alexseanchai: Adrianne Palicki, short curly blonde hair, spaghetti strap and pouty (Adrianne Palicki 2)
let me hear your voice tonight ([personal profile] alexseanchai) wrote2013-02-18 01:21 pm
Entry tags:

House on Fire

Title: House on Fire
Rating: PG
Summary: Mary and Jess get on like a... Written for [personal profile] anaraine at [personal profile] ruuger's Valentine's Day multifandom friendship fest.
Pairings: None.
Warnings: Monster death.
Word Count: 425


A-side

"Vegetarian pasta e fagioli?" Mary said. "That seems obvious now you say it, but how does it work without the bacon?"

"I've never had it with bacon, so I can't compare," Jess says, "but my folks' recipe—sauté onion and garlic, then add tomato puree and red beans and veggie broth and salt and pepper and basil and oregano and parsley, stir all that and bring it to a boil. It needs to boil about a minute, then simmer about ten minutes, and then add the pasta. We like shells but anything that holds sauce well will work. Simmer until the pasta's tender, take it off the heat, add parmesan—I never claimed it was vegan—and let it sit for ten minutes so the sauce can thicken. It's important that the beans be undrained, because we need the starch in the liquid to thicken the sauce. It's supposed to be really thick, not flowy at all."

"So not a soup," Mary says. "My mom's recipe is soup. Cook the bacon first, keep some of the fat to sauté with, and crumble the bacon back into the pan with olive oil and rosemary and thyme—it works best if you grow your own—and bay leaves and onion, garlic, carrots, celery, salt, pepper. Sauté a little bit and add crushed tomatoes, cannellini beans, water, and chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and add pasta—ditalini or elbow macaroni. Cook that till al dente, rescue the rosemary and thyme stems and bay leaves, let it cool a few minutes, and serve with parmesan or romano."

"Sounds delicious," Jess says. "Rosemary and thyme, really? I wonder how that would go instead of the basil and oregano..."

"Add a little sage too," Mary suggests. Jess blinks at her, and as if rehearsed, they crack up laughing.


B-side

Dance with me, I want to be your partner, can't you see? The music is just starting, night is falling, and I am calling, dance with me...

Jess whirled to take out one of the vampires threatening Mary, who dealt with the other in one smooth movement.

"Watch it!" Mary shouted, and Jess spun back around: a third was behind her, and a fourth coming up behind that.

(Why had they gone into the nest with only each other for backup?)

Pick the beat up and kick your feet up, dance with me...

(Because they could, Jess thought later, leaning exhausted against Mary in the midst of the slaughter, and because they could survive, and because they could win.)

[personal profile] grrlfag 2013-02-19 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)

Cool!
I like your Jess. Really, I like both of them. There is so much untapped room for awesome women on that show, and I like the way you write them. They feel like people.