Thorny Fields • •

[maverick taiden winn]

Maverick had come to terms with his sexuality, but life hadn’t become any easier. He wasn’t ready to come out to the people in his life, and there was still the huge problem of being in love with Hennessey. He thought he could ignore that, but ever since that night with too much alcohol and too many wild feelings it had been impossible. Every time he looked at his best friend he found himself reliving it all. They weren’t even alone since then. They were always with other people they knew; Sophie, other college friends, work buddies…and yet Mav was stuck with those explicit, wildly inappropriate thoughts in his head. It was becoming increasingly difficult to act like everything was okay. He had spent years telling himself he would be okay so long as Nessy was happy. Now he was confused, full of questions, and while he could feel certain about his own truth, he was left asking a lot about one drunken night and a man who he thought had his whole life sorted out already. The problem with that one, almost perfect, night was that they were both drunk. Hennessey hadn’t even given an incline that he remembered any of it since then and Maverick didn’t know how to test those waters without possibly losing his best friend and maybe even ruining his life. He couldn’t do that to a guy who had always been there for him.

So instead he lived with the anguish. He hoped work could help him forget, but it didn’t. He tried to look at other men and hope some attraction might spark. However, while Maverick could see the physical appeal of someone else, he always caught himself comparing them to Hennessey, or struggling to focus when their gym nights came around again. It wasn’t like he could switch off his lust, especially not after they had spent that night together and it had been exactly like Mav had always imagined it might be. He had spent so long scolding himself for thinking of Hennessey like that, and then it actually happened.Mav had been afraid it was going to be some vivid dream from his cruel, taunting mind. Knowing it was real was almost worse when Hennessey didn’t even acknowledge that they had shared something together. He found himself going in circles ever since then, and Maverick didn’t know how much longer he could take it for.

Finding the comedy club pretty packed, Mav struggled to find space at the bar, but he fell onto a vacant stool and ordered himself a gin and tonic. He didn’t feel in a particularly funny mood, but this was where his buddies his chosen to go for Friday night. He had to keep up the act that everything was fine. If he didn’t then Hennessey would be the first person to question him over it, and Maverick couldn’t face that conversation. How could he? He’d have to tell him everything, and then that would be the end of all of it. Those years of friendship would vanish in a heartbeat and the life of his best friend would be forever changed – probably for the worse. Mav loved him; he couldn’t hurt Nessy, even if it killed him to hide it all.

• • •

TAGGED! Hennessey Maxwell Germaine
WORDS! 545!
OUTFIT! Befuddled Bestie!
LYRICS! No Friend - - - Paramore
NOTES! <3

[Hennessey Maxwell Germaine]

Hennessey had been swamped at work but he always made time for his friends and his family. He needed to have those breaks so he could recharge otherwise he'd probably go insane. Gym nights were a must, and the drinks were obviously required, especially after long days of working out the finals bugs of the latest programme. He barely remembered his head hitting his pillow most nights after the long days and a few days where he didn't actually sleep at all. Highly caffeinated drinks were his best friends as of late but that would all soon be over and Hennessey would find himself back on the old, good routine that he liked. He missed grabbing wings and beer or just being able to flop down onto the couch and watch a bit of mindless television. Very soon, it would be all he did for a couple weeks at least, maybe return to Georgia for a visit so he could pretend like everything was right in his world.

Then again, Harry might show up there, trying to prove that he's willing to be in his son's life full time. Hennessey wasn't interested in what the man had to say. He'd done his mother something dirty and he would be damned if the man was going to step back into her life and try to force his way in as a part of it once again. Nessy's mother was doing fantastic, her life was great. She was seeing a man casually that both his grandmother and he approved of. She had always been happy but her entire life as he'd grown up had been about him growing up and feeling as if he wasn't missing out on anything. And the truth of the matter was, he hadn't missed out on anything. She'd had all the answers to all the questions he'd had as he'd gotten older and what she hadn't known immediately, she'd gotten the answer to and told him afterwards. It would be good to get out of the city and return home for a little while, reset his world and maybe take a minute to really sit down and figure out what the hell was going on with him.

More and more lately he'd been waking up in the middle of the night after a dream that didn't feel like a dream. It all felt too real but he knew it couldn't be. Perhaps it was just his body's way of telling him he needed to take a step back and hit a beach somewhere for a week of forgetting how to answer a damn phone. A check of said phone told Hennessey he was running late for the comedy club so he gathered up his keys and wallet and walked out of his apartment, locking the door behind him. He needed a night of good laughs, whether that be at the expense of the comedian on stage or the idiots he called friends didn't matter. He just needed a good laugh. He hailed a cab outside his building and told the driver where he was headed. He probably could have walked over but it would have taken him too long and he was already running behind. He tosses a couple bills at the driver as he stepped out and headed in with a nod to security at the door. He was there enough, spent enough that his was a face well known and allowed right on through. with a quick scan of the floor, Hennessey spotted Maverick immediately. A jolt went through him at the sight of his friend over at the bar but he figured it was just the idea of being able to relax and have a couple drinks. He pushed away those thoughts that wanted to surface and made his way over. There was no way those dreams that were waking him and making him want were real. He would have remembered, vividly, if he'd ever slept with his best friend... right? "Mav, good to see you." He said, his voice sounding a little more gruff. Those dreams were really getting to him!

♦ ♦ ♦

TAG; maverick taiden winn
WORDS; 688
LYRICS; Take It From Me --Jordan Davis
NOTES; <3

[maverick taiden winn]

Having feelings for his best friend was one thing. Getting drunk and acting on those feelings was quite another. Maverick was barely able to accept that it had happened, though he knew better than to believe it was all some glorious dream. He knew it had been real. What he didn’t know was what it meant when Hennessey had returned his advances in kind. He also didn’t know how to bring any of it up in conversation with his friend; his friend who was engaged to be married. Maverick wasn’t the type to land himself in trouble, but this was one hell of a fine mess to find himself in. The more time that passed that he tried to ignore it, the more difficult it was to be around Hennessey at all. Maverick knew what had happened between them, regardless of the drunken haze that had shrouded that night. His problem now was that he couldn’t forget it.

Drinking himself into another complicated situation was never going to help matters, but it might silence the voices in his head for a little while. Even if it just numbed the back and fro feelings in his chest it would be better than nothing. Mav was giving himself enough headaches and sleepless nights trying to work his way through all the complicated feelings that came from that one single night. No one even knew about Mav’s sexuality yet. He wasn’t ashamed of it, but it had taken him a long time to come to accept himself, and then knowing that he loved Hennessey made everything just that more difficult. Of course, he was his best friend, and there had been a lot of moments in the past when Mav was still questioning himself. Back then he wasn’t sure if his love was just a platonic thing. After all, even friends could feel strongly about each other when they were so close, went through so much. Hennessey meant too much to Mav for him to ruin it by testing his chances when he was still so unsure about himself. Then again, it wasn’t any better to get drunk and hook up with him then, either. Mav wasn’t sure if he was thankful Hennessey didn’t seem to remember anything. Everything was awkward either way.

Maverick didn’t expect to run into Hennessey tonight. He didn’t expect to bump into anyone he knew here. Most of the people he worked with at the law firm frequented other bars, often choosing the lounge types. Not that Mav could blame them after the one night out ended with a run in with a family of someone the DA and his team had recently had sentenced to life without parole. It wasn’t possible to always avoid those situations, but they did seem a lot safer in the higher end venues. Mav almost spat out his drink, but thankfully managed to swallow it down in time. “Hey, uh, I wasn’t expecting to see you about tonight.” It made his plans shoot out of the window and out of the city via the nearest tunnel, but Mav couldn’t exactly tell his friend that. Instead he had to fake a smile and go with what he said; pretend that the lack of message or call was because he assumed Hennessey would be busy. Mav’s stomach turned sour when he remembered that there was a wedding to organise after all.

• • •

TAGGED! Hennessey Maxwell Germaine
WORDS! 569!
OUTFIT! Befuddled Bestie!
LYRICS! No Friend - - - Paramore
NOTES! <3

[Hennessey Maxwell Germaine]

Hennessey didn't know which way was up in his world anymore. His fiancée had been getting on his last nerve more and more lately and he couldn't be certain why that was. He was, however, slowly concluding that while he did love her, he wasn't in love with her and it might be in both of their better interests to call it off before it went any further. It was a tough decision to make for a man who made them all the time. Work decisions always seemed so easy for him. He knew what he wanted from the work he did and didn't cut corners or take shortcuts to get there. Hennessey always knew exactly what he wanted from his professional life. It was his personal life that took hit after hit constantly. Maybe he would take a quick trip back home when this thing finally launched and he could talk about it all with his family. They had always given him the best advice and Hennessey needed the best at the moment.

Floundering around in life was not something Hennessey did. He was oftentimes, too sure of himself and his decisions. His mother always teased him and said he needed to knock himself down a couple of pegs before someone else did it for him. She was right of course, but when he was doing so well, why would he? And he had Maverick to do that for him. He was always there to remind him that he could, on occasion, be a massive idiot and to never forget it otherwise he would be forced to remind him. Without Maverick in his life, Hennessey knew it would be much too arrogant for his own good. Failing that, a quick phone call to his grandmother would certainly straighten him out enough to be calling everyone he'd acted like a dick towards and apologising over the phone, just in case he'd pissed them off so bad that they never wanted to see his stupid face ever again. He didn't think that would ever happen, he had too many good people in his life but there was always that minuscule possibility.

Hennessey didn't know who exactly would be at the comedy club that night. He figured the usual crowd of fools but he'd not known for certain. It was nice to see Maverick there. They hadn't been able to talk as much as usual since the deadline was looming over Nessie's head. "Yeah," Hennessey started sheepishly, running his hand over the back of his neck. "I wasn't meant to be. The offer was extended but I'd said no since we're so close to launch." He admitted with a shake of his head. He sighed deeply as he dropped his hand back to his side. "But I needed a break and knew it so here I am." He added with a shrug. The air around them seemed to shift the second Hennessey laid eyes on his best friend but he didn't understand, not really, what they meant. He just kind of thought that everything would be better now that he was out with friends. He didn't put two and two together to realise what, exactly that meant to him.

♦ ♦ ♦

TAG; maverick taiden winn
WORDS; 537
LYRICS; Take It From Me --Jordan Davis
NOTES; <3

[maverick taiden winn]

Mav thought the drama was supposed to get left in the dirt with high school – college at the latest. He didn’t expect to be in his mid-twenties and trying to deal with this mess, and trying to deal with it alone. The only person he could ever fathom confiding in was the very person involved in it – and Mav didn’t know if he could remember that fact! It was driving him crazy just a little more with each passing day, but what the hell was he supposed to do about it? It wasn’t as though he could just come out and ask Hennessey. If he did that he could not only ruin the friendship they had shared for so many years, but he could ruin the love his best friend was supposed to be celebrating with all of his friends and family soon. Mav didn’t feel like coming out to the world by attaching the label of “homewrecker” to his identity. It was a mess, and he was slowly turning into one, too.

It wasn’t that he was worried about people not supporting him; he knew Hennessey and his parents would be there for him the moment he told them that he was attracted to men. The problem was that Mav was attracted to one man above the rest and it was Hennessey. He could have just continued to suffer with that burden alone, but instead they had gotten drunk and Mav had – somehow – seen enough to act on it and now he was here, trying to drink away those feelings without success because his best friend had shown up. If fate was real then it was having a damn good laugh at his expense. He could see the stress of work resting on his best friend’s shoulders. It wasn’t the first time, and Mav was usually pretty good at helping Nessie relax on these night’s out, but he didn’t know if he could do it after what had transpired between them. Things just felt different now between them.

“Well, I always said you work too damn hard.” He clapped his buddy on the back, trying to force some normality into the situation, but the second his hand made contact, Mav felt the sparks. He could feel the broad expanse of muscle beneath Hennessey’s shirt, the tightness in his shoulders, and he wanted to keep his hand there, to run it lower down his back and feel the rest of him. But he didn’t. Mav pulled his hand away and retracted his fist to his lap before his thoughts could wander further into dangerous territory. “What are you drinking?” He asked, voice a little on the deep side, with that being the first question that sprung to mind that might clear the memories of that drunken night from his mind. He couldn’t keep thinking of his best friend like that, regardless of what happened that one night. Hennessey was straight, for fucks sake! He was going to marry a woman and they were going to have that fairy tale ending all the books and movies made millions on.

• • •

TAGGED! Hennessey Maxwell Germaine
WORDS! 522!
LYRICS! No Friend - - - Paramore
NOTES! <3

[Hennessey Maxwell Germaine]

He didn't want to admit to it but Hennessey knew what the problem was. He'd had that dream about him and Maverick and it got under his skin. He'd had the same dream several times since then, waking him up in the middle of the night with his heart racing like he'd run a marathon. He was usually wide awake afterwards, no matter what time it was, which was how he'd been able to get so far ahead with this last programme; he'd literally worked through the night. More than once in a row in fact. His assistant had found him hard at work at his desk when she strolled in more than once and eventually became worried enough to bring it up to him. He hadn't wanted to say anything so he usually just shook his head and blamed insomnia, which he'd never had before. It was that dream that kept him up at night and his inability to understand why it had felt so damn real. His dreams were not usually so... Detailed but this was like he'd committed every little thing to memory.

Hennessey did work too much but he also knew better than to let work rule his entire life. If he did that, then he probably wouldn't have anyone in his life. Without his friends to drag him away, he would spend his entire life in that cushy office of his. Flashes of that dream of his started going through his mind the second he laid eyes on Maverick which made his words falter a bit. He couldn't shake it and knew that he would have to bring it up eventually. If they laughed about it, cracked some jokes then maybe he could shake it. But he didn't know what it would really. He had a lot more questions than he had answers and it was slowly driving him mad.

"And without you, I'd forget to have a social life." He admitted with a chuckle. It was the absolute truth. If there ever came a time when things changed and he stopped listening to even Maverick, then his mother and grandmother would have to be called and that would definitely not end well. As it was, he still listened to his best friend. "My usual. I'm not staying long." He said, referring to his usual neat bourbon. It was a ridiculous drink to favour at his age but nevertheless, it was true. Hennessey didn't bother to wait for the drink or even really consider it. One second he'd been considering going home for a visit and in a blink, he'd decided that was exactly what he would do. His head was a right mess and he needed to sort it out. "I think I'm going to visit mum and Gran for a couple weeks. I had this dream a while back and it's got me all twisted up." He admitted as he ran his hand through his hair again, making it messier than before. He didn't want to scare Maverick off with it so he figured starting out a bit vague might save it if it goes south.

♦ ♦ ♦

TAG; maverick taiden winn
WORDS; 523
LYRICS; Take It From Me --Jordan Davis
NOTES; <3

[maverick taiden winn]

Mav knew he had made a mistake. If he could take it all back he would do it in a heartbeat. They had both been drunk and alcohol brings out the stupid in even the smartest of people. Hennessey was his best friend and the last person on the planet Mav ever wanted to hurt. He was supposed to be making sure he got to his own wedding to Sophie, was supposed to give some big happy speech about how they were perfect together and how she brought out the best in the guy he would take a bullet for. He wasn’t supposed to drag him to bed at the first crack in their relationship when they were both too drunk to remember their own names. He could have ruined everything through a night of being wasted and acting on an impulse he had tried to ignore for so many years. Mav had been fighting with his feelings for Hennessey for so long, and his sexuality for even longer. He didn’t know how to come out from this. He had messed up big time and there was no way to repair it.

“You say that like I’m a party animal.” Mav remarked, flagging down the bartender to order the drinks, his mind guiltily reminding him that this was how it had all began; him buying the drinks to help Hennessey get over the fight with Sophie. What was he doing? Why was his reaction to just instantly hand his friend more alcohol as though that was the solution? But this was normal. This was what friends did when they were out. They bought drinks. There was nothing suspicious or strange about this. Mav could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the beads of sweat forming at his hairline. God, he felt like he was going to be sick and he was only standing next to Hennessey. How on earth was he supposed to carry on like everything was normal? He could feel his world falling apart in that moment, the floor falling from under his feet. If this was the beginning of the end then Mav was done for right then and there. There was no way he could recover from what he had done. He was going to lose his best friend either through the inevitable confession of the truth or the distance he would have to put between them just so he could try and regain some semblance of control in his life.

Swallowing hard, Mav dared to glance across at him. “What kind of dream?” He asked, blood whooshing through his ears. “Wedding nerves, big guy?” What the fuck was that? Mav was trying to play it cool, play it off like this was just a casual conversation, but his heart was beating a samba in his chest and he was dreading to hear what Hennessey said next. A few weeks ago was when Mav had decided liquor and repressed desires made for the perfect combination after all, and now he was terrified of what Hennessey might say. Mav didn’t know if he could lie to his best friend if this “dream” was less of a fantasy and more based in the nightmares of reality.

• • •

TAGGED! Hennessey Maxwell Germaine
WORDS! 545!
LYRICS! No Friend - - - Paramore
NOTES! <3