#lakeside!tom

So. This started innocently enough. Back in June, I think it was. It was supposed to be a quick little romcom!Tom prompt. Just something to pass the time and possibly torture a friend or two [cause why not, y’know?]. One glimpse of a fan photo from roundabouts the High Rise era and -- well, you can guess how easy it was to get things rolling. Vacation with Tom? Ok. That was fun to imagine, but what if... what if... what if it wasn’t a vacation, but that he lived there? 

What was meant to be a drabble grew, spun, twisted and grew some more. Damn it all if the romcom drabble turned into something else. Damn it all that I can’t do something quick and easy anymore, apparently. [How the hell did it get to be 42 pages long? Who leaves me alone with my thoughts, or access to a writing medium... Gah!] 

Anyway. The gist of my (long-winded) little lament is that if I ever say: ooooh prompt - or any such similar nonsense, please feel free to slap some sense into me. I need a freaking sign around my neck: Do. Not. Encourage. The Writer. (which of course will have the following in small subtext to further elaborate on the warning: You’ll end up with random messages at 3 in the morning questioning minute details in the backstory of secondary characters and swathes of dialogue that may prompt gigglefits or tears and no warning as to which. 

Finally, lastly, et al [I know. Take a breath. We’re almost there.] I’ll be posting the story in installments to save the length of the posts - too late for this one, I know. Apologies. But, y’know, in the all too likely chance that someone’s readmore doesn’t work I don’t wanna force them to scroll for three years. 

Lakeside

This Tom lives at the lake in the mountains where the memory of his parents is the strongest - the place where they went on their honeymoon, and took their children each summer, and would have lived out their retirement. His sister keeps renting out the old Johnson place, among other lakeside homes, and bringing in these tourists that make such a damn mess. Not to mention the fact that when they break things he’s the one that ends up having to fix them. And Tom? He just wants to be able to throw up a ‘Back in 1 hour’ sign in the window of the bait & tackle shop on their end of the marina and boat over to the only other business nearby, pop open a beer and watch the sunset at his best friend’s bar. 

  Intro

His plans to enjoy what remains of the season that is finally winding down are delayed, yet again, when his sister rents out the old Johnson place to someone. Two families left and she rents out one of the sites they own for an indeterminate amount of time - they were vague on the end date and willing to pay in advance plus extra, Tom. An additional complication: he still hasn’t finished repairs to that particular dock, left from the previous group that stayed there. They don’t fine the tourists enough when damage occurs, clearly. How the hell people ‘mysteriously lose’ a nailed down piece of wood he’ll never know. 

 [ find the story on AO3 ]

We’re almost to the end.... just one more section to go after this, which I hope makes up for where we [ok, I] left things? It did get a little long, hence the single section in the post. No double not-chapter today! You tell me if I managed to Fix The Thing. Hopefully I didn’t make it worse... 

Without further ado, cause I know/ hope you’re just as ready for it as I am....

  Tom lives at the lake in the mountains where the memory of his parents is the strongest - the place where they went on their honeymoon, and took their children each summer, and would have lived out their retirement. His sister keeps renting out the old Johnson place, among other lakeside homes, and bringing in these tourists that make such a damn mess. Not to mention the fact that when they break things he’s the one that ends up having to fix them. And Tom? He just wants to be able to throw up a ‘Back in 1 hour’ sign in the window of the bait & tackle shop on their end of the marina and boat over to the only other business nearby, pop open a beer and watch the sunset at his best friend’s bar.

[Did you miss the start? Not to worry, it’s easy to catch up. Parts 1 & 2: Intro & Ryan Culler can be found here. Parts 3 & 4: Where the Sun Shines & The Week-Ender can be found here. Parts 5 & 6: The Daisy Mae & Three Legged Raceare here. Part 7: When It Rains. Parts 8 & 9: The Fickleness of Fate & The Deeds of Mann are here. And parts 10 & 11: No Shortcuts & Left, Right, and Straight-ahead can be found here.]

Lakeside: Relations and Revelations 

Tom fidgets and winces when his ankle protests the shifting of his weight, so he shifts back into the same uncomfortable stance that he’d started from. For some idiotic reason his brain is offering up a memory of running over to his next-door neighbor’s house when he was a kid, excited to be done with homework and wanting to spend the rest of the daylight hours cavorting around the neighborhood with his best friends.

“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

The fact that there’s a man, nearly as tall as he is, staring straight back at him has him blinking, stupefied. The fact that said man has a disapproving look on his face, and clearly knows who he is, also has him thrown. “Um.” His mouth wants to fumble through asking if Ryan’s home. Since the – this – whoever this guy is, is determined to block the doorway. Ryan’s gotta be in there. But should he risk breaking eye contact to peer inside?  

Aaand we’re back to the doubled up sections. Cause they’re shorter sections and I feel guilty for leaving the last one? Kinda. Not really. Cause we all know I’m a sucker for leaving you wanting.... Which sounded less erm... or more... something. You know what, nevermind. Let’s just get back to the story. 

Tom lives at the lake in the mountains where the memory of his parents is the strongest - the place where they went on their honeymoon, and took their children each summer, and would have lived out their retirement. His sister keeps renting out the old Johnson place, among other lakeside homes, and bringing in these tourists that make such a damn mess. Not to mention the fact that when they break things he’s the one that ends up having to fix them. And Tom? He just wants to be able to throw up a ‘Back in 1 hour’ sign in the window of the bait & tackle shop on their end of the marina and boat over to the only other business nearby, pop open a beer and watch the sunset at his best friend’s bar.

[Did you miss the start? Don’t worry, you can find parts 1 & 2: Intro & Ryan Culler here. Parts 3 & 4: Where the Sun Shines & The Week-Ender here. Parts 5 & 6: The Daisy Mae & Three Legged Race here. Part 7: When It Rains can be found here.] 

The Fickleness of Fate

He’s found excuses, reasons… whatever – he’s found himself enjoying Ryan’s company more over the span of the last few weeks than he has in the previous months she’s resided at the lake. Because in his mind that’s what she’s done. She has become a resident, not just a vacationer.

The concern is still there, the reticence to become fully lost in the feeling of the moment. His is rooted in the fear that Fate will turn her head, and upon noticing his situation she will once again strike, once again stealing away the beating thing in the center of his being. And Ryan? Her reservédness is probably in relation to the small bit of distance he is trying to maintain, sensing that last leap that he is trying to keep from taking.

If he does it, if he hands Ryan his whole heart and she still chooses to walk away? What will he do, then? If he asks her what they’re doing – if it’s just a summer fling or something more – and she opts for the more casual choice?

Ready for more? I am. Also - errr sorry? Sorry that I sort of forgot that it was supposed to be a RomCom!Tom prompt. 

Tom lives at the lake in the mountains where the memory of his parents is the strongest - the place where they went on their honeymoon, and took their children each summer, and would have lived out their retirement. His sister keeps renting out the old Johnson place, among other lakeside homes, and bringing in these tourists that make such a damn mess. Not to mention the fact that when they break things he’s the one that ends up having to fix them. And Tom? He just wants to be able to throw up a ‘Back in 1 hour’ sign in the window of the bait & tackle shop on their end of the marina and boat over to the only other business nearby, pop open a beer and watch the sunset at his best friend’s bar.

[Did you miss the start? Don’t worry, it’s easy to catch up. Parts 1 & 2: Intro & Ryan Culler can be found here. Parts 3 & 4: Where the Sun Shines & The Week-Ender can be found here. Parts 5 & 6: The Daisy Mae & Three Legged Race are here. Part 7: When It Rains stands by it’s lonesome. (sorry not sorry) Parts 8 & 9: The Fickleness of Fate & The Deeds of Mann are here.]

No Shortcuts

Tori glowers at her brother via the screen of his device. Video calls are great for support, but also great for preventing one’s sister from being able to assault them. He called her to stall further – no, no that was her accusation. He called her to prove that he wasn’t useless, was a decent human being, and terrified of getting out of his truck to walk up to the cold stone structure before him. Not terrified, really, but nervous about what it means. He didn’t do well before when he tried the city life. The pace of it didn’t suit him, at any rate. He’s here now because…

“Get out!.” Tori all but shouts at him, the video of her wobbling as she scoops up her phone and walks across the office space once used by their father. “I swear if you don’t get out of that truck this instant. So help me…”

[ find the story on AO3 ]

So we had started a sort of pattern, and by we I mean me. I started with a sort of pattern of posting multiple sections to each post cause (a) I have no patience and wanted to get the story out there after sitting on it for so long, and (b) I figured the sections were so short that I felt sort of guilty hoarding sections? For reasons that I refuse to name but will become clear: this installment breaks the mold. 

Tom lives at the lake in the mountains where the memory of his parents is the strongest - the place where they went on their honeymoon, and took their children each summer, and would have lived out their retirement. His sister keeps renting out the old Johnson place, among other lakeside homes, and bringing in these tourists that make such a damn mess. Not to mention the fact that when they break things he’s the one that ends up having to fix them. And Tom? He just wants to be able to throw up a ‘Back in 1 hour’ sign in the window of the bait & tackle shop on their end of the marina and boat over to the only other business nearby, pop open a beer and watch the sunset at his best friend’s bar.

[Did you miss the start? Check out parts 1 & 2: Intro & Ryan Culler here. Parts 3 & 4: Where the Sun Shines & The Week-Ender here. Parts 5 & 6: The Daisy Mae & Three Legged Race here.]

When It Rains

Storms at the lake during the summer can go one of several ways: short-lived things that are light, over in a blink, and forgotten before the day is out – harder, more intense storms that sometimes bring crashes of thunder and lightening sending everyone scattering for shelter, but still roll on through without doing too much damage – or the wild things that threaten to snap trees and assail the unwary with hail. Only the foolish go out during the latter two. Only the foolish do things like perform house calls rather than batten down the hatches and wait till the worst is over. Only the foolish glance at the weather report before heading out and upon seeing that one such heavy storm is inbound still decide to go out on the water.

“Only the foolish…” Tom mutters under his breath as he turns into Johnson cove, the fast approaching storm already altering the feel of the air. The skies overhead turned grey the evening before, not allowing the sun to peek through as it set and holding fast today too. The water’s already choppy, too, like it knew the storm was approaching and is already whipping itself up in excitement.

Tom lives at the lake in the mountains where the memory of his parents is the strongest - the place where they went on their honeymoon, and took their children each summer, and would have lived out their retirement. His sister keeps renting out the old Johnson place, among other lakeside homes, and bringing in these tourists that make such a damn mess. Not to mention the fact that when they break things he’s the one that ends up having to fix them. And Tom? He just wants to be able to throw up a ‘Back in 1 hour’ sign in the window of the bait & tackle shop on their end of the marina and boat over to the only other business nearby, pop open a beer and watch the sunset at his best friend’s bar.

[Did you miss the start? You’ll find parts 1 and 2: Intro & Ryan Culler here. And parts 3 & 4: Where the Sun Shines & The Week-Ender here.]

The Daisy Mae

“Thanks again for this.” 

Ryan was ready and waiting on the deck up by the house in a lounge chair when he turned into the cove. He’d tried not to watch her descend the stairs – helpful that he had to focus a bit on not running into the Johnson’s dock and make more work for himself – but that didn’t stop him from stealing glances as he tied the boat off.

Situational awareness. That’s all it is. Making sure he knows where everyone is at all times. Boating safety 101.

[ find the story on AO3 ]

Well, it definitely helps if when you set up a scheduled post that you actually check that you’ve entered the correct date so it falls into the queue sequence where you actually want it and not, oh, a year from now. 

Figures I’d do something silly like that for the final installment (ok ok, final for now) of Lakeside. Ready for it? And maybe a few headcanon photosets for what the future holds at the very end. Here we go! 

Tom lives at the lake in the mountains where the memory of his parents is the strongest - the place where they went on their honeymoon, and took their children each summer, and would have lived out their retirement. His sister keeps renting out the old Johnson place, among other lakeside homes, and bringing in these tourists that make such a damn mess. Not to mention the fact that when they break things he’s the one that ends up having to fix them. And Tom? He just wants to be able to throw up a ‘Back in 1 hour’ sign in the window of the bait & tackle shop on their end of the marina and boat over to the only other business nearby, pop open a beer and watch the sunset at his best friend’s bar.

[Did you miss the start? Not to worry, it’s easy to catch up. Parts 1 & 2: Intro & Ryan Culler can be found here. Parts 3 & 4: Where the Sun Shines & The Week-Ender can be found here. Parts 5 & 6: The Daisy Mae & Three Legged Raceare here. Part 7: When It Rains. Parts 8 & 9: The Fickleness of Fate & The Deeds of Mann are here. Parts 10 & 11: No Shortcuts & Left, Right, and Straight-ahead can be found here. And Part 12: Relations and Revelations can be found here.]

[Incidentally, and this will be the last note before we get started with the installment - I promise! - I did do the usual thing and made a compilation page for the story.]

Lakeside - The Culler Place

He shouldn’t be enjoying this quite so much, and he knows it, but it’s only the eighth straight day of torrential rain and Ryan is about to go out of her skin. He’s all but sure, now, that she only survived the winter by migrating back and forth between here – her lakeside home – and crashing with friends in the city.

Cell reception went out yesterday, which is partially to blame for her current state. Lines to the closest tower probably got taken out by some trees. Soggy as the ground is, it’s actually a little surprising there are still safe routes in and out of their lakeside community.

There was that brief respite this morning, when she realized she had a few spreadsheets saved to her laptop that she could finish out… but now those are done and she’s itching for something to do. She’s been bumping around inside, circling back to her laptop like a homing pigeon to check and see if anything has changed with the internet connection.

[ find the story on AO3 ]

So yea. It’s all I had written, all that I originally had in mind. It doesn’t mean that’s where the story ends for these characters, far from it. But open endings are the best, right? There’s opportunity untapped. Potential for so much more than we’ve gotten to witness. What other headcanons exist for this story? Scroll on for some photo clues, and little snippets.

Want to know how Tom gets Ryan to stay up at the lake for the duration of the winter? He enlists help from the sweetest little pup at the local shelter. Four legged friends are the best, and he kind of ends up wondering why he waited so long to adopt a pet. 

It takes another two seasons before Ryan can convince Tom to upgrade his truck. Daisy Mae was where he’d previously spent his money. Daisy Mae, and the business, at any rate. So the truck was a little battered. When you’re hauling supplies around the lake what does it matter? What really helps Ryan’s case is simply the fact that Gordon and Tori are intent on at least having both a boy and a girl, and it’s all but impossible to ferry any more than three people - or two people and a dog - around in Tom’s old green truck. 

T - teen   •    warnings: implied sex, relationship drama, angst

Because we all know I have a thing for compilation pages  ❤ ❤

[ find the story on AO3 ]

[ 1 & 2 ] Intro || Ryan Culler [ 3 & 4 ] Where the Sun Shines || The Week-Ender [ 5 & 6 ] The Daisy Mae || Three Legged Race [ 7 ] When It Rains [ 8 & 9 ] The Fickleness of Fate || The Deeds of Mann [ 10 & 11] No Shortcuts || Left, Right, and Straight-ahead [ 12 ] Relations and Revelations [ 13 ] The Culler Place

Since a compilation page wouldn’t be complete without a related drabble or two: 

- Will you lay with me beneath the night sky? - Y is for Yuletide (Alphabet Soup Challenge 2020) - Payback (from the February Flash Fics 2019) - avocado (word prompt challenge 2020)