Obvious

Obvious

Posted: April 20, 2007
Title: Obvious
Authors: Sileya and Decadence
Type: RPS
Characters: Craig/Hugo
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: We don’t know them, and we don’t claim to. We just like their faces and names.
Beta: sileya

Summary: Hugo can’t see the forest for the trees.

*****

Craig sighed dreamily, twisting the beer bottle in his hand as he perched his chin in the other hand. He gazed out over all of the couples on the ground before glancing back to his companion. “She stood you up?”

Resigned, Hugo leaned against the wall, mostly empty beer bottle in hand. “Worse. Showed up with someone else,” he muttered, closing his eyes. “I don’t know why I even try anymore.”

“Because you still have hope,” Craig supplied the answer. “That someday you’ll find Ms. Right.” Shrugging, he mused, “It’s not a bad thing, you know - to want to be happy and lucky in love.”

Hugo turned up his nose and leaned his head against the concrete blocks. “I should have listened to Brett,” he murmured, staring out over the couples who cuddled on blankets watching the outdoor movie screen.

Turning lazy eyes toward Hugo once more, Craig made an inquiring noise. “Hmmm?”

Draining his beer, Hugo let the bottle tap against the wall of the picnic shelter. “Brett said I ought to try...” he cut himself off and shook his head. “I just want to meet someone to love. To have at home at night, to sit with quietly. Something beyond passion and sex. That’s important...but what if it doesn’t last?”

“It never does,” Craig grumbled, considering Hugo’s words. “It flashes hot and fast and burns out just as quickly.” Oh, he knew about that from experience. Perhaps more so than Hugo could imagine.

“It just seems like I’ve gotten one or the other,” Hugo said miserably, leaning his head back to stare up at the wooden roof. “Hot sex until it burns out, or comfortable friendship, a little romance...but no spark.”

Craig nodded in agreement. “Lots of hot sex, but no feelings. Never any feelings - at least not on his part.” He seemed lost in his memories for a moment before he pushed them away visibly. “There are a few lone wolves out there tonight, maybe you should go find a partner.”

Hugo snorted. “Lone wolves?” he asked. He knew Craig favored men. It was sort of an open secret around campus. This was San Francisco. No big deal. “That’s kind of what Brett said.”

“Worth a try if you’re open to that sort of thing,” Craig tossed his bottle into a nearby bin. He tugged at the waist of his jeans, arranging them more comfortably. His once crisp white shirt was now rumpled and wilted, making him feel inexplicably dirty.

Staying still against the wall, Hugo shook the empty bottle back and forth. “I’ve thought about it. But no one’s...shown any interest,” he murmured.

“Maybe you should pick someone YOU want,” Craig suggested. “Make the first move instead of waiting for someone else?”

Hugo tilted his head back down and looked at Craig. “I wouldn’t even know where to start. Obviously, I’m not doing well with women. I sure as hell wouldn’t be any good with men.”

Craig snorted. “Unless you are meant to be with a man, in which case it might just come naturally to you.” He sized Hugo up. “What are you afraid of, anyway?”

The older man’s eyes sort of glazed, going faraway. It took him awhile to answer. “That I’ll...always be alone,” he murmured before dropping his chin. He shrugged, now embarrassed, and moved to toss the bottle in the bin.

As Hugo’s arm moved past him, Craig reached out, placing a gentle hand on it. “You have nothing to lose.”

Looking up with sad eyes, Hugo just looked at Craig and then shook his head, smiling wryly. “Yeah, I do. What little confidence I have left, what memories I can comfort myself with,” he said quietly. He shrugged and covered Craig’s hand with his. “I just wish love hadn’t passed me by,” he said wistfully, turning to look out at the lawn again.

Turning his hand beneath Hugo’s, Craig smiled as their moist palms slid and then stuck together. “Maybe it hasn’t passed you by. Maybe you need to redefine your idea of what love really is.”

Hugo’s smile turned soft, and he leaned forward on the bin, bracing on the elbows as he watched the movie screen blindly. “Any ideas?” he asked quietly.

“Are you looking for new love?” Craig questioned, moving his hand as Hugo leaned forward, “Or is there someone that could interest you in your life already?”

“Looking? I figure I’ve been looking in the wrong places. Or maybe right past things I should already have seen. Who knows?” Hugo sounded defeated. He squeezed Craig’s hand and stood up. “I’m heading home. I don’t want to watch the end of this,” he jerked a thumb at the romance on the screen.

A flash of disappointment made Craig’s heart race as he straightened up, following Hugo for a short distance. “You’re leaving already? But the night’s still young - maybe you’ll find someone who interests you...” he volunteered in a hurried spiel. He couldn’t let Hugo get away, could he? Not when the other man had finally expressed an interest in his own gender…

Hugo glanced to Craig, mouth quirking as he watched the other professor walk backward so he could keep talking to him. “Finding someone I’m interested in isn’t the problem, Craig,” he reminded. He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked.

“So you’re just gonna go?” Craig stopped, Hugo passing him up in what felt to be as much a figurative way as literal. “You’re giving up? Just like that?”

Pausing and turning sideways, the older man looked back at Craig. “This is hardly a new development in my life, Craig,” he objected mildly. “Do you think I’m missing something obvious?”

Turning to face Hugo, Craig shrugged. “Well, yeah - I do think you’re missing something obvious.”

Hugo frowned slightly, tilting his head and looking at Craig. Then he blinked. And straightened. “Oh.” He blinked again, and both brows rose. “OH.” He looked honestly stunned. He WAS honestly stunned.

Well, THAT went well. Craig stepped back a step. “I don’t want to hold you up.” He’d never honestly seen as much surprise on any human’s face as he’d just glimpsed on Hugo’s. That surely couldn’t be good.

The surprise slowly gave way to thinly veiled curiosity and not a little actual glow of amazement. “Really?” he asked, not meaning Craig’s last words, but the bombshell he’d subtly dropped before them.

Scuffing the toe of his sneakers against the curb, Craig shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah. Really.” He peeked up at Hugo, trying to gauge the other man’s reaction to his admission.

Hugo opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t form the words. He was fascinated, flattered, surprised, amazed...all overshadowed by an intense sense of rightness. Like everything had just clicked into focus after being blurry for so long. Finally he stammered out, “Buy you a cup of coffee?”

Despite having been so careless with his remarks about taking chances before, a wave of relief washed over Craig as he realized that Hugo had accepted his words - that he hadn’t been rejected outright. Straightening, he smiled. “Coffee would be nice.”

The older man offered a smile, still feeling a bit dazed. “Great. That’s - great,” he said, turning to walk in the opposite direction, watching Craig the whole time.

Their gazes catching and holding, Craig waited for Hugo’s indication of what he wanted. When the other man was close enough to hear him, he sighed, “Better than great - it’s going to be wonderful.”

*****

THE END

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