Three Lost Ficlets + One Crossover
I'm doing a bit of fic housecleaning, so I might be a little spammy this afternoon. These were all previously written for comment fic-a-thons.
***
Title: Meet Your New Partner
Pairing: Charlie Francis/Juliet Burke (Fringe/Lost)
Rating: PG-13
Words: 545
Warnings: General spoilers through season three of Fringe.
Summary: Charlie thinks he knows everything about his new partner.
A/N: Written for aurilly’s (Mostly) Random Crossover Generating Meme.
He knows everything about his new partner before he ever lays eyes on her. You wouldn’t think the Fringe Division with all of its secret projects and backdoor dealings would be subject to so many loose lips, but you’d be wrong. The agents gossip more than a bunch of grannies shooting the shit in a knitting circle.
Here’s what he knows: Juliet Burke is coming off of three years being stationed on The Island. Charlie doesn’t know much about that place and he’s glad of it. From what he’s gathered information is parceled out on a need to know basis and if you need to know your ass is getting shipped there and the return rate’s not pretty. Juliet’s one of the lucky ones. But he knows her boyfriend, some redneck cop that drew the short straw, wasn’t. So it’s pretty easy to infer she’s probably a little bit damaged.
He also knows she’s brilliant. A scientist first, an agent second. Passed her marksmanship course on the first go. Lost a sister to cancer. Had a fucking awful first marriage. Was recruited by Benjamin Linus, the scariest son of a bitch to ever work for Fringe Division. Charlie’s just cocky enough to think he knows it all.
Then she walks through the door. Gorgeous, eyes heavy with something he already wishes he could carry for her, back straight, jaw set. He’s never seen anyone like her.
And he knows suddenly with a certainty that scares him, that he doesn’t know a damn thing worth knowing.
*
Less than five hours after meeting her he’s sitting beside her in his car parked under a bridge waiting for…something. Something not good, he’s sure. The air is thick with the smell of Thai food from their takeout plates and the stench of sewage wafting through the vents. It makes Charlie’s stomach clench, but if it bothers Juliet she doesn’t let it show.
His watch beeps reminding him it’s time for his injection and he fumbles for the needle. Juliet watches him, but doesn’t ask.
Charlie realizes he’s not the only one who’s heard things.
“It’s bugs,” he says. “Not tiny bombs or whatever bullshit’s making the rounds this week. It’s not contagious…as far as I know.”
He smiles and is rewarded with a quick arch of her brow.
“Good to know,” she says.
“If there’s anything you want to ask me, just shoot. We’ve got nothing but time.”
She turns to look at him, fixes him with a cool stare that he’s sure has made more than one man shiver, and smiles the faintest smile he’s ever seen.
“You’d be expecting some sort of quid pro quo arrangement, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
She turns away, returns her focus to the river and the whole lot of nothing happening there.
“Not tonight,” she says. “Like you said, we’ve got nothing but time.”
Charlie chuckles, reaches for his plate.
“Suit yourself. But you don’t know what you’re missing out on. You know how I got this scar? Now that’s an awesome story, but hey, you don’t want to hear it…”
“You were thrown through a window during a bar fight when you were twenty. And you lost.”
“Fuck,” Charlie hisses, unable to hide his amusement.
Who the hell is the woman?
*
Title: it gets better
Pairing: Desmond & Juliet
Rating: PG
Words: 440
Summary: Desmond offers the new girl a bit of advice. S3.
She catches Desmond watching her out of the corner of her eye. It’s not so strange. They all watch her here, eyes narrowed suspiciously as if she’s going to turn on them at any moment. Usually she stares back, smiling sweetly until they turn their heads, but Desmond doesn’t look away. He smiles back.
Juliet cocks her head to one side, unable to hide her surprise and Desmond motions for her to join him. Hesitantly, she crosses the short distance between them and takes a place beside him in the sand.
“Were you ever the new kid in your class, sister?”
Desmond turns to look at her, his eyes squinting against the sun. This seems a random line of questioning and Juliet can’t help but feel wary. The last time she talked to one of these people the conversation started out equally innocuously only to end with a vague threat of murder if she stepped out of line. Forgive her if she’s cautious.
“A few times. Why?”
“My family moved to a smaller house after my mum died, I was fifteen and I’d only ever been to one school. I was furious at my dad for making us move. I still remember walking into that bloody classroom for the first time, all eyes on me, my palms sweating; heart racing…it was a nightmare. I felt like I had a target painted on my back for weeks. Kids are monsters at that age.”
“Why are you telling me this, Desmond?”
He smiles.
“Because two weeks later a girl transferred in from England and I got on with things, made friends. It didn’t last forever.”
Juliet can’t stop herself from laughing.
“So I guess my showing up here was good for someone after all,” she says.
“Aye, I’m not the new kid any more. They still think I’m mad though.”
“Well at least they don’t think you’re going to kill them all in their sleep.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Desmond says. He pushes himself to his feet, wiping his sandy hands on his pants when he stands. He looks down at Juliet with something like understanding and suddenly she’s the one who has to look away.
“Listen, sister, it gets better. They’ll come around sooner or later.”
“Unless someone falls out of the sky, I think I’m going to be the new kid for a long time.”
Desmond chuckles.
“Stranger things have happened,” he says as he heads down the beach.
Juliet gets up too and glances back at the rest of the castaways. She smiles to herself when she realizes for once, no one’s paying her a bit of attention.
*
Title: winner takes all
Pairing: Charlotte/Frank
Rating: PG-13
Words: 337
Summary: It’s a bad hand. Frank’s not surprised, he’s a born loser.
The cards are dealt. Frank tries not to laugh when she fumbles the deck in an ill-fated attempt to mimic his flourishes. He could tell her those kinds of tricks are best left to old drunken gamblers like himself, but he holds his tongue and picks up his cards instead.
It’s a bad hand. Frank’s not surprised, he’s a born loser. He comforts himself with the knowledge that no one can keep a bird in the air like him and yeah, that’s not going to refill his wallet after Charlotte empties it again, but he’s got a feeling he won’t be needing cash where they’re going anyway.
“How many cards do you want?” Charlotte asks.
Her lips are set and she looks right at him and doesn’t blink. She’s got a hell of a poker face. Frank holds up two fingers, tosses his discards on the pile. Charlotte passes him two more and he makes sure their hands brush in the process. It’s a fool’s tactic and the arch of her eyebrow tells him as much.
His hand is worse than it was before.
“Let’s see them, sweetheart,” he says, tapping the table for emphasis.
She splays her cards in front of her. Queens and kings, a full house. Frank clucks his tongue, tosses his cards over.
“Looks like I win again, darling,” she teases.
Frank watches as she reaches out to drag her winnings over to her already teetering pile. The girl can’t shuffle worth a damn, but she’s a good player, he’ll give her that. He’s trying so hard not to look down her shirt as she leans forward in her chair that he doesn’t notice she’s passed the bills up in favor of wrapping a warm hand around his wrist.
“What are you doing?” he asks. He knows of course, at least he thinks he does. But he’s old enough these days to need confirmation.
Charlotte smirks, her grip tightening, making Frank’s heartbeat quicken, his mouth go dry.
“Just collecting my winnings,” she says.
*
Title: be the water and i’m wading
Pairing: Jack/Claire
Rating: PG
Words: 240
Summary:A car will stop. They’ll keep moving. This is what forever looks like.
“We should really buy a car, you know,” she says. Her words are nearly drowned out by the pounding of the rain against the pavement. Jack keeps his head down as he laughs.
Storms blow in without warning here; always seem to catch them between rides, soaking them to the bone in seconds. It’s a familiar sensation and it leaves them giddy, not for the memory, but for the possibility. The sun will come out, drying their clothes and their hair. Claire’s will curl, become unruly and Jack will watch as she twists it into a knot at the base of her neck. A car will stop. They’ll keep moving. This is what forever looks like.
Endless, infinite possibility.
Him and her and nothing but miles and miles of road.
A truck approaches from the south and Claire shoves him playfully aside, sticks out a thumb. The truck rumbles to a stop.
“Gracias,” Claire shouts into the cab and the man grins, gestures to the back. Jack climbs into the bed of the truck and reaches out a hand to help Claire clamor in behind him. He presses his back against the cold metal and Claire settles between his legs, rests her damp head on his chest. The rain is barely a drizzle now, soon it’ll be gone completely.
Jack watches the road disappearing behind them.
“Where do you think we’re going?” he asks.
Claire giggles.
“I have no idea.”
***
Title: Meet Your New Partner
Pairing: Charlie Francis/Juliet Burke (Fringe/Lost)
Rating: PG-13
Words: 545
Warnings: General spoilers through season three of Fringe.
Summary: Charlie thinks he knows everything about his new partner.
A/N: Written for aurilly’s (Mostly) Random Crossover Generating Meme.
He knows everything about his new partner before he ever lays eyes on her. You wouldn’t think the Fringe Division with all of its secret projects and backdoor dealings would be subject to so many loose lips, but you’d be wrong. The agents gossip more than a bunch of grannies shooting the shit in a knitting circle.
Here’s what he knows: Juliet Burke is coming off of three years being stationed on The Island. Charlie doesn’t know much about that place and he’s glad of it. From what he’s gathered information is parceled out on a need to know basis and if you need to know your ass is getting shipped there and the return rate’s not pretty. Juliet’s one of the lucky ones. But he knows her boyfriend, some redneck cop that drew the short straw, wasn’t. So it’s pretty easy to infer she’s probably a little bit damaged.
He also knows she’s brilliant. A scientist first, an agent second. Passed her marksmanship course on the first go. Lost a sister to cancer. Had a fucking awful first marriage. Was recruited by Benjamin Linus, the scariest son of a bitch to ever work for Fringe Division. Charlie’s just cocky enough to think he knows it all.
Then she walks through the door. Gorgeous, eyes heavy with something he already wishes he could carry for her, back straight, jaw set. He’s never seen anyone like her.
And he knows suddenly with a certainty that scares him, that he doesn’t know a damn thing worth knowing.
*
Less than five hours after meeting her he’s sitting beside her in his car parked under a bridge waiting for…something. Something not good, he’s sure. The air is thick with the smell of Thai food from their takeout plates and the stench of sewage wafting through the vents. It makes Charlie’s stomach clench, but if it bothers Juliet she doesn’t let it show.
His watch beeps reminding him it’s time for his injection and he fumbles for the needle. Juliet watches him, but doesn’t ask.
Charlie realizes he’s not the only one who’s heard things.
“It’s bugs,” he says. “Not tiny bombs or whatever bullshit’s making the rounds this week. It’s not contagious…as far as I know.”
He smiles and is rewarded with a quick arch of her brow.
“Good to know,” she says.
“If there’s anything you want to ask me, just shoot. We’ve got nothing but time.”
She turns to look at him, fixes him with a cool stare that he’s sure has made more than one man shiver, and smiles the faintest smile he’s ever seen.
“You’d be expecting some sort of quid pro quo arrangement, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
She turns away, returns her focus to the river and the whole lot of nothing happening there.
“Not tonight,” she says. “Like you said, we’ve got nothing but time.”
Charlie chuckles, reaches for his plate.
“Suit yourself. But you don’t know what you’re missing out on. You know how I got this scar? Now that’s an awesome story, but hey, you don’t want to hear it…”
“You were thrown through a window during a bar fight when you were twenty. And you lost.”
“Fuck,” Charlie hisses, unable to hide his amusement.
Who the hell is the woman?
*
Title: it gets better
Pairing: Desmond & Juliet
Rating: PG
Words: 440
Summary: Desmond offers the new girl a bit of advice. S3.
She catches Desmond watching her out of the corner of her eye. It’s not so strange. They all watch her here, eyes narrowed suspiciously as if she’s going to turn on them at any moment. Usually she stares back, smiling sweetly until they turn their heads, but Desmond doesn’t look away. He smiles back.
Juliet cocks her head to one side, unable to hide her surprise and Desmond motions for her to join him. Hesitantly, she crosses the short distance between them and takes a place beside him in the sand.
“Were you ever the new kid in your class, sister?”
Desmond turns to look at her, his eyes squinting against the sun. This seems a random line of questioning and Juliet can’t help but feel wary. The last time she talked to one of these people the conversation started out equally innocuously only to end with a vague threat of murder if she stepped out of line. Forgive her if she’s cautious.
“A few times. Why?”
“My family moved to a smaller house after my mum died, I was fifteen and I’d only ever been to one school. I was furious at my dad for making us move. I still remember walking into that bloody classroom for the first time, all eyes on me, my palms sweating; heart racing…it was a nightmare. I felt like I had a target painted on my back for weeks. Kids are monsters at that age.”
“Why are you telling me this, Desmond?”
He smiles.
“Because two weeks later a girl transferred in from England and I got on with things, made friends. It didn’t last forever.”
Juliet can’t stop herself from laughing.
“So I guess my showing up here was good for someone after all,” she says.
“Aye, I’m not the new kid any more. They still think I’m mad though.”
“Well at least they don’t think you’re going to kill them all in their sleep.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Desmond says. He pushes himself to his feet, wiping his sandy hands on his pants when he stands. He looks down at Juliet with something like understanding and suddenly she’s the one who has to look away.
“Listen, sister, it gets better. They’ll come around sooner or later.”
“Unless someone falls out of the sky, I think I’m going to be the new kid for a long time.”
Desmond chuckles.
“Stranger things have happened,” he says as he heads down the beach.
Juliet gets up too and glances back at the rest of the castaways. She smiles to herself when she realizes for once, no one’s paying her a bit of attention.
*
Title: winner takes all
Pairing: Charlotte/Frank
Rating: PG-13
Words: 337
Summary: It’s a bad hand. Frank’s not surprised, he’s a born loser.
The cards are dealt. Frank tries not to laugh when she fumbles the deck in an ill-fated attempt to mimic his flourishes. He could tell her those kinds of tricks are best left to old drunken gamblers like himself, but he holds his tongue and picks up his cards instead.
It’s a bad hand. Frank’s not surprised, he’s a born loser. He comforts himself with the knowledge that no one can keep a bird in the air like him and yeah, that’s not going to refill his wallet after Charlotte empties it again, but he’s got a feeling he won’t be needing cash where they’re going anyway.
“How many cards do you want?” Charlotte asks.
Her lips are set and she looks right at him and doesn’t blink. She’s got a hell of a poker face. Frank holds up two fingers, tosses his discards on the pile. Charlotte passes him two more and he makes sure their hands brush in the process. It’s a fool’s tactic and the arch of her eyebrow tells him as much.
His hand is worse than it was before.
“Let’s see them, sweetheart,” he says, tapping the table for emphasis.
She splays her cards in front of her. Queens and kings, a full house. Frank clucks his tongue, tosses his cards over.
“Looks like I win again, darling,” she teases.
Frank watches as she reaches out to drag her winnings over to her already teetering pile. The girl can’t shuffle worth a damn, but she’s a good player, he’ll give her that. He’s trying so hard not to look down her shirt as she leans forward in her chair that he doesn’t notice she’s passed the bills up in favor of wrapping a warm hand around his wrist.
“What are you doing?” he asks. He knows of course, at least he thinks he does. But he’s old enough these days to need confirmation.
Charlotte smirks, her grip tightening, making Frank’s heartbeat quicken, his mouth go dry.
“Just collecting my winnings,” she says.
*
Title: be the water and i’m wading
Pairing: Jack/Claire
Rating: PG
Words: 240
Summary:A car will stop. They’ll keep moving. This is what forever looks like.
“We should really buy a car, you know,” she says. Her words are nearly drowned out by the pounding of the rain against the pavement. Jack keeps his head down as he laughs.
Storms blow in without warning here; always seem to catch them between rides, soaking them to the bone in seconds. It’s a familiar sensation and it leaves them giddy, not for the memory, but for the possibility. The sun will come out, drying their clothes and their hair. Claire’s will curl, become unruly and Jack will watch as she twists it into a knot at the base of her neck. A car will stop. They’ll keep moving. This is what forever looks like.
Endless, infinite possibility.
Him and her and nothing but miles and miles of road.
A truck approaches from the south and Claire shoves him playfully aside, sticks out a thumb. The truck rumbles to a stop.
“Gracias,” Claire shouts into the cab and the man grins, gestures to the back. Jack climbs into the bed of the truck and reaches out a hand to help Claire clamor in behind him. He presses his back against the cold metal and Claire settles between his legs, rests her damp head on his chest. The rain is barely a drizzle now, soon it’ll be gone completely.
Jack watches the road disappearing behind them.
“Where do you think we’re going?” he asks.
Claire giggles.
“I have no idea.”