ficlet february 3: faint recognition
I had an interview this morning and have had a killer headache so far this afternoon, so this is a short one and not the youth hostel pretend dating AU I was thinking about last night when I couldn't sleep. (It's a rough time to be Kaitlyn.)
And here, again, is the full list!
*
Ficlet February 3: "faint recognition"
When their minds connected, Charles saw more than just a glimpse of a hopeful future through the eyes of his older counterpart--he was ambushed by a wave of feeling, by the memories of a lifetime, carefully stored and cataloged and let loose at all once in an hour of desperation. There were too many to count, too many to look at individually--he was so overwhelmed that nothing lingered in his head besides the images his older self wanted him to see.
At least, not consciously.
There are moments--just flashes, really--when the memories come back to him. Not unlike deja vu, he'll suddenly get the sense that he's done this before and then it will float to the surface: a quick smile from a favorite student in this exact time and place, already stored in his memory. Momentary double vision as Hank speaks and gestures and Charles remembers those words and that gesture as if from a dream. A newspaper headline that jars a memory of the same words in a slightly different font. Faint recognition as he's introduced to someone he's meeting for the first time.
It's never happened with Erik before, and he doesn't let himself linger on what that must mean.
That is, until today.
It was a surprise, a long drive up the Hudson Valley and away from the school. They leave the main roads behind and soon they're surrounded by lush greenery and occasional driveways. Erik turns down one of them, and before long, they're sitting in front of a house.
"What's this?" Charles asks.
"This is ours," Erik says, and Charles feels that familiar wave of a memory slotting into place. "Ours to use and ours to--it's ours."
The flash of memory is tinged with regret--a quiet sadness that it took the end of the world for them to have this together, that it would be a base of operations and not a home. Charles banishes it immediately; in the present, what he's feeling is more like joy.
They changed the past. They reshaped the future. And if as consequence of that, Charles is left with these phantom memories, he's more than willing to pay the price. They're nothing more than a reminder of how lucky he is to be living in this future that they've created.
*
ficlet february!
Get some sleep
Five minutes away
Faint recognition
Half an hour before sunrise
Useless, but beautiful
Something’s broken
Surprise celebration
There were signs and signals
Rituals
Write about a postcard
What are you looking for?
You remind me of someone
A meeting, a beginning
Lasting impression
Long drive
Behind closed doors
Ask questions later
Six impossible things
Day off
Lost in a city
A door key
A late night phone call
Someone else’s mortification
Something from music
Something from a picture
And here, again, is the full list!
*
Ficlet February 3: "faint recognition"
When their minds connected, Charles saw more than just a glimpse of a hopeful future through the eyes of his older counterpart--he was ambushed by a wave of feeling, by the memories of a lifetime, carefully stored and cataloged and let loose at all once in an hour of desperation. There were too many to count, too many to look at individually--he was so overwhelmed that nothing lingered in his head besides the images his older self wanted him to see.
At least, not consciously.
There are moments--just flashes, really--when the memories come back to him. Not unlike deja vu, he'll suddenly get the sense that he's done this before and then it will float to the surface: a quick smile from a favorite student in this exact time and place, already stored in his memory. Momentary double vision as Hank speaks and gestures and Charles remembers those words and that gesture as if from a dream. A newspaper headline that jars a memory of the same words in a slightly different font. Faint recognition as he's introduced to someone he's meeting for the first time.
It's never happened with Erik before, and he doesn't let himself linger on what that must mean.
That is, until today.
It was a surprise, a long drive up the Hudson Valley and away from the school. They leave the main roads behind and soon they're surrounded by lush greenery and occasional driveways. Erik turns down one of them, and before long, they're sitting in front of a house.
"What's this?" Charles asks.
"This is ours," Erik says, and Charles feels that familiar wave of a memory slotting into place. "Ours to use and ours to--it's ours."
The flash of memory is tinged with regret--a quiet sadness that it took the end of the world for them to have this together, that it would be a base of operations and not a home. Charles banishes it immediately; in the present, what he's feeling is more like joy.
They changed the past. They reshaped the future. And if as consequence of that, Charles is left with these phantom memories, he's more than willing to pay the price. They're nothing more than a reminder of how lucky he is to be living in this future that they've created.
*
ficlet february!
Get some sleep
Five minutes away
Faint recognition
Half an hour before sunrise
Useless, but beautiful
Something’s broken
Surprise celebration
There were signs and signals
Rituals
Write about a postcard
What are you looking for?
You remind me of someone
A meeting, a beginning
Lasting impression
Long drive
Behind closed doors
Ask questions later
Six impossible things
Day off
Lost in a city
A door key
A late night phone call
Someone else’s mortification
Something from music
Something from a picture