Femslash Day Fills Post!
Happy International Femslash Day!
Well, I've finished up all the prompts I got, along with fics for several pairings I've intended to do before but never got around to, so here it all is in one easy spot.
(Prompts are listed alphabetically by fandom)
Bayonetta
- Bayonetta/Jeanne, PG-13 (ish), "Practice Makes Perfect" (requested by girlinstilettos )
Bleach
- ( Read more... )
Well, I've finished up all the prompts I got, along with fics for several pairings I've intended to do before but never got around to, so here it all is in one easy spot.
(Prompts are listed alphabetically by fandom)
Bayonetta
- Bayonetta/Jeanne, PG-13 (ish), "Practice Makes Perfect" (requested by girlinstilettos )
Bleach
- ( Read more... )
For the moment, at least.
Reaching a hand inside her pocket, she pulled out a cigarette and lighter, brushing a few strands of newly-shortened hair out of her eyes before putting the smoke to her lips.
"Careful," A too-familiar voice intoned behind her, a hint of playfulness strangely present there. "...Heard those things can kill you." For a moment, the blonde didn't move, the lighter inches from her face. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was, but she looked regardless.
Faith.
In almost a year since the incident at The Shard, she'd barely changed-- her mop of black hair still hung untamed around her head, save for the back of it tied into a hurried, crudely done ponytail that hung on her shoulder. She had a few more bandages and telltale scars scattered across her bare skin, intersecting oddly with the circuitboard tattoo that ran down her right arm, but it was unmistakably her. Months of practice had trained the blonde to reach for her sidearm at the sight of a Runner, to call for help, but she remained still, silently sizing her up.
"...What are you doing here?"
"You're not an easy woman to find, Celeste," Faith said quietly before the slightest hint of a nostalgic smile crept onto her features. "...But there's a reason you never won at 'hide and seek.'"
"I assume you're not here just to play catch-up," Celeste responded, more bitterness than she intended seeping into her voice. Faith ignored her.
"You look good," Faith noticed, leaning against a nearby brick wall. "...For being another of Callaghan's lapdogs, anyway."
"And you look like hell. But then... your little revolution falling apart at the seams will do that." It was a low blow, Celeste knew, but it felt liberating to tell Faith that to her face. Nevermind that her former comrade's cold silence quelled a bit of the vindictive anger burning in her chest. "I know you're not stupid, Faith. It's over. We both knew it-- I was just smart enough to get out while the getting was good. Hell, if what I'm hearing from the boss is true, shouldn't be more than a few weeks before we have every last Runner dealt with."
"It isn't over," Faith spat. "And I'm not giving up. Callaghan might have his propaganda all over the place and those Icarus cops might own the rooftops, but we're still getting volunteers. People who want to fight back and understand what's at stake if we don't. And as long as I've still got Kate, we're not going to stop fighting."
"...Why don't you tell me what it is you're really here for?" Celeste asked finally, turning to full-on meet Faith's gaze.
Reply
Celeste was silent for a long while before she finally burst out laughing, mirthless and spiteful, but Faith just stood there, patiently waiting her out.
"You're... you're serious?" Celeste mocked. "Faith, you do know I betrayed you, right? All of you! I gave up that life to be a cop and you know what? I have real freedom now. Not this vague 'justice' crap that Merc sold you on! I can go wherever I want, do whatever I want, it's everything I could have ever dreamed! You really think I would give this up at the drop of a hat because you happened to 'ask me nicely?'"
"You're really that satisfied, Cel?"
The question's enough to make Celeste pause, taken aback despite her bravado.
"...So you don't wake up in the middle of the night, anxious and tense and knowing that if you could just get up on the roof, could just feel the wind on your face, that everything wouldn't seem so bad? And you don't look at a balony the next apartment over and know exactly how fast or far you'd need to go to make that jump? And you don't miss the quiet, from being that far above all the cars and ads and propaganda and meaningless noise?"
Celeste just stared at Faith for what felt like forever, the suddenly quizzical look on her face practically asking how she could possibly know that.
"After that fall, when I was outta commission... God, every single day I couldn't Run felt like a punishment. I was so... well, scared to do it again at first, but as those weeks passed I realized that I couldn't get it out of my head, and I'd never be happy putting myself behind a desk and behaving like a good little citizen again. And if you stop lying to yourself... I think you'll realize that it's exactly the same for you too."
Looking away, Celeste didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. Yes, Faith was right-- she missed it, more than she could have possibly imagined before her defection, and the more raids she participated in on innocent, frightened families the more she'd come to regret her new vocation.
But it was too late. Faith could pretty it up as much as she wanted, but there was no way the Runners would trust her again, and rightly so. She wouldn't get a second chance.
"...I think you'd better get out of here, Faith."
"Cel, you might be loyal to that pig Callaghan now, but I can assure you he and his cops don't hold any of that for you. We've all been exposed to his politics, and as much as they've tried to keep it quiet, we all know his efforts to 'clean up' the city aren't just limited to sanitation. How long do you think he's going to let a 'deviant' like you live before he stabs you in the back?"
Celeste could feel her fist clenching tight, a vein throbbing in her temple. She knew Faith was right, but...
"We need you Cel. ...I need you. Just think about it, okay?"
Pulling out her pistol and rounding on Faith, Celeste had just about had enough... but turning around she found herself utterly alone.
Gritting her teeth, she violently kicked a discarded beer can into the wall where her one-time friend had been, then began the slow trudge back to her apartment.
Reply
Leave a comment