Work Text:
This is a collection of short H/C ficlets (they were supposed to be drabbles but I'm terrible at writing short things) from various fandoms. I asked on one of my LiveJournals for one word for each letter of the alphabet, as well as a fandom and/or pairing. Here's what my friends gave me to work with:
A- Allergy- Angel/Collins (RENT)
B- Brothers- Bill & Charlie (Harry Potter)
C- Chicken Soup- Don & Charlie (Numb3rs)
D- Denial- Hornblower & Bush (Horatio Hornblower)
E- Exhaustion- Ro & Dan (Lord of the Rings)
F- Fever- Legolas/Gimli (Lord of the Rings)
G- Galu- Thranduil & a very young/small Legolas (Lord of the Rings)
H- Honor- Duncan (Highlander)
I- Indecision- Claire/Charlie (LOST)
J- Jetlag- Wolverine/Nightcrawler (X-Men)
K- Kite- Remus/Sirius (Harry Potter)
L- Lonely- Tatsumi/Watari & Tatsumi/Tsuzuki (Yami No Matsuei)
M- Midnight- Cedric/Oliver (Harry Potter)
N- Naughty- Percy/Oliver (Harry Potter)
O- Oblique- Willow/Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
P- Pain- Obi/Qui (Star Wars)
Q- Quiet- Legolas/Elrohir (Lord of the Rings)
R- Rain- Sirius/Remus (Harry Potter)
S- Sleep- Legolas/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)
T- Torn- Daniel & Jack (Stargate SG-1)
U- Understanding- James/Lily (Harry Potter)
V- Veritaserum- Snape/Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
W- Whipped- Nagi/Omi & others (Weiß Kreuz)
X- Xebec- Horatio/Archie (Horatio Hornblower)
Y- Yearning- Legolas/Gimli (Lord of the Rings)
Z- Zealous- Snape/Filch (Harry Potter)
The ABC Series 8: H is for Honor
by Kate of Kintail
As a Scottish Highlander, Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod had always thought he knew a thing or two about honor. He knew the shame which came from disgracing one's family, and he knew the joy of fighting for the right to live. It was funny that it took being shipwrecked on the other side of the world to show him there were more ways to be honorable than he had ever thought. Duncan only wished that it hadn't meant losing a teacher and friend in the process.
He knew they would come for him anyway. He knew from the moment it was done, that it was not enough. The Shogun had indeed been generous to Hideo Koto, letting the man keep his honor and that of his family by way of a ritual suicide rather than a murder. Despite the law of the land, Hideo had taken Duncan in, saved him, and treated him, a barbarian, as though he had honor. Duncan had saved Hideo's life once, but understood enough about honor now to make a promise, stand by him, and help him to die. However, once the deed was done, there was nothing to stop the Shogun's men from killing Duncan anyway.
Duncan did not know exactly what they would do to find him, but if these men were anything like the English soldiers had been after Culloden, Duncan knew the wood and paper houses would burn and Mya was in grave danger. And, whatever happened to him, he would not see that happen.
He heard the heavy-footed horses and the jangling armor. Lifting his head, he brushed tears out of his eyes, having found them there only after Hideo lay dead on the floor, for he had tried to be strong and honorable before. Duncan's hand closed over the Katana's beautifully-carved dragon hilt. With a deep breath, he rose to his feet and walked outside to meet his enemies.
He saw them dismount as they approached, a blur of reds and golds with the sun glinting off them. They were not many. Apparently, they had underestimated him because he was a barbarian. Surely he would be no match for four well-trained Samurai warriors.
He smelled death as he began, the mortals charging at him and fighting a losing battle. Duncan had skills honed for as long as they had been alive. He knew western fighting moves and, thanks to Hideo, he also knew eastern ones. Duncan could anticipate, and he did not shy away from the weapons the way most men did. He fought back and fought hard.
He tasted blood in his mouth and could not tell at first who it belonged to. Two men lay dead at his feet and a third fell as he coughed, realizing it was his own blood and that there was a wound in his stomach. The fourth came up to him to his left, sword raised high. The need to keel over and curl his body around the wound was strong, but his will was stronger. He raised his new sword to block the attack. The blades met with a sharp clang that Duncan knew would have broken his claymore in two easily. Then Duncan threw the sword off and quickly pulled back and came down for a swift cut. Unfortunately, the man had chosen to thrust and their proximity was such that Duncan could not both attack and block. As the Katana sliced through the man's neck, the man's sword pierced Duncan's chest. Duncan felt it in his heart but tried to stand upright in the glory of winning the small battle just long enough for the final warrior to fall. Then Duncan collapsed. His body tensed and then relaxed as not only consciousness but life itself left him. He died.
He felt a tremendous, stabbing pain in his chest and opened his eyes to see the sword still sticking out of his belly. Wincing and grunting a bit, Duncan sat back up and pulled it out. It was not unusual to feel winded after coming back, especially as injured as he had been. But it was unusual to die alone and come back to an audience.
Mya stared at him, wide-eyed. Duncan struggled to both recompose himself and explain. "Do not try ta understand, Mya," he said, trying to make his words clear through his thick Scottish burr. "Just know that now I carry with me the spirit of Hideo Koto and all the Kotos. On my honor, from this time on, your family will be my responsibility." He saw blood on her kimono but also saw the golden spyglass tucked beneath the ribbon at her waist. He knew that, whatever she felt for him, she would stay true to her family and believe his words. "I must go. I'll nay dishonor ye further." He struggled to his feet, his deadly wounds already healed. He turned away to start down the road, thinking he had glimpsed her beauty for the last time.
"Wait!" she called to him.
Startled, Duncan froze in place for a moment before turning back around to face her. "Aye?" Now that her father was gone, she did not have to respect his wishes. Duncan half expected her to slap him or even pick up a sword and run him through again. He was only guessing that once he had left the Shogun would not send more men to kill Mya.
Instead, she showed him a kind smile. "You have a long journey ahead of you. I would be honored if you would take some food and a horse."
Even more startled, Duncan merely nodded dumbly. She went quickly to gather some food, leaving him alone with the dead around him. And, in his hand, was a sword that had already served him well. It had slain his enemies and it had restored his honor in full. It was only fitting that his new friend, this Katana, had seen its first action in his hands when helping to kill a friend. Somehow, he knew it would serve him so well because of this and he hoped one day to be able to use it to fulfill his other debt of honor.
end