75 Godiva Road, Saturday Morning
Jul. 15th, 2017 05:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Noah often didn't want to get up in the mornings when that arrogant overseer, Cato, rang the bell calling the field hands to work. Being a blacksmith was easier than picking cotton--no worries about getting whipped if he didn't make weight, for one--but it was still long hours and hard work, making sure that all the horses were shoed and the tools repaired and every bit of metal on the plantation was bright and shining.
Waking up this morning was even harder. His bed felt soft, like a cloud, and his blankets like the gentlest cotton, wouldn't scratch a baby's naked ass. His sheets felt clean and crisp and the soft breathing from behind him--
Sheets?
Breathing?
Noah's eyes snapped open but he made himself lie perfectly still. Sure, last night had been one of Bareback Shaw's parties, but that didn't explain why he was asleep in one of the white folks' rooms! He didn't even wanna guess what kinda punishment that would entail if he was found here. Never mind the one he'd get for not being back in his quarters by sunup.
Another muffled noise behind him. Noah wasn't sure he wanted to look over and see who it was. He was praying that it would be another slave. Getting caught in a white woman's bed would result in something far worse than just more stripes on his back.
Maybe he could just...eeeeease on out of this bed and be out the door and on his way back to Macon before anyone was the wiser.
[For thems that live here! Also TRIGGER WARNING! Hardison is Noah from WGN's Underground and is a slave from 1850's Georgia. That means there will be references to slavery, beatings, lynchings, sexual assault and rape/coercion and pretty much every other horrible topic that comes up in conjunction with treating humans like chattel.]
Waking up this morning was even harder. His bed felt soft, like a cloud, and his blankets like the gentlest cotton, wouldn't scratch a baby's naked ass. His sheets felt clean and crisp and the soft breathing from behind him--
Sheets?
Breathing?
Noah's eyes snapped open but he made himself lie perfectly still. Sure, last night had been one of Bareback Shaw's parties, but that didn't explain why he was asleep in one of the white folks' rooms! He didn't even wanna guess what kinda punishment that would entail if he was found here. Never mind the one he'd get for not being back in his quarters by sunup.
Another muffled noise behind him. Noah wasn't sure he wanted to look over and see who it was. He was praying that it would be another slave. Getting caught in a white woman's bed would result in something far worse than just more stripes on his back.
Maybe he could just...eeeeease on out of this bed and be out the door and on his way back to Macon before anyone was the wiser.
[For thems that live here! Also TRIGGER WARNING! Hardison is Noah from WGN's Underground and is a slave from 1850's Georgia. That means there will be references to slavery, beatings, lynchings, sexual assault and rape/coercion and pretty much every other horrible topic that comes up in conjunction with treating humans like chattel.]
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Date: 2017-07-15 03:10 pm (UTC)There were two guys in this bed with her. Not. Good.
Easing her hand under the pillow for her gun, she growled, "Who the hell are you?"
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Date: 2017-07-15 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 03:17 pm (UTC)"Did Jarod put you up to this?" She whipped the gun around, and ... fell out of the bed. Jesus, this morning.
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Date: 2017-07-15 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 04:12 pm (UTC)"I'm so sorry, ma'am, suh," he said, his accent thick and voice full of barely repressed fear. "I ain't sure what done happen, an' I ain't mean to intrude, but I could jes' get myself outta here an' I won't cause no trouble, no suh, I ain't."
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Date: 2017-07-15 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 04:12 pm (UTC)He was trying to scramble out of the bed, his back a welter of scars and ink.
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Date: 2017-07-16 06:12 pm (UTC)"Jesus. I don't even know what to say to that." She paused for a long minute, then, in a calmer voice told him, "I'm not mad at you. So yeah. Take a breath. Leave if you want to. Or, you know, stick around while I deal with this guy. Whatever you want."
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Date: 2017-07-16 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 08:20 pm (UTC)And then there was Cowboy Spencer dealing with the gun and all, and she finally just gave up on the whole situation until she had food and better clothing. Ugh.
"Food. Coffee." She snapped her fingers at him out of habit, then grimaced, stopping herself. "Sorry. Just." Argh. "I'm not ordering you to get me any. I'm not ordering you to do anything, ignore me if I'm a bitch, everyone I work with knows I'm horrible. I'm getting food, and coffee, and this guy is apparently not evil, so. Join us if you want to. Or not."
Christ, she could use a drink.
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Date: 2017-07-15 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 09:49 pm (UTC)Then he snapped his arms up and out, to knock the woman's aim away from any people and towards the wall, then grab onto the gun and snatch it from her hands.
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Date: 2017-07-15 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 09:55 pm (UTC)He ejected the gun's magazine and popped the round from the chamber in one smooth move -- then couldn't figure out what to do with them. He usually just tossed them away, but then, he usually wasn't doing this in his bedroom.
"What do I want? Well for one thing, I'd like to know who the fuck are you and what happened to my damn girlfriend." He tipped his head back to Hardison. "And boyfriend. But I'm guessin' neither of you have any goddamn clue either because this fucking island hates us."
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Date: 2017-07-15 09:58 pm (UTC)When all else fails, blame the psycho in your life, right?
Some of the rest of what Eliot said had penetrated by now, so playing along, Miss Parker asked (albeit reluctantly), "Who's your girlfriend? And... boyfriend? Well. Aren't we the lucky one."
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Date: 2017-07-15 10:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2017-07-15 03:11 pm (UTC)No, probably it was just the island having a sense of irony.
Either way, he was muzzier than usual when he woke up to Hardison shifting around. So he just reached over to tug him back into place without opening his eyes, and murmured, "s'okay, darlin'. You're jus' havin' a bad dream."
His accent was extra thick when he was sleepy. It wasn't anything near a posh Georgian one, but it was unmistakably a southern drawl. . . .
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Date: 2017-07-15 04:20 pm (UTC)Of course, it might mean that they'd kill him to keep the secret, but that was still one of the faster deaths he was envisioning in this scenario.
"Y-Y-Yes suh," he said, voice unmistakably trembling in fear. This much, he barely had to act. "But it time for me to be up anyway, so's I jes gon' leave y'all an' get back to Massa's. He'll be wantin' me soon."
He tried to sit up with as little fuss as he could, back to Eliot's eyes.
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Date: 2017-07-15 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 05:09 pm (UTC)The word he used was not 'Negroes.'
"Bes' be on my way now. But I can send one of y'all's folk up if you need somethin'?"
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Date: 2017-07-15 09:47 pm (UTC)This was bad. This was so very, very bad.
"I don't -- I don't have any --" Eliot shook his head hard. "Look, you're not in any trouble. I promise." He didn't really expect to be believed on that, but it was worth a shot. "But you are a long way from -- from home." Could that even be called 'home'? Oh jesus. "I'm Eliot. What, uh. What do they call you?"
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Date: 2017-07-16 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 05:11 pm (UTC)"We're in Maryland." Eliot really wished he could say they were further north. McRory's in Boston would be great. "You ain't gonna believe me on this but it's 2017. You ain't a slave here. Your kinda slavery, it's been gone more'n 150 years."
Fuck, what was he going to do if Noah wanted to leave? Miss Parker or whatever over there he could just yell at to sit down and shut up, but he was not going to be a white guy ordering a damn slave around.
Shit shit shit shit shit. . . .
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Date: 2017-07-16 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 06:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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