Song: "Sleepwalk" - Santo & Johnny

My first published work in a loooong time. I'm a bit rusty. If you like this story and want to see more, my tumblr is the-happy-landfill. You can drop me a 2doc request there.

2D took a long drag off his cigarette and blew a series of ghostly smoke rings into the cool night air. The singer was preoccupied with watching the smoke drift upward and dissipate, but Murdoc's eyes were transfixed on him. This was the first time they'd seen each other face-to-face in two weeks.

Their time on Plastic Beach hadn't exactly been pleasant. Saying that their last argument had been two weeks ago might be considered an improvement, until you remembered that during that whole time, they hadn't spoken either. 2D sat trapped in his basement room like a caged songbird, stewing into a rage, and Murdoc sat guzzling rum in his lighthouse, talking into a microphone whether anyone was listening or not.

Neither of them could take it anymore. It was actually a nice night on the Beach for once; a little chilly, a little breezy, but the sky was diamond clear. So Murdoc had sent Cyborg down to fetch 2D from his room and bring him up onto the deck. And now here they sat, smoking and listening to the record player, not talking. It was silent except for the quietly droning music and the soft crash of waves on the shore below them. It had been over an hour already, and Murdoc was polishing off the first bottle of rum.

He considered offering 2D a drink, then quickly thought better of it. He probably wouldn't even know what to say. He wasn't sure how to talk to his singer without him looking frightened or pissed off anymore, as he so often was these days.

His singer. Murdoc really should stop thinking of him that way.

Well, of course he's my singer, Murdoc thought hurriedly, taking a pull from the rum bottle. I practically own him.

Ah, but 2D wasn't really Murdoc's anymore, now was he? He'd given him up by trapping him in an underwater basement guarded by his greatest fear, because he didn't see any hope of 2D wanting to stay with him otherwise.

A chill wind blew across the deck, and 2D shivered, rubbing his bare arms when goosebumps began to pop up on them. Murdoc briefly pictured himself putting an arm around him to keep him warm, and then drowned the thought with another drink. That didn't stop him from continuing to stare at the singer, however. If 2D noticed Murdoc's eyes on him he didn't mention it.

Without a word, 2D rose from his beach chair and crossed over to the deck railing, taking one last drag from his cigarette before tossing it over the side. He folded his arms over the railing and stood in silence, empty gaze fixed on the vast expanse of water surrounding them. A vision, as always.

Murdoc hefted himself up and made his way over to stand beside 2D, bottle still in hand.

"You alright?" The question was out before Murdoc could stop it, and he mentally kicked himself for asking something with such an obvious answer, but at least the silence was broken.

2D was quiet for a long moment, and Murdoc almost thought he wasn't going to answer, until he let out a long shaky sigh and looked Murdoc in the eyes for the first time that night.

"I've been better."

"Haven't we all?" Murdoc asked, chuckling without much humor. He raised the rum bottle to his lips and drank until it was completely empty, then lobbed it over the railing and into the sea, watching it disappear beneath the surface and come bobbing back up. When he looked back, 2D was still staring at him, his eyes wide and unreadable.

"What?" Murdoc asked a bit defensively. But there was no word from the singer. Maybe it was the alcohol, but that wide-eyed stare was making him a bit nervous. "Listen, faceache, cut that out. You can't just stand there staring at me like some silent ghost."

"I dunno what you want me to say, Murdoc!" 2D snapped, fingers twitching nervously. "I never know what to say that's not gonna piss you off anymore…"

Murdoc tensed at such familiar words coming from 2D, locking his gaze forward. He was itching for another drink, but he'd foolishly neglected to bring another bottle out to the deck. "You're fine for now," he growled. "But watch yourself. And stop staring."

"Okay," 2D sighed, turning back to look at the ocean again. "Are you… are you alright?"

"What do you think?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense… You do look pretty tired."

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" It was true, Murdoc hadn't slept much, unless he was passed out. But they were both looking a bit worse for wear. It couldn't have been easy to sleep with a whale's eyes looking in on you.

"Nothing! I didn't mean to insult you or anythin'. Not that time, anyway…" And 2D actually managed a quiet laugh, even as another wind blew across the deck and made him shiver, more violently this time. What an idiot, coming out onto the deck in nothing but short sleeves. Then again, he didn't come outside often enough to expect such cold weather.

As he thought this, Murdoc was moving closer to 2D inch by inch, hopefully not enough to be noticeable, still keeping his eyes forward. If Murdoc couldn't put an arm around 2D to shield him from the wind, or tuck a strand of blue hair behind his ear when it was blown in front of his eyes, or something else equally sappy, then he'd come as close as he could.

"It's alright, y'know. You can touch if ya want to."

Murdoc's head snapped around to look at 2D in shock. It didn't seem possible that he'd really just heard that. But when he looked, 2D's was extending a hand toward him, smiling tentatively.

For a moment, Murdoc's heart jumped in his chest, and he was on the verge of snatching the invitation, figuratively and literally. And then he remembered what an awful idea it would be to get involved with 2D when he'd already fucked up their relationship so badly.

"Don't," he said quickly, turning away again. "It's not alright."

"It was just a handhold, sheesh…" 2D muttered, withdrawing his hand, trying to disguise the hurt in his voice with a bitter tone. Or maybe he was feeling a mix of both.

"I don't care if it was 'just a handhold.' It could've been holding hands, or a kiss, or a shag, the answer's still the same. We're not doing that anymore."

"I didn't figure."

For once in his life, Murdoc had nothing to come back with. What was there left to say? Silence fell over them again, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Murdoc found himself wanting to know what was going on in 2D's pretty head right then, but he had a feeling it wasn't anything good about him.

"I was really hoping, though…"

"What was that?'" Murdoc asked, shaken out his thoughts by 2D's quiet voice. The singer's narrow shoulders were drawn up and his head was bent forward, as if he were trying to make himself smaller, even at his towering height. It might have been funny, if it weren't so sad.

"When we split up the last time, I knew the band was over, and you never said anythin' about it then, but I could pretty much figure out we were over, too," 2D explained, his voice soft and a bit shaky. "But comin' here… Sure I was pissed, still am, but I thought I could try to make the best of it. I got my hopes up. I thought if we got the band back, I'd get you back, too… Guess not, though. And now, knowin' nothing's ever gonna be the same between us… it just makes everythin' seem that much worse." He stopped and let out a long breath, his shoulders visibly sagging, as if spilling his heart out had drained all the strength from him.

Murdoc stood staring at him, this time stunned into speechlessness. He hadn't expected he and 2D would ever actually discuss this. Now that the subject had been broached, a familiar feeling of guilt, of wanting to fix things but fearing it was too late, was weighing on him. He wanted to do something about it, but what? Maybe just one thing, one small thing to make 2D a little less depressed-looking. All he could hear now was the forgotten music playing, and his heart thudding in his ears over it.

There was quiet moment between the end of the previous track and the beginning of the next. When it began to play, a small smile flickered across Murdoc's face for a moment. It was quite an old number, made even before he was born, but a good one. Slow, twangy, a little bit melancholy. It seemed the perfect song for a setting like this. It was also a song that might be nice to slow dance to, if you liked that sort of thing.

"Lovely song, isn't it?" Murdoc observed quietly.

2D cracked a little smile, in spite of himself, and nodded in agreement.

"Almost makes you want to dance, doesn't it?"

"What?" 2D looked over at Murdoc in confusion, and was even more puzzled to see the bassist's offered hand in front of him. Hesitantly, 2D put his own hand in Murdoc's and let himself be pulled forward into his arms.

Murdoc carefully wrapped his arms around 2D's waist and sighed in relief when the singer placed his own hands on Murdoc's shoulders. He had worried for a moment that 2D would be mad at him for so suddenly changing his mind. He didn't seem angry, but there was a haze of concern over his features.

"You're sure about this?" 2D asked.

"Sure I'm sure." Murdoc insisted, even though he wasn't quite sure he knew how to do this properly. He could never let 2D know he was actually nervous, though, so he focused on setting the other man's nerves at ease instead. He dropped his voice low and looked straight into his eyes. "Are you?"

"Yeah… But, Murdoc," 2D spoke up as they began to move slowly, carefully, across the deck. "I'm pretty sure the taller person is supposed to lead."

Murdoc scoffed lightly, tightening his hold on 2D's waist. "You, lead? With those gawky limbs of yours? I don't think so. You'd have us crashing all over the place."

2D didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on top of Murdoc's head, doing the best he could to move his feet in time. They didn't move much, holding tightly to each other, slowly swaying to the music.

Somehow, Murdoc's face ended up pressed against 2D's chest, and he shut his eyes, cutting off the rest of the world. He heard only the music and 2D's breathing going in and out like the waves hitting the shore below them.

They didn't let go of each other when the song ended, or the next, or the next. For the first time since coming to the Beach, things felt almost right again, though Murdoc found himself wondering if things could ever really be fixed.