FIC: Sharing the Past and Present

Title: Sharing the Past and Present
Characters: Sasha/Lennon
Series: What Lies Between; Another Life

Though Sasha only lived thirty minutes from the dig site, Lennon turned on the air conditioner. The air felt heavy and still. He knew that meant the storm that was coming was going to be a bad one. He pushed a little harder on the gas. He wanted to get back to the camper he was living in before it hit.

Luck was with him as the clouds were still building in the distance when he pulled into the driveway. Lennon decided the equipment was just as safe in the car as it was in the camper. And he really wanted to get in the shower and check for ticks before the storm hit.

The oppressive heat slammed into him when he opened the door. He walked quickly to the camper. He had turned off the little air conditioner before work but had left the windows open. It was hot inside but not as bad as it was outside. Lennon flipped on the air conditioner, walked around the camper closing the windows, and then undressed. He walked naked the few steps from the bedroom area to the bathroom.

The camper was smaller than his old apartment but the layout and storage gave him plenty of space. The shower was tiny and Lennon barely fit in it. The water pressure was surprisingly better than at the apartment.

Lennon nodded to himself. He had made the right decision when he’d turned down the old dirt road that led him to the historic site. And led him to Sasha.

Giving thanks for his good fortune, he started looking for ticks; twisted his body searching for the little bloodsuckers. Satisfied the bug spray had worked, Lennon stepped into the tiny shower. He wanted to look nice for dinner. Not that Sasha would be interested in him in that way, Lennon reminded himself. But a little fantasy never hurt anyone. By the time he stepped out of the shower, he was hard and needy.

Lennon leaned against the wall in the little alcove with the intent to take care of business. He let his hand slide down his chest, past his stomach, to his-

“Lennon, you about done? The storm is moving in fast.” Sasha’s voice rang out as he banged on the camper door.

“Um. Yeah! Be there in a minute!” Lennon called out. His interest flagged at the fear of Sasha walking in. He couldn’t remember if he’d locked the door or not.

“Just come on in when you’re done. I’m going to jump in the shower before the storm hits. Then we can eat.”

Looking down at his flagging member, Lennon sighed. Maybe later tonight, after the storm, he could renew its interest. Going commando, he slipped into a pair of jeans and pulled a t-shirt over his head. Having gone through severe storms before, he bypassed his flip-flops and put on his heavy boots instead. He grabbed a hoodie, then headed over to Sasha’s house.

Lennon went to the back door that opened into the kitchen. The wonderful scent of some kind of meat made his stomach growl. Making himself useful, he reached over some grocery bags sitting on the counter and started opening cabinets. He found the paper plates and started to set the table.

“Hey, thanks for doing that! Dinner’s done. I hope you like pulled pork sandwiches. I threw some in the crockpot with some bbq sauce early this morning.”

Lennon turned at the sound of Sasha’s voice. His interest peaked again as he saw the anthropologist still a little damp, in jeans, and no shirt. Lennon gulped as a faint definition of muscles rippled when Sasha raised his hands up to pull a t-shirt on. Quickly he turned back to setting the table so Sasha won’t see him staring.

“Um, yeah. Pulled pork is great.” Lennon hoped his voice sounded casual.

“I’ll slice up some peaches to go with it. There are some buns in the bag. Set ‘em on the table.”

“Peaches? For dinner?” Lennon asked.

Sasha shrugged. “Yeah.  I know it’s more common to have a veggie with dinner, but I like fruit with pork.”

Soon the men were seated and eating. Lennon had to admit the peaches went well with the pork.

“This is really good. Thanks for inviting me over. I’d planned to have bologna sandwiches and chips.”

“It’s no biggie. It’s impossible to cook just for one person. Maybe we can make this a thing.”

Lennon nodded slowly, cautiously. “Um. Yeah. That’d be cool. I’m not much of a cook, but I can do a few things. Hamburger Helper, things like that.”

“I like Hamburger Helper. And if you want I can show you a few recipes that use the crockpot. It’s a great way to make dinner. You start it in the morning when you are fresh and awake.

Then you don’t have much to do when you come home in the afternoon, dog-tired.”

“That sounds good.” Lennon thought of the work Sasha did. “I don’t work as hard as you. But it’d still be cool to learn how to use the crockpot.”

“You’re doing exactly what I need you to do. It makes my day go smoother to have you log in the information while I continue to excavate,” Sasha said. “And you keep Greer entertained which helps me get a lot more done!”

“Greer’s cool. Even if I don’t always understand what he’s talking about. And, um, that he got the wrong idea about, you know, um, me and, um, you.”

Sasha met his eyes. “I am sorry that Greer made you feel uncomfortable with his questions today.”

Lennon could feel his cheeks turn red. He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“Well, it seemed like it was a big deal back at the site. So if Greer gets to bothering you just change the subject or tell him to go away. You’ll have to be firm with him, he’s a bit of a scamp.” Sasha’s voice held an appealing strength to them.

The tone of Sasha’s voice made Lennon feel a little warm. He took another bite of the peach slice. The cool, sweet juice felt good on his throat.

“Lennon. It’s ok. You can tell Greer to stop. He won’t be hurt.”

“Um. Yeah. I’m not the most authoritarian guy, you know? But it’ll be ok. I’ll try to change the subject.”

“Listen, if he’s saying things that are bothering you, come get me.” Sasha grinned. “I’m an only child. We’re bossy. I’ll make him mind his manners.”

“Hunh,” Lennon grunted. Then his stomach flipped. Sasha looked at him and raised one eyebrow.

“What’s with the harrumph?”

“Oh. Nothing. Well, it's just I’m an only child too. I’m probably the least bossy person you’ll meet.”

“Birth order theory isn’t an absolute. I think a lot of it has to do with how you are raised,” Sasha said.

“Maybe. I don’t know much about birth theory or whatever. I kind of just raised myself,” Lennon replied.

“Tell me about it? Then I’ll tell you about my childhood.”

Lennon shrugged again. The storm was coming in, he had no place to go, might as well swap stories with Sasha.

“My mom was a single mom until I was about ten. She worked a lot so I was on my own most nights. Then she married my stepdad. He’s ok. We tolerated each other. Didn’t really fight, but didn’t really have a relationship either. I just always took the path of least resistance. Know what I mean? I didn’t argue or fight or anything.”

Sasha nodded. “Yeah. I get that. That can be for the best. I pretty much brought myself up too. My parents were academics. Really into their fields. They’d take to lectures and stuff. All these professors and Ph.D. are talking and discussing. I’d just wander around. I learned a lot. And that’s where I met my first boyfriend.”

Before Lennon could respond, a flash of lightning followed by a loud crash of thunder and the kitchen was suddenly dark.

“There goes the power,” Sasha confirmed. “Let’s clean this up. If it lasts too long, I have a generator we can hook up. It might be best if you spend the night here.”

Lennon opened up his phone to the weather app. The radar showed line after line of storms. The list of storm warnings, tornado watches, was the deciding factor. “Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on that. If a tornado hits, I don’t want to be in the camper.”



TBC

To read more of Sasha and Lennon go to the Another Life page.