Chapter 11
Title: Chapter 11
Fandom: Breakfast with Scot
Pairing: Eric/Sam
Rating: PG13ish
Summary: Beginnings story cont'd
Disclaimer: No ownership of characters of course
Link to all chapters unavez18.livejournal.com/2044.html
Eric collapsed on his bed, trying to get his heart rate under control. Panic had seized command of his higher brain functions, leaving only a steady stream of fucks in his mind. She knew. Someone knew. Someone knew the thing about him he tried hardest to keep hidden from the world. He’d spent so much time fearing what people would think when they found out that at first he wasn’t able to bring himself to rationally analyze what threat, if any, Eleanor’s knowledge posed to his existence.
He also couldn’t answer Sam’s plaintive calls. Sam was the one who had gotten him into this situation, with his incessant affection and his gentle eyes and his beautiful smile. Before Sam he never would have let himself get close enough to someone to risk discovery; whatever he’d started would be over before it had even really begun, and there’d be enough distance between them to make any rumors easily deniable. But then Sam had come along with his emotional tentacles, pulling him in and forcing him to let his guard down.
Sam was more than just some sort of emotion-spreading creature, though. He was also a stable, logical adult, which Eric had to grudgingly admit seemed like a feat he had not quite attained. So now as his pulse stilled he made a valiant attempt to channel some of Sam; to accept that logically, one lawyer, and his at that, wasn’t going to cause problems for him, nor did he know exactly what a problem would constitute since he no longer had to worry about being shunned by narrow-minded teammates or trash-talking opponents.
He didn’t realize how long he’d been sitting there trying to get a grip on reality until Sam’s yell broke through the silence.
“Well then at least let me in so I can get all of my stuff and leave!” he heard.
He snapped back to himself and took a deep breath. He’d never heard Sam so mad, not even that day he’d had a few too many and Sam had slept next to him, crumpled in a worried ball. This time, Sam sounded mad enough to leave, as in leave permanently. The thought made Eric momentarily dizzy, and now he had another thing to wrap his head around. All things considered, getting Sam to leave should probably have been what he wanted. That was what he usually did when people started to suspect-pull away from them and anyone connected to his secret.
But in this great big empty house, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do that.
He opened the door and Sam bristled past him, heading straight for the bathroom. He grabbed at his toothbrush and his fancy aftershave and razor, angrily stuffing the items into the travel bag he had left sitting on the counter there.
“W-what are you doing?” Eric managed to get out as he watched Sam’s frenetic movements.
“What does it look like I’m doing,” Sam snapped at him, his voice raised in agitation. “I’m tired of this.”
The dizzy fear returned. No one had ever left him before, though of course, he’d never given anyone the opportunity to do so. But if Sam left him now he wouldn’t be able to pretend like it was on his terms, like it was what he had intended all along.
He found his voice again. “Sam, no, wait.”
“Look, this is just getting to be too much.” Sam shook his head and ignored Eric’s plea, heading towards the closet where he had hung a few of his shirts long before Eric had even considered hanging any of his.
Eric slid his bad arm out from the sling. “Please, Sammy, I don’t want you to go,” he continued. He caught Sam as he passed by and gripped him firmly with both hands, wincing with the pain as he did so.
Sam stopped his frantic pursuit of his belongings and stared at Eric thoughtfully. “What did you just say?”
“I said, please don’t go.”
“No, before that. What did you call me?”
Eric scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “What, Sammy?”
“Yeah,” Sam replied. “No one but my family’s ever called me that.”
“Oh,” Eric licked his lips. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s . . . okay.” Sam sighed and let a small half-smile show.
Eric released his grip and gingerly put his arm back in the sling. “In that case, Sammy,” he smiled what he hoped was an endearing smile, “please don’t go. I’m sorry I locked you out. I guess her knowing isn’t that big of a deal. And I don’t want you to leave. Just . . . let’s not let anyone else find out, okay?”
Sam sighed again. “Eric . . .” he began
Eric pushed his mouth forward and captured a kiss to silence him. He lingered near Sam’s face for a moment and squeezed his eyes shut before taking an emotional plunge. “Please, Sammy. I . . . need you,” he whispered into his ear.
Sam dropped his bag to the floor and shook his head. “Don’t make me regret this."
*
Sam was just as gentle and considerate as he always was when they had sex that night, but Eric could still sense, even when he wasn’t facing him, how pensive Sam was, how lost he was in unpleasant thoughts. And after Sam fell asleep tangled in his arms, Eric could see the worry behind his closed eyes; it was in the little creases that surrounded his lids and in the slight downturn of his beautiful lips. He touched Sam’s cheek gently as he slept, and he knew in his heart he wouldn’t be able to keep the man captive for much longer.
**********
Eleanor had been nothing but apologies the next day in the office. Sam had intended on hearing her out and then breaking off all of their non-work related contact, since it seemed to have taken them to such an awkward place. But once she gave him an opening to speak, he found he couldn’t stop. He had far too much pent up inside him that he hadn’t been able to share with anyone before. Talking with her was just what he imagined going to confessional must be like; it left him feeling much lighter and relieved afterwards. And she had promised not to tease him anymore after declaring it was clear he “had it bad for Eric,” though she did caution him by saying she hoped Eric was worthy of his loyalty.
In the end Sam may as well have thanked Eleanor for her intrusion into his and Eric’s secret life together, because only good things seemed to come of it. Eric bent over backwards to do everything he could-short of coming out-to make it clear he cared for Sam. He started making an extra effort to keep things tidy-- rinsing his dishes immediately and keeping his clothes off the floor. He was more affectionate and more attentive than he had been in the past, and even tried to cook for Sam a few times, albeit with less than stellar results.
Sam began spending more nights at Eric’s than he did at his own place, and gradually more of his belongings made their way into the house. It still wasn’t completely furnished, and they had yet to undertake any of the home improvement projects, but he was feeling very comfortable in the space, maybe even more so than Eric was. Sam had to admit, it was probably more his dream house than it was Eric’s, but since Eric had seemed content to let him hijack it for now, he decided he would make use of it for as long as possible.
*
The leaves on the tree-lined street had just started to change with the colors of fall when Eleanor informed Sam he was about to make junior partner. He’d paid his grunt-work dues admirably, and after all the dull hours of dealing with has-beens and also-rans-- not that the hours with Eric had been dull-- he was moving up in the professional world. It was a non-equity position and basically a fancy term for a raise, but he still felt it was an important step. And even though he’d started to think about branching out into other areas besides sports law, he knew it couldn’t hurt to get some more experience before making that transition.
All in all it was shaping up to be a very good day. Eric had made him breakfast and that usually meant he was in a good mood, so Sam decided to take full advantage of that fact and head straight over after work to spend the evening with him. With the general positive buzz he was feeling he had to concentrate rather hard on not skipping up to the house with his briefcase swinging at his side.
As he approached the porch he saw a pile of boxes out front that he knew he hadn’t left, and he wondered what Eric had been up to in his absence.
“Eric?” he called out after stepping inside.
“Upstairs!” he heard.
Sam took the steps rapidly; now that he was out of the view of the public it was okay to bounce slightly in his happiness. He stopped abruptly when he came to the bedroom and saw Eric struggling to push furniture around against the walls.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Furniture,” Eric replied matter-of-factly.
“I can see that,” Sam responded. “You got another nightstand? And an armoire?”
Eric picked up a lamp and scooted it over a few feet. “Yeah . . . I just thought you might want some place to put the stuff you’re always bringing back and forth.” His face was turning a faint shade of red as he avoided Sam’s eye.
Good day, indeed.
“Oh . . . that was nice of you,” Sam said, trying his best not to read too much into it the gesture, but failing. “Well, I have some news. Looks like I’m going to be making junior partner.”
“Are you serious?” Eric spun around to face him. “That’s great! Congratulations!” He rushed over and gave him a hug-a proper one, finally, as he was better able to stretch out his arm now-and a quick kiss. “Let’s go out to celebrate.”
Sam’s breath hitched in chest. “O-out?” he stuttered the word.
“Yeah, let me take you out to celebrate.”
“You want to take me out?” Sam repeated. Blood was rushing to his cheeks now and he was afraid in a moment he was going to have to sit down.
“Yeah,” Eric responded. By this time he was catching on to Sam’s surprise. “I mean, you know we can’t do the whole PDA thing . . . but friends take each other out to celebrate stuff like this, right? So I can take you out?”
Sam considered what to say in response to that, but before his mouth could form words, Eric interrupted him. “So it’s a date then. Pick a place, anywhere you want, my treat . . . just give me like 15 minutes to get ready.” And after another rapid kiss he turned and dashed for the bathroom.
It’s a date. Now Sam really felt like skipping. Eric was taking him out on a date.
********
Next Chapter 12
Fandom: Breakfast with Scot
Pairing: Eric/Sam
Rating: PG13ish
Summary: Beginnings story cont'd
Disclaimer: No ownership of characters of course
Link to all chapters unavez18.livejournal.com/2044.html
Eric collapsed on his bed, trying to get his heart rate under control. Panic had seized command of his higher brain functions, leaving only a steady stream of fucks in his mind. She knew. Someone knew. Someone knew the thing about him he tried hardest to keep hidden from the world. He’d spent so much time fearing what people would think when they found out that at first he wasn’t able to bring himself to rationally analyze what threat, if any, Eleanor’s knowledge posed to his existence.
He also couldn’t answer Sam’s plaintive calls. Sam was the one who had gotten him into this situation, with his incessant affection and his gentle eyes and his beautiful smile. Before Sam he never would have let himself get close enough to someone to risk discovery; whatever he’d started would be over before it had even really begun, and there’d be enough distance between them to make any rumors easily deniable. But then Sam had come along with his emotional tentacles, pulling him in and forcing him to let his guard down.
Sam was more than just some sort of emotion-spreading creature, though. He was also a stable, logical adult, which Eric had to grudgingly admit seemed like a feat he had not quite attained. So now as his pulse stilled he made a valiant attempt to channel some of Sam; to accept that logically, one lawyer, and his at that, wasn’t going to cause problems for him, nor did he know exactly what a problem would constitute since he no longer had to worry about being shunned by narrow-minded teammates or trash-talking opponents.
He didn’t realize how long he’d been sitting there trying to get a grip on reality until Sam’s yell broke through the silence.
“Well then at least let me in so I can get all of my stuff and leave!” he heard.
He snapped back to himself and took a deep breath. He’d never heard Sam so mad, not even that day he’d had a few too many and Sam had slept next to him, crumpled in a worried ball. This time, Sam sounded mad enough to leave, as in leave permanently. The thought made Eric momentarily dizzy, and now he had another thing to wrap his head around. All things considered, getting Sam to leave should probably have been what he wanted. That was what he usually did when people started to suspect-pull away from them and anyone connected to his secret.
But in this great big empty house, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do that.
He opened the door and Sam bristled past him, heading straight for the bathroom. He grabbed at his toothbrush and his fancy aftershave and razor, angrily stuffing the items into the travel bag he had left sitting on the counter there.
“W-what are you doing?” Eric managed to get out as he watched Sam’s frenetic movements.
“What does it look like I’m doing,” Sam snapped at him, his voice raised in agitation. “I’m tired of this.”
The dizzy fear returned. No one had ever left him before, though of course, he’d never given anyone the opportunity to do so. But if Sam left him now he wouldn’t be able to pretend like it was on his terms, like it was what he had intended all along.
He found his voice again. “Sam, no, wait.”
“Look, this is just getting to be too much.” Sam shook his head and ignored Eric’s plea, heading towards the closet where he had hung a few of his shirts long before Eric had even considered hanging any of his.
Eric slid his bad arm out from the sling. “Please, Sammy, I don’t want you to go,” he continued. He caught Sam as he passed by and gripped him firmly with both hands, wincing with the pain as he did so.
Sam stopped his frantic pursuit of his belongings and stared at Eric thoughtfully. “What did you just say?”
“I said, please don’t go.”
“No, before that. What did you call me?”
Eric scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “What, Sammy?”
“Yeah,” Sam replied. “No one but my family’s ever called me that.”
“Oh,” Eric licked his lips. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s . . . okay.” Sam sighed and let a small half-smile show.
Eric released his grip and gingerly put his arm back in the sling. “In that case, Sammy,” he smiled what he hoped was an endearing smile, “please don’t go. I’m sorry I locked you out. I guess her knowing isn’t that big of a deal. And I don’t want you to leave. Just . . . let’s not let anyone else find out, okay?”
Sam sighed again. “Eric . . .” he began
Eric pushed his mouth forward and captured a kiss to silence him. He lingered near Sam’s face for a moment and squeezed his eyes shut before taking an emotional plunge. “Please, Sammy. I . . . need you,” he whispered into his ear.
Sam dropped his bag to the floor and shook his head. “Don’t make me regret this."
*
Sam was just as gentle and considerate as he always was when they had sex that night, but Eric could still sense, even when he wasn’t facing him, how pensive Sam was, how lost he was in unpleasant thoughts. And after Sam fell asleep tangled in his arms, Eric could see the worry behind his closed eyes; it was in the little creases that surrounded his lids and in the slight downturn of his beautiful lips. He touched Sam’s cheek gently as he slept, and he knew in his heart he wouldn’t be able to keep the man captive for much longer.
**********
Eleanor had been nothing but apologies the next day in the office. Sam had intended on hearing her out and then breaking off all of their non-work related contact, since it seemed to have taken them to such an awkward place. But once she gave him an opening to speak, he found he couldn’t stop. He had far too much pent up inside him that he hadn’t been able to share with anyone before. Talking with her was just what he imagined going to confessional must be like; it left him feeling much lighter and relieved afterwards. And she had promised not to tease him anymore after declaring it was clear he “had it bad for Eric,” though she did caution him by saying she hoped Eric was worthy of his loyalty.
In the end Sam may as well have thanked Eleanor for her intrusion into his and Eric’s secret life together, because only good things seemed to come of it. Eric bent over backwards to do everything he could-short of coming out-to make it clear he cared for Sam. He started making an extra effort to keep things tidy-- rinsing his dishes immediately and keeping his clothes off the floor. He was more affectionate and more attentive than he had been in the past, and even tried to cook for Sam a few times, albeit with less than stellar results.
Sam began spending more nights at Eric’s than he did at his own place, and gradually more of his belongings made their way into the house. It still wasn’t completely furnished, and they had yet to undertake any of the home improvement projects, but he was feeling very comfortable in the space, maybe even more so than Eric was. Sam had to admit, it was probably more his dream house than it was Eric’s, but since Eric had seemed content to let him hijack it for now, he decided he would make use of it for as long as possible.
*
The leaves on the tree-lined street had just started to change with the colors of fall when Eleanor informed Sam he was about to make junior partner. He’d paid his grunt-work dues admirably, and after all the dull hours of dealing with has-beens and also-rans-- not that the hours with Eric had been dull-- he was moving up in the professional world. It was a non-equity position and basically a fancy term for a raise, but he still felt it was an important step. And even though he’d started to think about branching out into other areas besides sports law, he knew it couldn’t hurt to get some more experience before making that transition.
All in all it was shaping up to be a very good day. Eric had made him breakfast and that usually meant he was in a good mood, so Sam decided to take full advantage of that fact and head straight over after work to spend the evening with him. With the general positive buzz he was feeling he had to concentrate rather hard on not skipping up to the house with his briefcase swinging at his side.
As he approached the porch he saw a pile of boxes out front that he knew he hadn’t left, and he wondered what Eric had been up to in his absence.
“Eric?” he called out after stepping inside.
“Upstairs!” he heard.
Sam took the steps rapidly; now that he was out of the view of the public it was okay to bounce slightly in his happiness. He stopped abruptly when he came to the bedroom and saw Eric struggling to push furniture around against the walls.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Furniture,” Eric replied matter-of-factly.
“I can see that,” Sam responded. “You got another nightstand? And an armoire?”
Eric picked up a lamp and scooted it over a few feet. “Yeah . . . I just thought you might want some place to put the stuff you’re always bringing back and forth.” His face was turning a faint shade of red as he avoided Sam’s eye.
Good day, indeed.
“Oh . . . that was nice of you,” Sam said, trying his best not to read too much into it the gesture, but failing. “Well, I have some news. Looks like I’m going to be making junior partner.”
“Are you serious?” Eric spun around to face him. “That’s great! Congratulations!” He rushed over and gave him a hug-a proper one, finally, as he was better able to stretch out his arm now-and a quick kiss. “Let’s go out to celebrate.”
Sam’s breath hitched in chest. “O-out?” he stuttered the word.
“Yeah, let me take you out to celebrate.”
“You want to take me out?” Sam repeated. Blood was rushing to his cheeks now and he was afraid in a moment he was going to have to sit down.
“Yeah,” Eric responded. By this time he was catching on to Sam’s surprise. “I mean, you know we can’t do the whole PDA thing . . . but friends take each other out to celebrate stuff like this, right? So I can take you out?”
Sam considered what to say in response to that, but before his mouth could form words, Eric interrupted him. “So it’s a date then. Pick a place, anywhere you want, my treat . . . just give me like 15 minutes to get ready.” And after another rapid kiss he turned and dashed for the bathroom.
It’s a date. Now Sam really felt like skipping. Eric was taking him out on a date.
********
Next Chapter 12