#i also dont remember what the prompt was fkhdh

[clerichoard]

long distance charges

finn & imbris, rockband au, 1.7k

a thousand miles really puts a dent in the phone bill.

for @darlingicarus​ for what may have been a prompt at one point

Finn's been away for a month when he gets the call.

“Charlie is lost without you,” Imbris says. “He won't stop calling me bro, and we both know how I feel about that.”

Finn grins at on the other side of the line, hearing the scowl in his voice even across the country.

“Ay, just tell him I miss him or something. Buy him a beer and say it's from me,” he offers. “Still gonna be a while. Family shit.”

Said 'family shit’ was his parents requesting that while the band was on break from touring that he spend the whole holiday season with them. After about a week they were sick of him and both went travelling for work until Christmas, leaving him all alone in a huge house in New York. For three more weeks.

Imbris sighs into the phone. “Yeah, I'll tell him. He's real put out, Finnley.”

Finn closes his eyes and bites his lip against asking if Imbris misses him too. So far they've avoided having any conversation that involved feelings other than the song that clearly put all of Finn's on display.

Instead he says, “So, you ever have phone sex?”

Imbris hangs up on him.

Finn is staring up at the ceiling of his room with a glass of some expensive ass liquor from the cabinet resting on his chest and his phone up to his face. He sends a simple, “u up” to Imbris' and waits.

The phone begins buzzing in his hands and Finn promptly drops it directly onto his face. He also manages to answer it with his nose.

“-really sent me a booty call text!” Imbris is saying once Finn manages to get the phone to his ear.

“You do have a great ass,” he points out. Imbris snorts.

“Oi, isn't it like-” There's a pause as Imbris struggles to get the time difference right. Finn doesn't even try. “-2 am there?”

“Probably,” Finn agrees. “Been drinking. Expensive shit.”

“You're drinking with your family at 2 am?” Imbris sounds appalled but not surprised. Finn guesses it has to do something with his own personality.

“No family for another two weeks,” he says, taking a long sip from his glass as he sits up. “Big empty house with lots of good alcohol.”

There's a beat of silence. Then: “Sounds like you're having fun.”

Finn shakes his head and then remembers Imbris can't see him. “M'not. Wish…I was with you,” he mumbles. He can almost see Imbris in his head, sitting on his own bed in his shitty LA apartment he barely uses. For a moment his brain pretends that they're both on the same bed. It's nice.

Imbris still hasn't said anything.

“I'm drunk, baby,” Finn finally says through a yawn. “And tired.”

Imbris sighs, quiet and soft. “Go to sleep, Finn. Night.”

“G'night,” Finn mutters as he lays back down, moving the glass to his table.

In the morning he finds his phone still on a call with Imbris on his pillow. He can hear soft snoring on the other line.

“Please be serious, for just one fucking moment, Finnley.” Imbris’ angry scowl fills the screen and Finn grins back at him with raised eyebrows.

“Your ass looks great in both,” he tells him. Imbris scoffs and flips to the back facing camera. He's holding up another pair of jeans in his hand.

“Just doesn't scream press conference to me,” he mutters as he turns to one side, examining the outfit from another angle. Finn bites his lip and looks him over from head to toe.

“Not a whole lotta things to scream about at press conferences,” Finn says. “Though I'm sure I could change that if-”

Imbris squawks and Finn has the great delight of seeing Imbris’ face turn dark red as he frantically presses a button on the phone and looks around at the store behind him. Finn laughs loudly, and even though he's sure Imbris muted him in time the reaction was priceless.

Imbris takes the phone back into the fitting room with him and only then does he unmute it and scowl at Finn.

“I am in public,” he hisses down at the phone. “Do you have any self control?”

Finn raises an eyebrow. “Sometimes. Kept my hands off you for like a year, didn't I?”

Imbris rolls his eyes and sets the phone down as he moves out of view.

“I don't know why I thought you'd be helpful,” he's saying off screen. “I should really stop having any expectations, whatsoever.”

“That's how I live my life, you're never disappointed, babe,” he sing-songs, and he can hear Imbris’ groan off screen. His head pops back in and his hair is a mess from the shirt he's just pulled on. Finn feels the urge to fix it for him- but he's a thousand miles away.

“The first jeans,” Finn says, seriously. “They're less slutty and the press will dig that. The second pair are for me when I get back.” He grins and wiggles his brows. Imbris’ face goes red, again, and Finn feels an enormous amount of satisfaction at it.

“Good bye, Finnley.” Imbris scowls and Finn wishes he was fast enough to screenshot it as the call ends.

Finn uploads the video and ten minutes later his phone begins to vibrate across his bedside table. He doesn't even need to look at the caller ID to know who it is.

“Hey, babe,” he answers, grinning already.

“Don't you hey, babe me you- you shit,” Imbris is growling on the other side. “You absolute prick! You can't just- you can't just upload something like that!”

Finn has the video open on mute on his laptop in front of him and laughs loudly. He feels stupidly warm and giddy.

“Why not? Thought the lyrics were pretty good,” he quips. Imbris squawks on the other line.

“You can't just- write a Christmas song! About-” Imbris hesitates. “-About your feelings.”

“Dunno, writing a love song worked pretty well for me the first time. Thought it might make you remember how I feel,” Finn says, almost seriously. “Left out the lyric about my boner for you, if that helps.”

He hears the distinct clatter of a phone being dropped and Imbris shouting shit as he scrambles to pick it up. Finn bites his lip and imagines the dumb little scowl Imbris definitely has on his face.

“Please don't upload any songs about your boner, ever,” Imbris says after he finally gets back on the line.

“No promises,” he laughs. There's a moment of quiet and Imbris starts to say something then cuts himself off, twice.

Finally, he says, “When's your flight home?”

Finn's heart jumps in his chest. Home. He'd never really thought of LA as home before but now- it's where the band is and his favourite taco shop and that gay bar that plays their music and, well, Imbris. This big empty mansion was never really where he belonged.

“Next week,” he replies. “Two days after Christmas. Why? You miss me?”

It takes Imbris a moment to scoff and say no, you shit like he always does but Finn smiles anyways.

“Get ready for New year's, babe, we're gonna get trashed out of our minds,” Finn tells him, laughing at the inevitable groan.

“See you in a week, idiot,” he says.

Finn unmutes his video and puts the phone microphone right up the laptop right as the lyric ‘Christmas is lonely without you,’ plays.

The flight home is the worst one Finn's ever been on. It gets delayed in the layover in Dallas and Finn spends three hours hating every person in the airport. He only gets stopped by two fans and he makes a note to tweet out an apology to them for being in a mood later.

He texts Imbris and lets him know his flight was delayed and to have a beer opened for him once he gets to his apartment. He gets the rolly eye emoji in return.

The LA flight is worse, even in first class. There's heavy turbulence most of the way due to a large storm sitting over the west coast and Finn is too queasy to even consider drowning his mood in alcohol.

Thankfully the plane lands safely and Finn only has his carry-on because he's sure with his luck any checked bag would've been lost.

He strolls through the airport with sunglasses on since he's sure the bags under his eyes are less than appealing and only takes them off for security. He's already halfway through a text to Imbris at the arrivals gate when he hears a loud, “Oi!”

He looks up sharply and watches as Imbris comes barreling through the crowd to launch himself at Finn. He barely has enough time to steady himself as Imbris’ arms wrap around his neck and his legs are around his waist.

The kiss is a hard press of lips and Finn can't help but grin against it even with his sunglasses pressed awkwardly into both of their faces.

Imbris pulls back a moment later with a scowl as he shoves the sunglasses up into Finn's hair. Finn takes a moment to stare a him, grinning, and notes the dark shadows under his eyes as well. His hair is artfully mused and his t-shirt is ripped at the collar and the jeans-

“You're wearing the jeans,” Finn gasps. He clings to Imbris’ ass like a lifeline and bounces his knees. “You wore the jeans!”

Imbris grins wickedly as he takes Finn's face in his hands and kisses him. This time Finn kisses him back, with all the pent up frustration of not being able to do this for almost two months.

Someone clears their throat and they both pull away. Finn blinks as he notes both Charlie and Jarli standing nearby raising their eyebrows.

Finn drops Imbris, Imbris squawks, Charlie and Finn bro-hug for a long minute. A fan comes over and they all pose for a photo.

Finn can't stop staring at Imbris.

Later, when they're laying in bed, naked, Imbris put his head on his chest.

“I missed you,” he says. Finn beams down at him.

“I missed you too.”