#Athena: He’s no where near ready for something like this and I just can’t risk his existence being known yet

[ask-spidersisters]

Athena: I need someone to watch Miles. I’m going on an OsCorp lab recon and I do not need him following me. Thalia can’t do it cause she’s going to be on my comms and tech support and Θείο is at work.

[pjohoo-reclists]

PJO/HoO & DC Batman Crossover Fic Recs

Request: A rec list featuring PJO/HoO and DC (Batman) Crossovers with no Percy/Annabeth, if possible. For @captainquake42. Enjoy!

See this rec list for Percy & Bruce | Batman fics.

Skin has gotten thicker but it burns the same by X_Artemis_X

T | 1.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson, Jason Todd

Hurt no Comfort, Nightmares, Blood and Injury

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion. The knife sinking and twisting in flesh. The blood seeping out and on his hands. The knife coming out. If his brain hadn't been consumed by some kind of fog, Percy is sure he'd have heard the man's scream as he fell to his knees. - When Percy, tired and hazy, is pulled into an alley, he reacts on noting but pure instinct. Unfortunately for him and his attacker, his instincts are to kill or risk the possibility of death. Whumptober Day 7 The Way You Shake and Shiver |Shaking Hands|

No one seems to notice when you're down (Unless you are bleeding) by X_Artemis_X

T | 1.1k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Tim Drake

Blood and Injury, Stab Wound, Budding Friendship

There’s movement and words, but Percy can’t make out any of it. He’s lost too much blood, his bandages too loose to actually do anything. His vision goes black, and everything around him disappears as he collapses on the floor. - Two times Percy's injured and needs help. Two times a vigilante helps him, only one of which he is conscious for. Whumptober Day 11 "911, what's your emergency?" Sloppy Bandages | Self-Done First Aid | Makeshift Splint

I Guess There's Gotta be a Break in the Monotony (But Jesus When it Rains it Pours) by X_Artemis_X

T | 1.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

Hurt no Comfort, Gotham's Vigilantes, Homelessness

He would do it if he had no other choice, if it was him or them, but he doesn't think he could handle killing someone. Not to mention that doing so would also put him in the radar of the local vigilantes. Being noticed by the vigilantes would probably mean being put in the foster system. And that. That’s about the last thing he wants. — After losing his mom, Percy doesn’t have anywhere else to turn to but the cold streets of New Jersey. He’s determined to handle homelessness just as well as Percy’s handled every other mythological quest, and he's doing good. At least, that's what he tells himself.

Weak Link by X_Artemis_X

T | 1.8k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Cassandra Cain, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Chiron & Grover Underwood

Percy Jackson needs a hug, Mental Link, Panic Attacks

And then, through the haze of panic and breathlessness, something breaks through. A wave of alarm-worry-concern washes through him, and the feelings are distinctly not his. Grover. - When Grover feels Percy's distress through the link, he does the only thing he can- he sends comfort.

Dry and Drowning by X_Artemis_X

T | 2.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Tim Drake

Drowning, Near Death Experiences

Slowly, the world started to come back into focus. He was soaking wet and freezing cold, his whole body shaking. His hands were clutching at dirt from where he was on his hands and knees, down on the ground. There was a hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles. Tim froze. His breaths were still hard and wheezing, but every other muscle was tense and ready for action, despite the exhaustion dragging at his limbs. The hand was too small to be either Bruce or Dick. - One night, Percy is sitting on a bridge's rail and enjoying the view. Unfortunately, his peace and quiet is interrupted when Gotham's very own Robin falls into the river. Whumptober Day 18 Let's Break the Ice Treading Water | "Take my coat."

Little Miracles by Solemini (SoleminiSanction)

T | 2.3k | Completed

Bruce Wayne/Athena, Bruce Wayne & His Kids, Bat Family

AU Demigods, Kid Fic, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent

When Bruce Wayne startles awake to find Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, at the foot of his bed, he is not as surprised as he probably should be. Or, in which Bruce is Mount Olympus's #1 DILF. A Percy Jackson/Half blood/Demigod AU.

Oh my Gods by siren_of_the_ocean

G | 2.6k | Completed

Tim Drake & Thalia Grace, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne

BAMF Tim Drake, Tim Drake is a Demigod, BAMF Thaila Grace

Tim Drake is a demigod in the Battle of Manhattan. He sends Thalia to inform the Justice league about well...Everything. And Kon is concerned.

Cassandra, what do you see? by X_Artemis_X

T | 2.7k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Cassandra Cain

POV Alternating, Confused Percy Jackson, Timeline what timeline

Kind. She hasn’t heard it a lot, but she still knows what it means. A foreign concept, strange and confusing, but still very much real. She thinks of the ways she saw Percy be kind, and she wants. She only wishes she had the words to explain it. - Cassandra sees a boy, obviously trained, and she follows him. Percy meets a girl, obviously trained, and is as confused as he is wary. Though the wariness starts to fade. The confusion does not.

The Damned Prince of Gotham by DragonflyxParodies

T | 4.2k+ | Last Updated June 2, 2023

Jason Todd & Thanatos, Jason Todd & Hazel Levesque, Jason Todd & Nico di Angelo

Jason Todd is a demigod, Camp Jupiter, Camp Half Blood

the red hood is the son of justice and death and rebirth, and that means something.

the gray and beamless atmosphere by adaimperium

T | 12k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase, Damian Wayne and Annabeth Chase, Alfred Pennyworth & Annabeth Chase

Annabeth Chase is a Wayne, Angst and Feels, Annabeth Chase has Abandonment Issues

Annabeth leaves home two days after Jason’s death with nothing but his old go-bag and a hammer liberated from the shed. She comes back for two months after six years and leaves without a goodbye. The Wayne Family isn’t quite sure what to do with their prodigal and war-weary daughter.

the ship of theseus by zipadeea

T | 15k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne

Family Feels, Major Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

“What do you think of the Waynes?” Percy had asked Annabeth the week before. “Seems like they’re in Gotham’s headlines all the time, and not always for great reasons. You think they’re involved with the mob or something?” “The opposite, actually,” Annabeth had replied, a wry smile on her face. “What’s the opposite of the mob?” “In Gotham? What do you think?” Percy’s eyes had widened. “No. No way. Bruce Wayne is such a goof, there’s no way--,” “Wouldn’t that be the best cover, though?” *** Poseidon once told Percy he was his favorite son. But he's not the only one.

Hugs by KlyssaCarrie

G | 18k | Complete

Annabeth Chase & Damian Wayne, Annabeth Chase & Chiron, Chiron & Damian Wayne

Damian Wayne needs a hug, Camp Half Blood, Powerful Percy Jackson

hug (/hʌɡ/) plural noun: hugs 'an act of holding someone tightly in one's arms, typically to express affection.'

Rising Tides by MinervaOfRome (MistressOfDestruction), MistressOfDestruction

Not Rated | 29k+ | Last Updated April 27, 2023

Percy Jackson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

Percy Jackson Needs a Hug, Jason Todd is Good With Kids, Percy Jackson is a Little Shit

The tides were rising. Jason Todd could feel them when he walked the streets, green acid sloshing at his ankles. It wasn’t really there, he knew. The green was a figment of his imagination, a physical manifestation of his perception of the fear around him. The poison waves had risen since Batman split his throat in two. The tides were rising, faster by the day. What if they swallowed Gotham? Jason couldn't let that happen. The tides were rising. Percy Jackson stood by the docks; he'd watched nine bodies drop into the dark waters. Each one made the steadily rising water go up just a little more. He wasn't supposed to be in this city. It didn't matter that he'd indirectly killed Gabe, but there was no regret in his thoughts on the matter. Gabe had beaten his mother to death. The tides were rising, faster by the hour. Was there someone sitting by the water? Percy couldn't let them drown.

Gotham's Legacy by Speechless_since_1998

T | 42k+ | Last Updated April 25, 2024

Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd

Rick Riordan Demigod Universe | Riordanverse, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Kid fic

“I don't know how to take care of myself. Let alone a child." "Children." Bruce looked away from the water to look at Athena, surprised. She smirked, “Do you think it will be just one? More will come. Abandoned children. Children who don't know which way is theirs. You will be their guide. You will be father of heroes, Bruce." Bruce never wanted to deal with the gods, whatever pantheon they belonged to. Gotham had enough problems without adding rancorous gods and mythological monsters into the mix. But the gods won't leave him alone, and he finds himself the parent of the most powerful demigod of this generation, while the Triumvirate sinks its roots in Gotham to conquer the world.

[elisaphoenix13]

A Quick Reunion

I actually wrote this before Episode 5 of WandaVision came out. 😂

It was his usual round of dimensional hopping. He even brought Athena along. But the dimension he stopped in was the same time and place as when he left but...it was different. New York was how Tony described the snap to have been like and after subtly questioning nearby passerbys, he quickly discovered what was different.

Thanos had won.

The snap had been reversed but it was clear that the titan had continued with his...genocide. Anyone brave enough to walk around on the much quieter streets still had fear in their eyes. As if they were waiting for the mad titan to come around the corner and decide they were done living their life. If there even was such a thing. Stephen could tell this dimension didn't have long despite Thanos' attempt to save all living creatures from the same fate his people succumbed to.

He stopped here though because something compelled him to. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he definitely wasn't going to bother trying to save it. There wasn't anything he could do for it. He simply waited. Waited for whatever it was to reveal itself so he could do what he needed to do and move on.

Then he sensed it. It was coming fast and if he was correct, it would go right by the alleyway he was standing by in. So on instinct, he threw a hand out and caught the shirt of whatever sped by him, and his eyes widened. He only ever had that instinct with Thomas but when he looked to see what he caught, he saw blue eyes looking at him in bewilderment.

"How did you do that?" The thick Sokovian accent hung in the air and Stephen knew exactly who he had at his fingertips.

"You...where's Wanda?" Stephen asks and the man's face twists in emotional pain.

"She is dead. She died a long time ago. How do you know about her?"

This is why he was compelled to stay here. Pietro was alive and well in a dying dimension and he could take this opportunity to reunite Wanda with her brother with little to no consequences. They were still the same age from a quick glance at the man and he clearly lost Wanda like she had lost him in their original dimension…

"What if I told you I could take you to her?" Stephen says as he carefully releases Pietro.

"Why should I believe you?" The Sokovian looks at him skeptically, and the sorcerer didn't blame him.

"You don't have to, I suppose. My name is Stephen. Doctor Stephen Stark-Strange. I'm the Sorcerer Supreme and it is my duty to protect reality...in my dimension, your sister is alive and well, but…"

"...I'm dead?" Pietro finishes and Stephen nods. "Normally I wouldn't, but it can't be much worse than this."

Stephen sighs with relief and smiles. "I assure you, things are much better."

Stephen told him everything. From when he died in their original dimension to their victory against Thanos, and their current living situation. He didn't want Pietro to be thrown into the chaos of the tower without some kind of warning. Of course there would be the reunion between the twins but that was to be expected. By the time, he was done, Pietro looked antsy at the possibility of seeing his sister again and Stephen had to keep himself from laughing.

"Okay...I will go on one condition." Pietro says.

"What would that condition be?"

"Tell me how you caught me so easily."

Stephen chuckles. "I have a son that's a lot like you. It's instinct at this point." He pats Athena's head. "He is a friend."

"Wait...didn't you say there's a tiger too?"

"We have a zoo." Stephen rolls his eyes. "The animals just need to be introduced to you. Do you have anything here you want to get?" When Pietro shakes his head, Stephen opens a gateway. "Are you ready?"

"No. Not really."

Pietro takes a deep breath and it leaves him with a woosh before he steps forward and through the portal Stephen had made. The sorcerer and wolf followed immediately after and the gateway closed behind them as the man looked around the family floor. It was quiet, but Stephen knew that was short lived and any moment now, someone would break the silence. For now, Stephen let Pietro take everything in at his own pace.

The first thing he did after looking at Stephen for permission was raid the fridge. He couldn't blame him. Knowing Thanos, food was probably rationed and scarce so Stephen let the man eat whatever he wanted. Pietro ate like a starving man and it was half true. Only when he slowed down did he walk out to the balcony and take New York in.

"It's alive." Pietro says softly when Stephen joins him.

"Just give it a few minutes and it will be more alive than you ever could imagine." The sorcerer chuckles.

"Where is my sister?"

"I'll have her come up soon. I just figured you would want a few minutes to adjust to the change first."

Wishful thinking. The moment the last word left Stephen's mouth, William popped up next to him holding Valerie. Pietro jumped at his sudden appearance and Valerie immediately reached out for Stephen who took her without hesitation.

"You're back." William says. "That was fast."

"Yes, well, for good reason. Did you two go on your own adventure?"

"We went to Japan to look at the cherry trees. Val brought back a handful of blossoms." William says with a smile and then looks at the man standing by Stephen. "Who's he?" He asks quietly.

"Ah. Would you bring Wanda up here please?"

"Umm...sure."

With that, William teleports away while Valerie looks at Pietro nervously. Stephen quickly soothed her and made sure to tell her that he was safe and a friend, and she visibly relaxed a little bit. She would warm up to him on her own time.

"You said Stark earlier...that you are married to him." Pietro says and Stephen nods. "Where is he?"

"Probably down in the lab with our youngest and risking her hearing."

"How many children do you have?" The man asks curiously.

"Seven. Plus an honorary one. We'll explain later but you'll meet everyone eventually." Stephen says.

"Who will meet who?"

Both Stephen and Pietro look over and find Spiderman sticking to a window near the balcony. Peter crawls over until he gets to the balcony and flips onto it as his mask falls back.

"Who's this?" The teen asks.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Do all of your kids have powers?" Pietro asks, a little perplexed.

"No. Our oldest fights like Tony. Peter and the twins have powers, and so does my oldest daughter and honorary daughter. Our two youngest seem to be normal." Stephen answers.

"Huh…"

Stephen leads Pietro back inside just as the elevator opens and Wanda steps off with Vision and William.

"Stephen? William said you asked for me." She calls as she rounds the corner.

The moment she steps into view, both she and Pietro freeze and look at each other. Silence filled the air as they stared at each other and then Wanda finally looked at Stephen and glared.

"This is not funny. I never thought you of all people would go this far!" She says dangerously and Stephen holds up a hand to placate her.

"He is not an illusion. He's very real. I...found him while dimension hopping."

Wanda takes a shuddering breath and moves closer to Pietro and the twins regard the other for what seemed like forever. Just when Stephen started to doubt his decision, Wanda threw her arms around her brother and cried. Pietro immediately returned the embrace and they spoke to each other in Sokovian until Wanda finally moved away to cup his cheeks.

"It is you." She smiles through the remains of unshed tears. "I missed you so much." She then looks at Stephen and hugs him tightly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I know it's not the same but--"

"You've given me another chance with my brother. It's more than I could have ever asked for."

Stephen smiles softly. "Spend time with him. Show him around the tower, but be back by dinner time."

"Yes, Mom." Wanda laughs and kisses his cheek before grabbing Pietro's hand and dragging him toward the elevator.

"Did you just call him Mom?"

"I'll explain." Wanda says as she and her brother leave with Vision and the elevator closes again.

Stephen was left with Peter, William, and Valerie and the two boys looked at him in surprise.

"Wait���that was Pietro?" Peter asks, pointing in the direction said man had left in.

"Yes. I found him in a dying dimension and saw it as a rare opportunity." Stephen nods. "He'll likely stay on their floor."

"He kind of reminds me of Thomas." William says.

"I'm not surprised. They are a lot alike. Very similar powers." Stephen puts Valerie down and she wanders into the living room to play with Levi and Athena. "Would you mind helping with dinner?"

"Okay." The younger teen nods and Peter points to the elevator again.

"I think I'll go get Bucky...or Cassie. You know... someone who can cook."

Stephen chuckles as Peter dashes off while his suit recedes into his bracelet, and the sorcerer and William head into the kitchen to start dinner. They would be making a lot, so if Peter managed to wrangle Bucky and Cassie into helping, it would go by easier and faster. They started with pulling out ingredients and prepping, and both Bucky and Cassie fortunately joined them a little later. Diana came with Cassie, but she went to join her sister in the living room and Stephen had the suspicion that there may be another tea party.

"Okay...I see the usual people but Friday said we had a guest." Tony says as he comes around the corner, holding Lucy in one of his arms.

"More like another permanent resident." Stephen says.

"Did you adopt another kid?"

Stephen huffs. "Not this time. I brought someone back from the dead...in a way."

Tony looks at him skeptically. "Do I have a zombie in my tower?"

"Our tower. And no. Just someone from a dying alternate dimension." Stephen says as he hands some vegetables to Bucky.

"Who's the zombie?"

Stephen rolls his eyes. "Pietro."

Tony pauses. "As in...Red's twin brother?"

"The very same."

"... somehow I'm not surprised. I'm going to change Lulu's diaper."

"Better you than me."

Tony laughs and heads upstairs to face his daunting task while the people in the kitchen work on and finish dinner. It was sort of a ritual at this point. If someone new joined the team, a huge dinner was made and everyone went up to the family floor to eat and welcome the new member of their dysfunctional family. From the few stories Stephen had heard about Pietro, he would fit in just fine.

Tony changed Lucy and joined their other two girls in the living room until dinner was ready, and when it was, Stephen had Friday call everyone up to eat. Harley and Thomas had come home from wherever they had been (probably terrorizing the city) just before dinner and were helping set the food out. Team dinners were more like buffets so that everyone could serve themselves and find somewhere to sit which usually meant anywhere. The living room, the second floor pathway that served as a secondary dining area, the balcony...it got crowded when they had these dinners.

Everyone got upstairs except for Wanda and Pietro, but Vision said they were on their way up. Once Stephen announced there was another team member joining them, everyone looked at him skeptically (and even asked where the kid was, which Stephen ignored), but then the twins finally arrived at the penthouse and the original Avengers that had met Pietro froze. It lasted all of two seconds before they swarmed and hugged him, but thankfully the man didn't seem too overwhelmed. Either he remembered them from his dimension or Wanda had explained how close the Avengers were. Maybe both.

"I'll be sure to tell Clint so you can terrorise him next time he and the family are in town." Natasha says with an impish smile.

"Oh yeah. I miss him." Pietro laughs and Wanda points to the table full of food.

"New family members get the first plate." She says as she leads him over to the table.

Once they get their food, everyone eventually steps in to get their own before dispersion throughout the floor to eat. Laughter echoed through the floor over dinner and after, drinks were poured and games were played as per the usual tradition. Pietro was dragged into a game of Never Have I Ever, and Stephen knew he and Tony would soon join the game. Tony was already heading over, but Quill had pulled Stephen aside.

"Hey...will...will you take me with you one day when you go dimension hopping?" He asks quietly.

"Quill…" Stephen sighs. "I got lucky with Pietro. Your mother--"

"I know. I know...but I thought maybe I would get the chance to say goodbye to her properly?"

"Maybe. I can't promise anything." Stephen says softly and the celestial nods.

"That's okay...I appreciate it anyway."

"Why don't you go get a drink?"

"And have to drink way more than anybody else? Alright."

Quill huffs and walks away to join the drinking game and Stephen has the kids go up to their rooms for the night. William went into Harley's room, Cassie went into Peter's, and to Stephen's surprise, Thomas went into Diana's. Probably to watch a movie. Valerie and Lucy were already down for the night and the animals were content in their corner, so the adults could party without worry.

That was a lie.

Thor was already challenging him to a drinking contest with Asgardian ale.

Stephen sighs.

[justsmilestuffhappens]

March 28th - Day 6: “I won’t let you do this.” + angst @evanbuckleyweek

Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Fire Away

The team was bone tired. It had been a grueling first half of a 24 hour shift.

They were ready to nap if possible and get a small bite if they weren't too tired.

"Hen, how many kids were on that bus?" Buck asked while nursing a water bottle.

"Less than a dozen. Two future doctors and a nurse, one president, a couple of entrepreneurs, and two marines and a pilot." Hen smiled.

"Gotta love career day. Too bad none of them were gonna be joining us." Chim smirked laid out on the couch next to hen.

"Who knows, maybe one day they will. I didn't know I'd be here a few years ago. And I look forward to every day with y'all." Eddie smiled bumping buck's chair startling him and earning a glare back.

"That's good to hear Eddie. You've been a great addition to the 118." Bobby said while bringing over plates of food.

"Cap you spoil us." Buck laughed while digging in.

Bobby was just starting on his own plate when the alarm went off.

In seconds they were up and fully awake for the next situation as adrenaline pushed them on.

"Cap, what's the call about?" Eddie asked.

"Dispatch said it's a tinkerers junkyard."

"A what?" Buck asked.

"Something about a malfunctioning robot."

-

"What the hell is that?" Buck asked making a shocked face.

"Oh it's Barbra. She's my baby." The lady said while smiling with pride.

"And why did you make an automated crossbow turret again ma'am?" Eddie asked.

"Because I was bored and to keep them animals away from my reserves ." Melissa said with a shrug.

"Please help!" The person said.

"Alex we'll be with you in a bit. Stay calm and still where you are at." Bobby ordered while they asked and thought of what to do with Barbra.

"How did Alex get in without being shot?" He asked.

"Her night vision has been acting up. My guess is the thief there was trying to steal from my supplies before the morning light. I just found him after breakfast." Melissa said.

"And you haven't tried turning Barbra off?" Buck suggested.

"Oh gee. I hadn't thought of that. No, I gave her her own power supply in case of a power outage and her wireless connection is weak for range. I gotta be close enough to shut her off with my phone but her bolt is ready to fire at anything that's in her range though." Melissa explained.

"So. We gotta give her something to shoot at?" Eddie suggested.

"Yeah. But it's gotta be at least the size of a dog or a bear. I programmed her to only attack something big enough to be dangerous."

"Well that's great." Buck sighed and shook his head.

"Cap we don't have anything on us that could withstand a crossbow bolt do we?" Hen asked.

"Hmm." Bobby thought.

"Could a riot shield work. We could call athena and the police, or a bulletproof vest maybe two." Chim suggested.

"Ouch." Alex said drawing their attention.

"Alex, you okay?" Bobby asked along with Hen.

"I uh. I cut my hand."

"We can treat you after the police get here to help us out." Chim said.

"No. I'm hemophilic, please. Hurry!" Alex screamed.

Bucks and Hens eyes went wide as Eddie said "shit" and Bobby and chim said "no,".

"Guys, we're sitting in a junkyard. We can find something." Buck said while moving to get out of the blocked off shed they were in.

"Excuse you, recycling center for inventors." Melissa scoffed.

"Sorry ma'am!" He shouted back.

"Alright, let's move. Anything sturdy enough to work but light enough to carry." Bobby said while they moved to follow.

After a minute they had a sheet of metal from a broken roof.

"No. Too thin. Could go right through maybe," Chim said.

Another minute found both a manhole cover and a car door.

"Manhole cover's thicker. But a little heavier. It's our best shot." Eddie said while taking it to the entrance. "Melissa can I have your phone please. Open whatever we need."

"No! Eddie. I can't let you do this." Buck said grabbing his arm to hold him back.

"Buck, I've gotta get him out."

"But I'm faster." Buck shot back.

"You're still on the thinners though." Eddie countered.

"No. I'm not. I just got off them." Buck explained.

"Buck? Is that true?" Bobby asked, he knew buck had a checkup recently.

"I'm gonna draw it's fire. Follow in after me. Only get closer after I've got it to shoot." Buck said thinking about Alex's time passing by.

"Buck, remember it's got a hole, dead center," hen said.

"I know. I'll be careful. I'll try." Buck was already setting into a running stance.

"Melissa, how long does it take to reload?" Bobby asked.

"Umm. 5 to 7 seconds. I think."

"Okay. I'm gonna get it to fire. Ready Eddie?" Buck asked while holding the manhole cover up as a shield.

At Eddie's nod buck took a breath and started running at a steady pace.

Chim and Hen had their gear ready to follow once Eddie ensured it was neutralized.

Eddie ran as he saw it swivel back in buck's direction. Buck hoped that the others would forgive him for lying later but he had the least to lose and he knew he could do this. He had to, Alex's life was counting on him.

Just as it got a clear view of buck in its crosshairs a light indicator flashed red as it shot the bolt out.

The world slowed as buck brought it up to better cover him while being mindful of where the hole was located. Even if the bolt could go through it didn't hit him now.

It made contact and snapped in half from the force of the hit that buck felt push him back as Eddie was already near to Barbra.

With only a few seconds left Eddie brought the phone close enough to turn off Barbra. Her lights powering down.

The others quickly brought the backboard and set Alex down as Eddie grabbed the bolt that was to be loaded next and the spares ready to be used throwing them on the ground just in case.

Buck breathed a sigh of relief as he and Eddie let the others work making sure Barbra didn't disturb them by coming back online.

Back in the truck buck sensed the air change as Eddie sat down.

"Eddie."

"You lied didn't you?" He glared.

"I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let you risk your life and I was right, I am faster than you." Buck said with a frown.

"But what would we do if you got shot?"

"Treat both of us or call for a backup ambulance. I know what could have happened it was a calculated risk but it turned out okay. I'm sorry but I'd do it again. Christopher needs you Eddie." Buck was thankful Bobby was on radio with dispatch to check if there was another emergency for them to help as they were done.

"He needs you too. We need you buck. So you can't just risk your life like it's nothing. You're important."

"Well, I can't lie and promise I won't do anything like that again but I'll always try to do my best to come back in one piece. Who else has your back like I do Eddie." Buck smirked.

Eddie nodded. "Damn right."

Buck smiled back now as Bobby relayed their next stop, a fire.

Today was just getting started. No doubt by the end they'd be sore. But as long as buck had Eddie and the team beside him, he'd be good.

[woshuaaa]

spoilers for BL3

i made some fixes for what i thought were weak points in-game. they personally made sense to me, feel free to tell me what yall think??

Maya, Ava and Krieg.

You meet maya on Athenas, and at some point along the way, she sidetracks a bit. 

“I have to go find my… friend. Yeah, lets call him that. He should be near the cemetery.”

You get to the cemetery where you’re greeted by the mountain of a psycho known as Krieg. He’s screaming about poop trains or ribcages or something along those lines.

“This is Krieg, he and I were crimson raiders a few years back.” “RIDING DEATH BOMBS TOGETHER!” “Speaking of which, Krieg, where’s Ava? You were supposed to keep an eye on her. In the library.” “RRRRGHGHH CONSTRAINTS OF A SKULL SPLITTER!” “I warned you Krieg. If she gets hurt it’s your fault. Come on vault hunter, this way.”

You continue through the rest of the mission as normal, but now there’s an extra occupant in maya and ava’s room. 

Upon killing the rampager, Ava shows up again, with Krieg trailing behind. Krieg could be less than interested and is just tossing rocks around.

You exit the vault and catch Maya scolding Krieg for not keeping Ava on the ship like she asked. Tyreen and Troy show up, and assume Krieg is just another psycho. “Hey there follower! You did good, capturing the Vault Thief and an extra siren! Should make you Eridium tier for that. You’ll be rewarded when we open the great vault.” Kreig cocks his head to one side in confusion, but for once is silent. 

Tyreen gets Ava by the throat and Maya has Troy in a chokehold, and Krieg is clearly confused on what to do as he looks back and forth between the two rapidly. Troy reaches up and grabs maya, and Krieg goes into a bloodlust, screaming and charging at Troy full speed. “Troy!” Tyreen shouts, dropping ava to rush to her brothers aid. When Krieg tackles Troy, maya drops, tattoos gone, and makes her way over to Ava. Troy and Tyreen get a grip on Krieg, with Troys robot arm wrapped around Kriegs neck. “Rule number one, follower: never betray the family.” Tyreen sneers through gritted teeth as she begins to drain krieg. “Krieg!” Maya screams, and she tries to run toward them, when Tyreen uses an energy pulse to send them flying back further. 

“Maya…. I.. love… you…” Krieg says as his eyes glaze over, and he turns into a husk, which quickly falls into a pile of dust. “No! Krieg!” Maya cries, tears streaming down her face. “Well, that takes care of that. Oh, eugh, ew, i think I got some psycho dust in my mouth, eugh, ew!” tyreen says, gagging. “Atlas! Ty, we gotta go!” Troy says, grabbing his sisters arm. They phase away as a squad of Atlas troops storm the vault, seeing nothing more than the three.

“Krieg…” Maya says sadly. 

“There’s nothing we could do, Maya. Lets get back to Santcuary.” Moze says.

“I know he meant a lot to you Maya, but we have to get out of here.” Amara says.

“He was a good hunter, but his time has come. We will mourn on Sanctuary.” Fl4k says.

“It’s sad lass, but there’s nothing we can do for him now. Let’s get you back to the ship.” Zane says.

>Upon rejoining Lilith on the bridge.

“Oh no, Maya, Tyreen got you too?” “Not Tyreen, it was that Troy douchebag.” Ava says. Maya can’t bring herself to speak. “Krieg… They killed him.” Ava says, staring down at her shoes. 

“Damn. I’m sorry Maya. I knew how close you two were. He was a psycho, but a good one at that. I can tell you for sure that he’s riding the shiniest of meat bicycles up in the stars, eh?” Lilith says, trying to comfort maya.

>After the mission is complete, maya has a side mission available.

“Krieg was one of the best of us, vault hunter, and I want to honor him as best I can. Can you head down to Pandora and see if he left any echo logs?”

Here you can find a few logs mentioning how he feels about maya semi-sanely. Maya seems to be oblivious to the clues that Krieg liked her, until you get to the end of the cave where there’s an echo next to a small box. 

“Maya. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

Your the tink to my turret, the bullet in my mag, the sister to.. My brother? Agh no that..that came out wrong. What I’m trying to say is… will you ride this meat bicycle with me, and be my wife?” The box opens, revealing a poorly made ring made of scrap steel. “Well, what did you find?” Maya asks. 

“Ill show you up on the ship.” the vault hunter responds. Upon returning to sanctuary, you meet up with maya in her quarters. “What is it you needed to show me vault hunter?” The vault hunter places the ring box on the table and the echo plays for maya, and the box opens on cue. 

“Oh Krieg, you crazy, beautiful bastard you.” Maya says, on the brink of tears. “Thank you for doing this, vault hunter. It means… it means a lot to me.” She pays you and you get a legendary grenade mod called Kriegs buzz axe, that turns your grenades into a buzz axe that gets hurled at enemies. It has red text that says “IM THE CONDUCTOR OF THE POOP TRAIN!”

The next time you see Maya on Sanctuary, she’s wearing the ring Krieg made on a chain around her neck.

Gaige the Siren

“Hey killer. I’ve gotten word that another former raider is in trouble. I need you to go down and check on her, will ya?”

>Player goes down to pandora and meets Gaige and Deathtrap, who are in the middle of an assault. Pain and Terror get ahold of her during the assault, and she’s to be sacrificed to the twins as an offering. During the last third of the fight against the Agonizer 9000, she ~somehow~ (Hint: siren powers) manages to free herself and summon Deathtrap, and helps you finish off the fight. 

“Thanks for helping me out there, VH. Man, I must be getting rusty on my badassery. I’ll meet you up on Sanctuary, hey?”

>Continue through the game as normal, along with some additional bits with Gaige catching up with Zero and Maya, and mourning the loss of Krieg. 

“Hey, you didn’t think I’d let you fight those assholes alone, didja?” Gaige says she’s coming down to help you fight Troy. “Gaige, you cant-” “Lilith, Imma be real with ya for a sec, and uh, no. Im going, and you can’t fuckin stop me. Kay? Kay.” “If you’re going, I’m coming down too. That douchebag killed Krieg, and I can’t… I can’t risk losing you too.” Maya says, and she clearly isn’t backing down. “I’m the leader of the raiders, and I’m not letting you two kill yourselves down there.” Lilith says, frustrated. 

You go down to the cathedral of the twin gods, and Maya and Lilith say theyll meet you there. Gaige helps you fight through the bandit hoards.

“You’re too late vault thief! Tyreen and I are opening the great vault, you cant stop us now!” Gaige taps on Troys shoulder, and he turns around. “Guess again, jackass.” Gaige slugs him in the face with her metal arm, and there it is revealed that she has blue tattoo’s travelling up her arm and shoulder on the left side, same as her metal arm. As she punches him, her white siren wings appear behind her, and a title card pops up introducing her as “Gaige: the Siren: (whaaaaaat?)”

Gaige helps you out throughout the fight, occasionally summoning deathtrap and using phase shift (“Excuting Phaseshift, BITCHES!”)  to allow small turrets to pop up along with ammo boxes.

At the end of the fight, Lilith and Maya appear, and as Troy dies, Maya regains her powers back. 

“Gaige, when were you gonna tell us about this?” Lilith demands. “Well ya see, when… Y’know with the whole laying-low thing, I… okay look I know this seems bad, but I couldn’t figure out a good time. I didn’t even know what was happening, and it didn’t happen right away! A few years later, when I was off planet and trying to figure out my next move one day and bam! There they were.” “But the question is, how?” “Angel and I… talked. We liked to talk. Its not like anything personal, but it was nice. She was my first friend, and… I-I didn’t want anything to happen to that.” “So angel chose you?” Maya asks. “No, I-I don’t think so anyways.” “Maya what are you talking about?” Lilith asks. “Before a siren passes, it’s said that she must choose an apprentice, someone to pass her powers onto, and if she doesnt, her powers will just play the genetic lottery. The bond you two had must’ve meant something to Angel too, and she chose you to carry her powers.” Gaige looks at the tattoo’s on her arm and shoulder with newfound meaning. 

Gaige is significantly more impacted by the Childhoods End quest, for obvious reasons.

Gaige continues to play the role that Tannis did.

Liliths death.

(to clarify, i really think it’s time for lilith to give up her role. she’s been the main focus in 2/3 games now, and i personally think that its time for her to step down and go out in a truly badass way.)

“It feels nice to have these powers back. Like greeting an old friend.” Lilith says. “Hey uh guys? I don’t think we’re in the clear yet! Elpis is still tearing pandora apart!” Gaige yells. 

“Run towards the fire.” Lilith looks over at Ava and Maya. “Be ready Ava.”

“Lilith, what are you doing?” “Lilith, no!” Maya and Gaige plead with lilith, but she ignores them and takes off soaring towards Elpis.

“What the hell is she doing?!” Maya yells.

“She’s closing the great vault.” Ava responds.

“Is she insane? That’ll kill her!” Gaige cries.

“That’s the idea.” Ava looks up at lilith as she reaches elpis. 

Lilith phases Elpis away, leaving behind her insignia.

“She’s dead… She’s really dead.” Maya says sadly. “Not quite. She’s still lighting the way.” Ava says.

Ava suddenly doubles over and begins to float. “Ava? Ava what the hell is going on?!” Gaige shouts. A sudden burst of energy comes from Ava, revealing the bright orange wings of the Firehawk, paired with the tattoo’s now running down Ava’s arm.

“Those tattoo’s suit you, Ava.” Maya says, resting a hand on Ava’s shoulder. “She chose right, I can say that much.” Gaige says with a gentle smile. “C’mon Guys, let’s get back to the ship.” Gaige says, making her way out of the vault. Maya follows, and as Ava goes to leave, she turns back around, looking up at the Blazing Phoenix above her head. “Thanks, Lilith.” Ava says softly. “Ava, cmon!” Maya shouts. “Coming!” Ava quickly runs back to catch up to the others.

[kuno-chan]

Love Amongst the Dragons: Gales of Yesterday - Ch. 3, The Tempest

Summary: In a sentence, Prince Callum doesn't care for dragons. He has his reasons for not being a fan, but the Dragon Ban has expired and now his life is full of them as the Dragon Keep has finished and everyone around him is preoccupied in making sure everything is ready for the Xadians arriving so the dragon rider's training program may succeed. Now, Callum is up to his neck in everything that has to do with dragons as he does his best to satiate some dangerous curiosities, wrestle sorrowful memories and support his stepfather, King Harrow, in this time of redemption.

Rating: G

--

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--

The human kingdoms were a strange place. There was very little magic. In fact, there was basically no magic anywhere.

Rayla found it rather bizarre,honestly. She said as much to Runaan.

“Humans were not born with magic,” he told her, concealing a knife in his boot. He instructed her to do the same. This entire diplomatic mission was supposed to be peaceful, but it wasn’t as if the humans were completely trustworthy. Runaan’s chief fear was what might happen if things went wrong; if they suddenly found themselves surrounded by human guards with no way out. They had their dragons, but now, so did the humans. “We can’t expect their lands to have any, either. Otherwise, they would have figured out a way to harness it.”

“They have dark magic,” Rayla said.

“What they call magic. Dark magic is not true magic.”

Rayla nodded. She agreed wholeheartedly.

“Are Luna and Athena secure?” he asked.

“In the stables. They’re resting, I’m sure. It was a pretty long trip for them. Luna was getting a bit cranky after a few days.”

Runaan raised his brows at her in question. “Is Luna secure?”

“... she was when I left her,” Rayla said, grinning nervously. “I swear.”

“And we must keep it that way. Dragons are new for most of these humans and Luna will spook them if she simply shows up.”

“She’ll probably just steal their kitchen utensils.”

“And I imagine they value their kitchen utensils.”

Rayla shrugged, though she shared a knowing smile. “Oh, I suppose. I’ll make sure she knows she can’t play with the whisks around here.”

“Good. Now, come.” Runaan beckoned. “I want you to be there when I speak with the King. You should know how to navigate these situations. Diplomacy is a skill you might learn.”

Rayla followed Runaan to a more private room than she was expecting. It was small, not even half the size of the throne room, more intimately decorated with paintings and items that she assumed the king held dear. A drawing of him and the boy she saw upon arriving at the castle hung on the wall.

“Please, both of you,” King Harrow gestured. “Sit. I appreciate you being available despite how tired you must be.”

Runaan nodded. “It’s what we came to do. We ought to start with a conversation.”

Rayla sat quietly, as ordered, but also impressed. Humans were not Runaan’s favorite people in the entire world. So, when he showed no qualms about leading the diplomatic party into the human kingdoms, Rayla was surprised... and not. On one hand, Runaan didn’t care for humans for a variety of reasons. On the other hand, he would perform his duty without complaint. Without fail.

So, Rayla did as expected, she sat quietly and observed the situation. She even debated sitting or standing in the corner. But she took a seat and Runaan gave her no indication that he disapproved.

“I agree. So, first, let me open with a question: What are your main concerns? I want to address those before we move on to other things. I realize the need for transparency if there is to be any trust between Xadia and Katolis.”

Runaan nodded. “The treaty has expired, but Xadia is concerned about the humans using the dragons solely as war machines. Yes, in battle they are invaluable, but to raise and use dragons with that purpose and that purpose alone is to foster a culture where they are nothing more than tools. And, that, is a dangerous sentiment to breed. Especially considering the use of… other magics among humans.”

“I absolutely agree,” King Harrow said. “And you have my word that I am doing everything in my power to make sure those in charge of the dragons’ training understand this. These are creatures who deserve respect if we are to gain their allegiance, should we even call it that. There must be respect and trust between dragon and rider.”

Rayla almost raised her brows. She hadn’t expected that answer.

“Then, we are in agreement,” Runaan said. “As long as that ideal shines through there shouldn’t be a problem. As for the Dragon Keep, who oversees it?”

“I’ve put Lord Viren in charge of the Dragon Keep. He is my closest advisor and I would trust him with my life.” The king stood said.

“The high mage.”

A pause. The king nodded.

Runaan said nothing.

The king broke the long silence that followed. “Lord Viren is my responsibility and I will see to it that nothing, and I mean nothing, atrocious happens to those dragons. Contrary to what you may believe, I do not always agree with him and his… methods.”

“I will hold you accountable then.”

King Harrow sat back but said nothing. He only nodded.

Rayla sat in silence the entire time as the king and Runaan discussed the conditions of which Xadia would allow the humans use of their dragons for military power without risk of transgression.

All the while, Rayla examined the king. This was the man who drove their kingdoms to war. The man who had a part, however big or small, in killing Thunder. They never even recovered his egg. Some part of her wanted to hate him. Wanted to blame him for the situations that plagued her life. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to hate him for all the sincerity in his eyes. Runaan could see the conflict written on her face once they finished an hour later.

“You’re troubled,” he said.

“He’s… not what I expected.”

“I imagine he’s not. What do you make of him?” he asked.

“... He regrets.”

“As he should. Many people died in his war. Human or not, those decisions weigh on him.”

“What do you think of him?”

“I can respect a man who realizes his mistakes, but it doesn’t make the mistakes go away. The people who died won’t come back. Regardless if he knows what he did was wrong, those who laid down their lives or suffered in the shadow of his decisions gain no reprieve.”

“Sorry isn’t enough.” It was more of a statement than a clarification.

“I will hold judgement. Your judgement is your own. I expect you on your best behavior, regardless.”

Rayla rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. You don’t have to keep telling me, you know.”

Runaan only made a noise that told her more than enough about his expectations.

-:-:-:-

In the morning Callum saw his brother for all of ten minutes before Ezran found somewhere else to be. He was starting to wonder if he upset his little brother somehow, but that usually wasn’t the case when Ezran left to go exploring. Callum wondered, but he supposed it was something else.

Either way, it left him somewhat alone for the day. Claudia and Soren both had other obligations and different things to do under the orders of their father. Soren and Varius were busy with the new dragon riders and Claudia was doing research for her father on some aspect of dragon behavior.

Even his stepfather was entertaining and making sure the Xadians were comfortable. They were planning to visit the Dragon Keep soon.

Every day was about dragons, really. Every day Callum woke up, the dragons were a part of their lives in some capacity. He hadn’t expected it. Not like this.

He still tensed up when he woke in the morning. It took him ten minutes or so just to get himself prepared for the day, even if nothing was inherently wrong. His stepfather always told him he didn’t have to be involved and, initially, Callum had completely prepared himself to do just that. No dragons, no way.

Then, the Dragon Keep went up. Then, dragons started being brought in. Soren got Varius. Claudia began looking more into it. His stepfather talked about it more. They assigned Lord Viren to the project.

Suddenly, everywhere he turned… dragons, dragons, dragons.

It used to be thirty minutes in the morning. Thirty minutes before he could get up and face his new reality.

It made him sick, having to look at it all.

All of it just reminded him of his mother.

Her breath rattled in her chest.

It stopped.

Callum’s chest tightened. The thoughts threatened to overwhelm him when he thought about it too much. When he thought about it all, sometimes.

With Ezran busy for the day, apparently off on his own shenanigans, Callum took his sketchbook and, against his better judgement, found his way to the Dragon Keep.

At first, that was how it started and why he ended up going there at all. As long as he stayed on the wall and far from the actual creatures, he could sketch them to his heart’s content. He would sketch one dragon, then go home. It gradually became two or more. Now, he didn’t really have a limit. Just whenever he felt finished for the day.

He still stayed high on the wall though. He never ventured close to them. Not once. Not on his life.

When he got to the keep, however, Soren and his dragon riding recruits were using the wall he normally occupied. Whatever they were doing, he didn’t want to disturb them. Step-prince or not, occasionally, it distracted people that he was a prince and was the adopted son of the king. Those who weren’t around him as often sometimes felt like they had to pay him mind. It made Callum uncomfortable.

So, he looked around.

Sketching would have to wait, he supposed.

It probably wasn’t the wisest of ideas, but he started poking around. Frankly, he felt like Ezran, just wanting to know what was around the corners, going to places he most likely wasn’t supposed to.

He walked near Lord Viren’s office at the keep, past it and down the hall he’d never bothered going down. The halls were simple but decorated, red rugs, tapestries and weapons hung in traditional Katolis fashion. The hall widened and simplified at the very end. To the right, Callum knew was the arena. To the left, a darker tunnel, but otherwise open. Airy. Breezy, even? Drafty, perhaps was the right word.

Callum knew better, but he took the left anyway. He wanted to know where the breeze came from. Was it another way out? An escape route should this place go up in flames?

What he found was a simple room. The breeze came from the open windows, letting in light and the smell of fresh air; it gave the room a less scary quality than Callum expected. It would have been a perfect place to spend a private moment, were it not for the cage in the center of the room.

And the dragon in the cage.

Blue slitted eyes trained on him. Callum froze.

The Tempest looked at him, eyes focused on his every move. Callum didn’t budge. He and the Tempest stared each other down. Rather, the Tempest stared him down.

Callum just stared.

He stared and prayed.

Could it shoot fire at him from this distance?

Did it shoot fire?

Was it poisonous?

He recalled Soren’s words about Chaos class dragons and realized he’d already made a mistake by praying and not running first. It was too late now though. He was as good as dragon lunch if he moved even one muscle and --

The Tempest’s eyes flickered. It looked him over, then snorted. It went back to laying down.

Callum was almost disappointed. Relieved, but almost disappointed. He wasn’t even worth a dragon’s time.

“Thanks, I guess,” Callum said. “Didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll just be--”

There was a muffled string of familiar voices coming from down the hall. The trainers.

And Lord Viren.

Callum closed the door to the room and ducked away from the entrance. If Lord Viren found him down here, he’d be furious and that was not something he wanted to face so close to his office. It was just… an unsettling office. Especially if Lord Viren thought he might have stolen something. No, thank you.

The Tempest went back to staring at him.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave in a minute, okay? I just need to wait until he’s gone,” Callum hissed.

What was he doing? Why was he apologizing to the dragon? The Tempest probably didn’t care one way or another what Callum did so long as he didn’t come and bother him. He didn’t have to worry about that. Callum couldn’t have been tighter against the wall if he tried.

He wasn’t sure which one was worse: Lord Viren or the dragons.

Apparently, Callum had decided Lord Viren right at this moment.

The Tempest groaned and turned over. Fair enough. It didn’t seem to care what Callum did. It had its own problems.

This is what he got for being nosy, he supposed. He’d kept coming to the keep just to draw the dragons for the sake of art and curiosity, knowing what it would make him feel. He went to sleep at night, nowadays, feeling a little more anxious knowing that tomorrow he’d go back. But it was a point of pride for him. This was going to be his life, right? Surrounded by dragons. He ought to face his fears and deal with it.

At least, that’s what he told himself when his heart was beating in his chest so hard it hurt.

He wasn’t good at anything that didn’t have to do with lines on paper.

At the very least, he could face this… issue haunting him.

Every time he saw a dragon, he saw his mother’s dying face.

Callum looked back at the Tempest. A groan escaped the dragon’s mouth and his belly rose and fell. He frowned at the dragon’s breathing. The Tempest seemed… exhausted?

Lord Viren was just outside the door. Callum could hear him, probably making his way to his office.

“... no food, no water. Understood? Make an example out of them if need be. These beasts need to know who’s in charge around here. If they go out of control, we may all end up burned alive.”

The trainer shuddered, then agreed to obey.

In the cell, the Tempest rolled over just barely, lethargic and breathing somewhat labored. Restless, even. He opened and closed his mouth, his tongue lolling out slightly. He wasn’t hurt -- not that Callum would see any bruises with a hide as thick as a dragons, but…

“You’re starving,” Callum said softly.

The Tempest trained a blue eye on him. There was some animosity that kept Callum from getting any closer to him. Humans were not his favorite people in the world. And he had a feeling an elf would not be in his good graces either.

Outside, the door to Lord Viren’s office slammed shut.

Callum didn’t leave right away, but the Tempest looked away from him, curling into a ball as if to protect himself from anymore visitors.

It took a moment for Callum to leave, observing the Tempest before his hands and feet finally found the door, then a whisper.

“I’m sorry.”

-:-:-:-

“Prince Callum.”

Callum froze, tensing from Lord Viren’s stern and not so pleased tone of voice. He turned on his heel.

“Lord Viren, I was just, uh, exploring.”

“Were you now?” Lord Viren closed the door to his office. “Exploring the very cell down the hall from my office? How coincidental.”

“Yep, it is pretty strange how we met down here, but I really should be going now--”

“Do you take me for a fool?”

His tone cut like ice.

Callum tried to act like nothing was wrong. “No, sir, I--”

“Then, why don’t you and I remain honest with each other, hm? I know you were down here spying on whatever you think I have hidden away, but I assure you there’s nothing. So, I suggest you run along and not do it again.”

Callum frowned. “If there’s nothing down here then why do you have a dragon in the cell you know I was just in?”

“That dragon is in confinement for poor behavior. There is nothing down there. Nothing that concerns you, at least.”

“You’re starving him.”

“I’m teaching him to listen to his masters. He will be fed and kept alive, but at my discretion.” Viren tapped his staff on the ground. “These are wild beasts, boy. Not humans. And you’re a fool if you truly believe that we shouldn’t protect ourselves from their wrath. If the dragon doesn’t make it that is its own fault for not cooperating.”

“Right now, the king’s wrath is the only one you should worry about.” Callum turned to leave. “When he finds out about this, he’s going to be furious.”

Lord Viren said nothing.

Nothing dismayed him more than the king’s disapproval.

But in a chilling tone Lord Viren said, “He will be… worried.” Callum stopped. “Yes, very worried. This Xadian diplomacy mission is very important to him. Why, if he thought it might fail on account of me, I’m not sure he would even sleep at night. But, I suppose you’re right. The stress of his anger is something I fear. For all our sakes.”

Callum turned to glare at Viren, but the man was already walking away, his cane tapping the ground the only sound between them.

-:-:-:-

No, Lord Viren was…

He was right.

Yes, he was right.

But so was his decision.

Callum couldn’t just let that Tempest starve to death. No, that was wrong in every way and he couldn’t just let it happen.

On the other hand, Lord Viren wasn’t entirely wrong either. His least favorite person right now, but not entirely wrong. Callum thought about it all the way back to the castle and it wasn’t until he ran into Ezran once he got back to their joined rooms.

“Where have you been?” Callum raised a brow at Ezran.

Ezran looked up from where he was playing with Bait. “Callum! Oh, uh… nowhere?”

Callum frowned. “Were you sneaking into the baker’s again?”

Ezran grinned. “Oh, uh, yeah! You caught me.”

Callum snorted and shook his head. “Well, you’ll never guess what happened to me today.”

Callum told him all of it. About the Tempest he found, wanting to tell the king and his conversation with Lord Viren.

“So, are you going to tell dad?”

“Well, yeah. It’s the right thing to do…” Callum said. “... right?”

Ezran smiled a little. “Of course. We should go tell him right now.”

The king sat in his room, the desk piled high with papers that probably had to do with the arrival of the Xadian diplomats. After all, their safety fell on his shoulders. A heavy responsibility considering everything.

“I’m sorry, boys. I know I was pretty busy all day.”

Callum shook his head. “No, it’s okay. We know you’re busy.”

“Yeah,” Ezran said. “Dad, you don’t have to apologize.”

Harrow sighed and stood from his chair. He paced the room with his hands behind his back. “This diplomatic mission with the Xadians and the Dragon Keep… it all needs to go well. “

“Your Majesty,” Callum started. Harrow looked back at him with a sad smile. Callum cleared his throat. “You know… everybody can see you trying to make up for everything.”

Harrow chuckled a little, a crestfallen tone somewhere in it. “It is very hard to make up for a war you helped start. Believe me, Callum. As it is, I don’t care about my reputation. No. After the things I saw and realizing my part in those horrors? This is my duty. For the sake of peace between our two kingdoms, it is my duty to ensure that this goes well. That Xadia and Katolis -- all the human kingdoms -- can have a chance at real peace and cooperation between all our peoples. Do you boys understand?”

Callum and Ezran looked at each other, then nodded at their father.

“We understand,” Callum said.

Harrow approached them and got down on one knee, coming to eye level with Ezran specifically. “Ezran, one day you will also need to make decisions like this. As king, there will be… a heavy burden on your shoulders. One that I will always be sorry fell on your shoulders. But it’s important that you take this duty seriously. People will look to you for guidance. But to learn how to lead you must learn how to follow and learning to follow means listening. And, right now, as a prince, this is the best time to do just that. I was young when I became king. And perhaps I didn’t listen as a prince as well as I should have. Do you understand why I’m telling you all this?”

Ezran nodded. He even smiled and put Bait down for just a moment. “If I can be half as good a king as you are, then I’ll do great, Dad.”

Ezran hugged him and, a moment later, Callum joined. He felt King Harrow put his arms around them. “Thank you, boys.” When they pulled back, he put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Now, it’s getting late. You boys should go and rest. Tomorrow I’m sure will be another long day.”

“Actually, Dad, we--”

“Really should be getting that sleep,” Callum said quickly. He grinned and nodded. “Yup. It’s time to sleep. Just like you said.”

Harrow laughed a little as he rose to his feet. “Very well. You two run along, then. There are other ways for you to get some sleep than to help me with my paperwork.”

They left the king to his dreaded paperwork and Ezran frowned at Callum. “Why didn’t you tell him about the dragon, Callum?”

Bait croaked. Callum sighed. “You saw him, Ez. He’s got enough to deal with right now with the Xadians here. I’ll just have to figure something out on my own.”

“Well, what are we going to do?”

Callum shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure that dragon has a fighting chance.”

[kwrittink]

Bloody Love 3

Pairing: Park Jimin x Reader (princeBTS!au)

Genre: Fluff (color a little angst?)

Warnings: Language, mentions of sex, self depreciation

Words: 5,682 

SinList

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The following day came as bright as the previous one, and Jimin, as exhausted as he felt, still forced himself to wake up early and meet prince Yoongi with you.  

Ah, she's already here... He thought with a soft sigh as he entered the familiar grand saloon where the royal family would receive their guests - and where he played with you and Yoongi a couple of times when little. I wonder how can Y/N look so well-rested after a tough travel like that. He observed, discreetly eyeing your figure, the manly attire reserved for the soldiers suiting you well - Jimin imagined you had adjusted them a bit, of course -, even with the sword always hung on your waist. His eyes returned to look at where he was going, when a soft shift in your posture indicated you had noticed his proximity. 

Taking in the sight of the marble walls he accessed every detail, from the curtains covering the windows where they used to hide while playing to the hole on the floor beside the armors, from when you tried to take the heavy stone sword from the armor ornament hung on the wall and it fell heavily and loud. But of course at that time me and Yoongi took the blame from her, but Y/N felt so bad she ended up confessing it to her father later... Jimin sighed with the memory.

“The daughter of Athena, how glad I am to see you again,” prince Min Yoongi's voice echoed on the saloon as he too walked inside from the opposite direction, and Jimin felt his chest tighten as he watched your face brighten in a sweet smile, as you bowed your head towards the other prince.  

“Your Majesty, it's been long,” you shortly responded, and the black-haired man snorted at your formal manners. At least he can laugh about it, since it just means that - formalities. In my case, it's a wall Y/N puts in between me and her. 

“This girl never changes.” Yoongi said, turning to him with a grin. Jimin swallowed hard and offered him a tight smile, as his friend extended his hand to greet him. “How have you been? Did you have an easy trip?” The Min prince asked and Jimin sighed, responding that the sun had been the only bother on the way, fortunately.  

“This summer is going to be punishing, I see. Well, let's move to the other room, where food is being served. We're not so early here on the palace, but I certainly know how of an early bird General Y/N is.” He started, and the two man started walking but after chuckling at Yoongi's light mock, you cleared your throat, calling their attention. 

“Yes, I'm very sorry for that, your Majesty,” you started and both princes frowned deeply as they noticed you didn't meet their eyes. “But I'll have to excuse myself and seek my uncle, your General Gun. I'll have my meals with him, so to not disturb your conversation. Now if you'd excuse me...” You trailed off and was about to turn on your heel and leave, wasn't for prince Yoongi's annoyed groan. 

“Hey, what the fuck Y/N? What is this now?” He walked towards you, gesturing in your general direction. Jimin saw the corner of your mouth twitch up at his cursing and he would be laughing too at the way Yoongi talked if the first thought on his mind to justify your reasons weren't that you didn't want to be any near him than necessary. I heard Y/N say it herself yesterday to Seokjin. He bit his lower lip quietly, hearing you trying to get yourself out of the trouble of having breakfast with them stating what was appropriate and whatnot. 

“Tsk, you're being so stubborn... I don't know how this rule applies in your land, but we're in my Kingdom right now, and here everyone eats together. That includes uncle Gun, which may be starving as we dwell on your formalities. Let's go.” The Min prince stated in an annoyed tone, finishing by grabbing onto your elbow to drag you - but being unsuccessful on his attempt. She's stronger than him, after all. Always has been.  

You sighed in defeat, shoulders slumping a bit as she took slow steps towards the duo. “Alright then, I'll abide to your orders, Majesty,” you had responded almost in a mutter, but still audible for the two men. Yoongi proceeded to squint at you but decided to turn to Jimin, a silent question in his eyes, to which the Park prince didn't have a short answer to. 

You sighed, exhausted. Laying on the plush large bed didn't felt satisfying at all that moment, and you were impatient to get inside the hot bath that was being drawn by your designated lady. Turning your head to the side, you glanced out of the window, observing the moon on her third night of full phase. 

The day had been tiring, mostly because you had focused all your strength in being distant of the princes, for your own good and for the practice of good manners. Nothing is like before, we're grown ups and we are under the rules, they should understand. You snickered, recalling Yoongi's annoyed face every time you called him "Majesty" and such. 

There was also a hidden motive on being that formal and evasive of them, and that was your inability of staying close to Jimin. I know he noticed I've been even more colder than always towards him and Yoongi isn't stupid either. But is really important for me to not get my guard down and delude myself we're picking at were we left before Yoongi had to get back here. You told yourself and instantly Jimin's sad smile popped into your mind. You always knew when he was faking it, even after all this time. It was like you knew him better than the palm of your own hand and it frustrated you immensely.  

“Lady... General Y/N, your bath is ready.” Sana, the maid responsible for your room said, and you got up with a sigh, getting rid of the images in your mind as you chuckled at the way she stuttered on what to call you. I'm sure I'm the first woman to be a General she has ever seen. Heading to the bathroom, you threw a thanks over your shoulder at her and started shedding your clothes.  

“I'm okay with "Miss Gun" or Y/N if you will,” ou offered a smile and she nodded, eyeing quickly your slightly strong and marked body, not as lady-like and in your vision, not really desirable for men. Not that I'm bothered by that, since I can't and won't have anyone.  

“Yes, I'm sorry Miss Gun,” she said and you snickered softly, dismissing her excuse. With that, she left you to bathe, once again alone with your thoughts. The mind is an annoying place.  

You finished washing up quickly thought, avoiding to think about anything unnecessary and reviewing your plans to the following days. But before you could try once again relax on the bed, since the following day would be an early one, there was a knock on the door. Frowning, you walked towards the heavy wood door after putting on your robe, humoring on the back of your mind the thought of Jimin going to visit you at that time. Yeah right. 

“Well, you look like you weren't expecting me to be behind the door,” prince Yoongi smirked at your surprised face, getting inside without even waiting for you to invite him in. 

Snickering, you closed the door behind yourself, wondering why the hell the man would risk having his reputation stained by visiting a woman’s room that late at night. Prince Yoongi's reputation is impeccable, differently from the prince in my kingdom. In fact Min Yoongi has been known as the Ice-Prince, since he treats the ladies of the court coldly - and that actually works to make them swoon.  

“I wasn't expecting anyone, if that's what you're implying, prince. But tell me, what is the reason for you to barge into my room like that?” You shot back and saw his eyes shine with amusement, as your sharp tongue made a comeback. Sitting on the bed he pat the space by his side, snickering with a playful grin at your glare. 

“I knew you had a problem with Jimin from the first moment I saw you two on the saloon, but thought strange when you started treating me, the love of your life,” Yoongi paused, waiting for you to scoff, which you did. “With such coldness of heart. So I came here to slap some sense into you.” He explained and you snorted, shaking your head. Yoongi would never do something if he didn't have a bigger purpose or if it wasn't extremely necessary and there was always the morning where he could clear those things up with you. There's still something bigger here. You thought, and waited, still staring at his face boredly. Snickering, the prince rolled his eyes.  

“I forgot for a second I was talking with the mighty daughter of Athena.” Your friend remarked and that made a sly grin form in your lips. That nickname was what your tutor used to call you when little. Because of your quick wit and good strategy, he ended up comparing you with the goddess, in a way. It was flattering, but it got kind of annoying when Yoongi started to say it himself to tease you. And Jimin, in a occasion not worth remembering. “Anyways you know we care about you and by we, I don't mean just your uncle and myself. I know you're mad at him and though he knows it too, but doesn't have a clue why.” Yoongi started and you were about to object, telling him you weren't mad, but Yoongi just gave you one pointed look and you decided to shut. Well is not like he doesn't know me too. 

“And I know you won't tell me anything, because for you to be this mad at him for so long something really deep happened between you two. But again, we care about you, so he sent me a bird yesterday morning telling that you two were summoned to a ball at Yoo and well, asked me for a favor.” He hopped off the bed, while you followed his steps towards the door. Jimin sent a message to Yoongi? Well I thought that harpy looked familiar... The sight of the big brown bird flying over their heads the previous morning could have been unnoticed by all, but since you were so worried about not looking at the prince in his riding clothes - why did the simpler dark brown leather pants looked so good on him was beyond your understanding - that was a detail you gave thought to. 

 “And since when you do something Jimin asks you to?” Crossing your arms over your chest you watched Yoongi stride to your door and open it, nodding to someone to approach. What is he doing? 

 “Never, but since it concerned you, then why should I say no?” He answered, while opening the door to Sana, which entered carrying a simple wooden chest, wasn't big but certainly wasn't small - and looked fairly heavy -, placing it on the carpet in front of the bed. Frowning, you looked from it to the prince, which had a expectant expression on his face. 

“What is this?” you inquired, because there was no way it could be what you thought it was. Yoongi motioned for Sana to open it, and she carefully clicked the locks, taking out a- “Is this a dress? How, when?” Your jaw slacked, completely baffled as the maid held the heavy fabric. It was an off-shoulder pink - a tone you've only seen in those strawberry teas so famous on the Park Kingdom - long dress, flared skirt with a sheer fabric on top, with rose details in lace at the bottom of the skirt. 

“That's the favor Jimin asked. He didn't know if you had a dress, so he asked if there was something I could do about it. Sana here is our royal tailor, she has a good eye, so I asked her to tend for you, figure out your style and size and search for something in my late mother's wardrobe.” The prince explained with a nonchalant shrug. You just stood there, livid.  

“Oh my lord somebody behead me.” With your hands cradling your head, you closed your eyes. In front of you was one of the most beautiful dresses you've ever seen, straight from Min's late Queen - which was a friend of your also late mother back on the day -, and there was no way you'd accept to wear that. This is so embarrassing! “I can't borrow this Yoongi, are you crazy?” You glared at him, which looked really amused to see you so nervous.  

“Who said borrow? I'm giving this to you, Y/N. You know I won't have use for that anyways.” He sighed, walking back closer to you, that settled on the bed, completely thunderstruck. Jimin knew I didn't have a fitting dress? Did he knew I had to sell my mother's gowns to live after my father died, did he told Yoongi that? You felt like crying, like you were being turned into a charity action. “I just hope you don't get offended, as I said before, we care about you,” he continued, patting your head. That was another man who was just like an older brother, but more annoying.  

“Of course I'm offended, you're treating me like I am in need for charity, Yoongi. This is also insulting for your late mother, how do you think she would feel about this?” You glanced up, slapping his hand away from your hair. In response, he rolled his eyes and knelt, standing in your eye level. This is so freaking nostalgic, like I lived this scene more times than I can count. You snickered, waiting for the prince to start talking.  

“This is not charity, this is just friends worrying and taking care of another friend. Besides you know how my mother loved you Y/N, you're the daughter she never had. And let's be honest, that dress is too pretty to be kept hidden, so I think our late Queen would feel honored to have you wearing it.” He spoke and there was this pang in your chest as you heard Yoongi's soft tone towards you. He sounds too much like my father.  

“Don't be stupid, why would she feel honored of me, just a General, to wear this... I should just go in my armor or something...” You countered, not even daring to tell you had brought your own dress, since that would surely make him insist further. It's definitely too small for me. I tried it on. You shut your eyes close, hiding your face in your hands.  

“Hey don't say those things! I'm telling you, just take it, would make her so happy! Would make me so happy. And fuck, you can even show Jimin how stupid he was with whatever he had done on the process. I'm not even going to beg you, I'm demanding it. Wear the damn dress.” He insisted and you snorted at what he said about Jimin, which made you understand he had at least some idea of what happened. 

Well fuck, he's ordering it. You thought, looking up to see the prince's grin grow into a full gummy smile, those you loved to tease him about and he never showed anybody. Yoongi isn't stupid, he still knows something about me and must have an idea of what happened between me and Jimin - thought I appreciate a lot him not asking about it. You sighed, and that would tell him you were throughly convinced.  

“But only because I don't want to make Park Kingdom look bad.” The statement was made with a finger pointing at the prince's face, which only snorted, going again to pat your hair, actually ruffling it like he would at a little child.  

“Don't forget to write me a letter, telling how it went. You never wrote to me again, little one.” He said and your heart clenched at his tone. Rolling your eyes to avoid the aching, you dodged his hand.  

“I'll think about it, prince. Never thought you were a sentimentalist though.” Yoongi shrugged, because he really wasn't, not at least for the public. But Again, I know him.   

“Just get to try the dress on, we have some hours to make any necessary adjustments.” The prince got up, eyeing Sana so she would coax you into the dress, while he left. Groaning, you got up, ready to comply as quickly as possible. That's the beginning of the annoying process. At least this is not often.  

 “Have you heard? Prince Yoongi spent most of the night on her chambers...” Sat in the kitchen’s table, Jimin clenched his jaw at the maid's not-so-whispered comment to another one passing by, while he chewed on a piece of bread that was gave to him, downing it with water afterwards. He knew rumors were mostly unfounded, but it didn't stop the jealousy to seep through his body. This also will stain Y/N’s reputation, I don’t like it.

“Ah, they are at it already. Yoongi is so reckless sometimes.” He heard you mutter annoyed to yourself and lifted his eyes in a glare that you didn't notice, being too preoccupied with your hand leather bag, where you kept some potions and medicines at hand. She can talk so casually about him, but me... He scoffed, finishing his late breakfast - he ended up sleeping late the night before, since Yoongi came to talk to him after the supposed ‘love escapade’ with you - and got up from the kitchen's table, wanting to breathe some fresh air, hoping that would ease his mood.  

Being completely honest, the comments are the least of my concerns. What went through my head yesterday while I knew they were alone in a room still makes my blood run cold... Jimin sighed, fingers combing his hair back in frustration. You had turned - always had been, to be precise - into a beautiful woman and Yoongi had made sure to tell him that, asking some questions that had ticked him the whole day. And his interest in Y/N makes me itch, because I know how dearly she holds him. Between them nothing had changed and I saw it with my bare eyes. He rolled his eyes, walking towards the bay where the workers were preparing their horses for later use. Even if you had tried to maintain yourself distant, Jimin could see clearly in your face how happy you were the day before to see Yoongi, and his heart ached as he watched you two banter, your walls completely down for him. I missed seeing her smile like that.  

“Man, I don't know what you've done but... You need to fix that, and I think this trip is your only chance. Don't mess this up.” Yoongi's words were the second reason sleep failed to find him, as he raided his mind for the reason for you to be that upset with him. My reputation is something that may have, but to that extent? What could I have done to make Y/N despise me like this? He couldn't understand and for some reason his mind always ended up falling back to that night, the only night you could consume the love you had for each other, where you finally belonged to one another. That was the starting point, where everything began to crumble. He was confided with more duties as a prince... And you had just lost your father, becoming a General in a short amount of time after. Jimin was sad he couldn't be there for you and more yet you two fell apart. But... Yoongi is right, now I have the chance to talk to Y/N. I'll resolve this issue, I have to know. If she doesn't want to talk to me anymore then I'll... 

“Prince Jimin, are you ready to leave? We're already on schedule,” your voice startled him, and he turned around to face you, meeting the sight of your wild hair flying around with the wind, face shining with the high sun as you strode towards his general direction with confident, wide steps.  

“Yes General. Is the prince Yoongi awake yet?” He asked in a monotone, suddenly taken aback with that simple demonstration of your whole dominance. He noticed people around you had stopped to watch you interact with him, which maybe looked tiny and weak and too soft as he stared at you. Tying your hair you scoffed, going to your horse and patting its face dearly.  

“If I know something about him is that he'll be sleeping till the night. But there's no harm done, my uncle will send us off.” You had stated, smiling softly at the animal while the bay workers finished their job, tying your luggage on both horses. Jimin nodded approaching his own mounting, hopping on in a swift motion. Then there's nothing left to say right now.  

The way was as silent as Jimin had predicted, the sun never giving a break, making justice to Yoongi's foreshadowing of a punishing summer. He felt lightheaded when you arrived Yoo by the end of the evening and went straight to his room, wanting to take a bath and at least nap for five minutes to recover. 

You on the other hand, still looked fresh, the sweat giving you a healthy glow and the sun making your eyes look fiery. He knew you liked riding, always did, and had been better than every man he knew, including your own father. Y/N was made to be wild, free like a spirit. The thought was what made him smile, right before he fell asleep on the comfortable bed of his chambers, only to be woke later on.  

“You look stunning as ever, Y/N.” I hear myself say knowing that this is only a dream that I’ve dreamt to many times, old memories resurfacing through it. 

“Shut it, you're going to make everyone notice us,” a much younger Y/N chastises me with a whisper and though her words are harsh, I see a smile playing on the corner of her mouth, even in the low light that the moon provides us, as she drags me by the hand inside the maze of the royal garden. 

“Only the frogs my dear. And besides I think they would agree with me.” I whisper back and Y/N rolls her eyes, stopping on the little gazebo on the centre of the maze, which had become our favourite hiding spot. The air had a buzz, a thrill that ran over both of us for the secrecy of this moment, as every time we met in that place.

“Whatever you say, my prince. Now tell me, what was so important that you had to call me this late at night?” Smiling, I ask her to get closer, as we sit on the stone bench, covered by the shadows hidden away in our little world. Y/N is smart, she knows what I'm about to do, but doesn't stop me, since we were already infatuated with one another from the moment we first met, and it was - as Yoongi had put more than once - sickening. 

This time though, everything is different. There is a new urgency in our kisses, hands clawing at each other, fingers ranking across skin and cloth, as if I held her sanity and she held mine, like we needed air to breath and could only do it by staying so close. Y/N skin feels like fire against my own - even through her nightgown -, and she's shakin, her soft hands touching every sweet spot having gotten to know my body even more than I do myself. All the while I’m trying hard to suppress my own noises eagerly kissing her in return, but it’s all her; she who has always held a power over me. 

“Jimin, I...” she struggles to speak while trying to keep her voice down, squeezing my arms warningly, stopping from me from further peppering kisses on her neck. “I need you...” The expression on her face at that moment makes me lose my breath and thought we might have spent just a couple seconds staring at each other, I feel like I lived a whole eternity lost in her eyes. I can only lean, pressing my forehead against hers, fingers tightening at her waist.

“Don't worry my love, I'm here for you.” I'm breathing unevenly, eyes closing again as her lips meet mine, our desire resurfacing even stronger. 

“Excuse me your Majesty, but General Y/N is at the door, asking to wake you...” the soft voice of the maid still made Jimin jolt awake, eyes widening like he was caught doing something wrong. Groaning, he rolled on his stomach, trying to hide the obvious reaction his body had with that dream and muttered he would be out in a minute. Maybe he sounded a little too grumpy, since the girl quickly hurried outside, leaving him to gather himself. 

“Sorry to wake you, Majesty. But I gather that King Yoo must want to meet us as soon as possible. Later you'll be free from bother,” your stoic speech made Jimin feel like a bucket of cold water was thrown on him, mainly because of the memories he had just recalled on his dream. He nodded stepping out of the room, eyebrow twitching annoyed, not even looking at your face. His heart ached, as every time he went through that dream, and the last thing he wanted was to see your cold eyes towards him. 

You two walked by the stone hallways in silence, your footsteps the only thing echoing through the space, Jimin not even focusing on the rich decorations of the place, too engrossed with the task at hand, hoping it would be all over soon. Patting his clothes and quickly combing his hair with his fingers, he tried to shake the sleep and annoyance from his body before you reached the room where the king of that country must be.

 The throne room was nothing different from what Jimin had ever seen on his life, a wide space with ornaments, mostly in red and silver, that drawn attention to the two big chairs - perhaps with silver or golden handles, he didn't cared - where supposedly the King ought to be.

 “Oh come in, I wasn't expecting you two so soon!” The clear and cheerful voice belonged to the man sat at the throne, which Jimin didn't notice, being too busy searching for a man which was at least around his own father's age. Well, they told me this king was young, but this young? Arming himself with a soft smile he bowed his head a bit, walking towards the set of chairs, where the king - dressed comfortably in his thick cotton navy shirt, the raven crest on the center of the kingdom and leather pants - was opening a smile for the both of you, as he put aside some book.

“The sooner we meet the better, king. I'm prince Jimin, representing Park Kingdom, and this is-” He was about to introduce you, but saw the man's face brighten up as he turned, and was cut straight away on his speech.

“General Y/N! I heard a lot about you. The first woman to become general after Geneviev Punic...” The prince looked to the side, on time to see a small blush tint your cheeks, making his eyebrow twitch once more. “I'm sorry I'm being too forward. It's just so nice to meet the two of you, I'm King Kihyun, of Yoo. Be very welcome!” Said, bowing his head at you, which also did a much deeper measure. Jimin cleared his throat, drawing the king's attention to himself. 

“Thank you for being so kind to receive us. Our visit to Yoo has been postponed for too long, my sincere apologies, your Majesty.” He continued, taking the hand that was extended to him, as Kihyun stood up. 

“Don't mention it, there are a lot of duties for the kingdoms in regard of the country at this moment. Your letter of condolences was recieved, and I appreciated it a lot, prince.” The way he looked down to talk to Jimin ticked him off. Yes, he is taller, but did he needed to make it so fucking obvious? Smiling politely back, he nodded once.

“Be that as it may, in the same way your Majesty heard about Park and m- our General, we heard a lot about Yoo and your Healers. Lim Changkyun has been mentioned a lot by our people.” Jimin chatted, trying to ignore the slight slip of his tongue, where he almost called you his general. Side-eyeing you, he felt half relieved you weren't paying him any attention for that, too distracted looking around the stained glass on the windows, where the story of Yoo founding was being displayed briefly in colorful paintings. The king looked pleased with the comment about his researchers and medics, and as he pointed out to the door so they would move, sighed content, stealing a glance at you while started walking.

 “We have a small court here, and our country is fairly new, so most of our people are still constructing town and studying to develop the kingdom. After we eat something I'll introduce you two to Count Changkyun.” Kihyun proposed, and Jimin nodded. Doing that kind of cortesy wasn't harmful at all, mainly because he was good with people, and had to prove to Sonhyung that this kingdom was not to be wary of. “Also, I'd like to introduce your General to Admiral Hoseok and General Hyungwoo, they are also very fond of her.” Completed and Jimin's whole body tensed as he noticed both provocation and interest towards you. He is truly a sharp king.

“I would be honored to meet them, your Majesty,” you answered, a pleased smile on your features. You liked to be flattered, to be recognized for your worth, and Kihyun was doing all the right moves already. He haven't talked with the king more than ten minutes yet, but wasn't too fond of him till that moment. “That is, if my prince doesn't mind.” You added glancing at him, and Jimin hoped you didn't noticed his hand bawling in a fist by the side of his body. His heart ached with sadness, the memory of that dream still very clear on his mind, the difference you spoke those two words - then and now - slapping him on the face, while he forced a sweet smile towards you.

“Not at all, General. The way I see you are as much as a visitor as I am, maybe even more important!” Jimin scoffed, eyes forming his famous crescent moons. He was really happy for you, but he wished to share that happiness with you, to hold and congratulate you properly. But I messed up in some moment, and I have yet to know where. He thought, missing the surprised look on your face as he turned to look at the king for confirmation, and was taken aback at the way he was staring back, a knowing glint on his eyes. 

“Well I wasn't going to say that but...” Kihyun winced playfully, but ended up breaking in a light chuckle. “I'm only messing. Of course it's an honor to have you both here equally.” He patted Jimin's shoulder, resuming his walk. 

They chatted for a bit while eating, something completely normal and light, while enjoying something like brunch with a good wine - which ended making Jimin more sleepy than he already was, and it was kind of noticeable - before the king decided it was better to make all introductions on the ball that would take place that night. 

“I forgot that you two came a long way here, and even with the short stop on Min, I'm sure the trip was really tiresome. I'm sorry for keeping you two from resting.” Kihyun looked a little worried, and Jimin was about to object, but couldn't help the yawn that escaped him, which prompted both of the king and Y/N to chuckle at his manners. 

With that, and with the promise that he would send a maid with a jug of water from time to time - since Jimin looked a bit affected by sunstroke -, the king sent him back to his room, saying that you would be doing him company if there wasn't any objections. You didn't object and of course Jimin said he didn't have a problem. I'm too tired for this, Jimin thought, while trying to push past his own concerns of leaving you behind with a decidedly handsome - the prince wasn’t blind, he could see how charming the king of Yoo was - and single emperor, plopping back on his bed.  

[erinye]

Two More Times the Gods Bothered Icarus at Work

The library doesn’t actually pay, per se, but if he volunteers a given number of hours, it does give him vouchers for select items purchased at the campus shops – class supplies, food and other sundries.  Icarus did the math and determined that the value of the vouchers was nearly as good as actual money, with the added benefit of the convenient location where he could stop by between classes easily and rack up hours for the week. 

And it’s fairly peaceful work.  Running the checkout desk; entering returned books into the computer; shelving books; light cleaning.  And Icarus is free to do some of his own homework as well, as long as he gets the list of tasks done, while still earning credit for being there.  Hard to complain about it.

He enjoys the tasks, and enjoys the hush of the narrow aisles, packed with books on either side, higher than his head.  They have a good section on aviation: old and new books; practical and philosophical; aeronautical and astronautical.  Icarus likes to sneak back to steal a few browse through them whenever he can.

Icarus is on his way back to the front counter with two books in hand, when he hears a yelp of surprise, two feet to his left, where there are a couple small steps leading up to the study carrels and tables. 

He whips his head around and has enough time to register a mass of bright red hair, on a figure that is falling, armloads of books already dropping around them.  Icarus drops his own books and just barely manages to catch the figure before they bite the floor hard.

The figure is a woman, as it turns out – Icarus’s hands are wrapped around her torso, narrowly missing an accidental feelski.  The woman is gorgeous, the mounds of red hair tousled from her stumble, and bright green eyes wide with alarm.

Icarus helps her upright again.  She stands a little taller than him and has guns to rival Linda Hamilton, he notices.  The green eyes turn to him and narrow just slightly.

“Jeez – are you all right?  Did you turn your ankle?  I’m sorry about that, those steps are the most pointless safety hazard in this building, I seriously see people trip over them hourly.  Are you hurt, though?  Do you need to sit down?  Or I can get somebody.  Or a glass of water, or something?”  Icarus is aware that he’s babbling a little, but now that the woman is standing tall with the stance of someone who does not suffer bullshit lightly, and considering him with those fierce green eyes – it’s a little intimidating, okay?! 

But thankfully, the frantic babbling must have worked, because the green eyes soften and a faint smile touches her lips. 

“I’m all right.  Thank you for asking.”  She seems bemused by the concern, and amused as well.

He grins, relieved, and awkwardly sticks out his hand.  “Glad to hear it!  I’m Icarus,” he says, inwardly cursing himself for being such a huge fucking dork, but now that the danger is over he’s not sure how he’s supposed to proceed.

The woman meets his awkwardness with a queenly grace, shaking his hand.  “My name is Athena.  I’m grateful for your assistance.  I don’t often need it,” she adds, as an afterthought.

“I can tell.  Uh.  You seem like a very capable lady.”  Icarus is not very eloquent today, apparently, and decides to stoop and help her gather her books instead.  There are tons; seriously, why would she carry this many all at once?  It would surely be easier to bring them a few at a time?

She chuckles to herself.  “You risked your life, just to spare me from indignity.  I don’t often see that these days.” 

Risked his life?  A little excessive… well, maybe.  There were a lot of huge, heavy books to get smushed under.  Icarus is even more impressed by the lady’s strength, that she could carry so many of them - 

All at once it hits him.  Athena, she’d said her name was.  Was she… *that* Athena?  She had to be!  That’s why she had so many books!  Nervous again, Icarus glanced over at the possible goddess.

Athena is crouched next to him now.  She fixes her hair, in a brief, utilitarian gesture, revealing a side-shave, before she also begins gathering her books again.  The books are nearly all printed in the letters of ancient Greek, even though he’s sure this library doesn’t carry that language – yeah, it’s *that* Athena, all right.

She smiles at him, which helps him relax slightly.  “You said you see people come up against these stairs hourly – you must spend a lot of time here?”  Her books are stacking effortlessly in her hands, tall and heavy.  “I’m a little biased, but I think people who spend more of their time in libraries are cooler to be around.”

Icarus blushes a little and grins, pleased.  “Well, I can’t take that compliment completely – I work here too, but yeah, I love spending my free time here when I can.  They’ve got a great aviation collection.”

Athena pauses, her hand near one of his fallen books – both of which, of course, are about rockets and aviation and astronautical engineering.  “You can only be Icarus,” she says softly, before looking at him with recognition in her eyes.  “Am I right?  The mortal the two sun idiots keep bickering over?”

“I… they bicker over me… like, there, too?  In – in Olympia?”  It’s strange to say that sentence aloud.  All parts of it.  Apollo and Helios: acknowledging that they’re in some competition to gain his affections, which is crazy.  It’s also crazy to acknowledge that they’re immortals from another realm of existence. 

“All the time,” she assures him, eyes twinkling.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, Icarus.”  They carry the books over to the table where she’s set up camp.  Another strange thing: a tiny, seriously adorable little tabby kitten, black stripes on brown fur, is batting pencils off the table.  It goes without saying that the cat shouldn’t be in here.  Literally, it goes without saying – Icarus isn’t going to mention it.

“So, uh… who’s this little guy?” is all he says, unable to keep from reaching out to pet the kitten.  It pounces on his hand.

“She,” Athena corrects.  “This is Nike.”  She says this matter-of-factly, and Icarus can’t remember if Nike was supposed to be a god or if she really named her cat after a shoe or something.

“Can I ask what you’re researching here?  You’ve got a lot of books,” Icarus says politely, as Nike shreds the cuff of his shirt.

“Oh, a little bit of everything,” Athena says brightly.  “I couldn’t decide which project I wanted to work on today, so I brought all the books over – though, I was leaning towards toreutics.”

“Toreutics? That’s… the study of artistic metal?”  Icarus has been stocking shelves in the library for a while now; he can’t believe he remembers that title from a book.

Athena claps her hands together and beams at him.  “Right!  It’s not my usual area of focus – I generally dealt with womens’ crafts, and toreutics would have been Hephaestus’ area – but of course, nowadays, women are much more able to create anything they please.  As they should have been from the beginning.”  She sniffs; clearly this has been a sore point for her for centuries. 

Icarus smiles.  “For sure.  I took a shop class a few years ago… one of the girls there was better than anyone else.”

“You don’t look like much of a metalsmith sort of guy.”

He shrugs sheepishly.  “Nah.  I mean, I was curious, so I tried it out.  Never know when I’ll find something new that I’ll enjoy learning… but yeah, I’m kind of a one-obsession sort of guy.  I guess – I guess you already what that is,” he says, gesturing to the aviation books on the table.  “Though I also follow cynology pretty closely,” he says with a grin. 

“The study of dogs,” she laughs.  “Yes, I heard about Cerberus.  Oh, but you know –“ she begins digging in her bag, laid on the table and also filled with books.  “Here’s one you might find interesting.”

She removes and sets aside random books – more than should fit in her bag – about the most random assortment of topics, all with slips of paper printed with notes in Greek letters.  After a moment she says “Aha!” triumphantly and presents Icarus with a slim hardcover book.  As he takes it, the Greek letters transform into English:

“Heliology with Special Focus on Helioseismology,” he reads.  He looks up at her.  “I guess – the study of the sun?”  He can’t quite keep a blush off his face. 

Athena looks amused.  “Yes.  And helioseismology is the study of the interior of the sun, as ascertained by studying its surface.”  She says that with a faint tease to her voice, and Icarus clears his throat.

“’Heliology’ I guess they got the name from Helios?”

“Right.  The original sun god.”

“Original doesn’t mean best,” comes a familiar voice unexpectedly from directly behind Icarus.  Icarus jumps approximately ten feet into the air with a startled gasp, and whips around to see Apollo coolly glaring at Athena.

“Oh, hello, Apollo.  I didn’t see you there.”  Athena smiles at him.  “And of course, original doesn’t mean best.  Just that he was first.  And he’s been doing it the longest.”

“Ahh, you mean the way that Hephaestus, God of Crafts, was born earlier than you?  Legend says he was the one who helped you spring from Our Father’s divine skull,” Apollo suggests sweetly.

“He was first?  But wasn’t Hera the third wife…?”  Icarus asks tentatively, mostly to himself, trying to remember.  Of course, from what he remembers of Zeus, the matter of who he was married to when he had his children was irrelevant.  Case in point: Apollo himself, child of an illicit affair, and one who is currently leveling a glare at Icarus.

Icarus swiftly holds up his hands placatingly, trying to think of how to backpedal.  Athena looks smug. 

“Yes.  I am the firstborn of Our Father, Lord Zeus, and the original Goddess of Crafts, as well as the original Goddess of Knowledge, for that matter.”

Apollo, the second-generation god of the sun and knowledge, glowers.  Nike the cat is wiggling its butt while staring up at Apollo; clearly ready to try to jump for his temptingly swaying locks of hair.  Icarus has a feeling that wouldn’t end well for the cat.

He intervenes, shooing Nike away and taking Apollo’s hand in his own.  “I know I’m biased, and I don’t know what makes a better God or Goddess of Knowledge, but I do know which one is my favorite – even though I’m really glad to have met you, Athena!”

Icarus smiles up at Apollo, and is shocked to see that the sun god is blushing.  Blushing!!  Discreetly, of course, and looking no less stoic than usual, but yes, his face is definitely heating up.

Athena has made a little squealing gasp and is grinning at them, eyes darting back and forth between them.  “Is Lord Apollo… blushing?!  Like a besotted schoolboy!  Oh, wait until I tell Artemis!”  She laughs, and any tension from before is broken.  “All right, that’s cute.  I’ll forgive the disrespect from both of you.”

“Erhm.  Yes.  Thank you for your loyalty, Icarus.”  Apollo coughs embarrassedly but doesn’t drop Icarus’ hand.  “But really, Icarus, we’ll have to address your etiquette in dealing with gods.  Choosing someone else over Athena is exactly how Troy happened.”

Athena waves her hand.  “We’ve all come a long way since then, Apollo; it’s all water under the shattered bridge of your humiliating defeat.  Anyway, Icarus is your lover, I’d hardly expect him to choose otherwise.  The really interesting thing would be to see who he picks out of the sun gods courting him.”

They both turn to look at him, and Icarus has just enough time to feel his heart stop, when the bell dings at the front counter, indicating that someone wants to check out the book, and he flees in a red-faced panic while the gods’ laughter follows him.

——————

And yup, there’s also the retail job.  Another soul-sucking position as stocker, cashier and general drudge; but it’s a consistent paycheck that he can’t turn down. 

It’s at a regional supercenter store, with groceries as well as departments for housing goods.  The place thrives off of desperate college kids to keep its business running; the management cheerfully denies promotions or pay increases on the premise that the students’ schedules will only change next semester, so there’s no use in investing in them for more than menial labor.  Icarus keeps applying for a position as a third-shift stocker, where customer service is minimal and you get overnight pay, but it’s a competitive position.  Lots of applicants.

But he gets lucky one weekend, and he’s called to help cover a shift because one of their regular guys is “in court again,” which Icarus chooses to interpret as meaning jury duty.  But, great news!  He looks forward to three shifts of mindlessly stocking shelves and racks, for slightly better than his usual pay, and with no (or at least, very few) customers to bother him.

“It’s not that great,” explains Amelia, the shift lead, when he comes in almost skipping in delight to be there.  Amelia is a gruff lumberjack sort of lady (lumberjane?), with a tattoo of Ruby on one arm and Sapphire on the other (Icarus wonders if Garnet is tattooed somewhere in the middle but it seems impolite to ask).

“It’s really hard to coordinate time to hang out with your friends and family on this shift.  Or get stuff done out in town.  Your sleep schedule is all messed up, and you have to take Vitamin D pills, which naturally isn’t covered on insurance,” she goes on, as they drag out two pallets of dry groceries to restock.

“I’ll trade you jobs,” Icarus offers.  “We can talk to Mark on Monday and do an even swap, day shift for night shift.”

“Pfft!  Nope, not that desperate,” she grins at him.

Night shift is everything Icarus hoped for.  They companionably stock shelves and chat occasionally.  Shenanigans abound on night shift, as the workers have learned by now that the video monitoring is solely concerned with theft during these hours, rather than professional behavior, as there aren’t many customers to impress.  The workers joke and chat and it’s like heaven.  Icarus would buy industrial-sized containers of Vitamin D if that’s the price of this kind of peace.

Of course, the peace doesn’t last too long. 

A guy comes in around 1am… someone that looks… familiar to Icarus.  He’s got blue hair, a cap with wings printed on the sides, and possibly the most hideous clothes Icarus has ever seen in his life, which is what tugs on his memory.  He has definitely seen this guy wearing a similarly outlandish outfit somewhere before.  On campus, maybe?  He can’t remember. 

The guy wanders around a little bit, occasionally putting clothes and accessories into his basket that match his aesthetic of “random, ugly and colorful.”  Icarus tries to ignore the red flags going up in his brain and carries on stocking.  He’s in the household goods section, stacking a few novelty coffee mugs, when the inevitable happens and the guy approaches him.

“Icarus, right?” comes the voice, inquisitive and bright.  Icarus flinches and turns.  Blue-haired guy is watching him from a few feet away, peering through the ugliest sunglasses Icarus has ever seen.  There’s a small smile on the guy’s face, and that’s what finally clues him in, where he’s seen him before.  He’d been talking to Helios, once, near the alley where he’d first run into the sun god.  He’d been smiling then, too – actually, Icarus gets the distinct impression that this guy is probably always quietly laughing to himself, at a joke that only he gets.

“Uh – yeah, that’s me.  Icarus.  Do you… know me?” he asks, a little uneasily.  He’s not sure what to expect, here.  Sure, his gods (is it all right to call them that?) seem to be generally positive towards him, but if more gods start showing up….

“Sure do!  Apollo and Helios talk a lot about you.  The rest of us are starting to get curious.”  The guy’s smile deepens a little and Icarus is sure there’s some secret joke there.  “I’m Hermes.  Everyone’s favorite.”  He winks at Icarus, who returns the smile nervously.

Hermes appears to notice the mug still in Icarus’ hand all at once, and lights up.  “Oh, that looks great!  Let me have that!”

Icarus looks at it.  The novelty mug is hideous.  It’s a model of the ancient view of the world: a turtle forms the base, with four elephants as pillars on top of it (apparently you’re supposed to keep cookies or something in there?) and then the flat earth, which is a saucer for the actual mug which is on top of the whole mess.  “This?  Uh, yeah, here you go.” 

Hermes beams at him and places the monstrosity in his basket. Icarus discreetly peeks inside: among other things, he can see lavender hot pants, and a pastel-colored sleeveless shirt with a Peter Pan collar and large printed donuts covering the material.  God, is he really planning to go out in public wearing – oh.  No, there’s worse.  He sees a pair of… rhinestone-covered clunky-heeled boots on roller skates.  Does this store even sell those?

He blinks at the sight and gestures weakly at the wall of novelty mugs behind him, as *Hermes* admires his find (How is this Icarus’ life now?).  “Uh – well, H-hermes, I guess – I would have thought you’d like this one more?”  The mug he’s pointing at is simple, and comparatively non-ugly: it’s white, and the handle is made to look like wings, and the words “Speed Limit: ∞” are printed on the front.  “You’re the fastest god… right?” He asks, suddenly anxious that maybe he’s remembering wrong and he’s about to offend one of the gods, but Hermes only grins.

“Yup.  Objectively true,” he says, plucking this mug and putting it in his basket also. 

The sound of hushed whispering and muffled giggles reaches them, and they turn to see Amelia and Joey (the tiny-framed red-headed girl who works in grocery most of the time) watching them from the end of the aise.

“Is this your boyfriend, Icarus?”  Joey sounds breathless, probably squeeing internally.  Joey does that a lot.

“Oh.  I thought you’d be the twink,” Amelia observes with a grin.

“Ah-ha.  That’ll bring him down here,” Hermes says softly with a chuckle.

Icarus goes crimson and starts waving his hands.  “Nononono, we’re not – I’ve never met this guy before today!  We’re definitely not dating!”

“Damn right you’re not!”  Icarus tries hard not to groan at the familiar voice as it floats down the aisle towards them. 

Helios scowls mightily at all of them (eyes glowing where only Icarus and Hermes can see them) and drapes himself very possessively across Icarus.  “I’m the boyfriend, here!”  he jabs his thumb at himself before giving Icarus an aggressively demonstrative kiss and cuddle.

Both girls look impressed and make suitable aww-ing noises (Amelia also mumbles something unintelligible about a three-twink scenario).  A couple other employees are wandering over to see what’s going on.

“Well, one of them, anyway,” Hermes notes cheerfully, earning another death glare from Helios.

“The best boyfriend,” Helios asserts, latching on to Icarus with fierce jealousy.  “What are you doing here, anyway, brat?”

Hermes holds his hands up in a universal ‘Who, me?’ gesture.  “Just here shopping!  No harm, Helios!  Icarus was just recommending a product to me – ah, here it is – ”  he holds the winged mug aloft.  “Since I’m the fastest of us.  Winner of every race and so on.”

This proves to be a sufficient distraction from his jealousy, as Helios bristles at this clear challenge.  “You cheated in that race!  Everyone knows you did!  Your stupid floppy sandals wouldn’t have stood a chance against my chariot!” 

Hermes hums a little and shrugs.  “I mean, except for when I totally did win.”

Helios steams and detaches one hand from latching onto Icarus, in order to point accusationally at Hermes.  “Cheated!  You probably rigged the whole thing!”

“You up for another challenge?  For the right to drink from this mug?”

“Ohmygod,” says Joey, eyes lighting up; “We can settle this.  Supermarket Sweep!”

“NO WAY,” Icarus attempts to protest, but he’s drowned out by cheers of approval and shouted challenges from the two gods.

It’s only after several display stands have been knocked over, and the store aisles look like a hurricane blew threw, and Apollo has come down to yell at Helios for missing a solar event that was supposed to be visible in the Western European Time Zone, and Hermes wins the contest and has held his prize mug aloft in triumph and Helios is consoled by everyone (including Hermes) that at least he still has the cutest boyfriend… only after all this, that it occurs to Icarus that Hermes absolutely didn’t pay for that mug.

The mug turns up as missing on the inventory that week, along with a few random items, all unrelated to each other except for the fact that they’re all aesthetic failures. 

The video feed for that weekend shows nothing but footage of all the workers doing their jobs innocently.  None of the employees says a word about the contest, but Icarus get winks from them all for months afterwards.