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monaboyd Aug. 18th, 2006 09:28 pm)
shui-hu-zhuan.livejournal.com posting in monaboyd Aug. 18th, 2006 09:28 pm)Title: Some Things Are Relative, Other Things Are Absolute
Author: Shin Yu
Pairing: Billy/Dom
Disclaimer: This isn’t true. I don’t know them. I’m not a psychic.
Summary: Billy and Dom's relationship is revealed by a tabloid photo, and Billy's teenage son didn't take the news so well.
Rating: PG-13
Note: This is an AU-ish future-fic. My first in this fandom. :o) Also, I don't know anyone to beta for me. So, I apologise for any errors. Constructive crit is very welcome.
Nearly three days of depressing silence had passed before Dominic would grow tired of tiptoeing about his own flat, as if mere mention of a subject would disturb the tectonic plates and bring on the next big quake.
"Listen, Bills…,” he announced, marching a straight path from the kitchen to the bedroom.”I'm not going to sit and watch this anymore. This isn't fair to--Bill?"
The bed was actually empty this time, no longer hiding the guilt-ridden man who had been burrowed there for far too long. It wasn't only empty, but tidied up. Sheets smoothed, duvet straightened, pillows all in their places and not one showing the indentation of Billy's head.
The relief that Dominic initially felt, slowly sharpened into a tightness that traveled down the back of his neck, spreading to tense his shoulders. "Fuck."
He wouldn't. Would he?
"Billy?" he said softly, tempted to get on his knees and peek under the bed for the daft Scot. The chirp of his mobile changed that plan.
Sitting on the bed, Dominic fished the phone from his pocket. He glanced at the number and muttering another 'fuck' to himself before answering on the third ring. "What do you want? Needing more practice, Jack? Do you figure increasing your vocabulary of swear-words will make you more of a man?"
"Dom."
"Oh, it's Dom now, is it?" He stopped to let his temper simmer down, knowing that no matter what the little shit said to him, Billy would still take his head off for so much as yelling at his son. "Look, I know this is none of my bloody business, but if you're calling to make Billy feel any worse than he already does, that makes it my business…"
In response, there was a slightly high-pitched chuckle, reminiscent of Billy's. "And then your arse fell aff-- ouch! Maw!"
Dominic could hardly hold back a chuckle of his own. "Sounds like your mum has an iron grip on you. Better get started on that fake apology before you're grounded."
"Not fake."
"Oh, you expect me to believe you've had a sudden change of heart?"
"As easy to believe as you being a rich and handsome Oscar-winning movie star, maybe."
The last few conversations with Jack had Dominic wishing the boy hadn't been born with the same smartarse sense of humor as his dad. “See ya, Jack."
"Wait!"
"No, listen to me!" Dominic temper flared up again. "Do you think he wanted it come out into the open like this? The man should be up for bloody father of the year with what you've put him through."
"Put him through? What about me?"
"I don't recall seeing your face in that tabloid photo--"
"Monaghan, will you just shut it for a minute and let the lad talk!" Billy had appeared out of nowhere -- or perhaps it was the loo. The background swoosh of toilet water was a clue.
"Billy?" Dominic sighed, closing his eyes as an arm slipped around his waist and squeezed. He could feel Billy's breath against his ear, chasing away the lingering tension in his body.
"Let him talk, Dom."
"All I've done is listen to him whinge in my ear, Billy! When I do I get my turn to--?"
Then came the Pippin-like voice on the phone again. Dominic knew making that observation aloud would have been a sure way of bollocksing up the conversation. "God, you really are a stubborn wanker."
Dominic twisted to stare at Billy, his eyes narrowed into slits.
Billy had obviously heard that comment, which explained the angel of innocence expression.
Dominic's finger deftly hit the mute button just long enough for him to press a quick hard kiss to Billy's lips and whisper, "You're bloody well lucky I'm madly in love with you." Un-mute. "All right. I'm listening."
"I'm sorry I called you an arse bandit," Jack muttered with a distinct lack of sincerity.
"And."
"I'm sorry I called you a talentless mingin' big-nebbed chanty wrassler."
Dominic rolled his eyes. "Not that I had any idea what that meant, mind you. But, go on."
"I'm sorry I...sedihatedye." the remainder of the sentence came out as a mumble.
A soft female voice whispered just over the sound of the boy's huffing. "Jack… please."
"How did you think I would I feel?” Jack suddenly yelled. "How am I supposed to feel when you're muckin' aboot with my da?"
Dominic always had the perfect comeback for anything the kid said. He used to. Looking into Billy's eyes, he searched for the answer there. "We were going to tell you. Together. I was going to tell you that I love him--"
"Uch, the nice!" Then there was gagging.
"Jack!" Ali scolded in the background, although Dominic wondered if she would have shared that response if she knew the reason.
"Awright, awright. I got it. I'm sorry." A pause and a quieter voice. "I don't hate you. Didn't mean it. Not fake." Jack sounded partly sincere. Fifty-fifty maybe. But that was enough for Dominic.
Dominic smiled, and his grin grew at the happiness mirrored on Billy's face. "Apology accepted."
"I… ehm… I have a girlfriend, ye ken!" Jack continued.
"Since when do ten year olds have girlfriends?" Dominic smirked at no one in particular.
"Dom," Billy warned with a pinch to his backside.
"I'm thirteen!" came a cry from the mobile.
"I know, I know," Dominic laughed. "Look, just because your dad's a big girl's blouse doesn't make you one."
"Dom!" Billy more than warned this time with a thump to the back of Dominic's head.
Dominic winced dramatically, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "No one's making conjectures about you, Jack. You’re responsible for who you become. I'm sure your bird's pretty."
"She is… and she… she skateboards."
Grinning, Dominic figured it probably wasn't a conversation the boy had already had with his father. Yet. "That's nice, Jack. Well… I guess I'll let you off the hook to get back to your skater girl."
"Skater girl?" Billy repeated, appearing utterly confused.
Dominic pushed Billy's hand away from the phone as he tried to grab it, and he listened while two heavy accents whispered back and forth. "Thanks. Put my da on, would you?"
"Sure." Dominic swatted Billy's hand away again, and peeled his arm from about his waist before slipping the phone in his hand. "I'll be on the sofa, love. Ready for a cuddle when you ring off," he didn't bother to whisper.
Dominic was sure he heard a tinny 'Ewww!' as he left the room.
+~+~+
"Billy?"
"Mmhm?"
"The day that Jack comes over to have us meet his skater girl fiancée's parents... "
Wince. "Yeah?"
"If I start decorating and shit… just shoot me."
"I can't exactly promise you that, but I'll certainly speak up if you decide to wear a frock."
"Wanker."
"I suppose I should have expected this to happen sooner or later. I was just… hoping for later."
"I suppose the next time I decide to snog you in public I should make sure the E! Channel doesn't have a reporter on the scene." Dominic had meant for it to come out as a joke, but his eyebrows furrowed in seriousness.
"Actually, it won't matter anymore." Billy's head was warm on Dominic's shoulder, moving slightly as he talked. "The secret's out. We're officially out of the closet, Dommie. And… Jack and everyone else will just have to get used to it."
"What happened to the depressed Scot who wouldn't get out of my bed for days on end? The one who moaned and groaned about ruining his family over a shag?" he tried to hide the emotion behind the memory of those words.
Billy frowned and sat up, reaching for Dominic's face, cupping his cheek. "You know I didn't mean it that way, right?"
Dominic looked down past his knees, at Billy's bare feet, toes curling into the thick carpet.
"Right?" Billy all but pleaded.
"Yeah. I knew. But it fucking hurt all the same. Made me feel…"
"Never wanted you to feel anything of the sort." Billy pulled Dominic's head down, kissed his lips and spoke against him. "I was scared, Dom. Still am a bit, but… well, what's done is done."
"We're…" Dominic swallowed at a lump in his throat. "…we're all right then." It suddenly occurred to him that with all his confidence of earlier, he could have actually made everything worse. It was Billy's son. His ex-wife. What had given him the nerve to talk to them like that?
"We're all right, Dom," Billy said without a second of hesitation.
"And your family?"
Billy smiled that smile that told Dominic he really needed to stop asking questions. That smile answered everything all at once, and it was just the answer he needed to hear. Although hearing Billy's voice again could always make things that much better. And it did. "I just said so, didn't I, Dom? We're all right."
Author: Shin Yu
Pairing: Billy/Dom
Disclaimer: This isn’t true. I don’t know them. I’m not a psychic.
Summary: Billy and Dom's relationship is revealed by a tabloid photo, and Billy's teenage son didn't take the news so well.
Rating: PG-13
Note: This is an AU-ish future-fic. My first in this fandom. :o) Also, I don't know anyone to beta for me. So, I apologise for any errors. Constructive crit is very welcome.
Nearly three days of depressing silence had passed before Dominic would grow tired of tiptoeing about his own flat, as if mere mention of a subject would disturb the tectonic plates and bring on the next big quake.
"Listen, Bills…,” he announced, marching a straight path from the kitchen to the bedroom.”I'm not going to sit and watch this anymore. This isn't fair to--Bill?"
The bed was actually empty this time, no longer hiding the guilt-ridden man who had been burrowed there for far too long. It wasn't only empty, but tidied up. Sheets smoothed, duvet straightened, pillows all in their places and not one showing the indentation of Billy's head.
The relief that Dominic initially felt, slowly sharpened into a tightness that traveled down the back of his neck, spreading to tense his shoulders. "Fuck."
He wouldn't. Would he?
"Billy?" he said softly, tempted to get on his knees and peek under the bed for the daft Scot. The chirp of his mobile changed that plan.
Sitting on the bed, Dominic fished the phone from his pocket. He glanced at the number and muttering another 'fuck' to himself before answering on the third ring. "What do you want? Needing more practice, Jack? Do you figure increasing your vocabulary of swear-words will make you more of a man?"
"Dom."
"Oh, it's Dom now, is it?" He stopped to let his temper simmer down, knowing that no matter what the little shit said to him, Billy would still take his head off for so much as yelling at his son. "Look, I know this is none of my bloody business, but if you're calling to make Billy feel any worse than he already does, that makes it my business…"
In response, there was a slightly high-pitched chuckle, reminiscent of Billy's. "And then your arse fell aff-- ouch! Maw!"
Dominic could hardly hold back a chuckle of his own. "Sounds like your mum has an iron grip on you. Better get started on that fake apology before you're grounded."
"Not fake."
"Oh, you expect me to believe you've had a sudden change of heart?"
"As easy to believe as you being a rich and handsome Oscar-winning movie star, maybe."
The last few conversations with Jack had Dominic wishing the boy hadn't been born with the same smartarse sense of humor as his dad. “See ya, Jack."
"Wait!"
"No, listen to me!" Dominic temper flared up again. "Do you think he wanted it come out into the open like this? The man should be up for bloody father of the year with what you've put him through."
"Put him through? What about me?"
"I don't recall seeing your face in that tabloid photo--"
"Monaghan, will you just shut it for a minute and let the lad talk!" Billy had appeared out of nowhere -- or perhaps it was the loo. The background swoosh of toilet water was a clue.
"Billy?" Dominic sighed, closing his eyes as an arm slipped around his waist and squeezed. He could feel Billy's breath against his ear, chasing away the lingering tension in his body.
"Let him talk, Dom."
"All I've done is listen to him whinge in my ear, Billy! When I do I get my turn to--?"
Then came the Pippin-like voice on the phone again. Dominic knew making that observation aloud would have been a sure way of bollocksing up the conversation. "God, you really are a stubborn wanker."
Dominic twisted to stare at Billy, his eyes narrowed into slits.
Billy had obviously heard that comment, which explained the angel of innocence expression.
Dominic's finger deftly hit the mute button just long enough for him to press a quick hard kiss to Billy's lips and whisper, "You're bloody well lucky I'm madly in love with you." Un-mute. "All right. I'm listening."
"I'm sorry I called you an arse bandit," Jack muttered with a distinct lack of sincerity.
"And."
"I'm sorry I called you a talentless mingin' big-nebbed chanty wrassler."
Dominic rolled his eyes. "Not that I had any idea what that meant, mind you. But, go on."
"I'm sorry I...sedihatedye." the remainder of the sentence came out as a mumble.
A soft female voice whispered just over the sound of the boy's huffing. "Jack… please."
"How did you think I would I feel?” Jack suddenly yelled. "How am I supposed to feel when you're muckin' aboot with my da?"
Dominic always had the perfect comeback for anything the kid said. He used to. Looking into Billy's eyes, he searched for the answer there. "We were going to tell you. Together. I was going to tell you that I love him--"
"Uch, the nice!" Then there was gagging.
"Jack!" Ali scolded in the background, although Dominic wondered if she would have shared that response if she knew the reason.
"Awright, awright. I got it. I'm sorry." A pause and a quieter voice. "I don't hate you. Didn't mean it. Not fake." Jack sounded partly sincere. Fifty-fifty maybe. But that was enough for Dominic.
Dominic smiled, and his grin grew at the happiness mirrored on Billy's face. "Apology accepted."
"I… ehm… I have a girlfriend, ye ken!" Jack continued.
"Since when do ten year olds have girlfriends?" Dominic smirked at no one in particular.
"Dom," Billy warned with a pinch to his backside.
"I'm thirteen!" came a cry from the mobile.
"I know, I know," Dominic laughed. "Look, just because your dad's a big girl's blouse doesn't make you one."
"Dom!" Billy more than warned this time with a thump to the back of Dominic's head.
Dominic winced dramatically, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "No one's making conjectures about you, Jack. You’re responsible for who you become. I'm sure your bird's pretty."
"She is… and she… she skateboards."
Grinning, Dominic figured it probably wasn't a conversation the boy had already had with his father. Yet. "That's nice, Jack. Well… I guess I'll let you off the hook to get back to your skater girl."
"Skater girl?" Billy repeated, appearing utterly confused.
Dominic pushed Billy's hand away from the phone as he tried to grab it, and he listened while two heavy accents whispered back and forth. "Thanks. Put my da on, would you?"
"Sure." Dominic swatted Billy's hand away again, and peeled his arm from about his waist before slipping the phone in his hand. "I'll be on the sofa, love. Ready for a cuddle when you ring off," he didn't bother to whisper.
Dominic was sure he heard a tinny 'Ewww!' as he left the room.
+~+~+
"Billy?"
"Mmhm?"
"The day that Jack comes over to have us meet his skater girl fiancée's parents... "
Wince. "Yeah?"
"If I start decorating and shit… just shoot me."
"I can't exactly promise you that, but I'll certainly speak up if you decide to wear a frock."
"Wanker."
"I suppose I should have expected this to happen sooner or later. I was just… hoping for later."
"I suppose the next time I decide to snog you in public I should make sure the E! Channel doesn't have a reporter on the scene." Dominic had meant for it to come out as a joke, but his eyebrows furrowed in seriousness.
"Actually, it won't matter anymore." Billy's head was warm on Dominic's shoulder, moving slightly as he talked. "The secret's out. We're officially out of the closet, Dommie. And… Jack and everyone else will just have to get used to it."
"What happened to the depressed Scot who wouldn't get out of my bed for days on end? The one who moaned and groaned about ruining his family over a shag?" he tried to hide the emotion behind the memory of those words.
Billy frowned and sat up, reaching for Dominic's face, cupping his cheek. "You know I didn't mean it that way, right?"
Dominic looked down past his knees, at Billy's bare feet, toes curling into the thick carpet.
"Right?" Billy all but pleaded.
"Yeah. I knew. But it fucking hurt all the same. Made me feel…"
"Never wanted you to feel anything of the sort." Billy pulled Dominic's head down, kissed his lips and spoke against him. "I was scared, Dom. Still am a bit, but… well, what's done is done."
"We're…" Dominic swallowed at a lump in his throat. "…we're all right then." It suddenly occurred to him that with all his confidence of earlier, he could have actually made everything worse. It was Billy's son. His ex-wife. What had given him the nerve to talk to them like that?
"We're all right, Dom," Billy said without a second of hesitation.
"And your family?"
Billy smiled that smile that told Dominic he really needed to stop asking questions. That smile answered everything all at once, and it was just the answer he needed to hear. Although hearing Billy's voice again could always make things that much better. And it did. "I just said so, didn't I, Dom? We're all right."
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Sure, I'll friend you back!
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I really really liked this, and I hope you'll write more :D
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And thank you!
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This fic is very good for a first post here -- you don't need a lot of help in the basics. That's a relief, believe me. :D
The only thing I will point out is to be careful when you refer to Billy as "the Scot" (or Dom as "the Manc", as some do). Some authors describe Billy this way incessantly. It's not even a descriptor, it's more of an epithet. And it's annoying, if it's done too much. It can show a lack of respect for your character if used too often. But you did only once, and that's not really a problem. Just something to be aware of.
I'm glad you're posting a multi-chapter fic, because I'd like to see something with more character development. I'm looking forward to seeing your chops! :D
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And, oh, I may just have to add on to this fic now. You aren't the first person to ask me about the background of this story. ::thinks and thinks some more::
Yes, I suppose it is silly to call the man "the Scot" as if the readers are completely clueless to that fact. :o) Especially when the reader when someone who can do a perfect impression of Billy's accent!
Thanks again. I hope my chops do not disappoint! ::cracks knuckles::
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