Fic: Thunder - R/L (imp) - PG
Feb. 6th, 2008 02:45 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
kahvi.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
reddwarfslashTitle: Thunder
Pairing: Rimmer/Lister (implied)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own Red Dwarf, or any of the characters thereof. I make no money from this.
Spoilers: Future Echoes, Stasis Leak, and Cassandra.
Notes: Written as part of my![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fanfic100 challenge. My table is here. As always, please bring me concrit!
"It doesn't make sense."
Leaning back against the quietly humming metal hull of the transport ship, Lister glanced over at Kochanski. "Eh?"
"All of this. None of it makes any sense." She was hunched over, nipping at the tips of her gloves, her nails being unavailable. Lister gave a snort.
"Nothing that's happened to us fer the last half-decade has made any sense. Why should it start now? Or were," he added, snarkily, "your years on Red Dwarf with that other me filled to the brim with perfectly logical adventures?"
Kochanski shook her head. "No, but I mean... what Cassandra did. What she said; about me and Rimmer.”
“Yeah, don't remind me.”
“Yes, but why Rimmer?”
Lister shrugged. “Because I can't stand him. Because he'd be the worst person you could ever sleep with.”
“And you'd kill him for that?” Kochanski eyed him, curiously.
“Of course not! I wouldn't kill anyone, much less fer sleeping with someone who isn't even my girlfriend.” Lister regretted the words the moment they slipped out, but Kochanski merely rolled her eyes and continued.
“Right; but that's what she wanted you to believe would happen. To punish you, yes?”
“Yeah...” Lister was tired. He didn't know what Kris was on about, and he didn't much care. But it seemed to much work even to ask her to shut up.
“So why not Cat?”
“Eh?”
Having warmed to the subject, Kochanski seemed almost agitated. “Why not say that Cat was going to sleep with me? I mean, you actually care about him, so it would be a real betrayal, and the idea of killing him would have much more of an impact. Besides, the two of us having sex would at least be half-way realistic.” Lister gave her a look, and she blushed, ever so slightly, avoiding eye contact. Lister would have found that interesting, under any other circumstances. As it was, he was tired, cold and depressed, and very much not in the mood.
“Wouldn't work, would it? It was you and Rimmer that ended up trapped together. Not you and Cat. She knew that was going to happen.”
Kochanski said nothing for a while, seemingly lost in thought. Though he tried to enjoy the silence, Lister could almost hear her mental gears grinding.
“What?”
“I was just thinking...”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“You know that Ray Bradbury story; The Sound of Thunder?”
That sounded oddly familiar. “Wasn't that the movie where a guy went back in time, stepped on a butterfly, and when he got back, dinosaurs ruled the Earth?”
Kochanski looked at him with that mixture of shock and confusion Lister was getting quite used to by now. It was as though she kept forgetting all those little thing that made him different from her Dave, and then in a flash of disappointment, she would remember. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. “Close enough.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I loved that story, growing up. I always thought of it as a reminder of the power we all have to change our own lives; the future, for good or for bad. It was very motivational.”
“Yeah, well, it can't be done. The future echoes proved that.”
Kochanski huddled closer. “You tried?”
Lister nodded. “Didn't work. No matter what we tried to do, things just...” he twisted his hands around in a vague gesture. “Made themselves happen anyway. Like, the more we tried to avoid them, the more we ended up causing them in the first place. And there was that time we went back in time,” he said, suddenly remembering, “to before the accident.”
“The stasis leak?”
Lister's eyebrows shot up. “You found that too?”
“Yes; we closed it up before it could cause any damage.”
“You didn't go through it?”
Kochanski shook her head slowly, as though she didn't even fully understand the question. “Of course not; it was unstable.” There it was again, that moment of realization. The 'my Dave would never have' moment. “But you did.”
“We did. Ended up in the past. Tried changing it, but we just ended up confusing ourselves. Rimmer tried sending himself into stasis, so he wouldn't be dead.”
Kochanski snorted. “I'm not surprised. What did you do?”
“I, eh... ” Lister met her eyes, and sighed. “I tried to save you.” He smiled, wanly, anticipating another eyeroll, but instead, Kris smiled back.
“That was sweet of you.”
“Didn't work, though.” He shook his head, chuckling at the memory. “I thought you and me had gotten married, y'see. 'Cause we found this photograph. And we had, really, but not yet.” Lister could see Kris was struggling to keep up, but he was on a roll here. It had taken him quite a while to piece this together at the time, and he was smegging well going to use it for something. “The older me explained it all.”
“The other you?”
“Yeah, from farther into the future. He told us that, five years from then...” Lister stopped. Five years. And that had been six years ago.
“What?”
Six years. And Bexley's son dying? How could that happen on their Red Dwarf after the twins had been sent back to their mother? That's where their kids would grow up, if they had any. An unsettled feeling was sneaking its way into Lister's stomach. They had changed the future. Somehow, they had changed the future, and they hadn't even known they were doing it. “Nothing. Just... it doesn't work, OK? Just trust me on this.”
Despite her earlier chattiness, Kochanski looked every bit as tired as Lister felt. “All right,” she conceded. “I suppose it doesn't matter.” She closed her eyes, and after a moment or two, relaxed her body against Lister's. Soon, she was breathing steadily, drifting into sleep.
Lister let her, pulling some of her long hair away from her face. She'd been right. Cassandra's actions made a lot more sense if the future were not set in stone. Maybe it was more like... Lister searched for a metaphor... treacle. You could wade through it if you had to, but it was hard as hell, and most of the time, it'd just end up seeping back into place. But sometimes, if you pushed in just the right places, at just the right time... And Cassandra had almost managed. Kris had almost slept with a man because she'd been told it was going to happen anyway. Lister had almost killed Rimmer, just because he'd been told it was going to happen anyway. He hadn't wanted to, but if he'd been angry; if his finger had slipped on the trigger...
Cassandra was trying to hurt Lister, and she had chosen Rimmer. Deliberately. Leaning against Kris's sleeping form, Lister listened to the churning engines. Low. Rumbling. Like distant thunder.
Pairing: Rimmer/Lister (implied)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own Red Dwarf, or any of the characters thereof. I make no money from this.
Spoilers: Future Echoes, Stasis Leak, and Cassandra.
Notes: Written as part of my
fanfic100 challenge. My table is here. As always, please bring me concrit!"It doesn't make sense."
Leaning back against the quietly humming metal hull of the transport ship, Lister glanced over at Kochanski. "Eh?"
"All of this. None of it makes any sense." She was hunched over, nipping at the tips of her gloves, her nails being unavailable. Lister gave a snort.
"Nothing that's happened to us fer the last half-decade has made any sense. Why should it start now? Or were," he added, snarkily, "your years on Red Dwarf with that other me filled to the brim with perfectly logical adventures?"
Kochanski shook her head. "No, but I mean... what Cassandra did. What she said; about me and Rimmer.”
“Yeah, don't remind me.”
“Yes, but why Rimmer?”
Lister shrugged. “Because I can't stand him. Because he'd be the worst person you could ever sleep with.”
“And you'd kill him for that?” Kochanski eyed him, curiously.
“Of course not! I wouldn't kill anyone, much less fer sleeping with someone who isn't even my girlfriend.” Lister regretted the words the moment they slipped out, but Kochanski merely rolled her eyes and continued.
“Right; but that's what she wanted you to believe would happen. To punish you, yes?”
“Yeah...” Lister was tired. He didn't know what Kris was on about, and he didn't much care. But it seemed to much work even to ask her to shut up.
“So why not Cat?”
“Eh?”
Having warmed to the subject, Kochanski seemed almost agitated. “Why not say that Cat was going to sleep with me? I mean, you actually care about him, so it would be a real betrayal, and the idea of killing him would have much more of an impact. Besides, the two of us having sex would at least be half-way realistic.” Lister gave her a look, and she blushed, ever so slightly, avoiding eye contact. Lister would have found that interesting, under any other circumstances. As it was, he was tired, cold and depressed, and very much not in the mood.
“Wouldn't work, would it? It was you and Rimmer that ended up trapped together. Not you and Cat. She knew that was going to happen.”
Kochanski said nothing for a while, seemingly lost in thought. Though he tried to enjoy the silence, Lister could almost hear her mental gears grinding.
“What?”
“I was just thinking...”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“You know that Ray Bradbury story; The Sound of Thunder?”
That sounded oddly familiar. “Wasn't that the movie where a guy went back in time, stepped on a butterfly, and when he got back, dinosaurs ruled the Earth?”
Kochanski looked at him with that mixture of shock and confusion Lister was getting quite used to by now. It was as though she kept forgetting all those little thing that made him different from her Dave, and then in a flash of disappointment, she would remember. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. “Close enough.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I loved that story, growing up. I always thought of it as a reminder of the power we all have to change our own lives; the future, for good or for bad. It was very motivational.”
“Yeah, well, it can't be done. The future echoes proved that.”
Kochanski huddled closer. “You tried?”
Lister nodded. “Didn't work. No matter what we tried to do, things just...” he twisted his hands around in a vague gesture. “Made themselves happen anyway. Like, the more we tried to avoid them, the more we ended up causing them in the first place. And there was that time we went back in time,” he said, suddenly remembering, “to before the accident.”
“The stasis leak?”
Lister's eyebrows shot up. “You found that too?”
“Yes; we closed it up before it could cause any damage.”
“You didn't go through it?”
Kochanski shook her head slowly, as though she didn't even fully understand the question. “Of course not; it was unstable.” There it was again, that moment of realization. The 'my Dave would never have' moment. “But you did.”
“We did. Ended up in the past. Tried changing it, but we just ended up confusing ourselves. Rimmer tried sending himself into stasis, so he wouldn't be dead.”
Kochanski snorted. “I'm not surprised. What did you do?”
“I, eh... ” Lister met her eyes, and sighed. “I tried to save you.” He smiled, wanly, anticipating another eyeroll, but instead, Kris smiled back.
“That was sweet of you.”
“Didn't work, though.” He shook his head, chuckling at the memory. “I thought you and me had gotten married, y'see. 'Cause we found this photograph. And we had, really, but not yet.” Lister could see Kris was struggling to keep up, but he was on a roll here. It had taken him quite a while to piece this together at the time, and he was smegging well going to use it for something. “The older me explained it all.”
“The other you?”
“Yeah, from farther into the future. He told us that, five years from then...” Lister stopped. Five years. And that had been six years ago.
“What?”
Six years. And Bexley's son dying? How could that happen on their Red Dwarf after the twins had been sent back to their mother? That's where their kids would grow up, if they had any. An unsettled feeling was sneaking its way into Lister's stomach. They had changed the future. Somehow, they had changed the future, and they hadn't even known they were doing it. “Nothing. Just... it doesn't work, OK? Just trust me on this.”
Despite her earlier chattiness, Kochanski looked every bit as tired as Lister felt. “All right,” she conceded. “I suppose it doesn't matter.” She closed her eyes, and after a moment or two, relaxed her body against Lister's. Soon, she was breathing steadily, drifting into sleep.
Lister let her, pulling some of her long hair away from her face. She'd been right. Cassandra's actions made a lot more sense if the future were not set in stone. Maybe it was more like... Lister searched for a metaphor... treacle. You could wade through it if you had to, but it was hard as hell, and most of the time, it'd just end up seeping back into place. But sometimes, if you pushed in just the right places, at just the right time... And Cassandra had almost managed. Kris had almost slept with a man because she'd been told it was going to happen anyway. Lister had almost killed Rimmer, just because he'd been told it was going to happen anyway. He hadn't wanted to, but if he'd been angry; if his finger had slipped on the trigger...
Cassandra was trying to hurt Lister, and she had chosen Rimmer. Deliberately. Leaning against Kris's sleeping form, Lister listened to the churning engines. Low. Rumbling. Like distant thunder.
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