Title: Chain of Fools
Author: Tinnean
Fandom: The Big Chill
Pairing: Harold/Nick
Rating: PG-13
Feedback email: Tinneantoo@aol.com
Date: 1/2001
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 was
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 Northwestern. "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~