And now, a bunch of comment fic from comment_fic
So, crimsonquills mentioned comment_fic a couple of times, and I was on that like Guy on punching. Since only one is even remotely ficlet-sized, I figured I'd just throw them all here for your enjoyment.
Green Arrow/Buffy
Connor/Xander
Prompt (paraphrased): Connor/Any, Connor just being part of Sunnydale and its madness
The fifth vamp comes out of nowhere, and Xander doesn't have time to dodge. He's grabbed by the throat, lifted off his feet, and as he tries to count up the number of times this has now happened to him, the vamp goes to dust. Xander sprawls on the ground, coughing, and sifts through the dust to find the arrow.
"You okay?" Connor's voice comes over the comm, calm.
"Fine," Xander coughs out. He starts to get to his feet, spots a vamp coming at him, and stays in his crouched position. When the vamp is directly over him, Xander thrusts out his arm and stakes him. "And now I have my dignity back."
"Your dignity is always there," Connor says, and Xander hears the sound of Connor loading up his bow. "You just sometimes choose not to see it."
"Yeah. Great. Very zen. Have you killed the rest of them, yet?"
"Last one is on your six," Connor says, and Xander spins around, stake ready, and the vamp runs directly into it.
"Nice."
"Thanks." Xander coughs again, deeper than before. He leans on a tombstone to catch his breath and watch Connor shimmy down from the tree where he'd taken the high ground.
"Here," Connor says, and he tosses a bottle of water from the pouch on his belt.
Xander drinks down half the bottle, hands the rest to Connor, and admires the view when Connor tips back his head and swallows. "You look like a superhero," Xander says because it always makes Connor blush.
"Just because I prepare for patrol--"
"And where a utility belt."
"It is not--"
"And do trick shots with arrows."
"They're not tricks. I've just had a lot of--"
"And were raised by monks."
"Because I had a temper and my mother--"
"Connor."
Connor presses his lips together and narrows his eyes at Xander's serious tone. "Yes?" he asks.
"Just admit it."
Connor sighs and tucks away the water bottle. "I am not a superhero, Xander."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"You're double-sure?"
"Yes."
"Because I had Willow do some research-fu, and she found pictures of you from another city."
"Really?" Connor asks, holding out his hand to help Xander up. "Don't superheroes wear masks?"
Xander ruffles Connor's hair and pokes him on the nose. "You're kind of distinctive, man."
"Sure it wasn't some guy with a tan?"
"Buffy says your butt matches."
Connor gapes for a second. "What?!"
Xander shrugs. "Buffy says your butt matches. And she says she's an expert."
"How is Buffy an expert on my butt?"
"Because she stares at it."
"Why?"
Xander laughs. "You've seen you, right?"
Connor shakes his head. "I don't--"
"You're hotness," Xander interrupts. "Grade A Prime Man Meat. Too good looking to be real. All that stuff."
Connor thinks for a minute, watches the way Xander suddenly blushes. "You've noticed?"
"Hey, I'm secure in my manhood."
Connor grins. "You've been checking me out."
"Secure! Manhoood!"
Connor takes a step towards Xander. Xander takes a step back. Connor takes another step. Xander steps back and hits a tree. Before Xander can raise a protest, Connor leans in and kisses him on the mouth, soft and cautious.
"Fine," Xander mutters when Connor pulls away. "I might have been looking."
"Everyone said you were, but I thought--"
"EVERYONE?!"
"Not everyone. Just Buffy and Willow and Tara and Giles--"
"And everyone," Xander finishes with a sigh. "Crap."
"They're not against it," Connor assures him. "And I think it's pretty clear I'm not." He smiles a little, and Xander gives him a nervous smile in return.
"I'm gonna go home," Xander tells him. "Have some Xander Harris patented freak-out time." He tugs at his T-shirt and shoves his hands in his pockets. "You could, you know, come with. Talk me out of my closet."
Connor grins outright. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Okay," Connor says. There's a burst of loud cheering over the comm. Connor blanches. "Oh, crap."
Xander looks ready to brain himself on the tree. "Comm's on, isn't it?" he asks.
"Yes!" Buffy and Willow chorus.
"Your fault," Xander hisses and pokes Connor in the chest. "You brought them with you."
Connor reaches for Xander's ear, presses the button to disconnect the comm. He does the same with his own. "I'll make it up to you."
Captain America & Iron Man
Steve & Tony
Prompt (paraphrased): Steve comes back from his time travelling, and he's not doing well.
Steve pauses in front of the computer, reaches out a finger, taps a key. From across the room and out of Steve's line of sight, Tony watches and worries.
Being scared of the computer isn't the problem, really. It's just another symptom. Tony's been watching since Steve got back, waiting for the breakdown he can see strumming through Steve's body when someone's cell phone goes off, when there's documentary about World War II on the television, when there's a Ke$ha song on the radio.
To be fair, Tony thinks and smirks, that may just be good taste.
But the smirk disappears when he watches Steve sit in the corner, facing the door, and curl himself into a ball. Tony stands up and takes a step forward, and Steve tightens up, knuckles going white as he grips his own forearms. He starts rocking back and forth, back and forth. And Tony watches as Steve slowly but surely disappears into his own head.
Tony waits. Because interrupting this could lead to not being able to fix it (Stark rule of scientific experiments #27). He watches Steve rock, and he keeps an eye on security. It's just them for the moment, but that doesn't mean anything. The Tower is home base again, and that could mean anyone coming in at any moment.
Twenty-two minutes later, Steve stops rocking. Three minutes after that, his eyes stop looking vacant, and another minute after that, he looks confused. He looks up at Tony, who's standing over him, a hand out to help him up. "I think something' wrong," Steve says.
"Yeah," Tony replies, keeping his grip tight even after Steve's on his feet. "I was thinking that myself."
Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (paraphrased): Kate was born male.
Eli kisses her. He feels her gasp into his mouth. He presses her against the couch, slides his hand down her stomach. Two inches above her pubic bone--as always--she twists away, pushes his hand to the side, murmurs, "No, Eli," against his mouth.
He pushes away, throws himself against the back of the couch, watches her curl her legs up and drape her arms over them. "I like dating you," he says. "I like making out with you. I would really, really like to get to third base at some point in this relationship. I've told you this."
"I know." Kate drops her head, lets her hair fall in her face. "It's just...it's kind of weird."
"Why?" Eli cringes at his sharp tone. "Sorry," he tells her, softer and nicer. "I'm just...confused, I guess. When we talked about this stuff, I specifically asked if you had any problems because of the," he pauses before he says the word, still uncomfortable hearing it, "rape...and you said you'd dealt with it."
"I have!" Kate snaps, looking up to glare at Eli. "I got raped. I got therapy. I hit people for a living. I've dealt with it."
"Okay. Sorry, it's just," Eli shifts, uncomfortable. "The other option is that you don't actually want me to touch you, and I was kind of hoping that wasn't it."
"I want you to touch me," Kate promises. "I do. It's just...it's weird...down there."
Eli isn't sure how to take that. "Are you...on?"
"On?"
"You know. On." He makes a hand gesture that only makes Kate look more confused. "Your period," Eli gets out through clenched teeth. Kate kicks him in the thigh. "Ow."
"No, I'm not, and don't say it like it's Ebola, you dick." She rolls her eyes at him. "Look, it's just that there's something I haven't told you."
Eli comes up with three separate scenarios in an instant. "You're dating someone else."
"No."
"You're a lesbian."
"No."
"You're secretly a man." He says it with a grin, ready to grab Kate's foot if she tries to kick him again. But she's completely still, eyes wide, and Eli's grin slides off his face.
"Eli--"
"You're a guy?!"
Kate curls into a tighter ball. "No. Yes. It's...look, it's weird, okay? I know it's weird."
"A guy?!" Eli repeats. "No, you're not." He shakes his head. "You're not."
Kate puts her head in her hands. "I was born a boy. But I never...I never felt like one, okay? When I was 15, I told my folks, and my mom flipped, but my dad talked her down, and they decided to let me try it if I wanted, and so I started dressing like a girl and I grew out my hair, and my parents put me into a new school under the name Kate, and I just...I'm a girl, Eli. I am. Inside, I'm a girl."
Eli makes himself count to ten. He tries to find an intelligent question. "What about outside?" If he could, he thinks, he'd kick himself much harder than Kate's ever kicked him.
"I can't have the surgery for awhile, yet. There are procedures. I have to spend a lot of time with a shrink and pretty much prove that I really, truly want to be a woman." Her voice breaks on the last word, and she huddles further into her hands. "Just...don't hate me, okay? I didn't mean to lie. I just...I really liked you, and I thought maybe you'd really like me, and I was afraid if I told you the truth you'd run off, okay?"
"Yeah," Eli says before the silence can settle. "Okay." He sits up straight. He folds his hands in his lap. He watches Kate rock back and forth in the corner of the couch, watches her pull herself back together. "I think..." He's not sure what he thinks, at least not in detail, but his gut is giving him an answer, and he's learned to trust it. "I think you're still Kate," he says. "You're still Kate Bishop, and I'm still Eli Bradley, and I think this is pretty weird, but it's not as weird as some stuff, okay?"
Kate looks up. "It's not?"
"Time traveling evil overlords," Eli says, holding up a finger, "Skrulls," he holds up another finger, "Tommy."
Kate smiles at that. She pushes her hair off her face. "Are you trying to tell me you're willing to try this out?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Okay." She slides back across the couch and tucks herself under Eli's arm. "Thanks."
"You're my girlfriend," Eli says, and it doesn't feel weird to say it, even with what he knows now. "I'm here for you."
Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (paraphrased): Kate/Eli, undercover
"I look like an idiot."
Eli turns, biting back the whistle he wants to let loose at the sight of Kate in a black bustier and collar. "You'll fit in," he says instead. He takes a step back, his pants creaking. "At least you get to wear a skirt."
Kate looks down at the short, pin-striped skirt with a layer of tulle underneath. "Yeah, it's so much better."
"My pants squeak," Eli argues. "I can't sneak up on anybody."
"I'm in dominatrix boots. I sound like a horse." Kate stamps her feet to make her point.
"You look..." Eli clears his throat, pulls at the collar of his mesh shirt. "It works."
Kate smirks. "Thanks, you too."
Eli wants to walk across the room and kiss her, stroke the pale skin running along the top of her bustier. "Ready to bust some drug dealers?" he asks instead, mentally kicking himself for chickening out.
Kate walks over to him, tucks two fingers into his belt, and kisses him hard on the mouth. "You're buying me dinner afterwards," she tells him. "And you're going to rub my feet."
"Sure," Eli says, still slightly dazed. "That sounds good."
Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (direct quote): Eli's a hell of a kisser but she really wishes they didn't always have to be under terrifying amounts of stress before Eli kissed her.
Eli's a hell of a kisser but she really wishes they didn't always have to be under terrifying amounts of stress before Eli kissed her. She thinks about just grabbing him sometime when they're hanging out, playing video games and shouting obscenities at one another. She thinks about letting him win at Smash Brothers, turning her face when he gives her a victory hug, and "accidentally" fall into a kiss.
"You don't live in a romantic comedy," Cassie tells her when Kate broaches the question. "Be better than that."
Cassie is dating a robot, Kate thinks. She's probably not the best judge of how to handle this.
"Never kiss a guy after he wins a round of Smash brothers," Teddy offers when Kate runs the idea past him. "He'll probably taste like Cheetoes and Mountain Dew."
Kate grimaces at the description, knowing how apt it is due to her own general slamming of Cheetoes and Mountain Dew during the gaming sessions.
"You could just jump him," Tommy suggests when they're on patrol. "He's probably too chicken to respond like a real man."
"Shut up, Tommy," Kate replies, and she jumps from the fire escape, getting a mugger in the jaw with her boot.
"I'm just saying--"
"Shut up, Tommy," Kate repeats, and she gets the second mugger in the shoulder with an arrow.
Three days later, when she and Eli are reviewing possible new patrol routes before sharing them with the rest of the team, she grabs him by the collar, pulls him forward, and kisses him.
"Um..." Eli replies.
"I like you," Kate tells him. "I like you a lot. Could you--just maybe--kiss me when we're not in peril?"
Eli blinks, swallows, clears his throat. "Yeah," he says. "Okay."
"All right. Great." Kate waits, then shakes Eli by the collar. "You should be kissing me."
"Oh." Eli dips her like they're in some old-time movie, and he kisses her, one hand at the small of her back, and one in her hair.
"There you go," Kate murmurs against his mouth, and Eli laughs, kissing her again.
EDIT TO ADD: Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (paraphrased): Kate/Eli, win
The bank robbery announces itself in a series of frantic, scratchy calls over the police scanner. They go out as a team, Wiccan and Hulking taking the roof with the SWAT team, Speed clocking constant laps around the building, reporting on movement and possible locations, and Patriot and Hawkeye taking the ground level, behind the yellow line with the head of the negotiation squad.
"What can we do?" Eli asks.
"Back off," the negotiator scowls.
"Great," Kate mutters. "This is going to be fun."
"Don't," Eli warns, and Kate rolls her eyes, pacing the perimeter and looking for a weak spot.
Twenty minutes later, an arrow shoots through the front window of the bank, sticks in the sprinkler. Before the robbers can fire their guns, Speed is inside, Wiccan following with a quick iwanthebadguysinhandcuffs spell, and everything turns to the quiet chaos of winning.
"I didn't ask--"
"You're welcome," Kate interrupts the negotiator. "Glad to help you do your job."
The negotiator glares. He looks at Eli. "If you can't keep your team--"
"My team just saved your ass," Eli tells him. "And my team just cut down the time out here in the heat by a couple of hours. You're welcome."
The negotiator gapes. Eli grabs Kate's elbow and leads her away. "We're supposed to play nice."
"It would have taken hours their way," Kate argues. "The element of surprise saved us all a lot of stress."
"I love you," Eli blurts out, and he wants to cover his hand with his mouth when it's out. "I mean--"
"You're welcome," Kate interrupts. She leans against him as they join up with the rest of the team. "And I'll pretend I didn't hear that for now."
"Thanks," Eli mutters, and Billy teleports them away from the scene.
Green Arrow
Roy/Connor
Prompt (paraphrase): Roy/Connor, virginity
R-ish
Roy is two fingers in, pushing up, watching Connor writhe and listening to him moan, when Connor mutters something Roy is sure he hears wrong.
"What was that?" he asks, teasing and grinning, bending down to bite at Connor's neck.
"I said--" Connor groans and clenches around Roy's fingers, bucks up with his hips. "No one's--I've never--you're--"
Roy freezes, still knuckle-deep. He stares at Connor, the flush on his collarbone, the way he clenches his hands in the sheets. "Am I--"
"No," Connor pants out. "I've had--"
"Am I the first one to fuck you?" Roy watches Connor's flush gets deeper. He rolls his fingers inside Connor, shivers at the moan he gets. "Am I?" he repeats.
"You're--" Connor bites his lip, flails with his right hand before grasping Roy's wrist, holding his hand in place while he thrusts against it. "Yes," he hisses out. "I want--" he groans when Roy crooks his fingers.
"You want?" Roy asks.
"I want."
Roy grins, pries Connor's fingers off his wrist, "Well, then," he mutters, bending down to kiss Connor on the mouth. "I think I can work from that."
EDIT TO ADD: DCU
Roy Harper
Prompt: "I either just got cockblocked or saved from a lengthy court case so I'm kinda conflicted about how my night went.""
"I either just got cockblocked or saved from a lengthy court case so I'm kinda conflicted about how my night went."
"Sixteen," Dick replies. "She's not more than sixteen."
"The bar is 21 and over."
"And that's always a good sign," Dick says, sarcasm so heavy Roy can practically see it in the air. "Because you were totally 21 when you started bar-hopping."
"Hey, not everyone is as--"
"Illegal?"
"Industrious as me when given the chance to make a fake ID," Roy corrects. "I could have bagged her."
"And then you'd be in cuffs, and you'd be calling me, and I'd be refusing to make bail." Dick laughs when Roy punches him lightly in the ribs.
"21," Roy repeats. "At least 21."
"You keep telling yourself that," Dick replies, and they tussle the rest of the way to the bus stop.
Mad Men
Roger/Joan
Prompt (direct quote): Roger/Joan, "Can we try again?"
"Can we try again?" Roger doesn't have to fake the plea in his voice. "Joanie?" She's not looking at him, staring at her water glass instead. She's in dark green, her hair half-up, the back a perfect riot of carefully-constructed curls. Her lipstick makes her mouth a precise bow, and Roger stares at it, wanting to lean across the table and kiss her. Pull away with the taste of wax on his mouth.
"Why?" she asks. She taps her fingernail against her glass, looks Roger in the eyes. There's a sharpness in them Roger doesn't recognize. He wonders if he caused it. "I thought you are Jane were very happy." There's no teasing, no smirk. It makes Roger feel very cold.
"You know we haven't been. We...we probably never were."
"I'm married, Roger."
"So?"
Her eyes flash anger. She stops tapping her glass. "Only you..." She trails off, laughs low in her throat. It's an unbelieving sound. "Marriage means something to some people, Roger. Some of us take it very seriously."
Roger's eyes flick to the cuff of the sweater she hasn't taken off. Even in the dim light of the room he can see a faded bruise. He reaches out, traces his finger along the line of it, watches Joanie pull away. "I wouldn't do that to you."
"You're already done worse." She stands, gathers her purse, holds out a hand when Roger starts to follow. "Don't."
"Joanie, honey, please."
"Go home to your secretary," Joan tells him. "I'm going home to my husband."
"I love you," Roger tries, desperate and painful.
"Of course you do." She turns away. "I never doubted that."
Roger falls back in his chair, watches her walk away. A year ago, two years ago, he could have convinced her with a smile and a nod, a wink and a teasing comment. The woman walking away from him, the woman who doesn't pause at the door or look back, she's not the Joanie he remembers.
Roger snaps his fingers at a passing waiter, orders a martini, sits back and lights a cigarette. He breathes in, blows the smoke upwards, considers going home. After the drink, he decides. After two, maybe.
Green Arrow/Buffy
Connor/Xander
Prompt (paraphrased): Connor/Any, Connor just being part of Sunnydale and its madness
The fifth vamp comes out of nowhere, and Xander doesn't have time to dodge. He's grabbed by the throat, lifted off his feet, and as he tries to count up the number of times this has now happened to him, the vamp goes to dust. Xander sprawls on the ground, coughing, and sifts through the dust to find the arrow.
"You okay?" Connor's voice comes over the comm, calm.
"Fine," Xander coughs out. He starts to get to his feet, spots a vamp coming at him, and stays in his crouched position. When the vamp is directly over him, Xander thrusts out his arm and stakes him. "And now I have my dignity back."
"Your dignity is always there," Connor says, and Xander hears the sound of Connor loading up his bow. "You just sometimes choose not to see it."
"Yeah. Great. Very zen. Have you killed the rest of them, yet?"
"Last one is on your six," Connor says, and Xander spins around, stake ready, and the vamp runs directly into it.
"Nice."
"Thanks." Xander coughs again, deeper than before. He leans on a tombstone to catch his breath and watch Connor shimmy down from the tree where he'd taken the high ground.
"Here," Connor says, and he tosses a bottle of water from the pouch on his belt.
Xander drinks down half the bottle, hands the rest to Connor, and admires the view when Connor tips back his head and swallows. "You look like a superhero," Xander says because it always makes Connor blush.
"Just because I prepare for patrol--"
"And where a utility belt."
"It is not--"
"And do trick shots with arrows."
"They're not tricks. I've just had a lot of--"
"And were raised by monks."
"Because I had a temper and my mother--"
"Connor."
Connor presses his lips together and narrows his eyes at Xander's serious tone. "Yes?" he asks.
"Just admit it."
Connor sighs and tucks away the water bottle. "I am not a superhero, Xander."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"You're double-sure?"
"Yes."
"Because I had Willow do some research-fu, and she found pictures of you from another city."
"Really?" Connor asks, holding out his hand to help Xander up. "Don't superheroes wear masks?"
Xander ruffles Connor's hair and pokes him on the nose. "You're kind of distinctive, man."
"Sure it wasn't some guy with a tan?"
"Buffy says your butt matches."
Connor gapes for a second. "What?!"
Xander shrugs. "Buffy says your butt matches. And she says she's an expert."
"How is Buffy an expert on my butt?"
"Because she stares at it."
"Why?"
Xander laughs. "You've seen you, right?"
Connor shakes his head. "I don't--"
"You're hotness," Xander interrupts. "Grade A Prime Man Meat. Too good looking to be real. All that stuff."
Connor thinks for a minute, watches the way Xander suddenly blushes. "You've noticed?"
"Hey, I'm secure in my manhood."
Connor grins. "You've been checking me out."
"Secure! Manhoood!"
Connor takes a step towards Xander. Xander takes a step back. Connor takes another step. Xander steps back and hits a tree. Before Xander can raise a protest, Connor leans in and kisses him on the mouth, soft and cautious.
"Fine," Xander mutters when Connor pulls away. "I might have been looking."
"Everyone said you were, but I thought--"
"EVERYONE?!"
"Not everyone. Just Buffy and Willow and Tara and Giles--"
"And everyone," Xander finishes with a sigh. "Crap."
"They're not against it," Connor assures him. "And I think it's pretty clear I'm not." He smiles a little, and Xander gives him a nervous smile in return.
"I'm gonna go home," Xander tells him. "Have some Xander Harris patented freak-out time." He tugs at his T-shirt and shoves his hands in his pockets. "You could, you know, come with. Talk me out of my closet."
Connor grins outright. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Okay," Connor says. There's a burst of loud cheering over the comm. Connor blanches. "Oh, crap."
Xander looks ready to brain himself on the tree. "Comm's on, isn't it?" he asks.
"Yes!" Buffy and Willow chorus.
"Your fault," Xander hisses and pokes Connor in the chest. "You brought them with you."
Connor reaches for Xander's ear, presses the button to disconnect the comm. He does the same with his own. "I'll make it up to you."
Captain America & Iron Man
Steve & Tony
Prompt (paraphrased): Steve comes back from his time travelling, and he's not doing well.
Steve pauses in front of the computer, reaches out a finger, taps a key. From across the room and out of Steve's line of sight, Tony watches and worries.
Being scared of the computer isn't the problem, really. It's just another symptom. Tony's been watching since Steve got back, waiting for the breakdown he can see strumming through Steve's body when someone's cell phone goes off, when there's documentary about World War II on the television, when there's a Ke$ha song on the radio.
To be fair, Tony thinks and smirks, that may just be good taste.
But the smirk disappears when he watches Steve sit in the corner, facing the door, and curl himself into a ball. Tony stands up and takes a step forward, and Steve tightens up, knuckles going white as he grips his own forearms. He starts rocking back and forth, back and forth. And Tony watches as Steve slowly but surely disappears into his own head.
Tony waits. Because interrupting this could lead to not being able to fix it (Stark rule of scientific experiments #27). He watches Steve rock, and he keeps an eye on security. It's just them for the moment, but that doesn't mean anything. The Tower is home base again, and that could mean anyone coming in at any moment.
Twenty-two minutes later, Steve stops rocking. Three minutes after that, his eyes stop looking vacant, and another minute after that, he looks confused. He looks up at Tony, who's standing over him, a hand out to help him up. "I think something' wrong," Steve says.
"Yeah," Tony replies, keeping his grip tight even after Steve's on his feet. "I was thinking that myself."
Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (paraphrased): Kate was born male.
Eli kisses her. He feels her gasp into his mouth. He presses her against the couch, slides his hand down her stomach. Two inches above her pubic bone--as always--she twists away, pushes his hand to the side, murmurs, "No, Eli," against his mouth.
He pushes away, throws himself against the back of the couch, watches her curl her legs up and drape her arms over them. "I like dating you," he says. "I like making out with you. I would really, really like to get to third base at some point in this relationship. I've told you this."
"I know." Kate drops her head, lets her hair fall in her face. "It's just...it's kind of weird."
"Why?" Eli cringes at his sharp tone. "Sorry," he tells her, softer and nicer. "I'm just...confused, I guess. When we talked about this stuff, I specifically asked if you had any problems because of the," he pauses before he says the word, still uncomfortable hearing it, "rape...and you said you'd dealt with it."
"I have!" Kate snaps, looking up to glare at Eli. "I got raped. I got therapy. I hit people for a living. I've dealt with it."
"Okay. Sorry, it's just," Eli shifts, uncomfortable. "The other option is that you don't actually want me to touch you, and I was kind of hoping that wasn't it."
"I want you to touch me," Kate promises. "I do. It's just...it's weird...down there."
Eli isn't sure how to take that. "Are you...on?"
"On?"
"You know. On." He makes a hand gesture that only makes Kate look more confused. "Your period," Eli gets out through clenched teeth. Kate kicks him in the thigh. "Ow."
"No, I'm not, and don't say it like it's Ebola, you dick." She rolls her eyes at him. "Look, it's just that there's something I haven't told you."
Eli comes up with three separate scenarios in an instant. "You're dating someone else."
"No."
"You're a lesbian."
"No."
"You're secretly a man." He says it with a grin, ready to grab Kate's foot if she tries to kick him again. But she's completely still, eyes wide, and Eli's grin slides off his face.
"Eli--"
"You're a guy?!"
Kate curls into a tighter ball. "No. Yes. It's...look, it's weird, okay? I know it's weird."
"A guy?!" Eli repeats. "No, you're not." He shakes his head. "You're not."
Kate puts her head in her hands. "I was born a boy. But I never...I never felt like one, okay? When I was 15, I told my folks, and my mom flipped, but my dad talked her down, and they decided to let me try it if I wanted, and so I started dressing like a girl and I grew out my hair, and my parents put me into a new school under the name Kate, and I just...I'm a girl, Eli. I am. Inside, I'm a girl."
Eli makes himself count to ten. He tries to find an intelligent question. "What about outside?" If he could, he thinks, he'd kick himself much harder than Kate's ever kicked him.
"I can't have the surgery for awhile, yet. There are procedures. I have to spend a lot of time with a shrink and pretty much prove that I really, truly want to be a woman." Her voice breaks on the last word, and she huddles further into her hands. "Just...don't hate me, okay? I didn't mean to lie. I just...I really liked you, and I thought maybe you'd really like me, and I was afraid if I told you the truth you'd run off, okay?"
"Yeah," Eli says before the silence can settle. "Okay." He sits up straight. He folds his hands in his lap. He watches Kate rock back and forth in the corner of the couch, watches her pull herself back together. "I think..." He's not sure what he thinks, at least not in detail, but his gut is giving him an answer, and he's learned to trust it. "I think you're still Kate," he says. "You're still Kate Bishop, and I'm still Eli Bradley, and I think this is pretty weird, but it's not as weird as some stuff, okay?"
Kate looks up. "It's not?"
"Time traveling evil overlords," Eli says, holding up a finger, "Skrulls," he holds up another finger, "Tommy."
Kate smiles at that. She pushes her hair off her face. "Are you trying to tell me you're willing to try this out?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Okay." She slides back across the couch and tucks herself under Eli's arm. "Thanks."
"You're my girlfriend," Eli says, and it doesn't feel weird to say it, even with what he knows now. "I'm here for you."
Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (paraphrased): Kate/Eli, undercover
"I look like an idiot."
Eli turns, biting back the whistle he wants to let loose at the sight of Kate in a black bustier and collar. "You'll fit in," he says instead. He takes a step back, his pants creaking. "At least you get to wear a skirt."
Kate looks down at the short, pin-striped skirt with a layer of tulle underneath. "Yeah, it's so much better."
"My pants squeak," Eli argues. "I can't sneak up on anybody."
"I'm in dominatrix boots. I sound like a horse." Kate stamps her feet to make her point.
"You look..." Eli clears his throat, pulls at the collar of his mesh shirt. "It works."
Kate smirks. "Thanks, you too."
Eli wants to walk across the room and kiss her, stroke the pale skin running along the top of her bustier. "Ready to bust some drug dealers?" he asks instead, mentally kicking himself for chickening out.
Kate walks over to him, tucks two fingers into his belt, and kisses him hard on the mouth. "You're buying me dinner afterwards," she tells him. "And you're going to rub my feet."
"Sure," Eli says, still slightly dazed. "That sounds good."
Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (direct quote): Eli's a hell of a kisser but she really wishes they didn't always have to be under terrifying amounts of stress before Eli kissed her.
Eli's a hell of a kisser but she really wishes they didn't always have to be under terrifying amounts of stress before Eli kissed her. She thinks about just grabbing him sometime when they're hanging out, playing video games and shouting obscenities at one another. She thinks about letting him win at Smash Brothers, turning her face when he gives her a victory hug, and "accidentally" fall into a kiss.
"You don't live in a romantic comedy," Cassie tells her when Kate broaches the question. "Be better than that."
Cassie is dating a robot, Kate thinks. She's probably not the best judge of how to handle this.
"Never kiss a guy after he wins a round of Smash brothers," Teddy offers when Kate runs the idea past him. "He'll probably taste like Cheetoes and Mountain Dew."
Kate grimaces at the description, knowing how apt it is due to her own general slamming of Cheetoes and Mountain Dew during the gaming sessions.
"You could just jump him," Tommy suggests when they're on patrol. "He's probably too chicken to respond like a real man."
"Shut up, Tommy," Kate replies, and she jumps from the fire escape, getting a mugger in the jaw with her boot.
"I'm just saying--"
"Shut up, Tommy," Kate repeats, and she gets the second mugger in the shoulder with an arrow.
Three days later, when she and Eli are reviewing possible new patrol routes before sharing them with the rest of the team, she grabs him by the collar, pulls him forward, and kisses him.
"Um..." Eli replies.
"I like you," Kate tells him. "I like you a lot. Could you--just maybe--kiss me when we're not in peril?"
Eli blinks, swallows, clears his throat. "Yeah," he says. "Okay."
"All right. Great." Kate waits, then shakes Eli by the collar. "You should be kissing me."
"Oh." Eli dips her like they're in some old-time movie, and he kisses her, one hand at the small of her back, and one in her hair.
"There you go," Kate murmurs against his mouth, and Eli laughs, kissing her again.
EDIT TO ADD: Young Avengers
Kate/Eli
Prompt (paraphrased): Kate/Eli, win
The bank robbery announces itself in a series of frantic, scratchy calls over the police scanner. They go out as a team, Wiccan and Hulking taking the roof with the SWAT team, Speed clocking constant laps around the building, reporting on movement and possible locations, and Patriot and Hawkeye taking the ground level, behind the yellow line with the head of the negotiation squad.
"What can we do?" Eli asks.
"Back off," the negotiator scowls.
"Great," Kate mutters. "This is going to be fun."
"Don't," Eli warns, and Kate rolls her eyes, pacing the perimeter and looking for a weak spot.
Twenty minutes later, an arrow shoots through the front window of the bank, sticks in the sprinkler. Before the robbers can fire their guns, Speed is inside, Wiccan following with a quick iwanthebadguysinhandcuffs spell, and everything turns to the quiet chaos of winning.
"I didn't ask--"
"You're welcome," Kate interrupts the negotiator. "Glad to help you do your job."
The negotiator glares. He looks at Eli. "If you can't keep your team--"
"My team just saved your ass," Eli tells him. "And my team just cut down the time out here in the heat by a couple of hours. You're welcome."
The negotiator gapes. Eli grabs Kate's elbow and leads her away. "We're supposed to play nice."
"It would have taken hours their way," Kate argues. "The element of surprise saved us all a lot of stress."
"I love you," Eli blurts out, and he wants to cover his hand with his mouth when it's out. "I mean--"
"You're welcome," Kate interrupts. She leans against him as they join up with the rest of the team. "And I'll pretend I didn't hear that for now."
"Thanks," Eli mutters, and Billy teleports them away from the scene.
Green Arrow
Roy/Connor
Prompt (paraphrase): Roy/Connor, virginity
R-ish
Roy is two fingers in, pushing up, watching Connor writhe and listening to him moan, when Connor mutters something Roy is sure he hears wrong.
"What was that?" he asks, teasing and grinning, bending down to bite at Connor's neck.
"I said--" Connor groans and clenches around Roy's fingers, bucks up with his hips. "No one's--I've never--you're--"
Roy freezes, still knuckle-deep. He stares at Connor, the flush on his collarbone, the way he clenches his hands in the sheets. "Am I--"
"No," Connor pants out. "I've had--"
"Am I the first one to fuck you?" Roy watches Connor's flush gets deeper. He rolls his fingers inside Connor, shivers at the moan he gets. "Am I?" he repeats.
"You're--" Connor bites his lip, flails with his right hand before grasping Roy's wrist, holding his hand in place while he thrusts against it. "Yes," he hisses out. "I want--" he groans when Roy crooks his fingers.
"You want?" Roy asks.
"I want."
Roy grins, pries Connor's fingers off his wrist, "Well, then," he mutters, bending down to kiss Connor on the mouth. "I think I can work from that."
EDIT TO ADD: DCU
Roy Harper
Prompt: "I either just got cockblocked or saved from a lengthy court case so I'm kinda conflicted about how my night went.""
"I either just got cockblocked or saved from a lengthy court case so I'm kinda conflicted about how my night went."
"Sixteen," Dick replies. "She's not more than sixteen."
"The bar is 21 and over."
"And that's always a good sign," Dick says, sarcasm so heavy Roy can practically see it in the air. "Because you were totally 21 when you started bar-hopping."
"Hey, not everyone is as--"
"Illegal?"
"Industrious as me when given the chance to make a fake ID," Roy corrects. "I could have bagged her."
"And then you'd be in cuffs, and you'd be calling me, and I'd be refusing to make bail." Dick laughs when Roy punches him lightly in the ribs.
"21," Roy repeats. "At least 21."
"You keep telling yourself that," Dick replies, and they tussle the rest of the way to the bus stop.
Mad Men
Roger/Joan
Prompt (direct quote): Roger/Joan, "Can we try again?"
"Can we try again?" Roger doesn't have to fake the plea in his voice. "Joanie?" She's not looking at him, staring at her water glass instead. She's in dark green, her hair half-up, the back a perfect riot of carefully-constructed curls. Her lipstick makes her mouth a precise bow, and Roger stares at it, wanting to lean across the table and kiss her. Pull away with the taste of wax on his mouth.
"Why?" she asks. She taps her fingernail against her glass, looks Roger in the eyes. There's a sharpness in them Roger doesn't recognize. He wonders if he caused it. "I thought you are Jane were very happy." There's no teasing, no smirk. It makes Roger feel very cold.
"You know we haven't been. We...we probably never were."
"I'm married, Roger."
"So?"
Her eyes flash anger. She stops tapping her glass. "Only you..." She trails off, laughs low in her throat. It's an unbelieving sound. "Marriage means something to some people, Roger. Some of us take it very seriously."
Roger's eyes flick to the cuff of the sweater she hasn't taken off. Even in the dim light of the room he can see a faded bruise. He reaches out, traces his finger along the line of it, watches Joanie pull away. "I wouldn't do that to you."
"You're already done worse." She stands, gathers her purse, holds out a hand when Roger starts to follow. "Don't."
"Joanie, honey, please."
"Go home to your secretary," Joan tells him. "I'm going home to my husband."
"I love you," Roger tries, desperate and painful.
"Of course you do." She turns away. "I never doubted that."
Roger falls back in his chair, watches her walk away. A year ago, two years ago, he could have convinced her with a smile and a nod, a wink and a teasing comment. The woman walking away from him, the woman who doesn't pause at the door or look back, she's not the Joanie he remembers.
Roger snaps his fingers at a passing waiter, orders a martini, sits back and lights a cigarette. He breathes in, blows the smoke upwards, considers going home. After the drink, he decides. After two, maybe.