From: Ashley Williams Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 22:19:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Death Smiles by AshleyX Source: direct Title: Death Smiles Author: AshleyX Summary: "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back." -- Maximus, "Gladiator" Spoilers: Tithonus. Classification: VA Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully and the whole X-Files crew belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox Broadcasting. No money is being made off of these characters and no copyright infringement is intended. Rating: PG-13 Feedback: You know I love it. Distribution: Contact me first. Author's Notes: At the end. **************** My mother told me that when somebody smiles at you, you smile back. She said that it was almost a sign of respect to return the smile given to you; the person who initiated the entire thing would remember you in the future. Simply because you smiled back. What my mother told me when I was four must have been true, for I have had death smile at me many times. At times, death grinned at me, inviting me to grin with it. Other times, death had a frighteningly menacing smirk. Times like those, I was terrified of death. Death is laughing at me right now. It's not just a slight chuckle, but a bellyaching laugh that will have you rolling for at least several minutes. I don't why it's laughing at me in such a manner, but it cannot be good. Although it's laughing at me as if I were the most hilarious thing in the world, I see the pity in its eyes. Pity for me and how much I just want to laugh with death. I want to laugh too. I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't bring myself to even crack a smile. Is that good? Or bad? I don't know. Death is still laughing, but it has calmed down a bit. That does make me feel a little better. But then I ask myself, why would death pity me? Is it because it's hovering over me, staining me as the blood from this gunshot wound has stained my blouse? Death is smiling at me. It's a wide, vivid smile, filled with joy and cheer. It wants me to smile back... it expects me to do so. But how I can do that with blood trickling out of my mouth and down my chin? Seconds passed. They felt like days. I felt the corners of my mouth turn up and I found myself smiling in death's face. Here I am, death. You have remembered me from times in the past. Here I am, returning the smile you have initiated. I felt no different. The door busted open with paramedics and EMTs rushing in. Is that Agent Ritter I hear? After the shit-eating smile it gave me before it left, I was assured that death would remember me for another time and place. ************** fin Author's Notes: The quote that I used for the summary I found in a friend's profile. As soon as I saw it, the wheels in my head began to turn. And yeah, this is my take on Tithonus. Thanks for reading!