#<- saw other people using the convergence tag hopefully it works

[theminecraftbee]

It's the middle of the night when Grian hears footsteps approach where he's made camp in the new Hermitlands of Empires. (Or whatever they're calling it - Hermitopia? Hermempire? He hasn't been paying enough attention; despite it being his idea, he's pretty sure Impulse has already named it.) He's about to roll over and complain about it being LATE, he's SLEEPING, thank you, when he sees who it is.

He blinks.

"Hey, Grian," Pearl says.

"Hey, Pearl," Grian says. "It's late. Uh, hold on."

He grabs a torch and lights it. Pearl's dress has mud all over it. Her eyes are red. She has a strange expression.

"...Pearl?"

"You're a tailor, right?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Grian says. "Vital for a number of things. Later I'm actually gonna go offer to make Timmy's seams tighter to mess with him, actually, if you wanna -"

"Haha," Pearl says. It's not really a laugh so much as a forced chuckle to interrupt him, so Grian takes the hint and stops. "Ha. You already know him, huh."

Grian stops for a long time. He... is not sure how to explain Jimmy to Pearl, if she doesn't already know, so he just nods.

"...and he knows you."

"Kind of?" Grian says, making a face.

"Kind of," repeats Pearl.

"Look, Tim and I go back," Grian says, and leaves the explanation at that. He studies Pearl's face. It doesn't yield any results; Pearl's expression is remarkably blank. "It's sort of a weird situation," he tries again, wondering what about it is so offending Pearl. There's another awkward silence. "Uh, look, just help me mess with him?"

"...after I spar with Sausage, and that's not what I'm here to ask you about. I wanted to ask if you could make me a new hoodie," Pearl says.

"And pants, I assume?" Grian adds.

"I mean," Pearl says, smiling for the first time the whole interaction.

"I shouldn't have given the option," Grian complains. "First Scar, now everyone around me. You're wearing pants!"

"If you think you can control that -"

"Nope! Nope, not listening to it." Pearl laughs. Grian considers it a victory. "Anyway, I'll just need the fabric, sure. I don't have time to go collecting. I think that, uh, Chromia? They seem like a textiles place, probably them...?"

"You can cut up the dress," Pearl says, rather emphatically.

Grian pauses.

"You'll have to wear some of my -"

"I don't mind. Grian, please."

Grian stares at Pearl. The dress she'd found herself wearing once she came through the portal is a beautiful thing, practically glimmering with magic. Sunflowers are woven into it in impossible ways. If Grian destroys it, there will be no replicating it, not without the magic that created it in the first place. It's a finer piece of clothing than the tailor in Grian wants to destroy.

She's covered it in mud. Her eyes are red. It is well past midnight.

Grian throws his spare set of clothes at her. "Go get changed, I'll make it a rush order, so you actually have proper clothes."

Pearl sags with relief. "Sure. I'll owe you."

"You absolutely do," agrees Grian. "Remember that, I'm going to collect!"

Pearl doesn't argue. She goes to change. Grian watches after her.

...huh.

Well, he thinks. That's one more thing to worry about on the increasingly astronomical list of things to worry about after they went through the Rift. it's really too bad that has to be de-prioritized under a lot of other things because that is some weird Pearl behavior, but Grian's already getting blamed for too much to try to fix something he's not involved in. Still. Still!

Pearl comes back with the dress, and Grian promises to message her when he's done. She leaves. Grian holds the dress in his hands and wonders what, exactly, he's missing here.

He'd never get rid of such a beautiful dress. It had basically been made for her. He still feels bad destroying it.

...it's worth the IOU.

He gets to work.

[fangirlshrewt97]

Finding my way back home (to you)

Author(s): Fangirlshrewt97

Fandom: Leverage

Pairing: Parker/Alec Hardison

Characters: Parker, Eliot Spencer, Alec Hardison, Nate Ford, Sophie Devareaux

Rating: General

Warnings: Canon-typical shenanigans, some mild swearing

Additional Tags:  Whumptober, Whump, Happy ending, BAMF Parker, Competence porn?

Whumptober 2019 Prompt: Adrenaline

Summary: Parker gets separated from the crew and has to navigate a building half on fire while dodging the Boss’s goons as she tries to escape and rejoin her family.

Link to A03: archiveofourown.org/works/20967086

                                           ------------------------------------- 

 Parker tried to stop her heaving breaths, it would be all for nothing if she had escaped all the goons and a bomb only to be caught because she couldn’t breathe quiet enough. Closing her eyes, she straightened up as much as she could in the cramped vent and counted to ten. She focused on what she could hear, faint footsteps to her far right, voices speaking but too far away to properly hear what they were saying.

Ok, good news, they didn’t sound like they knew where she was, or even that she had made it out of the building before they decided to blow it up. That gave her time to come up with an alternate escape route. Bad news, the explosion and previous fight had destroyed her comms, which meant her crew also did not know if she had made it out. Oh boy, Eliot was going to be so mad at her.

Assessing the vents around her, Parker decided to head in the opposite direction of the explosion and voices, trying to find an empty hallway to come out into. The vents were high up, and even if she found an exit, it would also be up high. And her grappling equipment had been lost during the fight which meant she would have to free fall. She decided to keep that as her last resort. First, she needed to find a way to get back to her team.

Moving quickly, Parker mentally kept up a tally to make sure she wasn’t going in circles. She froze when she heard voices from the other side of the wall next to her. “Any idea where she went?”

“No, the video cameras were down boss, we don’t know where she escaped.”

The boss growled. “She is one girl, how hard can she be to track?”

“Boss…” Goon 1 started, but the boss cut him off

“Have you idiots checked the vents yet? We know she made it out of the explosion, she must have gotten to the vent near the ceiling when she saw the bomb.”

“Not yet boss.”

“Well what the hell are you all doing then?!” The boss yelled as he thumped the wall, the sound echoing in the vent and causing Parker to jump, “Honestly, what am I even paying you morons for? Find her. Now!”

Well, even morons got lucky every once in a while. She really needed to get out of here. She waited for a couple minutes after the footsteps faded before using her tools to open the vent and drop into the newly vacated hallway. There wasn’t any indication for where this hallway was or what it led to, but it had video cameras, and Hardison would spot her before any of the bad guys would. Waving to the camera, she looked left and right before heading left, it felt cooler than the right one, which hopefully meant it led away from the burning part of the building. She made it to a stairwell entrance that was unlocked, so she ducked into it. Counting the number of flights, she was in the third floor. Not a good height to fall, but she could probably land safe enough to escape. Biting her lip, Parker weighed her choices before trying to clear the place floor by floor, which would give her a greater chance of avoiding unwanted attention, versus jumping and getting to an easier exit faster. Potentially. The goons were probably in greatest number near those exits though. She didn’t have to think for long though, as she heard footsteps approaching from the outside. Oh well, that was decided then.

Grabbing the stair railings, Parker gracefully vaulted herself towards the bottom of the staircase, turning over during the fall to land on her feet. The familiar shock shot up through her body, and boy her knees were going to be in so much pain tomorrow. Tomorrow was tomorrow though, and now she needed to move if she wanted to make sure she had one. The goons had opened the door above and were descending, and seemed to be heading straight to the ground floor. Straight towards her. Great. Looking around, Parker spotted a little niche bathed in shadows. She darted to the nook, folding herself so no inch of her skin was visible and slowed her breathing as the goons approached. For once, luck was on her side and they did not notice her, exiting through the door. Uncurling herself, Parker went to follow them, only to find the door locked.

“Oh come on, you’ve got to be kidding me!” she growled as she reached up for the lock pins she hid in her hair. Making quick work of the lock, Parker launched herself into the hallway, that was thankfully empty.

Wouldn’t stay empty for long though. A door a few feet to the right on the opposite side. It would have to do. She rushed to the door, hoping it wasn’t locked, and whooping quietly when she found it unlocked. She barely made it into the room before converging footsteps all met outside the door she was in. Parker glanced around trying to find a spot to hide in case they came bursting through the door, but when some moments passed and there was no attempt to breach the door, she came down and put her ear to the door to hear what the goons were talking about.

“Man, we have got to go now!” Goon 1 exclaimed.

“No way, Boss will have us killed if we are lucky, turned over to Hunter if we aren’t!” Goon 2 argued back.

“Listen to me, I would rather face Hunter than the guy out there. He just took out 10 people, barely broke a sweat. No job is worth that. Fuck this, I quit. I’m leaving.” Goon 1 retorted back. Parker stilled when something slammed the door, though judging by the growls of another unfamiliar, probably Goon 3, Goon 1 was currently pinned to the door she was crouching behind.

The guy he had described though, that had to be Eliot right? And if Eliot was here, then that meant her chances of surviving this had just gotten a huge boost. She needed to find him. Now. But how to escape a room when the only exit was blocked by a goon’s body on the other side. And where in the building was Eliot?

She moved away from the door, trying to move boxes around to see if she could find- Bingo! She used her body weight to shove against a particularly heavy box before unblocking another vent. Using her lock-pins, she opened the hatch and quickly clambered inside. She closed her eyes for a minute, trying to make out sounds. It had to be- there, a faint sound of fighting. Trusting her gut, Parker quickly moved toward it. She turned out to be right, as she approached the source of the sound, grunts and bodies hitting the floor or wall grew louder.

Parker used her lock pins to unscrew the vent grill, holding onto it as she pushed outward, knocking the goon standing in front of it to the ground. She kicked him once to make sure he’d stay down.

“Eliot!” Parker called out as she used the vent hatch to hit the next nearest goon unconscious.

The hitter turned toward her immediately, and Parker felt something inside her flip when she saw the relief flooding him when he saw her whole and seemingly safe. The expression turned to one of alarm as he called out “Behind you!”

Reacting without thinking, Parker brought the grill still in her hands to hit whatever was behind her, which turned out to a goon with a gun that had presumably been pointed at her. Within seconds, Eliot was in front of her, kicking the guy to make sure he was knocked out. He grabbed Parker’s wrist and started to drag her away from the fight. “Don’t ever dare to do that again, I thought Hardison was going to have a heart attack when he couldn’t get a hold of you.”

“I’m sorry, my comms got destroyed when I was trying to escape the goons. Or maybe during the explosion, I didn’t keep track.”

They came across another small group of goons they made quick off before dashing to the exit that was finally in sight. They burst out the building, Parker taking in lungfuls of clean air. A chill breeze swept past them, soothing the feverish skin, as Parker realized just how warm she had been feeling while inside the building.

The duo made their way over the small ridge to the clearing that hid Lucille. Hardison burst out of the truck with an exuberant “Parker!”

The thief didn’t even have time to say anything else as she was swept up in his arms, held tightly. Parker was lost for where to put her hands before encircling Hardison’s waist and clinging to them just as tightly.

“Don’t ever do that again,” Hardison whispered in her ear, “I was so scared I lost you!”

Parker felt that warm feeling from before return ass she squeezed him. “I won’t.”

“Guys, as great as this is, let’s go!” Eliot called out as she entered the driver’s seat. The two untangled themselves before entering Lucille through the back. Sophie gave Parker her own hug, accompanied by her running her hands through Parker’ hair. Nate, from the front seat, nodded his acknowledgement, to which Parker nodded back.

“What now?” Parker asked as she settled into her seat.

“Don’t worry about it, Hardison took care of it.” Nate said simply. A glance as Hardison saw him nod at her, and she wove her fingers with his. Surprise flashed through his face, before settling into a sweet grin and he squeezed her hand. That felt nice.

Parker slumped back on her seat, relaxing for the first time since the con went to hell. While she probably would not have even done this job back when she was working alone, she also knew the reason why she was able to get out today was because of her crew. Her family. What was that thing the cartoon alien had said? Family means no one gets left behind?

‘Yeah’, Parker thought, ‘I think there might be some truth to that… I can’t wait to get back home for a good long shower. Smoke stinks.’

[ikesenlemonadestandstories]

Princess Escape

@datemasamunemaiwaifu requested a little drabble about Kenshin...not their exact words (I may have paraphrased when I was trying to get thoughts on paper) but for anyone who’s curious, the request is as follows - MC married to Kenshin + pregnant, Kennyo swoops in #misterstealyogirl, Oda need to absorb the U-T forces...or else..., not very gentle bean.

Hoping everyone enjoys this little piece. All my other works can be found on my Master List.

Without further ado...please enjoy the Kenshin x Reader One-shot ;)

[YN]

Usually there were four of you...right now you were alone. You were starting to get annoyed at how easy it was to be kidnapped in this time period. This would be the ninth time over all, the fourth time since marrying Kenshin, and at least the third since becoming pregnant. You had waited until you were at least out of your first trimester to tell everyone other than your husband, who you notified immediately after a doctor could confirm, but now you were beginning to wonder if you should have let people think you were just getting fat…

You hated to admit these kidnappings were becoming routine, but you found it way harder to be surprised or panicked. Kenshin would come for you, that was a no brainer. You were more curious now about who was dumb enough to test The God of War.

[Kenshin]

I had been looking for her all afternoon when Sasuke dropped off a missive. Some of our intelligence had discovered a plot to turn us against the Oda for the fourth time this month, by taking (YN) hostage. Nobunaga and his men had been notified and meetings were taking place, with Shingen’s help to go get her. Somehow Kennyo had managed to escape our forces last time and was hiding out in an old fortress on the edge of Nobunaga’s and my territory. Grand. At least we could surround the man.

Much too antsy to sit, I hovered near the front of the audience hall while Shingen and Mitsunari hammered out the finer details of her rescue.

“That should just about do it. As long as someone doesn’t go rushing in headlong it should be a pretty straightforward rescue.” Mitsunari eyed me

“Yes, yes, I understand...that doesn’t mean I can make any promises.”

“Honestly I’m surprised anyone keeps taking her...given how often she has to go to the bathroom and how cranky she gets when she’s hungry; she has to be near the worst hostage in the world right about now.”

I chuckled imagining the personal hell you were hopefully putting your captor through. We would get you back, I was sure of it.

[YN]

You banged on the door to the room you were being kept in for the nineteenth time today.

“What could you possibly need this time?” one of the monks on guard grumbled.

“Bathroom.”

“But you just went…”

“Well that’s what you get for kidnapping a pregnant lady….you gonna let me go or would you prefer to clean it up later? I’m going to keep pounding on this door either way.”

Kennyo’s men looked at you in absolute disbelief. Through these trips to the bathroom you had been able to scope the layout and look for ways to make an escape if you needed to. It appeared they had taken you to a fortress that had been occupied by Kenshin’s men at one point in time, the Uesugi family crest adorning all manner of decorations throughout. You were given a room and food, though that didn’t mean you weren’t still hungry…

As you returned from your adventure to the bathroom Kennyo came marching down the hall towards you, clearly exasperated.

“You know...we keep ending up in situations like this. If you wanted to hang out you could have just sent a letter…” He choked at your comment, eyes widening before returning you to your room. He gave you a little push and when you turned around he put his staff to your throat threatening you, trying to keep you silent. This used to really freak you out but this was yet another weird thing you never thought you would get used to...maybe you just didn’t care anymore?

“You know...you keep pointing that thing at my throat talking about how you’re going to hurt me if I keep this up, but I’m really beginning to doubt your commitment….” a look of astonishment crossed his face before he turned on his heel confining you back into your room.

[Kenshin]

We had set up a tent on the opposite side of the fort. The idea was to make it look like our army was converging with the Oda’s while Sasuke and Mitsuhide went in to find (YN) from more ‘non-conventional’ entrances. As much as I enjoyed battle this one was of little importance to me. Mitsunari had it planned to have (YN) back in camp before anyone even needed to engage, and on the off chance she couldn’t be recovered that quickly I wasn’t actually allowed to harm anyone on the other side...which was fine, I would spar with Masamune in this silly mock-battle, he seemed to at least offer a challenge that would feel more realistic.

Just as I was getting excited at the prospect of dueling the One-Eye’d Dragon Sasuke walked in looking like he had seen a spirit, with (YN) following close behind. As he passed he looked me straight in the eyes.

“You don’t want to know where I found her…” then continued walking on.

The closer she got the more I realized something was wrong. She had a bit of a limp, bruises and red marks could be seen forming around her wrists, and she was bleeding from her hands and feet, while the kimono soaked up the blood from her knees and the front of her legs. Everything went white, and I saw red. I was about to pass by her and storm the fortress to make that man atone for his treatment of her when she gripped my arm and tugged me back.

“Kenshin wait! These aren’t from him!”

“It doesn’t matter, he still let it happen to you.”

“Actually….”

[YN]

You had been guessing at what Kennyo’s plan was, but seeing the familiar banners setting up camp on rivaling sides of the fortress made your stomach churn. You needed to get out of here, and fast. Not waiting for either party to storm the massive structure you resolved to escape yourself.

You pulled out all the stops, the drop was definitely way to far to just jump out the window...you would break something no matter how you landed from this height. Turning back and looking around the room you spotted several bolts of fabric that had been left for you to occupy your time. 

There was something to be said of annoying the living daylights out of a monk trying to act the villain. Unraveling all of the fabric each bolt laied about a three meters long, you made quick work of sewing them together.

Your new masterpiece was a nine meter long ‘rope’ that would leave you only about a meter above the ground...you could stick that landing. Attaching the end of the rope to a light fixture near the window with a knot Sasuke had taught you a while back, you took a deep breath and started your decent. It was by no means graceful or a pleasant experience, and it was nowhere close to being as great an option as princess movies made it seem...you had fabric burns all around your wrist from where you occasionally slid, your hands, feet, and knees were scratched up from the constant contact you were making with the side of the building, and as you jumped down you landed funny twisting your ankle. Making your way up slowly you heard Mitsuhide and Sasuke.

“We seem to have miscalculated.” Sasuke said as he offered you a hand

“Indeed we have.” Mitsuhide chuckled “I’ll go back and make my report that the princess has been recovered of her own volition.”

“I will take (YN) back to camp, though” he paused looking me over “I would prefer if you could report how you got out to Kenshin yourself.”

[Kenshin]

We were back in Kasugayama, the kidnapping plot behind us completely. (YN) may not be enjoying the added security, but having Sasuke or Yukimura following her around during the day when I had business was a much better option than locking her in a cell again.

She had always been a touch reckless, but the further along in her pregnancy she got the more brazen she became. Apparently escaping from the third floor of a fortress was just the tip of that iceberg. I had to wonder if it was because she was carrying a child that shared my blood...I hope this behavior doesn’t continue after she gives birth...though it may be entertaining to have my love and my child assist me with Sasuke and Yukimura’s surprise trainings.

As we walked down the hallway hand in hand I let my thoughts wander, enjoying these little moments with her and this nearness, making up for the hours we had spent apart when I was unable to protect her. Walking like this was a comfort. A reminder that she was still here and safe, two of my favorite places to find her.

Tagging @little-mini-me-world