Cheesecake 29, Sea Salt 6, Pineapple 16
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy (NIEE) universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Cheesecake 29 (I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game - My Treat: “Is this the touch of a dead man?”), Sea Salt 6 (trickle) & Pineapple 16 (cat got your tongue)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Malt (BTS Challenge prize: Jay : There's hope for you, but it's much too late for me), Fresh Peaches (What you see isn't what you get, and you can't remake the product. Lose the expectation that someone will volunteer to tell you the things that you should know),
Word Count: 1,112
Rating: PG/PG-13 (language, general creepiness?)
Summary: Jay meets a ghost.
Notes: Fresh Peaches is used a little tongue-in-cheek here. 50th Caramel piece. This is a complete revamp of this scene changing around the characters to fit better. Marina’s been wanting to see this for literally years. Pretty decent spoilers for the whole canon but that’s the fun part, right?
The first thing Jay realized upon waking was that he had a splitting headache. He groaned involuntarily and went to reach for his head. That was the second thing he noticed: his hands were tied behind his back.
“Oh good, he’s awake. Get him up, the boss will want to see him. Travers, go let the boss know we’re on our way.”
“Yes, Tourn,” someone said and then Jay was hauled upright.
He squinted at the man - Tourn - holding him and vaguely recognized him as memories of the ambush came dribbling back. “Let me guess, you’re a class A bastard.”
The man just grinned. “Can you walk?”
Jay carefully put weight on his legs. “Yes,” he said, twitching as he instinctively wanted to touch his head. He could feel congealed blood on the side of his face and suspected it probably looked nastier than it was, despite the whopper of a headache.
“Then let’s go.” Keeping his hand firmly around Jay’s bicep, Tourn led him out of the small room and down a long hallway. Jay immediately picked out their destination - a room about two-third down that had two guards flanking it on either side.
“Who’s the boss?”
“You’ll see.” Jay did not at all like the wide, almost feral grin that crossed Tourn’s face as he said that.
As they reached the door, Jay forced himself to hold his head high and not drag his feet. He had the sinking feeling he was not going to like what was behind the door in any way, shape or form. One of the two guards pushed open the door and motioned them through. Tourn’s shit-eating grin was back as he manhandled Jay inside.
He did a quick sweep of the room, taking it all in. To his right, not too far inside the door, stood a boy who had to be Dean. He was being held between two guards, sweat dotting his face around a nasty look scabbed wound on the side of his head. Upon slightly closer inspection, Jay realized he also had a fresh-looking black eye. Dean was staring at him with recognition and exhaustion. As their eyes met, Dean flicked his towards the right and Jay continued his scan of the room. Standing by the desk and seeming to studiously avoid his gaze was a teenage girl, hair tied back in a tight bun, and he filed her presence away under the ‘I don’t get it’ category. Following her gaze, he spotted the man by the window. He was standing with his back to the rest of the room, the sunlight making only the silhouette of his back visible. Jay could tell by the way all eyes appeared to be on him that he must have just spoken.
“Boss,” Tourn said, “we’re here.”
“Good. Welcome to my humble abode, James Dall.”
Jay froze, eyes narrowing. There was something disturbingly familiar about the voice but could not immediately place it. “Who are you?”
The man turned and Jay squinted into the sun, trying to pick out facial features. “It has been a while, so if you do not remember me, I will not be offended.”
That voice, where did he know that voice from? He caught the teenage girl glance at Dean and then look down at her feet. In that split second, he got a good look at her face and suddenly he knew. Jay whipped back around at the same moment the man stepped out of the sunlight. Apart from the grey that now colored his hair, little about Vladimir Opalin had changed in the seven or so years since Jay had seen him last.
Except for the small little fact that he was supposed to be dead.
Vladimir smiled. “Did you miss me, James?”
“You’re dead,” Jay managed.
“Oh?” he asked, the epitome of politeness. It gave Jay the shivers.
“Ren killed you when we took back the palace. I saw you go down. You were bleeding on the floor, you were…there is no way in hell that you could have survived! You died.”
“Obviously, I did not. I think you, of all people, might understand that things are not always as they seem.”
“Fuck this,” Jay said. “Fuck this. Someone has arranged a very elaborate joke and it’s not funny and it stops now.”
“Jay,” that was Dean’s voice, “it’s not a joke,” he said quietly. “My uncle’s really alive.”
He did not dare take his eyes off Vladimir, but he scowled as he answered the boy. “I saw him die, Dean.”
“I wish you were right,” Dean said and then yelped in pain.
“You always did like the innocents,” Jay said, eyes narrowing. “What the hell do you want, dead guy?”
“I would have thought that was simple,” Vladimir said, stepping around the desk and resting a hand momentarily on his daughter’s shoulder, who Jay had been able to identify by the almost shocking family resemblance. “I want revenge, James. Pure and simple revenge. On my siblings, for abandoning me, and for you and your friends for daring to take back what is mine.”
Now that he was closer, Jay could see the madness lurking in his eyes, although it was easy enough to hear in his voice as well.
“You’re nuts. Absolutely off your rocker,” he said, holding Vladimir’s gaze. “How about you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and take your daughter and goons with you?” It was interesting to see the teenager flinch at that and step slightly away from her father. Vladimir did not seem to notice.
“So you know about my brother.”
“That he’s alive? Yes. But that makes it all that much harder to accept the fact that you are too,” Jay said.
Vladimir smiled, an off-kilter and unstable expression, and approached slowly. It was all Jay could do to hold his ground, although he rather desperately wanted to run away or at least cower behind Tourn. He found himself holding his breath as Vladimir stepped up right in front of him, their faces mere inches away. Then Vladimir reached out and lightly traced his fingers down the side of Jay’s face, tilting his head to the side to regard him curiously at the same time. “Is this the touch of a dead man?” he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Jay could not help the shudder that ran through him at the touch and he now gave in, stepping out of immediate reach as he bumped into Tourn. He swallowed hard. “No,” he managed.
“Good.” Vladimir stepped back and smiled again. “Now that we have that settled, we can get down to business.”
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy (NIEE) universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Cheesecake 29 (I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game - My Treat: “Is this the touch of a dead man?”), Sea Salt 6 (trickle) & Pineapple 16 (cat got your tongue)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Malt (BTS Challenge prize: Jay : There's hope for you, but it's much too late for me), Fresh Peaches (What you see isn't what you get, and you can't remake the product. Lose the expectation that someone will volunteer to tell you the things that you should know),
Word Count: 1,112
Rating: PG/PG-13 (language, general creepiness?)
Summary: Jay meets a ghost.
Notes: Fresh Peaches is used a little tongue-in-cheek here. 50th Caramel piece. This is a complete revamp of this scene changing around the characters to fit better. Marina’s been wanting to see this for literally years. Pretty decent spoilers for the whole canon but that’s the fun part, right?
The first thing Jay realized upon waking was that he had a splitting headache. He groaned involuntarily and went to reach for his head. That was the second thing he noticed: his hands were tied behind his back.
“Oh good, he’s awake. Get him up, the boss will want to see him. Travers, go let the boss know we’re on our way.”
“Yes, Tourn,” someone said and then Jay was hauled upright.
He squinted at the man - Tourn - holding him and vaguely recognized him as memories of the ambush came dribbling back. “Let me guess, you’re a class A bastard.”
The man just grinned. “Can you walk?”
Jay carefully put weight on his legs. “Yes,” he said, twitching as he instinctively wanted to touch his head. He could feel congealed blood on the side of his face and suspected it probably looked nastier than it was, despite the whopper of a headache.
“Then let’s go.” Keeping his hand firmly around Jay’s bicep, Tourn led him out of the small room and down a long hallway. Jay immediately picked out their destination - a room about two-third down that had two guards flanking it on either side.
“Who’s the boss?”
“You’ll see.” Jay did not at all like the wide, almost feral grin that crossed Tourn’s face as he said that.
As they reached the door, Jay forced himself to hold his head high and not drag his feet. He had the sinking feeling he was not going to like what was behind the door in any way, shape or form. One of the two guards pushed open the door and motioned them through. Tourn’s shit-eating grin was back as he manhandled Jay inside.
He did a quick sweep of the room, taking it all in. To his right, not too far inside the door, stood a boy who had to be Dean. He was being held between two guards, sweat dotting his face around a nasty look scabbed wound on the side of his head. Upon slightly closer inspection, Jay realized he also had a fresh-looking black eye. Dean was staring at him with recognition and exhaustion. As their eyes met, Dean flicked his towards the right and Jay continued his scan of the room. Standing by the desk and seeming to studiously avoid his gaze was a teenage girl, hair tied back in a tight bun, and he filed her presence away under the ‘I don’t get it’ category. Following her gaze, he spotted the man by the window. He was standing with his back to the rest of the room, the sunlight making only the silhouette of his back visible. Jay could tell by the way all eyes appeared to be on him that he must have just spoken.
“Boss,” Tourn said, “we’re here.”
“Good. Welcome to my humble abode, James Dall.”
Jay froze, eyes narrowing. There was something disturbingly familiar about the voice but could not immediately place it. “Who are you?”
The man turned and Jay squinted into the sun, trying to pick out facial features. “It has been a while, so if you do not remember me, I will not be offended.”
That voice, where did he know that voice from? He caught the teenage girl glance at Dean and then look down at her feet. In that split second, he got a good look at her face and suddenly he knew. Jay whipped back around at the same moment the man stepped out of the sunlight. Apart from the grey that now colored his hair, little about Vladimir Opalin had changed in the seven or so years since Jay had seen him last.
Except for the small little fact that he was supposed to be dead.
Vladimir smiled. “Did you miss me, James?”
“You’re dead,” Jay managed.
“Oh?” he asked, the epitome of politeness. It gave Jay the shivers.
“Ren killed you when we took back the palace. I saw you go down. You were bleeding on the floor, you were…there is no way in hell that you could have survived! You died.”
“Obviously, I did not. I think you, of all people, might understand that things are not always as they seem.”
“Fuck this,” Jay said. “Fuck this. Someone has arranged a very elaborate joke and it’s not funny and it stops now.”
“Jay,” that was Dean’s voice, “it’s not a joke,” he said quietly. “My uncle’s really alive.”
He did not dare take his eyes off Vladimir, but he scowled as he answered the boy. “I saw him die, Dean.”
“I wish you were right,” Dean said and then yelped in pain.
“You always did like the innocents,” Jay said, eyes narrowing. “What the hell do you want, dead guy?”
“I would have thought that was simple,” Vladimir said, stepping around the desk and resting a hand momentarily on his daughter’s shoulder, who Jay had been able to identify by the almost shocking family resemblance. “I want revenge, James. Pure and simple revenge. On my siblings, for abandoning me, and for you and your friends for daring to take back what is mine.”
Now that he was closer, Jay could see the madness lurking in his eyes, although it was easy enough to hear in his voice as well.
“You’re nuts. Absolutely off your rocker,” he said, holding Vladimir’s gaze. “How about you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and take your daughter and goons with you?” It was interesting to see the teenager flinch at that and step slightly away from her father. Vladimir did not seem to notice.
“So you know about my brother.”
“That he’s alive? Yes. But that makes it all that much harder to accept the fact that you are too,” Jay said.
Vladimir smiled, an off-kilter and unstable expression, and approached slowly. It was all Jay could do to hold his ground, although he rather desperately wanted to run away or at least cower behind Tourn. He found himself holding his breath as Vladimir stepped up right in front of him, their faces mere inches away. Then Vladimir reached out and lightly traced his fingers down the side of Jay’s face, tilting his head to the side to regard him curiously at the same time. “Is this the touch of a dead man?” he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Jay could not help the shudder that ran through him at the touch and he now gave in, stepping out of immediate reach as he bumped into Tourn. He swallowed hard. “No,” he managed.
“Good.” Vladimir stepped back and smiled again. “Now that we have that settled, we can get down to business.”