Beelzebub’s Sin: Gula

[czarina_kitty]

Title: Beelzebub’s Sin: Gula
Characters: Toshiko, Jack
Rating/Warnings:  PG
Spoilers: Fragments
Summary: Toshiko adjusts.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor make any money from the use of, these characters.
Notes: Written for the tw_lucky_7 challenge for the sin gluttony. 

 

Walking out into the late morning sunshine at the side of the mysterious Captain Harkness, she stopped to smell the fresh air and to feel the sun on her face.  Turning to her new...What was he exactly? 

  “Thank you,” she says quietly, respectfully. “I thought I was going to die in that cell.  I never thought I’d see daylight again.”

“Yeah, well don’t get too used to it,” he chuckles.  “Our base of operations doesn’t have a lot of windows.  In fact, it doesn’t have any windows.  A couple of portholes in the lower levels, but no actual windows.” 

Boss?  Certainly, but there is more to it than that.

 

“This is so…open.  Spacious.  Light,” she says, walking around the flat, trying to ignore the lure of the large, so comfortable looking bed.  “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

“You need somewhere to call home,” he tells her, “even if it is just somewhere to sleep for a few hours most nights.” 

Counselor? Partly, but something else as well.

 

“This tastes amazing.  I missed home cooked meals,” she says, tucking into the plate of pasta as if she hadn’t eaten in months because, really, she hadn’t.

“Enjoy it while you can,” he says.  “Most nights it’ll be take-away or cold pizza while finishing reports.”

 Parole Officer? 

 

            “What time do I report for work in the morning?” she asks as he shrugs on his greatcoat and moves to the door.

“Take a few days to settle in and get everything in order,” he offers.  “We can’t predict when the rift will be active, so there is no such thing as regular hours.  You’ll need to be available all the time.”

  Warden?

 

It wasn’t like Tosh to overindulge.  She wasn’t one for taking more than her fair share.  But after months in a UNIT prison, she had lots of wasted time to make up for.  And from listening to enigmatic Captain, she didn’t have long to do so before the conditions of her release caused her to start missing things all over again.

            So she was going to take full advantage of those few days.  She had been locked away from the world for so long, it was time to rediscover.  

She was naturally shy and cautious around other people, so hooking up with someone for mindless sex was not really an option.   And if she really thought about it, she likely wouldn’t have had any more opportunities for sex over the last few months even if she hadn’t been locked up.   

She wasn’t the type to drink to excess or use drugs, not liking the way intoxication slowed her thought process and made her feel fuzzy.  Her mind was just starting to speed up again as it was, thought trains that had been dormant for months were reawakening and she felt as if she was just coming out of a long hibernation.  She didn’t know whether it was a result of having been out in the sunshine, having eaten a good meal, feeling clean for the first time in recent memory, or simply having hope for her future again.  Whatever the reason, she had no desire to numb the sensation.  So intoxication in any form was out.  Which really only left one indulgence open to her.

Food. 

He has left her money to purchase whatever she needs, an obscene amount of money all things considered.  Certainly enough to get a good head start should she decide to flee, but he knows as well as she does that she will stay.  And so, she finds herself in the local grocery store, the one he left directions to just in case, wandering the aisles and marveling at all of the choices available to her.  She packs her trolley with comfort foods, foods from her childhood, and all the things she craved when she was locked away alone.   Heavy starches, thick sauces, pizza, crisps, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables (she cannot believe how good fresh tastes after months of canned or frozen or pureed), and of course sweets.  Chocolate bars, custards, biscuits, tea cakes, and ice cream in all flavor. 

Arriving back at her flat (and she may never get used to thinking of it as hers) she cannot decide what she wants to eat first, settling on a bite of everything before she gorges herself trying to make up for all the months she had been denied, trying to fill a void in herself that she had yet to identify.

After two days of doing nothing but eating, Tosh feels ill.  Beyond full, beyond sated, beyond stuffed.  Bloated.  Fat.

 

When she reports for work the following morning Jack is like a kid showing off his new toys.  The collection of alien tech and artifacts is impressive and her mind immediately begins to prioritize projects and devise tests.   There is data on rift activity going back for over 100 years and she thinks she just might have enough to devise a predictor program.  There are enough samples of alien language that she can run analysis on and maybe one day create a universal translator.  There is enough data on temporal shifts and time travel that she thinks she might one day be able to create a time bubble.

 There are so many things to learn, so many things to do that she will never be bored.

And then she realizes who Captain Jack Harkness truly is.  He has not only saved her from dying alone and forgotten in grimy cell, but by giving her something she can become passionate about, something that she can focus all of her attention on, he has saved her from herself.

Savior.

Comments

[thrace-adams.livejournal.com]

This was really lovely and kind of exactly what I think would run through Tosh's head after Jack gets her free. Well done.

[chryssalys]

Yes, I could see this reaction. Very nice!

[tonjavmoore.livejournal.com]

I can really feel Tosh's excitement at being able to overindulge! Good job.

[iceshade.livejournal.com]

This was beautiful, I love how Tosh calls Jack her savior <3 ::grabby hands::

[jooles34.livejournal.com]

Oh, I liked this. Tosh's desire to indulge was so true, and I really liked the style you used with Tosh trying to figure out what Jack was to her. Nice.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

loved that

[remuslives23.livejournal.com]

Love this! This is exactly what I would have done... (although I might have looked for the sex as well.).

[nancybrown.livejournal.com]

Just lovely. :)

[lone-star-woman.livejournal.com]

A lovely portrait of Tosh -- very methodical, yet she's also very excited. I also love that she's planning the projects that defined her from Day One.

Jack is like a kid showing off his new toys.

That image made me smile because I can picture Tosh grinning alongside of him.