Fluff, Relationships, and Traditions

[scribblemyname]

This entry is part 52 of 52 in the series 365 Challenge

So characters have habits, ways they interact with certain people and situations, things they do and like to do, stories and histories together. I've known a lot of my characters' for a long time but getting them all into fic is interesting, particularly for the ones I don't know that for.

I've got about five novelettes I want to turn out plus a short story, created out of the 5 Things Meme and then the whole Pieter/Ashen dynamic that originally played in my head before I even wrote that first Ashen drabble (and it is awesome to me, but got sidelined drastically with a deluge of other prompts), but, but, but...

I'm on day 265 of my challenge and story count 157 and I'm still plying angles and there's all those little things above that I'm itching to nibble at. Want to help a girl out?

Particularly of interest to me are things like where does Wesley work (not sure actually), and then relationship things that I haven't gotten to like how Justus always recognizes Shift regardless of her current form or demeanor, friendships, sibling relationships, Ilsa and her husband, etc.

Calling for prompts, as promised:

1. character(s) and/or canon/fandom
2. random word, quote, or other prompt

Oh, and I'll try to keep it short and fluffy or sweet. Try is the operative word. :grins:

Prompts

• Meld, couples, prank war
• Justus + Special Unit
• From thecatisacritic's fluff-fest
• Justus' family + Shift, Rachelle
• dancing, quotes, and not without you
• who is Justus when he's Rachelle's?
• undercover Justus
• more quotes
• From Daily Scribble post 1 AND from previous promptfest
• Ilsa prevents
• the work they do
• finding Justus, about that memory

Ficlets

Seven Days

• Wesley/Lena: Shall We Dance?
• Wesley/Lena: Stubborn
• Wesley/Lena: You are My Photograph
• Wesley/Lena + Angelita: Learning to Tango
• Wesley + Connor: Just Saying
• Wesley + Connor: On Practical Uses for Journals
• Wesley + Connor: A Spaghetti-Flavored Aftermath
• Wesley + Connor: Maybe Next Week
• Wesley + Connor: The Apple Don't Fall Far
• Wesley + Mom: The Joys of Motherhood
• Connor + Ashelynn + dogs: On the Acquisition of Dogs
• Connor + Ashelynn + dogs: Girls

Kingdoms and Thorn

• Shift + Team ensemble: That'll Work
• Shift + Meld: Soon
• Sear + Meld: Bone-Weary Need
• Rachelle + Meld: Between
• Rachelle + Meld: The Leash
• Rachelle + Special Unit: Anywhere But Here
• Rachelle + Heather + Shadow: An Absurdly Dangerous Shadow
• Rachelle + Joseph: What the Emptiness Fills
• Justus + Joseph: Cracking the Ice
• Justus + Team Ensemble: In the Business
• Justus + Larique: The Unsuspecting Suspect
• Shift + Justus: Self-Preservation
• Sear + Justus: Gratitude in an Off Note
• Rachelle/Justus + Heather: Backfire
• Rachelle/Justus + Sophocles: Comfort Objects
• Rachelle/Justus + Sophocles: On the Care and Feeding of Cats
• Rachelle/Justus + Sophocles: The Taste of Coffee
• Rachelle/Justus: Living with Hope
• Rachelle/Justus: Tiny Significant Pieces
• Rachelle/Justus: Side Effects
• Rachelle/Justus: Remind You to Dance
• Rachelle/Justus: Family
• Rachelle/Justus + Red Wolf and Whisper's kids: Cure to All That Ails
• Storm + Red Wolf + Anya: We Can't Have That
• Red Wolf and Whisper's kids: Don’t Forget the Ice Cream
• Red Wolf/Whisper: The Fox and the Wolf
• Red Wolf/Whisper: Taste of Regret
• Red Wolf/Whisper: Business as Usual
• Red Wolf/Whisper + Ashen: A Gift Well-Chosen
• Red Wolf: Rearranging Assets
• Storm + Minder: The Five W’s of Declaring War
• Storm + Minder: Tell Me in the Morning
• Storm + Minder: Moral Support
• Storm + Mirage + Surge: Waiting for Blood
• Hasheni/Ilsa Killinger: Homework
• Hasheni/Ilsa Killinger: Catalyst
• Ilsa Killinger: Linger
• Ilsa Killinger | Special Unit: Reality Check
• Keeper/Brushfire: When Memory Burns
• Anna/Lightsculpt: Dinnertime Distractions
• Anna/Lightsculpt: Needing a Break
• Anna/Lightsculpt: Worth Something
• Anna/Lightsculpt: Working Up the Nerve
• Anna/Lightsculpt: Would That It Were
• Sketch + Team ensemble: Something Other Than Smoke
• Shift/Kilter + Watcher: Wedding Gift
• Shift/Kilter + Elisabeth: You're My Heart
• Shift/Kilter + Elisabeth: The Answer to All Problems
• Shift + Elisabeth: Little Girl Reminders
• Surge + Maker: Embrace of Freedom
• Watcher + Team Ensemble: An Ounce of Protection

Originally published at Liana Mir. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Prompt post! Yay!

Okay... So... I know I had a bunch of these...

1. Meld - "I remember that time you told me you said,
'Love is touching souls.'
Surely you touched mine
'Cause part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time
Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet" ~ "A Case of You," Joni Mitchell

(Yes, I gave those lyrics before, but after reading about Meld, they seemed to fit him and I wanted to see a piece with him inspired by them.)

2. The running fingers through hair thing. For as many pairs as you feel like doing.

3. Prank war among specials.

4. Kisses as a distraction.


There were a bunch more, but I think I lost track of them. *sigh*

Ooh, found another: the "tastes better on you" one.

[scribblemyname]

Want me to cull through the comments? :eyes 256 comments warily:

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose I should have checked email sooner. You didn't have to go through all the comments. Sorry.

[scribblemyname]

Did find this thread: http://thecatisacritic.livejournal.com/19003.html?thread=117307#t117307

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Yes. That.

Well, I lumped the one of those (Rachelle/Justus + coffee) under the "tastes better on you" thing. I guess I could be more specific with the ones I listed off, though...

And... how about a brief look at Justus working with the Special Unit for some reason? I don't know why, but that thread reminded me that I did want to see that.

Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Comfort Objects

[scribblemyname]

A/N: So… I know this was supposed to be about tastes, but coffee being the scalding thing it is and Rachelle being the vanilla girl she is, I went with the preposition in another sense.

---

“Hey,” Rachelle said softly. “Scoot over.”

Since the mug in her hand was literally steaming, Justus decided that scooting over was in his best interest and gave her room to settle in beside him on the couch. Except she didn’t quite. She sat beside him and threw her legs over his, then tucked a blanket in on top and pulled her twenty pound grey cat into her lap.

“He needs to go on a diet,” Justus noted, feeling a little crushed and assessing Sophocles critically.

The cat stared back at him with a baleful amber eye.

Rachelle shrugged and sipped her coffee. “You’re comfortable.”

“To sit on? Shut up.” He rolled his eyes and wrapped one arm around her, surprised when she leaned into him.

“You are,” she said simply.

Sophocles purred.

#

[scribblemyname]

The Justus/Special Unit piece is sprawling (thus, it has reduced my output for the day). I'm going to defer this one a little longer.

Dumping these here for ease of reference...

[scribblemyname]

Rachelle likes coffee more on Justus, perhaps?

You mentioned a husband. I'm curious about that, but I doubt that helps much.

I've been trying to keep track of them so that I can give them to you again when you have a new prompt post. I remember the hair thing, tastes better on you, kisses as distractions, prank war, and adding pets to the crossover, but I am sure there is some more in there somewhere.

from thecatisacritic

Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: The Taste of Coffee

[scribblemyname]

A/N: I canNOT believe I wrote this. Your fault. Totally your fault.

---

“Coffee ice cream?” Rachelle prodded the container skeptically with one finger.

“Well, you like coffee and it’s your birthday,” Jarod said shrugging. He seemed nervous enough—purchasing a birthday gift for Rachelle, who barely tolerated him most days she helped out around the Special Unit was perhaps going out on a limb a bit.

She shrugged, accepted the carton, and took it back to her place, wondering what in the world she was going to do with it. She actually didn’t like coffee all that much. Drinking it an average of one to thirty-six times a week year in and out could do that to a girl, and it always needed the exact perfect ratio of sugar and cream and milk and coffee strength and all those other tiny details (better with chocolate and cinnamon) to work the way she needed it to. Coffee ice cream was about the reverse ratio.

“What’s that?” Justus asked speculatively from behind her.

Rachelle didn’t mind letting him sneak up on her. It was rare enough to have him in town, let alone in her apartment instead of her being in his.

“You think coffee tastes better on people?” she asked abruptly, still eyeing the ice cream.

The air stilled behind her, and she realized she had floored him.

“Don’t want to give Sophocles cavities,” she added regarding the grey feline currently stretched out on the heated tile floor. She turned around and took in Justus’ absolutely unreadable expression and laughed because she was one of the people that knew exactly what that expression meant.

“Are you serious?” he asked, seeming quite sincere in the question.

She glanced into the cold box and shook her head as she shut it. “Maybe the next door neighbors would like it. They’re married.”

“You better just be talking about the food.”

Rachelle opted to make herself a cup of coffee and leave him consternated by not immediately answering.

#

Seven Days Ficlet: Just Saying

[scribblemyname]

A/N: More a case of distraction from the kiss then the other way around.

---

“Connor. Have I ever kissed a girl?”

“If you have, you didn’t tell me about it. Check your journal.”

Silence. Connor finally looked up from his book to see Wesley frowning at him.

“Do you know I fill a journal every three months?”

“And since you started writing them, under protest mind, at eight, that means…” Connor counted up to sixteen years in his head. “You have about thirty-two journals. That won’t take forever.”

Wesley tossed the journal he had been reading through to one side. “Have I ever known a girl long enough?” he asked suddenly.

Connor looked over at his twin, wondering for the first time how that would work, considering Wesley’s memory span was literally one week. “Long enough to want to kiss her or long enough to kiss her?”

“You’re not helping.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you’ve kissed Mom. Just saying.”

Wesley threw the nearest journal at Connor’s head.

#

Re: Seven Days Ficlet: Just Saying

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Lol. I love the interaction between these two. It's just so much fun to see them being brothers, especially when Connor is teasing Wesley. :)

Hmm. I think there should be a story where their mother goes, "Now, Wesley, your journal is not a toy. Or a weapon."

[scribblemyname]

Keep trying to think of kisses as distraction. Got a particular couple in mind? I’m not sure why I’m coming up blank.

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Well, Rachelle could always do it to get that reaction she likes so much out of Justus.

And there's Red Wolf/Whisper. Or maybe one of their kids distracting him when he's about to discipline them.

Lena interrupting Wesley because he's not thinking he can kiss her because he won't remember her, and she doesn't want to let him use that as an excuse.

Sketch/Lightsculpt when he wants her to rest again.

Burnfire/Ricki when a memory gets bad or something.

I don't know. I might have had more specific things before, but the last few weeks have left me kind of brain dead.

Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Homework

[scribblemyname]

A/N: So hope this is a good introduction of a certain husband you were curious about… And ooh. Got a mention of a second prompt.

---

Ilsa brought home a thick stack of files from work and a portable computer to lay out on the dining room table in their small, but comfortable apartment. Some investigations seemed to stretch beyond working hours, and her husband was used to simply not having her home when that happened.

She might have had justifiable cause for staying at the office.

“Ilsa,” he said softly behind her.

“Hasheni.” His name was more a statement in her mouth than hers had been in his.

“It is late.” He trailed his fingers through the thickness of her black curls as he came around to stand at her side and look her in the face. “You should rest.”

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, a greater concession that he usually gained from her. “Jarod has gone through these pay statements twice.” She straightened. “They don’t add up.”

Hasheni had always handled their own taxes and household income. Ilsa had the skill but rarely the patience for it. He leaned down and kissed her, surprising her for a moment, but he did not let her go far after. “I will look them over in the morning.”

She hesitated, then wordlessly accepted the bargain.

He did not admit relief as he tugged her toward the bedroom that it had worked.

#

Re: Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Homework

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Nice quiet moment between them.

They have a good partnership in their marriage. One that seems rather understanding.

Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Living with Hope

[scribblemyname]

It was startling almost to wake and feel the other presence in his room. He kept the tension out of his body and rolled over in the covers to double-check. She was really there.

It was Guardian.

Guardian was the name he gave her when she was soft and quiet and held oceans and books and those precious few good memories she carried around with her in her open gaze. She was curled up in the wicker chair staring out the picture window, a blanket curled about her lower body and steaming mug of coffee in one hand. Dressed already, hair braided...

Of all things Justus loved about her, he loved her hair the best. She kept it long and thick and that natural burnished auburn she was always twisting into braids and updos and ponytails with the lovelocks tickling her cheeks.

He got out of the bed and approached cautiously on bare feet. She didn't respond and so he reached out to briefly let that hair fall through his fingers.

Guardian sipped her coffee but did nothing to break the gentleness of the moment. It was the first time since she realized he had fallen in love with her that he felt no tension snapping between them.

"Why are you here?" he asked, quietly. He didn't want to break the moment either.

She looked thoughtful, one brow furrowing, then she shrugged lightly and caught him in her gaze. "I can take it or leave it, Justus. I'm seeing if I can live with this."

Her hand gestured at his room, his house around them. He did not misunderstand.

#

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Such a quiet yet powerful moment.

So many little things in the quiet, yet even more than the quiet are the words, ones he wants and have such weight...

Guardian is the right name for this moment, adds more meaning to everything.

Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Between

[scribblemyname]

… part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time

Meld could not see himself. He was no telepath. He had no idea what passed from him to another when he touched the stranger, melded with the person he did not know and breathed, trust me, until their life flowed into his veins and mind and heart and his life poured into them and healed them. He only knew that somehow it was the mirror image of what he received.

---

He dreamed of sunflowers and claustrophobia the first night after the hospital. A cat brushing across his legs, a little sister spinning about the living room until she laughed with dizzyness, the clunking notes when the boy from next door practiced scales, and heavenly music when Mother taught him. He woke, startled, in nighttime darkness and felt the harsh acid of—what was her birth name?—Rachelle bleeding between their skins as she caught him out of sleep.

“Meld,” she bit out harshly between her teeth.

He reached for her, reached for wakefulness, and felt that blood and don’t die on me and anchor he had always clung to since they were children, since he refused to kill with healing power and Watcher bartered her life for their exceptions. He reached and she was Battery Acid, his sister, burning away the memories of another with herself.

Their heads leaned together and he lost himself in the mental taste of her until there was nothing else left, but her and that sharp tang of protectiveness, the memories of every time he had anchored or sheltered her with body rather than power.

The flavor shifted and Battery Acid became Reflection. His own smiles, emotions, calm, laughter flowed back into him, gathered from all the times they had done this before. It was the only way he could sense whatever he had put into her, beyond knowing that if he thought or felt something hard enough, she would probably catch it when they touched.

It was always a wonder to see himself through her eyes, always asking questions of the world, always giving, quieting, breathing because in breath and silence, the ache and pound and fear of bloody violence washed away.

She pulled away, formless in the dark, mere touch and worried affection fading as her hand retreated to her side.

He sat up on the bed and reached out to tap on the light. This was all new, this freedom for her to sit there on the edge of his bed in the team’s holding house while the others took what rooms and berths pleased them. This was all new, knowing they were beyond the grip and reach of the Thorn Republic, and he had chosen to walk into that hospital and heal ten children before his sister told him stop. New—the freedom to choose.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. He didn’t know what to call her. She wanted to learn their birth names and practice them, but in this moment, she was not the woman her family had borne her to be. She was his sister.

This nameless woman of so many names—Rachelle, the Database, Battery Acid—she shook her head and leaned over to kiss his cheek—fleeting acceptance. “Don’t be.”

She slid off the bed and went back to her own.

Meld reached out and turned out the light.

#

Re: Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Between

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

I am going to have to find more prompts for Meld. He's very interesting.

I like that he chose to heal the children.

I can see why he wouldn't want to kill with the way he heals.

And it's nice seeing them in this way. I can't quite find words for it.

Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: You are My Photograph

[scribblemyname]

Lena’s hand felt warm in his. “This is your lake?” she asked softly beside him.

Evening sunlight was breaking over the tops of the trees on the far side. Green leaves and talktative ducks floated lazily across the water.

Wesley shrugged, unable to truthfully answer. He took her down to the lake at his brother’s prodding and surprised himself that he knew the way. It wasn’t his lake, but it was his—and Connor’s. He could think here and somewhere in all those thick journals, he found that they had spent hours here every time when Wesley needed something more than pictures and words to wrestle with his fate.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, upturned face in a soft smile that took his breath away. “I love it,” she told him, softly still.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it, this moment after she had met his family and asked him, her gaze thick with questions, how does this work? He wanted to say then, it doesn’t, but he couldn’t because somehow, it did.

Lena’s hair caught the glow of the sunset and he reached out because he wasn’t thinking about it, just doing it, and gently tugged a strand of her ponytail to run it through his fingers. Her hair was the color of golden honey, falling thickly to her waist—absolutely beautiful.

Her fingers met and twined with his and he found himself blinking into her eyes, startled at the gesture.

Wesley found his voice and finally admitted, “I don’t remember from week to week. I have reminders: pictures, books…” He shrugged. His hand fell away.

She looked at him, then stepped forward gingerly to settle down on the grassy bank and look out over the ducks and the leaves and the water. “People,” she added gently. She looked at him again.

He leaned against a birch trunk, letting it dig into his back as he realized from a half dozen pictures hanging on his old bedroom wall and sitting framed on desk, nightstand, and elsewhere that Wesley usually sat down by the water where Lena sat and Connor usually leaned against this tree, waiting… For something.

Finally, after a long moment watching the yellow light begin to turn red, he nodded acceptance of this, whatever this was, and answered, “People.”

#

Re: Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: You are My Photograph

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Ah, he told her.

Such a beautiful place to tell her, too.

He needs people, too, and she's the right one to be with him.

and Thorn Ficlet: The Five W’s of Declaring War

[scribblemyname]

“So what’s a prank war and why should we start one?” Minder asked Rett as she stole a seat on his couch and tugged on the blanket under him until he let her have it.

He wasn’t sure yet whether she preferred birth name or handle, so opted for calling her nothing and asking instead, “Why do you think we need to start one?”

“Reasons.” She dug in his side drawer for a chocolate bar.

“Are you intending on raiding every store I have in the house?” he asked, mildly amused.

“Why?” she asked, widening her brown eyes to an almost innocent appearance. Too bad the glint of mischief gave her away. “You got books?”

Rett shook his head at her. The place was fairly new, but he had settled in early and so frequently had the team members over while they were still looking for their places to settle down. Maker was bunking out in the back bedroom and Minder had claimed the hall guest room, though today she seemed to prefer pestering Rett wherever he happened to be.

“A prank war is a war of pranks.” He said it like it should be obvious and got the expected eyeroll back. “And I’ll tell you no more until you tell me why you’re asking.”

Minder giggled as she tore open the wrapper with her teeth, then nipped a bite of candy bar. “My co-worker at the telephone office”—That was news, but she didn’t stop for the surprise on his face—“said the upstairs phone operators and the downstairs customer service had a long-standing prank war.” She shrugged, eyes sparkling. “Sounded fun.”

Rett shook his head and tried to figure out how to wrangle his way out of this one. “And who were you thinking of declaring war on?”

“Team Thirty-Four,” she replied promptly.

Shift’s team. While the idea appealed… “They’re ruthless, cutthroat, no-holds-barred and the primary reason we won the war against Thorn. Pick another target.”

Minder pouted at him. An exxageration. He’d never seen her sincerely pout in her life. “Aww. You’re no fun.”

“That quit working when you were six years old.”

“Spoilsport,” she teased.

“From babes and fools, good Lord, preserve us,” he answered dryly in return.

#

Re: and Thorn Ficlet: The Five W’s of Declaring War

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Lol.

Well, it would be like suicide to go against Shift's team, but it would probably be the funniest... If they didn't take things too far.

And Storm being back, gotta love him making an appearance.

She's having a lot of fun teasing him. :)

Seven Days Ficlet: The Apple Don't Fall Far

[scribblemyname]

Connor was not above going over to his brother's house on an appropriate Wednesday morning and hauling his twin brother, Wesley, out of bed to remind him that they had an appointment at their parents' house.

"Come on. Get up." He grinned down at Wesely's blinking face. "Croissants are baking and the world is good."

Wesley threw his pillow at him. Connor just laughed.

It should have been different than normal. When they were children, Connor had named Tuesday "Remembering Day" because calling it Forgetting Day was too depressing, but it was easier to tease with your brother when he woke up in a shared room that obviously belonged to both of them than when he woke up in his house surrounded by photographic and textual reminders—but no brother.

"I don't smell croissants," Wesley mumbled into his blanket. But he was, finally, clambering off the floor and giving Connor an injured look as he yanked the covers back onto the bed.

"That's because Mom's baking them at their house," Connor said practically. He sat up on the dresser. "So come on. We've planned this since two weeks ago and it's circled on your calendar, and all you have to do to get some breakfast is show up. Which naturally requires that you be awake."

"I'm awake," came the reflexive protest.

"Your shirt's on backwards."

Wesley gave him another look. "Go wait in the living room and I'll be out in a minute."

Connor shrugged and grabbed a likely looking book off the dresser to read while he waited.

---

After the second time getting his knuckles rapped, Wesley retreated from kitchen to living room, gave his brother an injured look, and said, "Just show up."

Connor rolled his eyes and slipped into the kitchen. "Hi, Mom."

"Breakfast will be ready when it's ready," she informed him curtly.

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Never you mind. Go, set the table."

"Yes, ma'am." He slipped out and headed for the cabinets behind the table for silverware. "Wesley, table-setting."

Wesley was looking at his brother's hand with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll share." Connor halved the croissant and stuck one piece in his mouth while handing the other to Wesley. "Silverware. Chop, chop."

"You're incorrigible." But Wesley opened the cabinet door on the right and counted out forks with his free hand.

Connor just laughed. "I'm your brother. And you know what they say: the apple don't fall far—"

A loud smack of spatula on knuckles came from the kitchen, then their mother's voice, "Go and help your sons set the table, you hooligan."

Wesley finished the sentence with a lopsided smile. "From the tree."

#

Re: Seven Days Ficlet: The Apple Don't Fall Far

[thecatisacritic.livejournal.com]

Lol. They have fun family breakfasts. :)