Chocolate
Fandom: Nowhere Kids
Pairing: Dana/Sterling
Word Count: 645
Notes: Inspired by Snow Patrol's "Chocolate"
The very moment Sterling realized he was alive was the moment that his eyes met Dana’s and smiled at him. Elisabeth had just left one day that winter, leaving not only Sterling, but their young daughter Matilda as well. The following summer, his mother somehow persuaded him to allow her to keep Matilda while he took a trip that she hoped would help him to gain a new perspective on his life. He wanted to visit his brother in California, but didn’t have the money to fly or pay for the gas to drive across the country so his mother had helped him pay for a bus ticket. It would be good for him, she said, to meet new people - which is exactly how he met Dana.
His bus had stopped in Chicago and he had been reclining in his seat near the window , his bag in the unoccupied seat beside him. He could see her when she stepped up the stairs dressed in a light blue romper that matched her eyes and carrying a small rose-colored travel bag. Sterling sat up straighter in his seat without even realizing it. Her blue eyes scanned the seats on either side of the aisle as she walked, searching for someplace to sit next to someone who seemed the least likely to be a creeper. Sterling found himself hoping that she would pick him. Not that he had any faith that she would with all of the other empty seats on the bus, but then her eyes met his and she smiled her bright, wide smile. He flushed and her decision was made.
“May I?” she asked, gesturing to the seat that held his things and Sterling nodded, hardly able to move his bag out of her way quickly enough.
She was open and disarming and soon introduced herself and struck up a conversation with him. Sterling explained that he was going to California to visit his brother. When he inquired as to where her destination lay, she shrugged casually. “I’m just going to get off wherever it feels right.”
They sat beside each other from Chicago to Denver, CO. A trip that should have taken only 12 hours ended up taking a full day thanks to delays and layovers, but neither of them minded as it gave them a chance to talk to one another. When the bus stopped for rest stops or meals they ate together and perused the small stores together, Dana picking up postcards and small kitschy knick-knacks, even picking out something for Sterling to get his mother. Sterling switched seats to allow her to have the window seat and he discovered that he liked the feel of her knee against his thigh when she turned in the seat to talk to him; he liked how close they would get at night when they turned off the lights and spoke to one another in hushed tones, sharing his jacket as a blanket; he especially liked when she would fall asleep with her head on his shoulder. He felt like he had known her for months instead of just hours.
“We should stay here a few days,” she suggested once they reached the bus station in Denver. “We could both use a shower and real food. And it’ll be good to see something besides the highway and trees.”
Sterling had paused them , almost helpless in his desire to please her and the inability to deny her, but just going off in a strange city was a very un-Sterling-like thing to do.
She tilted her head to the side as she watched him struggle with himself and then she smiled slowly and sweetly. Dana stepped forward and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him gently on the mouth right in the middle of the crowded bus station. “Take a chance with me, Sterling.”
Pairing: Dana/Sterling
Word Count: 645
Notes: Inspired by Snow Patrol's "Chocolate"
The very moment Sterling realized he was alive was the moment that his eyes met Dana’s and smiled at him. Elisabeth had just left one day that winter, leaving not only Sterling, but their young daughter Matilda as well. The following summer, his mother somehow persuaded him to allow her to keep Matilda while he took a trip that she hoped would help him to gain a new perspective on his life. He wanted to visit his brother in California, but didn’t have the money to fly or pay for the gas to drive across the country so his mother had helped him pay for a bus ticket. It would be good for him, she said, to meet new people - which is exactly how he met Dana.
His bus had stopped in Chicago and he had been reclining in his seat near the window , his bag in the unoccupied seat beside him. He could see her when she stepped up the stairs dressed in a light blue romper that matched her eyes and carrying a small rose-colored travel bag. Sterling sat up straighter in his seat without even realizing it. Her blue eyes scanned the seats on either side of the aisle as she walked, searching for someplace to sit next to someone who seemed the least likely to be a creeper. Sterling found himself hoping that she would pick him. Not that he had any faith that she would with all of the other empty seats on the bus, but then her eyes met his and she smiled her bright, wide smile. He flushed and her decision was made.
“May I?” she asked, gesturing to the seat that held his things and Sterling nodded, hardly able to move his bag out of her way quickly enough.
She was open and disarming and soon introduced herself and struck up a conversation with him. Sterling explained that he was going to California to visit his brother. When he inquired as to where her destination lay, she shrugged casually. “I’m just going to get off wherever it feels right.”
They sat beside each other from Chicago to Denver, CO. A trip that should have taken only 12 hours ended up taking a full day thanks to delays and layovers, but neither of them minded as it gave them a chance to talk to one another. When the bus stopped for rest stops or meals they ate together and perused the small stores together, Dana picking up postcards and small kitschy knick-knacks, even picking out something for Sterling to get his mother. Sterling switched seats to allow her to have the window seat and he discovered that he liked the feel of her knee against his thigh when she turned in the seat to talk to him; he liked how close they would get at night when they turned off the lights and spoke to one another in hushed tones, sharing his jacket as a blanket; he especially liked when she would fall asleep with her head on his shoulder. He felt like he had known her for months instead of just hours.
“We should stay here a few days,” she suggested once they reached the bus station in Denver. “We could both use a shower and real food. And it’ll be good to see something besides the highway and trees.”
Sterling had paused them , almost helpless in his desire to please her and the inability to deny her, but just going off in a strange city was a very un-Sterling-like thing to do.
She tilted her head to the side as she watched him struggle with himself and then she smiled slowly and sweetly. Dana stepped forward and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him gently on the mouth right in the middle of the crowded bus station. “Take a chance with me, Sterling.”