Before Dawn
by Trekker

Rain is a paleontologist’s worst enemy. A few seconds of downpour can wash away a month’s worth of excavation in seconds, carrying away precious tiny bone fragments to never be seen again and reducing hard packed dust to a sea of gooey red mud.

So, when a rumble of thunder woke Alan around midnight, the panic began. The next few hours of the night were filled with starless blackness, wind-stolen shouts, flapping tents, pounding rain, and mud, mud, mud.

That was how Alan and Billy wound up at the laundromat at two in the morning.

“Well, it’s dark now,” Billy said, peering at the shirt he was holding up. He was sitting on the washer located between the two they were currently loading.

Alan rolled his eyes and snatched it away.

“Give me that.”

He squinted at it for awhile and finally said, “I think it was already brown.”

“Ok, then, it’s dark.”

Billy grabbed the shirt back and dropped it into the machine to his left. Alan shook his head and finished sorting the stack of muddy clothes in front of him with a few quick flicks of his wrist.

“Ok, then. Anything else?”

Billy looked around, then pulled his own shirt off and tossed it in. Alan raised his eyebrows, but didn’t comment. He started both loads and then stopped and stood in front of Billy. The building was suddenly very quiet. They were the only people there, naturally, and outside the windows there was nothing but motionless darkness. The small town always went silent at nightfall and didn’t stir until dawn.

“So...” Alan said. His voice sounded very loud compared to the soft sloshing around them.

Billy just smiled, grabbed a fistful of Alan’s flannel shirt and pulled him up against the washer between his legs with a clang. His scars were white against his tan, one a bright circle on his shoulder, another curling around his ribs. Billy loved them. He said he had the most exciting scar stories in the world. And the thing about Billy was, he didn’t mind telling those stories.

“I think we have a half hour to kill,” Billy said softly, inching forward until he was perched right at the edge of the washer, so that Alan was pressed firmly against his crotch. “Kiss me.”

Alan just stood still and glanced over at the windows. He moved his arms around uncomfortably for a few seconds before resting his hands on the edge of the washer on either side of Billy, not touching him.

“Billy...”

He was always pushing, always trying to get Alan to go a step further. He’d been the one to insist they come out to the dig staff, the one to insist they move them into the same tent, the same bed. Alan had never had a relationship that open before. But still... he wasn’t sure if he was ready to be making out in a public place...

“Oh come on, Alan, it’s two AM. They’re all asleep anyway.”

Billy let go of his shirt and slipped his arms around Alan’s waist, but he didn’t make any move to force him to overstep his bounds... except for gazing at him with those long-lashed eyes of him, and damn it, he knew that drove Alan crazy...

Instead of kissing him, Alan wrapped his arms around his back. Billy’s warm skin felt good under his hands. Four years. Five months since Isla Sorna and four years together. Alan had trouble believing it, sometimes. He let his hands slide down Billy’s back to rest on his khakis-clad ass and smiled as Billy’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment. He loved Billy. He was beautiful, passionate, young. But... Alan was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for Billy to come to his senses and leave him. He leaned forward, just let himself rest against Billy’s warm chest with Billy’s arms around him. It was nice.

“Hey, um... I’ve been thinking.”

“Oh? That can’t be good,” Alan said, his tone light, but his heart beating faster. Was this it? So soon?

“Um... well... see, you know my book’s coming out and everything, and I’ve gotten some job offers, so-”

Fuck, this was it. Alan pulled away instantly, turned his back to Billy and crossed his arms. He knew what was coming next.

“Alan?”

He took a surreptitious deep breath and turned back around, trying to act nonchalant and coming across, he knew, as just a tad too enthusiastic.

“Oh. Yes. You told me. UCLA, huh? Good school.”

Billy’s brows tensed a bit. God, he looked good right then, sun-lightened curls, muscular arms, a trace of stubble.

“Uh... yeah...” he said, “But I think UCD would take me if I applied... I’ve talked to some people and you said they had a position open...”

UCD? Wait a minute, that didn’t make sense. If he was breaking up with him, he wouldn’t be talking about applying to work at the same university...

“So... I was thinking... I’ll actually have an income and all, and the advance from the book’s pretty damn good and... I was kinda hoping we could... maybebuyahouse...”

No way. He’d heard wrong. A house? Buy a house? This was Billy talking?

“Wait a minute,” Alan said, perhaps a bit more sharply than necessary, “run that by me again?”

Billy looked away, “Well, I mean, you know, if we owned a house we wouldn’t have to worry about finding an apartment every year... and, uh, it would be kind of nice to have a... place to call home... and...”

Home? Billy wanted a home? With him? That sounded way too good to be true. Alan stared at him, with what must have been a look of utter disbelief on his face, because Billy jumped off the washer, raised his hands as if to ward Alan off, and started to frantically back-pedal.

“... Look, I’m sorry. I read this whole thing the wrong way, never mind, forget I said anything, I just figured, you know four years together maybe...”

“Billy.”

Billy froze, his hands slowly sinking down to his sides. Alan made the mistake of speaking while he was still trying to process.

“Billy, you... you want us to...? That’s, uh...”

Silence reigned as Alan struggled to come up with the right words. Finally, he blurted, “Buying a house, that’s quite a commitment.” Shit, that was not the word he wanted. No, actually, it was exactly the word he wanted. But he... feared it. Feared how Billy might react to it, anyway.

“A financial commitment...” he added quickly, his eyes fixed on the timer of the washer across from him.

“Well, yeah. Nothing wrong with commitments, Alan,”Billy said, and suddenly Alan knew that he wasn’t just talking about the house, “It’s kind of an investment. I hear it pays off in the end. Most of the time.”

“Risky,” Alan said softly, thinking not of houses but of every failed relationship in his past.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Billy said, matching Alan’s tone, “But I’m not the only one involved... I mean, I can’t afford to do this alone. So... uh... are you in?”

Alan had to know if he was taking this all the wrong way, so he ventured a glance up. Billy’s eyes were glued to Alan, intense, hopeful. Nope, he wasn’t taking this the wrong way at all.

“Yeah, I’m in,” he said.

The smile that spread across Billy’s face rivaled even the one he’d seen when they’d found each at the fence on the island. Alan couldn’t help but slowly smile back.

“You know, Billy, sometimes it takes years for houses to appreciate any value...”

Billy crossed the distance between them in a few steps, raising his hands just enough to lightly splay his fingers over Alan’s hips.

“Well, I’m here for the long haul. You with me?”

“Every step of the way, Billy. Always,” Alan said, smiling broadly, now.

This time, when Billy pulled him closer, Alan just cocked his head to the side and surrendered to the kiss, insomniac townsfolk be damned. After they broke apart, Billy stepped away and leaned back against the washing machines again.

“Man, Alan, is it just me or did we just get married?”

Alan raised his eyebrows, feeling a little stunned.

“It’s not just you, I think we did... Uh...” Alan didn’t want to ask, but... someone had to. “Are you... ok with that?”

Please say yes, please say...

“Hell, yeah.”

“Oh... good. That’s good. So, uh, you have anything specific in mind? For the house, that is.”

“Actually, yeah, there’s this little place in the suburbs, it’s got three bedrooms and a fenced yard, you know, in case we ever decide to have a-”

“Billy, so help me, I’m running screaming out that door if the next word you say is ‘kid.’”

Billy grinned.

“Actually, I was going to say dog, but now that you mention it-”

“Billy!”

The End
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