tying ribbons around grief (Narnia fic, for Kathy)

[be_themoon]

Title: tying ribbons around grief
Characters/Pairings: The Pevensies
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of sex, there-if-you-squint incest.
When: The various England intervals.
Summary: Because he has a way / of tying ribbons around grief.
Disclaimer: The Narnia universe isn't mine.
Author's Note: For katakokk on her birthday. Happy (slightly belated) birthday, bb! Sorry, I couldn't wrap my brain around anything as complicated as politics or future-Merlin stuff, but I still wanted to write you something. I hope you enjoy it. <333 The title and summary quote is from 1999 by Kevin A. Gonzalez.

#01 - Comfort
Here in England, they trip on distances that are wrong.

#02 - Kiss
The breeze brushes his face, so familiar and far away, and he touches his cheek with his fingers.

 #03 - Soft
"Do you think we'll ever really?" Susan says, quiet in the dark, and Peter holds her close.

#04 - Pain
Lucy cuts her finger on a knife and her eyes widen in surprise.

#05 - Potatoes
Putting down the potato she had been peeling, she bursts into sudden tears.

#06 - Rain
Susan sits at the window and stares at the rain pouring down outside.

#07 - Chocolate
The Macready saves up rations and makes a cake with chocolate icing for Peter's birthday, and he thanks her with the regal air of a beloved king; it sounds wrong in the worn-out kitchen.

#08 - Happiness
Edmund thumps the bat into the ground and grins impossibly wide at Peter.

#09 - Telephone
"We're all fine, mum, really," Peter says unconvincingly.

#10 - Ears
It's not hard to hear the sound of sobs in the night.

#11 - Name
"You will always be king in my eyes," Edmund says, eyes understanding.

#12 - Sensual
Susan giggles as she twirls in her new dress, and Peter realizes she's growing up again.

#13 - Death
"Don't," Susan says tightly, "There's no use remembering that."

#14 - Sex
"Four years till I turn seventeen!" Lucy sings, and Edmund looks alarmed.

 #15 - Touch
Her fingers brush his and he startles.

#16 - Weakness
"I could never say no to you," Susan says, and Peter laughs and replies, "You're getting better at it."

#17 - Tears
If Susan cries these days, she does it where none of them can see or hear her.

#18 - Speed
"Fast work," Lucy says bitingly, and Susan looks a little guilty.

#19 - Wind
Lucy has taken to looking up old Greek legends in her spare time, and she calls the winds by their names.

#20 - Freedom
"I could run, but where would that get me?" Edmund says bitterly, and Peter doesn't answer.

#21 - Life
"Sometimes I forget where we are," Lucy admits the second time Edmund catches her talking to trees.

#22 - Jealousy
Lucy distracts Peter from his glowering loom over Susan's latest boyfriend.

#23 - Hands
They're just a handsbreadth away but it's far enough.

#24 - Taste
"I thought you liked pears," Edmund says, and Lucy shakes her head and puts it down.

#25 - Devotion
"It's a plane, not your first love," Lucy says, but Peter just strokes the nose and grins.

#26 - Forever
"If we just get young again each time," Edmund says, interested.

#27 - Blood
"Crashing your plane goes under giving me a heart attack," Susan says sternly from her seat by his bed when he wakes up.

#28 - Sickness
He can't remember there being much pneumonia in Narnia, and chalks it up to the list of ways England is worse.

#29 - Melody
Lucy hasn't heard Edmund sing in a long time.

#30 - Star
"A star's daughter?" Peter says, eyebrows raised, and laughs.

#31 - Home
They move out one after another, leaving as soon as they reach seventeen, renting flats and living together.

#32 - Confusion
"What are you doing here?" Peter says, staring up at her, and Susan sits down beside him and tucks her legs beneath her.

#33 - Fear
"I'm not losing you," he says.

#34 - Lightning/Thunder
It starts storming as he walks home, and Edmund laughs and turns his head up to the sky as it lights up with lightning.

#35 - Bonds
"I am never bailing you out again, do you understand?" Lucy says, her voice colored with annoyance, and Edmund grins.

#36 - Market
"It's like he's forgotten what morals are," Susan says, and Lucy says, "Well, this chocolate is fabulous, so."

#37 - Technology
Susan does not like riding by car or train, but there are no horses here that she can ride.

 #38 - Gift
"We get two lives," Susan says, "that's a gift."

#39 - Smile
Lucy goes to all the dances, smiling and lovely as she spins.

#40 - Innocence
"Oh, like she was ever innocent! Her best friend was a faun!" Edmund says, and Lucy grins.

#41 - Completion
It's hard to get ahold of Susan these days.

#42 - Clouds
The weather is gray and dreary; Susan wears her brightest dress and lipstick and shines in the gloom.

#43 - Sky
"It's never quite blue enough here," Lucy says, and Peter nods and lies down on the grass beside her.

#44 - Heaven
"What do you think would have happened if we'd died in Narnia?" Edmund says suddenly, and Lucy looks at him in surprise.

#45 - Hell
Some days here are worse than others.

#46 - Sun
It's a perfect summer's day, one of a rare few, and Lucy drags Peter to the park.

#47 - Moon
Peter only sees Susan at nights now, in the bars he and his RAF friends frequent, or when they pass in the streets, turning away in silence.

#48 - Waves
Edmund kicks the water and splashes Peter, and Lucy shrieks as Peter ducks behind her and she gets the full brunt of the cold.

#49 - Hair
Lucy picks flowers and Edmund braids them into her hair

#50 - Supernova
"The sun isn't going to blow up, Edmund," Lucy scoffs, looking over his books.

Comments

[zempasuchil.livejournal.com]

The blackmarkety vibe totally came through, yes! And even if Susan is hung up on morals Lucy knows that chocolate surpasses morality, lol.

unintended profundity is also very cool :D you are definitely delivering the ouch but without your characters being ouch. they are wonderful, and real without being gritty. which is appropriate for Pevensies!

d'aw, YOU are fab <3

[be-themoon.livejournal.com]

Oh yay! I was worried about that one, heh. Lucy knows how things go! Chocolate > everything. Always.