[Fic] Never Let Me Down
Sep. 11th, 2006 03:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittydesadeTitle: Never Let Me Down
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Pogue, Caleb
Word Count: 1,107 words
Rating: PG
Summary: Caleb discovers something about his friend he didn't quite expect, and something about himself in the process. Yes, I am writing Covenant slash. Sue me. Or don't, please.
I'm taking a ride with my best friend
I hope he never lets me down again
-- Depeche Mode, "Never Let Me Down"
Afterwards it took Caleb several minutes to catch his breath, and several more to figure out inside himself what had just happened. He pulled his sweats back up around his waist and felt self-conscious, which he shouldn't have been, but things were different now.
"What?" Pogue looked at him, a shy little half-smile on his face but his eyes were guarded, wary. It hurt, that wary look from his best friend.
"Nothing." Caleb shrugged, leaned back against the wall again. For a second there was an uncomfortable silence as he tried to find something to say, anything that would bring back his friend instead of this stranger still crouched in front of him. "I didn't know you were…"
Pogue smiled a little, shrugged. "We weren't that close before I started dating Kate."
Which Caleb interpreted to mean there had been someone, should have been some kind of sign, but he hadn't noticed. Or maybe he had and he just put it out of his mind. He wasn't sure. Pogue was his best friend and he'd never noticed this before. It seemed kind of weird.
"How are you and Kate doing, anyway?"
The other boy stood, wouldn't look at Caleb for a second. "She still thinks I'm a jealous asshole. I don't know. I think we're seeing other people…"
"Probably a good thing, if you're…" He couldn't finish that sentence. Pogue flushed, almost angry. "Sorry."
He paced, and Caleb stayed up against the wall and wrapped his arms around himself as though it could protect him from the implications of what they'd done, although what he really wanted was the last six months back, and for Chase to never have come to Spenser.
Two months of happiness that slowly trickled away. With Ascension came new power, and there was a period of stabilizing where he fought the temptation to use it for little things, like getting to school on time and surprising Sarah with flowers out of nowhere. His mother didn't lecture, Sarah didn't say anything, and eventually he'd gotten control of himself and stopped but it was too late. He wondered if it had been too late when Chase had yanked her out of the party, or even before that.
Pogue was watching him. Caleb shook his head a little; he didn't want to talk about it.
"Thinking about Sarah?"
Unfortunately, Pogue had known him too long to avoid the subject. "Yeah."
"She'll come back." He didn't sound too hopeful, and Caleb had to wonder why that was, if there was something else going on underneath. "She's a good girl. She'll be back once she figures out how to handle it."
"Yeah." Now Caleb pushed himself off the wall and started to pace. "I think she already figured out how to handle it. I think her way of handling it was ditching me, not having to deal with the whole … thing."
"Then she's an idiot."
There was definitely something under that. Caleb stared at his friend, who he was starting to think he'd never really known, and couldn't decipher the answering stare beyond how intense it was. Scarier, almost, than the power-black eyes.
"It's good to see you've eased off," Pogue said after a second, and Caleb blinked. That hadn't been what he'd expected him to say.
"I just… I mean." He shrugged. "It was stupid. It's addictive, and it was stupid. And after what we all went through with Chase…"
"We were worried about you."
"We?" Caleb's eyebrows shot up.
Pogue smirked. "I know what you're thinking. Yeah, we. Tyler didn't say anything, but Reid was cussing you out when your back was turned for a whole week. You know how he gets…"
He smiled a little, peculiarly touched by that.
"Yeah, now I just have to worry about the rest of you losers. For the rest of the year."
"We'll make it." He shrugged. "Reid and Tyler look up to you, you know that. They'll get in trouble a couple of times and then they'll straighten out." Then, off the look Caleb was giving him. "We're going to be okay. Stop worrying so much."
His turn to shrug.
"So…"
And they were back to the awkwardness again. Staring at each other and not knowing what was going on. He didn't know why he'd let Pogue do that. He didn't know why they'd started in the first place. It had started with angry, depressed talk about Sarah and Kate and the isolation they were starting to feel with the Ascensions coming up on them, drawing closer together and further away from anyone. And his skin prickled, too close and not close enough. He was fed up with keeping secrets, with having to play shepherd to Tyler and Reid, with hurting over Sarah and trying to gain her understanding.
Pogue was still watching him. He understood. Even if it wasn't quite what Caleb wanted or had meant. He gave his friend a small, crooked smile.
"I'm sorry, man. I didn't…"
"It's okay."
But it wasn't. He could see that, and Pogue was reaching for his helmet and his hand closed over the other boy's wrist before it got there.
"Hey."
It was one of the strangest things he'd ever done, but in that second he would have done anything to take that look off his friend's face. They had enough to deal with just being teenagers, just being teenagers with supernatural powers, just being teenagers with supernatural powers that could kill them, and he didn't want to put any more lines on the other boy's face.
And he was lonely. And he missed being close to someone, and even if he wasn't used to this kind of closeness it felt better, more like home than a thrill, and that was maybe what he needed right now.
He hadn't planned on leaning into it, either. But even with Pogue being just as surprised as he was that first kiss made his breath fly away and his chest go tight and something very different prickled and raced across his skin. He was smirking without knowing it, emboldened by a very male delight in being able to put that wanton, wanting look on another person's face.
"Are you sure…"
Caleb tugged him back into his room. There were still things he was uncomfortable with, hell, he was uncomfortable with most of it. But damned if he wasn't sure about figuring this out. Figuring his friend out, at least the parts about him that he hadn't known.
"Come on. We got a lot of catching up to do, looks like." And he smirked again. "Besides, my bed's bigger than yours."
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Pogue, Caleb
Word Count: 1,107 words
Rating: PG
Summary: Caleb discovers something about his friend he didn't quite expect, and something about himself in the process. Yes, I am writing Covenant slash. Sue me. Or don't, please.
I'm taking a ride with my best friend
I hope he never lets me down again
-- Depeche Mode, "Never Let Me Down"
Afterwards it took Caleb several minutes to catch his breath, and several more to figure out inside himself what had just happened. He pulled his sweats back up around his waist and felt self-conscious, which he shouldn't have been, but things were different now.
"What?" Pogue looked at him, a shy little half-smile on his face but his eyes were guarded, wary. It hurt, that wary look from his best friend.
"Nothing." Caleb shrugged, leaned back against the wall again. For a second there was an uncomfortable silence as he tried to find something to say, anything that would bring back his friend instead of this stranger still crouched in front of him. "I didn't know you were…"
Pogue smiled a little, shrugged. "We weren't that close before I started dating Kate."
Which Caleb interpreted to mean there had been someone, should have been some kind of sign, but he hadn't noticed. Or maybe he had and he just put it out of his mind. He wasn't sure. Pogue was his best friend and he'd never noticed this before. It seemed kind of weird.
"How are you and Kate doing, anyway?"
The other boy stood, wouldn't look at Caleb for a second. "She still thinks I'm a jealous asshole. I don't know. I think we're seeing other people…"
"Probably a good thing, if you're…" He couldn't finish that sentence. Pogue flushed, almost angry. "Sorry."
He paced, and Caleb stayed up against the wall and wrapped his arms around himself as though it could protect him from the implications of what they'd done, although what he really wanted was the last six months back, and for Chase to never have come to Spenser.
Two months of happiness that slowly trickled away. With Ascension came new power, and there was a period of stabilizing where he fought the temptation to use it for little things, like getting to school on time and surprising Sarah with flowers out of nowhere. His mother didn't lecture, Sarah didn't say anything, and eventually he'd gotten control of himself and stopped but it was too late. He wondered if it had been too late when Chase had yanked her out of the party, or even before that.
Pogue was watching him. Caleb shook his head a little; he didn't want to talk about it.
"Thinking about Sarah?"
Unfortunately, Pogue had known him too long to avoid the subject. "Yeah."
"She'll come back." He didn't sound too hopeful, and Caleb had to wonder why that was, if there was something else going on underneath. "She's a good girl. She'll be back once she figures out how to handle it."
"Yeah." Now Caleb pushed himself off the wall and started to pace. "I think she already figured out how to handle it. I think her way of handling it was ditching me, not having to deal with the whole … thing."
"Then she's an idiot."
There was definitely something under that. Caleb stared at his friend, who he was starting to think he'd never really known, and couldn't decipher the answering stare beyond how intense it was. Scarier, almost, than the power-black eyes.
"It's good to see you've eased off," Pogue said after a second, and Caleb blinked. That hadn't been what he'd expected him to say.
"I just… I mean." He shrugged. "It was stupid. It's addictive, and it was stupid. And after what we all went through with Chase…"
"We were worried about you."
"We?" Caleb's eyebrows shot up.
Pogue smirked. "I know what you're thinking. Yeah, we. Tyler didn't say anything, but Reid was cussing you out when your back was turned for a whole week. You know how he gets…"
He smiled a little, peculiarly touched by that.
"Yeah, now I just have to worry about the rest of you losers. For the rest of the year."
"We'll make it." He shrugged. "Reid and Tyler look up to you, you know that. They'll get in trouble a couple of times and then they'll straighten out." Then, off the look Caleb was giving him. "We're going to be okay. Stop worrying so much."
His turn to shrug.
"So…"
And they were back to the awkwardness again. Staring at each other and not knowing what was going on. He didn't know why he'd let Pogue do that. He didn't know why they'd started in the first place. It had started with angry, depressed talk about Sarah and Kate and the isolation they were starting to feel with the Ascensions coming up on them, drawing closer together and further away from anyone. And his skin prickled, too close and not close enough. He was fed up with keeping secrets, with having to play shepherd to Tyler and Reid, with hurting over Sarah and trying to gain her understanding.
Pogue was still watching him. He understood. Even if it wasn't quite what Caleb wanted or had meant. He gave his friend a small, crooked smile.
"I'm sorry, man. I didn't…"
"It's okay."
But it wasn't. He could see that, and Pogue was reaching for his helmet and his hand closed over the other boy's wrist before it got there.
"Hey."
It was one of the strangest things he'd ever done, but in that second he would have done anything to take that look off his friend's face. They had enough to deal with just being teenagers, just being teenagers with supernatural powers, just being teenagers with supernatural powers that could kill them, and he didn't want to put any more lines on the other boy's face.
And he was lonely. And he missed being close to someone, and even if he wasn't used to this kind of closeness it felt better, more like home than a thrill, and that was maybe what he needed right now.
He hadn't planned on leaning into it, either. But even with Pogue being just as surprised as he was that first kiss made his breath fly away and his chest go tight and something very different prickled and raced across his skin. He was smirking without knowing it, emboldened by a very male delight in being able to put that wanton, wanting look on another person's face.
"Are you sure…"
Caleb tugged him back into his room. There were still things he was uncomfortable with, hell, he was uncomfortable with most of it. But damned if he wasn't sure about figuring this out. Figuring his friend out, at least the parts about him that he hadn't known.
"Come on. We got a lot of catching up to do, looks like." And he smirked again. "Besides, my bed's bigger than yours."