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Entry tags:
( honey's ) sewn into shape
Title: sewn into shape
Fandom: Uncharted & DC Comics crossover
Universe: Honey's Sweeter
Relationships: Maxine Hunkel-Leverett & Tori Drake; mentioned Nate Drake/Elena Fisher and Peyton Leverett/Maxine Hunkel
Summary: Tori recounts an old memory - of fabric shopping with her favorite cousin, and of sewing her baby cousin's teddy bear into shape.
Notes: Unbeta'ed, as always! I don't quite know where this story came from, beyond re-reading old chat logs with a friend and wanting to write a short characterization piece on Tori's passion for sewing and how that might've stemmed from her family history c:
When Tori was little, Maxine - 'Mashie', as Tori once called her – used to take her fabric shopping. The two of them descended upon their local Joanne's or hobby shop and perused the bolts of fabric as if they were fine art connoisseurs. In Tori's young, unaware eyes, they might as well have been.
The walls were bursting with bolts of fabric: knits, linens, cotton, polyester, and even wool in bright, eye-popping colors. Unlike the department store, the potential was limitless– and full of promises. Mashie used to call the fabric store her own personal treasure trove. Tori was more than inclined to agree.
“Look, Tori," Mashie said, holding up a bolt of red sweatshirt fabric. “Won't this make a perfect sweatshirt?”
Tori waddled up to the bolt and brushed her fingertips across the fabric. The outer side was flat and thick, like Dad's favorite hoodies. Yet the inner lining was soft and fuzzy, almost like the inside of her favorite blanket.
“It feels good,” Tori admitted, giving Mashie a bright, warm smile. “He'll love it.”
“All the more reason to make this our next big project, hm?”
Mashie's eyes were sparkling as she turned on her heels and beckoned for a salesperson to cut the amount. As the cashier laid out several colors of sweatshirt fabric – crimson red, deep black, a robin's egg blue, and even a couple of shades of green for good measure – Tori couldn't help stealing a look at her favorite cousin.
No matter what sorts of odds and ends Mashie found, she polished them into beautiful, almost seamless works of art. Mashie had real, actual superpowers– but her clothes might as well have been a better power.
Tori idly glanced down at her own fingers – at the cuts and nicks from her last few attempts at sewing – then back up at Mashie's smooth, soft fingers. Time would heal all of these cuts. Mom always said that a little love and care would fix anything.
Mashie must be very loved, to have no visible signs of cuts or scrapes anywhere. Just a whole lotta freckles, even on the edges of her forearms.
“– Russ, too,” Mashie was saying. “Gosh, we're going to have so much fun! I even got Timmy a teddy bear kit, though I'm not sure if he'll like it that much…”
Tori blinked. “Teddy bear?”
She must have zoned out, as Russ used to say, to miss that part of the conversation - and the small box scattered amongst the rest of their giant purchase. Tori leaned forward, peering into their giant haul. Sure enough, there was a teddy bear kit, complete with a mini sewing kit and patterns to help Mashie cut them into perfection.
“He'll love it.” Tori nodded, as if she were the world's biggest expert on her baby brother– “He likes anything you give him.”
Mashie's smile softened, almost like Momma's– “I sure hope so, kiddo.”
Timmy attempted a single, solitary stitch before Russell (rudely) distracted him with the promise of a new Mario Kart.
“Early bird gets the worm,” Russell was crowing from the next room over, “So hurry up already!”
"I'm coming!" Timmy screamed towards his brother's retreating figure, dropping everything in his wake– "Wait for me!"
The forgotten teddy bear tumbled on the ground. Tori glanced around to ensure no grown-ups were watching before pulling the bear from the floor and blowing the dust off its small, tiny head.
“Poor bear.” she sighed, holding up the bear and mimicking Mashie's watchful eye– "Someone's gotta sew you into shape."
As far as sewing projects went, teddy bears were relatively simple. The current Tori could sew one together in a couple of hours with her eyes closed. Her younger self, on the other hand, was far less patient – and far more prone to poking her fingers with the needle’s edge.
The first time, young Tori had held back a tear or five. By the third, she wanted to scream into the living room.
Problem was, no one would hear her. Her brothers were busy playing Mario Kart, and her parents were still drinking tea with Peyton and Mashie. No one would stop to kiss her pricked fingers, let alone stick on her band-aids.
The teddy bear’s beady black eyes stared back at her, as if daring her to finish. Not even Timmy cared to finish, and Mashie had gotten the poor bear for the kid as a present! Technically, this wasn’t even Tori’s problem.
She could’ve left this lopsided bear behind for Mashie to find. She could’ve cuddled on the couch next to Russ and watched him beat Timmy into next Tuesday - or she could’ve leaned on Dad’s legs and listened to him tell Peyton and Mashie all sorts of wonderful and dangerous stories.
She didn’t have to stay behind, but she wanted to. Mashie’s smile would be worth the tears and pain.
“Stop looking at me, Bear,” Tori huffed, squeezing its arm tight with her free hand– “You’re going to be perfect, no matter what.”
One stitch, then two, then three. Tori wove the needle through fabric like a fish swimming through the sea– just like Mashie had taught her. Mom had never been very patient, especially with basic mending or repair. Mom sent her old, tired clothes to a tailor and let someone else do the work.
Mashie, on the other hand, had a workshop full of half-sewn clothes and costumes. The curtains were always closed tight to filter out the sun, but the ceiling lights were so bright and warm– and the trinkets! Mashie had enough to fill a whole fabric store of her own.
Tori wasn’t anywhere near Mashie’s level, but the bear was shaping up to be bear-shaped. Maybe she had ‘promise’ too.
As she moved onto the other arm, she felt the soft flutter of wind behind her–
“Tori?” Mashie’s voice called from behind. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m sewing it into shape.” Tori wrinkled her nose, peering at her latest stitch. “Someone’s gotta fix him up.”
“Yeah, but sweetie…” Mashie was kneeling before her, gently pulling the bear down so they were both eye-to-eye– “I was hoping we could work on it together.”
“You were?”
Mashie was way too talented to work with Tori. Mashie could sew everything in this room with the flick of her wrist, as if she could make the thread listen to her every order. Mashie was– she was perfect.
“Yeah,” Mashie said, with a small, soft laugh, picking up Tori. “I guess you couldn’t wait, huh?”
“Mr. Bear couldn’t,” Tori lightly corrected, feeling the wind tickle her ears–
“Okay, Mr. Bear,” Mashie wasn’t even trying to hide her laughs now, “Let’s go into the living room. Listen to your dad’s stories, and maybe get you looking nice and fluffy? I bet we can even sew you a nice new hat...”
Tori couldn’t argue with such a wonderful idea. She nodded, burying herself into Mashie’s arms and letting Mashie fluff her half-sewn bear into its thick self. “Uh-huh.”
“Oh well.” Mashie’s laugh tickled in her ear, just like the gentle wind– “I suppose I should’ve just gotten this for you in the beginning.”
Fandom: Uncharted & DC Comics crossover
Universe: Honey's Sweeter
Relationships: Maxine Hunkel-Leverett & Tori Drake; mentioned Nate Drake/Elena Fisher and Peyton Leverett/Maxine Hunkel
Summary: Tori recounts an old memory - of fabric shopping with her favorite cousin, and of sewing her baby cousin's teddy bear into shape.
Notes: Unbeta'ed, as always! I don't quite know where this story came from, beyond re-reading old chat logs with a friend and wanting to write a short characterization piece on Tori's passion for sewing and how that might've stemmed from her family history c:
When Tori was little, Maxine - 'Mashie', as Tori once called her – used to take her fabric shopping. The two of them descended upon their local Joanne's or hobby shop and perused the bolts of fabric as if they were fine art connoisseurs. In Tori's young, unaware eyes, they might as well have been.
The walls were bursting with bolts of fabric: knits, linens, cotton, polyester, and even wool in bright, eye-popping colors. Unlike the department store, the potential was limitless– and full of promises. Mashie used to call the fabric store her own personal treasure trove. Tori was more than inclined to agree.
“Look, Tori," Mashie said, holding up a bolt of red sweatshirt fabric. “Won't this make a perfect sweatshirt?”
Tori waddled up to the bolt and brushed her fingertips across the fabric. The outer side was flat and thick, like Dad's favorite hoodies. Yet the inner lining was soft and fuzzy, almost like the inside of her favorite blanket.
“It feels good,” Tori admitted, giving Mashie a bright, warm smile. “He'll love it.”
“All the more reason to make this our next big project, hm?”
Mashie's eyes were sparkling as she turned on her heels and beckoned for a salesperson to cut the amount. As the cashier laid out several colors of sweatshirt fabric – crimson red, deep black, a robin's egg blue, and even a couple of shades of green for good measure – Tori couldn't help stealing a look at her favorite cousin.
No matter what sorts of odds and ends Mashie found, she polished them into beautiful, almost seamless works of art. Mashie had real, actual superpowers– but her clothes might as well have been a better power.
Tori idly glanced down at her own fingers – at the cuts and nicks from her last few attempts at sewing – then back up at Mashie's smooth, soft fingers. Time would heal all of these cuts. Mom always said that a little love and care would fix anything.
Mashie must be very loved, to have no visible signs of cuts or scrapes anywhere. Just a whole lotta freckles, even on the edges of her forearms.
“– Russ, too,” Mashie was saying. “Gosh, we're going to have so much fun! I even got Timmy a teddy bear kit, though I'm not sure if he'll like it that much…”
Tori blinked. “Teddy bear?”
She must have zoned out, as Russ used to say, to miss that part of the conversation - and the small box scattered amongst the rest of their giant purchase. Tori leaned forward, peering into their giant haul. Sure enough, there was a teddy bear kit, complete with a mini sewing kit and patterns to help Mashie cut them into perfection.
“He'll love it.” Tori nodded, as if she were the world's biggest expert on her baby brother– “He likes anything you give him.”
Mashie's smile softened, almost like Momma's– “I sure hope so, kiddo.”
Timmy attempted a single, solitary stitch before Russell (rudely) distracted him with the promise of a new Mario Kart.
“Early bird gets the worm,” Russell was crowing from the next room over, “So hurry up already!”
"I'm coming!" Timmy screamed towards his brother's retreating figure, dropping everything in his wake– "Wait for me!"
The forgotten teddy bear tumbled on the ground. Tori glanced around to ensure no grown-ups were watching before pulling the bear from the floor and blowing the dust off its small, tiny head.
“Poor bear.” she sighed, holding up the bear and mimicking Mashie's watchful eye– "Someone's gotta sew you into shape."
As far as sewing projects went, teddy bears were relatively simple. The current Tori could sew one together in a couple of hours with her eyes closed. Her younger self, on the other hand, was far less patient – and far more prone to poking her fingers with the needle’s edge.
The first time, young Tori had held back a tear or five. By the third, she wanted to scream into the living room.
Problem was, no one would hear her. Her brothers were busy playing Mario Kart, and her parents were still drinking tea with Peyton and Mashie. No one would stop to kiss her pricked fingers, let alone stick on her band-aids.
The teddy bear’s beady black eyes stared back at her, as if daring her to finish. Not even Timmy cared to finish, and Mashie had gotten the poor bear for the kid as a present! Technically, this wasn’t even Tori’s problem.
She could’ve left this lopsided bear behind for Mashie to find. She could’ve cuddled on the couch next to Russ and watched him beat Timmy into next Tuesday - or she could’ve leaned on Dad’s legs and listened to him tell Peyton and Mashie all sorts of wonderful and dangerous stories.
She didn’t have to stay behind, but she wanted to. Mashie’s smile would be worth the tears and pain.
“Stop looking at me, Bear,” Tori huffed, squeezing its arm tight with her free hand– “You’re going to be perfect, no matter what.”
One stitch, then two, then three. Tori wove the needle through fabric like a fish swimming through the sea– just like Mashie had taught her. Mom had never been very patient, especially with basic mending or repair. Mom sent her old, tired clothes to a tailor and let someone else do the work.
Mashie, on the other hand, had a workshop full of half-sewn clothes and costumes. The curtains were always closed tight to filter out the sun, but the ceiling lights were so bright and warm– and the trinkets! Mashie had enough to fill a whole fabric store of her own.
Tori wasn’t anywhere near Mashie’s level, but the bear was shaping up to be bear-shaped. Maybe she had ‘promise’ too.
As she moved onto the other arm, she felt the soft flutter of wind behind her–
“Tori?” Mashie’s voice called from behind. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m sewing it into shape.” Tori wrinkled her nose, peering at her latest stitch. “Someone’s gotta fix him up.”
“Yeah, but sweetie…” Mashie was kneeling before her, gently pulling the bear down so they were both eye-to-eye– “I was hoping we could work on it together.”
“You were?”
Mashie was way too talented to work with Tori. Mashie could sew everything in this room with the flick of her wrist, as if she could make the thread listen to her every order. Mashie was– she was perfect.
“Yeah,” Mashie said, with a small, soft laugh, picking up Tori. “I guess you couldn’t wait, huh?”
“Mr. Bear couldn’t,” Tori lightly corrected, feeling the wind tickle her ears–
“Okay, Mr. Bear,” Mashie wasn’t even trying to hide her laughs now, “Let’s go into the living room. Listen to your dad’s stories, and maybe get you looking nice and fluffy? I bet we can even sew you a nice new hat...”
Tori couldn’t argue with such a wonderful idea. She nodded, burying herself into Mashie’s arms and letting Mashie fluff her half-sewn bear into its thick self. “Uh-huh.”
“Oh well.” Mashie’s laugh tickled in her ear, just like the gentle wind– “I suppose I should’ve just gotten this for you in the beginning.”