The Connections Series, Part 8/?, "Just relax, everything's ok" (Charlie/Colby, PG-13)
Title: Just relax, everything's ok
Series: The Connections Series, Part 8/?
Characters: Charlie/Colby, Don, Alan, David, Megan
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4
Summary: Friday night dinner has just begun.
Feedback: Yay, I love it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Beta: Thank you sooo much, irena_adler .
* * *
Go to Part 7: I can't seem to get you out of my head, NC-17 (Warnings: Intense dream/fantasy)
Go to Part 9: So here we are, all alone the two of us, PG-13
* * *
The Connections Series
Part 8: “Just relax, everything’s ok”
When Charlie woke up the next day, he was still in the bathroom.
And his father was standing in front of him, looking at him with worried eyes. “Are you ok, Charlie?”
“Um… what?” Charlie was so relaxed because of his dream of last night that he had barely heard Alan. He had fallen asleep half an hour after having his little release and making the last confession to himself.
“I asked you if you are ok,” his father repeated, now sounding more serious. “I called you ten times.”
“Why?”
“Because you have classes in the morning, and I thought that was something you were looking forward to.”
Suddenly Charlie’s eyes went open, and he realized where he was, what he had done in that place in the middle of the night, and who was now standing there. He stood up in shock and desperately studied every part of the bathroom, every last corner that still could be the testimony of his behavior.
“What are you doing? Are you looking for something in particular? Were you writing equations here in the bathroom walls again?” Alan asked, and to him, it sounded a lot like the movie called “A Beautiful Mind”.
Then, and only then, Charlie realized that he had been acting crazy, so he thought about a way to get out of this embarrassing situation. “Something like that, dad, but not as exaggerated. Would you mind telling me how’s the weather like today?”
With that, Charlie got what he wanted: that his father would approach a little window that was in the bathroom to watch the sky. “Well, it’s a beautiful day, Charlie. Good for giving an amazing class,” Alan joked, and while he talked, Charlie threw a comb to the floor, behind the sink.
“I found it,” Charlie said, and he made it look like he just found the comb there, like if it was the thing he was looking for so desperately. He felt so relieved when his father just look at his sweaty clothes and his hair, all in knots, and just shook his head.
“It’s going to take you a while to get cleaned up, son. And you should hurry up. It’s almost 10 o’clock.”
“Ten o clock?!” Charlie repeated in shock.
“Yeah. Why do you think I kept calling you? You’re over an hour late for your class.
Then Alan left the room and went to make his youngest son a cup of coffee, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to waste time preparing it himself. When Charlie felt himself alone again, he just took a deep breath and looked around. The comb was still in his hand.
My god, I have become an adolescent again. Here I am, trying to hide my twisted sexual desires from my family.
Then he observed the fact that the bathroom was a mess. Even if he had cleaned what was necessary last night, the towel was on the floor (thank god the stains were at the bottom) and the three-parts mirror was open.
I was so out of control after that dream. I couldn’t stop. It is almost… embarrassing.
He had said to himself “almost” embarrassing because he had already accepted what was happening to him. Still, he needed to repeat it in his head several times.
I like Agent Colby Granger. I like him a lot. Yes, I like him… romantically speaking.
Charlie remembered a few seconds of the dream, and had to stop his mind from going forward and remembering the rest
Stop trembling, you idiot. ‘Cause if you don’t, everybody’s going to find out. And today is not a good day to be obvious, since Megan’s going to be here… if she calls to confirm it. Damn… Colby’s going to be here, too.
He panicked. How was he going to react when he saw the agent, now that he was completely aware that he cared too much for him, that he lusted after him?
Nothing’s gonna happen. Breathe.
So he tried to live a normal day. He went to CalSci and gave his usual classes. But every time he passed by someone who was close to Amita, he could remember exactly what he had experienced in his last dream.
* * *
And he wasn’t the only one that was nervous. Colby spent the whole day distracted thinking about the best words to say to Charlie. Megan hadn’t come in to work today (it was her free day) and Larry hadn’t passed by yet either, but Colby was sure that one of them would have called Charlie to confirm her presence at the Eppes’ house that night.
“Hey, how’s your brother?” Colby asked Don when he had the chance.
Just checking what attitude I’ll have to deal with tonight. I’m just trying to anticipate the conditions of the territory I’ll be in. But this is worse than doing that exact same thing in Afghanistan, I can tell.
Don didn’t suspect about Colby’s question because he had always cared a lot about Charlie. While organizing some papers and walking around the office, Don answered, “To tell you the truth, he’s acting weird. He said that he did something terrible to Amita, and that it’s why she wants to leave.”
“What did he do?”
“I don’t know, that’s the point. He doesn’t want to talk about it. Maybe if you could… you know…”
“He actually invited me to come over tonight.”
Don’s smile caught Colby by surprise. “Good, good. You will tell me what you find out, whatever it is, won’t you, Granger?”
“Um… sure. Sure, Don.”
“Ok. I’m counting on you.”
Then Don left the office and went to the rest room. Colby just stood in the middle of the cubicles, trying to find out a way to please Don without betraying Charlie.
I have to give Don something, because after all, he’s my boss and he’s Charlie’s brother. But on the other hand, if Charlie doesn’t want him to know about his problems with Amita, who am I to reveal them? This is not going to be easy.
* * *
“Colby. It’s almost eight. Shouldn’t you be going to meet Charlie?” David asked his friend when he saw his own watch. Everybody else seemed to have already gone home.
“Yeah… yeah,” Colby responded, very nervous, because he hadn’t found a good lie to tell Don about the cause of Charlie’s strange behavior, since he didn’t want to betray him by telling the truth, whatever that was. “Bye.”
He took his stuff and left the FBI without saying one more word. When he knocked at the Eppes’ house door, he was received by a very elegant Don.
“Don, are you going out?” he dared to ask, although he already knew the answer.
“Oh, yeah. I arranged something… just to give you two guys some privacy. So you can get from him the big secret,” Don said in a whisper, looking back, just in case someone had the intention to come to the living room. “Come in, Granger. I was just leaving” the agent added, now speaking loudly.
Alan got out of the kitchen and approached them. He shook Colby’s hand and said that there was cold pizza in the refrigerator. “I said Charlie that I could cook something for you two, since he’s been so busy lately, but he said he would do it. I wouldn’t count on it, though. He’s been working in the solarium all afternoon.”
Remembering that his son had slept in the bathroom last night, Alan called Charlie’s name. There was no answer.
“I’ll go for him. Just wait here,” Don promised, and went upstairs. He found Charlie in the solarium, like his father had said. “Charlie, Colby’s here.”
The mathematician’s eyes went wide open and he involuntarily broke the chalk pen he had been using to build an incredibly complex algorithm in the blackboard. He turned around, slowly and trembling, and looked at his brother.
Don couldn’t hold himself. “Damn, you look worse than yesterday!”
“Really? Like I was going to pass out at any second?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, maybe it’s because I am.”
“Oh, c’mon, Chuck. It’s just Colby, you like Colby. I’ve seen you two help each other so much that I know that you will get along again, and that it’s going to be tonight. Just relax, everything’s ok.” Don patted Charlie on the shoulder and encouraged him to go downstairs and receive his guest.
So Charlie did it. When he got to the living room, his father had gone to the kitchen again. Every step he made towards Colby was pure torture. And when he shook the agent’s hand, he felt like some kind of energy was passing from Colby’s body to his own arm. At the same time he noticed that his own jaw was clenching because of the tension. But Charlie also knew that he had this weird, hot sensation in his stomach, like he was actually enjoying this encounter, like he could use it for later to satisfy his secret desires. Like this would be food for his fantasies.
Charlie was glad that Don wasn’t going to be there. He didn’t need anyone who knew him well to be present that night, just in case he couldn’t play the cool-friend card and let some kind of information slip out of his head. The mathematician still remembered perfectly that last night he had been about to tell his brother about the feelings he had for Colby.
“Ok, I’m leaving,” Don announced, and took a last look to his final appearance in the mirror that was beside the door. “Bye, guys, I hope that any issue there is between you two can be put to an end; a connection like the one you share isn’t something easy to find at all,” he added, smiling, and then yelled “Dad, did you want a ride?”
Alan came out of the kitchen with a bag and a jacket. “Yeah, Donnie. I’m coming.”
“Where are you going, again?” Charlie asked, because he had been trying so hard to not think about Colby that afternoon, to get him out of his head by writing equations (something that hadn’t helped him at all), that he had forgotten what his father was going to do that night.
“I’m going to my new night yoga class. I’m starting it again. I need to stretch out, you know? A little exercise is never a bad thing,” Alan explained, and went towards the door. “Let’s go, Donnie. Charlie, Colby, just remember the cold pizza.”
“Dad, I said I would cook something,” Charlie reminded him.
“Well, did you?”
“Um… no.”
“Then I was right to mention you the cold pizza twice, just in case,” Alan repeated, and got out of the house.
Don was laughing because of Charlie’s offended face, but he said goodbye to his brother and then he glanced at the agent that was standing beside him. “Colby, you remember what we talked about today, don’t you?”
“Yeah, Don. I’ll keep that in mind.”
”Good. Bye then.”
So then the door was closed. Charlie and Colby remained in silence, listening to the sounds of Don and Alan getting inside the car. They started the engine. And the noise of it just faded very slowly.
There was still a few more seconds of silence. Colby was looking at every corner of the house, but wasn’t really paying any attention. Why the hell did Don put me in this situation? It’s like if I had to decide between my personal life and my job.
Charlie was in front of him, his hands on his own hips, his eyes fixed on his shoes. He jumped in his place when Colby suddenly spoke.
“So… could I just leave my jacket somewhere?”
“Oh! Sure, sure. Just… let me…”
Colby handed Charlie his jacket, and the mathematician trembled when he felt the heat the fabric still radiated. Why the hell am I acting like a freak? I’m not shy around him, I’ve never been. If I act different than usual, he’s going to suspect something’s happening. Megan’s coming, anyway.
“When is Megan going to show up?” Colby wanted to know, like he had read Charlie’s thoughts.
“Um… I don’t know. She didn’t call to say when she would be here.”
“But she was supposed to do it, she was supposed to call.”
“Not necessarily. I assumed she was going to tell you at work, and that then you were going to tell me when you get here.”
Colby just shook his head. He and Charlie looked at each other breathing hard, like if they were afraid of having to deal with this alone.
And Charlie freaked out.
Ok, so maybe I do need a life coach. And I need it right now.
“I’m going to call her,” he said, and ran to grab his cell phone. He dialed Megan’s number and her voiced sounded very cheery. “Hello, Megan?”
“Oh, hi, Charlie. What’s going on?”
“Um, it’s just that… Colby and I are kind of expecting you to arrive at my house. Do you have any idea when you’ll be able to get here?”
“Mmm. Charlie…”
“Yes?”
“I’m not going.”
“What?” He yelled, in shock because this situation was pretty much the same that had appeared in his last dream.
Colby went towards him, because that reaction from Charlie got him by surprised. He assumed something bad had happened, probably to Megan. “What? What is it, what happened?” the agent asked, but Charlie was speaking again, and he didn’t sound horrified anymore.
“Ok… no, really, it’s ok. We’ll be fine,” the mathematician said, and then hung up. He turned around to look at Colby in the eye, and tried to calm down.
Remember what Don said. Just relax. Everything’s ok.
Go to Part 7: I can't seem to get you out of my head, NC-17 (Warnings: Intense dream/fantasy)
Go to Part 9: So here we are, all alone the two of us, PG-13
* * *
The song I chose for this chapter:
DAFT PUNK - DIGITAL LOVE
Click to view