Grow Up
by Tuuli
~~~
Dominic was drunk. He was drunk,
his breath smelled of alcohol and he was placing badly coordinated kisses all
over Elijah’s neck, arms wrapped around the younger man from behind as Elijah fumbled
for the key to his house. Dom might’ve been drunk, but it didn’t stop Lij from
wanting him.
Elijah, on the other hand, was a little
bit tipsy, but not nearly as drunk as Dom. Lij wasn’t even officially allowed
to drink yet. Not by American laws, anyway. He had gotten himself a few drinks
during the night but had remained pretty sober – due to not wanting to drink or
not getting drinks, Dom didn’t know, but in his drunken state, didn’t care,
either.
“Poor little Lij,” Dom said lightly.
“Having trouble with your keys?” He tried to grab Elijah’s fumbling hands and
take the key from him.
“I’m not a child, Dom,” Lijah commented
dryly, using his body to knock Dom a little bit further away from him.
“Aww, come on, honey! Let me take care
of you, look after you…” Dom tried again, this time managing to grab the keys
from his boyfriend and taking the right key to put into the lock.
“I’m *not* helpless, Dom!” Lij
exclaimed, slapping the Brit’s hands away from the key and the lock. He opened
the door and stepped in. “You were nuzzling me, and I was paying more attention
to that than what I was to the lock! I can look after myself!”
“Of course,” Dom agreed, shrugging off
his coat and stepping closer to Lijah, wrapping his arms around him.
“Dom, I’m serious!” Elijah said,
exasperated. “I’m not a kid.”
“Lij, calm down. I just like taking care
of you, that’s all. Besides, you *are* young, you gotta admit that. You aren’t
even allowed to drink, for god’s sake!” Dom said, grabbing the hem of Lij’s
shirt in an attempt to take it off. Elijah resisted.
“Fuck you, Dom! I would’ve thought you
would’ve at least respected me enough not to think of me as a kid! You’re my
boyfriend, goddamn it! Do I look like a kid to you when you’re making love to
me?”
Dom’s features softened considerably.
“No,” he whispered softly. “You look very much like a man, then.”
Before Dom could lean in for a kiss,
though, Elijah muttered, “Then treat me like one!”
The older man sighed. “What’re you expecting
me to do, Lij? You *are* only 18 years old! You’re 18, you’re over 4 years
younger than me, you aren’t allowed to drink, you were a virgin before me… What
should I do? Treat you like Ian McKellen? With *respect*?”
“No!” Lijah shouted. “You’re supposed to
let me take care of myself! I can drive, I can hold my liquor well enough, I
can fucking vote for fuck’s sake! But apparently I can’t find myself a lover
who thinks of me as a *man*, not a frigging *boy*! Have you seen The War? Have
you seen North? *That* was me as a kid! *This* is me as an *adult*! I can
fucking well opened my own fucking door, I don’t need you to hold my hand!”
Dom swallowed. “Lij, come on, I know
that, I’m sorry… I’m just drunk…”
“Yeah, see? *You* are drunk, not me!
You’re the one who drinks like a fucking school boy!” Lij continued, voice
harsh, clearly more annoyed than Dom had realized.
“Calm down, Lij…” the older man said
gently, pulling Elijah into his arms. Lij tried to resist, but didn’t really
put up a fight as Dom wrapped his arms around him.
“I *know* I’m not perfect, I *know* that
I’m young… but I’m not a kid. Of course, like you said, I haven’t had a lot of
lovers… and I can’t cook to save my life…”
Thinking about Elijah in the kitchen,
Dominic snickered. The younger man stiffened in his arms immediately. //Aw, shite, Monaghan. Bad move!//
Pulling away from his boyfriend’s arms,
Elijah said, “I think you should go home tonight.” He wasn’t looking at Dom.
“Lij, no, I’m sorry. It’s just that…
you, cooking…” Dom said, but couldn’t stop another snicker from escaping.
Elijah turned to his boyfriend, eyes
sparkling blue fire. “Yes, thank you, Dominic. We both know that *you* are a
magnificent cook.”
“I’m *sorry*, Lijah! It’s just the
alcohol talking, y’know? Please let me stay…” Dom said with a futile attempt to
pull the younger man closer.
“Good night, Dom,” Elijah said
pointedly. “I’m sure you, as the adult in this relationship, can find your way
to the door.”
Hell, they were standing right in front
of it.
Dom went through all the pet names he
had for Lijah, but couldn’t come up with one that might’ve helped. //Well, at
least don’t call him ‘baby’ right now, okay?// “Honey…” Dom tried once more.
“Good night!” Lij shrieked, taking a menacing
step forward.
Dom took this as a definite sign he
should go. Sighing, he took his jacket and put it on, stepping forward to give
Elijah a kiss. Lij turned his head so that Dom wouldn’t be able to kiss him on
the mouth, so the older man just placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “Good night,
Lighe,” Dom said with an apologizing smile before letting himself out.
Elijah walked over to the door and
leaned heavily against it. He couldn’t hear footsteps, so Dom had to be
standing right behind the door. “Good night, Dommie,” Lijah whispered, closing
his eyes.
After a few minutes, Elijah could hear
Dom walking away, leaving him in the darkness. As he went to bed – alone – Lij
wondered if he could put up with a guy who didn’t respect him. It wasn’t that
he didn’t love Dom… but all his life he had been treated as a kid, a child
star, and he really wanted someone to love him for who he was for a change.
When he was getting ready to go to bed,
after changing into his pyjamas and washing his teeth, he glared at his
reflection in the mirror. He looked young. He sighed, whispering to his
reflection, “Grow up!” before leaving the bathroom in a hurry and crawling
between soft sheets.
It took him almost two hours to fall
asleep.
-loppu-
