#“gotta do this commission so i can drop all this extra money (that i earned ON TOP OF MY FULL TIME JOB) so i can drop it all on necessities”

[overexciteddragon]

Suffering from the "the world is a hell place trying to take away my rights and will to live and I don't think I'll see a world where I don't work my way into an early death" kinda depression I call that "rational depression"

[creative-type]

wake from death (and return to life) chapter ii

AO3 Previous Chapter AN: Huge shout out to @codedredalert for doing art for this chapter. We Kuina stans gotta stick together, and she did a fantastic job. Please consider giving her a commission, I promise it’ll be money well spent

Kuina walked into Ipponmatsu’s shop sopping wet and chilled to her very bones. At the entranceway she shook herself like a dog, spraying drops of water all over the store. It was a childlike indulgence, something she never would have considered just that morning. But at that moment nothing seemed to matter. Not the shop, not her manners, nothing.

She heard Ipponmatsu before she saw him hurl a towel in her direction. Kuina caught it one handed, keeping the other clenched tightly around her sword. It was still nameless after all these years. It didn’t seem right to bestow it with such an honor when her birthright was still at Shimotsuki Village.  

Except Wado wasn’t with her father. Zoro wore it at his waist, because... why? Had he taken it? Had Father given it to him?

Kuina dried her face and hair before turning to face Ipponmatsu properly. The commotion had drawn his wife from the storeroom, Ipponume standing by his side with an arm wrapped protectively around his waist. Twin looks of concern broke through Kuina’s distracted thoughts. She blinked once. Twice.

“I’m leaving.”

What would have been a grand pronouncement moments ago came out strained and creaking. She was leaving the people she’d come to love as family, possibly forever. Kuina’s vision went fuzzy, and even though she’d just dried her face she could still feel the wetness on her cheeks.

Kuina wiped them with the back of her hand. She hated crying, had ever since she was a little girl.

“Kuina, what’s going on?” Ipponmatsu said. “I saw the pirates in the square, and then you come running in here like the devil himself was on your heels before running back out again! They’re saying on the den-den mushi that Smoker’s put the whole city on lockdown!”

Smoker . Somehow, Kuina had forgotten about him. She put her mask on hurriedly, not that it’d do much good now that Tashigi knew who she was. “Sorry, I don’t have time to explain.”

Not waiting for their reply she hurried to her room and began shoving clothes into a pack as fast as she could. It was the same one her father had sent her with years ago. The material was faded and worn, but it suited her, sturdy enough to fit her needs without drawing attention to itself.

“You can’t leave now!” Ipponume exclaimed. “Even without Smoker’s crackdown there’s not a ship on the island that’ll sail in this kind of weather!”

“I’ll worry about that later.” Kuina dug her small bundle of savings out from under her mattress. She’d offered to hand over her earnings as a bounty hunter for rent, but neither Ipponmatsu nor his wife ever allowed it. In exchange, Kuina didn’t let them pay her for the work she did for the store. She supposed it more or less balanced out in the end, except she owed them so much more than money. Kuina had to blink back more tears, which had been joined by an uncomfortable tightness in her throat.

“If anyone asks, you never saw me,” she said, willing her voice not to waver. “You didn’t know about my mask, and I was just some village kid you picked up on a whim. I’m...I’m sorry if I get you into trouble.”

Kuina got back to her feet, and without looking at either Ipponmatsu or Ipponume bowed deeply at the waist, deeper than she ever had for anyone she didn’t call Father. “I know words alone cannot convey the gratitude I owe you, but thank you. Thank you for opening your door to me that night.”

Still bowed, Kuina heard Ipponmatsu turn sharply on his heel and march out of her room. Surprised and hurt, she rose jerkily and stilted. Even if there was anything else to say, Kuina didn’t trust herself to speak. Turning her back so she didn’t have to see Ipponume’s reaction, Kuina resumed her packing, willing her facial features into a stoic expression more befitting of a swordsman.  

Suddenly, her nose was assailed with the smell of Ipponume’s cooking. Kuina stiffened at the sound of Ipponmatsu’s wooden geta clacking softly against the hardwood floors. Against her better judgement she turned to see Ipponmatsu tying a plastic sack around a box of bento. He handed it over to Kuina, an eyebrow raised. “I suppose this is about that green-haired swordsman?”

"Zoro? You met him?”

“Met him?” Ipponmatsu snorted. “Girl, I gave him two swords free of charge.”

Kuina accepted the offered bento, too shocked to say anything else.

“He’s the second person I ever met whose luck matched Sandai Kitetsu’s curse.” A faraway, awed look came over him. “Bet an arm on it, in fact.”

“You gave him Yubashiri, too,” Kuina said, remembering the other sword she’d seen hanging at his waist. She’d been too focused on Wado to even wonder about it. She looked up at Ipponmatsu’s face, searching. “Why?”

It wasn’t because of any connection to Kuina. She’d made a point not to talk about her past before Loguetown, preferring to make as fresh a start as possible. It was easier, in some ways, not to reminisce.

“Because I saw something in him. He’s the real deal, a true swordsman.”

“Oh, honey, please,” Ipponume said. “What does this have to do about—”

“And I see that same look in you, Kuina,” Ipponmatsu interrupted forcibly. He crossed his arms across his chest and tilted his chin, looking like a rooster that had just finished his morning preen. Kuina knew him well enough to know when he was bluffing, and to her astonishment...he wasn’t.

“We knew we couldn’t keep you here forever,” he continued. “A cage as small as this isn’t near enough for you to spread your wings. I look forward to seeing how high you can go.”

Ipponmatsu lifted the blue oni mask from Kuina’s face, pinching her cheek like he used to when she was young, knowing how much it annoyed her. He offered a grin that couldn’t quite hide the extra shine in his eyes.

“Knock ‘em dead, kid.”

Kuina managed a wobbly smile of her own. “The marines will be here any second. Remember, you had no idea. About any of this!”

She tried to bow again, but with the single most derisive snort Kuina had ever heard in her life, Ipponume wrapped her in a hug strong enough to crush a bear. “I have no idea what’s gotten into you all. Swordsmen .”

But Kuina heard the pride in her voice, and she fixed it into her mind, hoping to remember it forever. Pausing only to grab an oiled cloak, Kuina plunged herself back into the streets of Loguetown for the final time.

If there was one ship stupid enough to leave port in the middle of a raging storm against the orders of Captain Smoker, it was Zoro’s. Kuina didn’t hold out any hope that he would still be on the island by the time she made it back to the coast, and even if it did, her pride rankled at the idea of riding his coattails to the Grand Line. She’d always imagined them setting out together. As equals . But that was before knowing that he’d spent the better part of a decade thinking she was dead, before learning he’d become a pirate, and before Kuina threw away nine years of secrecy to attack one of the few marines who knew who she really was.

So much had changed since just that morning, and in it all Zoro had found his way. Now it was up to Kuina to find hers.

It was a sentiment that was much easier said than done. Kuina stayed close to the alleys and side streets she knew like the back of her hand, having to duck back into the shadows more than once as clusters of marines ran down the rainy streets. The usual crowds had vanished, and despite the rain and the thunder, the absence of the human element made Loguetown feel like a ghost town.

Kuina guessed by the direction the marines were running that they were still busy at the square. Buggy the Clown had snuck an incredible amount of pirates into the city under Smoker’s very nose, and that wasn’t something he would take lightly.

With their paint and their ruffles, Buggy’s troupe stuck out like a sore thumb, and at the moment, so did she. For the first time Kuina wasn’t sure whether or not to wear her mask. It didn’t seem right to be seen with her sword without it. The two had always gone hand in hand, the familiar weight on her face a comfort that protected her more than any shield. Without the demon mask Kuina felt a little like she was going out to battle naked; there was no rule saying she couldn’t fight without it, but she had absolutely no desire to do so.

If she stuck to the shadows the dark of the storm should be enough to keep her hidden. All Kuina had to do was make it to the docks and stow away on a ship, and if not stow away use her reputation as the Demon of Loguetown to get what she wanted, hopefully before the marines put out a warrant for her arrest.

It was a risk. The mask was conspicuous, and in the past Kuina had always gone out with her chest bound. She knew—she knew —that everyone and their dog assumed the Demon was a man. In a pinch she might be able to bully her way onto a ship, the shapeless silhouette of her cloak enough to disguise her gender, but she didn’t feel confident enough in her acting ability to pretend to be a man for however long it took to reach the Grand Line. Without the duplicity she could easily see a ship’s captain brushing her aside as an imposter or kicking up a fuss. Or both, if she was especially unlucky.

A crack of thunder broke through her jumbled thoughts, and Kuina bit back a curse. Time . She was running out of time, each wasted second dwindling her already-limited options . There was no point trying to figure out what would happen out at sea if she couldn’t get off the damn island.

Father always said a true swordsman would never allow themselves to be swayed by emotion or sentimentality, and logic dictated that stowing away was the safest option, assuming she could find a ship setting sail at all. And stowing away meant stealth, and stealth meant not walking around dressed up as one of Loguetown’s most feared bounty hunters.

Gritting her teeth, Kuina slid the mask off her face and stuffed it into her pack, irritation burying like ants under her skin. Now the only thing conspicuous about her was her sword, and that wasn’t so easily hidden even within the bulky confines of her cloak. A thousand warnings echoed in her mind in a voice that sounded suspiciously like her father’s.

She stuffed that down as well and resumed her journey. With Captain Smoker effectively shutting the city down, there was a chance it could be days before she could actually make her escape. Smoker’s control over Loguetown was too tight for anything to escape his grasp, his men too well trained to let anybody slip through once they set up a perimeter.

Unless, of course, she hitched her ride to freedom someplace other than Loguetown.

Kuina came to an abrupt halt, suppressing the urge to smack herself upside the head for not thinking of it sooner. There was a cove just outside the city favored by pirates, smugglers, and merchants too cheap to pay the docking fee in town. Every couple months Smoker and his men went on expeditions to clear the place out, but as it turned out scum was an infinitely renewable resource, and the criminal population that called Canary Cove home always came back twice as strong as before.

Kuina herself had ventured to the cove on occasion to collect bounties. A shantytown sprung up from the mire, grown around every sort of illicit trade like a tumor. And like a tumor, it sucked life and resources from Loguetown proper. Cleverly nestled at the base of a shallow cliff, it was close enough to Loguetown for easy access, but almost impossible to find unless you knew what you were looking for. Any ships that dropped anchor were hidden from view by the sheltering arms of the cove.

She would be safe from the marines, but it would be a trick and a half to convince someone to let her aboard one of their ships, let alone to get to the Grand Line. The people who lived at Canary Cove were damnably insular, with lookouts posted every hour of every day and a dozen bolt holes hidden in the cliffside for people to scatter through once an alarm was sounded. Kuina always hated when a hunt took her here. For every trick and secret she discovered it seemed like there were a dozen she didn’t know about, and anyone found ratting out an accepted member of the community would quickly find themselves with a knife in the back for their troubles.

An exception was made for those who could afford it, the exchange of money for goods and services a universal language understood by both lawmen and the lawless.  Maybe she wouldn’t need to stow away at all. With enough coin in the right hands Kuina could buy her way into the Grand Line.

That was an awful lot of maybes , but she was at the point where a bad plan was better than no plan at all. Kuina was confident about her ability to go up against any of Smoker’s men, but his Devil Fruit was another story entirely. It was best to avoid any chance of a confrontation, and to that end Canary Cove was her best bet.

By the time Kuina snuck out of the city and made it to the bluffs, the sky had faded from dark grey to pitch, starless black. Wind howled, and without anything to cut its teeth, Kuina bore the full brunt of the storm’s ire. Guided by sporadic flashes of lightning and the unpleasant memory of previous excursions, she carefully picked her way down the rocky slope. There wasn’t a proper trail as much as a zigzagging path that looked like it had been intended for a group of particularly athletic goats. The footing was loose and slick, and Kuina was forced to use her katana like a walking stick just to keep from tumbling into the sea below.  

About halfway down Kuina slipped on a patch of crumbling stone. Her feet slid from under her, jagged edges of limestone tearing holes in her cloak. She didn’t have time to scream as she plummeted down…

down…

down…

Reflex alone made her keep her hold on her katana, and when a jutting edge of rock sent Kuina airborne she was able to regather her senses enough to twist her body, stabbing her blade into the cliffside and praying she could hold on long enough to arrest her momentum even as her shoulder threatened to wrench out of socket. She slammed back against the cliff, stars flashing across her vision brighter than lightning, but somehow Kuina was able to maintain her grip.

Kuina slowed herself enough not to snap her ankles in half at the base of the bluffs. She tumbled into a boneless heap, gasping for air and not entirely sure she was still alive. Chunks of wet sand clung to her cheek, stinging as it grated against an abrasion that ran from temple to jaw. Kuina felt blood trickle down her leg, a dozen other aches and pains vying for the rest of her attention.

So much for her glorious entrance to the Grand Line.

With a grunt of effort Kuina forced herself upright, shaking as the surge of adrenaline left her as suddenly as it had come. Another bolt of lightning revealed that her sword was still stuck in the slide of the cliff. With as much dignity as she could muster, Kuina retrieved it before leaning back against the rockface.

Ow.

It was the only coherent thought she could manage at that moment. Sinking back to the ground, Kuina decided that finding a ship could wait the five minutes it took for her to catch her breath.

At least she was out of the wind. The storm had only grown stronger in the time it took for her to reach the cove. Each raindrop was an icy needle that penetrated her now-useless cloak. Kuina wiped strands of wet hair from her eyes, ignoring the blood and the grime on her face as she peered out into the darkness. The torches that usually illuminated the shantytown had fizzled out, leaving only a few specks of lantern light to show the blocky outline of shacks made of rough wooden planks, held together with bits of twine and waterproofed with oakum and tar. The town jutted over the edge of the water, standing on stilts that swayed haphazard with the waves and the wind. To Kuina’s surprise, two great warships were anchored just offshore. More lightning revealed that one bore the mark of Buggy the Clown, while the other didn’t have a flag at all.

Curious.

What was more curious were the dots of light clustered by the wharf nearest the second ship. The dim light was just enough to see a cluster of people hurrying up and down the gangplank. Kuina grinned. Maybe someone was crazy enough to depart tonight after all.

���Oi, who goes there?”

A vague mass of humanity emerged from the darkness. Kuina struggled to her feet, shrugging her pack higher on her back and keeping a hand wrapped around the hilt of her sword. One of the figures lifted a lantern, illuminating a hard-faced woman flanked by two bulky men with swords. Underneath their raincoats they wore the mismatched, ragged clothing typical of the people who called Canary Cove home. Lookouts, most likely, who’d seen or heard her tumble down the cliff and come out to investigate.

Kuina didn’t relax her stance. “I don’t mean any trouble. I’m just looking to hitch a ride, and it looks like you’ve got the only ships setting sail.”

The woman peered at her suspiciously. “Who are you—”

Her eyes widened in recognition before ever finishing the question. An unholy shriek pierced over the whipping wind, and she screamed, “Marines! The marines are coming!”

“What, no!”

Kuina barely had time to draw her sword before one of the thugs was on top of her, the clash of blades sending sparks into the night sky. She shoved him aside and met the second man before he could decapitate her, the weight of his strike making Kuina’s injured leg buckle.

The woman continued to shout the alarm, waving her lantern high above her head. Kuina let out a string of curses as she batted the second man’s blade out of his hands before smashing the hilt of her sword against his temple. He crumpled instantly, and Kuina prayed that she hadn’t killed him.

“Listen, this is a big misunderstanding. I’m not a marine!” Kuina shouted as men and women poured out of Canary Cove like wasps from a kicked over nest. Most fled for the cliffs, but enough came charging at her for Kuina to know she was in trouble.

“You think I wouldn’t recognize the face of the bitch who killed my boy?” the woman snarled. “I’ve seen you yipping at the heels of that dog Smoker often enough, praying for the day I’d do to you what you Government bastards did to him!”

From the depths of her robes the woman pulled a gun, but Kuina was already moving. The first shot went wide right, and Kuina rammed her shoulder into her abdomen before she could get off another. The woman screamed as she fell, firing wildly into the growing throng of people.

Kuina felt the bullet whizz by her ear, and the person in front of her doubled over clutching their ribs. She dove between two others and somersaulted back to her feet before they could turn around. This time she didn’t waste time using the back of her blade. Two quick strokes and they were down, her sword slick with their blood.

“It’s just one girl! Don’t let her get away!”

“For fuck’s sake , ” Kuina muttered irritably. “I’m not a marine!”

It didn’t matter, and Kuina couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of her current situation. She ran toward the shantytown, dodging bullets and ducking under swords. The crowded housing and narrow walkways lessened the advantage of numbers, and she was still determined to force her way onto the unmarked ship. Sand shifted to rickety planks of wood underfoot, the docks made entirely of salvage and held together with little more than some rope and a prayer.

Kuina’s grin widened. Hardly breaking stride, she swung her sword behind her, the keen blade cutting through the half-rotted wood like warm butter. She ducked behind a house and listened for the screams of those following her to fall through to the sea below.

Amateurs.  

Wood creaked overhead. Kuina looked up in time to see a teenage girl standing on the top of the house to hurl a rock at her head, dodging to the side before it hit the walkway.

“Missed!” Kuina yelled.

But the girl had already thrown herself off the other side of the roof. Puzzled, Kuina glanced back and saw that the girl hadn’t thrown a rock at all.

“Oh shit—” Kuina flung herself backward as the bomb exploded. Her heel caught on a post, and she fell into the water. Brilliant light flashed, the blast tearing the dock to pieces. Slivers of wood longer than her hand shot through the water, any one of them enough to pierce her through at close distance. Kuina swam as far and as fast as she could, until her lungs burned for lack of air. In the confusion she couldn’t remember which way was up, the weight of her clothes and sword making it hard to fight against the pull of the water.

Turning wildly, Kuina panicked until she saw the orange glow of fire through the murky water. Blackness ate at the edges of her vision as she used the last of her strength to breach the surface, gasping for air.

“There she is!”

Swallowing a curse and a lungful of air, Kuina dove back under the water, pistol fire flashing like fireflies in the dark of the storm. With her bearings it was easier to swim back to the docks, diving deep enough to avoid being shot.

She came up directly under their feet. The swell was rising every minute, and Kuina had scant inches of air between the sea and the rickety slats they stood on. She willed her heartbeat to slow, ignored the sting of salt in her wounds. Her hands searched until they found a bit of wire latching two planks together. Fingers numb with cold held on with whatever strength she had left.

She was in trouble if they had explosives that could detonate underwater. She was in trouble anyway, injured and fighting and a dozen enemies that she could hardly see. But now that she could think, Kuina refused to panic. Each breath came out slow and steady as she weighed her options. Overhead, the people of Canary Cove began to argue.

“She’s dead. Ain’t no one that could survive a barrage like that.”

“Do you see a body? ‘Cause I’m not gonna rest easy until I see a fucking body.”

“I can’t see shit . C’mon, guys, I’m going home.”

“I would, except one of you idiots blew it to smithereens!”

Someone stomped their foot, sending drops of water through a crack nearly an inch wide onto Kuina’s face. Slowly, carefully, she adjusted her hold on the wire, positioning herself more squarely under the squabble. The people paid less and less attention to the water as they argued, yelling about the fire and the supposed marine attack. Kuina felt the rumbling of bootsteps up and down the length of the dock, but couldn’t tell if that meant people were leaving or if more were joining the fight.

“What’s the meaning of this?”  a new voice exclaimed. “What’s going on here?”

“This doesn't concern you, stranger,” the man who’d complained about his house said. “If you were smart, you’d walk back to that fancy boat of yours and get on your merry way. Ten to one says it was you people who brought the marines here in the first place.”

“Marines? Here? But our intelligence says—”

“Well you can take your intelligence and shove it up your—”

Using the wire for leverage, Kuina thrust her sword through the crack. The man screamed as he tried unsuccessfully to jerk his foot off her katana. There was a sickening squelch as Kuina pulled free, immediately stabbing a second time.

This time she missed the opening between the planks, but it hardly mattered. There were more screams as people hurled themselves away from her sword, many falling into the sea. The few that kept their wits fired back, thrusting swords and shooting blindly to the space Kuina had occupied just moments before.

They were too slow. After her second thrust she bit down on the hilt of her sword and swam to the other side of the docks, cutting through the water as if she herself was a blade. Kuina pulled herself out of the sea while they were distracted, their backs turned.

Kuina’s grin turned razor sharp as she raised her sword. She hadn’t wanted this fight, but she would gladly finish it. Her pulse thundered in her ears, her muscles coiling. All it would take is one strike…

A hand clasped around her wrist and squeezed. Kuina suppressed a yelp as the bones of her wrist ground against each other, pain shooting up her arm. She fought against the hold, but the more she struggled the tighter the grip became until Kuina had no choice but to drop her katana.

Anger boiled over into fury. Without thinking, Kuina twisted her body to its breaking point and caught her sword with her off hand before it could hit the ground. Her grip was awkward, but she didn’t care, slashing wildly at the person who held her.

Her arm made it about halfway through its swing before it jolted to a stop, as if Kuina had hit some invisible metal wall. She barely had time to register what had happened before she was thrown backward, slamming into the back of one of the men who had been trying to kill her.

The blow knocked all the wind out of her, and the man staggered into the person next to him before falling. People began to shout as that man then fell on top of Kuina , burying her in a pile of thrashing limbs and blades.

There was so much noise and so much confusion that she almost didn’t hear the telltale crack of wood beneath her, and before Kuina knew what was going on she was plunged back into the cold, dark, unforgiving sea.

By the time Kuina woke the rain had eased from a torrential downpour to a mere thunderstorm. Every inch of her ached, and for as heavy as her limbs felt she wouldn’t have been surprised if her blood had been replaced with rivers of lead.

Blinking grit and salt from her eyes, Kuina struggled to sit up. In a brief moment of panic she realized that her scabbard was no longer at her hip, only to find that it, and her sword, had been laid out beside her.

“She lives!”

“G’wah?”

A cloaked figure squatted down beside her. Smaller, Kuina realized, than the person who’d knocked her out cold. And a woman. A woman with one of the deepest voices Kuina had ever heard, but a woman nonetheless.

“Who’re...who’re you?” Kuina asked, her words slurring together like she were drunk. Her head pounded as she tried to sit up once more.

“I was wondering the same thing.” The woman paused to light a cigarette, the hood of her cloak protecting it from the rain. Kuina squinted to see her better, the ember of the cigarette illuminating a pleasant round face, dark eyes, and lips that had been painted the color of fresh blood.

The woman exhaled, the smell of smoke briefly cutting through the ocean brine. “How did you find us, little marine?”

“‘m not a marine,” Kuina mumbled.

“Folk around here seem to think you are.”

Kuina told her in anatomically-improbable detail just what she thought of Canary Cove’s opinions.

The woman laughed, took another drag and said, “You have to admit the resemblance is rather striking. If the boss hadn’t seen you two together I might not have believed it. In fact, I still have my doubts.”

She reached beneath her cloak and pulled out Kuina’s mask. “I mean, who would have thought that the good Captain’s right-hand man would have a doppelganger moonlighting as Loguetown’s most feared monster. There are operas with more convincing plotlines than that.”

“Give it back,” Kuina said through gritted teeth. “It’s mine .”

“Oh ho, so you admit to being the Demon of Loguetown?”

Kuina clenched her jaw and didn’t answer.

“Thought so.” The woman flipped Kuina’s mask in the air like it was a frisbee, catching it again before it could hit the ground. “So what brings a bounty hunter here, and on today of all days? Hmn? Was there a hunt you couldn’t refuse? Did someone tell you about a certain ship coming into port?”

She tossed the mask again, but this time Kuina was ready. Quick as a snake she plucked it out of the air, bringing her katana up in the same motion. Kuina was so close she could feel the heat from the woman’s cigarette, the edge of her blade against her neck.

“I said. Give it back .”

From within the depths of her hood, Kuina could see the woman’s eyebrows raise, red lips curling in an amused smile. She was completely relaxed, and that gave Kuina pause.

“I’m a firm believer in letting people do things for themselves,” she said. Without seeming the least bit threatened, she arching her head back, turning her attention somewhere behind her. “Well, boss, what do you think? Should I kill her?”

A second figure emerged from the gloom, and it was a testament to how out of sorts Kuina was that she hadn’t noticed his hulking figure until the moment he decided to reveal himself. It took her confused mind precious moments to recognize him as the man who grabbed her. Kuina scrambled backward, but the woman only laughed, pushing aside her sword with one hand and giving Kuina a hard shove with the other, knocking her flat on the ground.

“That wasn’t necessary,” the man grumbled in a low voice that rumbled like thunder.

His massive shadow fell over Kuina. She knew she should be afraid, but all she could feel within her was anger. She stared into the impenetrable depths of his hood, defiant even in weakness. If they wanted to kill her, the future greatest swordsman in the world, then they were in for a fight.

“Who are you?” Kuina demanded just as a bolt of lightning flashed overhead, as bright and bold as the one that had taken out the execution tower. For that brief moment she could see the face of the man strong enough to throw her like a ragdoll, a man so strong her blade failed to even reach him.

Kuina saw his long, beaky nose, the mass of black hair that fell down past his shoulders and the piercing eyes that seemed to bypass all her defenses. But most of all she noticed the red tattoos criss-crossed down the left side of his face, instantly recognizable even to someone who refused to read the paper.

“ Dragon ,” Kuina said dumbly. “You’re...I don’t...What’s the Revolution doing here? ”

The woman got to her feet to stand by Dragon’s side. “You mean you didn’t know? Then what are you doing stirring up trouble on a night like this? Don’t tell me you were looking for that buffoon with the red nose.”

“ You were the ones who attacked me, ” Kuina said. She pushed herself upright, using her sword clamber to her feet. The motion made the world spin for a moment or two, or maybe that was just her mind trying to catch up with the momentous revelation she just learned.

“That’s not what it looked like from where I stood,” the woman said. She flicked the remnants of her cigarette behind her in disgust. “You would have killed—”

“Betty.”

That one word was enough to stop her rant dead. Dragon took another step forward, and Kuina had to force herself not to step back to accommodate him. Before he could say any more, she pointed out to sea.

“Is that your ship?”

Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army and the most wanted man in the world, tilted his head. It was a strangely human gesture for someone most were convinced was some kind of monster. A real one, not a girl who dressed the part while she was out working.

“Why do you ask?”

Kuina jutted her chin out defiantly. “You do most your business out on the Grand Line, right? I need a ride.”

Betty laughed to her face, but Dragon merely nodded. “All right.”

“I can’t very well ask the idiots here after the fight they started, and Smoker’s got all of Loguetown locked tight. You owe me–wait.” Kuina startled as his words sank in. “You’re serious? I can go with you?”

“The Army doesn’t owe you anything ,” Betty snapped, before imploring her boss, “I know you saw her with that marine girl, but I don’t trust her. She’s a bounty hunter , for god’s sake. It’s bad enough she saw our faces, think of the breach in security—”

“The World Government nearly cut me in half because of you,” Kuina said coldly. “You probably don’t remember, but nine years ago my father gave you aid. I hope it was worth it, because the Government decided to punish us for your crimes.” Her gaze never wavered from his, daring him to try and contradict what she knew to be true. “So before you get all uppity about me ending a fight I didn’t even start, maybe you should ask yourself how much innocent blood you’ve got on your hands first.”

Betty fell silent while Dragon continued to peer down at her. Kuina’s cheeks flushed as years of pent-up resentment and anger and helplessness bubbled to the surface, and no amount of swordsmen training was able to push it back down again. The Revolution was just as bad as the Government as far as she was concerned, fighting in an endless war that hurt more than it helped.

She didn’t care about any of it. She’d spent countless nights wondering what would have happened if her father had just left well enough alone, what it would have looked like if a simple moment of altruism hadn’t torn her life and family apart.

All that mattered now was her ambition. And if Kuina was ever going to become the greatest swordsman in the world she needed to get to the Grand Line, and if she was ever to get to the Grand Line she needed a boat. It didn’t matter to her where that boat came from, as long as she was on it.

Ignoring her long itinerary of aches and pains, Kuina sheathed her sword and picked her tattered backpack off of the ground. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

Dragon inclined his head, and without any further deliberation started walking to his ship, Kuina limping closely behind.

[mackwritess]

Crystal Snow

A/N: This is another commission! I’ve never worked with OC’s that aren’t mine, so this was both fun and nerve-wracking. Hope you enjoy! 

The small village is bustling today. 

Stalls have been set up, selling uncommon or even rare merchandise, only being found during the winter months. People are beginning to set up games, where people can compete for prizes. Warm drinks and dinners are being sold at the taverns scattered around to combat the biting cold. Snow falls gently from the sky, blanketing on the ground. 

It’s time for the new year’s festival.

“You guys are too slow we’re gonna be late!” Ray says, eagerly running ahead of their two companions. We gotta get there before the place fills up!”

“No, you’re going too fast, Ray. The tavern isn’t going anywhere!” Ilenne says. She’s moving admittedly slow, having a little difficulty trudging through the thick snow. She hopes once they reach the town it’ll thin out. 

Val, who walks along next to Ilenne, smiles at the two of them as they continue to bicker and banter about what speed they should be going. He scans the area as they go along, looking for seasonal plants he can use in his work later on. 

Attending the festivities together had always been a tradition for the three of them. Though they’d only lived in the area for a few years, it had become a staple for them to begin the new year with good cheer, believing it would be the key to an even better year. 

“Val, can you tell Il we need to make it there ASAP to get a good spot?” Ray says, hoping that two will be enough to convince Ilenne to pick up the pace.

Val looks between the two of them before lifting his hands to answer them. 

“We should slow down.”

At this, Ray lets out a loud groan. A smug smile appears on Ilenne’s face.

“C’mon, Ray. I’m the one carrying all the gifts. We’ll find a spot, don’t worry.” Ray sighs before walking over to her, taking a gift and carrying it under their arm. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll carry this one at least.”

Val, who has been watching their conversation, takes a gift himself and nods at the two of them before smiling. 

“Okay, now we can speed up a little.”

~

After another few miles of walking and chatting, the three of them arrive at their destination.

There are other taverns in the town, sure, but this one has the best drinks and dishes of them all, a necessity during the winter season.

They’re lucky this time, because it seems the other villagers had the same idea. The small place is almost filled to the brim, save for one booth seated towards the back of the place. They all weave their way through the area, holding on to each other to avoid getting separated.

“Wow, this place really is packed.” Ilenne says, looking out at the crowd of people who have gathered here. 

“It is a holiday, after all. Some of these people I don’t even recognize,” Ray adds, taking note of the very obviously out of place group of teenagers seated not too far away from them.

While the three of them continue to people watch, taking note of the stage set up fot traveling musicians to perform, a waitress makes her way over to them.

“Ah! It’s been a while since the three of you have come in here,” she says, able to drop her forced proffessional smile and offer them a genuine one.

“Yea, we’ve been trying to cook at home more often. Saves us money,” Ilenne says.

“That makes sense. Hard to grow most plants under these conditions.”

“But we’re here now! I’ll take my usual, you remember it right?” Ray interjects.

“I do! Same for you two, right? Just your regular orders?”

Ilenne signs the question to Val to be certain he’s understood, and when he signs his confirmation, Ilenne turns to the waitress and nods.

Val gets their attention again and lifts his hands once again.

“Are we going to exchange gifts now?”

Ray taps excitedly on the table as they place the present they carried on top of it, Val and Ilenne follolwing suit.

“Looks like we ended up carrying our own gifts,” Ilenne says, eyeing the box in her hands. 

“I’ll open mine first!” Ray says, excitedly peeling away at the wrapping paper. Ilenne and Val watch as they gradually reveal the gift they had put so much thought into getting.

The gift is finally opened, revealing a notebook made from leather. The front of it has a latch, in the event that the contents begin to spill out of it.

“Surprise!” Ilenne says with a smile. “It’s for you to hold your music notes.”

“Your old one was beginning to fall apart.” Val signs to Ray efore sporting a small smile of his own. 

Ray continues to inspect the notebook, taking note of all the little details on it. There’s some music notes carved into the cover, Ray’s initials displayed on the spine. They look up at their two friends, a wide grin adorning their face. 

“Thanks, guys. I can’t wait to use it.”

“Val should open his next,” Ilenne says, directing her attention to the boy next to her. Val looks between the two of them to get confirmation, Ray nodding their head. 

Val shrugs before beginning to open up his gift, removing the paper with ease. Once it’s open, Val is met with a jar that seems to contain several different types of plants. 

“We managed to find some of the rarer plants so you could work with,” Ilenne says.

“We aren’t the best gardeners, though,” Ray adds. “It took us a while to get them intact. Wouldn’t want you to have broken plants after all.” 

Val smiles at the two of them before signing his thanks to them, excitedly looking through his new collection of plants, thinking about all he’ll be able to do with them.

“It’s your turn, Ilenne,” Val signs to her.

“Oh right, open yours, Il!” Ray says excitedly.

“Alright, alright.” She begins peeling open her gift, taking an almost agonizing pace in comparison to the other two.

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

“Whatever do you mean? This is my usual unwrapping speed,” Ilenne teases, continuing to move as slowly as possible.

“Il.”

She laughs before finally ripping the packaging open, revealing a remarkably well crafted bag. It’s made of a similar leather to Ray’s notebook, albeit a little darker, and has outer pockets on each side. She stares at the present, in shock.

“Do you like it?” Ray asks.

“Is something wrong?” Val signs, concern written all over his features.

“How did you two afford this?” Ilenne finally says, inspecting the bag. She takes note of the plant designs carved into the surface. “It must be worth a fortune!”

“That’s because it was!” Ray says, Ilenne’s face draining at their words. “Until I walked in, of course.” 

“Ray is quite the haggler,” Val explains. 

“Took me about an hour and a couple games of chess, but I managed to get the guy to bring it down enough that it wouldn’t break our banks.” Ray says, puffing out their chest at the opprotunity to brag about their skills.

“You two really did all that for me?” Ilenne says, finally looking up at the two of them.

“Of course we did. Why wouldn’t we want you to have something nice?” Val agrees with a nod of his head. Ilenne smiles, taking a moment to think about how lucky she was to be able to meet and form a relationship with the two of them.

“Thank you both. Really.’

“Ah there’s no need for that. Anything to show off my haggling skills.” 

Ilennes reaches across the table to playfully slap at Ray, Val watching the two of them fondly. 

“Here’s your food! Sorry for the wait, holiday rush has had us swamped since we opened.” The waitress is making her way to them now, balancing their plates on a tray as she makes her way through the crowd.

“Ah, don’t worry too much about it!” Ray says, not even trying to hide the hungry stare they level at the tray.

“You’re just in time, actually.” Ilenne says.

The waitress distributes their food, being extra careful to be sure everyone gets the correct dish. Val insists she take a tip for her work, and she does so with a thank you before leaving to tend to other guests. 

The three of them get to work on their plates, having not eaten anything earlier in the day. They wanted to be sure they had room for the other festival foods that they knew would be available for them to eat. As they eat, they chat about what activities they would like to participate in and what stands they saw selling things they may be interested in.

After they’ve eaten, they clean their table to make things easier on the workers. They find their friend and are sure to say goodbye and wish her a happy new year, and head out to the festival.

~

Leaving the tavern, they begin making their way to the center of town, where most of the stalls and games have been set up. The farther they go along, the denser the crowd gets, and with a bigger crowd comes louder noise. 

Soon, they’re in the thick of it. Vendors yelling at everyone passing by, hoping this tactic will be enough to earn them patronage. There’s games set up right in the center, offering prizes such as rare materials, delicacies, and at some of them, money.

“Check it out, Val.” Ray taps on Val’s shoulder, directing his attention to the archery game. “There’s a cash prize there too if you get a certain score. Think you’re up for it?”

Val looks at Ilenne as if asking permission, and when she gives the two of them a nod, Val and Ray share a look before rushing off. Ilenne follows a few feet behind them, not even bothering to tell them to wait for her, as they’re both clearly too excited about potentially earning more money. She knew better than to get in the way when they had tunnel vision. 

Ray marches up to the booth, confidence flowing off of them in waves. The man in charge of the game seems amused by this.

“I don’t suppose you’ll be trying this game, will you?” He says.

“Nah, not unless you’ve got a way for people with one arm to play,’ Ray says with a laugh. “My friend wants to play, though!” 

Val stands just a little behind Ray, offering a wave to the man behind the counter.

“Ah, I see. In that case, I’ll explain the rules.” The man begins, explaining the point system and what prizes can be received based on those points, including the cash prize. In this time, Ilenne has caught up with them, waiting on the side lines as they wait for the game to begin.

After the rules have been explained, and they are sure that Val has gotten every word, the game can begin. 

The man hands Val the bow and arrow that’s meant to be used for the game. It takes a moment for him to figure out the best way to hold it, not used to using a bow other than his own. Once he does, he takes aim at the board and, upon lining up the shot, releases the arrow. He lowers the weapon, seeing that he’s landed a bullseye.

Turns out using a different bow than what he’s used to wouldn’t be a problem after all.

One by one, Val sends arrows flying, all of which end up hitting the target. After each one, Ray lets out a loud cheer, bragging to any strangers that happen to be passing by. This ends up attracting attention, and soon, there’s a small crowd gathered around the booth. Val is a little more nervous now, having so many eyes on him. 

There’s only one arrow left. He’s so close to winning the money.

He takes a deep breath, aiming the arrow in the same place it’s gone nine other times so far. He closes his eyes, and lets go of the arrow. 

It’s quiet for a moment, and he’s certain he’s missed his mark, until the crowd bursts into cheers. He opens his eyes to see that he just barely managed to get the arrow to go to the center, his nerves likely getting the better of him for a moment.

“You did it!” Ray yells. “For a second I was worried you would mess up right at the end, but you did it!” 

“I can’t believe you adjusted that quickly to a different bow,” Ilenne says. “You’re amazing, Val.”

“I’ll have to agree with the lady,” the man says. He’s holding the prize money in one hand, his other hand extended to shake Val’s, which he does. “You’re quite the archer for someone at your age.” 

“He hunts our food for us, he’s had a lot of practice,” Ilenne explains.

“He’ll have mastered it in no time at this rate.”

The three of them wish the man a happy new year, before Ray drags them away to spend their newly earned money.

~

The store they end up in seems to sell just about everything, from cooking herbs to musical instruments, which Ray makes a beeline for. This seems to be the only quiet store in the plaza, everyone being more attracted to the temporary shops rather than a store they can go into anytime they want. 

Val finds himself perusing the plant section, deciding it can’t hurt to see what else he can add to his inventory today. Ilenne elects to look at some cooking supplies, knowing that they’re starting to run out of them at home.

It’s when she’s looking at a particular spice that they’re rarely able to afford that Ray seems to appear out of nowhere.

“Will you give me your old bag?”

“What?”

“Sssh keep your voice down! I want this horn but it’s way too expensive, I need haggling material.”

“And you think my bag will help you?”

“Of course it will. I’m a master-”

“Yes, I’ve heard.” Ilenne pauses to think, before sighing, taking the old bag off her shoulder. “Please don’t get us kicked out.” Ray does a silent cheer before speeding off to the counter, presumably to get themself a new horn at the expense of the old tattered bag. 

Ilenne decides to buy the seasoning, along with a few other herbs, and heads to the counter, watching as Ray is leaned over the counter as they speak to the shop owner, a small smile on their face signifying that they’re close to making a breakthrough.

“This really seems to be a bag that holds great value. How long did you say it was in your family?” The shopkeep asks, seeming to have eaten up whatever story Ray has fed her. 

“Ten generations!” Ray says dramatically. “But my family has long since abandoned me, leaving only this bag as a way to remember them. Now it only weighs me down.”

The woman behind the counter places her hand over her heart, as if hearing Ray’s fake, admittedly convincing, story had caused her physical pain. 

“I usually don’t do this but, it’s a holiday, and this item seems to hold a lot of sentimental value. I’ll accept your offer.” 

Ray places the bag on the counter, along with a decent chunk of the money they’d just won, and grabs hold of their new instrument. They thank the woman, before taking the rest of the money and, upon spotting Ilenne, makes their way over to her. they hand her the money and say they’ll be waitng outside, before turning around to whisper in her ear.

“The master haggler strikes again.’

~

After a long night of playing games, shopping, and eating, the three of them make their way back to their home in the woods. On the way, they find themselves stopping in a clearing. It has almost a magical glow to it, the lack of strees making it easier for the moonlight to illuminate the area. There are a few flowers peaking out of the ground, and  Ray takes it upon themself to dash around the clearing, collecting them all.

Ilenne and Val find a fallen tree to take refuge on, looking at the stars twinkling in the sky.

“Today was fun,” Val signs. 

“It was,” Ilenne agrees. “I can’t believe Ray lied to that woman.”

“I can’t believe it worked.” Ilenne can’t help but laugh.

Ray runs up to them, a bundle of flowers in hand, before immediately getting to work turning them into flower crowns for the three of them. After they’ve finished, they gently place them on Ilenne and Val’s heads, the latter reaching up to touch it. Ray, satisfied with their work, takes a seat, pulling out their new horn and playing a simple melody.

The three of them sit in silence, simplifying enjoying the atmosphere and each other’s company. Soon, Ray breaks the silence.

“Hey, Il?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think this year will be better than last year?”

Ilenne considers their words carefully. Last year had been rough for them. It was difficult to find food, money was scarce for most of it, and the rainy season had nearly destroyed their home. They almost didn’t attend this year’s festival, believing that it had become cursed after being used so much as a good luck charm. 

“I’m not sure this time, Ray.”

“I was worried you’d say that,”Ray replies, a humorless laugh following. Val taps both of them on the shoulders, pulling them out of their brief melancholy.

“We’ll be okay,” he signs.

“How can you be so sure?” Val thinks for a moment before moving again.

“Because we have each other.”

Val leans back, having said his piece, and goes back to observing the moon. 

Ray and Ilenne share a look, before nodding, an unspoken conversation between the two of them. They’ll be okay, whatever this year has in store for them.

As long as they have each other, they’ll be okay.

[araminia16]

Of Beholders and Promises

I should be working on a bunch of other things but after the feels that Mileven have given me this week this story just had to get out. I hope you guys enjoy. I might do more if I feel like it but for now this is it. :)

 They are also a couple of years older in high school. Sophmores maybe.

 XxOxx

 Instead of nearly every weekend their D&D sessions were usually every other week, sometimes just one time a month depending on what each of them had going on. AV club usually, but sometimes other things like family dinners or sickness but still, even in high school they all piled into Mike’s basement and brought out the rulebooks, the board and went into a separate world for a while. Lately though they had two extra party members and it only added to their fun.

 Mike was, as usual, the DM of the group leading them further and further into the dark tunnels. However, the thing that was unusual or at least different from their old games was the girl sitting in his lap. Eleven watched the game with relative excitement from behind Mike’s divider. Her position, which was quite comfortable, just happened to be the curve where his neck met his shoulder. She found that it was the perfect cradle for her some time ago. His left arm curved around her to both hold her steady and keep her close.

 Mike had traded his usual chair for a larger one that he had found at a garage sale and paid for by money he had earned doing odd things around his neighborhood. It was far more comfortable and it also made room for the two of them.

 Sometimes she would sit down in her old fort, reading books, but Mike didn’t play as well those days. He would constantly watch her out of the corner of his eye, even after two years of her being back with him. There was still the fear that she would be gone again and he wanted to waste none of the time they had together. Sometimes she sat down in a chair next to him, or at least that was what she did before the green monstrosity entered the picture. Now, just as often as not she curled up in his embrace with her legs stretched across his thighs, sometimes reading a book and sometimes not.

 The other party member, after much coaching from the other three, but mostly Lucas, was Max. After some convincing they had gotten her to relinquish the “zoomer” title and adopt one of a rogue. Versatile, fast, and sassy her elven thief had gotten them quite a bit of loot and fame that otherwise they weren’t able to achieve and it made her feel more like a part of the group.

 The rest of them: Dustin, Will, and Lucas were currently arguing over which path to take. Right, left or center? Max, tired of it nudged Lucas with her thigh which was not difficult considering that they were side by side, the length of their outer thighs touching. They were less obvious than the two at the head of the board, but affection flirted between them all the same.

 “Let me do a trap roll.” Max requested.

 “Go for it.” Mike responded, his hand lazily stroked along Eleven’s thigh. She was Jane to the outside world, but that name had never quite caught on in their circle. It was not her name when she first came to them in the night, cold, wet and terrified. El is who she was with her family and that was fine with her.

 The sound of dice clattering onto the table and the subsequent roll of 13 revealed a large crushing trap to their left. Dustin, who had been telling them to go left sulked and changed his vote to the right.

 Lucas grinned and high fived Max. “Told you.” He taunted Dustin.

 “Shut up. Let’s just go.”

 Mike continued his narration and Eleven could feel his heart beat in his neck. The pace was picking up and she knew that he was about to surprise them with something interesting.

 “Kobolds.” He shouted, “Charging down the tunnel.”

 “How many?” Will cried.

 “The darkness obscures their numbers. It would be hard to tell unless…”

 “Can I see them?” Max again.

 “Roll.”

 “Damnit. 12.” She hissed.

 “Their little bodies and sharp spears thrust at you.”

 “Sleep. I’ll cast sleep.” Will shouted.

 “Roll.”

 “15!” He pumped his fist up.

 “Kobolds drop around you caught in the effect of the spell.”

 “Let’s kill them so they don’t come back looking for us.” Lucus chimed in.

 “But that’s like murder.” Dustin sighed.

 “They’re Kobolds. Bloodthirsty yipping little monsters.”

 “I have to agree with him.” Max shrugged.

 “You would.”

 “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 “You guys are dating. You have to agree.”

 “Will? What do you think?”

 Will was still quiet and they all knew that his time in the Upside Down and when the shadow monster had taken him still weighed heavy on his soul but most of the time he was fine and he looked at the board, then back up. “They will sniff us out again if we leave them here. You know that Dustin.”

 So they gave each Kobold a coup de grace kill and set down further.

 Eleven lifted her head, soft brown curls brushing up against Mike’s neck and she put her mouth next to his ear and whispered something while grinning.

 “Get a room.”

 “Boo.”

 They were peppered with popcorn as the other four catcalled and hooted at the pair.

 Mike pulled back and looked down at her, eyes wide and slowly his lips turned upward in a grin of mischief. He dipped down to give her a quick kiss and he heard the gagging of his friends. A quick middle finger at their direction only resulted in more snickers.

 “Oh. I don’t like that at all. El. What did you tell him?” Dustin asked in an increasingly high pitch despite his voice drop the past year.

 “Yeah I don’t like that look either.” Will joined in.

 Mike leaned forward, arm tightening on El to keep her in place. “Suddenly a strange presence fills the tunnel. It presses in on you like a glove and with it a just of unnatural wind. It’s coming.” Eleven shivered at his dark tone, this part of Mike secretly thrilled her. He told his stories so well.

 “Let’s go guys. I don’t like the sound of that.” Max chimed in and the rest of them agreed and so they ran down the tunnel.

 Mike opened it up into a large cavern filled with bones and gold.

 “Is it a dragon?”

 “No its not a dragon. We are underground, Will.” Lucas hissed.

 “It’s a beholder.” Dustin panted.

 “No. It can’t be a beholder.” Lucas argued.

 “With a crash and a rush of air the tunnel where you entered is broken apart and out comes,” He pulled up and slammed down onto the table a figure. “The beholder.”

 “Fucking shit.” Dustin half wailed.

 “Why do you always do this?” Lucas growled.

 “It was at the behest of your Dungeon Mistress guys.”

 “Why you gotta do us like that, El? I thought you liked us.”

 Eleven just grinned. Mike had asked her a while back if she wanted to help him plan a campaign and this had been her contribution. “Roll for initiative.” She ordered.

 Dice hit the table in a large clatter, and then finally Mike rolled for the monster. “Lucas and Dustin are stunned by the beholder’s initial mind blast from one eyestalk. Will, what are you going to do?”

 “Missile.” And he rolled, landing a hit on the monster.

 “Trap roll.” Max said quietly and her roll revealed three traps. “Good.”

 The battle raged for twenty minutes before they defeated the monster. Will was out of spells and at least one leg on his Wizard was out of commission. Dustin and his dwarf were severely wounded and Lucas got out of it with a hex to his arm which he would need dispelled by a priest. The only one who was not in some way disabled was Max, who surprisingly had landed the final blow to the monster’s central eye through the anti-magic ray.

 “What are you going to do now?”

 “Get as much of that shit as we can carry and get the hell out of here.”

 “How?” Lucas asked blearily, “The tunnel is blocked off.”

 “Detect illusion.” Max again.

 “How did she get good?”

 “My girl is a fast learner.”

 “Shut up.”

 “You see a glimmer of something on the wall to the right.” Mike narrated.

 Eventually they revealed a lift that would take them to the surface and piled on as much gold and magical items as they could carry. Will suggested that they take the central eye of the beholder as a trophy and possibly to use later.

 “What time is it?” Dustin asked with a yawn.

 “Oh shit.” Mike looked at his watch. “It’s ten.”

 He noticed that Eleven had her eyes closed. “I knew you guys could do it.” She said with a sleepy smile.

 “Well since its Saturday night anyway you guys want to do an old fashioned sleep over?”

 “Old fashioned? We just had one last month.”

 “Whatever.” Dustin retorted. “I just have to let my mom know.”

 “Me too.” Will chimed in, followed by Lucas and Max.

 “What about Hopper?” Mike murmured to Eleven.

 “Give me the radio.”

 Mike handed her the radio and she turned it on and started to beep out Morse code. “Staying with Mike and the guys tonight at his house.”

 A few minutes later, “No you are not. You are coming home.”

 “No. I am staying.”

 “No.”

 “Yes.”

 “No.”

 “Yes.”

 There was no answer for a couple more minutes. “I’ll be there at 8am sharp. Be at the door or you are going to be grounded.”

 “Thank you.”

 “There. Taken care of now.”

 “We need to get everything put…okay.” Will watched as the game board and table floated up and sorted out before his eyes. El didn’t even really get nosebleeds anymore with the small stuff, just things that took a lot out of her.

 With the space cleared the room grew in size and one by one each of the teenagers filtered down into the room. “You want to sleep here or in my room?” He asked them and they all voted for here so extra blankets and pillows were brought down. The pullout sofa was set up and Dustin and Will took up residence on it, Lucas and Max had made their own relatively comfortable bed and they each took turns up and downstairs washing up and dressing down for bed.

 Mike and Eleven were last and they took up residence in a larger version of the original blanket fort that she had called home for a total of seven days. She was dressed in a tank top and a pair of Mike’s long shorts and he was nearly in the same. They laid facing each other in the darkness and amounts the sounds of the sleepers. Brown eyes met across a space no bigger than the length of a hand as they shared the same air.

 He could count on one hand the number of times that they had slept in the same place next to each other. The first had been after she closed the Gate. Pale, with dried blood from her nose and ears he had been terrified to see her. After Hopper had laid her down on the couch he had shoved in to kneel down next to her. “Mike” She croaked out softly and he had grabbed her hand.

 “I’m here.”

 “I promised.”

 That night no one had gone home. They had all slept in this sort of funny dog pile of children with blankets on the floor. Even the older teens. Mike had taken up residence right next to the couch because no force on earth would separate him from her. Nearly a whole year had been taken from them and he would be damned if anyone kept them apart right now. So he slept next to her and when he woke later in the night he found her small form curled up next to him and he felt whole again for the first time in forever.

 If Hopper had noticed he didn’t bring it up the next morning.

 The next day she had nearly lost it when Hopper told her they had to go back. She was nearly a screaming, crying mess and he was not much better. Hopper sat them both down and told him to wait a month. He would fix it in a month. Neither of them had been happy but at least he knew she was alive. He watched her go with fresh tears in his eyes.

 But that next month was the Snowball and she looked so beautiful and his heart he was sure had stopped for a second or two when she had walked in in that blue dress. It was the happiest he had been since seeing her again.

 The next times were accidents. Like when he snuck out on a snow day and happened to fall asleep in the same bed. Hopper had sure as hell not been happy when he got home. Eleven had let him escape.

 But now, now, they were looking into each other’s eyes and he felt complete. The guys would call him a wuss or a sap or something but he couldn’t give two shits what they thought. He grinned at her and she gave him one of those smiles that warmed him all over, starting at his heart. She had such a beautiful smile.

 Eleven inched closer and pressed her lips to his gently. He returned her embrace with equal softness and they moved slowly, delicately in mimicry of activities they were still too young for. They weren’t sure how long they had been locked in their tender embrace but when he pulled back and she had this faint blush and he was sure he did too.

 Eleven closed the gap with a little more firmness, more ferocity but not much more. Mike was as eager as she was and they grew more animated in kissing. His hand cupped her cheek and she tangled her fingers in his brown locks and he kissed her like he would die without her. Like she was his soul and she returned that thought as much as she could.

 When they finally parted she was panting lightly and she could feel her heart racing and a strange feeling low in her belly that had come on sporadically in the past few months when she would look at him and think about kissing him.

 “We should sleep.” He sounded rougher, breathless and it only served to speed up her heart once more.

 “I know.” Eleven whispered back. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

 “Definitely.”

 “Promise?”

 “Promise.”

 He kissed her again and they fell asleep after staring at each other with adoration and eventually they nodded off with foreheads touching and his arm thrown over her side. Together.

 XxOxX

 They are so freaking cute and wholesome. If your SO doesn’t look at you the way that Eleven and Mike look at each other you gotta find someone that does. So many feels. I can’t believe they waited til the last ep. They were just so happy.