Fic - Forgiveness // On His Own
Sep. 26th, 2019 09:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessHere are two I just wrote for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
comment_fic
Title Forgiveness
Disclaimer - So not mine. All characters belong Joss Whedon
Rating - Teen
word count 635
Summary - It’s the end of the world but can forgiveness be found?
Author’s Note - This is a comment_fic written for themarlex for the prompt “Any, any, It used to be all I want to learn
Was wisdom trust and truth
By now all I really want to learn
Is forgiveness for you
Forgiveness – Collective Soul
Note: Some of the lyrics appear as dialogue.
XXX
The world was ending. I’m fairly sure of it. I should never have left Angel’s side, no matter how battered I was by that huge guy inside Wolfram and Hart. But Angel was right. I had to save Mom and Dad. I planned to come back as soon as I was sure they were safe and to hell with him wanting me to be safe. I’ve never been safe a day in my life, barring those months I lived mind-wiped with my family.
I didn’t make it in time. They were all dead but what could I expect, running there on foot. Weeping, I wanted to do something for them, but I couldn’t. I killed the things that killed them, took the family car and sped back to my real father. I couldn’t leave him now. If the world was ending, then I should die with him. How strange is that thought to me? Eighteen years of my life I was trained to loathe him, to destroy him and now I needed to be there at his side. What was wrong with me?
I purposefully wrecked the car into something the size of a tree but was as grey and wrinkled as an elephant. I could see Angel and Spike battling not far from it. I hurtled through the windshield, sword in hand. I hamstrung the elephant-Ent and took out something with thorns sprouting from it before it could cut Angel down.
Dad spun around, vampire face on and gaped at me. I tried not to shudder at the sight of those gold eyes and snaggled vicious teeth. His visage morphed back. He’d not want me to see him like that. “Connor? What are you doing here?”
“Couldn’t stay away.”
“I didn’t want you in danger.” He sighed. “You never learn.”
A stray fragment of music played in my head. It used to be all I want to learn was wisdom, trust and truth. That was true. Father had insisted on it, but it was his truth, his wisdom and I trusted in Holtz explicitly. But it was a biased truth. It warped my mind. “Oh, I learn but you need me here.” I whipped around and took the head off some monster with one slash of the sword. “I was made for this.”
“But I didn’t ….one day you’ll actually learn to listen to me,” Angel swore as he dove back into the thick of the battle.
I laughed. “Like hell, Dad!”
I would probably never learn to listen to him. I might never listen to anyone ever again, not completely at least. I listened to Holtz and he betrayed me, tricking me into thinking he’d been murdered. I listened to Cordelia and she turned me into a murderer. I listened to my daughter and I stood by while she ate people. I listened to Angel and he never told me the whole truth.
I’d been gas lighted by every person I ever listened to and trusted. I slashed until my sword snapped on bone, and then went at it bare fisted until I could wrest away another weapon from a demon I’d killed. Fuck learning to listen to people. My mind needed to be its own now. I watched Angel take on something three times his size. How he defeated it with Spike’s help I’ll never know. I went after something slimy and smelly even as Dad shot me a death’s glare. Yeah Dad I get it. I should have run away and hid under the bed and pretended I was safe. I’m not listening. You’re not teaching me. By now all I really want to learn is forgiveness for you. For you, for Holtz, for Cordy and most importantly for myself.
If I survive the night, maybe forgiveness will come.
Title On His Own
Disclaimer - So not mine. All characters belong Joss Whedon
Rating - Teen
word count 619
Summary - Connor has no need of Angel or his friends
Author’s Note - This is a comment_fic written for thesharpiesgal for the prompt “Any, any, Welcome to the Jungle.” Some of the lyrics appear as dialogue.
XXX
Connor tracked the scent of food to a Dumpster. If nothing else, this time being homeless in this harsh world he had the benefit of the knowledge Gunn and Fred had given him. He knew Dumpsters weren’t for eating out of but people in this world wasted so much. That crap wouldn’t fly in Quor-Toth. Angel should have realized that. Did he think throwing Connor out would make him run back, tail between his legs and beg for help?
To hell with that and with his father. He hadn’t become the Destroyer, one of the most feared creatures in the darkest of the dark realms only to run scared on the streets of L.A.. Connor scowled. Someone had beaten him to this Dumpster behind some restaurant he hadn’t bothered to get the name of. What did it matter to him anyhow? The man at the Dumpster had grey hair, long and stringy. In a way he reminded Connor of Father, the only one he wanted, the one who wasn’t a horrible monster.
The old man eyed him warily. “This is mine,” he said but Connor didn’t think the old guy could get into it.
“If I get the food out of there, want to share it?” he asked.
The old man stared as if he wasn’t quite seeing Connor. “You’re more spry than me but you’d better hurry. Too many around here wouldn’t bother to help. They’d shove an old fart like me out of the way. It gets worse here every day, I swear.”
Connor grunted, non-committal. He’d yet to find much that was actually bad around here, nothing like what Quor-Toth served up daily. He jumped up on the lip of the Dumpster in one move, making the old guy whistle low. He handed down tons of half cut, a little wrinkly veggies and a bunch of burritos that must have been cooked and not eaten. They were little.
“Buffets always have the best leftovers,” the old guy said handing up a couple of empty grocery bags.
Connor filled them and jumped down, handing them all over to the man. “You pick what you want.”
He smiled. “You’re a good kid. You got a place to crash?”
Connor shook his head.
“You come with me. I’m Aaron.”
“Connor.”
“Come on. We’ll split this. I have a good place to crash. I’ll teach you how to find one of your own.” Aaron snorted. “Never thought it would come to this. I fought and bled in Nam, but no one cares about that. Hell, they go to Nam on vacation these days which is better than what I was forced to do.”
He had no clue what Aaron was on about, so he made a soft sound to indicate he was listening.
“Ya learn to live like an animal out here.” Aaron took stock of Connor as they turned a corner toward some dilapidated buildings. “What’s a young buck like you doing out here?”
“Dad threw me out.”
“Terrible. Why?”
“I wasn’t the son he wanted.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “You gay?”
Connor wasn’t sure what that meant so he shook his head. “He’s an evil creature and I’m not.”
“Good boy. It’s right through here.”
Aaron led him into the empty building, which would be out of the elements and relatively quiet. They divided the food and ate. Connor couldn’t help grinning. Another night where he was safe and fed and proving he didn’t need Angel and his band of friends. He was never running back to them. If Angel wanted to speak to him again, let his dad come to him. He’d see that Connor had no need of him and that pleased Connor to no end.
comment_ficTitle Forgiveness
Disclaimer - So not mine. All characters belong Joss Whedon
Rating - Teen
word count 635
Summary - It’s the end of the world but can forgiveness be found?
Author’s Note - This is a comment_fic written for the
marlex for the prompt “Any, any, It used to be all I want to learnWas wisdom trust and truth
By now all I really want to learn
Is forgiveness for you
Forgiveness – Collective Soul
Note: Some of the lyrics appear as dialogue.
XXX
The world was ending. I’m fairly sure of it. I should never have left Angel’s side, no matter how battered I was by that huge guy inside Wolfram and Hart. But Angel was right. I had to save Mom and Dad. I planned to come back as soon as I was sure they were safe and to hell with him wanting me to be safe. I’ve never been safe a day in my life, barring those months I lived mind-wiped with my family.
I didn’t make it in time. They were all dead but what could I expect, running there on foot. Weeping, I wanted to do something for them, but I couldn’t. I killed the things that killed them, took the family car and sped back to my real father. I couldn’t leave him now. If the world was ending, then I should die with him. How strange is that thought to me? Eighteen years of my life I was trained to loathe him, to destroy him and now I needed to be there at his side. What was wrong with me?
I purposefully wrecked the car into something the size of a tree but was as grey and wrinkled as an elephant. I could see Angel and Spike battling not far from it. I hurtled through the windshield, sword in hand. I hamstrung the elephant-Ent and took out something with thorns sprouting from it before it could cut Angel down.
Dad spun around, vampire face on and gaped at me. I tried not to shudder at the sight of those gold eyes and snaggled vicious teeth. His visage morphed back. He’d not want me to see him like that. “Connor? What are you doing here?”
“Couldn’t stay away.”
“I didn’t want you in danger.” He sighed. “You never learn.”
A stray fragment of music played in my head. It used to be all I want to learn was wisdom, trust and truth. That was true. Father had insisted on it, but it was his truth, his wisdom and I trusted in Holtz explicitly. But it was a biased truth. It warped my mind. “Oh, I learn but you need me here.” I whipped around and took the head off some monster with one slash of the sword. “I was made for this.”
“But I didn’t ….one day you’ll actually learn to listen to me,” Angel swore as he dove back into the thick of the battle.
I laughed. “Like hell, Dad!”
I would probably never learn to listen to him. I might never listen to anyone ever again, not completely at least. I listened to Holtz and he betrayed me, tricking me into thinking he’d been murdered. I listened to Cordelia and she turned me into a murderer. I listened to my daughter and I stood by while she ate people. I listened to Angel and he never told me the whole truth.
I’d been gas lighted by every person I ever listened to and trusted. I slashed until my sword snapped on bone, and then went at it bare fisted until I could wrest away another weapon from a demon I’d killed. Fuck learning to listen to people. My mind needed to be its own now. I watched Angel take on something three times his size. How he defeated it with Spike’s help I’ll never know. I went after something slimy and smelly even as Dad shot me a death’s glare. Yeah Dad I get it. I should have run away and hid under the bed and pretended I was safe. I’m not listening. You’re not teaching me. By now all I really want to learn is forgiveness for you. For you, for Holtz, for Cordy and most importantly for myself.
If I survive the night, maybe forgiveness will come.
Title On His Own
Disclaimer - So not mine. All characters belong Joss Whedon
Rating - Teen
word count 619
Summary - Connor has no need of Angel or his friends
Author’s Note - This is a comment_fic written for the
sharpiesgal for the prompt “Any, any, Welcome to the Jungle.” Some of the lyrics appear as dialogue.XXX
Connor tracked the scent of food to a Dumpster. If nothing else, this time being homeless in this harsh world he had the benefit of the knowledge Gunn and Fred had given him. He knew Dumpsters weren’t for eating out of but people in this world wasted so much. That crap wouldn’t fly in Quor-Toth. Angel should have realized that. Did he think throwing Connor out would make him run back, tail between his legs and beg for help?
To hell with that and with his father. He hadn’t become the Destroyer, one of the most feared creatures in the darkest of the dark realms only to run scared on the streets of L.A.. Connor scowled. Someone had beaten him to this Dumpster behind some restaurant he hadn’t bothered to get the name of. What did it matter to him anyhow? The man at the Dumpster had grey hair, long and stringy. In a way he reminded Connor of Father, the only one he wanted, the one who wasn’t a horrible monster.
The old man eyed him warily. “This is mine,” he said but Connor didn’t think the old guy could get into it.
“If I get the food out of there, want to share it?” he asked.
The old man stared as if he wasn’t quite seeing Connor. “You’re more spry than me but you’d better hurry. Too many around here wouldn’t bother to help. They’d shove an old fart like me out of the way. It gets worse here every day, I swear.”
Connor grunted, non-committal. He’d yet to find much that was actually bad around here, nothing like what Quor-Toth served up daily. He jumped up on the lip of the Dumpster in one move, making the old guy whistle low. He handed down tons of half cut, a little wrinkly veggies and a bunch of burritos that must have been cooked and not eaten. They were little.
“Buffets always have the best leftovers,” the old guy said handing up a couple of empty grocery bags.
Connor filled them and jumped down, handing them all over to the man. “You pick what you want.”
He smiled. “You’re a good kid. You got a place to crash?”
Connor shook his head.
“You come with me. I’m Aaron.”
“Connor.”
“Come on. We’ll split this. I have a good place to crash. I’ll teach you how to find one of your own.” Aaron snorted. “Never thought it would come to this. I fought and bled in Nam, but no one cares about that. Hell, they go to Nam on vacation these days which is better than what I was forced to do.”
He had no clue what Aaron was on about, so he made a soft sound to indicate he was listening.
“Ya learn to live like an animal out here.” Aaron took stock of Connor as they turned a corner toward some dilapidated buildings. “What’s a young buck like you doing out here?”
“Dad threw me out.”
“Terrible. Why?”
“I wasn’t the son he wanted.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “You gay?”
Connor wasn’t sure what that meant so he shook his head. “He’s an evil creature and I’m not.”
“Good boy. It’s right through here.”
Aaron led him into the empty building, which would be out of the elements and relatively quiet. They divided the food and ate. Connor couldn’t help grinning. Another night where he was safe and fed and proving he didn’t need Angel and his band of friends. He was never running back to them. If Angel wanted to speak to him again, let his dad come to him. He’d see that Connor had no need of him and that pleased Connor to no end.
