Fic: Strange Mortality (Angel the Series, Lindsey/Eve, PG)
Title: Strange Mortality
Name: sheryden
Pairings:: Lindsey/Eve
Word count: 774
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Angel Season Five - but you can follow the story without having seen it.
Summary: Eve struggles with the loss of her man and her immortality.
Disclaimers: Obviously, they're not mine. If they were, Lindsey would have trounced Angel about a dozen times by now.
Author’s Notes: This was written for angst_bingo for the prompt "Supernatural: Gaining/losing immortality." Also, note that I have not read the comics. Canon for me ends with the final episode of the televised series. Then I just kind of make up what I want. :D
Eve sat huddled on the bed, one of Lindsey’s shirt clutched in her arms. It still smelled like him, and she was determined not to wash it, because she didn’t want to lose the only bits of him she still had left. He’d been so confident when he went off on his final mission with Lorne, but deep down, Eve had had a nagging feeling that he wouldn’t return. It would almost have been better if Angel and the others had never retrieved Lindsey from his holding dimension. At least then, she wouldn’t have had to lose him twice.
Kissing the shirt lightly, she laid it on the pillow next to her and stood up to drag herself into the kitchen. She didn’t feel much like eating, but her now-mortal body depended on food to keep it working. As that thought penetrated her mind, she had to stop and lean against the doorframe to keep her knees from buckling. She was mortal. She was going to die, just like everyone else.
Right after he had returned, Lindsey had teased her about it. “Everyone dies,” he had said. “Even you, baby.” In private moments, though, he’d whispered words of love and gratitude for her sacrifice. At the time, the notion of ending someday hadn’t been that bad. After all, she had given up her immortality for her man, and he was back with her. It had been worth it to feel the pull at her heart that staring into Lindsey’s eyes had caused.
But now what did she have? A dead boyfriend, a weak body, and the promise that she would eventually decay and turn into dust?
Standing up a little straighter, she forced herself to shake off the thought. If she entertained the idea too much, she would curl into a ball and sob uncontrollably. And part of her was tempted to do just that. She had thought time and again about just letting herself wither away. But… she knew that wasn’t what Lindsey would have wanted. He may not have had a lot of sense when it came to self-preservation, but he had loved her, and he wouldn’t want her to give up so easily.
After digging some lettuce, a cucumber, and a tomato out of the refrigerator, Eve’s trembling hand reached into the drawer to pull out a knife. She would keep going, because that’s what Lindsey would want her to do. Maybe she could plan revenge on Angel and Lorne for their treachery. Or maybe she could find a way to bring Lindsey back, and they could plan together. He’d come back to her before. Why not now? Nodding, even as the tears started to leak out of her eyes, she was resolute. That’s what she would do. She would get him back, and they would punish Angel, then they would go off somewhere together.
With renewed purpose, she set about preparing herself a small lunch. As she sliced the tomato, her hand slipped and the knife glanced against the ball of her hand, leaving a small, thin strip of severed skin. Dropping the knife with a thud, she took a step away from the counter and cradled her injured hand with her good one. Panic began to creep up her spine as she watched the blood ooze out of her body.
Her breaths became rapid, and her throat went dry. She wasn’t used to her body being so fragile, and she had no idea what to do. Would it continue to bleed? How much blood would she lose?
But then she thought of Lindsey’s fingers, as they had caressed her skin. He had lost a hand, and he’d survived. This was a cut, a silly, inconsequential cut. Chiding herself for surrendering so easily to fear, she turned on the faucet and thrust her hand under the cool water.
Flipping the water off after a few moments, she went to the bathroom and rummaged around for a bandage. She knew Lindsey had kept them on hand-she just never imagined she’d need one.
How did people do this-walk around in breakable shells, knowing they could shatter at any moment? Undoubtedly, she would eventually adjust to this strange mortality of hers. She would get a grip on her panic, and she would set her plans into motion.
Bolstered by thoughts of getting her man back and seeing Angel pay for what he’d done, Eve tended her wound, mustered up what was left of her strength, and headed back into the kitchen to feed herself.
She’d have to find a way to live her life now. What was left of it, anyway.
Master Fic List
***
Name: sheryden
Pairings:: Lindsey/Eve
Word count: 774
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Angel Season Five - but you can follow the story without having seen it.
Summary: Eve struggles with the loss of her man and her immortality.
Disclaimers: Obviously, they're not mine. If they were, Lindsey would have trounced Angel about a dozen times by now.
Author’s Notes: This was written for angst_bingo for the prompt "Supernatural: Gaining/losing immortality." Also, note that I have not read the comics. Canon for me ends with the final episode of the televised series. Then I just kind of make up what I want. :D
Eve sat huddled on the bed, one of Lindsey’s shirt clutched in her arms. It still smelled like him, and she was determined not to wash it, because she didn’t want to lose the only bits of him she still had left. He’d been so confident when he went off on his final mission with Lorne, but deep down, Eve had had a nagging feeling that he wouldn’t return. It would almost have been better if Angel and the others had never retrieved Lindsey from his holding dimension. At least then, she wouldn’t have had to lose him twice.
Kissing the shirt lightly, she laid it on the pillow next to her and stood up to drag herself into the kitchen. She didn’t feel much like eating, but her now-mortal body depended on food to keep it working. As that thought penetrated her mind, she had to stop and lean against the doorframe to keep her knees from buckling. She was mortal. She was going to die, just like everyone else.
Right after he had returned, Lindsey had teased her about it. “Everyone dies,” he had said. “Even you, baby.” In private moments, though, he’d whispered words of love and gratitude for her sacrifice. At the time, the notion of ending someday hadn’t been that bad. After all, she had given up her immortality for her man, and he was back with her. It had been worth it to feel the pull at her heart that staring into Lindsey’s eyes had caused.
But now what did she have? A dead boyfriend, a weak body, and the promise that she would eventually decay and turn into dust?
Standing up a little straighter, she forced herself to shake off the thought. If she entertained the idea too much, she would curl into a ball and sob uncontrollably. And part of her was tempted to do just that. She had thought time and again about just letting herself wither away. But… she knew that wasn’t what Lindsey would have wanted. He may not have had a lot of sense when it came to self-preservation, but he had loved her, and he wouldn’t want her to give up so easily.
After digging some lettuce, a cucumber, and a tomato out of the refrigerator, Eve’s trembling hand reached into the drawer to pull out a knife. She would keep going, because that’s what Lindsey would want her to do. Maybe she could plan revenge on Angel and Lorne for their treachery. Or maybe she could find a way to bring Lindsey back, and they could plan together. He’d come back to her before. Why not now? Nodding, even as the tears started to leak out of her eyes, she was resolute. That’s what she would do. She would get him back, and they would punish Angel, then they would go off somewhere together.
With renewed purpose, she set about preparing herself a small lunch. As she sliced the tomato, her hand slipped and the knife glanced against the ball of her hand, leaving a small, thin strip of severed skin. Dropping the knife with a thud, she took a step away from the counter and cradled her injured hand with her good one. Panic began to creep up her spine as she watched the blood ooze out of her body.
Her breaths became rapid, and her throat went dry. She wasn’t used to her body being so fragile, and she had no idea what to do. Would it continue to bleed? How much blood would she lose?
But then she thought of Lindsey’s fingers, as they had caressed her skin. He had lost a hand, and he’d survived. This was a cut, a silly, inconsequential cut. Chiding herself for surrendering so easily to fear, she turned on the faucet and thrust her hand under the cool water.
Flipping the water off after a few moments, she went to the bathroom and rummaged around for a bandage. She knew Lindsey had kept them on hand-she just never imagined she’d need one.
How did people do this-walk around in breakable shells, knowing they could shatter at any moment? Undoubtedly, she would eventually adjust to this strange mortality of hers. She would get a grip on her panic, and she would set her plans into motion.
Bolstered by thoughts of getting her man back and seeing Angel pay for what he’d done, Eve tended her wound, mustered up what was left of her strength, and headed back into the kitchen to feed herself.
She’d have to find a way to live her life now. What was left of it, anyway.
Master Fic List
***