(no subject)
Title: You're A Map Of A Place Maybe Someday I'll Go Ch. 22/22
Author: Pip
Pairing: Billy/Dom
Rating: this chapter PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't know 'em, never met 'em, this is all lies.
Feedback: Would be treasured beyond pearls.
Archive: Not without permission.
A/N: Thanks to fitofpique and elmathelas for the brilliant betas, and to buckle_berry for the fabulous Britpick. This fic would not be the same without you three, and I thank you from the bottom of my squishy little heart.
Thank you to everyone who has been reading along, whether you've commented or not. This fic is special to me, and I'm pleased beyond words that you've all been enjoying it. Thank you for all your lovely words, your encouragement, and your support, I really appreciate it. :)
Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
First posted Aug, 2006
Dom turned away from the check-in counter with his boarding pass in hand, leaving his suitcase on the conveyor belt, and his eyes searched out Billy who waited for him away from the queues. Billy had his head tilted down, a tight, pensive look on his face. Dom knew just how he felt.
"Hey," he said quietly as he approached, his words for Billy's ears only in the noisy terminal. "I've got a few minutes. Coffee?"
"Aye." Billy took the carryon from Dom despite it being the only thing he had in his hands and, knowing the airport well, led him straight to a small café. They queued for their beverages and then sat at a small corner table, away from the other patrons slouched in their chairs.
Taking a deep breath, trying not to give free rein to the misery he felt, Dom forced a smile to his lips. "Thanks for having me. I had a good time."
Billy snorted, a reluctant grin curving his mouth. "You sound like a prat. 'Having you'? 'A good time'?"
Dom chuckled and bent his head. "Yeah, yeah, all right. Would you prefer 'Thanks for the blowjob, mate'?"
Billy's smile faded. "No. I'd prefer ... Hell, Dom. I can't even ... how do I thank you for coming to save me from myself, and for finding me, and for giving me your heart? After all these years, how do I tell you what you mean to me?"
Dom's throat tightened, but he swallowed past it, wishing he could kiss Billy across the table. "You just did, my love."
Billy's fingers twitched, as if he could barely suppress the urge to take Dom's hand in his own. "You'll call me when you get back to Hawaii?"
"Of course. Might even call you from LAX."
"Okay."
"Okay." Dom took a sip of his coffee. "So. I'll see you again at the end of next month. We'll make it. How do you feel about phone sex?"
"Never indulged. I think it's time I learnt, don't you?"
"Absolutely."
Billy was silent for a moment. "I have the map."
Dom waited for him to continue, but when Billy said nothing further, Dom nodded. "You do."
"The bridge over the Atlantic."
"I'm going to miss you, too, Bills," Dom said softly.
Billy looked up, his face twisted. "This wasn't supposed to be so difficult. Love is supposed to conquer all."
"It does. It will. Give yourself time to adjust. Like you said, after all these years ... " Dom felt his stomach do a slow roll. Billy would join him in Hawaii, of that Dom had no doubt, but it wasn't looking good for things moving quickly and easily and happily. "Just remember, love--I'm your taisgeal, yeah?"
"Yeah," Billy whispered. "You know I love you, right?"
"I know." Dom glanced at his watch and swore softly. "Shite. I have to go, Bill. Come and queue with me?"
"I can't, Dom," Billy said wretchedly. "Not when I can't touch you, can't tell you how I feel without someone overhearing. It's too hard, this time."
"Okay," Dom said, masking his disappointment. "We'll get better at this. Walk out with me, though, Bill. Don't sit here. Walk out with me and go home."
"Yeah. Yeah, of course I will." Billy rose to his feet , grabbed Dom's carryon again, and followed him from the café. They stood in the middle of the terminal, people passing on either side, and their eyes locked and held. "Ring me, all right?"
"Yeah," Dom murmured. "Soon as I get there. Love you, Bills."
"Love you, too, taisgeal," Billy said. "Fly safe." He passed the carryon to Dom, and their fingers met, touched, squeezed.
Without another word, Dom turned and walked down the corridor toward the security check-in, and he didn't look back.
Twenty minutes later, Dom had moved nearly halfway down the line, and he was reading the posters on the wall detailing how much liquor one could carry without breaking any export laws in a vain attempt to keep from dwelling on Billy. He missed his Bills already, dammit, how was he ever going to last nearly two months without seeing Billy's eyes, kissing his lips, sprawling in bed and loving his body? He briefly considered digging his mobile out of his pocket and ringing already, but realised Billy would have his phone off for the drive home. Dom's shoulders slumped, and he hitched his satchel up higher.
Slowly Dom noticed the people around him turning to look behind and shouting penetrated his inward thoughts.
"Monaghan! Hey, Monaghan!"
Dom spun to see Billy standing at the back of the winding queue, a hundred people in between them, and watched as Billy held up his mobile. Quickly, clumsily pulling his own from his pocket, he turned it on and felt it immediately begin to vibrate. He flipped it open and held it to his ear, stuffing his finger in his other ear to hear better. "Have you gone mad?" he demanded, unable to help the grin that split his face.
Billy's smile was equally wide. "Quite possibly." He held up a long, narrow piece of paper, but Dom couldn't make out what it was from that distance. "Two weeks, taisgeal."
"What?"
"I just bought a plane ticket. I couldn't let you go, not like that. Couldn't wait that long. I'll be there in two weeks, and I'll be staying two months. We'll come home to Glasgow for the month before you start filming again, and then we'll spend the season in Hawaii."
His heart soaring, Dom nevertheless said, "That's too long. We can take our time with this, Bill, we can ease into it. It's okay."
"Don't you get it, you daft pillock?" Billy laughed. "I don't want to ease in. I want to jump in with both feet. You're swimming in the sea, and I've finally come to the end of the path I've been picking my way along, and I'm coming in, Dom, I'm swimming out to find the selkie that's waiting for me."
Dom felt tears well in his eyes, but the smile he sent Billy through the crowd was blinding. "The people standing next to you are going to think you're completely barmy."
"Yeah, they are. And I don't fucking care," he grinned.
"What brought this on?"
"Watching you walk away from me. Never felt so bloody miserable, Dom. Don't want to be without you; if there's any possible way to be by your side, I will be. Two weeks, taisgeal."
"Two weeks," Dom repeated, and his heart swelled until he thought he might burst. "Two weeks."
"I'll email you the flight information. I expect you to stock up on porridge and new sheets and have my surfboard waxed before I get there, and you only have two weeks to do it all," Billy teased.
"Done," Dom laughed. "I wonder if I can find sherbet powder in Hawaii?"
"Pineapple will do nicely. I'm going to go, Dom," Billy said, his voice warm in Dom's ear over the noise of the terminal. "I have to get busy on tidying up all those loose ends, yeah? And Marg will kill me if I don't spend a couple days with her first. But call me from LAX."
"I will. You'd better bloody believe I will! You know what I want to say, right, Bill?"
Billy nodded as Dom watched from a distance. "I do. Me too, taisgeal. Me, too."
"Go on, then," Dom urged. "Get going and get everything done. And I'll see you soon."
"I'll see you soon," Billy echoed, and closed his mobile. With a little wave of his hand, he turned and hurried off.
Dom faced the front of the line, tucking his phone back in his pocket, and caught up with the people in front of him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep the silly smile from his face and, when he eventually made it to security, they eyed him a bit askance. Dom rather suspected his carryon was on the receiving end of some very close scrutiny, and he chuckled.
It wasn't until Dom was in his seat on the plane, finishing his dinner, that the enormity of what Billy had just done for him struck him. Dom thought it was a good thing he wasn't the crying sort, or he'd be blubbering his happiness out to the poor lady in the seat next to him. Instead, he bit his lip, blinked hard, and pulled the tray table down and a pen from his pocket.
Dom remembered his flight over, a short few weeks before. How much had changed, how much inside him had been freed. The pint jar of longing was long gone, washed away on the tide of a love discovered and shared and embraced. Billy had been through so much, and Dom only hoped he could bring as much joy to Billy as Billy had to him. Regrets cleansed and hope buoyed and love from horizon to horizon, Dom knew with an unshakeable certainty that what connected them now was far stronger and more permanent than any bridge could ever be.
Billy, he wrote on his hand as the plane sped across the Atlantic. Map Billy Hawaii Glasgow love Billy love Billy Billy Billy home.
THE END.
Author: Pip
Pairing: Billy/Dom
Rating: this chapter PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't know 'em, never met 'em, this is all lies.
Feedback: Would be treasured beyond pearls.
Archive: Not without permission.
A/N: Thanks to fitofpique and elmathelas for the brilliant betas, and to buckle_berry for the fabulous Britpick. This fic would not be the same without you three, and I thank you from the bottom of my squishy little heart.
Thank you to everyone who has been reading along, whether you've commented or not. This fic is special to me, and I'm pleased beyond words that you've all been enjoying it. Thank you for all your lovely words, your encouragement, and your support, I really appreciate it. :)
Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
First posted Aug, 2006
Dom turned away from the check-in counter with his boarding pass in hand, leaving his suitcase on the conveyor belt, and his eyes searched out Billy who waited for him away from the queues. Billy had his head tilted down, a tight, pensive look on his face. Dom knew just how he felt.
"Hey," he said quietly as he approached, his words for Billy's ears only in the noisy terminal. "I've got a few minutes. Coffee?"
"Aye." Billy took the carryon from Dom despite it being the only thing he had in his hands and, knowing the airport well, led him straight to a small café. They queued for their beverages and then sat at a small corner table, away from the other patrons slouched in their chairs.
Taking a deep breath, trying not to give free rein to the misery he felt, Dom forced a smile to his lips. "Thanks for having me. I had a good time."
Billy snorted, a reluctant grin curving his mouth. "You sound like a prat. 'Having you'? 'A good time'?"
Dom chuckled and bent his head. "Yeah, yeah, all right. Would you prefer 'Thanks for the blowjob, mate'?"
Billy's smile faded. "No. I'd prefer ... Hell, Dom. I can't even ... how do I thank you for coming to save me from myself, and for finding me, and for giving me your heart? After all these years, how do I tell you what you mean to me?"
Dom's throat tightened, but he swallowed past it, wishing he could kiss Billy across the table. "You just did, my love."
Billy's fingers twitched, as if he could barely suppress the urge to take Dom's hand in his own. "You'll call me when you get back to Hawaii?"
"Of course. Might even call you from LAX."
"Okay."
"Okay." Dom took a sip of his coffee. "So. I'll see you again at the end of next month. We'll make it. How do you feel about phone sex?"
"Never indulged. I think it's time I learnt, don't you?"
"Absolutely."
Billy was silent for a moment. "I have the map."
Dom waited for him to continue, but when Billy said nothing further, Dom nodded. "You do."
"The bridge over the Atlantic."
"I'm going to miss you, too, Bills," Dom said softly.
Billy looked up, his face twisted. "This wasn't supposed to be so difficult. Love is supposed to conquer all."
"It does. It will. Give yourself time to adjust. Like you said, after all these years ... " Dom felt his stomach do a slow roll. Billy would join him in Hawaii, of that Dom had no doubt, but it wasn't looking good for things moving quickly and easily and happily. "Just remember, love--I'm your taisgeal, yeah?"
"Yeah," Billy whispered. "You know I love you, right?"
"I know." Dom glanced at his watch and swore softly. "Shite. I have to go, Bill. Come and queue with me?"
"I can't, Dom," Billy said wretchedly. "Not when I can't touch you, can't tell you how I feel without someone overhearing. It's too hard, this time."
"Okay," Dom said, masking his disappointment. "We'll get better at this. Walk out with me, though, Bill. Don't sit here. Walk out with me and go home."
"Yeah. Yeah, of course I will." Billy rose to his feet , grabbed Dom's carryon again, and followed him from the café. They stood in the middle of the terminal, people passing on either side, and their eyes locked and held. "Ring me, all right?"
"Yeah," Dom murmured. "Soon as I get there. Love you, Bills."
"Love you, too, taisgeal," Billy said. "Fly safe." He passed the carryon to Dom, and their fingers met, touched, squeezed.
Without another word, Dom turned and walked down the corridor toward the security check-in, and he didn't look back.
Twenty minutes later, Dom had moved nearly halfway down the line, and he was reading the posters on the wall detailing how much liquor one could carry without breaking any export laws in a vain attempt to keep from dwelling on Billy. He missed his Bills already, dammit, how was he ever going to last nearly two months without seeing Billy's eyes, kissing his lips, sprawling in bed and loving his body? He briefly considered digging his mobile out of his pocket and ringing already, but realised Billy would have his phone off for the drive home. Dom's shoulders slumped, and he hitched his satchel up higher.
Slowly Dom noticed the people around him turning to look behind and shouting penetrated his inward thoughts.
"Monaghan! Hey, Monaghan!"
Dom spun to see Billy standing at the back of the winding queue, a hundred people in between them, and watched as Billy held up his mobile. Quickly, clumsily pulling his own from his pocket, he turned it on and felt it immediately begin to vibrate. He flipped it open and held it to his ear, stuffing his finger in his other ear to hear better. "Have you gone mad?" he demanded, unable to help the grin that split his face.
Billy's smile was equally wide. "Quite possibly." He held up a long, narrow piece of paper, but Dom couldn't make out what it was from that distance. "Two weeks, taisgeal."
"What?"
"I just bought a plane ticket. I couldn't let you go, not like that. Couldn't wait that long. I'll be there in two weeks, and I'll be staying two months. We'll come home to Glasgow for the month before you start filming again, and then we'll spend the season in Hawaii."
His heart soaring, Dom nevertheless said, "That's too long. We can take our time with this, Bill, we can ease into it. It's okay."
"Don't you get it, you daft pillock?" Billy laughed. "I don't want to ease in. I want to jump in with both feet. You're swimming in the sea, and I've finally come to the end of the path I've been picking my way along, and I'm coming in, Dom, I'm swimming out to find the selkie that's waiting for me."
Dom felt tears well in his eyes, but the smile he sent Billy through the crowd was blinding. "The people standing next to you are going to think you're completely barmy."
"Yeah, they are. And I don't fucking care," he grinned.
"What brought this on?"
"Watching you walk away from me. Never felt so bloody miserable, Dom. Don't want to be without you; if there's any possible way to be by your side, I will be. Two weeks, taisgeal."
"Two weeks," Dom repeated, and his heart swelled until he thought he might burst. "Two weeks."
"I'll email you the flight information. I expect you to stock up on porridge and new sheets and have my surfboard waxed before I get there, and you only have two weeks to do it all," Billy teased.
"Done," Dom laughed. "I wonder if I can find sherbet powder in Hawaii?"
"Pineapple will do nicely. I'm going to go, Dom," Billy said, his voice warm in Dom's ear over the noise of the terminal. "I have to get busy on tidying up all those loose ends, yeah? And Marg will kill me if I don't spend a couple days with her first. But call me from LAX."
"I will. You'd better bloody believe I will! You know what I want to say, right, Bill?"
Billy nodded as Dom watched from a distance. "I do. Me too, taisgeal. Me, too."
"Go on, then," Dom urged. "Get going and get everything done. And I'll see you soon."
"I'll see you soon," Billy echoed, and closed his mobile. With a little wave of his hand, he turned and hurried off.
Dom faced the front of the line, tucking his phone back in his pocket, and caught up with the people in front of him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep the silly smile from his face and, when he eventually made it to security, they eyed him a bit askance. Dom rather suspected his carryon was on the receiving end of some very close scrutiny, and he chuckled.
It wasn't until Dom was in his seat on the plane, finishing his dinner, that the enormity of what Billy had just done for him struck him. Dom thought it was a good thing he wasn't the crying sort, or he'd be blubbering his happiness out to the poor lady in the seat next to him. Instead, he bit his lip, blinked hard, and pulled the tray table down and a pen from his pocket.
Dom remembered his flight over, a short few weeks before. How much had changed, how much inside him had been freed. The pint jar of longing was long gone, washed away on the tide of a love discovered and shared and embraced. Billy had been through so much, and Dom only hoped he could bring as much joy to Billy as Billy had to him. Regrets cleansed and hope buoyed and love from horizon to horizon, Dom knew with an unshakeable certainty that what connected them now was far stronger and more permanent than any bridge could ever be.
Billy, he wrote on his hand as the plane sped across the Atlantic. Map Billy Hawaii Glasgow love Billy love Billy Billy Billy home.
THE END.