Just the Slosh of Harvey's Voice ...
Rating: PG13
Word Count: ~720
Prompt: 061: crack
Character: Justine, Wesley (not shipped)
Disclaimer: Not mine: no money.
A/N: One line taken from 'Deep Down.' Just why was Justine's expression so pained when Wesley threatened to take away her bucket? Crack!fic!
Written for still_grrr and originally posted there.
Award winner - details here.
The wrench lays heavy in her grip, solid, the head nicely weighted to add more impact at the end of a swing. Justine imagines the crunch of bone.
“I’ll take away your bucket.” Wesley’s voice falls hollow, cold, as if she cut away his ability to express emotion when she cut into his throat.
Pain flashes through her at the thought, stomach clenching in the rush of panic his words induce. Just how evil had he become? She lowers the wrench. The bucket … Harvey … is everything.
~~~
She strains against her shackles, fighting to get to him, to … well, she’s not quite sure what she can do with her hands bound, but she’ll bite him if she has to. “You bastard!”
He stands just out of reach, a cat taunting the chained dog. His smile falls far short of reaching his eyes. “Now, now, language.”
Legs trembling from exertion, she sags back when her wrists tell her that any more force on them will cause the handcuffs to pressure-cut skin. And nothing heals so slowly as a dull cut. “So what? You just gonna leave me here? In this closet? All alone?”
“Not exactly.” His smile grows as he places bright-blue plastic in with her. “I’m giving you a bucket.”
~
Days move slowly by, and Justine can’t be quite sure which is worse - when the light’s on or when it’s off.
The only constant she has is the bucket. Usually full, occasionally empty, but always there. Its blue the only color in her world.
~
She thinks she lasts an entire month before she begins talking to the bucket, her nightly sweeps of the sea with Wesley doing nothing to relieve her need for conversation. And she’d thought herself such a loner, or at least until Daniel …
“He left me like it was easy as could be.” She sighs. “Even pushed me away.”
She taps the bucket with her boot so that it sloshes a bit in response.
“Yeah. How like a man, huh? Got what he wanted and took off. Bastard.”
Slosh … slosh.
“That’s nice of you to say, but … but I still wish I could’ve gone with him.”
The sloshing keeps time with her crying, a gentle susurrus of, “There, there. There, there.”
~
“Harvey.” It’s one of the days Wesley has left the light on.
Slosh.
“You’re the prettiest blue. You know that?”
Slosh … slosh … slosh.
“No, I mean it! I know I go out at night -”
Slosh … slosh.
“It’s not like that. He doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s business like I told you.”
Slosh.
“So I go out at night, but it’s straight to the pier when it’s dark out, so there aren’t any pretty colors. You’re pretty - the prettiest thing I see everyday.”
Slosh!
~
Bumps and moans filter through the walls from the bedroom. Wesley’s with that lawyer again.
Slosh … slosh.
“Yeah, they’re freaking loud.”
Slosh.
“But it’s not like any of that is good for anything. Men, women … it just doesn’t work, you know?”
Slosh … slosh.
“I mean, what you and me got is much better. We talk. We listen. We really care, you know?”
Slosh … slosh … slosh!
“Don’t you worry. I’m gonna always be there for you just like you’ll always be there for me.”
~
The door opens.
Wesley’d gagged her this evening because she’d had her first argument with Harvey the week before, and he didn’t want ‘her noise’ upsetting the lawyer.
She looks back over her shoulder as he drags her out of the closet, pained that she’s unable to whisper a goodbye. Especially since the conversation they just had was so one-sided with Harvey having to do all the work.
Harvey just sits quietly in that stoic way he has whenever Wesley is around.
~~~
She’s strained her shoulders by stretching her body along the ground to drag the handcuff keys closer with her heel. But she’s free now, and a little pain is worth it.
Wesley will be busy with the vampire, and even if she must run all the way, Justine will have time to pick the lock on his front door to rescue Harvey.
This time, she’s going to leave LA successfully.
And not alone.
Word Count: ~720
Prompt: 061: crack
Character: Justine, Wesley (not shipped)
Disclaimer: Not mine: no money.
A/N: One line taken from 'Deep Down.' Just why was Justine's expression so pained when Wesley threatened to take away her bucket? Crack!fic!
Written for still_grrr and originally posted there.
Award winner - details here.
The wrench lays heavy in her grip, solid, the head nicely weighted to add more impact at the end of a swing. Justine imagines the crunch of bone.
“I’ll take away your bucket.” Wesley’s voice falls hollow, cold, as if she cut away his ability to express emotion when she cut into his throat.
Pain flashes through her at the thought, stomach clenching in the rush of panic his words induce. Just how evil had he become? She lowers the wrench. The bucket … Harvey … is everything.
~~~
She strains against her shackles, fighting to get to him, to … well, she’s not quite sure what she can do with her hands bound, but she’ll bite him if she has to. “You bastard!”
He stands just out of reach, a cat taunting the chained dog. His smile falls far short of reaching his eyes. “Now, now, language.”
Legs trembling from exertion, she sags back when her wrists tell her that any more force on them will cause the handcuffs to pressure-cut skin. And nothing heals so slowly as a dull cut. “So what? You just gonna leave me here? In this closet? All alone?”
“Not exactly.” His smile grows as he places bright-blue plastic in with her. “I’m giving you a bucket.”
~
Days move slowly by, and Justine can’t be quite sure which is worse - when the light’s on or when it’s off.
The only constant she has is the bucket. Usually full, occasionally empty, but always there. Its blue the only color in her world.
~
She thinks she lasts an entire month before she begins talking to the bucket, her nightly sweeps of the sea with Wesley doing nothing to relieve her need for conversation. And she’d thought herself such a loner, or at least until Daniel …
“He left me like it was easy as could be.” She sighs. “Even pushed me away.”
She taps the bucket with her boot so that it sloshes a bit in response.
“Yeah. How like a man, huh? Got what he wanted and took off. Bastard.”
Slosh … slosh.
“That’s nice of you to say, but … but I still wish I could’ve gone with him.”
The sloshing keeps time with her crying, a gentle susurrus of, “There, there. There, there.”
~
“Harvey.” It’s one of the days Wesley has left the light on.
Slosh.
“You’re the prettiest blue. You know that?”
Slosh … slosh … slosh.
“No, I mean it! I know I go out at night -”
Slosh … slosh.
“It’s not like that. He doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s business like I told you.”
Slosh.
“So I go out at night, but it’s straight to the pier when it’s dark out, so there aren’t any pretty colors. You’re pretty - the prettiest thing I see everyday.”
Slosh!
~
Bumps and moans filter through the walls from the bedroom. Wesley’s with that lawyer again.
Slosh … slosh.
“Yeah, they’re freaking loud.”
Slosh.
“But it’s not like any of that is good for anything. Men, women … it just doesn’t work, you know?”
Slosh … slosh.
“I mean, what you and me got is much better. We talk. We listen. We really care, you know?”
Slosh … slosh … slosh!
“Don’t you worry. I’m gonna always be there for you just like you’ll always be there for me.”
~
The door opens.
Wesley’d gagged her this evening because she’d had her first argument with Harvey the week before, and he didn’t want ‘her noise’ upsetting the lawyer.
She looks back over her shoulder as he drags her out of the closet, pained that she’s unable to whisper a goodbye. Especially since the conversation they just had was so one-sided with Harvey having to do all the work.
Harvey just sits quietly in that stoic way he has whenever Wesley is around.
~~~
She’s strained her shoulders by stretching her body along the ground to drag the handcuff keys closer with her heel. But she’s free now, and a little pain is worth it.
Wesley will be busy with the vampire, and even if she must run all the way, Justine will have time to pick the lock on his front door to rescue Harvey.
This time, she’s going to leave LA successfully.
And not alone.