Disclaimer: not my characters :P
No beta unfortunately so all errors are mine. Thanks to any readers that read the whole thing. All reviews welcome.
Five short fics that could have happened to D'argo if things were different. Three better and two worse. The last two are inspired by D'argo's treatment of John. I thought projecting that behaviour onto another character would be interesting.
Five things that never happened to D'argo
1. Fruit picking.
D'argo leaned against the trunk of the tree, chewing idly as he considered how to begin. He adjusted the hefty bag on his back and looked up. Manually picking Jatta fruit was a time of bonding between father and son. D'argo had done it with his father and now continued the tradition with his son.
Jothee's muscles rippled and bunched beneath his tanned skin. His father watched proudly as the young man darted from limb to limb with an agility foreign to both sebaeceans and luxans. Jothee was always special, more than half one race and half another he was something all his own.
"I have seen how you look at her and do not think your mother hasn't noticed as well" D'argo said around a mouthful of Jatta fruit. "Love takes time Jothee and you are going too fast". Jothee only smiled his quiet smile, before bounding higher to another limb. D'argo swallowed noisily before continuing "I was a young man once and I understand how you feel but what do you really know about this girl, enough to be going off world with her?"
Jothee flung another jatta fruit, a bit too forcefully, at his father. D'argo caught and bagged the fruit easily. "Father I can make my own decisions" Jothee growled as his face darkened "besides she makes me happy and that is all I need to know."
"You cannot build a lasting marriage on happy alone." Dargo said.
"Who said anything about marriage?" Jothee shot back with a loud snort, his blush spreading to his chest.
"Your mother and I have had to work hard at maintaining our union." D'argo continued gently, he had learned the reddening of his son's cheeks signalled intense emotion and he didn't want to upset the young man. "You have never even been outside this system, I just do not want you to get hurt, the girl is trouble Jothee I can smell it." He said tapping his nose with a sticky finger.
Jothee gripped a nearby branch and looked down at his father; with his face the picture of adolescent intensity. He paused to collect his thoughts before continuing. The old man doesn't understand. Jothee has known her for a few monens and she is everything he could want in a girl. She has seen half the galaxy and curses in hundred different languages. Most importantly she doesn't look at him as if he is an oddity; out here she is one too. Jothee hadn't even heard of the Nebari before she showed up. That first day in the market she had stolen one of his fruits and his heart.
"Look" Jothee paused to consider an appropriate description for the grey girl "she isn't perfect but Chiana understands—she understands me.", Jothee concluded in his most earnest voice and D'argo knew in that instant that his eldest son would not be swayed.
2. Almost perfect.
D'argo regards his fiancé as she tends the small garden, her skin is still as smooth as the day he met her. He has always admired her cool palette against his own fiery reds. She has grounded him in so many ways and he is thankful that they have come so far after so much. He runs his hands across the unity branders and absently wonders how her skin will react to Luxan tattoos. He imagines she will smell like burnt leaves. With a contented sigh he gazes out the window again, Jothee is ploughing nearby and the sight of his half-breed son reminds him that he will not have another, not with this perfect blue woman. The thought stings a bit but D'argo has learned to be content besides he isn't sure how one would tend a delvian-luxan seedling. His life isn't perfect but it is close, tomorrow they would be united and what could be better than the union of a farmer and a plant?
3. Salt and mourning.
"What is wrong Lolaan? Please speak to me" D'argo murmed into his wife's hair. He squeezed her closer to his chest as she sobbed.
"It's Macton-- oh-- Macton my brother", Lolaan whispered between sobs. D'argo tensed reflexively; he quickly glanced out the window to the field where his two sons were wrestling if only to reassure himself that his family was still intact. After their last altercation, Macton had left fuming and promising retribution. When news reached of his promotion to a specialised command carrier D'argo had feared the sebacean would make good on his threats but instead cycles later and nothing.
"What Lolaan, what has Macton done?" D'argo said quietly. He refused to show his wife the fear he was feeling. In truth he was deeply ashamed his wife's brother could still make him feel such dread.
"He-- He didn't do anything, Scorpius' command carrier was destroyed several solar days ago, by the Moya outlaws. He's dead D'argo, my brother is dead" She said haltingly. D'argo felt a weight lift from his shoulders, he wanted to celebrate not mourn.
"Those Moya outlaws", he murmured, silently thankful for the ruthless criminals. Macton had been the greatest threat to his family and now he was gone. For his wife's sake D'argo stifled his laughter, focusing instead on the pain she was feeling.
" Shhh, shhh Lolaan don't cry", he muttered "you know how dangerous peacekeeping is"
"I know" she said looking up at her husband seeing the poorly hidden relief in his eyes, "I know he hated you, my sons even me but after all that he was still my brother I wish-- I just wish we could have reconciled." She replied softly.
"I know, I know", he whispered before he pressed his warm lips against hers. In the dim farmhouse as he comforted her, she tasted of salt and mourning.
4. Hyper rage and apologies.
He was sorry again, sorry before and sorry after but never during.
He shook his head wildly, desperate to loosen the fog that had settled there.
The rage receded slowly leaving behind a familiar void. He could sense again, the sweet metallic smell was always the first thing he became aware of.
He felt his stomach lurching as he noticed the sweet smelling blue liquid smearing his hands and slicking the floor.
He knew that even though the liquid was the wrong colour for a luxan it was blood and more had been spilled than the last time or the time before that.
He looked down at the source of the blue fluid, his little grey girl with her fearful space black eyes, curled into the corner trying to disappear. Those black eyes hurt him.
Hurt when she looked at him like that.
As if he was a monster.
It wasn't his fault not completely at least. Hyper rage is normal luxan physiology.
He advanced slowly, watched her flinch, regret gripped his hearts but she just made him so angry some times.
"Chi", he began softly "you know that I am sorry".
5. Distraction on Arnesk.
"Please don't send me back there", she pleaded emphasizing with a vigorous shake of her shaggy white head. Her black eyes were darting around the cavern, hyper vigilant now, seeking imagined attackers.
"We need another distraction Chiana or we will all die" D'argo replied coolly.
"Look send Jool or Sikozu just dd d don't make me go back to him" she ground out between gritted teeth. As she stood in the chest deep water she scrubbed frantically at her bare arms, scrubbed until her nails scraped thin blue lines in grey flesh.
D'argo looked at her and she looked at him, but they couldn't see each other and couldn't understand.
"He isn't interested in Jool or Sikozu. Braca wants you, just keep him and his friends busy for an arn" D'argo said "You were willing on that budong, frell ! You were even willing with my son do not tell me you suddenly grew morals." His voice was bitter as he stared at her. He couldn't understand why she was always so selfish.
"Th This isn't the same. I'm not the same. I didn't want to... don't want to...not again. Just try to think up another plan I I don't think...I can't go...not again...please..."she stuttered out. She wrapped her hands around herself to stop the shivering. She shivered more from an internal chill than the water swirling around her.
"CHIANA!" D'argo shouted "There is no other plan, this is life or death. Think of the others, it is not like you have never frelled a peacekeeper before! Stop the theatrics and let us get going!" The wet, grey woman closed her eyes and swayed in place. The memory of rough peacekeeper hands and losing control and every time she lost control before and he wanted her to let it happen again. Too much, he was asking too much. She gulped air down her dry throat willing the panic away. The water lapped at her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut. Something came loose inside her and began surging to the surface.
" N No! I... I do what I want!" she shrieked back at him, blue heat rising in her chest.
"We do NOT have time for this." D'argo growled, annoyed at her objections. Why didn't she understand? Surely she knew sometimes you had to do things you didn't like to survive. He remembered when he would have objected to this plan but now he knew that luxan concepts like honour and love were ideals not practical tangible things. Honour didn't get things done.
Anger replacing her fear she continued "And I don't want--", *gurgle*, her sentence ended abruptly as D'argo released his tongue. He waded into the water muttering Luxan curses and hoisted the unconscious form over his shoulders.
"Life or death" he told himself after the peacekeepers plucked her from the rocks. She would keep Braca busy long enough he thought. He would worry about the grey girl's complaints later; right now he had to focus on the plan and getting them all off Arnesk alive.