how lovely are your branches... (fic for dealing_death)
NOTE: Companion piece to this.
He barely saw the birds and bulbs through the darkness within the lock where his consciousness was deeply woven through steel and alloy. He could hear the soft chink of glass on glass, but it might have been the sound of tumblers falling as he touched them there and just there…
“Here?”
::click:: ::clank::
The cuffs dropped harmlessly from his wrists and hit the floor, where he sat cross-legged at the base of the tree. Looking up, it took him a moment to orient himself and remember the drawing, the plan he had for the tree this year. He could have looked it up, but he found his bearings again before he had to find his reference.
"Just a little higher, babe." He replied, motioning a little with his hand as he squinted at the branches of the miniature pine tree he’d obtained for the apartment this year. It wasn’t a true bonsai, but small enough to sit on a low table and large enough to be impressive…a nice compromise between his blinding inspiration and his desire to show Selene the most extravagantly festive Christmas of her life. It might not be big, but he wasn’t going to spare any expense. The tree, stockings to stuff, he’d even gone out shopping for a holiday fruitcake.
He watched her smile and evaluate the tree before placing the ornament again, all while his hands moved automatically to restrain himself with the cuffs once more. She stepped back just as he delved back into the metal fortress, learning every rough edge and manmade groove of the restraints. He was familiar with these by now, knew them inside and out, but he found himself repeating a quest that had obsessed him before as well, a never ending search not for power, but for knowledge.
"How is that?"
He tried to hold back this time as his thoughts circled the cam and tumblers, simply felt the strange, thrilling sensation of cold steel against pure consciousness like a tangible thing, one that defied tactile sensation. He tried to simply exist there, but the second he touched it everything came apart once again…
::click:: ::clank::
Too soon, again the handcuffs fell. He reached for them, then hesitated and looked up to find he was being watched this time. He smiled sheepishly, blushing bright red and earning a grin from Selene as he did.
"Perfect." He replied, clearing his throat as he twisted the cuffs in his hands, focusing on the tree instead of her face. It was true, too…almost too good to be real. One of the advantages of letting her place the foam and feather robins and the bulbs was her preternatural dexterity: when she placed one, the branch barely swayed out of place beneath her touch.
Walking around to the front of the tree she picked up the box of red glass orbs. They were more of a heart shape. Very interesting. Nothing about the tree was common in the least. She could not help but wonder if this was something he did every year.
"What about these?" she asked, picking up a box of the rounded lantern glass ornaments he’d picked up at Cost Plus on Black Friday. They’d been hard as hell to find, but when he heard about the sale he’d broken his usual code to stay indoors and braved the insanity to get his hands on them. Nothing else would have worked as well, and he had the bonus of tracking down the traditional lantern ornaments that had been on the neighboring display.
"Start at the top, hook 'em on the underside of the branches.” He instructed, discreetly cuffing himself again. He paused, finally relenting and reaching over to pick up the rough sketch he’d done with his hands still chained. Snatching it up from the edge of the coffee table behind him, he sat back up from stretching and crooked a finger to beckon her close so she could see.
“Want 'em to sort of swirl around the tree, ya know?" he explained, motioning with one finger as she came to his side and leaned over, scrutinizing the sketch with her usual focused intensity. This close, her hair brushed his cheek, her sweet scent teasing him as he turned his head just enough to watch her eyes flicker over the page. The delicate curve of jaw and neck begged for his attention, just as much as the handcuffs still binding him did.
Finally she nodded and turned to smile before moving to kiss the top of his head. "I think I can manage."
Grinning, Tommy finally relented and caught her hand with both of his, drawing her in just enough to press a warm kiss to her cheek, then her neck, making her giggle. “Good to know, babe.”
As she went back to the tree, Tommy was again draw into the handcuffs and that eternal struggle to do more than just magic. He knew how the power functioned, knew how the handcuffs opened…he knew everything he needed to know about the restraint and how his power worked to unlock it.
What he wanted to know, what he might never know, was how that single touch of thought and awareness to steel could unravel even the mightiest lock, the most impenetrable fortress.
Every door, every lock, wanted to open. Perhaps even greater than his lust for the woman he loved was Tommy’s lust to know precisely why.
He barely saw the birds and bulbs through the darkness within the lock where his consciousness was deeply woven through steel and alloy. He could hear the soft chink of glass on glass, but it might have been the sound of tumblers falling as he touched them there and just there…
“Here?”
::click:: ::clank::
The cuffs dropped harmlessly from his wrists and hit the floor, where he sat cross-legged at the base of the tree. Looking up, it took him a moment to orient himself and remember the drawing, the plan he had for the tree this year. He could have looked it up, but he found his bearings again before he had to find his reference.
"Just a little higher, babe." He replied, motioning a little with his hand as he squinted at the branches of the miniature pine tree he’d obtained for the apartment this year. It wasn’t a true bonsai, but small enough to sit on a low table and large enough to be impressive…a nice compromise between his blinding inspiration and his desire to show Selene the most extravagantly festive Christmas of her life. It might not be big, but he wasn’t going to spare any expense. The tree, stockings to stuff, he’d even gone out shopping for a holiday fruitcake.
He watched her smile and evaluate the tree before placing the ornament again, all while his hands moved automatically to restrain himself with the cuffs once more. She stepped back just as he delved back into the metal fortress, learning every rough edge and manmade groove of the restraints. He was familiar with these by now, knew them inside and out, but he found himself repeating a quest that had obsessed him before as well, a never ending search not for power, but for knowledge.
"How is that?"
He tried to hold back this time as his thoughts circled the cam and tumblers, simply felt the strange, thrilling sensation of cold steel against pure consciousness like a tangible thing, one that defied tactile sensation. He tried to simply exist there, but the second he touched it everything came apart once again…
::click:: ::clank::
Too soon, again the handcuffs fell. He reached for them, then hesitated and looked up to find he was being watched this time. He smiled sheepishly, blushing bright red and earning a grin from Selene as he did.
"Perfect." He replied, clearing his throat as he twisted the cuffs in his hands, focusing on the tree instead of her face. It was true, too…almost too good to be real. One of the advantages of letting her place the foam and feather robins and the bulbs was her preternatural dexterity: when she placed one, the branch barely swayed out of place beneath her touch.
Walking around to the front of the tree she picked up the box of red glass orbs. They were more of a heart shape. Very interesting. Nothing about the tree was common in the least. She could not help but wonder if this was something he did every year.
"What about these?" she asked, picking up a box of the rounded lantern glass ornaments he’d picked up at Cost Plus on Black Friday. They’d been hard as hell to find, but when he heard about the sale he’d broken his usual code to stay indoors and braved the insanity to get his hands on them. Nothing else would have worked as well, and he had the bonus of tracking down the traditional lantern ornaments that had been on the neighboring display.
"Start at the top, hook 'em on the underside of the branches.” He instructed, discreetly cuffing himself again. He paused, finally relenting and reaching over to pick up the rough sketch he’d done with his hands still chained. Snatching it up from the edge of the coffee table behind him, he sat back up from stretching and crooked a finger to beckon her close so she could see.
“Want 'em to sort of swirl around the tree, ya know?" he explained, motioning with one finger as she came to his side and leaned over, scrutinizing the sketch with her usual focused intensity. This close, her hair brushed his cheek, her sweet scent teasing him as he turned his head just enough to watch her eyes flicker over the page. The delicate curve of jaw and neck begged for his attention, just as much as the handcuffs still binding him did.
Finally she nodded and turned to smile before moving to kiss the top of his head. "I think I can manage."
Grinning, Tommy finally relented and caught her hand with both of his, drawing her in just enough to press a warm kiss to her cheek, then her neck, making her giggle. “Good to know, babe.”
As she went back to the tree, Tommy was again draw into the handcuffs and that eternal struggle to do more than just magic. He knew how the power functioned, knew how the handcuffs opened…he knew everything he needed to know about the restraint and how his power worked to unlock it.
What he wanted to know, what he might never know, was how that single touch of thought and awareness to steel could unravel even the mightiest lock, the most impenetrable fortress.
Every door, every lock, wanted to open. Perhaps even greater than his lust for the woman he loved was Tommy’s lust to know precisely why.