Story: Saving Elliot

Type: AU

Pairing(s): Benjamin O'Connor/Christopher Finley

Summary: In which Finley dances in the spring rain and O'Connor spills out three heart-stopping words.

⇹

I'll protect you from the hooded claw
Keep the vampires from your door
When the chips are down I'll be around
With my undying death defying love for you
Envy will hurt itself

⇹

FINLEY DREAMS OF ACRES and acres of woodland. The air is damp, thick with the scent of lavenders and the summer rain. He dreams of trees taller than skyscrapers. They stretch up, up, up and disappear off into the sky, through the clouds and into the deep dark depths of space. His eyes are trained on the boy in the mist deeper in the woods. The leaves crunch as he walks. He doesn't know how long he's been walking, the closer he gets, the further the boy becomes. He's waiting for him. Always waiting and Finley is always walking, always forwards but never any closer. He's running now, breath coming fast and hard as he zips past the trees. He wants to shout but no sound leaves his mouth so he runs faster and faster and -

"Chris!"

He gasps and glances back at the voice. A girl is calling for him. He knows that voice -

"Chris! Chris!"

There's nothing behind him, only mist and trees, but he can -

Finley's eyes snap open and he finds himself staring at the poster of Alex Turner above his dresser. He heaves out a breath of relief when he realises he's in his bedroom. He must have fallen asleep after he came back home from the cinema with Jensen and Tam.

"Chris!" Lana calls from somewhere down the hall and he winces. His sister always manages to yank out of any sleep.

He groans and rolls onto his back so he's staring at the ceiling.

"What?" he says as he rubs his eyes. "What do you want Lana?"

His little sister (little is a bit of stretch considering she's sixteen now) pokes her head past the door. Her green eyes land on him lying on the bed and she says, "Mum's gonna be working late so she said you have to cook dinner for us. I vote for meatballs and spaghetti."

By us she means their father (who's probably working away in his office, which used to be Mary's bedroom, next door), her and himself. His mum's probably got another late shift at the store. She's the store manager at River Island and it requires long hours. Farah's at university and Mary moved out last year for an internship as a flashy accountant. She now lives in Leeds with a couple of friends and visits every now and then.

Finley rubs his eyes once more and yawns. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He waves his arm as a lame attempt to shoo her away, "Anything else?"

"You still owe me a tenner," she says and places a finger on her lips, "Oh and O'Connor's here to see you."

His eyes cut to her then but she's already disappeared back into the hallway. Outside, there's the sound of heavy footsteps and Lana saying hi before the door swings open and Benjamin O'Connor barges into his bedroom. He doesn't bother to say hello or do anything that involves manners. Finley watches with a growing frown as his boyfriend slips off his jacket and throws it somewhere on the floor. O'Connor looks at him then, his brown eyes narrowed and his mouth pressed into a tight line.

Finley's eyebrows rise, "O'Connor, what's wrong?"

"Fucking Saunders," he spits and Finley resists the urge to heave a loud sigh.

Finley pinches the bridge of his nose, "What happened this time?"

"So, me, Kopov and Dane were playing footy at the park and for some weird reason Saunders was watching us. So I asked what he wanted and he - the prick - just starts saying shit."

"Shit like what?" Finley asks even though he has a pretty good idea. He pushes the covers off him and swings his legs off the bed so he's sitting up.

"The same shit," he says, waving a hand in the air, "And we ended up arguing in the middle of the park about - about you and me and God - he just...just wouldn't shut the fuck up and I tried to ignore him but he just kept on saying shit."

Finley frowns, feeling apprehension coil in his stomach, "Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid."

O'Connor's jaw clenches as he glances at Finley. "No." He says through gritted teeth. "No. Fuck. I mean - don't get me wrong, I wanted to. I really wanted to but Kopov and Dane were holding me back. And then...I just didn't see the point, so I walked away and came here."

The thing about Johnny Saunders is that he knows exactly what to say to anger O'Connor. It's been like this for the past two years and more times than he would like, O'Connor has ended up in a physical fight with Saunders. Finley knows it's not worth the hassle, so whenever Saunders gives him a cold stare or throws a snide remark his way, Finley pretends he saw and heard nothing.

"I mean what the hell is that guy's problem?" O'Connor demands, "the fact that you're my boyfriend is none of that prick's business! No else has a problem, no one else even cares but it's just him and his army of bloody goons. I mean, how long have we been dating now?"

"You should know this," he says and when O'Connor gives him a blank stare, Finley rolls his eyes, "Two and a half years now."

"Two years and a half fucking years! One of these days I'm gonna beat him up."

"You already did," he points out and he has, half school was there to watch yet another fight between the boys. It got O'Connor a week suspension from the school, a-day-long silent treatment from Finley and a smack upside the head from Jensen.

Finley sighs, already feeling a headache come on. "Come on," he says as he pats the space next to him on the bed.

Judging by the sour expression on O'Connor's face, it almost looks like will decline his offer and leave but he merely frowns and hesitantly walks over. He slumps down on the bed, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight.

Finley reaches over, takes a hold of O'Connor's hand and slowly intertwines their fingers together. He doesn't say anything and they sit in silence for a discernible amount of time, simply basking in the other's company. Finley stares at their hands. He slowly rubs the back of O'Connor's hand with his thumb. O'Connor watches the movement, his eyebrows furrowing with each second.

Finley is the first to speak. "He's not worth it y'know."

O'Connor doesn't answer for a long time. "No," he says in a low voice, "but you are. You're worth so many battles Fin."

Finley looks at him then. Eyes wide, mouth parted. A feeling he can only describe as yellow, like bright summer sunlight, beams into his chest and kick starts his heart. His grip on O'Connor's hand tightens for a moment.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

O'Connor's still staring at their hands and Finley feels something hard lodge in his throat. Words - always, love you, I'm yours, you're mine, love you - bundled and jumbled and tangled into a tight ball he can't seem to unravel.

So he settles on giving O'Connor's hand a squeeze and a very weak, "Ben."

He must get it, he must hear it in Finley's voice because he finally looks up - green meets brown - and the iron in his eyes melts like snow in the afternoon sun. O'Connor opens his mouth but whatever he wanted to say is interrupted by a sharp knock on the door and the iron freezes as quickly as it melted, solid and immovable, making it hard for Finley to read him.

Finley glances at O'Connor then the door. He sighs, "Yeah?"

It's Lana again. She pushes the door open but doesn't walk in, only stands in the doorway with her dark hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and her freshly applied coconut mask smeared all over her face. At least she's learnt to knock. Before she used to just barge into his room and then scream whenever she found them in the middle of a make out session.

"Dad wants to know when you're making dinner," she says. "He also seconds my vote for meatball and spaghetti."

"Uh. What time is it?" He asks.

"Ten past six."

"All right, tell him I'll start in like an hour, I just - " he sneaks a glance at O'Connor, "I'm a little busy right now."

She throws him another look. Is he okay?

Finley nods. He will be.

Her green eyes flit down to their joined hands and back to him. "Okay, I'll be in my room."

She leaves without another word or look.

The sound of rain pattering against the window drifts into his ears. He lets go of O'Connor's hand and walks over to the window. He pulls the curtains apart, the early evening light spills into the dimly-lit room. Outside, bars of sunlight pierce through the heavy clouds and colour the wet streets below gold. He pushes the window open and he's met with the scent of fresh earth, clean and crisp like mountain air. The few people on the streets are running for cover, a woman in a shimmering dress and heels laughs as she runs to a black car by the post box. Someone opens the door for her and she hops in. He watches them drive away, the roof of the car shines and sprays with the rain. He holds hand out in the rain, cold drops splatter onto his palm again and again and -

"Fin," O'Connor says behind him, "Wh-what are you doing?"

Finley pulls his hand back, he stares at it for a moment before looking over at O'Connor. He sits at the edge of the bed bathed in the evening light. Finley smiles.

"What?" O'Connor asks again. The sunlight catches his hair, it looks like spun gold and something clicks in his chest, a missing puzzle piece, the final move to solve a Rubik's cube. Finley's smile broadens into a grin.

Finley catches the way his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. "Fin, what is it?"

Finley moves in a flash, he takes O'Connor's hand once more and pulls him out of his bedroom.

"Fin, what the hell, what are you doing?" O'Connor asks as he slips on his vans, opens the front door and leaves the flat. He knows O'Connor doesn't like elevators so he takes the stairs, holding onto his hand as he runs down the steps.

"Fin! Can you tell you me what the fuck is going on please?" O'Connor asks with a growl in his voice.

Finley answers on the third and penultimate flight of stairs. "Outside."

Their heavy footsteps echo in the stairwell, O'Connor's eyes narrow, "Outside? What? Why? It's raining!"

Finley takes a moment to glance over at O'Connor and flashes him a bright grin, "Exactly."

Finley bursts outside with wide green eyes and O'Connor in tow. The spring wind settles on his shoulders and flutters his dark hair. He pauses by the entrance, watches the cascading the rain for a moment. There's a roof over the entrance doors protecting them from the weather. He tries to move but O'Connor won't budge.

"No, Fin, are you crazy? You'll catch a cold." He says with a frown and tugs Finley back.

Finley snorts. Last week O'Connor ran through the local park naked on a drunken dare and he won't do this. "It's just a little rain. C'mon."

O'Connor shakes his head. Finley rolls his eyes, grins again and runs into pouring rain. The drops of rain are soft, swollen, sodden. He could drown in them. He imagines if champagne was a feeling it would be this, bubbly, cool, and rich in giddiness. The rain drenches his shirt, it soaks his hair and cause it cling messily to his forehead. He jumps into shallow puddle and if his shoes were soaked before they definitely are now.

"You're crazy!" O'Connor shouts behind.

Finley laughs, slicks his hair back and spins around in the spring rain. Finley lifts his arms apart, tilts his head back and closes his eyes. He stays like that for a while, letting the rain soak him into the bones, letting its pitter-patter touch sink into his skin. It's getting heavier and colder but Finley can't bring himself to move or care.

"You're crazy." O'Connor says but this time it closer, spoken like a secret.

Finley jolts and opens his eyes, surprised to find O'Connor standing in the rain before him. He must have been standing there for a while because he's soaked too, his blond hair matted to his forehead and his breaths come fast and shallow. The iron in his eyes has melted again, his gaze is soft and almost - Finley's lungs disappear in a puff of smoke - reverent.

Finley's eyes drop to O'Connor's mouth. He says something but Finley can't hear him over the sound of the rain and his own heart.

Finley steps closer, "What?"

O'Connor says it again, Finley catches none of it again. He huffs, slides a hand behind Finley's neck and pulls him flush against him. His mouth grazes the shell of his ear and Finley shivers.

"I love you," he says, clear and unmistakable in Finley's ear. "God. I-I love you, okay?"

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

He stays like that for a moment before he pulls back to look at Finley. Finley is frozen, the world tips and turns and it feels as if fish can swim in the sky and Halloween is celebrated on Christmas.

Finley knows his eyes must be ridiculously wide right now but he can't help it. O'Connor is staring at him, brown eyes scanning his face like Finley holds the question and the answer. His cheeks and the tops of his ears are cherry red.

"Fin?" he says, his hand sliding from up his neck and up to his cheek, "Fin, did you hear me?"

Finley is freed from his stupor at the sound of O'Connor's voice, deep and - shit - is he nervous? He made Benjamin O'Connor nervous. The thought sends him giddy, bubbly and bright. Finley places his hand over O'Connor's on his cheek. "Yes," he says, resting his other hand on O'Connor's hip, "Yes, I heard you."

O'Connor's voice returns to a whisper. "Fin." He clears his throat, "Fuck. I've meaning to say that for months now but every time I tried I would chicken out. I just - I just wanted you to know."

Finley draws up his courage, draws up it like an anchor deep from the depths of sea and hopes the sea doesn't break his ship apart. Finley opens his mouth and cements his past, present and future. "I love you too," he says over the rain, by the way O'Connor's eyes widen he heard him.

O'Connor leans in so their mouths are barely an inch apart. His thumb lightly rubs his cheek. His breath ghosts his lips. "Fin."

"Ben-"

O'Connor swallows his reply with a kiss. His is mouth wet from the rain, it tastes salty like the sea and the kiss is slow and red-hot. His broad chest is hard against Finley's, the shirt soaked through and Finley can feel fire licking just beneath his skin. Something unfurls in Finley's chest, wild and unbearable and finally birthed in the kiss. O'Connor cups his face with both his hands and Finley brings his own hands up to wrap around O'Connor's wrists.

O'Connor pulls away too soon and Finley mourns the loss with a groan. O'Connor is grinning, its brightness infectious and Finley finds himself grinning too.

"Ben," Finley says because he can't stop saying his name. O'Connor lets out a little gasp he wants to bottle and keep forever.

O'Connor kisses him again as the rain keeps falling. They kiss and kiss until Finley shivers - from the cold or O'Connor's hands beneath his shirt he doesn't know - and O'Connor pulls back. They're both breathing hard.

"Let's go inside before you catch a cold," he says, slinging an arm over his shoulder like they're fourteen again and walking home from footy practice. He pulls Finley against him and presses a kiss to his temple, "C'mon. Also, I'm hungry and I'd like to third Lana's vote for meatballs and spaghetti."

"Yeah just invite yourself to dinner," Finley rolls his eyes but he can't keep the fondness out of his voice.

"Speaking of invitations, Goodwin's invited us to paintballing for his eighteenth birthday next weekend."

"Did he invite Jensen?" he asks. O'Connor nods and Finley grins, "Brilliant! We have to make sure she's on our team. She's a rage machine, she's gonna destroy everyone."

They come to the entrance and Finley presses the button for his flat. The speaker above the keypad clicks before a gruff voice says, "Yes?"

Finley leans into the speaker, "Oh hi, Dad, can you open the door?"

There's a pause. "Chris? What are ya doin' outside? It's rainin' cats and dogs."

"Uh. I had to show O'Connor something."

"Okay. If you're wet leave ya shoes in't hallway to dry, don't walk around the flat with 'em." There's another pause and another click.

O'Connor pushes the door open and they begin their walk up the four flights of stairs to Finley's apartment.

"Did I tell you?" Finley says, giving O'Connor's hip a light squeeze. "Tam found a good deal for Napa. It'll cost two-hundred-and-fifty quid for twelve nights at a four star hotel like ten minutes from the nightclubs and five minutes from the walk."

O'Connor hums. "Self-catering?"

"Nah. It's an all-inclusive, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Suki Arakawa recommended it, she said her older sister went last year and apparently it's really nice. She says we need to have the money ready by next month. So, what do you think?"

Since they all (finally) finish sixth form in just over two months, Kopov suggested they all go on holiday together before they move on to university or work or whatever it is they want to do with their lives. Tam's managed to rope the seven of them (Tam, Kopov, Finley, O'Connor, Jensen, Dane and Fintry) into going. Jamie's being sent to live with his uncle up in Scotland and Goodwin's got three-month-long internship at the local newspaper. Despite the fact those two aren't coming, Finley thinks almost two weeks of sun, sea and booze with his mates is going to be unforgettable.

"I mean, I have some money saved up from Christmas and I'll need to work a few extra shifts at the stadium but -" he grins, "-yeah sounds good. Fuck, this is gonna be such a sick summer. So, if the holiday's on, I'm guessing Jensen finally convinced Fintry to come?"

"Yeah," Finley snorts, "I think she just wants him to see her in a bikini. Tam's been banging on about finding them the perfect bikini for weeks now."

"So." O'Connor wiggles his eyebrows. "Fancy a shower? Together?"

O'Connor smirks at him and Finley blushes. O'Connor looks so good like this, soaked from the rain, flushed from the kisses and as gorgeous as ever. His pulse skips and he can feel his cheeks reddening further.

"I'm joking! You should've seen your face!" O'Connor laughs, "You're so -"

"Okay," Finley says and his face feels so hot he must look like a tomato. O'Connor stops half way up the second flight of stairs. He blinks, the moment allows Finley to admire the way the dying light plays across his face. Finley glances away, fidgets with the hem of his shirt then glances back at him. "But I need to quickly fix dinner first, then - then we can have a...a shower."

Finley swallows, watches O'Connor's slow grin with a rising pulse.

"Meatballs and spaghetti, yeah?" he says as they resume their walk up.

Finley can't help but laugh, "Yeah, fine. The votes have been cast and counted. Meatball and spaghetti it is then."

⇹

Later, when the clock strikes midnight and the sky is black and seamless, Finley and O'Connor lie in bed with their legs tangled together under the sheets. His head rests on O'Connor's chest, listening to the steady staccato beat of his heart, and O'Connor has an arm wrapped around his waist. Finley shuffles and O'Connor mumbles something.

"Mm. Love you," Finley grumbles in response. He feels the stretch of O'Connor's smile against his forehead.

Finley dreams of acres and acres of woodland. The air is light, it carries lavenders and the last notes of the summer rain in the soft breeze swimming by. The trees are too tall, disappearing into the too-bright sky and the leaves crunch and the branches snaps as he walks towards the boy in the mist. The forest has no song, only the beat of Finley's heart and his soft breaths. He opens his mouth and calls the boy's name. His voice rings out, sending hundreds and hundreds of swallows fluttering from their branches in the trees. They fly out into the sky coloured alien shade of blue.

The boy turns around and deep brown eyes that remind him of mid-autumn and bonfire nights, meet his. Finley's walk turns into a run - go, go, go - until he crashes into him and wraps his arms around his neck. He holds him close - his love, his first and last, his moon and stars - and breathes him in - spices, amber, musk. His love, his first and last, his moon and stars, laughs and the forest has a song and the song brings the swallows sweeping back. The trees grow ever taller, the mist fades and clears to reveal a narrow beaten path to their right. Finley only holds his love, his first and last, his moon and stars tighter and promises to never let go.

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a/n: yes as you can see i'm a sucker for finley/o'connor. this is a sort of a follow-up to 'get me with those green eyes baby', set in the universe where finley/o'connor have been together since they were fifteen and jensen/fintry are dating.

- rose xoxo