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tigriswolf
Title: like fireflies and stars
Fandom: Firefly
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: pre-BDM; AU
Pairings: Zoe/Wash, shades of Mal/Simon
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 460
Point of view: third
Prompt: Firefly, ensemble, Simon is also a telepath but went undetected, There's only so much trauma one mind can experience - but what about two?
Even when River sleeps, her mind is never quiet. Maybe especially then; all the paths she walks while awake flow together in dreams, and she floats from sky to sky, living a thousand lives at once.
It is fascinating to watch, and Simon hovers at the edge, waiting. She always knows he's there, but when she notices, she holds out a hand.
Dance with me, Simon, she says.
He takes her hand and spins around with her, like fireflies and stars, and he soaks up some of her pain, some of her fear, some of her rage -
Every time she wakes up, she is more of the little sister who went to the Academy, not the war-torn girl he saved.
0o0
Book's mind is peaceful. Simon knows he has secrets; he sees the tail-end of them. Book is a dangerous man, but not to them, not yet. Maybe not ever.
He leaves the shepherd to his sleep.
0o0
Kaylee is beautiful, inside and out. Sometimes, Simon listens to her internal monologue when he needs a pick-me-up. She chatters to the ship, and it's soothing.
Whenever River's mind lashes out, Simon latches onto Kaylee, just to remember how to breathe.
0o0
Simon went to Jayne's mind once. Just once.
There is more to the brute than he'd expected, but not enough to go back.
(A good man does hide inside the abrasive exterior. If Jayne will ever let him out is another matter entirely.)
0o0
Wash is very much like Kaylee. He dreams about the sky, and his wife, and the children they'll have some day, when life is safer.
Simon feels like an invader every time he goes to Wash's mind.
0o0
Inara's dreams are surprisingly peaceful. Her mind is always calm and collected; a small pond and a cup of tea, few clouds and a gentle breeze. She's usually planning things – her life after Serenity, most often. Where she'll go, what she'll do. Who she'll be with.
Simon only goes to her when Kaylee's mind is too loud.
0o0
Zoe's mind is dangerous, just like her. The first time he touched her, her entire body jerked, as if she'd been electrocuted. Her gaze shot around and he nearly panicked. He tried again, after he and River were allowed to stay aboard, and her eyes narrowed.
He hasn't been back.
0o0
And Mal. Mal is something else entirely. His psyche is scarred, same as his body. His dreams are never restful. Simon helps where he can, but Mal won't ever take his hand.
Simon wishes he would. Wishes he could heal any part of Mal at all.
0o0
Dance with me, Simon, River says.
He takes her hand, and they spin around, like fireflies and stars.
She's more and more like his little sister every day.
Title: the best laid plans
Fandom: Supernatural
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: AU; pre-series; spoilers for everything aired
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 200
Point of view: third
Prompt: Supernatural, Sam/Dean, the YED bled into Dean's mouth not Sam's
He swings by four years early. His little spitfire is just too tantalizing to stay away from.
She has a kid already. He slips into the room while she's putting the baby down for the night, listens to her hum a lullaby, watches her kiss the baby's forehead. Soldier-boy is sacked out in bed and pretty Mary goes that way.
The kid's a boy. He has Mary's eyes.
He's the hunter from the future, who said he'd kill Azazel someday.
Azazel could snap his neck. Roast him, right here, right now.
Or...
Oh, yes, Azazel cackles.
Mary wasn't supposed to have a kid yet, and no way one of his own could kill him.
Ten drops, one for each year of the deal. The kid smacks his lips and babbles something, blinking those beautiful eyes.
Azazel laughs again and leaves as silently as he came.
.
.
.
(Mary Winchester dies on fire, bleeding down on her second son.
A year after Sam leaves for Stanford, Dean vanishes. John panics and hurries to California, making sure Sam's safe.
Together, they find Dean in a ghost town, the last freak standing.
Azazel dies six years early, and his whole plan falls apart at the seams.)
Title: I found ten kinds of wild flowers growing
Fandom: RED/White Collar/Inception
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Sara Teasdale
Warnings: AU
Pairings: Arthur/Eames, Peter/Neal/Elizabeth
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 650
Point of view: third
Prompt: White Collar/Inception/Red, Arthur/Eames + Neal/Peter/Elizabeth, Neal and Arthur have always been female, Frank's children have always surprised him
When his daughters were in second grade, their mother bailed and Frank scaled back his hours. He couldn't quit entirely, but he was at least home more often than not. Mom had to pitch in some, and she used the time to 'girly up' his daughters.
Nessa took to that. Artie didn't.
0o0
In fourth grade, Artie Moses broke Seth Reynolds' nose because he made her sister cry.
In eighth grade, Nessa Moses forged a note from Dad that got her and sister excused from school an entire week and they practically lived in the art galleries in the closest major city.
In sophomore year, Artie told Dad that she'd enlist right after graduation because she wanted to protect people.
In junior year, Nessa painted as perfect a replica as she could of the Mona Lisa, based solely on photos.
A month after graduation, Artie was gone. Three weeks after that, so was Nessa.
0o0
One of Frank's daughters became a criminal. The other ended up in some research program that sounded shadier every time he looked it up.
Nessa went to jail for four years, after she took the fall for her partner, Kate Moreau. Artie became a criminal, following a friend named Cobb.
0o0
Frank visited Nessa once, after the trial, when she met his eyes and shook her head 'no.' No, Dad, don't do anything foolish. Don't let Artie, either.
"You sure, kiddo?" Frank asked her through the glass.
"I have to do this," Nessa said. "Don't worry. Nobody here can possibly be as scary as Artie."
She didn't mention it when tears leaked out of Frank's eyes.
0o0
Two years into Nessa's sentence, Frank's phone rang and he picked it up to a deep British voice and the words, "She'll kill for me this, but Artie could use a call from her papa."
"Who are you, and what's wrong with my daughter?" Frank demanded, instantly at full-alert.
"'m'Eames," he said. "And we faced a bloody nightmare today. 's'not my place to say more."
The line went dead. Frank called Artie, and though she'd never say it, he could tell how relieved she was to hear his voice.
0o0
Nessa broke out of prison, was caught and sent back, and made a deal with the agent who caught her twice.
Artie did something impossible, making more money than she could ever spend, and took a vacation from being a criminal to lie on a beach in the Bahamas with her Brit, Eames. Frank wasn't sure he liked Eames all that much, but he made Artie laugh like she hadn't since she convinced Frank to let Nessa give him a make-over.
The CIA tried to kill Frank. He mostly killed it instead.
0o0
Frank's daughters have been surprising him from the moment they were born. Their mother had sworn they'd be boys – she'd even picked out names: Arthur Jonathan and Neal Francis. When they were girls, though, she let Frank name them. He picked Artie Josephine, for his father. And Nessa Frances for Rosa's side of the family.
Artie was the mean one, vicious and quick when riled. Nessa was the 'pretty' one, the one all the boys chased. Frank taught them both to fight and to use guns. Could never be too careful.
And now, watching his girls – Artie with her sketchy Brit, Nessa with that damned agent and his smiling wife – he couldn't be prouder. They're criminals, but they're the best at what they do. And, hell, he's a criminal, too.
Nessa whispers something into Artie's ear and her laugh fills the room, Eames looking over. She shakes her head, muttering something back, and Nessa's grin is so bright.
His girls. He thought he'd mess them up for life, when Rosa left. But they've done pretty well, all things considered.
"So, Dad," Nessa says, sauntering up to him. "When can we meet Sarah?"
Artie's grinning behind her, and Frank smiles.
Title: I wanted to believe you would win the war in your head
Fandom: Inception
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Johnette Napolitano
Warnings: character death
Pairings: implied Eames/Arthur
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 150
Point of view: third
Prompt: Any, any, I wanted to believe/ as you raised your glass to your last stand... (Suicide Note by Johnette Napolitano)
"It's been a year," he tells the chap cleaning down the bar. "A goddamn bloody year. Isn't that just mad?"
"Yeah, buddy," the bartender says. "We're closin' for the night. Anyone I can call for you?"
"No," he says, trying to slam back his whiskey; the glass is empty. "Another, mate, yeah?"
The guy shakes his head. "Sorry, buddy."
"But I need to toast 'im," he protests. "The stupid fucker. Went and got his fool self killed. My fault."
"Need help, Mike?" Another guy walked up, bigger and meaner looking.
"No, thanks," Mike said. "He's about to leave."
"Please, just one more?" he asked. "A proper toast and I'll go."
"Fine," Mike said. He refilled the glass halfway, and with Mike and his buddy watching, Eames said, "To Arthur. Saved my life, he did, and all it cost him was his own. Foolish, stubborn Arthur." He drained the whiskey down.
Title: the children green and golden follow him out of grace
Fandom: RED/White Collar/Inception
Disclaimer: only the kids are mine
Warnings: future!fic
Pairings: Arthur/Eames, Peter/El/Neal
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 385
Point of view: third
Prompt: RED/White Collar/Inception, Neal and Arthur as Frank's fraternal twins, Frank looks after his grandchildren
Note: in this 'verse
Frankie is the oldest, Eames and Arthur's son. His little sister is four years younger, and Beth has every one of her boys wrapped around her finger.
Art and Greg are Neal's twin sons; Frank had been unsure how to react to Neal's lovers, but the FBI agent has grown on him in the seven years since Neal settled down, and El is kickass awesome.
One month a year, all of the kids stay with Frank. Arthur and Eames usually go on a hunt, for all the enemies they've managed to make since their last vacation. Neal takes the agent and El to some fabulous place and spoils them.
Frankie is overprotective of his sister and cousins; all of the kids are strong fighters, of course, but Frankie (so far) is the only one to have broken anybody else's bones. (The little bastard deserved it, completely, because he knocked Greg into a brick wall, and while Frank played nice at the neighborhood pool, he high-fived Frankie later.)
Art is the most organized of all the kids, with detailed plans about everything from the breakfast routine to his world-domination plan. (It involves crustaceans and his Uncle Arthur's way with weapons.) Greg is the little con-artist; not surprising, considering his dad. He also idolizes his Uncle Eames and badgers Frank for stories about Arthur and Eames' heists.
Frank can easily see all of the boys as criminals one day, taking up the reins where Arthur, Eames, and Neal left off. But Beth? Frank's little angel totally wants to be her Uncle Peter when she grows up. She asks him about when he was chasing Uncle Neal and how he finally caught him. Whenever they play cops and robbers, she's always the cop. She orders them into jail and watches with a sharp gaze to make sure they stay there. It cracks Frank up.
Arthur always complains about the lack of discipline when he fetches his kids. El laughs at Art's new additions to his scheme, at Greg's newest tricks. Beth tells her dads and uncles how she captured and held the boys after they broke a hundred laws.
When they were kids, Frank would've sworn nobody could ever be more trouble than his boys. Then the grandkids came along, and well.
Frank's the luckiest schmuck in the world.
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Date: 2011-08-24 02:49 pm (UTC)