coyotes, butterflies and a town like New York

Fic: Stars and Snow Cabins

2011-09-05T08:06:03Z

Title: Stars and Snow Cabins
Rating: PG 13 for a little swearing
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Just playing in this sandbox.

Summary: Tony thinks it's a good idea to go heli skiing in New Zealand. Bad stuff ensues.

Author's notes: Written for its_always_been
Thanks to Milly for beta reading and for reminding me to write in past tense.

The first afternoon, Tony’s vocabulary consists of ‘cold, cold coldcoldcold coooollllldd’. In the evening, the word ‘motherfuckin’’ was added.

Pepper’s was a little more expansive, including phrases such as ‘Ican’tbelieveIletyoudragmeintothis’, and ‘I will kill you’.

All this happens five hours after the avalanche ambles, and then roars down the side of the mountain that Tony had insisted would be best for powder snow. It had started off so brilliantly. The sun was glorious, and in a weird way, kind of warm as it shone down on the south island of New Zealand. Tony was terribly impressed with himself, having built a pair of ski goggles based on the tech of the HUD system in the Suit. And they were hot-rod red and gold. Pepper was only convinced to come through Tony’s bribing – promising to be good in the next eight board meetings, and to not refer to her blackberry in any derogatory terms for the next month. But her breath caught at the sensation of the helicopter cruising between the peaks, and at the sight of nothing but bare snow conifers, immaculate sky and untouched snow. The breathless glee that shone on her face when they stopped for a break made Tony so happy he felt it in his toes.

But now, after they had come out of the avalanche unscathed, the sky had turned white, visibility dropped to basically nil, and the wind was so strong they had nearly been knocked over multiple times.

It was hour or so before sunset that they hit the tree line, and a few minutes later, they found they snow cabin. Quickly, they do a stock take: a few old blankets, some books, and a kite. Not much to go on. It also crossed Tony’s mind that with the wind and snow behaving as they are, it wouldn’t be very long before the cabin is snowed under.

Later, as Tony lies on his back trying to sleep, he thinks. They told him that with the GPS systems in their snow jackets, they’d be picked up in only a matter of hours, should this sort of thing happen. But that avalanche was beyond insane, and he’s picked up enough about the weather from having flown through it to know that this storm shouldn’t be named after anything less than a demon.

-----

When Tony woke in the morning, the wind was gone, but visibility was still zero. A few hours later, Pepper thought she could hear the distant rumble of a helicopter. They both knew how appallingly low the chances are of their single flare being spotted, given they’re in a whiteout, but Tony insisted they try.

It breaks Pepper’s heart to see the hope dissolve from Tony’s eyes when three hours later, they sat, still unrescued in their cabin.

It was nearly dark again, and the cabin had finally been snowed under when they were lying side by side under their snow gear and the old blankets. Tony managed to convince Pepper they should strip off and lie together to share body heat, but she instigated a strict ‘underwear on, no touching’ policy.
She spoke first: ‘You know, this isn’t what I’d had in mind for the first time we’d be nearly naked together’.

A part of Tony was stunned, whilst another fist pumped the air at Pepper ever having wanted to be naked with him. Trying to remain cool, he looked over at her and tries to mimic her casual tone. ‘Oh yeah?’

‘Yep. I’d wear that blue dress that you loved so much, and you’d wear your tux. Armani,’ she added specifically. ‘We’d go to a concert, and it would be glamorous and romantic. Afterwards, I’d whisper to you, and you’d smile, and we’d go back to your mansion, and, well, yeah,’ she blushed.

Tony loves how much thought she had clearly put into this, and vows that no snowed-under cabin would get in the way of him making the evening Pepper described a reality.

Later, when the wind caught its breath and the world around them fell silent for a few moments, Pepper, with her eyes still closed, asked Tony what he missed. The question came as a surprise, and at first a lot of things came to mind. But before answering, he thinks, really thinks about his answer. Pepper is about to prod him into replying when the list gushes from his mouth. ‘Flying in the Suit. Cuban rum. The idling purr of my favourite hot-rod. Rhodey’s bad jokes’. In his head, this list also contained “the way Pepper’s hair catches the light late in Summer. The sight of her car pulling up to the mansion”.

He nearly forgot to ask her the same question, but he does, and like him, she paused before answering. ‘The stars’, she nods, as if reassuring herself that she’d said the right thing. ‘Yep. The stars. Just one more time.’

They were found the next day. Apparently they were so far off from where their guide thought they were, they were found in the eleventh cabin their rescuers had tried.

The first man who managed to get inside the cabin was terribly short and was wearing a forest green jacket. For a second, Tony wonders if there really were Hobbits in this part of the world. Then he realised the wonderful implications of there being other people standing in the cabin.

They both had to be helped to stand, what with the cold and lack of food, Tony’s arm was unceremoniously placed on the shoulder of a man he doesn’t know. The man supports him out of the cabin and through the tunnel of snow that had been carved out for them.

The sky wasn’t completely blue, there were still a few messy patches of cloud in the corners of the sky. He hears Pepper cough quietly behind him, and the sun hurts his eyes.

It’s perfect.

Tony only saw glimpses of Pepper in the next few days. Between hospitals and PR and sleeping he lost track of time. It’s nearly a week after they get back, and until now both of them have been kept inside with strict curfews by a combination of doctors and psychologists. But now they’ve been let off the leash, so Tony nested in the ‘shop till well past his bedtime, and Pepper sat on a couch nearby, getting reacquainted with her blackberry.

They shared a quiet dinner in his kitchen, and when the plates were cleared, Tony takes Pepper’s hand and leads her out onto the deck. There he takes half a step back, tips his head down and motions with his arms to the sky.

The light pollution stains half, but beyond that, the ocean inks the scene above them perfectly.

He gives her the stars.

She drinks the sight of them in contentedly, reaches for his hand and settles her chin on his shoulder.

It’s more than enough.

----
Let me know what you think!

Aww.. Sorry guys

2009-06-18T07:47:16Z

Hey everyone!

Wow.. I haven't been around much. Sorry >.>

Here's a short list of (important) things that have happened since I last updated..

In refernce to my last ~~ancient~~ post, I didn't get a part in my school's play. And while I was sad initially, it's ok. And anyway, Much Ado will always be special in my head.
I'm going hiking again! But it gets better - we'll be where it snows. I'm really hoping for good weather, otherwise it will be horrible. But if we have nice weather, it should be a lot of fun. I've never been camping in the snow before.. Have any of you? Any hints? I'm going beacuse I'm doing the Duke of Edinburgh programme. This will be the last thing I have to do before I finish my gold :D
My friends and I had our formal last Friday! It was amazing. We had pre drinks at a friend's house, we took a limo to the venue, we danced a lot - and my feet were dying - and then we had an afterparty at my house. It was quite possibly the best night of my whole life. :D
Lol, last week we did the GAT, or General Achievement Test. It's something we - being all of Victoria - have to do as part of our senior year studies. And some genius decided that we should all mention George Clooney in our written responses to freak out the assessors. It was hilarious! We even made the newspaper!
We have holidays in just over a week, thank god. We get three weeks, which shall be grand.

What about all of you? What interesting things have been happening? Anything exciting?

Hopoe you're all well :)

These past few days

2009-05-20T08:30:42Z

Hey guys!

A few reasons as to why yesterday was awesome:
- I had a French oral test.. And I think I did well.
- I got an English essay back that was important.. It was a test one, and I got 37 out of 40. Yay!
- I had an audition for our school's play which is to be Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Which is completely awesome. Much Ado is my favourite Shakespearian play. :D I tried out for Beatrice, seeing as how the only other female part was Hero, and I don't really like her. Beatrice and Benedick are probably my OTP outside fandom.. Though I have actually seen Much Ado fic.. O.o
Oh, and for the record, I think I did pretty well in my audition. But I can be a pretty bad judge, so I don't know.. I'm kind of hoping I'll get some part in the play, even if it's not Beatrice...

It was all pretty hectic, and I had a lot of adrenalin in me for a lot of the day. But I think sometimes those kind of day are good - for me, at least. Makes you feel alive :P

And I don't really know what my boyfriend's habits are in terms of actually reading my lj, but if he does,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!

:D (For the second time today.. :P) Love you lots :)

Hope you're all well :)

Hey flist!

2009-05-17T11:22:08Z

Hey guys!

I haven't been around much recently.. Sorry. >.<

I have a question for you guys.. It's my boyfriend's birthday in a few days, and I'm kinda hitting a brick wall with stuff to write on his card (yes, I am really this pedantic).

A lot of you are really clever with your words, so I thought I might ask you. Any ideas?

I really love this guy.. And anything you can come up with would be brilliant. (Even if it's a quote from a movie - that would be great. I love movie quotes).

And I hope you're all well :D

:D

2009-05-04T07:43:56Z

So I haven't been subscribed to Empire for.. two months?

Yet I got the most recent edition in the mail today! It's brilliant!

You know when you play monopoly, and every now and then you can pick up a card that tells you to take $100 or something. Well, this is how I feel now. Only more excited :P

:D

invicta_affect @ 2009-05-02T10:47:00

2009-05-02T01:20:22Z

Ok, you know those days when you have nothing in particular to look forward to, so you feeling like doing nothing? I think I'm going to have a weekend of those days.

So maybe if I get this off my chest, I'll feel like working.

I've considered writing this rant a few times in the past.. two years. But now it's really come to a head.

A few years ago, when my Dad was living interstate 5 days a week he took up playing the drums. And a few weeks ago he joined this group of guys who are his age and who play instruments too, so now he's in a band.

And all he has been fucking doing is drumming. He's not helping around the house, he's not interested in me or my sister, far out he's not being a father.
I should mention that he hasn't been doing things around the house for, well, months. Like this week my Mum has been feeling a bit sick, but she's still done the washing, the cleaning, and looking after my sister and I. And my Dad does fuck-all. He just seems to think it'll all just happen. When he gets home from work his routine consists of exercising and drumming. And ignoring us.

The fact that he's not interested in my sister and I really came out last night - my sister and I were staying back after school till 7 in the evening because there were school play rehearsals - she's in the play and I stayed behind (for the first time) last night because my boyfriend helps out with the tech stuff, so it was a chance for me to see him, seeing as how I can't see him this weekend. (More on that below). It got to about 6.40 last night when my Dad asked - for the first time that evening - where we were. My Mum was annoyed at my Dad for that - my sister has had play rehearsals on Friday afternoons for most of the school year. But I thought it was sardonically amusing that he didn't ask why I wasn't home - I've never been involved in the play, short of supporting my friends.

Another thing: my dog had knee surgery this week, which has meant that we can't leave her alone, in case she jumps up or something, and rips open her stitches or re-damages her leg. Tomorrow my Dad has a concert for his drumming, and he wanted all of us to go, but my sister has play rehearsals again, and because of the dog, I have to stay home. And even if I didn't have to stay home, I wouldn't want to go: I'd be going to the play rehearsal to see my boyfriend, because except for a rare exception like last night, I only get to see him on the weekends (he has uni and I have school so it's virtually impossible to do anything during the week). But this time I don't get to see him at all. That's probably what is making me cranky too, by the way.

But what really pisses me off is my Dad's reaction to things. He thought I was coming to his drumming concert, but I can't and so he took it as a personal insult. You tell him that he's not paying attention to my sister and I and that he's drumming too much and he takes it as a personal insult. You tell him he's not helping around the house and he takes it as a personal insult. It is literally like trying to have a normal conversation with a pathetic, whiny 5-year-old boy. Like last night we told him these things and by the end he was really defensive and had tears in his eyes. So essentially we can't tell him he's doing anything wrong, because he just shuts off, like he did last night.

There is so much more I could write about all the ridiculous things he does. Like he thinks because I don't growl at him like my sister and Mum do, I am therefore interested in his life and his drumming. I couldn't give a shit more than my Mum and sister could. I just don't say it out loud.

(As I'm typing this he's meant to be building a barrier to stop my dog going anywhere where she could jump. Instead, he's getting his drums ready for tomorrow. See my point?)

I really don't want to say things like these about my Dad. But sometimes it doesn't feel like he is, you know? He just lives in his own world, and then wonders why we don't even try to include him our conversations - he's just so far behind he'd have no idea. And I know I'm being quite self-centred.

So there's my rant. In short, I'm cranky because my Dad's not acting like a Dad and he's so caught up in his own world he inadvertently mucks up our lives.</div>
Hope you guys are all having a better weekend than me..

XD

2009-04-23T09:19:44Z

THIS IS ME TO A T.

http://xkcd.com/77/

It's soo true..

Ok.. Back to poiltics homework..

MRAZ!

2009-04-22T07:49:19Z

I went and saw Jason Mraz last night.. And he was awesome :D

It was a relatively small venue - we could see him as a person, not just as a dot in the distance. And he played a lot of his old stuff, as well as his new. Which was good, even though I only know his knew stuff really well. *hangs head in shame*

He is so good live. He just, I don't know, gets the idea of playing to a crowd.

It was a really great night out - and Iwas with two of my really good friends, one of whom had never been to a concert as big as that, so it was great for her. And he finished on one of my favourite songs, Butterfly. (Hence, in fact, the word butterflies in my journal's title.)

I thought it was interesting today to discover that quite a few people had never heard of him.. So I'm curious now - what about you guys? Do you like him? Hate him? Or have never heard of him?

An arthroscopy (part 2)

2009-04-18T03:31:16Z

Ok, so I don't know if any of you will be interested, but here's a full wrap-up of my operation.

It went well, they went in there to clean up my knee and cartilidge, and they did that. Only when my surgeon got in there, he found that I'd also done a bit of damage to my cruciate ligament. (His words were that I'd either stretched it or even torn it a little). Which is really not good, because if it continues to play up, I'll need a full knee reconstruction. And I don't want that.

My Mum now thinks that they gave me too much anaesthetic, cos my recovery time was meant to be something like 20 minutes, but it was more like 2 hours. And even after that I was totally zonked. All I wanted to do was sleep. And then they gave me morphine for the pain in my knee. Which I think was a little over the top, cos I don't think that they normally give people who have had arthroscopes morhpine..

It was meant to be just a day procedure, but when I'd gotten dressed to go home and was sitting in the wheelchair I felt awful. They checked my blood pressure and found out it was really low, so I decided it would be easier if I just stayed the night - all I wanted to do was sleep, and the bed was right there, afterall.

Back home again, all I have still wanted to do (except for today) has been to sleep. I sat down yesterday to do homework, and instead went and snoozed for 2 hours. It is actually getting pretty frustrating, especially as how yesterday was such a beautiful day, but I wasn't even awake to enjoy it.

We took my big bandages off yesterday night, so now I have less resistance when I walk (which I'm getting much better at too), and my knee looks awesome. It's a little swollen and then it has waterproof patches over it, and it still has benedrine (?) the yellow stuff on it. It just makes me laugh. :P</div>
So I think that's about it. A riveting story, no? :P

An arthroscopy

2009-04-14T23:42:29Z

A few of you might remember me ranting (in pain) about my knee - I busted it up last year in a soccer match, and then sort of redid it a few times.

Well, today I'm going to have surgery - an arthroscopy - to get it fixed.

If I think about it, I'm excited because it means I can go back to playing soccer and doing all number of things (like jumping of low walls) and not having to worry about actually hurting myself if I fall over. But on the other side, I haven't had surgery since I was about 3, and I can't really remember any of that. So I'm a tad nervous. I do think, however, without reason - they've done this kind of surgery like a gazillion times.

Wish me luck! :)

Walhalla

2009-04-12T07:47:26Z

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't been saying much recently.. I've been busy... In fact, I went camping! (hence the name of this post). It was for my gold Duke of Edinburgh award, and we went for 3 nights up and around a town called Walhalla.

The town and our camping site were so pretty, and our group had some of the nicest people I've ever met. It was a blast.

Of course, though, the best part of a camping trip is when you get home and sleep on a soft bed again :P

How are you lot? Well, I hope :)

invicta_affect @ 2009-04-06T13:53:00

2009-04-06T03:59:46Z

Things that were awesome about yesterday:

I spent most of the day with my boyfriend

I went to the Flower and Garden Show. My favourite was a Balinese-esque garden.. It was preeeety.

I went and saw Stephen K Amos at the comedy festival. Bloody hilarious.

It was an awesome day.

Oh, and for any of you who are interested, I got facebook. Haven't quite figured it all out yet, but oh well.

And I changed my header. I was going to make it more interesting, but I don't have photoshop on this computer. Go have a look, hey?

:D

2009-04-03T05:31:13Z

Today was the last day of term. And during the day we had two thunderstorms pass over us. Two! Normally ever rain here isa big thing.

I was soo excited. :D

Now it's still all dark and gloomy. I'm hoping it will start rainging again soon.

Hope you're all good.

ETA: Haha! Two mintues later it did :D

Empire and Facebook

2009-03-30T08:04:00Z

So my subscription to Empire ran out last month. Yet this afternoon, the latest edition found its way onto our kitchen bench.

I love it how I can influence my Dad. I bought it last time, and because he wanted to keep reading it, he renewed the subscription. :D

On another note, do you lot think I should get Facebook? And why/why not?

Hope you're all well :)

Uhhh

2009-03-28T23:05:04Z

I am never going to eat snags again.

Never never never never never.

Hai guys!

2009-03-23T07:02:08Z

I know I haven't been saying much recently... Sorry.

I'm good at the moment, I had a bunch of friends over on the weekend and we went and saw the Watchmen (again), went to the beach and had fish and chips. Good times.

And my boyfriend is great :D

Here's a meme to maybe entertain you. I stole it off blackwidow.

1. Where did your LJ handle come from?
I asked my sister for her Latin translator and came up with a probably incorrect translation of the words unconquerable passion. (Did I spell that right..?)

2. If you could live in any book, which would it be?

3. What is making you happy right now?
The fact that I just had a home-made hot cross bun, and.. see above.

4. What gives you creative inspiration?
Movies, stuff like travelling and seeing how the world works.

5. Do you need music to work?
It's good for French, but not if I'm writing something like an English essay. (I always listen to music when I write though)

6. What is your favorite kind of ice cream?
Chocolate and something else.. Like hazelnut

7. What is the uglist type of currently fasionable clothing?
Guys wearing skinny jens half-way down their arses.

8. What is your favorite couple from a TV, book, or movie?
Bond and Vesper. That's an easy one. Or maybe the Doctor and Donna's friendship. They're just made of win.

9. What is your favorite movie genre?
Probably action or suspense or thriller, and it's even better if it has heart.

10. What was the last thing you ate today?
See above.

11.What is your favorite color?
Red

12. How much money do you think you are worth?
I have no idea. Give me a few years to mature (like a good bottle of red wine), I bet you I'll be worth more. What do you guys think?

13. Which languages do you wish you spoke?
Latin, maybe. I already speak a lot of French too, which is great. Otherwise something really different, like Russian, or Finnish.

14. What is your favourite food?
Pasta.

15. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Oh, I have a lot of those. Umm, well the first one that comes to mind is that there are girls in my politics class that learn about the evils of the world, like polluting the environment, yet they still do it anyway. Like, has what you've learned taught you nothing?!

16. Do you have a birthmark?
I think I might have a faint one on my left leg...

17. If someone held a surprise party for you, how would you react?
OH MY GOD. YOU GUYS ARE LEGENDS. *tackles*

18. Where would you like your next holiday to be?
Well I think I'm going to Vegas and Disneyland at the end of the year, but Paris in Summer would be lovely..

19. What's your favorite non-food-related taste?
Ah hah, I could think of something to answer that, but I won't. I have no idea. ~~Gum leaves :P~~

20. Tell me something you love about the person who tagged you:
Haha, I stole this!

If you want to do this too, go nuts. Otherwise, hope you're all going well :)</div>

WATCHMEN

2009-03-14T23:25:03Z

Wow. That was amazing. I'd heard quite a few really good things about it, but still. Wow.

It's one of those movies that just kinda stay with you for a long time after you've seen it. I can't decide if it's in a brilliant or chilling kinda way.

I was quite glad they put eveything in. Like Dr Manhattan and his mostly naked scenes - I think a lot of movies would have danced around the fact that he's naked, but the way they did it was, though a little distracting, perfect.

Everythign was good about the movie: the soundtrack (Race of the Valkyries in the Vietnam War? Heck yes!), the cinematography, the CGI, the acting, the depth of the characters, the plot. It was all amazing.

Hats off to the lot of them. If I could make a movie that was that good, I'd be damn happy.

------------
In news that is only a little relevant, I went and saw it with my sort-of boyfriend, and on the way home he said yes to me properly. So now he's my proper boyfriend :D

ETA: I just found this userpic. And had to use it. It's so perfect :D

invicta_affect @ 2009-03-10T17:44:00

2009-03-10T06:47:02Z

So we had my friend's funeral today.

It was really good - one of our teachers gave the eulogy. And I didn't cry until the pipes and drums played.
Then I didn't stop for a long time after everything had finished.

We'll miss you Mully. You were amazing.

We'll never forget you.

Rest in peace Mully

2009-03-03T05:27:12Z

Today we found out that last night, one of our school vice captains had died.

He was also one of my friends.

We'll miss you Mully. :(

:D

2009-03-02T06:55:37Z

...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL!

Stay totally awesome. Keep making brilliant movies.

(Please)

This town... It's a use-you town

2009-03-01T06:34:38Z

I have the Ocean's Thirteen Soundtrack.

It has Sinatra. And a big band. And a flippin' harmonica all in the one song. :D

Mmmmmmmmm

ETA: As such, I thought I would share this picture that I realised I had sitting on my hard drive.

(Oh, and it's kinda big..)

What the...?

2009-02-26T08:35:48Z

Okay, so today is meant to be Australia's release date for Defiance.

Or, was.

I was looking forward to seeing this movie maybe even tomorrow, except that there's been no publicity. And it's not in the movie section of the paper.

So I go on imdb, thinking they've moved it back a week or so. They moved it back to the 30th of April.

WHAT?! IS AUSTRALIA, LIKE INVISIBLE OR SOMETHING?

I get that our release dates are a few weeks or so later than that of the US and the UK (or rather I don't, I'm just used to putting up with it) but that's basically 5 months. 5 months!

I hate it how apparently because we're in the Southern hemisphere, we don't count, or something. (And it's the same story with tv. We don't get most of the decent shows, and if we do, they're probably going to be on cable. Or we wait most of a year).

I'm so sick of this.

Fic: You're Too Young

2009-02-11T07:46:22Z

You're Too Young
Author: me - invicta_affect
Fandom, Pairing: James Bond, Burn Notice - James Bond VI/Michael Westen
Rating: PG. If you've seen a Bond flick, and if you've watched Burn Notice, you can read this.
Beta:: the wonderful colonel_taisa.
Summary: Pre-season for Burn Notice. The first time Bond and Michael meet.
Disclaimer: I own James Bond. And Burn Notice. And the entire USA television network. And most of the southern hemisphere.
A/N: Written for ficwize's Candy Hearts Ficathon. I promise I hadn't originally intended to write something this dark. But my head had other ideas. And as usual, comments and concrit are most definitely welcome.

The heat and humidity hit Bond like a brick wall as he walked along the airbridge in the direction of the terminal. Miami. The city of parties, bikinis and white sandy beaches. He smiled at the thought.

++

‘No, Mum. No, I told you before! I’m not staying for more than a day or two, during which I’ll be working ninety percent of the time. No, I can’t come over for dinner, I’m meeting up with my clients.’

Michael scowled when his mother pointed out that though she didn’t know what he did, she did know that it didn’t involve taking clients out to dinner.

God he hated his home town sometimes.

++

The party was in full swing. The low scale drug moguls had their collars open in an effort to escape the heat, and to make themselves look like they were worth more. Unbeknownst to them, of course, the big players had already retired to the cooler interior of the mansion shadowing the gardens and private beach. Bond, acting like he’d drunk three times as much as he actually had, had seen all this and had a lovely dark haired woman whispering in his ear, telling him about how wonderful she thought English boys were. Then he saw him.

He had spent enough years blending in, so when he saw someone else trying to do the same, he was a little surprised. The clothes and sunglasses said he should have been inside with the other big dealers, yet here he was, mixing with the boys lower down the ladder. But it was the way he carried himself that truly gave him away. He walked with the grace and pent-up violence of a leopard. Bond knew that way of moving. He’d been using it for the better part of a year.

He whispered something equally as dirty to his dark haired friend as she had been for the past hour, before promising to return soon, and went in search of Leopard-boy.

++

He found him near the bar, surveying the rest of the party. He looked even better up close. Grinning, Bond sidled up next to him, and began talking to him as if he was an old friend. ‘Don’t know about these gigs. There’s too much cheap alcohol, and the big wigs are unwilling to make any business deals with anyone they haven’t known since elementary school.’

Leopard-boy raised an eyebrow at him, but played along. ‘I know what you mean. You get dressed up properly for them, and they’ve already left.’
So you’re doing recon too, Bond thought. Quickly, he signalled to the barman, and soon had a beer in his hand. Martinis were better – stronger - but he wanted to keep his wits about him while he stood next to this man.

Well, maybe only a few of his wits, anyway.

Leopard-boy spoke again. ‘So you’re a Brit?’

‘Some of the time, yes.’ Bond couldn’t resist giving him a slightly predatory glance.

The man flinched slightly, but hid it well. ‘Haven’t been to much of Britain myself. Although I’ve heard Vauxhall Cross is quite lovely in the Summer.’

Bond groaned to himself.

‘Anyway,’ Leopard-boy continued quietly. ‘I’ve gotta go. I thought I’d go and say hello to my friend, Angelina, over there.’ He smiled in the direction of Bond’s dark haired friend, who proceed to wave back enthusiastically.

This irritated Bond. All he’d wanted was polite conversation, and what he’d got was a careless man who’s mentioned MI6’s headquaters out loud. And he was about to steal his woman. He had half a mind to insult the man next to him, but Leopard-boy was gone.

The small piece of paper he found in his jacket pocket with a hotel name and room nmber on it seemed to contradict the man’s hostile behaviour.

++

Typical. He’d been here for less than twenty-four hours, and already his mind was completely ignoring the job. It was simple – a recon job at a drug dealer’s party. Get in, have a few drinks, find out who the biggest runners on this side of the state were, and leave in one piece. It would’ve been easy. Had the blond Brit not politely informed him that he was too late. He knew he was a little late – he had planned that. What he didn’t plan was not being able to concentrate on anything other than those eyes, and the cold, bitter yet fascinating aura that seemed to hang around the man.

What was it with him and this town?

The knock on the door came a little later than Michael initially expected, and it made him jump. The door opened to reveal the Brit in the same clothes as before, with his head slightly cocked. Michael flinched under the gaze. Now he knew what a deer felt like when it was caught in headlights. (I believe the expression is a deer in the headlights)

After the door closed, the Brit stepped forward, invading Michael’s private space. ‘What’s your name?’

Michael found himself nearly swallowing. ‘Michael Westen. What’s yours?’

The Brit grinned dangerously. ‘Bond. James Bond.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

Michael thought about this. He knew how it was – people like them, spies – either you lost your soul or your life before you were able to establish anything vaguely resembling a relationship, so most took what they could get. ‘Uh… yeah,’

Bond said nothing, just continued to use the smouldering gaze to peer into Michael’s consciousness. He didn’t need to say anything, the cocked head and tense posture said it all: is this what you really want?

Without warning, Bond leaned forward until Michael could feel his breath on his neck. Instinctively his breath hitched and he seized up.

‘That’s what I thought,’ Bond said against Michael’s neck. Slowly, he moved away, brushing his lips against Michael’s jawline, once. When Michael managed to open his eyes the ones that met with his gaze seemed older.

‘When you’ve stopped doing that, come and find me.’

Before Michael could even think to ask he was talking about, the door had closed quietly behind Bond.

++

Westen went two-and-a-half years without seeing Bond. In that time, he stopped being able to count the number of people he had killed on one hand, learnt what it felt like to be shot – multiple times – and learned what it felt like to have to leave the woman he was sure he loved.

It was in a bar in a god-forsaken country on the horn of Africa.

He saw the eyes first.

~

Bushfires

2009-02-08T06:08:25Z

This is why you don't live in regional Victoria, or Australia for that matter.

Bushfires.

Except for Ballarat, everwhyere I've been (and heard of) in Victoria, plus more, is under threat by bushfires. This morning's news said there were eleven major fronts, about 400 individual fires started up yesterday (oh, it reached 46 yesterday... That's the hottest temperature on record here), and something like 20 peope were confirmed dead, but it was estimated that another 20 more were too.

Entire towns have been wiped out. Literally.

(For the record, I'm okay. I live virtually right on the coast and near the city. The worst we had was our power out for most of the day).

Hats off to the CFA (Country Fire Authority). The stuff they go through is amazing. And most of them are volunteers.

And for the people who do live in regional areas, stay safe. We're all thinking of you.

invicta_affect @ 2009-02-07T13:54:00

2009-02-07T02:56:03Z

Note to self:

Be careful when refilling your fountain pens.

(No, I don't have green ink all over my hands, no...)