Hot Gossip
Title: Hot Gossip
Author: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Beta: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Rating: G
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 1,395
Characters/Pairings: David, Juliet, Hannah
A/N: This is a backstory ficlet that turned into pure unadulterated fluff. For samajama224 who wanted Jules/Han, lipstick. Hope you like it, bb!
David frowns at the empty living room and drapes his suit jacket over his arm, pulling at the knot of his tie with a finger. He knows Hannah is home, and he walked past Juliet’s car in the driveway, but they aren’t in the kitchen or living room, and the lingering rain means they aren’t going to be outside on the deck. A noise from upstairs draws his attention and he strides quickly to the stairs, his tie making a whispery sound as he tugs it from around his collar.
Laughter tumbles into the hallway, and he stops abruptly by the door to Hannah’s bedroom, left part way open. He peers through the small gap and then slowly pushes it the rest of the way open, a wide grin spreading over his face.
Juliet and Hannah immediately halt their giggling and turn slowly to face him.
David arches an eyebrow as his mouth falls open in surprise. “What on earth -?”
Juliet fights the urge to smile, pressing her hot pink lips together in amusement. Hannah starts to laugh again, her lips bearing the same obnoxious shade of lipstick, and her eyelids covered in an aqua blue eye shadow that is entirely too glittery for a thirteen year old.
The top of Hannah’s dresser is littered with cosmetics, some of them in equally ridiculous shades, and he shakes his head, thinking they like both look like a couple of clowns. Still, something tugs at his heart, seeing Hannah being happy and silly like this, and it reminds him of one of the last times Karen really spent any time with her daughter. He had caught the two of them playing dress up, laughing as they posed for him to take pictures. He always wished it could have been like that more often.
“David,” Juliet begins, her expression completely serious. “I can explain.”
He spies the open bright pink lipstick tube in her right hand, and the mascara brush in the other, and starts laughing. “I should hope so because you both look -”
“Beautiful!” Hannah declares, springing to her feet and spinning around in a perfect pirouette, grinning madly.
He shakes his head again, unable to bring himself to dispel her assertions.
Juliet lets her head drop as she laughs quietly, and then says, “Hannah, sweetie, why don’t you go wash up before dinner?”
Hannah nods, still smiling, and practically skips to the bathroom.
David sighs, and then cringes, sinking onto the edge of the bed, facing Juliet. “Hot pink and bright blue?”
“Aqua,” Juliet mumbles, scraping her nail over a smudge of eye shadow on her jeans, and not meeting David’s eyes.
He shakes his head yet again. “Whatever.” She finally looks up, and he can’t help but laugh at how silly she looks.
“What?” she asks, feigning offense. “You don’t think this is a good look for me? I thought Hot Gossip was so my color.”
She puckers her lips absurdly, and he snorts and wipes a bit of moisture from the corners of his eyes.
“Sure,” he replies, nodding. Then he smirks and adds, “If you’re going to transfer to an undercover VICE unit.”
Her eyes go wide, and a second later she’s up, snatching a pillow from the bed and swinging it at him, while at the same time he rolls away from her and off the bed, stumbling to his feet. The pillow smacks against his arm and he grabs it, using it to pull her towards him. She catches herself by holding on to his other arm, laughing even as she tries to catch her breath, and finds herself staring up at his slightly crooked grin and bright blue eyes.
Soon after their laughter dies down, and Juliet moves away, tossing the pillow back on the bed and smoothing her palms over her jeans.
“So,” David starts, running a hand through his hair. “What’s all this about?”
Juliet sighs and turns to face him again, leaning against the dresser. “Well, she’s at that age where girls start to care more about how they look, and how the other girls think they look and -”
She trails off, and David frowns. “And what?”
She purses her lips and eyes him, trying to figure out how to say what needs to be said without making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be. “And - and how boys think they look.”
His frown deepens but before he can say anything, Hannah pokes her head into the room.
“Is it time to start the lasagna?”
Juliet smiles. “Yup, go turn the oven on.”
Hannah beams and runs off again, and Juliet hurries to the door, calling out down the hallway, “375!”
When she steps back into the room, she’s shaking her head and smiling slightly. “She seems to have a lot of energy today.”
“She’s happy,” David says immediately. Juliet gives him a look and he shrugs. “What? She gets hyper when she’s happy.”
“Or when she’s had too many cookies,” Juliet counters, starting to collect the various cosmetics from the top of the dresser and put them into a small zippered bag.
David nods and grins, an unexpected feeling of contentment swelling in him. “Thanks, Jules.”
She shrugs. “It was fun. And just so you know, these colors were for practice. The real stuff is in this bag. Nice neutrals and pinks, no aqua, I promise.”
She holds up the bag for him to see before setting on one side of Hannah’s dresser, and then walks over to him.
“You knew this was coming,” she says softly.
“Yeah.” He nods and looks down at the floor before meeting her gaze. “She’s growing up too fast, Jules.”
She smiles and raises a hand to rub his arm briefly. “I know. But she’s thirteen, and next year it’s high school -”
David groans and squeezes his eyes shut as if the thought of his daughter starting high school causes him physical pain.
“- and JV soccer, and, yes, eventually, probably, boys.”
Juliet smiles a little at his consternation, knowing that while he understands this on an intellectual level, his heart is not ready for his little girl to stop being his little girl.
She sighs. “It’s important to her, David. It makes her feel better about herself, and trust me when I say girls sometimes need all the confidence boosts we can get. Even if that comes in the form of mascara and lip gloss.”
He nods again, giving her a more serious look. “I know. It’s - it’s good for her, and really, Jules, thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” she replies, and he smiles.
He knows that he doesn’t have to thank her, that she’s happy to do it, but feeling like he should all the same. She and Hannah are getting closer and closer every day, and more and more when he sees them together he realizes how important Juliet’s becoming in both their lives. Mostly, he’s just grateful that there’s someone in Hannah’s life who understands all the ins and outs of growing up to be an amazing woman. Right now he can’t think of a better example.
A moment later, Juliet folds her arms and her expression shifts to something all too familiar, a look he’s come to know as her ‘it would be best if you listened to me right now’ look.
“And when she asks you if she can wear it to school next week,” she begins, eyebrow arching slightly. “You will let her, and you will be sure to tell her how pretty she looks.”
He laughs softly, and gives her a small salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
She smirks, and then heads towards the door, but stops when he asks, “So, is that your mom’s lasagna?”
Shaking her head at the hopeful tone of his voice, she rests one hand on the doorframe and keeps her eyes fixed on the bathroom across the hall. “It would be my mother’s recipe, yes.”
He hums happily. “You staying for dinner?”
“If you want me to,” she answers, looking back over her shoulder. He smiles and she smiles back. “Okay then, let me go wash this mess off my face before I forget and someone propositions me in the Wal-Mart parking lot.”
The look on his face is priceless as she laughs and slips from the room.
Author: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Beta: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Rating: G
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 1,395
Characters/Pairings: David, Juliet, Hannah
A/N: This is a backstory ficlet that turned into pure unadulterated fluff. For samajama224 who wanted Jules/Han, lipstick. Hope you like it, bb!
David frowns at the empty living room and drapes his suit jacket over his arm, pulling at the knot of his tie with a finger. He knows Hannah is home, and he walked past Juliet’s car in the driveway, but they aren’t in the kitchen or living room, and the lingering rain means they aren’t going to be outside on the deck. A noise from upstairs draws his attention and he strides quickly to the stairs, his tie making a whispery sound as he tugs it from around his collar.
Laughter tumbles into the hallway, and he stops abruptly by the door to Hannah’s bedroom, left part way open. He peers through the small gap and then slowly pushes it the rest of the way open, a wide grin spreading over his face.
Juliet and Hannah immediately halt their giggling and turn slowly to face him.
David arches an eyebrow as his mouth falls open in surprise. “What on earth -?”
Juliet fights the urge to smile, pressing her hot pink lips together in amusement. Hannah starts to laugh again, her lips bearing the same obnoxious shade of lipstick, and her eyelids covered in an aqua blue eye shadow that is entirely too glittery for a thirteen year old.
The top of Hannah’s dresser is littered with cosmetics, some of them in equally ridiculous shades, and he shakes his head, thinking they like both look like a couple of clowns. Still, something tugs at his heart, seeing Hannah being happy and silly like this, and it reminds him of one of the last times Karen really spent any time with her daughter. He had caught the two of them playing dress up, laughing as they posed for him to take pictures. He always wished it could have been like that more often.
“David,” Juliet begins, her expression completely serious. “I can explain.”
He spies the open bright pink lipstick tube in her right hand, and the mascara brush in the other, and starts laughing. “I should hope so because you both look -”
“Beautiful!” Hannah declares, springing to her feet and spinning around in a perfect pirouette, grinning madly.
He shakes his head again, unable to bring himself to dispel her assertions.
Juliet lets her head drop as she laughs quietly, and then says, “Hannah, sweetie, why don’t you go wash up before dinner?”
Hannah nods, still smiling, and practically skips to the bathroom.
David sighs, and then cringes, sinking onto the edge of the bed, facing Juliet. “Hot pink and bright blue?”
“Aqua,” Juliet mumbles, scraping her nail over a smudge of eye shadow on her jeans, and not meeting David’s eyes.
He shakes his head yet again. “Whatever.” She finally looks up, and he can’t help but laugh at how silly she looks.
“What?” she asks, feigning offense. “You don’t think this is a good look for me? I thought Hot Gossip was so my color.”
She puckers her lips absurdly, and he snorts and wipes a bit of moisture from the corners of his eyes.
“Sure,” he replies, nodding. Then he smirks and adds, “If you’re going to transfer to an undercover VICE unit.”
Her eyes go wide, and a second later she’s up, snatching a pillow from the bed and swinging it at him, while at the same time he rolls away from her and off the bed, stumbling to his feet. The pillow smacks against his arm and he grabs it, using it to pull her towards him. She catches herself by holding on to his other arm, laughing even as she tries to catch her breath, and finds herself staring up at his slightly crooked grin and bright blue eyes.
Soon after their laughter dies down, and Juliet moves away, tossing the pillow back on the bed and smoothing her palms over her jeans.
“So,” David starts, running a hand through his hair. “What’s all this about?”
Juliet sighs and turns to face him again, leaning against the dresser. “Well, she’s at that age where girls start to care more about how they look, and how the other girls think they look and -”
She trails off, and David frowns. “And what?”
She purses her lips and eyes him, trying to figure out how to say what needs to be said without making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be. “And - and how boys think they look.”
His frown deepens but before he can say anything, Hannah pokes her head into the room.
“Is it time to start the lasagna?”
Juliet smiles. “Yup, go turn the oven on.”
Hannah beams and runs off again, and Juliet hurries to the door, calling out down the hallway, “375!”
When she steps back into the room, she’s shaking her head and smiling slightly. “She seems to have a lot of energy today.”
“She’s happy,” David says immediately. Juliet gives him a look and he shrugs. “What? She gets hyper when she’s happy.”
“Or when she’s had too many cookies,” Juliet counters, starting to collect the various cosmetics from the top of the dresser and put them into a small zippered bag.
David nods and grins, an unexpected feeling of contentment swelling in him. “Thanks, Jules.”
She shrugs. “It was fun. And just so you know, these colors were for practice. The real stuff is in this bag. Nice neutrals and pinks, no aqua, I promise.”
She holds up the bag for him to see before setting on one side of Hannah’s dresser, and then walks over to him.
“You knew this was coming,” she says softly.
“Yeah.” He nods and looks down at the floor before meeting her gaze. “She’s growing up too fast, Jules.”
She smiles and raises a hand to rub his arm briefly. “I know. But she’s thirteen, and next year it’s high school -”
David groans and squeezes his eyes shut as if the thought of his daughter starting high school causes him physical pain.
“- and JV soccer, and, yes, eventually, probably, boys.”
Juliet smiles a little at his consternation, knowing that while he understands this on an intellectual level, his heart is not ready for his little girl to stop being his little girl.
She sighs. “It’s important to her, David. It makes her feel better about herself, and trust me when I say girls sometimes need all the confidence boosts we can get. Even if that comes in the form of mascara and lip gloss.”
He nods again, giving her a more serious look. “I know. It’s - it’s good for her, and really, Jules, thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” she replies, and he smiles.
He knows that he doesn’t have to thank her, that she’s happy to do it, but feeling like he should all the same. She and Hannah are getting closer and closer every day, and more and more when he sees them together he realizes how important Juliet’s becoming in both their lives. Mostly, he’s just grateful that there’s someone in Hannah’s life who understands all the ins and outs of growing up to be an amazing woman. Right now he can’t think of a better example.
A moment later, Juliet folds her arms and her expression shifts to something all too familiar, a look he’s come to know as her ‘it would be best if you listened to me right now’ look.
“And when she asks you if she can wear it to school next week,” she begins, eyebrow arching slightly. “You will let her, and you will be sure to tell her how pretty she looks.”
He laughs softly, and gives her a small salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
She smirks, and then heads towards the door, but stops when he asks, “So, is that your mom’s lasagna?”
Shaking her head at the hopeful tone of his voice, she rests one hand on the doorframe and keeps her eyes fixed on the bathroom across the hall. “It would be my mother’s recipe, yes.”
He hums happily. “You staying for dinner?”
“If you want me to,” she answers, looking back over her shoulder. He smiles and she smiles back. “Okay then, let me go wash this mess off my face before I forget and someone propositions me in the Wal-Mart parking lot.”
The look on his face is priceless as she laughs and slips from the room.