On the eighth day of December, my true love gave to me...

[vance_prime]

One a_mere_child napping on the couch,
one g00d_d0ggie romping through the snow,
one no_vampires_plz practicing fire spells,
one doyousmellfudge with a giant mug of tea,
and a withhistailhigh in a pear tree.*

Take your pick.

* No, really. There's a pear tree out by the lakeshore and he's stretched out on one of the lower limbs.

Comments

[thefirststark.livejournal.com]

Some people like tea. Others prefer coffee. Especially when surrounded by tea drinkers, and also facing strict rationing.

Howard nods at the man with coffee from a nearby booth.

[doyousmellfudge_archive]

The man with the teacup gives Howard a weary nod back. It's been One Of Those Days. Hell, it's been one of those years.

[thefirststark.livejournal.com]

"Long day?" Howard knows the feeling.

[doyousmellfudge_archive]

"And then some."

[thefirststark.livejournal.com]

"What sort of work do you do?" Howard sips at a cup of almost perfect coffee.

[doyousmellfudge_archive]

He takes a long sip of tea before answering. "Government business."

[thefirststark.livejournal.com]

"Same here. As a consultant, which means I can't be fired. But also can't really quit." He's just glad no one wants to officially draft him.

[doyousmellfudge_archive]

The other man snorts. "Would that I had that luxury."

[thefirststark.livejournal.com]

"Howard Stark. From 1943, if that helps." He's not used to adding his time to every conversation just yet.

[boston_bruiser]

Ambush patrols are tiring. All-night ones are exhausting. But week-long ones are just plain miserable.

And, in Voodoo's case, end with him lying near-comatose on the floor near the fireplace. His helmet's unfastened, revealing a red watchcap underneath, and his machine gun's laid across his stomach.

It might almost be cute, if he weren't snoring like a gutshot bear.

[vance_prime]

Alyx has always been a pretty light sleeper--she wouldn't have lived past age eight, if she wasn't. So once Voodoo starts getting some sleep, Alyx... isn't, anymore.

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo's a light sleeper, too!

Kind of. Sometimes. Not really.

Oh, who're we kidding, if the day ends in "y" he can sleep through a train wreck.

Sorry, Alyx. From the looks of it, he's not waking up anytime soon. On his own, anyway.

[vance_prime]

"Mnrgh..." Alyx grunts and flails around for something within arm's reach that she can chuck in Voodoo's direction. The first thing she grabs is a throw pillow, and off it goes.

[boston_bruiser]

What is the sound of one throw pillow crumpling uselessly against the floor?

If Milliways is to be believed, it's something like paff.

We don't know what was in it, either - but it sure didn't bother Voodoo.

[vance_prime]

Alyx grunts even louder--this time it's closer to a growl--and flings the other throw pillow.

Don't make her get up, Voodoo. Things will get Very Ugly Indeed if your snoring forces the pregnant lady to get up from the couch.

[boston_bruiser]

Good news: this one hits home, knocking the helmet from his head. Bad news: Voodoo shrugs it off like it's a ball of papier-mâché.

...yeah, this is not going to end well.

[vance_prime]

For a moment, she contemplates flagging down a waitrat and ordering something large and scalding hot to be thrown at the sleeping SEAL. But she thinks better of it.

Instead, she hefts herself off of the couch and waddles over to nudge him in the ribs with her booted foot. It might be less of a nudge and more of a kick if this keeps up.

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Juliet's gotten over her surprise at seeing the little purple unicorn at the bar, but the sight of her creating fireballs from thin air is a frightening and brand-new sight to Juliet.

She watches in silent, open-mouthed amazement - hopefully not making a huge target of herself in the process.

[no_vampires_plz]

They're not fireballs. Just little flames hanging in the air, like candleflames without the candle, flickering on and off as Twilight concentrates. Flame on, flame off. Flame on, flame off.

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

They look like fireballs to Jules! Though they are tiny. Thankfully she'd no exaggerator. "So that's what you meant by spells?" she asks at last.

[no_vampires_plz]

"Mm-hm," says Twilight, not looking away from her work. This takes Concentration, after all.

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

She patiently waits for Twilight to finish - the process of watching magic and conjuring is too irresistible to pull herself away from.

[no_vampires_plz]

It's a bit like aerobics, really. Hold, release, hold, release, three more, two more, one more...


Twilight finally relaxes and turns to face Jules. "All right, I'm done. Hi."

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Juliet knows aerobics - she never thought to combine them with fire. Maybe she should've taken up flaming baton twirling. "Hi!" she holds up a plate of cinnamon rolls. "How're you doing?

[no_vampires_plz]

"Not bad. How about you?"