#I’m REALLY glad I wasn’t into Black Sails when it was actually airing… I was NOT mature enough for that

[starbuck]

whenever I see Black Sails fan content created before s4’s airing, I feel like I’m looking at a preserved artifact from a destroyed civilization. Pompeii mosaics and fanart made during the hiatus between seasons 3 and 4 are essentially the same thing in my mind.

[chenziee]

Cool your back.

I have a very cute LawLu prompt

Where Law is still a pirate some how becomes (little doses he know)the Fiance of the Goda kingdom's Cat God of freedom named Luffy(much to the world nobles dismay) and all of the high jinx that come along with it. And Luffy keeps popping up whenever Law doesn't/needs him. Good thing he's cute.

Thank youuu! Glad to be back :D though still super slow I’m sorry

I might have taken some liberties there with Luffy but I hope you like it! :)

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A Divine ball of fluff

[Read on AO3 | Request info | Ko-fi]

Law startled awake at the sound of gunfire and cannons somewhere above his head. Stepping over the lamp on the floor, he only briefly wondered just how it had managed to fall from his nightstand before he forced himself to focus. He only grabbed Kikoku, then ran out of his room to join his crew on deck, ready to murder whoever had come to disturb his sorely needed nap.

“Hand over Luffy and I might just let you go alive, Trafalgar Law!”

With the angry shout being the first thing Law had heard upon opening the door leading to the Tang’s deck, Law could only groan. Not again. “I keep telling you, old man—” Law slammed the door shut behind himself maybe more aggressively than strictly necessary before quickly striding over to the side of the ship to glare at Vice Admiral Garp—  “none of this was my choice! And your stupid grandson isn’t even here!”  

“Uhm, about that, Captain…” Bepo trailed off, quiet and apologetic.

Law took in a sharp breath, closing his eyes momentarily and praying for patience. “Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it.”

“Sorry,” Bepo mumbled, dropping his head as if it was somehow his fault their regular ‘guest’ had invited himself over without any warning again.

Shaking his head, Law slowly looked at Garp again. The old man was fuming and not for the first time, Law marveled at the stubbornness of this entire family. No matter how many times he said ‘no’ to either one of them, they just kept coming back like a bad rash. Sometimes, Law couldn’t believe neither of the three brothers or their grandfather were related by blood. Hell, one of them wasn’t even human. But well… when it came down to it, Law couldn’t say he cared.

“Fine, take him,” he said finally, smirking at the loud crash from behind him that immediately followed.

“Torao~” someone whined before arms wrapped around Law’s waist

On reflex, one of Law’s legs shot forward as he braced for the impact of the entire body crashing into him a split second later. Why, just why did this man insist on lunging at people constantly? Law would never understand. He was lucky Law had managed to train his reactions well enough by now to not face plant into the railing anymore. “What?” he asked, smirk still shamelessly in place as he turned to look at the person who was hanging off of him.

The person—or rather, the god—in question was staring back at him with an unhappy frown and a pout on his lips. Law hated to admit he looked outright adorable then, and not just because of the cat ears sitting proudly on top of his head, alert and facing forward in agitation. Ears which were also covered in black, incredibly soft fur that Law would never get tired of petting.

Giving Law something that was probably supposed to be a glare, Luffy finally huffed before continuing, voice sounding incredibly sulky, “How could you just sell me out to gramps like this?”

“Because he could absolute keep you on his ship even if he did take you.      Sure,” Law replied in a tone dripping in sacrasm while he rolled his eyes at the dramatic complaints of the literal embodiement of freedom, the person who could and absolutely did materialize out of nowhere on the Polar Tang whenever he fucking felt like it, without any warning, for the sole purpose of driving Law absolutely crazy with his ideas, only to then disappear into thin air again once he got bored. While on the open sea, with the nearest land two days of sailing away.

“That’s not the point!” Luffy cried, his grip on Law’s waist tightening.

Before Law could say anything back, a canon ball landed a bit too close to the ship, causing a wave of seawater to wash over the both of them. Law cursed loudly at the unexpected and fully unwelcome shower, just as Luffy also hissed loudly; if he was in his full monster cat form, Law could just imagine his fur raising until he looked like a huge, black ball of pure fluff.

…Now Law wanted to see it. He made a mental note to find an opportunity to scare the shit out of him at some point later, when he was in his true form.

“What was that for?!” Luffy demanded when he recovered from the shock.

“A warning shot!” Garp retorted, sounding just as angry as Luffy did. “You get off that pirate ship before I drag you off myself!”

“I’m not going back to Goa! It’s stuffy and tiny and they keep burning down my shrines, I hate it there!”

Garp growled as he grabbed another cannon ball. “As if I care about the idiot king’s orders, I’m not going to give you to those scumbags and I don’t care where you go—” he paused to aim his cannon ball at them threateningly before he continued— “but you’re not becoming a pirate on my watch, you brat!”

Law heard Luffy taking a deep breath behind him, no doubt in preparation to go off on his adoptive grandfather, and he sighed. Before either of these idiots could say anything, Law snapped, “If you’re just going to keep screaming at each other, can I go?”

“No,” Luffy said immediately, digging his claws into Law’s stomach painfully.

At the same time, Garp said, “You stay right where you are, I’m not done with you either!”

Law sighed. Every goddamn time.

“Prepare to submerge,” Law said to Bepo tiredly before raising his hand. “Room. Shambles.”

Appearing back in his room a split second later, Law took a deep breath, giving himself a moment to appreciate the blessed silence—or the alternative of, which meant only muffled rage instead of people screaming right in his ear. Not ideal but he would take it anyway. Honestly, why couldn’t these two ever do anything quietly? This whole thing could be so easily resolved if they had just sat down and talked but no, they just had to go yelling at each other while throwing cannon balls and scratching the other’s face off. And Law never had a say in getting caught in the middle of it every damn time either.

Sometimes, he cursed the day the Tang landed on Dawn Island, the place where all his problems started. But really, he couldn’t with clear conscience say that if he were to relive that day, that he wouldn’t do exactly the same thing; that he wouldn’t stop at the tiny, ancient looking shrine to talk to the young man sitting in front of it. That he wouldn’t answer every question Luffy had about the world beyond his small domain, that he wouldn’t look into those large, excited eyes and invite him to leave with him.

But, as stupid as it was regardless, if he could do it over, at the very least, would now actually know he was accidentally proposing to a literal god; one that was incredibly stuborn, selfish, and bright enough to be the actual sun. A god who also came in a package with a crazy grandfather, two over protective brothers, and the softest, warmest fur Law had ever had the pleasure of touching.

“Thanks for getting me away,” Luffy said after he made himself comfortable on Law’s bed, the anger and raw power that had been radiating off of him only moments ago replaced by his usual happy and carefree attitude.

Law clicked his tongue. “I was getting myself away. Not my fault you were clinging to me like a child.”

“Same thing.” Luffy waved him off.

Law didn’t have the energy to argue. Simply shaking his head at him, he instead bent down to put the lamp he had ignored earlier back on his nightstand.

“Weird how this was on the floor. I distinctly remember it was screwed on tight just yesterday,” Law noted, giving Luffy a pointed stare. Now that he knew this giant, ridiculously strong cat was on the ship, Law had no doubt just how the lamp got knocked off. Briefly, Law wondered whether there was even a point putting it back until Luffy left; he was probably going to knock it off again while staring at it with morbid fascination as it crashed to the floor again and again.

Law watched as Luffy’s eyes veered off to the side, his lips pursing as he mumbled, “Yeah, that’s super weird.”

Huffing out a small laugh, Law crossed the short distance between them, reaching out to ruffle Luffy’s hair. It was almost as soft as his fur was. “I know. A complete mystery,” he said with a smirk before he leaned down, pressing his lips to Luffy’s briefly.

The kiss was easily returned, a wide grin spreading on Luffy’s lips as soon as they separated, and despite himself, Law felt himself smile back. That damn smile would be the death of him. No matter how maddening this man could be, how loud and selfish, the moment he smiled like that, it was like all Law’s problems and frustrations were melting away. Luffy was simply beautiful; adorable and bright, yet absolutely terrifying and Law loved every little bit of it.

It was funny, actually. If someone had told him he would ever say ‘Luffy’ and ‘love’ in the same sentence just half a year ago, Law would have laughed in their face. Back then, Luffy was only some incredibly annoying giant cat who just wouldn’t leave him alone, someone who popped up on the Tang or wherever Law currently was just to ruin any and all of his painstakingly created plans. But now…

Now Law couldn’t remember what life was before him. He had learned to build his plans around Luffy recklessly charging forward, didn’t even bother trying to explain anything to him. He had long since stopped fighting the pull, the warm aura of power and charisma that drew people in and didn’t let go. It took a while but Law had finally accepted that he was not any different from all the other people Luffy had managed to charm without even realizing he was doing it ever since Law had gotten him out of the Goa Kingdom.

There was just something in the stupid divine cat that made people want to join and support him. Maybe it was the sense of absolute freedom that followed him everywhere; be it his own freedom, or the one of whoever Luffy thought deserved it.

“What’s wrong?” Luffy asked after a long while of them just looking at each other.

Law smiled, shaking his head at the cute, worried frown on his face. “Just hoping your grandfather won’t hit us before we sink far enough.”

“He’d never actually hit the ship, he’s a big softie,” Luffy announced, that grin back on his face.

“Good to know.” Law chuckled, finally sitting down on the bed with Luffy. “You know, I was sleeping before you two started fighting,” Law said offhandedly, glancing at Luffy and nearly snorting at the way his ears perked up in excitement.

“Wanna?” the other asked immediately, nearly vibrating in place.

Raising an eyebrow, Law gave Luffy a look. “I was going to say yes but seeing how excited you are, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea.”

“Nah, it’s all good,” Luffy decided, nodding to himself as he hopped off the bed, walking two steps towards the door to Law’s cabin before shifting into his monster cat form, then lied down slowly, watchful as to not break anything while he tried to fit his huge body into the tiny room.

Once Luffy looked back at him expectantly and Law was sure he was fully settled, Law went to join his boyfriend on the floor, careful not to step on any of his limbs or either of his two tails on the way. As he leaned back against the giant cat’s chest, he let his eyes slide shut, already feeling the exhaustion from earlier in the day settling back in. It was just so warm and soft and fluffy and Law would sooner die than admit out loud how much he loved it. It wasn’t like everyone didn’t already know by then anyway. What could he say, Luffy’s fur was impossible to resist. It was worse than Bepo’s in this aspect.

“No licking,” Law reminded, cracking one eye open to shoot Luffy a half-hearted glare when he felt his face come close to his body.

“You’re no fun,” Luffy whined.

Law could only sigh. “I’d just like to keep my skin where it is, thanks.”

“Fine.” Luffy huffed, thankfully keeping his sand-paper tongue where it should be, before he simply nudged Law with his forehead.

A smile pulled on Law’s lips, his hand raising to rest against the side of his little monster’s head. To anyone else, this position would seem incredibly dangerous, yet to Law, it was so very comforting. He had never felt safer than when he lay snuggled into into this god’s side, with the jaw which could fit his entire head inside twice over and then some positioned just inches away from his face.

Right here, Law knew he was home.

And while he gently stroked Luffy’s fur, Law’s eyelids slowly slid shut again.

 ~ Meanwhile ~

“What do we do?!” Shachi cried in panic, staring with wide eyes at the neptunian who looked like it was about to eat the Tang for an afternoon snack.

“We have to call the captain and Luffy, we can’t do this,” Ikkaku shouted back, trying to shoo away another two of these giant sea kings away together with Jean Bart.

A frustrated groan came from Clione in response, “I tried but they won’t answer and the door won’t open!”

“Why do they always have to sleep with Luffy’s giant furry ass blocking the stupid door! How are we supposed to get them out here?!” Shachi whined, mind slowly slipping into despair. Honestly, these lovesick idiots. What use was having a literal god around when he was never there to actually help when they actually needed him to?

This was why Shachi preferred dogs over cats.

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Dedicated to my cat who has the softest fur and also forces me to keep everything on the fucking floor.

[Request info | Ko-fi]

[blush-and-books]

she lives in daydreams with me

3+1 in which julie’s daydreaming spreads to luke, too. title and inspiration from she by harry styles. 

a gift for my fellow fantoms on this beautiful clowngate.

a/n: this isn’t meant to be tied to/inspired by blissful reveries by noblealice on ao3, but it’s a great fic that i love and it’s a julie daydream fic so i may as well link it because you should check it out!!! 

Luke noticed that sometimes, Julie would completely zone out. 

It wasn’t often that she did it around him, but while she would try and study her pencil would be moving on the paper but her eyes would not be focused. Or when she would be washing the dishes, a faint humming could be heard under her breath as her hands mindlessly rinsed the plates and placed them into the dishwasher. 

“They’re daydreams,” she whispers into the nearly pitch-black garage one night when they stay up, despite their exhaustion, just to be with each other. “I had them a little when I was a kid. It was how I got inspiration for a lot of songs.”

Julie’s voice raises to a higher pitch at the end of her sentence. It’s a familiar sound to Luke, now -- most of her little vocal cues are -- so he turns on the floor to face where she’s lying on the couch, and brings his hand up to her bare ankle.

“They’re musical?”

“They were, and then… They weren’t. I daydreamed a lot after my mom, but it was mostly her walking through the front door like she never left.”

He doesn’t have to say anything. He just needs to be there.”

“And then,” Julie continues, “after I met you, the music came back.”

His heart skips a beat. He knows she meant “you” as in him and Reggie and Alex, them as a collective unit; but it’s a fun little dream of his own for her to just be thinking of him. 

Lightly, his thumb skates across her skin. “I’m glad. If anyone should have music in their life, it’s you, Julie.”

“Do you ever daydream?” Her voice is quiet. She’s probably falling asleep.

There’s no reply. So it’s just the two of them, in the dark, with his hand attached to her because now that he can feel her like this he doesn’t want to stop until he has to. His hand is just barely on her ankle, but with every trace of his fingers back and forth along the curve he marvels at his ability to do it in the first place. 

A smile pops at the corners of Luke’s lips. “Not really,” he tells her. “If I did… They probably wouldn’t be musical, like yours.”

“Then what would you do?”

He stares, fixed, at his hand on her leg. 

“The stuff I want to do, but can’t.”

nine in the morning, a man drops his kids off at school; and he’s thinking of you (like all of us do)

It’s a few days later when Luke realizes that something is off. 

A simple Wednesday morning, when Julie darts into the garage before school with her backpack bouncing on her back as she runs up to each of them for a hug. Luke is the final recipient. 

He enthusiastically throws his arms around her just as tightly as he does every morning, because in his heart, he wishes she could just stay. It’s ridiculous, and selfish, but he longs for the ability to lay on the torn old couch with Julie at his side and never have to leave. 

“Writing when I come back?” 

Her eyes are gazing up at him, round and wide and hopeful as her arms stay latched around his neck. Safely, he keeps his hands at her hips and doesn’t allow himself to consider letting them go anywhere else. 

“Won’t you have homework?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, but I also have a song I want to work on and I won’t be able to focus until we finish it.”

Ironically, it sounds like one of the excuses he would give his parents long ago. Once the music was out of his head, he would tell them, then he could focus on homework. 

(He didn’t.)

“You’re turning into me,” he jokes at her; to which she laughs with a bright and beautiful smile right in front of his face. His eyes can’t help but slip their focus to it. “Music before school? What happened to your dad saying ‘school first?’”

“I’ll tell him I’m going to the garage for peace and quiet.”

God, she’s making this harder and harder. For months, she was the one scolding him about her need to focus on school; and so he trained himself to come across as (marginally) less eager. But now that she’s bouncing on her tiptoes and her head is lifting right in front of his face as she teases fibbing to her dad to write with him, he doesn’t think he has much restraint left. 

“How about…” He begins, trying to find something neutral to say. “How about you see how much homework you get and then decide what you want to do first?”

“Since when did you-”

The sound of Ray honking for Julie to come out ends their back-and-forth. It Luke looks close enough -- which he is, because why would he have anything better to do right now than look at Julie -- he can see her disappointment. “Go on, Boss. Your ride’s waiting. I’ll see you after school.”

Carefully, she slips from his arms and wishes them a final goodbye before hustling out of the garage. 

And Luke collapses onto the couch the second she’s gone. 

“You okay, man?”

“He’s fine, Reg. Just an idiot.”

Luke’s arm, that was covering his face, slides up so that he can glare at Alex. “Hey! Rude. Why am I an idiot?”

“Because all you do is agonize over Julie instead of talking to her.”

His forearm comes back down, blacking out his vision. “No point.”

Moments of quiet pass between the three boys, and eventually, the telltale sound of his bandmates poofing out of the room is faintly heard. Luke is left alone, on the couch. 

He doesn’t know how much time passes where he sits in his self-made darkness before the garage door is opening again, and Julie is standing in the doorway, looking adrenaline-rushed and practically glowing. Luke, being Luke, jumps up from the couch in surprise.

“Julie! Hey, uh… What are you doing here? Didn’t you leave for school?”

Her grin is almost fake, it’s so blinding. “I forgot something.”

Unprompted and unexpectedly, Julie is confidently making her way towards him before softly resting her hands on his jaw and pulling his lips down to hers.

Even through his all-encompassing shock, his hands somehow find their way to her waist, and then her back, and then her hair. She’s pulling him down to her, so he’s kind of uncomfortably arched over her but he doesn’t care one bit. Just the same as this morning, she is pressed against him from head to toe but this feels so much better. 

He’s trying to keep it slow and soft so that he can savor every moment of this random, welcomed action; but Julie’s asking for a quicker tempo. Her hands are skating across his shoulders and running up to his hair, pulling him down even farther, and he finds himself grasping at her thighs to lift her up and make things more comfortable but she’s pulling away before he can. 

Once they part, she shyly takes her bottom lip between her teeth and Luke almost steals her away and begs for more. “That was it,”  she mumbles, and then the car horn is echoing out front again, and-

Luke shakes awake.

--

he takes a boat out, imagines just sailing away (and not telling his mates)

He knows it’s a daydream almost immediately -- a long period of staring at a blank journal can do that to a guy -- when Julie suddenly appears and dangles car keys in front of him. 

She’s only just got her permit. She can’t actually drive independently yet. 

But he’s spent time on more than one occasion considering what they can go do together when she can.

“You ready for a break, Rockstar?” She asks with a coy smile, and it’s just more confirmation that it’s a fantasy. Julie has only ever called him “Rockstar” once. 

But he already likes where his imagination is taking him, so he puts the journal on the coffee table and poofs over to her. “Born ready.” 

Her hand tangles itself in his, and she enthusiastically tugs him from the studio into the sunny daylight where her dad’s car sits in the driveway. “Carlos and Dad and Tia are at a baseball game,” she grins, almost proudly, “so you and I get to have an adventure.”

God, this really is a dream. Julie isn’t as impulsive as he can be, but he occasionally finds himself wanting at the idea of going MIA for a day. Just a day. Less than 24 hours, even, with Julie by his side and nobody around who knows them or their situation. Julie and Luke against the world, against life and death, and whatever comes next. 

“Lead the way, Boss.”

Nearly within the blink of an eye, they’re on the PCH, speeding down the asphalt with loud music blaring from the speakers. With the windows rolled down and the humid but fresh air billowing around them in the car, it was all too easy for Luke to imagine that he was…

Alive.

This should have been them in 1995 -- him and Julie, him and the boys, all of them together and feeling the rush of being a group of stupid teenagers who love each other. 

He knows his hair is getting ruffled as he tilts his head back against the leather headrest, closing his eyes to directly face the air blowing into him. Maybe, through this dream, just for a moment, he can be human. 

“This is so fun!” Julie screams next to him, and his face just breaks into a grin because it is so fun. She sounds so full of joy. It’s his favorite sound.

While a part of him wants to hold the daydream in this moment, with the sun hitting his legs and Julie’s hair chaotically whirling around her head; he decides to let things keep going. A moment later, they are pulling into a nearly empty parking lot on the beach. 

Their seatbelts click and slide from their chests. Julie’s hand firmly latches around his wrist and proceeds to sprint with him laughing hysterically as he trails behind her, the ocean shimmering in the distance. The moment that their feet splash in the saltwater, Luke takes the chance to pull Julie into his arms by her waist and lift her up; droplets popping up from the water in a cyclone of laughter.

There’s already sweat layering both of their foreheads, but Luke feels honored that he’s standing close enough to her to be able to see it.

Hours -- or, what he assumes are hours -- pass by with water lapping their legs and Luke licking the salt from her shoulder in a move that started as a joke but was really just another ridiculous fantasy fulfilled. After he tries to splash her particularly roughly, she squeals and turns away; turning back to reveal a dripping wet face behind a curtain of hair.

Even though there’s a glare in her eyes, it’s playful. And she doesn’t fight him when he walks up to her, lifts the hem of his loose-fitting tank, and swipes across her cheeks to catch most of it.

The blush on her cheeks could be blamed on excessive sun, or the affectionate gesture, or-

“Luke?”

It takes less than a second for Luke to be back in the studio, back in front of the blank page, back in his reality. 

And Julie is in the doorway. 

Her cheeks aren’t  pink, her legs aren’t bare, her skin isn’t sweat and seawater sticky. It was just a regular school day for her. 

She still glows.

“Luke?” He hears her say again, and it’s the final nail in his coffin. 

“Yeah, sorry. I was zoning out there for a sec.”

Her curious smile relaxes, and she takes the unspoken invitation to enter the garage  and throw her backpack down next to the couch. Her eyes quickly find the journal, “write anything good?”

“Not a word. Didn’t have my partner.”

The line earns him a friendly shoulder-nudge. It’s not much compared to what he just had, but it’s something. 

Only, his impulsive brain tells him he needs more. 

“Can we go to the beach one day?”

Refocusing her gaze from the open notebook to his face, she amusingly furrows her eyebrows. “I mean… When I have my license, totally. Whatever you guys want.”

“I…” Shut up. Stop here. “I was thinking you and I, actually. Just us.”

“Oh.” He knows that “oh.” It’s the same one she gave him when she was flustered in the school hallway. He can’t tell if it’s a good or a bad sign. Her fingers are twitching against her legs and her eyes avoid his, but a part of him sees his daydream bleed into reality when a pink hue dusts her cheeks. “Just us.”

“Yeah, if you’re-”

“I’d love to.”

Her mouth zips shut like she didn’t mean to say it. But he’s already smiling at her, and probably sporting a blush of his own, and he knows he doesn’t even have a funny remark  to say in response. 

All he can do is count the days until Julie gets her license.

--

and she sleeps in his bed (while he plays pretend)

Sometimes, when Julie is gone, he’ll just… Go to her room. 

It’s not weird. 

He doesn’t snoop -- well, he tries not to -- but everything that’s out in the open is there for his eyes to take in. This way, he gets the little intricate details of what makes Julie Julie that would otherwise take years to learn about a person. 

Today, when he poofs in, the bed is unmade. Normally she makes it before leaving for school, but on the rare occasion that she is running late, it will remain in disarray until her return. 

Unless, he…

No, no, boundaries. 

But it’s just a little favor. And it’s not like she can kill him or anything right?

Once again, his impulsivity dominates the argument. And he’s suddenly wrapping her sheet in his fists and tugging it up and over her pillows, followed by the comforter. 

With each puff of air that brushes his face from the falling sheets, he catches a bit of her peach perfume. 

The action of making a bed feels so distant to him, but he remembers having to do it himself like it was yesterday. He was too careless to tuck anything in or smooth anything out -- it was just a simple tugging of his sheets to cover the mattress. If he had Julie around back then, pulling him back from the precipice of his relationship with his parents and making music that Bobby wouldn’t steal, then she probably would have shown him how to make his bed more presentable for when she came over.

In front of him, the bed he's making doesn’t look like Julie’s anymore. 

It looks like his. His old twin bed at Mitch and Emily Patterson’s house, his old bedroom tucked in at the end of the hallway. Every shade of blue and gray and yellow feels so familiar but only a little off; like his brain is vaguely reconstructing his home with blurred edges and familiar memories.

“Your bathroom is surprisingly clean,” a familiarly warm voice says from behind him. Julie stands in his doorway, adorning an ethereal flower-patterned dress and clunky black combat boots. 

The strength of the daydream takes over when she approaches him with a smile and his hands, on instinct, find her hips. “I don’t know why you’re shocked. I’m not a slob.”

“Well…” They both chuckle at her tone. “I thought that with your parents out of town, everything here would be falling apart.”

“Well, you’re here, so that could never happen.”

Her smile is the one thing that he knows he got exactly right in this reconstructed environment. He will always know Julie.

The smile that he leans down to lightly kiss is the same smile he sees when they know they have a catchy chorus on their hands, or when she gets an A on a test, or sometimes just when she comes come to say hi to them. It’s pure Julie joy.

“Now that you’ve made your bed since I was in the bathroom,” she murmurs as they pull away, “can we take that nap we were talking about? School was exhausting.”

Tiredly, her head falls to his chest. It’s such a small, warm gesture; but it sends his heart soaring painfully into the wall of his ribs. “Of course, Boss.”

With a gentle touch, he pulls back the covers of his bed and gestures for Julie to crawl in first. She waves him off, trying to tug at the laces of her boots so that she doesn’t sleep in her shoes, but Luke is quick to prop himself on the edge of the bed and lift her foot to her knee. 

“Such a gentleman,” she mocks him, but there’s no venom to her voice. In fact, she’s looking down at him like she loves him. 

He slowly helps her slip her foot from the boot with a soft grip on her ankle. “For you, anything.”

Charged, quiet beats pass between them as he finishes work on the other shoe and instantly scoots over to make room on the bed for her to lay next to him. He can make out a small, pleased smile as she does so; rolling over to cuddle into his chest and tangle their legs the moment that she is able to do so. 

He feels her take a deep breath against his collarbone as he pulls the sheets up to cover them both. “It all smells like you,” she sighs as she exhales.

“Is that a good thing?”

No verbal response -- just a nod, and the sight of her fingers curling into the edge of the sheet and pulling it up right under her nose. “You cozy, Boss?”

Her melodic hum vibrates against his sternum. Parents out of town, cuddling with his girlfriend, playing music -- this was the dream. 

Truly, because it fades around him the moment the recognizable sound of a car rolling up the driveway hits his ears. 

And he’s poofing down to greet Julie, acting as if he doesn’t have all of these wants and needs in his head that all go back to her.

--

It’s a late night, it’s after a gig, and adrenaline is still running fast through Luke’s nonexistent veins. The elevation is still carrying him across the walkway as he recalls the way he shredded his solo and the audience leapt to their feet in roaring applause. 

Sometimes, just to spend a few more minutes with her, Luke will walk Julie to her front door after a gig. She’ll send her dad inside and tell him she was going to “call” the guys, when really they would be partaking in a celebratory band hug before they all cleaned up and retired for the night. 

Tonight was one of those nights, and the cobblestones felt like clouds under Luke’s shoes. 

“Jules, you don’t understand, that high note? I didn’t think it could get better, but something about the lights and the crowds and-”

“It was your guitar solo that kept the audience hyped, though!”

“I think after you swung your wrecking ball voice at them, they would have listened to anything afterwards. You don’t get how magnetic you are, Jules.”

The two of them step up her porch, lingering on the top step. Even though he’s been looking at her all night, post-concert Julie has messy makeup and wild hair and he still sees the flashing lights of the stage reflected in her eyes. She carries the energy of performing with her everywhere she goes.

They’re closer than he realized. He can see the exact dark clouds under her eyes where her mascara has rubbed off, and the strands of hair dotting her hairline, and-

“Luke…”

He doesn’t know what she wants to say, but he doesn’t care. “You’re magnetic, Julie, really. It’s like magic. Nobody can resist you.”

The energy crackles against his fingertips, because he can feel himself twitching to touch her. 

It’s true -- she’s magnetic. He’s leaning in closer and closer with every passing second. 

But she’s the one who makes the first move.

It’s expected and it isn’t when her hands dart from her sides to his neck to his hair and guide him to her as if he would need any help finding her. His hands waist no time in pressing up against her back, bringing her body against his in a way he only feels in hugs-

Only this time, their lips are colliding, and he almost convinces himself this isn’t real.

It’s a sudden and beautiful situation that he’s sure he could only conjure in his daydreams that he has her to blame for in the first place. He’s probably laying on the couch in the studio replaying the look on her face when she hit the high note in question at the gig, and how the gasp she let out at the end propelled him into his solo like he’s never played it before. 

There’s no way he’s making out with Julie right now. 

And he doesn’t mean to vocalize his hesitation, but as her mouth breaks from his with deep breaths that are muted versions of the gasp from the gig, the words tumble from his mouth. 

“Is this a dream?”

With a confused mirth in her eyes, she scrapes the back of his neck with her fingernails and it’s almost tantalizing enough for his head to lull back. 

Please let this be a dream so that he doesn’t wake up tomorrow realizing he did all of this on the Molina’s front porch. 

“I don’t think so,” Julie whispers through her grin. Her fingers apply pressure on the back of his neck, wanting him to come back to her lips probably as much as he wants to come back, and she leans farther into him with their faces barely an inch apart. “But even if it is -- isn’t it a wonderful dream?”

As her mouth parts underneath his and he coaxes another gasp out of her, he agrees -- it is a wonderful dream. 

Tags: @willexx @bluefirewrites @pink-flame @lydias--stiles @constantly-singing @fighttoshinetogether @babydagger28

[lumosinlove]

Relic Keel

(warnings in tags)

PREVIOUSLY ON RELIC KEEL

Marlene got into college and hasn’t told Dorcas because she’s scared of how she will react.

Lily and James had sex and obviously like each other, but Lily is scared to have attachments on Hogwarts when they’re going to college soon.

Leo and Logan question each other about their pasts without much progress. Logan finds out that Leo hopes to own The Lion restaurant one day, and that his father’s death has something to do with “The Voldemort.”

Saint and Sirius talk about leaving the island and how they met when they were eleven years old. They have sex and avoid more difficult topics.

James and Lily meet at the Gryffindor Club as promised. Lily tells James that she doesn’t want anything tying her to the island, that she hates the fake boundaries that Hogwarts has and that James isn’t crossing them as much as he thinks he is. James understands, even though it hurts.

Saint and Sirius are cleaning the Potter’s pool when James arrives with Remus and Luke. Remus and Sirius have a tense moment in the kitchen, Luke and Saint argue, and Sirius finds out that it’s Remus who sails the Wolfsbane every morning—Remus thus finding out that Sirius notices.

Logan returns to the Carrows to hand over his money and stock up on Crucio. We find out that he works for them in the hopes that they will help him get Finn out of Saint Clair, only the Carrows are angry with him for using their Crucio—they say that Logan owes them now.

Logan heads over to Saint Clair to watch Finn from afar, and swears again that he will rescue him.

part iv

Remus closed his eyes, soaking in the morning sun and the salty air. The wind pushed his hair back as he tightened the rigging, catching the wind. Sometimes his sails felt like his bare hands. Like he finally had something to hold onto, even if it blistered his palms. The sea made him feel alone, in the best way. Usually, it felt like people were always around. He couldn’t go anywhere without running into at least two people from school, or his parents’ friends. Yes, he’s excited for college, no, he’s not sure exactly yet, yes, he’s still sailing, yes, he’s still obsessed, yes, he remembers learning at Gryffindor Club, sure, I’ll tell my mom you say hi.

Solidarity was less exhausting.

The wind buffered and he sighed as he slowed down. he looked back towards Shack Beach. Saint had said they saw him every morning—that Sirius saw him every morning. He wondered if Sirius was watching now.

He couldn’t see anything from this far away. Part of him wondered if he could make this island disappear completely, just for a moment. But it was dangerous to stray that far. Even The Cradle, the small U of islands just off of Hogwarts’ southern coast, was pushing it. Remus huffed out a laugh as he managed the ropes to come about, back towards shore. If that wasn’t a metaphor, he didn’t know what was.

Things on Hogwarts had become complicated in what felt like overnight, even though Remus knew that wasn’t true. They were older now. They didn’t just care about summer vacation. There was college to think about, and then jobs. Hogwarts wasn’t the dream it once was. Remus wanted to see mountains, and huge cities, or snow—and not just for a week on vacation. He wanted to belong somewhere because he wanted to be there, and not just because he had grown up there. He was tired of knowing everything there was to know.

He tied up his Wolfsbane on autopilot, stroking his hand over the side before tugging his shirt over his head and jumping straight into the water. It was cooler from the night, but it was what Remus needed. He held his breath as he found the sandy bottom, his eyes closed. For a moment, he didn’t have to be anywhere. He got to enjoy the ocean and its predictable changes.

When he came up for air, he remembered why he loved this island. That still didn’t mean he didn’t want to leave.

“Are you headed to the museum, sweetheart?” his mother said when Remus came down to the kitchen, freshly showered. He preferred to let the salt linger all day, but he figured he should be fresh for his first day of work.

“Yeah,” Remus held up his keys. “Just looking for some coffee first.”

His mom held up a mug for him, laughing. “Ask and you shall receive.”

Remus smiled. “Thanks, mom.”

“How was it this morning?”

Remus poured some milk into his cup. “It was good. Sun’s going to be strong today. Went near The Cradle—not too far, don’t worry.”

“You know me too well,” Hope laughed, whisking some eggs into a lather. “Well, it’s pizza night. We’re ordering in so, if you want to have some friends over and take it to the den, that’s fine with me. But don’t complain if Jules crashes the party.”

Remus nodded. “Actually, I think we’re going out. If that’s all right?”

Hope nodded. “All right, sure. Be safe, though. Who, uh…”

“James and Luke,” Remus sighed. “Mom—”

“I wasn’t going to say anything—”

“It’s not Luke’s fault,” Remus continued anyway. “His dad, I mean. He didn’t know.”

“I know that,” Hope sighed. “But…Even I can see that boy’s hurting and I barely see him at all.”

“Then shouldn’t he be with his friends?” Remus said.

Hope raised her eyebrows at him, and Remus raised his own right back.

“All right, all right,” Hope said. “You’re gonna be late, I’ll see you later, baby.”

Remus knew he should take the car his parents had given him. He knew he should get used to driving, knew his dad wondered why it just sat in the garage. But here, on the island, Remus liked his bicycle. He liked the warm breeze. It reminded him of being out on the water.

Which, in turn, now reminded him of Sirius Black.

When Remus remembered Sirius, he mostly remembered bruised cheeks and nasty looking cuts. He remembered the hushed way people used to whisper about him, and how, even when he was loud, grinning and well-liked, he was still from Salazar. Sometimes he had eaten lunch surrounded by people, and sometimes he had eaten it alone with his brother.

Remus didn’t understand this island. Was Sirius really so different because he was born a few miles South rather than North? It made no sense—only it did, but only because it was all Remus had ever known.

The Hogwarts History Museum was a pride of the island. Remus knew it well from school trips, and from his own interest. He’d spent many Saturdays there as a kid, gazing at all of the small models of ships and dreaming about what it would be like to sail them, wishing they weren’t trapped behind glass—feeling a little like he was trapped behind glass. A ship in a bottle.

“Hi there, Remus,” Layla smiled at him, green eyes kind and skin a rich, dark brown against the pale pink scarf in her hair.

“Hi, Layla,” Remus smiled. “Having a good summer so far?”

“Sure,” Layla shrugged. “Lots of time here. I saw you win the sailing race last Sunday, congrats.”

Remus smiled. “Thanks. It was real fun. Sorry I beat your brother, though.”

“Oh, Lyle doesn’t mind,” Layla waved a hand. Her nails were painted pink, too. “Don’t worry about it.”

Remus had been friends with Layla since they were little, competing for best in class usually. She was wicked smart and mellow. Remus could always use some mellow, good conversation—especially with James being James and Luke being…well, whatever Luke was now. Layla liked history, and her family owned the museum, which meant Layla told tales that were, albeit tall, fun to listen to.

Remus leaned against the desk, looking around. “This place never changes, huh?”

Layla laughed, clicking a pen. “History doesn’t tend to change that much, R, and so neither do we. Unlike the world out there.”

“I don’t know about that. Nothing ever feels too different out there,” Remus laughed, too. “But I guess you’re right. I’m glad you’re here, though. Or else I’d be sitting behind this desk by myself.”

“I’m glad you’re here, too,” Layla nodded. “What made you take the job?”

Remus snorted as he rounded the corner, picking up his name badge where Beatrice, Layla’s mother and the museum curator, said it would be. “Don’t pretend we didn’t see each other here when we were little all the time. Not to mention at Gryffindor Club. You, obviously.”

Layla raised an eyebrow. “Me and your mom.”

Remus winced and Layla laughed.

“C’mon, we both know you’d be out on your boat all day if it was up to you.”

Remus laughed. “Fine. But seriously. You’re a perk.”

Layla nodded, rolling her eyes with a smile. “Just a couple of history buffs, I guess.”

Remus shrugged. “There are worse things to be.”

The day was pretty slow. A few tourists here and there, taking photo behind the cardboard cutouts that made you look like you were dressed as a sailor, or a pirate.

“Are there really pirates here?” one little girl had asked Layla.

Remus had smiled when Layla crouched down and whispered to her, “careful, there’s one there,” and pointed at Remus.

When lunch rolled around, Remus expected Layla to pull out a bagged sandwich like him, but instead she scoffed and picked up her bag.

“Come on. We have to get out for a bit.”

Remus shrugged. “All right, where to?”

“The Lion, of course,” Layla replied. “It’s the best food on the island.”

“The Lion,” Remus repeated slowly. “You mean—in The Hollow?”

Layla gave him a look. “Oh, you’re not one of those are you?”

“One of what?” Remus said. “No. I’m not, I just… c’mon, you hear things.”

“Hear things? You’ve never been?”

“Once,” Remus swallowed, thinking of the fight. “It didn’t really go well.”

Layla just shook her head.

“History is just one great field of stories, Remus. You’ll never get to the truth unless you listen to them all.”

And so Remus found himself riding alongside Layla on their bikes and right through Gryffindor. The Hollow didn’t have a sign or anything, but you knew when you were in it. Remus almost wished he had been able to see some sort of line to cross, but everything was just suddenly different. Low houses with open doors, people gathered together and laughing. Kids running with surfboards over their heads, towards Shack Beach. It had seemed even more vibrant in the dark the night of the party, even through the tinted windows of Luke’s car. String lights hung over cookouts, and music blasting from speakers. It had smelled amazing, and Remus would have to say Layla was probably right about the food. 

The Lion was just as bright as everything else. It was bustling with lunch-goers, and the doors were flung wide, letting the heat right in. Remus looked around at the people. Some tourists, obviously. Some not. Hollows. Some of them smiled when they caught Remus’ eye, and some narrowed their eyes.

“Hi, Leo, babe,” Layla said as she slid onto a stool at the counter.

There was a blond boy behind it wearing a tank top and a snapback. He smiled as he set some shrimp down in a frier. “Hey, Layla, babe, ça va?”

“Just working. At least I’ve got Remus for company now.”

Remus smiled awkwardly when Leo fixed his blue eyes on him. He really didn’t know what he was waiting for. Something terrible to happen?

Leo only held out a hand. “Leo, nice to meet you.”

“Remus,” Remus said, and took it. He tried not to look at the rainbow bracelet on Leo’s wrist for too long, but he could tell Leo had felt the way his hand tightened. “Yeah—you, too.”

Leo touched it briefly, like an old habit, as he pulled away, giving another smile to Remus.

It didn’t necessarily mean Leo wasn’t straight, but on such a small island, Remus tended to notice these things. He and Luke had figured each other out pretty fast around sixteen. They’d kissed. Once. And then winced, laughed, and shoved each other in the pool. Sometimes Remus wished he and Luke had worked. He didn’t see any other boys coming his way. Leo was smiling at him like he knew what Remus was thinking.

“What can I get you two?” Leo asked.

A boyfriend? Remus thought wistfully.

“Two of your specials, please,” Layla said. “Re, you’re going to lose your mind it’s so good.”

“What’s your special?” Remus asked.

Leo shrugged, but he was grinning. “Like a chef ever gives up his secrets—”

Leo had stopped mid-sentence, eyes going over their shoulders towards the door. Remus turned to look, and a moment later, a brown haired boy was slinging a backpack down carefully between his feet and taking the seat beside Remus.

“Well, look who’s back,” Leo said to him.

The boy glanced at Remus and Layla, then gave a small shrug. “Yeah.”

Leo snorted. “Yeah,” he parroted. “You’re just hungry.”

The boy shrugged again.

Leo sighed, and gave Remus a look that said, can you believe this? before turning back to the stove. “This is Logan guys. Apparently he doesn’t talk today. Three specials. Coming up.”

~

Logan didn’t recognize the boy sitting at the counter. He didn’t recognize the girl either. Then again, he didn’t recognize many people. He didn’t know anyone. Except Dorcas—if that even counted. And Leo. If that counted, either.

The Felix was heavy in his pack, wedged protectively between his feet, and he wished the strangers would leave so that Leo would talk to him. He hadn’t said two words that weren’t him making sure that Logan liked his food, and asking him where he’d been.

Logan was a little annoyed with him for asking that question. It wasn’t like Leo didn’t know what Logan did. Then again, Leo didn’t know why Logan did what he did.

“You guys get the new madness exhibit up yet, Layla?” Leo was asking the girl with the scarf in her hair. “The one you were telling me about.”

The sandy-haired boy looked up from his food. “The madness exhibit?”

The girl—Layla—cocked her head. “Remus, you…you don’t know?”

“Know what?” the boy—Remus—replied.

Layla sat up a little, looking suddenly awkward. “Your mom donated almost everything we have. I mean…it is your family that’s famous for…”

Remus raised his eyebrows. “Losing their fucking minds?”

Layla winced. “Well, yeah, okay, poor choice of words on my part. But madness isn’t always a bad thing, you know. People say people are crazy all the time. Sometimes they’re just extraordinary.”

Remus looked back down at his food. “My family’s not extraordinary, believe me.”

“Usually extraordinary-ness belongs to one person, I’d say,” Leo said. “My mom’s pretty extraordinary. Doesn’t mean I am.”

“You want to stay on this island, don’t you?” Logan found himself saying. Then, he felt his neck heat and he turned down to his food.

“What’s so extraordinary about that?” Layla replied at the same time as Remus said, “You do?”

Leo just laughed, rolling his eyes at Logan. “I’m with Layla on this one, guys, sorry.”

“What about you, Logan?” Layla asked. “I want the museum after I go to college. At least I think I do. Leo wants The Lion, Remus wants to sail the world…” Remus blushed at that, and Layla’s eyes were very green. “What do you want to do?”

Logan found it strange that they were treating him like that. So normally. Logan knew his necklace was on display. It was easier than explaining why people hadn’t seen him around and pretending to be a tourist. That lead to questions. Being abandoned didn’t. And he was. He was abandoned. People didn’t ask. Most probably thought he had just aged out. People didn’t ask. It was better that way. Logan didn’t have any answers. All he had was the memory of that last night with Finn. Finn had returned to their room, eyes wild and voice urgent.

Come on, Lo, wake up. Wake up, Logan, we have to go. Now.

Logan had felt helplessly awake in the first weeks of being out. He was still sorting through what that meant.

Logan swallowed. “I don’t know. I’m—looking for someone first.”

Remus sighed and mumbled. “Aren’t we all.”

“You are?” Leo asked softly.

Logan nodded. “Or, not looking. I’m just…I’m waiting for someone.”

He knew where Finn was, but Logan knew that he could wait forever and he wouldn’t come. Logan had to take what he wanted. It was a lesson he was learning fast.

“Oh,” Remus replied. “Um…cool. I hope you find them.”

Logan just nodded.

“Well, we should head out,” Layla said, rising. “Gotta get back to work.”

“Sure thing, just pay up front,” Leo smiled. “See you later, Layla.” He nodded at Remus. “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too,” Remus smiled back. “The food was great.”

Logan watched Leo watch them leave, then snort. “That guy looked more spooked than a horse with a snake.”

“Isn’t that what Gods are supposed to look like?” Logan replied.

Leo shrugged. “Usually you can’t see their eyes behind their aviators.”

Logan laughed a little. “Right.” he looked back down at his food, realizing he had begun picking his fries apart, rather than eating them.

“I’m looking for someone too, you know,” Leo broke the silence.

Logan did. Only, he hadn’t thought about it like that. Leo’s dad and Finn. Leo’s dad was probably dead. Finn wasn’t.

“I hope you find him,” Logan replied. “Your dad.”

The Lion was in full swing now, the lunchtime rush loud and boisterous. Leo had a tank top on, and Logan thought he looked a little tired. Sleeplessness showed easily on his skin.

“Do you have to run?” Leo asked instead of responding. “And hide? Like, from the police?”

Logan sat up, instinctively looking behind him. “I assumed I would have to. But…it hasn’t been that difficult.” He laughed a humorless laugh. “I guess I keep overestimating how much people actually care about me. Maybe I should have learned something by now.”

“Maybe you’re just looking at the wrong people,” Leo said quickly, and looked up with a smile, a small one, then down again. “I know a few others who got out. They don’t seem to have trouble, so, you know, if you needed a job or something, you could work in my mom’s workshop. With me. Or here. I’m sure Celeste and Pascal would be all right with it.”

Logan felt taken off guard. “Oh. I…” he thought of the powder packets in his bag. Of the Carrows. How much do you think you owe us by now?

Others? he wanted to ask. What others? 

“Just think about it,” Leo said, and turned towards one of the stove tops to check on some boiling water.

“Yeah. Okay.”

They sat in silence for a long moment.

“It’s a boat,” Leo began suddenly, answering Logan’s yet unasked question. The Voldemort. What his father had been looking for. It was almost like Leo was thanking him for telling the truth about his situation. An eye for an eye. A truth for a truth. Logan sort of liked that consistency. “Was a boat. In the eighteenth century.”

“Oh,” Logan said.

“Biggest story on Hogwarts,” Leo said. “Ten thousand pieces of gold, all fallen to the depths of the ocean just off of Hogwarts’ shores…and never seen again.”

“But if it’s just off the shore…”

Leo smiled a little, shaking his head. “But you have to know where off the shore. Otherwise, you have a whole circumference of miles and miles of open water to work with.”

“And your dad figured it out?”

Leo shrugged, expression closing off a little. “He thought he did.” He cleared his throat as he put an order on the counter for a waiter to take away, and ripped another piece of paper down from the line up to look at. “The Cradle. You know it?”

Logan shook his head.

“It’s a sort of…horse shoe shaped cluster of islands, just off of our southern tip.”

“Salazar,” Logan said quietly.

Leo nodded. “Salazar.”

“Your dad was a treasure hunter,” Logan said slowly. “He was looking for a treasure.”

“Yeah,” Leo said, flipping a crab cake in sizzling oil. “He was.”

“And did he find it? Do you want to find it?”

“I don’t know,” Leo whispered, busy hands stilling. “He never came home.”

Logan nodded.

“He wanted to find it,” Leo said softly. “Really badly. And I… I feel like I should.”

“And was he close?”

Leo glanced up from his knife. “Yes.”

“Leonardo,” a voice came suddenly, entering the restaurant. “What does your mother feed you, you gorgeous specimen?”

Logan froze. He knew that voice.

Leo rolled his eyes, and looked at the newcomers. “Fuck off, Saint. Hey, Sirius.”

“Hi,” a second voice came, and it was closer, almost beside Logan at the bar.

Leo’s eyes caught on Logan’s again, probably meaning to introduce him, but he stopped instead.

“What’s wrong?” Leo asked.

But Logan just shook his head, and then the newcomers—Saint and Sirius—were leaning against the bar. Logan felt the breath beside him catch just as his own had, and he turned to look.

Logan thought the boy standing beside him looked different. Older. More muscular. Squarer jaw. But the same. Same eyes. Same shock of blond hair. Same warm, brown skin.

“Logan?” Saint breathed, his eyes disbelieving.

Logan went to open his mouth, when Saint’s arms were around him suddenly.

“It’s Saint,” he said softly, just for Logan’s ears. He squeezed him tighter. “God, you’re here.”

“Saint?” Logan whispered into his shoulder. No one had touched him like this in what felt like forever.

“Yeah,” Saint said. He pulled back and raised an eyebrow. “Okay?”

Logan shrugged. “I…yeah, okay.”

“Knutty,” Saint’s serious expression morphed into a grin. He leaned against the counter, keeping his palm on Logan. “Handsome as ever.”

Logan blinked at Saint, then at Leo. “Knutty?”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Don’t listen to a word he says.”

“Oh, Logan already knows not to do that,” Saint laughed. He tapped his cross necklace. “We’re practically brothers.”

“Oh,” Leo blinked. “Right.”

The other boy—Sirius—looked just as taken aback.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Saint called in a sing-song voice, looking at Sirius. “Order for us, won’t you? And get us a table? Logan,” Saint nodded towards the door. “Come hither.”

Logan was so thankful to see Saint, he nearly tripped while getting up. A familiar face. A familiar anything. Saint had gotten out almost seven years ago. He’d been there one day, in his bed, in classes, in the courtyard, and gone the next.

“Sweetheart?” Logan asked, glancing back inside at the dark-haired boy, Sirius.

Saint just put his hands on Logan’s arms, eyes more intent than Logan had ever seen them, then on Logan’s cheeks. “Holy shit, how did you get out?”

Logan felt his heart slow, then speed up. He swallowed dryly. “Finn. How did you?”

Saint ignored the question.

“Finn,” Saint repeated, nodding. “Of course. When?”

“About a month ago. And he—he’s still in there,” Logan said. “He’s…And I’m—”

“I hear you,” Saint said. He jerked his head over to the table. “Not now. Let’s get back.”

“Saint?” Logan asked again.

Saint rolled his eyes. “Leave it alone. For now.”

~

Saint hadn’t been ready. He hadn’t seen Logan in nine years, but he’d know his face anywhere. All eyelashes and sad, green eyes. A smile he wore with Finn only. He looked spooked now, and tired. They’d sat at the bar, watching one of Leo’s shifts go and another one come, then moved to a table. Watching it get dark outside now, Saint wondered where Logan had been living for a month.

He eyed the backpack that Logan held so protectively close, and thought of the way Dorcas did the same thing.

Saint had a bad feeling.

“So, how’d you two meet?” Sirius said, gesturing between Logan and Leo with a fry when Leo brought over more water.

“Party,” Leo shrugged after a moment of hesitation. “Shack Beach.” He jerked his head at Saint. “You two were there, judging by Sirius’ shiner. Could hear that fight at my house, probably.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “I didn’t start it.”

“True,” Saint said, wondering how he had missed Logan that night. “Some God—albeit a beautiful one—thought we were selling Crucio.”

Saint flicked his eyes over to Logan. Sure enough, he blushed.

Saint cocked his head. “The horror. Dangerous stuff.”

Leo looked at Saint quietly, and glanced at Logan, then back to him. Saint nodded. Got it, it said.

“Well, would you look who it is,” said a deep voice from behind them, and then there were two strong arms around Saint and Sirius. Pascal placed a loud kiss on each of their heads.

“Eck,” Sirius laughed. “You smell like grease, old man.”

Pascal Dumais laughed. “Grease that feeds you, maybe. And who’s this?”

“Dumo, meet Logan,” Saint said. “Logan, meet Pascal. He owns the Lion with his wife, Celeste.”

“The most beautiful woman in the world,” Pascal said, accent heavy. “Logan, it’s nice to meet you.”

Saint watched Pascal eye Logan’s necklace.

“We were together at Saint Clair,” he supplied.

“Maybe not so loud,” Logan said harshly. “Saint.”

“Oh?” Pascal said, and squinted at Logan. “Who are you with now, mon cher?”

Saint watched Logan open his mouth, frozen, and was about to speak up when—

“Me,” Leo cut in. He looked down at the carrots he was chopping as he said it. “Me and my mom.”

Oh, Saint thought.

“Oh, Leonardo,” Saint sighed. “Un ange.”

“Not my name,” Leo said.

“I know.”

“Yeah,” Logan replied to Pascal’s still questioning gaze. “Yeah.”

“I see,” Pascal nodded. “Well, I’m happy you and your mother will have a helping hand now. I miss your father dearly, mon fils.” He smiled sadly at Leo.

Leo just nodded. “Yeah.”

“Him and his treasure, eh?” Pascal said. “A wonderful man. I miss going out on that boat of his.”

Leo’s smile was small, but fond. “Those were some of his favorite mornings.”

“Treasure?” Sirius asked.

“Black!” a new voice shouted. “Thank fuck.”

Saint looked up when Sirius did. James and Remus were barreling towards them from the dark outside.

“Good lord,” Saint said. “Rain, from Olympus. Water my crops, why don’t you.”

“James?” Sirius said. “What are you—”

James and Remus walked right up to their table—Remus looking slightly more reluctant. “We have a question.”

“How did you know we were here?” Sirius raised an eyebrow. “I mean, just…it’s a little out of your way, non?”

“Remus came here earlier, and when I told him—well, you’ll see—he said maybe you’d be here.”

Saint watched Sirius’ eyes narrow at Remus, confused. “Okay…”

“Well, it’s good to see you again, tweedle-hot,” Saint said to Remus. “Up close this time. We actually though you were going to sail right out of sight this morning.”

Sirius stepped on his toe beneath the table.

“Excuse me?” Remus choked out. “What the fuck did you—”

James blinked at Saint, then shook his head, as if to right his thoughts. “All right, setting every strange thing that comes out of your mouth aside for a moment —where is Dorcas?”

“Meadowes?” Logan chimed in.

James’ eyes turned on him. “You know her?”

Saint raised his hand. “I have the same question.”

“Well,” Logan hesitated. “Sure.”

“And she sells Felix,” James said, as if trying to confirm the information.

Logan narrowed his eyes. “Says you.”

James sighed. “I’m not here to turn her in, Jesus, I just have a question.”

“Do…” Sirius was looking at Logan. “Do you sell…”

“What kind of question?” Saint cut in.

Remus spoke up. “A does-she-deal-to-Luke type of question.”

Saint laughed. “Deveaux?”

“You know who Luke is, Saint,” Remus sighed.

“Well, yeah I do, Lupin, he tried to buy off me,” Saint shook his head with a tisking sound. “Turns out he’s a prejudice piece of eye candy. Who knew.”

“Come on,” James sighed, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses. “Please, Sirius, come on.”

Sirius shrugged. “We don’t know who Dorcas deals to. We’re not involved.”

“If you did would you tell us?”

Sirius smiled, just a little. “Probably not. But I really don’t know.”

James sighed, sagging away from the table. He looked at Remus. “Fuck.”

“What were you hoping to accomplish here?” Sirius asked slowly.

“We—” Remus said, then sighed, too. “We were going to see if she would agree to stop. If it was her, if she would stop giving it to him.”

“We’d pay her,” James added. “Obviously.”

Saint scoffed, and Logan laughed a little, too, from beside him.

“Obviously,” Saint mimicked.

“We just meant—” Remus began.

“We know what you meant,” Sirius said.

Saint popped a fry into his mouth. “If we’ll clean your pools for a few bucks, we’ll grant you three wishes, too.”

“Jesus, Saint,” James groaned.

“Mary. Joseph—”

James ran his hands through his hair. “We’re sorry, we misspoke. We’re just trying to help our friend. His dad got taken to jail, his mom pops pills all day and night.  That’s already draining what little money the bank didn’t seize and if he wants to do anything with his life he needs a straight head. Just—fuck, we’re just asking.”

Saint prided himself on gathering information, but most of that were things he didn’t know. Luke’s dad had got taken away. But the pills? The financial distress? All of that paired with that guarded snarl the boy always seemed to wear…it almost made Saint feel sorry for Luke Deveaux. He almost said so.

Instead, he said, while twirling the cross around his neck. “Wow, he must feel like an orphan or something.”

“All right,” Remus sighed. “James, let’s just go.”

“What does he look like?” Logan said suddenly before they could turn to leave.

James looked a him warily. “Um. Sort of blond-ish. More brown-haired, I guess. Big guy, built and tall and all that. Oh, he’s got this green spot in one eye.”

Logan nodded. James raised an eyebrow. Saint waited.

“How much will you pay me to stop selling to him?” Logan finally said. He rose as he did, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. “That’s a lot out of my pocket.”

“Logan,” Saint said, but Logan didn’t look at him.

James blinked. “I—oh. Oh, uh—God, what do you want? Two hundred?”

"One grand,” Logan said.

James laughed. “Dude. Who the fuck are you? No, I don’t have that much just—on me.”

“Logan,” Saint warned again, and this time Logan did look at him. Saint shook his head softly.

“Fine,” Logan said through his teeth, and held out his hand. “Two.”

James took his wallet out and handed over the cash.

“Thanks,” Remus said from a little behind James’ shoulder. “Really.”

Logan just nodded, shoved the bills into his pocket, and headed for the door.

“Pardon,” Saint sent a grin to them all, and followed him.

Once they were outside, Saint gave him a wack on the back of the head.

“Fuck,” Logan swore. “S—”

“You get out of that shit-hole and you go around selling Crucio? To Gods?”

“I—”

“I mean, seriously, what the fuck was that? Do you know how not careful that was?”

“I don’t even know who that boy is,” Logan bit back.

Saint blinked. “What?”

Logan looked out towards the ocean where they could hear the waves crashing against the shore. “He offered to pay, and so I told him what he wanted to hear. When his friend shows up hallucinating next, that’s their problem.”

Saint scoffed. “Fine, okay, clever boy. But you do sell Crucio.”

“Felix,” Logan countered. “And yes.”

“Crucio. And no.”

Logan shrugged. “I need the money.”

“For what?”

Logan looked at him and, this time, his eyes were hard. Desperate. “For Finn.”

Saint froze. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. “Excuse me?”

“If I can get enough cash, I can get Finn,” Logan said.

Saint stared at him, and then Saint laughed. Then, he laughed louder.

“You’re shitting me,” Saint said. “You think that?”

“What do you…”

“You think you can buy Finn out?” Saint repeated incredulously. “You think you can walk back in there and buy Finn out.”

Logan took a breath. “He—”

“Logan, Jesus Christ,” Saint snapped. “You walk anywhere near that place and you are never getting back out.” Saint pressed a hand to Logan’s shoulder and shook him. “Do you hear me?”

“I need to do something,” Logan shouted back. “I need to do something, I can’t just leave him in there, he’s everything to me.”

Saint shook his head. “He got you out. Don’t waste that.”

Logan nodded, eyes bright with tears now. “And you know he got punished for it. You know he did—”

“Stop,” Saint spat, glancing around, as if anyone could hear. “Don’t.”

“You could help me,” Logan said, wiping his nose. “Bash, you got out once—”

“No,” Saint said, and turned away. “No. And don’t call me that. Don’t you ever call me that.”

“Please,” Logan begged. “Please—Saint.”

Saint whirled on him again. “I am never going near there, and neither are you. Finn’s still in there, fine. But he’ll need to get himself free like us if he wants it bad enough.”

“I owe money,” Logan began, then his breathing hitched. “I owe them, I took some of it to see—to see Finn and…Bash—Saint—”

“Them?” Saint took a step forward. “Them?”

Logan pressed a hand over his eyes, but Saint walked forward and pulled it away.

“Logan,” he said lowly. “Tell me you didn’t.”

Logan closed his eyes, mouth twisting against his tears.

“Tell me, right now, that you didn’t let the Carrows tell you they’d help you. And that you didn’t believe them.”

Logan shook his head, not in negation, but in defeat. “I need him. I need him, I’m so…I’m alone.”

Saint pulled Logan against his chest and let him cry. The sobs heaved out of him for a long while, until the collar of Saint’s shirt was wet. Until Logan was breathing softly again, exhausted, and until his voice sounded shot when he spoke.

“You’re really staying with Leo?” Saint asked, more gently this time.

Logan nodded.

“I have a place, too. Here, in The Hollow. If you want.”

“With the others?” Logan rasped.

“What others?”

“How many others are out?” Logan said softly.

Saint shook his head, fingers in Logan’s hair. “Just me, that I know of.”

“You still wear it,” Logan said, pulling back to look at him. “The cross.”

Saint let his hands drop with a last touch to Logan’s hot cheek. “So do you.”

They were both silent.

“I’m sorry about Finn,” Saint said rigidly. “I know how much he meant to you.”

Logan’s brows pulled together. “He’s not dead.”

Saint nodded. “Right.”

“Saint…” Logan began, and Saint heard the almost B instead. “Would you—just thinking about it—“

“No,” Saint said, and then turned and went back inside.

Sirius, back at the table, looked at his face, and then at his wet shirt.

“Okay?” he asked softly when Saint sat down.

“Just dandy,” Saint replied, and looked towards the door. Logan was gone.

[draggingthedregs]

Hello! Absolutely adored your protective Kanej fic, especially how you managed to make it meet the middle ground in a dignified manner. I was wondering if you could do the same with the topic of jealousy? Would you be willing to write a fic about Jesper's feelings for Kaz, and his pov on Kanej falling in love, with a healthy dose of jealousy? Maybe a bit where he and Inej bond over their feelings for Kaz? Totally understand if you don't want to, but thank you either way!

a/n: ah! thank you so much! i’m so glad you enjoyed that lil fic!! i also really loved your ask and was really excited to write it. i’m actually on vacation right now and didn’t bring a laptop so i hope you don’t mind that it’s in the headcannon type structure (i did get slightly carried away but what’s new)! so yeah! here ya go <3

Inej had been gone for nearly a month, her first voyage on The Wraith proving to be a success

And all of Ketterdam felt her absence in the darkening shadow of gloom that followed Kaz Brekker.

The Dregs were careful to keep every toe in line, for fear they would find a cane breaking the bone. Even Jesper managed to tone down his charm

Though he wasn’t sure if Kaz’s anger was the whole reason.

When she’d left, they had all gone to the dock to see her off

Jesper slung his arm around her shoulder, pulled her tight, and made her laugh with one last terrible joke

Then he watched as Kaz said goodbye, in whatever twisted way he was capable. It didn’t sit right with him.

The way Kaz spoke to her, how he held her hand, hell- how he looked at her. As if it were the first and last time he was seeing her.

Jes watched until he couldn’t any longer. Something had balled up inside him, manifesting itself in his pounding chest and heated cheeks

He recognized the feeling

It was the feeling of someone else winning at Makkers Wheel, of watching someone make Wylan laugh, of his revolvers in anyone else’s hands.

it was the feeling of jealousy

It warmed his skin and froze his bones. He hated himself for it.

It wasn’t as if he loved Kaz the way she did, wanted him the way she did. But you’ve been here longer, saved his life just as many times.

Then she was gone, disappearing into the sea like she’d always been good at. And a dullness settled in Kaz’s eyes as he headed back to his city.

Now, as they all approached the dock once more to welcome her home, Jes felt anxiety flipping in his stomach

Wylan must have noticed, taking one of the hands that he’d begun to tap along his thigh

The dock was crowded, a mess of ships coming and going, and still they knew which ship was hers as it sailed smoothly into her berth

And through the thick, bustling crowd they knew their Wraith by silhouette alone. Her grin was wide, her hair down and curling in the salty air.

Jesper laughed, his anxiety forgotten, as he grabbed her and lifted her off the ground

“Is it possible you got smaller out there?”

Inej laughed now. “Is it possible you’ve gotten taller?”

“Just prettier. But I see how that would be confusing.”

He let her go and Wylan reached for a hug. As they spoke, he became aware of a dark spot ebbing into view

And so did Inej.

She looked up to him, taking a deep breath as she scanned him in his entirety

When Jes followed her gaze, he could see that Kaz was doing the same to her

Then, Kaz reached a single hand out, every inch deliberate. She watched him with careful eyes until he gave a single nod.

Jesper was sure he didn’t make up the near desperation on her face as she rushed toward him for an embrace.

His hands wrapped around her frame slowly, pulling her closer and tighter to him. There was a hitch in his breathing and Inej looked up at him, but Kaz didn’t pull away.

As he watched, he could feel the ball of jealousy rattling once more

Wylan cleared his throat, “All of your things you left at the house are still there. You’re both more than welcome to eat with us tonight.”

Then he tugged at Jespers hand and off they went. He had turned back once to see that the pair separated, but the intensity on both their faces remained

What are you even jealous of? She deserves to be happy. That’s all that should matter to you.

It was dark by the time Inej snuck inside the Van Eck mansion. She approached the sitting room from behind, nearly scaring them to death

“Hope i’m not too late?”

After Wylan recovered from his heart attack, “Of course not.”

Jesper mustered a nod, unable to shake his feelings this time

Inej came around and sat in an open chair

And suddenly Wylan was up. He squeezed Jes’ hand and gave him a small smile. “I’ll just be in the kitchen cleaning up.”

Of course he noticed. My merchling has decided to be observant.

The two of them left sat silently for a bit, letting the crackling fire fill the air, then, “I missed you... I missed being here.”

Her eyes were already on him when he looked up. Inej gave him the barest smile and shrug.

“Well- I’m impossible not to miss.”

She laughed, pulling her legs up underneath her. “Fair enough. How was it here while I was gone?”

Jes let out a scoff. “Kaz didn’t tell you anything?”

“Not about Ketterdam, no.”

“Well it’s been shitty. He’s been worse than usual, if that’s even possible.”

He could see the look on her face as she registered that he was upset. Inej turned to the fire then.

“You know-“ He immediately regretted it. “I couldn’t begin to guess what he has over you but he isn’t worth it, Wraith.”

“Jesper. You’re being mean”

“To who? Him?”

She turned to face him now, her face severe. “To me.”

It was then that he crumpled.

Jesper fell inward, elbows on his knees, face in his hands. “I’m sorry- I just-“

You just what? What could you say to dig yourself out of this? Why do you even feel like this?

Then she was beside him, taking his hand.

“Jes, what is it?”

Even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t lie to her. And he couldn’t control what he said next.

“You’re too good for him- we all are! And- and yet we all just go along with it all! For what? It’s not like we get anything back, he doesn’t even-“

“Care?”

Jesper looked up at her again.

“Look- I know how he is. He’s cold and frustrating and nearly impossible. But he’s also loyal and fierce and he would do anything for his crows. I think that’s what we all stick around for.”

“Is that enough?”

He could see her turning his question over in her mind.

“I wasn’t always sure but- I believe so. And if it isn’t, then we’ll revisit this conversation. Surely you can see that things are changing.”

Despite his anger or jealousy or frustration, Jesper couldn’t ignore that she was right. When isn’t she?

Kaz was changing. Between Per Haskell and Pekka Rollins, Inej leaving and becoming a barrel boss, he was different.

“Call me crazy. Call me too optimistic or pious for my own good, but there is something in him. Even if it’s buried deep.”

Jesper interrupted, “Very, very, very deep.”

Inej laughed. “I know.”

“I just want something in return sometimes. It feels like running on water and getting nowhere. The rest of us- that’s friendship, but him-“

“It isn’t the same. I understand that. Though he does feel something for you... something deeper than friendship I believe.”

He thought back to the clocktower of the Geldrenner, to the intensity in Kaz’s eyes. What do you think my forgiveness looks like, Jordie?

He nodded, supposing he wouldn’t start doubting Inej today.

“You aren’t alone, Jes. I know how you feel...”

That, he hadn’t even considered. Of course she knew how this felt, probably better than anyone.

“How do you do it, Inej? How do you love him?”

To his surprise, the Wraith smiled. “I love Kaz as he is, in every way. Not the boy he was or the man he could have been, but who he is right now. Ketterdam needs him like this just as much as it needs you and me as we are.”

Jesper hadn’t known Kaz before he had become the Bastard of the Barrel and he’d always had a difficult time placing him as a child. He couldn’t picture a young Kaz, coffee eyes and black hair glinting in the setting sun as his little legs carried him home.

But he figured Inej could. She always saw the big picture, the city from above instead of a single grimy street.

“How long will you be in Ketterdam?”

She shrugged. “As long as I’m needed here and not somewhere else.”

“Waffles in the morning then. On me.”

Inej laughed. “Jesper paying for breakfast? Things really have changed.”

It felt like a weight lifted off him as he laughed with her. “Dont get used to it.”

They stood, hugging for a brief moment.

“Goodnight, Jes.”

Then, he watched as she melted into the steady shadows with ease, as though she had never missed an evening in the mansion.

[rockthistowninsideout]

DigiWeek 2021

Day 4 - Dark/Light

The Story

part 1 part 2 part 4

   We woke up early the next morning as the sunlight sent its rays into the cave.

   When we had reached it yesterday, dusk had fallen already and the temperatures had dropped significantly. So I had helped Kamemon gather wood which Ryudamon had set ablaze with its fiery breathe. As the fire illuminated the cave, it peeled out archaically drawn illustrations out of the dark. With them, Ryudamon explained to us the history of the Digital World and its most prominent landmarks. File Island, Spiral Mountain, Primary Village, the ocean, the jungle, the ice wastelands, and so much more.

   How darkness and light had always lived side by side because one couldn’t exist without the other, but repeatedly dark forces had tried to overthrow this balance and spread gloominess across the Digital and also the human world. When that happened, ancient powers had called humans for help – those children were called the DigiDestined. Usually they were younger than us, aged sixteen we were old hands. In terms of Digimon, though, we were nearly completely ignorant.

   Ryudamon couldn’t explain why we had been chosen. Both Digimon had simply felt the urge to go to the meadow where they’d met each other for the first time and waited for their partners to arrive. They didn’t know it would be us specifically but they felt an undeniable connection the moment we had stepped off the trolley.

   We had discussed why the other DigiDestined hadn’t been with us but we hadn’t reached a satisfying conclusion so we had decided to go to sleep and see what the new day would bring us.

   Now we had breakfast with the remainders of our lunch and with frost berries Kamemon had picked in a small piece of forest around the corner of the cave. It didn’t look like it but it knew the ice wastelands inside out.

   “I’m a passionate traveller”, it explained. “The other Kamemon like to stay in our village their whole life – and that’s fine. But I have an adventurous soul that needs to roam free. What about you, Ryudamon?”

   “I also rather stay put but this force that dragged me here like a magnet had been too strong and important to ignore. Thank the Digi Gods I have thick fur and my armour, otherwise I would be freezing.”

   “Just like me!” Taki chimed in. “But Miko is like a portable heater. I always rely on her.” She smiled brightly at me.

   I smiled back because I didn’t mind. On the contrary, I was happy when she was comfortable. Then I asked “How far is it to the place Frezamon indicated yesterday?”

   “At least half a day’s march”, Kamemon said.

   I grimaced. What was it with me and endurance sports again? “You’re not, by any chance, a flying Digimon when you evolve, Kamemon?”

   It shrugged. “I have never evolved before but I don’t think so.”

   “And I wouldn’t recommend riding on my back when I’m DexDorugamon”, Ryudamon said.

   “A pity.”

   So we had no choice but to set off on foot. Immediately as we stepped out of the cave, a beastly wind nearly swept us off our feet.

   Taki and I huddled together as we marched through the snow. Kamemon was leading us up an ever ascending slope while Ryudamon was our rearguard. There was no point in stopping, all around there was only snow and wind – and more snow and more wind.

   When I thought I couldn’t possibly take it any more, Kamemon announced “Look, up there!”

   Taki surprisingly had been holding up pretty well but now that I looked at her I discovered just how tired she was. Then we both looked up to the point Kamemon indicated, and gasped. A round hut, not unlike a yurt, squatted in a nook of the rocks. Smoke rose out of a chimney. “Let’s go up there!”, Taki called, her exhaustion having vanished all of a sudden.

   We began to move again but only had climbed a few metres higher when we all froze simultaneously. There wasn’t smoke rising from the chimney anymore, it had been replaced by the deepest, darkest black I had ever seen. It curled and writhed like a single tentacle, until it split itself into at least a dozen tentacles, they all had the same thickness for some reason even though that was physically impossible. Then again we were in the Digital World, and even though there was lots that resembled our world that didn’t mean it adhered to the same laws of physics.

   The tentacles stretched until they tore themselves out of the chimney, transforming into solid spikes as soon as they left it. Swishing, they flew through the air in all directions. They disappeared from our view except for one that came straight racing towards Kamemon. It stood there transfixed, the spike coming ever closer, until it became clear to me that it would be pierced by it. Even though we only knew each other for barely a day I had grown quite fond of the little fellow and also I had sworn to be its partner. So just when Kamemon was about to be hit by the spike, I stepped forward and yanked it away. The spike drove itself into the stone with a nasty crack.

   “Thank you! Oh thank you!”, Kamemon yelled and hugged me tightly which was easy because I was still holding it in the air.

   “Of course”, I said in a casually but I still had to smile. Though only for a second until the cold of our surroundings started to seep into my collar and let me remember why Kamemon had been in hugging distance in the first place. I looked up to the yurt. “We gotta be careful”, I said before I started to walk again.

   “You’re right. I don’t what’s wrong, if the other DigiDestined has been kidnapped by that evil force or if they’re even in there”, Ryudamon confirmed and adopted leadership. Kamemon was still shaking from the attack.

   We ascended in crouched positions, ducking behind ledges and when there was nowhere to hide we were crawling up the mountain on all fours. Finally we reached the ledge closest to the yurt. I dared to peak over, only to shirk away again when another black spike came flying from the entrance door.

   “Did you really think I wouldn’t see there, creeping up the mountain like insects!”, someone shouted. It was a pearly voice, it sounded as if it wasn’t actually made to transport the resentment dripping from the words it had said.

   We communicated with each other using our hands and decided, despite all curiosity, that it was best to stay low. Then Ryudamon indicated a sheet of ice wedged at an angle between two rocks. It reflected its surroundings somewhat distorted – but it reflected them. That way we were able to see who was standing in the entrance of the yurt. It was a blonde girl, about our age, though she looked Caucasian in the makeshift mirror, neither Japanese like me nor Afro-Japanese like Taki.

   We were anxiously watching her moves, in fact we were transfixed on the image in the ice that we didn’t notice something was drawing near until it was too late.

   With a roar, a bear-like Digimon with purple-blueish fur and red and silver claws jumped up from behind our ledge. The world seemed to move in slow motion for a second. The bear Digimon – I learned from a quick glance on my DigiVice that it was called Grizzlymon – sailed above our heads and time resumed its natural flow when it landed in the snow, merely a two metres away from us.

   “Uh-oh”, Kamemon gulped.

   I could only second that. Uh-oh.

Grizzlymon

What if the villains “see the new light”?

   “Come on! It’s only a small step!”, Iori urged. He tried to hoist Yukio Oikawa higher up his small shoulders. 

   “I can’t.” Oikawa’s voice was barely audible. He looked drained, his already pale face had now lost all its colour. He resembled a ghost more than a human being. 

   Suddenly a light appeared in front of them but behind the border between the intermediate world both were still in, and the Digital World. A round light-green Digimon with a halo of leaves on its head was born from the light. It smiled cheekily at Oikawa. “Finally we meet! I’m so glad, I’ve waited for so long”, it squeaked. 

   A spark of hope flashed across OIkawa’s face. “What do you mean, you’ve waited for me?”

   “Isn’t that obious?” the Digimon said in a tone as if it was talking to a small child. “I’m Datirimon, your Digimon partner.”

   Iori smiled desperately at Oikawa. “Isn’t that something? Come on, it’s only another step.”

   Oikawa didn’t move and Iori feared that he would lose him right here but then Oikawa put his limp arm down. His hand groped around for support until it crossed the border. Now he dug his fingers deep into the soil of the Digital World. He pulled himself forward, and Iori pushed him. 

Pull and push, pulll and push, until only his feet were still in the intermediate world. Oikawa’s face was flush with Datirimon, all remaining strength had been consumed by his way into the Digital World and his limp weight was too much for Iori to carry now. He knelt beside Oikawa, both were panting.

   “I knew you would make it!”, Datirimon happily exclaimed. It hopped forward and bumped Oikawa’s nose. 

   Tears streamed down Oikawa’s face. His eyes were transfixed on the small Digimon before him. “I... have made it”, he whispered. He had no eyes for his surroundings, only for his partner, it was all he could still muster. That’s why he missed the rebirth of the Digital World.

   Daisuke pointed his DigiVice at the spot MaloMyotismon had been standing on until its defeat. A new ray of light shot from it, representing the never-ending resolve he had proven to possess in the past hours. His friends followed him, Miyako, Hikari, Takeru, and the older DigiDestined sent rays of their own, and they were joined by all the children who were in the Digital World right now.

   From the point where the rays touched, a soft golden glow started to spread as if the surface of the Digital World was cracking up. Where the old and lifeless soil had been torn away, the first bit of greenery started to grow. Butterflies rose and set off to shed the light all around the world. 

@digiweek​ (didn’t tag it right the first time so it probably slipped through)

[howlingday]

Ozpin: Greetings, travelers. You may know me, or you may not. That doesn't matter at the moment. What does matter is this tale I will tell you. It is filled with magic, adventure, and many memorable moments. If I may begin?

Long ago, and far away, in labyrinths of coral caves~,

A mystic crystal was forged in glass, with magic or something like that~.

It's powers had been used for good, and all had lived in brotherhood~,

Until the necromancer attacked, upon her Grimm of bone and black~.

Her black-red eyes with evil gleamed, She stole the crystal and she screamed~,

Now bow down men and all between, Or face the wrath of my magic beams~!

The knights and nobles of the land, Did all they could to stay her hand~,

But not a single blow was struck, For alas, she had the strongest luck~!

Yang: Hey, Professor Ozpin? No offense, but this story is kind of lame.

Nora: Yeah! This necromancer just shows up, and everyone just loses?!

Ozpin: It's called building tension.

Yang: Yeah, but everyone's gonna get bored of the story at this point, and not bother listening any further!

Nora: I bet Ruby could tell a better story!

Ruby: Huh?

Ozpin: Very well. (Tosses the book to Ruby) The story is yours, Miss Rose. (Leaves)

Ruby: B-But I-!

Yang: So, what happened next?

Ruby: Uh, um-!

Nora: It might help if you just read the book.

Ruby: But wasn't that what-?

Yang: C'mon, Rubes! Show us what you've got!

Ruby: Uh, okay then...

She grabbed the princess from her throne, Then trapped her in the crystal stone~.

The king called in his wizards four, And begged them and deeply implored~,

Search the forests, Search the seas, Search in all time and realities~,

Two champions are what I need, To bring my daughter back to me~!

Yes, my king, it shall be done! The wizards said, and so begun~,

A wondrous spell, that soon would find, The greatest men in space and time~!

And that's where our story begins, Our two heroes soon come in~,

There is no quest they can leave be, But only one of them can really speak~.

Meanwhile..

Jaune: I'm really glad you said yes to this meeting. I was kind of nervous you'd say no.

Neo: (Tilts her head)

Jaune: Well, it's just, I think you may have a problem with killing. Or should I say not killing, because-

Neo: (Waves at him, Points)

Jaune: Huh? (Looks behind him) Is that... a mystic space portal behind me? (Portal sucks them in) OH SHI-!

They awoke within a foreign land, Inside a castle oh so grand~,

There atop a throne of gold, Arose the king, so green and old~.

I've called you from the great beyond, To save my daughter with hair so blonde~,

You've sailed across the skies and stars, The Brothers brought you here without harm~!

Jaune: Actually, your majesty, you just sucked us through about sixteen different dimensions, and I have to be honest...

My arms are broken, And I don't know why my chest is smokin'~!

I will heal you with my staff, Tri-Hard works so long as you don't laugh~!

Now go! Ride toward the Sun! No, not to me! They may be our heroes now, But I fear their destiny~.

And so, they turned and rode past the castle walls, In shining codpiece armor that did cradle his chivalrous balls~!

Then skies grew dark, and the road grew narrow, But our heroes would never be lead astray~!

Neo brought her magic arrows, And she can use them to light their righteous way~!

Jaune: (Shot) ARGH! Neo, have you ever used a bow before? (THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!) OW! OKAY, I'M SORRY FOR ASKING! (Rips out the arrows, Throws them back to her) Alright then, LET'S RIDE!

Ruby: Am I doing good?

Yang: Great, Rubes! But did you really need to mention the "cradling his balls" thing?

Ruby: (Blushing) It's what the book says!

Nora: Is it just me, or does this hero sound vaguely familiar?

Yang: I'm sure it's nothing. So, what happened next?

The roads were twisted, and the air was thick, It was clear her domain was as evil as dick!

They passed through the gloom of the Forest of Fear, And the Pits of Disgust, and the Dark Swamp of Tears~!

Then off in the distance so clear, the cold, gray peak of Mt. Nasty appeared~!

Past the Fields of Annoyance, and Dragon Barf Junction, And the treacherous Cliffs of Erectile Dysfunction~!

Now Neo has erectile dysfunction! Only Neo, though~!

Jaune: I know; it's weird. (Neo shrugs)

They arrived at the Evil Queen's halls, and dismounted their trusty steeds with resolve~!

They hugged them goodbye and promised they'd never quit, Then they ran straight away, for they gave not a shit~!

The moonlight shined over the door, And over the gems and the skulls on the floor~.

They felt no terror at their end of the caves, For unless the Bells of Doom tolled, They knew they'd be saved~!

They knew they'd be saved~!

THEY KNEW THEY'D BE SA-~!

Jaune: (Bells of Doom toll, Surrounded by countless Grimm) Ah, fuck...

Yang: Well, they're boned. Unless they fought their way out.

Ruby: It says here the Silent Knight fought her way out and escaped.

Nora: But not the other one?

Ruby: He fought, but tripped on the first swing and knocked himself out.

Nora: Is he dead?

Ruby: Let's see...

Colored gemstones lit up the walls, and formed a rainbow trail up to a giant waterfall~.

There, the necromancer grinned, the Princess stood frozen, yet still so hot beside her~.

Jaune, Yang, Nora, Ruby: Damn...

Then he heard a voice inside his mind, It was the Princess, she said, Jaune Arc, your heart is kind~.

Only light can stop dark~. I know what she spoke of, That to defeat the necromancer, I need to use love~!

Jaune: Stand back, Neo! I'm going to hug her!

She immediately shattered both his legs, and threw him across the room, He probably should have brought some weapons, but now the fool is doomed!

But Neo picked him up, because they're such good friends, Then she used his body like a club to beat their enemy to death~!

He should be in more pain than could ever be spoken, But luckily he felt nothing because his back is totes broken~!

Oh, the necromancer was dead, and the crystal broke in three, They looked up into the light and saw the Princess was now free~!

Jaune: Neo, she's so beautiful! Roll me to her!

Neo: (Rolls her eyes, Throws Jaune at the Princess)

Nora: Hooray! The day is saved!

Yang: That fight could have been better. Gotta say, though, that Silent Knight dude kicked serious ass! Is he single?

Ruby: Well, there's still a few pages left to find out.

They journeyed back to the King, His lands now green with the life of Spring~,

He leapt up and wept at the sight, Of his girl as she carried our hero through the night~!

Heal this man, wizards~! He cried in delight, And they did! Brothers damned, they kept their magicing tight~!

Sadly it was time to leave, so the King said, Fix Neo's ED, and hooray for Neo's Best Team~!

Yang: Great story, Rubes! Nothing left to do but to put it on a shelf and never read it again.

Nora: I wonder what happened to those two after this? Maybe I should write a sequel.

Yang: What if there's already a sequel?

Nora: A sequel as good as good as what I write? Puh-lease! What do you think Ruby? (Ruby is silent) Ruby?

Ruby: (Points to a picture of Jaune walking around, as if it were a live video feed) Look...

Jaune: Neo, look! The portal back home is opening! (Turns to face everyone, Unknowingly facing RYN)

Now fare thee well, It seems that our journey is at an end. We will be here if you should ever need our help again~. (They walked away, but stopped to turn before they take their last step)

Neo: (Kills a guy, Smirks as she maintains her rep)

We all have our battles to fight, and a crystal cage to break through in our lives~.

But when hope is gone, We will be there to help and fight the fuck on~!

Yang: Whoa...

Nora: (Sniffs, Wipes away a tear) That's my leader...

Ruby: (Closes the book)

The End...

[heyyyharry]

Chapter 10: In Another Life

(from ‘The Winter and The Crown’)

…in which they’ve found answers.

Word count: 2.8k

AU: queen!y/n, commander!harry

Description: Y/N and Harry set off on a new adventure to find ‘the cure’ for an ancient curse, meanwhile, the enemies are plotting to take her kingdom.

Wattpad link (original character: Reyna as Y/N)

A/N: 

Hey guys, it’s Allie! I’m sorry for such a short chapter; I’ve been so busy lately. And since I’m having an exam this Friday, I cannot release chapter 11 next week. I hope you’ll enjoy this one and I’ll see you in two weeks with a longer chapter :) Meanwhile, feel free to spam me all the theories you’ve got! Love you!

Also, for those who are new to our ‘family’, we call the MC ‘Peach’ so the others won’t get confused with Y/N from my Flatmate series :P 

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Harry could have sworn he’d seen this scene before.

The fireflies and her. Everything seemed and felt so familiar yet he could not trace back to that exact memory. His head hurt, could be from the dancing or the unexpected flashbacks, so he asked for a break and sat down by a tree, watching Y/N chase fireflies. She looked the happiest she’d ever been, or as far as he could recall, which made him wonder if the crown she wore had imprisoned her all these years. Well, of course. The whole reason she’d run off in the first place was to look for freedom. Then why had she returned to the castle? Why had she just given up on her freedom?

He believed at one point he’d known all the answers and even her like the back of his hand. Now, all he had were questions. It was unsettling how someone knew you more than you knew them. Harry hated that; it made him feel vulnerable.

“Harry, look!”

He whipped his head up to see Y/N holding her fists together, a warm glow sipping through the gap between her fingers. She brought the firefly to him, got down on her knees and extended her hands. “Make a wish,” she told him.

He chuckled. “On a firefly?”

She lifted her shoulders. “These could be the spirits of the forest. It might actually work.”

A laugh crackled out of Harry as he shook his head. He leaned closer until the light illuminated his entire face then he shut his eyes and made a wish.

He wished for them to return home safely.

When he opened his eyes, hers were closed. She mumbled soundless words and gave him a smile that could turn him to stone.

“What did you wish?” he asked, his voice wavering.

She pursed her lips to suppress a smirk. “If I told you, it wouldn’t come true.” Then she released the firefly. And they both watched the shiny spot float above and disappear in the shadow of trees.

They continued their journey after a long sleep. It was a gloomy day when they woke up. The air was colder. It was the kind of cold that made your bones ache. Sitting on his horse, Harry’s teeth were chattering and his fingers felt numb around the reins. He had to look over to check on Y/N once in a while and make sure she was all right. Her skin was pale from the cold, her braid dusted with snow, yet her cheeks glowing pink. Seeing her like that gave Harry the energy to keep going.

They hadn’t gone for long when the snowstorm began. Strong icy winds sailed over them, kicking up layers of snow, washing the forest white. Fortunately, they had seen this coming and took shelter in the nearest cave they could find.

They shrugged off their heavy coats, made a fire and roasted the rabbits they’d hunted yesterday. It terrified Harry how much they’d got used to this life. Everything felt a bit easier day by day. How long had they been wandering in these woods? He could not recall. Time didn’t seem to exist anymore. And to him, forgetting time was terrifying because time never forgot you. You might not remember growing old, but you still were every single day.

So what if he and Y/N never made it out of here?

He looked over to Y/N as she chewed on the rabbit leg. She seemed nonchalant, or she was just better at hiding her worries. Perhaps this was for the best. One of them must stay sane for both of them to continue the journey and not give up halfway. Harry thought he could lose it any time soon.

He hadn’t got any new memories today. A part of him was disappointed as he’d thought he was going to get memories back much quicker now that he’d remembered a few things. But he guessed he needed more time.

After the meal, there was nothing to do, so they decided to go to sleep and hoped that the storm would have cleared by morning. They lay down by the fire, wrapped up in their fur coats and waited for sleep to take them.

A few moments passed by, still, neither of them could fall asleep. Harry didn’t know what was keeping her awake. For him, he couldn’t stop thinking about the life outside this cave, beyond these woods, the life back home, the people he’d left behind and was dying to see again.

“What’s the one thing you fear the most?”

She blinked at him with her big round eyes, seemingly taken aback by his question. He hadn’t thought before he’d asked; it’d been the first thought to cross his mind when he’d decided to break the silence, and it’d been the one question he’d been asking himself ever since he’d got to know her.

What was this woman afraid of?

She was younger than him. He couldn’t imagine being someone her age and having gone through all those tragic events and now carried a kingdom on her shoulders. She’d almost died so many times since the beginning of their journey and yet he hadn’t seen her shed a single tear.

He wanted to believe that she was fearless, that the way she’d been raised and treated had turned her cold. But he knew it wasn’t true.

When he’d watched her dance, he hadn’t seen a Queen; he’d seen a girl whose childhood had been taken from her too soon too fast.

Y/N folded her arms over her knees as she watched the shadows on the cave wall bending into eerie shapes. Outside, the storm kept on raging. Harry tried to ignore the roaring of the wind and focus on the sound of her breathing instead.

“Being forgotten,” she finally answered, her voice warm and breathy, “by the ones I love.”

“If they love you, they won’t forget about you,” Harry said. Then, he felt a jab in his chest as he thought about his mother. Y/N had said that she’d met his family so he assumed she knew about his mother’s illness. He laced his gloved fingers together, resting them on his stomach as he took a deep breath. “My Ma forgot who I was sometimes, but I know she always loves me. You can lose your memories about someone, but the love you have for them will always be there.”

“Mother’s love is a different kind of love,” Y/N said, finally looking at him. He could see his own reflection in her eyes and for a second forgetting what he was going to say.

“Love is love. If it’s true, then it won’t fade away.”

Y/N pursed her lips. A thin line appeared between her dark brows as she pondered over his words. Suddenly, he wondered if she was thinking of the King. Perhaps what she feared most was dying in this place and having Lance forget about her.

Uneasiness filled Harry’s lungs. He turned his face away, balling his fists tightly as he felt another memory pushing to the surface.

Then nothing happened.

He let out another long breath and relaxed.

He hadn’t told her about the flashbacks he’d been having. They were more like fragments of his memory, messy and all over the place, and she’d been in most of them. He hadn’t even told her about the constant fear and anxiety of losing her, which he had to deal with every day. He was unable to put meanings to those feelings. But right here, right now, he knew that he envied the King.

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Y/N didn’t know how long it’d been since she’d passed out. When she awoke, it was still dark. The fire was burning low. Harry was sleeping soundly beside her. She thought about falling back to sleep when the sound of footsteps made her jolt upright. Quickly, she reached for her sword and jumped to her feet, just in time a tall dark figure emerged from the shadow.

Her heart lurched. She made an audible gasp, almost dropping her weapon.

Lance.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, unable to recognise her trembling voice.

Lance was wearing a black fur coat, his hair as beautiful as she could recall. He didn’t seem like he’d come in from the storm.

“I came for you,” he said, taking a step closer to the fire. His voice warmed her all over. “To bring you home.”

He extended a hand. And she took it. It was cold.

“How did you get here?” she asked. “How did you find us?”

Us. It was only then that she remembered Harry was still here. She glanced at him over her shoulder and saw that he was still sleeping. How could he still be sleeping with her and Lance talking to each other?

“I...don’t know,” Lance said, his brows knitted as he looked down at his hands as if doubting his own existence. “I went to sleep and I’m here.” He then spotted Harry and stopped for a second. “Is he…”

“Yes. He’s alive.”

There was another pause.

“Good,” Lance breathed, running his long fingers through his raven hair. She noticed the red stone on his finger. Could this really be Lance? Was this a dream?

“How’s Isolde?” she asked, trying not to think too much. She could catch a glimpse of disappointment in his grey eyes and felt guilty about it. He’d probably expected her to ask how he was doing. She wanted to know that, too. But Isolde always came first.

“The people miss you,” he said, looking at the fire to avoid eye contact. There was something else he wanted to say. She knew he was holding it back because he thought she didn’t want to hear it.

She squared her shoulders and gripped her sword-hilt. “How have you been?” she asked.

A corner of his mouth raised as he spread his arms. “I’m alive. And I’m glad to see you alive as well.”

She shook her head and let out a quiet laugh.

“I wish I were really here,” he said.

“So do I,” she heard herself whisper.

Y/N awoke with a start, calling out for Lance, but what she saw was a horrified Harry staring right back at her. It looked like her scream had woken him.

So Lance had never been here. It had been a dream. One that felt so real she could feel his icy skin against her own.

“Are you all right?” Harry asked, hurriedly scooting closer to hold her by the arms. “Did you have a nightmare?”

She nodded, wrapping both arms around herself. “I saw Lance,” she murmured.

Harry blinked. Then, his eyes widened. “What is it?”

A chill coursed right through Y/N. She stared unblinkingly over Harry’s shoulder and slowly lifted her trembling hand to point at the creature stepping out from the shadow.

The deer.

It was in the cave with them.

“Are you seeing it too?” Y/N asked Harry.

He was gawking at the creature with his mouth hanging open. He nodded once, unable to move an inch.

“Hello,” the deer said. It was the voice of a woman.

Curious and unusually at ease, Y/N brushed Harry’s hands off her as she got up and started walking towards the creature.

“Peach, be careful!”

“It said hello.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“He cannot hear me,” the deer said as Y/N stopped right in front of it. “Only you can, Your Majesty.”

“You can’t hear it.”

“What?”

“It told me,” Y/N said, still facing the deer. “Only I can hear it. Only I can talk to it.”

“Well, what does it say?”

Y/N swallowed, twisting her own sleeves as she stuttered, “I-I need answers. I need to find the Lake of Tears. Can you help me?”

The deer tilted its head to the side. “You have all the answers,” it said.

“I...do?”

“Come closer.”

“Peach!” Harry snapped as Y/N took another step and held out her hand.

The deep bent slightly in a way to ask her to touch its head. And so she did.

A burst of memories poured over her. She saw herself free-falling through time, being pulled by an invisible string through different scenes and places. Like flipping fast through a picture book and only getting a glimpse at each page.

The crooked house before the fire. Food on the table. A fireplace. Woman kissing her lover. A fire tattoo on her back. Woman waiting for her lover. She has a child now. Woman and child being chased through the woods. It was winter. A snowstorm. Slippery ice. Woman and child falling into the dark cold water into the drowning deep.

Y/N felt water fill her lungs. She screamed. Her vision came back in an instant and Harry caught her right before she hit the ground. She could still feel the pressure onto her chest, but she wasn’t drowning. She was still in the cave. The deer was still standing there, watching her.

“Peach! Hey! What did you see?” Harry asked as he let her lean onto him for balance.

She kneaded her temples. Her head was in so much pain she struggled to keep her eyes open. “I-I see the witch…She had the symbol on her back...She belonged to The Monks.”

“What?”

“She didn’t die alone,” she said and fisted Harry’s shirt as realisation washed over her. “The lake exists! I don’t know where it is but I saw the witch fall through the ice and die with her baby.”

Harry was shaking now but his fingers didn’t loosen around her arms. “I don’t understand,” he said, trying to sound as calm as he could.

“Follow me,” the deer told them and turned away.

“We must follow the deer.”

“There’s a storm–”

“Harry, please!” she shouted. Her headache was getting worse, but she wasn’t giving up now that she’d found the answers. The deer wanted her to see those scenes for a reason. It was going to lead her to the lake.

Harry still stood there, clutching her arms as if she’d vanish as soon as he let go. She sucked in a breath and looked him in the eye. “Do you trust me?”

He swallowed. She was ready to be let down. She’d do this alone if she must.

“I do,” he said and picked up their swords with one hand, not releasing her hand. “Let’s go.”

And so they did. They followed the moonlight deer into the storm.

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Lance woke up to the sound of wind whistling in the chimneys. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and found himself still sitting in the library with two tall piles of musty old books waiting to be read.

He’d had so many dreams about Y/N before. This one, however, had felt so real. He closed his eyes and forced himself to fall back to sleep so he could see her again, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not pass out with a head full of troubling thoughts.

Frustrated, he pushed away from the table and got to his feet. He arched his back, stretching his limbs. His body had almost gone numb from having sat in one spot for the entire night.

He didn’t know what he was hoping to find in these books. He only knew that to deal with a force as ancient as The Monks, he had to look for answers in history. For Y/N, he’d spent long hours in this dark old library on his own, reading until the words on the page got all tangled together and then he’d pass out not knowing how much time had passed. What kept him going was the red stone on his finger. She was still alive out there and while he was safe here, he could not just sit back and do nothing.

Lance was just thinking about going back to his chamber and saving the rest for the next morning when he saw it.

A moth.

He had no idea where it’d come from. It skimmed past his shoulder—white wings beating against the dust. It looked as if it’d just come through a storm, wings torn at the edges. Shredded.

In Attwell, a moth signified a dead spirit or at least the messenger from the other side trying to tell the living something that was going to happen or had already happened in the past. Lance wasn’t superstitious, yet anxiety had made it hard for him to just ignore any sign. He flopped back into his chair, now a lot more awake. The moth circled overhead, bobbing quickly out over the shelves as if called forth by something. Back into the darkness of the library and gone.

Lance moved the candle closer to get a better look at what was written on the page.

Lokesh Willem Y/L/N. First High King of Isolde...

[starshine583]

Crossing a Line

(SUPER late to do this, but I finally decided to name the fic lol anyay, here’s part 16 of Le Paon! Sorry it’s a day late, but I hope you all enjoy!)

Part 1 / Part 15 / Part 17

Le Paon landed on a chimney top and frantically searched the city streets. The akuma was probably being formed at that very minute. He needed to find Marinette and get her off the streets before the battle started. If something happened to her because he was floundering around for some pieces of jewelry-

“PEOPLE OF PARIS!”

Le Paon jerked in the direction of the booming voice, where a woman stood in the middle of the street. Or, at least, he assumed it was a woman. The person’s figure was too covered in a dripping, green slime to really tell.

“YOU ALL WANTED A MONSTER.” They bellowed. Yes, that shrieking was definitely on the feminine side. “I GAVE YOU ONE, PUT MY HEART AND SOUL INTO IT, BUT DID YOU ALL THANK ME? NO! YOU TOLD ME IT NEEDED TO BE SCARIER, MORE REALISTIC!”

The green slime ball aimed her arms towards the sky. “HOW’S THIS FOR REALISTIC?!”

The akuma thrust her arms forward, causing slime to shoot off in random directions. The slime covered the building and the cars, sticking to them like glue. A few people tried to escape, but within seconds, the akuma had them pinned to the cement with her goo. So far, struggle appeared to be futile.

Le Paon started looking faster.

He passed over the alleyways of the entire street, then jumped to a few other streets and searched through those too. Panicked citizens were running and screaming everywhere, but Marinette was nowhere to be found. Where could she have gone? Why couldn’t he see her? What if she’d gotten hit already, and he missed it?

In a newfound panic of his own, Le Paon rushed back to the akuma, only to find Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting it head on.

The heroes were using their weapons to avoid the slime balls, while the akuma kept shooting. Underneath the akuma’s feet, though, slime was slowly seeping off of her body and climbing up the building wall that the heroes were on. A trap.

She looks like she’s got this. Le Paon thought, continuing to look around for Marinette.

It was then he spotted her. Well, not Marinette, but Allegra. She was filming him from behind a slimmed car not too far away. Le Paon ran towards her. The two girls had run off together, so Marinette had to be close by.

Allegra gasped slightly at his sudden approach, but didn’t back up. She merely stared at him with a mix of awe and a slight bit of worry.

“Where’s Ma- uh- your friend?” He asked quickly. There was no time to play games.

Allegra blinked. “You mean Marinette? I don’t know. She said we’d get better coverage if we split up.”

Le Paon let out a frantic laugh. Of course she did. Of course she did.

“Alright, alright, um..” He looked around for a moment, before pushing the camera until it was facing down. “First of all, no pictures. Second, get to safety and tell your friend to do the same.”

Allegra went to reply, but Le Paon spun on his heel and sprinted back towards the fight. He didn’t have any more time to look for Marinette. So he’d have to win- or end -this fight swiftly to make sure she didn’t get hurt. (If she wasn’t already.)

Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the akuma, easily tying them up to stop the blasts. Le Paon used the akuma’s excess sludge to slide forward and grab the yo-yo string. He caught a glimpse of Ladybug’s surprise before he yanked on the yo-yo, causing the hero to fly forward.

Unfortunately, Chat Noir managed to grab her arm in time, but the yo-yo did slip off the akuma when Ladybug lost her balance, so Ladybug’s being saved wasn’t a total loss. 

With the akuma free, Le Paon took off towards another alleway. They needed to surround the heroes, make them sweat. If he could coax their powers out of them prematurely, he might be able to figure out Ladybug’s identity when her time ran out. 

Le Paon jumped back and forth between the alley walls until he was back on the rooftops. Ladybug and Chat Noir were fighting two roofs away. What the heroes didn’t see, however, was the sludge that was ever so quietly creeping onto the rooftop. Le Paon didn’t know how they were missing it, since it was almost covering the front of the building they were standing on.

Pushing that thought aside, He charged forward and spread out his fans. It didn’t matter why they missed the sludge. The point is that they did miss it, and it would be their fatal mistake.

“Incoming!” Chat yelled as Le Paon landed on their rooftop.

Ladybug glanced behind her, briefly catching Le Paon’s gaze. “I see him! Cover me-”

Her orders were cut off with a gasp when the slime finally crawled around their ankles. 

“C-Chat!” She yelped, foolishly trying to pull herself out of it as it continued up her legs.

“I got it!” Chat Noir said, raising his hand in the air. “Cataclysm!” 

Le Paon watched the familiar, dark magic swirl around his brother’s palm. As soon as he thought about stopping the use of the power, though, Chat Noir already had his hand on the slime, and it was disintegrating.

Along with the rest of the roof.

Le Paon stumbled back as the black decay spread across the plastered rooftop. He’d seen Cataclysm a few times in action, but he’d never dared to get so close. His paranoia was proven justified too when the roof caved in on itself, bringing Le Paon with it.

A shocked cry escaped him as he grappled at the air. Debri smacked him from all sides, and his vision clouded with the dust of it. 

When his back hit the top floor, he couldn’t even gasp a second time, as the hit ripped all of the air from his lungs. He did, however, find the time to shield himself with his forearms in the two second span it took for the rest of the debri to fall on top of him.

That’s when the floor caved below him for the second time.

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Ladybug tried not to gag as she dug through the akuma’s slime to grab the akumatized object. She thought that cinema monster was bad, but now she almost missed him.

“There!” Chat Noir spoke up, pointing towards a small object around the akuma’s neck.

Ladybug yanked it off and promptly smashed it to the ground. As expected, an akuma fluttered out of the object.

She used her yo-yo to catch it and stood up with a relieved sigh. “I’m glad that fight’s over. I’m pretty sure I still have some slime left in my ears.”

“I couldn’t agree more, M’Lady.” Chat Noir commented. “Mind using your miraculous cure so I won’t have to take five showers when I get home?”

Ladybug chuckled and threw her Lucky charm into the air. It burst into a million, tiny ladybugs before sweeping over the city- them included -and putting everything back to the way it was.

Chat Noir shuddered. “Oh, finally! That goo was starting to find its way into uncomfortable places.”

Ladybug scrunched up her nose with a laugh. “Ew! Don’t tell me that.” 

Chat Noir gave a shrug. “It’s true.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes playfully. “Anyway, where do you think Le Paon went?” Her eyes swept over the city street they were on. “Usually, he’d come out to fight some more or we’d see him running away.”

Chat looked around as well, but he obviously wasn’t as interested- or worried -as she was. “He probably ran back to his little boss, the coward. As long as he’s out of our way now, I don’t care.”

Ladybug frowned. Chat Noir had always been more firm in his belief that Le Paon was pure evil, not that she could blame him. She’d thought the same thing until he saved her, until she found out he was actually Felix. She wanted to help him give up peacefully, but would Chat Noir allow it? 

“Chat..” She began hesitantly. “Do you think it’s possible to end all of this peacefully?”

Chat furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Well, what if Le Paon decides to surrender? What do you think we should do?”

“Le Paon? Surrender?” Chat Noir snorted. “Come on, M’Lady, we both know that’s not going to happen. Le Paon is an incompetent criminal with no remorse. He’s not going to ‘surrender’ until he’s gotten the miraculous or we have him in handcuffs.”

Ladybug held back a grimace. That didn’t sound like a good start to Felix’s redemption.

“But what if he did? What if he decides to stop working for Hawkmoth and turn himself in?” She prompted.

Chat stared at her for a moment, then sighed. “If he really had a change of heart and decided to give up his miraculous, then maybe I could see myself being fine with him. But the fact is, that’s never going to happen Bugaboo.” 

Ladybug’s miraculous took that moment to start beeping.

She touched a hand to her earrings. “Yeah.. maybe..”

Chat Noir offered her a smile and patted her shoulder. “Hey, everything’s gonna be alright. Even if he doesn’t surrender, we’ll catch him.”

Ladybug bit her lip and nodded. What was she going to do if they did catch him? Would she have to convince Chat Noir to let him go? She couldn’t see him letting a terrorist run off without consequences if he didn’t know them.

She threw out her yo-yo, letting it wrap around a nearby chimney. There was no use in worrying about something that might not happen. “I’ll see you later, Chat.”

Chat gave a small wave and pulled out his baton. “Later, Lb.”

The two ran off in opposite directions, Chat Noir in the direction of the school, Ladybug in the direction of Master Fu’s Massage Parlor.

~~~~~~

A gasp tore itself from Le Paon as his eyes snapped open. He jolted upright and gripped his chest, hard. Where was he? Was the battle over? How did he get back onto the rooftops? Le Paon was sure he’d been…

He shook his head. The miraculous cure must have healed him, which meant the battle was over. Ladybug and Chat Noir must have taken out the akuma while he was- ahem -out. 

Le Paon started to scramble to his feet. He had no way of knowing where the heroes were now. They might have left, or they might be searching for him. Neither situation sounded pleasant. 

Just as he was wondering whether he should go home or back to school, Ladybug’s yo-yo strung out across the air, and she sailed forward a second later, her earrings beeping the whole way.

Le Paon’s eyes widened, even more so when he saw Chat Noir using his staff to volt off in the completely opposite direction. This was it. This was his chance. He could finally figure out who Ladybug was.

Le Paon was on his feet and running in moments, his thoughts of what just happened during the battle lost in the back of his mind. If he could figure out Ladybug’s identity, he could take her miraculous and convince Adrien to give up his. The battles and endless fights would be over, their mother would be alive again, and, most importantly, Marinette would be safe. 

It only took a good minute for Ladybug to land in another alleyway, as she was clearly out of time. Le Paon slid up behind a chimney from the rooftop across the street, holding his breath. Any sudden movements and this whole plan would fall apart. He couldn’t let that happen, not when he was so close. 

“Tikki, spots off.” The magic words tumbled from her lips, and Le Paon peeked a bit further around the chimney. His nerves were buzzing with anticipation as the shimmering magic melted off of her body. He’d never thought much about Ladybug’s identity, but now he couldn’t help wondering who it might be. This girl had been spoiling his Father’s plans for months, after all. She must be special somehow. 

The flash of light faded.

Le Paon’s heart stopped.

Though her pigtails had remained, the light replaced Ladybug’s spotted suit with an outfit of pink capris and a white t-shirt under a black, half-sleeved jacket. An outfit that Felix would recognize anywhere.

Oh no.

All hopes of him seeing things was dashed away when a red kwami zipped around the ravenette, chirping, “That was a close one, Marinette!”

Marinette- why Marinette?-chuckled, giving a small nod of agreement. “That it was, but I made it just in time.”

Le Paon hid behind the chimney again as she turned to jog out of the alley. Of all the people in all of Paris in all of the world- it just had to be Marinette. Then again, who else could it be? The cleverness, the strength, the agility- of course it was her. Felix honestly couldn’t imagine anyone else being Ladybug, and that made him sick to his stomach.

They were on opposing sides. Not only was he fighting his little brother, he was also fighting the woman he’d fallen in love with. Gosh, what kind of sick joke was this?

Le Paon sank to the ground, thumping his head against the chimney bricks. Marinette’s pleas to talk with Ladybug made sense now. She wanted him to talk to her as Ladybug, but she couldn’t say that outright without giving her identity away. What would she have said as Ladybug that she couldn’t as Marinette? Their positions were the same either way. Felix needed the miraculous. She wasn’t giving them to him. That was it.

Le Paon blew out a sigh, rubbing his hands over his face. Maybe.. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. If Ladybug was Marinette, he could get the miraculous easily, right? All he had to do was visit her again and take them. It’s certainly something she wouldn’t expect.. He would have the earrings. Then he could talk to Adrien and get the ring. Father would make the wish, Mother would be returned to them, and Felix could give the miraculous back to Marinette in one piece. No harm done..

Except Marinette would be betrayed.

Le Paon finally stood. Doing this might make her hate him forever, but it was necessary. Even if Felix decided to give up and surrender, he couldn’t say that his father would share the sentiment. Then what? Hawkmoth gets a new partner, and Marinette is still in danger, probably more than before? He couldn’t stand that, yet he couldn’t fight her himself anymore either! Getting the miraculous was the only option. It would hurt her, yes, but it was in everyone’s best interest. She would have to find it in herself to forgive him, and if she didn’t.. well.. 

Le Paon started the run home. 

If she didn’t forgive him, at least she’d be hating him in the safety of her home, without the heroic duties that he and Hawkmoth currently gave her.

~~~~~~

Marinette closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, silencing her thoughts. She needed to focus on healing, on life, on every breath she took that represented both.

“Your connection to your kwami is sacred and rare.” Master Fu explained, sitting across from her. “Many wear the miraculous, but few are completely compatible with them. When one is compatible, though, they are able to unlock unique abilities, with practice.”

“In this case, you are connected to the miraculous of creation. That means you have extended abilities towards life itself. If your powers are nursed properly, you will be able to heal others by restoring life to them, or, in other words, recreating their life force.”

“So.. I can bring people back from the dead?” Marinette asked curiously.

“No.” Fu answered. “Bringing people back from the dead doesn’t work, because there is no original life force to restore or recreate. If you did manage to bring someone back, they wouldn’t be the same.”

Marinette cracked open an eye, worry flickering across her face. “Then what happens to the people that don’t make it during akuma attacks?”

Fu gave a small smile. “Tikki’s powers can bring others back to life, or rather, recreate them properly, under the proper circumstances, such as akuma attacks. Right now, we are talking about your powers.”

“Right, right. Sorry.” Marinette said, closing her eyes again.

Master Fu continued. “Now, to access this bond, you need to concentrate on the connection with your kwami, along with magic that has now been infused with your soul. You need to feel it glowing from within and transfer it to the object you are hoping to recover. Clear your mind of everything but Tikki and try to heal this plant.”

Marinette nodded and inhaled. Healing.. What did that mean? Restoring the health of a living being, she supposed. Fixing things that are broken. But it also meant washing away all of the bad that rotted the thing in the first place. 

Marinette touched a hand to the drooping plant in front of her, focusing on the magic within her, feeling it wash away the corruption in the stems and leaves. 

She didn’t have to open her eyes to know that a soft, pink glow was spreading over the plant, but she opened them anyway to watch the wilting leaves slowly rise and regain their bright green color. 

“I’m doing it!” She exclaimed. “Look, it’s being healed!”

Unfortunately, the excitement at her success caused her to lose her concentration, and the pink glow faded, which in turn left the plant drooping again. 

“Don’t worry.” Master Fu told her as her shoulders dropped with disappointment. “This was an excellent first try. I have no doubt that you’ll get the hang of it with more practice.”

Marinette bit her lip, staring down at the lifeless leaves.

“.. What if.. What if I can’t heal her.” She asked, her fingers tangling together nervously. A human being had to be immensely complicated compared to a small plant. How could she revive Emilie if she could hardly hold up a fern for more than three seconds?

Master Fu put a comforting hand on hers. “You can do it, but even if you can’t, I’m sure Felix will understand.”

Will he though? Marinette couldn’t help thinking. She’s always known Felix as a sensible person, but would he give up his mother for a random person he might not even know? Further more, will he betray Hawkmoth to surrender?

“Let’s try again.” Master Fu spoke up, taking her from her thoughts.

Marinette nodded her head and closed her eyes to clear her mind. No Felix. No Hawkmoth. Only life and healing.

She held out her hand to restart the magical process.

~~~~~~

The familiar clang of metal resonated across the secret garden with each step Felix took. He’d come down here a scarce few times since he accepted the peacock miraculous to help his Father. Most of the time it was to grieve, or to restore his determination to get the miraculous. Today, it was for courage.

Marinette was Ladybug. Adrien was Chat Noir. The two people he held most dear were against him and Father. Now he had to choose what meant more to him: Their opinion or Mother’s health.

Felix touched a hand to the glass of his Mother’s coffin. It was cold against his skin, the same way he imagined her to be during her current, sleeping state.

“Duusu, can you heal her like you did me?” He asked.

The kwami shook her head. “I’m sorry, but the peacock miraculous doesn’t work like that.”

Felix sighed. “So, I do need the wish to heal her.” 

Why was he hesitating? Wasn’t this the thing he’s been working towards for months now? Adrien had the ring, and Marinette had the earrings. They were both so close that Felix would barely need to do anything to get them. The wish was at his fingertips, right there in front of him. All he had to do was act.

Felix took his hand off the glass. “Duusu, spread my feathers.”

It will be the coward’s way out to hide under his mask while taking her miraculous, but at least the betrayal will be quick.

~~~~~~

The greenish brown leaves of Master Fu’s plant swayed mockingly as Marinette set the pot on her table. She’d managed to heal it somewhat during her training session, but it was still susceptible to illness. So Master Fu sent her home with the plant and advised that she practice during her free time. 

“You did a great job today!” Tikki praised beside her.

Marinette smiled. “Thanks, Tikki. I’m gonna get this healing magic down if it’s the last thing I do.” 

She pulled up her rolling chair and took a seat in front of the plant. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she drew in a deep breath, the same way Master Fu taught her. 

Clear your mind. She reminded herself. Focus on the bond with your kwami.

Marinette reached out to touch her plant again when-

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A knocking sound came from the trapdoor above.

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat, recognizing the knock instantly. 

“Felix.” She whispered to herself. “Coming!” 

Marinette stood from her chair and swiftly hid the plant under her desk. He probably wouldn’t think anything of a half-dead plant being in her room, but it felt natural to hide something related to Ladybug.

She climbed the ladder and opened the trapdoor, and Le Paon dropped down into her room. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He said in greeting.

Marinette smiled. “No, not really. I was just.. Uh.. sketching.”

Le Paon offered a small smile. “Oh? It wasn’t a picture of me again was it?”

Marinette pursed her lips, a soft blush swirling across her cheeks. “Well, no.. not this time.”

Le Paon’s smile widened slightly, and Marinette felt her heart rate pick up. The last time they were in her room along like this, they kissed. Would he kiss her again? Was it okay to admit that, despite the stress of him working for Hawkmoth, she really wanted him to?

“So.. what brings you here?” She inquired, horribly hoping he would simply say her name, that he would admit to missing her too.

Le Paon’s smile faltered. Not exactly the response she was looking for.

“I..” His gaze flicked to the left of her a moment, and his expression twisted with confliction. “Uhm..”

Marinette’s eyebrow knitted together. “Le Paon? Is everything okay?”

Le Paon met her eyes again, swallowing thickly. “Of course. I just.. I wanted to see you. You know, after last night.”

Marinette frowned. She might be wrong, but people don’t normally look conflicted when talking about a kiss.. unless..

Marinette’s stomach twisted. 

“Do regret it?” She hated to ask the question- What if he did regret it? Where would they go from there? -but she also needed to know. The last thing Marinette wanted to do was pressure Felix into spending time with her on a romantic basis. 

Le Paon’s eyes widened. “What? No, not all! I mean, I regret not asking permission first, but..” 

Relief flooded Marinette’s chest, though his answer still didn’t explain why he looked so conflicted a second ago. “But?”

Something flickered across his expression, but she didn’t have time to decipher it as he took a step forward. “But I could never regret kissing you. In fact, I..” his hand came up to cup her cheek again. “I was hoping to do it again.”

Marinette held back a smile as butterflies fluttered through her. “Is that your way of asking for permission?”

“Should I be on my knees begging instead?” He replied teasingly.

A giggle bubbled up her throat. “Maybe.”

Her leaned forward, capturing her lips in a soft kiss, and the rush of euphoria that came with the contact left her absolutely giddy. She should probably be practicing with her magic right now, or convincing Le Paon to go talk to her alter ego, but all she could think about was the touch of his lips on hers and the gentle strokes of his thumbs on her cheeks.

“I love you.” Le Paon mumbled against her lips, sending Marinette through the roof. He loved her! Albeit, he confessed to it as Le Paon, but still-

“And I’m sorry.”

Wait, what?

Marinette opened her eyes, only to wince when Le Paon quickly yanked out her earrings. As soon as he had them, he jumped back and started climbing up the ladder.

“Wait!” She yelled, pure, icy fear shooting through her veins. How did he know? When did he know? 

Le Paon threw himself out the trap door and slammed it shut. Marinette shot up the ladder after him and swung the trapdoor open again, but he was already two rooftops away. Without her miraculous, she had no way of going after him.

Marinette started hyperventilating. How was she going to explain this to Master Fu? Did Felix already have the ring? What if he made the wish? What if Hawkmoth decided to make a different wish? With both miraculous, they could do who knows what!

“Felix!” She shouted desperately. He didn’t hear her. If he did, he didn’t turn around.

She could only watch as he disappeared into the night.

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[bittywitches]

3. “It’s three in the morning.”

38: “You’ve thought about this, haven’t you?”

42: “I’m only here to establish an alibi.”

44: “I still remember the way you taste.”

Thank you to @reidscriminal​ and the lovely anon for requesting this :)  (It got a bit long (~3.5k) so I thought I’d make a separate post lol)

WARNINGS: Alcohol addiction, Murder mention (sorry this got intense)

“Please, I really dont wanna be alone right now.”

“Y/N, it’s three in the morning. Go the fuck to bed.”

Grayson’s groggy, scratchy voice was the only sound that could be heard in his pitch black bedroom, the only source of light being the luminescent beams coming from the cellphone that he held pressed to his ear. Half of his face was still smushed into the cold surface of his pillow, no doubt a pool of drool probably printed onto it. His phone dangled loosely in his hand’s grip, it basically balancing on his left ear. Grayson had yet to gain full consciousness, only aware that he was currently speaking to his best friend, and for some reason she wasn’t asleep.

“Cmon, I can’t trust myself to be alone right now. Plus, when’s the last time we hung out together, hm? Don’t you miss me?” Her purr over the line was enough to finally wake him up, getting him to sit up and lean back against his headboard before stretching an arm over his head.

“‘Course I miss you. Doesn’t mean I wanna hear your dumb voice in the middle of the night.”

“Hurt. I’m hurt.” She moaned, and Grayson rolled his eyes. “Come oooon, Gray. We’ll have fun, I promise.” 

It was the suggestiveness in her voice that finally tipped him off to what was going on. “are you drunk?”

“Hah!” She snorted, then guffawed, which then diminished to a few chortles and chuckles. “Okay maybe a little. But I have a valid reason!”

“And is it better than ‘we happened to have some left over bottles’?” 

“Yes!! It is. And I’ll only tell you what it is once you come overrrr.” She almost whined like a little girl.

Grayson groaned. “Y/N, you know that I-“

“Hate it when I drink, I know.” Her voice actually sounded a bit pained, and Grayson almost felt bad for bringing it up. “I’m sorry, Okay? I wasn’t thinking straight, like usual. Now please come over?”

Grayson hesitated, letting the silence of his room fill his head while he sat in thought.

“Pretty please?”

Her small voice echoed through his phone, and never in a million years would he ever admit how much it made his heart ache.

He groaned. “God, fine. I’ll be over in a half hour.”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“I thought I was doing you the favour.”

“You are, but you love me. Shit, bring your wacko vegan pasta. We’ll have a slumber party.”

“Fucking Christ you are the worst-“ but then she hung up on him.

Despite his frustration, Grayson still made it to her door 15 minutes later, tired, confused, and a little out of breath. As soon as it opened to reveal Y/N’s face, however, all remaining signs of those feelings disappeared; because the only thing he could think of now was how terrible his best friend looked.

Typically speaking, she didn’t look that bad, considering how late it was and how drunk she probably was. But it wasn’t her messed up hair or her glazed over eyes, the stains on her old pyjama shirt or the mess of blankets and turned over bottles laid sporadically over the coffee table. No, it was just her. The feeling he got from her. The look in her eye that wasn’t filled with their usual temperamental spark; it seemed hollow, missing, a dark crevice missing it’s light. It worried him.

“You know, this is technically a booty call.” She grinned, her usual tenacity seeming to resurface as she grabbed the bag that was in Grayson’s arms. “Yknow, without the boning down.” She raised her eyebrow. “Although that could be arranged-”

“God just stop talking would you.” Grayson’s face burned as he walked past her, her laughs filling the room as he threw his shoes in the general area of the shoe rack.

“What’s going on?” Grayson finally asked as she closed the door behind him.

“Nothin’. Slumber party, remember?” Her hunched over shoulders turned back toward him, and the way her face seemed so sunken and desperate while her eyes tried to tell a different story- It scared the shit out of him.

“‘Mgonna make pasta.” Y/N announced to what seemed to be herself, dumping the bag’s contents out onto the kitchen counter before grabbing the pasta box. 

“Alright…” Grayson was used to these types of nights. They tended to happen once or twice every few months, usually after a night of partying where Y/N got just a little too intense, or during a rather stressful week where she just wasn’t able to pace herself. Yes, it was obvious that Y/N wasn’t the greatest when it came to coping. She didn’t like to feel, or think either to be quiet honest. She liked that dull haze, that numbness she felt where she could just go about everything without feeling everything.

And yes, Grayson hated it when she did this. He despised it, really. But he’d known her for so long, and she’d been like this for longer. He didn’t know what to do other than just be there when she asked for him. And usually it was fine, although she could be handful. Y/N seemed to double on her energy whenever she drank, so it would take him some time to wear her out. But once he did, it was smooth-sailing. This time however, it was so different. She wasn’t being her usual hectic self. She looked tired, but that itself wasn’t enough to describe it. For some reason the word that kept coming back to him was expired. She looked like she was about to expire. She’d found her limit, her pushing point, her finish line. She was done, she was finished. 

Grayson was scared to see what would happen when she was finished.

The pot fell out Y/N’s hands and fell into the sink, getting a “shit” out of her and a jolt from Grayson.

“Jesus, give it here.” He finally trudged towards her, pushing her away from the sink, then reached into it to grab the pot and fill it with water.

“Are you gonna tell me what happened?”

She sighed, leaning her back against the counter and watching as the water rose in the cool metal. “Joanna broke up with me.”

Grayson’s head whipped over his shoulder to look at her, his eyes widening at the words. “Oh.” 

She smiled, though her eyes didn’t leave the tap. “Yeah. she actually broke up with me yesterday, at lunch.”

“Wha- Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Because I knew you’d wanna jump on this as soon as you found out.”

“Christ Y/N, I-”

She waved away at him, shaking her head. “No I understand, I am a hot piece of ass. But you need to control yourself, I need a cool down period-”

“Y/N!” 

She sighed, then shrugged. “Because I knew you’d say I told you so.”

Grayson scoffed. “Y/N-”

“Come on, I know how much you hate her! You kept saying that she was going to.”

“Well I mean come on with how on-and-off you guys were- and besides this is probably just another one of your ‘breaks’. She’ll be calling you again any day now-”

“No.” Her voice was dark now, dropping all the flirty undertones in her voice, and Grayson had to look away from the now boiling pot of pasta at her face when she said it. “No. it was real this time.”

“How do you know?”

She reached into her pyjama pant pocket and brought her phone out, turning it on and unlocking it to show the screen that she’d obviously been looking at before since it was still open. She turned her phone to show him.

It was Joanna’s instagram story, and it was a picture of her at a party, making out with some red-headed girl.

Grayson only knew one read-head.

“Wait, is that-”

“That bitch I accused her of cheating on me with?” The sudden power in her voice startled him. “Yep. Turns out I was right all along, and wasn’t just being paranoid.”

He was at a loss for words. “Y/N… I’m so sorry.”

“Like hell you are.”

“I am.” 

“Shut up.” She sighed, jumping up to sit on the counter. “I know for a fact you feel like gloating right now. And I don’t blame you.”

In reality, Grayson really didn’t. Sure, he was glad that Joanna was gone. He knew she was never good for Y/N. But he hated how she’d left her. This broken shell that was supposed to hold the girl he loved with all his heart but for some reason appeared to just be some sort of apparition instead. 

She put her head in her hands. “Yea, I really don’t blame you. God, that BITCH!” She yelled that last part, and threw a spoon she had at some point grabbed into the sink, it hitting the faucet and causing a huge clang sound that continued to ring seconds afterwards.

“Jesus Christ Y/N calm down.” Grayson went to her, grabbing her arms firmly into his fists to steady her, because he could see her nostrils flaring.

“What is there to be calm about? God I fucking hate her! I just wanna- I don’t know, smash her head against-” She stopped, her eyes widening before she let out an almost maniacal laugh. “Oh my god. I want to smash her head against that stupid lamp that asshole red-head Quinn got her for her birthday. That fucking lamp she keeps on her bedside table right next to the photo of the two of us- oh my GOD that fucking BITCH-”

“Y/N?” Grayson’s voice was small. “Maybe you should-”

“I’m going to kill her. I’m literally going to kill her. I’m going go down to her apartment, that dumbass forget to ask for her key, and I’m gonna take that damn lamp’s chord and strangle her in her SLEEP-”

“Y/N!” Grayson’s hands came up to grip her face; his eyes frantic as they flickered between her seething ones. “You’ve got to breathe. You’re raving like a maniac! You're talking like you’ve actually thought about how you’re gonna-” He looked at her eyes once more, and his arms fell limp next to her on the counter.

“Oh dear god, you’ve thought about this, haven't you?” When she didn’t reply, his hand came up to rub his face. “Y/N tell me you haven’t thought about how you’re going to kill Joanna.”

“Hey, come on!” She threw her hands in the air. “It’s my right as the crazy bitch ex-girlfriend.” She began to laugh.

“Oh my god-” He spun around, rubbing his hair up his scalp and resting his hands on the back of his neck.

“Oh come on I’m not gonna do anything. You just have to let me be crazy for a little bit.”

“Who the fuck is being this loud this early?” The both of them looked over to see Y/N’s roommate walking into the living room.

“Sorry Tam.” Y/N mumbled, and her eyes widened when she saw her roommate’s eyes go to the coffee table.

“Oh Y/N not again-” 

“I’ll clean it up I promise please don’t get mad.” She rushed, jumping off the counter and rushing to the sofa, starting to messily pick up glasses and snack bags. 

Tam sighed. “Babe you know I don’t care about the mess, I care about you-” She paused when she saw Grayson awkwardly standing in the kitchen, and she groaned. “And what is Spartacus doing here?”

“Don’t mind me, I’m only here to establish an alibi. You know, in case Joanna’s found dead in her bathtub tomorrow morning.”

“Ah. so she told you.”

“Yep.”

“Yeah, and she is doing just fine so you can go back to sleep, so sorry for waking you-” Y/N shuffled passed her, chucking a whole armful of trash into the garbage bin and some dirty dishes into the sink, a loud clang following.

Tam winced. “Hon your breath stinks-”

“Tam I know, okay?” Her voice cracked a bit there, that similar pain Grayson had heard on the phone returning to her voice. “I fucking know. It won’t happen again. You can go sleep.”

Tam raised her eyebrows, then looked at Grayson, and he just nodded at her, letting her know that he’d take care of her.

“Alright. Goodnight.”

“Gnight.”

“Gnight Gray.”

He smiled at her, and she disappeared into her room, her door shutting closed behind her.

As soon as Y/N heard that click, her hot tears began to stream down her cheeks, a stifled sob coming out. 

Grayson’s head shot towards her. “Y/N-”

He immediately went and wrapped his arms around her, her sobs getting muffled in his shirt. He stroked her back and she gripped his shoulders, trying to calm herself.

“God I hate her. I hate her so fucking much.”

“Hey, hey, It’s okay.” He pushed her back a bit to look at her, and it pained him so much to see her look the way she did. “Okay, how about you go sit on the couch and watch something on the TV while I finish this pasta, hm?”

She sniffled. “‘Kay.”

“Okay.” She shuffled back towards the couch, plopping herself down and draping the covers over her before turning the TV on and putting on an episode of Friends.

Grayson sighed, turning back to the stove. He worked mindlessly, listening to the fake laugh track coming from the TV as he did, but really thinking about Y/N. He kept glancing over at her, and it really astonished him just how shit she looked. She looked awful. Her eyes were puffy and her hair was in knots and tangles and she now had Tostito crumbs peppered all across her blanket and chest. God she was doing so bad Grayson felt bad that Tam had to deal with her. And how angry he was at her for dealing with everything like this; he knew she was going through a rough time, but it killed him, maddened him every time he had to see her with those hazy eyes. 

In a messed up way, right now, looking at her, Grayson was fairly sure that he hated her. He hated her so much that it pained him because she wouldn’t listen. For some reason Y/N wanted this terrible girl that was nothing but bad news for her. For some reason she kept going back to her despite all the shit she put her through. Y/N was stubborn and she was stupid and she was selfish and yet here he was, standing in her kitchen, making her his stupid vegan pasta.

Why?

He sighed. Because for some reason only god knows, I still love her.

And that was when it clicked.

He turned around to look at her again, and his eyes finally softened for the first time that night.

They were one and the same, weren’t they?

***

Grayson sat next to Y/N, her feet thrown over his lap, her empty bowl of pasta sat atop the coffee table dangerously close to the edge. She had been lying there silently for a bit, her eyes closed and her arms folded on top of her chest.

Grayson had been sitting their, stewing in his thoughts for a bit while he absentmindedly rubbed Y/N’s leg. He’d been thinking about her, about him, about him and her together and all of the fucked up feelings that were stuck in between.

But he was mainly thinking about a certain night from a few months ago. A night similar to this one, yet had ended much differently, and had possible changed the way he would think about Y/N for the rest of forever. And there was just one question that kept arising in his head, in his chest, but mainly in his heart, that he just needed to know the answer to.

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Mm?” He was surprised. She wasn’t asleep.

“You know that I have feelings for you, right?” 

The abruptness of the question startled Y/N, making her look up at him with her eyes wide. “What?”

But he continued on as if what he’d said wasn’t any weirder than asking what she’d eaten that afternoon. “I’m only asking because it’s not like I ever try and hide it. And yknow, you’re always teasing me with your flirting.”

To him it looked like there was a buffer in Y/N’s brain, because it took her a second before she could say anything. “Yea. Yea, I do know.”

“Right.” He inhaled. “Do you remember what happened June 27th?”

Her eyebrow quirked up now. “Uh…”

“That time you and Joanna went on a break because she got sick of the smell of your shampoo. And you got drunk. And I came over.”

Her eyes widened. She did remember. She remembered so well. “Why?”

“Do you remember how you were flirting with me that day?”

A lump was forming in Y/N’s throat. Yes she remembered. She just decided she wasn’t going to care about it. “Yes. I do. But-”

“Yeah I know you do that all the time but-”

“Grayson I remember. I kissed you that night.”

His eyes widened now, his head turning to hers. “You- you remember that?”

“Grayson, I still remember the way you taste.”

His face flushed. “Why the fuck are you like this.”

“Wha-” She furrowed her eyebrows. “No, I’m not- I’m not trying to joke around this time. I’m trying to say yes I remember that night. Incredibly vividly.”

He blinked at her. “Then why did you do it?”

“I-” She caught herself, and she laid back, hands on her forehead. “I don’t know, Gray.”

“What do you mean? I mean, do you like me? Is it like-”

“Of course I like you Grayson-”

“No like do- do you have feelings for me?”

“I-” She sat up, bringing her knees up to her chest, and looking at him intently. “Gray, I love you. You know that. And you just-” She exhaled. “You feel good. You feel safe. You feel like- You feel like home.”

He tilted his head at her. He didn’t understand.

She sighed. “Look, I know I’m not the most, I guess you could say ‘stable’ person. I’m reckless and I’m stupid and- if you hadn’t stopped me that day I probably would’ve ended up fucking you.” Gray���s face flushed again. “But that doesn’t mean that I- God, I was just emotional, and drunk, and, quite frankly I was feeling like I am right now. I feel lost and scared and stupid and you’re like, my anchor. You hold me in place. Things turn to shit and I fuck myself over but you’re still always here, and I don’t fucking know why.” There was a sob beginning to prickle within her throat. “I don’t know why you put up with me and my shit because all I do is hurt you and honestly if I was actually a good friend I’d tell you to drop me. Leave me and let me be self-destructive on my own. I don’t need to drag you down with me. But- but-” Her voice hitched. “But you stay, and you help me, and you rebuild me, and it makes me love you more and more but then I just go and fuck it all up again and I-”

“You stupid emotional drunk.” Grayson mumbled, wrapping his arms her. She trembled, but she wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t let herself. She felt like she owed him that much.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s…” He paused. “It’s okay.”

He sighed, and she breathed out into his shoulder. “I’m not gonna drop you.” He finally said. “You just scare me sometimes.”

She nodded. “I know.”

She leaned back so she could look at him again. “I do love you. I love you so much.”

Grayson smiled. “I know.”

“I think I just love you in a way I’ve never loved anybody else before. And my brain just doesn’t know what to do with that.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me.” 

“But you’re not getting it I-”

“Y/N.”

“Wouldn’t your life just be better without me fucking it up?”

“You don’t fuck it up.”

“That’s the biggest lie of the century.”

“You fuck yourself up, and I hate that you do that.”

The pained expression. “I know.”

“But I stick around because I believe that you’ll stop.” He looked at her, and he realized that, maybe his love for her was something his brain couldn’t understand too. “I believe you’ll get better.”

She nodded. “I will.” She took his hand. “I mean it this time.”

He squeezed hers. “I know.”

“How?”

He looked at how her eyes glistened now, how they seemed to shine differently, more meaningfully. Like they were determined. Hopeful. Cleansed and new. 

He smiled. “I just do.”

[diaphragmjellyfish]

Roast Me, Baby

Not my gif

Note: This is my first fic ever, so any feedback would be appreciated! 

Warnings: anxiety, panic attack, insults, sweet Rafe

Summary: Reader is a pogue and she and Rafe make fun of each other constantly. Like witty banter and roasting, and they act like they hate each other. Keyword- act. One night, the reader has had a terrible day and is having major anxiety, when Rafe finds her and unknowingly makes it worse. She goes into full-blown panic and he gets all soft and sweet and fluffy. 

Life as a Pogue was anything you could ever want. It was a simple life, full of adventure and fun. And your personal favorite activity, pissing of Kooks. Specifically, Rafe Cameron. You guys had a strange relationship full of constant roasting and acting like you want to kill each other. But you’d be lying if you said you didn’t look forward to the witty banter. It was a good way to let off steam, and he seemed to be the only person you’d ever met that could keep up and not take anything personally. And you’d bet money he felt the same way about you. 

It was a sunny day, late afternoon just before the sun went down and you were sitting on the docks near the Boneyard looking out at the ocean. You’d always loved sailing, and wanted to travel the world by boat one day if you could ever afford it. Suddenly you were interrupted from your fantasy by your nemesis himself. 

“Damn, someone should really pick up the trash around here. Get back to the dumpster, Pogue.” He said, smirking at you. 

You just rolled your eyes and laughed to yourself as you continued looking out at the water. Verbal battles with Rafe were sometimes your favorite part of the day. You turned around and noticed that his goons, Topper and Kelc, were with him. 

“Ya know, I heard a statistic that the hair product from you three alone accounts for over 90% of plastic in the ocean,” you quipped back. 

“Don’t push me troll. I might have to teach you some respect one of these days,” he challenged. 

Topper and Kelc looked annoyed, though they were used to Rafe doing this. He always talked about you, how much you got on his nerves, how you were a dirty pogue with no manners or morals. They started to walk away, knowing he’d follow. When they were a few steps away, he looked at you smiling and said,”Until next time, y/l/n.” He winked, and ran to catch up to his Neanderthal friends. 

As much as Rafe Cameron was your mortal enemy in life, you had to admit that some things he did just made your heart flutter. If he didn’t stop winking at you, you might just walk into the ocean to avoid the embarrassment of catching feelings for him. 

Encounters like this happened often, and you were always ready for them. Except for today. You woke up with a tight chest and a pounding heart. So it was going to be an anxiety day. Okay. You had to push through it like always. But the day only got worse. Work was an absolute nightmare. You were a waitress at a restaurant on Figure 8- Kook central. Your boss yelled at you for being 5 minutes late and not having your hair up, someone let their toddler throw food all over the walls and you had to clean it, you didn’t get a lunch break because it was so busy, and to top it all off, some lady threw her drink at you because it didn’t taste like Diet. When your shift ended, all you wanted was to walk home, eat a barrel of chicken nuggets, and go to sleep. Only it was storming outside. 

Normally you’d be fine walking in the rain at night, bit with the already bad day you were having and your anxiety, your brain screamed at you to take cover and wait for the storm to end. There was a small pavilion by the golf course that would likely be empty, where you could freak out in peace. The walk there was horrible, cold, and wet, but you finally made it and plopped down on one of the tables and tried to do some breathing exercises to calm your pounding heart. It seemed to be getting worse, though. 

Rafe had left some golf clubs at the course when he was there earlier with Topper, and as he was running through the rain to the main building, he spotted you. It had been a couple of days since you guys had had a good bickering, and he needed to let off some steam. He approached, but didn’t notice your struggle to breathe. 

“What’s up troll? You’re looking particularly disgusting today. Tell me, what’s it like to have no future and to know that you’ll be slaving away for the rest of your life?” He knew it was harsh, harsher than usual, but he was pissed that Ward made him come back for those stupid golf clubs in the middle of a storm. He’d expected you to roll your eyes, clap back, or even give him a shove for that extra brutal dig, but he didn’t expect you to start choking on sobs. You grabbed at your neck, now sitting up, and tried your best to get air into your lungs, but it wasn’t working. His comment had sent you over the top, wondering if you really would be a slave to the rich and have soda sumped on you every day for the rest of your life. 

Rafe was shocked. He’d never seen you anything but smiling, even when he teased you mercilessly. 

“Woah, hey, are you ok y/n?” He asked.

You shook your head no and grabbed at your chest, looking at him with terrified eyes. You’d had bad anxiety before, but you’d never been unable to breathe like this, and it was scaring you. 

“Ok, ok, I got you,” he said calmly while he lowered your head between your knees. “Just breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” He rubbed your back comfortingly. He used to get panic attacks when his parents were going through divorce, so he knew what you were feeling, and that the best thing to do was distract you. He sat beside you and began to talk. 

“You know this one time, when I was like 12, my parents had just told me and Sarah that they were getting a divorce. She didn’t seem to care, but I was so upset, it was like my whole world came crashing down.” You were able to take shaky breaths at this point, and nodded along to the story. 

“And you know what I did? I had this whole plan to get them back together where I would get them both on our boat and push it off the dock, but I wouldn’t give them the key. And I wasn’t going to let them off until they made up.” Your breathing had slowed slightly and you gave a small laugh. This made Rafe smile, so he kept going. 

“My dad threatened to beat my ass unless I let them off, so I did and he beat me anyways. And that’s when the anger started.” You tensed, and reached out to grab his hand that wasn’t rubbing your back. 

“The next couple of years, I was so mad at everyone and everything all the time. And when Dad met Rose, I kind of spiraled. Started getting into drugs, stealing, bullying. But one day like a year ago Topper convinced me to go to this kegger at the Boneyard. I was by myself off to the side just drinking and being pissed, when this girl came up to me and said ‘why the long face? Daddy didn’t buy you the right color Corvette?’” 

You brought your head up from between your knees and smiled slightly, “I remember that.” 

Rafe moved so he was sitting with his arm around you, and your head on his shoulder. He continued, “Yeah. And I just thought like, who does this girl think she is? She can’t talk to me that way. So I clapped back, called you a troll and told you to go back to your bridge, and you just laughed. Threw your head back and laughed like you didn’t have a care in the world, like I’d just said the funniest joke and not completely insulted you.” His hand was rubbing up and down your arm now, and his other hand came up to caress your face, pushing your hair behind your ear. 

“And we went back and forth, roasting each other for hours. That was the best I’d felt in a long time. I was letting off steam, getting my anger out, and you gave it right back to me smiling the whole time. I’ve never met anyone who smiles as much as you.” He gave your shoulder a squeeze and you laughed. Your breathing was normal now, and you’d forgotten about the tightness in your chest. There was a pause, before he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. Your heart fluttered. 

You lifted your head up to look at him and said, “Thanks. I don’t know why I was freaking out like that, but I’m really glad I wasn’t alone.” 

“I get it. Here, the rain stopped. Let me drive you home.” He stood up and offered his hand for you to take. 

“Umm, I actually might walk.” Fresh air always helped when you felt anxious, and you thought if you got in a car with that circulating AC air, you might freak out again. 

“Then I’ll walk you home.” 

As you stood up to take his hand, Rafe noticed your shivering form. You were soaked from the rain, and wearing only a thin t-shirt and shorts. 

“Let me just grab something from my car real quick.” he said. You both walked through the parking lot towards his black SUV, the only car there, and he reached into the back seat and pulled out a hoodie, holding it out for you. “Here, put this on.” You didn’t object because, to be honest, you were so cold you couldn’t feel his skin. It hung down to your knees and swallowed you whole. Rafe just looked down at you with something like affection in his eyes and said “Adorable.” You blushed at the ground and started walking again. It wasn’t a super long walk, maybe half an hour, but it went by like 5 minutes. You talked, played eye-spy, and at one point he gave you a piggy back ride because you kept stumbling on a gravel road. 

You reached your house all too soon, and went to take off the hoodie and give it back when he stopped you, “Keep it. It looks better on you.” You blushed and stood on your tippy toes to kiss his cheek. 

It was his turn to blush as you said, “Thank you Rafe. For everything.” 

You caught him looking down at your lips, and he started to lean down. He made you feel so much better tonight, and you wanted to know what it’d be like to kiss him. So you closed your eyes, and your lips met in a sweet kiss, his hands on your waist and yours cupping his face. You separated after a few seconds and both started to laugh. He followed by saying, “Maybe after tonight you’ll let me take you out some time?” You nodded and smiled ear to ear, because even though you never imagined this happening, you were happy to be with Rafe.

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Beneath a Black Flag

Summary: Having turned to a life of piracy after being betrayed by the Amestrian navy, Captain Roy Mustang and Quartermaster Maes Hughes of the Phoenix are on a mission to find the wreck of the legendary treasure ship Xerxes, hoping to both strike rich and prevent the mythical Philosopher’s Stone from ending up in the navy’s clutches…

Written for the WriYe August Shorts Challenge, and very loosely inspired by Black Sails.

Rated: T

Beneath a Black Flag

Seeing the lights of Port Aerugo always felt like coming home. Even back when he’d been a legitimate navy captain, Roy had always felt more at ease in the rough and ready world of the southern port, with its bars and brothels and black market warehouses, than he had ever done in the more respectable places that his ships had docked in. The Amestrian navy had always adopted a laissez-faire attitude to the place: several attempts to ‘civilise’ it had fallen flat, ending in easy victory for the pirates who made it their base of operations, and humiliation for the navy. 

The Phoenix dropped anchor in the bay and her crew started to disembark, eager for the pleasures of dry land after a long and difficult last haul. Still, the trip had been successful, which had raised people’s spirits no end. 

“Roy? Were you intending on getting off this ship any time soon? Earth to Roy?”

Roy turned from his position gazing out over the Port Aerugo twilight and found Maes behind him, arms folded and an amused expression on his face.

“For someone who lives on the sea, you’re spending a worrying amount of time with your head in the clouds.” Maes came up beside him, leaning on the rail. “What’s eating you this time?”

Roy sighed. “I’m just thinking about the magnitude of what we’ve taken on. Do you ever look at what we’re doing and think ‘this is madness, I should pack it all in and become a tomato farmer instead’?”

“Yes. Frequently. But I know you’ve got a plan, however hare-brained it might be, so I trust you to navigate us through it. I’m not promising that I’m not going to force you into tomato farming as soon as it’s all over, though. You actually will give me a heart attack one of these days.”

“Have I ever got us killed?”

“No,” Maes admitted, “but you can’t deny that we’ve had some very close calls.”

Roy grimaced. He definitely couldn’t deny it, and he would have to admit to being glad that their next sortie would hopefully provide the last piece of the puzzle that they had been chasing for so long and bring with it the reward they desperately sought. All they had to do now was to stay one step ahead of the navy, but that was proving easier said than done.

“Do you ever miss it?” he asked Maes eventually.

“What, the navy?”

“Yes. Well, not the navy specifically. But the time before, when life was less complicated.”

“Was life really less complicated in the navy? It wasn’t as hard and it probably wasn’t quite as constantly dangerous, but complicated? Roy, you of all people know that it was infinitely more complicated back then.” He wrapped an arm around Roy’s shoulders and pulled him in close, pressing a kiss to his temple, and Roy had to smile. “Do you really want to go back to a time when we had to hide?”

In a way, piracy was nothing but hiding, always trying to outfox the navy, but ever since they had started sailing under a black flag, Roy and Maes had never had to hide their relationship or make out that they were something they weren’t. Snatched moments here and there and the ever-present threat of being found out and court-martialed for daring to fall in love had given way to easy acceptance and the closeness that they’d never been allowed before.

“No,” he agreed. “I’d rather have this.”

Maes gave his shoulders a squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go ashore. Everyone else has already left apart from the night watch. I’m beginning to forget what dry land looks like.”

Captain and quartermaster made their way towards the final longboat making preparations for its launch, and soon they were walking through the streets of Port Aerugo. It was a place that never slept, coming even more alive after dark when the drunks started carousing and the brothel girls started touting for business. Roy and Maes were well-known enough not to be bothered by the latter, who just gave them a cheerful wave as they went past and went to try their luck with the other, incredibly willing members of Phoenix’s crew.

As always, their path took them to Madam Christmas’s. Bar and brothel rolled into one, the place had always tried to maintain an air of elegance in an increasingly tawdry world, and above all its other attractions, it would always be a safe place for Roy.

Madam Christmas gave them a nod as they walked in, whisky ready on the counter for them. Roy knocked it back, savouring the burn.

“This is good stuff. Whose prize did you skim this off the top of?”

Madam Christmas laughed. “I got it from Armstrong. The cask was too bloody to be sold on through the warehouse so I took it off her hands for a very reasonable price.”

Roy raised an eyebrow. Oliver Armstrong was known for being absolutely terrifying, but in his experience her reputation preceded her so much that she never needed to resort to bloodshed. Crews saw the Briggs Fortress coming with its black flag flying and they just handed over their manifests with their hands up.

“It’s not like her to make a mess,” Maes commented. “She likes things quick and simple.”

“I’m sure that this one would have been quick and simple too if some idiot hadn’t signed his own death warrant by telling her she ought to be off having babies instead of captaining a pirate ship.

“Ah.” Maes and Roy looked at each other. “Yes, that would definitely do it.”

“I bet she and Riza had a great laugh about it afterwards. Anyway, enough of Armstrong. I take it that your voyage was successful?”

Roy nodded. “Yes. We’re ready to go as soon as Phoenix is prepared for the trip.”

Madam Christmas let out a low whistle. “You really think you’ve found it? I was beginning to believe the nay-sayers who maintain that the lost treasure of Xerxes is just a myth.”

There was a small part of Roy that would admit that he too was beginning to believe the same. The legendary treasure ship had wrecked somewhere in the southern seas decades ago, and so many stories had been built up around it over time that it was difficult to know what was real and what was embellishment, with all the accounts varying wildly. 

Just one thread had remained constant throughout, and that was the thread that Roy had never stopped pulling on. Among the treasures on board the Xerxes was a Philosopher’s Stone.

All alchemists were familiar with the concept of Philosopher’s Stones and Roy was no exception. Rarer than the rubies they resembled, the navy had been trying to get their hands on one for as long as anyone could remember. Whilst Roy didn’t believe the stories of turning lead into gold or producing the elixir of life, he absolutely believed in the stone being used to bypass equivalent exchange and make alchemists’ raw power stronger by tenfold.

Which was why Roy was determined to stop the navy getting anywhere near one by any means necessary.

“Well.” Madam Christmas gave Roy an impressed look. “If you can track it down then more power to you. Metaphorically speaking, of course. I’m well aware of your thoughts on the whole matter. Just as long as you give me a cut of the treasure for giving you bed and board all these years.”

Roy rolled his eyes but he couldn’t deny that it had been a blessing to have a home base that wasn’t floating. There was always a bed waiting for him at Madam Christmas’s, and finishing his second shot of Olivier Armstrong’s filched whisky, he decided it was high time that he made his way there. Maes followed him out of the bar. Tomorrow the real work would begin, prepping the Phoenix for her next and arguably most important journey and charting their course for the fabled location of the Xerxes wreck, but tonight could just be for them, and they could forget the trials they would soon be facing.

X

Roy never slept properly the first night back on dry land after a long voyage, missing the gentle - and sometimes not so gentle - rocking of the ship to lull him off to sleep. He envied Maes, who could drop off anywhere in any position and be completely dead to the world within five minutes. 

He ran his fingertips over the scar on Maes’s chest, too close to his heart for comfort. All pirates had scars, most had many, and they were generally worn as badges of honour for battles survived. This one, though… This one was the reason they were here in the first place, the moment that had started this very long journey towards the Xerxes treasure.

“Stop thinking about it.” Maes caught his wandering hand, opening his eyes and looking up at Roy blearily. “I survived, that’s all that matters.”

Roy rolled over, looking up at the ceiling. He knew that Maes was right, of course, but he couldn’t help thinking about what might have been. It was something he dwelled on often.

Most pirates did not set out to become pirates and Roy was no exception. He had never had any desire to turn to a life of piracy in his younger days. His first interest had always been alchemy, and going into the military as a naval alchemist had seemed like a natural career progression. Every ship in the navy carried an alchemist as standard; it was almost guaranteed job security. Most pirate ships carried at least one as well - Roy had never known whether the navy’s alchemy programme was a response to the pirates or if it was the other way round, but the set up had been established for so long that no one really questioned it. 

He had earned his alchemy license and graduated from the naval academy where he had met Maes and history had been made. They had joined a ship, and Roy was pretty sure that neither of them had intended to look back, despite the constant difficulty and secrecy that had to surround their relationship. 

Life had never been anything close to perfect, but it was as good as Roy thought that they would ever get, and he had been content with it. It had all been going really well until the incident at the admiralty. 

He was pulled out of his train of thought by Maes rolling over on top of him and leaning in for a long kiss.

“You worry too much,” he said softly once he finally let Roy up for air. “And you always seem to blame yourself for things that weren’t anything to do with you.”

“Maes…”

“Oh, shush.” He kissed him again and Roy surrendered into it, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around Maes’s back to pull him in closer. It was easy to push the uneasy thoughts to the side when they were like this, Maes warm and solid and very alive in his arms reminding him that despite what might have happened, it did not actually happen, and the past wasn’t a place that it was healthy to stay in for too long. 

After all, when it came down to it, they would never have found out about the navy’s plans for the Philosopher’s Stone if it hadn’t been for everything that had happened. They would all still be blissfully unaware and unwittingly assisting in potentially ending the world as everyone knew it. As it was, Maes had chased a loose thread that the navy had most definitely not wanted him to chase, and ended up with a bullet in his chest for the trouble. 

Roy had cut all ties with the navy as soon as he had found Maes collapsed halfway down the street from the admiralty building, and whilst he might often look back and wonder what might have been after that moonlit flit to Port Aerugo, he could never bring himself to regret it doing what he had done and both of them ending up joining the life of piracy.

“Now…” Maes purred in his ear, making Roy’s stomach flip-flop. “For the love of God will you go to sleep.”

Roy couldn’t help laughing. 

X

The weather was good for making repairs, bright sunshine and a cool breeze, but not enough wind to make working on the sails and rigging unwieldy and dangerous. A thorough assessment of the damage sustained on their last sortie had shown that the problems were largely superficial, and Phoenix should be fully ship-shape again within just a couple of days. Leaving the crew to tackle the repairs and Maes to supervise restocking for their next and most important voyage, Roy was gathering intelligence. It was all very well having worked out where the Xerxes had wrecked, but that wasn’t going to be of any use if the navy were swarming all over the area. Roy really didn’t want to have to shoot his way out. Or shoot his way in, for that matter. 

“Mustang. It’s been a while.”

Grumman was in his usual haunt, sitting in one corner of the Armstrongs’ bar in the shadows with his hat pulled down over his eyes, trying to affect an air of mystery. Unfortunately, Roy had known him long enough to know that there was no mystery at all to him, he was simply a very shrewd man with a lot of contacts in strange places. Even those completely new to Port Aerugo tended to regard him with raised eyebrows rather than any kind of awe these days. 

“It has, Grumman. Can I get you something?”

“That depends.” Grumman swung his feet down off the table and leaned in. “What do you want in return?”

“Information, Grumman, like always. Preferably useful information and preferably about naval movements in the coming weeks.”

“Well, I think I might be able to help you there. You know my usual.”

With alcohol procured, Mustang returned to Grumman’s information dispensary and settled in for one of the old man’s stories. He was surprised when he didn’t spin off into a tale about his granddaughter’s latest exploits. 

“So, you’ve found it then?”

“Potentially. Either way, I’d rather not have the navy on my back when I go looking for it.”

“No, I can appreciate that. I’ll admit that I haven’t had any reports for a few days, but it’s not looking too bad out there, just the usual patrols, and they don’t normally go as far south as you’ll be heading. At least, I assume that you’ll be heading south?”

Roy made no indication either way. He considered Grumman to be a friend, but information was money in all businesses and he didn’t trust the old fox as far as he could throw him. He knew that he was not the only pirate in Port Aerugo who was on a quest for the Philosopher’s Stone, and he knew that not all of them had the same intentions as he did. 

He hoped that familial loyalty would win out in the end when it came to Grumman, though. His daughter sailed with Armstrong - hence his permanent fixture in her family’s bar - and Armstrong’s opinion of the navy and the Philosopher’s Stone were well-known. Roy certainly wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her by assisting in anything other than the Stone’s ultimate destruction.

“Well, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours,” Grumman said. “Of course, if you do find what you’re looking for then I’m sure that the residents of Port Aerugo will be expecting you to keep them in rum for a long time to come.”

Roy raised an eyebrow. “If I do find what I’m looking for, Grumman, then Hughes and I will be retiring to the country and never setting foot on a ship again.”

Grumman just chuckled. “You’d never do that. You enjoy the call of the sea too much.”

Roy left Grumman to it, paying for another drink for the old man and heading back towards the Phoenix. He didn’t really have any intention to retire on his potential gains from this journey, he was far too cynical to believe in such romantic notions, but he couldn’t deny that he often thought about a life without looking over his shoulder for the navy every five minutes. Perhaps he could be one step closer to that at least. 

X

It was a cool and clear morning when they set sail in search of the goal that they had been chasing for so long, a strong wind blowing them steadily away from Port Aerugo and into the southern seas. It should have been the ideal conditions for starting a voyage, and indeed, most of the crew were in high spirits having had such a good beginning - hopes were high that they would ultimately succeed. 

There was something in the air that made Roy uneasy though. He couldn’t really pinpoint what it was, putting it down to just an alchemist’s instinct. 

“Hey. It’ll be ok. Whatever gets thrown at us, we can weather it.” 

Roy laughed as Maes came up beside him. “I’ve never understood where you get your relentless optimism from.”

“Well, it’s certainly not from you. Being shot by your own side tends to put things in perspective and you learn that life’s too short to be morose. Just think of all the riches that are coming our way. I know, I know, that’s not the reason why you’re doing this, but stop thinking altruistically for a moment and bask in the glory of gold and jewels beyond your wildest imagination.”

“I suppose there’s something comforting in that,” Roy agreed. He looked out at the open sea in front of them again. It would take a few days of sailing before they came into sight of the supposed wreck site, and it didn’t seem like there would be anything getting in their way. Even with Grumman’s intelligence, though, the navy were never to be trusted not to put a spanner in the works. Sometimes Roy thought that they had some kind of sixth sense going on with their uncanny ability to be just where they weren’t wanted. 

Someone hailed Maes and Roy was left alone with his thoughts. He turned back to survey the bustle of the ship’s normal operations. They had started life as a rather rag-tag bunch, many of them leaving the navy for various reasons that Roy had not inquired into, but over time they had come together into an efficient crew who worked well together. Breda was at the helm, keeping Phoenix steady as she cut through the sea, Havoc up in the crow’s nest keeping watch, Catalina and Fuery scampering over the rigging. Roy would trust this crew with his life, and when he thought about what was at stake for them on this latest outing, he knew he would far rather have these people by his side than any of the naval crews he had sailed with in his time.

All the same, he still couldn’t get that uneasy feeling to go away, despite the perfect conditions, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Perfect conditions for them meant perfect conditions for every other ship that might be out here in the southern waters with potentially nefarious intent.

The other shoe dropped three days into their voyage when the wind began to pick up further.

“Sails!” Havoc yelled down from the crow’s nest.

“What? Shit.” Roy whirled around to look in the direction that Havoc was indicating, finding the bearing he was shouting and extending his telescope. 

“Friendly or not?” Maes had jogged over to him and was leaning over the railing, squinting at the vague white shapes on the horizon. 

“Likely not, looks like a navy flag.” Roy looked back at the helm. “Maintain present course and speed.”

Breda nodded, holding the helm steady as Roy continued to look at the ship that had joined them.

“Dammit, Grumman said that there weren’t any patrols in this area.”

“I know he’s usually pretty reliable but he’s been wrong before. Sometimes the navy just like to mess with us.”

“I swear they’re psychic,” Roy muttered. He held out the telescope to Maes. 

“I don’t know why you’re giving it to me, I’ve got the worst eyesight on the ship.”

“Just take a look.”

Maes dutifully took a look. “I think you’re right. Definitely looks like a navy ship. She’s going at a hell of a lick as well, we’ll be able to see for ourselves shortly.”

“As long as she keeps coming straight and doesn’t turn.” Roy did not want to be broadsided by a full navy cannonade. They were going at a steady pace themselves and if they kept up this way then there was the slim chance that the two ships paths would not cross and the navy ship would end up behind them, playing catch-up and giving them the upper hand. 

“I really don’t like this,” Maes said. “It’s too much of a coincidence for them to be in the same place as us.”

“Well, it’s not exactly a secret that we’ve been hunting the Xerxes all this time, but I thought that our main problem would be competition, not the navy. They must be getting desperate if they’re following up on gossip coming out of Port Aerugo. You’re right, though. I don’t like it at all.” He turned to the rest of the crew, all of whom were now watching the fast approaching sails. “Ready the cannons!”

The crew jumped to it, all those that could be spared racing down to the cannons and beginning to prepare them. Roy really hoped it would come to nothing, but as the navy ship kept bearing down towards them, he knew that it would be in vain.

“It had to be the Bradley, didn’t it? Of all the ships in the fleet, the one that came after us had to be the Bradley.”

The approaching ship was beginning to turn side-on to them. It was a double-edged sword; they had a larger target to hit with their own cannons, but they were now also a larger target for the navy’s. 

The Phoenix had one thing that the navy didn’t, though. The Phoenix had Roy. Leaving Maes in charge on deck, he went below to the guns, checking the fuses as he pulled on his spark gloves. Flames on board a ship full of gunpowder were not normally a good idea, and his choice to learn flame alchemy as a potential alchemist afloat had raised more than a few eyebrows, but his years aboard Phoenix and the many tricky situations he had found himself in had honed his skills considerably. 

The rest of the crew, having seen him in action many times before, dutifully stood back before he snapped, pinpoint flames igniting the fuses just at the precise moments that he needed them. The thunder of the cannon nearly deafened him, but he could see that at least some of the balls had hit their mark. Now it was time for the navy to return fire as they reloaded.

“Incoming!”

Roy heard the earsplitting crunch of a cannonball blasting the railings on deck above him and he grimaced. The ship’s master would not be happy about that one. 

“Sails to starboard!”

Roy swore violently on hearing the exclamation being passed around the ship from the crow’s nest. Somehow they’d managed to get themselves into a trap. This was not how he had envisioned this trip going. They had done so well at avoiding the naval patrols. 

The cannons reloaded, Roy set the fuses again before Maes stuck his head down onto the gun deck and hailed him.

“Captain, we’ve got a problem..”

“I heard. Any identification yet?”

Above them, the crew hit the deck as another volley of cannon fire from the Bradley soared over them. Most of the balls this time seemed to fall short; perhaps they’d overdone it on the powder the first time. 

“No flags,” Maes said. “Wait…”

He vanished up onto the deck again as Breda called out to him, and Roy took advantage of the brief lull of reloading to peer out of one of the gun ports with his telescope. Another ship was indeed bearing down on them from the opposite side, this one fighting against the wind and creaking with the speed that it was putting on. There were no identifying flags on it, and it didn’t appear to be a typical naval ship.

“Captain, we’re being hailed.”

This time it was Fuery coming down onto the gun deck. Roy followed him back up, watching the little flashes of light from the approaching ship.

Need a hand Mustang?

Relief flooded through Roy’s veins as the newcomers unfurled a black flag and swung the ship around. Now that they were closer, he could recognise Briggs Fortress, and he didn’t think he’d ever been so pleased to see Olivier Armstrong in his life. 

X

“Message from the Briggs, Captain. Armstrong and Hawkeye are coming over.”

As fearsome as the Bradley was, the pride of the Amestrian navy that struck annoyance if not fear into the hearts of pirates everywhere, it was no match for two ships working together to scupper it, and the Phoenix and the Briggs had left it floundering and unsteerable with most of its crew bobbing in the water behind them, sailing the same course together for a few miles until they were sure that they were out of harm’s way and could slow down to make any immediately needed repairs.

Fuery threw a line over the side as one of the Briggs’ longboats drew up alongside them, and a couple of minutes later, Olivier and Riza were on the deck. 

“Well, that was bracing,” Olivier said grimly. “Honestly, Mustang, you should know better than to go after something as big as the Xerxes without a consort.”

Pirate ships usually worked alone, after all, there were a limited number of prizes on the seas and they were all in competition for their livelihoods, but it wasn’t unheard of for a couple of crews to team up and go after a particularly lucrative or well-guarded ship in return for sharing the profits. In the case of the Xerxes, Olivier did have a point, especially considering how much naval interest there was in locating the wreck, and the fact that the treasure wasn’t their main objective anyway. 

“Mind you, this is you we’re talking about, and your capacity for idiocy is well-known, so I can’t say that I’m exactly surprised by this.”

Roy sighed but didn’t rise to the bait; he was too grateful for the help that the Briggs crew had provided to argue with Olivier now.

“I didn’t want to publicise things too much. Not everyone is as scrupulous as you and I when it comes to what’s at stake here.”

“Mustang, my thoughts on the navy, the Philosopher’s Stone, and alchemy in general are well known. As much as it pains me to say it, I’ll gladly work with you to keep the bloody thing out of the wrong hands. Anyway, I suppose we should explain our fortuitous presence here.”

“I was going to ask about that,” Maes said, eyeing the two women with equal parts respect and suspicion. “Has Grumman been spilling his secrets?”

“In a manner. When he received intelligence that the navy were on the move into the south, specifically where you were going and where he’d told you they weren’t likely to go, he felt it courteous to let you know, and since we were in the area, Riza persuaded me to take off on a mad goose chase after you.” Olivier shot a glance sideways at her lover. “The things I do for you. Anyway, it looks like it was lucky we arrived when we did.”

Roy nodded. “Thank you.” 

The four of them moved into Roy’s cabin to discuss the route that they were taking and the approximate location of the treasure that they had finally found. It felt strange to be sharing it so openly having spent so many months trying to keep their research under wraps, but they were so close to the end of it all now. Roy really didn’t want to face another situation like the one they’d just narrowly escaped without being able to make repairs to the ship. They couldn’t afford to turn back towards Port Aerugo now, not with the navy on their tail already.

Riza looked over the maps, giving everything her expert navigator’s eye.

“I’ve no idea how you managed to piece it all together,” she said, “but it all looks watertight.”

“Well, in that case, shall we get going?” Maes asked. “This little skirmish has lost us some valuable time and we need to course correct. If the Bradley's out here then she won’t be alone, and I’d rather get as much of a head start as possible.”

“See, your quartermaster talks sense,” Olivier complained as she and Riza made their way back towards their longboat. “You should listen to him.”

“Yes, Roy. You should listen to me.”

Roy just smacked Maes in the arm.

“Ow! Man down! Man down!”

“It’ll be man overboard if you’re not careful,” Roy growled.

In the longboat, Riza rolled her eyes as she and Olivier began to row back to the Briggs.

“Sometimes I wonder how those two manage to get anything done.”

X

“Is this it? I have to say, Mustang, you’re not filling me with an awful lot of confidence here.”

They had reached the supposed site of the Xerxes wreck, the Briggs coming up alongside the Phoenix and dropping anchor as Olivier shouted across the prow. So far they had not come across any other navy vessels in the area, but the Bradley was the fastest in the fleet so it made sense that she would catch up to them first. Roy was already working out a more circuitous route back to Port Aerugo to try and avoid the other ships that had no doubt been sent after the advance guard.

On the face of it, he had to admit that Olivier had a point. The place that they had come to was little more than a large jagged rock sticking up out of the water, seemingly innocuous. It certainly wasn’t an island large enough to have treasure buried on it, but given some of the lethal-looking protrusions, he could well see why the Xerxes would have wrecked here on a dark and stormy night.

“According to all the research I’ve done, this is where she wrecked. The sea levels and tides have to be just right for the rock to be visible about the waterline.”

Riza leaned over the rail and peered down into the still waters below. 

“I can’t see anything down there but then, we don’t know how deep it might go.”

“We’re not looking for the wreck itself anyway,” Roy pointed out. “It’ll be nothing more than rotten planks by now. We’re looking for what was on the wreck, and it should be on that rock.”

“For the love of God, Mustang, where?”

“You’ll see. Hughes, are you coming?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Captain.” Maes followed him over to where Breda and Fuery were making a longboat ready to cast off, and soon they were rowing in towards the rock. It was a fraught journey, the waves lapping against the rock causing odd eddies that threatened to bash them against the side, and the ever present threat of being snuck up on by the navy was weighing heavy in the back of Roy’s mind all the time. 

“You’re a sly one, Mustang.” 

They had reached a fissure in the rock, invisible to them from the distance of the ships and only appearing once they were up close. If Roy’s theory proved true, then it was inside this fissure that the treasure of Xerxes would be found. With the fissure so well-hidden and the rock half-submerged most of the time, it would be the perfect resting place, and there was little wonder that no-one else had tracked it down before.

They tied up the boats and clambered awkwardly up onto the rock, lighting lanterns before edging their way into the fissure. It was tight going at first, but opened out after a few yards to give them more breathing space. Maes was leading the way, Riza bringing up the rear, leaving Roy with Olivier in the middle. He could feel her eyes boring into his back, and he was glad that the trip would hopefully be a short one. The tunnel angled down a steep incline and Roy could tell that they were below the waterline now. Hopefully they’d be able to get back up again. 

“Captain.”

Maes stopped abruptly, causing Roy to nearly run into him, and he peered over his quartermaster’s shoulder, grinning.”

“Ye of little faith, Armstrong.”

It was not the massive haul that legend had built it up into, but Roy had been expecting that. With something like the Xerxes, everything about it had been blown so out of proportion that the tales had reached the stage of the thing being rumoured to have been carrying so much gold that any ordinary ship would have sunk under the sheer weight of it. 

It was still a decent prize though; even after splitting with the crew of the Briggs it would be a hefty nest egg for them all. 

“Enough to retire on, do you think?” Maes asked. “Get a little place in the country and live comfortably?” 

“Potentially. We’ll have to get Falman and Fuery to make a proper account of it back in Aerugo.” They moved further into the small cavern where the treasure had been stored. The gold and jewels were not their main concern and all four of them knew it. Riza turned back to get help from the ships to shift the loot, and Olivier came into the cavern.

“Right, let’s find this blessed stone and get out of here before we’ve got the navy breathing down our necks again.”

Looking for a red stone in a chest full of jewels was never going to be the easiest of tasks, but the sooner they started sifting, the sooner they could be sure of making sure that the thing  was lost forever. Roy really didn’t like the idea of having it hiding in plain sight on the Phoenix or the Briggs for any longer than necessary. 

“Got it.” Maes held up a leather satchel unearthed from the bottom of one of the chests and rolled his eyes when Olivier and Roy both gave him incredulous looks. “Yes, I know it’s not the stone. Captain’s log. It might give us a clue where to look.”

He began filing through waterlogged pages as Olivier and Roy continued to work through separating out everything that remotely resembled a ruby until Riza returned with a few men from both ships, forming a chain to pass everything out of the cavern and along the fissure. 

“We’ve got sails on the horizon,” she warned. “Miles reckons we’ve got just under three hours before they’re in firing range and they’re riding low, they’ve got the heavy guns.”

“All right, we can focus on finding objects of mass destruction later, let’s move on out.”

Both crews were used to clearing loot quickly; it never did to take your time grabbing merchandise off a boarded ship when the navy might pounce at any moment, and soon the cavern was cleaned out and the two ships were weighing anchor, moving away from the rock in convoy. The navy sails were still on their tail and the lookouts were keeping sharp eyes on them, but they were not yet in a position where it looked like they were gaining, and Roy was confident of his ability to lose them once they were back in more familiar waters. If necessary they could split up, each of them leading a navy ship away. Maes was still reading the captain’s log in a desperate search for something that could help them.

Roy watched the expressions that crossed over Maes’s face as he skimmed over the last couple of pages of text. He seemed to run the entire gamut from overjoyed to incredulous to angry and back again.

“Roy, take a look at this.” He came over, handing off a couple of damp sheets of parchment. The ink had run and the writing was barely legible, but Roy could still make out the captain of the Xerxes’s final message.

The rest of the treasure I shall leave in this rock. Those canny enough to find it are welcome to it. I myself have no further need of it. To those who come in search of the Philosopher’s Stone, I can offer only disappointment. There is no stone. There never was. It was a legend we concocted and fed to strike fear into the hearts of those who might set upon us for our cargo. Take the jewels and leave all foolish attempts of immortality and power beyond imagination behind. 

May the wind always be at your back. VH. 1756

Roy had to read it three times before the message sank in. On the one hand, this entire outing had been for nothing. It meant that they had left the navy for nothing, Maes had been shot for nothing. On the other hand, they didn’t need to worry about the Philosopher’s Stone falling into the navy’s hands now, and they had a boatload of treasure to boot. It was all so unbelievably ludicrous that Roy couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Roy?” Maes was looking at him as if he’d grown a second head. “Roy, are you ok?”

Roy nodded, pulling Maes in close out of sheer relief that it was all over. Maes’s arms came around him, the safe haven that he’d always been, and Roy sighed. 

“We’re definitely retiring after this.”

“I’m already planning the tomato farm.” 

They stayed in their embrace for a little while longer until Roy finally broke away. 

“We should tell Armstrong that she can call off the search in her share of the loot.”

“I’ll get Fuery to send a message over. Honestly, trust us to go on a righteous mission to rid the world of a dangerous legendary artefact only to find that it never existed in the first place.”

It was an odd irony, but as they looked out over the open sea in front of them, Roy could not bring himself to care. All was well that ended well, and with the news from Havoc in the crow’s nest that they had lost the navy ships following them, all was definitely ending well and heading in the direction of a bright new beginning.

[sserpente]

A/N: Request from @ilikebritsandbands. Here’s your long awaited Jack Sparrow fluff! ♥ I don’t know if this Imagine is historically correct but… let’s ignore that, savvy?

Words: 1616 Warnings: fluff, mentions of forced marriage

Fate was cruel—not as cruel as your father but cruel nonetheless. You refused to give up; you believed in your freedom. The more it was taken away from you, the more you fought for it.

They had attacked at night, taking gold, jewellery, expensive garments and other treasures. Pirates you had read so many stories about as a child. And all of your struggling, biting and scratching had been in vain when they took you, throwing you over their shoulder and carrying you back to a ship with black sails like a piece of furniture.

Your home was a prison. A safe and clean place your father kept you in until you could marry you off to an old and rich man for social reputation. The pirates expected a juicy ransom for your freedom—but by now, you had long left the haven and were sailing in midst of the seven seas, far away from help and civilisation.

At least they hadn’t thrown you into one of the dirty cells or tied you to the mast for the crew to gape at you like hungry animals. In fact… in fact the pirates who had taken you were by far the most peculiar bunch you had ever met—especially their Captain.

None of them were exceptionally cruel or ruthless. They made sure you had water and food, had even given you a coat so you would not freeze. The first mate—Gibbs, you believed he was called—had even apologised for all the inconvenience. You had almost laughed out loud.

You had been counting the days since your abduction, of course. Halloween was coming up, tonight. Back when your mother was still alive, you had always carved pumpkins and lit them up with candles, then cooked pumpkin cream soup and baked pumpkin pies together. You missed the times you were young, free and careless.

Now, you weren’t even on firm ground anymore. Around you, masses of salt water expanding all the way to the horizon and beyond it.

“Ha! Found me another bottle of rum, luv!” Jack grinned when he entered the Captain’s cabin, strutting into the small room proudly.

Your smile was sad. Jack Sparrow was a strange fellow. A pirate with a criminal history, yes, but also a man with a good heart. Besides, he was really handsome. You’d rather get betrothed to him than this greasy old man your father had chosen for you.

Jack had spent hours studying old maps last night. He was onto something—and whenever he was onto something, he would drink half of the ship’s rum supplies. He uncorked it with a silent pop, then handed it to you before sitting back down at his wooden desk.

“Ladies first?”

You shook your head with pursed lips. The taste of rum was disgusting. You did enjoy the occasional glass of wine when dining with your father but rum was too strong, too intense. Jack shrugged and took a big gulp himself. You did not realise you were still watching him until his dark eyes locked with yours.

“Why the long face, luv?”

You shook your head once more. “I’m homesick.” You admitted. What you did not expect was the hint of compassion and pity reflecting in his expression.

“We’ll be back in a week’s time. Yer journey will end if yer father agrees to our terms and conditions.” He remarked with a grin.

You snorted. “I don’t even know if I want to go back there. My father means to marry me off to some rich snot thrice my age.” But you knew Jack wouldn’t just let you go without getting anything out of it himself—and if one of your father’s servants was awaiting the Black Pearl to hand over the gold and pick you up, being trapped in your room until your wedding would be no better than being trapped on a ship.

“Sorry, luv. Yer welcome to stay with me, too. Wouldn’t mind the company. Gibbs always says having a woman on board is bad luck I think it’s worse without them.” He suggested with a smirk, taking another sip of his rum.

You refused to admit you were actually considering this. Perhaps one day, you would be able to go your own way either way.

“Where are we docking tonight? You said we would be filling up supplies.” You said instead.

“Tortuga.”

“Tortuga? The… the pirate haven?”

“The very same.”

Your face distorted. You had heard stories about Tortuga. Bad stories. That’s what came with travelling with pirates, even if it was against your will.

“C’mon, luv. What can I do to put a smile on yer face?” You snorted.

“You could take me to a farmer to buy a pumpkin.”

Jack blinked, entirely taken aback. “A pumpkin, luv?”

“Yes. A pumpkin, to carve for Halloween. It’s coming up.”

The pirate looked at you like you had just stolen his beloved ship, eliciting a giggle from you. “Yer want to do what?”

“It’s called a Jack O’Lantern. To scare away evil winter spirits.”

Jack pouted into his rum bottle. “Could use some of that… So yer want me to buy you a pumpkin, luv?”

“Or steal one. Whatever it is you pirates do in situations like that.” The Captain grinned cheekily. “In return, I could make some pies with the guts?” Jack still looked a little disturbed. Usually, women would ask for jewellery or dresses… not pumpkins. But eventually, he agreed.

-

Tortuga wasn’t by far as scary as you had imagined it would be. There were drunks and prostitutes, yes, and people throwing insults and bottles at each other… and it smelled like urine, alcohol and smoke but apart from that… you had expected much worse.

Instinctively, when you passed a group of men who walked past bellowing obscene things at you, you grabbed Jack’s hand and held it tightly, causing him to wrap his arm around you and keep you close.

Ironic, really. Instead of trying to get away from your captor, you were getting even closer to him.

“Yer alright there, luv? I’m quite known here. Yer have nothing to worry about, savvy?”

Well. Last time he had said this somebody had slapped him in the face mere moments after.

“There’s a grocery farmer right around the corner. Yer pick yer pumpkin quickly, toss him a coin and then we leave.” He warned you contritely.

“I pick the pumpkin?”

“It’s not me pumpkin, luv. As long as I get me pie.” Jack had the audacity to wink—and for some peculiar reason, your heart sped up unlike it ever had when meeting with your future husband. “And I owe him money…” He added quietly.

You giggled once more—not just because you were not surprised but also because as soon as you had purchased your pumpkin—the biggest and most beautiful one you could find—Jack Sparrow looked downright adorable carrying it back to the ship all by himself where the crew was already waiting for him to leave the haven again.

On deck, you got to work right away, earning you a few confused glances as you began carving a spooky face into the pumpkin with a dagger Marty had lent you and collected the sticky guts in a bucket. Something… something felt oddly strange as you set foot on the wooden ship again, the gentle waves beneath your soles somewhat familiar and reassuring.

Jack raised an eyebrow at you when you finished and grabbed some candles to place them inside the hollow pumpkin, lighting it up and promising to the crew how adorable your little creation would look at nightfall. But he only shrugged, suppressing an amused smirk. It was rather easy, making you happy. In some aspects, you reminded him of Elizabeth. A polite gentlewoman but not up the creek without a paddle upon being ripped from wealthy life… if he didn’t plan on collecting his ransom for you and drop you off back at your father’s… he’d even consider keeping you by his side; if you wanted to.

Singing an old Halloween song to yourself, you made your way to the ship’s kitchen to make those pumpkin pies you had promised Jack. It was only when you shoved it in the giant oven Gibbs had to help you heat up, you realised just what was so different. You didn’t feel like a prisoner anymore.

Jack was treating you gently, like a crew member with privileges. No one was cruel, no one was heartless… and now he had even bought a pumpkin for you.

“Me pumpkin pies ready yet, luv?” He appeared behind you, slurring a little. Only God knew how many bottles of rum they had taken with them from Tortuga. Greedily, Jack reached for one of the treats—and promptly cursed loudly as he tossed it in the air repeatedly until it had cooled down a little.

“Ow! Hot!”

“Jack…” You began when he took a bite, chuckling when he started moaning. “Jack?”

“Buying you that pumpkin was a good investment, luv.”

“I’m glad you think so… Jack?”

“Hmm?” He took another bite, already reaching for the next pie in the process.

“What happens when my father pays you the ransom?”

The pirate immediately stopped chewing.

“Yer not gonna go back to yer husband, hmm?” You shook your head in response.

“I… it’s not so bad here. Sailing with you…” And you slowly felt like living on the ship, sailing the seven seas was not deprivation of freedom after all… but much rather the incarnation of freedom itself.

Jack grinned. “In that case… welcome on board, me luv.” You smiled when he bit into the next pumpkin pie.

-

A/N: Check out my blog to find more Imagines and take a glimpse at my first (to be) published novel! Also, if you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate so much if you supported me on Kofi! ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥

[saladejin]

Call An Uber? | 05

BTS x Reader | idolverse au, uber driver!Reader, translator!Reader | Fluff, flirting, super slow burn, angst and hurt/comfort, mature themes and eventual smut

Summary: Your normal life with a normal, yet inconsistent job gets drastically changed when your dreams come true. Sounds boring right? What happens when all of this occurs, but you’re still doing something you love AND getting a large sum for it? Now there’s something to think about, and it’s definitely not what you’re thinking.

Warnings: Mild swearing

Word Count: 4k 

< masterpost >

A/N: Hey there tumblr readers! This story might not seem all that angsty or plot-heavy in these first few chapters, but I promise it builds into it. I apologise for all the slow burn, I just can’t help myself ^^;

»»————- <<prev | next >> ————-««

       Getting home after the calming car ride seemed a tad anti-climactic. Weariness from the day piled high onto my shoulders, and as I threw my bag into the corner of my bedroom, I all but flopped onto the bed unceremoniously.

The small apartment wasn’t much, but it was enough to sustain me. The landlord was polite at least, and the rent was luckily just within my budget for now. It consisted of a small kitchen and a cosy living room all in one tiny, yet open space. A door led into the one and only bedroom of the apartment, which was also lacking in spaciousness, but it wasn’t as if anyone else was living here. All in all, it was adequate despite not really being something I was used to.

Laying silently on the bed allowed my thoughts and memories from the day to shroud my mind. I remembered how helpless and overwhelmed I’d been feeling when escaping into the carpark of the building, and how my responsibilities had come crashing through like swelling waves of inky ocean water. 

Feeling lost was one way to describe that moment, but Yoongi had consoled me to a point where I felt stable and supported. Even if he didn’t mean to show it directly, of which I wasn’t so sure, his way of letting me know he cared hadn’t been lost on me. I was usually good at noticing these things, so it was surprising to see that he wanted to show the gentle side of him tonight. I guess I really was finding out how these boys lived. I was seeing their thought processes with my own very eyes, something vital that was missing in my connection with them before.

Things were happening quickly, but I was ready to let them happen with welcoming, open arms. I was going to absolutely thrive in this new lifestyle, so why let stress weigh me down like a pile of bricks? I just wouldn’t let it.

Rolling over to smooth down the pale bedsheets with my fingers, I couldn’t help but let my mind drift to the sharp eyes of Yoongi, the dazzling smile of Jimin, Namjoon’s dimples…and just all seven of them. I needed to let them know how their fans felt, and I needed them to let me know if they had any doubts about their popularity and future. This could be one of my purposes, and a goal combined with many, many ARMYs. If I had the chance to console them, just like Yoongi had with me, then I would jump at the opportunity with no malignant intentions. I only wanted to help them and share with them the happiness they had given me throughout the years. To groove out their misgivings and straying negativity that allowed unnecessary stress and anxiety to build.

This was my purpose.

~

The days scorched hotter and hotter, meaning another short meeting for us at the firm. Nobody wanted to stay inside a sticky office filled with the sounds of stuttering air conditioners and electric fans, so Bang PD let everyone go home earlier than usual. When I say earlier, I mean mid-afternoon anyway, so it’s not like it’s actually early.

I’d finally started out with my new job, and so far things had gone swimmingly. The staff were continuously friendly, and the workload was nothing too devastating. Since the company had been a little short on multilingual interpreters, the amount of language related jobs had been growing over time. I could have been overwhelmed, but instead it was somehow smooth sailing from the get-go.

Things were going splendidly, but I wondered about what was going to happen with my Uber job. Would I just stop? It wasn’t like I needed the money from it now, so what would even be the point of it? Meeting new people from all cultures and backgrounds wouldn’t even be an issue at all. Maybe, just maybe the idea of giving up my job as a glorified taxi driver was an imminent one.

~

The office had been bustling today, but I knew it was because everyone was focused on preparing for the upcoming BTS concert. One of the company’s translators held out some papers from where he sat in his wheeling chair. “(Y/n)-ssi, could you please drop these down to the stylists? I translated the articles like they asked, so they’ll want to have a look as soon as possible.”

“Of course. I was about to bring them some coffee anyway. They’ve been working tirelessly,” I smiled at him and grasped the papers. It seemed the marketing management had wanted select articles about their fashion sense, hair styling and makeup to be translated from various languages.

I scurried to the kitchen area where I’d already started on the coffees. Someone had graciously told me how most of the stylists liked their drinks, and I knew they would need it after how much they had been testing makeup supplies and hair products downstairs. I shuddered at the thought of having my fingers sticking together from the amount of hairspray circulating the room.

The basement was pretty much where everything happened. Practices, auditions, coaching etc. You name it.  After dropping off the notes and coffees, I was showered with gratitude from the stylists and was shocked to see just how tired and worn-down they were. The thought that something big was about to happen caused excitement to curl deep within the pit of my stomach.

Maybe there’ll be new hair colours soon?

“No worries, make sure you get some rest!” I reminded them before letting the door to the changing room click shut.

I was right about the hairspray thing, it was seriously suffocating in there. At least they had some air vents open for ventilation, but I felt bad for those kind-hearted men and women. They would most likely be staying there way into the hours of the night too.

I began to walk back towards the elevator, but my eyes were caught by a bright light flooding from one of the main practice areas. One of the doors had been left wide open, and I glanced inside to see a very expansive room enclosed by pure white walls. The floor was made up of tawny brown floorboards, or maybe vinyl, I wasn’t quite sure. I think it had only recently been renovated.

“(Y/n)? Hello!” a clear and high-pitched voice made me jump in my skin. I looked further into the room to spot Jimin resting in one of the black, wheeling chairs of the studio area. His fading blonde locks had been swept back completely, and I could tell he was tired and sweaty from practicing.

To his left was Hoseok, who seemed distracted until Jimin’s exclamation, and the last person in the room was none other than a certain Kim Taehyung. As soon as the youngest of the three found out I was hiding in the doorframe, his eyes blew wide.

“Hey Jimin, Hoseok-ssi and Taehyung-ssi,” I bowed, as was the custom, and made my way into the room. You really had to spin around to take everything in, it was incredibly large for a practice studio.

I turned when I heard footsteps and was greeted by a very bright and bubbly Taehyung.

“(Y/n)? Ah, it’s so great to meet you finally!” He bowed also and I instinctively reached out to shake his hand, smiling once he brought both of his warmer ones together around my own.

They’re so big, what the hell.

Ripping my line of sight away from his long fingers, I glanced behind him to see Hoseok making his way forward too. “Hey there! I’m also glad to meet you (Y/n).”

I exchanged similar greetings with the fiery red-head, but stepped back when Jimin intervened with a low-pitched whine.

“No, no.” He ran forward and grasped his two bandmate's shirts gently to pull them away. “Don’t crowd her, we’re all smelly from practice!”

His disgusted expression made me grin again, and I shook my head. “Don’t worry about that, a little sweat won’t kill me.”

Hoseok laughed while playfully batting away Jimin’s hands. “Sorry about that, we are kind of gross right now.” He started airing out his shirt rapidly while strolling over to where three water bottles rested along the wall. I noticed that they were the only people in the room and puzzled over the thought. they were usually here with a manager or something, weren’t they?

“What were you guys practicing? And where are the others?” I queried, and watched as Taehyung flashed me a boxy grin. Jimin just groaned and ran his fingers through his hair yet again.

“We’re practicing for the concert, but I only came a couple of hours ago, the others are just at home I think,” Taehyung explained, patting Jimin’s back heartily. “Jiminie and Hoseokie-hyung have been here all day. They’re so fit!”

I glanced over at the two dancers as Hoseok jumped over to tickle Tae lovingly, Jimin just smiled at their loud antics. I was beyond surprised, as none of the members even seemed too tired. They were simply out of breath despite the sheer amount of exercise they’d undergone.

“That’s amazing! You all have so much energy to be able to practice so much.” I earned all of their attentive gazes, Hoseok instantly gracing me with his own beaming smile.

“Thanks! We’re just having a little break, but we’ll start again soon. Would you like to watch?”

My heart almost leapt out of my chest at the thought.

“Would I? Of course I’d love to watch you guys dance.” I clapped my hands together in excitement, eyes bright and shining with an uncontrolled delight. This made Taehyung reach forward with both hands to make a 'flower' under my flushing face.

“How cute!” He cooed, and Jimin pulled him away again. An eye-smile was stretching across the shorter boy's face in the most endearing way possible. Hoseok laughed, following with a “very cute, very cute” and ran off to start the music again.

All three of them were in light clothing, but Hoseok was wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt while the other two adorned button-ups varying in style. All three wore long black Puma pants, most likely because of the ambassadorship they were part of.

“Ah, I don’t want to mess up in front of (Y/n),” Jimin tilted his head and looked at me with a somewhat pained expression. When I raised my eyebrows at him, he pouted and shook his hair out of his downcast eyes. I felt like I needed to step in.

“Jiminie, you’re an amazing dancer, you’d even make messing up look good. Plus, it’s only practice.”

“Yeah Jimin-ah, she won’t mind,” Hoseok helped me out and as the music started blaring from the speakers again, the rapper jogged over to jab Jimin teasingly in the side.

From the words of encouragement, Jimin brightened and smiled in my direction again before joining the others with a serious glint in his eye. I sat against one of the pristinely white walls to watch the action unfold before me, knowing I was about to witness something magnificent. Taehyung started moving his hands and bobbing his body to the beat in that hilarious way he usually did in mock dance practices, and I couldn’t help but snort in amusement.

“Oh, Taehyung is improving! It must be because we have a lady in the room,” Hoseok teased and shook his head, breaking out into chuckles when Tae moved to hit his shoulder in protest. His bashful smile switched focus to me, and I nodded my head in approval.

“I'm loving the skills though.”

Suddenly, the starting track for ‘Fire’ began rumbling loudly through the speakers, and my ears perked in recognition. Was I actually going to see this performed in front of me? I knew this dance all too well from the countless videos I’d seen.

“Are you guys ready?” Hoseok hollered into the open space, and I watched them line up a few metres back from the large mirror. They must’ve been planning to perform this at the upcoming concert, but I wasn’t sure why they needed so much practice seeing as they literally performed it at most live events.

I suddenly threw my cardigan across the room and jump to my feet, rolling up my sleeves in determination. I didn’t even care if they thought I was the strangest person in the world right now, because this was ‘Fire’. “I’m so joining in!”

As the first ‘bultaoruene’ resonated against the pale walls, I ran into the middle of the room and launched straight into the first part of the dance. Despite wanting to come across as serious, I couldn’t keep a cool and collected demeanour and opted instead to laugh loudly. The others were no different, and as my arms started moving wildly, Jimin fell to the floor in a breathless wreck. Hoseok exaggerated his surprise by cupping his hands around his mouth and cheering me onwards while Taehyung mimicked him with his own loud whoops. All three ended up on the ground as I continued to dance, biting my lip to feign seriousness.

I didn’t try to replicate their dancing, as I knew I couldn’t reach their level, but I still shook my hands rapidly and squeezed impassioned eyes to parody something that resembled it. The music stopped, and I fell to the vinyl floor as well, my breathing shortened due to how much I was cackling. Hoseok had stumbled over to pause the track, and I could hear him suffering just as I was.

“Oh my-Oh my God that was great. Did you learn the whole thing?” he gasped out, making his way back over to where I was sitting with my head pressed into the cold floor. My whole body was shaking and erupting with shamed giggles, and when I rolled over, I hid my face in my hands to stop the embarrassment from showing.

“I’ve seen it too many times to not dance to it.”

“I was not expecting that, you have to dance with us, I’m begging you.” Taehyung ran over, his deeply toned sentence breaking up into various airy chuckles. Jimin was the last to get to his feet, but his face was completely reddened and his hair was even messier than before.

“We’ll teach you the rest. I think we’ve practiced the actual dances enough for today, don’t you think hyung?”

Hoseok exhaled loudly, his eyes crinkling with his smile after regaining his composure. 

“Yes, you’re right. And the newest member of the dance line needs some instruction.”

I was still on the floor, but at the agile dancer’s statement I fell over again. Taehyung and Jimin both smiled at the sight of my pained expression.

“Guys, I wouldn’t be able to dance the whole thing properly, let alone with phenomenal dancers like you right there.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but you are going to learn this. No buts.” Taehyung held out a helping hand, and I grasped it to help me get back on my feet. I then turned to Hoseok.

“Okay sonsaeng-nim, where do I start?”

All three boys laughed again, and Hoseok straightened himself, puffing out his chest to seem scholarly. Taehyung pointed towards him with a grin that only widened.

“Hobi-hyung is literally everyone’s dance teacher, he’ll make sure you get it perfect.”

At this, the greyish-brown haired boy rushed to line up beside me and looked sideways expectantly. Jimin , but chose not to line up. I nudged Taehyung into a straighter position with my elbow as Hoseok began pacing in front of us, massaging his chin with two fingers thoughtfully. He lowered his voice to sound gruff and strict, and I had to blow out my cheeks to keep it in.

“First lesson of the day, the chorus choreo.”

“Yes, teacher,” Taehyung and I recited in unison as if being scolded. Jimin nearly fell over again until Hoseok waved his hand dismissively and the whole act was dropped. I fell into the boy beside me, suddenly embarrassed once more, but not being able to contain myself any longer. Taehyung patted my shoulder comfortingly while stifling his own noises.

“Honestly, we weren’t joking about you learning the dance though,” Hoseok started and meandered over to grasp both my forearms, tugging on them to lead me forwards. I groaned and sent a look that screamed ‘help’ towards Jimin and Taehyung, but they both just snorted.

I internally cursed Jimin for betraying me like this. I’d thought he was my friend.

“Jimin-ah, Taehyung-ah, you’re going to help too.” Hoseok beckoned them over, and I could only grumble in more complaint.

“Okay, just get Jimin to show me some steps and I’ll see if I can do it properly.” I straightened my arms, which were still being pulled by Hoseok, and tapped my feet a couple of times to get ready. The red-haired dancer eventually dropped his hold, but looked down at his hands as if he’d touched something strange and foreign.

Jimin nodded at my request, and I paid close attention as he lined up in front of the mirror and ran through the starting choreography to the chorus. As both he and Hoseok showed me a slowed down version, I managed to get it all memorised. Taehyung clapped his hands to congratulate me, but his face fell when the phone in his pocket started buzzing incessantly.

“Sorry guys, it’s my turn to help Jin-hyung with dinner tonight. I have to go,” Taehyung fake sobbed, and I watched as Jimin went along with it to hug him comfortingly. Hoseok pretended to cry as well, and I couldn’t help but think this whole scene looked like he was about to be sacrificed to the Devil or something.

“Bye (Y/n), I hope I’ll see you soon,” The lively boy called as everything returned back to normal, and I couldn’t help but revel in the easy-going atmosphere surrounding me suddenly. I hadn't even met two of these people yet, but somehow I'd managed to skip past all the initial awkwardness of first meetings.

“Of course, definitely soon!” I vowed, and the singer left while grabbing one of the sports bags that rested by the door, continuing to walk backwards and wave rapidly. He was just too cute, and the way his eyes glimmered with hope just before he left was etched deeply into my mind. Even long after he was gone.

“We’re fine to teach you something, before we have to go anyway,” Hoseok turned back to us, and I almost face-palmed at the thought.

“Please don’t waste your time, I don’t even have a dancer’s body,” I spoke, my voice drawling out in protest.

“(Y/n) you do! Even if you were playing around before, you could still dance,” Jimin fought my statement, and I scoffed at his widened eyes. He was seriously against people belittling themselves.

“Plus, everyone gets better with practice,” Hoseok joined in, nodding his head cutely as he slammed his hands onto his hips. Jimin ran through the dance again, and I sewed their teachings together to try and copy him. I was shorter and had a different body shape to both dancers, but it wasn’t too difficult to try and alter the moves to accommodate for that. It was safe to say I actually ended up pretty proud of the outcome.

“I just don’t like how I can’t flow properly when I come up from the first move,” I grunted, trying out the steps again. Jimin hummed considerately before moving to stand behind me.

“Move your hands super quickly, and maybe keep this arm up so it’s easier.” He lightly grasped one of my forearms while I stayed frozen in position, and I actually saw in the mirror how it could help me. I was very much aware of how gentle his touch had been and how close his body was to mine. It didn’t help my racing thoughts when his warm puffs of breath made the hairs on the back of my neck tingle.

“And since you have to move your feet soon after, maybe don’t put so much weight on them beforehand,” Hoseok chipped in, and moved my other arm down so I could focus on my feet this time around. He’d been firmer than Jimin with his touch, but the singular fact that both of them had touched my arms in the span of a minute was enough to leave me breathless. I followed his instruction and gulped when the dancer’s lips quirked up into a knowing smirk.

The fucker knows what he’s doing.

“See, speed it up and try it now!” Hoseok bounced to get on my other side while Jimin stood and watched his partner offer his own extra tips. I found out just how useful a wall-sized mirror was when learning to dance, and when complimented by Hoseok’s timely sound effects, it wasn’t hard to get down the moves.

“Pa, pa and... boom! See, you have it. You’re a natural.” Hoseok reached up to exchange a sharp high-five, and I complied before covering my face again. This was almost too embarrassing. I just knew how badly my cheeks were flaring with flames of blazing pink.

“See hyung, I told you she was cute when she blushed.” One of Jimin’s fingers came to poke my cheek, just like he had done that one time in the car.

I reeled away from him. “Ah, don’t tease me, how rude!”

Hoseok and Jimin chuckled, and I heard the older dancer agree with my words in another fresh bout of mockery. “She’s right Jiminie, don’t embarrass her too much or she might just faint because of you.”

I growled, and they both stifled their laughing.

“As if I would faint, it’s not like I’ve never received a compliment before.”

“Ooh, cocky.” Hoseok tilted his head back and I smiled as both boys shook their heads at each other with crossed arms.

“Hey!” I pushed both of them away using their broad chests, scrunching my face up. Knowing it wasn’t convincing in the slightest, I inwardly cursed my continuous failure to hide emotions.

“But seriously, she has that natural aegyo,” Hoseok pointed out with wide eyes. Jimin’s jaw slackened in surprise before he agreed wholeheartedly.

 “I’m leaving, before my face burns clean off,” I then announced, pointing an accusing finger at the two chuckling dancers who were making their way over to gather their belongings and drink bottles.

 “Remind me to never be alone with you two again.”

“But (Y/n) …” Jimin licked his lips and smiled sweetly. “We’re not making any promises.”

The duality of this man truly scared me.

“Whatever, I should actually get going though,” I noted forlornly, not continuing to joke even though I really wished to do nothing but. The boys both nodded with their spirits also seeming to dampen slightly, but Hoseok lifted his head to smile with that signature sun-like glow of his.

“It was really fun to dance with you, please consider learning with us again (Y/n).”

“It sounds like you’re trying to sell me something, but sure I’ll think about it.”

Jimin erupted into giggles and slapped his elder on the shoulder before curling into him, just like he usually did when he laughed really hard. Hoseok merely pressed his lips together and tilted his head to seem hurt.

“Please do,” he agreed in a broken whisper, but I steeled my throat from letting anything close to laughter escape its clutches. I would be here for way too long if I couldn’t control myself.

“Okay bye!” I shout, listening to their farewells before ducking out into the chilled hallway.

Time had seriously flown by, and I remembered that I would have been home hours ago if I hadn’t been so severely side-tracked. I sighed with weariness as I finally made my way towards the steel doors of the elevator, listlessly passing a trashcan full of several empty coffee cups.

            Copyright © 2020 by salade. All rights reserved.  

tagged: @l4life​, @joyful-jimin​

[scullysexual]

A Jewel Beneath The Moonlight [Reposted Anniversary]

You can read chapter’s One and Two here or alternatively you can read all three chapters on ao3.

@today-in-fic @mypanicface @improlificinsarcasm @enigmaticxbee Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in this!

- - - 

Chapter Three

She extends her hand instead and Mulder gawks at it before his own hand grips hers and they shake. An electric buzz goes through her- one she can’t say she’s ever felt before as she beholds the man in front of her.

She’d seen him before, earlier, near the gate, felt him staring at her and when he wasn’t looking, she’d stares back at him.

She didn’t believe in fate, it was just coincidence that they would meet again, after all they’re stuck on a ship- a big ship but a ship all the same, they’re paths were bound to cross again and probably again another time.

But that buzz. Dana couldn’t explain it, she didn’t think anyone could.

They break contact, arms falling back to their sides.

“Scully…” Mulder says, testing her name out on his tongue. It sounded weird to be called by her surname; she was Dana to her family, sometimes Dee to Charlie, and Girl for the family she’d worked for briefly in London, but never was she Scully.

She liked it. And she liked it coming from him.

“I saw you earlier,” she says. “Staring.”

He looks away, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

Scully shrugs, smiling slightly. “It’s fine. You get used to it.”

Mulder looks at her shocked. “I wasn’t staring because you’re…you’re…” He struggles to find the words.

“Poor?” Scully offers, not feeling as offended as maybe she should be.

He shakes his head quickly. “No! Because you’re…”

“Fox!”

Scully turns to find an entourage of people walking towards them. An older Mulder leads the pack as the rest follow.

“I thought you’d gone back to your room?” the older man says.

“I went to get some air, see if that would help,” Mulder explains.

Scully watches the scene unfold in front of her, her eyes flicking back between Mulder and who she can only presume is his father.

“Well, we’re all heading back now, perhaps you would like to come with us?” It wasn’t a question.

Mulder nods and Scully doesn’t miss the way they outwardly ignore that she’s even there. She’s not naïve to what the upper class, English upper class especially, think of her, of her country and her ‘outlandish’ ways so she stands in silence, glad to be invisible for this moment.

“Let’s go then,” the father says, reaching for Mulder’s arm.

Scully doesn’t miss the way Mulder tenses for a second then relaxes. She wasn’t always the best at reading people but she can see here that there’s no real relationship, no love, and as she watches the two she realises she has no affiliation with this type of dynamic. She may not of always seen eye-to-eye with her parents, her own father especially the older she got, but there was love there, that was one thing she had a lot of.

She watches Mulder begin to walk off, feeling for him in that moment and maybe he’d felt that sympathy, turning back to look at her, a sad smile across his face.

The next day brings Charlie dragging her down the corridor. He’d made a few friends last night it seems and he seemed anxious for her to meet one of them.

“Charlie, where are we actually going?” she asks, slightly annoyed, she had better things than be dragged down a hallway by Charlie.

“Hugo,” Charlie says turning back to her. “He mentioned last night that his daughter had come down with something and he was worried.”

Scully sighs, rolling her eyes. “So you mentioned me?” she huffs.

Charlie shrugs, stopping as they reach Room 52. “I just said I had a sister who was good at medicine and she might be able to help.” He knocks on the door twice then begins to walk away, Scully notices, catching his arm and pulling him back before he could go any further.

“You’re not gonna stay with me?”

“You’ll be fine,” Charlie says, taking his arm from her grasp. “Just do what you do.” He walks off then leaving Scully alone in the long corridor.

The door opens and a large man stands in the doorway, towering over Scully.

“You are Charlie’s sister?” the man, who Scully assumes is the Hugo her brother mentioned, asks.

“Aye. Your daughter is sick?”

Hugo nods, stepping out of the way to allow Scully into the small space.

A girl no older than eight lies in a bed, from where she stands Scully can see the sweat dripping down her face, hear her ragged wee breaths. Dana steps into the room, donning the Doctor Scully persona she’s already made up and walks over to the bed.

She sits in the space near the edge. “Hello. I’m Dana, what’s your name?”

“Agnes,” the little lass splutters.

Scully smiles, “That’s a pretty name.” She touches Agnes’ forehead feeling the heat radiating off her. Turning to Hugo, she asks, “How long has she been like this?”

“Three days,” Hugo answers holding up three fingers to indicate. “They said they would not let us on ship but we begged and we told them Agnes would get better but she has not.”

Scully nods, looking back down at the girl.

“Do you know what is wrong with her, Doctor?”

A thrill ripples through Scully to hear be referred to as a doctor. She pushes that thrill aside, however, there’s time to bask in that later.

She moves from the bed to the wash basin in the corner. Grabbing a cloth nearby she runs it underneath the cold water before rinsing it and returning back to Agnes, placing the cloth against her forehead.

She thinks back to the journals, to her own gathered knowledge of caring for Charlie when he was sick.

“It’s just a fever,” Scully says. “It’ll break soon and I’m sure Agnes will be back to normal.”

Hugo looks as though he’s about to cry. “Thank you,” he says. “Thank you, thank you.”

Scully smiles, warmth spreading through her. There’s a knock on the door then and Hugo’s sincere expression turns to one of confusion. He turns back to the door, opening it slowly.

On the other side stands Mulder ducking slightly in the short doorway and looking entirely lost.

Scully stands, dumbfounded at why he’s here.

“Mulder?” she asks.

“You know this man?” Hugo asks.

“He’s a friend,” Scully clarifies. “Take Agnes out to the docks as much as you can, the fresh air will do her some good.” Hugo nods as Scully leaves, her hand grasping Mulder’s as she pulls him away from the door.

“What are you doing down here?” she asks now that her attention isn’t divided.

“I was looking for you,” Mulder says. “Your brother said you were in Room 52 so…”

In his other hand, she notices he carries a black book. Still holding his hand she guides him along the corridor to the exit.

“Come on, you cannae be seen down here.”

They pass through the Galley on their way to the deck, many people gawking at Mulder and his fancy clothing on the way out. Scully tries to get him out of there as soon as possible but not missing Charlie’s frowning questioning look as she goes.

Once outside, she lets go of his hand.

“You’re a doctor?” Mulder asks, completely surprised.

Scully blushes, trying not to let it show. “Not really,” she admits. “Though I’m trying to be. It’s why we’re here, everywhere else said no so we thought maybe America would be better.”

It still pains her to remember the looks of disbelief she got when she went into the schools and hospitals asking for a place. Some had looked at her like she was seriously ill, others thought she was joking and some even laughed in her face. She was ready to give it all up, to sail back to Ireland and forget about it all, marry some farmer’s son and have some children, all until Charlie won the tickets.

“That’s amazing,” says Mulder. They begin they’re walk down the deck to the gate that separates third class from second.

Scully smiles, not quiet sure she’d heard the words right, and tucks a piece of her behind her ear.

“It’s worth trying, I suppose.” They pass through the gate, ignoring the incredulous looks the second class passengers give them as they witness the rules be broken so poignantly and a clearly first class passenger conversing with steerage.

“What’s this?” Wanting to steer the conversation away from her, Scully reaches for the black book in his hand. She gasps as her hand touches real leather, feels the material under her fingers tips.

“That’s not…”

She opens the first page and is completely taken away by the image that stares up at her.

A drawing of a girl between seven and nine stares back at her, her hair in pigtails and the biggest smile on her face as she jumps in the waves.

Scully stops frozen, staring at the drawing in complete amazement.

“Mulder…” she says, unbelieving what she sees before her. “Did you…did you draw this?” she asks.

Mulder nods. “I was eleven,” he says, redness forming on his cheeks. “It was the first one I drew.”

“There’s more?” Scully asks, wanting to see more of this beauty. She flips the page- an old man sitting on a bench in the park, flips another page- a girl playing with a skipping rope, a boy playing football. “Mulder, these are…” She flips more pages, finds more drawings, each one increasing in detail. “These are incredible.”

“Here,” he takes the book from her, sitting down on the bench and Scully follows. “Let me show you my favourite one.” He flips the pages further along, Scully catches glimpses of each piece of art, more and more impressed with his talent. He stops on a page that shows a woman sitting in a restaurant or diner. Mulder hands the book back to Scully and she takes it, staring at the drawing, all its intricacies.

“There was this restaurant in New York that we used to go to all the time and every time we would go there, that woman would always be there.” He points to the clothing. “See how her clothes are all moth eaten? I thought, maybe, something had happened to her husband and she went back to the first place they met, or the first place they had dinner together, and she was just waiting for him to come back. Waiting in that same spot, never moving, as the moths eat her clothes…”

Scully gazes at the drawing, lulled by Mulder’s voice and story, completely enraptured by all of it. See could see it. See the restaurant, see the woman as though she was real, see the story being true.

“That’s beautiful, Mulder,” she says, turning her head slightly to look at him, her heart filling up with something unexplainable for a stranger she had only met last night.

“Do you have anymore like that?” Before receiving an answer she flicks through more pages. She catches a glimpse of the next set of drawings, and a glimpse is all she needs before Mulder snatches the book away and Scully just Ohs.

“Sorry,” Mulder apologises, nervously. “You weren’t meant to see them. Nobody’s ever seen them.”

Scully doesn’t care though, she’s interested, having got a small peak at another part of Mulder’s mind, she wants to see it fully.

“Show me,” she says, daring him to.

“Are you sure?” she asks, the book clutched firmly between his fingers.

“I want to see them.”

Slowly he hands the book back to her. She reopens the page she was on and is met with a full-bodied drawing of a naked woman.

Scully isn’t jealous, she can’t be, Mulder is just a person she barely knows (but also knows everything about) and he’s entitled to his life, to draw who and what he wants, but while she looks at the drawing, Scully can’t help but wonder who this woman was to Mulder. Was she someone he once cared about? Or was she just something to draw? Scully glances to Mulder, hoping that empathy, that connection the two seem to have with each other, is strong enough to read minds, strong enough for him to answer her silent question.

It isn’t.

And it doesn’t.

Scully moves on, to the next page. This one a series of close-ups consisting of breasts and vaginas, but it’s the page next to it that Scully becomes interested in. A series of hands, some the same hand and others different, all from different angles.

“Why hands?” she asks.

“They tell who a person is,” Mulder says. “Like yours…” He takes her hand off the page, holding it close to his face. “I noticed they’re always clean.” He thumb runs along her fingers, gliding across her nails and sparks shoot through her, from fingers to toes. “And you cut your nails regularly. They’re soft, too.” He turns her hand over, palm now facing him as his thumb runs along there too. “Despite your poverty, you’ve never been forced to do hard labour.”

With his analysing done, Scully takes her hand back and looks at it.

“How wrong was I?” He asks, waiting for her to tell him he was very wrong.

Scully smiles, moved but slightly scared. “You’re not,” she whispers and a smile breaks across his face.

“You have a real skill, Mulder,” Scully says, she looks back down at the drawings. “You see people, for who they really are.”

“I try to.”

Scully stares at him, frustrated at how modest he is but also humbled by it. He honestly doesn’t see what a rare gift he has.

“What about you then?” he asks, taking the book back and closing it. “Aside from fixing people, what skills do you have?”

A mischievous smile appears across Scully’s face. Perhaps he’s expecting something along the same lines as his, but there is only one other skill Scully can think to show him.

She stands up. “Follow me and I’ll show you.”

Curiosity now replacing his modest expression, he follows Scully along the deck and through the final gate to first class, once again thrilled by breaking the rules but feeling completely free of the consequences. She finds the most secluded area and looks out towards the sea.

“Now,” she begins capturing Mulder’s full attention. “This is a skill that I’m very proud of.”

“Okay…”

She gives one last mischievous smile, fully planning on shocking Mulder, ready to gauge that reaction.

Just as she was taught, she gathers up as much spit as she can, puffs her lips out, pulls her head back and shoots forward over the railings as a ball of spit flies out into the ocean.

She looks to Mulder when she’s done, finds him completely awe struck.

“Miss Scully,” he admonishes with a smile and light of voice. “And I thought you were above your kind’s crude ways?”

Scully laughs, pleased with herself and pleased he isn’t offended by such a minuscule thing.

“There are some things I have in common with them. You try.”

He looks at her for help. “I don’t…?”

“It’s easy,” she says, shaking her head. She begins the process again. “Get as much spit as you can, gather it together, lips puffy, head back, swing forward and shoot.” Another ball of spit shoots into the air and falls into the ocean again.

Mulder tries, doing as she says, and his attempt is pitiful, most of it falling down his chin. Scully laughs.

“You can do better than that.”

She watches his second attempt, watches him try his hardest to get as far as her spit went.

Not quite there but better than the first time.

Lost in teaching him how to spit far, Scully doesn’t hear the group of people approaching, continues to gather spit, making less than appealing noises to do so, it’s only when she’s sees Mulder has gone rigid beside her that she stops and turns towards the four women who stand there.

“Fox?” The oldest woman says. “What are you doing?”

“I was just, um…”

The woman’s eyes fall to Scully, her gaze strong and unforgiving.

“Rules are set to keep order,” the woman begins to explain. Scully thinks she’s saying them to Mulder but her stare doesn’t weaver from Scully. “They keep things as they’re supposed to be, nothing out of place, nothing in the wrong place.” Her eyes move to Mulder. “You know that, Fox.”

Mulder nods. “I do, Mother. But I thought this could be an exception. See, I invited Miss Scully onto the deck.”

His mother’s lips pursue at the mention of Scully’s last name, a thin line forming.

“Scully.” The woman’s eyes fall back to Dana. “A very old Irish name, isn’t it?”

Scully shifts uncomfortably, wanting nothing more than any of the women to not acknowledge her presence, but she’s on their deck and that is a wish that is soon not to be granted.

“Aye, Ma’am,” says Scully.

“What does it mean?”

Dana thinks for a moment, her mind backtracking from it’s anglicised form to the Gaelic form and translated form.

“Student,” Scully answers, unsure of the relevance of this question.

The mother only huffs in reply.

“You know the rules, Fox.”

They make eye contact, her and Mulder, a promise that they’ll see each other again sometime.

“I need to get back to my brother anyway.”

As she goes to leave, she catches Mulder’s eyes once more. He glances down to his hand and her eyes follow. The book.

She leans closer into him, using her arm to conceal the book and takes it, quickly moving it in front of her.

“Miss Scully!” A younger, more clear-cut voice rings through the air and Scully turns, moving the book to behind her back.

“Yes?”

The youngest girl steps forward, standing next to Mulder’s mother.

“How would you like to join us for dinner tonight?”

“Phoebe…” Mulder whispers through gritted teeth, even Mrs Mulder turns to the girl in utter shock- the other two women stand watching.

Surprised too, Scully thinks for a second. “You want me to join you for dinner in first class?”

“Yes,” Phoebe says, a grin itching across her face. “My invitation since you seem to be a friend of Fox’s, I think it’s worth getting to know you.”

Scully knows how this works, knows she’s in a catch-22; she can’t deny this request but by agreeing she’s submitting herself to a night of humiliation and cattiness.

Scully supposes she’d just have to be catty back.

“Of course I will, Miss…?”

“Miss Green,” says Phoebe. “Soon to be Mrs Mulder.” Her left hand moves in front of her right, the gigantic engagement ring that could no doubt feed her and Charlie for years if they got their hands on it, shines on her ring finger.

Scully looks briefly to Mulder who, quiet accurately, looks away. The mention of a fiancé would have been grand, Mulder.

“Of course, Miss Green. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

[pxnk-velvet]

The Dancing Warrior: Water, Chapter 11

(Sokka x OC Reader)

A/N: I’m so sorry but this is a REALLY long chapter, possibly the longest I’ve written so far...but oh well. If anyone knows how to edit a post so it has the “keep reading” link PLS let me know I’m begging 😭

It had taken them quite a while to finally arrive at the North Pole. There were chunks of ice floating in the water and the air was bitter to Navani. She had been shivering profusely for that past couple of days. She had never been to either of the poles before so she had no reason for owning a thick coat like Katara and Sokka. Katara had given Navani her spare tunic, which was a bit small, but a lot warmer than her own. The only thing she had were her robes, a clear indication that she was Fire Nation. Something they had all agreed to keep secret. Navani vowed to solely bend water for as long at they were there. And she knew she had to keep that promise or else they would all be in jeopardy.

Navani sat at the edge of Appa’s saddle, shivering as she tucked herself as far as she could into her tunic. Her knees were snug to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them. How could someone live in the cold like this?

She had been so consumed in her own thoughts that she hadn’t been paying any attention to the conversation going on between everyone else. But then she was brought back when Appa’s smooth sailing suddenly jerked and everyone screamed. He tried to keep his balance but some ice threw him off, causing him to tilt. Everyone one held on with strong grips....well almost everyone. As Appa crash landed in the freezing waters, Navani was thrown over with a scream.

They all gasped as the girl fell into the water, “Navani!”

Her body felt numb as she broke the surface, gasping for air. Her teeth chattered as dozens of boats emerged from behind small glaciers. She moved a fast as she could, which honestly wasn’t all that fast, and hurled her stiff body back onto Appa. They all had rushed to her side, but at the moment were too occupied with Northerners approaching.

===

Everything there was beautiful. There was so much to marvel at. From the beautiful architecture to the people and culture. Navani wished she could’ve enjoyed it more but at the moment she was soaking wet in the freezing cold. Her and Katara had done their best to bend the water out of her cloths and one of the men from the boats had lended her some blankets. Which she was currently tightly wrapped in.

As they rounded a corner, there were people along the sides of the canals and buildings waving down at them. Navani couldn’t help but smile and wave back despite her condition. At least she could enjoy that. Or so she thought.

The warm feeling grew a little as a small canoe drifted passed them, catching both Navani and Sokka’s attention. There on the canoe sat a boy and a girl, side by side, no older then them. Navani watched intently, curious. They were dressed like they were important with their hair decorated with different pieces and jewelry. The girl’s was a stark white while the boy’s was pitch black. They contrasted perfectly. Not to mention they were both extremely good looking.

That definitely didn’t go unnoticed by Sokka. Who sighed and leaned against Navani as a deep blush rose to his cheeks, his eyes glued to the girl as the canoe drifted by.

“Could you make it anymore obvious?” Navani scoffed, removing her support from under him. Laughing as he fell to the ground with a thud.

===

“Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sisters from the Southern tribe. And they have brought with them someone very special. Someone who many of us believe disappeared from the world until now, the Avatar!” Chief Arnook declared, from his seat at the middle of the table, “We also celebrate my daughter and son’s 16th birthday. Princess Yue and Prince Hai are now of marrying age!”

Navani nearly spit out her drink, turning to look but catching a view of the back of Sokka’s head instead. She scoffed, leaning back to see.

“Thank you, father.” Both twins bowed, Yue continued, “May the great ocean and moon spirits watch over us during these troubled times.”

The Prince turned and glanced her way, a blush so hot on her cheeks she thought her face would melt off.

“Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform.”

That was all Navani needed to hear to have her undivided attention. With an excited gasp, her head whipped around to look at the raised platform.

She watched with wide eyes as the three man manipulated the giant barrels of water to create giant streams moving in almost every direction. They moved in a manner she had never seen before, very different to her usual style. She was mesmerized. So much so that she hadn’t noticed someone standing next to her.

“Is this seat taken?” Hai asked politely, gesturing to the spot next to her.

With her attention still glued to the performance, she responded, “No, you can sit if you’d like.”

He chuckled, taking a seat, “I can tell you’re enjoying the performance.”

“Huh, oh.” Navani blushed hard, finally drawing her attention away, “Yeah, they’re really good.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Hai gave her a warm smile that made butterflies erupt in her gut.

“I, uh- I’m Navani...” She introduced, bowing her head.

“No need, Navani. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His smile never leaving his face. She giggled, breaking their gaze to save herself from anymore embarrassment. As she did she caught sight of Sokka and the Princess next to her.

“I’m thinking, maybe, we could do any activity together?” Sokka asked, attempting to woo the Princess. Navani couldn’t help it but feel angered by this. She knew exactly what he was doing....

Navani turned back to Hai, “So you’re a Prince?” She tried, hoping it wasn’t such a sucker of an attempt to make conversation.

“Yeah...” He chuckled, “I’m a Prince.”

“And...you have a sister?...Who’s your twin?” She wanted to face palm so badly but she resisted, “You two don’t really look alike.”

“Yue was born first and there was something wrong. So my father called upon the moon spirit for help. And it did, that’s why she has white hair. Hence our names as well. They mean moon and ocean.” He answered with not much enthusiasm. Like Navani had pushed a little too much.

“Oh, I’m assuming she gets all the attention?” She glanced over at his twin.

“Mhm,” He hummed with an eye roll, “She’s older, only by a few minutes so whoever she marries automatically becomes chief. Which isn’t fair. It really should be me because I’m the chief’s first son. Plus I’m a water bender!”

Navani perked, an idea popping into her head, “Me too! I’m not that good, though. I could definitely use some practice...” She batted her eyelashes, resting her elbow on the table and leaning on it. And just like that she was in....or so she thought.

“Well, I’m sure healing isn’t that hard.” He said smugly, waving it off.

Navani faltered a bit, pressing, “Healing? What about real water bending? Like actual fighting moves? Or dancing even?”

Hai gave a hearty chuckle, “Well...I guess I could show you a little something but no one can know, alright?”

Her eyebrows knotted in confusion but she brushed it off, nodding and smiling.

“We could meet sometime tomorrow?” He offered, taking hold of her hand and placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

She turned away, blush furious on her cheeks. And for a moment she forgot about why she was doing this.

===

She had been out for a walk that morning when she caught sight of a canoe in the canal ahead. Inside was just the person she was looking for.

“Prince Hai!” She called from the walk way, speeding up a little to catch up to him. Both him and Princess Yue were sitting in the small boat as it drifted down the canal.

Just as Navani cleared the corner, she ran right into someone, sending them both into water below. Both the Prince and Princess giggled at the sight.

“Ahhh, Navani!” Sokka yelped, pulling himself out of the water.

She could care less about what Sokka was yelling at her, as she shook her hair out of her face.

Prince Hai had gotten up from his seat and moved to lean over the edge, “Meet me on the palace steps tonight!” He called out as the boat continued to drift, without missing a beat.

Navani swooned as she bobbed in the water, a light blush gracing her cheeks. Soon after she pulled herself out of the water, coming to face Sokka as he watched much to his amusement. He had noticed the way the Prince looked at Navani, like he was head over heels. He knew that feeling, or knows to be exact. Sure he was flirting with Princess Yue but he couldn’t deny that he did feel a pang in his heart every time he thought of Hai and Navani together. He had her first, well, almost had her. Until he screwed it up for himself big time. Maybe Aunt Wu was right...but no. He just needed a distraction for a little bit then he’d deal with that, right?

Navani felt somewhat guilty as she stood in front of Sokka, soaking wet. Like she shouldn’t have made it known that she was going to visit Prince Hai later tonight.

So instead she grounded herself, placing both her hands on her hips, “Yes?” She questioned Sokka’s trained gaze.

He crossed his arms giving her a suspicious glare, “Nothing.”

She exhaled bluntly, giving a huff from her nose, “I’m going back to the igloo. Feel free not to follow me.” She turned sharply, taking off back the way she came.

“I bet you don’t even remember how to get back.” The water tribe boy laughed, watching as she groaned, stomping away. He followed her, doing exactly the opposite of what she said, just to mess with her. He walked a few paces behind her, throwing words of mockery every time she made a wrong turn or went in the wrong direction. Either way, they had ended up in front of the igloo they were staying in.

“Well, would you look at that?” Sokka amused, “We both got what we wanted. You were able to get home and I was able to annoy the heck out of you while doing so.”

“I suggest you shut up before I physically hurt you.” Navani threatened, not even batting an eye his way as she made her way inside.

He laughed, following suit, “You really think you can hurt me? I bet you can’t even pin me to the ground.”

They walked further into the igloo, stopping at the center. Navani shed her big coat, tossing it to the side before wordlessly getting into a fighting stance. Her gaze set sternly on his as he just stood there.

“Come on, tough guy. Since you think you’ve got what it takes, let’s put it to the test.” She stated, dipping low, kicking low and knocking Sokka’s legs out from under him. He landed hard on the floor, letting out a loud groan.

She stepped so she was over him, leaning to look down with her hands on her hips, “What happened? I thought you said you were a warrior?” She taunted, “Get up, I’ll give you another shot. You get the first strike.”

Sokka starred up at her in complete shock. As to why he was shocked, he didn’t know exactly. Of course she could beat him in a fight any day, he was just messing with her after all, right?

Soon after he stood, both of them taking fighting stances. Navani stood with a relaxed, yet steady posture, ready for anything like she had been trained to do. Sokka on the other hand, could fall over with the slightest nudge.

Sokka gave his all with his first strike, deflating a little when Navani dodged it with ease. Almost like it was nothing. He swung a couple more times, watching her move with ease every step of the way, like she had been doing this for dozens of life times.

Sokka tried and tried. He kicked, punched, grabbed, pulled, and shoved. Still nothing. Navani stood strong, barely even breaking a sweat. She giggled at his exhaustion, shoving his shoulder lightly, watching him lose balance and fall only from that little push.

She strutted over to him, placing her foot on his chest, “I didn’t even have to use my bending on you.” She leaned down, towering over him triumphantly. Watching as a smirk curl onto his lips and an idea pop into his head.

“Who’s the warrior now-“ Suddenly her leg was being pulled out from under her, Sokka being able to roll out from under her and pin her down as she made contact with the floor. He sat square on her stomach, using a hand to pin both of her wrists to the floor.

“What the-“ Navani barked from under him. She struggled under his weight, which was almost surprising because he was a little slimmer compared to her trained build.

“Looks who’s on top now! Literally!” He mocked with a big grin on his face.

She hadn’t realized how close they were until then. It all settled in. His weight on her, the way his breath fanned over her face when he talked, his hand holding down her wrists above her head. The butterflies in her stomach matched the intensity of her beating heart. Not to mention she was almost as red as her shirt. Both of their gazes locked on each other, trained so intensely. All those things she had felt for him before over powered the hurt he had caused her. Maybe she had been a bit too harsh, a little too stubborn?...

It had felt like they had been sitting there forever until Katara came bounding into the room.

“Sokka! You’ll never believe it! Gran-Ahh!” She screamed. Both Sokka and Navani yelling along with her as Navani basically launched Sokka across the room. Kicking him off from on top of her.

Katara turned away with her hands over her eyes, “Oh my gosh! Can’t you guys find somewhere a little more private to do that!” She took off.

“Katara!” Navani called, getting up off the floor to run after her, “It’s not what you think at all! I swear!”

They both ran to the door but gave up on chasing after her. They stopped in the doorway, standing close to each other. When they realized it, neither of them jerked away like they normally would’ve. Navani felt....comfortable with their proximity. Something that shocked her, scared her almost.

“I- uhhhh,” Sokka stuttered, trying to ease the tension, “That was fun wasn’t it?”

Navani playfully rolled her eyes, giggling.

===

Later that day Navani was the first to rush out for her...date? Training? She didn’t even know what to call it, with Prince Hai.

For the last hour or two she had spent her time with Prince Hai as he taught her some water bending moves. She was surprised because she already knew a thing or two but his way was so much different from the way she had been taught by her mother. So she was grateful that she was actually able to learn something.

Now they sitting on the palace steps, just enjoying their time together.

“Thank you for teaching me.” She said, leaning back with her palms against the icy step under her, “I really appreciate it.”

He turned to her smiling, “You’re welcome. Thank you for letting me teach you. It’s not everyday a beautiful girl such as yourself gets to spend time with a prince.” He joked.

“I’m sure there are a ton of other girls who would be jealous of me right now.” Navani chuckled, noticing the space between them decrease slowly. Her laughed died off awkwardly as he got closer.

“Yeah, well it doesn’t matter anyways. There would be no gain in a girl marrying me with my current situation.” He sighed, the atmosphere around them shifting.

“Now don’t say that.” Navani comforted, “Any girl would be lucky to marry you.”

He looked into her eyes and Navani saw how bright they seemed to glow under the moonlight, “You really think so?”

Navani smiled, glancing down at his lips and seeing how close they were, “I know so.” She spoke, attempting to keep their distance.

But much to her dismay, he kissed her. She gasped at the sudden contact, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. She felt confused and just odd. It didn’t feel....right to her. It caught her completely off guard. At this, the Prince pulled away quickly with a worried look on his face.

“Oh spirits! I shouldn’t have done that.” He got up hurriedly, leaving Navani on the steps.

She got up after him, “Wait! Prince Hai!”

He stopped at the top of the steps, Navani catching up to him and taking a gentle hold on his wrist.

“I’m sorry,” She began, look up at him, “I’m sorry if it made it seem like we were anything more than friends. And I didn’t mean to hurt you in anyway. But I just think we aren’t destined to have a relationship in those sorts.”

He gave a sad smile, “I understand....you like someone else instead.”

Navani’s eyebrows knotted in confusion, “What?”

“Sokka, is it? I see the way he looks at you and the way you look at him. I was foolish for even thinking that we could’ve had something.”

Navani stood silently for a moment. Maybe he was right. Maybe she did look at Sokka a little too fondly sometimes. And maybe she still got butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought of him in such a way.

Navani took a step closer to him, “No you’re not, you were just doing what your heart was telling you to do.”

Hai smiled again, taking hold of her shoulders, “Go. Go do what you heart is telling you to do and find him.” And so she did. Of course she didn’t leave without giving her thanks and appreciation.

Navani walked back to the igloo in hopes of finding Sokka before he went off to do his activity with the Princess. She tried walking without being too loud. Or else her foot steps would echo off the ice walls. She trotted down a couple walk ways, crosses some bridges until she finally turned up at the igloo. With every step her heart grew with anticipation. She felt as though she could do anything. She rushed through the doorway, a smile as bright as the moon on her face.

“Where is he?” Navani exclaimed, out of breath.

Katara and Aang jumped, startled at her sudden appearance, “Who? Sokka?” Katara questioned.

Navani nodded eagerly, almost squealing with excitement. She was finally coming to terms with her feelings.

“He’s mentioned something about a bridge and seeing the Prin-“ Katara wasn’t able to finish her sentence before Navani rushed back out with a thanks.

At this point she didn’t care if she was loud and her stomping foot steps could be heard. She figured she start with the bridge where she sent Sokka and heralded flying into the water. She slowed as she approached the corner. Hunched over, she caught her breathe. She couldn’t help but over hear the conversation going on.

“Hi, Princess Yue. I made you something.” Navani over heard Sokka greet the Princess. She peaked her head around the corner, leaning as far up against the ice wall as she could. It hurt a little to see them together like so.

She watched as Sokka held out his hand to show Princess Yue what was supposed to be a fish carving. When did he have time to make that? Maybe he really wasn’t doing this just to mess around with her...

”I’m sorry. I’ve made a mistake.” The Princess cried, turning away, “I shouldn’t have asked you to come here.” She ran off as Navani stepped out from around the corner.

When she did something hard hit her in the head, “Ow!” She whined, rubbing the sore spot in her forehead.

Sokka stormed off without noticing Navani. She cursed herself for not making it known that she was there sooner. However she did make an effort to rush back to the igloo to make it seem like she hadn’t been spying on him this whole time. She ran through the doorway, startling Aang and Katara once again.

She tore her coat off in a hurry, along with her boots, plopping down on the ground next to Katara.

Not even a second later Sokka stomps right in, clearly upset. He kicked his sleeping bag and slumped down over it.

“How’s warrior training?” Navani asks carefully, making sure her pace was steady.

Aang looks at Navani with confusion. Navani gave him a desperate look and the boy quickly caught on, “That bad?” He played off.

Sokka groaned, “It’s Princess Yue! One minute she wants to go out with me and then the next she’s telling me to get lost!”

It saddened Navani to see him in such a sour mood over what had just went down. At that point she tuned out of the conversation and focused on relaxing. She laid down on her sleeping bag, arms behind her head and legs crossed. She hadn’t noticed Katara and Aang had left until a little while later. Leaving Navani and Sokka alone.

===

The events that occurred the night before greatly contrasted what was happening right now.

That morning Katara had challenged Master Pakku to a fight, which she still lost despite her skill. And now she was taking a walk with Prince Hai.

“You really like him don’t you?” The Prince questioned with a sly smile.

“What?” Navani blushed, trying to play it off, “I wouldn’t say really like him but-“

“Just admit and stop making it harder for yourself.” He laughed as they approached a bridge.

There stood the Princess and Sokka engaged in a kiss. Navani froze. Her whole body going numb. Her heart began to ache in her chest, under all the layers of cloths she had on. A lump grew in her throat, getting bigger by the second.

Prince Hai had done a service by leading her away from the scene as she wept. She knew she shouldn’t be crying. Because if Sokka had seen her and Hai kiss yesterday, would he have reacted the same?

Hai brought her close in a snug embrace, “Navani, don’t cry. It’ll be alright. She can’t even be with him. She’s engaged!” He explained, taking her face in his hands.

But her expression stayed the same as more tears fell upon her cheeks. Her breathing was choppy and all she could do was sob. She didn’t know why she was in the first place. It’s not like her and Sokka were...dating...in the first place. But she knew deep down that she wanted him. Yet she couldn’t have him.

[][][]

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