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[FIC] Exit Plans (tGE, Mac/Roger)
Title: Exit Plans
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
valmora
Rating: a light PG-13 just for dialogue; PG for content
Fandom: The Great Escape. The movie.
Pairing: Mac is really dense and doesn't realise A) that he likes Roger LIKE THAT and B) that hey, Roger likes him too, so I have to say vague subtexty unrequited Mac/Roger.
Disclaimer: Not mine; all to MGM/UA, except for the implications.
Roger, in the quiet silence of what might, perhaps, be known as two in the morning if Mac could read his watch, sits up and murmurs across the gap between bunks, “Mac?”
“Yes, Roger.” Mac has learned to coordinate his own insomnia with Roger’s constantly-working mind so that they’re both thinking almost all the time. It’s how the plans get made, and the think-sessions in the middle of the night are almost always the most productive ones.
What is best is that they do not keep their bunkmates up with their out-loud thinking.
“Mac, I –” A pause.
“What is it, Roger?”
“Nothing. Was a stupid plan anyway.” There’s the sound of Roger shifting, rolling over in his bunk, and then, “How many more feet?”
“’Bout two hundred.”
Mac listens to him think for a while, and then says, “The goons are starting to wonder. Not von Luger – he’s not starting to wonder; he’s absolutely sure we’re doing something – but the others, and they’re looking in one-oh-four and one-oh-five more often than they were.”
“Do you think they’re going to find Tom or Dick?”
“Willie says only if they get lucky. Danny says they’ll get lucky.”
“Sedgwick?”
“With Willie.”
Roger tilts his head up to look at Mac. “You?”
“Wouldn’t know, Roger. ‘S not my job.” But he’s smiling faintly, and it makes Roger smile, fast like someone would try to steal it if the expression were to stay there any longer.
“Get Hayes on it tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that. And Dick and Harry?”
“Not so worried about them.”
“’Sides, the goons haven’t been sniffing around Harry nearly as much,” Mac adds thoughtfully.
Silence, then Roger says, “Oh, and get me to sit down with the plans tomorrow for the escape, because otherwise I’ll never do it, and we’ll be all over the place.”
Mac grins up at the ceiling in the darkness. “Right, Roger.”
Roger spends a lot of time checking up on the men. Mac knows they appreciate it as much as they dislike it, because while it makes them feel like they should be standing – or in the diggers’ cases, lying – at attention and being on their best behaviour and ‘sir’-ing him, it’s comforting to feel that Big X cares about their progress, cares whether or not they get out.
If Roger didn’t spend most of his waking moments with Mac anyway, Mac would have been one of those who liked it. As it is, he likes the idea.
And it’s not just to visit, to raise morale. It’s to get reports, because they can’t exactly write the information down, and Roger has to know how things are progressing.
That Mac already knows it all is irrelevant. It’s something Roger feels he needs to do so he can co-ordinate everything, and Mac wouldn’t stand in Roger’s way even if he were of high enough rank to do so.
Mac is not, however, fool enough to believe even for a moment that Roger cares whether or not they get back to England. Roger just wants to make trouble, to gum up the works with the presence of 250 men running loose throughout Reich territory.
He wonders sometimes if Roger sees the waste of German resources when he looks at the men in the camp, or if he sees friends he’s condemning to death at the hands of the Gestapo. Mac knows which image is the one lingering in his own eyes.
While they’re making their plans for escape, the final numbers and the final arrangements, there’s a little argument.
Mac has to tell Roger that Colin might as well be blind, because he’s not going to disobey a direct order.
So he keeps going through the list while Roger goes to tell Colin that he can’t go.
When Roger comes back is when the row starts, because Mac isn’t going to stand for having Colin back in. Colin would be too much of a liability, not only to himself and his exit partner, but also to the entire scheme.
He does not comment on the fact that perhaps Molly Blythe would rather wait a little longer to have her father back than to hear that her father had been killed in the war, far away.
When he asks what made Roger change his mind, Roger says, “Hendley’s looking out for him.”
And Mac can hear it, in his mind, Hendley’s words. Let’s talk about risks, Roger. Let’s talk about you.
“Roger,” he says finally, “You’re letting yourself be blackmailed.”
“I know,” Roger answers, arms crossed tightly over his chest.
Mac pauses, then, and his gaze flicks to the table and lingers there. “If you’re worried about the Germans catching me because of you –” He lets the sentence trail off and interprets Roger’s lack of denial as accord, then adds, “I would rather that either we both escaped or neither of us did.”
Something changes in Roger’s expression. “Mac, I…”
“Yes, Roger?”
A pause, then, “Nothing. It’s not important.”
Only a day, only a day, tomorrow we’ll be out of here, tomorrow, only a day…
It runs through Mac’s head, a litany of hope, the twenty-four hours before the tunnel is opened.
Even if he could sleep anyway, he doesn’t think he would have, too wound up in worry. Perhaps he should have persuaded Roger not to go. Perhaps Roger should have gone with someone else. Perhaps they should have given Roger a disguise, or at least concealed the trademark scar beneath his eye.
Because if the Gestapo catch Roger, they’ll catch Mac, too.
But if Roger stayed in the camp, the Gestapo would kill him, no two ways about it. So it is best that Roger is going to leave.
Mac is glad that at least, no matter what happens, he and Roger are going to share the same fate.
Author:
valmoraRating: a light PG-13 just for dialogue; PG for content
Fandom: The Great Escape. The movie.
Pairing: Mac is really dense and doesn't realise A) that he likes Roger LIKE THAT and B) that hey, Roger likes him too, so I have to say vague subtexty unrequited Mac/Roger.
Disclaimer: Not mine; all to MGM/UA, except for the implications.
Roger, in the quiet silence of what might, perhaps, be known as two in the morning if Mac could read his watch, sits up and murmurs across the gap between bunks, “Mac?”
“Yes, Roger.” Mac has learned to coordinate his own insomnia with Roger’s constantly-working mind so that they’re both thinking almost all the time. It’s how the plans get made, and the think-sessions in the middle of the night are almost always the most productive ones.
What is best is that they do not keep their bunkmates up with their out-loud thinking.
“Mac, I –” A pause.
“What is it, Roger?”
“Nothing. Was a stupid plan anyway.” There’s the sound of Roger shifting, rolling over in his bunk, and then, “How many more feet?”
“’Bout two hundred.”
Mac listens to him think for a while, and then says, “The goons are starting to wonder. Not von Luger – he’s not starting to wonder; he’s absolutely sure we’re doing something – but the others, and they’re looking in one-oh-four and one-oh-five more often than they were.”
“Do you think they’re going to find Tom or Dick?”
“Willie says only if they get lucky. Danny says they’ll get lucky.”
“Sedgwick?”
“With Willie.”
Roger tilts his head up to look at Mac. “You?”
“Wouldn’t know, Roger. ‘S not my job.” But he’s smiling faintly, and it makes Roger smile, fast like someone would try to steal it if the expression were to stay there any longer.
“Get Hayes on it tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that. And Dick and Harry?”
“Not so worried about them.”
“’Sides, the goons haven’t been sniffing around Harry nearly as much,” Mac adds thoughtfully.
Silence, then Roger says, “Oh, and get me to sit down with the plans tomorrow for the escape, because otherwise I’ll never do it, and we’ll be all over the place.”
Mac grins up at the ceiling in the darkness. “Right, Roger.”
Roger spends a lot of time checking up on the men. Mac knows they appreciate it as much as they dislike it, because while it makes them feel like they should be standing – or in the diggers’ cases, lying – at attention and being on their best behaviour and ‘sir’-ing him, it’s comforting to feel that Big X cares about their progress, cares whether or not they get out.
If Roger didn’t spend most of his waking moments with Mac anyway, Mac would have been one of those who liked it. As it is, he likes the idea.
And it’s not just to visit, to raise morale. It’s to get reports, because they can’t exactly write the information down, and Roger has to know how things are progressing.
That Mac already knows it all is irrelevant. It’s something Roger feels he needs to do so he can co-ordinate everything, and Mac wouldn’t stand in Roger’s way even if he were of high enough rank to do so.
Mac is not, however, fool enough to believe even for a moment that Roger cares whether or not they get back to England. Roger just wants to make trouble, to gum up the works with the presence of 250 men running loose throughout Reich territory.
He wonders sometimes if Roger sees the waste of German resources when he looks at the men in the camp, or if he sees friends he’s condemning to death at the hands of the Gestapo. Mac knows which image is the one lingering in his own eyes.
While they’re making their plans for escape, the final numbers and the final arrangements, there’s a little argument.
Mac has to tell Roger that Colin might as well be blind, because he’s not going to disobey a direct order.
So he keeps going through the list while Roger goes to tell Colin that he can’t go.
When Roger comes back is when the row starts, because Mac isn’t going to stand for having Colin back in. Colin would be too much of a liability, not only to himself and his exit partner, but also to the entire scheme.
He does not comment on the fact that perhaps Molly Blythe would rather wait a little longer to have her father back than to hear that her father had been killed in the war, far away.
When he asks what made Roger change his mind, Roger says, “Hendley’s looking out for him.”
And Mac can hear it, in his mind, Hendley’s words. Let’s talk about risks, Roger. Let’s talk about you.
“Roger,” he says finally, “You’re letting yourself be blackmailed.”
“I know,” Roger answers, arms crossed tightly over his chest.
Mac pauses, then, and his gaze flicks to the table and lingers there. “If you’re worried about the Germans catching me because of you –” He lets the sentence trail off and interprets Roger’s lack of denial as accord, then adds, “I would rather that either we both escaped or neither of us did.”
Something changes in Roger’s expression. “Mac, I…”
“Yes, Roger?”
A pause, then, “Nothing. It’s not important.”
Only a day, only a day, tomorrow we’ll be out of here, tomorrow, only a day…
It runs through Mac’s head, a litany of hope, the twenty-four hours before the tunnel is opened.
Even if he could sleep anyway, he doesn’t think he would have, too wound up in worry. Perhaps he should have persuaded Roger not to go. Perhaps Roger should have gone with someone else. Perhaps they should have given Roger a disguise, or at least concealed the trademark scar beneath his eye.
Because if the Gestapo catch Roger, they’ll catch Mac, too.
But if Roger stayed in the camp, the Gestapo would kill him, no two ways about it. So it is best that Roger is going to leave.
Mac is glad that at least, no matter what happens, he and Roger are going to share the same fate.
Love It.
Nice writing. I enjoyed it!
(This isn't my fave fave slash pairing though. I'm a big Hendley/Blythe 'shipper, personally. I guess I should write something with them... LOL.)
As for Mac/Roger, keep bringing it on. That's one of my all-time fave movies, so I love reading slash based on it!
Angsty, of course, all of it! But hell, so good!
Thanks for sharing,
Brian
Re: Love It.
It's a large number of men isolated in the same space for several months, working together on the same project. C'mon, what do you expect?
Also, I don't know how long it's been since you saw the movie, but the two tunnel kings, Danny and Willie? It's like someone's been smacking you in the face with the "subtext". Repeatedly.
I'm a big Hendley/Blythe 'shipper
I thought about writing something for that, but never got around to it. Not sure why. You should write it; I'd read it and rec it to another tGE ficcer that I know (
keep bringing it on
I intend to.
But for now - you might appreciate this. (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=valmora&keyword=%22The+Great+Escape%22+fanfics&filter=all)
Angsty, of course, all of it! But hell, so good!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. ^_^
no subject
Randomly, I love this bit of dialogue:
“Do you think they’re going to find Tom or Dick?”
“Willie says only if they get lucky. Danny says they’ll get lucky.”
“Sedgwick?”
“With Willie.”
Roger tilts his head up to look at Mac. “You?”
“Wouldn’t know, Roger. ‘S not my job.”
It just seems to fit really well with their characters, and with the personalities of the characters they're talking about.
I love this bit, too:
Mac has learned to coordinate his own insomnia with Roger’s constantly-working mind so that they’re both thinking almost all the time. It’s how the plans get made, and the think-sessions in the middle of the night are almost always the most productive ones
I can just imagine them, talking in the night. Well, or not talking.
I think that all the subtext in this fic paints a very accurate picture of their relationship - how it is, and how it could be. Nice job.
Also? Awwww! So cute!
(I need to make myself some Great Escape icons. Hmmm....)
no subject
I also have a color of Danny lying in the tunnel, no Willie.
I can photoshop a few words onto it; I can't do a moving icon, though.
no subject
I intended it to be just talking, but Roger wishes it weren't talking. So does Mac, but he doesn't know it. XD
I'm glad you liked it!
no subject
"Oh, and get me to sit down with the plans tomorrow for the escape, because otherwise I’ll never do it, and we’ll be all over the place."
And I never thought, but it must have been Mac who told Roger about Colin.
When he asks what made Roger change his mind, Roger says, "Hendley’s looking out for him."
And damn movie with it's whatsit of impending doom.
:high-pitched, yet doomed moment of squee:
no subject
I'm glad you like it.
Roger and Mac sound like themselves
Oh, GOOD. It took a lot of work, so that was reassuring to hear. =)
with it's whatsit of impending doom.
Indeed. Because we know Roger was going to declare undying love there right at the end. XD
no subject
However - I made a TGE music vid. It's Roger-centric with a little Roger/Mac.
If you're interested - the link's here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/lakester/17814.html)
no subject
OMG YOU JUST MADE MY DAY. NO JOKE. ::glomps roger!Richard Attenborough::
Would it be all right if I recced this on the main page of my LJ?
And I don't know whether self-promotion is tacky or not, but if you're going to be debatably tacky, then so am I (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=valmora&keyword=%22The+Great+Escape%22+fanfics&filter=all).
no subject
If you'd like to that'd be cool.
:wanders off to browse your memories: