Fic: Evasions (S&S Prompt Ficlet)
26 Nov 2012 09:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisbluespiritTitle: Evasions
Author:thisbluespirit
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 491
Characters/Pairings: Steel, Copper
Warnings None.
Summary: Steel, Copper, a book and possibly flirting… (Pre-canon, 1850s).
(prompt 45: copper & steel - Missing scene & Woke up gay. Or: an impossible prompt I wasn’t going to bother writing, except of course once I thought that, I immediately went off and wrote it. Although this was as far as either of them were prepared to go.)
***
Steel turns around as Copper walks in through the door. “You’ve finished?”
“It was simple enough,” says Copper, joining Steel beside the window, looking past him and out through the small, dirty panes of glass into the street. “And now…”
Steel frowns.
“Time for other things,” Copper finishes with an amused gleam in his eyes. “Yes?”
Steel turns around and looks out through the window himself. There’s nothing to see, only a narrow street on a grey day. Then he swings back to face the other, and gives his best smile. “Why not?”
“It’s so rarely just you and me.” Copper still looks amused.
Steel watches him, but remembers to smile again. “Yes. But you did finish it, didn’t you, Copper? It’s dealt with, that page you found?”
“As I said.” Copper tilts his head fractionally, looking down at Steel. “Of course.”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then, Steel –”
“Yes.”
Copper smiles as Steel puts a hand to his arm, and then as Steel grips him tightly and won’t let go, the smile vanishes. His arm is now white with frost around Steel’s hand and the cold is spreading.
“You’re not Copper,” Steel says. “You’re not even a very convincing copy. Copper knew what I was doing. You didn’t. You thought…” He doesn’t bother finishing the sentence. It hadn’t understood, had thought him another source of energy, probably only yet another human to draw in and use. He gives a slight, grim smile at the idea. “You were wrong.”
“Well, I trust it was unconvincing,” Copper says. He’s standing behind the two of them, and he raises an eyebrow at his duplicate, now literally frozen and beginning to crack.
Steel looks almost amused. “Yes. It was.”
“I have the page for you,” says Copper. “Two pages, in fact. The missing section was the key, you were right. It contained the resolution – the nature of our troublemaker – and possibly how to deal with it. Ironically, Steel, they used fire.”
“Yes.” Steel holds out a hand.
Copper cautiously passes him the two printed sheets of paper, torn at the sides and yellowing. “I made some alterations to the text, as a precaution. Once I saw it described as a shape-shifter, although –”
In Steel’s hand the paper freezes and crumbles away, the other Copper vanishing along with it. “Alterations. You confused it?”
“I must have done.”
Steel brushes the remnants of the paper from his palms. “It was –” He quirks his mouth into an expression of distaste. “- behaving not unlike Silver.”
“Like…? Oh. Flirting?” says Copper, looking as solemn as usual. “I see.”
“Not something you ever do.” Steel shivers.
Copper gives him a smile. “I believe that’s what they call a generalisation, Steel. And they’re rarely true, and frequently insulting.”
“Copper –”
“Hmm?” he returns, absently. “Oh, yes. Which brings us back to the matter in hand – we need to find a way to warm you up again, don’t you agree?”
***
Author:
thisbluespiritRating: All ages
Word Count: 491
Characters/Pairings: Steel, Copper
Warnings None.
Summary: Steel, Copper, a book and possibly flirting… (Pre-canon, 1850s).
(prompt 45: copper & steel - Missing scene & Woke up gay. Or: an impossible prompt I wasn’t going to bother writing, except of course once I thought that, I immediately went off and wrote it. Although this was as far as either of them were prepared to go.)
***
Steel turns around as Copper walks in through the door. “You’ve finished?”
“It was simple enough,” says Copper, joining Steel beside the window, looking past him and out through the small, dirty panes of glass into the street. “And now…”
Steel frowns.
“Time for other things,” Copper finishes with an amused gleam in his eyes. “Yes?”
Steel turns around and looks out through the window himself. There’s nothing to see, only a narrow street on a grey day. Then he swings back to face the other, and gives his best smile. “Why not?”
“It’s so rarely just you and me.” Copper still looks amused.
Steel watches him, but remembers to smile again. “Yes. But you did finish it, didn’t you, Copper? It’s dealt with, that page you found?”
“As I said.” Copper tilts his head fractionally, looking down at Steel. “Of course.”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then, Steel –”
“Yes.”
Copper smiles as Steel puts a hand to his arm, and then as Steel grips him tightly and won’t let go, the smile vanishes. His arm is now white with frost around Steel’s hand and the cold is spreading.
“You’re not Copper,” Steel says. “You’re not even a very convincing copy. Copper knew what I was doing. You didn’t. You thought…” He doesn’t bother finishing the sentence. It hadn’t understood, had thought him another source of energy, probably only yet another human to draw in and use. He gives a slight, grim smile at the idea. “You were wrong.”
“Well, I trust it was unconvincing,” Copper says. He’s standing behind the two of them, and he raises an eyebrow at his duplicate, now literally frozen and beginning to crack.
Steel looks almost amused. “Yes. It was.”
“I have the page for you,” says Copper. “Two pages, in fact. The missing section was the key, you were right. It contained the resolution – the nature of our troublemaker – and possibly how to deal with it. Ironically, Steel, they used fire.”
“Yes.” Steel holds out a hand.
Copper cautiously passes him the two printed sheets of paper, torn at the sides and yellowing. “I made some alterations to the text, as a precaution. Once I saw it described as a shape-shifter, although –”
In Steel’s hand the paper freezes and crumbles away, the other Copper vanishing along with it. “Alterations. You confused it?”
“I must have done.”
Steel brushes the remnants of the paper from his palms. “It was –” He quirks his mouth into an expression of distaste. “- behaving not unlike Silver.”
“Like…? Oh. Flirting?” says Copper, looking as solemn as usual. “I see.”
“Not something you ever do.” Steel shivers.
Copper gives him a smile. “I believe that’s what they call a generalisation, Steel. And they’re rarely true, and frequently insulting.”
“Copper –”
“Hmm?” he returns, absently. “Oh, yes. Which brings us back to the matter in hand – we need to find a way to warm you up again, don’t you agree?”
***