Revolution Fic: Stamp of Approval
Fandom: nbc's Revolution
Rating: pg-13 to be on the safe side. Warning: Writing on someone when they're asleep.
Characters: Miles, Aaron, Charlie, Nora, Rachel and Danny. And Monroe's lurking presence.
Pairing: Gen, with canon past Miles/Nora and possible hints at Miles/Monroe and Rachel/Monroe. Maybe if you squint and tilt you head 45 degrees you can pick up on other pairings.
Summary: The Gang wakes up to find themselves marked by Monroe, but not in his usual way.
Prompt: This crack-tastic conversation between mercscilla, corycides nd mustbethursday3:
Mercy: "How cute/deranged is it that Bass has already put his little symbol on the helicopter? THIS IS MINE… MY PRECIOUS MILITARY TOYS!"
Cory: "I like to imagine that he has a little stamp with him wherever he goes. My horse. My building. My bottle of beer."
Thursday: "Alright THAT needs to be added to that crack fic no one's writing yet. Miles and Charlie (and Rachel…. And lol AARON) waking up in the middle of the night, or early morning to find themselves stamped."
Author's Note: It's semi-crack and semi-serious, hopefully all around amusing and entertaining. Miles needed some time to brood in the beginning; he has a quota to fill.
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Miles allows himself a moment to stretch indulgently, trying to get rid of the kinks in his sore back. He's really getting too old for this shit. He sighs and shifts to a seating position, rubbing at his tired eyes. Yesterday was all kinds of hell. Granted, they did rescue Danny, which to be honest- he never thought they'd actually succeed in doing. But confronting Bass, finding out Rachel has been alive this whole time and escaping from that damn helicopter…
They've been running almost non-stop the whole day and they're still not far enough from Philly to his liking. Bass has power, he has a chopper and he's hunting them down. The only hope they have right now is that he'll get bored and turn his attention to the Plains and Georgia fronts. Or go after Resistance Camps one by one and annihilate them, either way it'll be a massacre.
"Guys, get up- we need to get going," Miles gets up and starts to pack his gear. Nora groans and rolls onto her back, blinking slowly at the sky. He glances over at a Rachel and her kids; watches as she strokes their hair and softly wakes them up. Now there's an issue he does not want to deal with anytime soon.
Rachel hates him and for good reason. The moment they're temporarily safe, the moment they can catch their breath… There'll be hell to pay, probably from all three of them. Charlie has been pretty understanding (in denial) about his sordid past, but this one is different- it's personal. He took her mother from her, left her unknowingly in Monroe's clutches for years- he thinks this might be something she can't forgive him for (Ben couldn't). When that happens, when Charlie finally wakes up and sees him for the monster he is and tells him she wants nothing more to do with him… He'll take off. He'll leave them alone, though he will make sure they're safe first- he owes them that much.
"Wake up, sunshine," Miles gently nudges Aaron with his foot. Aaron mutters under his breath and looks up at him through bleary eyes. He squints at him, before grabbing his glasses and putting them on the bridge of his nose.
"What the hell is that?" Aaron frowns at him.
"What are you talking about?" Miles asks, irritated.
"That 'M' on your forehead," Aaron says, bemused. "It looks like a stamp."
"What?!" Miles nearly shouts. He turns to Nora frantically. "Nora?"
Nora glances at his face and jumps to her feet. "We need to leave right away," she answers urgently, instantly awake.
"Goddammit!" Miles exclaims angrily, as he rubs at his forehead.
"Miles, what's going on?" Charlie asks, watching him with concern.
"Does anyone else have any markings somewhere visible- hands or face?" They all check themselves and each other and shake their heads. "Just my luck then. Monroe is close; we need to go now, before he figures out how close." He takes some water from his bottle and keeps rubbing at his forehead until it's a smeared stain.
"How do you know he's close?" Danny asks Miles, as he shoulders his pack and puts weight on his still injured leg.
"I'll explain later, let's go," Miles leads them away from their camp site at a brisk pace. They march in almost complete silence for half a day with little rest, until they reach a small stream in a secluded area. "We'll make a quick stop- we're far enough out of the way, we should be fine for a little bit."
"Right, well- I'm just going to go right ahead and ask," Aaron says, dropping his pack and rounding on Miles. "You said Monroe was close, not The Militia- how could you possibly know that? How did you get that stamp and what does it have to do with anything?"
"It's Monroe's stamp," Miles says grimacing. "And nobody uses it except for him."
"So you're saying Monroe put that stamp on you?" Aaron asks slowly. "That's… Insane. It doesn't make any sense! If he found us- why are we still alive? He would have killed us in our sleep or taken us prisoners at least. He wouldn't just play a prank on us and then run off!"
"He doesn't know he's doing it," Nora interjects dispassionately.
"Are you saying he has a split personality?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Miles rolls his eyes. "He sleepwalks."
"Monroe sleepwalk-stamps people?" Aaron asks, astounded. "How is that less ridiculous than having a split personality? And why the hell did he stamp you in the first place?"
"Somehow I doubt it's just me," Miles says with a tight grin. "And Monroe's kind of-"
"A possessive freak?" Nora offers, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Miles agrees with a shrug. "Don't know why, maybe it's 'cause he's an older brother who had to share with his little sisters or some other psycho-babble BS. Point is, he likes to mark his territory-"
"I did not need that mental image," Aaron winces.
"- So if something is 'his', he wants to mark it."
"Maybe you shouldn't have gotten him that stamp in the first place," Rachel says heatedly.
"It was a joke! I didn't know he'd become obsessed with it!"
"Now I have this image in my head of Monroe holding the stamp and crooning 'my precioussss' at it," Aaron chuckles to himself. Five sets of eyes blink at him in confusion. "Gollum?"
"Are you having a stroke?" Miles asks, perplexed.
"No! Gollum- the character from Lord of the Rings?" He receives blank expressions and huffs in disbelief. "Don't tell me none of you have seen it?"
"It's a nerd thing, isn't it?" Miles asks glibly. "I was probably too busy, you know, having a life, getting laid. You should try it sometime."
"Ok, so Monroe stamps people that he thinks are 'his'- that still doesn't explain how he found us," Charlie tries to bring them on track.
"He always knows where Miles is," Nora says bitingly. "At least subconsciously."
"So Monroe not only sleepwalk-stamps people, he also has an internal Miles-GPS?" Aaron chuckles dubiously. "That's… I'm sorry, but it's just insane. What is he, a bat? A homing pigeon?"
"What's a GPS?" Danny asks, but they ignore him.
"What do you want me to say?" Miles asks indignantly. "Monroe sleepwalks, he likes to stamps people and he seems to always know where I am- I can't explain it, it just is."
"Then why didn't he do this when we were outside Philadelphia?" Charlie frowns.
"He must have had company that night," Rachel theorizes. "He doesn't sleepwalk when there's someone else in his bed."
"I don't want to know how you know that," Danny blanches, shaking his head.
"Right, well we have a few minutes, we need to see what the damage is," Miles sighs. "Start checking your arms, front and back."
"Seriously?!" Aaron throws his hands in the air in disgust. "It's not just the areas he has immediate access to?" He suddenly straightened and looked at his feet. "Should we also-"
"Don't you dare drop your pants," Miles warns him, as he pushes up the sleeves of his shirt. "Monroe keeps his stamping above waist."
"Well, it's nice to know that he's a sleepwalking gentleman at least."
"If you're a guy," Nora hisses, giving Miles a look.
"What? I said I was sorry-"
"No, you didn't."
"Well, that's because it wasn't my fault! The second he did it, I confiscated his Sharpie. How was I supposed to know he'd get jealous and write on your-?"
"You're branded," Rachel says quietly, clutching Charlie's exposed right arm. She looks up at Miles, her eyes blazing. "You let her get branded?!"
"This wasn't his fault," Charlie quickly says, trying to diffuse the situation. "We were rescuing these kids from a Conscription Boat, it was my call. Miles didn't want me to go, but I had to do it, I had to help them. It's ok, mom- really."
Rachel continues to glare at Miles for several moments and he drops his gaze to the ground. Because despite what Charlie says- it is his fault. It's his Militia, he came up with the idea of the brand, he should have never let Charlie get on that boat, and he should have rescued her sooner…
"My arms are clean," Danny clears his throat, showing them his bare arms.
"Mine too," Nora says.
"Yeah, ditto," Aaron joins in.
Rachel pushes up the sleeve of her shirt and they see Monroe's 'M' stamp on both her forearms. She doesn't seem surprised, she just takes some water from the stream and the soap from her pack, and starts rubbing at the marks. Charlie checks her other forearm, frowns and removes her jacket. Her whole left arm is covered in the 'M' stamp.
"That's a bit excessive," she says in shock.
"Monroe must really like you," Nora says contemplatively. "What exactly happened when you two met?"
"I stood up to him, I guess?" Charlie goes over to Rachel, takes the bar of soap from her and starts rubbing at her arm.
"Monroe wanted me to finish the amplifier," Rachel fills them in, staring at her hands. "To motivate me, Strausser asked me to pick one of my kids for him to kill. Charlie told me to refuse… That some things are more important than family. Then she told Strausser to pick her." She glances up at Charlie, biting her bottom lip. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't let him kill you."
"I know," Charlie says quietly, before adding sternly: "But you should have."
"You impressed him," Miles sighs warily.
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
"I'm not sure either," Miles agrees. "It means you're on his radar now, so just be careful." He clears his throat and looks away. "Right, shirts off guys." He lifts his shirt and asks: "Anything?"
"That's not a stamp," Aaron says helpfully, pointing at Miles' chest. "It looks like he drew it with a Sharpie."
Miles looks down at his chest and curses. Monroe drew his own tattoo over Miles' heart, including the bastard's name. "Where the hell did he get a Sharpie? I thought I confiscated the last one?" Rachel shifts her weight between her feet and looks away. "Rachel? You know what he's like and you gave him a Sharpie?"
"I was his prisoner for years," she gazes at him coldly, squaring her shoulders. "I did what I had to, in order to survive."
"Now I really don't want to know," Danny cringes, lifting his own shirt.
"You're clear," Miles tell him.
"Monroe drew his own symbol and name over your heart," Charlie says to Miles curiously. "Just how close were you two?"
"I'm not going to dignify that-"
"Wait, so there's nothing on me?" Danny asks incredulously. "No stamp, no scribble, nothing? He met Charlie for like five minutes and he stamps her; I've been his prisoner for weeks and I get nothing?"
"Please tell me you're not jealous a psycho likes me more," Charlie rolls her eyes at him.
"Am I clear?" Aaron asks, lifting his shirt, standing for a moment, before turning around.
"What does that mean?" Danny asks, puzzled.
"No clue," Miles replies.
"I didn't know Monroe was a fan of 'Lost'," Nora lets out a restrained chuckle. "I used to be obsessed with that show!"
"What? What does it say?" Aaron twists around, trying to glimpse at his back.
"Is it the one with the Island and the smoke monster and some dude who wouldn't stop crying?" Miles asks, scratching his head. "God, he wouldn't shut up about that show. There were Polar Bears or some weird shit like that."
"I was such a Juliet/Sawyer shipper," Nora continues, smiling nostalgically. "Hey, you know who Captain Baker reminds me of-?"
"It says 'Hurley', doesn't it?" Aaron asks, exasperated. "I get it; I'm fat- ha ha ha."
"Well he was also a billionaire like you," Nora pats him on the shoulder. "Plus he could talk to ghosts and he ended up inheriting the Island."
"Monroe never even met Aaron and he marked him and not me!" Danny continues his tirade. "I'm sick and tired of being invisible and ignored and everyone's punching bag!"
"Teenage-angst and geek-fests, this is just great," Miles grumbles.
"Oh please, don't pretend like you're not a huge closeted-geek," Aaron rolls his eyes at Miles.
"Excuse me?"
"Stu Redman and Frannie? Really?"
"You told him?" Miles accuses Charlie.
"Told him what? I don't even know what those names mean," Charlie says, shaking her head. Nora has the decency to duck her head, though she smiles at Miles' obvious discomfort.
"It means Miles is a huge Stephen King fan," Aaron grins smugly. "This isn't 'Green Mile' or 'Shawshank Redemption', where you can say you saw the movie and didn't know King wrote it. 'The Stand'? That's a hardcore fan and major geekiness."
"First off- Stephen King writes horror stories, ok? Much better than your fantasy crap with swords and fairies or whatever," Miles defends himself.
"You can try and deny it, but we both know the truth. One day you'll be forced to embrace your inner geekiness," Aaron gloats at him. "But don't you think those names are a bit inappropriate, considering she's your niece and all?"
"Why is it inappropriate?" A puzzled Charlie asks Miles.
"Stu and Frannie aren't related in the story, they're a couple." Aaron explains, giving Miles a pointed look.
"Oh," Charlie says surprised, frowning at Miles.
"It's an obscure reference, it doesn't mean anything. Besides, The Stand is about a post-apocalyptic world, the names seemed fitting at the time, considering the situation."
"Yeah, in Kentucky maybe-."
"We should check to see if we're marked elsewhere as well," Nora tells Charlie and Rachel. "If we wait till those two idiots finish arguing, we'll be here all day."
"Right, we're going to give you ladies some privacy." Miles motions for Danny and Aaron to follow him into the woods.
"Wait- why did we take our shirts off in front of them and they get privacy?" Aaron protests.
"Because," Miles says slowly, as if he's talking to a slow child. "We're guys and they're girls. Exactly which one of them were you hoping to see topless?"
"I wasn't- I just- I didn't-" Aaron stammers, blushing. "I'm just going to go over there," he walks into the woods.
"Holler if you need anything," Miles tells the girls, his back to them.
"You're clear," Rachel tells Charlie, clearly relieved.
"You too," Charlie tells her, before turning to look at Nora's back. "I don't think this is in English. What's a Yoko Ono?"
"Goddammit Miles!" Nora stomps towards Miles, pulling her shirt down. "Would you tell your psycho stalker ex-boyfriend-"
"Cute, real cute."
"-That I did not break you two up!"
"Right, next time we're trying to kill each other, I'll ask for a time out to make sure he knows that crucial bit of information, before he chops my head off." Miles replies sarcastically. "Get your gear, we're moving."
"What? Shouldn't we wash it off?" Aaron says, gesturing vaguely at the stream with his arm.
"Won't help- nothing gets it out, it'll fade away in a few days," Miles offers with a grimace.
"That's insane! I don't care if it's a 'permanent marker'- it's not a freaking tattoo, something should get it off- like alcohol or something! And how the hell did the ink last for fifteen years?"
"It must be a magical unicorn-blood Sharpie," Miles says curtly, walking away. "If you find something that can get it off, be sure to let me know."
"Trust me, it could have been worse," Nora tells Aaron with a pat on the back.
"A lot worse," Rachel agrees and shares a look with Nora, before they both head after Miles.
"God, our lives are weird," Danny mutters, walking alongside Charlie, who smiles at him in agreement.
"I think you mean insane," Aaron mutters, following them. "Fascist sleepwalking dictators with a marking fetish and internal Miles-GPS; and magical Sharpies that defeat any kind of logic."
"You know Aaron," Miles says, aggravated. "You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means." Miles continues walking a few steps before he suddenly stops and silently curses himself. He glances behind and sees that Aaron has stopped as well and is giving him a gleeful smirk. "Don't you dare! You say one word about it and I swear to God I will gut you like a fish, and feed you to a pack of wild dogs!"
Aaron throws his hands up in surrender, as he surreptitiously positions himself behind Nora for
protection. "As you wish."
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A/N: The last quotes by Miles and Aaron are from "The Princess Bride". So yeah it's satirical and there's action, sword-fighting and pirates, it's how Miles convinced Bass to watch it with him but it's a fairytale, romantic comedy with dated special effects, Billy Crystal, people being MOSTLY dead and names like Prince Humperdinck. So yes, Aaron can mock him for liking the movie.