BBC Ghosts fanfic

9 - The man on the radio

The Captain sat stiffly on the bench by the lake, as he had done for a few hours already, watching the sparkling water and the reeds swaying gently in the breeze. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the feel of the sun's warmth on his skin.
His eyes opened a few minutes later to the sound of familiar footsteps.

"Hey, Cap!" he looked over his shoulder, a smile escaping at Luna's cheery disposition, "Do you mind if I join you?"
"Your company is always most welcome, Luna." he replied.
He moved over on the bench; even such a small movement appeared graceful and elegant - and he never once lost his perfect posture, even for a second. She always found that about him both impressive and somehow quite funny.
Her mind couldn't be further from poking fun at him now though, and the Captain didn't miss the concerned way she looked at him.

Sitting down, she joined him in looking over the lake, both staying quiet for the meantime and just enjoying the view. However, Luna couldn't keep her thoughts silent forever, "What's going on, Cap? Is it Julian again? What happened?"
He seemed almost amused at the flood of questions from her, but she saw his sky blue eyes flicker with anger at the mention of the name.
"Luna, Julian is a wayward fellow. He is selfish and rude and sometimes simply unpleasant to be around. That is all, I just needed some space to myself. I rather like this spot, as you may remember from our walk a while ago. Perhaps we could go on another soon? There are several splendid paths around these grounds and-"
"Cap, don't avoid the issue... though, yes I'd love to... stop trying to change the subject!"
He looked at the ground for a moment as she chided him, a smile tugging at his lips. She's sharp.

"Yes, sorry, well..." he clasped his swagger stick on his lap, twirling it round in his hands - something she'd noticed he did a lot when he was thinking or nervous. Or both. He turned his body round a little so they were nearly directly facing, and his ice blue eyes met her chocolate brown ones from opposite ends of the bench. Clearing his throat self-consciously, he began trying to talk, but the words came out way too fast and he stumbled over them, trying to brush over the conversation as quickly as possible.
"Julian overheard something on the wireless and it was about legalising somethingaboutsamesexmarriage somewhere and he wasn't exactly opposing it but he made a big scene about it and he, he, and heaccusedmeofbeingahomosexual"

Blinking in surprise at the Captain's flurry of words, it took Luna a few moments to process what she had just heard, and to go over the parts where he forgot to breathe. That, and the initial shock of his speech being a flurry, usually - no matter how urgent or upsetting - he always spoke clearly and with authority. Never like this.
The Captain, however, took her silence to mean something else.

"Oh goodness, I'm sorry, Luna. I should not have said any of that, I-"
"Shut up for a sec, Cap."
It was his turn now to blink in surprise, "I beg your par-"
"Cap, is there something more to this? Julian called you gay? Is that it?"
"Well, yes, I-"
"I know you come from a less accepting time, but do you... do you..." she took a breath, trying to hold back tears as she realised the gravity of the situation, "do you think it's... wrong?"
She remembered his reaction, or lack thereof, when she told the ghosts she was bi, and what that meant, but she could've sworn the Captain didn't seem to care or be any less comfortable around her.
Or maybe I've been reading him all wrong, and he thinks I'm an abomination, and was simply trying to keep up appearances. She tried to purge her thoughts of that possibility, it made her feel sick at the idea of it.

She dared to look up, only to see his eyes widen as he realised exactly who he was talking to.
"NO, gosh no, there's nothing wrong with... that." He paused, seeming to be fighting an inner battle. He sighed and leant back slightly, fixing his eyes on a distant bird flying over the forest, before clearing his throat once more and turning his head back to Luna.