Sunnydale AU: at the corner of your eye

[americas_son]

The problem with Grahame being in LA and Mother spending most of her time in Sacramento is that, for all intents and purposes, the Chandler household has been whittled down from three (from four) to one. That makes less work to go around, and it's getting harder and harder to justify keeping on all the staff. Cal is combing intently through records and other paperwork, trying to find a balance between what's best for the Chandler finances and what will cause the least amount of difficulty for those who depend on the Chandlers for their wages.

Comments

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal shudders.

"Yeah. Me too."

He's been doing his best not to think about what could have happened if he had been wrong. If his hand hadn't gone right through.

[if_inconvenient]

All of a sudden Sherlock would very much like to make this thing solid long enough to throttle it.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"I mean, I basically told it to give me its best shot. Probably not the smartest thing I could have said."

He definitely left that part out when he told Peter about the incident.

[if_inconvenient]

"I would have done the same," Sherlock offers.

Yes, he recognizes that he can on occasion be impulsive.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, but you'd actually be able to back it up."

Cal has no illusions about his abilities in that respect.

[if_inconvenient]

"Granted."

Sherlock is good at violence.

Why does he feel vaguely guilty about that all of a sudden?

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"But I couldn't," Cal says. "Wouldn't have been. Able to."

He shrugs.

"Lucky I didn't have to."

[if_inconvenient]

"Not all luck. You guessed, did you not?"

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Cal says. "Well, I mean, after that I did. I realized that I couldn't smell anything when it was really close, I couldn't hear it walking, and I - shouldn't have been able to get past it as easily as I did. That was when I actually tried to touch it."

The part where he'd gotten away with challenging it really had been lucky.

[if_inconvenient]

He looks thoughtful.

"That is an interesting set of absences to consider."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal shrugs, suddenly a little defensive. Sherlock of all people should understand why he would be so painfully aware of Obadiah Stane's physicality.

"No cologne," he says. "I could smell it at the party that time."

[if_inconvenient]

"He always wore the same one," Sherlock murmurs. "For as long as I knew him."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"I could smell it in his room the day he died," Cal says. "It kind of - Tony thought I was just mad because it was the one I usually used." At least Tony had been too preoccupied to be upset with him about it.

[if_inconvenient]

"I still can," Sherlock admits. "I don't go in that room very often."

He is not even sure whether the effect is more psychological than otherwise.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"It survived werewolf Tina, huh?"

That doesn't actually surprise Cal very much.

[if_inconvenient]

"Somehow, yes."

Hence his wondering if the smell is more memory than sensation at this point.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal sighs, frustrated.

"Is he ever going to disappear?"

[if_inconvenient]

"Perhaps I ought to sabotage the manufacture of that cologne," he jokes.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"That'd be a start," Cal says wryly. "Someday I'm gonna smell it on someone else and I just know it'll catch me off-guard."

That would be just his luck.

[if_inconvenient]

"Should I?"

Because he actually could eradicate it from the face of the Earth. It wouldn't even be all that difficult; it would just take time.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal eyes him.

"Nah," he says after a moment. "It seems like it would take a lot of effort."

[if_inconvenient]

"Oh, possibly, but it would be something to do."

Perhaps he'll get Bella's opinion. No; even if he withholds strategic details, she's likely to guess the shape of the thing, and it wouldn't be fair.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Maybe you should concentrate on passing Biology this year," Cal suggests. "Since you didn't feel like bribing your way out."

[if_inconvenient]

"As long as I show up to more than half the bloody classes, I'll be all right."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"I hear that helps, yeah."

You know. For normal people whose parents don't include the scholastic bribe in their yearly budget.