Crossover, Twilight x True Blood, "Traveler" Leah/Sam
Fandoms: Twilight x True Blood
Title: Traveler
Author: Paynesgrey
Section Title: Mutual Attraction
Characters/Pairing: Sam Merlotte x Leah Clearwater
Word Count: (6 x 300)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Drama
Notes: Continuation from Traveler. Each ficlet written for the "Bright" prompt at fanfic_bakeoff.
Summary: Two lonely shifters meet each other.
Part Two: Mutual Attraction
II.
Leah’s stomach is full when Sam offers her a beer. She gladly takes it, and the cold liquid soothes her from the sweltering heat. She’s not quite used to it yet, but she doesn’t think it’s bad. It’s definitely different than Forks, but she readily admits that’s why she ran, and different scenery is just what she needs.
She’s been at his bar for almost a half an hour and not much is said between them, but they do enjoy the silent company for the most part. Leah tries not to stare at him; she doesn’t deny that Sam Merlotte is good-looking, and he definitely can be mesmerizing.
The more Sam smiles and regards her, the more Leah opens up to him. It’s hard not to; Sam’s eyes are bright when he talks to her, and his smile is infectious.
“I don’t know many shifters,” he admits. “You’re not the first, but you’re definitely...” He pauses with a hopeful smirk. “Different.”
“How?” she asks. He doesn’t even know her, but it’s like he senses she’s not a threat. Maybe it’s his shifter nature.
“Well, mostly it’s just my gut tellin’ me that you’re not bad. The first shifter I met wasn’t to be trusted,” Sam bemoans with pursed lips.
“How do you know you can trust me? I only just got here. You know nothing about me. I’m a stranger, and that’s a fact. I could be, at worst, a killer on the hunt,” Leah says with a smirk, rolling her eyes; however, Sam immediately senses her teasing.
“Maybe I don’t know if I can trust ya,” Sam says smiling sadly. Leah looks into his eyes and sees that he wants desperately to believe in her - believe in something, and she empathizes. Sam continues, “But I sure want to.”
III.
Sam takes a swig of his beer, and he exhales a heavy breath. “So, a wolf, huh? Is that your favorite?”
Leah meets his eyes. “It’s the only animal I can do.” He seems curious, and his silence opens her to explain more. “It’s a tribe thing. I grew up in a shifter tribe that is especially tied to wolf spirits.” She pauses and regards him. “I suppose you can shift into anything. I’ve heard of shifters like that. I suppose you’re right that I’m different.”
“I’m always meetin’ different types of supes. I’ve seen weres and vampires and maenads. We get all sorts, though not everyone is out in the open,” Sam says.
Lean wrinkles her nose when she thinks of vampires. “We have vampires near us, though we don’t call them that. They’re definitely monsters - cold ones, but they can walk among the sunlight and it turns them so bright that they can be blinding.” She grimaces and meets his curious stare. “I’m beginning to think vampire is a relative term, but they are all dangerous monsters as far as I’m concerned.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Sam raises his beer, and automatically she follows his lead. They clink them together, toasting to their mutual distaste for such creatures. Sam sighs and Leah sees his eyes fill with mysteries. Obviously, he’s had problems with vampires himself.
“Great, and here I was running all this way to get away from them,” Leah muses aloud, and Sam chuckles.
“You’d have to run off the Earth for that,” Sam says. “Best just to kill ‘em and get it over with.”
“Another skill we share. You can read my mind,” she says, but Sam is unexpectedly bewildered. Ah, Leah thinks with a wave of pleasure. It would be wonderful if he can’t!
IV.
“You can read minds? Tell me that was a joke,” Sam laughs incredulous.
Leah feels embarrassed. “It wasn’t. In my pack, everyone can read everyone else’s mind.” One of her eyebrows lifts slightly. “You see another reason why I ran away.”
“Well, mind reading isn’t certainly new to me, but I thought it was a special human kind of thing,” Sam says. “I mean, the only mind reader I know is human.”
Leah shakes her head. “We can only read minds among our tribe.” She sees him relax and giggles. “So you don’t have to worry. I can’t read your mind.”
Sam blows out a breath of relief. “Well, that’s good. I’ve had enough problems with that, and seein’ as how we just met...” He draws his eyes shyly away from her. “I don’t want my thoughts to be seen as impolite.”
“Just saying that already puts you in trouble,” Leah teases. She leans closer to him. She thinks about shifting the bar stool closer, but her meaning gets across regardless. Leah admits it’s been too long since a guy even looked at her. She hasn’t been with anyone since the other Sam, and there was this brief thing with Jake, but now he’s imprinted and that will never go anywhere. Leah is free, free from the confines of the imprint, but also lonely as she has to find companionship on her own.
She’s convinced there are no otherworldly forces at work here with Sam. Sam is just a man who sees her as a woman. She can see it in his eyes and smile.
“So...I’m going to be opening up in an hour or so...” he speaks, interrupting the tension. “You’re welcome to hang out.”
Leah smiles awkwardly; she wants to cheer with happiness, but admittedly, she’s somewhat scared.
V.
“I don’t want to get in your way,” Leah starts, but Sam closes his eyes and puts a hand on her forearm.
“I’m not so good at this,” he confesses. His eyes seem desperate. “What I’m saying is, Leah, I want you to stay.” His tone turns a little louder, yet still gracious. “As long as you like.”
Leah smiles, twisting the bottle idly in her hand. “That’s nice of you,” she says quietly, and her eyes roam around the bar as she imagines it bright with life. It’s comfortable, and truthfully she isn’t ready to leave yet. She glances at Sam as he waits for her answer. She supposes she has a reason to stay for a bit.
She nods and Sam seems excited. “Ah, well, it’s a Thursday night. We ain’t so busy, so hopefully, if you need me...”
“I’ll be fine,” she says, “And if you need any help...”
Sam’s grin widened. “Well, we may need a waitress.” Leah laughs immediately, and Sam rubs his neck in embarrassment. “That sounded too desperate, didn’t it?”
“Well, it seems like there’s a story behind you needing a waitress,” Leah says, looking around the bar again. “I wonder if that’s a common thing,” she says teasingly.
Sam grimaces. “You have no idea.”
“I suppose I could fill in. I mean, you were kind enough to feed me when I was near death out there,” she says. “It’s not like I can carry money around with me.”
“You don’t need to tell me,” Sam says, winking at her. He starts to move past the bar to the rooms in the back. He motioned for her to follow him, and Leah rises anxiously from her seat. “Come on. I’ll find ya a uniform for the night.”
Leah nods, trailing closely behind him.
VI.
Leah follows Sam back to his office, and she watches as he digs through a closet to find his bar’s uniform. Leah notices they’re fresh, with a bright white shirt still wrapped in the plastic in which it was shipped. She takes them slowly, and she meets Sam’s gaze with a nervous smile.
“Are you sure I’m not intruding?” she asks again, suddenly feeling self conscious. She can’t believe it’s this easy to be accepted by someone, even though it seems Sam is just as lonely as she is, and he’s the kind of guy who treats women well, or at least wants the chance.
Sam laughs and assures her, “Of course, you’ll fit in real well here, and though Arlene may give you a tough time, Jessica and Sookie will help you. Ah, I must warn you, Jess is a vampire,” he says, and Leah automatically tenses. “But...she’s not like the others.”
“What’s does that mean?” Leah asks defensively.
“Well,” he says congenially. “Jessica is a new vampire, and she was never taught to be vicious like the other ones. Plus, Sookie does well to keep her in line.”
Leah notices a tinge of pain when Sam talks about Sookie, and she wonders if the girl is special to him, but perhaps he can’t have her, just like Leah can’t have the man she wants.
She stares at the floor and feels silly for presuming anything about Sam’s love life. “I don’t know...”
She tenses when she feels Sam’s hand on her shoulder. She looks up slowly and levels with his gaze. “Trust me; you have nothing to worry about.”
She stiffens rigidly and regains her composure. “I’m not worried,” she says hotly. “You do remember how large I can change, don’t you?”
He grins, his anxiety instantly sated.
VII.
Sam is right. It’s so slow at the bar, and most of the evening Leah spends quietly watching Jessica or chatting with Arlene, who for some reason takes a liking to her right away. (Mainly because she admits she doesn’t like vampires either.)
Sookie asks her how long she’s staying, and Leah bristles at the question but tells her only that she doesn’t know. Sookie is nice enough, but Leah finds her far too cuddly with vampires for her taste. Thanks to Sam, however, Leah learns really fast to shield her thoughts away from Sookie. Sookie gives her odd looks now and again, and the warning glare from Leah tells her to stay out of her head for good.
Sam’s customers seem okay; some are rowdy hillbillies that Leah admits even Forks has, and then there are regular people, god-fearing people, and just people who want to be left alone. Thankfully, Leah doesn’t see any vampires that night other than Jessica, who is a lot nicer than she expects.
She can be as sweet and nice as Carlisle Cullen himself, but that doesn’t mean Leah’s going to befriend her anytime soon. Jessica gets the hint, and with no bright ideas to try to be her friend like Sookie, the fledgling leaves her well alone.
Leah can’t wait for the night to end, to be away from these strangers, but most of all to be able to be alone with Sam. One night of waitressing makes her realize this. Sam is the only reason she’s staying - out of curiosity, attraction, and maybe something more.
Perhaps she’s deluded to hope, but she can’t deny the chemistry. They have it, and Leah wants nothing more than to ride it out to see if something will grow between them.
Title: Traveler
Author: Paynesgrey
Section Title: Mutual Attraction
Characters/Pairing: Sam Merlotte x Leah Clearwater
Word Count: (6 x 300)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Drama
Notes: Continuation from Traveler. Each ficlet written for the "Bright" prompt at fanfic_bakeoff.
Summary: Two lonely shifters meet each other.
Part Two: Mutual Attraction
II.
Leah’s stomach is full when Sam offers her a beer. She gladly takes it, and the cold liquid soothes her from the sweltering heat. She’s not quite used to it yet, but she doesn’t think it’s bad. It’s definitely different than Forks, but she readily admits that’s why she ran, and different scenery is just what she needs.
She’s been at his bar for almost a half an hour and not much is said between them, but they do enjoy the silent company for the most part. Leah tries not to stare at him; she doesn’t deny that Sam Merlotte is good-looking, and he definitely can be mesmerizing.
The more Sam smiles and regards her, the more Leah opens up to him. It’s hard not to; Sam’s eyes are bright when he talks to her, and his smile is infectious.
“I don’t know many shifters,” he admits. “You’re not the first, but you’re definitely...” He pauses with a hopeful smirk. “Different.”
“How?” she asks. He doesn’t even know her, but it’s like he senses she’s not a threat. Maybe it’s his shifter nature.
“Well, mostly it’s just my gut tellin’ me that you’re not bad. The first shifter I met wasn’t to be trusted,” Sam bemoans with pursed lips.
“How do you know you can trust me? I only just got here. You know nothing about me. I’m a stranger, and that’s a fact. I could be, at worst, a killer on the hunt,” Leah says with a smirk, rolling her eyes; however, Sam immediately senses her teasing.
“Maybe I don’t know if I can trust ya,” Sam says smiling sadly. Leah looks into his eyes and sees that he wants desperately to believe in her - believe in something, and she empathizes. Sam continues, “But I sure want to.”
III.
Sam takes a swig of his beer, and he exhales a heavy breath. “So, a wolf, huh? Is that your favorite?”
Leah meets his eyes. “It’s the only animal I can do.” He seems curious, and his silence opens her to explain more. “It’s a tribe thing. I grew up in a shifter tribe that is especially tied to wolf spirits.” She pauses and regards him. “I suppose you can shift into anything. I’ve heard of shifters like that. I suppose you’re right that I’m different.”
“I’m always meetin’ different types of supes. I’ve seen weres and vampires and maenads. We get all sorts, though not everyone is out in the open,” Sam says.
Lean wrinkles her nose when she thinks of vampires. “We have vampires near us, though we don’t call them that. They’re definitely monsters - cold ones, but they can walk among the sunlight and it turns them so bright that they can be blinding.” She grimaces and meets his curious stare. “I’m beginning to think vampire is a relative term, but they are all dangerous monsters as far as I’m concerned.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Sam raises his beer, and automatically she follows his lead. They clink them together, toasting to their mutual distaste for such creatures. Sam sighs and Leah sees his eyes fill with mysteries. Obviously, he’s had problems with vampires himself.
“Great, and here I was running all this way to get away from them,” Leah muses aloud, and Sam chuckles.
“You’d have to run off the Earth for that,” Sam says. “Best just to kill ‘em and get it over with.”
“Another skill we share. You can read my mind,” she says, but Sam is unexpectedly bewildered. Ah, Leah thinks with a wave of pleasure. It would be wonderful if he can’t!
IV.
“You can read minds? Tell me that was a joke,” Sam laughs incredulous.
Leah feels embarrassed. “It wasn’t. In my pack, everyone can read everyone else’s mind.” One of her eyebrows lifts slightly. “You see another reason why I ran away.”
“Well, mind reading isn’t certainly new to me, but I thought it was a special human kind of thing,” Sam says. “I mean, the only mind reader I know is human.”
Leah shakes her head. “We can only read minds among our tribe.” She sees him relax and giggles. “So you don’t have to worry. I can’t read your mind.”
Sam blows out a breath of relief. “Well, that’s good. I’ve had enough problems with that, and seein’ as how we just met...” He draws his eyes shyly away from her. “I don’t want my thoughts to be seen as impolite.”
“Just saying that already puts you in trouble,” Leah teases. She leans closer to him. She thinks about shifting the bar stool closer, but her meaning gets across regardless. Leah admits it’s been too long since a guy even looked at her. She hasn’t been with anyone since the other Sam, and there was this brief thing with Jake, but now he’s imprinted and that will never go anywhere. Leah is free, free from the confines of the imprint, but also lonely as she has to find companionship on her own.
She’s convinced there are no otherworldly forces at work here with Sam. Sam is just a man who sees her as a woman. She can see it in his eyes and smile.
“So...I’m going to be opening up in an hour or so...” he speaks, interrupting the tension. “You’re welcome to hang out.”
Leah smiles awkwardly; she wants to cheer with happiness, but admittedly, she’s somewhat scared.
V.
“I don’t want to get in your way,” Leah starts, but Sam closes his eyes and puts a hand on her forearm.
“I’m not so good at this,” he confesses. His eyes seem desperate. “What I’m saying is, Leah, I want you to stay.” His tone turns a little louder, yet still gracious. “As long as you like.”
Leah smiles, twisting the bottle idly in her hand. “That’s nice of you,” she says quietly, and her eyes roam around the bar as she imagines it bright with life. It’s comfortable, and truthfully she isn’t ready to leave yet. She glances at Sam as he waits for her answer. She supposes she has a reason to stay for a bit.
She nods and Sam seems excited. “Ah, well, it’s a Thursday night. We ain’t so busy, so hopefully, if you need me...”
“I’ll be fine,” she says, “And if you need any help...”
Sam’s grin widened. “Well, we may need a waitress.” Leah laughs immediately, and Sam rubs his neck in embarrassment. “That sounded too desperate, didn’t it?”
“Well, it seems like there’s a story behind you needing a waitress,” Leah says, looking around the bar again. “I wonder if that’s a common thing,” she says teasingly.
Sam grimaces. “You have no idea.”
“I suppose I could fill in. I mean, you were kind enough to feed me when I was near death out there,” she says. “It’s not like I can carry money around with me.”
“You don’t need to tell me,” Sam says, winking at her. He starts to move past the bar to the rooms in the back. He motioned for her to follow him, and Leah rises anxiously from her seat. “Come on. I’ll find ya a uniform for the night.”
Leah nods, trailing closely behind him.
VI.
Leah follows Sam back to his office, and she watches as he digs through a closet to find his bar’s uniform. Leah notices they’re fresh, with a bright white shirt still wrapped in the plastic in which it was shipped. She takes them slowly, and she meets Sam’s gaze with a nervous smile.
“Are you sure I’m not intruding?” she asks again, suddenly feeling self conscious. She can’t believe it’s this easy to be accepted by someone, even though it seems Sam is just as lonely as she is, and he’s the kind of guy who treats women well, or at least wants the chance.
Sam laughs and assures her, “Of course, you’ll fit in real well here, and though Arlene may give you a tough time, Jessica and Sookie will help you. Ah, I must warn you, Jess is a vampire,” he says, and Leah automatically tenses. “But...she’s not like the others.”
“What’s does that mean?” Leah asks defensively.
“Well,” he says congenially. “Jessica is a new vampire, and she was never taught to be vicious like the other ones. Plus, Sookie does well to keep her in line.”
Leah notices a tinge of pain when Sam talks about Sookie, and she wonders if the girl is special to him, but perhaps he can’t have her, just like Leah can’t have the man she wants.
She stares at the floor and feels silly for presuming anything about Sam’s love life. “I don’t know...”
She tenses when she feels Sam’s hand on her shoulder. She looks up slowly and levels with his gaze. “Trust me; you have nothing to worry about.”
She stiffens rigidly and regains her composure. “I’m not worried,” she says hotly. “You do remember how large I can change, don’t you?”
He grins, his anxiety instantly sated.
VII.
Sam is right. It’s so slow at the bar, and most of the evening Leah spends quietly watching Jessica or chatting with Arlene, who for some reason takes a liking to her right away. (Mainly because she admits she doesn’t like vampires either.)
Sookie asks her how long she’s staying, and Leah bristles at the question but tells her only that she doesn’t know. Sookie is nice enough, but Leah finds her far too cuddly with vampires for her taste. Thanks to Sam, however, Leah learns really fast to shield her thoughts away from Sookie. Sookie gives her odd looks now and again, and the warning glare from Leah tells her to stay out of her head for good.
Sam’s customers seem okay; some are rowdy hillbillies that Leah admits even Forks has, and then there are regular people, god-fearing people, and just people who want to be left alone. Thankfully, Leah doesn’t see any vampires that night other than Jessica, who is a lot nicer than she expects.
She can be as sweet and nice as Carlisle Cullen himself, but that doesn’t mean Leah’s going to befriend her anytime soon. Jessica gets the hint, and with no bright ideas to try to be her friend like Sookie, the fledgling leaves her well alone.
Leah can’t wait for the night to end, to be away from these strangers, but most of all to be able to be alone with Sam. One night of waitressing makes her realize this. Sam is the only reason she’s staying - out of curiosity, attraction, and maybe something more.
Perhaps she’s deluded to hope, but she can’t deny the chemistry. They have it, and Leah wants nothing more than to ride it out to see if something will grow between them.