Rudd/Hockey: Sunset
May. 10th, 2007 02:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wolfanficsRight! Thanks to a burst of inspiration courtesy of Question Time this afternoon, this is finally finished. :D
And no, I don't feel brave enough to post this to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
current_affairs :P
Title: Sunset
Author: Sashataakheru
Fandom: AusPolitics
Characters: Kevin Rudd, Joe Hockey, mentions of John Howard
Pairings: Rudd/Hockey
Word Count: 1,019
Rating: FRM
Warnings: angst, slashy references, the mental image of Kevin and Joe kissing XP
Disclaimer: I don’t know them, not associated with them, just a slashy fangirl admirer with a very active imagination.
Author's Notes/Summary:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ruthyuki999 wanted post break-up angst, and she’s getting break-up angst instead because that’s what’s swimming around in my head right now. XD
I got stuck in Hockey's head. How that happened, I don't know. XD It was a little scary. O.o
Sunset
Joe wasn’t sure why he was still here. It was late. He was… distracted by many things, least of all Kevin and that fake dawn service. He pitied him, almost. It wasn’t the sort of thing he needed in an election year. But then, Joe wasn’t supposed to be cheering for Kevin, being in opposition to him and all. When his phone rang, breaking his concentration on the paper he was trying to look like he was reading, he let it ring only once before he answered. He had a feeling he knew who it would be.
“Yeah?”
“Come and see me. We need to talk.”
Hearing Kevin’s voice confirmed his gut feeling. He always knew when he was calling. “Now?” It was a vain excuse to look like he was busy.
“Now. I’m sure you know why.”
And that was it. Kevin didn’t usually hang up on him like that, but his tone was different to how it usually was. He’d been waiting for an excuse to see him all day, but they’d both been busy and neither had any spare time to slip away together and just talk things through, like always.
With a heavy sigh, Joe got up and left his office, making his way through empty corridors without needing to think about where he was going. He’d traipsed these halls far too long. He entered Kevin’s office without knocking. No one would be here to stop him at this hour. He found him standing at the window, seemingly lost in thought.
“You wanted to see me?” Joe said as he entered.
“Close the door. Take a seat,” Kevin said, not bothering to turn around.
“I’ll be right. Is this what I think it’s about? Did you know at all?” Joe said.
“No, I didn’t. This would be the one thing my staff fails to tell me, wouldn’t it? And now it’s turned into one big mess,” Kevin said, and Joe wasn’t sure who he was more annoyed at, himself or the staffer who had forgotten to pass on the information.
“Are you going to look at me at all, or are you that ashamed at what happened?” Joe said, walking up to Kevin, resting a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m not sure I know anymore.” Kevin sighed and reached up to grab Joe’s hand. “You know we have to end this, don’t you? It’s too dangerous to be doing this in an election year.”
“It was inevitable, really. It’s probably wise to end it now on our own terms than be ordered to leave, I suppose.”
“The lesser of two evils. I suppose Howard’s had some words with you about this.”
“Briefly, yes, but I managed to avoid a reprimand. He seems happier to see you in trouble for the moment. None of this would be a problem if you just defected to the Libs, you know.”
“How would that help matters?”
“It wouldn’t, but I wouldn’t feel so bad at having to insult you in public.”
“You know that’ll never happen.”
“What, me feeling bad for insulting you, or you becoming a Lib?”
“Both, really. After tonight, it’ll be back to trading insults again, and this time there’ll be no Sunrise to help out. We can’t be seen to be acting civil and friendly to each other now. It’s just getting too hard to manage being friends and enemies at the same time.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. So, we’re officially over then?”
“Yes. I’m sorry it has to be this way, but what else is there to do? It’s the right time to quit.”
“You know I’ll always have a soft spot for you, no matter what I say.”
“I know. We’ve had some good times together, some I’ll never forget. I’m glad we got the chance to be friends.”
“Remember where we were five years ago? Would anyone have thought we’d be here now? I mean, look at you. Who’d have pegged you for Leader of the Labor Party five years ago?”
“And you promoted to Cabinet. How things change. We’ve both done alright, haven’t we?”
“You’re being particularly humble about things tonight, aren’t you? What’s got you all pensive, hmm?”
“I’m sure you can guess.”
“I take it asking for one final kiss is asking for too much.”
“Let’s just – enjoy this moment. We’ll never get to be this close again. Don’t spoil it with a kiss.”
“You wouldn’t say no if I did kiss you though. But if you don’t want to, I won’t.”
“I just don’t want this to be any harder than necessary.”
“Don’t worry about it. Once the election’s over and things have settled down again, I’m sure we’ll be able to catch up for a pint or two every so often.” Joe wrapped his arms around Kevin, just holding him.
Kevin sunk into his familiar embrace, unwilling to believe that this would be the last time he’d be held like this. “I’ll miss you,” was all he trusted himself to say.
“No you won’t,” Joe corrected.
“You don’t hate me, do you? For what happened?”
“No I don’t. Remember that, whatever I end up saying in the next week or so.”
“It’ll be weird to go back to being enemies again. You weren’t going home when I called, were you?” Kevin’s insecurity had always amused Joe.
“I had a feeling you’d call, so I stuck around. Do you want me to leave?”
“No, not yet. Stay a while. I want to remember this.”
Joe didn’t reply. He didn’t see the need to. He held him tighter, secretly relishing this last meeting as much as Kevin was. Then he thought about how much fun it would be if Kevin became PM and he became Opposition Leader. But there was no chance of that happening. There were other far more suitable contenders for Liberal Leader if and when Howard finally decided he didn’t want to lead the party anymore. He’d have to make do with shallow insults across the chamber, whatever the election result was. He’d never expected this relationship would mean so much to him.
And no, I don't feel brave enough to post this to
current_affairs :P Title: Sunset
Author: Sashataakheru
Fandom: AusPolitics
Characters: Kevin Rudd, Joe Hockey, mentions of John Howard
Pairings: Rudd/Hockey
Word Count: 1,019
Rating: FRM
Warnings: angst, slashy references, the mental image of Kevin and Joe kissing XP
Disclaimer: I don’t know them, not associated with them, just a slashy fangirl admirer with a very active imagination.
Author's Notes/Summary:
ruthyuki999 wanted post break-up angst, and she’s getting break-up angst instead because that’s what’s swimming around in my head right now. XDI got stuck in Hockey's head. How that happened, I don't know. XD It was a little scary. O.o
Sunset
Joe wasn’t sure why he was still here. It was late. He was… distracted by many things, least of all Kevin and that fake dawn service. He pitied him, almost. It wasn’t the sort of thing he needed in an election year. But then, Joe wasn’t supposed to be cheering for Kevin, being in opposition to him and all. When his phone rang, breaking his concentration on the paper he was trying to look like he was reading, he let it ring only once before he answered. He had a feeling he knew who it would be.
“Yeah?”
“Come and see me. We need to talk.”
Hearing Kevin’s voice confirmed his gut feeling. He always knew when he was calling. “Now?” It was a vain excuse to look like he was busy.
“Now. I’m sure you know why.”
And that was it. Kevin didn’t usually hang up on him like that, but his tone was different to how it usually was. He’d been waiting for an excuse to see him all day, but they’d both been busy and neither had any spare time to slip away together and just talk things through, like always.
With a heavy sigh, Joe got up and left his office, making his way through empty corridors without needing to think about where he was going. He’d traipsed these halls far too long. He entered Kevin’s office without knocking. No one would be here to stop him at this hour. He found him standing at the window, seemingly lost in thought.
“You wanted to see me?” Joe said as he entered.
“Close the door. Take a seat,” Kevin said, not bothering to turn around.
“I’ll be right. Is this what I think it’s about? Did you know at all?” Joe said.
“No, I didn’t. This would be the one thing my staff fails to tell me, wouldn’t it? And now it’s turned into one big mess,” Kevin said, and Joe wasn’t sure who he was more annoyed at, himself or the staffer who had forgotten to pass on the information.
“Are you going to look at me at all, or are you that ashamed at what happened?” Joe said, walking up to Kevin, resting a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m not sure I know anymore.” Kevin sighed and reached up to grab Joe’s hand. “You know we have to end this, don’t you? It’s too dangerous to be doing this in an election year.”
“It was inevitable, really. It’s probably wise to end it now on our own terms than be ordered to leave, I suppose.”
“The lesser of two evils. I suppose Howard’s had some words with you about this.”
“Briefly, yes, but I managed to avoid a reprimand. He seems happier to see you in trouble for the moment. None of this would be a problem if you just defected to the Libs, you know.”
“How would that help matters?”
“It wouldn’t, but I wouldn’t feel so bad at having to insult you in public.”
“You know that’ll never happen.”
“What, me feeling bad for insulting you, or you becoming a Lib?”
“Both, really. After tonight, it’ll be back to trading insults again, and this time there’ll be no Sunrise to help out. We can’t be seen to be acting civil and friendly to each other now. It’s just getting too hard to manage being friends and enemies at the same time.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. So, we’re officially over then?”
“Yes. I’m sorry it has to be this way, but what else is there to do? It’s the right time to quit.”
“You know I’ll always have a soft spot for you, no matter what I say.”
“I know. We’ve had some good times together, some I’ll never forget. I’m glad we got the chance to be friends.”
“Remember where we were five years ago? Would anyone have thought we’d be here now? I mean, look at you. Who’d have pegged you for Leader of the Labor Party five years ago?”
“And you promoted to Cabinet. How things change. We’ve both done alright, haven’t we?”
“You’re being particularly humble about things tonight, aren’t you? What’s got you all pensive, hmm?”
“I’m sure you can guess.”
“I take it asking for one final kiss is asking for too much.”
“Let’s just – enjoy this moment. We’ll never get to be this close again. Don’t spoil it with a kiss.”
“You wouldn’t say no if I did kiss you though. But if you don’t want to, I won’t.”
“I just don’t want this to be any harder than necessary.”
“Don’t worry about it. Once the election’s over and things have settled down again, I’m sure we’ll be able to catch up for a pint or two every so often.” Joe wrapped his arms around Kevin, just holding him.
Kevin sunk into his familiar embrace, unwilling to believe that this would be the last time he’d be held like this. “I’ll miss you,” was all he trusted himself to say.
“No you won’t,” Joe corrected.
“You don’t hate me, do you? For what happened?”
“No I don’t. Remember that, whatever I end up saying in the next week or so.”
“It’ll be weird to go back to being enemies again. You weren’t going home when I called, were you?” Kevin’s insecurity had always amused Joe.
“I had a feeling you’d call, so I stuck around. Do you want me to leave?”
“No, not yet. Stay a while. I want to remember this.”
Joe didn’t reply. He didn’t see the need to. He held him tighter, secretly relishing this last meeting as much as Kevin was. Then he thought about how much fun it would be if Kevin became PM and he became Opposition Leader. But there was no chance of that happening. There were other far more suitable contenders for Liberal Leader if and when Howard finally decided he didn’t want to lead the party anymore. He’d have to make do with shallow insults across the chamber, whatever the election result was. He’d never expected this relationship would mean so much to him.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 08:47 pm (UTC)I had the idea of using the events of your fic for a scene, but I eventually pretty much re-wrote it from Rudd's POV to add in.
So - do I have your permission to use it? :) I'll give you a mention, of course, in the A/Ns when I post it. pleeeeease ;P *looks hopeful*
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-26 04:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-26 11:49 am (UTC)