Fic: Let's Be More Than This (1/19) [The Covenant, OT4, FRAO/NC-17]
Title: Let's Be More Than This - Chapter 1
Author: mickey_sixx
Fandom: The Covenant
Pairing: Caleb Danvers/Pogue Parry/Reid Garwin/Tyler Simms (eventual), Reid Garwin/Tyler Simms (established)
Rating: FRAO/NC-17/M
Word Count: ~67K (yeah, it's an epic)
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. I do not own them!
Beta: Sam | hawk_dancing (Thank you so much! *smishes*) & barefoot_starz ♥
WARNING! This fic contains scenes of a graphic sexual nature between two (three... eventually four) men. If this offends you, please do not read.
Author's Note: FYI, not posting this all at once, just getting the first couple of chapters out.
Summary: The last of the old Covenant has died, leaving the new Generation to carry on the legacy, but Caleb soon discovers there is more to the Power than he'd previously thought. Friendships will be tested and secrets revealed as the Sons of Ipswich find out what it really means to be one of the Covenant.
Prologue
Chapter 1
A week later
It was hard for all of them. Caleb always knew it would be when the day finally came, although he wasn't expecting it to be quite so soon. He’d thought... well, he hadn’t thought really. He’d tried to avoid it at all costs, but today... today he’d had to face the reality. He couldn’t hide from it any longer.
The cold breeze had kicked up the fall leaves that littered the cemetery, caught in mini tornadoes and unable to stop spinning until they hit the ground. He could almost relate. After all that had happened in the last few weeks, Caleb still felt like he was caught in the storm, the dizzying speeds keeping his feet from touching the ground. He remembered how his mother's cold hand had clutched at his arm, head bowed forward and eyes closed as if she couldn't take any more. She didn't cry; that had come later, when she locked herself in the drawing room with only her grief and a bottle of scotch to keep her company.
"Hey."
Caleb glanced towards the door, mouth turning up into a small tired smile at the sight of Sarah peeping in. She returned the smile with one of her own, moving further into the Study room that used to be his father's and towards the desk that Caleb sat behind. The leather, wing-backed chair was warm at his back as he stared out of the large windows and on to the grounds surrounding the house.
"Hey," he replied, slowly taking in her appearance as she neared. He took an almost chauvinistic pleasure in the way she'd dressed and carefully pinned up her hair. Caleb barely held back the snort at his own thoughts, shaking his head a little to get rid of them.
"You ok?" she asked, voice hushed and eyes soft with concern, "You've been up here for a while."
Caleb smiled and reached out a hand to her, finding comfort when she took it and walked around the desk to stand next to him, "I'm ok," He said slowly, "It's been a long day."
"A long few days," She said.
"A long few weeks."
They both looked up suddenly to see Reid leaning against the door, eyeing them both casually. A strange feeling shot through him, twisting his gut briefly before it vanished into nothing. A frown creased his brow for a second; that had been happening a lot recently.
Sarah squeezed his hand gently, "Reid and Tyler have been keeping me company downstairs."
Caleb arched his eyebrow at Reid as the other teenager moved towards them. He gave them a one-armed shrug, coming up on Caleb's other side and leaning back against the desk. Blue eyes met his briefly and Caleb could see the flash of worry hidden beneath his usual cool exterior. That feeling was back again, settling low in his body. It had been a while since his ‘brother’ had been worried about him.
"Good," He said, nodding to Reid and glancing between them, "Where's Pogue?"
"Went out for a ride," Reid answered, "Said he needed to blow off some steam."
Caleb couldn't blame him. He knew they didn't want to go, but they went anyway, to support him. Six people had stood around the open grave, watching the pallbearers slowly lower the expensive casket into the ground. To the rest of the world, William Danvers had died in a tragic car accident when Caleb was fourteen. He remembered Pogue standing behind him, shifting from leg to leg and just waiting for the second the ceremony wound up so he could get as far away from the graves as possible.
Four graves, side by side. Three of them held the bodies of Reid's, Tyler's and now Caleb's father. The fourth was just an empty casket. Pogue's father left when he was seven, the grave appeared two years later. No-one knew the details behind Wayne Parry's disappearance and Pogue didn't talk about it. At all. To anyone. Being at the cemetery today must have opened old wounds and Caleb couldn't help but feel concerned over Pogue's emotional state. Even more so than usual.
"Cay?"
The eldest blinked, brought out of his thoughts by Reid's enquiring voice. The blond frowned slightly and glanced between him and Sarah. The young woman smiled sadly at him, worry evident in her eyes.
"I have to go."
He met her half way, lips pressing to lips softly, innocently, before they parted. There was an awkward pause and Sarah sighed and kissed his cheek, lingering there for a moment before she straightened. Something like guilt stirred in his gut as he looked at her and he went to stand, but she put a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"It's ok, I can let myself out."
The words were kind and Caleb appreciated it. With one last squeeze of his hand she let go and turned to leave. The dark haired teen watched her go sadly, ignoring Reid's stare until the door closed behind her. Only then did he look up, directly into surprisingly gentle blue eyes.
"It's over then." It was a quiet statement, not a question, and Caleb nodded in response.
"Yeah."
Reid patted him on the shoulder and Caleb offered him a wan smile for his efforts. Reid opened his mouth to speak but a soft knock interrupted him. The blond craned his neck around to see Tyler standing awkwardly in the doorway. He smiled slightly.
“Hey,” he said, walking towards them slowly and fiddling with the now unfastened cuffs on his dress shirt, “Sarah’s gone.”
“Think she’ll be ok?”
Caleb nodded, “She’ll be fine. It was a mutual thing.”
“Yeah,” Tyler frowned as he came to stand on Reid’s other side, “What’s the deal with that? I thought you guys were pretty serious.”
“So did I,” Caleb answered with a small shake of his head, “I don’t know what happened. Things were going great, and then it just... changed.”
Reid arched an eyebrow, “Changed?”
“Like...” Caleb struggled to find the words to explain, “When I kissed her the night after the fire, it felt different. Like I was kissing my sister or something. It just didn’t feel right.”
“She took it pretty well dont’cha think?” Reid supplied, head cocked to the side, “You don’t think it’s...”
“Chase?” Tyler finished for him. The youngest made a disgusted face, “Ew.”
“No, it’s not Chase,” Caleb threw in. He shrugged, “It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”
And he was ok with that. Really, he was. But what he didn’t tell them was how much that scared him. Before the fight at Putnam Barn, he was convinced that he loved Sarah. He could even imagine a future with her. Afterwards it had been entirely different. The spark between them had gone. They had both felt it. Something was missing when he kissed her, like the fire and the passion had died overnight.
Something was definitely up.
“Wow,” Reid said, amusement bleeding into his voice, “The rest of this semester is gonna be awkward.”
“She’s transferring back out in a few days,” Caleb said. He caught the surprised look from both of his friends and he half smiled, “Her idea. She thought it would be easier if she acted like she was too traumatized by the fire to stay here.”
“And is she?”
Caleb shrugged at the youngest, “I think it freaked her out more than she let on. It’s one thing to know about the big family secret, it’s another to nearly be killed by it.”
“Talking of freaking out,” Reid muttered, “You think Pogue’s gonna come back any time soon?”
The brunette sighed and heaved himself out of the chair, “I don’t know, but I’m gonna see if I can track him down. Maybe get him to talk.”
Tyler snorted, “Good luck with that.” He shook his head and followed the other two teens as they walked out of the study, “Cay, you know trying to get him to talk is like pulling teeth.”
Reid grimaced, "I think pulling teeth would be less painful.”
~*~*~*~
Ipswich Point was quiet. Lying just outside of Ipswich itself, the peaceful spot was unspoiled by tourists or visitors. It was rare that anyone ever came this far out, which made it a perfect spot to sit and think without being interrupted by anyone.
Pogue Parry leaned against his motorbike, ankles crossed and hands deep in his jeans pockets. The late October breeze licked harsh colour into his cheeks, the leather biker jacket his only protection against the autumn chill. This was his favourite hide-out when things got too much. If he needed to be alone, the Point was where he went to blow off steam, and today he sorely needed the peace and quiet it offered him.
He'd always been touchy about funerals. Sometimes he wasn't even sure why. Maybe it was because there were so many unanswered questions surrounding his own father's death. Maybe it was because they never actually buried him, or even found his body. It was just an empty casket stuffed underground to give closure to something he couldn't understand.
It wasn't that he was angry. Not now. Hell, he could hardly remember the man. Just a hazy image of a person who was once a part of his life. What he did remember was the overwhelming sadness he'd felt at the time. Pogue had been seven years old when he'd walked out on them. He didn't know what had happened, just that the grown ups were upset and always wanted him to play in the back yard or his room so he wouldn't hear them talking. Two years later they buried him, or so Pogue had been lead to believe. As he grew older, he carefully pieced the puzzle together. Some things he figured out on his own, others he'd pulled out of his mom or, more surprisingly, Gorman.
But today, standing before the line of graves at the cemetery, it had been too much. They'd buried William Danvers twice now and it got to Pogue more than it should have. He'd itched to get away from everything and everyone as fast as he could. As soon as he hit home, he threw on his most comfortable jeans and t-shirt and jumped on his bike.
The air behind him stirred and the hairs on the back of his neck lifted, but Pogue didn't move. If anything, he relaxed more at the presence. A few seconds later he heard the tires crunch softly in the fine gravel as it slowed to a stop and then the door opening and closing as Caleb got out. It was strange how he could feel Caleb even more now he'd Ascended; almost like a physical presence. Intense and commanding. It stirred something within him that he couldn't name, another thing Pogue wanted to lock away in his mind and forget about.
"I'm fine, Caleb," He called out, knowing what the other teen was going to ask before he even asked it. He knew Caleb too well.
"Are you?"
He snorted but didn't answer. Caleb came to a stop beside him and Pogue could feel his gaze on him, stripping back each layer until he was laid bare. A shiver ran down his spine and he passed it off as the chill in the air.
"So you found me," he said instead, sarcasm creeping into his voice, "You gonna tell on me now?" Caleb didn't answer and he could almost see the raised eyebrow out the corner of his eye. He shook his head, "Sorry."
"Wanna tell me what's going on?" Caleb offered.
"No." He turned to face him head on, bracing himself for the sharp tug inside him that always appeared when he looked at him. He dropped the sarcasm, "I'm fine, Cay. Promise."
The dark haired boy stared at him for long moments before he nodded softly and relented with a soft "Okay." Pogue nodded and went back to staring out over the cliffs.
"You gonna come home?"
It took him a few seconds to answer, but he nodded and finally straightened up. Caleb gave him a small comforting smile and clapped him on the shoulder, leaving his hand there for a few moments longer than necessary before stepping away and heading back to his car.
Pogue swung his leg over the bike and settled into the familiar hold. He glanced out over the cliffs one last time before he slid his helmet on and fired up the bike, speeding off in the direction Caleb's car had gone and feeling more settled than he had been before.
He just wondered how long it would last for this time.
On to Chapter 2