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perpetual_motionTitle: Twenty-Two
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Numb3rs
Pairing: Larry/Charlie
Rating: G
Summary: Two men in love with numbers, in love with each other.
Dis: Not mine. It’s a pack of lies.
Author’s Notes: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lucia_tanaka, who requested it. I don’t abandon them, dear. Shiny objects just distract me.
Twenty-Two
Perpetual Motion
It’s raining, and as students run around, backpacks and textbooks over their heads, Charlie and Larry stand in the middle of it all, watching the drops fall and saying nothing. As the between-class rush dies and less and less people walk by, Larry reaches over and grasps Charlie’s hand.
“I wish…” He trails off, staring across the quad at the window of a class room. The curtain is drawn, but there’s a ring of light around the edge, signaling the chance for someone to look out the window at any moment. To see them standing there, hands together.
“I’m not stopping you.” Charlie squeezes Larry’s hand, rearranges their palms so that their fingers are intertwined.
“The statistics of this-“
“Don’t do that.”
Larry shakes his head and water droplets fling everywhere. “I’m being realistic.”
“I know.” Charlie sighs and looks down at his sneakers, waterlogged from the rain. “I’m happy with you.”
“You’re young.”
Charlie snorts and flicks his hair out of his eyes. “Not that young. I’m 30, Larry.”
“Children, a house, a dog-“
“I already have a house, and I’m allergic to dogs, and kids…” Charlie trails off and watches Larry’s profile. It changes a little, with every drop of rain that hits it. “I’m not good with kids,” he finally offers. There’s a creak and a clang and the sound of high heels on the sidewalk somewhere off to their left. Larry tries to pull away his hand, Charlie tightens his grip. “Whatever it’s going to be, whether or not your realistic statistics come into play, can’t we just let it be what it *is* for now? You and me and what’s here?” Charlie lifts their joined hands and shows them to Larry, the way their fingers fit together.
Larry blinks at the rain and uses his free hand to rub at his face. “I’m 52.”
“There are things greater than numbers, Larry. You’ve been telling me that for years.” Charlie watches the way Larry’s face contorts, pulls his hand free to slide his arm around Larry’s shoulders. “Either you believe it or you don’t.”
Larry considers arguing, but he’s wet and there’s rain in his eyes and Charlie is warm beside him. Perhaps letting the problem work out itself as opposed to scrambling for the solution is the best path. “There are times, Charles, when my own advice confuses me more than the advice of others.”
“You need coffee.”
“Very possibly.” Larry allows himself to be turned around and herded towards the student union. “I also, perhaps, need a towel.”
Charlie smiles and tightens his hand on Larry’s shoulder, fighting the urge to kiss Larry right there, take the confused look from his face with a kiss in the rain. “We’ll find you one.”
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Numb3rs
Pairing: Larry/Charlie
Rating: G
Summary: Two men in love with numbers, in love with each other.
Dis: Not mine. It’s a pack of lies.
Author’s Notes: For
lucia_tanaka, who requested it. I don’t abandon them, dear. Shiny objects just distract me. Twenty-Two
Perpetual Motion
It’s raining, and as students run around, backpacks and textbooks over their heads, Charlie and Larry stand in the middle of it all, watching the drops fall and saying nothing. As the between-class rush dies and less and less people walk by, Larry reaches over and grasps Charlie’s hand.
“I wish…” He trails off, staring across the quad at the window of a class room. The curtain is drawn, but there’s a ring of light around the edge, signaling the chance for someone to look out the window at any moment. To see them standing there, hands together.
“I’m not stopping you.” Charlie squeezes Larry’s hand, rearranges their palms so that their fingers are intertwined.
“The statistics of this-“
“Don’t do that.”
Larry shakes his head and water droplets fling everywhere. “I’m being realistic.”
“I know.” Charlie sighs and looks down at his sneakers, waterlogged from the rain. “I’m happy with you.”
“You’re young.”
Charlie snorts and flicks his hair out of his eyes. “Not that young. I’m 30, Larry.”
“Children, a house, a dog-“
“I already have a house, and I’m allergic to dogs, and kids…” Charlie trails off and watches Larry’s profile. It changes a little, with every drop of rain that hits it. “I’m not good with kids,” he finally offers. There’s a creak and a clang and the sound of high heels on the sidewalk somewhere off to their left. Larry tries to pull away his hand, Charlie tightens his grip. “Whatever it’s going to be, whether or not your realistic statistics come into play, can’t we just let it be what it *is* for now? You and me and what’s here?” Charlie lifts their joined hands and shows them to Larry, the way their fingers fit together.
Larry blinks at the rain and uses his free hand to rub at his face. “I’m 52.”
“There are things greater than numbers, Larry. You’ve been telling me that for years.” Charlie watches the way Larry’s face contorts, pulls his hand free to slide his arm around Larry’s shoulders. “Either you believe it or you don’t.”
Larry considers arguing, but he’s wet and there’s rain in his eyes and Charlie is warm beside him. Perhaps letting the problem work out itself as opposed to scrambling for the solution is the best path. “There are times, Charles, when my own advice confuses me more than the advice of others.”
“You need coffee.”
“Very possibly.” Larry allows himself to be turned around and herded towards the student union. “I also, perhaps, need a towel.”
Charlie smiles and tightens his hand on Larry’s shoulder, fighting the urge to kiss Larry right there, take the confused look from his face with a kiss in the rain. “We’ll find you one.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2006-06-21 09:37 pm (UTC)*mangle mangle*
Either way, Charlie bringing up Larry's own advice seems to me like he's grown a great deal since the pilot, and I like seeing growth and change. :D
So, in fangirly terms, "Yay!"
no subject
on 2006-06-21 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-21 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-21 10:27 pm (UTC)*goes to make you your icon now*
no subject
on 2006-06-21 10:35 pm (UTC)Excited about the icon. eee!
no subject
on 2006-06-22 03:09 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-22 03:33 am (UTC)Yay
on 2006-07-06 09:53 am (UTC)In other words...YAY!
Jumpuphigh (aka Jump)
Re: Yay
on 2006-07-06 01:17 pm (UTC)www.geocities.com/iwannabedonna
There's a couple of pieces of Don/Charlie, but they're clearly labeled.
Re: Yay
on 2006-07-09 09:56 pm (UTC)Jumpuphigh