Fic: Life on Earth (PG-13)

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

kahvi requested Earth fic, as in fic about the new stuff we don't know about. I gave it a shot. I know it is completely inaccurate...

Pairing: Lister/resurrected! Rimmer
Disclaimer: I have no legal claims to Red Dwarf.




Lister clicked off his hire light as he watched the last customer of his shift slam the door and fumble with her bag. It was early yet, but once a week he indulged in a night off to correspond with Rimmer’s “weekend”. He smiled to himself as he drove to collect his lover, who would by this time be snappy and grumpy. He’d listen to Rimmer rant as he collected their takeaway meal, and by the time their stomachs were comfortably full and Rimmer’s collar unbuttoned, warmth would return to those fully human hazel eyes and for a few hours, life would be fantastic.

Life on Earth didn’t sit with him as well as he thought it would. For years, he’d romanticized it, longed for it, dreamed of it- but nothing comes without a price. He’d buried Krissie a second time. She hadn’t even been his, and yet the pain had been unbearable. Time had softened the blow, but it never quite subsided to a tolerable level. Loss never did. This much he knew when he looked to the stars at night, stars that were suddenly so far away. Rimmer, his Rimmer, had never wanted to leave. He wanted a life among the stars, and he’d gotten it, as Ace. Ace Rimmer would never find him here, worlds away and grounded. It raised a frustrated grief in him that made him want to scream to the heavens, in hopes that Ace would hear him.

Life on Earth was as close to normal as he’d ever imagined. The problem with Earth was that it lacked the people that he missed. Making new friends was easy for him, but those that he’d known in his youth had left an indelible mark on his soul, and he yearned for them constantly. His drinking mates were older men, well his age, honestly, and more pessimistic than what he’d come to think of as his usual crowd. No wonder, when they were middle aged and troubled with broken marriages and dead end jobs.

He’d needed a companion. None of the women were Kris, and none of the men were Rimmer, except, well, Rimmer, so he’d decided to settle down and accept his lot. Rimmer was human, and he often thought about how wonderful it was, how his body was warm and soft and real, how endearing the dusting of gray at his temples was, about how they would live their lives and grow old together. He thought it again and again whenever his heart ached for the hologram who’d made off with a piece of his soul. Together, he and Rimmer, no longer the last, had built a nest and shared their lives, and their income. For that he was openly relieved, since without Rimmer’s wages he’d never be able to make the payments on the Tesla. The thirty year loan bound them more securely than any marriage vows ever could.

So life went on.
-----

Rimmer watched him from across the room, a nasty disapproval evident on those features he knew so well.

Lister looked up from the shrine he’d constructed with photographs and candles and sighed, waiting for the tirade.

“Lister.” Rimmer began, the familiar impatience straining his voice. “There’s something wrong, you know, when you celebrate more deaths than births.”

Tension hung in the air as they regarded each other silently, mentally shaking the dust off of their longest standing argument. Rimmer broke the silence first, stepping forward with his eyes cast downward, as though he was contemplating if he should engage Lister fully in his distress. The sudden movement broke Lister out of his momentary trance, and he looked to Rimmer, waiting for the first of the venom to spew forth.

“I understand about Kochanski.” Rimmer said, his voice oddly hollow. “I know I’ll never be… “ he bit his lip, and shook his head as Lister opened his mouth to offer a comforting word to diffuse the atmosphere. “What I mean is, it’s not just that it’s not doing you any good. It’s not doing anyone any good. I might not be your first choice, but I’m right here.” Rimmer’s eyes burned with angry tears that he refused to shed. “Do I have to die for you to notice that?” His fists were balled so tightly that his knuckles were white.

“Don’t… don’t you dare.” Lister managed, choking on his words. He pressed himself against Rimmer, gripping him in a tight embrace. “Don’t you dare.”

Rimmer’s fists unclenched, and hesitantly, he rubbed his palm in a comforting, circular motion against Lister’s back. “I won’t.” he sighed, his anger deflated. He gazed over Lister’s shoulder at the collection of snapshots illuminated by the cheap devotional luminaries, depicting his double in younger, most likely less sober, times. His arms tightened on Lister, and he gave a defeated sigh. “I won’t leave you, all right?”

Lister nodded, and life went on.

Comments

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

Gods, this is so beautiful. Real, real, real, and so tied in with everything. This is exactly what I wanted; exploring possibilities. Enviably well-written.

Aaah... Dave. :( It's not fair on any of you, is it? And by that, I mean the three of you. *sigh*

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

My sneaking suspicion is that whatever killed Kochanski killed Rimmer, too, and that's how we get a hologram :/ I want Ace back!

But now that I've stated that, yes, poor Rimmer 2. Poor Lister, gah.I'm glad that you liked it.

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

I was terribly worried you were right there, for a minute... but no. Rimmer was left back on Red Dwarf, which was the last we saw of him. It might still be a new hologram; a 'backup' of our Arn, as it were, but it's less likely.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

That depends on which alternate ending was more convenient for them to use XD I guess we'll find out! Lister should sell backup Arn disks. I would get one for my light bee.

[tits-teapot.livejournal.com]

Oh my... you made me cry. It's so real, I agree with Kahvi.

Love this: This much he knew when he looked to the stars at night, stars that were suddenly so far away.
And also ending. It's soreal and believable.
I'm gonna read it again.
And again...

Wonderfull<3.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

It feels like he'd miss it all. Lister is such an optimist that he never wants to believe that you can't have it all.

[tits-teapot.livejournal.com]

Right. And I'm also sure he'd love to have them both.

This man is just so ambivalent...

[metalkatt.livejournal.com]

This line right here: The thirty year loan bound them more securely than any marriage vows ever could. This just made everything come into perfect focus. OMG, I want to snug them both.

[sadera992.livejournal.com]

just had to say, i love that game from your icon!

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Life on Earth, it's balls. lol.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

:B I am imagining Kryten talking them into it.

[laurenthemself]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAIL.

If the actual show is like this I will CRY. (And then be v. surprised at the slash, but still.)

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

I had to giggle at this. :)

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

I tell myself they won't make us cry fthe right reasons. They will do something terrible that only involves a little slash. Then I remember how they pushed 7 and 8 and I wonder. lol.

[sadera992.livejournal.com]

wow. that's really good. really very fitting, and bittersweet. nice work.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

It comes from writing in a sour mood. I should try it more often XD I'm really happy that you liked it.

[queen-fiend.livejournal.com]

Yay, you got to post it! :D I just re-read this and I'm so in love with the last couple of paragraphs. Sooo sweet. :)

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Poor Rimmer 2 :/

[beetle-breath.livejournal.com]

All your fics are so good! This is so bittersweet.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! It came out a little more depressing than I'd expected.

[ereshkigal2.livejournal.com]

Wow. I like the bit about legally binding contracts.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

As they say, love is love, but money is money.