"The Air Around You" for carribbe - Lotrips SlashaBaby 2012

[slashababy_mod]

Title: The Air Around You
Recipient: carribbe
Author: eff_reality
Pairing: Billy/Dom
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Just a visit like any other.
Notes: Part of the recipient's request was jealousy, and this isn't really traditional jealousy, but I think it sort of fits the bill. :)

Comments

[carribbe]

Oh my goodness! What a beautiful story - I just love it. Thank you SO much.

Their conflicted love for each other is palpable through out this fic. I sense this is so accurate about them it, and a beautiful capture of how they continue to cling to each other to this day.

"So feminine, self-medicating with chocolate," he calls after him, though Billy's still eternally grateful it's just chocolate now. This line was a favorite.

"Dom exhales quietly what sounds like "Jesus," and suddenly, fiercely, Billy misses his mouth again, moving up to capture it for his own, slipping his tongue quickly inside to play against Dom's." Eternal passion - always a heartbeat away.

And finally - "He thinks that Billy senses this, too, in the way that he silently opens his knees and offers his body up to him, bulky arms going limp above his head in surrender." I love the way Dom surrenders to him, and the way Billy cannot ultimately resist him.

This is such a wonderful gift. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am very happy. :)

[eff_reality]

Thank you, darling! I'm so pleased you liked it.

[foxrafer]

Dom's cheeks go warm, those of a little boy caught. "Don't disappear on me," he murmurs, smiling in a way that makes Billy inhale and come halfway back to awake again.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Dom understands that, just as he understands everything else about Billy, smiling behind Billy's fingers, which he still holds pressed against his lips, burning a path between their eyes that Billy can almost see. "I love you," Dom says pointedly.
I think my heart may have clenched just a little with that.

to the point where Billy can almost pretend it's an image from nearly a decade ago, a relic
I adore that you use the word 'relic' here; it makes the whole moment work incredibly well.

This is more than a little achingly sad (Dom's elation at Billy's public affection when they say goodbye kind of kills me), probably in large part because there is much in this that feels very true. It's beautifully written, their emotions so deftly and carefully laid bare. Such a gorgeous fic.

[eff_reality]

Thank you so much! I love hearing which lines resonate most. And "relic" is one of my favorite words to use in unconventional ways. :D

[feelforfaith]

There's something very intriguing about this Billy - so conflicted about what he's doing with Dom, denying himself and then giving in, wanting to see Dom married (happily, I imagine) and yet jealous about anybody else who would touch him. Nothing is just simple, is it. That's what I like best about this fic.

Also, now I need to see Dom wearing a string of pearls :)

[eff_reality]

Oh, I'm so glad the confusion/conflict resonated with you! And Billy can be incredibly difficult to write, so my heart is full of love for you and your comments.

Re the string of pearls, I will submit a request to Dom via twitter. :D

[feelforfaith]

Haha, be sure to alert me if he complies!

[babydazzle]

[eff_reality]

Thank you so much! Lovely to see you here.

The original version didn't have the ray of hope at the end, but I felt it needed it and I'm glad I put it there. :)

[itstonedme]

It seems they are destined to go through this readjustment whenever they come together from whatever and wherever they've been, needing to redefine, needing to discover their new normal. What doesn't change, however, is that they will come together.

Billy kissing Dom on the mouth again but with a ferocity that wasn't there when he'd just come home.

Home. When I read the above line the first time, this word jumped out at me. Home is wherever Dom is.

[eff_reality]

It seems they are destined to go through this readjustment whenever they come together from whatever and wherever they've been, needing to redefine, needing to discover their new normal.
What a wonderful interpretation, and one I suppose I was thinking of subconsciously all while writing this but didn't really voice to myself. Thank you!