanically. He doesn’t even seem to mind that it’s still steaming. Once he takes a sip, he goes back to staring at Carwood.
Another awkward, silent minute passes, where they both stare at each other and drink coffee. Eventually, Carwood realizes he’s going to be late for detention. “I have to go,” he says, apologetically, though he doesn’t even know what he’s apologizing for. “I’ll see you later.” He grabs a quick refill and leaves the room. When he glances back, once he’s in the hallway, the man’s still watching him, silent and staring.
When he reflects on it later, while the kids in detention are doing homework, he realizes the man must just be shy. He never said and Carwood never asked, but he’s probably here as a substitute, today. He’ll be gone by tomorrow and Carwood will never have to have such an awkward silence with anyone else ever again. That’s what really keeps him going until lunch, when he finds out the truth: Speirs isn’t a sub, he’s Dike’s replacement. He’s here to stay.
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Masterpost