Space
Indigo
***
For some reason, JC wasn't bothered by Lance's little
idea of going to outer space. Sure, he would be gone
for six months. That meant JC would have to live
without him for half a year...it meant no Lance to
wake up next to, no warm body to hug on a cold night,
no messy blonde hair to ruffle when he felt nervous.
No Lance.
But all that didn't bother him because he didn't
really think Lance would go. Why would he? Not only
was the whole thing in dispute, but Lance was known
for his somewhat flaky nature. Take Grease 3, for
example. He'd opened his mouth way too soon and gotten
his foot stuck in it.
It was the same thing with the space idea. Sure, the
Russian company had approached Lance, asking him if he
was interested, but now that the government had
expressed doubts about the mission, JC didn't think it
could possibly push through. Could it?
***
"So, Lance. Space." JC was sitting on the bus, reading
a magazine and trying not to act heartbroken. He
hadn't even heard it from Lance himself; Lance had
gotten his assistant, Beth, to break the news to his
very sensitive boyfriend.
Lance stopped halfway through the door, having gone
out to use the bathroom in the gas station which
happened to be in the middle of nowhere. He bounced on
the balls of his feet, unsure of whether to bolt out
of there and pretend he hadn't heard, or confront the
one person he really didn't want mad at him.
"I, uhm, I wanted to tell you myself." He ran his
fingers through his hair, a tell-tale sign of guilt
from JC's point of view.
"So why didn't you?" Lance swallowed the lump that was
steadily rising in his throat. When JC's voice got all
quiet like that, he knew he was upset.
He sighed and sat down next to him. "I...am an idiot
and I'm sorry." He was surprised as the words found
their way outside of his mouth. He was never this
honest. "Look, it's not even sure, it was just this
crazy idea they had..."
JC looked away as he said, "Yeah, just a crazy
idea..."
Lance could feel his heart dropping steadily. "JC..."
for a second he didn't know what else to say, JC
looked so sad...But Lance got a hold of himself and
placed a hand tentatively on his boyfriend's arm.
"It's just six months."
He couldn't help it; JC laughed, humorlessly. "Six
months? Six months without you is a lifetime. Six
months is six YEARS when you're stuck on Earth while
the most important person...in the UNIVERSE is up in
outer space, millions of kilometers away. Just think
how you'd feel if I just up and left for a year."
Lance thought about that for a few seconds, and he
found that it made his heart sick. "JC..." Yet again,
he didn't know what to say. "Let's just, you know,
wait and see. If I really am going...we'll fix this, I
promise." Somehow JC wasn't so sure.
***
"I'm sorry." Lance looked up from staring at the floor
to find JC sitting on the hotel room couch next to
him, looking genuinely sorry. "I really am, baby."
"I know you are," he mumbled. "It's just...I really
wanted this, you know?"
"I know." JC knew it had been Lance's childhood dream
to be an astronaut. And he'd come so close, then the
Russian government had given him a flat-out no, and
now he was sitting, staring at the floor looking like
a lost puppy. JC wanted to hug him, so he did. "I
know, baby, and you deserved to go. But maybe it's for
the best."
Lance leaned into him and closed his eyes. "This
sucks."
"Yeah. Yeah it does. But you know what? I'm gonna make
the next six months the best you'll ever have, on the
planet or off. Okay?"
"'Kay. You're the best. Love you."
"Love you too." They stayed that way until Lance fell
asleep, lapsing into dreams about stars and the Milky
Way.
***
fiction