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Dec. 21st, 2011 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thelostmaximoffIt is time once again to pass out the Christmas fics. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shini02 now has a present.
Title: Fallen
Fandom: X-Men
Rating: K+
Genre: Angst
Pairings: Josh Guthrie and others of the Guthrie clan
Warnings: None unless you really don't know how Josh's story ends
Summary: On that night, it was Josh's turn to be the special one in the Guthrie family.
Fallen
Joshua Guthrie is probably more nervous than he's ever been in his life, which isn't saying a lot since he's only ten years old. Still, getting up in front of the whole church and singing a solo in the Christmas play is a big deal when you're a ten year old and he's still nervous about it. His mother told him that he would be great. She's heard him sing all the time with the radio and she tells him he's got the voice of a regular angel. Josh doesn't think about it that much but his choir instructor swears the same thing and he figures if his mother and his choir instructor both think he's good enough to do a solo then he better do the solo.
He unconsciously fidgets with the gaudy, red bow attached to the front of his choir robe. The other kids are getting restless too as children are prone to do. He can hear the teenage boys dressed as shepherds banging their crooks around like they're hockey players or swordsmen while they shuffle towards the entrance to make their cue. The older boys mostly keep to themselves and Josh thinks this is good because the last thing he wants to be is a target for any of the Cabot boys. All the boarding school in the world didn't teach them any manners and they still love to pick on the Guthries. Josh remembers that Paige told him one time one of the Cabot boys tried to pick on her and she gave him a black eye for it. If he's smart, he'll keep his head low and keep to himself so the boy in question doesn't take his frustrations out on him. It's times like this that Josh wishes his older brother was still here. Sam wasn't the kind to get into fights on a regular basis but he knew how to protect Josh and the rest of his brothers and sisters. With Sam gone, Josh is the man of the house and doesn't feel ready to be defending the honor of his family just yet. He's never exactly been much of a fighter anyway.
"The shepherds are already on and the angels are up next," says the choir director. "Are you ready for your solo, Josh?"
"Yes, ma'am," replies Josh timidly.
He's been practicing really hard but there's something else on his mind. A few months ago, he met a girl when he was up at Jacobsen Pond. She said her name was Julia and she was probably the prettiest girl Josh had ever seen. It had been a nice summer spending time with her though he would never admit it to anyone, certainly not his siblings. He was hoping to see her when school started again but she told him that her parents were sending her to boarding school somewhere far away. Ever since then, he can't get her out of his head. He doesn't know exactly why but he thinks maybe he might be in love with her.
Josh and his troop of angels get the cue from his choir director and they march out in front of the audience, taking their places on the risers set up for them. As the only angel with a solo, Josh has to stand up in front but even then he can see everyone in the congregation. He spots his mother and the rest of his family. Paige is the one working the video camera so his performance will be memorialized in the annals of the Guthrie home movies. Josh wishes his brother Sam was here to see this. Sam is also the reason that Paige is taping his solo. The eldest Guthrie child swore to his mother that he would be home for Christmas but his classes at Xavier's wouldn't be over in time for him to catch the Christmas pageant. Josh doesn't quite know how to feel about that just yet. All his life, he's watched big brother Sam be the one who was special both by virtue of his age and his new mutant abilities. Now it's Josh's turn to be special but Sam won't be there to see it.
His mouth moves automatically, knowing the words by heart at this point. Being in a choir is easy because all you have to do is mimic everyone else's voice. When their voices go up in pitch, yours should do the same. When their voices go down in pitch, yours should do the same as well. Blending in is easy for Josh, particularly where singing is concerned. It's standing out that's the hard part because he's never sung a solo in his life. Right now, he wonders if maybe it wasn't such a smart idea to agree to doing this. What if he messes up? What if he gets up to that microphone and just completely freezes? The whole church is going to laugh at him. Josh looks over at his family and realizes that his solo is coming up. His choir director motions for him and he steps up to the microphone.
He freezes for a split-second and then he thinks of her, the girl he met at the pond during the summer. He decides that maybe, God willing, she can somehow hear him sing if he just puts enough into it. So he opens his mouth and sings. He doesn't think about the Cabot boys or his anxiety or anything else. He just thinks about Julia and pretends he's singing to her. When the solo is over, he opens his eyes without realizing he had closed them and can see the whole church standing and applauding his performance. He smiles and sees his mother wipe a tear out of her eye. He thinks that Sam is definitely going to regret missing this.
Sam Guthrie solemnly slides the DVD into the player and then presses play. A couple of years ago, Paige managed to convert the family's entire VHS catalog of home movies onto DVD. Sam's not surprised that she managed to do it considering that she was always the tech-savvy Guthrie child. He's thankful for that because it means he can relive memories both good and sometimes bad. He needs to watch this again because it's one of the last happy memories he has of his younger brother.
Josh was a good kid. Sam always knew that but being a good kid didn't save Josh's life. Sam regrets not being there for his younger brother, both when they were growing up and later when he came to live at Xavier's. He can't help but think that he got Josh killed. Sam's brother was always a sensitive soul, one who felt things to such a passionate degree that at times that passion threatened to eat him alive. Sam has never and knows he will never hear anyone sing the way Josh did. It's another reason why he finds himself watching that old Christmas tape.
"I miss him too, Sam," says Paige quietly as she puts a hand on her older brother's shoulder and they both watch their brother sing his solo, the moment frozen in time and burned into their brains.
"Wish Ah coulda seen it live," mutters Sam. "Bet it was somethin' beautiful."
"He was," agrees Paige with a sad smile as she remembers filming her brother's choir solo. That was the night that she and the rest of her family learned something very important. Josh Guthrie may have been an ordinary kid but that night he was an angel fallen straight from Heaven.
shini02 now has a present.Title: Fallen
Fandom: X-Men
Rating: K+
Genre: Angst
Pairings: Josh Guthrie and others of the Guthrie clan
Warnings: None unless you really don't know how Josh's story ends
Summary: On that night, it was Josh's turn to be the special one in the Guthrie family.
Fallen
Joshua Guthrie is probably more nervous than he's ever been in his life, which isn't saying a lot since he's only ten years old. Still, getting up in front of the whole church and singing a solo in the Christmas play is a big deal when you're a ten year old and he's still nervous about it. His mother told him that he would be great. She's heard him sing all the time with the radio and she tells him he's got the voice of a regular angel. Josh doesn't think about it that much but his choir instructor swears the same thing and he figures if his mother and his choir instructor both think he's good enough to do a solo then he better do the solo.
He unconsciously fidgets with the gaudy, red bow attached to the front of his choir robe. The other kids are getting restless too as children are prone to do. He can hear the teenage boys dressed as shepherds banging their crooks around like they're hockey players or swordsmen while they shuffle towards the entrance to make their cue. The older boys mostly keep to themselves and Josh thinks this is good because the last thing he wants to be is a target for any of the Cabot boys. All the boarding school in the world didn't teach them any manners and they still love to pick on the Guthries. Josh remembers that Paige told him one time one of the Cabot boys tried to pick on her and she gave him a black eye for it. If he's smart, he'll keep his head low and keep to himself so the boy in question doesn't take his frustrations out on him. It's times like this that Josh wishes his older brother was still here. Sam wasn't the kind to get into fights on a regular basis but he knew how to protect Josh and the rest of his brothers and sisters. With Sam gone, Josh is the man of the house and doesn't feel ready to be defending the honor of his family just yet. He's never exactly been much of a fighter anyway.
"The shepherds are already on and the angels are up next," says the choir director. "Are you ready for your solo, Josh?"
"Yes, ma'am," replies Josh timidly.
He's been practicing really hard but there's something else on his mind. A few months ago, he met a girl when he was up at Jacobsen Pond. She said her name was Julia and she was probably the prettiest girl Josh had ever seen. It had been a nice summer spending time with her though he would never admit it to anyone, certainly not his siblings. He was hoping to see her when school started again but she told him that her parents were sending her to boarding school somewhere far away. Ever since then, he can't get her out of his head. He doesn't know exactly why but he thinks maybe he might be in love with her.
Josh and his troop of angels get the cue from his choir director and they march out in front of the audience, taking their places on the risers set up for them. As the only angel with a solo, Josh has to stand up in front but even then he can see everyone in the congregation. He spots his mother and the rest of his family. Paige is the one working the video camera so his performance will be memorialized in the annals of the Guthrie home movies. Josh wishes his brother Sam was here to see this. Sam is also the reason that Paige is taping his solo. The eldest Guthrie child swore to his mother that he would be home for Christmas but his classes at Xavier's wouldn't be over in time for him to catch the Christmas pageant. Josh doesn't quite know how to feel about that just yet. All his life, he's watched big brother Sam be the one who was special both by virtue of his age and his new mutant abilities. Now it's Josh's turn to be special but Sam won't be there to see it.
His mouth moves automatically, knowing the words by heart at this point. Being in a choir is easy because all you have to do is mimic everyone else's voice. When their voices go up in pitch, yours should do the same. When their voices go down in pitch, yours should do the same as well. Blending in is easy for Josh, particularly where singing is concerned. It's standing out that's the hard part because he's never sung a solo in his life. Right now, he wonders if maybe it wasn't such a smart idea to agree to doing this. What if he messes up? What if he gets up to that microphone and just completely freezes? The whole church is going to laugh at him. Josh looks over at his family and realizes that his solo is coming up. His choir director motions for him and he steps up to the microphone.
He freezes for a split-second and then he thinks of her, the girl he met at the pond during the summer. He decides that maybe, God willing, she can somehow hear him sing if he just puts enough into it. So he opens his mouth and sings. He doesn't think about the Cabot boys or his anxiety or anything else. He just thinks about Julia and pretends he's singing to her. When the solo is over, he opens his eyes without realizing he had closed them and can see the whole church standing and applauding his performance. He smiles and sees his mother wipe a tear out of her eye. He thinks that Sam is definitely going to regret missing this.
Sam Guthrie solemnly slides the DVD into the player and then presses play. A couple of years ago, Paige managed to convert the family's entire VHS catalog of home movies onto DVD. Sam's not surprised that she managed to do it considering that she was always the tech-savvy Guthrie child. He's thankful for that because it means he can relive memories both good and sometimes bad. He needs to watch this again because it's one of the last happy memories he has of his younger brother.
Josh was a good kid. Sam always knew that but being a good kid didn't save Josh's life. Sam regrets not being there for his younger brother, both when they were growing up and later when he came to live at Xavier's. He can't help but think that he got Josh killed. Sam's brother was always a sensitive soul, one who felt things to such a passionate degree that at times that passion threatened to eat him alive. Sam has never and knows he will never hear anyone sing the way Josh did. It's another reason why he finds himself watching that old Christmas tape.
"I miss him too, Sam," says Paige quietly as she puts a hand on her older brother's shoulder and they both watch their brother sing his solo, the moment frozen in time and burned into their brains.
"Wish Ah coulda seen it live," mutters Sam. "Bet it was somethin' beautiful."
"He was," agrees Paige with a sad smile as she remembers filming her brother's choir solo. That was the night that she and the rest of her family learned something very important. Josh Guthrie may have been an ordinary kid but that night he was an angel fallen straight from Heaven.
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no subject
Date: 2011-12-22 05:50 pm (UTC)