required reading || aaron & stephen 

aaronchapman:

“Really, and what do you do there?” Aaron appreciated the effort, even if Stephen winced after asking. There wasn’t really much you could do to avoid the topic, but at least he hadn’t outright tried to rub the article in his face. He tried to think of a non-awkward way to get into his job description—Well, I don’t sit around bitching about how much I hate everything, unlike your paper says—but he was saved from explaining when Stephen continued.

Stephen’s next words shocked Aaron enough to loosen him up a bit. “I was really surprised when saw it got printed.” That was a bit of a risky statement, especially if Suzanne was well-known enough to get a front page article full of bold-faced lies.

“Thanks,” Aaron said, nodding. He shouldn’t talk about this—especially with someone who worked for the paper. Maybe it was paranoid on his part to suspect that more people would screw him over, but if he’d been a little paranoid before this, maybe he wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. So he passed over any impulses to get defensive, and instead smiled awkwardly and asked, “I guess the Sentinel has some open fact-checking positions, huh?”

“I guess the Sentinel has some open fact-checking positions, huh?”

“I guess so,” Stephen agreed wryly, “But really, it should have gotten checked out before it was allowed anywhere close to being printed, I’m not sure how that happened,”

Actually, now that he thought about it, he probably shouldn’t be discussing it, especially not with the person it had effected. He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Anyway, I hope it didn’t do too much damage, really,” he shifted the books in his good arms, and tried for a smile, “I won’t try to excuse what Suzanne did, but I hope her desire for an…interesting..story didn’t hurt you or your job too badly,”

He wouldn’t apologize for her, because she should do that herself, but he hoped he was getting the point across that not everyone at the paper agreed with what she had done. 

Yield Sign | Luke & Stephen 

luke-holt:

“I’m into you,” Luke said, a little more softly than he normally would have. He was into Stephen, found his mouth and his body and his inexpertise utterly charming in a sort of weird way, but he just wasn’t into him at that exact moment in time. He couldn’t even get it up. He tugged his hand out of his pants, frowning slightly at himself before looking back at Stephen, who was still watching him, mostly naked. What the fuck was wrong with him? He’d never cockblocked himself before. “Just… not right now.”

He tried to keep from looking as utterly fucked up as he currently felt, leaning against the desk and looking at Stephen. It was the virginity that was an issue. Luke felt sick at the idea of taking someone else’s virginity in much the same way he’d had his taken, and as brutal of a person he could be, he couldn’t do this to someone else.

“Come back here when you’re not a virgin,” he said slowly. “I’ll be happy to fuck you then.”

Stephen couldn’t help the startled laugh he let out, scrambling to stand and start dressing again. “You’re serious?” he said, disbelieving, “That’s-” ‘ridiculous’, he wanted to say, but was stopped by the look on Luke’s face. He looked wrecked, like he was going to throw up, and Stephen was pretty sure it wasn’t actually his fault. 

He tugged down the bottom of his shirt and took a hesitant step in Luke’s direction, “Look, it’s whatever,” he said awkwardly, “This whole this is kind of” extremely “um, unexpected, and I didn’t have any expectations anyway so, you know, it’s fine,” God he was bad at this. It would help if he knew what was wrong.

“I’ll just go then,” he said awkwardly, not sure what someone was supposed to do in this situation, did they shake hands? “If you um, change your mind about being in the article, just give me a call.” He reached for his wallet and pulled out one of the Newspapers business cards, one that had his extension penciled in. He started to hand it to Luke and then stopped and put it next to him on the desk instead.

Can you play? // Christy & Stephen 

christyrossi:

Eyeing the man up and down quickly, Christy folded her arms across her chest. Now, what? He’d gotten her up bursting her little bubble (though unintentionally, and unknowingly), and she was of no mind to turn back home. Raising an eyebrow to improve (or what one would call it) her scowl, Christy scraped aimlessly with her shoe at the ground. 

“Or one that isn’t an asshole,” she muttered perfectly audibly. “I don’t suppose you can play?” she shot the question at him very sharply, though sarcastically. The man was obviously on his way somewhere, but if he could play, maybe she could persuade him… even if gaining friends wasn’t one of her stronger sides, she ought to try. “You don’t seem like much of an asshole, and here you are.”
Still scowling, she surveyed him more gently, relaxing her face a little. No. She was absolutely horrible persuading people, most of all handsome strangers.
“And you…,” oh shit, what are words? “… you don’t seem like a guy who listens to… horrible mainstream music.”

This was going absolutely and perfectly straight down to hell. Christy’s scowl intensified, and she lowered her gaze somewhat, angry at herself, though seemingly not displaying any signs of embarrassment. This was a bad idea.
“Or, whatever. You probably have somewhere to be, so better scurry away,” she said irritably, trying to feign indifference but failing horribly, and avoiding his gaze completely. Just leave, I’ll go sit down in the park and waste my day there. At least people won’t try to put money in my fucking guitar. She wanted to smash that god damn guitar, right there and then. It had been a mistake trusting that stupid musician-wannabe, it had been a mistake to think that something might’ve happened, and it was a mistake she hadn’t scared the man in front of her away when she had the chance. Finally scowling at him, Christy tried to maintain her anger.

 “You don’t seem like much of an asshole, and here you are.”

“Well thanks,” he said, grinning and ignoring her sharp tone. It didn’t seem to be personal, “I wish I could help you out. The only thing I know how to play is the recorder though. And only kiddie songs,” he smiled sheepishly, he still had that recorder from grade school actually, and probably the sheet music too.

“… you don’t seem like a guy who listens to… horrible mainstream music.”

“I don’t know about that,” he admitted, “I listen to my CD’s mostly, from uh…high school,” he shrugged, “Plus my parents old record player, but I don’t get it out much, but I have a lot of their old vinyls,”  Not that it mattered, and why was he rambling about his parents music, especially to someone who already seemed irritated just by his general presence. 

“Or, whatever. You probably have somewhere to be, so better scurry away,” 

And now she was pissed again. Had people always been this easily annoyed by him? God. “Right,” he said, gesturing vaguely towards the store, “I was just, um, shopping. I should probably go do that,” He hesitated though, not wanting to seem like he was running away. Although it wasn’t a bad idea. “Listen, if you’re looking for a guitar teacher, a legitimate one, you might consider putting an ad in the paper? That way you can screen whoever responds.”  

Sorry about how much I suck! 

Okay, sorry about my (whoops) 1 month period of inactivity x_x

I wish I had a good reason, but I really don’t. So um…sorry

I’m starting on the replies to everyone now.

Yield Sign | Luke & Stephen 

luke-holt:

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Yield Sign | Luke & Stephen 

luke-holt:

Luke wasn’t.

Luke was remembering how it felt to have sex with a stranger. How it felt to have a man who was almost-anonymous touch him in a way no one else ever had. The way his legs had burned for days, how his stomach had churned when someone he knew spoke to him like he wasn’t filthy. Luke knew how it felt and he knew how it hurt and he knew that he couldn’t foist it on someone else without being sick or depraved or fucked up.

But Stephen was asking, and Luke would provide, however fucked in the mind he felt.

“On all fours,” Luke said, pushing Stephen back and slipping past him into the office, grabbing a condom that he’d taken from the health center the day before and looking around for a suitable substitute for lube. There was Vaseline in the first aid kit and Luke picked it up, twisting off the lid and checking it was still usable before making his way back out to Stephen, watching him. “Take off your pants and get on all fours. It’ll hurt less this way.”

Holy shit. This was happening. He was about to have sex, finally. Not that it had been something he’d been particularly worried about before, but suddenly it seemed like a huge deal. He watched as Luke came back with a jar of something in his hands and flushed bright red when he realized what it was. Of course.

“Right, okay,” he said to Luke’s command, reaching up to take off his shirt first. He’d feel silly leaving it on. He was reaching to undo his pants again when he really paid attention to the expression on Luke’s face. He didn’t look angry, exactly, but he didn’t look all that excited either.

He took of his pants and paused when he got to his boxers, kneeling on his discarded clothes like Luke had asked, although not quite on all fours yet. “Are you sure you want to?” Stephen asked hesitantly, suddenly aware that while they’d established that Stephen wanted it, the same couldn’t be said of Luke.

Yield Sign | Luke & Stephen 

luke-holt:

 It was the way Stephen looked at Luke that made him sick. There was something in his eyes, something small and dark and unwanted, that told Luke that Stephen was just as scared of being unwanted as Luke was. And Luke had acted like he was something disgusting, something terrible, but what the hell was he supposed to do when there were voices speaking that he knew weren’t actually there? He couldn’t just say ‘look, man, sorry, but I smell flowers and I hear people and they make me feel like I can’t fuck you’. It was an excuse and a damn poor one and he couldn’t leave this guy hanging.

He took a wary step forward, taking Stephen’s face in his hands and staring at him intently. This wasn’t him. This wasn’t him. Luke Holt was not a gentle man, not someone who took others into account very often at all. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t push Stephen out of the garage like a normal anonymous fuck and leave him to walk around like nothing had happened, because for Stephen, it was clear that this had been a lot.

“Fuck, man, it’s not you,” he said, leaning in and kissing him slowly on the mouth. It was gentle and slow and fucking tender and Luke didn’t know what he was doing in the slightest. “I just… fuck. I don’t… you’re a virgin. I can’t do this to you.”

He could have.

Sawyer was fucking him up.

Sawyer was making him imagine things, forcing him into weird ways of acting. He’d been weird with Bryce the day before and here he was being weird with Stephen, who probably had the tightest fucking ass in the entire town. “If you want to leave, go ahead. But if you’re one hundred percent sure that you want me to fuck you, then tell me.”

Stephen had spent the last two weeks feeling confused and awkward and he was really starting to hate it. But he couldn’t in all honesty say he missed the way his life had been before: boring, routine, meaningless. He could barely say he even remembered it. But this was one of the times when being confused was anything but exciting. He was tired of people not knowing what they wanted from him. It was exhausting and he was starting to realize why he’d avoided people all this time. But he still didn’t want to take it back.

First Luke is kicking him out, then he’s kissing him. Slower and softer than anything else they’d done, and it sent a little thrill through Stephen. He didn’t even care that Luke knew he was a virgin. It was probably obvious anyway, and it hadn’t bothered Luke a few minutes ago. He wondered what had changed.

He appreciated the out, he really did. Because he wasn’t completely sure, he’d known this guy for less than a day after all, hadn’t touched anyone else in over ten years. But it was probably the concern for him that one Stephen over, strange as that was. If Luke hadn’t kissed him like that, or looked at him like he was now, Stephen might have walked out.

“I’m sure,”

Yield Sign | Luke & Stephen 

luke-holt:

Stephen zoned out, giving Luke plenty of time to rack his mind for the feeling that was bubbling up in his chest. He wasn’t really angry for once- at least not angrier than he normally was- and he wasn’t sad either. He couldn’t really place what he was feeling, exactly; he’d probably felt it before, but not as intensely as he was feeling it now. It nearly fucking hurt. What the fuck was it?

It hit him like a fastball from left field, a metaphor that Luke wasn’t quite sure of seeing as he’d never been a baseball fan. Where had that even come from? He was beginning to feel a little dizzy again, a slight feeling of nausea coming over him, and then…

Orchids.

Orchids, like the smell at the doctor’s the day before.

Orchids, like his mother’s perfume.

Like something he couldn’t place.

“I’m a virgin,” a voice said from somewhere nearby. It wasn’t Stephen. The accent was something he didn’t recognize, something foreign and reminiscent of sweltering hot summers. “I’ve never done this before.”

A different voice chimed in. “I won’t hurt you, I swear.” It was a movie star voice, deep and kind of charming. Luke didn’t know it, either. “I promise you.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Two voices, then, the summer one and Stephen’s.

Luke came back to find the smell of orchids lingering and his erection dwindling. He swallowed and got to his feet, placing the emotion in his chest. It was guilt, plain and simple. Guilt that he’d done this to this guy. Guilt that he’d been the person to touch a man he didn’t know, a virgin he didn’t know, and make him break. Guilt like nothing he’d felt before. “Get out,” Luke said, swallowing. “Jesus Christ, I’m sorry. Get out.”

Stephen jolted when Luke stood up, scrambling to his feet after him. Sorry? What was Luke sorry for? He hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I, I’m sorry,” Stephen said, confused, “Did I do something wrong?”

He realized he was standing there with his pants still open, half-hard, and flushed, quickly doing up his pants again. “I mean I’ll leave if you want,” he hurried on, “I just wondered if I did something wrong, I didn’t mean too,”

Jesus Christ. He’d talked to like two new people in years and hadn’t managed to have a single successful meeting with either of them. He thought he’d been doing what Luke wanted?

Yield Sign | Luke & Stephen 

luke-holt:

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Yield Sign | Luke & Stephen 

luke-holt:

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