Fic: Lives Are For Living. (2/15)
Aug. 8th, 2013 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silver_sunTitle Lives Are For Living. (2/15)
Fandoms Torchwood/Being Human crossover fic.
Characters/pairings Andy Davidson/Tom McNair. Other Torchwood and Being Human characters will appear later on.
Word count: This part 1800. Total will be over 20k.
Rating This part all ages. Later parts adult.
Contains Mentions of depression/anxiety. Mentions of past canon character death. In later parts violence, graphic sex, Andy's homophobic mother.
A/N: Crossover with Being Human. Technically a CoE fix it as it's set in the same 'verse as Finding Ways To Smile Again (although that isn't apparent until more than half way through the story). Follows on from Break and Breakaway from Tom McNair's POV.
Part one: http://the-silver-sun.livejournal.com/214504.html
Spotting the old farmhouse had been a stroke of luck, Tom decided as he took the most direct route across the fields towards it. A farmer who would agree to let him camp on his land and maybe keep his stuff safe for a few days would be welcome with the full moon just two nights away.
It had been a couple of months since he'd walked out of Honolulu Heights and away from the only people he knew. It had been hard, especially the first week or so, getting use to sleeping outside again, of not having all the things that people with houses took for granted, like lighting, a roof that didn't leak and hot water when you wanted it.
It was easier in some ways though. For the first time in Tom's life he was able to do exactly as he pleased. The novelty of that though was starting to wear thin, the loneliness of having nobody to talk to or turn to for advice was rapidly beginning to outweigh the sense of freedom.
Reaching the edge of the farmyard, Tom noted the dilapidated state of it, the hope of being able to camp there fast disappearing. There was a man working on the roof of one of the old barns and Tom waved as he realised that he had been seen, and then called out, “I don't 'spose you know anywhere round here I could camp for a few nights. Somewhere cheap like?”
The man on the roof seemed to think for a moment before calling back, “I don't know, I've only been here a couple of weeks. If you're really stuck you can pitch you tent here for the night. You'd probably have more luck finding somewhere down in Rhayader. It's only a couple of miles and there's a youth hostel there.”
Tom considered it for a moment. He really did need to find somewhere with a shop or two with the full moon so close he really needed to get a chicken. Either that or hope that he could catch a rabbit or two tonight. Staying at a youth hostel was out of the question. Too dangerous and too expensive, but they might be able to tell him where he could find a campsite. “What's the best way to...” Tom paused knowing he would mangle the pronunciation, before finishing, “...That place what you just said.”
“Wait a minute,” the man called back, climbing ungainly over the centre of the roof. “If you've got a map I'll show you.”
“Thanks!” Tom shrugged off his pack, glad to be rid of its weight for a while, and started to look for his map. Technically it wasn't his map, he'd taken it from a library in Conwy where he'd spent a day avoiding torrential rain. It hadn't been borrowed in ages and as long as he gave it back in less than the three weeks that people could borrow the books for, Tom decided it wasn't like it was really stealing, it was just that he didn't have a library card.
The was a crash and a clattering of slate and stone falling to the ground, followed by a surprised yell, and Tom looked up to see the man he'd been talking to clinging awkwardly to the roof, one leg through a hole in the slates.
“Hang on!” Tom shouted, abandoning his pack and running to the wall at the edge of the farmyard. Scrambling over the crumbling stonework, he reached the barn as another slate crashed down on to the cobbled yard.
There was no way to help from the ground and Tom looked around quickly for a way up onto the roof. It took a couple of attempts to get up onto the wall at the end of the building where the slates had already been removed, and not for the first time Tom wished that he was just a little bit taller.
This close to the full moon Tom knew that he was a little stronger and more agile than usual. Not but much admittedly, but he hoped it would be enough as he carefully made his way along the edge of the roof.
“Are you stuck?” Tom asked as he reached the man. Who was, he realised, now he was up close, both taller and younger than he'd first assumed. Holding onto the top of the roof with one hand and holding out his other for the man to take, he added, “I'm Tom.”
“Yes, and I'm Andy,” Andy replied sounding worried, but not panicked by his situation, although he didn't let go of the roof to take Tom's hand.
Looking though a gap in the slates Tom could see part of the beam that had broken and trapped Andy's leg. The wood looked rotten and maybe a bit woodwormy as well and Tom decided that breaking it was probably the best option. “Right, you hold on there,” Tom said pointing to a slightly higher section of roof than Andy was currently holding on to. “I'm going to break it.”
“Break what?” Andy said sounding concerned as he tried to see what Tom had been looking at.
“The beam.” Tom pulled a couple of the loose slates free to reveal more of the rotten beam and then climbed higher up on the roof so that he could stamp down on it using his full weight, so that he'd have the best chance of breaking it. “You ready?”
Andy gripped the roof tighter and closed his eyes. “Not really, no.”
“Oh right.” Hoping that the roof would continue to take their combined weight, Tom waited.
Eventually, when Tom hadn't done anything for a couple of minutes, Andy said, sounding rather annoyed and lot more anxious than he had before. “What are you waiting for?”
“You said you weren't ready,” Tom said, confused about why he was being snapped at. “So I was waiting, weren't I?”
“Well I'm ready now.”
“Okay.” Still wondering he'd missed something important, Tom stamped down hard on the beam. It made a cracking noise but didn't give way. “I'll give it another go.”
Andy nodded and closed his eyes, breathing speeding up as he gripped white knuckled to the roof.
The second stamp didn't break it, but Tom could see that it was working, and he was relieved that on his third attempt that it gave with a splintering groan, part of it clattering to the floor inside the barn.
Moving careful over to Andy, who was still hold on tightly to the roof, Tom held out his hand to him again. “You gonna to be alright climbin' down?”
Andy nodded and then held on tightly to Tom's hand while he carefully lifted his leg out of the hole in the roof. Only once they were at the other end of the roof where they could climb down to the ground did Andy let go. Tom scrambled down first, ready to help if Andy slipped again.
Sitting down on a pile of plastic sacks containing sand and cement next to the barn, Andy rolled up his trouser leg to get a better look at what damage had been done. Tom paused for a moment to look at the few scraps and scratches before deciding there didn't seem to be anything too much wrong. Andy still seemed a bit shaken up, so hoping he was doing the right thing, Tom said, “I'll get us some tea.”
“If you're sure,” Andy said, sounding doubtful as prodded the largest of the scratches.
“Nah, it ain't no trouble,” Tom called back as he went to fetch his pack. “I could do with a brew and all.”
This was definite one of those 'what would Annie do situation?' situations, Tom decided as he took a camping kettle out of his pack. Dividing situations into what would Annie dos where he needed to nice to people, what would dad do where he needed to fight or plan things, what would Nina do when you needed to be sensible and what would George do when it was about being clever had seemed to help with dealing with things when he felt like he was getting a little out of his depth. He supposed that he'd have eventually had ones for Alex and Hal, but he hadn't know Alex all that well, and Hal would have probably been about being weird, so it might not have been all that helpful after all.
“It really isn't that bad,” Andy said, seeming to take Tom's silence as concern.
“Oh no, it's not that. I were just thinkin' about someone. She made the best cups of tea and always knew what to say.” After filling the kettle with water from a bottle in his pack, he put it over the fire to boil. Annie had become somewhere between a big sister and a mum during the time they'd lived at Honolulu Heights and Tom didn't think there would ever be a day where he didn't miss her. “She were the best being nice to people.”
“You're not doing that bad a job of it yourself,” Andy said looking at the scratches on his leg and picking out a splinter. “Thank you.”
“It were nothin',” Tom said sitting down next to him. “You were going to help me, so it were kinda my fault you near felt through the roof anyways.”
“At least you were there.” Andy shuddered. “If you hadn't who knows how long I'd have been up there.”
“You working on this place by yourself then?” Tom asked looking round. The farm seemed like it needed a lot more work than could easily be managed by a person on their own.
Andy nodded and picked unsuccessfully at another splinter.
“'Ere let me have a go,” Tom said, taking a penknife out of his pocket. “It's got some tweezers on here somewhere.”
Andy gave a small hiss of pain as Tom quickly found the splinter and pulled it free. “It weren't that bad, were it?” Tom said flicking the offending splinter into the fire.
“I suppose not,” Andy replied, rubbing his leg. “I feel rather stupid honestly.”
“Could have happened to anyone.” Tom took a rather battered first aid kit out of his pack and offered to Andy, grateful that his dad had taught him to always be prepared to look yourself. “So are you gonna be a farmer when its' done or are you just one of those people fix up houses and sell them, like the they have on the telly.”
“Neither.” Andy accepted it and started to clean up his leg. “I was thinking of opening it as a camp site. It's got a long way to go before it'll open, but if you need somewhere to camp for a night or two and you don't mind there being no hot water then you can stay here.”
“You really mean it?” Tom smiled and poured hot water onto the teabags he'd put into mugs for them both. “'Cause that'd be great.”
Part three http://the-silver-sun.livejournal.com/217009.html
Fandoms Torchwood/Being Human crossover fic.
Characters/pairings Andy Davidson/Tom McNair. Other Torchwood and Being Human characters will appear later on.
Word count: This part 1800. Total will be over 20k.
Rating This part all ages. Later parts adult.
Contains Mentions of depression/anxiety. Mentions of past canon character death. In later parts violence, graphic sex, Andy's homophobic mother.
A/N: Crossover with Being Human. Technically a CoE fix it as it's set in the same 'verse as Finding Ways To Smile Again (although that isn't apparent until more than half way through the story). Follows on from Break and Breakaway from Tom McNair's POV.
Part one: http://the-silver-sun.livejournal.com/214504.html
Spotting the old farmhouse had been a stroke of luck, Tom decided as he took the most direct route across the fields towards it. A farmer who would agree to let him camp on his land and maybe keep his stuff safe for a few days would be welcome with the full moon just two nights away.
It had been a couple of months since he'd walked out of Honolulu Heights and away from the only people he knew. It had been hard, especially the first week or so, getting use to sleeping outside again, of not having all the things that people with houses took for granted, like lighting, a roof that didn't leak and hot water when you wanted it.
It was easier in some ways though. For the first time in Tom's life he was able to do exactly as he pleased. The novelty of that though was starting to wear thin, the loneliness of having nobody to talk to or turn to for advice was rapidly beginning to outweigh the sense of freedom.
Reaching the edge of the farmyard, Tom noted the dilapidated state of it, the hope of being able to camp there fast disappearing. There was a man working on the roof of one of the old barns and Tom waved as he realised that he had been seen, and then called out, “I don't 'spose you know anywhere round here I could camp for a few nights. Somewhere cheap like?”
The man on the roof seemed to think for a moment before calling back, “I don't know, I've only been here a couple of weeks. If you're really stuck you can pitch you tent here for the night. You'd probably have more luck finding somewhere down in Rhayader. It's only a couple of miles and there's a youth hostel there.”
Tom considered it for a moment. He really did need to find somewhere with a shop or two with the full moon so close he really needed to get a chicken. Either that or hope that he could catch a rabbit or two tonight. Staying at a youth hostel was out of the question. Too dangerous and too expensive, but they might be able to tell him where he could find a campsite. “What's the best way to...” Tom paused knowing he would mangle the pronunciation, before finishing, “...That place what you just said.”
“Wait a minute,” the man called back, climbing ungainly over the centre of the roof. “If you've got a map I'll show you.”
“Thanks!” Tom shrugged off his pack, glad to be rid of its weight for a while, and started to look for his map. Technically it wasn't his map, he'd taken it from a library in Conwy where he'd spent a day avoiding torrential rain. It hadn't been borrowed in ages and as long as he gave it back in less than the three weeks that people could borrow the books for, Tom decided it wasn't like it was really stealing, it was just that he didn't have a library card.
The was a crash and a clattering of slate and stone falling to the ground, followed by a surprised yell, and Tom looked up to see the man he'd been talking to clinging awkwardly to the roof, one leg through a hole in the slates.
“Hang on!” Tom shouted, abandoning his pack and running to the wall at the edge of the farmyard. Scrambling over the crumbling stonework, he reached the barn as another slate crashed down on to the cobbled yard.
There was no way to help from the ground and Tom looked around quickly for a way up onto the roof. It took a couple of attempts to get up onto the wall at the end of the building where the slates had already been removed, and not for the first time Tom wished that he was just a little bit taller.
This close to the full moon Tom knew that he was a little stronger and more agile than usual. Not but much admittedly, but he hoped it would be enough as he carefully made his way along the edge of the roof.
“Are you stuck?” Tom asked as he reached the man. Who was, he realised, now he was up close, both taller and younger than he'd first assumed. Holding onto the top of the roof with one hand and holding out his other for the man to take, he added, “I'm Tom.”
“Yes, and I'm Andy,” Andy replied sounding worried, but not panicked by his situation, although he didn't let go of the roof to take Tom's hand.
Looking though a gap in the slates Tom could see part of the beam that had broken and trapped Andy's leg. The wood looked rotten and maybe a bit woodwormy as well and Tom decided that breaking it was probably the best option. “Right, you hold on there,” Tom said pointing to a slightly higher section of roof than Andy was currently holding on to. “I'm going to break it.”
“Break what?” Andy said sounding concerned as he tried to see what Tom had been looking at.
“The beam.” Tom pulled a couple of the loose slates free to reveal more of the rotten beam and then climbed higher up on the roof so that he could stamp down on it using his full weight, so that he'd have the best chance of breaking it. “You ready?”
Andy gripped the roof tighter and closed his eyes. “Not really, no.”
“Oh right.” Hoping that the roof would continue to take their combined weight, Tom waited.
Eventually, when Tom hadn't done anything for a couple of minutes, Andy said, sounding rather annoyed and lot more anxious than he had before. “What are you waiting for?”
“You said you weren't ready,” Tom said, confused about why he was being snapped at. “So I was waiting, weren't I?”
“Well I'm ready now.”
“Okay.” Still wondering he'd missed something important, Tom stamped down hard on the beam. It made a cracking noise but didn't give way. “I'll give it another go.”
Andy nodded and closed his eyes, breathing speeding up as he gripped white knuckled to the roof.
The second stamp didn't break it, but Tom could see that it was working, and he was relieved that on his third attempt that it gave with a splintering groan, part of it clattering to the floor inside the barn.
Moving careful over to Andy, who was still hold on tightly to the roof, Tom held out his hand to him again. “You gonna to be alright climbin' down?”
Andy nodded and then held on tightly to Tom's hand while he carefully lifted his leg out of the hole in the roof. Only once they were at the other end of the roof where they could climb down to the ground did Andy let go. Tom scrambled down first, ready to help if Andy slipped again.
Sitting down on a pile of plastic sacks containing sand and cement next to the barn, Andy rolled up his trouser leg to get a better look at what damage had been done. Tom paused for a moment to look at the few scraps and scratches before deciding there didn't seem to be anything too much wrong. Andy still seemed a bit shaken up, so hoping he was doing the right thing, Tom said, “I'll get us some tea.”
“If you're sure,” Andy said, sounding doubtful as prodded the largest of the scratches.
“Nah, it ain't no trouble,” Tom called back as he went to fetch his pack. “I could do with a brew and all.”
This was definite one of those 'what would Annie do situation?' situations, Tom decided as he took a camping kettle out of his pack. Dividing situations into what would Annie dos where he needed to nice to people, what would dad do where he needed to fight or plan things, what would Nina do when you needed to be sensible and what would George do when it was about being clever had seemed to help with dealing with things when he felt like he was getting a little out of his depth. He supposed that he'd have eventually had ones for Alex and Hal, but he hadn't know Alex all that well, and Hal would have probably been about being weird, so it might not have been all that helpful after all.
“It really isn't that bad,” Andy said, seeming to take Tom's silence as concern.
“Oh no, it's not that. I were just thinkin' about someone. She made the best cups of tea and always knew what to say.” After filling the kettle with water from a bottle in his pack, he put it over the fire to boil. Annie had become somewhere between a big sister and a mum during the time they'd lived at Honolulu Heights and Tom didn't think there would ever be a day where he didn't miss her. “She were the best being nice to people.”
“You're not doing that bad a job of it yourself,” Andy said looking at the scratches on his leg and picking out a splinter. “Thank you.”
“It were nothin',” Tom said sitting down next to him. “You were going to help me, so it were kinda my fault you near felt through the roof anyways.”
“At least you were there.” Andy shuddered. “If you hadn't who knows how long I'd have been up there.”
“You working on this place by yourself then?” Tom asked looking round. The farm seemed like it needed a lot more work than could easily be managed by a person on their own.
Andy nodded and picked unsuccessfully at another splinter.
“'Ere let me have a go,” Tom said, taking a penknife out of his pocket. “It's got some tweezers on here somewhere.”
Andy gave a small hiss of pain as Tom quickly found the splinter and pulled it free. “It weren't that bad, were it?” Tom said flicking the offending splinter into the fire.
“I suppose not,” Andy replied, rubbing his leg. “I feel rather stupid honestly.”
“Could have happened to anyone.” Tom took a rather battered first aid kit out of his pack and offered to Andy, grateful that his dad had taught him to always be prepared to look yourself. “So are you gonna be a farmer when its' done or are you just one of those people fix up houses and sell them, like the they have on the telly.”
“Neither.” Andy accepted it and started to clean up his leg. “I was thinking of opening it as a camp site. It's got a long way to go before it'll open, but if you need somewhere to camp for a night or two and you don't mind there being no hot water then you can stay here.”
“You really mean it?” Tom smiled and poured hot water onto the teabags he'd put into mugs for them both. “'Cause that'd be great.”
Part three http://the-silver-sun.livejournal.com/217009.html
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Volume 008, Issue 162
Date: 2013-08-10 06:13 am (UTC)