TANGLED (Oneshot)
TANGLED
By: Lady Michaelis
Pairing: James Durbin/Stefano Langone
Rating: PG
Warnings: Fluff. Lots of fluff. Infidelity, too.
Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Stefano was more than ready to go home-but James wasn’t ready to lose him.
Disclaimers: Oh my god. My first foray into this pairing. Tonight’s results show just made me want to write something to make poor Fano feel better. This is fiction, but yeah. Feel better, Fano-we love you. (And I hope you don’t see this!)
Stefano shoved his half-packed suitcase back under his bed, feeling nauseated by merely looking at it. He had been more than ready to go home that night; being in the bottom three with Jacob and Pia had pretty much sealed his fate. When Ryan had sent Jacob back to the others, he clutched Pia’s hand tightly and steadied himself, ready to hear the words, “Pia, you are safe”. When his name was called instead of hers, he nearly bottomed out then and there, convinced that they had made a mistake. She was Pia Toscano, clearly one of the best singers and a fan favorite. Of course, he had expected her to stay-they had all been expecting her to stay. It was his time to go, and he would go gracefully.
Only, it wasn’t. America had sent Pia home, and that was that.
“Hey, buddy,” Paul interrupted his thoughts by knocking on the bedroom door. “She’s leaving; we thought you might want to say goodbye.”
“Thanks,” Stefano said softly. “I’ll be right down.”
He let Paul sling an arm around his shoulders as they descended the staircase. It was heartbreaking to see Pia exchanging embraces and goodbyes with everyone at the doorway, smiling through her tears like the champion that she was. Stefano had always admired her inner strength; she rarely let anything get her down, and he was sure that she would go on to much bigger things after elimination.
“There you are,” she said with a smile. “Come here, kiddo; give me a hug.”
Stefano ran straight into her arms, leaning heavily into her. “…I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, baby.” Pia held him tightly. “You are good; don’t let those idiots on Twitter convince you otherwise. I’m going tonight because it really is my time to go. But you? You have a lot more to sing about on that stage. You’re still here for a reason, Fano. I want you to remember that.”
“You’re gonna be so great out there,” he said wistfully. “People know who you are now, and they know just how good you are. I’m gonna miss you, though.”
“And I will miss you,” Pia grinned. “Make me proud, okay? I’ll be watching.”
Stefano hung back as he watched Casey and Paul escort her to the car, hefting her bags into the trunk before giving her a last hug goodbye. As the car pulled out of the driveway, he turned his back and retreated into the house, still unable to believe that he was here when she was not.
“I’m gonna head to bed early,” he told Lauren. “I’m just really tired, I guess.”
“Of course,” she said, giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “I’ll make sure Scotty doesn’t eat your part of the cake so you can have it for breakfast tomorrow. Tell James I’ll save him some, too.”
“Where is he, anyway?” Stefano asked. “He didn’t come say goodbye to Pia.”
“He did earlier this evening,” Lauren replied. “They had a really long conversation about something. I think you should talk to him, Fano. He’s been really out of it since we got back.”
Frowning, Stefano thanked her and made his way back to their room, unsure of what he was going to see as soon as he opened the door. Maybe James had decided to take a walk. Or maybe he was on the phone with his family. He swallowed the lump of jealousy that had formed in his throat, feeling stupid at being jealous of his fiancée and their young son.
“Oh, hey,” he said softly, surprised to see James sitting on his bed. “I was looking all over for you.”
“…you thought you were leaving.”
Stefano blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I saw your suitcase, Fano,” James said bitterly. “Every week, you’ve been filling it up a little more because you’re living with the idea that you’re going to go after whoever gets eliminated.”
“Of course I always think I’m next,” Stefano shot back. “Just look at you-you’re all so amazing and so talented. Do you have any idea how guilty I feel because I’m here and Pia’s not? She’s brilliant, James; the judges were shocked that America voted her off. I was supposed to go home tonight!”
“The fuck you were!” James growled. “Do you have any idea how scared I was each time they declared me safe before they sent you back to me? Do you know how I’m like a fuse just waiting to be lit each time I see you in the bottom three? I was so fucking scared it was going to be you tonight, Fano. I can’t let America take you away from me so soon.”
“What are you talking about?” Stefano shook his head in disbelief. “You’re destined for the Idol crown, James. I’m going to be voted off way before you are.”
He felt his breath catch in his throat as James pushed himself off the bed to trap him against the wall, holding Stefano captive. He had never seen James look so distraught before.
“I don’t want you to leave me because I love you.”
“…I don’t understand, James,” he said quietly, shivering under that heated gaze. “You have Heidi. And Hunter. You can’t do this to them.”
“I know, and I feel fucking terrible about it,” James sighed. “But I can’t ignore my feelings for you, either. If feeling like I’m going to have a heart attack each time I realize that one of us could just go any time isn’t a sign that I’m in love with you, then I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“You’re terrible, you know that?” Stefano whispered. “You say such things like there are no consequences involved. We’re going to end up hurting people.”
“The guilt eats away at me every single day I’m here,” James murmured, reaching out to touch his cheek. “But if I don’t tell you I love you, I won’t be able to live with myself, either. It’s not that I don’t love Heidi, but…but I love you, Fano. That’s just the way it is.”
Sighing softly, Stefano pushed himself up on his tiptoes to kiss James. Someday, they would be able to sort out their lives. For now, James was all he needed.
By: Lady Michaelis
Pairing: James Durbin/Stefano Langone
Rating: PG
Warnings: Fluff. Lots of fluff. Infidelity, too.
Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Stefano was more than ready to go home-but James wasn’t ready to lose him.
Disclaimers: Oh my god. My first foray into this pairing. Tonight’s results show just made me want to write something to make poor Fano feel better. This is fiction, but yeah. Feel better, Fano-we love you. (And I hope you don’t see this!)
Stefano shoved his half-packed suitcase back under his bed, feeling nauseated by merely looking at it. He had been more than ready to go home that night; being in the bottom three with Jacob and Pia had pretty much sealed his fate. When Ryan had sent Jacob back to the others, he clutched Pia’s hand tightly and steadied himself, ready to hear the words, “Pia, you are safe”. When his name was called instead of hers, he nearly bottomed out then and there, convinced that they had made a mistake. She was Pia Toscano, clearly one of the best singers and a fan favorite. Of course, he had expected her to stay-they had all been expecting her to stay. It was his time to go, and he would go gracefully.
Only, it wasn’t. America had sent Pia home, and that was that.
“Hey, buddy,” Paul interrupted his thoughts by knocking on the bedroom door. “She’s leaving; we thought you might want to say goodbye.”
“Thanks,” Stefano said softly. “I’ll be right down.”
He let Paul sling an arm around his shoulders as they descended the staircase. It was heartbreaking to see Pia exchanging embraces and goodbyes with everyone at the doorway, smiling through her tears like the champion that she was. Stefano had always admired her inner strength; she rarely let anything get her down, and he was sure that she would go on to much bigger things after elimination.
“There you are,” she said with a smile. “Come here, kiddo; give me a hug.”
Stefano ran straight into her arms, leaning heavily into her. “…I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, baby.” Pia held him tightly. “You are good; don’t let those idiots on Twitter convince you otherwise. I’m going tonight because it really is my time to go. But you? You have a lot more to sing about on that stage. You’re still here for a reason, Fano. I want you to remember that.”
“You’re gonna be so great out there,” he said wistfully. “People know who you are now, and they know just how good you are. I’m gonna miss you, though.”
“And I will miss you,” Pia grinned. “Make me proud, okay? I’ll be watching.”
Stefano hung back as he watched Casey and Paul escort her to the car, hefting her bags into the trunk before giving her a last hug goodbye. As the car pulled out of the driveway, he turned his back and retreated into the house, still unable to believe that he was here when she was not.
“I’m gonna head to bed early,” he told Lauren. “I’m just really tired, I guess.”
“Of course,” she said, giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “I’ll make sure Scotty doesn’t eat your part of the cake so you can have it for breakfast tomorrow. Tell James I’ll save him some, too.”
“Where is he, anyway?” Stefano asked. “He didn’t come say goodbye to Pia.”
“He did earlier this evening,” Lauren replied. “They had a really long conversation about something. I think you should talk to him, Fano. He’s been really out of it since we got back.”
Frowning, Stefano thanked her and made his way back to their room, unsure of what he was going to see as soon as he opened the door. Maybe James had decided to take a walk. Or maybe he was on the phone with his family. He swallowed the lump of jealousy that had formed in his throat, feeling stupid at being jealous of his fiancée and their young son.
“Oh, hey,” he said softly, surprised to see James sitting on his bed. “I was looking all over for you.”
“…you thought you were leaving.”
Stefano blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I saw your suitcase, Fano,” James said bitterly. “Every week, you’ve been filling it up a little more because you’re living with the idea that you’re going to go after whoever gets eliminated.”
“Of course I always think I’m next,” Stefano shot back. “Just look at you-you’re all so amazing and so talented. Do you have any idea how guilty I feel because I’m here and Pia’s not? She’s brilliant, James; the judges were shocked that America voted her off. I was supposed to go home tonight!”
“The fuck you were!” James growled. “Do you have any idea how scared I was each time they declared me safe before they sent you back to me? Do you know how I’m like a fuse just waiting to be lit each time I see you in the bottom three? I was so fucking scared it was going to be you tonight, Fano. I can’t let America take you away from me so soon.”
“What are you talking about?” Stefano shook his head in disbelief. “You’re destined for the Idol crown, James. I’m going to be voted off way before you are.”
He felt his breath catch in his throat as James pushed himself off the bed to trap him against the wall, holding Stefano captive. He had never seen James look so distraught before.
“I don’t want you to leave me because I love you.”
“…I don’t understand, James,” he said quietly, shivering under that heated gaze. “You have Heidi. And Hunter. You can’t do this to them.”
“I know, and I feel fucking terrible about it,” James sighed. “But I can’t ignore my feelings for you, either. If feeling like I’m going to have a heart attack each time I realize that one of us could just go any time isn’t a sign that I’m in love with you, then I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“You’re terrible, you know that?” Stefano whispered. “You say such things like there are no consequences involved. We’re going to end up hurting people.”
“The guilt eats away at me every single day I’m here,” James murmured, reaching out to touch his cheek. “But if I don’t tell you I love you, I won’t be able to live with myself, either. It’s not that I don’t love Heidi, but…but I love you, Fano. That’s just the way it is.”
Sighing softly, Stefano pushed himself up on his tiptoes to kiss James. Someday, they would be able to sort out their lives. For now, James was all he needed.