On The Wrong Side
An Ethan fic in 3 drabbles, written for
still_grrr:
Mistake
It was an extremely stupid thing to do.
But when he saw what was happening, he couldn’t help but pull the little girl out of the way of the speeding car.
It was brave, heroic, and selfless in the extreme.
In other words: stupid.
Chaos, after all, does not equal randomness. One of Chaos’s central concepts is that every event, every action, no matter how small, affects everything else.
Rescue a helpless child? See the gratitude in her parents’ eyes? Get your name in the paper, and be offered free drinks?
You might just be tempted to do it again.
Addict
On Monday, he helped an old lady across the street.
On Tuesday, he stopped some teenagers from bullying a young boy.
On Wednesday, he chased after a purse snatcher.
And then it was kittens stuck up trees, and sweeping snowy driveways, and carrying groceries…
And every time, they looked at him so gratefully, and thanked him so sincerely, and he felt all warm inside.
And every time, he cursed himself for giving in, and actually being… noble.
This was going to end very badly.
But they were only little things. And he could stop any time he liked.
Any time.
Lament
“The thing is, I’m supposed to be all evil. It’s my calling card. A reckless disregard for human life. That’s style.”
Some men couldn’t hold their liquor. And this was one of them.
“I mean, the kitten was bad enough. But tonight? Tonight I actually rescued someone from a vampire in an alley. A vampire! That’s suicide! But it just didn’t matter, you know?”
But he had money, so the bartender kept serving beer, and kept listening and nodding sympathetically.
“Next, I’ll be running into burning buildings...”
Sympathetic nod, and another beer.
“I’m doomed. Doomed to heroism. This is horrible.”
still_grrr:
Mistake
It was an extremely stupid thing to do.
But when he saw what was happening, he couldn’t help but pull the little girl out of the way of the speeding car.
It was brave, heroic, and selfless in the extreme.
In other words: stupid.
Chaos, after all, does not equal randomness. One of Chaos’s central concepts is that every event, every action, no matter how small, affects everything else.
Rescue a helpless child? See the gratitude in her parents’ eyes? Get your name in the paper, and be offered free drinks?
You might just be tempted to do it again.
Addict
On Monday, he helped an old lady across the street.
On Tuesday, he stopped some teenagers from bullying a young boy.
On Wednesday, he chased after a purse snatcher.
And then it was kittens stuck up trees, and sweeping snowy driveways, and carrying groceries…
And every time, they looked at him so gratefully, and thanked him so sincerely, and he felt all warm inside.
And every time, he cursed himself for giving in, and actually being… noble.
This was going to end very badly.
But they were only little things. And he could stop any time he liked.
Any time.
Lament
“The thing is, I’m supposed to be all evil. It’s my calling card. A reckless disregard for human life. That’s style.”
Some men couldn’t hold their liquor. And this was one of them.
“I mean, the kitten was bad enough. But tonight? Tonight I actually rescued someone from a vampire in an alley. A vampire! That’s suicide! But it just didn’t matter, you know?”
But he had money, so the bartender kept serving beer, and kept listening and nodding sympathetically.
“Next, I’ll be running into burning buildings...”
Sympathetic nod, and another beer.
“I’m doomed. Doomed to heroism. This is horrible.”