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Title: Everybody Wang Chung
Author: Poet
http://www.oocities.org/norseblue/main.html
http://www.oocities.org/norseblue/myfic/myfic.html
Rimmer surprises Lister with an AR disco. A sequel to "Lovers of the Apocalypse" and "Come and Ease the Pain," but you needn't have read those first.
A pretty tame Lister/Rimmer thing. As for ownership... They're mine, mine I tell you! All mine!! Oh look! Those nice young men in their clean white coats are coming to take me away...
Notes: I've only seen series 5, 6, and 7 and just a handful of the rest of the eps, so grade on a curve.
Warnings: Rated PG. There's sap, there's guy-luvin', there's extraneous commas. If you don't think you can handle any of that (I know those commas can really get to people), now is the time to get.
Dedicated to Dervla cuz I've apparently stolen one of her ideas. Whoops! ::looks sheepish:: Sorry, Derv. Also dedicated to Tronny cuz I seem to be the only one who hasn't patted her on the head yet, and this seems as good a time as any. ::pats Tronny's little punkin' head:: There, I feel much better! Oh! I almost forgot... dedicated to Davy, who's still in the Navy and probably will be for life... (09/14/01)
~*~~*~~*~
Everybody
Wang Chung
by Poet
~*~
"I *said* keep 'em closed, Listy." The hologram pressed his palms to his companion's eyes, with no intention of moving them anytime soon apparently. When Lister made an attempt at prying the hands from his face, Rimmer continued in his weaseliest voice, "Do you really want me to sing all twenty-three stanzas of the Space Corps Anthem before I let you have your surprise?"
"Again?" Lister whined. "Rimmer man, how many times in one day can you *do* that?" He thought a second and realized he really didn't want to give the hologram any ideas. "Wait, no! Forget I mentioned it!"
"You sure? We've got nearly eleven hours until breakfast... I should be able to get in at least five more renditions before your onion cornflakes get soggy. You know, recently I've begun performing a 'Full-Rimmer' salute on every third verse. Would you like to see?" he asked eagerly.
"No man, no, I promise! I'll be good." All hints of rebellion were gone from Lister's voice.
Rimmer smiled serenely. //I thought that would do the trick.// "Marvellous! Now if you're *sure* you're quite ready, you can have your surprise."
Lister sighed. "Yes, I'm smeggin' sure."
"Fantastic! Now, if you'll give me just a moment... Play!" he called out to no one in particular.
~*~
Suddenly Lister's ears were filled with synthesized rhythms and pounding bass. A loud voice announced to the populace in general that we can dance if we want to and that we can leave our cares behind. Though he still couldn't see anything, with the exception of the back of Rimmer's hands, Lister could smell something he never expected to again. Sweat. Real sweat. The kind of sweat only of a couple hundred people swaying and writhing in very close quarters could achieve with any authenticity.
A disco. Rimmer had made him a disco.
"Wow."
"Yeah." The hands were removed from Lister's face, and his eyes were met by flashing lights of every color.
"Wow."
"You've already said that." He could feel Rimmer smiling behind him. A young woman, clad in an extremely tight-fitting black outfit brushed against Lister on her way to the bar, and he could feel Rimmer *stop* smiling. When the woman turned back and gestured coyly for Lister to follow her, Rimmer began to head in that direction, grumbling under his breath about how he didn't remember having programmed *her*.
Laughing, Lister caught his hand and pulled him back, standing on tip-toe yell into the taller man's ear in an attempt the be heard above the loud music. "You did this for me?"
"No. I actually intended this for that rubber-headed eunuch, Kryten. Just thought I'd test it out on you first." Casting a glance toward the woman at the bar he continued, "Make sure the trollops and hussies were working properly."
"Oh, in that case..." Lister made to follow Rimmer's computer generated "trollop" but was stopped by a restraining hand from the hologram.
"Not on your life, m'laddo!" Lister turned to face Rimmer for the first time since they'd entered the disco simulation and pulled him into a bone-shaking, teeth-melting kiss.
"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." When the other man refused to meet his gaze, Lister grasped the hologrammatic chin until hazel eyes were staring into his own chocolate ones. "Ever. Thank you."
Rimmer's only response was a smile. A real smile. It was something Lister'd been seeing more of recently, since they'd started dating or sleeping together or whatever it was they were doing, but he still didn't get to see it near often enough.
It was smeggin' brilliant.
~*~~*~~*~
Spinning on that
dizzy edge,
I kissed her face and kissed her head,
And dreamed of all the different ways I had
To make her glow.
"Why are you
so far away?" she said.
"Why won't you ever know,
That I'm in love with you,
That I'm in love with you?"
~*~~*~~*~
A/N: The soundtrack for this story is available from JMC Music Group, Inc., at your local Red Dwarf Shopping Mall. Included on the DAT: "Everybody Wang Chung," Wang Chung; "The Safety Dance," Men Without Hats, and "Just Like Heaven," The Cure.
~*~
Please send any comments or feedback to Poet279@aol.com
:)