Title: Chain of fools
Author: Tinnean
Fandom: The Big Chill
Pairing: Harold/Nick
Rating: PG-13
Date: 1/2001
Series/Sequel: Part 2 of The Connection series, sequel to
Yesterday, When We Were Young
Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. They belong to
Lawrence Kasdan.
Summary: Harold is ready to commit, but Nick is not.
Warnings: m/m, minor spoilers for the movie
Chain of Fools
Part 1/1
It was a warm morning, late in June. Time to relish being
young and having the world by the tail. Time to beat his chest and howl in sheer
satisfaction.
Time to make plans.
Harold opened sated eyes and indulged the rare opportunity
to study his lover as his stood, unselfconsciously naked, by the window of his
dorm room. With graduation just hours past, they would need to pack soon and
vacate the premises, but not yet.
“So. What are the plans for today, babe?”
Nick turned to face him, banishing the disquiet from his
eyes before the other man could see it and question him. His expression wiped
smooth, he gave Harold his patented cocky grin.
“The plans?” Nick repeated carelessly.
This was the Nick who drove his friends crazy with his
inconsiderate behavior. Karen was no longer able to tolerate it, and had
recently broken up with him, rather messily their little group were forced to
agree.
****
Harold had been secretly delighted. With Sarah spending
more and more time comforting Alex over the loss of his fellowship, he was able
to explore the delightful venues that Nick opened to him.
Each time they were together, he became a little more
daring, and Nick let him proceed at his own pace, going from dry humping through
their clothes to hands on naked flesh to thirsty mouths. Finally, the night
before, Nick had slid his lubricated cock into Harold’s ass for the very first
time, and his friend had gone wild in his arms.
Sarah had never made him feel like that. He didn’t know
if she ever could.
But with his education completed, and Sarah having to go on
to med school, Harold was determined to end their relationship.
He was pretty sure he was falling in love with Nick, and he
was going to ask him to come out to the property that had been in his family for
generations. They could do some work on the old house and decide if they should
break it to his family that they were a couple.
Nick was alone; the closest thing he had to family was
their circle of friends. Harold was determined to correct that. He came from a
large, boisterous family that he was certain would be more than happy to embrace
the lanky Chicagoan.
****
Now Harold was starting to feel uneasy. For the first time
since they had become lovers, Nick’s callous attitude was aimed directly at
him. “Yeah, you know, I suggest something to do, and you either agree or you
make a suggestion of your own. Those kinds of plans?”
“Don’t think so, babe. I’m blowing this pop stand!”
Nick turned and walked into his own room. Harold hesitated
a minute, then followed him. He hovered in the doorway as his lover began
throwing clothes into an old dufflebag that had been with him since his first
day at Michigan.
“What’s wrong, Nick?”
“What could be wrong, Ha? School’s over, it’s time to
go home.”
“I thought you might…come home with me.”
Nick huffed snidely. “Go home with you? What, you were
going to introduce me to your parents as your boyfriend?”
Harold flushed with embarrassment. That was exactly what he
had planned.
“Grow up, Harold. It’s a cold world out there, and
we’re about to go head first out into it!”
He pulled on a snug pair of jeans and left them gaping open
as he searched for a clean top to go over it. “Listen, Ha. What we had was
fun, but it wasn’t real.”
“Nick…” Harold’s mouth was dry and he swallowed
hard. He had seen how Nick behaved when his girlfriends tried to hang on after
he decided it was time to go. His lips trembled, and he struggled to firm them.
“What about last night?”
“What about last night? Look, Harold, I don’t want to
be cruel, but I got what I wanted from you.”
“I’m your friend Nick.”
Nick pulled on a pair of socks.
“I’ll
always be your friend!”
“So?”
“Tell me you don’t want me anymore!”
“I don’t want you anymore.”
The silence was so thick it was like a suffocating blanket.
When Nick looked up, Harold was gone.
Nick’s eyes were shiny with unshed tears. The nails of
one hand were digging deep into his palm, leaving little crescent shapes in the
bruised flesh. In his other hand was the crumpled notice he had found waiting
for him when they got in the evening before.
The one that started, “Greetings from Uncle Sam…”
~End~
