On the sixth day of Christmas...(1/2)
...my true love gave to me six questions asked (such as why every university thinks assignments due in at the beginning of January is a good idea), five skeletons, four things that puzzle, three sweet treats, two changed directions and one protective shield.
Fandom: The Closer
Rating: PG
Word Count: 195
Summary: Such an innocent question.
“What do you want to drink?”
Sergeant David Gabriel shook his head with a dry laugh. It never failed to surprise him just how easily a mundane question about preference of beverage could make someone open up just enough for Brenda Leigh Johnson to start squirming her way into a confession.
He’d seen her do it to the others in the department, caught her doing it to him. Perhaps it had gotten to the point where she had been doing this for so long that she couldn’t help but unconsciously interrogate everyone who crossed her path.
Gabriel wasn’t so sure though. After everything that had happened before her transfer to Los Angeles, and the fact that everyone above her in seniority (and quite a few alongside her too) seemed to be waiting, poised for whenever she slipped up and made a mistake...well… Gabriel couldn’t blame her for wanting to gather as much information as possible.
He glanced at the glass of iced tea that Brenda had handed him just before going into the interrogation and decided that perhaps it was time to switch up his choice of drink. It might keep Brenda on her toes.
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: PG
Word Count: 740
Summary: Sally’s had some questions she’s been afraid to ask.
Darrell knew she was going to get herself into trouble if she didn’t stop. She knew that there were rumours starting and knew that if anyone had any way to verify those rumours then both her and Sally would be in for a very difficult few years at St. Andrews. Except it was so difficult to think about all of that when Sally announced her arrival with a gentle touch of her hand on the small of Darrell’s back. What others thought became a distant memory when a friendly hug went on for longer than might be considered friendly.
Sally was lain on Darrell’s bed reading when Darrell arrived back at their room. Darrell didn’t quite know why considering she had a perfectly good bed of her own on the other side of the room.
Darrell shrugged her coat off and hung it on the back of the door; winter wasn’t far off now and she was rather glad to be back in the warmth of their room.
“You look cold”, Sally said simply.
“Falls rather short of your usual perceptiveness”, Darrell responded, taking a seat in the chair at the desk, “Next you’ll say I look tired”.
“You do - probably because you stay up too late studying and then toss and turn even once you’ve gone to bed”, Sally stretched as she sat up and Darrell couldn’t help the way her eyes flickered over the movement of Sally’s body.
“Just worried about essays”, Darrell shrugged, glancing away. Sally would know she was lying, but Darrell couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend the truth of her concerns.
“I thought you were mulling over the rumours that have been going around about us”, Sally commented and Darrell froze.
“You have some kind of super powers”, Darrell muttered, “No-one can be that naturally perceptive”.
“Oh come on, if you’ve heard the rumours then you should have guessed that I would have as well. People aren’t as kind or subtle to me”, Sally patted the bed beside her, which caused Darrell to glance up, “Come here - you don’t need to hide over there”. Darrell complied with Sally’s request but it didn’t do anything to loosen up the stiffness of her posture.
“I suppose it’s a bit more of a shock to you - but I’ve been ignoring the rumours for years, don’t let it upset you”, and Darrell looked up sharply.
“Years?”
“They started at Malory Towers - I think you only never heard about them because people rather thought you might knock their heads off if you heard them talking about it”, Sally grinned, “No-one here knows about your infamous temper”. Darrell sighed and pushed herself back to sit with her back against the wall.
“I do wish everyone would mind their own business”, she rubbed the back of her neck with one hand and frowned.
“You’re really upset about it aren’t you?”, and there was a peculiar edge to Sally’s voice that Darrell couldn’t quite place.
“I don’t know what I am about it”, Darrell shrugged, “It’s just a bit...I would much prefer not to overhear a conversation speculating about what we do and don’t do behind closed doors if that’s what you mean”.
“I have to ask...”, Sally sounded serious so Darrell finally looked across at her, “If it bothers you, and it seems like it does, why have you not confronted people and told them it’s a load of old rubbish?”
“How would I ever convince anyone it’s not true with the way you behave with me?”, Darrell asked, and was quite proud of the way it caused Sally to falter - not usually able to be one step ahead of her intuitive friend.
“Why haven’t you told me to stop?”, Sally asked, “I would in an instant if I knew...if I thought you wanted me to”.
“I think you already know the answer to that”, Darrell replied.
“Maybe I just want to hear you say it so I know I’m not imagining things”, Sally suggested, and there was the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, something that had been so present during their school days. Darrell hesitated as she tried to find the words, but nothing came to mind that suited what she wanted to say. She turned phrases over and over for what seemed like forever but it was probably just a few seconds before she gave up.
It was far more effective to just kiss Sally instead.
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: 13
Word Count: 444
Summary: Alicia has a question…
“What do you think?”, and Darrell groaned inwardly at the tone of Alicia’s voice. Even Darrell could tell when Alicia was rather too pleased with herself, and she didn’t bother looking up from her writing. Moira had decided that part of the script needed to be redone and after arguing for a while Darrell had decided to just do the rewrite rather than risk losing her temper. Although she had gotten the feeling that some of the others had been hoping for a blow-up of sorts between them.
“Not now Alicia”.
“Oh I think you will want to see this”, how did Alicia sound so infuriatingly cheery? Darrell dropped her pen and turned around, a retort on the tip of her tongue that was lost as soon as she set eyes on Alicia.
“I just wanted to show you the demon king’s outfit”, Darrell heard the words but they didn’t quite sink in as she tried to focus on not staring at just how well-fitted Alicia’s outfit was. She tried to keep her face neutral but she was certain she had given something away, doubly so when Alicia grinned. Darrell tried to push her chair back as Alicia approached her, quite forgetting that she was sat at a table.
“Janet finished it this morning, couldn’t wait to show you”, Alicia commented, as was Darrell imagining things or was Alicia’s voice different? Perhaps if she could stop herself from looking at Alicia for just a moment, she might be able to think.
“It...uh…”, and Darrell’s usual wordcraft failed her and she stammered like a nervous school-girl...which wasn’t that far from the truth. Although she wasn’t certain nervousness was the right word for what she was feeling.
“You do like it don’t you?”, and Darrell finally looked up at Alicia who was standing far too close to her.
“Yes”, Darrell kept it short, deciding that was the easiest approach.
“I knew you would”, Alicia perched on the table beside her, “Still, don’t want to get it ruined before the big day so…”, and Darrell watched as the smirk reappeared, “want to help me get back out of it?”
Darrell was quite certain she had gone crimson from the way her cheeks burned, and she immediately turned her attention back to her writing and tried to push the thoughts that cropped up in her head away. She knew Alicia was pleased with herself again for making Darrell react like this, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Then she felt Alicia’s hand gently brush her shoulder as the other girl got up and walked towards the door.
“That’s okay, there’s always the performance night”
Fandom: The Closer
Rating: PG
Word Count: 195
Summary: Such an innocent question.
“What do you want to drink?”
Sergeant David Gabriel shook his head with a dry laugh. It never failed to surprise him just how easily a mundane question about preference of beverage could make someone open up just enough for Brenda Leigh Johnson to start squirming her way into a confession.
He’d seen her do it to the others in the department, caught her doing it to him. Perhaps it had gotten to the point where she had been doing this for so long that she couldn’t help but unconsciously interrogate everyone who crossed her path.
Gabriel wasn’t so sure though. After everything that had happened before her transfer to Los Angeles, and the fact that everyone above her in seniority (and quite a few alongside her too) seemed to be waiting, poised for whenever she slipped up and made a mistake...well… Gabriel couldn’t blame her for wanting to gather as much information as possible.
He glanced at the glass of iced tea that Brenda had handed him just before going into the interrogation and decided that perhaps it was time to switch up his choice of drink. It might keep Brenda on her toes.
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: PG
Word Count: 740
Summary: Sally’s had some questions she’s been afraid to ask.
Darrell knew she was going to get herself into trouble if she didn’t stop. She knew that there were rumours starting and knew that if anyone had any way to verify those rumours then both her and Sally would be in for a very difficult few years at St. Andrews. Except it was so difficult to think about all of that when Sally announced her arrival with a gentle touch of her hand on the small of Darrell’s back. What others thought became a distant memory when a friendly hug went on for longer than might be considered friendly.
Sally was lain on Darrell’s bed reading when Darrell arrived back at their room. Darrell didn’t quite know why considering she had a perfectly good bed of her own on the other side of the room.
Darrell shrugged her coat off and hung it on the back of the door; winter wasn’t far off now and she was rather glad to be back in the warmth of their room.
“You look cold”, Sally said simply.
“Falls rather short of your usual perceptiveness”, Darrell responded, taking a seat in the chair at the desk, “Next you’ll say I look tired”.
“You do - probably because you stay up too late studying and then toss and turn even once you’ve gone to bed”, Sally stretched as she sat up and Darrell couldn’t help the way her eyes flickered over the movement of Sally’s body.
“Just worried about essays”, Darrell shrugged, glancing away. Sally would know she was lying, but Darrell couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend the truth of her concerns.
“I thought you were mulling over the rumours that have been going around about us”, Sally commented and Darrell froze.
“You have some kind of super powers”, Darrell muttered, “No-one can be that naturally perceptive”.
“Oh come on, if you’ve heard the rumours then you should have guessed that I would have as well. People aren’t as kind or subtle to me”, Sally patted the bed beside her, which caused Darrell to glance up, “Come here - you don’t need to hide over there”. Darrell complied with Sally’s request but it didn’t do anything to loosen up the stiffness of her posture.
“I suppose it’s a bit more of a shock to you - but I’ve been ignoring the rumours for years, don’t let it upset you”, and Darrell looked up sharply.
“Years?”
“They started at Malory Towers - I think you only never heard about them because people rather thought you might knock their heads off if you heard them talking about it”, Sally grinned, “No-one here knows about your infamous temper”. Darrell sighed and pushed herself back to sit with her back against the wall.
“I do wish everyone would mind their own business”, she rubbed the back of her neck with one hand and frowned.
“You’re really upset about it aren’t you?”, and there was a peculiar edge to Sally’s voice that Darrell couldn’t quite place.
“I don’t know what I am about it”, Darrell shrugged, “It’s just a bit...I would much prefer not to overhear a conversation speculating about what we do and don’t do behind closed doors if that’s what you mean”.
“I have to ask...”, Sally sounded serious so Darrell finally looked across at her, “If it bothers you, and it seems like it does, why have you not confronted people and told them it’s a load of old rubbish?”
“How would I ever convince anyone it’s not true with the way you behave with me?”, Darrell asked, and was quite proud of the way it caused Sally to falter - not usually able to be one step ahead of her intuitive friend.
“Why haven’t you told me to stop?”, Sally asked, “I would in an instant if I knew...if I thought you wanted me to”.
“I think you already know the answer to that”, Darrell replied.
“Maybe I just want to hear you say it so I know I’m not imagining things”, Sally suggested, and there was the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, something that had been so present during their school days. Darrell hesitated as she tried to find the words, but nothing came to mind that suited what she wanted to say. She turned phrases over and over for what seemed like forever but it was probably just a few seconds before she gave up.
It was far more effective to just kiss Sally instead.
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: 13
Word Count: 444
Summary: Alicia has a question…
“What do you think?”, and Darrell groaned inwardly at the tone of Alicia’s voice. Even Darrell could tell when Alicia was rather too pleased with herself, and she didn’t bother looking up from her writing. Moira had decided that part of the script needed to be redone and after arguing for a while Darrell had decided to just do the rewrite rather than risk losing her temper. Although she had gotten the feeling that some of the others had been hoping for a blow-up of sorts between them.
“Not now Alicia”.
“Oh I think you will want to see this”, how did Alicia sound so infuriatingly cheery? Darrell dropped her pen and turned around, a retort on the tip of her tongue that was lost as soon as she set eyes on Alicia.
“I just wanted to show you the demon king’s outfit”, Darrell heard the words but they didn’t quite sink in as she tried to focus on not staring at just how well-fitted Alicia’s outfit was. She tried to keep her face neutral but she was certain she had given something away, doubly so when Alicia grinned. Darrell tried to push her chair back as Alicia approached her, quite forgetting that she was sat at a table.
“Janet finished it this morning, couldn’t wait to show you”, Alicia commented, as was Darrell imagining things or was Alicia’s voice different? Perhaps if she could stop herself from looking at Alicia for just a moment, she might be able to think.
“It...uh…”, and Darrell’s usual wordcraft failed her and she stammered like a nervous school-girl...which wasn’t that far from the truth. Although she wasn’t certain nervousness was the right word for what she was feeling.
“You do like it don’t you?”, and Darrell finally looked up at Alicia who was standing far too close to her.
“Yes”, Darrell kept it short, deciding that was the easiest approach.
“I knew you would”, Alicia perched on the table beside her, “Still, don’t want to get it ruined before the big day so…”, and Darrell watched as the smirk reappeared, “want to help me get back out of it?”
Darrell was quite certain she had gone crimson from the way her cheeks burned, and she immediately turned her attention back to her writing and tried to push the thoughts that cropped up in her head away. She knew Alicia was pleased with herself again for making Darrell react like this, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Then she felt Alicia’s hand gently brush her shoulder as the other girl got up and walked towards the door.
“That’s okay, there’s always the performance night”