Color Us Black - Authority, Power, and Death
Set shortly after Conversion.
He sat watching her in the commissary, seeing her not eating nearly as much as she should and drinking cups of coffee like they were shots of whisky. When she caught his eye, he smiled and looked away. When she got up to leave, he did as well, walking beside her silently. They walked into her office in equivalent silence, and not until the door closed did she speak.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked, getting down to the point as she sat down in her chair.
He took a seat on the edge of her desk, shaking his head. "No, why?"
"No reason. It's just that you've been quietly today, and that scares me."
He raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was serious. By the look on her face, she must have been. "Well, I'm sorry-"
"You don't need to be," she supplied, cutting him off. "Can I ask you something?"
He waved his hand, his way of telling her she could.
"Why do you wear black all the time?"
John looked over at her, his face hardening. He ran a hand through his hair and got off her desk, taking a seat in a chair in front of it instead. "My mother, before she died, always told me that the color black meant authority and power. She said if I wore it long enough, that people would come to know and respect me, kind of like what people did to Johnny Cash. She-" He stopped, looking at Elizabeth again. "She was wrong."
Elizabeth smiled softly, getting up and walking to the front of her desk and leaning against it. "She wasn't wrong John. My father told me the same thing, but I didn't listen to it because the color scared me at times. After he died, I colored my hair black to show it I listened."
John smiled as he stood up. "Besides, I'm just waiting for McKay to start calling me 'The Man In Black.' Kirk's getting a little old, considering I don't do that anymore."
She smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around him. "I'll be sure to mention it."
Fin.