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!Joe Flanigan (![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} dr_dolittle) wrote,@ 2008-06-08 14:15:00 |
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Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett. Moving in, telling secrets.
[Back in 2000. Crossposted togeekshop]
[Some time after David comes over to Joe's for dinner, once they've been dating for awhile.]
"Are you sure I'm not allowed to carry any of the computer equipment?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure. I'm doing okay."
"You're going to fall over. Max is very concerned," Joe warns him. "I won't drop anything. I promise."
"Well... I guess you can carry this little box..."
Joe looks at the box. "It's the mouse, isn't it? You only trust me to carry the mouse? Your mouse has its own box?"
"There's a few wires in there, too," David says, nose in the air.
A deep and dramatic sigh comes from Joe.
"Love you," David says, grinning as he leans in, kisses Joe's scruffy cheek, and heads up into the house.
Both of their cars are in the driveway, filled with David's things. There's a giddy sort of feeling in his belly--moving in with Joe. Dear God. This isn't just a thing anymore. It's important. It's his life.
Pixel's up on the top of the stairs, surveying her new domain and Max is dancing around the front hallway. Wanna help! Let me help! Oh, I can help!
"Thanks, Max, but all the same, we really don't need the assistance," Joe says automatically, carrying his sad little box with nothing but the mouse--and some wires--in it into the house. "Besides, if David won't let me help...."
SOMEONE is just insecure because the other dogs are bigger than he is. Templeton's climbing up David's duffel bag in hopes of somehow getting inside.
That's... that's mean! Max's ever-active tail droops and he sits down and looks forlorn.
"Templeton!" Joe's free hand goes to his hip, then he looks over at David, biting his lip. He's put this off about as long as he can justify doing it, and he's already slipping. "Uh... hey, can we take a break? I need to talk to you about something."
Templeton lifts his head and fixes his beady eyes on Joe. You're no fun sometimes.
"Oh, it's okay--he'll never get into that bag in a million years." David puts down the box he's carrying, then closes the front door. "Of course we can talk. What's up?"
"It's..." Joe squirms in place, not really sure how to start. "I... see... there's this thing."
"Okay..." David steps closer, frowning. "What is it?"
"See... I forgot to tell you something, and now that you're moving in, I really should. C'mere," he says, reaching out for David's hand and pulling him toward the stairs, taking a seat, and trying not to look nervous, which just makes him look more nervous.
David sits down with Joe, not letting go of his hand. "What did you forget?"
Okay. This should be easy. "David. I talk to animals."
"I know." David smiles, leaning back against the wall. "It's adorable."
"No, no, no. I mean... yes, I do, but... I know what they're saying when I talk to them," Joe explains.
David blinks a few times.
"I can talk to animals. And they talk back," he says, even slower.
Then David smiles slowly. "Of course they do."
Joe sighs. "You're going to call the funny farm people as soon as I turn my back, aren't you?"
The blinking again. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Yes! Since when has my sense of humour been this dry? I'm not subtle, David," Joe points out.
"You can talk to animals."
"Everyone can talk to animals. You talk to animals. But when animals talk to me, I know what they're saying. Or, well, sometimes it's what they're thinking," Joe corrects. "Most of the time, really. By the time they get to actually vocalizing, it's pretty repetitive."
David frowns. "That's..."
"Insane?"
"That's... that just..."
Joe leans on his hand and waits for David to come up with the right word.
"Wow. Joe, that makes things make so much sense."
It's Joe's turn to blink at David a few times. "Huh?"
"All this time... everything makes sense now. The way you are with them. Fable, and Pixel and Max, and your menagerie and... yeah."
"Holy shit, you actually believe me. You... I don't have to prove it to you or anything?" Joe looks stunned.
"Well, I'm not entirely certain how you'd prove it, exactly. But it's just... wait here." David gets up and rifles through his stuff, eventually extracting one of his laptops. He knows the battery's dead on this one, and he hands it over to Joe. "Turn it on," he says.
Joe's pretty sure he could at least present a compelling argument, but for now, he's distracted by the laptop. Especially because he's not generally encouraged to touch David's computers. "Uh... okay," he says, hitting the button gingerly, then frowning when it doesn't turn on and hitting it again. Then one more time. "I didn't break it!"
"The battery's dead," David replies as he sits down next to Joe. Then he places his hand on the keyboard, and in a moment, the laptop fires to life. "All my life, my parents told me the same thing," he says, quietly. "Tell no one. Tell no one."
"Oh my God," Joe murmurs, watching the laptop turn on. "Oh my... you un-broke my cell phone. But not by fixing it. You did it?"
David nods slowly. "It... doesn't work with everything," he says. "I can't do cars, but if we ever lose the remote for the TV, I can do anything with it just by touching it. I can change radio stations, but I can't pick up signals from far away. Phones, computers, stereos, and such. I was actually able to make my stereo play an MP3 CD before that became mainstream." He moves his hand away and the laptop screen goes black again.
"Wow," Joe murmurs, giving his head a shake. "Your parents told you to tell no one? Mine sent me away from the ranch to boarding school, hoping it was just a phase. So I became a vet. And you became a professional geek."
"Well, this did sort of come in handy a lot," David says. He runs his fingers through Joe's hair, looking thoughtful. "They could see what I could do, and it was amazing, but no one outside of my immediate family knows. Except you now."
"You've never told anyone else, ever until me?" Joe looks at David, moving a bit closer so David doesn't have to reach at all to touch his hair. "Not even your geek squad?"
"They don't know. No one else does. I couldn't... could you imagine if the wrong people found out that I could hack into government systems with my brain?"
Joe winces. "Yeah, fair enough. I can understand why you wouldn't want anyone to know. With me, it's more like a sideshow. Or at worst, they think that I could do things like convince sharks to attack Russian submarines or something. Just because animals and I can understand each other doesn't mean I have control over them. It doesn't mean they have to listen." Joe rolls his eyes and points toward David's bag. "And there's the proof right there. Templeton--leave the damned bag alone!"
Templeton turns slowly to look at Joe, then climbs down the bag and grabs a strap in his teeth, attempting to drag it away. He stops dead when he hears David laughing at him and turns a flinty little ferret glare on him before sticking his nose in the air and stalking away.
"He's a character, isn't he?" David says.
At least I have hair.
"Okay, now that's just not remotely called for," Joe chastised, trying to keep a straight face. "God, he's just such a bastard sometimes. Be glad you can't understand him."
"Your... your ferret's a bastard?"
"Well, technically all animals are bastards since very few of their parents were wed in a legal ceremony and all that--not that I haven't seen a few really crazy dog breeders... but that's beside the point--but yes. He's sarcastic and mean. He's lucky that I love him because he's an utter ass," Joe sighs.
David bites his lip, a smile threatening to break over his face and a laugh wallowing up in his throat. And then he turns Joe towards him, leans in, and kisses him. "I love you."
"I love you too," Joe murmurs back. "So... you're still gonna move in then? Even though I've had deep conversations with Max about just why it is he won't stop eating dog shit, and he's given me logical answers?"
David groans and tilts his head back, covering his face. "Maax!"
Max gets up, hurries over, and puts his chin on David's knee. I love you.
David looks down at him, leans in, and presses a kiss to the top of Max's head. "You silly boy."
I love youuuuu.
"Hey, David?" Joe scritches Max's ears. "He loves you. A lot. He just said so."
"I love you too, Max. And I know how much he loves me. Look at those soulful eyes."
I'm the very soul of... soulful. I am! Max's tail starts wagging back and forth on the floor. Now you and me can talk all the time, David! Well, if Joe's here. We really need to talk about the lack of cheese in my life.
It's Joe's turn to lean his head back, cover his face and groan. "Oh shit. I've created a monster."
*
[Back in 2000. Crossposted to
geekshop][Some time after David comes over to Joe's for dinner, once they've been dating for awhile.]
"Are you sure I'm not allowed to carry any of the computer equipment?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure. I'm doing okay."
"You're going to fall over. Max is very concerned," Joe warns him. "I won't drop anything. I promise."
"Well... I guess you can carry this little box..."
Joe looks at the box. "It's the mouse, isn't it? You only trust me to carry the mouse? Your mouse has its own box?"
"There's a few wires in there, too," David says, nose in the air.
A deep and dramatic sigh comes from Joe.
"Love you," David says, grinning as he leans in, kisses Joe's scruffy cheek, and heads up into the house.
Both of their cars are in the driveway, filled with David's things. There's a giddy sort of feeling in his belly--moving in with Joe. Dear God. This isn't just a thing anymore. It's important. It's his life.
Pixel's up on the top of the stairs, surveying her new domain and Max is dancing around the front hallway. Wanna help! Let me help! Oh, I can help!
"Thanks, Max, but all the same, we really don't need the assistance," Joe says automatically, carrying his sad little box with nothing but the mouse--and some wires--in it into the house. "Besides, if David won't let me help...."
SOMEONE is just insecure because the other dogs are bigger than he is. Templeton's climbing up David's duffel bag in hopes of somehow getting inside.
That's... that's mean! Max's ever-active tail droops and he sits down and looks forlorn.
"Templeton!" Joe's free hand goes to his hip, then he looks over at David, biting his lip. He's put this off about as long as he can justify doing it, and he's already slipping. "Uh... hey, can we take a break? I need to talk to you about something."
Templeton lifts his head and fixes his beady eyes on Joe. You're no fun sometimes.
"Oh, it's okay--he'll never get into that bag in a million years." David puts down the box he's carrying, then closes the front door. "Of course we can talk. What's up?"
"It's..." Joe squirms in place, not really sure how to start. "I... see... there's this thing."
"Okay..." David steps closer, frowning. "What is it?"
"See... I forgot to tell you something, and now that you're moving in, I really should. C'mere," he says, reaching out for David's hand and pulling him toward the stairs, taking a seat, and trying not to look nervous, which just makes him look more nervous.
David sits down with Joe, not letting go of his hand. "What did you forget?"
Okay. This should be easy. "David. I talk to animals."
"I know." David smiles, leaning back against the wall. "It's adorable."
"No, no, no. I mean... yes, I do, but... I know what they're saying when I talk to them," Joe explains.
David blinks a few times.
"I can talk to animals. And they talk back," he says, even slower.
Then David smiles slowly. "Of course they do."
Joe sighs. "You're going to call the funny farm people as soon as I turn my back, aren't you?"
The blinking again. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Yes! Since when has my sense of humour been this dry? I'm not subtle, David," Joe points out.
"You can talk to animals."
"Everyone can talk to animals. You talk to animals. But when animals talk to me, I know what they're saying. Or, well, sometimes it's what they're thinking," Joe corrects. "Most of the time, really. By the time they get to actually vocalizing, it's pretty repetitive."
David frowns. "That's..."
"Insane?"
"That's... that just..."
Joe leans on his hand and waits for David to come up with the right word.
"Wow. Joe, that makes things make so much sense."
It's Joe's turn to blink at David a few times. "Huh?"
"All this time... everything makes sense now. The way you are with them. Fable, and Pixel and Max, and your menagerie and... yeah."
"Holy shit, you actually believe me. You... I don't have to prove it to you or anything?" Joe looks stunned.
"Well, I'm not entirely certain how you'd prove it, exactly. But it's just... wait here." David gets up and rifles through his stuff, eventually extracting one of his laptops. He knows the battery's dead on this one, and he hands it over to Joe. "Turn it on," he says.
Joe's pretty sure he could at least present a compelling argument, but for now, he's distracted by the laptop. Especially because he's not generally encouraged to touch David's computers. "Uh... okay," he says, hitting the button gingerly, then frowning when it doesn't turn on and hitting it again. Then one more time. "I didn't break it!"
"The battery's dead," David replies as he sits down next to Joe. Then he places his hand on the keyboard, and in a moment, the laptop fires to life. "All my life, my parents told me the same thing," he says, quietly. "Tell no one. Tell no one."
"Oh my God," Joe murmurs, watching the laptop turn on. "Oh my... you un-broke my cell phone. But not by fixing it. You did it?"
David nods slowly. "It... doesn't work with everything," he says. "I can't do cars, but if we ever lose the remote for the TV, I can do anything with it just by touching it. I can change radio stations, but I can't pick up signals from far away. Phones, computers, stereos, and such. I was actually able to make my stereo play an MP3 CD before that became mainstream." He moves his hand away and the laptop screen goes black again.
"Wow," Joe murmurs, giving his head a shake. "Your parents told you to tell no one? Mine sent me away from the ranch to boarding school, hoping it was just a phase. So I became a vet. And you became a professional geek."
"Well, this did sort of come in handy a lot," David says. He runs his fingers through Joe's hair, looking thoughtful. "They could see what I could do, and it was amazing, but no one outside of my immediate family knows. Except you now."
"You've never told anyone else, ever until me?" Joe looks at David, moving a bit closer so David doesn't have to reach at all to touch his hair. "Not even your geek squad?"
"They don't know. No one else does. I couldn't... could you imagine if the wrong people found out that I could hack into government systems with my brain?"
Joe winces. "Yeah, fair enough. I can understand why you wouldn't want anyone to know. With me, it's more like a sideshow. Or at worst, they think that I could do things like convince sharks to attack Russian submarines or something. Just because animals and I can understand each other doesn't mean I have control over them. It doesn't mean they have to listen." Joe rolls his eyes and points toward David's bag. "And there's the proof right there. Templeton--leave the damned bag alone!"
Templeton turns slowly to look at Joe, then climbs down the bag and grabs a strap in his teeth, attempting to drag it away. He stops dead when he hears David laughing at him and turns a flinty little ferret glare on him before sticking his nose in the air and stalking away.
"He's a character, isn't he?" David says.
At least I have hair.
"Okay, now that's just not remotely called for," Joe chastised, trying to keep a straight face. "God, he's just such a bastard sometimes. Be glad you can't understand him."
"Your... your ferret's a bastard?"
"Well, technically all animals are bastards since very few of their parents were wed in a legal ceremony and all that--not that I haven't seen a few really crazy dog breeders... but that's beside the point--but yes. He's sarcastic and mean. He's lucky that I love him because he's an utter ass," Joe sighs.
David bites his lip, a smile threatening to break over his face and a laugh wallowing up in his throat. And then he turns Joe towards him, leans in, and kisses him. "I love you."
"I love you too," Joe murmurs back. "So... you're still gonna move in then? Even though I've had deep conversations with Max about just why it is he won't stop eating dog shit, and he's given me logical answers?"
David groans and tilts his head back, covering his face. "Maax!"
Max gets up, hurries over, and puts his chin on David's knee. I love you.
David looks down at him, leans in, and presses a kiss to the top of Max's head. "You silly boy."
I love youuuuu.
"Hey, David?" Joe scritches Max's ears. "He loves you. A lot. He just said so."
"I love you too, Max. And I know how much he loves me. Look at those soulful eyes."
I'm the very soul of... soulful. I am! Max's tail starts wagging back and forth on the floor. Now you and me can talk all the time, David! Well, if Joe's here. We really need to talk about the lack of cheese in my life.
It's Joe's turn to lean his head back, cover his face and groan. "Oh shit. I've created a monster."
