Title: It's about time!
Author: Clarity Scifiroots
Fandom/Pairings: The Dead Zone – Johnny/Bruce
Request: For rainbowgoddess's "romantic seduction" challenge.
Disclaimers Apply.
Summary: "The time had come for Johnny Smith to get a clue."
Edited July 8, 2005
Bruce knew that he had been playing with fire as of late. But he was getting tired; he was so tired of waiting for Johnny to figure out what he wanted—who he wanted. As for Bruce… he knew—he had known for quite some time. In spite of that, Bruce had continued to date, although only for short, random intervals. He was tired of telling the women from those dates that they were wonderful but no, sadly he was not interested in going up to her family's cabin that weekend. It hadn't been fair to them, and as he thought about it, the situation wasn't fair to him, either.
The time had come for Johnny Smith to get a clue.
Not that Bruce was very sure that Johnny had picked up on "it." One would think that the problem regarding a psychic and one's feelings about said psychic would lay in hiding said feelings from said psychic. Somehow Johnny didn't seem to fit into that reasoning. Bruce did wonder if Johnny just dismissed his mild flirtations as par for the course in their unique and close friendship. It was better to think that way than to think that indeed Johnny was aware of what Bruce was hinting at but hadn't said anything because he didn't want to hurt his friend by saying he wasn't interested. Hell, it was possible that Johnny had problems with homosexuality, it wasn't like the topic had ever really come up before; Bruce had long been dating on one side of the fence since a disaster with a past male lover had left him feeling vulnerable and distrustful. But most of the time he felt reasonably hopeful. After all, he hadn't noticed Johnny backing away from him. Apparent lack of acknowledgement, however, hinted that it was time to step up his advances. He could start tonight. Bruce was heading over to Johnny's after work for dinner and a X-files season seven marathon.
He smiled to himself, a few scenarios already playing through his mind.
Well this was certainly unexpected! Bruce slowly walked through the kitchen to the door leading onto the patio. Johnny was upstairs and had called down for him to head around back when Bruce arrived.
Definitely wasn't expecting this... he thought through a haze of surprise.
A small outside table had been decked out in a full fancy restaurant style—a draping white tablecloth, long-stemmed wine glasses, full set of shining silverware, and plates of chicken parmesan. A bucket of ice chilled the wine in a stand set next to the table and there were candles set along the low wall that separated the patio area from the garden.
He does know I'm the one here, right? This was just so strangely coincidental, surely it couldn't... Could it?
"Crowding candles on the table didn't look to be a good idea."
Johnny's voice made Bruce's heart skip a beat. Slowly he turned to look at the man—his friend who never failed to surprise him with something new—standing just outside the kitchen doorway.
It took a while to find his voice and when he did, his throat felt incredibly dry. "John... what is all this?"
A small smirk crept across the blonde's lips. "Is the reality so hard to take in?"
Finally coming out of his daze, Bruce let loose a dazzling smile. "You beat me to it! Now, why the hell didn't we do this sooner?"
Johnny came closer as he chuckled. "A couple reasons: one, let's say I'm a little slow on the uptake for a psychic; and second, I saw an opportune timing to plan this..." He gestured to the results of his work.
Bruce looked around again and then turned back to find Johnny's searching gaze watching his face.
"Never knew you were such a romantic," Bruce said.
Rolling his eyes, Johnny started, "Well—" Bruce cut him off with a brief but firm kiss. When he pulled back he noted the faraway look that Johnny got when he had a vision. After a few moments Johnny refocused and smiled knowingly. "Wow."
Bruce narrowed his eyes, both amused and annoyed. "There had better not be anybody else in bed besides you and me, man," he warned.
Johnny groaned at the memory of what a disaster it had been attempting to fool around with Dana. "Don't remind me..."
Bruce slid closer so that their bodies touched. "Care to share that last vision?"
"You know, it's a little hard to explain... It might be better to show you."
Bruce grinned.
Fin