domtom ficlet

[lobelia321]

Dominic Monaghan / Tom Wilkinson

Courtship rituals

Dom and Tom were at an awards ceremony.

"Well, hello there, our Dom," said Tom.

"Hello!" Dom beamed.

Tom adjusted his tie knot and shook his head back and forth, wiggling in and out of his collar. "Hot in here," he said. "But so great to be here."

"Oh yeah!" gushed Dom.

"I like your shirt," said Tom.

"Thank you! I like your tie! And your jacket! It's so cool!"

"And yours is so shiny!"

They looked at each other and laughed. Tom slid a finger down the shiny lapel of Dom's jacket. Tom slid a hand along the cool collar of Tom's.

"You know what?" Tom said. "We match."

"It's as if it's planned."

"Yes. Right down to the fringe."

Dom touched his forehead. He looked at Tom. "Well," he grinned, "not so sure about that one."

"What do you mean? I've got a beautiful fringe."

"Okay," said Dom. He laughed. "So you do."

Then they stood there and had run out of things to say to each other. Luckily, a photographer came by and snapped them grinning, so that was all right.

"Your glasses," said Dom. Tom's spectacles were slipping down. Dom pushed them up with his left finger.

"Thanks, Dom," said Tom.

"You're welcome, Tom," said Dom.

They laughed. They looked up onto the podium. There was nobody there, only a microphone.

"Well," said Dom.

But Tom didn't move away. He had assumed the expression of a rapscallion.

So Dom stayed put as well. He conjured up the expression of a scallywag.

"Nice buttons," said Tom.

"You know," said Dom. "I once read this thing about shy people."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Apparently, shy people always talk about their environment. They're forever commenting on what everything looks like. They never talk about themselves or about things they can't see in front of their eyes."

"Fascinating," said Tom in a hammy I-couldn't-be-more-bored voice.

"Oh, you," said Dom. "You're such an old goat."

Later, they shagged behind a pot plant in the head caterer's office. Tom's glasses slipped off and his tie got all unravelled. Dom's buttons went every which way.

On the way out, Dom squared his shoulders and smoothed down his fringe. He took care to separate each strand.

"Courtship rituals, eh?" he said.

----

end