Christmas Ficlet: Town Mascot
Last of five ficlets. I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and happy new year! :D
Title: Town Mascot
Fandom: ST:XI
Pairing: n/a
Rating: PG
Warnings: au, non-graphic pre-story child deaths
Notes: part of precog!verse. Is it weird that I never mention Joanna by name in this? :\ I literally just noticed.
Summary: So what if it's August? The weather's perfect.
“What the hell?” Leonard says, when he sees what looks like half the town outside of his front door.
“Merry Christmas, Bones!” Jim says, with an armload of presents.
“Have you lost your mind? It’s August!”
Jim shoulders him out of the way. “Yeah, so we’re celebrating early. I feel like a white Christmas, and these guys agree with me. Where’s our town mascot?”
Everyone else has more manners, and just crowds around the door. Leonard eyes them.
They all look tired and pitiful and cold, faces holding half broken smiles. Some of the gifts are wrapped in scraps of cloth and awkwardly folded plasti-paper, sealed with twine instead of tape. Old Claude - who’d lost his godchildren, unwilling or unable to take such drastic measures as Leonard - clutches his package like a lifeline. He would’ve had to walk five miles to get here.
Leonard sighs and moves out of the way. “Get in here. No use letting you all get hypothermia or frostbite or….”
“Bones!” Jim’s back, pulling on his arm. “I need you to help me clear a space.”
“I brought food, Doc,” says someone near the back of the crowd. Someone else’s lugging a tree. Leonard scowls at the mess of people crowding into his living room - God, he isn’t in the mood for this - but he doesn’t kick them out.
Title: Town Mascot
Fandom: ST:XI
Pairing: n/a
Rating: PG
Warnings: au, non-graphic pre-story child deaths
Notes: part of precog!verse. Is it weird that I never mention Joanna by name in this? :\ I literally just noticed.
Summary: So what if it's August? The weather's perfect.
“What the hell?” Leonard says, when he sees what looks like half the town outside of his front door.
“Merry Christmas, Bones!” Jim says, with an armload of presents.
“Have you lost your mind? It’s August!”
Jim shoulders him out of the way. “Yeah, so we’re celebrating early. I feel like a white Christmas, and these guys agree with me. Where’s our town mascot?”
Everyone else has more manners, and just crowds around the door. Leonard eyes them.
They all look tired and pitiful and cold, faces holding half broken smiles. Some of the gifts are wrapped in scraps of cloth and awkwardly folded plasti-paper, sealed with twine instead of tape. Old Claude - who’d lost his godchildren, unwilling or unable to take such drastic measures as Leonard - clutches his package like a lifeline. He would’ve had to walk five miles to get here.
Leonard sighs and moves out of the way. “Get in here. No use letting you all get hypothermia or frostbite or….”
“Bones!” Jim’s back, pulling on his arm. “I need you to help me clear a space.”
“I brought food, Doc,” says someone near the back of the crowd. Someone else’s lugging a tree. Leonard scowls at the mess of people crowding into his living room - God, he isn’t in the mood for this - but he doesn’t kick them out.