fic: Brotherly Love (Chuck/Eric), pg-13, one-shot

Title: Brotherly Love
Author: pickitup
Pairing: Chuck/Eric
Rating: PG-13
Author's note: It's only 827 words, so more a ficlet than a proper piece, really. Written for childish, my first attempt at Chuck/Eric.
Summary: Chuck's still holding out the cigarettes, so Eric elects to take one, even though he's never smoked before. In for a penny, he thinks, ruefully fingering his striped scarf and admiring his expensive shoes, so like the ones Chuck is wearing.



'Have you ever experimented, Chuck?' Eric asks, wearing an expression that makes him look so like his sister that Chuck hesitates before he replies.

'How do you mean?' stalling for time, 'What... kind of experimentation?'

Eric rolls his eyes, with all the worldly wisdom of a just-outed fifteen year old trust-fund baby. 'You know what I mean, asshole.'

Chuck laughs, pleased at Eric's arrogance, pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his inside pocket and offers Eric one. Eric hesitates, 'If you're just doing this to buy time from my awkward question... and you've got Serena stationed outside the door ready to catch me... I will be so mad!'

Chuck ruffles Eric's hair, laughs indulgently, his amusement prompting Eric to launch into an impression of Serena, 'You're s-s-smoking, little brother? Chuck, how could you lead him astray like this! He's practically a baby!'

Eric feels a little guilty making fun of Serena but sometimes it's just too easy, and he likes to make Chuck laugh, it makes him feel more secure in the friendship, more on an even footing. Chuck's still holding out the cigarettes, so Eric elects to take one, even though he's never smoked before. In for a penny, he thinks, ruefully fingering his striped scarf and admiring his expensive shoes, so like the ones Chuck is wearing.

Chuck lights it for him and he struggles to inhale, spluttering away. Chuck just raises an eyebrow, 'Practice makes perfect. Don't smoke in public til you can do it right.'

'Yeah, yeah...' Eric coughs, waving away the smoke, 'anyway, my question?'

'Well... yeah. I have experimented. With drugs at least,' shoots him a tight smile.

'And..?' Eric prompts, raising an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of Chuck.

Chuck sighs and gives in, 'And with sex. Threesomes, foursomes... there was one abortive attempt at an orgy but it all got a little bit... messy.'

Eric laughs loudly at that, and Chuck smiles, enjoying the unselfconscious way Eric throws his head back, how he crinkles his eyes up. Eric doesn't laugh much, typically, hasn't since the whole Asher scandal, but Chuck's good at making him laugh. Better than Serena, truth be told, who spends too much time wrapped up in her own problems to notice the things that Chuck notices. It doesn't hurt that Chuck's friendship with Eric drives her wild with rage, of course but, to the chagrin of his detractors, his real reason for doing it is because he likes the boy, feels sorry for the boy.

Something about Eric reminds Chuck of what he could have been like, if he'd allowed himself to grow up the hard way, the good way. He could have been more loving, more friendly, more real but... he shut that door a long time ago and he thinks that, all things considered, it was for the best. Now he just wants to share some of that wisdom with Eric, sand the rough edges off him, make him stronger, better.

'And..?' Eric prompts, taking another drag on the cigarette, and not enjoying it, but feeling he has to try at least.

'And what?' Chuck stalls.

'You know... how else have you experimented?'

'Hmm,' Chuck stares at the cigarette, goes very still. 'Maybe I haven't.'

Eric snorts with derision, and it's a sound so like his own that Chuck looks at him, eyes owlishly wide. 'You mean to say that you've had Nate Archibald sleeping on your sofa, in your bed, for like, ever and you never did anything?' Chuck shakes his head, body rigid.

'Never just tried it out, for fun? While drunk, or something? Whatever!'

'Nate's not like that,' he says through gritted teeth, finally.

'Oh,' Eric's voice goes quiet. He hates making Chuck mad. 'Sorry. I was only... teasing. I guess I'm just desperate to find someone else like me right now.' His voice is sad, but when Chuck looks at him, he finds a blank expression pasted on over whatever Eric's feeling. Chuck taught him to do that, never to show what you're feeling. A little part of him twists at the sight of it being executed so well, though, and he looks away.

'Chuck?' Eric asks, and it's not a question as such but he knows what Eric wants all the same. He turns towards Eric to mouth some platitude but Eric's lips are suddenly on his, teenaged and desperate, until Chuck opens his mouth and lets Eric put his tongue there, sliding between teeth and caressing his (sharp) tongue.

Eric is the one to pull away, and he's crying a little bit, 'Sorry, I'm sorry.'

Chuck puts a brotherly arm around him, squeezes, 'You're a Bass now, and we don't apologise. We just take what we want, no prisoners.'

Eric knows that's Chuck's way of saying 'it's okay,' and it isn't, but it will be, he thinks, as he takes another drag of his cigarette, and manages not to cough. Everything is going to be okay.

--end