by Trekker
trkkr47@aol.com
Guess what, everybody!
The JP3 video and DVD comes out on Tuesday! So, I'm thinking maybe, just maybe... the list might be revived. ::crosses fingers:: Anyway, in honor of this event, I am posting a new story.
Author: Trekker
Rating: G
Author's Notes: This is set in the same universe as After Midnight, and I guess it would take place maybe a few weeks later. But there is absolutely no need to read After Midnight to understand this story.
Summary: During a late-night run to the laundromat, Alan and Billy talk. Sort of.
Rain is a paleontologist's worst enemy. A few seconds of
downpour can wash away a month's worth of excavation in
seconds, carrying away precious tiny bone fragments to never be
seen again and reducing hard packed dust to a sea of gooey red
mud.
So, when a rumble of thunder woke Alan around midnight, the
panic began. The next few hours of the night were filled with
starless blackness, wind-stolen shouts, flapping tents,
pounding rain, and mud, mud, mud.
That was how Alan and Billy wound up at the laundromat at two
in the morning.
"Well, it's dark now," Billy said, peering at the shirt
he was
holding up. He was sitting on the washer located between the
two they were currently loading.
Alan rolled his eyes and snatched it away.
"Give me that."
He squinted at it for awhile and finally said, "I think it was
already
brown."
"Ok, then, it's dark."
Billy grabbed the shirt back and dropped it into the machine to
his left. Alan shook his head and finished sorting the stack of
muddy clothes in front of him with a few quick flicks of his wrist.
"Ok, then. Anything else?"
Billy looked around, then pulled his own shirt off and tossed it in.
Alan raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment. He started both
loads and then stopped and stood in front of Billy. The building
was suddenly very quiet. They were the only people there,
naturally, and outside the windows there was nothing but
motionless darkness. The small town always went silent at
nightfall and didn't stir until dawn.
"So..." Alan said. His voice sounded very loud compared to
the
soft sloshing around them.
Billy just smiled, grabbed a fistful of Alan's flannel shirt and
pulled him up against the washer between his legs with a clang.
His scars were white against his tan, one a bright circle on his
shoulder, another curling around his ribs. Billy loved them. He
said he had the most exciting scar stories in the world. And the
thing about Billy was, he didn't mind telling those stories.
"I think we have a half hour to kill," Billy said softly,
inching
forward until he was perched right at the edge of the washer, so
that Alan was pressed firmly against his crotch. "Kiss me."
Alan just stood still and glanced over at the windows. He moved
his arms around uncomfortably for a few seconds before resting
his hands on the edge of the washer on either side of Billy, not
touching him.
"Billy..."
He was always pushing, always trying to get Alan to go a step
further. He'd been the one to insist they come out to the dig
staff,
the one to insist they move them into the same tent, the same
bed. Alan had never had a relationship that open before. But
still... he wasn't sure if he was ready to be making out in a
public
place...
"Oh come on, Alan, it's two AM. They're all asleep
anyway."
Billy let go of his shirt and slipped his arms around Alan's
waist,
but he didn't make any move to force him to overstep his
bounds... except for gazing at him with those long-lashed eyes of
him, and damn it, he knew that drove Alan crazy...
Instead of kissing him, Alan wrapped his arms around his back.
Billy's warm skin felt good under his hands. Four years. Five
months since Isla Sorna and four years together. Alan had
trouble believing it, sometimes. He let his hands slide down
Billy's back to rest on his khakis-clad ass and smiled as
Billy's
eyes fluttered shut for a moment. He loved Billy. He was
beautiful, passionate, young. But... Alan was just waiting for the
other shoe to drop. Waiting for Billy to come to his senses and
leave him. He leaned forward, just let himself rest against
Billy's
warm chest with Billy's arms around him. It was nice.
"Hey, um... I've been thinking."
"Oh? That can't be good," Alan said, his tone light, but
his heart
beating faster. Was this it? So soon?
"Um... well... see, you know my book's coming out and
everything, and I've gotten some job offers, so-"
Fuck, this was it. Alan pulled away instantly, turned his back to
Billy and crossed his arms. He knew what was coming next.
"Alan?"
He took a surreptitious deep breath and turned back around,
trying to act nonchalant and coming across, he knew, as just a
tad too enthusiastic.
"Oh. Yes. You told me. UCLA, huh? Good school."
Billy's brows tensed a bit. God, he looked good right then,
sun-lightened curls, muscular arms, a trace of stubble.
"Uh... yeah..." he said, "But I think UCD would take me
if I
applied... I've talked to some people and you said they had a
position open..."
UCD? Wait a minute, that didn't make sense. If he was breaking
up with him, he wouldn't be talking about applying to work at the
same university...
"So... I was thinking... I'll actually have an income and
all, and the
advance from the book's pretty damn good and... I was kinda
hoping we could... maybebuyahouse..."
No way. He'd heard wrong. A house? Buy a house? This was
Billy talking?
"Wait a minute," Alan said, perhaps a bit more sharply than
necessary, "run that by me again?"
Billy looked away, "Well, I mean, you know, if we owned a house
we wouldn't have to worry about finding an apartment every
year... and, uh, it would be kind of nice to have a... place to call
home... and..."
Home? Billy wanted a home? With him? That sounded way too
good to be true. Alan stared at him, with what must have been a
look of utter disbelief on his face, because Billy jumped off the
washer, raised his hands as if to ward Alan off, and started to
frantically back-pedal.
"... Look, I'm sorry. I read this whole thing the wrong way,
never
mind, forget I said anything, I just figured, you know four years
together maybe..."
"Billy."
Billy froze, his hands slowly sinking down to his sides. Alan
made the mistake of speaking while he was still trying to
process.
"Billy, you... you want us to...? That's, uh..."
Silence reigned as Alan struggled to come up with the right
words. Finally, he blurted, "Buying a house, that's quite a
commitment." Shit, that was not the word he wanted. No,
actually, it was exactly the word he wanted. But he... feared it.
Feared how Billy might react to it, anyway.
"A financial commitment..." he added quickly, his eyes fixed
on
the timer of the washer across from him.
"Well, yeah. Nothing wrong with commitments, Alan,"Billy
said,
and suddenly Alan knew that he wasn't just talking about the
house, "It's kind of an investment. I hear it pays off in the
end.
Most of the time."
"Risky," Alan said softly, thinking not of houses but of
every failed
relationship in his past.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Billy said,
matching Alan's tone,
"But I'm not the only one involved... I mean, I can't
afford to do this
alone. So... uh... are you in?"
Alan had to know if he was taking this all the wrong way, so he
ventured a glance up. Billy's eyes were glued to Alan, intense,
hopeful. Nope, he wasn't taking this the wrong way at all.
"Yeah, I'm in," he said.
The smile that spread across Billy's face rivaled even the one
he'd seen when they'd found each at the fence on the island.
Alan couldn't help but slowly smile back.
"You know, Billy, sometimes it takes years for houses to
appreciate any value..."
Billy crossed the distance between them in a few steps, raising
his hands just enough to lightly splay his fingers over Alan's
hips.
"Well, I'm here for the long haul. You with me?"
"Every step of the way, Billy. Always," Alan said, smiling
broadly,
now.
This time, when Billy pulled him closer, Alan just cocked his
head to the side and surrendered to the kiss, insomniac
townsfolk be damned. After they broke apart, Billy stepped away
and leaned back against the washing machines again.
"Man, Alan, is it just me or did we just get married?"
Alan raised his eyebrows, feeling a little stunned.
"It's not just you, I think we did... Uh..." Alan
didn't want to ask,
but... someone had to. "Are you... ok with that?"
Please say yes, please say...
"Hell, yeah."
"Oh... good. That's good. So, uh, you have anything specific
in
mind? For the house, that is."
"Actually, yeah, there's this little place in the suburbs,
it's got
three bedrooms and a fenced yard, you know, in case we ever
decide to have a-"
"Billy, so help me, I'm running screaming out that door if
the next
word you say is `kid.'"
Billy grinned.
"Actually, I was going to say dog, but now that you mention
it-"
"Billy!"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The End