Author's Notes: Same deal as before; various contexts and characters (some clearer than others) and some DLA/RBFOD 'verse inclusion.
Thanks to Alamo Girl, SpikesSweetie and Meredith Paris for being made of awesome. Well, except for Alamo Girl...we all know what she is. :) (If you haven't done so yet, go check out "Home"'s newest chapter. Awesome.)
01. Move
They have danced around each other long enough, he decides, and finally leans in to connect the electric circuit that's been buzzing between them for the better part of an annual.
02. Sleep
She wonders when she developed the inability to fall asleep without his hands in her hair.
03. Inspire
Though she's sure her parents or friends have suggestions on what she should say to the men who have come to protect the tower from their enemies, she decides to address them not as their Queen, but as someone who's just like them--scared and unsure.
04. Sweat
She feels unspeakably guilty for wanting a shower to rid her body of the blood, sweat and tears; the men she has failed did not have time for any thought other than hoping she would be able to save them.
05. Lovely
She doesn't realize that he sits in the shadows outside the music room each night, listening to her as she sings and tries to soothe the terror and restlessness out of her sister.
06. Breathe
He tends to stay awake far after sleep takes her and her breathing evens, because it takes longer to convince himself that she's right there next to him, safe and sound.
07. Rough
He sees the relief on his wife's face when he asks where he can find a razor to get rid of the ridiculous sideburns, and smiles for the first time in fifteen years.
08. Strike
He has to take a breath and calm himself before turning to face the Longcoat transport, adjusting the hood to hide his face; the knife is burning and heavy on his hip as it itches to plunge itself into Zero's chest.
09. Help
He's told her repeatedly that she can come to him at any time, for anything, but there is always something that keeps her from doing so--perhaps it is the fear of both of them realizing she is not as strong as they'd hoped.
10. Resist
Lorraine tells him it's too dangerous for them to join the rebel faction, and pleads with him to think of the children; Ralph replies that he's doing just that, and contacts the nearest cell leader the next day.
11. Meet
She is not jealous or doubtful of her relationship with the Tin Man when he speaks of his late wife, and there is a part of her that thinks they could have been dear friends in another lifetime.
12. Taut
His face is tight and his body is rigid as he storms angrily across the campsite; everyone holds their breath until he steps beyond the flaps of the medical tent and into the (mostly) sympathetic arms of their cell doctor.
13. Thirst
As he bends over the edge of the pier to take his first drink of water in eight annuals, the water catches his reflection, and he wonders when his eyes became so deadly cold.
14. All
When Adora finally slides her ring off--the first time she's removed it since her wedding day--she presses it into her son's palm and hopes he finds everything that has eluded her.
15. Fog
The mist from the cool water rises and condenses in the summer air, swirling around her and causing goosebumps to prickle her skin; he tightens his grip around her shoulders, and she is no longer cold.
16. Before
There comes a day when neither of them can remember their fathers' faces; when they can no longer call up the men's features in their minds' eyes, they are lost in their private despair, and the distance across the small medical tent is as wide as the crack in the O.Z.
17. Hurt
He has been injured a hundred times over--shot, stabbed, hit with shrapnel of every kind--but when her eyes doubt him, he knows what true pain is.
18. Kind
He is constantly amazed that she can talk with anyone about anything; her smile never wavers, her voice is always soft but interested, and he knows the patients appreciate it, because he understands how special it feels for her to act like someone's the only person in the world who matters.
19. Warm
She cannot contain a groan as another knock sounds against her door, but when it opens and Cain enters with a mug of steaming hot chocolate complete with floating, melting marshmallows--because he knows she hates chamomile tea--she finds the strength to smile for the first time all day.
20. Pattern
She holds on to the piece of fabric Adora had set aside for her wedding quilt as though it is the most precious thing in the Zone; her favorite birthday present is a frame DG finds in one of the Central City markets, and she slides the fabric square behind the glass, protecting the talisman of motherly love from fading or fraying.
21. Cycle
Their constant corrections that it's cycle, not month, or annual, not year, just serve as another jabbing, painful reminder that she does not belong here.
22. Glow
Their linked hands glow warmly, but cold apprehension always flows through her just as much as their light does, because she is convinced DG will let go again.
23. Zero
No one had ever challenged him this way before; he didn't know it at the time, but he had zero chance of escaping her--he was as good as sentenced the first time he laid eyes on her.
24. Wonder
Sometimes, she feels badly for dragging Cain to kingdom come and back as she rediscovers the Zone, but then she realizes he is learning how to live again--just like she is.
25. Scold
He knows he is in serious trouble the first time Julia blinks up at him with her mother's unfathomably expressive blue eyes--he's failed terribly at keeping DG in line; why did he think it'd be easier to do it to her daughter?
26. Figure
Though the glow from the sunlit windows behind her should have made her reminiscent of an ethereal being, Lonot sees nothing but a devil before him, and his explanation of why he hasn't yet found her Emerald turns into little more than a stutter.
27. Then
She had no way of knowing that the tornado she'd leapt into would not be the biggest storm she'd face.
28. Lie
There have been countless times during the annuals that she was unable to look herself in the eye, but it is never harder than after she tells DG she doesn't blame her for running away that day.
29. Hunt
They pretend this cat-and-mouse chase is a game, waiting for the other to blink first, but there is a part of them that knows they will never break the stalemate and move forward into fearfully uncharted territory.
30. Mistake
She makes three different friends at the hospital repeat the pregnancy test, and terrified dread weighs her bones during each of the interminable waits.
31. Birth
There is no adjective to describe the excruciating, searing pain, and she wishes for a merciful drug to end her suffering--and receives it in the form of a newborn's wail.
32. Cut
He is brash, stubborn, cocky and doubtful of her abilities, but even as frustrated and short-tempered as she feels, she pours the antiseptic on his arm and sends the ungrateful little bastard back out to fight another day.
33. Double
There is not enough alcohol on either side to dull her pain or ice her heart into unfeeling when he finally leaves.
34. Cover
If it's the last thing she does, she will institute karaoke in the O.Z., just because there is something uproariously hilarious about the visual of Glitch singing "I Will Survive".
35. Lick
There are times when she can't decide whether she'd rather slap that damned half-smirk off his face, or if she should kiss it away.
36. Wheel
She doesn't know if it's her driving or the Brick Route that rocks their vehicle as they leave the palace behind, but DG puts a comforting, guiding hand on her arm, and Ashby relaxes--and then pushes the gas pedal all the way to the ridged floorboard.
37. Slight
A piece of her heart breaks every time she notices someone flinch as she approaches, and she wonders how long it will be until it is gone and she returns to being nothing more than an unfeeling hag.
38. Fling
He hadn't anticipated joining her each night for shared coffee and paperwork, nor had he planned on turning down what Macklin called "a sure thing" with Charlotte in favor of checking on her--and he sure as hell hadn't intended on this turning into his one and only.
39. Sorry
There are only so many ways she can apologize, but she will never stop trying.
40. Call
He was not surprised or fearful when the Longcoats thundered up the stairs--the theater manager had called to warn him of their approach, and it wasn't as though the army was unknown in Central City--but he was unprepared for the callously determined face that accompanied the fedora and six-shooter.
41. Jewel
She finds it appropriate when the crown the maids place on her head stays askew in spite of their best efforts; it's a physical manifestation of her overwhelming sense of unbalance.
42. Fruit
Only Ahamo notices his wife's unease when Ambrose declares his love for Papay fruit, because he too remembers when their old friend detested the same food.
43. House
She doesn't quite remember what she said to Ainsley to force the woman into giving up Cain's location; all she knows is that he's never seemed further away and unapproachable than he does as he watches, expressionless, as she walks to his front door.
44. Swim
The visage at Finaqua is worthy of a painting: the suns are casting beautiful shades of orange and yellow, the flowers are in vibrant bloom, storks glide across the still water…and then two endlessly enthusiastic little girls leap into the lake, and the glorious quiet is shattered.
45. Family
It is not until they're gone that she realizes just how much she misses being a part of something she'd never understood or appreciated before--a family.
46. Interest
The moments after DG freed him from the suit are mostly a blur; the first thing he recalls is her irate expression and bitingly terse words after he called her a kid, and he remembers wondering just where this crazy spitfire of a girl came from.
47. Record
She thinks it must be divine intervention when she is exploring the palace basement one day and finds a cricket ball; she is transported back to softball fields browning beneath the summer sun--and the ten strikeout pitching performance that clinched the rec league championship.
48. Glass
The entire palace jumps when they hear vases and picture frames shatter; DG's cheeks flush an embarrassed red when they come to investigate, explaining that the curveball got away from her.
49. Shape
Azkadellia's clay figure has a slightly off-center face, and DG has painted her shoes a color that reminds him more of Holland than it does her, but his daughters' present is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.
50. Live
She has always moved forward--not quite recklessly but still determined--and wonders what's holding her back when it comes to him.