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Summary
He remembered the gunshot.
He remembered dying. He had died, he was sure of it. How was this possible? Was this his life rewinding itself, some montage before his death?
But it didn’t feel like a memory. It looked so real. He was there.Then, the guards barked their orders. The Major gave his speech. And the Walk began, exactly like it did before.
What the fuck?
Stuck in a time loop, Collie Parker didn’t expect to find himself watching Gary Barkovitch. He definitely didn’t expect Gary to look back.
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Bookmark Notes:
They had taken his land. They had taken his culture. They would not take his life.
♡
‘Leciya ya tuwa maki pan pelo...’ This song was banned. In normal circumstances if anyone had heard him singing it, he could have even been jailed. But these weren’t normal circumstances. […]
He raised his voice, letting everyone hear, and definitely looked straight into one of the cameras. I dare you to stop me, his eyes seemed to say. ‘Leciya ya tuwa maki pan pelo / Wiohpeyata wakinyan oyate wan.’
[…] When he reached the second verse, another voice joined in. The pronunciation was off, the stresses wrong, but these words were unmistakable.
It was Barkovitch.
‘Oyate hanta po itateya mawani yelo / Tehi ya wamiconza pe / Oyate hanta po itateya mawani yelo’.
♡
They didn’t trust each other, not in the way that McVries and Garraty did. They didn’t trust the other to help them move along when they fell asleep. But it was easier to take the next step when he knew that there was someone beside him.
So when Barkovitch fell to the ground and got his ticket, Collie followed.
♡
This had happened before when he shared some of his culture’s practices with those he considered friends. They remained his friends as long as they could ignore the fact that, in their minds, he came from savages.
Barkovitch seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and shoved Baker hard.
‘Shove your fucking prayers up your fucking ass man.’
[…]
But Collie knew. Barkovitch knew about the tradition, and he saved Collie from putting a target on his head by refusing to say his mother’s name. He had done it at risk to his own life and to any chance at friendship with the other boys. A small smile tugged at Collie’s lips.
♡
Before getting on his feet and moving again, he took Gary’s camera with himself. He turned it on and looked through the photos of everything that Barkovitch wanted to remember and now wouldn’t.
There were dozens of pictures from the past few days. Landscapes, sunsets, storm clouds rolling in. He was enraptured by Gary’s attention to detail and his ability to find beauty in this hell. The pictures were stunning. As he scrolled further he noticed some photos… of himself. Him walking, sweat soaking his shirt. Him drinking water, his head tilted back. Him laughing at something Olson had said. Him looking straight at the camera, angry, catching Barkovitch taking a picture.
I take pictures of everything I find beautiful and worth remembering.
♡
‘I said I don’t wanna win, not really. There is nothing for me after this fucking thing ends. No one. And nowhere to go.’
You could come home with me.
The thought startled Collie.
♡
Then, came a gunshot. Collie felt the bullet enter his chest. It didn’t exit out the other side. Gary was unharmed, for now.
‘I just want to save you, shithead.' Collie rasped. These were the last words he managed to say, before closing his eyes. He never heard the second gunshot. That brought him some comfort.
♡
When the walk began, he walked straight up to Barkovitch, and wrapped him in the hug. Gary went stiff, astonished, his wide eyes flicking to Collie’s tear-stricken face.
‘I’m sorry.’ Collie whispered. ‘I will make it better, I swear.’
Then, without waiting for a reply, he stepped off the road.
♡
Collie decided to risk it. He stopped walking, putting a hand on Gary’s arm to stop him too. Then, he hugged him. It was a real, full hug. Collie was taller, and he wrapped Barkovitch completely with his arms. He could smell the sweat on Gary’s skin, feel his hair tickling his nose. It was perfect. Collie held him, and Gary let himself be held.
‘Number five! Number forty-eight! First warning!’
[…]
’[…] Playfighting. But I loved this. I was always the one to start it, tugging at his hair, shoving him into a river, smearing mud on his face. He was different from all my other friends. He was the only one that I wanted to tease like that.’
[…]
‘All this time, all these playfights… I was just tugging at his pigtails. Metaphorically speaking.’ He tugged at Gary’s hair again, to make his point clear.
♡
Barkovitch’s hands immediately found their way to Collie’s hair, clutching him, refusing to let him go. Gary’s lips were chapped, smeared with dust and blood from the fight, but Collie didn’t care. He couldn’t imagine a better kiss.
[…]
He remembered Gary’s words from before. I don’t have anywhere to go after this ends.
‘Come home with me.’ He said.
Gary didn’t respond with words. Instead, he attacked Collie’s lips with another kiss, fervent and eager.
Collie felt it in his bones that the loop was finished, but he had no way of knowing for sure. He didn’t want to die to test it. Not now, when he finally had everything he needed.
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Bookmark Notes:
really cute and sweet
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Bookmark Notes:
Long walk, collie & barkovitch, native references & possible native heritage for gary??, ooc collie, but i like how he sees Gary for who he is, sweet
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Bookmark Notes:
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