Pairing: Duncan/Methos
Rating: PG (for language)
Series/Sequel: Oh hell... yes - this will be a series of snippets
Disclaimer: Not my characters - no copyright infringement intended
Notes: Thanks to Laura and Jami for betaing this thing.
Summary: Oh - just a snippet - post TB/NTB - Pouting!Methos, daybreak, concert - dancing... You'll see.
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Fucker.
'I don't know who or what you are.' How DARE he?
If I hadn't left when I did... well I just might have killed him. After dropping Joe off at his place, I drove to my apartment building. Sat in the car for the longest time, just thinking. About him - about us.
//Well, you old fool, you've really done it this time.// Why, oh why was I... WHAT the hell was my problem? I don't fall for straight men. Ever.
And, I'd have to search long and hard to find a man more rampantly heterosexual than Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.
'I don't know who or what you are.'
Growling at my own foolishness - yet unable to rid my mind of the knowledge that even as I sat here agonizing over him, he was on the fucking barge, fucking that fucking bitch Amanda.
I hated her - I hated him. Hell, I hated every fucking thing in the fucking world at that moment.
Impatiently, angrily, I climbed out of the car and started inside. Realized that the walls of my small apartment would be claustrophobic right then and started walking. Once I'd gotten into my stride, I covered a lot of miles in the next few hours. Hell, after 5,000 years of practice, if there was one thing I did well, walking was it.
Obviously those years hadn't been enough time to learn to recognize a lost cause when I saw one.
At first I really did think he returned my interest. The man is one hell of a flirt. Gradually, though, I realized that it was just his way - I'd mistaken his teasing as flirting. By then it was too late for me, though. I had fallen for him like the proverbial ton of bricks.
Have I mentioned that I HATE him?
At least Mac hadn't figured out how I felt - that was the one saving grace of the situation. No, the man was completely oblivious. Idiot.
Joe knew - hell, there was no mistaking the sympathetic understanding I caught in his expression every once in a while. He never actually said anything, though.
Smart man, that Joe. Him, I like.
Which was a shame - because I was about to disappear. Yes, that was my plan. Bora Bora, I'd decided. A decade or two of laying on the beaches - and fucking anyone that caught my fancy... that would help. I'd fuck my brains out and forget all about him.
I hoped.
Decision made, I stopped and looked around me. I noticed two things - one, the sun was just breaking the horizon and, two, I'd somehow found my way to the Eiffel Tower. And - I was surrounded by people. Odd at this hour - the French are a strange race, but this was truly unusual. They like their sleep, you see. Sunrise is NOT their favorite time of day; not mine, either, to tell the truth.
But, there they - there WE - were. And a band was warming up.
Curious, I stuck around to see if I could figure out what the hell was going on. When the band started playing, I was more than a little surprised to see that couples were dancing - and all of said couples were same-sex pairs.
NOT something I was prepared to endure. Not that morning. Sighing, I turned to leave. I carefully kept my eyes trained on the ground, avoiding the painful sight of so many gay couples together.
And, damned if I didn't manage to run right into someone. "Sorry," I mumbled, backing up a step and moving to dodge the obstructing figure.
Two hands landed on my shoulders.
Large hands.
Warm hands.
"Methos."
Oh FUUUCK. What the hell was HE doing here?
"Get out of my way, Mac," I said in a rough voice.
"No." His hands closed more tightly on my shoulders.
Fucker.
I reversed my momentum and backed up a step.
He kept pace.
"Methos, we need to talk."
//I think NOT!//
"Leave me be, MacLeod. Go back to Amanda." That gave away a little more than I'd intended - but, what the fuck? I'd be out of Paris soon enough. In a couple of hundred years he'd forget all about my foolishness.
"Amanda left just after you did."
Uh huh.
Something in my stance must've told him I was more than a little skeptical. One hand moved to raise my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. "She did, I promise you. I've been looking for you all night, Methos."
"Why?"
He shuffled his feet and looked away for a moment. "Because," he finally said, turning back to meet my suspicious gaze, "I didn't say the right thing last night. I should have said... " He stopped and swallowed heavily.
"Should have said WHAT?"
"I... um... " Suddenly he moved closer and took me in his arms.
//Oh shit.//
"What the hell are you doing, MacLeod?"
"Dancing."
"Why?" I asked him again.
He shrugged. "Because I want to - want to... I, um - Ihavefeelingsforyou."
Well, he shut me up with that. Frozen with shock, I stood there dumbly.
"Before she left," he whispered into my ear, "Amanda said I was an idiot to let you go."
"What the fuck does SHE know about it?" The bitch.
"She said that you had feelings for me, too."
Oh.
The conniving little bitch.
What the fuck could I say in answer to THAT? Deny everything? Call him a fool - a delusional fool? Or take the chance that Amanda was right... about his feelings for me?
Without direction, my feet started moving, following his lead, dancing with him to the slow bluesy tune the band was playing. Gradually, I relaxed against his solid warmth. And, damn, he felt good. Better than I'd even imagined.
I didn't stand a chance against him - or myself.
When the song ended, he leaned back to look searchingly into my face. "Can we go home now?"
Home?
Home.
Yes!
I may be a fool - but, fuck it. I'll always regret not taking this chance - and I have more than enough regrets.
"Yes," I answered. "Home it is."
Where we'd go from here, I'd no idea. And, at that moment, I couldn't have cared less.
He sounded sincere - and I wanted him so much... wanted it to be possible. Hope is not a familiar feeling to me any longer. But, with him, for him, I had no choice.
Silently, we went to his car, climbed in, and he drove us back to the barge.
Lost In France
In the fields the birds were singing
I was lost in France
And the day was just beginning
As I stood there in the morning rain
I had a feeling I can't explain
I was lost in France in loveI was lost in France
In the street a band was playing
And the crowd all danced
Didn't catch what they were saying
When I looked up he was standing there
I knew I shouldn't but I didn't care
I was lost in France in love* * * * * * *
