The world hasn't ended, and Raleigh's pretty sure he's glad. That doesn't mean he's happy about the PPDC wanting them back.

If he cannot ask, if he cannot even bring himself to, to say, I want this of you, then how can he expect Sui Zhou to answer? Sui Zhou is a man of fewer words than he is motions, but talking is an act that most often transcends tactility in its clarity.

All too late / all too late.

The captain takes Mr. Hickey for his darling, with dire consequences.

Beauty and the Beast - sort of. Thanks to stealstheashes on LJ for the beta.

It was her own damn poor luck to be in love with both of them. (The three work a job, deny their feelings, and get kidnapped. In that order.)

His secrets were collateral. They were a contract, a promise that he would not go back on his word. Her flesh, his soul: when she knew things that not even the King knew, things that could ruin him, they became equal.

No inch of his bared skin is a revelation to Tang Fan, but stripping before him still feels like an unveiling, marital. A deification of the profane.

Jeff's used to playing with Richie; they've done it since they were 17. He signs a contract with Philly thinking he'll win a Cup there, with Richie. Then they're traded away from each other - and it turns out, that's just the beginning. The sweep, the trade, the SECOND trade, and what happens after.

He knows Napoleon is watching Gaby, just as he knows Gaby's looking right back. What he doesn't realize is that they're both looking at him.