Kiss of Athena

Kotori and Zennosuke

Kotori’s world had become considerably smaller since she had been living with Zennosuke. She had been a spy- and still was on some occasions, but she’d had connections and been able to hone her skill. She’d had friends of a sort and she’d had more of a purpose. Now her life consisted mostly of going to the market and back and tending to the house. She never went out to shop for nice things, she rarely ever went on espionage missions anymore. She just stayed at home and waited. This wasn’t all bad. She still had to worry about her general finding her, or about any especially cruel and suspicious soldiers around here finding out that she used to be a spy for the other side- though that was rather unlikely. It wasn’t as if any of them would have seen her. But there was a sense of security there. She also knew Zennosuke would fight for her if anything went wrong. Not perhaps because he liked her, or cared about her well being, but because she was his and he wasn’t about to let anyone steal from him. Kotori was suited to domestic life too. She enjoyed taking care of people. She was a very skilled fighter but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be tender. It was nice being able to relax and know that doing their laundry was not a life or death situation. She had always hoped to settle down someday (and do a little odd espionage and contract killing on the side, just to keep up her skills). She had never thought that settling down would happen like this but she wasn’t complaining.

Posted: 4 days ago|

Obsession

She was beautiful. Somehow, that never failed to strike him, each time he looked at her. There was far more to her than that of course, but it was still the first thing he noticed. Long blonde hair, deep eyes, a slender figure and sweet features. Tess could be anything but sweet at times, but to Leelin, her personality was just as good as what was on the outside. She had her faults, but they seemed dwarfed by everything else to him. She was perfection. If only she knew that he knew that, then maybe… but he had long given up the ‘maybe’s. If actions spoke louder than words, eventually she would figure it out. She just wasn’t ready to see it yet. That was okay, he would give her time. One day she would see him as he saw her and it would be a beautiful moment. Until then, he would just look out for her, that was all. She’d thank him for it later.

Posted: 2 weeks ago|

Better or Worse

It was tonight. The moment they had been waiting for had come too soon, and it was tonight. Jonah stood, chewing his lip at the front door, his hand poised to knock. For some reason he couldn’t quite make himself put his knuckles against the wood. There was so much that he had to say, just in case. He wished he didn’t have to do this, but they had both seen it coming. He had been trying to man up and face it, but even as much as Jonah was not the type to run from conflict, this was hard for him. He knew that Kindle had been trying to avoid seeing it. She thought the whole thing was stupid. She was upset with him, and he knew it. She just didn’t understand what this meant to everyone- what it should mean to her, and already meant to him and her people.

Posted: 2 weeks ago|

Mr. Perfect

“What’s that smell?”

“Perfection. The bastard.” Morgan answered the CSI’s question venemously as she walked into the gallery room, her expression fierce.

Posted: 1 month ago|

Crash in Motion

A/N: This was a contest entry where the prompt was to tell a story from two different points of view. Sadly, it didn’t win, but I still quite like the outcome.

It all happened so fast, in the span of a couple seconds.

We were almost there, less than five miles away. I was saying something about the weather in our hometown, she was staring out the window, not paying attention- and then out of nowhere, there were headlights. They were racing towards us in the wrong direction and I heard the truck blare its horn. My foot jammed down on what I had hoped would be the brakes, but instead was the gas. There was the crunch of metal against metal, and a scream. My body was reacting, but my brain only barely registered the fear before my head hit the steering wheel and the sharp pain in my head overwhelmed my senses. I didn’t have time to wish I’d done it differently.

It wasn’t the same for her.

Posted: 1 month ago|

Diner Girl Chapter One

A/N: This is the first chapter of my novel, Diner Girl. Sadly it’s been sitting on my desk for more than a year waiting for me to finish editing it, but this chapter is finished at least!

CHAPTER ONE

The streetlights were flickering on slowly as dusk settled over Los Angeles. The sunset was pretty, but it wasn’t as if he noticed. His feet dragged as he walked home from the park, barely looking up to see where he was going. He was hungry, his feet ached, his fingers ached, his back ached- hell, everything ached. He might only be twenty-one but he felt sixty.

Today had not been a profitable day. Five whole dollars was all he’d made, the loose coins jingling pathetically in his pocket as he walked. As the light had been fading, his guitar just seemed to get heavier and heavier with each person that passed, most of them not even bothering to glance at him, much less donate to the cause. It had been less than encouraging.

He had finally given up as the park grew emptier and emptier, finally packing up his earnings and taking the quickest route home. He just wanted to go to bed and dream before doing the same thing all over again tomorrow- and probably for the same reward. He walked glumly down the rows of stores and restaurants most of them closed at this hour… all except for one.

He stopped in front of the brightly lit, grubby windows and peered in, his stomach as if on cue. Mick’s diner. It wasn’t the classiest of places, but it was cheap and the food was good. Though, the food was only the second most enticing thing about this place. He smiled as he saw his favourite reason to stop in from behind the fingerprints and street dirt: her.

Posted: 1 month ago|

True Love (and Ninja Zombies)

A/N: This is the first part of an old commission, written for a couple’s anniversary. Also quite fluffy.

   Don’t look at the eyes. Don’t look at the eyes. Don’t look at the eyes. Taylor chanted it to herself like a mantra. She just had to focus on what she was doing, just wrap up his finger and smile sweetly and say goodbye. She just couldn’t make eye contact. It was a simple rule, yet one that she had never really managed to stick to. His eyes were just so green and deep and there was so much behind them.

                Sure, some people would say that she should just go look at a magazine- his face was all over them. Staring at the glossy photo of just another hunky movie star was far less creepy than losing herself right in front of him and making herself look like a completely vapid idiot. She had narrowly escaped doing so in the few incidents before. It really didn’t help that she had to be so close to him- or that this had begun to happen so frequently. She knew that, this being an action movie, that her services would be more required than if it was some romantic comedy. Aaron didn’t happen to have a stunt double, so she expected at least a few cuts. She had kind of been looking forward to meeting him. She’d liked all of his other movies, after all. She was something of a fan. But she hadn’t realized before she saw him up close how different he was. It wasn’t just the eyes that she kept falling into. It was everything. The way he walked, his voice that made her shiver, that boyish attitude he had that kept catching her off guard. Oh yes, she was hooked. It wasn’t a good thing though. It was proving to be bad for her professionalism.

                “Are you bandaging my finger or trying to mummify it?”

Posted: 1 month ago|

Leaving

A/N: Another contest entry. It’s simply fluff, but I think it’s one of my favorite pieces despite that.

I was laying on his chest. His skin was soft and smooth, muscular and tender, slightly sweaty from the activities we had just concluded. I could hear his heart beat, steady and deep; it was constant. Unlike him. I was trying not to think about it.

Posted: 1 month ago|

But for Ireland

A/N: This was made for an open contest, based in Ireland around the time of the civil war in the 18th century. Not a winner, but I’m relatively satisfied with the outcome.

A fairy!

That was my first thought, I have to admit. A banshee or a fairy of some kind. Anyone might have made the mistake, glancing over the pale form so suddenly in the moonlight. I was out for a walk the night that wemet, it was cool for October but the chattering servant girls of my farm manor were getting to be too much for me. I loved them all dearly, of course. They were my only company out in that country, but gossiping about Eliza’s marriage to Tomas or Bridget’s pregnancy was not a very manly way to spend an evening, and that was certainly not what I intended to do until I retired.

I suppose my first thought should have been to go down to the pub and hear the old men tell of the ghosts they’d seen on the lake, or if there were no tales, for them to hear the songs I wrote on occasion. I’d promised them a lively jig after all. I think, however, that it was the woman herself who drew me out that night. There was something enchanting in the air that made me suddenly yearn for it- I know that no one will ever believe me in saying that, but it’s true. There was something calling me. I just didn’t know it until I saw her.

Posted: 1 month ago|