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numb3rsflashficTitle: Confession is Good For the Soul
Pairing/Characters: Don/Colby
Rating/Category: PG13/Slash
Word Count: 2466 words
Spoilers: Through 4.11 Breaking Point.
Summary: Don tells Alan about him and Colby.
Notes/Warning: Part of the Two Men Series; follows Momentous. I tried to end this story the way an episode ends, so picture the image fading to numbers and Don’s voice saying, “This is the whole meal, that’s it, just waffles?” Only he actually says the lines at the end of the story. *g*
Written: September 16, 2008
Don leaned against the door frame, face warm from the steam drifting out of the bathroom, and watched Colby towel dry his hair. He was naked, and mostly dry, though a few drops of water still painted his skin. “Hey.”
Colby stilled his movements and grinned at Don’s reflection in the steamed-up mirror. “Hey.” He went back to toweling his hair, then tossed the towel onto the sink and reached for the hair gel.
Don stepped into the bathroom and touched the spot on Colby’s side that was covered with a small plastic bandage. The sight of it never failed to make him get emotional, thinking ‘what if’. “We need to change your bandage.”
“Yeah.” Colby finished with his hair and wiped his hands off on the towel. “Let’s make it quick, because I am starving and I hear that steak calling my name.” Colby smiled at Don.
“Yeah, about that,” Don said as he concentrated on removing the bandage without tearing at Colby’s skin.
Colby’s smile faded. “You got called in, didn’t you?”
“No, no,” Don said, “nothing like that.” He got out the ointment and a fresh bandage and carefully doctored the healing gunshot wound.
“You gonna tell me what it is like?”
Don sighed. “Dad called while you were in the shower,” he said, shooting a quick glance at Colby.
“Oh,” Colby said. He waited silently until Don had affixed the fresh bandage, then walked past Don without looking at him and went into the bedroom.
Don followed and watched Colby open one of the dresser drawers Don had cleared out for him, and choose a pair of sweat pants, start pulling them on. Colby didn’t say anything, but Don had seen the disappointment, the resignation on his face. He hated that he’d ever done anything to put that expression there. “How does pizza sound, instead?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” Colby said, still not looking at him, “I’ll order something in.”
“No, I mean, Dad’s having pizza.”
Colby froze, and then his eyes darted up to Don’s. Don watched as realization dawned. “You’re . . . .”
“I told him I was bringing you.”
Colby dropped the t-shirt he’d just pulled out. “You . . . tonight?”
“What, you didn’t think I’d really do it?”
“No, it’s just . . . it’s a big step, and I know how hard it is, and, Don, god, you just made the decision today, this afternoon.”
“We made the decision this afternoon, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Don admitted. “I hated lying to him. Hated having to pretend that I’m busy with work so I can spend time with you, or having to leave you to put in face time with Dad. And the timing seems . . . .”
“Serendipitous?” Colby suggested.
“Yeah, whatever that means.” Don moved across the room and drew Colby into his arms. “I want to be able to drop by with you and not have to make up an excuse as to why you’re with me.”
Colby’s arms came up around Don and he leaned in and kissed him. “I want that, too.”
“Good,” Don said. “So, tonight?”
Colby just looked at Don for a long time, then nodded. “Pizza it is. But you still owe me steak.”
Don grinned, a great weight lifted off his chest. “Deal.”
Colby pulled out of Don’s arms and shoved his sweats down.
“What are you doing?”
“Changing my clothes. I can’t wear sweats over there when you’re going to tell your father about us. What kind of impression would that make?”
Don bit back his grin as Colby held up two pair of jeans, trying to decide which to wear. “He already knows you, and he knows that you are recovering from a gunshot wound, I don’t think he’s going to mind the sweat pants.”
Colby ignored him. “Shut up and tell me which shirt I should wear.”
*~*~*
“I think I’m going to throw up.”
“I get first dibs on the bathroom,” Don said. Amita’s car was in the driveway. Don knew she spent a lot of time at the house now, but he hadn’t anticipated her presence when he told his Dad and Charlie about him and Colby.
“Was that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It’s going to be fine,” Don said, wishing he believed it himself. “I mean, Megan already knows, right? We’ve managed to get through a week of her teasing.”
“I haven’t been to work for a week and you took the last four days off.”
“That hasn’t stopped the phone calls.”
“Or the text messages,” Colby admitted.
“Come on, it’s like a band aid right? It hurts less if you pull it off quick.”
“Yeah,” Colby said as he pushed the door open and slid out of the SUV, “you keep telling yourself that.”
Before they reached the front porch, the door opened and Larry and Amita spilled out of the house.
“Hey, you guys,” Amita said.
“Don, Colby,” Larry said, holding out his hand and shaking both of theirs. “It’s good to see you looking well, Colby.”
“Yeah,” Amita agreed. “I’m glad you’re getting back on your feet. Well, listen,” she continued, “sorry to cut this short, but we really need to run.”
“Yes,” Larry said, “the Higgs waits for no man.”
After saying a final goodbye, Larry and Amita hurried to her car. Don and Colby watched them go, then Colby said, “What was that all about?”
“I have no idea.”
It had taken the edge off, though, so Don wasn’t feeling quite so nervous when he stepped up onto the porch and opened the front door.
“Hey, Don!” Charlie greeted. “Colby, it’s good to see you.” Charlie came over and shook Colby’s hand. “You guys just missed Larry and Amita.”
“Actually, we passed them outside.”
Just then Alan came out of the kitchen carrying two bottles of beer. “Donnie! You made it. Good to see you getting around, Colby.”
“Thanks, Mr. Eppes.”
“Alan,” Alan said as he handed the bottles off to Don and Colby. “I’ll just get two more for Charlie and I.”
“Alan,” Colby repeated softly as Don automatically snagged both of the bottles. “Not for Colby.”
Alan and Charlie both stared at him and Don realized he’d let their familiarity show.
“I’m still on pain meds,” Colby said, casually drawing their attention away from Don, “so, sadly, no alcohol for me.”
“Oh, well, all right,” Alan said. “We’ve got water and juice. I think we have soda.”
“Water’s fine for now,” Colby said. “I’m pretty much juiced out,” he added, giving Don a look that Don hoped no one else caught. Besides, what was Colby complaining about, juice was good for you and it tasted good.
“I’ll be right back. Don, don’t keep Colby standing here, take him into the living room and let him sit down. And you boys can turn on the game.”
Don moved towards the couch so that he and Colby could sit together, and Charlie dug under the notebooks littering the coffee table to find the remote before taking one of the chairs and thumbing the television on. He flipped through a couple of sports channels before settling on a basketball game.
Alan returned with a bottle of beer, a bottle of water, and a take out menu from their favorite pizza place. He handed Colby the water, then held the menu out to Don.
“What kind of pizza do you boys want?”
Don looked sightlessly at the menu, then rolled it up in his hands. “Actually, Dad, I was hoping I could talk to you before we ordered.”
He felt Colby stiffen beside him as both Charlie and their Dad came to attention.
“Of course, Donnie. What about?”
“About me,” Don said. “Me and my relationships. Although, not really. Mostly about me, and, you know, I really don’t know how to tell you this, except to just . . . .”
“Band aid,” Colby whispered.
“. . . tell you, so.” Don took a deep breath. “Colby and I are together. Seeing each other.” He looked at Colby for help.
Colby nodded. “Seeing each other, together, in a relationship, take your pick. Sir.”
Alan was silent for a very long moment and Don now knew exactly what the term ‘shell shocked’ meant. “So, how long have you and Colby been, uh, seeing each other?”
“A couple of months,” Don said.
“A couple of months.” Alan nodded as if he understood, but Don could tell from his expression that he was very far from understanding the way his world had just tilted on its axis. “And how long have you been . . . ?”
“Gay?” Don finished, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. After all, it had been his choice to hide that from his family, until now. “All my life, Dad.”
“But . . . .” Alan sounded lost, confused. “You’ve dated women.”
“Yeah, and we all know how well that worked out.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
Don knew what he wanted his father to say, that it was all right, that it didn’t change anything, that he still loved him and he’d accept Colby in Don’s life, but Don didn’t want to have to put the words into his father’s mouth.
“Just . . . just give me a minute.” Alan pushed himself out of the chair and walked to the back of the house. Don heard the door close as Alan went out onto the back porch.
“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Don said, squeezing Colby’s hand when Colby reached for him.
“You just surprised him,” Charlie said. “I mean, his whole world view has been skewed because you let him believe something about you that wasn’t true, so it’s gonna take him a while to come to terms with the fact that some of the things he thinks he knows about you were all lies.”
“Lies, great.” Don sighed. He knew this already, but having someone else state the truth like that made him feel like a rat for not having come clean with his father, his entire family, a long time ago. “So why aren’t you freaking out?” he asked Charlie.
Charlie shrugged. “In some aspects, my world view where you’re concerned has included a bit more information than Dad had to go on.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“I mean, I never knew about Kim, but Dad never knew about Tommy Patterson. I . . . may have . . . walked in on you kissing Tommy when you were fifteen, after your team won the hockey championship.”
Don huffed out a laugh. “Oh my god, Tommy Patterson. I haven’t thought about him in years. Mom and Dad hosted this huge party after we won the hockey championship,” Don explained for Colby’s benefit. “Tommy, god, I’d had such a crush on him. He kissed me that night, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.” He looked at Charlie. “How come you never said anything?”
Charlie shrugged. “I didn’t get the impression that was something you’d want to talk about. I mean, we didn’t even talk about girls.”
“Yeah.” Don clenched his fist around the hollow tube he’d made of the menu. “Maybe I should go find Dad.”
“Give him a few minutes to sort it all out in his head,” Charlie said. “Let’s order the pizza before you completely mangle the menu, and then you can go find him. And while you’re gone I can interrogate Colby.”
Charlie had sounded awfully cheerful about that prospect, which made Don chuckle. “Yeah, okay.”
Colby clutched at Don’s hand. “Whoa, whoa, what do you mean, okay? I’m injured here, I won’t be able to stand up to an interrogation.”
“You’re a trained FBI agent,” Charlie said, tone overly solicitous and ruined by the huge grin he wore, “I’m sure you can handle a math professor.”
“Yeah, right.”
They decided on toppings for two large pizzas and called it in, then Don went in search of Alan, leaving Colby to Charlie’s tender mercies.
“Don’t break him, Chuck,” Don said, dropping a quick peck on Colby’s lips, “I’ll need him in one piece later.”
Colby grumbled about Don’s lack of remorse and Charlie laughed even as he blushed. Don didn’t know if it was because of the easy kiss he and Colby had shared, or the implication that he and Colby had sex. Don ruffled Charlie’s hair on the way past, smiling at the indignant squawk that followed him out into the backyard.
He found his father standing beside the koi pond, staring down at the koi swimming beneath the lights, though Don wasn’t sure if he was actually seeing anything. “Hey, Dad.”
“Donnie,” Alan said, eyes fixed on the ripples in the water.
“Listen, Dad, Colby’s a great guy, and I really like him. I love him, and, I tried, Dad, I tried being normal, I mean, Terry and Kim and Robin and . . . . God!” Don brushed his hand through his hair. “Too many to count. I couldn’t do it. Something was always missing. And now that I’m with Colby, I know what it was.
“I’m sorry I lied to you, but I could never figure out how to tell you. I could hardly admit it to myself. But I, I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”
Alan finally turned to look at him. He reached out and squeezed Don’s arm. “Donnie, I love you. No matter what, I love you. And I just want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you, for both my boys. And it’s what your mother wanted. We don’t care about . . . who makes you happy, except for the danger it puts you in.
“I’m just . . . I wonder how I missed it. I mean, what kind of father doesn’t know this about his own son?”
“No, Dad.” Don reached out and squeezed his father’s arm, closing the circuit between them. “Don’t. This is not your fault. How were you going to see something I was working so hard to keep hidden?”
Alan nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. “So,” he said briskly, changing the subject. “How’s Charlie taking it?”
That brought a grin to Don’s face. “He’s interrogating Colby as we speak.”
“Oh, no! If Charlie starts talking math, Colby’ll spill his guts to get him to stop. We’d better get back in there and save him.”
“Yeah,” Don said, holding his father’s eyes. “Thanks, Dad.”
They turned and walked back towards the house, and Alan said, “I’m starving; we should order that pizza.”
“We already ordered the pizza,” Don said.
“Without me? Great, I’ll probably be stuck picking anchovies off again.”
Don chuckled, happy that things were back to normal. Well, normal for them. “Hey, you snooze, you lose. Tell you what, I’ll take the anchovy slices if you help me wrestle the remote away from Charlie.”
“You boys really ordered anchovies?”
Don shrugged, grinning. “You willing to take the chance?”
The End
Pairing/Characters: Don/Colby
Rating/Category: PG13/Slash
Word Count: 2466 words
Spoilers: Through 4.11 Breaking Point.
Summary: Don tells Alan about him and Colby.
Notes/Warning: Part of the Two Men Series; follows Momentous. I tried to end this story the way an episode ends, so picture the image fading to numbers and Don’s voice saying, “This is the whole meal, that’s it, just waffles?” Only he actually says the lines at the end of the story. *g*
Written: September 16, 2008
Don leaned against the door frame, face warm from the steam drifting out of the bathroom, and watched Colby towel dry his hair. He was naked, and mostly dry, though a few drops of water still painted his skin. “Hey.”
Colby stilled his movements and grinned at Don’s reflection in the steamed-up mirror. “Hey.” He went back to toweling his hair, then tossed the towel onto the sink and reached for the hair gel.
Don stepped into the bathroom and touched the spot on Colby’s side that was covered with a small plastic bandage. The sight of it never failed to make him get emotional, thinking ‘what if’. “We need to change your bandage.”
“Yeah.” Colby finished with his hair and wiped his hands off on the towel. “Let’s make it quick, because I am starving and I hear that steak calling my name.” Colby smiled at Don.
“Yeah, about that,” Don said as he concentrated on removing the bandage without tearing at Colby’s skin.
Colby’s smile faded. “You got called in, didn’t you?”
“No, no,” Don said, “nothing like that.” He got out the ointment and a fresh bandage and carefully doctored the healing gunshot wound.
“You gonna tell me what it is like?”
Don sighed. “Dad called while you were in the shower,” he said, shooting a quick glance at Colby.
“Oh,” Colby said. He waited silently until Don had affixed the fresh bandage, then walked past Don without looking at him and went into the bedroom.
Don followed and watched Colby open one of the dresser drawers Don had cleared out for him, and choose a pair of sweat pants, start pulling them on. Colby didn’t say anything, but Don had seen the disappointment, the resignation on his face. He hated that he’d ever done anything to put that expression there. “How does pizza sound, instead?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” Colby said, still not looking at him, “I’ll order something in.”
“No, I mean, Dad’s having pizza.”
Colby froze, and then his eyes darted up to Don’s. Don watched as realization dawned. “You’re . . . .”
“I told him I was bringing you.”
Colby dropped the t-shirt he’d just pulled out. “You . . . tonight?”
“What, you didn’t think I’d really do it?”
“No, it’s just . . . it’s a big step, and I know how hard it is, and, Don, god, you just made the decision today, this afternoon.”
“We made the decision this afternoon, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Don admitted. “I hated lying to him. Hated having to pretend that I’m busy with work so I can spend time with you, or having to leave you to put in face time with Dad. And the timing seems . . . .”
“Serendipitous?” Colby suggested.
“Yeah, whatever that means.” Don moved across the room and drew Colby into his arms. “I want to be able to drop by with you and not have to make up an excuse as to why you’re with me.”
Colby’s arms came up around Don and he leaned in and kissed him. “I want that, too.”
“Good,” Don said. “So, tonight?”
Colby just looked at Don for a long time, then nodded. “Pizza it is. But you still owe me steak.”
Don grinned, a great weight lifted off his chest. “Deal.”
Colby pulled out of Don’s arms and shoved his sweats down.
“What are you doing?”
“Changing my clothes. I can’t wear sweats over there when you’re going to tell your father about us. What kind of impression would that make?”
Don bit back his grin as Colby held up two pair of jeans, trying to decide which to wear. “He already knows you, and he knows that you are recovering from a gunshot wound, I don’t think he’s going to mind the sweat pants.”
Colby ignored him. “Shut up and tell me which shirt I should wear.”
“I think I’m going to throw up.”
“I get first dibs on the bathroom,” Don said. Amita’s car was in the driveway. Don knew she spent a lot of time at the house now, but he hadn’t anticipated her presence when he told his Dad and Charlie about him and Colby.
“Was that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It’s going to be fine,” Don said, wishing he believed it himself. “I mean, Megan already knows, right? We’ve managed to get through a week of her teasing.”
“I haven’t been to work for a week and you took the last four days off.”
“That hasn’t stopped the phone calls.”
“Or the text messages,” Colby admitted.
“Come on, it’s like a band aid right? It hurts less if you pull it off quick.”
“Yeah,” Colby said as he pushed the door open and slid out of the SUV, “you keep telling yourself that.”
Before they reached the front porch, the door opened and Larry and Amita spilled out of the house.
“Hey, you guys,” Amita said.
“Don, Colby,” Larry said, holding out his hand and shaking both of theirs. “It’s good to see you looking well, Colby.”
“Yeah,” Amita agreed. “I’m glad you’re getting back on your feet. Well, listen,” she continued, “sorry to cut this short, but we really need to run.”
“Yes,” Larry said, “the Higgs waits for no man.”
After saying a final goodbye, Larry and Amita hurried to her car. Don and Colby watched them go, then Colby said, “What was that all about?”
“I have no idea.”
It had taken the edge off, though, so Don wasn’t feeling quite so nervous when he stepped up onto the porch and opened the front door.
“Hey, Don!” Charlie greeted. “Colby, it’s good to see you.” Charlie came over and shook Colby’s hand. “You guys just missed Larry and Amita.”
“Actually, we passed them outside.”
Just then Alan came out of the kitchen carrying two bottles of beer. “Donnie! You made it. Good to see you getting around, Colby.”
“Thanks, Mr. Eppes.”
“Alan,” Alan said as he handed the bottles off to Don and Colby. “I’ll just get two more for Charlie and I.”
“Alan,” Colby repeated softly as Don automatically snagged both of the bottles. “Not for Colby.”
Alan and Charlie both stared at him and Don realized he’d let their familiarity show.
“I’m still on pain meds,” Colby said, casually drawing their attention away from Don, “so, sadly, no alcohol for me.”
“Oh, well, all right,” Alan said. “We’ve got water and juice. I think we have soda.”
“Water’s fine for now,” Colby said. “I’m pretty much juiced out,” he added, giving Don a look that Don hoped no one else caught. Besides, what was Colby complaining about, juice was good for you and it tasted good.
“I’ll be right back. Don, don’t keep Colby standing here, take him into the living room and let him sit down. And you boys can turn on the game.”
Don moved towards the couch so that he and Colby could sit together, and Charlie dug under the notebooks littering the coffee table to find the remote before taking one of the chairs and thumbing the television on. He flipped through a couple of sports channels before settling on a basketball game.
Alan returned with a bottle of beer, a bottle of water, and a take out menu from their favorite pizza place. He handed Colby the water, then held the menu out to Don.
“What kind of pizza do you boys want?”
Don looked sightlessly at the menu, then rolled it up in his hands. “Actually, Dad, I was hoping I could talk to you before we ordered.”
He felt Colby stiffen beside him as both Charlie and their Dad came to attention.
“Of course, Donnie. What about?”
“About me,” Don said. “Me and my relationships. Although, not really. Mostly about me, and, you know, I really don’t know how to tell you this, except to just . . . .”
“Band aid,” Colby whispered.
“. . . tell you, so.” Don took a deep breath. “Colby and I are together. Seeing each other.” He looked at Colby for help.
Colby nodded. “Seeing each other, together, in a relationship, take your pick. Sir.”
Alan was silent for a very long moment and Don now knew exactly what the term ‘shell shocked’ meant. “So, how long have you and Colby been, uh, seeing each other?”
“A couple of months,” Don said.
“A couple of months.” Alan nodded as if he understood, but Don could tell from his expression that he was very far from understanding the way his world had just tilted on its axis. “And how long have you been . . . ?”
“Gay?” Don finished, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. After all, it had been his choice to hide that from his family, until now. “All my life, Dad.”
“But . . . .” Alan sounded lost, confused. “You’ve dated women.”
“Yeah, and we all know how well that worked out.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
Don knew what he wanted his father to say, that it was all right, that it didn’t change anything, that he still loved him and he’d accept Colby in Don’s life, but Don didn’t want to have to put the words into his father’s mouth.
“Just . . . just give me a minute.” Alan pushed himself out of the chair and walked to the back of the house. Don heard the door close as Alan went out onto the back porch.
“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Don said, squeezing Colby’s hand when Colby reached for him.
“You just surprised him,” Charlie said. “I mean, his whole world view has been skewed because you let him believe something about you that wasn’t true, so it’s gonna take him a while to come to terms with the fact that some of the things he thinks he knows about you were all lies.”
“Lies, great.” Don sighed. He knew this already, but having someone else state the truth like that made him feel like a rat for not having come clean with his father, his entire family, a long time ago. “So why aren’t you freaking out?” he asked Charlie.
Charlie shrugged. “In some aspects, my world view where you’re concerned has included a bit more information than Dad had to go on.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“I mean, I never knew about Kim, but Dad never knew about Tommy Patterson. I . . . may have . . . walked in on you kissing Tommy when you were fifteen, after your team won the hockey championship.”
Don huffed out a laugh. “Oh my god, Tommy Patterson. I haven’t thought about him in years. Mom and Dad hosted this huge party after we won the hockey championship,” Don explained for Colby’s benefit. “Tommy, god, I’d had such a crush on him. He kissed me that night, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.” He looked at Charlie. “How come you never said anything?”
Charlie shrugged. “I didn’t get the impression that was something you’d want to talk about. I mean, we didn’t even talk about girls.”
“Yeah.” Don clenched his fist around the hollow tube he’d made of the menu. “Maybe I should go find Dad.”
“Give him a few minutes to sort it all out in his head,” Charlie said. “Let’s order the pizza before you completely mangle the menu, and then you can go find him. And while you’re gone I can interrogate Colby.”
Charlie had sounded awfully cheerful about that prospect, which made Don chuckle. “Yeah, okay.”
Colby clutched at Don’s hand. “Whoa, whoa, what do you mean, okay? I’m injured here, I won’t be able to stand up to an interrogation.”
“You’re a trained FBI agent,” Charlie said, tone overly solicitous and ruined by the huge grin he wore, “I’m sure you can handle a math professor.”
“Yeah, right.”
They decided on toppings for two large pizzas and called it in, then Don went in search of Alan, leaving Colby to Charlie’s tender mercies.
“Don’t break him, Chuck,” Don said, dropping a quick peck on Colby’s lips, “I’ll need him in one piece later.”
Colby grumbled about Don’s lack of remorse and Charlie laughed even as he blushed. Don didn’t know if it was because of the easy kiss he and Colby had shared, or the implication that he and Colby had sex. Don ruffled Charlie’s hair on the way past, smiling at the indignant squawk that followed him out into the backyard.
He found his father standing beside the koi pond, staring down at the koi swimming beneath the lights, though Don wasn’t sure if he was actually seeing anything. “Hey, Dad.”
“Donnie,” Alan said, eyes fixed on the ripples in the water.
“Listen, Dad, Colby’s a great guy, and I really like him. I love him, and, I tried, Dad, I tried being normal, I mean, Terry and Kim and Robin and . . . . God!” Don brushed his hand through his hair. “Too many to count. I couldn’t do it. Something was always missing. And now that I’m with Colby, I know what it was.
“I’m sorry I lied to you, but I could never figure out how to tell you. I could hardly admit it to myself. But I, I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”
Alan finally turned to look at him. He reached out and squeezed Don’s arm. “Donnie, I love you. No matter what, I love you. And I just want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you, for both my boys. And it’s what your mother wanted. We don’t care about . . . who makes you happy, except for the danger it puts you in.
“I’m just . . . I wonder how I missed it. I mean, what kind of father doesn’t know this about his own son?”
“No, Dad.” Don reached out and squeezed his father’s arm, closing the circuit between them. “Don’t. This is not your fault. How were you going to see something I was working so hard to keep hidden?”
Alan nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. “So,” he said briskly, changing the subject. “How’s Charlie taking it?”
That brought a grin to Don’s face. “He’s interrogating Colby as we speak.”
“Oh, no! If Charlie starts talking math, Colby’ll spill his guts to get him to stop. We’d better get back in there and save him.”
“Yeah,” Don said, holding his father’s eyes. “Thanks, Dad.”
They turned and walked back towards the house, and Alan said, “I’m starving; we should order that pizza.”
“We already ordered the pizza,” Don said.
“Without me? Great, I’ll probably be stuck picking anchovies off again.”
Don chuckled, happy that things were back to normal. Well, normal for them. “Hey, you snooze, you lose. Tell you what, I’ll take the anchovy slices if you help me wrestle the remote away from Charlie.”
“You boys really ordered anchovies?”
Don shrugged, grinning. “You willing to take the chance?”
The End
no subject
Date: 2008-09-16 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-18 07:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-17 05:03 pm (UTC)I really want to see Charlie interrogate Colby or try to intimidate him. This fic was wonderful; you had the reactions down pat. The entire time I was reading, I was getting more and more nervous, even though I knew you wouldn't do something awful like have Alan reject Don. When I got to the part where Don actually told his dad, I was literally covering my face with my hands reading between my fingers. But you made it all okay! YAY!
no subject
Date: 2008-09-18 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-17 05:05 pm (UTC)“Changing my clothes. I can’t wear sweats over there when you’re going to tell your father about us. What kind of impression would that make?”
Don bit back his grin as Colby held up two pair of jeans, trying to decide which to wear. “He already knows you, and he knows that you are recovering from a gunshot wound, I don’t think he’s going to mind the sweat pants.”
Colby ignored him. “Shut up and tell me which shirt I should wear.”
Colby is so freaking cute, trying to make a good impression. Silly boy. Everyone loves you!
no subject
Date: 2008-09-18 08:01 pm (UTC)