A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Title: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jeux d'Enfants, The Dark Knight, Red Eye, House, Firefly.
Characters: Angel(us)/Buffy, Julien/Sophie, Bruce/Rachel, Harvey/Rachel, Jackson/Lisa, House/Amber, Wilson/Amber, Simon/Kaylee.
Rating: PG.
Word Count: 1360.
Spoilers: None really, except maybe Red Eye, but be wary.
Summary: He never dared her to love him, but that doesn't stop her.
Author's Note/Disclaimer: These drabbles are (mostly) from an icon drabble meme I did at my journal.
001. Dream a Little Dream (Of Me) [BTVS: Angel(us)/Buffy icon]
She dreams about the moment for weeks after Angel leaves.
Some nights, Buffy's tied to a chair, her wrists chaffing from the roughness of the rope. She has a gag in her mouth and she's fighting tears, even as she feels some blood slipping down her cheek from where he hit her.
On nights like that, he's Angelus.
He licks the blood off her cheek greedily, grinning as he pulls away from her. She struggles with the ropes again because she'd give anything to wipe the smile off his face, but he's good with knots.
Those nights, he doesn't actually drink from her. He'd rather just torture her, watch her squirm and cry.
The other nights (she wouldn't call them better, though), he's still Angel and he's dying in her arms again. She feels that same helplessness, that fear that cripples her.
She makes him drink, but not because it has to be the blood of a slayer this time. She makes him drink because she wants to feel his teeth against her flesh, wants to feel alive in his arms again.
Those are the nights when Buffy wakes up with her heart pounding and an overwhelming terror building in her chest. She's crying every time she wakes up after those dreams because she's the slayer.
She's not supposed to crave the feel of a vampire draining her life away.
002. Dare You To Move [Jeux d'Enfants: Julien/Sophie icon]
He never dared her to love him, but that doesn't stop her.
He's there, she can feel him inside every inch of her body. It's gotten to the point where she can't tell where Julien ends and she begins. Truth be told, she's scared of how much she likes that.
There are nights that all she can think about is the time she dared him to kiss her. How his body felt pressed so close to hers, how the brick behind her back was almost painfully rough but it didn't matter; he was there, and he was hers.
They dance around the truth because that's how they are; they avoid their feelings and hide in the stupid game that she's grown to despise. She wants to tell him that she can't dance anymore, that she lost her dancing shoes, but then he'd be out of her life forever.
She'd rather he dare her to dance on glass than give him up.
003. All Those Memories Left Behind [The Dark Knight: Bruce/Rachel, Harvey/Rachel icon]
Bruce visits her grave at night when he can't sleep (and when he's not out saving Gotham). He wears a suit, because he hates how Batman came between them.
His hands never shake when he traces the R of her first name, the D of her last name. He does close his eyes sometimes and imagines the headstone reading Rachel Wayne; loving wife, mother and friend. He still has it in his head that she would've been with him, that he could've given up life as Batman to be with her.
Hell, he would've given up anything to be with her. She meant more to him than anything else in his life, and it still killed him to know she was gone.
---
Harvey never visits her grave site.
The idea of going there, of resting flowers near her headstone, makes him feel physically ill. Instead, he lets the rage build inside of him until it consumes him and he no longer feels like Harvey Dent.
He shed the White Knight cloak long ago and traded it in for the mask of a villain. Only problem was, the mask was permanently attached to his face.
He longed for blood spilled against the sidewalk, staining it the darkest red possible. He longed to see Batman's still eyes, clouded over with death.
There was a time when it scared him how much his fingers ached to choke the life out of that man, but eventually it went away. Eventually he gave into the darkness inside of him, let it take over.
He always envisioned Rachel's lifeless face when he killed someone, whether it was a male or a female. Sometimes it made it easier; sometimes it made the guilt flare up to the point where he couldn't breathe.
Mostly, though, it just fueled the anger inside of him. It pushed him along until he was blinded by it and the only thing he could see was the end of the life of everyone who let her die.
004. They Call it the Kiss of Death [Red Eye: Jackson/Lisa icon]
Lisa never goes to her childhood home anymore. She makes her father come see her instead, makes him travel for the holidays.
She tried to go there once, the Christmas after Jackson. The shadows all reminded her of him and she was constantly on edge, waiting for him to spring on her. She knew he was dead, but it didn't help any; she still couldn't sleep because the house made the nightmares worse.
There were times when she dreamed about Jackson throwing her against the wall, like in the bathroom on the airplane, and grabbing hold of her face. She'd always fight against him but there was a part of her that screamed kiss me, kiss me, kiss me in time with her racing heart.
She wanted to claw her nails over his back and make him hurt, just like he made her hurt. She didn't want revenge, though; she just wanted him.
So Lisa told her dad that she just couldn't handle it anymore, that she couldn't set foot in that house again. She nearly told him to sell it, but that was a step too far.
He agreed without even asking why.
She wonders how he would've responded if she would've told him that there was a part of her that was in love with Jackson. A part of her that regretted killing him, because then she could've felt his lips rough against her own.
It was a small part, and she did her best to ignore it, but it was there. And it terrified her.
005. Playing House [House: House/Amber, House/Wilson icon]
She likes watching House squirm. That's why she went after Wilson in the first place.
She likes knowing that she can get under House's skin, make him second guess things. It's like a game to her; make him annoyed beyond all recognition and pretend like she didn't intend for it to happen. It was far too enjoyable for her to watch his agitation, the way he scowled and glared at her.
Somewhere along the way, though, she really started caring about Wilson. She forgot about House and her fun little game and instead got caught up in being happy.
It was a strange feeling for her; she wasn't used to good relationships or people who cared about her. She was used to standing on her own two feet and not caring about someone else.
James changed that for her, and suddenly nothing else mattered.
She would've married him, had he asked her. Had they had the time to get that far. Had she not been stupid enough to go rescue House from himself, not because she wanted to but because James would've wanted her to.
006. Strawberries and Grease [Firefly: Simon/Kaylee]
The first time he kisses her, it's soft and timid. She tastes like strawberries even though there hasn't been any on the ship in months; he tastes like nerves. He tries to hide the way his lower lip trembles slightly and the way his fingers shake as they slip into her hair. His nervousness is nearly palpable and it makes Kaylee like him even more. Her thumb traces over his cheek and he smiles against her lips.
When he pulls away, she giggles and the smile grows wider. It makes his stomach flip when she doesn't stop and he wonders if he did something wrong.
"What's so funny?"
He smells the grease on his skin when she reaches over to wipe it off.
"Nothin', you just got a little flaw in your perfection is all."
His hand takes hold of hers just as her fingertips touch his cheek. She looks at him, hand stilled in that position, and he kisses her again. The smile is still there when he pulls back, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of her hand.
"Leave it," he says. "The smell reminds me of you."
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jeux d'Enfants, The Dark Knight, Red Eye, House, Firefly.
Characters: Angel(us)/Buffy, Julien/Sophie, Bruce/Rachel, Harvey/Rachel, Jackson/Lisa, House/Amber, Wilson/Amber, Simon/Kaylee.
Rating: PG.
Word Count: 1360.
Spoilers: None really, except maybe Red Eye, but be wary.
Summary: He never dared her to love him, but that doesn't stop her.
Author's Note/Disclaimer: These drabbles are (mostly) from an icon drabble meme I did at my journal.
001. Dream a Little Dream (Of Me) [BTVS: Angel(us)/Buffy icon]
She dreams about the moment for weeks after Angel leaves.
Some nights, Buffy's tied to a chair, her wrists chaffing from the roughness of the rope. She has a gag in her mouth and she's fighting tears, even as she feels some blood slipping down her cheek from where he hit her.
On nights like that, he's Angelus.
He licks the blood off her cheek greedily, grinning as he pulls away from her. She struggles with the ropes again because she'd give anything to wipe the smile off his face, but he's good with knots.
Those nights, he doesn't actually drink from her. He'd rather just torture her, watch her squirm and cry.
The other nights (she wouldn't call them better, though), he's still Angel and he's dying in her arms again. She feels that same helplessness, that fear that cripples her.
She makes him drink, but not because it has to be the blood of a slayer this time. She makes him drink because she wants to feel his teeth against her flesh, wants to feel alive in his arms again.
Those are the nights when Buffy wakes up with her heart pounding and an overwhelming terror building in her chest. She's crying every time she wakes up after those dreams because she's the slayer.
She's not supposed to crave the feel of a vampire draining her life away.
002. Dare You To Move [Jeux d'Enfants: Julien/Sophie icon]
He never dared her to love him, but that doesn't stop her.
He's there, she can feel him inside every inch of her body. It's gotten to the point where she can't tell where Julien ends and she begins. Truth be told, she's scared of how much she likes that.
There are nights that all she can think about is the time she dared him to kiss her. How his body felt pressed so close to hers, how the brick behind her back was almost painfully rough but it didn't matter; he was there, and he was hers.
They dance around the truth because that's how they are; they avoid their feelings and hide in the stupid game that she's grown to despise. She wants to tell him that she can't dance anymore, that she lost her dancing shoes, but then he'd be out of her life forever.
She'd rather he dare her to dance on glass than give him up.
003. All Those Memories Left Behind [The Dark Knight: Bruce/Rachel, Harvey/Rachel icon]
Bruce visits her grave at night when he can't sleep (and when he's not out saving Gotham). He wears a suit, because he hates how Batman came between them.
His hands never shake when he traces the R of her first name, the D of her last name. He does close his eyes sometimes and imagines the headstone reading Rachel Wayne; loving wife, mother and friend. He still has it in his head that she would've been with him, that he could've given up life as Batman to be with her.
Hell, he would've given up anything to be with her. She meant more to him than anything else in his life, and it still killed him to know she was gone.
---
Harvey never visits her grave site.
The idea of going there, of resting flowers near her headstone, makes him feel physically ill. Instead, he lets the rage build inside of him until it consumes him and he no longer feels like Harvey Dent.
He shed the White Knight cloak long ago and traded it in for the mask of a villain. Only problem was, the mask was permanently attached to his face.
He longed for blood spilled against the sidewalk, staining it the darkest red possible. He longed to see Batman's still eyes, clouded over with death.
There was a time when it scared him how much his fingers ached to choke the life out of that man, but eventually it went away. Eventually he gave into the darkness inside of him, let it take over.
He always envisioned Rachel's lifeless face when he killed someone, whether it was a male or a female. Sometimes it made it easier; sometimes it made the guilt flare up to the point where he couldn't breathe.
Mostly, though, it just fueled the anger inside of him. It pushed him along until he was blinded by it and the only thing he could see was the end of the life of everyone who let her die.
004. They Call it the Kiss of Death [Red Eye: Jackson/Lisa icon]
Lisa never goes to her childhood home anymore. She makes her father come see her instead, makes him travel for the holidays.
She tried to go there once, the Christmas after Jackson. The shadows all reminded her of him and she was constantly on edge, waiting for him to spring on her. She knew he was dead, but it didn't help any; she still couldn't sleep because the house made the nightmares worse.
There were times when she dreamed about Jackson throwing her against the wall, like in the bathroom on the airplane, and grabbing hold of her face. She'd always fight against him but there was a part of her that screamed kiss me, kiss me, kiss me in time with her racing heart.
She wanted to claw her nails over his back and make him hurt, just like he made her hurt. She didn't want revenge, though; she just wanted him.
So Lisa told her dad that she just couldn't handle it anymore, that she couldn't set foot in that house again. She nearly told him to sell it, but that was a step too far.
He agreed without even asking why.
She wonders how he would've responded if she would've told him that there was a part of her that was in love with Jackson. A part of her that regretted killing him, because then she could've felt his lips rough against her own.
It was a small part, and she did her best to ignore it, but it was there. And it terrified her.
005. Playing House [House: House/Amber, House/Wilson icon]
She likes watching House squirm. That's why she went after Wilson in the first place.
She likes knowing that she can get under House's skin, make him second guess things. It's like a game to her; make him annoyed beyond all recognition and pretend like she didn't intend for it to happen. It was far too enjoyable for her to watch his agitation, the way he scowled and glared at her.
Somewhere along the way, though, she really started caring about Wilson. She forgot about House and her fun little game and instead got caught up in being happy.
It was a strange feeling for her; she wasn't used to good relationships or people who cared about her. She was used to standing on her own two feet and not caring about someone else.
James changed that for her, and suddenly nothing else mattered.
She would've married him, had he asked her. Had they had the time to get that far. Had she not been stupid enough to go rescue House from himself, not because she wanted to but because James would've wanted her to.
006. Strawberries and Grease [Firefly: Simon/Kaylee]
The first time he kisses her, it's soft and timid. She tastes like strawberries even though there hasn't been any on the ship in months; he tastes like nerves. He tries to hide the way his lower lip trembles slightly and the way his fingers shake as they slip into her hair. His nervousness is nearly palpable and it makes Kaylee like him even more. Her thumb traces over his cheek and he smiles against her lips.
When he pulls away, she giggles and the smile grows wider. It makes his stomach flip when she doesn't stop and he wonders if he did something wrong.
"What's so funny?"
He smells the grease on his skin when she reaches over to wipe it off.
"Nothin', you just got a little flaw in your perfection is all."
His hand takes hold of hers just as her fingertips touch his cheek. She looks at him, hand stilled in that position, and he kisses her again. The smile is still there when he pulls back, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of her hand.
"Leave it," he says. "The smell reminds me of you."