Glee Fic : A Series of Moments | CrissColfer RPF | PG-13, 2/10
Title : A Series of Moments (or how Chris and Darren tried to spend as much time with each other as possible)
Author : Jen
Rating : PG-13
Series : Like a Satellite & Chasing Daylight
Word count : ~3500
Warnings : allusion to some naughty stuff, RPF...
Summary : Life is a series of moments. Some last for a moment, some last for a lifetime. These moments change and define us, they stick in our memories for the rest of our lives. Sometimes they are fleeting, seemingly insignificant but the consequences and effect they will have could last forever
Notes : so I apparently can't let go. These are a series of follow ups from the epic saga that began with nasonexyouswine's Gravity Thou Art A Heartless Bitch and ran through our dual narrative fic Like A Satellite & Chasing Daylight (link to part one).
There are ten parts and two "interlude" parts to this, charting what happens after.
Moment 1 : how Chris and Darren finally started to talk to each other
It had been two months. Two long, long months. Two months of Skype and texts and emails. Two months of late night Friday flights and early morning Mondays. Two months of stolen moments and constant reminders that yes, "I love you".
Two months since the Emmy's and things were still going strong. They spoke every day, made every effort with their relationship because it was too important to them to do otherwise.
And as for their friends... Well, Ashley had already texted Darren to tell him that Chris was unbearably loved up and that she almost preferred it when he was moping, Jack had interrupted a Skype chat to tell Chris that next time they were... y'know ...put some music on or something. So Darren had put Second Chances on full blast next time which had led to more of a giggle fit than anything even remotely sexual or intimate.
But it was working. They missed each other like mad of course they did, but they were making it work. They had to. The idea of not having the other in their life, of not being together? Well that hurt. Not again thank you very much.
What amazed Darren more than anything though was the fact that they'd not been forced into confirming their romance. There hadn't even been a whisper of some gossip. This touched them more than they'd ever admit; although the number of people who knew that CrissColfer was indeed on was pretty big, no one was saying a word. The Glee alumni discussed it in emails and in private, their moms made regular phonecalls to each other, their boys and their boy's boy. Darren had even received the odd (badly worded) email from Alex, and Jack was not against butting in on conversations with Chris.
They were wrapped up in their own little bubble, finding their feet in their own little world, and they'd honestly never been happier.
~~
Darren had never been more miserable.
November was setting in with its cold air and long nights, Chris was busy pitching a new movie and so was constantly in meetings, and Chasing Evelyn seemed to be working under the rule of 'anything that can go wrong...' Whenever the actors found their marks, the lighting failed or some part of the set fell down. Whenever the fixtures and fittings were behaving they fluffed their lines or missed cues and marks. On one memorable occasion an extra didn't pay attention to where they were going and ended up pinballing off several set pieces.
(Watching them being stretchered off set to be taken to hospital made Darren want to crawl back into bed and just start today again.)
But it wasn't this which was making Darren miserable. That had started with his ungodly Monday morning alarm. As was now tradition the first thing he did was send Chris a text. Even though he was a few hours behind Darren could usually catch him before he went to bed. And even if he didn't Chris would usually wait up for it. Then there would be the steady stream when Chris was going about his day.
Today? Nothing. Radio silence.
After the tenth failed take Martin ordered a half hour break for people to regroup. Darren had thumbed up his contacts - still getting a thrill at the fact that Chris was back in his recent contact list - and tried to call him.
Tried being the operative word.
The repeated operative word.
Hi, you've reached Chris. Sorry I can't take your call but I'm probably stupidly busy doing other things. Leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as I can. Which, if you're cute, may be pretty quick.
He'd left a couple of messages at first but now he was just hanging up.
"You OK?" Jack asked, dropping into the seat next to Darren.
"I'm beginning to hate today," he muttered.
"Martin's about to have a breakdown. Should make things more interesting."
"I can't get hold of Chris," he sighed, twisting his phone in his fingers.
"Wow. No wonder you're stressed."
"It's not that," he sighed. "He's probably in meetings for this movie deal."
"Gone back to writing movies then?"
"Yeah. He keeps threatening to write me a part, get me back to LA."
"Wondered when that would come up," Jack sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised though."
"Nothing's been decided. I think he's just... talking."
"Yeah, right," Jack scoffed. "Look mate. I'm not stupid. If you weren't under contract for this season would you have come back to Chicago?" Off Darren's look he said, "See? I've got a bet with Sally that within the next ten years you and Chris are married, kids, and you've starred in at least one of his movies."
"How are things with you and Sal?"
"Yeah, great," he grinned. "Actually, seeing as we're talking... I wanted to ask..."
"Yes she can move in," Darren sighed, unlocking his phone screen. "Surprised you didn't ask me after we came back."
"You OK with that?"
"She practically lives with us anyway," he said. "Least this way we can officially split the rent and bills three ways."
"Hey," Jack said, giving Darren a gentle shove. "Chris will call you. I know he will."
"Yeah, I know," Darren breathed. "I just... Really could do with hearing his voice right now."
"I don't know what that boy does to calm you down but..." Jack's comment trailed off when he saw the grin on Darren's face. "Oh that's just... You two are like teenagers, you know that?"
"Your point?"
"Oh... just fucking great," Jack muttered.
"Nope. Just great..."
Jack cut him off by sticking his fingers in his ears and humming loudly. Darren laughed and felt a little bit better.
~~
An hour later and things were still going wrong. The lighting issues had been traced to the wiring and so while that was being seen to Darren tried calling Chris again but it was still going to voicemail. He called Ashley who claimed not to know anything (he strongly suspected she was lying) and all Chris' agents would confirm was that he was working on the movie.
Eventually Martin gave up and they headed off for an early lunch. Darren dragged his feet almost all the way to his trailer, fishing his phone from his pocket. Before he could attempt to call once again the phone sprung into life. Not even attempting to hide his grin, Darren answered the call.
"I have been trying to call you all morning," he said.
"Bad day?" Chris asked.
"The worst," Darren sighed, reaching his trailer and leaning against the wall of it. "Martin's stressed, I'm exhausted..."
"You still not sleeping right?"
"Think I just miss you," Darren laughed.
"I miss you too," Chris said softly in return.
"I am so looking forward to next weekend."
"Yeah, about that..."
The tension and stress that had started to roll off Darren suddenly slammed back. "Chris," he whined, not caring how he sounded.
"Dare..."
"I'm allowed to be annoyed," he said. "We hardly see each other as it is."
"Dare..."
"I know, I know. I know you're not just..." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I love you and I miss you and... I just really miss you."
"I love you back," Chris said. "And are you going to let me speak or just keep going on and on?"
"Yes. Sorry. No. I'm shutting up now." He rested his head against the trailer wall and let his eyes drift shut. "So. How was your morning?"
"What?"
"The movie? Wasn't there a meeting today?"
"Um... no. Not quite."
"Huh?" Darren asked. "Everyone's said you were working on the movie."
"Oh, yeah, just setting up some things."
Darren was too tired and stressed to care. Right now he was talking to Chris and that was all that mattered.
"Dare?" Chris asked, getting his attention.
"Hmmm?"
"Are you going to stand outside your trailer all afternoon?"
Darren's eyes snapped open and he looked around him. "What?" he snapped.
"Well? Are you?"
Seeing no one spying on him left only one option. He pulled open the door and climbed in, spotting the bag on the couch a few seconds before he saw Chris, phone still to his ear and a grin on his face.
"Hi," Chris said right before Darren launched himself across the trailer at him.
"I can't believe you're here," Darren whispered.
"Stupid flight was delayed."
"Don't care."
"I was going to surprise you at home tonight but when Sally picked me up she said things weren't going well on set..."
"Don't care."
"What do you care about?" Chris laughed.
"The fact that you're here."
"Well. I'm pretty glad I'm here too."
Darren breathed in deeply before asking, "When...?"
Chris tightened his hold on Darren, understanding the question immediately. When do you have to go back? When do I start to miss you again? "Thursday," he replied.
"OK, OK," Darren said. Monday to Thursday. That was pretty good all things considered, longer than any weekend they'd had so far.
"Next week."
Darren stopped breathing. "What?"
Chris pulled back to look at Darren. "Next week. They've picked up the movie, I need to finish writing it but I figure I can do that while you're on set. Leaves us evenings and weeken-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as Darren's mouth was pressed against his and he immediately responded, parting his lips in welcome. For a moment they stood there, kissing and enjoying the presence of the other.
"I can't believe you're here," Darren breathed as they finally parted.
"Well I can't keep making you come to me," Chris replied. "And clearing out these ten days was actually pretty easy. Moved a few meetings, cancelled dinner with Ashley..."
"Oh she'll love that!"
"I ditched her for you. She's kinda on team us. So's Sally which is a little weird seeing as she's your..."
"Friend?" Darren finished. "Given she never officially was anything else."
"Yeah, I know, but for a while..."
Darren silenced him with another kiss, his hands cupping his jaw before his fingers snaked up into his hair line. The kiss deepened, the hands moved, and their feet stumbled back towards the small bed.
~~
Darren became aware of consciousness a few seconds before he was aware that he wasn't alone in the bed.
"Morning," Chris said. "Or afternoon. You slept through lunch. Martin's pretty much giving up on today as there's some issue with the wiring? So aside from a few pick ups with the second unit in a few hours..."
Darren hummed in response, letting his eyes drift shut as Chris began to gently comb his fingers through his hair. He let himself relax into it even though his body was still thrumming with want. All they'd manage to do was get off before Darren's post-orgasmic bliss had led to sleep. When Chris' gentle strokes stilled Darren opened one eye to see that Chris was sat up in bed next to him, notebook computer open on his lap.
"Sorry," Chris said when he realised he was being watched. "You were dead to the world. Figured I could get a bit done."
"Sorry," Darren muttered, turning over so he could curl in next to the warm body beside him.
"Shhh," Chris soothed. "It's fine, it's fine. Go back to sleep, love. I'm going to be right here when you wake up."
~~
Jack officially asked Sally to move in that night and the four of them celebrated her acceptance with a Chinese takeaway and several drinks. Jack, bemoaning his early call time, called it a night just after midnight. Sally was tactful for one more drink before she followed her boyfriend into their room. After ten minutes Darren got up and put on a CD just loud enough.
They finished off the food, a couple of beers, and then curled up on the couch, Chris lying between Darren's legs, back against his chest.
"This is perfect," Darren said, pressing a gentle kiss into his hair. "Very domestic of us."
"Isn't it just?" Chris hummed, scraping his nails over Darren's knee cap. "I could get used to this."
"Feel free to stay then."
"It's tempting."
"So are you," Darren said, kissing the top of his head again. "I can't believe that we're actually going to spend some proper time together."
"I'm not having a relationship that exists on weekends only," Chris replied, running his fingers up and down Darren's thigh. "The good thing about writing is that I can do it pretty much anywhere. And there wasn't an anywhere I'd rather be than with you."
Darren wanted to ask Chris to move in, to come up to Chicago and write here. They did movies and TV, same as LA, but he knew that while Chris would want to his heart would be torn. He wouldn't leave his family thousands of miles away. LA was a nice compromise; a few hours' drive, easy to do.
Chicago was out of the question and not for the first time Darren realised that long term he would be going back to LA. The show, Jack and Sally, the life he had here? It was only temporary.
And he was OK with that.
~~
They finished the beers, cleared up, changed the CD and talked into the small hours of the morning. Darren didn't have to be on set until nearly eleven so it meant he was in no rush to go to bed. Even with the alternative meaning in going to bed with his boyfriend.
They seemed to know that sex wasn't on the agenda for tonight. As their time together was so rationed they usually crammed in as much as they could, spending their nights between the sheets making the other scream and cry and beg. But now? They had ten nights together. Ten nights to go to bed together and ten mornings to wake up together.
So they were in no hurry, always returning to the same position on the couch, Darren holding Chris against his chest as if he were stopping him from floating away. Or as if Chris were anchoring him down.
Darren could feel Chris slip into a relaxed state and he wrapped his arms around him a little tighter. "Bed?"
Chris shifted slightly but said nothing.
"C'mon, babe," Darren whispered, pushing him up gently.
~~
They slipped under the cool covers, finding each other with ease. With the same ease Darren spooned around Chris, their hands finding and clasping together. They slept, closely and deeply, until Darren's alarm went off at nine. Then Chris turned to face him, brushed a few stray curls from his forehead before kissing it, and then... well.
~~
Ten days sounds like a really long time. A week and a half. And it is a long time. Days of Chris writing away in Darren's trailer when he was on set, of spending the lunchtime together and then evenings out in the City. They went to gigs, saw a movie, and enjoyed being in the other's space.
A couple of Tweets about them catching up while Chris was in Chicago on business was enough to maintain the plausible deniability around their relationship. Several times over the Ten Days Chris asked if Darren was OK with this, if he wanted to go public. And several times Darren just whispered that all he wanted was Chris and the world could wait a little longer.
~~
Sally and Jack sat on the couch, watching Darren and Chris put the finishing touches on their dinner.
"You see it too, right?" Jack hissed.
"Oh god yes..." Sally replied. "Those two are..."
"Not natural," Jack finished.
Darren and Chris seemed to have slipped into domesticity with an ease that was freaking out their friends. They moved around each other, held out hands for utensils and communicated in half sentences, looks and smiles.
"They're an old married couple," Sally hissed. "Look at them!"
"Dare's going to be crushed next week."
"I know."
"What are we going to do with them?"
Sally exhaled softly and leant in to rest on Jack's shoulder. "I used to miss you when I didn't stay over here, I can't imagine what they feel like. I've tried talking to Darren about it but he just says he's fine."
"He misses Chris. Like... physically misses him."
"Do they plan on stealing weekends and arranging time like this forever?"
"Darren's going to quit," Jack said quietly. When he felt Sally shift in surprise he put a hand on her leg. "He doesn't know it yet, but he will. I know it. He's not going to keep this up and he's not coming back for season three."
"That's a long time away," Sally whispered. "We gotta do something to help."
"Only thing they need is to be together."
"So that's what we need to work on."
Their hushed discussions were interrupted when Darren and Chris brought over their dinner, setting down the bowls on the small coffee table.
"What?" Darren asked, noticing that they were almost staring.
"Just you two," Sally replied with a grin. "And this looks fantastic."
"Plates?" Jack asked.
Chris held up his hands and wiggled his fingers in response. Darren gave a blush that he couldn't hide or prevent which Sally didn't miss. She started laughing which meant that Darren started laughing and soon all four of them were snorting with laughter. At some point Darren pulled Chris in closer and once they had caught their breath they ate, never moving apart.
~~
"I'm gonna miss my flight," Chris muttered.
"I fail to see the downside."
"If I'm not back for this meeting this afternoon they are never going to let me leave the city again."
"OK, so that's a downside."
"Yeah," Chris laughed but he still didn't let go of Darren. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"This week. It's been..."
"Yeah," Darren breathed. "We so need to do this again."
"How do you do this?"
"Do what?"
"Leave? How the hell do you walk away because I really don't want to."
Darren tightened his hold on Chris, breathing in deeply to take in as much of his scent as possible.
"I hate the distance."
"So do I. But it's not going to be forever," Darren said, voicing it for the first time.
"Better not be."
"You were the one who gave me a key. Hope you realise I'm gonna use it."
"No objections here at all."
"You... You're gonna miss your flight," Darren forced himself to say. As they pulled back from the hug he smiled sadly. "Wish I could come see you off."
"You need to get to work," Chris said quietly, "and kissing me goodbye at the airport? Not the best way to keep things quiet."
"This is true," Darren grinned, leaning in for that kiss.
"I'll call you when I get back."
"Better had."
"And I'll see you soon."
"Better had."
Behind them Sally gave a gentle cough. "I hate to break you two up, but Chris we really gotta get going."
"I love you," Darren whispered against Chris' mouth, smiling when he felt the words 'love you back' form against his own.
~~
"I feel bad," Sally said to Chris as her car pulled away from the apartment block.
"You were right, I had to go."
"I didn't mean pulling you two apart. Hell, I was ten seconds away from dousing you both with cold water."
Chris looked at her in confusion. "Then what?"
"My... promise," she said tactfully. "In LA? When I said that if you hurt him...?"
"Oh. Yeah. That."
"Just... promise me something."
"Should I be worried?"
"When he realises that he wants to be in LA with you, make sure it's right for both of you. He'd go with you today if he could but he's got contracts and responsibilities. Not that he'd care but..."
"It would screw up his chances in LA," Chris finished.
"I'm not trying to be cruel, I just... When it happens then it needs to be giving you two the best start possible. And I'm scared that if he jumps in the way that he can do that he won't think about that."
"It's all I think about," Chris admitted, then his eyes went wide when he realised he had. "I mean..."
"Relax," Sally laughed softly. "I won't tell him."
"Thanks."
"I'm actually going to miss you being around."
"It was ten days."
"I don't just mean this trip, and I don't just mean you in the singular sense," she said, her words heavy with meaning.
"I'm not going to steal him from you if that's what you're worried about."
"Good. Because we quite like him up here, and while I know we don't exactly compare to you I'd like to think we have some charms."
"I'm not the possessive boyfriend type," Chris said, "and Darren cares too much about you guys to just walk away."
"Then you have my blessing," Sally grinned.
"I didn't before?"
"I'm a hard woman to win over."
Chris laughed and settled back into the passenger seat. "You really would have been perfect for him," he muttered which prompted more laughter.
For the first time since he moved in he allowed himself to think of his house as home. Because one day soon Darren would be there and he wouldn't have to leave to catch a flight or go away. He would be there and he wouldn't be leaving again.
Author : Jen
Rating : PG-13
Series : Like a Satellite & Chasing Daylight
Word count : ~3500
Warnings : allusion to some naughty stuff, RPF...
Summary : Life is a series of moments. Some last for a moment, some last for a lifetime. These moments change and define us, they stick in our memories for the rest of our lives. Sometimes they are fleeting, seemingly insignificant but the consequences and effect they will have could last forever
Notes : so I apparently can't let go. These are a series of follow ups from the epic saga that began with nasonexyouswine's Gravity Thou Art A Heartless Bitch and ran through our dual narrative fic Like A Satellite & Chasing Daylight (link to part one).
There are ten parts and two "interlude" parts to this, charting what happens after.
Moment 1 : how Chris and Darren finally started to talk to each other
It had been two months. Two long, long months. Two months of Skype and texts and emails. Two months of late night Friday flights and early morning Mondays. Two months of stolen moments and constant reminders that yes, "I love you".
Two months since the Emmy's and things were still going strong. They spoke every day, made every effort with their relationship because it was too important to them to do otherwise.
And as for their friends... Well, Ashley had already texted Darren to tell him that Chris was unbearably loved up and that she almost preferred it when he was moping, Jack had interrupted a Skype chat to tell Chris that next time they were... y'know ...put some music on or something. So Darren had put Second Chances on full blast next time which had led to more of a giggle fit than anything even remotely sexual or intimate.
But it was working. They missed each other like mad of course they did, but they were making it work. They had to. The idea of not having the other in their life, of not being together? Well that hurt. Not again thank you very much.
What amazed Darren more than anything though was the fact that they'd not been forced into confirming their romance. There hadn't even been a whisper of some gossip. This touched them more than they'd ever admit; although the number of people who knew that CrissColfer was indeed on was pretty big, no one was saying a word. The Glee alumni discussed it in emails and in private, their moms made regular phonecalls to each other, their boys and their boy's boy. Darren had even received the odd (badly worded) email from Alex, and Jack was not against butting in on conversations with Chris.
They were wrapped up in their own little bubble, finding their feet in their own little world, and they'd honestly never been happier.
~~
Darren had never been more miserable.
November was setting in with its cold air and long nights, Chris was busy pitching a new movie and so was constantly in meetings, and Chasing Evelyn seemed to be working under the rule of 'anything that can go wrong...' Whenever the actors found their marks, the lighting failed or some part of the set fell down. Whenever the fixtures and fittings were behaving they fluffed their lines or missed cues and marks. On one memorable occasion an extra didn't pay attention to where they were going and ended up pinballing off several set pieces.
(Watching them being stretchered off set to be taken to hospital made Darren want to crawl back into bed and just start today again.)
But it wasn't this which was making Darren miserable. That had started with his ungodly Monday morning alarm. As was now tradition the first thing he did was send Chris a text. Even though he was a few hours behind Darren could usually catch him before he went to bed. And even if he didn't Chris would usually wait up for it. Then there would be the steady stream when Chris was going about his day.
Today? Nothing. Radio silence.
After the tenth failed take Martin ordered a half hour break for people to regroup. Darren had thumbed up his contacts - still getting a thrill at the fact that Chris was back in his recent contact list - and tried to call him.
Tried being the operative word.
The repeated operative word.
Hi, you've reached Chris. Sorry I can't take your call but I'm probably stupidly busy doing other things. Leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as I can. Which, if you're cute, may be pretty quick.
He'd left a couple of messages at first but now he was just hanging up.
"You OK?" Jack asked, dropping into the seat next to Darren.
"I'm beginning to hate today," he muttered.
"Martin's about to have a breakdown. Should make things more interesting."
"I can't get hold of Chris," he sighed, twisting his phone in his fingers.
"Wow. No wonder you're stressed."
"It's not that," he sighed. "He's probably in meetings for this movie deal."
"Gone back to writing movies then?"
"Yeah. He keeps threatening to write me a part, get me back to LA."
"Wondered when that would come up," Jack sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised though."
"Nothing's been decided. I think he's just... talking."
"Yeah, right," Jack scoffed. "Look mate. I'm not stupid. If you weren't under contract for this season would you have come back to Chicago?" Off Darren's look he said, "See? I've got a bet with Sally that within the next ten years you and Chris are married, kids, and you've starred in at least one of his movies."
"How are things with you and Sal?"
"Yeah, great," he grinned. "Actually, seeing as we're talking... I wanted to ask..."
"Yes she can move in," Darren sighed, unlocking his phone screen. "Surprised you didn't ask me after we came back."
"You OK with that?"
"She practically lives with us anyway," he said. "Least this way we can officially split the rent and bills three ways."
"Hey," Jack said, giving Darren a gentle shove. "Chris will call you. I know he will."
"Yeah, I know," Darren breathed. "I just... Really could do with hearing his voice right now."
"I don't know what that boy does to calm you down but..." Jack's comment trailed off when he saw the grin on Darren's face. "Oh that's just... You two are like teenagers, you know that?"
"Your point?"
"Oh... just fucking great," Jack muttered.
"Nope. Just great..."
Jack cut him off by sticking his fingers in his ears and humming loudly. Darren laughed and felt a little bit better.
~~
An hour later and things were still going wrong. The lighting issues had been traced to the wiring and so while that was being seen to Darren tried calling Chris again but it was still going to voicemail. He called Ashley who claimed not to know anything (he strongly suspected she was lying) and all Chris' agents would confirm was that he was working on the movie.
Eventually Martin gave up and they headed off for an early lunch. Darren dragged his feet almost all the way to his trailer, fishing his phone from his pocket. Before he could attempt to call once again the phone sprung into life. Not even attempting to hide his grin, Darren answered the call.
"I have been trying to call you all morning," he said.
"Bad day?" Chris asked.
"The worst," Darren sighed, reaching his trailer and leaning against the wall of it. "Martin's stressed, I'm exhausted..."
"You still not sleeping right?"
"Think I just miss you," Darren laughed.
"I miss you too," Chris said softly in return.
"I am so looking forward to next weekend."
"Yeah, about that..."
The tension and stress that had started to roll off Darren suddenly slammed back. "Chris," he whined, not caring how he sounded.
"Dare..."
"I'm allowed to be annoyed," he said. "We hardly see each other as it is."
"Dare..."
"I know, I know. I know you're not just..." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I love you and I miss you and... I just really miss you."
"I love you back," Chris said. "And are you going to let me speak or just keep going on and on?"
"Yes. Sorry. No. I'm shutting up now." He rested his head against the trailer wall and let his eyes drift shut. "So. How was your morning?"
"What?"
"The movie? Wasn't there a meeting today?"
"Um... no. Not quite."
"Huh?" Darren asked. "Everyone's said you were working on the movie."
"Oh, yeah, just setting up some things."
Darren was too tired and stressed to care. Right now he was talking to Chris and that was all that mattered.
"Dare?" Chris asked, getting his attention.
"Hmmm?"
"Are you going to stand outside your trailer all afternoon?"
Darren's eyes snapped open and he looked around him. "What?" he snapped.
"Well? Are you?"
Seeing no one spying on him left only one option. He pulled open the door and climbed in, spotting the bag on the couch a few seconds before he saw Chris, phone still to his ear and a grin on his face.
"Hi," Chris said right before Darren launched himself across the trailer at him.
"I can't believe you're here," Darren whispered.
"Stupid flight was delayed."
"Don't care."
"I was going to surprise you at home tonight but when Sally picked me up she said things weren't going well on set..."
"Don't care."
"What do you care about?" Chris laughed.
"The fact that you're here."
"Well. I'm pretty glad I'm here too."
Darren breathed in deeply before asking, "When...?"
Chris tightened his hold on Darren, understanding the question immediately. When do you have to go back? When do I start to miss you again? "Thursday," he replied.
"OK, OK," Darren said. Monday to Thursday. That was pretty good all things considered, longer than any weekend they'd had so far.
"Next week."
Darren stopped breathing. "What?"
Chris pulled back to look at Darren. "Next week. They've picked up the movie, I need to finish writing it but I figure I can do that while you're on set. Leaves us evenings and weeken-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as Darren's mouth was pressed against his and he immediately responded, parting his lips in welcome. For a moment they stood there, kissing and enjoying the presence of the other.
"I can't believe you're here," Darren breathed as they finally parted.
"Well I can't keep making you come to me," Chris replied. "And clearing out these ten days was actually pretty easy. Moved a few meetings, cancelled dinner with Ashley..."
"Oh she'll love that!"
"I ditched her for you. She's kinda on team us. So's Sally which is a little weird seeing as she's your..."
"Friend?" Darren finished. "Given she never officially was anything else."
"Yeah, I know, but for a while..."
Darren silenced him with another kiss, his hands cupping his jaw before his fingers snaked up into his hair line. The kiss deepened, the hands moved, and their feet stumbled back towards the small bed.
~~
Darren became aware of consciousness a few seconds before he was aware that he wasn't alone in the bed.
"Morning," Chris said. "Or afternoon. You slept through lunch. Martin's pretty much giving up on today as there's some issue with the wiring? So aside from a few pick ups with the second unit in a few hours..."
Darren hummed in response, letting his eyes drift shut as Chris began to gently comb his fingers through his hair. He let himself relax into it even though his body was still thrumming with want. All they'd manage to do was get off before Darren's post-orgasmic bliss had led to sleep. When Chris' gentle strokes stilled Darren opened one eye to see that Chris was sat up in bed next to him, notebook computer open on his lap.
"Sorry," Chris said when he realised he was being watched. "You were dead to the world. Figured I could get a bit done."
"Sorry," Darren muttered, turning over so he could curl in next to the warm body beside him.
"Shhh," Chris soothed. "It's fine, it's fine. Go back to sleep, love. I'm going to be right here when you wake up."
~~
Jack officially asked Sally to move in that night and the four of them celebrated her acceptance with a Chinese takeaway and several drinks. Jack, bemoaning his early call time, called it a night just after midnight. Sally was tactful for one more drink before she followed her boyfriend into their room. After ten minutes Darren got up and put on a CD just loud enough.
They finished off the food, a couple of beers, and then curled up on the couch, Chris lying between Darren's legs, back against his chest.
"This is perfect," Darren said, pressing a gentle kiss into his hair. "Very domestic of us."
"Isn't it just?" Chris hummed, scraping his nails over Darren's knee cap. "I could get used to this."
"Feel free to stay then."
"It's tempting."
"So are you," Darren said, kissing the top of his head again. "I can't believe that we're actually going to spend some proper time together."
"I'm not having a relationship that exists on weekends only," Chris replied, running his fingers up and down Darren's thigh. "The good thing about writing is that I can do it pretty much anywhere. And there wasn't an anywhere I'd rather be than with you."
Darren wanted to ask Chris to move in, to come up to Chicago and write here. They did movies and TV, same as LA, but he knew that while Chris would want to his heart would be torn. He wouldn't leave his family thousands of miles away. LA was a nice compromise; a few hours' drive, easy to do.
Chicago was out of the question and not for the first time Darren realised that long term he would be going back to LA. The show, Jack and Sally, the life he had here? It was only temporary.
And he was OK with that.
~~
They finished the beers, cleared up, changed the CD and talked into the small hours of the morning. Darren didn't have to be on set until nearly eleven so it meant he was in no rush to go to bed. Even with the alternative meaning in going to bed with his boyfriend.
They seemed to know that sex wasn't on the agenda for tonight. As their time together was so rationed they usually crammed in as much as they could, spending their nights between the sheets making the other scream and cry and beg. But now? They had ten nights together. Ten nights to go to bed together and ten mornings to wake up together.
So they were in no hurry, always returning to the same position on the couch, Darren holding Chris against his chest as if he were stopping him from floating away. Or as if Chris were anchoring him down.
Darren could feel Chris slip into a relaxed state and he wrapped his arms around him a little tighter. "Bed?"
Chris shifted slightly but said nothing.
"C'mon, babe," Darren whispered, pushing him up gently.
~~
They slipped under the cool covers, finding each other with ease. With the same ease Darren spooned around Chris, their hands finding and clasping together. They slept, closely and deeply, until Darren's alarm went off at nine. Then Chris turned to face him, brushed a few stray curls from his forehead before kissing it, and then... well.
~~
Ten days sounds like a really long time. A week and a half. And it is a long time. Days of Chris writing away in Darren's trailer when he was on set, of spending the lunchtime together and then evenings out in the City. They went to gigs, saw a movie, and enjoyed being in the other's space.
A couple of Tweets about them catching up while Chris was in Chicago on business was enough to maintain the plausible deniability around their relationship. Several times over the Ten Days Chris asked if Darren was OK with this, if he wanted to go public. And several times Darren just whispered that all he wanted was Chris and the world could wait a little longer.
~~
Sally and Jack sat on the couch, watching Darren and Chris put the finishing touches on their dinner.
"You see it too, right?" Jack hissed.
"Oh god yes..." Sally replied. "Those two are..."
"Not natural," Jack finished.
Darren and Chris seemed to have slipped into domesticity with an ease that was freaking out their friends. They moved around each other, held out hands for utensils and communicated in half sentences, looks and smiles.
"They're an old married couple," Sally hissed. "Look at them!"
"Dare's going to be crushed next week."
"I know."
"What are we going to do with them?"
Sally exhaled softly and leant in to rest on Jack's shoulder. "I used to miss you when I didn't stay over here, I can't imagine what they feel like. I've tried talking to Darren about it but he just says he's fine."
"He misses Chris. Like... physically misses him."
"Do they plan on stealing weekends and arranging time like this forever?"
"Darren's going to quit," Jack said quietly. When he felt Sally shift in surprise he put a hand on her leg. "He doesn't know it yet, but he will. I know it. He's not going to keep this up and he's not coming back for season three."
"That's a long time away," Sally whispered. "We gotta do something to help."
"Only thing they need is to be together."
"So that's what we need to work on."
Their hushed discussions were interrupted when Darren and Chris brought over their dinner, setting down the bowls on the small coffee table.
"What?" Darren asked, noticing that they were almost staring.
"Just you two," Sally replied with a grin. "And this looks fantastic."
"Plates?" Jack asked.
Chris held up his hands and wiggled his fingers in response. Darren gave a blush that he couldn't hide or prevent which Sally didn't miss. She started laughing which meant that Darren started laughing and soon all four of them were snorting with laughter. At some point Darren pulled Chris in closer and once they had caught their breath they ate, never moving apart.
~~
"I'm gonna miss my flight," Chris muttered.
"I fail to see the downside."
"If I'm not back for this meeting this afternoon they are never going to let me leave the city again."
"OK, so that's a downside."
"Yeah," Chris laughed but he still didn't let go of Darren. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"This week. It's been..."
"Yeah," Darren breathed. "We so need to do this again."
"How do you do this?"
"Do what?"
"Leave? How the hell do you walk away because I really don't want to."
Darren tightened his hold on Chris, breathing in deeply to take in as much of his scent as possible.
"I hate the distance."
"So do I. But it's not going to be forever," Darren said, voicing it for the first time.
"Better not be."
"You were the one who gave me a key. Hope you realise I'm gonna use it."
"No objections here at all."
"You... You're gonna miss your flight," Darren forced himself to say. As they pulled back from the hug he smiled sadly. "Wish I could come see you off."
"You need to get to work," Chris said quietly, "and kissing me goodbye at the airport? Not the best way to keep things quiet."
"This is true," Darren grinned, leaning in for that kiss.
"I'll call you when I get back."
"Better had."
"And I'll see you soon."
"Better had."
Behind them Sally gave a gentle cough. "I hate to break you two up, but Chris we really gotta get going."
"I love you," Darren whispered against Chris' mouth, smiling when he felt the words 'love you back' form against his own.
~~
"I feel bad," Sally said to Chris as her car pulled away from the apartment block.
"You were right, I had to go."
"I didn't mean pulling you two apart. Hell, I was ten seconds away from dousing you both with cold water."
Chris looked at her in confusion. "Then what?"
"My... promise," she said tactfully. "In LA? When I said that if you hurt him...?"
"Oh. Yeah. That."
"Just... promise me something."
"Should I be worried?"
"When he realises that he wants to be in LA with you, make sure it's right for both of you. He'd go with you today if he could but he's got contracts and responsibilities. Not that he'd care but..."
"It would screw up his chances in LA," Chris finished.
"I'm not trying to be cruel, I just... When it happens then it needs to be giving you two the best start possible. And I'm scared that if he jumps in the way that he can do that he won't think about that."
"It's all I think about," Chris admitted, then his eyes went wide when he realised he had. "I mean..."
"Relax," Sally laughed softly. "I won't tell him."
"Thanks."
"I'm actually going to miss you being around."
"It was ten days."
"I don't just mean this trip, and I don't just mean you in the singular sense," she said, her words heavy with meaning.
"I'm not going to steal him from you if that's what you're worried about."
"Good. Because we quite like him up here, and while I know we don't exactly compare to you I'd like to think we have some charms."
"I'm not the possessive boyfriend type," Chris said, "and Darren cares too much about you guys to just walk away."
"Then you have my blessing," Sally grinned.
"I didn't before?"
"I'm a hard woman to win over."
Chris laughed and settled back into the passenger seat. "You really would have been perfect for him," he muttered which prompted more laughter.
For the first time since he moved in he allowed himself to think of his house as home. Because one day soon Darren would be there and he wouldn't have to leave to catch a flight or go away. He would be there and he wouldn't be leaving again.