#I had a hard time with Saracen and Dexter's first expressions

[silverior968]

Sillies 3 the grand finale, the first one is based on that one scene in Treasure Planet

[Image ID 1: A page with two doodles. The first one has Anton lying on the ground, being propped up by Larrikin, who's trying to heal him. Anton has a wound at his side, with blood spilled on the ground and his clothes. He also has blood dripping from his nose and mouth. He is looking at Larrikin and smiling, with the speech bubble "You have such beautiful eyes". Larrikin is looking down at him, concerned, with teary eyes, a bruise on his cheek and blood dripping from his nose. Saracen and Dexter are crouched next to them, both looking like they've been in a scuffle. They are looking at each other, with expressions of surprise. In the next doodle the setup is the same, except Anton's eyes are closed, although he's still smiling. Larrikin is looking shocked, with a speech bubble reading "He's concussed!" Saracen and Dexter are looking at each other with dissappointment, with the text "why are they like this?" between them. / End ID]

[Image ID 2: A page with three doodles. In the first one Valkyrie is standing next to Anton, who looks zoned out. Valkyrie is holding her phone out, and has a speech bubble reading "Say cheese!". The next doodle shows the selfie, Valkyrie is smiling and Anton is trying his best to smile on command, resulting in an awkward grimace. The last panel shows Valkyrie checking the photo, with the speech bubble "It uh... looks great!" Anton is standing next to her, now genuinely smiling. /End ID]

[skultrashfics]

Could you write some v flirty Dexter/Saracen?? Thanks for all the fics you do :)

Anon I had so much fun writing this! My boys need some love ;w; So I gave it to em! It may get a bit risque nearer the end ;)

Pairing: Dexter x Saracen  Word Count: 904 Themes: Flirting, Fluff, Cuddles, Sexual Innuendos 

It had been a hard week, Dexter Vex had been under arrest not too long ago for a crime he did not commit- again. For some reason, he was always one of the first dead men the sanctuaries went after. He realised this was why the others kept a low profile, all except Skulduggery who seemed to be able to do whatever he bloody well liked. He slumped back down into his seat and spun himself around while he waited for the inevitable lecture he was about to receive for snooping about in ‘sacred lands’. Even though his capture was entirely not his fault, he had still been caught. The doors to the room creaked open and Dexter immediately sat up straight, he caught sight of Erskine Ravel and held his hands up in surrender, “Now I swear I was not trying to rob anybody. Dead or Alive”. Ravel did not pay attention and he sat down opposite Dexter and slouched as much as his robes would allow him, “I am really not bothered about that. I just needed a moment to hide- you gave me the perfect excuse”. Dexter chuckled at his friend and relaxed a little, “I see…”. 

As Dexter left the sanctuary he ran into Saracen and was really relieved to see him, “What are the odds of running into you?”, he smiled hugging Saracen tightly. Saracen squeezed him back and grinned, “I was following you the whole time actually, you just did not notice I was behind you”. Dexter laughed and gently prodded Saracen’s chubby tummy, “Right, How would I not have noticed this?”. Saracen pulled away covering himself defensively, “Hey! That is a protective layer for my muscles. It took me ages to work on!”. Dexter laughed heartily, “You know what? What are you doing tonight?”, he looked at Saracen with a smirk etched on his face. Saracen shrugged, “Nothing much. Pub?”. Dexter nodded in agreement, “Pub”. 

Several drinks into their evening Saracen held up his hand to the bartender, “Two shots of JD my good man!”. Dexter hit him on the shoulder playfully, “Saracen we are not doing shots”. Nonetheless, as soon as the drinks were poured out in front of them Dexter was far less resilient, “Ok just this one”. They slammed their glasses together and took the shot. Dexter could feel the slight burning in his throat and his eyes watered a little “Woah, that was stronger than I remember”. Saracen grinned at him feeling the burn himself, “Yeah- Isn’t it great?!”. They laughed for a moment before returning to their conversation, “Seriously Dex… we all really missed you while you were off wondering. Well, I know I really missed you…”, Saracen had started to speak a little bashfully. Dexter smirked, “Hey now don’t go getting all mushy on me Saracen, you’re blushing like a little school girl”. Saracen chuckled, but Dexter noticed him shuffling in his seat a little uncomfortably. “I missed you too… I really did”, he added softly, trying to help Saracen be a little more at ease. “How about we take two for the road and we go back to your place?”. Saracen nodded with a thankful expression on his face. 

Stumbling their way over each other through the doorway, the two made their way into the living room and Saracen slumped down onto his sofa, “Mi casa es su casa”. Dexter jumped onto the sofa squishing himself half beside, and half on top of Saracen who wheezed as the wind left his lungs. “Dex… you crush...my abs”. Dexter laughed and nuzzled Saracen’s short scratchy stubble, “I don’t weigh that much Saracen… and you don’t have any abs”. Saracen mocked his hurt at this statement and dramatically clutched his heart, “Ow, that was a low blow Vex”. Leaning up gradually Dexter placed a delicate kiss on Saracen’s cheek, “Is that better?”. Glancing down at Dexter, Saracen could not tell if the red hue dusting his cheeks was from the alcohol or a faint shyness that hid behind his usual confident mannerisms. “Y-yeah… that’s better”. Dexter smiled seeming content at this reply before settling down on Saracen’s chest. “I am so glad I ran into you Saracen, maybe you could run into me?”. Saracen wrapped his arms around Dexter and laughed gently, “Now you are just trying to sweet talk me Vex, you are such a playboy. Don’t tease me like that”. Dexter pouted and sat up a bit harshly looking directly into Saracen’s eyes, “No! I meant it Saracen… I have missed you loads. Besides, you always knew how to treat me when I started feeling a certain way-”. Saracen’s eyes widened a little and he growled softly, “Dex… I think maybe you had a little too much to drink? Maybe, you aren’t thinking about what you are saying?”. Dexter shook his head and stood up from the sofa with a sensible amount of balance, “No really, Saracen… Don’t make me beg. My puppy eyes would be too overwhelming for you and we may not make it to the bedroom”. Saracen sat up and stared at Dexter, “Are you sure?... I don’t want to take advantage”. Dexter grabbed Saracen by the hands and pulled him off the sofa, “Advantage of who?... If anything I feel like I’m benefitting more from this”. At this Saracen grew a smirk on his face, gaining the certainty he needed, “We will see about that Vex”.

[thorin-is-a-cuddler]

Missing the old Dexter

A/N: This is completely self-indulgent, since my Dexter Vex feels were at a peak. This is set during SOW, but there are no spoilers involved. Valkyrie and Tanith miss the old Dexter and Skulduggery knows how to get to him.

„I’m worried about him.“ 

Tanith looked up from cleaning her sword and sent Valkyrie a clueless look. „I’m worried about all of us.“ Meaningfully she motioned at the all surrounding death threats of the Leibniz Universe. „But do specify.“

Valkyrie put her head up on her hands and sighed. „Dexter. He is … not himself.“

Taniths’ shoulders slumped down a little. It was true, she had noticed it herself. But what was there to do about it? He was marked by all the things that have happened to him. He didn’t take life as lightly as he used to. He wasn’t an adventurer anymore, but a man who had seen too much, had endured too much, had lost too much. He was slowly but securely turning into Skulduggery. There was still a spark inside of him that reminded her of the old Dexter - a friendly wink, a sudden uncontrollable laugh, an instinctively done dance move during a fight. But a lot was missing. So much of him wasn’t there. And the sparks didn’t last long. They vanished, making space for the grim, scarred, silent Dexter whose beard had replaced his smile.

„Do you think there is anything we can do to…“ Valkyrie stopped mid-sentence, sighing like any attempt of restoring the old Dexter was hopeless from the start. Her sad face combined with the sad surroundings and the sad situation made Tanith wish for a medicine strong enough to cure her friends traumas alltogether. All of them wiped away, making space for happy memories and happy new experiences. 

Skulduggery started getting up from where he had been meditating close-by and put on his hat. He stayed standing there, seemingly checking if Saracen and Dexter were returning from their hunt. Gently and surprisingly moved he said: „I can help.“

Tanith raised a brow and glanced at Valkyrie whose face was lighting up a little. „You have an idea?“ 

Skulduggery hummed and nodded, turning his head to look at her. „We should expect some resistance though.“

Skeptically but hopefully Tanith resumed cleaning her sword. „Well, I’m definitely thrilled to see what you’ve got up your sleeve.“

Valkyrie couldn’t focus on anything anymore from that moment on. She was so excited about the prospect of seeing the Dexter with the confidence of a lion again that she kept looking for his return from the woods. Skulduggery had therefore already managed to cheer up one of the traumatized people on this trip and Tanith had to admit that Valkyrie’s anticipated chatter sparked some kind of enthusiasm in her as well. 

That enthusiasm was therefore to blame for her whipping her head around like a loser when Valkyrie came running to the fireplace with the repressed shouts of „They are returning!!!“ and „Act normal!!“ before she plopped down next to Tanith, breathing very unnormally fast. 

Skulduggery was shaking his head, but he wasn’t sighing, therefore Tanith was almost a hundred percent that a soft smirk would have been on his features had he had features… She could have asked Valkyrie, because that girl was capable of reading Skulduggery’s facial expressions as if they were visible to her. 

But she was too enthusiastic to see what Skulduggery had in mind for dear old Vex. He was definitely into it with his whole soul since Valkyrie’s happiness was the thing he held most sacred. 

Understandable. 

When she looked at Tanith with these cheerful, glowing eyes she realized that she would jump in front of a train for her.

„I hate hunting!“ Saracen whined, helping Dexter to hang the bodies upside down to a tree branch. 

„I hate whining!“ The other man answered, making Saracen pull a face and sulk. 

He definitely looked like a hunter with his beard and his grim expression and his shoulders. But he also looked kind of pleased when he turned around to face the others. „Dinner is secure.“ 

He wanted to turn around again, when he realized Tanith’s and Valkyrie’s excited stares. Squinting his eyes, he put his hands on his hips. „What?“ 

Little did he know Skulduggery had quietly sneaked up close behind him and was now motioning for Saracen to keep quiet. A slight flicker of Valkyrie’s eyes gave Dexter the hint that something was happening behind him, but even then, he was too slow. „What are you-“

All air was pushed out of him, when Skulduggery wrapped his arms around his hips and pulled him to the ground in a swirl of dust. Confusion quickly made space for realization when Skulduggery’s quick and agile hands tried to grab for Dexter’s middle, causing him to quickly kick himself out of reach and try to turn on his front again. 

Tanith couldn’t immediately interpet Dexter’s expression. But it quickly dawned upon her, that the mixture of panic, hysteria and anticipation was absolutely the correct reaction to what Skulduggery was going for.

Her heart made a leap inside her chest when Dexter made a defensive pose with his hands over his stomach and a short panicked laugh broke out of him. „Don’t you dare, don’t you dare you big fucking doofus!!“ 

Valkyrie pulled one knee to her chest and watched with a big smile on her face. 

„Oh, I dare!“ Skulduggery said almost nonchalantly, ready to pounce on his old friend another time. „We miss the ‚doofus‘-saying Dexter!“ 

A yell of disapproval broke out of the energy-thrower when Skulduggery jumped on top of his escaping form and wrestled him back to the ground, his arms around Dexter’s midriff, trying to minimize his struggling by pushing him face first to the ground. The hinted huffs and laughs coming from the victim made Tanith believe in the effectiveness of Skulduggery’s plan. He was twitching around in the embrace like a fish, managing to slip out of it here and there, until Skulduggery grabbed his wrists and pinned them down next to his slightly dirty face. Dexter made a hysterical noise and tried to get out of Skulduggery’s grip. A big grin still stayed right on Dexter’s beard covered face.

„I’m sorry, the Dexter you’re asking for is not available right now!“ He exclaimed, his voice strained from the effort of wrestling. He didn’t sound very convinced of his own words.

„I know he’s in there,“ Skulduggery mused and let go off one of Dexter’s wrists, taking the impact of that hand slamming against his chest bone. Easily he bent down slightly, shielding the pinned side of Dexter’s body with his back, so his free hand couldn’t do much more anymore but drum on Skulduggery’s back. 

„No no NOO!“ Dexter yelled, when he realized he was pinned quite well now, unable to move anymore. A hysterical giggle broke out of him, when he noticed the helplessness of his right side. „Please, Skulduggery, no!!“ 

„Don’t worry, Dexter, I will tickle that bastard right out of you!“ And that he did. 

Dexter started shaking with uncontrollable laughter when Skulduggery’s slim fingers started dancing over the weak ticklish spot under his pinned arm, wandering from his armpit down to his hipbone and squeezing just the right places to keep him in stitches. 

„GAHAHD HEHEHELP PLEHEHHEASE!!!“ Dexter was kicking out his legs, shaking his head, grabbing for something to hit Skulduggery with, but nothing was helping. He howled with laughter when Skulduggery was going for the spaces between his ribs, causing him to grit his teeth to try and keep from laughing so hard.

„You better not fight it.“ Saracen sang payfully, a fond expression on his face. „That will only make it worse.“

„F-F-FFUCK YOUHOU SARACEN NOOHOHO NOHOHO PLEHEASE!!“ Dexter’s laughter went silent for a moment when Skulduggery slipped his hand under his shirt to squeeze his side mercilessly. He didn’t stop until tears of laughter had gathered in the corners of Dexter’s eyes, his will pretty much broken down like a dam. Then he let go off Dexter’s wrist and resumed squeezing both of his sides at the same time, causing his laughter to go up a notch and his struggles to grow harder. All that laughing had weakened Dexter pretty much, he wasn’t capable of breaking free from Skulduggery’s tickle torture despite his free hands. He merely shook around on the floor, grabbed for Skulduggery’s hands and threw his head back to let out all the cheerful sounds Skulduggery was evoking. 

„Pleehehhehease I caahahahhan’t breheheheathe!!“ 

„What? I couldn’t hear you over your loud breathing!!“ 

„Just stohoohohop!! You wohhohon!! YOU WHOHOHON!!“ 

Vakyrie felt the entire spectre of happiness as Dexter’s laughter went on, changing his face into the opposite of dark and broody. The trick to get Dexter to that point was a little mean, admittedly. But she wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for anything.

Skulduggery stopped when Dexter’s giggles started sounding weaker. He sat back and clapped Dexter’s sides gently as if to offer them peace. 

The blond man was still chuckling, looking up at Skulduggery and pushing him weakly against the chest. „You… goddamn… skeleton!“ 

„Now that’s utterly reductive, don’t you think?“

Dexter laughed at that so heartily that Skulduggery was sure he somehow managed to centre Dexter back inside his core. Just for now. Just for a while. He was moved by the thought. 

Friendly he offered him a hand to help him get up off the floor. Dexter almost immediately pulled him into a headlock and was put through a few more seconds of ticklish agony as Skulduggery knew just where he had to poke and prod to get free again. When he really couldn’t take it anymore, Dexter pushed Skulduggery away and put his hands on his knees, trying to regain a normal breathing pattern.

„How do you pull off that tousled, happy look, it’s just not fair!“ Tanith exclaimed, grinning at Dexter’s threatening glance in her direction. 

„You want to get the look? I can help you!“ 

Not even Valkyrie had seen Tanith on her feet so quickly. She jumped behind her and pushed her forward. „It was Valkyrie’s idea!“ 

„What!!! That’s not true!!“ 

Dexter bent down a little, bearing his teeth, a spark in his eyes. Valkyrie wanted to escape very quickly from that playful, threatening energy thrower, but Tanith was holding her in front of herself like a shield. Maybe she should have thought it through when she had mumbled about missing that old Dexter.

„If you want to get revenge on anyone, it should be Saracen!“ She found herself shouting. Dexter was by now playing along, playing the tickle monster that Skulduggery had turned him into, huffing and groaning and snarling. Valkyrie loved it, but didn’t want to get into its claws.

„Me??? Why on earth??“ 

„You didn’t help him!“ Tanith underlined Valkyrie’s accusation.

„That is very true,“ Dexter snarled and made a step in Saracen’s direction. 

„You better not, Dexter Vex!!“ He went running like a bunny with Dexter right behind him. 

The afternoon was like a safe zone. Nothing unexpected happened to them. They were among themselves. They were themselves. 

[victoria-hyde]

Error

1 2 (you are here)

Henry looked up from his blood-stained hand and immediately plastered on a smile upon hearing a light, even gait enter his room. He found himself to be disappointed when faced with a blonde stranger, instead of Valkyrie. She wore an immaculate uniform which marked her out as a doctor. He supposed this was Dr Synecdoche. Henry glanced down at his slick crimson hand and back up at the Synecdoche, realising how bad this looked.

“I- um…” He bit his lip and the doctor raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’d better not get that on my sheets,” she warned. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to get blood stains out?”

“It’s harder to get strawberry jam stains out, than blood stains,” the response was natural and quick. Henry had no idea how he knew that, or if it was even true. The blonde woman approached his bed and motioned for him to lean forwards. He felt his stomach clench as he bent forwards, trying not to touch any of the immaculate bedding. His scalp tingled slightly at the feeling of gloved fingers prying through his hair. The doctor made a concerned noise.

“I’m going to have to rebandage that,” she stated matter of fact. Henry fought to keep the friendly smile on his face as he gently removed her hand from the back of his head. She met his eyes and blinked in surprise. “Your irises are red. Is that normal for you?”

“Yes, they’re meant to be red, I’d be more worried if they suddenly turned green.” He nervously laughed to himself. “First, I want to know what happened. How did I end up here?” Synecdoche sighed and opened a cupboard Henry hadn’t noticed until now. Her eyes flicked up and down as she skimmed its contents.

“I don’t exactly know what happened. Valkyrie ran in early this morning carrying you -you were having a panic attack at the time and were completely unresponsive- to the medical bay in a hysterical blubbering mess. I examined you when you eventually fell unconscious, and bandaged your head wound upon its discovery.” She pulled a roll of bandages out of the cupboard. “We didn’t heal you due to uncertainty on how that would affect you due to your, ah, previous condition. Anyway, I suspected you might have temporary amnesia due to the severity of the wound, and I was right. You should have your memories back in 7 days.” She closed the cupboard and approached Henry, holding up various bandaging equipment. “I’m going to need you to lean forwards again.” He waved his arms embarrassedly.

“There’s no need for that,” he awkwardly said with twitching grin.

“Actually, Henry, there is a need to rebandage your head. Henry, please lean forwards.” Her words carried a sort of forcefulness and power that almost compelled him to obey her, but he wasn’t about to waste people’s time.

“Uh, no it’s fine.” Synecdoche wore an expression of utmost surprise, that Henry believed was a bit excess for simply saying ‘no.’ “I’m a doctor myself, I’m more than capable of doing my own bandages. Well, it’s more of a multitude of doctorates, but I took biology and often find myself bandaging mys- people up anyway. I wouldn’t want to waste your time.”

“Doctor,” she said with a small smile. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist.”

---

Valkyrie stepped out from Synecdoche’s office and into the waiting room, which as per usual, was thick with nervousness and worried ruminations. God, she hoped beyond hope that Synecdoche was wrong for once.

Ghastly was the first one of the Dead Men to rush over to her, the signature of distress written on his face. “How is he? Is he going to be OK?” Valkyrie bit her lip and avoided their expectant gazes. She didn’t want to have to deliver this information, that’s what doctors were for.

“Valkyrie?” Asked an increasingly concerned Erskine. “Is he going to be OK?” Valkyrie spared him a glance, trembled upon meeting his fearful eyes. He looked like he was going to cry. She focussed on her shoes, finding it easier on the eyes than the frightened dispositions of her idols.

“He has some sort of amnesia that should go away in 7 days, but Dr Synecdoche said he might not recover if he has another accident during the next week. He thinks his name is Henry, now. He doesn’t even remember me... He only has his memories up to age 34.” She instantly regretted looking up. ‘Concern’ wasn’t a potent enough word for what these lads exhibited. Dexter, however, looked the worst. He was sweating and restless. He smelled desperate.

“Well that’s fine then isn’t it!?” Dexter hysterically ranted, speaking with the tone of a man trying to deceive himself. “We just have to keep Skulduggery out of trouble!”

“Have you even met the man?” Anton grumbled; his centuries of gist-induced emotion regulation unable to hide how upset he was.

“No, that’s half the problem! I’d never met him when he was 34, which also means he doesn’t know me!” Dexter began pacing up and down the room, frantically gesturing and working himself up into a frenzy. “What was I thinking? How could we keep him out of trouble? This was Skulduggery for god’s sake!”

“Dexter,” Ghastly placed a comforting hand on Dexter’s shoulder, obviously pushing down his own concerns for his friend. “It’ll be alright. He always pulls through.” Dexter brushed Ghastly’s hand off and turned around, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

“No, it’s not! Ghastly, I can’t lose anyone else!” He covered his mouth with his hand. As if a taboo topic was mentioned, if possible, the room became even more melancholy. Valkyrie sat down in a chair, trying to desensitize herself to the whole situation.

A gasp issued from Dexter as Saracen’s short frame hugged him from behind, burying his head in the man’s back. “I know you were really close to Hopeless and Larrikin, I was too, but this isn’t like then.” Saracen’s words of comfort part muffled by Dexter’s thick navy coat. “We’re not going to lose anyone else.”

“How- how do you know that? Has your ever so mysterious magic told you?” Dexter spat. Saracen hugged his boyfriend tighter, knowing he was only lashing out because he’s scared. They’d known each other long enough to tell these sorts of things, but he knew that wouldn’t stop Dexter from feeling guilty about it later.

“Yes,” Saracen lied. Erskine choked back a sob. “I call for a therapeutic group hug!” Saracen managed to get out. They all came in for the hug obediently, knowing they needed it. Not even Anton protested. Valkyrie stayed put in her chair, still incredibly invested in the floor. Ghastly noticed this.

“You too Val.” He said, face soft with compassion and grief. “You may not be a Dead Man, but you’re our friend, and need this just as much as any of us.” Valkyrie had just joined the group hug when Dr Synecdoche left Skulduggery’s room.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No, you’re-”

“Yes!” Shouted Erskine. “You’re interrupting group therapy!” They separated anyway, each sporting a small, genuine smile.

“You can see him now.” The words had barely left her mouth before they rushed into the room.

Ghastly knelt by Skulduggery’s bed and lit up upon seeing his face.

“Skulduggery, are you feeling OK? Do you remember what happened?” He asked. Anton seemed to be watching his eyes in worry.

“Skulduggery?” He tilted his head quizzically. “Why do people keep trying to call me that? My name is Henry, not- what was it again? Skulduggery? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Your eyes are red,” Anton bluntly stated.

“They’re always red. I’m sorry, who are you all?”

“No,” Anton frowned, recalling his distinct memories of Skulduggery early in the war. “No, they’re usually brown.”

“I thought they were green?” Dexter interjected.

“No, no. They were most definitely blue,” Erskine said with certainty.

“You look like a Disney villain with extremely stylish hair,” Saracen remarked.

“What is, ‘Disney?’” Henry asked, squinting suspiciously at these men. “How do you all know me?”

“We’ve been your friends for a few centuries.” Ghastly piped up.

“What?”

“We fought in the war together,” chimed Ravel.

“Come again?”

Valkyrie smirked cheekily. “You taught me magic.” Henry frowned.

“Science is not magic.” With everyone in considerably better spirits, the rest of the afternoon was spent explaining magic and Skulduggery’s life to Henry.