obligatory fourth of july post

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!]

[Come to the roof to do American things! Like have cookouts, and eat watermelon. Stay for the fireworks, too.]

Comments

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

I...

[She looks at him for a moment, her eyes straining in the dim lights, trying her best to see his entire face. As if it will help her understand him at all. Her own expression turns sympathetic.]

I don't understand how cleaning up a few beer bottles is going to really be helping me with anything, it's simple work, but... if you really want to.

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

I know it helps. Quit being so modest.

[He takes the bottles from her, plus what he left by his chair.] Besides...I'm the one that emptied them. I should be the one to clean them up.

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[She gives him a small glare before sitting herself down in one of the plastic chairs again. She sits on the edge of the seat, instead of leaning back, because she knows that she will have to get up soon enough.]

Fine.

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

[He takes all the bottles and other miscellaneous trash items to the tall trashcan in the kitchen.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[Her hands rest in her lap. There's a bit of an annoyance look on her face as she waits for him to come back.

Not to say, she isn't used to this (her husband always did the same exact thing), but still, it didn't mean she liked it all that much. Even if the good always outweighed the bad.]

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

[He returns back to her and looks down to where she is seated.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[At first, she doesn't look at him. Her eyes stare off straight ahead, at nothing in particular. She tries her best to pretend to be focused on herself, but after awhile she looks up at him.]

Do you even feel positive emotions anymore?

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

...What?

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

Kiss me.

[She says this like how one says a greeting or speaks in a casual conversation.]

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

? [That took him by surprise, but irresistibly...like a moth to a flame, he obeys her command. He carefully kneels down and leans in to plant a gentle kiss on her lips.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[She presses her lips back, there's a bit more force into it, but it still remains gentle.

When she pulls away, her lips are still very close to his.]

Why would you deny yourself of happiness when you deserve it the most?

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

I don't understand... [John whispers back to her. He's not entirely sure where she's going with this.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[She rests a hand on his face, pulling back a bit more.]

You always make it sound like you don't deserve to be happy. [Then she leans forward again, resting her cheek against his own.] There's plenty more emotions than those that are on the battlefield, you know.

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

[He sighs quietly when their faces touch. He doesn't reply to her remarks, she just lets her speak her mind while he enjoys their closeness.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

You have the best intentions for everyone else.

[She tilts her head a little, her eyelashes gently brushing against his cheek.] But not for yourself.

[In a way, she's the same. Not to a point where she doesn't think she deserves happiness, though.]

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

...

[He listens to what she has to say, but his deserving of happiness died years ago the day he killed the Boss. He hasn't known true happiness since that day. His heart remains broken and his soul void, but he's become extremely adept at feigning mirth when needed.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[She pulls back again, her face half-illuminated by the lights.]

You're going to continue feeling that way, aren't you?

You have me, Snake. I'm right here in front of you. [She firmly grabs his wrist and places his hand on her waist.] Everything else here might be fake, but this is real. I'm a real live person here in front of you... and you're going to think that there's no way you can still feel anything?

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

[He looks over at her, and she remains a real vision of loveliness.]

I prefer to give pleasure than take it.

[He presses that hand of his against her waist a little more. He smiles, but can she tell if it's a real one or a very convincing fake.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one.

[She smiles back at him, her hand gently touching the one that's on her waist.]

But doesn't it please you when someone else is happy and well because of you? As a doctor, I've always felt that way.

[Gently, she shifts, the hem of her dress going from her knees to a few inches above them.]

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

Yes. It pleases me to see others happy [and it's the only way he feels a little less than completely dead inside these days].

[His gaze darts to that knee of hers...]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

Two people who get pleasure out of seeing other people be happy... it's a bit of a paradox, isn't it? [She softly laughs, moving closer again.]

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

I suppose it is.

[He tries to give her a more cheerful face, since he's sure that's what she wants. The real him isn't...as cheerful as she remembers from the past.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[She removes her hand from his and places it gently on his chest for support.]

You don't have to fake a smile for me, you know. [Before she lets him respond, she slides a little bit more to the edge of the chair, and kisses him again.]

[old-papa-john.livejournal.com]

[If she really meant that, then he won't. Before he could even think of something to possibly say, his lips are locked with hers again.]

[drquacksays.livejournal.com]

[She enjoys feeling something real for once. Everything here is either fake or gradually goes away over time. The rooms change them only for a second, some of them are even made to look real, and certainly feel real.

They may be under a fake sky, but what she's feeling now is more real and alive. She had missed that feeling. A part of reality slipping into the distance and fading away when she found Ivanya's body those few months ago.

Her body shifts again, the hem of her dress going up a bit more, as she presses herself closer to him.]