#&&.﹙i’ve left the country﹚ ━ QUEUE.

[hibarisims]

.

[earthtooz]

x : COUPLE HUNDRED MILES :*+ﾟ

in which: you're a few minutes away from boarding a flight when an unexpected mikage reo appears and spills his heart to you.

warnings: 1.4k words, swearing, gn!reader, reader sits on reo's lap towards the end, fluff, previous rejection turned romance, bad writing :P, reader and reo are uni students and 20-ish

a/n: this was me practicing to get back into writing bc i am approaching sem break soon and have a lot of things to get out on my plate... but this was also me... being absolutely in love with reo... so... enjoy!

in a few minutes, you’ll be boarding a flight that takes you abroad for six months.

six months of not seeing your friends or family physically, six months of immersing yourself in a new culture, and six months away from the country where you confessed your love to mikage reo, only to be embarrassingly shut down.

boarding passes and passport in hand, you cringe at the haunting memory once more, but the overhead voice of the airport speakers pulls you out of your misery to announce that the boarding for your flight was open.

remaining rooted to your seat in the terminal, you calmly watch as other flight-goers scramble to be the first ones in the line. being apart of the rush was never something you preferred, always lagging behind to find your seat over 

you never really liked being apart of the rush, preferring to lag behind and find your seat whilst everyone was sitting down rather than joining the uncomfortable push and pull of airplane aisles. 

the queue moves at a moderate pace and when there’s only 30 or so people left, you grab your luggage to secure a spot. 

but, a yell of your name reverberates through the airport and you, like many other shocked passengers, turn around to see where the commotion was coming from… only to see reo running right up towards you.

the other passengers didn’t gasp like you did, didn’t have their hearts plummet to the ground like yours did, and most certainly didn’t feel the bout of panic that rammed into you like a bullet train.

what did you do in a past life to deserve this?

you had confessed your pure-hearted, genuine affections for reo only to be met with the stinging palm of rejection slapping you across the face. when he told you that he liked someone else, and in the next breath asked if you could stay friends, the only response you had was to mutter a pathetic ‘sure’ before turning on your heel and walking away from the boy you’ve been longing after. you’ve been ignoring reo since, avoiding him where possible, pretending like you didn’t see him when your paths crossed, and perpetually ignoring all texts of his. 

now he manifests right in front of you, having followed you all this way to the airport. this six month cleanse was not starting off on the right foot. 

he’s red and sweaty and empty handed and you’re wondering when you’ll be able to stop seeing mikage reo as a gift from the heavens. it’s unfair for him to look good whilst puffed out, but you think that’s what makes him all the more unreachable.

“what the fuck are you doing here?” you hiss. 

for a second, you don’t think reo will reply, too entrenched in the idea that this person in front of you is nothing but a trick of your mind. karma for running (more like flying) away from your problems.

against the haziness of your mind, this reo responds. “i need to tell you something.” 

“could you not have texted?” you gesture to your phone for emphasis. “what could be so important to make you run all the way out to an airport? and how did you make your way into the terminal?”

“because i’m catching a flight.” 

you raise an eyebrow.

“-to your heart.” 

“don’t joke around with me like that,” you mutter, a stupid smile making its way to your face, causing you to hide your giggles behind your hands. you still have the capacity to take his jokes lightheartedly. reo thinks that is a good sign. “why are you actually here?”

“because i’ve realised something.” 

“what does that have to do with me?” 

reo inhales sharply before exhaling a quick “i like you too.”

your mouth drops. reo shifts his weight between his feet awkwardly. the person behind you in line with his wife and kids coughs awkwardly and you grab your luggage and reo and pull them both to the side, face hot. there’s only a few minutes before your flight leaves, but there is a disaster on your hands and a whole lot of questions you need answered.

“what do you mean you ‘like me too’?” you ask, any hostility previously in your tone disintegrating as you meet reo’s gaze. he looks at you like he’s never seen anything more beautiful. 

“it means that i like you, and i think we should go out.”

“but… why the change of heart?”

he rubs the back of his head awkwardly, “because you ignored me for three weeks and i didn’t like it. i didn’t like not being able to talk to you and not being around you.”

“what about the person that you liked before?”

he cringes at the mention of them. “let’s not think about that, i’ve moved on.” it sounds like there’s more to the story than reo’s letting on, but you don’t pry, not yet at least. “all that matters is that i like you- a lot, and i would like another chance if you’d allow me.”

“i… don’t know,” you murmur, watchful of the gate and how little people there were left in the queue, meaning that you should probably get a move on if you didn’t want to miss your flight. “you know what, we’ll talk about it when i land-”

“-i have two first class tickets.”

“what.”

he shows you the boarding passes proudly, splaying them out to reveal that there was, indeed, two first class tickets. 

“so… you… bought- hold on, you weren’t joking and the flight you need to catch is mine? how did you-”

“-i worked my magic,” the purple-haired winks at you, shooting an arrow straight through your heart. damn his boyish charms. 

“that’s not at all a good answer!” you hiss. “reo, please tell me you’re not getting on that flight.”

“i am.”

“university starts in a week!”

“and?”

“i’m- what do you mean, ‘and’?”

“and? i’ll be back in time for it to start. you matter more.”

you huff. “you’re not getting on that flight, reo.” 

he smiles at the roll of his name off your tongue. “but i am.”

“no you’re not.”

“well you can’t stop me.”

you deflate, dropping your shoulders. he’s right.

“besides, can you really say no to first class?” the purple-haired waves the tickets in front of your face and you have half a mind to push them out of the way. 

sparing a glance over to the gate, you realise just how little people are left in the line, leaving you no choice but to agree. stupid reo and his negotiations. you look back at him. “you didn’t have to do that, i would have been fine in economy.”

“yeah but i would not have, and first class would be a lot better with you in it.”

you push his shoulder lightly. “spoiled brat.” 

“maybe, but you like this spoiled brat, and we’re going to miss the flight if we don’t hurry so,” he gestures to the gate, “after you.”

“you’re ridiculous,” you murmur fondly and he grins charmingly. “we’re definitely talking about this later.”

“we’re going to do a lot more than just talk, c’mon.”

EXTRA SNIPPET:

“so you’re going to stay the week with me as i settle in for exchange? our semester starts next week, are you sure you’ll be back in time?” you ask, halfway into the flight. reo had decided to invade your pod and now made himself comfortable with you sitting on his lap. you can’t decide whether you like how comfortable he is with you (you like it; a lot).

reo has always been touchy with you, even when you were ‘just friends’. draping himself around you, holding your hand to ‘keep them warm’, and offering piggy-back rides were normal, but now that it was established that you two will be something more than just friends, his affection truly has no bounds.

“even if i’m not then what’s the harm? some of my classes are online and don’t mark attendance,” the purple-haired hums, taking a sip of the cup of coffee he ordered.

you sigh. “you’re horrible.”

“maybe, but we’re young and we deserve to live a little.”

“true.” 

“and what if you meet someone there? i can’t have that happening. i need to establish myself as an oligopolist- market dominance in the sea of potential competitors.”

the purple-haired stares at you expectantly, and you’re not exactly sure how to respond to his sudden spiel apart from a helpless: “i can’t believe i like a finance bro.” 

for whatever reason, he giggles. “i can’t believe you like me.”

© EARTHTOOZ 2023, do not steal, translate, repost my fics and do not recommend my fics onto any other site.

[pekoehoneyncream]

Ghoaptober # 6

Prompt: Meal/Food

Words: 1000~

TW: None (sfw)

This version of Ghoaptober was created by @spadesandshovels

I gave you short and sad yesterday, but today you get short and sweet!

I don't know if y'all have seen that video of the soldiers getting yelled at for ordering pizza delivered to their camp, or that post about the lady that grew up way out in the country and only got ice-cream from a truck when it got very very lost. but this entry is inspired by both of those.

Enjoy!

Soap was slumped into the couch in the officer’s recreation room, watching Gaz swear at the telly as he ran his horse into the train for the umpteenth time and had to restart the mission again. Between Gaz fervently damning all of John Marston’s ancestors and the secondhand xbox 360 doing its best impression of an overboiling pot, the sounds of a escalating commotion beyond the door was almost completely negligible, and Soap was willing to play deaf to the few shouts that eked their way in. 

What he couldn’t ignore was Price busting in through the door muttering about idiotic fools. Now Price muttering to himself was perfectly normal, par for the course, nothing to take note of, what was decidedly abnormal was the Fab ice lolly that was dripping over his fingers. 

“Cap?” Soap’s vaguely disturbed truncated question stole Gaz’s attention away from shooting the train goers and, upon turning around, he too was immediately captivated by the incongruent sight of Captain John Price glaring at them while struggling to contain a rapidly liquifying lolly. 

“While on gate duty, Private Johnson dared Private Gilligan to stop an ice-cream van that was going by and the fucker actually did it. The front’s a madhouse.” Price reluctantly gruffed out to the two goggle eyed Sergeants staring him down. 

In the next moment Price was alone in the room with a screen heralding 'DEAD' in bold red letters. 

Gaz and Soap shoved at each other as they raced through the halls to the front of the base, joining a crush of other like minded soldiers. True to Price’s word the front gates were pure mayhem, save for the strangely orderly queue leading up to the Mr Softee van proper. Every soul with any kind of rank was abusing it to their best advantage to force every other unlucky sod to stand down and move back in the queue. Soap and Gaz were in luck as talking to the older lady leaning out of the van’s window was Warrant Officer Evans. The Sergeants sidled up to the queue, following their fellow’s leads in staring down Corporal Winslow until she obediently let them cut in front of her. Evans walked away from the van with a cherry screwball and the Sergeants stepped up to the window.

“I’ve only one cone left, lads,” The woman running the van warned them, leaning down and speaking up to be heard over the orderly chaos behind them and the tinny repeating jingling blaring from the top of the van, Gaz shot a possessive look at Soap and the Scot waved him on.

“Could I get a ninety-nine flake, please?”  Gaz got a smile for his nice manners and the woman turned to Soap,

“And for you, Lovie?” Her voice was kindly, but blunt with a no-nonsense manner,

“Ah’ll ha’e an oyster delight, an’ a strawberry swirl wi’ caramel sauce in a doubled cup w’ an extra spoon, please.” Soap answered, feeling like he now knew why the van’s queue was so orderly. Likely the woman, Florence, her name tag read, had just refused to serve anyone that hadn’t politely queued up. 

“Lovely,” Florence bustled about in the van, handing the treats out the window as she finished them, “That’ll be nine pound fifty,”

Before Soap could think through how best to juggle his ice-creams into one hand to dig his wallet out of his pockets, Gaz had already paid and casually walked away, licking at his cone and casting smug looks back at Soap as he scrambled to catch up. 

“Ye didnae ha’e tae pay, Ky,” Soap complained, “Ah’ve mah own money,”

“Then be faster, Tav,” Gaz teased, “I’m a tenner poorer now, I’ll be out on the streets by monday, livin’ out of a box.” 

“Get tae fuck, ye loony. Least ye’d ha’e y’ur own room” Soap laughed,

“You’ve a good point," Gaz nodded along, "Could be worse. Could be shared barracks,”

Soap felt something cold slither over his fingers and picked up his pace with a curse, the ice-cream was melting in sticky trails over the sides of its wrappings, why did the running track have to be so far away.

Soap hustled over to where Ghost was shouting constructive abuse at the rookies panting their way around the course, with Gaz jogging amiably along in his wake.

“L.T! Ah got ye some’hing,” Soap smiled as Ghost’s lovely calf brown eyes swung their glare unto him, passing over the oyster delight and peaceably ignoring his Lieutenant’s unchanged expression of flat ire. 

He pulled the extra cup off the bottom of his and extracted the second spoon from his strawberry swirl, popping it into his mouth to clean the taint of caramel off it, then handing both over to Ghost. 

Ghost extracted his oyster delight from the napkins mummifying it and dumped it into the bowl, stabbing the oddly flat spoon through an edge to make sure the utensil wouldn't fall out while he one handedly rolled his balaclava up past his nose. All this being accomplished in an unwavering deadpan manner. 

Soap watched Ghost take his first spoonful of ice-cream, then started in on his own. Getting a kick out of the grabbag of baffled, jealous, or resigned expressions that warped the rookies faces as they paced by them and caught sight of their superiour’s new preoccupation. He knew that it would take Ghost a good ten minutes to finish his treat, his teeth too sensitive to the cold to eat it any faster. Unlike Gaz, who had scarfed his and was now panting his way through a self-inflicted ice-cream headache. 

“Thanks, Johnny” Ghost’s quiet rumble whipped Soap’s attention away from Sideshow Garrick and the Scot beamed up at him.

“O’ course L.T! Was nae bother, dinnae fash yersel’,” Soap assured with a smile, bumping his shoulder against Ghost’s, 

“Of course it wasn’t a bother,” Gaz griped, “I paid for it!”

Ghost raised an eyebrow at Gaz, then faced front again repeating, “Thanks, Johnny,” in the flattest tone he could manage. Carefully hiding the smile that hooked at the corners of his mouth when Gaz’s exaggerated spluttering sent Johnny cackling. 

Thank You for Reading!

This one also required an absurd amount of research as I tried to figure out what the hell British ice-cream trucks could feasibly sell, and if scots have some slang word for them, they do. They apparently call an ice-cream cone a 'pokey hat'. A delightful discovery that I had to share as it didn't make it into the story.

PekoeHoneynCream's Masterlist

[imsobadatnicknames2]

(GOAL REACHED) Emergency commissions/donations

Alright, I really hate to do this because I was convinced I was gonna be financially stable by this point, but something really bad just came out of left field, so.. here's the situation:

My husband moved from Mexico to live with me here in Colombia back in January

We got married in February, with the intention for him to apply for a migrant Visa

We were unable to apply for the Visa right away because we were saving up for the procedure. We ended up applying for it back at the start of June

His Visa application just got rejected, citing two reasons: we were supposed to provide photographic evidence that we're living together and sharing domestic responsibilities (which we weren't aware of), and by the time we applied he had already overstayed a bit over the time he could legally stay as a tourist

We can request an extension on his stay and apply for a Visa again, however, before we can do that we NEED to pay a fine for the time he overstayed. Otherwise the only option we have is to let him get deported back to Mexico, which would make him unable to enter the country for the next three years.

We have 60 days to pay for the fine, which is 2 million Colombian pesos. As of today's (June 29th 2023) exchange rate, that equals a little over 479 USD.

I know I've been kinda slow with music commissions due to being busy with my day job, but the situation being what it is, I'm gonna have to pick up the pace and also very politely ask for donations if you're able to.

Music commissions:

Previous work and examples:

I’ve previously done commissioned work for the D&D twitch show Dice and Dynamics by @fish-mouth and the RPG Maker game Those Infernal Girls by @zeddy-bear. I'm also one of the two members of the technical death metal band Beyond Flesh.

Some examples of my previous work:

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Prices:

Base price: $5 (1 minute of music, 2 instrument tracks + 1 percussion track)

Extra instrument track: $2.50

Extra minute of music: $2.50

Commission slots (this section will be periodically updated as I get/ finish commissions):

SLOT 1: TAKEN (work in progress)

SLOT 2: TAKEN (on queue)

SLOT 3: Free

SLOT 4: Free

Donations:

Please don't feel obligated to donate, but if you're willing and able to do it, I would be very thankful

paypal.me/imsobadatnicknames

Other ways to support:

Here's my linktree which has links to all my past projects including music and TTRPG content. Most of them are Pay What You Want.

My husband also has art commissions open over at @uxrabbit

GOAL: $484 / $479

[cuckoo-on-a-string]

Persephone's Devotee (Hello, Mr. Monster AU, I)

Master List

Summary: In the age of Spiritualists and magicians, wyrds winds in different ways to link Dream of the Endless and Aisling Hunt. AU of Hello, Mr. Monster beginning in the 1920s. (Alternatively titled 'We All Hate Roderick Burgess')

Warnings: Implied child abuse/neglect, child left to travel solo, manipulating children for profit (non-sexual trafficking)

A/N: Your bird just got diagnosed with a life changing chronic condition (in addition to being put back on depression meds). We'll see how this post does. Have four chapters planned. The last scene is based on personal experiences with heat exhaustion/borderline heat stroke.

Dream’s tools brought many things to Fawney Rig. Wealth and prestige. Admiration, gifts, and influence. Nearly everything the magus wanted and only a fraction of what he thought he deserved. Roderick’s dreams of power and riches drew another tool to his hand, or perhaps Destiny drew the magus to her. The girl who saw strange things in the dark and found answers to strange riddles in her cards. But her wyrd would always draw her to old house and its shrouded dungeon, in any world or time. All because of what the Burgesses kept there.

In the eight years since the fateful evening he summoned and caught one of the Endless, Roderick had become a man much desired. He found himself with an invitation to Lord and Lady Werthrope’s party, a guest of honor at a soiree at their country estate. They promised a night of occult mysteries and foreign prizes. Bits of people and places from across the empire and beyond. Mummies from Egypt and fragments of Greek antiquities to gasp and shriek over with glasses of champagne and brandy.

Roderick carried himself as Lord Werthrope’s equal, and at least for that night, surrounded by ancient mysteries of all kinds, he was seen as such. He was an expert, a guide, someone to hold in reverence rather than an oddity to gawk over. He told them with his bearing, his dignity, and the ruby he wore on a golden chain around his neck. His wishes became dreams and so became real. He stood like a stronger god beside the broken figure of Apollo and scoffed at the mistranslations of texts he’d only ever read secondhand.

Beside the wonders kept under guard at home, what were these paltry things? He could have any of them he desired, and he’d already claimed better.

His sense of superiority carried him through the party’s early hours, moving from acrobats in elaborate costumes, to fire eaters, to ghost stories and flights of fancy spun by swindlers far below his consideration. He had an answer or alternative for everything. And then he met the girl.

She sat at a bare table with no long cloth to hide rolling ankles, clever fishing lines, or knocking accomplices. Only a candle and a deck of cards separated her from the guests, and she’d drawn quite a queue. Her feet didn’t even reach the floor, swinging idly between the legs of the chair as she read the cards of a distraught-looking dandy.

Taking his arm, Lady Werthrope said, “This one you really must see, Magus. She’s made quite the splash in New York and London.”

The Magus offered a tolerant smile. “And what is the trick? Does she blow out the candle? Bend spoons?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that.” The lady practically vibrated, eager to impress as she led them to the table, scattering the line. “She sees things, and she reads fortunes like no one I’ve ever seen, and I’ve had more than a few pet psychics in my time. This one’s a bit of a sad story.”

The magus clenched his jaw until the muscle in his cheek twitched. He could make whatever sob story the girl shilled much worse. Of all the frauds and liars who feigned knowledge of the occult, Roderick Burgess hated mediums and ghost whisperers the most. The tantalizing promise of connection with Randal – always waved in his face, always ultimately denied – it clawed open the rotting wound in his heart, and he let the poison drip back on any fools who tried his patience.

Let this one try to pull the wool over his eyes, and he’d unmask her in front of this glittering audience. She’d be a penniless sad story when he was through.

“Those people,” the lady said, nodding to a couple flanking the child, “are just the adoptive parents. Saw her family murdered, poor thing. They say that’s what cracked her open to the other world.”

“Do they indeed.” He kept his smile, showing his teeth as his grip flexed over the cane in his free hand. “Then I look forward to her performance.”

The Magus and the lady sat across from the faux family, and the girl looked at them. The people who weren’t her parents did not manage her well, Burgess couldn’t help noting. They’d painted her up with rogue and kohl that made her look even more like a child playing grownup games, and the feather in her headband hung limp and lifeless. She barely managed to grimace through a smile, and she spoke with all the enthusiasm of a student reporting on Ovid to the class.

“What are you asking?” A child’s voice really shouldn’t be so dull. Now that he was nearer, the Magus couldn’t help wondering if she was even younger than he’d first assumed. Not even ten, he thought, and already so exhausted.

It wasn’t what he’d expected. He kept his guard, but curiosity stirred beneath. She was no great performer.

Lady Werthrope leaned forward, eager to take the first reading as the girl shuffled her cards. They were nearly too big for her to manage, but in this at least she clearly had much practice. Her handling of the tarot was the most natural element of her demeanor he’d yet to see.

The lady talked about her dog Moxy, a cocker spaniel much loved and terribly spoiled. It was getting on in years, and, well, ought she prepare for anything dreadful? Only, her friend had just lost her terrier, and she couldn’t chase it from her thoughts…

The cards appeared on the table. One by one. The Six of Cups. The Two of Swords. And, lastly, the Nine of Swords reversed.

“Moxy is well-loved.” The child pointed to the first card. “That’s the foundation. But she’s getting older, and she may go blind eventually. She’s accepted it, though, and you will, too.” She smiled a little, hesitantly, like a pet used to getting kicked when she barked at company. The Magus noted how her gaze flicked to her pseudo-father.

Lady Werthrope clucked and reached over to squeeze the child’s hand. “You’re very honest. And very sweet. Now, won’t you show the Magus what you can do?”

Obediently, she gathered the cards and folded the deck, shuffling them with the fresh energy of her next customer. “What do you want to know?”

Roderick considered. It was a little below him to ask anything specific of a child spiritualist, and he still meant to test her. Hate stirred the old thorn in his heart, and although she didn’t speak with ghosts to earn her bread, he didn’t need to justify himself.

“I’ll leave the question to you.” He squinted in a way that may seem affectionate, but it was only sharp, a predator focusing on little fawn to see how quickly it might run. “What do you see?”

She flinched, lifting her eyes from the cards to meet his in a fleeting, startled glance. Like he’d come near to guessing something she didn’t say out loud. But then she bent over the deck, back to her work as the woman behind her set a hand on her shoulder.

“Be good, Aisling,” the adoptive mother said. “Show the Magus your skills. Don’t embarrass us.”

The child rolled her lip between her teeth, sorting the task quickly. One card. Two cards. Three cards. Tap, tap, tap on the bare table. The Magician’s face glowed in the candle light, and Roderick blinked. A good tarot reader must have good luck in order to draw the appropriate cards – or a marked deck. But he’d watched those little hands like a hawk, and he’d seen nothing. It wasn’t definitive proof by any means, but Roderick Burgess knew himself to be cleverer than a child.

Pointing to the first card, the Magician, the girl said, “You’re the Magus. The Magician is your creation of yourself.” The second card was the Nine of Cups. “Your cups all overflow, and you enjoy the plenty you already have.” And then there was the Ace of Pentacles. Roderick wondered for a moment if she’d laid the cards out of the intended order, but she simply said, “There is new wealth coming. You’ve just found something that will bring you more good fortune. The benefits will grow in the months and years to come.”

“You’re very sure of yourself.” He looked for cracks, and there were many. Fatigue clouded her eyes and weighted the end of every sentence. Not a sign of a lie, though. She couldn’t even pretend to be happy for the audience.

He turned the interaction over in his mind through the rest of the night, wearing away the questions and presumptions like the rough edges of a stone, and by the later hours, he thought he might hold a jewel.

The adoptive parents made themselves easy to find. They hadn’t left the table. Neither had the girl. The lord and lady hired them to entertain, and they stayed at their posts. They’d gathered refreshments, but no cup or plate sat on the table, and he wondered if they had any idea children needed things like water after a long night of speaking with strangers.

Really. The scheme was too transparent. The only lies hid in any manner of affection the parents pretended for the child they claimed.

The Magus marched up to the table, rapping the top with his cane to seize the drowsy girl’s attention. She blinked, started licking her dry lips, caught herself, and pinched her mouth closed with her teeth.

“Aisling, wasn’t it?” He nodded to her, encouraging her to echo the motion. “I would like a word with you. No cards. No reading. Just a conversation. Alone.”

The father stepped forward, ready to defend his meal ticket. “Sir, I’m afraid we can’t just –”

“The girl and I will sit here, at this table,” he tapped it again to make his point, “and you will both stand over there.” The cane swung to point towards the bar, which was well within sight but well out of earshot.

When the man moved to protest again, Roderick pulled out his wallet, and the father’s mouth snapped shut. A few pounds bought the adults’ willing compliance, and they went off in search of drinks with barely a backwards glance. Roderick settled into the seat he claimed earlier, watching the girl squirm. Her hands fluttered restlessly between her lap and the table, clearly used to the cards, uneasy without the form and ritual of a reading to guide the conversation.

That was well enough. Roderick had his own plans.

He signaled one of the roving staff, and as the waiter approached, he ordered, “A lemonade for the young lady.”

With a bow, the server hurried off, and the Magus smiled, lips closed, tilting his head as his legs crossed under the table. He was not a client. He was an adult who noticed, who might be moved to care, and in the few hours of their acquaintance, he was already offering more than anyone else.

“So, you see things?”

Her eyes snapped from him to the people who managed her. Then back again, and down to her lap.

“I’m not supposed to upset people.” She picked at the fringe on the garish frock she wore – entirely unsuited to her age and clearly uncomfortable. “It upsets Mr. and Mrs. Foster when I see things. Or when I talk about them.”

The Magus nodded, unsurprised. He wondered if the people who adopted her even realized her talents were genuine when they snatched her up. They had too many connections and too much showmanship to be anything other than experienced con artists. This little Aisling must be very sensitive, and the truly sensitive didn’t see strictly good, kind, or encouraging things. How she must terrify the fools.

The server returned with a cut crystal glass rattling with ice. The girl thanked the server, then thanked her benefactor, and wrapped her hands around the condensation-slicked sides. She sipped carefully, and Roderick could see the tension ease from her posture as she drank. Desperate as she was, she didn’t gulp, and with clear regret, she set the drink on the table still two-thirds full. But she kept her hands on the glass, lest some waiter assume she was finished and spirit it away.

“I won’t be upset, and I’d like to believe you.” Angling his head down to peer at her meaningfully, employing a look he’d once used when his son misbehaved, he asked, “What have you seen tonight that would upset people?”

The girl looked around, shifting so her chair creaked. This time, it wasn’t her adoptive parents she feared. Any ears may be a threat. When she leaned in, the Magus copied her, silently assuring her the secret would be safe with him.

“There’s a guest who’s not a guest, and he isn’t a man, either.”

The Magus hummed. “Say I believe you. Could you prove it?”

Seduced into the invitation of an adult confidant, and revived by the lemonade, she rushed to answer. She wanted to prove herself. She wanted to be believed and heard. The Magus was listening, and he was beginning to believe as well.

“The man paid the footman with holly leaves,” she hissed in a loud whisper. “The footman folded them like bank notes, and the spines stabbed his palms, but he didn’t notice. Look for the one with blood on his gloves.”

“And the man who isn’t a man?”

Shrinking back, the girl shook her head until the headband went crooked. Her hand pressed over her heart, rubbing hard circles as her face creased.

“He��d know I saw him,” she said. “I don’t let them know I see them anymore.”

Now there was a tale and no mistake. A child with enough power to annoy things beyond the veil – one that survived an encounter – was rare indeed.

“What happened?” He lent his tone a shade of concern. Facts, he found, traveled swiftest to a sympathetic ear, and he needed to know everything. Curiosity was growing into practical fervor as the first dreams of a plan grew into place. “Are you ill?”

She crumbled just a little bit more, folding into herself to protect the place she rubbed from some invisible threat. “Sometimes I see things that don’t want to be seen. One of them – hurt me. There’s no scar, but it hurt me, and now it aches.”

The Magus donned a solemn expression, though he felt a thrill at the prospect sitting before him. The little girl had unusual skills, and though she wasn’t handled well by the adults governing her, they must still turn a pretty penny showing her in salons and private homes. He’d confirm what she’d said, of course, validate her little proof, but she was either a better liar than he’d ever met or she was childishly honest. He knew where he’d put his money.

Where he might very well invest it, actually.

He didn’t say goodbye, only nodding as he rose and went in search of the servant with bloody gloves.

Of course, he found him. When he demanded to see what the footman had in his pockets, the boy paled, stammering excuses, only to pull out a handful of forest detritus. As the young man fell into a whirl of confusion and disappointment, the Magus truly smiled. The first real smile since Lady Werthrope brought him to the child’s table.

He must have a proper conversation with the girl’s current guardians.

Aisling clung to her bag, drowning in the heat as the train pulled away from the Wych Cross platform. Men and women fanned themselves with hats and newspapers, desperate for a breeze in the dead summer stillness. Ladies shed their gloves. Men loosened their ties. Propriety mattered less when the air was trying to suffocate them, a crushing, inescapable oven scalding the usually damp countryside.

A miserable day to travel.

Sweat dripped down her back, soaking the neck of her dress, gluing her hair to her skin. But she didn’t have a free hand to stir a breeze. Her bag was too heavy, full of everything she would need in her new home, or at least everything the Fosters thought they couldn’t sell for a profit. Mrs. Foster took her to the train station and dropped her at the door.

“Here’s your ticket. You’re heading to Wych Cross, and then to Fawney Rig. Don’t forget, and don’t miss your train,” she’d said. Then she climbed back into the cab beside Mr. Foster and disappeared into the flow of London traffic.

They’d sold her on to someone else, and now they were free of her.

She peered around the station, but it was really just a platform. In London, there were helpful adults in uniforms and suits who pointed out the right train and the right stairs to reach it. Nothing here told her how to find Fawney Rig, though, and the only adult in a uniform seemed to be the man in the ticket booth.

She’d find her way. She wasn’t a baby after all. She was eight. And she could read very well, and no one was coming to help her, so she better figure it out.

She stood in line for the ticket man’s attention. Surely, he could give her directions. The Magus was rich, and a little famous, she thought, so his neighbors must know where he lived. If the man in the booth didn’t know, she’d keep asking until she found someone who did. While she waited her turn, she set down her suitcase and sat on it, taking deep breaths that tasted like salt. It could be worse. What if it rained instead? Well. Actually. Rain sounded very nice.

Soon enough, she took her place in front of the booth, and the man frowned under his mustache like she’d arrived with a bill or a letter from someone nasty. She smiled prettily, the way the Fosters told her to, and tried to make herself look like less of a problem as she clutched her case again.

“Excuse me,” she said, “but do you know the way to Fawney Rig?”

He physically recoiled, and his frown hooked deeper with glowering doubt as he scanned her. “Fawney Rig? That devil worshiper’s house? Why do you want to know?”

“I’ve been sent to live there, sir. I’m expected, but I don’t think they’ve sent anyone for me.” Manners made things easier with adults. Good manners and clear words – the fewer the better.

But the man wasn’t swayed. He looked thunderous. Like she’d broken something valuable and ought to pay for it with a lashing.

“Do you have money for a cab?”

The Fosters didn’t own her anymore, and they’d given her nothing but cards, and costumes, and a hairbrush. All the cash stayed warm and safe in their pockets.

“No, sir.”

“Then walk down the main road. Go east from the village, and keep going until there are no more houses you can see from the street. There’ll be a path on the left with a big iron gate. Follow that and you’ll find your devil worshipers.” He waved her off like he’d slap her if not for the glass. “Next!”

Manners got her what she needed, at least. “Thank you.”

The other adults all moved aside as she trundled through with her case. It made it easier to avoid clipping ankles and shins with her luggage, but she wondered if they hated her the way the ticket man hated her – because of Fawney Rig – or if she simply smelled after the long, stuffy ride in third class. Not that adults needed an excuse to dislike her. The nice ones called her uncanny and gifted. The mean ones called her a witch, and a bastard devil-spawn, and other names a mother should wash out of their mouths with soap.

She wasn’t sure which ones were telling the truth.

She knew the way forward, though. To Fawney Rig. That was good, even if the other adults didn’t think so. The Magus may not be a nice person, she hadn’t known him long enough for the usual adult lies to wear thin enough to see through, but he was smarter than the Fosters, and he’d given her a lemonade, so maybe she wouldn’t be as hungry or thirsty under his guardianship. She’d still have to work. Adults only wanted her if they thought she could give them something. But everything was more bearable with a good dinner and cold drinks.

She hoped he’d give her another cold drink, even water with some ice, when she reached his home. The train ride left her terribly thirsty.

Leaving the shaded platform, she bowed away from the sun’s violent touch and started on her journey. The village only kept a cobbled road in the center of town. It led up to the train station, linking it to a clutch of shops and offices. A parish church sat a little way back from the road, separated from the secular world by a field of tidy tombstones in heat-bleached grass. People noticed her. They looked. They whispered to each other. But no one waved or offered a hand. Gossip didn’t move fast enough to beat her here from the train, and she wondered how people could tell she was odd. Society had so many rules beyond manners, but no one would tell her what they were, and she never guessed right.

By the time the cobblestones ended, she was struggling to hold onto her suitcase. The handle kept trying to slip from her fingers, even when she held it with both hands, and she had to work harder and harder to keep it out of the dirt. If she knew anything about the world, it was that good children didn’t drag their luggage, and bad things happened to those that did. She’d travelled enough to learn, and she wanted to make a good impression on her new keeper and his household.

The road outside of town went a very, very long way. The ticket seller’s instructions made each step sound the same length: go through town, pass the houses, go down the long drive past the gates. Her imagination had lied to her, though. Every time she thought she’d passed the last house, there came another. Each handed her down the chain of cottage gardens and small homes full of families who pretended not to see. They all knew she’d done something, like she had a brand on her forehead, and she wasn’t allowed to stop. She didn’t try to.

Everything looked sickly yellow in the midday glare. Dust hung in the air, stirred by passing cars, lingering without a breath of wind to dispel the choking clouds. Everything looked flat and dead, so much so she almost missed the gate. Another leg of her trek done. Still too far to go, and the private road leading to the Magus’ home was longer than it had any right to be.

She didn’t feel well. The trees gave her a little protection, but her stomach and lungs felt hard, strained, the way her arms ached with carrying her suitcase. Only they were parts that shouldn’t feel that way, and she thought maybe she should sit down.

But she was almost there.

Even if she walked slowly, and her feet didn’t land quite where she told them to.

She just wouldn’t think about those things. Complaining was just making excuses, and she was expected.

The house appeared out of nowhere, or she was too dizzy to see it through the leaves before the last turn in the drive. It loomed, a very final-looking destination, and her suitcase escaped her grasp. The case was slippery, and her fingers didn’t curl the way they should. She bent to pick it up, and when she straightened, the whole world spun.

She stood very still until it stopped, and she found herself shivering as she approached the front door. Very strange. Was she afraid? No. That didn’t sound right. She felt terrible, too terrible to worry, and none of it made sense.

But she’d nearly made it. She had made it. Almost.

Knocking summoned a young man, and the door creaked open as he glanced down with a quizzical expression. “Hello? Can I help you?”

She tried holding her suitcase with just one hand, but it slipped away again, barely missing her foot. Maybe a handshake was a bad idea. The stranger hadn’t held his hand out for a shake, after all. She was just confused. He might not want to touch her. And she must look a picture after her walk.

She should’ve done something differently. If she were smarter, or taller, or…

“I’m Aisling Hunt, sir. The Magus sent for me.”

“Oh.” The young man’s eyes popped wider, and she wondered if he was younger than she thought at first. Stepping back, he pulled open the door to usher her inside. “I’m sorry. I’d heard someone was coming, but I’d thought you’d be… well, older. And I’m just Alex.”

“Nice to meet you, Alex. I’m Aisling.”

He nodded and plucked her bag from where she’d dropped it. “Yes. You said. Are you feeling alright?”

She didn’t know. And grownups didn’t really like it when she was unwell anyway. Before she could come up with a suitable lie that would get her what she needed without stepping on any toes, a familiar face appeared at the end of the hall.

“Ah! You made it.” Out of formal dress, the Magus still brimmed with authority. Aisling had met many adults who wore costumes and pretended to be something they weren’t, but the Magus seemed like he’d somehow stitched his chosen persona into his skin. “Welcome to Fawney Rig.”

She wobbled. “Thank you, sir.”

“Magus,” he corrected.

“Thank you, Magus, sir.”

At last, what he was seeing overshadowed his enthusiasm, and the old man frowned. “Did you walk here? From the station?”

“Yes, Magus.”

“The Fosters didn’t even give you money for a fucking cab?”

“Just the train ticket, sir. Magus.”

She blinked, and the whole room turned blue, like peering at the world through stained glass. It looked so pretty she didn’t realize the Magus was asking her another question until his hand settled on her shoulder.

His voice came from far away. “Can you hear me?”

Yes, she wanted to say. Yes, Magus, I walked, and I found Fawney Rig all on my own, and I’m not useless, please don’t throw me away yet.

But everything looked cool, and blue, and lovely. She was floating in it. Floating and so awfully heavy at the same time. The color slipped in with her breath, eroding her control until it slipped from her grasp like the suitcase had.

The world went dark, and she didn’t see, hear, or say anything more.

And deep below, in the belly of the house, Dream of the Endless waited in his cage, as senseless to the world above as she.

[n0v4t33z]

The Piece Of Eight - Chapter of Eledonia

Pairings: Capt. Hongjoong X Female Reader , Crewmate San x Female Reader (Overall not chapter specific)

Genre: Pirate AU, Romance, historical-ish, Action, Angst, Non-Idol AU

Word Count: 10.6k

Tags/Warnings: For Mature Audiences, Violence, Language, mentions of blood and gore, Highly Suggestive at times (This is a warning for the whole story overall)

Chapter specific: y/n uses her sword on Matz, y/n protects Matz from a fellow villager and cuts him a bit in the process, y/n remembers her traumatic past, Seonghwa mentions Hongjoong's past (Overall nothing too bad right now honestly)

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!

Spotify Playlist ⚓ | Masterlist 🏴‍☠️

Author's Note💌: Hi! This is one of my newer works and I hope whoever reads this enjoys it! I've worked very hard on this and tbh i've been working on this when I'm not writing for TS (which is alot because I'm stuck as of rn) Also I guess I'll say this right now but this story will have alot of blood and violence in the future chapters and in some instances flashbacks from MC's tragic past which will get VERY dark. I am aware not alot of people like that so before any of it starts I will warn you in future chapters of any trigger warnings. Anyway, please enjoy and don't be shy to leave me your comments or thoughts! (please be kind!) 🌙

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For as long as I can remember I’ve always been poor, not that it’s bothered me. If anything it has made me very resourceful and grateful for the little things I have in life, but it definitely would have been nice if we at least had something under our name because maybe then being prisoners for years wouldn’t have been an option. 

Then again everything that happened was against Eledonia's wishes so of course, that of being a prisoner was long ago from when I was 4 years old until I was about 13 so having to endure and watch all those years of people getting abused and tortured again and again on the daily definitely takes a toll on you. Lucky for me I put that anger I had in learning how to protect myself and my family.

 For a while my family was against it because according to them I should be focusing on something else that won’t risk me getting hurt, like being a good housewife. The way I think though is if I didn’t at least know the basics of training we’d suffer again like before and when the Saitors left our country that’s when it began.

 Now my grandpa, a retired soldier of our nation Eledonia has been training me for a few years now. He’s taught me everything I know about weapons and self defense. For the most part I train by myself by the shore near where our village is so I can hear the calming waves and stay watch in case any ship is nearby. Which is what I'm on my way to do this morning.

"Make sure not to stay too late over there, I need you to help me take these beans over to the market to see how much we can get for them" I nod "Sure, I'll be back later Mom!" I walk outside as the early morning sun slightly obstructs my vision causing me to slightly squint trying to get used to the brightness.

 While I walk down the trail I take in the beauty of the forest and see how much the flowers and leaves on the trees have bloomed since spring began, everything was so lush and green. As soon as I’m hit with the smell of the salty sea it’s my queue that I’ve arrived at my destination with no need to look over at the sea for confirmation which unknowingly at the time I’ll seemingly regret.

 I begin my training as per usual until a few hours pass by and I begin to hear shouting in the distance and splashes in the water almost like a ship was being docked. I run towards the edge of the shore and realize a man was watching me with his spyglass.

I couldn't make out his features but panicking now knowing how long he’d been watching me I start sprinting back home with adrenaline coursing through my veins. It takes me less than 5 minutes to arrive at my village's territory before I begin to yell in panic “A ship is docking!! They’re pirates!”

The villagers look at each other in confusion and panic until I spot the chief. I run as fast my legs could take me but my legs feels weak from the Imminent fear. At this point I don't know how I'm still standing.

 “Chief there are pirates docking their ship right now!! Please anyone! One of them looked right at me, they know there are people here now! ”

 Immediately the Chief rings a bell 3 times then walks over to me gently placing his hand on my shoulder “Thank you for telling me Metztli, run to gather your family and we’ll all head over to the underground cave.”

 I obediently nod and hurriedly run home and notice my mom feeding my little brothers  while my father and grandfather were having some sort of conversation then while still slightly out of breath I say “There’s a ship docking right now and it’s a pirate ship, we have to go..” 

Everyone freezes for a moment then my grandfather lets out a sigh and gets up “Let’s go. Leave everything as it is.” My parents begin packing a few things meanwhile I grab a few of my books and some of my clothes enough for a few days. 

When we arrive at the underground cave I notice the whole clan was there, of course our clan wasn’t very big but to see everyone gathered up there was shocking to see how many people were scared of the same thing happening all over again. Of course I don’t blame them, it was a time none of us want to remember. 

The inside of the bunker of the cave was far from fancy, it was basically a hole in the ground with a few torches on the walls for light and a few scattered bonfires for warmth and cooking, everything else was just rock.

 After a week in the bunker we all grew impatient and very hungry so the chief sent a few people out at dawn to see if the boat was gone, when the men came back they alerted the chief the boat was gone from where it was docked marking it safe for us to return back to our homes.

That very same day after returning home my mother sends me off to the market to buy a few necessities we ran out of while in the underground bunker. When I arrived at the market I realized I had a smile on my face, it was nice seeing everyone going back to normal. It was definitely a close call, it still doesn’t sit right with me how one of the people in that ship saw me. 

Luckily they’re long gone by now so I shouldn’t think about it too much. I walk over to a vegetable stand with a small old lady running it “Oh hi sweetie, how are you? What would you like today?” I smile and hand her the crescents along with the reusable grocery bag  “It’ll be the usual Rosalia.”

 She smiles and begins to load up the bag with vegetables “Aren’t you glad that ship was false alarm? I don’t think my old self could handle another invasion again honestly.” I nod “Another one would be a curse that was so scary, my heart almost jumped out of my throat when I saw them.”

 She hands me the grocery bag and says “Luckily it wasn’t anything to worry about sweetheart. Alright, be safe and go ahead and let your mother know I said hi.” I nod and wave goodbye and head over to the next vendor to buy my grandfather’s favorite snack, coconut candy.

 Although I really dislike the weirdly textured candy my grandpa seems to enjoy it and honestly that’s okay as long as he’s happy.

“Oh hi y/n what brings you here today?” I set bag of vegetables on the floor and dig into my pocket for money “Oh I’ll just have one coconut candy today for my grandpa” He grabs the candy and hands it over to me “One crescent”

 I nod and hand him the money and begin to walk away “y/n, wait up!” Causing me to halt in my steps and turn that’s when he wraps a small piece of cake and puts it in a small box and hands it over to me “It’s not much but it’s a small thanks for alerting the chief about the ship earlier this week” 

I reach over for the box with a “Oh wow thank you so much Armando, you have no idea how grateful i am for this.” I bow my head slightly and he does the same “Goodbye y/n take care!” I smile and wave goodbye and begin to walk towards the entrance of the market that’s when I see two young men around my age wearing unfamiliar attire.

 The shorter one’s hair was an unnatural shade of blonde with his hair being short in the front but long in the back, a small braid adorning his hair. His dark eyes are rimmed to resemble smoky soot stained eyes giving him a very intense look, he wore a simple cross chain around his neck and a single silver earring on his right ear, and wore a black odd looking cape thing and under it he wore a simple black long sleeve, on his left arm there was a black band of some sort that had an hourglass shape with a circle in the middle and 4 phases of the moon surrounding it. 

He also wore some sort of black pants accentuating his small figure. For the one standing next to him which was the taller one, his hair was jet black, and wore very similar style clothing only this one opted for a white colored long sleeve shirt and a grey colored vest over it to accentuate his small waist with the same sort of odd black cape thing over his shoulders.

 His pants being the same ones as the short one just iike their boots. One thing that stuck out is the tall one had a visible weapon on his back, a shot gun.

Fuck. Pirates. The shorter one leans over to tell the taller one something and that’s when the taller one begins walking in my direction. I have no weapons on me, I have to go. I drop my stuff and make a run for it into the forest. 

While I run I hear the man call out to me in the distance but unfortunately my fear is not letting me decipher what he was saying. I begin to run in the direction of the river by the water fall but take the alternate lesser known route.

 When I make it to the river I hide behind the waterfall that’s when I hear the tall man call out to me “Hello? I promise we won’t hurt you. We just want to talk.” I scoff almost laughing at his words. Not hurt me? Then why was he hoisting around a fucking shot gun on his back? 

I decide to stay quiet while he continued to try and lure me out then a few minutes later the shorter man with the arm band joins him at the side of the river and he joins him with the same words the other was protesting saying that they will not hurt me which is honestly hard to believe as I can now see the shorter one has weapons too. 

Suddenly the shorter one begins to speak my language “Hello, I will not hurt you. I want to talk.” I sigh realizing they know I’m here then I nervously say “How do I know that? The tall one and you have weapons.”

Both the shorter and taller man look at each other in surprise not expecting me to answer them back that’s when without hesitation the shorter man unholsters his gun and throws it in the river along with the sword that was perfectly hidden under his long cape thing. The tall one removes the gun from his back and throws it in the river the and shorter one continues “I am sorry. Can you come out?”

 Hesitantly I step out from behind the waterfall and I pick up a few rocks and throw them in their direction causing them to step back giving me enough room to grab the sword they threw into the river. “What do you want?”

 I point the sword at both of them causing them to both have their hands raised in mercy then the shorter one says “Alliance.

” I furrow my eyebrows “I’m confused, I’m poor. I have no influence.” He nods understandably “You have strength, I saw you training by the water when we first met 7 days ago” Suddenly it dawns on me this man was the same man watching me train through his spy glass by the shore.

 Unable to form any words out of shock I stay silent and the man continues “My name is Hongjoong, next to me is Seonghwa what about you?” Hesitantly I look around and study their expressions, they seemed genuine but a part of me is too scared to trust them “y/n.” 

I cannot tell them my real name, it’s way too dangerous. Hongjoong blinks a few times then says “You speak the universal language?” I nod “Yeah.” He sighs in relief “I’m sorry but that’s good because I was running out of Eledonian. I’m sorry If I was really bad at it I only know enough to get by.”

 I stay quiet for a few seconds then I muster the courage to say “Where did you dock? I swear your ship was gone when we checked this morning.” 

Hongjoong looks at the waterfall behind me then back at me “Ah, yeah we docked further down where our boat is hidden from other incoming boats.” 

I squint my eyes and press the tip of the sword right where his heart is “You better not be lying, if you try anything I will personally be the one to kill you.”

Hongjoong smirks and gently pushes the sword away from his chest “No worries, I wasn’t planning on it. Like I said, I want an alliance.” I narrow my eyes “Why are you asking me?” 

He steps away from me and looks over at Seonghwa and nods. Immediately Seonghwa hits my hand causing me to drop the sword and grabs my hand and twists it behind my back but I lean forwards making him weaken his grip on my arm and slightly lose his balance. 

I take that as an opportunity to kick him behind the knees and pick up the sword where I tightly press the blade against his neck while I stand behind him. Hongjoong slowly claps while walking back towards me smirking “I’m asking because I want you to be my protector. I knew it when I first saw you training by the shore. Fluid like water and precise like a bullet.” 

Nobody’s ever referred to me like that. He sure does know how to compliment people, I’ll give him that.

 I press the blade a little harder on Seonghwa’s neck causing him to quietly hiss “I’m sorry but I barely even know you. I cannot just leave my family for a bunch of pirates I don’t even know. There is only one person who I’m going to kill and his name is Miyagawa Masaki. Killing another human isn’t in my book unless they’ve hurt me or my family in any way.”

Hongjoong’s features soften dropping the plotting smirk and extends his hand in my direction “Alright, let’s get to know each other then because what if I tell you there’s hundreds like him? Ruining the lives of the poor and defenseless? Killing innocent people and eliminating hundreds of bloodlines. Would that change your mind?” 

I glance down at Seonghwa who was stiffly leaning away from my sword his head gently resting against my stomach, he gives a scared but genuine nod of reassurance of Hongjoong’s words.

  For a few seconds Hongjoong and I’s gazes mutually connect, something in his gaze tells me maybe I should trust him. I mean I can easily overpower either of them if anything goes wrong.

 I remove the blade from Seonghwa’s neck and push him towards Hongjoong causing him to fall on his hands and knees “Get out of here before I regret not killing you.” 

Seonghwa gets up then gently puts his hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder “I don’t think she’s coming Captain.” Hongjoong turns to Seonghwa and gives him a smirk and proceeds to walk in my direction and chuckles “I’m sorry for that y/n I just really wanted to see you in action up close. I really didn’t mean for that to be a personal attack.”

 I roll my eyes “How am I supposed to trust you if you literally attacked me. If anything you’re making me not want anything to do with you.” He smiles and says “Ah, so you were considering it at some point then?”

 I cross my arms and look at the ground “Perhaps..” Hongjoong pushes a strand of hair behind my ear completely catching me off guard by this gesture “What if I told you that if you come with me you wouldn’t have to worry about anything, I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay for food and supplies for your village, for protection, and I’ll even add money so that your family doesn’t have to worry while you’re away.”

I blankly look down then back at him and almost silently I say “I don’t know.” Seonghwa hesitates for a second but then gently pats my back “You don’t have to decide right now, it’s okay.” 

Hongjoong gently pats my arm “How about I treat you for lunch then we’ll come back to how you feel about me.” I nod “Yeah sure, but I’m keeping your weapons.”

 Without turning my back on them I carefully step back and step back into to the river while keeping my eyes on both men and pick up the shotgun and pistol. “I’ll give these back if I approve.

 Also, just for that little stunt you played before we go you have to help me with the groceries I was carrying.” They both nod and we head back to the market then I point at the groceries on the ground with my sword “Go get my stuff pirate boys.”

 Both men walk over and pick everything up then Seonghwa says “Where to?” I walk in between them and begin walking back to my home. 

After a bit of walking In silence I finally muster enough guts to break the ice "So uh why exactly are you guys here in Eledonia?" Seonghwa answers ”Supplies honestly, we were running out of a few things but of course the Captain saw you training and he wanted to meet you so we kinda gave the supplies duty to the rest of the crew while we looked for you."

 I quietly hum “So how many other crew members are there?” Hongjoong answers almost on queue “There’s eight of us in total who are in charge of overseeing the main duties so the other six are doing the supplies duty. The rest are sailors who help us run the ship.” 

The more welk the more I notice we’re now in my village's territory then In a low voice I say “By the way please don’t act scary, we’re in my village’s territory now.” They both make reassuring hums and as we walk to my house the rest of the villagers stare at us, their gazes burning into my skin. I’m sure they’re probably wondering why I’m even with people like this. 

Out of seemingly nowhere I see a fellow villager walking towards us with a weapon in hand “Get away from them Metztli!” I extend both my arms in front of Hongjoong and Seonghwa causing them to abruptly stop “Acatl there’s no need! They won’t hurt us!”

 He walks over towards me and pulls me aside and swings his weapon at both males “Like hell they are..”

I unsheathe my sword and step in front of him fully stopping the weapon from hitting either of them “You are not going to hurt them. We are not in danger.”

 Acatl clenches the hilt of the weapon “They are not who they say they are, they are not good people. All pirates are just as bad as those stupid silver spooned goons, all they do is lie to get what they want.” 

I turn to Hongjoong and Seonghwa and under my breath I utter  “Stay back.” and lock my gaze into Acatl’s “Stop being ignorant, just because we were hurt by some soulless bastards doesn’t mean it’ll happen again.” 

I push his weapon back slightly just enough for me to be able to swing my sword at him and graze his arm then take another quick swing at his hand causing him to drop his weapon and clutch his bleeding hand on his knees.

 “How could you protect these men?! And betray your own people like this?!” I point my sword at him to stay down “I protect those who deserve to be protected and right now they needed my protection, if they were to ever betray my trust they shall have the same fate as my enemy.”

 He slowly gets up clutching his hand “You are wrong for this, you are wrong for going against our village.” I smirk sheathing my sword and dusting myself off “I didn’t go against my people, I simply made peace where there would have been unnecessary deaths.”

As Acatl was about to say something the chief walks up to us with anger tinged in his voice “What is going on here?”  before I’m able to explain anything I hear my mom yell at me from a distance with the rest of my family following after her and with surprise and utter fear on her features.

 “Who are these men Metztli?! Why are they here?!” before I can explain anything my father and grandfather come up next to my mother to try and calm her down  “What’s going on?” 

“I can explain. These men are not evil, they just came here to buy some supplies for their ship and they happened to see me struggling with the groceries so they’re helping me. Then this idiot Acatl starts attacking us and so I just prevented unnecessary deaths.” 

The chief crosses his arms in front of him still clearly upset “Metztli just because someone does a nice thing for you doesn’t mean they are good.”

 My dad gives Hongjoong and Seonghwa a glare “You know better than to lead strangers to the village. You can never trust these punks, especially men.”

 I nod “I understand but they’re not bad people father. They were just helping me.” My grandfather gives me a stern look “What did I tell you about trust Metztli? Trust only yourself, no one else.”

I turn and I signal both men to set the things down “They’re just now leaving don’t worry.” I begin to gently push them the other way then Hongjoong turns and says “I want her to come with us. I want her to protect me.”

 I look at him in horror and shake my head he looks into my eyes for a few moments, smirks and continues “If she comes with us I will pay for the supplies in your village and I’ll pay a militia to protect and alert us in case anything ever happens. I’ll also throw in some money so the village can be renovated since I see the places being inhabited are severely run down and you know for whatever else you need the money.”

 Hongjoong looks down at my little brothers standing behind my mother and gives them a soft smile “I promise the rest of our crew will not let anything happen to your daughter. I’m just putting this out there, there doesn’t need to be an answer right now since y/n herself isn’t entirely sure either.”

 Hongjoong gives me a small smile and pats my head while Seonghwa  gives me a reassuring nod “Well, we will go now.” Hongjoong adds then my grandfather responds “Come again tomorrow, but lunch is on you guys.” 

Slightly taken aback both men nod and smile. Hongjoong then says “We will return tomorrow, it’s a promise.”

The chief looks over at my grandfather and says “Are you sure about this? Welcoming strangers like this?” My grandfather watches the 2 pirates walk away while everyone else watches him in silence “Their proposition was interesting don’t you think chief? We’ll benefit out of this.”

 The Chief gives no response to my grandfather for a few seconds then looks over at Actatl holding onto his bloodied hand then back at me “I cannot get past just blindly trusting people we’ve never met before, it’s off putting not just for me but for the rest of the village.”

 My grandfather nods then turns and gives me a smile “We have my granddaughter if anything happens. She will protect her village at any cost no matter who it is. After all, It was I who trained her or what? Are you doubting my granddaughter’s prowess?”

 The chief stays silent then I give him a reassuring smile, like an indication that this situation was over everyone begins to head back to their homes including the chief. Acatl is the only one who stays behind and stares at me for a few seconds “If something happens this is your fault.” 

He walks away and I bite the inside of my mouth to hold back from further saying anything that’ll cause him to come back. To be truthful I am scared they may earn my trust then betray me but on the other hand I want to believe that nothing will happen and that they are genuinely good people.

The next day while taking a short break during training I hear the leaves rustling from behind and to my surprise it was Hongjoong and Seonghwa again. I’m pleasantly surprised they showed up, you’d think after what transpired yesterday they’d leave but I guess they aren’t weak hearted. 

“Hongjoong? Seonghwa? What are you guys doing here?” The blonde man extends his hand towards me and helps me up.

“I’m here because I want to thank you for yesterday.” I shake my head “Oh no sir I-” Hongjoong lifts his hand to silence me and says “You protected me and my first mate and I really appreciate that especially considering you had no obligation to do so. You could have easily let him kill the both of us but you didn’t.” 

He’s right, I didn’t need to save him. I could have let him fight his own fights but for some reason it’s like my body acted on its own. Seonghwa gives me a warm smile “For that we would like to ask you if you would like to be our friend. Our connection to Eledonia.” A connection? Me? Out of all the nobles or more important people here in Eledonia they ask me?

"I would be happy to be your friend." Hongjoong gives me a relieved smile “Well, that settles it. We are friends.” Seonghwa stands next to me and rests his elbow on my shoulders.

 "Okay, well maybe now that we're friends we should follow through with your grandfather and have lunch." I hum wiping the sweat off my forehead with a small cloth “Now that you mention it, I am kind of hungry.” 

Seonghwa squeezes my shoulders while behind me “Good, we’ve got some nice things prepared for you.” I squint my eyes “I would like to assume it’s a good thing and not a bad one.” 

Seonghwa and Hongjoong chuckle “It’s a good thing my dear, I had the cook of our crew make us some delicious food. They’ll be in the main square later serving the village so I’m sure your family will be there as well since we let them know this morning.”

 Seonghwa nods “Yes, so practice a few more hours and by then the food should be ready, we just came here and decided to give you some motivation so you’d finish your training strong.” I smile at both males “Seriously, thank you.” they both smile and Hongjoong responds “My pleasure, y/n. Anything to show you we’re worth trusting.”

 Wow, he really is trying his hardest if he’s going to go all out like this. Seonghwa excitedly smiles “We’ll see you later okay? Please come by, we’d really like for you to meet the crew” Wow, they really are so confident i’m going to leave. I look over at them and  nod “of course, I’ll be there no worries” Both men say their goodbyes and leave. I sit down for a few minutes and rest before I resume my training for the day.

After a few hours go by I decide to start walking home and the whole way there I think to myself why I saved these men and why was I being so selfless with them. Why did I feel the need to protect the Captain and his right hand man when I don’t even know them, this was all becoming so confusing to me. Not to mention my extreme trust issues with everyone, so I just can’t explain why I decided to trust them. Why am I so drawn to them?

When I arrive at the main square I see alot of people gathered around the front of my house. As I walk closer I notice Hongjoong talking to my grandfather while Seonghwa and another guy play with my siblings. 

There was an unknown male by the fire cooking and a few others whom I didn’t recognize but I knew were with “The Captain” judging by their clothes so those men must be his crew members. They’re feeding everyone I see, they’re really trying to win over not only my family but the whole village. 

I walk over to my mom and ask “Mom, when did they get here?” while watching my little brothers play she says “They got here a few hours ago. Hongjoong, the blonde one said he wanted it to be a surprise for you when you came back from training. You should go eat now, they brought meat! It’s your favorite.” I nod then I turn and see my grandpa and the chief speaking to Hongjoong, he looked happy. I hadn’t seen my grandpa smile since grandma died.

A sudden grip to my shoulder makes me slightly jump “You should go eat, the food will be gone by the time you’re done staring.” I turn and see Seonghwa holding a plate in his hand slightly out of breath giving me a sweet smile “Ah, hah I will sorry just got distracted.”

 I hope he didn’t think I was checking the captain out. That would be weird. Seonghwa walks over to me and hands me a plate of food and honestly it looked and smelled delicious. Roasted potatoes and meat. Meat is considered a delicacy and we can’t eat it very often because of how expensive it is so seeing it on my plate made my stomach rumble so I begin to eat before I even sit down.

 Seonghwa turns to me and chuckles “You like meat? It’s good right?” I nod while sitting down on the grass in front of the tree by the square since It was a little quieter here “I’m glad you liked it, I’m sure Wooyoung prepared it with his secret combination of spices. It makes things so much more tasty.” 

For a little bit there was a silence from the both of us eating but eventually I decide to get brave and ask “Are you guys really not going to hurt our people? Like you’re not doing this as a gimmick to gain our trust then kill or imprison all of us?” 

Seonghwa, slightly taken aback chokes a bit on his food and begins to cough, once a bit composed he clears his throat “No, of course not. We’re The Piece of Eight. We don’t steal from the people, we steal for them. All of our targets are all either royals, nobles, military chiefs or generals, politicians even but never the regular people who aren’t associated with that stuff. If anything we’re most infamously known for being anti government and helping villages who need it the most.”

So they’re basically like the story of Robin Hood, steal from the rich and help the poor. It’s understandable, the rich can be quite nasty. They’re very ungrateful.

 “Sounds a like a great cause, does that mean you have alot allies?” He slightly purses his lips “Somewhat, but it’s enough for it to help us not get caught.” 

I shove another spoonful of potatoes in my mouth “Also I guess I should explain this but, the reason Hongjoong needs an assassin and a protector is because the royals and government know about us now and they’re out to get the captain and knowing how he is he doesn’t want to appease the rich, much less the government meaning he’s going to keep doing what he’s doing even if he needs to kill people to get what he wants and what he wants is to put those people in their place and show them they’re not special that at the end of the day they’re a sack of skin and blood..”

 I stare aimlessly and un focus my gaze and without thinking I say “I agree with your agenda. Rich people are selfish and are out of touch with reality. They’re heartless and evil, I hate them. I hate them all.” Seonghwa furrows his eyebrows “Did something happen for you to strongly feel that way?”

 I set my plate down and shrug “Well, long story short the Saitor Kingdom invaded Eledonia and they killed hundreds of people and imprisoned alot of them as well. My village and other poor villages were taken as prisoners to work for the Saitors with the only pay was being fed enough to be kept alive. It was almost daily where there was an execution of a prisoner for seemingly stupid offences that had no reason to be that serious some of those were of course some members of my village. It was 9 years of complete and utter hell.”

The dark haired man sighs and says in a low tone of voice “I completely understand why you’d hate people like that. Some of us in the crew, specifically Hongjoong had the same luck as you except he was left with nothing.” 

A knot grows in my throat, as much as I didn’t know the Captain like that I can only imagine losing everyone you know and care about. “Meaning he has nothing left to lose.” I say with a knot in my throat and he nods “Yeah, which is why the crew is as close as it is because he considers us all his family.”

 I focus my gaze again and it happens to fall upon the Captain, seeing him smile while talking to the Chief, and my grandfather somehow broke my heart. As much as I know how annoying it is to be pitied, here I am doing it to a complete stranger who probably doesn’t want any of it. 

 “This is why he helps the people, because he knows his family would have wanted him to do something good with his life even if it’s somewhat subjective to other people.” So Hongjoong is a good guy, to be this young and already be so accomplished takes skill and he clearly has the skill and motivation for it all. Unfortunately at the cost of the people he loved the most.

“Sometimes it’s good to be going against the current, and I respect him for it.” Seonghwa adjusts himself more comfortably and puts his plate aside and exhaling softly.

“We all do too, but as of today I also respect you as well for enduring torture and witnessing such horrible atrocities everyday for 9 years, that must have been traumatizing.” I glance over at the people in my village, seeing how happy they looked.

 “Yeah, I guess seeing someone get shot in the face or get bludgeoned to death isn’t something a kid should be witnessing. Till this day I can still hear them choking on their own blood.” I look down at my hand and stipple my fingers on my palm.

 “I can tell you’re very close to the Captain.” I say changing the subject, it’s not that I don’t want to talk about it it’s more like I can’t talk about it because evreytime I do I can hear the blood squelching, bones breaking, and agonizing screams. They're so vivid. 

Seonghwa seems to catch on what I was doing and replies “We are actually, so close I know him like the back of my hand. Although sometimes it’s hard for him to show he cares so to a normal person it might look like he doesn’t care very much but he does he just does it differently than other people. Because to be honest I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be affectionate towards someone.” 

I giggle “Reminds me of my grandpa, he’s the same way. With my grandpa showing affection is him telling me stories from when he was a soldier or buying me some candy when we go to the market, things like that.”

Seonghwa chuckles and points with his eyes in the direction of Hongjoong speaking to my grandpa “No wonder they get along so well.” It’s so nice to see my grandpa smile, it’s been a while since he did.

 Ever since my grandma died my grandpa hasn’t smiled very much or that of all. In a way it seems like they’re both healing each other by speaking with each other. Suddenly I hear Hongjoong call out for Seonghwa, apologetically he looks over at me and says “I’m so sorry our conversation was cut short, Hongjoong is calling me.”

 I shake my head and motion him to Hongjoong “Go ahead I need time to myself anyway, I need to think whether or not I’m going to go with you guys.” Seonghwa reaches over and pats my shoulder “Alright, just remember do what your heart tells you not what others say.” I chuckle “I’ll keep that noted.” Seonghwa gets up and takes both our empty plates with him leaving me with my thoughts while I also observe the strange men here. No doubt they were all handsome and charismatic including Hongjoong and Seonghwa which is the reason why I’m assuming everyone grew to trust them so quickly. Even so, I’ll keep my eyes on them.

In the distance I see 2 black haired men walking towards me one had cat like eyes with dark hair and a grey streak in his hair, he was scrawny looking but has very wide shoulders while the other one had jet black hair, a strong jawline, and a small mole under his right eye. They both sit in front of me and smile “Hey, I’m Wooyoung and this is San. Hongjoong told us about you, so did you make up your mind? Are you coming with us?”

 Slightly taken a back from how forward  this Wooyoung guy is I shake my head “I don’t know, I’m not sure.” San gives me a dimpled smile “I hope you do, it’d be nice to have a new crew member.” 

Wooyoung looks over at San “Nah, you just want her to join us because she’s a girl.” San shoots a glare at Wooyoung “No, it would be nice if I could just have a reasonable person to talk to sometimes instead of an idiot like you who only says dumb things” Wooyoung teases San.“You have Yeosang and Yunho for that, they’re reasonable”  

I raise an eyebrow and smirk “Who says I’m reasonable though?” San looks at me like I’ve betrayed him while Wooyoung lets out a particularly loud laugh then I giggle “I’m just kidding, I’m y/n by the way.”

 I extend my hand towards San and smile almost without a second thought he reaches over and shakes my hand. His gaze connecting with mine with a small hint of awe he says “You have a nice name, It fits you really well.” Wooyoung then says “Is that really your name?” I laugh and nod “Yeah why? Does it throw you off that I have a universal language name instead of a more traditional name?” Wooyoung nods and says “Honestly yeah, but he’s right you have a nice name”

 If only they knew. So far they’re easy to get along with, I may end up taking this job just so my family stops being in the slums and my village as a whole is respected.

“So, how old are you guys?” I smile and look over at the two males and without hesitation Wooyoung replies “19, so is this guy. What about you?” I raise my eyebrow “You know you shouldn’t ask a girl her age, that's rude...” 

San stammers “I'm sorry we meant no disrespect..” I smirk “But if you must know though.. I'll give you a hint, i’m a few years older than you both” They both blink in shock then Wooyoung says “Wait how much older?” 

I shrug “Not more than 2 years” Wooyoung chuckles  “Ohh well you know I thought you were younger than us when I first approached you, you’re so short.” I scoff “I’m a girl of course I’m going to be short, common sense.” Wooyoung holds back a laugh “No I mean you’re short, short. I thought you were a child.” I roll my eyes “Yeah I am, short so what.” Wooyoung gives me a teasing smile While San says “You know that means you’re older than both our Captain and Seonghwa..” 

I raise an eyebrow “Are you guys calling me old?” They both shake their heads then Wooyoung nervously chuckles “Not at all! Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted some of the dessert I made. That’s the sole reason San and I came over was to ask.” I give them both a smile “Yeah sure, that would be nice. Thanks.” He gives me a smile and nods “Okay I’ll be right back, San stay.”

San lays back onto the soft grass and rests his hand on his stomach and replies " Sure, I'd love to.” Awkwardly I sit there for a few seconds not knowing what to say until San says “Listen, if you happen to join us and anyone in the crew ever says anything hurtful don’t listen to them, They can be bastards sometimes, it’s like they forget how to interact with other people.”

 I look up at the blue sky avoiding eye contact with him, feeling his gaze on me. “Thanks, I’ll keep that noted If I decide to go.” After this brief interaction San and I both look up at the sky in comfortable silence until Wooyoung comes back and hands me a small little bowl with some sort of probably foreign dessert and says “I’ve brought you dessert, I’m not sure how sweet you like things but it’s not overwhelmingly sweet. It’s a type of peach tart, it’s really good. I don’t know if you’ve ever had it before.” 

I examine the “peach tart” and to my knowledge I’ve never seen anything like it. “I actually have never seen anything like this before this looks very foreign to me, although I have seen cake before and we only have it for special occasions it’s very rare if we get to eat sugary things like this because they’re so expensive.” 

I take the silver ware he brought with him and take a bite out of it “Oh wow, this is delicious.” Wooyoung gives me a prideful smirk “That’s only because I made it.” I giggle and take another bite “Well your cooking is amazing, let me guess you cooked the meal today too didn’t you?” He nods with a big smile on his face then San says “Look at you, you’re so full of yourself.” He gives San a smirk “You’re just mad she didn’t compliment you.”

In the distance two more men walk up to where we were sitting except these two looked very tall, extremely tall almost like two twin towers. One had dark hair parted down the middle with the fringe of his hair adorning his soft puppy like features and the other one had black rimmed glasses, his hair was dark blue and had a neatly slicked back side part on his hair. 

Both men were definitely taller than Seonghwa for sure, and he was the person I originally considered tall. Wooyoung notices me staring behind him and he turns “Oh hey Mingi and Yunho, this is y/n. Hongjoong’s possible new protector and crew mate.” 

The dark haired one squints and looks at Wooyoung slightly confused then the one with glasses says “She’s so tiny, she looks like a doll…” Wow, I’ve never heard that one before, I was just called a child a few minutes ago. “You think Hongjoong will have her dressed up all cute and she’ll be like a cute killer doll or something?” 

The dark haired one’s expression looks at Mingi in disgust “Maybe you should stay quiet Mingi, you’ll scare away the Captain’s new protector.” Yunho then looks over at me and gives me a concerned look “He’s weird please don’t listen to him. Anyway, hello y/n I’m Yunho” Mingi then responds “I’m Mingi, hi ” I give them both a smile and shake both their hands “Hello, i’m y/n”

 Mingi gives me a very shy dorky smile then I cross my arms in front of my chest knowing exactly where he was looking “So, you guys are pirates right? So does any of you have specific roles or duties?” Wooyoung then says “Ah yeah we do. I’m the cook.” Yunho gives me a curt smile “I’m the doctor” San raises his hand shyly “I’m the craftsman, I fix and make things.”

Lastly Mingi pushes up his glasses and gives me a dimpled smile “I’m the navigator, I work out which way the ship needs to go and I check if the conditions are right for safe travel” Wooyoung continues “Hongjoong of course is the Captain, Seonghwa is the First Mate and Quartermaster which in short just means that he's Hongjoong's right hand man and if Mingi, Jongho or Yeosang need an extra hand he’s there to help.” 

I look around my front yard and point over at the two male figures playing with my brothers “What about those two? What do they do?” Mingi sits next to me and says “Well..Yeosang is the helmsman, the guy who steers the ship and keeps it going in the direction it needs to go while Jongho is the gunner which is a fancy word for the guy who sets up and orders the canons to be fired and helps Yeosang and I with surveillance.”

 I nod with my lips slightly pursed “Hm, wow that’s some awesome duties you guys have.” Yunho shrugs “It has their ups and downs, sometimes I second guess myself as to what I’m doing on that ship” San then says “What about you? What role do you play in your village?” I run my fingers below on the soft grass next to me “I’m poor, I don’t have a role. I have no influence or power. The most my family has done is my grandpa being an Eledonian soldier, he was the one who’s trained me since I was about 16 or 17 years old making that maybe 5 or 6 years of him training me.” 

Mingi gasps “Wait, wait, you’re older than all of us including Seonghwa?! You look so young, how is that possible?!” Wooyoung looks over at Mingi “We already freaked out about that..” Mingi rips out some grass from next to him and throws it at Wooyoung “Excuse me but I wasn’t here when that happened “ Wooyoung dusts the grass away “You snooze you lose, and geez stop that you’re going to get grass in y/n’s peach tart.” 

Mingi mocks Wooyoung causing him to roll his eyes and gets up “Okay I’m going now, I need to go clean up are you coming or not San?” San motions him to leave and closes his eyes “I’m fine where I’m at” Yunho gets up and follows behind Wooyoung “I’ll help!” Mingi gets up and pats my head “I’ll see you later little doll my companion has just left me.” He catches up with Yunho and Wooyoung. 

As soon as he leaves I let out a soft sigh and rest my head against the trunk of the tree looking in the direction of my family, mom, dad, siblings, and grandpa. What would life be without them? San noticing this he sits up and looks in my direction “Are you okay?” I nod and give him a smile “Ah, yeah I’m just exhausted from training this morning.” He nods and scoots over next to me “Ah, I see.” Ahh fuck I was going to get up after this.

I don’t want him to feel bad for getting up right after he sits next to me. I guess it wouldn’t hurt sitting here. “So.. do you have friends?” I continue staring ahead at my siblings and the whole scene before me and I press my lips into a line for a few seconds then a weak smile paints my features “I did at one point, but my obsession with training and everything kind of drove them away. That and I tend to stay in my own world and nobody wants to deal with those types of people.”

 From the corner of my eyes I can see San give me a look of pity then I continue “But that’s fine because I get more stuff done, having friends is a nuisance. “ He thickly swallows almost like he was going to say something but decided he wasn’t going to say anything and very slightly nods “I see, I’m sorry you feel that way.” 

I turn and give him a bright smile “Enough of me though, how long have you been with the crew?”  San thinks about his answer for a bit and says "Hm, like 2 or 3 years? I'm not sure but I've been here for a while." I slowly nod gently running my fingers through the grass "So since you've been out at sea for a bit you probably already know how it is out there." He hums "Yeah, it's pretty bad. More often than not there's always ships trying to rob us so we're constantly on guard not to mention the government being after us doesn't help at all."

God, that sounds horrible. Living every single day on fight or flight mode? On borrowed time? "Wow, that sounds…exhausting." San chuckles "Hah yeah, it is. The only difference is that having the crew there with you helps a lot. You forget the atrocities of the world for a bit until you have to face them all over again." 

San shifts his gaze from the sky over to me, despite his smaller frame it didn't take away from how handsome he looked which made his stare a bit more intimidating "Don't worry though, like I said you've got me if you're ever in a tight spot." I quietly nod and give him a shy smile “Oh, thanks.” we both sit there in silence again until I feel a sudden tap on my shoulder, when I turn around I see my younger brother standing there “So uh, brother kind of fell and he’s crying.”

 I let out a sigh “Dude, mom’s told you guys to be careful.” He nods “I didn’t do anything, he was being a show off with those pirate guys.” I get up and turn to San “I’m sorry. If you’ll excuse me I need to check on my brother’s dumbassry.” He chuckles and gives me a dimpled smile “Oh sure go ahead.” 

I give San a small curt smile and walk behind my brother leading me the way to my crying brother. When I arrive I see Jongho awkwardly patting my younger brother’s back trying to console him While Yeosang looks on slightly uncomfortable. Once he sees me Jongho looks over at me and says “Oh hey, your brother fell off the swing trying to show us a trick.” I cover my face in frustration and embarrassment then fake a smile looking at my little brother “Didn’t mom tell you to stop that?” He sobs nodding “I’m sorry, I thought it would have been cool for them to see.”

I close my eyes trying not to cringe out of my skin and open them gently patting his head “Look, you could show them those cool tricks you do playing ball. You could seriously get hurt doing that, I’m sure they’ll still think it’s cool. Right?” I look over at Jongho and Yeosang giving them the look of “Please say yes” then he looks over at my brother and nods “Yes, of course I’ll still think you’re cool. You don’t have to do something dangerous in order for it to be cool.”

 My little brother wipes his tear ridden eyes “Really?” Jongho nods “Yes, of course. Remember that trick Seonghwa showed you earlier that you got right away? You should show your sister.” My little brother looks over at Yeosang who was holding a ball then he gives my brother a reassuring nod. He gently throws the ball over at my brother and he kicks the ball making it over the branch of a tree behind them. Immediately both men cheer for my brother and I look over at him with a very impressed look on my face. “Wow, your aim is really good now..” My little brother nods and puts his hands on his waist looking very proud “Thank you..”  

After consoling my brother, I walk around to look for that San guy I was talking to but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I walk around the town square to see if maybe he’d wandered off there but nothing, it wasn’t until I was walking home I hear a faint low voice then some giggling shortly after. 

I noticed the voices were coming from the side of a fountain so I didn’t think much of it and continue walking until I hear “Sannie, stop that tickles!” causing me to halt in my tracks and feel a pit in my stomach. Unfortunately curiosity got the best of me and I walk over and peek behind one of the pillars of the fountain only to see San pinning a girl against it having a very intense makeout session that if anyone saw something similar would definitely guess they’re on the brink of coitus. Yeah no. That should have stayed a curiosity. 

I start walking away and let out a soft sigh with the pit in my stomach still feeling funny. Who would have thought that guy with such a sweet smile was a player? Actually you know what? I’m not surprised. Pirates are known to have many children scattered everywhere so I should have expected this in all honesty. 

The rest of the guys are probably the same including Hongjoong and Seonghwa, I mean they are men after all. Very good looking ones at that but for all I know some of them are probably married. Wait, wait, why am I even upset about this? Why am I even thinking about this? I don't even know the guy, this is ridiculous. He could bang all the girls he wants for all I care, I guess looks are deceiving.

Three days pass by since the pirates came by our village and every single one of those days Hongjoong and Seonghwa would stop by during my breaks in training to hang out which was kind of weird to me since I wasn’t used to all of this since my friends would never even want to talk about my training much less come visit me while I was actually practicing especially when I would practice with my gun, they’d always complain over how loud it was. 

Today was different though they didn’t even show up during my second break today which was unfortunate but they’re probably busy considering Hongjoong is the captain of a massive ship and Seonghwa is his right hand man so something must have come up. So when the sun was close to set now and I begin walking home I hear leaves rustling and to my surprise it’s the Captain himself only this time it was just him. “Hey Captain, it’s nice seeing you. Where’s Seonghwa?” He slowly walks over to me and I notice he has something in his hand, not a weapon of any sort it was an hourglass.

It was an hourglass with a beautiful golden frame and the sand being as pure white as the shore’s it was beautiful but I wonder why he has it with him. “Well, I came to talk to you.” Talk to me? With that expression honestly I’m wondering what exactly he’ll be talking to me about since he’s so serious. It’s probably not a good thing which is making me really nervous and hesitant to even ask. “Sure what is it? Is there something wrong?” 

He extends his hand and gives me the hourglass “When the sand runs out, we will be gone. You have until then to decide if you want to come with us if you want to get back at the Saitor Empire for what they did to Eledonia.” My stomach drops and suddenly I feel cold. This is exactly what I was dreading, having to choose between staying here and leaving. I look down at the trickling sand then back up at him and let out a sigh “We’ll be waiting here by the shore, where I first saw you.” I nod then he walks away disappearing into the forest and the first thing I instinctively do is my eyes well up with tears, this is it. I have to make my choice, choose my destiny.

 Am I going to be training forever and never get that bastard back or am I going to put my training to good use and finally make an example of that man? I walk home with tears in my eyes knowing the answer and what I must do, mostly so that my family and my village can live a good life at the expense of me risking mine.

 I go straight to my corner of the room and begin to pack my things that’s when my grandfather comes into the room and looks at the hourglass then shifts his gaze over at me packing my things while crying in silence then he decides to speak “I know you’ll do well my little Metztli, you’ll bring us justice. You’ll bring your grandmother justice and all the other people that we lost during those years thanks to those greedy men.”  

That’s when I finally break down and begin to cry my eyes out and hug my grandfather tightly “I’m scared grandpa, I’m scared I’ll let everyone down and I’m scared of not ever being able to see you guys again.”

He hugs me tight for a few seconds then pulls away with his arms on my shoulders “Sweetheart, you’ll see us one day this is not a goodbye but a see you later. In case my body ever decides it can no longer stay alive, just remember I’ll watch over you. I’ll never leave your side, ever. Your family will be here, your fellow clansmen will be here waiting for your victorious return.” 

He lifts my chin up to meet his eyes and says “Be the lethal soldier I’ve trained and make those people remember Eledonia, because staying here means you quit.” Teary eyed and more calm I nod then he smiles and gently pats my cheek and pushes a strand of hair behind my ear “That’s my little girl, the strong little Metztli.” I keep hearing that word “strong” but I honestly don’t feel like it. I feel weak. How could people see someone so strong when I see the weakest person on Earth for being so distraught over this. 

After talking to my family about my final decision my family along with the Chief decide they will send me off. When we arrive at the shore I see the massive ship whose flag proudly displayed was that of a skull inside of an hourglass. This was it.

Hongjoong stands at the top of the ramp and gives me a welcoming smile. I turn to my mom and give her a tight hug, one that lasts for quite a bit until my mom pulls away gently cupping my cheek “If you ever want to come back home we’ll be here sweetheart. Please take care of yourself, and remember we love you.” My mom's eyes well up with tears and I hug her again gently kissing her cheek.

 I look over at my dad who was intently staring at the ship and doesn’t move one bit until I finally say “Hey dad, I’m going now. Take care of mom, grandpa and my brothers.” My dad clears his throat and nods “Yeah, of course Metztli I’ll do that. You go ahead and have fun..” Although my father and I’s relationship has been strained for years I feel like I need to grow some balls and hug him because I never know when I’ll be able to see him again so I reach over and give my dad a tight hug. From the corner of my eyes and judging from the body language he awkwardly hugs me back. When I pull back my dad gives me a reassuring nod whilst still feeling awkward from the hug. I could tell he didn’t hate it though, he just struggles to show he cares.

 Up next I look at my grandpa who was looking at me with a fond smile then gives me a tight hug gently kissing my cheek. Once my grandpa pulls away from the hug he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a beautiful sea blue ring, puts it on the palm of my hand and closes it tightly. “It was your grandmother’s, it’ll protect you. She’ll be with you.” 

I smile and kiss my grandpa’s cheek and put the ring on my ring finger. Grandpa then pulls out a bundle that was strapped behind his back “Do me a favor and return these to the Captain and his friend. I’ve refurbished them and cleaned them up.” Their weapons, the ones they threw into the river. How did my grandpa know about it? Hongjoong must have told him when they were talking a few days ago. “Of course grandpa. I’ll let them know.” When I look over at the Chief he gives me a nod of approval and a smile.

From there, I begin to walk up the ramp to the ship until I feel a tug at my shirt. When I turn around I see it was both of my brothers “You forgot about us..” I bite the inside of my cheek and shake my head “Of course not, I just didn’t want you two to see your big sister cry is all..” I pull them both in for a hug gently patting their heads with one hand each. When I pull back the youngest of my brothers says “Grandpa told me and brother why you're leaving, don’t die please. Come back so you can see my tricks again when i’m better.” 

I give my youngest brother a smile and nod “Of course kiddo, I promise I won’t die…” My brothers give me one last hug again and run back down the ramp and into my mother’s arms. The closer I get to the top the harder it gets to take a step. Once on top the ramp is collapsed back into the ship and the ship begins to set sail. I walk over to the railing and wave goodbye to my family until they decide to go back home. That’s when Hongjoong puts a hand on my shoulder and says “I know it was a hard decision but I promise you’ll see them again.”

 I silently nod and he continues “Do you want Wooyoung to prepare you something? Are you hungry? Perhaps tea?” I shake my head and stare the now empty shore of Eledonia “I’ll stay here.” He gently squeezes my shoulder “I’ll get Seonghwa to come show you to your room a little later when you’re done okay?” In a barely audible voice I reply with “Yes Captain.” And there I sat in silence watching Eledonia until I could no longer keep my eyes open.

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Next Chapter

[elk96]

Hi! 😄

I wanted to know if you could be a top male reader. Where he and Cillian met in a bar, they spoke little so he couldn't ask for his number but the reader fell in love with him and his blue eyes, and one day when looking at photos of his friends he realizes that Cillian is a friend. from one of his friends, and is surprised because they never told him about him, so the reader asks his friend where he could meet Cillian again, and when they meet again, the reader flirts with him by saying things like:How about I kiss you, how about I buy you coffee tomorrow? What if you are the man of my life?

hello and thank you so so much for your request!!😁 it is my first request so it gave me endless joy😂

I so liked your prompt I had to make it into a two part story.

Hope you enjoy it!

What If Part 1

Cillian Murphy x Male reader

Words: 2457

Warnings: none (smut in part 2)

Of course, no disrespect to Cillian Murphy or his family intended! It's just a fictional story folks.

The bar was quiet, yet annoyingly full of people. Most of them danced slowly near the corners, but the queue for the drinks was large. You shoved your change in your pocket and grabbed your drink to get out of there, when a sharp voice caught your attention. It was one of the bartenders.

“And what do you want me to do lad, pour it back into the bottle?!”, he shouted angrily at the customer. 

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t pay for it-

“What’s the matter”? you asked pleasantly, approaching the pair. You glanced at the bartender, then the money laid in front of a Guiness. The customer had closed his eyes, pushing his head towards his chest. So much drama for such a little inconvenience, you thought.

“There, I'll pay it off”, you said to the bartender and gave him the missing coins. “No need to worry mate, come on”, you added, and with both drinks at hand, you found a quieter spot in a corner. You looked behind you to find the man you’d just helped come after you flustered and embarrassed.

“God you’re not from around here, are you”?, you asked with a smile and handed him his beer.

“I just left the house in a haste. Though I had more money with me, you know”? He took a large sip. “Thank you so much by the way, I wasn’t in the mood for trouble. I’m Cillian”.

A small smile tugging at the corners of your lips, you reached to shake his hand. Your heart was dancing in your chest. His touch was smooth, warm, his hand large and yet frail, just like the rest of him.

“What’s your name”? Cillian asked as you continued to just stare at him.

You cursed yourself mentally looking at the ceiling for a brief moment in frustration. “Sorry, I was thinking about something. Um. Y/N. Y/N Y/LN. Lovely outfit, may I add”.

Cillian chuckled and looked down at himself as if to actually remember what he was wearing. White and red striped shirt, blue navy cardigan, ripped cuffed blue jeans. A small silver earring added even more spark to his face, as if those eyes weren’t dazzling enough already.

Cillian rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “It’s just my casual fit you know? Something to keep me going through the day”.

“Rough day, I presume”.

“Yeah…Sometimes I just…I don’t know…Lose my faith in humanity, I guess. With everything that’s happening around here…I’ve always been trying to be one of those ‘look at the bright side’ kind of people, but now…”.

“You’re talking about the person who stole those charity funds hm”?, you asked sympathetically. The news had caused great shock in all the country. “I suppose that’s always been man’s nature though, hasn’t it? We can’t deny it”.

“But we can fight it-and we have to fight it, otherwise what’s the point”?, Cillian asked in a haste and gulped down his beer.

Absent-mindedly you reached to swipe some of the foam gathered on the corner of his eyes. You only then noticed that he’d finished his drink, while you were only one sip down with your. Cause you were drinking him with your eyes…

“Thank you for the beer again, I have work to do”, Cillian murmured, and with a soft “Good night”, he slipped between the crowd and…left. He had just…left. You kicked the wall next to you for letting him go like that. You could’ve asked for his number or something!

You closed your eyes and sighed heavily, leaning on the wall. He is gone now. And, nobody said that there was much to happen anyway. What if he’d left so quickly because of your gesture? What if he’d cringed?

“Oh what a stupid reason to stay awake at night…”, you whispered to yourself and finished your drink. You had paperwork to do-loads of paperwork, actually, but all you would think about would be that ethereal man. Chiseled jawline, sharp cheekbones, soft nose. Not even Michaelangelo had carved beauty like his.

—----

Three days had passed and all you could do was think about Cillian-which was why you had agreed to go see the game at your friends’ house. Many of his pals would be there, since tomorrow one of them had his birthday, Will was throwing a party for him.

“Hello Y/N, so glad to see you mate! I didn't think you’d come”.

“Yeah, me neither, but I needed a break from work”.

“Oh come on”, his friend complained. “All you do is work and sleep, when are you going to have some fun? Find a girl, have a good time”!

“Oh I’m sorry sir William but not all of us have rich parents”, you joked and stepped inside. 5 other men were sitting on the couch and on the floor, waiting excitedly for the game to start. You smiled at them and then walked to the kitchen. You poured yourself a cup of water from the fridge. You had recently moved into the city, so you didn’t have many friends, and all your old ones were now scattered across the globe. William and his pals were good, fun-but they were made only to party and talk big. You hadn’t bothered to confess that you weren’t interested in girls, you just gave lame excuses about having too much work.

“Did you print the photographs''? William said conspicuously, making you flinch in surprise. He had asked you to print some cursed photos of the birthday boy and the group. Whether he wanted to blackmail him or give them to him, you didn’t know, but it was unimportant.

“Yes, I did”, you answered and handed them over to Will. “Scott looks like he’s pissed drunk in that one”, you laughed and pointed at the picture that interested you.

“Eh, you know Scott, always the quiet one”, Will smiled. You liked Scott. “But the most ridiculous one is Cillian”.

You drew in a sharp breath at the sound of his name-so it was him after all. When you’d seen the face in the picture you thought it was just wishful thinking on your part, a trick of your mind.

You furrowed your brow, pretending not to know. “Cillian? New addition to the gang”? you joked.

“Nah, we just hang out once or twice. He was the leading man on the play Scott participated in, so we became acquainted. Nice lad. Scott loves him ‘because he introduced him to a writer and now he thinks he’ll be able to work full-time at the theater like Cill. Let’s hope he finds out you need talent to do that because he quits his job, huh”? William laughed and went to the living room to find the others.

A sweet sense of anticipation lingered over you. He worked full time at the theater…You knew where to find him.

The next day, the sun rose vibrant and promising, the weather was crisp but not cold. You were walking faster than usual, anxious to find Cillian in the cafe Scott said he was going to in between theater breaks. Your heart was hammering in your chest, but you felt confident. You had finished all your work, for the days to come, so you had no responsibilities, and with the weekend right on the next corner…who knew what would happen? You took a swift glance at yourself at a shop’s window to make sure everything looked in place, and then entered the cafe.

It was a small, cozy place with lots of cushions, orange lamps and vintage wooden tables. It’s calm, romantic ambience enveloped you, easing your nerves completely. You inhaled the intricate smell of brewed coffee, and then you saw him. He was sitting alone in the small attic of the place, where no tables but rather large pillows were places for those who searched for a break from the chit chat and noise. He was wearing a fluffy blue turtle-neck, which brought out those incredible eyes of his.

You ordered your favorite coffee and with the cup in hand you climbed up the stairs to meet him.

“Mind if I join”?, you asked with a smile.

Cillian put down the book he was reading, his features illuminated by joy for seeing you.

“Y/N! Of course, you needn’t have asked. Good to see you again”, he added softly.

You sat next to him on the soft material, placing your coffee on a little hanging shelf.

“You too. I was thinking about you actually…”, you said in a  low voice. “What you told me '', you added to make it a bit more subtle. “Are you better now”?

“Hey, I didn’t mean to sound so depressive, '' he explained. “It’s just that I had worked in a play for the guy that collected and then stole the money. I thought he had integrity and honesty-but anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. How come you found this place”?

You held your breath, contemplating whether you should give him the real reason or just make up an excuse.

“I was out for a casual walk, and it looked cozy and cute, so I thought I’d come in for a cup of coffee. What are you reading? "you asked and picked up his book. “Call me by your name, my my! I thought you’d be more of a Dostoyefsky and Kafka type of guy”, you laughed, while your heart clenched in hope.

“Oh I am”, Cillian answered. “Or Bukowski, or Oscar Wilde, or Max Porter. But this particular book, I’d read some twelve years ago, and I still go back to it when I need a boost. Their relationship is so pure”, he said, his voice trailing off into nothing. 

You tentatively brushed your fingertips against his own, held your hand there when he didn’t shy away from your touch. But he didn’t dare look you in the eyes.

“I always found it very sad…how long it takes them before they understand the depth of their feelings…And when they do, there is no time to enjoy their love”, you said softly admiring the softness of his skin, the delicacy of his features.

“I’d rather have one true kiss with someone than a relationship based on lies”, he mumbled almost inaudibly and that was when you placed your hand on his chin.

“What if I kissed you right now”? you whispered, turning his face towards yours. Cillian looked at you with surprise, but then, he closed his eyes, giving you the smallest of nods.

You leaned in, pressing your lips against his soft ones, savoring his smell. You kissed his bottom lip, sucking on it gently before you parted his lips with your tongue. You felt him melt into your touch as you licked into his mouth gently. You broke the kiss, both gasping for air. His cheeks were flushed, chest rising rapidly.

“You look so fucking beautiful when you’re all ”, you whispered in his ear, pulling him towards you for a more passionate kiss. You brushed your hands through his silky hair, sucking at his full lips. Cillian needily wrapped his arms around your torso, and a small whine left him when you lapped on his mouth.

When you pulled back you were both disheveled.

A mean, low laugh came from downstairs, and when you looked, two blokes were pointing fingers at you, rolling their eyes and judging stupidly. Cillian picked up his book quickly, pulling away from you. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, you apologized for your boldness.

“It’s not your fault, I just…worry about work. I don’t want word to spread and stuff”, Cillian answered hoarsely, and you understood that completely. It wasn’t necessary that people know about your affairs, no matter the sexuality or gender.

“How about I  buy you a coffee tomorrow, or a beer at that bar and we talk about it?, you asked hesitantly.

Cillian thought about it while his thumb brushed nervously against your hand.

“I really like you Y/N”, he confessed.

“I’ve been thinking about you, Cill. For over three days now. We could go to my place-for something casual, I mean. To talk…I really want to get to know you better. Because I like you too. Very much”.

You admired the ethereal color of his eyes a little longer while Cillian prepared mentally for what awaited him. After a rather eventful break up, he wasn’t in the right headspace to connect intimately with someone again-especially a person of the same sex- but the attraction he felt, the warmth in his stomach and at the same time, the trust he had in you eased his uncertainty off.

Having already paid for your drinks, you left the picturesque cafe and walked to your place. It was a short walk under the warm sun and you were happier than you’d been in a long, long time. Cillian was introverted and shy, laughing nervously at your jokes and fidgeting with the hem of his sweater. It would scare you, how hard you were falling for him, if he weren’t honest and pure-hearted as he was.

You poured drinks for both of you and he sat on the living room carpet-another quirky habit of his along with the fact that he was always fidgeting-and you continued your conversation. He told you all about the play he was rehearsing at the moment, Grief Is A Thing With Feathers, opening his heart about the toll the role had taken on him. He had a beautiful way of speaking, soft and calm, and yet you understood almost right off how passionate he was about his work.

You could also sense that while eager, he also felt out of his depth a little bit, being alone with a man that regarded him as something more than a friend.

And then, you brought up your love for music, and the conversation went on for hours. In his nerdy way, he could speak insightfully about the songs he loved, how he connected with them. 

The sun was beginning to set when you stood up, putting some jazz music playing on the radio. You turned on the warm, low lights on the side of the wall to create a romantic atmosphere, looking at Cillian.

“Up for a dance”?

“I’m not a great dancer”, he murmured, breath caught in his throat.

“How badly can you mess up some simple steps”?, you bit back, pulling him up by the forearm. You led him away from the furniture so you had a bit more free space, wrapping your arms around his waist. He let his hands drop lightly at your shoulder blades, shying away from your eyes. You began to move in small steps, following the rhythm of the music.

[alphacrone]

spoilers for books 1-4, set at the beginning of TCS

posted on ao3

-

“Fittes wants you.” 

Lucy didn’t bother to turn her head. She knew Quill Kipps’ voice when she heard it. 

“You know my answer,” she said. Kipps moved to stand next to her in the queue for the furnaces. Lucy had been tasked with delivering tonight’s source after a relatively easy job with Bunchurch, but she was regretting not asking one of the others to do it instead. She hadn’t spoken to Kipps since Aickmere’s and wasn’t keen on a conversation now. 

“Let me rephrase,” he said. “ Penelope Fittes wants you.” 

Lucy couldn’t help it—that made her look. Kipps looked worse than when she’d seen him last, which was surprising. He seemed older, more tired and stretched thin. Perhaps his promotion hadn’t been as cushy as she’d assumed. 

“Penelope does?” She asked. “Why?” 

Kipps rolled his eyes. “The real question is why would you continue as a freelancer when the most powerful woman in London wants you on her team?” 

Lucy glanced away. “Independence. Freedom to choose my own jobs.” 

“Loyalty to a company you left?” Kipps shook his head. “It wouldn’t be a betrayal, you know. Tony’s been cozying up to Ms. Fittes lately. I think he’s sort of a pet to her, a mangy stray to whom she occasionally throws a bone.” 

Lucy frowned. “You’re not much of a salesman, are you?” 

“Strangely enough, marketing isn’t in my job description.” Kipps laughed, mostly to himself. “Haven’t you noticed it, though?” 

The queue inched forward. Lucy didn’t take her eyes off Kipps. “Noticed what?” She asked. 

“The world’s changing,” he said, voice low and strained. There was something sharp in his faraway gaze that she couldn’t place. “This winter wasn’t an anomaly. Hauntings are getting worse. More agents are dying, unemployment’s skyrocketing, the economy’s in shambles…there’s security with a place like Fittes. Especially someone like you.” 

“Like me?” 

“Yeah,” Kipps said. “Powerful. She wants your Talent. Badly.” 

It made her heart flutter, to know she was wanted by the best agency in the country. It was different, knowing the request came from Penelope Fittes and not just Quill Kipps. Lucy had always suspected Kipps wanted her more for the damage it would cause Lockwood than the benefit it would bring his team. But Penelope Fittes had no need for petty squabbles. She wanted Lucy because Lucy was the best. 

“If she wants me so badly, she can come to me herself,” Lucy answered. “You’ve failed to recruit me dozens of times over the years. Why even bother to send you? Why not…literally anyone else?” 

Kipps laughed again, louder and without a hint of mirth. It startled the girl in front of them, a small thing in Rotwell reds. “She didn’t send me. I’m here because I’m concerned.” 

“Concerned about what?” Lucy scoffed. 

“Christ, leaving Lockwood turned you dull.” Kipps examined his nails, picking dirt from underneath them. “Freelancing’s dangerous. If you’re not with Tony, then you should be somewhere that can actually take care of you.” 

She’d gotten a similar lecture from Barnes when she’d shown up to DEPRAC to fill out her free agent registration forms. He’d spotted her in the lobby and spouted off the same silly statistics that Kipps likely had up his sleeve. “Yes, yes, 65% more likely to die, I’ve heard it all.” 

“And yet you’re still doing it,” Kipps said. “Why? Fittes pays far better. Hell, so do Rotwell and half the other agencies—all of whom would kill to have you.”

Lucy rubbed at her eyes. She was exhausted, and Kipps wasn’t helping. “I didn’t leave for money.” 

“That much is clear.” Kipps shook his head. “I don’t understand you, Carlyle.” 

“ That much is clear ,” she parroted. Lucy knew she was being childish, but the idea of someone like Quill Kipps being able to understand anything other than fame and glory was laughable. 

“It’s like you’re punishing yourself,” he said lightly. “But I can’t imagine what for. You’ve only been a boon for Lockwood & Co. as far as I can tell. They wouldn’t have made it this far if you hadn’t shown up.” 

Lucy ground her teeth. “You underestimate them.” 

Kipps snorted. “You overestimate them. I remember the agent before you, poor sod was basically Talentless. He shouldn’t have been out in the field at all and it got him killed. That was Lockwood before you.” 

“What do you want , Kipps?” Lucy snapped, turning to face him directly. “What do you want me to say?” 

Kipps’ face remained impassive—or perhaps just unreadable. “I want to understand why you would leave a place you love for… this .” He gestured to her muddy clothes and bruised face. The injuries looked worse than they actually were, earned two nights earlier when Tendy’s sent fewer agents than promised and Lucy had thrown herself down a staircase to keep the young trainees alive. It had all worked out in the end, but left some ugly purple and green blotches along her cheek. “Is this some sick sort of penance?” 

“Penance for what?” Lucy considered leaving, but she wouldn’t get the rest of her payment until she submitted the furnace forms to Mr. Bunchurch’s office.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Kipps shook his head. “Breaking Tony’s heart? I promise that’s not bad enough to warrant this sort of guilt. He’s a big boy, he’ll get over it.” 

The queue inched forward and Lucy was almost there, two people away from the clerk. It was Harold Mailer again this week, which was a blessing—he was so chatty, it would be hard for Kipps to continue speaking while Lucy and Harold processed the Source. Then she could make a run for it. 

“I told you, Kipps,” she said. “I like the freedom of freelancing.”

“No, that’s not it.” Kipps gave her a long look. “Is this about Miss Munro?”

“What?” Lucy was taken back. “What’s Holly got to do this with?” 

Kipps shrugged. “You clearly hate her and you quit after being paired with her at Aickmere’s. I find it hard to believe Lockwood wouldn’t fire her if you just asked. He’d be a fool not to try and keep you.” 

“I don’t hate Holly!” Lucy clamped her mouth shut, voice going louder than she intended. The poor Rotwell girl in front of her flinched. “And I didn’t leave because of her. We were getting on alright when I decided to resign.” 

“Sure.” Kipps sighed. “Look, whatever reason you have, it’s not good enough.” Lucy began to protest, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand. “You’re going to get yourself killed. Either apply to Fittes or go back to Lockwood, but don’t stay a freelancer. Please.” 

He was bossy, he was rude, and he was arrogant, but there was a sincerity in Quill Kipps’ voice that gave Lucy pause. Perhaps he had only approached her from a place of concern. 

“I’ll…consider it,” she said.  

“That’s all I can ask, I suppose,” Kipps replied. “Just…stay safe out there. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.” 

Unnecessary risks was Lucy’s middle name and the unofficial motto of A.J. Lockwood & Co., but she nodded all the same. “Sure, Quill,” she said, and it was the closest she was going to get to thanking him. 

“I mean it,” he said, and it was the closest he was going to get to saying goodbye. Kipps clapped her on the shoulder and marched off, heading wherever it was Fittes employees went when they weren’t watching children do all the work. 

“He’s right, you know.” 

The little Rotwell girl in front of Lucy had turned slightly, bright eyes meeting hers. Lucy felt her face grow hot realizing everyone had heard her conversation. 

“It’s not safe out there without a team,” the girl continued with a grimace of a smile. “You shouldn’t work alone.” 

“I didn’t ask, thanks,” Lucy snapped at her. The girl turned back around in time to approach the clerk, now free. 

It wasn’t as if Lucy didn’t know the risks, being on her own. But she wasn’t totally alone—she had Skull, after all. And the teams she worked with weren’t all horrible. Kipps—and Barnes, and this Rotwell child—didn’t need to worry. 

But he might have been right, in a way. Maybe Lucy was living this way as some sort of penance. Maybe she did need to pay for the danger she’d put the others in. 

Put Lockwood in. 

The Rotwell girl scurried off and Lucy approached Mailer’s desk, trying to match his grin as he handed her documents to sign.  It didn’t matter, in the end, she decided, setting her Source down. As long as Lockwood was safe, it didn’t matter what Lucy felt, it didn’t matter how miserable she was. 

As long as he was safe, nothing else mattered. 

[thessalian]

Thess vs That Screaming Feeling

Nope. Today is a “feel like screaming” day.

Apparently Scruffman wants us to have a backlog. I tend to think we’re doing well when the dictation queue is really low, but it finally was for the first time today and I was told to slow down on the typing insofar as was possible - basically only taking a few bits at a time instead of the great huge wodge I normally do. The thing is, I take that great huge wodge to ensure that at least some of what I’m typing is the short easy stuff. Because if I just take little snippets, I come back to the typing queue to see all of the longest ones right at the top, having been left there by the cherry-picking temp. And she was on form with that shit today. The best I could do at the end of everything was to miss the fifteen minute monstrosity she left sitting there for me. She left me with one seven-minute bit of dictation, two five-minute bits of dictation ... basically every dictation over three minutes was mine to deal with, a lot of which was this one guy who’s very loud but sounds like he’s talking through a sock. Fine. I can’t do anything about that but I can say, “Sorry; the dictation length may say 14 minute and 36 seconds but by the time I’ve skipped around, gone back to correct things by request, gone back to correct things because the sentence structure was garbage, and fixed the block key so it’s remotely readable, that’ll turn into a half-hour and guess what? I don’t have time for that shit. So I’ll just grab the urgents, thanks, and you can pick up that shit on Monday”.

Also I was told we had “all hands on deck” at the office but I didn’t see it. Violet did a couple, Milady was clearly too busy to touch any, and the other part-timer was entirely inactive even though she’s supposed to be here today. Also Goblin managed to avoid any significant typing and Temp more or less slowed to a crawl at about 4pm ... which incidentally is when Scruffman leaves the office these days. Also (and Scruffman should know this), the techs tend to send a literal deluge into the queue on a Friday afternoon. So we weren’t doing quite so well on the typing queue when I logged off for the weekend as we were when I started.

So fed up. So entirely fed up.

I did take some break time during all this to accept my grocery order, put it away in installments, and head out to take out the trash because cleaning the fridge. I’ve got another load to take out because I did some cupboard clean-out and need to empty the bathroom bin, and also take out the recycling involved in my Amazon order, which I also took some break time to accept. But I’m going to wait on that because I am in pain right now. I’ll probably get to that later. It doesn’t help that immediately after work ended, I took the time to mix some instant hot chocolate mix (mostly to clear some more cupboard and counter space) and dumped some drain cleaner in the kitchen sink because it’s been draining kind of slowly lately and I’d rather deal with that before it gets untenable. None of which helped the pain, I suppose.

Of course the problem now is this: the fridge and cupboards are full of food but I hurt too much to cook anything. Again, I’ll see how I feel in a bit, after I’ve had some actual chill time ... and done the rest of my chores, I guess. But chill time first.

The chill time is mandatory for a few reasons. It’s been a hard day. It’s been a hard week. This country is a mess and I have to live in it. I kind of want to cry but I don’t really have the energy for that either. So I’m going to make myself some hot chocolate and just veg for a little while. And I will trust that the grey in the sky will not become rain for at least an hour so I can recover a bit before taking out the bins.

[treesap-blogs]

“Hunted By The Sky” by Tanaz Bhathena review! Yippee!

(Buckle up guys, this is 2 of 3 of the reviews going up today because I’ve been doing a lot of reading in order to clear my reading queue before reading a book I’m looking forward to :D! You’ll find out what it is eventually, it’ll be easy to tell.)

Hello, Tumblrians! I’ve been trying to get out as many reviews as I can this week! This was a book I read after being in a bit of a reading slump, as I’d put Zorro: A Novel by Isabel Allende on my reading queue(I was hyperfixated on the franchise for a month or so, fun times), only to be bored by the execution of its plot and sufficiently icked out by how it struggled to handle its subject matter(dated 2000’s writing for the win)! Eufgh. So I decided to come back around to this book, to have some actually good writing to cleanse my palette a bit! Got me out of my reading slump, thanks Tanaz Bhathena, and I burned through the last 110 pages or so in a matter of 2 days.

To be honest, the thing that most intrigued me in the premise was being able to have a vengeful female lead as our protagonist (or rather, one of them, does Cavas count as a protagonist too?), a liking that’s probably due in part to Iron Widow, along with it having a setting I typically haven’t read about but adds an interesting layer of culture to the narrative and characters! Similarly to When The Angels Left The Old Country, actually, this book felt very culturally rich! It takes place in Medieval India, and integrates its Indian (Hindi, particularly) aspects into the story seamlessly, from the locations the characters visit to the clothing they wear and the food they eat. (With the fantastical elements, it also takes inspiration from Persian mythology because of Bhathena’s heritage.) And, like When The Angels, it had a glossary on the last few pages for defining some of the terms, including ones with specific context inside of Ambar/Svapnalok! Some of those were more or less defined in the text, others weren’t, it helped to have an aid as someone who’s outside of that culture.

My main complaint that I have, though, is that aside from the representation it felt like a pretty generic plot? Sure, I love to read some fantasy, and I also love myself a vengeful female lead, but there were a lot of things in here I’d read in other stories. The prophecies(and how a main character is directly linked to one, resulting in being powerful magically), being endangered because of magical powers, instalove romance(which I was mostly indifferent to), etc. But, I could tell there was a lot of thought put into the world itself. Like the inclusion of different creatures, places and stuff, even if a lot of the scenes played out with them were similar to other media. We got a lot of details about its history, especially with how prominent classism issues were in the story, and, surprisingly, it didn’t feel like the author was patronizing her readers in how she fleshed the fantasy elements out. It is infodump-y for half of the first part, though. (This book’s divided into sections, I believe there’s about four, with the last one being only one chapter.)

(Also, the mammoth fight was so stupid🧍)

I also feel like this book should’ve been listed as a romance too, it’s definitely a romance fantasy because Gul and Cavas’ relationship is not a sideplot by any means! I kinda wanted to just read more about Gul’s revenge, harnessing her powers, that kind of thing, but, again, I was impartial to the romance. Although instalove isn’t my thing, and this wasn’t a relationship that had me “squee”ing(presumably because enemies to lovers has been ruined for me, peep the DNI criteria in my bio), they had some enjoyable banter. (And personally I don’t mind it giving some kind of emotional stake or our lead someone to fight for. This is just personal preference, rather than formal review writing haha.) Also, I like Dual POV! I was glad to read a story in first person where both perspectives felt unique, not just based on basic personality traits but also backgrounds! Socioeconomic classes are a crucial part of this book (as you could..probably tell lol), and the characters’ different backgrounds greatly influenced their perspectives. It was interesting to read about, and it felt like the perspective changes weren’t just for convenience but also because it was most necessary to know either Gul or Cavas’ insight at the time.

Also! Forgot the name of the group of women that trained/raised Gul, but they were pretty badass and were overall interesting! Glad they got to return for the climax and ending. 

Final verdict: Plot didn’t stand out a ton to me when I was actually reading it, but the execution was solid and the characters worked. Romance wasn’t totally my thing, although I can see how it could be that for other readers, and because a) this book got my attention, b) Bhathena has an interesting writing style? Like, I felt totally immersed, I could tell she had a good grasp on her craft even if judging by the reviews fantasy wasn’t a genre she’d written in before, c) I’m a completionist at heart, I’ll be reading the second book. It does look like a duology, though, which is something that bums me out because I don’t like the pacing done with them :(. (Peep my Dragon’s Promise review.)

Book rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½/5 stars! 

Paz, signing off!

(Book trigger/content warnings: murder of parents, chronically ill parent, sexual slavery, animal cruelty, blood and violence, classism and discrimination.)

(Thanks Simant on Goodreads for the concise list of CWs/TWs!)

[itsayaze]

Day One - Touchdown

After a 13-hour flight, I landed at Haneda Airport at 7AM local time. Haneda is an airport I like a lot. It’s open and airy; with floor-to-ceiling windows through entire hallways that take considerable time to walk down. Travelators are chiming, and nice Japanese voices advise you to be careful when using them. A man operating a cart to ferry passengers around drove past with a jingle adjacent to an ice cream truck.

Immigration is always going to be one of the longer parts of getting through an airport, sure, but getting to the front was almost an hour. And this is after disembarking the plane much before the rest of the passengers. Thankfully, I had filled out the customs and immigration forms much ahead of time online, which gave me a QR code to speed the process up. 

As soon as I hit the front, I flew through immigration. The plus side of the queue being so long is that by the time you get out, your luggage is already spinning its way down the carousel. Using my recently acquired AirTags, I didn’t need to squint and wait for a bunch of bags to drift past; A helpful arrow in the Find My app set me straight. I grabbed my suitcase and headed straight for nothing to declare. I didn’t even get stopped and searched for gold bullion this time!

The arrivals hall was bustling. People stand around holding signs for parties to get chauffeured around their opening hours in the country. I’ve done Haneda before, so I knew what I needed to do, but this time there was an extra complication: I needed to find the JAL baggage delivery counter.

I was hellbent on getting this suitcase out of my hands and delivered to the hotel I'm staying at. But I couldn't find it anywhere. Looked on the maps around the airport? Nothin'. So I took out my phone and looked it up. It's on 1F! That's... where I just came from after the sign told me it was on 2F... etc. etc.

After about 30 minutes of aimlessly wandering around, I conceded and made my way over to one of my favourite parts of the country: the rail system.

Haneda has a monorail that will take you to the Yamanote Line, where you can make most of your connections in Central Tokyo. They run frequently and have many stops along the way. I let a few go past because it was the Haneda Express I was truly after.

You get on, and it goes. Straight to Hamamatsucho. No stopping on the way, just hauling ass across the monorail, drinking in the sights. It's still technically Sakura season, so I did see some Sakura trees along the river. I happened to pick a week to travel here that conveniently has a really nice weather forecast, so it was clear skies and sun all day; a comically drastic difference from the weather I'd left behind in England.

So, at Hamamatsucho then. I make my way through the station, touch out of the Monorail section and drag this huge-ass suitcase to the Yamanote line. On the platform, an all too familiar jingle rang out, and what I often describe as "a fine boy" arrived - the E235. The unit. The lad. I love him.

There are plenty of E235s in the rolling stock, but the Yamanote green one is particularly striking to me. As a Densha de GO! fan, I'm having a ball. I hop on and put myself into a corner out of everyone's way.

I leave the train at what I have consistently described as "real clown shit" - Shinjuku station. I gotta leave from the East exit. So I follow the signs pointing to the East exit... Am I at the East exit? You bet your ass I'm not! So I go back the way I came like a fool and try again. Eventually, I get it, all whilst my buddy whom I'm meeting up with goes through a similar experience on the other end of the station.

Now that we've met up, we walk through Shinjuku, down towards Kabukicho. I saw the iconic red gates and walked up that street constantly drawing comparisons to its fictional Kamurocho counterpart. Mostly, it's strikingly similar! I've managed to make my way around based on the knowledge I've accrued being a franchise fan, which is hilarious to me. We walk past the Toho cinema and wave at Godzilla.

Bags were dropped off, and we had some time to kill until 3PM check-in. So, the short version of those events:

Coffee in Kabukicho Tower.

Cheese Gyudon at Matsuya. The Chigyu championship starts today.

Game Panic Kabukicho (or Club Sega in Kamurocho if ya nasty)

Buy an eAmusement card, because I left mine at home.

It gets stuck, but one QR code and a quick message to a staff member sorts that out.

IIDX. Sound Voltex. First time I've played a Lightning/Valkyrie cabinet, which was a very pleasant experience.

Buy a BanaPassport for fun. We'll probably play MaxiTune soon.

Played some new Konami Chunithm bootleg with influencers and v-tubers all over the gaff. (I did not like it much)

Walkabout Shinjuku aimlessly for fun.

We check in at long last, and I'm finally bed-adjacent. I lay down for a bit and let a hot bath run. Normally, I prefer showers, but I was recreating an event from my last trip to Japan in 2018: a strong-zero in a lovely warm bath. I soak for a good while, dry off and then have a quick nap. That was the beginning of the end.

On waking up a few hours later, we make our way over to Torikizoku, a real nice yakitori place. There was quite a wait, but that was fine. I needed some more time to get PROPERLY hungry anyway. By the time we were seated and we ordered our food, I was ready. A quick breakdown again:

A comically large "MEGA Lemon Sour"

Potato salad, cabbage, and edamame.

Tsukune Cheese Yaki... (chicken meatballs drowning in cheese...)

Mune Kizokuyaki (chicken & leek skewers)

More chicken

Another MEGA Lemon Sour... but they brought me two!

More tsukune cheese yaki (fuck me, it's so good man)

Then we ventured Kabukicho until 1AM. A very unusual occurrence for me, being out that late. But the "dangerous" part of Tokyo really is much safer than London. Back at the hotel, I pretty much immediately KO'd on the pillow, exhausted from a day on my feet.

[joshuawithers]

Travelling with children advice

I was asked recently about advice for travelling with young children.

My family including our now 4.5 and 2 year olds, left home almost a year ago and I have this advice: after about 37 accomodations and eight countries.

Travel light. Lighter than you think. Being as little stuff as possible.

Lots of snacks. More than you think you need.

Make iPad/TV shows a special treat. Fish out the special treat when necessary for sanity or social goodwill like in a line, stuck in a train or plane cabin, or a restaurant.

Discipline your kids lovingly and well in private so they are awesome humans when in public.

Teach your kids to be bored and look at everything out the window.

Figure out what kind of daily sleep/wake/activity routine or schedule works best for your kids and run with it so that all of you have a good day and you’re not dragging your kids through a hike they were never going to enjoy.

Expect to see and do far less things than you imagined. If we do one travel or touristy thing a day that’s a win. Two is a big day. Three is a mistake.

When in lines at immigration or other important things, and they’re really unhappy, just grin and bare it. It’s a few minutes of everyone’s life, we’ll all be fine, and all the other assholes around you have been expecting the tantrum anyway. If people look at us or comment on a tantrum, I just joke about it like “sorry, she just learned about taxes” or “sorry, this is my first abduction and it’s not really going well.”

Teach your kids their names, ages, and your names so that when police come after you make a joke about abductions you can price they’re yours. Make sure they know not to joke about who their parents are and what their names are.

Bring extra dummies/soothers.

We swear by the Phil & Ted’s Travel Cot version 5. Not sponsored. We’ve tried the rest, the Bugaboo is awesome, Phil & Ted’s is better.

We also swear by the BabyZen YoYo and/or the Baby Jogger City Tour travel prams. The rest are not as good.

When boarding flights ask the staff where to “put the kids” as if you’re expecting them to not sit with you. So if with a straight face, and kind of hold the child out toward the staff, gesturing that they can take them now.

Book accomodation that is walkable to public transport and parks. Nothing else in your life matters more than a good playground. Also look for accomodation with cooking facilities, you’re going to want to cook at home.

Whatever you order for them at a restaurant will not be good enough so share meals. Encourage them to try new foods. Our mantra is that you can’t say you don’t like something if you haven’t tried it yet.

Almost all long queues can be skipped if you are a family, or if you accidentally go down the not-foreign-passport line, or if your kids has a tantrum. Turn that lemon into line-skipping lemonade.

I’ve got VLC installed on my phone with a series of old school TV shows offline like Franklin the Turtle. Old school slow TV shows are better than the visual cocaine that modern kids shows are. Damn you, Paw Patrol.

Take a million photos. Sync them with iCloud Photo Library so when you drop your phone in the Mediterranean Sea you’re not devastated. Buy disposable film cameras for the kids to make them feel involved.

Each of our girls has a snuggle toy that has come with them the whole journey. When you’re changing accomodation every few days a common smell and feel is a godsend.

I’m lucky to have travelled so much with Qantas that I have a Qantas Platinum status which gets us more luggage and airport lounges, this is so good with kids. Everyone in the Oneworld First Class Lounge thinks they’re having a fancy moment but then in runs my two year old ready to bring hell. It’s my favourite part of every flight.

Snacks. Water. Lots of snacks.

My kids like to play with tape so we have random coloured sticky tape for them to play with on flights.

Sleep. So much sleep.

These experiences and memories will be priceless. Be in the moment for them all.

[unbelong-arc]

NANCY WHEELER   /   @shotcalled​.

                   sometimes mike sits in the basement and stares at the space el used to occupy. after will and dustin and lucas have gone home, after another 10 hour campaign, he still feels something missing inside of his chest, and he knows it’s her. mike can tell his mom is worried about him, but mike can’t seem to shake the thought of el and what happened to her. he’s so engrossed in these thoughts that he doesn’t hear nancy come down the stairs. when she speaks, mike jumps, turning to her with an angry, furrowed brow. ‘knock much?’ as if this was his room, and there was a door. ‘pretty sure mom taught us not to sneak up on people,’

[loyaltyburdened]

joshmopolitan:

#relationshipgoals

[loyaltyburdened]

ONE    (    NAME    /    ALIAS    )    :   ande

TWO    (    BIRTHDAY    )    :   february 11th

THREE    (    ZODIAC    SIGN    )    :    aquarius

FOUR    (    HEIGHT    )    :   5′7″

FIVE    (    HOBBIES    )    :    reading, writing, binging shows on netflix or youtube, exercising, drawing, playing video games.

SIX    (    FAVOURITE    COLOUR(S)    )    : teal, blue, green, crimson, gold, muted colored

SEVEN    (    FAVOURITE    BOOKS    )    :    the ghost and the goth series will always hold a special place in my heart, as well as the book thief, and probably more that i can’t think of atm.

EIGHT    (    LAST SONG LISTENED TO    )    : ”clarity” — zedd ft foxes

NINE    (    LAST FILM WATCHED    )    :   to all the boys i’ve loved before

TEN    (    INSPIRATION FOR MUSE    )    :   i feel like i relate most to mike out of all the characters. he’s my favorite and i knew the instant i saw him that i’d grow to love him as much as i do. plus, he’s so much fun to write for. <3

ELEVEN    (    MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL    )    :  mike is incredibly loyal. he’s loyal to a fault and it can cause him lots of problems.

TAGGED     BY    :  @nancy--wheeler

TAGGING :  whoever wants to do this

[imagine-lcorp]

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (One Shot)

Request

Hey! Can you write a fic where fem reader and Lena go on a vacation to a nice beach and have a nice and Lena actually gets some peace and quiet for once lol. Can be NSFW if you would like

A/N: Hey beautiful beans! Just so you know I’ve not abbandoned this ship, sorry it took lo long to come back. There’s still lots of requests in my queue and I plan on fulfilling each one of them. I promised I was going to after all. Pls forgive, I’m a slow writer but I always enjoy writing for you guys. Tho I’m still deciding if I should do a second part nsfw... Anyway, hope you like this little piece, and let me know what you think!

Lena Luthor x Fem!R//Word Count: 1,060 -------------------------------------------------------

When you planned this little trip, you were thinking it was going to be all about fun and relaxation. You would sleep late, wake up until late morning, have some nice breakfast in bed, take long baths, and enjoy the Caribbean paradise as much as you could.

And so it was for the first couple of days, until you noticed your always busy girlfriend wasn't enjoying herself as much.

"Lena, I swear, if you don't put your phone down I'll take it and throw it away so hard you will need Supergirl to retrieve it back from outer space."

Lena froze mid-text and turned to look at you with a sheepish smile. You pulled your sunglasses down and narrowed your eyes at her.

It was the second time you visited the beach, and it was again the second time Lena seemed to be busy with something else. You couldn't entirely blame her for it considering she was the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, a consultant for the DEO, and best friends with National City's superheroine, Supergirl. Someone, something, somewhere, was always going to need her attention but you knew even someone as amazing and powerful as her had her limits.

"Sorry, darling. You want me to get us more cocktails?"

"Nuh-uh, don't darling me." You sat straight on your deck chair. "What I need is for you to stop working for a minute, alright?"

Part of the reason you had organized the trip was because you had started to notice some changes in her demeanor. She was leaving work late, barely sleeping at night, and you weren't sure if she was keeping up with her meals. You had spoken with her assistant, Jess, about it and she had confirmed your suspicions about it all. Work seemed to pile in her office, the DEO and Supergirl called her every now and then to help them deal with considerable threats, and Lena still had to manage her business and her own scientific projects.

The cherry on top of it all had to be you, as she always did her best to find time to spend with you.

Lena Luthor was the most wonderful human being but it was costing her so much just to exist. That's why, when Jess suggested her boss was in dire need of a break, you didn't think twice about planning a little get away for you two alone.

The plan was simple, take Lena to another country with a beautiful beach, preferably on the other side of the planet, spend at least a week in a great five-star hotel overlooking the ocean, take her to the spa, and do whatever necessary to keep her mind off responsibilities. So far, it wasn't working.

"You know I can't." Lena said doing her best impression of puppy eyes.

"What's so important this time?" You pulled yourself closer to her as she too sat straight on her chair to show you her screen phone.

"The gala for this years charity?" You frowned in confusion. "Don't you have like a whole team organizing it already?"

"I do, but I need it to be perfect." She retrieved her phone and looked at it. You could see the worry slipping in her expression.

"Here, give me." You reached over with your hand, prompting Lena to give you her phone. She did after a moment of hesitation and you smiled at her as you could read her thoughts. "Not gonna throw it, I promise."

Instead, you locked her phone and left it on the table near you, between your cocktails, and raised your hands again for Lena to hold them. She watched you with some suspicion in her eyes but followed suit as she reached for your hands. She caressed them with her thumbs and you felt your heart melting at the gesture. You couldn't stay mad at her when she did that.

"Hear me out for a second, okay?" Lena nodded. "You have been planning this gala for a year, making everything in your hands to get more and new organizations and people to join. You already did the hardest part, so let your team do the rest. They know what they are doing."

"I know, but what if someone backs down from the event? Or if they need me to take care of something personally and I have to go back and-"

"Hey, hey." You searched her eyes. "They got this. They are the best at what they do, you know why? Because you, Lena Luthor, only hire the best of the best. Ask Jess if you don't believe me."

That made her smile. "I do believe you."

It mean the world to her that you were always there to remind her what was important at times like these, helping her realize nothing was as bad as it seemed and that she shouldn't waste the rare and precious moments she got to live with you without a catastrophe at hand.

"Good. Now, believe me when I say you deserve some peace and quiet. We are already here, let's enjoy ourselves."

"Peace and quiet, sounds good." She leaned to give you a kiss abut you raised a finger at her as she got closer, stopping her midway.

"Before that, you gotta promise me, no phones or other electronic devices, and no business calls. At least for the rest of the day. Alright?"

"Do I get my kiss if I say yes?"

"You can get more than a kiss of you do." You smirked.

"Oh, what else are we talking about?" Lena raised a brow with a new found interest and for a moment she seemed to really forget about her worries.

"We could have a little more fun." You said teasingly and looking at her lips. "The kind that is more enjoyable at night, after a nice dinner and that sweet wine you like."

"Sounds good to me."

"Do we have a deal then, Miss Luthor?"

"Deal." She said, and you couldn't help but smile as she closed the distance between you two.

For the rest of the day, as promised, Lena kept her hands off her phone and tried her best not to think about whatever happening back in National City. She was too busy thinking about what the end of the day would bring instead and how happy you made her.