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31_days2007-02-15 08:17 pm
rhye.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2007-02-15 08:17 pm
[February 15] [Brokeback Mountain] Once Upon a Time - 15
Title: Once Upon a Time - 15
Day/Theme: February 15th/Candles for the Dead
Series: Brokeback Mountain
Character/Pairing: Jack Twist/Ennis del Mar
Rating: R
Chapter 15
The day was wasted. Ennis tried to sleep on the couch, but the cold touched him too deeply and they'd used every blanket on Jack and Mrs. Twist. Besides, the banging was too close, and before long he joined a Chuck, Dale, and Gerry hammering plywood over the gaping kitchen walls. Chuck left before dinner, as he had the day before, alone this time. Gerry and Dale headed back down to the bunkhouse. They were friendly guys, but still just employees. They worked hard for their wages, but that's the only reason they worked.
Ennis opened some cans of soup and took bowls upstairs. Mrs. Twist was lying awake, just watching the room, and thanked him. He offered to bring up her quilting. She took him up on that, but it left him wondering why she hadn't asked before.
Jack was sound asleep, though, so he ate Jack's soup himself. Afterward, Ennis found his warm place to sleep, though he kept well to his side of the bed, afraid of messing with Jack's leg by accident.
The next day wasn't too different, except Ennis and Dale worked out in the stables, righting them for the horses that had made it. Gerry and Chuck went back to the daily chores of tending stock. Ennis and Dale worked in silence.
But when Ennis went inside for lunch, silence was the last thing he encountered. Jack was upstairs bitching at Ennis at the top of his lungs.
"Ennis? Ennis, that you?"
"Yup."
"Get on up here! Could you bring up some water? Maybe some food? I'm dyin' a starvation up here."
Seemed Jack's lungs were a bit healthier than his own because Ennis didn't think he could have caterwalled like that. Ennis finally relented, climbing upstairs with water and bread.
"What the hell, is this prison? We don't got no warm food?"
"Well I'm supposed to be out helpin' Dale, not takin' care of you."
"Well excuse me for bein' hurt. Come on, help me up, I gotta piss somethin' awful."
Ennis let Jack drape an arm around him. He was blushing a fierce red as he walked Jack all the way to the bathroom that was in view of the Mrs. Twist's room, and shut the door behind the two of them. Jack was clearly in pain and having trouble keeping his balance, so Ennis held on to him while Jack peed, zipped, rinsed water off his hands, and smiled at Ennis in the mirror. Ennis blushed even harder before breaking eye contact. Jack was so warm leaning against him. It would be easy for Ennis to be lost here.
But he couldn't. Everything here was going to be alright. He didn't know how he could know it, but nothing worse could happen than had already, and those men'd been arrested after they'd all been laid out unconscious by the Twist ranch's very own crap-shooting army. But nothing could be alright until one more thing was done.
They didn't do it until after dark, because the ranch work took all day. But after the sun had slipped over the western horizon and all that remained of its glow was what reflected off the evening star hanging low to the southwest, Ennis, Dale, Gerry, and a couple hands from the next ranch over gathered behind the horse barn.
They built a fire up, its light glinting with a familiar orange glow, bringing back bad memories. In a way they were reclaiming the flame for themselves, burning away their own fears from the night before. Nothing would burn tonight that wasn't meant to.
One by one they hoisted the dead animals into the fire: a couple roosters, a rattlesnake, a dead wolf that they'd found down by the road, the mule, a sheep. The fire blazed higher. It was about time for the last carcass to join the pyre, and everyone seemed to be waiting for Ennis. He stepped forward to grip the edges of the cloth already wrapping the partly-burnt horse, but, before he could move it, his attention was arrested by a familiar silhouette against the flame. "What you doin'? You need to be--"
"Shove it. She was my damned horse."
"Jack, you--" But Ennis could see Jack was ignoring him as he limp-hopped over to the blanket, groaning as he bent over to grab the sheet. Gerry and a man named Steve from the Foster's ranch rushed forward to help, and the four of them dragged the young filly over to the now-towering flame that smelled already of burning flesh and fat.
They stood back to watch as the flame leaped up, warming their fronts to mid-summer while their backs chilled. Jack leaned against Ennis, and though Ennis wasn't comfortable with it, he didn't have the heart to move away from a man with an injured leg. Ennis noticed Dale watching them, but whether Dale was uncomfortable with it or not, Ennis knew Dale could be trusted after last night. It was the blessing of trial by fire.
When the flames had slackened to simmering embers, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, they doused it with a trough and parted for the night. But the evening star burned on-- a candle for the dead.
Day/Theme: February 15th/Candles for the Dead
Series: Brokeback Mountain
Character/Pairing: Jack Twist/Ennis del Mar
Rating: R
Chapter 15
The day was wasted. Ennis tried to sleep on the couch, but the cold touched him too deeply and they'd used every blanket on Jack and Mrs. Twist. Besides, the banging was too close, and before long he joined a Chuck, Dale, and Gerry hammering plywood over the gaping kitchen walls. Chuck left before dinner, as he had the day before, alone this time. Gerry and Dale headed back down to the bunkhouse. They were friendly guys, but still just employees. They worked hard for their wages, but that's the only reason they worked.
Ennis opened some cans of soup and took bowls upstairs. Mrs. Twist was lying awake, just watching the room, and thanked him. He offered to bring up her quilting. She took him up on that, but it left him wondering why she hadn't asked before.
Jack was sound asleep, though, so he ate Jack's soup himself. Afterward, Ennis found his warm place to sleep, though he kept well to his side of the bed, afraid of messing with Jack's leg by accident.
The next day wasn't too different, except Ennis and Dale worked out in the stables, righting them for the horses that had made it. Gerry and Chuck went back to the daily chores of tending stock. Ennis and Dale worked in silence.
But when Ennis went inside for lunch, silence was the last thing he encountered. Jack was upstairs bitching at Ennis at the top of his lungs.
"Ennis? Ennis, that you?"
"Yup."
"Get on up here! Could you bring up some water? Maybe some food? I'm dyin' a starvation up here."
Seemed Jack's lungs were a bit healthier than his own because Ennis didn't think he could have caterwalled like that. Ennis finally relented, climbing upstairs with water and bread.
"What the hell, is this prison? We don't got no warm food?"
"Well I'm supposed to be out helpin' Dale, not takin' care of you."
"Well excuse me for bein' hurt. Come on, help me up, I gotta piss somethin' awful."
Ennis let Jack drape an arm around him. He was blushing a fierce red as he walked Jack all the way to the bathroom that was in view of the Mrs. Twist's room, and shut the door behind the two of them. Jack was clearly in pain and having trouble keeping his balance, so Ennis held on to him while Jack peed, zipped, rinsed water off his hands, and smiled at Ennis in the mirror. Ennis blushed even harder before breaking eye contact. Jack was so warm leaning against him. It would be easy for Ennis to be lost here.
But he couldn't. Everything here was going to be alright. He didn't know how he could know it, but nothing worse could happen than had already, and those men'd been arrested after they'd all been laid out unconscious by the Twist ranch's very own crap-shooting army. But nothing could be alright until one more thing was done.
They didn't do it until after dark, because the ranch work took all day. But after the sun had slipped over the western horizon and all that remained of its glow was what reflected off the evening star hanging low to the southwest, Ennis, Dale, Gerry, and a couple hands from the next ranch over gathered behind the horse barn.
They built a fire up, its light glinting with a familiar orange glow, bringing back bad memories. In a way they were reclaiming the flame for themselves, burning away their own fears from the night before. Nothing would burn tonight that wasn't meant to.
One by one they hoisted the dead animals into the fire: a couple roosters, a rattlesnake, a dead wolf that they'd found down by the road, the mule, a sheep. The fire blazed higher. It was about time for the last carcass to join the pyre, and everyone seemed to be waiting for Ennis. He stepped forward to grip the edges of the cloth already wrapping the partly-burnt horse, but, before he could move it, his attention was arrested by a familiar silhouette against the flame. "What you doin'? You need to be--"
"Shove it. She was my damned horse."
"Jack, you--" But Ennis could see Jack was ignoring him as he limp-hopped over to the blanket, groaning as he bent over to grab the sheet. Gerry and a man named Steve from the Foster's ranch rushed forward to help, and the four of them dragged the young filly over to the now-towering flame that smelled already of burning flesh and fat.
They stood back to watch as the flame leaped up, warming their fronts to mid-summer while their backs chilled. Jack leaned against Ennis, and though Ennis wasn't comfortable with it, he didn't have the heart to move away from a man with an injured leg. Ennis noticed Dale watching them, but whether Dale was uncomfortable with it or not, Ennis knew Dale could be trusted after last night. It was the blessing of trial by fire.
When the flames had slackened to simmering embers, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, they doused it with a trough and parted for the night. But the evening star burned on-- a candle for the dead.