Generation Kill ficlet: butterfly-swift
generation_kill has yet another new event, the Squared Away post for dead-in-the-water works in progress. If you've got any old, part-written GK stories you know you'll never get around to, please head over there! And if you're an author looking for inspiration, perhaps you could pick up one of the stories looking for a good home.
So, I hunted around in my fic folder, and found a few bits. The first ficlet might have been meant to be part of something else - I have no idea! But it stands alone as a little Brad/Nate piece, so I may as well post it.
butterfly-swift [Generation Kill, Brad/Nate, PG, 317 words.]
Nate doesn't love in any way that he can understand. He sleeps and he dreams he's mowing the lawn on one of those big ride-on mowers, sweeping around in vast circles. He dreams he's climbing Mount Rush, sliding down the nose of a president - he can't remember which one - because he's wearing huge boots and he can't grip. He dreams he's in the shower with all his clothes on and he doesn't know what to do with the soap because he can't find his skin under all the layers. He doesn't dream of holding anyone, or lying next to them, and when he wakes up with a silent gasp it's a surprise that there is someone next to him, a broad palm flat on the bare skin of his flank.
He doesn't believe that he can't live without Brad. He knows perfectly well that his life would carry on - be easier, even, without the secrecy and pretence that they've put up like curtains at the window of their shared two-bedroom. He can imagine life without him easily, because Brad is away a lot of the time so it would be just like that only without the expectation that he'll be back. He wouldn't have a bike in the garage, or computer pieces littering the living room, or tinned spaghetti in the cupboard, but the rest would be the same. He'd find someone else, someone different, and maybe he wouldn't understand his love for them either.
Nate presses his thumb against the sheet and tries to imagine pining down why he knows he is in love. But his love flies away butterfly-swift and skittish, while he stays earthbound.
He turns, moving under the easy weight of Brad's arm, until they're face-to-face. He closes his eyes as he kisses Brad, already falling back to sleep. "I love you," he murmurs, because it's true even if he doesn't understand it.
//
I was all set to post a dead wip, uss screwby, GK characters set in the Star Trek universe, but then I started reading through it for typos before posting, and I just can't give it up! I'd totally forgotten I was even writing it, but now it's back on my to-do list. I have a few other GK stories I dithered about giving up on and posting, but I really, really want to finish my long magic AU and my court of king Arthur AU, and there isn't enough of the zombie-noir or Ender's Game AU to be worth posting. But wow, it's scary how many things I've written and totally forgotten about! And apparently I'm really bad at letting go!
eta: I haven't given up on my experiment from the beginning of the month. I just went on holiday and now I'm back in body but not entirely in spirit. But I'll find my way back eventually.
So, I hunted around in my fic folder, and found a few bits. The first ficlet might have been meant to be part of something else - I have no idea! But it stands alone as a little Brad/Nate piece, so I may as well post it.
butterfly-swift [Generation Kill, Brad/Nate, PG, 317 words.]
Nate doesn't love in any way that he can understand. He sleeps and he dreams he's mowing the lawn on one of those big ride-on mowers, sweeping around in vast circles. He dreams he's climbing Mount Rush, sliding down the nose of a president - he can't remember which one - because he's wearing huge boots and he can't grip. He dreams he's in the shower with all his clothes on and he doesn't know what to do with the soap because he can't find his skin under all the layers. He doesn't dream of holding anyone, or lying next to them, and when he wakes up with a silent gasp it's a surprise that there is someone next to him, a broad palm flat on the bare skin of his flank.
He doesn't believe that he can't live without Brad. He knows perfectly well that his life would carry on - be easier, even, without the secrecy and pretence that they've put up like curtains at the window of their shared two-bedroom. He can imagine life without him easily, because Brad is away a lot of the time so it would be just like that only without the expectation that he'll be back. He wouldn't have a bike in the garage, or computer pieces littering the living room, or tinned spaghetti in the cupboard, but the rest would be the same. He'd find someone else, someone different, and maybe he wouldn't understand his love for them either.
Nate presses his thumb against the sheet and tries to imagine pining down why he knows he is in love. But his love flies away butterfly-swift and skittish, while he stays earthbound.
He turns, moving under the easy weight of Brad's arm, until they're face-to-face. He closes his eyes as he kisses Brad, already falling back to sleep. "I love you," he murmurs, because it's true even if he doesn't understand it.
//
I was all set to post a dead wip, uss screwby, GK characters set in the Star Trek universe, but then I started reading through it for typos before posting, and I just can't give it up! I'd totally forgotten I was even writing it, but now it's back on my to-do list. I have a few other GK stories I dithered about giving up on and posting, but I really, really want to finish my long magic AU and my court of king Arthur AU, and there isn't enough of the zombie-noir or Ender's Game AU to be worth posting. But wow, it's scary how many things I've written and totally forgotten about! And apparently I'm really bad at letting go!
eta: I haven't given up on my experiment from the beginning of the month. I just went on holiday and now I'm back in body but not entirely in spirit. But I'll find my way back eventually.