Date: Sep 2001 Title: Daytime Friends and Nighttime Lovers Author: rita (mommacita1@juno.com) Rating:(including type of story) R for implied m/m, angst, hurt with not a lot of comfort Warnings: None Summary: Blame Kenny Rogers. First George Harrison, now Kenny Rogers; talk about music to write sad stories by! Feedback please!!!! Anything but out-and-out flames. Disclaimer: The A-Team does not belong to me and I don't profit from anything I, they, or their RL creators do. I just like to play with them. *** Daytime Friends and Nighttime Lovers By rita (Lyrics and inspiration by Kenny Rogers) "Daytime friends and nighttime lovers Hoping no one else discovers Where they go, what they do, in their secret hideaway. Daytime friends and nighttime lovers They don't want to hurt the other So they love in the nighttime, and shake hands in the light of day. And he tells you, he's working late again ..." *** "Hi ya, Kid! I didn't wake you did I?" "No, Hannibal," Face replied patiently. He glanced at the clock - 4:00 p.m. Hannibal was calling to tell him not to start dinner; he'd be working late. "I've been up since 10." "No nap today?" Hannibal asked around his cigar. Face could hear noise from the set in the background. "You'd better hit the sack early then. I called to tell you the director wants to get some night shots in, full moon tonight - it'll look good on the screen - so he's springing for supper." He turned away from the phone, covering it with a gloved hand, but Face still had to work hard not to hear his whispered, "Yeah, honey, I'll be right with you; just give me a second to cancel my plans." "That's okay, Hannibal," Face said into the mouthpiece of the phone, covering a woman's voice with his own. "I had a late lunch, so I'm not really hungry anyway." "Well, don't forget to eat!" Hannibal chastised. "Listen, you know you're supposed to eat three squares and rest at least once during the day." He paused and Face wondered for a moment if he was going to offer to come home to take care of him. "Listen, Kid, if you need help, don't wait up for me to get home; BA or Murdock can get you set." "I know, Hannibal. I'll call one of them if I can't manage," Face promised. "Look, I gotta go, the AD's making nasty faces at me." Again Face had to struggle not to hear the muffled giggle. "I understand. It's not a problem. Really." *** "You're neglected, and you need a friend, So your trembling fingers dial the telephone. He's the best friend that your husband ever had." *** "Boys and Girls Club. How may I direct your call?" "Hello, Suzy. How's my favorite blonde bombshell today?" "Templeton Peck! You big flirt! I'm doing just fine, darlin'. Now are you looking for our big mean director?" The woman's voice turned from businesslike to seductive in a single breath. "If he's not too busy to come to the phone. There's no emergency," Face stressed. "If he's in the middle of something, you can just..." "He's never too busy to take a call from you, sweetheart," Suzy interrupted. "Now you just hold on, hear?" "Yes ma'am," Face said obediently. "I'm not going anywhere," he added in a soft whisper to the empty line. "Faceman? You okay? Where's Hannibal?" BA Baracus didn't waste time with social niceties. "I'm fine, BA. Hannibal has to work late tonight." "And didn't give you no notice neither, I bet." "Well, you know how it is ..." Face began. "You can pretend to buy that line if you want to, Face, but I ain't," BA said bluntly. "Next time I see that man, he's gonna get a piece of my mind. And if he don't get the point, he'll get a piece of my fist, too." "Now, BA. It's the way the movie business is, really," Face defended Hannibal's actions. "If he refuses the extra hours, he'll be blackballed." "Ain't that many extra hours, Face. Not if he was starring in a budget-buster, which he ain't." "Please, BA," Face whispered. BA heard the whisper, even though he wasn't sure Face meant it to carry over the phone. "What can I do for you?" Face didn't answer immediately. Whatever he said would sound like pathetic whining. Suddenly he didn't know why he called. "Nothing, really. I was just bored I guess," he said suddenly. "Sorry to have bothered you for no reason." "Wait a second, Face!" BA hollered. "Don't you hang up now." When Face didn't say anything, BA asked, "You still there?" "Where else would I be?" Face asked, then immediately regretted it. "Sorry. That didn't come out right." "So what you doin' tonight?" BA asked, as if he had made the call and not Face. "Make myself some dinner. Read a little. I didn't nap this afternoon - wasn't tired - so I'll probably head for bed early." "You been in that apartment alone all week?" BA asked. "No, of course not. Hannibal's here at night - most nights," Face protested. He didn't mention the times he'd heard him come in to rumple the bed, get up, shower, and leave again. "He's just been working late this week." 'And last week, and the week before that.' "I'll be right over. Grab a jacket or sweater and meet me downstairs; I'll have to get right back. We're havin' a barbecue tonight and it might get chilly." He hung up before Face could come up with an excuse not to go. *** "When you're lonely he's more than just a friend ..." *** BA flashed the van's lights and the night doorman came trotting out of the apartment building. BA got out of the driver's seat quietly and met him at the back of the van. "Colonel Smith in yet?" "No sir." The doorman was discreet, but he shook his head disapprovingly. BA grunted in agreement with the sentiment and opened the rear doors to pull the wheelchair out. "I can get that for you, sir, and pull the van into the service area if you'd like," the doorman offered. BA nodded and handed him the keys. The doorman carefully opened the passenger door to let BA lift his light burden out. "Asleep, sir?" he whispered. "Yeah. But he don't sleep too good or too long." "If you want to stay with him until the Colonel arrives, I could buzz you when he gets on the elevator," the doorman suggested. BA nodded again and accepted a key to the service exits from the man, who ran ahead to hold the doors. Face stirred as the brightness of the lobby filtered through his closed eyelids. "There, there, little one, you're safe. BA's got you," BA soothed him. Face sighed and turned his head into BA's shoulder, one arm around the big man's neck. "Wish you really did," he murmured. "For tonight, I do," BA replied softly, and Face's other arm stole around his neck in a welcoming hug. *** "When it's over, there's no peace of mind, Just a longing for the way things should have been." *** The lobby buzzer sounded at 5:00 a.m. BA was already up and dressed. For a moment he considered staying and confronting Hannibal; then he looked at the fragile man sleeping peacefully for once, a small smile on his face. He brushed back the blond hair from the handsome face and placed a soft kiss on the brow. The sweet smile deepened and BA felt an answering smile crease his own stern features. He shook his head in the same disapproving manner the doorman had used the night before, but whether he was condemning Hannibal, himself, or all three of them he didn't know. With a quick silence that belied his bulk, but had been honed by years of jungle warfare, military and urban, BA left the apartment through the service door in the kitchen, locking it behind him as the front door's lock clicked open.