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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-04
Words:
1,236
Chapters:
1/1
Kudos:
9
Hits:
1,012

Permanence

Summary:

Permission to archive: yes, please just notify me where
Fandom(s): Boston Legal
Genre (general, hetero or slash): pre-slash
Pairing/Characters: Alan/Denny
Rating: FRT
Summary: One year after Denny tells Alan he can stay as long as he needs to, they say Happy Anniversary.
Warnings: Spoiler for There’s Fire!
Notes: Thank you to Bridget the Wonder Beta, who is kind enough to drop everything she’s doing to read a story I just had to write now. Thanks, Bridget. :)
Acknowledgments: Denny Crane.
Submitted through the Boston_Legal_Slash mailing list.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Permanence
by Mr. Denny Crane's Ghostwriter

"It's been a year, you know."

Alan looked across the small table that separated their chairs, the only sound that of water lapping against the tiled sides of the pool. "What's been a year?"

"Since you moved in."

"I haven't moved in, Denny, I'm only visiting."

"Pretty long visit."

"My company growing tedious at last, is it?"

"Not at all. Don't people usually...acknowledge things that last an entire year without...falling apart?"

"Typically. What did you have in mind?"

"I'm no party planner. But if I say...Happy Anniversary...well, it might come off sounding..."

"Gay?"

Denny grunted in agreement. He took a nice, long draw on his illegal but irresistible Cuban cigar and waited a handful of seconds before letting the smoke disappear on the breeze. "You didn't answer my question."

"Which question?"

"Oh, that's right, I didn't ask it yet." Alan looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and hope. "Why did you move in with me?"

Alan cocked his head. "I couldn't sleep. Renovations."

"Bull."

"I see we're playing Truth or Dare." Denny just looked at him, as though the dare were something tangible he could toss into Alan's lap. "All right. I'll tell you the truth. But only if you accept the dare."

Denny narrowed his eyes. "What's the dare?"

"The dare is..." Alan leaned back in his chair and looked out over the pool. "The dare is this: once I've told you my truth, I dare you to tell me I'm right."

"Sounds simple enough."

Alan half-smiled then put his cigar and drink down on the table. He moved forward to the edge of the chair and bent so that his elbows rested on his knees. His head turned to find Denny mimicking his posture.

"So give me the truth."

Alan blinked once...twice...and decided what the hell. "All right. The truth is my initial thought that night as we spoke was of you."

Denny's eyebrows shot up.

"You're surprised, aren't you? I'll bet you thought I was asking to stay overnight because I wanted to. For purely selfish reasons. Perhaps you thought I was going to try and seduce you in your vulnerable post-dissolution state."

Denny didn't react, just continued to study Alan as he spoke.

"You probably thought I brought it up because I was lonely, but the truth is, Denny, that you brought it up."

"What?"

"My memory isn't completely eidetic, but it's good enough that I can remember whole pages of dialogue if need be. And I remember what you said."

"What did I say?"

"I had just told you about my wife. About how I missed the banality of the relationship. You, in turn, knew I hadn't ever come close to marrying after her death. Hearing my words and knowing me, you said, 'I wonder if sometimes I get remarried just to have someone listen to my stories again. Someone with that admiring look in their eye.'"

"I guess I did, at that. But what point does that prove?"

"You were fishing, Denny. More than you ever tried to fish at Nimmo, and you were using your loneliness and your knowledge of me as the best kind of bait."

"I was?"

"You were. You've always known that I find your stories enthralling. That I have always listened to every word...taken each bit of wisdom to heart." Alan took a deep breath, eyes never leaving his friend, who by now had turned slightly away so Alan couldn't see his entire face. "My truth is that you wanted me to come back. Maybe you missed me. Maybe you were simply lonely after losing Bev. Maybe you were trying to replace me with Bev."

This drew a sharp look from Denny.

"Whatever the reason, you opened the door. I simply took the first step through." Several moments passed. Alan finally looked away.

A small smile tried creeping over Denny's face. "So now I have to take your dare."

"You do. It's a gentlemen's game."

"You dared me to tell you that your truth was right." Denny hesitated only a fraction of a second. "It was." He looked over at Alan. Their eyes met. "It is."

"So that means when you say Happy Anniversary, you actually mean it."

"I do, and..." Denny's voice trailed off as he tried to think of a way to convey it without conveying it, and failed miserably. Finally he just blurted out, "I hope we have many more."

Their hands reached for their cigars in the ashtray. Alan quickly moved his to cover Denny's and for the first time, Denny didn't flinch or pull away. Alan's voice was soft, yet somehow hoarse, when he spoke.

"That is my greatest hope too, my friend." He let go Denny's hand and picked up his glass, holding it in the air. "To many more."

Denny allowed himself to grin as he picked up his glass and clinked it against Alan's. "To many more."

The water continued lapping against the sides of the pool. Nearby a cricket chirped and a breeze caressed the trees and flowers. Alan settled back in the chair as he took a sip of his Scotch. He was no longer a visitor. He was permanent. He couldn't help but smile.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Permanency." Alan turned to face him. "Love."

"I detest sentiment."

"You detest it because you're full of it."

"Well, so are you."

"Guilty as charged."

"I'm going to get a cavity if we keep this up."

"Then let's not. Time for bed?"

"Good idea."

Alan and Denny rose and moved up the back lawn through the back doors. Through the kitchen, flipping off lights in succession as they'd done for an entire year. Checking the locks. Checking the alarm. Moving up the stairs in synch. Denny entering the master bedroom first. Alan grabbing his pajamas and going to the bathroom down the hall.

It was rote. Habitual. Same old, same old, some might say. Five minutes later they returned, silk pajamas in place, teeth brushed and faces washed. They each grabbed a side of the comforter and sheets and pulled them back evenly. They sat down, yawned and leaned back into their pillows. It was warm enough that covers weren't really necessary and so they both sighed.

"Does the routine ever begin to bore you?"

Denny cocked an eyebrow at him. "Routine?"

"Our routine. This. Us."

"I like routine. It's familiar. It's stable." They both reached up to shut off the bedside lamps. "Besides, we're both too unpredictable for anything to become routine."

Alan felt the bed move and was more than just a little shocked to feel a moist pair of lips on his cheek. Denny then backed away and settled back into his pillow. When Alan finally found his voice, it was unsteady at best.

"Yes, I see what you mean."

"Good night, Alan. And...Happy Anniversary."

Alan rolled over until he was half-lying on Denny. He leaned down and placed a nice, big kiss right on his lips. Soft, chaste, but unmistakably territorial. "Happy Anniversary," he said when they parted. "And good night."

As with every other habit they shared, both men lay wide awake wondering about Year Two. And in the silence of their minds as they contemplated the future, three words coalesced and solidified into the form that future would take.

I love you.

end

Notes:

This orphaned work was originally on Pejas WWOMB posted by author Ghostwriter.
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