#also EVERYONE SHARE MY ALTAIR FEELINGS WITH ME. NOW. PLEASE

[stealingpotatoes]

The Lone Eagle

summary: Young Altaïr says he can fight a fellow novice blindfolded. The other Assassins don't believe him.

--

Not all of being an Assassin could be taught in practical tutorial. Some things, such as the uses and types of poisons, had to be taught in the library, by a master Assassin to a class of novice trainees. 

And Altaïr knew these lessons were important. He paid apt attention every lesson, making sure to remember everything he was told. However, not every student did. 

“Ugh, all this theory is so difficult,” started one boy -- Haroun -- as the thirteen and fourteen year old novices left the the class, spilling out into Masyaf’s hallways. “I can never do it -- I guess it’s a good thing I can fight so well, to make up for it!” 

Altaïr huffed in amusement. 

It did not go unnoticed. “Something funny, Altaïr?” 

Haroun was Altaïr’s height, if a little taller, and wearing the same grey-and-white trainee tunic as him. They had various classes together, but they had barely beyond a few short conversations interacted before now.

Altaïr stopped. After a moment, he turned to face Haroun; “Yes.”

“What?”

“The idea that you are any good at fighting.” 

A few of the other trainees laughed and snickered for a moment, before quietening down. Some others had sensed what might be happening, and decided to stick around for what came next. 

Haroun folded his arms. “Do you think you’re so much better than me at fighting?” 

“I do. In fact, I could beat you blindfolded.”

“What?” Haroun snickered, glancing around at the other trainees, as if to ask ‘are you all hearing this too?’. “No, you could not. Come on, Altaïr, you do not need to make up stories like this. We all know you’re a good Assassin like the rest of us.”

Like the rest of us. No. That wasn’t good enough. That would never be good enough. He had to be more. 

“I can,” Altaïr reiterated. 

“Prove it.” 

Altaïr kept the cool and calm expression on his face. “Fine. The training ground will not be in use at this time,” he said, gesturing in the vague direction of where all the Assassins, novices and masters alike, learnt their sword skills. 

Haroun’s brow furrowed, and he guffawed quietly – that wasn’t the answer he was expecting. He was looking around at the other boys, that same silent question in his eyes. 

Altaïr tilted his head to the side. “Unless you're too much of a coward to fight me.”

“No, of course not!” Haroun’s expression twisted into brief fury, before he lifted his chin in indignation, and his face fell back to its trained calm. “Let’s go.” 

Haroun quickly led the way, Altaïr following like a hawk’s shadow. The other boys -- slowly growing in number as other novices noticed the crowd, now at about twelve or thirteen -- trailed behind them both eagerly. They might have all been Assassins in training, the blades of the next generation -- but they were all still little boys who wanted to see a good fight. Or, failing that, to see Altaïr and his confidence knocked down a peg after he failed this impossible feat. 

Altaïr would show them the former, for he was not about to be defeated. His confidence was entirely founded -- even if they couldn’t believe that. 

They soon reached the training ring. Someone had just been using it to teach, and so a sword rack stood fully-stocked against the fence. That, a least, saved them a trip to the armoury and trying to make up an explanation to the weapons master, for young novices could not carry their own swords and were not allowed to spar without a master present. 

Haroun drew closer to it. “Perhaps using wooden swords would be a good idea? Given you will not be able to see.” There was concern in his voice -- but was it concern for Altaïr's safety, or his own? Had Altaïr's unfettered confidence reached into the boy’s heart and blackened it with a dark fear?

Altaïr hoped so. 

“Metal is fine,” he said calmly.

Haroun nodded, and leant to down the the rack. Altaïr took the second Haroun was grabbing their swords to scan the crowd of eager boys. He knew all of them; most were his own age, some a little older or younger. The youngest -- and most eager -- was probably Kadar Al-Sayf, out in front. Standing just behind his excited brother, Malik caught Altaïr’s eye. But his expression was unreadable; Altaïr could not tell if his features held contempt, interest, or worry. 

Haroun finally handed Altaïr the training sword -- blunt, but still able to harm in the right hands -- by the hilt. Altaïr took it, weighting it out in his hands as the two of them entered the fenced-off training ring. 

“Your blindfold?” Haroun then asked skeptically.

Before Altaïr could use part of his sash, a trainee in the crowd handed him a long strip of ripped fabric. Altaïr took it, examining it for a second -- perfectly fine, and not too rough. The others actually wanted to see if he could do this. And they didn’t want him to cheat. 

Altaïr nodded at the trainee in almost-thanks, and wrapped the fabric tight around his head. It was opaque and tight enough to blind any other -- but Altaïr was not any other. He took a slow breath and focused the world into a sea of deep blue-grey. The outlines and the training ring of the castle appeared lightly, partially blocked by short and ally-coloured, light blue figures around the ring. 

Lifting his chin, he settled his eyes on the battle-stanced figure before him -- Haroun.   

“Ready?” Haroun asked, obviously unsure. 

“Ready.”

Altaïr spun his sword in his hand. It was a small flourish, and seemingly useless -- but against an easily-taunted enemy, who expected him to be incapable, it was invaluable.  

Haroun lunged forward to attack. Altaïr swiftly dodged, allowing Haroun to stumble forward. He gave the boy a moment of shock before he countered, Haroun barely blocking it. And with that, an impossible rhythm began.

There were few times Altaïr felt peace. It seemed hypocritical that one of those times would be in a fight, but the adrenaline, the focus-- it drained everything away to the moment. Everything was simple. It was all watching as the figure before him changed stance, changed mood or intent, and responding as he did. He dodged, feigned, attacked -- until he saw an opening. Haroun’s stance was uneven, unready. Easy to floor. Altaïr dropped and swept his opponent’s legs with his own. 

Haroun smacked to the sandy floor in an undignified oof. 

Altaïr rose up swiftly and stepped forward to point his sword at Haroun's neck. “Told you.” 

He tilted his head at the boy, eagle eyes taking in the emotion dripping off the boy; fear. Pure fear -- all for Altaïr, the blindfolded thirteen-year-old standing over him. 

Good.

Altaïr stepped back and spun his sword in hand again. After a moment, he lifted the blindfold off and threw it to the ground. Though his eyes remained on Haroun in front of him, he knew exactly how the other boys were looking at the two of them. The silence around them was entirely stunned. 

“What are you?” Haroun spat after a beat, still sprawled on the ground. 

“I am your better,” Altaïr replied, voice as controlled as his swordsmanship. “Remember that in future.”

Whatever Haroun might have said next was immediately interrupted when a boy yelled “A master is coming!”

The shocked silence broke, the boys snapping out of their awe. The crowd split fast, the trainees rushing in every direction. Altaïr was one of them, certainly not bold or stupid enough to face a master after his illegal fight.

He hopped the fence smoothly, leaving Haroun slowly getting up. 

“Jinn,” the boy hissed as Altaïr left. Demon. 

-:-

The view from the rooves of Masyaf castle was always calming. Up here, among the circling birds and in the friendly blue sky, everything seemed simpler. 

Once fairly certain he was out of sight of whichever Assassin had come to check out the crowd -- or out of reach, for even if an elder Assassin had seen him, Altaïr was a faster climber than at least half of the masters -- Altaïr had slowed his pace and traversed the walls and rooves of Masyaf castle towards his favourite perch -- where he sat now. 

Jinn, Haroun had said. 

Altaïr had been called a demon or a spirit more times than he could count over his life. At first he had hated it; he was just a boy, not some supernatural being. But now he relished in it, in the idea of being something else, something other. Something better. 

Someone scuffed their footsteps below, and Altaïr tore his gaze from the sky to the ground. He huffed out his nose. “What do you want, Malik?”

Malik Al-Sayf stood down there in his white-and-grey novice uniform, hands on hips and staring directly up at Altaïr. “For you to come down from there so I can speak to you like a normal person,” he called flatly.

Altaïr kept his eyes on his fellow Assassin for a few seconds, before turning to look straight ahead. 

Malik sighed beneath. “Insufferable,” he muttered.

Altaïr didn’t take his eyes off the open sky, returned to its unbothered near-peace -- until a grunting came from below. Altaïr snapped his gaze down -- only to see Malik trying to climb the wall. 

What is he doing?! he thought as he watched Malik gingerly seek handholds and juts in the stone for his feet. He was much slower than Altaïr, and moved with far less swift grace than him -- but he was certainly climbing, and steadily so. 

Eventually Malik heaved himself over the ledge, and brought himself to stand up so he could dust his white robes off. 

Altaïr stared at him blankly. Why is he up here and what is he doing?

After a beat, Malik lowered himself back down to sit on the ledge, some inches from Altaïr.

Altaïr continued to stare. 

“That was quite the stunt you pulled with Haroun earlier,” Malik said. If Altaïr didn’t know better, he would’ve thought Malik looked impressed. “I’m not sure anyone expected you to win.” 

“Were you hoping I would fail?”

“I know you’re not to be underestimated,” Malik replied slyly. It wasn’t a yes or a no, but Altaïr didn’t quite care. “But,” he continued, “that’s not necessarily a good thing. Trying to pick fights with everyone and showing off isn’t exactly good way of making -- or keeping -- friends.”

“I know.” 

Malik raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t the answer he had been expecting. “...so why are you doing this?” 

Altaïr faced down. He knew why he did it. He knew why he pushed himself so hard in training, why he put it above trying to connect with other Assassins. It wasn't simply a desire to be better than his fellow novices, but to be better than himself. He didn't want to be Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the stupid tragic orphan whose father everyone had seen or heard be executed right in front of Masyaf. Everyone said Umar Ibn-La-Ahad was a hero, that he had given his life to save the entire Brotherhood and Masyaf. 

Yet Altaïr didn't want to be Umar’s son. He wanted his name to mean something else -- anything else. And he would much rather that the other boys said he was trying too hard or even that they feared him, all if it meant he wouldn't be the orphan.

But Altaïr would rather have jumped right off the ledge than told Malik any of that. So instead, he said nothing.

Silence did not follow Altaïr’s quiet. Somewhere in the distant blue sky, an eagle cawed. Down below, the village of Masyaf bustled with traders, its citizens, and Assassins returning from their missions far afield. The world was never truly silent -- Altaïr’s heightened senses made sure of that -- and so places like this, far above the world, were the closest thing he could find to peace and quiet. 

Malik soon grew bored of the world’s sounds and looked at Altaïr, arching his neck to try to see his fellow novice’s face. “Do you even know why you do it?” he asked. 

Altaïr turned his head away fully. 

Malik sighed. Altaïr did not need his Second Sight to sense the disappointment rolling off Malik in waves. 

“We're a Brotherhood, Altaïr,” Malik started, gesturing one of his hands in front of him, but leaving the other to carefully hold his perch. “We are meant to fight as one whole -- not as one alone. Haroun may have lost, but he at least knows this. He didn’t tell the masters that you were the other fighting in the ring.”

Altaïr glanced at Malik through the corner of his hood. I doubt he did that for the Brotherhood, he thought wryly. He just doesn’t want Al-Mualim to know he lost to a someone fighting blind. 

“But this path you are leading… it will not end well. For you or anyone in the Brotherhood, I think. It is not too late to change. You can fix this-- talk to the others more, stop trying to be alone. Make some allies.” 

“I don’t need your pity.”

Malik sighed. “I am not trying to give it. I am trying to stop any of this becoming a threat.”

Malik had chosen his words carefully, all too well-spoken for a thirteen-year-old. He hadn’t said what exactly would be a threat, nor to whom. He had not said whether he thought another would be a threat to Altaïr or… if Altaïr was to be a threat to the Brotherhood. 

After a beat, Altaïr mumbled. “Ok. You can go now.”

“I could have gone at any time.” Malik turned to face forward. “But I climbed all the way up here, so I am going to enjoy the view first.”

Altaïr glanced forward too. 

The two of them were not friends. But Malik was the other trainee who didn’t fear him -- and that was something. It had to be something.

[thefledglingdm]

Umm can I request directors commentary for literally any Leopika fic you’ve written??? Love your stuff!

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

ahhahaha thank you so much! yes, absolutely! this is going to be long, because i have decided to do that scene in light of my life, pain of my ass. beware LONG BULLSHIT and spoilers below the cut!

ok to set the scene. i was TERRIFIED to write this part. because this is the climax, you know? we've had 150k words of build-up and emotional tension to this scene. while this has been a romantic story, this is the actual climax of the story. we've spent all this time in kurapika's head as he's dealt with his anxiety, his need for control, his fear of letting go. how he's changed as he's opened up his heart and his life to people outside. and finally he's actually working through all of his emotions and the progress he's made out loud, in front of everyone. and because he forgot about giving his speech until like five minutes before (sorry, kp), he is forced to speak from the heart.

For five agonizing seconds, Kurapika stood alone in the middle of a silent room. Above him, the string lights coalesced into a single shared point of soft white light that illuminated his space.

i so wish this could be adapted to, like, netflix or made into a movie. i put so much into this imagery. the play on light? the cinnamon topography? *chef's kiss* yes please netflix CALL ME.

Everyone in his life was staring at him expectantly, Pairo and Altair and Gon and Killua and Nanika and Alluka and Kalluto and his parents. And approximately a hundred other people on top of that, extended family on both sides, industry insiders, coworkers. All staring at him and waiting for him to say something amazing and powerful and deep about love and what did Kurapika know about love, anyway? He was a thirty-two year old trans man so terrified of his own emotions, so paralyzed by his fear of loss, that he did not figure out he was in love with his best friend until three weeks ago.

this is me screwing the knife in deeper for poor kurapika, sorry. this is so incredibly horrifying for a person with anxiety, as someone with anxiety. behold, the terrifying ordeal of being known.

Five seconds. Kurapika finally found Leorio standing near the back, leaning against the bar. He wondered if Leorio picked the same spot where they sat together the very first time they came here on purpose. Leorio sent him a wink and a thumbs-up.

the terrifying ordeal of being known and being so, so loved anyway. it was great to write in a way that showed leorio realized he was in love with kurapika first (indeed, realized that kurapika was in love with him before kurapika knew himself), because these little interactions shows so much how leorio is inviting and allowing kurapika to come to him on his own time. and supporting him the whole way, because they are friends!!!!

Breathe, Kurapika thought. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay.

this statement was not supposed to be a running theme/motif, but i'm super glad it did! i wrote it as a one-off line for melody, but then i was like, hang on, that's kinda good? every other time i write i'm like, hey, you could make a theme out of this!

“Um,” Kurapika started, his voice cracking. Christ, he sounded seventeen again. He cleared his throat.

my friends told me about how their voices changed and dropped on T. any trans person is stronger and more powerful than any us marine.

“For those of you who may not know, I’m Pairo’s brother. Kurapika. His older one, just to be clear.”

this is definitely something that has happened like a hundred times.

There was a smattering of chuckles around the room. He twisted to look at Pairo. “I’ve known Pairo since he was a toddler dragging a ragged, threadbare T-Rex plushie around behind him. I was there when he read his first chapter book on his own – Dino Hunter, of course – because he came bursting into my room at two o’clock in the morning to tell me about it.” Another round of laughter. “I was there when he got his first notebook, when he won his first writing contest, when he was published in his first magazine. I was the first person he told about liking boys instead of girls. I’ve watched him grow and learn and fall in love. And now Altair is part of our family, too.”

pairo and kurapika's lives as brothers were amazing. dino hunter is a reference to the book they both read in the manga that led to kurapika wanting to leave the kurta and explore the world.

i also thought that writing fit pairo well because it's a pretty accessible career for his eyes. he could type, he could enhance the screen and font when he needed, and he could do talk-to-type. one day i want to write a side-story of when pairo and altair met, because i have it perfectly formulated in my head and it's adorable.

Kurapika took a deep breath, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. He confessed, “To be perfectly honest, I was scared when Pairo asked me to do this, because I’ve run out of things to teach him. He’s run on ahead of me in life. Settled down, moved in with his boyfriend – now husband, congratulations on that by the way – and gotten married, while I’m perpetually single and living alone in my loft apartment with an absolutely spoiled monster of a cat. Stop laughing, that wasn’t supposed to be a joke.”

emperor the cat was also not intended to be a character. i came up with him like, right before i started writing the chapter.

i think it was hard for kurapika to watch his brother fall in love and move on ahead in life. even if he was genuinely happy for them both. i had a conversation with a coworker a few months ago where we both talked about how we feel like we are "behind," even though we're both very accomplished. she felt like she was "behind" because i have a master's degree; i felt like i was "behind" because she was happily married and already had a child on the way (who is here and beautiful and perfect). and i imagine kurapika wondered if he was falling behind or missing something when he saw his brother succeed in love and business without really trying.

but there's no competition at all, of course. the world spins on, and we grow and change and find our place in our own time. there's no race.

The room quieted again. Kurapika went on, his eyes flicking over the crowd. He was starting to smile, too, now.

he's starting to realize this is okay, he's not going to mess up, he may actually have something worthwhile to say or share. he's getting more comfortable in all this.

“But I’m also a wedding planner – I know, ironic – and I’ve learned a lot about love from my clients. So if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share some of those lessons now.”

No one from the back shouted at him to shut the fuck up, that he didn’t have a single clue what he was talking about, so he thought he was safe to carry on.

how funny would that have been??? like, it would have been fucked-up and humiliating, but in any other situation?? hilarious. just killua looking like that dude in mean girls being like HE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE except it's like HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT LOVE IS.

He thought back to Light of My Life’s various couples, musing over their own rocky paths to the altar and the beautiful, fractured glimpses into their lives they gifted Kurapika and his team. What did they teach him? What did they teach his heart, that terrifying, terrified lump of meat frantically beating in his chest?

More than you think, his heart seemed to be telling him. Trust me; I will guide you through this. Trust me, trust me, trust me.

*"listen to your heart" plays in the background*

also like. trusting oneself and your perceptions and your feelings and your heart is so necessary. it's an important part of healing. and being honest with yourself and your feelings is part of a foundation for all healthy relationships, i think.

also i really like writing alliteratively. the play on words with "terrifying, terrified" was. inspired? terrifying, because kurapika for a long time feared his own heart and feelings, viewing them as a loss of control; and terrified, because his heart is afraid, too. and they are taking this leap together!

And Kurapika explained: “Love isn’t just found in eloquent professions or grand, romantic gestures. It’s supporting each other through your lowest, worst moments and coming out the other side stronger for it. It’s standing together, hand in hand, against the world. It’s in looking at someone simply existing in the world and seeing them as they are: good, beautiful, strong, intelligent, kind. It’s in your communication and your foundation and trusting that all good things will come together in time. It’s in the family that you build together. It’s in the work you each put in to get through the hard times. Together.”

me: yeah uh-huh jj you really did summarize the fic so far.

this is also where i started being sappy and thinking about love. friendly and romantic love. the love i've seen in my friends, the love i feel myself in my relationships.

There. That’s what his clients taught him. Menchi and Buhara; Morena and Theta; Pokkle and Ponzu; Knov and Morel; Knuckle and Shoot; Canary and Amane. But so many more people showed him what love was. He pictured Pairo and Altair on his couch, laughing at him and judging him and helping him put his own puzzle-piece heart together into something cohesive and beautiful. He smiled at his brothers and saw the way they were clutching each others hands, mouths beaming and eyes dewy.

they LOVE their brother so MUCH. their view of the outside looking in for the past year, watching kurapika fall in love, go soft, be happier than they've ever seen him.

He told them, “It’s in the way you can communicate in gestures and looks, and sometimes, without looking at all. It’s in banter and private jokes and finishing each other’s sentences. It’s in casual touches and... pouring their coffee before your own.”

my coffee is never as good as when my partner makes it. my honey-lemon tea is never as good as it is when my partner makes it. my jokes are never as funny as they are when my partner and i finish each other's sentences, build off of each other's quips. we can communicate across rooms with nothing but a look. these little signs of love are everywhere and expressed in so many tiny ways. these examples here are between people in romantic relationships, but these apply to platonic friendships as well.

His eyes swept the room and found Killua and Gon. Gon had his camera hefted onto one shoulder, and Killua stood behind him, arms around his waist and chin on his shoulder. “It’s on the first day you wake up and realize the way you look at the world has changed. The way you open your hands and your heart and give what you have, simply for the joy of being received.”

to love? transcendent. to be loved? incandescent. to love and know that it is valued and cherished and requited?

and this was a callback to killua talking about, of course, how he fell in love with gon like melting ice. like sinking into a bath. and this was also a quieter callback to how gon fell in love. because it wasn't just that he had/has so much love to give, but because for the first time in his life, he got to see it truly received. accepted.

Kurapika saw Killua’s breath catch and Gon’s hand flex over the fingers interlaced over his middle. Heedless of their surroundings and of the running camera, Gon twisted to kiss Killua on the mouth.

SMOOCHES ahahaha!

He turned his head back to Leorio. The man had not moved; indeed, he looked like he was nailed to the floor. His eyes were so intense as they watched him that Kurapika was almost surprised he had not yet burst into flame. Kurapika said, “It’s in the moment you see someone you’ve never met before, but you look at them and just know, to your core, that this is really going to be something.”

leorio realizing something is happening here. something huge is about to happen, is about to change. and he's trying so hard not to dare to hope it might be good. it might be everything.

A chorus of oohs went around the room. Even from this distance Kurapika saw the way Leorio’s face went red, and he ducked his chin, looking bashful and embarrassed.

leorio: holy shit holy shit holy SHIT IT'S HAPPENINGGGG

How was I such a fool before, Kurapika wondered, How was I so blind, so willfully ignorant and oblivious. How did it take me so long to realize you were talking about me. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I’m sorry I made you wait for so long.

this is important because it's not just kurapika realizing and accepting his feelings for leorio. this is kurapika's version of realizing that leorio feels the same for him. leorio is in love with him, too. and he's wondering how it was possible he was so scared and blind for so long. he fears he may have hurt leorio by holding off on this for so long, so he wants to be brave, take the leap, and see what they could be.

Kurapika did not want this man to wait another second. He did not want Leorio to spend another moment trapped in this limbo. So he confessed in the middle of a silent room in front of over a hundred people, “It's the first time you hear them laugh, and your entire world’s axis shifts beneath your feet.”

i remember the first time i met my partner. i remember the first time i looked at them and felt my world shift a little to the right. i remember falling in love and thinking that this one was unlike all the others. it was warm, golden, comforting.

Kurapika watched the confused frown on Leorio’s face when he heard that, amused by the almost puppyish tilt to his head as he considered it. He knew the moment Leorio realized what he meant when his eyes blew wide, amazed and awed and achingly soft. His lips parted.

gOD he is so CUTE. he's like oh hmm huh what does that mean

and then he remembers

i promise, he's not a huge dickwad!

and leorio laughing at gon's accidental gaffe and his sweet earnestness. and kurapika walking in. leorio realizing kurapika wanted to know him before they ever even met.

Kurapika made himself turn away from the arresting sight. “One of my favorite venues lately was the Roseview Ballroom downtown. Among its many beautiful, gaudy attractions are its murals depicting scenes from Shakespeare’s plays all across the ceiling. One is a famous quote from Twelfth Night: ‘journeys end in lovers meeting, every wise man’s son doth know.’ But the more I think about it, the less I agree.”

i'm such a WHORE for shakespeare, as any readers of mine will know. check out my modern college adaptation of much ado about nothing.

He turned to meet Pairo’s eyes again, repeating, “‘Journeys end in lovers meeting.’ But nothing is ending here. It’s just changing.”

life does not end when we start relationships! or when they end! or when we move, change jobs, graduate, go to school, drop out of school. happy endings in stories still aren't endings. the greatest constant in life is change.

“Because what I’ve learned in this job, Pairo and Altair, what nugget of wisdom I have to give you, is this. Love is looking at a world that can be terrifying, cold, capricious, and indifferent, and finding the person whose hand you want to hold through it all anyway. Because you want every laugh, every tear, every wrinkle, every spark of joy. Love is life’s greatest leap of faith, because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. But you know exactly who you want to spend all those tomorrows with.”

me finishing this: dammit i just wrote out my wedding vows.

Kurapika looked around the room again. At Gon and Killua; at Kalluto, Nanika, and Alluka; at his parents; at his brothers. At Leorio.

He concluded, “So you simply breathe. And you trust it will be okay.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Kurapika dropped the microphone.

DAMN ME TOO THIS SHIT WAS GOOD TF?????? sorry my writing has peaked here.

[tres-spades-hotel]

Can I request a kbtbb x SCM crossover where Leon falls for Eisuke's MC. Leon is just the same as he was in his S1 but he slowly starts developing feelings for MC. However, she is completely loyal to Eisuke. Can we get some twist and turns and a happy ending for Eisuke. I will be grateful if you could do it. By the way, Thanks for other beautiful stories that you have written.

KBTBB x SCM

A Lion’s Attempt at Love

LEON’S POV, PALACE IN THE HEAVENS, THE THRONE ROOM

I can’t believe this is happening.

‘And, therefore, the six of you will be sharing the mansion with these humans for three days. I’m sure you will have plenty of fun,’ he says, with that annoyingly knowing smile of his.

‘This is ridiculous, we’ve already opened up that place for the goddess, and now we have to open it up for an entire cluster of goldfish? Absolutely not,’ I retaliate but the trickster on the throne stares at me; the corners of his lips turn up into an even more annoying smirk.

‘It won’t kill you. Run along now, they’re waiting for you all,’ he says, and a bright light envelopes us. The warmth of it doesn’t reach my heart, it just irritates me further.

Opening my eyes, five men sit at the luxury couches of the main room. One in particular, with brown hair, sits in my spot in the middle. His arms outstretch against the top of the couch while a young woman sits beside him, fidgeting nervously with her thumbs.

Karno turns around as we appear, and he smiles at me.

‘Hey, did the King tell you?’ he asks. The heads of the goldfish look up with curiosity.

‘Yeah, he did that bastard-hey! Don’t touch that!’ the scorpion marches over to a blonde-haired goldfish holding a Punishments document.

‘Oops, guess the work is off limits,’ he says as Scorpio snatches back the piece.

‘Um, let’s all just calm down and talk. My name is Mitsunari Baba! You may call me ‘Baba’, ‘Mitchy’, or ‘Mitsunari’ if you want,’ the man in the black hat says with such joy it almost makes me want to actually turn him into a goldfish.

‘How about I call you ‘idiot’ instead?’ Scorpio says, huffing away to the chair in the corner.

I step forward further into the room, amused. ‘I didn’t realise you were in the habit of calling yourself out like that. I wouldn’t be trying so hard to annoy you if I knew,’ I respond, and with some sort of sick delight, watch the fumes rush out his ears in anger.

‘You stupid lion, shut up!’ he shouts back.

I sit down and cross my legs. ‘He’s a scorpion so he’s all bark and poison with no bite,’ I reply.

‘Why you-‘ he attempts to pounce but Dui and the fish hold him back.

‘Scorpio, stop!’ Dui says.

‘Um, let’s sit down. Vega, Altair, will you both provide us with some tea?’ Hue says, lightly pushing them out the door.

‘Here, I’ll introduce the others. Next to me is Ota Kisaki. The sleepy looking one is Mamoru Kishi, the scary looking one is Soryu Oh and the pretentious looking one is Eisuke Ichinomiya. The lovely lady sitting next to Eisuke is Vivian Grier, Eisuke’s fiancée.’

‘It’s nice to meet you all and we apologise for our King’s disturbance in your lives,’ Hue says. The six goldfish look at each other with wary looks.

‘It’s fine. Our lives were becoming boring anyway. At least we can pass the time with this,’ the man named Eisuke says. There’s a powerful glint in his eyes which I recognise in myself.

‘So no harm done! And all of you?’ the red suit goldfish says.

‘Well, I’ve already introduced myself. The one shouting murder and terror is Scorpio, the god of Scorpio, he’s the Vice Minister of the Department of Punishments; next to him is Dui, the god of Gemini and that is Ichthys, the god of Pisces. They are part of the Department of Punishments in the Heavens.’

The scorpion huffs away in distaste while Dui and Ichthys smile and wave.

‘This is gonna be fun!’ the fish says.

‘Ichy! You can’t do anything while they’re here,’ Dui frowns at him.

‘What does that mean?’ the older looking goldfish asks. His sleepy demeanor reminds me of Aigo.

‘Nothing!’

‘He’s a prankster,’ Scorpio answers with a scowl. Three out of six frown in disapproval while the other three seem to accept this fact.

‘How much harm can you do, pranking people?’ the blonde one asks.

‘He blew up the palace once,’ Hue answered indifferently. Their eyes widen.

‘By the way, who names their child, Scorpio?’ he asks again.

‘The King,’ the six of us reply, causing Scorpio to crinkle his face in disgust.

‘All I suggest is that you be careful. The one who answered is Huedhaut, the god of Aquarius; over there is Teorus, the god of Taurus and this,’ he points to me, ‘is Leon, the god of Leo, the Chief Minister of the Department of Wishes,’ Karno says it with such pride it nearly makes me smile.

‘It’s nice to meet you all,’ Hue says.

‘Hello!’ Teo also says.

Everyone turns towards me as I look up. I somehow lock eyes with the woman, but she quickly averts her gaze with a faint blush on her cheeks.

‘Leo,’ Karno whispers.

‘You want me to introduce myself? They’re just goldfish,’ I say, continuing to stare at her.

‘Goldfish?’

‘All humans are the same to us, just as all goldfish look the same and flock to beings more powerful than they are,’ I answer.

‘What nonsense. What about variability? Individuality?’ the dark-haired ‘scary looking one’ says with a frown.

‘Doesn’t matter. You’re all the same,’ I repeat, and he scowls at me as if I’m the only one who believes it. Everyone in the Heavens does.

‘I don’t care what happens during this week,’ the man sitting next to her suddenly begins, ‘there’s only one rule you will abide by,’

‘Oh ho, giving gods orders? You must be special,’ I say.

‘Yes, I am,’ he smirks and crosses his arms. ‘And you will follow this rule until we leave: my fiancée is off limits.’

‘Eisuke!’ she exclaims, for the first time she has been here.

‘You should listen to him, Eisuke always has his way, with gods or humans,’ the dark-haired man says. All the other humans nod furiously in agreement.

‘I believe that rule applies to the sex fiends in the room,’ Hue points out, looking at Teo and I specifically.

‘Me? I haven’t done anything yet!’ Teo protests.

‘As if I would bother pursuing a human, let alone a woman like her,’ I say. Her face scrunches at my insult.

‘Good, then we’ll have no problems living together,’ he says, taking out a rectangular piece of technology and begins tapping away at it.

Vega and Altair finally return with tea. The woman stands up and hurries over to them, taking the tray of teacups out of Altair’s hands.

‘Oh, thank you, but I can-‘ Altair begins.

‘No, it’s okay. It’s my job to provide refreshments,’ she says, placing the tray onto the coffee table.

‘Really?’ Vega asks. The god children look up at the woman with sparkles in their eyes.

‘Yes, I work at the hotel my fiancé owns as a maid,’ she answers, smiling with pride.

‘Wow, that’s so cool! What kind of things do you do?’ Vega asks with excitement. The woman casually talks and pours the tea as if she had been doing it for years.

‘Well, I work with other maids to tend to our guests who stay at the hotel. I clean the rooms they stay in by changing the bed sheets, dusting, and replenishing amenities,’ she takes the teacups and starts handing them out, ‘that means I replace all the empty bottles and towels and other things the guests use which we supply.’

She hands me a cup and our fingers touch briefly.

‘I also have an extra job as a maid, which is to clean the penthouse where us six live in the hotel,’ she continues, handing a cup to Karno who smiles a ‘thank you’ to her which she returns.

‘That’s a ‘very important people’ area for those who pay enough money to live in luxury,’ she says.

‘Oh, so you consider yourself a ‘very important people’?’ I interrupt with a question. She briefly looks at me but then shrugs her shoulders.

‘Not really. I’m pretty normal actually.’

‘Don’t be so modest, Vivian. You’re the only one who managed to squeeze herself into Boss’ little heart,’ the man named ‘Baba’ says. His knowing smile reminds me of a certain trickster King.

‘And you’re the only one who can manage being around this lot,’ the sleepy one named ‘Mamoru’ adds. He suddenly yawns. ‘Hey, there any beds to sleep in? I’m tired.’

‘You’re always tired,’ the dark-haired man, Soryu, says.

‘Shut up, it’s been a busy day!’

‘No it hasn’t. We’ve been to see the King and that’s it,’ Soryu argues.

‘You think any of this is normal?’

‘That’s enough.’ Eisuke orders.

‘Haha, they sort of remind me of you and Scorpio, Leo,’ Karno laughs, and I scowl at him.

‘Don’t you compare me to a pair of clownfish,’ I reply. I watch the woman sit next to her fiancé, smiling.

‘Hey!’

‘Pair of clownfish? Please, don’t group me in with them,’ Soryu says with frowning eyebrows.

‘We actually like to call these four the peanut gallery,’ Eisuke tells us.

‘Makes sense,’ Scorpio says, pushing a stack of documents onto Ichthys. ‘Will you hurry up and finish these already? Zig has been waiting for these!’

‘I’m sorry, I was going to do them but then the King called us to see him!’ Ichthys protests but is dragged away by Scorpio.

‘It’s nice to meet you all,’ Dui quickly says before rushing out to follow.

‘Hue, show the humans the guest rooms in the mansion,’ I order, and he nods in response. ‘But first,’

Everyone looks at me as I stand up and saunter over to the woman. She looks up and slowly stands up to face me.

‘You will work in this mansion as my maidservant.’

*

THE NEXT DAY

LEON’S POV, THE GOD’S MANSION, HIS CHAMBERS, 9AM

A knock at the door wakes me from my daze. I snap my fingers and the doors open.

‘Um, hello?’ Vivian asks, slowly walking into my room.

‘Open the curtains,’ I order her and lie back down.

‘Okay,’ I hear her respond. She shuffles across the room and soon the sunlight fills my bedroom, dispelling the darkness. I sit up and watch as she does the same to the other set of windows.

‘Do gods sleep?’ she asks.

‘Recreationally we can, but it’s not a requirement. What’s that?’ I ask, seeing a tray of tea and biscuits on the table.

‘Well, it’s morning. I figured you would order me to get you breakfast,’ she answers, pouring tea into the cup.

‘Gods don’t eat either,’ I say.

‘But you can, recreationally, right?’ she answers, looking back at me with a smile. She places the cup down as I stand behind her.

‘Do you need anything else?’ she asks. When she turns around, she jumps back but the back of her legs hit the chair. My finger lifts her chin up so that I can take a look at her face. A faint blush graces her skin. For a moment, she’s completely dazzled by my presence but that fades quick. Her small hand wraps around my wrist and pushes it away.

‘Oh? Don’t want to be touched by a god?’ I ask.

‘No. I only want to be touched by the man I love most in this world,’ she responds and pushes past me to leave.

‘Love doesn’t mean anything. You’ll come back to me begging for pleasure,’ I say with a smirk on my face, but it fades when I see pity in her eyes as she turns around.

‘How does a god who grants wishes to humans not understand how important love is? I really feel sorry for you if you don’t believe love means anything.’ Vivian walks away, leaving me with cooling tea and annoyance.

I continued working with Karno looking over my shoulder, but I couldn’t concentrate. Her words echoed in my mind and the way she looked at me didn’t fade. Love is based off of nothing but need. And I don’t need it. I’ve seen love destroy many gods in my life: my mother and father, Hue and Clotho and then Aigo with that goddess Phione. Men like Teo and Tauxolouve, even that sex fiend Partheno, play games and have as many goddess’ as they want because they don’t see love romantically either. Love has messed all of us up in some ways.

*

VIVIAN’S POV, THE MANSION COURTYARD, 13PM

I don’t know why Eisuke agreed to my being a maidservant to Leon. I guess he’ll tell me eventually. As soon as I left his room, I leaned against the wall to take a breath. He stood so close to me, and I could feel his warmth and powerful aura. But it didn’t make me feel the same way Eisuke does when he’s beside me. Eisuke makes me feel safe and loved, Leon makes me feel cornered, like prey.

‘Vivian, hand me that document,’ Eisuke asks, holding out his hand while staring at his laptop. The outside breeze cools me down as I pick up the piece of paper.

‘Here you go,’ I say. Eisuke looks up at me and narrows his eyes.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing. I was just thinking about how beautiful the courtyard is,’ I answer, sitting down opposite him. Eisuke continues to stare at me. I sigh, knowing that I can’t hide anything from him.

‘Okay, Leon came onto me and failed in the morning, that’s it,’ I answer.

Eisuke scowls at my answer but then he leans back into the chair and folds his arms across his broad chest and raises an eyebrow. ‘He failed?’

‘I told him that I love you and only want to be touched by you,’ I respond, but I feel my face heat up in embarrassment.

‘Good, but you still need to be careful around him,’ he orders which I nod in agreement. He leans in again and rests his elbows on the table.

‘Eisuke, can I say something?’

‘What?’

‘He sort of reminds me of you. Now hear me out,’ I begin, holding out my hands to stop him from interrupting. ‘I know that we’ve only been here for a day but from this one interaction I’ve had with him, Leon is as confident and sexy as you are. You are both so sure of yourselves and in your abilities.’

‘But? There’s more,’ Eisuke presses on, leaning over the table.

‘He said that love isn’t important. I guess it reminded me of back when we first met,’ I finish, running my fingers over the grooves in the table.

‘He’s wrong, you taught me that.’ Eisuke takes my hand in his and runs his thumb over my engagement rings. His touch fills me with warmth, so I place my hand over his and smile. Eisuke takes my other hand and pulls me to sit on his lap.

*

LEON’S POV, THE MANSION COURTYARD, 13:30PM

Instead of snapping my fingers to cause the sound of bells in her head, I decided to go out looking for her in a vain attempt to avoid Karno and Hue. As I open the doors to the garden, I hear faint giggling. Walking further into the yard, I see her sitting on his lap, with his back to me. She gives him fleeting, playful kisses and her sweet voice echoes in the empty space.

Why did I just think ‘sweet’ voice?

I shake my head and saunter into the middle of the garden.

‘You two are quite a shameless pair of goldfish,’ I begin, but I feel myself raising an eyebrow when neither attempt to move from their position.

‘Pfft, then you don’t know me very well,’ he answers.

‘I don’t “get to know” goldfish of any kind.’

‘You wouldn’t because you don’t bother yourself in knowing about us as humans, but you do care about our particular brand of entertainment,’ he argues which makes me huff in response.

‘Your fiancée is my maidservant,’ I point out which causes her to stand up. Vivian folds her hands over each other and smiles at me with a business-like expression, different to the lovable-wife I watched a few moments ago.

‘Did you need anything? I didn’t hear any bells ringing,’ she asks.

‘That’s because I didn’t.’ I turn around and leave them to their ‘love’. As soon as I walk back into the foyer, Karno comes out of the dining room.

‘There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,’ he says. ‘You need to read and sign these otherwise we can’t file our year’s work in the department.’

I feel my face crinkle at the thought of paperwork and turn around to the main doors.

‘Leo, you can’t run away from me, not unless you want to make me cry, which would be terribly wrong of you,’ Karno continues, putting a firm hold on my right shoulder. ‘Come on. Humans have this saying you know, it’s called-‘

‘Work first, play later,’ I finish for him. We head up the staircase into the hallway.

‘Exactly! Look, I know lions sleep for 20 hours a day, but you can’t blow off your work when they need your particular signature,’ Karno says, handing me a folder.

‘Okay, I get, I understand your point. Can you stop talking now?’ I tell him, turning the corner.

‘I saw you outside talking to the humans, Eisuke and Vivian. What were you telling them?’ he asks.

‘Nothing, I caught them kissing and decided to embarrass them,’ I answer.

‘And?’

‘They weren’t.’

‘Many humans of their stature aren’t embarrassed to be physically intimate in public. You know the gods aren’t any different in that regard,’ Karno says.

‘I know. I wanted to see what her reaction was. She seemed like the nervous, wouldn’t-want-to-be-exposed-in-public type but she hardly reacted when I called them shameless,’ I say.

‘Wow. I guess she must be used to it,’ Karno says. He pats me on the back and continues walking down the hall. I stand outside my bedroom doors, thinking about her face when she was laughing and smiling, happy. It made me feel, something.

*

THE DAY AFTER THAT

LEON’S POV, HIS BEDROOM, 4PM

When my power to give pleasure came about when I was young, my mother hid me away from the heavens to prevent any ‘accidents’ but they always brought me out to parties and social gatherings to show off how powerful they’re only son was becoming. She didn’t even raise me, the servants of our household did. They couldn’t love me because-

‘Leon? I brought you some tea,’ Vivian’s voice pushes through my closed doors. The images of my childhood fade as I sit up on my bed.

‘Um, Leon?’ her voice pushes through again, hesitating. I rub away my past off my face and snap my fingers. The doors creek open, revealing her standing with a tray. The evening sun’s rays holds her figure in a basking glow of gold. She smiles at me and walks in. The shadows on the floor creep up towards her, threatening to plunge her into darkness. For some reason, I nearly jump out of bed.

‘Are you okay? What happened?’ she asks, slightly disturbed at my behaviour. Like I am.

‘I’m fine.’ I sit down at the small table. ‘Join me,’ I order, and she looks at me briefly. Her eyes seem to search mine for a clue of my motives. Hers are a normal shade of brown. No stars, no flecks in the pupil, Vivian has regular human eyes but somehow, I see something other than love and pity and excitement as she looks at me.

She finally shrugs her shoulders and sits down opposite me, pouring herself and I, a cup of tea.

‘Are you always comfortable being intimate with him?’ I ask suddenly, after taking a sip.

‘We’ve been together for years. I wasn’t at first, but that’s only because I had never been with a man like Eisuke before. I got used to it and now I enjoy it,’ she answers.

‘Only with him?’ I ask again. She smirks at me before drinking a sip of tea.

‘Yes, only with Eisuke. I guess you’re the type to take what you want and leave straight after?’ she asks in return. Vivian places the tea down and leans back into the chair, crossing her legs in the process.

‘Goddesses throw themselves at me because of my powers,’ I say in response.

‘The ability to give pleasure, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Is that why you asked about me in the morning? About giving me pleasure?’ she asks.

‘I was curious. Human’s act based on needs.’

‘My needs are being met, there’s no doubt about that,’ she says, laughing.

‘Oh?’

‘Believe me. You know, Eisuke was like you when I first met him,’ she says, changing the subject. Her finger slowly traces the curve of the lip of the cup.

‘A god?’

‘Ha, very funny. No, a man who had everything he could ever want in his life, but no one to love him. He didn’t think love was necessary either,’ she continues. Her eyes glaze over in reminiscence.

‘Until he met you?’

‘I suppose so. By the way, is it okay if I use the kitchen here to cook for dinner?’

‘You really like to jump, don’t you? Fine, I assume it’s because the others like to eat ‘cooked’ meals rather than magically appearing ones,’ I say.

‘That is true actually. Thanks! Anything in particular you want?’ she asks.

‘I’m a god,’ I reply.

‘Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t mean you don’t eat, ever,’ she says, waving her hands in dismissal.

‘Meatballs,’ I mumble.

‘You like meatballs? Beef scrunched up into a ball and cooked in sauce?’

‘Don’t mock me. I said what I said. Now go away, I have work to do,’ I say.

‘Work being, laying in your bed?’ she asks, her lips slowly curve up into a familiar smile.

‘Ha, ha, very funny.’

*

LEON’S POV, HALLWAYS OF THE MANSION, 7PM

The smell of cooking fills the entire mansion. As I walk down the hallway to the main room, I turn the corner to see the others standing outside the dining room. Hue notices me and waves me over.

‘What’s going on?’

‘It smells so good. Do you think they’ll share the food?’ Ichyths asks.

‘We could ask,’ Dui suggests.

‘Do they look like the kind of humans who share?’ the scorpion walks up to us.

‘They seemed pretty nice,’ Teo says.

‘You’re probably better off asking the woman who’s cooking the meals,’ Hue says.

‘That’s right,’ her voice echoes out of the room. When I open the doors, Vivian is laying the table with plates. She looks at us as she places a fork down.

‘I think I made enough for everyone,’ she says.

‘Ah, I was wondering why we had to wait so long. You made some for the gods as well?’ Eisuke’s voice suddenly sounds from behind us.

The rest of the humans arrive and begin sitting down as if they have lived here for years. Before her fiancé can sit down at the head of the table, I take his spot. I look up to see him scowling at me.

‘You live in our building, you live here by our rules.’

His eyebrows furrow but he doesn’t respond. Instead, Eisuke walks to the other end of the table and sits directly opposite me.

‘Vivian,’ he says, and she picks up a spoon.

‘Vivian,’ I say, and she turns around. ‘Before you are his fiancé, you’re my maidservant.’ I gesture to the plate of meatballs by me with my chin. I lean back casually as I watch the wrinkles in his face deepen. In my peripheral view, everyone’s eyes switch back and forth between Eisuke and I, but I don’t look away from his gaze. After a few moments of silence, she places the spoon down slowly and speaks up.

‘Everyone can sit down and serve themselves with whatever they like.’

As soon as she walks past me, I open my mouth. ‘Choosing the middle ground doesn’t make you a saint.’

‘Being a god doesn’t make you all powerful,’ she fires back. ‘I control my own actions, regardless of my “employment” anywhere.’ Vivian heads into the kitchen.

‘Is it just me, or did it get really hot in here all of a sudden?’

‘Shut up!’

*

THE NIGHT BEFORE

LEON’S POV, HIS SECRET GARDEN, 8PM

Since the dinner, I’ve been doing all I can to annoy Vivian and Eisuke. But it seems all I’ve done is bring them together even more. He seems to trust her to protect herself from me.

As I walk downstairs, she comes out from a doorway at the bottom of the foyer. We make eye contact, and she looks at me curiously. I simply pass her and open the door revealing a black darkness.

‘Um, Leon?’ she asks, hesitating.

‘Follow me if you’re up for it,’ I say, and walk through. The scene changes to a field on Earth. Similar to the one in the Heavens, its calming nature lets me breath. A rustling of petals and grass tell me she did follow.

‘Curiosity kills the cat, you know?’ I speak. Gentle footsteps creep up towards me.

‘Good thing I’m not a cat then,’ she replies, standing beside me.

‘No, you’re a goldfish,’ I answer back and turn my head to face her. I see her smile and look down. Vivian slowly lowers herself to sit down on the ground and she tugs on the hem of my jacket.

‘Gods don’t-‘

‘Oh, shut up and sit down,’ she says in a playful manner.

‘Fine.’ We sit there, watching the moon and the lake for what felt like a lifetime.

*

AN HOUR LATER

Leon doesn’t like to kiss, which is stupid because kissing is great!

Teo’s words echo in my mind over and over. We have been sitting for a while and talking and arguing about gods, humans, and just life in general. Right now, she’s trying to humiliate me by suggesting I believe in love.

‘If you don’t want a woman to kiss you, then it doesn’t mean you believe love is unimportant, it means that you do feel that love is important and you’re afraid to take a chance to be loved and give love.’

‘That’s ridiculous,’ I reply.

‘Sure, you can deny it all you want, but it’s true. You’ve been deprived of physical and emotional love. And now, you have begun craving it, in me.’ She sighs and stands up, smoothing down the crinkles in her dress. ‘I can’t give you what you want, whether you’re a god or not.’

‘I don’t want anything from you,’ I begin, and stand up.

‘Oh, shut up! You and I both know I’m right!’ she shouts. ‘I love Eisuke, with all my heart and I’m sure there’s someone out there for you. You never know, maybe you’ve met her already or maybe she’s just not born yet. You are a god, after all. You’ve got an eternity to find her, but she’s not me, and never will be.’

The next thing I know, I’m holding her in my arms. Trying to will her into staying. She feels small in my arms. No, she feels perfect in my arms. Her body shakes with nerves, so I rub her back to calm her down. Vivian sighs from frustration and I feel her arms reluctantly wrap around my torso. Her warmth fills me as the breeze rustles the flowers on the ground.

‘Leon,’ she begins to say.

‘I know.’ I abruptly pull away and quickly snap my fingers. The scenery changes to the empty courtyard of the mansion. ‘Thank you,’ I say. Turning, I leave her ‘love’ behind.

*

THE NEXT MORNING

LEON’S POV, OUTSIDE THE MANSION ENTRANCE, 9AM

‘Okay Boss, I’ve put all the suitcases into the back,’ Baba says.

‘Kishi! Why are you stretching your entire body out? We can’t sit inside now!’

‘You stupid slacker, move over!’

‘Hey! Don’t push!’

The four humans argue and push inside the vehicle while Eisuke pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

‘They somehow get dumber as time moves on,’ I say, moving to stand next to him.

‘They were always dumb,’ he replies, chuckling. ‘Hey! Stop squealing and get in!’ he shouts to them. Vivian finishes hugging the little godchildren and stands up. Vega suddenly runs over to us and hugs Eisuke, wrapping her little arms around his waist. I raise my eyebrow while his hands hover in hesitation before beginning to pat her head awkwardly.

‘I’ll miss you, Mr Eisuke!’ she says, leaning her chin up to look at him. He looks away shyly before patting her head again.

‘You know where to find me if you continue to miss me,’ he answers.

‘She’ll be too busy for that,’ I say.

‘Lord Leon! You’re so mean!’ she cries out at me before turning back to him. ‘Thank you for playing with me, Mr Eisuke!’ Vega squeezes him tight before running off inside the mansion with a furiously blushing face.

‘I think she has a new crush. That’s too bad for you, Leon,’ Hue says with a smirk and turns to follow her inside with Altair and the others.

I roll my eyes and face Eisuke. His thin lips slowly curl up into a smirk.

‘She belongs to me,’ he says.

‘Pfft, she certainly knows what she wants,’ I respond, glancing at the beautiful figure leaning against the vehicle with crossed arms and interest. She begins to smile at me.

‘I’ll be watching,’ I say.

‘Well, I hope you enjoy what you see,’ he chuckles.

‘Make her happy. Even more than you already do. And yes, this is a direct order from a god,’ I demand with a smirk on my face.

He looks at me for a moment, then he holds out his hand. My hand takes his in a firm grasp and shake it.

‘I will.’ For the first time since I met him, Eisuke genuinely smiles at me. He heads for the limo and Vivian quickly takes his place in front of me. She bites the corner of her lip and looks down at my feet before looking up again.

‘I didn’t mean to make you think-‘ she begins.

‘You didn’t,’ I interrupt. Vivian gives me a lopsided smile.

‘Well, to be honest, I had fun as your maidservant,’ she says.

‘Even though most of the time you gave me attitude? Don’t forget, you’re still a goldfish,’ I reply.

‘It wasn’t … all the time, I made you meatballs!’ she points out but we both smile knowing how ridiculous the argument is.

‘I think I’ll stick to making my own by snapping my fingers,’ I answer.

‘Didn’t like ‘em?’

‘They were of adequate quality, for a human, to a god’s tastes,’ I answer.

‘Funny. Leon, I wanted to ask a favour,’ she says. When I say nothing, she sighs, preparing herself for it.

‘You grant wishes for everyone. Who grants your wishes?’ she asks.

‘I do, for myself.’ I answer, but I know that’s not the question or answer she needs.

‘Then, I wish for you, that you find a happiness you genuinely enjoy in your life,’ she says, looking me in the eyes. I hear a faint intake of breath from myself as soon as she says those words. Hope fills her plain brown eyes.

‘That’s-‘

‘A ridiculous wish? Maybe. But I hope you fulfil it, for your own sake.’ Vivian smiles and winks at me before turning around. I watch her go and fall into the arms of the man she loves most in this world.

[thisfoolwrites]

My Altair (2)

Part 2 Here’s the second part to my Bokuto fic! Thanks to all the likes and reblogs on the last one. I appreciate each and every one of you. Please enjoy!

Warnings: References to underage drinking Genre: Angst to Fluff

Part 1  Part 3

Waking up the next morning, {Y/N} felt like her head was going to explode. She groaned and tried to roll over to her back, and noticed that there was a blockade in her way. Fully opening her eyes she noticed Kenma curled up next to her. She scooted over to give herself room to move and gently poked his cheek.

“I'm sorry Ken, for worrying you last night.” she murmured. “I didn't mean to disappear on you, I just didn't want to talk about it at the time.”

“I know you didn't mean it.” His soft voice replied,  “And I'll wait till you're ready to talk, just don't do that again ok?” The two siblings shared a look and knew that they would be alright. {Y/N} was grateful that Kenma didn't bring up Kuroo. She didn't want to cry anymore over him, but knew that she was still in a vulnerable state.

“Now get out of my bed so I can shower and pack. We got that training camp at Shenzin tomorrow.” She gently shoved him towards the end of the bed. With a small laugh Kenma went back to his own room. Once the door was closed she sighed and laid back down on her back. 

Had she really worried everyone that much? Closing her eyes tight she was left to her thoughts once again. The headache she woke up with seemed ten times worse now. Getting up she stopped at her dresser, looking at the numerous trophies and medals she had earned from the time she was ten up until she was fifteen. Had it really been three years since she had given up skating. Noticing the picture of her and Kuroo at his first high school inter-high tournament, she picked it up and glared at it. The inter-high was the same day as a competition she had been looking forward to. But she never made it there. With the picture in her hand, she walked over to the trash and dropped it in.

After grabbing her clothes she made her way out of her room and to the shower. She heard noises from Kenma's room and assumed he had began gaming. She hoped a nice hot shower would free up her thoughts. “Think of puppies or something.” She grumbled to herself.

Bokuto glanced towards his phone for what seemed like the thousandth time. Had she meant that text or was she still under the influence? He supposed he'd get his answer Monday when the training camp rolled around. He saw a new text from Kuroo. His eyes narrowed at his name alone. How was he supposed to get along with Kuroo all week? He also had to get Kuroo's side of the story. Did he sting {Y/N} along last summer, even knowing how Bokuto felt? Or had it been a non exclusive thing that she misread? Either way all he knew was the Kuroo had some apologizing to do. Unlocking his phone and glancing at the words, he frowned again.

Kuroo: Thanks for finding her. We really appreciate it.

Bokuto: Its no problem.

Kuroo: Did she happen to say why she ran off? Kenma wouldn't tell me anything and {Y/N} wont answer my texts or calls.

Golden orbs widened in shock. Kenma hadn't told his friend that he was the reason she ran off? Was {Y/N} really ignoring him still? The scheming captain had really done a number on their mutual friend. If she had chosen not to say anything, he had no right to share that either.

Bokuto: Nope. All she wanted to talk about were the stars.

Not a total lie, he thought. With a heavy sigh he went back to packing for the training camp. He really hopped {Y/N} would show up. Even though she had no interest in being a manager at all. He backed out of Kuroos contact and went to {Y/N’S}.

Bokuto: Id love to go stargazing, maybe the stars will be visible this week.

Monday rolled around faster than {Y/N} would have liked. It was 6am and she was standing next to Coach Nekomata taking roll call and making sure everyone got on the bus. She could feel the third years and Tora starring at her. She figured that at this point they all knew about the fallout between her and Kuroo. After making sure everyone was on the bus she looked toward the coach and climbed on herself. Kenma, who usually sat next to Tora, had saved her a seat next to him. She smiled before accidentally locking eyes with the Scheming captain. She could see the confusion and hurt in his eyes. Looking away she took her seat next to Kenma, giving him a small thanks.

She pulled out her phone and smiled looking at her notifications. She had been texting the owl haired captain since yesterday. Looking at the pictures he sent she let out a small laugh, catching the attention of the setter beside her. He glanced down and saw who she was texting and he managed a small smile. Maybe this is what she needed. While he still wasn't sure what had happened, he just wanted to see his sister happy.

Her team had changed into their practice clothes and were getting ready to head to the court when the Karasuno bus pulled up. She smiled and watched with Yaku the excitement on the two first years. Not to mention the loud voices of the second years.

“They sure are a lively bunch huh?” She mumbled absentmindedly. Yaku just nodded along.

“Its never dull moment with them.”

“Well, we better get in there, I've got manager things to do.” Yaku could almost hear the sigh in her voice.  He wanted to ask if she was ok, but figured he should wait. He just nodded and followed her inside. {Y/N} looked around the gym and saw the other schools practicing already. He eyes landed on Fukurodani. She had never given other schools much thought. After Saturday however, she had couldn't stop thinking about the ace. As if he sensed someone looking at him he turned. Golden orbs met {E/C}. A large grin spread on his face and he waved his arms in the air wildly. {Y/N} let out a small laugh when she saw this.

“Never a dull moment indeed.” She murmured with a smile before walking off and meeting the other managers. Yaku just stood there and with his mouth agape. She had been so gloomy all week, just what happened when Bokuto picked her up from that party.

“What was that?” Came the deep voice of Kuroo, causing Yaku to jump. “Jeez, why are you so jumpy?”

“When you come out of no where that happens! You need a bell!” Kuroo let out a laugh and went to go practice with the rest of his team. He'd have to ask Bokuto later what was going on with him and the older Kozume.

The training camp had been going smoothly, for the most part. Aside from Kurasuno losing every match they had been apart of, and the fact that Nekoma's captain and manager still weren't on speaking terms. {Hana} let out a sigh and walked outside after taking a shower. Shenzin's school wasn't directly in the city so there were less lights, but she still couldn't see the stars that well. While walking she ran into the Silver haired setter of the Kurasuno team.

“Hey, you're Sugawara right?” She called out to him. He glanced over and smiled.

“That's me. You're {Y/N} Kozume right? We didn't get a chance to talk at the practice game.” Suga acknowledged. {YN} let out a small chuckle.

“Yeah, the boys on my team are pretty protective. Sorry about that.” she mumbled. “I actually had a question for you.” Suga raised an eyebrow when he noticed her eyes were trained at the sky. He saw her glance at him for a second and hummed in acknowledgment. “Can you see the stars from Miyagi? Here you can't see them very well. The lights get in the way and you can only see the basic shapes. No constellations or the planets.” Out of all the questions she could have asked, he wasn't expecting that. Volleyball questions yes, stars, no.

“You can. There's a hill we would go to as kids to go watch the stars, as well as the fireworks.” He didn't miss the way he eyes lit up, only for a brief second.  

“Really? It must be nice.” If there had been any other noise he wouldn't have heard her reply. She closed he eyes and turned to him with a smile. “I'm sorry for taking up your time. Thank you though for answering my question.” She gave him a small bow before taking off in the direction of her room. Leaving Suga to question if she was ok. He'd have to ask Kuroo next time he saw him. With a sigh he took off towards the showers.

Bokuto had just gotten done practicing with Akaashi, Kuroo and even Tsukishima. How they had convinced the tall blonde to keep coming to the late practices was beyond him. He walked out of the showers with a towel around his shoulders. His usually spiky hair was down and in his eyes. Using his left hand he pulled the silver locks out of his eyes and noticed a figure waiting at the vending machines. He smiled upon seeing the familiar long {H/C} locks.

“Hey hey hey!” he called quietly, well quietly for Bokuto. “What are you doing here?” he questioned. “Not that I'm not happy to see you.” he quickly added with a blush, his hand going to the back of his head. Hearing the small laugh he glanced back at her.

“I was thinking we could go to the hill and look at the stars. There's less lights here than in the city, so you can see them a bit better.” she questioned. Her eyes never met his, they just stayed trained to the floor. She was waiting for the rejection that she's been so used to. Why would anyone want to do something she wanted? Even though he had texted her and said he would like to, she was convinced it was only said out of pity. After all she was drunk when she asked. Opening her mouth to speak again she was cut off by the surprisingly quiet voice of the ace.

“Sure, I'd love to.” he grinned, holding out his hand to her. Shocked {E/C} eyes met smiling gold orbs. Her smile grew larger as she grabbed his hand. “Maybe you can tell me more about Vega. You talked about it the other night.” She blushed when remembering that night.

“We should take a trip to Miyagi for that story. Sugawara said you can see the stars perfectly from there. Less lights, After all its kind of a long story, not to mention its a love story, you sure you want to hear it?” she inquired. No one had shown an interest in the stars when she talked about them. They usually just brushed her off and changed the subject. Bokuto beamed down at her once they had made it to the hill outside the gym.  

“Of course! You eyes always light up whenever you talk about or even look at the stars. You are passionate about it, like I am with volleyball. Even though I'm pretty sure you don't like the sport at all.” he joked as he sat down.

“Its not that I don't like it. Its just all that's ever talked about anymore. I get that it's important, nationals is coming up and its Te-Kuroos third year, but not everyone is as invested in it like he is.” she grumbled while sitting next to him. She laid down on her back to stare at the sky, a little smile still gracing her lips. Bokuto didn't miss her slip up. He noticed how she called him Kuroo instead of Tetsu like she usually does. However, seeing her smile after crying that night, he made sure that he didn't bring it up. She'd talk about it in time, and he wasn't gonna push her.

What the pair were unaware of were a pair of hazel eyes watching them. Kuroo frowned at seeing the scene before him. He couldn't explain the feeling in his chest. He was with Akemi, so why did he feel jealous of Bokuto?

Taglist: @samkysnks​

[theonceoverthinker]

444. Please look away if tonight’s Fair Game HC makes you cLOSTrophobic!

Continuing on from the past few days as requested by @jadekitty777, I’m gonna keep on doing HCs about Fair Game and loss. Tonight, I’m gonna look at how Qrow helps people with loss (Which will this time encompass more than just death).

Obviously, Qrow did his lion’s share of helping others process loss when Raven left Yang/Tai and when Summer disappeared, so let’s focus on that.

-Qrow was there for Yang as she processed when Raven went away. There were a lot of questions she had, but fortunately for Qrow, he wasn’t alone in handling them. Summer and Tai were there and between the three of them, they were able to help her process her emotions, dodge questions that were too difficult to answer for many reasons, distract her with other activities, and give answers that were acceptable enough for a young child when her questions couldn’t be navigated around.

-Emotionally, Qrow as well as Summer were crucial in helping Tai move on after Raven left. Tai, like Yang, had so many questions about how Raven could leave them, but unlike with Yang, those answers couldn’t be swayed away with any ease. Qrow was blunt, telling Tai about how it was in Raven’s nature to default to her tribe and her old ways -- her tribe was familiar, stable, more or less unchanging, and (In her mind) in need of her leadership. The answers didn’t make Tai feel better (That was more of Summer’s department), but everyone agreed that it was what was needed for him to move on. Additionally, if Tai feels there’s something Raven needs to hear, he knows Qrow can find her and since he won’t invade her implicit request to be alone, will ask Qrow to send along the message (Which he will do more often than not and with pretty good reasons if not). 

-Qrow took on a large part in helping the kids process Summer’s death. He essentially became something of a co-parent, especially as Tai was showing to have a particularly rough time processing her death. He helped answer questions, tell stories of Summer (That were appropriate for kids/toddlers), entertain them, cook meals, and all other sorts of things. It was rough, seeing them take an interest in the very profession that tore Summer from them all and ripped so much of their family apart as well as seeing so much of Summer in Ruby. Qrow found himself leaning on Tai about as much as Tai leaned on him. Still, they perservered.

-Qrow does his best to help Tai process Summer’s death as well, but for obvious reasons, it’s a lot harder this time around. There are no questions this time, none either of them can answer and now, they have to make do without Summer there to make everything just a little bit better. It’s not that Tai is angry with or at Qrow -- really, he appreciates having him around -- it’s a frustration with himself that makes their natural bouts of disagreements feel so much harder than they were before she died.

Tags under the cut!

Tagging @skybird13 @whipped4qrow @mooksie01 @luck-of-the-caw @xwildangel @solitude-of-stars @vastnessofthespiral @o0nashipear0o @unfairgamey @doctorrwby @clover-and-co @megan-atthedisco @wash-my-brain @bisexualdisasterqrow @thursdayseraph @doubledexterity @rwby-things-i-guess @atlas-heartthrob @the-answer-was-bi-klance @compoterie @thuskindlyiboop @oceansquid @transdemion @deltastream21 @mimiori @xya-hunter @delta-altair @dinosaurs-last-day @roman-torchtwink @subatomictealeaves @drbtinglecannon @saphiralunaris @pretentiouskneecaps @amxngsthxmans @ayomez13 @carbonated-table-spices @darkestsiren @chaosgameingkoi @collectingsparechangemadeeasy @michaels-daughter2005 @youmaywanttoduck @lovethewitchofendor @victorious1956 @kendalllwayland @madamoisellesica

Want to be tagged in future Fair Game HC’s (Or untagged, I understand) and be the first to catch all of the romance, fluff, drama, and puns (Sometimes all at the same time)? Send me a reply, PM, or ask, and it shall be done!

Would you also like to check out my old Fair Game HC’s? Who wouldn’t? Well, here’s a link to my Fair Game HC archives!!!!

[lunavadash-creates]

Hello Darling! How is my favourite bunny lover doing? How are you feeling? Since I know how depression works, I am really worried about you! You know, if you ever feel the need to talk about whatever you want, please let me know. If this would be something that could possibly help you somehow, I am all ears!

I know it must be really hard for you right now. I don’t know the details, but let me share my thoughts with you. I grew up seeing many things and my experiences with people are really twisted. Some of those things were/still are so pure, so beautiful and so magical that I wish everyone could experience it, even for once. Some of those were/still are something I wish never happened, because no one deserves to experience them. Even the most evil person. But you know, I think that every person that has been in our life is important. It doesn’t matter if that person was there for a short period or not. They’ve brought something in our life. They’ve teached us some lessons, more or less important, but still. It depends on you what you will learn from them.

Since you still care for those who disappointed you means that you are really goodhearted. Kind people tend to perceive others by their own behaviour. If you are sincere and caring towards others you would never think that they could be manipulative and malicious. But if you are unfair and lying you would never think that someone would have selfless intentions, right? But you must remember that your well being is a priority and that you deserve respect. It’s your life. You are living for yourself, not for others. You can’t be anyone’s puppet. Don’t waste your time on people who can’t treat you like they should. And I know it’s easy to say such things as a completely neutral person and it’s much more difficult to actually believe in self-worth and cut off toxic people. And I am proud of you that you actually are aware of such people around and want to kick them out of your life. It's a huge milestone to success! You really deserve what’s best in life! Remember this! Don’t settle for less!

And you know what? You deserve all those men that Ubisoft gave us. I hope they made you hot! CODE PURPLE, READY, STEADY, GO! But please, I am not mentally prepared to be an auntie.

The weather is really bad and I already miss summer. Do you know the meme “it’s not that cold, stop being dramatic”? Because it’s me in a nutshell. I am always cold. When we were in Italy I was literally freezing to death when my friends wore only Tshirts and nothing more (besides pants,ofc.). And one of them, a gentleman like he always is, was taking his hoodie with him every time, knowing that I will surely need it after the sun goes down. So since the temperature outside is too low for me, I already sleep under a quilt and blanket and with two heating pads. Yes, yes. I need more warmth in my life.

Luna.. well. Please keep your fingers crossed for her.

Does my message make any sense? Because I can’t concentrate on anything today.

Sending loads of hugs, Babe!

🔪

HELLO KNIFEY MY AMAZING FRIEND

So I'm still in this state when I feel good/content with stuff. And I got a new succulent so honestly? Right now I'm pretty happy! I hope it will continue.

Thank you for your words. I try to accept the fact that every person you meet is important because it's always a lesson. Sometimes it's a lesson not to trust but sometimes it's a lesson about a little thing that makes you happy. But honestly I'm very unlucky when it comes to meeting people. 2 days ago a 'friend' backstabbed me. And you know what? FUCK HER. I don't care. I had the feeling she is fake but now I have a proof and I don't give a single damn. She can perish. She's out of my life. And you know what? I won't let people like that destroy my good mood. Because I feel fine. I have fun playing the game, I read a book, I write little things, I can talk to my friends like you! And I'm writing an amazing rp. Life is nice.

You know what is also nice? Looking at Altair in revelation kissing Maria because you can feel how much love he has in his heart. And I'm sure he would be the best man ever.

About being aunt don't worry! Tbh I'm not sure if I want to have kids. First of all I don't have anyone to make the with. But I'm not sure if I would even want. It's a big responsibility. So don't worry. You can be auntie for my bunnies.

KNIFEY I FEEL YOU. I hate cold. Luckily I'm not getting cold easily but there are day when it's just so cold. Like rn I in a sweater and my bunny socks again. But it's not that bad, tho Im already using lvl2 blanket (I have a few blankets with different level of floofines. Level 4 is for FREEZING TO DEATH COLD). Also my Loki pillow is on it's autumn/winter duty.

Please stay warm! Hug you baby doggo. Wrap in a blanket. Wear socks!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Luna. Please, keep me updated, I'm worried about her.

And don't worry! You make perfect sense!

Also check out my baby succulent.

Stay safe and warm Knifey! Can't wait to talk to you again soon!

Ps. Altair with bunnies. Altair with bunnies. Altair with so many bunnies.

[goddessofeternity]

Chronicles of the Supernovas: Chosen

Altair

Chapter 5: Be Strong, Be Brave, in A Hopeless Place

It was cold again in this new area that we were in. I scratched my face as my dried tears started to make my face itch. I rubbed my nose as I curled up into a fetal position. The other kids around me were silent and staring through the bars of our cage. Most of them had stopped crying weeks ago when they realized it was pointless. I haven’t shed a tear since I was really small. Crying would mean more beatings, and I didn’t want that again. One of the other kids shared a blanket with me, but it was so cold that it didn’t matter. I hated that I couldn’t feel my toes. I just wanted to be warm and have something to eat. 

“Move the damn prisoners now!” I flinched as the guards hit their weapons against the cage. I sat up as the cage moved. We were being moved a lot and everyone was scared that they would finally kill us all. I was afraid of that too, but I would not show it. Most of the other kids had nothing to go back too, but I did. I had to get back to my grandfather. Although, when I was taken, he was beat up by the men. He could be dead for all that I knew...then I would be just like the rest of these kids. 

“Altair?” I slowly looked at a girl beside me who had managed to keep her doll. “Are we ever going to go back home?”

“I…I don’t know…” I looked away from her as we bumped along the road. “You should just forget about it…”

I ignored her whimpers and silent tears, they wouldn’t magically make our lives better. Tears wouldn’t bring back the others who had died along the way. I hated seeing other people cry because I couldn’t do it myself. I had to be strong or the problem would only get worse.

“Altair….”

I turned around quickly as I heard a voice call out my name. It was like a whisper in my ear and it made my head hurt a bit. Everyone was yelling and crying but I heard it so clearly. My stomach started to hurt again and I curled up again. This feeling has been happening for a few weeks, and I was afraid I caught some sort of illness. I’d probably be better off than the others though. They would just get rid of me at that point. I could escape if I just played dead then. The girl next to me kept whimpering and I was starting to worry because if she kept it up, I would also get in trouble.

“Hey...be quiet...we’re going to get in trouble…”

“I just want to go home...I want my mom and dad…”

“Yeah well...you have to shut up so the rest of us don’t get in trouble…” I sat up and frowned as she looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Please...I think the next place we go will be the last.”

 “Really?”

“Yes...now go to sleep or something.” She gave me a happy smile and laid back down, but I knew I shouldn’t have lied, but that was the only way to get her to shut up. I didn’t need her to drag me down into the gutter with her. I had to think about myself and only myself in all this. I refused to be punished or killed because of her. 

“Is the boss back yet?” I looked through the bars of the cage at the men who took us. They always talked about some leader but I never saw him. My curiosity got the better of me as I crawled further into the cage to listen better. I tried to listen to the guards often in case anything important was said. If I could escape because they said something they weren’t supposed to, I’d take that chance. 

“No but he said we should start taking them to the Pit…”

“Ugh...I hate going there…”

The guard shuddered and I hated to think about why he did. Whatever they had planned for us could not be good at all. I had to get out of here soon, but I never could find the chance to do that. My ears started to ring as I heard a voice again. I covered my ears as the ringing grew louder and louder. I wish it would stop. I wish I was not in this cage of torment. I’d do anything to be safe. 

“Altair…”

“Shut up!” The cage came to a harsh stop and the other kids looked at me with wide eyes. I tried to calm myself down as the guards made their way over. I didn’t mean to yell,but the voice just wouldn’t stop calling me. It had hurt so bad, but what was coming would probab;y be worse.

“What the hell are you screaming for you little bastard?” I swallowed back my nerves as I slowly shook my head. He reached through the bars and yanked me forward, slamming my face against the cold bars. My head was really throbbing now and I forced myself not to cry out or whimper. The man was glaring at me intensely and his angered breath on my face almost made me throw up. The heavy smell of alcohol always made me feel sick.

“I-I’m sorry! I had a...a  bad dream!”

“Keep making noise and I’ll make your nightmares a reality!” He threw me back into the cage and I curled back under my small blanket. “All you fucking brats keep fucking quiet!”

The others silently watched him walk back to his friends and I just wanted to rest. I would have gone right to sleep, if I didn’t feel a hand on my shoulder.

“Altair…” The crying girl was pulling at my shirt and I brushed her off. “A-Are you alright?”

“Shut up!” I whispered through my teeth. “You must have a death wish, you brat. My head only hurts a bit.”

“I wanted to make sure you were ok…”

“Well don’t do that!” I tossed the blanket at her and her eyes filled with tears, and it almost made me feel bad for yelling. I frowned, however, I could not be weak like her. Weakness meant pain and suffering and probably death. She could drag herself down that path, I had to look out for myself. “Go and cry over there or something…”

“B-But I...I’m scared to be alone.”

“Join the club then! All of us are scared! You are not special!” Tears streamed down her face now and I licked my lips in annoyance. Rolling my eyes, I turned away from her and covered my ears to drown out her whimpering. It also helped, because the cart had stopped again and I heard her scream and cry as the men yelled and beat her into silence. 

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry!

Be strong. Be strong. Be strong!

If I didn’t then I would just end up like all the others. Weak and dead. I would make it out of here if it was the last thing I did. If the others had to suffer so I could make it then so be it. My life was the only thing worth saving. The cold air made me tremble and I didn’t want to fall asleep yet, but the guards were too far away now. I couldn’t make out what they were saying now. My head was still ringing as I started to get sleepy and I couldn’t stop my eyelids from slowly falling shut.

~~~

“Get up!”

My eyes shot open as I was thrown to the ground and dirt went into my mouth. Spitting it out, I looked up at the guard who yelled at me last night. I scurried to my feet quickly as he scoffed and walked away. The other kids were waking up and following behind them and I quickly followed suit. I saw the girl from last night holding her doll tightly, but I ignored her so she would get the message to finally leave me alone. 

“Altair?”

I groaned as I felt a tug on my shirt. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” I stopped walking to face her and was surprised at how pretty she was. It was hard to see her under the cover of night, but out in the sunlight she was really pretty. Her eyes were different colors and her hair was messy but a nice brown color. I cleared my throat as my cheeks grew warm, I was not gonna let a pretty face make me feel bad.

“I thought that we could be friends…”

“I don’t need any friends...I’m just trying to get out of here and survive.” I brushed past her and she skipped next to me. “You have too much positive energy…”

“Huh?”

“Like...you’re way too happy in this type of situation. Are you not scared?”

“Yes...but I just hope that everything will get better soon. Maybe someone will rescue us...like a knight on a white horse!”

“Wow...you are delusional…” She tilted her head at me and her gaze made me blush again. “W-What?”

“You know a lot of big words…” She smiled at me then. “How old are you? How do you know such big words?”

“I-I’m 10…” I looked away as she waited for my response. “My...my grandfather read a lot of books to me when I was small. I guess it just rubbed off on me...I used to read a lot.”

“I don’t know how to read. Can you teach me how to do it?”

“I um...s-sure I guess.”

“Yay!”

“Hey! Keep up brats!” 

We hurriedly caught up to the rest of the group before we got in trouble. I have no idea why I agreed to help her read, but I had to remember to worry about myself at the end of the day. If I had to throw her to the side to make it...then I would do that. 

It was survival of the fittest.

“Altair?” 

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we are gonna be ok?”

“.....” What kind of question was that? How was I supposed to answer that?

 “Just….just keep walking ok?” I finally took notice of where we seemed to be walking towards. I hadn’t been in a forest for a long time and I usually liked being in the woods, but this place seemed wrong. It was sunny when I was thrown out of the cage, but now it was growing dark. The trees were all bent and the grass was dry and dead. The other kids were whispering and huddled up as we moved on. The men pushed us along faster and I was not too keen on being here much longer.

“Think the payout will be good this time?”

“I hope so...look how many of these kids we managed to round up. The payoff had better be worth it, it was hard as hell getting this many.”

“Morlo always keeps his word despite how much of an ass he can be. That guy is a master at this type of work.”

“Are we meeting him at the rendezvous point?”

“Yeah I hear he’s in a pretty good mood so this will probably work out good for us.” I listened closely to the guards, hoping that anything they said would be useful. It just seemed like they were only talking about how much they would make. I felt instant relief because it meant that we would live another day, but be taken to another place. I smiled to myself as we all moved on and I looked down as the girl grasped my hand. I wanted to tell her to let go, but I couldn’t find my voice at that moment. 

“You’ve made it. Good...you all are right on time.”

Everyone stopped as we looked at a man looking over a cliff. The men walked further ahead of us and bowed their heads. The man who spoke slowly turned around and looked over all of us. I did my best not to avert my gaze, but he made my skin crawl. His bald head had a large scar that ran over his head and across his face. It made him look so terrifying and I just wanted to run away as fast as I could. He fixed his jacket as he made his way down to us. The guards moved out of his way and he stopped in front of a younger boy.

“How many have you brought me?”

“Over three hundred sir, and we have two hundred more on the way.” He nodded and chuckled as he looked at us all over once more. “Have we...have we not pleased you sir?”

“No no...you have done excellent work, men. I’ll be sure to give you your rewards as soon as we wrap this up.” He knelt in front of the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. “What is your name, young man?”

“B-Brian…”

“Nice to meet you Brian...my name is Morlo. I’m sure you’re worried about everything that is happening. Well...I’m here to tell you that you have nothing to worry about.” 

“R-Really?”

“Of course...here let me show you something. All of you children are important to the future of the world...of this universe. You have important duties that you all have to have to accomplish.”

The man named Morlo led Brian up the cliff and we all watched silently as they talked between each other. Brian had a smile slowly forming on his face, but I had a feeling that he was lying about something, but I had no idea what. Morlo waved his hand and the guards made us follow him up. I felt the girl grip my hand tightly as we moved forward. Brian and Morlo stopped at the edge of the cliff and they faced us and we stopped.

“Now children...look at Brian, look at how brave and strong he is standing with me. He is going to be the stepping stone to our bright future! Hold your heads high, children! Know that after today you will be a part of a greater purpose! You have all been chosen and I’m here to guide you to sanctuary!” He looked down and smiled at Brian and he smiled back at Morlo. I felt my stomach twist in unease as Morlo patted Brian’s shoulder. My worry was justified as he gripped up the back of Brian’s shirt and threw him over his shoulder, right over the cliff!

Everyone began to panic and scream as Morlo turned towards the cliffside and laughed. A dark fog rose from the cliff and we all heard Brian screaming and begging for help, to be saved. The sounds coming from over the cliff were terrifying. It sounded like something was attacking him and weird sounds of squishing noise came out. We didn’t hear Brian scream anymore, but we grew silent as a loud thud sounded from the cliff. 

“Welcome to the Pit, children! Where all your lives will be used to their full potential!” I fell to the ground as a large black hand shot out of the Pit. A monster pulled itself out and roared at us with rows and rows of teeth. Everyone started to run but I was frozen to the ground. My eyes widened as more creatures poured from the dark abyss. They charged forward and stopped the others from running away. The men who brought us here even looked scared and that made me feel even worse. 

“Line the children up and bring them up here.” One of the men dragged me to my feet and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. My legs shook as everyone was pushed forward and thrown over the cliff. The cries and panic from everyone before me made my head spin. I was going to die. This was it.

“A-Altair?” Hearing my name, I took notice of the girl I had been talking to. She was still holding her doll as she was looking at me with pure fear in her eyes. She was walking slowly in front of me, but she never turned to look ahead of her. 

“I-I…” I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to her. My throat felt so dry and my mind felt empty. “.......”

“Altair...I’m-” I never heard the rest of what she said as she disappeared from my sight. I looked up as she screamed and soared through the air. Her doll fell from her small hands as many hands grabbed at her and tore her to pieces. I trembled as Morlo grasped the edge of my shirt and held me over the edge. I never even knew that girl’s name, maybe I should have been nicer to her. Did that even matter anymore? I was about to join her in death soon. The Pit was pitch black and the only thing I could see were the creatures and they were horrifying.

“A brave one we have here….” I was pulled back and Morlo gripped up my face to look closely at me. “Not even a single tear…” He pushed me to the ground and wiped his hands on his pants before he walked past me. “Gather the remaining children we’re moving. Congratulations children! The bravery of that young man has earned you all the right to travel elsewhere to somewhere just as exciting!”

I grunted as I was pulled to my feet and pushed along with the rest of the kids. Morlo continued talking and sprouting out his nonsense. I couldn’t hear any of it as I walked on. I knew this was only the beginning of our torment and I had a feeling the next place would be worse. Morlo stopped and smiled at us and I felt suddenly cold when he did, colder than I felt last night. My lips trembled as he laughed at our scared and panicked faces. It was at that moment that I finally found my voice.

“Help me….”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next: https://goddessofeternity.tumblr.com/post/653031391349653504/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

Previous: https://goddessofeternity.tumblr.com/post/648958621260136448/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

Thanks for reading!

Comments and reblogs are appreciated! Likes are welcomed !

[pekoeboo]

hm. I really need to find a way to properly organize the different RP and AU story ideas that I’ve posted about, tbh. been thinking about how I have like, 4 or 5 different stories and variations that it’s probably hard for my followers to keep track.. . but I’m not quite sure how to go about making it clear which timeline is what and the differences between them, since it can get a bit convoluted the deeper I go into it??

I’ve tried to tag things accordingly to the best of my ability (like recently branching the general #RP tag into a few variations, such as #Main RP, #Nocturne RP, etc) in an attempt to differentiate the stories and timelines, but I worry that it might not be enough. Like, for instance, the separate story with Jimmy, Altair, and Zenon is its own thing entirely (that I have a title for and everything but haven’t publicly announced yet), but some aspects of that story are referenced in a few RP things as well?? so it definitely can be kinda tricky when a lot of things are also somewhat connected in one way or another.

But idk. I guess if anyone is confused, y'all are welcome to ask about it and I can do my best to explain. however, super broad or vague questions are VERY difficult to for me to answer properly tbh, so please keep that in mind if you have something you’d like to ask xD pretty much my entire blog has turned into an RP/AU art blog at this point, which means I’m not really working much with canon and I feel like that might get confusing sometimes 😅

btw, apologies to anyone who follows me specifically for canon content (for any fandom that I draw for, really) - as of right now, that’s definitely not where my focus has been. can’t really control what my heart decides to latch onto, so I guess if you don’t really wanna see more weird RP stuff, you don’t have to follow xD I won’t be offended or anything I swear haha - I get that that sort of thing really isn’t for everyone, but I also appreciate y’all who do support my wacky artistic endeavors anyway!

not quite sure what the point of this post is, really. guess I just had some stuff on my mind and figured I’d share my thoughts :0

[faintblueivy]

"Those cherry blossoms show your real beauty." and "Cherry blossoms line is so overrated, please say something more original or pick another flower." BoruSara request if you willing to accept it, you can pick any setting you want. BTW I don't see the reason why I should make herself anon, so here I am! Your clumsy fan Kirumi ;)

Hi everyone! I’m finally done with this sequel of Starting Again and can’t wait to share it with you all! Thanks to @karinrumi for this amazing prompt and also to @mirachaann for beta reading it! My submission for Borusaraweek 2019! Day 3!

Prompt: Flowers

Word Count: 4k

Genre: Fluff

It’s Your Flower

“I’m late! Damn!”

Boruto hisses under his breath as his feet pound against the floor loudly. As he races through the stairs and then the corridors, he sees that barely a few people pass by him, noting how the school was almost empty now. As soon as the plank of 2 A comes into sight, his speed slows down and he pushes the door open immediately. There she was, sitting on her seat calmly in an empty classroom. The curtain of her dark hair was blocking her face from his gaze.

“Sarada!” He calls out and she immediately whirls around to look at him.

“Oh, you’re here,” she says nonchalantly.

“It’s late! You shouldn’t have waited for me!”

He crosses the distance between them, plopping on the seat in front of her, still slightly out of breath.

“You asked me to, didn’t you?” She laughs.

“Err…I didn’t think I’d be this late. You should have gone home.” He insists again, peeking over the notes sprawled on her desk.

“Hmm, but you still came to check.” She gives him a knowing smile, “And you did run!”

Boruto immediately averts his gaze, “I didn’t! I just did exercise!”

“Sure. Exercise.” she says with a smug smirk.

They immediately lock down on a glaring contest which - Boruto notes – was becoming quite a norm nowadays. And to be honest, he didn’t mind…peering into her eyes – which were so beautifully expressive, capable of projecting her delicate feelings. He is the one to blink away first, unable to handle the heat creeping up his neck.

“Come on. Let’s not stay here.”

He doesn’t even give her the time to respond as he slings her bag over his shoulder and proceeds to exit the classroom. He chuckles at her protests as she scrambles up, gathering her notes and running after him.

“Give me my bag!” She pouts, still trying to balance the notebooks and sheets in her arms.

“Nah. You carry that troublesome package.” His hand waves at the mess she’s carrying. “And leave this to me.” He points to her bag hanging on his shoulder. She narrows her eyes but doesn’t argue anymore.

They trudge down the same stairs that he had raced up a few minutes ago when Sarada asks, “Where are we going exactly?”

“Our secret base, of course,” he exclaims gleefully and Sarada suppresses the incessant urge to roll her eyes. Despite it all, a tiny smile curls upon her lips helplessly.

The ‘secret base’ he was referring to was their bench. Yes, that particular bench where she had treated his injuries and well, the place where they became friends, so it was theirs.

It was some distance away from their school, in a deserted park and barely any people passed by. It was a place where they could sit and relax together, without a worry in the world and know a lot more about each other. A safe haven, and a place to go to for them. 

As they walk through the school premises, Boruto waves to those who greet them and Sarada gives them all nods of acknowledgement and polite smiles.

Only eight minutes later, they are at the park. Boruto deposits both of their bags on the side and plops down. Sarada immediately follows after, placing the notes in between them. She rummages through some of them before pulling out a few sheets of paper stapled together and shoves them to him. At his questioning brow, she commands simply. “Read.”

“Tanabata is celebrated to commemorate the romantic story of two lovers represented by the stars Vega and Altair who are only allowed to meet each other once a year as long as the skies are clear.

It is celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which is July 7th in the modern calendar. Some places in Japan celebrate Tanabata on August 7th in accordance with the older Chinese calendar, which is where the legend originated.

The most famous of all the Tanabata festivals is celebrated in Sendai on August 7th, but most of Japan recognizes July 7th.”

Boruto stops, taking a breath before reading further everything on her notes with wide eyes.

“Tanabata originated from a Chinese legend called Qixi and was brought to Japan in the 8th century. This is the story of two lovers. Princess Orihime, the seamstress, wove beautiful clothes by the heavenly river, represented by the Milky Way. Because Orihime worked so hard weaving beautiful clothes, she became sad and despaired of ever finding love. Her father, who was God of the heavens, loved her dearly and arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi, the cow herder who lived on the other side of the Milky Way. The two fell in love instantly and married. Their love and devotion was so deep that Orihime stopped weaving and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to wander the heavens.

Orihime’s father became angry and forbade the lovers to be together, but Orihime pleaded with him to allow them to stay. He loved his daughter, so he decreed that the two star-crossed lovers could meet once a year–on the 7th day of the 7th month if Orihime returned to her weaving. On the first day they were to be reunited, they found the river (Milky Way) to be too difficult to cross. Orihime became so despondent that a flock of magpies came and made a bridge for her. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata-”

Boruto halts reading out-loud, his eyes sweeping over the page. All it said was more about the story and rituals related to the festival.

“…Sarada?” He questions, vaguely gesturing toward the sheaf of papers in his hand, “We’re supposed to write a play here…not an essay.”

“I know that!” Sarada glares, half hissing and half yelling. “Read the next page idiot!”

He nods and turns the page over, eyes skimming through the material and then widening with each next page.

“You wrote the entire play all by yourself?!” He asks, feeling both in-credulousness and – if he were to be honest - quite impressed.  

“Most of it,” she says nonchalantly. “A few girls helped me through.” She admits, and Boruto has an inkling as to how much the girls might have ‘helped’ her. He shakes his head at her fondly and then pays attention to the rest of the reading left to be done. And he has to admit, every new line is nothing short of excellence.

“This is going to be a blast!” He exclaims excitedly. “We just need to execute it properly.”

Sarada nods in agreement, but when he questions, “Who’s going to be Hikoboshi?,” she can’t help but raise up her brows, a smirk dancing upon her lips.

“Class decided,” she shrugs. “You’ll be.”

“Oh– wait? What?! Why me?!” He wails, angry that he was chosen again.

“Everyone said that they wanted their hero to be the Hero of the drama.” Sarada snickers.

“But I don’t have enough time!” He yells, frantic.

“Everyone said that they were willing to wait after classes,” she says quietly, as if prepared for any excuses he had. 

“Arghhh! Now I can’t even have fun! I am overburdened. Thanks to a certain someone’s decisive vote to make me class representative for the festival.” He glares at her.

“Now, now, Boruto! Be a man!” She taps him on the shoulder patronizingly. “It will suit you, I’m sure.”

“Why-” he leans closer to her, blue eyes narrowing, “-do I feel like there was definitely some meddling done by a certain someone?”

“Oh? Are you trying to accuse me of this now?” She smirks, a playful look overcoming her features.

“I never said it was you,” he says as a matter-of-fact. “You admitted yourself!” He finishes, waving his arm with flair of triumph.

“You insinuated it.” She stood up from her seat, slightly turning her head to look at him. “But what if I do admit that it was me?”

The question hangs in the air for several moments before Boruto yells, “I trusted you! But…you! You betrayed me! Why Sarada? How can you do something like that to me?”

“Well, I just figured… the more busy you got the less trouble you’d cause? Hehe!” She laughs a little, feeling a bit proud of herself for the small game she had played.

“Hehe.” He mimics her and she knows that she has to instantly run or it’ll be trouble for her.

“You! Come back here, now!” He shouts, hot on her tail as he chases her through the entire park. Their notes, books, and bags left behind on the bench, the empty park filled with their yelling and the shrieks of laughter. The vibrant orange sunset and their happiness together beautifully meld into a fond memory that deserves to be cherished forever.

…

“I was thinking…” He appears beside her out of nowhere on her walk to school the next morning.

“A very dangerous pastime,” she comments, hiding a smirk. He glares at her but she ignores it like a pro who has mastered the said art.

“About the script,” he continues, successfully catching her attention.

“What about it?” Her head tilts towards him in curiousity. 

“Maybe we should change it? Slightly? The scene where Hikoboshi first meets Orihime,” he suggests.

“Hmm? What do you want to change about it?”

“I was thinking about the cherry blossoms scene,” he says. “As well as that one line where he compares her beauty to the cherry blossoms around them.”

Sarada hums in understanding as they reach the classroom. She slides into her seat and retrieves the bundle of papers from her bag. Flipping through the pages she finally finds the part he was talking about.

“'Those cherry blossoms show your real beauty.’ this one?”

Boruto peeks over her shoulder and nods immediately.

“Yup! Cherry blossoms line is so overrated. Please say something more original or pick another flower.” He remarks.

Anyway, before she could say anything, the school bell chimes, echoing through the classroom.

“Hey, come on! The assembly won’t begin without us! Boruto grins, helping her stuff the papers into her bag again and then proceeding to grab her arm to drag her out of the class. 

…

The entire day passes by and Sarada still does not understand why Boruto doesn’t want cherry blossoms in the play. They were beautiful and delicate flowers, symbolizing spring and beauty, as well as fleetingness of happiness for Orihime and Hikoboshi. And she cannot think of anything better to express their tragic love story.

Cherry blossoms also meant renewal which felt like a gracious nod to the promise of meeting each other again every year for the star-crossed lovers. Cherry blossoms were perfect for the play, no doubt. But he probably had his reasons for not wanting them.

When school was over, she waits for him in the class like she normally does. He is by her side in a few minutes and both of them climb down the stairs. He is whistling nonchalantly but Sarada has her mind shooting questions.

“Why don’t you want the cherry blossoms?” She whispers, and then looks up at him, trying to observe any minute detail that might show his discomfort, “Is there a reason you don’t like them?”

He blinks twice before muttering, “It's… not that I don’t like them. It’s just that… they are not your flowers.” He explains as if she was supposed to know that.

“Oh,” she frowns a little before realization hits her “Wait. Wait, Boruto? Are you…under the impression that I’m the one playing Orihime?”

“You’re… not?” He questions, brows pinched in confusion.  

“No, I’m not. I forgot to mention, didn’t I? Sorry about that.” She shakes her head.

“It’s alright,” he says, flustered. “But who is Orihime then?”

“Sumire-san.”

“Ehhhh??? The class rep? Why?”

“Um, we thought she fits the image of a beautiful, delicate and sad princess better than anyone. And traditionally, the Princess had long hair and Sumire-san definitely is the one with the longest hair among all of us. And well… a bunch of other factors as well.”

“I-it makes sense now… I guess. But I-I really thought that you were playing Orihime.” He nods enthusiastically, eyes never staying in one place, his cheeks still a little pink, and his arm comes up to rub the back of his neck.

“Anyway, I do not have that princess beauty to be honest.” She confesses, startling him for a second before he hums gently.

“Yeah, now that I think about it…you don’t.” Boruto agrees, and for some reason, Sarada feels a sting of pain shooting through her heart. But then he gives her a look, blue eyes softening.

“Your beauty is more like that of a warrior.”

That faint admiration in his eyes makes a blush bloom on her cheeks.

“Well, if it’s class rep then cherry blossoms are fine,” he says with utter nonchalance before giving her a curt nod.

She nods in agreement before what he said finally registers in her mind. She halts in her steps. 

“What do you mean by that? Oy, Boruto, where are you going? Why are cherry blossoms fine for class rep but not for me?“ She yells at him but he’s already running down the corridor, shouting rambunctiously and roughhousing people like he ordinarily does.

…

The next morning when they meet, she voices out her questions.

“Why… why did you think cherry blossoms suit class rep and not me?” She does not want to admit it, but it felt unnerving for some reason.

“Wait… did I offend you or something?” He exclaims, slightly panicking, bending down to look at her.

“No! No! It’s nothing like that!” Sarada waves her arms defensively. “It’s just…I thought cherry blossoms are beautiful. I think…I was surprised?”

He straightens back, looking thoughtful, as if taking time to arrange his words carefully.

“It’s not that I don’t find them beautiful…well, it’s more like, the delicate beauty of cherry blossoms, when I see it, it doesn’t remind me of you. You need something bolder, more vibrant. I don’t know why I think like this, but I do.”

“So, you mean, flowers remind you of certain people?” She questions, her head tilted to a side.

“Definitely! Like, when I see lavender, it reminds me of my Mom.” He says gently before bursting out loudly,“And then, the sunflowers! They are so bright and colorful that they scream Himawari to me!” He grins like a happy kid and Sarada is unable to hold back a smile.

“So, you suppose that there must be a flower for me too? Something that reminds you solely of…me?” she asks, with slight hesitation and slight hope.

“I don’t know…which it is yet.” He admits. “The flower that reminds me of you…but I promise I’ll find it! Your flower!”

…

Sarada watches from the sidelines, speaking up her part when needed otherwise. Boruto was playing his part stunningly. She hadn’t imagined that he would be such a stellar actor. But then again, he’s always been unpredictable. 

And Sumire was no less. Her gentle demeanor and gracefulness fit well with Orihime’s soft and woefully tragic longing. The two of them together were absolutely captivating! The audience seemed to think that as well, with their wide eyes and jaws hanging.

There was a stirring caused up in audience when the Emperor of the heavens - Orihime’s father unleashed his anger towards the young couple separating them, and Sarada had to admit that Inojin played the role perfectly. He looked beautiful in his elegant clothes, and wrathful in his disposition.

The scene of separation was a painful one, but Orihime’s pining for her loved one was even worse. Sarada grabs the mike again and speaks her part.

“Months passed, but the princess could not return back to her weaving. The designs she made looked soulless now, her eyes dull with sadness. She would not speak, nor smile. So was her longing and love for Hikoboshi. Her father, the Emperor, could not bear seeing his precious child like that anymore. All his attempts to entice her with exquisite jewels, fine silks and lavish gardens failed. So, he finally made a decision~”

The next parts of the play went smoothly and all of the hard work they’ve put together in the making of this play seemed to work. The spectators clapped like crazy in the final scene where the two lovers were finally able to reunite.

As all the cast collects on the stage to present their gratitude to the viewers for their patience and cooperation, Boruto darts down the stage, grabbing Sarada’s wrist and drags her back to the main stage, a big wide grin on his face. When a lot of spectators immediately recognize her as the narrator of the play, she feels her heart thrum into her ears in resonance with the lovely cacophony.

And when Sumire, who was standing on the other side of Boruto gives her an encouraging smile which Sarada immediately returns and together, holding hands, they bow down to the audience and receive another heavy round of applause making Sarada feel as if all her efforts had received justice.

…

She walks through the decorated hallways of the school. The play was in for an immense success and every person they encountered seemed to praise their work. Sarada is elated. After working for continuous hours, at the end, they felt relieved now to finally be able to enjoy the cultural festival. Getting Sumire out of her elegant Kimono was a strenuous task but they had finally managed it without any serious mishaps.

Different classes had different scheduled stuff and Sarada could not wait to take a look around. The bag on her shoulders was heavy since it was loaded with hamburgers that class 1 C’s stall was selling. As she arrives near the classroom that had been given as the boys’ dress-room, almost all of them exit at once whining about how hungry they were. Her eyes flick around to catch a glimpse of a mop of golden hair but to no avail. Instead, she is noticed by someone else.

“Sarada?” Shikadai calls her out, gaining the attention of every boy in the group. She slides the bag off her shoulder and tosses it to him.

“Burgers.” It’s the only word she utters out before they attack the bag like rabid dogs, and she’s glad for a second that she’s not the one holding it anymore.

And in less than a minute, the bag is emptied.

“You guys didn’t save any for Boruto!” She complains to Shikadai and he smirks knowingly, jerking his chin to the small paper bag she had in her right hand.

“I would have saved him one if I hadn’t known that you’d already kept some for him away.”

Caught red-handed, Sarada flushes instantly and Shikadai laughs before gesturing to the room, tossing her bag back to her.

“He’s inside,” he says and leaves, waving a hand back at her.

…

When Sarada slides the door open, Boruto is in the middle of changing. His pants ride low on his hips and his back is turned towards her as he pulls his shirt up. Sarada feels color bloom upon her cheeks, biting her lower lip to ignore how his well defined muscles contour and move with his actions.

That’s when he notices her.

“Sa-Sarada?!” He squeaks and she yelps, jumping out of the room and slamming the door back into the place.

In merely thirty seconds, the sound of the door opening reaches her ears and Boruto comes to stand beside her. She is averting her gaze in shame from him.

“You know,” he taunts, “girls peeping on boys is as shameful as boys peeping on girls.”

“I wasn’t peeping,” she snaps, eyes flicking over his face and feels a weird happy rush in her stomach seeing how red his cheeks were.

“Sure you weren’t.” Even while blushing, his sass wasn’t going anywhere.

She pushes him inside the classroom in fake anger and shuts the door behind them.

…

They’re sitting together comfortably, him on the desk and Sarada on the bench, both of them having a burger in their hands as they calmly chew, eyes appreciating the beauty of the sun that was about to set.

“Thanks!” He raises his burger and talks with his mouth full, but Sarada does not have the energy to chide him.

“You did well, in the play,” she compliments, smiling gently. “Never messed up a single line and conducted your part very smoothly. I am impressed.”

He smirks and bows, “I aim for nothing else but to please, Ma’am.”

The silence stretches between them, devoid of any specific conversations but she feels content. Being with him was… like living with a box of surprises. Sometimes he’d be a whirlwind of activity and other times he’d be a quiet thinker. Whimsical, she’d say.

It is him who breaks the silence. “Hey, the other day, I visited Inojin’s mom’s flower shop,” he says, softly, as if not wanting to ruin the peace between them.

“Hmm?” She was not sure where he was going with this.

“I found it. Your flower, I mean.”

She whips her head around fast, eyes wide, and he just grins before jumping off the desk he was sitting on. He crosses the distance of a few seats to reach his own desk and starts rummaging through his backpack.

She watches him with curious eyes, feeling her heart beating rapidly. She wondered what kind of flower made him think of her. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t realise when he came to stand beside her, his arm wound around his back to hide whatever he was hiding.

She peers up at him through her lashes, excitement barely hidden in her eyes. And then he finally extends his arm in her direction. There, sitting on the top of his palm was…

A red camellia.

She feels her breath hitch in her throat, overwhelmed for a few moments before looking up at him again.

“Camellia is a spring flower, isn’t it? And the red color shows how spirited and passionate you are about your goals and also your bonds! The moment I saw this,” he smiled nostalgically, “I thought of you.”

Sarada feels a deep red blush painting her cheeks, her mind running mile a minute. She was no stranger to camellias. They were gorgeous flowers that always somehow soothed her heart. Especially, the red camellias… she knew what they meant. These red flowers had meaning - an amalgam of passion, desire and… Oh!

Oh!

Did he know?

“Y-you know,” she stutters, her onyx eyes fixing themselves on the beautiful red flower in her cupped palms “Red camellias…mean one more thing.”

It takes him only a fraction of second to curl his arm around her waist to pull her in. Sarada yelps loudly and he blurts out a ‘sorry’ before smashing their lips together. It takes her a moment to register what had happened but he’s already pulling away.

He never averts his gaze away from her, even as he is embarrassed like hell. His blue eyes, shimmering with warmth and affection make her lean into him even more. And the flower is still clutched in her hand.

“I know the meaning,” he tells her, still peering down at her. “Do you?”

Sarada does not hesitate to fist his shirt and drag him down to meet her lips again. This time, they are both prepared. Their lips move in perfect synchronization, tasting each other and melting into each other’s embrace. But the lack of oxygen makes them pull away soon after.

Sarada giggles, huffing for air.

“Do I?”

A moment of stunning quietness follows before they both burst out laughing, unable to hold it together. Sarada is deliriously happy, because how can she not be. This idiot was hers now.

He surprises her though, grabbing her slender wrist which held the flower and bringing it up to him. His lips gently brush her soft fingers, eyes still intently on her and she feels a tingling sensation rush all through her bones.

He smiles.

“It’s your flower.”

“Yes.” She smiles too.

It is mine.

…

Well? I’m super excited to know about your thoughts for this fic. I wrote this in parts with a lot going on in my real life and honestly, I felt as if I had lost touch in. writing BoruSara. I hope this story was enjoyable enough to you all!

Btw, everything I mentioned about Camellias was true! Red camellias do symbolise passion or desire and of course, romantic love as well. They are even coupled with pink camellias to present romantic love.

And all the stuff about Tanabata? I got it from here!

This story was fun for me to write, I hope it was for fun for you all to read as well! A cookie for for thoughts!!!

[ts-into-the-coinverse]

Made of Love, Chapter 27

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Table of Contents

Ship(s): Logicality, (platonic) Prinxiety

All Characters: Thomas, Virgil, Roman, Logan, Patton, Dr. Picani, Joan, Talyn, and Deceit

Synopsis: Humans Roman and Virgil get wrapped up in some serious magic business without meaning to. Their other companions aren’t exactly as they seem, either. Together they all must defeat a great threat for the safety of humanity.

Chapter Desc.: Sometimes the spider gets an easy meal. (And, no, Virgil won't save it this time.)

TW: Cursing, violence, unsympathetic Patton, blood mention, injury description, body horror

Prefer to read it on Ao3? Click here!

“Virgil,” Patton started in an overly calm voice.

Roman grabbed Virgil’s hand. He wasn’t quite sure why he did it. Something urged him to. A need he didn’t quite understand, yet complied with anyway. Virgil didn’t pull away so it must have been fine.

"I know we don't have any reason to trust Dolos, but I want to ask you one thing," he turned so he could look at Virgil, "is he telling the truth?"

"I…" He squeezed Roman's hand. "I don't know."

Wrong answer.

Patton frowned. "How do you not know?"

"I-I don't know. I don't remember —"

He stepped forward. "Did you tell anyone or not?"

"No. I never said anything. I swear." He kept a tight grip on Roman's hand.

"Then why don't you know?"

Virgil spared a glance over to Thomas and Logan. They watched the scene in wary skepticism. "Because I… I think I did do it." He quickly added, "but not on purpose."

That still didn't quell Patton's rising suspicion. "What are you talking about?"

Virgil looked at Roman this time. And Roman wanted to take away that fear and doubt he saw. "When I left the house on my own — when I was attacked by that Figment — I think it saw where I came from."

"Oh, man," Thomas whispered.

Logan remained silent and Roman didn't know what to say, either.

But Patton. Oh, gosh, there was a hidden fury there Roman recognized right away. "So we've been found because you didn't listen to us? When we told you never to leave the house alone, did you think that was a suggestion? There was a reason we said that and it was to make sure no Figments snuck up on anyone."

"I think he gets it," Roman stepped in. It was just… crummy. An accident. A wrong place and a wrong time kind of a deal. There was no way Virgil would have known. "It happened. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"You think I can just let it go? We've been living here for nearly twenty years in secret. Nothing has ever happened to get Altair even close to knowing where we are until you two showed up."

Roman took personal offense to that.

"And now he can walk in at any moment because Virgil decided to take a nightly stroll with zero regards for his surroundings."

Everyone fell silent. Roman was partially fuming from the implication that this was all their fault. They didn't ask to be thrown into this wild story. Patton was the one that decided not to write them out in the first place. He was the one to agree with Thomas about telling them magic things. If he didn't want any nasty troublemaking little humans around, he should have said so before this whole thing even started.

"Logan, fuse with me."

Logan looked up in alarm. "W-what?"

"Fuse with me." He marched over to Logan and Thomas. "We need to make sure nothing gets in this house that we don't approve of and Picani is the only one that can do it." He held out his hand.

“I, I don’t —”

“Logan.”

Logan shut his mouth tight. His fingernails dug into his arm. "What if it doesn't work?"

"It's going to."

He shared an anxious glance with Thomas before staring at Patton’s hand in uncertainty. He made a reach for it but Thomas gently grabbed his wrist.

“Patton,” Thomas started. “You can’t just force him to do it.”

“I’m not. I…” He looked at Logan, seeing rare vulnerability over his face. He probably felt it — the nervousness, the terror. “I…” He sighed and dropped his hand. “I’m sorry. I’ll — I’ll find a way to do it myself.”

“Patton —” Logan tried to stop him from leaving, but Roman put a hand on his shoulder.

Once he was in the house, Virgil groaned and drew his hand away from Roman. “I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to screw this up so bad. It was an accident.”

“We know that,” Roman reassured. “Right?”

A loud silence followed. Thick and palpable, leaving a dry, bitter taste behind. Roman felt his confidence wavering.

After what must have been an eternity, Thomas responded with a quiet, “Right.” Logan remained silent.

Virgil frowned at the ground.

Okay, that sucked. Roman refused to let that be the end of it, though. “We should get inside before Thomas freezes to death.”

“Yes please.”

Inside, there was proof that something went on. It was a huge mess that spread between the living room and the kitchen. Glasses and mugs were broken, the coffee table was destroyed, and almost all the furniture was somewhere it shouldn’t be. In the moment it didn’t seem that drastic, but looking at it now was a different story. A tornado would have left a cleaner mess.

Thomas gasped and rushed over to a picture frame on the floor. It must have fallen off the wall. “Oh no.” He picked it up and glass pieces fell from it. The frame itself was unsalvageable, and the picture proved to be undetermined.

“Be careful,” Logan warned softly.

Thomas slipped the picture out of the broken half of the frame. At least most of it was okay.

“Maybe we should clean all of this up,” Roman mumbled as he looked around. The once neat rooms were a complete disaster. He didn’t think he’d ever see it like this. The house had always been spotless even on the worst days. "After we take care of ourselves first."

They also happened to be a mess. Thomas was soaking wet with a bleeding cut along his cheek. Logan's arm was caked in blood. Virgil had a gash above his eyebrow and Roman was sure he didn't get away unscathed either.

"I think we need to give Patton some space," Logan mumbled.

Roman frowned a bit, sensing tension he was all too familiar with. "Then we'll just have to do it the old fashioned way."

"We don't have a first aid kit or anything." Thomas set the picture and frame down on the breakfast bar. The trash can had been tipped over. "I think I have a box of band-aids in my room." He paused. "I think this proves we should get a first aid kit for the house in case of emergencies."

"I have one in my car. Logan can come with me to get it." He motioned with his head for Logan to follow him.

"You have a first aid kit in your car?" Thomas gazed at him in confusion.

"Virgil's not the only paranoid one." They walked around the fallen front door.

"Never thought I'd hear that," Virgil commented under his breath.

Roman led the way down the stairs to his car. He popped the trunk to get the first aid kit in the back, but before grabbing it, he turned to Logan. “Are you okay?”

“What?” Logan looked taken aback for a moment. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, I’m fine too, so that’s why I’m asking.” He sat on the bumper of his car. “From one ‘fine’ person to another.” He attempted a smile but it fell flat. “Honestly, Logan, are you really okay? I don’t want to speak for you, but with what just happened with Patton right now…" God, why was this so difficult? "I’m just trying to say, that from someone who has also gone through some traumatic experiences, you don’t have to pretend in front of me.”

Logan hesitated. He schooled his expression, but there was a break enough to show he was afraid. “I would prefer,” his words came out choppy. Like he was choosing what to say as it came out of his mouth, “to put this whole incident behind us.”

Hm. “Alright, I get that. Just know that if you ever need to stop pretending, you can come to me.”

“I… appreciate that.” He shivered and seemed momentarily confused by it.

“Yeah, that’s what cold feels like.” Roman reached into the trunk and pulled out the first aid kit. “Let’s get back inside.”

They entered the house without a word. Virgil was the only one they saw. He picked up the tipped over stools at the breakfast bar.

"Where's Thomas?" Logan asked.

"In the shower." He picked up the trash can.

"Virgil, stop trying to clean up and sit down." Roman placed the first aid kit on the bar counter. "Logan, you sit down, too. We don't want either of you getting your blood all over the place."

Virgil complied with a bit of a curious look. "Who put you in charge?"

He popped open the kit. "No one. I'm just assuming I'm the only one that knows how to use any of the stuff in here." He grabbed a washcloth from the hall closet and ran it under the sink. Almost all of Logan's arm was coated in blood (it appeared to stop actively bleeding, at least), and there was no way all of that would come off with a tiny alcohol wipe. "Okay, Logan, either you take the shirt off or I'm ruining the rest of that sleeve."

"The shirt stays on."

"Works for me." He cut the rest of the sleeve to have better access to the gashes. They looked nasty. Long lines traveling down his whole bicep to the joint of his elbow. The center of it was the deepest part. Almost deep enough to see the tissue layers. An injury like this should be treated with something a bit better than a first aid kit, but that wasn't an option. He tried to be as gentle as he could cleaning the blood. The whole cloth was stained red by the end of it. "This next part is going to sting a bit." He ripped open a packet of antiseptic.

"Ooh, look at you, Mr. Boy Scout." Virgil smirked. It didn't make his eyes twinkle with mischievousness like it always did.

"Please. I could never stand boys my age when I was younger." He began applying the bandages. "One of my brothers is an Eagle Scout, actually. I went on almost every single camping trip with him and was there for nearly every merit badge. Kinda hated it, but I got some useful information out of it." He finished. It wasn't pretty, but it would hold. He was sure Patton would heal it after he cooled off. Well, he hoped. "You should be good for now."

He did the same with Virgil and then Thomas when he got out of the shower. He almost closed up the kit and set it to the side, but Virgil stopped him and reminded him he still had to do himself.

"Or I could do it. I-I mean I could try. You can tell me what to do."

"Just clean the cut and bandage it, you dork." He slid over the kit. "It's not rocket science."

Thomas and Logan sat together in the living room after fixing it up a bit. None of the sofas were in the right spots, but that was a problem for another day. Thomas created a little hovel of blankets that he hid under for warmth. Logan had one over his shoulders that he wrapped further around himself when a cold breeze pushed its way through the gaping doorway. It was clear that the concept of feeling cold was foreign to him. It's like he didn't know what to do about it.

"We have got to fix that." Roman frowned at the doorway.

Virgil snapped the kit closed. "The hinges are busted. What are we gonna do about it?"

"We can't just leave it wide open like that."

"We're not handymen, Roman. I agree with you, but how can we fix it right now?"

"It would probably help if one of us stopped brooding and used some magic." Roman couldn't help the slight contempt that leaked into his voice.

Virgil frowned. "He has every right to be mad. I just don't understand why none of you are on his level."

Roman matched his frown. "Because we’re being reasonable. You wanted to be alone. You weren't trying to hurt anyone. He's acting like you went to Altair himself and told him our address."

“It feels like it, doesn’t it?”

Fuck that. “Virgil, listen to me. It wasn't your fault. Patton's overreacting. How could you have known that there would be a Figment there at that time? How could you have known any of this would happen? It's unfair to put blame on you when you had no idea what it would come to."

Virgil fidgeted in his seat. Roman could tell he wasn't content with that, but he didn't say anything. Neither of them spoke about it further.

Roman stayed up late that night. Well, later than usual. He didn't want to admit that sleeping with Virgil was starting to help him sleep better, but it was true. For most nights, at least. This appeared to be one of the nights it didn't work. Whether it was being upset with Patton, or the stress of doomsday, or the continuing presence of his traumatizing childhood was up for debate.

But it was probably being upset with Patton. No other reason.

How could anyone blame him? Patton threw things way out of proportion. Yeah, it's upsetting, but it isn't Virgil's fault. It wasn't as if he chose this specific outcome to happen. Ugh, if he had to keep repeating that he was going to lose his mind. It felt like he had to defend Virgil from everyone — if he didn't then who would? Not Virgil, that's for sure. He was content with getting blamed even though no one had a right to blame him in such a way.

Roman sighed and covered his face with his hands. He had no idea why he was being so defensive. It was like something else took over him the second Patton pressured Virgil. He didn't know what it was and he kind of hoped it would go away. A very small yet persistent “I told you so” buzzed in the back of his brain, but he didn’t know what it meant. Who told him so? Told him what? How was he meant to learn something from it if he didn’t even know what it was referencing?

Goddammit.

He wasn’t going to sleep tonight.

~~~

For the first time in — well — forever, Virgil woke up before Roman. But, surprisingly, he wasn’t the first one up. The cocoon of blankets that used to house Thomas was moved over to Logan. Virgil untangled himself from Roman and stood up to look for the kid. Except he didn’t have to go very far.

Thomas sat at the breakfast bar, holding the photo from last night.

“Hey, kid,” Virgil whispered as he took a seat beside him. “Mind if I sit here?”

“Go ahead.”

Virgil tried not to be curious, but he couldn't help to let his eyes wander over to the photo. It depicted Picani in a floppy hat and bright yellow sundress with a large sunny smile. He was bent slightly to be closer to Thomas's height. If his hand was anything to go by, he was the reason Thomas's hat was backward. As for the rest of Thomas, one of his cheeks was smeared with purple paint, but his clothes had various other colors scattered about. He didn't seem to mind, as he smiled just as brightly as Picani.

"Are you doing okay?" Virgil turned his eyes to Thomas. He looked tired. Like some battle-weary soldier who wanted to go home.

"I miss him." He placed the photo on the counter but didn't look away. "I love Patton and Logan a lot, but…" He sighed, almost inaudible. "I just miss Picani. The longest I ever went without him was a few days, but now I haven't seen him in weeks. It's…" He trailed off once more and it didn't seem he knew how to pick it back up.

And Virgil didn't know how to do it, either. "We'll see him again."

"I hope so." He spared an anxious glance back at the pile of blankets that concealed Logan.

Virgil frowned, guilt sitting in his chest like a rock. He knew trying to help Logan got a lot harder. “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I kind of get the feeling I ruined everything. I let Altair know where we are and he sent Dolos after us. And look at this place,” he spun on his stool to motion to the disorder. The sofas were still messed up. There was a crack in the wall where the picture frame used to be. A broken coffee table, and a door being held in place by a kitchen chair, “if Altair decided to show up himself it’d be a lot worse.”

“I know.”

“And you’re just fine with it?" He spun back around to show his disbelief. "He could come here anytime and wreck this place again — and us — and it would all be my fault. Shouldn't you pissed about that?”

“I can’t be.”

"Why not?"

"That would be hypocritical." Thomas looked him dead in the eye.

He had a cold feeling in his stomach. "What are you talking about?"

A small, sad smile made its way on his face. "I might be the only person in the world who knows exactly how you feel.” Seeming to take Virgil’s silence as a response, he continued. “I was the reason Altair found my family. The reason Picani and I had to run away.”

Virgil paused to figure out how to word that he wanted more information without being tactless, but settled on, “How?”

“An accident, really. Just a couple of kids saying magic is real.” His eyes flicked over the picture for a moment, frowning. "I'm… a little upset, but there's no way I can be mad at you. Because I did the same thing." He took the photo in his hands. "Picani understood what I did was a mistake and I didn't mean for anything to happen. I bet he'd think the same for you."

"No offense, but I hope you understand why I don’t believe that."

Thomas frowned a bit further. Before he could say anything else, Patton walked into the kitchen. He looked… well, there was no accurate way to describe him other than awful. His glasses were missing, allowing a strong contrast between his bright eyes and the dark bags beneath them. A deep scowl remained on his face as he went about his morning routine.

“Morning, Patton,” Thomas greeted softly.

Patton mumbled back a reply.

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Not one bit.” His eyes were on the kettle, but it didn’t seem as if he was seeing it. “I spent hours trying to find something that I could be able to do, but I just — I just don’t have that kind of power.” He leaned against the counter. “Picani is naturally good at protection magic. Unless we have him, there’s no way this house is safe.”

Thomas brought up a fake smile. "Well, we just have to be extra vigilant, then."

Patton hummed in a way that managed to sound resigned yet disapproving. "Where's Logan?"

"Over there." He tilted his head toward the sofa.

"Is he okay?"

"I, I think so." He exchanged an uncertain glance with Virgil. "He didn't seem not okay. I mean, he has those bad cuts on his arm and they kinda look like they hurt, but he didn't say anything about them."

Patton stared into the living room blankly. "I'll heal it when he wakes up."

Thomas and Virgil exchanged another glance. "Patton, maybe you should — I don't know — rest?" Thomas looked at him warily. "Is it really such a good idea to stay up this long?"

"I'm fine."

Virgil frowned. "I don't think —"

Patton glared at him.

Thomas cringed and shrunk in on himself.

Virgil had half a mind to do the same, but the most he did was avoid Patton's gaze and keep his mouth shut.

"Let me know when Logan gets up." He left the kitchen.

There were a few beats of silence before Thomas whispered, "That could have gone better."

Virgil was inclined to agree.

~~~

Roman ran his sword through the dummy's chest and dragged it up, slicing through the wood. "He's being an ass." The dummy fell to pieces. "He can't just keep ignoring you like that."

"Evidently he can." Virgil watched the dummy spring to life. "Why are you so mad about this?"

"Because I am!" He sliced it in half and turned to face Virgil. "He doesn't have any right to be acting the way he is. He's making Thomas upset, and Logan uncomfortable. And me —  pissed off." He turned back to the dummy once it built itself again. "I hate being pissed off."

Virgil didn't know what to say to that.

"If he got off his high horse for a second he'd realize what a jerk he's being." Roman readied for a proper round this time. "Maybe he'd stop seeing us as an enemy that he needs to get rid of."

An enemy.

The Machai elves are warriors, Virgil's mind provided him, feared creatures that don't back down from a fight. Is that what this was, then? A fight? Was Patton going back to his roots as a feared warrior to ensure his family's safety? Were he and Roman no longer considered apart of it? Or maybe just Virgil. After all, Virgil was the one to show Altair where they were hiding.

Roman, in a move Virgil was sure wasn't taught to him, evaded the dummy's pursuits to end up at its back. He flipped the sword in his hand with expert ease so it ran along his arm, and jabbed it behind him. The blade pierced through its stomach. "I told you we couldn't trust a Machai elf."

"I know," Virgil responded before his brain could catch up. Once he realized what the fuck just happened, he uttered a stupified and genuine, "wait, what?"

"What?" Roman looked at Virgil in confusion until he, too, was hit by realization. But it fell back to confusion. "Why did I do that?"

Virgil stared in shock before regaining his composure. "Objective complete." The dummies crumpled.

"I don't know why I said that." Roman seemed more confused by the second. "I, I've never thought — I don't know — why did that happen?"

Virgil stood up and walked toward him. "Tell me what you're feeling."

"I-I mean I'm confused —"

"No." Virgil grabbed Roman's free hand. "What are you feeling?"

"I…"

This wasn't the first time the two had a conversation like this, and it didn't seem it would ever be the last. "You know what I mean."

Roman hesitated, keeping his eyes trained on their hands. "I'm… I'm mad at myself. For letting this happen." He adjusted his hand to hold Virgil's a slightly different way. It was familiar. Like a distant memory. A dream. "I-it just, it feels like I should know better, or that I was waiting the whole time for something like this to happen. I don't… I don't get it."

Virgil didn’t quite get it, either. This was still a new and unpredictable thing for them. “Is there anything else?”

“Uh…" The tips of his ears burned a bright pink. "No.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“Oh, like you’re any better.” Roman tried to pry his hand away, but Virgil held it tight.

“You don’t have to tell me. I know I don’t experience all of this, this —” what was there to even call it? What was it? —  “memory stuff the same way you do, but we’re in this together.” He put his other hand around Roman’s fist. “Whatever happened back then isn't going to happen now. We're going to be okay."

Roman looked up at him, meeting his eyes at last. And Virgil received another jolt of familiarity. Like something he hadn't seen in many years was finally being returned to him. It caused him to lose his breath. He had seen Roman's eyes before, several times, but in this instance — in this context — it was different. It meant so much more to something deep inside him. And then he realized he was staring at Roman like a wide-eyed idiot. But before he could find his voice, someone cleared their throat.

Logan stood there with a raised brow and a faint smile. He wore one of Picani’s pullover hoodies, which was a first, but it was much chillier today than yesterday. And since he was able to feel temperatures now, he needed something to keep him warm. Even if it was an oversized, pink hoodie. “Am I interrupting something?”

Roman and Virgil jumped away from each other, Virgil ripping his hands back the same way a child would drop evidence of being in the cookie jar. They rushed out a frantic and unbelievable, “No.”

It didn’t seem Logan cared all that much, however. “Be that as it may, it is rather convenient to find both of you here. I have something important to discuss.”

Important? That didn’t sound good.

“What’s up?” Roman pushed his bracelet back to his wrist, his sword vanishing from his hand.

And then Logan hesitated, which made Virgil’s stomach do a flip. However, it was more a hesitation for thought than reluctance. “Thomas needs to learn how to properly defend himself. If this trend of growing danger continues, he needs to be able to handle it on his own if it ever comes to that.” He adjusted his glasses. A rather telling nervous habit. “Considering Patton’s, uh, current reluctance, I feel you two are the obvious next choice.”

“Obvious?” Virgil couldn’t help the twinge of skepticism in his voice.

“Yeah, for once I think I agree with Virgil’s cynicism.” Roman put a hand on his hip. His tone was jovial and a bit sarcastic when he said, “I didn’t think you’d let us teach Thomas anything unless you thought you were dying.”

Logan didn’t react. Didn’t smile, didn’t frown, and didn’t deny it.

All joking manners seeped out of Roman. He stared wide-eyed at the tiny mage before him, who somehow seemed even smaller with the shadow of death looming over him. “Oh my God, you think you’re dying.”

“It is necessary that he receives training as soon as possible,” Logan continued, blatantly ignoring Roman. “It would be easiest if you were the ones to do it.”

“You mean it would be easier on him when you’re gone.” Virgil didn’t mean for it to come out so bitter, but he couldn’t believe it. Logan was accepting his fate as if it were a hundred percent possibility. And while yes, Virgil couldn’t deny that Logan surviving was a tiny sliver of hope to hold onto, it was still there.

Logan made a face Virgil couldn’t decipher. “Even if I wanted, I am unable to.” He briefly placed his hand over the injury on his arm. Roman replaced the bandages this morning. “I can’t move much.”

Virgil narrowed his eyes at the place the gashes would be under the hoodie. Since the dream and the incident with Brigida, seeing Logan bloodied was… not a favorite pastime of Virgil. To say the least.

“Weren’t you supposed to see Patton about that?” Roman asked.

“Yes.” He hesitated again, but this time out of nervousness. “But I could sense his anger before I even entered the room and decided it would be best to leave it be for the time being.”

Roman scowled. "I'm going down there."

Virgil caught his arm. "Cool it." He didn't want them at each other's throats. "Getting back on track here — Logan, you can't admit defeat already. There's still time."

Logan stared at him. Eyes are the windows to the soul as they say, and Logan was never an exception. They always showed what was going on on the inside. Right now, clear as day, Virgil could see just… solemn acceptance. Logan didn't expect to live for much longer. He took it as fact. There was no amount of convincing that would get him to see otherwise.

"It would mean everything to me," his words crawled out slow and tired, "if you two decided to do this. We can't always be there to protect him and I-I just… I just want him to have a chance."

Virgil felt Roman squeeze his hand. Virgil squeezed back. "We'll do our best."

Logan nodded, clenching his mouth shut tight.

They pretended they didn't see the sheen of tears in his eyes as he left.

~~~

Two days.

It had been two days since Patton blew up at Virgil, and it didn't seem to be getting any better. For Virgil, at least. Patton toned down his bitterness for Thomas, Logan, and even Roman. But Virgil still had to deal with the anger and silent treatment. It was kind of making him lose his mind.

He didn't know what he was meant to do. No amount of logical perspective from Logan or gentle reasoning from Thomas would make Patton cut it out. It wasn't fair. He wouldn't give Virgil a chance. That's all Virgil wanted. A chance. How was he meant to apologize if Patton wouldn't give him the time of day?

Fortunately for him, a blessing revealed itself in the form of the Theorist.

The one and only time Virgil was glad to see the damn bastard.

"Someone gave me a tip," he explained as he took a seat beside Roman. "Anonymously, of course. Not how I prefer it, but information is information.”

“Anything useful?” Roman asked as Virgil fulfilled a request of a bar patron.

Ever since that night seeing Patton's future, the Theorist would stop by more often. They’d exchange news, if any, and then he’d leave. Off to do whatever the hell he does. He was stupidly mysterious — far too dramatic for his own good — but it made Virgil wonder what a black market Seer does on his off-time. Or his on-time. How exactly does he operate?

“Depends on your definition of useful.” The Theorist frowned a bit. “It feels more like a rumor than anything else.”

“Rumors can hold a bit of truth sometimes,” Virgil grumbled. “Out with it.”

He earned an exasperated sigh for that, but also the point. “They say Altair’s camping out nearby. Probably wants to be close after that little break-in incident of yours.” He shrugged. “But who knows the real reason, if any. If you can’t understand someone’s motives, there’s no point driving yourself mad over it.”

Virgil paused, mulling over the guilt and the silent treatment and the ticking time bomb that was Logan. “Do you know where?”

Both the Theorist and Roman gawked at him. “You’re not actually going to look, are you?” The Theorist hissed in an incredulous tone. “There are no facts — no evidence. This could very well be a trap. Altair’s getting impatient and he’s done waiting around for Logan to just die. He could be trying to lure all of you out.”

“Then I’ll be the only one to go.”

Roman made a soft, startled choking sound. “Fuck that. You’re not going anywhere.”

Virgil sighed. “Roman.”

“No, Virgil. We don’t know anything about the person who dropped the tip or even if it’s true. Did you forget that the last time we followed an anonymous tip we almost died?”

“Well, what if this one is true?” Virgil tried to keep his voice down. No one else needed to know of their escapades. “We’re just going to wait for Altair to do something when we have a chance to stop him?”

“I’d listen to him, Virgil,” the Theorist shifted in his seat, “we don’t know anything about this, and if it’s a trap, it would be dangerous to go on your own.”

“We won’t know what it is unless someone investigates.”

“Then we’ll figure something out,” Roman pleaded.

“I have to be the one to do this.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the one that messed up. I’m the one that put all of us in danger. I’m the one Patton is pissed at, and I need to make it up somehow!” The last sentence came out louder than he intended. Several people turned their heads to look at him. He stared, frozen, before ducking his head to avoid their gazes. “If you don’t give me what you know,” he said in a low, serious voice. “I’ll find it out myself.”

The Theorist scowled, not happy with this ultimatum, but he also wasn’t an idiot. “That little shop a few buildings down. It’s closed for renovations. Supposedly.”

“Wha — you —” Roman was stuck between betrayal and disbelief — “am I the only one still against this?”

“Roman, it’s gonna happen whether you like it or not.”

Roman stopped, an unreadable expression blooming on his face until it dissolved to a hard frown. “Then I’m going with you.”

Virgil blinked, mind slow to process what transpired seconds ago. “You… why?”

“I told you already. You’re my best friend. No matter what, I’m going to stick with you.”

And if Virgil felt something flutter in his chest at that, he ignored it.

“That’s almost sweet enough to make me sick," the Theorist commented with a coy smile. "Now, if you're done with your suicide pact, I'm gonna head out." He slid a paper across the counter to Virgil. "Do me a favor and text me after you get done so I know whether or not I should stop by next time." He slid off the stool and called back before leaving, "I don't do phone calls."

Neither did Virgil. He picked up the paper with a raised brow. When did he have time to write this? Whatever. Virgil shoved it in his pocket all the same.

"He has a weird way of hitting on you."

"If you say something like that again I'm gonna punch you in the throat."

The following afternoon, Virgil and Roman set out on their task. Virgil insisted that they not tell anybody. If the others knew then they'd try to tag along and Virgil couldn't have that. He was doing this to help them.

On the outside, the little store didn't appear out of the ordinary. It was a store closed for renovation. Nothing more or less about it. Supposedly. On the inside, it could be a very different story. But they had to get in to find out.

"How —?" Virgil was cut off by Roman covering his mouth.

"Don't say anything," he whispered. "The less you say the better. And try to look like you know what you're doing. No one questions confidence." He dropped his hand.

Virgil kept his mouth shut, but tried to convey his best, "what the fuck are you going on about?" look.

Roman simply smirked. "Come on." He strolled down the alley as if he had no better place to be. Virgil had no choice but to follow him.

They stumbled upon a little window near the back. It would be big enough for them to squeeze through, but not by much. Roman did a quick survey of the rest of the place, just to see, and confirmed this was their only way in. He also noted that there was a surprising lack of people for a place that was meant to be under renovations.

Virgil watched with mild fascination as Roman took control of the situation. He studied the window on his tip-toes before seeming to decide what to do with it. And the fascination grew as, with practiced ease, Roman went about forcing it open with an abandoned piece of scrap metal. Virgil had half a mind to warn him about tetanus before the window was opened, silencing any remark he was going to make.

Well. The sarcastic ones, at least.

“How the hell do you know how to do that?”

Roman gave him another smirk. The damn cheeky bastard. “If you’re locked out of the house a lot, you figure out ways to get back in.” He stepped back and motioned to the window with an almost regal half bow. “After you.”

Virgil rolled his eyes but heaved himself through the window anyway. Roman was a step behind.

They were in what must have been a washroom of sorts. Or maybe a laundry room. There was piping sticking out with hard floors and tiled walls. But no people. Staying quiet, they crept out of the room and down the hall. It wasn’t until the main room that they spotted anyone. A man, or rather, a Figment who took the appearance of a man. He wore an outfit from the 20s. The only reason Virgil could tell for sure was due to the resemblance of the outfits Logan and Patton first wore. But other than him, there was no one else.

Roman and Virgil shared a glance that seemed to convey the same, “well, at least we checked it out” mentality. The Figment was the only thing in the room worth of importance, as well. Nothing else stood out. Nothing else screamed evil or magic or both. It was a normal room with a bored-looking Figment messing with scraps left behind from an actual renovation. Altair, or any evidence of him, wasn't to be found.

“It’s rude to sneak around, boys,” a voice hissed behind them with a touch of amusement.

They both froze. It took them longer than they’d care to admit to get over the horrified shock and turn around. Before them stood a woman, a bit taller than average, with a wide smirk that showed off some sharp canines. If she came out of an 80s fashion magazine, Virgil would have believed it. And that was a bad sign.

“Oh,” she cooed as if addressing a stray animal. “You’re the humans. Gosh, look at how cute and fragile you are.” She walked forward, pushing them back and into the main room.

This was an even worse sign.

She acted… normal. Like a real person. Like Arlene and Brigida and Dolos. Created to always be slightly wrong, but more accurate than the first Figments they ever saw. And while that was very shitty, there still came the even shittier question… how the hell were there two of them?

The other one in question was right behind them now.

“I would love nothin’ more than to just squeeze you until you pop.” She clenched her hands into fists and scrunched her nose. "But I can't do that quite yet." Her eyes shifted up to the taller Figment. "Grab them."

That was enough to set things into motion. It all happened too fast for Virgil to keep up with. One second he was by Roman's side, the next they were separated with weapons drawn. The man followed after Roman while the woman stuck with Virgil.

She was different. So very different than any Magus Virgil had met so far. There was an air to her that told Virgil's most primal instincts to run away. Not in the same way a normal Figment caused. No, a normal Figment caused unabashed dread and fear like a coiled spring. What she caused was an instant fight or flight reflex. And the way she moved. It was… animalistic. Like Virgil was the prey and she the predator.

Hell, maybe she was.

In a quick flash, something shot out from her hand and towards Virgil's foot. He almost fell over when it hit. Not because it pushed him, but because it stopped his momentum. What the fuck. He paused to stare at it, confused when it looked like —

"Spider web?" He turned his eyes up to his pursuer, who stopped to smile at him. All teeth.

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, six more joined the movement. Positioned on each side of her face in rows. "You don't happen to be afraid of spiders, do you?"

"I prefer when they're nice." Virgil cut his foot free and took off.

She made a noise between a hiss and a growl before following him. She blinked, and her extra eyes vanished as if they were never there in the first place.

He almost staggered to a stop when he saw Roman get his sword yanked from his hand and tossed to the side. He didn't though. "Roman, are you okay?"

Roman remained on the ground. "It's like trying to fight Ty Lee," he groaned.

Great. Virgil didn't get a chance to help him. Another web caught his foot. This time he crashed to the floor. He cursed under his breath. For one, both of his daggers slid across the floor which left him simultaneously defenseless and deaf (the sudden, jarring sound of hearing things clearly was never pleasant). For another thing, his body fell forward while his foot stayed in place. Talk about a major owie.

"Virgil!" Roman moved out of the way of his own sword. His movements were stiff and sluggish, but not sluggish enough to be held down. He ran over to Virgil to help him up. "How the —?"

"My daggers." Virgil pointed uselessly at the floor. He almost fell over again without Roman to support him. Roman pressed one into his hand but kept the other. That might have been for the best.

"Aw, you guys are cuter than I thought," the Figment purred. Once Roman heard her, he was at Virgil's back to defend him. "Even when faced with defeat, you still put up a fight."

"No one's defeated yet," Roman countered.

He just had to open his stupid mouth.

Virgil felt webbing wrap around his torso, securing him to Roman with both their arms pinned to their sides.

"Fuck," Roman cursed softly like a bitter regret.

Indeed.

She approached them and snatched the daggers out of their hands as if neither of them had a death grip on it. To pour salt into the wound, she dropped them both at her feet. Within eyesight, but out of reach. "It would be so easy to squeeze you both right now." She walked around them, keeping her hands on her expanding web. "I'd give anything for it."

The other Figment simply stood by like a guarding statue.

"I don't think I remember this Spider-Man origin story," Roman quipped.

A short laugh left her grinning lips. "Inspiration had to come from somewhere, sugar." She stepped back, satisfied with the cocoon she trapped them in.

"What's stopping you from killing us?" Virgil asked. He hated everything about this situation.

"Self-restraint, really. But most of all, it ain't wise to kill bait." She shot a thick rope of webbing to the bottom of the cocoon.

"Bait?"

"Of course." She sent him a smile. "We need three others." The other rope of web went straight to the ceiling. She bent down to remove the webbing keeping them stuck to the ground, and then there they were. Hanging from a ceiling.

Ignoring the head rush and vertigo, Virgil retained his annoyed cadence. "You're going to wait forever, then. They don't even know we're here." He felt Roman stiffen against his back. Oh no. "Right, Roman?"

It took a second for him to respond. That second of silence was all Virgil needed to know. "I may have, uh, mentioned it to Thomas."

Goddammit.

"Look, I don't even have to see you to know that you're doing the 'Roman-how-could-you' face, but someone needed to know what happened to us if anything went south. You can't just charge headfirst into battle without backup."

Virgil grit his teeth. That was a solid point, but he was too upset to care.

"Lovely. It's only a matter of time, then."

Roman took a breath that signified a long-winded rant, and Virgil tuned him out on an automatic impulse. Roman's rants always consisted of exaggerated scenarios and how someone was wrong in many, interesting ways. This particular rant had a lot more curse words strewn about, some creative, and far more personal attacks on their captors. Virgil didn't think they cared about that.

The Figment pointed a finger gun at Roman, closed one eye as if taking aim, then a soft, "Pew," left her mouth as her hand mimicked the action. A gob of webs hit him right in the mouth.

Roman paused if only to process the turn of events then continued on his rant, muffled this time.

A quiet sigh escaped Virgil. This was all his fault. He should have listened to the Theorist. He should have listened to Roman. Now they were stuck here with an 80s, off-brand Spider-Gwen, and her stony-faced companion.

Not that he had time to stew in his self-pity for long.

The front doors burst open. Logan and Patton rushed in but didn't get very far passed the doorway. The webs on the floor tightened around their ankles like a Looney Tunes trap, binding them together. And much like a Looney Tunes trap, it sent them sailing in a direction they didn't want to be. Which in this case was hanging from the ceiling. Logan's pommel had fallen from his hand from the movement, and almost as soon as they were fixed in that position, the webs started crawling and wrapping their way up.

"Great," Patton huffed, crossing his arms. He grumbled something under his breath about hating spiders.

Despite the circumstances, Logan only seemed annoyed and inconvenienced by his predicament.

"Ooh, look what we have here," Gwen approached the other two with a large fanged grin. "Wait until the boss gets a load of this." She turned that grin to her compatriot, placing her hands on her hips. "Four outta five ain't bad."

Patton growled. "Over my dead body."

"You're getting ahead of us, elf." She spat out the word like it was venom on her tongue. "The boss wants to take care of y'all personally." Her eyes flicked over to Logan, narrowing in suspicion. "Is this the one all the fuss was about? You don't look like much."

"The spider said to the frog," Logan said in the most verbal form of an eye roll that Virgil has ever heard.

Gwen scoffed. She walked away from them and toward her partner. "C'mon, we need to tell the boss." She led the way to the back of the room.

Patton growled again, more annoyed this time. “Virgil.”

Oh, boy, here we go again. “So you’re talking to me now?” He regretted it as soon as it left his mouth.

Patton gave him a look that told him to shut up without any words necessary. “Don't start with that. You and Roman decided to go off on your own without telling anyone. Do you understand how dangerous that is? You both could have been killed.”

Roman made angry muffled noises.

Virgil agreed. “We were only coming to check it out. We heard that Altair might be here, and rather than dragging you all to a false alarm, I decided to see for myself and Roman stuck with me. I was doing it to help.”

Logan opened his mouth as if to step in, but closed it without uttering a sound.

“I think you’ve done enough helping already,” Patton bit back.

Virgil wasn’t sure if it was the blood pooling to the top of his skull or the rising anger, but his cheeks were on fire. “It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. I didn’t intend for a Figment to follow me and give away our location, and I didn’t intend to be trapped in a spider web like a damn fly. None of it was on purpose. I didn’t want any of it to happen.”

“Then you should have stayed put!”

Okay. Okay. That was enough. “What do I have to do for you?!” He ignored the questioning and alarmed hum Roman gave him. “I’ve apologized — I’ve done nothing but say sorry to you — but that’s still not enough! What will get you to trust me again? What do I have to do to get you to understand? I did this so you would forgive me because I’m fucking sorry, alright?” Tears pricked at the back of his eyes, so he closed them, taking in a soft breath as well. “I’m so sorry.”

He continued to take purposeful breaths as to not burst into tears. God, he was pathetic when he was angry. “I just want… I need to make it up to you. Somehow. I would never do any of this on purpose. I have to do something to make you understand that.” He kept his eyes screwed shut. He couldn’t look at anyone. He didn’t want to. If he did, it would no doubt make the waterworks flow.

But a bright light in front of his eyelids made him snap them open.

The light slipped out of the webbing where Patton and Logan were and dropped to the floor. As it stood up, it morphed into Picani. Well, almost. He seemed more off than last time. Still with those mismatched eyes and mashed up clothes, but distinctly more… Patton. Something emphasized a bit more due to the menacing scowl on his face.

The Figments soon noticed the entrance of a new contender. Gwen turned with a sneer. “Abomination.”

Picani didn’t even flinch. “Normally I'd disagree.” He tossed up the pommel and snatched it out of the air when it turned to that familiar sword. "But this time I think you might be right." The action was so very Logan, but more articulated. Like this body wasn’t used to the movement and therefore couldn’t do it as smooth or as elegant as Logan did.

In the back of Virgil’s mind, he registered Roman wriggling around, but he didn’t put much thought into it. He kept his focus on Picani. The way he fought was like two people working together rather than one, with distinct styles of Logan and Patton popping up. This isn’t how it looked back with Brigida. There wasn’t any distinction when he fought with Brigida. He moved like one person. As if he had always been one person. Something changed.

Right as the stoic one moved to use Roman’s sword, it vanished from his hands. Virgil had a fraction of a second to think, "bracelet!" before the blade of a sword shot out of the web cocoon. Oh, Roman, you beautiful bastard.

“Roman, you’re a fucking genius,” Virgil cried out as Roman got to work on sawing away at the webs. It no doubt was a strenuous task what with the limited movement and weird angle and all.

Roman gave him a happy, proud hum.

After many minutes cutting away (and Virgil trying his best to help by pulling at the webbing), they broke free. They fell to the floor rather ungracefully, and with strings of web still sticking to them, but at least they weren’t trapped. Roman pushed his bracelet to his wrist and the sword vanished. He worked on prying the webbing off his face. Virgil scooped up his daggers, ready to help Picani if need be. Except he didn’t have to.

Weeds were wrapped around the Figments, coiling and squeezing tighter and tighter like a hungry snake until — well — until there were no more Figments. They popped into familiar plumes of smoke and Picani fell to his knees with the weeds following after. He heaved and gasped for air. And Virgil was on his feet in an instant despite the faint throbbing in his ankle.

“Picani.” His hands hovered near him, unsure and nervous. He didn’t know what would help or even if he should help at all.

“We don’t need —” Picani cut himself off. His conjoined voices were leaning towards the Patton side. He sounded angry. After a shuddering breath, he tried again, more gentle, “I-I’m sorry.” He curled his hands into fists. “I-I’m not e-exactly myself right n-now.” A puff of laughter. Broken. Fragile.

“Are you okay?” He took notice of Roman stepping next to him.

“N-not in the s-slightest.” He sat back on his legs, breath still shuddering. “We c-can’t hold it. W-we’re splitting apart — I-I can feel it. It hurts.” He wrapped his arms around himself as if that would keep him together.

Virgil swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn’t want to imagine how that felt — feeling yourself pull apart. “Then unfuse.”

“Not yet.” He looked up at Virgil. His eyes, despite being a clear distinction of two people’s, both displayed a genuine need for understanding. “Virgil, we…” He shook his head. “I. I-I am so very s-sorry. I’m trying… From, from whatever p-part of me in here that’s still Picani, I-I want you to know that I-I’m not mad. I understand it w-was a mistake. Patton is —” He gasped, arms tightening around himself — “h-he’s just afraid. We’re b-both terrified. Everything feels l-like it’s falling apart around us a-and…” A steady sigh left his lips. “Th-that isn’t the point. The point is, I-I don’t bl-blame you. You sh-shouldn’t have to apologize for something that wasn’t your f-fault.”

The only thought passing through Virgil’s head was Thomas was right. Of course he was. Thomas knew Picani better than anybody. It was dumb to ever doubt that. “Try telling that to Patton.”

A soft laugh leaked out of him. “I th-think he’ll be swayed.” As the words left his mouth, a drop of ink rolled out from his left eye. His faint amusement fell off his face, and he brought a hand to his cheek. More drops began to roll out like stained tears. He stared at his hand with wide, horrified eyes. The ink stayed smeared on his cheek where he had touched it.

Fuck.

Virgil tried not to throw up from the sheer anxiety he felt. His dream. Logan had black ink spilling from his eyes. He also said some rather gut-wrenching words, but that wasn’t applicable at this moment.

No one had the time to get over their horror, however. Picani clutched at his chest. His strangled scream was cut off with a quick flash of light and something that sounded eerily like the crack of electricity. Patton and Logan collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

An alarmed, “Shit,” left Virgil’s mouth at the same time Roman cried, “Guys!"

They ran over to the pair. They appeared to be breathing, at least.

"Well, what the fuck do we do now?" Roman turned to Virgil. "Are they okay?"

"I don't know!" He didn't mean to shout, but all his nerves were on high alert. “I have the same damn information that you do.”

“There’s no need to be so crude about it.”

“Roman —!”

A soft groan pulled them out of their panic. Patton's eyes fluttered open, but they were unfocused as they stared at the ceiling. He muttered, somewhat winded, "What just happened?"

"We were kind of hoping that at least you would know," Roman answered.

Patton sighed and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. "It feels like I exploded." He drew his hands back to look at them. Clean. As he slowly sat up, he already seemed back to his normal self. No evidence that anything happened to him a mere seconds prior. “Logan.” He hurried over to him.

“Is he okay?”

Patton placed a hand on his chest, mouth twitching in a frown. “If by ‘okay’, you mean alive, then yes.” He moved his hand to his cheek. “Logan — hey. You gotta wake up.” Nothing. “Logan, louljet, come on. We have to move.” When he didn’t even stir, Patton let out a near-silent, “please.”

“I don’t think he’s getting up,” Virgil said softly.

“Gemati.” Patton sighed in defeat. He pushed Logan’s bangs out of his face. “You’re right. We have to get out of here before anyone else comes.” He scooped Logan into his arms and lifted him as if he weighed nothing.

When they got back to the house, Logan continued to remain unconscious. That was a problem. Virgil knew very little about health, but he knew enough to know that remaining unconscious for this long didn’t bode well. Patton laid him on the sofa and sat beside him. Roman sat close by to talk to Patton in a hushed, concerned voice.

Virgil ignored them. He turned away, focusing his attention on anything that wasn’t Logan. He couldn't do this. Logan, laying there, looking closer to death than he ever had before… Virgil couldn't take it. He had seen this too many times. There were too many scenarios in which something similar to this occurred, and all Virgil could do was pray that this was one of the good ones. He didn't know what he'd do if… if…

God, Anxiety had a point, didn't he?

No matter what Virgil did, it didn't seem to take Logan any farther away from his deathbed. If this incident proved anything, all he did was bring him closer to it. And that — that hurt. He didn't want to be the cause of Logan's death. He didn't want that horrible dream to come true. He wanted to make things better. He needed to make things better. There was no way in hell Virgil would let Logan die because of him. No. There was no way in hell Virgil would let Logan die — period. If he had to sell his soul to fucking Satan himself he would do it.

He was going to save this goddamn family even if it killed him.

Speaking of…

"Where's Thomas?" Virgil allowed himself to look back. Logan still hadn't woken up, and it didn't seem to be getting any better.

"With Joan and Talyn." Patton pulled his hands away from Logan's chest, the blue glow fading from his palms. He sighed. "Nothing's working."

“Maybe we just have to wait and see,” Roman said rather solemnly.

Patton didn’t like that but relented regardless. If he couldn’t do anything as the one person in this house with magic, then there was nothing to be done. He gathered Logan’s hands in his own and squeezed them. He whispered something in his native language, almost like a prayer, then bent down to kiss Logan’s forehead. “I need a drink,” he sighed.

Roman followed him into the kitchen wordlessly.

Virgil stayed where he was. Waiting wasn’t easy no matter what you were waiting for. It was worse if you didn’t know when the waiting would stop. But the beauty of waiting is that it always stopped. In one way or another, at least. Sometimes it stopped in a way you didn’t want it to. Sometimes what you wait for isn’t what you’re expecting. Or, worse yet, it comes out slightly wrong. Twisted. It’s what you asked for, but not in the way it was meant to be. Like fate was playing some cruel joke on you because you waited — obedient, patient — for a reward you thought yourself entitled to.

Or perhaps you just had shit luck.

Logan cried out in pain. A sharp, desperate sound that made Virgil’s blood run cold. If it could have gone any colder it would have. Since the next thing that happened didn’t seem entirely possible. Logan — his body — vanished into thin air. For a second. He reappeared with a pained groan. And then it happened again. And again. And again. It came in quick random successions. His body just…  flickered. It flickered in and out of existence like a flame in the wind. At the same time, black ink began to creep up his neck. Similar to other times it bubbled and swirled along his skin — except this time it wasn't isolated on his wrist.

Virgil faintly registered Patton shouting. Maybe Roman, too? He couldn't tell. Everything went quiet except his ragged breathing — the blood rushing in his ears. He couldn't look away no matter how much he wanted to. And he wanted to so bad. He didn't know what was happening. No one did. They all hovered around Logan, lost and afraid and — fuck — what was happening?

Then it stopped.

As quick and as random as it happened, it stopped. Logan shot up, gasping as if woken up from a horrid dream. All the black ink under his skin seeped back beneath his sleeve. "I-I'm okay," he rasped, not at all sounding okay. "I'm okay."

Patton had his jaw clenched tight. Once he was able to process, he let out a heartfelt and gutted, "Fuck." He hugged Logan. He cradled the back of his head and held him like it would be the last time he ever did so. "God, I —" He choked on a sob and buried his face in Logan's shoulder.

Virgil grabbed Roman's hand.

(Next)

[ledabunnie-rp]

Snippet of the ‘Gemini Coven’

Man, never thought i’d make it back to this blog to post but lookie me here I am. This has been a WIP for a little over a year now and this is just a snippet of what i have been working on to show yall. I took inspo from season 6 of TVD bc i LOVE Kai Parker and the whole Gemini Coven thing was my absolute fav. So, Here are our babies in their own Gemini Coven. 

~~~~~~~

“Awhh.” The older wizard let out, patting his partner’s hand in an attempt at reassurance. “Matato… Are you jealous?” he teased. 

The tone in Matteo’s voice rose at least two octaves. “Jealous? No way! She is so bent on making my life hell. There’s nothing to be jealous of when she is just going to die soon.” 

“Oh.” Altair gasped. “So this is about the merge” 

Matteo choked up, his throat unconsciously closing causing him to gag. It had nothing to do with the merge. Well, it actually had everything to do with it but he wouldn’t admit it entirely. It made him look weak. “No.. well. Maybe!  We go last! and I don't know if I'll be ready for when..” he stopped. Thinking about the constellation’s merge brought on way too many fears and sleepless nights more than his own. He had no idea who would win, and he prayed to the gods that Altair would make it. 

Altair sighed, he figured that's what part of the issue was about. “When it's time for me and Vega to go? Well!” He nudged his shoulder into his boyfriend's neck, “don't you worry. We aren't going to participate. We refuse to live in a world where we have to live without the other. Especially when it's because of one of us.” 

“That's not how it works Altair.. you can't just, out beat the merge. If you refuse, you both die, then the whole coven dies. Mason dies, whoever wins the Mcatee merge dies, I'll die. It's not worth the risk of killing everyone.” Matteo gruffed out. How could his boyfriend be so stupid? They've known about the merge since they were kids, they knew there was no way to beat it. It was something that was going to happen and they had to face it. “You can't fight the inevitable”. Matteo couldn't accept it himself, the fact that one day, him and Mason would have to fight each other to live. To absorb each other's power and watch the other die in front of their eyes, by their hands. He refused to lose, but he also refused to kill Mason. It was a constant battle, literally and figuratively.

Altair was insulted. Why was Matteo being aggressive about it? All he wanted to give the boy was reassurance but he was blowing it out of proportion. His meltdowns were different from Vega’s. Matteo’s were insult driven, hell bent on making sure other’s feelings were hurt in the process.  “Sure that's true but there's always another way! There has to be another way. We are peaceful, lovers not fighters if you will. You wouldn't understand, you're nothing like your twin. Only thing you have in common is the womb you shared.” Matteo pulled himself up and out of that chair so quickly Altair just rolled into the crevice that was formally Matteo's body as he watched the other boy start  for the table across the room, then back towards him, then over to the book shelf. Matteo was starting to pace and needed to think. Think about what he wanted to say, how he wanted to come across. How not to strangle Altair right then and there.  Bad thoughts, bad thoughts. The freckled face boy pulled his sleeves over his hands and turned around to face the other. He needed to stop his hands from the ‘boi point’. 

“I'm sorry, but what? Another way? ANOTHER WAY? Generations of people died LONG before us and they never had another way. There were theories about how different twins in the same bloodline could merge but they both end up dying. DYING Altair.” Matteo didn't mean to be yelling near the end, he's just getting worked up. Too worked up. He needed Mason, or Estelle, or Altair when they're not having this argument anymore. The only way to not have it, was to not be there and right now though, he needed to go. Leave this whole situation and come back to it never. He was losing himself in his racing mind and the pacing started back up again.

“Hey! Hey! No! no! no!” Altair called out to the boy, clapping his hands as well. He stood up from the beanbag chair. “come back to earth. Come here.” He called out in a stern voice then pointed to the spot in front of him. 

Matteo snapped out of his thoughts of finding ways out and looked across to Altair, crossing his arms and raising his brow at the other. “what?” He scoffed then bit his lip, why did the other have to be so hot without even knowing? His cluelessness? such a cute attribute.  Altair was distracting him from the important topic at hand, though.  He started to turn back around but was stopped in his tracks. Arms were bound tight against his body; the same spell Celestina used.  His head turned towards Altair, ready to snap at him but the other boy had a hand outstretched and was chanting something Matteo had heard from moments earlier. 

Altair flicked his wrist up and sent Matteo sliding across the room without a chance to react. His hand flew back to his side when the other boy was in front of him again.  Now they could talk to him face to face. “No one is going to die Mayo. We have 6 years to figure out how to make it happen. You just have to believe that we will find a way” Altair reassured him in a calm soothing voice now as he started to wrap his arms above Matteo’s shoulders to hug him. If he could bring him close, maybe he could calm him down long enough to get a truth sigil on him, and help Matteo cleanse his mind of what was really bothering him. With his arms around the other, Altair lightly drew his three-symbolled sigil on the back of Matteo’s neck giving him a big squeeze and pulling away. 

Matteo wasn't digging the whole ‘getting dragged across the room’ situation and was ready to pop off but Altair cut him off way before he could get a word in. Before he could even comment on Altair's new comment he was getting dragged into a hug and having his neck tickled by the boy. He shook it off and when they pulled away he looked at him funny, something was off about Altair.  “You look weird. Too chipper for a boy who is currently in an argument with his…. Whatever you think we are. ” He said out loud, not meaning to at all. 

Altair ignored his comment about their status, thinking only of how awesome it was getting an honest answer from Matteo, for the first time ever. He needed to soak this up for however long he could before Matteo smudged the sigil. There were so many questions to ask, Altair didn't know where to start. He can't start with the obvious ones, otherwise Matteo would catch onto him more. “We’re in an argument? What about?” he asked, playing dumb to gauge how truthful he would be. 

Matteo scoffed and rolled his eyes unintentionally, sarcasm and annoyance controlling his voice as he spoke. “Really Altair? You're never as dumb as you look but today you really have been proving yourself. We were arguing about you really thinking you and Vega can out beat the merge by not participating when what will actually happen is you'’ll both end up dead.” As soon as it came out Matteo covered his mouth, eyes widening as he looked across at the other boy. Shaking his head he spoke through his hands. “that was not supposed to come out.” 

Well that hurt. A part of Altair was glad to know the mark worked but the other part, his most sensitive part, was very hurt. He knew he put it on himself, marking an asshole by making him tell the truth but dang.. He nodded his head then rubbed his face, pulling an eyelid down with him. “I’m sure it wasn't but Jesus Matteo, you're a fucking asshole sometimes.” 

The boy's curls started to flop around as he shook his head. He tried stopping the next words to come out of his mouth but he couldn’t. It was like he was cursed with honesty. “I may be an asshole but at least im not delusional like you are.” He gasped when it came out, he didn’t mean to say that. Well, he did, but only in his head not out loud. Matteo didn't know why he said that, why was he being honest right now? What was wrong with him? He felt stupid-no he was stupid- and he could feel himself starting to spiral but he couldn’t stop himself from saying what was on his mind. “At Least I know that when I go against Mason I’m going to lose but you won't even try to fight for the coven and you’ll risk all of our lives just to keep your ‘make love not war’ trope you have for yourself to stay true. It’s stupid to fight it Altair. You really want to die without even letting me put up a fight? That’s selfish, no, its actually fucking stupid.” Pink cheeks flushed against his freckles as Matteo started for the other boy, taking their hands into his as he spoke again.  “I..I didn’t mean that I’m sorry.  Please don’t leave me, Altair. I don’t want you to stop loving me, if you even do love me, I don't know what you feel, honestly since you won't even kiss me half the time.” Fuck! He needed to stop talking but he couldn’t. His brain wouldn't shut the fuck up. 

 With that Altair’s heart started to break as he released his hands from Matteo’s and backed away from him. Now he was the one who needed to leave this conversation. It went too far too quick and was starting to upset him. So with that he pulled Matteo in for another hug. Hand going to the back of his neck to rub the sigil off before he pulled away to look into his eyes. “You need to clean this place up before they come up here.” He told the other before pulling himself completely off the boy and walking towards the elevator to leave Matteo with the mess he made. He didn't look back either when he stepped between the elevator doors and they closed, but from the noise he heard coming from the other boy before the doors shut  Altair could tell he was heartbroken. He knew Matteo would be fine though. Tomorrow he will come back to school and have completely forgotten about this whole interaction. Things would go back to normal and it would be just another bump in their road. 

Except that isnt what happened.

@wishes-in-the--markmark @nerdynumme-rp

I hope I did ya’ll baby justice. Idk how to end the big story so enjoy this while i figure it out and decide when i’ll post the big thing. 

[altairsoffice]

❅ january ; mayor tasks

The board is decorated with ribbon and holly... It fills you with a warm, cozy feeling. Looks like there’s things to do here...

Title: Hair Day Crisis Requestee: Alepolis 

Desc: AaaaaaAAAAAAAA I dropped my metal brush into Vivi and I can't find it anymore ;_; I can't swim and it's one of the deepest pools... please help me I don't want Pheri to trade me another one she makes such a big deal out of all the time!! 

Offered Payment: You'll get three spring visits on me! I'll even throw in a free massage-- my work is top tier!

Task: Dive into the Sping of Vivi at Tea Tree Springs and retrieve Alepolis' metal comb. Swimwear and underwater visibility gear provided. Rewards available: One time.

Title: berri >:o Requestee: Altair!!!! 

Desc: heven's dew is in season right now... everyone's busy so no one's ben pikin it!! can you pleas get some for me? i'll even share! dad says that it's nice to share . ^ . 

Offered Payment: yu get a basket of the berris and a neverbreak ribbon!

Task: Travel to Silvermoss Forest and gather three baskets of Heaven's Dew.  Rewards available: One time.

Notes: 

These are intended to be thread incentive, as we encourage member interaction, but, if it fits better for your muse to complete it alone, drabbles that are over 500 words will also suffice.

For more information on mayor tasks, feel free to look at the mayor task document.

[astrogeoguy]

A Wonderful Week of Lunar Doings, and a Bright Stars Guide!

(Above: I’ve labelled this image of the moon by Michael Watson of Toronto  with many of the interesting features you can see on the moon when it’s full. The red numerals are the Apollo landing sites.)

Hello, Stargazers! 

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of May 12th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca. 

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact me and we’ll tour the Universe together!

Public Astro-Events

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

Weather permitting, on Tuesday, May 14 from 9 to 10:30 pm, astronomers from RASC – Mississauga will hold a free public star party at the Riverwood Conservancy, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga. Details are here. 

On Thursday, May 16 at 7 pm, the Brentwood Library will present a free public talk by U of T Professor Emeritus John Percy entitled Our Amazing Universe. Details are here. 

On Saturday, May 18 at 3 pm, the Aga Khan Museum will present Listening to the Moon with Poet Laboni Islam, exploring the moon in art, science, and spirituality. Tickets and details are here. 

The next RASC Family Night at the David Dunlap Observatory will be on Saturday, May 18. There will be sky tours in the Skylab planetarium room, space crafts, a tour of the giant 74” telescope, and viewing through lawn telescopes (weather permitting). The doors will open at 8:30 pm for a 9 pm start. Attendance is by tickets only, available here. If you are a RASC Toronto Centre member and wish to help us at DDO in the future, please fill out the volunteer form here. And to join RASC Toronto Centre, visit this page. 

The Moon and Planets

The moon is a shared global experience. Everyone on Earth sees the same phase of the moon. This week, the moon will pass from First Quarter to Second Quarter in its monthly trip around Earth. What’s Second Quarter, you ask? Why, it’s the Full Moon! Measuring from the New Moon phase, when the moon is hidden beside the sun in the daytime sky, the First Quarter Phase occurs about seven days later, at which time the moon passes a point in the sky that is 90° from the sun. (If you stretch one arm west towards the setting sun and the other south towards the first quarter moon, you’ll form that 90° angle.) A week later, the moon will appear opposite the sun in the sky and fully illuminated, rising just as the sun sets. 

To be precise, First Quarter phase occurred last night (Saturday) at 9:12 pm EDT. So it will look slightly more than half full tonight (Sunday), and will be sitting just below the stars that form Leo (the Lion). For the rest of the week, the moon will wax fuller and rise later every evening. Remember that the waxing gibbous moon is still a terrific sight in binoculars and backyard telescopes! 

On Wednesday evening, the moon will land among the stars of Virgo (the Maiden). Look for Virgo’s brightest star Spica sitting less than an outstretched fist’s diameter below the bright and nearly full moon. Your unaided eyes are unlikely to pick out the rest of Virgo’s dimmer stars – but binoculars will reveal them. 

(Above: On Friday night, the waxing gibbous moon will land between two of the bright stars in Libra, the Scales. The sky is shown here at 1 am local time on Saturday. By that time, the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn will be in view.)

On Friday night, the very bright moon (only one day shy of full) will land between the two brightest stars of Libra (the Scales). The fairly bright star to the moon’s upper left is called Zubeneschamali “the Northern Claw”, while the star to the moon’s lower right is Zubenelgenubi “the Southern Claw”. Those two stars used to be considered part of Scorpius (the Scorpion). Alternate names for those two stars describe their roles forming the balance of the scales. 

For the coming weekend, the moon will pass into Scorpius itself. The May full moon, known as the Full Milk Moon, Full Flower Moon, or Full Corn Planting Moon, will occur at 5:11 pm EDT on Saturday, so the moon will appear completely full all night long. Full moons always rise in the east as the sun sets, and set in the west at sunrise. Since no shadows are cast by the vertically impinging sunlight on a full moon, all of the brightness differences are generated by the reflectivity, or albedo, of the surface geology. Look for the bright rays of material arrayed around some of the younger craters. Tycho, the big, bright crater in the moon’s south-central region, has a huge set of them. Many more, smaller ray systems can be easily seen in binoculars. 

Did you know that indigenous people in Canada and around the world have long understood that the tidal force generated by the moon’s gravity draws the water table higher and up into the trees? Their wood-workers know not to harvest wood around the full moon. The wood will be wetter, take longer to dry, and is prone to cracking. I suppose the same rule would apply to felling trees for firewood. 

(Above: Reddish Mars will remain observable within the western evening twilight for a few more weeks as it sinks sunward, as shown here at 9:15 pm local time. Once the sky darkens, look for the bright stars Capella at right, the twin stars Castor and Pollux at top centre, and Procyon to their left.)

Reddish Mars is now truly beginning its “exit, stage West”. It will be visible for about an hour after dusk every evening, surrounded by evening twilight. Soon it will attain conjunction with the sun, followed by a re-appearance in the eastern pre-dawn sky in November. 

The next available bright planet, mighty Jupiter, will rise in the east just before 11 pm local time this week. It’s gradually making its way into position for summer evening stargazing. For now, if you are walking through the house in your pj’s during the wee hours, Jupiter’s bright beacon might catch your eye through a southerly window. Jupiter will reach its highest point over the southern horizon at about 3:30 am local time and then descend towards the west as dawn arrives. If you’d like to see the famous Great Red Spot in your telescope, it will be on the side of Jupiter that faces Earth around midnight tonight (Sunday) and Wednesday. The rest of the time, you can look for the four bright Galilean moons arrayed to either side of Jupiter. Sometimes you’ll only see two or three of them if the rest are hidden by Jupiter itself.

(Above: The Great Red Spot on Jupiter will be visible from time to time this week, including this view at 1 am EDT On Wednesday, May 15. Three of the four Galilean moons are at upper right.) 

Look for yellowish Saturn, which will be rising about 2 hours after Jupiter all summer, sitting about 2.5 outstretched fist diameters to the lower left (east) of Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky. Saturn will officially enter the evening sky in the last week of May. Dust off your telescope because even a small telescope will show its rings! 

(Above: The eastern sky at 11 pm local time features the stars that will grace the summer stargazing season. Bright Vega and almost-as-bright Deneb are two corners of the Summer Triangle asterism. Altair will complete the trio after midnight. )

Distant and dim, blue Neptune is in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, among the stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). The planet will rise a before 4 am local time. But I’ll wait for summer, when it will be available in the evening, to look for it. 

Venus and Mercury are mostly invisible now, low in the eastern pre-sunrise sky. They’ll soon completely disappear in solar conjunction. Mercury will enter the western evening sky by May’s end, and Venus will appear there in September. 

Bright Stars

With the moon getting full this week, only the brighter stars will remain visible using unaided eyes. Here’s a rundown of the brightest ones. Facing west after sunset, look low in the sky for the bright yellowish Capella in Auriga (the Charioteer). A little higher, and to the east (left), is the matched pair of stars Castor (on the right) and Pollux (on the left) in Gemini (the Twins). Directly overhead, you can look for the seven bright stars of the Big Dipper. 

Swinging around to the southeast, and looking well up the sky, you’ll find yellow-orange Arcturus, the brightest star in Boötes (the Herdsman).  Finally, climbing the northeastern sky is Vega, in Lyra (the Harp). To Vega’s lower left is another bright star named Deneb. These two stars are the first corners of the Summer Triangle asterism to appear. And that tells us that summer will soon arrive in the Northern hemisphere!

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[eaglesof]

This is a heartfelt note from me, Murphy, to my followers, the Assassin’s Creed rpc, and the people of color and cultures that I represent writing Altair...

So. If ya’ll know me then you know if I have some killer anxiety when it comes to validation, being good enough/liked, and so on and so forth. My insecurities have hampered me in my time in the Assassin’s Creed community, but I’ve come to a point where I no longer feel as afraid to step up and say what I feel I need to say to make myself feel more comfortable.Ya’ll know I write Altair. Altair is, and always will be, my first love. Assassin’s Creed was the first thing that was really my own as a kid, Altair was literally everything to me then and he is a cherished part of my personal being now. I love him, ya’ll can fight me. I love writing him. I love sharing him with other people, because so many people just... neglect him. But that’s not what I’m here to discuss.

Let me just say that I’ve been writing him for awhile. I have aged 5+ years since I started writing him; I have seen tumblr rp change, I have seen the fandom change, and I have seen the social climate change. I have learned and grown as a person. I like to think I’m open-minded and prepared to accept criticism. I know I can be defensive, and I do get upset when people tell me that something I’m doing is wrong/problematic, but that’s more because I’m a coward and hate when people don’t like me than resenting being called out. But I think we all know racism and whitewashing are a big problem in the RPC, and let me tell you I do my best to combat it, I really do. Honest to god, I stress about it. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be writing this, trust me.

Anyway. I recognize that a BIG issue is whitewashing, especially when it comes to the diversity of people of color. I also recognize, from experience, that face casting a character like Altair can be incredibly difficult, given the general lack of Middle Eastern representation in media. (Trust me, one of my oldest OCs is of Native American descent and it took me THREE years to find a native FC that worked for him.) I know it’s a very sensitive place in rp to be involved, and I feel for the struggle that POC endure in seeing themselves reflected in media.

So, here is what I have to say, as a white girl writing a Middle Eastern male. I use Riz Ahmed as a primary resource for icons/casting for Altair. Riz Ahmed is of Pakistani descent. Pakistan and modern day Syria aren’t even in the same general area, and from what I have seen the cultures are vastly different. And, honestly, I would be just as offended if someone walked up to a person nearby and implied they were simply “Middle Eastern”, or generalized using whatever informal grasp they have, i.e. “Syrian”. I get offended when people imply that because I am western I must be from Texas (I’m from Arizona), and that’s only a remote comparison.

And, let me answer some questions, first. Why don’t I just not use icons? I like icons, they help me visual better and honestly they’re kind of a comfort thing for me. Why don’t I find a better faceclaim/make my own resources? I don’t have the time or resources to, unfortunately. And trust me, I have attempted to do so in the past for little gain. That out of the way, let me tell you what I have decided.

I, as a responsible roleplayer, conscious of the people and culture I am attempting to represent, can only provide the quality that is in my power to produce. I know that Riz Ahmed is not a true to form representation of Altair, and I recognize the importance of understanding the varied and diverse people of color that inhabit this world as rightly as I do. It is my duty, as a conscientious individual, to state that I have done what is within my mode, and have made an effort, and will continue to do so. It is my duty to acknowledge the difference between Altair as a character and the actor I have chosen to portray him, and that I have not and do not willing permit people to surmise that these identities are interchangeable.

I apologize if this all sounds rather snobbish or overdone. It is within my person to speak with the utmost respect and formality to things I honor and hold dear, so please do not doubt my words for not being very frank. Know that, from the very bottom of my heart, I want to do my best to represent fairly, and will do all that is in my power to do that.

And, as a further note to my followers who may be POC: it is not your responsibility to school me, and I could not ever expect you to educate me. I will always defer to your opinions and suggestions, but you deserve to exist in your own peace. I saw a post about this quite recently regarding educating hateful family members on LGBTQ issues: in short, it is not your role to educate or help me. Do for yourself what is best, but know that I do try to be open-minded, and want to work with those who would have me to become a better, smarter portrayer of those cultures, histories, and people who are not like myself.

I hope this will be found to be an acceptable explanation of myself, how I feel, and how I intend to conduct myself in the future of this blog and portrayal. I thank everyone who has helped me on this journey, who has supported me and guided me and enabled me to grow, to be here a part of this great community. I hope for your continued support and help, or else that if this should be a parting of ways, that you are well and be helped on your own journey.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and forgive me again for the general... oddity, I guess, of my phrasing and countenance. Safety and peace, to you all.

[thisfoolwrites]

My Altair(final)

Welcome to the end of my four part series. I purposefully left some things so you can use your imagination. I might make oneshots based on events I left out. But thank you guys for the support! DISCLAIMER: The story of Altair and Vega is not mine. It can be found here. Warnings: None Genre: All fluff for this chapter

Masterlist Part 3

Once there was a man named Altair. He lost his parents at a young age. After their death, his brothers decided to split their father's property. Altair, being the youngest, got left with nothing except an old bull. Once he was older, Altair separated himself from his brothers, bought a small field and a few cows, and with the aid of his bull, set himself to work.

{E/C} eyes lit up as they scanned the arena, a large smile on her face. It was the match that everyone had been waiting for. It was by no means the first match she had been to, but she was super excited for it. The arena was packed with fans of both teams all ready to see which team would come out on top. {Y/C} glanced around looking for the person she was supposed to meet. Two fingers poked at both of her sides causing her to let out a shriek. Before even turning around she heard the stupid laugh that she had come to know.

“That's not funny Tetsuro!” she turned and glared at him. Her glare was less than intimidating and this caused the taller male to laugh harder. “Where were you anyway stupid rooster? What happened to waiting at the gate for me?” She questioned the taller male.

“Sorry, I couldn't resist {Y/C}. You were so intrigued with the sight in front of you, you completely passed me.” He replied while wiping tears from his eyes. The two had a mini staring contest for about a minute before the smaller girl broke. “Ha! I win again!”

“You got lucky. Anyway, Will we see you after the match? I know you have to be closer to the court for work, and I promised Akaashi and Udai I'd sit with them and watch the match.” {E/C} eyes gazed into hazel as she waited for an answer.

“Yeah, you know they'd never let me live it down if I didn't come. Besides didn't you say you had big news to share with everyone?” She smiled bright and nodded.

“Yup! So that means you have to be there!” She turned to walk to her seat before stopping and turning to look at Kuroo once again. “Also, make sure Kenma comes as well! Or I'll cut his hair off next time I see him!” she hollered while running to her seat. Kuroo just chuckled and watched her run off. If you had told him five years ago he and {Hana} would be on speaking terms again, he'd call you a liar. By no means did he ever think he could repair their friendship, but somehow she had managed to forgive him. He smiled and turned and walked off to meet up with his colleges.

Akaashi looked towards the entrance to the stands. He was getting fidgety, was she late? He looked down at his hands and starting playing with his fingers. Did she get lost or worse, was she hurt? He was so lost in his thoughts he jumped as he heard her voice.

“Sorry I'm late! I couldn't find Tetsu at first.” He let out a sigh of relief. He looked at her and noticed her eyes already on the court. Of course, looking out for the person they came here for. He noticed her attire and gave a little chuckle.

“Showing some favoritism aren't you, Bokuto?” He teased, causing the girl to turn beat red. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and just smiled. She turned to face Akaashi with a big smile on her face.

“Well of course! Kou went out of his way to buy me one, so I had to wear it today. If you had one you'd wear it too, huh, Kaashi?” She teased back, causing Udai to laugh at the pair. It usually ended up like this when the two got together. They all spoke and caught up for a bit when Akaashi went and got onigiri for the trio. Once he got back and the match started she couldn't take her eyes off the court.

Every time Bokuto's spike was blocked she toyed with the ring on her necklace. It matched the one she wore on her left hand, but since jewelry wasn't allowed on the court, she wore Kotaro's on a chain around her neck. As if sensing her feelings he glanced up to the stands and locked eyes with her, causing both of them to break out in huge grins. He looked more energized and focused on the last set after that, causing  Atsumu to give her a thumbs up in the crowd. Despite not getting his typical “emo” modes anymore, he still loved seeing his wife smile down at him from the stands whenever something didn't go the way it was supposed too.

One Sunday evening, Altair sat down under an oak tree and practiced and old love melody on his flute. All of a sudden, a white dove gracefully swooped down from the sunset painted sky. When the dove landed, it turned into a beautiful young woman. When Altair saw this, he jumped. “Who are you?” exclaimed Altai! “I am sorry to have startled you. My name is Vega, princess of the heavenly skies. I heard you playing and had to come down to learn more. Who are you?” Altair replied, “Princess Vega, my name is Altair, a lowly cow herder.” “Altair the cow herder, you are a beautiful musician! Please play that melody again.” So Altair did, and every day for two months, Vega would descend from the Heavens at sunrise and ascend right before nightfall since Vega, being a heavenly being, was not allowed to interact with mortals.

Bokuto braced himself once he saw a {H/C} blur running his way. He held his hands out to catch her with ease, as if he had been doing this for a whole lifetime. He would catch her however many times she would run to him. He held held her under her thighs to keep her in the air. She in turn wrapped her legs around his waist and her hands around his neck, both with a huge smile on their face.

“You did so good out there Kou!” she exclaimed, “That over the shoulder shot was amazing!” He just rested his forehead on her shoulder and listened to her recount the game to him. Her years of being a manger payed off because now she knew all the terms and exactly how to use them. The rest of his team watched the interaction with smiles on their face. Meian cleared his throat and caused Bokuto to stiffen and place his wife on the floor(they both pouted at this). {Y/N} turned her attention to Hinata after that.

“Congrats on your first game Hinata!” she told him with a smile. He smiled at her and gave her a shy thank you. Despite being friends with Kenma for so long, he never really had any interactions with his older sister. He had heard that she had gotten married from Kenma, but never knew it was to Bokuto.

“Congrats to you too as well. I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch much over the last few years. But Kenma told me was wedding was beautiful.” He responded. Kenma had also said it was beautiful because he made sure {Y/N} got what she wanted. After the fiasco with Kuroo he never wanted to see his sister cry again, and was glad to see her happy with Bokuto.

“Thank you! It was small, but everything we needed. Anyway, I'll let you guys get changed. Oh also, Kou, Tetsu said he was coming tonight and he will be bringing Kenma!” She told him with a smile before walking back to Akaashi.

“I don't see why I'm not invited Bokuto!” Atsumu grumbled once they were in the locker room. Causing everyone, minus Hinata, to groan. Meian slapped the setter on the back of his head. Bokuto just smiled and turned to him.

“Sorry TsumTsum, {Y/N} said only close friends and family.” He apologized with a smile. Once they had finished getting changed they all walked out and ignored Atsumu's grumblings of 'Were a team so were a family stupid Bokuto'. Once they had gotten outside he scanned the area for his friends. There standing together were Kuroo, {Y/N}, and Akaashi. The latter two laughing at the expense of the tall rooster most likely. It took Bokuto longer to forgive Kuroo than it had been for {Y/N} to. She explained to him that she didn't want to continue hating him. While she had never tried to see things from Kuroo's view, she had never really fought him on his decision to keep their summer a secret. That was on her and that's why she chose to forgive him.

“Hey!” they called breaking him out of his thoughts. They all smiled at him and all negative thoughts vanished. “Kenma called, he’s meeting us at the restaurant. Are you ready to go?” She asked taking her husbands hand. He held his tightly and nodded.

“Yeah! I've been waiting for this all day! Also cant wait to hear your announcement! You've been ignoring the topic all week!” he pouted. {Hana} Just laughed and shook her head as they all headed to the train.

“If I told you already there would have been no need for this dinner you goof.” The other too just nodded.

“I tried getting it out of her before the game.” Kuroo added.

“I asked as work yesterday and she shut me down as well.” Akaashi threw in. {Y/N} Just smiled in victory as they boarded the train to the restaurant.

One day Vega's mother, the Lady of the Sky, got suspicious of Vega's whereabouts. So shge send a messenger to follow her who discovered that Vega was interacting with a mortal. He quickly reported back to the Lady of the Sky. She was so furious that she descended to Altair's field, found Vega, and dragged her back home. Altair was stunned by what he had seen. He started running to find Vega when he heard a voice calling his name. He turned around to see his bull. “Old bull you speak? How? Did Vega give you some of her magic?” Altair asked. Yes. And I know you love her. Get on my back, and we will go to the heavens.” replied the bull. Altair climbed on the bulls back and they took off towards the heavens. The Lady of the Sky noticed, so to stop them, she used her magic to turn the pathway into a river{now known as the Heavenly River or Milky Way). Altair came to the edge of the river and shared a final look with Vega. They both started weeping, wishing there was a way they could be together.

As told, Kenma was waiting outside the restaurant they had chosen. Smiling {Y/N} let go of Bokuto's hand and ran to her bother. He let a small smile grace his face and gave her a hug. After the “incident”, as it had been dubbed, the two had gotten closer. He made sure to ask what she wanted to do instead of just making decisions for the pair. That's what led him to pay for the wedding, leaving the couple to finance the honeymoon. After the initial greetings, they made their way inside and to their table.

Small talk was shared, mostly about the game that was just played, and talks about future projects that Akaashi and {Y/N} would be working on soon. She considered herself lucky to have Akaashi working with her at the publishing company with her. The boys at the table ordered some beer and looked at {Y/N} with surprise when she declined to have one.

Bokuto knew that with what happened in her third year she didn't drink that much, but at celebrations she usually had one drink. Akaashi figured it out first and just stared at her for a good minute before smiling, giving Kuroo and Kenma the final push they needed to figure it out. The three boys turned to the fourth watching the gears in his head work. Despite what people would like to believe, Bokuto is not dumb. However, after a four set game, his mind was working pretty slow.

“Oh, by the way Kou,” {Y/N} began with a mischievous look, knowing the others had figured it out, “We need to clean out the third room soon. And we need to start looking into what color we want to paint it.” With that final nudge, it clicked. Bokuto dropped his chopsticks and just stared at his wife. Tears welling up in his eyes before he moved over and hugged her. She hugged him back, tears of her own in her eyes.

“I know we haven't been married that long, but I know you'll make a great dad.” she whispered to him softly, looking to the others, who also had tears in their eyes. No words needed to be spoken in that moment the congratulations written in their eyes. In high school she had tried to find her Altair, not knowing that he would find her in the end.

When Vega's father, the Emperor of the Sky, saw their love, he became sympathetic. Hoping to fulfill his love, he created a wide bridge of magpies across the river. Now, Altair and Vega wait for the day they cross the river and are together once more.

Taglist: @samkysnks​ @aurorahoneybuns​

[nocte-argentea]

Yo yo yo friendos I just wrote a small story about my characters Vesper and Altair escaping from some bandits you should read it

“So, Vess, how exactly are you gonna get us out of this mess?”

“What, have no faith in me? I'm working on a plan as we speak!”

“HEY! You two keep quiet! Unless yer finally ready to give us the info we're lookin' fer!”

Vesper turned her head to look towards bandit who'd spoken, who was guarding the room she and Altair were currently confined in. Gods, she wanted to punch him. Unfortunately, with her and her sylvari companion currently standing back to back with their hands tied to a wooden board above them, she couldn’t indulge in that fantasy. Not yet, anyway. She rolled her eyes, though, since the bandit didn’t even bother to look at them when he yelled to be quiet.

“Oh, I’m terribly, sorry, sir, we were just discussing what to tell you lot. Right, Altair?”

Doing her best to flash Altair a roguish grin, she went back to what she'd been doing with her hands. Damn ropes won’t get themselves off.

“Oh yes, absolutely, you are absolutely right!” Vesper breathed a small sigh of relief. Thank the Gods he got the message to placate the guard. He even made his voice sickly sweet to sway him. The guard, seemingly satisfied by those answers, went quiet. Altair, having learned that regular speaking voices were a no-go, started speaking in hushed whispers.

“Alright, how exactly are we getting out of here? I don't fancy being tortured until we admit that what the tabloids say about Lord Faren are true.”

Vesper forced herself to stifle the laughter that was about to erupt. Kormir knows that would only make things worse. She paused her movements for a quick moment, regarding him coolly.

“Do you truly not have faith in me, mate? You know I’ve gotten us out of stickier situations!”

“Most of the ones that you could be referring to didn’t have a time limit on them. We've got ten, maybe twenty minutes before they come back with torture devices. I’d really prefer not to be skewered today, Vesper.” Altair didn’t even want to imagine what they'd do to him. And by the tree, what would they do to Vesper? That thought alone was enough to nearly bring him to tears.

Not that he'd actually let the bandits see that they had him scared. Or let Vesper see how worried he was about her.

“Give me about fifteen seconds.”

“Fifteen seconds? Vesper, that’s not enough to do anything! What could you possibly-”

He blinked.

When did Vesper get in front of him? And how were her hands free?

“How in the hell-”

“Old trick that Tybalt taught me. First you-”

“Actually, never mind. Could you release me, please?”

“Oh, I’m not sure. I was planning on leaving you here since you didn’t trust me, but since you asked so nicely, I guess I’ll let you go.” Vesper was clearly enjoying herself now, smirking at him while reaching to undo his binds. Once he was free, the next dilemma became apparent.

“Now that that's out of the way, what’s the plan for getting out of here? We need our weapons, and we can’t just walk out through the door without causing a ruckus.” Altair was astounded that the guard hadn’t noticed them yet. Actually, now that he really listened, he swore he heard snoring coming from the direction of the tunnel.

“Well, we can either kill every bandit in this hideout, make a run for it, or disguise ourselves and just walk out. I’m leaning towards the last one, personally.” It was probably their best bet, as well. They were ridiculously outnumbered, and Vesper was certain they'd call in reinforcements if they raised a fuss. Not only that, but from what she'd seen, there’s too many to simply sneak their way out. Espionage is the safest way to go, now.

“So then, we need to look like bandits. I’m assuming we can…relieve the guard of his garments, but that'd only fit me. What about you? And what about when he wakes up?”

Vesper began to respond, but something caught he attention. Footsteps were coming down the hall.

Altair noticed the sounds at this point. Thinking quickly, both of them darted to either side of the door, waiting for their chance.

“Yew idjit, fallin' asleep on guard duty!” a female voice chastised the guard. “What if th' prisoners had-” the new bandit stopped, looking at where their prized captives used to be tied up.

“…escaped?”

Before either of them could raise the alarm, they were swiftly knocked cold by the commander and her lieutenant.

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting that. Lets relieve these two of their garb and tie ‘em up like we were.”

One they’d changed clothes and trussed up the bandits, they put out the one torch that was present in the room. It’d be a lot more difficult to tell it wasn’t them if the room was dark.

“Should we put more clothes on them? This feels...odd.” Currently, the former prisoners’ clothing was folded up, hidden within their disguises. It wasn’t noticeable, thankfully, but Vesper felt odd leaving the bandits in just their undergarments.

“Vess, they were going to torture us or possibly kill us. Let them be humiliated.” Altair adjusted his hat and mask, to facilitate speaking. “Now, then let’s get out of here. First stop: the armory.”

The disguises worked like a charm. None of the bandits even spared them a second glance. Thankfully, the armory was easy to find, and soon enough Altair had his greatsword, and Vesper had her rapier and dagger. The only scare they even had while working their way out of the hideout was when someone mentioned ‘the wealth of information the commander must have’ in passing. 

When they could finally see the entrance to the cave, Altair could hear an uproar beginning in the deeper parts of the cave, meaning they’d been discovered.

“Alright, Vessie, any ideas now?”

“Stay calm, act natural. When we get out of the cave, run.”

“Just run?”

“Aye, mate, just run. Once we’re on open space or forest, we’re golden.”

They bypassed the cave guards without any issue, and once they were out of sight, they ran straight to the nearest forest, hoping to lose their pursuers in the dense woods. Finally, the sound of angry bandits faded, and the two wayward adventurers got a moment to rest. As they began to change back into their original clothing, with Vesper on one side of a tree and Altair on the other, the thief had a thought.

“Hey, Altair?”

“Yeah, Vess? What’s on your mind? Got a victory speech to share?” Altair said jokingly, feeling much better after getting out of that mess, and much less skewered to boot.

“Maybe later. First, I need to apologize.” That caught Altair off guard.

“It was my fault we got caught. If I hadn’t insisted on looking for treasure near the moa farm, we wouldn’t have gotten in that mess.” It was a false lead that led them there, to boot. She’d led Altair, on a rumor, to search for a treasure that didn’t even exist, and gotten ambushed by bandits in the process. 

Altair didn’t know how to respond to this. In all honesty, he’d come to expect danger when treasure hunting with Vess. His mind flashed to a month ago, when the two of them, plus Nocte and Luna, had ended up being chased by a few fire hydras in the Crystal Desert when on a treasure hunt. Technically speaking, that was much more dangerous. So why was she apologizing now?

“It’s water under the bridge, but if you don’t mind my asking, why apologize? I know the risks when coming treasure hunting with you. Also, may I walk around now? Are you decent?”

“Aye, you may. And it’s because I asked you to accompany me here on a false lead that ended up getting us caught.” She waited for Altair to walk around the tree to continue. “See, I wanted you, specifically, to join me…” she paused, leaning her head back against the tree, “because my contact said something about a Dawn being hidden in this cache.”

Oh. The precursor to the legendary greatsword he’d been working on. That explains a lot.

“Vesper, you wanted to help me?” “Of course, you’ve been helping me with my crafts, I wanted to give you a helping hand too!”

Altair, thoroughly flustered at this point, looked away and ran a hand through his hair. “Vesper, you help me and everyone else so much already, you don’t have to do anything else. And I need to apologize, too.”

“Wait, what? You’ve not done anything wrong though!”

“Except that I let my nerves and fear get the best of me and forgot to trust you in the bandit hideout. I should know by now that you’ll do your best do get us out of any sticky situation.”

Vesper went silent at that. She’d not cared about his fear, it was totally natural. She sighed and looked at Altair with her trademark roguish grin. “Wanna say we’re both dumbasses then and move on, mate?”

The sylvari let out a hearty chuckle, before bowing to her. “I’ll accept that for now, but let’s be frank: I have the most common sense out of all of Dragons’ Watch.” He offered his arm, and Vesper hooked her own arm within it.

“Aye, that you do.” The two began the trek towards Divinity’s Reach with a spring in their step and in much higher spirits.

“Oh, by the way, I’m telling the rest of the guild about this misadventure.”

And like that, Vesper’s spirit was shattered.

“WHAT!?”

“Oh, of course! I’m sure that Nocte and Luna would love to hear about how you got us caught and tied up by run-of-the-mill bandits.”

She stared up at the man, who was currently wearing an incredibly smug grin.

“I should’ve left your ass tied up in the bandit hideout.”