simplepuzzle | It's been a while....

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It's been a while....

It's been five years since Chuck left. Left his home, left his dad, left his dog, left Raleigh.

And he hasn't looked back.

Because if he looked back he'd have to think about what he's left behind and if he thinks about it he'd have to do something about it. But it didn't work and they tried, they tried so hard. And it didn't make a damn bit of difference, so Chuck...throws himself into school. And he tries.

Occasionally, he tries to date. A girl here, a guy there. Every time he tries to make an effort at a relationship it ends with a lot of anger. Chuck's not really good at this. Nothing's compared to Raleigh, and Chuck's not sure he'll ever have something like it again. And he refuses to settle.
Love isn't everything. Chuck focuses on school. It's okay.

And he's good. He's really good. That and the occasional one night stand satisfies him.

And then he gets a call from Herc. Yancy's been in an accident. He's broken a few limbs, and he hasn't woken up. Herc isn't saying he should come back, and Chuck's been staring at Raleigh's number when Mako calls him.
He needs you.
Come home.

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It would've.

Raleigh sips at his wine -- it's kind of awkward, the way Chuck's leaning against him, but he doesn't move him and sort of works around him.

"I still have the ring," he mumbles into Chuck's hair. "I could never...bring myself to return it."

Chuck drains his glass and sucks on his lower lip.

"...can I see it?"

Is that weird. He doesn't have to see it.
But he wants to.

"...Sure."

He's not sure Chuck actually wants to, but he asks, and Raleigh can't tell him no. He drops a kiss to Chuck's forehead and untangles himself from the embrace, finishes his wine and sets the glass aside.

"Be right back."

And he'll -- go get it. And...bring it back, feeling a little unsure about this because...

Well, of a lot of reasons.

He settles back on the couch and sort of clutches the little black box, then slowly opens it, revealing the ring inside.

Chuck reaches to run his thumb over the band of metal, breathing out slowly.

It's probably the wine and the emotions and the...everything that's happened, all night and all week, but Chuck feels strange. Longing, for what could have been, what they don't have. "Can I try it on?" He asks, voice rough, low to keep it from wavering.

Raleigh has trouble answering because it feels like a huge lump has settled in his throat, so he nods instead, and carefully tugs the ring free of its confines and tentatively reaches for Chuck's hand, not sure if it's something Chuck wants to do himself, to fuck around or if he wants--

Raleigh to put it on him, slide it over his knuckles and press it into place, like he would've done five years ago.

Chuck holds his hand out, but he pulls Raleigh's hand closer with the other, both letting Raleigh slide the ring on and doing it himself.

"It's gorgeous," he mutters, turning his hand this way and that to look at it under the firelight.

Seeing it hurts, more than he thought it would. He should take it off, put it back in the box, but can't bring himself to do it, yet.

They put it on Chuck's hand together and Raleigh's pretty sure he's going to cry.

"Thought you'd like it."

He'd picked it out special, saved up everything he could get his hands on, worked his ass off for it.

He reaches for Chuck's hand, rubs his thumb over skin and metal, presses his lips together. He's clinging, desperate, afraid, horribly in love and the words tumble out and he can't stop himself.

"I love you, Chuck -- please, marry me."

"Yes-" it's out before Chuck can think about it, before he has a chance to form the words.

He squeezes Raleigh's hands, laces their fingers together. "Come with me," he urges, pulling Raleigh close to him. "You'll love it there, you'll do great." They'll be great there together he knows it, he wants to be a family with him so badly.

He doesn't want to move. He hates the heat, he hates crowds, he hates the idea of living in California. He doesn't even know what he will do there with no friends, no local businesses, nothing to go on but Chuck and Raleigh's mechanical degree from the tiny local tech school. He's not even sure it's any good outside of Maryland.

"I can't right now --" not with Yancy being how he is, when everything is so up in the air and he's afraid.

"But I'll come. I will."

Because he loves Chuck so fucking much that losing him along with Yancy --

It's just not an option.

Chuck can find a place not immediately in the city, there are local business all over, and there's no way Chuck would beg Raleigh to move with him if the was nothing for him to do.

"Of course," he agrees, smiling weakly as though it hasn't hit him yet--

..and it hasn't.

"You can come after Yancy wakes up," because there's no way Chuck believes Raleigh won't make it, "whenever you're ready--" but he can't stand it he's kissing Raleigh now, cupping his face between his hands and kissing him hungrily, nearly bowling Raleigh down and pinning him to the couch.

It's not the same. It won't be the same. It's just something Raleigh will have to work on getting over.

"Yeah--"

After Yancy wakes up (if he does, but Raleigh isn't accepting that possibility at all), he'll move out there, pack up, sell his house and move cross country--

Chuck's kissing him and distracting him and he ends up on his back on the couch, hands sort of wildly fluttering until he finds purchase at Chuck's hips, fingers clutching at his shirt and digging in, kissing him back with equal hunger.

...It hasn't really sunk in for Raleigh either. He's half expecting them to wake up in the morning and sort of...awkwardly shrug it off.

If it's that hard, Chuck could spend a few months here. They could go back and forth, whatever it could work.

He'll make it work.

Chuck starts laughing against Raleigh's mouth, sliding his hand into his hair. "I was only supposed to spend a night with you," he grins against his lips, loathe to move away. "You weren't supposed to propose." He kisses him slowly, eagerly. He's still pretty fucking happy about it, though.

"Since when do we do anything by the book?" He demands, looking up at Chuck, a smile spreading across his lips that are still mostly pressed against Chuck's.

"You -- weren't supposed to ask about the ring." He slides his arms around Chuck's waist and kisses him again, luxuriating in the sensation of having Chuck in his arms, against his body and mouth, the fire crackling in the background.

"Never have," he agrees, nipping at Raleigh's lower lip with a snicker.

"You shouldn't have told me you were ready to propose, or that you had a ring."

Why did Raleigh mention there was a ring if he didn't think Chuck was going to ask?
--"shit, food," he pushes himself off of Raleigh's lap for the kitchen.

"...Maybe I wanted you to ask about it," he shoots back, grinning against him, though he lets him go when Chuck scrambles back, heading for the kitchen.

If the macaroni isn't boiling over by now, Raleigh's gonna be stunned.

He manages to get to it barely in time, tipping it out into a strainer and laughing weakly.

"Hypocrite," he shouts back, tossing the macaroni around a little in the strainer to get more water out. He dumps it back into the pot and mixes the butter and milk and cheese powder until the macaroni's bright orange.

Raleigh stays on the couch, laughing his ass off because he can hear Chuck fucking around, hurrying to get it into the strainer before shit starts boiling over.

"So?"

He shouts right back, stretching out on the couch and yawning as his shoulder pops and he winces.

He brings the pot in with him, sticks a potholder on the coffee table before setting the pot down. He's got forks and the bottle of wine too and he's sitting back against Raleigh, pressing his mouth against his neck.

"I'm getting you a ring too," he mumbles against his skin. "I'm proposing right the fuck back as soon as i get a ring."

Raleigh immediately slides his arm around Chuck and draws him close, shivering when lips meet skin.

"Is that how it works?" He manages, voice hitching a little in his throat.

Chuck is so distracting; the lazy glide of lips over skin has Raleigh half-hard already.

"For me, yeah." He nips and sits up, grasping Raleigh's hand as he leans forward to eat a little. "Come on, put something in your stomach, Ray," he tugs on his hand lazily. He'll cuddle him later.

So many cuddles.

Dammit Chuck. It's hard to eat macaroni when all he wants to do is swallow that cock.

But he leans forward because he's been drinking and he's starving and that's not a good combo, and picks up a fork and eats right out of the pot, since Chuck decided they didn't need plates.

He's gotta wonder what Herc is gonna think when Chuck walks in with a ring.

That is, if he doesn't decide to spend the rest of his time in Raleigh's house.

They can fuck later. All night.

And yeah, Chuck'll be home for at least a little while. And he's going to tell Herc right off, he wants his dad to be happy for him.

And he's not letting to of Raleigh's hand while they eat, sticking their forks directly into the pot because they're adults and don't have to obey stupid rules.

You can count on Chuck getting fucked all goddamn night.

It's awkward to hold hands and eat but Raleigh can't help but keep staring at that hand, staring at the white and yellow gold band that's around his finger, and marveling at the fact that he just somehow got fucking engaged.

Jesus, he's gonna fill Yancy's unconscious brain with so much tomorrow.

Maybe the information overload will be enough to wake him up.

Hooray!

Chuck can't stop pausing every bite to look at the ring and grin. Apparently dating Raleigh for several years has turned him into a bit of a romantic. He's not really sure how he's going to break the news to Herc; maybe he'll just put it in the paper as a wedding announcement and wait for the shout.

That seems like a monumentally bad idea.

Raleigh approves.

Speaking of, he's finished eating, setting his fork aside, and pouncing Chuck, pinning him to the couch and cupping his jaw with a smile.

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