#anyways. its been nice weather. gentle sun and a nice breeze. hope we get some ppl. just supposed to be 11a-1p.

[onepiexe]

trick or treat display<3

[officerjennie]

A Hopeful Hesitance

CW: None

Rating: T

Summary: Jaskier isn't sure a picnic date with Valdo is the best idea, nor is he sure if he should trust the hope blossoming in his chest - but he wants to believe that, just maybe, this could work.

Thanks once again to @jaskierswolf for looking this over for me

Jaskier still hesitated. Every step of the way, he hesitated, from when he slipped into his cute new sandals to the moment he stepped out of his car with the bottle of wine Valdo had requested he bring. His big blue sunglasses tinted the world a cooler shade but they did nothing for the sweltering heat that wasn’t even on the forecast for that afternoon - no surprise there, really; weatherman were the best and worst of liars - and Jaskier already found himself sweating as he made his way out of the parking lot and towards the park.

It had been a while since he’d been here. A quaint little place, with a nice sized pond that currently had a bunch of ducks and geese floating around in it. Jaskier thought the ducks were cute but steered clear of the geese that had waddled up onto the grass, keeping a massive distance as one eyed him like he was the perfect beating bag for its wings.

Some people called him stupid, which he took exception to despite the occasional questionable decision he made. But Jaskier was far from suicidal. He’d leave it to Lambert to fuck with the geese.

As far as he remembered, they were supposed to meet on the far side of the pond. According to Valdo it would be cooler there - Jaskier had his doubts - and since most people would be there with their kids they’d be at either one of the big gazebos filled with picnic tables or they’d be nearer to the playground and the basketball court that was right next to the park.

Jaskier had his doubts about that as well. He made a face at the pavement as he followed the walking path towards the other side of the park, wondering not for the first time if this was really such a good idea.

They’d been at odds with each other for so long. At each other’s throats during the worst of it. Could they really be anything...more?

He was a romantic but there were some dreams even he was afraid to dream.

Sunlight reflected blindingly off the surface of the pond, Jaskier having to shield his eyes with one hand even despite his sunglasses. He was sweating and he hated it. Even the light shawl he wore over his tank top was almost too much though he would be loath to take it off. Without it he’d be so devoid of color and sometimes fashion was worth the pain.

At least he reached the trees soon enough. The path wove into a nice little cove of maples and pines and shielded him much better than his hand could do, the temperature dropping immediately to something Jaskier could at least stand to be in. It had always been more the sun itself than heat that had bothered him, anyway.

He wasn’t the first to arrive, surprisingly. Jaskier caught sight of a familiar derriere and slowed down, taking a moment to smirk and admire it from afar. His rival turned friend turned...whatever they were now, whatever they would be, was bent over, shaking out a blanket as he tried to straighten it on the ground.

A blanket, right. Jaskier blinked, his smirk fading - Valdo had brought a blanket for them. It was a cute one, too, from what he could see. Red swirling patterns, not some plain, boring old shitty thing he’d expected Valdo to bring. If he’d expected him to bring one at all. The hesitation came back but it was mostly born of not wanting to hope, of being afraid to give that spark any kindling, but Jaskier squashed the hesitation for the moment as he’d done so many times already that day.

One chance wouldn’t kill him. A little bit of hope wouldn’t crush him. And some free food would make just about anything worthwhile.

“Careful, I might take that as an invitation,” Jaskier teased out as he got closer, practically smelling the scowl that immediately scrunched up Valdo’s face at the tease. But Valdo ignored him long enough to straighten out his blanket, straightening up and pushing his bangs out of his face, and he most certainly sent Jaskier one pinched scowl.

It wasn’t one of his really heated ones, though. Over the years Jaskier had learned to read his expressions better than he knew any others, able to tell whenever his jabs hit home, when his teasing was taken lightly or to heart. He knew him better than any lover he’d ever taken in the past, and yet…

And yet they had never been that to each other.

Would they really work like that?

“Good, you brought the wine.” Valdo waved his hand towards the basket he’d brought himself-

-and wasn’t that yet another thing that had Jaskier pausing, blinking, because he’d brought a basket. Valdo was not the type to own a picnic basket, he was sure of it, so did he...buy one? Just for this occasion? Just for a small, little date between former rivals?

“I can remember to bring one item, Valdo.” The retort wasn’t as barbed as it should have been, nor was it all that good. Jaskier breezed past him to settle down on the blanket, hoping to act like he wasn’t all that concerned with their banter - but his heart was fluttering away in his chest, a traitorous rhythm.

“We all know how your memory can get, Julian.”

“And we all know how you never know what on earth to wear- are you wearing long pants in this weather?” Jaskier stared incredulously at the other man as he settled down onto the blanket near him. Very near him. He tried to focus on anything but his hands, those long finger and beautiful wrists, as Valdo brought the basket near and started raffling through the items he’d brought with him. It was an assortment of cheese, crackers, preserves, some salami, and other finger foods.

Things Valdo could have gotten in a single prepackaged deli tray, that he’d instead picked out by himself. An assortment, so many different choices, as if Valdo had looked at all the store had and decided he couldn’t decide at all.

Jaskier’s heart fluttered some more. His fingers itched to know how smooth Valdo’s cheek was, to scratch through his beard, to find out if his lips were chapped or not. All things he’d been telling himself to not think of for so long he’d convinced himself he didn’t want to know - but he did.

“Jaskier.”

His eyes snapped to focus at his name - Jaskier, not Julian, and he could count on one hand the number of times Valdo had used the name he preferred - and it almost hurt to see the careful look Valdo had schooled his face into. Those deep green eyes were closed off, his nostrils flaring ever so slightly, his lips becoming a thin line as he prepared for something. But for what?

“You don’t have to be here.” Valdo sighed, something like bitterness flashing across his face, and Jaskier ached at it. “This is- this doesn’t have to…” The poor man floundered, almost twitching with agitation.

Valdo had never been any good with positive emotions, or he’d never seemed to know how to show or process them as well as the others. Jealousy, anger, bitterness, those had always come so naturally, had always shown so clearly on his face - but joy, tenderness, contentment, those were all things Jaskier had rarely if ever seen on him. And for the longest time he’d thought it was because Valdo didn’t know those things but there was a vulnerability to the slump of his shoulders, a resignation to his lower tone that made that damned hope flutter up in Jaskier’s chest.”

It was far too hot to even be outside, let alone be close to someone, but Jaskier braved the heat and the distance. He reached out and took a gentle hold of one of Valdo’s hands, daring not to look up at him, though he at least finally pushed his sunglasses up and away from his eyes as he studied the stock still fingers now resting in his hand.

Valdo had planned this. Had gotten together a basket full of food that they wouldn’t at all be able to finish in one sitting, had gotten a lovely, colorful blanket for the occasion (because there was no convincing Jaskier he had own anything of the sort before this), and had dressed himself up in nice black pants and a nice shirt to meet with him in some small park next to a lake surrounded by trees and dandelions.

He was trying. And if he was trying then maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to give him the smallest, most minuscule benefit of the doubt and believe that Valdo wasn’t going to crush his heart to dust when this was all over. If it was ever over. If it ever actually began, whatever it was.

“Valdo,” Jaskier sighed out, holding his fingers gently and caressing them with the rough pad of his thumb. A breeze rolled past through the trees and ruffled his curls and Jaskier could almost pretend he could smell all of the free food he’d been promised - if only it weren’t still neatly tucked away into all of its packaging. He still thought it would be more romantic if he could smell it. “I drove halfway across the city to come meet you, you know that right?”

“I know where you live, yes.”

Jaskier’s eyes flicked up to catch the pinched, thoughtful look on Valdo’s face, finding it still guarded as if he wasn’t sure where Jaskier was going. And perhaps Jaskier should have been extra nice to him but he couldn’t help himself, no matter how his heart fluttered away, no matter that he slid their hands together until their fingers were intertwined, and no matter that he never wanted to let go even if their palms were sweating against each other.

He wondered if their hearts were beating the same erratic rhythm intandem.

“If you made me drive all of this way,” he said, shooting his once rival and once friend a look he hoped would get his point across quite firmly, “just to tell me this isn’t a date, I am going to personally go through all of your music notes and spill ink onto every other note.”

Valdo stared at him for a breath, and then snorted, an ugly noise that made his whole face scrunch up in a very undignified fashion - and it made Jaskier desperately want to kiss his wrinkled nose. “Every other note? There has to be a more efficient method, Julian.”

Those long fingers squeezed Jaskier’s and he squeezed back, winking at his once friend, now date. “No better way to infuriate you than to waste my time and yours.”

“Better ways to get my attention, Julian, since we both know that’s what you’ve always been after.”

“Wha-” Jaskier started, huffing and sputtering that Valdo’s attention had not been what he’d been after, but it was impossible to form a coherent argument when the wine he’d brought had been expensive, the shawl brand new, and that with each passing banter he drew himself closer to the man who used to infuriate him more than any other.

--

@witcher-rarepair-summer-bingo

[godkilller]

          DRABBLE    //    REDEMPTION VERSE.

          THERE WERE STILL SPECKS OF BLOOD ON THE LIGHT BLUE WRAPPINGS, and Gin surmised it was his own, not Aizen’s, from when his Zanpakuto had been tucked within the folds of his crimson-stained white robes. Not drawn, not used in defense, no, nestled away whilst its master was cut down. A few small blemishes ultimately missed by its temporary keepers, the confiscated blade had been otherwise cleaned and stored away, kept sealed, awaiting something. Gin hadn’t seen it since that day; a whirlwind of destruction, that gleaming blade, toying with the Kurosaki kid via collapsing buildings cut like they were brittle things. Then, plunging, biting, devouring that gaping hole into Aizen’s chest, filled only by a suspended Hogyoku agleam in the pale light of its slain host... falling, falling, and falling right into his waiting hand.

          Shinso hadn’t been the last thing Gin’s right hand held, after all.

          But, the Zanpakuto had been the most familiar with that particular palm instead. Now, as the Second Division Shinigami patiently extended the sheathed weapon out for Gin to take, it felt utterly different...

          There was a seal still placed on it, akin to a muzzle for the spirit-housing sword to not so loudly beckon for its master whilst kept away, so an absence of presence, of connection, felt relatively normal; to be expected. Yet, there was more.

          SOMETHING WAS OFF. It felt... clumsy. This was not the grip meant to slay anything, this was some messy hold meant better for a broom than a sword. He turned it in his hand, then adjusted his grip lower towards the center of its sheathe to find balance as if that would help his derailed experience. Shinso was wrong. Heavier. No, lighter, not quite right. Instinctively, Gin shifted to consider slipping the sheathed blade into its place at his hip, though found he needed to switch sides mid-motion, which he did so quickly to remedy the mistake. SLOWLY, SHINSO FOUND ITS PLACE AT GIN’S RIGHT SIDE, the opposite side that he was accustomed to, adding more fuel to the fires of his disorientation.

          Rangiku was quick in thanking the guards in Gin’s stead, a cheery and upbeat tone meant to swiftly dismiss them without outright saying it; a classic, though he hoped she felt no strain in the act. Gin turned to leave halfway through, knowing full well that their anticipation couldn’t be appeased no matter Rangiku’s passive aggressive urging — they were waiting for Gin to clear the grounds in accordance with his reinstatement regulations. RIGHTFULLY NERVOUS, having at last handed back an ex-criminal his beloved and powerful weapon. Even at half-strength, Gin reckoned he could level the Gotei 13′s various barracks in the surrounding area within one fell swoop.

          That is, if he even had it in him anymore to do so.

          Rangiku caught up to him shortly, especially pleased with herself, made unaware of Gin’s quiet worry; could he even manage his Shikai at this level of discomfort and disarray ? 

          ❝ I actually got them to give you the whole day, you know, instead of the three hour limit they wanted you to do at first? I mean, that was ridiculous, who wants to train with such a strict schedule anyways? It takes me hours just to get Haineko to say a sentence of something useful to me. The last thing I’d need would be to feel rushed. ❞

          RANGIKU’S ATTEMPT AT CONVERSING NORMALLY OVER AN ABNORMAL SITUATION — GIN NEEDING PERMISSION TO HAVE HIS SWORD — WAS APPRECIATED.

          ❝ How long’s it been since ya tried talkin’ with her ? Maybe you oughtta take the day, too. ❞ Gin kept his stride despite Rangiku’s slowing a step or two in response.

          ❝ Don’t poke fun, I’m respecting her space. ❞ A huff, a pout. Rangiku’s hand flew back by habit to rest on the hilt of her sword as though a reassuring shoulder pat whilst coming to the defense of a friend. Haineko was not an easy spirit, Gin knew that much from her various complaints about any meditation being ‘time spent wasted’, mostly. HE WOULDN’T JUDGE, but he also couldn’t help but wonder... did the spirit feel like it was missing something, was Haineko so temperamental about helping Rangiku become stronger because it was a Zanpakuto with a gaping wound ? Was she unable to ascend any further because of what Aizen took ?

           That was a topic for another day. Gin smiled, instead, and kept matters light.

          ❝ Is that what they’re callin’ it these days ? ❞

         RANGIKU SHOT HIM A LOOK, the look, and Gin relented to her.

          ❝ Alright, alright — you’re right. ❞ 

          They walked towards the gates leading beyond the Seireitei together, quiet, for the rest of their route. IT WAS NICE OUTSIDE, a light breeze on a cool day, and the sun was shining past the curtain of gray that had been the previous few days, making its light feel all the warmer despite winter’s telltale chill. The two Shinigami took to a path through the Northern Rukongai, towards the mountainous range far beyond, avoiding the cleared streets for less commotion and conflict with the residents lurking within their shacks. INSTEAD, THEY TOOK THE SCENIC ROUTE, crunching leaves and swaying trees above, brisk, they both knew where to go, even if things had changed since the last century or so. The clearing was vast, outlined by barren trees towards the outskirts of a vacant skeleton row of houses left abandoned, dry dirt at their feet telltale of grounds over-farmed for rare nutrients. Rangiku idly unpacked their provisions; a decently sized blanket geared towards a picnic set-up, a few snacks packed lovingly, some sake bottles  ( of course she would )  ... and at that point Gin turned away to see her unearth nothing further, shaking his head yet smiling all the same. He surveyed their space, the trees, and hummed softly.

          ❝ Dunno — ❞ he projected his voice back to her as he gazed out, then scuffed his foot against the dirt as though testing it, an absent fidget. Looking back to her as she situated their little day outdoors, he couldn’t help but recall the tremoring fracture of Haineko as it absorbed Shinso’s impact, meant for an unconscious Hinamori. HE ALMOST BROKE HER SWORD THEN, back when he had far more control, and now...

          ❝ ... Maybe y’shouldn’t be out here with me, I might nick ya. ❞ Their eyes met for a brief moment before hers went back down to arranging their things, busywork as she thought. Gin watched. She seemed to catch his uncertainty, or at least a portion of it.

          ❝ Well... how about we start small... ❞ Rangiku replied with a gentle hum, then subsequently pat the space next to her as she situated herself onto the blanket, with Haineko on the opposing side, sheathed and set proper. Gin obeyed, approaching and slowly lowering himself down next to her as desired. He slid Shinso free from his waist, then set it down in a way which mirrored Rangiku, head tilting at her suggestion. ❝ Let’s both drop in and say hi. That’s easy, right ? ❞

          ❝ Thought y’were givin’ her space. ❞ Gin eyed her with a weakened playfulness.

          ❝ The lengths I’ll go for you. ❞ SHE DID NOT MISS A BEAT.

          Fair enough, Jinzen it was. Gin shrugged and sighed out, then took Shinso to place the sheathed blade into position across his legs within his lap. He sneakily peered at Rangiku for a moment as she also assumed the meditative position, endearingly so, especially the subtle frown of concentration caressing her expression, the fluttered eyelashes pressing closed in focus, the stray hairs tickling at her temples with the slightest kiss of a breeze. Gin hesitated only a second longer, then shifted and closed his eyes, too.

          THE CONNECTION SURGED WITHIN AN INSTANT.

          Whipping winds rushed around him, and he was no longer seated within a pleasant clearing, dirt and grass and swaying trees, no. GIN WAS WITHIN A BARREN WORLD NOW, assaulted by snow and ice and freezing air that ripped at his form. When he opened his eyes to seek the giant serpent within his inner world, the space not even two steps ahead of him wasn’t visible past the blizzard and downpour of snow and icy mist, graying his surroundings in such brutality that nary an outstretched hand could be seen, let alone a mountainous range of sleek silver scales stretching for kilometers down a frozen lake. If he couldn’t see Shinso, then the near-blind spirit certainly couldn’t see him. GIN VENTURED OUT ONTO THE ICY SURFACE MADE SMOOTH, black shoes the sole contrast in an otherwise white outfit — ah, wait, Gin stopped to inspect himself, a jarring moment of two hands raised to observe a familiar pale outfit he hadn’t been wearing prior to entering this world; Shinso hadn’t seen him since Karakura Town, of course, so perhaps there had been a disconnect in what he was wearing when manifested... among other things which needed updating. Gin flexed his right hand, curious, and then clutched it shut. It felt cold, no aid to be given by his current environment, but it was distinctly more numb than his left. Odd.

          Clearly, they needed some catching up.

          Careful steps slid forward across the frozen water, though Gin did not fear falling through; it rarely thawed, he must’ve been just a kid when it was thinned enough for his curious childish eyes to catch fish swimming beneath his feet. Sometimes the snow died down to a gentle dusting, a pleasant whisper of winter as opposed to this oppressive force. Gin did not shiver quite yet, though shielded his eyes in searching for his Zanpakuto’s massive spirit; SURELY HE’D SPOT HIM BY NOW...

          Maybe he’d taken shelter, in which case Gin doubled back from wandering across the stilled lake, treaded back through heavy snow till it reached his knees and numbed his legs with a wet clinging chill. NOW he was shivering...

          ❝ Shinso ?! ❞ Though Gin did not normally SHOUT, he attempted to do so now, only for it to feel as though his voice had been swept away by the winds and swallowed right up. No luck, he’d just have to go looking around; the shack had to be his next best bet, perhaps his spirit wasn’t in its truest form right now, hunkered down to survive the turmoil and relentless weather beneath a rickety old wooden home not nearly big enough for a thirteen kilometer serpent dragon to squeeze into. Gin had half the mind to Shunpo over, make things quick, but with the winds and howling pelts of snow, he couldn’t quite tell which direction to go. At least, a few spare boards of wood knocked against his ankle, a hissing collision that told Gin to veer right, THERE IT WAS, somehow — almost practically buried, this pathetic thing he called home once, long ago. The raised point of its triangular rooftop was half caved, that same damned spot as always seemed to have given way for the ice and snow to pour in. The entryway was completely swallowed, snow climbing to the last few breaths of its threshold. Gin would have to dig.

          By the time an opening presented itself, his hands were sufficiently numbed, reddened and bared till he felt blistering begin from the bite of cold... but at the very least he could wedge his way inside —— small quarters, and half was obstructed from the pile pooling in at the doorway, and another opening from the roof let snow pillar upwards in the pale light filtering through. THE SHACK MADE EVERYTHING SOUND QUIETER, softened sounds kept at bay via the buried snow packing its wooden frame into place. IT WAS SMALL ENOUGH FOR GIN TO KNOW THAT HE WAS ALONE IN HERE, no one else could be curled up in any corner, and he braced himself against the neighboring wall once he finished wriggling through the snow. He shook both his hands to get feeling back into them, but his left merely stung as his right moved in numbed silence. On the dirt floor, a gleam caught Gin’s eyes.

          There, disregarded on the ground, was his blade.

          Gin took it, breathed in, and then turned to clamber his way back outside. Shinso had to be near, on the lake somewhere, for this sword to be laying around. THERE WAS NOWHERE ELSE TO GO, A SIMPLE ABYSS. Maybe the serpent had traveled across the stretching grand lake fully, into the mountainous horizon beyond ? Had his Zanpakuto spirit retreated inward so thoroughly ? Well, now Gin had the blade, so he could hone in, at the very least, if he got warm. Speaking of warm, IT WAS FREEZING ! 

         ❝ Who’re ya, HYORINMARU now ?! ❞ A futile prod at the absent spirit thusly swallowed by the winds again. Gin kept his stride onto the lake again, glad to be freed from knee-high heavy snow swallowing his every step. Here, he could glide across the sleek surface with a single step, the frozen waters only subtly dusted by snow as the winds stole all else and kicked it back up into the cold air. Gin huffed out a visible breath, then veered onwards.

          The first thrum of energy, awakening, wasn’t quite felt; his palm was completely numbed into a state of occasional biting stings, hot across the rayskin gripped within a raw palm, and Gin thought nothing of it. Until the second pulse, a shudder cracking the ground beneath his feet —— and the blade in his hand was the beacon, the epicenter for the following waves, tremors, threatening to dart another fissure across the glassy ice below. Gin fought instincts to retreat, and instead knelt down to inspect the lake’s surface. FROSTED, CAPTURED BUBBLES OF AIR AND OTHER DEBRIS WITHIN THE WATER AS IT WAS FROZEN MADE FOR AN IMPERFECT REFLECTIVE SURFACE, and thus Gin was able to squint past its thick ice and into the depths, in which a gleam of rows of silver scales laid dormant below.

          It was Shinso in all of his magnificent glory, stretching its large snake-like husk for miles beneath the ice, swirling its silver-armored hide as though frozen in the act of coiling, slithering, writhing out in a gaping expression, massive fangs shrinking Gin in size, mouth opened wide just underneath where its master now stood, forked tongue reaching blindly out for the surface it did not breech. AH, HE MUST HAVE DROWNED INTO THE ICY WATERS, capsizing during Gin’s downfall, and then stolen away by the Second Division to never recover. Locked into a frozen tomb.

          The blade beckoned within his hand, and he knew Shinso needed more than some idling observations. FREEDOM.

          Gin plunged his blade into the ice, stabbed deep, then withdrew it to stab and chip again at another spot, cutting and wedging the blade in attempts to fracture the frozen lake. IT WAS MINISCULE, HIS EFFORTS WITH A SMALL BLADE, but bit by bit ... Gin reckoned he could carve the spirit free with the dormant wakizashi in his hand, all thirteen kilometers of him if need be...

          There was blood mixed with chunks of shattered ice, shreds of snow and frozen water tainted by crimson as Gin worked with blistering hands rubbed raw in the cold. HE WAS CERTAIN HE COULDNT FEEL HIS FINGERS ANYMORE, and both hands were needed to anchor his strikes downward as he worked to free his frozen companion from the ice. Gin couldn’t let go either, his hands were both stiff and clamped shut around his weapon; like it or not, this was his only option. By now, there was an ample section around the grand snake’s snout almost to the point in which Gin could reach down and touch scales rather than ice. HE STILL HAD PLENTY MORE SNAKE TO DIG OUT, and kept to his duty despite the sting of winter beating him down. He must’ve dug for hours more, clearing out adequate space around the serpent’s head. Gin paused to breathe, having clambered his way down towards the beginnings of Shinso’s throat beneath the smooth surface, and quietly shivered into a curled position during his break. HE COULDN’T STOP SHAKING NOW...

          ❝ Th-this would be easier i-if I h...ad a shovel, y’know, ❞ Gin shuddered and clamped his jaw, then focused back on keeping his momentum, his motivation, his drive — he struck his blade back into the ice. A tremor shook the lake again, odd sounds creaking and groaning, echoing, rebounding into the abyss as the ice shifted beneath Gin’s feet. IN AN INSTANT, THE ICE BEGAN TO SPLIT, shattering and breaking apart into freezing waters below, and Gin was promptly swallowed into the depths.

          Had he not been numbed by it all prior, Gin figured his subsequent drowning into icy waters would have struck his body like a building being slammed onto his chest. His lungs instantly jolted to a choking halt, and his entire frame went rigid in arrest, sent plunging down into swirling dark water, ripping currents — falling, falling, brittle to the bone with cold Gin felt akin to dying, shards of freezing glass pelting around him, and a final gasp of his lungs expelled the last of his air. SURELY HE WAS DYING, could he even die inside his inner world ? He couldn’t remember the specifics, the logic in him whispered something but he couldn’t hear it, and everything was fuzzy.

          A solid surface struck him, lifted, until Gin breeched the surface in a splash and sputter, coughing and hacking at the water that managed to squeeze itself into his ragged breaths. THE WINDS WERE RELENTLESS STILL, merciless to his now soaked frame shivering atop the massive sleek scales of Shinso’s coiling body. From the corner of Gin’s eyes, half-shut by slickened bangs and wet hair already freezing in the winds, he saw the large shadow of Shinso’s raising head, the darting flick of his forked tongue casting a delayed dash of air displaced by its large, quick motion. Gin cracked a smile even in his pain, his shivering pathetic state.

         ❝ G-good to s...see ya, ❞ and a cough, a teeth-clattering shudder. Gin straightened the best he could, hunched for warmth he could not find, yet feeling a spark underneath the intense gaze of the serpent housing him. WAVES OF WATER CLASHED AGAINST KAMISHINI NO YARI’S MONSTROUS FORM BELOW, Gin was raised higher now, almost enough to cut above the low storm clouds up high, into the night sky beyond the gray. The serpent was its own mountain range, coils stretched beyond visibility and off across the rest of the grand lake now shattered below. HE COULD FEEL SHINSO’S RELIEF; at being released from his tomb, his state of suspended death, yet also at Gin, MORESO AT GIN, glad to see its master still alive.

          BOOMING IN HIS TEMPLES, HIS MIND ALIGHT, NUMEROUS VOICES SPOKE AT ONCE...

          Are you alright  ( where did you go )  is Aizen still alive  ( why did you not draw me out )  why did we not fight  ( why did I feel you give in )  did we win  ( where is Rangiku )  did Ichigo prevail  ( did Karakura Town fall )  WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU ? WE DID NOT FADE SO WE KNEW YOU DID NOT DIE, AND YET... WE COULD ONLY WAIT AND DESPAIR !

          ❝ We — n-need to... t-talk. ❞ 

[chaseatinydream]

treasure: their voices || p.sh (atz)

They called out to him.

It started the same way every time. He was at the docks, coiling the rope for one of the ships he was helping to unload. The sun was just hanging low in the sky, white, puffy clouds drifting past and providing shade from the usually scorching weather. A gentle breeze swept across the waters, and he spotted many fishermen who’d been out for a morning catch pulling back into the docks, baskets overflowing with fish.

It was the beginning of a good day.

“Hey, lad!” Seonghwa turned to see the baker, one of his family restaurant’s patrons, waving, before scrambling to catch a small, round object the man had tossed him. It turned out to be a small cranberry cream bun in a paper bag, a delicacy that his family had to work to afford. His family was by no means poor, but baked treats tended to cost more, and cream was expensive. “Just felt nice today, you hear me? Don’t expect free treats every day!”

His smile grew wide. “Thanks, Mr Baker!” He waved back as the man strode off back to town, presumably to tend to his shop. Seonghwa turned to look at the cream bun gratefully, before stowing it in his pocket. He couldn’t wait to get home and share it with his parents and two siblings. His younger sister loved cranberry dearly.

A correction needed to be made. It was the start of an amazing day.

Seonghwa hummed a tune under his breath as he got back to unloading crates of dried fish from the ship. The work was back breaking, hard, but Seonghwa knew it paid well. Already, five silver coins jingled in his pocket.

“Hwaseong!”

Seonghwa spun around to see one of his childhood friends slinging an arm around him cheerfully. It’s Soobin, the boy who lived next door. The two of them had grown up together since they were kids. Seonghwa simply laughed, shrugging his friend’s arm off good naturedly.

“Stop calling me that.” Seonghwa shook his head at his nickname, his chuckles spilling forth as his cheeks warmed slightly. Soobin snorted, dark chocolate coloured bangs falling into deep brown eyes.

“But all the girls call you that, don’t they? Hwaseong, the striking visual eye candy from the stars!” His friend snickered uncontrollably as Seonghwa merely sighed, trying to hide his reddening cheeks.

“That’s not true.” He tried to protest feebly, but Soobin gave him such a flat, disbelieving look. “Alright, maybe some of them do call me that, but-”

“My dear, foolish friend.” Soobin smacked him over the head dramatically, his hands flailing wildly like the conductor of some demented orchestra. “You must at least know that Seohyun was about to confess to you yesterday…”

Seonghwa’s eyes flew open in shock. Kim Seohyun was considered one of the prettiest girls in town, with long dark hair and soft, doe eyes that captured the hearts of any red blooded male in the area. Seonghwa coughed uncomfortably.

“But she didn’t?”

Soobin laughed. “I sabotaged her, of course! I know that you don’t like her that way and if she did confess to you you’d reply with something dumb and break her heart, so I did both of you a favour and told her you already liked someone else. You’re welcome by the way.”

Seonghwa let out a breath of relief. “Thanks, Soobin. You know that I am-”

“Too busy helping to run the eatery and doing work on the side and also taking care of your two siblings to date. Yes, yes, I know that more than you do, you stupid self sacrificing overworked dumbass.” His best friend sighed in resignation, looking at Seonghwa with searching eyes. “You’re too nice, you know that?”

Seonghwa shook his head. “That’s not it. I just want to ease my parents’ burden.”

“Anyway! I got to play the role of the knight in shining armour, saving the damsel in distress!” Soobin crowed, pushing back his dark hair. “Do you think I could bag her instead, Mars?”

Seonghwa sighed in amusement at the sight of his best friend preening like a proud bird of paradise. “Well-”

“Kid!”

He’s saved from having to answer truthfully by the shout of his employer, leaning over the bow of the ship to look at him. “Yes, sir?”

“Are the ropes done?” The stout quartermaster shouted, his strong voice used to bellowing commands over the scream of the storm gale carrying clearly to Seonghwa. The young boy nodded earnestly.

“Yes, sir!”

The man looked pleased. “Here you go!” The man tossed him a coin from the deck of the ship and Soobin scrambled to catch it, much to their amusement. “Your work for today is done! Come back tomorrow if you can!”

Seonghwa beamed as Soobin let out a cry of delight, polishing the silver coin proudly on his shirt hem as if he’d been the one hauling rope for the past three hours to earn it. “Yes, sir!”

“So you get to end work early today?” His best friend asked as the two of them began to walk back to town along the harbor, watching the ship crews hard at work rigging masts and tarring the seams along the wooden planks. He nodded.

“Yeah.” Seonghwa caught the coin Soobin tossed him with ease, pocketing it happily. Then he spotted a ship at the end of the harbor, all the way at the last pier. It was a massive, proud vessel, its keel and frames carved of strong oakwood, the planks of pine and cedar. But its sails are a striking pale blue, not a dull, weathered grey like most ships he’d seen.

Soobin saw what had caught his best friend’s eyes as their footsteps echoed on stone.

“I heard that’s a pirate ship.” Soobin whispered to him conspiratorially, eyes wide. Seonghwa laughed aloud at his friend’s comment.

“Most of the ships docked here were pirate ships until a week ago. We were a pirate town, after all.” He reminded his friend, but Soobin shook his head frantically.

“No, you don’t get it!” He leaned next to Seonghwa, his mouth right by his ear as he whispered. “I heard that the ship in the last pier is the Treasure.”

Seonghwa’s mouth fell open in shock. His family’s restaurant had been by the harbor, so most of their customers were sailors or seamen. He had heard the legendary stories of the pirate crew, ATEEZ, sailing the Caribbean in the ship stolen from the Royal Navy themselves with the captain who had been immortalised in legend and myth.

The Pirate King himself.

“You’re kidding.” Seonghwa shook his head as they walked past the ship. “No pirate ship would be stupid enough to dock here after the Royal Navy decided to eradicate piracy from this town.”

“They might not know.” Soobin shrugged, stretching his back. “I mean, they might have just come to the town recently and not have heard about the news-”

Someone crashed into Seonghwa.

“I’m sorry.” The tall boy apologised quickly, brushing past Seonghwa so fast that he’d barely snapped out of the surprise.

Seonghwa turned around to see the boy, barely about his age, moving up the gangplank of the ship that was supposedly the Treasure, its pale blue sails fluttering in the wind.

“Hey, is that bun yours? You’ve been holding out on me, man!” Soobin dove for the pastry, but Seonghwa scooped it out of the way before his friend could touch it.

“Nuh uh. This one is for my family.” Seonghwa laughed, clutching the paper bag tightly in his hand. “It’s not for you-”

Suddenly, the ringing of town bells filled the air.

Seonghwa’s heart fell in his chest, a thick lump forming in his throat. Is that what he thought it was?

“We haven’t that bell for years since we were kids and they caught that crazy murderer who went around skinning the foreskins of his victims.” Soobin muttered under his breath grimly, shaking his head. “Isn’t that the chime they use when they’re having a public execution?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Royal Navy found some people related to piracy in our town.” Seonghwa frowned. “There haven’t been any announcements this week about any sort of hanging or beheading, though.”

“Maybe the Royal Navy caught wind of the pirates who were hiding in town and flushed them out.” His best friend remarked curiously, scratching his chin. Seonghwa couldn’t help the uncomfortable weight settling in his chest.

“We should steer clear of the town square.” He added on, turning away from the original route they were taking. “This is the fastest way back to the restaurant though… I hope Hyunjung and Ha Rin aren’t there to see it.”

“I wonder what’s happening-” Soobin began to say, but then Hyunseok, another of their friends, sprinted up to them, completely out of breath, his face as white as a sheet and dripping with sweat. He very nearly crashed into Seonghwa, but managed to skid to a stop at the last moment, bowing over with his hands on his knees as he fought to catch his breath in heaving pants.

Seonghwa and Soobin exchanged worried looks. Then Seonghwa stooped down to speak to their friend.

“Hey, Hyunseok, what’s happening-”

“No time! You need to come with me!” Hyunseok grabbed Seonghwa’s hand in a vice grip and tore back along the way he had come, heading straight for the town square. The buildings were seemingly devoid of people, a strange gloom settling over the town despite the bright sky. Seonghwa’s feet flew along the cobbles, Soobin dashing after them.

“Hey, Hyunseok, what are you doing, you little punk?” His best friend shouted, but Hyunseok completely ignored him, pulling him behind a stack of boxes at the edge of the town square.

“What’s going on?” Soobin asked breathlessly, crouching beside them. “I know I said I was curious about what was going on in town, but we didn’t need to run all the way here to check it out.”

But Hyunseok didn’t even acknowledge Soobin’s words, face stricken with fear and grief as he glanced at the courtyard.

“I was too late.” He whispered.

Seonghwa frowned, his heart thudding like a wild racehorse from the mad dash from the harbor. But once he looked at the the centre of the square, his heart stopped.

“According to the reports of Sir Lucio Bartholomew, the head of the piracy investigation, I find the Park family guilty of consorting with pirates and ****...”

The last few words were nothing more than white noise in his ears.

Because at the gallows, with nooses around their necks, was his family.

Lies. All these were lies.

“They will therefore be sentenced to death by hanging. I pronounce you and your family, and your son, Park Seonghwa who is currently absent, guilty of treason against the Crown.” The man continued to read off the parchment before him, completely unaware of Seonghwa’s presence just a few feet away. “The sentence will be carried out immediately.”

The crowd erupted in furious screaming, many of them roaring the innocence of his family, but none so loud as his father and mother’s enraged cries of their children’s innocence.

“Let my kids go, you bastard!” His father howled, thrashing furiously against the two guards, who were struggling to keep him in place, while his mother, her face stricken with grief and tears, sunk to her knees, sobbing.

Seonghwa merely continued watching, trapped in a daze. He felt as if he was underwater, unable to move a muscle, the screaming and hollers of the crowd merely blending together into white noise.

Everything flashed past his eyes.

The guards dragged his parents to the trapdoor.

The executioner, with the black sack over his head, gripped the lever tight.

His mother whispered something under her breath, head bowed in resignation as his father bared his teeth, holding back his tears at his grief.

His younger brother and sister kicked and screamed for their parents.

The lever turned and the trapdoors fell open.

“No!” Was all Seonghwa could mouth, his hand coming up over his mouth. He wanted to scream, wanted to cry out, wanted to sob and run to them, but his grief swallowed everything, his words lodged in his throat.

He watched as his parents kicked and struggled against the noose, necks dangling from the rope, their movements getting weaker and weaker until they finally fell still.

The bodies were dragged away and tossed in a cart.

“Next!” The official proclaimed, and to Seonghwa’s horror, he saw his two younger siblings, Hyunjung and Ha Rin, being pulled to the noose.

“What is this bullcrap?” He heard Soobin breathe beside him, but he seemed unable to move, speak or even think. What was happening? Why was this happening?

Seonghwa stared at Hyunjung sobbing Ha Rin’s name pitifully as they were torn apart and dragged to the gallows. His younger brother thrashed against the guards, unwilling to let his sister die, but one struck him across the face and he finally fell silent as they put the noose around him.

“God, no-” He heard Hyunseok gasp beside him.

He heard a few women crying in the crowd, none willing to watch the blatant murder of children so young. He watched a single black crow take to the skies, completely free and unbound. He smelled the stale stench of death.

Ha Rin searched the crowd, her wet eyes terrified. Her gaze met his, and for a second, both their desperate stares met.

Then Ha Rin closed her eyes, mumbling a prayer desperately under her breath. It was too far for him to hear what she was saying, but he had recited it with her so many times that he would know it from miles away.

“Oh goddess of the sea, take care of my family… Bless them with safety and fortune… May they always find favour in your eyes...”

Even before death, his younger sister, merely eight years of age, was trying to take care of him in her own way.

A sob forced its way from his throat as he watched the executioner pull the lever once more.

All at once, the entire square fell silent.

Seonghwa could only watch as his dearly loved younger brother, Hyunjung, jolting against the end of the rope in the throes of death, his sweet, loving younger sister, her lips finally ceasing in their movement of her last prayer for him.

The cranberry bun fell to the ground from his numb hands.

Ha Rin’s lips spelled out one last word.

“Run.”

“No!”

Seonghwa jerked awake, chest heaving, eyes wild with fear and hands fisted so tightly in the sheets his fingers felt bloodless. Then he heard snuffling next to him, felt the rock of the waves, the creak of the ship’s hull.

No.

He was on the Treasure, sleeping in the bed next to San’s in the backroom of the sickbay. This had happened six years ago.

Ha Rin’s tear filled eyes looked at him one last time.

A sob shook in his chest as he lay back against the pillows once more, clenching his teeth to hold in his cries. He didn’t want to wake San up.

It was as if someone had fired a gun shot in the silence of the courtyard. Everyone’s eyes fell on him, including the official. The man pointed at him with a shaking finger.

“Guards!” The official cried, his face twisted with hate. “Seize him!”

“Go!” Hyunseok shoved Seonghwa away from him violently, gesturing to the back alleys. “Get to the harbor!”

Seonghwa was still in complete shock. His limbs felt as heavy as lead, his head was empty.

His family. His family was dead.

Soobin yanked on Seonghwa’s arm, the other boy still uncomprehending and white with grief and horror. “What about you, Hyunseok?”

“I’ll try to slow them down!” The older replied, grabbing a crate and getting ready to toss them at the approaching guards. To his fortune, they were struggling to make their way through the throng of townspeople, who seemed to be squeezing together to make it as difficult as possible for the guards to pass. “Now go, Seonghwa!”

Soobin wrenched Seonghwa after him, pulling the unresponsive boy down the way they had come. Seonghwa simply ran, uncaring of anything and everything.

His mother. His father. His brother. His sister.

Dead.

“Stop right there!”

A group of guards must have doubled around from the back, because they emerged from one of the alleys, brandishing cutlasses. Soobin glanced between the two desperately, and made up his mind in a split second.

“Seonghwa! Listen to me!” His oldest friend slapped him hard across the face, the pain snapping Seonghwa out of his shock. He blinked at Soobin.

“Get to the harbor and get on the first ship you see. Don’t let those bastards catch you, alright?” Soobin forced a grin on his face, even though he was shaking in his sandals. “And when all’s died down, come back and attend my wedding with Seohyun, alright?”

Seonghwa’s eyes widened at the implication of what Soobin was about to do. “Soobin, no-”

Soobin shoved him away in the direction of the harbor out of sight of the guards, drawing a small knife from his belt and cutting through the washing lines of the laundry women. The guards ran headlong into the clothes, flailing about among the lines.

“Can’t catch me, you sick bastards!” Soobin screamed over the commotion, a wild, frenzied grin on his lips. “Why, you killed all of my family but you can’t catch one boy?”

“Get him!” One of the guards screamed, clearly enraged. Seonghwa’s heart leapt into his mouth.

“Soobin-” But with that, his oldest friend ducked into another alley and ran, leading the guards away from the harbor.

That was the last he ever saw of him.

Seonghwa stared at the wreckage for a moment, before he forced himself to his feet and to run. His feet were numb, but he screamed at himself.

Run run run!

“Run!” Ha Rin screamed in his mind, as she stopped thrashing from the noose.

“Go!” Hyunseok shouted at him, ready to sacrifice himself to hold the guards back.

“Get out of here!” Soobin screamed as he led the guards away, even at the expense of his own life.

Tears streamed down Seonghwa’s face as he sprinted for the harbor. The pale blue sails of the ship at the last pier were filling with the wind and he saw many men bustling to clamber up the gangplank, all clearly in some sort of rush to board. The tall boy he’d seen earlier was shouting at the crew as they loaded casks of fresh water and crates of food on board.

Then Seonghwa heard the faint but unmistakable sound of a gunshot.

His breath caught in his throat as he turned back towards the town. “Soobin-”

The sea called for him, merely a few feet away. The unending expanse of blue beckoned him into its embrace of safety.

“Run…” A voice carried over the wind to him. Seonghwa sobbed.

Fighting back tears, Seonghwa turned to the ship’s gangplank and ran up it.

And from that day on, he had never looked back.

“Hey, hyung?”

San’s voice came from his right, thick with sleep. Seonghwa desperately swiped the tears from his eyes only to see San standing there groggily wiping the sleep from his eyes.

“Yeah?” He tried to keep his voice as strong as possible even though he still heard their voices in his head.

We were supposed to stick together through thick and thin, hyung.

I wish we could have left together, my son.

Don’t you miss us?

Mother needs you by her side, Seonghwa-ah.

We love you, you know?

Why didn’t you come with us?

Do you not love us?

Oppa, aren’t we family?

Yes, he so desperately wanted to answer to all of their questions. Yes, he so much wanted to be with them, to join them. To be with them. To go be at their sides.

San stared at him for a moment.

It was completely dark, so the healer could have barely seen anything. But San didn’t need to see.

“Here’s a stuffed toy.” San suddenly shoved a large, flat, soft object into Seonghwa’s arms before the older man could react. “It’s a stuffed steak, so you can sleep with what you love the most. Remember, I’m always here sleeping next to you.”

With that, San turned around, flopped down on his bed, and went right back to snoring.

It was so abrupt Seonghwa momentarily stared at the dark shape that was the healer, wondering if the lithe man had really been awake at all. Then he stared at the soft toy in his hands.

It was a steak, alright.

A steak.

Seonghwa suddenly started laughing. It started off a small chuckle vibrating in his chest, before it grew into muffled laughter, and finally into full blown convulsions. San didn’t wake in the slightest.

“Thanks, Sanie.” He murmured fondly at the snoring shape of his crewmate, shaking his head at the young man’s typical baffling behaviour.

Then he lay back down, hugging the stuffed steak to his chest, a smile on his face as he buried his nose in the soft velvet. He thought about Hongjoong, the brave, charismatic captain who’d saved his life. Mingi, the ever loyal and faithful quartermaster, who would never let Seonghwa onto land on his own in concern of him getting a panic attack with no one around.

Yunho, the tall energizer of the ship, the one who refused to let Seonghwa’s day go by without a smile on his face. Yeosang, the silent, still voice of reason, the eye of a hurricane.

San, his oddball of a roommate who could cure the heart better than he could cure any physical ailment. The tumultuous, loud and wild force of nature that was Wooyoung, so scarred yet so loving.

Jongho, the earnest, serious maknae who tried so desperately to take care of the crew despite being the youngest on ship.

So when the voices came back once more, asking the same questions they always did, his reply was the same once more.

“I’m sorry, mother, father, Hyunjung, Ha Rin.” He apologised, a gentle smile on his face and warms tears in his eyes. He remembered all that he had lost, but saw all that he would leave behind.

“But I can’t leave this family behind.”

[mirukunofuwa]

Hopes & Prayers

My first entry for a @bnhabookclub​ weekly SFW prompt, this one’s themed around mythology! 

Izuku Midoriya x Gender Neutral Reader WC: 2.1k Warnings: Religious (specifically Pagan) themes, some mentions of alcohol

You weren’t really thinking anything would come of this. You were just at your wit’s end, and figured that leaving a little offering for the God of Love may be the boost you needed. But of course, why would a god trifle himself with the whims of a mortal?

Your offering was simple, honey cakes and a small bundle of flowers, placed atop the altar along with the offerings from all the other young people that wanted so badly to find their love, praying to the god for guidance.

You bowed your head and a few mumbled words flowed out of your lips, pleading with all your heart to find someone for you before the village elders chose someone for you. Often more keen to trust the decision of a god than of an old crone, anyways.

You felt a light breeze brush against your ankles, cool enough to be refreshing in the summer heat, almost like it was wiping the sweat off your brow as it flowed around the temple and fluttered the hem of your robes. 

You felt the breeze at your back on your walk home, like a gentle hand guiding you back through your garden and into your house. Taking  a moment to check on the bread that was baking and the soup that was bubbling away, before returning outside to sit a while in the garden and stare up at the sky. 

When you laid back in the grasses that surrounded your home, every touch felt like a loving caress, from the serene wind to the ticklish blades of grass along the exposed skin on your arms. The sun pressed gentle kisses of gold to your cheeks and nose, warming your body from the outside in. 

But you couldn’t stay in such bliss for long, no matter how badly you wanted to. You had chores to attend to, a garden to water, and your dinner to keep a watchful eye upon. You didn’t have the luxury of relaxation.

The outdoors called to you for the rest of the evening. The wind whistling through the open windows and the grasses beckoning to you to lay down once more. The sun painted the sky in dazzling reds and pinks as it set, and the stars winked at you as the moon rose from below the horizon.

You had to ignore the pleas, though. As much as you wanted to forget your duties and cares, you had to keep the inside of your home looking just as beautiful as the outside. You found it far more important to brush away the dust that gathered in the corners than to lay under the blissful light of the moon; or to stare out your window wistfully at the dancing stars while you washed up your dish from your supper instead of laying underneath them and trying your best to piece together the pictures in the sky.

By morning, part of you wished that you had savored your time in the sun just a degree more, as you woke to the sounds of harsh rain pounding upon your roof. You supposed that the foul weather gave you an excuse to stay focused, to not be tempted by the playful disposition that had taken over the environment the day prior. 

Your morning proceeded without incident. You had taken the time to sit upon your bed and listen to the drumming of the rain, the sound almost musical to you, enough that it formed the basis for a quiet song for you to hum as you dressed yourself in warm clothing and prepared to face the day once more.

It wasn’t until afternoon when the first issue arose: a knock at the door. It was beyond you who would choose to go traveling in this weather, but you figured you may as well answer in case it turned out to be important.

When you swung your door open, you were surprised to see an unfamiliar face. He was doing his best to shield himself from the rain with a woolen cloak, and bright emerald eyes met yours when he heard your movements.

“So sorry to bother you, but I… I wasn’t expecting it to rain today, and I needed somewhere to dry myself off.” The young man bowed low to you, his wet ivy-green hair flopping from his hood. When he stood up straight once more, you studied his face. It was so familiar, but you couldn’t place it. Maybe he’d passed through town before, and you saw him in the street? Either way, you figured it couldn’t hurt to let him inside for a few minutes.

“Sure! I just started up a fire, so feel free to sit by it.” 

He bowed again, “Thank you so much!” He grinned at you while you opened the door the rest of the way, taking a moment to remove his muddied boots and dripping cloak once he had stepped over the threshold. 

The young man was strong, but he certainly wasn’t big. You could see the muscles in his forearms under his rolled-up sleeves as he wrung out his cloak, but he wasn’t bulky or imposing. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I invited myself into your home without introducing myself first!” He bowed to you once more, “My name is Deku, it’s truly a pleasure.”

You smiled, “Mine is (Y/N), and the feeling is mutual.” 

Deku stood back up, his freckled face pulled into a wide smile. “I really hope I’m not troubling you, I promise I’ll make it up in whatever way I can.”

“It’s no trouble, I didn’t have any plans today anyway.” You gestured for Deku to follow you, leading him over to the fire. “Have a seat wherever you’d like, I’ll go put on a pot of tea if you’d like?”

“Yes please! Tea sounds lovely.” Deku responded with a grin, taking a seat on the floor beside the hearth and warming his hands in the orange aura the flames were giving off.

He was in the same spot when you returned with two small cups of tea, and he graciously accepted the warm mug. 

You sat back down in your chair beside the fire, taking a sip from your cup and savoring the bitter, earthy aroma of the tea, allowing its warmth to seep into your being from the inside. Deku seemed to be having a similar experience as he let out a deep sigh following his first drink. 

“So…” You finally offered after a few minutes. “What brings you to town?”

“I’m just passing through, taking some time to travel.” Deku shrugged, his scarred hands starting to lose their tremble as he warmed up. 

“That sounds nice.” You gave Deku a friendly smile, finding yourself staring at the way the firelight flickered on his tanned cheeks.

“Very. I’ve visited before, but I didn’t stay long enough to really experience it.”

“Well…” You tapped your nail on the ceramic of your cup as you thought, “I’d be happy to show you around once the storm lets up.”

“That sounds lovely, (Y/N)!” Deku grinned, and you swore he could scare away the clouds with how sunny his smile was. The rest of the afternoon was spent by the fire, and the rain still beat down on the earth as the sun started to set.

“It’s not looking like it’ll be letting up soon… care to stay the night?” You glanced over at Deku, hoping to hide your eagerness to hear his answer.

“Well, I-I don’t want to be a bother…” Deku met your eyes for a moment, before quickly looking away. “It does seem to have lightened a little, I should be able to make it to an inn before too long.”

“It’s fine, really. No use spending the money if you already have somewhere to stay, right?” You placed a gentle hand on Deku’s shoulder, giving him a smile that you hoped could compete with his own. 

When he returned your look twofold, you knew you could never beat the way he seemed to radiate joy from his freckled face. “That’s so kind of you, (Y/N)! If you’re going to the trouble of housing me for the night, I insist on making dinner for you.” Deku stood up, brushing himself off. “I would hate for such kindness to go unpaid.” 

You gave a small chuckle, but stood up with him. You wanted to insist that it was fine, you didn’t mind making dinner for two, but you had a feeling that he wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to repaying you.

“I suppose I can allow it.” You joked, crossing your arms. “Gives me time to set up your cot anyway.”

“Perfect!” Deku beamed, “I won’t disappoint you, I promise!” 

You couldn’t help but grin at his eagerness to please.

When you returned from setting up the cot by the fire, your jaw dropped when you found quite the extravagant dinner set before you, at least extravagant by your standards. One of your pots sat in the center of the table, full with a nice cut of venison and roast vegetables, all glistening with a sauce that you couldn’t place the name of based on smell alone.

The odd thing was, you didn’t remember having venison, and your garden didn’t have any produce as big and plentiful as what lay in the pot.

“How did you…?” Your gaze darted between Deku and the meal set before you. 

“I-it was in my pack already!” He rubbed the back of his neck, “It’s the least I can do, really. I would’ve made a dessert, too, if I had the time.”

Your shocked expression didn’t fade as you sat down, taking a fork and sinking it into the still-tender meat, placing some on your plate along with a helping of vegetables. “D-Deku, this is…”

“It’s what you deserve for being so kind!” Deku sat down across from you, placing his own serving on a plate. 

The dinner lasted well into the night, long past the sunset, and was only interrupted when you had to get up to light candles, returning with a bottle of cider for the two of you to share. 

By the time the bottle was gone, you were more than ready to head to bed. You yawned and stretched as you stood up, watching as Deku did the same. “I hope your cot is as comfy as it can be…”

“It’ll definitely be more comfortable than the floor, right?”

“One would hope!” You giggled, “We should both be headed to bed, it’s quite late.”

Deku nodded, padding over to his cot where he began to remove his overshirt.

“I’ll try not to wake you in the morning.” You called back as you headed back to your room.

But you didn’t end up needing to worry about that, because when you arose in the morning, Deku was gone, no evidence of him remaining save for the dishes left on the table from the night before, and a note scribbled on a piece of parchment that had been placed on the tabletop.

(Y/N), Thank you so much for your kindness, so sorry I couldn’t say goodbye. May our paths cross again, –Deku

You couldn’t help the tears that welled up in your eyes, and you watched helplessly as a few drops landed on the note, staining the paper and causing the ink to run.

Just when you had thought you’d met someone so sweet, so kind, who seemed to hang off your every action and word just as much as you did his. 

Of course, he had to leave before you even knew. Nothing in life could truly be that perfect, could it?

You trudged through the mud back to the town square, into the community altars. You ached to give the supposed God of Love a piece of your mind. Surely it was his fault that this man left you feeling more alone than before.

You moved to take back the cakes you had left there two days before, but were somewhat surprised to find them gone.

At least you were surprised for a moment, until your eyes met those of the painting that sat upon the altar.

The unruly locks done up in shades of forest green, the freckles that dotted tanned cheeks like stars in the night sky, the smile that rivaled the light of day. 

In that moment, as you gazed upon the painted rendition of the love god Izuku, you knew your prayer had been answered.

When you came out of your shocked, lovestruck state, you mentally kicked yourself for failing to remember his traditional name earlier. You knew the name Deku had sounded familiar.

[maemi324]

Seasonal

Hey there friends!  As I am posting this it is my Birthday! I’m a whole 25 years old.  I.FEEL.ANCIENT. But I decided to post this blurb that came to me, talking about seasonal depression, which is hitting hard as it’s starting to get cooler and becoming fall. To be clear, this is just my experience with Seasonal depression, everyones is different. It’s something that affects me, and many others, in different seasons, so I hope this little blurb will give you some form of joy- regardless of whether or not you have the depressions.  It was actually kind of hard to write, but I got through it! Warnings: Talk of seasonal depression, numbness the like.  Only been seen by one other person, and only edited by me. So I probably missed some stuff. Let me know what you think!

The day was cool and dreary, overcast that hung in the air. Cloudy days themselves weren’t bad, but the cool breeze nipping at the previously warm air kept you inside, scrolling through your phone. 

It was a myriad of posts, those glad for the cooler weather and excited for the spooky holiday on the rise. You huffed a small laugh as the skeleton song popped up onto your page for the umpteenth time in that hour alone.

Even still, it was hard to see a constant reminder of the bleak months ahead as you tried to push it from your mind. But there was no fooling your body, or your mind. Seasonal depression was starting to kick in, and kick hard. The fucker never played fair anyway.

You were so tired, arms heavy as lead as they shook, a feeble attempt at keeping your phone from falling out of your grasp. Your mind was filled with the overcast clouds, no room for anything but sleep. You went to bed tired, you woke up tired and had the hardest time staying awake.

You leaned back further into the couch you were sitting on, looking onto the wall that held the crystals you gave to Keigo. Even with the sun gone, there was still enough light to show a few gentle prisms.

Though the colors were pretty, it didn’t alleviate the frown on your face. You had read that getting up and doing things would help you wake up or at the very least stay awake. Active, but simple things, cleaning up your bedroom, brushing your teeth and getting ready for the day. 

How could you when your arms refused to lift for most things, hands feeling too smooth to actually grip, not that you had any product on there to cause said sensation. Whenever you got up, your knees felt like they were jello, though you got from place to place. Was it just in your head? Of course it was, but getting out of your head was the hard part.

You turned to look over at the end table beside the couch, only then remembering to turn on the happy light you were advised to get. You weren’t entirely sure it actually helped, it didn’t mimic the sun's golden hue, despite how bright it was, it maybe made the room a bit warmer. But it was still such a cold light, much like hospital lights that made your eyes ache after a while. 

You pass another video, someone putting up fake skeletons whilst what you assumed to be a friend ran about in cheer for the cooler weather once again. You refrained from making any snide remarks in your head, it wouldn’t be fair to ruin their happy time. After all, Your summer could be their fall.

Your eyes gazed onto the clock. It’s only nine am ??! It was hardly close to lunch time even.

Irritation flashed within you, stomach gurgling in agreement. You hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, though you knew you should have. Food currently had no taste, no matter the amount of spices you added. It didn’t matter what was made, it never filled you and your stomach raged on. 

You shuffled further into the blankets you covered yourself with, your tank top and shorts hardly keeping you warm, but you refused to wear pants, they just got tangled in the blankets and felt so constricting. You glanced to the kitchen, a glare on your features as the usually wonderful treats in there mocked your current state of taste bud. 

You focused back onto your phone, ignoring your stomach for yet another random haul a user got for Halloween. Your eyes slowly began to fall closed, the music in the video, despite its energy, lulling you into a sense of...calm.

Thunk!

Your heart hammers hard against your chest, eyes wildly glancing around for the noise source.

Instead of monsters clawing from the grey shadows of daylight, you were met with sweet honied eyes.

“Well hello to you too angel” His voice hid none of his amusement, his hand held out towards you. You looked down to his hand only to find your phone. You must have dropped it at some point.

You took the phone from him, setting it on the coffee table and wrapped your arms around his neck. “ Keigo…” you cooed sleepily, “ You’re home for Lunch a bit early.” 

You pressed kisses to his cheek and neck, trying to ignore that empty feeling growing back to life.

“Early? Nah, right on time, it’s noon babe. You fell back asleep it looks like” He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you so you were standing with him. He looks you in the eyes, searching for something.

“Yeah, I guess I did” you murmur, eyes averting his gaze. He’d known you were having trouble staying awake, that the change of seasons really hit you hard. He seemed to have found whatever he was looking for as he pressed a sweet kiss to your lips and let go. 

“Well, I guess that just makes it more of a surprise, speaking of surprises!” he turned to the coffee table, rummaging through some bags. With a chirp of victory, he hands you a take out box filled with your favorite, (F/food). “ I brought your favorite back home with me” 

You couldn’t help but smile, though it didn’t feel forced, it didn’t feel like you were emoting quite right though your genuine happiness was there. He sat down on the couch with you, leaning into your side as he flipped on his phone for something.

A soft beat came first, followed by the gentle plucks of a guitar, sounds you usually associated with summer time music. You glanced over at him, brow raised in a silent question. 

He was already opening his take out, a smirk on his face

“Sorry dove, it was just a bit too quiet” was all he said.  “Hardly a quiet moment with you Keigo” you teased, “ But I can’t say I dislike your choice in mood”  “My sense of mood is never wrong angel!” 

You ate relatively quickly, wanting to spend more time with Keigo than focusing on the food, which did have just a bit more taste than anything else you had eaten. 

He talked to you about his day so far, nothing too crazy that he couldn’t handle. 

The relaxed tune you had been listening to turned into something a bit more fast paced.

It was a favorite between the two of you, the song you danced to at the bar, the night you had your first kiss on the beach. He stood up, offering his hands to you, “ Come on, it’s our song love bird!” It might have been corny to have a song but you couldn’t care less. Not with that smile that lit up a room, a laugh so sweet you could eat for dessert.

So you took his hands, his wings fluffed up in excitement. He took off his visor, and placed it on you, your vision becoming slightly yellow tinted. 

Oh it made so much difference

Everything looked and felt a bit more...alive. There weren’t any dull sensations of haze and endless numbness. You grabbed his hands again as he pulled you in.

It was hardly a masterful thing to fawn and coo over, but it had you laughing as he spun you around, his feathers having moved the coffee table out of the way. As you would spin out, he’d do something entirely and fantastically goofy, waving his hands in the air then pulling you back in. All to make you giggle and laugh as he hugged your back to his chest, blowing raspberries on your neck. 

“Keigo!”  “Oh what? Did I spin you too slow, so demanding my dove” and he spun you out again with an extra kick of some sort of energy. 

The song came to an end, and you were all red in the face, heart beating hard, but it was welcome.

“You utter goof” You giggled, pushing his visor off of your eyes, the change dented your happy mood, but only just slightly. 

“Your goof” he pressed a wet kiss to your cheek.  “So, I noticed you liked the visor? It is pretty stylish if I do say so myself”

You flopped back onto the couch, nodding, “ Yeah, they look real good on you. But it was nice, things just looked...better” 

Did the color really change your outlook so much? 

“Well, I was doing some late night browsing and found that sometimes glasses that are yellow tinted or block blue light can help with your seasonal grey time blues” a feather brought over a small bag, hiding between the food bags, and placed it in his hands.

“So I thought...these might help, whenever we can’t just dance the blues away” His cheeks turned a slight pink as his wings flapped awkwardly at your lack of response. 

He’d gone out of his way to get you these special glasses, just so that you could feel better. 

Your eyes watered slightly, getting back up from the couch and walking over to him. You placed both hands on his jaw and pulled him down for a tender kiss that he gladly reciprocated. “ You are entirely too sweet for your own good Keigo. I love you, thank you...thank you so much” 

He unfolds the glasses, placing them gently on your face. 

“I love you too song bird”

[captain-rennie]

Fair Game Week Day 4: Birds

Read it on Ao3 here!

Summary:

What were the odds? The first day in possibly months that birds were about, and one came flying through his open window?

“Uh … hi?” Clover said lamely, remaining firmly in his seat as the - the raven? crow? - continued to stare. “Can I help you, little buddy?”

warnings: mild injuries + qrow’s poor self image. also flirting

.

It started one pleasant evening after work.

Solitas was always cold, of course, but that day the sun had been shining brightly enough to melt much of the snow, and Clover spent more time than he probably should have reveling in the rare warmth it brought. When his work was done for the day, he took his time walking Qrow home, not just for the time with his partner but also to enjoy the weather just a little longer. And when he got home, reluctantly retiring to the solitude of his bedroom, he opened the window, allowing a light breeze to waft in.

The day had been a good one, if a slow one, and as he settled in front of his computer he sighed at the thought that tomorrow would likely be freezing once more. The birds that had been present in celebration, the civilians that had come out to enjoy the sun, and the beauty of the clear sky would be gone. It had been nice while it lasted. Now, it was time to get to work on his daily report.

Just as Clover was beginning to hunt through his files, though, lamenting the end of the day, there was a soft rustle behind him.

He turned his head quickly, chair swiveling with him, and almost yelped at the sight that greeted him. A bird sat on the windowsill, sleek and black, cocking its head and staring at him with beady little eyes. What were the odds? The first day in possibly months that birds were about, and one came flying through his open window?

“Uh … hi?” Clover said lamely, remaining firmly in his seat as the - the raven? crow? - continued to stare. “Can I help you, little buddy?”

To his dismay, the crow took a few little steps on the windowsill, officially inside the room now. Clover definitely wasn’t afraid of a little bird, but the idea of a wild animal thinking itself trapped in his bedroom was incredibly unappealing. He hardly needed to deal with a panicked bird flying around his room, making a mess of things. But the bird only tilted its head the other way, calm and quiet, and eventually Clover relaxed a little. It was probably just resting.

He really needed to get to work, so he reluctantly turned back to his computer. He would leave the crow be - doing a quick search to verify that it was, in fact, a crow - and hopefully, once done resting, it would head out again. Still, he stole glances back at it every once in a while as he worked, and though it remained harmlessly on the windowsill, the sun began to set and still it remained. Even as Clover finished typing up his report, it seemed comfortable in its spot.

It was growing cold in the room, though, with the sun’s gradual disappearance, and Clover turned back to the crow, meeting its curious gaze. It had settled on the windowsill in a little patch of fading sunlight, its bright yellow feet hidden under its body. It was … sort of cute. But Clover needed to close his window, and it couldn’t stay inside, no matter how guilty he felt for leaving it out in the cold, so he stood and slowly, carefully approached the window.

“Okay, little buddy,” he said, emboldened somewhat by the cool way it blinked up at him, unmoving. “It’s time for you to go.”

The crow stood and shook its feathers out as he came closer, not acting particularly threatened, and for a moment Clover thought it might fight him on leaving. But it waddled toward outside, gave a little shake of its feathers, and stepped off the windowsill, spreading its wings and flying off into the cool evening air.

Baffled but altogether content that his visitor had left without fuss, Clover closed his window and moved on with his report.

.

Clover briefly mentioned the experience to Qrow the next day during one of their frequent card games, joking that one of his buddies had come to visit, to which his partner had only rolled his eyes, obviously not new to bird jokes. Qrow did, however, offer a bit of casual insight.

“Crows are pretty intelligent, you know,” he said as they drew cards. “He could probably tell you were cool with him.”

“How do you know it’s a he?” Clover teased, to which Qrow smirked.

“We both know what kind of company you attract,” he joked, earning a deep laugh, and Clover supposed he had a point.

He very well forgot all about it afterward, though, getting wrapped up in their game, and after that, their mission. It was a long and tedious delivery, then a longer and even more tedious process of overseeing distribution of materials. It was deathly boring, and Clover envied how Qrow and the kids could leave whenever they pleased.

Qrow did stick around for a little while to keep him company, but eventually, it seemed, the cold got to him, and they parted with a quick, secretive kiss and sweet smiles and quiet see-you-laters. Clover wasn’t pleased to be left alone, but it gave him the pep in his step he needed to see his job finished, and soon enough he was on a truck home, dozing in the passenger’s seat and thinking fondly of his bed.

He’d have to type up his daily report first, of course, but the sooner he did that, the sooner he could sleep. He greatly looked forward to that part.

He was home eventually, and he dragged himself up the many stairs of the tall building and fumbled with his room key. Report, then bed. He was almost there. He made it inside, the door clicking quietly shut behind him, and dropped into his chair, booting up his computer. He stared at the loading screen for what felt like hours, and it took him several moments to process the light tapping at his window.

He swung his head around, blinking blearily at its source, and nearly fell out of his chair in surprise when he saw familiar little beady eyes staring back.

It took several seconds of staring at the bird outside his window, huddling against the cold and shuffling its bright little feet to warm it against the frost on the sill outside. There was another insistent little tap against the glass, and though Clover hesitated, he eventually stood and shuffled toward the window. It was only going to get colder out as the night went on, and Clover found himself feeling too guilty to let the crow freeze right outside his window.

He almost expected the crow to fly away when he opened the window, but it hopped right over the threshold with a little croak of greeting. Clover watched with a mix of curiosity and bemusement as it waddled along the windowsill and, with a little hop and a couple flaps of his wings, the crow crossed to Clover’s desk. It settled down near his screen’s projector, undoubtedly warm, and Clover couldn’t help but chuckle.

After a moment’s contemplation, Clover closed the window most of the way - if Qrow was right about the bird’s intelligence, the crow could slip out on its own anytime it wanted. Satisfied with that, Clover returned to his desk chair, and the bird stared curiously up at him as Clover typed in his password and got to work.

“What’re you even doing out when it’s this cold, anyway?” he mused, propping his chin up on his hand as they stared each other down. “You should be flying south, or tucked away somewhere warm.”

The cawing noise that the crow gave in response startled him, and he jumped minutely in his seat at how loud it was in the otherwise quiet room. After a moment of staring incredulously at the bird, Clover started to laugh at his own overreaction, and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. He really needed some rest. The crow was doing a great job of distracting him from the work he needed to do before bed, though.

“Did your flock leave without you, maybe?” Clover mused, knowing fully well he wouldn’t get an answer. Against his better judgement, which was telling him that trying to touch an untamed animal was a bad idea, he reached a hand out anyway, and couldn’t help but smile wide when the crow allowed him to run a gentle finger over its head and down its back. “Well, whatever it is, you’re free to hang out as long as you don’t make a mess of the place.”

He felt a little silly, talking so freely to it - Qrow could vouch for their intelligence all he wanted, but it was another thing altogether for a bird to understand human speech. But the bird remained quiet and relaxed, huddled a few inches away on the desk, and stayed there the entire time as Clover typed up his report and sent it to his superiors. At some point, Clover was pretty sure the bird had fallen asleep - its flank moved slowly with its breathing and its eyes were gently closed.

The dull clicking of the keyboard was lulling him quickly once more despite the excitement of the evening, and once he had finished up his report he was eager to change into his pajamas and turn out the light. The crow stirred at the loud click of the lamp going out, and Clover watched from his bed as it puffed out its feathers and stretched its neck out rather cutely. It took one look at Clover, sitting on his bed, and started to totter over to the window, a bit uncoordinated from its nap.

“Hey, wait,” Clover blurted, and the bird glanced at him. “You don’t have to go, it’s freezing out.”

Of course it was absurd to think the bird would listen, and after another moment it waddled through the small gap in the window and took off into the night. Clover eventually settled into bed, though he did wonder about the crow’s whereabouts, and hoped it found somewhere warm to spend the night.

.

Wherever the bird had spent the night, it was back the next evening, once again almost the moment he entered his quarters. Clover opened the window and it hopped in with ease; the man considered leaving his window open, but with as cold as Solitas got, he knew he would regret the decision. Instead, he hoped that the crow had some warm place to hide in during the day, or at least that the sunshine helped.

Clover was home early that day, though none of his acquaintances were available to hang out, so he spent much of his time in front of his television, watching some mindless drama to waste time. At some point, he had produced a few snacks from his cabinets, and settled back down onto his bed to continue the show.

The crow, who had been settled on one of his bedposts, turned its head to stare as he pulled open a bag of corn chips.

“Oh - these?” Clover stared apprehensively between the crow and his chips. “I don’t know if these are good for you, buddy.”

The crow continued to stare, unblinking, and Clover’s resolve slipped. After all, who knew if the little guy was getting enough to eat? And it wasn’t trying to steal, or anything. It just wanted. So, with only a little hesitance, Clover pulled a single corn chip from the bag and held it out to the crow.

“Here - oh!”

The crow moved quickly to Clover’s leg, who froze as the crow settled on his knee and plucked the corn chip from his fingers. It held the chip under one tiny foot as it broke off little pieces to crunch on, ignoring Clover’s near heart attack at the sudden motion. After a moment, though, he relaxed, and watched contentedly as the crow snacked cheerfully on the chip.

“Cute,” Clover mused, and the crow fluffed out its feathers in response.

Every once in a while, Clover offered another corn chip, which the crow gladly accepted, until the sun began to set and the room grew dark. Yawning, Clover stretched, startling the bird into hopping off his lap, and scooted up to his pillow. Already having changed into comfortable clothes, he settled under the blankets, and the bird settled comfortably on the windowsill.

When he fell asleep, the crow was still there, though it was gone by morning.

.

The crow became a semi-permanent fixture in Clover’s room. It was always waiting for him when he got home, and sometimes Clover shared his food with him. Always, the crow was gone by morning, and Clover stopped worrying about its fate during the day, only curious as to what it was up to.

Today, however, Clover was running late to get home. The day’s mission had brought them to Mantle, so the walk home led Clover through dark streets filled with questionable characters. Already, the sun was going down, and Clover worried that his bird friend would freeze before he got home to let it in. Hopefully he would make it in time.

Of course, Clover took as many shortcuts as he could, and of course winding alleys were hardly a good path for anyone to traverse, and of course the people of Mantle wouldn’t take kindly to a cop roaming their streets. Of course Clover would find himself caged in a grimy alley between four men, and of course they would be sneering at him, clearly not looking to talk.

“Look here,” one said, “one of Atlas’ finest, isn’t he?”

“Evening, gentlemen,” Clover said in the most friendly tone he could muster. He really did not want to fight civilians, especially with the military’s reputation so bad - especially when at least two were sporting weapons. Civilians with training, then. Clover would not likely escape a fight with them unscathed. “Something I can do for you?”

“Look around,” another man snorted, gesturing vaguely with one hand. “Plenty you could be doing for us, but what do we get?”

“Nothing,” another one spat, and the others grumbled agreement.

“I wish I could help - ”

“Liar.”

“ - but I’m not in charge. I promise, General Ironwood is doing his best to promote the security and safety of Mantle’s citizens - ”

“Oh, shut it,” one of them interrupted, sounding annoyed. “That tin can tell you to recite that garbage?”

“Let’s just get this over with,” another suggested, and Clover heard mechanical clicking. “Give him a reason not to come back.”

“Now, now,” Clover protested, though he did not hesitate to unravel Kingfisher from his waist, “let’s just talk about this. I don’t want to hurt you.”

But it seemed the time for talk was over, the men slowly caving in, and with a sigh Clover prepared to fight. The thought of the crow waiting back at home, shivering outside his window, nagged at his mind, and he started to wonder if perhaps he should run. He could probably vault over the two men in front of him with a little bit of luck, and Brothers knew Clover had enough of that -

A loud caw sounded overhead, and though the men ignored it, Clover instinctively looked up. It was silly to think this crow circling the alley could be his crow, though, so Clover started to return his attention to the looming fight - but just in time caught the sight of the bird launching into a nosedive. It was a tiny black blur as it sped down between the buildings, making a beeline for the group, and just before it hit the ground it -

- it turned into -

“Qrow?” Clover blurted in shock as the man landed in a crouch before him, weapon clicking and whirring noisily into action. His partner turned and shot him the most charming smirk Clover had ever seen on those handsome features, admittedly making his knees a little weak.

“Talk later, Cloves,” Qrow chuckled, then turned his back to him. “Let’s deal with this first. You guys still up for a fight?”

“Where the hell did this one come from?!”

“Must have dropped from the roof - showy jackass - ”

“I’m taking that as a yes,” Qrow interrupted, then leapt into action.

As dazed as he was and as badly as he wanted to see Qrow at work, Clover had more pressing matters to attend to. As he heard blades clash behind him, Clover turned his attention to the two men on their other side. With Qrow at his back, Clover’s odds of success were greatly improved, and he leapt into the fray - with a quick flick of Kingfisher, he disarmed one of his assailants before they even clashed, and the other lost his weapon mere seconds into the tussle that followed.

Left with hand-to-hand, Clover knew his victory was assured. The men may have had training in the past, but Clover was kept in practice nearly every day, and it only took a few moments of ducking and weaving around the men to wrap the line of his weapon around them. Pulling it taut, he yanked them both to the ground, earning twin yelps of angry shock.

Glancing behind him, he found Qrow had incapacitated one of his adversaries but was still marching the other blow for blow - notably only using his weapon to parry - and with a mischievous grin tugging at his lips Clover shouted, “Duck!”

The moment Qrow obeyed, Clover used all his strength to swing the captive men at their buddy. They crashed together with frightened yelps, and before Qrow had time to process what had happened Clover was seizing his hand and leading him from the alleyway in a sprint. They ducked out of the alleyway and down the street, ignoring looks from passersby as they hurried away from the scene, Clover not even thinking to release Qrow’s hand until the latter was slowing them down.

“Pretty sure we’re far enough, now,” he said, and Clover took the unspoken prompt to let go. He turned to face Qrow, and promptly started - his usually nice new clothes were unkempt, his hair mussed, and there was a rapidly purpling bruise on his jaw. Instinctively, Clover reached forward to inspect it, and expectedly, Qrow pulled back with a wince.

“They got you good,” Clover said sympathetically, and watched Qrow raise a subconscious hand to the bruise. “Your aura - ?”

“No, I’m fine,” Qrow cut across his words quickly. “I … out in the field, you get used to ignoring the little things. Saving aura for more important stuff. It’ll heal.”

That statement held the weight of years of experiences Clover could not even begin to fathom - under Ironwood’s wing, Clover knew he had been sheltered from much of the more dangerous aspects of his job for fear of losing a valuable asset - so he left it alone. Instead, he said, “Well, thanks for dropping in. I appreciate the help.”

“You’re not mad?”

That gave Clover pause. Apparently enough pause that Qrow averted his gaze, a hand coming up to rub at his neck. “Why would I be mad?” he finally asked.

“I don’t know. Keeping secrets, hiding important information, betrayal of trust.” Qrow shrugged, as if such things weren’t abhorrent responses. “That kind of thing.”

“What?” was all Clover could say. And them, “No, Qrow, that’s ridiculous. I mean, I’m - you can turn into a bird, and I’m still processing that, but I’m not even close to mad, just … in awe?”

“ … yeah?”

“I mean, that’s … magic, right?” Clover asked, and after a hesitant moment Qrow nodded. “Of course you’d hide it from the world. And I don’t think those guys back there noticed, so we should be safe, right?”

“You’re taking this a lot better than Ruby and her friends,” Qrow remarked, and Clover couldn’t help a chuckle.

“They’re kids,” he pointed out. “Not a lot phases me anymore.”

Qrow nodded, and it seemed there was nothing left to say. But they were still standing outside in the cold dark, and Qrow was still looking away from him, seeming so downcast, and Clover could only wonder as to what he was thinking. But he wanted to do something about those hunched shoulders and that skittish behavior, so after a moment’s pause Clover reached out again to tilt Qrow’s chin up, careful not to touch the bruise. Qrow was receptive to the touch, a good sign, and dull red met sparkling green.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just … not really used to this.”

“Seems I excel at exceeding your expectations,” Clover mused, tracing a thumb over Qrow’s cheek, and Qrow placed his own hand over it.

“Yeah, you do,” he agreed with a small smile. “It’s a nice change. You take just about anything that comes your way, huh?” A brief, contemplative pause, and then, a little shyly, “Even a dusty old crow coming by to visit.”

Clover’s jaw dropped, and Qrow’s smile widened into a grin. “You,” Clover sputtered, “that was you?!”

“The one and only,” Qrow hummed nonchalantly.

“You - you ate all my corn chips!”

“I couldn’t help myself,” Qrow replied lightly. “I like them. And after all, you gave it up so easily.”

Clover gaped, the euphemism not lost on him, and as Qrow laughed heat spread over his cheeks. Not to be outdone, however, Clover stammered, “Yeah, well - you’re really cute as a bird!”

It was Qrow’s turn to flush brightly. “Well, that’s - that’s just the way birds look!”

“Cute,” Clover repeated insistently, earning a low noise of disapproval. “I do wish you’d just come by as yourself, though. I wouldn’t mind.”

“I wouldn’t have to leave out the window at night?” Qrow joked, though past it was a note of interest.

“You don’t have to leave at all, if you don’t want to,” Clover replied genuinely.

“It is getting cold,” Qrow said after a small pause, and to Clover’s delight grabbed for his hand. “And your place is closer than mine.”

“And you know just how warm the computer projector gets,” Clover teased as they headed out, hand in hand. Qrow shrugged.

“I can think of better ways to keep warm.”

And once they’d found their way indoors, he had done just that, the two of them knocking right out in Clover’s bed after their overly exciting evening.

[yunaffie]

Brave Little Girl

A treat fic for @siverwrites, written as part of @fyeahghosttrick‘s Ghost Swap exchange. Prompt: “ Jowd and Kamila father-daughter bonding time “

Happy Ghost Swap! I hope this gift is to your liking.

Crossposted on AO3 here.

Even in the shade of the parasol, fanned by a light breeze, it felt pleasantly warm. Lying down on a beach towel, cap partially covering his closed eyes, listening to the sound of waves crashing onto sand, Jowd was filled with contentment. He rarely got the chance to just lie down and bask in the sunny weather like this. Even better, he had his family here with him, but of course. It wouldn't be the same without them. Every moment he shared with them was so utterly precious and he never forgot that. 

"Jowd?" At the sound of his name, he lifted his cap and blinked against the sudden light, just able to make out someone standing over him. Alma was hunched over, resting her hands on her knees. A gentle breeze lightly tugged at her purple locks, blowing them around her shoulders. He blinked, focusing his eyes on her. 

"Mm? What is it?" 

"Cabanela and I are going for a swim. I suppose you don't feel like joining us?"

Jowd responded with a dry laugh. "What do you think?" 

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Alma straightened herself. "Well, just letting you know. You can keep an eye on Kamila while we're gone."

"Sure. Enjoy your swim." Jowd sat up and watched Alma's and Cabanela's figures get smaller as they walked away. The sea itself looked calm, its deep blue surface glittering vividly in the light of the sun, but that dazzling exterior only served to remind him of the empty, endless depths beneath. 

Tearing his gaze from the sea, he turned his attention to Kamila, who was sitting a few feet away and working laboriously on a sandcastle. From where he was, it was certainly looking pretty elaborate and he wouldn't expect any less from his daughter. Deciding to get a better look, Jowd rose up and walked over to join her.

"Wow." Looking up close, Jowd was awed by how magnificent the sandcastle looked, with several pointed turrets clustered together. A long pathway ran down from the topmost tower, spiralling down to where it met the gate in the walls of the sandcastle. Outside of the wall, a deep moat had been dug into the sand with a bridge spanning the gap. "That's the most impressive sandcastle I've ever seen."

"You think so?" Kamila peeped up at him from beneath the brim of her straw hat. She was picking up damp sand and packing it into the wall, fortifying the castle's defences. "It's a shame I don't have a flag for the castle, but I suppose it's good enough."

"You've done a fantastic job." To think Kamila could have built such a majestic sandcastle in such a short time, she really was so skilled with her hands. If only they had thought to bring a camera with them. Jowd sat down. "Are you going to make anything else?"

"I don't know yet." Kamila's brow furrowed as she thought about it. "Maybe I could do something like an animal, or a shellfish. Maybe it could be the castle's guardian."

"That's a good idea. So what are you thinking of, a big fire breathing dragon?"

Kamila put a hand to her cheek. "I don't know. I don't think I would be able to make the wings stay on. Sand breaks easily, you know? It should be something simple, like, maybe a giant crab."

"Mmm, a giant crab." Jowd smiled. "Hopefully the people living in the castle don't get hungry and decide to make themselves crab sandwiches."

Kamila's face fell. "Would they really do that to the nice crab who's supposed to be guarding the castle?"

"Don't worry, they wouldn't even be able to break such a huge shell in the first place. The crab would be fine."

"But the crab would be very angry if the people tried to kill it. It might smash down the walls and come after them."

"Well, it would serve them right, wouldn't it?" Jowd chuckled. "Maybe it could be a tortoise or a turtle. They are nice, docile creatures. They would just withdraw into their shell and then act as if nothing had happened. I do hear turtle soup is a delicacy though."

"Huh. Is it?" Kamila's eyes widened. "But wait, if it just hides in its shell and doesn't care what's going on, then it's no good as a guardian, is it?"

"Hmm, I suppose not." Jowd lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Anyway, it could be anything you want, couldn't it? You could make up some fictional animal. I doubt the people of the castle have to worry anyway, that wall looks quite strong and that's a very deep moat you have there."

"There's alligators in the moat. Big, scary alligators. They will snap up anyone who tries to cross the bridge without permission. And nobody will be able to try and eat them either. Wait, do people eat alligators?"

"In some countries, yes."

"I see. But it would be very dangerous, wouldn't it?" Kamila slapped more sand against the wall of the castle. "I don't think the people in the castle would try it." She put her hands on her knees and sighed. "All that talking about food has made me start to feel hungry."

"Has it?" Jowd was beginning to feel a bit peckish himself too. Now he really fancied a crab sandwich, but that wasn't exactly feasible at this point. "There's an ice cream van nearby, would you like me to get you something?"

"Yeah!" Kamila beamed. "Can I have a whipped ice cream cone with a Flake, please?"

"Sure." Jowd picked up a bag of coins and made his way to the ice cream van, where he purchased two ice cream cones. When he returned, Kamila was sitting on one of the blankets in the shade. "Here you go," he said, handing her a cone before sitting next to her. "Had enough of playing in the sand?"

"It's hot." Kamila reached up to wipe sweat from her sticky brow. "I'm a bit tired of it." She lapped at the white spiral of ice cream. "Mm."

"Ice cream is the best thing after you've been sitting in the sun on a hot day, isn't it?" Jowd took a bite of ice cream and swallowed. It was wonderfully cold and silky smooth as it slid down his throat.

"Uh huh." Kamila nodded eagerly. She quietly consumed her ice cream, occasionally taking out the Flake and biting chunks off it along with globs of ice cream. "Mom and Uncle Cabanela are still swimming, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Jowd scanned the sea with his gaze, eventually spotting a flash of purple with a blob of brown not far behind it. "Look, there they are."

Following the direction of Jowd's pointed arm, Kamila soon spotted them. "Oh, I can see them now." She shoved the remnants of the cone into her mouth and swallowed, wiping the sticky traces of ice cream from her mouth.

"You didn't want to go into the sea with them, did you?" Of course, Jowd knew well enough that Kamila couldn't swim, and she had never really shown any interest in learning so far. Seeing Kamila shake her head, he continued. "I'm not really that fond of the sea either."

"I can't even swim anyway." Kamila pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "Can you?"

"Well, sure, I've swam in pools before. It's just the sea I'm not so keen on. It's very rough, you know, all those waves. Not really the same as being in a pool."

"Hmm." Kamila rested her chin on her knees. "I think the sea is kind of scary."

Jowd glanced at her, his brow furrowing in mild concern. Could this sentiment of hers be the result of experiences in another timeline? It was hard to say. As a baby, Kamila hadn't minded being taken into the sea and trips to the beach had been so few that he wasn't sure when this change might have taken place. Anyway, it wasn't so strange that she might have developed an aversion to the sea as she grew up, he supposed. "Why do you think so?"

"The sea is huge, and it's so deep and so dark, once you go deep enough, you can't even see the sunlight anymore." Kamila met Jowd's gaze, seeming slightly disturbed. "It just kind of scares me a bit. If you were lost in the sea, nobody would be able to find you."

Jowd pulled his gaze from her, looking back at the sea. "Yes, it does sound quite scary when you put it that way. But you don't need to be scared. You've got me, haven't you?" 

"Huh? Yeah, I guess I do, don't I?" The anxiety vanished from Kamila's face, replaced by a smile. "You'll always come and save me whenever I'm in trouble, right, Dad?"

"Of course I will." Jowd glanced at her, returning the smile. He returned to staring at the sea. "Say, why don't we go for a paddle in the sea?"

"Huh?" Kamila sounded startled by the suggestion. Jowd looked at her, seeing her brow furrowed with worry.

"Don't worry, our feet will be on the ground the whole time, and I'll hold your hand. Let's give it a try, shall we? I quite fancy a dip myself. How about it?" Jowd stood up, offering his hand.

Kamila looked at him uncertainly for a few seconds then nodded, taking his hand. He helped her to her feet and they set off toward the sea.

"Well then," Jowd said, as their feet touched the wet sand just mere feet from the receding tide. "Here we go. Are you ready?"

Kamila took a deep breath and nodded. "Uh-huh."

The tide came back in, lapping around their ankles. They started forward, matching their steps and gradually moving further into the sea. Jowd kept an eye on Kamila. Her hand was tightly gripping his and she had a tense look in her face.

"That's it, you're doing great." Jowd kept taking slow, cautious steps forward, ensuring that Kamila took another step before he did. He didn't want to rush her. Eventually, they were deep enough that the water was above her waist. "Well done, you're doing brilliantly."

"I'm really... in the sea." There was a slight wobble to Kamila's voice. She looked up at him. "I'm trying really hard not to be scared."

"And you're doing great." Jowd flashed her an encouraging smile. "You are a very brave little girl."

"Hey!" Cabanela's voice floated toward them on the breeze. Jowd looked over and caught sight of him bobbing up and down in the water with Alma at his side. "You joinin' us for a swim after all, baby?"

"Actually, we're just having a little paddle, that's all," Jowd called back. "Kamila is being very brave."

"Well done, Kamila!" Alma called out.

"You're doin' great, baby, keep it up!"

Kamila gazed in their direction, a look of determination forming on her face. "I'm going to try walking by myself." Jowd relaxed his grip and she slowly extracted her hand from his before taking a hesitant step forward. Then she took another, and another, moving forward with slow, careful steps. Jowd kept going as well, keeping his steps in sync with hers.

Watching his daughter brave the sea, Jowd felt a swell of pride inside of him. The sea made him feel uneasy enough but his fear was probably nothing compared to Kamila's and yet here she was, walking in the sea. She really was such a determined and brave young girl. 

The water had risen up to Kamila's chest when she stopped abruptly and shook her head. "I... I don't want to go any further... I can't..." She clung to her father, her breath coming out in shaky gasps.

"Don't worry about it, you've done so well already." Jowd took her hand in his and waved at Alma and Cabanela. "We're going back now."

With the sound of clapping hands and exclaimed words of praise behind them, Jowd and Kamila went back the way they came. 

"Ahh." Jowd sighed as they sank down onto the towels. "What a relief it is to be back on dry land, eh?" He picked up a couple of dry towels, tossing one to Kamila and using the other to start drying himself off.

Kamila used the towel to rub her body dry before wrapping herself up in it. She scooted closer to Jowd and leaned into him. Jowd put an arm around her body, enfolding her in a hug. "The sea is really big. It was pretty scary standing in the water."

"It was, wasn't it?"

"But you were with me so I was able to do it."

"You really are such a brave and strong little girl." Jowd kissed the top of her head. "I'm very proud of you."

"You are?" Kamila raised her head.

"Of course."

A smile broke out on Kamila's face. "You know, I want to be super tough someday. So tough that I won't be afraid of anything."

"Well, good luck with that. I'll be rooting for you" Jowd studied his daughter's radiant face for a moment before speaking again. "But, you know, everyone has fears. It's normal. Even I have fears."

Kamila's mouth formed a circle. "Huh, really? Wait, are you afraid of the sea too?"

"Hmm, well, I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of the sea exactly. It does make me a bit uncomfortable though. I would rather avoid it if I can."

"Huh. But you were the one who suggested we go in there." Kamila thought about it for a moment. "Wait, was it because you wanted to get me in there?"

"That's right. I thought I'd help you face your fear. It worked, didn't it? You were able to walk in the sea."

Kamila nodded. "Thank you, Dad. It was scary, but I'm really glad I did it. Hmm, so you don't like going in the sea. What are some other fears you have?"

"Hmm." Jowd rubbed his chin, his brow creasing. "Let's see. Expensive bills. Having to clean up. Running out of ketchup."

"Dad." Kamila drew out the word as she spoke, her expression turning to one of mild frustration. "You're just being silly, aren't you?"

"Oh no, those are real fears." Jowd's face was completely straight with not the slightest hint of mirth as he looked at her. "I assure you."

"Okay." The tone of Kamila's voice suggested that she wasn't entirely convinced however. Tearing her gaze away, she looked to the sea. "Still, you're a detective so that means you have to be really tough, and Uncle Cabanela and Lynne too, right?"

"Yes."

"You're heroes, after all. So you have to be tough and cool. Like all those superheroes on TV." Kamila bunched up her fists. "So you can beat up all the bad guys."

Jowd chuckled softly. "Yes, just like them, though you're not going to find us wearing capes or jumping off tall buildings, I'm afraid."

"Right, it's not like you have superpowers. But even if you don't, you're all still pretty cool." Kamila crossed her arms and tilted her head. "I wonder why detectives don't wear capes though."

"Well, because we would look silly, wouldn't we?" Jowd thought for a moment about what it would be like going about his job wearing a cape. He imagined it would be quite a hassle. What if it got caught in something? Someone like Cabanela wouldn't have to worry though. 

"I guess so." Kamila leaned forward, putting her arms around her legs and using her knees to support her chin. "What about Uncle Cabanela though, he looks and acts pretty silly sometimes, doesn't he?"

Only sometimes? Now that was quite the understatement, Jowd thought as he shrugged. "Yeah, well, he doesn't really care."

A seagull cawed, fluttering down to land a few feet away. Kamila watched it waddle across the sand. "I don't think it's a bad thing anyway, he's a funny man and I think he's fine the way he is. Like, it would be so weird if he stopped dancing all the time. Don't you think so too, Dad?"

Jowd's lips cracked into a wry smile. "Yes, that would be very weird indeed."  He couldn't help but be reminded of the time he thought Cabanela had changed. Oh, how wrong he had been. 

Someone came walking along the beach, their presence startling the seagull. Kamila shielded her eyes as she watched the seagull take flight, becoming a tiny speck in the sky. When it was done, she dropped her hand and returned to staring at the sea. "The superheroes on TV never get scared or worried about anything. They always catch the bad guys in the end. But it's different in real life, isn't it?"

Jowd gazed at her in silent contemplation. It would be nice to spin a lie, let her believe life was that simple, but she wasn't that naive. Why, one of these days, she might even realise something was strange about their eternal kitten. "Oh, it's very different. Things don't always go the way you want them to."

"You all must have moments when you get sad or scared, and maybe you don't always get the bad guys, but you're still out there fighting for justice." Kamila turned her head, showing him a smile. "I think that makes you all even cooler than the superheroes on TV."

"Is that so?" Jowd let out a chuckle. "Thank you. I'm happy to hear such high praise from my daughter."

"Ah." Kamila let out an exclamation as she looked back to the sea. "Mom and Uncle Cabanela are coming back now. Gosh, they were swimming for ages."

Jowd looked up to see the two striding across the beach toward them. "Ah, here they come. I expect we'll be getting off home soon. Did you have a good time today?"

"Yeah. It was really fun." Kamila nodded eagerly. "Next time we come, I'll build an even bigger and better sandcastle, and it will have flags. And I'll go into the sea again, but only as long as you do too, so we'll definitely do that together, right?"

"Sure we will." Jowd patted Kamila's back. His feelings of unease toward the sea might not have changed, but he was willing to brave it if it helped his daughter in any way. Still, submarines were very definitely off limits and he doubted Kamila would ever express the desire to go on one. Well, he hoped so anyway.

"Okay, it's a promise, Dad!" Kamila declared, with a cheerful smile.

How heartening it felt to see that smile, Jowd thought, feeling a rush of warmth. Kamila's happiness was the most important thing after all. No matter what, he would always do his best to ensure that his little girl kept on smiling.

[insfiringyou]

BTS - First date with Jimin

Contains: Fluff. Slight jealousy/insecurity. Sexual tension.

[Although this can be enjoyed by itself, this is part of our headcanon universe and we imagine the reader as Ara - our second serious headcanon girlfriend for Jimin. This is set a few days after Jimin breaks up with Angel and meets Ara in ‘A Celebration to Forget’.]

Find out more about our headcanon universe, ongoing story line and original characters here

To read each member & their girlfriend’s headcanon universe fics in order, follow the links here: RM   /   Jin /   Suga /   J-Hope   /   Jimin   /   V   /   Jungkook

& Our full masterlist can be found here

Rated content below cut

The seagulls circled ahead in the clear, blue sky as Jimin walked across the beach towards you; his bare feet skimming the sand as he brushed his long, golden hair away from his forehead with his spare hand. The other was casually clutching his brown sandals. If you had been feeling giddy before as you waited for him, you now felt positively sick with butterflies; your stomach buzzed with excitement at seeing him again. 

At the party, you had initially been too preoccupied with cleaning up the mess you made in the kitchen to be overly concerned with the man who was helping you, after all, it was his drink you spilled. But afterwards, as he introduced himself and asked if you wanted to step outside for some air, you had started to pay for attention to him. It was obvious at first that his mind was elsewhere; he kept turning to look as other couples passed you on the stone steps outside the entrance and you grew worried that he was maybe worried about being caught with you, that he might have come to the party with someone else, but your concerns were soon scattered as he shuffled closer to you. 

The night was comfortably warm and the hotel was far enough from the artificial lights of Seoul to allow the stars to shine through the navy blanket of sky. Jimin smiled at you as he pointed them out; unable to name the constellations but appreciating their beauty nonetheless. You couldn’t pull your phone out of your pocket fast enough when he asked if he could take your number, he was getting a lift back home from his friend Namjoon and had to leave. You stood up, handing him your cell with slightly shaking hands and watching his soft features in the glow of the porch light as he inputted his number in return. He left with nothing more than a charming smile as he checked to make sure you had your own lift home and headed towards a black car in the parking lot, but the prospect of seeing him again sometime soon weighed on your mind as you re-entered the building behind you and searched for your friends.

You had been texting back and forth over the past three days and the invite to Incheon didn’t come as a complete surprise. While the messages had been unarguably PG, you had sensed the flirtation beneath his replies and the beach seemed like a good place for a first date. The afternoons had been warm and sunny recently and you were both been eager to get away from the busy bustle of Seoul in favour of the coastal city. Jimin had a television interview in the morning so opted to meet you there in the mid-afternoon. 

“Hi.” He smiled as he reached your side. “I’m sorry you had to make your own way here...the interview was in Guro-gu and it would have taken a while to pick you up from Gangnam.” 

You shook your head, brushing your long hair from your cheeks as it blew in the wind. “It’s fine. I got some lunch and did some window shopping while I was waiting.” You said. Jimin laughed gently as you spat out a mouthful of hair which had gotten caught in your lip-gloss. With a grimace, you found the tips which had been caught and wiped the rosy-pink colour away with your fingertips. “Sorry...” You murmured, scrunching your face up and sticking your tongue out a couple of times to rid your mouth of the taste. “I think I overdid it on the lip-gloss.” 

Jimin grinned as you began to walk, delighting in the familiar feel as the warm sand sank between your bare toes as you took off your sandals and held them in one hand. 

“The colour is nice.” Jimin commented, shaking his head in disagreement with your statement.”Pink really suits you.” 

“Thanks.” You grinned bashfully, flashing your teeth and your heart leapt when Jimin automatically smiled in response at your facial expression. Your cheeks heated up as you strolled, enjoying the heat of the sun along your back. The halter-neck top you wore would leave marks later if you got a tan, but the weather had been cooler when you set off this morning and wearing something strapless had seemed a little too optimistic. Jimin was dressed in a pair of three-quarter denim shorts, not unlike your own, and a loose fitting white shirt which flapped against his torso in the slight breeze, momentarily revealing the gentle curves of his hips and waist as he turned to look at you. 

Turning away from him, cheeks pink, you watched your feet as you walked, making sure to avoid treading on the larger shells which dotted the beach. There was a comfortable and sweet pause between you which lasted a few minutes before he finally spoke again. 

“Where did you meet Cassandra?” 

“Cassandra Dubois?” You asked. 

He paused, unsure. “Taehyung’s girlfriend.” 

You gently kicked a piece of driftwood with your foot as you avoided a larger piece which had found its way to shore, edging around it. “I used to do singing lessons with her...she’s a couple of years older than me, but she started late.” You explained easily. 

“Oh. You can sing?” He seemed interested now, turning to look at you. 

You shrugged. “Not that well really.”

He pressed on. “Do you want to become an Idol?” 

You smiled shyly. “I don’t think so...I’m not good enough for that.” You paused. “I’m happy enough working in beauty.” 

“Which brand is it again?” He asked.

“Yves Saint Laurent. We do a lot of weddings...parties.”

“Do you ever do photo-shoots?”

You shook your head. “Not really. It’s more small scale things really.” You paused. “We get a lot of people coming into the store to do their makeup before work using the testers.”

He laughed. “Makeup can be too expensive.”

You grinned. “The stuff we sell is.” You confessed, a little guiltily. “Luckily I get twenty percent off.”

There was another pause before he spoke again. 

“I wanted to be upfront with you.” His voice was surprisingly serious and you found your stomach sinking; here was were he told you he wasn’t single after all or that he had only asked you out on the date to get the number of your best friend. You didn’t think he had seen you with anyone but Cassandra, who he must have known was taken, but that was how these things usually went. You turned to watch him as he spoke, dreading what he was going to say. 

“I really like you Ara...” You relaxed a little but waited for the but. " And I was worried if I didn’t ask you out now someone else would swoop in and ask you instead.”

“That’s not likely...” You protested in a weak voice. 

“But it’s only fair that you know I only recently broke up with someone.”

You let out a relieved sigh. You had suspected as much that he had been taken when you met him at the party. The dithery way he kept glancing around had been a give away that there was another girl in the picture. You wanted to ask him whether your suspicions were true, but felt too timid to speak. Instead, you patiently waited for him to explain. 

“We only officially called it off two days ago, before I asked you here, but it has been obvious for a while...” He drifted off for a moment, thinking. His eyes darkened a little as he considered how to explain. “She made it pretty apparent on the night I met you that she wanted to break up but I wanted to call her to make sure...it didn’t feel right that I ask you out without knowing for sure, no matter how clear it seemed, you know?”

You nodded, feeling yourself falling more and more for him with each passing moment. You remembered a shapely girl at the party with dyed blonde hair holding another guy’s hand as they walked out of the kitchen, and the way Jimin’s eyes had followed them. If that was truly the woman in question, she had some nerve...

“Thank you for telling me.” You said, meaning it. 

He smiled sweetly and took your hand in his. His touch was light but confident and your stomach fluttered with butterflies as you strolled past a few people bathing in the water. You nodded towards them and gestured. 

“Shall we have a paddle?” 

Jimin grinned. “If you want.” 

You led him towards the shallow water and bent down to leave your shoes by the edge, watching him bend as he did the same. Unable to help yourself, your eyes lingered a little on his backside as he let go of your hand to discard his sandals. You quickly looked away when he turned to you and joined you in the water, wading a couple of meters out to sea. 

“Look...” You grinned, gesturing down. “I’m sinking.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he watched the wet sand cover your feet as the tide ebbed and waned around your ankles. You noticed that he was doing the same and pointed to him with a laugh. He reached over without moving his feet and brushed a stray lock from your face. “You’re so cute.” 

If you weren’t already frozen in the spot by your sinking feet, your body would have done so anyway as Jimin learned forward and pressed his lips gently against yours. The distance between you forced him to be light, but you felt your stomach somersault nonetheless as he opened his lips ever so slightly in movement, turning his head to the side to nestle his nose comfortably by the side of yours. It took a moment for you to get over the fuzzy sensation which consumed your entire body at his touch, before you managed to kiss him back. You closed your eyes and felt his hand touch your waist, his arm outstretched to bridge the gap between your torsos. When he pulled away, you couldn’t help but grin at how far away he suddenly seemed. You saw that his cheeks also sported a pale pink blush, making you feel more at ease knowing that he was also nervous too. 

With some difficulty, you slid your feet from the damp, slippery sand before you sank into the seabed anymore, and helped Jimin from his own confinements, clutching his wrists with a grin as you struggled to stay upright. The waves had gotten a little choppy and rough. Jimin let out a small squeal of mock frustration as he tugged himself from the sand with your held. You pulled as he pushed and, before you knew it, you were soaking wet in the water with Jimin on top of you. He had realised he was falling at the last moment and had landed gracefully on his palms, keeping his weight from your body. With a shocked gasp, you spat out a mouthful of water, opening your mouth in shock as the cool water soaked your back, hair and cheeks.

Grinning, Jimin brushed the wet hair from your damp cheeks and forehead, smoothing the skin there with his palm before opening his mouth against yours in a passionate kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist as he balanced on his knees and arching your back out of the water. You gasped into his mouth, closing your lips around his lower lip as you kissed him back, unable to help yourself from getting more heated. The cold water splashed with your movements as he held you, soaking through your halter-top and causing your nipples to strain against the fabric. You felt yourself grow warm between your thighs as the kiss intensified and the sea saturated your thighs and covered crotch. You pulled apart in unison, gasping for air and tasting salt on your lips.

Jimin helped you to your feet; at least the water had cooled down your warm cheeks, you thought as you headed back to the shore to collect your shoes. You glanced sideways at the man beside you as he strolled in an embarrassed sort of silence. 

“I’m sorry you got wet.” He smiled, a little timidly. “I didn’t think to bring a towel.”

You grinned in reply. “The sun is hot...we’ll be dry in no time.” Feeling more confident, you slipped your fingers back through his. “I really like you too.” You admitted, a little belatedly, feeling warm inside as he handed you your pair of sandals. 

***

Thanks for reading. You can find all of the member’s headcanon fics in order here:  RM   /   Jin /   Suga /   J-Hope   /   Jimin   /   V   /   Jungkook 

& our full masterlist can be found here

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[their-name-is-morgan]

Yelooo... How about a "You've kissed me about fifty times today" with Okuyasu? Please

Hey! Sorry for the delay, I hope this is worth the wait though❤

Meant to be (You’ve kissed me about fifty times today)

Okuyasu x Reader❤

The sound of your phone ringing was what woke you up from your 2 hours log nap, which you hadn’t planned to take seeing how you were laying on the couch in the most uncomfortable position, with your laptop still on your stomach and the bag of chips you’d forgotten to put away now on the floor.

You lazily grabbed your phone from the coffee table and a gentle smile adorned your face once you were finally able to read the name of who was calling you at 7 in the evening; you pressed the green button on the screen.

“Hello, is Okuyasu there?” you said, doing your best to sound serious, until you heard a small ‘Huh?’ and couldn’t keep a straight face anymore, a small giggle escaping your lips.

“I called you- wait, are you pranking me?” he asked, and you giggled one more time at how easily he’d get confused at this kind of things.

“Yeah, yeah! What’s up though?” you finally asked, genuinely curious. He’d usually call you in the early afternoon or he’d just stop by if he needed something, he was your boyfriend after all, so you didn’t mind having him around.

He excitedly explain –you could tell he was smiling, even through the phone- that he was free the following day and that if you didn’t mind he had something special planned for the both of you. The following day being a Sunday, you didn’t have much to do as it was everyone’s lazy day, so you informed him that you were free also.

“I was thinking that I could pick you up at 5_30? In the afternoon- but it’s okay if you prefer earlier or later!” he quickly added, and you shook your head even though he couldn’t see you.

“5 is fine by me, are youuu planning to bring me to that nice Trattoria you work at?” you asked, picking up the bag of chips and placing it on the small table, “Or some other place I don’t know about yet? Or wait- don’t tell me, I want it to be a surprise!”

You heard him giggle at your behaviour, and you couldn’t help but do the same.

“It’s a surprise babe, I don’t wanna ruin it for you! But… wear something nice- agh, no wait, wear whatever you want! Y-You’ll look nice anyway!” your cheeks flushed, although you hadn’t missed how he was speaking more quickly than usual. You decided not to mention it though, as you guessed it was because he had something on his mind regarding your little date.

“Alright then, impress me, handsome!”

“Woah, that’s an exaggeration!” he stammered, and you rolled your eyes playfully;

“It isn’t, when will you stop putting yourself down?” you gently scolded him, staring at a picture of the two of you which you had saved on your laptop; you even had an entire folder dedicated to various selfies you and Okuyasu took and pictures of you two in general.

“How abouuut…when you will?”

The cute conversation went on for a while as you tidied your living room, which started to resemble a garbage dump less and less. You said your goodbyes after agreeing with each other that it was starting to get late, and you both still had to make and eat dinner, and you assured him that you would’ve been able to talk later.

The next day, you woke up excited; it wasn’t exactly early in the morning when you opened your eyes, as they widened when you glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, which read 12:36 in the afternoon. You let a small sigh escape your lips, maybe playing video games until ungodly hours wasn’t that good of an idea when you were supposed to wake up early and go on a date later…

Nonetheless, you still managed to cook lunch, change into a much more fitting attire and, as any other independent and responsible adult would do, watch videos on YouTube until it was time to leave with Okuyasu –whom picked you up at 5:30 with his brand new, black Nissan Note instead of his motorbike, and gave you a kiss first thing after yelling an ‘Oi, Y/N!’-.

“So,” you started, buckling up the seat belt, “You’re starting to use your car more?”

He shrugged as he started the engine,

“I mean… it was a gift for my 18th birthday, so I might as well use it. Plus…isn’t it more romantic to drive you somewhere with a car, instead of a motorbike?” he asked, causing you to snort.

“I guess so, your motorbike isn’t bad though- it’s just that the damn helmet always messes up my hair!”

“Hey, I thought that was just my problem! Why the hell didn’t ya tell me sooner? I’ve felt so alone this entire time…” he jokingly admitted, pouting slightly as you rolled your eyes and let out another giggle.

The 20 minutes drive seemed to fly by as you chatted about all, you were so engulfed with the conversation that you almost didn’t notice the beautiful scenery out of the car window- you guessed he was taking you to a restaurant with sea view.

As you finally arrived, he parked his car and gently placed a hand on your shoulder as if to stop you from opening the door.

“W-Wait, let me get that for you.” He said, getting out of the car and making his way to your side so he could open the door for you. You felt your cheeks and ears getting warmer as he even held your hand so he could help you stand up.

“That…was so sweet, Oku,” you said, beaming. His own cheeks got crimson and he quickly kissed you on the forehead, your hand still in his.

“Ah, u-uhm, yes, let’s get in, shall we?” he questioned and you nodded, a smile still on your face, partly because of the flustered state he was in.

He lead you inside, and you couldn’t help but notice how fancy the place seemed to be. Each table had a thin, white tablecloth, utensils and blue handkerchiefs placed on it, the wooden floor was so clean that you could almost use it as a mirror, and the pure white walls had been painted on, intricate drawings of the waves and fish –the colours that had been used were soft blues and greens, though- catching your attention immediately.

The restaurant was quite busy, with waiters and waitresses fast-walking from one side to the other, carrying any sort of dish. Your mouth watered at the sight of your favourite food getting served and you couldn’t wait to order something yourself.

Okuyasu seemed to notice this and opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by one of the waiters,

“Ah, welcome, miss and mister! Did you book a table?” he asked, a polite smile on his freckled face.  Okuyasu took a step forward,

“Uuh, yes, a table for two.” He quickly replied, and he nodded.

“Very well, your last names please?”

“Oh! Nijimura and L/N,”

“Let me lead the way!”

The two of you let him guide you towards one of the tables in the back, from where you could clearly see the sea and the clear sky without anything that could block your visual. You sat down in front of each other and the waiter handed you the Menus, informing you that he would be back soon to take your orders. You both thanked him and smiled, seeing how he had been nothing but sweet.

After a few minutes you were ready to order; you decided to eat your favourite meal while Okuyasu settled for caprese salad with pesto sauce –in honour of Tonio, you guessed, and he grinned when you asked him-.

“This is a fancy restaurant, by the way. Did you see how much some of the stuff costs? I hope the dessert isn’t too expensive, I forgot to look at the prices of that-“ you glanced at your boyfriend and he shook his head.

“Hey, don’t sweat it, it’s my treat!” he reassured you, he was being very sweet. You wondered why as you kept talking to each other; maybe he had a surprise for you? He was dressed so nicely, too- he wore a dark blue blazer with a white buttoned up shirt underneath, dark blue trousers and elegant black shoes. You panicked for a moment realizing that maybe you should’ve worn something a bit more elegant, too…

When the food finally arrived it was already 6 pm –understandable since there were so many people to serve, so you didn’t complain- the sound of people talking and utensils clattering filling the large room you were in, as you and Okuyasu started to talk about how good the food tasted and how nice the place was, to then move on to how both of you were pretty much settled with the job you had –Okuyasu had brought that up, a smile on his face, and you went along with it but you didn’t miss the fact that his nervousness had started to increase-.

As the sun started to set, causing the sky to change its colour from a bright blue to pink and red hues, and the sea gradually became calmer, you glanced out of the large window, sorbet in one hand and straw in the other to support it every time you would take a sip. Said window was slightly opened, and you couldn’t complain about the fresh breeze, which was making your hair gently move without messing it up as you feared.

“Thank you so much for taking me here by the way, Okuyasu,” you said, your smile growing as his cheeks tinted pink once again.

“That is…really the least I could do for making me the happiest guy in Mor-“ ‘Shit, no, I’m fucking this up- Morioh is so small!’ he mentally scolded himself, “…the happiest guy in the world!” he responded, his hands nervously shaking despite the weather being sunny and the temperature being quite warm.

“Hey, I could say the same, find me a guy who can make me laugh with his dumb jokes and then takes me out to the most romantic dinner ever,” you said, placing the small cup made of glass on the table, both of your desserts –he had ordered choco strawberry cone flavoured ice cream, as always- finished.

“I thought I was enough, though!” he joked, and as you laughed he leaned forward to quickly kiss your nose. You quirked as eyebrow.

“You’ve kissed me about fifty times today, why is that?” you couldn’t help but ask, though you kept smiling.

“That- might be because I wanted to tell you something very important,” he started, taking your hand in his. You weren’t sure why, but your breathing quickened. You feared it was something bad, but then again, Okuyasu had always been so sweet, why would he take you out and then tell you something that’d make you cry?

“Go on, I’m all ears.”

“S-So, uh, you know I’m no good with words but… we’ve been dating for years and…in these years, I realized that I was so dumb in high school, I was jealous of Josuke because he had all those girls surrounding him and nobody really cared about me,” he took a deep breath, his gaze never meeting yours, his eyes wandering in any other direction, “That is, until I met you, and I realized that…it…didn’t really matter anymore, how many girls were interested in me, or whatever. Because, I mean, why would it when you’re here by my side? And I know this was probably really simple and maybe it sounded stupid,”

He stood up, careful not to make a fool of himself by tripping or making something fall. Meanwhile, you finally realized what was going on, and your heart began racing as you noticed him getting closer, hands clenched in his pockets, and everyone else silently staring at you, almost expectantly. He kneeled on the floor, making everyone –including you- audibly gasp. You didn’t even try to hold back the huge smile on your face, and it seemed to be the same for Okuyasu.

“…but I don’t think I need anyone else with me, when we’re together, s-so… Y/N, amore mio,” he finally whipped the ring box out of his pocket, and opened it, revealing a gorgeous engagement ring that you couldn’t wait to have on your finger, “Will you marry me?”

You, at a loss of words, simply bobbed your head up and down, tears threatening to fall from your eyes, while Okuyasu was already in tears the moment you nodded. He quickly stood up and you threw your arms around his neck, embracing him so tight that your chests were touching and your head rested in the crook of his neck, while his rested in yours. You could hear the people cheering as Okuyasu broke the tight hug to slide the ring onto your finger, only to sweetly kiss you afterwards, his cheeks still wet with tears and his lips slightly quivering.

Once you could finally speak again, you chuckled, and he tilted his head in confusion.

“Did Tonio teach you that?”

“W-What?”

“Amore mio. It means ‘my love’ in Italian,”

He raised his eyebrows in realization and he, strangely enough, looked away,

“Well, yeah, he did, but I’m also…kind of learning Italian? On my own?”

You let an almost inaudible ‘Wow’ escape from your mouth and he seemed proud of himself, as he slightly smirked.

“That’s so cool, should I expect a wedding speech in Italian then?” you questioned, half joking and half serious.

“Hey, don’t expect too much from me now!”

“Nah, don’t worry.” ‘I only expect you to be the best husband ever. I know you will be.’ You though, as he excitedly told you your next destination- the Arcade.

[skiesoftwilight]

Let Me Help You (Connor Kenway)

Word Count: 2779

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A long and slow exhale of air came from in between your lips while you leaned over to pick up the tiny wicker basket filled with wet linen at your feet; the strain on your lower back was only for a moment, but you could feel the after effects on your whole body as you stood up straight and clutched the basket closely to your side as the child you were carrying had taken up all the space in front of your body.

Your gentle (E/C) eyes tossed a soft glance down at your prominent belly and shook your head softly as you thought about how much you had actually grown in the nine months of your pregnancy. One of your hands came to cradle your bump for a brief moment as you felt the baby move around; soft whimpers came your mouth as you could feel your stomach harden with the baby’s movements. With the way the baby keeps on moving, you could tell that you were going to be due any day now, but it wasn’t going to stop you from moving around like you normally would do.

With your bearings and breath collected you picked up your thin coat on the hook next to the back door of the manor and tossed it on top of the basket and made your way outside to the clothesline to finish hanging up the rest of the clothes you had just finished washing. It was your last chore of the evening and you wanted to make sure that you finished it before Connor came home from being in town.

The gentle autumn winds flirted with the hem of your skirt as it lifted it up a couple of inches off the ground before letting it settle down again. The breeze ran it’s wispy fingers through your (H/C) locks, making the loose strands dance in front of your eyes, causing you to brush them back behind your rosy ears every five minutes. The tangerine sun was slowly making its way over the hills, letting it’s fading rays cast long and thin shadows over the forest around the manor. Winter was quickly approaching and you will soon miss the beautiful scene before your eyes before it gets dark so quickly.

Your nimble fingers began to pull the freshly dried clothes down from the line and toss them on a designated side of the basket; with the myths around pregnant women losing their smarts temporarily, yours were only increasing and it made you work smarter and not harder. As soon as those clothes came down from the line, you were already beginning to put up the wet ones.

The sound of your humming was the only noise in the area as you let yourself get lost in hanging up the wet laundry. You had to set the basket down in order to use both of your hands, so with every article of clothing that you hung up came with added back pain. You didn’t mind too much as you were only thinking about the positives that would come out of your long-term pregnancy. Through all of your pain and discomfort, you would have a sweet child that you could call your own and give all your love to.

The soft crunching of dried leaves and dirt brought you back to the present and put you on alert. You quickly turned around to see that it was only your husband, Connor, quickly approaching you with a disappointed, yet concerned look across his face. Your humming had faded and you knew just by the look on his face that you were in for a stern talking to.

“Oh (Y/N), my love, what are you doing out here? You should be inside resting in bed.” His voice was soft as he came to stand in front of you; he let his hands gently cup your face before bringing his lips down to your forehead, letting them linger there for a moment as he listened to your sigh.

“I am doing the laundry since it had to be done. I cannot lay in bed all day, it would be a day wasted if I did that and you know me, I just cannot sit still.” You chuckled softly as you turned away from him to hang up the article of clothing you still held in your hands. With your hands now free, you took his calloused ones in yours and brought them up to your lips to give them a soft kiss. “I am glad that you are home, I was missing you.”

“I missed you too, I was able to finish up my tasks early and I began to make my way home. I stopped at the store before I did and had gotten us fresh venison for dinner, I hope you don’t mind.” He mentioned, watching your expression to see if you would approve since your taste buds were particularly picky during the last months.

“That sounds delicious. Hopefully, I can keep it down long enough for this child of ours to get some nutrients. I want them to grow nice and strong.” You smiled as you rubbed your belly in a loving manner, watching Connor’s facial features soften at the mention of yours and his child.

“I do too, but I worry about your health as well. Remember that the doctor told you that rest is best for the last couple of months, you do not want to put too much strain on your muscles or any physical stress on the baby.” Connor placed a gentle hand on your arms as you dismissed his worries with a slight wave of your hand.

“I know what I must do, I am just too stubborn to commit to it,” You paused for a brief moment to sneak in a quick bend over to grab some garments from the basket before he could stop you to continue hanging up the clothes, “Anyways, with the size of my belly, I believe that this child is as healthy as they could be and will come out being so.”

Connor lightly chuckled as he lightly placed his hands on your belly to feel how hard it had gotten by you just standing. His rich brown eyes were shimmering in the sunset and made your heart swell even more to know that you had found to love him even more even after all those tumultuous years with his father and the war. He had found his purpose in life as did you and you never knew that you could be so happy.

“Let me help finish this up. I want you to relax and I also want to spend my downtime with you. It has been a while.” He flashed you a soft smile, the one you fell in love with all those years before and it made you weak, but you knew what he was doing and you had to be strong. “I will cook dinner tonight and then since the weather is getting colder, we can sit by the fireplace.”

You hummed in response to his sweet offer, but instead of giving in handing over the clothes in your hand, you hung them up yourself, trying to finish the task by yourself by stalling. “That sounds very delightful, Connor, really, but I must refuse for the time being. I wish to do this all by myself; it gives me time to have some fresh air, and from what I heard from my mother and other women in town is that being active all the way up to the birth is beneficial as it cuts down on how long the actual birth takes, they have told me that it ranges from hours to days.”

“Oh you do not have to listen to those women in town, I know they are lovely, but that just means that they did not listen to the doctor as well.” He shrugged his shoulders as he picked up the basket and held it up so you didn’t have to bend down all the way to the ground to grab the clothes. “I know that you sometimes chose the advice you want to listen to if you listen at all,” you interrupted him with a brief scoff, but he continued, “but the advice you are listening to is not coming from a professional. You should just take it easy for the rest of the night, I will take over the rest.”

“Connor, I promise I am fine.”

His silence caught you off guard as you rotated the line for more space; only a sigh of defeat came to reach your ears and a small smile came to your lips. “Alright, I must take your word for it then.” He handed you the basket and slowly started to back away, “Are you sure that you do not need help?”

“Connor, I will be fine. Do you not have anyone else to be minding at the moment other than me? You should as Miriam, she might need help hunting and gathering for the winter.” He told him as he let out a sigh he turned his back and was made his way back up to the manor. He told you to call out for him if you needed anything, but you just dismissed him as he stood on the porch, watching you for a moment before retreating back inside from the cool breeze.

You felt bad that you had to turn him down with all his worry for you, but you knew that you had to do things on your own and that you were too stubborn to listen. He was such a kind soul, but he could be so overprotective of you that it drove you up the wall at times, but you were grateful for in overall.

While you were hanging up the last couple of articles of clothing, pain rooted at the center of your belly grew intense and made you double over, cradling your rock hard belly; the baby was moving all over the place, trying to get comfortable, but it was taking longer than usual and it made you worried. You dropped the basket to get both of your hands on your stomach to try and calm your unborn child, but nothing would give.

“Connor!”

You called out to him, but before you could finish his name, he was already out the back door and halfway towards you right before you fell to your knees in pure pain. He glued himself to your side as you laid your head against his chest to find comfort.

“Is it the baby? Are they coming?” He threw questions at you left and right, and the best response you could find for his answers was brief grunts of yes and no.

“They are moving like crazy and it hurts, feel,” You quickly took hold of his hand and placed it on the area where you could feel the baby’s limbs pushing against your stomach. Connor froze in place as he felt his child kick his hand like crazy; you could’ve sworn that you saw him tear up at the sudden sensation, but he turned away too quickly to tell. “It hurts so much, I--I must sit down.”

Connor’s stern gaze snapped back at you so quickly that you were convinced that he had it prepared for the longest. He didn’t say anything to you but mumble under his breath about how you never listen and that he is always right. You hushed him as you got up and walked slowly beside him to the porch steps and took a seat on the plush chair that he pulled out of the house just for you. He kneeled beside you and gently rubbed your belly in a soothing way that was calming the raging baby inside you.

“Keep doing that, it’s working.” You urged him to continue as you shifted in your seat to get more comfortable. A long breath of air came from your lungs as you were finally able to take a deep breath once again.

“I knew that something was going to happen sooner or later,” Connor said out loud, shaking his head with a small upturn of his lips, “but someone never listens, do they?”

“Oh, hush, I just wanted to be independent for the time being,” You admitted to him, making him stop rubbing your belly for a brief moment, “You have been a great help to me, but I do wish to have some time of my own and I do not want to burn out your caring side before the baby arrives. I’m sorry if I was a bit mean to you in these last months.”

“It is quite alright, I understand. I just want what is best for you and our child, that is all. I want to bring this child into a world that is filled with peace and make sure they are healthy. I wish for them to have a fighting chance in this cruel world, something that I never really had.” He confessed to you, making you feel even more guilty for pushing his worries to the side in the way that you did.

“Oh Connor, you will be an amazing father, I know it. You do not have to worry about our child struggling, we have buried our pasts deep under us and we were able to rise above it all. Our child will have a bright future, I am sure of it.” You placed your smooth hand over his and looked deep into his eyes with a sincere smile.

You slowly leaned down to give him a kiss on his lips, but you were stopped halfway by your bulging belly. A fit of giggles crawled from your lungs as you stared down at your belly before bringing your mirthful gaze back to his. He caught on and quickly rose off his knees to meet you halfway in your passionate kiss. It was simple, yet filled with love that had no limit.

“I believe that our child has finally settled in for the night,” you spoke softly, making sure that you did not jinx yourself; your hands came to rest gently on the crown of your belly to feel for yourself, “I guess that it is time I do so myself.”

“That sounds like a good decision,” Connor sighed while he rose to his feet, “Let me help you inside.”

“I can get there myself, Connor.”

All he did was cast you a stern gaze before shaking his head with a playful manner. “I know you can, but I believe that you have finally overworked yourself. Let me help you, just for the rest of the night.”

“Alright,” A soft sigh of defeat came from your lips while you held out your hands for Connor to take to help you up from the chair. He pulled you flush against his chest and rubbed your lower back as he guided you back inside the house; he maintained a firm grip on your hand as you walked through the door, telling you to make your way to the foyer to lie down on the more comfortable couch.

“I will be back in just a few moments, I promise. I am going to head to Miriam’s to see if she can just keep an eye on you until I finish in the back and dinner. You just stay here and do not move.”

“Oh, Connor--”

“I’m taking care of you for the night, so there will be no refusals.”

His soft smile brought yours with a slight chuckle before you called him back to you once more to give him a kiss and promise him that you would finally settle down for the night. You sent him on his way with telling him to be careful and that you’ll be sitting on that couch when he returned. The moment he left the room, you were saddened that he had left you alone again, but grateful that you had found such a caring and passionate man as himself to take care of you and love you for the rest of your life, especially since you liked to test your limits.

The moment that the front door slammed shut, your curious gaze danced over to the bowl of fruit that sat on the kitchen table in the other room. With a finger pulling down your bottom lip, your mind was thinking about getting up and snatching some for the time being or to actually listen to Connor and not move an inch… Connor would understand, right?

[minijenn]

Universe Falls Chapter 67

AHHHHH TIME FOR MY LOVELY DIAMOND TO FINALLY SHINE!!!! But for reals I really like how this chapter turned out. ESPECIALLY towards its ending like holy shit things gonna go down and I am super hype for it all. Anyway, I won’t keep ya from it any longer than I need to. Enjoy!

Previous: (lol I forgot to post Peridot and Pacifica on here oh well too lazy to do it now bleh) 

***

Chapter 67: Message Received

AFRRS, LGKUQ, FRBSGR, MBR TSAUI GDCA B RWKMZ HUSOFI UB GCBCW WTS KNJTK YBCB GIE WEDHV'F EEEMES HB DUL LQFGRMF XVAA DNJNXYX HWRT

It was an absolutely perfect summer evening. The low-arching sun splashed its warm, dying light across the vast grassy fields, casting long yet lofty shadows that almost seemed to dance across the barn’s weathered surface. A light, gentle breeze skimmed over the acres of farmland, as cricket songs began to echo throughout the hills, even as far as the open, forested valley where Gravity Falls sat far below. And this picturesque view was what the Gems were silently, contentedly enjoying, happy to have a much-earned moment’s rest after a long day at work on the drill. Though Ford had kept to the barn to work on a few odds and ends during this evening break, the kids readily joined in on it as they reclined up against Lion, easily relaxing as Steven strummed a pleasant tune on his ukulele. The trio would have been more than happy to let this peaceful scene continue for as long as possible, but of course, it all too quickly came to an end thanks to the interruption from a certain miffed green Gem.

“Ahem…” Peridot huffed as she stood over the kids. Her hands were positioned on her hips, a power drill clenched tightly in her grip from the work she was clearly intent on continuing.

“Oh, hi, Peridot!” Steven greeted her blithely.

“Welp, I knew this was too good to be true,” Dipper sighed sardonically as he sat up a bit. “What do you want, Peridot?”

“I want to know why we stopped working on the drill!” the green Gem scowled impatiently, nodding over to the Gems still watching the sunset several feet away. “Why are they just sitting there looking at nothing!?”

“Aw, Peri, we’re all just taking a nice little break,” Mabel grinned brightly.

“…A what?”

“We’ve all been working hard and we deserve to take it easy for a bit,” Steven explained. “I mean, just look at that view. It’s beautiful!”’

“It’s going to be blown to oblivion by the Cluster if we don’t get back to work!” Peridot countered crossly.

“Yeesh, tell us something we don’t know for a change,” Dipper remarked with something of a wry, knowing smirk.

“Working hard is important,” Steven added, still smiling calmly. “But feeling good is important too!”

“Yep,” Mabel soundly agreed. “Looks like you still need to learn about one more super important Earth concept, Peri. It’s called… ‘treat yo self’!”

“What are you talking about?!” Peridot fussed, thoroughly annoyed as she accidentally turned the power drill on.

“Hey!” Steven perked up upon hearing the buzzing drill. “What is that, a C?” The young Gem copied the noise on his ukulele, strumming a simple C chord that did, in fact, mimic the buzzing of the drill itself.  

“The drill?” Peridot raised a confused eyebrow, looking to the tool in her hand.

“Yeah!” Steven nodded, rising to his feet as Peridot pressed the drill up to an even faster speed. Or rather, an even higher note. “Oh my gosh! Now its music!”

“Whoa! It sorta is!” Mabel gasped, amazed.

“Only Steven could hear music in something like a power drill,” Dipper chuckled, amused.

“‘Music’?” Peridot asked. “What’s that?”

“Whaaaaa?! You don’t know what music is?!” Mabel exclaimed, aptly baffled. “Oh, girl, you are missing out!”

“Look, its like this,” Steven positioned his ukulele before strumming out a simple scale and singing along. “Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do!”

“Do, mi, so, do…?” Peridot repeated, clearly not following.

“Isn’t it pretty?” the young Gem sang, still singing along.

“That’s exceedingly simple,” the green Gem snarked, though she still mused on the beguiling process all the same. “Do, mi, so, it…”

“We’re making music.”

“What’s the point?” Peridot said, crossing her arms.

“The point, is… its fun!” Mabel chimed in, singing a bright note of her own in tune with Steven’s strumming.

“But why even bother?” the green Gem shook her head. “You’re not even making anything!”

“Well, if it isn’t anything, then why does it sound so good?” Steven asked with a good-natured shrug.

“I suppose its just interest, do, mi, so, do,” Peridot theorized as the young Gem kept his lighthearted tune going. “Devoid of substance or purpose, a hypothetical pattern… do, mi, so, ti… For the satisfaction of bringing it to completion!”

“…Sure,” Steven agreed, even if he didn’t really know what she was talking about.

“Should we tell her music isn’t usually that deep?” Dipper asked Mabel, aside.

“Eh, let her have her sciencey fun,” Mabel shrugged.

“Do, mi, so, it… Interest without meaning?” Peridot posed, surprised by such an odd train of thought. One that largely went against everything she had ever known back on Homeworld, much like everything else on Earth as a whole. “Solutions without problems…?”

“And then you just add words,” Steven said, gearing up for a proper song. “Here’s what I’ve been working on. Life and death and love and birth and peace and war on the planet Earth.” The melody was light and bouncy, carrying a message of the immense complexities and contradictions of the planet it was about, a theme that was not lost on Mabel, Dipper, or even Peridot as they all listened intently. “Is there anything that’s worth more than peace and love on the planet Earth, oh-whoooa, come on and sing it with me!”

“Sing?” Peridot repeated, still completely lost.

“The words relate to the key!”

“Key?!” the green Gem asked, even more baffled as she held a small key she had found in the barn up.

“If it’s a pattern, if it’s a pattern, than just repeat after me,” Steven encouraged, nodding over to the twins in the hopes that they’d do the same. Mabel was quick to jump on the offer first as she joined the young Gem in a brief duet. “Life and death and love and birth-”

“L-Life and death and love and birth,” Peridot attempted, albeit a bit shakily. After all, she had never really sung before, and until now, she had never had a reason to.

“C’mon, bro-bro, join in!” Mabel urged her brother in an excitable whisper. “Our plan is working!”

“First of all, you guys didn’t start this whole music thing off with any sort of ‘plan’,” Dipper retorted before finally breaking down into a small, if not somewhat flustered smile. “B-but, fine, just this once.”

“Now, you sing mi, fa, mi, mi, fa, mi, ti, la!” Steven instructed Peridot, who followed along easy enough as all four of them finished the chorus on a high, harmonious note.

“And peace and war on the planet Earth!”

“Ahhh! That sounded so good!” Mabel cheered happily. “Looks like its time to bring Love Patrol Alpha outta retirement with its brand new member, Peri!”

“I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean,” Peridot remarked dryly. “But what I do know is that was so easy,” she finished, as if suspicious by that fact.

“Yeah, but that’s what’s so fun about it!” Steven nodded, still strumming. “You should write something—you should write a song!”

“About what?”

“Whatever you’re thinking!”

While Peridot still didn’t largely understand the functional purpose of music or songs, she decided to take the young Gem up on this challenge and do exactly that. Making use of the rhyming patterns and lyrical progression similar to Steven’s song, the green Gem spent the rest of the evening crafting out her tune. A tune that, once it reached what she believed to be a satisfactory standard, she decided to present to not just the kids, but the other Gems and Ford as well that night around the fire.

“I guess we’re already here,” she began, standing before the collective group as they all listened in, intrigued and also slightly confused by the green Gem, of all people, suddenly bursting into song. “I guess we already know. We’ve all got something to fear, we’ve all got nowhere to go-”

Admittedly, the message of her melody was a bit disconcerting, or at least it was to the Gems as it reminded them of the dire straits they were up against when it came to the Cluster. Still, Steven, Mabel, and even Dipper nodded Peridot their silent encouragement as she carried on with the rest of her undoubtably passionate preformance.

“I think you’re all INSANE!” she accused truthfully. For certainly, a group of Gems and humans so dedicated to preserving a planet as bizarre and outlandish as Earth had to be out of their right minds. But then again, Peridot couldn’t claim to be much better, given the same goal they were all working towards together. “But I guess I am too… Anybody would be if they were stuck on Earth with you!”

A round of genuinely amused chuckles from the others followed suit, one that Peridot couldn’t help but take pride over, especially as Mabel and Steven both cheered her on even further. On Homeworld, such a display of pointless, aimless expression would have been scoffed off at best, punishable for at worst. But here, on Earth, this sort of thing was welcome, accepted, commonplace even. It was so strange, so unlike anything the green Gem had ever known that she couldn’t help but appreciate it all in some odd way. Because here, there were no expectations or set standards about what a Gem, or a human for that matter, could do or be. Here, anyone could do or say or think anything they wanted. Here, anyone and, at least as far as she’d seen, everyone was free.

“Life and death and love and birth and-”

Peridot remained slightly mystified by this newfound revelation as the next several days carried on, progress on the drill going sound and steady. The large number of hands on the project certainly made the work much lighter for everyone, as they all had their assigned tasks to carry out in inching towards its completion.

“Life and death and love and birth and-”

Over the course of the drill’s construction, Peridot had largely formed a steady rapport with all of the members of her once-tentative alliance. Amethyst was likely the first among these new bonds she had formed among the Crystal Gems at least. The purple Gem was, at least in her opinion, crass and loud and far too outspoken and brazen for her own good, especially considering the solid soldier status she had originally been created for. But gradually the green Gem had found herself growing used to Amethyst’s playful jabs and ridiculous quips, to the point that she could easily say that she respected her for the Gem she was rather than the Gem she had been made to be.

“Life and death and love and birth and peace and war on the planet earth.”

Peridot couldn’t deny that she had been forced to more or less swallow her pride when it came to her dealings with Pearl and Ford. The fact that each of them had an acute, impressive intellect that clearly rivaled her own was a bitter pill to swallow, but one that the green Gem largely had all the same. And in wake of her former bitterness towards the pair, she had found they actually had quite a bit in common, particularly when it came to their shared affinity for technology and science. Over just a few weeks, Peridot had gone from coldly shunning any tips or advice they had to offer on these fronts, to eagerly joining in the exchange of knowledge alongside the author and the white Gem, her former prejudices against them all but forgotten.

“Is there anything that’s worth more?”

It had largely taken Peridot the most time to grow accustomed to Garnet out of anyone else. On Homeworld, fusion between two entirely different types of Gems was a massive taboo, so the Gem leader’s very existence had originally offended the green Gem for reasons she found she wasn’t able to explain. It had taken her quite a bit of time to look past that singular fact, but once she had, she was actually able to see that Garnet was more than just the fusion that composed her existence. The Gem leader was brave, stable, sensible, and most of all patient, even with Peridot and all of her harsh words and sneers and insults she had once had for her and her teammates. And, when push came to shove, that was something Peridot wasn’t about to ignore, even despite however the rest of Homeworld would think of a Gem such as her.

“Is there anything that’s worth more?”

Limited as they were when it came to more of the heavy lifting, the kids still pitched in as much as they could. Since Dipper was largely able to keep up with Pearl and Ford and even Peridot when it came to the scientific side of the drill’s construction, that’s where most of his contributions were found. Steven and Mabel were less versed in the technicalities of the machine, but what they lacked in knowledge, they made up for in helpful enthusiasm. While Peridot had initially callously rebuffed their meager assistance, over time she had gradually come to accept it, perhaps even welcome it when it came to tasks that were too much for her to handle on her own. Overall, the concept of ‘friendship’ was still a new one to her, one that she only really had the information provided to her by Steven and Mabel to go off of. But if what she’d heard of it truly was correct, than it was safe to say that, like it or not, she had come to make friends of just about all of them, as odd and impossible as that might have once seemed.

“Is there anything that’s worth more than peace and love on the planet earth?”

***

It had taken quite a bit of time and a tremendous amount of work, but after weeks of plentiful effort from everyone involved, the drill was finally complete. The entire group stood admiring their handiwork, which was admittedly quite impressive. Despite its notably small cockpit, the drill’s point was sharp and formidable, fortified by titan’s ore to the point that there was no doubt it’d be able to penetrate the surface of the earth easily and safely. And hopefully, this machine, the product of their teamwork and determination, would be enough to end the threat that the Cluster posed to the planet Earth once and for all.

“Nice work,” Garnet congratulated Peridot in particular, giving the green Gem a friendly pat on the back for her hard work. It was enough to startle Peridot though, to the point that she flinched and took up a brief defensive stance, eliciting a collective amused laugh from the others.

“W-we really did it, huh?” Peridot asked, turning towards the drill with something of a small, proud smile.

“We?!” Steven gasped with sudden delight over the ongoing comradery.

“Heck yeah we did!” Mabel cheered, pulling out her camera. “C’mon, everyone get in close! My scrapbook just won’t be complete without a picture of our awesome drill!”

The others all gladly obliged as they bunched in together in front of the drill, all of them smiling (save for Peridot, who was rather confused as to what was going on in general) while Mabel snapped the photo. A memento that would be sure to memorialize their success long after the Cluster was gone and the drill had fulfilled its purpose.

“It is quite impressive, isn’t it?” Ford mused with a grin, looking back at the drill. “And with such a quick turn-around time too! Then again, I suppose we had no choice but to be quick with this, given the circumstances…”

“Oh wait!” Peridot interjected. “That reminds me, I need to check something!” The green Gem hurried over to the drill, rummaging around inside its cockpit as the others stood by, their spirits still collectively high over the machine’s completion.

“She’s come so far…” Steven noted happily, looking over towards Peridot from afar. “It feels like just yesterday that she was fusing with Bill and trying to kill us…”

“No, no,” Pearl shook her head. “That was several week ago.”

“Still, it really doesn’t feel like it was that long ago…” Dipper said just as thoughtfully. “Its kinda crazy to think that that Peridot used to be this Peridot,” he grinned as he nodded over to the green Gem, who clumsily face-planted after falling off of the drill before frantically running back over to the group.

“Coordinates!” Peridot shouted starkly. “We still need the Cluster’s exact coordinates in order to drill to it!”

“Uh, don’t we already know where it is?” Mabel asked with a confused frown. “It’s buried suuuuuper deep underground, right? Which means we could just bam!” She punched her fist dramatically, making a brief drilling noise as she did. “Drill right on down there and kiss that big bad Cluster goodbye!”

“Theoretically, yes, but I understand Peridot’s concern,” Ford agreed. “Regardless of how massive the Cluster might be, we’ll still need to know just how far down past the surface of the Earth it is. But who knows how we’d even access that information in the first place?”

“A-actually…” Pearl spoke up, apparently apprehensive as she averted eye contact with the others. “There’s a Diamond Base that may have those coordinates, but…. Getting there is going to be difficult.”

“How come?” Steven asked.

“Because its not accessible by warp pad. And it’s on….” The white Gem trailed off, directing her gaze, as well as everyone else’s to the bright nightly orb far above them all.

“The moon?!” Steven, Mabel, and even Dipper asked in awestruck unison.

“Yes, the moon,” Pearl replied rather flatly.

“Uh, how are supposed to get all the way up there?” Amethyst asked, hands on her hips. “I mean, we can jump pretty high, but I don’t think any of us can jump that high.”

“Hm, I suppose we have no choice but to construct a lighter-than-air spacecraft,” Ford concluded staunchly. “I’ve never really dabbled too much in advanced interstellar aeronautics before, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s never a bad time to learn!”

“Uh, actually, we’ve sorta been there, done that with the whole build-your-own-rocket thing, Great Uncle Ford…” Dipper pointed out. “It… didn’t really go all that well…”

“Wait, I know!” Steven exclaimed, turning to his pink feline companion as he snoozed peacefully in the grass nearby. “Lion! Can you make us a super special warp to the moon?”

Despite the young Gem’s enthusiasm, Lion responded dully, letting out a long yawn before rolling over to continue his nap. “Come on, Lion, we gotta do this to stop the Cluster!” Steven urged, flopping down on top of his still-sleeping pet. “If we don’t there’s gonna be no more Earth! No more fun times with your pal Waddles… no more Lion Lickers… no more naps-”

Apparently, this plea was somehow enough to call the pink beast to action, for he instantly perked up, rising from his nap as his eyes took on a pale white glow. While the others looked to Lion at absolute amazement at this shift, Steven simply stood by with a satisfied grin over his pet’s eventual compliance. “Guess it was naps.”

“Um, not that this moon trip doesn’t sound cool and all,” Dipper spoke up, aptly hesitant. “But how exactly are we supposed to breathe up there? I mean, I know its not a big deal to you guys,” he said to the Gems. “But its sort of important for the rest of us…”

“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that, Dipper,” Pearl assured. “The Moon Base has its own self-contained adaptable internal atmosphere that should be perfectly livable for any human.”

“Wow, Pearl, you sure do know a lot about this Moon Base place,” Mabel remarked with a curious grin. “Have you ever been there before?”

The white Gem let out a rather sharp, forced laugh at this, tension rising in her shoulders as she quickly rebuffed the question. “W-who me? D-don’t be silly, of course not! I-I’ve only ever… heard about it! T-that’s why I know so much about it!” The others all gave her something of a confused look at this haphazard outburst, but once again, Pearl deflected them all before any further questions could be posed. “N-now come on! We haven’t a moment to waste! Let’s get those coordinates!”

Since no one could really argue with such a vigorous command, the group was quick to follow after the white Gem to do exactly that. It took some doing, planning, and careful squeezing to fit everyone onto Lion (or in several cases, into his mane) all at the same time, but eventually they managed to figure it out. The pink beast hardly seemed labored by his many passengers as he instantly broke into a rapid sprint. His speed only seemed to pick up with each quick step he made across the wide fields until, suddenly, he let out an immense, mighty roar. The pounding sound was enough to pierce a hole into the very fabric of space itself, creating a large, glowing portal that he barreled into at top speeds. Lion’s large group of riders all held on for dear life, with only Steven and Mabel really enjoying the breakneck, wild trip as the pink beast roared another portal into existence. He continued this is steady succession, somehow increasing his speed each time as he ripped through each and every portal like a bolt of lighting across a stormy sky. Eventually, the collection of continuous portals became so radiantly bright that it practically blinded all of them, especially as they neared their destination. And once they did, everything seemed to finally stop all at once.

The space they landed in was large and dark, though none of them had a chance to take it in as Lion crashed out of his final portal, sliding across the floor before slamming into a far wall and knocking the Gems and Ford clean off his back. “Lion! Are you ok, bud?” Steven gasped, immediately alarmed to see that the impact had knocked the wind out of his pink pet. Fortunately though, Lion seemed no worse for wear as he took a much-needed moment to rest in light of all of the power he had just exerted.

“Aw, you poor baby!” Mabel gushed, generously rubbing the pink beast’s mane. “Who’s a good magical portal-maker? You are! You are!”

“I-incredible…” Ford mused, adjusting his glasses as he picked himself up off the ground. “I knew that lion was unusual, but I could have never guessed it was capable of something like this. Clearly, I’ll have to do more research on him in order to-” The author was quick to retract the hand he had extended out to Lion as the pink beast growled in warning protest. “O-on second thought, I suppose that could always wait for… some other time.”

“We made it,” Pearl spoke up, her tone serious as her gemstone emitted a bright light for them all to see by. Sure enough, the peaceful nighttime landscape of the farmlands were gone, replaced by cold sterile walls and floors that clearly hadn’t been touched in ages. Each of the rounded walls were adorned with what looked to be large murals, though without direct light upon them, it was hard to make out exactly what they were supposed to be of.

“Huh, weird…” Dipper mused, glancing around curiously. “You know, I sort of expected the moon to look more like… I dunno, the moon?”

“Well it sure is bouncy like the moon is supposed to be!” Mabel chimed in, taking advantage of the lack of gravity to take a high, unfettered leap into the air. “Come on, bro-bro, you’ve got to try this!”

“Mabel, I don’t know if that’s such a good—w-whoa!” Dipper gasped in alarm as Mabel suddenly yanked him up into the air along with her before sending him spinning freely high above the ground, despite his best attempts to anchor himself back to the ground.

“Hah! Look at me!” Steven chimed in, joining in on the anti-gravity antics as he let himself float freely. “I’m a moon boy!”

“Yeah! Alright, moon boy!” Amethyst cheered him on, leaping to join the kids up in the air, only to end up falling right back to the ground instead. “Hey! Why can’t I be a moon boy?!”

“We’re Gems,” Peridot pointed out with a scoff. “We’re a space-faring race designed to conquer other worlds. Our physical forms adjust automatically to the gravity of any planetoid.”

“Aww… lame,” the purple Gem groaned, sticking her tongue out in disappointment. Right behind her, Dipper and Mabel softly landed on the floor in a jumbled heap of limbs as Ford hurried over to help them up, all while trying to stay grounded himself.

“You know, it just occurred to me that I probably should have told Stanley we were going to the moon…” the author noted as he carefully pulled his nibblings up to stand. “…Ah well, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“Uh… yeah…” Dipper said, exchanging an uneasy glance with Mabel as they remembered just how harshly the conman had reacted to their last attempt at a trip to the stars. “We… probably shouldn’t tell him about this, just… just ‘cause.”

“I was bouncin’ on the moon one day!” Steven sang brightly as he continued free-floating, only to end up smacking into one of the walls and hitting the ground a moment later. He let out a small groan as he picked himself up off the floor, only to spot the large mural of what looked like a tall, elegant woman on the wall beside him. “Huh? Hey, Peridot! Who’s this supposed to be?”

The green Gem gasped as she shined the light of her own gemstone up at the mural, recognizing the blue, cloaked, graceful figure well. “It’s Blue Diamond!” she exclaimed, taking on an air of immediate reverence before the massive mural. “W-wait! Are they all here? Ah, yes!” Peridot rushed over to the far side of the chamber, where another similar depiction of a different, but still just as regal figure, awaited. “There she is!”

“There who is?” Mabel inquired curiously as her and Dipper joined the pair before mural.

“Behold!” Peridot proclaimed dramatically as she threw an arm out at the stern, stately woman on the wall before her. “Yellow Diamond! Isn’t she magnificent?”

“Uh… sure…” Dipper deadpanned, not particularly impressed.

“Whoa…” Mabel mused, much more fascinated. “She has a really long neck. Like a giraffe!”

“W-wha—you can’t just say something like that about the Yellow Diamond!” Peridot chastised, offended. “Whatever a so-called ‘giraffe’ is…”

“So, who are the Diamonds anyway?” Steven asked. “They seem like a pretty big deal.”

“Are you joking me?!” Peridot scoffed. “The Diamonds are the Gem matriarchs! Together, they make up the Great Diamond Authority that governs Homeworld and all the outlying colonies. We live to serve them!”

The green Gem’s explanation was cut short from a disgruntled hum from Garnet. The Gem leader stood over them, her expression cold and disapproving, a look that both Pearl and Amethyst shared. Even Ford seemed to be bitterly averting his gaze away from the Diamond murals for some reason, making it quite apparent that not everyone seemed to share Peridot’s high opinion of them. “I-I mean…” she recanted with a bit of an anxious laugh. “We were all made to serve them, even if some of us… don’t anymore.” A beat of awkward silence passed at this, though Peridot was quick to fill it by hastily changing the topic altogether. “H-hey! I think that’s a control service over there! Let’s take a look!”

Steven and Mabel readily hurried after the green Gem, curious to see more of the mysterious Moon Base. Dipper, however, did stop short to steal just another somewhat distrustful glance at the visage of Yellow Diamond on the wall before him before moving on with the others. Likewise, Garnet and Pearl in particular exchanged something of an uneasy glance before turning away, both of them knowing all too well exactly who the Diamonds were and what they were capable of.

“I think this is right…” Peridot muttered, examining a nearby panel on the floor. “The material is different from the surrounding stone. If I just do this…” She trailed off, pressing the panel, which in turn, emerged from the ground, alongside several others to create something of a floating staircase all around the edges of the base’s central chamber. The green Gem let out a bright giggle at her discovery, beside herself with excitement over getting to see a space that so few other Gems would ever have the chance to visit.

“This is so incredible!” Peridot gushed as they began making their way up the long, winding staircase. “Only the most elite of the elite can enter these sanctums. We are literally walking in the footsteps of the Diamonds!”

“They must really like stairs,” Steven pointed up as he bounded up them.

“Ooo, what’s this cool glowy orb room?” Mabel asked as they passed through to a higher part of the tower. Sure enough, the room was engulfed in darkness, its only notable feature being the large, rotating spherical light floating in the center of it, its purpose more or less completely unknown.

“Its not what we came here for,” Garnet said sternly, pressing on ahead.

“Can we hurry it up?” Amethyst asked with a huff of impatience. “This place gives me the creeps.”

Since they had get to get what they’d come here for in the first place, no one protested as they finished scaling the lengthy floating stairway, only to finally emerge at the tower’s top. Compared to the base they had arrived in, this deck’s walls were composed almost entirely of clear class windows, giving an open, grand view of the lunar landscape surrounding the structure. The pale, cratered surface of the moon stretched far and wide in every direction, the dark, star-speckled expanses of space itself hanging high above. It was an incredible view, to put it simply, one that the kids all took in with apt awe as they took a moment to pause and take it all in.

“W-we really are on the moon…” Steven practically whispered, completely stunned.

“I can’t believe it…” Dipper shook his head, just as amazed. “I mean, talking about it is one thing, but… we’re actually here, like its nothing. This is totally insane and honestly? I love it!”

“So do I!” Steven quipped, sharing Dipper’s bright smile.

“Ah, I wish I could join in on the excitement you boys are feeling,” Ford said wistfully as he put a hand on each of their shoulders. “But after traversing countless dimensions far beyond the realms of plausible imagination, the surface of the moon is… relatively underwhelming by comparison.”

“Oh my goodness!” Peridot suddenly squeaked, catching everyone’s attention. The others all joined her near the large white throne at the center of the room, coupled by a pristine table surface resting before it. “This looks like it could be brand new!” the green Gem exclaimed, running her hands over the table. “I mean, it’s a relic by today’s standards, but golly! Its so elegant! So simple! So perfect!”

“Ooo! And it makes a great whiteboard too!” Mabel quipped as she drew a smiley face onto the otherwise spotless surface with a marker she had happened to bring, much to Peridot’s horror.

“Stop that this instant!” the green Gem huffed, snatching the pen away from her. “You’re desecrating an important tool of the Diamonds themselves! Do you have any idea how disrespectful that is?!”

“…Huh. Well, disrespectful or not, it does brighten things up a little in here,” Mabel said, taking on a wide grin to match the smile she had drawn on the table. “See?”

“No,” Peridot deadpanned sullenly.

“Hey! Its got one of those glowy hand dealies!” Steven pointed out from his spot on the throne behind them.

“Y-you can’t sit there!” Peridot chastised hotly.

“Why not? Its really cool.”

“That chair is only for the most elite Gems,” the green Gem explained, exasperated. “You can’t just go around sitting where an elite would sit!”

“Well, they aren’t here now, right?” Steven grinned, patting on the ample space next to him on the throne. Peridot hesitated in taking him up on his offer before finally folding, climbing up to join him and laughing in spite of herself over the forbidden pleasure of the act.

“So, uh, what’s this thing supposed to be?” Dipper asked, casually plucking a pale, crystal-like object embedded on the chair’s armrest.

“Put that back!” Peridot fussed before turning her attention to the other controls the throne had to offer. “Hm, ok… let’s see here…” The green Gem experimentally pressed a button, which brought the throne much closer to the control panel, allowing her to properly activate it and begin searching through its holographically projected screens for the data they needed. “Ugh, this is a really old system…” she noted to the others as she began picking through what the panel had to offer. “Just gotta find the right file and… aha!” The projection filled with various graphs, maps, and other information, all of which clearly regarded the Cluster, which Peridot readily translated out for all the others. “There’s the insertion point. Looks like the Beta Kindergarten in Facet Nine. It’s the smaller of the two, not nearly as impressive as yours, Amethyst.”

“Uh… thanks?” the purple Gem shrugged dully.

“But where is the Cluster now?” Pearl asked, a hint of urgency in her tone.

“Hang on… oh! There it is!” A diorama popped up, depicting the vague shape of the Cluster itself, buried deep under the surface of the Earth. Where it would hopefully remain until their drill finally put an end to it. “It’s embedded deep into the mantle. Relative to the barn is roughly two thousand, five hundred units down. All we need to do is feed this data to the drill and we should be all set.”

“T-that’s it then!” Pearl said, pleasantly surprised. “Mission accomplished!”

“Go team!” Steven cheered brightly over their success.

“Huh, its not often that something like this goes this smoothly,” Dipper noted. “Weird.”

“Weird or not, let’s get the heck outta here,” Amethyst remarked, already leading the way back towards the stairs. “The moon is way more boring than I thought it’d be.”

“Wait! Maybe it doesn’t have to be!” Mabel chimed in, glancing back over the control panel. “Hey, Peri, does this thing have any games on it? Or movies?”

“Pfft, no,” Peridot scoffed. “This wasn’t used for ‘games’ or ‘movies’. It was used for planning the colony. Here, look.” The green Gem activated another file, which just so happened to catch the dwindling attention of the others as they looked over the projection of the planet Earth before them. “So here’s a map of all structures that were originally built on Earth,” Peridot scrolled through a list of the blueprints for structures that included the Galaxy Warp, the Kindergarten, and several others. “All told, this probably only accounts for maybe five percent of what was originally planned.”

“What was the plan?” Steven asked, somewhat apprehensive to find out.

“Well, let’s take a look.” With a single press of a button, the holographic Earth rapidly deteriorated, massive gaps cutting through its surface, its landmasses ruined and its oceans drained, replaced by an inhospitable mess of a planet conquered by Gems and Gems alone. A horrific sight to everyone present, given its implications. All except for, unsurprisingly, Peridot. “Ta da! A finished Earth colony!” she exclaimed proudly. “Just look at this! 89 Kindergartens, 67 spires, a Galaxy Warp in each facet, efficient use of all available materials! What were you thinking shutting this operation down? It could have been great!”

“No!” Garnet exclaimed suddenly, sharply. “You’re wrong!”

“What are you talking about?” Peridot sneered, baffled. “Its perfect! Look at it!”

“We are looking at it,” Pearl said coldly.

“Yeah! This plan stinks!” Amethyst huffed, properly angry.

“Completing this colony would have meant the extinction of all life on Earth!” Garnet said, just as upset by indeed, what could have been.

“And I thought Cipher’s intentions for the Earth were bad…” Ford muttered to himself, shaking his head. “This is… well, I don’t know if I’d say its worse, but I’d certainly say its arguably just as terrible.”

“Seriously…” Dipper shuddered in fearful disgust. “I mean, we knew Homeworld was awful, but this… this is on a whole other level…”

“Well, it could have been on a whole other level,” Peridot remarked rather callously. “If it had actually been allowed to reach its full potential. Think of the good it could have done! The Gems that would’ve been made, our empire expanded!”

“And all that would have been lost along with it…” Pearl continued bitterly, shamefully. “Rose Quartz believed all life was precious and worth protecting. That’s why she risked everything to stop this colony from happening!”

“Well, if she wanted to protect it, she did a lousy job!” Peridot argued back haughtily. “There’d be no Cluster if the Earth had stayed a colony. Now there’s no colony, and there’s gonna be no Earth. So thank you, Rose Quartz! You doomed the planet!”

A thick cloud of hostile tension pierced the air at this, outraged silence remaining in light of the green Gem’s snide, thoughtless remarks. Wishing for the completion of Homeworld’s twisted, destructive plans for Earth were one thing; but mocking Rose and her bravery and sacrifice was something that Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and even Ford, all of whom had known her personally while Peridot had not, could not simply ignore. Their sharp, furious glares were focused entirely on the green Gem alone, something that the kids instantly noticed more than Peridot did herself. And while Dipper couldn’t really find that much of a reason to rush to the green Gem’s defense after everything she’d just said, Steven and Mabel tried to all the same.

“Heh, aw, y-you guys know Peri!” Mabel shrugged, laughing nervously. “Always sayin’ wacky stuff she totally doesn’t really mean… right?”

“What?” Peridot countered, confused and clearly not about to recant her stance.

“Y-yeah!” Steven rushed to chime in and quell the swelling anger from his guardians in particular. “A-after all, don’t forget: I-is there anything that’s worth more tha-”

The young Gem instantly went silent the moment Garnet snatched Peridot up from her seat by the front of her uniform, keeping a tight grip as she stared down at her with unseen, untold amounts of ferocity. “You,” she began, her voice edged with tranquil rage as the green Gem’s frightened image reflected back at her through the Gem leader’s visor. “Listen to me. Now. You are talking about things that you do not understand.”

Steven gasped the moment he saw a gauntlet materialize around the Gem leader’s free hand, and even though he didn’t agree with the green Gem’s poor choice of words and actions, he knew he couldn’t allow this hostility to continue any further. “Garnet, stop!” he pleaded fearfully. “P-please, its… its not worth it. We’re done here; we got what we came for. L-let’s just… go home…”

Acting upon the young Gem’s nearly tearful request and nothing else, Garnet did as he said, loosening her grip on Peridot and allowing her to clumsily fall to the floor. And then, in a single swift, powerful swing, the Gem leader brought her gauntlet down upon the control panel before her, smashing it—as well as the last remnants of the fortunately failed colony it contained—beyond all hope of repair. Without a word, the Gems turned to leave the same way they’d came, Ford joining them as they all turned their back on the green Gem, on the moon base, on everything they knew Rose had fought so hard to stop in its tracks.

“Tch, figures you still haven’t really learned anything,” Dipper was the first to speak up as he also prepared to leave, though not before sending one final, clearly disappointed remark Peridot’s way. “Even still, after all this time. Honestly, I can’t even say I’m surprised, knowing you.”

“Aw, come on, Dipper,” Mabel hurried after him as he turned on his heel and walked off. “That’s not fair and you know it!”

“What’d I say?” Peridot asked as the twins left. “I was just stating a fact. The rebellion didn’t really ‘save’ Earth, it just delayed the inevitable.”

Steven sighed upon hearing this, partially taking up Dipper’s line of reasoning that, even after all this time and everything that had happened, Peridot was still just as stuck in her stubborn ways as ever. “That’s not the way they see it,” he nodded after his guardians sadly. “They’ve spent thousands of years trying to protect the Earth. I thought… maybe… you finally understood why… But I guess… I guess I was wrong…” The young Gem sighed once more, shaking his head forlornly. He had thought Peridot had come so far, from the hand ship, from her time on the run, from Pyrite. He had thought she had grown and learned and come to appreciate the Earth and all it had to offer from her extended stay there. He had thought… that they all were finally, finally friends.

But in the end, none of that had mattered as much to Peridot as it had to him, clearly.

Steven only paused briefly at the foot of the platform the throne rested on, noticing that the green Gem hadn’t come down along with him. He knew they couldn’t very well leave her there, especially given they still had a mission to complete, and despite his rather mixed feelings about her at the moment, he still called up to her all the same. “Peridot!”

“What? I’m coming!” Peridot retorted, hurrying town the steps. Steven watched her silently as though he froze in sudden confusion upon catching the briefest flash of something in the green Gem’s hand as she passed him by. Something she hadn’t had when they arrived there, and something he knew, she clearly wasn’t supposed to have.

“Let’s go, you two,” Garnet called from the larger staircase and Peridot didn’t hesitate to hurry on ahead. Steven hesitated for another brief moment however, keeping his sights on the green Gem alone as he wondered with a sense of newfound worry and fledgling distrust exactly what it was she planned to do.

***

The trip back from the moon to the barn was silent and awkward, to say the least. After Peridot’s haughty remarks concerning the rebellion and Rose Quartz, neither the Gems nor Ford were too keen on carrying on any sort of conversation with the green Gem, despite the kids’ best efforts to break the thick tension. All the same, the collective group made it back to Earth aboard Lion safe and sound, carrying with them the final piece needed to complete their extensive work on the drill. A victory that, by all accounts, should have felt much more triumphant than it actually did.

“So how much longer ‘till we can use the drill?” Amethyst asked with a huff of impatience as they all gathered around said drill once more.

“Well, with the new coordinates we got from the Moon Base,” Pearl began. “It should be ready to go. But we really should preform some tests first…”

“Still, it stands to reason that we should be able to take it down to the Cluster itself within the next few days, at least,” Ford theorized, glancing up at the drill. “That is… if we even have that much time left.”

Despite the pertinence and importance of the ongoing discussion, Steven, Dipper, and Mabel were all only barely listening in on it. All three of them were preoccupied by a number of contrasting thoughts and feelings, from muted frustration on Dipper’s part, to fretful worry on Mabel’s, to growing suspicion on Steven’s. Suspicion that was entirely focused on one certain green Gem and the unknown device the young Gem had seen her secretly snatch away from the Moon Base.

In fact, in the last hour or so alone, Steven’s suspicion and apprehension had grown so much that he found he couldn’t really keep it to himself any longer. For all he knew, it could have very well been nothing, which was why he had decided against voicing his concerns to the Gems. So instead, he chose to confide in someone who was sure to both believe him and help him get to the bottom of things: the twins.

“Hey, can I talk to you guys for a second?” Steven whispered to Dipper and Mabel while everyone was still distracted with the drill. “A-alone?”

While neither of them knew where the clear dread in the young Gem’s tone was coming from, neither Dipper nor Mabel denied his request as they all slipped away to gather just shy of the barn’s entrance. As soon as they were out of the Gems’ earshot, Steven turned to them with a clear sense of urgency, one that caught them both off guard, even as he spoke his piece.

“I didn’t wanna worry the Gems or Mr. Ford, especially since we’re so close to being done with the drill,” he began, glancing down. “But… I-I think Peridot might be up to something.”

“What, you mean aside from offending everyone by wishing that the Earth had been hallowed from the inside out?” Dipper retorted somewhat sardonically.

Mabel, on the other hand, was much more genuine in her response. “W-what do you mean she’s up to something?” she asked, the slightest hint of fear in her tone. Fear that the green Gem could very well be slipping out of the progress she had made and back into her old, sinister ways.

“I… I saw her take something from the Moon Base while we were leaving,” Steven explained. “I’m not sure what it is, but… I just… I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Well, who can blame you?” Dipper said, crossing his arms. “Peridot pretty much just proved that she hasn’t changed a bit. Heck, for all we know, her trying to ‘get along’ with us could of just been one giant act this whole time. A way to trick us into thinking she’s ok before she comes in with another hairbrained attempt at destroying us so she can get back to Homeworld or something.”

“B-but then why would she work so hard to help us with the drill?” Mabel cut in, anxiously, earnestly. “Dipper, I know you’ve never really trusted Peridot, and I know Grunkle Ford and the Gems are all super miffed with her right now, b-but I don’t think she wants to hurt us or the Earth anymore! You even said so yourself: the Peridot we know now isn’t the same Peridot that first came to Earth or fused with Bill! She’s different than that; she’s better than that. I-isn’t that right, Steven?”

The young Gem was initially silent upon being met with this question, his indecisiveness being conveyed through his expression alone. “I-I… I really wanna believe that, Mabel…” he said sadly, averting both of the twins’ pressing gazes. “But… I just… I’m not…” He sighed, his mounting conflicting feelings towards the green Gem and her incriminating words and actions all becoming far too much to bear. “I… I just don’t know,” he finally answered truthfully. “Not anymore. I thought I did, but… I think we need to find out exactly what that thing she took from the Moon Base really was and why she grabbed it. J-just to make sure.”

Mabel let out a small, worried sigh at this, but all the same, she nodded her quiet agreement, even if she still dreaded what they might possibly find out. Dipper, on the other hand, was much more forward when it came to taking action concerning the green Gem where his sister was not. “Fair enough,” he consented evenly, though his cold expression softened as he glanced over at Mabel. “But… just in case we find something that… you—we may not like… I just… you guys know that we’ll… have to do something about it… right?”

Steven and Mabel exchanged a brief, equally despondent glance, both of them knowing this was absolutely true. If on the unthinkable chance that Peridot really was planning some underhanded scheme, it was their responsibility to put a stop to it, or at the very least inform the Gems about it. For all of the good will and camaraderie they had formed with the green Gem over the past several weeks, the thought that it could all fall apart in an instant had never really occurred to them. Until now, when it seemed as though there was a very high likelihood of that very thing happening.

On another nod of tight, terse agreement between the trio, they decided to make their move. Peridot hadn’t joined the others out near the drill, instead opting to carry on with her own, unknown devices inside the barn. It was there that the kids found her, her back turned to them as she apparently fiddled around with something, no doubt whatever she had taken from the Moon Base. She was quick to slip it away, however, the moment Steven spoke up to garnish her attention.

“Uh… Peridot?” he began, aptly apprehensive.

“Oh! Steven, Dipper, Mabel!” the green Gem gasped, startled as she spun around. “W-what are you three doing here?”

“We, uh… sorta need to talk to you, i-if that’s ok,” Mabel ventured, not making to much of an effort to hide her constant worry.

“Uh… s-sure!” Peridot agreed stiffly as she followed the kids inside of the cabin of the old, run-down truck parked inside of the barn. “Why are we in this broken-down vehicle?” the green Gem asked, genuinely confused.

“I don’t know,” Dipper said, sending her a cold, suspicious glare. “Why don’t you tell us?”

“…What?”

“Uh, a-actually,” Steven interjected as he glanced towards the hand Peridot was holding behind her back. The hand that held whatever secret she was trying her hardest to conceal from them all. “We wanted to ask you about… the Diamonds?”

“Oh!” the green Gem perked up instantly, excitement sparking in her eyes. “Well, I don’t know what the others have told you, but there’s a reason they’re in charge.”

“Oh yeah?” Dipper asked flatly, clearly not caring about this means to an end. “And why’s that?”

“Because they’re objectively better than us!” Peridot grinned brightly. “Every Gem has their own strengths and weaknesses, but not them. They’re absolutely, totally, completely flawless beings. Especially my Diamond: Yellow Diamond, the most perfect, the most reasonable, rational, efficient decider to ever exist in the universe!”

None of the kids really knew what to say concerning this, all of them knowing that Peridot’s incredibly high view of her matriarch was likely very biased. All the same, if her testimony concerning Yellow Diamond was anything, it was proof that the green Gem’s admiration for both her Homeworld and her Diamond still very much stood. “Y-you’re really loyal to her, aren’t you?” Steven asked, not masking his fledgling disappointment at this fact.

“How could I not be?” Peridot rebuffed. “We may have our little truce, but I’ll never forsake the Gem I was made for! And why would I? I mean, she’s an impeccable, impossibly wise powerhouse of a leader! E-even if she does actually happen to be in league with…”

“In league with who?” Mabel pressed, a newfound burst of hope filling her as she caught onto the smallest hint of doubt towards the Diamond filling the green Gem’s tone. But whatever that doubt might have been, Peridot was quick to shake it away in favor of her former adulation.

“O-oih, never mind, its nothing,” she scoffed with a wave of her hand. “J-just some ridiculous rumor I once heard from someone who is absolutely not a reliable source for anything. A rumor that certainly does not bear repeating, especially at the risk of my Diamond catching wind of it!”

“W-well then you better keep it down,” Steven said leadingly, seeing an opportunity and deciding to take it. “Because she’s right behind you!”

“What?!” Peridot gasped, spinning around in alarm and finally giving the young Gem a chance to swipe the crystal she was holding onto away from her. The green Gem barely even had time to react to the theft as the kids rushed out of the truck, slamming the door right in her face as she tried to scramble after them.

“Hey! What do you three think you’re doing!?” she shouted, banging on the window fiercely.

“What’s it look like?” Dipper countered just as harshly. “We’re shutting down whatever it is you had planned!”

“I-I didn’t have anything planned!” Peridot protested, though her bristling posture told otherwise. “Now let me out of here!”

“Save your strength,” Steven shook his head, holding the stolen crystal tight and close. “You’re up against one of Earth’s greatest trapping technologies: the child safety lock.”

“No!” Peridot wailed, sinking back into her seat dramatically. “How could you do this to me? The great and loveable Peridot!? I thought we were finally friends like you wanted!”

“We thought that too, Peridot…” Mabel frowned, genuinely upset. “But then…”

“But then I saw you sneak this off the Moon Base while nobody else was looking!” Steven filled in, his tone much more intense and angry than it usually was as he held the crystal up. “What is it? Tell us!”

“Hmph, its nothing special,” Peridot scowled at the trio from inside the truck. “And definitely not important at all.”

“Oh really?” Dipper asked challengingly, grabbing a hammer lying discarded on the floor as Steven readily held the crystal up to him in shared defiance towards the green Gem. “Well, if its not important, then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if we just smash it, huh?!”

“NO!” Peridot practically shrieked before finally, sullenly relenting. “Ugh, all right, look. I have a plan. Allow me to explain. That’s a… communicator. Meant for the express purpose of contacting the Diamonds back on Homeworld.”

“What?!” Dipper asked sharply, so outraged and alarmed that he nearly brought the hammer down on the communicator right then and there until Steven pulled it away at just the right time.

“Y-you’re still trying to contact Homeworld?” the young Gem asked, horrified.

“Yes, of course I am!”

“B-but… but we thought you were finally starting to like it here on Earth!” Mabel exclaimed, desperate for proper answers where they really were none.

“Oh, you don’t get it,” Peridot countered evenly. “I’m not trying to leave, not anymore! Instead, I’ve got it all figured out. You simple clods keep trying to protect the Earth, but you can’t do anything right! I’ll admit I let myself get carried away too… laughing, singing, building our little machine… but don’t you see? None of that matters! What matters is that I can be of use to Yellow Diamond! This planet can be of use to Yellow Diamond! I must contact her, to reveal what I’ve discovered!”

“Are you actually serious right now!?” Dipper exclaimed in appalled disgust. “You said so yourself that the Diamonds were the ones who put the Cluster in the Earth in the first place! They’re the ones who want to see it destroyed now, just like they did with that whole colony plan we saw on the moon! You really think they’re gonna stop any of that now?”

“Oh, of course they will!” Peridot said, thoroughly confident in her plan. “If I could just have a chance to talk to Yellow Diamond, then I’m sure I can get her—as fair and reasonable as she’s known to be—to see that this planet could still be a viable asset to Homeworld’s empire. And what’s better is that once she sees things my way, the Cluster will certainly be shut down and the Earth saved. Isn’t that what all of you want?”

“Not like this we don’t!” Steven protested admantly. “Ugh… why do we keep sticking our necks out for you? You’re never gonna be on our side! Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl!” Upon calling out for his guardians, Steven raced off, Dipper trailing right after him so they could reveal Peridot’s heinous plan for what it truly was.

“No! Steven! Don’t get them!” Peridot shouted after them, pulling hard against the locked truck door until she happened to spot Mabel, still lingering beside it. “Mabel! You believe me, don’t you!? Then release me! Now!”

“P-Peri…” Mabel began quietly, tears of clear betrayal finally starting to well up in her eyes as she looked back at the green Gem. A Gem that, up until now, she really, truly had seen as a friend, regardless of everything she had said and done in the past. Even if that friendship had clearly meant nothing Peridot, despite her best, yet futile hopes otherwise.  “Peridot,” she said firmer, wiping away her tears to regard her sternly, yet still so sadly. “I… I’m sorry…” she said as she finally turned away, even though she was the one who had nothing to appologize for.

***

A round of shocked gasps rose from the Gems the instant Steven and Dipper presented the communicator to them. Even Ford balked at it, apparently familiar with the device somehow, even as Pearl took it and frantically reaffirmed what it was.

“S-she took a direct line to the Diamonds?!” the white Gem exclaimed in horrified disbelief. “From the Moon Base?! What was she thinking?!”

“She was ‘thinking’ that she was gonna use it to call Yellow Diamond so Homeworld could just come here and pick up right where they left off with that colony plan of this!” Dipper informed hotly. “And she almost got away with it if we hadn’t stopped her just in time.”

“And its certainly a good thing that you kids did,” Ford agreed, casting a bitter glance towards the barn. “To think that we spent so much time with her, but we never saw this sort of underlying treachery coming. Honestly, I thought that I’d at the very least be used to betrayals of this scale by now. In a way, its almost disappointing that I’m not.”

“Ugh, for reals, after everything we’ve gone through, she’s still out to get us!” Amethyst growled sharply. “That’s it! I’m takin’ back all my cool nicknames for her! So long P-dot and P-diddy, hello… AUGH! I’m too mad! I’ll think of something later!”

The round of incensed reactions to Peridot’s deception continued, even as the green Gem honked the truck’s horn almost constantly from her “prison” inside of the barn. Only Steven and Mabel paid any attention to it though, their expressions awash between disappointment, morose, and frustration all at the same time. “I see she knows what a horn is now…” the young Gem noted sourly.

“I’d been meaning to teach her that one…” Mabel sighed, turning away, forlorn.

“You two offered her a lot of your trust,” Garnet noted to the pair, her hands on her hips.

“We did!” Steven huffed. “And it blew up in our faces!”

“I just… maybe we thought that… if we could be her friends then maybe she’d finally stop trying to do all of the bad things she came here to do…” Mabel said, burring the bottom of her face inside of the collar of her sweater. “But I guess she was never really our friend after all, huh?”

“No, she wasn’t…” Steven concluded, shaking his head as he looked back to Garnet. “You guys have been protecting the Earth for thousands of years. She could’ve destroyed all that. I… I don’t know why we thought we could change her mind…”

“Oh, come on, you guys, none of this is your fault and you know that,” Dipper attempted to console the pair as he stepped between them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “You both always try to see the best in people, and I’ll admit, sometimes I just don’t get it. But then again, maybe its because I’m not able to see things the way you two do. You both tried your best to change Peridot for the better, and in the end it just… didn’t work, but that had nothing to do with either of you. Its just… sometimes you can’t really change what people think, no matter how hard you try.”

“But that’s just it,” Steven countered with a frown. “We don’t want to tell her what to do or what to think. She should just… know, shouldn’t she?”

“Steven…” Garnet began, her tone as steady as ever, though sympathy was clearly there as well. “You always believe in everyone. Like your mother, you seem to have a little more patience than the rest of us. That’s a trait you share too, Mabel. But on the same hand, Dipper’s also right. The truth is, not everyone deserves that patience.”

“Well, look on the bright side,” Pearl cut in with as much of an encouraging smile as she could muster. “At least you got this thing away from her before she could do any real damage.”

“Yeah…” Steven and Mabel both smiled at this, glad to know that, despite Peridot’s burning betrayal, in the grand scheme of things, the Earth would stay safe. Until…

A sudden explosion rattled the entire area, its center being the barn itself as one of its sides was effectively blown clean off. Everyone turned with apt alarm to see a familiar green robot bursting out of the building, leaving a trail of clear destruction in its wake as it stormed towards them, piloted by a manically laughing green Gem all the while. “Free! Freeeeedom!” Peridot proclaimed, making an obvious beeline towards them. Or more specifically, towards the communicator they now possessed instead of her.

“What?!” Ford exclaimed, quite surprised to see that Peridot and McGucket’s robot was still functional at all.

“H-how did she escape?!” Steven asked with newfound fear over the bot bounding their way. He quickly got an answer, however, as the green Gem’s bot chucked one of the truck’s doors towards them, only barely missing the kids as it landed hard in front of them.

“Fools!” Peridot shouted triumphantly. “Your invisible rotary shield was no match for me once I applied logic!”

“Yeah! Whatever little bit of logic you actually have!” Dipper taunted back, only for Ford to narrowly pull both him and Mabel out of the way of the rest of the truck Peridot launched at them in turn.

“Now, I’m going to do this right…” Peridot grinned, prepping her bot to take on the Gems as they rushed towards her, their weapons drawn for the fray. The green Gem lashed out, wasting no time on her opponents as she quickly knocked Garnet aside. The communicator passed hands between Pearl and Amethyst a number of times, but in the midst of their frantic tossing, Peridot managed to intervene, snatching the device away just before the white Gem could nab it. “See!?” the green Gem exclaimed, hitting both of the other Gems away just as they tried to steal it back. “None of you know what you’re doing!”

With the communicator finally in her grasp again, Peridot wasted no time in making a hasty retreat in order to get it out of everyone else’s range. However, none of the others were willing to let the green Gem go through with her alarming plans so easily.

“Ohhh, ok! I’ve been ready for this!” Amethyst exclaimed angrily, quickly shapeshifting her form into a sizable, functional helicopter. “Get in!” she shouted to the others, her tone fierce enough to curb any and all comments as they all piled into her surprisingly roomy cockpit.

“Oh, of all the times for me to leave my hyper-sonic magnetic propulsion gun at home,” Ford shook his head as he made sure the twins were secure in their seats. “That would have been more than enough to take Peridot and her robot out in a single shot. Then again, Fiddleford worked on that robot and he usually built his inventions to withstand mine on purpose, so… maybe not.”

“Wait, where’s Steven?” Pearl interjected, noticing that the young Gem was the only one not seated in Amethyst’s cockpit.

“Stupid Peridot, stupid robot!” the young Gem fussed to himself from just a few feet away, still caught up in his earlier woes. “Why did I always have to go and encourage her in the first place?!”

“There’s no time for feeling horrible,” Garnet called as she shapeshifted her arm to reach Steven and pull him onto her lap. “We have to catch Peridot before she contacts Yellow Diamond.”

“That’s right,” Pearl nodded, patting Steven’s head. “You can feel horrible all you want back at the temple.”

With all of her passengers finally ready to go, Amethyst took off, her propeller speeding her onward across the farmland Peridot had already gotten a head start on. All the same, it didn’t take long for the purple Gem to catch up to the rampaging bot, which was in the midst of struggling to twist the communicator the proper way and failing completely, much to Peridot’s growing frustration.

“Grr, come on…” the green Gem growled to herself as her robot’s stubby claws fumbled with the communicator. “Work already, you insipid little-”

“Hey, Perisnot!” Amethyst taunted as she suddenly flew right by the green Gem. Peridot gasped in alarm as the purple Gem overtook her, Garnet and Pearl each launching their own attacks from her cockpit. The white Gem’s spear clipped the robot’s hull first, though the Gem leader’s launched gauntlets were what ended up actually taking the bot down. The blast was enough to knock the machine into a nearby power line, giving it enough of a zap to disable it entirely. As battered and broken as the robot was, it tumbled down the hill before its scattered pieces came to rest in the wide field below, including Peridot and the communicator she had been holding onto.

It took the green Gem a moment to pick herself up and regather her bearings after the crash, but as soon as she spotted the communicator lying in the grass just a few feet away, she didn’t hesitate to spring towards it. Right before she could reach it however, a sudden blast from above derailed her, knocking her back as she briefly glared up at its source.

“Well, I may not have hyper-sonic magnetic propulsion gun,” Ford remarked with a smirk as he spun a much smaller, simpler blaster in his grip. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t go out unprepared.”

For once, Peridot didn’t send any sort of snide remark back as she instead refocused her efforts on the communicator. At the same time, Amethyst went in low as everyone unboarded her, allowing her to resume her usual form as everyone rushed to stop the green Gem before it was too late. They all pounced on her more or less at the same time, creating an essential dogpile as they all scrambled to secure the communicator first while further destroying the robot in the process. Peridot herself only barely managed to sneak out of the wreckage, though she wasn’t as unseen as she had hoped, for only seconds later, Steven was upon her, with Mabel and Dipper following suit right after. The four of them all leapt for the fallen communicator at once, creating an uproarious struggle with no clear winners in sight.

“You’re not gonna get away with this!” Steven shouted as he tried his best to yank the communicator out of Peridot’s hands.

“Yeah!” Dipper added just as fiercely. “If you think you’re actually going to let you get in touch with Homeworld, then you’ve got another thing coming.”

“And you’ve got another thing coming if you think you can stop me, you pesky, persistent pebbles!” Peridot snapped, trying her best to kick the kids away to no avail.

“Augh! You don’t get it, do you!?” Mabel cried as she pulled hard against Peridot, finally letting her grief and frustration with the situation as a whole pour out. “We trusted you! We all trusted you! We all wanted you to change and be better than this, but you’re not!”

“We spent all that time bonding and hoping and caring about you!” Steven added amidst the ongoing struggle. “But it was all for nothing!”

“And that’s exactly your problem!” Peridot bristled as she finally pulled the communicator out of the kids’ reach. “Your emotions rule out reason! You waste all your time ‘caring’ and ‘trusting’ when you could be spending it actually doing important things like saving this pathetic planet! Which is why if none of you will, then I’ll make sure to do what must be done!”

None of the kids had a chance to counter this as the green Gem suddenly snapped the communicator on. The device’s surface instantly enveloped itself in a radiant yellow glow as it rose into the air, far out of anyone’s reach as Peridot laughed excitedly over her victory. “She’ll sort this out…” she grinned, more than ready to detail everything she had planned to her Diamond.

At the same time, the Gems rushed in, grabbing all three of the kids as the communicator continued to brighten. Everyone save for Peridot herself was quick to take cover out of sight behind the fallen robot as the communicator opened up, creating a holographic screen that flashed with the visage of four different colored diamonds. Peridot’s growing excitement grew practically manic as the telltale insignia faded away to what she hoped would be Yellow Diamond herself.

“This is the Yellow Diamond control room.” Instead of the Gem matriarch, another Gem entirely appeared on the other end of the line. Her coloration was unquestionably and appropriately yellow and her attire simple yet elegant all the same. However, what was most telling was her appearance, which was far too familiar for the kids in particular to not immediately pick up on, even from their hiding spot from afar.

“Is that… another Pearl?” Dipper asked, aptly dumbfounded.

“Ooo… she’s really fancy…” Mabel noted, somewhat impressed by her style.

“Who is she?” Steven asked Pearl herself, though the white Gem simply let out a harsh scoff at the question.

“Not all Pearls know each other, Steven,” she remarked rather curtly as the Yellow Pearl addressed Peridot.

“Who authorized you to make this call?” she asked, sending the green Gem a cold look of clear disapproval.

“N-no one,” Peridot answered stiffly, but truthfully. “B-but its an emergency!”

“That’s NO excuse to use the direct Diamond communication channel!” Yellow Pearl snapped harshly, only for another voice to cut into the conversation entirely.

“Pearl.”

Yellow Pearl flinched at this deeper, calmer tone, one that she instantly perked towards as she turned to its off-screen source. “Y-yes, my Diamond?”

“Why is there someone on the Diamond Line?”

“I-I don’t know!” Yellow Pearl exclaimed. “I was just about to tell her that-”

“I’ll take it from here.” The hologram suddenly shifted position, revealing exactly who Peridot had been hoping to speak to in the first place: Yellow Diamond.

Yellow Diamond was, simply put, absolutely radiant. Her poise and posture alone told of a figure with unspoken authority and power. Her figure was astute, elegant, yet firm and lithe, clad in a simple, stately uniform that was telling of a military leader. Her hair was short and angular, her features lovely, yet sharp and dark. In fact, just about everything about her could be summed up as sharp, from her large, pointed shoulder pads, to the shimmering stone resting on the center of her chest, to even her pupils: clear perfect diamonds resting amidst bright, vibrant golden yellow. She sat casually upon a crystalline throne, the vast expanses of space stretching out through the large windows behind her as she typed away on the countless number of holographic screens before her, sparing not even a passing glance at the Peridot who had been so bold as to contact her personally.

“Y-Yellow Diamond…” Pearl whispered fearfully, her trembling hands skimming her mouth as she tucked away behind the robot’s wreckage.

“Yellow Diamond…” Garnet echoed much more coldly, glaring towards the Gem matriarch from their unseen spot.

“Yellow Diamond…” Ford finished just as bitterly, though more to himself than anyone else as he set the depicted Diamond a personal scowl of ire all his own.

Meanwhile, Steven and Mabel exchanged a stunned, yet fearful glance, not really knowing what else to expect from the Gem matriarch based on her stern, severe appearance alone. At the same time, Dipper simply stared her down unflinchingly, knowing that despite Peridot’s foolish conviction, Yellow Diamond would likely still have every ill intent against the Earth. She was still a foe, no matter what she said or what she did and that was something that no attempt at pleading or appealing would likely ever change.

But that didn’t mean Peridot wasn’t going to try all the same. “M-My Diamond!” the green Gem saluted her leader respectfully. “Peridot, reporting in.”

“Which Peridot?” Yellow Diamond asked, her tone bored as she continued on with the work in front of her.

Peridot flinched at this, suddenly remembering something she’d largely forgotten about during her time on Earth. That she wasn’t really anything special; she was just one out of countless other Peridots, a fact that had seemed to fade into the back of her mind when she was on a planet where she was apparently one of a kind. “F-Facet 2-F-5-L, Cut 5-X-G,” she reported her designation dutifully all the same. “I’m sorry to contact you this way, but all other forms of communication have been destroyed, and-”

The green Gem starkly cut herself off as Yellow Diamond simply raised a hand to silence her, her attention turned away on one of her many data screens instead. “This says you’re behind schedule on your mission to…” She trailed off before finally turning to face her underling with a cold, calculated gaze. “How is… the Earth?”

“I-it’s… full of life,” Peridot said, with a hopeful shrug.

“Organic life…” the matriarch sneered in disgust. “And where is the Jasper I assigned you? And why aren’t you calling from the ship?”

“T-the ship was… destroyed…” Peridot admitted rather sheepishly.

“By whom?” Yellow Diamond asked, her eyes narrowing.

“I-it was destroyed by…” the green Gem trailed off, sparing a brief glance at the group hiding behind her. Her eyes briefly met Steven’s first, then Mabel’s, their expressions awash with equal fear that Peridot would rat them out to her Diamond. But instead, of all things, she didn’t. “N-no one!” she vouched, electing surprise from just about everyone in the concealed group. “There was an accident… while we were landing.”

Yellow Diamond sent a brief, disgruntled glare to her underling upon hearing this, but all the same, she was quick to return her attention back to work just as before. “I’ll inform your manager of your incompetence,” she scoffed dourly. “And what is the status of the Cluster?”

“The Cluster… w-will emerge shortly…” Peridot reported halfheartedly.

“Good,” the matriarch finally smiled in clear vindication over this fact. “We’ll finally have some use out of that miserable planet. Thank you for your report, Peridot. There will be a ship heading to your location to take you to your next assignment.”

“W-wait!” Peridot interjected hastily, anxiously. “I wouldn’t have called to waste your time with a report.”

“You already have…” Yellow Diamond scowled, though she still let the green Gem continue all the same.

“No, I-I mean… I… I wanted to…” Peridot trailed off, glancing down apprehensively. She was more than ready to divulge her ideas for preserving the Earth while also making the most efficient use of its resources for Homeworld’s benefit. And yet, just before she could, she was overwhelmed by a rather unsavory rumor she couldn’t shake, especially now as she stood before the Diamond it concerned herself. Which was why, despite the thin ice she already knew she was treading on, Peridot went off on an entirely different tangent instead. “I-I wanted to ask if…” she began, making sure to pose this question as carefully as she could. “I-if you’ve ever heard of a being who goes by the name of… Bill Cipher?”

The reaction to the demon’s name alone from both the Diamond and her Pearl was instant and telling. Yellow Pearl let out a sharp, fearful gasp as she cowered back in alarm. Yellow Diamond herself turned to fully face the green Gem, her previously icy expression instead filled with an undeniably angry sense of curiosity. Likewise, the group gathered behind the robot all carried their own startled reactions to Peridot bringing Bill up at a time like this especially, but even so, they listened carefully for whatever the Diamond might have to say about him.

“Where did you hear that name?” she asked, her burning gaze practically piercing Peridot cleanly through.

“I-I…” the green Gem hesitated, fear too afraid to fully divulge her dealings with the demon to her Diamond, so she went with a much simply explanation instead. “H-here, on Earth, m-my Diamond.”

“Hm,” the matriarch mused, her manner still largely unreadable. “And what gives you the impression that I would know of such a… ‘being’, as you put it?”

“H-he… he said you… t-that the two of you… had an… alliance?”

“What?!” Ford asked in a harsh whisper upon hearing this, the kids and the Gems all echoing his shock with startled gasps of their own.

“I-It can’t be true…” Pearl shook her head, trembling in apt terror at the very thought. “Please say it’s not…”

“Oh, did he now?” Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes, seemingly unconcerned by the green Gem possessing such knowledge. “How… amusing. Though I thought I made it quite clear to that… irksome demon that I did NOT want word of our partnership spreading to the lower ranks. But then again, listening has never been his strong suit…”

“S-so its true then?” Peridot asked, looking to her Diamond with immense, almost pleading dismay to hear the opposite. “Y-you really are working with him?”

“I fail to see how that information is of ANY concern to you,” Yellow Diamond countered as coldly as ever as she prepared to end the call right there and then. “Now, if that will be all then-”

“O-one more thing!” Peridot interrupted anxiously. Despite the effective confirmation of her Diamond working hand in hand with someone as dastardly and deceitful as Bill Cipher, the green Gem still believed she could make her matriarch see reason. Both in regards to the planet Earth and perhaps even in regards to what would no doubt be an ill-fated alliance with the dream demon unless someone helped her see the truth.

“What could it possibly be now?” Yellow Diamond asked, clearly exasperated.

“T-the reason I called…” the green Gem began, still quite nervous as she began to make her genuine appeal. “The real reason, wasn’t to give a report or to talk about Cipher. Instead, I… I believe we should terminate the Cluster!”

“…Why?” the matriarch asked, her quiet, yet icy voice and gaze sending shivers throughout the green Gem’s entire form.

“T-the organic geosystem creates resources unique to this world,” Peridot explained with rising hope that her Diamond would listen, even despite the matriarch’s clearly sullen expression. “We can’t sacrifice all that potential for one geo-weapon! I’d like to tell you some plans I came up with to utilize the planet without disrupting the local-”

“That’s enough,” Yellow Diamond cut her off swiftly and sternly. “I don’t care about ‘potential’ and ‘resources’.”

“W-what?” Peridot asked, taken aback by such a harsh rejection.

“I want my Cluster,” the matriarch said simply, succinctly. “And I want that planet to die. Just make that happen.”

“No!” Peridot protested, speaking before she could even think of what she was saying.

Now it was apparently Yellow Diamond’s turn to be taken aback, her sharp gaze focusing on the green Gem before her in a bitter, hostile glare. Her Pearl let out an appalled gasp at such a rebellion, but even so, the matriarch remained steady when dealing with it. “Are you questioning my authority?”

“I-I’m questioning your objectivity, m-my Diamond!” Peridot countered, offering her leader a quick, respectful salute. One that did nothing to quell the matriarch’s rising anger.

“Well!” Yellow Pearl huffed, shocked at such brashness. Her alarm grew even more when Yellow Diamond suddenly rose from her throne, standing at her full, massive, imposing height that towered well above the green Gem who had brazenly chosen to oppose her.

“You are out of line.”

“I-I just think-”

“I am not interested in the puny thoughts of a Peridot,” Yellow Diamond continued, ignoring Peridot’s best attempts at breaking through to her.

“But I-”

“You have disrespected this channel, and my time with your presence and you would do well to-”

“But-”

“Shut your mouth!” the matriarch snapped, finally silencing the already fearful green Gem as she continued in her outraged tirade. “You have failed at every step of your mission. Your only chance to redeem yourself is to obey this simple order: you are to leave the Cluster to grow. It will tear apart the Earth, and I will take immense satisfaction in erasing that hideous rock off of our star maps once and for all! Is that CLEAR?!”

“I won’t do it!” Peridot shouted back with every ounce of courage she had in her. She had her worries before, from the moment she learned about the matriarch’s apparent alliance with Cipher himself that her judgement was questionable. But now, after everything she’d just heard, she had no doubt; Yellow Diamond didn’t want or care about what was best for the Earth like she did. The only thing she wanted was to see it destroyed, a plan that, after all the time she had spent there, all she had come to experience and see and learn there, all of the friends she had met there, Peridot refused to let come to fruition. “I can tell you with certainty that there are things on this planet worth protecting!”

Upon hearing this, Steven and Mabel couldn’t stifle a shared smile, even while all of the others continued to watch the ongoing exchange with rising alarm. Regardless of her earlier slip-up, it seemed as though Peridot really had learned something during her time on Earth after all. Many things, in fact, and she was proudly displaying all that she had learned right here and right now for her Diamond, and for everyone else, to plainly see.

Yellow Diamond, however, was far from impressed by this callous defiance. “What do YOU know about the Earth?!” she shouted viciously, but this time, Peridot did not back down. Instead, the green Gem went in with everything she had and then some as she staked her claim and solidified what side she stood on once and for all.

“Apparently more than YOU, you… CLOD!”

As poised and calm as she had been before, Yellow Diamond’s regal manner instantly broke in raw, uncontained fury upon having such a disrespectful insult hurled at her. Her palpable outrage was more than enough to shake blind terror right back into Peridot as she quickly saluted out of habit more than anything else before hanging up the call. “P-Peridot out!” she exclaimed, grabbing the communicator and instantly ending the feed. Yellow Diamond and her Pearl disappeared from sight, though there was no question that on the other end of the line, the matriarch, wherever she was, was still absolutely fuming over the measly Peridot who had somehow worked up enough nerve to call her a clod, of all things, right to her face.

With the call over and the danger diminished, the others didn’t hesitate to emerge from hiding and head over to the green Gem’s side. Mabel and Steven were the first to embrace her in a tight, triumphant hug, both of them elated by her bravery and by the choice she had made, by all accounts, entirely on her own.

“Peridot, that was amazing!” Steven exclaimed with a delighted smile.

“Seriously, that was one of the coolest things EVER!” Mabel added, just as enthused.

“I can’t believe I just did that…” Peridot said, rather stunned by her own actions as she stared straight ahead, baffled.

“We were so wrong about being so wrong about you!” the young Gem said, more than glad to be wrong in this instance.

“I can’t believe I just did that…” Peridot repeated, still largely in a panicked daze.

“You thought you could change her mind,” Garnet said with the smallest of proud smiles.

“But Yellow D got torn down by the ‘Peri-dactyl’!” Amethyst quipped with a bright cheer.

“Uh, I know we’re all really excited about this, but don’t you guys think we should talk about the whole Bill Cipher and Yellow Diamond working together thing?” Dipper interjected with tight, anxious worry. “Because I really think we should talk about that.”

“I agree,” Ford nodded admantly, gravely. “On their own, the threat that each of them poses already can’t be understated but with Bill’s powers and Yellow Diamond’s resources combined, I don’t even want to think about what that could mean for the planet—no, the very multiverse itself!”

“Then let’s not,” Garnet said succinctly.

“W-what?” Pearl balked, confused as she shared Ford and Dipper’s understandable concern. “But Garnet, we have no idea what this heinous ‘alliance’ of theirs could mean for the Earth or for us or for-”

“There’ll be plenty of time to worry about all that later,” the Gem leader shook her head before turning back to the rather distraught green Gem. “For now, we have something to celebrate, so let’s enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Not yet we don’t…” Peridot sighed as she handed the communicator off to Pearl. “Can one of you take this?”

“Why?” Pearl asked as she took the device.

“Because it can be remotely detonated.”

A ripple of newfound alarm spread through the group at this, especially as the communicator began flashing a bright shade of yellow. “W-why didn’t you tell us that earlier?!” Dipper asked Peridot, who had simply resigned herself to lying on the ground, forlorn.

“How do we stop it?!” Pearl asked, holding the device as far away from her as possible.

“Just get rid of it!” Garnet ordered hastily.

“Amethyst, here!” the white Gem tossed it down to the purple Gem beside her.

“What am I supposed to do with it?!” she shouted frantically before Steven quickly grabbed it and securely bubbled it. Still, Garnet didn’t take any chances with it as she took said bubble and sent it flying far and high into the dawn sky with as much force as she could muster. Sure enough, the communicator exploded safely, creating nothing more than a quickly-dying firework that left nothing behind in its wake.

“Woo!” Mabel cheered excitedly. “Well, that’s one way to start a Saturday morning!”

“I’ll say…” Pearl agreed, letting out an anxious breath.

“I thought I could reason with her…” Peridot spoke up from her spot on the ground, still shaken over what she’d just done.

“Yeah, you made her really mad,” Amethyst chuckled, amused.

“And then you insulted her to her face,” Pearl added with a small smile.

“Which… was pretty amazing,” Dipper added, forcing a bit of a much-needed laugh, even despite the extenuating circumstances. “And honestly kind of hilarious. Even for you.”

”Do you know what this means, Peri?” Mabel asked with a wide, delighted smile. “We’re all best friends again! I knew you wouldn’t let us down when it really mattered and you didn’t! I’m so proud of you!”

“We all are!” Steven chimed in warmly. “And you know what else this means?”

“And I’m a traitor to my Homeworld?” Peridot asked morosely.

“Nope!” Steven’s grin widened as he embraced the green Gem once more. “You’re a Crystal Gem!”

“Whether you like it or not,” Garnet added with a wry smirk. The others all got a good laugh out of this, though Peridot herself simply let out a loud, long, mortified groan. Of all the things that could have happened, the green Gem had never once expected herself to actually become a part of the team of rouges and rebels who had stranded her on Earth to begin with. And yet, here she was, a Crystal Gem all the same, just as Garnet had said, whether she liked it or not.

And if Peridot was perfectly honest with herself, deep down, she truly did like it after all.

***

The receiving end of the Diamond Line shattered into thousands of iridescent pieces as it struck the far wall of the opulent chamber. Yellow Pearl squeaked out a gasp, trembling in fear of her Diamond’s infamous temper as she clung close to the massive throne beside her, watching as the matriarch vetted her immense fury without a single beat of hesitation.

“How DARE that insignificant little traitor try to make a fool out of ME?!” Yellow Diamond shouted hotly, her gloved hands clenched into tight fists as she paced around her spacious chamber. “Why, I haven’t seen such blatant, despicable disrespect and defiance from such a lowly Gem in thousands of years!”

“M-My Diamond?” Yellow Pearl spoke up with an unsteady, wavering smile. “I-if it’s any consolation, I don’t think you’re a clod!”

Her attempt at a consolation was, however, completely ignored as Yellow Diamond continued her uproarious monologue. “If I didn’t have much better things to do with my time, I’d go down to that disgusting speck of a world and shatter that insolent whelp myself! Fortunately though…” the matriarch finally broke into a small, dark grin, even though it was clear she was still quite unhinged in her remaining fury. “The Cluster will take care of that minor aggravation for me…”

“I-it most certainly will, my Diamond!” Yellow Pearl piped up, only to be largely looked over by her matriarch once more.

“But even so, the audacity of that pathetic Peridot is absolutely appalling!” she scoffed bitterly. “To even claim that the Earth bears us any sort of use now, after everything it cost us! Its completely absurd! I don’t even want to think of what Blue would say if she heard such a ludicrous idea! Or even worse, what White would say…”

Yellow Pearl choked out a small, frightened whimper at this, though her fear only grew tenfold as a sudden, instantly recognizable voice let out a callous chuckle right beside her. “Ha! Yellow sure is HILARIOUS when she’s ticked off, huh, Canary?”

“AH!” Yellow Pearl cried, flinching away from the dream demon floating alongside her the moment she spotted him. Her surprise was quickly replaced with aggravated frustration, however, to the point that she didn’t even notice color swiftly drain out of the throne room altogether. “Augh! You again…”

“Great to see you too, Canary!” Bill quipped as brightly as ever, patting the Pearl on her pointed hair condescendingly. “It’s been WAY too long since I’ve caught up with you and Yellow!”

“Not nearly long enough, if you ask me…” Yellow Pearl grumbled sourly, though she did breathe a small sigh of relief as the demon turned his attention away from her and to her angry matriarch instead.

“Y-ellow, Yellow!” Bill greeted cheerfully as he suddenly appeared right in front of the incensed Diamond’s face. “How’s it goin’? I’m not interrupting anything important, am I?”

“YOU!” Yellow Diamond scowled, glaring the demon down harshly. “What in the stars do you think you’re doing, going around and haphazardly divulging confidential plans and classified arrangements to the most commonplace members of my court?!”

“Why, Yellow, I have NO idea what you mean…” Bill remarked, feigning innocence.

“You know full well what I mean,” the matriarch scowled, instantly calling his bluff. “The Peridot stationed on Earth! She said you made contact with her and laid out all of the undisclosed details of our alliance without my permission. And you’re going to tell me exactly why you did this instant!”

“Yeesh, Yellow! Better simmer down over there, otherwise ya might just end up SHATTERING yourself on accident!” Bill joked with a rather mocking chuckle. “Remind you of anyone you used to know?”

Yellow Diamond let out a disgusted, appalled scoff at this, her rage growing even more as she tried to swat the demon clean out of the air on her fury alone. “How dare you even mention what happened to her in such a way, you despicable-”

“ANYWAY,” Bill interjected quickly, hovering high and calm out of the furious Diamond’s range. “I wouldn’t worry about ol’ Greenie if I we you. In case you haven’t noticed, she’s really not the brightest Gem in the case.

“You mean the Peridot?” Yellow Diamond calmed somewhat, raising an eyebrow up at the demon. “Well, I certainly can’t argue with that, given her foolish choice to rebel against me.”

“Speaking of rebels…” Bill began leadingly. “You really don’t think Greenie came up with that whole ‘let’s save the Earth’ idea on her own, do you? Especially since you sent her there to check up on the very thing that’s supposed to blow it all to oblivion in the first place? Sorta makes you think that maybe… just maybe… someone might have… inspired her to act up like that, don’t ya think?”

“…What are you saying?” Yellow Diamond asked, narrowing her eyes at the demon curiously.

“I’m saying…” Bill continued, shrinking himself down so he could take a seat on the matriarch’s shoulder pad. “That all those pesky rebels you, Blue, and White thought you got rid of way back when… aren’t as ‘gone’ as you’d like to think.”

“WHAT?!” the matriarch’s stark, stunned shout echoed throughout the chamber. “Show me! Now!”

“If you say so, Yellow…” Bill almost cheerfully complied, gliding before the Diamond and using his flat form to present images of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl alike to her. “Not a ton of those Crystal Chumps are still kicking, but the ones that are sure are a pain in the equilateral sides, if ya know what I mean. Plus, they’ve even picked up a handful of human pals to help them out from time to time,” Bill continued, showing off each of the Pines as well. “As if they couldn’t get any MORE annoying, huh?”

“Hmph,” Yellow Diamond scoffed, seemingly unconcerned by the lot she had just seen. “A few mere straggling Off-Colors and their pathetic human pets are nothing. The Cluster will wipe them and everything else on that miserable rock out soon enough.”

“Yeah, suuuure it will,” Bill remarked with a flippant wave of his hand. “But here’s the kicker, Yellow. Take a look at who ELSE is still down there, having a GRAND old time spending the past several centuries celebrating ‘her’ victory over you-know-who…”

The matriarch gasped, her eyes wide as she noticed the image of a lone pink gemstone hovering over the demon’s open palm. A gemstone, that for all its infamy across all of Homeworld, she would have recognized anywhere. “Rose Quartz…”

“You got it!” Bill quipped, snapping the gemstone away. “Everybody’s FAVORITE Quartz is still alive and well, unlike a certain… ‘little sis’ of yours she went and wiped out of existence just to save some dumb old planet and a bunch of dumb old humans. Seems like a pretty raw deal that she got to survive when poor little Pinky didn’t… huh, Yellow?”

Yellow Diamond’s former fury was nothing compared to the absolute raw, wrath she was showing now. Her fists were so tight they were shaking, sparks of bright electricity bursting all over her form as her anger consumed her from the inside out. “A mercifully short end brought about by the Cluster is far too good for that… that shatterer…” she seethed, her voice quiet, but the fury in it as clear as day. “Cipher! I have another request for you!”

“Oh, do you now?” Bill asked, almost gleefully curious. “Well, lay it on me, Yellow! I’m sure I’d LOVE to hear it!”

“Bring me Rose Quartz before the Cluster destroys the Earth,” Yellow Diamond ordered coldly, viciously. “I want to be the one to shatter her myself, just like she shattered-” The matriarch cut herself off, her expression filling with pain that she couldn’t even bear to speak to, though she was quick to shake it away. “J-just… just bring her to me. Whatever it takes…”

“You know, normally I’d be all for that kind of hellbent revenge, Yellow,” Bill remarked calmly, casually almost. “But I think I’ve got an even BETTER idea for ya. Me and my pals have a little bit of… unfinished business to take care of down there on Earth in the not-too-far-off future. What do you say to the idea of joining us when we get down there—heck, make a whole trip of it if ya want, complete with your snazzy armada and everything!? That way, you can grind Quartzy up into a bunch of pink stardust the moment you see her, right in front of what’s left of her little army on her own doomed planet, just like ya want! What do you think? Sounds like a winner, just like ALL of my plans do, right?”

“Hm…” A small, vindictive smile filled the Diamond’s features at this. “Yes… The crushing defeat she deserves on the very planet she thought she won from us…. I do like the sound of that quite a bit…”

“So… I take it you’re in then?” Bill asked knowingly, stretching a blue, flaming hand out to seal the deal.

Yellow Diamond’s sadistic smile deepened at this, more than ready to exact the vengeance she had been craving for over 5,000 years now. “Yes, I am,” she firmly, readily agreed, returning the demon’s handshake to solidify their latest treacherous plan. “Rose Quartz’s years of running and hiding are over. Now, its her turn to face the very same fate she brought upon Pink…”

“Oh, Yellow…” Bill laughed more to himself that to the matriarch, knowing the truth that she didn’t and exactly how he could use it all to his advantage in his long, ongoing game. A game that was, by all accounts, very close to reaching its ultimate end. “You have NO idea…”

Next:

[hellfire-writer-blog]

The Rains

New writing post over on Patreon. It’s the story for my BJD, Fein. :D

It's hard, you know. It's hard when you can't go outside. It's hard when you have no choice but to follow the safety quarantine that controls the entire country. It's hard when you know that the outdoors could take away so many of your problems, if you could just stand in the rain for a brief moment, to let it wash away all of your pain.

To let it completely destroy you.

Hundreds of years ago, something changed in the world. The natural world, not the people-world. The seasons stopped -- they just completely stopped. It wasn't as though one lasted longer than the other, no. It was more of a case of "there is no change anymore". There was no period of extreme heat, nor extreme cold. It was just neutral. At first, it was almost nice; we didn't have to worry about overheating, we didn't have to worry about frostbite nor losing crops to the cold. There was always a nice breeze, though sometimes the wind got to be a little out of hand -- nothing we couldn't handle, though. The rain was the best part. You could see it building in the distance, sometimes a day or so in advance. Because the air pressure was so consistent, it became easy to predict when it would drizzle, or it would storm, simply based on how the air felt and how the clouds looked. It was nice, and life was easy for a while. A few people, though, couldn't shake the feeling in their gut that something was terribly wrong. Something was coming. Conspiracy theorists were nothing new to us, especially back then. People always predicting the world would end, aliens would come to kill us all, things of that nature -- so they went unnoticed and ignored.

We should have listened, back then. Maybe we wouldn't be in the situation we're in, now.

Those rains had been the second sign, and a warning of what was to come. The storms became more and more frequent, to the point where our crops didn't get enough sun in order to grow, and several drowned due to flooding. When it wasn't raining, it was overcast, preventing anything from getting the natural light. Storms became more frequent than the gentle rains that people loved to dance and play in, and so people stopped going outside. Things were starting to get washed away by the floods caused by the rains, and anything left on the ground was susceptible to the running water.

The fear didn't truly kick in until one day, someone died. The rain had been coming down so hard, but it didn't look or sound any different than normal. They'd gone out just to get something they had left in the car, and didn't make it to the driveway before the droplets bored holes through their body. This time around, it only took that one death for a true state of panic to surge through the population. It wasn't just local, either; this whole weather phenomenon was happening all over the country, in every city, every town. Nothing was spared from the rains. It became impossible to tell when it would be a death storm, or just a standard storm. It was strange, too; anything organic was destroyed in an instant in a death storm, but nothing man-made was damaged. Cars were fine, buildings were fine, and yet plants and trees looked like they had been drilled through or eaten alive by insects; some didn't even stand, anymore, because of the damage it suffered. The storms didn't last too long, but they were frequent enough that things didn't have much time to grow back. So, crop-growing and plants were moved inside, into greenhouses to be safe from the storm while still being able to provide for the population.

I'm not fully sure how, or when it happened, but it was like nature decided to up its game. What had been safe during the deathstorms became susceptible to damage, and the standard storms became fewer and fewer. Structures started being eroded away, roads disappeared, transport was destroyed by water bullets being fired down from the clouds. Nothing was safe from the sky, and everything was being destroyed more and more, day after day. It got to the point where people were retreating to underground shelters that had remained long after wars had ceased. It was, for the most part, the only safe place they had to go, the only safe place they had to live.

Not long after that did all standard storms stop. There were only death storms, now, and people were being picked off one by one by the skies above. Those that needed to risk venturing out in order to get supplies never returned. Most never really left the plot of land that they had been hiding in, drilled to the ground by the raindrops and decimated into natural fertilizer for the grass. That was the strange thing, though, the fact that the plants stopped being so damaged. It was like they became immune to the rains, over the years. The ones that survived without the sun, anyway; most had disappeared or died out due to the previous damage and lack of nutrition.

When people thought they had figured it out, the rains stopped. For weeks, they stopped, and it was safe to come out. To see the damage, to see what had become of their home above the ground. Everyone had become pale, skinny, deathly. Many had died in those underground shelters, and their bodies had to be disposed of in other ways since no one could go outside. Those weeks of reprieve were enough to get the population to start rebuilding what had been lost. It was a long, and struggling effort, but they deemed it worth it. There had been no rain for a month, and homes and stores had been rebuilt. Supplies had been flown in from other countries so that we might grow again. We stopped hiding, we didn't find a need for it anymore.

Then the Torrents happened. Nature had been waiting oh-so-patiently for us to emerge, for us to come out of our holes in the ground. As soon as we had gotten comfortable, it all ended. The worst death storm in history rained down on the population, destroying everything. Not only did we lose all of the freshly-built homes and stores, but we lost more than half of the population due to the rain. It didn't stop, either; that rain lasted for three weeks, straight. What wasn't destroyed by the rain was washed away by the floods, carried off to whatever pool had been building after these rains started in the first place. This country was no more. We had no government. We had no population. We had nothing that could help us survive. Those that remained were hopeless. They'd lost everything, and everyone. They couldn't afford to lose anyone else.

After the Torrents had passed, things calmed down once again. We had to use that limited time to build things that the rains couldn't destroy. We had to get creative, and we had to do it quickly. Trial and error, plus a few extra lives lost to the occasional storm, and we were able to figure something small out for a concept.

The following decades were dedicated to rebuilding with what we had learned, and devoting as much time and energy as we could to preserving the population. No one could come into the country due to the risk, and no one could leave -- we were on our own, left with everyone and everything we had managed to save and build. A new government was formed, and new laws were put into place. Things changed quickly, and not everything was idyllic as one might have hoped.

[tomorinko]

Yuru Camp AU (Chapter 1)

AO3 Link

Fandom: Bandori

Pairing: TomoRinko

Word Count: 2.7k

(So I usually don’t post fanfictions directly on tumblr, but I’m really excited about this so I decided I would :D TomoRinko is a god tier ship that I guess the fandom isn’t ready for but even if I have to do it alone I swear I will make it happen. Anyway, hope you enjoy!!)

Rinko let a breath out of her mouth. Watching the white fog quickly dissipate, she pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. It was cold, but that only meant it was less likely for there to be anyone else at the public campsite. She was going to her favorite today, a nice little spot situated right under Mt. Fuji that was almost always deserted by this time of year.

“Shirokane-san, right?”

Rinko was startled from her thoughts as she reached the administrative building of the campsite without even realizing it. She gave the worker a small smile, nodding her head as she walked her bike up to the window.

“One night, please,” she said as she handed him 1000 yen.

“It’s colder than the last time you camped, make sure to let us know if you need anything, and stay safe!” He advised, waving as Rinko began to walk off. As she walked, her mind wandered beyond the forest path she was walking. She thought mostly of the food she had packed for dinner, instant ramen as always. She wished that it was easier to bring more complex food camping. Other than the ramen, all she had was raisins, and of course, milk to heat up and drink when night fell and the real cold set in.

A breeze ruffled her hair, and she smiled, humming to herself. She loved the wind, the sound the dry leaves made as they rustled on the ground, the fresh smelling air. What she loved most, of course, was the promise of solitude as she felt the bitter cold on her cheeks.

Camping off-season is the best, she thought.

She reached her normal spot, and propped up her bike on its stand. After setting up her campsite, she sat down in her folding chair, wrapping her blanket snug against her legs and pulling it up around her chest. Books were stacked a foot high on her stand, not because she thought she could read them all in a night but because she liked to have variety and options. She reached for one close to the top of the stack, carefully extracting it and opening it to her bookmark.

Untold hours of the lovely transitional season between autumn and winter had passed like this; the sun’s warmth faint but palpable on her skin when the wind allowed it to settle, no distractions of society or other humans, just Rinko, enjoying the fresh scent of the fallen, crunchy leaves mixed with books.

Three hours passed similarly before Rinko finished her book, checking the time on her phone. 4:50. The late time checked out, the sun was starting to fall behind the trees and get dimmer. Rinko wasn’t particularly hungry yet, but now seemed like a good time to go ahead and make dinner, before it got too dark or she got into her next book.

Igniting her small camp burner, she poured some water into the pot. As she ate, she checked her phone, reading through the messages in one of her group chats of her online game friends. They were planning a campaign for later tonight. She took a picture of the mountain, cloudy but still impressive, and sent it.

Such a beautiful scene o(*^▽^*)o  Today’s weather is perfect for a nice cup of hot milk and finishing that book~! Good luck on your quest tonight, I’ve heard you need to do a lot of grinding for that one monster’s drops like we were doing yesterday, other than that it’s supposed to be pretty easy (´・ω・`)

A few people immediately replied with cries of jealousy of her beautiful view, and she smiled.

After finishing her ramen, Rinko grabbed another book from her stack. It was one she hadn’t started yet, but looked promising. As she read, she fell into the story, time slipping away until she read the same sentence three times over and realized that it had gotten dark. She turned on her lantern, marveling at the book that had kept her attention so rapturously that she had forgotten to take a picture of the sunset. It’s not like it was all that unusual, though. Rinko often found herself completely swept away by books, especially the fast-paced young adult genre ones like she was reading now. Although she liked mature, deep novels, she couldn’t resist the captivatingly simple passion of young adult fiction. She re-adjusted her blanket, pulling it as high around her shoulders as she could before nuzzling back into her chair and pulling her legs up, falling back into her book.

As time passed and the chapters flew by, Rinko began to get tired, She had forgotten her mini book light, so once she went into her tent she wouldn’t be able to read anymore. Weighing her odds, she decided to just finish this last chapter, and…

“Hey, come back here!”

Rinko was drawn back from her sleep by the distant shout. Wearily, she rubbed her eyes, wondering who else was here, when suddenly, she was knocked off her chair.

Rinko tumbled into the cold grass. She felt a warmth on top of her, and realized that it was a huge dog. Screaming, she was torn between batting it away and hiding her face, panic washing through her chest. It kept trying to get it’s face close to hers, but with shaking arms she pushed it away.

“Stop, stop!” She cried helplessly, until the dog was pulled off her chest.

“Bad dog, very bad dog!” Someone said, but Rinko was shaking too hard to really focus. She caught her breath as quickly as she could, but it was stolen away again as the other person kneeled by her, grabbing her shoulders and helping her sit up.

“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Rinko stared wide-eyed at the girl. Her blue-green eyes were the most expressive Rinko had ever seen, and they seemed to be filled with pure concern for her. Focusing so intently on her...

“I-I… I’m fine, sorry,” Rinko whispered, looking away. The girl’s hand was still on her shoulder, and although it felt nice, and she felt strong, Rinko could feel the anxiety of being so close to a person so suddenly starting to set in.

“No, no, it’s not your fault!” The girl said, giving her one last pat on the shoulder and letting go, allowing Rinko to let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “I was just watching my sister’s friend’s dog, and she just gets excited around new people. She’s totally harmless, just likes to lick, I think,” she gave the dog a bit of a disgusted look. “Kind of the complete opposite of her owner,” she laughed, and Rinko felt her heart flutter at the sound. Her voice was deep, but every word was sincere and joyful. She seemed so confident. The kind of person who would always know what to say, or be comfortable saying nothing, and the silence wouldn’t be awkward. Rinko was jealous. She wasn’t like that.

“Ah,” Rinko nodded, watching quietly as the girl pushed herself off the ground fluidly and walked over to the dog.

“My name is Tomoe, by the way,” the girl, Tomoe, said.

“M-my name is... Shirokane Rinko,” Rinko whispered. She watched with wide eyes as Tomoe knelt by the dog and cooed at it, petting it and making faces. Rinko wondered where Tomoe had come from, after all, she hadn’t seen any other tents or anything.

“Shirokane-san, nice to meet you!” Tomoe grinned at her.

“Nice to meet you… Tomoe-san,” Rinko found herself smiling, even though she was still a bit nervous.

“So, Shirokane-san,” Tomoe said suddenly, startling her. “Were you asleep just now, before Carrots ambushed you?”

Carrots…? An odd name for a dog, Rinko thought. “Um, yes, I-I guess I had fallen asleep reading,” she said. Rinko has a sudden thought, and checked the time. It was only just past eight.

“Wow,” her eyes widened. “I’m not a big reader myself, your book must have been good,” she laughed. She squatted down next to her dog, scratching her ears and playing with her. If Rinko didn’t get the feeling that Tomoe was very cautious and attentive to people, she might have thought that she forgot Rinko was even there.

“Aren’t you cold, by the way?  You don’t have a fire or anything,” Tomoe said, startling her again.

“Oh, um… I guess. I’m used to it, though,” Rinko shrugged. She pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Um, by the way,” she started, but tripped over her words when Tomoe looked up at her and they met eyes. Rinko looked down, fiddling with the hem of her blanket between her fingertips.  “By the way… are you camping here tonight? I-It’s just that… I didn’t think anyone else was here,” she managed.

“Oh, no, I was just walking the dog. This park is so beautiful,” Tomoe awed, looking up and around.

“It’s usually better at night. It’s cloudy today, usually you can see the stars, and they’re really pretty,” Rinko smiled. She was proud of herself for saying it, but it was always somehow easy for her to talk about camping.

“I bet,” Tomoe smiled back, warm and inviting, gentle. Rinko blushed.

Tomoe’s stomach interrupted the moment by growling loudly.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t eat dinner before I came, I didn’t think I would be out so late but I just didn’t want to leave this park, you know?”

“I-It’s fine! Actually,” Rinko said, digging in her bag, pulling out another bowl of ramen. She glanced at Tomoe, then looked down, awkwardly offering it to her.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t impose like that,” Tomoe shook her head, raising her hand as if to say, “it’s fine.”

“No, please, it’s no problem,” Rinko said, putting it down to start up her camp burner to heat up some water for it.

“Well, thank you, then,” Tomoe hesitantly shifted toward Rinko, Carrots following curiously. Tomoe held her back, clearly worried about Rinko. Rinko smiled slightly in thanks, feeling nervous butterflies in her stomach. Nervous because she was still not totally comfortable around big dogs like Carrots, but pleasant from how Tomoe was so observant and caring towards her. No one ever really gave her that much thought aside from her parents. Rinko was fine with that; it’s not as if she was a social butterfly, she preferred being on her own, not having to worry about others judging her or bothering her. But somehow, Tomoe made her feel like she could maybe be with other people, even friends, after all.

Rinko kept her head down as she prepared the ramen. It offered her about ten seconds of reprieve as she turned on the stove and poured the water, then there was nothing to do but wait.

Tomoe seemed comfortable to sit together in silence. It was a miracle to Rinko, that the other girl wasn’t uncomfortable, but something about her presence made Rinko herself feel a bit more at ease as well. Tomoe sat down on the grass, brushing her deep red hair behind her ear as she looked up at the cloudy sky. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and seemed to know that, but not in a way that made her seem obnoixous or condescending. Rather, she seemed to be content, with herself and the world around her. Peaceful. When Tomoe glanced at her, Rinko realizes how long she had been staring, and looked down with a yelp.

“Do you mind if I go do something real quick while we’re waiting for it to boil?” Tomoe asked, pushing herself up and dusting off her black jeans.

“Oh, sure, of course,” Rinko nodded.

Tomoe took Carrot’s leash and they headed off towards the entrance of the camp, Rinko guessed to go to the bathroom or something. Regardless, she was relieved that she was leaving for a moment to alleviate the awkwardness of Rinko getting caught staring at her.

When Tomoe came back, the water had already boiled. To Rinko’s surprise, she arrived carrying a pack of firewood from the camp store.

“No, no, no, that’s way more than a pack of ramen, you shouldn’t have bought that!” Rinko jumped up, waving her hands. Tomoe dropped the logs on the ground, the dog hurrying over to sniff them.

“What? I felt like having a campfire, is that wrong?” Tomoe grinned. “Unless, of course, you don’t want to. I wouldn’t want to impose if you’re tired and want to go to bed or something.”

“No, no, I’m fine, but…” Rinko trailed off, trying to remember how much the firewood packs cost here. She rarely bought them, so she couldn’t remember, but they were never exactly cheap.

“Seriously, it’s the least I can do for interrupting you and letting this knucklehead ambush you,” Tomoe chuckled, nudging Carrots with her foot. Rinko smiled as the dog jumped around before realizing that it was just Tomoe.

Once Tomoe's ramen was finished, she ate it fast. She must have been hungry. Rinko watched her as she slurped up the noodles with vigor, barely stopping to breathe, but somehow not making a mess of her face. Somehow, she made cup ramen look tastier than Rinko had ever thought it could be.

Tomoe let out a sigh as she finished them, slamming the cup on her knee. “Thanks for the food,” she said.

Rinko nodded. “No problem.”

Tomoe started to unpack the firewood, and Rinko excused herself to grab a bit of kindling from the forest. When she got back, Tomoe had arranged the logs into a beautiful tower, looking very proud of herself. It only made it that much harder for Rinko to tell her that she would have to deconstruct it so they could build it around the kindling.

Once the fire was set up, Rinko gave Tomoe a blanket, and they sat down across from each other. The crackling of the fire was another addendum to the idyllic camp scene they were a part of. Neither of them talked for a minute, just relaxing and staring into the fire, or around them at the scenery.

“Sorry again, about Carrots, earlier,” Tomoe broke the silence.

“Oh no, it’s nothing, I’m fine,” Rinko said. She shivered slightly, drawing her blanket up higher around her shoulders. The action didn’t go unnoticed by Tomoe.

“Are you cold? Here, take your blanket back,” Tomoe said, getting up and wrapping it around Rinko’s shoulders before she could protest.

“Aren’t you, too? Cold, I mean,” Rinko looked up at her. Tomoe brushed her worries off.

“I’m fine. Anyway, I really should be taking Carrots back home, before she gets too tired to walk all the way. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to carry her part of the way,” she laughed. Rinko's eyes widened slightly. Carrots was a big dog... And besides, how often was it her responsibility to walk her sister’s friend’s dog?

“But, the fire’s just started, and…” Rinko stood too, holding the blanket Tomoe had given back to her.

“Maybe we can do this again sometime, then. And enjoy the fire properly,” Tomoe smiled, extending her hand. Rinko was confused for a moment, before she realized that she was holding her phone open, asking for Rinko’s number.

“O-oh!... Oh…” Rinko drew her shoulders in, feeling strange. “Sure,” and she entered her number. “I’ll get yours, too,” she grabbed her own phone, rushing to unlock it and fumbling, dropping it on the grass.

“I got it,” Tomoe picked up her phone for her, smiling. She was standing really close. Rinko stared into her eyes, until Tomoe smirked, poking her with her phone and Rinko remembered what was happening. Rinko blushed and stepped back as she grabbed it, unlocking it and giving it back to Tomoe to put her number in.

“Alright,” Tomoe smiled at Rinko one last time, sliding her phone in her pocket. She took Carrot’s leash and headed off. “I’ll see you again!” She called as she began to walk away, turning and waving at Rinko. Rinko waved back, a small smile on her face.

She felt strange. No one had ever really befriended her like this, in real life, and certainly not interrupting her camping. It was new. It was strange. Rinko looked at her phone, laughing to herself as she saw that Tomoe had named herself “That cute girl I met while camping (Udagawa Tomoe).”

Rinko hoped to see her again soon.

[mrswhozeewhatsis]

I Need More Part 2

A/N: It’s finally here! The second part to I Need More that everyone wanted! It got pretty long without smut, so no smut. Hope it lives up to the hype! Special thanks to @manawhaat and @littlegreenplasticsoldier for their always fabulous beta services. I wish I had time to let them look over this one more time.

Summary: Reader runs away for a while, then has to face her fears.

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Warning: ANGST.

Word count: 4652 (Over twice as long as the first part, which just goes to prove that fixing shit is harder than screwing it up in the first place!)

For the fourth night in a row, you sat on the beach with a bottle in your hand and watched the sun set. It had taken you a couple of days to get here, but you were about as far away from Lebanon, Kansas as you could get and still be in the continental US. Maybe Maine would be further than Washington, but you’d turned left out of the motel parking lot, not right, so Washington is where you ended up. The weather had turned the day before, and it was chillier tonight, with a light misty rain making you feel even colder. The storm front was almost past, though, which was how you got to see the sun fall from behind the clouds before it sank into the ocean.

Six days. Six days since you’d given in to Dean Winchester’s charms and then woken up alone. Six days since you’d turned off the GPS and sound on your phone so no one could track you and you wouldn’t have to listen to the beeps and trills when they called or messaged. Five days since you’d considered turning it off completely, but knew that would send a message all its own and just prompt whoever was calling to really look for you. Four days since you’d found the rundown motel a block from the beach and plunked down enough cash to quiet the manager about the credit card that didn’t match the name you gave him. Three days since you’d slept for twelve hours, only to wake up from a dream that Dean was knocking on your door. Three days since you told housekeeping to fuck off and not knock on your door again. The days since then had settled into a nice routine: Wake up, shower, get dressed, try to eat, buy a newspaper you wouldn’t really read (unless you counted Marmaduke and Garfield), buy booze, try to eat some more, then settle on the beach to watch the sun go down and drink the bottle dry.

The mist and the chilly breeze had you shivering tonight, though, and no matter how beautiful it made the sunset, you were in an even worse mood than previous nights. By the time the stars were out, even though the rain had stopped, you were so cold your teeth were clacking together. Sounds from a bonfire down the beach floated through the air and you glimpsed happy people dancing to music and laughing at stories. The laughter was just as annoying as the chattering of your teeth, so you gave up your new nightly ritual of watching the waves in the moonlight and walked back to your motel.

Once you were warm and dry, you sat down on the bed and stared at the TV. It didn’t work, so all you saw was your reflection on the screen, which soon irritated you further.

How did you let this happen to you? How did you give Dean Winchester so much power that he could bring you this low? What happened to the independent, badass woman who took no shit from anyone and protected herself from everything? You weren’t the type to ignore calls and texts and wallow! You faced shit head on and fucking dealt with it!

Quickly very angry, you got up with the intention of just doing something. The room going for a spin reminded you that you weren’t really in any shape for that, at that moment. When the room eventually settled into a gentle rocking, you made yourself a cup of coffee with the ancient one-cup coffeemaker the motel provided. The first sip made you grimace. Shit, the coffee must have been as old as the décor. You drank it, anyway, suddenly needing to be sober and in control again. You’d moped enough. Time to wake up, get up, and deal with shit.

After the last drop was down the hatch, you turned to your phone, taking a deep breath to fortify yourself. You turned on the screen and faced your messages.

32 messages and 11 voicemails.

“First message dated six days ago, 4:54PM: ‘Hey, it’s Sam. Dean said you had a hunt and had to go. Sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye. Call if you need backup, okay?’

“Second message dated four days ago, 10:28AM: ‘Hey, it’s Sam again. I’ve been sending texts but not getting an answer so figured I’d call. Did something happen during this last hunt? Dean’s acting off and you’re not answering. Call me, okay?’

“Third message dated four days ago, 3:18PM: ‘Hey kiddo, it’s Jody. Sam’s worried so he called me. Let me know you’re still breathin’, okay?’

“Fourth message dated two days ago, 11:47PM: ‘Y/N, it’s Sam again. Please call me back. Whatever happened, we’ll find a way to fix it. Please.’

“Fifth message dated yesterday, 9:24AM: ‘It’s Sam. Dean told me what happened and Garth told me there’s no hunt. I don’t know what to say. Please, just call me so we can talk. Or, if you don’t want to talk, just text me to let me know you’re okay and not dead in a ditch somewhere. I think we can fix this, but only if you talk to us.’

“Sixth message dated yesterday, 9:25AM: ‘Hey Y/N, it’s Garth. I just got a call from Sam looking for you and now I’m worried. Call me when you get this, okay?”

“Seventh message dated today, 9:05AM: ‘Y/N, it’s Jody. Sam called again and now I’m worried. You have twenty-four hours to call me, no texting, I need to hear your voice, or I’m putting a BOLO out on you. We just need to know some monster hasn’t gotten you.’”

The rest of the voicemails were hang-ups from either Sam or Jody, and the text messages were all similar to the voicemails. You looked over the messages, seeing all their worry spelled out right in front of you, and felt like a first-class heel. You sent off a quick text to Jody to tell her you were okay, and two minutes later your phone rang. It took five minutes of convincing her you weren’t being held captive or somehow under duress, but she finally believed that you were okay. She offered to listen if you needed to talk, but you weren’t quite ready for that, yet. You promised to call when you were ready, which was the only way she’d let you off the phone.

The call ended and you stared at the screen. Jody would tell Sam you were fine, you didn’t need to tell him yourself. At least, that was the lie you wanted to believe so you wouldn’t have to make the call. While you were working up the nerve to text Sam, your phone rang, and it was him.

“Hey, Sam,” you murmured, nerves taking over your voice.

“Oh, thank God, Y/N, I’m so glad to hear your voice!” Sam pulled the phone away from his ear and yelled in the background. “Dean! She answered!”

Heavy footfalls echoed in the background. “She’s okay?” you heard Dean ask, slightly breathless from his run.

Sam pulled the phone back to his mouth. “You’re safe, right? Jody said you’re okay, and it’s not like Poughkeepsie or that job we had in that one funky town, right?”

You almost smiled. “I’m safe, Sam. No one’s got me prisoner or anything. Just needed a few days of quiet time, that’s all.”

Sam shifted the phone again. “She’s safe, Dean. Hunt’s done, monster’s dead, just bruises.”

“Good,” Dean replied in the background. “Then I’m going to bed. Good night.”

Sam tossed a response away from the phone and then waited a moment before returning to your conversation. “I didn’t tell Dean that there wasn’t a hunt because I figured you had a reason for telling him that. So, now that he’s gone, tell me. Why did you lie to Dean and run away?”

Tears stung your eyes. “Because I was an idiot, Sam, and I let happen the one thing I always swore I would never let happen. I slept with Dean and woke up exactly like I thought I would: alone. I couldn’t let him see how much he hurt me, Sam, because it’s not his fault. I knew what I was getting into. I knew what would happen.” You wiped wetness from your cheek. “Do you know the old fable about the frog and the scorpion?”

“I think so,” Sam replied.

“The frog takes the scorpion across the river, but the scorpion stings the frog, anyway, because that’s just what scorpions do. I slept with Dean knowing he’d leave because that’s just what Dean does, and I can’t blame him any more than you can blame the scorpion. I’m the stupid frog, Sam. I should have known better.”

The line was quiet while you sniffled and Sam sighed.

“Are you sure he left that morning?” he asked. “Like really left, and not just went to run an errand?”

Your surprise at Sam’s question made you shift on the bed. “What do you mean, am I sure? I woke up and he was gone! Bags were gone, no note, no nothing! He left, Sam!”

“Okay, but then why did he go back?”

Your world screamed to a stop like a record player after someone pulled the plug. “What?”

“You said he left, but you obviously saw him long enough to lie to him about Garth sending you on a hunt. That means he came back, right?”

Words stuck in your throat while your brain stuttered. “Wha-… but… I mean… what?”

“I don’t think he left you like you think he did. I mean, that morning, he came to the hospital to check on me and brought me my duffel bag so I had clean clothes and my shaving kit and everything. He came into my room in a great mood with a smile on his face but all he’d tell me was he had a really good night. The doctors wanted to do some follow-up tests before they released me, so he said he’d be back later. When he came back, he was pissed off about something, but wouldn’t tell me what. I had to endure Metallica at top volume the entire drive back to the bunker.” Sam paused, and you could almost hear his bitch face. “So, I think that means he didn’t leave you like you think he did.”

There was obviously still some alcohol in your system because it took forever for your brain to catch up with what Sam was saying.

“But… he didn’t leave a note! All the bags were gone!”

“Maybe he thought he’d be back before you woke up?”

Stunned silence. What if you were wrong? What if he had come back for you? There were so many possibilities.

“I have to go, Sam. I need to think about this. Even if he came back for me, that���s no guarantee he wanted me as anything more than a fuck buddy, and I can’t do that. I care about him too much for that, Sam.”

“Okay. I understand. Just think about it. And you can always call me to talk, day or night, you know that.”

“Thanks, Sam,” you muttered before hanging up the phone and dropping it onto the comforter in front of you.

No sooner had you flopped back onto the pillows than your phone was chirping with a text message. You picked it back up with a groan, then held it in front of your face while your head was halfway buried in the pillow.

Garth: Why aren’t you responding? Why is your GPS turned off?? If I don’t hear from you in the next 12 hours, you’ll have me and every hunter I know coming for you! Ya idjit!

A smile danced on your lips for the first time in days. Garth was always good to you, keeping tabs on you in case you ran into trouble and helping you to find cases when you couldn’t find your own. You’d even spent some time with his pack and helped him clear out an invading pack that didn’t agree with Garth’s no-kill policy. Garth was a good friend and didn’t deserve you shutting him out.

You: I’m sorry. Just needed a break for a few days without people bugging me. I’m fine. If you’ve got a case for me, let me know.

***

Two days later, you were in the tiny town of Torrey, Utah, looking into the grisly deaths of some tourists who’d been camping in the nearby national park. Several campers had gone missing in recent months, but this was the first set of bodies discovered. The locals thought it was an animal attack, with whatever animal preferring to chow down on organ meat since several organs were missing from each body, but you’d noticed clean cuts beneath the claw marks. You suspected something was using claws to cover up the actual kill method but hadn’t figured out more than that based on just one trip to the morgue. Whatever it was, it was throwing clues pointing to all kinds of different monsters, possibly to throw you off. You needed to interview families and witnesses, not to mention heading into the park yourself, but it was getting late, so you headed to the deli/bakery that was attached to your motel. After a good sandwich and a piece of pie that just made you nostalgic, you decided to call it a night and sack out in your room.

You were doing your third verse of the hokey pokey with your room key card, mumbling about how it would probably be faster to just pick the damn lock, or shoot it out even, when you heard his voice behind you.

“Hey, Y/N.” Dean’s voice was barely loud enough for you to hear him over the crickets chirping, but you still caught the tremor in it.

You froze for a second, a quiet gasp filling your lungs. It was just enough time for the stupid door lock to finally register that the key card was valid and then lock again before you could turn the handle. Without thinking, you growled at the door, giving it a pound with your fist. Although vandalizing property was a tempting option at that moment, you decided to deal with Dean, instead. A deep sigh settled your twisting stomach as you turned around to see Dean standing a few feet away, looking as attractive as ever even in the unforgiving fluorescent porch light.

His shoulders were up, his head was down, and his hands were shoved so deeply into his pockets you were amazed his fists hadn’t burst through them. He wasn’t exactly looking at you so much as glancing around the dark parking lot with his head ducked and occasionally letting his eyes pass over your general direction. Seeing him look so… nervous… just took away any wind you might have had in your sails. You’d now had two days to think about what Sam had said, as well as what you had said to Dean before you’d left, and you felt about two inches tall. You suddenly wished you had pockets you could shove your hands into, as well.

“Hey Dean,” you tried to say, but it came out more like a nervous mumble than a friendly welcome. You cleared your throat and tried the whole talking thing again. “I am so--”

“Sam told me--” Dean started at the same time that you did.

You both stopped and gave each other nervous smiles, heads still ducking, weight shifting back and forth from one foot to the other. From the outside, it probably looked like some kind of intricate dance for introverted nerds.

You waved at the door. “If I can ever get this stupid thing to work, do you want to come in and talk?”

Dean’s face lit up, sending a warm feeling to calm the butterflies in your gut. He had an almost cocky gleam in his eye, even though his smile was still wavering a bit. “Yeah. I’d like that,” he said, his voice stronger now that his shoulders had dropped a couple inches.

The key card worked this time, first try, and you both entered the tiny room. You were only halfway in the door when you saw a body sitting on your bed that definitely wasn’t there when you’d left. A quick shove from behind sent you tumbling onto the bed yourself. As you struggled to catch yourself, the lights came on in the room and you recognized the person bound and gagged next to you.

“Dean???”

Shit. Shapeshifter.

The Dean on the bed managed a muffled groan, his eyes wide with alarm and darting frantically between you and the Dean that was locking the door. You rolled off the bed, landing with your feet solidly on the ground, ready to fight off whatever would come at you. A quick feel around the back of your waistband confirmed that whatever had shoved you into the room had also grabbed your gun, leaving you with only your assorted knives in all of their hiding places.

There wasn’t time to get at any of them, however, before Not-Dean was coming at you, gun emptied and tossed aside, fists flying. You fought hard, but the shifter was bigger and stronger than you, and he’d gotten a download of information from Dean on all of your weaknesses. Soon, you were overpowered, head fuzzy from too many blows, and on your knees, the shifter holding you by your hair while you tried to make the room come back into focus. Dean was furious, eyes fierce and face red, the cords in his neck standing out as he pulled on the ropes that tied his wrists to the rusty iron bedposts behind him.

That’s when the monster decided to monologue.

“You know, I came here just to find a Wendigo and see if a story an old shaman told my grandmother was true. So, I did your job for you, trapped a Wendigo, and had myself some Wendigo heart stew for lunch. And you know what? The old shaman was right! Mix the right hoodoo with the right organs from the right monster, and you can get all kinds of neat results!”

The room stopped spinning despite the shifter’s hold on your hair, and you carefully worked one arm behind you to reach for the silver knife in your boot. The trick would be to hide your intentions by continuing to look like you were ready to pass out. While you kept your hand out of his sight, you rolled your eyes at the shifter and scoffed with a pained wince.

“Really? You ate a Wendigo? Isn’t that a little ironic?”

The shifter yanked on your hair, making you wonder how expensive wigs were these days, and suddenly Not-Dean was growling in your face, making you grimace at his stench. “Ironic or not, it definitely gave me an upgrade.” He wiggled the fingers of his free hand in your face, and you watched as the nails grew into the sharp claws of a Wendigo.

Shoving down your panic at this new development, you tried to keep him talking until you could free your knife, still pretending you were too weak to move.

“So, the campers in the park… they were what, dessert?”

The shifter laughed as he tugged hard on your hair yet again and turned away from you to judge Dean’s reactions. The way he was standing gave you all the space you needed to grab your knife without him seeing. “Just a test run of my new powers. Oh, they didn’t even know what hit ‘em!” He kept on laughing like he’d told the funniest joke at the party while you continued inching your fingers into your boot. “You know, I just came here on a whim, and now I’ve got these amazing new abilities AND I have Dean Winchester and his little girlfriend in my pantry! I’m fucking awesome!”

He leaned down to get in your face again, giving you a blast of necrotic halitosis that made you want to bring up your dinner and momentarily stopped your hand. “Do you know, he was so nervous about coming here to talk to you? He was afraid you’d be mad at him for tracking you down, almost stalking you, or that you’d still be mad for the way he left you the last time, no matter what Sam told him.” The face in front of you was so smug you wanted to rip it off, even if it was Dean’s. “He was so surprised when you—well, it was me because I was waiting here for you while you enjoyed your dinner, but you know what I mean—when you overpowered him and tied him up, he didn’t even fight! He didn’t want to hurt you, bless his little stupid heart! He thought you were possessed! Tried to exorcise me!”

The knife was in your hand, now, and you were looking for your chance. While the shifter laughed about Dean trying to exorcise him, you reached behind him and slashed at the back of both of his ankles. With both of his Achilles tendons cut and burning from the silver, he crashed to the floor screaming in agony. In his pain and surprise, the hand holding onto your hair tugged you down with him, but once he hit the floor, he let go. You rolled away from him, preparing yourself for another attack, but he was too busy writhing and wailing.

Seeing your chance, you pounced on the shifter, plunging the silver knife into his heart. He almost looked surprised, but then his face relaxed and his final breath left his body.

It took you a minute or two of sitting and staring at the body before you were convinced it was dead. Muffled noises from the bed eventually brought you out of your exhausted stupor and you got up to take care of Dean. You pulled your knife from the body, wiping it off on its shirt, then stumbled around the bed to cut Dean’s ropes. While he freed himself, you collapsed onto the mattress.

Dean was leaning over you, checking out your injuries, holding his warm hands to your face and neck while he looked you over. “Damn, Princess, you had me worried there for a minute.”

You met his gaze and tried not to melt under the affection you saw in his eyes. Everything you’d wanted to say to him for the past couple of days bubbled up and started spilling out of your mouth. “I’m so sorry about what I said before I left. I didn’t mean it, any of it. I was scared and hurt and just wanted to run away.”

Dean’s hands slid around behind your shoulders and he pulled you to his chest where he held you close. The beating of Dean’s heart was comforting against your ear. You couldn’t imagine a better place in the entire world than in Dean’s arms and that thought almost kept you from hearing his words. “Sam told me you never saw my note, so I get it. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“You left a note?”

“Yeah. I did.” Dean’s heartbeat picked up. “Left it in the bathroom so the fan wouldn’t blow it away. Told you I was checking on Sam and getting breakfast and I’d be back soon.”

With a groan, you turned your face into his chest, wanting to hide there forever. “I never went into the bathroom. That’s why I never saw it. I’m so sorry, Dean!”

Dean pulled you away from his chest, cupping your face in his hands so you couldn’t avoid his eyes. “It’s okay. We’re past it, now. We can forget about it and start over, right?”

The fear flashed in his eyes so quickly you would have missed it if you’d blinked; he was just as scared of this as you were. You nodded, enjoying watching the tension bleed out of him as his mouth turned up into a wide grin. He then smashed that grin into yours, both of you trying to kiss and smile at the same time.

When you finally came up for air, the stiffness and aches in your body reminded you of the dead shifter on your floor.

“I think we need to burn this body to be safe, since he’s part Wendigo, now. And then we should get the hell outta Dodge before the maid sees this mess.”

Dean agreed, and the two of you cleaned up the room, wrapping the body in wrinkled motel sheets and stuffing it in the trunk of the Impala. You hung up the Do Not Disturb sign and the two of you headed out to burn and bury the evidence.

When the flames were burning high in the hole Dean had dug, you sat on the cooler a few feet away, watching Dean stare into the fire. He seemed lost in his thoughts and you wondered what he was thinking about. Filling in the hole didn’t involve much joking or conversation, and the drive back to the motel was quiet as the first faint light of dawn appeared over the horizon. In fact, Dean didn’t speak again until all your things were packed away and you were shutting the motel room door behind you.

“Hey, Y/N?” Dean said, his voice catching on your name while he shuffled his feet in the gravel next to the Impala.

“Yeah, Dean?” You walked over to your car and tossed your bag into the back seat before turning back to look at Dean.

“I know Sam’s always bugged you about moving into the bunker, and you’ve always said it wasn’t your style.”

The morning air was so quiet and still, you thought the pounding of your heart might echo between the buildings and accidentally wake the neighbors. “Yeah?”

Dean shuffled a bit more, running a hand through his hair and down over his face, his other hand shoved into his pocket. “Well, now that we, you know….”

As nervous as you were, wondering what Dean was going to say, you had to stifle a giggle at Dean being obviously even more anxious.

“Yeah, Dean?” you prodded quietly, moving closer to him so you could touch his arm.

“Well, I was wondering if you’d reconsider moving into the bunker. I’d really like to have you around as more than just a part-time friend.” He finally looked up at you and saw the smile on your face. Your smile made him brave, and he stepped into your space, lightly running a hand up and down your arm while he looked into your eyes. “In fact, I was wondering if you’d be willing to consider joining us full-time.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, not just hunting, but, you know, being with me.”

Considering the beating your face had taken, you were surprised you could smile as widely as you did.

“You want to try being with me? Just me? No flings, just the two of us?”

Dean’s face flushed and it was the cutest thing you’d ever seen. The pink in his freckled cheeks really set off the green in his eyes. “Yeah, Y/N. Just you and me. I know I’m no prize, and I can’t say I’ve ever done something like this before, but I’d like to give it a shot if you would. I’d like to try being, you know, more.”

Pushing yourself into his arms, your mouths were close enough to kiss. Dean debated it for a second before tightening his arms around you and keeping you close, your face nuzzling into his chest, right where his heart was. It was the warmest, safest embrace you’d ever known.

“Yeah, Dean. I’d like more, too… very much.”

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[swagyano]

Keep Warm

Pairing: YohaRuby / YoshiRuby

Words: 815

AO3 Link

This was based on a “cold winter” prompt from a prompt generator bc I’m kinda feeling a writer’s block and I needed a warm up. But I love them so I decided to post it here they are hope u like also i never wrote ruby’s pov please be gentle

“Are you cold?”

The answer to that question should’ve been obvious already by the way Ruby’s companion shuddered in the cold wind, helplessly attempting to block her face from the chilly air. This is the coldest it’s been so far this Winter in Numazu, and only brave dared to step out without being properly dressed.

Speaking of such people, Yoshiko simply scoffed in response.

“This little breeze isn’t enough to take down a Fallen Angel, the flames equal to those in the underworld burn inside my soul strong enough to keep me warm--”

And before she could even finish her sentence, wind strikes again, leaving the first year a quivering mess and desperately rubbing her palms together to stimulate warmth. All Ruby could do was frown in sympathy.

Yoshiko wasn’t even lightly dressed. She had her coat which should provide enough warmth for her body, as well as a knitted scarf and earmuffs that all belonged to the same gothic looking set. One piece of the said set was missing however; the gloves. And according to the whiny complaining from earlier this morning, Yoshiko accidentally left them at home in a hurry due to waking up late and almost missing the bus.

Ruby’s gaze lowered, attention shifting away from her face flushed from cold towards the bare hands. Even if she was stuffing them inside the pockets every now and then, Yoshiko’s hands were red and seemingly stiff, fingers twitching in order to keep them from falling off like icicles. At that moment Ruby instinctively flexed her own fingers, cozy within the fuzzy white gloves, and a part of her was reminded of how grateful she is to have an older sister who double checks to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything while in a hurry.

“What’s with this freezing weather, anyways?! Next thing you know the ocean will freeze over and it will snow harder than it ever did in Tokyo!” Yoshiko whined before poorly posing with the frozen hand in front of her face. Ruby found it charming regardless, “But of course, it’s all just signs of this mortal land nearing its end, such a cruel fate…”

The twin tailed girl hummed in thought for a moment, silence following (aside from Yoshiko’s inaudible mumbling) as she pondered for a way to help her dear angel. She breathed, focusing on the puff of air.

And then, if it were possible a lightbulb would’ve popped up above her head, the small squeak of enlightenment almost started a confused Yoshiko.

“Here Yoshiko-chan, I have an idea!”

“W-W-Wait what’re you doing--?!”

Yoshiko could protest all she wanted, but before she could even comprehend what was happening right now Ruby already gingerly scooped her cold hands into her own gentle grasp. With a soft smile, she traced her thumbs over the back of her flustered friend’s twitching hands until they relaxed. Odd, how even though she was freezing, there was a certain warmth coming from Yoshiko.

The fallen angel’s already flushed face went even redder,but this time the cold wasn’t the reason behind it.

“What-- What’s all this for?!”

“I can’t share my gloves with you… but perhaps I can keep your hands warm by holding them. Doesn’t it feel better already?”

Yoshiko looked like she just got struck by something and averted her gaze away from pleading green orbs. A sheepish smile formed on Ruby’s face. How cute…

“I-I suppose it helps…” She could recognize that tone of voice, the one she uses when she stubbornly refuses to admit she’s right. “Hmpf, I guess you’ll just have to be a good little d-demon and keep doing… that…”

“Holding your hand?”

“You don’t need to say it like that!”

There was something about the way her usually cool fallen angel gets flustered that made Ruby’s heart feel all fluttery. The feeling grew as Yoshiko ever so slightly pulled her closer, their fingers entwining. For the first time since they’ve been out Ruby’s cheeks felt warm in this chilly weather.

“Hey, Yoshiko-chan. Sis said it might be a while until she finishes her business with Riko-chan. We still have time, so how about we go get some hot chocolate..?”

“T-Together? Right now? Ah,” The way those amethyst eyes lit up, and voice lowered, was only a couple of things that left Ruby in awe every time. “I mean, sure! Since you’ve been so nice to the fallen angel, I will gladly grace you with my free time. Shall we?”

Ruby beamed, not knowing that just by doing so she made Yoshiko feel like she’s facing the warm Spring sun, and the two continued their way, hand in hand, and in comforting silence through the wind that suddenly felt like no problem. Ruby knows you can stay warm without relying on Winter gear, because as long as you’re with the right person the warmth in your chest never fades.