Fic: Broken Wings (Michael/Padma)
Hah! Got it done! It only took me... four months! *grins*
Title: Broken Wings
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Michael Corner/Padma Patil
Word Count: 1165
Prompt: No one wants someone damaged
For leigh_adams who asked for one of my New Year drabbles
The screaming had stopped over an hour ago but still Michael couldn’t quite work up the courage to open the door and walk into the room beyond this little entryway. He’d always thought of himself as a strong person but he’d found his breaking point. Seeing Parvati screaming as her lower legs were left behind under the weight of the fallen wall of the west tower was more than his stomach could bear and he definitely knew he didn’t want to know what the Healers might be doing to elicite the kind of noise that was coming from that room.
“You did what you could,” Su whispered beside him, her hands shaking so much she couldn’t even clasp them together as she did when she was nervous. “These things happen.”
“What things?” None of this was her fault but still he couldn’t keep the anger from his voice. “She didn’t even get hurt during the actual battle. It was after, when we were cleaning up. Where’s the glory in that?”
When Su didn’t answer, he turned toward her, expecting to see her spluttering with anger. Theirs was not the most tame of friendships and he’d spent more time irritated with her over the last seven years than he had with most people. It was mutual. Instead, his housemate was crying silent tears that were so unlike her normal fiery spirit. They were all of them, broken. To a man and woman, boy and girl. They’d won the battle. Time would tell if they’d truly won the war. Instead of celebrating, they were still suffering. It shouldn’t have been this way.
He didn’t realize he’d spoken that out loud until she turned to him, the tears making her eyes sparkle in the light from the lamps along the hall. “It was the only way it could be. We did what we had to. What was asked of us.”
That line of reasoning was starting to irritate him. The one good thing was that he didn’t care so much about the screaming any longer. If he had a choice between the pain of the body and the pain of the soul, he’d take body right now. Su’s broken soul was hard for him to handle with his own in shards.
There wasn’t a sound as the door of Parvati’s room opened. The intense silence was almost more than Michael could bear but he stood up as Padma walked toward him, her arms already outstretched as if she was searching for him using only an inner sonar.
“She’s asleep,” Padma whispered into the rough cloth of his shirt, her voice breaking as she struggled for composure in front of so many people. He wondered if she’d be able to talk over the tears if they were alone. “They say she’ll survive. All thanks to you, Michael. You really are my own Guardian Angel.”
“I'm not an angel. I was just in the right place at the right time.”
She leaned back in his embrace, her face pale and drawn. The dark splotches under her eyes gave her a haggard dignity that he couldn’t help but admire. This was why he loved her. Not because of the keen intellect that often lay in hiding or her beauty that was so beguiling, but because she held up under pressure with such grace and dignity.
“You’re too modest, Michael. It was your quick thinking that saved her life. I am eternally grateful.”
“Don’t be grateful, madhura.” Because he couldn’t resist, no matter what the situation they were in, he leaned forward and placed a kiss beside each of her eyes and on the tip of her nose. There was a single tear sliding from the corner of her eye as he looked up. “And certainly don’t cry. Not now when everything is starting to look up.”
“I don’t think I can do this,” she sobbed, her voice thin and strained. “It seems wrong that she’s lost so much and I have everything right now.”
Taking a deep breath, Michael struggled to find the right words to help Padma make sense of what had happened to her sister. At the moment, he was having trouble thinking of something other than her words, I have everything right now. He assumed that everything they had been talking about at the moment of the crash would have been forgotten. Until she had brought it up, he’d almost forgotten that he’d asked a question that was still unanswered.
“Parvati will live. And while there is life, there is hope. She has you and she has me.”
Before he could say anything more, Lavendar Brown came running down the hall. Her face was streaked with dirt and one sleeve was almost completely ripped off her shirt. “Is she here?” she asked, her voice cracking with exhaustion. “Is Parvati here?”
Michael indicated the door and watched as she ran through it, sobbing Parvati’s name. In all that he had seen in this war, her anguish was the most disturbing. If Padma was lying in that bed right now, he would be the one running through the door, his heart on his sleeve.
“Padma, this isn’t the time but… well, you brought it up.” He brought her left hand up to his lips, kissing the ring that flickered in the light. “I put this here but you never gave me an answer.”
“I told you to ask Parvati for her permission,” Padma whispered. “Did she give you an answer?”
“All she had time to do was call me a word I shouldn’t mention in mixed company.”
If he hadn’t been looking at her, he might not have believed his ears when she suddenly started to giggle. The sound was one he wouldn’t have thought he’d hear for awhile. It made him smile.
“What? You like that your sister has a mouth worthy of a sailor? My blistered ears make you laugh?”
“That’s good.” She hugged his close. “Very good. Parvati would have just walked away if she didn’t approve.”
For a moment, he forgot where they were and why they were there. But that moment was over quickly when the Healers came rushing from the room. They were being called to another room now that Parvati was stable.
“I think I’m going to go in and see how she’s doing. Do you want to come?”
He hesitated. That little respite from the reality of their situation wasn’t enough to make him ready for the responsibility of keeping everyone together. Parvati would get better, in time, and find her place in the world around her once again, her wounds healed and forgotten. The real problem was that his would continue to fester inside where no one could see. They would never know he needed to be healed. Who could possibly want someone as broken as he was? Padma deserved a real angel of mercy, not one with broken wings that didn’t know if he would ever be able to fly again.
Title: Broken Wings
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Michael Corner/Padma Patil
Word Count: 1165
Prompt: No one wants someone damaged
For leigh_adams who asked for one of my New Year drabbles
The screaming had stopped over an hour ago but still Michael couldn’t quite work up the courage to open the door and walk into the room beyond this little entryway. He’d always thought of himself as a strong person but he’d found his breaking point. Seeing Parvati screaming as her lower legs were left behind under the weight of the fallen wall of the west tower was more than his stomach could bear and he definitely knew he didn’t want to know what the Healers might be doing to elicite the kind of noise that was coming from that room.
“You did what you could,” Su whispered beside him, her hands shaking so much she couldn’t even clasp them together as she did when she was nervous. “These things happen.”
“What things?” None of this was her fault but still he couldn’t keep the anger from his voice. “She didn’t even get hurt during the actual battle. It was after, when we were cleaning up. Where’s the glory in that?”
When Su didn’t answer, he turned toward her, expecting to see her spluttering with anger. Theirs was not the most tame of friendships and he’d spent more time irritated with her over the last seven years than he had with most people. It was mutual. Instead, his housemate was crying silent tears that were so unlike her normal fiery spirit. They were all of them, broken. To a man and woman, boy and girl. They’d won the battle. Time would tell if they’d truly won the war. Instead of celebrating, they were still suffering. It shouldn’t have been this way.
He didn’t realize he’d spoken that out loud until she turned to him, the tears making her eyes sparkle in the light from the lamps along the hall. “It was the only way it could be. We did what we had to. What was asked of us.”
That line of reasoning was starting to irritate him. The one good thing was that he didn’t care so much about the screaming any longer. If he had a choice between the pain of the body and the pain of the soul, he’d take body right now. Su’s broken soul was hard for him to handle with his own in shards.
There wasn’t a sound as the door of Parvati’s room opened. The intense silence was almost more than Michael could bear but he stood up as Padma walked toward him, her arms already outstretched as if she was searching for him using only an inner sonar.
“She’s asleep,” Padma whispered into the rough cloth of his shirt, her voice breaking as she struggled for composure in front of so many people. He wondered if she’d be able to talk over the tears if they were alone. “They say she’ll survive. All thanks to you, Michael. You really are my own Guardian Angel.”
“I'm not an angel. I was just in the right place at the right time.”
She leaned back in his embrace, her face pale and drawn. The dark splotches under her eyes gave her a haggard dignity that he couldn’t help but admire. This was why he loved her. Not because of the keen intellect that often lay in hiding or her beauty that was so beguiling, but because she held up under pressure with such grace and dignity.
“You’re too modest, Michael. It was your quick thinking that saved her life. I am eternally grateful.”
“Don’t be grateful, madhura.” Because he couldn’t resist, no matter what the situation they were in, he leaned forward and placed a kiss beside each of her eyes and on the tip of her nose. There was a single tear sliding from the corner of her eye as he looked up. “And certainly don’t cry. Not now when everything is starting to look up.”
“I don’t think I can do this,” she sobbed, her voice thin and strained. “It seems wrong that she’s lost so much and I have everything right now.”
Taking a deep breath, Michael struggled to find the right words to help Padma make sense of what had happened to her sister. At the moment, he was having trouble thinking of something other than her words, I have everything right now. He assumed that everything they had been talking about at the moment of the crash would have been forgotten. Until she had brought it up, he’d almost forgotten that he’d asked a question that was still unanswered.
“Parvati will live. And while there is life, there is hope. She has you and she has me.”
Before he could say anything more, Lavendar Brown came running down the hall. Her face was streaked with dirt and one sleeve was almost completely ripped off her shirt. “Is she here?” she asked, her voice cracking with exhaustion. “Is Parvati here?”
Michael indicated the door and watched as she ran through it, sobbing Parvati’s name. In all that he had seen in this war, her anguish was the most disturbing. If Padma was lying in that bed right now, he would be the one running through the door, his heart on his sleeve.
“Padma, this isn’t the time but… well, you brought it up.” He brought her left hand up to his lips, kissing the ring that flickered in the light. “I put this here but you never gave me an answer.”
“I told you to ask Parvati for her permission,” Padma whispered. “Did she give you an answer?”
“All she had time to do was call me a word I shouldn’t mention in mixed company.”
If he hadn’t been looking at her, he might not have believed his ears when she suddenly started to giggle. The sound was one he wouldn’t have thought he’d hear for awhile. It made him smile.
“What? You like that your sister has a mouth worthy of a sailor? My blistered ears make you laugh?”
“That’s good.” She hugged his close. “Very good. Parvati would have just walked away if she didn’t approve.”
For a moment, he forgot where they were and why they were there. But that moment was over quickly when the Healers came rushing from the room. They were being called to another room now that Parvati was stable.
“I think I’m going to go in and see how she’s doing. Do you want to come?”
He hesitated. That little respite from the reality of their situation wasn’t enough to make him ready for the responsibility of keeping everyone together. Parvati would get better, in time, and find her place in the world around her once again, her wounds healed and forgotten. The real problem was that his would continue to fester inside where no one could see. They would never know he needed to be healed. Who could possibly want someone as broken as he was? Padma deserved a real angel of mercy, not one with broken wings that didn’t know if he would ever be able to fly again.