Fable Morrison (always_love) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2011-07-01 21:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | #flashback, fable, ziggy |
Whatever we deny or embrace, for worse or for better
Who: Ziggy and Fable, as well as Fable’s husband Tim (NPC)
Where: The streets of Redding, CA, then back to Fable’s
When: 2006
Fable was always a fan of the little things. Simple dinners, fresh flowers, nothing fancy, just the fact that her husband was home and they got to spend time together. Though they’d been married for a while, with Tim being in the Army, Fable spent a lot of time alone. Not right now, though. Right now, Tim was home, and though there was talk of him being shipped back out in a few months, she wasn’t going to think about that. Tonight it was the two of them, talking over dinner, and now they’d migrated to the couch to watch a movie.
Some might complain about how this was a “boring” life, but really, it was all Fable needed. She snuggled into Tim’s side, her legs draped over his lap, her face all but buried into his shoulder. The sound of a cell phone going off startled her a little, and she half-sat up, looking up at Tim. “Is that yours or mine?”
“Yours, I think.” Tim reached over and grabbed said phone, sitting on the end table. “It’s Ziggy. Wonder what he got himself into this time.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure he’s fine.” Ziggy always was, no matter what happened. He just liked to play things up for the theatrics. Pausing the movie, she brought the phone to her ear. “Hey you.”
If one were to look up the definition of fine, Ziggy’s face would not be next to it. Not even a hundred pages close to it, because sitting out on the streets with nothing but a pillow to cover up for the sake of decency was nowhere in the same universe of being “fine.” The guy was on break from college, which meant it was homeward bound for him. Ziggy had barely been home for a week and he was already hooking up with old flames from high school. What? He was bored and she was hot, so there was no problem in his book... you know, minus the fact her parents came home early and he got chased down the street for half a mile by her dad. Aside from that, everything was fine. Shit, he didn’t even care if someone drove by and saw him butt-naked. This was definitely not a first for the cops.
But it was a long walk home and this wasn’t exactly something he wanted to explain to his parents for the fifth time. Out of the things Ziggy managed to swipe before getting chased out were a pillow, his wallet, and cellphone. Poor guy even left his keys there. That was going to be an awkward call to Jessica come morning. Though right then he was calling up Fable, because out of all his siblings, she was the only one who wouldn’t judge or lecture him. Plus he knew this wouldn’t be the first time she got this call. “Hey!” At least he remained chipper despite what was going on. “How you doing, sis? Enjoying the night and stuff?”
Fable sat up enough so she could talk, Tim moving his arm so it was now down around her waist. After spending so much time apart, she wasn’t going to let anything get in between her and her husband, and Tim felt the same way. “Of course we are, Tim and I were just about to start watching a movie. You know, such an exciting night out.” In truth, Fable liked it better that way. No fuss, no dressing up, just the two of them enjoying each other’s company. “What about you?” Yes, it was like Ziggy to call just to talk - but if that was what he wanted, he’d be more likely to show up in person. She’d gotten plenty of late night calls from him before, for various reasons, so she was trying to figure out what was going on. He might not be that much younger than her, but she always looked out for him.
Had it been a normal person and not Ziggy, he would have apologized for butting in and say he’d call later when Fable wasn’t busy with Tim. But Ziggy was never the poster kid for normal. “Ooooo! Tim’s there? Tell him I said hi!” Typical, if anything. As for what he was up to, it definitely didn’t involve watching movies or snuggling with someone he loved. Ziggy was more or less convinced he’d never be able to keep someone around long enough like his sister had. That was fine. At least he still had his family. About that... “Oh, you know, just finished running away from Jessica’s dad on the other side of town. You remember Jessica, right? The cute blonde from my chem class circa junior year?” Because Ziggy obviously remembered her. “But yeah, I think he’s gone now and I’m kind of sitting on the sidewalk with just a pillow and was hoping that someone could come to the rescue.... preferably with pants in tow.” Fable might not have been able to see it, but Ziggy was putting on his grade-A grin, hoping that she would say yes. It was either that or explaining this to the cops that eventually drove by.
She moved the phone away from her mouth for a second. “Ziggy says hi, by the way.” Tim grinned and gave a wave, his usual chill self. Her husband liked her brother, and it helped that Ziggy didn’t get all high and mighty when Tim decided to join the military. At least, while he was home on leave, Fable wasn’t consumed with worry about whether or not he’d make it back to her, and they were both more relaxed for it. “Why are you running away from Jessica’s - oh. Ziggy.” It was about as stern as Fable was ever going to get with Ziggy, because it was almost to be expected. Because who else would be sitting naked on the side of the road with nothing but a pillow and a cell phone but her baby brother? She glanced over at Tim, then the movie they were about to watch, and sighed. “What road are you on? We can come get you.”
Tim raised an eyebrow. “What’s he done now?”
Fable only shrugged and nudged Tim’s arm. “Do me a favor, and grab a spare set of clothes, will you? Ziggy’s going to need them.”
“Whaaaaaaat?! It’s not my fault her parents came home early and saw us testing out how sturdy their dining room table was!” Thank god this wasn’t high school, or else his parents would be getting a phone call tonight and the lectures after that were always boring. He liked it much better when Fable just said his name once and left it at that. There was no changing the guy. “Oh! The road? Ummmm....” He craned his neck to try and find a street sign, but no luck. He wasn’t used to the other side of town, but maybe giving his sister visuals would help. “Good question. I know there’s an In-N-Out Burger around the corner. But seriously, how many other guys my age running around without pants are there right now in this town? Hmmm? Probably none.”
She couldn’t help it - she facepalmed. Hard. Not at the fact that he’d been banging a girl on the dining room table, but that he’d actually tell his big sister about it like it was no big deal. She wasn’t going to lecture him, though, because if sitting naked on the side of the road wasn’t going to convince the kid not to do it again, then nothing was going to. Next to her, Tim was chuckling. “That bad, huh?” her husband said, and she reached over and swatted his arm, gesturing to the upstairs. Ziggy was going to need those clothes and if Tim didn’t pick out which ones Ziggy could borrow, then Fable would do so herself. “If I pass any others on the way, I’ll let you know,” she said, shaking her head. “I think I know what corner that is, and if so, Tim and I will be there in... 15 minutes, something like that.”
Fifteen minutes didn’t sound all that bad. Was worse than waiting hours or something. Ziggy didn’t mind waiting either way. The guy could amuse himself somehow until she showed up. “Oh, Tim’s coming, too?! SWEET.” He really did like the guy and while this wasn’t exactly the most ideal of times to be hanging out with him, he was still happy. It was such a shame that the rest of the Redleafs didn’t like him. Pfff, screw that. “How is that going, by the way? The whole him being home thing?” Ziggy wasn’t exactly military savvy, but he knew that he came and went for random periods of time. The thought of being attached to someone like that and having them go away just broke Ziggy. He could never do it. Then again, this was the same guy who couldn’t keep a girl longer than a few weeks. Case and point - his current situation.
As she spoke, Fable got up from the couch, tugging her husband with her. The look on Tim’s face was half-amused, half-annoyed; they’d both been looking forward to having the evening off together. But the good thing about him being home was that they could have more nights just like this one. Better than any night they’d ever spend by themselves by a long shot. “Of course Tim’s coming, I couldn’t leave him behind! Besides, he’s the one bringing you clothes.” Would Ziggy try to fit into something of Fable’s? ….Maybe. If someone dared him. “And it’s going amazing. You know how much happier I am when he’s here, and I don’t have to worry.” There was nothing worse than the fear that you’d get a phone call one day, or that officers would show up on your doorstep to tell you something had happened. Fable didn’t like to acknowledge that fear, but it was definitely there. Always. Whenever Tim was shipped out. Tim followed her into their bedroom and started going through his clothes, grabbing a t-shirt and an old pair of gym shorts for Ziggy to wear. They’d be big, but at least they should fit him.
Tim was bringing him clothes. Things that were awesome - this. “REALLY?! OH MY GOD, CAN HE BRING HIS UNIFORM OR SOMETHING?!” It was a miracle that he didn’t wake up the whole neighborhood with his random outburst. The idea of being in full camouflage with some goofy hat while being dropped off at home was Ziggy’s idea of quality humor. His parents would have been thrilled to see that. They really needed to lighten up when it came to that. Not everyone was sunshine and flowers. But in all seriousness, Ziggy was just happy to get to see Tim again. His older brothers were great and all, but he felt like he could be more of himself around Tim. Same with Fable. “Well, you know I feel bad for intruding on your romantic evening, but at least this will make for another great story about your lil’ bro that you can add to the books?” Because if Ziggy was going to interrupt anything, it was going to be epic. That was how he rolled.
Ziggy could probably hear Fable rolling her eyes over the phone. “He wants to know if you’re bringing him your uniform.”
Tim just blinked. His uniform was in the closet, of course, pressed and perfect and waiting for the moment when his country would call him to put it on again, but until then it wasn’t coming out for any reason. “The shirt says Army on it,” he said, holding it up to show his wife. “Best he’s gonna get.” And that would be enough to let the Redleafs lose their shit, that was for sure, because they would know exactly where it came from.
“Don’t you worry,” Fable said, shaking her head, “Tim’s got you covered. No uniform, though.” She imagined Ziggy pouting over that. “And it’s all right, we do have nothing but the best stories about you.” The older Ziggy got, the crazier said stories became. Fable wasn’t surprised by much anymore, truth be told, and she wouldn’t trade her little brother for the world. “Hang tight, we’re heading out now. We’ll see you in a few, okay?”
Damnit, he really wanted to wear the uniform! Though if Tim had him covered, then maybe he could throw in some military swag or something. Anything to complete the look. And yes, Ziggy was pouting, because his awesome idea got smothered like a little flame going out. He’d get over himself in five minutes. “Ok.... no uniform...” If only pouts could transfer better over phonelines. “I’ll see you soon! Remember - I’m not hard to miss.” He would have laughed if Fable picked up some other naked kid on the streets. With the conversation over, Ziggy just sat back, whistling to himself, and just waited. One random person walking by with their dog came in proximity of Ziggy and in turn he just smiled and waved to them like this was all very normal. That earned him a strange look before they ran off. At least he was making an impression.
Fable could hear the pout, though, and it made her smile. Ziggy was the only one of her siblings who would be sad about the fact that he couldn’t wear her husband’s military uniform. For everyone else, Tim’s military job was the last straw, and the one that caused her to break away completely. Tim was worth it, though, and at least she still had Ziggy. Chuckling, she said her goodbyes before grabbing her purse and following Tim out to the car.
It took a few minutes to get there, and then another few to find the road Ziggy was on, Tim driving and Fable serving as navigator. When they finally pulled up alongside her brother, Fable just shook her head and rolled down the window. “Clothes are in the backseat,” she said, laughing a little at the sight of Ziggy sitting there. Literally naked. “We tried to rush.”
Tim leaned over. “Hey Ziggy. Nice pillow.”
The wait wasn’t that bad and considering it was Ziggy, he kept himself entertained. And when Fable did come rolling on up, he was all smiles, like this was no skin off his back. “Oh, you like it? It was either that or a flower pot, but this was in arm’s length.” Slipping into the back seat, Ziggy remained shameless the entire time. It wasn’t like this was the first time this had ever happened. “Thanks for coming, though! I figured me showing up on mom and dad’s doorstep in Tim’s clothes would be easier to explain than none at- OH FUCK YES!” Ziggy held up the army shirt that Tim had brought along, which instantly got Ziggy’s attention. He immediately began throwing it on, a little big on him, but it worked. “Sweeeeeeeeeet! Can I keep this?!”
Tim couldn’t help it. He might be a soldier, but he was also a guy, and therefore he went with the first thing that popped into his head. “A flower pot might have been a little small to work as a coverup,” he said, snickering, only to get smacked on the arm by his wife. “What? It’s a compliment! And sure, you can keep it, I’ve got a bunch of those.”
Fable only rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Boys never changed, no matter how old they got. “Of course I’d come get you, you knew that,” she said. She was always there for her little brother, and for her older siblings as well. It wasn’t her problem that not all of them necessarily wanted her around, which was a thought Fable chose not to dwell on. “Did you want us to bring you back to Mom and Dad’s, or did you just want to crash with us for the night?”
Ziggy just threw his arms up in the air and yelled out, “SCORE!” Anything that he could actually wear that would make his parents facepalm was good in his book. And he looked good in it! Double win. He proceeded to wriggle in the back of the car, performing what he would have called ‘backseat yoga,’ and finally got dressed completely. With that out of the way, Ziggy sat there and blinked when Fable presented him with options as to where he would crash for the night. He knew Fable didn’t get to be alone with Tim that often, but the idea of going back home and facing his parents this soon just made him sigh. True, he was used to it by now, but it would have been nice to go to bed at least once without having a screaming match before hand. “Um... if you wouldn’t mind, can I go back with you guys? I can sleep on your couch. Or the floor. Or outside under a bush. I’m flexible.” He hoped the pout he was giving big sis would help out in his favor.
Even Tim had to have a good laugh at that. Fable loved her husband dearly, but she knew he didn’t like the way the Redleafs treated him, and there was nothing that said he had to. They were being assholes for no reason and even when someone as level headed as Fable was agreed, then you knew it had to be bad. Tim would never say it, but Fable knew he didn’t mind rubbing it in her parents’ face a little.
Still, Fable would not have offered the choice to Ziggy if she didn’t mean it. Tim was still going to sleep next to her tonight, and that was better than not having him around at all. With one glance over at her husband, she nodded. “Of course you can, you know that,” she said, smiling. “We have a guest room for a reason, you know. No sleeping under a bush for you.” She paused, “Unless you really want to, I suppose I can’t stop you.”
“Hey now, I’ll take what I can! If there’s one thing I’ve taken away from our family, it’s that the garden is a perfectly suitable place to take a nap.” Which he always tended to do instead of actually helping out with the garden. That shit was hard! “But if there’s a vacancy in said guest room, then sign me up!” Instead of relaxing in the back seat, Ziggy proceeded to poke his head into the front of the car like he was a puppy wanting attention. “Sooooo.... I didn’t like, interrupt any plans for this evening, did I?” He gave his older sister a playful nudge along with a wink. Oh come on! It was either that or he went their parents’ route of disapproving them.
In the front seat, Fable just rolled her eyes. “It’s perfectly good for other things too, if I could ever get you to sit still long enough for me to show you,” she said, teasing him a little, though it was all in good spirits. Gardening was her special talent, not Ziggy’s, and she accepted that. Hell, he could make better art than she ever could, even though she could call herself crafty enough. She shook her head, “It’s all right, we weren’t doing anything besides watching a movie.”
Her husband glanced over at his brother-in-law. “Well, we weren’t doing anything yet.” Fable smacked his arm. “What? I’m just saying.” Tim was grinning though, and it was all in good fun. Fable was just happy that at least one person in her family got along with the love of her life.
Even if Ziggy could sit still for more than a minute, he doubted that anyone in the family would get him interested in gardening. He loved nature, there was no questioning that, but actually taking care of nature? Yeah, he failed at that. “I’ll sit and watch you do stuff in the garden and keep you company...?” Sounded better than him overwatering the flowers. Besides, Ziggy was some quality company, though right now he was starting to think that Tim was doing that job fine on his own. The young fire elemental smirked to himself, rather enjoying the two conversing back and forth. “At least he’s an honest guy,” Ziggy pointed out. “He could be a total prick in the worst way imaginable.” His eyes shifted over to Tim. “And then I’d have to beat you up.... er... or try to. I’d have to like, borrow a tank, but I’d do it.”
“That works too. But if I catch you sleeping underneath a tree again, I am going to spray you with the hose or something.” Not that Fable wanted to make her brother freak out, but it would be funny. Besides, if Ziggy was that quiet and fell asleep on her, she’d worry that something was wrong with her baby brother. Boy had a motormouth, that was for damn sure, one of the loudest of all of their siblings. “Of course Tim’s honest. I wouldn’t love him if he wasn’t.” All this time, Fable had Tim’s hand, laying on top of the shifter of the car, and she gave it the tiniest of squeezes, not wanting to distract him from driving, of course.
Smirking, Tim shook his head. “You’d try to take me down, but I think I’d win. Even if you got a tank.” Being a werewolf definitely helped in that respect. “I doubt it’ll come to that. I promise you, your sister’s in good hands.”
“DON’T DO THAT. THAT’S MEAN!” If there was one thing Ziggy hated, it was getting wet. The rest of his family and friends and everyone in existence were all for jumping in a pool or running through a sprinkler, but Ziggy was heavily under the ‘fuck that’ belief. It was not for him. Then again, it was probably the prime way to get a sleeping Ziggy out of the garden in two seconds flat. He stuck his tongue out at Fable before snickering and looking back and forth between the two of them. Ok, they were just too adorable for words. Ziggy never saw himself as the type to settle down with anyone in the history of ever, but he could see Fable doing that and he was happy that she found the right person to do it with. “Good to hear, because I like being not dead. Living is good. See?” He turned to Fable. “I can be anti-violence, too!” Even Ziggy couldn’t take himself seriously and was on the verge of cracking up. Oh, this would never get old.
Fable just laughed, seeing their house approaching, the porch light on, just as they’d left it. “It would wake you up though, wouldn’t it?” she said, shaking her head. “Trust me, I would never do anything mean to you, I promise.” Ziggy knew that. Even when Fable wasn’t on speaking terms with anyone in her family, she never wished them ill. She just wished they’d be as accepting of her choices as she was of theirs, and that wasn’t so much to ask for.
Parking the car, Tim got out first, coming around to get the door for Fable as well. “You know, I think that’s something we can all get behind,” he said, offering a hand to his wife. Mostly, he just wanted to keep her close, making up for all the time he’d spent away in the last year. “Living is definitely good. Come on, let’s head in. We never did get to finish our movie from earlier.”
At least Fable was laughing. It made Ziggy happy to no end to see his family and friends laughing and smiling. That’s how life should be. That was right up there with seeing how his sister and her husband looked at each other. Yup, they were meant to be. It was a shame that no one else really thought that. Did they prefer she be with an abusive asshole, just because he was vegan or something? Ziggy didn’t get it and refused to get it. “Oooooo! Which movie? I’m totally game! Unless it’s one of your chicky-flick things, then I’m definitely sleeping outside.” Though if Fable wanted movie time with just Tim, then he could respect that, too. It wasn’t like Fable could watch movies with him every night, after all.
Fable laced her fingers together with Tim’s as she climbed out of the car, tucking herself into her husband’s side. She didn’t care if she was acting too lovey-dovey for her little brother, because hell, she’d been without her husband for how long, she was totally allowed. And besides, she knew Ziggy was a fan of them both - one of the only members in their family who was - and it was nice not to have to be guarded about that sort of thing. Once they were inside the house, she dropped her purse on the table by the doorway and led them all into the living room. “I was not watching a chick flick,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I wouldn’t put Tim through that. We were watching O Brother, Where Art Thou?, but that can change.”
Tim collapsed on the couch, grabbing the remote. “I can even start it over if you’d like. I could watch this movie a hundred times and not get sick of it.”
“Oooo, I haven’t seen that in a while! I’m all for a movie night.” It didn’t even register in his mind that he went from nailing an old high school friend to running for his life naked to plopping down on the couch to watch a movie with his sister and her husband. Just another typical, crazy night in the life of Ziggy. He liked it better that way than never having anything interesting happen in his life. All in all, it was better than going home that moment. While he was happy that Tim and Fable had their own place, Ziggy missed going home to see his big sis there. Without her around, he felt even more out of place. Not that he dared to tell Fable that at any point; she seemed happy where she was and she deserved that more than anything. Clingy!Ziggy was just going to have to cope. “We just need popcorn and candy and we’re all set.”
“Then it’s settled. Tim, you want to get the movie all set up, and I’ll work on the food?” The kitchen was right off the living room and while Fable was a self-proclaimed hippie - how could she not be, considering how she and her siblings were named and raised? - she did own a microwave. She didn’t have any fancy popcorn, all things considered, but she liked the plainer stuff anyway, maybe with a pinch of salt. Soon the popcorn was ready and she brought in the bowl, along with a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses. Oh yes, Fable was more than glad to have people over. Her brother was here, and her husband was home. Her two favorite people in the entire world, really. Even though her night might not have started out as she’d planned, she was beyond happy with the end result. “You boys ready?”