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palace_marton) wrote2005-06-25 09:38 pm
palace_marton) wrote2005-06-25 09:38 pm
Entry tags:
Change of Pace. [Will/Marton]
.
“So, yeah. I might understand him a little better, but I still don’t like him.” Will sat cross-legged in the centre of their bed, scratching idly at his bare chest, the magazine he’d been flipping through before Marton had come in, spread out across his feet.
“Mmm.” Marton finished changing into his sleep pants and sat down on the side of the bed. “Easier to understand why Karl’s so . . . prickly though.” he said thoughtfully. He picked the magazine off Will’s feet and closed it, tossing it onto the nightstand.
“Yeah.” Will opined. “Because he wallows in it. Stupid tosser’s never lifted a finger to try and help himself.”
Marton patted his lover’s leg, a gentle chastisement. “Not everyone’s as forthright or as self-aware as you.”
“I suppose.” Will conceded. “But still . . .” He shook off the serious chat and grinned at Marton. “So? You were telling me about you and Eric the other night? ‘Fore we were . . . interrupted.”
“Interrupted? You pounced me!”
Will shrugged. “Story-time still ended abruptly.” he insisted. “So c’mon, gimme more!”
Marton thought for a moment, gave Will a sly sideways glance. “Sure you don’t want to hear about me, Eric and Sean?” he asked.
Will screwed up his face, covered his ears. “No!” he said forcefully. “I do not!” He shot Marton a filthy look when he spotted the grin. “I have a very definite picture of Sean in my mind.” he told him. “And in it, Sean has his pants on! I’d like to keep it that way, thanks. Not that I’m not happy for you or anything. I am, but, eww!”
Marton shook his head sadly. “What is it with you.” he lamented. “Sean’s a good . . .”
But Will had his hands still firmly clamped over his ears and was singing loudly, drowning Marton out. “La la la la la la.”
“Coward.”
Will stuck his tongue out, lip-reading. “Am not.” He dropped his hands to his lap. “I just need at least one authority figure in my life, okay? Someone I can look up to and respect and admire . . . And men like that are hard to find.” It was his turn to give Marton a sly look.
“I’m insulted.”
“I’m self-aware.” Will countered happily. “And Sean is the stop sign in my life. Someone has to be, especially at work.”
“Ahh, yeah.” Marton turned and crawled up onto the bed beside Will, gently pushing him back and lying beside him on his stomach. “I, ahh, wanted to talk to you about that.”
“About what?”
“Work.” Marton admitted. “I’ve been thinking.” He sucked in a breath. “You don’t have a Debt anymore and I was wondering . . . well I, I don’t want you to go back to work.” He looked to Will for a response.
Will’s eyes widened. “Umm . . . okay. Never thought of that before.” He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment and then looked at Marton. “Why?” he asked.
“Because.” Marton settled himself more comfortably, turning onto his side to face Will and propping his head on his hand. “When you work and I work, it limits our time together. We’re like ships passing in the night and I’m being selfish, not wanting to go back to that.”
Will nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Anyway,” Marton went on, taking the silence as encouragement. “like I said, I’ve thought about this and I’m not talking about you sitting around doing nothing like some ancient house-woman or whatever. I know too well that bored Will equals mischief so . . .” he paused for breath.
“You got that right.” Will muttered, giving Marton a beaming smile.
“Before . . .” You went home. Marton stumbled, halted and then decided to carry on with what he had. “Before, after you made your accidental public debut, it worked pretty well, yes? Those fetes we did, the cocktail party. I mean, you enjoyed it and you certainly were a hit with the people we met. I was thinking of more of the same. The more of us doing the job, the lighter the load.”
Will didn’t respond right away and he had a funny look on his face. “What?” Marton asked, lifting his free hand and laying it on Will’s bare stomach, feeling the need to be touching even though he didn’t quite know why.
“I get,” Will hesitated. “I understand what you mean but, well, I’m not . . .” A hand rose and fell as he sought the word he needed. “Royal. I mean, family. You know.”
“Will.” Marton was gentle but firm. “You are my partner. Like Harry is Orlando’s. Like Johnny is Christian’s, and now Caeline too. People know that. People like you! Hell! They like you better than they like me!” He smiled at his little joke before getting serious again. “You are part of this family.” he told him. “Part of me.”
Face flushing with delicate color, Will closed his eyes for a second. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.”
Then . . .
“Do I get my story-time now?”
“So, yeah. I might understand him a little better, but I still don’t like him.” Will sat cross-legged in the centre of their bed, scratching idly at his bare chest, the magazine he’d been flipping through before Marton had come in, spread out across his feet.
“Mmm.” Marton finished changing into his sleep pants and sat down on the side of the bed. “Easier to understand why Karl’s so . . . prickly though.” he said thoughtfully. He picked the magazine off Will’s feet and closed it, tossing it onto the nightstand.
“Yeah.” Will opined. “Because he wallows in it. Stupid tosser’s never lifted a finger to try and help himself.”
Marton patted his lover’s leg, a gentle chastisement. “Not everyone’s as forthright or as self-aware as you.”
“I suppose.” Will conceded. “But still . . .” He shook off the serious chat and grinned at Marton. “So? You were telling me about you and Eric the other night? ‘Fore we were . . . interrupted.”
“Interrupted? You pounced me!”
Will shrugged. “Story-time still ended abruptly.” he insisted. “So c’mon, gimme more!”
Marton thought for a moment, gave Will a sly sideways glance. “Sure you don’t want to hear about me, Eric and Sean?” he asked.
Will screwed up his face, covered his ears. “No!” he said forcefully. “I do not!” He shot Marton a filthy look when he spotted the grin. “I have a very definite picture of Sean in my mind.” he told him. “And in it, Sean has his pants on! I’d like to keep it that way, thanks. Not that I’m not happy for you or anything. I am, but, eww!”
Marton shook his head sadly. “What is it with you.” he lamented. “Sean’s a good . . .”
But Will had his hands still firmly clamped over his ears and was singing loudly, drowning Marton out. “La la la la la la.”
“Coward.”
Will stuck his tongue out, lip-reading. “Am not.” He dropped his hands to his lap. “I just need at least one authority figure in my life, okay? Someone I can look up to and respect and admire . . . And men like that are hard to find.” It was his turn to give Marton a sly look.
“I’m insulted.”
“I’m self-aware.” Will countered happily. “And Sean is the stop sign in my life. Someone has to be, especially at work.”
“Ahh, yeah.” Marton turned and crawled up onto the bed beside Will, gently pushing him back and lying beside him on his stomach. “I, ahh, wanted to talk to you about that.”
“About what?”
“Work.” Marton admitted. “I’ve been thinking.” He sucked in a breath. “You don’t have a Debt anymore and I was wondering . . . well I, I don’t want you to go back to work.” He looked to Will for a response.
Will’s eyes widened. “Umm . . . okay. Never thought of that before.” He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment and then looked at Marton. “Why?” he asked.
“Because.” Marton settled himself more comfortably, turning onto his side to face Will and propping his head on his hand. “When you work and I work, it limits our time together. We’re like ships passing in the night and I’m being selfish, not wanting to go back to that.”
Will nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Anyway,” Marton went on, taking the silence as encouragement. “like I said, I’ve thought about this and I’m not talking about you sitting around doing nothing like some ancient house-woman or whatever. I know too well that bored Will equals mischief so . . .” he paused for breath.
“You got that right.” Will muttered, giving Marton a beaming smile.
“Before . . .” You went home. Marton stumbled, halted and then decided to carry on with what he had. “Before, after you made your accidental public debut, it worked pretty well, yes? Those fetes we did, the cocktail party. I mean, you enjoyed it and you certainly were a hit with the people we met. I was thinking of more of the same. The more of us doing the job, the lighter the load.”
Will didn’t respond right away and he had a funny look on his face. “What?” Marton asked, lifting his free hand and laying it on Will’s bare stomach, feeling the need to be touching even though he didn’t quite know why.
“I get,” Will hesitated. “I understand what you mean but, well, I’m not . . .” A hand rose and fell as he sought the word he needed. “Royal. I mean, family. You know.”
“Will.” Marton was gentle but firm. “You are my partner. Like Harry is Orlando’s. Like Johnny is Christian’s, and now Caeline too. People know that. People like you! Hell! They like you better than they like me!” He smiled at his little joke before getting serious again. “You are part of this family.” he told him. “Part of me.”
Face flushing with delicate color, Will closed his eyes for a second. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.”
Then . . .
“Do I get my story-time now?”