3SF 2024 - Round-Up Post the First!

[mad_madam_m]

The threesentenceficathon is back, baby!! It started just a week and a half ago and I have been slowly poking my way through prompts whenever I have the chance. I've been meaning to get this first update out for, like, four days, but life has been conspiring against me. Anyway, here's what I've got so far!

Teen Wolf

Gen, The Bite
Prompt: Any, any, canon divergence that makes things worse

Derek rolled on his back, spitting Gerard's blood out of his mouth. "What the hell have you done?"

Scott stared in horror at Gerard, who was transforming into a werewolf twice the size of Peter. "I--this wasn't supposed to happen. The Bite wasn't supposed to take!"

Two shots rang out, and Chris yelled, "Run!" just as Gerard attacked.


Stiles/Derek, Friends
Prompt: any, any, you've got a friend in me

“Stiles, will you just go away?” Derek snapped.

Instead of running away from an angry werewolf like any normal person would’ve done, Stiles flopped down on the couch beside him and stretched out. “No, asshole. Because like it or not, we’re friends now, and that means you’re stuck with me. So you’re not going to sit here and brood all night, okay? At least, not by yourself.”

“I don’t. Like you,” Derek muttered.

In return, he got a cock-eyed grin. “Aw, Derek, you say the sweetest things.”

Gargoyles

Gen, Honestly Surprised It Hasn't Happened Before
Prompt: Any fandom, any character(s), revenge while naked

"There they are!" Goliath shouted, and he leapt after their quarry just as Brooklyn heard fabric rip.

"Uh, Goliath..." he started, but Goliath was already gliding away, well out of earshot.

Brooklyn sighed at the loincloth lying discarded on the rooftop. Elisa wouldn't mind, he was sure, but he could do without seeing Goliath's bare ass for the rest of the rescue mission.


Gen, Alex Will Win Every Snowball Fight
Prompt: any, any, the glee of a snow day when you don't have to go anywhere

"Oh wow." Alex bounced in front of the window in Owen's office, where fat white flakes whirled by, obscuring the other buildings in a pale haze. "There's got to be ten feet of snow down there!"

"Hardly. The forecast is calling for four to six inches, and that will be plenty," Owen said dryly, and he flicked off his computer monitor. "Now, are you ready for your training?"

Alex whipped around from the window. "C'mon, Owen! It's a snow day!"

A mischievous grin crossed Owen's face. "Which is why I thought we might work on weather manipulation in the courtyard today. Unless, of course, you're satisfied with six inches of snow."

"I'll be there in two minutes!" Alex shouted, and he ran off to grab his coat and gloves.


Gen, He Needs at Least Four
Prompt: any, any, three wishes

"Only three?" Alex wrinkled his nose. "That doesn't seem very useful."

The genie spread its hands and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, those are the rules. Take them or leave them."

"Eh, I'll leave them," Alex said, and dropped the lamp in his backpack. Three wishes wouldn't do anything for him, but he imagined Dad or Owen would get a kick out of it, if nothing else.


Gen, Criminal Masterminds Can Be Good Dads Too
Prompt: any, any, the Evil Overlord playing gently with a small child

“Where were you last night?” Elisa asked.

Xanatos hefted Alex into the air and tickled his stomach; Alex screeched and giggled. “Is that a friendly question, Detective Maza, or am I under interrogation?”

She had hoped Xanatos would somehow get less irritating once he had a son, but she wasn’t surprised that hope hadn’t borne out. “You called a truce,” she said, instead of answering the question.

“With the clan.” Xanatos smiled and propped Alex on his hip. “If you’d like to interrogate me, you can call my lawyer. Otherwise, dinner’s at seven.”

With that, he strode out of the room, Alex babbling and blowing spit bubbles the whole way.


Gargoyles, Fox/Xanatos, Little Black Dress
Prompt: any, any, only bought this dress so you could take it off

David’s gaze swept over her from head to toe, growing more heated the longer he looked. “My, what a revealing dress you’ve chosen, my dear.”

Fox sashayed across the room and dragged her nails down his chest. “All the better for you to take it off me later.”

Tiger & Bunny

Ryan/Karina, Even Blue Rose Has Limits
Prompt: any fandom, any characters, dealing with a bitterly cold day

"Stop laughing at me," Karina snapped. "I can make ice, I'm not immune to it."

"Sorry, Princess." Ryan stopped laughing out loud, but his eyes still danced with mirth, and he took her ice-cold hands in his. "Let me help you warm up."


Gen, You'll Never Guess Who The Catcher Is
Prompt: any, any, circus AU

"You'll work with a catcher," Ms. Joubert said as she walked Barnaby across the circus grounds.

Barnaby froze for a half-second, the slightest hitch in his stride, but Ms. Joubert didn't seem to notice. "I'm sorry, ma'am. There must be a mistake. I was told—"

"I know that you're used to working alone," she cut in. "But there's only so much you can do on the trapeze by yourself. You'll be better with a catcher. And it just so happens that we have one without a partner." She eyed him sharply. "I expect you two to at least try to work together."

He wanted to continue protesting, but he needed this job, and Ms. Joubert's look said further protests would not go well for him. Barnaby cleared his throat and said the only thing he could. "Yes, ma'am."


Gen, Mouse
Prompt: any, any, cat and mouse

A shriek from the kitchen had Pao-lin bolting out of her room. "What?! What is it?"

Lara crouched on the counter and pointed at the floor. "There was a mouse! It just ran behind the refrigerator!"

Pao-lin laughed to herself and went to get the traps. "You know, La-chan, I think you might be the first cat who's scared of a mouse."


Barnaby/Kotetsu, The First Time
Prompt: any superhero fandom, any, the only person without superpowers

Eleven PDAs went off in the middle of dinner, and ten people were halfway out of their seats before they all froze.

Kotetsu forced a smile to his face and shooed them toward the door. "What are you waiting for?! Go! People are in trouble!"

It was enough to get most of the heroes running...all except for Bunny, who stood beside him, fists clenched, the PDA on his wrist still blinking red with Agnes's call. "Kotetsu..."

Kotetsu made himself stand up and he took Bunny's hands in his. "You said you still wanted to do this, right?"

Bunny nodded. "But—"

"Then go. Before everyone else beats you there. I'm okay."

Bunny glared at him, green eyes sharp. "No, you're not."

"I'll be okay," Kotetsu amended. "You have to go without me sometime, Bunny-chan."

Bunny's response was to throw his arms around Kotetsu and hug him hard. "You're my partner, old man. I'm never going without you."

Kotetsu closed his eyes and had to clear his throat a few times before he could talk over the lump in it. He'd expected the first time he stayed behind to be hard, but... "Bunny."

Bunny squeezed him one more time and then let him go, moving unsteadily at first, and then picking up speed as he reached the door.

Kotetsu sat back down and pressed his fingers to his eyes, and called for the check once he thought he had himself under control. If he hurried, he could get back home in time to catch the start of the show.


Barnaby/Kotetsu, They Really Needed the Nap
Prompt: Any, any, accidentally falling asleep on each other.

Barnaby startled awake—not from a nightmare, but just from the sudden realization that he'd fallen asleep without meaning to. He turned to Kotetsu, already apologizing. "I'm sorry, I didn't—"

Apparently his apology would go unheard; Kotetsu was sound asleep on the couch and snoring softly, a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth.

Barnaby's heart thumped with a pang of fondness, and he settled back against Kotetsu and closed his eyes once more.


Barnaby/Kotetsu, Battered
Prompt: Any, any, Even heroes have the right to bleed

They’re both in bad shape: Barnaby can’t hold himself up; his leg is throbbing, probably shattered, and he can’t see out of one eye, and while Kotetsu may be able to stand up under his own power, every breath he takes is a worrying rattle, and Barnaby catches hm spitting blood out of his mouth after a particularly hacking cough.

But they’re also both alive, blessedly so, and if Barnaby is being perfectly honest with himself, there were a few moments in that fight where he wasn’t sure that would be the case.

“Thank you for not dying,” he whispers.

Kotetsu hears it, because of course he does, and he kisses the side of Barnaby’s head. “Right back at you, Bunny-chan.”


Barnaby/Kotetsu, Partners Forever
Prompt: any, any, the various meanings of the term "partner"

It’s the only word Barnaby has ever been able to use to describe what Kotetsu is to him.

At first it was only work-related, the other half of the first hero duo, partners because they had to be, not because they wanted to be. But over the years, it shifted, changed—Kotetsu becoming the one person Barnaby could trust, the only family he could claim, an inextricable part of his life.

When Kotetsu looked at him after everything and said, “We’re partners forever,” it meant more than their jobs—partners in every way that mattered, for the rest of their lives.


Gen, Seriously Maverick Is the Worst
Prompt: any, any, yelling at a gravestone

Barnaby doesn’t intend to do it. He’s just finished visiting his parents, and on a spur-of-the-moment decision, he takes the long way back to his car so he can stop at Aunt Samantha’s grave and leave a flower for her.

But he turns too early—or too late—and as he’s scanning the unfamiliar markers looking for her name, they fall on one he’d hoped to never see again.

Seeing “Albert Maverick” is like a punch to the gut, and Barnaby freezes mid-step. He should keep walking, ignore it, go find Aunt Samantha’s grave.

Instead, he stops. And quite without his consent, the words start pouring out.

It starts off quiet, but by the end of it, he’s screaming, and he doesn’t stop until his throat is raw.

You took everything from me. You took everyone from me.

He fumbles his phone out of his pocket and dials without looking.

“Hey, Bunny!” Kotetsu’s voice is bright. “How are you?”

Barnaby can’t respond, but then again, it’s Kotetsu; he doesn’t need to.

“Bunny? Where are you?” Kotetsu asks, more serious now.

“The cemetery.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Barnaby nods, although Kotetsu can’t see it, and hangs up. Nothing can bring back what he’s lost, but Kotetsu reminds him of what he still has—the one person Maverick couldn’t take from him, despite his best efforts.


Gen, Bargains
Prompt: Crossover, The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)/Any fandom, Verna (& or /) Any, payment always comes due

She appeared in the back of the police transport van and regarded the old man on the opposite bench, his hair mussed and jaw slack, eyes vacant and staring off into the distance.

“Did you believe I would set you free if you could not remember our bargain, Mr. Maverick?” Verna asked, unseen and unheard by the guards in the van with them. “Or did the true weight of your crimes catch up with you before I did?”

Good Omens

Aziraphale/Crowley, A New Drink
Prompt: any, any, tea makes everything better

Crowley slid up to the table next to Aziraphale, who was pouring hot liquid out of a small pot into a little cup. "What's that you've got there? Smells good."

"It is a delightful new drink that has just arrived from China." Aziraphale picked up the cup and inhaled deeply, a relaxed smile spreading over his face. "They're calling it 'tea.' Would you like some?"

"Eh, maybe later," Crowley said, until he saw the utterly rapturous look that passed over Aziraphale's face at the first sip. "On second thought, I could try just a little."


Aziraphale/Crowley & the Librarian, At Least He Didn't Use the M-Word (Discworld Crossover)
Prompt: any, any, a bookshop between worlds

A new bookshop has sprung up in Soho not three blocks over from Aziraphale's, and it takes only three days for him to wheedle Crowley into investigating it with him.

"It's amazing." He exhales, a rapturous look on his face that Crowley normally only sees when they've got a lot less clothing on, or he's had a particularly tasty nibble. "I can't...half these books have been lost for centuries, they don't even..." He trails off and runs his hand over the spines on the shelf in front of them. "Isn't it the most wonderful thing you've ever seen?"

"Yeah, I—" Something flits by out of the corner of his eye, and Crowley stops to follow it, and then has to blink three times to make sure he's not seeing things. "Er, angel?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"What the heaven is an orangutan doing in a bookshop?"


Aziraphale/Crowley, If This Car Could Talk
Prompt: Any, any, The secrets that old car would know

When you’ve been around for nearly a hundred years and your owner is an immortal demon, you learn all kinds of things. You learn how to survive little things like no oil changes and an empty tank of petrol and big things like German bombs and an exploding church and the end of the world.

The most important thing you learn, however, is a secret that no one else can know, a powerful feeling that presses into you, into every seam and nook and cranny, whenever the angel is inside.

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boubei Love!

En/Atsushi/Kinshiro, Connected
Prompt: any, any, red thread of fate

"Ah! The Loveracelets have revealed your soulmate!" Wombat exclaimed, clapping his paws together.

Atsushi eyed the bright red thread looped around his wrist, which split off in two directions—one led to En-chan, which didn't surprise him in the least, but the other disappeared over the sill and out the window.

He stood up to peer out after it, and nearly choked: the student council walked by far below, and the second red thread led right to Kinshiro.

Atsushi swallowed hard and sat down, gaze fixed on the thread. "I don't think Kin-chan's going to like this very much."

Leverage

Parker/Eliot/Hardison, Meeting the Extended Fam
Prompt: any/The Addams Family, any, [character] is really an Addams

"Aw, man, it's so cute that you made us dossiers on your aunt and uncle, but you didn't need to."

Eliot sighed at Hardison's carefree grin. "I didn't make 'us' dossiers. I made you a dossier. Parker doesn't need one." He tapped the folder. "You should read it before we head out tomorrow."

Hardison sat up in the chair. "What do you mean, Parker doesn't need one? Has she met them before?"

"No, but Parker's insane. She'll fit right in. I mentioned Aunt Morticia's pet lion and her first question was if anybody had ever lost a hand trying to pet it."

"A li—" Hardison's mouth moved but no words came out. "A pet lion? Your aunt has a pet lion!?"

Eliot pushed the folder over to him. "Read it."

Hardison grabbed the folder and started flipping through it, his eyes getting bigger and bigger with each page. "Eliot, what the hell kind of people are your aunt and uncle?"

Eliot patted his shoulder. "You'll see."

Captain Harlock

Harlock/Yama, Technicalities
Prompt: any, any, a purring cat against the cold

Space was cold, and even as comfortable as the Arcadia was, Yama could still feel it seeping into his bones some days. Sharing a bed with Harlock certainly helped at night, but during the day, the most helpful thing was the little cat they'd rescued some months before; it liked to sit in Yama's lap whenever he was on the bridge. Technically it wasn't a cat, Yama knew—they'd been extinct for over a century—but when it curled up in his lap and purred, he decided technicalities didn't matter.

Original Stories

He's New to This Stepdad Thing
Prompt: any, any, the not-so-good doctor

"Doctor Gray," Makoto said—something he only called Julian when he was very flirtatious or very irritated, and at the moment, he did not sound flirtatious, "why does my twelve-year-old daughter have a fucking flamethrower?"

Julian didn't look up from the circuits he was attempting to connect; they were determined to thwart him if he took his eyes off them for even a second. "Because we were performing an experiment."

"Just what the hell kind of experiment were you performing?!"

"We were experimenting with how to build a flamethrower, of course."

The inarticulate noise Makoto made told Julian that was the incorrect response.


Escape
Prompt: Any, any, watched
Security personnel from the Consortium roamed the train station, standing out like beacons in their dark uniforms. There was no way Julian could slip onboard one of the trains while they watched.

He gave away his ticket to a young woman pleading for mercy at the desk and walked as quickly as he dared back out of the station and onto the darkening streets of the city. Tomorrow, first thing, he’d try the airship docks. Maybe they wouldn’t be searching for him there.

Castlevania

Trevor/Alucard, Stretches
Prompt: Any, any, the cracking sounds bones make.

"Good lord, Belmont, what was that noise?"

Trevor scowled and lifted his middle finger. "I stretched, you asshole."

Alucard arched an eyebrow, one hand splayed over his book, holding his place. "Are you certain? Because it sounded like a thousand dry branches collapsing under the weight of a boulder."

Trevor grabbed the nearest potential projectile—which turned out to be another book—and threw it as hard as he could. Alucard dodged it effortlessly.

"Truly, it is a miracle that I did not beat you outright," Alucard muttered.

Trevor settled back on the couch to get back to his very important business of taking a nap. "If you ever want another round, just let me know."


Trevor/Alucard, Sympathy
Prompt: any, any, I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me.

Trevor isn’t really good at being sympathetic; he never has any idea what to say or do n the face of grief, let alone the grief that Alucard faces after killing his own father.

What he can do is provide a distraction—a very willing and enthusiastic distraction.

And when Alucard falls asleep looking even a little less broken, Trevor counts it as a win.

Yowamushi Pedal

Toudou/Makishima, Greetings
Prompt: any, any, flower shop/tattoo parlor AU

Jinpachi fusses with the flower displays in the front window for the fifth time in the last fifteen minutes, keeping one eye on the front door of the tattoo parlor across the street. It's nearly ten in the morning, where is he?

No sooner does the petulant thought cross his mind than a familiar skinny green-haired figure rides up to the shop and locks his bike to the bike rack out front.

Jinpachi slams out of the front door, the window displays forgotten. "Maki-chan!" he yells. "Good morning, Maki-chan!"

Makishima glances up at him and waves, just a little crook of his fingers, before he turns to open the tattoo parlor.

One of these days. One of these days, Jinpachi is going to get that man to smile. And when Jinpachi wants something, he gets it.

Bodacious Space Pirates

Jenny/Lynn, First Kiss
Prompt: Any, any, Kissing who I should not dare

Jenny knows that she’s not supposed to be dating at school—she’s been told a thousand times that she’ll marry someone good for the company once she graduates.

But she can’t take her eyes off one of the first-years in the yacht club, a tomboyish girl with short hair and an easy smile who’s far too smart for her own good.

Their first kiss is in the club room, in the early evening after everybody else has left, and Lynn’s warm mouth on hers and the setting sun casting her bright eyes with a soft glow, Jenny knows she’s never giving this up.

Noblesse

Gen, Alone
Prompt: any, any, loneliness

Cadis Etrama Di Raizel stands at the window, watching the rain run down the glass in steady rivulets. The heavy storm mostly obscures the forest beyond, and his house feels even more cut off from the rest of Lukedonia than it normally does, like there is nothing in the world beyond the thick trees that surround his estate.

The house around him is heavy with silence, so thick even the patter of rain cannot break it.