B5 fic: "Of Wine and Virtue" [Londo/G'Kar]
Title: Of Wine and Virtue
Summary: Years after the events of "The Fall of Centauri Prime", Londo and G'Kar meet again on Earth, thanks to Vir.
Not, in the end, a fix-it story - though some things do get mended that were long overdue.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Owned by JMS and Babylonian Productions, not me, alas.
Author's notes:
1. Written for mithen, for ( Read more... )
In most of them, he was posing side-to-side with a soft-faced woman, dressed human-style except for the traditional shaved Centauri scalp - a woman whom G’Kar had never seen or spoken to before this day, but had liked on sight.
Oh, I'm almost sorry we don't get to see more of her, because you capture her so well in just one sentence. Of course, anyone smart enough to want Vir is awesome in my book. :)
It was Vir who broke the moment, darting forward in a quick maneuver of his own to pull the still-frozen figure into an impetuous hug. “I’m so glad you’re here,” G’Kar heard him whisper, prompting the other man to return the embrace, gingerly at first, then patting Vir’s back with increasing conviction, as if finally having made up his mind that all of this was, indeed, real.
I'm SO happy to have Vir in this! I love his love for Paris--it simultaneously makes me love him and the city more. :) And oh, man, sticking to G'Kar's POV made lines like this just unbearably sad, as we watch him struggling to understand what we understand well and Londo understands all too well...
“I must say, I believe you look …” He frowned. Better? More focused? At peace? None of those seemed true - in fact, dark circles around the man’s eyes hinted at the opposite - and yet there was something different about him, the barely concealed anguish G’Kar had seen that last time replaced by something far more subtle, something very much like stubborn resolve, overlaid perhaps with a hint of - anger?
I loved this passage because it's what mitigates all the sadness around it. It's true, it's not that Londo is happy or at peace at all, but this all serves a purpose and is Londo's choice, he's not just a victim here at all. That's a huge part of what I love about him, and you capture it very well from G'Kar's limited POV.
The glass froze mid-gulp. “Well. That is…” A long beat. “Let us just say that - physical assault on the Emperor is not a charge taken lightly.” Voice turning flat as he stared, with renewed interest, at the opposite wall. “And the Emperor himself has no say in any of it.”
Ouch. Poor Londo, you can see that he started on this story to make G'Kar laugh and had forgotten where it went...
The scene on and after the Metro where G'Kar has to buy a drink were so painful and well-written, how G'Kar wants to shrug off Londo's reaction but knows at a deeper level this is serious...
“These humans - they are strange creatures, are they not? Giving their cathedrals names they should give their brothels, and their brothels names that - well, that shouldn’t be given to anything, if you ask me.” But there was no disdain in his tone; if anything, he seemed wistful.
That seems like such a Londo sort of line, I adore his observations about human culture on the show and this fits right in.
But you know, G’Kar, what is funny? In these stories, it is always the palace that is painted like paradise, and the world around it something to escape from. It seems no one has ever stopped to think - it might be the other way around.
*wibbles* Using Cinderella fits Paris so well, and the inversion of the story is just perfect. You know, I just realized there are echoes of Roman Holiday here as well...
And the ending I loved a lot because part of me always wants SO MUCH for G'Kar and Vir to have more of an inkling of what is going on, so I love how you held that possibility out. And there was just enough sexiness (I especially liked the hints that there had been some in the past as well, that G'Kar was trying so hard not to think about)...somehow Londo's hand on the small of G'Kar's back almost undid me, it was so tender and sad.
In short (as if!), this was just perfect, just the right mix of humor and sadness and that smidge of resolve to keep it from being just a long dark road. I love it, thannk you so much!
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I'm so glad you liked this, I can't tell you! *wipes sweat off forehead* No, seriously, for some reason writing this felt like such a headlong rush - partly because I was trying to hurry, but even more because the story just kept coming and coming - that in the end I really wasn't sure anymore if it was any good or even the slightest bit coherent. So I'm very relieved now! :) It was a lovely prompt to write a story for, even if some parts broke my heart just a little. *sniffles*
About Vir's wife, and them living in Paris: well, I sort of broke my head over what kind of event would be important enough to Londo that he'd defy the Drakh for it in order to get to Earth. Vir's wedding was the only think I could think of that fit the bill... And apart from the fact it suited the story, it actually made sense to me that Vir would be living (and marrying - he's more of a romantic than your regular Centauri, I daresay :) ) on Earth. When not staying on Babylon 5 to act as ambassador, that is. He's always been a bit of an outsider among his own people, and judging by how he enthusiastic he was about visiting Minbar in the show, I could easily see him being happy living on a world other than his own. Though Minbari, in the end, might be a bit too ethereal for his tastes. :) Pairing him up with a human wife might have been on the adventurous side for him, so I imagined his wife to be a Centauri he'd met on Earth - an exchange student maybe, or someone working at the Centauri embassy. In any case someone who'd stayed on Earth for the same reason he did: because she felt more accepted there than among her own people. I didn't quite dare to make her more explicit in the story, because she's so perfect in my head and I didn't want to risk spoiling that image - if that makes sense. *sheepish grin*
Writing from G'Kar's POV was, I think, the best choice I could have made. I originally did so because it saved me from having to show how Londo convinced the Drakh to let him go to Earth - though I do believe he threatened them with a sword, the sweet darling. :) *pats Londo* But also because, yes, we know so much more than G'Kar does at that point, and seeing the realization dawn on him slowly really is - ouch. I pitied him so much while writing... more than Londo, even, who is in a way still in control of things, knowing the price (angry Keeper! Argh!) in advance and deciding to pay it.
I actually didn't know Roman Holiday (classic movies aren't my specialty, I'm ashamed to say) but reading the plot on Wikipedia, yes, I can see your point! Even the "escaping through the window" part of the plot is a match, it seems. :)
About the ending: ah, well, one of my big fanfic writer's dreams (which I'm quite sure will remain a dream *g*) is to write the story between Fall of Centauri Prime and War Without End as I think it should be. I know it's been written in the novels by Peter David, but his version of the story doesn't quite match mine. This fic is - well, I'd like to think that the ending at least gives a hint at how Vir and G'Kar came to be on Centauri Prime on the day of Londo's death - they knew, because Londo had told them. And who knows, maybe someone sometime will connect the dots between this fic's ending and the day the Drakh are defeated... One can dream, no? :)
And - of course Londo and G'Kar were intimate before... That's canon, isn't it? *g*
Anyway, thank you again, so much, for your bid and donation, for the lovely prompt, and equally lovely feedback!
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About the ending: ah, well, one of my big fanfic writer's dreams (which I'm quite sure will remain a dream *g*) is to write the story between Fall of Centauri Prime and War Without End as I think it should be. I know it's been written in the novels by Peter David, but his version of the story doesn't quite match mine. This fic is - well, I'd like to think that the ending at least gives a hint at how Vir and G'Kar came to be on Centauri Prime on the day of Londo's death - they knew, because Londo had told them. And who knows, maybe someone sometime will connect the dots between this fic's ending and the day the Drakh are defeated... One can dream, no? :)
Well, I know I will be now. :D That would be WONDERFUL to see. *sighs at the thought*
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