Jan. 12th, 2003 10:56 pm
Fic: A Case of You. 1
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fox_confessorDisclaimer: 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.
Title: Case of You. 1
Rating: PG-13
Warning: 'tis rps
Pairing: BB, DM
Summary: "Oh I am a lonely painter / I live in a box of paints / I'm frightened by the devil / And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid" --Joni Mitchell
Notes: Beta'd by Kia, though all mistakes are mine because I don't always listen. My contribution to the mighty, mighty river. The myth is a real myth, too--as far as those things go--by Petronius, A.D. 66. I didn't think he'd mind.
“We were at this barbeque, one given by Fran and Peter, and absolutely everyone was there—all the other actors and the crew—just everyone, all celebrating the end of the first week of filming. Billy and I had been hanging out together, joking and drinking…Billy’s really wonderful, you know, just absolutely hilarious. So funny and talented. We’d become really close mates, co-conspirators. I just really began to fancy him, you know, just…
“So, later that night, I go looking for him and he’s out on the—Fran and Peter’s house sits by a lake and they have this deck out back overlooking the lake. So I find Billy out there by himself, just standing alone out on this little deck in the back, looking up at the stars. And he’s just so…gorgeous, just standing there. Had his hands in his pockets and his head tilted back exposing his neck. Just so handsome…
* * *
Billy stood looking up at the dark Wellington sky. It looked like a great overturned bowl, deep blue and stretching forever. Out here at Peter and Fran’s, there were no city lights to obscure the stars and there was no moon that night to speak of. Millions of stars twinkled, each a perfect little point of light.
They had all spent the day outside, eating Peter’s Special Recipe hamburgers and relaxing after a long first week of shooting, but the party had moved inside as the sun set and the night grew chill. Billy unconsciously slipped his cold hands into his trouser pockets, a shiver running down his spine. The music and voices of the party were very far away as he slipped further into his thoughts. The water below him lapped softly at the rocks on the shore, the surface of the lake very still, but all else was quiet.
“I was wondering where you got off to. Thought maybe someone had you cornered. Came to rescue you.”
Disturbed from his thoughts, Billy lowered his head and focused his eyes on the lake below. The darkness reflected on the surface of the lake, making it seem infinitely deep. He felt as though that darkness and that depth were surrounding him, crushing him. He felt a longing for his family, his home. Finally, he quietly said, “There were just too many people all of a sudden.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No. Stay, I could use the company, beginning to feel a little melancholy thinking of home.”
Dominic watched Billy for a moment more before walking across the wooden beams of the deck to stand next to him at the railing. He looked up at the stars, twisting his head around to take in the whole horizon. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Billy took his hands out of his pockets and wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing his upper arms against the cool night air. He looked back up at the sky and said, “Reminds me of home.”
They stood quietly for a few minutes, each lost in his own thoughts. Dominic finally broke the silence. “They’re different here, you know, from home. A whole new night sky.”
Billy didn’t say anything but began searching the sky for something familiar. “You’re right. I never noticed before.”
“My dad used to tell us stories about the stars, me and my brother,” Dominic said.
“Did he?”
“Yeah. He’d point to the sky, to a star and say, “see that one, that one is for the widow of Ephesus,” and then tell us the story.” Dominic turned and looked at Billy. Their eyes met and both smiled, Dominic’s gray eyes dancing with the memory of his dad.
Billy watched Dominic for a moment, before turning his eyes back up to the stars. “So, who was she?”
“Hmmm?”
“This lady of Ephesus, who was she?”
“Widow. That was one of my favorite stories. It’s about a married woman in Ephesus who was known for her devotion to her husband and when he died she refused to be separated from him but followed him with her maid into his tomb to die. Everyone tried to dissuade her but she wouldn’t abandon him.”
The sound of Dominic’s rich voice enveloped Billy, relaxing him. Dominic moved a little closer and put his arm around Billy’s back, around his waist. Billy leaned into him a bit, finding warmth.
“Then one night, a soldier came to the tomb following the sound of her mourning wail. He saw her and thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. So he tries to give her food but she refuses. Her maid begs her to eat, saying, “Do you suppose the shades and ashes of the dead are by such sorrow touched?” So, she gives in and eats the food the soldier offers. The soldier falls in love with her because of her beauty and devotion and so he begs her to marry him but she refuses.”
Billy turned to watch Dominic talk. Dominic looked down at Billy, smiled, and turned back to the stars, his thumb massaging Billy’s waist. The only sound for several minutes was the water lapping at the platform supports beneath their feet. Billy waited for Dominic to continue. When he didn’t, he asked, “What happened?”
Dominic looked back down into Billy’s eyes, sure of what he saw there. He smiled, answering “The soldier finally convinces her to marry him by telling her, “If love is pleasing, yield yourself to love.”
Dominic leaned down close to the uplifted face before him and brushed Billy’s lips with a chaste kiss. Billy didn't move, couldn't decide whether to pull away or stay where he was. Dominic didn't let him think too hard.
Finding no resistance, he leaned in again and deepened the kiss; his tongue gently stroking Billy's bottom lip, asking admittance. Dominic turned his body fully into Billy’s, his hand joining the other on Billy’s waist. They slid down and clung to Billy's slim hips, Dominic’s thumbs making gentle circles in the denim, as Billy was pushed heavily into the railing of the deck.
The railing was hard against the small of Billy’s back and Dominic’s thumbs slipped under the bottom of his untucked shirt onto the bare skin of his stomach. Dominic smelled of wine and wood smoke from the fire that Peter had lit, very familiar and comforting. Still, Billy too quickly moved past the rush of ease and familiarity, as he began to feel a rise of panic.
“Dom…” was mumbled from lips that hadn't yet given in to the kiss. “Dom…Dominic!” Billy finally acted, putting his hands on Dominic’s shoulders and pushing away, loudly saying, “What the fuck?”
“I'm sorry,” Dominic looked at his friend, dropped his hands and took a step back.
“What the hell were you doing?” Billy felt slightly ill. He was shaking from more than the cold now and felt a little dizzy. One hand reached up unconsciously to cover his lips.
“It was just a kiss, Billy. I didn't think you'd mind.”
“You just kissed me,” Billy repeated. Realizing he was still touching his lips, he dropped his hand to his side.
“I know..."
“You just *kissed* me.”
“It's okay, Billy. It won't happen again. I thought…" Dom let the thought trail off. “Calm down. I thought you were into chaps, too.”
“I'm not," he said a little too quickly, his voice too loud in the quiet. He stepped further away from Dominic, folding his arms in front of him.
“Okay. All right. I'm sorry. Let's go back inside.” Dom took a step toward Billy and touched his shoulder, nudging him back towards the party they had left, before turning and walking back across the deck. Billy didn’t follow. “I didn't know you were…”
Dominic stopped, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. He looked down the path that led up to the house, where he could see and hear the party he wished he hadn’t left. Sighing, he evaded Billy’s question. “Were what?”
“Attracted to men.”
“You know, whatever.” Dominic was afraid of this line of questioning, afraid of damaging their relationship further with his answers. He’d been so sure of what he saw in Billy’s face earlier and had thought about nothing other than kissing that perfect little bow of a mouth. Indeed, he had thought of little else since they had met so many weeks ago. “I like to kiss.”
“So are you or aren't you?”
“Are I or aren't I what?”
Billy stared at the back of Dominic's head. His friend had just kissed him and was now teasing him in his familiar way as if nothing had happened. As if it didn’t mean anything. Dominic, he knew, was willing to ignore what had just happened. Billy wasn't sure he would be able to.
“Dominic.”
Dom slowly turned around, hesitant to answer. Billy’s eyebrows were drawn together, his face showing confusion. Dominic raised a hand and ran it over his short hair. He met Billy’s stare and said, “I don't think about it too much, Billy. I said I was sorry. I like you and I thought for a moment you wouldn't mind me kissing you. You do. I won't. Is it going to destroy our friendship?”
“No.”
“Does it bother you that I like to kiss?”
“No.”
“Men?”
“No.”
“Are we okay?”
“Aye.”
“Let's go back to the party. We can find girls to kiss instead. Plenty of them.”
“Yeah,” Billy answered, distracted. Billy let Dom turn and take a few more steps before saying, “Wait.”
Dominic turned around again, facing Billy. Billy’s voice was quiet and Dominic had to listen carefully to hear him as he said, “When did you know…that you were…to men.”
Dominic was quiet, thinking. He walked back over to lean against the railing behind Billy. “I don’t know. I guess I always knew but I never acted on it until I was about 18.”
Billy leaned on the railing next to Dominic, considering. His hands went back up to rub some heat into his shoulders. He found himself missing the warmth Dominic had surrounded him with and thought about the kiss. He felt the heat now as a blush crept up his cheeks. He turned to peek at Dominic and found that Dominic was watching him. He blush harder and turned away to look out over the lake.
“I…I’ve thought about…”
Both of their heads turned at the sound of footsteps on the path behind them. Elijah.
“There you guys are. We were wondering.” Elijah looked from Dominic to Billy back to Dominic. He raised his eyebrows at Dominic in a silent question. Dominic answered with a shake of his head. “Peter wants us there for a toast.”
“All right, we’re coming.” Dominic pushed away from the railing, looking back to Billy. “You coming.”
“You two go ahead. I’ll catch up in a minute.”
“I’m sorry, Bill.”
“No. It’s okay, Dom,” Billy offered him a weak smile. “Just kind of surprised me. Go on. I just want a last look.”
Dominic nodded his head and began to follow Elijah back up to the house. Near the top, he turned back and looked again at Billy, who stood, hands in his pockets, looking back up at the stars.
Title: Case of You. 1
Rating: PG-13
Warning: 'tis rps
Pairing: BB, DM
Summary: "Oh I am a lonely painter / I live in a box of paints / I'm frightened by the devil / And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid" --Joni Mitchell
Notes: Beta'd by Kia, though all mistakes are mine because I don't always listen. My contribution to the mighty, mighty river. The myth is a real myth, too--as far as those things go--by Petronius, A.D. 66. I didn't think he'd mind.
“We were at this barbeque, one given by Fran and Peter, and absolutely everyone was there—all the other actors and the crew—just everyone, all celebrating the end of the first week of filming. Billy and I had been hanging out together, joking and drinking…Billy’s really wonderful, you know, just absolutely hilarious. So funny and talented. We’d become really close mates, co-conspirators. I just really began to fancy him, you know, just…
“So, later that night, I go looking for him and he’s out on the—Fran and Peter’s house sits by a lake and they have this deck out back overlooking the lake. So I find Billy out there by himself, just standing alone out on this little deck in the back, looking up at the stars. And he’s just so…gorgeous, just standing there. Had his hands in his pockets and his head tilted back exposing his neck. Just so handsome…
* * *
Billy stood looking up at the dark Wellington sky. It looked like a great overturned bowl, deep blue and stretching forever. Out here at Peter and Fran’s, there were no city lights to obscure the stars and there was no moon that night to speak of. Millions of stars twinkled, each a perfect little point of light.
They had all spent the day outside, eating Peter’s Special Recipe hamburgers and relaxing after a long first week of shooting, but the party had moved inside as the sun set and the night grew chill. Billy unconsciously slipped his cold hands into his trouser pockets, a shiver running down his spine. The music and voices of the party were very far away as he slipped further into his thoughts. The water below him lapped softly at the rocks on the shore, the surface of the lake very still, but all else was quiet.
“I was wondering where you got off to. Thought maybe someone had you cornered. Came to rescue you.”
Disturbed from his thoughts, Billy lowered his head and focused his eyes on the lake below. The darkness reflected on the surface of the lake, making it seem infinitely deep. He felt as though that darkness and that depth were surrounding him, crushing him. He felt a longing for his family, his home. Finally, he quietly said, “There were just too many people all of a sudden.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No. Stay, I could use the company, beginning to feel a little melancholy thinking of home.”
Dominic watched Billy for a moment more before walking across the wooden beams of the deck to stand next to him at the railing. He looked up at the stars, twisting his head around to take in the whole horizon. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Billy took his hands out of his pockets and wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing his upper arms against the cool night air. He looked back up at the sky and said, “Reminds me of home.”
They stood quietly for a few minutes, each lost in his own thoughts. Dominic finally broke the silence. “They’re different here, you know, from home. A whole new night sky.”
Billy didn’t say anything but began searching the sky for something familiar. “You’re right. I never noticed before.”
“My dad used to tell us stories about the stars, me and my brother,” Dominic said.
“Did he?”
“Yeah. He’d point to the sky, to a star and say, “see that one, that one is for the widow of Ephesus,” and then tell us the story.” Dominic turned and looked at Billy. Their eyes met and both smiled, Dominic’s gray eyes dancing with the memory of his dad.
Billy watched Dominic for a moment, before turning his eyes back up to the stars. “So, who was she?”
“Hmmm?”
“This lady of Ephesus, who was she?”
“Widow. That was one of my favorite stories. It’s about a married woman in Ephesus who was known for her devotion to her husband and when he died she refused to be separated from him but followed him with her maid into his tomb to die. Everyone tried to dissuade her but she wouldn’t abandon him.”
The sound of Dominic’s rich voice enveloped Billy, relaxing him. Dominic moved a little closer and put his arm around Billy’s back, around his waist. Billy leaned into him a bit, finding warmth.
“Then one night, a soldier came to the tomb following the sound of her mourning wail. He saw her and thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. So he tries to give her food but she refuses. Her maid begs her to eat, saying, “Do you suppose the shades and ashes of the dead are by such sorrow touched?” So, she gives in and eats the food the soldier offers. The soldier falls in love with her because of her beauty and devotion and so he begs her to marry him but she refuses.”
Billy turned to watch Dominic talk. Dominic looked down at Billy, smiled, and turned back to the stars, his thumb massaging Billy’s waist. The only sound for several minutes was the water lapping at the platform supports beneath their feet. Billy waited for Dominic to continue. When he didn’t, he asked, “What happened?”
Dominic looked back down into Billy’s eyes, sure of what he saw there. He smiled, answering “The soldier finally convinces her to marry him by telling her, “If love is pleasing, yield yourself to love.”
Dominic leaned down close to the uplifted face before him and brushed Billy’s lips with a chaste kiss. Billy didn't move, couldn't decide whether to pull away or stay where he was. Dominic didn't let him think too hard.
Finding no resistance, he leaned in again and deepened the kiss; his tongue gently stroking Billy's bottom lip, asking admittance. Dominic turned his body fully into Billy’s, his hand joining the other on Billy’s waist. They slid down and clung to Billy's slim hips, Dominic’s thumbs making gentle circles in the denim, as Billy was pushed heavily into the railing of the deck.
The railing was hard against the small of Billy’s back and Dominic’s thumbs slipped under the bottom of his untucked shirt onto the bare skin of his stomach. Dominic smelled of wine and wood smoke from the fire that Peter had lit, very familiar and comforting. Still, Billy too quickly moved past the rush of ease and familiarity, as he began to feel a rise of panic.
“Dom…” was mumbled from lips that hadn't yet given in to the kiss. “Dom…Dominic!” Billy finally acted, putting his hands on Dominic’s shoulders and pushing away, loudly saying, “What the fuck?”
“I'm sorry,” Dominic looked at his friend, dropped his hands and took a step back.
“What the hell were you doing?” Billy felt slightly ill. He was shaking from more than the cold now and felt a little dizzy. One hand reached up unconsciously to cover his lips.
“It was just a kiss, Billy. I didn't think you'd mind.”
“You just kissed me,” Billy repeated. Realizing he was still touching his lips, he dropped his hand to his side.
“I know..."
“You just *kissed* me.”
“It's okay, Billy. It won't happen again. I thought…" Dom let the thought trail off. “Calm down. I thought you were into chaps, too.”
“I'm not," he said a little too quickly, his voice too loud in the quiet. He stepped further away from Dominic, folding his arms in front of him.
“Okay. All right. I'm sorry. Let's go back inside.” Dom took a step toward Billy and touched his shoulder, nudging him back towards the party they had left, before turning and walking back across the deck. Billy didn’t follow. “I didn't know you were…”
Dominic stopped, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. He looked down the path that led up to the house, where he could see and hear the party he wished he hadn’t left. Sighing, he evaded Billy’s question. “Were what?”
“Attracted to men.”
“You know, whatever.” Dominic was afraid of this line of questioning, afraid of damaging their relationship further with his answers. He’d been so sure of what he saw in Billy’s face earlier and had thought about nothing other than kissing that perfect little bow of a mouth. Indeed, he had thought of little else since they had met so many weeks ago. “I like to kiss.”
“So are you or aren't you?”
“Are I or aren't I what?”
Billy stared at the back of Dominic's head. His friend had just kissed him and was now teasing him in his familiar way as if nothing had happened. As if it didn’t mean anything. Dominic, he knew, was willing to ignore what had just happened. Billy wasn't sure he would be able to.
“Dominic.”
Dom slowly turned around, hesitant to answer. Billy’s eyebrows were drawn together, his face showing confusion. Dominic raised a hand and ran it over his short hair. He met Billy’s stare and said, “I don't think about it too much, Billy. I said I was sorry. I like you and I thought for a moment you wouldn't mind me kissing you. You do. I won't. Is it going to destroy our friendship?”
“No.”
“Does it bother you that I like to kiss?”
“No.”
“Men?”
“No.”
“Are we okay?”
“Aye.”
“Let's go back to the party. We can find girls to kiss instead. Plenty of them.”
“Yeah,” Billy answered, distracted. Billy let Dom turn and take a few more steps before saying, “Wait.”
Dominic turned around again, facing Billy. Billy’s voice was quiet and Dominic had to listen carefully to hear him as he said, “When did you know…that you were…to men.”
Dominic was quiet, thinking. He walked back over to lean against the railing behind Billy. “I don’t know. I guess I always knew but I never acted on it until I was about 18.”
Billy leaned on the railing next to Dominic, considering. His hands went back up to rub some heat into his shoulders. He found himself missing the warmth Dominic had surrounded him with and thought about the kiss. He felt the heat now as a blush crept up his cheeks. He turned to peek at Dominic and found that Dominic was watching him. He blush harder and turned away to look out over the lake.
“I…I’ve thought about…”
Both of their heads turned at the sound of footsteps on the path behind them. Elijah.
“There you guys are. We were wondering.” Elijah looked from Dominic to Billy back to Dominic. He raised his eyebrows at Dominic in a silent question. Dominic answered with a shake of his head. “Peter wants us there for a toast.”
“All right, we’re coming.” Dominic pushed away from the railing, looking back to Billy. “You coming.”
“You two go ahead. I’ll catch up in a minute.”
“I’m sorry, Bill.”
“No. It’s okay, Dom,” Billy offered him a weak smile. “Just kind of surprised me. Go on. I just want a last look.”
Dominic nodded his head and began to follow Elijah back up to the house. Near the top, he turned back and looked again at Billy, who stood, hands in his pockets, looking back up at the stars.