FNL Laundrylist Challenge #9, prompt 2
Title: Que Sera Sera
Rating: Teen
Characters: Jackie, Bo, Billy, Tim
Author's Note: Bo and Tim --- So, now that there's no State as an excuse, and MILF looks like she can't keep her hands off the Riggins boys for too long, how's the avoiding thing going to work. Or will MILF just have to suck it while Tim and Bo hang out and Tim is all backwards capped and cheerful?.
And yes, I kinda do like that sappy song -- that philosophy has gotten me through some considerbable bumps in the road.
Leagalese: FNL is copyright its respective owners. This is a labor of love, not money.
It's Saturday afternoon and Jackie's doing the dishes and pondering the load of laundry she's got to get started when Bo comes flying back in the house and goes tearing through something in his room and races back out again about 5 minutes later.
Sigh. Another mess for her to deal with later. And then there's work. And classes.
(And Tim.)
(And Billy.)
Her hands clench angrily around the fork she's holding. The water's still so hot that she can feel it through her gloves.
It's been about a month since she broke it off with Tim, and Jackie's still furious with herself for sleeping with him in the first place. Furious with herself on so many levels she doesn't know where to start. Furious because, on one level, giving in was the right thing. She needed it. Needed what Tim gave her. Needed those shining moments of feeling like a goddess. Needed what she saw in those cats eyes of his, reveling in the knowledge that Tim could have just about any girl he wanted and he chose her -- he wanted her. Needed to know what he was like -- all hat and no cattle? clumsy kid? surprisingly good? -- so yeah, basic curiosity there. And Jackie knows she would've been a raving horny bitch if she hadn't, and might have ended up climbing into bed with another Hank some night after spending the day wet and aching with need and her hand just wasn't going to be enough to take the edge off.
So, yeah, she had had her reasons and they were good reasons, real reasons and she wasn't going to lie to herself about that.
But then there were all the reasons she shouldn't have done it and she knew it going in. Bo. The fact that it was fucking illegal. The fact that a 17 year old kid like Tim wasn't ready to be a father -- he had the seeds of a good one in him, but an acorn's not an oak -- and as eager as he was to try, it was too much, too soon and not fair to him in the end. Even if he didn't quite see it that way at first.
(Maybe some day he'd thank her. But right now?)
And on top of that ... after getting to know Billy at State and spending more time with him as the weeks passed? He ... he's a good man. Rough around the edges and all, but he's good with Bo the way that Tim is, and, well, that might -- he might be worth pursuing. And Bo likes him but doesn't hero-worship him the way he does Tim and ... he can't break Bo's heart the way Tim can because of that. And he's steady, seasoned in a way that Tim isn't. Yet.
Sigh. There's a whole bunch of pluses and minuses that go with starting a relationship with Billy and all of them lead right back to Bo and Tim.
Jackie realizes she's been scrubbing the same damn fork for the past 5 minutes. She flings it in the water with a disgusted groan.
(God, why does everything have to be so complicated?)
Bo's earsplitting shriek of laughter pulls her back to the here and now.
The sound of Billy's laugh and then the sound of his and Tim's voices has her peeling off the gloves and sends her scurrying to the door.
Jackie stands there, slack jawed for several moments. She doesn't quite have words for the spectacle taking place on her front lawn.
Bo's dressed in his Superman costume from last Halloween.
Tim Riggins (ball cap backwards, hands a bit grimy from working on his truck) has death grip on Bo's wrist and ankle and he's spinning Bo around in great arcing circles, lowering and raising his arms slightly as he whips around.
And Bo's screaming in delight --"I'm Superman! Whee!"
And Tim and Billy are laughing their fool asses off and then Tim staggers a bit and somehow manages to pull Bo around so that Bo lands on top of him when he falls on his ass. Bo shrieks more when Tim tickles him a bit, then he says, "Okay, little man, let me up."
"But I want more!" Bo says, jumping off, using Tim's stomach as the launch pad in a way that can't be comfortable no matter how buff you are.
"I'm sure you do," Tim says, climbing unsteadily to his feet, "But I'm a little dizzy at the moment." His reeling, wobbly lurch over to where Billy is makes Jackie smile. "It's Billy's turn now."
"It is?" Billy says, reaching for his drink. (A Coke Jackie notes with relief.)
"I dunno," Bo says. "He's not as big and strong as you are, Tim Riggins."
Billy spit-takes and says, "And who do you think did this for Tim when he was your age? Who do you think taught him everything he knows?" He stands up and says, "Come here, squirt."
Tim, still a bit dizzy, flops gracelessly into the lawn chair that Billy vacated. "Yeah, you did it to me. Right into some bushes the last time if I remember rightly."
"You're not going to put me into the bushes are you?" Bo asks, eyes huge.
Billy ruffles his hair and says, "No, Bo, because you're not as big and heavy as Tim was last time I tried this. He was 10 and I was showing off for a girl."
Bo smiles and says, "Well, I'm nine and there aren't any girls for you to show off for, so I guess I'm safe."
Both Billy and Tim snicker at that.
And then Billy picks him up and begins spinning and Bo screams with renewed joy.
Jackie walks over and sits on the cement of the driveway about a yard from Tim.
He looks over and smiles at her and Jackie smiles back, and their eyes lock and a hint of sadness creeps into Tim's gaze. But it's gone a split second later when he throws his head back and howls with laughter and mocks Billy for how red his face is, and Billy gasps back that if Tim keeps that up he's sleeping on the back porch tonight.
When Bo and Billy crash land, Tim gets up and goes over and says, "Hey, let me show you something else Billy taught me -- another way for you to fly." And Bo bounces up and down he's so happy.
Tim and Billy are good for Bo. There's no two ways about that. Other than packing the bags and moving? There's not a way to get the Rigginses out of their lives, not any more. And packing up again would hurt Bo and ....
(God, why does everything have to be so complicated?)
But then, for reasons Jackie can't explain, an old song her mother played a lot pops into her head. She smiles as the refrain coasts through her mind and thinks that maybe that old song was right. What will be, will be. Jackie wraps her arms around her knees and hugs them in close and decides that yeah, it looks like only way out is through, and it's going to be bumpy and awkward and complicated, and that perhaps the best thing to do right now is stop worrying and just leave well enough alone.
Bo whoops as Tim lies on his back, legs straight up with Bo balenced on his stomach on the bottom of Tim's feet and Bo stretches his little arms forward and shouts, "Look at me, Mommy, I'm flying!"
And both Tim and Billy smile as they look up at him.
(And Billy glances over and he's got a gentle smile for her, too. A different smile than any that Tim ever gave her, settling into places Tim's smiles never touched.)
What will be, will be.
It's not perfect, but it's what she has, and she (and Bo) can live with that.
Rating: Teen
Characters: Jackie, Bo, Billy, Tim
Author's Note: Bo and Tim --- So, now that there's no State as an excuse, and MILF looks like she can't keep her hands off the Riggins boys for too long, how's the avoiding thing going to work. Or will MILF just have to suck it while Tim and Bo hang out and Tim is all backwards capped and cheerful?.
And yes, I kinda do like that sappy song -- that philosophy has gotten me through some considerbable bumps in the road.
Leagalese: FNL is copyright its respective owners. This is a labor of love, not money.
It's Saturday afternoon and Jackie's doing the dishes and pondering the load of laundry she's got to get started when Bo comes flying back in the house and goes tearing through something in his room and races back out again about 5 minutes later.
Sigh. Another mess for her to deal with later. And then there's work. And classes.
(And Tim.)
(And Billy.)
Her hands clench angrily around the fork she's holding. The water's still so hot that she can feel it through her gloves.
It's been about a month since she broke it off with Tim, and Jackie's still furious with herself for sleeping with him in the first place. Furious with herself on so many levels she doesn't know where to start. Furious because, on one level, giving in was the right thing. She needed it. Needed what Tim gave her. Needed those shining moments of feeling like a goddess. Needed what she saw in those cats eyes of his, reveling in the knowledge that Tim could have just about any girl he wanted and he chose her -- he wanted her. Needed to know what he was like -- all hat and no cattle? clumsy kid? surprisingly good? -- so yeah, basic curiosity there. And Jackie knows she would've been a raving horny bitch if she hadn't, and might have ended up climbing into bed with another Hank some night after spending the day wet and aching with need and her hand just wasn't going to be enough to take the edge off.
So, yeah, she had had her reasons and they were good reasons, real reasons and she wasn't going to lie to herself about that.
But then there were all the reasons she shouldn't have done it and she knew it going in. Bo. The fact that it was fucking illegal. The fact that a 17 year old kid like Tim wasn't ready to be a father -- he had the seeds of a good one in him, but an acorn's not an oak -- and as eager as he was to try, it was too much, too soon and not fair to him in the end. Even if he didn't quite see it that way at first.
(Maybe some day he'd thank her. But right now?)
And on top of that ... after getting to know Billy at State and spending more time with him as the weeks passed? He ... he's a good man. Rough around the edges and all, but he's good with Bo the way that Tim is, and, well, that might -- he might be worth pursuing. And Bo likes him but doesn't hero-worship him the way he does Tim and ... he can't break Bo's heart the way Tim can because of that. And he's steady, seasoned in a way that Tim isn't. Yet.
Sigh. There's a whole bunch of pluses and minuses that go with starting a relationship with Billy and all of them lead right back to Bo and Tim.
Jackie realizes she's been scrubbing the same damn fork for the past 5 minutes. She flings it in the water with a disgusted groan.
(God, why does everything have to be so complicated?)
Bo's earsplitting shriek of laughter pulls her back to the here and now.
The sound of Billy's laugh and then the sound of his and Tim's voices has her peeling off the gloves and sends her scurrying to the door.
Jackie stands there, slack jawed for several moments. She doesn't quite have words for the spectacle taking place on her front lawn.
Bo's dressed in his Superman costume from last Halloween.
Tim Riggins (ball cap backwards, hands a bit grimy from working on his truck) has death grip on Bo's wrist and ankle and he's spinning Bo around in great arcing circles, lowering and raising his arms slightly as he whips around.
And Bo's screaming in delight --"I'm Superman! Whee!"
And Tim and Billy are laughing their fool asses off and then Tim staggers a bit and somehow manages to pull Bo around so that Bo lands on top of him when he falls on his ass. Bo shrieks more when Tim tickles him a bit, then he says, "Okay, little man, let me up."
"But I want more!" Bo says, jumping off, using Tim's stomach as the launch pad in a way that can't be comfortable no matter how buff you are.
"I'm sure you do," Tim says, climbing unsteadily to his feet, "But I'm a little dizzy at the moment." His reeling, wobbly lurch over to where Billy is makes Jackie smile. "It's Billy's turn now."
"It is?" Billy says, reaching for his drink. (A Coke Jackie notes with relief.)
"I dunno," Bo says. "He's not as big and strong as you are, Tim Riggins."
Billy spit-takes and says, "And who do you think did this for Tim when he was your age? Who do you think taught him everything he knows?" He stands up and says, "Come here, squirt."
Tim, still a bit dizzy, flops gracelessly into the lawn chair that Billy vacated. "Yeah, you did it to me. Right into some bushes the last time if I remember rightly."
"You're not going to put me into the bushes are you?" Bo asks, eyes huge.
Billy ruffles his hair and says, "No, Bo, because you're not as big and heavy as Tim was last time I tried this. He was 10 and I was showing off for a girl."
Bo smiles and says, "Well, I'm nine and there aren't any girls for you to show off for, so I guess I'm safe."
Both Billy and Tim snicker at that.
And then Billy picks him up and begins spinning and Bo screams with renewed joy.
Jackie walks over and sits on the cement of the driveway about a yard from Tim.
He looks over and smiles at her and Jackie smiles back, and their eyes lock and a hint of sadness creeps into Tim's gaze. But it's gone a split second later when he throws his head back and howls with laughter and mocks Billy for how red his face is, and Billy gasps back that if Tim keeps that up he's sleeping on the back porch tonight.
When Bo and Billy crash land, Tim gets up and goes over and says, "Hey, let me show you something else Billy taught me -- another way for you to fly." And Bo bounces up and down he's so happy.
Tim and Billy are good for Bo. There's no two ways about that. Other than packing the bags and moving? There's not a way to get the Rigginses out of their lives, not any more. And packing up again would hurt Bo and ....
(God, why does everything have to be so complicated?)
But then, for reasons Jackie can't explain, an old song her mother played a lot pops into her head. She smiles as the refrain coasts through her mind and thinks that maybe that old song was right. What will be, will be. Jackie wraps her arms around her knees and hugs them in close and decides that yeah, it looks like only way out is through, and it's going to be bumpy and awkward and complicated, and that perhaps the best thing to do right now is stop worrying and just leave well enough alone.
Bo whoops as Tim lies on his back, legs straight up with Bo balenced on his stomach on the bottom of Tim's feet and Bo stretches his little arms forward and shouts, "Look at me, Mommy, I'm flying!"
And both Tim and Billy smile as they look up at him.
(And Billy glances over and he's got a gentle smile for her, too. A different smile than any that Tim ever gave her, settling into places Tim's smiles never touched.)
What will be, will be.
It's not perfect, but it's what she has, and she (and Bo) can live with that.