shelter_diner | Fic: Complex (Ch. 6) (Reply)

Title: Ch. 6 (retitled my entries into chapters)
Characters: Zach, Shaun, Cody
Rating: PG
Spoilers: End of movie
Notes: A little lighter fare. Also, I hope no one minds that I'm not really building anywhere in particular plot-wise with these. I'm usually a much more plot-centered person, but for some reason I just keep writing about their daily lives . . .the entries mostly build on each other for character development purposes.

"This one!" Cody cried while jumping up and down as little boys are wont to do when overly excited. Shaun pulled down the backpack in question with the blue and red race car and added it to their shopping cart, which had quickly gone from essentials to extravagances since Zach had left them alone to find drawing supplies. Cody piled on a few notebooks of multicolored paper just as Zach found them, his own arms full of pens and paper.

"What is this?" Zach asked, eying the colorful cart skeptically. "I don't think all this stuff was on Cody's list."

"Alright, so maybe it wasn't," Shaun said with a smile, "but Cody only gets to start school once."

"I think he has a supply list every year," Zach replied, unconvinced.

Cody latched on to Zach's arm and tugged it a little. "Pretty please can I have it?"

"Yeah," Shaun said, grabbing his other hand with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Pretty please can we have it?"

Cody tugged harder now that he had backup and Zach was forced to admit defeat. "Okay, okay, but let's not make a habit of this. I'm not making that much money . . . and Shaun, when exactly are you going to finish that book that will rake in the dough?"

Shaun dropped Zach's hand and gave him a playful glare. "I'm on it, I'm on it. Just you wait."

They made their way to the checkout with Zach surreptitiously tossing a few of the superfluous items on random shelves throughout the store when Cody wasn't watching. Shaun saw and shook his head as they reached the front. "Told you I wouldn't be good at disciplining. I'm putty in that kid's hands."

"That's alright . . . I kinda like that about you," Zach replied in a somewhat husky voice, and was pleased to find he didn't quite blush as much as he normally did when he let such little affectionate statements slip out. Shaun was evidently pleased as well as he stepped up very close to Zach with the private kind of smile that always made Zach feel a bit weak in the knees, drawing him dangerously close to a kiss.

"Shaun!" The moment was interrupted by a caramel skinned woman with almond eyes in the line next to them. "Shaun! Is that you? You cut your hair!"

Shaun whirled around to face the woman, flashing his public smile. "Ana, how are you?" He pulled away from Zach to greet her with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm good," she replied "But how are you? I haven't heard from you in like months!"

"Yeah, yeah, been busy." Shaun replied, still wearing his smile. He sounded casual but Zach's trained eye could tell he was uncomfortable as he stood there, hands in pockets, eyes glancing around the room occasionally.

Ana's eyes darted over to Zach, and she smiled at him. Shaun took a step back to gesture towards him. "Ana, this is Zach. Zach, Ana."

Ana extended her hand to Zach as her eyes continued to appraise him. Zach suddenly felt very naked, aware that he was being judged. It was the first time that anyone from Shaun's life had met him. Now that he thought of it, they hadn't really seen anyone other than Gabe in the past month as they had both been so caught up in establishing their new lives. Zach felt a surge of guilt as he wondered if he had been keeping Shaun from more than just his writing.

Just then Cody popped up from where he had been squatting in the aisle, examining the candy on display. "Can we get this?" he asked, holding a snickers bar.

Zach tore his eyes away from Ana and Shaun and placed his hand on Cody's shoulder. "No, Cody. We didn't come here for candy. We came to get your stuff for school, remember?"

Cody stuck out his lower lip, then tried a new tactic. Turning to Shaun he smiled sweetly and said, "Shaun, can we get this?"

Zach watched Ana's almond eyes grow round and wished he could catch Shaun's expression. Shaun reached out to tousle Cody's hair. "Listen to him, buddy."

"Well, my line's moving, so I'd better get going," Ana said a little too quickly. "But you need to call me. We have a lot to catch up on, it seems," she said, giving Zach and Cody one more glance. "A lot."

Shaun returned to Zach's side as they shifted up the line to pay. He didn't say anything at first, but became aware that Zach's eyes were staring at him questioningly.

"Friend from college," he finally said as he took out his credit card. "Haven't seen her in a little while."

Zach bit his lip, wanting to press for more information, but it didn't seem like the right time with Cody there. He wondered how close a friend Ana was, and why it seemed that she had no idea that he existed.

***

Shaun was lying in bed that night with his laptop, but he quickly put it away as Zach entered after putting Cody to bed.

"You can keep working, you know," Zach said as he stripped off his shirt and unbuckled his belt, letting his baggy pants slide down his legs.

"Nah, I like this view much better," Shaun teased, but he didn't receive a customary smile or blush in response. "Something wrong?"

Zach paused for a moment as he kicked off his pants, reaching down to grab the pile of clothes and put them in the hamper. He gathered Shaun's shirt and pants off the floor as well.

"How come we never see your friends?" he asked when he was done. "Do you not want them to know about me and Cody because they'll think it happened too fast?"

"If I could write half as quickly as you leap to conclusions I'd have a few books done by now,” Shaun responded.

Zach sank down on the bed and quickly covered himself with the sheet. "You know just once we could have a conversation without all the sarcasm."

"I thought you liked my wit," Shaun smirked, still trying to alter Zach's mood.

Zach crossed his arms and glared. "You haven't told anyone about us, have you. What, are you ashamed of me?"

"Babe, you may be my world, but not everything is about you," Shaun said in his same lightly mocking tone.

Zach threw up his hands with a disgusted snort and rolled over on his side to face the wall. After a few minutes he felt Shaun's arm snake up around his ribs. He tried to bat it away but was unsuccessful, and Shaun jerked him over so that he was lying on his back again. "Hey, I'm sorry," Shaun said, and there was uncharacteristic vulnerability in his eyes that caught Zach's attention. He stared back at Shaun, hoping for more of an explanation.

Shaun sighed. "A lot of my friends were or became mutual friends," he left the 'of my ex's' part unspoken. "It kinda happens when you live with a guy for a few years."

Zach felt the butterflies in his stomach that he always did when Shaun mentioned, however obliquely, his relationship with his ex. He didn't think it was because he was jealous; rather, it frightened him to know that someone could live with Shaun for so long and have things not work out. It made him nervous for his own future, even though he had both Gabe's and Shaun's endorsement as being "better than the last guy."

"I guess when we broke it off I just didn't really want to see anyone connected with him for a while," Shaun continued. "I kind of have practice at shutting out the real world and concentrating on the ones in my head," he said, gesturing to his laptop. "And that's what I intended on doing when I went home."

"How'd that work out for you?" Zach said with a gentle smirk, trying to let his earlier tension drain from his voice.

"Now who's being witty,” Shaun replied, letting a smile wash over his features.

Zach smiled back as he reached up to run his hand over Shaun's cropped hair. "Sorry. I guess I was just annoyed that you would lecture me on talking to Gabe when you hadn't told any of your friends about me. I thought maybe you were embarrassed or something."

"Yes, I can see what you mean," Shaun laughed. "And I wouldn’t want you to get an inferiority complex, or more of one . . .” he paused to dodge a playful shoulder punch, “ . . . but I've never had a Gabe."

Zach raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What does that mean?"

"Well don't get me wrong, I'm not some giant loser," Shaun laughed again. "I've always made friends easily . . . I've just never had that one special friend that I connected with on that deep a level. Actually, I was always really jealous of what you had with Gabe when I was growing up."

Zach blinked. "Jealous? Of me?"

"That's right, go ahead and gloat." Shaun said, reaching over to Zach's chest one more time and pulling him over so that they were facing each other on their sides. "Although I do think I have that connection now," he added, and Zach blushed. "Anyways, you're right. I should get back to my friends. Ana's a great girl; she has a great husband, and a daughter a little younger than Cody. We should get together . . . I'll call her tomorrow."

"No rush," Zach said hurriedly.

"What? Now you’re nervous?" Shaun laughed. "Don't be. They'll love you."

"Can we go back to the part of the conversation about me being right? I liked where that was going a bit better,” Zach said, trying to redirect Shaun's attention.

Shaun tickled his ribs lightly before rolling over to turn off the bedside lamp, leaving them in darkness.

They were quiet for a few moments until Zach spoke. "So, I'm your world, huh? What exactly does that m-"

Shaun silenced him with a kiss.

Next: community.livejournal.com/shelter_diner/173857.html