Sous la Pluie 'In the Rain' Author: Surreal E-mail: surreal666@hotmail.com Website: http://netjeru.ma-at.net/SurrealArts/ Feedback: please?? Status: Complete Category: Slash, Langly/Byers, angst Rating: NC/17 for light m/m action. Nothing graphic. Summary: Heavy conversation in heavy rain. Archive: Lone Slasher, Basement Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. Notes: The original challenge came from Sandy, who wanted the boys in the rain. It grew from there into what I like to call a "second time" fic...you'll see what I mean. ~~%*%~~ "FUCK." Byers punctuated his frustrated, enraged yell by shoving the contents of his desk to the floor. "Byers, take it easy, man - " Frohike eased around to the other man's side of the table, exchanging a quick glance with Langly, standing next to the angry man. "No, I will *NOT* fucking take it easy," Byers shot back, pacing quickly in a tight line. "I'm so sick of this! This is what - the third or fourth story like this that's fallen through in the last two months?" "John, we've always had problems with leads not panning out, it comes with the territory. You know that," Langly reminded him quietly, bending down to pick up some of the discarded mess from the floor. "Yeah, well. Maybe it's time I leave this territory, then." With that, he shook his head and walked away. Langly jumped slightly at the harsh slam of the heavy front door. "Damn it," he whispered, rubbing his hand over his eyes and resetting his glasses on his nose. "Give him a few minutes to cool down and I'll go talk to him." "That might not take long...it's pouring out there and he went out in just his shirt and tie. He's gotta be soaked already," Frohike told him, going around to help pick up the mess. "Shit." Langly sighed and followed Byers' trail outside, snagging his jacket from table near the door on his way. Shrugging it on, he stepped out and up the small set of stairs into the alley. He shivered almost immediately as he was struck by the rain. He spotted Byers leaning his back against the brick wall of their building, his face turned upwards into the falling water, eyes closed. The younger man allowed his thoughts to stray a moment, taking in the sight with private wonder. He'd always loved the older man's gentle features, his quiet beauty. Though their brief attempt at a relationship shortly after meeting had ended mutually and they'd agreed to stay friends...Langly couldn't help but still be attracted to his friend. Seven months out of his twenty-first year had been like nothing he'd ever experienced, or had since. Sharing his body, his bed, his *life* with another person - another *man* so intimately had changed him for the better and he deeply missed that level of companionship. But Byers had never let on that he felt the same pull, so Langly kept his feelings to himself. At moments like these, however...watching as his former lover stood in the driving rain, oblivious to his presence, the freezing water turning Byers' cheeks pink. The older man didn't seem to care, letting the water flow over his tight features. He licked his lips, raising a hand to roughly swipe the moisture from his face. Langly's shiver wasn't completely from the cold this time, but he knew now was not the time for those thoughts. He strode forward a few steps so he didn't have to yell. "John, come back inside, it's freezing out here and you're gonna get sick." Byers looked at him a moment, then shook his head before pushing off the wall to pace. "Leave me alone, Ringo." "No." The older man stopped in his tracks and turned to face Langly. "No?" "I...just want to make sure you don't do anything stupid," Langly replied, cringing at his own words. Byers snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, right. Like what? Throw myself in front of a bus? OH, wait...that's been done...how about - " "John, stop it. I just mean...like taking off or something." Byers watched him for a long moment, letting his soft words sink in. "Taking off?" He repeated, raking a hand through his spiked, dripping hair. "Ringo, I don't see what else I can *do*. I got into this to help people, same as you guys. When it gets to this point - where half our 'leads' are fake, when we *really* need them to be real...it's just too much. I can't take all these false hopes anymore...I just - can't do this anymore." Langly swallowed hard, sniffing from the rain. He stepped closer to his friend, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. "We can't do this without you, John. You started this, and we need you." He paused, drew a deep breath and continued. "*I* need you." The older man sighed, shook his head and opened his mouth to argue, then caught the last words. "I...Langly?" He frowned, moving closer to the other man. Langly blinked and took his glasses off, useless in the pouring rain. "I just mean...God, John, you really don't know how much you mean to me, do you?" "Are you talking about...what happened back then? Is that - Oh, Ree! Please don't do this now," Byers backed up, putting his face in his hands. "I can't help it, John. You know me better than anyone. But I'm not talking about...us, like that. I just mean that I...we, don't want you to leave. I love you, as my best friend, and I don't want to lose you because of some stupid fake story. I don't want you to go." Langly pleaded, hating the way his voice cracked near the end. Byers looked back then, seeing the shivering, drenched form of his young friend through the rain. Really *seeing* him, for the first time since...well, he couldn't remember. He saw all of the passion, the energy, the *life* and warmth and in his mind he saw all of it aimed at him, in a flash of recalled heat and desire and he *knew* what he'd been running from. What he'd been willing to forget so easily because it was the easy thing to do. Not anymore. He strode purposefully toward Langly and enveloped him in his arms without hesitation. Langly gave a small, startled grunt, but wrapped his arm around the other body gratefully. He sniffed and buried his face into the cold, damp skin of Byers' neck. "I'm sorry," Byers murmured against his shoulder, squeezing the hard, freezing body tighter against his own. He turned his head slightly and kissed the side of Langly's throat gently. "Sorry about everything, Ree." Langly choked, a relieved sob catching in his throat and all he could do was nod. He didn't hold back the sobs following it and simply clung to the strong embrace, feeling the large hands stroking over his back, soothing him silently. He finally was able to pull back, just far enough so he could press his lips very lightly against his friend's. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," he sniffed, his hands cupping Byers' head. "We wasted so much time." "Yeah," Byers agreed, and captured his lips in a firm kiss. The younger man savored the moment, opening up to the hard mouth pressing against his, sucking in the other man's tongue and giving as good as he got. He hummed softly, his hand sliding up to cup Byers' neck and hold him there. Byers groaned heavily, pushing Langly back against the brick wall as the tension between them became palpable. Any delays and he felt he might explode from the pressure. He hurriedly reached between them, pulling at Langly's jeans and unbuttoning them. Langly gasped and rolled his head back against the wall, not caring as rain trickled down his throat. He felt Byers' hand slip into his jeans, wrapping around his dick and jerking, hard, at the same time the other man's hips thrust against his. They pushed and ground against one another, desperately, only one goal in mind and driving each other mad on the way. Langly came first with a sharp cry, his hands fisting the clinging, wet material of Byers' shirt as the older man followed him quickly into climax. Panting, shuddering and no longer as cold as before, the two men hung on each other, the only thing keeping either of them from falling down. The first to recover, Byers stepped back and put his hands on Langly's shoulders. He watched the younger man open his eyes slowly and smile a small, shaky smile. "Hey," he whispered, bringing his hand up to stroke his thumb along Langly's cheekbone. "Hey," Langly sighed back, not really looking at him. He cleared his throat and straightened up. "We should get back inside and get dried off," he said smoothly, not sure what to say or expect from the other man. "Oh. Right." Byers watched as Langly went back inside, without looking back to see if he would follow. But Byers knew as well as Langly that he would be right behind him. By the time the older man came back indoors, Langly was already in the shower, warming his body and washing away the evidence of his release. He didn't know how to face the man who he'd just been with. He dressed in warm, flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt and headed straight for his room. He heard Byers in the shower a few minutes later and the sinking feeling in his stomach intensified. Langly crawled under his covers and burrowed into his pillow. He was stirred from a light sleep by a weight sliding into his bed behind him, but he couldn't turn over to look, fearing that if he did, the presence would disappear. Strong, warm arms wrapped around him and a solid body curled up against his back. The covers were pulled up over them both and he felt the hot breath against the back of his neck when Byers whispered, "Night." ~~%~%~~ Byers woke up in the early morning, his quick glance at the unfamiliar clock telling him it was just before seven. He shifted to untangle his pant leg and bumped into another body. Memory flooded him and he blinked rapidly as he looked up at the face of his roommate. Langly lay on his stomach, his arms and legs sprawled wantonly and his face turned away from Byers. Byers carefully drew his closest hand up from under the covers and lightly rubbed the back of Langly's neck. Langly stirred with a distracted moan, twisting his head over to face the older man. Byers took advantage and pressed his lips to the other man's sleep-warmed mouth. Humming contentedly, Langly smiled as the other man pulled away and he opened his eyes to find Byers smiling back. "Hey." "Hey," Langly echoed, unsure of what to think. "So...you ready to try this again?" Byers asked, his hand stroking down Langly's back and over his ass. They both knew he was asking about more than the quickie up against the wall the previous night. "I am," he answered. "Are you?" He inquired, his hand doing some exploring of its own. "More than I was the last time," Byers admitted with a warm smile. ~~%~%~~ End.