David Cook/David Archuleta
By: merelywren (mrflannery)
David had heard off and on over the past few years about how Cook liked to mention him at his show, little comments and quips every so often, but David had never really paid much mind to it. He knew that was how Cook was. He liked to talk and engage with his audience, and his friends and family were always important to him so it never took David by surprise that he came up once in a while.
But it seemed to be happening a lot lately. Like, a lot.
This was written years ago. I'm pretty positive this type of storyline has been done before, but this is my take. The more the merrier, right?
David had heard off and on over the past few years about how Cook liked to mention him at his show; little comments and quips every so often, but David had never really paid much mind to it. He knew that was how Cook was. He liked to talk and engage with his audience, and his friends and family were always important to him so it never took David by surprise that he came up once in a while.
But it seemed to be happening a lot lately. Like, a lot.
Every so often David would take some time to go through his Twitter and Facebook and check up on his fans and the things they would tag him in, and more and more posts were sprinkled in about Cook and his shows and David started to take notice.
"The show was amazing!! And only one mention of Archie this time, haha."
"Cook tried to do a rocked out verse of Crush tonight, but he started laughing half way through! Still nailed it though."
"Look's like Cook is still missing that Archie kid..."
It was starting to make David wonder and he didn't really think it would hurt to see for himself. So on a quiet evening at home he settled down on his couch and powered up his laptop. He wasn't sure what to search for though, so he just entered in both of their names to see what came up.
Realistically he knew that both Cook and him had a level of popularity, but wow, he wasn't expecting there to be so much.
David had never been one to look himself up on the internet, it was awkward and uncomfortable seeing himself from so many different points of views and he could hardly even listen to himself sing when it was outside of the studio. But seeing all that came up with that one search of both their names...David found pretty quick that he couldn't stop looking. There were so many pictures of the two of them over the years; from Idol and the tour afterwards, to their time in Manila and the various events they'd been to together since.
But then there were the ones of just Cook, doing his own shows, singing his heart out on stage. He had always had a presence up there that David admired and it was fun flipping through fan pictures of his friend doing what he loved so much and seeing his joy and passion shine through as he sang.
It was as he was sifting through all those pictures that he saw it for the first time; Cook on stage wearing a t-shirt of David's. One with his face right there in the center. It made him blush hotly the second he spotted it and he couldn't help but laugh at how silly Cook looked with a shirt two sizes too small. There was a video to go along with it and David didn't think twice before clicking on it, his curiosity instantly getting the better of him.
It was a funny moment for sure but what caught him by surprise was that Cook had actually wanted to keep the shirt in the end. David just...didn't expect that. He tried to push away the pleased feeling it gave him.
And from that video came another, in a different town and a diifferent concert, and another shirt of his that Cook made a point to talk about and keep on stage with him.
It was like flood gates had opened up of one crazy moment after another of Cook talking about him with his fans, and in the middle of his concerts and randomly during interviews. There was just...so much and David could hardly take it all in.
How could he go so long without knowing that this was happening?
Eventually, he stumbled across a set of gifs from various videos and shows, all of them depicting Cook singing Crush, with little captions showing the words Cook was singing in each clip, and David-- oh he had to find each one of them, had to see the real evidence of it for himself.
So many times, David thought as he watched the little clips loop themselves over and over again.
Cook and him were closer now, without a doubt, and living in the same town had gone a long way in solidifying the unlikely friendship that had taken shape during their time on Idol. But David still didn't understand...Why was Cook always talking about him? And singing that song. In Sandy, for goodness sake, David thought suddenly, Cook had sung it then too! Had David play it there, in the middle of his own concert. It was just...David didn't want to let himself think about what it could mean, what he hoped it could mean.
It wouldn't do him any good to daydream, he knew that. It would just make his heart ache even more than it already did when thinking about his friend and how much he loved him and all the ways he shouldn't love him. But it was so hard now, with all of this laid out in front of him. Evidence of something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
David might not want to overthink it, but for everyone else it didn't seem they had a problem looking deeper and thinking it meant something more. There were dozens of posts David was finding, of people theorizing what it all meant. The majority seeming to view it as Cook....well, as him pining. Alone in his own house, David still blushed just thinking it. It was silly, he tried to convince himself, that Cook could be reacting that way towards him.
It had been well over an hour now since David began his search and subsequent video hunting of each concert that he was mentioned in and he almost felt exhausted from it, like he was on overload from the information he had gathered.
Wanting to narrow things down, David went back to his original search and changed the setting to show the most recent event and there was a video at the top of Cook from his concert a few days prior. It was the last show of his tour before he had headed to see his family, planning on staying there a week to relax before making the trek back home in Tennessee. Cook and him had spoken about his plans a handful of times, and of how they were going to celebrate the end of another great tour with a family size pizza and a case of beer (for Cook) when he finally came back.
David pushed play on the video and watched Cook sing through a couple of his songs, so full of energy that David could practically feel it from there, and it hit him suddenly how much he missed his friend. Their lives were busy but living in the same town afforded them the luxury of getting to spend a great chunk of time off together. David was brought back to the present as he listened to his friend talk to the crowd as he took a short break to catch his breath and get some water.
David sat with rapt attention as he listened to Cook talk about the end of the tour and how amazing it had all been and how nice it was going to be to go back home...to him.
"And then home! Man, it feels like it's been a year, I swear. But it's been great; you guys have been great! Couldn't have asked for a better tour, or better fans. Every concert, I'm blown away by the support. But it's gonna be really nice to be home again," he said with a grin to the crowd as they cheered for him, "Already got plans with Archie; gonna make him take me out for our favorite pizza and then sleep for a month, I swear." He was looking down at his guitar now, smiling, and fiddling with his pick before playing a few chords and David knew, instantly, that it was a couple notes to Crush. "It's gonna be great," he finished before launching into his next song.
David rubbed the palm of his hand against his breastbone and tried to will the ache he felt there to ease down. Okay so, granted, David's never been on a proper date that was actually worth counting as one, never had a relationship that was beyond friendship and family-- but he's been on the outside looking in long enough to know what he was seeing.
David sat there for a long time that night, letting those thoughts and feelings in that he had been hoarding for his friend for years, and trying to sort through all that he had seen and heard and comparing it to how he himself felt and wondered if he would act the same way Cook was if he allowed himself to be as open and free with his emotions personally.
In the end, all that he was left with was the thought that, yeah, pining really did seam like the right word.
It was a long four days for David after that.
He hadn't been this nervous at the thought of seeing Cook in a long time. Years in fact. He had gotten so use to the thought that his attraction to his friend was harmless and buried deep enough that it wouldn't matter that he felt the way he did because it was never going to be returned. So, it wasn't an issue. Yeah, his heart ached some nights when he let his feelings rise up and get the best of him but he never let it affect their friendship in a negative way. Ever. He wouldn't let it. But now, the protective barrier around those tender feelings was starting to crack with the possibility that maybe--
David sighed and folded his arms on top of the closed piano keys in front of him and tucked his face into the bend of his elbow. Thinking about it so much wasn't doing him any good and neither was the intermittent texts he had been getting from Cook all morning.
Ridiculous pictures of him and Andrew going through their hometown mall making stupid faces, pictures of Disney bobbleheads that they found in the f.y.e. store there that Cook was threatening to buy and place around David's house and then Cook bragging about how he was going to whoop David in the new Guitar Hero that he was buying at GameStop.
It was just that...Cook was his best friend. And the thought that that could change wasn't sitting well in David's stomach, even if it meant that his heart wouldn't have to ache anymore. Because if they let things change between them, they might never get their friendship back if things fell apart. David had seen that happen in relationships before and he didn't like it. He was too important, too ingrained in David's life to ever let something tear it apart.
But then...when David let himself daydream of how the little things between them could change; sitting next to him wherever they went and feeling the warmth of him along his side, Cook hugging him whenever the man got the urge (David could only imagined how much more often it would happen), being able to hold Cook's hand, getting the right to call Cook his, and sharing his bed...
When David let himself think of those things he realized that if he got the chance to have him, he would do anything in his power to hold on to him. And that maybe the fear of losing him wasn't as great a threat as he thought it would be.
Tomorrow he would see his friend again and he didn't know if he would forget about all that he had learned, if he would go on living with the possibility that there might be a chance for them.
He didn't know if his heart would let him live in peace if he didn't at least try.
David took a deep breath and followed Cook into the kitchen and stood in the doorway, watching his friend as he dug in the freezer and pulled out the ice cream, humming to himself along the way.
The day had been a whirlwind. David had met Cook at his house, watching the tour bus pull in. It was nothing but chaos; after Cook had leaped out of the front doors and raced his way to David, standing in the driveway. The hug that followed was one that David would tuck away in his heart forever. Cook held on to him so tightly it was like he was afraid he’d fade away. It made David’s cheeks burn to think about it.
And here, now, David's heart felt heavy in his chest and he finally knew without a doubt, that making this move tonight was the right thing to do, because he wanted that man in front of him; not just for that night, but every night after. To hear him puttering around the house, to see his mess of clothes and sheet music around the house, to share everything with him. To hear him sing at night before bed and wake to his voice in the morning.
And David wouldn't get any of that if he didn't try.
"Hey, Cook?" he asked softly, almost afraid to raise his voice even a touch above a whisper. This moment felt too fragile, the outcome too unknown, as if it could shatter if handled wrong.
Ice cream scoop still in hand, Cook turned to look at him over his shoulder, his big grin still present and not seeming to have wavered the whole night, "Yeah?"
Seeing him stand there in his kitchen, so at home and happy, solidified the decision David made in his mind.
"Do you ever think, when you're all alone," David took a step into the kitchen towards Cook, his voice slow and soft as he sang out those familiar words, his heart beating heavy in his chest. "All that we could be? Where this thing could go?"
Cook's grin melted slowly off his face and turned to something like wonder at hearing his friend sing, catching on to how heavy just those few lines were, how the room was suddenly charged with energy...how this meant something. David poured all the feelings he had stored up in his chest out through his words.
David took another small step towards his friend and watched as the scoop fell from Cook's hand to clank against the counter top as he turned to face David. He hadn't ever planned out what he was going to say, never able to find the right words and just hoping it would come to him when the moment was right.
And it did. In this song that belonged to Cook now as much as it belonged to David.
David sang, intimate and quiet just for Cook, "Do you catch a breath when I look at you? Are you holding back--" but halted his words as the older man seemed to finally snap out of his trance of watching David sing to him and took a step forward, apprehension written plainly on his face and in his jerky movements. David had never seen his friend so unsure of himself.
"You sing that song all the time, I know you do," David whispered in a rush. "Tell me why."
"David?" Cook breathed, questioning what David was doing, not wanting to read this all wrong and make a fool of himself.
Cook could hear some of David's own uncertainty and found courage in the knowledge that they were equals in the midst of all these unanswered questions between them. He bridged the gap between them in an easy step and cupped David's face between both palms, so tenderly that David could feel the familiar burn behind his eyes from just that one touch. Cook's hands were cold from the ice cream but it didn't tamp out the fire that was burning beneath David's skin from his touch and it spread from that point of contact and down through his chest to settle in his stomach.
He felt the air ghosting over his lips from how close Cook was and David raised his own hands and placed them on Cook's flanks, feeling the solidness and warmth of him. His hands were shaking and he tightened his grip in the mans shirt, balling it between his fingers.
As close as they were, he could see as Cook closed his eyes tight before opening them again to look David head on. "Because everything about it reminds me of you," he finally answered. "It doesn't matter what I'm doing or where I'm at, I have a really hard time, Dave...not thinking about you."
He leaned forward that last little space left and rested their brows together and David let out a breath, heart pounding. He felt like his chest couldn't hold his heart in much longer it was beating so wildly. In one last bold move David nodded his head Okay and kissed Cook.
It was amazing and crazy and so perfect in that moment that when Cook took control, pressing forward completely into David's space and wraping him up in his arms entirely, David just sighed with content and let his mind and body drift on the pleasant buzz from it all. Cook's lips were warm and chapped pressed against his and so tender as he took David's bottom lip between his own like he was claiming that little spot for himself and the flame in his stomach burst at the thought that maybe someday Cook will claim more pieces of him-- every last inch of him.
Slow and reluctant they parted, lips red and tender, and Cook leaned forward to rest his head against David's once more, the both of them smiling like fools. Cook laughed before cupping David's face and peppered his skin with small fleeting kisses and David giggled at how happy each one of them made him feel. There wasn't an inch of skin left on his face that Cook hadn't touched and he was tingling all over and he finally put a stop to it by rising to his toes and claiming Cook's lips again with his own.
"What am I going to do with you?" David asked quietly as he pulled back and gazed up at his friend, his rock; the man who had been by his side for almost eight years. David felt a pleasant tingle roll down his spine as Cook took his right hand in his left and curled his other up around David's back and began to slowly rock them side to side right there in the kitchen.
"You can dance with me. It feels like a good time to dance," he said before humming quietly for just the two of them in the little space left between their bodies and David nodded his head yes, and felt the familiar song vibrating along his skin each time Cook leaned forward to kiss him.
They spent the better part of that night just dancing in the kitchen together, swaying from side to side as they shared a song and David felt as light as air and Cook was the only thing keeping him grounded.
Weeks, months, years from that moment in the kitchen Cook will lay in bed next to David with his lips pressed to his bare shoulder in the early morning light and sing softly.
We can make this into something that'll last forever, forever...
