Note: The original request from Rose Gilmore: I'd love to see something like "the 5 times Dylan Sharp almost became Deryn, and the one time he did"
Somehow that turned into… this. I think it's pretty close. :)
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Five Times Dylan Sharp Didn't Become Deryn
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I. Not Through Injury
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Dylan collapses.
Alek belatedly tries to catch him; he can't.
Dylan hits the ground beside the ruined Express. Makes an animal noise of pain. One hand flies to his shoulder. "Bloody hurts," he gasps.
Alek crouches beside him. "Are you –"
Dylan's eyes roll back. He goes limp.
"Bloody," Bovril says. "Hurt."
Alek's hand on Dylan's jacket comes away bright crimson.
Alarmed, on the lookout for German and Ottoman soldiers, Alek peels the sodden clothing away. He must stop the bleeding -
He freezes.
His fingers red against white skin. His face coloring scarlet.
The world tilts and spins madly.
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II. Not Because Of Blackmail
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"I'd hoped to avoid this," Volger says.
Dylan blanches. "Don't. Please –"
"What's going on?" Alek asks, frowning. Neither one answers – they're too preoccupied with glaring. He looks at Captain Hobbes, who's equally perplexed.
"Mr. Sharp is nothing of the sort," Volger tells the captain. Cool. Remorseless. Not taking his eyes from Dylan's. "This is a girl."
Alek goes cold. No, he thinks. Then – Of course, he thinks.
"Good God, sir, that's quite a claim," Hobbes says. "Mr. Sharp! Is this true?"
Dylan ignores the captain. He (no; she) looks furious. "Sodding Clanker bastard!" she says to Volger – who smiles.
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III. Not With An Epiphany
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There's nothing, specifically, that finally does it.
Dylan brings him breakfast that morning, as has become usual. Stays and talks, as usual. Unashamedly skylarking… also as usual. Given the current troubles in his life, Alek is simply grateful for a few minutes of uncomplicated pleasantries with his friend.
"That's it, then," Dylan eventually says, reluctant. "Back to work."
Alek makes a final joke as Dylan exits with the tray - "the most appalling room service," he tells the midshipman, who laughs.
Bovril chuckles too. Says, "Mr. Sharp."
And suddenly it all fits.
"God's wounds," Alek exclaims, astonished. "You're a girl!"
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IV. Not Posthumously
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A slow crawl of steel-gray sea not far below them.
The mist this morning is heavy; the cold air tastes thickly of salt.
Still under guard, Alek and his men have been allowed to bear witness. Pay their last respects. He stands silently, heart as heavy as the mist.
Captain Hobbes says a prayer. Heads bow. Alek crosses himself. Closes his eyes.
The smack of the shrouded body against the water kills something in his soul.
"Dylan was a true friend," Alek tells Volger later. "I will never know another like him."
After a moment Volger sighs and says, "Her."
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V. Not By Accident
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Dylan's taking too long.
Alek's waiting outside for the other boy, who insists on changing clothes privately. But he's restless to leave for the Hotel Hagia Sophia and retrieve his missing scroll.
He opens the door. Impatient. "How long does it –"
And stops.
Dylan hastily turns, clutching at the open shirtfront, covering the soft pale skin beneath. Much too late.
Alek should excuse himself and leave immediately, but he stays frozen to his place, realizing what he's just seen. No. It's not possible. And yet…
"Dylan?" he asks. Shocked.
"I told you to bloody wait outside!" he – she – says.
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…And The One Time He Did
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The look on his face – oh, Lord, it cuts clean through her. Surprise and confusion and betrayal and hurt flash through his eyes, and she can feel the cold panic rising up in her chest.
In this one last, endless moment after her revelation and before his reaction, she sees with a hard and bitter clarity that she ought to have told him.
Before it mattered so barking much. Before they found themselves here.
Maybe it won't be so awful, she thinks, desperate – maybe he'll have pity on his friend.
But the truth is out, and she isn't Dylan anymore.
