It was the small things about the would-be corpse that Charles's counterpart insisted on bedding that turned him into someone real for Charles.
He was not truly, not at first. He simply laid in bed, eyes closed or vacant, and Charles would feel ill-at-ease looking upon him. The thought that this Connor was separated by his own Connor with only a single defining event...
Well, that was more frightening than Charles cared to admit.
This Connor, though, he was not real. He was an abstraction, an idea, and Charles was resolved to continue thinking of him in that way. Nothing good could come from his attachment to someone so wholly removed from his own world.
Except...
Except Charles would watch over Doctor White as he looked over this Connor every day and notice that the same little scar on his own wife was on this Connor as well. Looking at that little scar, Charles had to wonder if this Connor also slipped off a tree when he was very young and gained it then?
Then there was the way that he seemed to, well, relax on the grass. The first time they set him there, Charles could have sworn that he seemed to breathe a little easier. His color seemed better at least, though that may only be due to the warming rays of the sun.
Still, there was a connection to his Connor and the way he would glow whenever they made love on the lush grass of Charles's lawns. There was something about being next to greenery and plants that Connor took very well to and it seemed probable that this Connor shared that trait.
They were startling similar in some ways, despite the differences that spawned them.
And Charles was intrigued despite himself.
Who would this Connor be if he came out of this dying state? Would he be like Charles's Connor? Mischievous and playful? Proper and resourceful? Or would he be more like that blasted Assassin, being one of their ilk?
Charles wasn't sure it really mattered all that much. He meant to return home as soon as possible, and it would soon cease to matter to him, but it was an interesting thought. A way to pass his time besides working with Doctor White to bring cognizance back to this Connor.
As if on cue, the good doctor turned to him.
"He has those bruises again."
Charles blanched, then grimaced.
Not only was his counterpart apparently incapable of acting unselfishly, he was also unable to abstain from sex for any length of time.
God only knew how he led the continental army without taking his wife with him.
"It is preposterous that he continues this travesty. His wife is dying and all he can think of are his own lusts?"
Charles winced. It was a rather apt description of the situation, and he was uncomfortably aware of how the man would have been him had a single event been different in his own life.
He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when Doctor White glared at him.
"Don't you dare say anything to defend him. I have never met someone who was so undeserving, and to think that he won his ambitions..."
It was galling indeed, Charles supposed, for a man in Doctor White's position. However, as Charles's eyes slid to the pliant figure on the bed, Charles privately thought that his counterpart may not have gotten all he wanted.
Certainly, his wife was not the obedient creature he had hoped to make him.
Charles felt a sense of vicious satisfaction at that.
The man had not ceased his ridiculousness, even as he held those who would help him in contempt. True, neither Doctor White nor Charles himself offered that help for the other Charles's sake. Charles rather thought that the good doctor would like to poison the man.
But there was manners to be had, and it seemed that his counterpart was quite lacking in them.
Or perhaps, a thought came to him, his Connor had impressed them upon him.
Charles reflected back and griamced to himself. It was true that several of his associates had remarked on his improved manner after little Connor had been found, particularly after his visits with Spado and the others. It could just as easily be Master Kenway's return to his life, but Charles somehow suspected differently.
And it was...disconcerting. That were it not for his Connor, he might have become this creature he was beginning to detest.
"How such an insufferable man is said to be the first king of our fair land is beyond me. It is quite disgusting."
Charles glanced at the scowling Omega.
"Politics," he began slowly, "is rarely aboveboard. I am certain that there were many influential people who stood to gain from his popularity."
Doctor White snorted in distaste. His hands remained still and steady as he examined this world's Connor.
"And you," Doctor White began. "Are you of high position in your world?"
Charles smiled. He supposed one may call it that.
"It sufficed to meet my ambitions."
And really, he already had what he really wanted. A wonderful wife, a true partner in every sense, a little Alpha boy, good reputation amongst the army...
The smile slipped.
And it was all taken away.
Just as this world's Charles sought to throw all he had away. And only for the sake of banal lust.
Charles's fist shook.
That such a man still had his wife while he lost his...that such a man might be expecting a child from that wife while Charles had no access to his beautiful little boy...
That was not justice.
"You are completely right," he whispered. "That man doesn't deserve all he has."
But Charles would give it to him anyways. Because he wanted to return home to his little boy, to what he had left.
Finding Connor 21
Finding Connor
Chapter 20
It was the small things about the would-be corpse that Charles's counterpart insisted on bedding that turned him into someone real for Charles.
He was not truly, not at first. He simply laid in bed, eyes closed or vacant, and Charles would feel ill-at-ease looking upon him. The thought that this Connor was separated by his own Connor with only a single defining event...
Well, that was more frightening than Charles cared to admit.
This Connor, though, he was not real. He was an abstraction, an idea, and Charles was resolved to continue thinking of him in that way. Nothing good could come from his attachment to someone so wholly removed from his own world.
Except...
Except Charles would watch over Doctor White as he looked over this Connor every day and notice that the same little scar on his own wife was on this Connor as well. Looking at that little scar, Charles had to wonder if this Connor also slipped off a tree when he was very young and gained it then?
Then there was the way that he seemed to, well, relax on the grass. The first time they set him there, Charles could have sworn that he seemed to breathe a little easier. His color seemed better at least, though that may only be due to the warming rays of the sun.
Still, there was a connection to his Connor and the way he would glow whenever they made love on the lush grass of Charles's lawns. There was something about being next to greenery and plants that Connor took very well to and it seemed probable that this Connor shared that trait.
They were startling similar in some ways, despite the differences that spawned them.
And Charles was intrigued despite himself.
Who would this Connor be if he came out of this dying state? Would he be like Charles's Connor? Mischievous and playful? Proper and resourceful? Or would he be more like that blasted Assassin, being one of their ilk?
Charles wasn't sure it really mattered all that much. He meant to return home as soon as possible, and it would soon cease to matter to him, but it was an interesting thought. A way to pass his time besides working with Doctor White to bring cognizance back to this Connor.
As if on cue, the good doctor turned to him.
"He has those bruises again."
Charles blanched, then grimaced.
Not only was his counterpart apparently incapable of acting unselfishly, he was also unable to abstain from sex for any length of time.
God only knew how he led the continental army without taking his wife with him.
"It is preposterous that he continues this travesty. His wife is dying and all he can think of are his own lusts?"
Charles winced. It was a rather apt description of the situation, and he was uncomfortably aware of how the man would have been him had a single event been different in his own life.
He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when Doctor White glared at him.
"Don't you dare say anything to defend him. I have never met someone who was so undeserving, and to think that he won his ambitions..."
It was galling indeed, Charles supposed, for a man in Doctor White's position. However, as Charles's eyes slid to the pliant figure on the bed, Charles privately thought that his counterpart may not have gotten all he wanted.
Certainly, his wife was not the obedient creature he had hoped to make him.
Charles felt a sense of vicious satisfaction at that.
The man had not ceased his ridiculousness, even as he held those who would help him in contempt. True, neither Doctor White nor Charles himself offered that help for the other Charles's sake. Charles rather thought that the good doctor would like to poison the man.
But there was manners to be had, and it seemed that his counterpart was quite lacking in them.
Or perhaps, a thought came to him, his Connor had impressed them upon him.
Charles reflected back and griamced to himself. It was true that several of his associates had remarked on his improved manner after little Connor had been found, particularly after his visits with Spado and the others. It could just as easily be Master Kenway's return to his life, but Charles somehow suspected differently.
And it was...disconcerting. That were it not for his Connor, he might have become this creature he was beginning to detest.
"How such an insufferable man is said to be the first king of our fair land is beyond me. It is quite disgusting."
Charles glanced at the scowling Omega.
"Politics," he began slowly, "is rarely aboveboard. I am certain that there were many influential people who stood to gain from his popularity."
Doctor White snorted in distaste. His hands remained still and steady as he examined this world's Connor.
"And you," Doctor White began. "Are you of high position in your world?"
Charles smiled. He supposed one may call it that.
"It sufficed to meet my ambitions."
And really, he already had what he really wanted. A wonderful wife, a true partner in every sense, a little Alpha boy, good reputation amongst the army...
The smile slipped.
And it was all taken away.
Just as this world's Charles sought to throw all he had away. And only for the sake of banal lust.
Charles's fist shook.
That such a man still had his wife while he lost his...that such a man might be expecting a child from that wife while Charles had no access to his beautiful little boy...
That was not justice.
"You are completely right," he whispered. "That man doesn't deserve all he has."
But Charles would give it to him anyways. Because he wanted to return home to his little boy, to what he had left.