Log; Complete [Part 2}

[silkcutremix.livejournal.com]

When; Apr. 5th
Rating; R (language)
Characters; John Constantine [silkcutremix ], The Corinthian [bitingnightmare ]
Summary; John. Dentist. Deja vu.
Log;

"Hmm, Collier, John Collier," called the voice of a young man.  He looked like he might be fresh out of dentistry school, but he knew how to work teeth right and proper.  His hazel eyes shifted to the seated pair expectantly.

----

John gave the Corinthian a false confused look: Who? John Collier who? There is no John Collier here. He had a young punk work on his hair. He was not going to let a young punk work on his teeth (his perfectly fine teeth) to top it all off.

----

Well the nightmare certainly wasn't going to answer himself, but he did reach over to give John's hand a solid pat.  Nothing to be afraid of, and this dentist did not look like some young punk graduate!  On the contrary, Cori thought he looked a bit too good to be a damn dentist.

"That must be you," the young man with smooth chestnut brown hair smiled to 'Mr. Collier'.  He gestured to one of the doors.  "If you please."

----

John grunted but he slowly got up and followed. The look he flashed his white-blonde companion was something not quite venomous but very much wanted to be.

"I can't say I fancy dentists," he grumbled, not really caring if this punky graduate (sod the dentist!) heard or not.

----

Indignant was the word that came to the white blonde companion's mind.  As long as Constantine didn't shed his trademark coat for the furry one Cori had no reason to complain.  He accepted the look coolly as the young dentist led John away.

"Not many people do," said the dentist, "I'm Dr. Wilson by the way."  He offered John his hand, ever so friendly despite the magician's demeanor.

----

John had considered donning the white coat from the usual brown, nevermind what the Corinthian would think. Doubt he could get far either, those two wheels faster than four legs, but he had yet to see a motorcycle jump a fence without a ramp.

He gave the hand a loot as if it were a shark, but he slowly took it in a firm grip with cold, clammy palms.

"Hullo then." The friendly demeanor still was countered with that icy indifferent one of the magician's.

----

That would be painful, a blow to his feelings not to mention it would leave chainlink marks on the nightmare's handsome face.  Carefully shaded teeth eyes watched the interaction between John and Dr. Wilson.  The dentist returned the blonde's handshake firmly, feeling the coolness in his skin.

"It must have been a long time," he said with a smile before holding the door open so that John could enter the fated room.  "Please have a seat," he gestured to the chair.

----

John scrutinized the chair but he entered the room like a good little lamb off to slaughter, settling into the vinyl about as cold as a chills running through his blood. Despite his inner turmoil, he was still, poker faced with no annoying little twitches or quirks to occupy him. Instead his eyes studied every corner of the room, his

----

"You wouldn't be the first scared patient I've had at your age," the dentist shook his head, trying to make John feel more comfortable, but then he reconsidered.  No, he didn't want to *insult* Constantine by implying he was old.

Dr. Wilson's mannerisms were that of a confident young man, trying to do his best where patient-doctor relations were concerned.  He held his pen a certain way, at an angle like how Cori held his cigarettes.  "Please, gargle some of that water and spit it out in the drain," he gestured to the funnel at the chairside.

----

Calling Constantine old was water off the magus' back, although it was grounds for a snappy comeback. A small part of Constantine said the dentist was only doing his job. but the majority snarled in reply that he did not want to be there. His similar minute mannerisms to Cori was a small point of interest however; he had to be neat and obsessive-compulsive.

He took the cup, his hand not visibly shaking but feeling unsteady, taking a mouthful of the very pure, very clean tasting water and gargling. He also spat it up on the floor out of his spite but no, into the funnel.

----

Very neat, as neat as his chair and instruments, though Dr. Wilson's handwriting was illegible as most doctors' were (Cori's was legible).  He smiled, glad to see that this Collier fellow was at least following his requests despite his poor conversation skills.  Ahh finally he set his pen in his pocket and reached for... The Tube.

"All right, lean back and open your mouth please," asked the dentist as the tube made its low vacuum sound.

----

John's stomach tightened but he complied. He could not exactly recall what it was that made a shit of a lot of noise but it couldn't have been that thing. The thing that had hurt him was much sharper. Where were the tools again? The thought of them, rows of them, gleaming and all sharp, was making his mouth dry.

(Chin up, old son. Are you saying this bloody office is scarier than friggin' Hell?

Sod that. There must be plenty of dentists in Hell.)

----

The tube reached in to begin sucking away the saliva that had already started to dry out in Constantine's mouth.  From here Dr. Wilson could see the man must not have been to a dentist in a long time, hardly annually.  His teeth were a bit crooked and the coloration left something to be desired.

"Do you smoke or drink a lot of coffee, Mr. Collier," asked the dentist after removing the tube.  "You can nod or shake your head," he insisted while reaching for the handy mirror tool and the small curved pick.

----

John's stomach coiled harder. He nodded a yes; he could not cover up and lie about a pack of Silk Cut a day. Who was he to have straight teeth anyway? What did he look like, a bloody celebrity? He wasn't David friggin' Bowie, he was aware of that but he wasn't known for his smashing teeth either.

----

David Bowie had spent a good 20,000 pounds to get his teeth fixed as demanded by his lovely wife Iman.  But unlike the duke, the magus did not have such money at his disposal nor did he have a demanding wife.  Pick pick pick, the tool scratched a bit at his teeth, the mirror widening at portions of his inner cheek.

"Well I'll be honest with you, Mr. Collier.  Your teeth could stand to use a little bit of work, mostly cosmetic which is impressive for a smoker," he nodded, "at this point however I don't think we could realign everything back to a hundred percent without surgery."  He tapped a crown at the back of his mouth with the pick.

"What kind of products do you brush with," asked the dentist as he removed the tools.

----

"'Atevar 'e 'ate 'ses," shrugged the magus as the other man scratched and picked at plaque among other things. John never paid too much attention to what went on his toothbrush, frequently changed due to quickly accumulating odors at that.

----

"Well you can stand to have a little whitening, at the least, I was told to ask what you'd like to do," Dr. Wilson nodded while rinsing the pick.  He really couldn't understand what John had said, but judging from the way he said it the dentist had picked up his accent.

"The gums around your lower canine indicate a little trauma, nothing serious but I should ask, did something happen to it before your visit?"

----

The tools freed from his mouth this time, the magus tried that speech thing again: "Sending me off would be a brilliant idea, if anything. Me tooth got a little knocked around the other day but it's fine now. Can I piss off already?"

----

"Knocked around?  It didn't seem loose but if the root decays you *might* have a problem," Dr. Wilson nodded curiously.  "Mr. Collier, are you sure?  At least a cleaning, a little whitening, your smile's part of your image you know," he said with his own smile, teeth perfectly aligned and perfectly clean.

----

Sigh. John could care less about a pretty clean smile that looked bloody bleached. Although, ol' Cori might like it... Pah. Might as well do it for him if anything. "What can you do about the root decay shite?"

----

"An x-ray would be prudent but if you aren't experiencing pain at the site all you'd have to do is monitor it.  When it starts to smell a little funny that's when you come back to me," he gave John another brilliant smile.

"It's been only a few days, if there's no increasing pain then I think you'd be fine.  But you can always come back to let me have a look if you'd like..."  Dr. Wilson nodded once, "how about that cleaning then?  Top it off with a whitening?"

----

Grumble mutter shit shit. "Those then." The magus sank even further into the chair, trying to meditate on something other than a slowly unearthing bitter childhood memory.

----

"Excellent," Dr. Wilson said almost too happily, "I guarantee you'll feel better about your smile afterwards."  He pulled a tray around to John's side.  "Please wash again," the dentist requested while arranging his tools.

Some of them *looked* like drills, others more like a miniaturized version of something one would use to buff the wax on their car.

----

For Cori, for- Oh Jesus.

("You useless sack of shit!"

The fist cracked against his smaller jaw, sending him to the floor. He sniffled and spat something solid up with the blood, a harsh pain throbbing through one of his teeth. It was hard not to cry; men did not cry. Boys did. He was a man, still a man as he looked up at his father as he towered over him. His viciously stern look was so far away. His remaining arm was strong with a hard fist.

The boy said nothing, but only a hint of softness giving through the mask of anger on his father's hardened face had clued him into the whirlwind of events afterwards: the little chunks in the bloody pulp, the moment of silence, the arm grab, the tension in the car seat, ending with him in a chair in some seedly little office with a grinning man standing over him. He felt tiny in the cold chair.

"My my my, that looks bad. It looks like it's all going to have to come out, son. It's only a baby tooth."

Pliers.)

"Buggering fuck!" the magus howled, smacking the tray should it be even daring to try to block his escape from the chair, the man beelining for the door.

----

"What the--!!" Dr. Wilson jumped back with surprise, arms coming up to shield his face as the sharp tools went flying.  They weren't lethal, in fact they were the top of the line supplies for a simple cleaning.  "Jessica," he shouted in warning to the receptionist outside.

Ahh but the first person on the other side of that door (which opened inward thank god) was the Corinthian.

----

John stopped, his eyes wide with a very deep and personal horror, his breath coming out in shallow gasps. He wanted to break that doorknob off.

"Cori," he wheezed with an uncharacteristic squeak. "Hullo."

----

".........."  The nightmare was confused for a moment, his brows furrowing.  He'd expected to have to detain John or worse yet have the blonde barrel right through him, not stop in his tracks.  For now Cori remained in the doorway.  "What's wrong," he asked.

"Mr. Collier please stop," said the dentist with a wave of his hand, "don't do anything harmful."  That was when he noticed the white blonde's teeth.

----

John right now was a far different contrast from the cool, collected magus the rest of the world had been familiar with. "My teeth are alright and just need watching. Something else hurts. See you around, squire!" He exploded past or even into Cori, deadset on getting out of the office.

Let the dentist be impressed and distracted with Cori's sets!

----

Cori wasn't buying it.  Was the dentist that bad?  Fortunately Dr. Wilson had gestured to the receptionist that calling security was *not* necessary.  The nightmare didn't particularly care, being one to easily take out a civilian or two... when necessary that is.  He stumbled aside when John pushed past him.

"Wait--!?  John!"  The Corinthian growled, paying no mind to the other two as he turned to run after the blonde.  He reached out to snatch the Englishman's wrist.

----

John was very intent on getting away. The Corinthian's fingers slid along the man's hand, which he could have caught very bristly hairs mixing with the finer ones. The magus very practiced, slipping between shapes was a very fluid ordeal, a moment's slowing down to ensure that the rearranged muscles and bones were aligned properly and off he went down the hall.

Sort of. The magus usually had the luxury of stripping down. Here, his trousers had hardly any grip around his much slimmer waist and belly, leading to a cumbersome and pathetically humorous kicking stride. He stumbled when too much had fallen and tangled his hind legs. His forelegs caught his tie ("Hllllck!"). Lengthening feet stumbled in cramping shoes.

He used "John Collier" for a reason. No one better had say a word...

----

The nightmare was swift and true, a speedkiller though his intention at the moment was not to kill the poor shifting magus.  Cori took a leap forward and stomped his foot down on John's clothes, seeing how it was giving the blonde trouble.  He immediately crouched forward to capture the man in his arms.

"Stop, what the hell is your problem!?"

----

John almost snapped, just almost, but his head whirled around and teeth flashed without biting. The growl was tiny (and maybe a little surreal for those surrounding them): "You remind me of me pop."

----

He ignored the flash of teeth, practically used to it by now which could one day be the nightmare's undoing...  Cori struggled with the manbeast, his shades starting to slip from the effort, until he heard those words.  He knew what Thomas Constantine was like.  The Corinthian released the magician.

"What...?"

----

John puckered his muzzle, then it all softened away. "S'like pulling teeth," he softly whined. Every replay of dear ol' dad socking him in the jaw, the car, the dentist, every granule of memory and moment in constant triggered recall had torn at him. He was pinned to the floor by the nightmare but at the very least the dogged magus had stopped struggling.

----

"John tell me what the hell you're talking about," he insisted.  It was like pulling teeth, Cori constantly badgering him to speak up (and not keep secrets).  He sat back on the floor, now that the wolfmagus was no longer struggling.  The Corinthian readjusted his shades.  "What do you mean."

----

He bared his teeth again, although more to suppress what gnawed at him than at Cori. Another hazy whine in his throat. Better to whine than cry. Men may have not cried but wolves could not at all, even if they had wanted to, even if John wanted to right now. He rested his heavy head on the floor.

"Dad took out one of me teeth. Not all of it came out so the rest was pulled. He liked to... cut corners." Not unlike an abortion meant for him (he squeezed his eyes shut). 

----

Those teeth eyes turned downward in a frown.  He hadn't known that... he should have known it or at least questioned it before dragging the man to the clinic, just like that Thomas would.  Cori reached out to pet John between the ears.

"I didn't know," the Corinthian said quietly, somewhat ashamed (of himself).

----

"I'd rather you not." John let himself be at the mercy of gravity, a flat, miserable thing against the carpet. "Hand me... me trousers. I'll try again."

----

"You don't have to if it's that bad," he shook his head, giving the flat miserable ploppish fur thing another stroke along his head.  "I shouldn't have forced you," Cori said with a mild huff, "maybe later..."

----

John sucked in his breath and gave a much stronger and deeper huff in return. He wasn't as stupid and simpering enough to retreat completely into the canine mind, as lovely as those slow strokes felt. Instead he craned his head up towards him. "What do you think?" and  then he "grinned" as full as he could manage. It was a grotesque grimace but the nightmare was a man (of sorts) with three of them.

----

He wasn't sure to believe that grin or not, unsure if John was forcing himself to undergo such a procedure for his pride (or for the nightmare).  Cori felt a bit selfish, it was cosmetic after all, nothing life threatening if the Englishman could shift and not have that canine fall out.

With a soft huff the Corinthian ran his fingers through his own hair.  "What do you want, John," he asked, "I can take you back or I can take you home."

----

The grin went away. Those blue eyes flicked up and down the nightmare's form before glancing at the floor for a moment, then back to shade-contact to tell Cori that his typically dishonest words were true. "Mate, I," he stumbled in a mutter. "I want to make you happy."

----

"...... ...."  The Corinthian's brow furrowed again despite the faint smile that crossed his lips.  "We're not talking about me right now, we're talking about you," he reminded the magician with a brief flick to his ear.

"What'd he say about the tooth," asked the nightmare, "if it's fine then that's all you need, right?"

----

John did not enjoy that flick too much. Sensitive ears and that, nevermind that they were many times fold from his normal ones. "S'not bothering me, it should be alright. Root decay if not. It shifts with me so it's a part of me an' me body knows it.

"'Sides, Cori." He pressed his nose into his hand should it have been close enough. "You make me happy. Why can't I do the same for you?" *Making up for the years of misery for others, bugger me withered shrunken cock of a conscience.*

----

"Getting your fucking smile brightened up isn't something I need," the nightmare countered, feeling the wet nose in his palm.  He curved his fingers as if to cap the end of his muzzle in a light-hearted gesture.  "Getting you to smile period makes me happy enough, keeping you in good health, all that sort of thing too," Cori nodded.

After a moment's thought he leaned over to brush his chin along that sensitive ear.  "How about I try it?  I don't have a license but I'm pretty good at polishing," teeth he meant.

----

"Better you than anyone else." Those whiskers tickled the nightmare's palm as his jaws moved with magically induced speech, complete with perfect articulation. "Think this set would be easier to clean that me smaller one.

"Wouldn't clean teeth go under that 'good health' category anyway?"

----

"A little, yeah," Cori admitted, regarding the cleanliness of his teeth.  He was a bit of an oral health freak, he could acknowledge that.  One wondered how John had gotten this far without his teeth rotting out then.  "I'll do it," he nodded once, whether it was the magician's elongated mouth or nicotine stained one.

"I'll tell Zatanna something came up," added the nightmare before his hand slid under John's large head to gently grip some of that fur, "but I'm counting on you to reverse her spell if she does anything."

----

Constantine's trademark smug grin had trickled back, the sure expression there even behind those white furred features and black lips. No wolf would do that. Constantine did in assured spades.

"Zee's a woman. She could stand to listen to a sod storya' mine or two. Honest ones even. They're supposed to be more understanding, aren't they?

"Now get me my friggin' trousers. I'm not walking out of here like this." He cast a searching eye for the receptionist, the dentist, anyone that might be watching, if just for his own curious eye. Was this a normal scene? Probably fucking not.

----

Too bad the illusionist wasn't available to hear that remark, she was above spying on the pair after all.  Zatanna liked to believe she had an understanding nature because she was Zatanna Zatara too, not because of what made up her reproductive system.  On the other hand she had no qualms blaming the men and their stupidity on their balls.

"I'm sure she'd love to hear that," Cori smirked while sliding John's pants and trousers to him.  Both dentist and receptionist were still watching from the desk, morbidly fascinated though they couldn't hear the conversation.

----

"Yeah, she'd slug me for it." However the lady magician wished to interpret that anyway. John wasn't too sure if he would like another fist on a collision course with his jaw. "But who else will I harvest me share of pity from?"

Bastard for a reason, even if he truly respected women despite his words. His joints and bones already reshaping, starting in his forelegs, the paws lengthened into fingers, taking the garments and sliding them on without shame as the rest of him emerged from the thick hair. Funny how he hardly noticed the dulling of senses as his world warped with his altering body. The first few times had disoriented him, even made him nauseous. Now it was something like an elevator stopping, a brief discomfort and distraction from the more serious reality around them.

But, zipping his trousers, John felt much better. He pulled himself up and dusted himself off, adjusting that too tight tie. He pulled up his socks and retrived his shoes.

"You," he looked at the receptionist, then the dentist, "and you, this was another usual dental visit. Cori was a good boy. I was a good boy. Me teeth are fine. You will tell Zatanna that the checkup went well and me teeth are in fine shape. There were no problems.

"On top of that, get me a sucker. Grape."

----

The interpretation of 'slug' was largely circumstantial, situational, fleeting as most womens' fancies were...  Ahem, at least in the opinion of one such Corinthian.  As for pity, John was correct, a little crease of the brows at that *look* in his baby blues had the damn ladies pining for his happiness.

Having seen the magician naked before Cori paid no mind as his body shifted, from losing his fur coat to tossing on the weathered brown one.  His teeth eyes noticed the other pair, staring with their mouths open.  This was the City, didn't they have the occasional non-completely human patient?  The nightmare followed John to his feet.

Both man and woman froze when the Englishman pointed at them.  What was going to happen to them now??  For some reason, both Dr. Wilson and Jessica felt right as rain.  The latter smiled.  "Of course Mr. Collier," she said in a chipper tone.  "I'm sorry Mr. Collier, we have only cherry and orange," said the young dentist in an apologetic tone as he held up a red and orange sucker.

"Cherry," Cori nudged John.

----

"Orange will do," John shrugged with a hint of disappointment, plucking it from her hand. He teared off the clear plastic wrapped and popped it in his mouth with all the haste of an eager child. The white stick poking out from between his lips wished it were a usual cigarette. "We'll be off now, eh?"

----

Cori gave him a look.  Fine, pick the inorganic angel's choice (he rather thought red tongues were far more alluring).

He watched both to make sure the pair did not fall out of John's hypnotic spell, it seemed like so far they were free to go.  Dr. Wilson even gave the pair a wave.  "Thank you and have a good day," he cheerfully wished to Mr. Collier and Mr. Corinth.  "Bye bye now," Jessica sounded with her voice like a bell.

"That was easy," the nightmare remarked under his breath while heading back out to the stairs.  He hoped the illusionist would fall for it.

----

"Cherry's for you, you git," John smirked. "Get us a doctor's note while we're at it if ol' Zee thinks we're up to something."

----

He returned the smirk, glad to see John in better spirits despite his recent bitter memory.  Cori turned back then to lean on the receptionist's desk, grabbing the necessary note like a pair of delinquent school boys attempting to pull the wool over the headmistress' eyes.  At the same time, he took not one but two cherry suckers for himself.  The nightmare peeled one and tucked it in his mouth.

"'ere," he sounded around the candy while flashing the note to John.  They should use his hypnosis more often, the white blonde determined before folding the paper and slipping it in his pocket.

----

Two? One for the road? John watched the note tuck itself away, snug and safe in the nightmare's pockets.

Constantine, 1. Bloody awful dentist, 0.

A nod of approval and the two filed their way out as if nothing happened. Constantine had been cool and casual, calmer coming down than going up. The worst was over after all. That was how things usually were, weren't they?

----

Maybe the nightmare just liked having his mouth full.  Ahem... he glanced to the pair once more, both of them seemingly under hypnosis as they made their way out.  Cori wondered briefly if John had played them *all*, but his tone regarding that memory sounded too sincere to be such a con.

At the bottom of the stairs he paused in the narrow hallway, just before the door to the sidewalk.  Cori removed the cherry sucker from his lips, tongue already tinted red.  he reached out to take John's too.

----

John stopped, his treat, his reward for a con will done removed by a hand that was not his own. "Huh?"

----

Cori held both treats tightly between his knuckles, careful not to drop them as he pulled John closer by his tie for a kiss.  A little mix of orange and cherry, for a con well done and an apology.

----

A literally sweet kiss. John was not the one for sweetness but he could do with it for now, a flavor to counteract the bitter taste elsewhere. His tongue curled around the nightmare's, a warm, moist twist.

----

He leaned into the Englishman, perhaps enough to press John's back to the wall as his tongue tasted orange, nicotine, artificial flavors and his natural one.  Cori pulled away just enough to speak.  "Not bad."