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kittydesade) wrote2007-01-22 04:39 pm
kittydesade) wrote2007-01-22 04:39 pm
Entry tags:
[Fic] Full of Grace
Title: Full of Grace
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Sarah
Word Count: 1,379
Rating: PG
Summary: Sarah's at Harvard, and discovers something she would never have expected.
Sarah wouldn't have seen them except that quickest way to her sorority was behind the library and through the President's parking lot, and to do that you had to cross a stretch of woods. It was a popular place to get away when you wanted to study outside but didn't want the clamor of the parks, to hide and make out with your sweetheart, to hold some kind of deep dark secret hazing rituals for the Greek societies or other clubs. She wasn't surprised to occasionally have to step over someone or look away.
She was a little more surprised when she looked away and then realized who she had been glancing at. Sarah bit her lip and tried to convince herself that she hadn't seen what she'd just thought she'd seen.
Two steps back put a sapling between her and the kissing couple, not exactly cover but at least enough to block their direct line of sight if they heard her. If she kept very still, they probably wouldn't be able to tell who she was. A very good thing, since she thought she recognized them. Both of them.
There couldn't be all that many guys at Harvard with long blonde hair. Not that many in that good shape. There might have been another one who drove a bike but she couldn't think of anyone, which meant the helmet at his feet was the familiar one she'd helped Caleb pick out for his friend. Somehow, it didn't surprise her that Pogue was locked in passionate embrace with another man. He and Kate had been good for each other, but when they'd finally broken it off she'd started to notice little things that she hadn't been able to interpret before.
It was the other young man who made her bite her lip to keep from gasping in surprise. Dark hair, strong shoulders, she could still pick him out across the street if they passed each other on campus. His back was to her and she still recognized the t-shirt he was wearing. A tour shirt. The year before they had met he and the boys had gone to a Crystal Method concert, and she found she could still trace the letters on his back, count the dates down to the concert they had been to.
It stunned her enough that at first she was looking for some signs that it wasn't him, or that he wasn't a willing, even eager participant. Maybe she was mistaken. Maybe there was someone else with the same t-shirt, the same lean muscular build, the same cute butt that Pogue's hand was now oh no, look away.
When she looked back his hand was several inches higher, thank god. And they were still kissing. But he'd made a sound and she recognized that voice, the sound of a half-whispered word that she had caused, once upon a time.
Sarah curled one hand around the sapling she was hiding behind, knowing that she should just back away or move on. It was fascinating, the way they held on tight to each other, pressed close and quite clearly very much in love.
She knew this wasn't why their relationship had failed. After what had happened with Chase at the Putnam barn she thought she had a better idea of what Caleb could do, but she quickly realized that she didn't have any better idea of who Caleb was. They'd spent the next year trying to figure that out, going on dates, learning more about each other. They'd had a good time, or at least she thought they had. She had, anyway. She didn't regret a moment of it.
When it had finally ended they hadn't done so in anger. But there was a part of him that frightened her a little, even more when she watched him pace up and down and stare at the clock, muttering to himself while he waited for Pogue to ascend and call him and tell him it was okay. Reid had been easier, he'd been there and even if she and Kate hadn't been invited, they all partied when the boys got back. Tyler was the last of them, but she still wasn't used to it by then. And when their eyes all went black and strange things happened, a year later she couldn't suppress the shiver.
And she knew it hurt him, that she couldn't just shrug and accept. It might have been easier if she'd found out without Chase trying to kill them all, if the spiders hadn't been there, if half a dozen other things. She didn't think it was anything to do with a lack of compatibility, and the spark was definitely there. He had loved her.
And now he loved Pogue.
How long had it been going on? If he had known he loved Pogue while they'd still been dating he would have told her. She was sure of that. It wasn't like him to be with someone while wanting to be with someone else, Caleb had the capacity for fierce dedication and loyalty, more than anyone she'd ever known.
It would have been after they'd broken up, after something had happened that he realized, and now that she thought about it maybe it wasn't so strange after all. People realized long-buried love for their best friends, maybe not all the time, but pretty often. It might even be easier because Pogue could share the one thing that she couldn't, the burden and excitement of their Power.
And that was just another excuse. Sarah pulled out of her thoughts and back to the present and looked back over. Their foreheads pressed together, Caleb's hand on his cheek the way he used to touch her, tender and careful. And warm. He'd always had warm hands. Pogue's arms were loose around his waist and she thought there was something a little vulnerable in the way he was leaning into Caleb. He said something, and she heard Caleb laugh, could imagine the smile and the light in his eyes. Pogue smiled back, soft and shy. She could remember that look as well, the way he'd looked at Kate once upon a time. Now, the way he looked at Caleb.
More than the kissing, it was that moment she remembered as she crept forward to the parking lot, leaving them to it. The look in Pogue's eyes, the sound of Caleb's voice. She knew them well enough to know what all of that meant. And she couldn't even be jealous of them, although there was a part of her that was. In a wistful way, not mean-spirited. Wishing she could have been that happy with Caleb, could have made him as happy as he sounded. If not her, at least someone. Before and even after they'd hooked up, and during, he'd always been way too serious. He deserved to be happy. They both did.
Sarah smiled a little to herself. She hadn't been meant to see that, of course, no one had. But now there was an urge to talk to one of them about it, words pressing at her lips. Congratulations, more than questions. She didn't feel any urge to ask why. She wanted to know how, but that was just curiosity. And she wanted to tell them she was happy for them, how she thought it was a good thing that they had found love and joy together.
Maybe later. If she saw them again before class, or at a party, or if they all went out to a restaurant or a movie again. They still kept in touch, less close than they had been but still friends. It felt a little like calling Caleb up and telling him she knew about his powers. I know your deep dark secret.
Except it wasn't a deep dark secret. It was something ordinary and wonderful, something that happened every day.
Sarah looked over at the calendar, grinned. Valentine's day was fast coming up. Maybe she could drop a hint or a suggestion to Pogue, start the conversation that way. Let him know that she was okay with it, that she was glad for them. And maybe learn how it had come about, because she was still curious, after all.
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Sarah
Word Count: 1,379
Rating: PG
Summary: Sarah's at Harvard, and discovers something she would never have expected.
Sarah wouldn't have seen them except that quickest way to her sorority was behind the library and through the President's parking lot, and to do that you had to cross a stretch of woods. It was a popular place to get away when you wanted to study outside but didn't want the clamor of the parks, to hide and make out with your sweetheart, to hold some kind of deep dark secret hazing rituals for the Greek societies or other clubs. She wasn't surprised to occasionally have to step over someone or look away.
She was a little more surprised when she looked away and then realized who she had been glancing at. Sarah bit her lip and tried to convince herself that she hadn't seen what she'd just thought she'd seen.
Two steps back put a sapling between her and the kissing couple, not exactly cover but at least enough to block their direct line of sight if they heard her. If she kept very still, they probably wouldn't be able to tell who she was. A very good thing, since she thought she recognized them. Both of them.
There couldn't be all that many guys at Harvard with long blonde hair. Not that many in that good shape. There might have been another one who drove a bike but she couldn't think of anyone, which meant the helmet at his feet was the familiar one she'd helped Caleb pick out for his friend. Somehow, it didn't surprise her that Pogue was locked in passionate embrace with another man. He and Kate had been good for each other, but when they'd finally broken it off she'd started to notice little things that she hadn't been able to interpret before.
It was the other young man who made her bite her lip to keep from gasping in surprise. Dark hair, strong shoulders, she could still pick him out across the street if they passed each other on campus. His back was to her and she still recognized the t-shirt he was wearing. A tour shirt. The year before they had met he and the boys had gone to a Crystal Method concert, and she found she could still trace the letters on his back, count the dates down to the concert they had been to.
It stunned her enough that at first she was looking for some signs that it wasn't him, or that he wasn't a willing, even eager participant. Maybe she was mistaken. Maybe there was someone else with the same t-shirt, the same lean muscular build, the same cute butt that Pogue's hand was now oh no, look away.
When she looked back his hand was several inches higher, thank god. And they were still kissing. But he'd made a sound and she recognized that voice, the sound of a half-whispered word that she had caused, once upon a time.
Sarah curled one hand around the sapling she was hiding behind, knowing that she should just back away or move on. It was fascinating, the way they held on tight to each other, pressed close and quite clearly very much in love.
She knew this wasn't why their relationship had failed. After what had happened with Chase at the Putnam barn she thought she had a better idea of what Caleb could do, but she quickly realized that she didn't have any better idea of who Caleb was. They'd spent the next year trying to figure that out, going on dates, learning more about each other. They'd had a good time, or at least she thought they had. She had, anyway. She didn't regret a moment of it.
When it had finally ended they hadn't done so in anger. But there was a part of him that frightened her a little, even more when she watched him pace up and down and stare at the clock, muttering to himself while he waited for Pogue to ascend and call him and tell him it was okay. Reid had been easier, he'd been there and even if she and Kate hadn't been invited, they all partied when the boys got back. Tyler was the last of them, but she still wasn't used to it by then. And when their eyes all went black and strange things happened, a year later she couldn't suppress the shiver.
And she knew it hurt him, that she couldn't just shrug and accept. It might have been easier if she'd found out without Chase trying to kill them all, if the spiders hadn't been there, if half a dozen other things. She didn't think it was anything to do with a lack of compatibility, and the spark was definitely there. He had loved her.
And now he loved Pogue.
How long had it been going on? If he had known he loved Pogue while they'd still been dating he would have told her. She was sure of that. It wasn't like him to be with someone while wanting to be with someone else, Caleb had the capacity for fierce dedication and loyalty, more than anyone she'd ever known.
It would have been after they'd broken up, after something had happened that he realized, and now that she thought about it maybe it wasn't so strange after all. People realized long-buried love for their best friends, maybe not all the time, but pretty often. It might even be easier because Pogue could share the one thing that she couldn't, the burden and excitement of their Power.
And that was just another excuse. Sarah pulled out of her thoughts and back to the present and looked back over. Their foreheads pressed together, Caleb's hand on his cheek the way he used to touch her, tender and careful. And warm. He'd always had warm hands. Pogue's arms were loose around his waist and she thought there was something a little vulnerable in the way he was leaning into Caleb. He said something, and she heard Caleb laugh, could imagine the smile and the light in his eyes. Pogue smiled back, soft and shy. She could remember that look as well, the way he'd looked at Kate once upon a time. Now, the way he looked at Caleb.
More than the kissing, it was that moment she remembered as she crept forward to the parking lot, leaving them to it. The look in Pogue's eyes, the sound of Caleb's voice. She knew them well enough to know what all of that meant. And she couldn't even be jealous of them, although there was a part of her that was. In a wistful way, not mean-spirited. Wishing she could have been that happy with Caleb, could have made him as happy as he sounded. If not her, at least someone. Before and even after they'd hooked up, and during, he'd always been way too serious. He deserved to be happy. They both did.
Sarah smiled a little to herself. She hadn't been meant to see that, of course, no one had. But now there was an urge to talk to one of them about it, words pressing at her lips. Congratulations, more than questions. She didn't feel any urge to ask why. She wanted to know how, but that was just curiosity. And she wanted to tell them she was happy for them, how she thought it was a good thing that they had found love and joy together.
Maybe later. If she saw them again before class, or at a party, or if they all went out to a restaurant or a movie again. They still kept in touch, less close than they had been but still friends. It felt a little like calling Caleb up and telling him she knew about his powers. I know your deep dark secret.
Except it wasn't a deep dark secret. It was something ordinary and wonderful, something that happened every day.
Sarah looked over at the calendar, grinned. Valentine's day was fast coming up. Maybe she could drop a hint or a suggestion to Pogue, start the conversation that way. Let him know that she was okay with it, that she was glad for them. And maybe learn how it had come about, because she was still curious, after all.