What: REVOLUTION - fanfic
Oneshot - no blackout AU
Tragedy(?), romance(?), (smut? I don't think it is), hurt/comfort, family, fluffiness, & so, so many feels (depending on the day depends on if I need tissues.)
Who: Charlie Matheson, Bass Monroe, Miles Matheson,
Charlie & Miles & Bass, Charlie/Bass, Charlie/Miles ...sort of, Bass/Miles, Miles/Emma
also: Rachael Matheson, Ben Matheson, Emma Bennett, oc background characters
Rating: Teen+ - implied sex scenes (only as graphic as your imagination)
Summery: When Danny dies, Charlie grieves. and people let her.
Warnings: Character death (already happened)
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to "Revolution" or its affiliated characters (That was formerly NBC and WB Studios/Universal. Currently DC comics?) Awesomeness of the characters is totally owned by the actors who portrayed them. I just play around with the characters in my head for the fun of it; I make no money off of this what-so-ever. I may ride them hard, I may get them dirty; but I put them away clean for the next person who wants to enjoy them.
Author's notes:
I think this was the answer to the grief I was dealing with in my life, and the exhaustion I was feeling from writing such a long story (Coast.)
My own review of this is "Sad, but sweet."
My tags up top make this sound all smutty (and if you've read Coast or Campfire, I wouldn't blame you,) but I just put them there in case anyone has any strong squicks to the pairings. The pairings aren't really the focus of the story though... or at least that wasn't my intent... I hope it comes across as something else. (Still not sure what to classify this as.)
Suggestion: This story is best appreciated read at a slow pace. Take a breath or two between paragraphs.
first Posted 10 Aug 2017
Charlie is about 22, 23 in this story.
Sometimes No Words Are Needed
Like a ship lost at sea in a raging storm, Charlie was a complete wreck when her parents came home that final time without Danny. They knew there would be no words that could comfort her, as the two had been as close as identical twins. They knew she'd be broken for a while, and that there was no reason to try to fix her. She needed to grieve. So, between all the sobbing, crying, wailing, and silence they held her; they didn't try to placate her with empty words or promises they couldn't make, they just held her.
It was the same when Miles and Bass came in on leave. No one said anything when she held on to Miles for an hour like he was her lifeline. Bass didn't chastise her for drenching his shirt when she sobbed into is shoulder, all he said was in the first five minutes, "We got you baby girl, we got you," as he wrapped his arm around her. Later, no one said anything or tried to stop her as she silently, broken and exhausted, followed them out the door like a shadow when they went to go to their hotel room.
They didn't say anything as she finally drifted off into a dreamless slumber, tear streaked face, nestled against Bass' chest, Miles' hand rubbing her arm.
Charlie may have raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything when her high school teacher Mrs. Jones (the former Mrs. Bennett, but remarried three years ago,) followed them back to the hotel after the wake and was busy comforting Miles from his own grief in a very different way. She would be curious when she could care, but right now, laying in the opposite bed, she just had Bass hold her. The moans and grunts from the other side of the room barely even registering in her grief laden brain. After a long day of too many people, the soothing hand rubbing circles into her back, while she breathed in the familiar scent of one of the knights from her childhood, she enjoyed the relative silence. Tomorrow would probably be even more taxing.
Nobody with a kind heart said a mean word about Charlie sobbing throughout most of the funeral. Some would have said she was making a spectacle out of herself, causing a scene; but those who mattered, those who cared, didn't berate her, knowing the bond they shared. So, nobody that was even a halfway decent person said a bad word about her. Many gave her their sincere condolences and placating words. Those who knew, would give her arm a gentle squeeze and a sad smile, or touch her fingers with their own, some would go for the full out embrace. She wasn't ready for the latter from those she wasn't closest to, but she didn't say a thing, because she knew they were doing the best they could.
Charlie's Mom had tried to tell Charlie to give the guys some space, but they insisted she was no bother. She went with them yet again. She didn't understand how people could do these things when so sad but figured people mourned in their own ways. So when these two started their own exploration of each other when they thought she was asleep on the other bed, she said nothing. She couldn't be mad at them. They thought she was asleep, and Lord knows how many private moments they got on duty. When they were cleaned up and fresh from the shower though, and her from her own, she went for more cuddles after grabbing a small snack. Her own desire to feel closer surprised her. Somehow the holding just didn't feel like enough. When she stretched up and kissed Miles on the lips he tried to stop her, "Charlie, you're not" She cut him off mid-protest, "Just tonight," she pleaded with all the hurt and pain in her eyes, trying to convey her need to feel anything else. He closed his eyes tight for a moment. Then he looked to Bass and saw indifference and understanding there. He said nothing else as he gave Charlie what she was seeking. Warm kisses and a deeper feeling to being held.
No one had said anything to Charlie at the wake when she was offered food on held out plates and she refused with an upturned hand, a polite half smile, her other arm wrapped around herself in half hug. They gave her sympathetic smiles and nods and kept the food for themselves. They just gave concerned looks at the reception when she didn't make a plate of food for herself. And no one said anything at the dinner for immediate family the evening after the funeral when she finally put a sustainable amount on her plate. The other four, just giving small smiles. Rachael may have let out a small sigh of relief, when Charlie had actually made it halfway though the meal.
Miles didn't say anything as Charlie pulled Bass into a liplock back at the hotel. When Bass looked over questioningly, Miles shrugged a shoulder. When Charlie made it clear she wanted more, Miles walked a condom over, handed it to Bass, put his hand on this 'brother's' shoulder, then over to the other side of the room and picked up a book to read. Charlie was mostly quiet as Bass helped her to take the edge off the grief. It was slow, gentle, and comforting. There were nothing but soft moans and delicate kisses.
Rachael said nothing the next day as the guys were about to take off and Charlie gave a lingering hug to Miles, and her and Bass shared a chaste kiss.
Bass couldn't stand seeing the heartbreak that was pooling in Charlie's eyes, he could almost feel it rolling off in waves and it was breaking his own. He knew too well the pain of that kind of loss. No one should have to go through that alone. "This is the last time we'll ever leave you, so long as we can help it," he said with all the sincerity and apology he could muster. Charlie held on to him tighter, crying into his shoulder. "We'll be back as soon as we can." She lifted her head and looked at Miles, and he nodded his head in agreement.
Author's exit notes:
Sorry about not putting up an implied future Bass/Charlie & Miles or Bass/Charlie/Miles tag up top, but I didn't want there to be a spoiler. Take the ending how you wish. (Heck... for all I care in this story she ends up with someone else. Regardless, she ends up being super close with the guys... even if it is totally platonic in the future. But here... this was exactly what she needed. Them as they were. No judging, all love and support.)
Sorry if I made anyone cry (or even sniffle)! (Sincerely) ...but I will take it as a compliment if you did. It means I did my job well conveying the emotion on the page. ^-^