Friday: Retirement

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

And I'm draycevixen finishing out my week.

Today's theme is Retirement. Whether forced, voluntary or just strategic, prompts can be for anything on this subject.

Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full names and fandom's full name for ease adding to the Lonely Prompts spreadsheet.
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above mentioned spoiler cut.

Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt

Some examples to get the ball rolling...
Battle Creek, Milt Chamberlain/Russ Agnew, Russ doesn't understand why Milt is talking about taking really early retirement
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV or film), Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin, Napoleon has made plans for his retirement even though he knows spies don't usually make it that far
Forever, Henry Morgan /+ Retirement is really not an option

We are now using AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2016 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? Check out the just created Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet. For more recent prompts to write, you can also use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community.

While the Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet and LJ's advanced search options are available, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching for in the future.

tag=Retirement

Comments

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Batman (comics), Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, after they hang up their cowls they find each other again

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Batman Beyond, Terry McGinnis/Bruce, no retirement is complete without a young trophy husband

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

The Flash (TV), Barry Allen/Rogues, when Barry retires they retire with him

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

DCAU, Wally West/Bruce Wayne +/ Terry McGinnis, when Bruce retires Wally goes with him. What changes?

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Balzano and Byrne Series – Richard Montanari, Jessica Balzano/Kevin Byrne, neither of them take retirement lying down

[profshallowness.livejournal.com]

Downton Abbey, Elsie Hughes/Charlie Carson, after her last day of work at Downton Abbey

[profshallowness.livejournal.com]

The Dark Knight Rises, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, elastic definision(s) of 'retirement'

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Stargate SG1, Jack O'Neill, knowing all the threats out there, how can he think of retiring?

Fill 1/2: sorry this ended up being Jack/Daniel

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

(I couldn't help myself).

Daniel leaned in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. For one moment, the image was overlaid with a younger Daniel, wearing that ridiculous cream sweater and those tan slacks and looking too damn good for a man who'd been murdered a dozen times and reanimated for a parasitic alien megalomaniac's pleasure. Jack shook the image away.

"Are you ever going to give it up?"

Jack was attacking his service dress blues with a lint roller. Hayes hadn't been president in about a decade, but he still commanded respect, and Jack wasn't about to show up to one of his dinners in anything less than his best.

"Can you, knowing what's out there?"

"I can," Daniel said.

Jack snorted. "You haven't."

"Sure I have."

"Says the guy who falls asleep in his office at the SGC at least three times a week and still does the majority of the translation work for the gate teams."

"Translation and history are my passion, Jack. My hobby. I've loved them since I was a child." Daniel straightened up, stepped into the room. "But you – you like fishing, and stargazing, and watching hockey. Those are your hobbies. Being a soldier isn't a hobby, Jack. And I don't think it's your passion."

Jack was a simple man. He didn't passion. He needed a mission.

"We both gave up frontline defense years ago. You went to Washington. And I retired from SG-1."

"But I –"

"Trained the next generation of SGC soldiers. They're good men and women. They've been protecting Earth and two galaxies without us for a while now, and things have gone fine."

Daniel was right, but retirement meant being out of the game, meant being out of the know, and Jack couldn't go back to he man he'd been before he'd known about the Stargate. Couldn't back to a life of ignorance where all he had was his own guilt and a shattered family and was haunted by the ghost of his dead son.

He had a family now, though. Sam and Teal'c and Daniel, to a lesser extent Mitchell and Vala, sometimes that punk kid Sheppard. No matter how far apart they were, how many light years and planets and galaxies, they were a family.

If Jack retired from the Air Force, who would he be? What would he do? What would his purpose be?

"Homeworld Security has gotten more than it deserves from you," Daniel said.

"And if I give up my blues and my stars, what'll I do? I can't fish forever."

"Now that your pond has fish, you might be able to." Daniel smiled wryly.

"I'd get bored and you know it."

"You'd find something to do."

"Like what? Turn my cabin into a B&B for SGC soldiers going through culture shock after spending too long posted in Pegasus?" Daniel's apartment had been like that for a while, an endless rotation of soldiers crashing on his couch and in his spare room when they needed a way station between Pegasus and their leave destination and didn't want to sleep on base because it was too much like being cooped up on the Daedalus for weeks on end. Jack would let himself in with his key and stumble over a puppy pile of Sheppard and Lorne and Stackhouse and Kleinman and a host of others whose names he'd never learned.

"Why not?" Daniel said. "You're a great cook. You keep a pretty good house." He glanced around Jack's bedroom. Jack was military. Of course he kept a good house.

"I'm pretty sure I'm too old to be doing that kind of thing on my own."

"What if I helped?" Daniel asked.

Jack stared at him. "You'd do that?"

"I've done it before." Daniel shrugged.

Jack contemplated for a long moment. "You're insane," he said finally.

Daniel didn't look offended. "It was just a thought. I guess I'll leave you to it. We have to leave in twenty minutes if we want to get to Hayes's on time."

Jack glanced at his watch. "Right." He resumed his attack with the lint roller.

Daniel turned to go, and Jack said, "Would you ever give it up? For good? Leave the SGC?"

"If the right offer came along." Daniel cast him an enigmatic smile and walked away.

[profshallowness.livejournal.com]

Any, Any/Any, early retirement,

Fill: Gundam Wing - Quatre - Living My Life

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

Quatre took a deep breath then signed his name on the last page of a large stack of documents then sat back, immediately wondering if he had done the right thing. He'd put a lot of time and thought into the decision to turn over the day to day running of WEI to his sisters, but that didn't mean he wouldn't wonder if it was the right choice. After all, he was a master of second guessing himself.

Pushing his chair back away from the antique desk that his father had used, Quatre stood and rolled his neck before moving to look out the window. He could step back in at any time if he wanted or felt he needed to. That had been a non-negotiable part of the deal. He was the Winner heir and even if he had chosen to pursue other things that didn't mean he was any less responsible to the health, security and ethics of the family business.

Looking out over the city he smiled. The last shreds of doubt fading away like fog before the rising sun. He felt light; free in a way that he never had before. His life was spread out before him, filled with endless highways and hidden side roads to explore. It was a little overwhelming, but in the best possible way.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Any, any, difficulty filling all the empty hours

Fill: Dragon Age: Inquisition, m!Hawke/Fenris - Restless

[megan-moonlight.livejournal.com]

After having spent some time with Grey Wardens in Weisshaupt, Garrett Hawke and Fenris had decided to go back to Kirkwall and try to help rebuild the city. It was going slowly, and apparently Garrett became a person who did not handle waiting and feeling useless well. It surprised him, considering that there had been many times when a few moments of peace were what he was hoping for, especially when he used to be the Champion of Kirkwall. He had hoped for time for himself then, for people to stop coming to him with the smallest problems, for them to make decisions without putting all the responsibility on him... but after having spent so much time helping everyone, it was difficult to get out of this habit.

The city, while there was still a lot of reconstruction to do after the Rebellion, was surprisingly quiet. Varric had once jokingly called it a retirement from saving the world, but Garrett still had a difficult time wrapping his head around it. He had so much time on his hands and he had no idea what to do with it.

Which was why he was walking around Kirkwall for the last two hours, doing everything he could to feel a bit more useful: visiting the market and shopping for vegetables, doing small jobs for Tomwise, Lady Elegant and other of his old associates who still lived in Kirkwall, and trying to help people from the city. After a while he started considering contacting the Iron Bull and asking if his Chargers had any jobs to do, or maybe if they heard if Inquisitor Adaar needed help with anything, but they all were rather busy, according to the latest messages Varric had received. In the end Garrett decided to go back to his mansion and see if there was anything else he could do there.

He could, of course, read one of Varric's latest books, which was apparently inspired by the conversations between the Bull and Dorian, or write a letter to Carver, which was actually not a bad idea. He had sent one right after they had arrived in the city, telling Carver that they were safe and he could visit them if the Wardens happen to be near Kirkwall, and he doubted Carver would mind getting another letter.

Lying down on the bed he snagged a piece of paper and a quill from his drawer, preparing to start writing, only then realizing that he had no idea what he wanted to write. In the end he briefly described how their friends were doing, and written down questions about Carver’s new post.

When he heard the door to the bedroom opened, Garrett looked up from the letter to see Fenris watching him curiously.

“You are getting restless,” he stated as he observed Garrett.

“Am I that easy to read?” Garrett got back to writing, listening to Fenris taking off his armor. When the warrior didn’t say anything else Garrett sighed, putting the paper down. “I wouldn’t say restless, exactly.”

“What would you call it, then?”

The warrior sat down on the bed and Garrett reached for Fenris’ hand, tangling their fingers together.

“I’m not really sure myself. It’s difficult to get used to the fact that things are… more or less quiet around here. Maybe Varric is right and I am bad at dealing with retirement from fighting after all. I need to have things to do.”

“Everyone here has their own battles to fight.”

Fenris squeezed Garrett’s fingers, and the elf’s gentle tone and his closeness made Garrett forget about everything that was bothering him.

Garrett raised Fenris’ hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the knuckles. The fact that Fenris finally seemed to be at ease, that he felt comfortable in their house, that they were together, was enough to make Garrett feel like he can face everything.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, retiring in the Pegasus galaxy

Fill, Foxtrot Style, Teyla POV

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

As It Should Be (http://ficsco-and-nagi.livejournal.com/28920.html). Featuring John's imprints running rampant, the next generation of the Atlantis Expedition (Elizabeth Meredith Emmagan!), and cured!Wraith.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Battle Creek, Milt Chamberlain/Russ Agnew, Russ doesn't understand why Milt is talking about taking really early retirement

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV or film), Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin, Napoleon has made plans for his retirement even though he knows spies don't usually make it that far

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Forever, Henry Morgan /+ Retirement is really not an option

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

La Femme Nikita (1997). Michael Samuelle. post-finale

Fill

[blythechild.livejournal.com]

Sorry this took so long to fill. It's over on Ao3 (http://archiveofourown.org/works/6127387).

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Buffyverse. Rupert Giles (and/or Wesley Wyndham-Price). Not being part of the Watcher's Council anymore.

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Black Jewels series. Jaenelle Angeline. "I'm not their Queen anymore!"

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any. Retirement is not what they expected.

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any. Getting out of retirement to take care of loose ends.

[tigriswolf]

author's choice, author's choice, [nouns] never retire

Fill 1/2: Weiss Kreuz, Weiss + Schwarz, Florists

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

When Ken finally decided to give up assassination as his primary source of income, his life didn't change much. He moved back to Tokyo from London, because Tokyo would always be home, and after crashing at a hotel for a few days, found an old shop going under, and bought it with several decades' worth of blood money. And he reopened the flower shop. He didn't give it the same name, didn't use the same kitten logo, but it was the flower shop – living quarters above, shop on the main floor, training space below. (Just because he'd stopped killing didn't mean he was going to let himself go to seed.)

Now that he wasn't so young and handsome – though more than one person had commented on his blue-green eyes – there weren't throngs of teenage girls crowding the shop during non-school hours, but he did a brisk business for salarymen apologizing to their wives.

What he hadn't expected was, well, the boredom. Florist by day, assassin by night. That was how it had been for so long. Now at night he had...nothing. He was tempted to join a local soccer league, but if someone recognized him, his peaceful life would be over, so that wasn't an option. He wondered what other hobbies he could take up besides working out. Learn a new weapon? No. He'd given up killing. And even if he'd always fought with his primary weapon, he was plenty competent with other weapons.

When a flyer came in the mail for continuing education courses at a local college, Ken decided to try some. He took calligraphy and a chocolatier course, and business increased a little when customers learned that he could do lovely calligraphy on cards and that he sold hand-made chocolates to go with flowers. The evenings were spent making chocolates for the next day, so he had something to keep him busy, but he was a little lonely, so he started listening to podcasts.

When he found himself talking to the podcasters (who couldn't hear him), he knew he needed to get out and make friends. But he didn't really know how. He'd made friends with his teammates because it was make friends or be miserable, but he hadn't had to make friends since the orphanage, and the one friend he'd made there had betrayed him and tried to kill him and sent him into the arms of the organization that trained him to be an assassin, so clearly his friend-making skills needed some help.

Ken kept working in the flower shop, never hired anyone to help, because he could do it on his own. The shop made in a month what he'd made in a single kill back in the day, but it was breaking even, and he didn't need the money anyway.

He supposed he should have been surprised when Nagi wandered into the shop one day, but he wasn't. One moment he was another kid in skinny jeans with floppy hair obscuring half his face, and then Ken recognized those uncanny blue eyes.

"I thought you'd retired," Ken said.

Nagi flicked a glance at him, amused. "I thought the same of you."

"A florist never retires."

Nagi nodded. He looked up, then he reached up with his telekinesis and prodded a terra cotta pot further back on the shelf before it could topple over and hurt someone. "Need any help?"

Even though they'd been enemies for years and strangers for years after that, Ken said, "Yes."

The regulars took Nagi's addition to the staff with aplomb. Some of the older matrons tried to set him up on dates, but he refused with cool politeness. When Ran arrived on the doorstep with his sister in tow, Ken and Nagi were getting ready to close for the night. As a telekinetic, Nagi had a knack for making chocolates with multiple layers, and he'd taken to experimenting with white and dark chocolate in the kitchen while Ken practiced his calligraphy.

"Ken!" Aya cried. It was still so strange to think of her as Aya after her brother had used her name while she was comatose. But Ken stepped around the counter and hugged her hello anyway.

"Do you have anyone doing ikebana?" Ran asked.

"No," Ken said. That had been Ran's specialty, back in the day. "Nagi does deliveries sometimes, but we could use someone to do deliveries full time."

"I'll do it!" Aya cried. "I have my own scooter and everything."

Ken smiled. "All right. Welcome to the team."

[tigriswolf]

any fandom with assassins, author's choice, they attempt to retire [pronoun] against [pronoun's] will; it goes poorly for them

Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov & Fury, Avengers

[shanachie-quill.livejournal.com]

“When you said retire, I was thinking beaches, fruity drinks, umbrellas. Maybe time at the farm. Not running for our lives or shooting people. I got enough shooting people in our normal life,” Clint snarked.

Natasha frowned at him as she took aim at their pursuers. “Stop bitching, Barton.”

“But if I’m not bitching, how will you know I’m okay?” he asked.

“I hope that’s a rhetorical question.”

Clint paused, considering both the question and their situation. “Think Ole One Eye might be willing to discuss the situation? Ya know, if we explain that you aren’t defecting?”

“Somehow I don’t think he’s willing to listen to reason,” Natasha replied. “Considering this is the third strike team he’s sent after us.”

Clint reached behind him, feeling for another arrow. “After you then.” He fired off the chosen arrow, letting loose the grappling arrow and giving it a yank to be sure the arrow had sunk in. “Let’s get out of here.”

[tigriswolf]

author's choice, author's choice, the spymaster retires to a quiet village somewhere and becomes quite the gossip

[tigriswolf]

Highlander, Methos, is he a retired monster or isn't he? depends on the day, really

[tigriswolf]

author's choice, author's choice, "I'm retired! Stop bothering me."

Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski, Teen Wolf (TV)

[shanachie-quill.livejournal.com]

Stiles burst into his childhood home, yelling, “Dad! Dad!”

Former Sheriff Stilinski sighed from where he was sitting in his recliner in the living room. “In here!” he yelled back.

Stiles practically tumbled into the living room, making John sigh again. His son straightened up and reorganized the folders in his hands. “I’m fine,” Stiles assured him.

“After a lifetime of watching you trip over your own feet, it takes more than that to worry me,” John replied. “What are you doing here?”

The younger Stilinski held out the folders. “I need your help with a case.”

“Stiles, I’m retired. Stop bothering me!” John glared at him. “You’re the one who worried about my health for so many years. Now that the pack finally takes care of the supernatural elements and crime is quiet. Why are you bothering me?”

“But this is a cold case! I thought you might be interested.” Stiles waved the files temptingly.

John reached out for the folders. “Fine. But we’re getting pizza to eat.”

Stiles grinned as he plopped down on the floor by his dad. “Deal.”

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Battle Creek, Milt/Russ, old married couple moving into a retirement home (and Russ is still annoyed that everyone loves Milt right away)