experimenting
Dec. 30th, 2001 08:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mimeserePost-"Redefinition" snippet.
It's incredibly hard to dislike Ethan. It's harder still to trust him. But Wesley does as he must and tries to ignore what he's fairly certain he doesn't want to know. Such as why Ethan has a deep and abiding hatred for all things military, or why he made it a condition of his hiring that Wesley never tell Giles where he was.
There was something ugly in Ethan's eyes when he'd said Giles' name. An old hurt, Wesley thinks, and a new anger.
He hasn't asked, but he's fairly sure he's right. Wesley often feels the same way.
Wesley never asks the details about the magic he asks Ethan to perform; he simply accepts the result and pays Ethan what he can, when he can. Sometimes it's money. Often it's not. He thinks that perhaps Ethan only agreed to money because he knew Wesley wouldn't be able to pay. And so, in exchange, he asks for small things. A bit of blood, of semen, a place to stay. Wesley's cooperation with a spell. His knowledge and willing complicity.
Ethan is corrupting him, and Wesley can't bring himself to care.
He tells himself a great many things: he's evening the odds; they need the magic; Ethan's harmless.
That last is an obvious lie despite the very basic binding spell Wesley used to make sure Ethan couldn't harm Cordelia or Gunn or Virginia.
She refuses to come inside his flat while Ethan is there. She tells him that Ethan's reputation in the wizarding community is less than great. Powerful, yeah, but a completely devious bastard and finally, just be careful.
Virginia had been lying against Wesley, her head on his shoulder, when she whispered that. 'Be careful,' she'd said, and slid a hand across his stomach, hugging him close. A curl of her hair tickled his nose.
Wesley had kissed her, but said nothing. He finds that he's pathetically grateful for her childhood and her easy acceptance of most things sorcerous.
She'd gone on, of course. Virginia's life was a wealth of personal knowledge about various demons and wizards and other things.
"Daddy once had to work with him, or against him, I'm not sure, but Ethan got kind of um--"
"Angry?"
She frowned at him. "Annoyed. Daddy always had the effect on people."
Wesley tried to hide a smile. "That's shocking."
She hit him on the arm lightly. "Shush."
"Yes'm."
"Where was I?"
"Ethan was annoyed."
"Right, so for like the next *month* we had this whole problem with potatoes. And dead rats in the pool, which Daddy blamed on Ethan but I think it was the really nice pool cleaning people that he fired and didn't pay."
It's incredibly hard to dislike Ethan. It's harder still to trust him. But Wesley does as he must and tries to ignore what he's fairly certain he doesn't want to know. Such as why Ethan has a deep and abiding hatred for all things military, or why he made it a condition of his hiring that Wesley never tell Giles where he was.
There was something ugly in Ethan's eyes when he'd said Giles' name. An old hurt, Wesley thinks, and a new anger.
He hasn't asked, but he's fairly sure he's right. Wesley often feels the same way.
Wesley never asks the details about the magic he asks Ethan to perform; he simply accepts the result and pays Ethan what he can, when he can. Sometimes it's money. Often it's not. He thinks that perhaps Ethan only agreed to money because he knew Wesley wouldn't be able to pay. And so, in exchange, he asks for small things. A bit of blood, of semen, a place to stay. Wesley's cooperation with a spell. His knowledge and willing complicity.
Ethan is corrupting him, and Wesley can't bring himself to care.
He tells himself a great many things: he's evening the odds; they need the magic; Ethan's harmless.
That last is an obvious lie despite the very basic binding spell Wesley used to make sure Ethan couldn't harm Cordelia or Gunn or Virginia.
She refuses to come inside his flat while Ethan is there. She tells him that Ethan's reputation in the wizarding community is less than great. Powerful, yeah, but a completely devious bastard and finally, just be careful.
Virginia had been lying against Wesley, her head on his shoulder, when she whispered that. 'Be careful,' she'd said, and slid a hand across his stomach, hugging him close. A curl of her hair tickled his nose.
Wesley had kissed her, but said nothing. He finds that he's pathetically grateful for her childhood and her easy acceptance of most things sorcerous.
She'd gone on, of course. Virginia's life was a wealth of personal knowledge about various demons and wizards and other things.
"Daddy once had to work with him, or against him, I'm not sure, but Ethan got kind of um--"
"Angry?"
She frowned at him. "Annoyed. Daddy always had the effect on people."
Wesley tried to hide a smile. "That's shocking."
She hit him on the arm lightly. "Shush."
"Yes'm."
"Where was I?"
"Ethan was annoyed."
"Right, so for like the next *month* we had this whole problem with potatoes. And dead rats in the pool, which Daddy blamed on Ethan but I think it was the really nice pool cleaning people that he fired and didn't pay."
