HOMECOMING DANCE COMMENT FICATHON

[orange_crushed]

I KNOW WHERE EVERYONE IS TONIGHT
THEY'RE ON TUMBLR
TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH THEY MISS LJ
WELL LET'S DO THIS

I OFFICIALLY INVITE YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO A MULTIFANDOM COMMENT FICATHON, RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW. We're talking Doctor Who, Sherlock, Elementary, Harry Potter, Avengers, Marvel and DC, Justified, Star Trek, Veronica Mars, Secret Diary of

Comments

[orange_crushed]

Over the river and through the woods. Once Upon a Time, Belle/Rumpelstiltskin, Justified AU Part 1/???

"We don't have it."

He leans forward and slides his elbows across the countertop, resting his chin in his hands. He sighs. There are guns on the glass shelves underneath him, guns and hunting knives and one old bayonet. Belle tries not to stare down. There are two men lounging in the side room, another one just outside the front door. It's hard not to focus on them, or on the pawnshop shelves, crowded with other people's treasures. If she dug through enough boxes, she'd probably find her mama's jewelry and her daddy's old watch and the guitar she learned to play when she was fourteen and sold when she was fifteen. It's all here, same as everyone in Harlan. A roomful of trophies.

"Look at me," he says, and her eyes snap back up. "You don't have it. Fifteen thousand dollars of my money, and you just- don't have it." He smiles. It's not friendly, or warm. "Did you lose it? Did it vanish into thin air? Like magic?" He snaps his fingers and she trembles all over, just once, in a great shudder that seems to come from her bones. Belle inhales. "I made a deal with your daddy. And if your daddy can't deliver-"

"My daddy can't deliver," she snaps, surprising both of them, "because somebody busted up his knees. Awful hard for a man to make good on promises when he can't even stand." Her hands clench. He looks at her for a long moment, then sits back in his chair with his hands folded across his stomach.

"Why are you here?"

"I- I came to-"

"To tell me something I already know. I know you don't have my money. So I'll ask you again. Just one more time." His eyes are like dark pins, sticking her breath in her throat. "Why are you here?"

"I could-" oh, she thinks, this is the bridge over the river at last, and no mistake. No coming back. "I could work it off. Work for you."

"Oh, you could, could you." He smirks. "What is it you think you offer?"

"I could run your errands."

"I've got people for that."

"I could- clean your house. Clean your shop. Cook for you. Get your groceries. Do your yardwork. You know I got experience with plants," she adds. "I could even grow for you. Daddy says I've got the touch for it. I could grow, and-" an idea strikes her. "I could look after your boy." His eyes narrow. "I don't mean- I don't mean that he ain't looked after, I just mean- I took some courses at the community college in Cumberland, last year. Got good grades. I could help him with his homework, fix him supper if you're working. Do the laundry. Pack lunches." It's a calculated appeal. She knows there's no woman in the picture for him or for the boy. She doesn't know why, but she can guess, from the strange look he's giving her. Not a cold look, or a mean one. If she was being honest, she'd say that he looked sad. Or a little confused. Time to press harder, then. She's a French, after all, for God's sake. They weren't always so goddamn chicken-livered. "Ten hours a day, seven twenty-five an hour," she says. Her voice has stopped wavering. So have her bones. "That's minimum wage. Weekends too."

"You do the math?" he asks. He sounds thoughtful. "Minimum wage is a long way to fifteen thousand."

"That's my offer."

"You're making offers now," he says. The side of his mouth quirks upward. "Interesting."

"That a yes?"

"It is indeed," he says. He stands and offers his hand over the counter. She shakes it firmly, and he laughs. "Be careful what you wish for," he tells her. "Because you just might get it."

[intrikate88]

I am like sitting on my hands and attempting to muffle my face in my shoulder because OH MY GOD I AM GIDDY WITH EXCITEMENT OVER THIS AND I AM IN THE OFFICE AND LET'S JUST SAY GIDDINESS WOULD STAND OUT A LOT.