The Man Inside
Feb. 7th, 2014 08:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptTitle: The Man Inside
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters/Pairing: Pinocchio/August, also mentions Gepetto, Emma, Belle, Figaro, Grace, and Henry
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt: For the Fifth Round Creation at the Once Upon A Land comm
Word Count: 757
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners, not the author.
They think he doesn't remember. They think the man he was is long gone, not necessarily done but forever forgotten. They certainly seem to have forgotten him, but there's a wisp of him that remains, a wisp that will always be there.
Gepetto sees it sometimes in his son's eyes when Pinocchio grows too solemn. He knows he can not hide anything from him, and yet, still he tries. He tries to pretend like it is just a child to whom he is talking, a child whom he can hide from the dangers of which they live in, a child who can finally have the childhood he deserves.
August himself feels it sometimes when he comes across something that isn't right. He wants to protect the younger children on the playground; he's come to Grace's defense more than once. The kids are silly to pick on her, but he doesn't let her father know what's happening. He takes care of them himself, even though Grace is actually older than him. But it doesn't feel that way, and he knows what he's doing is right. The Hatter, after all, would probably turn all the brats into hats or something even more dire.
There are worse things out there, he knows. He can't quite figure out what they are yet, but he senses them every time he and his father are anywhere near the Storybrooke borders. He looks out into the woods, thinks of the world that is just beyond their little town, and shudders deeply inside. That's a place where he never wants to go, and yet part of him feels like he's already been there.
He can't remember actually going there, however. He can't remember ever living anywhere except for the Enchanted Forest and here in Storybrooke. This is home, and he has no desire to go anywhere else. Yet, maybe he has. Maybe he has been other places in his dreams.
He likes to talk to Miss Belle about dreams. She seems to understand him better than his own Papa. She smiles when he talks of being unable to remember his dreams and yet feeling like there's something bad in them. She smiles and takes his hand, and for a little while, his pain, fear, and doubt don't seem so strong any more.
He likes to talk to Miss Emma, too. He still thinks of her as Miss even though all the other children at school, including Henry, have told him she's the town Sheriff. He never considers it odd that a woman should is Sheriff, but he still thinks of her as a lady. He thinks of her as a strong and beautiful lady, a perfect role model for Gracie and the other girls, but he also thinks that none of them will ever grow up to be like her. He doesn't know what that thought bothers him so much, or why his Papa is always quick to pull him away from her when she does talk to him, which isn't often.
But Gepetto knows. He sees in his son's eyes, especially when Emma is around, an older spirit and knows to whom that older spirit belongs, a son he never got to know as he was growing up, a son whose childhood they both missed, so he takes his hand and hurries away from the Royal Couple's daughter. He takes him home, makes him a new toy, and insists on watching him play with it. Their favorites are always the toys with whom they can both play together.
But at night, when the curtains are drawn, the doors are bolted, Gepetto is fast asleep, and Pinocchio himself slumbers, as well, with a little, black and white kitten curled up on his small chest, he dreams again. He remembers things he still can not recall in the light of day. He shivers with fear and yet smiles with anticipation, and in the dark of night, he calls again, a name he will never forget, the name of the person whose mere presence in his life helped him to become the man he once was and who will always remain hidden deep inside the boy who can't wait to grow up.
"Emma," he calls. The cat places a paw on his mouth, hushing him. Emma never hears, but Gepetto does, though he also does not recollect the moment in the light of day. In the night, though, he curls up tighter in his bed and cries for a son whose painful loss he will never forget.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters/Pairing: Pinocchio/August, also mentions Gepetto, Emma, Belle, Figaro, Grace, and Henry
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt: For the Fifth Round Creation at the Once Upon A Land comm
Word Count: 757
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners, not the author.
They think he doesn't remember. They think the man he was is long gone, not necessarily done but forever forgotten. They certainly seem to have forgotten him, but there's a wisp of him that remains, a wisp that will always be there.
Gepetto sees it sometimes in his son's eyes when Pinocchio grows too solemn. He knows he can not hide anything from him, and yet, still he tries. He tries to pretend like it is just a child to whom he is talking, a child whom he can hide from the dangers of which they live in, a child who can finally have the childhood he deserves.
August himself feels it sometimes when he comes across something that isn't right. He wants to protect the younger children on the playground; he's come to Grace's defense more than once. The kids are silly to pick on her, but he doesn't let her father know what's happening. He takes care of them himself, even though Grace is actually older than him. But it doesn't feel that way, and he knows what he's doing is right. The Hatter, after all, would probably turn all the brats into hats or something even more dire.
There are worse things out there, he knows. He can't quite figure out what they are yet, but he senses them every time he and his father are anywhere near the Storybrooke borders. He looks out into the woods, thinks of the world that is just beyond their little town, and shudders deeply inside. That's a place where he never wants to go, and yet part of him feels like he's already been there.
He can't remember actually going there, however. He can't remember ever living anywhere except for the Enchanted Forest and here in Storybrooke. This is home, and he has no desire to go anywhere else. Yet, maybe he has. Maybe he has been other places in his dreams.
He likes to talk to Miss Belle about dreams. She seems to understand him better than his own Papa. She smiles when he talks of being unable to remember his dreams and yet feeling like there's something bad in them. She smiles and takes his hand, and for a little while, his pain, fear, and doubt don't seem so strong any more.
He likes to talk to Miss Emma, too. He still thinks of her as Miss even though all the other children at school, including Henry, have told him she's the town Sheriff. He never considers it odd that a woman should is Sheriff, but he still thinks of her as a lady. He thinks of her as a strong and beautiful lady, a perfect role model for Gracie and the other girls, but he also thinks that none of them will ever grow up to be like her. He doesn't know what that thought bothers him so much, or why his Papa is always quick to pull him away from her when she does talk to him, which isn't often.
But Gepetto knows. He sees in his son's eyes, especially when Emma is around, an older spirit and knows to whom that older spirit belongs, a son he never got to know as he was growing up, a son whose childhood they both missed, so he takes his hand and hurries away from the Royal Couple's daughter. He takes him home, makes him a new toy, and insists on watching him play with it. Their favorites are always the toys with whom they can both play together.
But at night, when the curtains are drawn, the doors are bolted, Gepetto is fast asleep, and Pinocchio himself slumbers, as well, with a little, black and white kitten curled up on his small chest, he dreams again. He remembers things he still can not recall in the light of day. He shivers with fear and yet smiles with anticipation, and in the dark of night, he calls again, a name he will never forget, the name of the person whose mere presence in his life helped him to become the man he once was and who will always remain hidden deep inside the boy who can't wait to grow up.
"Emma," he calls. The cat places a paw on his mouth, hushing him. Emma never hears, but Gepetto does, though he also does not recollect the moment in the light of day. In the night, though, he curls up tighter in his bed and cries for a son whose painful loss he will never forget.
The End
