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reddwarfslash2008-03-30 06:16 pm
hazeltea.livejournal.com) wrote in reddwarfslash2008-03-30 06:16 pm
Fic: Reunited PG-13
Title: Reunited
Pairing: Lister/Rimmer
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Red Dwarf, and I do not profit from this. I just do this to amuse myself.
This comes after the following:
Function
Static
Love
Release
“Of all the irresponsible, foolhardy things you’ve ever done, this is by far the most horrible!” Kryten yelped, gesturing to where his favorite human in the whole of the universe lay unconscious, tangled in wires. “You have put Mister Lister in the most terrible danger, and it is downright inexcusable! Now, listen here, I’ve kept quiet for long enough, but it’s about time that you realized –“
“Oh, you’ve kept quiet, have you?” Kochanski snapped, glaring up from the medi-scan device that she’d connected to monitor Lister’s vital signs. “Since when have you ever been quiet, Kryten? Ever? You think I’m happy about this, do you? “ Kochanski rose from her seat and advanced on the mechanoid. “You think I want to lose him? You think I want to be held responsible for this for the rest of my life, drifting through deep space aimlessly with you for the next several decades?” Her voice rose in pitch and cracked.
Kryten watched in horror as she snatched a plate of finger sandwiches he had brought to the table and flung it across the midsection. The dish shattered against the galley door with a satisfying crack, sending shards of ceramic and a scattering of cream cheese and jam triangles across the narrow hallway.
“Ma’am…” Kryten began,aghast. Kryten, who could keep calm and objective during crash landings and encounters with bloodthirsty GELFs , found that he could not cope with a distraught woman bent on destroying his kitchen.
“Well?” She demanded. She reached for the plate of biscuits. “I’ll do it again!’ she threatened, her voice hysterical. “I really will!”
Kryten flinched.
Kochanski had raised the plate above her shoulder when she was frozen in place by the sound of a deep, soft chuckle. The Cat had set Starbug on autopilot and had been indulging in her antics, and judging by his expression she was putting on the best show he’d seen in months. “Man, you are one crazy bitch when you’re messed with.” He smiled gleefully, briefly flashing his perfect set of sharp teeth.
Kochanski froze in place, feeling sudden embarrassment flush her face to her ears. “Oh God.” She said, setting the biscuits down and covering her face with her hands. She slumped against the midsection wall.
“Ma’am?” Kryten ventured a few steps forward. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s all right, Kryten.” Kochanski said quietly, rising up from where she’d sunk into a puddle on the floor. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Well, as long as you admit it.” Kryten replied. Kochanski considered glaring at him, but decided that her dignity was damaged enough for one day.
“Does this mean the show’s over?” Cat asked, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“I’m afraid so, Sir.” Kryten said, offering a fresh plate to Kochanski. He eyed her suspiciously for any crockery related malice, even as she accepted the peace offering with a mumbled thanks.
Cat leaned over the medi-scan paddle, watching as a display of rapidly blinking lights flashed across the screen. “Hey, Officer bud babe, you’re back online.” He called. “I think they’re both all right.”
Kochanski and Kryten both leapt forward at once. “Don’t.” Kochanski said, as she intercepted Kryten’s wrist. “If you try to disconnect him now, it could cause neurological damage. Let him see this through. It’s what he wants.” She added, hoping that last bit of information would sink in to Kryten’s programming. Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand, and nodded, stiffly.
Lister awoke with a groan. Rimmer was sprawled across the floor beside him, barely conscious. His fingers spasmed, as though he were in a deep, discordant sleep. The doors were gone now, leaving them with a wide open space on the worn hardwood floor. The darkness was now akin to an ambient dusk, a violet blue haze which was desolate but not as confining as where they had found themselves before.
He sat up with some effort, and pulled Rimmer’s limp body against his side, supporting him with an arm around his waist. He let the other man’s head rest on his shoulder, and leaned his face into the mess of brown curls. He drew back as Rimmer awoke, dazedly sitting up fully and blinking at the artificial dusk he had created. “Lister?” he mumbled, taking in his new surroundings.
Lister felt a surge of elation in his chest. He had succeeded. “You remember me now?”
Rimmer frowned. “Of course I remember you, you stupid goit. It would take a double lobotomy to forget that sort of mental trauma.” He ran his fingers through his wild hair, and felt the floor beneath him, a puzzled look on his face.
Lister chuckled softly. “Yeah, well, you just came through the hologramatic equivalent. Do you remember, Rimmer? Do you remember me comin’ for you, and opening the doors?” Lister pressed.
Rimmer’s eyes widened, and he was quiet for a moment. “That was real?” he asked. “It felt like… some sort of nightmare.” He scratched his fingernails along the grooves in the hardwood planks, nervously.
Lister nodded. “It did.” He agreed. “We’re inside of you right now. Well, inside of your light bee’s programming. I came in on the AR machine. You were repressing the memories that I’d uploaded, and you needed to access them because I think that’s what was holding you back from coming back online.”
“I… see.” Rimmer said. “What happened, exactly? Why are we here?”
“What do you remember about Ace?” Lister asked, meeting Rimmer’s eyes and placing a comforting hand on his arm. At the sound of the name, Rimmer’s lips drew back into a snarl of distaste.
“That ponce is responsible for this?” He asked.
“Well… in a way. Let me put it this way. What’s the last thing you remember to be absolutely, positively real before you and me in here?” He watched those expressive hazel eyes that he’d missed so much as they reflected on an answer.
“Ace was there.” He confirmed. “He wanted me to take his place, be the next Ace Rimmer. You didn’t think I could do it.” He added, coldly. “Then… Then there’s a blank. I remember talking to you, but I don’t remember what we said. I remember… I remember it hurt, a lot. I remember Ace showing me the… Wildfire, yes that’s the thing’s name. The rest is all like a crazy dream.” He let out a shuddering sigh, and Lister squeezed his arm.
“Yeah, it all fits. That night you remembered is the last time you recorded your memories on Starbug. It’s the last uncorrupted data I’ve got. The rest of it was on your hard light drive when it was damaged. All those things really happened, Arn. You were really Ace. You really did it. You were a hero, but it… it got you in the end.” Lister’s voice broke, and he coughed, looking down so that Rimmer wouldn’t see that his eyes were suddenly moist.
“You told the next Ace that you didn’t want to be with the other Rimmers. You told him to bring you home… so he did. He brought what was left of you back to me, and Kris and I spent months fixing you-“
“Kochanski?” Rimmer spat out the question. “You have Kochanski on board now?”
“Well, yeah, in a manner of speaking.” Lister said. “She’s not the same though. She’s from another dimension. She doesn’t look or act exactly the same as you remember.”
“Well.” Rimmer crossed his arms. “I can’t help but wonder, Listy, why you went through all the bother to fix me when you’ve got Kochanski to keep you busy.”
“Oh, not you, too.” Lister sighed. “Listen. This Kris is just a friend. I’m not making the crew sick by followin’ her around Starbug like a goldfish turd, okay? She isn’t interested. Even if she was, she’d never be the same as the Kris that we knew. It took me a long time to accept that, because it hurts like hell to admit that you’ve lost someone you love.”
Rimmer suspected that he should feel guilty for provoking this response, but instead he felt vindicated. He wisely decided to keep it to himself.
“Anyway.” Lister continued. “I let you go because I knew that you needed to play the hero. You had something to prove to yourself, I guess. I pushed you away, and I regretted it when you were gone. I missed you.” He admitted, in a small voice. “I would dream about you, even. I worried every day, and when Ace came back with what was left of your bee, I knew then I was right, that I’d- I’d killed you.” He swallowed, and wiped his nose on his sleeve.
Rimmer listened in morbid fascination. “You really missed me?” He finally asked. There were a dozen more questions clawing at his throat to be spoken, but he found himself advancing in cautious steps, not wanting to shatter the moment that he and Lister shared, where the other was accepting and needing without falsehoods.
Lister nodded. “Do you believe it now?” he asked, bitterly. “Do you see that you can be everything you hated about him? Is that good enough for you?” Please, he thought. Don’t let this all be for nothing.
“I don’t remember any of it. It might as well have happened to someone else.” Rimmer replied, grimly. “Do you believe that I’m more than just… this?”
“What you are is fine with me, Rimmer. There’s nothing wrong with what you are. You don’t have to prove yourself to me. I know that you’re a good man. What your family thinks, what the Space Corps thinks, what does that matter now? They’re all gone now. All that matters is what you think. What I think doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter.” Rimmer said, miserably. “I only went for you.” He regretted the words as soon as he’d spoken, cursing them for leaving him feeling so exposed.
“Would you come back for me, too?” Lister asked.
Rimmer nodded, dumbfounded. Here, he was certain that Lister could see right through him; how could he doubt the answer?
“All right, then, let’s figure out a way out.” Lister said, getting to his feet and offering Rimmer a hand up. Once on his feet, Rimmer found himself pulled into a tight hug, which he returned with an enthusiasm that surprised him. When he finally broke the embrace, Lister kept hold of his hand, and Rimmer didn’t pull it away.
Pairing: Lister/Rimmer
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Red Dwarf, and I do not profit from this. I just do this to amuse myself.
This comes after the following:
Function
Static
Love
Release
“Of all the irresponsible, foolhardy things you’ve ever done, this is by far the most horrible!” Kryten yelped, gesturing to where his favorite human in the whole of the universe lay unconscious, tangled in wires. “You have put Mister Lister in the most terrible danger, and it is downright inexcusable! Now, listen here, I’ve kept quiet for long enough, but it’s about time that you realized –“
“Oh, you’ve kept quiet, have you?” Kochanski snapped, glaring up from the medi-scan device that she’d connected to monitor Lister’s vital signs. “Since when have you ever been quiet, Kryten? Ever? You think I’m happy about this, do you? “ Kochanski rose from her seat and advanced on the mechanoid. “You think I want to lose him? You think I want to be held responsible for this for the rest of my life, drifting through deep space aimlessly with you for the next several decades?” Her voice rose in pitch and cracked.
Kryten watched in horror as she snatched a plate of finger sandwiches he had brought to the table and flung it across the midsection. The dish shattered against the galley door with a satisfying crack, sending shards of ceramic and a scattering of cream cheese and jam triangles across the narrow hallway.
“Ma’am…” Kryten began,aghast. Kryten, who could keep calm and objective during crash landings and encounters with bloodthirsty GELFs , found that he could not cope with a distraught woman bent on destroying his kitchen.
“Well?” She demanded. She reached for the plate of biscuits. “I’ll do it again!’ she threatened, her voice hysterical. “I really will!”
Kryten flinched.
Kochanski had raised the plate above her shoulder when she was frozen in place by the sound of a deep, soft chuckle. The Cat had set Starbug on autopilot and had been indulging in her antics, and judging by his expression she was putting on the best show he’d seen in months. “Man, you are one crazy bitch when you’re messed with.” He smiled gleefully, briefly flashing his perfect set of sharp teeth.
Kochanski froze in place, feeling sudden embarrassment flush her face to her ears. “Oh God.” She said, setting the biscuits down and covering her face with her hands. She slumped against the midsection wall.
“Ma’am?” Kryten ventured a few steps forward. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s all right, Kryten.” Kochanski said quietly, rising up from where she’d sunk into a puddle on the floor. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Well, as long as you admit it.” Kryten replied. Kochanski considered glaring at him, but decided that her dignity was damaged enough for one day.
“Does this mean the show’s over?” Cat asked, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“I’m afraid so, Sir.” Kryten said, offering a fresh plate to Kochanski. He eyed her suspiciously for any crockery related malice, even as she accepted the peace offering with a mumbled thanks.
Cat leaned over the medi-scan paddle, watching as a display of rapidly blinking lights flashed across the screen. “Hey, Officer bud babe, you’re back online.” He called. “I think they’re both all right.”
Kochanski and Kryten both leapt forward at once. “Don’t.” Kochanski said, as she intercepted Kryten’s wrist. “If you try to disconnect him now, it could cause neurological damage. Let him see this through. It’s what he wants.” She added, hoping that last bit of information would sink in to Kryten’s programming. Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand, and nodded, stiffly.
Lister awoke with a groan. Rimmer was sprawled across the floor beside him, barely conscious. His fingers spasmed, as though he were in a deep, discordant sleep. The doors were gone now, leaving them with a wide open space on the worn hardwood floor. The darkness was now akin to an ambient dusk, a violet blue haze which was desolate but not as confining as where they had found themselves before.
He sat up with some effort, and pulled Rimmer’s limp body against his side, supporting him with an arm around his waist. He let the other man’s head rest on his shoulder, and leaned his face into the mess of brown curls. He drew back as Rimmer awoke, dazedly sitting up fully and blinking at the artificial dusk he had created. “Lister?” he mumbled, taking in his new surroundings.
Lister felt a surge of elation in his chest. He had succeeded. “You remember me now?”
Rimmer frowned. “Of course I remember you, you stupid goit. It would take a double lobotomy to forget that sort of mental trauma.” He ran his fingers through his wild hair, and felt the floor beneath him, a puzzled look on his face.
Lister chuckled softly. “Yeah, well, you just came through the hologramatic equivalent. Do you remember, Rimmer? Do you remember me comin’ for you, and opening the doors?” Lister pressed.
Rimmer’s eyes widened, and he was quiet for a moment. “That was real?” he asked. “It felt like… some sort of nightmare.” He scratched his fingernails along the grooves in the hardwood planks, nervously.
Lister nodded. “It did.” He agreed. “We’re inside of you right now. Well, inside of your light bee’s programming. I came in on the AR machine. You were repressing the memories that I’d uploaded, and you needed to access them because I think that’s what was holding you back from coming back online.”
“I… see.” Rimmer said. “What happened, exactly? Why are we here?”
“What do you remember about Ace?” Lister asked, meeting Rimmer’s eyes and placing a comforting hand on his arm. At the sound of the name, Rimmer’s lips drew back into a snarl of distaste.
“That ponce is responsible for this?” He asked.
“Well… in a way. Let me put it this way. What’s the last thing you remember to be absolutely, positively real before you and me in here?” He watched those expressive hazel eyes that he’d missed so much as they reflected on an answer.
“Ace was there.” He confirmed. “He wanted me to take his place, be the next Ace Rimmer. You didn’t think I could do it.” He added, coldly. “Then… Then there’s a blank. I remember talking to you, but I don’t remember what we said. I remember… I remember it hurt, a lot. I remember Ace showing me the… Wildfire, yes that’s the thing’s name. The rest is all like a crazy dream.” He let out a shuddering sigh, and Lister squeezed his arm.
“Yeah, it all fits. That night you remembered is the last time you recorded your memories on Starbug. It’s the last uncorrupted data I’ve got. The rest of it was on your hard light drive when it was damaged. All those things really happened, Arn. You were really Ace. You really did it. You were a hero, but it… it got you in the end.” Lister’s voice broke, and he coughed, looking down so that Rimmer wouldn’t see that his eyes were suddenly moist.
“You told the next Ace that you didn’t want to be with the other Rimmers. You told him to bring you home… so he did. He brought what was left of you back to me, and Kris and I spent months fixing you-“
“Kochanski?” Rimmer spat out the question. “You have Kochanski on board now?”
“Well, yeah, in a manner of speaking.” Lister said. “She’s not the same though. She’s from another dimension. She doesn’t look or act exactly the same as you remember.”
“Well.” Rimmer crossed his arms. “I can’t help but wonder, Listy, why you went through all the bother to fix me when you’ve got Kochanski to keep you busy.”
“Oh, not you, too.” Lister sighed. “Listen. This Kris is just a friend. I’m not making the crew sick by followin’ her around Starbug like a goldfish turd, okay? She isn’t interested. Even if she was, she’d never be the same as the Kris that we knew. It took me a long time to accept that, because it hurts like hell to admit that you’ve lost someone you love.”
Rimmer suspected that he should feel guilty for provoking this response, but instead he felt vindicated. He wisely decided to keep it to himself.
“Anyway.” Lister continued. “I let you go because I knew that you needed to play the hero. You had something to prove to yourself, I guess. I pushed you away, and I regretted it when you were gone. I missed you.” He admitted, in a small voice. “I would dream about you, even. I worried every day, and when Ace came back with what was left of your bee, I knew then I was right, that I’d- I’d killed you.” He swallowed, and wiped his nose on his sleeve.
Rimmer listened in morbid fascination. “You really missed me?” He finally asked. There were a dozen more questions clawing at his throat to be spoken, but he found himself advancing in cautious steps, not wanting to shatter the moment that he and Lister shared, where the other was accepting and needing without falsehoods.
Lister nodded. “Do you believe it now?” he asked, bitterly. “Do you see that you can be everything you hated about him? Is that good enough for you?” Please, he thought. Don’t let this all be for nothing.
“I don’t remember any of it. It might as well have happened to someone else.” Rimmer replied, grimly. “Do you believe that I’m more than just… this?”
“What you are is fine with me, Rimmer. There’s nothing wrong with what you are. You don’t have to prove yourself to me. I know that you’re a good man. What your family thinks, what the Space Corps thinks, what does that matter now? They’re all gone now. All that matters is what you think. What I think doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter.” Rimmer said, miserably. “I only went for you.” He regretted the words as soon as he’d spoken, cursing them for leaving him feeling so exposed.
“Would you come back for me, too?” Lister asked.
Rimmer nodded, dumbfounded. Here, he was certain that Lister could see right through him; how could he doubt the answer?
“All right, then, let’s figure out a way out.” Lister said, getting to his feet and offering Rimmer a hand up. Once on his feet, Rimmer found himself pulled into a tight hug, which he returned with an enthusiasm that surprised him. When he finally broke the embrace, Lister kept hold of his hand, and Rimmer didn’t pull it away.
no subject
Still loving this. I cannot put into words how adorable your Lister is. Your Rimmer is a little nicer than I usually prefer him, but I'm reserving judgment until he's back to his old self. Besides, it's all well written, so yay! :D
no subject