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postmodernbeing · 3 years

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Shingeki no Kyojin Headcanons: 104th training corps (College AU - Outfits pt II)

Part I | College AU HCs

Part II of the outfits/aesthetics headcanons - College AU that would (kinda) be included in the oneshot I'm working on.

IMPORTANT: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin nor the trend of this outfits-displays, only this HCs belong to me. // Contains spoilers (for the icons that I used in some characters) // English is not my first language, so I ask for your patience and understanding.

Historia Reiss

She has a huge wardrobe and so well organized by color, textures, and sizes. From halter tops to maxi dresses, our queen really dresses like one.

Forever in love with skirts and dresses with patterns and/or pastel colors. But don’t get confused, girl has range.

So, one could see her wearing monochromatic ensembles one day and the other, she’s all dressed up with some bright color pieces matching a patterned shirt.

Also owns a vast collection of jewelry and accessories both original and classy. And let’s not forget the shoes: sneakers, heels, boots, sandals and cute little anklets to match. I swear she can make crocs look boujee.

Contrary to what people think, she doesn’t support fast fashion industry. Aware of her privilege, she knows she has the money and time to buy from small businesses and keep herself trendy.

Last but not least, and kind of clothing related: Historia loves taking Ymir to thrift shopping dates and later go eating at some indie cafeteria. The lifestyle is also part of the outfit, alright?

Ymir

Her wardrobe consists in comfortable clothes and not giving a fuck. All her clothes give Rockstar lesbian vibes (stan this queen). Her designated color palette is based on dark shades, so it’s a real contrast between her outfits and Historia’s.

Loves combat boots and her wasted Converse TM, although her favorite pieces from her apparel are bomber jackets, coats, sweaters, and hoodies.

Ymir also wears a fair amount of stainless-steel accessories, mostly chunky rings and chains. Moreover, is common to find her listening to music, therefore, earphones are a fashion statement really.

Speaking about must-wear, this girl likes to paint her nails black but due her anxiety she tends to scratch the painting off so it gives this grunge look (don’t romanticize this fellas).

Historia would suggest her some trends or give her advice about color, but being honest, Ymir has a very well-defined style at this point.

Now, about her dress style: She won’t dress like a metalhead nor grunge (at least not intentionally). And she wouldn’t define her style as dark, it’s just what it is.

Reiner Braun

He wears lots of denim in jackets and jeans but also owns a couple of dress pants that combines with beanies or simple caps. Also, has plenty of plain simple shirts that fit his strong body.

Reiner usually wears opaque shades of all colors. Another fact, he’s not a big fan of patterns unless we’re talking about sweaters. He also wears jackets yet avoids cardigans and hoodies.

A very important thing to know, Reiner has a lot of gym clothes, he works out daily so don’t be surprised.

Most of those clothes are joggers, pants, shorts, and t-shirts that look as if he ripped them off or something.

Actually, a lot of his clothes look like they’re about to be ripped apart due his huge ass pectorals (please, Reiner, let me rest gently on your pecs). Just kidding, his whole wardrobe fits him perfectly.

Finally, if Reiner had to define his style in a sentence, he’d probably acknowledge that he gives the impression of a rich a-hole, but really, Rei just likes to be comfortable and presentable at all times. So, rich white guy it is for now.

Bertolt Hoover

Bertie is that one friend that always carries a cardigan or sweater just in case, also because he tends to lend his clothes if a friend of his is in need. So thoughtful, our big baby.

His wardrobe is amazingly well organized, and its color palette is unmatched. Lots of blue, brown, beige, white and black.

We know he’s tall enough to call everybody’s attention every time he enters a room. And being as shy as he can be, he avoids brilliant colors or striking pieces. Instead, he chooses simpler outfits.

Bertolt follows this formula every time: pants, shirt, sweater. Everything clean and discrete.

Now if we must talk about his shoes, Berts prefers some white sneakers or modest dress shoes. He wouldn’t say he owns a vast collection, rather, he keeps a fair amount for different occasions.

No tattoos nor piercings. Speaking of which, it’s so rare to see him wearing any accessories at all. Maybe he'll carry with him an analogical clock, and that's it. Although if someone gave him a friendship bracelet you can be sure he'll wear it all-the-time.

Annie Leonhart

Lots of denim for her jackets and jeans. Hoodies, bands merch and graphic t-shirts.

Her clothes’ color palette has range but nothing too pastel or colorful. Instead, she gets all the opaque version of the pieces she likes.

Not that Annie hates dresses or skirts, it’s just unusual for her to even think about wearing them. She prioritizes being comfortable, and tight/short clothes can’t provide her that feeling.

Hates slim clothes unless it’s a tank top or something similar. She just prefers oversized hoodies and mom jeans. Also, if Annie can avoid skinny pants, you can be sure she will.

Owns a fair amount of gym clothes because she also likes to train but most of the times, you’ll see her running around campus, really. She’s a simple woman with simple pleasures.

Annie is the personification of ‘looks like she could kill you, is an actual cinnamon roll’, from her attitude to her clothes. So beware, for she’s the queen of looking rude with her chains around her belt, and her ring to match but don't let her fool- holy shit, that thing can actually stab someone. As I was mentioning, such a sweet gal, isn’t she?

Hitch Dreyse

She can make it boujee with so little effort (and money), lemme tell you. Wears her clothes with such an attitude and class. Hitch's an actual wine-mom, or aunt maybe? she gives those vibes.

People have the impression from her style, that her parents are rich, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just that Hitch knows how to dress. (Also, we know that for a fact sis has a scholarship, okay?) ANYWAYS,

Miss here is forever in love with white and baby blue. Owns plenty of jeans but also dress pants and culottes that wears with blazers or shirts that make her look like a princess with a diversity of fabrics such as satin, silk-alike texture, and cotton.

Hitch is the queen of heels. Although she hates very high ones, she rocks shorter heels and walks in them with little to no effort. Or at least looks like it. All of her shoes are classy yet unique.

Now, let’s talk about her collection of accessories. Hitch likes her jewels in gold and only buys signature pieces: rings, earrings (for her four lobe perforations, two in each ear) and necklaces, of course. Yes, it is gold but in modest designs. Sounds fair, right?

Marlowe Freudenberg

Our big boy in here thinks that he should look presentable at all times since he’s the Chief Editor of the History student’s academic journal at Paradis’ Uni. Not that he cares a lot of his appearance, really.

And that’s actually cute because he puts effort into his outfits. Marlowe would be one of those straight guys that are hygienic and know how to dress and has no fragile masculinity.

Cologne is a must and part of his attire just like handkerchiefs are, because at the same time, he was raised to be the classic gentleman TM.

Marlowe dresses in all colors; he can’t choose a favorite one or a never-changing palette. He’s aware of season colors too and plays that at his wardrobe favor.

Yet for his outfits he’d follow few simple rules: oxfords (cleaned), dress pants (somewhere between slim fit and straight leg), some polo/dress shirt/cotton thing-y for top and a sweater / cardigan / blazer if season demands it.

Finally, our favorite student-editor spends some time of his routine shaving his face and styling his hair, albeit wouldn’t consider himself a vain guy nor full of himself. Lowkey expects Hitch to notice his appearance. Such a sweetheart.

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apocalypseornaw · 3 years

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One Chance (Pt 5/Ending)

With enough love, time and effort can deep wounds be healed?

You nor Dean were blind to the situation at hand. You had loved him too soon, he had loved you too late but fate is a funny thing at times. Fate had seen fit for you to choose that particular bar. Fate had seen fit for Dean to break up the fight you'd gotten into and as it seems Fate had chosen to give the bond that had formed between the two of you one more chance and neither of you were going to just throw that chance away.

The morning after you'd finally broken down in Dean's arms you woke up alone wearing his flannel and memories of crying yourself to sleep in his arms flashed through your head.

You slowly climbed out of the bed pulling his flannel off in favor of a long sleeve shirt that was on top of your overnight bag. You could hear his voice and Sam's coming from the room next door so after brushing your hair and teeth you felt human enough to face them.

You crossed the room again and knocked softly on the door. You could hear Dean telling Sam "I got it" a second before the door opened and he was smiling hesitantly at you "Morning Y/N" "Morning" you offered then cut your eyes at Sam "Morning Sam" he nodded then held up the keys to the impala "I'm making a breakfast run. Your tastes still run the same?" You nodded "Yeah pretty much" he gave you a small smile before heading out the door.

Once the two of you were alone you turned to face Dean "about last night.." You trailed off looking anywhere but at him. Silence fell after a moment but he broke it by saying "I know it's not gonna change a whole lot but do you feel any better after getting everything off your chest?"

You started to respond but stopped in favor of letting yourself actually think about what he was saying. Did it hurt slightly less? Not really but was it a little easier to breathe around him now? It seemed like it. You slowly nodded "Yeah I think so" he half smiled "Good. Any time you feel like screaming at me I'll be there" you laughed at that and saw his eyes flick up towards yours with a hint of a genuine smile pulling at his lips.

You picked at the bracelet on your wrist "I meant that I still love you but I can't allow myself to be that weak again. We've both been through hell Dean. I acknowledge that but I don't know how to fix what's broken between us because for so many years you were who I confided in. You were always the one to have my back so when the person who'd always been there for me was the one who had caused some of the pain I was in even if unintentionally I didn't know how to process it. Don't blame Sam or Cas for lying to you. They did it to protect me and I think you meant it when you said how you feel about me so can you really hold protecting me against them?"

You finally looked back up at him and his eyes were glued to you. Not in a sexual way but more so like he was working to memorize just what you looked like as if he was worried he'd never seen you. "I could never hold choosing you against them. That just proves they're smarter than me sweetheart" you shook your head at his words but allowed yourself a relieved smile to know he wasn't angry with either of them.

"So what now?" He asked after a moment and you shrugged "We eat breakfast when Sam gets back. The three of us catch up a bit then the two of you head back to that batcave I've heard about and I go back to where I normally sleep when I'm not actively hunting" he nodded then asked "Is it gonna be another three years before I see you?" You shook your head "No it won't I promise"

You could hear the rumble of the impalas engine and cut your eyes towards the door "Sam's back" he nodded "Sounds like it"

-------

Dean was picking at his breakfast more than anything while listening to you tell Sam about a case you'd worked on a few months back with some hunter named Sawyer.

"Oh Saw found it hilarious when I asked if he had any marshmallows after we set the place on fire to kill the arachne or maybe it was the whole body shiver I'd had the previous two days at the thought of chasing a damn spider demon basically" Sam was biting back a laugh at your words and it almost seemed like old times had it not been for the aching in Dean's chest when he saw the way your eyes lit up talking about the hunt or the way you cut your eyes at him now at then.

He wanted to tell you how bad it had hurt thinking you were dead. He wanted to tell you how much he regretted never seeing that the perfect woman for him was standing right at his side for so many years. He wanted so much but instead he simply listened to your story laughing when he should and enjoying the fact that you were speaking to him.

-------

Dean stood at the back of the impala watching as you loaded your bags into your trunk. Sam had gone to the office to check out so it only left the two of you yet again.

You slammed the trunk then walked over to lean next to Dean. "Sam has my top three numbers and email...if you want to get them from him that's ok with me" he nodded, not looking at you directly. For a moment you started to not give voice to the thought that had been in your head but you had to ask "How did you react?"

He ran a hand down his face slowly then nodded. You knew him well enough even after all this time to spot when he's collecting himself. "How did I react to thinking one of the most important people in my life was dead, to realizing only when it was too late just how much you meant to me and being faced with knowing I could never tell you or make it up to you...yeah I didn't react well"

You reached out to grab his hand closest to you and saw the look of surprise on his face despite the fact that he gladly gave you his hand staring at your intertwined fingers in silence until you finally spoke "I never meant to cause you pain Dean or hell maybe I did. I wasn't thinking clearly. I was hurt in more ways than one. Maybe we can find our place back in each other's life now. I've missed you and Sam" he squeezed your hand gently "I've missed you too"

The two of you stood there for a while only your hands touching until you heard Sam clear his throat. The two of you pulled apart and turned to face him. "We're all checked out. What's the plan?" You smiled "I'm gonna be at Abby and Jess' place for a few days then who knows? Depends what gets blown my way"

Dean watched you hug Sam with a promise to check out the bunker when you got back in that direction. When you pulled away from Sam you looked back at him. He knew what you were thinking so he held his arms out smiling slightly when you walked into them wrapping your arms around his waist. He held you tightly for a few minutes allowing himself that time to pretend the last few years hadn't happened. When you pulled to look up at him he saw that there were tears in yours eyes just as there were in his "I meant what I said Dean. I just need to work through it and never considered I needed you in the loop to be able to"

"No matter how long it takes Y/N I am not going anywhere. I've lost you once I'm not going through that again" your smile was bittersweet when you leaned up to press a gentle kiss to his cheek "Get my number from Sam. I'll call when I get where I'm headed"

You pulled your challenger to a stop next to the impala. This would be your fourth time staying in the bunker. Eight months had passed and not a day had gone by without you and Dean talking.

You finally caught a break and decided to swing through Kansas after a hunt in Tulsa. You hit Dean's number in your phone about the time the bunker door opened to show him walking out. You climbed out of your car with a smile "Dean Winchester, were you waiting at the door?" He grinned "Hey I've not seen you face to face in over three weeks maybe I'm a little eager" you rolled your eyes but couldn't help but smile "You ever gonna stop sweet talking me?" He shook his head "Nope. You get all the sweet talking I can manage"

"Lucky me" you replied before leaning up to place a quick kiss on his lips. It was the first kiss the two of you had shared since he found out you were still alive and although it seemed to catch him off guard the smile he had told you he didn't mind. "No I'd say lucky me" he replied before pulling you into a deep kiss.

When you pulled away to catch your breath he leaned his forehead over against your cheek, you could feel the scruff on your face against your scar as he whispered "I love you Y/N" "I love you too Dean" it would take time and the two of you were taking it slow but maybe just maybe it seemed as if fate had deemed fit to truly give the two of you one more chance at a happy ending or the closest two hunters could get.

@akshi8278

#spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x female!reader

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toomanythought · 3 years

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A critique of the magic knight captain's outfits because that's the kind of mood I'm in.

1. Charlotte

I've decided that she has the best outfit of anyone here.

She's got several colors going on, but most of them are neutral so It's ok

Blue and silver with gold accents isn't really a color scheme you can go wrong with

Could use a little more armor, but overall a rather practical look

Could stand to loose the helmet but overall not bad

10/10 something I would wear

2. Dorothy

I'm loving the energy of the pink in this one.

Honestly very pretty aesthetic

Not a lot going on, pretty much only pink w/ some black and white accents (There are two different shades of pink but that's ok because they're in separate pieces and nothing else is going on)

The green on her hat really helps make the pink less overwhelming, a great choice

Minus points because those shorts look a little bit like underwear and her boots should probably be black.

9/10 wouldn't wear it but I'd recommend a friend

3. The Vermilions:

It's pretty much the exact same outfit but Mereoleona wears it so much better.

The red and orange is kind of a bad combo, and I thought it was basic knowledge that redheads should avoid wearing red

The blue does work to cut this a bit though, so it's not as overwhelming as it could be

Kinda iffy on the pink sash. It really should match the cape by outfit laws, but I think that would put too much red in the entire thing

Fuegoleon you're pretty but that outfit really isn't doing it for you. Minus points for the lack of titty window. In the future show more skin. 6/10

Like I said, it's basically the same outfit, but Mereoleona wears it with a very different energy and manages to make it look good. I get pirate queen vibes. 8.5/10

Overall 7/10; I might wear elements of it.

4. Rill

The clothing needs a different style/cut but the colors are decent.

His cape doesn't class with his hair, and he's got the light colors well balanced with the dark

He looks like he's outgrown his pants though

Like seriously

They're a bit too short to be wearing without boots

And at least wear some socks to cover it up

Gonna give him the benefit of the doubt and say he hit a growth spirt and Walter hasn't had time to let out the hems

Shoes make me think of Tinker belle

6/10 I like the colors but he really needs different pants, and maybe shoes

5. Yami

Surprisingly not the worst but I am not without criticism.

He's got an aesthetic going that allows him to get away with a bit

As an outfit it's ok, but there's a distinct lack of professionalism going on

Sir are you really going to wear nothing but a tank top 24/7?

Also the over pant thingies make it look like he's wet himself

I like the creativity with the squad robe. No one else wears it like that

His outfit was better when he was with the Grey Deer

Can' figure out what's up with those boots

5/10. I'd never recommend wearing it but it's got a practicality to it.

6. Nozel

My dude you're rich enough to afford a stylist.

We're not even talking about the hair at this point, there are so many things that need straightened out

The ocean/teal blue he's got going on does not work with the periwinkle.

Also what's up with the pant leg cut outs. I really fail to understand the practicality of them

Why are there sandals

We are fighting people

Please wear close toed shoes

Also feathers and fur? Get it together my dude

While we're at it the feathers are kinda ugly in arrangement

3/10 I feel like someone failed to successfully merge two different outfits together.

7. Kaiser

I don't have a lot to say. It's pretty bland.

Very shapeless and fluffy

I'm honestly getting hot just looking at it

Aside from the buttons + gloves and squad robe, there's not much going on

I don't have many critiques of the squad robe. It's purple and yellow. Nothing too horrible.

5/10. Very generic and boring. Don't like at all but it's hard to come up with concrete bad things

8. Jack

Sir do you understand the purpose of clothes

It looks like an armored outfit so you get practicality points

What is up with all the leather straps

They literally serve no purpose

Please put on a proper shirt that covers your midriff

The pants/shoes combo is kinda sketchy

He needs to have either the black or the green running all the way up

Bracelets?

2/10. It's just... ugly

9. William

Sir I know your life sucks but please learn how to dress yourself. Your squad wears the uniform too and you aren't doing them any favors.

Feathers and fluff. Are you a bird dude? Is that your magic? No. It's trees. I know you like birds but you don't need to look like one

Please don't get me started on the colors

For posterity's sake I will now list every color contained within this outfit:

White

Gold

Red

Dark Red

Tan? Light gold?

Dark blue

Lighter blue (but only in one place and it's not touching the dark blue)

Purple. Because this outfit needed some more pizzazz.

White

Black

Get some pink and green and you'll be representing all the squads with ease

The style and cut is actually pretty good but the colors are beyond horrid

He tells Julius that the mask is tacky and then continues to wear it

And also match the rest of his clothing to it

He should have kept the mask as a statement piece and kept the outfit as one or two colors.

Honestly a very in character outfit because it demonstrates his inability to choose a side

3/10 I guess. I like some things about it but there's just too much going on. Bad overall outfit. Needs help desperately. Ask Mimosa. I have a feeling she realized it was bad.

#no hate i love all of them #they just make questionable decisions regarding clothing #william please sort yourself out #also fuegoleon you could be doing so much better #black clover #yami sukehiro #william vangeance #charlotte roselei #dorothy unsworth #rill boismortier #fuegoleon vermillion #mereoleona vermillion #kaiser granvorka #nozel silva #jack the ripper (bc)#cloverian clothes

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the-crows-typist · 4 years

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Hello! I recently read your azul's ficlet and i'm close to crying at how beautiful it is (its 4am emo hours). If its okay, may I request a ficlet of Jade with a gn!reader with the word 'sleep' or 'rest' (pick whichever suits better!). Thank you in advance! 💖

CW: Spoilers for the movie Your Name (Kimi no na wa), character death, body switching, angst with a happy ending, and slow burn (sort of)

Feedback in greatly appreciated!

Thank you to @opalmaplehibiscus , @jellyfishstuckinwonderland , and @raven-at-the-writing-desk for the input in the making of this fic. I greatly appreciate your help.

The Possibilities are Endless

“My name is..”

“Please remember me...!”

The crowds on the train pushed them apart, a braided bracelet was tossed towards Jade. A lifeline connecting both of them together, a connection between two souls; the face of one that was desperate to keep holding on, they yelled one last time just as the doors of the train closed and their grip on the bracelet wrap loosened.

“My name is—!”

Jade opened his eyes and he was in his room, his very dark room. To his side was his closet and to the other a white wall. The sound of bubbling water churned behind the window of his dorm room and with one slow blink, he pulled himself up and hunched over.

The same dream, the same voice, the same bracelet tossed to him.

He craned his head to his lamp stand where the colorful wrap lay next to his earring, he doesn’t remember where he got it nor does he remember why he wanted to keep it for so long. He took the bracelet and looked at it and thought back to the voice in his dream.

“Please remember me...!”

Pushing himself off he moved to the mirror to fix his appearance, with his brush and hair gel in hand he let out a gasp when the lights of vanity shined light on a note. A note written on his cheek with a marker, a message he didn’t remember writing.

“Who are you?”

It was during breakfast that Jade began to notice the strange happenings around him, how Azul asked if he was feeling better or how Floyd said he was wearing his earring again. “What do you mean,” Jade questioned. “I always wear it.”

“You weren’t yesterday. And you looked so lost like some little guppy, you even forget how to get to class yesterday morning.” Floyd complained, eating his breakfast with a huff. “Was it a prank? Cuz’ you got me good.”

What was he doing yesterday?

He woke up, went to school...No. That wasn’t what happened. He didn’t recall anything from the previous day. In fact, he remembered being at a different place.

In a city full of buildings and faraway from the sea, the familiar smell of white roses, the smile of an unfamiliar fellow and a bento box he had no recollection of him cooking or making.

His uniform wasn’t black but a cream with a tint of yellow, his magical pen was nowhere to be seen and was instead replaced with a pen nib brooch. He touches his cheek, remembering the message written on his cheek. “Who are you?”

“C’mon, you gotta tell me.” Floyd pestered, his arm over Jade’s neck “Was it a prank?”

“Perhaps.” The twins laughed, Floyd pulling close but in his mind he thought of the message, his incapability to remember the previous day. He needed more answers but only questions filled his head.

His notes were a mess and full of sketches. There were sketches of Night Raven’s facade and the students, his classmates. A slew of messy messages on paper, the handwriting worrying as if the person writing was stressed beyond belief.

“The uniforms are black, the gems are pens.”

“Nothing but roses for miles.”

“Wishing well???”

“Where am I?”

“Mr Leech, please read the next line.”

“Yes, sir.”

Trein’s brow raised and he blinked. “Well, today you actually remember your name. Perhaps you were just feeling ill.” A hum of laughter passed through the class. “And your hair is fixed as well; I was beginning to think you and your brother switched places when you came into class with a messy bed head.”

Jade blinked, tilting his head. “I...see. I’ll make sure to not make that mistake again, professor.”

“Good. Continue on reading.”

“Magic transcends all meaning when twilight occurs, when the sun and the moon share the sky for a single moment.” Trein explained, using a magical pointer. “The word twilight means ‘half-light’ when the light of the sun glows and causes refraction in the atmosphere and signaling the end of the morning and welcoming of night or visa versa. At times like this does magic become unpredictable and free-forming and when realities begin to overlap each other for the time twilight occurs. This was used to the advantage of the earliest magician in recorded history.”

Trein faced his students. “Nowadays, these times of day are known as dusk and dawn as the world twilight has fallen out of favor in recent years.”

“It’s probably because of that one book.” A student yelled from the rows behind and Trein nodded his head. “Ah, yes, ten years ago was an odd time for the word ‘twilight’.” Trein blinked, shaking his head slightly. “Who would have thought the human body produced so much diamonds but that is beside the point.” The bell rang and the students began taking their books. “Be sure to read up on your lesson today, we will be having a quiz tomorrow on the topic.”

Jade stayed in his seat for some time and stared at the diagram on the board.

Twilight.

In the back of his mind, a flash of a memory comes to him. He remembers a train stopping by and the droves of people coming in and out. Jade was alone that time, buying something some seeds or fungi. The sun was setting at the time, the yellow sun turning orange and the sky dimming to a nightly violet.

“Jade.”

He didn’t know the person who called out his name nor did he remember what they looked like but he did remember the smile they had, as if they were looking for him for a long time, it was a face relief.

“It’s me.”

He didn’t know who this person was nor did he ever remember their face and yet, at that instant he seemed to have known them his entire life. In his heart was a feeling of warmth, of glee, of content and relief; he was confused by it all. A strike of panic pierced his heart when that smile turned into a confused and upset frown. “You don’t...remember me..?”

The next stop came and people began filing out, pushing the two of them away from each other. “Jade, please remember me!” They said as they were pushed out by the crowd. Reaching up, they pulled the braided tie from their hair and threw it out of him. “Please remember me..!”

He caught the braided tie just as the other let go and doors began to close.

“My name is—!”

“Is there something wrong, Mr Leech?” He blinked, looking to Trein with confusion. He had missed the door and stood by the wall of the classroom. “Ah—I’m sorry.” There was a hissy laugh from Lucius as Trein set him down on the table to collect his papers. “You seem to be in deep thought, is there something on your mind?”

“No, professor, I was just thinking about our topic today.” Jade lied through his teeth and Trein took it with a huff. “I know twilight is a regular phenomenon but I didn’t know that it was an important time of day for mages and magicians.” A nod came from his professor. “Many people nowadays don’t see its importance as magical materials and magic itself have grown and changed over time. With the new technology and the new breakthroughs we have, the archaic practices of the past have since then been abandoned.”

Trein looked to the window and Jade followed his gaze, the sun began to set and the color of orange and violet painted the sky. “Twilight has begun.” Picking up his beloved cat, Trein stretched his back and moved to face the student in front of him. “It’s best to get back to your dorm, you might miss the curfew.”

“Professor, have you ever experienced anything during twilight? Like the way you’ve explained it during class?” Jade asked suddenly, his professor’s eyes widened then looking to the side to think for a moment. “I have but they were more of dreams than the otherworldly claims of recording happenings. I would often see myself in another person’s shoes, seeing a world I did not know about, it wasn’t a pleasant experience but...It was interesting, for a dream at least.”

“I see. Thank you very much, professor. I’ll be on my way.”

He stared at his messy notebook unblinking, the messy handwriting and the sketches were foreign to him. He drew a few doodles but he never put any detail to it nor was he able to do sketches of his peers in movement.

“Where am I?”

Taking his pen, Jade wrote a message. What had happened to him wasn’t a dream, he knew that and he knew that what he was about to do wasn’t a sure fire guarantee that whoever wrote this will see it but the unpredictability of the situation allowed him to push through with an eagerness to see the end results.

“You are in Night Raven College. My name is Jade.”

The night loomed over the dorm, the once blue waters a dark purple and tinge of black. Twilight has ended. Jade closes his eyes for a moment and sighed, thinking back about the lesson and to the confused glances of his peers.

“Please remember me...!” The voice begged, the image of a braided bracelet flowing through the air as it flew towards him. Tugging his sleeve, the bracelet was wrapped around his wrist snugly; its design was simple and bright mix of blue, yellow, and red.

“Please remember me...!”

Jade tugs his sleeves back down, only stepping out of to his bed when he felt tired. The bracelet was removed from his wrist and sat next to him.

“My name is—!”

The voice echoed through his mind, he felt that he should remember it, he felt like he should know who it was, and all he felt was frustration and eagerness to see this unpredictable situation through. He closed his eyes wanting to rest his eyes rather than sleep.

“So this is what Night Raven College looks like. It’s very pretty, your uniforms are very pretty too but I’m not used to the environment there. It’s probably because of the walls or the silence.”

It had been a few days since the messaging through the notebook began with Jade and his pen pal, of sorts. It seemed that his new pen pal had been observing weird happenings to them too. Their classmates telling them of their weird behaviors, one time all they ate were mushrooms.

“I don’t even like mushrooms and because of you I ate a whole lot of them in just one day!”

It seemed that his odd dreams of seeing another world unlike his own weren’t dreams after all. The white and yellow uniforms, the sweet smell of lilies, and the pen nib brooch all pointed to Royal Swords Academy. Apparently the person he switched bodies with studied there.

“And I was told that I ate eel for lunch and it upset my brother. It seems both of us are even on this regard.”

He always wrote messages on his notebook the moment he got home and he preferred it that way rather than waking up to writings on his face and arms. The marker ink was hard to wash off, even with large amounts of sudsy soaps.

“We have a notebook to communicate for a reason, please use that.”

“I like writing on your hand, Jade.”

There were moments that he expressed frustration with them, even anger but that soon dissipated into childish antics of messages written on skin, eating disgusting foods they came to like, and a bond that transcended physical reality. They were from two different worlds and yet, here they were being friends.

All this was just like a dream to him.

“Hey, about that braided bracelet...Where did you get it? I had one just like it before it disappeared; I used to wear it on my hair.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have an answer to that. It just came with me, I suppose. I couldn’t part with it for some reason so I’ve been wearing it ever since.”

“I guess we just so happened to have the same braided tie, huh? Hehehe!”

After class, Jade went to experience the twilight hour for once and see the students filter out of school and run about. It was the end of the week and it was a time for fun, brooms flew overhead and magical swirls of dust were thrown about by fun-loving students.

“What I like about your school is that none of you are afraid to get dirty and have fun.” He remembered his pen pal writing. “I love RSA but the uniforms and the rules we live by stop us from having fun like all of you there in NRC.”

He couldn’t blame them, RSA had some rules to go by and the uniforms really stopped them from having fun too. The chaos that he saw in RSA wasn’t like those in NRC, not by a long shot but he could see the charm it had in it despite the difference in school life.

Jade wanted them to experience this first hand one day. In their own body, of course.

He went back to his room when the sun had disappeared and the moon stood in its place. Sitting by the notebook, he took his magical pen from his pocket and began writing his response to his pen pal’s recent message.

“RSA has beautiful scenery, there’s no doubt about it. It’s a nice change of pace from the gothic feel NRC has, I find it rather peaceful. Though the sudden music lessons do tend to throw me off but that is something I will eventually come to get used to.

He tapped his pen on his desk, humming at his short reply. He looked at his wrist; the braid coiled around his wrist and was vibrant under the yellow light of his lamp. Unlike them, he never really gave hints of what his school life was about nor did he give details of what it was like to spend a day in RSA.

“We had a lesson about the magical phenomena known as Twilight. Apparently around that time, magic becomes different and realities begin to overlap...Do you think that’s what’s causing us to switch bodies?”

“Twilight...I’ve heard of that phenomenon too! It actually makes sense, maybe that’s what's causing it but if it’s really true then that’s some real strong magic!”

Jade slept that late that night, the braided tie next to his forehead. For once, he didn’t dream of the train station but of a hand coming up to take his own. No, it wasn’t his hand, it was his pen pal’s hand, and it grasped softly then tugged for him to follow.

He was on a mountain, the sky glittering with millions upon millions of stars. It was a beautiful sight, his eyes widening as the stars grew closer and closer, the heat around him rising and rising; burning his skin and singing his hair. The world around him was destroyed and the last thing he heard was the terrified scream of someone he was beginning to hold dear.

He awoke with a gasp, his eyes tearful and his lungs out of breath. Next to him were a concerned Azul and his brother Floyd. “We could hear you gasping from the hallway.” Azul explained but Jade kicked off his covers and ran to his desk, his notebook, their means of communication was empty. The messages he had collected with them were gone and only his own remained.

His brother tugged at his shoulder. “Look at me.” He was whirled around, their foreheads touching. “Breathe. You’re gonna give yourself an attack if you don’t breathe.”

He closed his eyes, leaning against his brother to breathe harshly. A pair of hands pats his back, Azul’s and Floyd’s, in an act of comfort but none of their touches reached Jade. He was too confused, too shaken up, too anxious. “It was just a bad dream.”

A dream...

What he had seen in the eyes of his pen pal was all a dream...?

Pen pal?

“It’s best that you get some more rest.” Azul said, pulling Jade back to his bed. “I’ll explain to the teachers what happened to you.” Floyd nudged him down and pulled the covers up until his brother’s chin. “We need you well rested, Jade. We’ll have the others check on you every once in a while.”

He forced himself to breathe slowly and carefully, his eyes screwed shut and thoughts in a whirlwind. His memories scrambling and confusing, he tries to remember the train station, the lake that was on RSA’s sloping hills and the falling meteorite.

Had there been a meteor shower? There was no news of it, no indication.

A hand caressed his head, shushing his sounds to silence.

“Sleep, Jade.”

The next day, Jade spent all his time in the library with books about stars and meteors and sleep being the furthest thing from his mind. He poured through the articles about meteor showers, checking online news sites, and pouring through scientific documents.

Nothing.

No recent reports of a meteor shower anywhere near the area of RSA or NRC.

A frustrated sigh left Jade’s lips and he held his head with a huff, burying his fingers into his hair when a fluffy tail rubbed and pawed against his arm. “Good to see you’re up and about, Mr Leech.” Trein stood over him as Lucius stepped over the articles to sit on one of the books.

“I didn’t know you were taking a liking to astronomy.” The professor commented, taking an article and reading through it. “Meteor showers, eh? I haven’t seen those for some time. The last one was beautiful but also very tragic.”

“What do you mean, professor?” Jade stared up at his teacher, slightly surprised.

“You weren’t in NRC at the time this happened but there was a meteor shower that passed by Twisted Wonderland, it was a festive time...But that soon became a tragedy when a fragment broke off from one of the passing meteorites.” He sighed, closing his eyes and setting the paper down. “Though NRC and RSA have been rivals for a long time, I can’t bear to think such a catastrophic event would happen to them.”

His heart skipped a beat, eyes wide in surprise. “You mean to say...”

“A meteorite fragment fell on RSA three years ago, specifically on the field just outside the school where some students were watching the shower. Those poor children...”

The white crystal of his magical pen glowed bright and Jade pushed himself off his chair, figure hunched forward and head hung low. Lucius let out a meow as he scrambled away from the student. “Mr Leech, what are you doing?” Trein demanded but his voice fell on deaf ears, Jade remembers his last dream, the last time he switched bodies. He remembers the falling meteorite, the scream that wasn’t his own, he remembers them.

His pen pal.

In a burst of magic, Jade disappeared from his position leaving a scared Lucius and a confused and upset Mozus Trein.

The landscape around him was heavy, the crater left by the meteorite was massive and no traces of life were seen within the impact zone. The memory of the meteorite fragment falling right on top of his pen pal, killing them instantly played again and again in his head. Jade, normally so aloof and calm, fell to his knees.

They died.

They died where he stood.

For the first time in a long while, Jade screamed his heart out. A wail of agony loud enough to echo through the empty void that was essentially his pen pal resting place. He sunk to his knees and continued crying until his throat became hoarse and painful.

He laid on his side as the sun went down, the braided tie peeked out of his blazer.

“Please remember me—!”

The train station...Was that a dream too? What had he been doing when he was in there? What was he there for?

Who was calling out his name.

“Jade...?”

The sun set over him, the sky turning orange and violet. It was twilight hour.

“Jade..”

“Jade.”

There was a touch to his shoulder and a soft shake. His head turned, his eyes widened. A student from RSA stood over him. They smelled of white lilies, uniform a mix of white and yellow, and their magical crystal a pen nib brooch. There was a familiar gleam in their eyes, a smile he came to know from the many days they had switched bodies.

His pen pal smiled at him, offering their hand for him to take. “It’s really you, Jade. It’s actually you.”

They laughed, pulling Jade into a hug; his tall figure dwarfing them easily as they hugged his chest. Jade sighed, returning the hug soon after and rocking each other back and forth for a few moments the sun shined in the horizon.

“I thought I lost you, y’know?” They said, looking up at him. “I just...I suddenly couldn’t reach you.”

“I thought you had died. I saw the meteor fall on you.”

They looked at each other for a moment and a laugh was shared, their foreheads linked together soon after. “I know but...somehow, maybe...I don’t really know what happened to me. I just couldn’t reach you to tell you what happened on that day. I nearly forgot about you and I cried for days wondering why.”

Pulling away, they looked down to Jade’s wrist. “Hey, that bracelet...”

“You gave it to me in the train station.”

It was all coming back to him now. This person, his pen pal, was someone he held dear for a long time.

He felt comfort.

“Oh yeah! I did, didn’t I?”

“Do you want it back?”

“No. Keep it.”

The two held hands for some time but were immediately thwarted by them pulling out a marker. “Hey, why don’t we write our names? That way, if we ever forget each other there’ll always be a reminder. Ah, but I don’t have any paper with me...”

Jade offered his palm, his smile teasing and knowing. “You always liked writing on my skin.”

They shared another laugh and the marker’s cap was pulled off, Jade looking over the horizon as they wrote their name on his palm. “Your turn.”

He took the pen from them and as soon as he wrote the starting strokes of his name, the marker fell from his grasp.

The twilight hour had ended and the moon took over the sky.

“Eh...? What am I...doing...?”

Jade was found by his peers not long after, taking him in and letting him rest as they descended the crater near RSA. Mozus Trein was their chaperone, explaining to the staff of the rival school and covering his own students.

“Someone he knew died here,” He explained, looking at Jade being covered with a blanket by his brother. Jade’s eyes were closed and he leaned against him, clearly exhausted from the ordeal and exposure to the elements.

“I’m very sorry to hear that, professor.” Said one RSA’s employees, brows upturned and frowning deep. “The meteorite crash was a very tragic event for all schools. I can’t imagine how much grief that young boy has gone through knowing that a friend of his died that day.”

“I hope you can look the other way on this. I know we shouldn’t come into each other’s premises without proper—“

“It’s quite alright. I’ll explain the situation to the headmaster once everything has settled.”

Floyd pulled his brother to his chest and stood up, Azul placing a hand on his back.

“Let’s go home, Jade.”

Jade wasn’t alone that night, Floyd and Azul wouldn’t allow him to be alone. They slept next to him, keeping him company but while the two slept, he couldn’t. The moon shone against his window and gave his room a very soft blue glow. He raised his hand to his face, the message from someone he held dear was still visible but slightly smudged.

“Thank you.”

Bitterness rose in his chest and to his throat, his brows furrowed in frustration. The tears forming stung his eyes.

“You idiot,” he brought his palm to his face, sniffling. “I can’t remember you this way.”

A year had passed and the dreams stopped coming after that night. Jade had picked up the habit of sitting outside during twilight hour, watching the set and holding the bracelet that never left his wrist for more than a second. He wore it everywhere he went but when asked; he never had a proper reason for it.

“I feel complete wearing it.”

The yearly magical shift festival brought troves of customers and onlookers, Jade and his brother sat on a bench and let their legs rest after a long day. “I’m gonna go get something to eat. You want anything?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll buy some myself.”

“’Kay.”

Jade was left alone after that and he closed his eyes for a moment, his nose taking in the different smells of food and perfumes.

There was a familiar smell of white lilies.

“Excuse me.”

A person stood in front of him, holding a brochure. They were a uniform of white and yellow and a pen nib brooch. They smiled at him and familiar warmth bloomed in his chest. “I don’t mean to disturb you or anything.”

Their smile was sheepish but it felt as if he’d seen it somewhere before.

“Do we know each other by any chance?”

“I think so.” Jade’s smile was easy and suddenly their eyes began to water. “I had a feeling we did.”

“Hey,” Jade reached over and intertwined their hands, the bracelet’s colors were vibrant against his skin and theirs.

“May I…”

“Can I…”

“...Know your name?”

#works from the typewriter #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #jade leech x reader #jade leech #twst jade leech #twst jade x reader #angst #jade ficlets #this took me so long to write oml #twst #twst x reader #gender neutral reader #gn reader

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dreaming-in-alicante · 3 years

Text

Chapter 3 is finally done! Sorry it took longer - finals week happened and it was a harder chapter to write for some reason. I'm excited to finish this story though - we're half-way through :)

Chapter 3: Lighting the flame

Christopher met his friends outside, where they piled into a carriage and set off for the Devil Tavern. The atmosphere between them was still tense; James and Matthew, sitting across from him, were quiet. Christopher wished, as he so often did, that he understood people better. He hated it when they all fought, and now it was partly his fault and he didn’t know how to fix it. Thankfully, James took the initiative.

“Kit,” he began, “we’re sorry for being so confrontational. It’s only you have to understand how it looks from our perspective. Grace’s actions, even if she regrets them, caused a great deal of pain.” James looked troubled.

“Thomas shared some of what you all learned yesterday talking to Jesse,” Matthew said softly. “About how bad things were for her with Tatiana. And it…well I still don’t trust her but it sounds like she’s trying to be – to be better. And I out of everyone should be sympathetic to that.” His hand moved unconsciously to his jacket. He had stopped carrying a flask everywhere but after so many years of drinking, it was still a reflex to reach for the alcohol.

James seemed to notice this motion, and clasped his parabatai’s shoulder briefly in support, then returned his attention to Christopher. “I suppose what I’ll say is that I cannot soon forget what Grace has done, and I prefer to avoid her,” James said carefully, “but I – none of us – should be trying to control who you spend time with Kit. I am sorry. If you trust her, then we shall trust you.”

“Oh, jolly good,” Christopher said, immensely relieved. He hated conflict, especially with his friends. “I am sorry that I didn’t think to mention her helping. She’s the first friend I’ve ever made.”

His friends all looked suddenly gut-punched for some reason. “Kit, do you not think we’re friends?” Matthew asked, appearing quite distressed.

“Of course we are! Aren’t we?” Christopher was, for a second time that evening, horribly confused.

“But you just said –” James began, looking stricken.

“Do you mean she’s the first friend that you personally have made, on your own, Kit?” Thomas asked, understanding Christopher best as usual.

“Precisely!” Christopher said, then realized, “Ah, I understand now how that sounded. I meant that – well, I’m related to two of you and we all just sort of fell in together didn’t we? I have never made a friend on my own.” The rest of the Merry Thieves relaxed visibly.

“Fair enough,” Matthew said, looking relieved. “Honestly Kit, Grace Bla – sorry , Cartwright – out of everyone you could choose for a friend.” He shook his head but there was a teasing glint in his eye.

“She’s really a wonderful lab partner!” Christopher assured them cheerfully. “She’s been organizing everything and making an inventory. And she had a wonderful insight the other day about this reaction with sulfuric acid.”

Thomas shifted on the seat next to Christopher as he said “I never would have expected scientific curiosity from Grace of all people, but she was right at home in that laboratory today.”

“Honestly, it took me a second to recognize her – wearing a dark dress, and those ridiculous goggles that you also wear in the lab,” Matthew said, gesturing at Christopher.

“They may not be fashionable, but they are very important as protective gear,” Christopher told him.

Matthew shuddered slightly but smiled good-naturedly as he said, “And that is why I will never pursue science. Terrible field for the fashion-minded.” This started him on a wild story about finding a new waistcoat earlier that week. Christopher was quite satisfied that peace had been restored, and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the night with his friends.

_________________________________________________________

The following Wednesday, Christopher was even more eager than usual to get to Grosvenor Square – Henry was due to arrive back in London that morning. He was keen to get Henry’s thoughts on several projects, especially the runed guns and the fire messages.

Christopher started the morning by testing another rune combination on a message. This attempt ended, as many did, in a small explosion. He was still putting out a fire on the lab table when Grace arrived for the day. She greeted him briefly before starting to set up a reaction flask. During her organization of the lab she had come across a vial with some mysterious white powder. Christopher had no idea what it was, so they decided it would be an intriguing exercise for her to determine the contents.

Soon after Grace’s arrival, a humming noise sounded, then a whistling, signaling that the elevator down to the lab was in use. Christopher hurried over as the doors opened. “Welcome back, Henry!” he said, grinning.

Henry looked just the same as always, with perhaps a bit more gray in his hair after the stress of the past few months. “Kit, my boy!” he greeted as he maneuvered his Bath chair out of the elevator and towards the lab table. “How are things going? Any progress on those guns with the pithos? And you must help me examine this sample of water I brought back from Alicante, I wonder if we could try using it in another version of demon repelling ointment. Being around so many wards, it may be imbued with some demon-repelling properties.” He reached the work table and paused as he finally noticed Grace standing there. Henry looked bewildered and Christopher struggled to remember whether he had mentioned Grace in his letter to Henry. He was fairlysure that he had.

“Hello!” Henry said to her pleasantly, “You’re the one with the demon powers that was briefly engaged to my son. Gladys, yes?” Well, letter or otherwise, at least Henry remembered her.

“Grace, actually,” she replied, looking tense, her posture stiff. “I do want to apologize again for…everything.”

Henry waved off her concern and said, “It all ended alright didn’t it? Charles Buford will find someone else. And Kit mentioned you’ve been a great help in the lab recently!”

Good, Christopher thought, I did remember to include that in the letter.

“I would actually be quite interested to hear about your power and how it worked. Especially through a bracelet, fascinating!” Henry continued as he maneuvered towards the rack of chemicals.

Grace appeared exceedingly uncomfortable, but quickly warmed up to Henry throughout the day as he described various project ideas to her and took a look at her reactions. By that evening, when all three were involved in a lengthy discussion about runes and the application of runes to invention, it was as if Grace had always been part of the team. Christopher was delighted anew that Grace understood both he and Henry in a way that very few others did.

They finally finished for the night after Charlotte had called down the stairs three times with increasing insistence about coming up for dinner. Grace left to catch a carriage home with a smile on her face. Christopher wished briefly that she could stay longer, but he was comforted by the fact that she would return in the morning.

_________________________________________________________

“Hullo Grace!” Christopher said happily as she entered the lab early the next day. He then bent back down to examine a glass slide under the microscope. Henry was occupied entertaining some visitors with Charlotte, but Christopher was already hard at work. “You must come take a look at this sample of water from Lake Lyn that Henry brought,” he told her. It was fascinating watching the microorganisms move about in the droplet under the lens. When Grace did not immediately respond, he looked up and actually got a good look at her face. “I say, is something wrong, Grace? You’re a bit –” He was about to say ‘splotchy’, for her normally pale face was quite red in parts. He caught himself at the last second however, remembering his mother saying that a gentleman should never remark on a lady’s less-than-favorable appearance. “You look upset,” he said instead. She was not her normal cool and collected self.

He thought that Grace would brush off his concern, and she indeed stiffened and started to turn away. Then she met his gaze and her shoulder slumped in resignation. “I encountered Charles on my way in,” she explained.

“Ah. I forgot that he would be returning with Henry,” Christopher said, wincing. “Things are still awkward after ending the engagement then?”

“More than awkward,” she answered, expression still pinched. “He is still extremely upset that I manipulated his mind. Said I’d made a fool of him and he doesn’t want me in his house.” She set her coat and hat down on the stool with more force than strictly necessary.

Christopher frowned and said, “Technically it’s Henry and Charlotte’s house.”

A faint smile rose on Grace’s lips. “That’s precisely what I told him, and I mentioned that I worked with Henry just yesterday. He then called you both ‘trusting fools’ and made some…unflattering statements about my personage.”

“Well perhaps if we give him some more time, he’ll come round!” Christopher said optimistically. “I suppose it’s easier for me to say since you only used your power on me once or twice compared to the many more times you used it on him.”

Grace looked at him, pale brows drawn together in puzzlement. “I never used my power on you, Christopher,” she said slowly.

Christopher was wholly astonished by her statement. “You – never? Really?” he asked, mentally reeling. “What ho! But the night you came to the laboratory and helped me figure out the pithos I – are you sure?”

Grace shook her head. “Never. I’m completely sure,” she said firmly. “I would have apologized if I had, I –” she stared at him, looking almost indignant. “You really invited me here, have been working with me, and all this time you though I had manipulated you that night? And never gave you a formal apology?” she asked incredulously.

“When you asked about joining me in the lab that first day, you apologized for everything again. I assumed that included any time you used your power on me!” Christopher said, thoughts racing. He had been so eager to help her that night. Although now that he thought about it, they had discussed a lot of science, which he now knew Grace was genuinely interested in. “Why didn’t you?” he asked her, very curious.

Grace hesitated before saying, “I didn’t need to. You weren’t bothered by my being there and you were happy to show me around.” Something flickered in her pale eyes. “I never liked using my power when I could avoid it. I suppose because I knew that it was wrong,” she added. She looked as if she might say something else, but at that moment a whistling noise from the elevator indicated that Henry was on his way down to the lab.

They were soon absorbed in experimenting and discussing theories but at points Christopher found his focus drifting back to their conversation, and even farther back to that first night in the lab. It seemed like Grace had used her power on nearly everyone at some point, yet incredibly, she had never used it on him despite numerous opportunities. Christopher didn’t know what to make of that.

_________________________________________________________

It was just Christopher and Henry in the lab the following day. Grace was training with Jesse, and then planned to take a tour around the city with her brother, Lucie, and Ariadne (who was apparently going by Kamala these days). Christopher could never be bored working with Henry but after having Grace’s constant companionship for nearly a month it was…strange, to be working with only Henry and not her.

The day’s work proved incredibly successful, however. Upon Henry’s suggestion, Christopher added a bridge rune to the fire communication rune he had been tinkering with for months. He was thrilled to observe the message burn up and reform a few feet away. Henry, delighted, helped him replicate the results numerous times to prove that it was a repeatable phenomenon. Henry demonstrated it for a startled Charlotte (she had been interrupted in the middle of writing a letter in her office). She beamed, proud of them both, giving Henry a congratulatory kiss.

Christopher could not wait to share the good news with Grace. He wished she had been there to see it the first time, but no matter – there would be plenty of time to demonstrate it tomorrow.

He and Henry spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get the messages to travel farther than a few feet. Although foiled in these attempts, the breakthrough left them both very pleased as they finished for the day.

_________________________________________________________

Christopher was waiting at the entrance for Grace the next morning, eager to share the news. She looked startled to find him right behind the door as it opened, which he supposed was unusual given that they always met down in the lab. She had barely finished saying good morning before he could not contain his excitement and exclaimed, “You must come see the breakthrough Henry and I made yesterday, Grace! We’re so close to having a working fire-message!” He caught her arm and hurried her to the stairs down to the lab. She seemed a bit disoriented by his sudden enthusiasm but listened intently with a bemused smile as he explained the thought process behind the rune combination they had tried.

They reached the work table and Christopher quickly traced out the new rune. The paper burned up and reformed a few feet in front of them. When it reappeared, Grace grinned widely. “Incredible!” she declared, and she snatched the paper to study the rune. It occurred to Christopher that Grace had a very nice smile. She normally had a serious face, but smiles had become more frequent as the weeks had passed.

“What have you tried adding to this so far?” she asked. Christopher grabbed his notebook and they reviewed what he had recorded the previous day.

“Do you mind if I try some things?” Grace asked. “I’ve been studying that book on runes that Henry gave me – I think I may have a few ideas.”

“By all means!” Christopher told her, delighted. “I could use a break from runes after all the work yesterday. I think I’ll experiment with the Lake Lyn water today and try a demon-repelling ointment again.”

“All right, then,” she said, and set to work with a determined expression.

Later that afternoon, Henry already finished for the day and off to some important dinner, Christopher was checking the now-complete inventory list. “Blast!” he said softly, then called over to Grace, “Do you remember seeing nightshade anywhere when you were organizing?”

She pursed her lips in thought, then shook her head. “No, none,” she answered.

“I suppose I’ll be taking a trip to the Shadow Market tonight then,” Christopher said. He was determined to try combining some nightshade extract with the new demon-repelling ointment he was developing.

“The Shadow Market?” Grace queried, eyebrows raised in interest. “Do you go there often? I wanted to go before when I was looking for something to help Jesse, but I was never confident that I could find my way around.”

“It’s a wonderful place! I have to go fairly often for ingredients that are, er, not strictly approved by the Clave,” he explained. “Oh!” he said, struck by an obvious thought, “would you like to accompany me tonight?”

“I would love to,” Grace said, looking excited. She sent a letter to Jesse to inform him of the change in plans, and eagerly questioned Christopher about various aspects of the Market.

They each wrapped up their work as the sun began to set, the changing sky visible from a high window in the basement. Christopher was locating his coat and hat when he realized he should ask Grace about weapons. It was unlikely they’d face any demons in the carriage or Shadow Market, but it was good to be prepared. She had daggers on her already, but he offered her a seraph blade in addition. Ready, with ingredient list in hand, the set out to the carriage.

Christopher offered Grace an arm up, then followed her in. Their knees brushed together as he settled on the seat opposite Grace and the carriage began moving. Christopher noticed that she looked somewhat flushed. “Would you like the window open?” he asked. “You look a bit warm.”

“No, I’m perfectly comfortable, thank you,” she said, appearing discomposed. “What are you hoping to accomplish with the nightshade that you’ll be getting?” she asked.

Christopher happily launched into a lengthy explanation of his thought process and the previous attempts at demon-repelling ointment, and the discussion lasted them all the way to the Shadow Market.

#tlh fic #tlh #gracetopher #grace blackthorn x christopher lightwood #my fic

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ipatrichor · 3 years

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Hello, I'm here to talk about your most recent chapter of ablaze. First off it's so good!!! Like oh my, the subtle world building that went on in the first two or three paragraphs! Like hints of 3 (maybe) of his deaths! And the mention of loop of braided twine being linked up to his wards! Which made me realize that magic might be common in the world!

And the way you introduce Wilbur's character is on point!! Like the last two lines of the italics section "And through it all, the persistent thought- I’m sorry. I let you down. I’m sorry.He always wakes up before he finds out who he’s apologizing to, and why." Like you can't do this to me! The fact that when he first died, he felt like he let them down and that that feeling carries over into every (maybe?) life he's had!! And that he feels the need to apologize for disappointing them even thought they would care more about the fact that he died!! Like that hurts!! (in a good way)

And the continuation of him prioritizing others over himself continues!! It took me like two read through until I clocked how messed up this line was " So what if something dark is very obviously hunting him? He hasn’t heard anything to indicate that it’s going after anyone else, so it’s really not a big deal." Like that's the same thing that caused his first death!! The lack of self preservation!!

And this line makes me laugh "He just has shit luck like that, enough so that his friend Fundy once checked if he’d been cursed as a baby or something. He turned up blank on that- Wilbur just has terrible luck, nothing supernatural about it." Specifically the nothing supernatural about it part. Like no there is totally something supernatural about it but it didn't happen when you were a baby, it happend in you first life!

Now on to the theories! First off either the wearing down of his wards is caused by the rest of the SBI or there is an actual dark creature haunting him. If it's the second thing then that might not end so well. Secondly this line "There are reading glasses perched on their nose and a book in their hands, abandoned in favor of watching him with an intensity that prickles the hairs on the back of his neck." Gives me the impression that Techno might know Niki because of a book club. (based off of the meme that the syndicate is more of a book club)

Anyways, I'm looking forward to see Niki in the next? chapter. Sorry for the long ask your fic is just good!

!!!! thank you!! honestly, you don't have to apologize :'' i rlly love hearing what people think, and getting long asks is always a treat ^^

so we get some fun stuff right off the bat ^^ all the things he's dreaming about did happen in his past lives, they're just all jumbled together as dreams tend to be :' the forest bit is from a fair few of his lives (and yes, he's died in forests before), the second thing Sure Does have some Implications, and the bit about metal in his chest is referring to his first death- he was stabbed and left to die.

the bracelet is one of my favorite little tools, lmao :' so it's a bunch of colored string sort of twisted together, and it's like a warning system- the colors of the different strings mean different things relating to the stability of his wards. when they're darker shades it means they're strong and everything is fine, but getting lighter means they're more strained. if a string broke altogether, it would mean that layer of warding was destroyed (obviously a cause for concern, lmao.) and yeah, magic is fairly common! people know about the old gods and stuff, and there are a lot of like- ghosts, and supernatural creatures and whatnot. some are perfectly lovely, and some prey on humans- hence the existence of hunters, who find creatures feeding on humans and stop them, however is necessary

dkbfdjg yeah so the idea there is that (besides his natural self-esteem issues) what he was feeling really strongly at the time of his death kind of,, carried over? so when he was dying, what he was feeling was disappointment in himself for not being better, not being good enough to keep tommy and himself safe. he feels like he let them down and he's sorry bc he knew his death would hurt them, even if he underestimated how much bc again self-esteem issues, and he really wanted to see them one more time so he could say goodbye and apologize for leaving so soon.

YEAH jkgdbfh dw that will be Addressed :' mf has had therapy, but clearly Not Enough because his own safety is still very much an afterthought for him. haha guess what the main sources of character conflict is :''

LMAO YEAH fundy was specifically checking for curses, not looking at souls so :'' he didn't pick up on anything, because he wasn't looking in the right place

those are some interesting theories! i'll tell you now that whatever it is messing with his wards, it's not sbi :) and i mean i did promise a happy ending so it'll end well, but i promise nothing of the middle and almost-end :))

kbfd techno & niki being in a book club is very funny, lmao ^^ i don't think how they met matters to the story, so feel free to headcanon it however you want! :}

#asks #themagpieszenith #mutuals #fic: ablaze #death tw

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fydream · 4 years

Text

"Y/n!" A familiar voice calls out to you from down the hallway. It's less crowded now due to the majority of the students being in a classroom while the few that were there were either at their lockers or socializing with friends. This allowed you to see who was calling for you, to no surprise it was your best friend, Lee Donghyuck.

As soon as you spot him a wide grin appeared on his lips, one to be mirrored by you. "Is that my savior, Lee Donghyuck coming to rescue me?" You joke as you walk towards him.

"Why yes it is." He giggles, following along with the joke. "Oh and what a savior I am to be walking across campus to help my best friend find the cafeteria."

"You ruined it." You taunt, punching his arm lightly. "You wouldn't have to come get me if you showed up earlier this morning y'know.."

"Okay listen," He starts, which you reply to with an "I'm listening."

"You try sleeping over at a friends house on a school night trying to work on something for your best friend, then we'll talk." He scoffs.

"Aw you made something for me? I'm touched." There's a hint of playfulness in your voice and Donghyuck doesn't seem to pick up on it.

"Of course I did! What kind of friend would I be to not give my best friend a gift after not seeing them for so long?"

"You're so dramatic Hyuck," You sigh. "I was just kidding, besides I would've been happy to see you gift or not."

"Okay first of all," He starts. "You think I'm dramatic?"

"Did you really just ask me that question?" You ask back.

You roll your eyes at the boy walking next to you before replying with "You're literally the worlds biggest drama queen, but okay Hyuck. Whatever you say.."

He scoffs at your comment, "It's like you're not even trying to insult me Y/n. We both know I'm dramatic, so thank you. I try." He laughs.

"Anyways, my friends and I already made you one which is why you're getting one missy." He taunts and all of a sudden a warm feeling is brought back to you would get whenever you talked to Donghyuck.

It was a heartwarming feeling, to know that even after the couple of years you spent apart you two would still bicker over the silliest things. It was just another reminder to let you know that somethings never change, for the greater or for the worst. In this case, it was for the greater good.

You smile at him, it’s one of those smiles that you get when you remember a favorite memory of some sort. A sad, yet happy smile. It’s subtle and short but Donghyuck manages to see it.

“What?” he asks, looking at you weirdly. “Why’d you look at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.” You reply with, gathering your thoughts together.

“Okay.. Weirdo..” Hyuck comments, earning another light punch on the arm from you.

Another minute or so passed by until the two of you reached your destination. The school cafeteria, oh fun.

It’s noisy and loud, just as any other place full of teenagers would be. There’s tables set up in the middle and to the right of the room while the lunch line is on the left. There’s an isle between the tables in the middle and on the right that leads to a door outside towards the field of your school.

“Over there.” Hyuck nearly shouts, trying to make sure you hear him over the noise of the chatty students around you. He points to a boy with purple hair and another boy just a couple inches shorter standing next to him, who you assumed to be his friends.

A couple tables over you spot Jeno, Jisung, and another boy with them. "Huh, I didn't know they were friends." You thought to yourself. You notice that the purple haired boy was sort of eyeing Jeno and that Jeno was returning the favor. Jisung must've noticed you looking at Jeno and the purple haired boy because he had hinted at Jeno to quit it, earning a bunch of snickers from the other boy seated next to him.

"Weird." You thought. Before you knew it Donghyuck was pulling you through the crowded cafeteria by your wrist. He gave a few "Hello's" and compliments to certain people while you mumbled a couple "sorry's" to whoever you bumped into. Sooner than later you were in front of the two boys that Donghyuck was pointing at.

"Lele! Junnie!" Hyuck called out as he waved at them.

"Hyuck!" The shorter boy said running towards you two. "Is this the infamous Y/n I keep hearing about?"

"Hell yeah it is." Donghyuck replied, introducing you to his two friends. "Y/n, this is Renjun" He said pointing at the shorter boy, who waved at you in response. He was holding what looked like a poster due to it being rolled up and a rubber band keeping it together.

"And this is Chenle!" He said pointing at the purpled haired boy. Chenle was holding a box which you assumed was the gift the three of them made you due to it being wrapped and having a red ribbon on top of the lid.

"Welcome to NCT High!" Chenle greeted, handing over the box to you. You were just about to grab it when Donghyuck snatched it from him.

"Lele!!" He whined, "Not yet!!! We have to give her a proper introduction." He pouted.

"That was a proper introduction, Hyuck." Renjun scoffs, taking the gift box from his hands and handing it back over to you. "Don't mind him." Renjun smiles. "He's just excited."

"Boy do I know.." You laugh, looking over at your best friend who was now giving Renjun puppy dog eyes. "He really hasn't changed at all." You mumble to yourself as you watch him attempt (and fail) to get things go his way.

"What's in the box?" You ask Renjun, turning your focus on to him.

"It's a surprise." He giggles. "You have to open it."

"Boo.. You're no fun." You joke as you tug on the ribbon, watching it easily fall apart.

Taking the top off of the box, the first thing you notice are the three letters taped to the bottom of the lid. Each envelope had one of the boy's names written on them along with a small doodle. "Aw, cute." You say as you file through them before putting them down back onto the lid. "I'll read these later" You think to yourself before continuing to open the gift. You don't notice it until now that the other two boys had started watching as you opened the gift from them.

"What?" You ask looking at the two boys in front of you.

"Nothing." Hyuck smiles, "Just keep opening it."

The second thing you find, or things in this case are woven and beaded friendship bracelets. The woven one followed the color scheme of purple, white, and blue, while the beaded one had your name spelled out with black and white beads and a heart next to it. Picking both up to put on your wrist you notice that Donghyuck is wearing another bracelet with the same color scheme as yours, just witth a different pattern, and Chenle the same. When you look over at Renjun you ask why he doesn't have one on and he explains that he clipped it onto his backpack.

"That's not the point of a bracelet though, Junnie." Chenle comments.

"I didn't want it to get dirty!" Renjun protests and Chenle snickers in response.

The last thing in the box is a small black leatherback journal. Painted on the cover is a pink heart that appeared to be melting at the bottom with the letters "DNYL" outlined in yellow on top of it. Confused, you open it to see it's empty. "What's this?" You ask holding the journal up to show the two boys in front of you and the one sitting next to you. None of them respond and all you gained was a fit of giggles from the three boys. "What?" You ask again, this time for firmly.

"You'll find out soon." Renjun replies, as a smile appears on his lips "But for now, welcome to the club y/n."

As you continue to question the three boys what "DNYL" stands for, a couple tables over Jisung couldn't help but watch you socialize with Lee Donghyuck and his friends.

"Whatcha looking at?" One of his friends asks from behind him in a mischievous tone. It startles Jisung at first before he realizes who it is. The boy hops over to sit next to Jisung and Jisung scowls at him. "Jesus christ Jaems, you fucking scared me."

"That's her isnt it?" Jaemin says teasingly, poking Jisung's side. "That's Y/n, huh?" He asks again.

Jisung swats away Jaemin's hand before giving him a more annoyed look. "Maybe it is," He responds. "Why does it matter?"

"Let's go say hi!!" Jaemin prompts excitingly as he attempts to drag Jisung off of the table and towards you, but Jisung doesn't budge and Jaemin is stopped by Jeno grabbing his forearm.

"No, Jaemin." Jeno starts. "As much as I'd like to, don't know you how badly this could go if all three of us just waltz over there right now? Can't you see who she's with?" He sighs.

"Yeah? Lee Donghyuck and his crew?" Jaemin questions. "What are they gonna do? Tell her what happened with us right there?"

"Yes! A thousand times yes! That's exactly what they're going to do!" Jisung exclaims. "Who do you think she's gonna believe more? Jeno and I? The two people she just met today. Or Lee Donghyuck? A boy who she's probably known her whole life." Jisung asks harshly.

"God god, okay." Jaemin backs off, not wanting to start a fight. He stops for a second trying to find another option to try and talk to you. "Jeno don't you have her number? Just text her and ask if she can meet us after school or something." He scoffs, turning his attention back over to his unfinished lunch.

"You're so eager.. And for why?" Jeno teases in a light voice, handing Jaemin his phone. Jaemin glances up at Jeno then back to his` phone before raising an eyebrow as if he's asking "Why?" after all, Lee Jeno isn't one to be so careless. Jeno picks up the confused and unsure vibes from Jaemin as he nudges it closer towards him. "Are you gonna take it or what?" He asks, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Jaemin doesn't hesitate to snatch the device out of Jeno's hand as he frantically searches through his contacts for yours, and Jisung snickers at the fact that Jaemin is definitely in no rush to talk to you.

"You're so needy, Jaeminie~" Jisung teases, earning a light slap on the back of his head.

"Fuck off. You're one to talk." Jaemin hisses, handing Jeno his phone back.

"You're both needy. There." Jeno scoffs, rolling his eyes as he tucks his phone back into his pocket. "What did you even message her?"

"Nothing much, I just asked if she wanted to hang out after school that's all." Jaemin says, smiling innocently.

"Whatever you say Jaemin, just know that I can still see whatever you sent."

"You don't trust me?" Jaemin gasps dramatically, hand coming up to his chest to show that he'd been hurt.

"You're so annoying." Jeno teases, rolling his eyes at Jaemin. "But I believe you, just this once."

"Thank you, Jeno!" Jaemin exclaims, eyeing Jisung who still happens to be looking in your direction. "Nice to know some people will believe me."

"I didn't even say anything!" Jisung defends, hands shooting up.

"Will you two ever stop fighting?" Jeno asks as a dramatic sigh escapes his lips as he watches the two boys go back at each other again. He knows it's all just playful banter but sometimes he wishes the two would just quit it.

"I'll stop when he stops." Jaemin mumbles to which Jisung responds with "You started it!"

"No I didn't! You did!"

"You sound like children." Jeno snorts diverting his attention away from the two boys and on to his phone where he see's Jaemin's text to you. "I guess he wasn't lying." Jeno thinks. Soon enough he sees a bubble pop up on his screen indicating that you were typing. A message appears from you saying "i'll see if i can ask my mom! if not maybe over the weekend? :]"

Jeno smiles but before he could respond the bell rings indicating that lunch is over and all the students in the cafeteria, including you, leave to go to their next class. He sighs and packs up his lunch as he watches the other two boys continue to bicker.

"Jaemin, are you coming?" He asks, getting Jaemin's attention. "The bell rang and I can already tell Ms. V doesn't like us.." He mumbles.

"Yeah yeah, just give me a second." Jaemin responds before sticking his tongue out at Jisung.

"They're both children.. I swear.." Jeno mumbles to himself was he watches Jaemin pack up his bag and Jisung leave walking to the doors opposite from where they were sitting.

"You two are annoying, y'know." Jeno snorts as he and Jaemin walk to their history class together.

"I know." Jaemin smiles, "But you love us anyway."

"Sadly.." Jeno sighs, earning a "Hey!" from Jaemin.

"You know it's true.~~"

"Yeah. It is."

✰ how to be a heartbreaker

↳ so what happens when park jisung, the school’s infamous fuckboy runs into the new girl at school? out of boredom he decides it’ll be fun to have someone new to play with, but little does he know, she’s learning how to be a heartbreaker.

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zi-i-think · 4 years

Text

9 | The Miraculous Bastards

Pairing: Zuko x Ama (OC)

Word Count: 6100+

.☽☼☾.

~ Ama ☾ ~

Around the dinner table, we all chatted happily. After all it's been years since we were together like this. And this time we had some new friends. I sat with my cheek resting on my palm while I watched Aang and Katara tell the story of their engagement again.

"Honestly, I don't know what came over him. I was so focused on the sun setting that I didn't even hear him ask the first time." Katara laughed, taking another sip from her wine.

"I thought her being quiet was a no at first." Aang was finishing. "She practically had to threaten me to repeat the question. And when I did she instantly said yes." He and Katara shared a loving look.

"Threaten you with what? No kisses?" Toph taunted them. Everyone laughed as Aang blushed.

"N-no." Aang claimed.

"Then what?" Toph pushed. Based on the deep red blush on Aang and Katara's cheeks. It must be something a little... different than kissed.

"Anyways." Katara avoided the question, bringing the red wine to her lips again. "Before we all retire to bed. I think Ama had something to announce."

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to me. Gosh, I already regret telling my sister that I wanted to come out to everyone at once. "One moment." I held up my pointer finger as I chugged the rest of my wine while the others chuckled at me. The light burning in my throat made me clear my throat, as I set my glass down.

"Here goes nothing." I mumbled to myself and started picking at my nails. "Okay, well as everyone knows, there were a good two years where I-"

"Disappeared?"

"Went dark?"

"Didn't visit?"

Some of the others finished. My jaw dropped in an offended way as the table erupted in more laughter. "You know what, yes." I admitted. "And in those two years, I sort of fell in love."

"That's wonderful."

"What's his name?"

"Where is he?"

"How great."

The table erupted in chatter again. "Okay, you all aren't really helping me with my nerves right now." There was a slight shake in my voice as I spoke and they all stopped talking immediately.

"I think I get it." Ty Lee said, mainly to herself. I wondered if she actually knew what I was saying and gave the peppy girl a curious look. "You're pregnant!"

"Ama, really!?"

"Congratulations!"

"I'm going to be an aunt!?"

"No!" I shouted, rapidly shaking my head and my arms out in front of me. "It's been a year since I've last seen them. Besides, it was never even a possibility. Cause- well." I looked around the table. They all either had confused or curious expressions.

My eyes landed on Zuko, he was leaning back into his chair. Arms crossed over his chest as he waited to hear me speak. His soft golden eyes bore into mine. Immediately, I felt calmer and just blurted it out. "The whole point of me saying all of this is because I'm bisexual and Mulan was a woman who I was very much in love with!"

"Oh, that's old news!" Toph immediately exclaimed before anyone could say anything.

"Old news? I just told Katara and Sokka this morning. They were the only ones who knew!" I pointed out, motioning to my siblings.

"Oh." Toph realized. "Then I guess it's just old news to me. You're heartbeat always sped up whenever you saw an attractive woman." My face reddened and I buried my face in my hands.

"Moving on. I think that's great, Ama." Suki said, looking at me from beside Sokka, who sat between the two of us.

"Yeah. We're all very happy for your new found understanding of yourself." Ty Lee grinned at me. "Or would it be an old understanding of yourself? Either way, your aura is very purple and bright!"

"So, none of you think differently of me?" I wondered, peeking through my fingers.

"Of course not. You're still the same Ama." Zuko spoke up, giving me a comforting smile. He didn't speak all that much the entire night.

"So what happened?" Ty Lee's curious voice wondered.

I shrugged, a somber expression on my face. "She got really sick one day and died." Some voices expressed words of condolences quietly. "It's been hard, but everything happens for a reason, I guess." I began to feel extremely uncomfortable in the dismal atmosphere. The quiet was eating me up.

"Well," Katara spoke up, standing from her seat. I am so thankful for her ability to see when I'm uncomfortable. "it's been a long day and I'm exhausted." Aang stood up also, ready to go to bed as well.

"So am I." Ty Lee jumped from her seat. "Who knew traveling could suck all the energy out of a person." Slowly everyone left the table.

"Don't forget ladies, tomorrow is the bridal shower." Katara announced quickly before entering her room.

"Good job, sis." Sokka pulled me into him for a side hug. "The execution was a little rocky, but I'm proud of you for finally overcoming your fear."

"Sokka, your breath reeks of wine." I laughed, shoving him off me. "Get to bed."

"Mhh. Bed sounds good." Sokka mumbled happily then gave a sly look at Suki. "What do you think, Suki? Bed? Good?"

The girl smirked back at him seductively. "I think bed sounds great."

"Eww." I said in disgust. "You're going to make me throw up."

"Aww, you're just jealous you don't have someone in your bed tonight." Sokka teased.

"Yeah, it's totally because of that and not because your bedroom is right next to me." I raised my eyebrows and entered my bedroom. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. Finally. I can rest easy, I hope. The walls here are thick, right?

.☽☼☾.

I woke up early with a list of things to do. But of course, everyone needs their breakfast. Sitting at the dining table with a bread bun in my hands and a book in another.

"Watcha reading?" A familiar but still strange voice asked. Turning my head, I saw the one and only Zuko. I gave him a smile as he sat down, taking a bread bun from one of the bowls in the center.

"A romance novel." I replied, keeping my eyes on my book. "A princess falls in love with the stable boy. But he gets drafted into the war. The princess then disguises herself as a man in order to protect him."

"Sounds interesting." He responded. "I'll need to borrow it when you're done."

Memorising the page I was on, I set down the book. "So, how've you been?" I asked.

"I've been good. Bored, mainly." He shrugged. "You know. When I became Fire Lord, I was never told how much of my time would be spent with paperwork in front of me."

"That's rough, buddy." I quoted something he'd said a long time ago, cracking a smile from him. "How's Kiyi and your mom?"

"Good. Kiyi turned 12 a few weeks ago. And mom still asks about you." He responded with a warm smile.

"Did they get the bracelets I sent? I know it wasn't anything fancy, but-"

"They loved it." Zuko interrupted me. "Kiyi wears it almost everyday, actually."

"That's good to hear." I said, taking another sip from my tea. I grimaced at how cold it got from being neglected. I looked over at Zuko with an innocent look. "Hey do you mind-?"

Already one step ahead of me, Zuko took my tea cup, heating it up with his hands. Giving him a questioning look, Zuko just chuckled. "You're a very predictable person, you know."

"Well, thank you." I said, taking the cup back from him and sipping it. "So, did you boys plan anything for today?"

"Aang wants to go to the market." He answered. "Hey, what are some foods you recommend?"

"Depends." I started, pointing at nothing in particular. "Auntie Ashuna has a booth selling seal jerky. I find that to be pretty filling. There's also a booth selling different sea foods, but fried. Honestly, it's one of my new favorite snacks."

"Anything sweet?" He asked more specifically.

"Oh. Auntie Nalle has an entire bakery. She sells cakes, tarts, and all sorts of things." I listed, my mouth already watering at the thought. "She's going to be at the bridal shower, though, so Uncle Perlu will be running everything. Word of advice, don't stare at him. He'll write your name on a piece of paper and burn it."

He chuckled and looked a bit confused. "Should I ask?"

"It's kinda my fault." I recalled how I told my uncle that burning the name of a person was a great way of both detaching from them and wishing ill-will on them. "Anyways, I gotta get going. Bridesmaid duties." I stated, standing up from my seat.

"Have fun." He said as I was picking up my book, placing it under my arm to pick up my dirty dishes.

"You know me." I smirked. "I'll always have fun."

"Can you do me a favor?" He asked, just before I left. I nodded, for him to continue. "Keep an eye on Suh for me? I know she's a very extroverted person, but she can feel out of place easily."

"You can count on me mister Fire Lord." I assured him. He gave me a thankful smile as I actually felt the dining room this time.

My smile fell as I left. The mention of Suh made me feel... uneasy. I wanted to like her, I really did. But there was something about her that made me wary. I don't know what it is. But I will.

.☽☼☾.

"What a beautiful knife set." Katara opened the last gift. "Thank you, Mai." The Fire Nation woman nodded a 'you're welcome' while she grabbed a biscuit. Katara turned to look at me, as she set the gift to the side. "I didn't think I could get so many plate sets."

"You'll never need to worry about not having one." We chuckled together.

"It was a great idea to host the bridal shower here in the green house." Katara looked around at the place. Vines hung from pots, trees grew strongly, and flowers of all colors filled the clear paneled house. "It sets the perfect atmosphere and it's gorgeous."

"I know." I agreed. "Plus I think the two of us needed a break of the snow."

"Oh, please. You were in here like everyday up until two weeks ago." She mocked me, starting to fold up the gift bags.

"Yeah, some of the bridesmaid duties I were procrastinating on had finally caught up to me." I recalled, looking across the long table I noticed Suh chatting Mai's ear off. The poor girl looked so bored and annoyed.

Remembering my promise to Zuko earlier, I stood up and went over. "Hey, Mai. Katara could use some help organizing the gifts."

"Finally. Something to do." She said dryly and left her seat.

I took Mai's seat and smiled at Suh. "So, how are you liking the South Pole?" I started conversation.

"Oh, it's beautiful." She awed. "I always believed that the Southern Water Tribe was underdeveloped and unstable, but I was obviously wrong."

I tried not to feel offended by her little comment. After all, it wasn't like the Fire Nation was taught a whole lot about the other nations. "You should go to the market one day, you can get a taste of some more Water Tribe culture and food!" I suggested. "Zuko told me that he and the boys were going to be there today?"

"Oh. I didn't know that you and Zu-bear talked today?" It took everything in me not to burst out laughing at the nickname. Zu-bear? Zuko can't possibly like that. "But, anyways. I guess I'll try to go to the market."

"So, how did you and Zuko meet?" I inquired.

"Oh, it was nothing special." She swatted the air with one hand and grabbed her tea with the other. "The Fire Nation Council introduced Zuko to lots of women. We went on a couple dates, and just clicked. With all the competition I really didn't think Zuko would want to be with me, but well. Here we are."

"What does the Council have to do with Zuko's love life?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"Zuko, isn't exactly getting younger. The Fire Nation is going to need an heir." She spoke like it was common knowledge. "The Council just made sure that all the women eligible to him are fit to be Fire Queen."

It made sense. After all, the royal life is a lot more pristine than I know. The year I spent living in the palace had me following proper etiquette. And that was just scratching the surface. Still, having a group of people limiting who you'd spend the rest of your life with sounded terrible.

"And what did you do before you met Zuko. Were you a diplomat of some sort, academic...?"

"My father was a general in the war. I never really did anything." She answered. The answer was way too simple for my liking. Especially since she likes to talk. "I hope I don't sound rude, but I'd rather hear more about you." She grinned. "Zuko never really talked about you guys."

I was taken aback by that. He never talked about us? Why? Is he ashamed? No. Why would he? "Um, well. What would you like to know?"

"Everything!" She exclaimed excitedly. Her hands intertwined and a hopeful look glimmered in her eye. And I'm starting to see why Mai said she was unbearable.

.☽☼☾.

I rubbed by my temples slowly, stepping inside the palace with Katara behind me. "Remind me to keep Auntie Vik away from the alcohol at your wedding." I grumbled.

"I'll remember." Katara grumbled back. "It's been a long day. Oh, you know what would be nice? A relaxing time at the hot springs."

"That sounds like heaven." I moaned at the thought. "You think the others would want to join us? The sun hasn't even set yet, we have time."

"That's a good idea, actually." Katara grinned. "I'll go get everyone."

"And I'll go get the wine!" I exclaimed, sharply turning to the wine cellar.

And just like that, the second evening with my friends started. With wine in our hands and the hot, soothing water up to our chest.

"...I was so close to using my trusty boomerang on the guy. I mean, who does he think he is?" Sokka complained about some shop owned from the market.

"For not lowering the price by a couple copper pieces?" Haru chuckled.

"I'd already spent most of my money on food. And that dress was perfect for Suki." He grumbled. Suki shook her head, but still smiled at her goofy boyfriend, leaning into him.

"How was the bridal shower?" Aang turned the attention to the girls.

"It went well. And now we have a lot of plates to use." Katara grinned, making me chuckle.

"Props to Ama, though. The girl was hella busy both before and after the event." Toph brought the attention on to me.

"Oh, please it was nothing." I smirked and swatted my hand. "But the chef was so rude. He told me that the dishes I requested were 'too complicated.' I met with him last week to go over everything and he didn't say a word about it."

"I saw the way he talked to you." Suki spoke up. "He was way too bold."

"Seriously though, Katara. You better put as much effort as I am right now when I get married cause I've been busting my ass." I grumbled at my sister.

"Yeah well I won't procrastinate like you did." Katara crossed her arms over her chest and had a fun-loving smile.

"That's assuming that Ama will even get married." Sokka quipped, earning some snickers while my jaw dropped. "Hey, I just realized. Katara is getting married before Ama. Even though Ama is older and still single. Ha! Good luck sis."

"Sokka!" Katara scolded while I actually bent the hot water and splashed his face.

"Ow! Ow! Ama!" He hissed and with his eyes closed, he reached out of the water, using his hand to try and find his towel.

"Don't worry, Ama. You'll find someone." Ty Lee assure me.

"What is with you all?" I chuckled, running my fingers through my hair. "I am perfectly content with my life right now. I got my friends, my family. What more do I need? Besides, I'm not worried about that. After all, I was able to pull in the FIre Lord."

Zuko just shrugged with a cocky smirk and sipped his wine. "Hey, you got good taste I'll tell you that." Suh looked a bit uncomfortable at the mention of Zuko's relationship with me and pressed closer onto him.

"Minus Jet." Aang huffed a laugh.

"And we never got to meet Mulan. So we don't even know what she's like." Suki added.

"You know it would have been nice to meet her, Sis." Sokka said with his chin up in an offended way.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to," I threw my hands up and some water splashed from my hand. "You know, the world isn't exactly all that accepting of same-sex couples."

"I was actually really surprised when I found that out." Aang commented. "The Air Nomads embraced everyone's differences, no matter who they loved."

"Fire Lord Sozin decreed that same-sex relationships be made criminal when he came into power." Zuko said. "I'm still in the process of legalizing it. There's been quite a bit of pushback by the Fire Sages."

"Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I started to feel frustrated. "It makes so sense. The Water Tribe prefers for you to keep it to themselves, the Fire Nation will throw you in prison, and the Earth Kingdom families will kick you out."

"Is that what happened to Mulan?" Katara wondered softly.

"Was she kicked out? Yeah." I said somberly. "She was 13."

"I had a neighbor that was gay." Haru spoke. "He had to leave town because his farm hept getting robbed and received death threats."

"So now you can all see why I didn't tell you guys anything?" I raised my eyebrows at them all.

"Yeah, snowcone." Toph punched my shoulder. "But don't do that ever again."

"Yeah, yeah. You can't read, I get it." I chuckled as I rubbed the spot she just punched.

"Ama, I promise you that I will reverse what my great grandfather has done." Zuko assured me. "No one deserves to be punished for who they love."

I broke into a huge grin. "You're all the best I'm going to cry." My hand went up to my eyes, my thumb wiping the tears that started to drip.

"We're just glad you could confide in us." Katara swam over, embracing me in a hug.

"Yeah! You can always trust us." Ty Lee also swam over to embrace me.

"Okay, new conversation before I start bawling my eyes out." I laughed, the two girls left the hug.

"Ama, so emotional." Sokka shook his head in fake disappointment.

"Says the guy who cried when Auntie Ashuna ran out of seal jerky." I retorted. Sokka grumbled to himself as he sank further into the water.

"You know, I'm kind of curious to know about Toph and Kanto." Katara smirked at Toph.

The earthbender smirked smugly, taping a sip from her wine. "All you guys need to know is that we're together and he'll be at the wedding."

.☽☼☾.

Another day had passed and we were one day closer to the wedding. Today was chock full of wedding planning, or at least the finishing touches. Katara and Aang needed to confirm the centerpieces and the decorators were going over how to decorate the venue.

We spent hours there. And it wasn't the stressful atmosphere or the pre pre-wedding jitters Katara was having that made me feel uncomfortable. It was Suh. As best man, Zuko came along to help Aang out. And Suh never even left his side.

She kept talking out of turn, suggesting things that no one asked for, and was way too loud. "What about roses as the centerpiece instead of the panda lilies? They're so much prettier." and "Wouldn't blue be a more 'Water Tribe-y' than yellow?"

I had to constantly remind her that it was both Aang and Katara's wedding and that they wanted to incorporate both of their cultures into it. But it never sank into her head. She'd apologize and do it all over again.

"I can't stand that woman." I complained to the girls. We all, minus Suh, sat in Katara's room as Ty Lee tried different wedding hair styles on her. "Honestly, I don't know what Zuko sees in her."

"I told you." Mai said dryly. Yeah, I need to learn to listen to Mai more.

"Oh, she wasn't that bad." Katara argued with her sweet tone. "Sure she had a lot to say, but you can't hold that against her."

"Of course I can. She was being incredibly inconsiderate of our culture and us." I justified. I didn't know how Katara was being okay with this. I would have thought she'd be on the same page as me since it was her wedding.

"Ama, do you think you're maybe over exaggerating?" Suki suggested.

"Why would I exaggerate?" I huffed.

"Maybe 'cause you still have feelings for Zuko. And she's kinda engaged to him." Toph said without missing a beat.

"Will you all stop with that." I grumbled in annoyance. "I told you. I see Zuko as nothing more than a friend. My problem is with Suh."

"You're problem is with Suh because you like Zuko." Toph was blunt and spoke without holding back. She took pleasure in teasing others, but there was always truth in what she said. Still. She's human and can be wrong.

"You guys simply haven't spent enough time with Suh." Mai came to my defence. "I've had to put up with her for months. The woman has no filter."

Suki giggled from beside me and shook her head. "How convenient that Zuko's two exes are the only ones who don't like Suh." Mai just rolled her eyes and I scoffed. There was no way I'd be able to convince them anything. Not if they thought I still had feelings for my ex.

"I think Suh is nice." Ty Lee spoke up, tying the last band into Katara's hair. "How's this one?" She asked the bride. Katara was the focus of everyone's attention now.

She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Her dark hair was put into a loose braid and then swirled into a low bun to look like a flower. The strands by her face were tied with blue string all the way to the end and pinned to the back of her head.

"It's beautiful, Ty Lee." Katara complimented after giving it some thought. "It just feels too... posh. And all of the pins are poking at my scalp." She grimaced at the pain

"Hmm." Ty Lee placed a finger on her chin, thinking about how she could restyle it. "I guess we could try a half-up, half-down style." The girl started to unpin Katara's hair.

"Katara, shouldn't your hair be a bit more on the 'posh' side?" I asked her, stepping up beside to her to assist Ty Lee in removing the pins. "I mean, this is the biggest wedding of the year. Maybe of the generation."

"Oh please." Katara snickered, laced with nerves. "Just because I'm marrying the Avatar doesn't mean everything has to be so elegant. There's only 300 people."

Ty Lee and I shared an amused look. 'Only 300 people.' The vast majority of it were our family and friends, a few others from the tribe. But each nation was also sending reporters to cover the Avatar's big wedding.

Katara didn't want it to be as big of a deal as it was. But one thing led to another while planning, and it became a big deal. She wasn't complaining, though. Because at the end of the day there was only one thing that mattered to her. That she was marrying Aang.

Taking out the last pin from her hair, I looked at my sister. She was zoned out, stared at herself in the mirror with a soft smile. The kind that only a person in love would have. No doubt she was thinking about her loverboy.

"Okay, so what if I tied beads on the top and..." Ty Lee began explaining another style to try, using her hands to run through Katara's hair. I sat back down on the floor next to my sister, seeing how her smile grew at Ty Lee's description.

.☽☼☾.

The sun had barely touched the horizon. The sky was painted in hues of orange and yellow. The blue sea looked dark except to the line where the sun's light touched it.

I took in the sight. My back rested against a large oak tree on a cliff. My left leg was out in front of my while my right leg was close to my chest as I rested my arm on it.

So far, my journey was filled with knowledge and laughter. It was odd, though. I always had my siblings with me. They were my source of joy. Then it was Zuko. And for the past three years, it was myself.

I still saw my friends. In fact, just a week prior, I visited Toph at her metalbending academy. I rarely saw Zuko. Maybe just twice since our breakup. Once when I passed through the Fire Nation and once at Yu Dao. Apparently, he and Aang were planning on creating a whole new nation. The United Republic of Nations.

It was an interesting plan. Using the land that was previously Fire Nation colonies to create an entire independent state. One where benders and nonbenders of all nations could live together.

That was a few months ago. And since then, the United Republic has made advances. Last I heard, there was a vast majority of the population for it. I had no doubt that my friends would be successful in their project.

I sort of felt like a leaf, I guess. Drifting from place to place. Not that I was complaining. It was nice, learning new things and meeting new people. There was just something missing from my life. And I didn't know what.

I didn't let myself dwell on that. I knew I'd find this missing thing eventually. But at this moment, I just let myself be content. An apple in my hand and some stupid song stuck in my head.

Spirits, it was on repeat. It was a song I heard that afternoon from an old man in the town. "When I think of that painter, that beautiful painter. My heart almost bursts and I spin on the spot." It was a beautiful song with a gorgeous melody. But it wouldn't leave my head.

"Hello there, beautiful." A raspy voice interrupted my tranquil evening. "What's a girl like you doing out here all alone."

I craned my neck to see who it was. No one I knew. Just some man, perhaps a few years older than me, leaning smugly against the tree. His black hair slicked back with some sort of gel. His layered style was made up of dark clothing. But the most important part of his whole getup was the willow leaf saber in his hand.

Or in simpler terms. The man literally came up to me with a whole weapon out. I was an unarmed girl just enjoying the sunset. He was a thug.

During the war, it was the Fire Nation soldiers that caused problems in each city. That spot was now filled by criminals and gangs. They bullied citizens for money or food or anything they could get their hands on. I was lucky enough not to come across any of them. Until now.

I remained emotionless and just took a bite from my apple. "You know it's dangerous 'round these parts. You never know who might try to rob you. Especially a pretty girl like yourself." I almost laughed at how this man was trying to sound intimidating.

"Thank you, for letting me know." I replied, covering my mouth with the back of my hand while I chewed. I looked back at the sunset, trying to ignore his staring.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Nice bag." He pointed at my colorful satchel with his sword. "What's in it?"

"Alot, actually. Some copper pieces, some gold, some silver. Passport, hair ties, good stuff like that." I egged him on and looked up at him. He had a mischievous smirk, thinking this would be an easy steal. "You can look through it if you'd like. But you won't find your dignity."

His smirk disappeared and he sneered at me. "You taunting me?" He pointed his sword at my chest.

I sighed with annoyance and got off the floor with my hands on my hips, his sword still pointed at me. "Look man, I was just trying to enjoy the sunset until you got here."

"Funny, I just started to enjoy my evening when I saw you here." He chuckled.

I didn't know how long he wanted to keep bickering like this. And I just wanted to get back to the sunset. So I snapped open my waterskin and bent the water in it to spash it against his sword and then froze it against the tree.

The man's eyes widened and tried to pull the sword out, despite it not budging. "Okay, buddy. It's been wonderful being threatened by you, but as you can see I will be winning any sort of fight against you. So, if you just agree to leave me alone, I'll unfreeze you little toy." I tried to strike a deal.

But my self-assured ass didn't see the man behind me. Pulling on my hair, he drew me close to him and placed a dagger against my throat. "Nuh uh, sweetie." His gross, hot breath was on my ear. "You see, we never travel alone."

Three other thugs came out of hiding. Each of them with disgusting smiles. One of them grabbed my bag and looked through it. "Ha!" She exclaimed, pulling out my bag of coins.

"Jackpot!" One of the others jumped happily.

"Now if you'll just unfreeze my friend's sword, we'll be on our way. And you'll be unharmed." The man who held me growled.

"Gladly." I responded and bent the frozen water off and struck the man holding me in the face. Effectively getting him to remove his grip on me.

The others sprung into action. Mister 'hello there, beautiful' ran over to me, swinging his sword. I dodged it by side stepping to my right, and used my water to, this time, push him onto the ground and froze his hand on the ground.

The woman stomped her foot on the ground, and the earth beneath me rumbled. I jumped back, avoiding the sharp earth that sprung from the ground. I took my water and used the waterwhip to slap her harshly, throwing her onto a tree.

But while I did that, I didn't notice that the other guy bent the earth, holding my feet to the ground tightly. It felt like the earth was cutting off the blood circulation to my feet. In shock I looked down. But when I looked back up the man was sprinting, sword in hand and ready to strike me through.

I called my water to me, but just before I could do anything, a new person entered the fight. A woman. All I saw was a blur of red hair as she tackled the man to the ground. Rolling back up, she lunged again. Punching the man's throat. His hand went up to where she injured him, like he couldn't breath.

The earth around my feet disappeared back into the ground. I was free, but I was right when I speculated that the rock was cutting of my circulation. It was like tiny needles were continuously poking at my feet, and I fell back into a seated position.

The man that held me before was back up and held his dagger tightly in his hand. Swinging it across his body to attack the woman. The mysterious redhead jumped back, grabbing his arm to hold him in place as she then kicking his knee in. The man, with a backwards leg cried out in excruciating pain.

One of the other, that hadn't done anything yet, dropped the bag of money on the ground. He unsheathed his sword and walked over to the woman. She in turn, unsheathed her own sword, a katana to be exact, and the two pieces of metal collided.

Using his own strength against him, she moved to the side and he fell forward slightly. And while he was hunched over, the woman slammed the butt of her katana against the back of his head, making him fall over in extreme pain.

The woman I fought earlier was also back up, bending two pieces of rock beside her, she threw it at the redhead. She dodged both as she ran towards her before sliding beside the woman. And when she jumped back up she kicked the back of her knee, getting the attacker to fall on her knees.

The redhead pointed her katana at the woman's head. And everyone paused. Well, all of them were maimed pretty badly. "You thugs need to watch it." The redhead's voice spewed venom when she spoke to them. "If you ever try to cause pain to another innocent person, I won't be as merciful."

The ones that were capable nodded in understanding. Satisfied, the mystery woman sheathed her katana walked over to me. With some feeling of my feet I stood up to greet and thank her. But I guess there wasn't as much feeling as I thought and my body started to lean forward. Luckily, the woman was right in front of me and caught me before I could fall any further.

"Woah there." She laughed lightly, helping me stand by wrapping her arm around my waist and allowing for me to lean on her. "Are you okay."

"Perfect." I chuckled at myself. "Thank you, so much." I then looked back over to the group of criminals. "That was incredible. The way you moved and everything."

The woman shrugged. "It was nothing. I do this over four times a week." I looked at her curiously. "I'm part of this group. The Miraculous Bastards."

"The Miraculous Bastards?" I laughed and was finally able to hold myself up. She chuckled with me. Spirits, her smile is gorgeous. In fact, now that I look at her, her entire self was beautiful. She had dark red hair that hung loose and ended at her shoulders. Sparkling forest green eyes. And she was taller than me by two or three inches.

"I didn't choose the name." She shook her head.

"I'm Ama." I introduced myself.

"Ama?" She repeated like she recognised it. "Wait, weren't you one of the waterbenders that traveled with the Avatar?" I nodded and smiled at her excited reaction. "You literally saved the world! Meeting you is an honor."

"Thank you." This kind of attention always left me feeling a little awkward.

"So, what exactly are you doing here?"

I shrugged. "Just traveling around. That is, until something else comes around and my life takes another turn."

The woman tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Um, I hate to ask, but would you by any chance want to meet my friends? It doesn't have to be for long and our camp isn't far." She pointed with her thumb towards a direction away from the cliff.

"The rest of the Miraculous Bastards, you mean?" I inquired with a smirk.

"Yeah." She chuckled.

"I'd love to." I agreed. "Just let me grab my stuff." I crouched down, grabbing my satchel and the bag of coins. Ignoring the groans for help from the criminals.

"I'm Mulan, by the way." The woman said quickly as we left the scene. I smiled at her. I didn't know what it was. But just speaking to her had me feeling something I haven't felt in a long time. Butterflies.

.☽☼☾.

I didn't want Ama's sexuality to be such a big deal. In an ideal world, no one would have to make a big deal or be scared of coming out. Heterosexual is not the default. But after watching Legend of Korra and reading the first comic, I realized that this would be something that Ama would have to confront.

Hang loose, amigos 🤙🏼

#fire lord zuko #zuko x oc #zuko fanfic #zuko #atla fanfic #her sun his moon #avatar fanfiction #bisexual oc #waterbender oc

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rueitae · 6 years

Note

Hey happy early birthday! I'm a recent follower to your blog but I love your plance works a lot. So I decided to send in a prompt because I love this idea but I'm not very good a writing so here it is. Prompt: November 3rd plance woth ice skates. It doesn't have to be a crossover I just wanted to use my birthday for this

Crossover with Meet Cute and Plance with ice skates!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I did research to sneak in a reference to actually fulfill the crossover requirements. I also tried to do a bit of research on figure skating in general, so I hope I’m not too off.

~~~~~

Pidge tugged on the spandex near her chest, examining the emerald green sequence in the full body mirror. Her mouth moved from side to side and her nose scrunched up as she scrutinized every detail of her new outfit.

She turned to view herself from the side. The bodice itself was amazingly comfortable, something she rarely felt with even her jeans and sweatshirt these days. It didn’t have near as much sparkle as professional skaters, but Pidge was still pleased to have beading in the shape of leaves. A short asymmetrical skirt of darker green was sewed tightly around the waist. Pidge turned so that the shorter end of the skirt faced the mirror. She took a moment to adjust her ponytail, also angled on the same side.

She adjusted her sleeves last. Beads flowed down her arms like vines and per the design intent. Solid forest green cloth made a sort of cufflinks for her wrists, a single golden bead a little larger than the rest sat facing outwards.

Pidge turned to face the mirror fully. She braced her hands on her hips and nodded. The outfit had her approval.

She unlocked the door behind her and exited the dressing room.

Lance lifted his head as she approached. He uncrossed his legs and sat up from the chair in the waiting area. He smiled brightly as he took her in. “You look beautiful, if I do say so myself,” he preened.

“It is pretty cute,” Pidge admitted. A side grin of her own in place. She twirled around once, enjoying the feeling of the skirt. “It’s comfortable and not too flashy. Although you really didn’t have to add so many beads.”

“I wanted to,” Lance insisted. He stood and strode over to her, looking over the outfit itself with an expert eye. “Something doesn’t look right, one sec.” He unhooked his leather bracelet and stretched it out. He knelt down on one kneed and used the measuring tool to double check his work. He frowned. “The skirt is a little too long for what you wanted. I can trim it if you want,” he told Pidge as he looked up at her.

Pidge gulped. She probably shouldn’t have blushed, but seeing him down on one knee as he was gave her an out of body experience. They’d not been dating that long, but they’d been friends in grade school. She could see it in his eyes, that sparkle every time he’d see her enter a room, like he had been waiting his whole life for this moment. They’d talked about marriage intermittently, but she knew this wasn’t it.

Lance was a romantic. It was Pidge’s only certainty that when he did get around to a proposal, it would be one for Hollywood. Today was not that day. Whatever their future held it was going to be after Pidge finished her masters.

Which brought them to where they were now. She was two weeks out. Her paper was finished, but she needed practice for the demonstration that would go with her defense. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking or new, but it would prove she comprehensively knew what she was talking about.

“How much longer is it?” Pidge asked.

“A half inch,” Lance told her as he stood up. “Sorry, I know you were really specific with the measurements.”

“That little won’t make a difference, the extra weight is well within the margin of error. Or, at least it shouldn’t,” she corrected. “Let me get out on the ice and test it.”

“Let me get mine too,” Lance said. “I’ll join you. We haven’t skated together in like, forever.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and gave him an exasperated grin. “We were at the park last week.”

“Still feels like forever,” he said. He took the opportunity to steal a quick kiss on her cheek.

“You’re such a flirt,” she chastised, not at all mean spirited.

“Only for you, Pidge. Only for you.”

~~~~~

It didn’t matter how many times she stepped onto the ice. Each time she first picked up speed and soared across the rink was freeing. Pidge allowed herself to glide, testing for any bumps in the surface. Not finding any, she landed herself a single toe loop to further warm herself up.

Weaving back and forth, she skated back towards the entry and propped herself up against the boards. Lance had just finished lacing up and hopped onto the ice with her.

“It took you long enough,” Pidge teased, until she looked down and her eyes widened. “Why are you wearing hockey skates?”

Lance skated around her and leaned over the boards. He made a point to look completely displeased. “Left them at home I guess. I now owe Keith a favor so I could use his skates.”

Pidge laughed despite it all. “Is that really all that terrible to owe Keith a favor?”

“Yes,” Lance said dryly. “Junior Worlds is coming up soon. He’s probably going to make me take care of his crazy cat again.” He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, having every intent to sulk this through.

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh. “Red likes you just fine. I think you two just have different expectations of each other.” She leaned in, wrapping him in a hug. “You’re out here now, might as well enjoy it.”

She felt Lance relax completely at her contact. His scowl turned quickly into a soft smile. “I wouldn’t miss a chance to skate with you while you’re all dressed up and gorgeous like this.”

Pidge blushed and found herself letting a chuckle loose. “You are the cheesiest person I know.” She took his hands with hers and led him out onto the ice. “Outfit felt pretty good in the warm up, but I want to make sure it works for the whole routine. Spot me?”

“Of course. Go for it,” he said, letting their hands separate and letting her take center stage.

Pidge began to build up speed, not concerned that Lance was still on the ice with her. He knew her routine nearly as well as she did and he’d skate out of the way if need be.

The idea was simple in thought. Nothing she was doing hadn’t been done before. She was going over the physics of figure skating; the conservation of momentum for spinning and moment of inertia for jumps. This was all based on her body though. All the science was her weight, her height, her speed, her routine. It would just go to prove that she could do the math and have the credentials to coach others.

Ultimately what she wanted was to be able to do was design the equipment. There was always a way to make things better, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

She and Lance made a good team that way. She would streamline and he would make it beautiful.

Pidge turned to skate backwards, looking behind her to see where she was going. She was by no means a professional, but she was still good at this. Gliding at her preferred angle, she lifted herself into a double salchow, landing with ease.

She didn’t bother with the artistry as she skated down the long side of the rink. It had never been her thing, only having focused on it when she was much younger and much newer to the sport.

Clapping interrupted her. She was used to a few dozen hands, but Lance’s were the only ones today so it was a bit jarring.

“Smile!” Lance shouted at her. “Put a little flair to it! Show ‘em what you can do!”

Well, Pidge thought, he did make the costume.

She began to move her arms more liberally. An extra gesture here, and a motion there. Brining her hands in and out from her chest at various intervals had always seemed to work when she was younger.

“Happy?” she asked with a smirk as she passed him on her way to the next jump.

“Perfect!” he replied. The double toe loop landed just right.

One more jump, a double axel. Well, two really, she’d follow it up with a single. The routine was as easy as breathing by this point. Nothing strenuous except knowing she’d be grilled after doing this for a panel of her professors.

She took her time skating around the rink, not really wanting the speed to end.

Pidge nearly fell when she felt Lance skate up to her from behind. “Mind if I join?” he asked. Even concentrating on her movements, Pidge could tell he was in a mischievous mood.

“What are you up to?” she questioned suspiciously.

“I got too caught up in watching you I couldn’t wait to participate. If I launch you, do you think you could still do the double?”

It had been high school the last time the two of them had done a jump in pairs. Pidge made sure her face showed all the concern she felt about it. “That was a long time ago. Maybe? I couldn’t guarantee a double, but a single I could probably still do.”

Lance lit up. “Good! That’s all! Let me know when you’re ready.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. She was happy to indulge him though. His hands felt right around her waist and even though it had been a long time, she trusted him completely not to let her fall.

“One loop around the rink. I’ll give the nod,” Pidge said.

He kissed her temple. “Thanks, Pidge,” he said softly.

“Thank me after I don’t fall,” she quipped.

They traveled together as close as they could, falling easily and comfortably into the old habit. Pidge savored the time. Cuddling on the couch was one thing, but trusting one another this close with blades on their feet was a different story.

And she did trust him. With everything.

Reaching their full loop, Pidge turned to face Lance, letting him steer them around the corners. “Ready when you are,” she told him.

“Okay, here we go then,” Lance said. “One, two, three!” On the count he lifted Pidge into the air and she twisted her body to give the the two full rotations. Lance helped, twisting her body with his hands.

Pidge got her rotations. She’d grown stronger since high school though, and had perfected her technique even more. Lance had gotten stronger too. Combined with the angular momentum, she had really enough time for a triple, something she was entirely unprepared for. With a yelp, she landed square on her bum.

Lance came to her side right away, his face bordering on panic. “Pidge are you alright? I’m so sorry.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she insisted. She took his offered hand to get up. “Just a sore butt,” she said as she rubbed it, wincing only slightly. “It’ll pass in a minute.”

Lance sighed in visible relief. “Good, I was worried a blade might have gotten your arm with the fall.”

Pidge smiled to disarm his worries. “No, I’m definitely fine. This actually helps add to my report. My body has changed since high school. I can’t do jumps the same way I did back then.”

“Good! Because you’ll need to be healthy to enjoy this.”

He shoved two small pieces of paper in Pidge’s face. She took them and she gaped at what was printed on them. “Is…is this what it really says it is?”

Lance nodded, smile getting bigger with pride. “If you’re reading them as tickets to this years Grand Prix, then yes, it is.”

Pidge held the tickets to the biggest professional figure skating competition close to her chest. “Lance…this is amazing! You didn’t have to!”

“I wanted to,” he insisted. “You’ve been working really hard and once you finish school you’re going to need a break. So we’re going to the Grand Prix for starters.”

Pidge engulfed him in the biggest hug she could muster. “Thanks Lance, this is the best. I can’t wait until we can go.” She let go after a moment and slid away, crossing her arms. “But first I need to present to the panel, so I have to practice - without interruption,” she said pointedly.

“Even if the interruptions are for very important matters?” Lance said, pushing himself forward and gracefully twirling around so that he could hug her from behind, kissing the top of her head.

“You’ve already given me your surprise, what else could you possibly have in store?”

Lance continued to hold in her in a one handed hug, while his other hand soon produced a small black box. “I know you’re not much for traditions, but I wanted to make sure I beat you to the punch.”

Pidge knew what was in the box, but she opened in anyway. “You sneak!” she angrily. “You can’t butter me up with those tickets and then give me this!”

Lance kissed her cheek. “Is that a yes?” he asked, laughter prevalent in his voice.

“Of course it’s a yes,” she confirmed, a bit more exasperated. Pidge knew she should be more emotional for this moment, but Lance always had a way of subverting expectations. “You know I can’t wear the stupid thing yet, it’ll throw me off.”

He sighed dramatically. “Then I guess I’ll have to wear it until you’re ready for it. On my pinky finger if I have to.”

Perhaps it had been the long day, the exercise, or just the significance of the moment, because so many major things were happening in her life right now, but Pidge burst out laughing. She leaned up against Lance, who in turn starting to giggle and laugh himself. The both of them couldn’t stop, falling down to the ice in each other’s embrace.

The answer must be all of the above.

#voltron legendary defender #vld fanfic #plance #pidgeance #rueitae #my writing #ask #I had a lot of fun with this one!

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