Book 3, Chapter 6: The Gloaming (1/2)
Title: The Gloaming
Authors: kiltsandlollies and escribo
Characters: Dominic/Elijah
Word count: 3900
Summary: More digging, in deeper and darker dirt.
Index
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; the recognizable people in the story belong to themselves and have never performed the actions portrayed here. I do not know the actors nor am I associated with them in any way. If you are underage, please do not read this story. I am not making any profit from these stories, nor do I mean any harm.
"You know what I really hate, though?" Elijah barely pauses in his now several minutes long rant, not expecting an answer from his audience. He doesn't even expect that Dominic's listening at this point, nearly accustomed now to how often the guy's in his own head. "That Boyd wouldn't even consider that maybe he's wrong, you know? He's such an ass."
Elijah takes a sidelong look at Dominic as they walk along past the bookstores and coffee shop before the commercial district gives way to a country lane-an actual country lane, the sight of which makes Elijah roll his eyes even as he has to admit it's, well, pretty. Sort of. Dominic isn't taking the bait; he'd barely blinked when Elijah began his diatribe against the professor. Elijah thinks it would have been nice if Dominic had at least agreed, if not joined in to rail against the guy, but there's nothing but a blank stare on Dominic's face as they walk. Frustrated, Elijah kicks a rock with the toe of his shoe, sending it skittering across the road and into the brush on the other side. "Where are we going anyway, Dom? Is there an actual destination in your head?"
"You said you wanted to go someplace quiet," Dominic says calmly, pushing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Away from campus."
"Well, there's away and there's away, man. We could've called a cab or something."
"It's not that much longer," Dominic sighs. "And it's nice, Elijah, okay? It's different. Just trust me on this one."
"First cow or sheep I see, Dom, we turn around and get the fuck out."
"No farm animals involved, I swear it." Dominic pauses and sniffs at the air as if looking for some peace in it. "Don't think you'd be their type, anyway."
Elijah shoots him a glare, but Dominic's not even grinning; the guy's on autopilot, and Elijah's still getting used to seeing it in someone else after having learned how to live like that himself a long time ago, maybe at the same time he stopped taking walks like these and kicking rocks instead of the emotional shit out of himself and everyone else. As they walk now, Elijah's shoulders drop and he, too, takes deep breaths and tries to just enjoy it. The weather's decent, shockingly; there's only a small chance they'll get soaked on the way back, and neither he nor Dominic has to hurry back anyway.
Elijah palms his pockets quickly, a gesture of comfort more than anything else, because he's damn sure where his cigarettes are at the moments, and he pretty desperately wants one. He's got nothing against a little spontaneity, especially if the end result turns out to have actually been part of some plan he's still forming in his head, but when Dominic had called him earlier, he'd seriously considered telling the guy no for once; there's only so much broken-hearted slumped misery Elijah can take, even from someone as easy on the eyes and mind as Dominic. After a little thought he'd agreed to hang out, to hang on and see what might happen, and better, to maybe set some new rules for this game they're playing.
Dominic doesn't always seem aware that that's what it is, a game, but he stumbles into it nonetheless, blurting out one of his reasons for wanting to get off the campus grounds today and see something else. Another aborted attempt at study, one from which Dominic walked away after finding yet another terse note from the good professor at the bottom of his last essay, next to a grade Dominic was sure was better than what he'd actually deserved. Rewrite and submit again, Dominic. You're capable of better work than this, and we both know it. Come see me if you need something explained, especially for the day you missed.
That little speech, made even more interesting by Dominic's dead-on mimicry of the professor's accent and resigned irritability, had fascinated Elijah for just long enough to make the gears start moving again on the machinery of another plan, to get the truth out of Dominic about what's really looking now like he and the professor might have been fucking at the very least, and maybe something more. Dominic had refused the first cigarette Elijah had offered him, but Elijah's taking the chance that he won't refuse much else, and then, after Dominic's had some time to relax under the weight of Elijah's charitable contribution to the cause of their mutual mental health, it'll be time to hear a little more. In the meantime, Elijah's eyebrows had knitted with sympathy and he'd launched into his own tale of Boyd-related woe, one that doesn't seem to have moved Dominic nearly enough. That's what's supposed to happen when you're in love with someone, though, Elijah reminds himself, hiding his smirk; you can bitch about them all you like yourself, but you stop hearing it when anyone else does the same.
Elijah's still smirking when he has to stop short in his walk just before he slams into Dominic's back. They've made their way to the entrance of a path into darker, cooler woods, and for a moment Elijah's reminded of field trips he'd taken as a kid, of the origins of feeling like the only kid in the world who could get claustrophobic outdoors. He waits out Dominic, who stands and peers into the trees, listening to the crackle and pretty static of leaves and insects and birds, until he gets bored of it, pushing his rucksack into Dominic's hands and marching off ahead down the path.
"I'll find us a place to chill," Elijah calls out from over his shoulder. "Catch up when you're done there."
It takes Dominic several seconds to really grasp that he's been left behind, from what Elijah can hear of the sound of Dominic's shoes moving faster down the path after him. There's a muffled curse that makes Elijah turn around and squint at the sight of Dominic leaning over the rucksack now on its side on the ground, the contents spilling messily from the half-opened zip.
"Christ's sake, Dom," Elijah sighs and climbs back up the steep rise of the path he'd just slid down a moment before. As he nears, Dominic almost flinches, but then Dominic's eye is caught by something familiar, and he laughs, that raspy little noise going right up and down Elijah's spine.
"Your bag is like a fucking chemist's shop." Dominic grins up at Elijah, one hand around a prescription bottle with no label and the other sliding up into his hair, leaving it to stick up. "Did you get another delivery from home?"
Elijah snatches the bottle away and frowns before he recovers, twisting his own smile down toward Dominic. "I'm not hearing you complaining. I'm not hearing you do much of anything, actually, 'cause you're so far up your own head and ass." Dominic blinks, clearly stung but not wanting to show it, and Elijah rolls his eyes, crouching to stuff the rest of what's spilled back into the bag. "Look, you know I'm not addicted to this shit. It's not like it's that safe to leave everything up in the room, and you never know when it's gonna be needed. Like now, right?" Elijah raises an eyebrow. "Except, I don't know, man; if you had one of these now, you'd be even more of a fucking zombie."
"I didn't ask for one," Dominic says quietly, rising to his feet, and Elijah follows him, shaking his head.
"Didn't say you did. Maybe later, though. Maybe we'll both need one by then." Dominic tllts his head, and Elijah laughs, the sound of it strange even to his own ears. "Okay, anyway, let's just keep moving."
"You forgot this." When Elijah follows Dominic's stare, it's to the ground again, where the toe of Dominic's shoe rests at the edge of a plastic bag. Elijah gives a short, involuntary gasp and then leans down to grab the bag, greedy and nervous at the same time.
"See now, this, this we can enjoy right about now, or whenever we get to ..." Elijah shrugs. "Where we're going. Which needs to be not much farther, Dom, seriously."
"You were the one running off," Dominic says, and his smirk is gentler but still there, enough to make Elijah purse his lips and nod as they begin to walk again.
"Fine, yeah, I was. So lead the way, man. We should've brought a blanket. Some champagne and a violinist. Will there be swans? There have to be swans, if we're gonna do this up right--"
"You really never do stop talking, do you?"
"I told you, when there's something worth listening to, yeah, I fucking do." It's Elijah turn to be stung, then, and he shuts up, retreating into the safety of watching Dominic lead them into a deeper, darker area of the woods. Elijah can hear water, and a part of him feels relief wash cool and comfortable over his skin. They're not completely closed off here, and water's ... nice. The sound of it's nice, the look of it's not bad, either. And Elijah acknowledges to himself that the company's good, too, when he really thinks about it, and he can do some part in making this little excursion at least somewhat fun again. He's still working out how best to do that, and avoiding crashing to his face on the ground after tripping on a curving tree root, when he feels Dominic's hand wrap around his bicep to steady him.
"You alright?" Dominic asks, and he sounds genuinely concerned, so much so that Elijah swallows back his first, brattier reply.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Is here good?"
Dominic looks around them, his gaze stopping at the glint of the stream beside several trees ahead of them. He nods slowly, and then point to a little clearing between two enormous, spreading trees. "There. That's better, I think. More room to just." Dominic shrugs. "That's better."
"Okay." Elijah stumbles a little as he moves in the direction of Dominic's nod, but shakes off another offer of assistance from Dominic's stronger hand. Once they're settled, Elijah rummages in his bag again, coming up first with another cigarette, but then tossing it back inside and pulling out the little plastic bag, tossing it gently from hand to hand as he meets Dominic's eyes. "You in?"
Dominic licks his lips and swallows, weighing all the options, and Elijah smiles, carefully and kindly, when Dominic finally nods again. Dominic doesn't watch as Elijah works with the papers and leaves, and nearly curls in on himself before Elijah leans forward with the joint and another smile. "It'll be okay, Dom. We're not gonna set your little forest on fire."
When Dominic takes the joint, Elijah leans back against the opposite tree and digs in his bag a little more, this time coming up with one of the bottles of beer he'd shoved in there knowing that at some point today he'd need it. Dominic's eyes flicker, and Elijah laughs. "I've got two, man, and clearly I'm not against sharing. Cool your jets."
Dominic blinks again, and says nothing but thanks when Elijah offers him the opened bottle. Elijah's mouth works a little and he takes his turn to stare out at the water, wondering why it doesn't feel safer yet, and why it's so fucking hard to just prise a little information out of a guy who looks ready to burst from it. Elijah considers Dominic with a sidelong glance, and wonders, too, whether it's worth the effort. Yeah, Elijah's taken almost everything he's supposed to want from Dom, and maybe a little more than that, but there's a prickling need Elijah feels, too, one that's unfamiliar and annoying but also good, like he's found the one challenge he'll have in this asinine half-year here at Baskerville. He waits until Dominic's lowered the bottle from his lips and begun to tear restlessly at the label before he leans in and grabs the joint back, unwillingly to let it just burn down to nothing while Dominic wanders off back into his own thoughts.
"So what's new, Dom?" Elijah says sharply, but when Dominic looks up, startled, he smiles again. "Haven't seen you in a few days, and not even you can just sit around crying over a shitty grade. Mark. Whatever you call it. So what is new. And please, okay, don't tell me you're still thinking about the-" Elijah just barely catches himself in time. "That guy. Not when you've got a beer and, I have to say, an excellent sounding board here in me, and we could, you know, be doing a whole lot of things that don't involve-"
"A sounding board." Dominic barks out another laugh, then sighs. "Okay, fair enough, I know I'm not the world's most, I don't know, I'm not in a good place, okay, that's totally fair. But there's nothing new. And it's like." Another pause, and Dominic swallows again. "It's really hard right now, Elijah."
"It's always hard. And then it gets easy." Elijah shrugs when Dominic looks up again. "Look, forget what I said. You wanna talk, talk. About whatever." Elijah takes a drag off the joint and waits, his whole body sinking agreeably against the tree.
"You don't actually give a fuck, do you Elijah?" Dominic crawls over to where Elijah is kneeling, reaching for the joint and Elijah holds him off as he takes one long drag, holding the smoke in his lungs until his eyes water. He watches as Dominic mimics him, laughing when Dominic's drag ends in a coughing fit.
"Fucking lightweight, man."
"Of course you don't care. Why should you? You just want to fuck." Dominic's voice isn't angry though, just tired, raspier than it had been.
Elijah ignores it, takes the joint from his fingers and holds it again to Dominic's lips. "C'mon. Lie down," he says as he pushes Dominic to his back. "Try again. Close your eyes and just, I don't know, breathe in until it fucking feels good. See. That's me caring."
Dominic sighs and rolls his eyes and Elijah barks out another laugh before nudging Dominic and whispering, "c'mon" again. This time, Dominic does as he's told except he keeps his eyes open and it's Elijah who has to look away.
"Talking gets us in trouble, 'lij. We don't exactly, I don't know, dwell on the same fucking plane, right?" Dominic tugs on Elijah's shirt and Elijah looks back down at him and experiences that weird sense of not knowing what's going on, of not knowing what he really wants. Of wondering who exactly was playing whom. Dominic calls his attention back when he speaks, his voice going soft around the edges, as if his words were curved. Shaking his head, Elijah has to bend down to focus on the the sound more, catching only the end of Dominic's speech. "--do whatever you want, if you just pretend that you love me, okay? Play pretend. Are you any good at that? Do you think you can do that? One time. Just for tonight."
Elijah nods, leaning down even further as if to kiss Dominic before he's jerking back and shaking his head again, laughing out loud. "I'll tell you what I want, man," he huffs out between laughs but never finishes his thought. The thought of everything he's done for Dominic and all the things he still wants to do makes anger curl up tight and low in his belly that the guy still thinks it's all fake. "I don't need to pretend. It's you who's pretending, right? Why don't you try pretending you care about me, right?"
For a moment, Elijah enjoys the confusion that spreads across Dominic's face while he tries to sort out Elijah's words before Elijah's straddling Dominic's thin chest, his hands in the grass on either side of Dominic's head, forcing Dominic to focus on him. "We're going to do what I want to do, right, because you're too fucked up to know what you want and not for any other reason."
"Not--"
"Not from the weed, right? Not from half a joint. From what? From the guy the one who has you all tied up in knots. And I'm just like, just fucking get over it already, because I'm right fucking here trying to help you out. Offering something better than that asshole." Twisting around to shove a hand into his pack and producing the bottle of pills, Elijah then quickly pops the cap and empties first one and then a second pill into his hand. “What I’ve done for you, Dom, is illegal in at least two countries. Could have gotten myself arrested ... for you.” Elijah closes the bottle and puts it away, fishing again for his bottle of beer. Lifting the bottle, he holds it up to the sun, swirling what's left before he tosses it aside and reaches for the bottle Dominic had set aside.
“So let's try this again. What’s really new then, dude?” Grinning now, especially when he notices Dominic’s eyes following his every move, Elijah returns to his position over Dominic’s body. “And let me tell you, when I do something for you, Dom, you owe me your ass.” Holding the tiny blue pills near Dominic’s lips, Elijah lowers his voice. “Take these and maybe you'll finally hear what I'm saying to you.” Elijah lowers his head, moving the pills away just long enough to brush his lips across Dom’s cold ones. "C'mon."
Dominic sits up suddenly, eagerness fighting its way from behind narrowed eyes, forcing Elijah to move back slightly before he eases down to sit back on his heels, still half in Dominic's lap. Elijah holds the pills out again, showing Dominic that they're they same thing he'd taken the other night, before putting them in his own mouth and leaning in to kiss Dominic, to pass the pills into Dominic's mouth and then backing away slightly, offering Dominic the bottle.
Dominic sips at the warm beer before handing it back and resting his hand on Elijah's hip. He closes his eyes and wraps his arms around Elijah's waist loosely, leaning so he doesn't have to see Elijah's face. "Did you ever believe in love, Elijah? Ever want to be in love?"
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Elijah rids himself of the bottle, blindly sitting it in the grass next to him, not bothering to twist and grab for it when he hears it tip over. He'd rather get a good look at Dominic’s face, and wonder why he never expects what he almost always seems to see there. “Okay, you're not kidding,” Elijah sighs, but manages to keep his frown at bay. “Depends on how you define the word, I guess. If you think it’s more than just a word. And I'm not that lucky. Never have been. I’m not complaining or anything,” he quickly adds. "Everybody else seems to pretty much get off on it. You did, right?"
Dominic doesn't answer, not that Elijah expected him to just yet. Elijah leans in to brush his lips across Dominic’s again, pulling away just as he feels Dominic’s lips part. “So tell me about it. Tell me exactly what you had before you needed a fucking pill to feel good, Dom. And before you needed me.”
Dominic sinks against Elijah harder, already looking well beyond even the scattered discussion they'd been having. His chin brushes against Elijah's, looking for more contact, and Elijah's breathy little laugh as he turns his face away from Dominic splinters into what's almost a giggle, and Elijah can't react in time to Dominic's angered response; Dominic surges forward, knocking Elijah onto his back in the leaves, and then almost snarling, reveling in a second's pleasure at the surprised grunt Elijah releases as he lands. Elijah's still not prepared for when Dominic moves again, leaning down to kiss Elijah with a surprising ferocity, fighting with Elijah for control over their hands. Elijah's quicker than Dominic expects, though, it's suddenly clear; he's a scrabbler, with little elegance but just enough strength that he can turn them, leaving Dominic on his back now with Elijah sitting on his chest, one hand raised in a blur of motion and then lowered as Elijah just barely holds himself back.
Dominic takes a breath and then laughs, the anger in his expression fading as he watches Elijah catch his breath and stare down at him. "Fucking go ahead, mate," he rasps, closing his eyes again. "You're not the first to try it."
"I'm not trying anything on you when you're fucked up, Dom," Elijah shoots back, then shakes his head. "I get it, okay, you like that, but I'm not the guy who did this to you last. You're looking at me, Dom. Me. Not whoever's still in your fucking head." Elijah takes a breath, one that would normally calm him more than it does now. "You could knock the shit out of me if you wanted to, and we both know it, but I don't go down easy, man. You'll wish you hadn't. You want games, fine, but do that again and it's the last one we're gonna play."
There's a brief flash of panic in Dominic's eyes when they open again, and Elijah feeds off it greedily, nodding slowly. "I don't like surprises, Dom. It's not like I didn't think we were gonna end up doing this, okay? I thought you were gonna talk. I thought you were good for more than just-this.” A deeper breath, and then Elijah plays his gentler card again. “Thought we were friends. Did you want me to take my shit and go, Dom? Because I can. I don't need a fucking breadcrumb trail to get out of here-"
Dominic tches under his breath and sits up, almost dislodging Elijah before catching him again, hands curving at Elijah's elbows. He settles Elijah on his lap, the smile on his face slow in coming but genuine enough to keep Elijah where he is for the moment. The guy has to want Elijah around, for more than just the relief the pills and everything else bring. Forget this love bullshit, Elijah thinks; look where it's got Dom. That thought brings another, though: Here with you. And Elijah blinks at that, having to focus again to pay attention to what Dominic's saying.
"C'mon, then," Dominic murmurs. "Don't be that way. I was messing with you, Elijah. Playing. I don't know the rules with you, 's all." Dominic leans forward and kisses Elijah's collarbone through the thin material of Elijah's shirt before he reaches up to pull the material down and press his lips to Elijah's skin. "What do you want to talk about? You can ask me anything. Fair game." Dominic laughs, warm and soft. "Truth or consequences, yeah?"
Elijah blinks again and swallows, letting Dominic's lips travel along his throat and neck while he looks up into the thick canopy of leaves above them. "You really still in love with him, Dom?" he asks, and then waits a beat and takes one more breath, keeping his voice low and calm and going in for the quiet kill while he can. "The professor?"
To be continued.
Authors: kiltsandlollies and escribo
Characters: Dominic/Elijah
Word count: 3900
Summary: More digging, in deeper and darker dirt.
Index
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; the recognizable people in the story belong to themselves and have never performed the actions portrayed here. I do not know the actors nor am I associated with them in any way. If you are underage, please do not read this story. I am not making any profit from these stories, nor do I mean any harm.
"You know what I really hate, though?" Elijah barely pauses in his now several minutes long rant, not expecting an answer from his audience. He doesn't even expect that Dominic's listening at this point, nearly accustomed now to how often the guy's in his own head. "That Boyd wouldn't even consider that maybe he's wrong, you know? He's such an ass."
Elijah takes a sidelong look at Dominic as they walk along past the bookstores and coffee shop before the commercial district gives way to a country lane-an actual country lane, the sight of which makes Elijah roll his eyes even as he has to admit it's, well, pretty. Sort of. Dominic isn't taking the bait; he'd barely blinked when Elijah began his diatribe against the professor. Elijah thinks it would have been nice if Dominic had at least agreed, if not joined in to rail against the guy, but there's nothing but a blank stare on Dominic's face as they walk. Frustrated, Elijah kicks a rock with the toe of his shoe, sending it skittering across the road and into the brush on the other side. "Where are we going anyway, Dom? Is there an actual destination in your head?"
"You said you wanted to go someplace quiet," Dominic says calmly, pushing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Away from campus."
"Well, there's away and there's away, man. We could've called a cab or something."
"It's not that much longer," Dominic sighs. "And it's nice, Elijah, okay? It's different. Just trust me on this one."
"First cow or sheep I see, Dom, we turn around and get the fuck out."
"No farm animals involved, I swear it." Dominic pauses and sniffs at the air as if looking for some peace in it. "Don't think you'd be their type, anyway."
Elijah shoots him a glare, but Dominic's not even grinning; the guy's on autopilot, and Elijah's still getting used to seeing it in someone else after having learned how to live like that himself a long time ago, maybe at the same time he stopped taking walks like these and kicking rocks instead of the emotional shit out of himself and everyone else. As they walk now, Elijah's shoulders drop and he, too, takes deep breaths and tries to just enjoy it. The weather's decent, shockingly; there's only a small chance they'll get soaked on the way back, and neither he nor Dominic has to hurry back anyway.
Elijah palms his pockets quickly, a gesture of comfort more than anything else, because he's damn sure where his cigarettes are at the moments, and he pretty desperately wants one. He's got nothing against a little spontaneity, especially if the end result turns out to have actually been part of some plan he's still forming in his head, but when Dominic had called him earlier, he'd seriously considered telling the guy no for once; there's only so much broken-hearted slumped misery Elijah can take, even from someone as easy on the eyes and mind as Dominic. After a little thought he'd agreed to hang out, to hang on and see what might happen, and better, to maybe set some new rules for this game they're playing.
Dominic doesn't always seem aware that that's what it is, a game, but he stumbles into it nonetheless, blurting out one of his reasons for wanting to get off the campus grounds today and see something else. Another aborted attempt at study, one from which Dominic walked away after finding yet another terse note from the good professor at the bottom of his last essay, next to a grade Dominic was sure was better than what he'd actually deserved. Rewrite and submit again, Dominic. You're capable of better work than this, and we both know it. Come see me if you need something explained, especially for the day you missed.
That little speech, made even more interesting by Dominic's dead-on mimicry of the professor's accent and resigned irritability, had fascinated Elijah for just long enough to make the gears start moving again on the machinery of another plan, to get the truth out of Dominic about what's really looking now like he and the professor might have been fucking at the very least, and maybe something more. Dominic had refused the first cigarette Elijah had offered him, but Elijah's taking the chance that he won't refuse much else, and then, after Dominic's had some time to relax under the weight of Elijah's charitable contribution to the cause of their mutual mental health, it'll be time to hear a little more. In the meantime, Elijah's eyebrows had knitted with sympathy and he'd launched into his own tale of Boyd-related woe, one that doesn't seem to have moved Dominic nearly enough. That's what's supposed to happen when you're in love with someone, though, Elijah reminds himself, hiding his smirk; you can bitch about them all you like yourself, but you stop hearing it when anyone else does the same.
Elijah's still smirking when he has to stop short in his walk just before he slams into Dominic's back. They've made their way to the entrance of a path into darker, cooler woods, and for a moment Elijah's reminded of field trips he'd taken as a kid, of the origins of feeling like the only kid in the world who could get claustrophobic outdoors. He waits out Dominic, who stands and peers into the trees, listening to the crackle and pretty static of leaves and insects and birds, until he gets bored of it, pushing his rucksack into Dominic's hands and marching off ahead down the path.
"I'll find us a place to chill," Elijah calls out from over his shoulder. "Catch up when you're done there."
It takes Dominic several seconds to really grasp that he's been left behind, from what Elijah can hear of the sound of Dominic's shoes moving faster down the path after him. There's a muffled curse that makes Elijah turn around and squint at the sight of Dominic leaning over the rucksack now on its side on the ground, the contents spilling messily from the half-opened zip.
"Christ's sake, Dom," Elijah sighs and climbs back up the steep rise of the path he'd just slid down a moment before. As he nears, Dominic almost flinches, but then Dominic's eye is caught by something familiar, and he laughs, that raspy little noise going right up and down Elijah's spine.
"Your bag is like a fucking chemist's shop." Dominic grins up at Elijah, one hand around a prescription bottle with no label and the other sliding up into his hair, leaving it to stick up. "Did you get another delivery from home?"
Elijah snatches the bottle away and frowns before he recovers, twisting his own smile down toward Dominic. "I'm not hearing you complaining. I'm not hearing you do much of anything, actually, 'cause you're so far up your own head and ass." Dominic blinks, clearly stung but not wanting to show it, and Elijah rolls his eyes, crouching to stuff the rest of what's spilled back into the bag. "Look, you know I'm not addicted to this shit. It's not like it's that safe to leave everything up in the room, and you never know when it's gonna be needed. Like now, right?" Elijah raises an eyebrow. "Except, I don't know, man; if you had one of these now, you'd be even more of a fucking zombie."
"I didn't ask for one," Dominic says quietly, rising to his feet, and Elijah follows him, shaking his head.
"Didn't say you did. Maybe later, though. Maybe we'll both need one by then." Dominic tllts his head, and Elijah laughs, the sound of it strange even to his own ears. "Okay, anyway, let's just keep moving."
"You forgot this." When Elijah follows Dominic's stare, it's to the ground again, where the toe of Dominic's shoe rests at the edge of a plastic bag. Elijah gives a short, involuntary gasp and then leans down to grab the bag, greedy and nervous at the same time.
"See now, this, this we can enjoy right about now, or whenever we get to ..." Elijah shrugs. "Where we're going. Which needs to be not much farther, Dom, seriously."
"You were the one running off," Dominic says, and his smirk is gentler but still there, enough to make Elijah purse his lips and nod as they begin to walk again.
"Fine, yeah, I was. So lead the way, man. We should've brought a blanket. Some champagne and a violinist. Will there be swans? There have to be swans, if we're gonna do this up right--"
"You really never do stop talking, do you?"
"I told you, when there's something worth listening to, yeah, I fucking do." It's Elijah turn to be stung, then, and he shuts up, retreating into the safety of watching Dominic lead them into a deeper, darker area of the woods. Elijah can hear water, and a part of him feels relief wash cool and comfortable over his skin. They're not completely closed off here, and water's ... nice. The sound of it's nice, the look of it's not bad, either. And Elijah acknowledges to himself that the company's good, too, when he really thinks about it, and he can do some part in making this little excursion at least somewhat fun again. He's still working out how best to do that, and avoiding crashing to his face on the ground after tripping on a curving tree root, when he feels Dominic's hand wrap around his bicep to steady him.
"You alright?" Dominic asks, and he sounds genuinely concerned, so much so that Elijah swallows back his first, brattier reply.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Is here good?"
Dominic looks around them, his gaze stopping at the glint of the stream beside several trees ahead of them. He nods slowly, and then point to a little clearing between two enormous, spreading trees. "There. That's better, I think. More room to just." Dominic shrugs. "That's better."
"Okay." Elijah stumbles a little as he moves in the direction of Dominic's nod, but shakes off another offer of assistance from Dominic's stronger hand. Once they're settled, Elijah rummages in his bag again, coming up first with another cigarette, but then tossing it back inside and pulling out the little plastic bag, tossing it gently from hand to hand as he meets Dominic's eyes. "You in?"
Dominic licks his lips and swallows, weighing all the options, and Elijah smiles, carefully and kindly, when Dominic finally nods again. Dominic doesn't watch as Elijah works with the papers and leaves, and nearly curls in on himself before Elijah leans forward with the joint and another smile. "It'll be okay, Dom. We're not gonna set your little forest on fire."
When Dominic takes the joint, Elijah leans back against the opposite tree and digs in his bag a little more, this time coming up with one of the bottles of beer he'd shoved in there knowing that at some point today he'd need it. Dominic's eyes flicker, and Elijah laughs. "I've got two, man, and clearly I'm not against sharing. Cool your jets."
Dominic blinks again, and says nothing but thanks when Elijah offers him the opened bottle. Elijah's mouth works a little and he takes his turn to stare out at the water, wondering why it doesn't feel safer yet, and why it's so fucking hard to just prise a little information out of a guy who looks ready to burst from it. Elijah considers Dominic with a sidelong glance, and wonders, too, whether it's worth the effort. Yeah, Elijah's taken almost everything he's supposed to want from Dom, and maybe a little more than that, but there's a prickling need Elijah feels, too, one that's unfamiliar and annoying but also good, like he's found the one challenge he'll have in this asinine half-year here at Baskerville. He waits until Dominic's lowered the bottle from his lips and begun to tear restlessly at the label before he leans in and grabs the joint back, unwillingly to let it just burn down to nothing while Dominic wanders off back into his own thoughts.
"So what's new, Dom?" Elijah says sharply, but when Dominic looks up, startled, he smiles again. "Haven't seen you in a few days, and not even you can just sit around crying over a shitty grade. Mark. Whatever you call it. So what is new. And please, okay, don't tell me you're still thinking about the-" Elijah just barely catches himself in time. "That guy. Not when you've got a beer and, I have to say, an excellent sounding board here in me, and we could, you know, be doing a whole lot of things that don't involve-"
"A sounding board." Dominic barks out another laugh, then sighs. "Okay, fair enough, I know I'm not the world's most, I don't know, I'm not in a good place, okay, that's totally fair. But there's nothing new. And it's like." Another pause, and Dominic swallows again. "It's really hard right now, Elijah."
"It's always hard. And then it gets easy." Elijah shrugs when Dominic looks up again. "Look, forget what I said. You wanna talk, talk. About whatever." Elijah takes a drag off the joint and waits, his whole body sinking agreeably against the tree.
"You don't actually give a fuck, do you Elijah?" Dominic crawls over to where Elijah is kneeling, reaching for the joint and Elijah holds him off as he takes one long drag, holding the smoke in his lungs until his eyes water. He watches as Dominic mimics him, laughing when Dominic's drag ends in a coughing fit.
"Fucking lightweight, man."
"Of course you don't care. Why should you? You just want to fuck." Dominic's voice isn't angry though, just tired, raspier than it had been.
Elijah ignores it, takes the joint from his fingers and holds it again to Dominic's lips. "C'mon. Lie down," he says as he pushes Dominic to his back. "Try again. Close your eyes and just, I don't know, breathe in until it fucking feels good. See. That's me caring."
Dominic sighs and rolls his eyes and Elijah barks out another laugh before nudging Dominic and whispering, "c'mon" again. This time, Dominic does as he's told except he keeps his eyes open and it's Elijah who has to look away.
"Talking gets us in trouble, 'lij. We don't exactly, I don't know, dwell on the same fucking plane, right?" Dominic tugs on Elijah's shirt and Elijah looks back down at him and experiences that weird sense of not knowing what's going on, of not knowing what he really wants. Of wondering who exactly was playing whom. Dominic calls his attention back when he speaks, his voice going soft around the edges, as if his words were curved. Shaking his head, Elijah has to bend down to focus on the the sound more, catching only the end of Dominic's speech. "--do whatever you want, if you just pretend that you love me, okay? Play pretend. Are you any good at that? Do you think you can do that? One time. Just for tonight."
Elijah nods, leaning down even further as if to kiss Dominic before he's jerking back and shaking his head again, laughing out loud. "I'll tell you what I want, man," he huffs out between laughs but never finishes his thought. The thought of everything he's done for Dominic and all the things he still wants to do makes anger curl up tight and low in his belly that the guy still thinks it's all fake. "I don't need to pretend. It's you who's pretending, right? Why don't you try pretending you care about me, right?"
For a moment, Elijah enjoys the confusion that spreads across Dominic's face while he tries to sort out Elijah's words before Elijah's straddling Dominic's thin chest, his hands in the grass on either side of Dominic's head, forcing Dominic to focus on him. "We're going to do what I want to do, right, because you're too fucked up to know what you want and not for any other reason."
"Not--"
"Not from the weed, right? Not from half a joint. From what? From the guy the one who has you all tied up in knots. And I'm just like, just fucking get over it already, because I'm right fucking here trying to help you out. Offering something better than that asshole." Twisting around to shove a hand into his pack and producing the bottle of pills, Elijah then quickly pops the cap and empties first one and then a second pill into his hand. “What I’ve done for you, Dom, is illegal in at least two countries. Could have gotten myself arrested ... for you.” Elijah closes the bottle and puts it away, fishing again for his bottle of beer. Lifting the bottle, he holds it up to the sun, swirling what's left before he tosses it aside and reaches for the bottle Dominic had set aside.
“So let's try this again. What’s really new then, dude?” Grinning now, especially when he notices Dominic’s eyes following his every move, Elijah returns to his position over Dominic’s body. “And let me tell you, when I do something for you, Dom, you owe me your ass.” Holding the tiny blue pills near Dominic’s lips, Elijah lowers his voice. “Take these and maybe you'll finally hear what I'm saying to you.” Elijah lowers his head, moving the pills away just long enough to brush his lips across Dom’s cold ones. "C'mon."
Dominic sits up suddenly, eagerness fighting its way from behind narrowed eyes, forcing Elijah to move back slightly before he eases down to sit back on his heels, still half in Dominic's lap. Elijah holds the pills out again, showing Dominic that they're they same thing he'd taken the other night, before putting them in his own mouth and leaning in to kiss Dominic, to pass the pills into Dominic's mouth and then backing away slightly, offering Dominic the bottle.
Dominic sips at the warm beer before handing it back and resting his hand on Elijah's hip. He closes his eyes and wraps his arms around Elijah's waist loosely, leaning so he doesn't have to see Elijah's face. "Did you ever believe in love, Elijah? Ever want to be in love?"
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Elijah rids himself of the bottle, blindly sitting it in the grass next to him, not bothering to twist and grab for it when he hears it tip over. He'd rather get a good look at Dominic’s face, and wonder why he never expects what he almost always seems to see there. “Okay, you're not kidding,” Elijah sighs, but manages to keep his frown at bay. “Depends on how you define the word, I guess. If you think it’s more than just a word. And I'm not that lucky. Never have been. I’m not complaining or anything,” he quickly adds. "Everybody else seems to pretty much get off on it. You did, right?"
Dominic doesn't answer, not that Elijah expected him to just yet. Elijah leans in to brush his lips across Dominic’s again, pulling away just as he feels Dominic’s lips part. “So tell me about it. Tell me exactly what you had before you needed a fucking pill to feel good, Dom. And before you needed me.”
Dominic sinks against Elijah harder, already looking well beyond even the scattered discussion they'd been having. His chin brushes against Elijah's, looking for more contact, and Elijah's breathy little laugh as he turns his face away from Dominic splinters into what's almost a giggle, and Elijah can't react in time to Dominic's angered response; Dominic surges forward, knocking Elijah onto his back in the leaves, and then almost snarling, reveling in a second's pleasure at the surprised grunt Elijah releases as he lands. Elijah's still not prepared for when Dominic moves again, leaning down to kiss Elijah with a surprising ferocity, fighting with Elijah for control over their hands. Elijah's quicker than Dominic expects, though, it's suddenly clear; he's a scrabbler, with little elegance but just enough strength that he can turn them, leaving Dominic on his back now with Elijah sitting on his chest, one hand raised in a blur of motion and then lowered as Elijah just barely holds himself back.
Dominic takes a breath and then laughs, the anger in his expression fading as he watches Elijah catch his breath and stare down at him. "Fucking go ahead, mate," he rasps, closing his eyes again. "You're not the first to try it."
"I'm not trying anything on you when you're fucked up, Dom," Elijah shoots back, then shakes his head. "I get it, okay, you like that, but I'm not the guy who did this to you last. You're looking at me, Dom. Me. Not whoever's still in your fucking head." Elijah takes a breath, one that would normally calm him more than it does now. "You could knock the shit out of me if you wanted to, and we both know it, but I don't go down easy, man. You'll wish you hadn't. You want games, fine, but do that again and it's the last one we're gonna play."
There's a brief flash of panic in Dominic's eyes when they open again, and Elijah feeds off it greedily, nodding slowly. "I don't like surprises, Dom. It's not like I didn't think we were gonna end up doing this, okay? I thought you were gonna talk. I thought you were good for more than just-this.” A deeper breath, and then Elijah plays his gentler card again. “Thought we were friends. Did you want me to take my shit and go, Dom? Because I can. I don't need a fucking breadcrumb trail to get out of here-"
Dominic tches under his breath and sits up, almost dislodging Elijah before catching him again, hands curving at Elijah's elbows. He settles Elijah on his lap, the smile on his face slow in coming but genuine enough to keep Elijah where he is for the moment. The guy has to want Elijah around, for more than just the relief the pills and everything else bring. Forget this love bullshit, Elijah thinks; look where it's got Dom. That thought brings another, though: Here with you. And Elijah blinks at that, having to focus again to pay attention to what Dominic's saying.
"C'mon, then," Dominic murmurs. "Don't be that way. I was messing with you, Elijah. Playing. I don't know the rules with you, 's all." Dominic leans forward and kisses Elijah's collarbone through the thin material of Elijah's shirt before he reaches up to pull the material down and press his lips to Elijah's skin. "What do you want to talk about? You can ask me anything. Fair game." Dominic laughs, warm and soft. "Truth or consequences, yeah?"
Elijah blinks again and swallows, letting Dominic's lips travel along his throat and neck while he looks up into the thick canopy of leaves above them. "You really still in love with him, Dom?" he asks, and then waits a beat and takes one more breath, keeping his voice low and calm and going in for the quiet kill while he can. "The professor?"
To be continued.