#Knives going to sleep after a long day of laying in his hammock in his beautiful garden drinking tea and reading his fav books: 😰😨😣😖🫨😢

[bobosbillionsknives]

Why's he so sleeepyyuy 🤗💖 I swear there are so many moments of knives yawning what the FUCK does he have to be so sleepy about. 😒 GET YOUR ASS UP AND WORK ! He's so silly I love him

He can't be tired from doing his job because he literally doesn't do anything. 🙄 He always has people doing shit for him he just lies around in his garden all day BROODING.

I always assumed he had terrible nightmares or something because somehow despite his cushy ass lifestyle he seems to get less sleep than VASH dude like are you serious. 🤦‍♂️

[persefolli]

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐱 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐢

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭/𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝: 𝐘𝐞𝐬

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @talokan34, @myheartfollower, @laylasbunbunny, @destinyl, @deadgirl02

𝐦𝐚��𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

“We can have her take the team east next time, maybe the ground will be better.” Jake looked at the table pointing at a map. The three of you had just led a successful battle against the RDA, picking up more medical supplies and equipment that the Omaticaya could use.

You stood outside of the tree, wiping your face clear of tears. One glance at your thigh, and you winced seeing the large bruise that had formed. You had been shot, not by a normal gun, but a tracker, and it was only now affecting you.

“If you are hit with this, you are marked for death!” You remember Jake yelling.

Telling them would only lead to more trouble, maybe even anger. You couldn't stomach both your lovers being angry, nor blaming you for the battle that just occurred. Jake had already given you a lecture earlier about your performance with the sky team, and you could only take so much.

The only option was to leave. Get far away from hometree and the forest to make sure no more Omaticaya were injured. Jake had made his amends with Eywa and the people, now it was your turn.

You silently walked into the room, smelling the fresh aroma of stew that was cooking. As much as you would’ve liked to sit and eat with your lovers for the last time, you couldn’t. You avoided eye contact with the both of them, hoping they wouldn't notice you.

“Hey babe how ya feelin?” Jake greeted. But you ignored him, walking right past him and climbing up a few branches to get to your hammock. Jake looked at Tonowari, and he shrugged. “Well dinner is ready…if you…” He trailed off knowing that you weren’t gonna turn around.

“She may be tired.” Tonowari suggested. Jake nodded. It was a hard day for the three of you, and he was being a hardass earlier. Normally, he would pester you, but this time he knew it would be best to leave you until morning. A good night's sleep could fix anything.

You laid in your hammock with your back towards the other empty ones, eyes wide open, waiting on the two of them to come along. Hours passed before Tonowari bed himself, then soon after Jake came along. You listened to their soft shuffles and their breathing patterns as they attempted to get comfortable without waking you.

More time passed and you finally heard snoring, meaning that they were asleep. You climbed out of your hammock and snuck downstairs, grabbing a small satchel and packing knives, food, and medical supplies you would need. You bunched up a lot of blankets and placed them into your hammock, hoping it would give you more running time. You cried as you packed up your bag, knowing that this is how you would leave them. And if they did see you again, you would be long gone.

You looked around one more time, at the home you created with your two lovers, and sighed.

One last thing.

You grabbed a spare sheet of paper and wrote on it.

Protect the People.

It didn't take much to sneak from the home tree and get through the village unnoticed. The hour was late, and it was rare for any threats, human or creature to come around at this time. You made your way to the nearby mountain where the Ikrans rested when they wanted to be alone. You spotted yours, laying on a rock and waiting as if she was expecting you.

“We gotta go sweets.” You ran your hand along her snout.

Climbing on, you connected your tail to your Ikran and hooted, flying away and leaving your home behind.

---

Tonowari stirred awake, shooting straight from his hammock having had a dream concerning you. He looked over at your sleeping figure, immediately sighing seeing that you were safe and sound near them. But something was off. He sat still, attempting to focus his eyes so he could see your shoulders rise as you slept, but you didn't move. He climbed out his hammock and ran over to yours, pulling back the large blanket and seeing a bundle of others falling to the ground.

“Jake!” He yelled.

Jake jerked from his hammock and groaned. He looked over at his friend, before trailing his eyes to the ground where the bundle of blankets rested. “Y/n!” He called out, climbing out the hammock and walking downstairs. He'd hope to see you in the kitchen making food, but the room was almost cleaned out of your belongings. Jake now woke up, realizing the severity of the situation.

“Wari, where is she?!”

“I don't know.” He came walking down the stairs, equally shocked at the empty room.

Jake spotted the white folded paper on the table, quickly rushing over and picking it up. “Protect the people?” He muttered.

Tonowari began suiting up, throwing his belt around his waist and grabbing his own satchel. “I'm going!” He began walking out the room, leaving Jake behind.

---

The sun had begun to rise, and your thigh was killing you. Every once in a while a sharp pain would pulse throughout your leg, causing you and your Ikran to jerk to the side, screaming out loud. The pain became too much, and you had to land.

“I'm okay. I'm okay.” You reassured yourself. You scooted against the tree and took a look at your thigh, seeing the skin was now raised and the bruising had begun to spread. “No!” You slammed your head against the tree bark, knowing what you had to do.

“Look away.” You hissed at your Ikran.

You grabbed your satchel and dug through it until you found a knife, a circular one used for wood carving. You poked your finger at the tip, drawing a bit of blood from the sharpness. You gulped, and took the handle of your satchel, biting down on the leather band and clenching. A fear tears slipped from your eyes. You were scared, afraid of the pain, the infection, or death that would come after.

Your hands shook as you took the blade in your hand, inching it closer to your thigh. “Come on.” You coaxed yourself. “Come on!” You sucked in a breath and plunged the knife into your thigh, screaming as you pushed the blade deep into your flesh. Blood began spurting out, leaking down the tree branch you sat on. “Fuck!” You gritted, finally hitting the metal object with the tip of the blade. “A little more. A little more.” You coaxed yourself. Here comes the worst part.

You twisted the knife, hooking the blade into your muscle surrounding the object, and pulled outwards, slicing your leg even more. You screamed out loud, dropping the satchel and clenching in shock. Your leg throbbed, and your hand began to slip from the handle of the knife. Your wound stretched the more you pulled the knife. “EYWA HELP ME, Help me!” You screamed once more before the knife and pill-like object left your leg.

You dropped the knife immediately, looking at the tracker with hazy eyes as you began to lose consciousness. You raised your hand, seeing that it was no longer blue as blood coated your hand and forearm. You blinked once. Twice. Gone.

---

Jake's eyes searched frantically, looking all through the forest for you. They passed through territories of different clans and regions looking for you.

“I think we're close.” Tonowari called out.

Jake nodded, feeling you, and smelling you getting closer. “Dive!” He yelled out, immediately banking downwards to get a better sense of where you were. Tonowari dived as well, dropping below the tree line to get closer to the ground. “Jake!” He yelled.

Jake flew to his friend, seeing that he had landed and perched his Ikran. “I smell her. But I also smell blood.”

Jake's face went pale and he nodded.

“Don't panic. It might not be hers.” Tonowari attempted to stay optimistic.

The two of them suited up, grabbing their bows and spears and began walking through the forest. “Y/n!” They both called out, hoping they would hear you somehow. In the distance they heard a screeching. Your Ikran.

They began running forward, not caring whether or not they left each other behind or not. They finally broke into an opening, where your Ikran sat perched on a rock, screaming up into the air. It spotted the two na’vi, and nodded its head over.

“No.”

The sight was gorey, you slumped over on a tree branch unconscious with blood everywhere. Tonowari dropped his spear and ran over, snatching you up and holding you in his arms. “Hey! Hey! Get up! Hey!”

You heard the muffled sounds of their yelling, but couldn't find the strength to get up.

“Move! Move!” You heard Jake shuffling around. “Stay with us, you hear me? Don't you fucking dare!”

---

Your eyes fluttered open, and you saw nothing but the sky, with trees surrounding you. Slowly, your hand trailed down to your thigh, where you hissed feeling a large gauze in place of your wound. “We stitched you up.” You heard a familiar voice. Your eyes snapped to the side and you saw Tonowari, sitting right next to you with his hand wrapped in yours.

“Oh Y/n.” He pulled you up, and startled you with a passionate kiss. You said nothing, but kissed him back, running your spare hand up his arm. “Do you know how badly you scared us!” He scolded.

You looked to the other side and saw Jake holding the tracker in his hand, inspecting it closely as it beeped in his hand. His eyes trailed to look at you, wrinkles dissipating as his expression softened. He threw the tracker down and stepped on it, breaking the item as he walked over to you.

“How did you find me?”

Jake grabbed his tail and held it up, “We are bonded for life, we will always find you.”

You sighed, feeling the tensity.

“Why did you leave?” He asked.

“To protect you guys, and the people.” You admitted. “I wasn't going to be the reason everyone got killed.”

“That's our job!” Tonowari hissed. “We protect you! We protect the people! Not abandon them when needed most.”

“I was shot!” You yelled back. “I was hit with a tracker two missions ago.” You silently said. The two men fell silent as you began crying. “I didn't think…I didn't think it meant anything until you said that the other clan got attacked, then the two of you….” You looked at their scar filled arms and choked. “I'm the only explanation for the latest attack. I had to leave before they found us for real.”

Jake wiped the tears from your face and muttered. “It's not your fault. It's not on you sweetheart. Look at me.” He pulled you to face him instead of Tonowari. “I betrayed the RDA over a decade ago. Whatever they wanted, it was me, even without the tracker, they would've come.”

Tonowari ran his hand along your forehead. “The issue comes from you running away. Have we neglected you so that you ran to the forest and nearly killed yourself?” He huffed.

You shook your head. “No…no Wari the two of you….I just didn't want you two to be angry.”

“Angry.” Jake scoffed. “You could've marched in the village with hundreds of RDA soldiers behind you and we would still be deeply in love with you.”

You looked at Tonowari who nodded, holding back tears of his own. “I would rather deal with you working for the enemy than find you in the forest half dead like this.” Tonowari said.

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize sweetheart.” Tonowari pulled you into his chest and rocked you, placing a kiss on your head.

“You lost a lot of blood but we stitched you up as best as we can.” Jake said. “We're gonna get you home, get you fixed right on up.”

You sniffled and nodded, turning back so you could lay flat on the ground. “You're okay Y/n.” Jake placed his hand on your stomach.

“You'll be just alright.”

[acourtofsnakes]

Kov’nyn - Rogue, Chapter 13| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader (f)

Summary: The night after Din rescued you from your nightmare, you realise you have a lot to think about… and you might just reach a decision that could change your fate. 

Word count: 7k+

Warnings: None I think, in this one. Like one swear? Weapons/knives – not used in violence - Mainly just soft fluffy times! 

AN: This one is pretty gentle, nothing super big really happening. I thought I’d give you all a rest after the rollercoaster of the last chapter~

Also, time to play Spot The Easter Egg again!! Theres a quote in here from Six of Crows... can you find it?

Gif belongs to me♥︎

Rogue Masterlist | Introduction| 1: Solus| 2: Arir | 3: Tor | 4: Gaa'tayl | 5: Kyr’am | 6: Cabur | 7: Ret'urcye Mhi | 8: Haran| 9: E’tad | 10: Tome | 11: Aliit ori'shya tal'din| 12: Mar’eyce | 13: Kov’nyn| 

Rogue Taglist: @snipskixandbeskar @weirdowithnobeardo @the-bottom-of-the-abyss @jackgrzs @sarahjkl82-blog @boomtownboy @goldielocks2004 @seninjakitey​ @what-iwish-you-knew​ @queenofthefaceless​

Mando’a Translation: Kov'nyn  - Keldabe kiss

You stirred to the feeling of a pleasantly heavy arm resting over your torso. 

You froze, body going rigid on instinct at feeling the intrusion. Further inspection revealed a leg slung over yours and you could feel the line of armour digging into your calf. 

Armour?

Oh. Of course.

The Mandalorian. 

The previous night came flooding back to you in full technicolour, sending a slow wave of heat across your skin and relaxing your body. You remembered the horror of your nightmare, and then the Mandalorian coming in, soothing you, laying with you and then…

Everything that happened after. 

It didn’t even take that much concentration to imagine his hands again, those delightful touches. The husky roughness of his voice as he praised you, coaxed you to the edge and held you as you tumbled over. 

And then… he told you his name. 

He had given you a part of himself, something that was so poignant and personal. It made him who he was, gave him his identity and separated him from “The Mandalorian.” 

Din Djarin. 

Din. 

It was a gorgeous name. Simple, to the point. 

You had to admit, it suited him in that sense. But it felt like starlight on your tongue, and it was yours. He had given it to you, entrusting you with such a precious part of himself. 

In your opinion, tt was as significant as taking off his helmet, and it had settled in a place tucked against your heart, curled there and warmed you from the inside out. 

Din was still asleep next to you – you assume -  on his side. You had since rolled onto your back in the night, which did mean you were precariously close to the edge of the bed. 

Din hadn’t moved at all, presumably used to having to be still from all the times he spent wedged into the medical bay compartment on his side, with no room to move and Grogu in his hammock above him.

You could get used it, waking up with him. 

The modulator in his helmet allowed you to hear the soft, deep rhythm of his breathing and his armour had warmed overnight where it lay against your skin. 

You couldn’t remember the last time you woke up next to someone and had such an immense feeling of safety and comfort. 

This truly was home – wherever the Mandalorian was. 

Wherever Din was. 

You weren’t sure how long you laid there for, but you did know you were staring to get uncomfortable. The thin mattress – if you could even call it that – was irritating you, making you feel a little restless in this position. 

You could feel Din’s hand against your side, but you weren’t sure if his hands were still bare or not. Sleep had taken you before him, so you weren’t awake to witness him pulling them back on. 

You didn’t dare look properly, not wanting to lay your eyes on his bare skin, to break his Creed. So, you opened your eyes to slits, carefully peering across the room and you didn’t see any sign of his gloves. 

You tried to concentrate, to see if you could feel if he had his gloves back on. The blanket and your top didn’t really provide much help in that matter, naturally. 

Maybe you could wriggle a little? See if that did anything?

Of course, you could touch his hands, and then you would know. But the two times you had felt his bare skin previously, he was awake, and you had his consent. He was asleep, and therefore couldn’t tell you if it was okay or not.  

Wriggling it is. 

You began your movement, gently squirming with your hips shuffling side to side, to see if that would provide any knowledge on the matter – not that you thought it would. Truthfully, you didn’t know what you were doing. It was possible your brain still hadn’t engaged after being thoroughly wrecked last night in all ways. 

Unfortunately, a bed that was barely wide enough for you, combined with wriggling around and trying not to wake Din… Well, there was only one way it could end. 

With you dumped on the cold, metal floor. 

And taking the blanket with you. 

And yelping in surprise. 

“Cyar'ika?”

So much for not waking Din up. 

You groaned, rubbing your elbow where you had landed on it and then tried to untangle yourself from the blanket. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

The helmet appeared over the side of the bed, “Don’t be, I was already awake. What are you doing on the floor?” 

You rose to your knees and sighed, resting your chin on the edge of the cot, “I was uncomfortable, and I wanted to move, but I didn’t want to open my eyes in case you didn’t have your gloves on. And I didn’t know you were awake.”

Din tilted his head at you, “And that made you fall out of the bed?”

Resting the urge to stick your tongue out at him, you shook your head, “No, I was…” Here we go, “I was trying to feel if you had them on. Without touching you.”

Din was silent. 

It sounded like he sucked in a breath to speak, only to let it out again. 

He made a thoughtful noise. “I see. So… Instead of turning your cheek against my hand which was under your head by the way, you instead decided to try and… wriggle.. to feel my hand.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him, having completely not realised his arm was still beneath your neck. “Yes.”

“Through the blanket.”

“Yes.”

“And your top.”

“… Yes.”

Din made a thoughtful noise again, “I see.” 

Then he started laughing, that gorgeous, rare sound that he had made only a few times in your presence. Sure, you sometimes got a chuckle, but this laugh was like liquid honey. 

Even if it was at your expense. 

“Hey!” You crossed your arms, trying not to laugh too, “Do not laugh at me! It’s your fault! You were awake and watched me struggle!”

The laughter still echoed out of the helmet as he laid back, a hand on his chest, “For someone who has so much grace in everyday life, you are terrible when it comes to night-time and early morning.” 

You rose to your feet this time, pushing your weight onto one leg and copying his ‘hands on hips’ pose, “Oh, because you’re so smooth?” You stuck your tongue at him, “Tin can.” You turned your back on him, meaning to walk from the room. 

You heard movement, and then he was suddenly behind you, catching your hand and lacing his fingers through yours, “Hey, come back to bed.” The laughter was still in his voice, turning it a little softer – and that combined with the coaxing tug to your hand… 

How could you say no to that?

Without turning around, you tried to carry on walking to the door and at least appear strong-willed, “After you just laughed at me? You think you can use that honeyed tone and I’ll come falling into your arms?” You arched an eyebrow, looking over your shoulder

Din gave your hand another gentle tug, stopping you in your tracks “I believe you were falling into my arms last night.” His chest bumped up against your back gently, and his other hand trailed lightly on your hip, just the barest touch in case you didn’t want it. 

Maker.

Heat creeped along your cheeks, and the ghost of his touch trailed over you again, leaving you speechless. 

He had you there. 

The grin on his lips was obvious even through the helmet as he succeeded in tugging you back into his body, winding his arms around your waist. His head ducked down, and you felt the cool beskar brush your ear, “How do you feel...? After last night?” His voice was soft and tender despite his teasing. And you knew he wasn’t just referring to the moment. 

Your body instantly turned boneless, and you melted back into him, fitting against the planes of his body, “I feel… good. Really. A little shaken up still but… you really helped me. Thank you for coming to me… again.” Your heart beat a little uncomfortably in your chest, anxiety trembling in your belly as it always did on the rare occasions you spoke about your darker emotions out loud. 

Din either felt or sensed this, because he rested the chin of his helmet on your shoulder, holding you back into him with his thumb running over your hip, “I’ll always come to you. Whenever you need me, I’ll be right there. And if for some reason I don’t wake up, you can come and find me, okay? Don’t suffer alone.” 

A lump rose in your throat and you nodded, not trusting your voice to speak. 

It was still so new to you, this care and attentiveness from someone. And even more so, letting someone care about you. 

It was always just you, on your own. If you got hurt, you had to fix yourself up. If you were hungry, it was either hunt, gather or steal your food – or go hungry. 

And if you were having a day that things were overwhelming you… well, you had to deal with that on your own too. Usually, you would just push it to the back of your mind, keep going on and on and on. If you didn’t stop, you didn’t feel. 

Which is probably why everything had caught up with you a lot more these past few months. 

For the first time in your life, you were slowing down. Stopping to breathe, to take note of your surroundings and to listen to what your body wanted for comfort rather than survival.

And so, everything that had been bottled up and restrained had begun to seep out. 

Including your powers. 

Din ran his thumb over your hip again, in lazy circles, “It doesn’t make you weak, needing help.” He always seemed to know the direction of your thoughts, “It makes you strong. Being able to admit that you need help, letting yourself feel everything. And I’ll always help you with whatever you need. And however much you want to give me, that’s okay too.” He squeezed your hip lightly, “We’re a clan, remember?” He let you go gently, and you would never know that he was referring not only to your trauma, but your powers too. Trying to tell you subtly that it was okay. He wasn’t scared of you, or what you could do. And he would wait. 

But, instead, you turned to him, smiling softly with the light back in your eyes that he adored to see, “Okay… thank you.” You reach up, gently caressing the side of his helmet, “And you remember that you can share with me too… always.” You rose up on tiptoe, kissing the side of the helmet and then dropped back down to your feet. 

Din nodded slightly, his hand caressing up your side once more and then he let you go, “I’ll leave you to get dressed.” He grazed the back of his finger to your cheekbone and then left the room.

~~

~~~

A few hours later, you were back travelling, playing with Duru’s tail as she laid across her spot next to the big open window. 

Din turned around in his seat to look at you, hands resting on his thighs in that achingly familiar pose, “I have to pick something up from somewhere today… Would you mind staying here to look after the kids? I’m not shutting you away or keeping you grounded, it’s just that it’s not the kind of place I want Grogu in… and it’ll only be for about an hour or so.” 

The vagueness of his explanation piqued your curiosity and you looked over at him, “Pick something up from somewhere? My my, Din, you have such a way with words!” Playfulness filtered through your tone, but it didn’t quite hide the small hitch in your voice as you said his name. 

You would never get used to it, you didn’t think. 

The fact that you knew his name. That you could say it, whenever you pleased – as long as you weren’t around anyone else of course. 

By the way his chest stuttered, you knew he wouldn’t either. You could sense the eye-roll though, “Ahaha. I have to keep a few things to myself; you know. How else am I going to keep you around?” 

You blinked at him, feigning surprise, “Oh, you – you think I stay here for you?” Shaking your head rapidly, you held up Grogu, who had been toddling around on the floor in front of you, “Me and Duru stay here for him. You’re just an added body.” 

Grogu cooed brightly, raising his arms in the air and patting your cheeks as you lifted him. To you, it sounded like he agreed. 

 You smiled widely at him, lifting your eyes back to Din, “He agrees with me.” 

Din mock sighed loudly, turning back around with a mutter that sounded something like, “Maker, save me.” 

You chuckled, leaning back in your seat and holding out Grogu’s ball to him, “But yes, that’s fine. I don’t mind staying here whilst you go about getting things from places.” 

Truly, you didn’t mind. You needed to sharpen your vibrobrade which was looking a little worse for wear lately. And besides, you would be more than happy playing with the kid and Duru for an hour or so – you needed some privacy to have a little meltdown over last night. 

~~

~~~

A few hours later, Din had landed the Crest and had set off to ‘pick something up from somewhere.” 

Before he left, he’d ruffled the kid’s ears, stroked Duru’s chin and then ran the back of his finger across your cheekbone, giving you a lingering look – through the helmet, of course – and then set off. 

You’d then brought your blade up to the cockpit where the kids were, and settled into the pilot’s seat, beginning to sharpen your blade. 

The Crest was sealed tight, so you were all safe, and the landscape outside of the windows provided you with a dusty, barren view. 

As you sharpened your blade, you let your mind wander, allowing it to take the flow of whatever thoughts it decided. 

Naturally, it was going to be one of two things. 

Din, or your powers. 

Today, your mind chose the topic of powers.

You knew that you couldn’t hide them from Din forever. It had been months now since you’d met, and he still had no clue about it, about why you had such a bounty on your head. 

And he’d given you so much, not only by choosing to spare you and keep you safe, but by also given you his name.

And not only that, but every single little thing in between. From making sure you were fed, to coming to check on you after your nightmares. 

He would give you his cape if you were cold or offer up extra blankets. 

And it wasn’t that he thought you were incapable of doing those things yourself, or that you needed to be ‘cared for’. He knew that you were capable and resourceful, and he knew how strong you were. 

He knew that you were stronger than you believed yourself to be, so it wasn’t that at all.

 You knew it was because… he liked having someone else there. 

Sure, it disrupted his routines and he still wasn’t used to it, which you could tell because you felt exactly the same. You still hadn’t become accustomed to waking up in someone else’s presence or going to sleep and trusting another person to stay awake – and not kill you. 

And perhaps the biggest change for him was that now, with you there as well as the kid, there were even less chances for him to remove his helmet and armour and let his skin breathe. 

He had mentioned as much to you before in passing, that he had to be more careful with Grogu around, and even though he hadn’t said it, your presence meant those times were even rarer. 

He didn’t even have the privacy of his own room to do so – he had given that up for you. 

Another thing to add to the list. 

He deserves to know. 

You knew the voice was right. He did deserve to know. 

And not because you felt you owed him for what he’d given up for you – that wasn’t it at all. 

This journey you were on, the way your lives were tightly woven together… who were you to watch him put a bigger target on his head – and not even tell him why?

A sigh heaved its way out of your chest. 

You wanted to tell him so badly, you felt it in your chest. 

But you didn’t know how. 

How would you bring it up? 

“Hey, Din? I have something to tell you… The reason I have the highest bounty ever on my head is because… well... I’m Force Sensitive. I’m not a Jedi or anything but I have the ability to use the Force. Oh, what’s the Force, you ask? Well, it’s the energy that flows in and around every living thing.” 

That just sounded cringey and ridiculous, and you doubted he would even know what the Force was. He didn’t even know that’s what the kid had. 

Hell, you had never even acknowledged to yourself out loud that it was the Force. 

It just… seemed ridiculous to you. 

The Force belonged to the Jedi. If you had the power, you trained to be a warrior and a guardian of peace and life. 

You didn’t go on the run and kill people. 

You didn’t deserve to be associated with that kind of honour. Even if you never trained to be an actual Jedi… you didn’t deserve it. 

But you couldn’t go on like this, hiding it. 

Every time a silence fell, it was sitting there, waiting to burst out and just finally tell him, tell someone. And you knew that once you started, you wouldn’t stop. 

The whole story would come out. 

Your parents, the market, the first time you killed to save your own life and every time after that. He would learn about how good it felt, the sick power that washed over you and then the horrendous shame and guilt that had you vomiting for hours after. 

The story of how you ended up on top of that cliff and then in the water would come out. 

All of it, every single thing that had tied you to this life would be revealed. 

It would all be laid bare to him, leaving you as open and exposed as if he had removed his own armour. 

And that’s what terrified you. 

He would know every single thing, and it would be his decision how to take it. 

And you would respect it, whatever it was. 

If he wanted you gone, far away from himself and his kid, then you would go. Willingly. 

Sure, it would kill you, but you would understand why. 

But if he looked over it all, the darkness, the running, your power… If he looked at it, acknowledged the bad but saw how it had created the good, the fun, the way you’d gone from tripping over a bow to being able to shoot with your eyes closed and the light that had grown in you… If he saw every single thing, and still wanted to be with you…

Well, you didn’t quite know how to take that. 

You might well cry. 

And… if you were honest, you’d built yourself up to telling him. You decided yesterday that you were going to tell him this afternoon. 

But then you had that nightmare. 

Of course, you knew that he would never harm you, never hold a knife to your throat and drive it into your heart. That wasn’t what you were worried about. 

It was your reaction. 

The way the power had exploded and destroyed him. 

What if you got too worked up when you told him, and you couldn’t control it?

You’d restrained it for so long, for twenty years and it was started to come out. 

And you hadn’t admitted it to yourself but… it was becoming agony. 

The aches and pains that you had tried to write off as from hunting or the thin bed… 

You knew it wasn’t. 

It was the strain of holding back your power. 

You needed to let it go, to finally open yourself up and accept it, whatever it may be. 

You just didn’t know how. 

A soft coo brought you out of your rapidly spiralling thoughts. 

You lifted your attention from your knife, and found Grogu holding his metal ball, sitting in your usual co-pilot’s chair. He waved it in his hand, gurgling and you just knew, somehow, that he was asking to play catch. 

A broad smile lit your face, and you sheathed your knife, stowing it to the side, “Of course, little guy, I’ll play catch with you.” You turned your attention to him fully and held out your hand, “Whenever you’re ready, Gu.” The affectionate nickname had developed a few days ago, and the kid loved it. 

He lifted his hand, his little forehead furrowing in concentration, and then the ball lifted, floating in the air slowly toward you where it dropped into your palm. 

A feeling of warm pride filled your chest, and you laughed a little, clapping your hands, “Well done!! You’re getting better at that!” 

Din had told you that sometimes he struggled to use his powers and if he used them for a particularly long time, or for something intense, it would completely wipe him out. 

He told you he’d been gently coaxing him to use them, to be more confident with them and praise him for every small achievement - at the recommendation of a friend. 

You lifted the ball up, “Ready to catch it?” You threw it across the cockpit, gently, so he would have time to stop it. 

Which he didn’t. 

It fell straight into his lap… but that may have been because he didn’t even bother to lift his hand. He just looked at you. 

You tilted your head slightly, remembering Din’s words, “That’s okay, you can try again!” You held your hand out ready. 

A few moments later, it plopped back into your palm. You praised him, then threw it back, but yet again he let it land in in his lap without trying. 

Four turns later, and he started to huff every time you threw the ball, his ears twitching like he was annoyed. 

You sighed a little, “Gu, c’mon buddy… Try at least? For me? You send it to me perfectly, why won’t you catch it?” You raised your eyebrows a little, voice still encouraging but a little firm – again, as Din had relayed back to you as the best way. 

The kid just grumbled, his ears raising and falling again, and he pointed at your hand. 

Lifting the ball, you nodded, “I know you want the ball, but you have to try and catch it with yo-“

His rapidly shaking head stopped you. He pointed more emphatically at your hand, his glossy eyes wide and then you realised exactly what his problem was. 

He wanted you to throw the ball, sure… but not physically. 

He wanted you to use your power. 

Shaking your own head, you feigned innocence, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Grogu simply wiggled his little feet and waited. 

And so did you. 

You stared him down, rolling the ball in your hands, “You know, I really do not know what you’re referring to. You’re mistaken. Now, catch the ball, you little womp rat.” You let your affection for him show in your tone, so he would know you weren’t being mean. You tossed the ball toward him. 

His palm lifted and it stopped mid-air, before whizzing back at you with speed, straight toward your head. 

Your own hand whipped up and you caught it just before it could bonk you on the nose, “Hey! Don’t throw things at me!” 

His ears flapped in annoyance and he make some kind of noise, waving his hands. 

And then he opened his mouth to cry. 

With a groan of defeat, you rubbed your forehead, “Fine! Fine. You’re right. I have the same powers as you.” 

His mouth immediately closed and broke into a wide grin. 

Cheeky little thing. 

You held yourself very still, gazing down at this tiny creature, who had apparently guessed your one big secret. Tilting your head the other way, you narrowed your eyes a little, “How did you guess?” 

Grogu mimicked your head tilt but revealed nothing. He just watched you, smiling happily and patting his hands together to wait for the ball. 

All of your life a secret, and a tiny green baby with an affinity for frogs and space macarons had managed to work you out. 

You couldn’t help the laugh, shaking your head at the whole situation, “You are a clever little baby aren’t you, huh?” You watched him for a little while, and then lifted up your hand flat, letting the ball rest in your open palm. 

You took a deep breath, focusing on the ball. 

Easy. Just concentrate. 

You closed your eyes, slowing your breathing, allowing it to relax in time with the beating of your heart. Ignoring the beeping of the Crest, the worry of using it, you focused simply on the ball, and the air around it. Imaging it rising from your palm, gliding across the air and landing in Grogu’s little hand. 

As simple as that. 

You swallowed, and then opened a tiny gate in that cage, a small gasp releasing from your lungs as the power thrummed through your blood, letting you feel the space ahead of you, the empty air becoming a malleable thing, and you tried not to flinch as the weight of the ball vanished from your palm. 

A breath in, a breath out. Focus. 

Like an invisible hand, you began to guide the ball across the open air, as if it caressed the ball like a boat and carried it across the ocean. 

You were nearly there; you could feel it. The ball was nearing Grogu’s palm, and you were dimly aware of his delighted noises, pride in his own glee like you had for him. 

Nearly there. 

You were doing it. You were controlling that wave, keeping it restrained and focused where you needed it. It was easy and it felt… it felt good. Natural, like breathing.  

This was what you’d missed for the last twenty years, being able to spread it wide or bring it in narrow. 

You didn’t need to be scared, if you could focus it in minimal amounts like this. 

It was okay, you were okay and –

“Sweetheart? Grogu?”

The suddenness of din’s voice broke your concentration and the ball fell to the floor with a soft thunk. 

Your eyes snapped open as your heart leapt into your both and you looked toward the entrance to the cockpit, hoping he was below, hoping he hadn’t seen. 

It was empty. 

The sound had come right from below, as he looked for you. 

You swallowed, keeping your voice even, “Up here.” You turned your gaze to Grogu, knowing you looked as pleading as you sounded, “Please don’t tell him…” You whispered the words, but you knew he understood, the ball zipping to his hand as if he had been playing with it the whole time. 

Gratitude for the small creature flooded your heart and you smiled at him, a little shakily as Din’s shiny head popped up the ladder. 

“Hey, sorry I was a little longer than expected…” He reached the top of the ladder, rising to stand at his full height. He saw you in his seat, one of his hands coming to rest on his hip, “Oh, I see it didn’t take you long to replace me.” He motioned to you in his chair, the husky tone of his voice teasing. 

You leant back in the chair, swaying it from side to side slightly with a grin, “Nope. Not at all. We don’t need you. You can go back out if you want. Shut the door on your way out.” You tilted your head back against the chair, one leg lounged over the arm like it was a throne. 

He called you princess still, so why not play on it?

Did you not deserve a fancy dress and a crown?

Of course, you had no idea what this sight was doing to him, playing on a fantasy he’d had for a while now about this cockpit and that particular pilots chair. 

He laughed, shaking his head and he rested against the side of the cockpit, arms crossed and pulling the fabric of his clothes tight – much to your own delight. “Right, I’ll just grab my things and leave, then. It’s been good knowing you, princess.” 

This. 

This was what you loved. The fact that you could have moments like last night, intense and passionate – or snarling and angry – and still retain the playful teasing that had always hovered between you. 

You shook your head, grinning softly, “Nah, I’m kidding. I need you around to fly the ship… I have actually no idea how to.” You looked over your shoulder at the control panel, the mass of buttons and switches and lights. 

Put you in front of a forest to track an animal or spot a hunter or present you with a variety of leaves and plants and you could identify them all. Give you a few meagre supplies and you’ll have a selection of weapons crafted in minutes. 

But flying a ship?

No, thank you. 

Din chuckled, and you knew he was grinning beneath the helmet, “I’ll teach you one day.” He straightened up suddenly and held out his hand, “Come with me.” 

With a tilt of your head, you unwound yourself from the chair and slid your hand into his, the worn leather soft against your palm and fingers, “Where are going?” 

Din tugged you gently toward the ladder, “I got you something...” His voice was a little quieter as he waited for you to descend the ladder. 

You peered up at him, pausing to lower yourself down, “When you were off getting things from places?” You tried not to smile, your lips twitching. 

Din huffed softly, and there was an implied verbal eyeroll there, “Get down the damn steps before I push you down them myself.” 

Your laugh floated up as you descended, “And I would grab your foot on the way down and take you with me.” 

A few moments later, you were making your way through the ship again. 

Din stopped at the weapons cabinet, then turned to face you, “Close your eyes.” 

You raised an eyebrow at him, eyes flicking to the weapons cabinet and then him, but you did as you were told, closing your eyes. 

“Hold out your hands.” 

Lips twitching again, you held out your hands obediently. 

There was the sound of the cabinet opening and then rustling from within. 

A pause. 

Then you felt smooth, cool metal resting on your palms, across them both but you could tell it was wider. 

You tilted our head curiously, brows furrowing a little as your fingers curled around the mysterious object. 

Din’s voice sounded again, sounding… almost hesitant, “Open...” 

Light filtered back in as you opened your eyes, looking down at the object in your hands. 

Your breathing stopped in awe as you beheld the most gorgeous bow you had ever seen. 

The metal was a sleek matte black, dimly reflecting the light of the ship back at you. 

Inlaid into the metal was a gorgeous swirling design which spread across the arch of the bow. In the centre, where your arrowhead would rest against, a full moon created the focal point of the engraving. 

Just like your tattoo.

Din silently extended his hands, and he was holding a matching quiver and arrows. Everything matched the bow, and the same gold design was etched down the body of the arrows. They ended in wickedly sharp, curved heads and just be the feel and weight of them, you knew they were deadly accurate and fast. 

Quite simply, it was the most stunning weaponry you’d ever laid your eyes upon. 

It was the perfect size for your body, and when you held it up to test the flexibility, it was exactly as you were used to, just like the bow you had lovingly cherished before you lost it on Sorgan. 

This had been made purposely for you. 

Din had taken your measurement – of course he knew them, - and somehow got every single tiny detail perfect. The string wasn’t too taught or hard to maneuverer. It responded to your touch, exactly as you wanted to. 

You lifted your eyes to Din, your expression one of awe and… just simple adoration. 

It took you a few tries to speak, finding your throat has closed up a slightly with tears. You cleared it, though your voice remained husky, “Din… This…” You shook your head, no words being strong enough to relay to him how much you loved it, how perfect it was. 

Din was fiddling with his vambrace as he watched you, “Do you like it? I hope I got your measurements right… I had it commissioned a few weeks ago and it was only just finished. I… The design is a play on your tattoo.” He audibly swallowed, “If anything isn’t right, we can take it back and get it changed. Or if you don’t like it, you can have something completely new m-”

“Din, shush.” Gazing across the bow, you caressed the design with your fingertips, “It’s… beyond perfect. Truly. I couldn’t have designed it any better myself.” You lifted your eyes back to him, a swelling feeling in your chest, “This must have cost a fortune…” 

He shook his head a little, his shoulders relaxing and his hands stilling when he saw how much you truly adored it, “Cara told me that you were discussing your favourite weapons one day… You’d told her that as familiar as you were with knives, you missed your bow.” 

Oh, you did. You knew it wasn’t always the most suitable weapon – considering the number of different blasters and rifles that your pursuers used – but sometimes it had allowed you to escape before the fight had even begun. Perched high in a tree, an arrow whistling you the air in deadly silence and then it was over. 

And now you had one. 

An absolutely stunning one at that. 

A soft laugh of delight slipped from your chest and then you were grinning broadly, “Oooh, I can’t wait to use this. You think I’m lethal with a knife, you should see me with one of these.” You nocked one of the arrows, testing the resistance now it was loaded, and you sighted along it, “We have to go play, soon, I beg you.”

Din chuckled adoringly, fully relaxing at your excitement, “Of course...” He watched you quietly for a moment, leaning back against the cabinet. “In Mandalorian culture… giving weapons can sometimes symbolise – well, not all the time but within some households and clans – it can.. uh-“ He lifted a hand like he was going to scratch the back of his neck, another awkward habit that seemed so out of place. 

You looked over at him, carefully setting the arrow back in the quiver, “What can it mean?” You kept your voice light and casual, as if you didn’t notice his fumbling. 

Din cleared his throat, “It can sometimes mean a marriage proposal.” 

The quiver fell to the floor in a rattle of metal that broke through the air. 

He was playing you, right?

You stooped to the quiver, carefully scooping the arrows back in, “I – uh.. You mean-“

Din was watching you intently, “It doesn’t always mean it, but some couples present each other with a new weapon to signify their bond. And that they want to spend the rest of their days together. 

Blood pulsed through your ears, making your belly feel funny and your bones feel light. “I… I mean, I know a lot has happened between us, and-“

Din suddenly burst out laughing, lifting a hand to his chest like he could try to contain it, but it just kept coming. 

Rising back to your feet, you raised your eyebrows at him, confusion etched on your face at the sudden turn of his behaviour. 

The laughter poured from his lips like sunshine, stirring your chest out of its confusion and filling it with adoration. “Oh, you should have seen your face.” He tilted his helmet to you, trying to quell his laughter. 

You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest, “When we go and use these, remind me to put you in front of a tree.” 

Din tried to speak straight through his chuckles, “And why’s that?”

Walking toward him, you poked him in the chest, “So I can use you as target practice, you shiny asshole.” You tried not to laugh, to keep a straight face. The truth was, if you could have bottled his laughter and gotten drunk on it forever, you would have. It was the most beautiful sound you had ever heard, as rare and lovely as a shooting star. And you just knew that this man didn’t often laugh like this, so easily. 

His hand snaked around your wrist, gently pressing your palm flat to his chest as he contained his amusement, “I wanted to play with you… It is true, but I didn’t get them for that.” He tilted his head just slightly, “You’re a warrior, and… a goddess. So… you deserve the weapons to match.” 

So simple. Such easy words for him to speak, but the meaning and casual pride and care in his voice completely floored you. 

You still weren’t used to such compliments and showering’s of affection – you didn’t think you ever would be. 

The fact that he had complimented you more in your life than anyone else (save for your parents) had your eyes turning glass again, your throat closing a little as that realisation truly set in. 

This man believed in you, saw you, more than anyone. 

You gazed up at him, through the visor of his helmet and not for the first time, you had the truly selfish thought, that you wished he could take it off. 

So you could show him just how much he meant to you, show him how his words held you above water when you were drowning. 

You weren’t good with them, no better than he was really, but you just wished you could show him. He deserved it, to feel those same feelings in return, to be praised and adored for the brilliant man he was. 

Din tilted his head further, his thumb running over your knuckles, “What’s going through that magnificent brain of yours, cyar'ika? Tell me…” The soft, low tenor of his voice never failed to skitter over your bones like fire. 

You bit your lip, the words tumbling out before you could stop them, “I wish I could kiss you.”

Not even two seconds later, it crashed through your brain just how that sounded, how ungrateful and selfish it came across. Your eyes closed in disgust at yourself and you flushed in shame, “Maker, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry for how that sounded, please believe me, I didn’t-”  

Suddenly, Din moved. He leant down and rested the forehead of his helmet on yours. 

The metal was cool, the weight of it gently pressing against your skin, shutting you up with the unfamiliar gesture. 

Din lifted his other hand to your waist, resting his hand there lightly – respectfully. “Kov'nyn.”

You blinked a few times, “Kov… huh?” You guessed it was Mando’a, but you had no idea what it meant. 

His thumb lightly rubbed over your hip bone, sending tiny shockwaves through you, “Kov'nyn.” He used his other hand to gesture at the position you were in, “This is called a keldabe kiss. It can be used in battle, as a headbutt or something but it can also be a show of affection. Mandalorian’s don’t show each other their faces until marriage… so instead we do this. A keldabe kiss.”

You were quiet as you absorbed that, the soft sweetness of the gesture, your head tilted up to Din, and something in you told you he was gazing into your eyes. 

It was incredibly intimate too, despite the later of armour separating you. 

He couldn’t quite offer you the kiss you meant, but he could give you this. And… this was as good as showing each other the affection you intended. 

You didn’t know how long you stood there, his hand lightly on your waist, yours still on his chest but then you started to laugh at something. 

He tilted his head slightly against your forehead, “What now?” His voice was light though, curious as to what had tickled you this time. 

You grinned cheekily, tapping your fingertips over his chest. “Again with the marriage talk. Are you sure you don’t need to tell me something?”

Din laughed too, that heart-stopping, gorgeous laugh, filling the space with starlight and joy, “No. At least not yet, sweetheart.” 

~~~

~~

~

You gazed down at the comms unit. 

The code on the back of Rena’s card had been typed in and staring at you for the last twenty minutes. You were sitting cross-legged in your room, door firmly shut after your wash in the ‘fresher. 

Din was in there now; you could hear the echo of the water splashing down. 

You were only going to change clothes and go back to the cockpit, but when you’d taken them off, Rena’s card had fallen out and… here you were. 

Just call him. 

Your thumb hesitated over the call button, nerves whispering through your blood. 

Was this a good idea? To ask for help? 

There was still the matter of how he knew about you, and how he found you in the first place. 

Maybe this isn’t a good idea. 

Din would be furious, he doesn’t trust him. He thinks he’s a legend come to life.

True, Din would be so pissed.

But… this wasn’t Din’s decision to make. 

It was yours. 

Ever since your parents died, you had been running. From hunters, from the law but mostly... from yourself. 

You were being stalked and hunted for your powers. 

The very thing that you once adored and made you unique, and special, you now viewed as… a burden?

No... that wasn’t it. It was never a burden. 

Yes, it sometimes caused you more trouble than it was worth, and you did fear it but… you longed for it. 

With every fibre in your being, you wished you could utilise it. To once again make it a part of you and feel the purity of it. The energy that flowed in and around every single living thing, responding and allowing you to manipulate it. 

The little experiments you had started to conduct, testing to see if you could control even a small amount… they were making you crave it even more. Even though it terrified you and your nightmare had flashed back in your mind, you had managed to control it this afternoon with Grogu. 

Even if it was just a tiny ounce, it had listened to you – like you were one again. 

Rena had told you that there was nothing to fear from him. His sister had been gifted with the same abilities. 

Din would understand when you explained it to him… but you wanted to at least know more about how to control it. That way, you could tell him and… show him. Show him what you’d been hiding this whole time. 

Maybe it was time. 

Maybe it was time to stop being scared of it, of who you were. 

Maybe it was time to embrace it and become who you were meant to be. 

And so, you pressed the call button. 

Previous| Next

[imaginesmai]

Tom Holland-The Impossible (2)

Plot: Your relationship with Tom is on edge. Work, paparazzi and not seeing each other for months is making you tear apart from each other. Thankfully, he’s an amazing boyfriend and propose you what you thought it would be the perfect holidays; Thailandia. The hot sun, the beach, a cute hut and privacy to mend your relationship. Neither of you thought you would be witnesses of one of the greatest natural dissasters of history 

Previous parts:  (1)

Warnings: right now, none! Only fluff, there will be more though 

Soft and lazy kisses placed on your exposed neck woke you up, and you smiled with your eyes closed. Memories of last night filled your head; Tom between your legs, looking at you with those lusty brown eyes, with his hands gripping your thighs. His closed eyes and his mouth hanging open, as he moved on top of you. You were almost tempted to give in and turn around, recreating last night actions. But you had promised yourself you would enjoy the swimming pool that day, and you had already slept through the majority of the morning.

You moved slowly, and his hand that was on your belly moved with you. Opening your eyes, you enjoyed the sight in front of you. Tom stood in all his morning glory, messy hair and swollen eyes from sleep, his lips drawn up and a small smirk. In the base of his neck stood proudly the mark that you had left there last night. It was not often that you gave hickeys to each other, afraid of the media and the photos. Yet, you were alone with him, and you could almost do whatever you wanted.

“Morning” you groaned, growing used to the blinding lights. The curtains moved because of the soft breeze, and Tom pulled the blanket farther over the two of you. “What time is it?”

“Not too late” he answered, his hand warm on your hip. He eyed your tired face and the faint bruise of his fingers on your throat, and felt bad for the previous night. “I’m sorry if I-“

“Hey” you interrupted him, and cupped his cheek. “Don’t. You know you don’t get to say sorry for something we both want.”

He hummed, letting his head rest on the side of your neck and closed his eyes back. Tom had woken up a few minutes before you, the annoying sunlight hitting right on his left eye, and he got up annoyed. Then, he saw you laying on your side and facing him, lips parted open and one hand reaching for his arm. It was always like that, since you started sleeping together; you touching each other in your sleep.

And Tom had noticed that, since you decided to take that vacations, you always managed to be touching his hand, waist, fingers or even a piece of clothing. It made his heart clench, and he was willing to make everything up.

“Tom, get off!” you whined under him, pushing his shoulders back. He didn’t move an inch. “Come on, you’re heavy!”

“Are you calling me fat, love?”

“Yes!” you chuckled. “I need you to take your fat ass off me because I can’t breathe.”  

“You’re being rude, hurting my feelings” he complained.

“I don’t-“

You were shushed by his hand covering your mouth, and you laughed against it. Once more, you moved against him, and finally decided to lick his hand. Your tongue peeked out of your lips, and it took only a swift touch to have Tom kneeling on the other side of the bed with a disgusted face, looking down to his hand. As if he had been poisoned.

Tom gagged and wiped his hand furiously against the cover, making you laugh loudly. He had always been a little fussy about those kinds of things, and you couldn’t imagine the day your life depended on him. Tom was even fussy about his own puke, and you had had to clean it sometimes when he was really sick.

“Oh god” he looked at his hand with wide eyes. “Why would you do that! Now I have to cut it off!”

“Nah, you can’t do that” you said, your lips turned upwards. “I’ve licked you, you’re mine.”

“That’s the childish thing I’ve ever heard” he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Childish or not, you’re mine” you crawled towards him and sat on his side of the bed, your knees touching each other. “And, as that, I’m making you go to the pool with me”

Tom’s mouth fell open and he threw himself backwards, his body bouncing up and down on the comfortable cushion. You laughed and said something about sun screen; then, you disappeared in the bathroom and he closed his eyes.

He didn’t want to go to the pool. If it was up to him, you would spend the whole day in that hut, wrapped around each other in bed. But he wanted to make you happy, because he had been away for so long, that he wanted to spend all his time with your smiling face by his side.

With a last tired sigh, he got up from the bed and opened the bathroom door, closing it behind him. He might had to go to the swimming pool for you, but he knew he would make you waste a little more time in that bathroom.

Either way, you were running already late.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The red ball landed at your feet once again, making you look up from the book you were reading. A shirtless and sweaty Tom came running after it, his wild locks moving around. He was barefoot, ignoring your warnings about falling off and opening his head; he didn’t care, he was too happy for that.

Shortly after you had arrived, he had met two kids that had recognised him as spiderman. They had begged him for minutes to play with them, showing him their cool ball inspired in the character and dragging him by his hand. At first, he had been reluctant of letting you go, but seeing the secret hope on his eyes you had encouraged him. With a wide smile, he left with the boys between laughs and excited squeals. That was nearly two hours ago.

“Hey love” he greeted once he reached your hammock.

“Wow, I didn’t think you would remember me” you joked, closing your book with your finger in the page you were reading. “How is it going?”

“They are great” Tom laughed, bending down to pick the ball. “Thankfully over the fan phase, so now we can play without too many questions about being spiderman.”

“Are you letting them win? Or are they actually winning you?”

“I like to think it’s the first one”

Tom sat at your feet and crunched over, looking at you through squinted eyes. He was wearing the swimsuit you had bought him as a joke months ago, with the Captain America’s shield in the back. America’s ass, and damn how right you were.

You were silent for a moment, just looking at each other and smiling. You heard one of the kids calling for Tom, but he didn’t tear his eyes away from you. A sudden cold breeze made you curl yourself farther in the dress you were wearing, and Tom straightened up.

“Are you cold? Do you want to go?” the usual list of questions he asked you when he was worried started. “Do you want my towel? I can bring it. If I remember where I left it. Or we can go back to-“

“I’m okay” you interrupted him. Stretching your arm, you placed your hand on top of his, and he shut up. “But I need to wash all this chlorine and people’s urine off me before lunch, so maybe we could start thinking about going back.”

“Y/N, that’s disgusting” Tom scrunched his nose, his mouth turning into a disgusted pout. “Honestly, why did you have to say that? Now I want to peel my skin off.”

“You and I know people have peed on this swimming pool” you chuckled. “And probably one of those children has done it while-“

“Okay, that’s enough! Enough! I don’t want to hear more” Tom got up in a quick move and gripping the ball with both of his hands. “I’m returning this, we hit the shower and have lunch, alright?”

“I’ll wait here for your return, my knight”

“As if a sassy bitch like you could ever be a princess waiting for her knight”

You gasped at his words, bringing a hand to your chest. You didn’t really know when that routine started, only that when you two played UNO knives flew towards each other without caring about being in a relationship. You poked his tongue at him, puffing out your cheeks and blowing air at him. Tom laughed impressed, and raised a brow at you.

As quickly as you closed your eyes con emphasize your ‘anger’, Tom stepped in and pressed his lips against you, his hand locking behind your head. You let out a surprised yelp, that turned into a smirk when he teared apart.

“Jerk” you mumbled, yet the bright look in your eyes and loving sickly smile on your face could tell anyone that you didn’t mean it.

“Idiot”

“Most perfect human being in Earth”

“Wow, you’re getting better” Tom laughed. “Love you, don’t find a hot blonde bloke while I’m gone”

“If it takes you more than two seconds, I might”

Tom turned and ran towards the kids, who were looking at him with expectant faces. You crossed your arms in your front, and watched Tom talk to them. Their faces fell and one of them was almost close to tears, Tom frowning and not knowing what to do. If you weren’t there, he wouldn’t have mind spending his whole day with the nice kids, but you were waiting for him and honestly his hands itched from being away from you for so long.

The dream of having kids with him didn’t seem so far at the moment. Tom had always shown you how an excellent father he would be. Taking care of little kids in hospitals, being so nice with his family, and already having a baby with Tessa. He was young, you were young, and the moment wasn’t good. Someday, although, you knew you would have a little girl or boy with his wild curls and bright smile. And, more than a dream, it sounded as a plan.

Too busy looking at Tom, with your head propped on your arm and knees tucked in front of your chest, you didn’t notice the signs. He did.

The first one was the sudden silence in the beach. It wasn’t far away, only a few meters, and you could always hear people screaming and laughing there. But, suddenly, it was gone. He stopped himself midsentence, and tried to see what was going on there. Other people had noticed too; not the two kids, who were still begging him to stay. He frowned when his ears caught the first birds flying in the opposite direction, and a running dog passed by him. It was so fast that almost fell into the swimming pool, but managed to dodge it and disappear between the trees.

Secondly, the breeze. Tom had noticed that that morning was particularly cold, and the wind was horrible. Harsh and cold breeze hit his face, and the trees around him started to move with force. The ball fell from his hands and rolled a few inches back, almost falling into the water. One of the kids went for it, but Tom didn’t move. Finally he looked up.

It was nothing more than a second, but his whole body turned into full panic and fear, and he felt short of breath. He opened his mouth when the first screams were heard, and the palms closer to the shore fell down. Parents calling their kids, people screaming in fear. And he could only think about you.

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[ellana-ravenwood]

“Vacations are rare for the Waynes” - Batmom x Batfam

Here’s a little collection of short stories about the Batfamily going to the beach/being in vacation ! I kinda just had ideas for tiny little snippets rather than a story that was a long one and made sense...it’s bad. Hope you’ll like it : 

You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

How did the Wayne found time to go on vacation ?  

God bless Batwoman, Batgirl, Jim Gordon...And everyone who joined in helping the Batfamily over the years, because thanks to them, you, your husband, kids and beloved butler were FINALLY able to take some times off. 

A few years ago, leaving Gotham for vacations would have been a big no-no for Bruce, and you always understood, you really did. Hell, you had trouble leaving the Bat computer behind...But ever since he got new allies that weren’t direct family, things got easier. 

They all were able, since a long time now, to take at least one night off during the week and such. But actually full on holidays ? Oh that didn’t happen in...in...in forever ! 

The only holiday you went on with Bruce was without the kids, and it was for your Honeymoon. Three days. Three days of pure bliss (and lots of sex).

And now, the opportunity to be all together for A FULL WEEK came up ! 

It all started because Tim got injured pretty bad, but still wanted to go on patrol...and you lost your shit. You were always supportive of their nightly activities (though worried sick as well), and you were monitoring the bat computer almost every night, when you didn’t have “date night” with Bruce or “mother/son bonding time” with one of your boys ! 

You were really understanding, and you too wanted Gotham to be a safe place, having had the same kind of background than Bruce...But hell if you were going to let one of your babies go out in the streets while he was badly injured !

With your famous “Batmom Glare” and a stern voice, you told Tim : 

-You’re not going. You’re taking some vacation my boy, to relax and be fully charged again. In fact, we’re all taking a vacation ! 

...It kinda just happened. You were mad, they didn’t want to make you angry (you were scary when angry), and it was true that...All of them wanted well deserved time off. 

And it was decided. A week far away from the murkiness, grittiness, darkness that was Gotham, in the sunny Bahamas. Perfect. 

Of course, Bruce made sure that coming back to the city fast was possible, and also made sure to brief all of the Batpeople on anything that could happen but...He also really wanted to go. He wasn’t getting any younger and though he’d never admit it your little burst of anger was a blessing for him too. 

You all needed time away. Oh yes. And though you also made sure Gotham would be in safe hands (anyway, villains got pretty calm lately), you left without hesitation ! TO THE BAHAMAS !! 

The Airport :

You have no idea how you managed it. 

Everything was ready. Packed. On the go. And everyone was operational on time and, somehow along the way, after verifying everyone had everything they needed, after breaking a fight between Jason and Damian and convincing Dick that he didn’t need three luggages. After making sure everything was swell in the Batcave, and convincing Alfred to stop packing food and such...You ended up very late at the airport. 

You missed your plane. It wasn’t a big deal, in a few call Bruce got the Wayne Inc jet to come pick you guys up, but you were already a bit upset. 

It was ridiculous, you knew it, but traveling in a normal plane (even if in first class) was guarantying your anonymity when you’d arrive in the Bahamas. Arriving with the Jet where “WAYNE INC” was written across it in huge black letter on the white plain...well, it wouldn’t be so discreet anymore. 

You hoped it wouldn't ruin your vacation, that paparazzis wouldn’t harass you guys...But Bruce reassured you when he said he booked an entire beach resort just for you all. Of course he would. 

Going through security was more difficult that it should have been...Because of course Damian had knives in the pocket of his shorts. And of course he would try to fight the TSA agents trying to take it away, AND OF COURSE JASON WOULD ALMOST KNOCK THE MAN DOWN BECAUSE HOW DARE HE TOUCH HIS LITTLE BROTHER !! You guys almost all ended up at the police station until...The TSA agent recognize you and Bruce, asked for a picture with you guys, and just fanboy over you two. 

Needless to say, plenty of people took pictures of you guys walking through the airport to the VIP Lounge. 

So much for a discreet vacation. 

The fight to the death for the best room in the Villa : 

A magnificent villa. It wasn’t as big as Wayne Manor (good), but it was massive. Of course, your boys had to find a reason to fight and...

They wanted to fight to the death for the best room. Well, maybe not to death but this good old : “Last one standing gets the best room !” thing. 

They were bummed out that you wouldn’t let them. Of course you wouldn’t. 

You and Bruce took the best room, and your argument about it being the furthest away from all the other rooms so that they wouldn’t hear you two “doing it” won them over. Yeah. Ok. Their parents could take the best room. 

And to settle the rest, you made them play a mean game of...Rock paper scissor. When they all got their assigned room, you dared them to be grumpy about it...And of course, none of them uttered a word. And when Bruce took your hand, laying a loving kiss on it, saying something cheesy like : “You always got the best solutions my love” and started to slowly drag you behind him toward your bedroom to the two of you, peppering kisses down your neck and all...Oh they ran away to the beach. As fast as they could.

The Hammock :

On the wooden terrace outside, with a beautiful view of the ocean, there was a hammock, attached between two trees. 

It was probably Bruce’s favorite place to fall asleep and relax. 

Often, when you came back from the beach, having left without telling him because you didn’t want to wake him up (he had a lot of sleep to catch up), you would lay a small kiss on his nose or his forehead. 

That morning, as you were getting ready to go to the beach with your sons, right after breakfast, you went once again to kiss him but...He wasn’t asleep this time. Oh no. 

He grabbed you and dragged you down on top of him, kissing you passionately on the mouth, completely ignoring the gagging sounds coming from where his kids were and...Well. 

A hammock isn’t exactly the most stable of things. And of course you fell on the floor. As usual, he managed to be the first one to hit the ground, and shielded you from the small little shock. 

The laugh that took over your entire family was the freshest you all ever shared. 

The boat : 

It was a very nice boat. Very nice indeed. 

And you should have never listened to Damian when he said : “Can I drive ? I know how”. Never. Because he crashed it on the beach. 

But not just any beach, oh no. A beach where there was a restaurant. 

The horrified look on yours and Bruce’s faces would have been hilarious in any other situation, but Dick, Jason and Tim couldn’t laugh, trying to calm their heart because THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO DIE !! 

He crashed in a fucking restaurant. Salads and wine flew everywhere, covering you guys. And all he had to say was : 

-I said I knew how to drive, not how to stop. 

The sand :

It was notoriously known that you hated the sand. And it was notoriously known that neither your sons nor your husband could resist you much. Whenever you had to go to the beach, one of them would give you a piggy back ride to the water and back. 

And the worst thing was ? They did it with great pleasure. Because they knew that you really REALLY hated sand. Besides, Bruce loved the way you kissed his neck and jaw when he was holding you, Dick loved how you ruffled his hair, Jason loved how you’d annoy his brothers about how much taller than them he was, and how high up you felt on his back, you forbid Tim to even try to carry you as he was still injured, and Damian spent the entire trip trying to convince you “he could do it”. When you let him, he made twelve steps before dropping you in the sand. 

It was so cute, how he apologized, that you didn’t even get mad. Oh damn you loved those boys...

The diving board : 

They broke it. Of course they broke it. You told them they would break it. But were they listening to you ? Nooooo. 

When they were going one by one on it, it was all fine of course. 

But as soon as they started to try to jump more than one from it, you knew they were going to break it. And the worst thing in all of that ? Bruce was encouraging them, hell, he even went to jump with them and, as they were all on the fucking board...

Crrrrraaaack. 

You and Alfred face palmed so hard that you were pretty sure you both just settled a record. 

You had absolutely no remorse pulling roughly that massive splinter Bruce got in his thigh when the board shattered...Though after his “Tjaaaaah that hurt !” that was very much unlike him (after all, you fixed injuries that were way worst than that on him), you gave him a look signifying that you would make it all feel better tonight, and he visibly gulped. 

The next day, his sons and Alfred tried their hardest to ignore the love bites that littered his thighs. 

When someone hit on Batmom : 

It happened really fast. 

You were waiting for Bruce and the boys to come back with ice creams when you got accosted by three men. Sure they were pretty good looking, but not as half handsome as they thought they were. 

Ew. Exactly the kind of men you hated, who thought they were irresistible. They started to hit on you shamelessly, and you were about to humiliate them with your sarcasms and wits when something better arrived...

Your husband and sons. 

Bruce was towering above them, being a gigantic man, and with a harsh voice just said : 

-Is there a problem here ?

They slowly backed away, not even realizing they were doing it, and said that of course not, everything was good, they were just discussing with the lady. 

-The lady is my wife. 

Damn. Even the little kid looked at them as if he was about to kill them...those dudes were scary. And a pretty girl, even as pretty as you, was just not worth it ! They cowered away, not looking back even once. 

Bruce gave you a look asking if you were ok, and you raised your eyebrows. As if annoying men never hit on you before. The reminiscence that some men thought you were highly attractive displeased your husband, and you knew that once you’d got in your shared bedroom, just the two of you, you’d be in for a treat. You winked at him and your sons rolled their eyes. 

You were about to thank them when... : 

-I was about to shove my ice cream up their...

-JASON ! 

-Oh hum, sorry mom. 

“GO AWAY I WANT TO READ !” : 

You were comfortably installed on a beach chair, reading an amazing book, when Bruce arrived. 

He went to swim a bit on his own, to “clear his mind”, and good, because you wanted to read right now. You guys all got so busy so far that you didn’t had time to read at all, and that wasn’t going to work. 

He was wet and was acting as if he was going to lay next to you...putting your feet on his abs, not looking up from your book, you pushed him away and said : 

-Broosh, I’m reading right now. 

He ignored you and grabbed your foot in one hand, grabbing the other one too as you were about to push him with this one and just landed on you, his head on your stomach, his body in between your legs. 

You sighed, and tried to get away from his grasp, but he wouldn’t have it. 

Usually, you didn’t mind when he was getting clingy, but hell, you were trying to read ! How dare he interrupt your reading ! Especially since his open mouthed kisses on your stomach were a bit...distracting. You suddenly understood why he privatized an entire resort...But no. Not now. 

With a frown, you got hold of his chin and made him look up to you : 

-I. Am. Reading. 

Oh. You weren’t kidding. You were totally not in the mood. He groaned a bit, but didn’t insist much. He didn’t move though, laying his head back on your stomach, and when you didn’t protest, he just stayed there and fell asleep...

Your hands caressing his hair and back lovingly is what woke him up. 

Your book was on a table on the side, and the look in your eyes...Well alright then. Reading time was over, and you were ready to take care of him. And him of you. 

You giggled like a teenage girl when he got on his knees and dragged you with him to pick you up bridal style, and rushed back to your shared bedroom where he was sure no one would snap naked pictures of the both of you...It��wouldn’t be of the best taste, to be in the people magazines, butt naked, when you two would come home. 

The muscle flexing contest : 

The villa you rented (and were more and more thinking to buy) wasn’t far from a small town where a lot of other vacationers where. One night, you all went there to see what was up and...Oh my god you almost died of embarrassment. 

There was a “muscle flexing contest” that was suppose to be a joke...but your sons took it very seriously. They flexed all their muscles, and though it was a bit embarrassing how much into this they all were, you couldn’t help but smile at them. Especially at your two oldest sons that kept winking at girls and such. 

Jason was about to win when his father stood on the stage, and of course, everyone voted for him. 

You glared at more than one woman (and men) that were eating your Bruce with their eyes, and when he got down with a RIDICULOUS trophy in the form of a bodybuilder, the kiss you gave him made everyone envious. Of both him and you. Because maybe you were a bit jealous, but it’s only because you didn’t notice all those men (and women) staring at you because of the natural aura that surrounded you, that just made you so damn attractive. 

You and Bruce, suddenly unaware of your surroundings, didn’t realize all the envious stare you both got, because it really seemed, even to people who didn't know you, that you were both so much in love. 

You didn’t hear either, too focused on each others, the laughs of people around when your sons followed after you two making gagging sounds and other face as if they were about to vomit. 

The cute teenage girls : 

Oh more than one heart was broken that week. 

Dick did it, but not on purpose. He was such a nice young man that he was treating every girl he met very nicely, and they all thought he meant more...but then, whenever he said he actually had a girlfriend back home. Oh broken hearts. 

Jason found a girlfriend. She was from the Bahamas and it tore your heart apart a bit when they had to say goodbye. They exchanged their numbers, and you knew that if that was actually genuine true first love, then a long distance relationship would work. And oh damn Jason was just so cute being all awkward and nervous. He reminded you of Bruce when you first met him. It was funny really, because they were both quite intimidating and such and yet...Yet they had a heart of gold and were your personal little teddy bears.

Tim was a player. Oh my god hat boy surprised you ! He took advantage of his injuries to get to talk to girls and WOW. And everyone thought he was just a nerdy kid uh ? Clearly, they were wrong. You almost scolded him, because you didn’t not like womanizer but you quickly realized that he wasn’t actually doing any harm, and you knew he would go back to being your lovely geeky and awkward boy addicted to coffee when you’d all get home. Let him have his harmless fun, as long as it was just little kisses (and seeing how his face turned red every time he pecked a girl, it was clearly just little kisses...how cute).

Damian blushed like crazy when a cute girl his age talked to him, and he ran away. The girl got very confused, and Damian came to find shelter in your arm. Oh, he just wasn’t ready yet to talk to cute girls...The ordinary so sure Damian Wayne was scared of that. But hey, his mommy’s embrace was quite reassuring and he would kill anyone mocking him right now. 

Dick :

Dick had the time of his life. 

He surfed, he swam, he did parkour with some of the local kids, teaching them some moves, he ate amazing food, he spend time with his brothers, he drove you and Bruce crazy...He had the time of his life. It was the first time since he was nine and you took him to Disneyland that he got vacations. 

it was so nice to let all his worries, all his fear for the future behind, even for just a little short week. The only thing that was missing for everything to be perfect, was if his girlfriend Lydia was here (wink wink you know who you are). But she was away at her dad’s and he understood she needed some time. 

Tim : 

Tim’s favorite thing about the trip was that he got to spend some quality times with his entire family. 

Not just a movie night, and not just with one of his brothers, one of his parents or something...No. All together. At the same place at the same time. 

The second thing was that for the first time in a very very long time...He got full night sleeps. He had a full 9 hours of sleep more than once. He didn’t drink one cup of coffee of the entire trip, and when you gave him a little pins telling him that it was to celebrate his first week off coffee (as alcoholic or drug addict would have little coins to prove they were sober for 1, 2 etc etc years), he burst out in laughter like he never did before. 

And the way you were unable to not wrap your arms around him and squeeze him against your heart because of this filled him with happiness. 

Damian : 

Damian found that the proximity of the ocean, and the fact that his family was available whenever he wanted...turned him into the sweetest boy ever. 

He wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing, but when Dick stole his ice cream as a joke, he didn’t try to kill him so...That was something. 

He found that this place, and the fact that he was with all of you, made him very emotional. He wanted to be with you all, and not alone as usual (just like you, he was quite introverted). And for the first time, he wasn’t ashamed to ask for cuddles, for kisses, and just genuinely voice his enjoyment of being there, with all of you. He missed his animals though, and you had to console him very late at night once, because he wanted his batcow...Your hugs and kisses made all the little blue feelings he felt go away. 

Jason :

Jason hasn’t had such a great week since he came back to life. 

To his taste, it wasn’t long enough. He wished he had more time, because those short seven little days, he got closer to his brothers and his father than ever before. 

You ? Well you two always been close, even in his darkest moment. You’ve always been his beloved mother. But the relationship he had with his brothers and dad wasn’t always...ideal. 

During those seven days though, it was perfect. Not one fight. He fished with Bruce, just the two of them, talking talking and talking. He taught Damian how to bodysurf. Tim and him made the best homemade fireworks ever. And with Dick, they just spend their time chilling at the beach, and talking about anything that came to their mind (including stupid things like : “What really are platypuses ?”).

Bruce : 

Bruce felt everything his children felt and more.

He was happy to be far from his obligations, to be with his family, to enjoy their presence without any worries tainting everything. 

For the first time since this fateful night when his parents got murdered...he was truly free of every negative feelings. You usually had his effect on him, but even you couldn’t erase everything, and though he loved you more than anything, so much it hurt and all of that, though he would die for your well being...sometimes, he couldn’t kick the sadness away, and even you couldn’t change that. He had learn to live with this dark spot on his heart at all time...and yet...here...here, it went away. 

Of course, most of the time when he was with you, the dark spot on his heart was microscopic but it was still there, lingering , ready to come back as soon as you were gone. 

But here, on this island, with all the people he loved...he was free.

Everything went away, and only happiness and love remained. 

Alfred : 

You didn’t find much of Alfred. Sure he was around for some family time. He was there when you guys watched movies before bed. He was there for lunches and dinners but...other than that, he was no where to be seen. 

You understood, really. His vacations were to know you guys were all safe (as long as you decided not to do anything stupid...like letting Damian drive a boat ever again), and that he could let go. 

And so he spend a week on his own, not worrying one bit for the first time in years. 

The way home :

The way home was quiet and full of nostalgia already. 

You were glad to come home but...The memories you made during this week were just so incredible.

Bruce made a mental note to try and find a way to get time off more often. And as he holds your sleeping form in his arms on the plane trip home, as you cuddle close to him and as he looks upon his comatose sons (very tired...jet lagged) and half-asleep butler, he cannot help but smile and be ridiculously happy. 

Yes. He would make sure that you would all have time off from time to time. Next time, he’d take you guys to Europe or something...

___________________________

Hope you liked it. It was just a really silly idea I got all of a sudden, and I wrote it in 11 minutes (yes, I’m a looser, I counted...). Ahem. Anyway. Thanks for reading :-). 

[draqcnheartstrinq]

Gift Sent From Down Below (part 5)

Summery: What would happen if you, a girl, gets placed in the maze a few months before Thomas and Teresa?

(Pairing: eventually Newt x Reader) Word count: 1.155

Part 1 Part 4 Part 6

You woke up to a hand lightly pushing against your shoulder. It were gentle pushes but it was still enough to get you out of your sleep. You grabbed the hand in yours to show the person you were awake. “Get up, (Y/N), I need to show you something.” From that sentence you knew who was standing beside you. Newt, he was the only guy that knew your name yet. After opening your eyes you saw, indeed, the blonde British boy standing next to the bed. “Come on, quick, before the others wake up”, he ushered. “Fine, fine, give me a second”, you huffed. It felt like you had only been sleeping for about three hours before you got woken up. It was your first night after all and many questions were pooling inside your head, all still unanswered.

“How did you even get up the stairs alone with that injury?” “It’s funny how concerned you are over me, love. But don’t worry, Alby helped me up the stairs and then went back to his hammock.” A big smile was visible on his face. You stood up from your bed and immediately took Newt’s arm to lay it over your shoulders, smiled at him and started your way outside. “What do you want to show me?” “You’ll see”, he simply said and guided you towards the North Door. It was still pretty dark outside, shadows glooming over the glade and dew scattered on the grass beneath your feet. All the other boys were still laying in their hammocks or spread out blankets on the ground, peacefully sleeping the morning away. You wished you could be doing the same right now. But no, Newt just had to wake you up, didn’t he? You giggled at your own thoughts and the blonde boy at your side gave you a confused look. Not giving him an explanation to your behaviour, he just started focusing on his limping again and led you further towards the walls. Vines were hanging all over them, making it look like the big structure had been standing here for centuries. Arriving at the left side of the North Door, Newt put his hands through the vines and pushed them aside leaning with both hands against the wall for support. A little dusty window came into sight and the curiosity in you took over. You peeked through the glass and saw even more big walls on the other side but these seemed to form a few corridors.

“A maze?”, you asked Newt looking over to his face next to yours. “Yeah, but be patient, there’s more.” His usual comforting expression was nowhere to be found on his features. A frown was plastered on his face instead and he looked more serious than ever. After about thirty seconds something big came into view. When you started squinting your eyes, you could see a furry but slimy monster like creature walking through the maze. Knives and all sorts of sharp objects were sticking out if its body. You were no longer curious, oh no, you were petrified, scared, on the verge of screaming. But then it abruptly stopped moving in the middle of the passageway in front of the window, and you just knew it had seen you. It looked like the monster was waiting for its pray to make a first move, but you didn’t. In less than a blink of an eye it began running or rolling, or whatever it was doing, towards the window and after a mere 10 seconds it ran right into the wall the window was placed in. A big thud was heard from the other side and the glass shuddered from the impact. You jumped backwards, scared that it would be able to get to you, with a heart wrenching look in your eyes. You lost balance and fell flat on your back, right at that moment a horrible sounding screech came from the monster on the other side of the wall . Pushing yourself up again with your elbows on your side, you slowly crawled away until Newt spoke. “Oh no, (Y/N)” he tried to sound compassionate but had to suppress a laugh coming out of his mouth. When he saw the terrified look in your eyes though, he really started worrying. Whilst jumping towards you on his good leg he comfortingly told you: “Don’t worry, you’re safe as long as you stay in The Glade.” He crouched down now, laying a hand on your left arm. “You’re safe here with us.” Silence fell over you two. Newt began feeling guilty of showing you this, but he knew he had to. To keep you out of the maze, to keep you safe. “So… That’s the-the reason you guys have been in h-here for so long?” you stuttered, it wasn’t possible to imagine how horrible it must be to live in a place like this for that amount of time. A place where those monsters would chew at your sanity for probably the rest of your life. “They’re called ‘Grievers’ and we haven’t found a way out of the maze yet but the runners aren’t giving up. We’ll get out of here, I promise. One day…” You’re eyes got bigger at the realisation of his sentence, these were the same words as the person in your memory from last night had spoken. You shook your head, this was no time to think about your own problems.

When breakfast came you were thinking about sitting on your own, going over all the things you had seen this morning, but then two guys waved you over to come sit with them. They introduced themselves as Jeff and Clint, the two Med-jacks of The Glade. You told them your name as well and not long after your introductions Alby, Newt and Ben came sitting next to your little trio. “Who is that Asian dude that came talking to you yesterday, Alby?” you asked after a while. “That’s Minho, the keeper of the runners”, Clint answered instead of Alby. “Aaah, the infamous words inventor” you nodded in understanding and looked at Newt who had told you about the weird language the Gladers use. “I haven’t had the chance to get to know him yet, he was gone before I realised he was even awake.” “He has a tight schedule as a runner” Ben intervened whilst taking a bite of his sandwich. You thought about Minho running through the maze with those big monsters they called ‘Grievers’. He must be very brave, you thought, to go in there with those things. Very brave, or very stupid.

“What’s on your mind, Greenie?” Ben asked. “It’s (Y/N)”, Newt, Jeff and Clint said in unison. They looked at each other and laughed at their similar responses. “Everything,” you quietly answered to Ben’s question whilst staring, through a window, at the big stone walls, “everything is on my mind.”

[perfectlyrose]

Burning Gold (5/?)

Summary: Rose felt trapped in her life in a port town and longed to be on the open sea. She takes the chance of a lifetime and sets out on her own. Life at sea holds many surprises for her: piracy, friendships, and maybe even love. (Nine/Rose Pirate AU) Rating: All Ages // Word Count: 2676 AN:  hello i have returned to this fic after a six month absence! have some more pirates! ALSO, a reminder that this will be Nine/Rose, I promise. We're getting there. It’s end-game. but this is a Rose-centric fic and also Rose is bi in this. Also on: Tumblr // AO3 // TSP // FF

Chapter 5: Camaraderie: In which Rose makes friends, deals with a crush, and starts a fight.

"Come on, Luce. You said we were going to practice today," Rose wheedled, bouncing on her toes in front of Lucie's hammock. The other blonde was laying there with her arm over her eyes, trying her hardest to ignore her friend.

"I'm pretty sure I'm still sore from practicing with you a week ago. See if Danny wants to, I know he wanted to sharpen his knife skills."

Rose rolled her eyes. "That's not much practice for me, though."

"Not my problem. My problem is I haven't gotten a proper amount of sleep in a week and I'm working on fixing that. Go find someone else to threaten to cut into ribbons or something," Lucie said.

Rose sighed and walked off, fingers dancing along the hilt of one of the knives she kept at her hip. It had been two months since she'd joined the crew of The Red Lady and she felt like she had found another home. She was always sore and tired and sunburned but she was happy.

Rose had made friends with the rest of the crew quickly enough, especially once they knew that she wasn't going to shirk her part of the work and learned that she always had a smile for anyone.

Mels had been one of the last ones Rose won over but after they were back to back on a merchant ship, Mels's sword flashing in the sun in tandem with Rose's knives as they had subdued some sailors, she'd warmed up to her. Being good with weapons was much apparently much higher on the first mate's list of prerequisites to friendship than being good at listening.

Rose climbed the ladder that led to the top deck. She'd been down in the bowels of the ship all day taking inventory of their supplies before they made port in the next few days and she was ready to feel the sun on her face.

She blinked against the bright light reflecting off the water and looked around to see who was above deck. Amy was up on the quarterdeck, having a conversation with Sally and Bill was aloft, moving surefootedly among the riggings, checking knots and ropes. There were a few others attending to various work around the deck but none who looked at liberty to fight with Rose.

"You look bored, Tyler."

Rose jumped and spun around. Mels was leaning against the ship's railing with a glint in her eye that Rose had quickly learned meant she was looking for trouble.

"Might be." She cocked her head to one side, considering. She put her hand back on the hilt of her knife. "Was looking for someone to practice with. You game?"

Mels grinned. "Only if I can use my sword."

"Your sword versus my knives?"

"Deal."

If Amy had been looking, she would have seen the twin grins on the faces of her first mate and crewmember and known that there was about to be trouble. There was no way for there not to be with the two of them so eager to pull their blades.

Mels and Rose moved to the empty space in the middle of the deck that was often used as a practice ground on days when the sailing was smooth and the work light. The metallic sound of The metallic hiss of Mels's sword clearing its sheath made Rose's blood hum. She quickly unsheathed two knives and settled into a ready stance.

Mels flashed a grin, wild and bright and then her sword was swinging through the air. It came down on Rose's crossed knives with the ringing clash of steel on steel.

Rose's grin matched her opponent's. Not waiting for her to make another move, Rose twisted out from under Mels's sword, slashing outward with her right hand as she did.

Mels leaned back just as the tip of Rose's knife nipped her shirt.

"Quick one, aren't you?" She asked, before repaying the swipe with one aimed at Rose's knees.

Rose didn't answer, just danced out of the way and made a move with her left hand. Mels parried it and swung her sword in the opposite direction, arcing towards Rose's side.

The clash of blades drew the attention of their crewmates and before long there was a small crowd watching from near the railings as Mels and Rose traded blows, dancing around each other and looking for an opening.

A good portion of them had practiced with Rose over the past two months and had a healthy respect for her skill with knives that had only improved since she came aboard. Gwyneth had been the one to teach her how to fight with a knife in each hand but Rose could best her in every bout now.

Mels was almost legendary with her sword. The only one who could occasionally beat her was the captain and they didn’t practice together often. It was rare that anyone on board took on Mels so it was no surprise that this fight drew attention.

Amy finally looked over to see who was practicing when the shouts of her crew grew louder and cursed quietly when she saw who was fighting.. Her eyes went wide as she watched Mels sweep her blade towards Rose’s arm, only for Rose to block her with her own blade. Amy winced, knowing first hand how jarring it was to block a swing that hard.

“Captain?” Sally asked, unsure if the curse was directed at her or not.

“Those two are going to hurt somebody. Probably themselves,” she said, gesturing at the fight below them on the main deck. “I’m going to go stop them.”

Sally pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, silently wishing Amy luck as the captain strode towards the stairs down to the main deck.

Rose and Mels didn’t even notice the crowd around them nor did they notice their captain shouldering her way through it until she was just out of reach of their blades.

Amy let out a shrill whistle that made both combatants freeze.

“Having fun?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

“Yes,” Mels replied instantly, eyes sparkling.

Amy rolled her eyes. “Well, if you’re done flirting, I’m sure I can find something for you both to do that doesn’t involve potentially injuring each other.”

“I wasn’t flirting,” Rose protested as she sheathed her knives.

Amy gave her skeptical look and then nodded at Mels. “She was.”

Mels just smiled the same smile she had while they were fighting, all fire and no apology.

Rose bit her lip and looked away, blush staining her already pink cheeks.

Mels pushed on her shoulder. “Next time, I’m teaching you how to use a sword.”

That drew a full-fledged grin out of Rose. “Deal.”

Amy sighed dramatically and Mels turned and slung an arm around the captain’s shoulders. “Alright Cap, what do you need me for?” she asked. As they walked off, Amy talking now, Mels looked back over her shoulder to wink at Rose.

Bill bumped Rose’s hip, having come down from the rigging during the fight. “That was wicked,” she said, eyes on the retreating form of Mels. “I’d die if she flirted with me.”

Rose hipchecked her back. “That’s because you’d be too busy waxing poetic about her eyes to pay attention to the sword heading at your side.”

Bill just grinned. “That’s true,” she admitted. “What a way to go, though.”

Rose laughed and tugged on Bill’s arm. “Come on, I’m hungry and Wilf promised to save me something in the galley.”

“You just charm everyone, don’t you?” Bill said, following Rose to the ladder.

Rose looked back at her and fluttered her eyelashes. “It’s a natural born talent, darling,” she said in an exaggerated posh accent.

They were both giggling as they headed towards the galley.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A month more at sea saw The Red Lady in a new port. Rose posted another letter to her mum with some of her share of the money their ship had gained in the last few weeks. She posted another one to Clara, telling her that she was expecting to be back in Leadworth in another month or so and that she hoped she was doing well.

With the rest of the money, Rose stocked up on extra food and clothing and then went out to a tavern with Bill and Lucie. Three months together as crewmates and partners in battle had turned them into fast friends, thick as the thieves that they were.

They were well into their second or third ales when Lucie smacked Rose on the arm, startling her. “If you don’t stop staring at our captain across the bar, someone besides us is going to notice,” she said.

“I wasn’t!”

“You so were,” Bill said. “Not that I blame you. She is one hell of a woman.”

Bill’s eyes drifted over to Amy as well and Lucie reached across the table to smack the top of her head.

“You two are hopeless,” Lucie declared. “Are either one of you going to be any help in finding me a man to spend shore leave with?”

“You’re on your own there, mate,” Bill said with a snort.

Rose raised an eyebrow and nodded to Lucie’s left. “Tall, dark, and handsome at the bar has been looking this way for a few minutes. Pretty sure he’s got his eye on you.”

Lucie turned and gave the man her best flirtatious smile. When he smiled back Lucie looked at Rose and Bill again. “Thanks, Rose. I’ll be back on the ship day after tomorrow. Don’t come looking for me before then.”

She drained the rest of her ale, adjusted her tits in the dress she always wore on shore leave and then sauntered over to the man at the bar.

Bill shook her head and smiled as Lucie essentially introduced herself with a kiss and then turned back to Rose. “I don’t suppose you can find me a girl in this tavern? Work your magic?”

“What magic?”

“Oh come on, you just set Lucie up with someone in five seconds flat! That definitely counts as some sort of magic.”

Rose laughed and looked around the tavern. Her eyes finally settled on a petite brunette in the front corner who almost reminded her of Clara. “Back in the corner, brunette in the yellow dress. She’s looked over at you multiple times. Stops short of staring but keeps looking back. Might have a shot with her.”

Bill smiled over at the girl and then grinned when the brunette blushed and looked away. “Cheers,” she said, turning back to Rose and clinking their glasses together. “Told you you were working magic.”

“Yeah, yeah, go get your girl,” Rose said.

“What about you? You going to find someone tonight?”

Rose shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“Well, have fun. Be safe,” Bill said.

“You too!”

Rose watched until her friend was sitting with the brunette and talking before turning her attention back to her drink. She really had no intention of finding somebody tonight but she also didn’t want her friends to worry about her. Her fingers subconsciously went to rub the rose brooch that used to adorn her coat before she remembered once again that it was lost, left in Leadworth somewhere.

She slowly sipped her beer and trying not to let her eyes slip back over to where Amy was holding court in the back corner of the tavern, Mels by her side as they met with potential new crew members. Rose knew it was a fruitless crush but that didn’t make it any easier to ignore. Amy was gorgeous and smart and ruthless and practically one with the sea and Rose really couldn’t help it.

She certainly wasn’t going to do anything about it though. Amy was her captain and her friend and so unbelievably off limits. Rose glanced over to the corner one more time and saw Amy’s brow furrow as she talked to someone Rose couldn’t quite make out.

Amy looked up and made eye contact with Rose, waving her over. She left her half-finished ale on the table and headed over to the captain’s table.

“Rose, this is Tommy and he’ll be joining the crew.” Amy said once Rose was at the table. “Would you mind taking him back to the ship and showing him where he can bunk? I know it’s the first night of shore leave but I’d really appreciate it.”

“Sure thing, Captain. I don’t have plans for the night anyways.”

Amy smiled at her and Rose’s heart gave a traitorous thump. Maybe she really should look into finding someone on one of these shore leaves.

“Come on then, Tommy, I’ll show you where we’re docked.” Rose said. She looked at the man, a boy really. He couldn’t be more than sixteen but he had a determined look in his eye that Rose recognized.

“You from around here?” Rose asked. They were only halfway to the ship and neither of them had said a word up to this point.

“Guess so,” he said with a shrug.

“You know, I ran away too,” Rose said. “Was on my own for a bit before I joined Captain Pond’s crew.”

“How do you know I ran away?” Tommy asked, sounding almost scared.

“Look in your eye,” she answered with a shrug. “And the fact that Amy is having you stay the night onboard. She only does that if someone doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Could’ve found somewhere,” he mumbled.

Rose bumped his shoulder. “No need. You’re part of the family now, Tommy lad. We take care of each other.”

“You won’t tell anyone else I ran away, will you?”

“I won’t breathe a word of it,” she promised.

The silence was of an easier variety for the rest of the walk. When she stopped in front of The Red Lady, she looked over at Tommy and smiled at the awe on his face.

“Come on then, Tommy. Up we go.” She waved hello to Jamie who was guarding the ship tonight and herded Tommy up the gangplank.

“A tour won’t do you much good in the dark so let’s just get you to the men’s quarters and then I should be around to give you a proper tour tomorrow, if you’d like,” Rose said.

“That’d be good,” he said. “I don’t really know much about sailing.”

Rose reached over and tousled his hair, startling a smile out of him. “We’ll find something for you to do while we train you up, don’t you worry. Now, let’s get you settled.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

John absently rubbed his thumb over the rose shaped brooch in his pocket as he wandered through town. It hadn’t seemed right to toss something that was obviously cherished by someone, even if he didn’t know whose it was, so he had just kept it. He didn’t know what it was about the little pin, but having it seemed to ground him in some way.

This was his fifth stop in as many weeks and there was still no sign of the ship he was looking for, the one he used to be captain of. The little ship he had was fine and dandy but he missed having a crew or being a part of a crew, missed having someone around to pull him out of his own head and see the sights with.

He didn’t even know if the ship was still around but he had nothing better to do at the moment other than look for it. He’d all but given up on finding The Red Lady. She always seemed to be one step ahead of him so he’d stopped chasing her.

For now, John was content. He had no one to answer to but himself and the winds and tides and that was enough for now. He dropped the envelope of money he’d taken off a drunk nobleman last week into the mailbox of the local orphanage and turned to head back to his ship, his leather-coated silhouette fading into the shadows.

[180abroad]

Day 69: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

The number-one sight that I wanted to visit in Portsmouth was the Historic Naval Dockyard--home to a spectacular collection of British warships dating from the Napoleonic wars through World War I. (There's also a medieval warship from the Tudor period, but it is in a separate museum that requires its own, very expensive, ticket.)

I’ve been fascinated by naval history since watching the movie Master and Commander and reading the fantastic novel series by Patrick O’Brian that inspired it. So this was probably the most kid-in-a-candy-shop that Jessica had seen me be during the whole trip so far. She very kindly indulged my technical explanations and corrections--like how we were seeing ships, not boats.

We started our visit with the HMS Warrior--a Victorian-era ship and one of the first ironclads ever built. We got to go aboard and see almost everything inside.

By the late 1800s, explosive cannon shells had rendered wooden ships obsolete. An arms race between Britain and France resulted in the rapid development of iron-armored and iron-hulled ships that could withstand the more destructive naval weapons of the day. Launched in 1860, the Warrior’s armor was utterly impenetrable by any ship of its time--enemy vessels would have no choice but to flee if they met in battle. It was built to discourage an attack from French emperor Napoleon III, and it worked. The Warrior never had to fire a single shot in anger.

But progress didn’t stop with the Warrior, and within ten years it was already obsolete. Newer cannons were now able to pierce its armor, and its awkward sail-and-steam-engine combo design had been superseded by improved engine-only ships. It was decommissioned and relegated to one ignoble task after another, taking on such glamorous names as Vernon III and Oil Fuel Hulk C77.

But these dirty jobs proved to be the Warrior’s salvation. While most other ironclad ships were eventually scrapped or scuttled, Warrior survived long enough to become a valuable antique. And after an extensive restoration project in the 1980s, it was unveiled in the Naval Dockyard as a permanent historical exhibit.

The Warrior is a fascinating example of technological transition. It is a fully rigged three-masted frigate--and also a steamship. It has a modern-looking metal hull, but instead of turrets, it has an old-fashioned gun deck lined with cannons.

And instead of a quarterdeck, it has a bridge--literally. Officers would stand on bridges spanning over the width of the top deck, where they could observe and give orders more effectively on such a large ship.

Being more familiar with the Napoleonic-era ships from two generations earlier, I found it cool to see the mix of things I was familiar with and the things that were different. Breech-loading and rifled cannons, for one, were a mainstay of the Victorian fleet but unknown in Nelson’s time.

It was also amusing to see how the officers insisted on living and dining like gentlemen, no matter how out of place such trappings are aboard a cramped warship.

Next, we saw the centerpiece of the Dockyard--the HMS Victory.

The Victory was Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship during the Battle of Trafalgar, a spectacular British victory that broke the back of Napoleon’s fleet--but at the cost of Nelson’s life.

The tour starts on the quarterdeck, where Nelson and most of his officers were killed by enemy snipers during the battle. A brass plaque marks the exact spot on the deck where he was hit.

The tour included a clever audioguide that you point and shoot at little target boxes to activate different chapters of the guide. It takes you both geographically through the ship and chronologically through the Battle of Trafalgar. We started with the quarterdeck, poop deck, and captain’s cabins, where we heard about their functions as well as the weeks leading up to the battle.

From the poop deck, we we were able to catch a glimpse of the current Royal Navy flagship--the newly commissioned aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

We made our way down the steep stairways through the ship’s three gun decks. As we descended, the guns got bigger, the ceilings got lower, and the battle loomed nearer. On the lowest and darkest gun deck, the battle roared out in epic, brutal fashion.

On this deck, there is a line of cannons demonstrating each stage of loading and firiring them.

On the upper gun deck, we also saw Lord Nelson’s cabin. As an admiral, Nelson commanded his fleet, but he wasn’t the captain any one ship, not even the Victory. So, he had his own Admiral’s Cabin below-decks. Unlike everyone else, Nelson insisted on sleeping in a bed rather than a hammock. It meant a lot of seasickness and bad nights of sleep, but it also allowed the fiercely independent Nelson to get himself in and out of bed despite missing one arm.

Descending past the third gun deck, we were now under the water line. It was dark, hot, and the ceiling was less than five feet high. This is where the injured were brought to be healed or die. (Those who died instantly above-decks were simply thrown overboard as the battle raged.)

A member of the museum staff was sitting at a table laid with period-appropriate surgeon’s gear for performing amputations. The knives and saws were appropriately bloody, and there was even a prop amputated foot in a tin bucket nearby.

We continued on, seeing the spot where Lord Nelson died after several painful hours. As some consolation for his pain, he lived long enough to hear of his great victory before he passed. The spot where he lay is now marked with a simple lantern on the floor and a laurel garland embellishment on the bulkhead.

Tour ended with a walk through the ship’s hold and the magazine, where the ship’s gunpowder was stored. We saw how lanterns in the magazine were kept in a sealed glass chamber to prevent fire, and the only metal allowed to be used in the magazine was copper, since copper doesn’t spark. They even had to take special risks to rat-proof the magazine to prevent rats from trailing gunpowder outside where it might be ignited unintentionally.

Seeing the Victory was every bit as incredible as I had hoped. Not only is it from the Napoleonic era covered in the Master and Commander books, it is one of the most important ships in all of naval history. As Rick Steves puts it, the Victory isn’t a museum; it’s a cathedral. Needless to say, it didn’t need to pull any fancy stunts to avoid the scrap heap. It was never even decommissioned, making it the oldest officially active warship in the world.

The last ship we visited was the HMS M.33--a World War I monitor-style gunship. There’s not much to see in this small ship, but it is interesting for its historical significance. It is the only still-surviving ship from the disastrous Gallipoli invasion, where nearly two hundred thousand British and French troops were killed or injured in battle--and tens of thousands more fell sick and needed to be evacuated.

Amidst this chaos, the M.33 was one beacon of hope. It never suffered serious damage or a single casualty, earning it the reputation of being a lucky ship.

On board, we got to see a short movie covering the Gallipoli campaign and M.33′s role in it.

Like the Warrior, M.33 was spared from the scrapheap by being assigned to a series of dreary, dirty jobs until it was rediscovered as a historical artifact worthy of preservation.

The funky black-and-white paint job is an example of “dazzle” camouflage. The odd lines and angles was supposed to make it more difficult for enemy observers to measure from a distance how the ship was moving. Its effectiveness was never definitively proven, and with the development of radar and other more advanced detection methods in World War II, dazzle camouflage quickly went out of fashion.

We finished our visit with a quick tour of the dockyard’s museum, which houses a whole wing dedicated to the personal and professional life of Lord Nelson.

We learned about the long list of injuries Nelson suffered in the line of duty. Not only did he lose his arm in the Battle of Tenerife, he was also blinded in one eye in another battle, and in yet another battle he suffered a head injury that gave him terrible headaches for the rest of his life. He also suffered from chronic seasickness, recurring bouts of crippling malaria, and so many lost teeth from scurvy that part of his face caved in.

Nelson famously proclaimed himself slain after receiving his fatal wound at Trafalgar, but we learned that this was not quite so prophetic as it sounded--Nelson declared himself slain nearly every time he was wounded in battle.

We also learned how, despite being a self-proclaimed devout Christian, he openly maintained an affair with a married woman while also married himself. He even lived in the same house as his mistress and her husband for a considerable time while the affair lasted.

Nelson’s relationship with his mistress resulted in an illegitimate daughter. Oddly, the daughter would later claim that Nelson was her father, but that her mother wasn’t her mother.

While Jessica isn’t quite as into ships and naval history as I am, she did enjoy learning about Lord Nelson. He’s one of those historical figures whose name you hear about, but you don’t really know much about him unless you’re into that part of history. She was particularly amused to learn that this great naval hero was 5′4″ tall and prone to seasickness--just like her.

She also told me that--now that she knows just how into naval stuff I am--she’s more excited than ever to show me the maritime museum in Liverpool when we visited later in the trip. 

The museum holds much more than Nelson memorabilia--and there are plenty of other ships and exhibits to see in the Historic Dockyard--but by this point it was getting late in the afternoon. We were rapidly running out of gas, and the exhibits were starting to close down anyway. So we decided to take our leave while we were still enjoying ourselves.

One other interesting thing we saw at the dockyard was a small kiosk where you can look up the history of your family name. It turns out that there are tons of these around the UK, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

I already knew the history of my mom’s English family name, but we learned a bit about Jessica’s family name. It is Spanish, which we knew, but what we didn’t know is that it is pre-Roman. Meaning that it’s probably Celtic in origin.

On a whim, I asked about my dad’s and Jessica’s mom’s family name. It isn’t common, and we’ve never been able to learn very much about it. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t in the database. But surprisingly, the woman working the kiosk was surprised it wasn’t in the database. Apparently, it is a fairly common family name around Portsmouth, but not elsewhere in the UK. Which--combined with some other things we worked out--might mean we are descended from Normans who came over with William the Conqueror.

And of course we watched Master and Commander before going to bed when we got back home.

Next Post: Arundel (Our First British Castle!)

Last Post: Farewell, France. Hello Britain!

[whereisvanderwood]

Peace.

Yona of the Dawn | Akatsuki no Yona

Jeaha x Suicidal!Anxious!Reader - TRIGGER WARNING.

My Yona of the Dawn x Reader List for more one-shots! Check it out! 

WARNING: Mentions of Suicide and self harm. Please don’t read if this affects you. Also, please find help if you are struggling. If you feel like no-one else loves you, I do. I’m always free for a talk, whomever you are. <3

The waves began to rise higher and crash harder into the shore. It was very peaceful with no commotion in the alleys; a very rare occurrence in the town of Awa. (Y/N)'s mind slowly began to block out everything, hearing only her slow heartbeat drumming in her ears.

It's so empty, so pointless to live for, she thought the nth time that day. So much danger, battling for the good of the people, the fighting seemed so endless and in vain. When would it end? Is there even an end at all? There's always something evil waiting next in line.

"Don't you ever get sick of it? Doing it day in and out?" (Y/N) asked as she fiddled with a pebble in her hands, examining its blandness.

"Of what?" questioned Jeaha, who sat on a crate next to her, admiring the beauty of the Cheonsu cliff bathed in gold.

"Fighting, being in constant danger, not knowing what's going to come next. It's like we never have a moment to be able to breathe anymore."

It wasn't hard to tell that (Y/N) had been thinking about this a lot, judging by how desperate her voice sounded when she spoke.

"Well," Jeaha sighed, "it was always our choice to protect Awa. We were never forced to try and play 'hero,' we just wanted to do something with our lives, I guess. I know the other guys wanted to."

(Y/N) gazed at at her family celebrating a victory on their ship. They looked happy, but wounds on their faces and arms were very obvious, even from far away under a darkening sky. She frowned.

She never got those types of injuries. Some friend she was, not going on missions and avoiding fights like she had the right to choose. None of them did. Not a single one was ready to be left behind and not throw themselves at death's door if it meant Awa's peace.

"(Y/N)?"

She threw the pebble into the water in front of her, the force from her shoulder causing it to skip a few times before it sunk. She stood up, the crate squeaking as it scraped against the pavement. "Good talk," was all (Y/N) said as she walked off with haste.

Jeaha stared after her, a crease in his brow and a narrowness to his eyes. He knew something was wrong. She used to be like the rest of the crew, so willing to fight and put all she had on the line if it meant the safety of their home. But nowadays, it was like she was afraid. She should know that her family had her back. They always looked out for one another.

A clap of thunder caused Jeaha to jump, and he turned his head to the storm's general direction. The Cheonsu cliff came into view, and he stared at his as he began to wonder. Whenever (Y/N) stood at the top on her daily strolls alone, she was always so close to the drop... dangerously close.

With that last thought lingering in his head, Jeaha left the dock and jumped back onto the ship to join Captain Gi-Gan and the crew.

(Y/N) tossed and turn that night, sleep never coming to her. Her arms tingled as her heart pounded harder, and she felt skittish, sharply turning her head to whatever creaked and moaned on the gently rocking boat. There could be an ambush happening right now, and everyone was asleep, completely vulnerable.

We're all going to die, she heard a voice whisper.

Her breathing quickened, forcing her to open her mouth to breathe in air faster. The voice whispered again. She looked around the dimly lit room as best she could, seeing if anyone was awake or even sleep-talking. The most obvious thing she could see were the many injuries the pirates had sustained in battle. Looking at her own arms, they were almost completely free of scars. What kind of pirate didn't share scars with her family?

How selfish. What a scaredy cat.

(Y/N) jumped out of her hammock and grabbed one of the daggers leaning against the wall. She shakily held it out in front of her as she stepped into the moonlight. Seeing no one was around, she forced herself to take deep breaths. The dagger shone in her eye, and she eyed the blade.

What's it like? What pain do they have to feel?

She looked behind her one more time, confirming everyone was asleep, even Jeaha who always slept in the crow's nest of the boat, before climbing off the boat and onto land where they were anchored next to.

Her hands quivered as she slowly lifted the blade to her arm. She pressed it against her flesh, but hesitated.

The others don't get to choose when they get hurt! You're so weak!

The anger had taken hold of (Y/N)'s hand and forced her to slice. She pressed her lips together and pushed her back against the wall as the sting was not something she had expected. Lifting her hand away from the cut, a very faint line of crimson droplets was forming.

All that pain, and it hardly did anything?

She looked at the blade. There was no sign that there was any damage done at all.

It wasn't deep enough.

It hurt like hell, but she was determined to prove to herself that she was not a coward. Again and again she tried in different places, trying to replicate the wounds of her family and what they would've had to suffer. Every lacerate made her want to cry, and her chest began to ache with how hard her heart was beating from the shock of sudden pain.

Anger boiled inside when the result she wanted was not showing, and she carelessly began to cut everywhere on her arm. It was only until she knew she cut deeper than she wanted to was when she dropped the blade, her ears twitching as it clattered loudly in the quiet of the town.

Her mouth gaped open as she felt the pain was almost unbearable. (Y/N) looked at her arm and her eyes widened when she saw a thick line of blood had already trickled down her entire arm. It wasn't deep enough to be life threatening, but it must've been pretty close to it.

That's more like it.

A shadow flew over (Y/N), and she looked up to see a silhouette flying directly above her. Cursing to herself when she knew who it was, she hid in the nearest alleyway, forgetting to pick up the dagger as she ran for cover. Peeking her head from around the corner, she covered her mouth to silence her loud breathing when Jeaha was nearby.

She saw his shoulders stiffen when he saw the bloodied knife laying on the ground, recognising it as his own. It wasn't long after that when he finally leaped into the skies once more, returning back to the boat. (Y/N) began to panic when she realised that she was going to have to somehow make up something to tell the others if they ever questioned the cuts on her arm. She could only think of going into more battles with them to have a liable reason.

Once she finally made her way back to her sleeping quarters, she felt that she was strangely able to fall asleep easier. It wasn't content, but more satisfaction for the inward pain she felt after releasing it. It suppressed that voice that kept speaking to her, like it was happy with the outcome of the night and would in turn, finally grant her rest.

Keeping to her word, she pushed through the fear and went into more fights with the pirate crew and Gi-Gan in the passing weeks, and Jeaha was more protective over her than usual. She was often asked by the pirates if she really was up for tagging along with them. Every time someone new would ask her if she was holding up okay, or if she wanted to rest, it made (Y/N) feel so much heavier. She was already addicted to the cycle of bestowing pain onto herself, tattooing her body with scars of hate for not being the person she wished she was, nearly every night.

They've already lost faith in me.

They don't think I can do anything anymore.

I'm useless to them.

Jeaha panicked after having saved (Y/N) from close decapitation. She wasn't focused today-- her reaction was too slow and she would have never dodged the swinging sword in time to save her neck. He threw his daggers as fast as he could at the perpetrator, forgetting to abide by his captain's words of never have the intention to kill. A few of the knives missed, but a couple lodged themselves into his arm and neck.

(Y/N) slumped onto the ground, seeing the man in front of her writhe in pain as blood pooled around him. He was dying, painfully slowly. Was this what was destined to become of her family? Jeaha? Herself? Was this what the end looked like?

That could've been me ten seconds ago.

The tingling in her arms returned, and she fiercely rubbed them to preserve warmth. The tingling turned into shakes, and (Y/N) felt like she had no control as her breathing became increasingly audible. Paralysed in one spot by her unmoving legs, she was vulnerable and in the most danger.

Without another thought the Green Dragon landed by (Y/N)'s side, scooped her into his arms and jumped off the boat, escaping the fight. (Y/N) clung into Jeaha tightly as they flew through the air, sobbing into his shoulder, on the verge of screaming.

They landed on the cliff full of bright green grass, far away from the town's eyes where they wouldn't have to worry about passersby. He couldn't get a word in over (Y/N)'s cries, and could only rock her back and forth as he held her close, a hand behind her hand and the other holding her shoulders.

"I don't want to do this anymore!" she cried endlessly.

Jeaha fought to hold back his own tears, feeling an overwhelming guilt for having subjected (Y/N) to such a horrible sight. Him hugging her became partially for his own comfort.

"It's okay, everything's okay." Jeaha desperately tried to get through to her. "I'm here, I'm right here."

It was his fault she was like this. He should've done something different that wouldn't have been so torturing to her mind. She'd probably dream about this for weeks now, he thought.

And she did.

Every night for months.

Insomnia kept her awake for numerous nights in a row, and when she could sleep nightmares haunted her. But Jeaha never left her. He promised he'd watch over her as long as she wanted him to, holding her hand until she fell asleep, and holding it still whenever she woke up with fear plastered on her face.

One night, Gi-Gan told the pirates they were to set sail after receiving a message regarding incoming contraband. (Y/N) would not move. Jeaha hated leaving her alone with no one to watch over her, as it was an all-out battle they were preparing for, but she wanted to be courageous and insisted he go.

"I'll be back, dearie. I promise," he reassured with a fire in his eyes. Once he turned his back, he dared not to look behind him as he left for battle, knowing it would make leaving harder for both of them.

Some time passed, and the anxiety grew.

He's been gone for a long time. Longer than he said he would be.

He must've died... All of them.

I'm alone!

The image of the dying man came back to her. She wanted to throw up as she felt her stomach sink. Tears brimmed at her eyes, she couldn't breathe, her arms and legs were shaking, she was out of control again. She couldn't feel anything. She searched for the dagger that she always cut herself with, but she didn't have it with her.

Without her pain, she couldn't go on. She needed it to be able to feel again, to keep her grounded. But she was drifting away.

I don't want to do this anymore.

She left the empty house that Jeaha had told her to stay in whilst they took the boat out at sea, making her promise she would stay put.

He's dead. It doesn't mean anything now.

She sprinted as she weaved through the narrow streets of Port Awa, not caring if she was waking the residents with the noise she made. She cried with a broken heart, knowing she'll never see him again. Her rock, her fortress, her everything. Gone.

Following the winding dirt path a little out of the town square, she ran up the incline of the cliff, the wind fiercely blowing against her body. It was trying to stop her, hold her back from making a terrible choice.

I'm sorry Jeaha, I can't do this anymore.

Looking over the edge once she'd finally reached the top, she could see the narrow path to the cave of the Cheonsu that was directly beneath her. How brave, she thought, for one of the crew to be given such a treacherous task and willingly go through with it.

Never something I could do.

The full moon reflected on the ocean's waters, creating an illusionary path that almost looked like someone could tread on above the water. It was enchanting. (Y/N) wanted to walk on it. Who cared how far down below it was. She'd reach it after a short fall. And then she could walk to the other side of the horizon.

Is that where Jeaha is?

Having one last look around, she couldn't see the pirates' ship anywhere. It was too dark, and they were too far. Or perhaps they already sunk far below the surface.

"(Y/N)!"

Her toes were hanging off the edge now, and soon so were the top half of her feet. She leaned back and forth, back and forth, playing dangerously with the thrill of death tugging at the hem of her clothes.

"(Y/N)! Stop!"

No more voices, no more nightmares, no more fighting, just peace. A peace that Jeaha was already thriving in on the other side of that dark horizon. Her heart fluttered at the thought of how close it was.

With (Y/N)'s arms spread out wide, like a bird taking flight, she let herself lean too far forward, falling against the wind's current that hit up against her. She closed her eyes, waiting for her peace to be given to her.

But it never came.

She felt something latched onto her wrist, dangling her above the water's waves. There was grunting, and she saw that above her was Jeaha, just barely holding onto the path of the Cheonsu cave. His eyes were shut tight as he focused hard on not letting her slip from his grasp.

"Jeaha...?"

He let out a cry as he pulled himself and (Y/N) up over the ledge. He grabbed her with both hands when he was safely on ground, pulling her far away from the drop and into the cave.

Jeaha pressed his forehead against (Y/N)'s as they sat in front of each other. "I'm so sorry..."

"...I thought you died..."

His head slumped into her shoulder, his tied back hair falling in front of his face. "I'm so sorry." He said again with his voice breaking.

Being the first thing she was able to feel again, all unwanted sensations had vanished because of Jeaha's touch. He was alive. It was that voice again that had tricked her, nearly leading her to her doom from a place of hopelessness.

Lifting her weak arms, she wrapped them around Jeaha's body as he did the same for her, holding each other close in the cold of the night. "I just don't want to feel this way anymore," she whispered into the crook of his neck.

"I know... This is all my fault."

Jeaha could no longer hide the fact that he knew about (Y/N) long ago. The night he heard the clattering of his own dagger, he knew it was her. He only wished he could've protected her from the evil chained to her heart before it had taken over.

"Jeaha, It's not-"

"(Y/N)," he cut her off. "I just wanted to protect you, but all I did was make things worse." He backed away so he could look straight into her eyes. Her drooping, heavy eyes full of hurt. "You wouldn't even be here if I left another second later. If I never left you, this wouldn't have happened..." He buried his face in his hands, hiding his guilt and shame.

You're a burden to him.

Something clicked in (Y/N). Something that didn't let the voice get through. It was like it went through one ear and out the other. If it was true, Jeaha would've stopped caring long ago. But even until the very last moments, he was there, appearing out of thin air to save her from herself.

With both of her hands, she held onto his, parting them away from his face so she could see into his eyes. "Thank you... for everything you've done for me."

"You shouldn't be thanking me... dear."

"Well I'm not going to blame you. It had nothing to do with you. it was all my doing, my own mind took control... and I let it." (Y/N) looked downwards at the ground between them, admiring one of the many beautiful flowers around them as she averted his gaze. "I just wish this was all over."

"We all do... I hate fighting, more than you think."

"But you're a dragon warrior. You were literally born to fight by the Crimson Dragon's side."

"I'll never follow a fairy tale that tells me what to do. You know that."

Jeaha took a deep breath, fixing his hair so he looked at least a little more appealing through his recent distraught. "You don't have to keep fighting anymore, (Y/N). No one's forcing you to put your life on the line for the people of Awa. It's okay to take a break."

"What about you?"

"I'll keep fighting, if it means it'll keep you safe." Jeaha lifted his hand and cupped (Y/N)'s cheek. She held onto it, wishing she could keep his warmth forever. Slowly, they leaned into each other until their lips met. Everything about him made her feel so safe and warm. It gave her life, and a reason to live for.

"Then I'll fight with you."

"(Y/N)-"

"I know I don't have to. But I'm sure of it this time. I truly would hate myself if I sat on the sidelines forever."

Jeaha sighed. "Well, my dear, what a privilege to have a pretty lady by my side from this day forward."

After some time passed, they left the cave together hand-in-hand, (Y/N) promising she'd never leave the earth for as long as Jeaha would live. Only until death would they part, they promised, whilst hoping that day would never come.

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