Generation X - Chamber/Penance - Alpha
Fandom: Generation X
Pairing: Chamber (Jonothan Starsmore)/Penance
Theme set: Alpha
Title: Broken Like Me
Rating: PG-13
Warning[s]: none
1. Comfort
The way she peeled birch trees as if they were bananas, sliced through cars like butter, destroyed without effort or hesitation--these things fell away as he felt the back of her hand tracing his cheek as if it had always belonged there.
2. Kiss
It all happened so fast--a flutter of footsteps in the shadows, a flash of movement, crimson lips pressed against dark bandages--but still he held every sound and color inside of him like a secret treasure.
3. Soft
She wraps layers of thick fabric over her dangerous skin, across her shoulders, around her neck; she is vowing to stay away, vowing to disappear, telling herself she must not hurt him--and then he is there, peeling back the cloth to rest his forehead against hers.
4. Pain
Her bones still remember the feeling of the feeding, the tendrils and teeth that tore her flesh and left her empty...this does not compare to what gnaws inside her when he leaves to fight.
5. Potatoes
They are not as good to eat as apples (nor as red or shiny or beautiful) but they hold the shape better when she carves intricate patterns--a sun, a bird, and finally, a delicate heart--and leaves them on his windowsill.
6. Rain
He leads her out into the downpour, holding her tightly, and in the subtle difference of temperature and pressure, of dry and wet, he is able to feel her against him for the first time.
7. Chocolate
She does not like the taste and although he used to, once, he cannot quite remember it either--but both enjoy folding the colored foil into cranes and airplanes that land on each other's stomachs and hips.
8. Happiness
On certain occassions--upon receiving apples, hearing piano music, or a perfect spring day--she traces a heart over her chest for the word (she traces two hearts any time he is with her).
9. Telephone
One would not think that they would have any use for it...unless they happened to hear her sharp fingers plucking out a slow melody along the buttons and the quiet applause from the other end.
10. Ears
The first time she discovers them beneath the mass of bandages and shaggy hair she cannot help but put her nose and mouth in close and the sensation is so sudden (among other things) he cannot help but blast a hole in the opposite wall.
11. Name
He never admits to any soft or secret name for her but no one misses the fact that he now picks up every penny he finds.
12. Sensual
His head tucked beneath her chin, feeling the rise and fall of her chest and hearing the muffled river inside, is all they need.
13. Death
When she laid the limp bird at his feet and stared at him with those hopeful, child's eyes he felt loss more deeply than he had in years.
14. Sex
There are many questions and theories (and a rather hefty betting pool) to the point that each time the couple disappears behind closed doors there is a stampede of teammates hoping to eavesdrop.
15. Touch
Razor-sharp fingertips trace along the edges of the bio-energy glow in a quiet dance that says, "I know you will not hurt me".
16. Weakness
She did not have the capacity to use such things against him--never, anything against him--but she did not miss the increased heartrate and slight tremor in his hands every time she lounged across his lap, back arched, eyes begging for a touch.
17. Tears
She had bled and ached before (more times than she could recall) but these clear, salty rivers were strange to her--and seemingly endless--as he gathered her in his arms, shushing her softly.
18. Speed
He knows she could probably run almost as fast--certainly more quietly--but when the last gear of the motorcycle catches and her hands press in tight (a slender finger excitedly tracing her outline for bird on his chest) he knows there is nothing that compares.
19. Wind
It was meant for the balcony--a shiny, iron weathervane decorated with curved lines and balanced to meteorological perfection--but she insisted on keeping it indoors, pointed in whatever direction she supposed he was.
20. Freedom
When she stole his bandages he chased her across the grounds, chest aglow, voice screaming (his that was not really a voice to hers that would not answer), temper rising-- but when he found her stripped bare and pointing to the clouds (arms wide and unabashed) he understood.
21. Life
He climbs as best he can (boots slipping once, bandages catching twice, her hands gentle but prodding him to hurry) into the higest branches of the oak--just in time to watch the first piece of shell fall away and hear the robin announcing itself to the world.
22. Jealousy
Every time the blonde girl touches him, another tree on the hillside is reduced to papery shreds...as if someone had been imagining the bark as fragile layers of skin.
23. Hands
It is a death-defying act (akin to sword-swallowing or fire walking--certainly the exhilaration is the same) when his hand slides carefully down her arm to rest on the back of hers.
24. Taste
She scribbles notes for him after each bite (ocean, melt, tingle, twist) and in this way they explore the basket of fruit together.
25. Devotion
Three days seemed longer alone in the woods, back stiff against the tree, apple in hand, waiting for her return--and yet he would have easily waited three years.
26. Forever
He lets her lean across him, lets her gently pull the pin on his wristwatch, pretending that they can keep the daylight at bay.
27. Blood
They never talked about it (truthfully, they never talk about anything) but on a dark, unnamed night, he helped her burn the rags and bury the ashes.
28. Sickness
They laid his feverish body on the tile floor, too afraid to disturb the wrappings (delusion and explosive energy were too dangerous a combination, even for this group) and watched as she plunged herself into the ice bath without hesitation, soaking in the frigid cold and emerging to drape her icy body across him.
29. Melody
It was not anything classical or romantic but when they heard the simple, four note call of a forest songbird to its mate she squeezed his arm and claimed it as theirs.
30. Star
He's always considered it an ugly, angry light but every time his bandages are shed and his gaping chest revealed she can't help but close her eyes (for just a moment) and make a wish.
31. Home
Beneath where she found her place in the world she now carves his name to complete where she belongs.
32. Confusion
Too much fumbling (with fabric, apologies, and the occassional strategic suggestion), a singed pillow and shreds of egyptian cotton sheets told them that perhaps, next time, they might need to diagram it on paper first.
33. Fear
Death and monsters and all the other things that never seemed to bother him before--they rise up from the back of his mind and crush his insides, squeezing out a voiceless scream that is almost louder than the explosion that engulfs her.
34. Lightning/Thunder
It wasn't the thunder that woke him that first night but the soft scratch of hardwood floors, the sensation that he was not alone...and when he set a pillow on the floor the flashing storm illuminated a slender, timid hand reaching out and pulling it beneath the bed.
35. Bonds
It was a curiosity that bordered on jealousy; watching them, with gestures and silent nods, finishing each other's sentences.
36. Market
He hated the hustle and bustle, the push and shove and noise of everyone (thank God he couldn't smell anyone), and pretty much all shopping in general--but he planted his feet firmly against the crowd and picked over each flower in the stand in order to find the exact shade of red.
37. Technology
It was meant for training (only for training--Mr. Cassidy would have their heads if he ever found out) but crafty fingertips undid the lock on the door, tinkered with the control panel, and with the push of a button brought forth the hologram of a moonlit beach, cool breeze ruffling the blanket they set down for their picnic.
38. Gift
Her mouth agape, inhaling sharply, was the closest she had ever come to an audible exclamation and the silent chorus of jubilation continued as she finished peeling the last of the packaging away from the music box and wound it ever-so-carefully.
39. Smile
You would have to know where to look (the outside corner of his right eye) and what to look for (the trio of thin creases that appeared and vanished in an instant) to see it--but she always saw it.
40. Innocence
When she stripped her soggy clothes off in the darkness of his bedroom he was there and waiting--towel in hand, eyes averted--to tuck her under the warm quilt and stroke her forehead before settling into the soft chair beside her.
41. Completion
The mission was never truly over until he was home, reclined on the windowsill, where her hands could examine every inch for damage before coming to rest on his chest.
42. Clouds
The bedrooms seem empty without them (even his, despite the warm bed and warmer body) and she can't imagine sleeping anywhere but in the trees, beneath the blanket of grey and white.
43. Sky
The way she stares for hours, how she leans against the wind, sometimes he wonders if she was truly a bird once.
44. Heaven
He never really believed in such things--there were too many ironies and complications with his own mortality to do so--but there were small moments, curled beneath a blanket, smelling her skin and hearing her breathe, when he hoped that it would be like this.
45. Hell
Sometimes it is something as small as the clink of a chain or the scent of dankness that brings the memories back and sends her bolting upright, tearful, mouth agape in silent screams.
46. Sun
He is anything but comfortable in heavy cloth and leather but the sight of smooth, crimson skin lounging in the sunlight distracts him.
47. Moon
When it is full and glowing they stay out all night, exploring the grassy hills, acting like children.
48. Waves
She likes to hold seashells against their ears and imagine they are somewhere far away.
49. Hair
It is almost an entity all its own and she loves playing cat and mouse games with it, brushing it to one side, nuzzling the soft brown strands--a game she always wins.
50. Supernova
There was no hesitation, no warning--only his footsteps running to put himself in front of her, his hands tearing at his bandages--then a blast that seemed to emerge from his soul.