Title: Hiding Away
Characters: Lily, Lindsey, Greg, Gabrielle, and Marcus Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, mentions of John McVie and Stevie Nicks
Word Count: 1314
Rating: PG-14 [innuendo]
Warnings/Spoilers/Summary: The Buckinghams are throwing a big party for the 4th, which includes their son coming down from college to visit...






July 2, 2000
Los Angeles, CA

Mixing up the potato salad, Lily glanced over while Gabrielle happily sliced up the large watermelon.  They still had a couple of hours before the majority of the guests were arriving, including Mick and his family, John and his family, and Stevie, but the tension was already high in the house.  It was not any normal party tension either.  Lily knew precisely the source of it.

“Hey, Gaby?” she glanced at her daughter while sliding the potato salad into the fridge.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Do you think you can handle this on your own for awhile?” she closed the stainless steel door.

Gabrielle looked around the kitchen, “Yeah, of course.”

“I’m going to go and check on your father.”

“I think he’s in his studio,” she suggested.

Nodding, Lily washed her hands and headed out of the kitchen.  Dodging their youngest son as he chased the dog through the house, she smiled and tried to hold onto that feeling as she approached Lindsey’s closed door.  It was a bad sign, especially when they were expecting guests to arrive soon.

She did not bother to knock, knowing he would not respond.  Instead, she reached for the doorknob.  Frowning when it did not turn, she quickly retreated to their bedroom, dug out her key to his studio, and returned to the locked door.  Lily let herself into the studio, re-locking the door behind her.  She silently approached Lindsey as he sat in front of a mixing table, headphones on his ears.

Without pause, she plucked the headphones off, wrapped her arms around him from behind, and kissed his now-bare ear.  He barely managed to force a smile, hating the fact she interrupted his work — even if he had been using the work as a way to avoid the party.  He patted her hands before reaching forward to stop the tape, pulling out of her embrace.

“Lily, I need to—”

“No, you don’t,” she instantly interrupted as he turned around in his chair.

“But—”

“Why are you hiding?”

He blinked, staring at her, “I don’t know what you…”

“Lindsey,” she warned.

He frowned, “Lily, I…”

She kissed his forehead before sitting in his lap without invitation, “You can’t stay in your studio all night.  Our friends are coming over.  Our son is coming home.  You can’t stay in here all night, Linds.”

His arms lightly draped around her waist, “Lily, I… I don’t know what to say to him.”

Realization lit up her eyes and she nodded slightly, “The same things you have always said to him, Linds.”

“But he’s bringing… he’s going to have… fuck.”

Lily kissed him softly, “Yes, you’re right.  He is bringing his boyfriend with him, but that is absolutely no excuse for you to avoid the entire party, to avoid our son.”

He sighed, “But… Lily… it’s one thing to say he’s gay.  It’s another thing to… to bring his boyfriend home for the holiday.”

“Linds, you told him that he could bring him.”

“I know… I know.  I just…”

She kissed him again, “It’s going to be okay.  He’s still the remarkable, talented, intelligent young man that we raised.  You have nothing to worry about.”

“What if …he… is… I don’t know…”

“There’s always a possibility that we won’t like Ray, but that could be true if Ray were a woman too,” Lily pointed out.

He sighed again, “I don’t know…”

She framed his face with her hands and pressed her lips to his, “Everything is going to be okay, Lindsey.  Don’t hide away in the studio.”

He pressed his forehead to hers, “I just don’t know what to think about all of this…”

“Then stop thinking about it.”

“But—”

Her lips went to his again, kissing him deeply.  Slowly as Lindsey began to focus on his wife, she felt him relax.  Though she had not intended to get him to join the party by making love in the studio before everyone arrived, Lily did not object when he tugged at her swimsuit cover-up.

The couple emerged from Lindsey’s studio just as the first guests were arriving.  Lindsey parted from Lily to greet Mick’s family while she ducked into the bathroom to make certain she was still presentable.  Yet even with her brief stop, Mick gave her a knowing look before embracing her in greeting.

“I hope you don’t mind that I brought fireworks,” he grinned at her.

“I hope you don’t mind going back to your house to light them off,” Lily quickly retorted.

“But—”

“Hi, Mick!” Gabrielle happily chirped as she stepped out of the kitchen.

His eyes focused on the sixteen-year-old girl, “Hey, there, Gaby.  Does this mean that dinner is all your doing?”

She flushed slightly, “Not quite.  I’m just helping Mom out.”

“I bet you did a bit more than just help,” he winked.

She flushed a bit more, “Um… maybe.”

Lindsey slapped Mick’s shoulder, “Come help me move the drink cooler out to the backyard before Lily starts harassing me about it.”

“Sure, mate.  Whatever you need to keep Lily off of you.”

Lily flushed, catching the double meaning in his words.  Shaking her head, she returned to the kitchen with Gabrielle.  Though she generally did not agree with it, part of her hoped that Lindsey smoked a joint out in the garage with Mick before moving the ice-filled tub out onto the deck.  It might help keep things from getting too awkward.  She hoped.



As everyone settled around the backyard after eating, Lily watched Lindsey finally approach Greg and his boyfriend.  While they had been introduced when the young men arrived, Lindsey seemed to avoid being alone with either his son or the couple.  Any interaction between them occurred with someone else present, whether it be Lily, the other children, or any of the other partygoers.  The fact that Lindsey now approached the couple without anyone else intrigued Lily, so she moved within hearing distance, but not close enough to actually intrude on the conversation.

“I’m really glad that you… that you came down,” Lindsey spoke softly, his attention mostly focused on Greg. “I know your mother was sad when you decided to stay up north during the summer.  She misses you a lot.  We all do.”

“I know, but… you know, I have a life up there,” Greg responded.

“I know… I know.  And we want you to have that.  We want you to… explore… and things.  But we do,” his eyes briefly flicked to the other man standing in front of him, “we do want you to come home more often.”

“I would if I knew you were okay with Ray coming as well,” he declared.

Lindsey paused briefly, looking to his son’s boyfriend, “Of course I am.  Any friend of yours is welcome at our home.”

“He’s not just any friend, Dad.  He’s my boyfriend,” Greg pointed out.

“Yes, yes, of course,” he nodded slightly. “Just…uh… try to come home more.”

Awkwardly, Lindsey hugged his son, slapped Ray’s shoulder, and turned away from the conversation.  Though it had not gone as well as she dreamed, Lily was still proud of Lindsey for making the effort.  She quickly got up and intersected him.  Her arms happily wrapped around his neck and she kissed him quickly.  His blue eyes looked into hers, trying to find some reason behind her happy kisses.  Seeing nothing apparent, he merely kissed her back.

“I’m so proud of you,” she muttered before another kiss.

“Why?”

She motioned to Greg and Ray with her eyes, “Because of what you just did.”

“Um…”

Lily kissed him again, “That was really… good of you, Linds.”

“I…”

“Now there’s only one more thing you need to do today.”

“What’s that?”

“Make certain Mick doesn’t set our house on fire with his illegal fireworks,” she declared.

He chuckled, “I’ll see what I can do.”