Slasha, Baby 2007

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

---

It really should have been painfully obvious to the two of them. It was to everyone else, after all. Really, how could they have missed it, with as close as they had been in New Zealand, and then afterwards?

But, somehow, it hadn't been obvious at all. Not to them. To Billy, Dom was just his best friend, insane, good looking, straight, and just absolutely the only person in the world he could never or would never have. To Dom, Billy was the slyly funny, sweet voiced dork that could prank with the best of them and manage to look completely innocent while doing it.

Neither one of them had expected this. Though they probably should have.

~*~

"BILLS!" Dominic shouted, jumping into the air and waving his arms over his head.

"Fantastic show of not drawing attention to us," Billy muttered under his breath, slipping through the crowd. He aimed for Dom's jumping form, and studiously ignored all curious glances. If eye contact was made, he was too polite not to respond, sign autographs, or whatever, but if he could honestly say he hadn't seen them, he didn't feel guilty. "Hey, Dom," he said quietly when he stopped in front of his friend.

"Bills!" Dom said with a gleeful grin and threw himself on Billy, wrapping the other man into a tight hug. "Missed you. C'mon, got a car waiting. Got any more bags than that? Thought you were stayin' for a while, aren't you gonna need more?"

Billy shook his head, unable to resist the answering grin he felt spreading across his face. "Just this...I'm a champion packer, remember?" He shrugged his shoulder, indicating his stuffed pack. "Just wanna get outta here, take a shower...please, Dommeh?"

Dom slung his arm around Billy's shoulder and steered him towards the exit. "Anything for you, Bills."

~*~

Billy stepped onto the bathmat and reached for the fluffy towel drapped across the towel warmer. Never let it be said that he doesn't know how to take care of his guests, he thought to himself, draping the towel over his head and scrubbing at his wet hair. Once that was dry, he swiped cursorily at his body, and then wrapped the towel around his waist. He headed out of the bathroom and nearly tripped over Dom, who was leaning against the wall outside the door. He made a sound that was most definately not a squeak, and took a step back.

"Dom, what the bloody hell are you doing out here? You startled me," he muttered. He completely missed Dom's eyes raking over his mostly naked body. "Something ya needed?"

Dom gave a one shouldered shrug. "Came to see if you were hungry or were just goin' to crash." And thought you were already done with your shower, but couldn't resist staying when I realized you weren't, and I'm sort of wondering why that is. "Either's fine, knowin' that you're probably bloody exhausted."

Billy nodded, stifling the yawn that was triggered by the mention of how tired he probably was. "Yeah, but 'm hungry, too."

Dom grinned. "Pizza's in the oven. Meet ya in the kitchen." He sauntered off down the hall, leaving Billy to cross to his door and get dressed.

Taking into account that he was most likely going to collapse as soon as there was food in his stomach, Billy opted for track pants and nothing else. He was in Hawaii, it was warm, and he really didn't feel like wearing anything else. He wandered out to the kitchen, barefeet making next to no sound on the tile floor. "Smells good," he mumbled, collapsing into a chair at the table.

Dom turned from the cabinet, two beers in his hand. "Just frozen pizza, but yeah, does." He handed one of the bottles to Billy and sat down himself. "It's got 'bout ten more minutes."

Billy nodded and took a drink. "Never tastes as good in a bottle in America as it does from a tap at home," he muttered.

Dom snorted agreement, trying to ignore the flex of muscles under Billy's lightly furred skin. What the hell was wrong with him? OK, so he'd been lonely for a while, ever since he and Evangeline had decided they made better friends than anything else. But...Bills? He tried to ignore the little voice deep inside that was muttering about how he had always noticed how attractive his friend was, and how much Dom wouldn't mind...well, just about anything Billy would give him.

Billy doesn't think of me that way, and I..nope. Not listening. he told the voice firmly. And then noticed Billy was watching him with an odd expression on his face. "What?"

Billy raised an eyebrow. "Nothin', mate...just wonderin' where your mind wandered of to." He grinned. "It's much too small to be let off on its own, ya know. Shouldn't let it do that."

"Oy!" Dom said, startled into laughter by Billy's unexpected barb. "An' who're you to talk?"

Billy laughed with his friend, relieved that Dom's seemingly strange mood hadn't incited his friend to take that joke the wrong way. It would have made this visit exceedingly awkward, and...well, He was already feeling a little out of sync with their normal relationship; he didn't really want to add to that. Before he could respond in any way but laughter, however, the timer went off, indicating their dinner was ready.

Dom got up and retrieved the pizzas from the oven. As he sliced the pizza, he said, "Couch and some footie? Pretty sure there's a match on."

Billy nodded and stood, grabbing Dom's beer and carrying both to the living room while Dom brought their food. The pair of them settled on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, while Dom flicked on the television and began searching for the game he was sure was on.

"Ya know," Billy mumbled around a mouthful of pizza. "It's sort of cheating to say you're pretty sure there's a match on when you've got a channel that's nothing but."

Dom snorted. "Yeah, well...my one indulgence, so sue me."

Billy laughed, and together they watched Brazil beat the pants off whoever they were playing, which was about par for the course. They settled very easily into their well established patterns, munching on pizza and drinking beer as they snarked at each other at at the television. The familiarity of it lulled Billy, who was already jet lagged and exhausted, and he found himself snuggled against Dom's shoulder, drowsing and sleepy.

"Dommeh?" he mumbled, and held up his beer. "Don' wanna drop it."

Dom smiled a little and carefully took it, trying not to move too much. He didn't want to disturb his friend, who fell asleep pretty much as soon as he took the bottle. He manuevered it onto the coffee table and rested his head back on the couch, willing to sit and be Billy's pillow. He didn't mind in the slightest.

~*~

Billy very slowly came awake, taking in his surroundings sense by sense. He could hear the low sound of another match, sound considerately turned down so it was barely more than a hum in the background. He could hear someone's--Dom's--heartbeat under his ear, and the soft rush of air filling ligs and being expelled again. He was warm...comfortably so, curled up as he was on top of Dominic, a light throw pulled over the both of them.

Wait...on top of Dom? The last thing Billy could remember was letting his head droop to Dominic's shoulder; how had he wound up curled on top of his friend like this? And...fuck, his body was definately more awake than his brain, and was letting Billy know just how happy it was with this arrangement. Just...fuck. Was this just a morning reaction, or whatever the fuck time of day it was, or was this...more?

Billy's thoughts spun, and he struggled with himself, trying to figure out when he'd fallen in love with his best friend and how he hadn't noticed until this very second, with his dick half hard, pressed into Dom's thigh. He couldn't do this...it would cost him the most valuable friendship he had, and he just couldn't put that at risk. He would be absolutely devestated without Dom, and he knew it, and he wasn't about to go and fuck that up, because...

"Stop it." Dom's quiet voice broke through Billy's whirling thoughts. He stiffened, ready to bolt if he had to, but arms that he hadn't realized were around him tightened.

"Stop it," Dom repeated. "I don't mind. At all. You..." He paused for a minute, trying to tell his best friend what was going through his mind. "This feels really good, Bills. You here with me...in my arms."

Billy blinked, brain not at all processing what he was hearing. Well. Not enough to do more than stare at Dominic. And wonder why he hadn't noticed how fucking intense Dom's eyes were before now.

Dom's tongue darted out and licked dry lips. "Sound like a fuckin' wanker, but...you're m' Bills. Could never be mad at...anythin' that y' needed or wanted or..." Fuck he was screwing this up. Not a surprise, he wasn't even fucking sure what he was trying to tell Billy in the first place. Hard to be coherent when his best friend was draped across him while he was slightly buzzed from the beer and only half awake.

Billy swallowed hard, feelings long since fought down and ignored surging upwards once again. A thousand moments with Dom, on set and beyond spun through his mind, moments when he had almost acted on his urges, almost acted on the impulse to do--something. "I don't want..." His voice trailed off for a moment, fear of losing his friend waring with the need to just get this out there, once and for all. "I don't want you just 'cause you think that it's what I want. Just because yer willin' to give that t' me. I want it because it's what you want too, because it's what we want...together."

Dominic's breath caught at the look in Billy's eyes, the words tumbling out of his best friend's mouth. Things he had wanted to say for ages got stuck in his throat as they fought to burst forth, until there was just one thing left to say. "I love you, Bills," he whispered. "Always have. Wouldn't just be...no. Would be somethin' we could both have...together."

Billy thought his heart was going to pound of his chest; he was certainly surprised Dominic couldn't feel it, or at least didn't seem to. "I love you too, Dommeh," he whispered. Then, very slowly, he shifted his weight up just a little, and brought his mouth to Dominic's.

As the clock chimed in the hall, marking the start of a new day, two friends took a step that had been obvious to everyone but them for years. And they took it together.

Concept created by Megolas in 2002
Fabulous artwork ©2002 by Hope
Moderated since 2004 by MSilverstar, with yueni and/or feelforfaith
Site revised ©2006 by yueni and 2007 by MSilverstar

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