White Picket Fence [6/11]
Title: White Picket Fence
Pairing: none
Rating: nc-17/18
Feedback: humour me
Warnings: for the whole fic - religious themes, character death, gore
Summary: In a quaint little town like this, things aren't necessarily always as nice as they might seem...
Disclaimer: All of this is completely a work of fiction. It is set in an alternative universe. Any events similar to anything that may have happened in real life is purely coincidental, and the town in which this is set is ficticious (I made it up, and checked that it does not exist. If it somehow does, then I'll be damned). I do not own Muse or anybody affiliated with them and the few original characters are my own Again, any relation to existing people is coincidental. This is not for profit, and everything in this work completely from my own (sick and twisted) mind.
A/N: I'm so sorry that it has taken so long to update, but I write everything on google docs and it just completely stopped working for me. ANYWAY, I should be posting a bit more regularly again, so that's nice. Right, cool, here we go again...
It's a mild and sunny Tuesday morning, and Dominic decides that he wants to talk to someone that isn't Matthew Bellamy.
Stepping out of his front door and taking a deep breath of the morning air, he steps down from his porch and walks out of their front gate. Closing it behind him, he decides to go and visit Kate, the woman he met at the bake sale. He passes Matthew’s house, reaching Kate’s front gate and opening it slowly. He notices the clean cut garden, rows of flowers of every colour and variety, with a perfectly trimmed lawn. There isn’t a blade out of place, and Dominic smiles, making mental notes which he files under landscaping aspirations.
He reaches the front door, raising a hand a rapping his fingers against the wood. Within moments he is greeted by a wide smile. “Hello Dominic!”
“Kate, hi,” he smiles, hands crossed behind his back. “I, uh, I just thought that if you’re not busy…”
“You wanna come in?” she says quickly. She is wearing a red sundress with a frilled apron, her long, twirling strands of ochre hair pulled into a ponytail high at the back of her head. The warm scents of baked goods float out, caressing Dominic’s senses and drawing him in. “I’ve just baked some pie - you’re more than welcome to some if you’re willing to wait for it to cool a little.”
“That’d be lovely,” he beams, stepping inside.
Her house is as clean and organised as the outside: everything is in its right place, framed art and photographs decorating the walls, a few small ornaments lined up with military precision on a small shelf. The smell of fresh pastry and bubbling hot strawberry intensifies as they make their way through the house. The pie is sitting on the kitchen counter and Kate picks it up, placing it on the windowsill of the open window.
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Dominic?” she asks, pulling out a seat for him.
“Oh, only if it’s not too much trouble!” he smiles, taking the seat. She makes some, and they sit and talk.
“I’m glad you accepted my invitation to visit, it’s always nice to talk to the local folks. There’s some interesting people around these parts,” she smiles, her left index finger tracing the rim of her mug. Dominic notices perfectly manicured scarlet nails at the end of her slender fingers, a small, blue tanzanite ring on the third one, and he admires its simple beauty.
“That’s a lovely ring,” he says, taking a sip of his coffee. “Are you married?”
“I was, yes,” she says, turning her hand to look at the piece of jewellery. “He… he was killed, three years ago in Vietnam.”
Dominic’s mouth hangs open a little. “I’m… I’m so sorry, Kate.” Guilt fills his chest, and he wants to hug her, but instead he takes another sip of his coffee and tries to swallow the lump in his throat.
“It’s okay, I can talk about him. I mean, miss him terribly, but with this I suppose it’s like he’s always with me,” she says, looking at the ring with a dreamy smile on her face. “I never take it off - even when I’m gardening I keep it on under my gloves. I shall wear it to the grave.”
“That’s really nice,” he says quietly, heart aching at the sweet story. He takes another sip.
“Speaking of gardening,” she starts, frowning. “I mean, heaven knows I’m not one to talk out of school, but have you noticed that Matthew’s been acting a little… a little weird recently?”
Dominic places his cup down. “Well, I can’t say I’ve noticed anything odd. I mean, he’s an odd guy in general from what I’ve gathered,” he laughs. “But we haven’t been here all that long, and we were out of town this weekend just gone. May I ask in what way?”
“Well,” she says, looking down at her cup before meeting Dominic’s eyes. “It’s just… the other night I couldn’t sleep, right? So I came downstairs to get some water, and I looked out of my kitchen window and saw Matthew out in his garden. Now, I know he spends a lot of time out there, but bear in mind that this was in the middle of the night.”
“That is pretty odd,” Dominic frowns. “What was he doing?”
“He was doing something in his flowerbeds, the ones at the end of his garden,” she says, chewing her lip as she thinks. “It looked like he was planting something, but when he walked back inside I couldn’t see anything different, not that I’d ever taken much notice of what he had in his garden, but you get what I mean. You just know.”
Finishing his coffee, Dominic sighs. “Well, I’ll keep an eye out in case I notice anything.”
“Don’t tell him I said anything,” she says quickly with wide eyes. “I mean… I don’t want a reputation as a busy body, but I just can’t help but feel a little concerned when someone just happens to be out burying things in their garden in the middle of the night, y’know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Dominic nods.
“I mean...” she lowers her voice. “I don’t think he saw me when he was walking back into his house. I ducked, which might have drawn attention or something, but I suppose your neighbour watching you behave oddly at night might be as unnerving as seeing someone behaving oddly...” she pauses, looking at Dominic. “Ignore me. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”
Dominic drags his finger and thumb across his mouth, closing an invisible zip. “I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you, Dominic. Oh, and don’t leave without any pie,” she perks up, turning to the windowsill and retrieving the dish, cutting him a slice.
On his way out, Dominic sees Matthew retrieving his mail from the letterbox by his gate. He goes to greet him, but the small man’s face is like stone and when he speaks it is expressionless.
“You need to be careful here, Dominic. There’s a lot of gossip in this town - you can’t believe a word anyone says anymore.”
And with that, Matthew returns to his house.
Pairing: none
Rating: nc-17/18
Feedback: humour me
Warnings: for the whole fic - religious themes, character death, gore
Summary: In a quaint little town like this, things aren't necessarily always as nice as they might seem...
Disclaimer: All of this is completely a work of fiction. It is set in an alternative universe. Any events similar to anything that may have happened in real life is purely coincidental, and the town in which this is set is ficticious (I made it up, and checked that it does not exist. If it somehow does, then I'll be damned). I do not own Muse or anybody affiliated with them and the few original characters are my own Again, any relation to existing people is coincidental. This is not for profit, and everything in this work completely from my own (sick and twisted) mind.
A/N: I'm so sorry that it has taken so long to update, but I write everything on google docs and it just completely stopped working for me. ANYWAY, I should be posting a bit more regularly again, so that's nice. Right, cool, here we go again...
It's a mild and sunny Tuesday morning, and Dominic decides that he wants to talk to someone that isn't Matthew Bellamy.
Stepping out of his front door and taking a deep breath of the morning air, he steps down from his porch and walks out of their front gate. Closing it behind him, he decides to go and visit Kate, the woman he met at the bake sale. He passes Matthew’s house, reaching Kate’s front gate and opening it slowly. He notices the clean cut garden, rows of flowers of every colour and variety, with a perfectly trimmed lawn. There isn’t a blade out of place, and Dominic smiles, making mental notes which he files under landscaping aspirations.
He reaches the front door, raising a hand a rapping his fingers against the wood. Within moments he is greeted by a wide smile. “Hello Dominic!”
“Kate, hi,” he smiles, hands crossed behind his back. “I, uh, I just thought that if you’re not busy…”
“You wanna come in?” she says quickly. She is wearing a red sundress with a frilled apron, her long, twirling strands of ochre hair pulled into a ponytail high at the back of her head. The warm scents of baked goods float out, caressing Dominic’s senses and drawing him in. “I’ve just baked some pie - you’re more than welcome to some if you’re willing to wait for it to cool a little.”
“That’d be lovely,” he beams, stepping inside.
Her house is as clean and organised as the outside: everything is in its right place, framed art and photographs decorating the walls, a few small ornaments lined up with military precision on a small shelf. The smell of fresh pastry and bubbling hot strawberry intensifies as they make their way through the house. The pie is sitting on the kitchen counter and Kate picks it up, placing it on the windowsill of the open window.
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Dominic?” she asks, pulling out a seat for him.
“Oh, only if it’s not too much trouble!” he smiles, taking the seat. She makes some, and they sit and talk.
“I’m glad you accepted my invitation to visit, it’s always nice to talk to the local folks. There’s some interesting people around these parts,” she smiles, her left index finger tracing the rim of her mug. Dominic notices perfectly manicured scarlet nails at the end of her slender fingers, a small, blue tanzanite ring on the third one, and he admires its simple beauty.
“That’s a lovely ring,” he says, taking a sip of his coffee. “Are you married?”
“I was, yes,” she says, turning her hand to look at the piece of jewellery. “He… he was killed, three years ago in Vietnam.”
Dominic’s mouth hangs open a little. “I’m… I’m so sorry, Kate.” Guilt fills his chest, and he wants to hug her, but instead he takes another sip of his coffee and tries to swallow the lump in his throat.
“It’s okay, I can talk about him. I mean, miss him terribly, but with this I suppose it’s like he’s always with me,” she says, looking at the ring with a dreamy smile on her face. “I never take it off - even when I’m gardening I keep it on under my gloves. I shall wear it to the grave.”
“That’s really nice,” he says quietly, heart aching at the sweet story. He takes another sip.
“Speaking of gardening,” she starts, frowning. “I mean, heaven knows I’m not one to talk out of school, but have you noticed that Matthew’s been acting a little… a little weird recently?”
Dominic places his cup down. “Well, I can’t say I’ve noticed anything odd. I mean, he’s an odd guy in general from what I’ve gathered,” he laughs. “But we haven’t been here all that long, and we were out of town this weekend just gone. May I ask in what way?”
“Well,” she says, looking down at her cup before meeting Dominic’s eyes. “It’s just… the other night I couldn’t sleep, right? So I came downstairs to get some water, and I looked out of my kitchen window and saw Matthew out in his garden. Now, I know he spends a lot of time out there, but bear in mind that this was in the middle of the night.”
“That is pretty odd,” Dominic frowns. “What was he doing?”
“He was doing something in his flowerbeds, the ones at the end of his garden,” she says, chewing her lip as she thinks. “It looked like he was planting something, but when he walked back inside I couldn’t see anything different, not that I’d ever taken much notice of what he had in his garden, but you get what I mean. You just know.”
Finishing his coffee, Dominic sighs. “Well, I’ll keep an eye out in case I notice anything.”
“Don’t tell him I said anything,” she says quickly with wide eyes. “I mean… I don’t want a reputation as a busy body, but I just can’t help but feel a little concerned when someone just happens to be out burying things in their garden in the middle of the night, y’know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Dominic nods.
“I mean...” she lowers her voice. “I don’t think he saw me when he was walking back into his house. I ducked, which might have drawn attention or something, but I suppose your neighbour watching you behave oddly at night might be as unnerving as seeing someone behaving oddly...” she pauses, looking at Dominic. “Ignore me. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”
Dominic drags his finger and thumb across his mouth, closing an invisible zip. “I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you, Dominic. Oh, and don’t leave without any pie,” she perks up, turning to the windowsill and retrieving the dish, cutting him a slice.
On his way out, Dominic sees Matthew retrieving his mail from the letterbox by his gate. He goes to greet him, but the small man’s face is like stone and when he speaks it is expressionless.
“You need to be careful here, Dominic. There’s a lot of gossip in this town - you can’t believe a word anyone says anymore.”
And with that, Matthew returns to his house.