Callie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
calliope_love) wrote2011-02-03 09:16 pm
calliope_love) wrote2011-02-03 09:16 pm
Entry tags:
23: THEY SEE ME TROLLIN'
Title: THEY HATIN' A Show of Gratitude
Rating: G
Disclaimer: *awesomeface*
Summary: Kink meme fill: "Jack decides to give Reim a reward for helping him and Oz during episode 16."
I COULD NOT RESIST OKAY
Length: 1,178
Whatever was in those painkillers was amazing, Liam thought to himself, taking tea in a rose garden with Jack Vessalius. He was not generally prone to strange dreams or hallucinations — not that he tended to remember, anyway — but after the horrible experience of that wretched party and the intense pain it had left him with, he was absolutely willing to go along with having tea in a rose garden with Jack Vessalius. Jack Vessalius was a damn sight more pleasant than most symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
He even had a nice new coat, to match Jack’s green one. Liam’s was black with silver accents, not unlike his Pandora coat, and the weight of it was very pleasant, in his dream. Maybe they would come back into style soon and he could get one. Or maybe he would decide to be eccentric like Xerxes and get one anyway. He doubted anyone would blame him for coming away from his near-death experience just a little bit kooky.
“…ah, but I really must apologize for Lily,” Jack was saying, his tone turning a little sad. Liam found himself wilting a little at the shift in conversation; just before it had all been tea and roses and not trauma. “I know it won’t — I know it doesn’t fix anything, for me to say so, but — she’s not intrinsically a horrible child. Just — no one ever taught her right and wrong.” Jack lowered his eyes, smiling forlornly at his tea. “We were all rather remiss that way, but, well. Baskervilles.”
“I —” Liam cleared his throat. “I did get that impression of her, yes. That she would have liked to be…normal. I was…well, I was quite sorry we were on opposing sides. I’d have liked for things to go very differently.”
Jack smiled kindly. “She did want to be normal. You can tell by the Chain she attracted.”
“The Bandersnatch?” Liam asked, surprised. He couldn’t suppress a shudder, but he did his best to hide it from Jack.
“Of course. It’s twisted, and wicked — everything that comes out of the Abyss is. But what child doesn’t want a puppy to play with?”
Liam winced, staring down at his tea. At length, he said, “I had a dog myself, when I was very young.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Jack was silent for a while. Liam avoided his gaze. He didn’t think the blond man was angry about what had happened with Lily — just sad. But it seemed rude to try to change the subject to something more cheerful, more frivolous, even if in the end he was obviously only discussing things that troubled his subconscious with the first random figure his tired brain had been able to supply. So he just sipped his tea, stalling for time.
Maybe it was opium, in the painkillers.
It was Jack who broke the silence, in the end, looking at Liam with a thoughtful expression he’d seen on Oz from time to time. He said, “You’ve been a great help, to Oz and myself.”
“Oh,” said Liam eloquently. “Well, I —”
“In the Pandora meeting, when I first appeared. You were the first to believe in me and stand up for me. I doubt it would have gone so smoothly if you weren’t there.” Jack tilted his head. “Several other incidents since. I may not come out often, but I do notice these things.”
Liam flushed just a little, dropping his gaze to stare at his hands. “Oz is very important,” he murmured quietly.
“Hm.” There was a rustle of fabric and Liam realized Jack had stood, and was approaching his chair. Hands behind his back and eyes half-lidded, Jack Vessalius leaned over him just a little — Liam couldn’t help but notice the sway of his earrings — and said smoothly, “I believe you really should have a reward, for all that you’ve done.”
Liam turned bright red on the spot. Xerxes occasionally threatened to “reward” him for things and it always ended with deep, rampant embarrassment and Break cackling madly as he ran from the room. He opened his mouth and closed it again, mortified to find he couldn’t even stutter, but Jack lost his grip over his straight face then and burst out into merry laughter; his hands came out from behind his back to produce —
“A puppy?” Liam asked.
And it was — a fluffy little golden retriever with great big paws and a green bow around its neck, and it was wriggling excitedly in that way that puppies did, as though Liam was the most bestest most amazingest person in the whole world and it just had to be in his arms right then. Jack, eyes glinting fondly, knelt down and plopped the thing in Liam’s lap.
“It doesn’t make up for anything you’ve been through,” Jack told him. “But perhaps it’s a start — perhaps it will help you begin to heal. At the very least, maybe you won’t feel like you have to be afraid of dogs.”
“I — I have always been rather fond of them,” Liam admitted, turning the thing onto its back and scratching its belly in an attempt to persuade the dog not to lick all over his face. It had a big doggy grin on its face at the attention, and Liam couldn’t help but smile back at it, and when he looked to Jack to thank him, the blond man was gone.
Liam blinked. Then he looked around, trying to find him, and the rose garden was gone as well. In the next moment Liam realized he was laying on his back, staring at the darkness of his own ceiling.
“I just dreamed that Jack Vessalius gave me a puppy,” he murmured out loud, just to test out the notion.
There was no answer — there were guards outside his door but he’d been left alone to rest. He sighed to himself and prepared to go back to sleep, only to jolt awake again when something wet and cold pushed against his hand.
Liam lifted his head and peered down toward the end of the bed. The puppy was there, by his hand. Seeing him looking at it, the dog grinned again, and wagged its tail just a little. Experimentally, Liam raised his hand, and the puppy walked into his palm, encouraging pettings.
“Pfft,” Liam told it, drawing it forward; it laid its head on his chest and closed its eyes happily as Liam scratched its ears. “If I’m not hallucinating you I might have to call you Jack.”
The dog did not respond other than a wag of its little tail. Whether it was real or not, it was soft and warm under Liam’s hand, and he could feel the puppy’s little heart beating, steady and calm.
Liam smiled fondly. He really had always wanted a puppy.
He made a mental note to tell the doctor that they were absolutely wonderful painkillers and drifted off to sleep.
...well, they NEVER SPECIFIED WHAT THE REWARD HAD TO BE NOW DID THEY.
Also
I am not sorry
OMAKE
Rating: G
Disclaimer: *awesomeface*
Summary: Kink meme fill: "Jack decides to give Reim a reward for helping him and Oz during episode 16."
I COULD NOT RESIST OKAY
Length: 1,178
Whatever was in those painkillers was amazing, Liam thought to himself, taking tea in a rose garden with Jack Vessalius. He was not generally prone to strange dreams or hallucinations — not that he tended to remember, anyway — but after the horrible experience of that wretched party and the intense pain it had left him with, he was absolutely willing to go along with having tea in a rose garden with Jack Vessalius. Jack Vessalius was a damn sight more pleasant than most symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
He even had a nice new coat, to match Jack’s green one. Liam’s was black with silver accents, not unlike his Pandora coat, and the weight of it was very pleasant, in his dream. Maybe they would come back into style soon and he could get one. Or maybe he would decide to be eccentric like Xerxes and get one anyway. He doubted anyone would blame him for coming away from his near-death experience just a little bit kooky.
“…ah, but I really must apologize for Lily,” Jack was saying, his tone turning a little sad. Liam found himself wilting a little at the shift in conversation; just before it had all been tea and roses and not trauma. “I know it won’t — I know it doesn’t fix anything, for me to say so, but — she’s not intrinsically a horrible child. Just — no one ever taught her right and wrong.” Jack lowered his eyes, smiling forlornly at his tea. “We were all rather remiss that way, but, well. Baskervilles.”
“I —” Liam cleared his throat. “I did get that impression of her, yes. That she would have liked to be…normal. I was…well, I was quite sorry we were on opposing sides. I’d have liked for things to go very differently.”
Jack smiled kindly. “She did want to be normal. You can tell by the Chain she attracted.”
“The Bandersnatch?” Liam asked, surprised. He couldn’t suppress a shudder, but he did his best to hide it from Jack.
“Of course. It’s twisted, and wicked — everything that comes out of the Abyss is. But what child doesn’t want a puppy to play with?”
Liam winced, staring down at his tea. At length, he said, “I had a dog myself, when I was very young.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Jack was silent for a while. Liam avoided his gaze. He didn’t think the blond man was angry about what had happened with Lily — just sad. But it seemed rude to try to change the subject to something more cheerful, more frivolous, even if in the end he was obviously only discussing things that troubled his subconscious with the first random figure his tired brain had been able to supply. So he just sipped his tea, stalling for time.
Maybe it was opium, in the painkillers.
It was Jack who broke the silence, in the end, looking at Liam with a thoughtful expression he’d seen on Oz from time to time. He said, “You’ve been a great help, to Oz and myself.”
“Oh,” said Liam eloquently. “Well, I —”
“In the Pandora meeting, when I first appeared. You were the first to believe in me and stand up for me. I doubt it would have gone so smoothly if you weren’t there.” Jack tilted his head. “Several other incidents since. I may not come out often, but I do notice these things.”
Liam flushed just a little, dropping his gaze to stare at his hands. “Oz is very important,” he murmured quietly.
“Hm.” There was a rustle of fabric and Liam realized Jack had stood, and was approaching his chair. Hands behind his back and eyes half-lidded, Jack Vessalius leaned over him just a little — Liam couldn’t help but notice the sway of his earrings — and said smoothly, “I believe you really should have a reward, for all that you’ve done.”
Liam turned bright red on the spot. Xerxes occasionally threatened to “reward” him for things and it always ended with deep, rampant embarrassment and Break cackling madly as he ran from the room. He opened his mouth and closed it again, mortified to find he couldn’t even stutter, but Jack lost his grip over his straight face then and burst out into merry laughter; his hands came out from behind his back to produce —
“A puppy?” Liam asked.
And it was — a fluffy little golden retriever with great big paws and a green bow around its neck, and it was wriggling excitedly in that way that puppies did, as though Liam was the most bestest most amazingest person in the whole world and it just had to be in his arms right then. Jack, eyes glinting fondly, knelt down and plopped the thing in Liam’s lap.
“It doesn’t make up for anything you’ve been through,” Jack told him. “But perhaps it’s a start — perhaps it will help you begin to heal. At the very least, maybe you won’t feel like you have to be afraid of dogs.”
“I — I have always been rather fond of them,” Liam admitted, turning the thing onto its back and scratching its belly in an attempt to persuade the dog not to lick all over his face. It had a big doggy grin on its face at the attention, and Liam couldn’t help but smile back at it, and when he looked to Jack to thank him, the blond man was gone.
Liam blinked. Then he looked around, trying to find him, and the rose garden was gone as well. In the next moment Liam realized he was laying on his back, staring at the darkness of his own ceiling.
“I just dreamed that Jack Vessalius gave me a puppy,” he murmured out loud, just to test out the notion.
There was no answer — there were guards outside his door but he’d been left alone to rest. He sighed to himself and prepared to go back to sleep, only to jolt awake again when something wet and cold pushed against his hand.
Liam lifted his head and peered down toward the end of the bed. The puppy was there, by his hand. Seeing him looking at it, the dog grinned again, and wagged its tail just a little. Experimentally, Liam raised his hand, and the puppy walked into his palm, encouraging pettings.
“Pfft,” Liam told it, drawing it forward; it laid its head on his chest and closed its eyes happily as Liam scratched its ears. “If I’m not hallucinating you I might have to call you Jack.”
The dog did not respond other than a wag of its little tail. Whether it was real or not, it was soft and warm under Liam’s hand, and he could feel the puppy’s little heart beating, steady and calm.
Liam smiled fondly. He really had always wanted a puppy.
He made a mental note to tell the doctor that they were absolutely wonderful painkillers and drifted off to sleep.
...well, they NEVER SPECIFIED WHAT THE REWARD HAD TO BE NOW DID THEY.
Also
I am not sorry
OMAKE
no subject
Xerxes has him well trained.
Modernverse!Liam actually gets to be stoned off his gourd on morphine at one point. Turns out dopey!Liam pisses Break off. I can't wait to write that scene, I've been giggling over it for ages. XD
no subject
Oh, god. I can't wait to read that scene! How in the world does he wind up on morphine?
no subject
It'll be a chapter fic, though, so I don't know when that part will get written.
no subject
BTW, I finally managed to finish a companion fic to "What the Dormouse Said." It's pretty obvious to me that I'll be writing in this particular headverse until canon contradicts it.