Fic Post: California Call
Title: California Call
Author: achika_chan
Pairing: Insano/Spoonette
Rating: PG
Summary: Internal Affairs-verse - Insano and Sol get a scheduled phonecall that brings up some memories.
Insano sat at the kitchen island, phone in hand. It was nearly six o’clock, meaning that any second now the phone would ring and he’d have to make small talk and pretend that he didn’t dread these calls as much as he looked forward to them. He’d tell her to stop, but he couldn’t do that not when Solomon was always so happy just to hear her voice. And that would probably require more honesty on his part than he was willing to give at this point anyway.
The phone lit up a split second before it started ringing, displaying a familiar California number, and Insano’s thumb hit ‘Talk’ before he even thought about it.
“Hello Spoonette,” Insano said tiredly, closing his eyes.
“Hey, Insano,” She said lightly.
“Not you too. I swear I am going to eviscerate my cousin,” Insano said.
She laughed, and for a brief moment he could picture her, laughing in the bleachers with her best friend her blonde hair lit up by the sun poking through the rainclouds. A minute later, in the memory, the sky would open up and begin pouring, and Insano would give the two of them his umbrella, because he’d seen the weather report before he’d left and grabbed it on his way out. The two girls hadn’t been so lucky. The game was postponed, but Insano hadn’t cared, he’d only come at all because she’d gone to every game. They’d taken it - reluctantly - and Insano’d used his jacket as makeshift protection against the water raining down.
“How are you, Wayne?” She asked, drawing him back to the present.
“I’m just fine,” Insano said. “You?”
“Good. I actually just got this really awesome part. It’s not big or anything, but it’s in a super-rad movie,”
She’d always wanted to be an actress. Was proud of the fact that her mother was constantly saying that she’d “been trying for an Academy Award since she was two years old,”
“That’s great,” Insano said. There was a long pause, neither of them sure what to say next.
“I ran into Catherine Andrews earlier this week,” Insano said finally. “She asked about you,”
“Ugh,” Spoonette said, and oh Insano knew that tone so well. He could practically see her face curled up in annoyed disgust. “I hope you told her I was having a super awesome time hanging out with famous people and stuff,”
“Of course,” Insano lied.
What Insano’d really said was a stiff “We don’t talk much. As far as I know, she’s happy being far away from here,” and luckily he hadn’t finished his thought ’far away from here and from me’.
They hadn’t been good together. They were too different, wanted different things. And deep down Insano had always known that. But that hadn’t stopped the flare of hope that maybe things could work out, when he’d graduated Med School top of his class and with a sent off application to be an assistant Medical Examiner, and she’d shown up at the party his parents were throwing for him. His brother was in Japan at the time, working for some robot developers, and Oscar’d called long distance halfway through the party to congratulate him. Insano had felt like he was on top of the world for once, and Spoony plying him with booze had only helped the feeling. She had smiled at him, and said that she always knew he was smart and what was he going to do now? Small talk. He told her - more confident than he’d ever been around her before, thanks to Spoony’s liquid courage - that he was going to be a medical examiner and help people. Catch the bad guys.
She had laughed, but not in a mean way, not like he was used to, and said that that was “Really aces, Schlumper,” and then she’d grinned and he offered to show her his and Oscar’s old lab and she’d actually said yes.
Whatever they’d had lasted about two weeks, which - if Insano was being honest with himself, and with the distance of time he could be - had been a week too long. Spoonette was flighty and sometimes mean, and Insano was socially awkward and too absorbed in his work.
And then later Spoonette had confronted him with a positive pregnancy test, and once again he’d hoped. And that hadn’t worked out either. When Sol was old enough to go to pre-school, Spoonette had taken off for California without a backwards glance at Insano. But she called Sol at least once every week, on schedule, and she wrote letters once he could read and sent him things that he kept like sacred treasures. She visited, too, on the holidays when she came to town to see her parents.
And the worst part was that Insano couldn’t even resent her for any of it. She’d always hated it in their home town and complained loudly and at length about how horrible it was and how it was strangling her.
“You still there? You…got kind of quiet,” Spoonette said.
“Yeah, I…” Insano said. “I’m here. Let me give you to Sol,” and handed the phone to their son, who’d been playing his gameboy at the kitchen table, waiting for his chance to talk to his mom.
Insano went to work preparing their dinner and tried not to listen to Sol excitedly telling Spoonette about how he’d dyed his hair pink while Nurse wasn’t looking and how neat it was. He could hear Spoonette’s laugh through the phone. He took a deep breath and did what he’d been doing since high school - trying to ignore it all and carrying on.
Author: achika_chan
Pairing: Insano/Spoonette
Rating: PG
Summary: Internal Affairs-verse - Insano and Sol get a scheduled phonecall that brings up some memories.
Insano sat at the kitchen island, phone in hand. It was nearly six o’clock, meaning that any second now the phone would ring and he’d have to make small talk and pretend that he didn’t dread these calls as much as he looked forward to them. He’d tell her to stop, but he couldn’t do that not when Solomon was always so happy just to hear her voice. And that would probably require more honesty on his part than he was willing to give at this point anyway.
The phone lit up a split second before it started ringing, displaying a familiar California number, and Insano’s thumb hit ‘Talk’ before he even thought about it.
“Hello Spoonette,” Insano said tiredly, closing his eyes.
“Hey, Insano,” She said lightly.
“Not you too. I swear I am going to eviscerate my cousin,” Insano said.
She laughed, and for a brief moment he could picture her, laughing in the bleachers with her best friend her blonde hair lit up by the sun poking through the rainclouds. A minute later, in the memory, the sky would open up and begin pouring, and Insano would give the two of them his umbrella, because he’d seen the weather report before he’d left and grabbed it on his way out. The two girls hadn’t been so lucky. The game was postponed, but Insano hadn’t cared, he’d only come at all because she’d gone to every game. They’d taken it - reluctantly - and Insano’d used his jacket as makeshift protection against the water raining down.
“How are you, Wayne?” She asked, drawing him back to the present.
“I’m just fine,” Insano said. “You?”
“Good. I actually just got this really awesome part. It’s not big or anything, but it’s in a super-rad movie,”
She’d always wanted to be an actress. Was proud of the fact that her mother was constantly saying that she’d “been trying for an Academy Award since she was two years old,”
“That’s great,” Insano said. There was a long pause, neither of them sure what to say next.
“I ran into Catherine Andrews earlier this week,” Insano said finally. “She asked about you,”
“Ugh,” Spoonette said, and oh Insano knew that tone so well. He could practically see her face curled up in annoyed disgust. “I hope you told her I was having a super awesome time hanging out with famous people and stuff,”
“Of course,” Insano lied.
What Insano’d really said was a stiff “We don’t talk much. As far as I know, she’s happy being far away from here,” and luckily he hadn’t finished his thought ’far away from here and from me’.
They hadn’t been good together. They were too different, wanted different things. And deep down Insano had always known that. But that hadn’t stopped the flare of hope that maybe things could work out, when he’d graduated Med School top of his class and with a sent off application to be an assistant Medical Examiner, and she’d shown up at the party his parents were throwing for him. His brother was in Japan at the time, working for some robot developers, and Oscar’d called long distance halfway through the party to congratulate him. Insano had felt like he was on top of the world for once, and Spoony plying him with booze had only helped the feeling. She had smiled at him, and said that she always knew he was smart and what was he going to do now? Small talk. He told her - more confident than he’d ever been around her before, thanks to Spoony’s liquid courage - that he was going to be a medical examiner and help people. Catch the bad guys.
She had laughed, but not in a mean way, not like he was used to, and said that that was “Really aces, Schlumper,” and then she’d grinned and he offered to show her his and Oscar’s old lab and she’d actually said yes.
Whatever they’d had lasted about two weeks, which - if Insano was being honest with himself, and with the distance of time he could be - had been a week too long. Spoonette was flighty and sometimes mean, and Insano was socially awkward and too absorbed in his work.
And then later Spoonette had confronted him with a positive pregnancy test, and once again he’d hoped. And that hadn’t worked out either. When Sol was old enough to go to pre-school, Spoonette had taken off for California without a backwards glance at Insano. But she called Sol at least once every week, on schedule, and she wrote letters once he could read and sent him things that he kept like sacred treasures. She visited, too, on the holidays when she came to town to see her parents.
And the worst part was that Insano couldn’t even resent her for any of it. She’d always hated it in their home town and complained loudly and at length about how horrible it was and how it was strangling her.
“You still there? You…got kind of quiet,” Spoonette said.
“Yeah, I…” Insano said. “I’m here. Let me give you to Sol,” and handed the phone to their son, who’d been playing his gameboy at the kitchen table, waiting for his chance to talk to his mom.
Insano went to work preparing their dinner and tried not to listen to Sol excitedly telling Spoonette about how he’d dyed his hair pink while Nurse wasn’t looking and how neat it was. He could hear Spoonette’s laugh through the phone. He took a deep breath and did what he’d been doing since high school - trying to ignore it all and carrying on.