Title: Moving In
Author: Joolz
Feedback: [email protected]
Rating: R
Category: Slash, Romance, ER
Pairing: Don/Charlie
Season/Spoilers: Season 2, No spoilers
Summary: When Don’s place burns down it’s a
tragedy. Or is it?
Notes: The lovely Lady Ra asked for a happy
Don/Charlie fic. See! I can do it!
Disclaimer: Not my lovely characters, just playing with
them.
Warnings: m/m sexuality. If you’re reading this you probably know that
Don and Charlie are brothers, so incest.
**~~**
The whole team stood on
the sidewalk across the street from Don’s two-story apartment building,
watching flames shoot toward the early evening sky. They had been at the Bureau going over a case
when he’d gotten the call, and everyone had insisted on coming with Don for
moral support.
David asked, “So they’re
sure this wasn’t targeted at you?”
Reddish light flickered
across Don’s face, which was turned toward the structure. “Yeah. Apparently Mrs. Green’s electric kettle
shorted out. Her apartment is just under
mine. Was.”
“You’re taking this well,”
David observed. “It looks like
everything you own is gone.”
“Just about,” Don
agreed. “The important thing is that no
one was hurt. If this had happened in
the middle of the night it would have been worse.”
Megan added, “It’s a shame
about the building. It had character.”
Don smiled sadly, “It had
a kind of 50’s kitsch thing going, didn’t it?
I liked it.”
“So boss,” Colby asked,
“What are you going to do now? Start
apartment hunting right away?”
“Nah. I guess
I’ll stay at the house till I get things sorted out. I still have some stuff there, too.”
No one asked which house
he meant. It was pretty much
self-evident.
Charlie said, “Of course you
can stay with us as long as you want. In
fact, you know, you could just move in permanently if you wanted to. There’s plenty of room and you’re over almost
every day as it is.”
Megan brightened. “That’s a great idea, Charlie. It would be nice to be able to find both of
you at the same place when we need you.”
Colby grinned, “And then
there’s your father’s cooking. I can see
it now: I’m there to meet with you about
a case and your father says, ‘So, Agent Granger, you are staying for dinner,
aren’t you?’ I answer, ‘Why thank you,
Mr. Eppes, I’d love too.’” A happy, dreamy expression came over his face.
Don laughed, “Right, I
should base my living arrangements on your convenience and stomachs?”
Charlie bumped shoulders
with his brother. “He does have a
point. Your refrigerator is always
empty.” He grimaced at the flames
licking around the edges of the small window that had let the morning light
into Don’s kitchen, then continued. “Dad keeps ours stocked with all kinds of
good stuff.” Charlie peered at Don
meaningfully. “And no comments about how
you’re too old to live at home, either.”
“You all make some good
points,” Don conceded placidly. “I’ll
think about it.”
The captain of the fire
unit that was working on putting out the blaze approached.
“Agent
Eppes? We have the fire pretty much contained now,
but I’m afraid there won’t be much left.”
Don was
philosophical. “I figured.”
The fireman continued,
“There’s no reason to stay around. You
should be able to look through the wreckage tomorrow afternoon, if you want
to. For what it’s
worth.”
“Out of morbid curiosity,
if nothing else,” Don said, then asked, “Do Mrs. Green and the others all have
somewhere to go?”
“Yes, everyone already has
at least one friend or family member here for them.”
“Good. Thank you, Captain, for your hard work.” Don stuck out his hand.
The other man shook
it. “You’re welcome. Just wish it wasn’t necessary.”
As the man walked away,
David clapped Don on the back. “Anything
we can do to help, you know we’re here.”
“I appreciate that.” Don sighed, then
said with forced enthusiasm, “Look on the bright side. This will be the easiest move I’ve ever
made. No packing, no U-haul, not even a
suitcase.”
Charlie looked at him sympathetically. “We’ll take good care of you.”
“I know you will,
buddy. It’ll be fine.”
**~~**
After a hot shower that
washed away the smoke smell, Don got into a set of sweats that were in the
dresser in his old bedroom. In fact, Don
had a little bit of everything there, so he wasn’t going to have to start over
completely.
Also cleaned up, Charlie
came in and Don asked, “Help me move this?”
It was a large wooden
armoire standing in front of the door that connected the two boys’ rooms, which
Don had placed there at 16, when he didn’t want his little brother wandering in
unannounced. Unblocked, the hinge
squeaked a little, but the door swung open easily.
Don locked the door
leading to the hall while Charlie did the same in his room, then they met again
on Charlie’s bed. Don sat resting
against the headboard and Charlie climbed between his legs to lean back against
his chest.
As Don’s arms slipped
around him, holding him close, Charlie said, “You’re pretty tricky, you know
that? If I didn’t know better I would
suspect you of setting the fire yourself.
You had this all worked out in your mind.”
“Hey,” Don gave him a
squeeze, “I may not be a genius, but I know how to take advantage of an
opportunity. No one will question it at
all. I can say, ‘It was only going to be
for a little while, but I ended up staying.’”
“Yeah,” Charlie agreed,
“and you can use the poor, helpless Charlie card if you want.” He quoted, “‘Dad’s getting older, and Charlie
needs someone to take care of the house for him.’”
“That could be true, too.”
Charlie twisted a bit to
look Don in the face, eyebrows raised.
“Not that you’re
helpless,” Don clarified. “I know that
Dad does the grocery shopping and takes care of utilities instead of paying
rent. I could be in charge of
maintenance and repairs. It could really
work out for all of us.”
Mollified, Charlie relaxed
again and grinned. “Does that include
getting a new furnace?”
“First
on the list.”
They sat together quietly
for several minutes, enjoying the warmth and closeness. Then Don said again, “This really could
work.” He slipped a hand under Charlie’s
arm and down to cup his brother’s groin.
“Mmmm,”
Charlie purred. “It really could. There’s an old tradition of bachelor brothers
sharing the family homestead.”
Don began to stroke
slowly, not intending to arouse so much as savor the intimate contact. Charlie’s hips made small, undulating
movements in appreciation.
Don said, “Yeah, thirty,
forty years from now people will be saying, ‘Those nice Eppes brothers. Pity they never married, but at least they
have each other to keep them company.’”
Charlie chuckled, “Little
do they know.”
“Although, seriously,” Don
said, “If you meet someone, I don’t want my being here to get in your way. That door between our rooms can be closed
again at any time.”
“Don,” Charlie scolded,
“we’ve talked about this. I made my
decision. I’m not going to change my
mind.”
“I’m just saying.”
“I know, but I want this
as much as you do. I’ll either be with
you or I’ll be alone. Maybe it’s not
something I would have consciously chosen, but it’s the way it is. I’m totally in love with you.”
“And I love you.” Don nuzzled through Charlie’s long hair to
find his neck, which he proceeded to kiss lightly.
Smiling with pleasure and dropping
his head to one side, Charlie commented, “We may have to tell Dad, though.”
Don grunted in agreement, then said, “Probably.
He’s a smart guy and he’s bound to figure it out sooner or later.”
“Yeah, but for now let’s
just keep the doors locked and the adjoining door open. Whether we’re in your bed or mine we’ll be
able to hear if he knocks on either one.
We’re already good at not showing what’s between us in public. The difference will be that now we’ll have
every night together, not just once in a while.”
Don stopped stroking and
began to massage the organ firming under his hand. “Yeah, evenings on the sofa watching
ballgames. Nights with you on your
knees, me pounding into you, the need to be quiet adding that extra little bit
of tension.”
Charlie’s breath
caught. “Oh, yeah. Or you on your back, legs over my shoulders,
getting fucked through the mattress.
We’re going to have time now, for everything.”
Exactly. They were
going to have the time and proximity to be even closer.
Don said, “And when Dad’s
out, we can make all the noise we want, no neighbors close enough to hear. The freedom of being in our
own house.”
Still thinking, despite
the growing arousal, Charlie added, “And we can install a buzzer that sounds in
here when someone comes in the front or back doors. We’ll be safe. Just you and me.”
“Our
business, nobody else’s.”
As Charlie arched against
his brother’s body, a shout sounded from downstairs. “Boys! Dinner’s ready.”
With a shared groan, they
stopped moving.
“We may have to invest in
some long, baggy shirts that cover the erections we get from just being around
each other.” Don murmured intently,
“We’ll always have to be careful, Charlie, always. But it’s worth it. You’re worth it.”
Charlie turned and pressed
his lips to Don’s.
“Welcome home.”
End