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Language:
English
Series:
Part 7 of Hard Time 100
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Published:
2023-10-28
Words:
100
Chapters:
1/1
Kudos:
5
Hits:
41

Hard Time 100 - Stupid Questions

Summary:

What might have been going through Ortolani's head when he encountered Said in the hallway near the end of The Routine.

(Note: Each work in this series stands alone and the series can be read in any order.)

Notes:

I started rewatching Oz and in The Routine, I was struck by how Ortolani observed Said during the episode. When they interacted in the hallway toward the end, there was this brief moment where Ortolani could have reached out to him. And I wondered about that.

With that on my mind, I was inspired by the recent Hard Time 100 prompt "Anticipation" and wrote this drabble.

Work Text:

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Ortolani doesn’t look at Said, the man with some, but not all the answers. He stares instead at his blood-stained knuckles. Some answers, huh?

Ortolani anticipates what could happen next:

He’ll ask, “Would you give your life for me?”

Fuck no.

Or, holding up his fists, he’ll ask, “What the fuck are these good for anyway? Got an answer for that?"

They aren’t good for shit. They aren’t good at all. 

Stupid questions. So he doesn’t ask.

Instead: “Yeah, well…” he rises to his feet, finally looking at Said as he moves past, “it’s too bad you're the wrong color.”

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