donutsweeper: (Default)
donutsweeper ([personal profile] donutsweeper) wrote2007-11-03 12:10 am

I Must Be Strong, and Carry On

Title:  I Must Be Strong, and Carry On
Pairing/Rating/Warning: Jack/Jack, rated G
Word Count: 411
Summary:  Two kindred spirits find each other, just for one night.
Author's Note: Written for the Moving Words and Pictures Flashfic Challenge using [personal profile] matsujo9 's video

The video "Tears in Heaven"

Sometimes it’s hard, fighting for a people not your own; stuck in a strange place, at a strange time, everything familiar yet slightly off.  You can’t make attachments, well, not really.  The team’s off limits, or should be anyway.  And the locals?  You’ve tried, they’re nice and it is expected after all, but you don’t belong here and it just never seems quite right. 

But then you spot him.  A kindred spirit, you can tell right away.  Something about the eyes, a longing you recognize so well.  You see yourself in him; a soldier, doing his duty, no matter the cost, no matter the consequence.  He’s seen too much, endured too much, and despite the front he puts on he seems just as desperate and lost as you. 

You try to tell yourself it’s acceptable to look at him the way you are; to feel the way you do.  But if you can’t quite convince yourself, what hope do you have that he would feel the same way?

And he doesn’t feel the same, does he?  He couldn’t.  Not with the customs, the beliefs of the day.  Your head knows that, it’s your heart that refuses to believe it.

But then there’s the moment on the couch, when your fingers touch.  And it’s like a bolt of electricity shoots straight to your heart.  How is it even possible that this could feel so right?  In the moments after you had to split up you catch your breath and wonder if trusting your gut and overriding your instincts is worth the risk it entails.

You find yourself staring at him.  You know you shouldn’t, but you can’t look away.  Then suddenly, before you even know what’s happening, you’re out on the dance floor.  Together.  He’s in your arms and you’re in his, and just then, for that moment frozen in time, all is right with the world.  You wish you could stay like that forever, but reality crashes down around you. 

You have to say goodbye, to part forever, no matter how much you don’t want to.  So you put everything into that kiss, your wants, your fears, all the things you wished you’d had the chance to say.  He does the same.  Then he is gone, his scent still in the air, the feel of his lips lingering against yours and you are left behind, but perhaps a little less alone than you had been.

Goodbye James, you’ll remember him always.

 

[identity profile] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2007-11-03 01:35 pm (UTC)(link)
ooh, I hadn't thought about leaving it unresolved.. *ponders*

Glad you liked it, but again I apologize for the emotional fallout!
unfeathered: (Default)

[personal profile] unfeathered 2007-11-03 01:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Leaving it unresolved wouldn't take much, actually. Just leaving off the last line and saying they had to part instead of he had to leave, oslt.

And emotional fallout is good. I like reading things that make me feel. That's why I read! :-)

[identity profile] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2007-11-03 01:40 pm (UTC)(link)
true, but I think most people would just assume it was TWJack's POV then, not real!Jack. (Glad you're not too upset with me!)

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/ 2007-11-03 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Uhm, yeah, I'm afraid I would have assumed that without the last line. I mean, there's the part about him leaving, which should have been enough of a clue, but...I like it like it is. (Not that it's any of my business, really...)

[identity profile] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2007-11-03 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
why is it none of your business? It's all your fault!

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/ 2007-11-03 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
LOL! OK, good point. :) I'll happily take the blame for this, btw!

[identity profile] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2007-11-03 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not surprised (you evil creature, you). Oh, btw, I reworded the last sentence, somehow we both missed that it had randomly been written in the first person.

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/ 2007-11-03 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
::smacks forehead:: Whoops. Glad you spotted it.

[identity profile] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2007-11-03 05:37 pm (UTC)(link)
that's what we get for writing/beta-ing at midnight, or whenever it was...

oh, and I added a journal entry for you to post your evil ideas, not that you tend to need any help in that department...

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/ 2007-11-03 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
I saw that! I'm waiting for evil inspiration. Maybe after lunch...I kinda slept through breakfast, and I'm the wrong kind of evil on an empty stomach. *g*