Dinner for Two Lonely Hearts
Oct. 4th, 2012 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thesupersmeller[ooc: Occurs after (and contains spoilers for) episode 6.08, "The Tao of Gus"]
Nichole. She could have been the one… so beautiful and funny and sweet… and kinda crazy in that ‘free love, change the world, move to a third-world country to find inner peace by having kinky zen sex’ kinda way. Still, she was real and treated him like no woman ever had before. She brought out his inner light.
The last place he wants to be is Shawn’s Dad’s house for dinner – but it happens the first standing dinner date Henry hasn’t canceled or rescheduled in a couple months and after what he’s just been through he knows it’s quite possibly the only dinner date he’s gonna have for a while. Of course, he’s not entirely surprised when Shawn texts him to say he’s going to be out late with Juliet.
Henry answers the door still wearing the suit he’d left the station in – looking more than a little disheveled – and Gus is quickly aware of two very distinct things. Number one, the house doesn’t smell like delicious meaty goodness. And number two, Henry looks (and smells) kinda like he’s been drinking… and it’s been a while since he’s seen Mr. Spencer looking he’s had more than a couple beers. “Gus! Right, right… it’s, uh… our thing.”
“Sorry Shawn can’t make it, he’s… uh… sort of indisposed at the moment.”
“Girlfriend?” Henry frowns, his voice deepening. Reluctantly, Gus half-shrugs and then nods, closing the door behind him when Henry lets him in. “Well, hell… at least one of is doing all right in that department.”
Gus tilts his head and follows Henry to the kitchen, confirming that in fact no dinner has been made. There’s some deep shit going on here…
“You having lady problems, Mr. Spencer? You got a girlfriend you’ve been hiding?”
Henry stops with his head in the fridge and for a long moment doesn’t say anything at all. With an unsure voice, he manages; “I meant in the broader sense, you know like with you drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid going after that girl in the cult.”
“Her name is Nicole, and for the record our love is innocent and pure. It can’t be described by words an untranscended man such as yourself can understand.”
“She turned you down?”
“No.” Gus pouts and slings himself into a familiar wooden dining chair, tracing his fingers over the surface before admitting; “She asked me to go away with her, but you and I both know my home is right here in Santa Barbra.”
Henry digs out a large casserole from when Karen had come over a few nights before, there was easily enough left for the two of them since dinner hadn’t exactly been the highlight of the evening. Besides, Henry never did get the hang of cooking for less than four. “She wanted to go do hippie stuff in Sedona or something and it freaked you out?”
He’s good. Too good. Gus shrugs noncommittally and looks toward the living room. “India.”
Henry scoffs and shakes his head again before turning on the oven to reheat. On the way back, he snatches up a heavy tumbler with a few sips of scotch still clinging to the bottom. “I’m sorry to hear that, Gus.”
Watching the glass as Henry pours in another heavy round, Gus mutters; “I loved her, you know?”
“Love?” He scoffs again, letting out an audible snort. “Gus, you knew her less than a week. I know things are getting pretty desperate…”
“I am not desperate! Why does everyone think I’m throwing myself at every pretty girl that shows the slightest hint of interest?” The frustration is lost, and Gus knows that it sounds like a weak argument even to him. The scent of perfume and lusty words whispered against his ear hits him like a ton of bricks… not Nicole, the temptress he let himself get hooked on – The Devil herself still taunting him from a universe away. Okay… maybe they might have a little bit of a point, but it’s not like he doesn’t have a good reason to be that way.
Just when Gus thinks the subject is dropped, Henry sets the glass down in front of him. “I know it’s not easy, Gus… believe me, I know what it’s like to be lonely. You’ll get there. You’ll meet the right girl… or whatever.”
“Girl.” Gus looks back up at him, his frown softening a little. He can’t help it, though… he knows what Henry’s been through, and deep down he knows he’s right. “I know… it’s just hard, you know? I was voted most likely to succeed back in high school! I’m a good guy and I’m smart and I know I’m not bad looking…”
“You look fine, Gus.” Henry sits down beside him, and sighs, clasping his hand over Gus’ in a rare sign of affection. “Look, I’ve had a couple drinks and I know I don’t say this enough, but you need to understand the difference between you and Shawn is that he never knows when he’s got a good thing and he does these stupid things without even thinking about what he’s really doing…” His face goes blank for a moment, and then he looks down with another sigh; “It’s genetic. But you, you always think you’ve got a good thing when what you’ve really got is just gonna hurt you. You deserve the best and you know… sometimes the best takes a little time to come your way, but when it does? Don’t fuck it up.”
Gus is silent as Henry pushes up out of his chair and heads back toward the oven. “I won’t, Mister Spencer. I just hope it happens.” He pushes back the drink and asks; “You don’t happen to have any of your famous chocolate walnut brownies, do you?”
Nichole. She could have been the one… so beautiful and funny and sweet… and kinda crazy in that ‘free love, change the world, move to a third-world country to find inner peace by having kinky zen sex’ kinda way. Still, she was real and treated him like no woman ever had before. She brought out his inner light.
The last place he wants to be is Shawn’s Dad’s house for dinner – but it happens the first standing dinner date Henry hasn’t canceled or rescheduled in a couple months and after what he’s just been through he knows it’s quite possibly the only dinner date he’s gonna have for a while. Of course, he’s not entirely surprised when Shawn texts him to say he’s going to be out late with Juliet.
Henry answers the door still wearing the suit he’d left the station in – looking more than a little disheveled – and Gus is quickly aware of two very distinct things. Number one, the house doesn’t smell like delicious meaty goodness. And number two, Henry looks (and smells) kinda like he’s been drinking… and it’s been a while since he’s seen Mr. Spencer looking he’s had more than a couple beers. “Gus! Right, right… it’s, uh… our thing.”
“Sorry Shawn can’t make it, he’s… uh… sort of indisposed at the moment.”
“Girlfriend?” Henry frowns, his voice deepening. Reluctantly, Gus half-shrugs and then nods, closing the door behind him when Henry lets him in. “Well, hell… at least one of is doing all right in that department.”
Gus tilts his head and follows Henry to the kitchen, confirming that in fact no dinner has been made. There’s some deep shit going on here…
“You having lady problems, Mr. Spencer? You got a girlfriend you’ve been hiding?”
Henry stops with his head in the fridge and for a long moment doesn’t say anything at all. With an unsure voice, he manages; “I meant in the broader sense, you know like with you drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid going after that girl in the cult.”
“Her name is Nicole, and for the record our love is innocent and pure. It can’t be described by words an untranscended man such as yourself can understand.”
“She turned you down?”
“No.” Gus pouts and slings himself into a familiar wooden dining chair, tracing his fingers over the surface before admitting; “She asked me to go away with her, but you and I both know my home is right here in Santa Barbra.”
Henry digs out a large casserole from when Karen had come over a few nights before, there was easily enough left for the two of them since dinner hadn’t exactly been the highlight of the evening. Besides, Henry never did get the hang of cooking for less than four. “She wanted to go do hippie stuff in Sedona or something and it freaked you out?”
He’s good. Too good. Gus shrugs noncommittally and looks toward the living room. “India.”
Henry scoffs and shakes his head again before turning on the oven to reheat. On the way back, he snatches up a heavy tumbler with a few sips of scotch still clinging to the bottom. “I’m sorry to hear that, Gus.”
Watching the glass as Henry pours in another heavy round, Gus mutters; “I loved her, you know?”
“Love?” He scoffs again, letting out an audible snort. “Gus, you knew her less than a week. I know things are getting pretty desperate…”
“I am not desperate! Why does everyone think I’m throwing myself at every pretty girl that shows the slightest hint of interest?” The frustration is lost, and Gus knows that it sounds like a weak argument even to him. The scent of perfume and lusty words whispered against his ear hits him like a ton of bricks… not Nicole, the temptress he let himself get hooked on – The Devil herself still taunting him from a universe away. Okay… maybe they might have a little bit of a point, but it’s not like he doesn’t have a good reason to be that way.
Just when Gus thinks the subject is dropped, Henry sets the glass down in front of him. “I know it’s not easy, Gus… believe me, I know what it’s like to be lonely. You’ll get there. You’ll meet the right girl… or whatever.”
“Girl.” Gus looks back up at him, his frown softening a little. He can’t help it, though… he knows what Henry’s been through, and deep down he knows he’s right. “I know… it’s just hard, you know? I was voted most likely to succeed back in high school! I’m a good guy and I’m smart and I know I’m not bad looking…”
“You look fine, Gus.” Henry sits down beside him, and sighs, clasping his hand over Gus’ in a rare sign of affection. “Look, I’ve had a couple drinks and I know I don’t say this enough, but you need to understand the difference between you and Shawn is that he never knows when he’s got a good thing and he does these stupid things without even thinking about what he’s really doing…” His face goes blank for a moment, and then he looks down with another sigh; “It’s genetic. But you, you always think you’ve got a good thing when what you’ve really got is just gonna hurt you. You deserve the best and you know… sometimes the best takes a little time to come your way, but when it does? Don’t fuck it up.”
Gus is silent as Henry pushes up out of his chair and heads back toward the oven. “I won’t, Mister Spencer. I just hope it happens.” He pushes back the drink and asks; “You don’t happen to have any of your famous chocolate walnut brownies, do you?”
