Mommy Issues
Title: Mommy Issues
Author: md123
Rating: G
Word Count: 424
Pairing: Jack/Liz
Spoilers: "Florida"
Summary: Jack reflects on Liz's insults. A kind of depressing take on an episode that made everyone really happy.
A middle-aged man with crippling mommy issues.
Jack understood that her insult was defensive - he'd just gotten through calling her selfish and comparing her body to a Greek man's - but as he reclines in his car seat and the heat of the moment recedes, the sting lingers.
He didn't make it a habit to reveal himself in full to close associates, much less lovers. There was too much advantage to be lost when it was time to negotiate - and there would always be an occasion to do that. So there was always a facade; of omniscience, of omnipotence, of independence from ordinary human needs. Because he was such an exquisite specimen, he could pull the illusion off.
There had always been a single exception: Liz Lemon. Never an object of conquest, her sparse and amateurish attempts to outmaneuver him charming rather than threatening, over the years she'd burrowed her way into full disclosure. And to her great credit, and Jack's undying gratitude, she hadn't fled. In fact, she was as much at his side as ever.
His ego had always assured him that should he ever want Liz in another way, she would be there. And deep down, he thought he might be ready for her speed of life someday. But that was revealed as a self-indulgent fantasy: she had seen all that Jack had to offer, and this woman of frequent lonely despair and questionable selectiveness had ruled him out, even before she' d achieved apparent happiness with Criss.
Indeed, Jack had feared where Liz's conversation that night was going. He'd made the main, correct point, that he didn't want to jeopardize what they already had; talking about it further might lead him to fill dead air in a way he would regret, perhaps with a sophomoric crack about her appearance. Or, the revelation that his failure to come on to her wasn't a definitive statement after all, but merely an expedient delay. So he cut it off with the selfishness remark, both safe and effective.
It had the desired effect. But her reply cut deeper that she knew: a man who had struggled so fruitlessly for the love and approval of his own mother had to doubt if anyone could love the full him, the real him. If that was Liz's harsh assessment of him, well, that was all the evidence he needed.
Jack sighed, feeling the growing sense of unease in his heart. If becoming CEO and freedom from his deceased mother was not enough, what would be?
Author: md123
Rating: G
Word Count: 424
Pairing: Jack/Liz
Spoilers: "Florida"
Summary: Jack reflects on Liz's insults. A kind of depressing take on an episode that made everyone really happy.
A middle-aged man with crippling mommy issues.
Jack understood that her insult was defensive - he'd just gotten through calling her selfish and comparing her body to a Greek man's - but as he reclines in his car seat and the heat of the moment recedes, the sting lingers.
He didn't make it a habit to reveal himself in full to close associates, much less lovers. There was too much advantage to be lost when it was time to negotiate - and there would always be an occasion to do that. So there was always a facade; of omniscience, of omnipotence, of independence from ordinary human needs. Because he was such an exquisite specimen, he could pull the illusion off.
There had always been a single exception: Liz Lemon. Never an object of conquest, her sparse and amateurish attempts to outmaneuver him charming rather than threatening, over the years she'd burrowed her way into full disclosure. And to her great credit, and Jack's undying gratitude, she hadn't fled. In fact, she was as much at his side as ever.
His ego had always assured him that should he ever want Liz in another way, she would be there. And deep down, he thought he might be ready for her speed of life someday. But that was revealed as a self-indulgent fantasy: she had seen all that Jack had to offer, and this woman of frequent lonely despair and questionable selectiveness had ruled him out, even before she' d achieved apparent happiness with Criss.
Indeed, Jack had feared where Liz's conversation that night was going. He'd made the main, correct point, that he didn't want to jeopardize what they already had; talking about it further might lead him to fill dead air in a way he would regret, perhaps with a sophomoric crack about her appearance. Or, the revelation that his failure to come on to her wasn't a definitive statement after all, but merely an expedient delay. So he cut it off with the selfishness remark, both safe and effective.
It had the desired effect. But her reply cut deeper that she knew: a man who had struggled so fruitlessly for the love and approval of his own mother had to doubt if anyone could love the full him, the real him. If that was Liz's harsh assessment of him, well, that was all the evidence he needed.
Jack sighed, feeling the growing sense of unease in his heart. If becoming CEO and freedom from his deceased mother was not enough, what would be?