[Fic] National Coming Out Day
Oct. 18th, 2007 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittydesadeTitle: National Coming Out Day
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Pogue, Caleb, Reid, Tyler
Word Count: 1,075
Prompt: Emergence
Rating: PG
Summary: Okay, so I'm a little late for National Coming Out Day. We'll pretend I actually meant to write this for the occasion instead of realizing it fit in perfectly with the theme. Caleb, becoming more comfortable not only with normality, but with being open about who he is and who he loves. And Pogue, who likes him just the way he is.
It took the better part of the first semester for Caleb to relax. At least, it seemed that way.
And yet, every day was a little better. Hell, even for Pogue, every day without Aaron or Kira or that bastard Chase was a good one. Every day they put between them and the beginning of that last year of high school was a good one. Pogue kind of wanted a do-over on that last year, but that would mean sacrificing all that he'd found with Caleb. And there was no way he was going to do that.
It had taken the better part of the first semester for Caleb to start really smiling again, the way he used to. Even back before William Danvers' premature decline, back before everything had started. But, God, it was worth it.
Now, he thought, they actually seemed almost human. Felt normal. About as normal as they were going to get, anyway.
He and Tyler were stretched out on the quad, Pogue on his back with his ankles crossed and a book shielding his eyes from the sun more than it was being used as a tool for study. Tyler kept quizzing him, and Pogue kept trying to ignore him. Reid was tossing a frisbee back and forth between his palms and looking bored.
"I thought this was supposed to be a study break," Caleb said, but he walked up with a grin and yanked the frisbee from Reid's hands in mid-throw.
Pogue sat up a little, shading his eyes with one hand and looking up at him, but it was Tyler who answered first.
"This is a study break," he said. "We're taking a break from studying."
Reid made a grab for his frisbee. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in the library."
"Downloaded all the articles I needed," Caleb shrugged. "What's going on?"
"Frisbee." That was from Tyler, who amused more than anything else at Reid's attempt to get the frisbee back from Caleb. Finally Caleb tossed it over to the two boys, and Pogue caught it.
Reid folded his arms over his chest and half-glared at them both. "For some of us." Tyler laughs, tossing him the frisbee.
The two of them argued for a few moments about who was playing keep away with whom and what the rules were, and if there were even rules, while Caleb moved over and sat down next to Pogue. "Getting a lot of studying done?"
"No," he poked him in the side with a pencil. "If I'd wanted to get studying done I'd be in the room."
"Fair enough," he laughed. "Are you going to be ready for... what is it you're studying for, anyway?"
"Test," Pogue shrugged, and he might've leaned into him a bit. "It's not till Friday, though."
Reid and Tyler seemed to have resolved the question of the Frisbee, and were tossing it back and forth to one side of them. Pogue waited for Caleb to say or ask something more, and started to stand when he didn't. Which was when Caleb slid his arm around his shoulders.
Pogue stiffened up, realized that was likely to be the absolute worst thing to do, and relaxed into him again. This was something new and different. Caleb wasn't publicly affectionate, never had been, regardless of the gender of his lover at the time. And even if this was something that was only barely more than a gesture of friendship, at least on the outside, he knew it meant more.
Someone passed by them, and Pogue saw the double take. Caleb must have, too, because he straightened a little and his arm dropped from his shoulders.
"Frisbee?" Pogue kept his tone neutral, casual.
Caleb shook his head slightly. "I don't think I'm up for it right now," he said quietly.
Ashamed, Pogue realized. Not because of him, but because of how he'd reacted to the other person. He elbowed Caleb lightly in the ribs. "Could always go back to the room and..." he waggled his eyebrows, grinned at Caleb.
Caleb actually blushed, but he was smiling again. And that was good. "Help you study for your test, he mean?" It was sort of pointed, but it was the kind of pointed that had nothing to do with what had just happened and everything to do with old times. Back when Pogue had been less than conscientious about studying and Caleb had to nag him into it.
"How about," Pogue suggested, drawing to his feet. "We hang out and play frisbee for an hour. Then we go back to the room, you can tell me study, and in between we can get naked." Again with the eyebrow-waggling.
Caleb blushed more, glancing around to see if the other two had noticed. If they did, neither of them said anything, or gave any indication by the way they acted. "Sounds good," he agreed.
"Cool."
Pogue was grinning as he packed up his stuff, snagged frisbee out of midair as it was curving around towards Reid and pitched it in Caleb's direction. Reid voiced his usual halfhearted protest, saying something about cheating that no one really believed he meant. Caleb accused him of being a sore loser, Tyler pointed out that they had just started a new game with the inclusion of the other two, and pretty soon it became a game of keep the frisbee away from Caleb. Which didn't work. But they tried. Kind of.
It was almost normal. Hell, it was as close to normal as they were ever going to get. At the end of the appointed hour, Caleb tossed the frisbee back to Reid and said something about going back to the room to study. It was the sort of thing any guy would have done with his friends, except the part where he grabbed his backpack and grabbed Pogue around the waist.
People definitely saw that. They didn't walk back to the room with their arms around each other's waists, but hand in hand was plenty good enough. After the door closed behind them Pogue turned, dropping his backpack next to them, cupping Caleb's cheek in his free hand.
"Are you sure about this?" Not about them, he meant, and he knew Caleb understood. About the whole being in public thing.
"Yes," he nodded. "I'm sure."
They didn't get too much studying done that night. It was okay. The test wasn't until Friday, anyway.
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Pogue, Caleb, Reid, Tyler
Word Count: 1,075
Prompt: Emergence
Rating: PG
Summary: Okay, so I'm a little late for National Coming Out Day. We'll pretend I actually meant to write this for the occasion instead of realizing it fit in perfectly with the theme. Caleb, becoming more comfortable not only with normality, but with being open about who he is and who he loves. And Pogue, who likes him just the way he is.
It took the better part of the first semester for Caleb to relax. At least, it seemed that way.
And yet, every day was a little better. Hell, even for Pogue, every day without Aaron or Kira or that bastard Chase was a good one. Every day they put between them and the beginning of that last year of high school was a good one. Pogue kind of wanted a do-over on that last year, but that would mean sacrificing all that he'd found with Caleb. And there was no way he was going to do that.
It had taken the better part of the first semester for Caleb to start really smiling again, the way he used to. Even back before William Danvers' premature decline, back before everything had started. But, God, it was worth it.
Now, he thought, they actually seemed almost human. Felt normal. About as normal as they were going to get, anyway.
He and Tyler were stretched out on the quad, Pogue on his back with his ankles crossed and a book shielding his eyes from the sun more than it was being used as a tool for study. Tyler kept quizzing him, and Pogue kept trying to ignore him. Reid was tossing a frisbee back and forth between his palms and looking bored.
"I thought this was supposed to be a study break," Caleb said, but he walked up with a grin and yanked the frisbee from Reid's hands in mid-throw.
Pogue sat up a little, shading his eyes with one hand and looking up at him, but it was Tyler who answered first.
"This is a study break," he said. "We're taking a break from studying."
Reid made a grab for his frisbee. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in the library."
"Downloaded all the articles I needed," Caleb shrugged. "What's going on?"
"Frisbee." That was from Tyler, who amused more than anything else at Reid's attempt to get the frisbee back from Caleb. Finally Caleb tossed it over to the two boys, and Pogue caught it.
Reid folded his arms over his chest and half-glared at them both. "For some of us." Tyler laughs, tossing him the frisbee.
The two of them argued for a few moments about who was playing keep away with whom and what the rules were, and if there were even rules, while Caleb moved over and sat down next to Pogue. "Getting a lot of studying done?"
"No," he poked him in the side with a pencil. "If I'd wanted to get studying done I'd be in the room."
"Fair enough," he laughed. "Are you going to be ready for... what is it you're studying for, anyway?"
"Test," Pogue shrugged, and he might've leaned into him a bit. "It's not till Friday, though."
Reid and Tyler seemed to have resolved the question of the Frisbee, and were tossing it back and forth to one side of them. Pogue waited for Caleb to say or ask something more, and started to stand when he didn't. Which was when Caleb slid his arm around his shoulders.
Pogue stiffened up, realized that was likely to be the absolute worst thing to do, and relaxed into him again. This was something new and different. Caleb wasn't publicly affectionate, never had been, regardless of the gender of his lover at the time. And even if this was something that was only barely more than a gesture of friendship, at least on the outside, he knew it meant more.
Someone passed by them, and Pogue saw the double take. Caleb must have, too, because he straightened a little and his arm dropped from his shoulders.
"Frisbee?" Pogue kept his tone neutral, casual.
Caleb shook his head slightly. "I don't think I'm up for it right now," he said quietly.
Ashamed, Pogue realized. Not because of him, but because of how he'd reacted to the other person. He elbowed Caleb lightly in the ribs. "Could always go back to the room and..." he waggled his eyebrows, grinned at Caleb.
Caleb actually blushed, but he was smiling again. And that was good. "Help you study for your test, he mean?" It was sort of pointed, but it was the kind of pointed that had nothing to do with what had just happened and everything to do with old times. Back when Pogue had been less than conscientious about studying and Caleb had to nag him into it.
"How about," Pogue suggested, drawing to his feet. "We hang out and play frisbee for an hour. Then we go back to the room, you can tell me study, and in between we can get naked." Again with the eyebrow-waggling.
Caleb blushed more, glancing around to see if the other two had noticed. If they did, neither of them said anything, or gave any indication by the way they acted. "Sounds good," he agreed.
"Cool."
Pogue was grinning as he packed up his stuff, snagged frisbee out of midair as it was curving around towards Reid and pitched it in Caleb's direction. Reid voiced his usual halfhearted protest, saying something about cheating that no one really believed he meant. Caleb accused him of being a sore loser, Tyler pointed out that they had just started a new game with the inclusion of the other two, and pretty soon it became a game of keep the frisbee away from Caleb. Which didn't work. But they tried. Kind of.
It was almost normal. Hell, it was as close to normal as they were ever going to get. At the end of the appointed hour, Caleb tossed the frisbee back to Reid and said something about going back to the room to study. It was the sort of thing any guy would have done with his friends, except the part where he grabbed his backpack and grabbed Pogue around the waist.
People definitely saw that. They didn't walk back to the room with their arms around each other's waists, but hand in hand was plenty good enough. After the door closed behind them Pogue turned, dropping his backpack next to them, cupping Caleb's cheek in his free hand.
"Are you sure about this?" Not about them, he meant, and he knew Caleb understood. About the whole being in public thing.
"Yes," he nodded. "I'm sure."
They didn't get too much studying done that night. It was okay. The test wasn't until Friday, anyway.