22 (f)
Title: A Brief History of Hemingway and STRING THEORY
Previous
David gets sort of drunk. He manages to find his way home- or rather, Cesc helps to pour him into a cab and David gathers enough strength during the ride to make it out of the cab and into his apartment.
As he struggles to insert his key into the lock, he hopes Alexis and Mata are asleep because they would get a kick out of his drunken state. He finally manages to get his door open and is grateful to find the apartment dark and silent.
He makes it to the couch, after bumping into the table and the idea of making it all the way to his room seems like too much trouble, he ends up sprawling across the couch, his face against a cushion.
I am never going out drinking with Cesc again, he thinks. Or out drinking at all.
He grabs a second cushion and wraps his arms around it. He can feel the smile on his face and he assumes that’s just a sentiment of just how drunk he really is.
His phone starts ringing, and he struggles to get it out of his pockets. “Shhhh!” he says in a hushed voice, as the phone slips further into his pocket. He doesn’t want Alexis or Mata to wake up. By the time he manages to get his phone out, he’s missed the call and it goes straight to voicemail.
He squints at the screen and sees that it had been Cesc-of course, it’s not enough that he had gotten David drink, he’s trying to make sure Mata and Alexis get to see David in all his drunken stupor-and he had left a message.
David manages to punch in his password on the third try and he holds the phone to his ear.
“Hey, it’s me,” Cesc’s voice comes through, sounding perfectly sober and perky. “I just wanted to make sure you got home okay, and you didn’t pass out in the cab and he just dumped you somewhere. So call me back when you get this? Or text me. Yeah, text me, even though I know you’re really drunk and it will just be gibberish. Actually yeah, that sounds great, I want a drunken text so I can hold it against you forever. Haha. But okay, seriously, call or whatever, please? You were pretty out of it.”
David listens to his options and hits 5 to save his message. He presses something else, he’s not sure what, and he’s about to hang up when he hears, “Hi, Silva, it’s David.” He freezes. “Sorry I missed your calls, I was at a meeting. I wasn’t avoiding you or anything. Look, I’m sorry about our fight, it was stupid. I shouldn’t have said that, I’m-sorry, I shouldn’t do this over the phone. Dinner tonight? Let me know.”
David’s finger hovers over the 5 automatically. He hasn’t actually listened to that message in ages, he had saved it back then because Villa was stubborn and it was rare to get an apology out of him, after they broke up, he had saved it because he just sort of missed hearing his voice. He hits the 1 for the replay and only makes it as far as, “Hi, Silva, it’s Da-” before he presses the 7 and it’s gone.
From: David
3:45 A.M. 4/09
I;m okay.goth ome just fien.
From: Cesc
3:46 A.M. 4/09
haha, classic. SAVED FOREVER. sleep well!
David frowns at Cesc’s text and wonder why he hadn’t just waited until he had gotten some sleep to text Cesc. As he puts his phone away, he realizes it’s because he hadn’t wanted Cesc to worry. He tells himself he’s being stupid and it’s not like Cesc would have lost sleep over it anyway. Then he pulls the cushion over his face and hopes everything will be clearer when he wakes up and he won’t feel so weird about deleting Villa’s message, and he won’t wonder why Cesc hadn’t kissed him goodnight.
~
“Cesc?”
Cesc opens his eyes to see Tomáš hovering over him. He blinks trying to figure out why Tomáš is in his room. “Mmfdalfght.”
Tomáš raises an eyebrow at him, looking amused. “You left your phone out in the living room,” he says, holding it out.
Cesc scowls. “Didn’t have to wake me up,” he grumbles, snatching it from him and tossing it on his bed. He buries his head under a pillow, thinking that the sun was way too bright today.
“David’s on the phone,” Tomáš says.
Oh. Cesc lifts his head and the pillow slides down to his back. He feels around for the phone until he finds it and lifts it to his ear. “Hi.”
“Ugh, I hate you,” is the first thing David says.
Cesc smiles. “Good morning to you too, sunshine.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Cesc reaches for the pillow behind him and pulls it back up under his head. “What’s wrong?” he asks.
“I have a huge headache,” David says, somewhat pitifully. “Thanks to you.”
“Light weight.”
“Alexis and Mata are getting a kick out of this, you know.”
Cesc laughs. “I guess you don’t need me to come over and nurse you back to health then.”
There’s a slight pause on the other end. “I don’t need you to nurse me back to health,” David says finally. “But you can come over if you want.”
Cesc blinks. “Really?” He sits up slightly, leaning on his elbows.
“If you want,” David mumbles.
“I want.”
~
David finds it almost strange how quickly they become comfortable and fit their lives around each other.
When David watches his shows, Cesc spreads his work across the floor and does his work at David’s feet. He occasionally looks up when David laughs or reaches up to absent-mindedly pat David on the knee when he gets particularly emotional or agitated.
David watches the Arsenal games with Cesc, although truth be told, they don’t interest him much. It’s easy to ignore Cesc when he gets excited about some player called Van Persie, and he’s happy when they win because Cesc is happy. He tries to be supportive when they lose, especially because Cesc tends to be in a terrible mood for the rest of the evening when they do. But at the end of day, David feels no affinity to Arsenal. He even thinks he might like Manchester City better, but he keeps that to himself.
Cesc hits it off with Alexis, which was sort of disconcerting at first and after trying to keep up with their conversation once, David gives up and leaves them to it. He has no interest in static equilibrium or kinetic theory or whatever they geeked out about.
Mata asks him if he’s jealous that it’s a part of Cesc’s life that he can’t really share in, but David isn’t the jealous type and there’s a part of his life that Cesc doesn’t share in so he thinks they’re pretty even on that.
“And anyway,” David says, glancing over to where Cesc and Alexis are bent over the dining table, poring over one of Alexis’ projects. “His roommate is kind of cool too.”
~
Cesc blinks at the textbook in front of him, trying to get the words back into focus. He realizes that he had actually dozed off when he sees how his highlighter has trailed off the page and onto his jeans.
“Time to take a break?” David asks, not taking his eyes off the television. He’s at the other end of the couch, Cesc’s feet on his lap.
“Maybe,” Cesc says. He glances at the clock to figure out how long he has before Hollyoaks is over-ten minutes. “I’ll read for ten more minutes.”
“Okay,” David says, carelessly patting Cesc’s ankle. “We’ll go out after.”
Cesc nods back, even though he knows David doesn’t see it. It takes him about five minutes before he gives up. He tosses the book to the floor, feeling irritated that he’s been stuck on the same page for the last half an hour.
David looks over then. “Too boring?” he asks, smiling a little.
Cesc shakes his head. “No, I’m just tired,” he says, scooting closer to David.
“Want to just stay in?” David asks, turning back to his show.
“Doesn’t matter.” Cesc looks over at David’s profile and smiles.
“What?” David turns to him, a quizzical look on his face.
Cesc shrugs. “I’m just having a sappy moment,” he says, grinning.
David smiles. “Loser.”
“I like your mole,” Cesc says suddenly.
David flushes slightly. “What?”
“In your profile,” Cesc says. “You said you didn’t like your mole.”
“Stop it,” David mumbles, turning redder.
Cesc grins and leans over to press his lips against David’s cheek. “You’re kind of cute, you know,” he says, pressing another kiss to the corner of his lips.
“Cuter than you at least,” David says, smiling.
Cesc’s fingers brush against his cheek. “Such malediction.”
He sees the curious look on David’s face and pleased as he is that he had managed to drop that into conversation, he hopes David won’t ask because he can think of better things they could be doing with their mouths.
“Malediction?”
Cesc flashes his teeth at him. “Yeah, you like that one? I learned it from Tomáš. I thought it would impress you.”
Mata comes home ten seconds later and just like that the moment is gone.
~
David kisses Cesc first. It surprises him a little, but he gets tired of waiting.
They’re on the elevator on the way up to Cesc’s apartment, and Cesc is talking about how subatomic particles don’t obey physical law, and David thinks about how he loves how excited Cesc is about what he does.
That’s when he wonders why he’s waiting for Cesc to make the first move, it’s not like he’s some chaste fifteenth-century virgin bride.
He crowds Cesc against the elevator wall and leans up slightly to press his lips against Cesc’s. He had caught Cesc mid-speech so his mouth was slightly open, but David’s fine with that; it makes everything easier.
Cesc’s fingers tug a little at the small hairs at the back of David’s neck and then he pulls him closer.
When the elevator arrives at their floor, Cesc dazedly steps out and David follows him, a smug look on his face.
Epilogue
David arrives just as Tomáš is leaving.
“Hey, David,” he says, smiling at him, as he struggles with his bag and the leaf of loose papers in his hands.
“Hi,” David says, inching past him into the apartment. He hurriedly sets the box he’s holding down on the coffee table and gets back to Tomáš just as his bag is slipping from his grip; David catches it in time.
“Thanks.” Tomáš holds out an arm, and David slides it on to his shoulder and hits the elevator button for him.
“How’s Cesc?” David asks, as he waits with Tomáš.
Tomáš looks puzzled at that. “I’m not sure, he hasn’t been out of his room much this week. I’m pretty sure he eats because he leaves his dishes in the sink, but he’s like a phantom, I haven’t seen him. I’ve knocked a few times, but I think he was either sleeping or he’s in his work bubble and can’t hear anything.”
David nods, chewing on his lip worriedly. “I guess that would sort of explain his texts.”
“Texts?”
“Yeah.” David takes out his phone, and scrolls through the messages. “I texted him last night and asked if he was okay because I haven’t heard from him in awhile. I got this in reply.” He holds up the phone, and Tomáš sees:
From: Cesc
3:09 A.M. 2/11
asdyrt;tyefw
“There are a few more like that,” David says, as the elevator arrives.
“He’ll be like that until his midterms are over,” Tomáš says, almost apologetically. He smiles in relief as David steps into the elevator briefly to hit the L button for him. “Thanks, David.”
David waves as the elevator door closes. He returns to the apartment, which is eerily quiet, and it’s kind of unnerving because Cesc, at his quietest is still sort of chirpy. He picks up the box he had put down and knocks on his door.
When there’s no reply, he opens the door and takes a minute for his eyes to adjust to how dim it is inside the room.
“Cesc?” He doesn’t reply, but it’s not hard to spot him, he’s by the only source of light in the room-a desk lamp, under which he is fast asleep on top of a pile of papers.
David moves towards him and shakes his shoulder. “Hey, Cesc, wake up.” He has to shake him a few more times before Cesc moves.
“David?” He sits up, and the last paper sticks to his cheek. “What are you doing here?” His hair is in disarray and it looks fluffy, which pleases David.
“I brought donuts,” David says, peeling the paper from Cesc’s cheek. He grins at the ink marks left behind, a mismatch of some equations.
Cesc glances at the box in his hands, and his face softens. “You did?”
David nods as he sets it on the desk and opens them. “I don’t mean to brag but there’s jelly inside them too.”
Cesc lets out this unintelligible sound that David thinks may be a sob but he’s not sure. He wraps his arms around David and buries his face in the crook of his neck. “David, I’m so tired. I’ve developed some form of narcolepsy because I’m up all night studying, but then I’m so tired during the day and I’m afraid I’m just going to fall asleep during my exam. That happened to my friend and his TA didn’t even wake him up.”
David gently entangles himself from Cesc. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” he says, turning on the light in Cesc’s room and flicking the desk lamp off. “You are going to take a shower because I love you but you smell like Doritos, onion rings and Twizzlers, and while those all smell good separately they don’t bond well. Then we’re going to have some donuts and watch a movie and you’re going to go to bed.”
A flash of panic crosses Cesc’s face. “My exam is in a day, I really need to study.”
“And you will. Tomorrow, after you get a good night’s sleep.”
“I can’t sleep at night,” Cesc insists. “I told you.”
“You are sleeping tonight,” David says, calmly, “even if I have to knock you out myself.”
Cesc grins. “Promise?”
David smiles back. “I swear on Hemingway’s grave.”
Cesc looks impressed. “You must be serious,” he says, as he leans in to quickly brush his lips against David’s.
“Hey,” David calls as Cesc heads into the bathroom. “Make sure you wash off those equations on your face, all that math makes me feel inadequate.”
Previous
David gets sort of drunk. He manages to find his way home- or rather, Cesc helps to pour him into a cab and David gathers enough strength during the ride to make it out of the cab and into his apartment.
As he struggles to insert his key into the lock, he hopes Alexis and Mata are asleep because they would get a kick out of his drunken state. He finally manages to get his door open and is grateful to find the apartment dark and silent.
He makes it to the couch, after bumping into the table and the idea of making it all the way to his room seems like too much trouble, he ends up sprawling across the couch, his face against a cushion.
I am never going out drinking with Cesc again, he thinks. Or out drinking at all.
He grabs a second cushion and wraps his arms around it. He can feel the smile on his face and he assumes that’s just a sentiment of just how drunk he really is.
His phone starts ringing, and he struggles to get it out of his pockets. “Shhhh!” he says in a hushed voice, as the phone slips further into his pocket. He doesn’t want Alexis or Mata to wake up. By the time he manages to get his phone out, he’s missed the call and it goes straight to voicemail.
He squints at the screen and sees that it had been Cesc-of course, it’s not enough that he had gotten David drink, he’s trying to make sure Mata and Alexis get to see David in all his drunken stupor-and he had left a message.
David manages to punch in his password on the third try and he holds the phone to his ear.
“Hey, it’s me,” Cesc’s voice comes through, sounding perfectly sober and perky. “I just wanted to make sure you got home okay, and you didn’t pass out in the cab and he just dumped you somewhere. So call me back when you get this? Or text me. Yeah, text me, even though I know you’re really drunk and it will just be gibberish. Actually yeah, that sounds great, I want a drunken text so I can hold it against you forever. Haha. But okay, seriously, call or whatever, please? You were pretty out of it.”
David listens to his options and hits 5 to save his message. He presses something else, he’s not sure what, and he’s about to hang up when he hears, “Hi, Silva, it’s David.” He freezes. “Sorry I missed your calls, I was at a meeting. I wasn’t avoiding you or anything. Look, I’m sorry about our fight, it was stupid. I shouldn’t have said that, I’m-sorry, I shouldn’t do this over the phone. Dinner tonight? Let me know.”
David’s finger hovers over the 5 automatically. He hasn’t actually listened to that message in ages, he had saved it back then because Villa was stubborn and it was rare to get an apology out of him, after they broke up, he had saved it because he just sort of missed hearing his voice. He hits the 1 for the replay and only makes it as far as, “Hi, Silva, it’s Da-” before he presses the 7 and it’s gone.
From: David
3:45 A.M. 4/09
I;m okay.goth ome just fien.
From: Cesc
3:46 A.M. 4/09
haha, classic. SAVED FOREVER. sleep well!
David frowns at Cesc’s text and wonder why he hadn’t just waited until he had gotten some sleep to text Cesc. As he puts his phone away, he realizes it’s because he hadn’t wanted Cesc to worry. He tells himself he’s being stupid and it’s not like Cesc would have lost sleep over it anyway. Then he pulls the cushion over his face and hopes everything will be clearer when he wakes up and he won’t feel so weird about deleting Villa’s message, and he won’t wonder why Cesc hadn’t kissed him goodnight.
~
“Cesc?”
Cesc opens his eyes to see Tomáš hovering over him. He blinks trying to figure out why Tomáš is in his room. “Mmfdalfght.”
Tomáš raises an eyebrow at him, looking amused. “You left your phone out in the living room,” he says, holding it out.
Cesc scowls. “Didn’t have to wake me up,” he grumbles, snatching it from him and tossing it on his bed. He buries his head under a pillow, thinking that the sun was way too bright today.
“David’s on the phone,” Tomáš says.
Oh. Cesc lifts his head and the pillow slides down to his back. He feels around for the phone until he finds it and lifts it to his ear. “Hi.”
“Ugh, I hate you,” is the first thing David says.
Cesc smiles. “Good morning to you too, sunshine.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Cesc reaches for the pillow behind him and pulls it back up under his head. “What’s wrong?” he asks.
“I have a huge headache,” David says, somewhat pitifully. “Thanks to you.”
“Light weight.”
“Alexis and Mata are getting a kick out of this, you know.”
Cesc laughs. “I guess you don’t need me to come over and nurse you back to health then.”
There’s a slight pause on the other end. “I don’t need you to nurse me back to health,” David says finally. “But you can come over if you want.”
Cesc blinks. “Really?” He sits up slightly, leaning on his elbows.
“If you want,” David mumbles.
“I want.”
~
David finds it almost strange how quickly they become comfortable and fit their lives around each other.
When David watches his shows, Cesc spreads his work across the floor and does his work at David’s feet. He occasionally looks up when David laughs or reaches up to absent-mindedly pat David on the knee when he gets particularly emotional or agitated.
David watches the Arsenal games with Cesc, although truth be told, they don’t interest him much. It’s easy to ignore Cesc when he gets excited about some player called Van Persie, and he’s happy when they win because Cesc is happy. He tries to be supportive when they lose, especially because Cesc tends to be in a terrible mood for the rest of the evening when they do. But at the end of day, David feels no affinity to Arsenal. He even thinks he might like Manchester City better, but he keeps that to himself.
Cesc hits it off with Alexis, which was sort of disconcerting at first and after trying to keep up with their conversation once, David gives up and leaves them to it. He has no interest in static equilibrium or kinetic theory or whatever they geeked out about.
Mata asks him if he’s jealous that it’s a part of Cesc’s life that he can’t really share in, but David isn’t the jealous type and there’s a part of his life that Cesc doesn’t share in so he thinks they’re pretty even on that.
“And anyway,” David says, glancing over to where Cesc and Alexis are bent over the dining table, poring over one of Alexis’ projects. “His roommate is kind of cool too.”
~
Cesc blinks at the textbook in front of him, trying to get the words back into focus. He realizes that he had actually dozed off when he sees how his highlighter has trailed off the page and onto his jeans.
“Time to take a break?” David asks, not taking his eyes off the television. He’s at the other end of the couch, Cesc’s feet on his lap.
“Maybe,” Cesc says. He glances at the clock to figure out how long he has before Hollyoaks is over-ten minutes. “I’ll read for ten more minutes.”
“Okay,” David says, carelessly patting Cesc’s ankle. “We’ll go out after.”
Cesc nods back, even though he knows David doesn’t see it. It takes him about five minutes before he gives up. He tosses the book to the floor, feeling irritated that he’s been stuck on the same page for the last half an hour.
David looks over then. “Too boring?” he asks, smiling a little.
Cesc shakes his head. “No, I’m just tired,” he says, scooting closer to David.
“Want to just stay in?” David asks, turning back to his show.
“Doesn’t matter.” Cesc looks over at David’s profile and smiles.
“What?” David turns to him, a quizzical look on his face.
Cesc shrugs. “I’m just having a sappy moment,” he says, grinning.
David smiles. “Loser.”
“I like your mole,” Cesc says suddenly.
David flushes slightly. “What?”
“In your profile,” Cesc says. “You said you didn’t like your mole.”
“Stop it,” David mumbles, turning redder.
Cesc grins and leans over to press his lips against David’s cheek. “You’re kind of cute, you know,” he says, pressing another kiss to the corner of his lips.
“Cuter than you at least,” David says, smiling.
Cesc’s fingers brush against his cheek. “Such malediction.”
He sees the curious look on David’s face and pleased as he is that he had managed to drop that into conversation, he hopes David won’t ask because he can think of better things they could be doing with their mouths.
“Malediction?”
Cesc flashes his teeth at him. “Yeah, you like that one? I learned it from Tomáš. I thought it would impress you.”
Mata comes home ten seconds later and just like that the moment is gone.
~
David kisses Cesc first. It surprises him a little, but he gets tired of waiting.
They’re on the elevator on the way up to Cesc’s apartment, and Cesc is talking about how subatomic particles don’t obey physical law, and David thinks about how he loves how excited Cesc is about what he does.
That’s when he wonders why he’s waiting for Cesc to make the first move, it’s not like he’s some chaste fifteenth-century virgin bride.
He crowds Cesc against the elevator wall and leans up slightly to press his lips against Cesc’s. He had caught Cesc mid-speech so his mouth was slightly open, but David’s fine with that; it makes everything easier.
Cesc’s fingers tug a little at the small hairs at the back of David’s neck and then he pulls him closer.
When the elevator arrives at their floor, Cesc dazedly steps out and David follows him, a smug look on his face.
Epilogue
David arrives just as Tomáš is leaving.
“Hey, David,” he says, smiling at him, as he struggles with his bag and the leaf of loose papers in his hands.
“Hi,” David says, inching past him into the apartment. He hurriedly sets the box he’s holding down on the coffee table and gets back to Tomáš just as his bag is slipping from his grip; David catches it in time.
“Thanks.” Tomáš holds out an arm, and David slides it on to his shoulder and hits the elevator button for him.
“How’s Cesc?” David asks, as he waits with Tomáš.
Tomáš looks puzzled at that. “I’m not sure, he hasn’t been out of his room much this week. I’m pretty sure he eats because he leaves his dishes in the sink, but he’s like a phantom, I haven’t seen him. I’ve knocked a few times, but I think he was either sleeping or he’s in his work bubble and can’t hear anything.”
David nods, chewing on his lip worriedly. “I guess that would sort of explain his texts.”
“Texts?”
“Yeah.” David takes out his phone, and scrolls through the messages. “I texted him last night and asked if he was okay because I haven’t heard from him in awhile. I got this in reply.” He holds up the phone, and Tomáš sees:
From: Cesc
3:09 A.M. 2/11
asdyrt;tyefw
“There are a few more like that,” David says, as the elevator arrives.
“He’ll be like that until his midterms are over,” Tomáš says, almost apologetically. He smiles in relief as David steps into the elevator briefly to hit the L button for him. “Thanks, David.”
David waves as the elevator door closes. He returns to the apartment, which is eerily quiet, and it’s kind of unnerving because Cesc, at his quietest is still sort of chirpy. He picks up the box he had put down and knocks on his door.
When there’s no reply, he opens the door and takes a minute for his eyes to adjust to how dim it is inside the room.
“Cesc?” He doesn’t reply, but it’s not hard to spot him, he’s by the only source of light in the room-a desk lamp, under which he is fast asleep on top of a pile of papers.
David moves towards him and shakes his shoulder. “Hey, Cesc, wake up.” He has to shake him a few more times before Cesc moves.
“David?” He sits up, and the last paper sticks to his cheek. “What are you doing here?” His hair is in disarray and it looks fluffy, which pleases David.
“I brought donuts,” David says, peeling the paper from Cesc’s cheek. He grins at the ink marks left behind, a mismatch of some equations.
Cesc glances at the box in his hands, and his face softens. “You did?”
David nods as he sets it on the desk and opens them. “I don’t mean to brag but there’s jelly inside them too.”
Cesc lets out this unintelligible sound that David thinks may be a sob but he’s not sure. He wraps his arms around David and buries his face in the crook of his neck. “David, I’m so tired. I’ve developed some form of narcolepsy because I’m up all night studying, but then I’m so tired during the day and I’m afraid I’m just going to fall asleep during my exam. That happened to my friend and his TA didn’t even wake him up.”
David gently entangles himself from Cesc. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” he says, turning on the light in Cesc’s room and flicking the desk lamp off. “You are going to take a shower because I love you but you smell like Doritos, onion rings and Twizzlers, and while those all smell good separately they don’t bond well. Then we’re going to have some donuts and watch a movie and you’re going to go to bed.”
A flash of panic crosses Cesc’s face. “My exam is in a day, I really need to study.”
“And you will. Tomorrow, after you get a good night’s sleep.”
“I can’t sleep at night,” Cesc insists. “I told you.”
“You are sleeping tonight,” David says, calmly, “even if I have to knock you out myself.”
Cesc grins. “Promise?”
David smiles back. “I swear on Hemingway’s grave.”
Cesc looks impressed. “You must be serious,” he says, as he leans in to quickly brush his lips against David’s.
“Hey,” David calls as Cesc heads into the bathroom. “Make sure you wash off those equations on your face, all that math makes me feel inadequate.”