Fight the Good Fight- John drabbles pt 2
Dec. 14th, 2007 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragojustineFight the Good Fight
Rating: PG
John drabble table
6- Hours
He spends hours with Dean over the cheap pool table. John doesn't think talking about pool does much good, but sometimes he will say "Where's your safety?" or "Drop your shoulder" and sometimes he puts his finger at a point on the felt, as Dean struggles to calculate the angles.
Every time, he sees Dean respond, fix the problem, re-align his shot, relax into his stance. Dean will be better than he is soon, and not because John's a great teacher. He thinks if he told Dean to fly to the moon in that same confident voice, Dean could.
7- Days
John's been in 'Nam four days.
He can feel rounds whipping past him and tries to press himself further into the sludge of mud and decomposing jungle leaves.
He's thinking "How the hell am I going to survive this place?" but then one of the rounds hits flesh with a sickening noise and suddenly there is screaming right by his side. He thinks it might be Adam, the one who smiled so soft and was too shy to show John that picture of his momma.
Then all he can think is "I'm going to find that sonofabitch and kill him."
8- Weeks
It's been three weeks at Bobby's and he still doesn't have the cards together to move on. He works under the hoods of Bobby's cars until the engine grease has sunk right down into his pores, because his boys eat like elephants and taking charity from a stranger always grates.
Except the boys are playing hide-and-seek again, and Sam is crouched behind the bench seat of an old Buick LeSabre making frantic hushing motions at John. Bobby calls from the door, offering a beer and carefully not looking at Sam, and John wonders when they stopped being strangers.
9- Months
Six months ago, he handed Ellen a jar of ashes and a bundle of personal effects and hunted for words.
He thought then he should give it time, just let her heal. But he can't stop thinking about her, living this fantasy of Sam and Jo playing in the sawdust, Dean shooting pool while he writes notes at the bar. Ellen is always there, pouring drinks, hearing everything.
She's stronger than he is, and he thinks if he could only hold her, their lives could start over. She says he's not welcome at the Roadhouse.
He never sees her again.
10- Years
He had Mary for 8 years. It sounds like a long time when he says it like that, but it wasn't. It's all a haze now; endless possibilities and marriage planning and buying a house and trying desperately to prove that he could live as a civilian and give her everything she needed. Then a baby and his panic and pride and love welling up so strong he felt like he could drown in it.
He wakes up one morning and realizes he's lived as many years without Mary as he did with her. He's not sure how that's possible.
Rating: PG
John drabble table
6- Hours
He spends hours with Dean over the cheap pool table. John doesn't think talking about pool does much good, but sometimes he will say "Where's your safety?" or "Drop your shoulder" and sometimes he puts his finger at a point on the felt, as Dean struggles to calculate the angles.
Every time, he sees Dean respond, fix the problem, re-align his shot, relax into his stance. Dean will be better than he is soon, and not because John's a great teacher. He thinks if he told Dean to fly to the moon in that same confident voice, Dean could.
7- Days
John's been in 'Nam four days.
He can feel rounds whipping past him and tries to press himself further into the sludge of mud and decomposing jungle leaves.
He's thinking "How the hell am I going to survive this place?" but then one of the rounds hits flesh with a sickening noise and suddenly there is screaming right by his side. He thinks it might be Adam, the one who smiled so soft and was too shy to show John that picture of his momma.
Then all he can think is "I'm going to find that sonofabitch and kill him."
8- Weeks
It's been three weeks at Bobby's and he still doesn't have the cards together to move on. He works under the hoods of Bobby's cars until the engine grease has sunk right down into his pores, because his boys eat like elephants and taking charity from a stranger always grates.
Except the boys are playing hide-and-seek again, and Sam is crouched behind the bench seat of an old Buick LeSabre making frantic hushing motions at John. Bobby calls from the door, offering a beer and carefully not looking at Sam, and John wonders when they stopped being strangers.
9- Months
Six months ago, he handed Ellen a jar of ashes and a bundle of personal effects and hunted for words.
He thought then he should give it time, just let her heal. But he can't stop thinking about her, living this fantasy of Sam and Jo playing in the sawdust, Dean shooting pool while he writes notes at the bar. Ellen is always there, pouring drinks, hearing everything.
She's stronger than he is, and he thinks if he could only hold her, their lives could start over. She says he's not welcome at the Roadhouse.
He never sees her again.
10- Years
He had Mary for 8 years. It sounds like a long time when he says it like that, but it wasn't. It's all a haze now; endless possibilities and marriage planning and buying a house and trying desperately to prove that he could live as a civilian and give her everything she needed. Then a baby and his panic and pride and love welling up so strong he felt like he could drown in it.
He wakes up one morning and realizes he's lived as many years without Mary as he did with her. He's not sure how that's possible.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-15 08:01 am (UTC)Er, yeah. Yay for drabbles!
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Date: 2007-12-15 05:46 pm (UTC)I'm glad you liked!
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Date: 2007-12-15 02:42 pm (UTC)These are all wonderful, but I think I love 6 and 8 the most.
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Date: 2007-12-15 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-16 12:40 pm (UTC)But it's a close call with "Years" That's an absolutely AWESOME idea and a kick-ass articulations.
And "Hours" is honestly not far behind them. That one may be the one that aches most, oddly enough.
Bravo!
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Date: 2007-12-16 05:27 pm (UTC)I am so glad you like, since you are the God of John-writing on lj!
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Date: 2007-12-17 05:43 am (UTC)Awwwwww...! My favorite is Months. It makes the canon make more sense.
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Date: 2007-12-17 07:35 am (UTC)Thank you!
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Date: 2007-12-19 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 04:29 am (UTC)