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3 Sentence Ficathon, part three (all B5 fixit edition)
9. More scenes from a Babylon 5 fixit AU.
I ended up doing a number of additional prompt fills from the same universe as this fill (#4 in the previous post, major series spoilers).
So basically I wrote this comment to the original AU fill post on the 3Sentence comm:
G'Kar will be there for that entire flight, probably entertaining him [Londo] with card games and never shutting up about his life choices.
And I thought ... well, I want to write that. And then I started writing it in various prompt fills across the second commentfic post.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13324321#cmt13324321
Any, any, making a competition out of something that really shouldn't be a competition
"Ha, go fish!" Londo announced, slapping down a handful of cards on top of the sheets covering his knees. "My four fish beat your three fish, even though they are queens."
"I'm not entirely sure we're remembering the rules of this Earth game correctly," G'Kar said, discarding his own cards.
"Mark my win," Londo declared, pointing at the sheet of flimsy printout by G'Kar's elbow. "I believe that makes thirty-four to me, and, er -- seventy-one to you."
"Aren't you glad we decided not to gamble?" G'Kar said, shuffling the cards.
There was, to be fair, not much else to do in the medbay. The grand total of their entertainment options consisted of a deck of Earth cards and a boxed Minbari game called Shovarr'ka. G'Kar could read just enough Minbari to realize that it would take 32 hours to play a full game.
"Have you ever played the Earth game of thumb wrestling?" Londo said.
"Do you really think you could beat me?"
"Er ... no."
"Good choice." G'Kar began laying down cards on the edge of the bedsheet.
"What is that one?"
"Solitaire," G'Kar said. "Mr. Garibaldi taught me to play it in prison."
"Is that the game where the one who is fastest grabs a card off the pile when two match?"
"I believe not," G'Kar said. "But we could play it like that."
Londo grinned, flashing a hint of sharp fang. He should probably be resting, but was just at that stage of recovery to be restless, fractious, and borderline unbearable. At least this was likely to tire him out enough to sleep, which meant G'Kar could get some writing done. He flipped the first cards over.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13140513#cmt13140513
any, any, I will be there until you fall asleep
G'Kar was just getting into a particularly satisfying metaphor he was developing in his pocket notebook when Londo jerked awake with a gasping cry, clawing at his bandaged shoulder. G'Kar looked up, then laid down his pen, reached across wordlessly, took hold of the hand sinking fiercely contorted fingers into the bandages, and carefully pried it off. Breathing hard, sweat glistening on his forehead in the low medbay lights, Londo slumped back on his pillow as G'Kar kept a hand curled over his, and slowly Londo began to relax, the wildness in his eyes faded, and his gaze was clear again. He balled his hand into a fist. G'Kar carefully took his own off.
"I know it's not real," Londo said, looking away at the wall. "Just nightmares."
"The Minbari physicians plan to check you thoroughly when we are on their world. They will make sure not a single trace of it, of them, remains."
"I know." His hand rose again, touched his neck, fingers skittering lightly across the bandaged area.
"I will be here," G'Kar said gently. When had they learned how to be gentle with each other? He couldn't quite remember. Those last days on Centauri Prime, perhaps. "I am your bodyguard, after all. I will watch out."
Londo's lip curled a little. "You can't protect me from ... me."
"No. But I will be here. If you wake up, I'll remind you where you are."
Londo glanced at him sharply. But slowly, his hand fell away from his shoulder. He was too exhausted to stay awake for long.
G'Kar opened his notebook again and blotted an inkblot with one thick and absorbent Narn knuckle. He set the book on the edge of the bed. It made writing a little more difficult, but it meant he could lay his hand beside Londo's where it curled loosely on the sheet, back to back. It seemed to make Londo relax a little. Maybe both of them relaxed, it was hard to say.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13393953#cmt13393953
Any, any, a scar from what should have been a fatal injury
"Stop staring at it."
Londo jerked his hand down from his own reflection in the mirror. The heavy bandaging was off his neck, leaving a mass of bruising and the pink and violet ridges of healing scars. Minbari medical tech, even Centauri, could probably remove most of it eventually, but there would always be traces.
"It itches," he complained, running his fingers lightly around the top of the visible damage.
"So don't scratch, or they will need to put one of those -- have you seen the Earth pets with the cone collars --"
Londo gave him such a a look of pure undiluted horror that G'Kar did not even bother to hold back a laugh.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13481249#cmt13481249
Any, Any, Falling asleep at an awkward moment.
"And the Anla'Shok troop movements in the forward region of the Drakh-controlled sector are beginning to show some --" Delenn paused. "Am I boring you, Londo?"
"I think he's asleep," G'Kar said, feeling qualified to note this, as the person Londo had fallen asleep on.
"I see that." The corners of her mouth twitched. "Well ... I suppose it is my own fault for insisting on a thorough debriefing while he is still recovering from a rather arduous surgery. Shall I continue?"
"I am completely confident that you and President Sheridan have the situation well in hand."
"Ah." Delenn nodded, her eyes still brimming with warm amusement, and rose with a quick brushing-down motion to her skirts. She paused, looking at both of them. G'Kar, carefully not moving the shoulder on which Londo had wilted, was delicately rearranging his notebook and pen so that he might write for a while. "G'Kar ... you have been in the White Star medbay for quite a long time. I could arrange for someone else to sit with him, if you would like to get some proper sleep."
"No," G'Kar said, aware of Londo's heavy and slightly uncomfortable weight on his shoulder, the measured breathing against his neck -- in and out, a steady metronome that spoke of life, of recovery, of Londo safe and secure where he could see and feel him. "I am exactly where I want to be."
10. And while I'm keeping the spoiler stuff confined to its own post, another B5 spoiler fixit AU (same characters) based off "War Without End."
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13478945#cmt13478945
any, any, attending their own funeral
The death of a Centauri Emperor was always a grand occasion, even if the body's immediate cremation was not usual -- but the people were willing enough to agree with Emperor Cotto that it was a necessary step toward moving beyond the recent past. These had not been usual times. Still, the funeral itself was handled with all the usual pomp and ceremony and festivity: the feasting and dancing, the white-draped buildings, the parades, the scaffolding for the new temple. If the reign of Emperor Mollari had been a difficult one for the Centauri people, then they deserved a party to celebrate the new Cotto era.
From the top of a building under construction, surrounded by the signs of a city rebuilding, two cloaked and hooded spectators watched one of the parades proceed below them, complete with enormous, many times larger than life size banners of the late Emperor.
"I cannot believe Vir used that picture. That is not my good side."
Londo's voice was hoarse, rasping. The Minbari doctor had said his half-crushed larynx would never entirely recover, even once it finished healing, for which purpose he was supposed to remain silent as much as possible. Of course, one might as well have instructed him to fly across the city and then burst into green flames.
G'Kar glanced at him and suppressed a slight twinge of guilt. "Stop talking," he said for what felt like the hundredth time, not that he expected it to have any more effect than the last 99 times, and added, "I didn't know you had a good side."
"Haha," Londo said. He stifled a cough.
"I hear there's going to be food later. We should go get some."
"That is your worst idea yet. Even with the hood, I'll be recognized instantly."
"Ah," G'Kar said. "A relatable problem on Narn, as well."
"I'm sure," Londo rasped. "And you're not exactly inconspicuous on this planet, either." He coughed again.
"Then we should go somewhere we won't be recognized. What do you say?"
"You have suggestions?"
"I have an entire ship. And stop talking."
I ended up doing a number of additional prompt fills from the same universe as this fill (#4 in the previous post, major series spoilers).
So basically I wrote this comment to the original AU fill post on the 3Sentence comm:
G'Kar will be there for that entire flight, probably entertaining him [Londo] with card games and never shutting up about his life choices.
And I thought ... well, I want to write that. And then I started writing it in various prompt fills across the second commentfic post.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13324321#cmt13324321
Any, any, making a competition out of something that really shouldn't be a competition
"Ha, go fish!" Londo announced, slapping down a handful of cards on top of the sheets covering his knees. "My four fish beat your three fish, even though they are queens."
"I'm not entirely sure we're remembering the rules of this Earth game correctly," G'Kar said, discarding his own cards.
"Mark my win," Londo declared, pointing at the sheet of flimsy printout by G'Kar's elbow. "I believe that makes thirty-four to me, and, er -- seventy-one to you."
"Aren't you glad we decided not to gamble?" G'Kar said, shuffling the cards.
There was, to be fair, not much else to do in the medbay. The grand total of their entertainment options consisted of a deck of Earth cards and a boxed Minbari game called Shovarr'ka. G'Kar could read just enough Minbari to realize that it would take 32 hours to play a full game.
"Have you ever played the Earth game of thumb wrestling?" Londo said.
"Do you really think you could beat me?"
"Er ... no."
"Good choice." G'Kar began laying down cards on the edge of the bedsheet.
"What is that one?"
"Solitaire," G'Kar said. "Mr. Garibaldi taught me to play it in prison."
"Is that the game where the one who is fastest grabs a card off the pile when two match?"
"I believe not," G'Kar said. "But we could play it like that."
Londo grinned, flashing a hint of sharp fang. He should probably be resting, but was just at that stage of recovery to be restless, fractious, and borderline unbearable. At least this was likely to tire him out enough to sleep, which meant G'Kar could get some writing done. He flipped the first cards over.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13140513#cmt13140513
any, any, I will be there until you fall asleep
G'Kar was just getting into a particularly satisfying metaphor he was developing in his pocket notebook when Londo jerked awake with a gasping cry, clawing at his bandaged shoulder. G'Kar looked up, then laid down his pen, reached across wordlessly, took hold of the hand sinking fiercely contorted fingers into the bandages, and carefully pried it off. Breathing hard, sweat glistening on his forehead in the low medbay lights, Londo slumped back on his pillow as G'Kar kept a hand curled over his, and slowly Londo began to relax, the wildness in his eyes faded, and his gaze was clear again. He balled his hand into a fist. G'Kar carefully took his own off.
"I know it's not real," Londo said, looking away at the wall. "Just nightmares."
"The Minbari physicians plan to check you thoroughly when we are on their world. They will make sure not a single trace of it, of them, remains."
"I know." His hand rose again, touched his neck, fingers skittering lightly across the bandaged area.
"I will be here," G'Kar said gently. When had they learned how to be gentle with each other? He couldn't quite remember. Those last days on Centauri Prime, perhaps. "I am your bodyguard, after all. I will watch out."
Londo's lip curled a little. "You can't protect me from ... me."
"No. But I will be here. If you wake up, I'll remind you where you are."
Londo glanced at him sharply. But slowly, his hand fell away from his shoulder. He was too exhausted to stay awake for long.
G'Kar opened his notebook again and blotted an inkblot with one thick and absorbent Narn knuckle. He set the book on the edge of the bed. It made writing a little more difficult, but it meant he could lay his hand beside Londo's where it curled loosely on the sheet, back to back. It seemed to make Londo relax a little. Maybe both of them relaxed, it was hard to say.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13393953#cmt13393953
Any, any, a scar from what should have been a fatal injury
"Stop staring at it."
Londo jerked his hand down from his own reflection in the mirror. The heavy bandaging was off his neck, leaving a mass of bruising and the pink and violet ridges of healing scars. Minbari medical tech, even Centauri, could probably remove most of it eventually, but there would always be traces.
"It itches," he complained, running his fingers lightly around the top of the visible damage.
"So don't scratch, or they will need to put one of those -- have you seen the Earth pets with the cone collars --"
Londo gave him such a a look of pure undiluted horror that G'Kar did not even bother to hold back a laugh.
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13481249#cmt13481249
Any, Any, Falling asleep at an awkward moment.
"And the Anla'Shok troop movements in the forward region of the Drakh-controlled sector are beginning to show some --" Delenn paused. "Am I boring you, Londo?"
"I think he's asleep," G'Kar said, feeling qualified to note this, as the person Londo had fallen asleep on.
"I see that." The corners of her mouth twitched. "Well ... I suppose it is my own fault for insisting on a thorough debriefing while he is still recovering from a rather arduous surgery. Shall I continue?"
"I am completely confident that you and President Sheridan have the situation well in hand."
"Ah." Delenn nodded, her eyes still brimming with warm amusement, and rose with a quick brushing-down motion to her skirts. She paused, looking at both of them. G'Kar, carefully not moving the shoulder on which Londo had wilted, was delicately rearranging his notebook and pen so that he might write for a while. "G'Kar ... you have been in the White Star medbay for quite a long time. I could arrange for someone else to sit with him, if you would like to get some proper sleep."
"No," G'Kar said, aware of Londo's heavy and slightly uncomfortable weight on his shoulder, the measured breathing against his neck -- in and out, a steady metronome that spoke of life, of recovery, of Londo safe and secure where he could see and feel him. "I am exactly where I want to be."
10. And while I'm keeping the spoiler stuff confined to its own post, another B5 spoiler fixit AU (same characters) based off "War Without End."
https://threesentenceficathon.dreamwidth.org/6433.html?thread=13478945#cmt13478945
any, any, attending their own funeral
The death of a Centauri Emperor was always a grand occasion, even if the body's immediate cremation was not usual -- but the people were willing enough to agree with Emperor Cotto that it was a necessary step toward moving beyond the recent past. These had not been usual times. Still, the funeral itself was handled with all the usual pomp and ceremony and festivity: the feasting and dancing, the white-draped buildings, the parades, the scaffolding for the new temple. If the reign of Emperor Mollari had been a difficult one for the Centauri people, then they deserved a party to celebrate the new Cotto era.
From the top of a building under construction, surrounded by the signs of a city rebuilding, two cloaked and hooded spectators watched one of the parades proceed below them, complete with enormous, many times larger than life size banners of the late Emperor.
"I cannot believe Vir used that picture. That is not my good side."
Londo's voice was hoarse, rasping. The Minbari doctor had said his half-crushed larynx would never entirely recover, even once it finished healing, for which purpose he was supposed to remain silent as much as possible. Of course, one might as well have instructed him to fly across the city and then burst into green flames.
G'Kar glanced at him and suppressed a slight twinge of guilt. "Stop talking," he said for what felt like the hundredth time, not that he expected it to have any more effect than the last 99 times, and added, "I didn't know you had a good side."
"Haha," Londo said. He stifled a cough.
"I hear there's going to be food later. We should go get some."
"That is your worst idea yet. Even with the hood, I'll be recognized instantly."
"Ah," G'Kar said. "A relatable problem on Narn, as well."
"I'm sure," Londo rasped. "And you're not exactly inconspicuous on this planet, either." He coughed again.
"Then we should go somewhere we won't be recognized. What do you say?"
"You have suggestions?"
"I have an entire ship. And stop talking."
no subject
I really enjoyed all of these, but the cards and the falling asleep are particularly beautiful, and
for which purpose he was supposed to remain silent as much as possible. Of course, one might as well have instructed him to fly across the city and then burst into green flames.
is something I can hear either Londo or G'Kar saying.