Post by ubiquitous on Sept 10, 2009 9:27:40 GMT 10
Title: Fragments
Rating: PG
Words: 1172
Pairing: Neal/Joren
Summary: The first time Neal notices Joren, he thinks she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen.
A/N: From discussion in the 'Weird and Wonderful Pairings' thread. Thanks to Ginger and Rosie for the last minute beta-ing
The first time Neal notices Joren, he thinks she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen.
The second time, Neal realises that ‘she’ is a ‘he’ as the two boys begin a bidding war over an opal ring. In the end, they agree not to buy it. Instead, they spend their money on twilsey and bread rolls at a nearby eating house, and the ring is soon forgotten.
The third time, Joren comes to the University. Neal is surprised, but Joren barges in, his arrogant, charming self. As Neal brews tea, the other boy pesters him with questions about life at the University.
A month later, Joren kisses him for the first time.
Neal realises he loves Joren on Midsummer’s Day. He has grown accustomed to the other boy’s kisses, and as much as he enjoys them he finds himself wanting something more. It is much later in the day, after his picnic with Joren, that he discovers that he isn’t the only one feeling that way.
The summer ends all too quickly, and they both know they will see less of each other once Joren returns to the Palace. Neal will miss him, but it doesn’t keep him from refusing Joren’s request to train as a page. The pain of his brothers’ deaths is still far too fresh.
Joren doesn’t give up though. They exchange letters often, and in each letter there is a new reason for Neal to leave the University. He refuses each time, insisting that he is far better suited to life as a healer than as a knight. Every time they meet, Joren accuses him of being coy, while Neal thinks Joren is being a tease and should just kiss him instead of quoting to him from the Code of Chivalry.
When Neal finally gives in, it is not for any of the noble reasons Joren gives him, but to see the glitter of happiness in the other boy’s eyes when he says ‘yes’.
It takes some time to convince his father, but he begins his training in April. The first thing he learns is that he and Joren cannot appear to be friends. After all, Queenscove is a progressive house, and Joren’s father would skin him alive for having such alliances. He learns his second lesson as he starts to settle in. Joren is prone to jealousy, and anyone who seems to be particularly friendly with the green-eyed mage finds themselves victim to Joren’s wrath and his companion’s derision. After a while, he decides to mimic Prince Roald and be pleasant, but not overly friendly with his fellow pages.
It is not long before summer comes again, and this time, both boys are free to do as they please. They waste little time, and every moment they can, they spend together. On Midsummer’s Day, Joren gives him an opal ring, the same one they had fought over when they first met. Neal smiles, and kisses him, murmuring what a scoundrel he is for having bought it. Joren laughs at his lecturing and wrestles him onto the grass for another kiss.
All too soon, the leaves begin to turn colour, and the boys head back to the Palace again. This year, though, a girl is starting her training. Neal hears it from his father, on a visit to the Palace, while Joren hears it from Lord Wyldon himself. Both know better than to discuss it with each other.
The day she arrives, their relationship changes forever. It is also the day Neal realises that maybe Joren isn’t as beautiful as he once thought. Joren is angry at him for taking Keladry on, and after their fight, Neal already knows that some poor page is going to suffer for it.
His friendship with Kel deepens even as his relationship with Joren begins to crack. Neal begins to feel ashamed of his love for Joren as he sees each trick the other boy plays on his new friend. One day, Neal sees the Wildmage tending to a falcon in the stables and fancies himself in love with her, knowing that Kel would never think less of him if he loved someone so kind. He sees Joren less and less as the year progresses, and he wonders how long it will be before their love fades entirely.
Joren isn’t one to give up without a fight, however, and with each stolen kiss, every hidden touch, he makes Neal question his choices and the value of his new friends. But Neal is nothing if not stubborn, and clings to them, even as he clings to what remains of his relationship with Joren.
That summer, Neal goes back to Queenscove, leaving his lover and his new best friend on their own in Corus. Still conflicted, he doesn’t write to either of them.
It is not long into the new year of training when he hears Joren take a different tack in his attacks of Kel. Neal, in his anger, hurts Joren in the best way he knows how. He sees the hurt that flashes in Joren’s eyes at the insinuation, just before the blond lunges at Neal. Neal takes the first blow, regretting his sharp words before remembering he is supposed to be avenging his friend’s honour. Punching Joren feels better than it should, as he relishes the feel of their bodies against each other and the impact of his fist against all that hard muscle. They are both bruised and bloody when they are pulled apart, but Neal hasn’t felt this alive since Kel arrived at the Palace.
*
That night, Joren comes to his rooms, long after the moon has risen in the night sky. Neal savours the feel of Joren’s hands on his body, the soft caresses and sweet kisses, knowing that this would be the last time they will be together like this.
It is years later when he realises that Joren had forgiven him long ago for breaking his heart. They’re squires, and a rather drunken Joren finds him reading the lists. He reminds Neal of everything he could have had, something that Neal is far too aware of as Joren’s lips brush against his. Neal almost winces as Joren curses Kel, finally understanding that he blames her for what happened to them, and as Neal pushes him away, he knows that she will be the one to pay the price once again.
He is there when the Chapel opens on Joren’s corpse. The stab of pain he feels is not as unexpected as the regret that washes over him. Possibility whirls in his mind, thinking of ways that Joren could have escaped such a fate, and suddenly, it is all he can do to keep from curling into a ball and crying like a little boy. Absently fingering the ring on his hand, he watches the body as it passes him by, and knows that a part of him has just died too.
Rating: PG
Words: 1172
Pairing: Neal/Joren
Summary: The first time Neal notices Joren, he thinks she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen.
A/N: From discussion in the 'Weird and Wonderful Pairings' thread. Thanks to Ginger and Rosie for the last minute beta-ing
The first time Neal notices Joren, he thinks she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen.
*
The second time, Neal realises that ‘she’ is a ‘he’ as the two boys begin a bidding war over an opal ring. In the end, they agree not to buy it. Instead, they spend their money on twilsey and bread rolls at a nearby eating house, and the ring is soon forgotten.
*
The third time, Joren comes to the University. Neal is surprised, but Joren barges in, his arrogant, charming self. As Neal brews tea, the other boy pesters him with questions about life at the University.
A month later, Joren kisses him for the first time.
*
Neal realises he loves Joren on Midsummer’s Day. He has grown accustomed to the other boy’s kisses, and as much as he enjoys them he finds himself wanting something more. It is much later in the day, after his picnic with Joren, that he discovers that he isn’t the only one feeling that way.
*
The summer ends all too quickly, and they both know they will see less of each other once Joren returns to the Palace. Neal will miss him, but it doesn’t keep him from refusing Joren’s request to train as a page. The pain of his brothers’ deaths is still far too fresh.
Joren doesn’t give up though. They exchange letters often, and in each letter there is a new reason for Neal to leave the University. He refuses each time, insisting that he is far better suited to life as a healer than as a knight. Every time they meet, Joren accuses him of being coy, while Neal thinks Joren is being a tease and should just kiss him instead of quoting to him from the Code of Chivalry.
*
When Neal finally gives in, it is not for any of the noble reasons Joren gives him, but to see the glitter of happiness in the other boy’s eyes when he says ‘yes’.
*
It takes some time to convince his father, but he begins his training in April. The first thing he learns is that he and Joren cannot appear to be friends. After all, Queenscove is a progressive house, and Joren’s father would skin him alive for having such alliances. He learns his second lesson as he starts to settle in. Joren is prone to jealousy, and anyone who seems to be particularly friendly with the green-eyed mage finds themselves victim to Joren’s wrath and his companion’s derision. After a while, he decides to mimic Prince Roald and be pleasant, but not overly friendly with his fellow pages.
*
It is not long before summer comes again, and this time, both boys are free to do as they please. They waste little time, and every moment they can, they spend together. On Midsummer’s Day, Joren gives him an opal ring, the same one they had fought over when they first met. Neal smiles, and kisses him, murmuring what a scoundrel he is for having bought it. Joren laughs at his lecturing and wrestles him onto the grass for another kiss.
*
All too soon, the leaves begin to turn colour, and the boys head back to the Palace again. This year, though, a girl is starting her training. Neal hears it from his father, on a visit to the Palace, while Joren hears it from Lord Wyldon himself. Both know better than to discuss it with each other.
The day she arrives, their relationship changes forever. It is also the day Neal realises that maybe Joren isn’t as beautiful as he once thought. Joren is angry at him for taking Keladry on, and after their fight, Neal already knows that some poor page is going to suffer for it.
*
His friendship with Kel deepens even as his relationship with Joren begins to crack. Neal begins to feel ashamed of his love for Joren as he sees each trick the other boy plays on his new friend. One day, Neal sees the Wildmage tending to a falcon in the stables and fancies himself in love with her, knowing that Kel would never think less of him if he loved someone so kind. He sees Joren less and less as the year progresses, and he wonders how long it will be before their love fades entirely.
*
Joren isn’t one to give up without a fight, however, and with each stolen kiss, every hidden touch, he makes Neal question his choices and the value of his new friends. But Neal is nothing if not stubborn, and clings to them, even as he clings to what remains of his relationship with Joren.
That summer, Neal goes back to Queenscove, leaving his lover and his new best friend on their own in Corus. Still conflicted, he doesn’t write to either of them.
*
It is not long into the new year of training when he hears Joren take a different tack in his attacks of Kel. Neal, in his anger, hurts Joren in the best way he knows how. He sees the hurt that flashes in Joren’s eyes at the insinuation, just before the blond lunges at Neal. Neal takes the first blow, regretting his sharp words before remembering he is supposed to be avenging his friend’s honour. Punching Joren feels better than it should, as he relishes the feel of their bodies against each other and the impact of his fist against all that hard muscle. They are both bruised and bloody when they are pulled apart, but Neal hasn’t felt this alive since Kel arrived at the Palace.
*
That night, Joren comes to his rooms, long after the moon has risen in the night sky. Neal savours the feel of Joren’s hands on his body, the soft caresses and sweet kisses, knowing that this would be the last time they will be together like this.
*
It is years later when he realises that Joren had forgiven him long ago for breaking his heart. They’re squires, and a rather drunken Joren finds him reading the lists. He reminds Neal of everything he could have had, something that Neal is far too aware of as Joren’s lips brush against his. Neal almost winces as Joren curses Kel, finally understanding that he blames her for what happened to them, and as Neal pushes him away, he knows that she will be the one to pay the price once again.
*
He is there when the Chapel opens on Joren’s corpse. The stab of pain he feels is not as unexpected as the regret that washes over him. Possibility whirls in his mind, thinking of ways that Joren could have escaped such a fate, and suddenly, it is all he can do to keep from curling into a ball and crying like a little boy. Absently fingering the ring on his hand, he watches the body as it passes him by, and knows that a part of him has just died too.