Icon is appropriate
Yo yo, it's been a while. I think my muse has finally dug herself out of whatever hole she fell into. It was a deep, dirty, messy hole - very different from a hobbit hole. ;)
But anyways, here's last week's FD as well as this week's. I had the last one finished on time, I just fell asleep immediately after finishing it so... yeah. Anyways, onward!
Title: Brand of Romance
Rating: PG
Fandom: Original (Whisper's Society Verse)
Characters: Ulrich/Chris
Theme: Romance
After the capture of the Painted Killer, they had come together with that blend of passion and the glorious adrenaline of feeling alive, but neither of them knew the first thing about romance.
Ulrich had spent most of his life either working or in school, and even aside from those, it would have been difficult - if not impossible - to explain his paintings and his abilities. Chris, too, had been buried in work, uncaring about establishing a relationship of more than a work-related nature.
So when it came to a relationship, Ulrich and Chris were pretty much failures.
Yet a pattern developed between them, somehow. Chris would get back from work sometimes to find a note taped to his door and a short message telling him food was ready at Ulrich's. Sometimes Ulrich would wake from a vision to find take-out next to him and Chris passed out on the couch.
And more and more often, when they came back from missions, they would fall into bed together and not leave for hours.
It was during one of these times when Chris turned toward Ulrich and asked, “Do you want to move in with me?”
Ulrich - who was a bit of a snuggler and had been wrapped around Chris, his head buried in Chris' neck - looked up and cocked his head.
Chris spluttered, suddenly thrown off-kilter. “I mean, I could move in with you but either way I thought maybe it would be easier to live together and... I mean...”
He trailed off, looking away from Ulrich, suddenly unsure of if this had been a good idea. Ulrich reached up and touched Chris' face, drawing the older man's attention back. He leaned up and caught Chris' lips in a quick kiss. “I think that's an excellent plan,” Ulrich replied.
Later, the younger boy would admit that he had been hoping Chris would ask. They would debate over furniture and lamps, and they would eventually have sex on almost every surface in the place. Their relationship could never quite be the romantic one that people always imagined, but it was their own brand of romance.
Title: Mercy Learned
Rating: PG
Fandom: PASTA (Enrique and Katja's 'verse. We need a name for it.)
Characters: Benito, Ivan, Ilya (used with permission~)
Theme: Mercy
Notes: Ivan and Ilya are spazzyfroggies' characters, so I hope I got their characters right. If not, well, we'll pretend it's AU or something. =D I also hope this doesn't really deviate THAT MUCH from the theme. I mean, I PICKED the theme. But it's there, I just hope it's obvious enough.
Benito adjusted his grip on the sword in his right hand as he stained his eyes, trying to see the intruder that had been fighting through the mansion like a person possessed. Moonlight filtered through the high windows, illuminating select parts of the mansion while leaving others shrouded in darkness, and it was into one of these latter patches that Benito stared.
Footsteps sounded down the hallway with the controlled, rhythmic sound of a disciplined soldier. Benito readied his stance and took a step forward as part of the shadows before him began to take the form of a person.
“Come no closer!”
The person stopped, but Benito saw the flash of a drawn weapon and he took up a defensive position.
“Give. Her. Back.” The person almost growled the words, and that was the only warning Benito had before the man launched himself forward and into the light. Benito had enough time to see an elegant curved blade and pitch black hair before he was forced to focus on the fight and defend himself against his attacker.
The blows came quickly, the other's sword flashing in the moonlight, threatening death with each swing. It was all Benito could do to block the attacks, determined not to lose ground to this invader. He got in a good parry and looked over his attacker quickly.
“Wait!” Benito yelled, instantly realizing why the man seemed so familiar, but the attacks didn't stop. “Hold! We aren't- Wait- Stop!” Growing desperation gave Benito a moment of luck to push the man's sword far enough away for him to take a step back and lower his own weapon. The man seemed ready to return to the attack, but Benito took another step back, going to his knees and dropping his weapon, the clattering abnormally loud in the otherwise silent room. “Please. Hold. If only for a moment to listen to me.”
The man glared at Bentio, his blade still raised to attack, and he growled. “I refuse to listen to any of you light-blinded bastards. You've destroyed my family and unless I find my sis-”
A door not far behind Benito suddenly opened and he turned to look over his shoulder at the young girl who stood there.
“Bennie!” Ilya Nacht cried, running toward the young Acarian. She approached him quickly, and he held out a hand to guide her to him without incident.
“I-Ilya!” The man exclaimed, and Benito turned back to him, relieved to see his sword slowly lowering. “I thought- what- you-”
Benito watched as Ilya detached herself from him and slowly approached the last of the Nacht children. Katja and Derryk, as well as Benito's own brother Enrique, had charged the man with protecting the smallest member of the Nacht family, but Benito doubted that any of them had predicted that the man who would come after her would be her brother.
“Ivie!” The girl exclaimed, surprise clear in her voice. She took a step toward him and he reached out, much like Benito had done moments before. Ivan, as Benito finally remembered his name to be, seemed too shocked to do much more than pull the girl close, holding her protectively.
Benito stood and Ivan glared at him, but the darker boy just picked up his sword and sheathed it, his appearance calm, though his heart was beating frantically.
“What are you-” Ivan started, but Bentio shook his head.
“I was protecting her. Your older siblings brought her here to keep her safe. I stayed behind to protect her while the others headed to the castle. Call me what names you will, I will protect her from anyone, even her own family, if necessary.”
Ivan stared at Benito for a long moment, and the darker boy could see the other's hand twitch as he considered striking at Benito, and Benito knew that there would be nothing he could do against the other boy if he did attack. Benito was not his brother, and he knew he was lucky to have survived that short, defensive fight without a scratch.
The younger Nacht boy shook his head and moved Ilya far enough away to sheathe his sword before his hand went straight back to Ilya's. “I will not challenge you. You have protected her, and I will allay your fears as well: I have not killed any person yet this night and I do not plan to do so. I only wanted to save my sister... but it seems she is fine. I thank you for that, but now we take our leave.”
“Ivie...” Ilya frowned, her feet almost rooting to the ground as she resisted Ivan's pull.
“Where will you go?” Benito asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Will you take her out into danger? Will you go back to your family's house? What are you going to do?”
Ivan frowned, staring at the ground at his feet. He growled quietly before turning back to Benito. “I don't know! I don't know what to do! I want my family to be safe but it seems that there is nothing I can do! Nothing at all!”
Benito drew his sword and held it out before him, pointing toward the moon that shown in from above. “Let me come with you. It is not just your family, not just your people out there. I will fight with you, if you will let me, and we can protect her and find our families.”
Ivan stared at Benito for a long moment, but he looked down at Ilya when she tugged on his arm. “If we go find Kattie and Derry, we'll find Bennie's brother too. I think he should come with us.”
Ivan sighed and gave the littlest Nacht a fond look. “And so it's decided.”
Benito nodded, sheathed his sword, and patted Ilya's head as he passed her, leading the way out of the mansion and toward the castle. If a child could teach a man like Ivan mercy, then maybe their two peoples were not so lost after all.
But anyways, here's last week's FD as well as this week's. I had the last one finished on time, I just fell asleep immediately after finishing it so... yeah. Anyways, onward!
Title: Brand of Romance
Rating: PG
Fandom: Original (Whisper's Society Verse)
Characters: Ulrich/Chris
Theme: Romance
After the capture of the Painted Killer, they had come together with that blend of passion and the glorious adrenaline of feeling alive, but neither of them knew the first thing about romance.
Ulrich had spent most of his life either working or in school, and even aside from those, it would have been difficult - if not impossible - to explain his paintings and his abilities. Chris, too, had been buried in work, uncaring about establishing a relationship of more than a work-related nature.
So when it came to a relationship, Ulrich and Chris were pretty much failures.
Yet a pattern developed between them, somehow. Chris would get back from work sometimes to find a note taped to his door and a short message telling him food was ready at Ulrich's. Sometimes Ulrich would wake from a vision to find take-out next to him and Chris passed out on the couch.
And more and more often, when they came back from missions, they would fall into bed together and not leave for hours.
It was during one of these times when Chris turned toward Ulrich and asked, “Do you want to move in with me?”
Ulrich - who was a bit of a snuggler and had been wrapped around Chris, his head buried in Chris' neck - looked up and cocked his head.
Chris spluttered, suddenly thrown off-kilter. “I mean, I could move in with you but either way I thought maybe it would be easier to live together and... I mean...”
He trailed off, looking away from Ulrich, suddenly unsure of if this had been a good idea. Ulrich reached up and touched Chris' face, drawing the older man's attention back. He leaned up and caught Chris' lips in a quick kiss. “I think that's an excellent plan,” Ulrich replied.
Later, the younger boy would admit that he had been hoping Chris would ask. They would debate over furniture and lamps, and they would eventually have sex on almost every surface in the place. Their relationship could never quite be the romantic one that people always imagined, but it was their own brand of romance.
Title: Mercy Learned
Rating: PG
Fandom: PASTA (Enrique and Katja's 'verse. We need a name for it.)
Characters: Benito, Ivan, Ilya (used with permission~)
Theme: Mercy
Notes: Ivan and Ilya are spazzyfroggies' characters, so I hope I got their characters right. If not, well, we'll pretend it's AU or something. =D I also hope this doesn't really deviate THAT MUCH from the theme. I mean, I PICKED the theme. But it's there, I just hope it's obvious enough.
Benito adjusted his grip on the sword in his right hand as he stained his eyes, trying to see the intruder that had been fighting through the mansion like a person possessed. Moonlight filtered through the high windows, illuminating select parts of the mansion while leaving others shrouded in darkness, and it was into one of these latter patches that Benito stared.
Footsteps sounded down the hallway with the controlled, rhythmic sound of a disciplined soldier. Benito readied his stance and took a step forward as part of the shadows before him began to take the form of a person.
“Come no closer!”
The person stopped, but Benito saw the flash of a drawn weapon and he took up a defensive position.
“Give. Her. Back.” The person almost growled the words, and that was the only warning Benito had before the man launched himself forward and into the light. Benito had enough time to see an elegant curved blade and pitch black hair before he was forced to focus on the fight and defend himself against his attacker.
The blows came quickly, the other's sword flashing in the moonlight, threatening death with each swing. It was all Benito could do to block the attacks, determined not to lose ground to this invader. He got in a good parry and looked over his attacker quickly.
“Wait!” Benito yelled, instantly realizing why the man seemed so familiar, but the attacks didn't stop. “Hold! We aren't- Wait- Stop!” Growing desperation gave Benito a moment of luck to push the man's sword far enough away for him to take a step back and lower his own weapon. The man seemed ready to return to the attack, but Benito took another step back, going to his knees and dropping his weapon, the clattering abnormally loud in the otherwise silent room. “Please. Hold. If only for a moment to listen to me.”
The man glared at Bentio, his blade still raised to attack, and he growled. “I refuse to listen to any of you light-blinded bastards. You've destroyed my family and unless I find my sis-”
A door not far behind Benito suddenly opened and he turned to look over his shoulder at the young girl who stood there.
“Bennie!” Ilya Nacht cried, running toward the young Acarian. She approached him quickly, and he held out a hand to guide her to him without incident.
“I-Ilya!” The man exclaimed, and Benito turned back to him, relieved to see his sword slowly lowering. “I thought- what- you-”
Benito watched as Ilya detached herself from him and slowly approached the last of the Nacht children. Katja and Derryk, as well as Benito's own brother Enrique, had charged the man with protecting the smallest member of the Nacht family, but Benito doubted that any of them had predicted that the man who would come after her would be her brother.
“Ivie!” The girl exclaimed, surprise clear in her voice. She took a step toward him and he reached out, much like Benito had done moments before. Ivan, as Benito finally remembered his name to be, seemed too shocked to do much more than pull the girl close, holding her protectively.
Benito stood and Ivan glared at him, but the darker boy just picked up his sword and sheathed it, his appearance calm, though his heart was beating frantically.
“What are you-” Ivan started, but Bentio shook his head.
“I was protecting her. Your older siblings brought her here to keep her safe. I stayed behind to protect her while the others headed to the castle. Call me what names you will, I will protect her from anyone, even her own family, if necessary.”
Ivan stared at Benito for a long moment, and the darker boy could see the other's hand twitch as he considered striking at Benito, and Benito knew that there would be nothing he could do against the other boy if he did attack. Benito was not his brother, and he knew he was lucky to have survived that short, defensive fight without a scratch.
The younger Nacht boy shook his head and moved Ilya far enough away to sheathe his sword before his hand went straight back to Ilya's. “I will not challenge you. You have protected her, and I will allay your fears as well: I have not killed any person yet this night and I do not plan to do so. I only wanted to save my sister... but it seems she is fine. I thank you for that, but now we take our leave.”
“Ivie...” Ilya frowned, her feet almost rooting to the ground as she resisted Ivan's pull.
“Where will you go?” Benito asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Will you take her out into danger? Will you go back to your family's house? What are you going to do?”
Ivan frowned, staring at the ground at his feet. He growled quietly before turning back to Benito. “I don't know! I don't know what to do! I want my family to be safe but it seems that there is nothing I can do! Nothing at all!”
Benito drew his sword and held it out before him, pointing toward the moon that shown in from above. “Let me come with you. It is not just your family, not just your people out there. I will fight with you, if you will let me, and we can protect her and find our families.”
Ivan stared at Benito for a long moment, but he looked down at Ilya when she tugged on his arm. “If we go find Kattie and Derry, we'll find Bennie's brother too. I think he should come with us.”
Ivan sighed and gave the littlest Nacht a fond look. “And so it's decided.”
Benito nodded, sheathed his sword, and patted Ilya's head as he passed her, leading the way out of the mansion and toward the castle. If a child could teach a man like Ivan mercy, then maybe their two peoples were not so lost after all.