Sasusc

The Problem of Dozing

sasusc — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 20:05:47 GMT

Title: The Problem of Dozing

Author: Sasusc

Fandom: Doctor Who

Characters: 10th Doctor, Rose Tyler

Words: 1784

Summary: Sequel to The Problem with Daydreams, but not a necessary read to understand this story, where the Doctor gets himself into a hot mess.

“Rose,” the Doctor said as he grinned over his cup of hot cocoa. It left a chocolate mustache, which he slowly licked away savoring the flavor. He carefully placed his mug down behind him.

“Doctor!” she said in frustration.

He glanced around the kitchen, looking at the mess he had made in his search for hot cocoa. The carton of milk was still laying about with some of it having spilled across the countertop in his haste to heat up the milk. Cocoa powder and sugar littered the counters and floor…which he had no explanation for why the mess was so widespread. He bit his lip trying to come up with a suitable reason; and when he couldn’t come up with one, he simply offered her his cup. “Want some?”

She giggled, taking the mug from him. She took a slip before licking her lips.

He reached out, wiping the last drop of chocolate from the corner of her mouth. Her mouth opened slightly pulling his digit into her mouth. She bit down gently to keep it in her mouth to lick the rest of the chocolate off.

He couldn’t do anything but stare at her lips. His body involuntary moved closer to her. He could smell her better over the scent of chocolate in this new position.

“Rose,” he finally said as he pulled his finger away. He tried to infuse her name with disapproval but he wasn’t sure if it had come out as he had planned.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “You started it.”

“Did not!” he quickly denied.

“Did too,” she said, nodding her head. She took a step forward, stepping into his personal space. He could only grin manically down at her--a perfect complement to the mischievous look that sparkled in her eyes. “You have the most desirable, yummy mouth.”

The Doctor’s jaw slackened in surprise. “Wha?”

“Do you have any idea what runs through my head every time I see your tongue? You’re forever using it in one way or another.” She reached up and stroked her thumb across his bottom lip. “Licking things, sticking out of your mouth as you work, or running across your teeth as you smile...”

The Doctor swallowed. “Yes, well… That’s the nature of tongues--for talking and tasting, for discovering the components of an unknown substance…” He trailed off as Rose moved. She stood on her tippy toes and ran her tongue across his lips. “What are you doing?”

“You’re a tease,” she whispered against his cheek. “I walked in here, and do you know what the first thing you did?”

“What?”

She leaned back so that he could have a perfect view of her face. She demonstrated, as slowly as he had, how he had licked his lips. He couldn’t help the groan that escaped from his mouth as her tongue wetted her lips.

She smirked up at him. “You’re a tease,” she iterated.

He physically shook himself to keep himself from falling under her charms. “I didn’t do that that slow.” He couldn’t have, he mentally told himself. It was too bloody slow…and sexy. A person couldn’t do that without having sex on their mind…and his mind hadn’t been thinking anything near to sex when he licked his cocoa mustache off.

He quickly rewound his thoughts. Yummy, hot, and delicious drink in his hands…and then one Rose Tyler walked into the kitchen wearing her pajamas, which had only consisted of way too short shorts--exposing her long and wonderful legs--and a tiny, pink tank top--showcasing her fantastic chest to which he only had to lean forward slightly to peer down at if he was so inclined to behave as a horny old man and to which he had resisted the urge since he knew she would step closer and gave him a similar view with no effort on his part--and she had that sexy bed hair thing going on that had him itching to ran his fingers through…

“Oh,” he accidentally voiced aloud. He stared down at her with a deer caught in the headlight look plastered across his face. He had been thinking about sex when he licked his lips.

Her hand slid from his neck and burned a hot trail to the middle of his chest. That satisfied look spreading across her face told him that she could feel both of his hearts beating faster. He knew from the start--from the first time he had seen her interacting with other men--that she was Trouble, capital T. And when she aimed that look--that look she was giving him now full of female satisfaction and lust and something wonderful like bananas--it was all he could do to keep his hands fisted at his sides.

“Oh yeah,” she said softly.

“What are you doing?” he finally choked out.

Rose only smirked as she tugged on the front of his pants. Buttons and zippers came undone as if by magic under her skillful hands. He hadn’t realized she was doing it until she took her fingers off of his zipper and wrapped them around the waistband of his pants.

“Rose!”

She shoved his pants and underwear down to his ankles. He was standing in front of her with his pants around his feet and only his light blue t-shirt on. No socks or shoes, he thought briefly as he wiggled his toes. Rose was barefooted as well, and he noticed she must have gotten bored as she had painted each toenail a different color. And he couldn’t decide if the second color on her left foot was coral or peach pink…and wondered if they had any peaches on board…and…and…

It was hard to think when his entire focus was centered on the pads of her fingers underneath his t-shirt. Goosebumps followed the trail of her fingertips up the length of his chest. He gasped and shuddered as she paused over his sensitive nipples. Before he had the good sense to stop her, she raked her nails back down his chest. She dropped down on her knees, her hands gripping his hips to steady her descent.

“Rose,” he rasped. It was very, very obvious where this was going. “Don’t…”

Don’t do it. Don’t stop.

He could feel her breath on his thighs.

“Doctor,” she whispered--no pleaded.

That one word--those two little syllables that made up his name--rocked him to his core. He reached for her…to push her away for both of their sakes, to keep her rooted right there in front of him. His hands landed on her head, and instinct had him curling his fingers into her blond hair. And when one of her hands--the one on his left hip, her right hand--slid across his skin to hold him, her fingers tenderly wrapping themselves around the base of his cock, he tugged her closer until he could feel the wetness of her breath hot against the tip.

He stops thinking about what parts he needs to fix the TARDIS and where they should go next. He stops thinking about where he left that book he started reading back in his fifth regeneration that he never finished. He stops thinking about the darkness he feels creeping up on them and the oncoming storm that will probably, most likely, be unleash when that darkness overtakes them. There’s no big, bad wolf scattering pieces of herself through time and space trying to get back to him and leaving traces behind for him to find much later after it’s all over. There’s no time--no forwards or backwards. It’s only the two of them and the TARDIS, and all he can see, feel, taste is Rose Tyler. It’s all he’s ever needed or wanted: just him and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS.

And then, she closes that short--oh, so short!--distance between her mouth and his head and sucks him between her lips. Her tongue swirls around it a few times before taking him deeper. Her hand squeezes him gently, and so his fingers mimics hers and pulls at the blond strands beneath them.

“Rose,” he tries to say but it comes out as a half moan, half groan and he’s just staring down at her, watching her take more and more of him inside her mouth. He makes another noise as her hand at the base of his cock twist up and back down. Her mouth reverses, dragging her lips back up and stops briefly at the tip. And she repeats herself. Up and down, twist and pull--and his body can’t help but respond to her wetness and heat and the delicious friction she’s creating with her mouth and hand.

The Doctor could feel the shifting of time around him as his orgasm was fast approaching. A few more strokes and he would come…except, the warmth and wetness was gone. And his eyes that he hadn’t realized he had shut opened. He jerked again as the TARDIS rocked in the time vortex. He frowned as he glanced around. He was in the kitchen with his cocoa mess all around him and a slightly warm cup of cocoa in front of him at the small table.

“Impossible,” he muttered. He rubbed at the slight crease on his cheek where it had rested against the fabric of his suit jacket on top of the wooden table. “Impossible,” he repeated. Falling asleep at a table was something the Doctor did not do.

“Doctor?”

He nearly fell out of his chair as he turned to see his companion standing in the doorway. She was smirking against the frame.

“What have you done?” she asked. “It looks like a bomb went off in here.”

“Rose…” She quirked an eyebrow as he lost his words. That small twist jumpstarted his mind and body, and he was out of the chair and speaking once again. “Rose. Sorry about the mess…I had trouble locating the necessary ingredients. It’s been some time since I cooked anything in this kitchen. Ah! I remember now! Sixth library, sofa by the corner window. Could you clean this up? I have a book to finish.”

Rose made a choked noise at his departure, but he refused to stop his mad rush from the room. The book could have waited, but he couldn’t risk staying in that room another moment with her. His thoughts had been too dangerous and his body had been rebelling against his careful control around the blond human. He needed a distraction. A nice little mostly-safe adventure would be the perfect solution to his traitorous mind. He’ll plot their next destination as soon as he retrieved his forgotten book.

Descending Darkness

sasusc — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 05:37:36 GMT

Title: Descending Darkness
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters: 10th Doctor, Rose Tyler
Words: 347
Summary: A little scene from one of my favorite WIP which is sort of an episode tag for "Doomsday" and so fits into Series 4 theme about alternate realities being created around Donna. It was inspired by Stargate SG-1's episode "Gamekeeper" where they are stuck reliving a painful memory to get the "chance" to change it.
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Eleven

He was angry this time, and all the pent of anger and hurt he hid from her was bursting to be let out. And he didn’t care if she saw the rage he tried to keep hidden from his companions. It would be erased when the cycle restarts.

“You don’t realize how angry I get with you sometimes!” he shouted at her.

Rose flinched away from him. He had grabbed her moments ago, pulling her roughly behind him and into the TARDIS. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she was scared of this Doctor.

“Doc--”

He gave into his desire to shake her. “I had to keep reminding myself that you’re nothing but a stupid human. Stupid, stupid, stupid little human being with your fragile body. And as humans go, you’re just as typical as anyone with only lust on your mind. All those stupid boy toys you threw in my face--because you didn’t think I danced!--well, it just proved how stupid you are!”

Rose backed away from him. “I didn’t--I wasn’t throwing--”

He spun away from her, slapping the wall nearest to him. It hurt, but it didn’t hurt as much as she had hurt him years ago. “Oh, I can dance,” he said quietly. “I dance pretty well. You didn’t want to let me in, did you? Not as I was when we first met. You waited until the end…waited until my body was designed especially for you. And even then, you didn’t want me. Not at first. Oh, no! Rose Tyler from the Powell Estates wasn’t even happy with that--”

Rose slapped him. He might have deserved that, but he always deserved to show his anger and the pain this one little girl had inflicted on him. He stared at her coldly as the slow realization of what she had just done flowed onto her face.

“Doct--”

“Rose Tyler,” he interrupted her. “Your very existence hurts me… The mention of your name fills me with both hope and dread. The knowledge of you haunts me still.

Yellow Butterfly

sasusc — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 04:47:27 GMT

Title: Yellow Butterfly
Author: Sasusc
Original Work
Words: 259
Summary: Inspired by a yellow butterfly on my balcony in May 2012.
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Ten

AN: Yes, another cheat for my drabble series...but at least I'm finishing thoughts and plots I wrote awhile ago. **sighs** Two jobs and dealing with a stupid cough that won't go away doesn't give me much time to do anything...and today, I was a little high on cough syrup and a little out of it to think of much to write today.

She’s standing there, staring at the far off city and watching the little dots of people move around. The wind whipped around her, pulling at her hair and clothing. And still, she stood there, still as a statue and unmoved from the sight around her. She couldn’t see the colors in front of her, the vibrant hues of the emerald grass beneath her feet and the azure skies dotted with puffs of white clouds.

There was no point in the colors…not when her heart was shattering around her. There was no need to feel the warm sunshine on her face nor the soft caress of the wind. As she stared at the city, she felt there was no need to feel anything.

A movement caught her eye, and her eyes moved to follow it. A tiny, yellow butterfly was fluttering from plant to plant, landing briefly on a spot before moving to the next. The girl kept tracked of its movement, noticing its pale yellow wings. It was beautiful. It had no need to paint itself in shades of brighter colors. It had no need to stay in one place.

A smile curled her lips, and the girl took a step forward. Then another. Three steps. Five steps. Eight steps before she spun on her heels and flung her arms out. She couldn’t help the smile from spreading across her face--letting it smooth over the numbness it had felt moments before. A giggle bubbled up her throat and escaped her lips and rang like music upon the air.

Prove It

sasusc — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 05:15:27 GMT

Title: Prove It
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Firefly
Characters: Jayne, River
Words: 1918
Summary: Set after BDM. Jayne must prove he's married to River while on a job.
Series: 365 Days of Drabble, Day Nine

Jayne wasn't sure when the tables got turn. One minute River was charming the mark and the next the man had a gun pointed at them. River should have known this was going to happen. She was the gorram mind reading genius. She should have warned them that the job was going south.

He cursed as the man waved the gun in the air gesturing for him to get closer to River.

"You two don't act like a marry couple."

"Newlyweds," Jayne commented with a shrug.

"Still don't act like you're a couple."

"She's mad at me for not buying her a pretty babble. You know how women get." Jayne still wasn't sure why Mal thought it would be a good idea to tell the mark that he and crazy was married. He was sure the man still would have done business with them and easily hand over all his money when the time came. He never heard of someone only dealing with married couples. What made marriage so special that the man would only work with those that were married?

The man frowned, but kept his gun steady. "I told them I only work with married couples. Are ya lying to me about that?"

Jayne shook his head. "Ain't lying. Me and the girl's been married for a few months now. Why'd you only work with married folk?"

"The husband's less likely to run off with all the money if I got the wife with me. I found me a man who ran and left his woman behind once. He figured he could come back later for her. Big mistake. I ain't bluffing when I say I'll kill her if you don't come back to give me my proper payment."

River tilted her head as she studied the man in front of her. "I believe you. No lying. Jayne loves River. He'll prove he's married to me." She smiled brightly at him

He nodded. "Yes, prove to me you're married to her. Kiss her."

"All I have to do is kiss her and it'll prove to you we're really marry?" Jayne wanted to laugh. It was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard. How was a kiss supposed to prove they were married? Lots of folk kiss without being married. This wouldn't be that hard. Admittedly, he hadn't kissed a girl in a while but that shouldn't be a problem.

He pulled River into his arms and leaned down to kiss her passionately. If a kiss was all the proof the man needed to continue to work with them, then he was determined to put his all into this kiss. He kept her body flushed against his as he moved his hands to her hips. He closed his eyes.

Surprisingly, he found he liked kissing her. It made him think all kinds of things. It would be fun to kiss her again without anyone else watching. Would another kiss be like this one? Would it have the same warm, happy feeling he was feeling now? Would she allow him to kiss her whenever he wanted? He hoped so. He was already planning to steal a kiss when they got back to Serenity.

He opened his eyes and stared down into River's dark ones. He smirked at the daze look in her eyes. Oh yeah, he thought, she felt it too.

River blinked before turning her head to look at the man still pointing a gun at them.

"Didn't prove anything, but you're not married," he said frowning. "I guess I just have to kill ya both for lying."

"What?" Jayne felt his mouth drop. "That was one of the best gorram kiss I ever had. It's proof enough," he declared.

"The little lady there didn't like your kisses." He waved his gun towards River. "She didn't even react to it."

Jayne frowned as he looked down at the girl in his arms. He was almost positive that the dazed look in her eyes was due to his kiss, and not that it bored her. And now that he thought about it, she hadn't kissed him back. He shook her slightly.

"River, girl?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell this nice man that you enjoy my kiss."

"Oh?" She kept her glaze straight in front of her on his chest. Very quietly she said, "You call that a kiss?"

Jayne growled. "I'll show you a kiss, and you better like it!"

This time he crushed her body to his as he slanted his mouth across hers. He was determined to make her react to his kiss. He ran his hands down her body slowly. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to respond. Her lips opened underneath his and he quickly used the opportunity to sweep his tongue inside to taste her. He couldn't remember any other girl tasting so sweet. It was likely that whores didn't taste like innocent killer girls and especially like ones that were digging their claws into his biceps. Maybe he shouldn't be thinking about whores while kissing side killer girl that could read his gorram brain, but what else should he be thinking about when the kiss and the taste of her made his pants tight and reminded him he was due for a stop at the nearest whorehouse?

Jayne almost reared back and punched the girl when she bit down on his tongue. "You bit me!" he shouted.

She nodded. Very eerie-like, the girl twisted her head to stare at the mark. "Won't prove nothing, ain't that right?" she said quietly. "Should have practiced kissing first."

"That's right!" the man shouted. "I've seen a whole lot of kissing, and that right there was a first kiss." He pointed his gun at Jayne. "Bunch of liars you are."

Jayne started to reach for his gun, but realized that the man was a little to jumpy and a little too close to them for him to get the upper hand. He moved his hands into the air all peaceful-like and waited for the best chance to jump the guy.

River tsked at both of them. "Saw a big man and a little girl and assumed wrong."

"What?"

Jayne gave her a sideways glance, wondering what she was going on about now. If she was going to do crazy, maybe it'll gave him the chance to knock the man out. He just had to wait a bit more for him to be distracted with her crazy speech.

"Big man waiting for the chance to knock you out."

"Girl!" he started.

The man became more focus on Jayne's movements, noticing the deadly way he was holding himself in preparation for an attack. He smiled at the angry face he was giving the girl for mentioning that.

"Thanks, sweetie."

"Not done," she quipped. "The girl is more deadly."

River broke the man's left leg and his right wrist and had him on the ground with his own gun shoved under his chin before realized that she had moved. She straddled his chest, her body arched over his to rest her forehead against his own. She smiled into his pain filled eyes.

"Should have believed the lies," she sang.

Jayne cursed in the background. He pulled his earpiece out and shouted for Simon to come down to control his sister. He stepped closer to River with the intention of dragging her off of her victim.

River flipped off of him and whirled to face Jayne.

"Girl-"

"Girl has a name!"

His eyes narrowed. "River," he started again.

She sprang at him. They tumbled to ground in a pile of dust and bones. She raked her fingernails down the side of his neck beneath is ear to collarbone. Jayne hissed in pain as she drew blood.

"Crazy hellcat!" He thrust his hips forward to unbalanced River and rolled over on top of her. He grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head. "Why'd ya go and do that for?"

She quickly bit the top of his neck, biting hard enough to bruise. Jayne jerked his head back and safely out of her reach.

"Gorram feng le girl! Stop biting me! I ain't food."

"I ain't a doxy!"

"Never said you was."

River nodded and relaxed underneath him. "Don't like sharin'."

Jayne wasn't sure where her conversation was going, and once he thought that, he knew it didn't matter much anyways. Girl liked to talk and most of the stuff she said didn't make much sense. Why would having her pinned underneath him change that fact?

"Don't like sharin' much either," he agreed with her. "Look it, we have a job ta finish…"

She smiled at him. "So we agree?"

"Yeah, sure, girl. We agree. If I let'cha up, will ya stop attackin' me?"

"On the moon," she whispered.

Jayne eyed her warily. Did she just swear on the moon that she wouldn't attack him anymore? Well, he shrugged, swearing was swearing and he was going to hold her to it. "Shiny!" he said with false gratitude.

River nodded. She didn't mind that Jayne didn't help her up. It was who he was and he wasn't about to change any time soon. She wasn't sure if she expressed herself clearly to him, and the simple reading she was doing didn't help her much with deciphering what all was going on inside his head. Jayne didn't dwell much on what was said. He stored or deleted things and filed away thoughts until they were needed. It made it somewhat peaceful to be around when she wanted time to think. Very rarely did his thought intrude upon hers.

She left him to deal with the man on the ground while she found a rock to sit on to wait for the rest of the crew to show up. She knew there would be some yelling about what she had done, but it wasn't that upcoming argument that she was thinking about. No, she was thinking about the one Simon and Mal would have trouble understanding-the one about her and Jayne. Whether Jayne understood their conversation or not, he had agreed. She wasn't going to be just another girl he could sex-he had agreed she wasn't like the girls at the whorehouses he liked to stop at. And she wasn't going to share him with anyone else so he better realized that a bunch of people could get hurt if he thought he could escape that promise. She giggled as she knew the last promise they made-well, at least the promised she made to him-wasn't exactly what he thought. She hadn't swore on the moon they were on…she only promised not to attack him again while they were on the moon. She could wait until they were back on Serenity to attack him. Jayne was a little rough around the edges and she knew a little rough seducing was what it would take for him to forget that she was the captain's lil albatross, the Doc's sister, and killer woman who could take out a bunch of Reavers on her own.

Jayne felt a shiver rolled up his back at River's laughter. He decided that he would ignore her the rest of the trip with hopes that whatever creepy thoughts she had hidden up in that genius mind of hers she would forget as soon as he stopped responding to her. And any uneasiness he felt was all but forgotten when the crew of Serenity rolled up.

Just to Rest

sasusc — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:08:18 GMT

Title: Just to Rest
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Doctor Who
Character: Eleven, Rose
Words: 661
Summary: Bone-weary and tired, the Doctor takes a time out.
Series: 365 Days of Drabble, Day Eight

Weary of the world…of the choices hidden behind every consequences…of the deeply ingrain sense of fix events…of balancing and tipping the scales…the Doctor closed his eyes as he rested on a park bench. He was glad his companions had chosen to leave him alone as they went off to explore this luxury world. He shrugged off the pretense that he was fine. There was too much…everything following him.

He felt slender hands cover his eyes, and the woman tried to disguise her voice as she spoke. “Guess who!”

He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent: innocence, a hint of bubblegum and cotton candy, hope and new beginnings, sunshine, and the overwhelming smell of shifting timelines.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he told her.

She slid her hands off of his eyes and combed her fingers through his hair. He kept his eyes closed and savored the comfort she was giving him. It had seemed like a lifetime ago since he allowed himself to lean on someone else. She played with his hair for a few more minutes before tracing his neck down to his shoulders.

“What must I do to ensure your health, Doctor?” she whispered into his ear.

“This,” he moaned as she loosened the tight muscles. He could feel the worry, the doubts slipping away under her skillful fingers.

“Or maybe this?” She slid into his lap, reaching to adjust his bowtie, before pressing a kiss on his forehead.

He sighed. “Why are you here?”

He could hear the smile in her voice. “As a doctor takes care of everyone else, there must be someone to take care of the Doctor.”

“And you just nominated yourself for that position?”

“I can see no one better than the Bad Wolf.”

He opened his eyes at that statement. The creature before him was all golden and smiles--a reminder of yesteryears and mistakes and the beginnings of love. She was a fearful vision from his past…an awe-inspiring beauty with hints of time flowing around her. She was an impossible being sitting in his lap, this Bad Wolf contained in the body of a young Rose Tyler. He tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, leaving his hand cupping her face.

“Oh, Rose,” he said softly. “Always looking out for me.”

She smiled. “You’re my Doctor…who else should be looking out for you?”

“Your time for looking out for me is long gone.”

She placed her forehead against his. “My time is now, wherever I may be. And I exist everywhere and nowhere.”

“That you do,” he agreed. He could feel her pulsing with time, the tiny fluctuations like a beating heart against his own. “And I think it’s time for you to leave me once again.”

She smiled sadly at him. “You’re forever sending me away as if you have forgotten that I will always find my way back to you.” She smoothed his hair away from his face. “You’re companions will be okay. They won’t come out of this for the better, but neither will they come out of this for the worst. Don’t dwell too much on it. Trust in yourself.”

He watched her fade from his eyes, traveling the vortex in a manner that made his whole body ache with the wrongness of it. Her visit both hurt and helped him. She reminded him that not all things were under his control…her very being exposed that belief. He could only do what he could to protect others, as he knew they would do whatever it takes to protect those that they loved.

He stood and stretched his muscles. He felt like he had been sitting on that bench for too long. The Doctor smiled. There was sure to be an adventure on this world for him, and he was going to find it…a shout and a child running past him… Well, when did an adventure ever not find him? He took off running, grinning all the while.

The Oncoming Storm

sasusc — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:54:41 GMT

Title: The Oncoming Storm
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Merlin, Morgana
Words: 498
Summary: It’s the dawn of a new age, and Merlin has been waiting hundreds of years for Arthur’s return and it’s now it’s finally time for him to awaken.
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Seven

Merlin could feel it. A shift in the air at twilight assured him that the time was approaching. Long forgotten memories were being stirred in the sleeping minds of children, and while he was elated for the change, he also feared it. It could only mean one thing: something fearsome and dangerous was approaching them--a dark power was creeping upon the Earth. He wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again. Arthur was returning and he vowed to keep him alive and safe this time.
It was Morgana that he found first. She looked exactly had she had back then, and it gave him hope that Arthur would return in the same body. The flicker of magic he felt from her drew him to the park early that morning. It must have been her that caused the shift he felt at twilight.
Morgana was sitting on a park bench, the stench of fear surrounding her. He approached her slowly, letting her sense him in hopes that he wouldn’t startle her. She watched him warily.
“Good morning,” he said. “Beautiful morning.”
“Is it?”
He smiled at her. He could see the spark of the old Morgana in her. He hoped all the hatred she had died with hadn’t followed her to this new life. And maybe--just maybe--this time he could save her.
“Mind if I sit down?”
She shook her head slowly and shifted to give him a little more room on the bench.
“I’m Merlin,” he told her.
She graced him with a thin smile. “I’m Morgana.” She turned away from him.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each getting lost in their own thoughts. Something prompted her to open up to the stranger. There was something familiar and old about him. She felt an odd connection as if there was something inside her reaching out to him.
“Do you believe in reincarnation?”
Maybe it wasn’t the usual question someone would ask upon meeting someone, but Merlin felt that it was fitting for their first meeting. “I do. In fact, I’ve been waiting to meet a person that I loved in another life.”
“Oh.”
Merlin laughed. “Oh, not in that way. He was someone that was important to me once upon a time. We were best of friends.”
She smiled at that. “Do you ever have dreams about your past life?”
“All the time,” he whispered. He knew what she would say next. Her memories were haunting her dreams--and with the life she had lived, he was sure they were unpleasant.
“They keep me awake, fill me with fear.”
Merlin reached for her hand. “There’s nothing to fear, Morgana. That is no longer your life. You were born to this one. You shouldn’t let your past life affect this one.”
“You’re letting yours affect you…searching for your lost friend.”
“My situation is a little different than yours. While your past life comes to you in snatches within dreams, I’ve never forgotten mine.”

AN: As this is part of my 365 Days of Drabbles, whole chapters won't be posted as such. They will be broken down into smaller sections here on my LJ where on ff.net and AO3 will have full chapters posted. This is because it's easier to keep me on track with writing something everyday if I have to post it somewhere each day.

Of Cures and Consequences Part Three

sasusc — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 05:17:04 GMT

Title: Of Cures and Consequences
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Arthur, Merlin
Words: 1072
Summary: Merlin uses his magic to cure the sick. Set before Season 4 (Part 3/?)
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Six

Part One Part Two

Princes and Warlocks, they discovered together, sometimes have troubled revealing things to each other. Mainly that was because this particular prince never had any chances to reveal anything to a warlock-at least that is what he thought. The warlock, on the other hand, had many opportunities to reveal his secrets to the prince but time and fear and heartache swelled larger in his heart and held captive the words. The warlock was right to fear revealing his secrets no matter when he chose to do so…for if he chose the beginning, their friendship would never have been born and they both would have died long ago, but because time gave them the chance to care for each other, revealing the secrets could only bring them heartache and betrayal.

Four days passed since Merlin had briefly woken up. Gaius assured his prince that Merlin was on the mend. There were no signs of sickness and time would tell if the sorcerer had affected Merlin's health for the worst. Arthur was resting in a chair next to Merlin's bed with his feet propped up and his arms folded across his chest.

The sorcerer had eluded them. There was no traces of how or where or even why the sorcerer breached Camelot's walls. It was as if there hadn't been a sorcerer at all. After all this time he found himself doubting what he saw. Maybe it had all been a figment of his imagination…a dream that felt too real. His father was thinking it was so.

"How long have you been there?" Merlin whispered, his voice cracking with misused.

"Merlin!" His legs crashed to the floor as he leaned forward. "You're awake!"

He licked his dry lips. "What's going on?"

"You've been sick. Guinevere's been very worried. As well as Gaius."

Merlin smiled. That was Arthur's code for: I've been worried. He shifted in bed and propped himself up against the headboard. "I feel fine. Better than ever… My throat's a little dry."

Arthur glanced guiltily towards the night stand. "Guinevere has been keeping a glass of water nearby in case you woke up."

"That's great."

"But I figured you didn't need it. And I was thirsty. I should… I should probably go get Gaius."

"Wait," Merlin spoke. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Ten days." Arthur was hesitating to mention it, but he figured someone probably would say something. "Four days ago…you were…possessed by a sorcerer."

Merlin frowned. "What?"

Arthur ran a hand through his hair. "He took over your body and spoke some nonsense."

"What did I-he say?"

The stood up and waved his hand. "It was nothing, Merlin."

Merlin didn't think so, but he held his tongue as the prince left him alone. When he asked Gaius about the event a little bit later, he was told that they hadn't found any evidence to suggest a sorcerer had entered the castle. Uther had even started to question whether Arthur actually saw what he claimed to have witness.

"Do you… Do you think it was me? That I woke up delusional with magic?"

Gaius shook his head. "I don't know, my boy. Get some rest."

* * * * *

Arthur, once again, found himself wondering into Merlin's room late at night. He was starting to see the benefits of Merlin moving into the servant chambers. His manservant would be ready to assist him whenever he wanted. He wouldn't even have to send for Merlin when he couldn't find his hair comb; Merlin would be within shouting distances.

"Arthur," Merlin greeted. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm bored," he admitted. He decided against asking how he was feeling. Clearly Merlin was looking better…and he was awake. "Anything new?" He plopped down on the vacant chair near the bed.

Merlin chucked. "Anything new within the…what? Two, three hours we were apart?"

Arthur gave him a glare.

"Well, after you left Gaius checked me over and declared me healthy. Gwen came by with some flowers. Very lovely flowers, by the way. Gwaine popped by along with Percival and Elyan. They all seemed very relieved to see me awake and healthy looking. And then you showed up."

Silence filled the room. Merlin stared at Arthur, and Arthur stared back and Merlin. Neither said anything for a few minutes. The prince spoke first.

"Do you remember waking up…you know…earlier?"

Merlin shook his head.

Arthur sighed. "I don't know why anyone would want to possess you. Do you?"

"I'm the closest to you, Arthur. Possessing my body would get them to you." He felt compelled to add, "Although that wouldn't be only reason."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If they were powerful enough to take over my body and knew enough of magic-which I should say they would to be able to do that-then they would have unlimited power. I'll try not to boast, sire, but by all accounts I'm uniquely special." Merlin's hands flew to his mouth.

Arthur blinked at him. "What?"

His manservant shook his head franticly keeping his hands over his traitorous mouth.

"If they were powerful enough to take over your body?"

Merlin tried to choke back the words but they still slipped past his lips. "I'm a great warlock, destined to be one of the greatest."

They stared at each other in shock silence.

"I don't know why I just said that…"

"Are you joking with me, Merlin?"

"No."

"Do you think me stupid?"

"I wonder sometimes about that. Only a stupid man would think he could battle all sorts of magical creatures without the aid of magic." Merlin bit his lips. "Sorry, I don't know why I just said that… It's like I can't help myself."

"You're a sorcerer?"

"I prefer warlock. I really don't know I said that."

Arthur stood up. He needed to call the guards to restrain Merlin and collect Gaius. Gaius should be able to tell them exactly what was going on. "You were possessed by a sorcerer while you were sick. I believe you are still under his influence."

"I don't think so," Merlin was quick to comment. "From what I heard from Gaius, it doesn't sound like it."

Arthur nodded. "And you would know this because…?"

"I've done magic before when I was unconscious." Merlin chuckled as something clicked in his brain. "Oh, that's just lovely!"

"What is?"

Merlin tried to resist but by now he knew it was futile. "Answering all your questions."

Of Cures and Consequences Part Two

sasusc — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 07:07:55 GMT

Title: Of Cures and Consequences
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Arthur, Merlin
Words: 1158
Summary: Merlin uses his magic to cure the sick. Set before Season 4 (Part 2/3)
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Five

Part One

Magic and consequences, Arthur soon discovered, could do many a great things both big and small and that he had no control over either. Frustrating as it was, he understood that there was some things that were out of his hands. As the prince and future king he was made aware of this fact early on. He couldn't control magic users from attacking his kingdom nor could he control the results of those attacks. All he could do was serve and protect all those that needed it.

So when Gaius had informed him that Merlin had succumbed to the sickness that had held Camelot for the last three months or so it had come as a shock for it seemed quite recently that Merlin had told him in a voice too full of smugness that he was immune to the sickness. He had inquired if he should be worry about finding a new manservant, and Merlin in all his smugness had the indecency to say that he thought it was sweet that his prince was worried about his health...as if that was the case. No, he had been more concerned about whether he needed to put in the effort to train a new servant when he knew there was more important things he had to do…like ensure the health of his cooking staff and finding out if the cook had recovered enough to return to work. Merlin had laughed at him when he mentioned that and, of course, had to make another comment about his perfectly healthy weight-which was not fat!

And he had not panicked when Merlin had swoon quite dramatically at his feet and shouted for the guards to bring Gaius to his chambers no matter what Guinevere might have said later to Merlin. Gaius had checked over Merlin, clucking like an old hen when he merely told Arthur that Merlin must have exhausted himself taking care of the sick.

Arthur was forced to believe the old physician the first day. Towards the end of the second day when Merlin refused to wake up, Arthur discovered a few red spots dotting Merlin's too pale skin. He had set Merlin in the servant's room connecting to his own bedroom-the room that Merlin should have moved into long ago except somehow Merlin had wrangled him into agreeing that staying with Gaius was the best for all of them-and so it was as he was undressing himself (and doing a great job all on his own) that he thought he might have heard a noise coming from Merlin's room. Really, that was his only reason for entering Merlin's room and nothing more. Gaius confirmed the spots were similar to the others and shoved a few potions down his apprentice's throat. The third day, Merlin was spot-free but he was burning with a fever. That, he knew, was not part of the usual symptoms of the sickness. Gaius and Guinevere spent the next two days trying to keep his manservant cool. On the fifth day Guinevere came to him with a smile filled with relief and happiness. Merlin's fever broke. He had smiled at her and went to double check that Merlin's fever had, in fact, actually broken.

The sixth day changed his view of the world-or more importantly, his view on his most trusted servant (and his best friend to which he would only admit to on his deathbed…or Merlin's). He had found himself wondering into Merlin's room that night once again. If asked, he would once again claim that he heard some kind of noise within the room and felt duty-bound to check. After all, he wasn't about to let any harm come to Merlin while he was helpless.

He did not let out a girly scream when he found Merlin sitting straight up in bed. Princes never let out girly screams at anything.

"Merlin!" he exclaimed.

Merlin slowly turned his head and stared blindly at him. His eyes were burning gold. Arthur's first thought was that Merlin was under an enchantment. The soft words slipping between his friend's lips were in the language he had only heard sorcerers speak. His second thought was wondering why a sorcerer would even attempt to enchant Merlin. His third and fourth thoughts were spent trying to figure out how a sorcerer was able to breach the castle. And his fifth thought briefly pondered if Merlin would be well enough in a couple days to take a much needed hunting trip. Thought six reminded him that for Merlin to become un-enchanted and able to go on a hunting trip, Arthur needed to defeat the sorcerer first.

He ran back to his room, grabbed up his sword, and came back to Merlin ready to slay the sorcerer enchanting Merlin. This time Merlin was standing beside the window.

"Merlin," he whispered harshly.

"Arthur," Merlin commanded in a voice that was both familiar and strange. Merlin turned smartly on his heel in a move that Arthur couldn't help but admire. He locked his arms neatly behind his back and took a step closer. "Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King. How fare ye?"

"Merlin?"

"My lord," he said bowing. A flash of golden eyes and the candles in the room lit themselves. "As young as you ever looked, sire, but you still have some growing up to do."

Arthur frowned and tightened his hands around his sword. "What have you done with my manservant?"

The Merlin impostor laughed. "It's been ages since I've heard you call me that. And I do mean ages." He smirked. "I haven't much time here, and as it is, I have too much time to spare."

That didn't make much sense to him and he admitted much to him.

"Ah, yes. Well, you always hated when I talk in riddles but I'm so fond of them. I so enjoy your looks of confusion." He erupted into a coughing fit and ruined the whole wise image he was portraying. "Times ending. I only came as I felt myself in distress, but I feel like I should impart some kind of wisdom down to you Young Pendragon." He cleared his throat, stood up straighter, and puffed out his chest. "Beware of the pebble in your path for even the smallest stone can bring a prince to his knees."

"What does that mean?"

"That you should trend carefully where you walk, sire. We shall meet again and again and nevermore."

Merlin's body let out a gasped as he dropped to the floor. Arthur ran to him, finding him once again unconscious in his arms. It was becoming a bad habit of Merlin's. He shouted for the guards and had them search the castle for the intruder. There were consequences to using magic, and Arthur intended to be the one dealing them out to this sorcerer. Whoever this sorcerer was, they had targeted the Prince's manservant and they would pay.

Of Cures and Consequences

sasusc — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 06:48:16 GMT

Title: Of Cures and Consequences
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Merlin, Gaius, Arthur
Words: 1219
Summary: Merlin uses his magic to cure the sick. Set before Season 4 (Part 1/2)
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Four

Magic and choices, Merlin discovered, could do a many of great things big and small but there was always a price whether it he noticed it or not. As a child he hadn't known about the consequences and probably couldn't fully understand what it meant. As an adult he could weigh those consequences more carefully and try his utmost best to comprehend the consequences of using his magic or the choices he made.

He couldn't deny that he hadn't known about the consequences, or that the choices he made would lead him down this path. He had weighed those as best as he could at the start and knew the outcome by far outweighed the consequences.

It had started off innocently enough. He just wanted to help. Gaius and Arthur were both worried and at their limits with their helpfulness. They couldn't do or give any more to the people. The sickness had infected too many too fast. It had swept through Camelot in the matter of weeks.

Gaius had informed him that it was impossible for magic to be behind this sickness-that there was no magical cure to find for those infected. Merlin went along with it in the beginning, believing Gaius was wiser and would have known for sure if magic was involved. As Gaius was exhausting himself with helping patient after patient and being able to do nothing to help them, Merlin started to observe the sickness around him. Arthur had already released him from his duty at his side so that he could be more of a help to the old physician.

He easily picked up the pattern of the sickness. Gaius had reached the same conclusion as he did except it took him slightly longer. Merlin couldn't fault him for that. He had been busy trying to figure out the best concoction to alleviate his patients' symptoms. It didn't help that different age groups responded differently to his mixtures… A potion that helped a child would cause an adult to worsen.

Gaius had sent him alone to a home to hand out his newest batch of potions. They family consisted of a father, a mother, and their two sons ages eight and five. They were in various stages of the sickness in what Gaius and several other healers had described as phrases one and two. The children were luckily still in phrase one which meant they had a cough and a few red spots. The parents were in phrase two which meant they had a cough, a sore throat, lots of itchy red spots, and were well on their way to not eating. And it was there as he was taking care of them that he could no longer deny the traces of magic that he felt.

He wasn't sure what he did, but he closed his eyes briefly and felt a shift in the air as his magic pushed. It took a few minutes to adjust to his new vision. There were small traces of colors swirling around the family-yellow around the children and blue around the adults. Magic. He knew he was seeing magic. He had to briefly thank Uther for outlawing magic. It made it that much easier to see the magic in the sick. As he went house to house, he saw the magic swelling in the people. He caught a few harmless magical charms and items and a few times discovered someone with magic.

Merlin came upon the fifth person that could use magic when it dawn on him that not a single magic user was sick. The sickness was targeting those without magic. The realization had him running back to Gaius with his theory. Gaius was reluctant to believe him and told him that even if it was true, he could hardly tell that to the king.

Nothing in his magical book could help him figure out exactly what the sickness was nor how to cure it. Merlin took to experimenting…something Gaius had forbidden him to do. Within a week he discovered that he could draw out the magic in the patient. The first time he did this he saw the magic pour out of the patient then hovered around the person before falling back into him. His second attempt had the magic finding a different victim which almost killed its newest host. The magic had to be contained when he released it from a body or else it would find a new body to infect. He tried objects and crystals to shove the magic into. Crystals worked the best, but he didn't have access to many. Various objects proved to be useless. Most shattered or melted under the force of holding onto the magic. The patients who he had successfully transferred the magic sickness into crystals started to response rapidly to Gaius's potions and started to recover.

When he ran out of crystals to store the magic in, he did the only thing he could think to do. He drew the magic into himself. He knew he could contain the magic sickness in his body, trapping it in his own magic. At first his magic was able to extinguish the sickness, but with each new patient he saw and the more magic he took from them the harder it was to fight it. He didn't let Gaius know exactly what he was doing. He knew that Gaius would make him stop. But how could he? He was curing Camelot a little at a time. There was once or twice that he thought Gaius would ask but he would keep his mouth shut and continue working on his potions.

Two weeks into curing the people, Merlin's body started showing signs of physical strain. He found a spell to hide it from everyone. He had to renew the spell every day and every day it got harder and harder to maintain the lie. He nearly collapsed when he reached the last patient. Gaius was at his side and forced him to sit down, reminding him that he needed to take it easy.

"It's gone," he whispered. "All of it."

Gaius had nodded to that. He understood that Merlin had been doing something magical to help cure the people even if he didn't know exactly what he had done. If he had known, he would have forced Merlin to stop. No one could take in that much without some sort of harm…usually death. But he couldn't see past the spell Merlin had been using and thus hadn't realized the danger his young apprentice was in.

So when Gaius had informed the king that the sickness had ran its course and it was merely waiting for people to finish healing, Merlin was given a day to rest before returning to Arthur's side. He lasted two days before succumbed to the sickness.

He had just delivered Arthur his breakfast when he felt his mask slipping. Arthur looked up in alarm when Merlin started hissing in pain and had dropped down onto his knees.

"Merlin? Merlin!" he shouted as his friend toppled over.

"Art'r," he croaked out when Arthur reached his side. "Gaius. S'ry."

"What's wrong?"

Merlin panted on the floor. "Took it all. Need time to fight it," he mentioned to get out before falling unconscious into a healing slumber.

Wipe Your Eyes

sasusc — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:38:52 GMT

Title: Wipe Your Eyes
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Merlin, Arthur
Words: 487
Summary: Based off of Maroon 5's song "Wipe Your Eyes" (Slash). Arthur attempts to comfort Merlin.
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Three

Looking at Merlin was killing him. He did this to him. He was the one that had him withdrawing from the world around them. Maybe he hadn't taken the whole magic thing that well… Maybe he should have dealt with Merlin a little better… How was he supposed to know that Merlin would have gone off on his own and risk his life for him? For someone that had just banished him from their sight in a fit of unjust anger?

Now Merlin lay huddled on the thin bed with silent tears and dead eyes. His kneeling down in front of the man didn't even register with him. It was breaking his heart looking at his friend… No, not just a friend…a lover.

"Merlin," he whispered.

Merlin all but stopped breathing.

"I… I'm sorry, Merlin." His hand trembled as he reached up to Merlin. Arthur gently ran his thumb across his exposed cheek to wipe the tears away. "You have to breathe. It's going to be okay." He stretched forward and laid a kiss on his lover's forehead. "It's my fault. All of this. And I'm sorry that I didn't handle it well. I was hurt…angry that you hid things from me…that you didn't trust me with your secrets." He caressed Merlin's pale cheek, wiping more tears away. "I should never have sent you away. And you're an idiot to go off and face that sorcerer on your own."

There was a shift in Merlin as he slowly woke from his deaden state. Arthur noticed it and felt hope fill his heart.

"Merlin!"

Merlin's tears were no longer silent. Arthur dragged Merlin off of the bed and into his lap, wincing slightly has he landed hard on the wooden floor. He ran a hand through Merlin's dark hair while the other one rubbed at his back.

"I'm here, Merlin. I'm here." Arthur couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes. "I won't ever send you away again. I won't ever let you doubt how much I care for you."

Merlin clung to Arthur. Minutes, hours passed as the two held on to each other. He couldn't be sure how long they stayed like that. He had soaked Arthur's shirt with his tears. He pulled back slightly.

"Arthur…"

Arthur brought both of his hands up to cup Merlin's face. He searched Merlin's face for answers, not quite sure want he was looking for. Merlin's watery smile had him dragging Merlin's face to meet him for a desperate kiss.

"You're an ass, sometimes," Merlin commented softly.

"And you're an idiot…all the time."

"Prat."

Arthur pulled him tightly into his arms, burying his head into Merlin's neck. He knew there were more things they had to figure out…that there was much more they needed to do to fix their relationship but something told him that they would be okay; they could work through this and come out tougher for it.

Confessions

sasusc — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 05:29:58 GMT

Title: Confession
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Merlin
Word Count: 474
Characters: Gwen, Morgana
Summary: Where Morgana discovers Gwen's crush on Merlin. Set during Season 1
Series: 365 Days of Drabbles, Day Two

It had to be his smile. It was very affectionate and often infectious. It was hard not to smile back when he curved those lips at a person. Gwen was sure there must be more to it than that, but Merlin's smile was on the top of her list. There was also a playfulness to him that had many of people forget the weight and sorrows on their shoulders. Watching him interact with the world always made her view it differently...showed her the newness and wonder of the world they shared.

So when Lady Morgana had inquired if she liked the boy, Gwen couldn't stop the blush from staining her cheeks. "I-I-Well, of course I like him...Merlin is my friend. Who doesn't like him?"

Morgana smirked behind her hand as her friend became more flustered as the seconds ticked by.

"As a friend, I mean. He's so kind...always giving someone a helping hand. He even comes with me to pick flowers if I ask him. Not that I ask him to accompany me all the time. Just sometimes...especially when I know Gaius needs some herbs. It makes sense, doesn't it my lady, for us to go together."

Morgana nodded. "If you had to choose, Merlin or Arthur?"

"Oh!"

"Don't worry, Gwen. I won't tell. Just tell me."

Gwen bit her lip, undecided if she should say it. Morgana's honest and curious face had her loosening her lips. "Arthur..." It sounded treasonous to her own mind. "Prince Arthur...is handsome with his golden locks and with a body fit for any knight…or prince." She paused. "But it is Merlin that turns my head when they walk by," she confessed. "His smile, his bright blue eyes, and that mop of dark hair…"

"Sounds like you have a crush on him, Gwen."

She wanted to deny it, but the recent conversation wouldn't let her lie about it. "Maybe a little bit, my lady. But he doesn't have eyes for me. He barely sees me as anything other than a friend. I wonder sometimes if he even realizes that I'm a girl."

Her mistress patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, Gwen." An idea came upon her that practically had her jumping on her toes. "Come with me to my bedroom. You're such a pretty girl that it shouldn't take long to fix you up to get Merlin's attention."

"Oh no, my lady. We shouldn't. It really doesn't matter," she said quietly. "Merlin mentioned earlier today that Prince Arthur is planning a hunting trip and Merlin will be going along. They probably already left."

Morgana's excitement crashed. "That won't do. We shall wait until they get back, put you in a pretty dress, fix your hair, and see if Merlin takes notice of you. I bet he won't be able to deny that you're a girl after that."

Boredom Leads to Trouble

sasusc — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:34:50 GMT

Titled: Boredom Leads to Trouble
Author: Sasusc
Characters: Eliot, Parker
Timeline: Uncertain
Summary: Eliot finds a hurt Parker in his closet.

Also can be found at: ff.net or Archive of Our Own

Parker winced as the pain in her side intensified. She was a little too slow to dodge a bullet and it ended up hitting her left side. It was bleeding, but she knew it could have been much worst…it might not even need stitches. That wasn't the least of her injuries. She also sported a handful of bruises and scrapes from a fist fight and two-possibly three-cuts from a knife.

It was supposed to be a quick and easy job. Slip in, pick a lock, and leave…except she wasn't the only one getting paid to do so. Her temporary employer decided to insure the theft by hiring not one but two thieves to get the job done without telling either one. And once the surprised of seeing each other had passed, they realized quickly only one of them would be getting paid. Parker already had the package in her hands and tried to scramble back into the air vent she had entered through. Thief Number Two grabbed for her, catching her leg and pulling her out. Somewhere in the chaos of escaping, she took several blows and barely managed to kick the knife out of her assailant's hand. The bullet came as she found herself on the rooftop seconds from throwing herself over the side of the building.

A pissed Parker, still under the influence of an adrenaline rush and hadn't realized she had been shot, opened the package she had stolen. She hadn't really asked or cared to know exactly what she was being paid to steal. She had taken the job out of boredom while Nate was looking for their next job. After looking through the papers she had stolen, she wished she had done a little more research about who hired her. He was a bad man-very bad-and all indications pointed out the need to bring this matter to Nate's attention. The guy had personal information of foster kids of various ages along with names of some very bad people. There was one name on the list that stood out and he had been the final straw in her decision to leave the foster care at an early age.

She tucked the package away, and took off towards a safe location. But the name on the list had brought back memories and the bullet wound decided to make itself be known, and Parker's state of mind quickly retreated back to her formal scared self. She needed to find a safe haven. Irrationally, she thought of Eliot Spencer. He was the team's hitter, and part of his job was to protect all of them and take out the bad guys that wanted to physically harm them. Her pain induced mind could only think to locate his home. It was the only way for her to insure she would be safe.

And that was how two hours late, she found herself curled up and hiding in his bedroom closet. Filled with pain and confusion, Parker's mind supplied her with memories of keeping herself safe inside closets and other small spaces during her stint in foster care. She removed her harness and pulled her sticky shirt away from the bullet wound. She could hardly tell anything about it in the dark. It was still bleeding. Parker used one of Eliot's shirts to staunch the flow of blood.

Eliot knew something was off when he entered his home. His sixth sense never proved him wrong before. He was careful to remind quiet as he cleared each room. He was frustrated when he came up empty. No one was there, and nothing seemed out of placed-nothing was gone or added. He came back to his bedroom still trying to shake the feeling of something wrong when he discovered a tiny trail of blood. He followed it to his closet.

The hitter threw up the door with his gun aimed and ready to shoot his injured intruder. He blinked in shook at the sight of the blond thief curled up in a ball in the corner of his closet. There was a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead and a delusional gleam in her eyes.

"What the hell, Parker?" he yelled as he lowered his gun.

Parker flinched from him. "Please," she whispered. "Don't hurt me anymore."

Eliot had never seen that scared look on her face before. He crouched down to her level. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Eliot?" She wiggled slightly. "He shot me." She sighed as she sluggishly brought herself back from the memories of the past and into the present. She was safe here. Eliot would keep her safe

Eliot cursed. They slowly got Parker out of the closet, and he could finally see the full extent of her injuries. It wasn't as bad as he feared, but he still needed to get a look at her gunshot wound. The wad of cloth at her side was soaking up blood. He gentle pulled it away, noticing it was one of his shirts. He peeled her black shirt up and away.

"Just a grazed," he commented. "It's going to require a few stitches."

He pulled her to the bathroom and told her to take her shirt completely off. Her bare midriff revealed more bruising. There was nothing he could do about them, and besides, he was concerned with cleaning and patching up her side right now. He had her sitting on the sink to get better access to her wound.

"How did this happen?" he asked, trying to distracted her from the pain.

She winced at his care. "Side job went south. How dare he hire a second thief?"

"Why are you taking a side job?" He couldn't hide his anger from her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was bored. And it was supposed to be an easy job. Also," she said smirking, "it gave me the perfect opportunity to test my new harness."

"Parker…"

"It's perfectly safe. I designed it myself."

"You don't test a new harness on a job!"

Parker rolled her eyes but remained silent. This was an old argument, and one she knew that neither one would win. "We have to do something! I won't let him hurt anyone else."

"Did you get a good look at him? With Hardison, it won't take long to track him down."

"I can't forget his face," she whispered. "He haunts me…like a ghost." She shivered. "I haven't forgotten what he did."

Eliot frowned. He had a feeling they weren't talking about the same person anymore. "Who, Parker? What did he do?"

Parker blinked. "It doesn't matter. Not to me anyways. But it matters to those kids… They don't deserve that. No one does. We have to do something."

He prepared a needle and thread. "What kids? What are you talking about?"

"The package… I peaked at it. Foster kids…foster kids like me-their pictures, their histories. Kids people won't miss. And another list…a list of bad people-bad people who like to hurt kids." She glanced down at Eliot's head as he stitched up her wound. "You have great hair." She used her right hand to touch it.

He pulled a little tighter than he meant to. "Focus, Parker," he barked. "How do you know they are bad people?"

Her arm dropped to her side to grip the countertop. "Aren't we supposed to be focusing on the kids? We need to find them, make sure they are safe."

The hitter turned healer tied off the stitches and set his medical tools down. Parker was pale-paler than normal. Her silence, her evading his questions…they all spoke louder than words. They all knew the foster care hadn't been kind to her, and the girl she had been had suffered for her to become as unstable as she was now. He could only imagine the horror she might have seen-the scars that could never be healed. She must have recognized a name on the list from her past.

He growled in anger, wishing he could have protected a younger Parker.

"You get used to things: little angry taps, the wandering hands… But these guys? These guys do more than that. They take kids, use them, and once they are finished with them they never come back the same. Never, Eliot." In desperation, she reached for him. She clenched his shirt between her fists. "I was quick. I escaped. Most aren't as lucky as I am. We have to help them. Please…Eliot…"

He reached up and covered her hands with his own. "Parker, sweetheart, we'll get him. We'll make sure he never hurts another kid again. You got that?"

Parker nodded slowly. "Alright."

AN: When I first starting writing this, it was supposed to be a one-shot with some hurt/comfort with my favorite pairing (which as it is now, can be both shippy and non-shippy). But as I started to figure out what it was she was stealing and the reason for her getting hurt...well, I started to over think it and the results ended up with a way to continue this one-shot. As of right now, I have plans to continue this but for now I'm leaving this as complete until I can figure out all of the details.

AN2: Fixed a word. As for Eliot with a gun...well, I did hesitated about it. As for now, it's staying in there. I will probably fixed it when I get around to writing more. Thanks to everyone who read and/or review.

Cake and Blondes

sasusc — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:21:18 GMT

Title: Cake and Blondes
Author: Sasusc
Fandom: Harry Potter
Prompt: Cake
Word Count: 15310

Can be found here at ff.net or here at Archive of Our Own

Situated high on a beam in one of the numerous corridors in Hogwarts was a lone Ravenclaw. She swung her feet to a tune only she could hear as she studied the small round cake in her hands. It was sky pink and vanilla blue. Little beads of yellows, greens, purples dotted the top of the cake in a swirling pattern to the center where a red rose bloomed.

She had found it mysteriously dangling from the ceiling beam she was currently sitting on. It only took a few magical spells to get herself up there and get a hold of the cake. She couldn't help but to admire the beautiful piece of pastry art in her hands. Who would just leave it there?

The sudden snickering would have startled anyone else but her. She peered down at the blonde staring up at her.

"Hello, Draco."

"Did they finally start tossing you up there with your shoes, Loony Luna?"

She stared unblinkingly at him, thinking over his question. "Not yet. I don't believe they thought of that yet. I wonder…would my shoes arrive before me? They've traveled the path up for a few years now. One would think they would have found a shortcut already. I, on the other hand, haven't ever been toss up before. Well," she said, crocking her head to the side thoughtfully. "I'm sure my father has tossed me up in the air when I was only a small child. I can't be too sure. I was too young to hang on to those memories…if they did happen."

Draco folded his arms across his chest. She really was as loony as they all claimed her to be. "What are you doing up there?"

She held the cake out for him to get a better look at it. "I discovered this cake hanging up here. I wanted a closer look."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to charm it down to you?"

Luna tapped her chin. "Hmm, you might be right. But then I wouldn't have discovered all this up here. Would you like to join me?"

"Join you? Up there? Are you mental?"

She smiled. "Yes, here, and I'm quite mental. I am, after all, a Ravenclaw. We all are considered to be more mental than the other Houses…although I don't subscribe to that theory. Hermione Granger would have been placed in Ravenclaw if that was the case."

She set the cake on the little pink cake stand and picked up the silver knife. She carefully cut the cake in half and moved the slices to the matching plates.

"Come," she called down to him. "They were even kind enough to leave two glasses of butterbeers behind for us."

"You're crazy if you think I'm coming up there!"

"It's only the sensible thing to do. If they wanted us to eat this cake on the floor, then they would have placed all of this down there. No, I'm positive that whoever left this cake behind intended it to be eaten up here."

Luna fussed with the silverware and a napkin waiting for Draco Malfoy's response. Two minutes and seventeen seconds later, he had charmed himself across from her where she had set his half of the cake.

Draco stared at the cake doubtfully. "Do you even know who left all this here?"

"I haven't had the chance yet to find out that answer."

He watched as she picked up the fork and scooped up a small piece. "It could be poisoned…"

"Yes, that is a possibility. It is also a possibility that this is a trap-a very likely possibility." She brought the cake to her lips, pausing to breath in the sweet smell of the cake.

"A trap? Why do you think that?"

She pulled the cake away from her lips without tasting it and arched a blonde eyebrow at him. "Haven't you noticed?"

"Noticed what?" he growled glancing around and not noticing anything wrong. It made him uneasy that the girl found it and not him. And if it was a trap, how stupid was he to have fallen for it so easily?

Luna plopped the piece of cake into her mouth and chewed. It really was a yummy cake. It tasted of rainbows and strawberries with a dash of sunshine with blueberries. It was exactly what she thought a cake looking like that would taste like.

"You're sitting on a sticky charm…or a variant of it. I haven't been able to reverse it."

Draco attempted to move but found his lower half stuck in place. His legs were free to move, but he wasn't able to get up from his makeshift chair on the beam. He cursed silently and then loudly to gain a reaction from the Ravenclaw in front of him. Of course she didn't react.

"Why didn't you warn me?"

She shrugged her shoulders and took another bite. "You didn't ask."

"Didn't ask?" he repeated. "Who would ask if they were walking into a trap?"

She shrugged again. "Some might. You should eat the cake. It's quite delicious."

"It's probably poisoned!"

"It doesn't taste poisoned."

He glared at her. She remained staring at him, not even blinking in that unsettling way he had never been the recipient of before today.

"I have a theory," she sprouted suddenly. "We might find the answers we are looking for if we finished the cake and drinks they offered us. It would be rude not too."

Luna finished the rest of the cake in silence. Draco waited ten minutes before he decided to try the cake. It was delicious, and it didn't take him that long to finish it.

"Now what?"

"We wait."

Draco ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "We finished the cake, the butterbeers…what else are we waiting for? There's nothing up here!"

"We are up here," she said softly.

"Yes, and that's the problem. I want to be down there."

A crack of a house elf sounded loudly next to them. It took a small bow on the adjacent beam as they turned to acknowledge it.

"I is Tumbly," he said. "Tumbly is the newest house elf to serve Hogwarts. Did sir and misses enjoy Tumbly's newest creation?"

Luna smiled brightly at him and clapped. "It was delicious!"

"Thank you, misses. Tumbly appreciates misses humble opinion of Tumbly's cake. Tumbly hopes to have the whole of Hogwarts to enjoy it soon."

Draco glared at the house elf. "You trapped us here to try out a new cake recipe?" he asked in disbelief.

Tumbly bowed again. "Yes, sir. Tumbly thanks you for your time." He waved his hand. Both of the students felt a tingled as the elven magic released them. He snapped his fingers and the dishes disappeared as well as himself.

Draco and Luna were left to themselves.

"I'm taking my complaints to the headmaster over this. A house elf shouldn't have the right to imprison a wizard or a witch-especially for the sole purposes of tasting a new recipe. There are plenty of students around here that would kill to be offered the chance to try new dishes."

Luna scooted closer to him until their knees touched. He stared at her in confusion. She had a weird look on her face that he couldn't describe. Any thoughts he might have had to attempt to figure it out were lost when she placed her hands on his thighs while she leaned into him.

"What-?"

He was cut off as her sugar sweeten mouth touched his. She pulled away from him before he could react to her kiss.

"What would be the fun in that?"

"What?"

She smiled at him. "If Tumbly had asked us to try the cake, we wouldn't have had the chance to go on this date."

"What?"

Luna stood up and charmed her shoes, giving herself the ability to walk down the walls of the hallway to reach the floor. "Goodbye, Draco Malfoy. I shall have to ask Tumbly if he could prepare us a special meal on our next date."

He sputtered. "This wasn't a date!" he shouted after her as she disappeared from his sight. He must have lost a little time between her comment and his as he hadn't noticed her walking down the walls to the floor. "That's bloody fantastic," he muttered. "Loony Luna just gave me a kiss and thought we were on a date."

A horrifying thought popped in his head. Loony Luna Lovegood would have no qualms about mentioning this incident to the entire school. He couldn't let her get away with telling them that they had been on a date…not that they had been on a date…because that was not a date. They had been forced into consuming sweets and butterbeers in each other company. That, in no way at all, was considered a date…by anyone but apparently Luna Lovegood.

Draco jumped up, forgetting where he was sitting until he fell off and landed on the hard, stone floor in a pile of pain. He cursed loudly at his stupidity. He had a feeling that he was going to regret his choice that led him into this situation.

My Little Doctor Who Pony

sasusc — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:33:36 GMT

Drew this for a Secret Santa exchange over on Deviantart. I love how this turned out. It was my first time drawing My Little Ponies (as far as I can remember...I'm sure I must have drawn some when I was little)

My Little Doctor Who Ponies by ~Sasusc on deviantART

Cemetery Weather (Doctor/Rose)

sasusc — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:53:16 GMT

Heard this song, "Cemetery Weather" by Isles & Glaciers at a friend's house and immediately I knew it was a perfect song for a Doctor/Rose vid. And here it is. It's kind of based off of the ideal that 11 is trying to find his way to Rose. Enjoy!

The Interlude in the Hallway

sasusc — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:52:03 GMT

Title: The Interlude in the Hallway
Author: sasusc
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1010
Genre: Humor
Spoilers: None, not DH compliant
Summary: Harry and Ron are musing over how Hermione and Snape got together.
Notes: Written for Brian. This is a bit sillier then my usual, but I challenged myself to base this off the first phrase since I said it would lead into poorly written fiction.

“You know, Professor, it violates school policy to violate me in this way,” Ron mimicked in a girly tone.

“Do tell me,” purred Harry as he leaned in closer to his friend, “how shall I be punished for my crime?”

Ron giggled. “Oh, Professor! Let me get out my list and I shall tell you.”

The two boys looked at each other and couldn’t keep from cracking up. They slid into each other and knocked over several empty bottles they had scattered around the hallway. Ron grasped his friend’s shoulder. When Harry refused to look straight at him, he framed Harry’s head between his palms.

“Do you think it went something like that?”

Harry shook his head and then nodded. “Naked. They probably were all naked. Or got naked.” His eyes widened in shock. “Eww…gross! Hermione must have seen Snape naked!”

“What?” Ron shouted in disbelief. “Who would want that image stuck in their head?” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe she Obliviated her memory of it…”

The boys were silent for all thirty seconds before Harry spoke again. “Who would their kid take after? Both,” he answered himself. “It would be super smart and a teacher’s pet.”

Ron nodded his head viciously. “We got to corrupt it! Teach it all sorts of bad things so the kid can the most popular kid at Hogwarts.”

“And Quidditch! Hermione’s kids will be the best at Quidditch since we will teach him or her everything we know.”

“There will be no teaching of any--if at all--future children Hermione and I may have,” a silky voice said from a doorway. The boys glanced up in surprised as Severus Snape glided out of the shadows and into the half light illuminating the hallway.

Ron clutched his friend’s arm. “Where did he come from?”

Harry shook his head. “Do you think he has some kind of spell to know when people are talking about him?”

“Hermione would know. We should ask her.”

“Let’s ask her now!”

“Yeah,” Ron agreed.

The boys made to get up, but Severus pushed them back to the floor. “Stay.”

Ron glared as he rubbed his head. “No. I want to go. I want to go now. You’re mean.”

This time Severus placed a booted foot against the redhead’s chest and pressed him against the wall and holding him there. “I said stay.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry answered. “Not going any where, are we? This floor is very comfortable. Please don’t take points from Gryffindor for Ron’s behavior, Professor. We promised to be good. No mischief at all. Promise.”
Severus rolled his eyes. They were intoxicated to the point that they didn’t even know what they were saying. It’s been more than five years since the boys were in school. He didn’t know why his bride was friends with these idiots, but he knew she wasn’t happy that they were nowhere to be found.

“Oh! These are great boots!” Ron commented as he rubbed a hand across the glossy surface. They were the perfect boots--all shiny and new. He couldn’t help but wondered if Snape bought them himself or if Hermione had. Although, his friend had never been into all that girly pursuits commonly associated with the opposite sex. “Where did you buy them?”

Severus pulled his foot back in disgust. He folded his arms across his chest and sneered at them. “I’ve been sent on this foolish mission to locate the two of you and bring you back. You are upsetting Hermione with your absences. She wishes her two best friends would show their support of her marriage.”

Ron pouted. “She married the most hated Hogwarts professor ever.”

“He hates me,” Harry lamented. “She wants us to be friends, but Professor Snape won’t be my friend.”

Ron patted his friend on the shoulder. “It’s alright, mate. You still got me. And him,” he said pointing to Severus. “Hey! Maybe you can talk to Professor Snape for us. Tell him how much we want to be friends.”
Harry squinted. “Ron, that is Professor Snape!”

“Oh.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think it would be best if I went back and told her I couldn’t find the both of you.” He turned to go. With a speed he hadn’t counted on, Harry jumped to his feet and grabbed his dress robe. “What-?”

“You better not make her cry,” he said. “You will have me and the whole Weasley clan at your throat with wands. Hermione is precious to us all. We won’t allow her to be hurt.”

The Potion Master was surprise to notice the soberness in the young man’s voice and eyes that hadn’t been there before. He inclined his head in acknowledgement. He had no intention to hurt Hermione, not after all he put her through to get here.

Harry nodded back. He slapped a hand on Severus’ back, keeping it clamped around his shoulder. “Snape, lets join the party. Hermione would kill us--me and Ron--if we monopolized her groom on her wedding night.”

“Hey! What about me? Can I get up now?”

Harry, once again in his drunken haze, reverted back to his Snape impression. “Mr. Weasley, you may join the half-wit Mr. Potter once you clean up this mess.” He gestured to the empty bottles they had drunk. He smirked as a new idea hit him. “You must then give Mr. Potter…fifty galleons.”

“Fifty?” Ron shrieked. “Why don’t you ever take points off anymore? Must it be money now that we are older?” Ron moaned into his hands.

“Because,” he said leaning down closer to his friend. He waited until Ron was looking at him. “I’m not Professor Snape.”

“Who are you?”

His lips twitched. “I’m Lord Voldemort!”

“No!” Ron shouted. “Hermione was tricked into marrying a wizard worst than Snape!”

Severus growled at them and smacked them on the back of their heads--hard. “Idiots. The lot of you.” He walked away from them. “I don’t know what she sees in you.”

Harry and Ron shouted after him. “Don’t know what she sees in you either!”

Doctor/Rose Wizard of Oz Video

sasusc — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:38:10 GMT

This was originally planned to be a Doctor/Companion video, but I was too lazy to snag clips with Martha and Donna, and try to track down Eleven and Amy clips so this turned into the story of Rose and the Doctor. Enjoy!

Scared

sasusc — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:23:44 GMT

Title: Scared
Author: sasusc
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1197
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Spoilers: NCIS LA's "Random on Purpose", General Season 7
Summary: After the events in "Random on Purpose", Abby is scared to be alone.

Notes: Takes place somewhere between 710 "Faith" (aka the Christmas episode) and 712 "Flesh and Blood". This is my take on why there's a pillow on Gibbs' couch seen in "Flesh and Blood", "Masquerade", and "Jack-Knife"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes as he watched Abby take a sip from a coffee cup. Coffee wasn’t her usual choice of poison, but she occasionally had a cup or two after a late night and early morning and then ruining it with cream and sugar. She looked weary, as if she hadn’t slept in days; and by his observation, he wasn’t that far off the mark. She was always here before everyone came in and she was the last one to leave. He checked the sign-in sheets only to find out that it was much worst than he thought. She was leaving at the crack of dawn, just as people were starting to trickle in, and signing back in a few hours later.

He remained silent as he watched her walk around her lab and turning on her machines. She hadn’t noticed him sitting in the dark corner yet.

“Miss me boys?” she asked her machines.

Abby jumped with fright when she finally noticed Gibbs. She nearly spilled the rest of her drink on her outfit. “Gibbs! Don’t scare me like that.” She set the coffee down and folded her arms across her chest. “What are you doing here?”

Gibbs grabbed the coffee and drank from it. “Since when do you drink your coffee black?”

Abby refused to answer. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I was waiting for you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really? Why? You’re not working on any cases right now.”

He stepped closer to her. “When have I ever needed an excuse to come down here and see you?”

“Oh, I don’t know…maybe since it’s only eight in the morning.” She narrowed her eyes. “How long have you been lying in wait for me?”

Gibbs drained the rest of the coffee. “Just about the time you signed out…three hours ago.”

Her mouth opened in surprise.

“Abs… You can talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong,” he commanded.

Abby turned away from him, hunching her shoulders. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m fine.”

He stepped up right behind her and pulled her into his arms. He dropped his head on top of hers. “Abby, you haven’t once mentioned the Phantom. You need to talk about it.”

“Why?” she asked, and to Gibbs she sounded like a lost little girl. He tightened his arms around her.

“You can’t keep things like that bottle up.”

“I’ve talked to people.”

He turned her around to face him. “Not me. You haven’t talked to me.”

There was hurt in his eyes, she saw when she searched his face. “Gibbs… What do you want me to say? That I’m scared? I’ve been scared since the minute he took me. Who wouldn’t be scared after something like that?”

“You were seconds away from being killed,” he gently reminded her. “Being scared is nothing to be ashamed about.”

Abby gave a hallow laugh. “I’m not ashamed. Scared is an appropriated emotional response for someone who nearly got decapitated. I’ve dealt with that--well, I’m dealing with it just fine.”

“What is it then?”

She thought about refusing, but this was Gibbs. She couldn’t lie to him, and she could no longer hide it from him. “He found me. He manipulated me into going to LA and to that club. And like a sheep to the slaughter, I went!” She started crying as she allowed all of her defenses down. “He found me, Gibbs. Do you know how easy that was? He read my blogs--we talked. It wasn’t that hard to find me. I deleted all my blogs and personal posts online. I don’t feel safe. Anywhere. I don’t want to go home and be in my apartment alone. I can’t even walk to my car without thinking that someone could be waiting for me. I’m always looking around for potential kidnappers lurking everywhere I go. I hate it!”

“Abs… I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You can’t promise me that!”

“I can try!” He wiped her tears away. “You’re coming home with me tonight.”

“And tomorrow night? And the night after that?”

He kissed her check. “Stay as long as you want.”

“Really? I can stay with you?”

“Always. You have to take the couch. Dad’s staying in my guess room.”

Abby smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days. She squeezed him tight. “I love Jackson! I didn’t realize that he was still here.”

“He never left.”

* * * * *

He woke up to the sound of whimpering. He had left his door ajar in case she had a nightmare tonight. He hurried down the stairs to find Abby tossing and turning on the couch covered in sweat.

“No,” she moaned. “Don’t!”

He leaned over and shook her. “Abby, wake up.”

She cried out as her eyes flew opened.

“Shh. I’m here. You’re safe,” he told her gently. He sat down beside her and hauled her into his arms. Abby clung to Gibbs, fisting her fingers into his t-shirt and pressing her face against his neck. He rubbed circles into her back as he whispered nonsensical words of comfort into her ear.

Ten minutes later, she felt calm enough to pull slightly away from him. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. She couldn’t look at him. “This is exactly why I hate sleeping. I’m sorry.”

He cupped her face and forced her to look at him. “Never say you’re sorry.”

She smiled at him. He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

“You good?”

She bit her lip. “Can I sleep with you?”

He searched her face. The fear was still evident across her face. She wouldn’t be able to calm her fears on her own. “Sure,” he said softly.

Gibbs laced his fingers through hers and led her upstairs to his bedroom.

* * * * *

“Jethro?”

Gibbs snuggled closer to Abby. “Hmm?”

She giggled as his breath tickled her neck. “Are you sleeping?”

“Hmm,” came his answer.

Abby sighed. “Thank you. You always make me feel safe.”

Gibbs’ response was to tighten his arms around her. They were lying side by side--spooning actually. He was curled around her, and Abby had never felt so safe and protective. Or comfortable. They fit perfectly together.

“I… Oh, Gibbs! I see him everywhere I go. I see him every time I close my eyes.” She babbled on, releasing all her bottled up emotions from her kidnapping. She came to the end of her story. “I didn’t think they would find me in time. They weren’t you. I hoped they would, but I had all but given up hope at the end. Bad things happen in LA. I’m banning anyone from the team to go to LA, Gibbs. Not you or Tony or Timmy or Ziva… All of you. I mean it. I’ll handcuff anyone who thinks about taking a trip to LA.”

“Abs?” he mumbled. He had remained silent when she was talking, but she was starting to ramble. “Handcuff me later.”

Abby grinned. “Your handcuffs or mine?”

“Hmm,” he resorted to saying. “Sleep. Now.”

She sighed. “Night, Gibbs.”

“Hmm,” he mumbled again, too tired to form another word.

They were both fast asleep within seconds.

Quick Update

sasusc — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:38:41 GMT

Just dropping a line to let everyone know I'm not dead or anything. Real life has been keeping me busy as I'm attempting to get my shit together. **grins** I'm planning to move out and try to make it all on my own so I've been apartment hunting and figuring out my finciances.

NaNoWriMo: I so fail!

sasusc — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:43:15 GMT

**headdesk** I so fail. Total word count: 8217 words. **headdesk** I found myself wanting to draw instead of writting. I even brought a sketch pad and pencils to do so. **sighs** Maybe next year. Although, I'm making a promise to try to write 10,000 words this month . . . of anything--hopefully my crack!fic of Janet/Jacob but I'm not setting anything in stone.

Also, I have a date! Well, sort of. We were texting tonight and he went in this round about way to ask me out that I had to call my best friend who is our mutual friend and find out what he was hinting at. And finally she tells me to just straight out ask him if he was asking me out--which I did--and he was. **grins** H was afraid that he was trying to play matchmaker between me and her ex (which he is friends with) and was getting upset. Poor H! She knows I would never do that and hurt her. I'll have to give her a call tomorrow make sure everything is sorted out with about all of this.

Doctor/Rose Fanart

sasusc — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:52:02 GMT

I was inspired to take up a pencil and draw thanks to momentmusicaland her fic, "Tangents". I love this AU Human Nature fic, and I just had to draw the ending of it as it was just so sad and heartbreaking for them. I have two different versions of it.

Heartache Ver. 1 by ~Sasusc on deviantART

Heartache Ver. 2 by ~Sasusc on deviantART

So, go take a look and go read the fanfiction that goes with it! :P

NaNoWriMo Progress Update and Doctor Who: Water of Mars Spoilers

sasusc — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:11:10 GMT

I so fail at this. I really do. There's no way I can finish in time. **sighs** Maybe next year will be better. Or, I just might set my own goal next month and say I need to write this much. Also, every night when I open my story up and start to write, I get very sleepy. I don't know why, and it gets very frustrating.

On a side note: Doctor Who: Water of Mars = awesomeness!

It's fantasically awesome in regards to the Doctor's character developement. The events that happened in this episode are supposed to be a fix point in time and that he can't change anything that happens. He's trying not to involve himself with the Mars Base people because it'll be just like Pompeii with Donna (where accidently makes it happened because he tried to help). He even says as much to the leader when he tells her he has to leave and can't be a part of these events nor would he help them. I just love that he leaves them to deal with the monsters/virus-infected crew members, and all he could hear over the comm is the anguish, pain, and terror of the non-infected crew members. And he decides that he just can't walk away and let things happen. He's a Time Lord...the last Time Lord. And since he is the last, he won't obey the laws of time anymore but work them to his will. I just love that speech he gives. It's just so awesome. I just wanted to give him a hug because I just knew it would all backfire on him. And it did. He saves the people and the leader lady is just angry with him for messing up the timeline. The Doctor had told her that she was suppose to die and he couldn't save her since her death was a fixed point. She knows this, and that her death was suppose to inspire her granddaughter and future generations to expore and advance the human race. Love that she told the Doctor that he can't just change history like that, and that he doesn't have the right to do so. The Doctor was so proud that he saved their lives that he couldn't see that the leader lady was planning to do when she went home: she killed herself so that history would be "right" again. Oh, the look on the Doctor's face when he realized what she did. He looked so hopeless and lost, and realized that he screwed it up majorly. I don't know what the Doctor's feelings are about suicide, but he made a choice to save that woman and it forced her to take her own life. That has to hit him every hard, no matter his feelings about suicides.

All of this awesomeness happens towards the end of the episode, so the ending was great. As for the rest of the special, well, it was good. I wish the Doctor was more active in it, but that would defeat the whole point of the special and the ending so . . . **shrugs** What can I say? It's a must see just for his "I'm the last Time Lord" speech!

Oh, I almost forgot! I'll be having a few Doctor Who art posted soon. momentmusical had this fantastic fic with the most sad ending and it inspired me to draw it. I have two different versions of it, and I just need to scan the second one.

Mistaken

sasusc — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:30:01 GMT

Title: Mistaken
Author: sasusc
Characters: River, Jayne
Prompt: #1 Fall
Challenge: Fall Challenge at rayne_shippers
Word Count: 2262
Rating: PG-13
Timeline: Post-Series
Summary: River follows Jayne and discovers how far she had fallen in love with him.

Also can be read here at ff.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5515197/1/Mistaken

She never knew until this moment why they called it “falling”. It wasn’t a physical fall, but it could hurt just as much as falling from a small step or a tall building. It was exhilarating--the fall--and it made them both fear and want to keep their eyes open as they fell. She was guilty of doing both. It she wasn’t sure if she was blinded from the wind or if she had closed her eyes towards the end of the fall. It might have been a little bit of both.

Now she laid there, broken into a million little pieces, when she finished the fall. It was painful--more painful than if she had really fallen from a tall building--and it was so real. Why would people willingly risk their heart and soul if this was a possible outcome? They couldn’t control how steep they would fall or even if there was going to be anyone at the bottom to catch you. It hurt too much.

She wanted to cry a river of tears; she wanted to lash out and hurt him even more than he had hurt her. She wanted him to hold her and tell her he was wrong; she want to pick up a weapon and kill him.

Instead, she stood silently--a stone frozen in time--and watched them. He held her gently in his arms. She was flushed against him keeping constant contact between them. The woman was topless while he still had most of his clothing on--although it wouldn’t take much time to rid himself of them. She knew how quickly he could undress; it was one of the things she always admired about him.

They were in a dark alley, away from most prying eyes and a semi-private place. They could come out here and have passionate sex without any disturbances--at least none that would distract them from their goal of reaching mutual satisfaction. She could see them perfectly in the outline of the soft glow from a streetlight. She couldn’t do nothing but watch them find pleasure in each other arms.

She had known she was falling in love with him. It had frightened her, but she had pushed past her fear and took that plunge. She didn’t realize that it wasn’t the fall itself she should have been afraid of: it was the end.

Zoe had taken that same plunge when she fell for Wash. She had fallen deep, but Wash had been waiting at the bottom for her to protect her and keep her safe. Inara was still falling, but unlike Zoe’s, her jump had been filled with space mines that caught up with her more often that she hoped. She could only avoid them for so long before they could find her. But she wasn’t alone on her journey. Mal was right along side of her--sometimes hidden from her sight or taking a slightly altered path but he always came back to her.

Why couldn’t she have some of that? Why couldn’t she find a little peace? Was she bad? Was she not worth it? Had the Academy made her so unworthy--so far from being a human girl--that she would never find that same happiness Zoe and Wash had found?

So deep in her misery and pain, she didn’t notice the body pressing up against her. It was several minutes later when she felt the warmth of his body heating the layers of iciness that had settled across herself as she had watched her heart break. She glanced up at him, confusion written plainly on her face.

“Hey,” he said as the dead expression slowly faded.

“Jayne?” River meowed softly. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

His hand squeezed her shoulder and tugging her closer to his side. She didn’t want to take her eyes off of him, but she had to take another peak at the couple in the alleyway. As far as she could tell, they weren’t an illusion.

“What are doing out here?”

“She followed you,” she said simply.

He shook his head. “You got it confused. I followed you.”

She pointed towards the couple. The sound of their loving making could barely be heard over the sound of the city behind them. Jayne glanced at them. He remained silent in hopes that she would start making sense if he gave her time to sort it all out.

“But she did. She saw and heard, and thought they could find a quiet place like this for themselves.”

Jayne couldn’t keep the smirk from forming on his lips despite his concern at her lapsing into third person. “This one is being used. We can find another one. We still got time before Mal or Simon starts looking for us.”

She turned to him, fisting her hands into his shirt before standing on her tiptoes to gain more height. “It was you. He’s Jayne. She doesn’t know how--or even if she’s sane right now, but he looked and smelled and talked just like Jayne. That’s Jayne.”

Jayne placed his hand on her hips and anchored her to him. “That’s not me. I’m Jayne. Jayne is right in front of you.”

She buried her head into his chest. “But the girl knows what she knows. It doesn’t make sense. Jayne can’t be in two different places, but that’s the conclusion she has arrived at. Take her to see the brother. He needs to know that the meds need to change. They are not working.”

“There is only one Jayne,” he told her forcibly. “That’s me. I’m the real one.” He grabbed her hand and placed it over his chest right over his heart. His heartbeat had always calmed her down when she went through an episode of craziness. He watched as her whole body began to relax with his steady heartbeat.

“Jayne,” she whispered.

He opened his mouth, but didn’t get any farther than that before the man in the alleyway shouted the woman’s name. Was it strange that it sounded familiar to him?

River tensed in his arms. “That’s your voice. The girl knew she had followed Jayne out here.” She pulled away from him, accusation heavy in her eyes. “She had jumped and she had expected you to be there--if not in the fall, than at the bottom to catch her or even behind her. But she fell and you weren’t there. No where close to her.”

“When did you fall? You don’t look hurt.”

“She fell in love with Jayne and he broke her when she followed him out here.”

Surprised, he asked her, “You love me?”

She nodded, rubbing the tears away from her eyes. “River loves Jayne--she does. After what they put her through, she could withstand anything and everything but the girl doesn’t think she can go through this pain again.”

“What pain?”

She waved towards the couple. “The girl doesn’t want you to do that anymore.”

He scowled down at her. “I like sex. There’s no way I’m giving that up! Don’t you like sex?”

“She likes sex. She loves having sex with Jayne. That’s not the point.” She stumped her foot in annoyance. She took a calming breathe before speaking. “I don’t want to see you with anyone else. I would know… I would know if you did it. You can’t hide that from me.” She tapped her head.

He moved in closer to her, shortening the distance she had put between them. “I can’t promise you that you would be the last.”

River nodded understandingly. “It’s very hard to predict the future that far away and there is too many variables to take into consideration when assessing the future.”

He nodded as if he understood exactly what she had said. It sounded like a fancier version of what he had said. “Yeah, that. My mama would shoot me if I messed around on a good woman like you. Not to mention the kind of pain you could put me in if I even think about doing something like that. You could kill me and nobody would know.” His eyes narrowed in thought. “Come to think of it, the crew would feed me to the Reavers if they thought I did something like that. Your brother has his fancy medical learning to torture me. And Mal and Zoe have their own brand of torture they would use…”

She tugged at his chin and forced him to look back at her. “You’re wandering.”

“The point I was trying to make was that I wouldn’t do that.”

“But you have. You did it with other girls.”

“Those girls were whores,” he growled at her. “You’re a lady.”

River wasn’t sure she understood the differences between the girls he usually bedded and her, but she went along with it. Jayne had an insightful look into the nature of people that was oftentimes overlooked. He could get right now to the truth of things in a very simple and direct way without letting things overcomplicate it.

“Okay,” she said. “No having sex with anyone but River.”

“Uh,” he replied.

She raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that what we are agreeing upon?”

“I thought it was understood since we started this…uh…relationship.”

“It was never put into words until now.”

He rolled his eyes. “So that’s it? All this was about that?” He shook his head. “Women! Now, let’s find ourselves our own alley.”

“River is still not a hundred percent positive that that man is not Jayne.”

“What?” He turned to stare at the couple. They were straightening their clothing. “I’m Jayne. I’m standing right in front of you.”

She nodded. “Two separate realities could be converging on her right now. Am I here with you now? Or is that you from another time having a quickie in the alley? Is it the past Jayne or the future Jayne?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

She twirled away from him and ran towards the couple. They glanced up at her, stun to see her coming towards them. The man quickly adjusted his zipper and smirked at her.

“We’re all done here, girly. Or did ya want to join in?”

River stopped inches away from him. “Looks like him.” Sniffing, she said, “Smells like him.” She reached out and placed a hand over his heart. “But not him.”

“Sorry, folks,” Jayne apologized. “Girl belongs in a bughouse.”

“She is satisfied that the man is not Jayne.”

“Jayne?” the man nearly shouted at the same time Jayne shouted the man’s name. “Kelly!”

The two men grinned as they gave each other a bear hug.

“What are you doing here?”

“Could ask the same of you.”

River cocked her as she studied the two men side by side. Almost a perfect match, the one named Kelly was a younger copy of Jayne. Kelly had a scar above his left eye that she hadn’t noticed until now. They eyes were a wrong shade of color and they didn’t reflect the same kind of hardship she found in Jayne’s eyes.

“Brothers?”

Jayne grinned as he pulled River to his side. “Kelly, meet River Tam. River, this is Kelly Cobb, my brother.”

River beamed up at Jayne. “Off the hook, he’s not Jayne.”

“Told ya he wasn’t me.”

“Proof positive. No questions about it. It would have been nice to know you had siblings. She could have calculated it more accurately, and reached a better conclusion then the converging reality theory.”

“Wow, got yourself a core-bred lady. Last time I checked in with Ma, she said you were working out on the rim and up to good.”

“Still up to no good,” River chimed in. “Your mother knows what you do?”

“She sure as hell knows it ain’t public relations!”

Kelly snickered. “The look on Ma’s face when you told that lie! She about slapped you silly for it.”

“A man’s gotta make a living somehow. Ma knows that.”

His brother winked. “Better than most.”

“Story to tell.”

Jayne nodded. “Another time, darling. Working on the Serenity parked down in the loading docks. Ought to stop by before…” He glanced over to River. “We leaving in two or three days?”

“Two days, seven hours, and 38 minutes.”

“Yeah, then. Stop by before then. Picked myself up some nice beauties since the last time I saw ya.”

“I can see that,” he replied glancing over at River.

Jayne smirked. “Can tell ya about that, too. Just don’t say nothing about it to my crew,” Jayne said nervously. “They don’t know yet about me and River, and we plan to keep it that way for awhile.”

River smiled. “Yes, too many of them will disapprove of us and try to throw Jayne out of an airlock. Almost happened once…Jayne being thrown out an airlock.”

“That was before! I didn’t know!”

River patted his arm. “She knows you’re sorry. She had fun with you.” She turned back to Kelly and his companion. “Now, you can socialize with your brother tomorrow. Kaylee and Inara will be rewarded with some beef and greens and will be having a celebration dinner. You’re invited to dinner. Don’t be late.” She tugged on Jayne’s hand. “We gotta go. Mal and Wash will be walking past this alleyway soon and we don’t want to be discovered.” She smirked up at him. “And Serenity will be empty tonight. We won’t be discovered if we want to be adventurous with our sexual exportations.”

“What?”

She leaned in closer. “I want sex on the kitchen counter.”

Jayne scooped her up and started to jog towards loading docks.

Comments are love and thanks for reading. Sorry about the lateness of this entry.

Boo-boos

sasusc — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:31:15 GMT

Title: Boo-boos
Author: sasusc
Characters: River, Jayne
Prompt: #20 Coat/Jacket
Challenge: Fall Challenge at rayne_shippers
Word Count: 2419
Rating: M/R (Sexual content)
Timeline: Post-BDM
Summary: Jayne comes back to Serenity to find that River was waiting for him.
Disclaimer: Not mine at all or else this would still be on TV

The cold wind blew past her, bringing the dry and dusty scent of the dying planet to her sensitive nose. Winter was coming; it wouldn’t be too long before the first snowfall starts.

River snuggled deeper into the oversized coat she was wearing as she watched the sunrise peaked over the horizon. The soft, muted tones of the night were giving away to vibrant hues of copper and gold. The sun was breathing life back to this part of the planet. She couldn’t help but to marvel over the changes the sun brought. To the left, a small village could be seen waking up, lights and movement everywhere; and to the right, a wooded area was alive with sounds of animals. The planet was dying, but life went on. People and animals continued to survive against the oncoming cold front.

She was going to survive, too. Not on this planet--not with the life struggling all around her--but with her newfound family…and she was missing one of them. It was why she had stolen his coat and wrapped his warmth around her. If she couldn’t be near him physically, the scent of gunpowder and oil would help lessen her need for him.

She wasn’t sure exactly when her feelings for Jayne Cobb had changed so dramatically. Was it because of all of the heartache and lost they’ve been through recently? Could it be because she didn’t want to lose another family member after Miranda? Would she still feel this longing to be closer to their missing comrade if it was Mal or Zoe who had taken a leave of absent instead? Somehow, she didn’t think so. She wanted Jayne on a whole different level than she ever had wanted anything or anyone.

River was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the sound of footsteps coming closer to her. Jayne watched her silently for a few minutes, waiting for her to notice him. Rarely could he sneak up behind her without her knowledge. He smiled as he realized that this was one of those rare times.

“Hey, girly, that doesn’t belong to you.”

Heat flared inside her as his husky voice washed over her. She couldn’t help her reaction to him. She spun around and wrapped her arms around his waist. She laid her head over his heart to listen to his heartbeat; it was another validation that he was standing here with her.

“You’re heart is beating faster.”

“It happens when a girl attaches herself to me.”

River couldn’t help but feel jealousy over all the girls that he had been with--who had been closer to him than she ever had been. They had held him just like this, except without the layers of clothing between them. She pressed her nose into his light jacket and sniffed. There was a scent of wildflower and oranges dusted across his clothing. She rose up on her tiptoes to place her nose against the bare skin of his neck. There was a trace amount of roses mixed into his natural scent.

She pulled back and glared up at him.

“What?” he demanded.

She wanted to keep quiet, but she still hadn’t mustered the skills to keep her thoughts to herself when she became overly emotional. “Who was she?”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You reek of roses and oranges and wildflowers.” Jayne sniffed at his shoulders. He couldn’t smell anything. “Mama Cobb,” River continued, “smells of oranges and wildflowers. One would expect you to smell just like her. She gives you hugs and kisses because she missed her baby boy. But the roses? Who was she?” She gave him a hard poke in the stomach.

His eyes narrowed. “We ain’t a couple. I don’t need to tell you anything.”

She turned away from him as she flinched at his words. He was right. On some level, she knew she had no right to be angry with him. She only realized her feelings for him since he took this trip to visit with his family. But it was hard telling her heart not to feel the pain that he had spent time in another girl’s arms while she had been waiting for his return.

She blinked away her tears as she nodded. “Right. Not together. She understands. The girl doesn’t think before she talks but she’s learning.” She unzipped the coat and shrugged out of it. “This belongs to you,” she said as she thrust it towards him.

Jayne watched her walk away, confusion written across his face. What had just happened? He stared down at the coat in his hand. Why was she wearing his coat? Simon had brought her a coat. He had seen her in it before, so he couldn’t think of any reason why she had been wearing his. He looked back up at her. She was going to freeze in the getup she had on. She had long red dress on which was sleeveless and pants to cover her legs. It was no wonder she had put his winter coat on to come out here. She wasn’t dressed properly to be wondering around out here.

He blinked and she was gone. “Wha?” Where did she go?

He took several steps forward and glanced around. She was no where to be seen.

“Jayne!” he heard her cry out.

And then it clicked. She must have fallen down the steep incline that Serenity was parked close to. He rushed over and saw her lying at the bottom. It didn’t take him long to stumble down the slope and reached her side.

“She didn’t look where she was stepping and she couldn’t walk on air.”

“Stupid!” he shouted at her as he checked her body for broken bones. Luckily, he couldn’t find any when he skimmed his hands across her body. She had some scrapes and he was sure she’ll have some bruises. “How could you not see where you were going?”

She couldn’t answer as she was immersed in the sensation of his hands on her body. River bit back a moan. She shifted underneath him trying to get a little closer to him.

“I’m going to hear from Mal and Simon that I let you get hurt,” he growled. “Not like it’s my job to watch you all the time anyway.”

“Not your job,” she agreed. “Jayne?”

“What?”

“I need medicine for my hurts.”

He grabbed her chin and shifted her face to the side. She had a long gash on her check where a stick must have gotten her. “Just some bandages, mostly. It’ll heal up in no time.”

She shook her head. “A kiss. All I need are kisses to make them better. No bandages or needles will work better.”

Shocked, his mouth fell opened. “You--you… Are you using your womanly wiles on me?”

River tried to appear innocent. She hadn’t meant to fall down, but now that she was here on the ground with Jayne carefully checking her over, she had a perfect opportunity to use the skills she had acquire from watching Kaylee and Inara. She stuck her bottom lip out and pouted.

“Didn’t you ever have Mama Cobb kiss your boo-boo better?”

He scowled. “I ain’t your ma or pa.”

“Jayne-bear,” she said as she placed a hand over his heart. “I never had anyone to kiss my boo-boos better.”
He wouldn’t let her words soften him. “Than how would you know it works or not?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Won’t find out until you try.”

Jayne narrowed his eyes, wondering if she was messing around with him or not, but she looked entirely too honest to be joking.

Just when she was about to give up on the idea of getting him to kiss her, he leaned forward and place his lips against the cut on her cheek. She couldn’t help the sigh of pleasure that escaped her mouth as she felt his warm breath on her skin.

His words whispered against her, “Did it feel better?”

“Oh, yes,” she replied. “Now kiss me all over and make all the girl’s pain disappear.” She closed her eyes as she waited.

And waited…

She popped one eye open to stare at him. He was just looking down at her with his arms crossed against his chest. “I’m waiting.”

He shook his head. “That’s what you want, ain’t it? A man you can seduce and who’s all kisses and gentle. That’s not Jayne. Jayne don’t do soft. I like it hard and rough, and that’s not for a core-bred woman like you.”

River didn’t care for his statement, and promptly forgot all of it but one word: woman. She couldn’t help but bream up at him. He saw her as a woman and not a child as the rest of the crew still saw her. She wasn’t a child anymore. Never really been one.

“You see a woman?” she whispered. “Is that how you see River?”

“Of course I do, but that’s not my point. I don’t like bedding core-bred women. They…are like china dolls. They break too easy.” He held out his hands. “And Jayne could easily break them.” Great, he thought, now she had him referring to himself in third person.

“Can’t break what’s already broken. Girl lost all core-bred training when she was away. They made her into a weapon. They didn’t want the girl to become a woman. They let her become broken to fit their purposes. They didn’t care if she could function or not in the world outside.”

Jayne wasn’t sure what he should say to that. He had seen her fight and come away with no scratches or bruises. She could easily take him down within seconds--which he hated to admit even to himself.

River decided to take matters into her own hands when she received no reaction from him. She quickly sat up and snaked her arms around him. Her lips were right next to his ear. “Jayne, I don’t need gentle. Don’t want to change you. A chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips wouldn’t be the same--just like Jayne without his rough edges wouldn’t be Jayne anymore. She wants Jayne. I want you.” She nipped at his ear.

Jayne couldn’t fight the fire racing across his body, nor the reaction he got when he felt her hand travel down his stomach and towards his groin.

“Don’t fight it,” she said as she nibbled and lick her way down to his throat.

“Fight it?” he gasped as her hand began to stroke him through his pants. “That would be very un-Jayne like!”

“Very,” she agreed.

He growled as he repositioned her so that she was straddling him. He bit her neck--harder than he had intended too--before licking it better. There would be a mark there later, and he couldn’t help but feel a manly pride in knowing that others would see it and recognized it for what it was.

River giggled as he moved down her collarbone. This was exactly what she had been waiting for--maybe from the first time she recognized him with a woman’s mind that Jayne was a man.

She didn’t need gentle. Everyone was gentle with her, as if she would break if they spoke too harshly to her. Simon was overprotective of her. A small bruise was a huge concern for him. Mal still saw her as a child--one where he needed to keep her safe from harm’s way. Kaylee and Inara considered her a little sister and thus didn’t treat her as their equal. Zoe was the only one of the crew that saw her as she was: a skilled warrior much like herself. But Zoe was lost in her own grief-filled world, and River hadn’t felt her confidence in awhile. And Jayne? He had avoided her for the most part, letting others deal with her bipolar moods. She didn’t take it personally as that was how he treated almost everyone.

His hand slipped beneath her dress, and that’s when she stopped thinking…almost stopped breathing. She could only focus on him.

In no time, they had their clothing rearranged and he was buried deep inside her. They didn’t go slow or take their time. Their lovemaking was fast and wild and neither one could catch their breath when they reached their climax.

River collapsed on top of him, her body feeling like jelly. She didn’t want to move, but she could feel Jayne getting restless underneath her.

Jayne grunted as he found the strength to push her off of his lap. They quickly fixed their clothing as they stood up. He stared at her, and she stared up at him. He shifted uncomfortably.

“Well,” he said into the silence stretching between them.

She nodded.

“Right. Least we got a reason for looking like this.”

River glanced down at herself. “Like what?”

“Like, um…like we’ve been sexing.”

She cocked her head at him. “But we did.”

“I know that! I just don’t need Mal or your brother to find out. I like my head exactly where it is. On my neck!”

“Me too.” She stroked his neck. “It’s a very fine neck.”

He slapped at her hand. “Yeah, well…”

She smiled at him. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you. Truth works very well.”

Jayne’s eyes widen in shock. “You’re going to tell them we had sex?!” he shouted.

She rolled her eyes as she walked away from him. “I said I like your neck too. We just omit the middle part of the story. River fell down and Jayne followed to check her safety. We came back to Serenity so that Simon can look her over.”

“Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” she asked as she carefully climbed up the hill. She turned back to look at him.

“Talk about yourself as if you’re talking about someone else.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.”

She bit her lip. “She coped with them the best way she could--protecting the true River from what they were doing to her…me. I slip up when I get emotional. Sometimes.”

The reached the top in silence. River nodded at him. “We should do this again.”

There was a twinkle in his eyes as he leaned into her face. “Fall down a hill?”

“That, and kiss my boo-boos too.” She gave him a small peck on his check. “And much more.”

“Maybe you could fall down into my bunk tonight.”

“Maybe,” she said giggling.

Untouchable Video and a Pimp

sasusc — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:26:27 GMT

Because I'm a procastinator and um . . . yeah . . . **points to icon** He made me do it!

Go join, participate, and prosper!

And, the procastinator in me made this today. But really, this was the easiest vid I made. I had it finish in no time. And Spikey, I thought I should do a Teyla/Michael vid to go with this one, but apparently I don't have all my SGA clips on my laptop (and I couldn't get to them since I was at my brother's house). **sighs**

Here's a link to download the vid: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6W8Z8VV4