out_there | SN Ficlet for Hilary: Burning Dreams

So, I made a SN Random Pairing Generator, and managed to truamatise a couple friends. So, Hilary, here's a fic (unbeta'd) in apology for possibly straining your mind.

Burning Dreams

Jeremy's dreaming and he knows it. He's dreaming of studios, of smooth suits and bright lights, twirling around like a carnival. He can smell sports in the air, can hear the clock counting down precious seconds of televised time.

Dan and Casey are sitting at the desk, talking at the camera. Wearing jackets, wearing shirts, but their ties are hanging loose and their shirts are wrinkled and half-unbuttoned. They recite scores, but he can hear the grins they shoot at each other. The smiles murmur things he can barely make out, but "want" and "need" and "mine" are sprinkled amongst the team names and numbers.

Looking around, he finds he's in the control room. It's dark. The monitors in front of him are huge. He can see the credits rolling, and then the camera guys turn big keys, shutting off the cameras with a final click. Everyone's standing around the cameras, laughing as the cameras wind down with a slow purr.

He watches through the doorway.

Dana is leaning over the desk, dressed in dark leather stretched tight across her skin. Casey lounges back in his chair, his cheesy grin self-satisfied and sharp. Dana leans forward more, almost climbing over the desk as she reaches for his hand. She pulls Casey's hand forward, and Jeremy can see the bright glint of a wedding ring on Casey's hand. It's gold and plain, and Dana stares at it as she tries to tug Casey closer to her. But Dan's walking behind Casey, one hand firm on Casey's shoulder, holding Casey down in his chair.

Casey laughs with square, white teeth. Dan and Dana are laughing too, both of them clinging on to one of Casey's hands. Their fingers look like claws and their smiles are almost snarls, but Casey seems completely relaxed.

Jeremy blinks, pulling off his glasses to clean them. The lenses feel an inch thick between his fingers, and when he puts them back on, the predatory laughs are gone. Dan, Dana and Casey have joined the others and everyone's heading out to Anthony's. He waits for someone to come over and invite him, but no one looks back as they walk out the door. They crowd into one elevator, pressed up tight against each other; Kim and Eliot at the back; Chris and Dave at one side; Dan, Dana and Casey at the other; Will and Natalie at the front. All smiling and talking and no one missing him.

The door swings shut with a deafening blast and Jeremy looks around. The control room is huge, its dark corners stretching into the inky distance. He's alone.

The monitors are dark and empty, but the silence is broken by the soft hum of computer equipment. He notices that there's still one light blinking in the dark, so he heads over to turn it off. He walks an impossible distance, step after step until he's running, panting thick air, rushing to it because the light needs to stop blinking. It remains far away from him, and then suddenly, it isn't.

Abruptly, it's in front of him, and he can see it isn't a light at all. Gordon is standing there, dressed in an old overcoat and fedora, flicking a lighter on and off.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asks, and looks around. He's in a dark alley, brick walls to either side. The stars above him twinkle like a board of studio controls, flickering red and green and white.

Gordon sneers at him. "I'm waiting for the fireworks." Gordon gestures up, but Jeremy refuses to be distracted. He watches Gordon, watches Gordon lick his lips with a forked tongue. "They'll happen soon."

Jeremy stares at him, at the way his eyes gleam under the shadow of the hat. "I don't think so."

Gordon shrugs. "Shows what you know."

"I know a lot," Jeremy replies and he can hear Natalie's voice whispering on the breeze.

Gordon leans closer, and pulls off his hat, revealing perfect hair and a perfectly pressed suit. "They just need a spark," he says and presses a burning kiss against Jeremy's lips.

Jeremy pushes him away in shock, and finds himself blinking up at his own dark ceiling, breathing heavily.

Natalie is lying beside him, frowning and rubbing her shoulder. "So, kissing isn't a good way to wake you up?" she asks, just a little annoyed.

"Not when I'm dreaming of Gordon," he replies sluggishly, still feeling half-asleep. He yawns widely.

"Gordon?" Natalie asks, surprised. "Dana's boyfriend, Gordon?"

Jeremy rubs his eyes, starting to feel more awake. "Yeah."

"He's Dana's boyfriend," Natalie points out doggedly.

"I know."

"So why were you dreaming of Gordon?" Natalie asks, settling down beside him. He wraps an arm around her, and likes the weight of her head against his shoulder.

"I don't know," Jeremy said. "I was dreaming of work, everyone shooting the show… And then everyone left without me, and suddenly Gordon was wearing Indiana Jones' hat."

"Weird."

"Then he kissed me."

"Ew!" Natalie exclaims and pulls back.

Jeremy grimaces. "Exactly."

Natalie shakes her head in disgust. "Not a good way to wake up."

He trails a hand down her bare spine. "But since I'm awake…"

"Yeah?" she breathes and he catches her mouth in a kiss before she can say anything else.

The End