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Fools, Together (ficlet)
Mar. 25th, 2006 04:44 pmDid you ever intentionally make a complete fool out of yourself while fully realizing what you were doing?
When Lorne suggested his morale booster to cheer everyone up about Fred's betrayal and continued absence, Connor didn't quite know what to say. Demonstrating his love for Jasmine by slaying her enemies was one thing. But standing in front of hundreds of people and "reciting" something? It sounded horrible. Given that everyone else, including Angel, was beaming at the idea and congratulating Lorne, he adjusted his face to a smile as well and said "Sure".
Not feeling universal bliss when everyone else did was really quite unfair.
Later, Angel came to him and said: "You're not really happy about this, are you?"
Panic engulfed Connor. If Angel knew, it might mean he'd do what Fred had done. Tensing into a fighting stance, he looked at Angel, yet could spot nothing but continued cheerfulness.
"Don't worry, son," Angel said. "I used to hate doing this as well. But that doesn't count. What counts is proving how much we love Jasmine, and you know what? I think it's going to be fun."
Angel didn't know, and Connor relaxed again.
"So what do you have in mind?" he asked cautiously.
"You and I," Angel pronounced gravely, "are going to rewrite one of the all-time classics. I never taught you about Barry Manilow, did I?"
The next hour was spent practicing what Angel said was "the best song in the world" with new lyrics. By necessity, Connor had heard Lorne on numerous occasions during the recent months, and he had heard several recordings Lorne played now and then. He liked music. In fact, he liked it enough to realize that Angel sounded terrible, and he himself sounded worse.
"And we're going to sing that in front of everyone?"
Angel stopped humming Jasmine, and looked at him. There was something of the old uncertainty that used to come with every second look at Connor in his brown eyes.
"Don't you want to?"
It would be completely humiliating. But they'd do it together. Something that had nothing to do with death, or any kind of struggle. They'd do it together, and everyone would smile and have a great time, and maybe Connor didn't deserve being as completely happy as everyone else, but on this occasion, he would be.
"Sure," Connor replied. "Sure, Dad. I want to."
When Lorne suggested his morale booster to cheer everyone up about Fred's betrayal and continued absence, Connor didn't quite know what to say. Demonstrating his love for Jasmine by slaying her enemies was one thing. But standing in front of hundreds of people and "reciting" something? It sounded horrible. Given that everyone else, including Angel, was beaming at the idea and congratulating Lorne, he adjusted his face to a smile as well and said "Sure".
Not feeling universal bliss when everyone else did was really quite unfair.
Later, Angel came to him and said: "You're not really happy about this, are you?"
Panic engulfed Connor. If Angel knew, it might mean he'd do what Fred had done. Tensing into a fighting stance, he looked at Angel, yet could spot nothing but continued cheerfulness.
"Don't worry, son," Angel said. "I used to hate doing this as well. But that doesn't count. What counts is proving how much we love Jasmine, and you know what? I think it's going to be fun."
Angel didn't know, and Connor relaxed again.
"So what do you have in mind?" he asked cautiously.
"You and I," Angel pronounced gravely, "are going to rewrite one of the all-time classics. I never taught you about Barry Manilow, did I?"
The next hour was spent practicing what Angel said was "the best song in the world" with new lyrics. By necessity, Connor had heard Lorne on numerous occasions during the recent months, and he had heard several recordings Lorne played now and then. He liked music. In fact, he liked it enough to realize that Angel sounded terrible, and he himself sounded worse.
"And we're going to sing that in front of everyone?"
Angel stopped humming Jasmine, and looked at him. There was something of the old uncertainty that used to come with every second look at Connor in his brown eyes.
"Don't you want to?"
It would be completely humiliating. But they'd do it together. Something that had nothing to do with death, or any kind of struggle. They'd do it together, and everyone would smile and have a great time, and maybe Connor didn't deserve being as completely happy as everyone else, but on this occasion, he would be.
"Sure," Connor replied. "Sure, Dad. I want to."
