Fic; Summer
Canicule -can-i-cule- noun- heat wave
Jake remembers the word being an answer in one of Amy’s crossword puzzles. He never thought he would come to know it so well.
The world ends quick, a snap-back of too-stretched elastic, a cacophony of too much heat and too much melted ice.
Jake always thought he would do well in an apocalypse scenario. Between being the amazing detective that he was and his great taste in movies, it should’ve been easy. But then his pesky moral compass got in the way.
So here he was, with a skill-set in high demand and a face that lent to creeps leering at him to ‘give them some sugar’, he’d swiftly been kidnapped and sold.
Addicted -e-dik-tid- adjective- physically and metally dependent on a particular substance
Jake remembers Amy telling him the old meaning of the word. After prison, when he was sometimes too rattled to sleep, he would curl up in her lap and she would talk wonderful nonsense to make him feel better. It used to mean slavery; being addicted to a person meant that you were a slave to them. And the meaning had changed over time to being a slave to other things.
He’s standing, at a slave auction, a disobedient slave waiting to be sold yet again. When he sees Amy, this old random moment is the first thought that pops into his head. The second thought is terror. She shouldn’t be here. Not amongst these vicious, ruthless, murderous people. Probably just to get a glance of him- to see that he’s still alive. He wants to call to her, tell her to run. But he can’t, he won’t dare draw attention to her- sitting between men twice her size (who let’s be honest she could take down, but there are far too many of them here for Jake’s liking).
Summer - s^me - noun - the warmest season of the year
There are no seasons anymore, just unrelenting heat. Sticky and unpleasant, just like life in general. Jake almost thought he was getting used to this hell. But watching as Amy raises her hand to bid, he thinks this is a fresh hell where he has to watch the love of his life get eaten alive.
Jake watches in confusion as she keeps bidding as the other bids dwindle, her hand steadily rising every other turn. He’s thinking, trying to catch her eye, he needs to know what the play is. She must have a plan for them to get away without paying. He needs to figure it out before he gets her killed.
They are in with the auctioneer afterwards and the man and Amy speak like old friends. Jake is still beyond confused, but he’s also still ready to run at a moment’s notice. But then she hands over more money than anyone is this freaky dystopia has. And they’re walking out, away, into the sun.
Longing - lanin- noun - a yearning desire
Jake remembers Amy making binder after binder after binder, preparing and over-preparing for everything imaginable. Enjoying the act of organisation, it was a thing to watch, a form of badass-ness few understood. Amy always planned for the long-game, yearning for something to rise to, something to plan for.
Jake had made the mistake of interrupting to suggest something wild and spontaneous. Amy had smiled at him and said a line both beautiful and elegant, her lips curving soft and sweet around the words, as she talked of the benefits of planning, of having something to look forward to. Of a once ethereal nostalgia of something that would never be again, a childhood of endless free days of sun and water and siblings, of how, with Jake, maybe they could reach the ethereal once more. And oh, how he loves her in that moment.
This time her tone is sharp and crisp and slightly dark,
“Summer is about longing for summer.”
Jake remembers the word being an answer in one of Amy’s crossword puzzles. He never thought he would come to know it so well.
The world ends quick, a snap-back of too-stretched elastic, a cacophony of too much heat and too much melted ice.
Jake always thought he would do well in an apocalypse scenario. Between being the amazing detective that he was and his great taste in movies, it should’ve been easy. But then his pesky moral compass got in the way.
So here he was, with a skill-set in high demand and a face that lent to creeps leering at him to ‘give them some sugar’, he’d swiftly been kidnapped and sold.
Addicted -e-dik-tid- adjective- physically and metally dependent on a particular substance
Jake remembers Amy telling him the old meaning of the word. After prison, when he was sometimes too rattled to sleep, he would curl up in her lap and she would talk wonderful nonsense to make him feel better. It used to mean slavery; being addicted to a person meant that you were a slave to them. And the meaning had changed over time to being a slave to other things.
He’s standing, at a slave auction, a disobedient slave waiting to be sold yet again. When he sees Amy, this old random moment is the first thought that pops into his head. The second thought is terror. She shouldn’t be here. Not amongst these vicious, ruthless, murderous people. Probably just to get a glance of him- to see that he’s still alive. He wants to call to her, tell her to run. But he can’t, he won’t dare draw attention to her- sitting between men twice her size (who let’s be honest she could take down, but there are far too many of them here for Jake’s liking).
Summer - s^me - noun - the warmest season of the year
There are no seasons anymore, just unrelenting heat. Sticky and unpleasant, just like life in general. Jake almost thought he was getting used to this hell. But watching as Amy raises her hand to bid, he thinks this is a fresh hell where he has to watch the love of his life get eaten alive.
Jake watches in confusion as she keeps bidding as the other bids dwindle, her hand steadily rising every other turn. He’s thinking, trying to catch her eye, he needs to know what the play is. She must have a plan for them to get away without paying. He needs to figure it out before he gets her killed.
They are in with the auctioneer afterwards and the man and Amy speak like old friends. Jake is still beyond confused, but he’s also still ready to run at a moment’s notice. But then she hands over more money than anyone is this freaky dystopia has. And they’re walking out, away, into the sun.
Longing - lanin- noun - a yearning desire
Jake remembers Amy making binder after binder after binder, preparing and over-preparing for everything imaginable. Enjoying the act of organisation, it was a thing to watch, a form of badass-ness few understood. Amy always planned for the long-game, yearning for something to rise to, something to plan for.
Jake had made the mistake of interrupting to suggest something wild and spontaneous. Amy had smiled at him and said a line both beautiful and elegant, her lips curving soft and sweet around the words, as she talked of the benefits of planning, of having something to look forward to. Of a once ethereal nostalgia of something that would never be again, a childhood of endless free days of sun and water and siblings, of how, with Jake, maybe they could reach the ethereal once more. And oh, how he loves her in that moment.
This time her tone is sharp and crisp and slightly dark,
“Summer is about longing for summer.”