Broken Open
Author: DImitri Aidan
Rating: Uhhh. T?
Pairing: Nathan/Dwight. Just cause
Summary: Nathan goes home with Dwight after the incident at the police station and learns that some people are more 'troubled' than others. Being a handy man, for Dwight, is maybe a little bit skill and a little bit destiny.
Notes: In which the story gains a plot. Kinda. No sex, but not to worry, I'll be getting back to that. I had a scene, but it ended with Nathan blacking out and thus wasn't as much fun as I wanted. Also, I'm pretty sure Nathan is making the -_- face through the entire first scene here. Maybe the o_O face at the end.
Title: The song for this tale is 'Broken Open' By Adam Lambert. I will, at some point, edit the first bit to reflect this change.
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Break into Me
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Nathan woke up, mind foggy as he stared contemplatively at the ceiling above him. This was not his bed. He could be confident in that fact that this wasn't his bed because, at the moment, he didn't actually have a bed. After his father had died he'd moved back into his childhood home but hadn't actually unpacked anything except his clothes yet, and those he'd shoved into his old room. He was sleeping on the couch these days, still not sure what to do in the house. He didn't want to sell it, but if felt very empty without his father's presence.
He and the chief hadn't always been on the best of terms (and by always he meant 'at all') but he was coming to realize that, in spite of their differences and even with all the things that had been kept from him, his father had loved him.
That counted for more than Nathan had ever thought it would.
He pushed himself up, letting his eyes adjust to the dimness of the room. It was a simple bedroom, a large bed, a dresser and closet on one wall, a computer desk and door that lead to a small bathroom on the other, and finally a closed door. He slid from between the sheets, looking down to survey the floor. Hardwood and free of anything he could hurt himself on without realizing it. Next he turned his gaze to himself and felt a touch of alarm when he realized he was completely nude.
Some people probably would have been really bothered by this, but Nathan had a history of being knocked out/injured and being picked up by people in Haven. More than once he'd woken up in someone's home, patched up and confused, after an accident. His troubles were public knowledge and so people (who weren't afraid or disgusted by him) tended to be kind and ready to help.
Still, he'd never woken up totally undressed before. He frowned, trying to clear the fog in his brain and remember what had happened. Had he taken a blow to the head or…He cast his eyes around the room, a burst of memory coming to him. He shuffled to the end of the bed, not at all surprised to find his clothes in a messy pile there.
"I think," Dwight said while glaring balefully at the buttons on Nathan's shirt. "That it would be easier if you let me cut this off."
Nathan smiled. "I like this shirt."
Dwight rolled his eyes then moved in, lips covering Nathan's. Nathan closed his eyes, drinking in the feeling of warm lips, the rasp of stubble, and the tickling feeling of Dwight's hair against his skin.
Right. Nathan had temporarily lost his mind and decided to fuck one of the four people he was confident he could trust in Haven, something that seemed like a horrible idea now. But random sex/one night stands probably always seemed like a bad idea in the light of day.
Nathan wasn't well versed in that kind of thing, not having a very 'casual' personality. Despite that he supposed this was the proper time for the awkward morning after conversation.
Nathan pulled his clothes on quickly then opened the door. Dwight's bedroom was off of the kitchen and upon entering he found it totally empty. A quick look around the (very) small apartment found that Nathan was indeed alone.
Well, that saved him the awkward conversation he supposed.
What he did find, perhaps to make up for a lack of Dwight, was a coffee pot left on and half full of coffee with creamer, sugar, and a mug sitting next to it, and a white box with a 'Dot's Bakery' sticker slapped on top. There were post-its stuck to the pot and the box, one saying 'Drink Me' and the other 'Eat Me' in big block lettering. Nathan smiled in spite of himself.
A donut and a cup were procured and then Nathan found himself sitting at the bar that separated Dwight's kitchen from his living room, staring a small framed picture situated on the corner. It was a young girl, all big eyes and messy brown hair, dressed in what Nathan thought was a white dancing outfit. (Nathan wasn't big on dance and didn't make it a point to know what kind of things little girls wore while dancing.) She had a pair of bunny ears situated on her head and a very large, very out of place, pocket watch dangling from her hand.* Dwight stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder and a smile on his face that could only be described as adoring.
Nathan frowned, suddenly feeling very out of place.
He stared down at Dwight, heart thudding so loud in his chest that if he'd been in a more 'aware' state would have bothered him. At the moment, however, it was hard to focus with the other man's mouth on his cock. Dwight had gotten him out of his clothes and onto the bed then went straight to work. He'd taken his dick, pumped it a few times in a large work-roughened hand, then closed his burning hot mouth over it and-
"Ah!" Nathan jerked forward, hands fisting the sheets of Dwight's bed.
The other man chuckled, vibrations running up Nathan's shaft, and he groaned in response. He fisted a hand in Dwight's hair, wrapping the soft strands around his fingers as he lost himself to the feeling of wet heat drawing him in.
He reached and turned the photo so it was facing away from him.
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Dwight wanted to feel bad about leaving his apartment before Nathan had woken up, but he couldn't quite get himself to that point. Leaving avoided that whole painful element of waking up next to someone you probably shouldn't have been waking up with. He had never liked those long silences, forced conversation, and halting attempts at explaining the night away; he didn't see a point in going through it with Nathan.
A call from Duke had given him a perfectly plausible and reasonable excuse to leave, and he'd been more than happy to take it. He'd grabbed donuts from the bakery across the street and left them for the other man then headed out, feeling only slightly guilty. It was wrong, he knew, to have given Nathan access to human touch and the ability to feel only to slide out in the morning without a word.
But Dwight would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little bit self-serving. Last night was proof enough of that.
He parked his van outside of Duke's place then, noting the 'closed' sign on the door, reached for his cell phone to call the other man. Duke had been renting it out for a baby shower and it seemed things had gotten a little heated between the mother to be and the mother-in-law. The mother to be had apparently hit her limit and began to scream.
That scream had shattered glass, windows, and knocked her mother in law into the wall hard enough to cause a very distinct human shaped dent. Thankfully the actual party hadn't begun so the only people to witness the event were the pregnant woman, the now unconscious mother-in-law, and a drunken sister-in-law, all of whom were now at the hospital. Duke had called, hoping Dwight could help him get the place cleaned up and 'normal' by lunch.
Dwight stopped, eyes falling on a familiar vehicle. What was the Reverend doing here? Dwight would have thought that, in light of Duke's wife's death the night before, he would want nothing to do with the bigoted old fuck. He set his phone down and leaned forward, hands coming to rest of the steering wheel.
Something was wrong here. He didn't dislike Duke, but he didn't trust the man. It wasn't anything personal, or at least an un-personal as disliking a person could be, but he'd known people like Duke and rarely did they turn out to be anything other than trouble.
Haven had enough Trouble, as far as Dwight was concerned.
He waited, fingers drumming on the steering wheel. He didn't have to wait long; Duke and the Reverend emerged from the Gray Gull, the older man talking while Duke nodded and seemed to be listening intently. Driscoll stopped abruptly, gaze falling on Dwight.
He smiled politely, putting on the mask he always did when dealing with the Reverend his and 'flock' and hopped out of his van. He strode forward, watching as the Reverend frowned and said something to Duke, who looked just slightly panicked as he replied. Both stopped as soon as Dwight was in earshot and Driscoll fixed a smile as fake as the one Dwight wore on his face.
"Mr. Hendrickson, how good to see you."
Dwight nodded. "You too Reverend."
"I was just talking to Melissa about you. In spite of your many failings the poor girl seems to still miss you quite a bit." Driscoll's smile turned sympathetic, but his eyes held the trace of disgust Dwight was used to. "I do wish you'd see the light and consider joining us. There is always hope for change! Isn't that right Duke?"
Duke's face was pained, even as he nodded. "Amen Reverend."
Driscoll seemed pleased with this and, with a condescending pat to Dwight's arm, crossed the parking lot to his car alone. He left, leaving Dwight to stare down at Duke who, to his credit, stared back unflinchingly.
"Thanks for coming out," Duke said finally, looking away from Dwight and towards the water. "I appreciate it but the Rev called some of his people to come help with the clean up."
Clean up without covering up of course. Quite the opposite probably, the reverend would spread this as far and fast as he could to further divide people in Haven. Even pregnant women couldn't be trusted, or something along those lines.
"You never struck me as the religious type."
"I'm just looking for answers."
Dwight had heard that before, from his ex-wife. They'd managed to separate on almost amicable terms, amazing considering Dwight had cheated on her and broken her heart, but after Lizzie had died a gap had opened up between them that couldn't be bridged. She'd gone to the Reverend, seeking answers and comfort, and had instead come to the conclusion that the Troubles, and the people touched by them, were the source of all of their issues. She seemed to think they could get past them if Dwight just allowed himself to be 'cured'.
He wasn't exactly sure if the 'Cure' related to his Trouble, the cheating, or other 'failings'. Either way he wasn't interested. Where the death of their daughter had shattered Melissa and left her unable to pick herself back up, it had broken Dwight and allowed him to see his life for what it was.
"You understand that if you end up on the other side of this, and did something to hurt Audrey or Nathan, I'd make you disappear? Nothing personal of course." Here Duke looked at him again, a bark of shocked laughter erupting from his mouth. "It's just what I do."
He clapped Duke on the shoulder in what may have seemed like a friendly gesture from the outside but was really all about Dwight making sure his point hit home. He headed towards his van, mind already on his next job. The lights were acting up in the girl's locker room at the high school and Dwight had been called in to take a look.
He half thought it might be a simple electrical problem and half expected to find some manner of Troubled teenage boy using his powers to sneak around in the locker room.
"Right. Covering up murders, hiding bodies, and helping Nathan falsify reports so people can get away scot-free." The bitterness practically dripped from the words Duke shouted at his back. "It's just what you do."
Crocker was going to be an issue, Dwight was sure of that much.
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*In my head this is how a little girl playing the White Rabbit in a Haven retelling of Alice in Wonderland would look.
On another note, I wonder about Nathan and his 'curse'. We have conflicting messages in this show; on one hand we're lead to believe it started when he was 8, but on the other hand we have Nathan telling Audrey he isn't a virgin, but hasn't had sex since he lost the ability to feel. I suppose both could be true but that would more disturbing than I'll allow my brain to comprehend. At first I reasoned that maybe the curse comes and goes, but I have no evidence to support that. I'm curious about the thoughts of other's on this issue.
Other stuff: Fixing a few things, missing words and junk. Carry on.
