riptide_asylum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
riptide_asylum) wrote2010-03-25 11:17 pm
riptide_asylum) wrote2010-03-25 11:17 pm
Entry tags:
"The Real Thing" (Out of the Dark, 2005)
Title: The Real Thing
Rating: PG
Summary: Even the simplest rituals get complicated at this point. Sunsets, for instance.
Nick emerged from the Hightide's kitchen just as the sun was starting to set, casting long rays of pearly pink and purple light across water and turning the parched brown mountains soft and fuzzy. He was carrying two beers and handed one to Cody.
"What's this?" Cody read the label and frowned. "'Non-alcoholic beer'.Kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it, Nick?"
"Not when the point is keeping you alive, man." Nick dropped onto the seat next to Cody, his jeaned thigh warm against Cody's bare skin. He clinked his bottle against Cody's. "Cheers, babe."
Cody stared at the bottle in his hand. He sniffed cautiously at the opening before taking a swig. "Not bad," he said, relaxing against Nick's broad bulk. "Not as good as the real thing, of course, but not bad."
Nick leaned in and kissed Cody's jaw, light and quick, then took a sip of his own beer, the full-alcohol kind. "Good, 'cause that's all you're getting from now on, you hear me? I gotta keep you fit as a fiddle." He leaned his head on one side. "Or at least fit as any fiddle can be after a..." Nick looked down at his bottle and took another drink, longer this time. Much longer.
The words "heart attack" were never spoken aloud aboard the Hightide, but they hung around just the same, like a bad smell or the slime that grew on the hull of every boat Cody'd ever seen. Sure you knew it was there, but you never talked about it 'til it was time to haul the boat out and actually deal with it.
Cody took another cautious sip of his beer. It tasted...bubbly and kind of flat all at the same time. Kind of thinner. He looked from the beer to Nick and back again. "What're you drinking, buddy?"
Nick looked desultorily at the label and then squinted back out over the water. He shrugged against Cody's shoulder. "Something I found on sale at Ralph's. Now you wanna talk about beer or you wanna enjoy this sunset?"
"All right, all right. Sorry. Forget I mentioned it." Cody went back to watching the sun, a glowing orange ball rapidly approaching the flat blue-grey sea. "You know, now that you mention it--"
"Here we go," Nick muttered, struggling to sit up straight.
"I don't think I should have to drink this, just because..."
The two of them stared at each other a moment.
"Says you," Nick answered. He took another drink of his own beer, eyes on Cody. Cody refrained from growling.
"Here," he said, holding his bottle out to Nick. "Try it." Nick did his best to simultaneously hold onto his own beer and ignore Cody's. But Cody was determined.
Finally, with a long sigh that Cody was sure five years ago would have been an eye-roll, Nick tried the beer in question. He swallowed. Shrugging, he asked, "So?"
Cody glared at him.
"Okay, so it's a little different. It's a little..."
"Weaker. Thinner. Flat."
"I said 'different', that's all, Cody. Different." Nick pushed the bottle back into Cody's hands. "If I'd put it in a glass, you'd never have known the difference." He took another pull from his own full-strength brew.
Cody toyed with the label on his bottle. "Tastes thinner."
Nick whirled on him. "What's with you, Cody? You wanna watch the sunset or you wanna hold a beer-tasting contest an' try to decide which is better, mine or yours--even though," Nick held up a finger, forestalling Cody's protests. "Even though no matter what you decide, you're still having that one, okay? Because I got one job left in this lifetime and--" Nick's voice broke and he fell silent. He turned and squinted out and away over the ocean, out to where the sun was nearly touching the surface of the water now. He took a long swig from his bottle.
Cody looked at Nick, really looked at him.
Nick. His partner, the big muscled hulk of a guy looking a little tired now, a little more worn around the edges than when they were young but still. Nick. His best friend, his lover, and the one person Cody trusted with his life, the only person who'd stayed with him through everything, thick and thin. Through a war and a business. Through girls and gunshot wounds and more girls and boats and crappy small apartments whose only virtue was that you could see the ocean, as long as you stood on tiptoe and leaned hard against the living room wall.
Through a heart attack.
Cody put his beer down on the fiberglass deck. "Nick."
Nick kept resolutely staring across the water, his back turned.
Cody took the beer from his partner's unresisting hands and set it down next to his own. "Nick?" He reached across and wove his fingers through Nick's, twining both their hands together. "Buddy?"
Nick tore his gaze from the horizon and Cody was unsurprised to see his eyes shining with unshed tears. "I can't lose you, Cody. I can't. I'll--" Nick swallowed hard. "I'd do anything to keep you with me, you got that, man? Anything. You name it, I'll get it done. So if you think you're gonna talk me into letting you get away from me one fucking second before--" Nick broke off, eyes brimming. "Before..."
Cody saved him with a kiss, long and sweet and nuzzling. He felt Nick's wet cheeks against his own and it hurt worse than anything he could name and at the same time made his heart soar. No matter what happened, Nick had his back. No matter what, Nick would stay and fight for him. Cody gripped Nick's hands tighter and looked in his eyes.
Around them the cove was quiet, the only sounds the quiet clink of bottles and the occasional soft murmur of voices carrying across the water, as the two occupants of the two other boats anchored in the marina sat and watched the sunset with their own beers. Cody hoped they all had someone like Nick to watch with them.
A soft breeze sprung up, raising goosebumps on his skin, but died again just as quickly. Cody picked his beer up off the deck and Nick's, and stood up, taking a few steps towards the sliding glass doors. "C'mon," he said quietly. "Let's go downstairs to finish these."
Nick scrubbed the tears from his cheeks and shook his head. "No."
Cody frowned, confused. "What d'you mean 'no'?"
Nick held out a hand and Cody, puzzled, tried to hand him his beer.
Nick waved it away. "No, you, Cody. You c'mere. Fuck the beer."
Cody obediently returned, and sat next to Nick, as close as he was able, with a bottle in each hand.
Eyes on Cody, Nick took his beer back and took a long drink. Then without breaking his gaze, he tossed it over his head, back behind them.
Cody grinned as it hit the water with soft plop.
Nick repeated the process with Cody's beer, then slid his arms round Cody and pulled him closer, until Cody was curled up in his lap. Cody looked around wildly, but the cove was so deserted, and the sun so warm on his skin, he figured it didn't matter a bit what anyone thought.
Nick kissed the side of Cody's neck, just under his jaw. He nuzzled Cody, inhaling deeply, and rested his head in the crook of Cody's neck.
Cody didn't have to look to know Nick's eyes were closed.
He turned his face to the dying sun and let the rays range over his face, bathing them both in a warmth unlike anything else.
Rating: PG
Summary: Even the simplest rituals get complicated at this point. Sunsets, for instance.
Nick emerged from the Hightide's kitchen just as the sun was starting to set, casting long rays of pearly pink and purple light across water and turning the parched brown mountains soft and fuzzy. He was carrying two beers and handed one to Cody.
"What's this?" Cody read the label and frowned. "'Non-alcoholic beer'.Kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it, Nick?"
"Not when the point is keeping you alive, man." Nick dropped onto the seat next to Cody, his jeaned thigh warm against Cody's bare skin. He clinked his bottle against Cody's. "Cheers, babe."
Cody stared at the bottle in his hand. He sniffed cautiously at the opening before taking a swig. "Not bad," he said, relaxing against Nick's broad bulk. "Not as good as the real thing, of course, but not bad."
Nick leaned in and kissed Cody's jaw, light and quick, then took a sip of his own beer, the full-alcohol kind. "Good, 'cause that's all you're getting from now on, you hear me? I gotta keep you fit as a fiddle." He leaned his head on one side. "Or at least fit as any fiddle can be after a..." Nick looked down at his bottle and took another drink, longer this time. Much longer.
The words "heart attack" were never spoken aloud aboard the Hightide, but they hung around just the same, like a bad smell or the slime that grew on the hull of every boat Cody'd ever seen. Sure you knew it was there, but you never talked about it 'til it was time to haul the boat out and actually deal with it.
Cody took another cautious sip of his beer. It tasted...bubbly and kind of flat all at the same time. Kind of thinner. He looked from the beer to Nick and back again. "What're you drinking, buddy?"
Nick looked desultorily at the label and then squinted back out over the water. He shrugged against Cody's shoulder. "Something I found on sale at Ralph's. Now you wanna talk about beer or you wanna enjoy this sunset?"
"All right, all right. Sorry. Forget I mentioned it." Cody went back to watching the sun, a glowing orange ball rapidly approaching the flat blue-grey sea. "You know, now that you mention it--"
"Here we go," Nick muttered, struggling to sit up straight.
"I don't think I should have to drink this, just because..."
The two of them stared at each other a moment.
"Says you," Nick answered. He took another drink of his own beer, eyes on Cody. Cody refrained from growling.
"Here," he said, holding his bottle out to Nick. "Try it." Nick did his best to simultaneously hold onto his own beer and ignore Cody's. But Cody was determined.
Finally, with a long sigh that Cody was sure five years ago would have been an eye-roll, Nick tried the beer in question. He swallowed. Shrugging, he asked, "So?"
Cody glared at him.
"Okay, so it's a little different. It's a little..."
"Weaker. Thinner. Flat."
"I said 'different', that's all, Cody. Different." Nick pushed the bottle back into Cody's hands. "If I'd put it in a glass, you'd never have known the difference." He took another pull from his own full-strength brew.
Cody toyed with the label on his bottle. "Tastes thinner."
Nick whirled on him. "What's with you, Cody? You wanna watch the sunset or you wanna hold a beer-tasting contest an' try to decide which is better, mine or yours--even though," Nick held up a finger, forestalling Cody's protests. "Even though no matter what you decide, you're still having that one, okay? Because I got one job left in this lifetime and--" Nick's voice broke and he fell silent. He turned and squinted out and away over the ocean, out to where the sun was nearly touching the surface of the water now. He took a long swig from his bottle.
Cody looked at Nick, really looked at him.
Nick. His partner, the big muscled hulk of a guy looking a little tired now, a little more worn around the edges than when they were young but still. Nick. His best friend, his lover, and the one person Cody trusted with his life, the only person who'd stayed with him through everything, thick and thin. Through a war and a business. Through girls and gunshot wounds and more girls and boats and crappy small apartments whose only virtue was that you could see the ocean, as long as you stood on tiptoe and leaned hard against the living room wall.
Through a heart attack.
Cody put his beer down on the fiberglass deck. "Nick."
Nick kept resolutely staring across the water, his back turned.
Cody took the beer from his partner's unresisting hands and set it down next to his own. "Nick?" He reached across and wove his fingers through Nick's, twining both their hands together. "Buddy?"
Nick tore his gaze from the horizon and Cody was unsurprised to see his eyes shining with unshed tears. "I can't lose you, Cody. I can't. I'll--" Nick swallowed hard. "I'd do anything to keep you with me, you got that, man? Anything. You name it, I'll get it done. So if you think you're gonna talk me into letting you get away from me one fucking second before--" Nick broke off, eyes brimming. "Before..."
Cody saved him with a kiss, long and sweet and nuzzling. He felt Nick's wet cheeks against his own and it hurt worse than anything he could name and at the same time made his heart soar. No matter what happened, Nick had his back. No matter what, Nick would stay and fight for him. Cody gripped Nick's hands tighter and looked in his eyes.
Around them the cove was quiet, the only sounds the quiet clink of bottles and the occasional soft murmur of voices carrying across the water, as the two occupants of the two other boats anchored in the marina sat and watched the sunset with their own beers. Cody hoped they all had someone like Nick to watch with them.
A soft breeze sprung up, raising goosebumps on his skin, but died again just as quickly. Cody picked his beer up off the deck and Nick's, and stood up, taking a few steps towards the sliding glass doors. "C'mon," he said quietly. "Let's go downstairs to finish these."
Nick scrubbed the tears from his cheeks and shook his head. "No."
Cody frowned, confused. "What d'you mean 'no'?"
Nick held out a hand and Cody, puzzled, tried to hand him his beer.
Nick waved it away. "No, you, Cody. You c'mere. Fuck the beer."
Cody obediently returned, and sat next to Nick, as close as he was able, with a bottle in each hand.
Eyes on Cody, Nick took his beer back and took a long drink. Then without breaking his gaze, he tossed it over his head, back behind them.
Cody grinned as it hit the water with soft plop.
Nick repeated the process with Cody's beer, then slid his arms round Cody and pulled him closer, until Cody was curled up in his lap. Cody looked around wildly, but the cove was so deserted, and the sun so warm on his skin, he figured it didn't matter a bit what anyone thought.
Nick kissed the side of Cody's neck, just under his jaw. He nuzzled Cody, inhaling deeply, and rested his head in the crook of Cody's neck.
Cody didn't have to look to know Nick's eyes were closed.
He turned his face to the dying sun and let the rays range over his face, bathing them both in a warmth unlike anything else.