Faye (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
said_scarlett) wrote2009-05-20 10:55 am
said_scarlett) wrote2009-05-20 10:55 am
Entry tags:
Fic: Everyday Heroes: Hub/Jade; PG
So, a long time ago, I believe it was ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yuuo who gave me a prompt for some Beyond Good and Evil fic. Since I hadn't beaten the game and was very shaky on canon, I had to decline. Well, when I beat the game the other day, Nija mentioned wanting to see fic, and I remembered 'hey, I totally was prompted to write some once but never did!'. But I decided to give it a try last night. As usual, standard first time fandom warnings apply. New to the characters, never done this before, etc etc.
Post-game!
Title: Everyday Heroes
Fandom: Beyond Good and Evil
Pairing: Hub/Jade
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1276
Spoilers: Full Game
Summary: Jade has a great deal to rebuild, and Hub is always there to lend a hand....
It was a clear, quiet day. Sounds of wood being sawed and children yelling and laughing floated up from the yard. The sun was out, and the reflection off of the water was almost blinding.
Jade barely even registered any of this. Her mind was elsewhere. She leaned against a half-finished wall at the top of the lighthouse, arms folded. She looked as though she were deep in thought, but her mind was mostly blank. Some things were to big and incomprehensible to confine to human thoughts.
Which, Jade reflected almost bitterly, shouldn’t have been a problem.
She didn’t hear anyone come up the temporary wooden stairs behind her. She was still lost in half-formed images and sensations she still didn’t really understand. Sometimes it all seemed like a dream. Some sort of fragmented nightmare that had never really happened. And looking out towards the city, watching the boats drift peacefully in the harbor, it was easy to believe that.
Someone cleared their throat behind her. “Miss Jade?”
Jade started, standing up quickly and turning away from the ocean.
“Hey Hub.” She rubbed her hand against her eyes, leaning the opposite way against the wall now. “I thought you were downstairs measuring things or something.”
“Roof framing,” Hub said, holding up a measuring tape. “I thought I’d measure for the ceiling joints - precise measurements are crucial, after all.”
“Right.” Jade glanced over her shoulder, eyes returning again and again to the water.
“What a spectacular view.” He joined her at the edge of the lighthouse, large calloused hands resting on the rough half-wall.
“Yeah, it’s pretty impressive, huh?” She turned, standing next to him and resting her arms again. She’d gotten used to seeing him out of his military uniform, used to calling him ‘Hub’ instead of ‘Double H’. And she was used to him being around the lighthouse. He didn’t have to help, he didn’t have to be there, but there he was anyway.
“I can almost see my house from up here.”
She was used to this, too. Him making excuses to be where she was, always showing up with some little chore or task and striking up conversation. Never anything serious or thought-provoking, just small talk. But it was a nice gesture.
“Oh yeah?” she went on, glancing at Hub. He was looking out to where the city was - no longer encased in an energy shield.
“Right through there.” Hub pointed. “Just beyond the city, in the hills.”
“Must have been nice.” Jade followed his gaze, seeing nothing more than green expanses and fields and trees. It was a nice place. Hyllis was, in a great many ways, an idyllic planet. When one ignored the events of recent history, of course. Hard to do, with an island full of orphans and a planet in political upheaval.
At least none of the unrest and politics reached out here. IRIS was still going strong, but Jade had other things to concern herself with. And Hub never mentioned anything, other than if things were going well. Which they seemed to be. He was dividing his time between IRIS and here, and there were some days when Jade just wanted to tell him to go, to worry about the planet and reconstruction. She and Pey’j had been looking after the lighthouse for ages, they could rebuild it fine without help.
But she never got around to chasing him off. The kids liked him, and he liked them. He knew what he was doing when it came to building things. He said he’d done a great deal of manual labor before joining the army and he enjoyed getting back to those basics.
And it was…nice, having him around. He talked to her and told stories about his childhood and played with the kids and helped with cooking and cleaning. She knew he’d be as much a staple of their little island as Woof before too much longer.
And Jade didn’t know how she felt about that.
“Hub?”
“Yes Miss Jade?”
“Nevermind.” She wanted to ask him why he was always around. She wanted to ask him why he always stayed for dinner, and a little while after. Why he was more than willing to stay much later than dinner, playing with the kids and telling them stories and even tucking them into bed. And then he’d always talk for a little while, before taking the long hovercraft trip across the bay to the city.
And then be back, bright and early the next morning.
But she didn’t really need to ask. She knew, because she wasn’t an idiot and because Hub wasn’t being very subtle. And she didn’t mind, either. If she started asking, he’d start talking, and something would have to change. And they’d have to really talk.
“Hub?” she said again, taking a deep breath.
“Yes?”
“It’s not gonna bother me if you want to talk about what happened.” There. If they were going to talk, they were going to talk. She watched Hub carefully, looking for any hint of distress or discomfort. She didn’t see any. The only thing she saw was sort of quiet peace.
“I don’t see what we’d have to talk about, Miss Jade. We did what needed to be done to save our home.” He turned to her, smiling. He looked younger when he smiled - not that he was really that old, but when he smiled Jade thought he almost looked like a teenager. One of Hub’s large, calloused hands moved to cover one of hers. Almost hesitantly. “True heroes don’t discuss their heroics. Carlson and Peters, chapter 10, section B-9.”
Jade had to laugh. There was a gentle sincerity in his voice, a sort of warm earnestness that made her roll her eyes and feel dumb, but she laughed.
That was all there was to it, she guessed. Hub didn’t care. Everything he’d seen, everything he’d heard…those things didn’t matter to him. What she was didn’t matter to him. He really was a kind of hero. A real hero, not the kind from stories or movies. Just an ordinary, everyday person who'd done something amazing. A girl could do a lot worse than a hero.
“Good old Carlson and Peters, huh?” She didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, she placed her other hand on top of Hub’s, holding it. She smiled back at him, hers impish and teasing. “You know…you can stop calling me ‘Miss’ Jade. It’s kinda weird to keep calling the girl you want to date ‘Miss’.”
“Ah, I…I’m sure I don’t what you’re talking about, Miss Jade!”
She laughed again. “Come on. I’ve had an idea ever since you kissed me after that hovercraft race.”
“A moment of recklessness while lost in the thrill of victory, I swear!”
“Relax. What, does Carlson and Peters forbid dating?” She was still holding his hand. Out in the ocean a whale was breaching.
“No.” Hub sighed. “I don’t want to push you.”
“Always a gentleman.” Jade released his hand and brushed her hair out of her face. “But you’re not pushing. You never pushed. And hey…you helped save the world. I think that entitles you to get lucky.”
“M-Miss Jade!” Hub flushed a brilliant scarlet, sputtering and looking away. Jade laughed.
“No more ‘Miss’,” she said, bending down to pick up a bucket of plaster. “Alright, we’ve been standing around talking way too long. P’eyj is gonna start looking for one of us. Don’t you have roof beams to sand or something?”
“Ah…yes. Yes, of course. I’ll…we’ll…”
“We’ll talk later,” Jade said, helping him out. “After dinner.” On a sudden impulse she stretched up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. She could hear him stammering and stuttering all the way down to the lighthouse yard.
yuuo who gave me a prompt for some Beyond Good and Evil fic. Since I hadn't beaten the game and was very shaky on canon, I had to decline. Well, when I beat the game the other day, Nija mentioned wanting to see fic, and I remembered 'hey, I totally was prompted to write some once but never did!'. But I decided to give it a try last night. As usual, standard first time fandom warnings apply. New to the characters, never done this before, etc etc.Post-game!
Title: Everyday Heroes
Fandom: Beyond Good and Evil
Pairing: Hub/Jade
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1276
Spoilers: Full Game
Summary: Jade has a great deal to rebuild, and Hub is always there to lend a hand....
It was a clear, quiet day. Sounds of wood being sawed and children yelling and laughing floated up from the yard. The sun was out, and the reflection off of the water was almost blinding.
Jade barely even registered any of this. Her mind was elsewhere. She leaned against a half-finished wall at the top of the lighthouse, arms folded. She looked as though she were deep in thought, but her mind was mostly blank. Some things were to big and incomprehensible to confine to human thoughts.
Which, Jade reflected almost bitterly, shouldn’t have been a problem.
She didn’t hear anyone come up the temporary wooden stairs behind her. She was still lost in half-formed images and sensations she still didn’t really understand. Sometimes it all seemed like a dream. Some sort of fragmented nightmare that had never really happened. And looking out towards the city, watching the boats drift peacefully in the harbor, it was easy to believe that.
Someone cleared their throat behind her. “Miss Jade?”
Jade started, standing up quickly and turning away from the ocean.
“Hey Hub.” She rubbed her hand against her eyes, leaning the opposite way against the wall now. “I thought you were downstairs measuring things or something.”
“Roof framing,” Hub said, holding up a measuring tape. “I thought I’d measure for the ceiling joints - precise measurements are crucial, after all.”
“Right.” Jade glanced over her shoulder, eyes returning again and again to the water.
“What a spectacular view.” He joined her at the edge of the lighthouse, large calloused hands resting on the rough half-wall.
“Yeah, it’s pretty impressive, huh?” She turned, standing next to him and resting her arms again. She’d gotten used to seeing him out of his military uniform, used to calling him ‘Hub’ instead of ‘Double H’. And she was used to him being around the lighthouse. He didn’t have to help, he didn’t have to be there, but there he was anyway.
“I can almost see my house from up here.”
She was used to this, too. Him making excuses to be where she was, always showing up with some little chore or task and striking up conversation. Never anything serious or thought-provoking, just small talk. But it was a nice gesture.
“Oh yeah?” she went on, glancing at Hub. He was looking out to where the city was - no longer encased in an energy shield.
“Right through there.” Hub pointed. “Just beyond the city, in the hills.”
“Must have been nice.” Jade followed his gaze, seeing nothing more than green expanses and fields and trees. It was a nice place. Hyllis was, in a great many ways, an idyllic planet. When one ignored the events of recent history, of course. Hard to do, with an island full of orphans and a planet in political upheaval.
At least none of the unrest and politics reached out here. IRIS was still going strong, but Jade had other things to concern herself with. And Hub never mentioned anything, other than if things were going well. Which they seemed to be. He was dividing his time between IRIS and here, and there were some days when Jade just wanted to tell him to go, to worry about the planet and reconstruction. She and Pey’j had been looking after the lighthouse for ages, they could rebuild it fine without help.
But she never got around to chasing him off. The kids liked him, and he liked them. He knew what he was doing when it came to building things. He said he’d done a great deal of manual labor before joining the army and he enjoyed getting back to those basics.
And it was…nice, having him around. He talked to her and told stories about his childhood and played with the kids and helped with cooking and cleaning. She knew he’d be as much a staple of their little island as Woof before too much longer.
And Jade didn’t know how she felt about that.
“Hub?”
“Yes Miss Jade?”
“Nevermind.” She wanted to ask him why he was always around. She wanted to ask him why he always stayed for dinner, and a little while after. Why he was more than willing to stay much later than dinner, playing with the kids and telling them stories and even tucking them into bed. And then he’d always talk for a little while, before taking the long hovercraft trip across the bay to the city.
And then be back, bright and early the next morning.
But she didn’t really need to ask. She knew, because she wasn’t an idiot and because Hub wasn’t being very subtle. And she didn’t mind, either. If she started asking, he’d start talking, and something would have to change. And they’d have to really talk.
“Hub?” she said again, taking a deep breath.
“Yes?”
“It’s not gonna bother me if you want to talk about what happened.” There. If they were going to talk, they were going to talk. She watched Hub carefully, looking for any hint of distress or discomfort. She didn’t see any. The only thing she saw was sort of quiet peace.
“I don’t see what we’d have to talk about, Miss Jade. We did what needed to be done to save our home.” He turned to her, smiling. He looked younger when he smiled - not that he was really that old, but when he smiled Jade thought he almost looked like a teenager. One of Hub’s large, calloused hands moved to cover one of hers. Almost hesitantly. “True heroes don’t discuss their heroics. Carlson and Peters, chapter 10, section B-9.”
Jade had to laugh. There was a gentle sincerity in his voice, a sort of warm earnestness that made her roll her eyes and feel dumb, but she laughed.
That was all there was to it, she guessed. Hub didn’t care. Everything he’d seen, everything he’d heard…those things didn’t matter to him. What she was didn’t matter to him. He really was a kind of hero. A real hero, not the kind from stories or movies. Just an ordinary, everyday person who'd done something amazing. A girl could do a lot worse than a hero.
“Good old Carlson and Peters, huh?” She didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, she placed her other hand on top of Hub’s, holding it. She smiled back at him, hers impish and teasing. “You know…you can stop calling me ‘Miss’ Jade. It’s kinda weird to keep calling the girl you want to date ‘Miss’.”
“Ah, I…I’m sure I don’t what you’re talking about, Miss Jade!”
She laughed again. “Come on. I’ve had an idea ever since you kissed me after that hovercraft race.”
“A moment of recklessness while lost in the thrill of victory, I swear!”
“Relax. What, does Carlson and Peters forbid dating?” She was still holding his hand. Out in the ocean a whale was breaching.
“No.” Hub sighed. “I don’t want to push you.”
“Always a gentleman.” Jade released his hand and brushed her hair out of her face. “But you’re not pushing. You never pushed. And hey…you helped save the world. I think that entitles you to get lucky.”
“M-Miss Jade!” Hub flushed a brilliant scarlet, sputtering and looking away. Jade laughed.
“No more ‘Miss’,” she said, bending down to pick up a bucket of plaster. “Alright, we’ve been standing around talking way too long. P’eyj is gonna start looking for one of us. Don’t you have roof beams to sand or something?”
“Ah…yes. Yes, of course. I’ll…we’ll…”
“We’ll talk later,” Jade said, helping him out. “After dinner.” On a sudden impulse she stretched up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. She could hear him stammering and stuttering all the way down to the lighthouse yard.
no subject
ILU for this hardcore. :3 And I think you have the characterization down pretty good (omg, you managed to beat all four races too? ahahaha I think I hit a pitch previously untouchable by mankind with my squealing at that). I honestly did not see anything wrong with their respective voices.
:3 :3 :3 :3 :3 You made my night with this. ♥
no subject
I'm so glad you enjoyed! This was a lot of fun to write. (YES! damn freaking pearls...by the time I needed the engine, I had 20 something pearls and only had the mini-game ones left to get. But it was so worth it!) Yay! I was nervous, having never written the fandom and only beaten it all the way through the once. But I really like the idea of Hub and Jade together, and the ending montage gave me enough to work with! :D Now I'm practically frothing at the mouth for the sequel!
HURRAH! I'm glad!
no subject