Without My Plant
Title: Without My Plant
Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis/Little Shop of Horrors AU Fusion
Characters/Pairings: Parrish/Lorne, Michael/Lorne, past Sheppard/Lorne, Weir, Caldwell, Ellis, The Plant
Rating: PG-13
Orientation: Slash
Warnings: Mention of physical abuse
Word Count: 5,760
Notes: Based on the Broadway Play “Little Shop of Horrors.” I took lots of liberties. Huge thanks to
calcitrix and
camshaft22 for the beta read.
Prompt: For Alternate Universe Bingo Fill: “Alt Fandom: Theatre”
♫"I started life as an orphan, a child of the street... she took me in gave me shelter, a bed, crust of bread and a job, treats me like dirt, calls me a slob…”♪
The bell over the door rang and David put down the broom and went to the front, plastering a smile on his face for what promised to be the first customer of the day. The smile fell away, not because it wasn’t a customer, but because Evan was limping as he crossed the small sales floor.
David gasped as he took in the bandage across his coworker’s nose, blackened swollen eye, cut lip and one bandaged wrist suspended in a sling. He started forward, but Evan shook his head and waved him away as the office door flew open and Ms. Weir appeared with a sneer on her face.
“You’re late, Lorne! I don’t pay you to make your own hours. Look at you, banged up again. How do you expect to put orders together with one hand?”
“I’ll help him Ms. Weir,” David offered immediately.
She snorted and tossed her head. “And what about your work, Parrish? I hired him because he was supposedly the best floral designer in the business. We all know why I hired you, and sometimes I regret my generosity.”
“I can do my seedlings after the shop closes. I’ll do the cutting and carrying for Evan, he can direct me.”
“I’m not paying you overtime,” Ms. Weir snapped and went into the office, slamming the door behind her.
David mumbled at the closed door, “You’re not paying me regular time, why should overtime be different?”
“You didn’t have to do that, Davie, I would have muddled through. Now she’s mad at both of us.”
Waving a hand in the direction of the door, his expression conveyed his lack of concern over Weir’s pique. “She’s always mad at us. We have four orders through the website. One is just a dozen roses, I can do that one, get it ready to go out. You’ll probably want to look at the others and see what needs to be done.”
“Thanks, Davie.”
Watching Evan trying to work all morning made David’s heart ache even more than it usually did. He felt guilty for being so glad to have the opportunity to stay in the back room all morning and be close to Evan.
It took him two hours to get up the courage to speak. “Do you need a place to stay? There’s room in the basement for an air mattress, if you need to get away from him.”
Keeping his head bowed over the arrangement in front of him, Evan replied quietly, “That’ll just piss him off more.”
“What happened this time?”
Evan sighed and David thought he wouldn’t answer. “I mentioned that it was Cam’s birthday next week and that some people were getting together over at the Pegasus for a drink.”
“I thought Michael liked the Pegasus, that’s where you guys met.”
“He did, he does. But then he wanted to know who would be there and I told him Rodney, Laura, Allie, Raddie, Chuck and John…”
“And he heard John’s name and went nuts,” David concluded. Evan nodded. David could see that Evan’s grip was tight on the stem in his hand and the lily was vibrating with Evan’s trembling. “Why do you stay with him when he keeps doing this?”
Evan shrugged. “He’s jealous. It was my own fault, I shouldn’t have mentioned John. I know how jealous he is. He can’t control himself.”
“You don’t deserve this.”
“It is what it is.” Evan looked up as Elizabeth came to the door of the workroom.
“I hear a lot of chatter back here. Three more orders off the web.” She slapped printouts on the table beside Evan. “Parrish, the distributor just called, the delivery truck will be here in fifteen minutes. Go stand out front by the curb and keep the spot clear for them.”
“Yes, Ms Weir.” With a small smile at Evan, David went to stand in the street.
♫“I've given you grow-lights and mineral supplements. What do you want from me, blood? I've given you sunlight, I've given you rain. Looks like you're not happy, 'less I open a vein.”♪
Stretching his arms over his head and leaning back, David groaned. The delivery had included a pallet of potting soil and he had to carry each bag down the stairs individually to put away in the storeroom. Picking up a misting bottle, he crossed the basement to check the progress of his seedlings under the grow lights. Smiling at the progress, he lightly misted the tiny green leaves.
His experimental seedling was not doing very well at all. He had gotten the pod from his friend Miko who wasn’t sure where she had gotten it; she got a lot of weird stuff mixed in with her overseas shipments. She always set interesting things aside for David when she found them. He misted it and then set the bottle aside. Pulling a stool over, he propped his elbow on the edge of the table and rested his chin on his hand as he stared at the odd little pod plant. “What is wrong with you, little guy, huh?”
The plant had started out so well; the pink and green pod had erupted quickly from the soil and grown to almost the size of David’s fist. But over the past weeks, the pod had drooped and the leaves were now limp and sad. He had tried repotting it and giving it different fertilizers. He had tried it moving it to the tiny windowsill but there wasn’t enough light through the casement for the plant so he had moved it to sit under a single grow light bulb.
“We’re all in a rut, E2.” He had named the plant after his one true love, Evan. But sadly, Evan had only ever considered him a friend. He sighed. Life sucked all around.
Glancing up at the shelf above the plants, David spotted a container of mineral supplements he hadn’t tried with E2 yet. Lifting off the stool, he reached for it, and his finger caught on an open box cutter beside the container. He quickly withdrew his hand, sucking a breath through his teeth as he saw the gash.
Several drops of blood fell onto E2 as his hand passed over the plant. E2 suddenly perked up and the pod cracked open, a small tongue-like filament slithered out and swiped at the blood droplets.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” David sat down hard on the stool as he watched the plant. “A vampire plant? Only my life could be this friggin’ weird.”
Curious, David held his finger over the pod and squeezed, letting blood well up from the cut and drip directly onto the pod. The tiny tongue-thing went wild.
He stared at the bloodthirsty little plant, wondering what in the world he was going to do now. He could hardly keep cutting his fingers open to keep the plant fed. He’d have to figure something else out.
♫“If you wanna be profound and you really gotta justify, take a breath and look around... a lot of folks deserve to die... the guy sure looks like plant food to me... I need blood and he's got more than enough…”♪
Luckily, pig’s blood was cheap at the butcher. David tamped down his embarrassment over the purchase, told the butcher it was for a blood pudding recipe he was experimenting with and started buying it by the quart. He kept it in the tiny refrigerator in the basement. E2 was temperamental and wanted it warm, so each evening, he poured some into a glass and set it over the warming plate.
The plant grew in leaps and bounds on the new diet. He had to repot E2 weekly. Realizing that soon the plant would be too heavy to lift anymore, David had to let his secret project out of the basement. He dragged the plant upstairs one morning and placed it in the corner of the workroom, displacing a shelf full of Valentine’s Day accessories and teddy bears and moving those to the basement.
Evan stopped in the doorway and stared at his namesake. “Davie, what the heck is that?”
“E2, isn’t he great?”
Walking closer and leaning in, Evan looked perplexed as he examined the plant that stood nearly as tall as him. “It’s something. I’m not sure what.”
When Ms. Weir arrived she took one look at the plant and declared it needed to be moved to the front window and set about designing a display to showcase it.
Delighted with the opportunity to ‘create buzz’ - Ms. Weir gave the plant its own page on the Atlantis Floral website. E2 went viral and they soon had actual foot traffic into the store as people came in to see the oddity.
David was at the register wrapping a plant for one of the last customers of the day when a familiar voice drawled, “Hey Davie, is Ev around?” He looked up and saw John Sheppard leaning casually against the refrigerator unit, his hands hooked in the belt of his black jeans. David’s heart dropped to his feet upon seeing Evan’s ex-boyfriend. This could only mean trouble. It was Saturday, Evan and Michael lived in this neighborhood and Michael would be here any minute to collect Evan.
Handing the customer her package before giving Sheppard his attention, David said shortly, “He’s in the back. You really shouldn’t bother him, John.”
“I was in the neighborhood. I just stopped in to say hi. Cool plant.” Sheppard slapped David’s shoulder as he strode past him into the back room. David heard Ms. Weir gushing a greeting at John, she’d always had the hots for him.
He went to the front to lock the door and flip the “Closed” sign over. Maybe they’d be lucky and Michael would be late.
Ms. Weir was all flustered as she came out of the back room and went towards the office. “The people from Horticulture Monthly are coming in Monday morning, Parrish, they’re in town for the Plant and Flower show at the Civic Center. Make sure the floor is washed and the entire shop is dusted. Oh, and retouch the paint on the door frames and the front counter, brighten it up a bit. I think you should change the dark green to lavender to brighten it up for spring.”
Wonderful, the added project meant covering everything in the shop, taping and then dealing with the mess of painting on top of all his other chores. “Yes, Ms. Weir.” She collected her purse and left the shop without another word to him.
There was an insistent rapping on the front window and David groaned as he saw Michael gesturing towards the locked door. “Evan! Michael’s here!” he shouted over his shoulder as he purposely walked as slow as he could to the door. A frown crossed Michael’s handsome face and he ran a hand through his perfectly coifed blonde hair in frustration as David fumbled with the lock.
When he pulled the door open, Michael shoved past him and went directly to the back. “He was here. I can smell his cologne. Did he touch you? Did he put his hands on you? Don’t lie to me Evan, I can tell when you lie to me!” Michael shouted.
A moment later, Evan was shoved through the doorway, barely catching his footing as Michael grabbed a handful of his shirt at the shoulder and dragged him towards the front door. Evan stumbled and Michael tripped over Evan’s foot, falling sideways and knocking into a rack of greeting cards. His balance upset, the usually graceful Michael fell backwards, landing partially in E2’s window display, getting tangled in the signs and decorations.
When he sat up, there was blood dripping down his face from a cut on his forehead. One of E2’s tendrils flickered like a dog’s nose upon scenting a cat. Moving quickly, David managed to reach over and grab the tendril just as it moved towards Michael’s face. He wasn’t fast enough to stop a second one, however. Not realizing the plant was moving of its own accord, Michael swiped at the tendril, pushing it aside angrily.
Evan had moved at the same time as David, trying to help Michael up, and in the confusion, neither of them noticed E2’s interest in Michael’s blood.
“Don’t think this is the end of this,” Michael warned as he yanked his arm from Evan’s grasp and stormed to the door.
“Evan, stay,” David whispered, fearing for his friend.
“It’ll be okay, Davie,” Evan said heavily as Michael called his name from the sidewalk.
But it wouldn’t. David knew it wouldn’t. “I wish there was something I could do to stop this,” he whispered, nervously wrapping E2’s tendril around his wrist and unraveling it again as he watched Evan walking with his head down, following Michael across the street.
♫“I dream of a place where we could be together at last… somewhere that's green.”♪
Monday morning Evan arrived looking none the worse for wear, though he was moving more slowly than usual, each step very deliberate.
David was sitting on the floor by the back door, repairing the lock. Someone had broken it over the weekend, though nothing had been taken and the shop had looked undisturbed, with the exception of some odd streaks of dirt on the floor. He had mopped up the mess and was hoping to have the door fixed by the time Ms. Weir came in. It was better that she not know anything about it if it could be avoided; she tended to overreact to security issues.
“Everything okay?” David asked him as Evan came in and hung his coat on a hook in the back room and then went to check the printer for orders that had come through overnight.
“Fine,” Evan seemed distracted as he collected various stems from the cooler and spread them on the work table.
“You look fine. Is Michael still mad?”
Evan shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. He left Saturday night and hasn’t come back yet.”
If Evan was lucky, Michael had hooked up with someone and maybe he would be free of him. He wanted to cheer. Instead he tried to be a supportive friend and instead just said, “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
“He’s never been gone two nights before. He’s crashed on couches when he was too drunk to come home, but never for two nights in a row. I’m using the last of the clear glass marbles, could you order some, Davie?”
“Sure,” he replied. He went to the front as the chime rang, putting on his Customer Face to do his job. As he worked, he couldn’t help but daydream. He imagined that Michael was gone for good and that Evan realized he had been truly in love with David all along. In his fantasy, they decide to leave Atlantis Floral and run off together to the country and open their own nursery and farm stand.
The daydreams carried him through the morning. Around lunchtime he looked up to see two men in suits coming through the door. They came straight to the register. The taller bald man flashed a badge. “I’m Detective Caldwell, this is Detective Ellis. We need to speak with Evan Lorne, please.”
“I’m Evan Lorne.” Evan had come to the doorway and was wiping his hands on a towel as he looked at the detectives. There was something in his eyes, as if he expected trouble.
Detective Ellis pointed towards the back room. “We need to ask you a few questions, Mister Lorne, may we speak privately?”
Evan nodded and stepped back, gesturing for the police to follow. Edging close to the doorway, David eavesdropped.
“Is this about Michael? Is he in some kind of trouble?” Evan asked.
“I’m afraid Mister Kenmore is dead,” the one named Caldwell said, though he was kind about it.
Evan gasped. “Dead? Michael is dead? I don’t believe… how?”
“That is what we are trying to find out, Mister Lorne. When was the last time you saw Mister Kenmore?”
“Saturday night. We… argued. He left the apartment and didn’t come back.”
The one named Caldwell looked interested in that bit of information, David saw as he peeked around the edge of the doorframe. “What was the nature of the argument?”
“Michael was a very jealous man. An old boyfriend came in to the shop Saturday to say hello and Michael got upset about it.”
“Did he have reason to be upset, and we’ll need the name of this friend.”
Evan rolled his eyes. “No! There was nothing going on. We just talked, John and I were over years ago, he’s with someone new now and he came to tell me about it. His name is John Sheppard; he’s a bartender over at The Gate.”
Writing that down, Ellis asked, “Can anyone verify your whereabouts late Saturday night, early Sunday morning?”
Evan sighed heavily and tugged his t-shirt up, turning to show the detectives his side and back. Tears welled up in David’s eyes as he spied the massive bruising on Evan’s ribs visible even from this distance, up close it must be horrendous. “The emergency room nurses probably have records. They did x-rays.”
The detectives shared a look. “What time did you get to the ER?”
“About 11:30, I guess. I had gone to bed and tried to sleep, but it was hard to breathe, so I took a cab over to Lantea General. The cabbie was one of the regular guys from around here; his name is Ronon, big guy with dreads.” Caldwell made notes as Evan spoke.
Shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, Evan asked, “What happened to Michael? Am I allowed to ask?”
Caldwell nodded approval at his partner and Ellis cleared his throat and said, “He was murdered. His body was found Sunday morning in the alley behind Teyla’s Tea Shop over on fourth. All the blood was drained from his body, although the official cause of death has been ruled strangulation.”
Fumbling for the stool beside the work table, Evan sat and stared at the detectives in disbelief. “Someone killed Michael?”
“It appears that way, Mister Lorne,” Caldwell said. “I need to ask you a few more questions.”
Detective Ellis turned and came in David’s direction. He quickly busied himself straightening receipts behind the register. “I know you were listening, Mister…”
“Parrish, David Parrish.”
“You knew the deceased?”
David nodded. “Not socially, just from him coming into the shop to see Evan.”
“Are you friends with Mister Lorne?”
“Work friends, I guess. We talk, while we’re working. Sometimes we see each other at the Pegasus Club, but I don’t go there very often. We don’t hang out otherwise, if that’s what you mean.”
“Did you notice a history of domestic violence?”
Glancing back in the direction of the workroom, David gave a brisk nod and then stared at his feet, feeling that he was betraying a confidence. “Evan has been hurt a few times.”
“When was the last time you saw Mister Kenmore?” The detective asked a lot of questions, some more than once. Then the partner came and switched places and David was asked more questions and again there were repeats. It was all very confusing, but he made sure to always tell the truth.
He heard Ellis say to Evan as they both came to the front of the shop, “Please don’t leave town for the next day or so while we check your alibi, we’ll be in touch.” Caldwell passed Evan a business card, which Evan took without looking at it. “Call us if you think of anything that might be important for the investigation.”
When the detectives were gone, Evan slumped back against the counter beside the register. “I don’t believe this is happening,” he whispered.
“Neither do I, what can I do to help?”
“I dunno. I’m not sure what I should do.”
David walked to the door and flipped the “Closed” sign over and threw the bolt. He shut the overhead lights off, even though it wasn’t even four o’clock yet.
“Ms. Weir will lose her mind if she finds out we closed early.”
Going to the counter, David picked up an order form, flipped it over and scribbled “Death in the family” on the back in black sharpie then taped it to the window above the “Closed” sign. “Let her. Come downstairs with me, I’ll make a pot of …” he almost said tea but though it might be in poor taste given where Michael had been found. “… Coffee. I’ll put the TV on and we can just zone out for a while. You don’t have to do anything, okay?”
Apparently relieved to have someone giving him direction, Evan nodded and then went to the workroom again. David heard the cooler door opening and closing, so he figured Evan must be cleaning up.
As he walked past E2, David couldn’t help but notice that the plant had grown, the pod was swollen and it now brushed the top of the window display. He paused and looked closer. There seemed to be something jammed between the thin coils of one tendril. He lifted the tendril carefully, and tugged the ends of whatever it was, holding it up to the light once he had it free. It was a hank of blonde hair, flaked with dried blood… hair the same color as Michael’s.
And he knew. Somehow, someway, E2 had fed recently, and on more than chopped hamburger and pig’s blood. It was the only explanation for the sudden growth spurt. David stared at the plant in stupefied horror, not understanding just how Michael’s body could have ended up two blocks away behind Teyla’s Tea shop.
He should be petrified. His tiny vampire plant was apparently capable of draining the contents of a human body. He should call the detectives.
One of E2’s tendrils drifted down and stroked lightly across David’s brow. “For you…” he imagined he heard words whispered as the plant caressed him. “He’s safe now.”
He pulled away from the plant and went to join Evan.
♫“He don't give me orders, he don't condescend… Tell me this feelin'll last till forever, tell me the bad times are clean washed away…”♪
The days following Michael’s murder were a blur of work and more work. Ms Weir reluctantly allowed Evan time off to deal with the investigation and to go out of town to attend Michael’s funeral. David was allowed to try his hand at arrangements, and even Ms Weir had to admit he did a good job at it, though not as good as Evan, of course.
When Evan returned from the funeral, they fell into a pattern of getting dinner together and hanging out at Evan’s apartment watching movies so that Evan didn’t have to be alone in the place he lived with Michael. Some of Evan’s friends from the club would stop by and David got to know Laura and Allie and Raddie pretty well over the weeks that followed.
Slowly, Evan opened up and they started to talk about things other than food and movies and work. Evan told him he had studied art and had fallen into floral design while he was at school. He admitted he had been planning to run away and had been secreting away money to be able to afford to get as far from Michael as he could. He knew the situation was bad, but he had not been able to see a way out, except to run. He’d been putting up with Michael’s abuse until he could afford to go.
They were comfortable companions. David often fell asleep watching movies on Evan’s couch, but Evan never complained. When he woke in the morning, David would find a blanket covering him. As the weeks became months, David spent so much time at Evan’s place that Evan jokingly invited him to just move in one day.
A week after he moved his few personal belongings across the street to Evan’s, David was cooking scrambled eggs, one of the few things he could cook and Evan walked up behind him and put his arms around him. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to turn around and kiss him.
And just like that, they were a couple.
♫"I take these offers, that means more killing, who knew success would come with messy, nasty strings?”♪
One evening, as they were about to leave to get pizza, before going bowling, Ms. Weir stopped them before they got to the door. “David…” and he should have known something was up when she used his first name and her best cajoling voice, “We’ve had an offer on our plant,” she smiled and pointed to E2.
“Our plant?” David asked stupidly.
“We’ve been offered a substantial amount by a Japanese business downtown; apparently, they believe the plant is a rare variety of some Asian whatsis. They’re renovating and want to put it in the lobby of their building. The profits will pay our rent here for a year. They’re sending someone Thursday to collect it, so have the display cleared out and the plant ready to be moved. And wear a clean shirt, they’re sending a photographer, apparently, they want to document the man that cultivated this national treasure or some bull crap like that.”
“Ms. Weir, the plant is David’s; he planted the seed and raised it. The profit should be his,” Evan said.
“My roof. My supplies. I’ve housed the plant and given it space in my front window for months.”
“David’s plant - and I’m sure any court would see it that way as well, Ms. Weir.” Evan was growing angry now, on David’s behalf. No one had ever stood up for him before in his entire life. In that moment, David loved Evan more than he had before.
She sneered. “I’ll give him ten percent.”
“Sixty.”
“Twenty. I did the marketing, I did the contract work. And I assume the two of you still want to keep your jobs?”
David clutched Evan’s bicep and squeezed. It wasn’t worth pushing her too far. Jobs were hard to come by, and Evan’s apartment was rent controlled, they needed to stay there, they couldn’t afford housing elsewhere in the city.
“Twenty,” David agreed as Evan took a breath to counter the offer. “It’s more than I’ve ever had. It isn’t worth our jobs, Evan.”
Ms. Weir strode over to look down her nose at the plant. “We’re well rid of it. It’s time for a change; I’m tired of looking at the ugly thing.”
A tendril snaked out and wrapped around one of her ankles. David caught the slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Before he could move forward to intervene, the tendril quickly withdrew.
Ms. Weir exclaimed, “Ow! What? Something just bit me! I think we have mosquitoes in here. Stop leaving the back door open, Parrish!” After scratching at her ankle, she opened the door and left the shop, her heels clacking on the pavement as she went down the sidewalk.
“Yes, Ms. Weir.” David glared at E2. As he did, he thought that the pod’s slit seemed to be smiling in a slightly smug way.
♫"He's got your number now, he knows just what you've done. You've got no place to hide, you've got nowhere to run, he knows your life of crime, I think it's suppertime..."♪
Detectives Ellis and Caldwell were waiting outside Atlantis Floral the next morning when David walked across the street to open up.
“Detectives. Is there something I can help you with?” David asked as he unlocked the door.
They followed him inside, their eyes scanning the interior of the shop. “Have you been out today, Mister Parrish?” Ellis asked.
“No, sir. I just got up. I came early to meet the delivery truck.”
“And Mister Lorne?”
David blushed. “He’s… well, he was in the shower when I left. He was going to head over to the deli and pick us up breakfast. Has something happened having to do with the case?” He felt very sophisticated, saying ‘the case’ to the detectives.
“You might say that,” Caldwell replied, pushing open the door to Ms. Weir’s office and peering inside.
“Ms. Weir should be in any minute now. She is very rarely late,” David said.
“She won’t be in,” Ellis said. “Where were you last night, Mister Parrish?”
Confused, David blinked at the detective. “Last night? Evan and I went for pizza at Luigi’s and then we went bowling.”
“What time did you get home?”
“Uhm, I was a little buzzed, I had too much beer. Maybe midnight?”
“We’ll need a list of the people that were there and may have seen or spoken with you or Mister Lorne.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
Caldwell crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze at David as he delivered the news. “Elizabeth Weir was found dead this morning Like Mister Kenmore, she was strangled and her body drained of blood. The thing these two murders have in common, Mister Parrish, is Evan Lorne.”
“Evan was with me. All night. I swear detectives. Plenty of people saw us.”
“Was Mister Lorne out of your sight at any time?” Ellis was looking around the shop.
“No sir, never. Ms. Weir is really dead?”
“Very dead,” Caldwell affirmed with grim look. “You mentioned that Mister Lorne is at home now?”
The detectives went to the door when David nodded. Ellis told him, “Don’t leave the premises, Mister Parrish.”
“Am I a suspect?” he squeaked in surprise.
“Everyone is a suspect until we’ve checked their alibi,” Caldwell said, shutting the door behind him.
♫“There's only so far you can bend, No! No! This nightmare must come to an end. Though it means you'll be broke again and unemployed, it's the only solution, it can't be avoided, the vegetable must be destroyed!”♪
David stared around the shop. Things were out of place; racks had been shoved aside and not put back properly. Potted plants were askew. These were things only David or Evan would have noticed, however. He went to the back room and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. The back door was wide open! There was a mop and bucket beside the door, and the floor had been inexpertly mopped.
He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and looked from the back of the shop towards the front window. E2 was slightly hunched over in order to fit in the window. “What did you do?!?” He ran to the front and stood before the plant. “E2, what have you done? This is wrong. You can’t go around sucking people to death!”
The detectives were across the street, he could see them through the glass of the front door. They were on the front stoop talking to Evan, who looked extremely distressed. “Evan is in trouble for this, they want to blame Evan! He could go to jail. You might have ruined everything.”
Tendrils snaked out and moved to caress David’s face. He grabbed them and held one in each fist. “No! You… no! Stop. I didn’t want this. This is wrong. This is all so wrong. This is evil.”
He let go of the tendrils and backed away in horror from the monster that he had allowed to get out of control. He should have done something sooner. “I can’t let Evan take the blame!”
David started towards the door, intent on speaking to the detectives. Something wrapped around his leg and he was suddenly yanked backwards. He fell and skidded across the floor. He rolled over and came face to face with the misshapen pod face of E2 looming over him.
“No!” he screamed. “No!!! Help!!!” Tendrils snaked around his arms and torso, he tried to wriggle away but they tightened and held him there. The pod split open and the snake-like tongue slithered out towards him. It licked across his cheek, tasting him.
David opened his mouth and screamed in terror as the tongue wrapped around his throat and he felt barbs bite into his skin, piercing it. He couldn’t move. Everything was going numb and dark. He couldn’t see clearly anymore. He felt cold, spreading out from his neck, he felt cold seeping into him.
He heard a bell jangle noisily as the front door burst open. He heard voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Everything was fuzzy. He heard loud popping noises above him. The tendril around his throat tightened and then suddenly released. He could breathe again. He gasped, trying to do that simple thing that had suddenly become an onerous chore.
Dazed, David felt himself being moved, lifted, cradled against a warm chest. Arms were around him and someone was slapping his face, calling his name through the fuzzy haze. Evan’s voice cut through all the chaos. He struggled to get to Evan. He was so cold.
“That’s it, that’s good. Come on, keep breathing Davie. Don’t you die on me. The ambulance is coming.”
“Evan?” he whispered. “Plant… drinks blood.”
“It’s dead, Mister Parrish. It won’t hurt anyone else again. Damndest thing I’ve seen since I left Area 51,” Detective Caldwell said, patting David’s arm as he stood up and moved to let the paramedics in.
Evan climbed up into the ambulance with the paramedics, holding David’s hand. “We’re getting out of this town, David. As soon as you get out of the hospital, we’re gonna move to the country, I’ve had enough of the city. Teyla and John have this idea to open a bed and breakfast on the beach, what do you think about that? We could help them run it.”
David squeezed Evan’s hand. The beach sounded lovely. Lots of water and sand.
And Evan.
He’d have Evan.
♫“Please, whatever they offer you don't feed the plants.”♪
The EndOriginally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/
Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis/Little Shop of Horrors AU Fusion
Characters/Pairings: Parrish/Lorne, Michael/Lorne, past Sheppard/Lorne, Weir, Caldwell, Ellis, The Plant
Rating: PG-13
Orientation: Slash
Warnings: Mention of physical abuse
Word Count: 5,760
Notes: Based on the Broadway Play “Little Shop of Horrors.” I took lots of liberties. Huge thanks to
calcitrix and
camshaft22 for the beta read.
Prompt: For Alternate Universe Bingo Fill: “Alt Fandom: Theatre”
♫"I started life as an orphan, a child of the street... she took me in gave me shelter, a bed, crust of bread and a job, treats me like dirt, calls me a slob…”♪
The bell over the door rang and David put down the broom and went to the front, plastering a smile on his face for what promised to be the first customer of the day. The smile fell away, not because it wasn’t a customer, but because Evan was limping as he crossed the small sales floor.
David gasped as he took in the bandage across his coworker’s nose, blackened swollen eye, cut lip and one bandaged wrist suspended in a sling. He started forward, but Evan shook his head and waved him away as the office door flew open and Ms. Weir appeared with a sneer on her face.
“You’re late, Lorne! I don’t pay you to make your own hours. Look at you, banged up again. How do you expect to put orders together with one hand?”
“I’ll help him Ms. Weir,” David offered immediately.
She snorted and tossed her head. “And what about your work, Parrish? I hired him because he was supposedly the best floral designer in the business. We all know why I hired you, and sometimes I regret my generosity.”
“I can do my seedlings after the shop closes. I’ll do the cutting and carrying for Evan, he can direct me.”
“I’m not paying you overtime,” Ms. Weir snapped and went into the office, slamming the door behind her.
David mumbled at the closed door, “You’re not paying me regular time, why should overtime be different?”
“You didn’t have to do that, Davie, I would have muddled through. Now she’s mad at both of us.”
Waving a hand in the direction of the door, his expression conveyed his lack of concern over Weir’s pique. “She’s always mad at us. We have four orders through the website. One is just a dozen roses, I can do that one, get it ready to go out. You’ll probably want to look at the others and see what needs to be done.”
“Thanks, Davie.”
Watching Evan trying to work all morning made David’s heart ache even more than it usually did. He felt guilty for being so glad to have the opportunity to stay in the back room all morning and be close to Evan.
It took him two hours to get up the courage to speak. “Do you need a place to stay? There’s room in the basement for an air mattress, if you need to get away from him.”
Keeping his head bowed over the arrangement in front of him, Evan replied quietly, “That’ll just piss him off more.”
“What happened this time?”
Evan sighed and David thought he wouldn’t answer. “I mentioned that it was Cam’s birthday next week and that some people were getting together over at the Pegasus for a drink.”
“I thought Michael liked the Pegasus, that’s where you guys met.”
“He did, he does. But then he wanted to know who would be there and I told him Rodney, Laura, Allie, Raddie, Chuck and John…”
“And he heard John’s name and went nuts,” David concluded. Evan nodded. David could see that Evan’s grip was tight on the stem in his hand and the lily was vibrating with Evan’s trembling. “Why do you stay with him when he keeps doing this?”
Evan shrugged. “He’s jealous. It was my own fault, I shouldn’t have mentioned John. I know how jealous he is. He can’t control himself.”
“You don’t deserve this.”
“It is what it is.” Evan looked up as Elizabeth came to the door of the workroom.
“I hear a lot of chatter back here. Three more orders off the web.” She slapped printouts on the table beside Evan. “Parrish, the distributor just called, the delivery truck will be here in fifteen minutes. Go stand out front by the curb and keep the spot clear for them.”
“Yes, Ms Weir.” With a small smile at Evan, David went to stand in the street.
♫“I've given you grow-lights and mineral supplements. What do you want from me, blood? I've given you sunlight, I've given you rain. Looks like you're not happy, 'less I open a vein.”♪
Stretching his arms over his head and leaning back, David groaned. The delivery had included a pallet of potting soil and he had to carry each bag down the stairs individually to put away in the storeroom. Picking up a misting bottle, he crossed the basement to check the progress of his seedlings under the grow lights. Smiling at the progress, he lightly misted the tiny green leaves.
His experimental seedling was not doing very well at all. He had gotten the pod from his friend Miko who wasn’t sure where she had gotten it; she got a lot of weird stuff mixed in with her overseas shipments. She always set interesting things aside for David when she found them. He misted it and then set the bottle aside. Pulling a stool over, he propped his elbow on the edge of the table and rested his chin on his hand as he stared at the odd little pod plant. “What is wrong with you, little guy, huh?”
The plant had started out so well; the pink and green pod had erupted quickly from the soil and grown to almost the size of David’s fist. But over the past weeks, the pod had drooped and the leaves were now limp and sad. He had tried repotting it and giving it different fertilizers. He had tried it moving it to the tiny windowsill but there wasn’t enough light through the casement for the plant so he had moved it to sit under a single grow light bulb.
“We’re all in a rut, E2.” He had named the plant after his one true love, Evan. But sadly, Evan had only ever considered him a friend. He sighed. Life sucked all around.
Glancing up at the shelf above the plants, David spotted a container of mineral supplements he hadn’t tried with E2 yet. Lifting off the stool, he reached for it, and his finger caught on an open box cutter beside the container. He quickly withdrew his hand, sucking a breath through his teeth as he saw the gash.
Several drops of blood fell onto E2 as his hand passed over the plant. E2 suddenly perked up and the pod cracked open, a small tongue-like filament slithered out and swiped at the blood droplets.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” David sat down hard on the stool as he watched the plant. “A vampire plant? Only my life could be this friggin’ weird.”
Curious, David held his finger over the pod and squeezed, letting blood well up from the cut and drip directly onto the pod. The tiny tongue-thing went wild.
He stared at the bloodthirsty little plant, wondering what in the world he was going to do now. He could hardly keep cutting his fingers open to keep the plant fed. He’d have to figure something else out.
♫“If you wanna be profound and you really gotta justify, take a breath and look around... a lot of folks deserve to die... the guy sure looks like plant food to me... I need blood and he's got more than enough…”♪
Luckily, pig’s blood was cheap at the butcher. David tamped down his embarrassment over the purchase, told the butcher it was for a blood pudding recipe he was experimenting with and started buying it by the quart. He kept it in the tiny refrigerator in the basement. E2 was temperamental and wanted it warm, so each evening, he poured some into a glass and set it over the warming plate.
The plant grew in leaps and bounds on the new diet. He had to repot E2 weekly. Realizing that soon the plant would be too heavy to lift anymore, David had to let his secret project out of the basement. He dragged the plant upstairs one morning and placed it in the corner of the workroom, displacing a shelf full of Valentine’s Day accessories and teddy bears and moving those to the basement.
Evan stopped in the doorway and stared at his namesake. “Davie, what the heck is that?”
“E2, isn’t he great?”
Walking closer and leaning in, Evan looked perplexed as he examined the plant that stood nearly as tall as him. “It’s something. I’m not sure what.”
When Ms. Weir arrived she took one look at the plant and declared it needed to be moved to the front window and set about designing a display to showcase it.
Delighted with the opportunity to ‘create buzz’ - Ms. Weir gave the plant its own page on the Atlantis Floral website. E2 went viral and they soon had actual foot traffic into the store as people came in to see the oddity.
David was at the register wrapping a plant for one of the last customers of the day when a familiar voice drawled, “Hey Davie, is Ev around?” He looked up and saw John Sheppard leaning casually against the refrigerator unit, his hands hooked in the belt of his black jeans. David’s heart dropped to his feet upon seeing Evan’s ex-boyfriend. This could only mean trouble. It was Saturday, Evan and Michael lived in this neighborhood and Michael would be here any minute to collect Evan.
Handing the customer her package before giving Sheppard his attention, David said shortly, “He’s in the back. You really shouldn’t bother him, John.”
“I was in the neighborhood. I just stopped in to say hi. Cool plant.” Sheppard slapped David’s shoulder as he strode past him into the back room. David heard Ms. Weir gushing a greeting at John, she’d always had the hots for him.
He went to the front to lock the door and flip the “Closed” sign over. Maybe they’d be lucky and Michael would be late.
Ms. Weir was all flustered as she came out of the back room and went towards the office. “The people from Horticulture Monthly are coming in Monday morning, Parrish, they’re in town for the Plant and Flower show at the Civic Center. Make sure the floor is washed and the entire shop is dusted. Oh, and retouch the paint on the door frames and the front counter, brighten it up a bit. I think you should change the dark green to lavender to brighten it up for spring.”
Wonderful, the added project meant covering everything in the shop, taping and then dealing with the mess of painting on top of all his other chores. “Yes, Ms. Weir.” She collected her purse and left the shop without another word to him.
There was an insistent rapping on the front window and David groaned as he saw Michael gesturing towards the locked door. “Evan! Michael’s here!” he shouted over his shoulder as he purposely walked as slow as he could to the door. A frown crossed Michael’s handsome face and he ran a hand through his perfectly coifed blonde hair in frustration as David fumbled with the lock.
When he pulled the door open, Michael shoved past him and went directly to the back. “He was here. I can smell his cologne. Did he touch you? Did he put his hands on you? Don’t lie to me Evan, I can tell when you lie to me!” Michael shouted.
A moment later, Evan was shoved through the doorway, barely catching his footing as Michael grabbed a handful of his shirt at the shoulder and dragged him towards the front door. Evan stumbled and Michael tripped over Evan’s foot, falling sideways and knocking into a rack of greeting cards. His balance upset, the usually graceful Michael fell backwards, landing partially in E2’s window display, getting tangled in the signs and decorations.
When he sat up, there was blood dripping down his face from a cut on his forehead. One of E2’s tendrils flickered like a dog’s nose upon scenting a cat. Moving quickly, David managed to reach over and grab the tendril just as it moved towards Michael’s face. He wasn’t fast enough to stop a second one, however. Not realizing the plant was moving of its own accord, Michael swiped at the tendril, pushing it aside angrily.
Evan had moved at the same time as David, trying to help Michael up, and in the confusion, neither of them noticed E2’s interest in Michael’s blood.
“Don’t think this is the end of this,” Michael warned as he yanked his arm from Evan’s grasp and stormed to the door.
“Evan, stay,” David whispered, fearing for his friend.
“It’ll be okay, Davie,” Evan said heavily as Michael called his name from the sidewalk.
But it wouldn’t. David knew it wouldn’t. “I wish there was something I could do to stop this,” he whispered, nervously wrapping E2’s tendril around his wrist and unraveling it again as he watched Evan walking with his head down, following Michael across the street.
♫“I dream of a place where we could be together at last… somewhere that's green.”♪
Monday morning Evan arrived looking none the worse for wear, though he was moving more slowly than usual, each step very deliberate.
David was sitting on the floor by the back door, repairing the lock. Someone had broken it over the weekend, though nothing had been taken and the shop had looked undisturbed, with the exception of some odd streaks of dirt on the floor. He had mopped up the mess and was hoping to have the door fixed by the time Ms. Weir came in. It was better that she not know anything about it if it could be avoided; she tended to overreact to security issues.
“Everything okay?” David asked him as Evan came in and hung his coat on a hook in the back room and then went to check the printer for orders that had come through overnight.
“Fine,” Evan seemed distracted as he collected various stems from the cooler and spread them on the work table.
“You look fine. Is Michael still mad?”
Evan shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. He left Saturday night and hasn’t come back yet.”
If Evan was lucky, Michael had hooked up with someone and maybe he would be free of him. He wanted to cheer. Instead he tried to be a supportive friend and instead just said, “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
“He’s never been gone two nights before. He’s crashed on couches when he was too drunk to come home, but never for two nights in a row. I’m using the last of the clear glass marbles, could you order some, Davie?”
“Sure,” he replied. He went to the front as the chime rang, putting on his Customer Face to do his job. As he worked, he couldn’t help but daydream. He imagined that Michael was gone for good and that Evan realized he had been truly in love with David all along. In his fantasy, they decide to leave Atlantis Floral and run off together to the country and open their own nursery and farm stand.
The daydreams carried him through the morning. Around lunchtime he looked up to see two men in suits coming through the door. They came straight to the register. The taller bald man flashed a badge. “I’m Detective Caldwell, this is Detective Ellis. We need to speak with Evan Lorne, please.”
“I’m Evan Lorne.” Evan had come to the doorway and was wiping his hands on a towel as he looked at the detectives. There was something in his eyes, as if he expected trouble.
Detective Ellis pointed towards the back room. “We need to ask you a few questions, Mister Lorne, may we speak privately?”
Evan nodded and stepped back, gesturing for the police to follow. Edging close to the doorway, David eavesdropped.
“Is this about Michael? Is he in some kind of trouble?” Evan asked.
“I’m afraid Mister Kenmore is dead,” the one named Caldwell said, though he was kind about it.
Evan gasped. “Dead? Michael is dead? I don’t believe… how?”
“That is what we are trying to find out, Mister Lorne. When was the last time you saw Mister Kenmore?”
“Saturday night. We… argued. He left the apartment and didn’t come back.”
The one named Caldwell looked interested in that bit of information, David saw as he peeked around the edge of the doorframe. “What was the nature of the argument?”
“Michael was a very jealous man. An old boyfriend came in to the shop Saturday to say hello and Michael got upset about it.”
“Did he have reason to be upset, and we’ll need the name of this friend.”
Evan rolled his eyes. “No! There was nothing going on. We just talked, John and I were over years ago, he’s with someone new now and he came to tell me about it. His name is John Sheppard; he’s a bartender over at The Gate.”
Writing that down, Ellis asked, “Can anyone verify your whereabouts late Saturday night, early Sunday morning?”
Evan sighed heavily and tugged his t-shirt up, turning to show the detectives his side and back. Tears welled up in David’s eyes as he spied the massive bruising on Evan’s ribs visible even from this distance, up close it must be horrendous. “The emergency room nurses probably have records. They did x-rays.”
The detectives shared a look. “What time did you get to the ER?”
“About 11:30, I guess. I had gone to bed and tried to sleep, but it was hard to breathe, so I took a cab over to Lantea General. The cabbie was one of the regular guys from around here; his name is Ronon, big guy with dreads.” Caldwell made notes as Evan spoke.
Shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, Evan asked, “What happened to Michael? Am I allowed to ask?”
Caldwell nodded approval at his partner and Ellis cleared his throat and said, “He was murdered. His body was found Sunday morning in the alley behind Teyla’s Tea Shop over on fourth. All the blood was drained from his body, although the official cause of death has been ruled strangulation.”
Fumbling for the stool beside the work table, Evan sat and stared at the detectives in disbelief. “Someone killed Michael?”
“It appears that way, Mister Lorne,” Caldwell said. “I need to ask you a few more questions.”
Detective Ellis turned and came in David’s direction. He quickly busied himself straightening receipts behind the register. “I know you were listening, Mister…”
“Parrish, David Parrish.”
“You knew the deceased?”
David nodded. “Not socially, just from him coming into the shop to see Evan.”
“Are you friends with Mister Lorne?”
“Work friends, I guess. We talk, while we’re working. Sometimes we see each other at the Pegasus Club, but I don’t go there very often. We don’t hang out otherwise, if that’s what you mean.”
“Did you notice a history of domestic violence?”
Glancing back in the direction of the workroom, David gave a brisk nod and then stared at his feet, feeling that he was betraying a confidence. “Evan has been hurt a few times.”
“When was the last time you saw Mister Kenmore?” The detective asked a lot of questions, some more than once. Then the partner came and switched places and David was asked more questions and again there were repeats. It was all very confusing, but he made sure to always tell the truth.
He heard Ellis say to Evan as they both came to the front of the shop, “Please don’t leave town for the next day or so while we check your alibi, we’ll be in touch.” Caldwell passed Evan a business card, which Evan took without looking at it. “Call us if you think of anything that might be important for the investigation.”
When the detectives were gone, Evan slumped back against the counter beside the register. “I don’t believe this is happening,” he whispered.
“Neither do I, what can I do to help?”
“I dunno. I’m not sure what I should do.”
David walked to the door and flipped the “Closed” sign over and threw the bolt. He shut the overhead lights off, even though it wasn’t even four o’clock yet.
“Ms. Weir will lose her mind if she finds out we closed early.”
Going to the counter, David picked up an order form, flipped it over and scribbled “Death in the family” on the back in black sharpie then taped it to the window above the “Closed” sign. “Let her. Come downstairs with me, I’ll make a pot of …” he almost said tea but though it might be in poor taste given where Michael had been found. “… Coffee. I’ll put the TV on and we can just zone out for a while. You don’t have to do anything, okay?”
Apparently relieved to have someone giving him direction, Evan nodded and then went to the workroom again. David heard the cooler door opening and closing, so he figured Evan must be cleaning up.
As he walked past E2, David couldn’t help but notice that the plant had grown, the pod was swollen and it now brushed the top of the window display. He paused and looked closer. There seemed to be something jammed between the thin coils of one tendril. He lifted the tendril carefully, and tugged the ends of whatever it was, holding it up to the light once he had it free. It was a hank of blonde hair, flaked with dried blood… hair the same color as Michael’s.
And he knew. Somehow, someway, E2 had fed recently, and on more than chopped hamburger and pig’s blood. It was the only explanation for the sudden growth spurt. David stared at the plant in stupefied horror, not understanding just how Michael’s body could have ended up two blocks away behind Teyla’s Tea shop.
He should be petrified. His tiny vampire plant was apparently capable of draining the contents of a human body. He should call the detectives.
One of E2’s tendrils drifted down and stroked lightly across David’s brow. “For you…” he imagined he heard words whispered as the plant caressed him. “He’s safe now.”
He pulled away from the plant and went to join Evan.
♫“He don't give me orders, he don't condescend… Tell me this feelin'll last till forever, tell me the bad times are clean washed away…”♪
The days following Michael’s murder were a blur of work and more work. Ms Weir reluctantly allowed Evan time off to deal with the investigation and to go out of town to attend Michael’s funeral. David was allowed to try his hand at arrangements, and even Ms Weir had to admit he did a good job at it, though not as good as Evan, of course.
When Evan returned from the funeral, they fell into a pattern of getting dinner together and hanging out at Evan’s apartment watching movies so that Evan didn’t have to be alone in the place he lived with Michael. Some of Evan’s friends from the club would stop by and David got to know Laura and Allie and Raddie pretty well over the weeks that followed.
Slowly, Evan opened up and they started to talk about things other than food and movies and work. Evan told him he had studied art and had fallen into floral design while he was at school. He admitted he had been planning to run away and had been secreting away money to be able to afford to get as far from Michael as he could. He knew the situation was bad, but he had not been able to see a way out, except to run. He’d been putting up with Michael’s abuse until he could afford to go.
They were comfortable companions. David often fell asleep watching movies on Evan’s couch, but Evan never complained. When he woke in the morning, David would find a blanket covering him. As the weeks became months, David spent so much time at Evan’s place that Evan jokingly invited him to just move in one day.
A week after he moved his few personal belongings across the street to Evan’s, David was cooking scrambled eggs, one of the few things he could cook and Evan walked up behind him and put his arms around him. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to turn around and kiss him.
And just like that, they were a couple.
♫"I take these offers, that means more killing, who knew success would come with messy, nasty strings?”♪
One evening, as they were about to leave to get pizza, before going bowling, Ms. Weir stopped them before they got to the door. “David…” and he should have known something was up when she used his first name and her best cajoling voice, “We’ve had an offer on our plant,” she smiled and pointed to E2.
“Our plant?” David asked stupidly.
“We’ve been offered a substantial amount by a Japanese business downtown; apparently, they believe the plant is a rare variety of some Asian whatsis. They’re renovating and want to put it in the lobby of their building. The profits will pay our rent here for a year. They’re sending someone Thursday to collect it, so have the display cleared out and the plant ready to be moved. And wear a clean shirt, they’re sending a photographer, apparently, they want to document the man that cultivated this national treasure or some bull crap like that.”
“Ms. Weir, the plant is David’s; he planted the seed and raised it. The profit should be his,” Evan said.
“My roof. My supplies. I’ve housed the plant and given it space in my front window for months.”
“David’s plant - and I’m sure any court would see it that way as well, Ms. Weir.” Evan was growing angry now, on David’s behalf. No one had ever stood up for him before in his entire life. In that moment, David loved Evan more than he had before.
She sneered. “I’ll give him ten percent.”
“Sixty.”
“Twenty. I did the marketing, I did the contract work. And I assume the two of you still want to keep your jobs?”
David clutched Evan’s bicep and squeezed. It wasn’t worth pushing her too far. Jobs were hard to come by, and Evan’s apartment was rent controlled, they needed to stay there, they couldn’t afford housing elsewhere in the city.
“Twenty,” David agreed as Evan took a breath to counter the offer. “It’s more than I’ve ever had. It isn’t worth our jobs, Evan.”
Ms. Weir strode over to look down her nose at the plant. “We’re well rid of it. It’s time for a change; I’m tired of looking at the ugly thing.”
A tendril snaked out and wrapped around one of her ankles. David caught the slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Before he could move forward to intervene, the tendril quickly withdrew.
Ms. Weir exclaimed, “Ow! What? Something just bit me! I think we have mosquitoes in here. Stop leaving the back door open, Parrish!” After scratching at her ankle, she opened the door and left the shop, her heels clacking on the pavement as she went down the sidewalk.
“Yes, Ms. Weir.” David glared at E2. As he did, he thought that the pod’s slit seemed to be smiling in a slightly smug way.
♫"He's got your number now, he knows just what you've done. You've got no place to hide, you've got nowhere to run, he knows your life of crime, I think it's suppertime..."♪
Detectives Ellis and Caldwell were waiting outside Atlantis Floral the next morning when David walked across the street to open up.
“Detectives. Is there something I can help you with?” David asked as he unlocked the door.
They followed him inside, their eyes scanning the interior of the shop. “Have you been out today, Mister Parrish?” Ellis asked.
“No, sir. I just got up. I came early to meet the delivery truck.”
“And Mister Lorne?”
David blushed. “He’s… well, he was in the shower when I left. He was going to head over to the deli and pick us up breakfast. Has something happened having to do with the case?” He felt very sophisticated, saying ‘the case’ to the detectives.
“You might say that,” Caldwell replied, pushing open the door to Ms. Weir’s office and peering inside.
“Ms. Weir should be in any minute now. She is very rarely late,” David said.
“She won’t be in,” Ellis said. “Where were you last night, Mister Parrish?”
Confused, David blinked at the detective. “Last night? Evan and I went for pizza at Luigi’s and then we went bowling.”
“What time did you get home?”
“Uhm, I was a little buzzed, I had too much beer. Maybe midnight?”
“We’ll need a list of the people that were there and may have seen or spoken with you or Mister Lorne.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
Caldwell crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze at David as he delivered the news. “Elizabeth Weir was found dead this morning Like Mister Kenmore, she was strangled and her body drained of blood. The thing these two murders have in common, Mister Parrish, is Evan Lorne.”
“Evan was with me. All night. I swear detectives. Plenty of people saw us.”
“Was Mister Lorne out of your sight at any time?” Ellis was looking around the shop.
“No sir, never. Ms. Weir is really dead?”
“Very dead,” Caldwell affirmed with grim look. “You mentioned that Mister Lorne is at home now?”
The detectives went to the door when David nodded. Ellis told him, “Don’t leave the premises, Mister Parrish.”
“Am I a suspect?” he squeaked in surprise.
“Everyone is a suspect until we’ve checked their alibi,” Caldwell said, shutting the door behind him.
♫“There's only so far you can bend, No! No! This nightmare must come to an end. Though it means you'll be broke again and unemployed, it's the only solution, it can't be avoided, the vegetable must be destroyed!”♪
David stared around the shop. Things were out of place; racks had been shoved aside and not put back properly. Potted plants were askew. These were things only David or Evan would have noticed, however. He went to the back room and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. The back door was wide open! There was a mop and bucket beside the door, and the floor had been inexpertly mopped.
He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and looked from the back of the shop towards the front window. E2 was slightly hunched over in order to fit in the window. “What did you do?!?” He ran to the front and stood before the plant. “E2, what have you done? This is wrong. You can’t go around sucking people to death!”
The detectives were across the street, he could see them through the glass of the front door. They were on the front stoop talking to Evan, who looked extremely distressed. “Evan is in trouble for this, they want to blame Evan! He could go to jail. You might have ruined everything.”
Tendrils snaked out and moved to caress David’s face. He grabbed them and held one in each fist. “No! You… no! Stop. I didn’t want this. This is wrong. This is all so wrong. This is evil.”
He let go of the tendrils and backed away in horror from the monster that he had allowed to get out of control. He should have done something sooner. “I can’t let Evan take the blame!”
David started towards the door, intent on speaking to the detectives. Something wrapped around his leg and he was suddenly yanked backwards. He fell and skidded across the floor. He rolled over and came face to face with the misshapen pod face of E2 looming over him.
“No!” he screamed. “No!!! Help!!!” Tendrils snaked around his arms and torso, he tried to wriggle away but they tightened and held him there. The pod split open and the snake-like tongue slithered out towards him. It licked across his cheek, tasting him.
David opened his mouth and screamed in terror as the tongue wrapped around his throat and he felt barbs bite into his skin, piercing it. He couldn’t move. Everything was going numb and dark. He couldn’t see clearly anymore. He felt cold, spreading out from his neck, he felt cold seeping into him.
He heard a bell jangle noisily as the front door burst open. He heard voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Everything was fuzzy. He heard loud popping noises above him. The tendril around his throat tightened and then suddenly released. He could breathe again. He gasped, trying to do that simple thing that had suddenly become an onerous chore.
Dazed, David felt himself being moved, lifted, cradled against a warm chest. Arms were around him and someone was slapping his face, calling his name through the fuzzy haze. Evan’s voice cut through all the chaos. He struggled to get to Evan. He was so cold.
“That’s it, that’s good. Come on, keep breathing Davie. Don’t you die on me. The ambulance is coming.”
“Evan?” he whispered. “Plant… drinks blood.”
“It’s dead, Mister Parrish. It won’t hurt anyone else again. Damndest thing I’ve seen since I left Area 51,” Detective Caldwell said, patting David’s arm as he stood up and moved to let the paramedics in.
Evan climbed up into the ambulance with the paramedics, holding David’s hand. “We’re getting out of this town, David. As soon as you get out of the hospital, we’re gonna move to the country, I’ve had enough of the city. Teyla and John have this idea to open a bed and breakfast on the beach, what do you think about that? We could help them run it.”
David squeezed Evan’s hand. The beach sounded lovely. Lots of water and sand.
And Evan.
He’d have Evan.
♫“Please, whatever they offer you don't feed the plants.”♪
The EndOriginally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/