Weekend Free-for-All!

[cyphersushi.livejournal.com]

Greetings and sorry about the missed post for yesterday, to make up for it we are running a weekend Free-for-all instead, so prompt away!

Remember the rules:
*No more than five prompts in a row
*No more than three prompts from one fandom
*NO spoilers in prompts. If your fill contains a spoiler please warn accordingly.

Format your prompts as such:
Avengers, Hawkeye/Bruce Banner, Nightmares
Wolverine/Firefly, Logan, Memories of Earth that Was

Enjoy!

Comments

[cyphersushi.livejournal.com]

Avengers, Hawkeye/Bruce Banner, Nightmares

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Clint has always been good at living with his kills.

So good, in fact, that it probably doesn't speak well of him.

Until his mind is not his own, his hands are not his own. Until his violence is alien to him, literally and otherwise.

Blood on his hands. Not his fault.

He wasn't himself.

It's impossible to explain that it's so much worse to live with it if it's not your fault.

With Bruce, he doesn't have to explain.

~~~~~~~~~~

When Clint wakes up in the middle of the night, sweating and panting, biting his lip to keep from making a sound, Bruce always notices. He's usually too tired to speak, so he moans to remind Clint that he's there so Clint doesn't react to a surprise caress by pinning Bruce to the floor in a painful hold (this was the closest Clint had come to waking up the other guy, and they weren't keen to repeat it.)

Bruce would move slowly then, a hand softly gliding under Clint's T-shirt to rest a hand on his stomach, an invitation to lie back down. He never asked if Clint wanted to talk about it (that wouldn't have gone well). But he leaned into Clint, filling Clint's space with warmth and scent and soft. Bruce's hair, Bruce's skin, even his body, was soft, inviting, and Clint would focus on it, concentrate on the textures of the man next to him, on his heat. He would try to fill his mind with the wounded crackle of Bruce's voice whispering "I know. I know." Because Bruce did.

In the morning, they always pretended that nothing happened.

~~~~~~~~~~

Clint never gave Bruce solace after a nightmare. Bruce didn't have them any more. At the first hint of strong emotion, he woke up and ordered his subconscious to shut it down. At least, that's how it looked to Clint.

Clint wondered what it would be like to have that much control over yourself. To will yourself to cope. Part of him resented that Bruce could do it, even as the saner part of him knew that Bruce had no choice.

But Clint had long stopped believing that people choose to be the way they are. Even before Loki, Clint hadn't believed that.

~~~~~~~~~

One night, Clint dreams that he kills his team. He wakes up and can't stop himself from screaming.

Bruce sits up next to him and asks. He reaches a hand toward Clint, slow and soft.

Clint shoves away. "Don't touch me," he says as he gets out of bed.

Bruce, luckily, doesn't get angry. He watches as Clint leaves, sad. But somehow not confused.

[cyphersushi.livejournal.com]

Wolverine/Firefly, Logan, Memories of Earth that Was

[devylish.livejournal.com]

leverage, nate/parker, she had always driven him crazy, but he was now convinced, it was a good kind of crazy

[oteap.livejournal.com]

Leverage, Parker/Eliot/Hardison, Parker gets turned into a man

[devylish.livejournal.com]

leverage, nate/parker, "I'm old enough to technically be your father." "Fortunately for you, I like you better than I liked my father.... A lot better."

[devylish.livejournal.com]

leverage, eliot/sophie, The things that I could teach you!

[mangacrack.livejournal.com]

Avengers, Loki, Loki ambushes the ensemble in the Stark tower, on a very early morning ... while everyone is pre-coffee

Fill: Coffee Chaos

[scarlet-gryphon.livejournal.com]

It's way too early to be coming into work, even for Pepper, but JARVIS had called her while she was still in bed, saying she was needed at Stark Tower (or the Avengers Tower, or Freedom Central, or whatever name Tony has come up with that week), and would she please bring some coffee with her? Pepper's way too used to this sort of request-- working for Tony Stark will do that to a person --so she dutifully swings by the nearest Starbucks, gets one of the largest orders of coffee she's sure the poor barista working the window has ever had to make, and goes to work. She manages to juggle the coffee and her satchel and her smartphone at the same time while she waits for the elevator to arrive, and once it does, gladly steps in and ascends to the top floor, where she's sure the Avengers are waiting for her.

The elevator doors open to a scene of controlled chaos. Tony is sitting-- no, lounging, the insolent bastard --on one of the low couches that used to be arranged artfully off to one side of the room. Used to be being the key words there. Now, only one of the couches seems to be in close to one piece, whereas the others-- and here Pepper has to hide a cringe --appear to be scattered across the room in various chunks of shrapnel, leather, and stuffing. There are various burns on the floor and a large man-shaped dent in one of the walls; flakes of paint and plaster have drifted down onto the polished floor tiles below. Bruce is sitting near Tony, looking mildly ashamed of himself and wearing only a dark blue blanket wrapped around his waist. Clint is perched on the bar counter, idly holding an ice pack around his right wrist while Natasha looks on, making sure her partner isn't causing more injury to himself.

Pepper takes in all of this speechlessly and then her gaze lands on the centerpiece of the room: Thor, who is sitting quite happily on top of his brother's back. Loki does not look amused, but can't do much about his current situation, especially not with Mjölnir resting deceptively casually near his head. Thor beams brightly at Pepper; the god appears to be the only one not glaring at the world at the moment of the Avengers.

"Hail, Miss Potts!" he says jovially, and Tony throws a pillow at him-- or at least, tries to, but only ends up hitting Loki in the head; the pillow flops down over the slender god's face, hiding it from view.

"Shut it, Thunderpants," Tony growls, and then gets up from his couch. Pepper automatically assesses him for any injuries, but beyond a limp and a few abrasions that she can see, Tony's pretty much unharmed, which is something to be thankful for in and of itself. Tony crosses the ruined floor, bypassing Loki and Thor completely, stops in front of Pepper and then snatches one of the coffees off the carry-tray. He takes a few sips of the rather plain mocha-- Pepper hadn't wanted to make the poor barista cry, after all; she wasn't that cruel --and then nods at Loki.

"It's a long story," Tony says, "but I think a lesson has been learned here by everyone."

"And that would be?" Pepper asks, a strong suspicion forming in her mind as to what the answer will be.

"Don't piss off the Avengers before their morning coffee," Clint pipes up. "It will never go well."

[mangacrack.livejournal.com]

Avengers / Spiderman, Loki + Peter, author's choice

Always hotdogs

[love-evil.livejournal.com]

For some reason their meetings always involve hotdogs. Peter’s not entirely sure why – they just do. It’s their thing, his and Loki’s. It’s an odd thing to have, sure, but that’s why it’s oddly appropriate. There’s nothing normal about the amazing Spiderman and Loki of Asgard having a friendly conversation let alone eating hotdogs on the roof of a skyscraper in the middle of New York. For one thing Loki is a villain (he is, no matter how much he protests that he is in the right and everyone else is misguided) and Peter is a – he’d like to say hero but honestly he’s just a kid who got bitten by a bug and given superpowers. He made some bad choices in the beginning and people got hurt because of them. Now he’s just repaying a debt and trying to use his powers in the way Uncle Ben would want him to.

Sometimes Peter thinks this is the reason Loki seeks him out whenever he visits New York. Loki is the god of lies, mischief and chaos. To turn Spiderman, to convince him to use his powers for self-gain, that would be a real feather in Loki’s cap...helmet...whatever.

Most of the time however Peter thinks Loki comes to him because he’s...not lonely, but definitely in need of a little company. He wants to listen to a voice that isn’t his own or that of some cheesy TV host. (Loki watches a lot of TV. Like, seriously, more than can possibly be healthy. Then again, in terms of property values it’s probably better if Loki becomes a couch potato than tries to take over the world again). Loki also likes Peter’s sass and the fact that he’s not (too) afraid of him. Peter’s read the Norse myths and he suspects that Loki has a soft spot for him because he’s a kid. The Loki of legend might not have won any awards for good parenting but he did seem to like kids more than he liked anyone else. Maybe that’s why he always talks to Peter – he’s trying to make amends for not being there for his own kids. Peter personally thinks that if this is the case it’s too little too late; but then he has a lot of abandonment issues revolving around disappearing parents so maybe he isn’t the best person to judge. Besides, it isn’t like he’s ever going to tell Loki these thoughts. He wouldn’t put it past the trickster to poison his next hotdog.

[devylish.livejournal.com]

Person of Interest, Reese/Carter, salve for the wounds

[devylish.livejournal.com]

Point of interest, reese/carter, I can have fun. What?! I CAN!

[devylish.livejournal.com]

The Vampire Diaries, Bonnie/(Klaus or Damon), the advantages (and disadvantages) of being bound to a witch

[mangacrack.livejournal.com]

Silmarillion, any, the sin is red growing paler in death

[oteap.livejournal.com]

Any, Any, body swap

[hobnailedboots.livejournal.com]

Supernatural, Dean/Castiel, a legally-binding contract

[hobnailedboots.livejournal.com]

Friends, Rachel/Joey, vodka

[oteap.livejournal.com]

Bedlam, Ryan/Jed, your worst nightmare

[mangacrack.livejournal.com]

any, any, in the heat of the battle your inner humanity always seems to slip away until it's safe to come out again

[mangacrack.livejournal.com]

Supernatural, Sam/any angel, Sam is bonded to an angel, dies and gets reborn. Now the angel has to find his mate again (who is without memories)

[devylish.livejournal.com]

firefly, zoe/jayne, rest and relaxation time on AlphaMari

[devylish.livejournal.com]

dr. who, martha/the doctor (any), You're naming a planet after me!?

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Friends, Chandler/Joey, the point at which bromance becomes romance

[lady-yashka.livejournal.com]

Leverage/Angel: the series, Eliot and Lindsey (brothers), Aimee Martin was the first person outside the family who could tell them a part.

Leverage/Angel fill, Distinctive Part 1

[poestheblackcat.livejournal.com]

This could use some touching up, but anyway, here it is. "McDonald Boys" verse.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Distinctive

Allan McDonald holds his newly-born twin sons in his arms, rocking them gently and humming a tune, an old country song. Country. It’s what he’d grown up on, and that’s what he’s going to raise his boys on. Good old country, the working man’s song. He’s going to raise his boys to work hard and to be good, honest men.

His boys. Eliot and Lindsey.

“How can you even tell them apart?”

Rock Delaney’s been a good neighbor and a damn good friend all their lives. They’d gone to school together, had gotten into all sorts of trouble together as kids, and when Allan had gotten married, it was Rock who’d been his best man.

And now, he’s the boys’ godfather. The baptism had been that morning, and Rock and his fiancée had come over to the tiny McDonald home afterward to celebrate.

Allan smiles. “This one on my right’s Eliot. The one on the left is Lindsey.”

“But how do you know?”

Allan shifts his hold on the babies. “Here, take Eliot,” he says, handing the bundle of blankets over to his friend, “See that look right there? That’s distinctive. You won’t catch that look on Lindsey’s face, no sir.”

Eliot’s face scrunches up, and an angry wail erupts from the tiny baby.

A moment later, the same cry is heard from the bundle in Allan’s arms.

Rock looks from one upset baby to the other.

“I still don’t see it,” he says, bewildered.

“You don’t?” Allan says, taking Eliot back and shushing him, “It’s very distinctive.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name tags don’t work.

Neither does dressing them in different clothes - they always manage to switch even though every effort is made to keep them apart.

Different haircuts? The one with the longer hair always turns up the next day with a new style, inexpertly cut and jagged, matching his twin’s to the last uneven curl.

One teacher suggested writing their names on their hands each day before school. That backfires when the next scheduled name-and-identity check results in two blacked-out names on the backs of grubby little hands and two identical grins on the little troublemakers’ faces.

Mr. and Mrs. McDonald aren’t much help either. When called to meet with the principal, they simply don’t understand why their sons’ teachers can’t tell them apart. “They’re both so different from each other!”

Eventually, they give up. As long as Eliot and Lindsey don’t disrupt the class, might as well give them both the same grades. That’s what they earn, anyway. Both of them are highly intelligent, and they both get along with the other students fairly well.

They’re really no trouble...unless you try to single one out, or, God forbid, separate them.

Once that happens, well, that’s when all hell breaks loose.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Discworld, Vimes/Vetinari, the uses of desks

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Greek myth, Neoptolemus/Helenus, forgiveness

Fill

[haipollai.livejournal.com]

omggggggg bbs ;;


They do not speak of Troy. It remains there with them, every night Neoptolemus draws Helenus to bed and every day Helenus continues in his duties as adviser. It lingers but they do not speak of it.

It is only after years pass when the physical scars are mostly gone that Neoptolemus can look him in the eye and whisper please, forgive me. Helenus says nothing, looking at nothing. Eventually Neoptolemus gives up, knowing it's something he can never get, something he maybe doesn't deserve.

At night Helenus slips into his bed. He stays behind Neoptolemus, lips on the back of his neck. He tells him of prayers to gods, of seeing the past in such clear detail. His skin is dampened with tears but Helenus doesn't falter, the clear calm voice telling Neoptolemus of his own pain, of his own need for forgiveness that can't be given.

He trails off and there is finally silence. Neoptolemus doesn't move. His other advisers have accused Helenus of witchcraft but this is the first time Neoptolemus has ever felt it. There's a soft sigh and everything releases, he turns around to face him, finding his face in the dark.

I can't forgive you, Helenus whispers, sharp eyes locking with his. Not yet. But one day, he promises. One day.

[mithrel.livejournal.com]

Teen Wolf, Lydia, not just another pretty face.