Fic: Pure Imagination
Apr. 21st, 2010 09:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedlamsbardTitle: Pure Imagination
Author:bedlamsbard
Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia/Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971, though (I think) canon-compliant with the Roald Dahl novel) (and bonus third crossover!)
Rating: PG
Summary: "You can't live on dreams forever, Willy." Susan Pevensie and Willy Wonka have a history.
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia and its characters, settings, situations, etc., belong to C.S. Lewis. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and its characters, settings, situations, etc., belong to Roald Dahl.
"You can't live on dreams forever, Willy," Susan says, rolling over onto her back and licking chocolate sauce off her fingers.
"They're not dreams," Willy says, sounding insulted. "I'm going to make it happen, Susan --"
She shakes her head. "Candy's a dream. You should get a real job --"
"I don't want a job. I want --"
She raises an eyebrow at him, and shuts him up by leaning up on an elbow and saying, "You missed a spot."
He grins at her. "Want to remove it for me?" he says, and she laughs, and leans over to lick the chocolate off the corner of his mouth.
*
"I have something for you," Willy says, practically bouncing in place, and Susan laughs and says, "Really?"
"I do," he says, and leans forward. "Is it -- here? No, that's not right at all," he adds, depositing what appears to be a gumball in her hand. "Here? That's not right either!" It's a heart-shaped chocolate piece this time. "Well, third time's the time --" and he pulls a spun-sugar rose out from behind her ear and presents it to her triumphantly.
"Careful chewing," he says. "You wouldn't want to break a tooth."
*
Willy shows up at her door looking frantic and travel-worn two weeks after the accident. "Susan, Susan, I just heard, I'm so sorry --"
She slaps him. He reels back, looking hurt, and says, "Susan, I'm sorry, I just had to -- I've got this idea for a fantastic new chocolate bar, and I just signed the lease on the land for the factory --"
"Get out!" she screams at him. "Get out, get out, get out!"
"Susan, wait --"
She slams the door in his face, ignoring his frantic shouts as he pounds on it, and sinks to the floor with her back against it, sobbing. She'd looked for him, called him, but he'd run off on one of his wild goose chases, and she can't deal with this, can't deal with his dreams that never come to fruition.
Susan looks down at her hands, at the small, neat diamond that he'd presented to her at the heart of a spun sugar rose, and yanks it off. She opens the door just long enough to fling it at him and scream, "I never want to see you again!" before slamming the door again.
*
Susan reads the papers and listens to the radio, same as anyone else, and it would be funny that Willy gets bigger and bigger, except it's not. She sits on the ratty couch in her flat with a bottle of cheap white wine and toasts him, says, "I'm glad someone's dream came true."
When he closes his factory, she thinks of buying a ticket, banging on the iron gates to see if he'll let her in, but she never does.
*
"Wonka bar, Miss Pevensie?" says Paul at the grocery when Susan's there, trying to avoid being jostled by children mad for Golden Tickets and mostly failing. Paul fancies her, which Susan thinks is sweet, considering she must be at least ten years older than him and remembers when he only came up to her waist. "I put a few aside 'specially for you --"
"No, thank you," Susan says politely. "I don't like sweets."
"You don't have to eat it," he wheedles, "just see if there's a ticket --"
"No, thank you, Paul," she says again. "Save it for one of them," she adds, wincing as a pair of girls wrestle for the last Wonka bar on the shelf and Paul hurries over to separate them.
*
The morning that the five lucky children and their parents go in, Susan watches the television while she prepares her lunch for the day. Willy's aged, but he's done it well. He's gotten more eccentric as well, she thinks; the fact that Lucy always liked him should have been a sign.
She puts the knife she's been using to chop up carrots down when the mail door rattles and goes to get the mail, putting her bills aside as she picks up a package that has two intertwined W's for the return address. She opens it slowly, listening to the television absently, and pulls out a card. On one side it says, I wish I could have sent you a ticket, and on the other it says, Eat this card. I know you don't like sweets, but I made it special for you.
Susan puts the corner of the card in her mouth and takes a small bite; it melts on her tongue like spun sugar but tastes like the sweetest apple she'd ever eaten in Narnia.
*
"Su," says Fenella, who teaches foreign languages, "Su, you absolutely must come to Fritton's office right away."
"What for?" Susan says, putting down the chalk she's holding and wiping her hands clean on her skirt. Her girls look fascinated.
Fenella just grins, catching her arm as Susan goes to the door. "Tell me all the details!"
"Of what?" Susan calls after her, but doesn't get an answer.
She sighs and takes the stairs up to the headmistress's office, where she finds Jackie fluttering around outside with a pot of tea.
"Susan!" she shrieks when she sees her. "Susan, I can't believe you didn't tell me --"
"Tell you what?" Susan says, utterly bewildered, and knocks once before going in.
The headmistress is nowhere in sight, but Willy turns around from where he's poking at knickknacks on her desk and says, "Hello, Susan," and produces a spun sugar rose.
end
Author:
bedlamsbardFandom: Chronicles of Narnia/Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971, though (I think) canon-compliant with the Roald Dahl novel) (and bonus third crossover!)
Rating: PG
Summary: "You can't live on dreams forever, Willy." Susan Pevensie and Willy Wonka have a history.
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia and its characters, settings, situations, etc., belong to C.S. Lewis. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and its characters, settings, situations, etc., belong to Roald Dahl.
"You can't live on dreams forever, Willy," Susan says, rolling over onto her back and licking chocolate sauce off her fingers.
"They're not dreams," Willy says, sounding insulted. "I'm going to make it happen, Susan --"
She shakes her head. "Candy's a dream. You should get a real job --"
"I don't want a job. I want --"
She raises an eyebrow at him, and shuts him up by leaning up on an elbow and saying, "You missed a spot."
He grins at her. "Want to remove it for me?" he says, and she laughs, and leans over to lick the chocolate off the corner of his mouth.
*
"I have something for you," Willy says, practically bouncing in place, and Susan laughs and says, "Really?"
"I do," he says, and leans forward. "Is it -- here? No, that's not right at all," he adds, depositing what appears to be a gumball in her hand. "Here? That's not right either!" It's a heart-shaped chocolate piece this time. "Well, third time's the time --" and he pulls a spun-sugar rose out from behind her ear and presents it to her triumphantly.
"Careful chewing," he says. "You wouldn't want to break a tooth."
*
Willy shows up at her door looking frantic and travel-worn two weeks after the accident. "Susan, Susan, I just heard, I'm so sorry --"
She slaps him. He reels back, looking hurt, and says, "Susan, I'm sorry, I just had to -- I've got this idea for a fantastic new chocolate bar, and I just signed the lease on the land for the factory --"
"Get out!" she screams at him. "Get out, get out, get out!"
"Susan, wait --"
She slams the door in his face, ignoring his frantic shouts as he pounds on it, and sinks to the floor with her back against it, sobbing. She'd looked for him, called him, but he'd run off on one of his wild goose chases, and she can't deal with this, can't deal with his dreams that never come to fruition.
Susan looks down at her hands, at the small, neat diamond that he'd presented to her at the heart of a spun sugar rose, and yanks it off. She opens the door just long enough to fling it at him and scream, "I never want to see you again!" before slamming the door again.
*
Susan reads the papers and listens to the radio, same as anyone else, and it would be funny that Willy gets bigger and bigger, except it's not. She sits on the ratty couch in her flat with a bottle of cheap white wine and toasts him, says, "I'm glad someone's dream came true."
When he closes his factory, she thinks of buying a ticket, banging on the iron gates to see if he'll let her in, but she never does.
*
"Wonka bar, Miss Pevensie?" says Paul at the grocery when Susan's there, trying to avoid being jostled by children mad for Golden Tickets and mostly failing. Paul fancies her, which Susan thinks is sweet, considering she must be at least ten years older than him and remembers when he only came up to her waist. "I put a few aside 'specially for you --"
"No, thank you," Susan says politely. "I don't like sweets."
"You don't have to eat it," he wheedles, "just see if there's a ticket --"
"No, thank you, Paul," she says again. "Save it for one of them," she adds, wincing as a pair of girls wrestle for the last Wonka bar on the shelf and Paul hurries over to separate them.
*
The morning that the five lucky children and their parents go in, Susan watches the television while she prepares her lunch for the day. Willy's aged, but he's done it well. He's gotten more eccentric as well, she thinks; the fact that Lucy always liked him should have been a sign.
She puts the knife she's been using to chop up carrots down when the mail door rattles and goes to get the mail, putting her bills aside as she picks up a package that has two intertwined W's for the return address. She opens it slowly, listening to the television absently, and pulls out a card. On one side it says, I wish I could have sent you a ticket, and on the other it says, Eat this card. I know you don't like sweets, but I made it special for you.
Susan puts the corner of the card in her mouth and takes a small bite; it melts on her tongue like spun sugar but tastes like the sweetest apple she'd ever eaten in Narnia.
*
"Su," says Fenella, who teaches foreign languages, "Su, you absolutely must come to Fritton's office right away."
"What for?" Susan says, putting down the chalk she's holding and wiping her hands clean on her skirt. Her girls look fascinated.
Fenella just grins, catching her arm as Susan goes to the door. "Tell me all the details!"
"Of what?" Susan calls after her, but doesn't get an answer.
She sighs and takes the stairs up to the headmistress's office, where she finds Jackie fluttering around outside with a pot of tea.
"Susan!" she shrieks when she sees her. "Susan, I can't believe you didn't tell me --"
"Tell you what?" Susan says, utterly bewildered, and knocks once before going in.
The headmistress is nowhere in sight, but Willy turns around from where he's poking at knickknacks on her desk and says, "Hello, Susan," and produces a spun sugar rose.
end
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-22 03:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-22 05:36 pm (UTC)