Sophinisba Solis (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophinisba) wrote2005-12-23 11:17 am
sophinisba) wrote2005-12-23 11:17 am
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No vacation from angst: Accidental double drabbles
Usually when I write a double drabble, which some folks call a drouble and others won't, I try to make a clear and logical division between the first hundred words and the next hundred. I'm not saying it's a rule I want to impose on others or anything like that, just an extra little challenge for myself. It somehow feels like cheating to me if I don't, like I could just take a random two hundred words from a WIP and post them without bothering to build a coherent fic around them.
Hey, come to think of it...
Right. I should warn that these get somewhat less, er, nice as they go along. The first one was actually intended as a drabble, or double drabble, but this large paragraph insinuated itself into the middle, refusing to let me split it in two.
1. Merry et al. at Cormallen, rated PG or so
Pippin's breathing is painful, Merry can see, though Pippin cannot speak.
Frodo and Sam's breathing is painful for a different reason.
Once they wake up --and all three of them wake up within two days-- they're on their feet immediately. Merry marvels at such quick recovery after two weeks when nothing seemed to improve at all. He walks close to Pippin and keeps expecting his cousin to lean on him, to need him; but Pippin's stride is steady, his face is full of laughter, as always, and Merry feels guilty that he can't stop feeling sad. Frodo and Sam lean on each other, and Merry feels altogether useless.
Then Pip slips a hand in his and whispers, "He's found his then. Time for you to have yours," and kisses him on the mouth.
Sam and Frodo stop and stare, and Merry can see Frodo's slight smile even before Pippin releases him with a grin.
"Hadn't you two ever gotten around to that before, in all your adventures?" Frodo asks.
Pippin is happy and so Merry should be. Frodo is happy enough to make Merry's heart ache.
"Plenty of adventures to come," he says softly, thoughtfully, and kisses Pippin back.
These other two are snippets from much longer stories which I may or may not finish someday. They just happened to come out to exactly 200 words each and are being forced to stand on their own so that I can have something to post. This next one about Frodo? Written SEVEN MONTHS AGO.
2. Frodo and Gandalf, rated G (but with angst, mind you)
"I do not wish for any sword," said Frodo.
"Tonight at least you should wear one," said Gandalf.
Frodo hesitated for only a moment and then spoke firmly. "No, Gandalf," he said. "Let those who had to carry arms in this fight carry them again tonight, and let them be honored for it, but this was not my part. I had to carry only the Ring," and failed even at that, he thought, as words suddenly abandoned him again.
"Only the Ring", Gandalf spoke softly, as if to himself.
"All I mean to say, Gandalf, is that I did not use either of these swords, I never struck a blow to man or orc, and even so I managed to carry out the task. I want this part of the tale to be known, that there are other weapons against evil than sword or bow or axe. That there are other ways of…" He stopped, and looked up at his old friend, who was nodding and smiling slightly but with a sadness in his face that Frodo found almost overwhelming. "But I don't have to work so hard to explain things to you, do I, Gandalf? You understand?"
"Yes, Frodo."
3. Casey and Zeke, rated PG (more angst, and probably pre-slash, 'cause with Casey and Zeke, how could there not be?)
Casey used to dream that Zeke would take care of him. Zeke would rescue him from a car accident or a fire or a kidnapping, or something as mundane and inescapable as an attack by the guys outside the school. Zeke would pick him up, carry him to safety, tell him everything would be okay.
Such were the fantasies of an unloved gay teen. The reality was that Casey wasn't important enough for anyone to bother kidnapping, let alone rescuing. (Zeke, whose parents at least had money, even if they didn't especially care about him, would have been the more logical choice.) The reality was that after the guys went at him, Casey would lie on the ground, hurting and bleeding, until he could find the strength to get up and walk or crawl away. And in the end, it was Casey who stood there by himself and stuck the pen in the monster's eye. Even after that, he had to crawl back to Stokes on his own.
Casey was a small guy. Zeke and his dad and plenty of other guys were strong enough to carry him in their arms. Only nobody ever decided he was worth the effort.
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I like your writing, hon, so I'm definitely roped in.
YAY!
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*g*