Fic: Different Does Not Mean Changed
May. 12th, 2014 02:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseTitle: Different Does Not Mean Changed
Fandom: Original
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1315
Prompt: Written for the Merry Month of Masturbation and the![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
origfic_bingo prompt "choosing sides"
Summary: Pre-canon, Juliet, Dayne, and Sean discuss issues surrounding desire, pleasure, and relationships. (see author notes at end of fic)
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply.
Just because everything is different doesn’t mean anything has changed -Irene Peters
The summer evening was warm and the night sky was barely dark this close to the solstice. Juliet, Dayne, and Sean had spent the day riding and swimming, and to finish off the evening they hiked up to the waterfalls to better see the faint stars.
The falls provided a gentle background roar as they sat down on the grass, Juliet laying her cloak down first while the men simply sprawled onto the ground. Sean pulled out a hipflask full of firewater and offered it around. They all took a long pull, enjoying the warmth of the spicy liquid.
"Promise we'll still do this," Sean said.
"Hike? Drink firewater?" Juliet asked, puzzled.
"Do these things together. Now you're engaged, I worry you won't have time for me. Won't make time. Friends, it seems, are less important than spouses."
Juliet would have hugged him but Dayne was lying between them. "Sean, don't say that. We will always have time for you. I'm gaining a husband, not losing my friends."
"Don't be stupid," Dayne agreed, folding his hands behind his head.
Sean nodded, reassured, and lay down to gaze at the sky. "I still worry that marriage changes things."
"It doesn't have to." Juliet leaned her chin on her hand, her weight on one elbow.
"I don't know. What about sex? Allegedly you get more because you're supposed to be making babies," Dayne said with a leer at Juliet, "but everyone says you get less."
She frowned. "We're not having babies, Dayne. Maybe one, and not for a couple of years."
"We can have fun practising."
Juliet glared, though he didn't notice. It was lucky for Dayne that she loved him enough to overlook his less attractive qualities.
"What about you, priest?" Dayne flicked his eyes toward Sean. "You're taking your final vows soon. Are you going to swear to be celibate?"
Sean shook his head, flattening the grass beneath him. "It wouldn't be a sacrifice. Swearing to be celibate would feel like cheating."
Dayne made a noise of disgust. "This again? You expect me to believe you've never had sex?"
"It's the truth." Sean sat up, eyes narrowed. "I have never had the yearning to engage in sex. Not with a woman, and not even with a man."
"Bullcrap," Dayne said, and Juliet kicked his ankle. He winced but would not let it go. "So you never get horny?"
"Sometimes." Sean's hand went to his waist, but he wasn't wearing his clerical cord. Juliet knew that fingering the smooth holed river stones always gave him comfort. She got up and walked around Dayne to kneel by Sean.
She stroked his hair. "Bit of grass," she lied, pretending to flick away a stray piece of greenery.
Sean gave a wry smile. "Sometimes I have urges, just not about other people. And I am capable of dealing with them myself."
Dayne made jerking movements over his own crotch with one hand. "Playing the flute solo. It's not the same though, is it? Sex is sex, and masturbation isn't, but it's frowned upon for clergy, right?" He winked. "I won't tell your superiors."
"It is sex, and it's not a sin," Sean said tightly. Juliet put one hand on his shoulder and shot Dayne a glance but her fiancé wasn't paying her any attention.
"Course not. It's natural. Though what's more natural is fucking a woman." Dayne sat up. "How can you play slap the pickle but not hide the sausage?"
"I've never had the desire –" Sean began, but Dayne wasn't interested in answers. Or pleasure beyond his own narrow definitions. Or acknowledging that Juliet might sometimes prefer solo activity, or to have him watch her pleasure herself. Sex was to be done in bed with him taking the lead. Hiding the sausage was the only meal on the menu.
"You've just not met the right woman," Dayne said authoritatively. "Or you're just picky. You should go on more dates."
Sean got to his feet, shaking free of Juliet. "It has nothing to do with meeting the right person. I just don't have those feelings. I don't love in that way. As for dates, no. Actually, I'm considering swearing an oath never to marry."
"Yeah? Good thing," Dayne said, picking up a stone. "Who'd marry you if you're not going to fuck them?" He tossed the stone at a nearby tree, sending an owl fleeing with a screech.
"Dayne!" Juliet glared at him, arms akimbo.
"What?" He was less interested in her anger than his dubious achievement. "Where'd that owl go?"
Juliet shook her head. "We should head home."
"Okay. Last one to the bottom is a stale pie!" With a whoop, Dayne ran off down the hill, slipping and sliding in his haste.
Juliet gathered up her cloak. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Sean folded his arms protectively about himself.
"I know, it's just that he's –"
"He's not drunk on a mouthful of firewater," Sean interrupted. "Don't make excuses for him." He went to the edge of the falls, staring at the foaming water below.
Dayne and Sean had never been friends the way Sean and Juliet were. Sean had made an effort when Juliet began dating Dayne, but Dayne…
Juliet fastened her cloak, taking a moment to select her words. Sometimes it seemed as if Dayne were trying to aggravate Sean, to cause a rift between them, to make Juliet choose between them. He denied it, of course. He was just joking, couldn't priests take a joke? Sean had been stoic about it, taking the abuse without retaliation but even he had his limits.
She loved Sean. She also loved Dayne. She would not be forced to choose.
"I know he's not perfect, but I'm going to marry him. I know you have your doubts, though you've tried to keep them to yourself. It's all right for you to worry if I'm making the right choice." She took a few steps towards Sean. "You're my friend. You're supposed to worry. But he's a decent man. I know he's brash and sometimes rude, but he respects that I've joined the peacekeeping force and that's rare."
"I respect that about you. About any woman." Sean didn't turn to face her.
Juliet tried again. "I know. But he's…he'll never hurt me. He doesn't think men should be allowed to physically chastise their wives. I know, you don't either. But he loves me, and he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. And I love him. I am going to marry him."
"Then you have my blessing," Sean said, still watching the water churning around the rocks at the base of the falls. It sounded sincere, if somewhat strained.
She sighed in relief. "Thank you. Because I have a favour to ask."
He turned to face her. "Anything."
"You're taking your final vows at the next full moon." Juliet looked up automatically, her eyes finding the waxing gibbous. "You'll be a full member of the clergy when we get married next month. I'd like it very much if you were the one to conduct the ceremony."
His eyes lit up. "I'd be honoured." Then he frowned. "What does Dayne say about that?"
"I'm making most of the arrangements," Juliet said. "And I will compromise on almost every detail save for this. You're part of my life, and always will be."
He took her hand in his. Juliet smiled and squeezed his fingers.
Dayne's yell echoed around the hitherto peaceful area. "Are you lost or something? I fell over a rock and landed in a bush and rolled through some nettles and I'm at the bottom already!"
Juliet rolled her eyes but Sean laughed. "We should go and make sure your fiancé hasn't injured himself."
"He's fine," Juliet said dismissively, taking Sean's arm as they started back down the trail. "He probably fell on his head."
Notes
In the novel, this pre-canon scene is referred to but doesn't appear. I'm including the full version here – think of it as a bonus feature. I wanted to include it as part of the Merry Month of Masturbation but it also looks at relationships in general and at asexuality.
Dayne hits a number of squares on an asexual "bingo card" (some examples here); he pretty much calls Sean a liar, defines a relationship as being necessarily sexual, says Sean hasn't met the right woman, dismisses masturbation as a valid form of sexual expression, thinks masturbation means someone should engage in other forms of sex, and suggests Sean is unnatural. If he knew anything about hormones he'd probably throw that in too.
Fandom: Original
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1315
Prompt: Written for the Merry Month of Masturbation and the
origfic_bingo prompt "choosing sides"Summary: Pre-canon, Juliet, Dayne, and Sean discuss issues surrounding desire, pleasure, and relationships. (see author notes at end of fic)
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply.
Just because everything is different doesn’t mean anything has changed -Irene Peters
The summer evening was warm and the night sky was barely dark this close to the solstice. Juliet, Dayne, and Sean had spent the day riding and swimming, and to finish off the evening they hiked up to the waterfalls to better see the faint stars.
The falls provided a gentle background roar as they sat down on the grass, Juliet laying her cloak down first while the men simply sprawled onto the ground. Sean pulled out a hipflask full of firewater and offered it around. They all took a long pull, enjoying the warmth of the spicy liquid.
"Promise we'll still do this," Sean said.
"Hike? Drink firewater?" Juliet asked, puzzled.
"Do these things together. Now you're engaged, I worry you won't have time for me. Won't make time. Friends, it seems, are less important than spouses."
Juliet would have hugged him but Dayne was lying between them. "Sean, don't say that. We will always have time for you. I'm gaining a husband, not losing my friends."
"Don't be stupid," Dayne agreed, folding his hands behind his head.
Sean nodded, reassured, and lay down to gaze at the sky. "I still worry that marriage changes things."
"It doesn't have to." Juliet leaned her chin on her hand, her weight on one elbow.
"I don't know. What about sex? Allegedly you get more because you're supposed to be making babies," Dayne said with a leer at Juliet, "but everyone says you get less."
She frowned. "We're not having babies, Dayne. Maybe one, and not for a couple of years."
"We can have fun practising."
Juliet glared, though he didn't notice. It was lucky for Dayne that she loved him enough to overlook his less attractive qualities.
"What about you, priest?" Dayne flicked his eyes toward Sean. "You're taking your final vows soon. Are you going to swear to be celibate?"
Sean shook his head, flattening the grass beneath him. "It wouldn't be a sacrifice. Swearing to be celibate would feel like cheating."
Dayne made a noise of disgust. "This again? You expect me to believe you've never had sex?"
"It's the truth." Sean sat up, eyes narrowed. "I have never had the yearning to engage in sex. Not with a woman, and not even with a man."
"Bullcrap," Dayne said, and Juliet kicked his ankle. He winced but would not let it go. "So you never get horny?"
"Sometimes." Sean's hand went to his waist, but he wasn't wearing his clerical cord. Juliet knew that fingering the smooth holed river stones always gave him comfort. She got up and walked around Dayne to kneel by Sean.
She stroked his hair. "Bit of grass," she lied, pretending to flick away a stray piece of greenery.
Sean gave a wry smile. "Sometimes I have urges, just not about other people. And I am capable of dealing with them myself."
Dayne made jerking movements over his own crotch with one hand. "Playing the flute solo. It's not the same though, is it? Sex is sex, and masturbation isn't, but it's frowned upon for clergy, right?" He winked. "I won't tell your superiors."
"It is sex, and it's not a sin," Sean said tightly. Juliet put one hand on his shoulder and shot Dayne a glance but her fiancé wasn't paying her any attention.
"Course not. It's natural. Though what's more natural is fucking a woman." Dayne sat up. "How can you play slap the pickle but not hide the sausage?"
"I've never had the desire –" Sean began, but Dayne wasn't interested in answers. Or pleasure beyond his own narrow definitions. Or acknowledging that Juliet might sometimes prefer solo activity, or to have him watch her pleasure herself. Sex was to be done in bed with him taking the lead. Hiding the sausage was the only meal on the menu.
"You've just not met the right woman," Dayne said authoritatively. "Or you're just picky. You should go on more dates."
Sean got to his feet, shaking free of Juliet. "It has nothing to do with meeting the right person. I just don't have those feelings. I don't love in that way. As for dates, no. Actually, I'm considering swearing an oath never to marry."
"Yeah? Good thing," Dayne said, picking up a stone. "Who'd marry you if you're not going to fuck them?" He tossed the stone at a nearby tree, sending an owl fleeing with a screech.
"Dayne!" Juliet glared at him, arms akimbo.
"What?" He was less interested in her anger than his dubious achievement. "Where'd that owl go?"
Juliet shook her head. "We should head home."
"Okay. Last one to the bottom is a stale pie!" With a whoop, Dayne ran off down the hill, slipping and sliding in his haste.
Juliet gathered up her cloak. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Sean folded his arms protectively about himself.
"I know, it's just that he's –"
"He's not drunk on a mouthful of firewater," Sean interrupted. "Don't make excuses for him." He went to the edge of the falls, staring at the foaming water below.
Dayne and Sean had never been friends the way Sean and Juliet were. Sean had made an effort when Juliet began dating Dayne, but Dayne…
Juliet fastened her cloak, taking a moment to select her words. Sometimes it seemed as if Dayne were trying to aggravate Sean, to cause a rift between them, to make Juliet choose between them. He denied it, of course. He was just joking, couldn't priests take a joke? Sean had been stoic about it, taking the abuse without retaliation but even he had his limits.
She loved Sean. She also loved Dayne. She would not be forced to choose.
"I know he's not perfect, but I'm going to marry him. I know you have your doubts, though you've tried to keep them to yourself. It's all right for you to worry if I'm making the right choice." She took a few steps towards Sean. "You're my friend. You're supposed to worry. But he's a decent man. I know he's brash and sometimes rude, but he respects that I've joined the peacekeeping force and that's rare."
"I respect that about you. About any woman." Sean didn't turn to face her.
Juliet tried again. "I know. But he's…he'll never hurt me. He doesn't think men should be allowed to physically chastise their wives. I know, you don't either. But he loves me, and he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. And I love him. I am going to marry him."
"Then you have my blessing," Sean said, still watching the water churning around the rocks at the base of the falls. It sounded sincere, if somewhat strained.
She sighed in relief. "Thank you. Because I have a favour to ask."
He turned to face her. "Anything."
"You're taking your final vows at the next full moon." Juliet looked up automatically, her eyes finding the waxing gibbous. "You'll be a full member of the clergy when we get married next month. I'd like it very much if you were the one to conduct the ceremony."
His eyes lit up. "I'd be honoured." Then he frowned. "What does Dayne say about that?"
"I'm making most of the arrangements," Juliet said. "And I will compromise on almost every detail save for this. You're part of my life, and always will be."
He took her hand in his. Juliet smiled and squeezed his fingers.
Dayne's yell echoed around the hitherto peaceful area. "Are you lost or something? I fell over a rock and landed in a bush and rolled through some nettles and I'm at the bottom already!"
Juliet rolled her eyes but Sean laughed. "We should go and make sure your fiancé hasn't injured himself."
"He's fine," Juliet said dismissively, taking Sean's arm as they started back down the trail. "He probably fell on his head."
Notes
In the novel, this pre-canon scene is referred to but doesn't appear. I'm including the full version here – think of it as a bonus feature. I wanted to include it as part of the Merry Month of Masturbation but it also looks at relationships in general and at asexuality.
Dayne hits a number of squares on an asexual "bingo card" (some examples here); he pretty much calls Sean a liar, defines a relationship as being necessarily sexual, says Sean hasn't met the right woman, dismisses masturbation as a valid form of sexual expression, thinks masturbation means someone should engage in other forms of sex, and suggests Sean is unnatural. If he knew anything about hormones he'd probably throw that in too.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-12 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-13 10:53 am (UTC)The scene is referred to later in the novel, while the novel opens with a conversation between Juliet and Sean – their platonic relationship is an important part of her life and always has been. Juliet tends to romanticize her dead husband, though as can be seen from this ficlet, Dayne was kind of a douchebag.