#Not leaving any room for doubt but aldo not being super loud about it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

knives-out20 · 3 years

Text

Nightlife - Cliff Booth x Male!OC

Fandom: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

Pairing: Bobby Brightside (OC) x Cliff Booth

Warnings: Swearing, Slight angst but not really, Deep’s in rehab, Faggotry, Fluff, OOC Cliff but I don’t care it’s literally midnight here give me a break,

Notes: Another Love by Tom Odell got me in a MOOD. Also, I firmly believe in the theory that Aldo Raine and Cliff Booth are the same person and nothing, not even Quentin Tarantino himself, can take that away from me.

Cliff stirred himself awake, not having a source of light asides from the moonlight shining in though the window. He groaned quietly as he rubbed his eye, his other arm outstretching to reach for Bobby. Cliff expected Bobby to have been weirdly awoken, too.

He did not expect his hand to meet an empty half of the bed.

Cliff turned his head, realizing he was alone in bed- not even in bed, but the entire room, as well. He slowly sat up, the wind coming in through the open window sending him chills. “Bobby-?” Cliff whispered, growing worried. He finally took note of his sense of hearing, and noticed a noise coming from the open window.

Singing? No, he couldn’t make out any words, and it sounded close enough to be able to hear words if any were being sung.

Cliff silently got out of bed, carefully putting on a black t-shirt over his bare torso. He trudged across the room and onto the balcony that the window led to, looking around. Cliff then looked onto the roof of the house.

Bobby lay across the upward-slanted roof, one leg straight out and the other one bent so that his foot was flat on the roof. He held a guitar in his arms, softly strumming and vocalizing to himself. Not quiet enough for Cliff to not hear him, but also not loud enough for the whole street to hear him.

One corner of Cliff’s lips perked up, hands on his hips. He squinted up at Bobby. “Hey, Bobby” Cliff whispered, louder than he did before. “Bobby.”

Bobby opened his eyes, looking down at Cliff. “Oh...hey.”

“What’re you doin’?”

“Doin’ some late-night practicing” Bobby shrugged, no longer playing his guitar. “I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t wanna wake you up. You looked so...peaceful, I could never fuckin’ ruin that.”

Cliff chuckled breathlessly. “You’re sweet.”

Bobby hummed in response. “I thought to myself, what’s the next best thing that could distract me from my thoughts, if I can’t use Cliff? And, like fate, the moon comin’ in through the window shone onto this guitar. You can physically see the rest of this tale in front of you.”

“Indeed I can” Cliff nodded. He turned around, at the illuminated streets of Hollywood before him. Cliff looked up at Bobby. “Wanna take a walk?”

“Now?” Bobby scoffed.

“Night’s ripe for the takin’. You couldn’t sleep, I can’t sleep, neither of us are in the mood to get each other tired out tonight-”

“Oh my god-”

Cliff shook his head. “We could walk around for a bit. Talk, just me ‘n’ you.”

“And if any rampant hippies come our way? Like back in August?”

“I’ll fend ‘em off like last time, but this time I’m sober. And you’ll be awake as hell.”

Bobby winked, putting his finger on his nose. “Every man for himself.”

“Alright, alright, get down here” Cliff waved his hand dismissively.

Bobby giggled as he slid back onto the balcony. The next few minutes were a blur of Cliff and him getting ready to go outside, next thing he knew being that he was on his front lawn.

Cliff came up behind him. “I locked the front door. We should be good, c’mon.”

Bobby took Cliff’s hand in his own, beginning their walk down the sidewalk.

“When did you...” Cliff paused, clearing his throat. “Last hear from Deep? Or about him?”

Bobby gulped. “Uh...he checked in, when he checked in. When you get into rehab, a sort of wall builds between you and the outside world until you check out. That wall is up super-duper-ooper strong” he told, scratching his chin with his free hand. “I can’t wait to see him again. And it’ll be better than any other time I’ve seen him again, because he himself will be better. He’ll have grown, and become a better person than he was the last time we saw him. Hopefully happier, and healthier. You- You know yourself, on our relationship with drugs. Yours, mine, Deep’s, the other Buddies’, Deep just...Y’know.”

“Yea” Cliff agreed swiftly. “The band feels empty without him, eh?”

“Sure does.”

Cliff squeezed Bobby’s hand. “I know that feeling.”

“Hm?”

“When I just woke up without you...I think I know how you feel when I ain’t around” Cliff admitted. “The window was wide open, I was cold, and the room was dark and empty. It felt weird, man. I didn’t like it at all. Then, I found you on the roof, and I couldn’t stop smiling ‘cause I had you back with me.”

“Now you know how I fuckin’ feel, tough guy, welcome to my world” Bobby teased. “But seriously, I can’t even imagine life without you now, sunlight.”

“You’ve told me so, moonlight. Way too many times for me to count, but enough for me to know it’s true” Cliff beamed, hence his endearingly-given nickname, ‘sunlight’.

“Seriously! I- I mean, I’d rather fucking like...I’d rather get stabbed thirty times, drown, get run over by a car, bathe in lemon juice while I’m covered in fresh cuts, or get beat the fuck out of, instead of see you leave me. I’d rather-”

“Woah, cowboy” Cliff whistled, raising his hand to silence Bobby- it worked. “Feeling’s mutual, trust me...Really, trust me.”

“I’d never think otherwise.”

Cliff licked his lips as they continued walking. “When I try thinking of life without you, I’m thrown back into like...life before you.”

“Like, with...with her-?

“Before her too, actually. Back when I was in the war.”

“Oh, yea, Mr. War Veteran Macho Army Lieutenant man is gonna lecture me of his days in the trench” Bobby mocked, but Cliff and him both knew Bobby loved listening to Cliff just talk. Talk, and talk, and talk about anything and everything.

“Yea, I had this little group of soldiers with me- a lot of ‘em were Jewish, like, uh, like Frankie. I was kinda their leader, and I lost a lot of ‘em along the way. Except for two people. I had this pal, Utivich...he’s probably off in Manhattan somewhere with his gal and the books he wrote. And then there was...” Cliff inhaled sharply, eyes darting down to the sidewalk he tread across.

Bobby tilted his head, lightly nudging Cliff. “Cliffy-?”

“There was a man I had. Before you, and before Billie” Cliff explained, the name bouncing around in his head: Joshua. “His name was Joshua...Joshua Margolis.”

“Fancy name.”

“Yea, I know. He was a fancy guy. We grew up side-by-side but in completely different upbringings. We entered the war together, and left it together. Y’know, you remind me of him, and- and I know this is probably a bad or weird thing t’say-”

“No, no, no” Bobby cut Cliff off, instantly shaking his head. “No, not at all. Tell me about him” he insisted, thumb stroking Cliff’s hand.

Cliff smiled in reminisce. “You both have dark hair, brown. You’re both shorter than me, but not enough for it to have been noticeable. You both just wanted a better world for anyone whose lives were argued against it. He was Jewish, and dating me, a man, so it’s obvious who he wanted to help. You’re both sweet, and real fighters, mentally and physically. I wish you could’ve met him if you weren’t so young around then. You would’ve loved him.”

“Would he have loved me?”

“Oh, no doubt about it, honey” Cliff chortled. “But he’s long gone now. Then came and left Billie. Then came you. And nobody I’ve ever been with, not even Joshua, has made me feel like you do....Safe.”

“I make you feel safe?” Bobby’s eyes went wide.

“Lower your voice, damn-” Cliff shushed him, looking around cautiously. “Weirdly, yes. And it’s strange, ‘cause I know how I make you feel safe, and- and I pride myself on that. I wanna continue making you feel safe, and at home, while you also do the same to me.”

Bobby looked up at Cliff in wonder.

Cliff looked a bit nervous. “You okay, baby-?”

“I love you.”

Cliff’s lips broke out into a soft smile. “I love you too, Bobby.”

The two kept walking, turning a corner that Bobby knew led back to his house.

“I fight because the world isn’t a good place. It hasn’t been one to me, most days, and it hasn’t been one to other people, everyday. And I- like Joshua, I guess- wanna fucking change that shit. But,” Bobby brought Cliff’s knuckles to his lips, placing a long, adoring kiss onto them. “I forgive the world because it has you in it.”

Cliff felt himself, and dare I say it, blushing. Luckily, it didn’t show under streetlights they passed. “Jeez, man” Cliff giggled.

Bobby smiled to himself. “Ready to head back home?”

Cliff gestured between himself and Bobby, “I already am.”

Bobby shoved Cliff lightly, their giggles melding into one, amazing sound. He led them back to their house, but Bobby knew Cliff had a point.

If Cliff was with Bobby, Cliff’s at home.

If Bobby was with Cliff, Bobby’s at home.

And there’s no changing that.

9 notes · View notes