Call Me Back Again

CHAPTER 16

A/N: A few things:

1. This chapter is short. I also feel it sucks. I wish it was better, but I'm just not good at these things.
2. By 'these things' I mean sex. This is an NC-17 chapter. Don't like sex scenes? Don't read. Maybe you shouldn't anyway. It's not very good at all.
3. Chapter 17 (that's the one right after this) will include severe ANGST and HURT (but also comfort!). I am, for the first time ever, going to include a TRIGGER WARNING for the worst part of it. If you are sensitive to graphic depictions of psychological and physical abuse, I advise you to skip those parts.

Why am I telling you now? Simple: so you can think about it and decide whether you want to ignore the next update or not. I promise, this will be the only chapter that has that kind of sensitive content and it's only there to serve the character's love story. Should you have questions or concerns, please ask. I will not be offended and I'll be happy to address the questions you might have. To answer one concern some of you might have: I will NEVER write about non-con or rape, so you don't have to worry about that.

So, with that out of the way, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, even if I think it isn't up to snuff. My aim is to have chapter 17 up tomorrow. After that, we're entering the finale, for which the only warnings you need will be those of possible tooth decay or acute diabetes ;-)

Music in this chapter:

Broadchurch end credit song (worth a listen!)

Ólafur Arnalds - So Close ft. Arnor Dan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rcg1ubkAeo

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"I thought you said you didn't teach adults," John muttered, his eyes trained on the telly. They'd been sat there for a bit by then, stuffed to the gills with ridiculously good Indian food which had made John reconsider his newfound relationship and wonder if he should track down the person who made the food and seduce them instead. He'd had his share of curry dishes, but the Tandoori chicken he'd wolfed down despite the pretty intense heat was up there with the best of them. He knew from experience it'd burn terribly on the way out as well, but a sore arse was a small price to pay.

He'd ignored the indignant protest and stolen some of Paul's chicken Chettinad too, which had a P and five stars scribbled next to it on the menu, telling John it was one of Paul's favourites. He could tell why: it was even spicier than the Tandoori, and one of the best things he'd ever tasted. Not even Richie could cook that well and that was saying a lot because John adored Ringo's food.

After dinner, with the dishes out of the way and the leftovers safely stored in the fridge for later, Paul had crashed down on the sofa first, grabbing the remote and tuned into his favourite channel before John even made it to the sofa. If they were going to watch TV rather than go straight up to bed, John had decided, then they had better make good use of the time so he'd nudged and wriggled until at last he got his way, which meant being given the room to sit with his back against Paul's chest, comfortably leaning into him. Well, he was comfortable, anyway. He wasn't hearing any complaints from Paul yet, who had wrapped his arms around him. "Why didn't you mention your YouTube channel?"

Paul shrugged. Hadn't occurred to him, he supposed. Or maybe it had, but he'd have to think about that later. He was too involved in the TV programme to make a massive effort. "Don't know," he finally said, moving his leg a bit to stop it from getting too numb. John was leaning into him just a bit too heavily if he was honest. He didn't want to spoil the mood so he didn't say anything, he just shifted about a bit to find a better position. "I guess because it's not really teaching. More like demonstrating or something, you know," he finally decided.

It was an old episode of Broadchurch. John had already seen it. But then, he guessed Paul had, too. How many times had those reruns been aired now? Of course, nearly everything was a repeat of something during the summer holiday. Still, it was a good episode, in which DI Hardy chose the responsibility of solving a murder over his own health. John loved that plot line and the intensity with which David Tennant played it. He couldn't think of a better actor for the role.