The History Boy

Just a little one-shot I had sudden inspiration for a while back and had to write. Finally got the courage to post it. Although it's primarily about Cutler, it will make most sense if you've read my previous one-shot Le Désir Rouge which introduces my OC Colette (who I have accidentally fallen in love with), and also spondoolix's fic Waiting For Grace which explains what happened to her after Hal went good in 1955. As a brief overview, she is a prostitute/madam who frequently entertains Hal from the 1940's until his departure from that circle. When we catch up with her again she is a working as an independent high class hooker controlling her blood lust by taking blood as payment from some of her regular clients.

Cutler became one of my favourite characters swiftly after the end of Series 4, and I really had to write something that focused on him. He's an excellent character study, and I really missed him in Series 5.

Hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it x

Disclaimer: Being Human belongs to the great (Lord) Toby Whithouse and the BBC.

Lambeth, London 1951

Colette responds to the knock at her door immediately, ivory floor length silk robe sweeping along with a soft whoosh behind her. She isn't expecting company, but her private apartments are never really private. Hal visits often, and the thought that it might be him at the door makes her dead heart skip a little in her chest. Not through affection of course, she checks herself on that, but lust only. He would be just what her lazy afternoon away from work needs to make rather a perfect day.

She combs her curls through briefly with her fingers and pinches her cheeks to encourage a flush as she reaches the heavy oak door, putting her smile in place as she turns the handle.

"Cutler?" Her smile remains, surprise and small amount of disappointment kept out of her tone easily. He removes his hat and paws at it in his hands, shy to the point of adorable as he fumbles to speak. "Please, come in." She steps aside to gesture him in, and he steps past her just as bashfully.

"Thank you. Good afternoon Colette." He stutters upon entering her day room.

"Bon après-midi Monsieur Cutler. Comment allez-vous?"

"Je suis bien, merci." His French is not as polished and perfect as Hal's, but he is a man of learning and she knows he likes the opportunity to show it. He isn't arrogant, but he is proud, and recent events have stripped him of much of his pride. She knows she shouldn't be so kind to him, but she finds she cannot help herself. He is a lost puppy in a world of wolves. "Et vous Madame?"

"I'm quite well, thank you. What brings you here?" She already has her suspicions about what brings him, but she wonders what his master has told him. She doesn't want to shatter Cutler's illusions without just cause, not yet anyway.

"Hal. He wanted me to tell you he will be ready for you at nine and will send a car to collect you."

She regards him silently for a moment. He is sweating, his shirt clinging slightly beneath his jacket, his brow beaded with drops of perspiration. He still fiddles with the brim of his hat relentlessly, and if he weren't putting great effort into stopping himself, he would be fidgeting on his feet. She smiles and looks down at the floor briefly.

"Cutler, I have a telephone." she gestures to the elegant black device on her writing desk in the corner, "You know that's not why he sent you. You are far from an idiot."

He swallows and looks down at his hat with great intensity. "No."

She moves closer to him and takes his hat from his nervous hands, placing it on the hat stand beside the door and returning to stand infront of him.

"What brings you here?" she repeats patiently. He looks directly at her for the first time since he entered the apartment.

"Hal."

"Yes...?"

"He sent me to you. For..." He falters and looks away again. She purses her lips in amusement.

"Oui. And do you know why?"

Cutler shakes his head nervously and she can't blame him. Hal's true motives would be a mystery to her as well, had she not caught a conversation with Fergus a few nights previously. Money had changed hands, though she wasn't sure how much.

"He wants to challenge you. He is interested to see how you do." That is the kind version. What he really wants to do is embarrass the poor boy. The bet is simple. They put money on how long he would last with her. Fergus of course took great pleasure in laying money down for the least amount of time, well under half a minute if she remembers correctly. While she doesn't doubt her ability to make it so, she has always hated Fergus, and has no intention of lining his pockets at Cutler's expense. In fact, she sees quite clearly the direction she wishes to take in this situation.

As always with Hal however, there is an ulterior motive. Ultimately he wants Cutler to grow up, he wouldn't have kept him around for this long if he only meant to toy with him. Hal has been growing visibly more and more irritated at Cutler's refusal to abandon the last of his humanity, even after his wife's death. The man obviously still holds on to some sort of fidelity to her, refusing to acknowledge other women and being awkward with them when forced to, something that has consistently cost him kills and is a great disappointment to Hal. He had told her himself that he intended to send Cutler her way at some point to cure him, if he hadn't seen enough of a change in him in time. She doesn't see any harm in helping the boy along and giving his ego a little boost at the same time. After all, she is well aware that if she does not, Cutler may well not last much longer in this world. Hal won't tolerate weakness in his inner circle.

"I don't... I can't..." Cutler whines, shaking his head.

"I'm sure you can."

"That's not what I meant. I haven't... not since my wife."

Colette nods in understanding. Hal won't let that stand, hence the main reason for today's visit. Better the boy breaks his fast with her.

"You must at some point. He wants to force you to sever your ties to her, and to your human life. You know that already I'm sure." He nods, and she knows he is thinking again about her murder. "Believe me, you don't want to push his patience on this, he will make you regret it. Comply with him Cutler. Let me help you to forget." She purrs, bringing herself closer and pushing his jacket gently from his shoulders. He allows her to remove it, putty in her hands already. He hasn't much fight in him, but she had suspected as much. Cutler is a broken man, and she feels for him. She might like Hal, enjoy his company, indulge his whims and know him intimately, but she does not always agree with his methods. Poor Cutler did not deserve what his maker dealt out to him.

She steadies his shaking hands with her own and presses her lips to his chastely. His eyes close but there is pain in the expression and he doesn't return the kiss. He is fighting her.

"Let go of your grief, if only for now. It will serve you better to forget for a while."

"I can't."

"I think you can. Give it time." She places his hands on her waist and leaves them there, trailing her own up his chest to unfasten his tie. He shifts on his feet but doesn't remove his hands, opening his eyes again to watch her intently. He is putting his trust in her and she knows the responsibility she is taking on. She wouldn't care if it was anyone but him, but she has a soft spot for Cutler that refuses to go away. She would have taken better care of the young vampire had she been able, but Hal wouldn't have liked it, and staying in his favour is the most important thing on her agenda.

Tie removed, she starts work on his shirt buttons, taking her time and fumbling slightly, trying to settle his nerves by faking her own. It seems to work as his fingers move to assist her. She returns her attention to his lips, kissing him softly, slowly, almost timidly. His tongue is the first to deepen the kiss, his hands the first to wander, if a little shakily. He pulls her against him gently and she steps into his embrace, slipping her fingers under his open shirt and running them over his sides. He might not be fully comfortable with this scenario, but his body certainly is, the response below the waistband of his trousers undeniable. She resists the urge to move against him. He must lead this.

She feels him tug lightly at the belt of her robe, seemingly indecisive. She helps him by untying it, and his still unsteady fingers shift to her shoulders to push the garment from her skin. His breath catches and his eyes widen slightly when he realises she is naked beneath it. She smiles and looks down, acting bashful. Her body will do all the talking it needs to, and he won't resist her now he has seen all of her. After a brief pause, he finishes removing it from her and it pools silently at her feet. He runs his hands down her sides, lust finally obvious in his young, blue eyes. She holds firm and lets him come to her.

With a defeated sigh he pulls her to him again and kisses her desperately, his hands fumbling with his belt, shoes kicked off, rushing his trousers down and pushing her towards the chaise-longue nestled between two luxuriously curtained windows. He is urgent, furtive, and quick, shuddering against her with a gasped moan less than a minute after they land on the daybed. He shudders again, though this time it is sobs that wrack him. She holds him until his tears subside, stroking his back delicately and shushing him against his ear.

"You must think I'm pathetic." He states eventually, his voice steady again.

"Not at all. I think you're very strong."

He shifts to face her, propping himself up on his elbows. "Why? I've just cried after... There's not much coming back from that."

She chuckles quietly and strokes her fingers down his spine and back up again, smirking at his answering shiver. "You loved your wife. You tried to hold on to your humanity, and to be loyal to her in death. Not many men in your position would have held out for so long."

He looks at her, his eyes boring into hers until she feels inexplicably bare inside and out. He leans down slowly to kiss her. "Thank you." He whispers against her lips. Shifting back to look her again he sighs. "You'll tell him though won't you? What happened. How awful I was."

"No." She shakes her head, her blonde curls bouncing with the movement. "My lips are sealed, on that, anyway. I'll have to tell him something, but I'll keep it as vague as I can."

He nods, relief coursing through him and gratitude clear in his eyes.

Colette decides enough is enough. In this aspect at least, it is time for Cutler to grow up, and she does need something to tell Hal later without having to lie. She leans up and catches his bottom lip in her teeth, sucking on it hard. He lets out a small whimper and she can feel him stirring inside her, spurring her on. She kisses him, slipping her tongue past his lips expertly, pulling a rasping groan from his throat with ease. His hips rock him in and out of her in minute unconscious movements, and she knows she has won him over completely.

She rolls him onto his back and sits up with a smirk. "Now that we're past the difficult bit, why don't I show you a thing or two to help you along in this world?"

After thoroughly exhausting Cutler and admittedly quite enjoying herself in the process, Colette sends him packing, reclines in her roll-top for a while, slips on a little black sequined number, and waits for Hal's car to arrive. It does, right on time of course, and she dons her highest heels and makes her way outside. On entering the car she is surprised to find that Hal is waiting for her inside. He kisses her hand as the driver shuts her door and gets back into the front of the large vehicle, a tinted partition screening them off from the sullen vampire chauffeur. As soon as they are alone Hal grabs her thighs and slides her down the leather seats, pouncing on her. She giggles under his attentions as he nips and kisses her throat, sucks along her jaw line and ravages her lips while groping under her dress. He has her panting in minutes.

"So," he mumbles against her ear, "how was Cutler?"

"Not bad." She breathes hotly as his fingers slip past her briefs. "He has a lot to learn but all in all," she gasps at his stroking, "he was fine." She pouts as Hal stops and looks at her suddenly.

"Fine?" He repeats with uncharacteristic surprise.

"Yes, he was ok." Hal frowns and she hides her victorious smile.

"Really?"

"Really. You were expecting different?"

"You have seen him, haven't you? You've met him? He's hardly a fine specimen."

"I didn't say he was, but he was better than I thought he would be. He's only young. He took a while to feel comfortable but when he did, well, he tried his best." She smiles openly now and leans up to kiss him slowly. She feels the smirk on his lips.

"Are you saying you enjoyed it?" He begins to move his fingers again, and she sighs happily.

She smiles saucily and closes her eyes, arching against him. "No, but he held on long enough to let me help myself to enjoy it."

He nibbles a trail down her neck. "He didn't protest at all?"

"He wasn't completely onboard to start with, but darling look at me, he was hardly going to resist for long." Hal chuckles throatily and slips one of her breasts from her dress, sucking it hard enough to leave a mark.

"I take great pleasure in looking at you. And touching you. And fucking you." He climbs on top of her and with one practiced hand swiftly unfastens his trousers. Her laughter and amusement at his statement soon turn to ecstasy as he lays claim to her while London rolls drearily past the blacked-out windows.

Cutler's vampire virginity gone and his dignity well intact, her conscience soothed in looking after him in her own way, and Hal making love to her in the back of a luxury car. Today is definitely a good day.

Richmond, London 2011

Edith Piaf plays out into the apartment as Colette readies herself for her client. This one is new, she doesn't know much about him except that he will be paying in cash. Luckily she has already drunk her fill via an earlier client, so her hunger is well in check. She applies one more coat of lipstick, puckering her lips so the deep red shade blends perfectly at the edges. Her client's only request was that she wears red and she is happy to oblige, feeling the scheme fits her mood well. A crimson corset barely concealing her breasts under a sheer black lace robe short enough to reveal her underwear and matching suspenders, holding up thigh length stockings and finished with matching crimson heels.

There is a rap at the door, and just like that it is show time. She strides to open it, working her hair through quickly with her fingers and pinching her cheeks. She opens it with a smile, perfectly inviting and flirtatious, and freezes to the spot.

"Hello Colette."

Before she can react fast enough, Cutler has jammed a foot in the door to prevent her from closing it and is making his way inside as she backs away down the hallway.

He closes the door behind him and holds his hands up in supplication. "I'm not going to hurt you, you can relax."

"What are you doing here?" She feels a wall cold at her back and realises she has backed herself into a corner.

"I've been trying to find you. You were pretty hard to track down, and when I did, I wasn't sure it was you. I had to see you. Honestly Colette you don't need to be scared."

"Why would you want to find me? It's been more than fifty years, why now?" He approaches her but stops far enough away not to pose a threat.

"Do you know where he went? Did he contact you after he left?"

"Hal? No, I haven't heard from him. He left me too Cutler."

He nods solemnly. "I thought that would be the case. I've been thinking about him lately, wondering what happened to him."

"You don't think he was killed?"

"He must have been. If not then, he must be dead by now or he would have come back. I always thought he would have gone out with a bang. Something big. I guess he always did have a way of surprising us."

She nods and says nothing of the truth. That she knows exactly what happened to him.

"I miss him, you know? I know I shouldn't, the way he treated me, but he was everything to me too. He built me up, made me who I am now, made me somebody important, a history..."

"Cutler, if you've just come to talk about Hal, I haven't the time to indulge your trip down memory lane. I'm..." he pulls a roll of money from his trouser pocket and throws it to her. She catches it and turns it over in her hands. "...busy."

"I get two hours for that right?" She knows from the weight and value of the notes that he is correct.

"Yes."

"Right."

He hesitates for a moment before striding towards her, surprising her by taking her by the shoulders and kissing her. She stands still for a moment, not moving to return the kiss or to escape his grasp. Perhaps it is shock, perhaps just part of the job, but she suspects it is reminiscence that leads her to react the way she finally does.

She throws her arms around his neck and kisses him fiercely, nipping his lips and fisting a hand into his hair, shorter now than it used to be. He responds in kind, picking her up and hefting her into the wall while she wraps her legs firmly around his waist. He groans as she writhes against him, gripping her thighs firmly. They clutch each other tightly, grope, kiss, bite and suck their way to the bedroom, relieving each other of unnecessary clothing, mostly his given her state of undress. He deposits her onto the bed with more confidence than the Cutler she remembers and she wonders if he is trying to emulate his maker. She quickly decides he is as he thrusts into her, direct and to the point, just like Hal. He sets a quick pace perfect for the mood and she is surprised to find she is actually enjoying herself. He even just manages to let her finish first before moaning his way loudly to his own climax.

Some time later they lie together in a surprisingly cosy embrace, talking freely about the past, reminiscing happily together.

"I used to know when he was pissed off. He did this thing with his lips." Cutler laughs stroking his fingers lazily along one of Colette's arms.

"This?" she demonstrates, pursing her lips and frowning while still managing to quirk an eyebrow. Cutler laughs, as does she in response.

"Yes that."

She runs one of her legs up and down his without thinking about it. "He was awful." She states matter of factly.

"Yea. But we loved him anyway."

"Yes, we did."

They spend the next few hours together, screwing, talking, and screwing again, revisiting old ground that hadn't been dragged up for half a century, healing old wounds and revealing new ones. Cutler even shows her some of the skills he has learnt since he saw her last, and while he isn't a particularly gifted lover, she has to admit she is impressed at how far he has come from the trembling boy she seduced at very start of his vampire-hood. Trying to imitate his maker has obviously done wonders for his bedside manner, or maybe Colette has just missed Hal enough to fill in the gaps herself. Never the less, she takes great pleasure in making him whimper, just as she did with such ease all those years ago. Cutler ends up spending the night, her fee gone out the window.

The soft light of early dawn finds Colette laid out exhausted on his chest, too tired to move off of him.

"Why did you help me?" he mumbles sleepily, the sound rumbling through his chest under her breasts.

"What do you mean?"

"When Hal made me go to you, back in fifty-one. You could have helped him humiliate me, you probably should have. Why didn't you?"

She smiles against his clavicle. "Did you not realise I had a soft spot for you? You were so alone, you didn't fit into our world and he forced you to be something you weren't. I suppose you tugged at my tired old heartstrings."

"I'm alright now. I realised what he gave me. Status, a chance to be someone, a history..."

"If you say history maker, I'm kicking you out." She mumbles with her eyes closed, remembering what Hal told every fresh, naive recruit of his. Cutler always had liked using the phrase. He chuckles under her, affirming what she thought earlier. He is playing at being his maker, but he doesn't have the ruthlessness or the temper. Some things never change.

They sleep until nearly noon, the first time Colette has slept so close to anyone for a long time. Her clients never stay past midnight, she needs her space, but Cutler is different. They both seek comfort, a shred of the life they once shared, friends they have both lost and still miss after all this time. They shower together, and she gives him one last thing to remember her by, a Colette special that leaves him visibly weak at the knees.

"Where have you been all this time? What have you been doing?" she asks him, wrapped up in her dressing gown and picking at a piece of toast while he dresses.

"Here, London most of the time. I'm still practicing law." He answers, shrugging on his shirt and buttoning it. "It's a shame I didn't know you were here. We could have stayed in contact."

Colette knows they wouldn't have, such was her urgency to escape her former life by the end, but it is a nice thought all the same.

"Does that mean I can expect more visits from you?" She is surprised by how much the idea appeals. He is no Casanova, nothing special in the bedroom, though most of the men she encounters are anything but. There is something about him, about taking his boyhood she supposes, that she finds quite alluring.

" 'Fraid not. I'm relocating."

"Relocating? Where?"

"Wales."

"Wales? Why would you do that to yourself?"

He laughs as he loops his tie around his neck and she ditches the toast and wanders over to tie it for him.

"It's the place to be. There's an Old One, Griffin, and things are happening there from what I've heard. Something big is going down and it's only right that I'm a part of it."

"It is?" She finishes the tie and steps back slightly to give him room to put on his suit jacket.

"Of course. Hal's not around anymore, so it's my job to carry on where he left off. To continue his line, as it were."

"You're not his son Cutler."

"I'm the next best thing. Maybe better. He chose me. Besides, I owe him. This is my little way of repaying him. I'll make him proud wherever he is, keep his name going in the history books."

She shakes her head sadly, but smiles at him all the same. She knows full well the Hal she knew at the end wouldn't have wanted him to do this. But Cutler is clearly hung up on Hal and she would be a hypocrite to tell him he is wrong. She is pretty hung up on him still herself.

Instead, she steps forward and presses a lingering kiss to his cheek. "Take care baby face."

"You could come."

"To Wales?"

"Yea. I'm telling you, it's the place to be." He answers enthusiastically. She chuckles lightly.

"Thank you for the advice Cutler, but I'm happy here." I am never in a million years setting foot in Wales, is what she thinks to herself.

"Alright. If I'm back in the area any time soon, I'll look you up. It's been nice seeing you again." He takes her hand and kisses it, grinning boyishly. Mimicking Hal again, she realises, and smiles back wistfully. He moves to leave but pauses and turns back to her, his confident act slipping. For a moment he is the Cutler she knew before. "Thank you. You were the only one who was kind to me back then. You could have sided with the others, and maybe you should have. I like who I am now, I don't have a problem with it. But fifty years ago, I really needed someone and you were there, so thanks." He hesitates before walking back to her and looping his arms around her. She returns the embrace, not usually one for close contact of this sort, but willing to forego that rule just this once.

"Look after yourself." She strokes a hand over his shoulder and straightens his jacket and tie, as she used to do with Hal every time he left her company all those years ago. He goes to the door, and as he steps out he turns to smile at her, his youthful smile the last thing she ever sees of him. Sweet, almost childlike, but with more than a hint of arrogance now. He has grown up alright, but she can't help but be a little sad at that, and at the part she played in it. He had been a better man then, better for his humanity. Hal had stripped him of it, succeeded in creating perhaps not a clone, but someone desperate to be one.

She cares deeply for Hal still even after all this time, but taking Cutler's humanity is one of those things she doesn't think she will ever forgive him for.