yuletide reveal!

Since it is Yuletide Reveal Day, I can now say that I wrote four stories in three fandoms: my original assignment, a pinch hit, and two Treats. I wish I'd had more time for all four of them; I ran into the usual problem that I have with Yuletide, which is that mid-December is a busy time of year. One day, I'm going to learn to start early, college be damned!

I obviously wasn't allowed to talk about these for a while, which apparently made me really want to talk about them a lot now.

The Leaves in the Glen Have Fallen, for asprosdrakos (3484 words): Nuala and Nuada through the centuries.

Elizabeth mutters something sharp under her breath, says a brusque, "Abe, take care of the princess, okay?" and starts after Hellboy.

"Certainly," Abraham says, and he looks at Nuala just as she shyly glances at him. Nuala's eyes widen at being seen and she swiftly looks away again, just as Abraham does the same in the opposite direction.

Halfway across the garage, Elizabeth catches Hellboy. She stops him with a hand on his arm; reaches up and touches the cut on his cheek where he was struck by a rock, gentle care obvious even from a distance. He doesn't flinch.

For a brief moment, sneaking another look at Abraham, Nuala allows herself to believe that this entire mess may turn out well.

Story #1 was Hellboy (movie). ( Spoilery liner notes! )

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Gift That Keeps Giving, for halfshellvenus (5021 words): It's Christmas, and Tony's got a gift or two for Rhodey.

"Yeah," says Rhodey, well-versed in translating Tony-speak. "The secretaries are throwing a Christmas party."

"Wow," Tony mouths, setting the candy cane on the table. "I forget sometimes that the rest of the secretary pool is blonde and has incredible legs."

"And Mrs. Arbogast can run secretary circles around the rest of 'em," Rhodey points out reasonably. He accepts the glass of brandy that Tony hands him in passing. He concedes: "The little Santa hats, those're a nice touch, though."

"Rhodey, I'm surprised by you," Tony says, propping his feet up on his desk. He takes a sip of his drink. "The correct term these days is actually 'administrative assistant.' "

Story #2 was, in the least surprising news ever if you know me even a little, Iron Man. In slightly more surprising news, I did not slash Tony and Rhodey. Mostly because I ran out of time. :(((( ( Spoilery liner notes! )

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Waiting, for zelempa (2754 words): Robin's still not enjoying the holiday season, and it doesn't go unnoticed. By the Barnacle. Yeah, I said it. (That dosn't even make sense! Gah! I always come out of HIMYM mini-marathons talking like Barney.)

"Doug's kinda on the war path today," Lily explains sotto voce, and as the big man glances their way from the bar, all five of them smile -- big and fake -- and wave.

"You should've seen the guys he threw out earlier." Ted puts his glass down on the table and leans back, his arm across the back of the booth behind Robin. "I swear to God, at least one of them was on American Gladiators."

"Yeah, Ted, nobody's interested in who you may or may not have seen in porn," Barney says, his eyes momentarily tracking Ted's arm, and then they snap back to Ted's face.

I ventured into How I Met Your Mother for the first time, which was slightly terrifying given that I had been familiar with canon for all of two weeks. ( Spoilery liner notes! )

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Greatest Show on Earth, for vega_ofthe_lyre (1399 words): Hellboy meets Liz Sherman.

"Do you have any nicknames?" asked Liz, lit cigarette pressed between her fingers. She sat with her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, hood still covering her head against the biting winter wind. There wasn't a star in the sky, the taste of snow in the air.

"I mean, 'Hellboy,' " she continued. "It's a little Biblical."

Behind door #4: Hellboy (movie)! ( Spoilery liner notes! )

P.S. - OMG some of you were really sneaky and are getting emails MOMENTARILY. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.