It Beats This Hard [2/5]
Go Back?
Don't forget the non-fish aliens: Mordent (16)|Dinah (15)|Aaron (14)|Melchior (12)|Sebastian (9)|Curtis (9)|Oscar (8)
“So, let me get this straight.” Tom settled down on the couch, and handed Teddy a glass of wine. If Teddy was someone else - like Ed, maybe - he would have wondered at the ease Tom walked around his house, and helped himself to wine in his cellar, and offered it to Teddy as though it wasn’t his. “And stop staring at me like I killed a puppy, I know this house.”
“Well you’re the reason I can’t go in the wine cellar.” Teddy shot back immediately.
“You’re the reason I have to lock the doors when I cook, so we’re even.” His ex-husband parroted off calmly. “Stop changing the subject. The guy you’ve loved since you were twelve kisses you, and you chuck him out the car?”
“Four actually.” Teddy slid down on the couch, flushing. Tom was notoriously straight talking, and said precisely what he thought - to Teddy at least. He was expecting a lecture. If Tom was going to lecture him, Teddy needed to be drunk, and to remember to bring up the time that Tom had a threesome with his best friend and the music teacher.
“Details, details!” Tom waved his hands around. “My point is, he kissed you, and you didn’t fuck him?”
“Dad!” Curtis scolded from the TV, where he was playing the Playstation - Aaron was anything if not different, and he refused to upgrade.
“My bad, C.” His father rolled his eyes. “He kissed you, and you didn’t nail him?”
“Sex solves nothing.” Teddy attempted to hold his head high as Tom burst out laughing. “I’m being serious here!”
“So serious you still go out and get laid every Wednesday, at the very least?”
“That’s meaningless sex, that doesn’t count - and did you seriously just say “get laid”? If Aaron was here, even he would cringe, retro rebel that he is.” Teddy dismissed him. “My point is, that sleeping with Ali - much as it would be amazing - would solve nothing.”
“He’d sleep with you and remember that he’s epically gay, and then you two would marry, and have a million more children. Problem solved.”
“There is no way that anything is that simple, Tom.” The cellist sighed.
His ex-husband gave him a wise look. “Don’t I know.”
-
“So you and Sarah are...?” Alex bit his lip, settling down on his friend’s couch.
“We weren’t compatible.” The Indian man shrugged calmly, watching Oscar running around his living room. “Careful Oscar.”
“I thought you really loved her.”
“Nope, apparently not.” Ali squeaked in shock as Oscar took a flying leap and landed on him. “Hello you.” He tickled him until he screamed and settled down on his lap. “Are you hyper, little monster?”
“Yep!” The eight year old leant his head on his father’s shoulder. “Hi Alex!”
“Hey Oscar, how are you doing?” The violinist pulled a face to make the little boy giggle.
“Pa, Pa, oh...” Sebastian raced into the room and stopped dead when he saw Alex. As he grew older, he looked more and more like Teddy. “Sorry.” He turned to go again.
“Hey Bastian, what’s up?” Ali straightened up.
“Can I call Curtis?” The little boy blew out his cheeks. “He’s got the homework.”
“Do you know his number?”
“It’s Wednesday.” Oscar piped up. “Tom’s with Dad.”
“But Curtis will be at home, because they go out on Wednesdays.” The nine year old scowled at his younger brother, folding his arms. “So be quiet you baby.”
“I’m not a baby!” Oscar hollered. “I’m eight! Go away! We don’t like you anymore!”
“Hey, hey, both of you, stop it.” Their father broke in. “Bastian, you can, don’t call your brother a baby, Oscar, ssh, we still like Bastian.”
“Kids.” Alex rolled his eyes, poking Oscar’s stomach to make the little boy squeal.
-
“Hey.” Ali grabbed Teddy’s arm. “We need to talk.”
“Child support problems again?” The cellist rolled his eyes, beckoning his ex-husband towards the study. Ali had been there enough times to know that it was plastered with Tom’s photographs.
Sebastian looked at the two of them suspiciously. “You’re not gonna fight, are you?” He asked, folding his arms. “Because if you are, I think you should do it in the living room, and Melky will call Uncle Dan.”
“We’re not gonna fight.” His blood father assured him. “At least, I don’t think so. I don’t plan on it.” He closed the door to the study.
Ali had been rehearsing what he was going to say since Wednesday, but suddenly no words would come. He swallowed, his mouth dry, and looked at the pictures that were so blatantly Tom’s handiwork. Most were of Teddy, but there was one of Dinah, and one of Sebastian with a boy who looked about the same age.
He suddenly stopped, staring at a picture that looked far too familiar. “Where was Tom when you fell in the lake?” The Indian man asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the canvas, a seventeen year old Teddy with ice in his hair, pale skin and blue lips.
“Him and Sean and Max were sledging nearby.” Teddy rolled his eyes fondly. “Long range camera.”
“About Wednesday...” Ali said hesitantly. “I’m sorry - how it ended. I shouldn’t have... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fuck things over.”
“What if you didn’t?” The older man took a step forward. “Al, what if you didn’t fuck anything up?” Before Ali could answer, Teddy tilted his chin up. The two of them froze, staring at each other. Neither was sure entirely what was going on, just... just that they wanted this. Teddy brought their lips together gently and Ali closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss.
“Is this...” The Indian man broke the kiss, but stayed close. “Is this what you want? Is this what we should do? I’m confused, Teddy, so confused.”
“I don’t, I don’t know.” Teddy whispered. “I just...” He shook his head and kissed him again, quickly and softly. “I want this Ali. I’ve wanted this for so long.”
“I split up with Sarah because it didn’t feel the same as when I was with you.” The younger man confessed, pulling away. “But I don’t know. It’s a lot to ask, Teddy. It’s a lot to take in, a lot to judge. I can’t... I’m scared.”
Teddy kissed him again, gently and softly. "Maybe..." He said falteringly. "Maybe we could try again. Take it slow, and maybe try..."
"Would it work?" Ali drew away fully, trying to gather his senses. He stared at the older man - his ex husband - and worried his lip until he tasted blood. "I'm worried. I don't..." Teddy looked down with a sharp nod.
"I would start it again." He mumbled. "Not... if you wanted to. I would. And I'm not just saying that. Not just for the kids."
"We could start again." Ali said softly. "From the beginning, as though we've just met." The other man grinned. "Hi. My name's Ali."
"My name's Teddy, like the animal." Teddy's greeting mirrored how they had first met, thirty one years ago. “Your name is a girl’s name.”
“We’ll see about that.” The Indian man smirked. “Are you busy Thursday, Teddy? Maybe we could go on a date or something.”
“I’ve never been on a date.” The cellist murmured thoughtfully. Ali kissed the grin off his face and left before Teddy could respond.
-
“Teddy’s got a da-ate!” Tom said in a sing-song voice, watching his ex-husband running up and down the stairs, frantically searching for various items.
“You, shut up.” The cellist entered the room, his arms folded. “Why did you never take me on a date?”
“Because you put out the first time I met you, there was no need.” The blonde smirked and ducked the chunk of rosin that the younger man flung at his head. “Violence! Abuse! Theodore!”
Teddy blinked at him, doing up the buttons of his shirt with fumbling fingers. Tom could tell how nervous his ex-husband and best friend really was by watching his fingers, and how they trembled slightly. “If I was called Theodore, I would have changed my name by now.” He scowled at the laughing blonde. “Shut up. What are you even doing here, it’s a Thursday?”
“You’re acting as though you don’t want me here, god.” The older man affected heartbreak. “I thought it would be fun...”
“Mikey kicked you out again, didn’t he?” It was Teddy’s turn to smirk.
“He’s marking.” The blonde muttered.
“Well, make yourself useful. How do I look?” The cellist stood in front of his friend awkwardly.
“I’d tap that.” Tom leered at the younger man.
“You’d tap me if I was in a wheelchair.” He dismissed him out of hand. “Wait, you tried.”
“I can’t help it Teddles, I’m a hopeless romantic.” The blonde reached down for his glass of wine. “Ali’s seen you as a spotty, moaning, pathetic teenager, and he’s seen you naked.”
“I wasn’t spotty.” Teddy hissed back as the door went. “Oh fuck, he’s here, and this wasn’t what I was going to wear and shit, did you see his ex-fiancée?”
The blonde ignored him and went to answer the door. “I assume you’re here for Teddy?” He asked the Indian man on the other side impassively. “Only, I would know if I had a date - at least, I hope I would - and the only other person here is Curtis, and he’s nine, and that’s just slightly wrong.”
“Tom.” Teddy’s voice was firm, as though he was speaking to a child. “Can you please not refer to my date as a paedophile?” The blonde’s eyes were fixed on the Indian man, and he saw the expression on his face when Teddy entered the hall. Ali’s eyes lit up in awe, drinking in the sight of Teddy in a white “The Who” t-shirt and plain jeans.
“Alright, well...” Tom cleared his throat, aware that neither of the men were paying any attention to him. “I’m just going to go back into the living room then. And burn your house down.”
“Whatever.” His friend dismissed him, grabbing his hoodie and closing the door.
-
"Why did your ex-husband open the door?" Ali asked mildly, holding the door open for the other.
"Because Mikey was marking and he got bored. It's a regular occurrence. I see Curtis - the freaky mute child - more than I see our kids." The cellist shrugged.
"I remember Curtis." The younger man started the car. "He was at the hospital."
"Look." Teddy said firmly. "If this is going to work, then we need to stop dragging up the past - especially my accident. Yes, I got hit by a truck. Yes, I'm thirty five and twice divorced. Yes, you just split up with your fiancée, who looks like my ex-husband."
"Being married to Tom means you talk more." The Indian man scowled, but it relented when Teddy raised a hand to toy with his dark hair. "Charmer."
"Naturally." Teddy's fingers trailed absentmindedly down his cheekbone and tugged at the corner of his lips gently. "I can't believe you almost married a girl. Did you fuck her?"
"None of your business." Ali pulled the car to a stop, not expecting the other to lean across and kiss him softly, but he reciprocated easily enough. "No one knows - about us." He whispered against the older man's lips.
"Only Tom." Teddy murmured back. "Only Tom, and he won't tell."
"We are so fucked." Ali chuckled. There was a shifting in the car, and Teddy pinned him against the side. Ali let him kiss him again, and again, and again until he felt dizzy. It was easy; easy to fall back into this routine, of being dominated by Teddy, of being in awe of the older man. Keeping it secret, like they used to. Only this time, Tom was the only one who knew. Teddy left him breathless, always.
"C'mon." Teddy pulled away, his eyes sparkling. "We'll be arrested for public indecency."
"Like Oscar Wilde." When they got out the car, Ali reached out for his hand. "Who we named our fifth child after."
"The scary child from the Demon Headmaster, a remotely normal child, one of the three kings, the giant crab from A Little Mermaid and a brilliant gay icon. We chose good names." His hand was loose in Ali's, but it was normal - or it had been then.
-
"Tell me something." Ali watched as Teddy drank some of his wine. "Something that people don't know about you."
"My favourite film isn't the Addams Family anymore." The cellist said after a pause, smirking.
"Really? But you loved those films!"
"I'm thirty five. Been replaced by Sherlock Holmes now, and all the repressed sexuality that Oscar pointed out." Teddy grinned mischievously as Ali snorted into his drink.
"Oscar pointed it out?!"
"Yup. Pointed to the screen and went "hey, Dad, are they like you and Tom?" Tom almost died with trying not to laugh." Teddy poured them out fresh glasses of wine with a grin.
"You talk about Tom a lot." It wasn't a criticism, but the older man tensed.
"He's one of my best friends." He tried to shrug it off. "He's got no life, so he's always around mine, and Curtis is sweet. He's... I dunno." Teddy raised an eyebrow at him. "Why, jealous?"
"Well, yeah." The question was a joke, but Ali answered seriously. "The last time you were in close proximity with him, you slept with him."
"Trust me. He's no competition." The engineer ran his finger around the rim of his wine glass. "My slut days are long gone. Well." He hastily amended his statement at the look the other gave him. "I'm a single - maybe? - divorced father, who only has the kids at weekends, I've got to get my kicks somewhere."
"On average, how many people do you sleep with a week then?" Ali fired back.
"About seven." Was Teddy's prompt response. "Why are we talking about this?"
"Every conversation with you ends up being about sex, it's a given." Ali remarked calmly as their finished plates were taken away.
"I would say that as does every date, but..." The cellist raised an eyebrow in challenge.
“I don’t put out on a first date.” Ali mirrored his date’s action, paying the bill before Teddy could even reach for his wallet. The older man made a sound of annoyance. “It’s a date. I asked you on it. I pay. Come on.” He sighed, gesturing for the other to follow him. He took his hand loosely as they left the restaurant.
The drive was a comfortable silence. “Are you expected home?” Teddy asked as they drew up outside his house.
“I’ve got work in the morning...” It wasn’t a definite negative, and Ali knew that the other picked up on it.
“You can borrow some of my clothes.” The cellist was just daring him now.
Ali swallowed. “Sure. Why not?”
-
There was a warm weight at his chest. Teddy didn’t move, staring at the sleeping man who was curled against him. His breathing quickened in panic.
When Ali had known them, when they were married, Teddy had been different. He’d changed; his body had changed. Teddy didn’t sleep shirtless anymore; he didn’t go anywhere shirtless, no one saw him, this would change. Teddy wasn’t prepared to give that level of intimacy to anyone.
The man in his arms stirred, his almost black eyes fluttering open to fix uncertainly on Teddy’s face.
“You need to go.” The cellist said brusquely, pushing the younger man out his arms. “You can have some clothes. I don’t want them back. Leave.”
“Teddy, I-” Ali looked bewildered.
“Ali, go.” The older man ordered dismissively. “I never wanted you, ok? I never wanted you. It was just a bit of fun. I wanted to see how gullible you’d be. Tom’s no fun anymore, he’s just in love with me, and that’s boring, but you... you swore you hated me, and you’d never see me again.” Teddy mocked, taking a step forward. “But it didn’t take you long, did it? It didn’t take you long to come running back.”
“I... you said...” Tears started in Ali’s eyes, but he brushed them away angrily. “You’re a fucking prick, Teddy Hetherton.”
“Aww, what’s wrong?” The cellist jeered. “Poor Ali can’t handle it? Poor Ali going to go crying to Alex again? Can’t you fight your own battles for once?”
“Why are you doing this?” Ali whispered, backing away.
“Because it’s fun.” The older man shrugged, watching impassively as the other turned and ran, the door slamming behind him. It was only when he heard Ali’s car starting up that he sank to his knees, shaking and hiding his face.
next
Don't forget the non-fish aliens: Mordent (16)|Dinah (15)|Aaron (14)|Melchior (12)|Sebastian (9)|Curtis (9)|Oscar (8)
“So, let me get this straight.” Tom settled down on the couch, and handed Teddy a glass of wine. If Teddy was someone else - like Ed, maybe - he would have wondered at the ease Tom walked around his house, and helped himself to wine in his cellar, and offered it to Teddy as though it wasn’t his. “And stop staring at me like I killed a puppy, I know this house.”
“Well you’re the reason I can’t go in the wine cellar.” Teddy shot back immediately.
“You’re the reason I have to lock the doors when I cook, so we’re even.” His ex-husband parroted off calmly. “Stop changing the subject. The guy you’ve loved since you were twelve kisses you, and you chuck him out the car?”
“Four actually.” Teddy slid down on the couch, flushing. Tom was notoriously straight talking, and said precisely what he thought - to Teddy at least. He was expecting a lecture. If Tom was going to lecture him, Teddy needed to be drunk, and to remember to bring up the time that Tom had a threesome with his best friend and the music teacher.
“Details, details!” Tom waved his hands around. “My point is, he kissed you, and you didn’t fuck him?”
“Dad!” Curtis scolded from the TV, where he was playing the Playstation - Aaron was anything if not different, and he refused to upgrade.
“My bad, C.” His father rolled his eyes. “He kissed you, and you didn’t nail him?”
“Sex solves nothing.” Teddy attempted to hold his head high as Tom burst out laughing. “I’m being serious here!”
“So serious you still go out and get laid every Wednesday, at the very least?”
“That’s meaningless sex, that doesn’t count - and did you seriously just say “get laid”? If Aaron was here, even he would cringe, retro rebel that he is.” Teddy dismissed him. “My point is, that sleeping with Ali - much as it would be amazing - would solve nothing.”
“He’d sleep with you and remember that he’s epically gay, and then you two would marry, and have a million more children. Problem solved.”
“There is no way that anything is that simple, Tom.” The cellist sighed.
His ex-husband gave him a wise look. “Don’t I know.”
-
“So you and Sarah are...?” Alex bit his lip, settling down on his friend’s couch.
“We weren’t compatible.” The Indian man shrugged calmly, watching Oscar running around his living room. “Careful Oscar.”
“I thought you really loved her.”
“Nope, apparently not.” Ali squeaked in shock as Oscar took a flying leap and landed on him. “Hello you.” He tickled him until he screamed and settled down on his lap. “Are you hyper, little monster?”
“Yep!” The eight year old leant his head on his father’s shoulder. “Hi Alex!”
“Hey Oscar, how are you doing?” The violinist pulled a face to make the little boy giggle.
“Pa, Pa, oh...” Sebastian raced into the room and stopped dead when he saw Alex. As he grew older, he looked more and more like Teddy. “Sorry.” He turned to go again.
“Hey Bastian, what’s up?” Ali straightened up.
“Can I call Curtis?” The little boy blew out his cheeks. “He’s got the homework.”
“Do you know his number?”
“It’s Wednesday.” Oscar piped up. “Tom’s with Dad.”
“But Curtis will be at home, because they go out on Wednesdays.” The nine year old scowled at his younger brother, folding his arms. “So be quiet you baby.”
“I’m not a baby!” Oscar hollered. “I’m eight! Go away! We don’t like you anymore!”
“Hey, hey, both of you, stop it.” Their father broke in. “Bastian, you can, don’t call your brother a baby, Oscar, ssh, we still like Bastian.”
“Kids.” Alex rolled his eyes, poking Oscar’s stomach to make the little boy squeal.
-
“Hey.” Ali grabbed Teddy’s arm. “We need to talk.”
“Child support problems again?” The cellist rolled his eyes, beckoning his ex-husband towards the study. Ali had been there enough times to know that it was plastered with Tom’s photographs.
Sebastian looked at the two of them suspiciously. “You’re not gonna fight, are you?” He asked, folding his arms. “Because if you are, I think you should do it in the living room, and Melky will call Uncle Dan.”
“We’re not gonna fight.” His blood father assured him. “At least, I don’t think so. I don’t plan on it.” He closed the door to the study.
Ali had been rehearsing what he was going to say since Wednesday, but suddenly no words would come. He swallowed, his mouth dry, and looked at the pictures that were so blatantly Tom’s handiwork. Most were of Teddy, but there was one of Dinah, and one of Sebastian with a boy who looked about the same age.
He suddenly stopped, staring at a picture that looked far too familiar. “Where was Tom when you fell in the lake?” The Indian man asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the canvas, a seventeen year old Teddy with ice in his hair, pale skin and blue lips.
“Him and Sean and Max were sledging nearby.” Teddy rolled his eyes fondly. “Long range camera.”
“About Wednesday...” Ali said hesitantly. “I’m sorry - how it ended. I shouldn’t have... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fuck things over.”
“What if you didn’t?” The older man took a step forward. “Al, what if you didn’t fuck anything up?” Before Ali could answer, Teddy tilted his chin up. The two of them froze, staring at each other. Neither was sure entirely what was going on, just... just that they wanted this. Teddy brought their lips together gently and Ali closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss.
“Is this...” The Indian man broke the kiss, but stayed close. “Is this what you want? Is this what we should do? I’m confused, Teddy, so confused.”
“I don’t, I don’t know.” Teddy whispered. “I just...” He shook his head and kissed him again, quickly and softly. “I want this Ali. I’ve wanted this for so long.”
“I split up with Sarah because it didn’t feel the same as when I was with you.” The younger man confessed, pulling away. “But I don’t know. It’s a lot to ask, Teddy. It’s a lot to take in, a lot to judge. I can’t... I’m scared.”
Teddy kissed him again, gently and softly. "Maybe..." He said falteringly. "Maybe we could try again. Take it slow, and maybe try..."
"Would it work?" Ali drew away fully, trying to gather his senses. He stared at the older man - his ex husband - and worried his lip until he tasted blood. "I'm worried. I don't..." Teddy looked down with a sharp nod.
"I would start it again." He mumbled. "Not... if you wanted to. I would. And I'm not just saying that. Not just for the kids."
"We could start again." Ali said softly. "From the beginning, as though we've just met." The other man grinned. "Hi. My name's Ali."
"My name's Teddy, like the animal." Teddy's greeting mirrored how they had first met, thirty one years ago. “Your name is a girl’s name.”
“We’ll see about that.” The Indian man smirked. “Are you busy Thursday, Teddy? Maybe we could go on a date or something.”
“I’ve never been on a date.” The cellist murmured thoughtfully. Ali kissed the grin off his face and left before Teddy could respond.
-
“Teddy’s got a da-ate!” Tom said in a sing-song voice, watching his ex-husband running up and down the stairs, frantically searching for various items.
“You, shut up.” The cellist entered the room, his arms folded. “Why did you never take me on a date?”
“Because you put out the first time I met you, there was no need.” The blonde smirked and ducked the chunk of rosin that the younger man flung at his head. “Violence! Abuse! Theodore!”
Teddy blinked at him, doing up the buttons of his shirt with fumbling fingers. Tom could tell how nervous his ex-husband and best friend really was by watching his fingers, and how they trembled slightly. “If I was called Theodore, I would have changed my name by now.” He scowled at the laughing blonde. “Shut up. What are you even doing here, it’s a Thursday?”
“You’re acting as though you don’t want me here, god.” The older man affected heartbreak. “I thought it would be fun...”
“Mikey kicked you out again, didn’t he?” It was Teddy’s turn to smirk.
“He’s marking.” The blonde muttered.
“Well, make yourself useful. How do I look?” The cellist stood in front of his friend awkwardly.
“I’d tap that.” Tom leered at the younger man.
“You’d tap me if I was in a wheelchair.” He dismissed him out of hand. “Wait, you tried.”
“I can’t help it Teddles, I’m a hopeless romantic.” The blonde reached down for his glass of wine. “Ali’s seen you as a spotty, moaning, pathetic teenager, and he’s seen you naked.”
“I wasn’t spotty.” Teddy hissed back as the door went. “Oh fuck, he’s here, and this wasn’t what I was going to wear and shit, did you see his ex-fiancée?”
The blonde ignored him and went to answer the door. “I assume you’re here for Teddy?” He asked the Indian man on the other side impassively. “Only, I would know if I had a date - at least, I hope I would - and the only other person here is Curtis, and he’s nine, and that’s just slightly wrong.”
“Tom.” Teddy’s voice was firm, as though he was speaking to a child. “Can you please not refer to my date as a paedophile?” The blonde’s eyes were fixed on the Indian man, and he saw the expression on his face when Teddy entered the hall. Ali’s eyes lit up in awe, drinking in the sight of Teddy in a white “The Who” t-shirt and plain jeans.
“Alright, well...” Tom cleared his throat, aware that neither of the men were paying any attention to him. “I’m just going to go back into the living room then. And burn your house down.”
“Whatever.” His friend dismissed him, grabbing his hoodie and closing the door.
-
"Why did your ex-husband open the door?" Ali asked mildly, holding the door open for the other.
"Because Mikey was marking and he got bored. It's a regular occurrence. I see Curtis - the freaky mute child - more than I see our kids." The cellist shrugged.
"I remember Curtis." The younger man started the car. "He was at the hospital."
"Look." Teddy said firmly. "If this is going to work, then we need to stop dragging up the past - especially my accident. Yes, I got hit by a truck. Yes, I'm thirty five and twice divorced. Yes, you just split up with your fiancée, who looks like my ex-husband."
"Being married to Tom means you talk more." The Indian man scowled, but it relented when Teddy raised a hand to toy with his dark hair. "Charmer."
"Naturally." Teddy's fingers trailed absentmindedly down his cheekbone and tugged at the corner of his lips gently. "I can't believe you almost married a girl. Did you fuck her?"
"None of your business." Ali pulled the car to a stop, not expecting the other to lean across and kiss him softly, but he reciprocated easily enough. "No one knows - about us." He whispered against the older man's lips.
"Only Tom." Teddy murmured back. "Only Tom, and he won't tell."
"We are so fucked." Ali chuckled. There was a shifting in the car, and Teddy pinned him against the side. Ali let him kiss him again, and again, and again until he felt dizzy. It was easy; easy to fall back into this routine, of being dominated by Teddy, of being in awe of the older man. Keeping it secret, like they used to. Only this time, Tom was the only one who knew. Teddy left him breathless, always.
"C'mon." Teddy pulled away, his eyes sparkling. "We'll be arrested for public indecency."
"Like Oscar Wilde." When they got out the car, Ali reached out for his hand. "Who we named our fifth child after."
"The scary child from the Demon Headmaster, a remotely normal child, one of the three kings, the giant crab from A Little Mermaid and a brilliant gay icon. We chose good names." His hand was loose in Ali's, but it was normal - or it had been then.
-
"Tell me something." Ali watched as Teddy drank some of his wine. "Something that people don't know about you."
"My favourite film isn't the Addams Family anymore." The cellist said after a pause, smirking.
"Really? But you loved those films!"
"I'm thirty five. Been replaced by Sherlock Holmes now, and all the repressed sexuality that Oscar pointed out." Teddy grinned mischievously as Ali snorted into his drink.
"Oscar pointed it out?!"
"Yup. Pointed to the screen and went "hey, Dad, are they like you and Tom?" Tom almost died with trying not to laugh." Teddy poured them out fresh glasses of wine with a grin.
"You talk about Tom a lot." It wasn't a criticism, but the older man tensed.
"He's one of my best friends." He tried to shrug it off. "He's got no life, so he's always around mine, and Curtis is sweet. He's... I dunno." Teddy raised an eyebrow at him. "Why, jealous?"
"Well, yeah." The question was a joke, but Ali answered seriously. "The last time you were in close proximity with him, you slept with him."
"Trust me. He's no competition." The engineer ran his finger around the rim of his wine glass. "My slut days are long gone. Well." He hastily amended his statement at the look the other gave him. "I'm a single - maybe? - divorced father, who only has the kids at weekends, I've got to get my kicks somewhere."
"On average, how many people do you sleep with a week then?" Ali fired back.
"About seven." Was Teddy's prompt response. "Why are we talking about this?"
"Every conversation with you ends up being about sex, it's a given." Ali remarked calmly as their finished plates were taken away.
"I would say that as does every date, but..." The cellist raised an eyebrow in challenge.
“I don’t put out on a first date.” Ali mirrored his date’s action, paying the bill before Teddy could even reach for his wallet. The older man made a sound of annoyance. “It’s a date. I asked you on it. I pay. Come on.” He sighed, gesturing for the other to follow him. He took his hand loosely as they left the restaurant.
The drive was a comfortable silence. “Are you expected home?” Teddy asked as they drew up outside his house.
“I’ve got work in the morning...” It wasn’t a definite negative, and Ali knew that the other picked up on it.
“You can borrow some of my clothes.” The cellist was just daring him now.
Ali swallowed. “Sure. Why not?”
-
There was a warm weight at his chest. Teddy didn’t move, staring at the sleeping man who was curled against him. His breathing quickened in panic.
When Ali had known them, when they were married, Teddy had been different. He’d changed; his body had changed. Teddy didn’t sleep shirtless anymore; he didn’t go anywhere shirtless, no one saw him, this would change. Teddy wasn’t prepared to give that level of intimacy to anyone.
The man in his arms stirred, his almost black eyes fluttering open to fix uncertainly on Teddy’s face.
“You need to go.” The cellist said brusquely, pushing the younger man out his arms. “You can have some clothes. I don’t want them back. Leave.”
“Teddy, I-” Ali looked bewildered.
“Ali, go.” The older man ordered dismissively. “I never wanted you, ok? I never wanted you. It was just a bit of fun. I wanted to see how gullible you’d be. Tom’s no fun anymore, he’s just in love with me, and that’s boring, but you... you swore you hated me, and you’d never see me again.” Teddy mocked, taking a step forward. “But it didn’t take you long, did it? It didn’t take you long to come running back.”
“I... you said...” Tears started in Ali’s eyes, but he brushed them away angrily. “You’re a fucking prick, Teddy Hetherton.”
“Aww, what’s wrong?” The cellist jeered. “Poor Ali can’t handle it? Poor Ali going to go crying to Alex again? Can’t you fight your own battles for once?”
“Why are you doing this?” Ali whispered, backing away.
“Because it’s fun.” The older man shrugged, watching impassively as the other turned and ran, the door slamming behind him. It was only when he heard Ali’s car starting up that he sank to his knees, shaking and hiding his face.
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