tanaquiljall (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tanaquiljall) wrote2014-03-21 03:13 pm
tanaquiljall) wrote2014-03-21 03:13 pm
Entry tags:
Ficlets x 4: Haven - General or Teen - Duke, Nathan, Audrey
Written for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fic_promptly prompts. Thanks to scribblesinink, who betaed all the pieces. Lengths are 490, 315, 290 and 335 words.
Prompt: Author's choice, author's choice, night out
Bon Appetit!
"Come on." Duke waggled his eyebrows at her as he hovered in the doorway to her apartment. "Even Special Agent Officer Parker must get the occasional bit of time off."
"Yeah, I tried that once." Audrey, dropping her keys on the table and shedding her jacket, winced at the memory of that endlessly repeating day.
"Besides," Duke leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, "you still owe me from that time you stood me up. And I ended up having dinner with that Helena chick instead."
Audrey rolled her eyes. "And the rest." She put a hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn.
"See?" Duke shrugged one shoulder. "Think about what you might be condemning me to if you say no. Besides, it's gotta be better than an evening spent curled up on the couch with a microwave dinner."
"No microwave," Audrey pointed out in a crushing tone. "My landlord didn't provide one."
"And instead, he offers to provide you with dinner." Duke gave her a small, ironic bow, before softening the gesture with a smile. "Come on. I promise I won't keep you out too late."
Audrey wavered for a moment longer, before capitulating. "As long as I don't have to dress up...."
"Nope. You're perfect as you are. In fact," Duke tilted his head to one side, "you might want to put on an extra layer or two."
"Hmm." Audrey wondered what she'd gotten herself into. "Okay. Give me five and I'll meet you downstairs."
A few minutes later, she tripped back down the stairs to where Duke was waiting for her. She turned toward the parking lot, but he put his hand on her arm to steer her the other way. "We're taking the boat."
As they nosed out into the bay, the wind tugged at her hair and stung hard enough on her cheeks to bring her fully awake again. Tipping her head back, she admired the stars flung across the sky, a million more pinpricks visible from out here than on shore, where the glow of man-made lights obscured them.
Lowering her gaze again, she was surprised to see Duke was aiming the boat for the island that closed the bay: as far as she knew, it was home only to seabirds and seals.
Then, as he expertly nosed them into a small cove, sheltered from the breeze, and swung the boat around so he could anchor it next to a rocky shelf, she saw in the glow of a camping lantern that a table and chairs had been set up above the high-water mark on the tiny beach.
"What if I'd said no?" she asked, as he handed her out of the boat, feeling surprisingly touched he'd gone to so much trouble for her.
He grinned at her. "Then I would've been eating a lot of shrimp and preparing to repel any hypnotically attractive mermaids and sirens and selkies who swam past."
oOo
Prompt: Any, Any, 'Let’s stop asking for coffee when it’s sex we want.'
Asking for coffee
"You used to bring me coffee in the morning before work, when I was Audrey." She blew across the surface of the cup Duke had handed her and took a sip.
"Yeah, but when you were Audrey, I didn't put the Baileys in until you gave me the okay." Duke leaned back in the chair opposite and narrowed his eyes at her. "And what do you mean: when you were Audrey. I thought we'd agreed you're Audrey now."
Audrey rolled her shoulder. "When I was more Audrey. All Audrey. Not someone you think you can serve Irish coffee to first thing in the morning without asking."
Duke smirked at her. "Lexie seems like the kinda girl who doesn't function without a little extra something with her first jolt of caffeine." He crossed his arms, his gaze briefly flicking away from hers in embarrassment, before he caught her eye again and added quietly, "You know I'm not really offering you coffee, right? It's never really been about the coffee."
She looked steadily back at him. "I know."
He uncrossed his arms, resting his palms flat on the table on either side of his cup. "I meant what I said in Colorado, you know. I'd do anything for you. And I meant what I didn't say, as well. I'd still like to, uh, 'get coffee' with you. But if you don't want to, you know, 'get coffee' with me, that's okay too."
Audrey slid her hand across the table to cover his. "And I meant what I said in Colorado, too. I don't have enough time to fix our friendship if I screw this up. But I'll take a rain check on that coffee." She drew her hand back and picked up her cup again, grinning at him over the top of it, her expression all Lexie. "Maybe we can even have some wild monkey sex, sometime, too...."
oOo
Prompt: Any, any, No offense, I mean I'm sure you rocked my world and all but I don't remember.
The Wrong Girl
Nathan watched Lexie as she looked through the stuff on Audrey's desk. Thank god at least she wasn't doing that thing with her hair, twirling the ends in her fingers. He'd only known her a few hours, but it was really starting to bug him. He had the urge to slap her fingers away every time he saw her start up.
Yet once you got past the clothes and the make-up, she still looked like Audrey. Felt like Audrey, too. when he touched her. Even smelled like Audrey, if he got close enough to get through the stink of stale cigarettes and spilled beer from the bar and whatever cheap perfume Lexie had slapped on that morning.
But she didn't sound like Audrey. Oh, the voice was the same, but the words she came out with were things Audrey would never have said. Even worse was the indifference in her expression when she looked at him. After all they'd been through together and all they'd meant to each other, there was no recognition there.
How was he supposed to make Lexie fall in love with him when she had no memory of what Audrey had loved about him—and he clearly wasn't her type? What would a girl who did drugs and was into kinky stuff he didn't even want to think about—a shudder ran through him—and worked in some dive bar... what would she want with a straitlaced police officer?
And how was he supposed to make her fall in love with him when he could barely stand to be around her? All he wanted was Audrey back and for Lexie to go away forever.
But he supposed he had to try. Knocking softly on the doorframe, he joined her at Audrey's desk.
oOo
Prompt: Author's choice, author's choice, who's that girl?
Who's That Girl?
Duke couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the hospital basement. He'd been a passenger while Tyler had taken his body for a spin, at first yelling silently and then, when he'd realized that was futile, trying to stay calm and watch and wait for a moment, any moment, when he might regain control. It had helped him look where Tyler—in his body—wasn't really looking, and see what Tyler didn't notice.
He'd figured out before Tyler that Jennifer was on to him. And he'd been able to see that the way Lexie had stepped aside hadn't been prompted by fear for her own life. It had been a calculated move; he'd caught it in her eyes, heard it in her voice, felt it in the way she moved. More than that: in where she'd moved and where she'd stopped, ready to deal with him if things didn't turn out the way she expected.
She might not have been completely sure Tyler would let go of Duke when he stabbed his own body using Duke's, but she'd known it was possible.
And how would Lexie know something like that?
He'd thought about it all the time he'd been talking to her afterward, too, while Nathan and Dwight were busy cleaning up the crime scene. He'd seen Evi put on an act enough times to have a good sense of when someone was faking it—and Lexie was certainly faking something. After that, when Dwight had dropped her off at the Gull, he'd watched her from inside for a while longer before he joined her on the deck. It wasn't just the fact she looked the same as Audrey that made him doubt she was Lexie: it was her whole demeanor—and the way it shifted when she realized he was observing her, how she began to fiddle with her hair.
He might not be completely sure she was Audrey, but all the signs told him it was possible.
Opening the door, he went out to confront her.
fic_promptly prompts. Thanks to scribblesinink, who betaed all the pieces. Lengths are 490, 315, 290 and 335 words.Prompt: Author's choice, author's choice, night out
Bon Appetit!
"Come on." Duke waggled his eyebrows at her as he hovered in the doorway to her apartment. "Even Special Agent Officer Parker must get the occasional bit of time off."
"Yeah, I tried that once." Audrey, dropping her keys on the table and shedding her jacket, winced at the memory of that endlessly repeating day.
"Besides," Duke leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, "you still owe me from that time you stood me up. And I ended up having dinner with that Helena chick instead."
Audrey rolled her eyes. "And the rest." She put a hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn.
"See?" Duke shrugged one shoulder. "Think about what you might be condemning me to if you say no. Besides, it's gotta be better than an evening spent curled up on the couch with a microwave dinner."
"No microwave," Audrey pointed out in a crushing tone. "My landlord didn't provide one."
"And instead, he offers to provide you with dinner." Duke gave her a small, ironic bow, before softening the gesture with a smile. "Come on. I promise I won't keep you out too late."
Audrey wavered for a moment longer, before capitulating. "As long as I don't have to dress up...."
"Nope. You're perfect as you are. In fact," Duke tilted his head to one side, "you might want to put on an extra layer or two."
"Hmm." Audrey wondered what she'd gotten herself into. "Okay. Give me five and I'll meet you downstairs."
A few minutes later, she tripped back down the stairs to where Duke was waiting for her. She turned toward the parking lot, but he put his hand on her arm to steer her the other way. "We're taking the boat."
As they nosed out into the bay, the wind tugged at her hair and stung hard enough on her cheeks to bring her fully awake again. Tipping her head back, she admired the stars flung across the sky, a million more pinpricks visible from out here than on shore, where the glow of man-made lights obscured them.
Lowering her gaze again, she was surprised to see Duke was aiming the boat for the island that closed the bay: as far as she knew, it was home only to seabirds and seals.
Then, as he expertly nosed them into a small cove, sheltered from the breeze, and swung the boat around so he could anchor it next to a rocky shelf, she saw in the glow of a camping lantern that a table and chairs had been set up above the high-water mark on the tiny beach.
"What if I'd said no?" she asked, as he handed her out of the boat, feeling surprisingly touched he'd gone to so much trouble for her.
He grinned at her. "Then I would've been eating a lot of shrimp and preparing to repel any hypnotically attractive mermaids and sirens and selkies who swam past."
Prompt: Any, Any, 'Let’s stop asking for coffee when it’s sex we want.'
Asking for coffee
"You used to bring me coffee in the morning before work, when I was Audrey." She blew across the surface of the cup Duke had handed her and took a sip.
"Yeah, but when you were Audrey, I didn't put the Baileys in until you gave me the okay." Duke leaned back in the chair opposite and narrowed his eyes at her. "And what do you mean: when you were Audrey. I thought we'd agreed you're Audrey now."
Audrey rolled her shoulder. "When I was more Audrey. All Audrey. Not someone you think you can serve Irish coffee to first thing in the morning without asking."
Duke smirked at her. "Lexie seems like the kinda girl who doesn't function without a little extra something with her first jolt of caffeine." He crossed his arms, his gaze briefly flicking away from hers in embarrassment, before he caught her eye again and added quietly, "You know I'm not really offering you coffee, right? It's never really been about the coffee."
She looked steadily back at him. "I know."
He uncrossed his arms, resting his palms flat on the table on either side of his cup. "I meant what I said in Colorado, you know. I'd do anything for you. And I meant what I didn't say, as well. I'd still like to, uh, 'get coffee' with you. But if you don't want to, you know, 'get coffee' with me, that's okay too."
Audrey slid her hand across the table to cover his. "And I meant what I said in Colorado, too. I don't have enough time to fix our friendship if I screw this up. But I'll take a rain check on that coffee." She drew her hand back and picked up her cup again, grinning at him over the top of it, her expression all Lexie. "Maybe we can even have some wild monkey sex, sometime, too...."
Prompt: Any, any, No offense, I mean I'm sure you rocked my world and all but I don't remember.
The Wrong Girl
Nathan watched Lexie as she looked through the stuff on Audrey's desk. Thank god at least she wasn't doing that thing with her hair, twirling the ends in her fingers. He'd only known her a few hours, but it was really starting to bug him. He had the urge to slap her fingers away every time he saw her start up.
Yet once you got past the clothes and the make-up, she still looked like Audrey. Felt like Audrey, too. when he touched her. Even smelled like Audrey, if he got close enough to get through the stink of stale cigarettes and spilled beer from the bar and whatever cheap perfume Lexie had slapped on that morning.
But she didn't sound like Audrey. Oh, the voice was the same, but the words she came out with were things Audrey would never have said. Even worse was the indifference in her expression when she looked at him. After all they'd been through together and all they'd meant to each other, there was no recognition there.
How was he supposed to make Lexie fall in love with him when she had no memory of what Audrey had loved about him—and he clearly wasn't her type? What would a girl who did drugs and was into kinky stuff he didn't even want to think about—a shudder ran through him—and worked in some dive bar... what would she want with a straitlaced police officer?
And how was he supposed to make her fall in love with him when he could barely stand to be around her? All he wanted was Audrey back and for Lexie to go away forever.
But he supposed he had to try. Knocking softly on the doorframe, he joined her at Audrey's desk.
Prompt: Author's choice, author's choice, who's that girl?
Who's That Girl?
Duke couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the hospital basement. He'd been a passenger while Tyler had taken his body for a spin, at first yelling silently and then, when he'd realized that was futile, trying to stay calm and watch and wait for a moment, any moment, when he might regain control. It had helped him look where Tyler—in his body—wasn't really looking, and see what Tyler didn't notice.
He'd figured out before Tyler that Jennifer was on to him. And he'd been able to see that the way Lexie had stepped aside hadn't been prompted by fear for her own life. It had been a calculated move; he'd caught it in her eyes, heard it in her voice, felt it in the way she moved. More than that: in where she'd moved and where she'd stopped, ready to deal with him if things didn't turn out the way she expected.
She might not have been completely sure Tyler would let go of Duke when he stabbed his own body using Duke's, but she'd known it was possible.
And how would Lexie know something like that?
He'd thought about it all the time he'd been talking to her afterward, too, while Nathan and Dwight were busy cleaning up the crime scene. He'd seen Evi put on an act enough times to have a good sense of when someone was faking it—and Lexie was certainly faking something. After that, when Dwight had dropped her off at the Gull, he'd watched her from inside for a while longer before he joined her on the deck. It wasn't just the fact she looked the same as Audrey that made him doubt she was Lexie: it was her whole demeanor—and the way it shifted when she realized he was observing her, how she began to fiddle with her hair.
He might not be completely sure she was Audrey, but all the signs told him it was possible.
Opening the door, he went out to confront her.
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