FIC: Quadrilateral (Bon Jovi)
Title: Quadrilateral
Author: Hector Rashbaum
Fandom/characters: Bon Jovi/David Bryan, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres
Rating: General Audiences
Summary: Silence, Patience, Grace, Echoes
Disclaimer: 'S made up. All of it.
"I've got a drinking problem."
There isn't anything Tico can say, really. Not that anyone will find it odd that he's not talking, not that Richie's quiet admission was meant for him anyway, but for once he wants to say something.
Maybe because no one else is speaking, because David isn't babbling and Jon's not ranting and there sure as Hell aren't any stupid jokes coming from Sambora right now.
Maybe because when Alec left Tico took Richie as his replacement drinking buddy, and when Tico stopped drinking Richie kept right on going.
And so he doesn't say a word.
-----
"I've got a drinking problem."
Jon knows this had been coming for a long time. Knows if Richie hadn't spoken up today Jon would do it for him before too long.
It takes him by surprise for a moment, just a brief flash of seconds, that Richie would actually say it, but he recovers quickly.
Smile. Hand on the shoulder. Lean forward. Look friendly.
"Take all the time you need, buddy. We'll wait."
He's lying. Jon knows it and Richie knows it - there's money to be made, fans to be pleased, patience can't be afforded - but the words sound nice.
-----
"I've got a drinking problem."
The words slice right through David's happy shell of denial and for a minute he wants to scream. That wouldn't help anything.
David, for reasons he's never quite figured out, is the calm one, the reasonable one, the one who can take everything thrown at him with grace and dignity, and if he freaks out now...
Well. The last time he let the façade crack was for Alec, when Alec said he thought he might be just a little too addicted. And look where that ended up.
So he just leans over and hugs Richie.
-----
"I've got a drinking problem."
It echoes in his skull, bouncing around, colliding with the million other things he means to say eventually, the apologies and promises and confessions.
He's said it, and there's no taking it back, and he's still not sure he believes it himself. It doesn't belong out there, it belongs inside hidden behind those empty sentences he probably won't ever say.
"Take all the time you need, buddy. We'll wait," Jon says, but he's lying, and David's hugging him but he doesn't deserve it.
"I'll fix it." But he has no idea who it's meant for.
Author: Hector Rashbaum
Fandom/characters: Bon Jovi/David Bryan, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres
Rating: General Audiences
Summary: Silence, Patience, Grace, Echoes
Disclaimer: 'S made up. All of it.
"I've got a drinking problem."
There isn't anything Tico can say, really. Not that anyone will find it odd that he's not talking, not that Richie's quiet admission was meant for him anyway, but for once he wants to say something.
Maybe because no one else is speaking, because David isn't babbling and Jon's not ranting and there sure as Hell aren't any stupid jokes coming from Sambora right now.
Maybe because when Alec left Tico took Richie as his replacement drinking buddy, and when Tico stopped drinking Richie kept right on going.
And so he doesn't say a word.
-----
"I've got a drinking problem."
Jon knows this had been coming for a long time. Knows if Richie hadn't spoken up today Jon would do it for him before too long.
It takes him by surprise for a moment, just a brief flash of seconds, that Richie would actually say it, but he recovers quickly.
Smile. Hand on the shoulder. Lean forward. Look friendly.
"Take all the time you need, buddy. We'll wait."
He's lying. Jon knows it and Richie knows it - there's money to be made, fans to be pleased, patience can't be afforded - but the words sound nice.
-----
"I've got a drinking problem."
The words slice right through David's happy shell of denial and for a minute he wants to scream. That wouldn't help anything.
David, for reasons he's never quite figured out, is the calm one, the reasonable one, the one who can take everything thrown at him with grace and dignity, and if he freaks out now...
Well. The last time he let the façade crack was for Alec, when Alec said he thought he might be just a little too addicted. And look where that ended up.
So he just leans over and hugs Richie.
-----
"I've got a drinking problem."
It echoes in his skull, bouncing around, colliding with the million other things he means to say eventually, the apologies and promises and confessions.
He's said it, and there's no taking it back, and he's still not sure he believes it himself. It doesn't belong out there, it belongs inside hidden behind those empty sentences he probably won't ever say.
"Take all the time you need, buddy. We'll wait," Jon says, but he's lying, and David's hugging him but he doesn't deserve it.
"I'll fix it." But he has no idea who it's meant for.