CT 40.4: James Bond Quote
Vesper Lynd: You're not going to let me in there, are you? You've got your armour back on. That's that.
James Bond: I have no armour left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me - whatever is left of me - whatever I am - I'm yours.
- Casino Royale
It should've been simple. And although he knew exactly where he wanted to place the blame, realistically speaking, he couldn't quite figure out if it was her fault or his own. Somehow, the inability to be properly sure of that made the whole situation worse.
Possibly because it was easier to choose the next course of action when you were more aware of who should or shouldn't be punished for getting in your way. In this case, just what was he expected to do?
She'd been locked away inside her own head, forced to walk the dreams she'd been using to determine the future of herself and others, with no escape. He'd seen to that. The satisfaction gained from the experience hadn't quite been enough. But he hadn't been able to bring himself any further either.
It was because of this he thought that he'd likely been inviting someone to attempt to save her. Parkman, obviously, being the most likely option. He would've been so useful if he'd managed to be just be a little more like his father. Peter he'd worried less about, he hadn't quite hit Parkman's level yet.
So when Daphne had come to let him know that Matt Parkman was attempting to save Angela, Arthur hadn't been particularly surprised. He'd been less than grateful for the distraction, the reminder of what he hadn't really handled quite yet. The thing, the person, the one he'd kept promising himself he'd get to eventually. But there were other things, and she wasn't going anywhere.
Making excuses. It wasn't like him. She had a way of making him behave unlike himself, she always had. And he'd always prided himself on being the one to bring out a side of her that few others got to see as well.
Of course, it'd gone a little farther than that over forty two years of marriage. Both of them had proven capable of things neither would have quite thought possible. It's what had gotten them this far today.
It's what had landed them here, now, inside Angela's mind. Watching two people fall in love. Watching a reminder of what used to be.
"We were once like that, Arthur. Remember?"
He did.
Looking at her now, all he could see was the past. Their first meeting. The flirting. The dates. The first time he'd told her he loved her, and she'd reciprocated. The night he'd proposed. Their wedding. The birth of their children. Every moment in their lives that was happy.
And it all stemmed from moments just like this.
"You loved me, and there's a part of you that still does."
He didn't want this. It was necessary. It threatened what needed to be. Made him weak, unable to act. The more he looked into her eyes, however, the stronger that unneeded emotion got. He wanted nothing to do with this.
Right?
"So now you're going to let me go. You understand?"
It was her mind, but he was stronger. He could keep her here as long as he desired. Imprison all of them. Forever. Parkman would be a struggle, but Daphne would take hardly any effort at all. And Angela he already had. Arthur was rarely quite so aware of just how much power he held.
His wife was a threat. If he let her go, she would continue to be. She would do everything she could to stop him. She might even finish what she'd started over a year earlier. She'd have help. She always did. Angela was never one not to be able to properly persuade someone to her side.
He couldn't do this.
And yet.
"I said let me go, Arthur."
Arthur looked away.
It took barely a thought, and the handcuffs binding her to the chair broke. The sound they made as they hit the ground was almost too loud for his liking.
"We have to go." Parkman.
A moment later they were gone.
Shortly following that, he was back in the real world. In Pinehearst. Alone. Arthur rose from the chair in which he'd sat. He tried to convince himself he couldn't still feel her eyes, just over his shoulder. He had about as much luck with that as he had with killing her once and for all.
She was a liar. She betrayed him. Would have seen him burnt down to ash if she'd had her way.
Rising, he walked to the window, looking out at the vast view his office offered him. Now she was free to threaten everything he'd worked so hard and so long for. She was out there. Using his old company against him.
When this was all over, one way or another, he had to wonder where they both would stand.
And Arthur had to wonder if the time would ever come where he'd stop feeling those eyes.
Just over his shoulder.
Muse: Arthur Petrelli
Fandom: Heroes
Word Count: 811
Partner: sometimes_evil
James Bond: I have no armour left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me - whatever is left of me - whatever I am - I'm yours.
- Casino Royale
It should've been simple. And although he knew exactly where he wanted to place the blame, realistically speaking, he couldn't quite figure out if it was her fault or his own. Somehow, the inability to be properly sure of that made the whole situation worse.
Possibly because it was easier to choose the next course of action when you were more aware of who should or shouldn't be punished for getting in your way. In this case, just what was he expected to do?
She'd been locked away inside her own head, forced to walk the dreams she'd been using to determine the future of herself and others, with no escape. He'd seen to that. The satisfaction gained from the experience hadn't quite been enough. But he hadn't been able to bring himself any further either.
It was because of this he thought that he'd likely been inviting someone to attempt to save her. Parkman, obviously, being the most likely option. He would've been so useful if he'd managed to be just be a little more like his father. Peter he'd worried less about, he hadn't quite hit Parkman's level yet.
So when Daphne had come to let him know that Matt Parkman was attempting to save Angela, Arthur hadn't been particularly surprised. He'd been less than grateful for the distraction, the reminder of what he hadn't really handled quite yet. The thing, the person, the one he'd kept promising himself he'd get to eventually. But there were other things, and she wasn't going anywhere.
Making excuses. It wasn't like him. She had a way of making him behave unlike himself, she always had. And he'd always prided himself on being the one to bring out a side of her that few others got to see as well.
Of course, it'd gone a little farther than that over forty two years of marriage. Both of them had proven capable of things neither would have quite thought possible. It's what had gotten them this far today.
It's what had landed them here, now, inside Angela's mind. Watching two people fall in love. Watching a reminder of what used to be.
"We were once like that, Arthur. Remember?"
He did.
Looking at her now, all he could see was the past. Their first meeting. The flirting. The dates. The first time he'd told her he loved her, and she'd reciprocated. The night he'd proposed. Their wedding. The birth of their children. Every moment in their lives that was happy.
And it all stemmed from moments just like this.
"You loved me, and there's a part of you that still does."
He didn't want this. It was necessary. It threatened what needed to be. Made him weak, unable to act. The more he looked into her eyes, however, the stronger that unneeded emotion got. He wanted nothing to do with this.
Right?
"So now you're going to let me go. You understand?"
It was her mind, but he was stronger. He could keep her here as long as he desired. Imprison all of them. Forever. Parkman would be a struggle, but Daphne would take hardly any effort at all. And Angela he already had. Arthur was rarely quite so aware of just how much power he held.
His wife was a threat. If he let her go, she would continue to be. She would do everything she could to stop him. She might even finish what she'd started over a year earlier. She'd have help. She always did. Angela was never one not to be able to properly persuade someone to her side.
He couldn't do this.
And yet.
"I said let me go, Arthur."
Arthur looked away.
It took barely a thought, and the handcuffs binding her to the chair broke. The sound they made as they hit the ground was almost too loud for his liking.
"We have to go." Parkman.
A moment later they were gone.
Shortly following that, he was back in the real world. In Pinehearst. Alone. Arthur rose from the chair in which he'd sat. He tried to convince himself he couldn't still feel her eyes, just over his shoulder. He had about as much luck with that as he had with killing her once and for all.
She was a liar. She betrayed him. Would have seen him burnt down to ash if she'd had her way.
Rising, he walked to the window, looking out at the vast view his office offered him. Now she was free to threaten everything he'd worked so hard and so long for. She was out there. Using his old company against him.
When this was all over, one way or another, he had to wonder where they both would stand.
And Arthur had to wonder if the time would ever come where he'd stop feeling those eyes.
Just over his shoulder.
Muse: Arthur Petrelli
Fandom: Heroes
Word Count: 811
Partner: sometimes_evil