Two request ficlets
Title: Anything You Say
Fandom: Hey Arnold!
Words: 174
Prompt: aggressive!Helga and helpless!Arnold, requested by kev1000
Helga aimed the gun at the trashcan and fired.
"See? I told you it was loaded."
Eyes theatrically wide, Arnold held up his hands and took on a calming voice. "Hold on, Helga. If you lower the gun, I'm sure we can talk this out."
"It's too late for that. You made your decision, bucko," Helga said, taking aim at Arnold's head, "now I'm making mine."
"But maybe--"
Helga fired the gun.
The stream of water hit him straight in the face. Some of it even got up his nose. Helga pumped the trigger at least six times until every inch of his face was doused, his attempts at blocking the flow with his hands proving fruitless.
"Alright, alright!" Arnold cried out. "Alright, I surrender. The Z-Files can wait until another day." He reached for the remote and turned the television off. "Tonight, I'm all yours."
Helga lowered the gun a few inches, considering. "You'll do anything I want?"
Chuckling as the cold water trickled down his shirt, he looked his wife in the eye.
"Anything."
--
Title: Divided
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Words: 644
Prompt: Arthur/Merlin - secluded pond, requested by elphieee
A/N: Really more genfic than shipfic.
Merlin tugged off his neckerchief the moment he saw the pond.
"You must be joking," said Arthur, when Merlin's shirt was chucked into his hands.
"We've been walking in this blistering heat for hours, sire." Merlin was hopping around, pulling off his boots. He looked up and grinned. "I haven't your princely stamina. I need a cool down."
Arthur tossed Merlin's shirt onto the grass. "We don't have time for this, Merlin."
"Don't worry, I won't be long," he said, wading into the pond wearing only his pants. "It'll give the knights some time to catch up."
With that, he dove underwater. When Arthur began condoning this sort of behavior, he couldn't recall, but now was hardly a time to ruffle Merlin's feathers. After tying the horses to a tree branch, Arthur idled at the shoreline, gazing over the water as the ripples began to calm. It was so still now that the sun's reflection on the surface was unwavering. It occurred to him that perhaps Merlin could hold his breath longer than... normal people. Just when he was wondering whether or not it might be necessary to dive in after the idiot, Merlin emerged, smiling.
"It's wonderful!" he called out, by way of invitation.
Arthur shook his head. "I've seen mud puddles cleaner than this!"
Truth be told, the brown water bothered Arthur very little. He had, in fact, swum in this very pond a number of times. But ever since the night before last, when he watched Merlin slay that beast with magic, he'd been cautious not to let his guard down. Merlin had no idea that Arthur witnessed the kill, and has since been going on as if he were stumped as the rest of them by the beast's mysterious demise.
Arthur now spent each waking moment watching his servant with new eyes, second guessing his every word and gesture. Had he not seen it for himself, he'd never think Merlin capable of what he'd done. Arthur squinted at the water, sun beating on his neck where sweat was sliding down. Merlin grinned and waved and acted to all the world as if this were the best swim he'd ever taken.
He'd been acting so cocky all that day and the day prior. Arthur would be cocky too if he'd taken down a beast five times his size, all by himself. Why didn't Merlin tell him? Had this sort of thing happened before?
"Not much longer," Arthur ordered, glancing down the path to see if his two knights had yet caught up -- they'd scouted back to ensure they weren't being followed. They were still gone, and Merlin was looking at Arthur as if he were especially annoyed with him today.
"Stick your feet in, at least."
Arthur wanted to get riding again -- Camelot was only an hour furthur. The question was, what would he do when they arrived? He knew what he should do, what his father would expect him to do. And what if it turned out Merlin did have some ulterior motive, anyway? Turning him in would be a sound decision. But Arthur wanted to trust him. How could he, when all his life, he'd had been told again and again: magic cannot be trusted.
For now, until he sorted things out, he could only keep acting as if nothing were wrong. He pulled off his boots.
Merlin was swimming backward, dunking his head to drench his hair. Arthur had the urge to grab that scalp and hold it under, demand to know why Merlin was pretending to be normal when he was so unbelievably not.
"Not so bad, is it?" Merlin asked cheerfully from a few yards off.
Arthur was in up to his shins, trousers folded above his knees. The water felt nice, cooling down his entire body. He grudgingly admitted, "No, I suppose it isn't."
He'd never felt so divided in all his life.
--
Fandom: Hey Arnold!
Words: 174
Prompt: aggressive!Helga and helpless!Arnold, requested by kev1000
Helga aimed the gun at the trashcan and fired.
"See? I told you it was loaded."
Eyes theatrically wide, Arnold held up his hands and took on a calming voice. "Hold on, Helga. If you lower the gun, I'm sure we can talk this out."
"It's too late for that. You made your decision, bucko," Helga said, taking aim at Arnold's head, "now I'm making mine."
"But maybe--"
Helga fired the gun.
The stream of water hit him straight in the face. Some of it even got up his nose. Helga pumped the trigger at least six times until every inch of his face was doused, his attempts at blocking the flow with his hands proving fruitless.
"Alright, alright!" Arnold cried out. "Alright, I surrender. The Z-Files can wait until another day." He reached for the remote and turned the television off. "Tonight, I'm all yours."
Helga lowered the gun a few inches, considering. "You'll do anything I want?"
Chuckling as the cold water trickled down his shirt, he looked his wife in the eye.
"Anything."
--
Title: Divided
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Words: 644
Prompt: Arthur/Merlin - secluded pond, requested by elphieee
A/N: Really more genfic than shipfic.
Merlin tugged off his neckerchief the moment he saw the pond.
"You must be joking," said Arthur, when Merlin's shirt was chucked into his hands.
"We've been walking in this blistering heat for hours, sire." Merlin was hopping around, pulling off his boots. He looked up and grinned. "I haven't your princely stamina. I need a cool down."
Arthur tossed Merlin's shirt onto the grass. "We don't have time for this, Merlin."
"Don't worry, I won't be long," he said, wading into the pond wearing only his pants. "It'll give the knights some time to catch up."
With that, he dove underwater. When Arthur began condoning this sort of behavior, he couldn't recall, but now was hardly a time to ruffle Merlin's feathers. After tying the horses to a tree branch, Arthur idled at the shoreline, gazing over the water as the ripples began to calm. It was so still now that the sun's reflection on the surface was unwavering. It occurred to him that perhaps Merlin could hold his breath longer than... normal people. Just when he was wondering whether or not it might be necessary to dive in after the idiot, Merlin emerged, smiling.
"It's wonderful!" he called out, by way of invitation.
Arthur shook his head. "I've seen mud puddles cleaner than this!"
Truth be told, the brown water bothered Arthur very little. He had, in fact, swum in this very pond a number of times. But ever since the night before last, when he watched Merlin slay that beast with magic, he'd been cautious not to let his guard down. Merlin had no idea that Arthur witnessed the kill, and has since been going on as if he were stumped as the rest of them by the beast's mysterious demise.
Arthur now spent each waking moment watching his servant with new eyes, second guessing his every word and gesture. Had he not seen it for himself, he'd never think Merlin capable of what he'd done. Arthur squinted at the water, sun beating on his neck where sweat was sliding down. Merlin grinned and waved and acted to all the world as if this were the best swim he'd ever taken.
He'd been acting so cocky all that day and the day prior. Arthur would be cocky too if he'd taken down a beast five times his size, all by himself. Why didn't Merlin tell him? Had this sort of thing happened before?
"Not much longer," Arthur ordered, glancing down the path to see if his two knights had yet caught up -- they'd scouted back to ensure they weren't being followed. They were still gone, and Merlin was looking at Arthur as if he were especially annoyed with him today.
"Stick your feet in, at least."
Arthur wanted to get riding again -- Camelot was only an hour furthur. The question was, what would he do when they arrived? He knew what he should do, what his father would expect him to do. And what if it turned out Merlin did have some ulterior motive, anyway? Turning him in would be a sound decision. But Arthur wanted to trust him. How could he, when all his life, he'd had been told again and again: magic cannot be trusted.
For now, until he sorted things out, he could only keep acting as if nothing were wrong. He pulled off his boots.
Merlin was swimming backward, dunking his head to drench his hair. Arthur had the urge to grab that scalp and hold it under, demand to know why Merlin was pretending to be normal when he was so unbelievably not.
"Not so bad, is it?" Merlin asked cheerfully from a few yards off.
Arthur was in up to his shins, trousers folded above his knees. The water felt nice, cooling down his entire body. He grudgingly admitted, "No, I suppose it isn't."
He'd never felt so divided in all his life.
--