Triumph
"Fuck..."
Donnie dragged the word out as he exhaled and leaned back into the sagging rear-side of the sofa, the cushions old and decrepit and in need of replacing. But there never had really been anyone around in either his life or John's to tell them that they needed to do that, needed to get on with things, the business of life and the like and there didn't seem to be anyone willing to step up to the plate either, so to speak. Well, there was Xander but he had to remember too that Xan was a friend and, by far, it was not his job to maintain things like that. The apartment that Donnie rented and John crashed in most of the time (free of rent, of course) was small but messy solely because of the computer equipment in there, for at that time he had not the space or energy to set up his own office or any kind of space that could better constrain the trappings of a coder and a hacker alike.
But a night of it, ah, that generated a specific kind of mess, a bottle of vodka set between them, something that could be shared more easily than pouring shots and doing mixers with the cheap shit, all Donnie was willing to buy at that time. He remembered too keenly when his hair grew down his back, although he still kept it rather long, because he had not been able to afford having it cut. At least John had set him right then even though the hack-job of a trim that he'd been given had rendered him something of a laughing stock, as much as he had fiercely defended it and John too for giving it to him. He had meant it in the best of ways but the ache of not having enough to get by on lingered in a biting snarl deep within his soul that could not so easily be waved off without due attention. And it was that attention that he simply was not willing to give it even as the years passed and their finances grew better and better.
That, perhaps, was not solely due to legal activities. Indeed, renting was perhaps the only legal thing that they undertook but Xander was not one who cared too much about that either. Taking a small gulp from the vodka, he made a face, used to something a little finer, something more refined, but swallowed it down anyway, not wanting to hurt or embarrass Donnie. He cared a little too much for the man, it had to be said, although not even Xan could have said just why he'd been drawn to brown-haired Donnie all that time ago in the chat room. His hacking knowledge had been, admittedly, impressive but there were many people with lots of knowledge and that in itself did not make a person special in the slightest.
No matter. They didn't have to think that night, only be.
"Long one then?"
Donnie rolled his eyes, not having much of a quick comeback at all for that one. But that was okay too and the way of it for the two of them, the hacking gig complete and, well, many, many funds from the gambling operation sluicing into their offshore account, soon to be split between the two of them.
"You know I got in first, right?" Donnie pressed, pushing what he thought was an advantage with a cocky smirk reminiscent of his brother. "You should be giving me a bigger cut than that for a show this big. So, there's nothing more to be said about having a long one, a long time, when there's spoils like that to be had from it!"
He was cute, really, but he did it in such a way that he could not help endearing himself to those around him, particularly Xander. He had surpassed Xan in his hacking, getting the casino's bank to spill its guts, so to speak, but it was Xander who led the way, a little older and still very much with a personal vendetta against gambling operations of any kind. He flinched from the memory, pushing it away, but there was no reason to go into that for the time being as Donnie grumbled and fished for a response, overly offended by the silence that Xander was so very want to present him with.
So funny...
Xander laughed lightly and put his hands back behind his head, pink hair ruffled, although the man in question did not care about something as simple as how he presented himself: it was what it was. Who cared about something like that? His neckerchief shifted a little less comfortably against his throat but he didn't care about that either as he lazily looked Donnie over, the image of him shaded and blurred through the scope and span of his eyelashes.
"You know, you look real good when you're concentrating like that. Cute, even."
Rolling his eyes, Donnie scoffed, his attention still fixed on the computer screen, scanning through lines of code as if he did it every day. With the turn that his life had taken, he may well have but Xander was not involved in it so much that he was privy to the ins and outs of every little thing. He didn't want to be either, not with John around. The thought of that man soured him a little but not enough to make him want to leave - at least when it seemed that John would not be coming there that night. And that was a good enough reason for him to hang around, to stay and shoot the breeze, with dear, sweet Donnie.
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that joke a hundred times over," Donnie laughed it off with a wave of his hand, although the tightness at the corner of his jaw. "When're you guys going to come up with something new?"
"Does John say you're cute too?"
Donnie did not reply to that, lips pressed together as he stared resolutely before him, although he was not really seeing the computer screen at all. No, he saw another man's face, the dark hair and wicked eyes, his brother... No. Yes. No. Yes.
There was no denying it but he was not 'out' with that information to Xander as yet, even though he was sure enough that Xan knew what was up between him and John. There was nothing, of course, that he could do to hide that kind of secret but he did what he could, not really understanding it himself. Times were strange and curiously twisted and sometimes that was okay as long as one did not have to dig too deeply into them, paw through the meat and the guts for the truth of a matter that did not truly want to have itself revealed.
"Whatever..."
