Two things. One of them is (slightly recycled) Christmas fic.
1) This morning's shelf-perusing garnered this gem: Camp Camp by Roger Bennett and Jules Shell. Foreword by Ivan Reitman (of Meatballs fame); afterward by the incomparable Paul Feig.
It's a hilarious and sometimes painful trip down memory lane, at least if you're around my age and went to summer camp. Flipping through the pages made me feel old, but also kind of happy to have come of age in the 80s. Nostalgia is weird.
Some of my very favorite movies involve summer camp. I never thought about that before, but it's a very comforting setting. Hmm. Anyone know any good summer camp AUs? Fandom isn't that big a deal for me; I'll read any AU if it's good.
2) I have gone back and forth about doing this, but if I don't it's going to bother me, so I will. I sent out ficlets in my Christmas cards this year, and one of them has since inspired the next part of an ongoing series (not that I've written it yet or anything), so I am going to post the Christmas card ficlets here for posterity. There are four (well, five, but one was only for one particular person), and really there are only three because the BWOC and Sky High ones are almost exactly the same. I am a big, fat cheater; I don't deny it.
The CSI and Criminal Minds ficlets are quite similar, but that was more happenstance than design. The BWOC one, on the other hand, is a direct rip-off of the Sky High one, because I got down to two people on my list and I couldn't remember if any of the fandoms I'd already written would work for them, so I just changed around the Sky High fic a little (same with yours, Rach, though that one required quite a bit more changing). I tell you that to keep your expectations low.
It was Garcia who noticed first. She wasn’t an expert in human behavior like the rest of them, but she was an expert in Derek Morgan, and she knew when something was up. And something was definitely up; the first sign came when Morgan announced that he wasn’t planning to go home for Christmas this year, even though he had four whole days off. Add to that the fact that Morgan had been grinning all day in spite of the amount of paperwork he’d had to do, and she knew something was going on.
But Penelope had been watching him, and after eliminating all the other possibilities, she was pretty sure she’d figured out what was going on. She was willing to bet it had something to do with work - or someone at work, rather - and she…well, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Her office door opened and Penelope spun in her chair as the strains of some upbeat Christmas song filtered in from down the hall. Derek was leaning in the doorway, one hand still on the doorknob and yeah, he was still wearing that dreamy smile.
“Hey, baby girl. I’m taking off, just stopped by to wish you a Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too,” she said, lips pursed thoughtfully as she watched him glance over his shoulder at the empty hallway behind him. “So you’re running out on the party early, huh? You got a hot date or something?”
“Or something,” Morgan answered, flirting as usual, and she smiled in spite of herself. “What about you?”
“Kevin’s got a huge family. Tons of nieces and nephews, parents, grandparents, cousins, and a partridge in a pear tree. They’ll probably make me eat Jello salad and tell me embarrassing stories about his childhood. I’m almost looking forward to it.”
Morgan’s smile was genuine this time, and he pushed himself off the door long enough to cross the room and plant a kiss on her cheek. “Enjoy, Garcia. You deserve it.”
Before she could answer a throat cleared behind them, and when Morgan glanced at the door and saw Reid his expression shifted into something altogether different than the flirtatious smile he’d been wearing a few minutes ago. And it wasn’t like she didn’t expect it; she knew Morgan, after all, and even though she’d never seen him in love before, she recognized it when she did.
“Hey,” Morgan said, to Reid this time, his voice dropping just a little and it was weird, but it was kind of…sweet.
“Are you ready?” Spencer asked, and when he glanced over at her she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
“Born that way,” Morgan answered, right back to flirting and when Spencer’s face flushed even Penelope had to admit it was cute.
“Merry Christmas, Garcia,” Reid called as Morgan steered him out of the room, and Penelope blew a kiss and waved them off.
She turned back to her monitors and slowly shut them down, reaching for her purse and the last of the candy canes she’d been handing out all week before she stood up. When her work station was neat and secure and she was sure she had everything she needed for a full four days away from the office she turned out the light and closed the door behind her.
She never would have predicted Morgan and Reid, she had to admit, which meant that no matter how well she thought she knew Derek, there was still more to learn. But she knew she’d never seen him quite as happy as he’d been the past couple weeks, and if Reid had done that, then she was going to have to be extra nice to him from now on.
~
The sun was rising over the desert when Greg got back to the lab, Riley trailing behind him as she talked non-stop about some case she’d worked at her last job and how she’d made some genius discovery that broke the whole thing. When she paused for breath he nodded to make it look like he was still listening, but the truth was she probably wouldn’t notice if he just disappeared.
And it wasn’t that he didn’t like her; she was nice enough, and she was definitely into the job. But she thought a lot of herself, and if Greg had ever been that cocky…okay, he probably had been back when he was still a lab rat, but he’d had good reason then. Nobody knew DNA like he did, and he was willing to bet he could still give Riley a run for her money in the lab.
Still, he liked her fine, when she wasn’t going on and on about something that didn’t matter to anybody but her. He’d been stuck working with her three nights in a row, though, and he was reaching the point where he was desperate to work with anyone else - hell, he’d take Ecklie at this point - just to get a break.
“Greg.”
He looked up as they reached the front door, frowning when he realized she was waiting for him to say something. “What?”
“Were you even listening?”
“Sorry, guess I zoned out for a second,” he said, pulling the door open and letting her go ahead of him. “It’s been a long night.”
She pursed her lips but didn’t comment, and Greg checked the urge to roll his eyes. Yeah, they definitely needed a break from each other, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath.
“So do you?”
“Do I what?” he asked, and now he was really confused.
“Do you have any recommendations about where to take my sister when she comes to stay with me? She wants to experience the real Vegas nightlife, but I haven’t been here long enough to learn the best clubs.”
He didn’t say that she didn’t really look like the club type. She looked more like the jogging-every-morning-flossing-every-night stay-at-home type, but he’d never really been one to judge.
“I don’t really go out that much anymore,” he said, which was the truth, but it still made him feel even older than usual. Because he used to know exactly where to go to find the best action, but he hadn’t bothered in a long time.
“Why not?” Riley asked, and he told himself he was imagining the disdain in her voice. “I mean, why live in Vegas if you’re not going to experience it?”
There was a part of him that wanted to defend himself, to tell her that he’d been the life of the party plenty of times, and it hadn’t even been that long. But before he got the words out Nick rounded the corner, catching Greg’s eye and when he smiled Greg remembered exactly what he’d given that old life up for.
“That’s why,” he said as he watched Nick walking toward them.
“Hey,” Nick said when he reached them, nodding at Riley before he turned to Greg. “You ready to go?”
“I was born ready,” he said, just to watch Nick laugh. He let Nick slide an arm around his shoulders, leaning into him as they headed back toward the parking lot. And maybe he wasn’t as young as he used to be, but there was something to be said for growing up.
~
Saving the world was a full-time job. Classes and homework and his part-time job in the student union cafeteria took up a lot of time too, and when they added cramming for finals into the mix, Will wasn't sure how any college freshman was supposed to survive, super-strength or not.
The worst part of all was that he'd barely seen Warren for a week; they passed out in the same bed every night, sure, but they'd both been so busy that there hadn't been much more than the occasional grunt of recognition as they passed each other on the way to the coffee pot.
And now Will's last final was over, he'd put in his final shift at the student union, and he had plenty of time for catching up. Only Warren was working all day, and Will was returning triumphant from his Freshman Comp exam to an empty apartment. With his luck some supervillian would decide to invade Tokyo or something half an hour before the end of Warren's shift, and Will wouldn't even get to see him until tomorrow.
He sighed and sent up a quick prayer to whoever was listening that the evildoers of the world would give him a break just this once, then he let himself into the apartment. Only the place wasn't empty, and Will had to look twice to make sure he’d gotten the right one.
They'd been too busy to decorate for Christmas, and even though Will knew his mother had gone all out as usual and he could go look at her tree any time he wanted, it felt weird to spend their first Christmas in their apartment without so much as a wreath on the door. When he'd said that to Warren all he'd gotten was a shrug and Warren's gruff, "My mom was never really into Christmas", so he'd let it go. He didn't like to remind Warren how different their families were; there was the whole thing with their dads, for starters, and Will didn't like to remind him of how weird it was that they were together at all.
So he'd forgotten about it in the rush of finals and last minute cramming, but obviously Warren hadn't. There was a tree in the corner, which explained the pine smell, and Warren was standing next to it, meticulously attaching little white candles to every branch. Which was probably a fire hazard, but so was his boyfriend, so Will wasn't going to complain.
"What...I thought you were working," Will said, dropping his stuff on the nearest flat surface and kicking the door shut.
"Called in," Warren answered. He finished attaching the last candle to the tree and lifted a finger to the wick, his face glowing in the flame coming from his hand. "They can handle one dinner rush without me."
"But this...what is all this?"
"Christmas decorations," Warren said, and now he was laughing at Will. "You seemed kind of bummed about it, and I had a little extra time.”
This was more than a little extra time, Will knew. He must have started as soon as Will left the apartment; attaching candles to the tree alone must have taken forever, and there were ornaments too. Not many, granted, but it didn't matter. Warren had done all this for him, and that was all that counted.
He opened his mouth to say thank you, to tell Warren how crazy he was or maybe just to ask if a flaming tree was really such a good idea, but all he managed was a squeaky ‘wow’. It was enough, though, because Warren grinned at him and crossed the living room to stop in front of him.
“You missed the best part.”
Warren pointed above them, and Will looked up to see that he was standing under a cheerful sprig of mistletoe suspended from a little red ribbon. And later - much, much later, when Will was done kissing him - Will would tell him that the best part of all of it was Warren.
~
Fighting monsters was a full-time job. Classes and homework and football practice took up a lot of time too, and when they added cramming for finals into the mix, Tommy wasn't sure how any college freshman was supposed to survive, super-strength or not.
The worst part of all was that he'd barely seen Merton for a week; they passed out in the same dorm room every night, sure, but they'd both been so busy that there hadn't been much more than the occasional grunt of recognition as they passed each other on the way to classes.
And now Tommy's last final was over - finally - and he had plenty of time for catching up. Only Merton was at the library cramming for his medieval history exam, and Tommy was returning triumphant from his Freshman Comp exam to an empty dorm room. With his luck some vampire or zombie or something would decide to invade campus this afternoon, and Tommy would spend his first night of freedom fighting evil. Again.
He sighed and sent up a quick prayer to whoever was listening that the evildoers of the world would give him a break just this once, then he let himself into their room. Only the place wasn't empty, and Tommy had to look twice to make sure he’d gotten the right one.
They'd been too busy to decorate for Christmas, and even though Tommy knew his mother had gone all out as usual and he could go look at her tree any time he wanted, it felt weird not to have Merton’s signature holiday cheer strewn over every flat surface. But Merton hadn’t had any more time than Tommy, and anyway most of his stuff was still stored in his parents’ basement back home.
So he'd forgotten about it in the rush of finals and last minute cramming, but obviously Merton hadn't. There were tiny white lights strung around the door and along all four walls, garland framing their desks and Merton had even dragged a small tree in and set it up in the center of the room.
"What...I thought you were studying," Tommy said, dropping his stuff on the nearest flat surface and kicking the door shut.
Merton shrugged and meticulously placed another strand of tinsel on the tree before he answered. “I figure if I don’t know it by now, I’m never going to remember it anyway.”
"But this...what is all this?"
"Christmas decorations, what’s it look like?"
“I know that, Merton, but I mean…we’re going home in a couple days. I thought we weren’t going to bother.”
“I know,” Merton answered, his grin turning sheepish and it was even cuter when he had a piece of tinsel stuck in his hair. “But we’ve still got tonight, so I figured why not?”
Tommy knew better than to argue with him. He didn’t want to argue, not when Merton was standing right in front of him hours before Tommy expected him to be. And he looked so pleased with himself that Tommy didn’t even bother to remind him that he still had one last final to get through before they could really relax.
“It looks great, Merton,” Tommy said, crossing the room to stop in front of Merton.
“You missed the best part.”
Merton pointed above them, and Tommy looked up to see that he was standing under a cheerful sprig of mistletoe suspended from a little red ribbon. And later - much, much later, when he was done kissing Merton - Tommy would tell him that the best part of all of it was him.
~
It's a hilarious and sometimes painful trip down memory lane, at least if you're around my age and went to summer camp. Flipping through the pages made me feel old, but also kind of happy to have come of age in the 80s. Nostalgia is weird.
Some of my very favorite movies involve summer camp. I never thought about that before, but it's a very comforting setting. Hmm. Anyone know any good summer camp AUs? Fandom isn't that big a deal for me; I'll read any AU if it's good.
2) I have gone back and forth about doing this, but if I don't it's going to bother me, so I will. I sent out ficlets in my Christmas cards this year, and one of them has since inspired the next part of an ongoing series (not that I've written it yet or anything), so I am going to post the Christmas card ficlets here for posterity. There are four (well, five, but one was only for one particular person), and really there are only three because the BWOC and Sky High ones are almost exactly the same. I am a big, fat cheater; I don't deny it.
The CSI and Criminal Minds ficlets are quite similar, but that was more happenstance than design. The BWOC one, on the other hand, is a direct rip-off of the Sky High one, because I got down to two people on my list and I couldn't remember if any of the fandoms I'd already written would work for them, so I just changed around the Sky High fic a little (same with yours, Rach, though that one required quite a bit more changing). I tell you that to keep your expectations low.
It was Garcia who noticed first. She wasn’t an expert in human behavior like the rest of them, but she was an expert in Derek Morgan, and she knew when something was up. And something was definitely up; the first sign came when Morgan announced that he wasn’t planning to go home for Christmas this year, even though he had four whole days off. Add to that the fact that Morgan had been grinning all day in spite of the amount of paperwork he’d had to do, and she knew something was going on.
But Penelope had been watching him, and after eliminating all the other possibilities, she was pretty sure she’d figured out what was going on. She was willing to bet it had something to do with work - or someone at work, rather - and she…well, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Her office door opened and Penelope spun in her chair as the strains of some upbeat Christmas song filtered in from down the hall. Derek was leaning in the doorway, one hand still on the doorknob and yeah, he was still wearing that dreamy smile.
“Hey, baby girl. I’m taking off, just stopped by to wish you a Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too,” she said, lips pursed thoughtfully as she watched him glance over his shoulder at the empty hallway behind him. “So you’re running out on the party early, huh? You got a hot date or something?”
“Or something,” Morgan answered, flirting as usual, and she smiled in spite of herself. “What about you?”
“Kevin’s got a huge family. Tons of nieces and nephews, parents, grandparents, cousins, and a partridge in a pear tree. They’ll probably make me eat Jello salad and tell me embarrassing stories about his childhood. I’m almost looking forward to it.”
Morgan’s smile was genuine this time, and he pushed himself off the door long enough to cross the room and plant a kiss on her cheek. “Enjoy, Garcia. You deserve it.”
Before she could answer a throat cleared behind them, and when Morgan glanced at the door and saw Reid his expression shifted into something altogether different than the flirtatious smile he’d been wearing a few minutes ago. And it wasn’t like she didn’t expect it; she knew Morgan, after all, and even though she’d never seen him in love before, she recognized it when she did.
“Hey,” Morgan said, to Reid this time, his voice dropping just a little and it was weird, but it was kind of…sweet.
“Are you ready?” Spencer asked, and when he glanced over at her she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
“Born that way,” Morgan answered, right back to flirting and when Spencer’s face flushed even Penelope had to admit it was cute.
“Merry Christmas, Garcia,” Reid called as Morgan steered him out of the room, and Penelope blew a kiss and waved them off.
She turned back to her monitors and slowly shut them down, reaching for her purse and the last of the candy canes she’d been handing out all week before she stood up. When her work station was neat and secure and she was sure she had everything she needed for a full four days away from the office she turned out the light and closed the door behind her.
She never would have predicted Morgan and Reid, she had to admit, which meant that no matter how well she thought she knew Derek, there was still more to learn. But she knew she’d never seen him quite as happy as he’d been the past couple weeks, and if Reid had done that, then she was going to have to be extra nice to him from now on.
~
The sun was rising over the desert when Greg got back to the lab, Riley trailing behind him as she talked non-stop about some case she’d worked at her last job and how she’d made some genius discovery that broke the whole thing. When she paused for breath he nodded to make it look like he was still listening, but the truth was she probably wouldn’t notice if he just disappeared.
And it wasn’t that he didn’t like her; she was nice enough, and she was definitely into the job. But she thought a lot of herself, and if Greg had ever been that cocky…okay, he probably had been back when he was still a lab rat, but he’d had good reason then. Nobody knew DNA like he did, and he was willing to bet he could still give Riley a run for her money in the lab.
Still, he liked her fine, when she wasn’t going on and on about something that didn’t matter to anybody but her. He’d been stuck working with her three nights in a row, though, and he was reaching the point where he was desperate to work with anyone else - hell, he’d take Ecklie at this point - just to get a break.
“Greg.”
He looked up as they reached the front door, frowning when he realized she was waiting for him to say something. “What?”
“Were you even listening?”
“Sorry, guess I zoned out for a second,” he said, pulling the door open and letting her go ahead of him. “It’s been a long night.”
She pursed her lips but didn’t comment, and Greg checked the urge to roll his eyes. Yeah, they definitely needed a break from each other, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath.
“So do you?”
“Do I what?” he asked, and now he was really confused.
“Do you have any recommendations about where to take my sister when she comes to stay with me? She wants to experience the real Vegas nightlife, but I haven’t been here long enough to learn the best clubs.”
He didn’t say that she didn’t really look like the club type. She looked more like the jogging-every-morning-flossing-every-night stay-at-home type, but he’d never really been one to judge.
“I don’t really go out that much anymore,” he said, which was the truth, but it still made him feel even older than usual. Because he used to know exactly where to go to find the best action, but he hadn’t bothered in a long time.
“Why not?” Riley asked, and he told himself he was imagining the disdain in her voice. “I mean, why live in Vegas if you’re not going to experience it?”
There was a part of him that wanted to defend himself, to tell her that he’d been the life of the party plenty of times, and it hadn’t even been that long. But before he got the words out Nick rounded the corner, catching Greg’s eye and when he smiled Greg remembered exactly what he’d given that old life up for.
“That’s why,” he said as he watched Nick walking toward them.
“Hey,” Nick said when he reached them, nodding at Riley before he turned to Greg. “You ready to go?”
“I was born ready,” he said, just to watch Nick laugh. He let Nick slide an arm around his shoulders, leaning into him as they headed back toward the parking lot. And maybe he wasn’t as young as he used to be, but there was something to be said for growing up.
~
Saving the world was a full-time job. Classes and homework and his part-time job in the student union cafeteria took up a lot of time too, and when they added cramming for finals into the mix, Will wasn't sure how any college freshman was supposed to survive, super-strength or not.
The worst part of all was that he'd barely seen Warren for a week; they passed out in the same bed every night, sure, but they'd both been so busy that there hadn't been much more than the occasional grunt of recognition as they passed each other on the way to the coffee pot.
And now Will's last final was over, he'd put in his final shift at the student union, and he had plenty of time for catching up. Only Warren was working all day, and Will was returning triumphant from his Freshman Comp exam to an empty apartment. With his luck some supervillian would decide to invade Tokyo or something half an hour before the end of Warren's shift, and Will wouldn't even get to see him until tomorrow.
He sighed and sent up a quick prayer to whoever was listening that the evildoers of the world would give him a break just this once, then he let himself into the apartment. Only the place wasn't empty, and Will had to look twice to make sure he’d gotten the right one.
They'd been too busy to decorate for Christmas, and even though Will knew his mother had gone all out as usual and he could go look at her tree any time he wanted, it felt weird to spend their first Christmas in their apartment without so much as a wreath on the door. When he'd said that to Warren all he'd gotten was a shrug and Warren's gruff, "My mom was never really into Christmas", so he'd let it go. He didn't like to remind Warren how different their families were; there was the whole thing with their dads, for starters, and Will didn't like to remind him of how weird it was that they were together at all.
So he'd forgotten about it in the rush of finals and last minute cramming, but obviously Warren hadn't. There was a tree in the corner, which explained the pine smell, and Warren was standing next to it, meticulously attaching little white candles to every branch. Which was probably a fire hazard, but so was his boyfriend, so Will wasn't going to complain.
"What...I thought you were working," Will said, dropping his stuff on the nearest flat surface and kicking the door shut.
"Called in," Warren answered. He finished attaching the last candle to the tree and lifted a finger to the wick, his face glowing in the flame coming from his hand. "They can handle one dinner rush without me."
"But this...what is all this?"
"Christmas decorations," Warren said, and now he was laughing at Will. "You seemed kind of bummed about it, and I had a little extra time.”
This was more than a little extra time, Will knew. He must have started as soon as Will left the apartment; attaching candles to the tree alone must have taken forever, and there were ornaments too. Not many, granted, but it didn't matter. Warren had done all this for him, and that was all that counted.
He opened his mouth to say thank you, to tell Warren how crazy he was or maybe just to ask if a flaming tree was really such a good idea, but all he managed was a squeaky ‘wow’. It was enough, though, because Warren grinned at him and crossed the living room to stop in front of him.
“You missed the best part.”
Warren pointed above them, and Will looked up to see that he was standing under a cheerful sprig of mistletoe suspended from a little red ribbon. And later - much, much later, when Will was done kissing him - Will would tell him that the best part of all of it was Warren.
~
Fighting monsters was a full-time job. Classes and homework and football practice took up a lot of time too, and when they added cramming for finals into the mix, Tommy wasn't sure how any college freshman was supposed to survive, super-strength or not.
The worst part of all was that he'd barely seen Merton for a week; they passed out in the same dorm room every night, sure, but they'd both been so busy that there hadn't been much more than the occasional grunt of recognition as they passed each other on the way to classes.
And now Tommy's last final was over - finally - and he had plenty of time for catching up. Only Merton was at the library cramming for his medieval history exam, and Tommy was returning triumphant from his Freshman Comp exam to an empty dorm room. With his luck some vampire or zombie or something would decide to invade campus this afternoon, and Tommy would spend his first night of freedom fighting evil. Again.
He sighed and sent up a quick prayer to whoever was listening that the evildoers of the world would give him a break just this once, then he let himself into their room. Only the place wasn't empty, and Tommy had to look twice to make sure he’d gotten the right one.
They'd been too busy to decorate for Christmas, and even though Tommy knew his mother had gone all out as usual and he could go look at her tree any time he wanted, it felt weird not to have Merton’s signature holiday cheer strewn over every flat surface. But Merton hadn’t had any more time than Tommy, and anyway most of his stuff was still stored in his parents’ basement back home.
So he'd forgotten about it in the rush of finals and last minute cramming, but obviously Merton hadn't. There were tiny white lights strung around the door and along all four walls, garland framing their desks and Merton had even dragged a small tree in and set it up in the center of the room.
"What...I thought you were studying," Tommy said, dropping his stuff on the nearest flat surface and kicking the door shut.
Merton shrugged and meticulously placed another strand of tinsel on the tree before he answered. “I figure if I don’t know it by now, I’m never going to remember it anyway.”
"But this...what is all this?"
"Christmas decorations, what’s it look like?"
“I know that, Merton, but I mean…we’re going home in a couple days. I thought we weren’t going to bother.”
“I know,” Merton answered, his grin turning sheepish and it was even cuter when he had a piece of tinsel stuck in his hair. “But we’ve still got tonight, so I figured why not?”
Tommy knew better than to argue with him. He didn’t want to argue, not when Merton was standing right in front of him hours before Tommy expected him to be. And he looked so pleased with himself that Tommy didn’t even bother to remind him that he still had one last final to get through before they could really relax.
“It looks great, Merton,” Tommy said, crossing the room to stop in front of Merton.
“You missed the best part.”
Merton pointed above them, and Tommy looked up to see that he was standing under a cheerful sprig of mistletoe suspended from a little red ribbon. And later - much, much later, when he was done kissing Merton - Tommy would tell him that the best part of all of it was him.
~