Fic: Eyes to See (Brotherhood II, Harlan/Marcus, PG)
A couple weeks ago I was toying with the idea of not posting the next six parts of this series until they were all written. At the time I was well and truly stuck on the third paragraph of this particular fic, and the direction for the next five parts was pretty different. Then I got halfway through this part, and suddenly the entire series shifted on me. Again. So now I think I'll keep posting part by part as I write them, if only because if I don't I fear I will never actually finish this thing.
Title: Eyes to See
Fandom: Brotherhood II
Pairing: Harlan/Marcus
Rating: PG13
Summary: Marcus has a secret. Harlan wants to know what it is. Part of the Aftermath series.
Twenty-eight days, and yeah, he's counting. Counting the minutes until they're done with school and he doesn't have to hang around by the dorms every morning, waiting for Marcus to show up. Not that he really minds waiting around for Marcus, but he'll like it a lot better when they're waking up next to each other every day. When he has Marcus all to himself and he doesn't have to wonder what's going on with Slayton, because Slayton won't be around anymore.
He catches sight of Marcus coming down the stairs and pushes himself off the low concrete wall at the base of the steps, smirking when Marcus catches his eye and flushes. It's the same thing every morning, Marcus looking surprised and a little embarrassed, like he still can't believe Harlan wants to see him every day.
It's…cute, and Harlan isn't in any hurry for Marcus to get over it. But he is in a hurry for school to be over, because he's got less than three months with Marcus before he goes away to college, and Harlan already knows that's not going to be enough.
"Hey," he says when Marcus reaches him, hand on Marcus' arm to steer him around the side of the building. "So?"
"So what?" Marcus asks. He lets himself be pushed up against the brick, out of sight of the rest of the students leaving the dorm for their first classes of the morning. And he knows no one can see them, but he looks around anyway, and that's just another reason Harlan will be glad when they're done with this place.
"So," Harlan says again, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the corner of Marcus' mouth, "did you talk to your folks?"
He murmurs the words against Marcus' mouth, just barely brushing their lips together before he pulls back. Marcus tries to follow him, but Harlan's hands are still on his shoulders and he holds Marcus hard against the wall.
"Yeah," Marcus answers. His voice is breathy already, hands on Harlan's waist under his jacket and gripping his shirt. "Yeah. I told you, they don't care what I do."
He's not sure if Marcus is just telling him what he wants to hear, but he doesn't argue because as long as Marcus doesn't leave at the end of the year Harlan doesn't care whether or not he cleared it with his parents. "You've gotta go back there before college, though, right? To get your stuff or whatever?"
"I guess." Marcus' fingers dig into Harlan's sides, trying to drag him closer and he's already pulling Harlan's shirt loose, but Harlan's not going to complain. "Most of my stuff's here. It's just clothes and junk."
"So your folks are okay with you not going home before you move all the way across the country."
"I keep telling you, they're not like your parents," Marcus says, and now he sounds kind of pissed. "The less they see me the happier they are."
And he really doesn't get that, but Marcus has said it enough times that Harlan knows he believes it. He thinks it's the reason Marcus chose a school so far away, all the way across the country where Harlan will never see him. "You sure you don't want to stay here and go to Berkeley or something?"
Marcus laughs at that, some of the tension draining out of him and Harlan shifts a little closer to feel the sound vibrating through Marcus' chest. "I already sent in my letter."
"So? There are plenty of colleges in California, Marcus."
"It's a good school."
"What, you can't learn to be a computer geek out here?" Harlan whispers, mouth hovering inches away from Marcus' and when he laughs again Harlan feels it against his skin.
"I always thought a computer geek would be below your standards," Marcus says, fingers still tight around Harlan's shirt and he's going to leave behind a mess of wrinkles. Not that Harlan cares; the only thing he cares about is Marcus, about getting him alone and convincing him once and for all to stay right where he belongs.
"Just goes to show you don't know me as well as you think."
"I know…"
That's as far as Marcus gets before Harlan's kissing him, swallowing the words and then the sound of Marcus' muffled sigh. One hand leaves Marcus' shoulder to slide through his hair, tilting his head just a little until their mouths are fitted perfectly together. And this is what he's been waiting for all day - since last night when he kissed Marcus one last time and went home alone. He went to sleep thinking about this, and when he woke up there it still was.
His tongue pushes past Marcus' teeth, chasing the taste of cigarettes and mint on Marcus' tongue until he's groaning and thrusting up against Harlan. And they're never going to make it to their first class if they don't stop, but right now Harlan doesn't care. He doesn't care how many detentions they get, not when Marcus is making those needy noises in the back of his throat and trying to get even closer to Harlan.
"Let's blow off classes," Harlan says when they come up for air, ignoring the breathless sound of his own voice. "We can go back to my place, nobody's home."
He can tell Marcus wants to say yes, lips parted to say 'okay' or even 'please'. But there's another part of Marcus, the part that's still a little scared to break the rules even after all this time, and that's the part holding him back. He can see it in Marcus' eyes, knows exactly what he wants and Harlan knows he just needs a little push. A little reassurance, because the worst that will happen is they'll spend a couple afternoons in detention, but they'll be together so it doesn't really matter.
"Come on," he whispers, breath hot against Marcus' skin as he leans in to brush their lips together again, fingers stroking the side of Marcus' neck right at that spot that always drives Marcus crazy. Right on cue he feels a shiver roll through the other boy, lips curving into a slow grin because he knows Marcus is about to cave. "We can be back at my place in twenty minutes, tops."
Faster if the road's clear, because he knows exactly how hard he can push his car and he knows the road from Chandler to home better than anyone. He's driven it often enough, even more in the past couple months because he's always picking Marcus up or dropping him off. But that'll all be over soon, and he wonders if Marcus would just ditch the dorms and come stay with him now. Thinks about suggesting it, but Marcus is pushing off the building and surging forward, mouth pressed hard against Harlan's in a messy kiss, and when Marcus' tongue slides against his own he forgets all about the question.
Forgets everything except holding on, kissing Marcus back with the same desperate force and now he's not so sure they can make it back to his house after all. Marcus' room is a lot closer, and he tears his mouth away to suggest they just go upstairs when he hears a throat clear behind him.
He expects the headmaster, maybe a teacher just waiting for them to turn before the lecture starts. But they're not doing anything wrong, at least nothing Alex and Trini didn't do on campus a thousand times. Harlan feels Marcus tense and then his hands are gone, falling to his sides and leaving Harlan feeling cold and more than a little pissed off. He turns on his heel, pushing Marcus more or less behind him to find himself face to face with…Slayton.
"What the fuck do you want?" Harlan snaps, pissed and frustrated now, because a teacher interrupting them is one thing, but Matt knows better.
"I need to talk to Marcus," Matt answers, not even flinching at the venom in Harlan's voice, and Harlan has to give him points for that. He was always the one who never really seemed scared of anybody, even back when Van Owen was still around and they were still the school losers.
"He's busy."
"It's important."
Harlan rolls his eyes at that, because Marcus has been telling him for a month that there's nothing going on with Slayton. So one of them is lying, but he doesn't know who and more than anything he wants it to be Matt. "You had your chance."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Matt says, expression twisted into something that might be amusement or anger. Maybe both, but Harlan doesn't really care.
"Jesus Slayton, I always knew you were stupid, but this is low even for you," he answers. "Why don't you just fuck off and leave him alone?"
"Harlan," Marcus says from behind him, hand on his shoulder to get his attention and Harlan turns to find Marcus watching him. "Just…give me a minute, okay?"
And he can't be serious, but he sure as hell looks it. Harlan's even less sure of what's going on now, but his heart's beating way too fast and he has a sinking feeling he's missing something big. "Marcus, come on. Since when do you care what that asshole thinks?"
"It's not…" Marcus trails off, letting out a sigh and when he glances at Matt Harlan knows the conversation's over. Whatever it is, it's more important than what they were doing, what they were about to do right out in the open where anyone could see them. It's important enough to make Marcus risk a bunch of questions Harlan knows he's not going to answer later. "Look, just let me find out what he wants. I'll catch up with you."
Catch up with him. Like Harlan's just supposed to go wait by the car like some fucking lackey, hanging around until Marcus has time for him. And maybe their relationship's changed a lot since all this started, but that doesn't mean Harlan likes being lied to. Doesn't mean he likes being dismissed like some…nobody.
"Fuck you, Marcus. Do what you want, I'm going to class."
He shakes off the hand still resting on his arm and walks away, not looking back to see if Marcus is watching him go. It barely takes him any time at all to round the corner of the building, and for a second he thinks about ducking out of sight somewhere to try to catch some of their conversation. But if Marcus doesn't want to tell him what's going on he's not going to eavesdrop like some pussy, so he forces his legs to carry him across the quad and to his first class.
It's not until he drops into his seat and glances out the window that he realizes Marcus didn't even try to stop him.
Title: Eyes to See
Fandom: Brotherhood II
Pairing: Harlan/Marcus
Rating: PG13
Summary: Marcus has a secret. Harlan wants to know what it is. Part of the Aftermath series.
Twenty-eight days, and yeah, he's counting. Counting the minutes until they're done with school and he doesn't have to hang around by the dorms every morning, waiting for Marcus to show up. Not that he really minds waiting around for Marcus, but he'll like it a lot better when they're waking up next to each other every day. When he has Marcus all to himself and he doesn't have to wonder what's going on with Slayton, because Slayton won't be around anymore.
He catches sight of Marcus coming down the stairs and pushes himself off the low concrete wall at the base of the steps, smirking when Marcus catches his eye and flushes. It's the same thing every morning, Marcus looking surprised and a little embarrassed, like he still can't believe Harlan wants to see him every day.
It's…cute, and Harlan isn't in any hurry for Marcus to get over it. But he is in a hurry for school to be over, because he's got less than three months with Marcus before he goes away to college, and Harlan already knows that's not going to be enough.
"Hey," he says when Marcus reaches him, hand on Marcus' arm to steer him around the side of the building. "So?"
"So what?" Marcus asks. He lets himself be pushed up against the brick, out of sight of the rest of the students leaving the dorm for their first classes of the morning. And he knows no one can see them, but he looks around anyway, and that's just another reason Harlan will be glad when they're done with this place.
"So," Harlan says again, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the corner of Marcus' mouth, "did you talk to your folks?"
He murmurs the words against Marcus' mouth, just barely brushing their lips together before he pulls back. Marcus tries to follow him, but Harlan's hands are still on his shoulders and he holds Marcus hard against the wall.
"Yeah," Marcus answers. His voice is breathy already, hands on Harlan's waist under his jacket and gripping his shirt. "Yeah. I told you, they don't care what I do."
He's not sure if Marcus is just telling him what he wants to hear, but he doesn't argue because as long as Marcus doesn't leave at the end of the year Harlan doesn't care whether or not he cleared it with his parents. "You've gotta go back there before college, though, right? To get your stuff or whatever?"
"I guess." Marcus' fingers dig into Harlan's sides, trying to drag him closer and he's already pulling Harlan's shirt loose, but Harlan's not going to complain. "Most of my stuff's here. It's just clothes and junk."
"So your folks are okay with you not going home before you move all the way across the country."
"I keep telling you, they're not like your parents," Marcus says, and now he sounds kind of pissed. "The less they see me the happier they are."
And he really doesn't get that, but Marcus has said it enough times that Harlan knows he believes it. He thinks it's the reason Marcus chose a school so far away, all the way across the country where Harlan will never see him. "You sure you don't want to stay here and go to Berkeley or something?"
Marcus laughs at that, some of the tension draining out of him and Harlan shifts a little closer to feel the sound vibrating through Marcus' chest. "I already sent in my letter."
"So? There are plenty of colleges in California, Marcus."
"It's a good school."
"What, you can't learn to be a computer geek out here?" Harlan whispers, mouth hovering inches away from Marcus' and when he laughs again Harlan feels it against his skin.
"I always thought a computer geek would be below your standards," Marcus says, fingers still tight around Harlan's shirt and he's going to leave behind a mess of wrinkles. Not that Harlan cares; the only thing he cares about is Marcus, about getting him alone and convincing him once and for all to stay right where he belongs.
"Just goes to show you don't know me as well as you think."
"I know…"
That's as far as Marcus gets before Harlan's kissing him, swallowing the words and then the sound of Marcus' muffled sigh. One hand leaves Marcus' shoulder to slide through his hair, tilting his head just a little until their mouths are fitted perfectly together. And this is what he's been waiting for all day - since last night when he kissed Marcus one last time and went home alone. He went to sleep thinking about this, and when he woke up there it still was.
His tongue pushes past Marcus' teeth, chasing the taste of cigarettes and mint on Marcus' tongue until he's groaning and thrusting up against Harlan. And they're never going to make it to their first class if they don't stop, but right now Harlan doesn't care. He doesn't care how many detentions they get, not when Marcus is making those needy noises in the back of his throat and trying to get even closer to Harlan.
"Let's blow off classes," Harlan says when they come up for air, ignoring the breathless sound of his own voice. "We can go back to my place, nobody's home."
He can tell Marcus wants to say yes, lips parted to say 'okay' or even 'please'. But there's another part of Marcus, the part that's still a little scared to break the rules even after all this time, and that's the part holding him back. He can see it in Marcus' eyes, knows exactly what he wants and Harlan knows he just needs a little push. A little reassurance, because the worst that will happen is they'll spend a couple afternoons in detention, but they'll be together so it doesn't really matter.
"Come on," he whispers, breath hot against Marcus' skin as he leans in to brush their lips together again, fingers stroking the side of Marcus' neck right at that spot that always drives Marcus crazy. Right on cue he feels a shiver roll through the other boy, lips curving into a slow grin because he knows Marcus is about to cave. "We can be back at my place in twenty minutes, tops."
Faster if the road's clear, because he knows exactly how hard he can push his car and he knows the road from Chandler to home better than anyone. He's driven it often enough, even more in the past couple months because he's always picking Marcus up or dropping him off. But that'll all be over soon, and he wonders if Marcus would just ditch the dorms and come stay with him now. Thinks about suggesting it, but Marcus is pushing off the building and surging forward, mouth pressed hard against Harlan's in a messy kiss, and when Marcus' tongue slides against his own he forgets all about the question.
Forgets everything except holding on, kissing Marcus back with the same desperate force and now he's not so sure they can make it back to his house after all. Marcus' room is a lot closer, and he tears his mouth away to suggest they just go upstairs when he hears a throat clear behind him.
He expects the headmaster, maybe a teacher just waiting for them to turn before the lecture starts. But they're not doing anything wrong, at least nothing Alex and Trini didn't do on campus a thousand times. Harlan feels Marcus tense and then his hands are gone, falling to his sides and leaving Harlan feeling cold and more than a little pissed off. He turns on his heel, pushing Marcus more or less behind him to find himself face to face with…Slayton.
"What the fuck do you want?" Harlan snaps, pissed and frustrated now, because a teacher interrupting them is one thing, but Matt knows better.
"I need to talk to Marcus," Matt answers, not even flinching at the venom in Harlan's voice, and Harlan has to give him points for that. He was always the one who never really seemed scared of anybody, even back when Van Owen was still around and they were still the school losers.
"He's busy."
"It's important."
Harlan rolls his eyes at that, because Marcus has been telling him for a month that there's nothing going on with Slayton. So one of them is lying, but he doesn't know who and more than anything he wants it to be Matt. "You had your chance."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Matt says, expression twisted into something that might be amusement or anger. Maybe both, but Harlan doesn't really care.
"Jesus Slayton, I always knew you were stupid, but this is low even for you," he answers. "Why don't you just fuck off and leave him alone?"
"Harlan," Marcus says from behind him, hand on his shoulder to get his attention and Harlan turns to find Marcus watching him. "Just…give me a minute, okay?"
And he can't be serious, but he sure as hell looks it. Harlan's even less sure of what's going on now, but his heart's beating way too fast and he has a sinking feeling he's missing something big. "Marcus, come on. Since when do you care what that asshole thinks?"
"It's not…" Marcus trails off, letting out a sigh and when he glances at Matt Harlan knows the conversation's over. Whatever it is, it's more important than what they were doing, what they were about to do right out in the open where anyone could see them. It's important enough to make Marcus risk a bunch of questions Harlan knows he's not going to answer later. "Look, just let me find out what he wants. I'll catch up with you."
Catch up with him. Like Harlan's just supposed to go wait by the car like some fucking lackey, hanging around until Marcus has time for him. And maybe their relationship's changed a lot since all this started, but that doesn't mean Harlan likes being lied to. Doesn't mean he likes being dismissed like some…nobody.
"Fuck you, Marcus. Do what you want, I'm going to class."
He shakes off the hand still resting on his arm and walks away, not looking back to see if Marcus is watching him go. It barely takes him any time at all to round the corner of the building, and for a second he thinks about ducking out of sight somewhere to try to catch some of their conversation. But if Marcus doesn't want to tell him what's going on he's not going to eavesdrop like some pussy, so he forces his legs to carry him across the quad and to his first class.
It's not until he drops into his seat and glances out the window that he realizes Marcus didn't even try to stop him.