Whedonland Reunion Mini-Bang
Title: Last Quiet Night
Author: sheryden
Art: raynewswer
Word Count 347
Lindsey took a gulp of Jack and Coke and leaned back in his chair. It wasn’t his usual drink, but he needed something to take the edge off tonight. He’d been blindsided earlier that day, and ever since, his muscles had been twisted into knots. He glanced around the swelling crowd in Caritas and wondered vaguely if he should have just bought a bottle and slipped home to drink alone.
As Lindsey pondered getting up to leave, the owner of Caritas breezed up to the table and flashed a face-splitting grin. “Well,” he said brightly. “If it isn’t my favorite morally questionable lawyer! You planning to sing one tonight?”
With a shake of his head, Lindsey took poured the last of his drink down his throat. “Nah, Lorne,” he said. “Not in the mood.”
Lorne leaned against the table. “What’s the problem, sugar?”
Cocking his head at Lorne, Lindsey let out a breath. “You hear of any new vampires rolling into town lately?”
“Blue Eyes, this is LA. Vamps flock here like college students to Florida during Spring Break. Why do you ask?”
“Because a vampire I don’t know chucked one of my clients out a window today.”
“Wow, bad day at the office.”
“Not really. Just a long-ass meeting and a lot of paperwork.”
“Well, you’re all heart.” Lorne patted Lindsey on the shoulder. “I’ll send over another drink and leave you to your grief.”
After Lorne left, Lindsey let his eyes flutter closed and pondered the events of the day. He wouldn’t exactly miss Russell Winters. The guy was vile, even for a vampire. But still, he didn’t like to lose a client. One didn’t get ahead at Wolfram and Hart by letting one’s clients burst into flames. And a new player could upset the balance of power the firm had worked so hard to establish. Already, the halls were buzzing with rumors about the newcomer.
A waiter bustled over to the table with another drink, and Lindsey sipped it gratefully. He had a feeling this might be his last quiet night for a while.
Title: The Honorable Thing
Author: sheryden
Art: raynewser
Word Count: 221
“Ow!”
“Stop your bellyaching,” Mal said. “I’m almost done.” With one hand, he held Simon’s face still, and with the other, he rubbed at a sizable wound on the good doctor’s cheek.
“You’re too close to my eye,” Simon said through gritted teeth.
Undeterred, Mal continued tending to Simon’s face. “I know what I’m doing,” he said. “I’ve seen you do it lots of times.” When he was satisfied that the wound was relatively clean, Mal applied a little alcohol-which made Simon flinch even more-and taped on a bandage. “There you go. You look like a man who’s been in a proper bar fight.”
Simon touched a hand to his bandaged cheek. “I don’t know what got into me.”
Mal folded his arms across his chest. “You were defending your sister’s honor, that’s what.” He thought back to the image of Simon clocking a 6’5” drunken lout and grinned. “I’m proud of you. You held your own in a brawl.”
“I should’ve walked away,” Simon said. “That’s what I used to do.”
“You did the honorable thing.”
Shaking his head, Simon lowered himself onto one of the cots in the medical bay and closed his eyes. “I’m spending too much time around you,” he said. “I think you’re starting to rub off.”
Mal smirked. “I don’t see the problem.”