Light - Lister/Rimmer - PG
More spammage fic...
Title: Light
Pairing: Rimmer/Lister
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I still don't own Red Dwarf, or make money off of. No indeedy!
Notes: Written as part of the fanfic100 challenge - my table is here.
Lister let his hand glide up and down the blue quilted arm, a look of childish glee in his eyes. He’d reach the shoulder, trace the details in the seams with his fingernail with that same stupid grin on his face, and start down again. When he got down to the sleeve, he’d pluck a little at one of the threads, marveling at the fact that it was apparently almost loose, before working his way up again. He was about half-way to the shoulder when Rimmer, not turning away from his game of RISK with one of the scutters, exclaimed; “Are you going to keep doing that all day?”
Lister shook himself, suddenly remembering to whom the arm belonged. “Sorry…” He sat back in his chair, removing his hand, but kept staring at the holographic limb. “It’s just so amazing, I can’t get my mind around it. I mean, it’s light! Light you can touch!”
Lister couldn’t see Rimmer’s expression from where he was sitting, but there came a snort from his general direction. “You think that’s amazing? Try actually being composed of light that can be touched!” The arm that had not been on the receiving end of Lister’s attentions reached out and placed some new pieces on the board, very carefully. The scutter clicked and whirred confusedly, as though it was trying to ask a question. “Sorry, old chum,” Rimmer said, “I don’t need you to move for me any more. Just keep those visual sensors locked on Eastern Europe if you know what’s good for you!”
“So who’s winning?” said Lister, turning his attention to the game, and instantly regretting his question. He’d be in for a half-hour lecture at best, but at least they’d be off the embarrassing topic of him touching Rimmer. He still couldn’t believe he’d been doing that. Curiosity, he supposed.
“Well, at this point it could go either way,” said Rimmer, sounding oddly absent-minded. Now that Lister was halfway facing him, he noticed a somewhat distracted look on the hologram’s face. Rimmer’s eyes were on the board, but his left hand was caressing a couple of smooth plastic game counters, twirling them round and round in his hand. “You didn’t have to stop, you know,” he said suddenly.
Lister shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Um, no, that’s OK man. I didn’t mean to invade your personal space or anything.” What he really, really, wanted to do right now was throw himself out of this damned chair and run like a madman to the nearest shower. Unfortunately, that shower was in the same room they were in now.
Rimmer grunted, and placed the two counters on the side of the board. “Oh, I’ve had quite enough of personal space for a good long while, thank you very much. For the last five years the whole Universe has been my ‘personal space,’ with some very few, blessed exceptions.” The scutter clicked impatiently. “Yes, I know it’s my turn,” Rimmer snapped irritably. Then he shook his head, and sighed. “Let’s pick it up later, shall we?” The scutter whirred cheerfully in reply, and scurried away out the door. Rimmer rubbed his eyes, looking tired.
“So what’s it like?” Lister said, before he could stop himself.
Rimmer paused for a moment, leaning his head back and crossing his arms. “Different,” he said, finally.
“What, that’s it, ‘different’?”
Rimmer shrugged. “It’s hard to explain.”
“But, like, do you feel different to yourself or anything?” Lister had always, he realized, wondered what Rimmer would feel like to touch. Granted, he’d touched Rimmer’s body when he’d been in it, when they’d swapped bodies, and that had felt quite normal. As normal as being in someone else’s body could feel, anyway. And he’d probably touched Rimmer when he was alive, although he couldn’t remember any specific incident. Still, it was like one of those zen riddles; what does touching light feel like? There was no answer, there hadn’t been. Until now.
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it.” He sounded like he HAD thought about it, quite a bit.
“Right,” said Lister. “Well. I should probably turn in… I mean… I wouldn’t want to keep you up or anything…” He grasped desperately for a reason to leave, realizing too late that this was the room he slept in too. There was no escape. What was he trying to escape from, anyway? His mind felt like a large, soggy wad of cotton-wool. With nothing better to do, he got up, and started to move towards the shower.
“Lister?” Rimmer’s voice was so soft that Lister could only just hear him.
“Yeah?”
“I feel stupid for saying this… But… I mean, I could ask Kryten, but he’d do it because felt he had to. And the Cat would just hiss at me, or try to claw my eyes out.” He rose from the table, and stood in the middle of the room, uncomfortably.
“Just spit it out man.”
Rimmer crossed his arms again nervously, seemingly trying to tie himself into some kind of complicated knot. “I… I was wondering… Well, you seemed curious, so I thought you might not mind - I was wondering… If you could possibly… Give me a hug.” Seeing Lister’s expression, he started backing up against the wall, his palms out in front of him like a shield. “Not like… Oh god no! Not like that! I mean… Just… Just a manly hug between friends, a very, very masculine hug with nothing even slightly gay about it at all.”
Lister slowly advanced towards him, turning his deerstalker the other way around as he went.
“OK, look, I apologize. That was way out of line. Way out! I’m sorry I ever mentioned it.” He was almost cowering now, having reached the wall with no where else to turn as Lister mercilessly advanced towards him, then suddenly stopped. He got so close up into Rimmer’s face that their noses practically touched. He looked grim and determined, his hands balled into fists.
“You wanted a hug, yeah?”
Tears were streaming into Rimmer’s eyes, and Lister realized he had gone too far. A joke was a joke, but this just wasn’t the time. “I’m sorry!” Rimmer yelled pathetically, looking desperate. “I just… I just…”
Lister put his arms around him. I’m hugging light, he thought to himself, as the hologram slowly relaxed in his embrace, his sobs diminishing.
I’m hugging light.
Title: Light
Pairing: Rimmer/Lister
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I still don't own Red Dwarf, or make money off of. No indeedy!
Notes: Written as part of the fanfic100 challenge - my table is here.
Lister let his hand glide up and down the blue quilted arm, a look of childish glee in his eyes. He’d reach the shoulder, trace the details in the seams with his fingernail with that same stupid grin on his face, and start down again. When he got down to the sleeve, he’d pluck a little at one of the threads, marveling at the fact that it was apparently almost loose, before working his way up again. He was about half-way to the shoulder when Rimmer, not turning away from his game of RISK with one of the scutters, exclaimed; “Are you going to keep doing that all day?”
Lister shook himself, suddenly remembering to whom the arm belonged. “Sorry…” He sat back in his chair, removing his hand, but kept staring at the holographic limb. “It’s just so amazing, I can’t get my mind around it. I mean, it’s light! Light you can touch!”
Lister couldn’t see Rimmer’s expression from where he was sitting, but there came a snort from his general direction. “You think that’s amazing? Try actually being composed of light that can be touched!” The arm that had not been on the receiving end of Lister’s attentions reached out and placed some new pieces on the board, very carefully. The scutter clicked and whirred confusedly, as though it was trying to ask a question. “Sorry, old chum,” Rimmer said, “I don’t need you to move for me any more. Just keep those visual sensors locked on Eastern Europe if you know what’s good for you!”
“So who’s winning?” said Lister, turning his attention to the game, and instantly regretting his question. He’d be in for a half-hour lecture at best, but at least they’d be off the embarrassing topic of him touching Rimmer. He still couldn’t believe he’d been doing that. Curiosity, he supposed.
“Well, at this point it could go either way,” said Rimmer, sounding oddly absent-minded. Now that Lister was halfway facing him, he noticed a somewhat distracted look on the hologram’s face. Rimmer’s eyes were on the board, but his left hand was caressing a couple of smooth plastic game counters, twirling them round and round in his hand. “You didn’t have to stop, you know,” he said suddenly.
Lister shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Um, no, that’s OK man. I didn’t mean to invade your personal space or anything.” What he really, really, wanted to do right now was throw himself out of this damned chair and run like a madman to the nearest shower. Unfortunately, that shower was in the same room they were in now.
Rimmer grunted, and placed the two counters on the side of the board. “Oh, I’ve had quite enough of personal space for a good long while, thank you very much. For the last five years the whole Universe has been my ‘personal space,’ with some very few, blessed exceptions.” The scutter clicked impatiently. “Yes, I know it’s my turn,” Rimmer snapped irritably. Then he shook his head, and sighed. “Let’s pick it up later, shall we?” The scutter whirred cheerfully in reply, and scurried away out the door. Rimmer rubbed his eyes, looking tired.
“So what’s it like?” Lister said, before he could stop himself.
Rimmer paused for a moment, leaning his head back and crossing his arms. “Different,” he said, finally.
“What, that’s it, ‘different’?”
Rimmer shrugged. “It’s hard to explain.”
“But, like, do you feel different to yourself or anything?” Lister had always, he realized, wondered what Rimmer would feel like to touch. Granted, he’d touched Rimmer’s body when he’d been in it, when they’d swapped bodies, and that had felt quite normal. As normal as being in someone else’s body could feel, anyway. And he’d probably touched Rimmer when he was alive, although he couldn’t remember any specific incident. Still, it was like one of those zen riddles; what does touching light feel like? There was no answer, there hadn’t been. Until now.
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it.” He sounded like he HAD thought about it, quite a bit.
“Right,” said Lister. “Well. I should probably turn in… I mean… I wouldn’t want to keep you up or anything…” He grasped desperately for a reason to leave, realizing too late that this was the room he slept in too. There was no escape. What was he trying to escape from, anyway? His mind felt like a large, soggy wad of cotton-wool. With nothing better to do, he got up, and started to move towards the shower.
“Lister?” Rimmer’s voice was so soft that Lister could only just hear him.
“Yeah?”
“I feel stupid for saying this… But… I mean, I could ask Kryten, but he’d do it because felt he had to. And the Cat would just hiss at me, or try to claw my eyes out.” He rose from the table, and stood in the middle of the room, uncomfortably.
“Just spit it out man.”
Rimmer crossed his arms again nervously, seemingly trying to tie himself into some kind of complicated knot. “I… I was wondering… Well, you seemed curious, so I thought you might not mind - I was wondering… If you could possibly… Give me a hug.” Seeing Lister’s expression, he started backing up against the wall, his palms out in front of him like a shield. “Not like… Oh god no! Not like that! I mean… Just… Just a manly hug between friends, a very, very masculine hug with nothing even slightly gay about it at all.”
Lister slowly advanced towards him, turning his deerstalker the other way around as he went.
“OK, look, I apologize. That was way out of line. Way out! I’m sorry I ever mentioned it.” He was almost cowering now, having reached the wall with no where else to turn as Lister mercilessly advanced towards him, then suddenly stopped. He got so close up into Rimmer’s face that their noses practically touched. He looked grim and determined, his hands balled into fists.
“You wanted a hug, yeah?”
Tears were streaming into Rimmer’s eyes, and Lister realized he had gone too far. A joke was a joke, but this just wasn’t the time. “I’m sorry!” Rimmer yelled pathetically, looking desperate. “I just… I just…”
Lister put his arms around him. I’m hugging light, he thought to himself, as the hologram slowly relaxed in his embrace, his sobs diminishing.
I’m hugging light.