Date: 2016-08-19 03:07 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
C'mon now, you ain't really gonna let me near any'a your sweet, small town Southern belles, are ya? [His grin was wolfish and suggestive, as anyone would expect, and the sibilance in his choice of words gave his voice a slightly predatory hiss.] Like lettin' a wolf loose in a sheep pasture.

[It was just as haunting for him to be near Eugene again, really. He could still feel the slippery fabric of Eugene's poncho under his hands as he held him back in the sluicing rain that night they watched one kid lose his mind and another get shot in the most senseless way, and the futility of it all really crashed down on their shoulders. The sensation made him want to grip the shirt Eugene was wearing now, just to be sure they were both really here. They'd both really made it.]

Date: 2016-08-19 03:42 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[He was about to answer that joke as Eugene handed him the tumbler of whiskey, but the second statement startled him so badly that the planned response slipped right out of his mind. "More than a few days" could mean anything - it could mean a week, or a month. So why did it feel so much like Eugene was suggesting relocation?

That was the dumbest thought he'd ever had, but he couldn't shake it.]


Like how long?

Date: 2016-08-19 04:11 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[By contrast, Snafu hadn't touched his drink yet. He was right about Eugene's offer, and it was huge, and he wasn't sure how to respond. The honest truth was that he didn't have a damn thing to go back to but odd jobs, because he'd never been able to stay in any kind of employment for long. As for friends and loved ones... he'd been driven here to face the shame of how he allowed them to part because he felt so isolated, which said all that he felt needed to be said about that.]

Nothin'. [It was his turn to look into his glass, swirling it slightly.] But I dunno what I'd make of myself here, neither. What kinda luck'd I have in Mobile if I couldn't make it in New Orleans?

Date: 2016-08-19 04:26 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[Snafu didn't even have time to get caught up in stupid pride over Eugene's suggestion, because the open-ended statement that came next made him so curious. "Then we -" what? Where had that come from? It didn't appear that Snafu would be finding out, because now Eugene was looking to him.]

Buy a nice house with a white picket fence? [He didn't know either, of course he didn't, so of course he filled the space with a joke.]

Date: 2016-08-19 04:32 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[He burst out laughing when Eugene appeared to take him seriously just for that split second, even though it was a very vulnerable moment that probably deserved respect. More than anything, though, he just sounded startled.]

I ain't livin' with you, Eugene, don't matter how comfortable it'd be. I didn't come here to ruin your reputation.

[It seemed as though he wasn't all that concerned about his own.]

Date: 2016-08-19 04:46 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[Lord, but he was sweet sometimes. So goddamn earnest that Snafu didn't know how they could stand one another, they were such complete opposites. How had they even become close? Sheer bullheaded persistence on his own part, but how had Eugene ever warmed to him in turn?]

Then I'm here. [He agreed softly, his voice wavering and something breaking apart and shattering behind his eyes.] It's so fuckin' good to see you again, Eugene...

Date: 2016-08-19 05:01 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[If asked directly, Snafu would've told Eugene to fuck off with his hugs; when faced with the direct action, he clung to Eugene like a life raft in a stormy ocean, his whole body trembling. Never mind being tied to someone or someplace, he hadn't even gotten that kind of frank physical affection much in his life. Sex, sure, but it was a whole other matter: this was both innocent and so much deeper, and it made Snafu's heart wrench painfully in his chest.

When he pulled back, he found he couldn't quite let go, and just wound up staring into Eugene's dark eyes for several long, breathless seconds. Then his own eyes darted back and forth, up and down, trying to take in as much of Eugene's face as he could without blinking. Put together a composite in his mind of all the pieces at this close angle.

He still hadn't moved. But then Eugene's plea rose back to the forefront of his mind, and he nodded weakly.]


Promise.

=

Date: 2016-08-19 05:20 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
Hey...

[Nothing tended to pull Snafu out of his own emotions but someone else having it worse, especially if it was someone in whom he had some investment. When one of his boys wasn't just sloppy or stupid but looked like a few screws had come loose, Snafu would reassure him in soft, comforting words. You're okay. You're okay.

And he did that for Eugene now, pulling him close again with an arm around his lower back, the other lifting so that he could comb soothing fingers through Eugene's hair. So soft when it wasn't clotted with mud or worse, so glossy; Snafu might've been envious if he wasn't too taken with the feel of it slipping through his fingers.]


You're okay, Sledge. You always been the most okay outta us, no crackin' up now or we'll be together in the loony bin. And I definitely ain't got nothin' so important goin' on that I can't stick around to make sure that never happens.

[Now he wasn't even sure why his near-compulsive joking had returned. Eugene was just crumpled against him and utterly vulnerable, and it made Snafu ache to comfort him in much less welcome ways. Best to keep stroking his back in brisk circles, stroking his hair more gently, until he calmed down.]

Date: 2016-08-19 05:49 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
Crazy leadin' the crazy to sanity. [Before it could seem like Snafu's statement was too sharply mocking, he grinned and raised his glass.] I'll drink to that.

[Then plans started firing out from nowhere again, family dinners and being put up in this first class home and receiving some kind of personal attention from Eugene's dad - it all sounded smothering, and like a recipe for disaster. Here was a good family full of good people who created an exemplary son, and their new house guest was... Snafu.]

You sure? [His voice sounded as much nervous as incredulous.] I got a place for tonight, yeah, but - livin' here after? They don't know me. And it ain't gonna get any better when they do, know what I mean?

Date: 2016-08-19 06:11 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
The people I can behave myself with don't even take a whole hand to count off. [He pulled a little face at Eugene, because surely he knew that, but then:] Never tried much neither, but I could. Try. S'worth it.

[Another startled laugh leaves him at that news, and he shakes his head in charmed disbelief.]

When they was handin' out Southern manners, either someone passed over Louisiana or just all the folks I knew. 'Course I'll stay for dinner, I ain't startin' all this off by turnin' down dinner.

Date: 2016-08-19 07:11 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
Don't you try to make it sound like anything you got here can beat creole cookin'. Can't nothin' beat good, down home creole cookin'. [He smiled, obviously the most relaxed he'd been since he arrived, and cocked his head almost affectionately at Eugene.] They won't be none the wiser, though, don't you worry. I can manage at least that much charm.

[After that, he had to pause for a deep breath, though. They were talking very serious matters here: moving in with the Sledge family, into a lavish house with staff and every amenity, and Eugene always under the same roof. Even for someone as reckless as him, it made his head spin - or because of that, because it was so much settling in at once.

Even after their long hug, Snafu still felt an urge to make contact with Eugene, just as an anchor in the storm. He settled for something not too affectionate: a hand on Eugene's shoulder, a light squeeze of his fingers, which could be nothing more than thanks.]


Thank you, Eugene. [There was another of those starkly honest expressions on Snafu's face, gratitude etched into every single line.] I never came here thinkin' - I mean, it weren't for all this - but thank you.

Date: 2016-08-19 07:25 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[This was where Snafu should've started making all kinds of half-joking, lavish plans for their trip to New Orleans, but he was once again struck dumb by the simple beauty of Eugene's words. I care... if you're around. It meant he wanted Snafu around, and suffered when he wasn't there. That much had been made clear already, but not in such a concise gut-punch of a statement.

Snafu's hand was still on Eugene's shoulder, and he used it to pull him closer, setting down his own drink so that he could - well, he didn't really know what he was going to do yet. He lifted a tentative hand toward Eugene's hair, then shifted its trajectory down to his jawline, brushing his fingertips from earlobe to chin. Both the touch and the hold were tender, but this time Snafu looked starkly afraid, and he let go and took a step back a moment later.]


This whiskey's too fine to be wasted. [He picked up his glass again and grinned, taking his turn to empty it with a couple of swallows.]

Date: 2016-08-19 07:51 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] orthodontia
[The soft, conflicted way Eugene said his name, and then said nothing else, left Snafu with no idea how to handle his moment of weakness. He'd tried to divert attention, given Eugene an out, but now the other man was just watching him all the more intently and his hands were starting to shake under the scrutiny.

A perfect life was unfurling in front of Snafu. He couldn't fuck it up now because of old feelings, attractions, lust, that were probably 50% lack of outside selection and 50% romantic imprinting on any real bond he could make. So why, if that were the case, did he zero right in on Eugene from the moment he saw him and sink his teeth in until Eugene not longer tried to shake him off? Why was he back here now, like Eugene asked right off the bat?]


Eugene, you ever - [The distance Snafu had placed between them closed right up again, but he didn't touch this time; his eyes kept dancing back and forth between Eugene's eyes and mouth, though, and he licked his own lower lip like a nervous tic every time he paused.] - I mean, we all - we're brothers out there, ain't no one you'd wish a bullet through - but - you ever had someone who - meant more?

[There was no recovering from this. Even Eugene would have to guess what and who he meant. If it wasn't welcome, his entire new life plan would disappear.]

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Eugene B. "Sledgehammer" Sledge

August 2025

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