Falling
Title: Falling
Fandom: X-Men
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Marvel. Not making any money. Just for fun.
Rating: slash - soft
Pairing(s): Ric/Rusty. Ric/'Star
Feedback: Sure.
Author’s Notes: I'm a little nervous about this one. ^^;; I've been considering the pairing for awhile, but I'm not sure how the response will be. This is a very short little ficlet to get me back in Ric and 'Star mode (so I can finish Sunday!).
He used to have nightmares. A lot of them, almost every night for years. In his dreams, he was thirteen again, and the Right was torturing him. This time, X-Factor didn't save him, and he brought down the entire city, most of the time dying right along with them. Or sometimes the Right found him again, and tortured him a hundred times worse, and he destroyed all of North America. Once even the entire world.
He woke up screaming and shaking, his powers out of control. He broke a lot of things those first few weeks. He soon learned to put everything on the floor before he went to bed. But it didn't make the nightmares go away. It just meant he didn't have to keep buying new lamps.
Then one night, after a particularly terrifying nightmare where Hodge had murdered his family and tied him out in the middle of the desert, vultures soaring overhead, Julio woke up with a shout. Sweat beaded along his hairline, and the remnants of the vibrations he had been causing continued to make him tremble.
As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he slowly became aware that he wasn't alone.
"Who's there?" he whispered, terrified.
"Just me." Rusty. He shuffled a little closer. The light from the window caught his hair, a bright, ridiculous orange-red. Like rust. His shadowy figure came even closer, so close Julio thought he could make out the freckles against his milk-white skin, even in the dark.
The mattress dipped as he sat down to join him. Julio watched him impassively. Rusty reached out, his hand stroking down Julio's arm. The contrast in their skin color was startling. Julio didn't say anything as Rusty's hands traveled to his face, cupping his jaw and swiping away the sweat and possible-tears.
He didn't respond when Rusty's lips brushed over his own. Didn't say anything against it when he laid down at his side, curling his skinny arms around him, holding him in. Even fell asleep that way, his arms around Rusty, clinging to him. And the nightmares didn't come back that night.
They stayed away every night Rusty came to sleep with him. Arms wrapped around each other, foreheads touching, legs tangled.
When Rusty died, the nightmares came back. Not about the Right anymore. About Rusty, and about losing him. He hadn't been there, he hated that he hadn't been there. Even when Rusty had been alive... he'd never really been there. Empty kisses, half-hearted embraces in the dark. And Rusty would have given him everything.
Sometimes he still had nightmares. About the Right, about Rusty, about Cable murdering them all brutally in their sleep. About losing everyone.
He woke up one night when the lamp smashed to the floor. He pushed the heels of his hands against his eyes, trying to remember what he'd been dreaming about.
Falling, he had been falling. He'd opened up a chasm in the earth, and he'd fallen into it. He fell forever.
When he opened his eyes, he realized he wasn't alone.
".... Who's there?"
"I am."
Julio squinted. Long ponytail, broad frame. Shatterstar.
"What are you doing here?"
"I thought someone was attacking you. You were screaming and shaking."
Julio blushed, and thanked the dark for hiding it. "Sorry, amigo. Bad dream."
The man moved forward, feline grace. The light from the window shone on his lovely copper hair. His skin was almost translucent in this lighting, and soft, Julio realized when he reached out to touch him.
Shatterstar's arms were strong around him. Julio fell asleep with his head pillowed on his chest, breathing his rhythm, completing each other.
Fandom: X-Men
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Marvel. Not making any money. Just for fun.
Rating: slash - soft
Pairing(s): Ric/Rusty. Ric/'Star
Feedback: Sure.
Author’s Notes: I'm a little nervous about this one. ^^;; I've been considering the pairing for awhile, but I'm not sure how the response will be. This is a very short little ficlet to get me back in Ric and 'Star mode (so I can finish Sunday!).
He used to have nightmares. A lot of them, almost every night for years. In his dreams, he was thirteen again, and the Right was torturing him. This time, X-Factor didn't save him, and he brought down the entire city, most of the time dying right along with them. Or sometimes the Right found him again, and tortured him a hundred times worse, and he destroyed all of North America. Once even the entire world.
He woke up screaming and shaking, his powers out of control. He broke a lot of things those first few weeks. He soon learned to put everything on the floor before he went to bed. But it didn't make the nightmares go away. It just meant he didn't have to keep buying new lamps.
Then one night, after a particularly terrifying nightmare where Hodge had murdered his family and tied him out in the middle of the desert, vultures soaring overhead, Julio woke up with a shout. Sweat beaded along his hairline, and the remnants of the vibrations he had been causing continued to make him tremble.
As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he slowly became aware that he wasn't alone.
"Who's there?" he whispered, terrified.
"Just me." Rusty. He shuffled a little closer. The light from the window caught his hair, a bright, ridiculous orange-red. Like rust. His shadowy figure came even closer, so close Julio thought he could make out the freckles against his milk-white skin, even in the dark.
The mattress dipped as he sat down to join him. Julio watched him impassively. Rusty reached out, his hand stroking down Julio's arm. The contrast in their skin color was startling. Julio didn't say anything as Rusty's hands traveled to his face, cupping his jaw and swiping away the sweat and possible-tears.
He didn't respond when Rusty's lips brushed over his own. Didn't say anything against it when he laid down at his side, curling his skinny arms around him, holding him in. Even fell asleep that way, his arms around Rusty, clinging to him. And the nightmares didn't come back that night.
They stayed away every night Rusty came to sleep with him. Arms wrapped around each other, foreheads touching, legs tangled.
When Rusty died, the nightmares came back. Not about the Right anymore. About Rusty, and about losing him. He hadn't been there, he hated that he hadn't been there. Even when Rusty had been alive... he'd never really been there. Empty kisses, half-hearted embraces in the dark. And Rusty would have given him everything.
Sometimes he still had nightmares. About the Right, about Rusty, about Cable murdering them all brutally in their sleep. About losing everyone.
He woke up one night when the lamp smashed to the floor. He pushed the heels of his hands against his eyes, trying to remember what he'd been dreaming about.
Falling, he had been falling. He'd opened up a chasm in the earth, and he'd fallen into it. He fell forever.
When he opened his eyes, he realized he wasn't alone.
".... Who's there?"
"I am."
Julio squinted. Long ponytail, broad frame. Shatterstar.
"What are you doing here?"
"I thought someone was attacking you. You were screaming and shaking."
Julio blushed, and thanked the dark for hiding it. "Sorry, amigo. Bad dream."
The man moved forward, feline grace. The light from the window shone on his lovely copper hair. His skin was almost translucent in this lighting, and soft, Julio realized when he reached out to touch him.
Shatterstar's arms were strong around him. Julio fell asleep with his head pillowed on his chest, breathing his rhythm, completing each other.