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Apr. 18th, 2008 @ 01:11 am Just some fic.
Current Mood: lonelylonely
Current Music: Careful What You Pack - TMBG
I've not posted here before but I thought I would share this.

Title: The Truth Is We Don't Know Anything
Fandom: TMBG
Characters: John Linnell, John Flansburgh
Word Count: 1200 (excluding dividers)
Rating: PG-13 (rated for language)
Disclaimer: All pretty little lies.
Summary: What if your soul mate was there all along?
Author's Notes: Written in drabbles, or at least multiples of a hundred when just one drabble wasn't enough. Sort of AU with some reality thrown in for good measure. The ending could be interpreted as slashy if you like, although that's not really the purpose of this fic.

~*~

When you're the kid at school who nobody wants to talk to because you're the 'weird one' you take friendship in whatever form it's offered. When it's offered by the other weird kid, you know it's going to last.

"Hey."

John Linnell looked up from the birdsnest he was making out of freshly cut grass into the bespectacled eyes of John Flansburgh. He didn't respond, just stared at him until he took the initiative to sit down on the other side of the nest.

"What are you doing?" He tried again.

"...Nothing..."

"Can I help?"

"...sure..."

That was the beginning.

~*~

Junior School went by in a fairly nondescript manner. They kept themselves to themselves for the most part, seeking each others company only when the crushing indifference of their peers became too much.

It wasn't until they moved on to high school that they were irreversibly thrown together.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Fuck off, four eyes! It's none of your business..."

"But it is Miss Parsonage's business, and she's standing just over there."

"...Whatever... I was getting bored anyway..."

He waited for them to leave before crouching down in front of a broken and bloodied Linnell.

"Are you okay...?"

There was no response, just a gargled sob as he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them. The splatter of blood on his shirt seemed to be mostly coming from his nose leading Flans to wonder if it was broken.

"I'm gonna take you to the nurse... okay?"

He got as far as reaching for Linnell's shoulder before a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Dazed eyes dashed with fear bore into his own and he paused.

"Please... no... I just wanna go home..."

Something like an age passed in silence.

"Okay."

"...thank you..."

"But I'm coming with you. You can't go anywhere alone looking like that."

For a moment it looked like he was going to argue but then he accepted Flans' help in getting to his feet. As he tried to walk it was clear that he was limping, and only muttered a few words of protest when Flans put his arm around him so he could use him as a crutch.

Later that week Linnell had a dream of strong arms encircling him from behind and soft words whispered in his ear but by the morning he had already forgotten.

~*~

Flans plonked himself down on the bench next to Linnell, who barely acknowledged his presence. He seemed more intent on making spirals with his food. Flans resisted the urge to flick him in the head until he smiled and went for a more direct approach.

"Why so glum?" He asked.

Linnell looked up at last.

"My Mom wants me to learn piano."

"What's so bad about that?"

"Well... I'd just like to learn something more interesting, you know? Everyone learns piano."

"Well what do you want to learn?"

"Not sure... Something no-one else really plays."

"Like... the accordion?"

"Yeah! Yeah..."

~*~

"Well?"

"Calm down, will you? It's my birthday..."

A cake with fifteen candles sat on the table, but Linnell was more interested in the mysterious parcel that was perched on the armchair. His hands itched to tear the brightly coloured paper away and to see what he had been praying to see since bringing up the subject at the dinner table.

Flans watched as he ran a loving finger along the top surface of the box, hand coming to rest lightly on the ribbon, a look of pride and joy settling on his face.

He steeled himself and tugged.

~*~

"Wasn't that a film?"

"Well... yes... but I've got this friend who was using it as the name for his act and he doesn't want it anymore. He says we can have it."

"What kind of act?"

"Ventriloquism. He's pretty good. What do you think, anyway?"

"I don't really know... what does it even mean?"

"I looked it up, actually. It's a quote from Don Quixote. Apparently he pointed his lance at windmills just in case."

"In case they were giants?"

"Yeah."

"..."

"So?"

"..."

"Come on... don't leave me hanging like this..."

"...I like it."

"I knew you would."

~*~

Flans found Linnell sitting cross-legged in a dark corner of the backstage area, cradling his beloved instrument in his arms.

"Okay... before you make some lame excuse and I spend hours trying to wheedle it out of you, can you just cut the crap and tell me what's wrong?"

Linnell just fiddled with the leather on one of the straps.

"Come on John... how long have we been friends?"

"About twenty years..."

"Twenty years. If you don't feel like you can talk to me by now then when?"

"...I just... I don't want to go outside..."

"Why not?"

"...people always want to talk to me..."

"..."

"I know you like that kind of thing... and I know that I should count myself lucky to be in this kind of position... but..."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Come on, we'll go out the back way and take a taxi back to the hotel. We don't have to see anyone."

"But... but you like the fans..."

"I like you more. Now come on before I change my mind."

This time the dream was more vivid. When he woke up he swore he could still feel the tickle of breath on his cheek.

~*~

The new attention didn't go unnoticed. How could it? Linnell clearly didn't know the meaning of the word subtle. He would stare for hours, apparently not realising his friend's amusement at the sudden change.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing..."

And then he would blush and look away, feeling like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. But a secret smile just crawled across Flans' face and camped there.

"...It's about time..." he said to himself. He stretched to just the right angle to make his shirt rise, giving Linnell a fabulous eyeful of a few compelling centimeters of skin.

~*~

"What kind of a problem?"

Flans gave Linnell his most innocent face.

"Well..." he started, "the thing is that the room we booked doesn't actually have two single beds like I asked for, turns out someone messed up and we're going to have to share a double. Either that or one of us sleeps on the floor."

"Oh... well... I guess that's okay. I mean... we're close enough friends that it wouldn't be weird... right?"

"Totally. It's fine."

He tried not to show any outward smugness at Linnell's obvious inner turmoil, though he couldn't help but smile at the blushing.

And that was a happily ever after, of sorts. When Linnell awoke with his dream made flesh he never went back. Right there and then his mind opened up and all the words he'd ever held in there came tumbling out, and Flans listened like the attentive best friend he'd always been.

By day little changed.

By night they regularly fell asleep with their bodies entwined under the sheets like unborn brothers, holding each other as if in fear that the other would be taken away.

From that day on they walked in the glow of each others majestic presence.

About this Entry
silferthefairy:
From:iwasdivisible
Date:April 19th, 2008 06:13 pm (UTC)
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I enjoyed this. You have a pretty way of saying things, which is always a good thing. I also like the feeling of choppiness because of the pieced-together drabbles...it has the effect of yanking the reader along like a hook as the story progresses further in time. Nice. Also, I fancy slash, so yeah. Yay for you!

Also, major icon love. <3
From:silferthefairy
Date:April 20th, 2008 02:15 am (UTC)
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Whee! This com looked kind of dead so I wasn't sure if anyone would even read it, let alone say such nice things. Many thanks!
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From:kimioftheorange
Date:March 4th, 2009 08:26 am (UTC)
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omg this would make such a perfect shounen-ai story...
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From:endlessserenade
Date:June 27th, 2009 04:24 am (UTC)
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Aww, I liked it, very cute.
From:feedthereavers
Date:June 21st, 2010 06:02 pm (UTC)
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This made me smile so much. The last Ana Ng line felt like it completed the entire circle of life, meaning of the universe sort of thing. So cute, but not too fluffy for me, which is a very difficult and perfect balance to find.