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Nobody had seen Larry since that day. Like so many others who had faced Count Olaf he was assumed dead. Murdered, like his peers. Sunny had seen Olaf give Larry that threatening look he has at the table and surely she would convey the likely outcome of their meeting to her siblings. But the likely outcome wasn’t as likely as all thought it would be. That day had not, in fact, gone as it was told. Other parts of the story as it was first told were inaccurate as well, and most of these elements would be useful for Larry to meet his better ending – but they would have to silence themselves or their lives would have been put back in the danger they had tried so hard to escape from.
As soon as Count Olaf arrived in the Village of Fowl Devotees, Jacques knew that he would be the next to die. He also knew that he was much smarter than Olaf, who hadn’t seemed to have opened a book since he was a child – and even then it would only have been to look at pictures. This meant he knew how he was going to escape, and the methods many others had used. He would just follow the fiction and history he had read. Just how Sherlock faked his death, or how Empress Matilda had hid in a coffin and escaped. So he did just that. Escaped.
Sometimes a lack of technology or a proper system of law and order could be a good thing. In Jacques case, it was good that they had no proper equipment to check if he actually was dead. Every inch of him was covered in bruises but he was alive, and appeared to have no brain damage, as he still could see his aims ahead of him, especially as his mind was filled with one thing.
Coming that close to dying did make him made him realise something. It made him realise what he had wished he had done. He realised there was someone he knew he couldn’t leave behind. Someone he knew would be in grave danger very soon if he knew anything about Olaf and his morals. As a member of the V.F.D. it was his duty to help him, just as they had been helping the Baudelaires, though hopefully this would show success much sooner.
Before the gathering, that would soon be approaching, on Thursday he had to do his duty to save the people close to him, so he hid, far away from Olaf, his crew and the Daily Punctilio. He drove to somewhere with no contact to the organisation, and no reason for Olaf to visit. He planned for what could happen – thinking of all the ways that evil man would try to kill a waiter. Then the day arrived.
He saw the Baudelaire children leave his sisters car. This was where it would begin. He left a coded note in the window of his old car when his siblings weren’t looking and proceeded to enter the hotel. Knowing all the people who were within, it was obvious that the back door would be the only safe exit. As he entered the kitchens his mind recalled the moments in Austere Academy, rescuing That man from the freezer room. For the first time in weeks, he smiled. It was genuine and assured. It still wasn’t over, but this time he had reason to be hopeful.
From the other side of the kitchen he watched the kitchen doors swing open as Larry left. It was in this moment he swapped the curry bowl with a chilled pot and turned off the flames. As his predictions had called, Count Olaf had just stopped Larry in his tracks, fear filling the mans eyes, the eyes that had always filled Jacques with a feeling of comfort and safety. There was no way of knowing if his plan would be successful, but knowing Olaf and his ways, he had confidence.
As Larry entered the room he retreated back into the freezer room. It seemed only a blink later that Count Olaf entered. His eyes were filled with rage. It was the same look in his eyes when Jacques own death was carried out. Jacques whole body shivered. Then tensed. This had to work. Since he arrived Jacque had concentrated on making sure the plan would work, but he heard words fall from Larry’s mouth and was stunned.
“You’ll never be half the man Jacque Snicket was.”
The man’s heart froze – which felt ironic considering he was hiding in a freezer. For years he had watched as Larry worked in the V.F.D. headquarters. For years he had felt his heart skip a beat whenever their eyes would meet but ignored it. By the time Jacques was shaken from his daze, Larry was being heaved into the air. But when he reached the top something unexpected happened. He looked forward. Larry looked forward in Jacques direction.
For that moment they were one and the same. Both of their bodies relaxed, filled with hope and security. Larry knew Jacques was one of the most intelligent men he had ever met and was reassured simply with the knowledge that the man on the other side of the door could mouth these next words to him; I’m here.
Plunging into ice cold curry, Larry braced himself, trying to protect himself as much as he could. One last breath was held before curry was encasing him. The liquid had splattered all over, replaced with the body of a man who had already accepted his death. Cold from the soup disguised the freezing metal which his head had been met with. Curry crowded his view and burnt his skin, but the sensation couldn’t overcome the numbness which arrived.
To Jacques it felt like it took years for Olaf to leave, though he couldn’t have been in there for any more than a minute before leaving Larry alone, upside down in a vat on top of the oven. Ensuring that terrible man and Ernest, who seemed at level with Olaf in that moment, Jacques began to act. Numbness spread over his arms and a warm beating controlled his chest, but he knew he would have to be calm because he was the one who was alive and safe, even if it didn’t feel like that without the other man with him as well.
The fridge door was thrown open, sending vibrations through the room, but there was still no movement from over the oven. Carefully, Jacques moved the tub onto the floor, trying as hard as he could not to make any movement that could harm the body within. Without hesitation (or rolling up his sleeves) he reached down and wrapped his arms around the other man’s body and drew his small frame close to him. Jacques held the man’s neck with care, worried about any damage from the fall. His body was cold and limp, but before Jacques could let out any tears he felt the body in his arms begin to shiver with life.
Robust arms were gentle and protective as they brought Larry’s body as close to Jacques frame as they could. Just like the first time he rescued him, he carried his unmoving body out in his arms, but this time he got no response, engulfing his newfound hope with worry. Jacques opened the door to his new car outside, ignoring the stains from the curry which now covered the seats.. The dark-haired man took off his jacket and rolled it up, using it as a support for the smaller man, who was laid down across the back seats of the car.
When he got the new car his mind had flashed back to when he saved Larry from the freezer and wrapped him up in the trauma blanket he always kept inside. When replacing it he made sure to buy the same one, and it framed Larry’s shivering body just as it did last time – when he called Jacques his hero.
The broader man watched as every other moment Larry’s eyes would flick open until they closed again moments later. Jacques used the blanket to wipe the other man’s head and was relieved to find no blood underneath the deep red sauce. A concussion would go away and hopefully leave him to be the man he knew. He would live. Jacques pushed the front seats of the car forward and sat, running his fingers through silver streaks of hair until his thoughts lost him.
He was pulled out of his trance by a stirring below him. Jacques wasn’t sure how long he was dazed but knew he had woken up as another hand was embracing his. Their eyes met.
“You’re alive.”
Jacques smiled.
“I’m alive.”
They paused. They both felt their heartbeats sync.
“I’m alive.”
Jacques felt his face warm as tears formed in his eyes.
“You’re alive.”
Jacques felt fingers gently rub his palm. Jacques Snicket melted. The man in front of him had made his way into Jacques’ heart and would stay there.
“You saved me.”
This time Jacques didn’t speak. Instead he brought the other man’s body close to his again, but this time he felt another pair of arms wrap around and clutch him just as tightly. An embrace daringly warm filled the car with adoration. With hesitance they both began to draw apart to look at each other again. The dark-haired man glanced at the other’s lips before focusing back on his eyes.
“How did- Why did you save me?”
“Larry I-“
But before he could respond he felt his lips grow warm as they felt the hot embrace of another’s. Without hesitation he eased into the kiss and felt all his worries – all the danger of Olaf and the sinister duo – disappear. For what felt like forever he was lighter than feather, the only thing on his mind being the person he held in his arms. Mellow light buzzed around them – filled with the shielded passion they had both felt before the V.F.D. was placed in the danger it is in. As their fantasies faded, their arms untangled from each other and the silver haired man rested his forehead against Jacques.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
Larry placed his head in the crook of the other man’s shoulder, letting out a shaky breath he hadn’t felt himself holding.
“We need to get out of here.”
Since his almost-death, the only thing Jacques cared about was making sure his lover was safe. “I know. I have somewhere we can stay. It’s far away, and nobody can get to us if everybody thinks we’re dead. The Baudelaire’s will be safe – their troubles are almost at an end. I can’t leave you to the same fate as the others.”
Larry just held tighter. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Both had been through so much and knew they needed to hold onto this moment of calm, even if everything wouldn’t go back to how it was. It couldn’t go back to how it was. Even if they had both managed to survive, most of their friends hadn’t been so fortunate, and it would be impossible to live frivolously.
Larry drew apart carefully and sat up in the back seat. His counterpart lingered for a moment before he moved back to the driver’s seat. Silence cradled them both as they considered how their lives could continue. Jacques gave one last glance into the mirror before he turned the key and started the car. It began to hum softly, offering gentle reassurance they both desperately needed, even if neither would admit it.
They began to drive and soon couldn’t see the hotel anymore. They both wanted to see the children get the lives they deserved but both knew if they wanted to live, this is the only way. The Baudelaire’s were safe, and as long as they had each other, they would be as well.