Multifandom Fic Battle
Multifandom fic battle. Five ficlets each, twenty-five in total.
Participants: catko vs. csichick_2 vs. naushika vs. queen_bartonia vs. skieswideopen
Themes: endings, holiday, new beginnings, roller coaster, ultimatum
Fandoms: Agents of SHIELD, Grimm, Intelligence (US), Law & Order, MCU, Orphan Black, Original Fic, Rent
[Catko (Orphan Black, 578 words)]
Notes: Based on the Clone Dance Party scene in the season two finale, here.
catko
Orphan Black | "Ultimatum" | Rating: G
Cosima let the needle drop on the LP, and as the steady beat filled the room, she pulled off her oxygen tubes and began swaying to the music, pulling it in deep, to the bone. As Felix drew her out onto the floor, she let the music carry her, lifting and buoying, arms raised to the ceiling, hips moving toward the ground. She felt, more than saw, the movements of the others around her and let the air currents eddy across her skin. So connected; she could feel the pulse of the earth and all living things. And in that moment, she gave herself an ultimatum: Live. No other option.
Orphan Black | "Holiday" | Rating: G
Alison shimmied tentatively against Felix and tried to remember the last time she’d danced with a partner-as opposed to Abs of Steel-type “dancing” which was just about sweating and straining, just like all of life, as it was turning out.
She let her shoulders twist and turn, and it came to her in a surge of body-memory. It was the country club Christmas party, with a Santa giving out gifts, always so tricky, to bring something for the kids that would only just outshine the others’, nothing too obvious, but resounding, of course, one had to keep up one’s place, or risk being choked out of the pecking order.
At the phrase “choked out” she shuddered, then squared her shoulders and continued to dance with her sisters.
Orphan Black | "Roller Coaster" | Rating: G
Kira jumped up and felt a surge of delight at seeing her mama, and all her aunties, moving and swaying and bending and stretching. Utterly moved by this feeling, so different from the watchful wariness and random panic of the last many weeks, she giggled and skipped and hopped and threw her hands in the air-remembering suddenly that time that Ms. S had taken her, and a couple of the other kids, to a local fair, where they’d had ponies, and piglets, and corn dogs, and slushies. But the best of all had been the roller-coaster. The joyous rush of free-falling into space, hands in the air, shouting and laughing. She never thought she’d have that feeling again, but here, just for a moment, here it was.
Orphan Black | "Endings" | Rating: G
Sarah moved to the beat in her usual, street hip-hop style, willing herself to relax and enjoy the moment. Tough to do, so used to being watchful, ready to lunge and spring and snarl and act and attack. But this was not the time for that, and if she could get some respite, amidst Helena’s flailing, Cosima’s swaying, Felix’s sashaying, Alison’s…whatever she was doing, and Kira’s happy dancing-well, what better time to try to enjoy just what it was she was fighting to preserve. Just this one last time, ephemeral. Before everything changed again. As she knew it would.
Orphan Black | "New Beginnings" | Rating: G
Helena was dreaming … of the near-ecstatic feeling of dipping and swaying in concert with a roomful of sisters, the music thudding through her senses. But now, blinking into wakefulness propped in the corner of the loft, she knew she had to get started on her next journey. She looked down at the metal canister in her lap-she’d slept with her arms wrapped around it. Her babies. They couldn’t come with her, if they were to have a chance at a new beginning.
She unfolded herself upright, tucking the canister next to the sofa, and, pulling on her baseball cap, she snuck out the door.
[csichick_2 (Law & Order, Rent/Law & Order, 777 words)]
csichick_2
Law & Order | 242 words | "Ultimatum" | Rating: PG-13
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
“You wanted to see me?” Mike asks when he gets to Jack’s office.
“Close the door and take a seat,” Jack replies.
“What did I supposedly do this time?”
Jack laughs. “For once it’s nothing you did. I’m resigning.”
Mike stares at him. “What? Why?”
“I’m getting too old for this shit,” Jack responds. “Besides I want to spend more time with my family.”
Mike shakes his head. “You couldn’t have decided that before the election? Your new term started last week.”
Jack smirks. “Oh I decided months ago. Doing it this way ensures I leave the office in good hands.”
“You went through another election so that you could hand-pick a successor?” Mike asks incredulously. “Why?”
“Even if I would have been able to convince you to run, I’m not sure if you could have won. This way you have a few years to prove yourself before you have to face the voters.”
Mike’s eyes widen. “You want me to replace you? I don’t think I can, Jack.”
“Oh you will,” Jack replies. “Otherwise you’re fired.”
“What the fuck Jack?”
“We both know that any other DA would fire you within six months. If you’re not going to take the job, I’ll save the person that does the time and headaches,” Jack says with a smirk.
“You play dirty, Jack.”
“Well?” Jack asks.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Mike relents. “But I can’t promise I’ll run in a few years.”
“Fair enough.”
Rent/Law & Order | 146 words | "Roller Coaster" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
“Mama, can I go on the roller coaster this year?” Rory asks for the hundredth time that day as they get off the subway at Coney Island.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve grown just enough kiddo,” Connie replies. “Maybe Daddy will go on it with you.”
“Definitely not,” Roger replies. “Daddy stays on solid ground.”
“Can Morgan go with me?” Rory asks, looking over at his “cousin.”
“Nuh-uh,” Morgan says, clingly tightly to Mark’s hand. “It’s scary.”
“Would it be okay if I go with you?” Mike asks. He hasn’t been on a roller coaster in years, but he assumes that Rory would consider his “uncle” a lot cooler than this mom.
Rory’s face lights up. “You’re the best Uncle Mike,” he exclaims, confirming what Mike suspected. He just wasn’t expecting Rory to like the coaster so much that he insists on riding it literally all day.
Rent/Law & Order | 152 words | "Holiday" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
Between Rory being born a week and a half early - and not letting anyone sleep for longer than a few hours - and the fact that it’s the first time he’s celebrating the holiday, Mike almost forgot about Hanukkah. Thankfully he got all his presents purchased awhile ago so he doesn’t have to face the insanity that is shopping ten days before Christmas.
However, just because he’s purchased his presents, doesn’t mean he’s wrapped them. He’s not seeing Nick and Grant until the weekend since Stony Brook’s an hour and a half away, but he still needs to wrap Nadia’s gift. And all of Mark’s. He knows that he didn’t actually have to buy Mark eight gifts, but the computer is the only big gift. The books and movies are just small little things. Now he just has to figure out how to get them all wrapped without Mark realizing what he’s doing.
Law & Order | 120 words | "Endings" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
Ever since the day he first started law school Lupo knew this day would eventually come, but that doesn’t make it any easier. It took him six years to get there, but he’s actually a licensed attorney now. And that, combined with the courthouse stabbing, means that today is his last day as a detective. No more late nights chasing down empty leads, no more middle of the night calls. About mid-afternoon, he starts packing up the belongings on his desk. However, he leaves the picture of him and Tom on his desk until right as he’s leaving. As he walks about of the squad room for the last time, he’s both nervous and excited about what his future holds.
Law & Order | 117 words | "New Beginnings" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
When Lupo wakes up, at first he panics that he overslept and is going to be late, but then he remembers. He’s no longer a detective, no longer has to commute an hour from Park Slope to the Upper West Side. Today is his first day as a lawyer, and the firm he works for is within walking distance. It’s just getting started and only has a handful of lawyers, but they work they’re doing is exactly why he went to law school to begin with. They’re taking what’s wrong with the law and fighting to fix it. Lupo’s not sure how that’s going to play out, but he’s looking forward to discovering it along the way.
[Naushika (Agents of SHIELD, Grimm, MCU, 1715 words)]
naushika
Grimm | 151 words | "endings"
Adalind had never gotten the chance to get all the accoutrements associated with having a newborn child. She wasn’t sure what was worse, actually having a nursery and crib with no baby to fill it, or not having had enough time with her baby to acquire those things in the first place.
She decided the latter was worse, since that’s what she was going through.
Was this it, then? The end of her motherhood, which had lasted only a week? Adalind had held her baby in Austria, she’d held her on the other side of the globe in Portland, Oregon, and everywhere in between. Was that it? Would she never get to hold her baby again?
Adalind went from person to person, ally to enemy, in search of any help, but she found none.
She could feel the moment when she broke, when she lost all hope.
Her baby was gone.
Agents of SHIELD | 520 words | "holiday"
It was Christmas, and his team was cooped up in their secret hideout in the middle of nowhere. No family, no nearby Wal-Mart to buy wrapping paper or the presents to wrap them in, no cable tv to show It’s a Wonderful Life a hundred times per week.
The mood was sedated, to say the least.
Coulson did what he could for them. He rooted through the kitchen stores, and found a few rolls of gingerbread dough and a couple cartons of powdered egg nog mix. He put Skye in charge of the decorations because she said, ironically, this was the best Christmas she had in a while - at least she was with people she cared about, instead of being alone. At least she had some cheer, which she did her best to infect everyone else with.
Coulson put on a happy front, what he thought it was his team needed. He even sang along when an impromptu Christmas carol session happened in the loungeroom. But it was wearing on him, because all he could think of was all the ways his team had been beaten down, and it made him feel like a failure.
On Christmas Eve, he retired to his room, wishing there was any booze at all in this place. (He resolved then and there to get Trip to bring some back on his next supply run.) He stared at the wall and hoped that the next day wouldn’t be as painful as he feared it might.
He was saved from his thoughts by a knock at the door. He told whoever it was to come in, and he was greeted by Melinda with two mugs in her hand. She sat down and handed him a mug.
“Merry Christmas,” she said, and sipped her drink, smiling mysteriously.
Coulson sniffed at the mug. “Mm, reconstituted eggnog. Just what I always wanted.” But he smiled to take the sting out of his words.
“Just drink it,” she said.
Coulson obliged, taking a sip. It was eggnog, alright. And wait - something else. “Is that… brandy?”
Melinda just smiled and tilted her head to the side.
Coulson took a longer drink, enjoying the warmth as it moved down his throat and settled in his stomach. “Where did you get it?”
“A magician never reveals her secrets.”
“You always know how to cheer a guy up,” Coulson said. “I should make you morale officer.”
The smile dropped immediately off Melinda’s face. “Don’t you dare.”
“No, it could be good. I got a glimpse of Skye wrapping up office supplies in paper towels. I think she’s gonna have gifts for everyone in the morning. You should be the Santa.”
Melinda shook her head, unwilling to dignify that with a response.
“Too bad we don’t have a Santa hat.”
“You mean, thank God.”
Coulson grinned and took another sip of one of the best Christmas presents he’d gotten in a while. After a few moments of companionable silence, Coulson whispered his thanks to Melinda. She just smiled and patted him on the hand.
Maybe things were looking up.
Grimm | 233 words | "New Beginnings"
Trubel had fully intended to move out. To be independent, a responsible, grown-ass adult, blah blah, all that stuff. But then Nick lost his Grimm-ness, and he lost his girlfriend, all on the same day, and now every night he sat sprawled on his couch as a collection of empty beer bottles grew around him. It felt wrong to just leave him to himself like that.
But she also knew she couldn’t let it go on if she was gonna stay there. He needed her, sure, but she didn’t need another situation in her life where someone spiralled into darkness and took her along for the ride. Which is why, on a regular Tuesday afternoon, she enacted her plan.
While Nick was at work, she threw out all the booze in the house, went to the trailer, and retrieved every book that looked like it had anything to do with Grimm powers, the loss of, or potential retrieval. A lot of it was in other languages so she just had to guess. She called up Monroe, told him her plan, and asked him to come by that night to help (and to bring pizza).
One way or another, Trubel was going to help Nick over this roadblock. She still had a lot to learn about being a Grimm, and he was the best person to help. They would both start over - together.
MCU | 470 words | "Roller Coaster"
“Are you sure that this activity is necessary?” Thor asked. His normally strong voice betrayed a slight tremble that made Jane eye him curiously.
“Thor, are you… scared?” she asked, unable to keep a smile from creeping across her face.
He straightened his back and jutted out his chin at the accusation. “Of course not. I just do not understand the point of this ritual. Many of your customs are foreign to me.”
Jane patted him on the arm as they both watched the cars of the previous train roll in, the passengers all looking wind-ruffled, their faces red and smiling. “It’s not really a ritual, and it’s totally safe. There’s nothing to be scared of. It’s just for fun.”
“I can think of many things that would be far more fun. Such as any including one of the fine ales of your world. Or perhaps the activity we partook in last night.” Thor smiled at her.
“You’re not getting out of this.” Jane said firmly.
The train cars were emptied, now, and their line was moving and filling in the seats. Jane grabbed Thor’s arm and pulled him along. Of course, if he really didn’t want to move, she would never be able to get him to - but he provided just enough resistance to let her know he really didn’t want to be doing this. Finally, they were seated, and ready to go.
Jane grinned over at Thor, who wore an expression of distrust. “I have heard how the previous riders of this device screamed,” he said.
“They were screams of enjoyment.”
Thor just shook his head, unable to comprehend such a thing.
The roller coaster’s car jerked suddenly and began moving, beginning the slow ascent up to the first drop. Thor was gripping the bars of his chest harness so hard Jane thought he might crush right through them.
“Nobody’s ever died doing this, Thor,” she said, having to raise her voice to be heard over the creaking and clanking noises of the roller coaster. “Not on this ride, anyway.”
“What?” Thor whipped his head around, but they’d crested the apex of the first drop and were suddenly plummeting towards Earth again.
Jane’s own screams and laughs were drowned out by Thor’s as they rushed towards the ground, then up again, and around, going sideways and upside down. The ride was short, only a couple minutes.
At the end, when the ride was over and the train cars slowly came back to the platform, Jane looked over to Thor, who was wearing a huge grin.
“Well, how was it?” Jane asked.
“I now understand this ritual!” Thor boomed, and everyone waiting on the platform turned to stare at him. “A test of bravery. I insist we undergo it again!”
Jane couldn’t say no.
Hawkeye (Marvel 616) | 341 words | "Ultimatum"
Shaving wasn’t exactly something Clint did on a regular basis. He enjoyed the scruffiness of his face when he let it go, and, honestly, he was kinda lazy. But the scruff was fast leaving “attractive hero with the five o’clock shadow” territory and approaching “lazy bum who never changes out of his sweats and has an unkempt almost-beard that looks kinda like it’s infected with lice.” He wanted to avoid the bum status (no matter how accurate it may be). He had a superhero image to uphold, afterall.
He slapped some hot water on his face, squirted a pile of dense white shaving cream onto his hand, and spread it all over his face. He wet the sharp end of his razor, inhaled, and dragged it down the side of his face.
Only to yelp in pain as the razor more pulled the hair out than cut it, and left a constellation of red dots across the strip of shaved skin. He held the razor in front of his face and examined it.
The blades were dull, and full of short, black hairs.
Damnit.
He stalked out of the bathroom, face covered in shaving cream and dots of his own blood, to find Kate lounging on the couch, petting the dog and watching tv.
“Kate,” he said. “Have you been using my razor?”
She looked over at him and laughed, a great big belly laugh. Once she sobered enough - all the while Clint stood there tapping his foot impatiently - she denied the accusation.
Clint raised at eyebrow at her bare legs, which looked pretty smooth. Kate grabbed a throw pillow and put it over her legs, shrugging apologetically. “Okay. Maybe a little,” she said.
“That’s it, that’s the last time. Use my razor again and you lose Lucky privileges.”
Kate gasped in horror and clung to the dog. “No!”
“I mean it!” He stomped back to the bathroom while Kate gave assurances to the dog that she’d never leave him. “Buy your own damn razors!”
[queen_bartonia (Original Fic, 994 words)]
queen_bartonia
Original Fic | 122 words | "endings" | Rating: PG
Opaque and still, the water felt sinister. Drifting, drifting. It simply drifted along the top, skimmed the frightening water. Bobbed when I picked up the bowl. Up and down, carried by the water, shifting as I moved down the hallway and into the bathroom.
I clasped the bowl to me, looking out at my shower curtain, not seeing it. Whispered a few words, futile and venial. Crouching down, poured the contents into the toilet, the water in the bowl rushing out, but Truman held back. Until it was his turn. He slipped into the toilet bowl with a plop!
I flushed the latest in a long string of goldfish goodbye. There was time enough to go to the pet store later today.
Original Fic | 368 words | "holiday" | Rating: PG
The sun rose over the mountains, turning them from dark brown to bright shades of green, revealing trees, meadows, barns, and sprawling houses with verandahs. It kept rising until it reached the sandy beach down below the mountains. The rays slowly stroked the water, inch by inch, warming the water with it's touch.
Mornings she awakened early to watch the sun's progress from mountain, to beach, to water. She could see all the way down to the harbor from her bedroom window. Her leisurely breakfast consisted of buttermilk pancakes with fresh boysenberry jam and clotted cream. two strips of bacon, some oatmeal and a banana.
She took her time getting dressed and then in a fit of foolhardiness, she would run all the way down the lane, brushing past cars and narrowly missing bicycles, until she reached the beach. With her first steps on the sand she felt it warm on top but chilled just beneath the surface, luxuriated in the warm/coolness of the morning. Laying a towel down beside her friends, she would face away from the water, looking up at the mountain instead.
They would lay out for another hour and then would spend their afternoons up in the mountains exploring, playing games, stopping only long enough to eat of one of their houses, before flying outside again. Late afternoon, they would ride their bikes down main street to get some ice cream (and frozen yogurt for Jocelyn). The nights were spent in the water or on it in someone's boat.
Sprawled out in the warm water, she closed her eyes and made a wish that these lazy summer days would never end.
"Louise!"
The water lapped at her knees, moving up to her thighs, so warm in the cool night --
"LOU-ISE! Get out of bed right this minute."
She rolled over to see her mother standing in the open doorway, a laundry basket tucked into her hip. "Awake yet?"
She nodded.
"Good. Get dressed and head out right away. We got another 6 inches of snow last night and it you don't want to be last for school, you better start shoveling, sweetie."
Holiday time was over. It was back to reality for her.
Original Fic | 139 words | "new beginnings" | Rating: PG
She came up for air, gasping for breath, breaking the surface of the water. Out here, way from the pier, from the crowds, it was just her. Out here, she could think. Or not think. She could do whatever she wanted.
It had been too long since she could do whatever she felt like, when she felt like it. When had she started to lose herself? When had she become this nothing?
She struck out toward the horizon, even strokes, breathing every fourth one the way she'd been taught. She had no idea where she was going. Nowhere, really. There was nothing out here. Nothing but her and the water, and the cool night air.
She'd think about tomorrow and the next day, and the rest of her life later. For now, she was going to enjoy this moment.
Original Fic | 163 words | "roller coaster" | Rating: PG
Darrin sang along without even realizing he was doing it. "Our love is like a roller coaster, lazy, maybe. Let's all abide."
The clerk laughed. "All abide?"
He turned away slightly to hide his embarrassment, pretending to look at the candy display. Picking the first thing, Darrin plopped an Orbit gum on counter. Cinnamon, yuck, his least favorite flavor.
The clerk finished ringing up the groceries and started to bag them. "It's 'I wanna ride' not 'all abide', fyi."
"Yeah, whatever, man." Darrin handed the clerk his total, in a wad of cash, mostly his tips from this week.
"Roller coaster of love," the clerk sang out, "oooh, ooooh, ooooh."
Darrin gave the guy a look that said, "you're crazy," but it didn't stop the clerk from continuing to sing. "Your love is like a roller coaster, baby, baby!"
Darrin grabbed his bag of groceries and ran for the door. As the automatic doors closed behind him, he could still hear the guy singing.
Original Fic | 202 words | "Ultimatum" | Rating: PG
"It's now or never." He slithered closer. "Come on, you know you want it. Why wait?"
I liked to wait. Waiting made everything seem so much more bearable, or maybe just easier to deal with. I was definitely a wait-and-see kind of woman.
"You can have it now." He was too close, almost whispering in my ear.
It was my fault, really. I encouraged him. Gave him one smile too many. Made him think I would be easy.
"You know you want it now." I really did. I wanted it so badly, I almost shook with it.
"If you walk away now, we both know you'll never be back. So, come on, sweetie, let's make this happen. How about it? Ready to sign on the dotted line?"
I took one more look. The sleeks lines, the sexy curves, the topless option. And the butt-warmers. I was a sucker for butt-warmers, especial the thought of how they would feel on cold winter nights. The red convertible was the car I had always wanted. The one I fantasized about growing up. It was everything my sensible Hyundai wasn't.
I turned to the salesman. "i guess it's never. Bye." And I walked off the lot.
[skieswideopen (Intelligence, 766 words)]
skieswideopen
Intelligence |116 words | "New Beginnings"
"It's a chance for you to get a fresh start," Riley's father said awkwardly when he told her she was going to be living with him from now on.
Riley just nodded. She'd hoped that the move to her father's house would be temporary, just until the trial was over, but her mother's absolute silence throughout had informed her otherwise. Riley still wasn't sure what outcome her mother had been hoping for. Probably not one where her daughter went free, even if Riley had saved her life.
Well, she hadn't done it to earn her mother's gratitude.
"A new beginning," Riley said firmly. A new school, a new room. A new life. One just for her.
Intelligence | 156 words | "Endings"
A week after he graduated, Gabriel enlisted. He informed Mary of this with a casual air that she knew was faked. Apparently he didn't trust her to hold up her end of their deal.
Truthfully, she didn't entirely trust herself to hold it up either.
Agreeing to stop trying to argue him out of joining the Army if he finished college first had seemed like a good idea back when he was a high school senior. Four more years, she'd thought. Four years for him to grow up, to develop other interests, to see what else life could offer. She'd had so many hopes for him, for his life. The one child she thought might escape the military legacy, and all that it meant.
She should have known it wasn't work.
She was good, in the end. No complaints. No tears. Not in front of him. But in private, she mourned the end of her dreams.
Intelligence | 161 words | "Holiday"
Lillian cleared her throat and waited for C-Doc to fall silent. "I'll be in San Francisco for a week," she announced. "While I'm gone, Gabriel's in charge."
There was a murmur through the room. Nelson looked outright shocked. Riley raised an eyebrow, but otherwise maintained a reasonable facsimile of inscrutability.
Gabriel just looked amused.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jameson asked. He glanced quickly at Gabriel. "Not that I don't think you can do it, but isn't it kind of difficult to run things and work the case?"
"Not my call," Lillian said. "Apparently our new director of national intelligence wants Gabriel running things."
"So it's a test," Riley said.
"That's all right," Gabriel said. "Unlike some people, I test well." He tossed a quick, teasing grin at Riley, then turned back to Lillian. "Enjoy your vacation, Lillian. Visit your daughter. Don't worry about us. We'll still be here when you get back."
She really hoped he was right.
Intelligence | 109 words | "Roller Coaster"
"I've always hated roller coasters," Cassidy said. "The long climb up, knowing you'd have to go down again. The rush as you fly down the rails. All those ups and downs." He paced three steps, turned, and paced back the other way. "I hate it."
"He's going to be fine," Lillian said.
"You know know that, Cassidy said. "There's no way anyone can know that. We won't know until he wakes up...or doesn't. Last time--"
"You learned from last time," Lillian interrupted. "And you applied those lessons, and that's how I know that this time will be different."
Cassidy collapsed into a chair outside Morgan's door. "I hate waiting."
Intelligence | 224 words | "Ultimatum"
"If the next one doesn't work, I'm shutting Clockwork down," Weatherly said.
"You don't have the authority to do that," Lillian protested.
"Not directly," Weatherly agreed, "but I can make sure your supplies of money and candidates dry up." He leaned forward and rested his hands on his desk for emphasis. "I am not going to allow any more good men to die chasing your pipe dream, Lillian."
"It will work."
"Maybe. One day. Some projects are ahead of their team."
Lillian studied him, calculating. "You said we could have one more."
Weatherly nodded. "I'd cut you off now if I could, but the president really wants to see this work."
"Then I want free rein in choosing my candidate," Lillian said.
"You have free rein."
She shook her head. "Our requests for our best potential candidate have consistently been turned down. If we only get one more, then I want him." She laid the folder on the desk, and waited.
Weatherly picked it up and flipped through it. "Vaughn," he said, reading. He looked up when he got to the page. "Are you sure?"
"Very," Lillian said.
Weatherly closed the file and handed it back to her. "Then he's yours. But he's the last one. So make it count."
"I understand," Lillian said, standing up. "Thank you."
She really hoped Cassidy was right.
Participants: catko vs. csichick_2 vs. naushika vs. queen_bartonia vs. skieswideopen
Themes: endings, holiday, new beginnings, roller coaster, ultimatum
Fandoms: Agents of SHIELD, Grimm, Intelligence (US), Law & Order, MCU, Orphan Black, Original Fic, Rent
[Catko (Orphan Black, 578 words)]
Notes: Based on the Clone Dance Party scene in the season two finale, here.
catko
Orphan Black | "Ultimatum" | Rating: G
Cosima let the needle drop on the LP, and as the steady beat filled the room, she pulled off her oxygen tubes and began swaying to the music, pulling it in deep, to the bone. As Felix drew her out onto the floor, she let the music carry her, lifting and buoying, arms raised to the ceiling, hips moving toward the ground. She felt, more than saw, the movements of the others around her and let the air currents eddy across her skin. So connected; she could feel the pulse of the earth and all living things. And in that moment, she gave herself an ultimatum: Live. No other option.
Orphan Black | "Holiday" | Rating: G
Alison shimmied tentatively against Felix and tried to remember the last time she’d danced with a partner-as opposed to Abs of Steel-type “dancing” which was just about sweating and straining, just like all of life, as it was turning out.
She let her shoulders twist and turn, and it came to her in a surge of body-memory. It was the country club Christmas party, with a Santa giving out gifts, always so tricky, to bring something for the kids that would only just outshine the others’, nothing too obvious, but resounding, of course, one had to keep up one’s place, or risk being choked out of the pecking order.
At the phrase “choked out” she shuddered, then squared her shoulders and continued to dance with her sisters.
Orphan Black | "Roller Coaster" | Rating: G
Kira jumped up and felt a surge of delight at seeing her mama, and all her aunties, moving and swaying and bending and stretching. Utterly moved by this feeling, so different from the watchful wariness and random panic of the last many weeks, she giggled and skipped and hopped and threw her hands in the air-remembering suddenly that time that Ms. S had taken her, and a couple of the other kids, to a local fair, where they’d had ponies, and piglets, and corn dogs, and slushies. But the best of all had been the roller-coaster. The joyous rush of free-falling into space, hands in the air, shouting and laughing. She never thought she’d have that feeling again, but here, just for a moment, here it was.
Orphan Black | "Endings" | Rating: G
Sarah moved to the beat in her usual, street hip-hop style, willing herself to relax and enjoy the moment. Tough to do, so used to being watchful, ready to lunge and spring and snarl and act and attack. But this was not the time for that, and if she could get some respite, amidst Helena’s flailing, Cosima’s swaying, Felix’s sashaying, Alison’s…whatever she was doing, and Kira’s happy dancing-well, what better time to try to enjoy just what it was she was fighting to preserve. Just this one last time, ephemeral. Before everything changed again. As she knew it would.
Orphan Black | "New Beginnings" | Rating: G
Helena was dreaming … of the near-ecstatic feeling of dipping and swaying in concert with a roomful of sisters, the music thudding through her senses. But now, blinking into wakefulness propped in the corner of the loft, she knew she had to get started on her next journey. She looked down at the metal canister in her lap-she’d slept with her arms wrapped around it. Her babies. They couldn’t come with her, if they were to have a chance at a new beginning.
She unfolded herself upright, tucking the canister next to the sofa, and, pulling on her baseball cap, she snuck out the door.
[csichick_2 (Law & Order, Rent/Law & Order, 777 words)]
csichick_2
Law & Order | 242 words | "Ultimatum" | Rating: PG-13
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
“You wanted to see me?” Mike asks when he gets to Jack’s office.
“Close the door and take a seat,” Jack replies.
“What did I supposedly do this time?”
Jack laughs. “For once it’s nothing you did. I’m resigning.”
Mike stares at him. “What? Why?”
“I’m getting too old for this shit,” Jack responds. “Besides I want to spend more time with my family.”
Mike shakes his head. “You couldn’t have decided that before the election? Your new term started last week.”
Jack smirks. “Oh I decided months ago. Doing it this way ensures I leave the office in good hands.”
“You went through another election so that you could hand-pick a successor?” Mike asks incredulously. “Why?”
“Even if I would have been able to convince you to run, I’m not sure if you could have won. This way you have a few years to prove yourself before you have to face the voters.”
Mike’s eyes widen. “You want me to replace you? I don’t think I can, Jack.”
“Oh you will,” Jack replies. “Otherwise you’re fired.”
“What the fuck Jack?”
“We both know that any other DA would fire you within six months. If you’re not going to take the job, I’ll save the person that does the time and headaches,” Jack says with a smirk.
“You play dirty, Jack.”
“Well?” Jack asks.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Mike relents. “But I can’t promise I’ll run in a few years.”
“Fair enough.”
Rent/Law & Order | 146 words | "Roller Coaster" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
“Mama, can I go on the roller coaster this year?” Rory asks for the hundredth time that day as they get off the subway at Coney Island.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve grown just enough kiddo,” Connie replies. “Maybe Daddy will go on it with you.”
“Definitely not,” Roger replies. “Daddy stays on solid ground.”
“Can Morgan go with me?” Rory asks, looking over at his “cousin.”
“Nuh-uh,” Morgan says, clingly tightly to Mark’s hand. “It’s scary.”
“Would it be okay if I go with you?” Mike asks. He hasn’t been on a roller coaster in years, but he assumes that Rory would consider his “uncle” a lot cooler than this mom.
Rory’s face lights up. “You’re the best Uncle Mike,” he exclaims, confirming what Mike suspected. He just wasn’t expecting Rory to like the coaster so much that he insists on riding it literally all day.
Rent/Law & Order | 152 words | "Holiday" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
Between Rory being born a week and a half early - and not letting anyone sleep for longer than a few hours - and the fact that it’s the first time he’s celebrating the holiday, Mike almost forgot about Hanukkah. Thankfully he got all his presents purchased awhile ago so he doesn’t have to face the insanity that is shopping ten days before Christmas.
However, just because he’s purchased his presents, doesn’t mean he’s wrapped them. He’s not seeing Nick and Grant until the weekend since Stony Brook’s an hour and a half away, but he still needs to wrap Nadia’s gift. And all of Mark’s. He knows that he didn’t actually have to buy Mark eight gifts, but the computer is the only big gift. The books and movies are just small little things. Now he just has to figure out how to get them all wrapped without Mark realizing what he’s doing.
Law & Order | 120 words | "Endings" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
Ever since the day he first started law school Lupo knew this day would eventually come, but that doesn’t make it any easier. It took him six years to get there, but he’s actually a licensed attorney now. And that, combined with the courthouse stabbing, means that today is his last day as a detective. No more late nights chasing down empty leads, no more middle of the night calls. About mid-afternoon, he starts packing up the belongings on his desk. However, he leaves the picture of him and Tom on his desk until right as he’s leaving. As he walks about of the squad room for the last time, he’s both nervous and excited about what his future holds.
Law & Order | 117 words | "New Beginnings" | Rating: PG
Note: Based on RP with _eyesofpride_
When Lupo wakes up, at first he panics that he overslept and is going to be late, but then he remembers. He’s no longer a detective, no longer has to commute an hour from Park Slope to the Upper West Side. Today is his first day as a lawyer, and the firm he works for is within walking distance. It’s just getting started and only has a handful of lawyers, but they work they’re doing is exactly why he went to law school to begin with. They’re taking what’s wrong with the law and fighting to fix it. Lupo’s not sure how that’s going to play out, but he’s looking forward to discovering it along the way.
[Naushika (Agents of SHIELD, Grimm, MCU, 1715 words)]
naushika
Grimm | 151 words | "endings"
Adalind had never gotten the chance to get all the accoutrements associated with having a newborn child. She wasn’t sure what was worse, actually having a nursery and crib with no baby to fill it, or not having had enough time with her baby to acquire those things in the first place.
She decided the latter was worse, since that’s what she was going through.
Was this it, then? The end of her motherhood, which had lasted only a week? Adalind had held her baby in Austria, she’d held her on the other side of the globe in Portland, Oregon, and everywhere in between. Was that it? Would she never get to hold her baby again?
Adalind went from person to person, ally to enemy, in search of any help, but she found none.
She could feel the moment when she broke, when she lost all hope.
Her baby was gone.
Agents of SHIELD | 520 words | "holiday"
It was Christmas, and his team was cooped up in their secret hideout in the middle of nowhere. No family, no nearby Wal-Mart to buy wrapping paper or the presents to wrap them in, no cable tv to show It’s a Wonderful Life a hundred times per week.
The mood was sedated, to say the least.
Coulson did what he could for them. He rooted through the kitchen stores, and found a few rolls of gingerbread dough and a couple cartons of powdered egg nog mix. He put Skye in charge of the decorations because she said, ironically, this was the best Christmas she had in a while - at least she was with people she cared about, instead of being alone. At least she had some cheer, which she did her best to infect everyone else with.
Coulson put on a happy front, what he thought it was his team needed. He even sang along when an impromptu Christmas carol session happened in the loungeroom. But it was wearing on him, because all he could think of was all the ways his team had been beaten down, and it made him feel like a failure.
On Christmas Eve, he retired to his room, wishing there was any booze at all in this place. (He resolved then and there to get Trip to bring some back on his next supply run.) He stared at the wall and hoped that the next day wouldn’t be as painful as he feared it might.
He was saved from his thoughts by a knock at the door. He told whoever it was to come in, and he was greeted by Melinda with two mugs in her hand. She sat down and handed him a mug.
“Merry Christmas,” she said, and sipped her drink, smiling mysteriously.
Coulson sniffed at the mug. “Mm, reconstituted eggnog. Just what I always wanted.” But he smiled to take the sting out of his words.
“Just drink it,” she said.
Coulson obliged, taking a sip. It was eggnog, alright. And wait - something else. “Is that… brandy?”
Melinda just smiled and tilted her head to the side.
Coulson took a longer drink, enjoying the warmth as it moved down his throat and settled in his stomach. “Where did you get it?”
“A magician never reveals her secrets.”
“You always know how to cheer a guy up,” Coulson said. “I should make you morale officer.”
The smile dropped immediately off Melinda’s face. “Don’t you dare.”
“No, it could be good. I got a glimpse of Skye wrapping up office supplies in paper towels. I think she’s gonna have gifts for everyone in the morning. You should be the Santa.”
Melinda shook her head, unwilling to dignify that with a response.
“Too bad we don’t have a Santa hat.”
“You mean, thank God.”
Coulson grinned and took another sip of one of the best Christmas presents he’d gotten in a while. After a few moments of companionable silence, Coulson whispered his thanks to Melinda. She just smiled and patted him on the hand.
Maybe things were looking up.
Grimm | 233 words | "New Beginnings"
Trubel had fully intended to move out. To be independent, a responsible, grown-ass adult, blah blah, all that stuff. But then Nick lost his Grimm-ness, and he lost his girlfriend, all on the same day, and now every night he sat sprawled on his couch as a collection of empty beer bottles grew around him. It felt wrong to just leave him to himself like that.
But she also knew she couldn’t let it go on if she was gonna stay there. He needed her, sure, but she didn’t need another situation in her life where someone spiralled into darkness and took her along for the ride. Which is why, on a regular Tuesday afternoon, she enacted her plan.
While Nick was at work, she threw out all the booze in the house, went to the trailer, and retrieved every book that looked like it had anything to do with Grimm powers, the loss of, or potential retrieval. A lot of it was in other languages so she just had to guess. She called up Monroe, told him her plan, and asked him to come by that night to help (and to bring pizza).
One way or another, Trubel was going to help Nick over this roadblock. She still had a lot to learn about being a Grimm, and he was the best person to help. They would both start over - together.
MCU | 470 words | "Roller Coaster"
“Are you sure that this activity is necessary?” Thor asked. His normally strong voice betrayed a slight tremble that made Jane eye him curiously.
“Thor, are you… scared?” she asked, unable to keep a smile from creeping across her face.
He straightened his back and jutted out his chin at the accusation. “Of course not. I just do not understand the point of this ritual. Many of your customs are foreign to me.”
Jane patted him on the arm as they both watched the cars of the previous train roll in, the passengers all looking wind-ruffled, their faces red and smiling. “It’s not really a ritual, and it’s totally safe. There’s nothing to be scared of. It’s just for fun.”
“I can think of many things that would be far more fun. Such as any including one of the fine ales of your world. Or perhaps the activity we partook in last night.” Thor smiled at her.
“You’re not getting out of this.” Jane said firmly.
The train cars were emptied, now, and their line was moving and filling in the seats. Jane grabbed Thor’s arm and pulled him along. Of course, if he really didn’t want to move, she would never be able to get him to - but he provided just enough resistance to let her know he really didn’t want to be doing this. Finally, they were seated, and ready to go.
Jane grinned over at Thor, who wore an expression of distrust. “I have heard how the previous riders of this device screamed,” he said.
“They were screams of enjoyment.”
Thor just shook his head, unable to comprehend such a thing.
The roller coaster’s car jerked suddenly and began moving, beginning the slow ascent up to the first drop. Thor was gripping the bars of his chest harness so hard Jane thought he might crush right through them.
“Nobody’s ever died doing this, Thor,” she said, having to raise her voice to be heard over the creaking and clanking noises of the roller coaster. “Not on this ride, anyway.”
“What?” Thor whipped his head around, but they’d crested the apex of the first drop and were suddenly plummeting towards Earth again.
Jane’s own screams and laughs were drowned out by Thor’s as they rushed towards the ground, then up again, and around, going sideways and upside down. The ride was short, only a couple minutes.
At the end, when the ride was over and the train cars slowly came back to the platform, Jane looked over to Thor, who was wearing a huge grin.
“Well, how was it?” Jane asked.
“I now understand this ritual!” Thor boomed, and everyone waiting on the platform turned to stare at him. “A test of bravery. I insist we undergo it again!”
Jane couldn’t say no.
Hawkeye (Marvel 616) | 341 words | "Ultimatum"
Shaving wasn’t exactly something Clint did on a regular basis. He enjoyed the scruffiness of his face when he let it go, and, honestly, he was kinda lazy. But the scruff was fast leaving “attractive hero with the five o’clock shadow” territory and approaching “lazy bum who never changes out of his sweats and has an unkempt almost-beard that looks kinda like it’s infected with lice.” He wanted to avoid the bum status (no matter how accurate it may be). He had a superhero image to uphold, afterall.
He slapped some hot water on his face, squirted a pile of dense white shaving cream onto his hand, and spread it all over his face. He wet the sharp end of his razor, inhaled, and dragged it down the side of his face.
Only to yelp in pain as the razor more pulled the hair out than cut it, and left a constellation of red dots across the strip of shaved skin. He held the razor in front of his face and examined it.
The blades were dull, and full of short, black hairs.
Damnit.
He stalked out of the bathroom, face covered in shaving cream and dots of his own blood, to find Kate lounging on the couch, petting the dog and watching tv.
“Kate,” he said. “Have you been using my razor?”
She looked over at him and laughed, a great big belly laugh. Once she sobered enough - all the while Clint stood there tapping his foot impatiently - she denied the accusation.
Clint raised at eyebrow at her bare legs, which looked pretty smooth. Kate grabbed a throw pillow and put it over her legs, shrugging apologetically. “Okay. Maybe a little,” she said.
“That’s it, that’s the last time. Use my razor again and you lose Lucky privileges.”
Kate gasped in horror and clung to the dog. “No!”
“I mean it!” He stomped back to the bathroom while Kate gave assurances to the dog that she’d never leave him. “Buy your own damn razors!”
[queen_bartonia (Original Fic, 994 words)]
queen_bartonia
Original Fic | 122 words | "endings" | Rating: PG
Opaque and still, the water felt sinister. Drifting, drifting. It simply drifted along the top, skimmed the frightening water. Bobbed when I picked up the bowl. Up and down, carried by the water, shifting as I moved down the hallway and into the bathroom.
I clasped the bowl to me, looking out at my shower curtain, not seeing it. Whispered a few words, futile and venial. Crouching down, poured the contents into the toilet, the water in the bowl rushing out, but Truman held back. Until it was his turn. He slipped into the toilet bowl with a plop!
I flushed the latest in a long string of goldfish goodbye. There was time enough to go to the pet store later today.
Original Fic | 368 words | "holiday" | Rating: PG
The sun rose over the mountains, turning them from dark brown to bright shades of green, revealing trees, meadows, barns, and sprawling houses with verandahs. It kept rising until it reached the sandy beach down below the mountains. The rays slowly stroked the water, inch by inch, warming the water with it's touch.
Mornings she awakened early to watch the sun's progress from mountain, to beach, to water. She could see all the way down to the harbor from her bedroom window. Her leisurely breakfast consisted of buttermilk pancakes with fresh boysenberry jam and clotted cream. two strips of bacon, some oatmeal and a banana.
She took her time getting dressed and then in a fit of foolhardiness, she would run all the way down the lane, brushing past cars and narrowly missing bicycles, until she reached the beach. With her first steps on the sand she felt it warm on top but chilled just beneath the surface, luxuriated in the warm/coolness of the morning. Laying a towel down beside her friends, she would face away from the water, looking up at the mountain instead.
They would lay out for another hour and then would spend their afternoons up in the mountains exploring, playing games, stopping only long enough to eat of one of their houses, before flying outside again. Late afternoon, they would ride their bikes down main street to get some ice cream (and frozen yogurt for Jocelyn). The nights were spent in the water or on it in someone's boat.
Sprawled out in the warm water, she closed her eyes and made a wish that these lazy summer days would never end.
"Louise!"
The water lapped at her knees, moving up to her thighs, so warm in the cool night --
"LOU-ISE! Get out of bed right this minute."
She rolled over to see her mother standing in the open doorway, a laundry basket tucked into her hip. "Awake yet?"
She nodded.
"Good. Get dressed and head out right away. We got another 6 inches of snow last night and it you don't want to be last for school, you better start shoveling, sweetie."
Holiday time was over. It was back to reality for her.
Original Fic | 139 words | "new beginnings" | Rating: PG
She came up for air, gasping for breath, breaking the surface of the water. Out here, way from the pier, from the crowds, it was just her. Out here, she could think. Or not think. She could do whatever she wanted.
It had been too long since she could do whatever she felt like, when she felt like it. When had she started to lose herself? When had she become this nothing?
She struck out toward the horizon, even strokes, breathing every fourth one the way she'd been taught. She had no idea where she was going. Nowhere, really. There was nothing out here. Nothing but her and the water, and the cool night air.
She'd think about tomorrow and the next day, and the rest of her life later. For now, she was going to enjoy this moment.
Original Fic | 163 words | "roller coaster" | Rating: PG
Darrin sang along without even realizing he was doing it. "Our love is like a roller coaster, lazy, maybe. Let's all abide."
The clerk laughed. "All abide?"
He turned away slightly to hide his embarrassment, pretending to look at the candy display. Picking the first thing, Darrin plopped an Orbit gum on counter. Cinnamon, yuck, his least favorite flavor.
The clerk finished ringing up the groceries and started to bag them. "It's 'I wanna ride' not 'all abide', fyi."
"Yeah, whatever, man." Darrin handed the clerk his total, in a wad of cash, mostly his tips from this week.
"Roller coaster of love," the clerk sang out, "oooh, ooooh, ooooh."
Darrin gave the guy a look that said, "you're crazy," but it didn't stop the clerk from continuing to sing. "Your love is like a roller coaster, baby, baby!"
Darrin grabbed his bag of groceries and ran for the door. As the automatic doors closed behind him, he could still hear the guy singing.
Original Fic | 202 words | "Ultimatum" | Rating: PG
"It's now or never." He slithered closer. "Come on, you know you want it. Why wait?"
I liked to wait. Waiting made everything seem so much more bearable, or maybe just easier to deal with. I was definitely a wait-and-see kind of woman.
"You can have it now." He was too close, almost whispering in my ear.
It was my fault, really. I encouraged him. Gave him one smile too many. Made him think I would be easy.
"You know you want it now." I really did. I wanted it so badly, I almost shook with it.
"If you walk away now, we both know you'll never be back. So, come on, sweetie, let's make this happen. How about it? Ready to sign on the dotted line?"
I took one more look. The sleeks lines, the sexy curves, the topless option. And the butt-warmers. I was a sucker for butt-warmers, especial the thought of how they would feel on cold winter nights. The red convertible was the car I had always wanted. The one I fantasized about growing up. It was everything my sensible Hyundai wasn't.
I turned to the salesman. "i guess it's never. Bye." And I walked off the lot.
[skieswideopen (Intelligence, 766 words)]
skieswideopen
Intelligence |116 words | "New Beginnings"
"It's a chance for you to get a fresh start," Riley's father said awkwardly when he told her she was going to be living with him from now on.
Riley just nodded. She'd hoped that the move to her father's house would be temporary, just until the trial was over, but her mother's absolute silence throughout had informed her otherwise. Riley still wasn't sure what outcome her mother had been hoping for. Probably not one where her daughter went free, even if Riley had saved her life.
Well, she hadn't done it to earn her mother's gratitude.
"A new beginning," Riley said firmly. A new school, a new room. A new life. One just for her.
Intelligence | 156 words | "Endings"
A week after he graduated, Gabriel enlisted. He informed Mary of this with a casual air that she knew was faked. Apparently he didn't trust her to hold up her end of their deal.
Truthfully, she didn't entirely trust herself to hold it up either.
Agreeing to stop trying to argue him out of joining the Army if he finished college first had seemed like a good idea back when he was a high school senior. Four more years, she'd thought. Four years for him to grow up, to develop other interests, to see what else life could offer. She'd had so many hopes for him, for his life. The one child she thought might escape the military legacy, and all that it meant.
She should have known it wasn't work.
She was good, in the end. No complaints. No tears. Not in front of him. But in private, she mourned the end of her dreams.
Intelligence | 161 words | "Holiday"
Lillian cleared her throat and waited for C-Doc to fall silent. "I'll be in San Francisco for a week," she announced. "While I'm gone, Gabriel's in charge."
There was a murmur through the room. Nelson looked outright shocked. Riley raised an eyebrow, but otherwise maintained a reasonable facsimile of inscrutability.
Gabriel just looked amused.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jameson asked. He glanced quickly at Gabriel. "Not that I don't think you can do it, but isn't it kind of difficult to run things and work the case?"
"Not my call," Lillian said. "Apparently our new director of national intelligence wants Gabriel running things."
"So it's a test," Riley said.
"That's all right," Gabriel said. "Unlike some people, I test well." He tossed a quick, teasing grin at Riley, then turned back to Lillian. "Enjoy your vacation, Lillian. Visit your daughter. Don't worry about us. We'll still be here when you get back."
She really hoped he was right.
Intelligence | 109 words | "Roller Coaster"
"I've always hated roller coasters," Cassidy said. "The long climb up, knowing you'd have to go down again. The rush as you fly down the rails. All those ups and downs." He paced three steps, turned, and paced back the other way. "I hate it."
"He's going to be fine," Lillian said.
"You know know that, Cassidy said. "There's no way anyone can know that. We won't know until he wakes up...or doesn't. Last time--"
"You learned from last time," Lillian interrupted. "And you applied those lessons, and that's how I know that this time will be different."
Cassidy collapsed into a chair outside Morgan's door. "I hate waiting."
Intelligence | 224 words | "Ultimatum"
"If the next one doesn't work, I'm shutting Clockwork down," Weatherly said.
"You don't have the authority to do that," Lillian protested.
"Not directly," Weatherly agreed, "but I can make sure your supplies of money and candidates dry up." He leaned forward and rested his hands on his desk for emphasis. "I am not going to allow any more good men to die chasing your pipe dream, Lillian."
"It will work."
"Maybe. One day. Some projects are ahead of their team."
Lillian studied him, calculating. "You said we could have one more."
Weatherly nodded. "I'd cut you off now if I could, but the president really wants to see this work."
"Then I want free rein in choosing my candidate," Lillian said.
"You have free rein."
She shook her head. "Our requests for our best potential candidate have consistently been turned down. If we only get one more, then I want him." She laid the folder on the desk, and waited.
Weatherly picked it up and flipped through it. "Vaughn," he said, reading. He looked up when he got to the page. "Are you sure?"
"Very," Lillian said.
Weatherly closed the file and handed it back to her. "Then he's yours. But he's the last one. So make it count."
"I understand," Lillian said, standing up. "Thank you."
She really hoped Cassidy was right.