Quiet, Blessed Quiet (Harry Potter, Helga&Salazar, G)

Title: Quiet, Blessed Quiet
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: all four founders (mostly Helga, can be read as H/S and R/G if you wish)
Word Count: 605
Rating: G
Notes: erm, this was supposed to be more of a Helga/Sal friendship piece, but Helga just kind of took charge....
Written for lady_sarai's 2010 fandom_stocking
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( Quiet, Blessed Quiet )

Glances (FFXII, Fran, Balthier/Penelo, G)

Title: Glances
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Characters: Fran, Balthier/Penelo
Word Count: 465
Rating: G
Notes: Written for dagas_isa's 2010 fandom_stocking
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It was a quiet, subtle thing. Anyone who didn't know Balthier well would have missed it - no, they wouldn't have looked for it in the first place. Anyone who didn't know him well would never expect subtlety from a man who seemed to live his life on the outside of his skin.

Fran knew him well. Knew him better than he knew himself, most of the time. She knew he was interested in the girl from the moment he dropped her his handkerchief. The bouncing pigtails, the brash determination, the steel look in her eye - Fran knew they were all like catnip to Balthier. He always was a sucker for the underdog.

At first, Fran was worried. It wouldn't have been the first time that she had needed to protect her partner from starry-eyed girls. But as circumstances dictated that they travel and live together, and days turned into weeks, Fran realized that Penelo was in no danger of being taken advantage of. She watched with with curiosity and then outright amusement as the girl very carefully set out to seduce her partner. The air of innocence was precisely calculated, the amount of attention paid was carefully balanced, until Balthier was neatly wrapped around a small, dagger-wielding hand.

Several late-night conversations convinced Fran that she had nothing to worry about. Penelo saw the sky pirate clearly, and had no illusions about what she was getting into. Fran grew to admire the bouncy, determined girl who had a core of steel under that cheerful demeanor. Although she knew Penelo and Balthier would do what they wanted anyway, she nonetheless gave them both her blessing, which seemed to please them.

It was a relationship conducted in glances and brief touches. Only rarely, Fran knew, were they able to slip away and spend any time alone together. Fran amused herself by trying gague how much the other party members knew. Vaan, she knew, was clueless, too wrapped up in his own dream of becoming a sky pirate to see what was going on with those around him. Equally clueless was Ashe, consumed by her drive to retake her throne. Basch might have guessed, but he thought first of Ashe and the rest of them came in a distant second.

No, the one who surprised her was Larsa. One brief shared glance with the young prince told Fran all that she needed to know. Fortunately, he was as amused by the situation as Fran was. So with Fran looking out for her partner and Larsa keeping watch for his adopted big sister, Balthier and Penelo continued merrily on their way, never knowing their backs were watched. Afterall, they were not the only ones who could communicate volumes of meaning in the slightest glance.

Hands [Babylon 5; John/Delenn; G]

Title: Hands
Fandom: Babylon 5
Characters: John/Delenn
Word Count: 205
Rating: G
Spoilers/Warnings: None, fluff?
Notes: Your comment about enjoying people doing things with their hands inspired this. Hope you like it!
Written for prettybird's 2010 fandom_stocking
----

John was fascinated by Delenn's hands. They were rarely still, except when she was deep in meditation. And even then, he thought he could see them twitch occasionally, longing to do -- something.

They could be precise, when she was tapping something out on a keyboard, inputting commands into the ship's navigational computer, or when she was recording something in the quick, sharp strokes of the written Minbari language.

They could be stately and elegant, when preforming a ritual or arguing passionately for her position.

And though she hated to use them as such, they could be deadly as well. John would never forget the time he walked in to find Delenn absolutely schooling Marcus with his own denn'bok. When he asked where a member of the religious caste possibly learned to fight like that, Delenn had merely smiled sweetly and pointed out that it wouldn't do for Ranger One to be less trained than her people. John decided right then that Delenn had been spending far too much time with Ivonova.

But what John loved most about Delenn's hands was how they felt when she held his, such an Earthly gesture that meant so much to him.

Dinner Date (Inception/West Wing, Ariadne/Arthur & Josh/Donna, G)

Title: Dinner Date
Fandom: Inception/West Wing (sort of)
Characters: Ariadne/Arthur, Josh/Donna
Word Count: 423
Rating: G
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Notes: Written for tinylegacies's 2010 fandom_stocking.
----

Ariadne blinked and found herself in front of a familiar-looking building. The sting of the needle ghosted in her arm, but she was too distracted to notice it.

"The White House? You dreamed up Washington DC?" she asked her companion. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but couldn't we have gone here in, you know, reality?"

Arthur merely shook his head and smiled mysteriously.

"But what about that whole 'don't dream up real places' thing that you and Cobb are always going on about?" she demanded. "And what are we supposed to do here anyway?"

"Patience, my love," Arthur said, still looking enigmatic.

Whatever Ariadne was going to say next was cut off by a shout from someone emerging from the gates.

"Arthur! So glad to see you! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

Ariadne turned to see a man hustling towards them. "Josh Lyman?" she blurted out when he got close enough for her to recognize.

The man - Josh - brightened up. "You must be Ariadne. I've heard a lot about you." He extended his hand to her. "So where do you guys want to go to dinner?" he continued brightly. "I know of this great little place in Georgetown and - "

"Josh!" This time it was a female voice and Ariadne turned to see a tall blonde woman coming through the same gate. She carried an overcoat draped over one arm and a purse in the other.

"Leo says that he needs you back by nine to go over the Holwitz briefing, Sam needs you to review the file he sent over before tomorrow morning, and CJ says that you're treating us all to dinner," she said, handing Josh the overcoat. "I swear, he would forget his head, if it wasn't attached," she said confidentially to Ariadne. "I'm Donna. You must be Ariadne."

Ariadne could only stand there dumbfounded, as two of her favorite tv characters argued in front of her.

"Well, come on then," Josh said. "Since I'm apparently buying dinner, let's get going."

Ariadne felt a tug on her hand, and she and Arthur trailed behind the other couple, who were still bickering congenially.

"You dreamed up West Wing's Washington?" she asked Arthur in a surprised whisper.

"Do you like it?" he asked shyly, suddenly looking very unlike the confident point man she had grown accustomed to.

"Best. Present. Ever!" she agreed enthusiastically, and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Secrets (Star Trek; Joanna, Kirk; G)

Title: Secrets
Fandom: Star Trek XI
Characters: Joanna McCoy, Jim Kirk, Christopher Pike
Word Count: 1500
Rating: G
Spoilers/Warnings: shitty parenting?
Notes: Erm, this kind of took on a life of it's own... sorry?
Written for saavikam77's 2010 fandom_stocking.
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( Secrets )

Speak with the Dead (NCIS, Ziva, G)

Title: Speak with the Dead
Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Ziva
Word Count: 247
Rating: G
Spoilers/Warnings: er, I guess technically I should warn for canon death...
Notes: Written for shogunsquirrel's 2010 fandom_stocking.
----

It is strange, she realizes, to consider a dead woman a friend. Especially a dead woman whom she never met in life.

And yet, she does.

Perhaps it is guilt, a way to assuage the familial responsibility she bears. Perhaps it is it is a way to fit in. For the first six months after she arrives, she learns more about this dead woman than she does about her living team mates. Perhaps it is an automatic affinity to another woman in this man's world.

Perhaps it is all of that. Perhaps it is none. Whatever it is, it drives her, twice a year, to take a half day off of work.

As she packs her bag at her desk, Tony saunters over. "Hey, where are you running off to?"

"To catch a plane," she replies, although she doesn't really expect that answer to satisfy.

"Where to?"

"Indiana."

"Didn't know you had friends in Indiana," Tony says, obviously fishing for more information.

"Just one," she replies with a small smile.

Three hours later, there are flowers on the grave, and Ziva feels unburdened. It's not much, she knows, but somehow keeping Kate up to date on the team's exploits brings Ziva a sense of peace.

She touches the grave lightly. "I'll be back in a few months, Kate. Sooner if anything else happens. Be good. And keep watch over Tony, will you? I can use all the help I can get."

Say What? (ST AOS, Kirk/Rand, G)

Title: Say What?
Fandom: ST Reboot
Characters: Kirk/Rand
Word Count: 242
Rating: G
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Notes: Written for medie's 2010 fandom_stocking.
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"You will."

"Won't."

"Yes, you will."

"Won't."

"Yes you - you know what? I'm not arguing with you about this any more. This is non-negotiable. You will finish approving these departmental budgets, and you will submit a year end report to Starfleet."

"Aw, but, Jaaaaaaanny..."

"Don't whine, Jim. You're not five years old. For gods sake, you're a Starfleet captain. You have these little things called responsibilities. And some of those responsibilities involve completing paperwork, no matter how boring it is."

"Not gonna."

"Yes. You. Will. Or I'll - I'll -"

"Or you'll what?"

"I'll tell Christine that you're avoiding your physical with McCoy, I'll tell catering that you're looking a little pudgy around the middle, so no more late-night chocolate cake for you, and you'll be sleeping alone for the next week."

"...."

"Don't think I won't do it."

"You fight dirty, Jan. I thought we agreed no letting our personal relationship interfere with ship's business."

"It's a special occasion, Jim. And this isn't interfering. It's influencing. So are you going to start with the budgets or the report?"

"... mgpeirhrthdkjfth."

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand that."

"I said, I'll start with the budgets. Slave driver."

"Yup. And you know you love me for it."

"Well, yeah, I guess I do."

Legacy (NCIS/Law & Order, Ziva & Jamie, G)

Title: Legacy
Fandoms: NCIS/Law&Order crossover
Characters: Ziva David, Jamie Ross
Word Count: 711
Rating: G
Spoilers: End of Season 6 “Aftershock” (1996) for Law & Order; End of Season 2 “Twilight” (2005) for NCIS
Notes: Set sometime late 2005/early 2006, during Season 3 for NCIS/Season 16 for L&O
Written for h2o's 2010 fandom_stocking.
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( Legacy )