Among Friends
Apr. 1st, 2013 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptTitle: "Among Friends"
Author: Kat Lee
Rating: PG
Summary:
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Cordell looked around the crackling campfire, leaned further back on his log, and smiled. His long legs stretched out before him. Unseen by all, his toes wriggled inside his boots. He sighed peacefully as a gentle breeze floated over his camping group. They needed more time like this, more time spent away from the world, away from fighting one criminal after the next, away from prying eyes, away -- he deeply inhaled the forest, night air -- from the city.
Gage poked at Sydney with a toasted marshmallow. Each time she turned her head away, the thrusting sweet found her closed mouth again until, finally, she accepted it and, laughing and chewing at the same time, nudged her boyfriend playfully. Gage quickly recovered from almost slipping off of their log at Syd's playful push, wrapped his arm around her, pulled her closer against his side, and thrust his stick into another waiting marshmallow.
Walker's smile grew as he noted that Sydney didn't try to pull away this time. Instead, she nestled closer into her partner's side and gave a smile and sigh of happiness and peacefulness similar to his own. Walker knew Gage would think that the very stars were reflected in her deep, brown eyes, but he knew the truth. They were beautiful and shimmering tonight, because she was finally allowing herself to be truthfully happy.
He pulled Alex closer to his own side, and his gaze turned to Carlos and Trent, who were also cuddling on their log, before looking across at Trivette. He was the only one of them who sat alone, and Walker instantly felt a pang in his heart. His eyes shifted down to his lap as Alex reached out and touched him. Her delicate fingers splaying across his jeaned knee was not the possessive touch she often gave him when other women were trying to get too close to him. It was the gentle, reassuring, and encouraging pat of a friend he received as the crickets continued their chirping.
He took her hand in his and turned his head so that he could look into her eyes. They had been partners for so long now that they could practically convey an entire conversation just from their eyes, and that was again what they did now. Go to him, her eyes clearly said, but Walker's gaze turned hard with defiance.
Go to him, she repeated with patience that came from years of understanding why he had to hide his true feelings. It wouldn't do at all for Dallas' greatest protector and strongest officer to be found out to be gay, even in these modern times where people were supposed to be able to be more open with who and what they really were. You're among friends. There'll be no hurt here. No one will say anything. But he's hurting right now. He needs you.
She patted his knee again just as Trivette sighed deeply. Unlike Walker's own and Sydney's also earlier, his sigh was not the sound of happiness. He was troubled, and the same emotions stirred in Walker's own heart. Alex's gaze hardened. Go, she repeated, and this time, she slapped his knee, earning a look from all their friends.
Walker paused yet again underneath their inquiring sights. He could feel their eyes baring into him like a thousand muskets trained on his hide, but neither their eyes nor their mouths would ever fire at him like guns. Alex was right: These were their friends, their family really, and they would understand. He swallowed hard as fear touched him. They might not understand. No, he thought, Carlos and Trent would -- after all, they, too, were careful to keep their guises as merely friends and partners when in the city --, but would Sydney and Gage?
They accepted Trent and Carlos, but Walker was married. How could he explain to them, without turning their night of fun and quiet peace into a debate that would last until sunrise, that his marriage to Alex was a sham, that their entire romantic relationship had been built, from the very beginning, from a need to hide who he really was from the public when he hid nothing else? They weren't gay. They didn't know what it felt like to have almost the entire world judge you because you loved a member of the same sex as your own. They didn't know, from first hand experience like Carlos and Trent did, how practically everybody who met you, if they knew you were gay, would let that one part of your life colorize everything else they thought of you. They didn't know what it felt like to be hated because you dared to love.
But they had always stood by him. They had accepted their gay friends, and Carlos and Trent had been every bit as scared to come out around them as Walker now was. Cordell gave himself a mental shake, barely glanced at Alex's expression of, Well, what are you waiting for?, and gathered his courage to him. For a moment, he thought of his ancestor staring down a whole posse of gunmen, but then he was up and moving.
He walked around the campfire, all too fully aware of every eye in the area training on him, and then he dipped down before Trivette and kissed him, quickly, full on the lips. He sat down beside him. Trivette, radiating with surprise, quietly reached out and took Walker's hand in his. Walker waited a moment as silence reigned among his friends, and then he slowly raised his gaze back up again.
Sydney smiled at him from across the campfire. Carlos gave him a thumbs-up sign of approval while Alex and Trent beamed proudly. Gage quietly lit another marshmallow, but he, too, was grinning when he met Walker's questing gaze. The youngest Ranger was the first to break the silence. "Don't know why you waited so long."
"I do," Sydney spoke. Walker wanted to thank her when she silenced Gage's impending questions by leaning up and kissing him, but none of them wanted conversation or serious thoughts to spoil the mood. Carlos and Trent followed Gage and Sydney's example and kissed passionately.
Trivette squeezed Walker's hand as Alex sat back happily alone on the log she had shared with her husband. "I'm glad you did it," Trivette spoke for them all and then leaned in and pressed his lips against Walker's again in the first of many more kisses they would share that night and throughout their future spent among friends.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Rating: PG
Summary:
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Cordell looked around the crackling campfire, leaned further back on his log, and smiled. His long legs stretched out before him. Unseen by all, his toes wriggled inside his boots. He sighed peacefully as a gentle breeze floated over his camping group. They needed more time like this, more time spent away from the world, away from fighting one criminal after the next, away from prying eyes, away -- he deeply inhaled the forest, night air -- from the city.
Gage poked at Sydney with a toasted marshmallow. Each time she turned her head away, the thrusting sweet found her closed mouth again until, finally, she accepted it and, laughing and chewing at the same time, nudged her boyfriend playfully. Gage quickly recovered from almost slipping off of their log at Syd's playful push, wrapped his arm around her, pulled her closer against his side, and thrust his stick into another waiting marshmallow.
Walker's smile grew as he noted that Sydney didn't try to pull away this time. Instead, she nestled closer into her partner's side and gave a smile and sigh of happiness and peacefulness similar to his own. Walker knew Gage would think that the very stars were reflected in her deep, brown eyes, but he knew the truth. They were beautiful and shimmering tonight, because she was finally allowing herself to be truthfully happy.
He pulled Alex closer to his own side, and his gaze turned to Carlos and Trent, who were also cuddling on their log, before looking across at Trivette. He was the only one of them who sat alone, and Walker instantly felt a pang in his heart. His eyes shifted down to his lap as Alex reached out and touched him. Her delicate fingers splaying across his jeaned knee was not the possessive touch she often gave him when other women were trying to get too close to him. It was the gentle, reassuring, and encouraging pat of a friend he received as the crickets continued their chirping.
He took her hand in his and turned his head so that he could look into her eyes. They had been partners for so long now that they could practically convey an entire conversation just from their eyes, and that was again what they did now. Go to him, her eyes clearly said, but Walker's gaze turned hard with defiance.
Go to him, she repeated with patience that came from years of understanding why he had to hide his true feelings. It wouldn't do at all for Dallas' greatest protector and strongest officer to be found out to be gay, even in these modern times where people were supposed to be able to be more open with who and what they really were. You're among friends. There'll be no hurt here. No one will say anything. But he's hurting right now. He needs you.
She patted his knee again just as Trivette sighed deeply. Unlike Walker's own and Sydney's also earlier, his sigh was not the sound of happiness. He was troubled, and the same emotions stirred in Walker's own heart. Alex's gaze hardened. Go, she repeated, and this time, she slapped his knee, earning a look from all their friends.
Walker paused yet again underneath their inquiring sights. He could feel their eyes baring into him like a thousand muskets trained on his hide, but neither their eyes nor their mouths would ever fire at him like guns. Alex was right: These were their friends, their family really, and they would understand. He swallowed hard as fear touched him. They might not understand. No, he thought, Carlos and Trent would -- after all, they, too, were careful to keep their guises as merely friends and partners when in the city --, but would Sydney and Gage?
They accepted Trent and Carlos, but Walker was married. How could he explain to them, without turning their night of fun and quiet peace into a debate that would last until sunrise, that his marriage to Alex was a sham, that their entire romantic relationship had been built, from the very beginning, from a need to hide who he really was from the public when he hid nothing else? They weren't gay. They didn't know what it felt like to have almost the entire world judge you because you loved a member of the same sex as your own. They didn't know, from first hand experience like Carlos and Trent did, how practically everybody who met you, if they knew you were gay, would let that one part of your life colorize everything else they thought of you. They didn't know what it felt like to be hated because you dared to love.
But they had always stood by him. They had accepted their gay friends, and Carlos and Trent had been every bit as scared to come out around them as Walker now was. Cordell gave himself a mental shake, barely glanced at Alex's expression of, Well, what are you waiting for?, and gathered his courage to him. For a moment, he thought of his ancestor staring down a whole posse of gunmen, but then he was up and moving.
He walked around the campfire, all too fully aware of every eye in the area training on him, and then he dipped down before Trivette and kissed him, quickly, full on the lips. He sat down beside him. Trivette, radiating with surprise, quietly reached out and took Walker's hand in his. Walker waited a moment as silence reigned among his friends, and then he slowly raised his gaze back up again.
Sydney smiled at him from across the campfire. Carlos gave him a thumbs-up sign of approval while Alex and Trent beamed proudly. Gage quietly lit another marshmallow, but he, too, was grinning when he met Walker's questing gaze. The youngest Ranger was the first to break the silence. "Don't know why you waited so long."
"I do," Sydney spoke. Walker wanted to thank her when she silenced Gage's impending questions by leaning up and kissing him, but none of them wanted conversation or serious thoughts to spoil the mood. Carlos and Trent followed Gage and Sydney's example and kissed passionately.
Trivette squeezed Walker's hand as Alex sat back happily alone on the log she had shared with her husband. "I'm glad you did it," Trivette spoke for them all and then leaned in and pressed his lips against Walker's again in the first of many more kisses they would share that night and throughout their future spent among friends.
The End
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Date: 2013-04-02 09:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-02 02:18 pm (UTC)