AN: This is something new for me-- it was written entirely from BJ's point of view. Please let me know what you think!
ST: Written to William Orbit's Barber's Adagio for Strings. Simply the loveliest music I have heard in a very very long time.
Chapter 3: Possessive
"Okay. Say I agree to this. How do we do it?"
He sat up and made a great show of cracking his knuckles. "Slow an' steady, girlchild."
They sat cross-legged, facing each other, her right hand over his left, and his right hand over her left. He couldn't help but grin at her nervousness. She, who had faced down the scariest ghost he had ever dated with nothing but her charm and completely made-up story about random tarot cards that he had only offered up because they had happened to be in his pocket. Not that he would ever tell her the truth. Some things you just should never have to know. Or in this case, he didn't want her freakin' out all over the place. Bad enough she was so jumpy to flinch at every touch. He wanted to grab her and hold her till she warmed in his hands… he drew himself back to the reality. No use thinking about what would never happen. That, she had made abundantly, painfully clear. On multiple occasions.
"Earth to Beetlejuice?" She was looking at him, eyebrow's raised in that impertinent, dry way she had. Her hands tightened on his very slightly. He tried to gather his imploded thoughts… what was he doing? Ah. Possession. Right.
"Nervous, Lyds?" Smooth. Put it back on the girl. She bought it, shaking her head defensively. She must really be, to be denying it so frequently.
"Just don't have all day, Beej." He flashed her a charming grin. At least, he had always thought of it as his charming grin, until he met her. But she just tilted her head, her eyes betraying her impatience.
"Fine. Close your eyes." Infuriating girl. He could feel her edges even now, radiating out beyond her body, even though breathers didn't usually go that far. She had always been like that—it was part of what enabled her to see him. She closed her eyes reluctantly, and her edges brightened a lumen or twelve. Always looking out in the dark, Lydia. She was indeed a beauty, though her namesake was long gone, passed away with the Persian conquest before the beginning of time. He reached out spirit-wise, gathering her up. It was something like holding an armful of fragrant flowers, with the blossoms spilling out in every direction, and such care as he had to take so as not to crush any of the stems. She trembled slightly as he lifted her up, though it might have been the crackle of electricity in the air. Hard to tell. As it was, he could barely think, so full of her.
Had she known it would be like this for him, she never would have agreed.
"Open your eyes, now. Steady." She did, and he felt the surge of surprise ride through her as she saw that they were four feet or so above the bed. And then she smiled at him, without anything but joy, and he was the one that trembled. Slightly. Hardly noticeable. Geez, his drinking buddies would be in hysterics by now, seeing him like this. He took the spiritual equivalent of a deep breath. This next part would be much more delicate. And if you chose five random words from the OED to describe him, karma would ensure that 'delicate' was not one of them.
"Okay. Nuff o'that, girlchild. Just party tricks. You ready for the real deal, now?" After a moment's hesitation, she nodded, and her fear surged through him, though her face was calm. This girl was one cool customer. He felt an upswell of admiration for her. And something that felt suspiciously like pride. He squeezed her thin fingers gently. And then he closed his own eyes. The fewer distractions, the better.
Possession was never the same twice. Though it wasn't his favorite thing to do, he had, on occasion, taken advantage of a quick spin in a breather just for kicks, and because it was damn funny to see them all shaky and puking afterwards. He had forgotten to mention that part to Lydia. Maybe she would keep her stomach. She had with Clara, and Clara had been none too gentle with her.
But to be honest with himself, he had never felt anything near what he felt for Lydia during any type of possession, not to mention she had been the seat of his tattered soul for a few nervous hours. He had no idea what to expect. Would she be able to feel his most powerful emotions like he could feel hers? Gods, he hoped not. Though he had always been up front about his feelings for her, she had never taken him seriously. Didn't think he was capable of love. If she suddenly had that thrust upon her… no. Not a good thought. He spent a few careful moments trying to gather up random strands of emotion, and then it was time.
Especially with his eyes closed, he could feel the glow of her, shimmering next to him. Very gently, he did what he was always so careful not to do, and overlapped her. The thrumming heat of her body soaked into him, and suddenly he was immersed in heartbeat, in blood pumping, in the great deep breathing of her lungs. All of the thousand things that fell silent with death came alive again. It was a little overwhelming.
And then he felt her struggling for control, and eased off a little. He could hear her voice through her own ears, and it sounded different: more depth to it, and richer..
"I don't know about this, Beej." Light flooded in a huge sensory wash. "Hey, where'd you go? Beej?"
Right here, babe. He didn't steal her voice… it seemed wrong. Admittedly, he had done it once before. But this was different.
"Whoa! This is weird. I'm still floating!" Her voice hung between fear and fascination, and her heart was thundering.
You like it?
"I don't know. It's weird, but I can hear you in my head. This is way different, Beej!"
Told you. But then, I'm not a psychotic exorcism escapee, so that should tell ya somthin'.
Since when do I take your word for anything? Ah, she was turning inside herself. It actually made him a little nervous, how quickly she was picking up on this. He gave the equivalent of a mental shrug, trying for non-committal. Okay. I'm ready to have my body back now, Beej. He heard his true name in a whisper behind it. Gabriel. It gave him little shivery chills. And it was also a request he couldn't deny her. With the same uncustomary gentleness that he had shown before, he slowly extricated himself from the achingly hot lifeblood that was his Lydia. The world fell silent again. And she smiled hesitantly at him.
"That wasn't so bad, Beej."
He could hardly gather his voice to answer. Finally, he managed a quiet, "No." She looked at him strangely, and he felt the tension between them building up in a feedback loop. He had to do something to break it, before she suspected. Before she guessed.
So he dropped her. Lex parsimoniae.
Floccinaucinihilipilification is pronounced… floss-in-now-sin-i-hill-i-pill-i-fi-cay-shun. Tho' there is some debate. It means 'the act of making something seem worthless.'
Lex parsimoniae—the rule of simplicity
OED—Oxford English Dictionary. Big crazy long dictionary of every word in the English language that is in common use, or has been at some time in the past.
