Tag: ato writes

Few Words Wednesday

More of the new thing…

Zach sat down as his mom put a plate at his place and told them both to dig in.

“How is your movie going, dear?” Margo asked Chris, pouring wine for them all.

Chris’ smile lit up, and he finally looked like his old self.  “It’s going to be great.  We’ve had some technical setbacks with all the rain, but the shoot itself is going really well.  My co-star, Gal, is just fantastic.  I’m just there to support her and help her character shine.”  Zach took a bite and tried to ignore the jealousy blooming in his chest.  “She’s going to be such an amazing role model for girls.  I’ve been thinking about that a lot, lately, you know?  If Nathan had been a girl, whom would we hold up as cool, complex female characters that he — she — could look up to?  There are more now than there used to be, but they are still rare.  Rey from Star Wars is supposed to be great — Zach, we need to sort out when we can see that — and I really think Wonder Woman is going to contribute to that list.  So my job is to show that Steve Trevor can be rescued without it becoming a threat to his masculinity, or something to apologize for, or some sort of joke.  He’s a strong man, he supports her, but he’s mortal and has mortal failings and would not make it without her.”

It was the longest speech he’d heard Chris give on his character since he’d left for England.  It was comfortably familiar — the sort of conversation that they’d had about characters throughout their friendship.  But it also made Zach uncomfortably aware that they hadn’t been talking like that since Chris had left.  Probably even before that, actually.  Zach hadn’t been asking these very basic questions, and he felt oddly out of step.

“Gal is really fun, too,” Chris continued, souring Zach’s thoughts further.  “She keeps the cast laughing.”

“That’s usually your job,” Zach said, his voice sounding strange even to his own ear.

Chris looked at him mid-swallow and gave a small, awkward shrug.  “I haven’t needed to as much because she’s already charming everyone into being happy on set.”

Zach looked down at his food, suddenly not as hungry as he had been.  

Few Words Wednesday

More of the new thing…

The house smelled of basil, rosemary, and oregano… aromas that Zach associated with Christmas, but Chris probably didn’t.  Zach heard the customary “What dat?” as he passed through the livingroom to the stairs, and saw that Nathan was propped on his mom’s hip, peering into the dishes on the kitchen counter.

“We’re up here,” he said back to Chris, trundling up the narrow staircase.  First door on the right, and…exactly how it looked when he was in high school, except for the double bed where is long twin had been.  He knew it would be — he’d seen in the past that his mom hadn’t changed either of their rooms — but it was still jarring.  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring at the collection of posters from various 80’s and 90’s musicals before he heard a quiet, “You okay?”

Zach turned to see Chris’ concerned look.  “Yeah.  Just… suddenly accosted by every teenage insecurity and angst I ever experienced.  I feel like I might get pushed into a locker, or have to explain to Father Michael again why I’m not coming back to the church.”

Chris dropped the suitcase on the bed and wrapped an arm around Zach waist pulling him close.  Zach felt warm breath against his cheek, and something loosened inside his chest.

“We could still go get a hotel, if it would make you more comfortable.  I don’t want you stressed over Christmas.”

Zach dropped his own bags and wrapped his arms around Chris’ shoulders, reminding himself that he was not 17 and just discovering that he was really much more attracted to men than women, despite being taught that it was a mortal sin that would land him in Dante’s eternal fire.  He wasn’t trying to hide bruises from bullying at school, and wondering if anyone would ever love him for who he was.  He was a father, and was currently in the arms of a man that accepted and loved both him and his son.  A man whom he loved and to whom he was engaged…whatever other uncertainty there may be.  And he had friends.  And a career.  His life was already more full than he could have imagined the last time he feel asleep staring at his Rent poster.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, glaring briefly at the room, daring it to prove him wrong.  “You’ve been living out of hotels for a month.  And Santa needs a chimney to come down.  Besides, my mom is so happy we’re finally staying with her.  She wants to show Nathan off to all her friends, and her Nonna-time means we can have some time to ourselves, as well.”

“Staying in one place for a week or two sounds great, actually.”  Chris’ voice was thick and weary, now that Nathan wasn’t in earshot.  “My body has no idea what time zone it’s in right now.” 

“I know,” Zach said, squeezing him tighter.

Several Sentence Sunday

I’m not really doing these in order, but here’s a bit more… Christmas travel after a long separation…

The good thing about flying first class is that by the time people boarding recognized Chris, they were on their way past and couldn’t bother him.  The bad thing was that here were only two seats on each side of the plane, so once they fastened Nathan’s car seat next to the window, he found himself across the aisle, watching Chris and Nathan pick the books they were going to read and movies they were going to watch during the flight.  Nathan’s pile of books would take at least fifteen hours.  The flight to Pittsburgh was five.  Chris looked across the aisle at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve trained him well,” Zach said with a laugh.

“Read me story, Babbo,” Nathan called, proving Zach’s point.

Chris turned toward Nathan to ask which he wanted to hear first, and that was the last time Zach felt Chris’ attention for several hours.  Chris and Nathan spent most of the flight with their heads together, reading, and then once Nathan dozed off, napping.  Zach watched from the short distance, a book open but unread in his hands, noting all the subtle changes in Chris’ face.  He was pale, and there was an air of exhaustion about him that Zach didn’t like.  He hoped that two weeks with family would help rejuvenate him.  And make the two-foot aisle between them feel less like a gulf.

Few Words…um…Friday

So this seems to be happening, despite the fact that it would have been more timely a month ago and writing is even harder than usual…

Driving up the street to his mother’s house felt like some strange time warp.  He was sure the colored lights strung up around the roofline were the same ones they’d had during his own childhood, washed-out warm colors looking like faded Polaroids next to the vibrant cool colors of the neighbors LEDs.  And though his inner ecohipster knew he should prefer the more efficient, blue-tinged modern lights, those large, soft incandescent bulbs felt more welcoming.

His mom was out on the porch before he’d even finished parking in the driveway, giving them each a hug before relieving them of Nathan so they’d have both arms to carry in the luggage.  Nathan was chattering away with her as if he visited all the time, and Zach was suddenly very grateful that his mom had learned how to Skype so she wouldn’t be a stranger to her grandson.

“Oh fuck me, it’s cold,” Chris said as he met Zach at the back of the car to help bring in the luggage.  

Zach snorted, biting back the suggestive comment he would have normally made and handing Chris a bag.  “Aren’t you glad I talked you out of flip flops for the flight?”  Because really… Chris could be ridiculously So-Cal sometimes.

“They would have been fine for the flight,” he said with a grin.  “But we would have had to amputate toes after the walk to the rental car.”

“We can’t have any harm to come to your feet,” Zach said, thinking of the many times that innocent foot massages on the sofa had turned intimate.  “Or your dainty ankles.”

“I have very manly ankles,” Chris protested, sounding more defensive than his banter would be normally.

“Hmmm,” Zach answered, heading for door.

End of the Year Fic Roundup

Following in the footsteps of @semper-ama and others. My fics that were finished in 2015 (though some were started in 2014).

LIST OF FICS:

My Pinto fics:

And a Spirk fic:

AO3 says these fics total 131,614 words, though I know I started Bleary in 2014, and I’m not sure how much that accounts for.   Still, pretty good considering the demands of real life.

Not sure if I’ll be as productive in the new year.  My latest attempt at writing seems a bit of a disaster, and I’m not getting as much enjoyment from it as I have in the past.  But maybe my muse has just gone on a brief sabbatical.  One can hope.

Thanks to all of you who encouraged me and commented on the fics.  It really is so motivating and enjoyable to feel there’s a back-and-forth.

I wish you all a happy new year.

Few Words Wednesday

They checked in at the curb of Terminal 2, and Zach was relieved that people were focused on their own travel and largely ignoring one more family with too much luggage. Zach could take the public’s interest in their lives in stride, though he tried to protect Nathan. But Chris hated the attention and would close himself off. And he still hadn’t really opened up since returning from the Wonder Woman shoot.

Everything was going well until they got to security and the officer inspecting their documents asked Chris to remove his sunglasses. She hadn’t even really looked at him yet, but then did a doubletake at their names. Zach could feel Chris stiffen beside him as she looked at each of their faces, eyes widening. She hastily looked down to write something on their boarding passes — that mysterious purple lettering that mere mortals can’t interpret — and then turned to the third boarding pass.

“You must be Nathan,” she said, obviously pushing aside embarrassment to focus on the child in Chris’ arms.

He smiled broadly. “I’ma go on airplane!”

“You certainly are,” she said, writing more purple lettering. “Is it your first airplane ride?”

“No,” Nathan answered with a furrowed brow. But I was a baby, so I don’ memember.”

She smiled at that, handing the boarding passes and ID’s back to Zach. “Well I hope you enjoy this trip, Nathan.”

Nathan’s smile turned shy and he buried his forehead into Chris’ neck while keeping his eyes on the petite brunette. “You’re pretty,” he said, clearly enough for the people behind them to hear.

“Oh my god,” Chris muttered with a grin back to Zach.

“Uh, he’s a hopeless flirt,” Zach told her as a means of apology.

“Well, he made my day,” she said with an open laugh. “Merry Christmas, gentleman.” And with that she waved them through.