Denial II, Chapter 8: When All is Over Bar the Shouting
Title: Denial II, Chapter 8: When All is Over Bar the Shouting
Author: darkentwisted
Characters/Pairings: Much/Carter, Robin, Little John, Legrand, Will/Djaq
Rating: PG13
Genre: Drama
Words: 2411
Disclaimer: BBC & TA own; we just want to play in their universe
Notes: beta read by teamlavender ; takes place after 2x13 but prior to 3x01
Introduction and previous chapter links for DII are here...
Summary: The gang prepares to return to England but are stormy waters ahead?
>>-------------------->
Chapter 8: When All is Over Bar the Shouting
It was a night for celebrating and a night for mourning and for either, drinks were to be toasted. The fine feast the king provided to his soldiers and his country's new emissaries was grand but the wine from His Majesty's own vintner was the real prize of the evening. The drink provided a warm glow to the party.
When the tournament started, no one could say. Legrand and John sparred first, their hands grasped firmly as muscles bulged in their forearms. Neither man broke a sweat as their eyes locked intently. They were in all their glory and yet something else stirred within them as well. Legrand was momentarily caught off guard. He lost himself in his opponent's eyes and felt the back of his hand meet rough wood.
John cheered, "That's one for the outlaws and none for the nobles."
Carter proved no match for the giant peasant as he too went down. Shirts were lost as man after man sparred against John in play. Much surprisingly gave him a good fight as his stealthy upper body strength honed by years as a servant and squire caused the larger man to break into a sweat. John was unused to arm wrestling left handed but decided to give his old friend the advantage. It was an advantage Much took well. Much almost won but at the last second he looked up to see his former master's eyes focused intently on his naked bicep and the tattoo that was a near perfect replica of his lover's. The symbol of pride became a badge of shame under Robin's gaze and Much blushed as John pinned his arm to the table.
John looked surprised. "You let me win, fat face?"
Much smiled shyly and mumbled as he slid away avoiding Robin's half drunken glare. "As if anyone could beat you, badger beard."
John smugly hoisted his hard won tankard as he made the rounds with his friends. He stood next to Djaq who was still trying to console her husband after beating him at arm wrestling. "It was just lucky, Will."
"Beaten by my own wife," Will grumbled. "I'm going to be kicked out of the gang for this."
"No lad, we'll just never let you live it down," John chided. He offered the young Saracen woman his cup. "One sip...it will be good for the little one." Little John's sotto voice slurred as he placed his large hand gently on the expectant mother's tummy with a fascination one would give to a newborn kitten. "Hello my brave little outlaw. Someday you too will grow up to be big and strong like your mother and beat your dad at arm wrestling."
Will snorted at the remark and looked into the bottom of his cup.
Djaq giggled as John continued, "I can't wait till you arrive. Your Uncle John will take you into the forest and show you everything you need to know to survive." He sneered in Robin's direction. "And what mushrooms to pick."
Everyone laughed except for Legrand who was lost in the bottom of his own cup with embarrasing memories.
"Sorry, John, I have to go back and tend to Allan." Djaq smiled apologetically.
Will clutched his wife's arm. "No, tonight we rest and enjoy the company of our friends. They'll be leaving soon. Rahiim is tending to Allan."
"We'll see them tomorrow at Bassam's," Djaq said. "Rahiiim is old, Will. He needs his sleep, too." She looked down at Will's grasp. "You do not need to be so protective."
"You are my wife...carrying my child." Will's eyes sparked with jealousy.
"But I am not your property. Allan is our friend and I want him to get well," Djaq argued.
Will sputtered, "Allan--"
"Almost gave his life in exchange for your king's," Djaq said. "He has let go of all that was bad in his past, my love. Why can't you?"
Will's expression echoed the hurt in his wife's eyes. "I...I do...I mean...I did forgive him, but you and Allan..."
John and Djaq's gazes fell expectantly on Will's face for an answer but he looked away helplessly. "Fine. But we will both go..." His voice trailed off as a commotion grew between Carter and Robin across the room.
John suddenly stopped listening to Djaq and Will as another conversation drifted to his ear. He frowned and started to walk over to Much and Legrand when the argument between Robin and Carter became more heated. He looked over at his friends and then back as he saw Robin crease Carter's jaw. "This, I do not like."
>>-------------------->
Robin resented almost everything and everyone around him. He wanted to stay in the tent but Djaq had urged him to come with her soft smile. His head hurt. Every time he closed his eyes he saw white sand and red blood - too much blood - her blood. He looked at Much. The tattoo was new but he remembered where he had seen it before. There was a mirror image of it on Carter's arm. The sudden realization made him angry. Nothing was his anymore, not his birthright, nor Marian, not even Much. Head lowered, eyes narrowed, he turned toward Much's lover. His anger shifted from the tattoo to the man wearing it.
Carter lit the fuse when he walked over to Robin and sat down. "Have I done something to upset you?"
The outlaw nodded toward his friend talking to the blond giant as he put back on his tunic. "When did you make him get that?"
Carter was confused at first. "Get what?" Realization sank in quickly with the tone of voice and the glint in his friend's green eyes. He tensed for an argument.
Robin's sharp words found their mark as sure as any arrow he had ever fired. "Do you always mark your property so boldly, Lord Wilton?"
"Much is not my property." Carter measured his tone as he steadied for battle. "Unlike you, I have never had anything but the best intentions for him."
"Then it is the mark of a concubine is it?" Robin continued. "I should have never let him follow you back to war. Let you use him like you have, turn him against his friends."
"You think I am using Much?" Carter spat defensively as he half-rose from his seat and stood nose to nose with the archer. "You enslaved him, dragged him to war as a boy, and forced that gentle soul to fight beside you in battle." He slammed his cup down and leered. "Tell me, Robert of Locksley, what of all those nights in Acre when you used him in place of your precious Marian?"
Robin looked shocked. "He told you that? I never..."
"Much tells me everything," Carter replied. "He talks to me and I listen. That's more than you ever did for him."
The roar of blood filled Robin's ears as rage set his jaw. "Much knows I..."
Carter cut short his answer. "Do you know, Robin? Do you really know how much it hurt him to leave you in that forest? How he cried at the thought of never seeing you again? I gave him everything--position, new clothes, a new life, but he still craves the one thing I can never give him and obviously what you can't either...your love."
"I love Much as I would love a brother, almost as much as I did Marian."
"You loved Marian?" Carter said in disgust. "Well, that was her undoing, wasn't it? No one can survive the glory that is Robin Hood." Carter delivered the coup de grâce with a sneering grin. "Good thing I came along and rescued Much from loving you when I did or he might be dead in the sand beside her."
Robin let out a roar and swung the first blow.
>>-------------------->
Legrand glanced across the tent at his oversized friend and his two companions. It hurt to see John more each day and even the alcohol did little to dull the pain. The gaze failed to go unnoticed.
"That look..." Much frowned as he searched the big man's face in front of him. "I know that look. You and John are more than just friends."
"Mon dieu, do you ever shut up?" Legrand was barely listening to his drinking partner prattle on, but now Much was digging under his skin and playing with raw nerves. He didn't want to go there. "You are drunk, mon ami. You know not what you say."
"I know John." Much blinked, unswayed by the obvious annoyance he was causing the other man. "He had to leave his wife and pretend to be dead. He didn't know she was carrying his child. And even once she knew he was still alive, she took their son and left John for another man. His son will call that man father instead...she wounded him deeply."
"John told me about that, Much," Legrand said.
"What I'm trying to say is that I love John like I would my own father." Much looked away. "Well, like I would have if I had known him." He got back to the point. "What I'm trying to say is you be careful with him." The new knight slurred, his soft voice cracking with emotion. "He is a big man but...but he also has a big heart. If you break it..." Much started waving his finger in front of Legrand's face.
"There will never be a chance of that, mon ami." Legrand looked up from his drink and Much saw the pain in his eyes. "However, there is every certainty he will break mine."
"You love him." Much's lip quivered at the realization. "Does John...?"
"No. And he never will." Legrand glared murderously into Much's eyes as he gripped his arm. "What I have with that man is all I will ever have, and I will not risk losing that by scaring him away."
Much nodded, rubbing the newly bruised skin. "He will never hear it from me." He placed his hand on the other man's broad shoulder. "I am sorry."
"What you have with Carter...always treasure it." Legrand's expression of sadness changed as he looked in shock over Much's shoulder. "That is if he survives the night."
Much whiplashed around to see Robin propel himself into Carter's midsection, sending them both over a table onto the floor. "Robin! Carter! Stop that... immediately!"
John and Legrand struggled to pull the two lords apart. Both men stared daggers at each other as they fought to free themselves from their captors for another row.
"You are not worthy of saying her name!" Robin spat blood as he talked.
"Nor you his!" Carter spouted back as his swollen eye threatened to close.
"I have every right to say his name. He was my friend before you turned him--"
"No, Robin! You gave up that right when you--"
"Both of you! This is not the time or place!" Much stood between the two men, his heart pounding. "I don't believe this. You are noblemen! This is our last celebration with our friends here and you choose to make it about yourselves!" He faced Robin. "No one has turned me. I am your friend, I will always be your friend, but things have changed. You must accept that." He looked at his lover. "Carter, I am grateful to you...for everything but not tonight. I am ashamed." He glared. "I am no longer anyone's property. You more than anyone else taught me that. I am my own man now and I will not have you two fighting over me like a prized pig! You both disgust me!"
"Much..." Carter grasped the distraught knight's arm. "I'm sorry."
"No Carter, I'm sorry." He nodded. "I would have expected such behaviour from Robin but not you too." Much sighed heavily and slightly staggered out of the room as everyone watched.
"I will go after him," Djaq said sadly. "He is too drunk to be left alone."
"No, let him go," John reasoned. "I will see to him after we get these two sorted."
"No need, John. I was just leaving." Robin yanked his arm away. "I know when I am not welcome."
"Let me go! I need to see to Much," Carter pulled against Legrand.
"Not now, cher, we need to get that eye looked at. John will see to Much." The larger man forced the smaller knight to sit as Djaq held a damp cloth to his eye.
>>-------------------->
The cool desert night air made his head swim as he looked out into the darkness. He replayed the scene in in his inebriated mind and blinked back the wave of sadness that overtook him.
Much felt the presence at his back before he heard the footfalls behind him. He wiped his tears on his sleeve. "I would rather be alone, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind," John answered kindly. "But I know you don't want to be alone."
"So you know what is best for me as well then."
John shook his head softly. "You are your own man, Much." Without another word he came up behind the new knight and embraced him in his large arms.
Much grasped John's hands and wept openly. "I traveled thousands of miles away for him, fought a war for him, begged the king for his freedom, and now all I want is to be free of him myself."
"You know Robin means well. He's hurting, Much. Marian..."
"Is dead, John. She's dead and I'm scared for him. The last time he thought he lost her, he almost destroyed himself." Much shook his head. "I can't help him. The more I try the more I feel I am losing myself, losing Carter."
"Then stop trying. Go to Carter, tell him how you feel..."
Much shook his head. "I cannot, not after tonight. I'm not ready. I'm so angry at him. I thought I knew him. I thought he was different but he only wants to own me as Robin did." He turned in the larger man's arms and sobbed against his shoulder "I can't go back to that tent tonight, John. Can I stay with you?"
The large outlaw cradled the smaller man against him. "If you wish..." Soft snores and Much's sudden dead weight made him chuckle. "C'mon then lad, off to bed." John slung the passed out nobleman's body carefully over his shoulder and made his way into the night.
To be continued...
Author: darkentwisted
Characters/Pairings: Much/Carter, Robin, Little John, Legrand, Will/Djaq
Rating: PG13
Genre: Drama
Words: 2411
Disclaimer: BBC & TA own; we just want to play in their universe
Notes: beta read by teamlavender ; takes place after 2x13 but prior to 3x01
Introduction and previous chapter links for DII are here...
Summary: The gang prepares to return to England but are stormy waters ahead?
>>-------------------->
Chapter 8: When All is Over Bar the Shouting
It was a night for celebrating and a night for mourning and for either, drinks were to be toasted. The fine feast the king provided to his soldiers and his country's new emissaries was grand but the wine from His Majesty's own vintner was the real prize of the evening. The drink provided a warm glow to the party.
When the tournament started, no one could say. Legrand and John sparred first, their hands grasped firmly as muscles bulged in their forearms. Neither man broke a sweat as their eyes locked intently. They were in all their glory and yet something else stirred within them as well. Legrand was momentarily caught off guard. He lost himself in his opponent's eyes and felt the back of his hand meet rough wood.
John cheered, "That's one for the outlaws and none for the nobles."
Carter proved no match for the giant peasant as he too went down. Shirts were lost as man after man sparred against John in play. Much surprisingly gave him a good fight as his stealthy upper body strength honed by years as a servant and squire caused the larger man to break into a sweat. John was unused to arm wrestling left handed but decided to give his old friend the advantage. It was an advantage Much took well. Much almost won but at the last second he looked up to see his former master's eyes focused intently on his naked bicep and the tattoo that was a near perfect replica of his lover's. The symbol of pride became a badge of shame under Robin's gaze and Much blushed as John pinned his arm to the table.
John looked surprised. "You let me win, fat face?"
Much smiled shyly and mumbled as he slid away avoiding Robin's half drunken glare. "As if anyone could beat you, badger beard."
John smugly hoisted his hard won tankard as he made the rounds with his friends. He stood next to Djaq who was still trying to console her husband after beating him at arm wrestling. "It was just lucky, Will."
"Beaten by my own wife," Will grumbled. "I'm going to be kicked out of the gang for this."
"No lad, we'll just never let you live it down," John chided. He offered the young Saracen woman his cup. "One sip...it will be good for the little one." Little John's sotto voice slurred as he placed his large hand gently on the expectant mother's tummy with a fascination one would give to a newborn kitten. "Hello my brave little outlaw. Someday you too will grow up to be big and strong like your mother and beat your dad at arm wrestling."
Will snorted at the remark and looked into the bottom of his cup.
Djaq giggled as John continued, "I can't wait till you arrive. Your Uncle John will take you into the forest and show you everything you need to know to survive." He sneered in Robin's direction. "And what mushrooms to pick."
Everyone laughed except for Legrand who was lost in the bottom of his own cup with embarrasing memories.
"Sorry, John, I have to go back and tend to Allan." Djaq smiled apologetically.
Will clutched his wife's arm. "No, tonight we rest and enjoy the company of our friends. They'll be leaving soon. Rahiim is tending to Allan."
"We'll see them tomorrow at Bassam's," Djaq said. "Rahiiim is old, Will. He needs his sleep, too." She looked down at Will's grasp. "You do not need to be so protective."
"You are my wife...carrying my child." Will's eyes sparked with jealousy.
"But I am not your property. Allan is our friend and I want him to get well," Djaq argued.
Will sputtered, "Allan--"
"Almost gave his life in exchange for your king's," Djaq said. "He has let go of all that was bad in his past, my love. Why can't you?"
Will's expression echoed the hurt in his wife's eyes. "I...I do...I mean...I did forgive him, but you and Allan..."
John and Djaq's gazes fell expectantly on Will's face for an answer but he looked away helplessly. "Fine. But we will both go..." His voice trailed off as a commotion grew between Carter and Robin across the room.
John suddenly stopped listening to Djaq and Will as another conversation drifted to his ear. He frowned and started to walk over to Much and Legrand when the argument between Robin and Carter became more heated. He looked over at his friends and then back as he saw Robin crease Carter's jaw. "This, I do not like."
>>-------------------->
Robin resented almost everything and everyone around him. He wanted to stay in the tent but Djaq had urged him to come with her soft smile. His head hurt. Every time he closed his eyes he saw white sand and red blood - too much blood - her blood. He looked at Much. The tattoo was new but he remembered where he had seen it before. There was a mirror image of it on Carter's arm. The sudden realization made him angry. Nothing was his anymore, not his birthright, nor Marian, not even Much. Head lowered, eyes narrowed, he turned toward Much's lover. His anger shifted from the tattoo to the man wearing it.
Carter lit the fuse when he walked over to Robin and sat down. "Have I done something to upset you?"
The outlaw nodded toward his friend talking to the blond giant as he put back on his tunic. "When did you make him get that?"
Carter was confused at first. "Get what?" Realization sank in quickly with the tone of voice and the glint in his friend's green eyes. He tensed for an argument.
Robin's sharp words found their mark as sure as any arrow he had ever fired. "Do you always mark your property so boldly, Lord Wilton?"
"Much is not my property." Carter measured his tone as he steadied for battle. "Unlike you, I have never had anything but the best intentions for him."
"Then it is the mark of a concubine is it?" Robin continued. "I should have never let him follow you back to war. Let you use him like you have, turn him against his friends."
"You think I am using Much?" Carter spat defensively as he half-rose from his seat and stood nose to nose with the archer. "You enslaved him, dragged him to war as a boy, and forced that gentle soul to fight beside you in battle." He slammed his cup down and leered. "Tell me, Robert of Locksley, what of all those nights in Acre when you used him in place of your precious Marian?"
Robin looked shocked. "He told you that? I never..."
"Much tells me everything," Carter replied. "He talks to me and I listen. That's more than you ever did for him."
The roar of blood filled Robin's ears as rage set his jaw. "Much knows I..."
Carter cut short his answer. "Do you know, Robin? Do you really know how much it hurt him to leave you in that forest? How he cried at the thought of never seeing you again? I gave him everything--position, new clothes, a new life, but he still craves the one thing I can never give him and obviously what you can't either...your love."
"I love Much as I would love a brother, almost as much as I did Marian."
"You loved Marian?" Carter said in disgust. "Well, that was her undoing, wasn't it? No one can survive the glory that is Robin Hood." Carter delivered the coup de grâce with a sneering grin. "Good thing I came along and rescued Much from loving you when I did or he might be dead in the sand beside her."
Robin let out a roar and swung the first blow.
>>-------------------->
Legrand glanced across the tent at his oversized friend and his two companions. It hurt to see John more each day and even the alcohol did little to dull the pain. The gaze failed to go unnoticed.
"That look..." Much frowned as he searched the big man's face in front of him. "I know that look. You and John are more than just friends."
"Mon dieu, do you ever shut up?" Legrand was barely listening to his drinking partner prattle on, but now Much was digging under his skin and playing with raw nerves. He didn't want to go there. "You are drunk, mon ami. You know not what you say."
"I know John." Much blinked, unswayed by the obvious annoyance he was causing the other man. "He had to leave his wife and pretend to be dead. He didn't know she was carrying his child. And even once she knew he was still alive, she took their son and left John for another man. His son will call that man father instead...she wounded him deeply."
"John told me about that, Much," Legrand said.
"What I'm trying to say is that I love John like I would my own father." Much looked away. "Well, like I would have if I had known him." He got back to the point. "What I'm trying to say is you be careful with him." The new knight slurred, his soft voice cracking with emotion. "He is a big man but...but he also has a big heart. If you break it..." Much started waving his finger in front of Legrand's face.
"There will never be a chance of that, mon ami." Legrand looked up from his drink and Much saw the pain in his eyes. "However, there is every certainty he will break mine."
"You love him." Much's lip quivered at the realization. "Does John...?"
"No. And he never will." Legrand glared murderously into Much's eyes as he gripped his arm. "What I have with that man is all I will ever have, and I will not risk losing that by scaring him away."
Much nodded, rubbing the newly bruised skin. "He will never hear it from me." He placed his hand on the other man's broad shoulder. "I am sorry."
"What you have with Carter...always treasure it." Legrand's expression of sadness changed as he looked in shock over Much's shoulder. "That is if he survives the night."
Much whiplashed around to see Robin propel himself into Carter's midsection, sending them both over a table onto the floor. "Robin! Carter! Stop that... immediately!"
John and Legrand struggled to pull the two lords apart. Both men stared daggers at each other as they fought to free themselves from their captors for another row.
"You are not worthy of saying her name!" Robin spat blood as he talked.
"Nor you his!" Carter spouted back as his swollen eye threatened to close.
"I have every right to say his name. He was my friend before you turned him--"
"No, Robin! You gave up that right when you--"
"Both of you! This is not the time or place!" Much stood between the two men, his heart pounding. "I don't believe this. You are noblemen! This is our last celebration with our friends here and you choose to make it about yourselves!" He faced Robin. "No one has turned me. I am your friend, I will always be your friend, but things have changed. You must accept that." He looked at his lover. "Carter, I am grateful to you...for everything but not tonight. I am ashamed." He glared. "I am no longer anyone's property. You more than anyone else taught me that. I am my own man now and I will not have you two fighting over me like a prized pig! You both disgust me!"
"Much..." Carter grasped the distraught knight's arm. "I'm sorry."
"No Carter, I'm sorry." He nodded. "I would have expected such behaviour from Robin but not you too." Much sighed heavily and slightly staggered out of the room as everyone watched.
"I will go after him," Djaq said sadly. "He is too drunk to be left alone."
"No, let him go," John reasoned. "I will see to him after we get these two sorted."
"No need, John. I was just leaving." Robin yanked his arm away. "I know when I am not welcome."
"Let me go! I need to see to Much," Carter pulled against Legrand.
"Not now, cher, we need to get that eye looked at. John will see to Much." The larger man forced the smaller knight to sit as Djaq held a damp cloth to his eye.
>>-------------------->
The cool desert night air made his head swim as he looked out into the darkness. He replayed the scene in in his inebriated mind and blinked back the wave of sadness that overtook him.
Much felt the presence at his back before he heard the footfalls behind him. He wiped his tears on his sleeve. "I would rather be alone, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind," John answered kindly. "But I know you don't want to be alone."
"So you know what is best for me as well then."
John shook his head softly. "You are your own man, Much." Without another word he came up behind the new knight and embraced him in his large arms.
Much grasped John's hands and wept openly. "I traveled thousands of miles away for him, fought a war for him, begged the king for his freedom, and now all I want is to be free of him myself."
"You know Robin means well. He's hurting, Much. Marian..."
"Is dead, John. She's dead and I'm scared for him. The last time he thought he lost her, he almost destroyed himself." Much shook his head. "I can't help him. The more I try the more I feel I am losing myself, losing Carter."
"Then stop trying. Go to Carter, tell him how you feel..."
Much shook his head. "I cannot, not after tonight. I'm not ready. I'm so angry at him. I thought I knew him. I thought he was different but he only wants to own me as Robin did." He turned in the larger man's arms and sobbed against his shoulder "I can't go back to that tent tonight, John. Can I stay with you?"
The large outlaw cradled the smaller man against him. "If you wish..." Soft snores and Much's sudden dead weight made him chuckle. "C'mon then lad, off to bed." John slung the passed out nobleman's body carefully over his shoulder and made his way into the night.
To be continued...