Disclaimer: I don't own Fringe. I do however love Alt-livia and Lincoln Lee together.
Author's Note: Sort of inspired by the song, Perfect 10 by The Beautiful South. 'Cause we love our bodies in different sizes, I love her body, especially the lies, time takes it's toll but not on the eyes, promise me this, you'll take me tonight'. I think it sort of is perfect for this pairing because they both have histories with each others' counterparts and yet fit together perfectly. Anyway, this was just a 'what if' in movie decisions scenario. Tell me what you think.
Perfect 10
'Nothing shocks me. I'm a scientist.'
Harrison Ford, as Indiana Jones
The first time they invite Lincoln to hang out, it's less than a week since the link closed and he chose this universe (this Olivia) over the other universe. He wonders how much of it is just their friendliness and how much it has to do with Liv and his counterpart. He doesn't hesitate to accept. This universe was as lonely as the last one, at times.
It's awkward. Lincoln gamely ignores all the glances that they try not to throw at him, even though he knows they must all be wondering at the differences between him and his counterpart. He also tries very hard not to throw glances at Liv (calling her Olivia had only lasted an hour before she'd threatened to punch his balls in if he did it again). He's oh so aware of the attraction to her and equally aware that her good friend, close partner and probable love interest, with the same face as him, has just died.
Still, he appreciates all the effort. They're being nice to him, bantering included, and he's pretty sure they don't normally do movie nights. It's clearly for his benefit, 'so you don't scare witnesses again,' Liv had teasingly said, eyes crinkling with her smile in a way that makes his heart miss a beat or ten. He'd replied that he had great pop culture, just for the wrong universe.
The movies they've selected are classics, they assure him. He doesn't have the heart to tell them that they're classics in his universe too. Besides, classics are classics for a reason and he'd rather watch them again with his new team than by himself.
Liv's sitting tantalisingly close to him when they start the second movie, Indiana Jones. He's munching on the nachos ('what the hell is popped corn?' Charlie had asked him, eyebrows quirked as if to emphasise his utter confusion) when it happens - his first experience of the differences in this universe and the other one, in a pop culture sense.
The bad guy is moving his sword with all the same crazy moves and he's waiting for Indiana Jones to just shoot the guy – except he doesn't. There's a sword and Indiana Jones swinging it around and the kind of sword fight you would expect in 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. He accidentally starts choking on the nachos because of the laughter bubbling out of him.
Liv's look of alarmed concern changes swiftly to bewilderment as she realises that he's laughing more than choking and he thinks he saw her lips twitch upwards. It is months later that she tells him she finds his laughter so contagious that she can never stop herself from smiling whenever he laughed.
It's a surreal, out of body experience.
Just for one moment, Lincoln is hit with the strangeness of his situation. He's in a universe where they love Nixon, Indiana Jones has a sword fight and he died. Not him him, obviously, but still, a version of him.
It's gone as quickly as it comes and he takes shaky breaths in, his abdomen agonisingly painful from laughing so hard.
He ignores Charlie as he complains about the 'weird Lee ruining the best part of the movie' and instead turns to Liv. 'In our universe, he just grabbed a gun and shot the guy,' he explains in one succinct sentence.
'What, just shot the guy? No sword fight?' Liv clarifies, bewilderment increasing as he nods. 'But that's like the best part of the movie.' Her lips spread open in a smile as Lincoln's laughter bubbles out of him again. He can't help it. He's had so many conversations (a ridiculously number, really, considering it's one scene in one movie) but they always concluded that it was so much cooler for Indiana Jones to just dismissively shoot the guy than attempt a sword fight but how does he explain this to them? Besides, for all he knows, there might not be a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie here.
He stifles his laughter and grabs some nachos. 'It's just a different universe thing, I guess.' He shrugs his shoulders.
'Clearly,' Charlie comments drily, eager to return to the movie. Lincoln completely misses the meaningful look he throws at Liv or the scowl she returns.
'Hey, isn't anyone else bothered that Lee never told us they had this movie in the other universe?' John pipes up, voice brimming with his indignation.
'Shut up, Johnny. I've been looking for an excuse to watch this movie.' Charlie's attention is back on the screen and so is Lincoln's...mostly. He can't help it if he's a little bit distracted by Liv's proximity.
Before they've watched another ten minutes, they're asking him questions, demanding to know all the differences between this universe and his original one. It's funny that they never asked this in relation to science or politics or even religion. But pop culture and Hollywood have their places and it's entertaining to find out that Kate Winslet died in Titanic in this universe or that the Spice Girls stayed together for a decade.
By the time the night is over, they've done more talking than watching and despite it, Lincoln's knowledge of this universe's pop culture has at least tripled. He also has a new appreciation for Johnny's dark sense of humour, so similar to his own. And if during that time, he has gradually shifted closer to Liv, that wasn't conscious either.
It's past three in the morning when he makes his way home to the cheap hotel room he's been staying in. The silence buzzes in his ears and he ponders over all the differences and similarities in the universes. He wonders if Liv sees him as him or as a shadow of Lee, and sometimes he wonders if he sees her as her, or as a coloured imprint of the Olivia who had introduced him to the bizarre reality hidden from the vast public. It's a disconcerting thought that he can't quite get comfortable with, not really reconcilable in a way that makes sense, because how can he argue that he's fallen for the same but different woman and how would he ever know if she loves him for him or because of who is counterpart was?
It's these thoughts that haunt him and it's a problem that he can't solve but he nonetheless falls asleep, dreaming of sword fights instead of guns and a beautiful (fake) redhead with crinkles around her eyes as she smiles at him. There are worse things he could have dreamt of and when he wakes up the next morning, his lips are quirked upwards, reminiscent of the beautiful redhead that graces his dreams.