Don't Worry About It
May. 10th, 2016 06:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i_am_tl_drTitle: Don't Worry About It
Characters: Quentin Kinley, Tyler Jordan Graham
Rating: PG
Word count: 1080
Notes: Filling in a little more backstory.
Timeline: November 2013
"Have you been stealing my mail?" Quentin asked, scowling as he came out of the kitchen. Tyler Jordan looked over from the TV and arched a brow at him.
"What?"
"My mail. It's going missing."
"What mail?"
"Bills. For the past couple of months."
"Oh, yeah, I am." Quentin blinked, taken aback.
"Why?"
"I'm paying them."
"What?"
"The bills. The water bill, the internet bill, the electric bill... I'm paying them."
"Why?"
"Because I live here?" Quentin looked baffled. Tyler Jordan reached out and took one of his hands. "Because your roommate before me was a deadbeat and you were paying all the bills by yourself for months? Because you work part time and I work full time? Because I can afford to do it? They're still in your name but I've been paying them. Is that bad?"
"It's not bad, I just-- don't understand," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan gave him a sad smile.
"No one does nice things for you, do they?"
"Not without serious strings attached."
"Well, there are no strings on this. I mean, relationship strings or whatever. I'm partly doing it because we're a couple. But I'm mostly doing it because it's the right thing for me to do."
"Even after I pissed you off?"
"Yeah? I forgave you. Are you planning on pissing me off again?"
"No," Quentin lied. "I don't want you to leave." That was the truth.
"I'm not gonna leave if you make me mad," Tyler Jordan said. "I'm not gonna stop loving you if I get angry. That's not how love works."
"It isn't? I wouldn't really know," Quentin said. Tyler Jordan tugged on his hand until Quentin sat next to him on the couch, and then leaned in to kiss him softly.
"I'm trying to show you how it works," he said. "Will you let me take care of them? I don't want you to have to worry about it as much."
"I feel like I owe you now."
"You don't owe me anything. I'm not doing it to hold it over your head."
"You say that now," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan shook his head.
"If you think you owe me something, you can pay me back in backrubs and booze, okay? I'm not worried about it though. It's way easier for me to just take care of them than to try and split them every month or whatever."
"You can afford to do that?"
"Yeah." Tyler Jordan shrugged. "I'm pretty well off, okay? I don't like to talk about money."
"That's usually the position of people who either don't have enough of it or have too much of it," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan sighed.
"Is this a conversation we have to have? I don't think we've been together long enough for it."
"I'm curious, now. And if you're paying my bills, I think I should know."
"If you lost your job, we wouldn't lose the apartment," Tyler Jordan said. "Which isn't to say you should tell your supervisor where to stick it."
"Okay..." Quentin shrugged. "I'm not planning on being a stay at home dad to your fish."
"Good, because they would die."
"I'm not gonna kill your fish!" Tyler Jordan laughed, and Quentin's scowl softened after a moment. "I'm not well off. I'm pretty sure you know that already."
"I know," Tyler Jordan said. "I didn't think you would put up a fight about me paying the bills."
"I've been living on my own since I was 18," Quentin said. "Except for a couple of months. I couldn't rely on anyone else for anything. Usually if I trusted my roommate to take care of something, it would get shut off."
"That's not gonna happen with me." Tyler Jordan laced his fingers through Quentin's and squeezed his hand. "I'm reliable. I promise."
"I'd like to believe you."
"I already set them all up to be automatically paid from my bank account, okay? Unless something absolutely catastrophic happens to my entire family, you don't have to worry about it any more."
"That's... incomprehensible to me," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan sighed and pulled him closer.
"Can we please stop talking about it? What can I do to distract you? Can I take your pants off?"
"You can always take my pants off," Quentin said. "I'm in favor of us both being pantsless. And shirtless. And naked. We could be naked."
"We could be naked," Tyler Jordan agreed. "Best form of conflict resolution ever. I think you'll worry less with my hand on your dick."
"Don't think this is always gonna work," Quentin warned him. "I don't want you to get the idea that I'll always give in if you take my pants off."
"Quentin... this isn't an argument, is it? I'm not trying to win an argument. I'm trying to get you to accept a good thing. Am I always gonna have to convince you to let me do nice things for you?"
"You might," Quentin said. "I don't-- don't really trust nice things. There's always a catch. I just don't know what the catch will be until it snags." Tyler Jordan sighed and pulled Quentin into his arms, dropping his head to Quentin's shoulder.
"I want you to trust me," he said. "Is that an unrealistic goal?"
"It might be."
"Can you try?"
"I'm not a trusting person. Every time I thought I could trust someone before, I got burned by it. I can count the number of people I trust on one hand with fingers left over."
"I'm not like anyone you dated or lived with before," Tyler Jordan said, lifting his head to meet Quentin's eyes, and Quentin snorted and wrapped an arm around him in return.
"No. You aren't. At all. You're not like anyone else I know."
"It doesn't matter if I tell you I'm trustworthy. I just have to show you. But you have to let me show you. Will you let me?"
"I'll try," Quentin said softly. "All I can do is try."
"Then try, and let me prove it to you." Tyler Jordan kissed Quentin and hugged him tighter for a moment. "Can I take you to bed now?"
"Yes please," Quentin said, letting Tyler Jordan pull him to his feet and gasping when Tyler Jordan wrapped arms around his waist and lifted him off the floor. "I don't get you," he added, arms coming around Tyler Jordan's neck, and Tyler Jordan grinned at him.
"You will eventually."
Characters: Quentin Kinley, Tyler Jordan Graham
Rating: PG
Word count: 1080
Notes: Filling in a little more backstory.
Timeline: November 2013
"Have you been stealing my mail?" Quentin asked, scowling as he came out of the kitchen. Tyler Jordan looked over from the TV and arched a brow at him.
"What?"
"My mail. It's going missing."
"What mail?"
"Bills. For the past couple of months."
"Oh, yeah, I am." Quentin blinked, taken aback.
"Why?"
"I'm paying them."
"What?"
"The bills. The water bill, the internet bill, the electric bill... I'm paying them."
"Why?"
"Because I live here?" Quentin looked baffled. Tyler Jordan reached out and took one of his hands. "Because your roommate before me was a deadbeat and you were paying all the bills by yourself for months? Because you work part time and I work full time? Because I can afford to do it? They're still in your name but I've been paying them. Is that bad?"
"It's not bad, I just-- don't understand," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan gave him a sad smile.
"No one does nice things for you, do they?"
"Not without serious strings attached."
"Well, there are no strings on this. I mean, relationship strings or whatever. I'm partly doing it because we're a couple. But I'm mostly doing it because it's the right thing for me to do."
"Even after I pissed you off?"
"Yeah? I forgave you. Are you planning on pissing me off again?"
"No," Quentin lied. "I don't want you to leave." That was the truth.
"I'm not gonna leave if you make me mad," Tyler Jordan said. "I'm not gonna stop loving you if I get angry. That's not how love works."
"It isn't? I wouldn't really know," Quentin said. Tyler Jordan tugged on his hand until Quentin sat next to him on the couch, and then leaned in to kiss him softly.
"I'm trying to show you how it works," he said. "Will you let me take care of them? I don't want you to have to worry about it as much."
"I feel like I owe you now."
"You don't owe me anything. I'm not doing it to hold it over your head."
"You say that now," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan shook his head.
"If you think you owe me something, you can pay me back in backrubs and booze, okay? I'm not worried about it though. It's way easier for me to just take care of them than to try and split them every month or whatever."
"You can afford to do that?"
"Yeah." Tyler Jordan shrugged. "I'm pretty well off, okay? I don't like to talk about money."
"That's usually the position of people who either don't have enough of it or have too much of it," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan sighed.
"Is this a conversation we have to have? I don't think we've been together long enough for it."
"I'm curious, now. And if you're paying my bills, I think I should know."
"If you lost your job, we wouldn't lose the apartment," Tyler Jordan said. "Which isn't to say you should tell your supervisor where to stick it."
"Okay..." Quentin shrugged. "I'm not planning on being a stay at home dad to your fish."
"Good, because they would die."
"I'm not gonna kill your fish!" Tyler Jordan laughed, and Quentin's scowl softened after a moment. "I'm not well off. I'm pretty sure you know that already."
"I know," Tyler Jordan said. "I didn't think you would put up a fight about me paying the bills."
"I've been living on my own since I was 18," Quentin said. "Except for a couple of months. I couldn't rely on anyone else for anything. Usually if I trusted my roommate to take care of something, it would get shut off."
"That's not gonna happen with me." Tyler Jordan laced his fingers through Quentin's and squeezed his hand. "I'm reliable. I promise."
"I'd like to believe you."
"I already set them all up to be automatically paid from my bank account, okay? Unless something absolutely catastrophic happens to my entire family, you don't have to worry about it any more."
"That's... incomprehensible to me," Quentin said, and Tyler Jordan sighed and pulled him closer.
"Can we please stop talking about it? What can I do to distract you? Can I take your pants off?"
"You can always take my pants off," Quentin said. "I'm in favor of us both being pantsless. And shirtless. And naked. We could be naked."
"We could be naked," Tyler Jordan agreed. "Best form of conflict resolution ever. I think you'll worry less with my hand on your dick."
"Don't think this is always gonna work," Quentin warned him. "I don't want you to get the idea that I'll always give in if you take my pants off."
"Quentin... this isn't an argument, is it? I'm not trying to win an argument. I'm trying to get you to accept a good thing. Am I always gonna have to convince you to let me do nice things for you?"
"You might," Quentin said. "I don't-- don't really trust nice things. There's always a catch. I just don't know what the catch will be until it snags." Tyler Jordan sighed and pulled Quentin into his arms, dropping his head to Quentin's shoulder.
"I want you to trust me," he said. "Is that an unrealistic goal?"
"It might be."
"Can you try?"
"I'm not a trusting person. Every time I thought I could trust someone before, I got burned by it. I can count the number of people I trust on one hand with fingers left over."
"I'm not like anyone you dated or lived with before," Tyler Jordan said, lifting his head to meet Quentin's eyes, and Quentin snorted and wrapped an arm around him in return.
"No. You aren't. At all. You're not like anyone else I know."
"It doesn't matter if I tell you I'm trustworthy. I just have to show you. But you have to let me show you. Will you let me?"
"I'll try," Quentin said softly. "All I can do is try."
"Then try, and let me prove it to you." Tyler Jordan kissed Quentin and hugged him tighter for a moment. "Can I take you to bed now?"
"Yes please," Quentin said, letting Tyler Jordan pull him to his feet and gasping when Tyler Jordan wrapped arms around his waist and lifted him off the floor. "I don't get you," he added, arms coming around Tyler Jordan's neck, and Tyler Jordan grinned at him.
"You will eventually."
