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Title: Night Terrors
Series: Life
Fandoms: Castle
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Angst, Romance, Hurt/Comfort
Warnings: Slash, AU, genre!crack, zombies, violent imagery, references to cannibalism, unbetad.
Characters/Pairings: Javier Esposito/Kevin Ryan
Wordcount: 667
Summary: He felt so stupid when it hit him later that day. Just one of those random connections the brain often made when it was occupied by something else entirely, but the realization left him feeling chilled, and ill, and uncomfortable all the same.
Details: Takes place in the same universe as "Quality of Life" (i.e. that strange AU where Javier is a zombie, and Montgomery is still alive).
"Dreams" Javier had called them.
Kevin would never admit how much it had scared him that first time. That night he had woken up late to find his partner standing in the kitchen, eyes intense but distant, staring and unresponsive until Kevin shook him. Kevin had known about them, the waking dreams, though only vaguely from what little the nurses could tell him. He knew that during onset Javier had sometimes dreamed while he was still awake, but he hadn't realized that it still happened. Javier had never told him.
He'd had questions, of course, but he had put them away as he often did. Then Javier had started to apologize again, and Kevin couldn't stand that. Because sure, maybe it was something his partner should have mentioned before accepting the invitation to stay, but they both knew it wouldn't have changed Kevin's mind. They never happened often, anyway—in the first three months Javier had been staying with him there had been only five that Kevin was aware of. And according to his partner, he'd managed to train himself out of reacting to them long before his release.
Still, the idea of Javier becoming locked in, forced to watch his nightmares unfold in front of him was difficult to be comfortable with. It had been in his head at first to keep an eye on his partner, to snap him out of it if he could. Unfortunately the late, unpredictable hours Javier kept were prohibitive of that end, and Kevin finally had to concede his defeat.
One night, after they had started sleeping together, Kevin woke to find Javier sitting on the edge of the bed, that familiar, odd vacancy in his eyes. Pulling him out of it with a cautious hand on his shoulder, he'd coaxed Javier into bed. They had lain together quietly for a while after that, Kevin's arms around him, a strange tension electrifying the places where their two skins touched. And normally Kevin would have never asked, but it was such a common, natural question that not asking never honestly occurred to him.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He had asked, softly, hand stroking slowly down the length of his partner's arm. "I mean, they say it helps if you share your nightmares."
And he had felt Javier stiffen awkwardly beside him, shifting almost as if he wanted to pull out of Kevin's grasp. After a brief moment, though, he settled in, melting back against the warmth of Kevin's body. Then reluctantly—so reluctantly, and in the loosest details possible—he had told Kevin what he'd seen.
It was as bad as he could have imagined it to be, but Kevin listened silently. When his partner had finished, a kiss and a few light comments mopped up some of the darkness around his eyes, and even brought out a weak smile. And while he drifted off first, the next morning, when Javier swore he had gotten some real sleep that night, Kevin believed him.
He felt so stupid when it hit him later that day. Just one of those random connections the brain often made when it was occupied by something else entirely, but the realization left him feeling chilled, and ill, and uncomfortable just the same.
Because he knew what they were like, if only vaguely. The nurses had described a few of them.
Javier's dreams were violent and bloody and painfully, painfully vivid. Cruel visions that had taken him months to distinguish from reality. Dreams where the worst parts of his changed nature were let loose of his usual firm control. Dreams where his darkest emotions were given brutal expression, and anger overflowed into hunger. Dreams where his chases didn't end with cuffs. Dreams where restraints broke, and bones splintered, and blood ran, hot and rich. Dreams...
Dreams.
That was realization Kevin had made, a subtle twist to his understanding that cast a sick pall over the rest of his morning. Javier nearly always called them dreams.
Dreams. Not nightmares.
Author's Note: I had this finished yesterday, and was going to save it to post some time down the line. Then, my shitty laptop (which is shitty, and likes to shut down if I bump it wrong) crashed on me. OpenOffice.org nicely saves documents when that happens...if the shitty laptop (which is shitty) remembers to read the flashdrive. I checked, I honest to God checked to see that the flash was being read before I tried to restore, but the shitty laptop (do I have to repeat myself) stopped reading it halfway through recovering the document. Which would have been fine (I'd finished it, afterall, I was just rereading...) if it hadn't saved the incomplete recovery document over the original file, basically deleting the ending to a fic that I felt I had written pretty god-damned close to perfect.
The end of this is rewritten from memory. I swear it was better before. FML.
Author's Note Two: Zombie porn fic is not new. On AO3, a reviewer left me a link to a Watchmen zombie AU. If you're into Watchmen, zombies, AUs, and slash (and I assume if you're here, you must dig three out of the four), you should definitely check it out. I never thought that Rorschach was even remotely slashable, but you live and learn... Or, you know, whatever.
Author's Note Three (aka, Life AU DVD extras): Losing the ending to this fic totally took away my mood to write. Instead, I wound up wasting almost the entire day fucking around on Windows Movie Maker. So, bad news is, you don't get the fic at 100%. Consolation prize, you get a fanvideo for the Life AU.
I'm also sharing my playlist that I listen to while writing the Life series. There's...kind of a lot of heavy in it. What? Yes, I'm a horror geek and a metal head. You're surprised?
Series: Life
Fandoms: Castle
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Angst, Romance, Hurt/Comfort
Warnings: Slash, AU, genre!crack, zombies, violent imagery, references to cannibalism, unbetad.
Characters/Pairings: Javier Esposito/Kevin Ryan
Wordcount: 667
Summary: He felt so stupid when it hit him later that day. Just one of those random connections the brain often made when it was occupied by something else entirely, but the realization left him feeling chilled, and ill, and uncomfortable all the same.
Details: Takes place in the same universe as "Quality of Life" (i.e. that strange AU where Javier is a zombie, and Montgomery is still alive).
"Dreams" Javier had called them.
Kevin would never admit how much it had scared him that first time. That night he had woken up late to find his partner standing in the kitchen, eyes intense but distant, staring and unresponsive until Kevin shook him. Kevin had known about them, the waking dreams, though only vaguely from what little the nurses could tell him. He knew that during onset Javier had sometimes dreamed while he was still awake, but he hadn't realized that it still happened. Javier had never told him.
He'd had questions, of course, but he had put them away as he often did. Then Javier had started to apologize again, and Kevin couldn't stand that. Because sure, maybe it was something his partner should have mentioned before accepting the invitation to stay, but they both knew it wouldn't have changed Kevin's mind. They never happened often, anyway—in the first three months Javier had been staying with him there had been only five that Kevin was aware of. And according to his partner, he'd managed to train himself out of reacting to them long before his release.
Still, the idea of Javier becoming locked in, forced to watch his nightmares unfold in front of him was difficult to be comfortable with. It had been in his head at first to keep an eye on his partner, to snap him out of it if he could. Unfortunately the late, unpredictable hours Javier kept were prohibitive of that end, and Kevin finally had to concede his defeat.
One night, after they had started sleeping together, Kevin woke to find Javier sitting on the edge of the bed, that familiar, odd vacancy in his eyes. Pulling him out of it with a cautious hand on his shoulder, he'd coaxed Javier into bed. They had lain together quietly for a while after that, Kevin's arms around him, a strange tension electrifying the places where their two skins touched. And normally Kevin would have never asked, but it was such a common, natural question that not asking never honestly occurred to him.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He had asked, softly, hand stroking slowly down the length of his partner's arm. "I mean, they say it helps if you share your nightmares."
And he had felt Javier stiffen awkwardly beside him, shifting almost as if he wanted to pull out of Kevin's grasp. After a brief moment, though, he settled in, melting back against the warmth of Kevin's body. Then reluctantly—so reluctantly, and in the loosest details possible—he had told Kevin what he'd seen.
It was as bad as he could have imagined it to be, but Kevin listened silently. When his partner had finished, a kiss and a few light comments mopped up some of the darkness around his eyes, and even brought out a weak smile. And while he drifted off first, the next morning, when Javier swore he had gotten some real sleep that night, Kevin believed him.
He felt so stupid when it hit him later that day. Just one of those random connections the brain often made when it was occupied by something else entirely, but the realization left him feeling chilled, and ill, and uncomfortable just the same.
Because he knew what they were like, if only vaguely. The nurses had described a few of them.
Javier's dreams were violent and bloody and painfully, painfully vivid. Cruel visions that had taken him months to distinguish from reality. Dreams where the worst parts of his changed nature were let loose of his usual firm control. Dreams where his darkest emotions were given brutal expression, and anger overflowed into hunger. Dreams where his chases didn't end with cuffs. Dreams where restraints broke, and bones splintered, and blood ran, hot and rich. Dreams...
Dreams.
That was realization Kevin had made, a subtle twist to his understanding that cast a sick pall over the rest of his morning. Javier nearly always called them dreams.
Dreams. Not nightmares.
Author's Note: I had this finished yesterday, and was going to save it to post some time down the line. Then, my shitty laptop (which is shitty, and likes to shut down if I bump it wrong) crashed on me. OpenOffice.org nicely saves documents when that happens...if the shitty laptop (which is shitty) remembers to read the flashdrive. I checked, I honest to God checked to see that the flash was being read before I tried to restore, but the shitty laptop (do I have to repeat myself) stopped reading it halfway through recovering the document. Which would have been fine (I'd finished it, afterall, I was just rereading...) if it hadn't saved the incomplete recovery document over the original file, basically deleting the ending to a fic that I felt I had written pretty god-damned close to perfect.
The end of this is rewritten from memory. I swear it was better before. FML.
Author's Note Two: Zombie porn fic is not new. On AO3, a reviewer left me a link to a Watchmen zombie AU. If you're into Watchmen, zombies, AUs, and slash (and I assume if you're here, you must dig three out of the four), you should definitely check it out. I never thought that Rorschach was even remotely slashable, but you live and learn... Or, you know, whatever.
Author's Note Three (aka, Life AU DVD extras): Losing the ending to this fic totally took away my mood to write. Instead, I wound up wasting almost the entire day fucking around on Windows Movie Maker. So, bad news is, you don't get the fic at 100%. Consolation prize, you get a fanvideo for the Life AU.
I'm also sharing my playlist that I listen to while writing the Life series. There's...kind of a lot of heavy in it. What? Yes, I'm a horror geek and a metal head. You're surprised?
no subject
Date: Monday, 14 November 2011 10:00 pm (UTC)From:(Actually, I don't even have this random roach plot in my head that is so deliciously odd that it makes me think you should write it....)
I've got way, way too many Roach ideas as it is (a few that are even SN crossovers...), but I'd still love to hear it if you toss me a PM. :)