Playlist Drabbles Meme
Jason Mraz - Sleep All Day
If there's was one thing the Island makes easy, it's absolute laziness. Even with building crew and Council duties and the fact that he has to walk a few miles just to grab food and a shower, it's still far too tempting at times to just roll over in the morning, curl himself close to Lennox and not move for hours.
It's not too often that he gives into this temptations, but sometimes...
Today, he's greeted with a quiet, sleepy grunt of acknowledgment as his arm winds around Lennox's waist and he burrows closer, his lips brushing the smooth curve of a bare shoulder.
"... time is it?" he hears murmured above him and he answers with a shrug. It could be morning or noon or mid afternoon, he doesn't know and doesn't care. Another thing about the Island is time makes no difference whatsoever. They have no alarm clock and no wristwatches. Everything runs in sync with the sun, but that doesn't mean it makes any difference.
He brushes a kiss and then noses the skin and takes a slow breath as he sinks again into a comfortable, warm sleep. It's time to rest a little more.
Elvis Presley - Return to Sender
"Mum!"
Chris barreled his way through the front door, nearly tripping over the front rug as he trampled down the hall and whirled around a corner. "MUM!" Rounding another corner, he nearly tripped over the cord of the vacuum cleaner, managing to catch himself on the leg of his mother as she reached over to turn down the volume on the record player.
"Christopher, what have I told you about running in the-- what's that on your face?"
Eyes wide and breathing heavy, Chris just shrugged and then shook his head. "Marker," he answered, wiping a hand over his cheek. "Mum, Jim's stuck in a tree. We can't get him down."
"Oh, sweet Jesus." Sighing, Chris's mother turned off the vacuum and the sounds of Elvis's voice faded as they rushed out the front door.
Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
Five years and dozens of disappearances had left Chris simultaneously numbed and comforted at once. Most of the people he'd met upon first arriving had gone: Kara and Leoben, Sirius, Clarice, Eostre, Mike. Each had been difficult, one gutting loss after another, but he'd taken comfort in the fact that Lennox had always been there with him, the both of them suffering, but their grief eased by the fact that they still had each other.
Until now.
Somehow, Chris had felt the loss the moment he'd woken up, his bed bigger and colder than he was used to. Emptier.
Hal, as though sensing it as well, had hopped up onto the bed with him even though she hadn't been allowed up there since she'd been a puppy. Whining, she nosed his cheek and Chris, confused and already feeling a fist of panic clenching tight around his stomach, had lifted a hand to pet her, trying to soothe her and himself both at once.
Days later and the search parties had turned up nothing, solidifying everything Chris had already known.
After a week and a half, he finally did the only thing he knew he could. His bag would only hold a couple day's worth of food and water, but that didn't matter. He untied the canoe Lennox had finished only a few months back and eased it into the water.
And headed north.
Def Leppard - Only After Dark
"Either of you have any idea where we're going?"
The question came from the back seat and Chris tipped his head back to look at Eddie through the rearview mirror, flashing a grin and shrugging.
"Does it matter?" Lennox asked, shifting in the passenger's seat to hand Eddie the joint they were all sharing, nearly elbowing Chris in the face in the process. "The point, my friend, is that we're not in Long Bay."
"I guess," Eddie muttered, though he didn't sound too convinced.
"Linda's gonna kill me," Neil piped up from beside Eddie, but a second later, Chris could hear him inhaling a hit from the joint and then unrolling the window to let his exhale drift out the window.
Pulling onto the highway, Chris felt the car lurch as he stepped on the gas and Lennox dropped into his seat again, the joint once more tucked between his lips. The headlights of the passing cars were the only lights as they headed out.
"Toronto or bust, baby."
Hawksley Workman - Smoke Baby
Six years since leaving Long Bay and the ache and guilt have largely subsided. Usually, he's able to pretend it's not there at all, his days occupied with grunt work and grease, the sea rolling beneath him, the beauty of places he never dreamed of seeing on full display before him.
But, sometimes, he wakes up between the crisp sheets of some hotel in some city he can't even remember how to pronounce and he wonders about where he should be, what he gave up, what he'd run from. He walks to the docks and looks out across the water, a cigarette tucked between his lips as the sun glitters off crystal blue, the sun painting the sky in reds and oranges and purples.
It's beautiful, unlike anything Chris could've ever imagined.
But, it's not home.
Looking down, he drops his cigarette, stubs it out with his toe and kicks it into the water, watching it float on the surface, drift away.
He turns and heads back to the boat.
U2 - Electrical Storm
"Hey."
It's been awhile, years, but the scene feels far too familiar for Chris's liking and he swallows back a sudden upheaval of guilt as he walks along the beach, stopping a few feet from where Lennox is sitting stretched out in the sand. There's been a storm brewing for hours, making the sky dark, the air humid and nearly unbreathable. The ocean rumbles, waves crashing the beach.
"Hey," Lennox answers him, barely looking up.
Chris has no idea what to say, knows that no apology he could give would be big enough or heartfelt enough. Knows that Lennox has absolutely no reason to forgive him or take him back. But, the idea of not even trying, of letting things carry on as they have been... it's suffocating. He can't do it anymore.
"I'm--" he starts and gives up, letting out a breath as he looks down at his feet.
"Don't," Lennox replies quietly and when Chris looks up again, meets his eyes, he realizes he doesn't need to say anything, that Lennox already knows, always will know. It's just the way they work.
And, as always, Chris wonders how the fuck he got so lucky.
"You can't do it again, Chris," Lennox tells him and Chris nods, swallowing hard as he feels the tension in his muscles slowly unravel. "I thought-- fuck, I thought we were through this shit. No more, okay?"
Shaking his head, Chris keeps his gaze locked on Lennox and, above them, he hears the crash of thunder as the clouds let loose.
Great Big Sea - When I'm Up
"It's only one match, Chris."
"Yeah, but it's-- can't you see? This is it, man. This is what we were born to do, the four of us. This is... it's our fuckin' calling."
Eddie only lifts a skeptical eyebrow, but Chris doesn't have the chance to further argue his point as Lennox pushes his way in, handing Chris the joint. "Yeah, man, Chris is right," he says and Chris feels a swell of vindication as he sucks in a slow hit. "We showed those guys, didn't we? You me, Chris and Neil... we got this shit. We could-- hell, we could go national, baby. Maybe go to the Olympics--"
"It's not an Olympic sport," Neil points out, but Chris can tell by the tone of his voice that he's already caving.
"Not yet, maybe," Lennox says, pointing a finger. "We'll make it an Olympic sport. Just wait."
Diamond Rio - Beautiful Mess
After two years of dating and talking and planning, Chris thinks he's finally ready to take the next step. He hasn't talked to anyone about it, not even Coach, not even Lennox, but his confidence is enough to assure himself that he doesn't really need to. He has a few paychecks saved up and he heads into town.
With the way Long Bay works, he knows that he just has to be seen at Reynold's for word to get out.
The bell on the door clatters quietly as he steps in and Mr. Reynold's glances up from his seat behind the counter, expression relaxing into slow realization as Chris makes his way over.
"'Bout time, boy," he says, setting aside his newspaper and heading to the glass case of engagement rings.
Chris answers only with a smile and his stomach flips uncomfortably.
ABBA - Mamma Mia
"I can't fucking believe you talked me into this."
Lennox grins and reaches out to adjust Chris's wig, pushing some blond strands away from his face and then brushes a finger along the corner of Chris's mouth, probably to clean a stray red of lipstick. To say Chris isn't expert on putting on make-up is every kind of understatement.
"You look fabulous, baby," Lennox assures him and waggles his eyebrows.
Chris can only roll his eyes and shift uncomfortably in the spandex pantsuit, but he knows it's too late to put up much of a fight and Lennox's hand drops into his, dragging him out onto the makeshift stage someone's set up in the rec room.
The jukebox breaks into ABBA and Chris takes a deep breath as he and Lennox step into the lights.
Travis - Flowers in the Window
"She always said she made things grow," Chris told Flo with a shrug and a very slight smile. It's a conversation they've had before countless times, but the girl never gets tired of asking and Chris, if he's honest, never gets tired of telling.
"What kinds of things?" Flo asks, listening as she works on her painting, a landscape of the mountain in the distance on an easel Lennox had made for her a year ago.
"All kinds of things, I think," Chris tells her as he rests back, watching her carefully. "Part of that whole goddess thing."
"So, when she left, why didn't things here stop growing?"
"I don't know," Chris replied, feeling the smallest pang of familiar sadness. "Maybe she left some of that magic with you and your sister."
Flo falls quiet then, carefully coloring in a tiny purple flower petal. "I wish I could remember her."
Chris's gaze flickers to the back of Flo's head, staring at the way her blonde hair falls over her shoulder. His smile is small and bittersweet. "Me, too."