The Faculty + RP = AU (Part3) - written for Livejournal

[prisca]

Title: Penny Dreadful ( 3 / 3 )
Fandom: The Faculty ( + a touch of Penny Dreadful) AU
Characters: Zeke Tyler, Casey Connor, Reeve Carney
Words: 3958
Rating: PG13


About three weeks later. Casey was standing on a ladder, a paper-hat on his head, a paint roller in his hand. He was busy painting his bedroom bright yellow. The radio was playing jazz music in the background. He was still not used to the silence in his apartment since Mike finally moved out. Not that he missed him. It had ended with an annoying fight. When he returned from San Diego, one week later than planned, Mike was still there, waiting for him with questions and accusations.

"The Con has been over for a week. When I went to the office two days ago, your editor told me you asked him for extra days off. So, why didn't you call me? I have a right to know what you are doing. What's wrong with you lately?"

And finally: ”It is another guy, isn't it? You did cheat on me!”

Even if this assumption wasn't that wrong, it was enough. “No, I don't!” Casey huffed slightly, feeling stressed out. “It's over, Mike, remember? Before I left, you asked me to decide between my job and a life with you. Well, I did choose the job, right? And you told me you would be gone when I return home.”

John took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. “That's ridiculous. You can't mean that. I love you!”

Casey cringed inwardly. “Don't call this love,” he murmured. “You wouldn't try to force me into a life I don't want if you would love me. My job means a lot to me. How can you ask me to give it up?”

“I just want you to stay at home. You know, I hate to be separated from you."

Casey rolled his eyes. “You are overexaggerating. It's not that I'm jetting around the world all the time. And I asked you to come with me more than once.”

“I'm not a globetrotter, and you know that. I want a family. We could adopt a child or two.”

This made Casey speechless. He had always known that Mike was a homebody, which was one reason why he had felt attracted to him at the beginning. Their evenings in front of the fireplace, chatting, listening to music. Mike had made dinner for them, not fast food; he was a gifted cook. Good times. Before he started to turn more and more into a control freak.

“And what next,” Casey finally asked. “I guess you will still work on your architectural career, and I will stay at home, do the dishes, and care for the children?”

“That's what family means, yes.”

Casey knew him well enough to realize that he did mean it. He sighed and shook his head. “With the right guy by your side, maybe. But I'm not the one. So, do us a favor and accept it. It didn't work anymore; we both have different plans for our future.”

Mike had looked more annoyed than hurt when he had stuffed some clothes into a travel bag and left the apartment without more argument. Some days later, when Casey did come home from work, half of the furniture was gone, and the keys were placed on the kitchen bar without a word. He was still angry when the phone rang, and Zeke brought him back on earth again.

Zeke. They would never have arguments like this. They were mature enough to know that a relationship between them could only work when they were willing to accept that they couldn't live together like other couples. Casey had his apartment and his job in Herrington. Zeke was living in New York when he was not elsewhere for a movie shooting, promotion, or whatever else. It didn't matter at all. They just needed to make the most out of the given time. Like they had done in San Diego.

Casey dipped the brush into the paint bucket and smiled while his mind wandered back. Of course, the kiss had just been the beginning. They had spent the night together; they had fucked wild, not once, not twice. It was as if they wanted to make up for all the time they had missed. Finally, they dozed off, sated and tired but happy, Casey's head on Zeke's shoulder. And in the early morning, they made love again, more slowly and gently this time.

Last day of Con. At night, they went into a club. Together with some other people in the movie. Also Reeve and his girlfriend, a young actress, intelligent and pretty, joined them for a while. Reeve seemed totally devoted to her. Zeke had grabbed Casey's hand and chuckled slightly. “See, there never was a chance for me.”

“Shut up,” Casey answered but laughed anyway.

“Don't worry.” Zeke bent closer to his ear; Casey could feel his warm breath and wet lips. “You're cute when you get jealous.”

“Behave,” Casey murmured while the heat rushed into his body. “People are looking.”

Gently, Zeke nibbled at his earlobe. “Let them. I don't care.”

Finally, Casey managed to pull away. “God, I hate you,” he groaned.

Zeke only laughed. And about one hour later, Casey was more than willing to forgive him for everything.

One week. They did spend one more week in San Diego, enjoyed many hours at the beach, visited the Museum of Art and the Zoo, did all that happy couples did during their vacation. When Casey took Zeke to the airport at the end of the week, he told himself that it was okay like it was. There was no reason to feel depressed. This was not a goodbye.

Zeke needed to return to New York, where the first script for the next season of Penny Dreadful would already be waiting for him. In two weeks, he would be on his way to Ireland for the shooting. But they would meet again, at the latest in November, when Zeke would be back in New York, and Casey would visit him for some days.

No, it didn't matter at all that they couldn't be together all the time; the reunion would be even better.

Ready. Satisfied, Casey put the brush aside and eyed the wall before him. So much better than the plain white walls. The two colorful prints of owls he found at the flea market last weekend would be the cherry on top.

A knocking at the door tore him out of his reverie. Grinning, he opened, expecting the pizza boy. "You know how to get a great tip," he said.
“That was quick.”

“Oh, it's pizza time? With extra cheese and pepperoni? I hope you don't mind sharing. I'm hungry like a wolf.”

Casey blinked, confused. He needed a moment to realize that it was Zeke, standing in front of him, with a wide grin on his face and a small traveling case by his feet. His eyes sparkled amused while he looked at Casey's with yellow splashes covered shirt and the stupid paper hat on his head.

All Casey did was stare back until he felt Zeke's arms around his waist. He pulled him nearer and placed a kiss on his lips. “Hey, geek-boy,” he murmured. "I've missed you!"

“What … what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the way to Ireland? Shooting!”

“Plans have changed a bit. John is a perfectionist when it comes to the right locations. He says he wants to put his actors in the right mood with the perfect surroundings. It seems he's still looking for a place for my next scenes.

I don't mind, gives me some more days off, and I decided to spend them in good old Ohio. So, can I stay here, or should I better look for a motel?”

“Sure, you will stay here.” It still felt unreal. Zeke, back in Herrington. Casey hadn't dared to hope he would return here one day. Zeke had never been a Herrington boy; he was the rebel, the bad guy, unwilling to follow any rules. He had left this world behind when he started working as a model in LA, New York, Paris, and Madrid. Nothing connected him with the small town anymore where he grew up, though it never felt like home. “Come on in. But I'm afraid the apartment is a mess.”

“I see.” Half curious, half amused, Zeke looked around. The carpet rolled up, some spare furniture, a bookshelf with comics, some paperbacks and videos, a TV rack without a TV, a couch with a cushion and a blanket as if someone had slept there last night. Some paint buckets, brushes, a paint roller, divers tools, and a stepladder. “You are busy. Big refurbishment?”

“Mike,” Casey explained. “The guy I was living together with for almost two years. He was not willing to accept the end, though he was the one who wanted me to choose.”

Zeke scrutinized him frowning. “What did he do,“ he wanted to know. „Did he hurt you?“

“What?” Casey noticed the barely hidden rage and concern in Zeke's voice. “No, oh no. He's not like that, he would never touch me. It's just that he was pretty peeved when he realized that I really wanted him to move out. He hadn't expected that, but I thought I would finally give in again. Well, this time, I didn't. In the end, he moved into a motel. And some days later, when I was at work, he returned to get some stuff."

Casey shrugged. "He took the flat screen and the DVD Player. He left back the old couch I bought secondhand ages ago. Most of the stuff I took over from my grandpa when I moved here.”

"Fucker," murmured Zeke. “Did you talk with your Mom about it? She's still working for the lawyer's office, right?”

“No, I don't.” Casey shook the head. “My parents have enough on their plate since my dad lost his job some month ago. And to be honest, I don't care about all this stuff. I would have given him all voluntarily if he had asked for it. Gives me a good reason to make a completely new start.“

He looked around in the apartment, chuckling. “I'm afraid I don't make a great workman. But I somehow managed to give the bedroom a new painting. It's a beginning.”

Zeke relaxed visibly. “Let me guess,” he said and smiled. “Yellow walls?”

“Huh?”

Zeke put his hand onto Casey's cheek and caressed the paint splash on his nose with the thumb. “Yellow. Like you are.”

Only a moment later, Casey was lying in his arms; they were kissing and touching each other with passion, which made him almost swoon. Oh yes, this was real; only Zeke could make him feel like this.

“Can I see it?”

Casey was reluctant to let him go again. “See what,” he murmured, putting his lips onto Zeke's neck. Licked, sucked, and finally bit him softly; oh, he loved to do this because it always made Zeke groan throatily, and he could feel his increasing desire.

“The bedroom,” Zeke moaned.“Wanna see it.”

“Oh!” Realization hit Casey, and it was almost sobering. “Oh! I'm afraid I don't own a bed at the moment.”

"That fucker took this, too?"

Casey shrugged. "No! I wanted to get rid of it, so I called Goodwill."

Zeke chuckled and squeezed his butt reassuringly, causing hot shivers to run through Casey's body again. “Well, I guess we don't need one.”

:::

Later, Casey was lying in Zeke's arms, his back close to his stomach, while Zeke held him tight to keep him from falling from the much too small couch. It wasn't very comfortable, but for sure, he wouldn't complain, not after the mind-blowing sex they just had had. He giggled slightly when Zeke's breath tickled at his neck.

“I've missed you,” he murmured.

“Yeah. I was thinking about it, you know.”

“About what?”

“About us.” Zeke paused for a moment, then he continued. ”I don't want this! Being separated from you most of the time.”

Casey stiffened in his arms, and iciness was creeping into his body. "Understand!"

“And what do you think about it?”

Casey sat up, grabbing his jeans from the floor. "I need a coffee. Want one, too?"

“Ähm." Zeke followed him with his eyes, slightly frowning, while Casey busied himself in the small kitchen area. "Everything okay?"

“Sure,” Casey answered with a slightly shaking voice. “No drama. I get it. You always needed your freedom. Some fun now and then, but nothing serious."

Zeke stared at him, full of disbelief. "After all that just happened, you think I want to dump you," he asked. "Stupid!"

"So!" Casey put one mug on the table before Zeke, then he leaned back at the kitchen counter with his own one. "What are you trying to tell me?"

“That I'm not willing to live without you any longer.”

“Oh!” For a moment, Casey felt that the world had stopped turning around. He had been prepared for the goodbye; that Zeke had decided not to see him again. And now this. “How should this work? Do you want me to move to New York?”

Zeke smiled. “Would you do that?"

Casey stared at him, not knowing how to answer. No question: he wanted to be together with Zeke as often as possible. Since he had noticed that he felt more for him than just friendship, he wondered how sharing a place with him would feel. But … He looked around in the apartment, his apartment. His parents were nearby, not a week where he didn't visit them. The Herrington Post, more than just a job. Only some time ago he had refused to give up this job for the guy he was living together with. Was he willing now to give up his life for a future together with Zeke? Leave Ohio behind, and move to New York?

A hand touched his arm softly and tore him out of his thoughts. “New York is a thrilling place,” Zeke said. “You would love to be there. The galleries, the clubs, the Central Park. For a while, a long weekend, vacation maybe. Living there would make you unhappy. You are so not a big-city kid.

So, no, I would never ask you to give up your life and move to New York.”

Casey smiled. Zeke had always known to read his mind. “And what then,” he asked. "Shall we meet in the middle of Pennsylvania?"

“I'm thinking about it to come back to Herrington.”
Zeke noticed Casey's eyes flaring wide.
“Don't worry, I can look for my own apartment if you don't want me to move in here. I understand.”

“You can't be serious.”

“Call me stupid, but I miss this town. Last year, the shooting for Penny Dreadful was almost over, and you could feel the tension rising. We had a lot of fun during the weeks in Ireland, but it was time for most of the team to go home to their families and friends. And what was I looking for?”

“New York?”

Zeke smirked. “Like I said, it's an exciting city, and I've made some good friends there. But going back to New York doesn't feel like going home.”

“And going back to Ohio would?” Casey's heart was up to his mouth, but he still looked suspicious.

Zeke smiled. “Going back to you, Casey. I don't plan to quit acting. As long as Penny Dreadful runs, it means shootings in Ireland, conventions, and promotion tours. What will come after this, who knows.

But there will always be a place I can call home. Herrington isn't that bad. The mall madness on a Saturday morning. The close-mindedness of the people. Annie's ice cream. Annie is still here, isn't she?”

Casey chuckled when the memories hit him. Their last summer together. The Mall. They had loved to go there, watching the crowd going mad, Casey taking pics, exploring the comic- and the record shop. And Annie's milk bar. Annie was a middle-aged woman with red dyed hair, a bit chatty but with a big heart. How many stops they had made at her little parlor?

“Yeah, Annie is still here. She will be happy to see you again.” Casey smiled. “Do you know that she did hang up all your pics from the Armani Campaign and tells everyone about it that you were the bad boy of town and she had to safe your ass more than once because you always got into some stupid trouble?”

“Oh God! That's our Annie!” Zeke rolled his eyes but laughed anyway.“We should go and have one of her famous Strawberry sundae.”

"But this can wait until later, right," Casey asked, watching Zeke with sparkling eyes. "First, I want to celebrate your homecoming!"

"Sounds like a good plan," Zeke answered, pulling him into his arms.

THE END