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Fic: One Blue Day -- Michael/Ben - 1/1
Title: One Blue Day
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
suki_blue
Fandom: Queer As Folk (US)
Pairing: Michael/Ben
Genre: Fluff, H/C, Romance
Rating: R for some terrible language
Summary: Michael misses his daughter.
Author's Notes: Post season 5 (just). The setting and character situations are all canon with one notable exception. This is because I like to fix things ;o)
Beta'd byamejisuto
This fic is dedicated toforeverbm because she has a generous heart and a kind soul.
Michael glanced around him. It was always obvious when his mother was working double shifts at the diner. He was actually able to find things. For instance, he knew exactly where his three latest invoices were: next to the cash register, folded up in the Spiderman letter rack behind his chair and … uh …
‘Ben, have you seen an invoice anywhere?’
Ben’s voice floated from the back of the shop where he was pretending to mark essays. ‘Next to the cash register.’
‘No, the other one.’
‘Is it in the Spider—’
‘No.’ Michael pulled out a can of Pledge from under the counter and sprayed a light mist over the surface and a stray Nightwing figurine he’d forgotten to move. ‘Shit.’
That was another sign his mother had been absent of late. Dust. Everywhere. Ben was the duster at home and so was Hunter when either his arm was twisted or he was paid enough. Michael hated dusting. It got up his nose and made him sneeze. That wouldn’t be so bad if he was capable of sneezing like a normal person instead of the weird high-pitched ‘Chi!’ he emitted. It was almost as embarrassing as his mother’s enormous ‘Ashwa!’. Leopards can’t change their spots and Novotnys can’t change their sneezes.
Michael wiped the cloth over the little cast iron figure and put it safely on the shelf behind him, then he swept the duster over the counter in a huge arc.
Business was slow today, which was fine because Michael didn’t feel much like discussing comics. Tony Stark could keep his drinking problems, Batman could brood as much as he liked, Midnighter and Apollo could screw like bunnies and the Penguin could go fuck himself with his own umbrella
Fuck them. Fuck them all. Fuck everyone.
Michael scrunched the duster in his hand and felt like lobbing the can of pledge through the window. But he didn’t, even though it was tempting because dealing with a broken window and trying to explain to Ben that he wasn’t going out of his mind was better than thinking about life without his daughter.
Instead Michael decided it was time to change the display racks. The old X-men stuff wasn’t selling well this month, but suddenly everyone wanted Wonder Woman, so Michael quickly finished dusting the counter and went out back to sort through the extra Wonder Woman comics he’d ordered at the end of last week.
Canada wasn’t that far away. Or so everyone kept telling him, which was really fucking helpful when actually it took much more than a short bike-ride to get there. How could it be not that far away when he needed cover for the store and a fucking plane ticket to get there?
‘I miss her, too,’ Ben said, and Michael felt Ben’s strong arms fold around him.
They stood there like that for a long time, in the middle of the store, Ben pressed against his back, the only sound the loud, continuous tick from the Thor wall clock.
‘If you want to go, you know I’ll be right there with you.’
Michael nodded. ‘Yeah, I know. We should. Go. And soon, or before we know it’ll she’ll have taken her driving test. Maybe next month. I’m sure I could convince Justin to watch the store if he’s not gallivanting around New York that weekend.’
He felt Ben tighten his grip. It was almost like being held in a giant iron clamp, like he was a small plushie about to be lifted away from all the other small and crowded plushies.
‘I meant go permanently,’ Ben said.
Michael tried to concentrate on breathing, because if he held his breath now he was sure Ben would coil and constrict him. Most moments passed by, they flowed, passages of time that you barely noticed, but this was as though time had stopped and Michael could clearly feel, even if he couldn’t actually see, the two paths ahead. It was like the future had suddenly fractured and now he had to make a choice or fall through into oblivion.
Ben placed a light kiss on Michael’s jaw. ‘I would come with you.’
Michael had no doubts about that, and he suddenly realised he’d always known that Ben would follow him anywhere, just as he would follow Ben if he asked.
He was suddenly reminded of David and how he’d trailed along after him like a Chihuahua after a nice juicy ankle, doing whatever he wanted and going wherever he asked. But now he was the ankle, but Ben wasn’t a Chihuahua. He was a Great Dane or a Mastiff or—
‘Michael?’
Michael turned in Ben’s arms, which actually was a miracle considering the tightness of his embrace. He could feel his husband’s tension as obviously as he could feel his own. ‘Sorry, drifted.’
‘I mean it. We would go together.’
Michael shook his head. ‘Hunter. I couldn’t do that to him, not now he’s settled.’
Ben shook his head back. ‘We already discussed it. He’s happy to go. Apparently, Canada is much cooler than “crappy Pittsburgh”.’
The two choices became clearer still. Stay or go. Easy. Pick one.
He’d spent his life rolling from one situation to the next, from one person to another, batted around like destiny was a giant tom cat and he was a little bouncy ball. Now the cat had gone to pee and Michael had stopped rolling long enough to get his bearings and realise he was free. Brian had Justin, his mother had Horvath, Ted had Blake, and even Em was having the time of his life with a hot sailor boy from Nova Scotia. Everyone was happy.
He was happy.
He just missed his daughter
‘She’s only been gone a few weeks,’ Michael said, and finally met Ben’s completely focused gaze. ‘It feels like years.’
Ben nodded, but he needn’t have even done that because Michael knew he felt the same, that he felt the loss of JR as painfully as he did. Ben was JR’s father, too, even if he wasn’t related by blood. It didn’t matter because you couldn’t always trust blood, but you could trust the warm embrace of a man you loved and the kiss of a man you never in your wildest dreams thought could love you back.
‘Just say the word,’ Ben said.
They wrapped themselves around each other, and Michael breathed in the scent of soap, fabric conditioner and Ben. He put his head down on his shoulder and closed his eyes, and Ben’s hand stroked up and down his back.
‘You didn’t happen to bring the letter, did you?’
‘Back pocket,’ Ben said, and Michael could hear the smile in his voice.
Michael pulled the envelope from the back of Ben’s jeans and clutched it tightly. It was half torn open from that morning, breakfast at the table. Captain Crunch, toast, protein shake, coffee, juice and a letter from Canada, thick with photographs.
‘We should look at these,’ Michael said.
‘I’ll lock up for a while.’
Michael pulled back and looked down at the envelope in his hands, the one half of JR’s face showing through the ripped paper. He tore open the rest and slid the photographs out just as Ben clicked the lock shut.
She was so beautiful.
‘Just like you,’ Ben said over his shoulder, almost as though he had read Michael’s thoughts, and then added, ‘a drooler.’
Michael swatted him with the photographs.
‘Thanks.’
‘What for?’
Michael gave him a withering look. ‘For being here Marking Student Essays. Sorry, I know I’m a drama queen sometimes.’
Those arms reached around him again, and they both looked down at JR’s face, smiling and wet with spittle and something gooey. Michael looked at the next picture, JR throwing a hissy fit, her expression both annoyed and comical at the same time.
‘Yeah, just like you,’ Ben said, and tightened his hold before Michael could swat him again.
The End.
Author:
suki_blueFandom: Queer As Folk (US)
Pairing: Michael/Ben
Genre: Fluff, H/C, Romance
Rating: R for some terrible language
Summary: Michael misses his daughter.
Author's Notes: Post season 5 (just). The setting and character situations are all canon with one notable exception. This is because I like to fix things ;o)
Beta'd by
amejisutoThis fic is dedicated to
foreverbm because she has a generous heart and a kind soul. Michael glanced around him. It was always obvious when his mother was working double shifts at the diner. He was actually able to find things. For instance, he knew exactly where his three latest invoices were: next to the cash register, folded up in the Spiderman letter rack behind his chair and … uh …
‘Ben, have you seen an invoice anywhere?’
Ben’s voice floated from the back of the shop where he was pretending to mark essays. ‘Next to the cash register.’
‘No, the other one.’
‘Is it in the Spider—’
‘No.’ Michael pulled out a can of Pledge from under the counter and sprayed a light mist over the surface and a stray Nightwing figurine he’d forgotten to move. ‘Shit.’
That was another sign his mother had been absent of late. Dust. Everywhere. Ben was the duster at home and so was Hunter when either his arm was twisted or he was paid enough. Michael hated dusting. It got up his nose and made him sneeze. That wouldn’t be so bad if he was capable of sneezing like a normal person instead of the weird high-pitched ‘Chi!’ he emitted. It was almost as embarrassing as his mother’s enormous ‘Ashwa!’. Leopards can’t change their spots and Novotnys can’t change their sneezes.
Michael wiped the cloth over the little cast iron figure and put it safely on the shelf behind him, then he swept the duster over the counter in a huge arc.
Business was slow today, which was fine because Michael didn’t feel much like discussing comics. Tony Stark could keep his drinking problems, Batman could brood as much as he liked, Midnighter and Apollo could screw like bunnies and the Penguin could go fuck himself with his own umbrella
Fuck them. Fuck them all. Fuck everyone.
Michael scrunched the duster in his hand and felt like lobbing the can of pledge through the window. But he didn’t, even though it was tempting because dealing with a broken window and trying to explain to Ben that he wasn’t going out of his mind was better than thinking about life without his daughter.
Instead Michael decided it was time to change the display racks. The old X-men stuff wasn’t selling well this month, but suddenly everyone wanted Wonder Woman, so Michael quickly finished dusting the counter and went out back to sort through the extra Wonder Woman comics he’d ordered at the end of last week.
Canada wasn’t that far away. Or so everyone kept telling him, which was really fucking helpful when actually it took much more than a short bike-ride to get there. How could it be not that far away when he needed cover for the store and a fucking plane ticket to get there?
‘I miss her, too,’ Ben said, and Michael felt Ben’s strong arms fold around him.
They stood there like that for a long time, in the middle of the store, Ben pressed against his back, the only sound the loud, continuous tick from the Thor wall clock.
‘If you want to go, you know I’ll be right there with you.’
Michael nodded. ‘Yeah, I know. We should. Go. And soon, or before we know it’ll she’ll have taken her driving test. Maybe next month. I’m sure I could convince Justin to watch the store if he’s not gallivanting around New York that weekend.’
He felt Ben tighten his grip. It was almost like being held in a giant iron clamp, like he was a small plushie about to be lifted away from all the other small and crowded plushies.
‘I meant go permanently,’ Ben said.
Michael tried to concentrate on breathing, because if he held his breath now he was sure Ben would coil and constrict him. Most moments passed by, they flowed, passages of time that you barely noticed, but this was as though time had stopped and Michael could clearly feel, even if he couldn’t actually see, the two paths ahead. It was like the future had suddenly fractured and now he had to make a choice or fall through into oblivion.
Ben placed a light kiss on Michael’s jaw. ‘I would come with you.’
Michael had no doubts about that, and he suddenly realised he’d always known that Ben would follow him anywhere, just as he would follow Ben if he asked.
He was suddenly reminded of David and how he’d trailed along after him like a Chihuahua after a nice juicy ankle, doing whatever he wanted and going wherever he asked. But now he was the ankle, but Ben wasn’t a Chihuahua. He was a Great Dane or a Mastiff or—
‘Michael?’
Michael turned in Ben’s arms, which actually was a miracle considering the tightness of his embrace. He could feel his husband’s tension as obviously as he could feel his own. ‘Sorry, drifted.’
‘I mean it. We would go together.’
Michael shook his head. ‘Hunter. I couldn’t do that to him, not now he’s settled.’
Ben shook his head back. ‘We already discussed it. He’s happy to go. Apparently, Canada is much cooler than “crappy Pittsburgh”.’
The two choices became clearer still. Stay or go. Easy. Pick one.
He’d spent his life rolling from one situation to the next, from one person to another, batted around like destiny was a giant tom cat and he was a little bouncy ball. Now the cat had gone to pee and Michael had stopped rolling long enough to get his bearings and realise he was free. Brian had Justin, his mother had Horvath, Ted had Blake, and even Em was having the time of his life with a hot sailor boy from Nova Scotia. Everyone was happy.
He was happy.
He just missed his daughter
‘She’s only been gone a few weeks,’ Michael said, and finally met Ben’s completely focused gaze. ‘It feels like years.’
Ben nodded, but he needn’t have even done that because Michael knew he felt the same, that he felt the loss of JR as painfully as he did. Ben was JR’s father, too, even if he wasn’t related by blood. It didn’t matter because you couldn’t always trust blood, but you could trust the warm embrace of a man you loved and the kiss of a man you never in your wildest dreams thought could love you back.
‘Just say the word,’ Ben said.
They wrapped themselves around each other, and Michael breathed in the scent of soap, fabric conditioner and Ben. He put his head down on his shoulder and closed his eyes, and Ben’s hand stroked up and down his back.
‘You didn’t happen to bring the letter, did you?’
‘Back pocket,’ Ben said, and Michael could hear the smile in his voice.
Michael pulled the envelope from the back of Ben’s jeans and clutched it tightly. It was half torn open from that morning, breakfast at the table. Captain Crunch, toast, protein shake, coffee, juice and a letter from Canada, thick with photographs.
‘We should look at these,’ Michael said.
‘I’ll lock up for a while.’
Michael pulled back and looked down at the envelope in his hands, the one half of JR’s face showing through the ripped paper. He tore open the rest and slid the photographs out just as Ben clicked the lock shut.
She was so beautiful.
‘Just like you,’ Ben said over his shoulder, almost as though he had read Michael’s thoughts, and then added, ‘a drooler.’
Michael swatted him with the photographs.
‘Thanks.’
‘What for?’
Michael gave him a withering look. ‘For being here Marking Student Essays. Sorry, I know I’m a drama queen sometimes.’
Those arms reached around him again, and they both looked down at JR’s face, smiling and wet with spittle and something gooey. Michael looked at the next picture, JR throwing a hissy fit, her expression both annoyed and comical at the same time.
‘Yeah, just like you,’ Ben said, and tightened his hold before Michael could swat him again.
The End.
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LOL!
This was lovely x
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The fic is awesome!!!!
*squishes*
oh, and the end is superb!
♥
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LOL, he's great. I completely adore him. I shall have to write another fic to convince you ;o)
The fic is awesome!!!!
*squishes*
oh, and the end is superb!
Thank you so much!
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This was lovely and thank you so much for the dedication. Your support for me and my writing means so very much to me &hearts
*goes back and reads happy fic again*
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And thank you again for being a wonderful and generous friend.
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Nice fix. ;o)
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Exactly! David and Michael were doomed from the start because David wasn't willing to compromise and be equal.
Nice fix. ;o)
LOL, I just couldn't have Justin going away for ever!!! ~wails~
Thank you, luv!
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~Alice~
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