Cooper's Apartment
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| Preston Van de Mark | Cooper Montgomery |
Cooper is back. Cooper is back. Cooper is back.
Preston's heart keeps singing those words like a hymn of highest praise. He's spent the past day wearing an absolutely goofy grin (and little else), and indulging in a bit of debauchery celebrating his boyfriend's return to the City. He only dared admit to Jenna how much he missed Cooper, though his enthusiastic greeting upon the dancer's return should have said a lot.
In the back of his mind, there's a bit of lingering confusion from his experiences in San Francisco, but he's taking his shrink's advice and accepting it for what it is. Not labeling it (or himself), and figuring that it will all crystallize later. He has no regrets though, and is surprised by the fact that he wants to share it with Cooper.
Eventually; when they come up for air and aren't sleeping or screwing.
~*~
Cooper is back, and despite everything that's happened, he's also very happy to be back to the one person who continues to make sense in his life. The dancer has screwed up royally, and then let his hormones get the better of his judgment where Ariel was concerned, and now he has no clue how any of that is going to work out for Preston.
"Christ," he says finally, brushing his hand through Preston's hair. "I missed you too."
~*~
"Missed you more," Preston says, with a big grin. It's cheesy and it's corny as hell, but he really doesn't care. He nips playfully at is boyfriend's shoulder and swoops in to steal a lazy, satiated kiss.
Preston is past the indiscretion with Siobhan, especially in light of the lack of memory on both of their parts. He's not holding it against Cooper, or against the other dancer. It's in the past, and he doubts it will happen again.
~*~
It is cheesy, but Cooper chuckles at it. Rolling so that they can look at one another, the dancer closes his eyes. It's brief, and he tries to put a lot of things behind him — especially the incident with Siobhan.
"Think we should order something in? I can't even remember if we've eaten anything today…" They've been in the bed, or the shower, or the bed for most of it. Coming up for air wasn't a priority. Neither was eating.
~*~
"Food would probably be a very good idea. Pretty sure we can't survive on sex alone." Preston runs his hand down Cooper's side and along his hip. He traces the muscles of his boyfriend's defined abs. "But it sure as hell would be fun to try."
Beat.
"You stay put, I'll grab the take out menus. What are you in the mood for?"
~*~
"Well I'm willing to try if you are." Waggling his brows at his boyfriend, Cooper sets his arms behind his head and smiles. "You."
It's a pretty typical Cooper answer as it were.
"I'd tell you to surprise me, but I've honestly had enough of those to last me a while. Pizza's fine."
Beat.
"Then you can tell me all about those boudoir shots you were taking of Ariel."
~*~
"I'm on the menu for the rest of the night. And tomorrow, too. As long as you'll have me." Preston gives Cooper a lazy, lopsided smile, before leaning in to nip teasingly at the other man's lips.
"The usual?" Giving Cooper's hip a squeeze, he rolls out of bed and searches around for his phone. He locates it in his pants pocket, but instead of using it to call for food, he tosses it at the bed, having it land neatly on the mattress beside Cooper. "You liked the pictures, then? There's a few more that I didn't send you on there."
He picks up Cooper's phone and waves it at his boyfriend, before using it to place the order. He doesn't need a menu to order pizza from the excellent delivery place that's a few blocks away, and he knows the number by heart.
~*~
"Yeah, that works." Cooper grins. Leaning up, he grabs Preston's phone and starts skimming through the pictures. "She's hot." It doesn't matter that she's weird. It's a hot girl in boudoir shots. He's seen her naked, he can easily imagine the rest.
He waits until his boyfriend is off the phone, then says, "So you want to tell me what's really up with the floating crap now that we're not on the phone?"
~*~
"Is that all you can manage? 'She's hot?' " Preston places the order and then crawls back into the bed. This time though, he lays on his side, propped up on his elbow. He nudges his boyfriend with his toes. "You've been wanting to screw her since the night you met her, and you stop at 'she's hot?' "
Yes, he is ignoring Cooper's question for now. "If you're not interested, I'm not going to tell you about before and after the boudoir shots."
~*~
"One," Cooper says, putting a finger up, "She isn't interested in screwing me. Two, she is hot. I'm too exhausted to drool over her at the moment. Especially when I have my equally hot, naked boyfriend in bed with me." Grabbing Preston, he drags him over for a kiss.
Once the kiss breaks, he grins. "I'm definitely interested in hearing about your trip out there, but I need to know what's going on with the weird stuff, Pres. I let it go when I was with her, but I'd like to know if it's something that can hurt me, or if it's something I need to watch out for."
~*~
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Preston says with a devious grin. He lets it go however, especially in light of the kissing.
Preston trails his fingers over Cooper's chest, "I'm really not the one who should be explaining this to you. I'm not sure I can explain it right." Preston would rather avoid talking about it at all, if it means that things can go back the way they used to be, and he doesn't have to worry about his boyfriend being afraid of his friends.
He holds Cooper's gaze for a long moment, "Are you going to believe me if I tell you that she won't hurt you? That what I'm going to say might freak you out, again, but she won't hurt you?" Preston feels comfortable saying that because he knows that's not how witch magic works or how it's focused.
~*~
"And just what's that supposed to mean?"
Cooper drops back on the pillow, setting Preston's phone to the side. "Who should be explaining it then? At the moment, I trust you. I want to hear it from you." For a few days, the dancer was upset that his boyfriend kept it from him. For a few days, he drank himself into a complete stupor in the evenings after the shows, not bothering to wake up until it was just about time to go on. He kept drinking after that as well, but just enough to have a good time with the rest of the troupe and then wander to bed.
"If you tell me the truth, Preston, I'll believe you. If I freak out, then I freak out, and I'll deal with it in my own way. If it's too much for me, if I can't handle Ariel after this, I'm not going to stop whatever is going on between the two of you, a'ight?"
~*~
"It's not important right now," Preston waves his comment off. He and Ariel did talk about some things outside of his state of ambiguously confusing being, but that's a conversation for another time. After this conversation, it might be a conversation for 'never.'
A bunch of stubborn, uptight biddies who think they know everything about being a witch, but really don't. That's what Preston wants to say, but he can't say that. Dropping down, Preston tucks his arm beneath his head and exhales slowly. "What if I told you that magic is real?"
~*~
"You know my immediate answer would be that you're full of shit," Cooper tells his boyfriend. Rolling over so that he can look down at Preston, the dancer tickles his fingers over Preston's chest. "For the sake of argument though, I'll say, 'alright', and listen to what else you have to tell me."
There's a sense in the back of his mind that he's heard this before. Magic is real; it's evil. He gives his head a tiny shake to clear that thought, so he can focus on what the actor is telling him.
~*~
"Magic is real." Preston is being quite serious now. "It's just as real as the air we breath. It's not evil. It's not twisted. It's not wrong. It's just a thing, a power source. Like electricity or nuclear energy or water. Good and evil are traits assigned by humans, and the thing itself isn't one or another. It's how the people who wield it chose to do so that makes them good or evil."
Preston is channeling nearly word for word what Miss Dawna explained to him when he found out about it, and he was part in awe and part scared of what Siobhan could do.
~*~
"You're shitting me, right? Pres, that's a bit hard to swallow, you know? I mean, even if it is a power source, people don't shoot electricity from their hands, or walk around threatening a meltdown to take out a city. If they did, we'd be living in a comic book, which I'm pretty certain we aren't. Last time I punched someone, I didn't see a giant, colorful 'POW' over their head." Cooper takes a breath, dropping back onto his pillow. Staring up at the ceiling, he frowns.
"Anyone that has that kind of power can't be entirely good."
~*~
"We're not living in a comic book, but there's a lot more to this world than you may think," Preston says very quietly. "People see what they want to see, and rationalize the rest. No, I'm not quoting Buffy, but it's true. Don't you think that the ideas about magic had to come from somewhere? It's been referenced back since before Christianity, before the Old Testament. It's old and so are witches and sorcerers."
Beat.
"And why not?" Preston challenges. "Why do they have to be bad just because they have an ability that other people don't? Why can't they be good people?"
~*~
"Sure. Back then, the pagans were persecuted as Devil Worshipers. What's changed in the years since?" Cooper is trying to rationalize it all, and go against what the back of his mind is telling him. But he's also just trying to understand.
"I'm not saying that Ariel is evil, per se… I'm just saying that anyone with that type of power… it doesn't take much to turn them. Which means that the power is dangerous." He can just imagine Siobhan in one of her moods, using that power to take it out on someone.
~*~
"For starters, they don't worship the devil. Some of them are Christian. Some are Buddhist. Some are atheist. It's not a religion, it's a skill. A natural ability. Like dancing, or running, or swimming. It's just something that these people are born with because their parents were born with it, and their grandparents were born with it, and their great grandparents going generations back."
Beat.
"They're still persecuted in some places. I guess witches are deeply underground in the Muslim world. For obvious reasons these women - and some men - don't step out and let the current world know about them and what they are. They still live in the shadows because most people wouldn't understand. They'd be afraid of them; or want to use them."
Preston sighs and reaches over to stroke his fingers through Cooper's hair. "I won't lie to you, certain types of magic power are dangerous in the wrong hands. But you can't easily turn a good person because they have access to the power any more than you can do it by placing a gun in a man's hands. Siobhan and Ariel weren't raised that way. Siobhan told me that it was always drilled into her that that sort of power has responsibility and she should respect it and not ever abuse it."
He grins a bit. "I've always teased her that she should use her powers for good, but it's just teasing. I've never thought she'd use them for bad." Beat. "There were times in high school when I wished that she would but the worse she ever did was dye someone's hair purple or give some asshole a pantsing." Typical teenage pranks that could be done without magic.
"She didn't even use it to defend herself when her ex went after her last summer."
~*~
"That's not a skill like dancing." Cooper half wonders if part of Siobhan's 'natural talent' comes from the witchcraft as well. He'd call her out on it, but they're still on extremely awkward terms.
"Have you seen your friend when she gets angry, Preston? I could very easily see her using it against someone." Shivering again, he frowns.
"I worry that by being around this so much, you've got a bias. You're alright with it, because it's been ingrained into you to be. You didn't go to Hogwarts, and I didn't see Ariel waving around any magic wand."
~*~
"It's not something that they signed up for and sold their souls to the devil to have either," Preston points out softly. "It is just what they are. How they're born."
"I have." Preston gives Cooper a very serious look. "I've known her for almost ten years. I've seen her get angrier than you probably ever have. She's loud, she's in your face and she's full on bitch, but she's never turned her magic against anyone in anger." Lately, she hasn't even burst pipes or overloaded electronics, so somewhere along the line she's learned a lot more control.
Preston gives a mirthless chuckle. "They don't need wands or Hogwarts. They learn from family. What you saw, what Ariel did was … I guess, leakage is what it's called. Kind of like a bucket that's overflowing. Something happened that made her lose control and it had to go somewhere."
Beat.
"I'm alright with it because I've never been given a reason to not be alright with it. I know that there are spells out there that are dangerous and can hurt people. I also know that that means that there are people out there who are willing to use those spells, and I'm glad to know someone who has the ability to protect and defend from that."
Beat.
"That's what witches are, Coop. They're not the hags from Shakespeare or wives of Satan. They're protectors. Their magic is healing, defensive and protective. That's the root of it."
~*~
"Someone may have down the line," Cooper argues. Just because it's in the blood now doesn't mean that there wasn't some type of weird hoodoo worship going on before.
"Yet." Siobhan may not have done it yet, but he's seen her get really upset and he has no doubt that she could and would given the proper situation.
"So basically, virtually fucking her caused this 'bucket' to overflow. Well I guess I should be happy that it as only objects floating around the room, and not something really dangerous."
Beat.
"I really want to believe you, Pres. I do. I just can't shake the feeling that something's not right with it."
~*~
"I don't know Coop. I wasn't there thousands of years ago. No witches alive now were. I just know what I'm told and what they've told." He almost jokes that they could find a really old vampire and ask them, but figures that would go over like a lead balloon.
"We're going to have to agree to disagree on that point," Preston says. He flops onto his back and stares at the ceiling. This is what he was afraid of happening, and it's only going to get worse when Cooper finds out what he is.
"Ariel tapped into emotions and feelings she hadn't before. They're trained to handle extreme expressions and to channel their magic appropriately, but that's not one that can be trained for until, you know, it happens."
Beat.
"Nothing floated when I slept with her." Which means he was really lousy at it, or she knew what to expect and was able to manage her magic better. His ego is much happier assuming it was the latter.
"How long have you known Siobhan, Coop? Have you ever, honestly had any reason to think that she'd hurt you? That she's just a bad day away from going postal? Would you even be thinking that now if you hadn't found out about the magic?"
~*~
"I'm just saying that something like this can't be entirely altruistic." Cooper really can't shake that feeling of wrongness, and he knows that his boyfriend is getting frustrated with him.
"Wait, what? You slept with Ariel, and you didn't lead with that?" Cooper rolls over and gives Preston a shove. "You did something like that, of your own free will, when I wasn't there? How was it?"
It's a good distraction than thinking that his boyfriend is being swayed to the dark side.
"I don't know, Pres. That's the thing. I. Don't. Know. I'd like to think that she won't, but like I said, I've got this feeling that I can't shake. It scares the piss out of me."
~*~
"The magic itself is neutral." Preston really thinks it's important that Cooper understand that. Magic needs a wielder and it's the person that determines if it's good or bad, positive or negative. "But no, the caster isn't always entirely altruistic. They're people. They're human. They're emotional, irrational and petty. They're egotistical and self-satisfying. You've got as many good magic users as you do bad, but it's not the magic that makes them that way. It's the personality and the training or what they've been taught."
"You're always going to have people who use it to get ahead or to hurt people. But, Coop, you're also going to have the ones who don't. Or the ones who could and raised to think that way, but opt to go a different route."
Like Doctor Robert. Like the Harpers.
"I thought you wanted to talk about it after we talked about the levitating stuff?"
Beat.
"Why do you think that is? That you feel that way? Were you an altar boy? Or raised in a strict religious home?" Cooper doesn't talk about his family, so Preston honestly doesn't know. "All I had for reference was television and books, so for me it was just trying to figure out which television show was most like what Shiv could do."
~*~
"Is it?" Cooper isn't sure that he can believe that. That the magic is entirely natural or neutral. He can't help thinking that it corrupts the wielder of it.
"Then it's just as dangerous as putting a gun in someone's hand, isn't it? It's not exactly safe, Pres."
Beat.
"You distracted me with the fact that you slept with her. You. My super-into-men-boyfriend, slept with a woman of his own volition."
Beat.
"I don't know. I've been away from home most of the time since I was seven. My parents are strict, sure, but what parents aren't? Religion-wise, they're both Christian, but I don't think that has anything to do with how I feel. I mean, they raised me with values, but I've never even been to church unless it was when I was really young."
~*~
"Unlike a gun, it can be beneficial. Witches use healing magic and protective magic. I've seen it."
Beat.
"I am into men. I like cock. Just in case you didn't notice." Preston bumps Cooper with his thigh. "It wasn't exactly my idea. I didn't go out there with the intention of screwing her… but she was persuasive."
Beat.
"You really want to hear about it?" Preston can't imagine that it can be anything of a turn on for Cooper now that he knows what Ariel is and what she can do.
~*~
"I never doubted, sweetie." Cooper glances over at him, then sighs heavily. Fingers brush over Preston's cheek, and he whispers, "Just don't tell me that you can do any of this weird magic crap, alright? I happen to like you just the way you are. Confused, and all."
Inside, Cooper is freaking out a lot more than he's saying. It's not like he can go to his parents to talk about this world he's apparently found himself in, and he figures if everyone else around him is 'in the know' he can't really talk to them either. Talking to Nick? Well, he likely wouldn't be believed.
"I don't know. Pizza will be here soon, so lets eat, and give me time to digest… this… and maybe have something to drink, and then you can tell me."
~*~
"I swear to you, I can't do magic. I'm just as normal as - they come." He almost says, 'As normal as you,' but realizes that's not exactly true.
Preston lets out a soft chuckle. "I'm trying not to focus on the confused part and just trying to accept that it is what it is. I like her." He's not saying that he's suddenly into women, because that's not the case at all. Ariel is an unexpected enigma in the scheme of things, and he's really trying not to over-analyze.
"Alright. Food and maybe something completely distracting on the television or Netflix?"
~*~
"Good." Leaning in, he kisses Preston, harshly. Claimingly. He needs that normalcy in his life at the moment, and knowing that Preston is normal helps him feel the most grounded he has in weeks.
"You like Sera too," he points out, as the kiss breaks. "Maybe not in the same way, but you do. I've seen it when we're with her."
Beat.
"Whatever you want, sweetie."
~*~
"Sera is - " A vampire. "- in a class all her own, I think. You're right, though. It's not the same way as it was with Ariel." Knowing what she is, and wondering how much of that was the vampiress messing with his head, though she insists she didn't, Preston can admit to liking Sera on a personal, friendly level. He enjoyed being with her and Cooper. Being with Ariel was something entirely different; he didn't need Cooper there to enjoy it and it didn't feel awkward or unusual once they got past the typical awkwardness that came from inexperience on both of their parts.
"I'm not sure that I would be with Sera without you," Preston admits.
Beat.
Reaching out, he cups Cooper's cheek and runs his thumb along his lips. "I have what I want right now." It's as close as he'll come - for the moment - to telling Cooper that he loves him.
~*~
"I did tell you, when you met the right woman…" Cooper winks at Preston, and is secretly impressed with his boyfriend for going with it. For trying it without him. The dancer shrugs a little, and whispers, "Good. I don't want to share you with Sera if I'm not there." It's different for Cooper though. He doesn't mind being with Sera on his own.
"Even without the pizza and drinks?" The tease is light, and playful.
~*~
"I don't think I can handle Sera if you're not there." Aside from not wishing to partake without Cooper, Preston thinks she's a bit more than he can handle alone. He's fine with that, however, though he can't help but tease. "There's actually someone you don't want to share me with if you're not there to enjoy it?"
He slides his hand down Cooper's stomach, over his hip and playfully pinches his boyfriend's backside. "Even without."
After stealing a quick kiss, Preston slips out of bed and pulls his pants on. He tosses his boyfriend a smile, "I'd rather not traumatize the pizza guy. Seeing as how we are regulars."
~*~
"I never really want to share you. Share with you is different." Cooper smirks. "Pot, kettle, I know. I don't want to share you, but I expect you to share me." It's not fair, but Preston is a better man than he is.
"I think the pizza guy would like it, sweetie. I've seen the way he looks at you." Waggling his brows, he reaches for his boxers and wriggles them on. "Beer or something else?"
~*~
Preston stops and blinks at the older man. He's never heard that sentiment from Cooper before. Then again, he's never felt the need to want to be with any one else except for Cooper. There is Ariel now, so perhaps he should correct that to be that he doesn't want to be any other man outside of Cooper, so it's never been a consideration. Preston has always accepted that Cooper is going to be with other people, and more recently, he's going to be with women.
"But Ariel doesn't bother you?"
"Beer," Preston votes. A cold beer goes great with pizza.
~*~
"Ariel's different." Whether the 's is for 'is' or 'was', Cooper isn't certain yet. He's still got a lot to think about, and part of him wants to run and dance it out.
"Beer it is. I've got plenty in the fridge." Stretching, he passes Preston and heads toward the kitchen.
"Hey, Pres? It's not weird for you? Your friends being able to do this shit? Like, not in the least? What else can they do?"
~*~
"She is," Preston agrees with a faint wistful smile, stretching his arms over his head. He rolls his shoulders and heads out of the bedroom toward the living room. He looks around and jokes, "Almost forgot you had more than a bedroom and a bed." Since that's been pretty much where they've been since he's arrived.
The actor shrugs. "I was a little unnerved at first. It's not normal and who wouldn't be?" He drops onto the couch and stretches his legs in front of him. "I was fifteen. Part of it was scary. Part of it was cool. Then I started to realize Shiv was more Sabrina the Teenage Witch than Bellatrix LeStrange and started learning about it."
Beat.
Preston is not going in any more detail to what everyone else is and can do right now. He thinks Cooper's probably had enough for one day. Week. Month. "Well, Jenna has the power of perkiness and no one can say to no to her and from what I understand, Siobhan can create multiple boners by bending over in her cheerleading skirt."
~*~
"Not much more, but yeah." Cooper's apartment is much smaller than the one Preston shares with the women, but he's not ashamed of it. It's what he can afford, and it's in an artsy district which he likes. It may not be much, but it's home.
"Ye-ah, that's not what I meant, and you know it. All I've seen Ariel do is float things. I meant what else can she and Siobhan do."
~*~
That's like all Coop is going to see for a very long time. Ariel is still pretty upset that she did that and freaked him out, and Preston got the slight feeling that she was very closely monitoring her magic even when he was there visiting her.
"Siobhan likes levitating things. Not randomly like Ariel did, but intentionally, but Miss Dawna calls it lazy. She plays with water. She can make little water spouts. She's sneaky with snowball fights." Though they haven't done that in a couple of years. "Privacy spells. That's a big one. Blocking conversation from other people, say, if you didn't want others to overhear your conversation. Sometimes even blocking visuals. So it could look like I'm sitting here on the couch watching television when I'm actually sitting here reading a book."
Beat.
"Or yanking one off." Because that example probably makes more sense to Cooper than the first one.
~*~
"Could it cause people to forget?" Cooper grabs the remote and sets up Netflix. He doesn't bother with cable, but between Netflix and his small DVD collection, he keeps himself visually entertained. Granted, his DVDs tend to be more of the NC-17 variety.
"I mean, just as a for instance."
Beat.
"Now why would you want to hide yourself yanking one off? I'd like to see that."
~*~
"Siobhan's magic? Not that I'm aware of. Most of what she does without spells and books are things she's done for years. Anything advanced she'd have to learn and study for months. Siobhan … likes the stuff she picks up fast and easy." She also likes making it up as she goes and experimenting with what she already knows, but that's the last thing Coop needs to hear.
"I'm not an expert, but she's told me that if it's complicated she needs to find a written spell to do it. Things like memory charms, or advanced healing spells, she needs the assist with."
Beat.
"I imagine that Ariel can do a good bit of what Siobhan can considering it's all kept in the family. They learned from their mothers who learned from their grandmother."
Preston waggles his brows. "It was an example. I guess it's a good way to not be noticed in bars, or to get away with fooling around in public." He's taking that from what Jenna said, because Siobhan has never indicated that she's done such with her magic.
~*~
"So she didn't mind-whammy me?" Which means Cooper's got to figure out who in the Company roofied them. "I mean, it's not even a possibility? I've been thinking of that since I saw Ariel move things."
Rubbing the back of his neck, he hands the remote to Preston. "I can't decide, you can put on whatever you want."
Beat.
"Really? Siobhan fools around in the bars with Harper that way?"
~*~
It's on the tip of Preston's tongue to say that Cooper did it first, but he can't do that. He knows that it was an interaction of magic, but he can't tell Cooper that it was his magic that set off a chain reaction. Instead he says, "If she did, it wasn't intentional, and she did it to herself, too. She was just as roofied or stoned as you were, and she doesn't remember what happened. It is possible that she lost control when she was too drunk to know better, but that level of spell is out of her league. She'd have to be reacting or responding to someone else's magic for anything remotely like that to happen." Which is exactly what happened, and it's all Preston can give Cooper right now.
Preston parks it on some bad, trash post-apocalyptic world movie that's mostly gratuitous tits and ass, but he figures it'll give Coop some eye candy.
"No, she doesn't. I'm sure she wants to, but she doesn't. There are other witches and sorcerers in the city, though, and they do talk."
~*~
There's a nod, and Cooper runs his fingers through his hair. He's still having trouble wrapping his mind around all of this, but Preston is actually keeping him calm about it. He may drink more than one beer though.
"You think there's another one in the Company then? Someone who might be out to get Siobhan in trouble?" It's 'Siobhan' now and not 'the Duckling', mostly because the dancer is trying to distance himself a little and not make things too weird for her and her friends.
"Well that's about the handiest piece of magic you've told me about, you know. I can think of a million different things we could do if I had that ability."
~*~
Preston notes the change in how Cooper refers to Siobhan, but doesn't say anything. Maybe his boyfriend can work through this and get it out of his system by the time the pair has to work together again. He hopes so. He likes Cooper being comfortable with his friends, and he thought that Cooper was finally starting to think of them as not just Preston's friends.
"Maybe. I don't know. She wouldn't talk to me much about it, for obvious reasons. Mostly she just - " The ringing of the doorbell interrupts him and Preston stands from the couch. "I got this, you can get the next one."
Once the pizza is paid for and the delivery guy has been well tipped, he motions toward the box. "In front of the television or in the kitchen?"
Preston grins. "Yes, I've often envied that bit of magic."
~*~
Cooper can't blame her for not wanting to talk about it. The only person he's really talked to about things is Preston, for obvious reasons. He's really trying with the actor. Otherwise it would've gone unmentioned.
"Sure."
The dancer will just slip some money into Preston's pocket before he leaves, for his half. He hates feeling like a mooch, or that he owes something. He's not as well off as his boyfriend, but he's got enough to be able to keep himself fed.
"Here is fine. You have to remember, I'm pretty lax." He's not even going to suggest plates.
Cracking open both beers, he glances at his boyfriend and sighs. "I don't know if I'll be able to get over this. Every time I think of it, my mind goes back to wrongness. I mean, I'll try, but I can't promise anything, okay?"
~*~
Preston takes one of the beers and takes a large swallow. "Just try to remember the people? Please?" Preston looks at his boyfriend with a note of pleading in his green eyes. He's never asked Cooper for anything. "Ariel and Siobhan, they're still the same people they were before you found out about all of this." It's all Preston will say for now on it.
~*~
"I know, but it's like finding out your high school girlfriend was pregnant with twins." Cooper kicks back on the couch, not touching the beer yet. He knows once he does, he'll drink it rather quickly. He probably needs something a little harder to drink, but won't until later.
"Surprising, unreal, and you're not quite sure how you feel about it."
~*~
Preston runs his thumb around the rim of the beer bottle. "I do know that it's surprising and shocking. I wish I could - " Turn back time. Stop Cooper from ever knowing about this, but he knows in the long run that that wouldn't be possible. Still, he wants things back the way they were. " - just help you see that it's not wrong. Just unusual. Different."
Beat.
"What do you plan on doing while you're not being run ragged by the Company?" It's not a subtle change of subject at all.
~*~
"Fucking you every possible moment that I can? Make up for missing your graduation? I haven't decided yet. Right now it was just kind've 'See my boyfriend, wind down'." Cooper waggles his brows at Preston, and then murmurs, "I really do need to make up for missing your graduation. Part of that is going to be trying to come to terms with this. I can't promise that it'll be easy. It creeps me out. I wish I could just wipe it from my mind, but I can't." That would be the easiest really.
"What are your plans for the summer? Heading to the Hamptons again?"
~*~
Preston laughs. "I won't stop you from doing that." He nudges his boyfriend with his elbow and reaches for a slice of pizza. "I won't stop you for making it up to me either, but I don't blame you. You were working, on tour, and I understand that. I know you would have been there if you could have."
Beat.
"I wish you could too," Preston says honestly.
"I don't know. We haven't really talked about it. Maybe I'll just stay in the city this summer."
~*~
"Come on tour with me when it starts back up."
Beat.
"I mean, I wouldn't be adverse to you wanting to come with me." Cooper glances at the ceiling for a moment, then reaches for the beer. Taking a big swig of it, he sets the bottle down. "I wish I could've been there. I do know I'm getting you a gift. I can't promise it'll be anything big, but I want to get you something."
~*~
Preston stops with his bottle of beer midway to his mouth and stares at Cooper. It takes a second or two, but the bottle continues on its way and he takes a swallow before lowering the bottle again. He's so stunned by the invitation that he can't find words right away, and drinking from the bottle helps cover that.
"I could … if you wouldn't mind having me around for a week or two… how long is this leg of the tour?"
He reaches over and squeezes Cooper's thigh. "I'm sure you'll surprise me with the perfect gift."
~*~
"Just a few weeks. Texas through Florida."
Cooper can tell his boyfriend is surprised, and he shrugs it off. "I mean, you don't have to stay the entire time either. We'll be back before the end of July to start prepping for our Fall Gala."
Opening the box of pizza, he grabs a slice and takes a bite.
"I'd never mind having you around, Pres. You ground me. I might need that this time."
~*~
Preston blinks again, then plucks Cooper's bottle out of his hand. He places it on the table, and his beside it, then draws his boyfriend in for a long, sensual kiss. As it breaks, he says, "I'll go with you. For at least part of it. Maybe the whole tour. I'll be your personal grounding stone, but you have to do something for me?"
Beat.
"I'll find you someone unbiased and objective to talk to about this stuff with and you'll talk to them?" Preston has no idea where or how he's going to find such a thing, but there has to be someone somewhere who's human and knowledgeable. Who just studies this stuff. Like maybe that Priory group he's heard Siobhan mention can point him in the right direction.
~*~
The pizza is set on his lap, which isn't the best place for it, but it's better than letting it fall on his futon couch. Kissing his boyfriend back just as sensually, he sighs. If anyone asks him, he'd say he's happy with Preston. Not that he'll admit it to Preston, but… that might come given time.
"Anything."
Beat.
"Yeah, that might help. I guess I can do that. An unbiased opinion, and discussion might help."
~*~
"Good." Preston kisses him again, tickling his fingers down his chest as the kiss breaks this time.
"Now eat your pizza and drink your beer. I want you fed and full of energy so that I can drag you back to bed."
~*~
"Bossy," Cooper teases. He doesn't mind when Preston gets like that. He actually likes the fact that his boyfriend is a bit bossy, and his boyfriend's girlfriend is a bit more submissive. If he can call Ariel Preston's girlfriend.
"You just want me to fuck you again, and again, and again, until neither of us can move."
They do have weeks to make up for.
"I could just fuck you right here. It's not like I have a roommate."
~*~
"You love it." Preston leans in and nips at Cooper's collarbone. Dropping back to the couch, he grabs his own slice of pizza. After biting, chewing and swallowing, he smirks at the dancer. "I was thinking about fucking you again, and again, and again until we're exhausted, but we can try it your way."
