[luluxa]

Speirs/Lipton, 460 words.

It is a known fact that Ronald Speirs has a very intimate relationship with other people’s property. He comes by, he sees it, and he decides he’ll take it, usually without even a thank-you.

So he takes someone else’s wife and she gives him a child as well – not something he wanted, in fact, but he can’t deny it, can he? He takes cigarettes, lighters, ammunition and occasionally lives from his fellow soldiers – with a thank-you, granted, but not exactly in agreement with the previous owners. It seems that he doesn’t even notice there is a disagreement to begin with, since he asked and been given, and even thanked them afterwards. He takes silver and silk and everything he likes, really, from the abandoned German houses, and things fall into his hands easily, like they always wanted to be there, in his possessive effortless grip.

Eventually, he takes over a whole company without a word, and for a change, no-one argues about that one.

Speirs gives away as well – not as easily as he takes, but in amounts some people might find excessive. He gives the cigarettes he took to German prisoners and then gives them a load of bullets – truly a wide gesture and just as macabre. He gives Blithe some words of wisdom – wisdom large and heavy enough to destroy a soul. He gives all the silver he steals to his newly acquired wife, and never gets a thank-you in return.

Then again, he gives his loyalty and everything he’s able of to his newly acquired company, and even if a thank-you is unspoken, it’s there and it’s just as large as his actions.

When Lipton finally realizes he’s been taken too, it doesn’t surprise him a bit. He comes with Easy, after all, and Easy belongs to Speirs now, wholly and wholeheartedly. Lip doesn’t mind belonging to Speirs – it comes naturally to him and it feels right. Speirs takes Lip’s personal space and his private time, he takes Lip’s words and service, he takes his body too – his kisses, his touches, anything that Lip’s ready to offer, and gives his soul in return. At first that does surprise Lip – a soft and open smile is about as shocking as all the death he spreads around, but then Lip grows used to it, and taking it over and over again becomes a vital necessity. Speirs doesn’t ask for Lip’s soul when he gives away his, but he takes it anyway, just as obliviously and effortlessly as a pack of smokes from an unfocused soldier.

He sometimes takes too much and gives too much to handle, but Lip can handle a lot and giving was never a problem to him, so he thinks their balance is perfectly fine.