February

February 1- Quil
Prompt: 319. Elope

Embry plopped down on the couch. "We should've just eloped when we had the chance."

I laughed. "It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say," Embry grumbled. "You're not the one who has to do all the wedding planning."

"I think you'll live."

"Yeah, well, take it from me. When you and Claire decide to tie the knot, save yourselves and go to Vegas."

"Emily would kill us. Come to think of it, so would Audrey. You want my in-laws to hate me?"

Embry shook his head. "It'll be worth it, trust me." He let out a defeated sigh and sank into the couch, muttering something that sounded like "Only one more month, only one more month…"

February 2- Claire
Prompt: 114. Hands

Go into just about any co-ed high school, and you'll see them. Couples holed up in corners, making eyes at each other, or saying long drawn out goodbyes before class.

One couple in particular would stand outside my third period class everyday. They looked a little like they were trying to eat each other's face. You'd think these people weren't going to see each other in another fifty minutes.

I got to watch this go on everyday. But if you ask me, I got the better deal.

Or at least, I always thought so in the afternoon when I got to climb into Quil's truck and hold his hand the whole way home.

A/N: There was a couple that did that my senior year of high school… One of 'em had the class next door, and they'd block the doorway everyday. Someone ought to do a study on the apparent cannibalistic tendencies of high schoolers.

February 3- Claire
Prompt: 148. Fate

I watched Quil put more wood in the fireplace. At least it wasn't snowing tonight—it was just so bitterly cold. It was supposed to be one of the coldest winters in a long time.

I was just glad I had my own portable space heater.

Quil came back to the couch and drew me against his side. "You look so serious," he commented. "What are you thinking about?"

"Do you ever think about fate?"

I felt his chest vibrate beneath me as he chuckled. "All the time."

"Do you think everything happens for a reason?" I bit my lip. I wasn't sure how to keep this from coming out badly.

There was a pause. "Yes." I felt Quil's gaze on me, but I didn't look away from the fireplace. "Why?"

I shrugged. "It's nothing really." It wasn't. It was just something I'd gotten on my mind earlier that day that I would have rather gotten rid of. "I'm supposed to have been made for you, right?"

Quil looked confused. "Right."

"I was just thinking… do you think I'm here for more than just that?" I blushed. "Not that I have a problem with that reason."

I felt him kiss the top of my head. "Are you seriously worried about that?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I never even really thought that much about it."

"Hmm," Quil murmured thoughtfully. He lifted my chin so that I was looking at him. "You're going to do a lot of amazing things," he informed me, a smile playing on his lips. "And thank God, I get to be the lucky bastard who gets to stand by you through it all." He shook his head. "I still don't know what I did to deserve that."

I grinned, then leaned up to kiss him. When I pulled away, I swatted playfully at his chest. "Okay, enough with the sappiness."

Quil laughed. "You got it."

February 4- Claire
Prompt: 228. Witch

"I'm not a witch! I'm your wife! And I don't know if I even want to be that anymore!"

Quil groaned. "When you said you wanted a movie night, I thought you'd at least pick something new. We've watched this a thousand times." He gestured at the screen. "You can practically quote this movie word for word."

"'He's only mostly dead,'" I said.

Quil rolled his eyes. "Exactly. Couldn't we watch something else?" He gave me a pleading look. He was so cute I almost couldn't resist him. Almost.

"Right, like your suggestion about watching The Godfather? Again?"

He kept his expression perfectly innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."

A/N: If you know what movie I'm quoting from, I will love you forever. :-) Umm… in a friendly, non-creepy stalker way, I mean…

February 5- Claire
Prompt: 004. Laundry

I wrinkled my nose. "Quil!"

Quil poked his head into the laundry room. "What's wrong?"

I held out the offending article of clothing. "Why are your boxers in with my laundry?"

"I don't know," Quil said, shrugging. "They probably just got in there by mistake. What's the problem?"

"Nothing, normally. But you want to explain what's all over them?" I wasn't sure if I should be amused or nauseated. Possibly both.

"What are you—" Quil took a better look at the pair in my hand, before grabbing it suddenly from me. "You didn't see that."

"Right." I turned back to the washing machine I had been filling. "Don't know what it is, either."

"Exactly."

I grinned despite myself. "Life is so much easier if we pretend we're in denial, don't you think?"

"My thoughts exactly."

A/N: …No comment.

February 6- Quil
Prompt: 281. Broken Glass

"Don't move," I ordered.

Claire glared at me while trying to balance on her one, uninjured foot. "If you hadn't dropped it, I wouldn't have broken glass stuck in my foot right now."

I winced, feeling a familiar rush of guilt that always came whenever Claire got hurt by anything—my fault or not. "I know. Just hold on, and I'll get it out, okay?"

"I can get it myself," she responded huffily.

"Claire."

She sighed. "Sorry." She always seemed to get especially testy when she felt helpless.

"Come on," I said, when I reached her, deftly avoiding the broken glass on the floor. I lifter her up onto the counter. "Let's get this cleaned up before it does any more damage."

I quickly swept up the glass from the kitchen and then returned to her side. "Let's have a look at that foot." I examined it for a moment, keeping my expression grave. "Hmm."

"What?"

I shook my head. "It's looking pretty bad."

"What?"

"I think it's going to have to come off."

That finally elicited a laugh. "Quil!" She hit my shoulder lightly—or at any rate, I wouldn't have noticed at all if I hadn't seen the motion. "Just get tweezers and leave the surgery to the real doctors."

February 7- Quil
Prompt: 070. Good Morning

"Rise and shine, sweetheart," I announced, pulling Claire up into a sitting position. "I've got a surprise for you."

Claire peered at me through half-closed eyes. "Quil, it's still dark outside." She looked at the clock on her bedside table. "God, Quil, it's two in the morning!"

"I know." I lifted her out of bed, ignoring her protests. "This can't wait."

I made our way into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. "Now, what would you like?"

Claire shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"For breakfast, silly." I grinned.

She gaped at me. "Quil, it's the middle of the night."

"I know." I leaned down and kissed her, which seemed to only confuse her further. I chuckled. "But there's no way I'm going to be up when normal people actually eat breakfast, so…"

More head shaking, but at least this time she was smiling. "You're too much. Have I told you that lately?"

I grinned, and kissed her again before heading for the refrigerator. "Only every chance you get. But seriously, now." I opened the fridge and pulled out various food items, holding them up for her to inspect. "Eggs or waffles?"

February 8- Claire
Prompt: 201. Eyelashes

"You know what I've never noticed before?" I was currently perched on Quil's lap in the kitchen. I had come home from school about an hour earlier to find him in an especially amorous mood—something that didn't happen nearly as often as I'd like… well, at least he didn't give into it nearly as often as I'd like.

"What?"

I kissed the tip of his nose before moving on to his eyelids. "You have absurdly long eyelashes for a man."

Quil grinned. "Do I now?"

I pulled back, frowning at him. "Am I amusing you?"

"Just a little bit." He pulled me closer again. "But I like it."

February 9- Quil
Prompt: 117. Silk

My throat suddenly felt very dry. "Jen's out of her mind."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "It's not that bad."

"Yes, it is. What's she thinking? Silk bridesmaids' dresses?"

Jacob peered at Emily's dress, which was currently laying over the back of a chair outside the dressing rooms. "I don't think it's real silk, anyway. Way too expensive."

I looked at him incredulously. "Since when do you know anything about silk?"

"I've been around," he said defensively.

"Yes, I know, but what does that have to do with this conversation?" I ducked Jacob's fist easily. "But seriously, they can't wear this. No guy in the room will be able to take their eyes off them. You can't have the bridesmaids outshine the bride."

Jake snorted. "Yeah, I don't think Embry will be thinking that." He patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, I don't think Claire will be able to take her eyes off you, either."

"Then I guess you haven't heard Jen's idea for our tuxes."

Jake just groaned.

February 10- Claire
Prompt: 264. Broken

I crawled out of bed, pulling the blankets along with me and wrapping them around my shoulders.

Quil was gone for the night. Of course. I could always count on more nightmares when he was on patrol.

I sighed, making my way to his bedroom. It felt so cold without him there.

I took up my position in the window, leaning against the pane. I sighed. Ten months, and I still felt as though my entire world had been shattered. Wasn't that ridiculous? Shouldn't I be okay by now?

I was just grateful that it wasn't like this all the time. That had to count for something, right? I couldn't be completely broken. I got through life okay, I didn't break down at the smallest thing. I was happy. Or at least not unhappy.

I shook my head. No, that wasn't fair. I was happy. It's just that, every now and then, a few of the cracks in what should have been my perfect life would decide to make themselves known, and it'd be like I was little more than a bit of shattered glass.

It's just that it seemed to be taking an awfully long time to put all the pieces back together. I wondered sometimes if we hadn't lost a few along the way.

February 11- Claire
Prompt: 065. Toilet

"Oh, thank God," I sighed. I thrust the plunger into Jacob's hands. "Here, I don't know what he did in there, but it's a mess."

Jacob peered over my shoulder at the thin layer of water on the bathroom floor. "Shit," he muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. "How long's it been like this?"

"Awhile," I informed him, moving away from the door. A very unpleasant odor was wafting out of the bathroom. "At least I got the water to stop coming out. Just don't flush it." I motioned to mini-swimming pool on the floor. "That's how we got this."

"Great." Jake glanced back at me. "Sure you don't want to stick around while I mop this up?"

I wrinkled my nose. "I think I'll pass, thanks. I've kind of had to go for the past hour. Since this one's not going to be open anytime soon…"

Jake grimaced. "Too much info, thanks."

"Anytime." I patted his arm—all that I could easily reach—and turned to go. "Have fun with that."

February 12- Claire
Prompt: 108. Sword

"Fencing? Why would you want to take up fencing?"

Audrey sighed. "I told you, I thought it'd be fun. Mom and Dad spent all of break telling me how I need more extra-curricular activities. You heard them."

I sandwiched the phone between my ear and my shoulder while I folded the towels I'd just pulled from the dryer. "Yeah, but I thought they meant something like the newspaper or something."

"Hmm, yeah, well, the newspaper's more for the journalism people. I'd be the only business major there."

"True."

"And anyway, it's just started. It's more of a club then anything, we're not even really that competitive. And there are some really nice people there…"

I rolled my eyes, knowing from experience where this was going. "Uh-huh. What's his name?"

"Brady, but that's not why I'm doing it."

"Right, Audrey. Whatever you say."

February 13- Quil
Prompt: 037. Disgrace

"What do you think?" I asked Embry, holding up the necklace I'd bought for Claire. "Too much?"

"God, Quil, from the way you were going you were going on about it, you might as well have gotten her a ring." Embry rolled his eyes. "It's fine. She'll probably freak."

I scowled at him. "It's only been four months." I toyed with the necklace in my hands. "Four tomorrow, actually."

"Yes, I know." He shook his head at me. "You've only mentioned it a million times. Honestly, man, you're pretty much a disgrace as a guy."

I chucked the jewelry box at him. "Shut up. You were ten times worse with Jen."

"Whatever. Just don't start crying at chick flicks or anything, all right? I think that'd be more than I could take."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

February 14- Claire
Prompt: 008. Valentine's Day

"Quil!"

He watched me anxiously. "You like it?"

"I love it!" I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck and landing a kiss on his cheek. "It's beautiful." I pulled back to admire the necklace, smiling down at the pretty charm. Then, I mock-glared at him. "I thought I told you I didn't want anything."

Quil laughed. "I tried, really. But I couldn't help myself when I saw it."

"Uh-huh. Because you just happened to be wandering the mall, and you just happened to notice the jewelry store."

"Exactly," he said.

"Quil, you never go to the mall."

He sighed. He pulled me onto his lap and nuzzled his face into my neck. "Just be nice and say thank you, all right?"

I giggled. "Thank you, Quil."

"You're welcome." He straightened. "Now. Where's my present?"

I stared at him blankly. "Present?"

"Claire, I know you said you didn't want anything, but I distinctly recall not saying anything like that. So, come on, where is it?"

I shook my head. "I don't know what you're talking about. I assumed we weren't getting each other anything."

Quil leveled his gaze at me. "Claire."

I sighed, slipping off his lap. I went into my room and fished around my closet for the wrapped package I'd hidden there. I handed it to him when I came back, sitting on the couch again. "You're really no fun."

Quil just grunted as he started tearing at the wrapping paper. "So you've been telling me since you were five."

February 15- Claire
Prompt: 311. Fashion

Quil held up the shirt for me to inspect. "What do you think?"

I had to suppress a giggle. "Absolutely not," I choked out.

"What's wrong with it?" Quil frowned at the thing in his hands. "I like it."

"It's polka-dotted."

"So?"

I shook my head. "Quil, just trust me on this. You don't want to be seen outside in that. In fact, you should seriously consider burning the thing altogether."

Quil sighed, throwing the shirt into the pile of clothes we were getting rid of. "I guess you're going to say no to the striped pants, too, huh?"

Thankfully, the pile of clothes was there to break my fall when I fell off his bed laughing.

February 16- Claire
Prompt: 255. Rhyme

I sighed, tossing down my pen. "This is hopeless. How am I supposed to write fourteen lines of this?"

Quil shrugged. "Shakespeare managed to write a hundred and fifty of these. You can probably manage just one."

"I doubt it." I waved my hand at the paper in front of me. "I've got two lines, my meter's completely off, and I can't think of anything that'll rhyme with 'hot' and still fit."

Quil cocked his head to the side. "I can think of a few things," he said, grinning.

I laughed. "I'm sure you can. But I was looking for something school appropriate."

Quil shook his head. "It's a sonnet. It's pretty much a love poem by definition." He shrugged again. "They're almost asking for it."

"Somehow I don't think my teacher's going to agree with you." I picked up my pen again. "You might as well put some coffee on. We're going to be here for awhile."

He raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yes, we. Who do you think's going to help me stay awake?" I nodded firmly. "If I have to suffer, you're suffering with me."

"Good to know." Quil stood from the kitchen table and started for the cabinet where we kept the coffee maker. He paused, turning back to look at me. "You want my coffee?"

I sighed. "Good point." I got up to make it myself.

February 17- Claire
Prompt: 128. Failure

Three hours and two cups of coffee later, it was just after 1AM, and I was finally done with the stupid assignment.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my eyes. "It's awful."

I heard Quil chuckle. "Hardly."

I glared at him. "You only say that because you love me."

"Maybe," he admitted, shrugging. "If it's any consolation, it's better than what I could've done."

I snorted. "No offense, Quil, but I've read your poetry. That's not saying much."

Quil feigned a hurt expression. "You wound me, Claire. I thought you enjoyed my poems." Then he laughed at my incredulous expression. "Fine, you're right." He stood from the table and held out a hand to me. "Come on, let's go to bed."

February 18- Claire
Prompt: 157. Oven

"Oh, good, you're here," I said when I saw Jacob come in. I pulled off the apron I'd borrowed from Billy and handed it to him. "Take the meatloaf out of the oven in about an hour, okay?"

"Er… sure thing." Jake stared down at the apron in his hands for a moment and then looked back at me. "Where are you going?"

"Home," I informed him. "I have a paper to write for tomorrow, and I forgot all about my promise to Billy to help make dinner."

"Ah, yes." Jacob grinned. "The life of a procrastinating high school student."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just take it out when the timer goes off, okay?" I grabbed my jacket and started for the door. "And don't burn yourself!"

I heard him chuckle behind me. "Yes, ma'am."

February 19- Claire
Prompt: 360. Marshmallow

I dug around the cupboard. "Quil, did you eat all the marshmallows again?"

Quil tried to look innocent. "Why would you think I ate them?"

I shot him a look. "Oh, I don't know… Maybe it's because you're constantly eating us out of house and home…"

He ignored that one. "Why do you want marshmallows, anyway?"

"I was going to make s'mores."

Quil frowned. "With what?"

"The microwave." I noticed his incredulous expression. "What's wrong with the microwave?"

"Nothing." His expression said otherwise.

I rolled my eyes. A moment later, I pulled out an empty marshmallow bag. "Quil!"

He looked sheepish. "Sorry. I should, uh, go get some more."

I tossed his car keys at him. "Yeah. Go do that."

February 20- Quil
Prompt: 083. Movies

I wrinkled my nose. "Claire, not again."

She gave me her most pitiful look. "But Quil, you said I could choose anything."

I sighed. "Yes, but I thought you were going to choose something we haven't seen a thousand times."

Claire pouted. "Come on, I watch what you want to when it's your turn to pick." I couldn't really argue with that, and she knew it. "Please?"

I sighed again. I couldn't say no to her. "All right, all right." I took the tape from her and put it in. "Princess Bride it is. Again."

February 21- Quil
Prompt: 242. Want

I was an idiot. That's really all there was to it.

I spent half my life waiting for moments like this—moments where I could just lay down on the couch with her and just hold her. For the longest time I didn't even think we'd ever reach this point, and that if we ever did… well, I thought that would be more than enough for me. More than I could ever hope for.

And yet… moments like this, I find myself wanting something else entirely.

February 22- Claire
Prompt: 209. Protection

I scowled at him. "I hate it when you have to go."

Quil smiled down at me. "I know." He leaned down and kissed me lightly. "I'll see you when I get home, okay?"

I sighed. "Okay." I stood in the doorway, hugging myself in an attempt to keep warm, as I watched him hop off our front porch and start running toward trees.

I shook my head, smiling a little despite myself. This was what I got for loving a werewolf. I wasn't the only one he had to protect.

February 23- Claire
Prompt: 078. Paint

I stepped back from the easel, wrinkling my nose. "What was I thinking?"

Quil looked over my shoulder. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, it kind of is," Jacob said, grimacing. "Ow! Hey!" He rubbed his arm and glared at Quil, who had punched him. "What was that for?"

"Don't fight," I said absently. Then I glanced back at Quil. "At least Jake's honest."

Quil put his arms around my waist. "I am honest. You could never make anything that I didn't like. Shut up, Jacob," he added in response to the gagging noises Jake was making behind us. "I've heard worse from you."

Jacob made a face. "Yeah, well, I never sounded that mushy."

Quil snorted. "Right."

I glanced back and forth between them. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," Jacob interjected before Quil could open his mouth.

I sighed, shaking my head. I dropped my paint brush into the glass of water I had next to my easel. "Why didn't one of you try to stop me before I started this hobby?"

"I did try to stop you," Jacob pointed out. "Twice."

"Yes, well…" I thought for a moment. "Oh, nevermind."

February 24- Claire
Prompt: 017. Sickness

"Claire? Are you okay?"

I groaned, hugging the toilet for dear life. I shut my eyes. Stupid Bobby Blake. That's all I could think. My stupid lab partner for biology who came to school even when he was sick enough to start puking in the cafeteria. Stupid, stupid, stupid Bobby Blake.

"Claire?"

"I'm fine," I managed to call back to Quil.

A pause. "You don't sound fine."

Of course I didn't. I'd been sitting there since three this morning. That was… I didn't even want to know how long ago.

I heard the door crack open. "Oh, Claire," Quil sighed.

"Go 'way," I mumbled, shutting my eyes.

"Don't think so." Quil knelt next to me and peeled me away from the toilet. When I opened my eyes, I saw him grimace. "You need to change."

I scowled at him.

"Don't argue," he ordered, helping me to my feet.

"I don't think—" I stopped suddenly, jerking away from him and leaning over the toilet once again.

"Right," Quil said when I was done. "Now you need to change."

February 25- Claire
Prompt: 223. Complain

"It's hot," I whined.

Quil rolled his eyes, tucking the blankets more securely around me so that I couldn't kick them off again. "That's only because you're sick."

"Exactly. So, if I'm already hot, how is making me hotter going to help?" Personally, I thought my logic was flawless.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, perhaps you're right." He started for the door.

"Wait!" I cried. "Where are you going?"

Quil turned back to look at me. "You just said making you hotter wasn't going to help," he said innocently.

I scowled at him. "You know what I meant."

Quil just laughed, but at least he came back to sit next to me. "You complain a lot," he informed me.

I shrugged. "I'm sick, I'm allowed to complain a little."

Quil raised an eyebrow. "A little?"

"Shut up and take this extra blanket off me, okay?"

February 26- Claire
Prompt: 111. Bath

I sank into the bathtub, sighing contentedly. "You have no idea how nice this feels," I called to Quil, who was dutifully standing outside the door.

I heard him chuckle. "Not too hot?"

I rolled my eyes, though I knew he couldn't see. "It's fine, thanks."

"Good to hear." I heard a shuffling outside the door. "You know how long you're going to be in there for?"

"A while." I grinned. He had insisted on waiting for me to finish. I was determined to enjoy myself.

More shuffling. "You sure?"

"Quil, if you want to go do something else…"

"No, no, I'm fine. Take your time."

I shook my head. And he thought I was stubborn.

February 27- Claire
Prompt: 210. Antidote

"How are you feeling?" Emily wanted to know.

"A hundred percent better," I told her, forking up some of the macaroni she'd made me. That was the best part of being sick—people came and made you food. "A little rest and a nice long bath were just the thing."

Emily laughed. "Yeah, I heard about the bath."

I glanced up at her. "Did you?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh. Apparently that night Quil spent the entire time on patrol grumbling about how he had to miss dinner." Emily shook her head at me. "Drove Sam crazy."

I grinned, looking down at my plate. "It was his own fault. He's incredibly stubborn."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Yes, I've noticed."

February 28- Claire
Prompt: 362. Moon

"Are you sure a full moon has nothing to do with your phasing?"

"Claire, how many times have we been over this? That's just a myth."

I frowned, glancing out the window. "Then I think you should debunk the myth and stay home tonight."

Quil shook his head. "Nice try, but it's not going to work." He leaned in to kiss me, then started for the door. "If it's any consolation, this won't go on forever." He glanced over his shoulder at me. "Eventually, I'll stop phasing altogether."

I sighed. "It isn't the phasing I have a problem with," I pointed out. I shook my head. "Fine, fine, go then." I waved him out the door. "I'll see you when you get back."

The many hazards of dating a werewolf.

A/N: Oi, this one took me forever. Which is funny, since it's the shortest month. XD Only 17 pages (18 with the author's note) this time.

Things for you to look forward to in March: a wedding, a party, more Jacob (because I 3 him and I'm setting up for… later. I'd tell you what for, but then I might get your hopes up, and that'd be evil. -sigh-) and more Quil and Claire, of course. But that goes without saying.

I'm about ready for… say… September.