Yep. Suddenly a plot bunny hit me as I was going to sleep so I thought I'd treat you all to this little ficlet. Set near the end of S2. I'm slowly uploading all the prompts and ficlets I've done over on tumblr onto this account.
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"What are you doing?" The question came softly but Claudia almost jumped out of her skin. She covered up her project with her arms before diving over it with her body to shield the view.
"Nothing!" The young woman screeched, looking over her shoulder at Leena who was feeling a little left out. Her friend had been secretive over the last few days, and too busy to even sit down with her and watch one of their weekly B-movies. Over the years, Leena had found herself enjoying the old sci-fi films and had to admit that she was actually missing them rather terribly. "It's nothing…"
"Oh," Leena nodded. "Okay," her eyes darted to the tape and the scissors on the table, the wrapping paper… Lightbulb moment. "Oh! Oh… sorry." She said and with an excited smile, disappeared into the downstairs bathroom.
"God damn it," Claudia grumbled and flicked some of the tape off her finger irritably. Over the passed few weeks she had slaved away over the woman's present. Cross-stitching and embroidery was for wussies, or so she had thought. She lost count of how many times she had stabbed herself in the finger, but she'd finished and she hoped this would be one of the best birthday presents ever. Nobody knew about it, it was just something she'd worked on when she was tucked up in bed. She grinned to herself, tracing the gift with her finger before finishing up with the wrapping.
oxoxoxoxo
"Happy Birthday," Claudia smiled, knocking on the door of Leena's bedroom before entering slowly once she was granted permission. Leena had just woken up and sat up in bed, yawning and giving a small stretch.
"Thank you," the innkeeper smiled. "You really couldn't wait, huh?"
Claudia fingered the wrapping of her gift nervously and sat down on the edge of the mattress. "I uhhh… I kinda wanted to give you your present before everyone else wakes up."
Leena thinned her lips, clearly touched and rubbed at her eyes to wake herself up a little more. "What's this?"
"Open it," Claudia grinned. "I uhh.. I hope you like it. Kinda gives a whole new meaning to my awesome title."
"And that is?" Leena smiled, slowly peeling away the paper. She patted the bed next to her and Claudia cautiously crawled closer.
"Donovan, the Fantastical Executrix of the Unknown Wonders of Awesome." She grinned with a wave of her band-aid covered fingers, cuts and slices running up her forearms. Leena stopped unwrapping and for a second looked concerned by the injuries, then just looked up with a quirk of her eyebrow. "Too much?" Claudia's nose wrinkled.
"Just a little," Leena smiled, then looked down at the gift. "What the…" She froze. Literally couldn't move. "Claudia…"
"Happy birthday," Claudia said again, her eyes showing subtle uncertainty. "I kinda thought cloth was lame, right? So I used what I work with best," she smiled, her lips quivering in anticipation as she waited for a reaction.
Leena looked down at her present, unshed tears gathering at her eyes. In her lap was a small photo frame, made entirely from circuit board. Tiny holes had obviously been drilled into the plastic and threaded around these holes were small wire flowers, almost embroidered into the computer chip. In the middle of the frame was a photo of herself, Claudia and Trailer, all snuggled up on the couch with pop-corn, warm blankets and smiling like buffoons at the camera. She remembered Myka taking it, but thought nothing of it at the time. And now…
"Woah… you're not crying, are you?" Claudia asked, backing away slightly. "Leena?"
The innkeeper sniffed and looked up, tracing the photo frame with her finger. "I… I thought… Your aura," she babbled. "I didn't know you liked me."
Claudia frowned. "Like you? Wh…" She remembered one of their first conversations together and felt like slapping herself in the head. "You mean you're seriously stuck on something I said to you two years ago? And… and even then you said you knew I liked you!"
Unsure eyes peered back at her. "I could read you then." Leena sniffed. "I find it hard to now and with MacPherson and you being closer to Pete and Myka and… and… you block me off." Claudia began to defend herself but Leena put up a hand, the other never leaving her present. "Not on purpose, at least I wasn't sure but… You block me off."
Claudia's mouth worked a few times as she processed this bit of news. "Leena, you big buffoon, of course I like you!"
"You do…" Leena smiled hopefully.
"You're like one of my best friends in this crazy frakking world, of course I like you! I'd be worried if I didn't." She watched, relieved as Leena gave a huge smile and stared down at the picture frame, tracing each wire flower with her fingers. "Come here," she grinned and brought her friend into a hug. She was surprised when Leena placed a hand on her back and squeezed tight, as if she was scared of letting go. Claudia cleared her throat and pulled away. "Okay, this is the reason why I didn't wanna do this in front of the others because you are just too sappy." She smiled despite the jibe. Leena grinned back, then popped the photo frame on her nightstand. "Really? There?" Claudia scoffed.
"Yep. And you don't get to say a thing because it's my present."
"Wouldn't dare to," Claudia smirked. "After all the time I spent on that stupid thing, I wouldn't be surprised I turned it into an artifact out to scratch me some more." She hopped off the bed. "I'm glad you like it."
Leena smiled and nodded. "Best birthday present anybody has ever given me."
The statement caused Claudia to widen her eyes considerably as she slowly backed out of the bedroom. "For realsies?"
Leena wrinkled her nose and nodded again. "For realsies." She watched her friend go, then flopped down onto her back, before turning onto her side and tracing the photo frame with her finger once more. "Best present ever," she whispered to herself quietly. She grinned again and pulled the duvet over her head, wriggling around like a happy worm. "Ever, ever, ever."