#arcadia: thinks about finally wearing a dress

[mysticarts]

《 Restaurant Investigation》 LMK OC ONESHOT PT 1

Yujin would be in her extravagant room, sitting in her red velvet chair. She looked at a poster on her desk, showing a picture of a fancy looking restaurant.

Yujin's door slowly opened to reveal her lady in waiting and nice, Hui ying. Hui Ying walked up to Yujin with a expression of concern plastered on her face.

"Auntie Yujin, are you okay?" Hui Ying asked, walking to the side of Yujin and putting her hand on Yujin's shoulder. "The maids said you've been staring at that restaurant poster for a while"

Yujin would snap out of her state, showing Hui Ying a small smile. "Oh, I'm fine Hui, it's just I have an odd feeling about this restaurant..." Yujin explained.

Hui Ying would grad the poster and look at it. "Oh, this restaurant! I'm pretty sure you met the owner of this restaurant before, right? What was his name? .....Dong?"

Due to Yujin being the emepress of Arcadia, she had too meet many people who own companies before those companies open up their products in the city Yujin ruled. Dong was one of those many people.

"You are correct." Yujin replied, pinching Hui Ying's cheek gently. "I just have about feeling about that man. Yet I can't look into it due to all of my paperwork....." Yujin glanced at the neatly stacked piles of paperwork on her desk.

Hui Ying hesitated, thinking for a while before taking Yujin's hands into her own. "Then me, Tai and Shuimu can look into it! If the restaurant just opened, we can all easily walk in there without being noticed."

Yujin seemed suprised before letting out a chuckle. "I'd really appreciate it, dearie. You're the best neice ever" Yujin replied, hugging Hui Ying. "However, if you, Tai and Shuimu are going to a restaurant opening, you're not going to be wearing a tank top and bell bottoms..."

♤♤♤

The night sky was brightened by the blue and golden lights radiating off the new and improved restaurant. Many people with fancy dresses and suits where there, waiting for the doors too open.

Amoung the sea of rich like people in the crowd, stood Hui Ying, Shuimu and Tai. Hui Ying was wearing a dark blue dress with ruffles on the end. Tai was wearing a white suite with moon themed jewelry on him and his glasses. Meanwhile, Shuimu was the most flashy, wearing a red suit with dark red wave designs on the pants, along with a Dark blue cape. Not to mention the black sunglasses Shuimu always kept.

"Shuimu, you look stunning, but don't you think I went a little....overboard?" Hui Ying questioned playfully with a small smile as she played with her hair nervously.

"Please, everyday is a runway. And I plan to walk down it with the best outfits" Shuimu answered, putting on her black sunglasses before walking over to Hui Ying and started to braid her hair.

"You did give Shuimu free access to Yujin's wardrobe, what did you expect?" Tai commented, making Hui Ying and Shuimu burst into laughter.

When Shuimu finished putting Hui Ying's hair into a braid, the noise of the crowd enhanced. The doors finally opened, and everyone was rushing inside like a flood. Hui Ying quickly adjusted her glasses before the trio entered the restaurant.

The restaurant looked more like a ballroom, as there was several floors, a chandelier made out of different kinds of crystals, making the whole room filled with different kinds of colors. Many people talked happily at their assigned seats as people played classical music. Some people where even dancing in the center.

Hui Ying's eyes where basically stars when she saw the environment of the restaurant, looking around in wonder. Shuimu and Tai however, had their gaurds up. Which was odd considering how much Shuimu loved shiny things and Tai loving classical music.

"This is place is amazing!" Hui Ying cheered as she spinned around happily. Tai quickly stopped Hui Ying spinning before she could crash into someone.

"Why, I'm glad you like it.." a smooth voice stated, catching Hui Ying, Shuimu and Tai's attention. Tai and Shuimu's heads snapped, looking at the person.

It was a man wearing a black suit, his white hair was tied up in a proper ponytail. However, his eyes seemed filled with bad intent. "I heard you where all sent by Emperess Yujin, I'm Dong. I'm the owner of this restaurant"

"I'm Tai" Tai replied, shaking Dong's hand politely. However Hui Ying could tell his polite tone was definitely forced.

"Shuimu" Shuimu stated, glaring at him through her sunglasses. She didn't even offer her hand out to shake. Shuimu wasn't the girl who hated someone immediately, it was odd to see her this hostile.

Hui Ying picked up her skirt a little and then did a curtsy. "I'm Hui Ying, it's nice to meet you!" Hui Ying greeted with her usual bright smile.

Dong smiled as he looked down at Hui Ying. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Hui Ying" Dong took Hui Ying's hand and kissed it.

Hui Ying's bright look immediately diminished when Dong did that specific gesture. Hui Ying finally noticed how....horrid Dong's Aura was. Dong's arua was seething with cruelty to the point it almost terrified her. Hui Ying quickly removed her hand from Dong's holding it.

Dong's expression darkened a little bit, before it quickly went back to his normal calm persona. "Well, I hope you enjoy the food, my chefs have prepared it very well!" Dong commented before walking away.

Shuimu, Tai and Hui Ying stayed there, with Hui Ying in complete shock. Hui Ying was snapped out of her trance by Tai's hand on her shoulder.

"Your Aura reading kicked in pretty late, huh?" Tai said as Hui Ying looked at him. Aura reading was a ability from Tai and Hui Ying's side of the family where they could possibly see people's intentions.

Hui Ying nodded in reply as Shuimu wrapped her in a comforting hug. "I can smell the cheap disguise off of him, that man is not a human" Shuimu commented.

"You mean you actually sensed demon energy from him?" Tai questioned looking at Shuimu in suprise.

"You'd think I'd lie?" Shuimu retored, causing Hui Ying to laugh a little.

"Well, I say we better head back home, I don't wanna be here much longer..." Hui Ying commented, which Tai and Shuimu agreed. The three then walked out of the restaurant, making their way home.

○○○

Tai would be in his room, researching some ancient technology as Shuimu sat in his bean bag chair nearby. Shuimu tended to spend the night at the Yujin's castle, the place Hui Ying and Tai where currently residing in.

"So you said that Dong's aura had a purple like Aura to it?" Shuimu questioned as she ate from another bag of chips.

"Yeah, weird as hell. It felt almost familiar to be honest." Tai answered, taking a break from inventing and sitting down in the bean bag chair besides Shuimu.

"His eyes where sharp, filled with ambition. Kind of like a wolfs....." Tai noted before trailing off, slowly realizing something as he quickly stood up and rushed over to a chest in the corner of his room.

"Whoa there, what are you doing?" Shuimu asked, looking at Tai in confusion.

"Finding information." Tai replied, rummaging through his chest, pulling a variety of random things out.

"About who?" Shuimu shot back.

Tai quickly pulled out a family photo book and pulled out a picture of his and Hui's dad with a man who looked similar to Dong. White hair, and same stair. However, the man was wearing Celestial clothes and had purple eyes.

"Kui Mulang"

○○

FINALLY FINISHED, WHOOPP

Note: Dong belongs to @yingjiaoyue

Feel free to ask any questions!

[spookyshipperfics]

The Finer Things (Chapter 1)

Find it: a03 / Fandom: The X-Files / Rating: Explicit

Part of the Do You Like Scary Movies? series

Tagging @today-in-fic

What is it About? Scully and Mulder are sent undercover onboard a luxury train to investigate the presence of a suspicious and undocumented train car. Playing a wealthy married couple is tricky, but they run into even bigger issues when an unwelcomed agent gets sent in for backup.

Read a Sample: You’ll want to pack predominantly dressy casual, but formal wear will also be required.

Skinner’s advice still bounced around Mulder’s skull. What did dressy casual even mean? For a man who wore a suit and tie nearly every day, he worried the slacks and collared shirts shoved in his suitcase weren’t up to code. The rental car suddenly felt hot, and he cracked the window.

Mulder had been told a lot over the last two days. He and Scully would be riding the Dusty Mountaineer, a train that twisted and wound through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado before opening to the deserts of Utah and, finally, Nevada. It was five days of luxury meets majesty, or at least that’s what the brochure promised. And while that all sounded fine and dandy, they weren’t going for leisure.

The Dusty Mountaineer’s last few trips had included a mysterious train car unaccounted for in any brochures or official travel documents. The FBI suspected some sort of smuggling operation—firearms, drugs, chemicals—but whispers of strange creatures being transported to a testing site in Nevada warranted a knock on the Spookys’ basement door. After all, Mulder had recklessly jumped onto a train only a few years ago for similar reasons.

This train ride would be different, though. For starters, he and Scully would be going undercover as a married couple… again. Goodbye, Rob and Laura Petrie. Hello, Pete and Chrissy Curtis. Who would’ve thought that with all this chaos, the contents of his wardrobe would be what broke him?

“Scully,” he said, glancing at her in the passenger’s seat, where she leafed through documents containing information about their cover stories. “What do you consider dressy casual?”

He didn’t need to look at her to know she rolled her eyes. The sigh of annoyance confirmed it. “Mulder, if the items you brought are anything like what you’re wearing now, you’ll be just fine.”

His shoulders relaxed in his sports coat. He felt considerably better about the fitted white T-shirt and khakis beneath it. “You think?”

“I do,” she responded dryly, and Mulder couldn’t help but sneak another peek at her. Outfitted in a light blue dress that was much more form-fitting than anything he’d ever seen her in, it was difficult to bring his attention back to the road. He did, though, trying to ignore the memory of her smooth thighs peaking from beneath the fabric.

“What do you do for work?” Scully’s voice drifted into his ear, jolting him back to reality.

“What?”

“What do you do for work?” she repeated.

The fluttering papers in her hand reminded him why they were here in Colorado. He had more important things to worry about than how soft Scully’s thighs looked. He was a goddamn FBI agent about to go undercover for five days. Maybe that’s what was really making him nervous. It wasn’t the definition of dressy casual; it was pretending to be married to Scully. It had been easier in Arcadia. He hadn’t really known what to expect. He didn’t realize how much he’d enjoy touching her or calling her pet names.

“Well, dear,” he began, “I’m a community college professor specializing in conspiracy literature and theories, but I also teach history because that’s what pays the bills.”

“Good,” she remarked.

Deciding to go for the extra credit, he continued, “You teach pre-med at the same college. That’s, of course, how we met. What was it now? Seven years ago?”

“Six,” she corrected. “Just like in real life.”

“I know. I know,” Mulder assured her. He knew exactly how long ago they’d met. Scully had changed his life when she’d walked through his basement door. Something like that you didn’t forget. “I’m thinking of making that part of my schtick. You know, the whole forgetful husband trope. I’m bad with anniversary dates. I forget to pick up milk on the way home.”

“That tracks,” she said, and this time, he could hear the smile in her voice. “Birthdays aren’t a strong suit of yours, either.”

“Not a strong suit of Pete Curtis,” he countered. “I want to be clear that this is strictly a character choice.”

Any snarky rebuttal Scully might have tossed back at him was left unsaid. Instead, she let out an excited “wow.” After rounding the last bend, the Dusty Mountaineer came into view. The fifteen-car train was a shiny black and decorated with elaborate gold accents and lettering.

“It looks like something out of an Agatha Christie novel,” Scully remarked.

Mulder nodded. “Let’s just hope this story doesn’t play out like one of hers. I could do with a little less murder.”

The Dusty Mountaineer’s narrow hallways were wood paneled, the floors a floral carpet. It was a bit like stepping into a time capsule. There were no TVs or other technological entertainment, and even the staff were outfitted in clothes of a different era.

“Dinner is served at six. Our dress code requires passengers to dress appropriately when not in their rooms. Formal attire is required for the cocktail party on Friday night.” Jamie, the crew member assigned to walk them to their lodging, continued rattling off rules and detailing the agenda before stopping at a cabin on the far end of the first sleeper car. “This is you, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis.”

Despite everything Mulder had seen thus far, he still wasn’t quite prepared when Jamie pulled open the door. His eyes swept across the cabin and widened. The wood paneling continued inside their room, which contained a full-sized bed, a small table for two, and a sofa. Cubbies and hidden closets allowed for tidy storage. A shelf holding complimentary champagne and glasses hovered above the table.

It was a far cry from the derelict accommodations they were used to. The Bureau had splurged only because people thinking they had money could work in their favor. If the stupid rich couple was caught in an area of the train they shouldn’t be, they could chalk it up to entitlement. Money clogging their brains.

Still, being allowed to even exist in this old-timey glamour sent a secret thrill up Mulder’s spine. He automatically reached for Scully’s hand. The need to conceal the action as part of their cover had him practically shouting over Jamie, who had barely finished explaining how to convert the sofa into a cot. “This is great, isn’t it, honey?”

“It’s beautiful,” Scully responded, and he could tell by the way her eyes glistened that she meant it.

Running on a diet of caffeine and adrenaline, they took advantage of the three-course dinner and complimentary champagne. Upon returning to their cabin, Mulder offered Scully the en suite bathroom first. He took the opportunity to change into sweatpants and a T-shirt.

Scully emerged in silk pajamas a few minutes later, a cloud of minty toothpaste and something floral—lotion maybe—trailing behind her. Mulder followed her gaze to the far end of the cabin, where the full-sized bed loomed. He realized then that this wasn’t like Arcadia at all. There was no downstairs couch to retreat to at night.

Find the rest on a03

[arjaandsimoni]

Luck Ain't All Good

Somewhere outside of Houston Texas

The rental truck rolled along a lonely patch of dirt road off the main drag, a nearby sign reading ‘Open Air Ranch’ with an arrow under it pointing off into the distance. Stephy and Tex were seated up front next to Tara, and none of them looked particularly comfortable in the truck.

Tex sighed, “Welp, it was a dang good idea at the time darlin’…” he shrugged, “I mean, we did wanna keep an eye on ‘im… but I kinda figured Loren could, yanno, pinch hit for us.” he nodded, patting Stephy’s shoulder, the Texan boy dressed in a pair of bluejeans and a plaid button-down shirt over a white teeshirt.

Stephy nodded back, “Yeah… I mean… I definitely wanna meet your family… well, I guess my family now.” he smiled a bit at that thought, the effeminate changeling giving Tex’s hand a squeeze. He’d gone for a loose blue silk summery top and short white kneeskirt with strappy sandals against the heat of the southern state. “Just… didn’t occur to me we’d be leaving Covington again so soon… and… we’d have to bring an extra.”

From the backseat came an annoyed sniff. “You know, I’m sitting right here… And I’m not exactly thrilled about this either… You could have warned me how bloody hot this part of the mortal realm is.”

Prince Samuel of the Icebound Heart, or ‘Sammi’ as Stephy called him to annoy him, was stretched out in the backseat, frowning ahead. In deference to having to be among the mortals he was wearing a white silk shirt and dress slacks, along with shiny black leather shoes, and it was only by close examination one could tell the leather was not from any identifiable animal. He frowned, fanning himself with an ornate paper fan painted with an oriental depiction of a snowfield. None of them knew where he’d gotten it from.

Tara rolled her eyes, “Yeah, we know… yer highness…” she replied sarcastically.

Covington Kentucky, Three days earlier

Stephy gazed around the expanded palatial bedroom that was once his speakeasy hideout, the boy’s eyebrows so high they threatened to disappear under his hairline. “What… how…” he managed finally.

Prince Samuel was sitting at the bar in an elegantly cut black evening dress spotted with star-like sequins, as if someone had cut a stretch of the night sky out and made it into something you could wear to a dinner party, along with long black gloves and matching strappy heels. “Well you didn’t expect me to live in just any old hole in the wall did you? I like to think I fixed it up nicely.” he smiled, his lips painted a deep shining blue. He looked like a blonde 1960s Audrey Hepburn, though his pearls were made of ice crystals rather than formed in clams.

Tex was leaning on the bar, looking over the changeling prince. “Yeah, uh, speakin’ of… whats with the…” he gestured to the outfit, “I mean, no judgement, just wanna make sure I’m usin’ the correct pronouns ‘n all.”

Samuel grinned at him, “Oh how courteous of you!” he simpered, “But no, I just couldn’t let my new ‘sister’ have all the fun.” he chuckled. “Besides, its been ages since I got to dig deep into my wardrobe. I haven’t worn this old thing since my mother held a ball when the Dot Com bubble burst. Oh we had quite the feast that night let me tell you…”

Stephy huffed at him, “Ugh, you only drink sorrow do you? You can’t do any other emotions?” he asked. He’d been rather surprised by it himself. He’d described raw glamour to Tex after attempting to find it shortly following their return from Arcadia.

Colored smoke, that was the best way he could envision it. Everyone had swirls of it all around them… and he could smell and taste and see and feel it. When someone was calm it would swirl lazily, like smoke drifting up from an incense burner. When they were angry or agitated it would billow like a bonfire. Joy tasted like spun cotton candy and brought a feeling of childhood giddiness to him, while sorrow was like fresh vanilla ice cream to his new senses, anger or fury felt spicy and hot and he found it was too much to really handle, while fear had a bitter saltiness to it and an acidic sense similar to vinegar… there were other blends too, but he was still working them out. He didn’t see it all the time, but all he had to do was focus, and there it was, and standing near a person feeling intense emotions was all he needed to do to soak them up.

Samuel shrugged, “I suppose I could, but after years of living in Arcadia with Mother they all taste… off… to me.” he frowned, taking a sip from his wineglass as the goblin bartender looked at Tex expectantly.

“None fer me thanks, I’m drivin’.” he nodded.

The goblin shrugged and said, “Suit yerself mac.” before rolling up his sleeves and starting on the dishes.

“Anyways, we just came by to warn you. We’re leaving town soon. Tex’s family found out Tara adopted me and they want to meet me in person.” explained Stephy.

Prince Samuel smiled widely, “Oh capital! I’ve never been on a road trip before, when do we leave?” he asked.

Stephy rolled his eyes, “Very funny… Tex, Tara, and I are going, not you… You’re staying right here, Sammi.”

At that the prince shook his head, “That’s PRINCE Samuel thank you, and no, afraid that won’t be possible… unless you forgot that pledge we made over chicken tenders the other week.” he smirked over the edge of his glass. “I pledged to cease my predations upon mortalkind and remain near you and your’s. Remember?” he asked with a grin.

Tex started, “Yeah, uh, no way. Ya’ll ain’t comin’ back to my ranch buddy. My whole family lives there…” he frowned.

Prince Sammi sighed, “You don’t understand. The pledge was made, the Wyrd recognized it. Even if I tried to stay Fate would conspire to land me right in your laps.” he frowned. “I don’t have any choice in the matter at this point. I’m coming, like it or not.”

Stephy blinked, “Wait… you mean you HAVE to come with me?! What about Loren? Doesn’t she count? Can’t I just have her, I dunno, babysit you?!” he asked, looking rather concerned indeed. It would be hard enough to explain to the Smith family why they suddenly had a new member… but bringing along another fae being would invite far more questions than he’d have answers for.

Prince Sammi shrugged, raising a gloved hand, “Fine then, try to leave, see how far you get without me.” he said, waving them out with his fingers and handing the glass back to the goblin, “More of the same, would you kindly.”

Stephy huffed, then walked out with Tex in tow, the door shutting behind them.

“He’s gotta be bluffin’ right?” he asked.

Stephy nodded, “He has to be. There’s no way it can force him to come with us like that…”

Several website crashes when trying to purchase specifically three plane tickets, dropped connections when attempting to use the phone to contact the airline, going to pack the truck and just drive to find that the spark plugs had all burned out, the oil filter had gone bad, the transmission fluid seemed to have leaked away, and all four tires had spontaneously sprung leaks, and the mechanic they hired experiencing a sudden religious epiphany and fleeing to Michigan to join a Hare Krishna commune later…

Tara frowned, “And ya’ll be on your BEST damn behavior! You do even the tiniest bit of faerie craziness and I’ll take Tex’s dagger and cut your damn ears off!” she said, the three of them sitting on the couch and looking extremely stressed out over the events of the past several days, waiting for Tara’s truck to come back from the shop.

Prince Sammi stood before them, dressed in a tight black pair of leather pants, knee high high heeled boots, and a silvery tunic. He just smiled and winked, crossing his heart with his index finger, “I would never even dream of causing problems.” he smiled in a satisfied way.

Tex sighed, “This is gonna be a long damn drive…” he frowned.

Texas, Present Day

Prince Sammi sighed, fanning himself harder, “Can’t that blasted air conditioner go any higher?” he grumbled in annoyance. He hadn’t know where Texas was, finding out he was heading to the American south in the middle of July had displeased the Prince of the Icebound Heart greatly to say the least.

Stephy huffed, though he was using a little hand fan they’d picked up at the last gas station himself. He’d never had that much of a problem with heat before… but while Stephen Fullmoon was used to walking the Covington streets at the height of summer, the Princess of Everfalling Snow was having a really hard time of it. “To be fair guys, I don’t think he’s just being whiny… it really does feel hotter than it should for me…”

Tex smiled sympathetically, patting Stephy’s shoulder, “Its okay darlin’ its mostly desert around here. Nighttime will be a lot easier fer ya’ll.” he nodded.

Prince Sammi huffed, “Bloody kill for a drink right now…” he sighed, taking out a lace-frilled handkerchief and dabbing away the sweat on his forehead.

Tara just grumbled in annoyance.

Eventually however they did reach the entrance to the ranch, Prince Sammi making several comments about the smell from the cow pens. Open Air Ranch was the Smith family ranch, having been established by Tex’s great grandfather after coming home from the Civil War in the 1800s. It had supplied a good bit of beef to the area for a while now, but suddenly the locals were all buying elsewhere, and someone was trying to buy their home…

As they got to the door there was a man in a business suit talking to another man through the screen in the door. “Oh not this again…” sighed Tara.

“Please be reasonable Mr. Smith. My employer is making you a very generous offer…” he said. He was a portly man in a dark purple business suit, wearing a pair of thick bifocal glasses and sporting a combover.

“Reasonable my ass Maroon. Ya’ll go back to that casino and tell McCall we ain’t sellin’! This land belonged to mah father ‘n I’ll be DAMNED if some city slicker gets his mitts on it!” grumbled a man from the other side. He was elderly and bent double, leaning on a wooden cane with a bull’s head for the handle. “Now getcher shiny ass back offa my ranch ‘afore I throw yez off!” he snapped.

The man adjusted his tie, “Yes, I can see I’m wasting my time. Good day Mr. Smith…” he frowned, walking off towards a rather nice Rolls Royce parked nearby.

As he did however Sammi narrowed his eyes, “Hmm…” he murmured.

Stephy looked at him, “What?” he asked, glancing between Sammi and the older man.

Sammi looked at him and smiled, “How would you like me to teach you a fun little trick ‘sister?’” he smiled, "Listen carefully…"

Then, Sammi taught Stephy the Secret of Snow’s Silence.

Afterwards Stephy would remark it was almost like he’d simply detached himself from the world momentarily. He and Sammi walked over to the car where Maroon stood talking into a phone without making a single sound whatsoever, and without Tex and Tara even noticing they had gone.

As they drew near, they picked up on what he was saying into his smartphone.

“… still won’t sell, he’s being exceedingly stubborn. I’m even offering him twice what the market value for this place is.” he frowned.

A muffled response came.

“Sir I strongly advise against involving them. If the authorities get wind of this then it could cause us severe complications. It may be best to abandon the plans to acquire the ranch. Surely nobody is even looking for…” he started.

Another response came, this one sounding much more… insistent.

Maroon sighed, “… very well. I’ll contact them at sunset.” he frowned, hanging up and putting his phone away. “Hellfire and damnation I’m surrounded by fools… oh well, so be it. Smith will wish he’d accepted my offer.”

Stephy glanced at Sammi as Maroon got into his car and drove away. “What was that all about?” he whispered to him.

Sammi raised an eyebrow, “Something interesting no doubt… but what it is I cannot begin to imagine. But that man, something about him was very off.” he frowned, then looked up.

“Stephy? Sam?! Where’d ya’ll get to?!” called Tex, the boy looking around and, to Sammi’s annoyance, resting a hand on his dagger’s hilt.

“Really now he didn’t need to bring it, I told you lot I’d behave…” he frowned, then snapped his fingers. There was a burp in reality, and Stephy and Sammi stood exactly where they were… but much more noticeably now.

Tex looked over and cocked his head, “When did ya’ll get over there?” he asked as Stephy jogged over to him.

“Nevermind that, Tex do you know who that guy was?” replied Stephy, nodding his head at the car as it pulled past the gates of the ranch.

“Oh him? Mr. Maroon is the only name we ever got. Works for some bigshot in Houston named McCall, he runs a casino along the gulf. McCall Amusements he calls it.” he shrugged, “He’s been tryin’ to buy the ranch for months now, but granddad doesn’t wanna sell it off. Can’t blame ‘im, three generations of us grew up here.” he nodded, guiding the two faerie boys towards the door and walking in.

Stephy giggled a bit at the décor, looking like something out of an old western movie as Sammi even had to admit there was a certain… attractiveness to it.

“Oh how charmingly rustic…” nodded the fae princeling as the two boys walked forward… then bounced back suddenly with a loud snapping sound! “OW!” grunted Sammi.

“EEK!” yelped Stephy, rubbing his forehead as Tex blinked in surprise, then looked upwards.

“… whups.” winced the Texan boy as he looked up. Hanging over the door was, yes, a solid iron horseshoe. The very same trick that had saved them from Isolde’s minions they’d found blocked Stephy from entering their home back in Covington until they'd removed them!

Tex looked around and quickly pulled a chair over, standing on it and yanking the horseshoe free, then putting it away in a drawer nearby. “Sorry about that ya’ll, forgot… ya alright?” he asked.

Sammi huffed and walked past him with his nose in the air as Stephy blushed, rubbing his forehead, “Just a little sore, I’ve had lots worse.” he smiled sheepishly.

Then Tara’s voice came from the next room, “Stephy! C’mon over ‘n meet yer new family!” she called.

The living room held four more Smiths besides Tara, as well as a muscular Hispanic man. Despite him clearly not being part of the family, he seemed as comfortable there as anyone else could be.

The old man hobbled over on the cane, then held out his hand and shook Stephy’s. “Welcome to th’ family young lady.” he grinned toothily, as in he only had one tooth to grin with, “Name’s Joshua, this one’s grandpappy. Now don’t ya’ll worry, we know all ‘bout Tex ‘ere. I don’t pretend ta understand it, but I’m an old man ‘n there comes a time when ya’ll gotta recognize th’ world is movin’ on from what ya knew. There’s lotsa worse things boys can do these days then wear skirts so, heck, go fer it!” he cackled as Tara rolled her eyes and shrugged. Stephy blushed but smiled back, he’d take acceptance even if it was a little off kilter.

Joshua turned around and gestured with his free hand, “This ‘eres my other daughter Elizabeth…” he said, a woman who looked like Tara but about five years younger waving from the couch, “… ‘er two kids Timothy and Jessica,” a teenage boy and a girl a few years Stephy’s junior waving back, “’n our ranch head Raul.” The Hispanic man tapped the brim of his hat and nodded in welcome. They all had the same shaggy darker blonde hair as Tex save for Raul, whose hair was black, and Joseph, who had not had any hair in quite some time.

“So… Tara gave us ah bit o’ th’ lowdown over th’ phone… seems yer dad met with a bit of a messy end ‘n my girl took pity on ya’ll ‘n took ya in.” he sighed, shaking his head, “Bad business that, mighty sorry ta hear it… but if Tara says yer Smith material ‘s good enough fer me. I trust my girl’s judgement.” he nodded.

Then Sammi walked in and they all looked up before Joseph turned to Tara, “Er… darlin’ though ya’ll said ya adopted one kid…” he muttered.

Tara glanced at Sammi, “Well…” she started.

Sammi however stepped forward and smiled, “Oh she must have forgotten, its been such a busy few days! I’m Stephy’s cousin Samuel from… oh… a good ways over there…” he waved his hand eastwards, “… and when I heard what happened to her father I rushed right over to console her!” he wrapped his arm around Stephy, “Well, I certainly wasn’t going to let her out of my sight so when Tara said that you were all heading south I just simply had to invite myself. Don’t worry, I won’t even be the slightest bit of a bother…” he smiled, and as he did there was a scent of fresh snow and a faint mist blew from his mouth.

Tara blinked as the other members of the Smith clan (and Raul) all seemed to pause, their eyes flashing for a moment. They looked confused and then Joseph said, “… well… suppose ah can’t blame yeh fer bein’ concerned fer yer kin… Ah’m sure we can squeeze in fer one more, ‘s a big house.”

Stephy looked around, then whispered to Sammi, “What. Did. You. Just. DO?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Sammi grinned, “Oh just a little trick, barely a nudge really. Makes the implausible seem just that little bit more plausible… smooths things out all around…” he whinked, then added, “Now please tell your cowboy to take his hand off the knife, it really didn’t do hardly anything.”

Tex was starring daggers at Sammi, his hand gripping the hilt of his knife as Stephy waved him down, “He’s telling the truth Tex, the spell already ended. It was just to make sure your family didn’t think him being here was suspicious.”

Tex grumbled, “Everything about ‘im is suspicious… his name should be Prince Suspicious.”

Sammi pouted, “Oh that hurts… not very charming of you, Prince Cowboy…” he teased.

Stephy sighed, “Whatever, lets just go to our rooms and settle in…” he frowned, walking upstairs.

Later That Night

Stephy and Sammi shared a room, Joseph insisting that until Tex was old enough that he wasn’t going to have any ‘hanky panky’ under his roof.

Stephy frowned at that, laying on the huge queen-sized bed next to Sammi, “Could’ve just had you sleep on the couch…” he muttered, laying there in a white cotton nightdress.

Sammi frowned at him, the fae prince wearing elegant blue silk pajamas. “Not on your bloody life ‘sister.’ Its not like I wanted to come, I had to thanks to that pledge you baited me into…” he huffed, “True love, bloody hell the one thing I can’t get is the weakness you found out…”

Stephy rolled his eyes, “Well maybe if you tried talking to people instead of tricking them into eating candy and then chaining them up you might have better luck.” he huffed.

Sammi just chuckled, “You’d be surprised how many are into that…” he replied, Stephy’s ears turning pink at his comment. “But that’s not what I mean… I was born human, but I was raised in Arcadia. I don’t know how to be human.” he sighed, “My mother was Lady Sera… yes, my birth mother was not, but she in all her madness and insanity and desire to freeze the hearts of the sorrowful is the one I knew from infancy to my current age. Effectively, she is my mother.”

Stephy looked over at him, “You know… I did pledge I would go back to her lands before I left, on the grounds she would let me leave at my choosing… in exchange for helping her learn how to be a mother.” he stated.

From his side came a loud snort, “REALLY?” asked Sammi, “Oh very good… what will you do for an encore? Part the Ruby Sea? Topple the pillars of creation? Oh I know! Lock the Sahara desert into eternal winter!” he chuckled, “You bloody fool… you’ve set yourself a task you’ll never accomplish! She’s one of the Others, they’re not human! They can’t learn that. They can’t learn anything! She stole me because she thought mothers had to raise their children from infancy and that was it, but she had no idea HOW to do it! She got her maids and servants to do it for her, and if I cried or fussed or got upset, she immediately blamed the nearest one and froze them into statues!” he frowned, “… so I had to learn to freeze my heart on my own, so she’d stop doing that…”

Stephy rolled his eyes, “Surprised you even cared enough to bother…” he huffed.

Sammi went quiet for several long moments. “… you’ve tasted emotions ‘sister.’” he said in an icy tone, his voice taking on an edge, “… have you ever tasted Fear of Inevitable Death? Its hot, and rank. It burns like acid and sticks like tar. Once you taste it, you’ll never forget it.” he whispered. “Every time she did that, when she froze a maid who told me I had to go to bed when I didn’t want to, or a butler who’d tripped over my building blocks, or the scullery girl who’d tried to repair my toy and accidentally did more damage…” he sighed, “… each time they tasted the same, because they knew to be frozen was to die. That they would be in my mother’s garden forever. Unmoving, unfeeling, unblinking, forever.”

Stephy gazed at the ceiling for a long time, then said, “… once. I was five, at a hospital, and I was watching my mother struggling to breathe through a plastic tube. She was holding my hand tightly because she didn’t want to leave me alone with my father… and I could tell in her eyes she knew she was going to lose. I tasted it, in the back of my own throat because I knew even back then as soon as she died I wouldn’t be able to live anymore. 'Survive' would be the best I could manage.” he replied.

Sammi was silent for a few ticks of the clock, then said, “… I see…” he murmured softly.

They were both silent for several long moments.

“… we’re not making a connection here.” warned Stephy.

“Of course not.” replied Sammi.

“Just because we’re both abuse survivors doesn’t mean I trust you or like you.” warned the fae ‘princess.’

“Perish the thought.” nodded the fae prince.

“But… maybe I kind of get, just a bit, why you’re so eager to throw others away, if that’s the kind of stuff you had growing up.” Stephy admitted.

“If a man is falling into Hell he will grasp any rope, any branch, anything to stop his descent and damn the consequences.” Sammi concurred.

They both fell silent again, then their ears twitched.

“… the house is surrounded.” warned Sammi.

“Yeah, I can sense them now. About five?” he said.

“Six, if I’m not mistaken.” replied Sammi.

“Should we… wake up someone?” asked Stephy.

“We won’t need to. Judging by the staleness of the emotions the cows should realize what’s near them right about…” he began… and then there was a cacophony of horrified, loud, mooing roars from the livestock pens and everyone in the house woke up!

Both of the fae boys leapt out of their bed as the Smith family jolted awake as one, running to their windows!

“TARNATION! THE CATTLE ARE GOING WILD! WE GOTTA STOP ‘EM OR THEY’LL KICK THE FENCE DOWN ‘N BOLT!” shouted Joshua.

“Dad! Whats going on?! I think I saw someone movin’ around outside my window!” came Elizabeth’s voice.

Tex and Tara knew this couldn’t be normal though, the former of them snatching up his dagger and the Very Useful Deck from the nightstand, running out into the hall to find Stephy and Sammi standing there.

“What…” he started.

“Vampires. Half dozen that I can sense.” warned Sammi.

“… WHY?” he blurted out.

“How should I know?! Maybe the local vampire prince thinks beef isn’t kosher or something!” he snapped.

The cows were in a blind panic, kicking and roaring outside, wanting to get the HELL away from what they were smelling. One of the vampires realized their ambush had been foiled and began to kick on the downstairs door, but living out in the countryside meant they had to rely on themselves for security. It held… but it wouldn’t hold for long.

“They’re breaking in!” gasped Stephy, “Tex, Sammi, try to hold them off!” he rushed back into his room, grabbing the purse that Tara had helped him get.

“And what exactly will you do then?” huffed Sammi.

Stephy smirked and pulled out the phone Arja had bought him in the Nightside, “Call the cavalry.” he nodded.

Jaipur India, currently lunchtime

Dawn was stretched out in the rec room of the Barjar mansion, the feline enjoying a rare moment of downtime. She blinked as she felt a buzz from her pocket, then pulled out and answered her phone with a grin, “Moe’s Tavern, This is Mike Ro-…” she paused at Stephy’s frantic voice. “Oh shit. Got bats in the belfry? Six?” she sat up.

Nearby Simoni and Arja looked up from their game of Smash Bros Ultimate, Nelen putting down the relic from Rajesh’s collection he’d been inspecting.

“Uh… where are you?” she asked, then winced, “Some ranch in the ass-end of Texas?! Whats the nearest city?! Houston? How far?” she nodded, then almost dropped the phone, “A HALF HOUR BY CAR?!” she yowled, her tail floofing out in shock, then the phone was snatched away.

“Stephy, turtle up.” said Nelen. “We’ll be there as fast as we can, but it’ll take us some time. Try to hold out!” he nodded firmly, then hung up. “Someone wake up Natasha and Lupe! I’m opening the door in the wine cellar! MOVE IT!” he shouted.

Meanwhile, at ‘Some Ranch in the ass-end of Texas’

Stephy ran down the stairs to where Tex and Sammi were preparing to make their stand. “Guys! Nelen and the others are on their way, but they can’t get any closer than Houston using the Wulfshead. We have to hold out until they can arrive!” he warned.

Tara had the rest of the Smith family holed up in the living room, a loaded shotgun in her hands that was MOSTLY used on predatory animals trying to go for the cows… “Ya’ll got through to ‘em?” she asked, “Good!”

“Sis, what the HELL is going on?!” asked Elizabeth, staring at Tara as she held her kids close.

Then suddenly the front door was kicked in with a loud crash, and crimson eyes glowed in the darkness.

“Would you believe night of the living dead?” asked Samuel, raising his hand.

A second later a blast of ice shot the vampire halfway to the gates of the ranch like a frozen cannonball!

Tex and Sammi darted out onto the porch as the fae princeling looked around, “Okay… lets see… he’s mostly over there… got lucky, tore him up good, but there’s still five more and…” he squinted, “There’s something very odd about one of them, I can’t quite focus…” he frowned.

Tex shook his head, shuffling the deck frantically, “Just do somethin’ fairyboy!” he shouted.

Sammi tsked, “Oh very well, I can at least buy us some time…” he sighed, then stepped forward, “This… always… always bloody… wrecks my hair…” he whispered as frost began to swirl around him, and then the wind began to howl, and a freak blizzard erupted… made even more freak as they were in Texas!

A very localized but very violent swirl of ice and snow exploded around the Smith’s family ranch, driving back the vampires quickly as it became a nearly impenetrable barrier. One of them tried to reach into it, then hissed and pulled his hand back as it was nearly shredded!

Inside the swirling snow Sammi had transformed, looking like nothing more than a statue of himself carved from ice with a red beating heart visible through his chest, the changeling prince having given himself fully over to his fae aspect! “Get something ready you two!” he called out, his voice taking on a strange cadence. “I can use this to hold them off for a half hour! No more! After that I won’t be able to fight anymore!”

Stephy nodded to Tex, and the cowboy drew a hand… and by sheer luck he got the ace of clubs and the ace of diamonds! The cards vanished in a sudden swirl of magic, the symbols of the suits burning brightly, and suddenly he was holding a loaded revolver carved of some sort of silvery material… the metal warm and humming in his hand. He grinned, spinning the ammo cartridge, and heard a rumble of thunder from within.

Stephy flexed his arms, “I hope this still works…” he whispered, then focused and felt the wind rise… but not just wind. He smelled the scent of fresh snow, and frost on windows, and the clear crisp air of a winter’s night… and then…

His eyes opened, then he saw his wings but the black feathers were gone, replaced with icy blue ones that had white tips to them, his legs turning pure white now. “Woah… that’s new…” he whispered.

Sammi raised an eyebrow at that, “The Very Useful Deck and a fae-touched Fullmoon… we might actually have a chance here…” he nodded… and then one of the vampires burst through his barrier and landed in a bloody pile, not destroyed but injured and very angry about it!

He hissed and stood, and Tex leveled the gun at him, pulling the trigger.

There was a loud crash of thunder and a bolt of pure lightining arced out of the barrel, slamming into the vampire and blowing him back through the barrier into the Texas night!

“Holy shit!” exclaimed Tex, “Lightning gun…” he grinned, “This deck really is useful!” he nodded.

“Don’t waste them! You only have six shots! Once you run through all of them the gun will vanish!” shouted Sammi, then he added, “Don’t look at me like that! I’ve lived in Arcadia for decades remember?! I know what that is!”

Stephy nodded as another vampire burst through, and he let out a loud shriek and flapped his wings… the wind swirled infront of him, but he saw a sparkle inside it, and then a blast of super-cold air shot out from him and into the undead man!

The vampire cried out and tried to shield itself… but the blast hit him head on and kept going until, finally, he stood there frozen solid… his arms held up in a defensive posture. He wasn’t defeated, vampires couldn’t die of hypothermia or suffocation, but he couldn’t move!

Sammi however was beginning to lag, droplets of water falling down his face. Suddenly the blizzard faltered… then slowly began to fade as Sammi’s icy body began to shift back into flesh and bone, the fae prince gasping for breath, “Bugger and blast it all!” he gasped, “Its still too damn HOT here! I can’t… maintain it… you…” he glanced back, “You may want to run…” he warned.

The remaining three vampires were there, and they did not look happy… Tex leveled his gun and shot one’s head off with a blast of lightning, and the one next to him stared as his companion’s body crumbled to ashes, then he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Tex shot, but the shot went wild, then the gun seemed to misfire, then a sudden burst of wind knocked the barrel to the right, then finally the gun jammed… and he was holding a hand of poker cards again. “SHIT!” he exclaimed.

The vampire who’d snapped his fingers nodded to his friend, who grinned and started forward… and then…

HONK HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!

The vampire had just enough time to turn to see the headlights of a massive SUV heading his way at speed before it plowed into him and did three doughnuts, screeching to a stop just six inches from the Smith’s living room wall!

Nelen was behind the wheel, with Arja and Simoni in the backseat holding on for dear life and Natasha holding on for dear unlife. Lupe was in her wolf form, her head sticking out the window and panting excitedly, and Dawn had opened the sunroof to stick her torso out. She threw up the horns with both hands and hollered, “WOOOOO! PARTY BUS!” as the others unloaded from it.

The vampire who was left looked around, frowning… then snapped his fingers again as he drew closer. Natasha scrambled out of the vehicle, grumbling angrily, then spat out. “LUPE!” and pointed to the vampire.

The wolf snarled, then doubled in size and transformed, becoming a werewolf once more. “LUPE HUNT!” she roared, charging at the vampire and kicking up dirt and roots as she went… and as she got close her foot suddenly got caught on a root her front claws and pulled up and she faceplanted the ground as the vampire quickly stepped out of reach.

Arja and Simoni nodded to each other, Simoni feeding Arja wind as she spun it with her fire magic to make a massive ball of flames over her head, then throwing it at them as hard as she could! It sailed towards him, and he snapped again… and suddenly Stephy’s nose tickled, then itched, and… “ACHOO!” he sneezed, and a blast of icy wind sent the fireball of course, incinerating a nearby shrub.

Nelen made ready to move forward, but Natasha held him back. “I have heard of this…” she warned.

The vampire stopped. “Oh? Got one of us with ya?” he chuckled, stepping close enough to see. He was a lanky man with short cropped black hair and an earring with an eagle feather on it. He had on a leather jacket with fringe and a white muscle shirt, bluejeans and cowboy boots, but he looked phony… like someone who buys their stuff online and has never even been near a horse.

“A vampyr who visited my former prince’s domain told us of it. You take more than just blood from the kine, you can steal their luck as well.” she nodded, narrowing her eyes.

Nelen looked at him, “Son of a… I’ve heard of that one too…” he muttered, “Never thought I’d run into it…” he glared at him.

The vampire grinned toothily, “Got it in one! Name’s Coyote, luckiest vampire in all Texas…” he chuckled, then Nelen lashed out hard with one of Merihim’s tendrils, ripping up dirt and rocks as it shot towards him… and it suddenly got caught on a particularly stubborn root just long enough for Coyote to dodge out of the way.

Arja threw several more fireballs at him, each the size of a baseball, but somehow they all seemed to just miss, the vampire grinning widely as he drew closer and closer…

The team was growing tired now, Sammi had all but collapsed, and no matter what Tex did his cards came up useless! A pair of twos gave him a small dagger with a fang-like design, but he’d have to risk getting close enough to the vampire to cut him, and nothing Arja did would even hit him! Lupe roared and tried to tackle him again, but he rolled back, lifted his leg, caught her middle, and helped her along her way. She rolled, smashed upside down into the grill of the truck, then whined and scrambled to her feet.

“You cannot keep it up forever.” frowned Natasha, “You need blood to use the power, the same as any other vampyr…” she hissed, knowing better than to charge in blindly.

The vampire grinned, “True, that I do! But all I see infront of me…” he chuckled, then suddenly he was gone, and standing next to Tex! “… are blood bags with legs!” he laughed as the group sprang into motion, Dawn teleporting Tex away as Nelen, Arja, and all the others attempted to tackle him at once.

“Dawn!” shouted Nelen, “Switch!”

The vampire skidded to a halt as they all landed in a pile, Dawn hissing and whipping off her glasses, and then Simoni and Arja rushed forward as a flash filled the area, Tex cursing as he just wound up with a small crossbow with a single bolt.

Coyote smacked Arja away, then grabbed Simoni and forced her around, exposing his fangs, “ ‘scuse me guys. Fighting's thirsty work…” he grinned, then plunged his fangs into the girl’s vein!

Simoni’s eyes bulged, her mouth moving in a wordless gasp, as Arja roared in fury before meeting Coyote’s boot on her chin, sending her sprawling!

Coyote laughed, then suddenly he paused, “Mmph?” he blinked, pulling off the girl’s throat, then reaching into his mouth and pulling out a coarse black hair. “… this is…” he looked down at Simoni… except… it wasn’t her’s. It was short, and curled slightly, and was far too coarse for normal hair, it was more like… beard hair.

Nelen Fullmoon was in his arms, two puncture wounds on his neck. “… gotcha Dracula.” he grinned weakly.

Dawn grinned, her hands firmly over Simoni’s mouth from behind as her illusion wore off. “Surprise! You got the wrong sibling!” she cackled, teleporting to Nelen and then getting him away as the Smith family ran outside, Tara no longer able to keep them back.

“What the hell just happened?!” demanded Elizabeth.

“The fuck did ya’ll just do?! The yard’s wrecked ‘n the cattle are ready ta SHIT!” shouted Joshua.

Nelen's eyebrows went up as he saw them, “Oh, huh. There are… mundanes here… Stephy did not MENTION that… huh… well then…” he stepped forward, a bit unsteadily as he had lost a lot of ‘blood’ there. Behind him Coyote gasped and clawed at his chest. “Everyone, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for tonight’s events…” he began.

And that was when Merihim erupted from inside Coyote. Blood and ash and bones flying everywhere as the demon’s fury tore the vampire apart from the inside out.

Nelen shrugged, palms held upwards, as he gave a rather forced grin, “I assure you all there’s a VERY good explanation for these events…” he chuckled anxiously as he looked around, noticing a couple smartphones already out.

That was when Coyote’s skull landed, upside down, on his left hand. Out of sheer blind reflex, he caught it.

His grin frozen on his face, his eyes swiveled to look at the empty, slightly smoking eye sockets on the vampire’s skull, then back at the collected Smiths.

“… I got nothing.” he sighed, his grin blowing out like a bad lightbulb as he dropped the skull, “How much do I gotta bribe you all to keep this the fuck off Twitter?” he asked, pulling a checkbook out of his bag.

Arja walked over, still in her monkey form. “Dad told you about the fund for that?” she asked.

Nelen sighed, “Your dad told me about the fund for it five damn minutes after he hired me.”

Arja rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest, looking away, “Set one tray of canapes on fire and you never hear the end of it…”

Simoni looked at her, “Was that when you and your dad got invited to Prince Harry’s wedding?” she asked.

Arja grumbled, “ONE tray… just one… he was totally asking for it…”

About a half mile away from the ranch.

In truth, there were seven vampires, Coyote had been a very superstitious vampire and believed strongly in ‘lucky numbers.’

The vampire lowered his binoculars, then dialed a number on a smartphone. “Hey, Maroon? We got a situation. They’re all toast. Some guys barreled in here in a fuckin’ SUV and ran over Kevin, then one of ‘em got bit by Coyote but it made him fucking explode.” he said.

“… a vampire exploded when they bit him? Oh dear… you’d best come back. I’ll inform Henry that he has to pursue other avenues.” came the same voice that had been discussing a buyout with Joshua Smith earlier that day.

“Gotcha Maroon. Good luck man. Looks like the Smiths got some powerful buddies all of a sudden.” he replied, then he hung up, got in the car, and drove back to Houston.

Next Story

Previous Story

[cursefound]

arcadia flamel @ diesancto masquerade ball.

are the horns that curl back and red skin a part of the outfit? maybe. maybe not.

[fictionalnormalcy]

Thoughts that literally kept me up last night. I always browse my explore page on Insta before I finally stow away the phone. The last post I saw was one where something pointed out a cameo in a Disney Pixar movie. That thought came to a tangent where it came to Tales of Arcadia and their cameos. And I swear to goodness, I still have the continued insistence that this series in set in the same universe of How to Train Your Dragon.

In 2018 I made a post where I literally went through all of Trollhunters and drew out each cameo and compared them to DreamWorks Dragons. I’ll admit, I can’t think of any right now that stood out to me in 3Below and Wizards. But the fact that 3Below and Wizards are literally still set in the same universe with the same characters, I feel it still applies.

And to this day, I’m still trying to fight myself. Debunk it that it’s another DreamWorks thing, and it’s essentially what Disney does with their movies and shows. DreamWorks movies do their handful of cameos as well, but I’d like to say not as extensive as Disney, and to a further extent Disney Pixar. I guess you can say this will be a DreamWorks vs. Disney post.

It’s not like Disney where we catch a glimpse of Rapunzel and Eugene as they walk through the opened gates in Frozen, or the Woody and Buzz piñatas in Coco, or the little elephants wearing Anna and Elsa dresses in Zootopia, or the Pizza Planet car in Monster’s Inc. and a majority of Disney Pixar movies.

DreamWorks movies, perhaps I haven’t paid as good attention to detail, but there’s few I remember. If someone remembers any, please tell me. I strongly want to know. Of the few I think of Penguins of Madagascar where Classified says to release the sheep and what’s shoved out of the barn is a sheep that looks like the ones from HTTYD. Then in Rise of the Guardians, where in Jamie’s bedroom you can see a dragon plush, said to be a Monstrous Nightmare, so also HTTYD. But otherwise they’ve slipped my mind.

Sorry I’ll bring this back to Tales of Arcadia. Okay, so I say that they are in the same universe because of the many DreamWorks Dragons cameos. I’ll give the link here as to the cameos I found in Trollhunters. There are seven I listed in that post, and there are two more I’d like to add now. In the literal first episode of Trollhunters, you see Toothless on the screen of a laptop.

The most notable one is in Season 2 when Draal, AARRGGHH!!!, and Blinky play Maces&Talons together. That one, when I saw it is when the notion started forming in my head. Because even though they do cameos, you never see the characters actively engage with it. And that’s what these characters did! They were so engaged in this game that they called attention to themselves with the yelling! Although I do have the inkling, that they probably weren’t playing it right. In the few scenes of Race to the Edge where we see it played, I don’t remember seeing cards beside the board. Heather and Fishlegs simply moved the pieces without much discussion. In the live person game Viggo and Dagur played it seemed like chess, I move this piece and now these players are vulnerable, then your turn. How the trolls played it, it gave off the vibe of Dungeons&Dragons. I’ll post the visual so y’all can see.

Which with my mindset implies this: The trolls may have found a game set of Maces&Talons with these cards alongside it, and interpreted the game was played in a different way. Or even provided their own additions. Because in RTTE we definitely never see dice, and there were never cards visible. I will concede that we weren’t given a detailed explanation of how exactly the game was played. But look at the board, those are the same figurines we see, the same placing of the rock and mock water. There can be no mistaking it’s a game board of Maces&Talons.

The only other cameo I can think that sort of compares to this one is when Boo hands Sulley a Nemo squeak toy in Monster Inc. Engagement with a cameo. But that was a single second where it squeaked he put it in his hands and that was that.

The other was a very active scene where you first heard the yelling and the cries, hear Blinky’s enjoyment and then the pounding of the table. It was intentional in getting your attention, and if you’re a viewer who’s also seen RTTE, you would’ve thought “OMG that’s Maces&Talons, these trolls are playing it in this modern day?”

Individually, I will admit you could say there was another reason the cameos were included. But the reason why I believe the strong suggestion that they’re the same universe is because there were so many, and so obvious too. Toothless obviously put in the shot so you couldn’t miss it, then AARRGGHH!!!, Blinky, and Draal, playing a game so obviously that you knew it was important. (if you had seen the other show). Here’s the thing though, the cameos were strictly of HTTYD. Not of other DreamWorks shows or movies. I will admit there may have been a Madagascar one, from the scene where Otto said they had a piece of the Bridge sent over from Madagascar. The mention seems like a cameo, because they really could have chosen any cryptic place but chose a place where DreamWorks has had a hand in.

Then another thing that I consider a cameo, was actually one of the new characters introduced in Wizards. I am going to be writing my thoughts again if I write out the whole thing, so I’ll link another post where I talked about it here. To summarize, it discusses Archie the Familiar, how the voice actor is Alfred Molina. Who voiced Viggo Grimborn in Race to the Edge. Evidence provided in the post where the familiar could be Viggo reincarnated. To me it makes sense. And it really does seem utterly convenient that they cast Molina for another character with the exact same voice he used for Viggo.

I mean Mark Hamill who voiced Alvin the Treacherous in DreamWorks Dragons also voiced Dictatious but the voices don’t sound similar in the least. I don’t hear Dictatious and say omg the voice is uncanny to Alvin. But with Molina, I hear Archie and I can picture those words seamlessly coming out of Viggo’s mouth. Nothing differing in the voices. While with Hamill and the characters he voiced, yes he indeed used different voices. But Archie and Viggo legit sound the same.

I will also admit it this as it crossed my mind, when you reincarnate you don’t remember anything from your past life. And usually, I can bet you don’t sound like the person in your past life. However I do want to outline this. In Wizards there really isn’t a mention of Vikings, suggesting it’s after the Viking times. And here’s also another thing about reincarnation. The new life you’re born into, it’s certainly distanced enough where you aren’t around anyone who knew your past life. So there is the possibility that your voice is the same as your past life. There’s no one around who can point it out.

I also can bring this to another extent. As is a voice actor, it depends on the crew you’re working with to determine how you bring a character to life. For RTTE, of the little that’s been released for behind the scenes it was revealed that the voice actors were allowed to improvise for their characters, as they knew who they voiced best. Meaning Molina was given the freedom to voice Viggo as he saw fit, hence why we were given “My dear Hiccup.” So the voice we heard for Viggo was how Molina wanted to animate this character. Yet, we have no way of guessing if Molina was allowed that same courtesy when voicing Archie. Based on the similarities these two characters had, perhaps Molina was asked to use the same voice.

But I have to say that even if he chose it or was asked to use that voice, it fuels my belief. Because the crew of Tales of Arcadia put in all those HTTYD cameos. To wind into specifics, the Maces and Talons board. And then later they put a character who sounds like the character who wound that board game into reality. It locks it in for me.

But yeah, this was why I struggled to fall asleep.

[nurisiliel]

A Zouxie Week

fandom:          Tales of Arcadia

characters:     Hisirdoux Casperan, Zoe Ashildr, Archie

Summary:       Eight sequential short stories from the lives of Douxie and Zoe in Arcadia Oaks for the zouxieweek2022.

warnings:       Day 7: /

disclaimer:     I don't own Tales of Arcadia (Trollhunters, 3Below, Wizards and Rise of the Titans) or any character which you may recognize from the shows or the movie. They belong to Guillermo del Toro and DreamWorks Animation. However, everything else is my own creation.

A/N: This chapter is inspired by Teny's post on Zouxie Week 2022, Day 7 - goth. Before she posted it, I didn't really know what to write about "goth" because I hadn't really come into contact with this lifestyle yet except sometimes for the annual Wave Gothic Meeting near me. Further, Douxie's title Shepherd of Fire is also by her. So, thank you, for this inspiration, @tenyai. I just love all your art.

Day 1 - 6 - Read on AO3

Zouxieweek2022 prompts, Day 7 - goth

"I'm proud of you."

With a long sigh, Douxie accepted Zoe's words. If he didn't expect an unspeakable headache from the important conversation to come, he might be proud of himself too.

"Hey." With an encouraging tone, she nudged his with her shoulder as he leaned forward slightly to fasten the last buckle of his top. "Really, Douxie, how long have you been avoiding them? And yet now you seek to talk to them to help Toncor's tribe. You should be proud of yourself, too! And besides, might I add," she slowly stroked his sheathed arm, "you look very good in that outfit! Maybe we should consider regularly wearing this for ADP."

Slowly, Douxie straightened up and looked at Zoe in disbelief. "You do realize that this is pure chicanery? Chaka's out of his mind, if you ask me! That you have to dress like that to be allowed to come forward for a meeting! Outrageous!"

When he had received the conditions for an audience the day before, Douxie almost exploded. That he had to leave Archie behind, he could even understand. After all, both Akane and Adalar had both had extremely bad experiences with dragons in the past. The rule that dragons weren't allowed to appear before the Council of Wizards was therefore ancient, and Douxie respected it. But this nonsense with the dress code?

"He's just bored. Don't take it so hard. Besides, don't you think I'm sexy?" With a seductive gesture, Zoe let her fingers glide over her pentagram, which was the connecting piece between her dress and her shoulders flattering stole made of raven feathers, and her chest before placing her hand on her hip. "You're definitely sexy, my dear. And so badass…" she purred. "If you're so upset about having to wear something that makes you look so insanely handsome and attractive--"

"Yeah yeah, stop that, okay?" Douxie grumbled, adjusting his collar once more. "Let's just get it over with."

Less than half an hour later, Hisirdoux was so annoyed that even Zoe's soothing words couldn't really calm him down anymore.

"Seven! Zoe, who needs seven damn gates to bring the claimants to themselves and keep uninvited guests from finding their citadel?!"

"Hmm..."

"Or don't you think that's silly, too? Crazy? Suffering from delusions of persecution?"

"I do. But what you should keep in mind is that the council will hardly listen to us if you pay your respects there with an expression like you're about to kill them all."

"That's probably exactly their goal," Douxie muttered as he stepped out of the portal and began walking across a snowy plain without looking back. No sooner had the two of them left the immediate area around the portal than he heard the gates close behind him, and immediately after, felt a wind coming up that seemed to whisper to them.

"Ah! See? Here we finally are."

Douxie heard his companion's amused chuckle and grabbed her hand to help her walk through the snow with her shoes unsuitable for this surface.

At least, he told himself, that was the only reason. But of course, Zoe saw right through him.

"While I think it's a gallant gesture, I know you know I can certainly enchant my shoes to be both warming and non-sinking, my magical knight. But, of course, you're welcome to use me to cool your mind a bit. Raven's voice grows louder. We should be crossing the barrier in a moment, and then you should bring out your acting skills and put on a more easy expression."

Douxie nodded. But this time he found it hard to hide his feelings. This wasn't about him, after all, but about an entire tribe of forest trolls, already considered rare in Camelot's best days, and now even more so and steadily being further reduced thanks to the depletion of forests all over the world!

Then, all of a sudden, a bright light blinded him and for a short time he literally saw the snowflakes dancing on the insides of his eyelids before coming back to the there and then while blinking hard.

"What was that, Zo?!" Douxie asked, rubbing his slightly sore eyes.

"Sorry. Magically enhanced flash to pick up anything magical. And believe me, that's going to be a spectacular picture when I print it out for our photo album. Here," Zoe spoke, turning her cell phone toward him so that he could see himself on the screen.

But he couldn't really recognize himself in the photo. He was looking at a man with an expression of fierce determination, in whose pupils a blue fire seemed to blaze. And this fire had already inflamed him everywhere - not only his runes shone in the color of his magic, but also many accents of his long coat and all metal buckles on his clothes!

"Archie's going to be so mad he missed this." Zoe laughed softly. But then she abruptly turned serious as she made her phone disappear somewhere in her dress.

For at that very moment their surroundings changed, while crossing the threshold invisible to mortals. The snow-covered plain disappeared and instead they were now in a small hall, at the end of which a door stood open.

"Let's go, you two."

Raven's voice manifested to that very person as the wind swept once around Zoe and Douxie and then dissipated as a small tornado rippled across the ground before them.

"Raven," Zoe greeted the witch, while Douxie could only stare at her.

Instead of her usual pitch black hair, she wore a mixture of soft pink, purple and blue. But while that still looked tolerable, her clothes just screamed at him.

"Why, Raven?" Douxie asked, shaking his head. "That's not you! You look like a rebellious anime teenager! You--"

With a groan, he grabbed his side where Zoe had more than rudely punched him. But Raven only laughed.

"Ridiculous, isn't it? Try to take it with humor, Brother Hisirdoux. Chaka is, after all, currently our chairman and has proposed a change in dress code to be closer to the spirit of the times from our sisters and brothers. And yes, my pastel explosion is a rebellion against it while at the same time it's accepted because of the subculture, but don't tell him that," she whispered the last sentence and winked at him. "But come now. And try not to stare. Caralyn has found her true self with this change and now shines inside and out. Oh, and Akane and Amaniel are currently a couple. You won't miss that in a moment..." she spoke, gliding lightly ahead of the two.

Sighing, Douxie offered Zoe his arm, and with a serious nod, she put hers around his before they both followed the council member with measured steps.

No sooner had they entered the hall, where the other five council members had already gathered, than Douxie felt Zoe get goosebumps under her thin gloved gauntlets.

"Damn! She wasn't exaggerating! Caralyn just looks.... otherworldly ethereal..."

Douxie could only agree with that. It had been ages since he had last seen her. Back then, Merlin had taken him on a trip to Avalon, where the young Hedgewitch was also present to meet with the High Priestess. Even then, she had had an unnaturally pale taint, which had made her skin almost radiant.

"I wonder if white hair would suit me as well?" Zoe murmured with a clear envious tone.

"Don't even think about changing your pink, Zo! Yes, I openly admit that her white gothic style looks killer and suits her immensely, but it wouldn't be for you. You have to remember that her sanctuary is the Arctic and Antarctic. If you were to suddenly walk around Arcadia completely in white, you would only draw unnecessary attention to yourself."

With a heavy and unladylike snort, she made her displeasure known. "Sometimes, I really hate it when you're right. But one thing you can know, the next Samhain is coming for sure and then I won't care if I scare the mortals with my white appearance if I go to the Wild Hunt like this!"

"Welcome," Chaka addressed them both then, saving Douxie from having to find a retort for Zoe. "It is not often that we see you here with us, Sister Ashildr. But never before have we had the pleasure of receiving the Shepherd of Fire within this ancient halls. Tell me, how is your Familiar Archibald, Aspirant Casperan?"

No sooner had he spoken it than Douxie felt Zoe's fingers squeeze his arm imperceptibly. And yes, he would thank her later for the silent encouragement, but right now he didn't need it. Chaka was going to rub his nose in the fact that he wasn't a master wizard yet? Ha! He could do that all he wanted. Eventually, Merlin would wake up again, and then Douxie would show him that he was worthy. Dignified, he therefore indicated a curt nod before answering in a calm voice.

"Archibald sends his regards to the Council of Wizards and hopes that you will help us in our cause, Master Chaka."

Greeting the other members each with a nod as well, Douxie then waited until Zoe had also greeted them with a formal curtsy.

"What is your business that you wish to bring before us, Brother Hisirdoux?" Adalar asked then, smoothing out his coat as he sat down, which could have come straight out of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and removing his top hat, which he placed with an elegant gesture of his hand on the small table in front of him, on which eight glasses were also ready.

"And please, help yourselves. The way here is by now no longer the shortest..."

"Our thanks, Master Adalar," Zoe addressed him. "But our time is short. After all, there are lives at stake that we have sworn to protect."

"Then please speak. Enough formalities have now been exchanged," Caralyn's bell-clear voice floated through the room, officially ending the obligatory and age-old greeting part.

And while Akane and Amaniel settled down on a two-person couch, holding hands in their partner-look black and emerald green attire, and Raven conjured up a windball and sat playfully cross-legged on it, Caralyn and Chaka remained standing. The latter positioned himself in the middle of the others with his hands clasped behind his back and a grim face, and Douxie secretly wondered if he had chosen that place because of his status as chairman of the council or because he thought he was a general with his military-looking uniform frock coat.

"Now then," Douxie began, directing his thoughts solely to the matter for which he and Zoe had come here. "Four days ago we encountered beings of a nearly extinct species, and that encounter brought home to us the obligation of our brothers and sisters to support the entire magical community..."

@moppetwithamanbun @emsprovisions

[yellowmagicalgirl]

A Rose and All Its Many Names, Jlaire?

So, here's the thing about time travel: it can make for interesting stories, and as much as I hate time travel, I understand it can be an interesting literary device if used right.

Jim does not get the shard in Wizards. He, Steve, Claire, and Douxie still end up in the past. They end up in the mid-sixth century. They stay there for years, and Claire achieves immortality somewhere between eighteen and twenty-five. Her face is angular, much like her mom's.

The Mother of Monsters is not the Mistress of Shadows. Morgan le Fay wields a white wooden staff that is perfectly straight aside from the ornamentation at the top, unlike the Shadow Staff. She wears a flowing white dress instead of golden armor. She is blonde with green eyes. She looks like this:

[Image description: a screenshot of a woman in white from one of the paintings shown at Arcadia Oaks Museum]

She is Merlin's enemy.

Claire makes the Shadow Staff for herself, expecting that one day Morgana will take the staff just like Morgana took everything else from her. Instead, Morgana dies. Claire finally realizes that the Morgana who possessed her was not the Morgana who first made the changelings. It was always Claire. Steve, Douxie, Jim, and Claire devise a ritual that will keep the timeline from completely breaking down, with Claire becoming Morgana. She will forget ever having been Claire, but they came up with a passcode to unlock Claire's memories of being Claire when the time is right.

"Run, my friends. Run, little lambs." Claire tells her friends as her memories fade, her eyes turn green, and her armor warps itself and turns gold.

Morgana fights against Merlin, but she also takes power from the Arcane Order, stealing their cave from them.

Jim, Steve, and Douxie come back to the future. Before they can explain why Claire isn't with them, the Arcane Order attacks and captures Jim.

Bellroc and Skrael take the amulet from Jim and break it to summon Morgana from her exile in the Shadow Realm. They offer to let Morgana kill Merlin's champion herself. She approaches Jim.

"What's in a name?" Jim asks as she prepares to kill him. "A rose by any other name may be just as powerful, but only by Claire is sweetest."

Morgana closes her green eyes. Claire opens her brown eyes. "Play along," she tells Jim.

Claire recreates the amulet, claiming that she thinks it will be better to use Merlin's champion against him. Jim gains new armor. It still has the blue lines of daylight, but the metal is now a purple so dark it's almost black. While wearing this armor, Jim is so protected by shadows that he can be in the sun.

The two of them portal to Hex Tech, where Douxie and Steve are about to explain that they can make Morgana an ally. Merlin brandishes his staff against her, angry that she has turned his trollhunter to her side.

Claire takes off her helmet, and her armor turns purple as long dark hair streaked with white comes tumbling out.

"Don't you dare cut off my other hand. I have a plan to stop the Arcane Order."

Send me a title and a pairing and I will give you the summary of a fic I will never write.

[randomficsandshit]

Bellarke Fic Rec

*NONE OF THESE FICS ARE MINE*

Please do not forget. I have not written any of these. I’m simply recommending favorites of mine over the years. If you love something, send the author your love, not me :) and if any links don’t work, send me a message and I’ll see what i can do, this is a pretty old list 

There's A Nap For That 

Word Count: 6k+

AU. Based on that post: "If you both agree to take a nap instead of going out, it’s a date." Or: The one where Bellamy and Clarke keep taking naps together. You know, platonically. See also: Let Them Rest.

If You Wear A Dress and Have an Animal Sidekick, You Are a Princess

Word Count: 3k+

AU. Bellamy can't not take care of every animal he sees, and Clarke can't not find it endearing.

*Mouth Like Heaven, Kisses Like Stars

Word Count: 4k+

His eyebrows are knitted together in a slight frown, the kind he usually gets when he’s trying to work out a difficult problem. Finally, he meets her eyes again and says, almost hesitantly underneath his mask of bravado, “Well, I’m always here to lend a helping hand if you need it, princess.” Clarke actually chokes this time, and it feels like all the breath has been knocked out of her. -or, the time when everything goes downhill and bellamy just goes down.

Wingwoman 

Word Count: 1k+

AU. Clarke didn't think she'd need a wingwoman at the park playground when she's babysitting her one-year-old niece, but then Bellamy Blake strolls up, and Amelia rises to the occasion, luckily for her.

When Love Hits (Better Make It Worth The Fall)

Word Count: 4k+

AU. (She's All That) Four times Clarke gets hit on the head (+1 time she doesn't) during her last semester of high school, and every single time, Bellamy Blake is somehow involved.

All This Time

Word Count: 5k+

AU. Four times Bellamy innocently kisses Clarke, + one time he doesn't.

Take This Heart

Word Count: ~

clarke moves into bellamy's room. this is both soft and full of disdain for clarke's terrible... everything in season 3

You're Cool On The Internet, At Least

Word Count: 9k+

AU. Look, Clarke will not dwell on this. She will not get flustered just because a possibly cute guy on Facebook apparently shares her views on what constitutes a terrible person.

(Or: Clarke meets Bellamy on Facebook. They hit it off.)

(One of my personal favs)

We Came Out On Top

Word Count: 11k+

AU. “How can you guys be all like this and then be at each other’s throats during trivia night?” “Because it’s trivia night,” both Bellamy and Clarke said at the same time, sharing the same why don’t you get it tone. Bellamy, Clarke, and the trivia night rivalries only they care about.

She Does What The Night Does To The Day

Word Count: 5k+

AU. He assumes she would just giggle and continue petting him while saying how pretty he is, but instead, she pulls back with what might have been a leer had she not been three sheets to the wind, and says, “Your body is 65% water and I’m thirsty.” And then if that wasn’t bad enough, she stumbles out of his arms and fucking winks at him. Or at least he thinks it’s a wink. She used both eyes instead of one. or, the one where Bellamy is woefully and terribly oblivious.

The Giant Squid's Got Nothing On You

Word Count: 6k+

AU. Objectively, Clarke knows she’s probably right, but she still can’t help but lift her chin determinedly and say, “He is not going to find it.” She can barely hear her scoff in reply over the din of the cafe. “Yeah right,” says Raven, “The internet is forever, Clarke Griffin. He will find it eventually.” or, Clarke finds her new muse at the local cafe

Alone Together 

Word Count: 11k+

AU. Clarke shows up at Bellamy’s apartment at exactly two minutes to midnight on a Thursday. He's not sure how she ends up staying the night — or why he doesn't turn her away, when it happens again. And again.

Cold As The Wind Blows (so hold me in your arms)

Word Count: 3k+

AU. Clarke gets trapped in the storage room overnight, but at least she's not by herself.

Tequila Regrets

Word Count: 6k+

AU. Clarke and Bellamy have been roommates for a while, and Clarke has been in love with him for almost as long, but when she finds out that his terror of a boss has marked him as her next conquest, Clarke offers to pose as his fake girlfriend for the staff Christmas party to scare her off. She did not think this all the way through.

Mutual

Word Count: 6k+

AU. As acts of rebellion go, Clarke knows that getting a tumblr is both minor and pathetic. But it's her secret, her own tiny, online space where no one knows she's Clarke Griffin, Hollywood A-lister. She's just some nobody with like five followers and opinions no one cares about. And then she makes a friend.

Wish On Everything

Word Count: 11k+

AU. It's not as if Bellamy wanted anything bad to happen to his mother. All he wanted was to get custody of his little sister, so he'd know she was taken care of. And after eight years, he's basically given up all hope of that. Then his mother does die, and social services tells him he gets Octavia.

Legs Crossed Towards Each Other 

Word Count: 7k+

It starts with Raven wanting to set up Mr. Sinclair, out of what are probably genuinely good intentions. It's everyone else who turns it into a massive headache for Bellamy.

What The Hell Is The Catch? 

Word Count: 6k+

Bellamy gets tickets to take his AP US History kids to Hamilton, and Clarke figures he's going to need a chaperone. She's happy to help out. And if he says she owes him for it? Totally worth it.

If You Wanna Reach Me

Word Count: 5k+

AU. Clarke: So yeah, in the dream it's like We're in New York, I think. I'm not really sure, but you know how it is when it's a dream and you just know something. So we're in New York.

Jasper: whos we??????

Clarke: Most of us, I think? It's always kind of hard to remember when it's a dream. Like I just thought "everyone's here!" but I mostly interacted with Bellamy.

Raven: did u mean: real life

Time Enough For Rocking When We're Old

Word Count: 14k+

boston > boston/camb/brook > housing > apts by owner $2-300 Roxbury small room in 3-br 1-bath house, spouse preferred (Roxbury) Pair of siblings looking for housemate. Due to extenuating circumstances I will share with interested parties, I would prefer a roommate who is willing to get married for legitimate personal reasons that do not include sex or anything sketchy. If not interested in marriage, room still available for $300/month plus utilities. Pets okay, no smokers, NO DRUG USE. Please don't just email me to tell me this is fucked up, I know it is, you really don't have to tell me. If you are interested in the marriage part, a female spouse is preferred, but male would be okay too. I promise I will explain this if you really want details, but I'm not putting it online. Serious inquiries only.

Must Love Intersectionality 

Word Count: 2k+

AU. Bellamy hates his stupid history of colonialism class, until he makes a friend. Weirdly, the friend isn't actually in his class, they just share the same desk and like to write angry notes about the patriarchy. Bellamy's a fan.

Regardless Of Warnings, The Future Doesn't Scare Me At All

Word Count: 20k+

AU. 2 Chapters. After an argument with her mother about her unplanned pregnancy, Clarke Griffin ends up back in the small town where her father used to live, spilling her sob story to a sympathetic bartender. And then, somehow, she ends up moving in with the bartender and her brother.

(You Might Find) You Get What You Need

Word Count: 20k+

AU. Clarke needs a date to her ex's sister's wedding, and she's at the point of hiring someone off the internet when Octavia points out that her brother is always looking for money. So Clarke takes him instead.

Just As You Are 

Word Count: 10k+

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single Clarke Griffin in need of a Latin tutorial partner will always end up paired with Bellamy Blake.

I've Been Dreaming Of You From The Other Side (I Know You So Well)

Word Count: 17k+

AU. Ten years ago, Clarke found out she had superpowers. Now she's all ready to start a new life: English teacher by day, vigilante by night. All she has to do is figure out how to be a superhero, avoid getting caught and shipped off by mandatory metahuman registration, and not strangle the stupid history teacher down the hall. It'll be fun.

She's Touching His Chest Now, He Takes Off Her Dress Now

Word Count: 26k+

If Clarke had thought arguments could actually lead to switching bodies with someone, she wouldn't have been surprised this one really did. But since that's actually impossible, waking up as Bellamy Blake is still a shock.

I Know That Fortune Is Waiting To Be Kind

Word Count: 20k+

When Bellamy is eleven, his mother dies, and he finds out his father was a prince, which makes him a prince too, albeit a bastard prince. And when he's twelve, his family decides he would be a good candidate for marriage to Princess Clarke of Arcadia. Princess Clarke thinks so too, but only because he agrees to come back in ten years and help her make sure the wedding never takes place. It seems like a really good deal, when he's twelve.

And Dream How Wonderful Your Life Will Be

Word Count: 19k+

Clarke has known Bellamy Blake for two months when she finds out two completely unexpected things about him: he's married, and he has an eight-year-old son. He's also getting a divorce and he needs a roommate, and she's got a spot. It's complicated.

One Deep Breath and One Big Step

Word Count: 17k+

Clarke Griffin has been groomed for Ark University and Sigma Kappa Upsilon sorority since she was a kid, and she's a little annoyed to discover, upon getting to college, that she really does like Sig-Kap. That she wants to pledge. There's just this weird thing where they don't seem to like her new friend Bellamy.

Write What You Know

Word Count: 13k+

Bellamy understands every individual choice that got him to this point. He started writing erotica to make some extra money, he didn't correct the assumption that he was a woman, made up some facts about his new persona, and now his publisher wants him to start making public appearances, so he needs someone to be that persona. And Clarke really is the logical choice. It all makes sense to him, when he thinks about it, but he will admit it is incredibly weird. Luckily, Clarke's still got his back.

When Can I See You Again? 

Word Count: 13k+

Bellamy doesn't recognize a lot of people he meets at conventions, even if he's met them a lot. It's just hard to keep track. But the girl who comes once or twice a year is pretty easy to remember. And that's before her foster mom shows up in a panic because she took a bus to Vegas alone. After that happens, it's basically all over.

But They Ain't Doing It Right

Word Count: 14k+

“So,” he begins, running a hand through his hair. It’s a lost cause trying to work it back into some semblance of order. “What is this?” “What do you mean?” He doesn’t meet her eye when he says, “Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern,” too busy picking at a loose thread in his hem. “Wanna go three times and just make it a habit?” she jokes weakly, and his head snaps back up, eyes boring into hers. She flushes under the intensity of his gaze. “Actually,” he begins slowly, “That doesn’t sound that bad.” or, the friends with benefits au that got away from me

Phone A Friend

Word Count: 7k+

Clarke does not ask Bellamy for tips on having a threesome because she's hoping to have a threesome with him. He's just the only person she knows personally who has actually had a threesome, so he seems like her best resource. And when the opportunity to have a threesome with him presents itself, it's not like she's going to just say no.

I'm Swept Away and My Heart Ensnared 

Word Count: 15k+

Raven hums low in her throat. “Well, at least Bellamy can make it up in time. So you won’t get too axe murdered.” Clarke wrinkles her nose, leaning on the banister of the upstairs porch. From here she can see the ocean, just a five minute walk away, and she breathes in brine soaked air. “He’s still coming?” “What do you mean if he’s still coming? He didn’t say anything otherwise.” She shifts from foot to foot, feeling herself colour slightly even though there’s no one there to see her. “I just assumed that because you and Miller couldn’t make it up anymore he wouldn’t come today.” “Why the hell did you think that?” “Because Bellamy and I aren’t exactly friends, Raven." or, Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin don't really like each other. Or at least that's what they tell themselves.

Afraid To Call This Place Our Own 

Word Count: 22k+ 

(Single mom!Clarke and Teacher!Bellamy, with the usual angsty shenanigans.)

And Are We There Yet (Home) 

Word Count: 2k+

A Bellamy POV and mini sequel to afraid to call this place our own. (this shit made me cry) 

Bloodstains and Innocence: A Clarke Griffin Mystery

Word Count: 27k+

Police Chief Clarke Griffin knows three things: 1) Charles Pike is dead. 2) Octavia Blake is the prime suspect. 3) Bellamy Blake a giant pain in the ass with no business being involved in a murder investigation, and yet here he is, working the case alongside her. A hurricane is approaching the sleepy little island of Arkadia, NC as evidence begins to mount against Octavia and Clarke wrestles with her increasingly complicated relationship with Bellamy, all while trying to answer one simple question: Who killed Charles Pike?

Is There An IUD That Can Stop The Image of You and Me? 

Word Count: 8k+

It's probably impossible to be friends with benefits with someone who might not even count as a friend, but "lab partners with benefits" isn't a thing yet. So that's probably the right term. Whatever it is, Clarke's enjoying it. As long as she ignores the whole feelings thing.

I’m Gonna Leave You Anyway

Word Count: 65k+

Modern AU inspired by the show You're the Worst, where Bellamy and Clarke hook up after a wedding.

                  And You Can Have This Heart To Break

Word Count: 37k+

Clarke knows she's being a little over-dramatic in her complaining about having to move to Maine, but it does seem pretty unreasonable of her mother to drag her to a small town in the middle of nowhere for the three months between high-school graduation and her starting college. As it turns out, the summer is great. It's just the summer ending that's the problem.

Museums and Mistletoe 

Word Count: 1k+

Clarke buys Bellamy a museum ticket for Christmas and he acts like it’s the best gift he’s ever received. She buys one for herself too, because she knows none of their other friends have the time to go—finding a day they can all get together to exchange gifts is hard enough—and if it gets her an uninterrupted afternoon with her best friend and all around favorite asshole, she’s definitely not complaining.

When In Brome

Word Count: 57k+

Octavia is the one who tells Clarke about "Untitled Gladiator Project," because she thinks Bellamy wants to be on it, and also thinks Clarke is the one who will be able to convince him to do it. Plus, it turns out Clarke actually needs to be involved, because all of the gladiators are required to have girlfriends with them, and, honestly, the more she hears about it, the more of a mess it seems like. On the other hand, it sounds kind of hilarious, and definitely right up Bellamy's alley, so there's probably no harm in trying out. It might be fun.

It’s All Internet Interaction

Word Count: 11k+

Bellamy is less than pleased when soap opera star Clarke Griffin lands the lead role in the Callister reboot. So, naturally, he writes about it. It’s not supposed to blow up. She’s not supposed to respond to it either, but here they are.

Just Dive Right In (And Follow My Lead)

Word Count: 24k+

Clarke Griffin needs a partner. Bellamy Blake just happens to walk into her rink. (Or: Bellamy and Clarke as ice dancing partners, training together through the years to the Olympics.)

Sleight Of Hand

Word Count: 56k+

Notorious criminal prodigy Bellamy Blake has been tasked with a seemingly impossible heist. Luckily enough, he just might have the right crew for it. *Personal Favorite*

And Then We Were Chasing Comets

Word Count: 21k+

If you told Clarke Griffin that she would become best friends with the resident black sheep of Arkadia, she would have difficulty believing it, let alone the fact that he apparently wrote an entire book about her. (Or: Clarke and Bellamy through the years, as childhood best friends.)

See Me In Hindsight 

Word Count: 16k+

“You’re kind of a mess,” He says mildly. “Thanks captain obvious.” The corners of his mouth twitch a little, like he’s holding back a smile. She is not remotely pleased by that. Not at all. Or, the one where they're project partners and maybe, perhaps, friends. (And maybe, perhaps, more.)

Challenge Accepted

Word Count: 30k+

He doesn't even like Clarke Griffin, he's pretty sure he hates how easy everything has come to her. So imagine his surprise when he finds himself at their office party looking through dick pics on her phone. “You can do better, Princess. In fact, I can do better.” As soon as she turns to him with raised eyebrows and an open mouthed grin he knows he’s said too much but she’s not going to let it drop. “Oh really, you think you can do better, Blake?” And he's never backed down from a challenge in his life.

Found Myself In A Second 

Word Count: 5k+

The one where Clarke finds a lost wallet belonging to one Bellamy Blake.

Every Rose Can Sting You 

Word Count: 15k+

Clarke expected to encounter annoying guys when she got forced into becoming the Bachelorette, but she didn't realise that the most annoying of them all would be the head cameraman. Because seriously, Bellamy Blake is a total prick. It's a good thing there's absolutely no chance of her ever actually liking him, because boy, would that be inconvenient…

Choking On Your Alibis 

Word Count: 7k+

Bellamy gets a girlfriend and Clarke handles it spectacularly well

[ziee]

Strangers to Lovers

You just finished your 13-hour shift at the hospital. You were sweaty and hot, your hair sticking to your forehead, clothing wrinkled from hours of use. You were in the midst of leaving, having grabbed your bag from the hangers when you noticed something square resting on one of the break room tables.

You walk towards it, realizing it was a phone before reaching for it. Pressing the home button, you instantly recognize the owner. The lock screen was a picture of Barbra Lake, your co-worker as well as your best friend in the office, and her son hugging.

You smiled at the photo before sighing. Oh Barbra. She was probably in a rush to get home for her son without even realizing she forgot her phone. You scoop it up and place it in your backpack. Guess your shower will have to wait a bit.

Driving to her house, you hum a tune in the car as you steer. Pulling up on the driveway, you step out of your car and walk up to the front door. Knocking, you heard voices yelling inside. Growing concerned, you knock a few more times before hearing more yelling before it settles.

You wait a few seconds before knocking again. You could hear footsteps walking towards the door, as a voice shouted "Blinky!" before the door opened. In front of you was a man. 6ft tall, wearing a blue button-up with a brown sweater and black pants, man. Was Barbra on a date.. Straight after work?

"Hello!" He said, smiling down at you. You snapped back in from zoning out, eyes shooting forward and up into his.

"Ah, hello." You smile, "Is Barbra home..?" You lean to the side to try and look inside but the man blocks your view. Just then, Jim comes running from behind the eccentric stranger.

"Y/n? Why are you here?" He asks as he pushes the other male away from the door.

"I'm looking for Barbra, she left her phone in the office before leaving today." You hold up the phone and wiggle it. The young boy sighs and places a hand on his forehead, muttering words.

"Oh mom.." Speak of the devil. The overworked doctor strolls into the front area, holding a small piece of paper before spotting you.

"Y/n?" Coming towards the door, Jim moves out of the way so you could step inside. You enter the house and smile at the doctor, holding her phone in your hand.

"You forgot something." Jim shuts the door behind you and stands next to the man as you and his mother chat. Handing her the phone, she thanks you and introduces you to the male known as 'Mr.Blink-heh', he corrects her. Giving her a quickly hushed whisper, your thoughts were denied about their relationship. Apparently, he was Jim's guidance counsler.

"A pleasure to meet you miss Y/n." Holding his hand out, he gives you a bright smile. Taking his hand in your own, you glance down only for a second, noticing the size difference between your two body parts. His large fingers wrap around your hand, grazing softly upon your skin as you shake. All too soon he lets go, your eyes darting back up towards his.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr.Blink-heh." Your hand dangles by your side, the warmth of his hand vanishing. His words left you flustered, intriguing you to learn more about him. So polite, so tall, so handsome. His stature screamed awkward, which you found adorable.

"You can call me Blinky." He whispered in your ear as the Lakes talked. You froze, not wanting to move as he speaks so close to you. Looking towards him, you nod with a smile, turning back quickly as you felt your cheeks growing red at such close interaction. You had felt his breath on your neck.

The Lakes turned back towards you and Blinky, eyes chimed with a glint of curiosity as they both eyed you and the man. You coughed. "Well, I should get home. I don't want to stink up your house." Cue laughter.

"It was nice having you over, even for a short while," Barbra says, standing by the shoe rack. "Thank you for the phone too, I don't know what I would have done." She chuckles. You do the same and nod, turning your body to face the door, eyes still on the women. Your hand moves to the knob, feeling you have a good idea of the placement before your hand encases something large and warm.

A body is out of the corner of your eyes, your head turns to the warmth. Your hand was around Blinky's, placed onto the golden knob. "Oh! Sorry!" You remove your hand, embarrassed.

"Allow me," His lips lift, twisting the knob to open the door for you. You stare at the gentleman who opened the door for you. Flushing furiously, you giggle in an awkward way, shifting your weight from feet to feet. You didn't want to leave.

"Ah, thank you." You go to walk out, into the warm air of the summer. You stop, turning around. "Can I- Urgh- Would you like to meet again? If you want..?" Damn your under-confidence. You sounded so stupid, of course, he wouldn't want to meet you again.

"Absolutely! That would be wonderful." Wait, what? "Allow me to place my digits into your mobile device."

"My mobi-? Oh! My phone? Yeah, yeah, just let me.." You quickly grabbed your phone from your back pocket, unlocking it for him. Giving him your phone, he does the same. You exchange numbers, your heart giddy at the rising excitement from this transaction. You've never really dated a lot, tried to in high school. No one took interest in you.

But, this man you only just met minutes prior, has done more things to you than anything that's gotten your heart racing in all your years. He handed back your phone, shakey hands grabbing from his large ones, to be placed once again into your back pocket. Your eyes trace him one last time before thanking him and running down the stone steps of the Lakes house.

Once you were in your car, driving mindlessly to your house, only was it then you realized your best friend and her son had watched you in your virgin daze. Fuckkkkkk- that is so embarrassing. You chuckled at the thought as your cheeks flushed.

Once you got home, you were in the midst of brushing your teeth when your phone dinged. Picking it up, it was a text from Blinky. Wow, he doesn't wait. Smiling as you read the text, you squeal once you've finished. "I would like to invite you to an outing next Saturday. I await your response."

You text back immediately, saying of course you'd go. The date- was it a date? Oh, you hope it's a date- was planned for 1 Pm. Meeting at the local cafe, you honestly couldn't wait 4 days. Giddy all night, it was a pain to wake up at 4 for your next shift. Teasing the next day from Barbra was foretold.

You got through the week even with you sitting at your closet for hours, deciding what to wear. Finally, today was the day you've been waiting for. A little 'too' excited for. You chose your clothes yesterday, after throwing at least your whole wardrobe on the floor in your decision-making.

Taking a shower, just to be extra clean. You wonder what he'll be wearing. What should you talk about? You hoped the conversation wouldn't be too awkward, especially on the first date. Oh, you hope you won't be too awkward, you were known to freeze up with attractive men. Thinking about his smile from 5 days ago, you blushed. What an attractive man indeed..

You finished your shower, skin red with steam and heat. Dressing in the chosen outfit, you glanced at your phone. No texts. Not to worry, Blinky was so not the type of guy to ditch. Or was he..? You decided not to worry too much, slipping on your shoes before heading off. The trip wasn't too far, you lived remotely close to it as Arcadia wasn't that big of a town.

Picking a spot outside, you ordered 2 glasses of water as you waited for the man of the hour. 5 minutes pass and you anxiously glance at your phone, your glass half empty. Your worries were soon put to rest as you saw Blinky run out from the corner.

"Ah, Blinky!" You smiled, watching as he tipped his head down.

"A thousand apologies for making you wait miss Y/n." He panted as he sat down, spotting the water before picking it up and chugging it.

"Please, just call me Y/n. Miss sounds a bit formal doesn't it?" You joke, laughing as he set the glass down.

"Perhaps, but it fits a lady like you." Your eyes widened before a blush settled into your cheeks. 2 sentences down and you're already red? Yeesh.

"So how have you been?" Scooting closer in your chair, you rest your hands on the table as you looked at him.

"Ah, excellent now in your company. The past few days have been quite busy.." You take a sip of water, hiding your smile.

"That's too bad. At least now you can relax a bit." You grabbed a menu and opened it, scanning the options. As you were scanning, you heard him grunt before he slapped a hand over his cheek. Looking over the sealed paper, you raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"Nope! Just a mosquito." He didn't move his hand, which made you wonder even more, but you continued looking over the menu.

"Ooh! Look at number 5 on the menu, maybe we should share it?" You suggest. He groans once more, before hearing a clacking noise. You peer over the menu again, staring at him in worry.

"Are you ok?" You place the menu down, reaching a hand over the table.

"Marvelous!" He shouts, picking up the menu as he hides his face. What in the world..? As you grew concerned, your eyes widened at what was happening.

"Blinky, your skin- you're turning blue. I don't mean to alarm you but I think you're having a heart attack." He continues groaning before smoke appears from his face. "And.. Are you smoking?"

"A filthy habit, I really must admit." He laughs before standing up. "Excuse me, I have to use the facilities, I'll only be a moment." He takes the menu, covering his face, and runs into the restaurant. What just happened.

You shake your head. Ok, serious. He may actually be having a heart attack. You're a doctor, this is your job. You rush into the restaurant and near the men's bathroom as someone was yelling for a doctor. "I'll check on him." You say to the man, rushing inside the bathroom.

You move towards the only closed stall and knock. "Blinky, I'm a doctor I can help you. Please open up!" You knock again.

"I'm fine! Really, nothing to see here." A clicking shuffle. Alright, that's it.

"I'm coming in!" You yell, kicking the door. He screams and you can feel resistance on the door but you continue kicking before it opens. "Ah thank god, Blinky are you ok- AHHH!" You scream, looking at what's before you. A trollish creature with blue skin, 4 arms, and 6 eyes look down upon you.

He screams, 2 of his lower hands moving down to cover his groin as the upper ones cover his chest. "AHHH! What are you?!" You yell, backing up. He stops screaming as bends down to pick up a brown coat, much too small for him, and covers his waist.

"Y/n! I did not want you to see me like this.. But alas, it was bound to happen." His voice sounds familiar... And that coat!

"Blinky?!" You cautiously near closer, looking upwards at the frightened troll.

"Yes, that is me. I'm sorry for lying Y/n, honestly." His upper hands play with themselves, rubbing into the stone as he nervously looks at you.

"N-nevermind that. Do you- can you get out of here? We could go to my house and discuss all.. This," you gesture towards him, "I don't think a restaurant bathroom is a good spot for an explanation." He nodded, agreeing.

"I would, but I burn in daylight. If you could cover me with something... Aha! The table cloth should work." You nodded, scurrying towards the door.

"Uh, ok. Stay there!" You yell, rushing out the door and outside. You were wondering how you'd get past everyone in the restaurant, but you suppose you could just run. You grabbed the cloth, pulling it from the table before balling it up and running back towards the stall.

"Ok, I got it." You handed it to him as he awkwardly drapes it over himself. He exits the stall, stumbling a bit under the sheet, and tries to find your hand. You hold it from over the sheet, noticing the significate size difference of his real hand over yours. "I'm gonna lead you out and to my car. We'll have to run, so just trust me, alright?"

"Gasp! An automobile!" You smiled and pulled him out, running past the other guests as you hear the fast taps of stone feet behind you. You run outside, the breezy air rushing through your hair as you spot your car.

Stopping in front of it, you quickly unlock it and push the troll inside. "Ompf!" He adjusts himself inside as you get into the driver's seat, starting the engine, and backing up. "What a rush." He chuckles before looking around.

"I've never stolen anything before." You say, heart racing as you drive. "But that was fun!" You smile. He laughs and fiddles with the windows, head peeking out from the sheet. You got to your house fast, enhanced by your adrenaline and illegal speeding. You urshed the large white sheet inside the house as soon as you got the front door unlocked.

"Phew!" You pressed your back against the wooden door, wiping your forehead. Your eyes turn up to the still troll, stilling wearing the sheet, in the middle of your hallway. "You can take the sheet off Blinky." You laughed. It looked as if a failed attempt at a ghost costume.

"Ah, yes.." He slowly lifts it up, removing it from his body. Now, you can actually get a good look at the troll before you. He was so.. Large. Around 7ft, with 6 eyes that bore deeply into yours. You've never seen anything like him.

You pick yourself up and move towards the couch, gesturing him to follow. "Why don't we sit down and.. Talk. Oh- I can make some tea if you'd like? It would be just as we planned, but in a house!" You smiled, joking, and turned around.

His face bore a worried expression, brows furrowed and down. You grew concerned. "Blinky? Is something wrong?" His eyes meet yours as he shakes his head.

"Ah, yes- no. Well.. I did not intend to meet like this. I'm terribly sorry I lied about my true form, Y/n." He neared you until he was in front of you. Both sets of hands played with their fingers.

"Blinky.." You sat down onto the couch, pulling him down with you. You settled your legs under your knees, sinking into the plush as you turned to him. "Don't be sorry. I'm surprised, yes, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Just because you've changed physically doesn't mean I want to break things off. You're still the same Blinky I like." You smiled, placing a soft hand upon his arm.

He nodded, lips lifting into a curve. 6 eyes stared at your hand, for quite a few seconds before they shot to your face. "Y/n.. It may be a bit soon to share this but, over the few days we've known each other, the time you've blessed me with.." He stopped for a moment, figuring out the right words to say.

Heat rose to your cheeks as you understood what was so hard for him to spout. In all honestly, you felt the same. It was a little rushed, but everything felt so right with him. You instantly clicked, so you finished his sentence for him. "I like you too."

...

"Oh by Deya's grace, thank you." He grabbed your hand from his arm, holding it in his palm as you both smile. Both sitting content, holding hands in comfortable silence. You weren't sure what to say next, so you decided to lean in.

"Can I..?" You whisper, face nearing his.

"You may..?" He sounded confused as to what you were referring to, but as your lips touched his, he soon melted into your actions. You pushed yourself inwards, your hand resting upon his shoulder for balance as your other was still encased in his. He wrapped his lower hands around your waist, as you continued your slightly awkward first kiss.

His jaw was incredibly large, with tusks that could tear through you easily, yet he made an effort to press lightly into you. You never thought it would be this erotic, this one tiny kissed has turned your head inside out. Your thighs clenched as your hand clutched onto his shoulder, your hands fiddling with his overall strap.

Breaking away for air, you pant as you both stare into each other. "That was.." He's one word short again, so you finish his thoughts with the only word you could think of.

"Breathtaking." You breathe out with what little air he kept for you. His cheeks shone blue, making you wonder what was underneath his stone skin just for a moment before other matters called to you. You wanted more.

"Exactly." His lower hands pulled you further towards him if that was possible. You decided to reposition yourself so that you were in his lap, legs draped over his waist, touching the couch with your feet. You pulled your arms around his large neck and leaned in.

"Let's do it again." Words from your tone, needy and breathy, his actions immediately matching. Your lips touched once more, more serious. More.. Vicious. One of his upper hands places itself softly on the back of your head, tilting it away from his teeth as you press into him. Your hands softly melt into his skin, sliding up to his cheeks, caressing the foreign texture.

Suddenly feeling your weight shifting, gravity pulled you down as you were flipped onto your back, softly pressing into the couch. Hand on your hand all the way down, he broke the kiss momentarily as he changed you. Hovering over you, you suddenly felt very small. And you... Liked it?

His lips met yours once more, eagerly wanting more of you. A knee had been placed in between your legs, making your foot fall slightly off the sofa. You pant through the kiss, not getting enough air to your head from all this time spent making out. He broke away, giving you time to breathe.

"Now I see why you humans like that so much." He grinned as he leaned over you. His hand came up from your waist to touch your cheek, softly caressing as you blush.

"You're good, for a beginner." You stick your tongue out in a playful manner. He chuckled, moving back up and away from you. You softly pouted but settled yourself back onto your butt. Your eyes gaze away from him and towards your wooden stairs. "Why don't we," You look back towards him, his 6 eyes connecting with yours, "take this to my bedroom. You know, the bed is probably more comfortable than the couch." You wink.

He seems to get the hint, looking a bit flustered yet nodding at the same time. Picking yourself up, you excitedly run towards the stairs, fanning your heated face as you hear the creak of steps from his stone feet following closely behind.

You both get to the room, closing the door as he sits on the mattress. You decide to make the first move or 3rd. Sauntering over, you swing your legs over his hips, sitting into his lap. "Is this alright?" You whisper, your eyes slowly turning upwards to meet his. Dark red pierce your own. Almost as if in a trance, he nods slowly.

"Yes.. That's- You're alright." You softly swing your hips, circling in his lap.

"Just alright?" He's definitely felt you, 2 hands immediately clutching onto your hips.

"No!" He stampers, "You're exquisite. Just having you in my lap is an honor." Your cheeks flushed as you giggled, holding a hand up to your mouth.

"Well, that was quite a compliment. Your lap is rather comfy." You supposed it was due to his thick overalls. Sliding a hand up his stomach, you clutch onto his straps with both hands. Giving a soft tug, you lean up and into his face. Giving him a slow, soft kiss, you felt his hands rub into the fabric of your shirt.

"Blinky, I really want you. Like, a lot." You break away, your hold on his straps falling. "But I understand if you want to stop. We can take it slow, I won't be offended." Folding your hands in your own lap, you sat still and waited for an answer.

He looked down at you, raising a hand to cup your face. "Y/n," he softly smiled, "I would be more than happy to experience this with you." Your worries melted away. Taking his hand in your own, you leaned into his touch further.

"Then please, touch me." You knew it was a tad selfish of you to say that, but you were so in need. His.. Him.. He was definitely not making it easy not to be aroused. Everything about his new, or original form, was just so breathtaking. You wanted to learn more about him, in every day, but first, you have to deal with the issue between your legs.

You directed him to undress you, first pulling off your shirt, and with a little help from you, your bra. Next was your pants, you shimmied them off a bit uncomfortably but that, and your underwear, were long gone. Now, you sat naked in the lap of your lover.

"Now.. Touch my boobs. Like, rub the nipple, twist, or, lick." You wink at the last part as you arch your back towards him. He understands and moves his upper hands to your chest, his lower holding the bottom of your back and around your waist. You smile as his large hands wrap around your molds, heated stone giving you a very nice feeling.

He was a fast learner, twisting your nipples with a soft force. He began twisting, pulling. Your thighs clenched as he leaned down, head towards your chest. Moving his hand, he takes your right nipple into his mouth. You pant softly as your skin is encased in heat. A wet muscle hit your tit, swirling around it. You gasped, a shock of arousal hitting you. So he does have a tongue.

Taking his time with you, he switches over to the other one once he's thoroughly coated your tit with his saliva. "Ah, you're so soft." He moves his head over, rubbing the skin around your waist to enhance his comment. You chuckle, raising your hands up to his head, softly combing through azure hair before finding long ears.

"And you're very good with your tongue.." You think whilst rubbing his stone ears. "Wonder what else you could do with it." He moves his head up from your chest, stopping in front of you.

"Teach me." And so you did. Flipping positions, you now lay on your back as he leans over you. He shuffles back so his head is in front of your loosely closed legs. Setting his upper hands on your inner thighs, he slowly judges them apart.

You lean up, crunched at your stomach as you explain to him your parts. "Now, this is the clitoris, it's just for stimulating pleasure. You can use your fingers or mouth. And down here," You point to your entrance, "is the grand finale.." You thought for a second. "Do you have.. The part?" Looking between your pelvis and his eyes, he seemed to get the hint.

"Yes, I do have the male organ." He laughed, "Most trolls have both of the 'sets' as you call them, female and male."

"Wow.." You lean back down. Feeling him come closer, you twitch as you feel his nose pressed against you. It moved higher up, and you gasped as you felt his mouth open, tongue sliding from between his teeth to touch you. Shivering as he slid the muscle up and down, it covered the entirety of you. You didn't realize until now how big his tongue actually was.

Feeling him start focusing on your clit, you shivered and twitched as you were pleasured. Hands felt around your waist, as well as your legs. He groped and rubbed at your skin, almost as if petting you.

You felt your core tighten, your thighs already starting to clench. He was just too good. Such a fast learner. Your hands threw themselves down, searching for anything to grab onto. Fingertips felt hard, pointed stone. You looked down at found you were holding onto his horns. He hadn't made any complaint, so you let them be.

You burned, so close. So close! The grip on his horns tightened as you started bucking wildly into his mouth. He held on and allowed you so, riding out your orgasm as you cry out. "Oh god!" As you finished, you leaned back into the mattress and released his horns. Your thighs twitched in his hold. He leaned up, looking pleased with himself seeing you worn out.

"I'm glad I was acceptable." He spoke softly, rubbing into your thighs as you pant.

"That was- You were amazing." You smiled, looking up at him. "Why don't you take off your overalls?"

He did so quickly, snapping the hooks off and placing the cloth on the ground. There, both of you sat on the bed, naked. Sitting on your butt in front of him, you rubbed up from his belly to his chest. "So, all I see is stone. How do we make you, y'know." It felt a little embarrassing to be this needy, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Ah, you need to coax me open." He leaned onto his back and spread his legs. You nodded and shimmied over to him. Feeling a little unsure, you move your hand to stroke his pelvis. He shivered. You'll take that as a good sign. Softly stroking up and down, it was only moments later until plates moved, revealing..

3 Tentacles. A shocked expression pierced your face as you stared at the wriggling pieces of muscle. "Those are my primary sex, the larger one is the functioning one. The smaller ones serve as stimulation adders." Well, this, is, new. And,

You like it.

Your hand lifted, nearing the appendages as they swing towards you. He twitched as you touched the slippery phalluses. Softly stroking, you grinned as he let out a soft moan. Pounding. You were so ready. Removing your hand, you lifted yourself and sat upon his stomach. Tentacles wriggled against your butt, searching for an entrance.

You placed your hand on his chest and lean down. Taking his lips between yours, you share a soft and tender kiss. He snaked his hands around you, pressing into your waist and chest. You break away and lick your lips, shifting backward before leaning up.

You situate yourself above the larger one, slowly coming down. You wince as he enters you, the tentacle feeling larger than it looks. He supports your weight as you come down, holding you in the air as he stretches into you.

Finally, you're sat on his stomach, feeling his muscle exploring your walls. "You're.. Really big.." You pant, adjusting to his size as you hold onto a hand wrapped around your waist.

"You feel amazing.." His smaller tentacles swirl around your inner thighs, coating your skin with unknown juices. You decide to try and move. Coming up from his belly, you sink down a little faster than before. You're pretty sure he hit further inside you as you hear him groan loudly.

You feel no more pain, so you try again. And it feels delightful. Oh, he fits perfectly inside you. Encased in your walls for no more than seconds, sliding himself in and out does wonder for the old troll.

You start to lean on his chest, your thighs burn as you slide him in and out. "So good.." You moan out. You guess you started getting sloppy, so he grips your waist as pumps into you hard. You gasp, him hitting inside you so fast felt like something otherworldly, and you guessed it probably applied here.

You clutched onto him as he lifted his hips, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Neither speaks, too consumed with pleasure. You felt your orgasm coming, it was so close. Just a little more.. He hits a spot, and you come. Crying out, it's so powerful tears weld in your eyes. You try and breathe but he keeps pounding into you.

Smaller phalluses saunter upwards, reaching in between your folds. They circle your clit, and you shudder from over-stimulation. He makes somewhat of a honking noise, and you feel a warm sensation engulf you. Softly bucking, he slows down until he's completely done. Knees falling, you both lie in silence and exhaustion. His tentacles fall flaccid.

You lift your hips and feel him slide out, as well as drips of white liquid. You puff out air, not caring to clean up just yet. Hearing a soft click, you realize his sex has been put away, giving you space to fully lay on him.

Caressing his hands over your waist, you lean up and give him a small peck on his cheek. He smiles down at you with an award-winning smile. "We can definitely make this work."

[daydream-believin]

The Never-Ending Roadtrip (St. Louis)

summary: (pt 1) Reader joins Douxie in the quest for Nari’s safety. He’ll need company won’t he? - part 4) Doux and Reader get out of Missouri finally but not before one last stop      (part 5)

warnings: swearing

word count: 6205

a/n: im getting a smidge impatient on my planned mutual pining slow burn as you can see. mmm i want a piece of st louis butter cake. @blixeon​ gets credit for putting the douxie trying to keep y/n away from moppet!douxie idea in my head. its not a big plot point here but idk felt i should still mention it

Douxie stared up at the ceiling with dry, unblinking eyes. There were many interesting cracks in the ceiling, barely illuminated by the light streaming in from the bathroom door. He was wide awake, despite not being able to convince himself to move. He was never a morning person, but once he remembered where he was, it was like someone had poured a bucket of ice water on him. Y/n was no longer clinging to him when he woke up, albeit, she was not even in the bed at all when he woke up. That had gave him a fright before he realized he could hear the shower running. Somehow, this was worse than if she’d still been there when he woke up. This meant she woke, untangled herself from him, and was probably going to pretend like it didn’t happen, since she couldn’t possibly know he stayed awake long enough to know about it. Which, while waking up in her arms would have been a little awkward, at least he would have gotten a conversation out of it. An acknowledgement. Something.

Speaking of the shower, somehow that was doing a number on him too. It was so strange. They’ve lived together for years now; they’ve shared a bathroom for years now. He’s heard her shower so many fucking times. No sweat. These feelings were making him silly. Perhaps it was this fucking room. The domesticity of it all, which was a weird thing to say when you literally lived with said person. Yet, he couldn’t stop imagining that he was waking up in His Home, listening to His Wife get ready for work in the en suite of Their Bedroom. She didn’t want to wake him, how sweet. She was always worried about him getting more sleep. He’d go help her with her hair, braid it for her. His hands would run through her soft hair as he styled it. She’d kiss him on the nose before she left to go make him a cup of coffee while he got ready. She knew just how he liked it. They’d brush their teeth together, every morning, just like they did last night.

Bleeding balroths, last night. What was he going to do about last night. His dumb heart wouldn’t just be able to leave well enough alone, apparently. Does he,,, say something? Perhaps he should wait to see if she says something. That would be,, the safer route. He knew one thing for sure though. He wasn’t going to act like he didn’t love every second of it. He’d made up his mind. His life has been way too long and lonely for him to keep this ‘it’s not like I like you’ act up. And for Merlin’s sake, he had died not even three days ago. He had almost been gone, and would have never known the love of his beloved. And family wasn’t just who you have, it was also who you’re with. And he was with Y/n. She was already his family, so why not be his family? Like he dreamed of? Yes, he was going to come clean. If she said something. Yes.

Suddenly, he was aware of a noise. Someone had just knocked on the front door of the room. Or less of a knocking and more of a rapping. Archie’s ear’s flicked, but he didn’t stir. Douxie held his breath. The rapping stopped, but now whoever it was trying to open the door. Thank Merlin he warded that thing up. It couldn’t open from the outside, he made sure of it. The door handle stopped moving. Doux still made no noise. Hopefully whoever or whatever that was had decided to move on to easier prey.

Y/n combed her fingers through her wet hair. It was the best she could do at the moment. She’d try and braid it back while it was still wet, so it wouldn’t get even worse. Y/n pulled on the same clothes she’d been wearing for a week. Well, actually she had been wearing a medieval dress for most of it, but still. She looked in the mirror. Not bad for someone on the run. But they did need to make a shopping trip. As much as Y/n did not want to waste an entire other day to a store (thanks Kmart), and didn’t want to spend more of their small savings they were living off of, they did need some things. Backpacks to keep their few belongings close, one more set of clothes each so they could have something to be wearing while they wash the other set, maybe some pajama pants would be nice, although nonessential, a couple of toothbrushes that weren’t the motel provided ones, plus a tube of toothpaste, soap, a hairbrush, phone chargers, some emergency food that wouldn’t spoil, some reusable water bottles, a fucking first aid kit even, lots of stuff. It’s not like they were able to pack for this trip. Hell, they should probably get Nari an outfit that would cover up her, eh, forest spirit-ness. Her running around in leaves isn’t exactly helping their conspicuousness. Despite Y/n not wanting to add to that list, she sure was getting cold in her short-sleeved top. She needed a jacket. She’d been borrowing Douxie’s a bit for the last few days, but if she just stole it then he would be cold. She needed one of her own, she supposed.

Y/n walked out of the bathroom. Archie and Nari were still snoozing, but Doux looked like he was awake. He sat up as soon as he realized Y/n had come out. He looked, troubled. And he had every right to be, she thought. He had just suffered the loss of his mentor and died himself. He had been blankly staring at the ceiling when she’d first came into the room. He probably had so much on his mind. Thankfully he had Archie and herself. They’d be there for him, she’d make sure of it. It’d be best to give him some more time to think, though. She didn’t want to push too hard. He’d tell her if he was struggling, she was sure of it. He’d been so open lately. And they’d had plenty of talks in the past about not expressing frustrations in their lives. He hadn’t been too open with her when they first started living together and it had made being roommates stressful at first. It wasn’t a problem anymore though. They’d worked through it, and it had even brought them closer.

She told him it was his turn for the bathroom now. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then quietly nodded as he got out of bed and headed for the shower. Strangely, this inn stay has been the most normal things had been all week. It was almost like they were home. She was back in her routine of waking, getting ready, telling Douxie it was his turn to get ready. He was so sweet, he always let her have the bathroom first. So chivalrous, although, she had a sneaking suspicion it was more of his excuse to sleep in a little longer.

It was nice, living with Douxie. It was the first time she’d been on her own. Or, well, not on her own per se, since Douxie was there, but at least away from her aunt. Her aunt had practically raised her, but that didn’t mean she was too grateful for it. She felt guilty about that last part, but not too guilty. Her aunt was pretty cold. It was clear that Y/n was just a charity case to her, a beggar who wouldn’t be looked at twice if not for blood relation. She hadn’t even bothered telling Y/n about their family’s magic until Y/n had stumbled face first into it herself. And even then, she only taught Y/n a minimal number of spells, just enough to control it, so she could successfully hide it. Didn’t need some troublesome untrained wizard ruining the family name and scaring the party guests. Y/n didn’t even know that wizards were pretty much immortal at a certain point until she noticed it herself. The people she had grown up with were all out there getting their pretty adult faces, and she was stuck with a baby face. Her aunt only told her once she questioned it. She was well past being nineteen now, but was going to be stuck like this forever apparently. What a great way to live.

Of course, she was absolutely thrilled when she found out her new roommate was in the same boat as her in that department. It was serendipity. The whole thing with Douxie was perfect, really. She had heard through her friend who worked at Hextech that someone had put up a roommate ad flyer on the company’s bulletin board and she called right away. She hadn’t been having any luck apartment hunting. She couldn’t afford rent on her own with her bookstore job, and Arcadia Oaks wasn’t exactly a college town teeming with people looking for roommates. A wizard roommate would be perfect, and the price was right. So imagine her surprise when said new roommate also turned out to be her boss. Y/n hadn’t even known he was looking for a roommate, let alone that he was a fellow wizard. His old roommate, Jack, had gotten married and moved out last month, he told her. Y/n was surprised at how very easy it was getting into this agreement too, Doux already knew her so he didn’t even interview her. And she didn’t have to worry about new person awkwardness. It really was serendipity. Of course, it hadn’t been all rosy, as mentioned before, but they were really groovin’ together now.

Y/n stretched out on the bed. She could hear the water running through the wall. It had been so awesome living right above her job. She got to sleep in, and she’d get ready, eat some breakfast, and be able to instantly step into the bookstore. She’d never be late ever again. Or she never was late again. That was a depressing thought. But hey, bright side, now they could have all the fun of starting up a new bookstore. Perhaps she could convince Douxie to add on a tea shop this time too. One that had cute little round tables with pretty gingham table cloths and flower vases, filled with flowers that they grew themselves in the pots on their balcony. They’d make sure the new bookstore had a nice window that was meant for a display but they’d leave as a place for Archie to sleep in and make snarky comments as he watched the people go by. Douxie could paint the letters on the signs and window, he was great at that. It’d be a task, but truly, they had to remake their bookstore. Even if not in Arcadia. A new bookstore they could fill up with love, that’d be an idea Y/n could hold on to.

Stars, she loved their bookstore. She loved the smell. She loved the peaceful homey vibe. She loved the man who owned it. Whoops, forget about that last part. She even loved the quirky characters it drew in. One time, she encountered this really crazy lady, and she wasn’t even sure if this lady was real or if she dreamt her, since she was the only witness. But Mordrax’s miracles, was this lady something. It started normally enough, Y/n picking up the store’s landline.

“GDT Arcane Bookstore! Please state your grievances.” She knew in the back of her mind that she was the only person who found her dumb jokes funny, but she still made them to brighten up her own day. Also to piss off Hisirdoux with her unprofessionalism. He made the same passive-aggressive ‘I’m disappointed in you’ face every time. It was fun.

“Yes, Hello. I would like to know if you carry any children’s books.”

“Yes ma’am, we sure do. A whole section.”

“Great. And are you child friendly?”

“Are we-, child friendly? I-, Yes I suppose we are ma’am.”

“Perfect. And you’re open until eight?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Thank you, young lady.”

The whole phone call was odd. Y/n wasn’t too jazzed about being called ‘young lady’ either. She had mocked the lady as soon as the phone call ended, but she shrugged it off, and had forgotten that the whole thing had even happened as she went about her day. Then, at about seven, this lady rolls up. She was dressed to the nines but like, in an old rich person way. Long fur coat, black dress underneath with pearls around her neck. On one arm, she had a fancy purse covered in the logo of a fashion brand Y/n wasn’t going to admit she recognized. In the other, she carried a large porcelain doll, the size of a five-year-old, which was dressed in a frilly pink dress that remined her of the dresses her aunt used to make her wear. When Y/n greeted her, she recognized the voice as the strange caller from earlier. Y/n got the feeling that some sort of shit was about to go down, and couldn’t wait. If only Archie was here.

Fur coat lady sat her doll down on the old loveseat in the sitting area and asked Y/n to keep an eye on the doll while she went to go pick out some books. Emily could be so mischievous sometimes, she told Y/n. She assured fur coat lady that she’d watch Emily like a hawk. The doll’s painted eyes stared into Y/n’s soul. Fur coat lady came back far longer than Y/n was comfortable with. She asked Y/n if Emily had been a good-mannered girl. Y/n just nodded, not sure if she should be encouraging this, on second thought. Fur coat lady then preceded to read the doll nine children’s books in a row, pausing in between only to ask the doll if she had liked it. Y/n was too baffled to even tell this lady to scram, we aren’t a library, you know. It crept closer to eight, and Y/n was actually dreading what was going to happen when she’d have to kick this lady out, but thank the stars, fur coat lady starts telling her doll about how it was close to its bedtime so they couldn’t read any more stories, aww darn, and they had to go now. She thanked Y/n as she walked out of the door. Y/n flipped that closed sign behind her and quickly retreated upstairs for the night. She’d go make a cup of tea to relax her nerves after that encounter. Y/n had plenty of other wild stories of people who’ve stopped by their bookstore. It was great for conversation at parties.

Y/n loved parties. With Douxie came all his friends, and she didn’t mind that one bit. They were always over whenever Doux had time off. It was so nice; it kept their place lively. Y/n cooked and baked a lot, it was one of those skills her aunt insist she have, and having so many mouths to enjoy her food felt good. And whether it was band practice or game night, she was happy to play hostess. Douxie’s friends were fun to talk to. She suddenly had the freedom to invite her own friends over too. Having so many people around all the time had helped her loneliness big time when she first moved in. Her aunt’s house may have been big, but it was empty. Her aunt threw a fancy party a month, but none of the people there were people worth talking to. It was so cold. Their apartment was warm.

Honestly, as insane as it was to think about, Y/n couldn’t see herself ever leaving Douxie to live on her own anymore. At first, this arrangement was supposed to be a temporary thing until she could find a better job and go off on her own. But somehow along the way, ‘the apartment we share’ became Their Apartment, and the bookstore that she happened to operate with him became Their Bookstore. It was nuts, and also the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to Y/n. It was the home she’d never had. Douxie and Archie were her family. Way more so than her aunt ever was. It was beautiful, magical, marvelous. She no longer worked, she just lived. Hell, she couldn’t even remember the last time Doux had formally assigned her a shift. She was just kind of always there. Which she was glad to do. She loved it. And when it was time to stop working, she’d just head upstairs and get to spend even more time with her favourite person. That is, if he wasn’t on one of his bistro shifts. She felt so safe and cared for. She no longer felt alone.

If Douxie wanted to make that, how you say, a little more official, Y/n wouldn’t be opposed to that. She had a hunch that he had some sort of feelings for her, if his recent actions were anything to go by. Although, just like she didn’t want to push him about the angst feelings, she didn’t want to push him in these feelings either. He’d tell her when he was good and ready. Slow and steady wins the race after all. Besides, if she was wrong and he didn’t have feelings for her, she’d definitely be tossing this good thing they had going out the window directly into the dumpster. She had to admit though, waking up this morning cuddled into him was the loveliest way she’d ever woken up in her life. She could get used to that.

She wondered if Douxie would be a wedding person or an elopement person. Not that she expected him to marry her. But it would be nice. She rolled over and found her phone on the nightstand. There wasn’t any harm in looking at some wedding dresses, right? Just in case. Y/n listened to Nari yawn and shuffle over to the bed. She opened an arm for the forest child who snuggled in, curious at what Y/n was looking at. Y/n tilted the phone for her to see. Nari really liked the poufy dresses. She’d point excitedly to the one’s she thought were pretty while Y/n scrolled. While Y/n wasn’t a fan of big frilly stuff herself, she had to admit, those poufy dresses would make her feel like Cinderella, which was never something she’d have thought appealing, but somehow it was. There were some really gorgeous not poufy ones also, and even a cool black one. Some that Douxie might like too. Y/n leaned more towards those, but wasn’t gonna tell Nari that. The veggie lady sure was having as much fun as her right now, surprisingly. Hopefully she wouldn’t blab any of this to Hisirdoux though.

Speak of the devil, he came out of the bathroom and sat on the end of the bed. Y/n quickly closed the app she was scrolling through. She sat up, taking Nari with her. Archie yawned and stretched, after sensing movement in the room. He moved from the chair into Douxie’s lap. After giving Arch a good scratch behind the ears, Douxie turned to Y/n.

“So, what’s today’s itinerary?”

“I-, wait, why do I have to be the one who decides what we do?”

“Because you’re the one who likes to have a plan when it comes to these things.”

“Fair enough.” Y/n pulled up google maps. If she had known she would have to do this she would have done it while he got dressed instead of fantasizing about their wedding. “Okay, so as much as I hate to say this, but we gotta go back to the store today.”

Douxie groaned as he laid back. His still wet hair was gonna dry funky like this, but he didn’t care. “Fine. We’ll do that in Illinois. We gotta get out of this town before anything else.”

“I agree,” she paused, seeing something that caught her eye. It would be frivolous, but she couldn’t help herself from asking “Ooh! Can we stop in St. Louis?”

“St. Louis?”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun, Douxie. We can go sit in those cafés that people go to in the black and white movies, we can go take a cheesy tourist picture of us by the arch thing, and I’m really craving some St. Louis butter cake now.”

Doux laughed. “Okay, but only for a few hours, Love.” The least he could do was let her have a little down time to relax and have fun after this hell week. Highly populated cities were good for throwing off their scent too.

“Thank you,” she went back to her map, snickering, “And we’ll stop in Effingham to shop.” She snorted.

“Effingham?” Douxie said it correctly, in his proper accent, which was not as amusing.

“Effing. Ham. Baby.” He rolled his eyes.

They booked it out of that motel and out of that town. Douxie all but tossed the room key into the creepy innkeeper’s hands as they rushed out. Back on the boat, safe at last. He ran a mental headcount once they boarded. Y/n always held Nari’s hand when they went places, so they wouldn’t have to worry about her wandering off, but it still made Douxie feel better to go over his tiny mental list and make sure they were both still safe and with him. Archie, he didn’t have to worry about as much. Even if the cat-dragon wandered he’d always come back. He could track Douxie by scent for a hundred miles too. Y/n had a habit of getting lost, though. He had to keep an eye on her. He didn’t need her and Nari off in fairyland where the Order could find and abduct them at any given time.

Douxie’s hair had still been damp when they set off, but the wind took care of that for him. Sure, wind-tousled bangs were in, but not bangs tousled by real wind. He was sure he was rocking it though. He could pass it off as something he did on purpose. People already thought his relatively tame style was outlandish, they’d just think the messy hair was part of the look. His only qualm was Y/n. He didn’t want to embarrass himself to her any further. His Camelot self already inflicted so much damage in that department this week. That moppet with a man bun had messed up spells, quoted sappy poetry to her, bragged about being Merlin’s apprentice, and even tried serenading her with his lute in attempts to impress her. It was mortifying. He had spent the first part of their Camelot adventure distracted by having to keep Y/n away from his younger self. It was not good for the whole ‘save time’ mission. Thankfully, he had Claire there with him, who had agreed to help him once she had buggered the information out of him. Thank Merlin for nosy teen girls. Claire was a godsend.

He had to admit, he was a smidge disappointed that she didn’t bring up the cuddling. Y/n hadn’t even made a joking reference to it in passing. He would have to bring it up then. But when, how? It wasn’t exactly something that would come up in natural conversation.

He watched her, hanging over the ship’s railing again. They passed a field with some cows and she made sure to point at them and say cows. He smiled at that; Y/n always managed to make him smile. He could recall how bad he had felt when Jack left and he thought he was going to have to fire her, his only employee, to keep up with rent. He had asked Zoe if he could put up a flyer in Hextech in a desperate attempt to find someone before that had to happen. And low and behold, among the three answers he got to the ad was miss L/n herself. It was an easy decision really, and it took away the uncertainty since he knew she was someone that he already liked. As a bonus, Y/n didn’t have a familiar of her own that might fight with Archie, because let’s be real, as much as Douxie loved Archie, the dragon-cat wasn’t afraid of stepping on toes. Although, it did feel kind of strange to give Y/n her paycheck and then for her to hand a little more than half of it back to him on rent day. But it just worked.

He remembered the first time he walked by the fridge to see that not only had Y/n added some fridge magnets to the kitchen, but she had taken the time to write a message to him. It, um, was sort of a rude note, meant to tease, an inside joke. Which he thought was funny, he just wished Zoe hadn’t seen it. It was hard to explain, and Zoe never let him hear the end of it. Archie got a kick out of it too. Y/n would switch the message almost daily, and it never failed to make him smile. He still had to deal with his friends seeing them and teasing him about it, but he’d never change her magnet jokes for anything. They would stay there until she replaced them with equally embarrassing messages meant just for him. It felt sweet to know someone was thinking about him enough to come up words meant to make him laugh on a daily basis.

They had just passed by a town called Eureka, which meant they were coming up on St. Louis. Good. Douxie couldn’t wait for lunch. He had the appetite of a winning fat bear these past few days. Probably the stress. That butter cake Y/n had mentioned was sounding so tasty. He could almost smell it. What Douxie hadn’t considered when he agreed to this was that the magic flying ship couldn’t go through metropolitan areas. Well, it could, but it’d be seen. So despite his growling stomach, he wound up taking the ship around the entire concrete jungle of Missouri, staying in the forested areas. He figured he could park the boat over in Illinois, just outside of St. Louis. This added a whole other hour to the trip than he was expecting, but now at least he knew to take large cities into consideration when choosing routes.

After hiding the boat in a heavily wooded area, the four took the bus into downtown. So when Y/n said she wanted to go to an old café from a movie, she had meant a very specific old café from a specific movie. She had told him it wasn’t a big deal and there were plenty of other cafes, but Douxie was gonna get her there by golly. And he did. The happiness written on her face was worth the extra bus miles. And wow, this café had some delicious food. They had salmon, which Archie enjoyed a little more than usual. Said something about paying himself back. As if he paid for anything, being a cat. That St. Louis butter cake did not disappoint. Archie was pretty fond of the cake too. It was too sweet for Nari, though. Y/n savored every bite. Doux watched her, while he ate his own, and it was so cute how smiley this was making her. He’d learn the recipe for this cake so he could make it for her once they got… home.

Douxie was still trying to shake off that depressing thought when Y/n finished up and was already trying to get the move on. Not without getting a picture first, of course. Not satisfied with just the scenery of the café itself, she begged Douxie to pose for her in various spots around it. He obliged, despite his scruffy appearance. She didn’t think he was that scruffy, and what was better than pictures of her favourite person in a cool place she’d always wanted to go. She also snapped one of Archie to post to her cat insta she secretly kept of him. Douxie knew about it, and contributed pictures to it himself, but neither of them were about to tell Archie he was internet famous as archie_the_emo_kitty. These pictures were going to hold good memories in them. All pictures do.

There was one more photo Y/n wanted to get. Silly cliché tourist picture with the gateway arch in the background. She wanted at least one of just her and Douxie, after the group photo. She’d have to somehow get one of Archie too, since she wasn’t about to pass up the chance to make a pun in the caption about Archie being in front of the arch. As she pulled Douxie close to get the picture, she got an idea. She asked him if they could get just one more. He was holding the phone since his arms were longer so he was able to get better angles with them both in it. He agreed, happy to do anything to keep that grin on her face longer. This time, when he leaned down to make their faces closer together, Y/n gave him a kiss on the cheek. The shutter snapped. Look, she wasn’t going to push, but she could nudge. Y/n pulled away and grabbed the phone to look at how it turned out, so cute, and Douxie just stayed there, leaning over, still as a statue, with wide eyes.

“Did you just- k-kiss me?” He didn’t so ecstatic. Maybe she was reading him wrong after all. Okay, time to deny.

“Yeah, it was just a cheek kiss, Doux. It was a cute pose for our picture, see,” She showed him the picture. A perfectly captured moment where they looked so happy. Where her lips would forever be on his still burning face. “Friends do it all the time.”

“Oh. Ah, okay.” That sounded disappointed, and his face wasn’t the picture of joy before, but now he just looked crestfallen. Okay so she wasn’t reading him wrong before. Good to know. She’d,, have to fix this now. She casually grabbed his hand and laced their fingers. That got him looking back up from the ground.

“C’mon, we’ve got about ten minutes to catch the next bus.”

~ ~ ~

Effingham was a quaint place. Y/n had only chosen it for it’s funny name, but it was surprisingly pretty okay. It was home to the world’s largest cross. Which would be cool, for it’s target audience, Y/n supposed. And they had a train depot. Fun. And exactly one singular popular restaurant. Which wasn’t that much more than Arcadia had, Y/n had to give it to them. They were in this tiny little mall, to see about finding some spare clothes. Y/n stopped dead in her tracks to gawk at a store that’s sign identified itself as Rural King. She tugged Douxie’s hand.

“Oh we gotta go in there.”

Douxie took one look at it and shook his head, “Are you really going to drag us into a hunting store just because it has a silly name?”

“No, I guess not,” Y/n took one last look at the place, “Can I at least get a pic of you posing in front of it?”

“Fine.” Douxie suppressed a grin as he complied with her silly request.

Once they got into a real store though, Douxie leaned over to Y/n to tell her something without the clerk hearing. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’ve got an appearance modifier spell I’ve perfected over the years. We’re not actually here to buy anything, just get some inspiration.”

Y/n nodded, fascinated. Well, that’ll take care of the extra spending problems. Now came the fun part, finding a new look for Nari. Speaking of whom, she was over at a rack, trying on those fake fashion glasses without real lenses in them. She looked really cute in every pair she tried on, and they helped obscure her face. Good. She really took a liking to this square tortoiseshell pair. Y/n took a mental note. It was going to be getting cold soon, and plants tend to freeze in the cold, so they took the veggie lady over to go check out the winter coats. Nari picked out a puffer that looked pretty comfy, but she didn’t like that it was red. It reminded her of Bellroc. Douxie assured her that the one he’d make could be any color she liked. Not surprisingly, she wanted it to be green.

Y/n just decided on a simple outfit for herself, consisting of a black and white striped long-sleeved tee, a black short sleeve tee to layer over that, and a classic pair of jeans. It was easy, comfortable, and didn’t draw much attention. A band kid staple too. Nari wanted to be similar to Y/n and also decided on a striped tee and jeans to go under her coat. Now they just needed to find her something to contain that gorgeous head of grass. Y/n glanced over to see Douxie trying on a cap in the hat section. Perfect. They’d make her a hat. It’d be a big hat, but nothing too much.

Douxie actually did buy a couple of backpacks from the shop. Y/n was a bit confused but he told her how for some reason he couldn’t enchant something that was technically an illusion itself so he had to buy physical bags since he wanted to enchant them to be infinite vessels or something. Y/n nodded. This was interesting. She was pretty good at the magic she did know but it was mostly by instinct. No one had really taught her the technical side of it like this. She never really knew how stuff worked, just that it worked. They headed to the dollar store after finishing up with the clothing, which surprisingly, this little mall had in it for some reason. They quickly found all those necessity items they needed and got out of there fast. They were burning daylight after all.

Once back at the boat, greeted by Archie who was glad they came back within a decent time this go around, Douxie got to work. First, he enchanted those backpacks. Y/n watched his every move, fascinated, and taking mental notes. He stuffed the supplies into the bags, making sure each had emergency food and medicine just in case they’d ever get separated. The first aid kits were a great idea, considering he didn’t know much healing magic himself and Y/n could only do a temporary pain relief spell. Having stuff to bandage up wounds in their bags made Douxie feel slightly better.

Y/n filled Douxie in on the specifics of Nari chosen disguise, and he set to work on that. It came out pretty cute. Nari liked her new duds, taking her time to look over herself. Y/n handed the veggie lady her phone with the front facing camera on so Nari could use it as a mirror. She really liked that. Y/n snickered at Nari trying out different angles.

He moved onto Y/n. He didn’t magically fairy godmother her like he did the forest child, he just made her a spare set of clothes to go in that backpack. He made them according to her request, but paused at the tee shirt. “Do you want me to put a logo or something on this?”

Y/n twirled her hair around her finger. “Hmm. I’m thinking, Ash Dispersal Pattern. They’re my favourite band, ever heard of them?”

Douxie laughed as conjured up the tee. He picked one of his favourite designs from past merch. It could be considered vintage now, but it wasn’t that long ago to Doux. He fancied the idea of getting to see her in his merch a lot more now. She did have one of their tee shirts back in the bookstore, but she didn’t wear it often as it was in rotation with other band’s tees. He didn’t have competition anymore, it seems. He grinned as finished up.

“Anything else?”

“Yes, actually. Now that I know you can just magic up clothes for yourself, I would like your hoodie.”

“I can make you a hoodie like thi-“

“No, no, I want the one you’re wearing, thank you. It’s warm and familiar and it smells like you.” She said half-joking, half-serious. “It would make me feel safer.”

Douxie couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In fact some part of him thought he may have just daydreamed that. He wordlessly forked over the hoodie. She took it merrily and put it on, giving it a sniff for good measure. Now he really was daydreaming.

“Thank you, Dewdrop!” Oh, he had a pet name now. He’d hadn’t heard that one yet. Frisky people had called him all sorts of strange and embarrassing things over the centuries. But this one was a first. He guessed it was a play on his name. Dewdrop, ay? That was so soft and sweet. A shiny little dewdrop, the first thing you see in the morning. Ah. It seems that miss L/n was plotting to kill him. She was succeeding.

[nowoyas]

Stop Counting

A/N: day 27 of the Izumonth server collab hosted by @birds-have-teeth​! this one is pretty much just a lovechild of me and my absolute adoration for Skies of Arcadia, an old JRPG and one of my favorite games of all time, hence *sky* pirate instead of just, like, regular pirate Izuku. this fic was initially intended to end with a big old NSFW sequence but I couldn’t make myself like it. if I ever make myself like it I’ll probably post that section as a sequel/alternate ending!

Summary: You are one of many captured by the Empire and forced to work dangerous jobs aboard their ships. Izuku and the other members of his crew raid your ship in search of things to sell and gold to take, and leave with you. (sky pirate!izuku x reader)

Warnings: angst. there’s a sad dog. at this point you can assume if I wrote a fic there is probably swearing somewhere.

Word count: 4700+

Something is wrong.

You don't know what. You can't know what. But the men holding you aboard this ship are running and shouting even more than usual (which is saying a lot). The ship shook about sixty breaths ago, which is becoming less of a good method of time-keeping now that you're starting to feel more scared than you're used to and your breathing is quickening.

You live in this engine room. When you are told, you add fuel to the fire for the men on the ship. You try to keep time. You count your breaths as best you can. Every eleven thousand breaths or so, with steady breathing, you receive food. You sleep only when a guard allows it. You thank the moons that they aren't working you to your total death.

You have worked in this ship for a very long time.

A very long time, and yet, no time at all, because you no longer have a way to tell the time, other than your breaths. And in this very long time, you've never once heard the men running around like this.

Footsteps are approaching your door. Many, lighter than those of the armored men who feed you or guard you. And it isn't time for you to receive food.

So who is approaching your door, you wonder?

The footsteps stop in front of your door, and after a moment, you hear muffled voices.

"I don't know, maybe we can get some extra fuel for our ship while we're here, too."

The voice is unfamiliar. So unfamiliar, in fact, that familiar feelings well up in you. You're no amnesiac: you remember what life used to be like for you, what the sky looked like, how it felt to talk and have friends and family, though you've long forgotten who those friends and family were. Most importantly, you remember hearing stories of (and even once meeting!) rogue pirates who raid Empire ships.

Empire ships like the one you have lived on for so long you only mostly remember what it felt like to gaze upon the moons.

"I think you're wasting time. How are we going to get the door open, anyway?"

"I-I think I can pick the lock!"

Your body moves without thinking, and you nearly launch yourself at the door, raising your fists to pound against the metal as you search for your voice. "A-are you guys rogues? Please get me out of here! Please!" The strain on your throat forces you to cough, and you fall to the floor, landing roughly on your knees as you cough up a lung from sheer stress.

"Someone's in there!"

"I'm working on it!"

You don't realize you're sobbing in your spot, not when the door swings open wide, not until you're being cradled against someone's chest and helped to your feet.

"Hey, you're okay. You're free now. We're taking over this ship."

The dam officially breaks. Clutching at this kind stranger's top, you begin to sob. He struggles a bit in your hold, wriggling around until he's shucked off his jacket and draped it over your nearly bare shoulders. "For now, come with us, and we'll help you decide what to do from there, okay?"

You whimper pathetically, subconsciously snuggling into his hold and his jacket as you look up at his face and nod. Your savior is a man with a boyish face, unruly green hair, and freckles across his cheeks the way you remember the stars. He smiles down at you as reassuringly as he can.

"My name's Izuku. Can you walk?"

Another nod. "I-I don't know the way out," you borderline whisper, voice unbearably hoarse. "I haven't been outside of this room in... a long time."

He nods. "We're gonna gather up some of this ship's fuel. Stay close to me, I'll protect you. The Empire can't touch you now."

~

Izuku Midoriya isn't quite sure how to feel about the latest raid. The Empire ship was full of guards, full of fuel and food, not so full of gold. They took what was valuable, and left.

And then there's you.

This is hardly the first time Izuku's boarded a ship in his time. He's done plenty with his crew, and learned quite a lot. But it never truly hit him just how unjust the Empire was until he found you. You're obviously malnourished, dressed in tattered clothes that barely cover anything important and covered in a layer of grime that stubbornly remained even after your first attempts to clean it off. The girl who'd gone with you to help you wash up must have scrubbed the skin raw, and yet you still look shaken, skin stained from skies only know how long you spent locked in that engine room. Your hair, precariously long from time spent with no way to cut it, has been drawn back into a bun.

Now, while the rest of the crew is drinking and feasting, you stand off in the corner, hands at your sides as you breathe slowly. You're not even watching the fun, eyes closed. Izuku's jacket swamps your malnourished form–how long it must have been since you had a decent meal, and you're just standing in the corner while the others eat.

He's heard stories, sure. The Empire captures people from conquered settlements, usually the healthiest, and puts them to work in manufacturing or dangerous, unfun jobs like adding fuel to ship furnaces. Usually, these people go mad after not much time, or when they're freed, they throw themselves into the sky or refuse to leave the engine rooms. You'd hesitated at first, but once you were out of the room, he kept you close at hand, one point of contact at all times until you were safely below decks of The Crescent.

With a huff, Izuku stands, grabbing a plate of food and walking over to you. "H-hey, um."

You open your eyes, watching him curiously as he thrusts the plate of food towards you in offering. 

"I know it's scary right now, but everyone on the crew really is good. You should eat something, and come sit down, i-if you want? I don't even know your name yet; I'd like to talk to you, if I can."

You look down at the plate of food for a long moment, and then back up to him. You speak in a meek voice, so quiet and hoarse that he has to lean in to hear you. "[Name]..."

"[Name]," he repeats, testing it on his tongue. "Your name?"

"I think so. It's been... A very long time. Since I had one."

"It's a good name. D-do you want to come up to the deck with me to eat? It's probably been a while since you saw the sky, and I bet these guys are pretty overwhelming when they're drinking."

"Okay, I-Izuku."

Without another word, you follow him up to the deck of the ship. He'll get you out of your shell yet.

~

Before long, you find yourself cleaning the ship whenever you can to help out. You've been aboard the Crescent for a week now—Izuku is sure to check in on you often, and with his help, you've started to integrate yourself into talking more with the rest of the crew, and last night, you even ate with everyone. After a week of baths and attempts to scrub yourself clean of engine room grime, you finally feel clean, light in a way you're sure you've never experienced. 

Some of the crew members banded together to find you a full outfit to wear instead of your previous rags–you look rather like a street rat wearing a rogue's clothes now, instead of your previous pure rattiness. Izuku hasn't asked for his jacket back, and so it remains with you, a strange source of comfort as you find new places on the ship to hide.

Right now, though, you aren't hiding. When Izuku comes looking for you, he finds you cleaning the bridge, eyes glued to the sky rather than your work. It's a cool night–a sniff of the air suggests incoming rain.

"Hey, [name]," he says as he approaches. He's learned quickly to approach slowly—you tend towards the startled animal around sudden noises, and no one wants that. You nod your acknowledgement. "The Captain's looking for you. You should get inside, anyways, I think it's gonna rain soon."

You stand, tearing your eyes away from the sky regretfully. "I-I see."

"Sorry to tear you from your stargazing." He offers an apologetic smile, which you take with your usual nod. "It must be strange, to be able to just look at the sky after everything that's happened to you."

"Mm. It's prettier than I remember. I missed it."

"You seem to be recovering well, though! I'm impressed by how well you're doing already."

"Recovering," you breathe. "Right."

You find the captain in his own cabin, where he's poring over some maps and marking something down that you don't know enough about to comment on. He looks up at your intrusion, and instinctively, you step closer to Izuku. 

You're not sure how to feel about the captain. Sometimes, he's larger than life itself, loud and showy. When he's not, it's as though he compensates, becoming small, sharp, and calculating. No matter how he's acting, he looks at you in a way that scares you even though there's always compassion there. Granted, you feel vaguely uncomfortable around literally everyone aboard the Crescent, but somehow it's worse around Captain Yagi.

"Ah, [name], come in!" He seems to be in his soft-spoken mode—you stay rooted to the spot, hands coming up to pull your jacket tighter around your shoulders. Izuku telegraphs his movements, placing a hand on the small of your back to help you understand that you're being asked to come stand at the table with Captain Yagi.

'What did you ask to see me for?', you want to say. Instead, you manage a painfully quiet, "you looked for me."

He nods sheepishly. "Please, sit down. Izuku, my boy, you may stay if you wish. If I'm not mistaken, [name] seems a bit more comfortable with you around."

The two of you take your seats, and Captain Yagi sits across from you. "Now then. I'm not sure how much you've been told, [name], but typically, when we find captives such as yourself aboard Empire ships, we try to return them to their homes or, if we can't, bring them someplace to start a new life. But, from what I've heard from the other crew members, you don't have any place to go, is that right?"

You nod, biting your lip. Your eyes scan the map on the table. None of it looks remotely familiar to you. "I don't remember enough. Um... Maybe a harbor town. There were lots of boats. But that was so long ago, even if I were to return, I don't remember anyone who was there."

He sighs. "I figured you might have spent too long in captivity to remember much. Did they ever once let you out of that room?"

"If I wanted to eat, I had to go wait in the side room I slept in until they put my food down and left."

Izuku's eyes flash in recognition. "Are you talking about that broom closet in the engine room? You slept there?" he asks, his voice pitching with anger.

You cringe, moving to hide in your jacket. "I'm sorry."

The hand resting on your back smooths over carefully in small circular motions. It's almost calming. "Hey, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the people who did that to you. You're okay."

"I apologize if I've brought up unpleasant memories, child. We could use someone aboard the Crescent to help keep things clean, and our cooks could use the helping hand. If you're aboard the ship, you help out. That's our main rule. If you'd like, we can let you onto our crew for a time, so you can leave if we happen to find your old home to return to."

"Okay."

"My boy, young [name] here is the most comfortable around you. Can I formally ask that you show them the ropes and help them get accustomed to the ship?"

"I can help with the engines if you need it," you say. "If the Crescent has a similar engine."

He smiles, shakes his head. "No, my dear. If possible, we'd like to keep you from ever entering an engine room again. You've spent quite enough time around them, for sure."

"Oh. Alright. Thank you, Captain."

"If I may ask, how often did those Imperials actually feed you? You don't have to answer, I'm just curious."

"Every eleven thousand breaths," you reply automatically. "If I was lucky. Sometimes, they forgot."

"Eleven thousand... Breaths?"

You nod. "I keep steady breathing. I needed some semblance of time. No natural light in the engine room. So I count my breaths, always. The people on this ship seem to sleep after around six thousand, seven hundred breaths, based on what I've seen. Eleven thousand breaths seems to be about one day cycle."

"You're still counting?" Captain Yagi raises an eyebrow.

"Yes. It's... A little compulsive at this point. I start over at eleven thousand, make a mark on the wall of my sleep room to keep track. Or did."

Izuku shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "[Name], the walls of that room were covered in marks. I don't think any of us could have counted how many there were, even if we did have the time. Were those the number of days you spent there?"

"I'm lucky," you say, shrugging. "One of the others said that on other Empire ships, you're lucky to be fed half as often."

"Well, you can stop counting now. You're free to do whatever you want, so long as you offer us a helping hand as you have been, and we eat several times a day."

For the longest moment, you don't respond. You simply watch Captain Yagi's face in disbelief. You're not sure what to do with freedom.

"Did you hear me, [name]?"

"Yeah. I can stop counting. I can finally... Stop counting."

~

It isn't long before Izuku begins teaching you your way around a sword in his spare time. You blend in to the crew beautifully, and as time goes, you begin to actually fill your clothes and your skin, starting to occupy any amount of space in the room. You come out of your shell, start to wear Izuku's jacket instead of hiding in it. You come ashore when they stop at various islands, never straying far from the crew, but you never recognize the places that you're taken to. After several months, you ask to join in on a raid, your skills with a sword becoming admirable, and captain Yagi agrees to let you take part.

The raid goes swimmingly. In celebration and to fence off the goods retrieved from yet another Empire ship, the Crescent docks at a harbor town Izuku told you was one of his favorites to visit.

The moment you step off the ship, you know where you are. The streets are familiar, the faces moreso, but you're not delighted at your return home. You let your hair (having been cropped short for function some time ago, but still more than long enough) fall in your face, keep your eyes on your feet, and stick close to Izuku as always.

"About three years back, the Empire hit this place pretty hard," Izuku says, walking you down the streets. The buildings around you aren't quite as familiar; they're in the wrong places, the wrong colors, too new and too... different. "That was right after my first time visiting here. We had no idea until months later, when we came back to re-visit and the place had been nearly burnt to the ground."

Your voice doesn't want to come when you call on it to respond, as though speaking will break the magic and send you all the way back to the engine room. Still, you must respond. You don't want to be rude, even if Izuku has been nothing but patient and caring with you. "Did you ever find out what happened?"

"We got the general gist of it, but there's not a lot to tell." Izuku's brow is creased with something a lot like pain that quickly fades away when he continues to speak. "The Empire heard this was a place that was friendly to pirates, and they decided to show them what happens to pirates and their friends. If you've ever questioned what we're doing, going against the Empire... this is a pretty good reminder of why."

"Right." Faces come up in your memory, dusty from disuse, but some of them almost seem to match those you see in market stalls, selling fruit to strangers.

"It's been amazing, watching this place rebuild since then. They've got a lovely little community here, y'know? We've been helping when we can, sometimes when we board we help out with labor or money, if they need it. Every time I come back, they've fixed up a different building or there's new faces settling down. One thing hasn't really changed since they started rebuilding, though."

Izuku comes to a stop at the end of a street, and you feel your chest restrict at the sight. What he's looking at, and now what you're looking at, is the rubble of what was once a very familiar house. You can almost see the house that used to stand there, simple and unassuming but so much like home. You can almost see a younger sibling running out of the door, one of the few remaining things standing among the rubble.

"[Name]?" 

Izuku watches as you step forward, almost in a trance as you stand in the rubble and trace your fingers along what's left of the walls, what used to be a living room, still with a dusty old chair sitting near a fireplace in near-perfect condition.

"[name]? Are you okay?" Izuku asks, following you into the remains of the house.

"What do you think happened to the people who used to live here?" you ask, voice quiet. Quiet even for the you that's timid, even for the you that's waiting for everything to go wrong again.

He frowns. "There was no one willing to rebuild this house. I remember hearing the daughter was dragged away aboard an Imperial ship, but I never heard anything about the rest of the family."

A sudden bark snaps both of you out of your somber mood, followed shortly by your own shriek as a large, fluffy dog tackles you to the ground. "H-hey! Get off of me!" you whine, pushing the torrent of fur and drool off so you can sit up.

"Are you alright?" Izuku asks as he helps you up, brushing dust off you carefully.

"Harley! Harley, where did you run off to?" a familiar voice calls. A painful, familiar girl enters the room—you know her face, know her voice too well. You let your hair fall in your face and pull your jacket around your shoulders, keeping your eyes locked on the dog. "Oh? What are you two pirates doing in the old [surname] house? There's nothing here for you."

Izuku steps forward. Looking at his back, you almost feel calm. "Sorry, my friend wanted to explore a bit. We didn't mean to intrude."

The girl sighs—you can't remember her name. Why can't you remember her name? "Sorry about Harley. His family owned this place, so I think he gets protective of it."

"What happened to his family?" you ask, instinctively forcing your voice into a lower tone than normal.

She frowns, eyes roaming the mottled walls, the broken-down furniture. "My best friend and her family used to live here. We're not sure where they are now, honest. They all got taken away or killed during an Empire raid."

Your stomach flips. "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe they're still alive out there." Harley jumps up, placing his paws on your waist and barking. You pet his head to soothe him.

"We've got graves for all of them. Everyone knows no one comes back after the Empire takes 'em, after all. There's no bodies for them, but we left this house up to honor them. A reminder, I guess. Of what we're fightin' for."

But I came back, you want to say. I'm here, not in a grave, not fallen into the sky. I'm here.

You don't respond. Izuku apologizes to the girl again, and when she goes to leave, Harley whines and stays by your side.

"Harley, come on," she insists. Harley whines again, licking your hand and following her to the door. The large dog pauses, looking back at you with sad eyes, before finally turning and leaving.

~

The crew stays in the town overnight. You find yourself sleepless and restless as you stare at the ceiling of the inn. You need a better view if you're going to relax.

You throw on your clothes and go for a walk.

The night is cool, and although you've grown a little dependent on Izuku's presence, these streets are familiar. You know why, now, without a degree of doubt.

You lived here once. Your feet take you, aimlessly, but perhaps not so aimlessly, to the orchard, without need for lights or a map. It's intrinsic to you—you never had much cause to visit the orchard itself, but you can almost remember making this walk before, the memory brushing against your fingertips. A hundred and twenty breaths finds you standing in a secluded overlook filled with fruit trees, each tree bearing a plaque with a name and age.

Natural headstones.

The headstones bear fruit. The fruit feeds the town for free, and, thanks to the Empire raid, there's likely enough fruit to trade, too. The dead are cremated, their ashes used to bolster the growth of the trees, and they continue to support the community while the community honors them.

Your grave is easy to find. It's the first among a stretch of trees of similar age, bearing [favorite fruit] even now. They're even ripe—you delicately pull one off, reading the plaque with a somber glance as you rub the fruit clean with your sleeve. 

[Full Name]

Age 24

Taken away in an Empire Raid.

With a sigh, you venture to the back of the orchard, where the overlook provides a beautiful view of the sky. The horizon stretches out endlessly, dotted occasionally with distant islands. You never dreamed you'd actually get to be part of that horizon someday. You're not sure you wanted it the way you eventually got it.

"I kinda thought I'd find you here."

You don't turn to greet him, leaning on the fencing with a sigh. "Izuku. Shouldn't you be getting some rest?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Me neither." You wonder if you should tell him. Surely Izuku could sort through the conflict bubbling in your heart. Instead, you offer him the [favorite fruit] you picked without an explanation. "Do you want to see the most peaceful place in town?"

"It's not the graveyard?" he asks. He accepts the fruit, slipping it into his pocket.

You shake your head. "No. There's a place to stargaze near here."

"Lead the way." He raises an eyebrow, expression almost not visible under the dark of night. The light of the moon guides you, and you take Izuku through a small cave not far from town. It leads out into a small grotto, not a sign of human life in sight, simply grass and the light of the moon and the stars filtering through an opening overhead. 

"Wow," he exhales, staring up at the sky. "This place is beautiful."

You nod. "Did you want to talk about what's keeping you up?"

"Well, for one thing, I got worried," he admits. "About you, I mean. Ah! N-not that you can't take care of yourself or anything like that. You've just been... Off, today. I was just gonna check on you, since you were off to sleep before most everyone got back from the tavern, but then you... Weren't there."

"Thanks for worrying about me." You take a seat in the grass, which quickly becomes laying down. Izuku lays on his back next to you, and you begin to watch the stars. "...can I ask you kind of a weird question?"

"Mm?"

"What... What do you want to do?" You're unsure of yourself even in asking the question, but you ask it all the same.

"R-right now, or in general?"

"In general."

He exhales a sigh, only the moon could tell you why, and answers thoughtfully. "I want to captain my own ship someday. Someday soon. Captain Yagi is amazing, but when I look at you and I look at towns like this, I can't help but feel like we need to do more. We may have stopped one ship in a raid, but how many more do you think there are?"

"Thousands," you answer. "Tens of thousands, even."

"I want to get my own ship, and take out the problem from the top. The Empire hurts so many people, more than it helps."

"I'd go with you," you say. 

He sighs. "I don't think I'd like to risk you like that. Are you sure you'd be able to handle it?"

"I'm strong, you know. Usually, the people they take don't survive, right? They never return to their hometowns. But I'm here. I returned."

The smallest gasp leaves him, eyes flicking to you. "Are you saying—"

You nod quietly. "This isn't the first time I've been here. I know these streets, know these people. They even planted a grave for me, with my name on it."

"[name], that's great! You can finally go home, you can—"

"I don't want to."

And there it is.

Just saying the words feels like a punch to the gut, but for some reason, you keep going. "You've been so kind to me, always looking out for me, teaching me how to fit in to the crew and act like a pirate. You've helped me a lot, and my days are better because you are always in them. I don't want to go back. My family was taken by the Empire, and I... I don't have anything to go back to. I don't even remember who I was the last time I was here."

"[name]..."

You drag your eyes from the stars to Izuku, sighing as you find within yourself what you need to admit—to yourself, to him, to the world as you know it.

"I want to stay with you. I want to sail the world with you, fight back against the Empire that ruined my life but gave me a new one at your side. I don't remember much about myself, but I know I always longed for adventure. And now adventure's here, but the Captain probably wants me to return to my home. I don't belong in a sleepy little harbor rebuilding from the rubble, Izuku. I belong in the skies."

He's silent for a long moment. When he speaks, one warm hand searches for yours, fingers slotting among your own with a gentle squeeze. "H-how do you mean you want to stay with me?

"I'd follow you to the depths of the sky, to the farthest reaches, if only you'll let me." You squeeze his hand back. "Not because you're the one who eventually saved me. You're an amazing person. One who cares. I don't know if you'll ever stop caring, not before you die. I'll stay by your side in whatever capacity you'll have me."

"T-then... Can I kiss you?" He props himself up on one elbow, moonlight casting an almost ethereal glow on him.

You nod, and he closes the distance between you, letting go of your hand to gently caress your cheek. 

One small kiss turns to two. Two quickly becomes uncountable, until you're melting and gasping beneath him, his lips trailing your jaw, your neck, along the neckline of the jacket you're wearing (his jacket, always his jacket), until he's forced to pause.

"How far do you want to take this?" he whispers, as if there's any reason to keep quiet. 

You press a sweet kiss to his lips, threading a hand through his hair. "Didn't I already say that I'd follow wherever you'll lead me?"

Tags: @tooloudarts​ @sapid-rose​ @xxangelpridexx​ @birds-have-teeth​ @icythotsenpai @warmchoccymilk @wesparklebitch @izoodles​ @fujimoribaby​ @my-bnha-things​ @denise-the-death-goddess​ @themerpenguin​ @sincerebubbles​ @fudobaby​

[purplerose244]

Irrational - Chapter 5: I love you too much

HELLOOOOOOO!!! 🤩🤩

Here comes the fifth day of @spacecampweek with what is probably my favorite fic of the bunch! Little song-fic but not really situation in a normal world AU, where Krel is about to confess his feelings in a special way! 💕💕💕

Enjoy!! 😙

Summary: Prom is here at last, a night of entertainment, of happiness, to celebrate changes and the future. What better moment for Krel to finally express feelings that have been hidden for so long? Time to put those guitar lessons to some use...

Read it on the AO3

It was happening. No more holding back, no more thinking rationally about his chances without concluding a thing. Tonight, everything was going to change.

Prom had turned out to be an absolute oxymoron to walk into, between his deep appreciation for parties and his unsettledness at dealing with other people of different temperatures – or ‘cool’, as they liked to call themselves. Everyone was dancing like crazy, that was very good, and everyone was talking loud about nonsense, that was very not good. Adding to the unpleasantries was the music playing onto the stage, something pulsing yet in a hardly dynamic way. If this was another night, he would have liked to teach these people what real music sounded like and propose himself as a DJ, to properly say goodbye to Arcadia Oaks High. Then again, in another delson he would have not worn these kind of flashy clothes – he had lost the chance to call this a normal night the moment he had exited his house wearing a bow.

There was a lot of movement in the middle of the room, and in the middle some familiar faces. He could spot Jim’s questionable moves while Claire was laughing loudly with red cheeks, he could see Toby doing some robot moves while Darci danced along him, he managed to notice Aja spinning all over, between a super smiling Steve and an extremely radiant Eli.

It looked like they were all having fun, so much fun. Krel wasn’t… not yet.

“Hey Clint.”

He almost snorted at the sudden voice.

“Mary, I know you know my name at this point.”

“Whatever Kurt, whatcha up to?” The queen of the bees appeared in front of him, all sparkly in her pink shock dress. “Hank got all handsy, Dean is being shy, and that cute guy from Arcadia Oaks Academy that snuck in is being difficult. I’m up for some juice and it looks like you’re up to something.” And the queen of gossip too as well. She grinned at him, clearly playful. “Could it be you’ll stop being a wuss, at last? That would be nice!” He didn’t deny it. for a second. Big mistake, her eyes immediately widened, like she got struck by absolute knowledge. “Don’t tell me-”

He covered her mouth, realizing midway there that there was no point, the music was so loud it silenced everything. Despite that, he couldn’t bring her to say it. Not yet.

“Perhaps… maybe.”

Mary’s eyes turned into stars. She quickly wiped his hands off her.

“O-M-G, finally, I’ve been waiting for this for so long! Ha, I knew you were going to be the one to do it, Darci owes me five dollars! So does Logan! Pff, why was everyone betting on the space dork anyway… hey, what’s wrong?” She was perceptive. It happened after knowing each other for a couple of years. “Cheer up Kai.”

He laughed again. His chest felt like it was exploding, but in a good way. Seklos and Gaylen, for how long he had postponed what he was about to do, blaming time, work and consequences? It was terrifying in a way that was almost pleasant. Maybe. Perhaps.

“I am fine.” He swallowed, because of course the moment he had scanned the entire party, he had noticed it right away. Or rather, he had noticed a lack of him. “He… he is not here though.”

“He’s probably still bummed that he got into that accounting college his grumpy dad wants him to go but still doesn’t know about the engineering one.” Krel was holding his breath about that one too. Seamus had promised to be roommates in that case. Was it going to be weird if tonight wasn’t going to turn out the way he wanted? Was he going to be awkward around him? “Alright, I can smell burning thoughts, hashtag stopbeinganerd! You’re telling me you’re going to do it and I wanna know how, where and when, and if you try to chicken out now, I swear I’m gonna smash your precious guitar!” She sure knew how to get him riled up.

For the first time since he had come to this decision, Krel smiled, thinking of the backstage, the phases he had prepared into his head. He looked up, shaking his head.

“I believe that would be counterproductive for my plan.”

Mary’s mouth popped open, and if that wasn’t satisfying.

“No.”

“Kleb yes, I am not holding back.”

“That’s gonna be the bomb but you better don’t swoon anyone else, you dang charmer! I have all boy dates tonight and I wanna keep them focused on me only!” She giggled, patting his shoulder. “Just go for it, okay? You’re cool, even when you’re being a nerd.” It was as good of an encouragement as he could get right now. “Just wait until your dorky prince charming arri- Oh this is too perfect.” She was smirking, so much her makeup was scrunching up a little.

Krel didn’t have to turn around to know. He did it anyway.

What a view. This prince really wasn’t above physical appearance as he had first thought when he had arrived in Arcadia, powered by his absolute intellect, rationality, and general annoyance towards social interactions with amoebas. It had taken him a while, a whole while, to accept that even someone like him could get this soft inside.

Give then right time, and the right person.

Seamus was radiant, with the black jacket and the blue tie, with the polished shoes and the pulled back hair. From the relaxed eyes the discussion with his dad must had ended without a punishment, and he was actually smiling. Everything, he was so absolutely everything it made Krel choke up.

Mary was arching an eyebrow, although she most likely know what was going on. The prince swallowed, almost choking again, trying to keep his composure as usual.

Failing.

“… and… and you are absolutely sure…?”

“What in the world, Ken, yes! Yes he is completely head over heels for you, yes if you confess you bet your perfect grades he’s gonna reciprocate, yes the moment he will hear what you’ve prepared for him he might as well take a ring out of his pocket and propose in the middle of the dance room!” He grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a little. “You two are the absolute worst! C-bomb has actual guts to ask Jimmy Jam out, Darci and her Tobypie went for it naturally, even Steve is an idiot sometimes but not at dating and Aj and Eli practically gravitate around him! But you!!” She grabbed his collar, her stellar eyes turning into black holes. “You two are pining messes that I’m absolutely done with! So, I swear, Krel Tarron, if you don’t get on that stage and finally confess, you won’t have to make plans for college because this will be your last dance. Ever.” She could had stopped the threat at his actual name. That alone would have done it. Mary gave him the ‘I’m watching you gesture’, before backing down into the crowd without getting her eyes off.

Krel swallowed, nodded, watching her disappear into the party. Despite the dread of being murdered in cold blood being quite intense and even impressive, it was quickly washed away, as soon as Seamus looked at his direction with those blue eyes of him. There it was, that urge, that need to impress him somehow. It was their thing, the fulcrum of their rivalry that hadn’t stopped, even after years. The need to make the other break their mask of pride and turn it into amazement.

Bold enough, the prince grinned, winking at him. The way the blonde gaped warmed his heart. Was that pink on his cheeks? The lights were too strong and colorful, it was hard to tell.

Was it important? Not really. It was now or never.

Making his way towards the stage was a challenge itself, luckily his dancing skills were not to be ignored and swirling around these random kids was pretty easy and entertaining. The band was playing a pretty energetic movement, there was a keyboard player going absolutely nuts and a drummer doing their best. There was definitely something that could had been done to improve the whole performance – perhaps a few remixes on a DJ board, just saying –, but they were really into it. It almost felt bad going up there and show his own abilities.

Then again, Krel didn’t care.

He had a mission. With that determination in mind he immediately went behind the curtains of the stage, finding familiar locks of blue hair monitoring the situation. Having Douxie as the responsible one was still unusual, even though the ripped off pants and the numerous studs all over his suit were more likely. It probably wasn’t enough for him, he was tapping his foot over and over.

Krel cleared his voice, the older one turned, turning the frown into a smile.

“Krel, how’re you liking the show?” He snorted.

“Fine…” He really couldn’t help himself, it was too easy. “Would be better with some metal rock in it.” The smile was gone. Krel snorted again.

“Really, you’re going to put salt on it like that? Zoe already gives me a hard time because I didn’t get the Ash Dispersal Pattern to play here, don’t you get in the way too!” He turned to the band with a frown, shaking it. “‘Your music might not be a good example for the students’, fuzzbuckets, how old do you think these kids are?? Besides, how is techno a better alternative? Those moppets, I swear…” He muttered something under his breath, a curse most likely, then he sighed. “Alright, I’m fine. Extremely salty, but nothing a drink can solve later. I’m guessing you’re here to ask me something?” Perceptive. All of his friends had to be with him.

“Something like that, yeah…” He breathed in and breathed out, he was absolutely going for it but it didn’t make any of this easier for him. “Alright, I need a favor?”

Douxie smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh yeah? You need a favor from this random guy who got nominated supervisor as cold comfort for not having his band play tonight? Little old me?” He snickered, shaking his head. “Should have thought before you came here to mock, shouldn’t ya?”

“Hisirdoux…”

“Nope, can’t let this one go, I’m out of patience tonight and I need to get at least one gratification. How about you apologize to me? I’ll even help, start with ‘You are the best guitarist I’ve ever known’ and… whoa, wait, what are you doing?” Was it a bluff? Krel was bowing already, but perhaps his brain was messed up tonight. “Dude, how are you actually doing it? What is this favor all about?” Oh. Right. He was the most prideful person on the planet. He had almost forgot.

Krel straightened up, shrugging a little. From the tone of the current song, it seemed that this band was almost done. He peaked from behind the curtain. Seamus was talking with Steve, giggling a little. The prince couldn’t help clenching his hand around the shirt over his chest. Ah, he wanted this, he wanted all of this.

He felt a familiar wave of warm. He turned back to the guitarist, and Douxie was gaping, blinking several times. It was probably clear.

“I want to make an exhibition.” His honey eyes widened.

“… yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“… alright then.” Douxie smiled, pointing at the backstage with his head. “Prepare yourself Lover Boy, I’m announcing you right after this.” If it wasn’t to preserve what was left of his pride, Krel would have hugged him. “Is it DJ Kleb time?”

Krel moved a few steps towards the back. He stopped.

“No,” He turned to the guitarist, smirking. “It is Krel time.”

 ***

 “Alright, give it up for ‘The Raise of the Titans’! Amazing performance you guys, can’t wait to properly see you on Wednesday!” Douxie always looked confident on stage, he was born to have the attention of a public. It was something he and Krel had in common. Right now though, there was only one look the prince wanted all for himself. “Hope you’re having a blast tonight! How’s prom going?” A cheer followed. “That’s great, because we have a special exhibition right now. A special song, for a special someone! Give it up for Krel Tarron!”

The wood under his feet made a sound after every step, it was drowned by the voiced in the crowd. It made him smile thinking how many people were going to be surprised by his presence, his appearance, and especially him appearing with a guitar instead of his beloved keyboard. There was a single stool in the middle of the place, with a microphone already adjusted for his high. He thought that really needed to thank Douxie after this, for everything, as he sat down with the instrument on his lap. He had accorded it while he was in the backstage, but out of habit he did it again, the sound reverberating into his mind. It was like a reality check, a call to the place, as he finally looked up to the public.

Aja looked close to crying, absolutely overjoyed. Mary was smirking so much her cheek looked like it was being pulled. Steve looked absolutely astonished. Toby was grinning impossibly wide. Eli had his glasses shining and a bit smile. Jim had amazed eyes over him. Claire looked ecstatic. Darci was giving him a thumbs up. Everyone was there, everyone.

And then there was him. Him, adorably confused and starstruck.

Krel grinned. I hope you are ready for this, you math blonde.

“This song is for a dear person to me. I have never been able to express my feelings properly before. I have never been particularly good at.” He let another note fill his silence, it made him smile again. “But I will not shy away from it, not anymore. I went through everything with you, high school, my problems, your problems, math and space and everything between,” There was no doubt, not anymore. “I want to go beyond now.”

His mind was peaceful, his body was burning. It felt like he had never been more alive before. His fingers knew what to do, that song was a part of him. He just took a deep breath, and let the music take over.

 I love you too much

To leave without you loving me back

I love you too much

Heaven’s my witness and this is a fact

I know I belong, when I sing this song

There’s love above love and it’s ours

‘cause I love you too much

 It used to be just him, his mind, and his sister. Them against the world, with a mother that wanted her to be proper, with a father that wanted him not to be him. Everything had turned out so badly at first without them, and so not badly after, to the point he had managed to make an actual life away from Cantaloupia. Then, the escape had become home. Then, it he had become the place where he had met the only guy that was ever going to make him feel.

It used to be just him, his mind, and his sister. Now it was him and his sister, friends and family, a home and the world, and so many feelings in between. This was the right place, this was the right time, this was the right guy.

It used to be just him, his mind, and his sister. Now he could hardly imagine himself without the blonde in the picture, the one that could cloud his mind and fill his heart.

 I live for your touch

I whisper your name night after night

I love you too much

There’s only one feeling and I know it’s right

I know I belong, when I sing this song

There’s love above love and it’s ours

‘cause I love you too much

 The two of them weren’t the easiest people to deal with, their lives weren’t the easiest lives to deal with. It had been because of a cruel game of destiny or a lucky shot from faith that they had found each other, Krel at Seamus’ door whenever he felt like he didn’t matter, and Seamus at Krel’s whenever he felt like exploding? Was it bad that in their worst some of their sweetest moments together were born? Was it bad that overwise they might had not become this much of friends?

They were living in a world that was cruel and unforgiving, with people even less likely to welcome them. Krel liked to think that by knowing each other, they had managed to overcome that obstacle, and meet also the people that were fine. That were okay.

They were okay. He was okay.

He had never forgotten that one moment of them, not once.

 Heaven knows your name I’ve been praying

To have you come here by my side

Without you a part of me is missing

Just to make you my own, I will fight

 The song was a tragically familiar one. During the worst of his pining, when he thought he was never going to be good enough for him, when he thought that he didn’t deserve to feel something this pure and breathtaking, this had always been the song. Shannon had taught him the first notes after she had gifted him the guitar after a curious sequence of events, and then Douxie had taken over teaching him all he had needed to know. It was all so familiar now he hardly had to think about how to move, where to put his fingers, if it was too strong or just okay. It was cheesy in a way he never thought he could possibly be, with feelings he never thought he could have.

Aja had always listened from her room, he knew she had even though she had never said it, because before going to sleep the same delson she had always come to hug him. Mary had always told him that playing a love song to cure his – stupid – pained heart seemed a little counterproductive. Maybe she was right. But even if everything was to end tonight, he didn’t care.

He liked love. He loved love. He loved Seamus.

 I know I belong

When I sing this song

There’s love above love and it’s ours

‘cause I love you too much

 Caught by the sudden burst into his chest Krel stood up, almost making his stool fall down. He didn’t care. Right there the crowd’s cheering came to his ears, and despite how much he wanted to scan the place and look for that familiar strawberry blonde mane in between, he forced himself not to. Not yet, not until he said everything, not until he was sure he had delivered everything he had inside. He shushed his mind and let the rest of his body sing.

 I love you too much!

I love you too much

Heaven’s my witness and this is a fact

You live in my soul, your heart is my goal

There’s love above love and it’s mine, ‘cause I love you

There’s love above love and it’s yours, ‘cause I love you

There’s love above love and it’s ours, if you love me…

… as much

 When the last note left his instrument, an urge to cry mixed to an absolute pride took over. He did it, he actually did it. In his mind the song was still echoing, beautifully in the open as it was always supposed to be played. He was drained and so, so happy.

Then, as his head finally allowed in something other than exhaustion, it finally hit him the amount of people that was watching, and how crazy there were going with that applause. It was reverberating all over, he was surprised he noticed it only now. Steve was holding onto Eli and Aja, every single one of them looked close to tears. Mary was shouting something to one of her current dates, pointing at the stage then back at her, probably something like “I know him, he’s my friend, he’s cool because I’m cool, good old Kevin”. Toby was jumping up and down, with Darci laughing and applauding. Jim and Claire were holding onto each other, clapping with fervor. It was good, everything was so good right now.

Finally, Krel allowed himself to look.

Right then, his hear broke.

He wasn’t there. Seamus wasn’t there anymore. No blue tie around, no lock of blonde hair, no red freckles in sight. There was no way this prince couldn’t find him, so…

He left. He didn’t stay for him. He didn’t.

“How about that, huh?? Krel Tarron, everyone!!” Suddenly Douxie was by his side, Krel didn’t look at him. It hurt. He thought it wasn’t going to matter, but it hurt. “He will be all over you for autographs and junk later, let him rest for a moment, and welcome the next exhibition of the night!” His arm was onto his shoulders. Krel didn’t move. He didn’t want to. Then he got a squeeze, and he looked up out of pure instinct. Douxie was still smirking, like his heart hadn’t just gotten smashed against the solid ground of the ballroom. He pointed to the exist and Krel, sighing, obeyed.

He crossed the next couple of performers, who patted his back telling him how good he had been. It didn’t feel like a proud moment anymore. It felt like a waste. The guitar was hanging onto him by the lace, luckily, he would have forgotten it on the stage overwise. Krel sighed, putting the instrument down as soon as he was behind the curtains. He could deal with this.

He didn’t want to, but he could. He just needed some time to-

His hold was callous and warm. The prince knew it so well he almost didn’t have to turn. He did. Seamus had his entire face flushed. He looked outstanding.

“Come with me.” His voice was low, almost fearful, and Krel could do nothing other than follow his lead. He was dragged along as they were staying as far away from the crowd as possible, going for the exit. If anyone had noticed them, Krel was sure Steve or Mary would have taken care of them. As soon as they were out of the room, it was silence. The school looked almost dormant like this, without lights around, the abandoned lockers circling the corridors.

It was going to be one of the last times, in this special place.

There was little time for that kind of nostalgia, as they didn’t walk for long anyway. Seamus seemed in a hurry, he was moving forward without a single word. It almost made the prince fear that he had gone too far and had made him mad. Some more uncharacteristic apologies brushed his lips, at least as a precaution, no matter how weird it was going to be.

They died into his throat as soon as he was pressed against the wall. The echo of the music was gone. There were only those impossible blue eyes getting closer and closer and-

Krel would have laughed. He would have laughed in any other occasion, because this guy was rough and prideful and used to be really bad at dealing with his anger issues. Yet he kissed with the outmost gentleness, like he was genuinely afraid of breaking him, like he was terrified that at any point something was going to wake them up from this dream. Krel wanted to hold onto this dream. He held onto him, hands reaching for his shoulders, then up into his hair. They were not fluffy at all. Again, he would have laughed if he wasn’t this overwhelmed by the fact that this was happening, that Seamus was kissing him and it was happening. The hold onto his mane must had woken up the blonde, as he moved forward with urge, breathing in and taking more.

It was marvelous. It was uncertain and clumsy and they were both really inexperienced at this, and it was marvelous. Slowly the timing was getting clearer for the both of them, because despite pride and their social skills they were instead really good at learning and understanding. The rhythm drowned them both, and it almost made Krel forget he had lungs. It got him there, the urge for air, and he let out almost a strangled noise when he got out of one last kiss.

Seamus was panting just as hard, if not harder, his pupils blown. Krel had never seen him like this, it was a whole new side. He wanted to know it. He really wanted this.

“Sea-”

“Shut it.” Another kiss that made him hum, it was sweeter than before. He almost forgot the words. When he tried to talk again Seamus promptly kissed him again. He completely forgot the words. “You said more than enough, now it’s my turn.” The blonde was smiling of that beautiful smile again. “I’m gonna make every single word count.” His hand went over his hair, caressing his brown locks like they were precious treasures to keep. The urge to cry came back.

Along with another desire, that made Krel come back to his senses and smirk.

Once again, rivalry.

“Aren’t you an overachiever?” Seamus hummed questioning, brushing their noses together. It was too good, the prince giggled. “There are exactly 212 words into my song.” It was too perfect. This wasn’t an out of the world experience, this was the natural consequence of their relationship. Seamus was holding him, and he really didn’t want to be anywhere else.

The blonde seemed taken back by his words, for almost a full second, only to laugh. He brought him even closer, breathing against his lips.

The world disappeared. Prom could wait.

“Better start counting then.” He lunged forward, a quick press closer to a caress. “One,” Another one, deeper but still quick, that made Krel naturally lean back. “Two…” This time it was proper, making him decide that he didn’t really need his mind right now. There was no issue, no invention in standby, no math problem to solve. He could allow himself this. “Three.” He could take every single part of him, as a reward in a way, as a present even more. Without a single remorse Krel laced his arms around his neck, deepening every following kiss.

They stopped counting after nine.

[arjaandsimoni]

The Fae Prince's Pledge

Simoni stared, walking around her cousin with her eyes huge. She couldn’t believe what she’d read when Dawn texted her. At first she was ready to have a panic attack, she already felt horribly guilty for rushing off after Arja without even thinking about Stephy, and now it turned out that after all they did and all they risked to drive Isolde back some random totally different faerie had gotten in a lucky shot!

Stephy sat in Tara’s kitchen, blushing brightly at the attention. The young boy was dressed in a loose blue silk sleeveless top now with a long flowing white skirt. Ever since he’d gotten back other colors just felt weird on him. His hair, which had been a shoulder-length shaggy mop of brown, was now downright platinum blonde and reached to his waist. His eyes were literally as blue as the sky, the same shade as a winter sky on a cloudless day, and his ears now had very small points to them. His old glasses had been lost in Arcadia, but now he seemed to be wearing a pair of new ones, oval lenses in delicate silver frames. He was at a loss to say where they had come from however.

“Tara can’t see the points though, so I think that other mundanes won’t be able to either…” he nodded, “I mean… not complaining about that. You know I’d get people doing the ‘Spock thing’ at me if they could.” he chuckled.

Dawn, seated cross legged on the ceiling, grinned at him and indeed made the ‘live long and prosper’ Vulcan salute. “I love it when you guys give me ammunition like that.” she said, her tail swishing behind her. Arja snorted at that, the monkey girl having insisted on coming with Simoni when she found out the nature of Stephy’s keeper was being ‘of the Icebound Heart.’ If nothing else a fire monkey could come in handy.

Tex sat nearby, the boy now having something extra on his hip. First thing he said to Nelen once Tara got done with her whole ‘what the hell happened you two scared me to death I can’t believe this’ motherly rant was to ask the warlock what he knew about how to fight the Fair Folk.

Nelen had simply reached into his bag, pulled out six inches of sharpened iron in a leather sheath with belt loops, handed it over, and said, “Same damn way you fight humans. Use this, aim for something important.”

He'd kept it put away after seeing Stephy’s reaction to it though. While his paramour was definitely not exactly fond of the Fair Folk after what had been done to him, it didn’t change the fact that he also was one of them now, or at least partially. To Stephy’s eyes the iron looked scary. Like how a human might see a dangerous animal like a cobra or spider.

Tex insisted on keeping the dagger however on the basis that despite Lady Sera’s pledge, he didn’t entirely trust her to not pull the old ‘oh you can leave tomorrow’ trick when Stephy made good on his promise to return to Arcadia for a visit.

Simoni finally spoke, “Its just… I can’t… how did you get back?!” she blurted out. “You’re back and… you’re lucid and not some half-mad mess like the other changelings!”

That part had scared her the most. There was a reason that it had been two changelings that Nelen knew from the homeless shelter. The US homeless population had a surprising number of people who had been touched by glamour (though still a rather small fraction overall, sadly America was really bad at caring for such people) and many who escaped Arcadia did so after months, years, or even lifetimes from their perspective as a plaything for the inhuman Gentry.

Returning to hard reality after such a stay in a realm of dream logic and metaphor-as-reality where a promise truly is forever and a moment of accidental rudeness can see one subjected to sanity-shattering tortures tended to leave people a mess.

At this Stephy blushed deeply, his new ears seeming to glow brightly as he squeezed Tex’s hand under the table, the young man chuckling a bit as his cheeks turned rosy himself. “Well… guess ya’ll can say we’re more ‘official’ now…” he said.

Simoni blinked slowly, tilting her head… then glanced up at Dawn, who was grinning widely. “Classic fairy tale stuff. Stephy got grabbed, Tex ran in after him, and yep…” she smirked.

Simoni blinked, then looked at Tex. “You… followed him into Arcadia?!” she asked with the kind of tone that one might use to describe someone who went sunbathing outside of Chernobyl. “I… I mean… I’m not gonna pretend I’m not SUPER impressed but…”

Tex blushed more, “W-well I didn’t have time ta do anything else! That jerk of a faerie who dragged him off said th’ portal’d only stay open for five minutes more ‘n…” he coughed awkwardly again, “I… just though of Stephy gettin’ trapped there by some horrible mad thing like Isolde… ‘n…” he gripped Stephy’s hand tightly.

The changeling boy smiled at him, then leaned over and rested his head on Tex’s shoulder. “He just… saved me.” he squirmed, “I don’t remember a lot of it… Lady Sera did something to me and it was like I just froze inside and out. I was aware but everything was detached, like I couldn’t really feel anything, and all my memories were foggy and I couldn’t make any of them out anymore. I didn’t even remember Tex at first, or even my own name… but…” he blushed bright pink, “… then he kissed me and… it was like someone turned up the heat full blast in my head, suddenly everything came back and I woke up… then… um… he said he… um… you know…” he squirmed, giggling, “… and I said it too… and then Sera’s castle just melted.”

Arja smirked, “Wait wait… so lemme get this straight. You guys, in this ‘fairy place’ broke the evil queen’s curse with true love’s first kiss?” she asked in a bemused way, “Where did you find him? The inside of Walt Disney’s head?”

Dawn snorted, then burst into laughter, “OH SHIT I WAS ABOUT TO SAY IT!” she cackled, flopping onto her back and kicking her legs.

Simoni just squeed at that, but… well… she always had a weakness for those old Disney Princess movies, though she’d never admit it (and liked to gripe at all the shit they got wrong. Not just in the ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame with a HAPPY ending?!’ way either.)

Tex coughed a bit awkwardly, “It just… I dunno, made sense… like I just knew what I was supposed ta do, like part of me was readin’ it from a book or somethin’…” he shrugged, then glanced at the deck of cards on the table. “So… yeah, then there’s this.”

The Very Useful Deck, fifty-two cards of purportedly ‘whiz-bang’ magic according to the being who’d given it to him.

Simoni glanced at it, “Yeaaaaaaaah, that…” she muttered, “What exactly does it do though? Have you guys tried it yet?”

Tex shook his head, “No… but Stephy said he could kinda… feel it?”

Stephy shrugged, “Sorta like… I kinda get an impression from it. Like…” he gazed at the deck, and his eyes seemed to flicker blue as his ears suddenly got a bit pointier. “… I just have a hunch that it works like poker. He draws five cards, and the hand he draws determines what it does… but…” he tilted his head and squinted… “… kind of a feeling that it can, maybe, make weapons or cast spells, but… there’s also a feeling of danger to it too…”

Tex nodded, “Yeah, its not just some normal deck. The face cards are all faerie things, ‘n the Joker cards are weird too. They’re just this empty throne.” he said.

Dawn shrugged, “So go try it then.” she grinned.

They all looked at her and she rolled her eyes, huffing at them. “WHAT?! He’s got a faerie artifact he doesn’t know how to use! Would you rather he figure it out NOW or in the middle of a fight?!” she hissed. “Besides, you think Nelen doesn’t have a few Arcadian doodads in that bag of his?”

Tex shrugged at that, then picked up the deck. “Guess ya’ll got a point pussycat. Gun ya don’t know how ta shoot is just as likely ta blown yer own toes off.” he nodded, “Um… backyard then?”

They all looked between each other, then nodded and walked out through Tara’s Garden, then out into the field behind the house leading to the same tree line that Isolde’s minions had emerged from… it had only been a few weeks, but after all that’d happened it felt like much longer.

“ ‘kay…” Tex said, pulling the deck out and shuffling it, “Guess… we just give it a go…” he nodded, the boy drawing five cards and holding them like a poker hand.

Ten high, then an eight, seven, four, and two… didn’t seem like much… but suddenly there was a swirl of wind and the cards seemed to get caught in a gale, then sort of melt together as the spade on the ten flashed brightly! There was a sensation of split time, then suddenly Tex’s hand closed around the hilt of what looked like a civil war era cavalry saber, but one with detailed ornamentation on the blade depicting thorny vines.

Tex tapped the blade with a fingernail, “Well I’ll be damned… feels real…” he muttered, giving it an experimental swing too, “Balanced well… but…” he muttered, then Stephy spoke up.

“Tex… swing it again…” he asked.

Tex blinked, then swung it in an arc infront of him as Stephy watched closely, “… there’s sparks coming off the blade when you do that. I saw the spade, but… what was the next highest card?” he asked.

“Oh, uh… I think it was the eight of diamonds?” he asked.

Stephy nodded slowly, “I… think I feel what its doing… try taking the deck out again and draw a new hand.” he said, his pointed ears twitching slightly. It was almost as if he could HEAR it somehow…

As soon as the deck came back out the saber vanished and he was holding five cards in his hand once more. He shrugged and shuffled them back in… then redrew the hand. This time it was the Ace of diamonds that was the high card. “Oh huh, that’s… uh… um…” he stumbled, the cards suddenly flying up and with a sudden crackle a huge sphere of ball lightning appeared infront of him!

“SHIT! SHIT SHIT WHATDOIDO?!” he yelped, the ball stuck to his hand, arcs of electricity shooting off it and grounding themselves nearby!

Dawn hissed and teleported behind the fence as Simoni and Arja ducked out of the way of one of the lightning bolts! “THROW IT!” shouted Stephy!

The boy held the ball and threw it ahead of him like a basketball. It arced through the air, then hit a tree nearby and the world turned white!

When the sound and light died away and the spots faded they could see a split tree trunk where the ball had hit, bits of it were on fire.

“… well damn…” muttered Tex, the air smelling of ozone and woodsmoke.

Stephy nodded, “Okay… I THINK I get it… that was the Ace of Diamonds right?” he asked.

Tex nodded back to him, “Sure was…” he murmured, staring at the wreckage.

Stephy thought, his ears twitching again, “… I think… the suit determines what it does, but the card itself determines how powerful it is. If you’d gotten the two or four it would’ve just been a small shock maybe?” he tilted his head, then closed his eyes. “Yeah, Spades and Clubs make… weapons… but Hearts and Diamonds are just magic… but…” he shrugged, “I dunno, that’s all I’m getting. Its hard to really feel it now that I’m back on Earth. I could hear it a lot clearer in the Hedge, that’s why I freaked out so bad at that old faerie giving it to you. That deck wants to be used and it knew that he wouldn’t use it like it wanted.” he nodded.

Tex nodded, his eyes still on the ruined tree trunk, “Well damn… what happens if I get a full house?” he chuckled.

“I dunno, but I have this weird feeling that the face cards are… different, especially the jokers. I…” he screwed up his eyes, “I dunno how though… its like trying to listen to a radio that keeps going in and out of signal, half the time its just static to me now.” he sighed.

Tex looked at him, “Not that I’m complainin’ lil filly, but you’re takin’ this whole ‘I can hear magic cards’ pretty well…” he chuckled.

Stephy shrugged, “I grew up knowing supernatural stuff was real, its probably less of a shock for me?” he giggled a bit awkwardly.

Dawn appeared next to them, leaning on Tex’s shoulder with her elbow. “Yeaaaaaaaaah, he’s seen some crazy shit too cowboy. I mean… yanno.” she smirked and lowered her sunglasses to show her inhuman eyes.

Tex coughed, “Yeah, right, prolly jes’ another Tuesday for ya’ll huh?” he replied.

Simoni nodded, “Honestly, you’re the one who’s taking it well Tex… I mean, you DIDN’T grow up knowing about this stuff. Your first encounter with any of it was having Isolde try to tear your house down to get at you...” she giggled a bit awkwardly, hoping that Isolde had been serious about her promise to 'never think of the Fullmoons again.'

Tex shrugged back at her, "I guess… it helps knowin’ that I can deal with it even though I’m not… well… magic like ya’ll. I mean, I guess now I got a bit, but that’s all the cards here…” he replied, slipping them into his pocket.

Stephy leaned into him, “Hey, you had the courage to come charging into Arcadia after me… that counts for a lot more than you think.” he giggled.

Tex smiled, then kissed Stephy’s forehead before looking up, “Well, Nelen ‘n Mom’ll probably be a bit cleaning out th’ ol’ Speakeasy yet… ya’ll wanna go grab a burger or somethin’?” he asked.

There was a chorus of ‘yes’ and one ‘FISHBURGER!’ before the group headed out on foot. Luckily for them Covington was a very old city, so there were plenty of places that one could get to without actually needing a car as it predated automobiles. After a few blocks on Madison however, Stephy paused, glancing into a shop window. “… wait…” he muttered.

“Hm?” asked Simoni, “Whats wrong Stephy?” she added.

Stephy narrowed his eyes, “Tex… look…” he frowned.

Tex walked back, then looked in the window and followed his finger… the boy’s eyes widening, “Son of a… THAT’S…” he growled angrily.

Inside the store

Prince Samuel was having a grand old time. Mortal cities always had such fascinating clothing shops, even if the materials couldn’t hope to match Arcadian ones. “Ooo, this is a lovely cut, I wonder if I can get that goblin to bang me out something similar…” he chuckled to himself, “Welp, not like I have to be home anytime soon…” he giggled then paused as he heard a loud cough behind him.

He frowned, glancing back, “Would you mind standing further back? I’d rather not… get… coughed on…” he started, his voice trailing off.

Standing there was that cowboy he’d been taunting in the forest who he’d been sure wound up in the Hedge shortly after him, a young girl with hair and eyes just like his, two Indian kids, and some sort of punk-redhead… thing. None of them looked very happy to see him.

Prince Samuel looked back at the clothing racks, “… couldn’t be…” he muttered, then looked behind him again. The cowboy’s hand was on his belt where a knife was worn openly, the blonde girl was tapping her foot in an angry way, the two Indian kids were looking downright furious, and the other girl was beginning to grin in a rather concerning way.

Prince Samuel looked back at the clothing racks, “… impossible… that was just yesterday afternoon…” he whispered, then looked behind him again. The cowboy had unsheathed the knife, which was a dull grey that made the prince break out in a cold sweat… the two Indian girls were glaring at him, one of whom seemed to be holding a fireball the size of a small candle flame with seemingly no source, and the last girl had slid down her sunglasses just enough for him to see two shining yellow eyes.

… and the blonde girl wasn’t there…

He turned back around, then started. The blonde girl was infront of him now, just an inch or two away. “Remember me?” ‘she’ frowned.

Prince Samuel took a step back, laughing in a rather nervous way, “AH! Oh, oh h-hello again! My goodness you actually got away from her rather quickly, didn’t you? I… I honestly did not expect that… um… thought you’d keep Mother Dearest busy for quite a bit longer really.” he chuckled, glancing back behind him.

Arja’s fireball was getting bigger, and while Simoni couldn’t unleash her power without wrecking the store she was definitely weighing the options. Dawn just grinned wider, “You didn’t know who you grabbed, did you fairy boy?” she chuckled.

Prince Samuel hesitated, Dawn's words making him realize something. There was no way some ordinary kid could have escaped Arcadia that fast! Slowly his head turned back to Stephy, “You know, now that she mentions it your name does seem to have slipped my mind… er…” he swallowed a bit, “What was it again, if I may be so bold?”

Stephy glared at him, “Stephen. Fullmoon.” he replied, “My friends call me Stephy.” he added with a smirk.

Prince Samuel’s eyes went wide as saucers, “W-wait, what?!” he yelped, “You’re a damned hunter?! I… oh…” he whimpered, looking back at the others, “Oh… oh oak and ash… you lot are the ones Isolde was screaming about!” he winced, the realization of it suddenly hitting him.

Simoni grinned, “Oooo, you heard about us?” she giggled rather wickedly. “Did she tell you what my big brother did to her? Smashed all her toys and almost got her too before chasing her back to Arcadia?”

Prince Samuel was sweating now, his eyes darting back and forth. He HAD heard about it, Isolde had been very vocal about the warlock who had wrecked her toys and wilted her flowers, VERY vocal indeed. Nobody threw a tantrum like her. “I… er… um…” he stammered, “L-look, clearly it all ended well and you’re back in the Mortal Realm safe and…” he glanced at Stephy’s ears, “… mostly sound… so… how about we just call it settled and I’ll just be on my wa-…” he turned, only to find Tex standing right infront of him, idly fingering what was unmistakably a cold iron dagger.

“Gimme one good reason why I shouldn’t shove this where th’ sun don’t shine… Prince…” he whispered, just low enough for the faerie princeling to hear him.

Prince Samuel very much wished to be anyone else at the moment, the faerie boy whimpering. “L-look, Mother had me locked up in her castle for years! I had to get out! I hadn’t seen the sun in over a decade! I… I’m not really wicked, I just… her terms were finding someone else to play the role of her child and I sensed this one’s sorrow and thought ‘well damn she’ll be all over that’ and…” he stammered.

As he did however Stephy realized something, “Wait… you’re not one of the Gentry are you?” he asked, “You’re another changeling, like me.”

Tex frowned, “What does that gotta do with anythin’?” he snorted.

Stephy walked around and put his hand on Tex’s shoulder, gently guiding the knife back down, “It means that he wound up in Arcadia the same way I did most likely. Someone dragged him off through the Hedge.”

Tex glanced back at Stephy, then at Samuel and frowned, “Well that doesn’t make it okay fer him to do it! If anythin’ he should know better! How d’you not know how you’d feel if someone chained you up and dragged you off like you did to them? Don’t ya’ll remember what it was like fer you then son?” he snapped angrily at Samuel.

The Prince sighed, shaking his head, “No, actually, I do not… but then, do you remember anything from when you were only a year old?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

A bit later, at Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken

The local chicken chain was a few blocks over from where the group had found Samuel, the faerie princeling sandwiched between Tex and Arja in the booth with Dawn, Simoni, and Stephy sitting opposite him.

“Okay, so you actually were taken as an infant? The fae literally cradle-robbed you?” asked Simoni, folding her arms on the table.

Prince Samuel nodded, frowning at them. “Yes. My mother, Lady Sera, took me as a baby. I don’t know when she did, or who my true parents were. They could be dead for all I know. I’ve been on Earth off and on enough to know I’ve been alive for at least close to a century, but time is strange in Arcadia and I don’t age normally there.” he replied.

“My earliest memories are of Arcadia, the endless snowfields of my mother’s realm, trying to flee through the Hedge and either giving up and coming back or being dragged back by her guards… though…” he paused, thinking as he tapped his chin, “… I think I may have been from France originally? The first time I successfully made it back to this reality through the Hedge I wound up in Paris. I didn’t realize it was called that at the time, or even where I was, just very very vague memories of a room and two faces I couldn’t remember. Probably why it took me so long.” he shrugged dramatically.

“At any rate, I picked a rotten time to do it. It was the Summer of 1940.” he chuckled in a rueful way as Arja and Dawn winced visibly, though Tex, Stephy, and Simoni looked confused.

“Uh… that year seems important…” frowned Stephy, putting a finger to his chin.

“German invasion of France during World War Two.” said Dawn automatically, “He probably came out RIGHT into the middle of the Nazis taking Paris.”

The other four stared at her, their eyebrows going up.

“What?! Grew up in hotels remember? History channel people! It wasn’t always kooky bastards going on about aliens!” she hissed, then huffed, “They always get it wrong anyways…”

Samuel nodded, “Yes, I believe that’s what got me out of the Hedge in the first place. My mother’s primary influence is sorrowful feelings, I’d imagine your city being conquered by an army of fascists would feel pretty horrible.” he smirked, though his eyes looked oddly tired as he continued, “That was when I realized that my own memories weren’t enough to get me back, but if I listened for emotions like that I could follow them through the Hedge to their source.”

He leaned back, counting off on his fingers, “Lets see… for things an American might recognize... managed to find my way back during a McCarthy Era crackdown in the US… then the Kent State massacre… then there was that mess in New York City a while back… and… well, you get the idea.” he sighed, “Honestly it was only blind luck I happened to be near enough to feel one mortal’s sorrow through the Hedge. Usually it took something a lot ‘louder.’” he nodded, blowing out his lips, “But yes, I sensed you, realized my mother would accept you as tribute in exchange for my freedom, and took the opportunity… and you…” he glared at Tex next to him, “You SAW the state they were in when you freed them from my mother’s grasp, heaven knows HOW. Can you truly blame me for taking any option I had to get away from THAT?” he frowned at him.

Tex glared back, tearing the meat off a drumstick as he chewed thoughtfully, “… part of me wants to punch that smug look off yer face so hard it gets stuck to th’ wall behind ya…” he growled angrily, “… but… I can’t deny that ya’ll got a point there…” he admitted, shrugging. “Th’ thought of my darlin’ Stephy bein’ like that fer a single day makes me see red, but you were stuck there fer years ‘n years…” he sighed, “Does make it hard ta stay mad at ya’ll…”

Samuel smiled, “Well then! I suppose that’s that. Again my deepest apologies for putting you through that but now you see the predicament I was in so I’ll just be on my wa-…” he started, trying to get up, but Tex put a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back down onto the seat with a glare.

“Ya’ll ain’t off th’ hook YET boy.” he snarled, “Stephy got outta there, but I don’t want ya’ll ta pull a stunt like that with anyone else… So ya’ll gotta gimme a good reason why I should just letcha walk outta here…”

Samuel glared back, “Are you bloody mad? What? You’re going to stab me with that knife of yours or something? I’m not a vampire, I’ll leave a corpse behind, a very HUMAN looking one I might add.” he hissed back at him. “You cannot keep me here without the mortals eventually getting suspicious, and while I can simply walk out of a prison cell I greatly doubt that you’ll have as easy a time as I would.”

Arja growled at him from behind, but Stephy looked thoughtful. “Hmm…” mused the changeling ‘princess.’ “Samuel, what if we told you how we escaped?” he asked, “That way, if your mother does wind up taking you back, you can get free too?” he nodded.

Samuel blinked, looking over at him, “… I do have to admit I would greatly desire that secret…” he murmured, raising his eyebrow and reclining back in his seat.

Stephy smiled, “Very well, I’ll tell you… BUT… I want to keep an eye on you. Tex is right, we don’t want to risk anyone else getting dragged off… sooooo…” he smirked, “I have a little hideaway in town, you can stay there hidden from any of Lady Sera's minions. You’ll get the key to it and the secret, if you pledge to me that you’ll stick with us and not kidnap any mortals.” he nodded, holding out his hand to the princeling. “Do we have a deal?” he asked, his blue eyes sparkling a bit.

Samuel looked at his hand, then took it in his own. “I, Prince Samuel of the Icebound Heart, pledge to cease predations upon mortalkind and remain near you and your’s for the foreseeable future.” he nodded firmly. There was a hunger in his eyes, the others could tell. He’d been wanting the secret of escaping Arcadia for a long, long time…

There was a hint of chill, a smell of winter in the air, “I, Stephy Fullmoon, Princess of Everfalling Snow, will gift you the key to my safe haven and tell you the secret of how we escaped your mother’s grasp.”

A small thunderclap sounded, causing a few patrons to look around curiously, but after a moment everyone went back to their meals.

“Right then, out with it. How did you do it?” he asked, tapping his foot eagerly.

“In due time Sammi. Lets get you to your new home first…” Stephy smiled brightly, the fae prince making a face at the new nickname.

A seven block walk later.

The door to the speakeasy swung open as Tex and the two changelings walked inside, Samuel looking around with a look of disdain. “This is it? Alright, I suppose it’s clean but… this is IT?!” he huffed in annoyance.

Stephy’s eye twitched a bit, remembering how important it was to gain this place of safety when Tex helped him fix it up, but he held it back, “Yes, welcome to your new home away from Arcadia. Though if you’d be happier going back into the arms of ‘Mother Dearest…’” he started…

Prince Samuel winced, “NO NO! I DIDN’T SAY THAT! It’s just… a fixer-upper! Just a bit of work and it’ll be a fine place to stay!” he nodded, chuckling nervously, turning to them, “Now then, how on earth DID you escape?” he asked.

Stephy giggled, then slipped his arms around Tex’s middle. “Weeeeell, you could say my ‘prince’ came for me.” he grinned, leaning into Tex.

“Sure ‘nuff buddy. Turns out yer momma has a real issue with things gettin’ a little too… hot under th’ collar as it were.” he chuckled.

The Prince’s eyes widened, “… true love… true bloody love?! WELL I KNEW THAT!” he shouted, “Its right there in the damn name! She’s the Queen of the Icebound Heart! That doesn’t do me ANY good! Hells that stops my magic from affecting any… er… I mean…” he trailed off, realizing he’d made a tactical error.

Tex and Stephy were grinning at him, “Really? So us being in love means you can’t affect me or Tex huh?” giggled the fae ‘princess.’

Tex whistled low, “Son, ya’ll really need ta work on your poker face…” he chuckled.

Prince Samuel’s eye twitched, “… I… you… but…” he stammered.

Stephy giggled, “Anyways, its late now so we should PROBABLY get back home. Tex’s mom tends to worry if we’re out at night anymore… though I guess she’s got a good reason to, I mean, she knows whats out there now.” he shrugged dramatically.

Tex smirked, “Later ‘Prince,’ enjoy yer new home. Sorry there’s no bed or nothin’ yet, we took all the stuff back to our place today now that Stephy is part o’ my family, but… eh… I’m sure a prince can figure out somethin’, can’t just be a fancy title right?” he chuckled, waving as he and Stephy left, the door closing behind them and leaving Samuel in darkness as the light from outside cut off.

Midway down the alleyway a string of cursing reached their ears, some of it rather colorful indeed.

Stephy giggled, leaning into Tex as they walked along together. Perhaps he could get used to being one of the Fair Folk…

Prince Samuel ‘Sammi’ Montebank huffed as they left, “That cheeky little SHIT!” he shouted, stomping his foot. “HE TRICKED ME!”

He glared around him, then walked back outside and closed the door, sighing as he looked around, “Can’t deny it is well hidden, and in the mortal realm. Mother’s guardsmen will have a devil of a time finding me…” he admitted, then reached over and knocked firmly on the door twice, the knocks seemed to echo louder than they should have and the air suddenly carried the sharp scent of new frost.

He opened the door again and the speakeasy had doubled in size, a large four poster bed set up in it next to a crackling fireplace, an ornate wardrobe on the other side of the bed along with a large bookshelf full of interesting looking tomes and nick-knacks. The bar was fully stocked, and there was even a goblin in a tuxedo shirt and waistcoat mixing a drink. Outside of a far window the thorns of the Hedge swayed in the breeze.

Sammi looked around, putting his hands on his hips, and tutted, “I suppose it’ll have to do…” he shrugged, walking back inside and closing the door.

Next Story

Previous Story

[suwya]

Till the Stars Had Run Away - Chapter 4

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Summary: Killian Jones was a voyager. Actually, he was many things, or at least he had been - a lieutenant, a brother, a loving boyfriend - until everything had turned upside down and his life had hit an all time low. So, he gave up. Aboard his spaceship he abandoned Arcadia, his planet, navigating the stars and other solar systems in search of... well, he still didn't know what he was searching for, but his rule was "never remain in the same place longer than necessary."

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Rating: M

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Prologue; Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

AO3

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A/N: Thank you @thisonesatellite​ for being the best beta I could ever ask for . And thank to all of you who are reading this.

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Chapter 4 . .

But I, being poor, 

have only my dreams; 

I have spread my dreams 

under your feet; 

tread softly because 

you tread on my dreams.

(W. B. Yeats)

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Days passed quietly. Emma and Henry went back to their usual mother-son relationship sooner than Killian had expected and he enjoyed all the domestic moments with them. Especially at night. Not that he didn’t care about the boy, Henry was always a ray of sunshine, and Killian felt he was starting to bond with him deeper than he could have ever imagined. But at night, after Henry had gone to sleep, Emma always spent some time in the main cabin, sitting next to Killian: sometimes just staring silently at the starry sky, other times listening to him explaining all the different constellations they passed through, even though Killian wasn’t sure whether she was interested in his knowledge, or she was too well-mannered to stop his blathering. 

Emma Swan. This beautiful and somehow mysterious woman had invaded his life and had fascinated him since their very first meeting. 

More exactly, she had tormented his nights and thoughts from that moment on. A bittersweet obsession that had accompanied him for years. He had almost convinced himself that he was over her, during his reckless years with his friend Robin. But that wasn't entirely true, and he couldn't lie to himself. She used to appear in his dreams when he least expected and left a hollowing feeling in his soul for the rest of the following days whenever it happened as if he wasn’t entirely complete without her.

The night he had found her again, thanks to Henry, his heart had skipped a beat and he had known he was in trouble. But it was a cross he was willing to bear. It was not only a physical attraction he felt towards her, even though he couldn’t fool himself, she was a very good-looking woman; but he was also determined to discover every single detail of what she was, no matter the effort. From that moment on, he cherished every minute, every second spent with her.

When they finally arrived at their destination, permission to land on the new planet was easily granted. Nevertheless, the day was coming to an end and they decided it was better to sleep inside the ship in the hangar than to find an available place to spend the night. 

The next morning, from one of the lockers in the entrance of the spaceship, Killian retrieved the package that he needed to trade in exchange for the item he had to recover for his client.

It was still early and Killian was surprised to see Henry coming out of his cabin, still wearing pajamas. “Are you already going?” The boy asked him, trying to suppress a yawn.

“Aye, but I will be back soon.” He assured the lad.

Henry threw a glance at the closed door behind him and stepped closed to Killian. “Mom is still in the shower. May I ask you a favor?” He whispered, conspiratorial. 

Killian made a great effort not to linger on the thought of a naked Emma under the shower jet, he breathed deeply and concentrated on the boy in front of him. “Sure, lad.”

“Today is my mom’s birthday.”

“Is it, now?” Killian was both surprised and amused by this piece of information.

“Yes. We have this tradition, my mom and I,” the boy explained. “When it's my birthday she tries to celebrate it with a cake... or something… It's not always a big thing, I remember once we just had a couple of biscuits with frozen spicy cream on them.” After a small pause, he added, “mom doesn't want to make me worry, but I can see she’s in some kind of trouble. I’d like to make a little celebration for her this time. But she won't let me wander around an unknown planet all by myself.”

Killian nodded in understatement. “You want me to purchase something sweet for your mother.” 

“I know you have your job to do, but if it's not much of a problem, could you look for something?” He asked hopefully.

“Not a problem. At all.” 

Henry's grin widened. “Of course mom doesn’t have to know anything about it. And we are going to need a name!” 

“Come again?” Killian couldn’t follow the boy’s thoughts.

Henry extended a hand to shake with the man in front of him “Operation Candlelight is on!” He exclaimed. 

Killian chuckled and retrieved his hand just in time to see Emma appearing from another door, fully dressed for the day.

She was wearing a pair of stretched dark blue jeans and a thin white v-neck blouse with a skinny light brown leather vest over it. Her hair was still damped and Killian had to swallow a groan when his eyes followed a drop of water running down her cleavage. 

“Oh, Henry, you’re already awake.” She said surprised.

“I was just saying to your boy…” Killian came in help to a puzzled Henry, who wasn’t so quick in thinking of a good excuse why he was already out of bed. “I've heard there's a fair in town.” 

He turned to Henry “Maybe you and your mother could have a look while I’m attending my duties.” And then back to Emma “What do you say, Swan?”

The boy looked hesitantly at his mother. 

"I think it's a good idea," she agreed and was rewarded by a big grin on Henry's face.

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~·~·~·~

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.    The trade went smoothly as predicted, which gave Killian enough time to deal with the assignment that Henry had sent him on.

Finding something sweet to celebrate was more difficult than expected, it took him a few rounds through narrow streets and alleys and after asking a few passers-by for information, he finally found something that in his opinion could serve as dessert. But the hardest part was to discern the right thing to buy as Emma's present. Henry hadn’t mentioned anything about a gift, but Killian thought it could be the right excuse to surprise her.

The problem was that he had no clue what she would like. 

Killian tried to think about the time the two of them had spent together. All right, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to linger on the memories of their first encounter. And maybe it wasn’t good either to think about their second one. But since Henry entered his life things had changed. When the boy was in the same room with them, she seemed more relaxed, more condescending, less closed up inside her inner barriers. Killian would say she even seemed happier. 

And the moments shared at night in his cabin had been... well, some had been carefree and others had been intense, very intense. In the short amount of days they’d spent together, Killian had already revealed to Emma too much information about his past, something he had never done before with anyone, not even his best friend Robin. And that was alarming. He knew he had a soft spot for her, but to which extent? 

Bloody Hell, man, you’re so screwed-up! He said to himself. That Lady Swan is going to be the death of you. Killian sighed and passed a hand through his hair as if that simple gesture could be enough to clear up his mind. Swan. He thought and realized that he never asked her why she chose exactly this surname while changing her identity. He assumed that it had to mean something of significance to her. And there it was: the perfect idea for a gift.

When he went back on his spaceship it was already late evening and he found his guests sitting at the table in the entrance playing hologram chess. 

“Who's winning?” He asked, securing the locks of the main gate.

“Henry is a much better player than I am,” Emma admitted.

Killian took a seat next to her and whispered something in her ear. After that Emma studied the board. “Oh. That's an interesting move,” she exclaimed carrying out what Killian had just suggested.

“It's not fair. That's cheating.” Henry complained. 

“Come on, lad, your mother is at an evident disadvantage. Let me give her some advice.” But when Henry made an unsure face, “just this time?” Killian added winking at the boy.

“Ok...but only this once.” Henry surrendered.

Emma looked at them perplexed, sensing that something was brewing between them, but didn't ask for further explanations.

Dinner passed by telling how their days had gone. It was clear that Henry had enjoyed the fair quite a lot, especially some storytelling he’d had the opportunity to attend. “Have you ever been to the NTH-Confederates planets, Killian?”

The NTH-Confederates planets belonged to a very far galaxy and they were shrouded in layers of fabulous legends. Killian had always had problems discerning the truth from the myth, but he knew the large hand of The Industry had touched them somehow, and they had succumbed to it, dark times awaited those planets. “I've heard about them but never had the luck to land over there. From what I know, it's a very different place now than what it was in its glorious days.”

“This man, he told us of so many fantastic creatures he saw!”

“I wouldn't believe every word the storyteller said, kid. They are just stories.” Emma tried to rationalize.

“Yeah. I suppose. But it would be cool if a place like that actually existed.”

“One can always dream about marvelous lands and wish they exist, right? Talking about dreams and wishes…” but Killian didn’t finish his sentence, he stood up from the table and went to rummage in some of the kitchenette lockers. When he turned to face his guests, he was holding a sort of a brown whole cupcake with colorful cream and a single lighted candle on top. He deposited it in front of an astonished Emma with a grin on his face, and he sat down again on his chair. “Sorry, it was the only sweet food I’ve found on this planet.” He said apologetically.

“Killian...?” Emma started to say, but Henry was faster: “It's perfect!” The boy was wearing a matching grin to the man in front of her. 

“How...? What does it mean?” Was the only thing she was able to put into words.

“Well, some fleeting rumor told me that today is some sort of anniversary. Correct me if I’m wrong.” Killian explained. Before she could answer him, he lifted a hand to stop her.  “Before blowing out the candle, don't forget to make a wish!”

She looked up at her son, then at Killian for a brief moment, then she closed her eyes. When she opened them again there was resolution and something Killian identified as hope in them. She blew out and the candle went off.

Cheers and applause rang out. Henry was glowing, hugging his mother fiercely, while Killian smacked his forehead, as if he was suddenly remembering something, and then he retrieved a little package from one of his pockets. He offered it to a puzzled Emma. 

She extricated herself from her son's arms and took the wrapped item Killian was giving to her. “What is this?” She asked cautiously. 

“Customarily, a surprise is part of the fun of gift-giving.” He answered smiling. “Open it.” He urged her. 

Opening the paper wrapping Emma found a small dark swan pendant made of polished meteorite rock.  “It’s beautiful,” she whispered with shiny eyes, close to tears.

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~·~·~·~

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Later that night, Killian was resting on his hammock with his arms behind his head. The door opened and closed and Emma entered his cabin as she had always done the last few nights while they were flying. But tonight was a bit different. He wasn't sitting at the controls, but already lying on his bed.

She approached him with a serious look.

“Everything alright, Swan?” He asked as she stepped closer biting her lower lip.

She seemed to consider the situation for a few seconds before climbing into the hammock and lying next to him: her head on his chest and an arm resting across his torso. “Thank you.” She spoke so quietly that Killian wasn’t even sure he had heard correctly.

He didn’t know how to react, he felt paralyzed. But when it seemed she was feeling comfortable with the proximity, he put his left arm around her back and released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

They spent a few moments like that, neither of them wanted to break the spell of silence. Killian’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Of all the questions he would have liked to make her, to help him solve the puzzle this incredible woman represented, one came out of his mouth without really thinking about it “What happened the day we met? I mean after I left.”

She kept quiet for a few minutes, and he began to believe that she was in no mood to speak, but then she started with a soft voice almost audible: “Just after you left the room, that man, Neal Cassidy, he entered declaring that it was his right to… you know. He just wanted the reward money. I haven’t heard from him since. He’s probably not interested in his son at all. He just used me for his benefits.”

Killian clenched his jaw; if he had that Cassidy guy in front of him right now he would have punched him in the face. “Did he hurt you?” He asked, trying to control his rage.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly an expert in that matter, given that I was raised in strict privacy and all.” She sighed. “I knew I had to relax, but my mind wasn’t on the same path as my good intentions. So I’m not sure it was entirely his fault.”

“Son of a bitch.” Killian couldn't repress a curse. 

“If it makes you feel any better, that wasn’t even the worst day of my life.” She stated. “The night you found me on the shore… I was so furious with you. I went back to the Palace to talk with my lawyers, to see if I could banish you from the planet, or put you in jail, or something like that. But it was late and I didn’t find anyone in their office. What I did find were some papers about me, ready to be signed. You were right. The King and Queen of New-Tolemac wanted full authority on my child, they weren’t interested in me or my future.” 

“I should apologize for the horrible things I said to you that night.”

“Don’t. At least you were the only one who never lied to me.” Her gaze seemed lost in the memory of those days. “I also found a document, an old one. I discovered I was adopted, or rather, I was sold. My real parents gave me away when I was only a few days old. They probably needed some money and they used me, as so many others did.”

After a small pause, she added: “Henry is the only person in my life that cares about me for who I am.”

“I never intended to use you.” Killian assured, but he soon corrected himself: “All right, maybe I did. But that was before meeting you.”

She seemed to ponder her next words. “I know. This is why I told your name to my son when he first asked me about his father.” 

“If there's anything I can do for you…” She had told him the night Henry entered his life. 

But Killian dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “No problem.”

“Thank you for bringing him home.” Her tone was genuinely thankful.

“It was the right thing to do.” And when she didn't reply he felt it was the moment to say goodbye. 

He started stepping back but suddenly stopped and turned around facing her again. “Uh... now that I think about it. There is a thing you could do for me.” He tilted his head arching an inquiring eyebrow. “I have one question,” he said, emphasizing his words lifting one of his fingers, “why does your boy believe that I'm his father?” 

At those words, she lifted her gaze to look straight into his eyes. “I wanted Henry to believe his father was a good man.” Emma had answered, staring at him with sincerity before entering her house and closing the door behind her. 

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[nightrosebud]

So my @toa-secret-santa was for @arcadia-trash who just asked for “Barbara and Strickler,” so I went with a whole bunch of fluff. I hope you enjoy and Happy Holiday!

"It was the night before Christmas, and all through the ward, not a patient was stirring; seriously, I'm so bored."

Barbara felt her lips twitch, but she tried not to smile as she finished the chart in front of her. When done, she closed the folder and glared at the nurse leaning on the counter next to her. "Stop that," she growled. "Talk like that will summon a ten-car pile-up, and I would like to get home before midnight, thank you very much."

Nurse Choen sighed and readjusted his headband. He had lamented that he couldn't wear his ugly sweater with a lit dreidel on it, so he had snuck in a cheap headband with a light-up menorah instead. The little blubs on it twinkled on and off, like each one was being lit separately. When Barbara pointed out that the headband was not allowed because of the dress code, he had just grinned bigger and started singing Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel at the top of his lungs. "Sorry, Doc," he said with a bashful grin. "I guess when I signed up for this shift, I figured we would be busy with the holidays." He gestured at the empty hallway. "I didn't think we would only have two patients and no emergencies. I like staying busy."

"Well, have you stocked the rooms?"

"Yep."

"Put away patient files?"

"Done."

"Made sure the medicine is in order?"

"Oh yeah, and stole some good stuff for me," he joked. Barbara glared at him, and he put up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "I kid, I kid. So why did you sign up for tonight, doc? Trying to get away from all the kiddos at home?"

"Actually, no," she confessed. She leaned on the counter and looked down the hallway. They only had one patient who had drunk too much at the office Christmas party and came in complaining that he couldn't stop throwing up and one man who had a heart attack two days ago while shoveling some surprise snow from his driveway. Both were asleep and quiet at this late hour. 

"We had a lot of back-to-back adoptions in the last few weeks, so Walt and I decided to wait until after the holidays to bring out more babies from the cradle stone." Most of the people working at the hospital knew about the babies she and Walt were taking care of, so Cohen just nodded in understanding. "Since Jim is older and was spending the night at a friend's house anyway, I figured I would come in and give someone else a chance to spend the night with their families."

"Well, we only have an hour, then we both will be free at midnight," he said. Barbara smacked his arm, and he jumped. "Ow! What was that for? I hope you know that I can go to HR for assault."

"Stop saying stuff like that!" Barbara hissed but then laughed. "You're going to cause an accident. Or the end of the world."

"Oh yeah, don't want evil trolls coming out of the ground and wrecking downtown. Or giant aliens walking around and wrecking downtown. Or evil magic users flying around and wrecking downtown. Or Titans rising up and wrecking downtown." Cohen paused and cocked his head to the side. "What do the bad guys have against the buildings downtown?"

Barbara smirked. "I think Jim has asked that question himself a few times over the last year."

"You know," Choen said with a grin, "When I left New York, I thought I had left the magical creatures behind."

"What do you mean?" Barbara asked.

"Haven't you heard? There are gargoyles in New York."

"Ah," Barbara said, wondering if she should force the nurse in front of her to take a drug test. "How about you recheck the supplies?"

One hour later, the next shift of one doctor and two nurses showed up to relieve them, finding Doctor Lake and Nurse Choen having the quietest race of rolling office chairs they could manage.

"Good to see that the hospital was left in good hands," Doctor Roberts joked as the two of them crossed the finish line made of gauze, Barbara in the lead.

They handed off the patient charts, all two of them, and they said their goodnights and goodbyes. Choen escorted Barbara outside, and they paused at the doors, watching some snow drift down. "Ah, now this," Choen said with a smile, adjusting his coat and blinking headband, "this I missed."

Barbara hummed in agreement, and they spent some time just enjoying the quiet. Suddenly Barbara heard a sound, the sound of bells, and she swore they were coming closer. Before she could ask Choen if he heard it too, something rounded the corner and rapidly came towards them down the deserted street.

It was a sleigh, the kind of sleigh you found on vintage Christmas cards, red with gold details and golden bells. Only, instead of a horse or reindeer pulling it, Aaarrrgghh!! was in front, running as fast as he could on all fours, mad grin on his face. Behind him, Barbara could make out two figures in the sleigh, but in the dark and snow, she couldn't tell who it was. They were laughing, though, as Aaarrrgghh!! turned into the parking lot and skidded to a halt in front of Barbara.

One of the figures stood up and placed a foot on the front of the sleigh. "Ho! Ho! Ho!" it cried, and Barbara could finally make out Toby, smile stretching from ear to ear. "Happy Chanukah! Wait! No! Kleb! That's not what I should say. Meeerrryyy Christmas!" Darci was next to him, and she put a hand over to her mouth and giggled.

"Toby?!" Barbara asked. "What are you doing here?" The smile on her face died when she had a terrible thought. "Where's Jim? Is he alright?"

"Oh, he's fine, Doctor L," Tody said as he hopped down from the sleigh. He walked over to the other side, giving Aaarrrgghh!! a pat on the arm as he passed the troll. Toby had had some growth spurts in the last year and a half since Jim found the amulet, and he was finally taller than Darci, who was still his girlfriend. He bowed and reached out a hand. "My lady," he said in a slightly deeper voice, and Darci took his hand and jumped down from the sleigh, smile on her face. "We're here to take your car home while Aaarrrgghh!! is taking you to your Christmas gift."

"My car?" Barbara asked perplexed. "What about a Christmas gift? Is it from Jim?"

"Not Jim," Darci explained but didn't elaborate on who else would send a troll-drawn sleigh to pick up Barbara.

"Come on, Doc," said a voice from the sleigh, "we need to get a move on before it gets too late." And NotEnrique stood up in the sleigh's seat so Barbara could see him. He was wearing a suit, and a fat cigar hung from his leering mouth.

Barbara felt her stomach drop, but she was being pushed into the sleigh by Toby and Darci. "Um, I don't know about this," she said as she sat down. Everyone else was smiling at her, though, as Darci made sure a blanket covered her legs.

"No sweat, Doctor L, you are in good hands with Aaarrrgghh!!," Toby said, and Aaarrrgghh!! looked over his shoulder to give her a grin, but Barbara didn't know how to explain that it wasn't the hulking troll that gave her pause.

"Well, you have to make sure you tell me what this is all about next time I see you, Doc," Choen said. He lifted a hand and waved. "Happy Chanukah, everybody!"

"Chag Urim Sameach, dude!" Toby said with a grin. "Love the headband!"

As Choen walked to his car, and NotEnrique grabbed the reins attached to Aaarrrgghh!!, Barbara reluctantly gave her keys to the teens. "You two be safe in the snow," she said. Toby tossed the keys into the air, and Darci grabbed them before he could catch them. He gave her a hurt look.

"Don't worry, Doctor Lake, we will be careful," she said, stepping back. 

"Have a nice night!" she said as the couple waved.

"Okay, hang on Doc, Aaarrrgghh!! here is a little fast on the corners," NotEnrique told her, chewing on the cigar.

"And why do you have that?" she asked.

"My payment for my work this evening," he explained, taking the cigar out and wiggling it. "The big guy here is working for socks, I believe."

"Mmmm, socks," Aaarrrgghh!! rumbled.

"Well, just don't light it while I'm behind you, please," Barbara asked.

"Light it? Doc, I plan on eating it," he said with a grin, and with that, he snapped the reins and Aaarrrgghh!! was pulling them away from the hospital.

-----

They flew down the dark, deserted streets, Barbara's face starting to hurt from the cold. The lights wrapped around streetlights and trees twinkled, and the giant Christmas tree in the town's square lit up the whole block. Aaarrrgghh!! kept his pace, but suddenly NotEnrique yelled. "Oi! You missed our turn!"

"Oops," Aaarrrgghh!! rumbled, and he made a u-turn in the middle of the street, making Barbara and NotEnrique cry out as they were almost tossed out of the sleigh. Aaarrrgghh!! straightened himself out and started running towards the museum.

Two figures waited outside for them, and as they got closer, Barbara recognized Claire and Zoe. The two young women gave her large grins as Aaarrrgghh!! slid to a stop in front of them. "Merry Christmas, Barbara!" Claire cried.

"Merry Christmas!" Barbara answered back. NotEnrique helped her out of the sleigh, and she rubbed her hands to warm them. "Are you the one who set this up?"

"Nope," Claire said with a grin. "We are your glam squad!"

"Glam squad?" Barbara asked, but the two girls just smiled.

"Have fun, Doc!" NotEnrique cried out, and he grabbed the reins. "Come on, big guy, let's go get some eggnog spiked with glug." And the others waved to them as Aaarrrgghh!! galloped off.

Claire and Zoe guided Barbara into the museum and then into the bathroom. Claire handed Barbara a garment bag. "Tonight's affair has a dress code that doesn't include scrubs, I'm afraid."

Barbara gave the bag a look, but she went into a stall without comment. A few moments later, she laughed. "What's up?" Claire asked her.

"Oh, nothing," Barbara said with a giggle. "I just realized who planned this whole thing."

"How so?" asked Zoe.

Barbara stepped out a minute later. She was wearing a flowing, floor-length sapphire-blue dress, the empire-style waist accenting her bare shoulders. It was covered in crystals that twinkled as she took a turn. "Only Walt would pick something like this for me." Claire clapped as both girls laughed.

Zoe made a motion with her hand, and a pillow started to float in the air. Barbara hesitated but then sat down and put her full weight on the pillow, happy when she didn't fall to the floor. The girls began to tug her hair out of its bun and helped her to style it. "What do you say, Doctor L?" Zoe said with a grin, gesturing to her own pink hair. "Want to try a new color?" 

"No thanks," Barbara said with a grin. "I think I'm too old for the bright colors."

"Aw, no, you're not," Claire said as she pinned crystal hairpins onto Barbara's hair.

When finished, the girls escorted Barbara deeper into the museum and to the large room in the middle of the building. Jim messed with three table settings on a small table set up with a white tablecloth. Douixe was nearby, his hands glowing blue as candles floated and lit up around the room. Walt himself was in the middle of the room, supervising. He was wearing a green suit, tailored to fit his slim frame. Barbara slowly walked up to him and hugged him from behind. He turned his head to give her a tusk-filled smile. "Hello, darling," he said.

"Hello," she said back. "What in the world do you have planned?"

"Your Christmas gift," he replied with a grin.

"Dinner in the museum? Benoit's would have been easier."

"But Benoit's wouldn't have the rest of your gift for you."

Jim looked up from the table and grinned. "Hey, mom. How was the sleigh ride?"

"Terrifying," she confessed as Walt pulled out a chair and she sat down. "Did I throw everything off schedule by going in for a shift?"

"It pushed the evening's plans back, but all parties were able to adjust," Walt said as he also took a seat.

Jim grabbed the silver dome in front of Barbara, and with a flourish, he uncovered her plate. "Steak au Poivre with mashed garlic potatoes." He grabbed the silver dome in front of Walter and revealed a dish for him. "Raw steak with motor oil," Jim said, in a flatter tone. "Let it be known once again: I'm happy to have human taste buds."

Barbara pointed to the final setting. "Who else is joining us?"

"Me," said a voice behind her, and Barbara turned to see Nomura walking into the room. She also wore a suit, but unlike Walt's, it was jet black.

"You're late," Walt growled.

"Fashionably late," Nomura said with a grin, uncovering her plate. "Believe me, I wouldn't miss one of Little Gynt's meals."

Jim smiled and then leaned down to kiss Barbara on the forehead. "Have fun, mom. I hope you like your gift."

"You're not staying?" she asked.

"We are going back to Toby's and watching Christmas movies until we pass out," Douxie explained. "And don't worry, Doctor, Zoe and I are acting as chaperones."

"Strickler. Good luck," Jim said cryptically.

"Thank you, Young Atlas," Walt said while sipping on water.

Jim and Claire linked arms while Douxie threw his arm around Zoe's shoulder. The young adults waved as they left. "Merry Christmas!" Claire and Jim cried while Zoe and Doxie bellowed, "Happy Yule!"

"So," Barbara asked while she cut into her steak, "what exactly do you two have planned for tonight?"

"Well, Strickler and I have been talking, and we think you need a partner who would appreciate you more," Nomura said. She took a bite of her own raw steak and hummed at the taste. She used the fork to point at herself. "Mainly, me."

Walt rumbled at the other changeling. "Nomura, as curator of the Arcadia museum, was essential in setting up tonight's event." He glared at Nomura as she grinned at him. "Otherwise, she wouldn't be here."

Barbara laughed. "Let me guess, Jim's cooking was your payment for this evening?"

"Yep," Nomura confirmed as she took another bite. "Being turned into a half-troll really helped that boy to be a better cook, for both humans and trolls."

"Well, dig in then," Barbara said with a smile. "I wanna see what you two have planned for me."

-----

When done with their meal, Walt helped Barbara out of her seat, and they wandered to another part of the museum, Walt and Barbara linking arms while Nomura followed behind them. Before they turned a corner, Walt stopped her and looked at her. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"I do," she said with a little trepidation, but she laughed when Walt gently covered her eyes and started to guide her around the corner. "Don't want to ruin your surprise, just yet," he explained.

They walked for a few moments, Barbara holding onto Walt's cold hands as they slowly moved forward, and then Walt had her stop. 

"I hope you like it," he whispered in her ear, and then he lifted his hands, and Barbara gasped.

Barbara had heard about the exhibition coming to Arcadia, centered on the works of Impressionism artists. She had pointed it out to Walt, proclaiming her excitement at such an extensive collection coming to their small town. Usually, she would have to travel to San Francisco to see a show like this in person. But now, Barbara looked around, and she recognized the works of Monet, Manet, Cézanne, and Degas. All the artists she idolized but had never had the chance to see in person. She held her hands to her mouth and wandered around, both changelings watching her with small smiles on their faces.

"Oh, this is..." she started but stop as she felt overwhelmed by emotion. "This is beautiful." She looked at Walt. "But we could have come here later. Why the secrecy?"

"Well, then you would have to suffer as small children and uneducated heathens roaming around and obstructing the view," Walt said with a smile. "This way, you can enjoy everything without interruption."

Barbara looked around, identifying as many as the works as she could. "La Japonaise. Monet's first wife Camille Doncieux modeling a red kimono." She rushed over to another piece. "Manet's Gare Saint-Lazare. Oh, I didn't know how small this was; I thought it was huge." She slowly made her way to another painting, eyes lingering on the young woman with the sleeping dog in her lap. She gasped when she recognized the third piece. "Degas' La Classe de Danse, featuring Degas' friend Jules Perrot, a ballet master of the Paris Opera." She rushed up to the next piece. "Cézanne's Pyramid of Skulls, one of his last pieces. Oh, look at the detail."

Barbara spent the next 30 minutes wandering around, looking at the paintings and studying each one. Sometimes she would give the changelings a detail or fact about the works, even if she thought they already knew it. They followed her around, smiles on their faces as they watched her enthusiasm at seeing the art in the flesh.

"Oh, thank you, Walt, Nomura," she said after she finished looking around. "This is a really wonderful Christmas gift."

"We aren't done yet," Walt said. He took her arm and started to lead her to another wing. "You see, the museum wanted to feature a local artist with the exhibit. And Nomura and I felt we knew the right person who would fit the bill."

"Who?" Babara asked but gasped as they rounded a corner.

There, on display, was the majority of her work. Goodbye, Walt, Eye of the Storm, her piece figuring goblins, Vendel staring out at the viewer, Jim in his Daylight armor, Blinky in his cubic glory, Walt holding one of the babies. Even the painting that featured the kids after their fight with the Titans: aliens, wizards, and humans all together passed out in a large pile in her living room. Something that she had made to celebrate their victory while also showing them at their most vulnerable. She looked around in wonder at all her work hanging on the museum walls, like she was a proper artist.

"I can't think of anyone who would be more deserving to be featured in the show," Nomura said as Barbara gaped at the walls.

"Oh," Barbara breathed. "Oh, I don't know, guys. There has to be someone else more worthy than me. I'm not an artist."

"A better artist than most," Walt said with a growl. He gestured to Goodbye, Walt. "I wouldn't want anyone else capturing my likeness."

She laughed but then wandered from one painting to the next, trying to see them with new eyes. Were they as good as the others in the next room? She couldn't say. But seeing them on the walls on full display made her heart soar in a way she couldn't recall feeling before.

She paused in front of Goodbye, Walt, studying the piece with a smile on her face. She felt Walt next to her, and she turned to smile at him. "Do you like it?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yes," she said, grinning so hard her face hurt. "It is an excellent surprise, Walt."

"Well, there is one last thing," he said, and he cleared his throat and sent a pointed glare at Nomura. She grinned but then left the room with no comment. Walt turned back to Barbara and gave her a shy smile. "Barbara, I have a question for you."

"What is it?" she asked.

"This last year and a half, well... I mean to say, I have lived a long time..." he started to say.

"I will figure out how old you are, Walt," she said with a grin.

"What I'm trying to say is," he growled but paused again and pulled at his collar. "Bloody hell, I didn't imagine it would be this difficult."

"Walt," she said, taking his hands. "It's okay. What are you trying to say?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gently taking his hands back. "This last year and a half has been the best period of my life. And I can say that with no irony. You are teaching me to be a better person, and I know it is not easy for you or myself, but you make it worthwhile."

He fidgeted with his lapels and then reached into his jacket. "I would like to continue, growing, learning, with you, as long as you would have me. What I'm trying to say is Barbara, is that I want to be with you, officially." He paused and cleared his throat. "And now I made it sound like a business transaction."

She laughed but stopped when he brought a small item out of his jacket. It was a black jewelry box, and he opened it, revealing a gold ring with a green stone. She gasped and covered her mouth as he dropped to one knee. "Doctor Barbara Lake," he asked, barely above a whisper, "marry me?"

She suddenly hugged him so quickly that he almost toppled over. But he caught himself and returned the hug. "Yes," she whispered, trying to answer around the lump in her throat. She leaned back so he could see her face. "Yes, Waltolomew Stricklander, I will marry you."

He stood up and kissed her, crushing her until she couldn't breathe. When they broke the kiss, he reached into the box and put the ring on her finger. She moved it around, trying to identify the stone. "What is this made of?" she asked.

"A piece of my living stone," he explained. He placed a hand over his heart. "Nomura craved it out, so you will always have a part of me."

"Oh Walt, that is.... so weird," she said with a laugh. "But it's so beautiful, thank you." She started to tug on Walt's suit. "Can you show me where?"

"Hey now, no funny business in the museum," Nomura joked as she walked around the corner.

Barbara laughed and felt her cheeks warm in a blush. "Thank you Nomura, for helping with tonight."

Nomura shrugged. "You do deserve to be part of the exhibit, Barbara. We are pleased to feature your work." She crossed her arms and gestured at Goodbye, Walt. "Too bad your best work will inflate this one's ego."

Walt grumbled, but it didn't seem threatening because he was grinning ear to ear. "Well, darling," he said, turning to look at Barbara, "it's late. Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes, I think I am," she said, linking her arm with his.

They headed to the front of the museum, where Walt's car was waiting for them. Nomura handed the keys back to Walt but didn't let go of them. "Just remember Barbara," she purred with a grin. "You are always welcomed to kick this one out, and we could elope."

"To Las Vegas?"

"Of course," Nomura said as Walt finally tugged the keys out of her hand.

"I think I will be happy being Mrs. Strickler but thank you."

Walt looked shocked. "You would take my last name?"

"Nope, still going to be Doctor Lake."

"Figures," he sighed as Barbara laughed at him. She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The couple waved and said goodnight, and Walt rushed Barbara to the waiting car. Walt got in and started their ride home. Barbara carefully threaded her fingers with his free hand as she watched the snow coming down outside her window.

"Merry Christmas, Walter Strickler."

"Merry Christmas, Doctor Lake."

[magic-and-moonlit-wings]

Source: https://collider.com/wizards-release-date/

Okay, was anyone going to tell me that Wizards had some promo material dropped, or was I just supposed to see chatter about it and go looking myself? 

Looks like we’re getting a Morgana face reveal like we were hoping, because the shot of Claire and the lady standing in front of the fireplaces was captioned ‘Claire and Morgana’ when I saved the image on the source page. Her haircut looks kind of like the dark-haired lady from the poster, but the firelight makes her look more of a redhead like the portrait-lady seen behind and above them, so it’s still unclear what her hair colour is. (Maybe Morgana’s hair is naturally red but turned black from magic use like how Claire’s turned white.) 

The antler-horned figures might be more Fay characters. Probably connected to the “mysterious armoured foe” in 3Below Season 2. The biggest Antler-Guy is probably the main antagonist, from his position and lighting. Maybe that’s Galen. 

I don’t see any of the Akiridion characters in these promo shots, but the time travel might lead into that ‘prophecy’ Vendel and Kanjigar mentioned in 3Below that Akiridions were going to show up on Earth at some point. 

The blue stone in Douxie’s staff looks like the one in the Amulet. 

The cat looks like he has wings in a couple of these images so I’m inclined to think he has, like, a gargoyle/dragon power-up form. 

The big armoured guy could be King Arthur, Lancelot, Mordred, or possibly Toby from even further in the future who came back in time to help again (my first thought when I saw him). 

Looks like more of Claire’s hair is going to turn white. Also I think she’s wearing the dress seen in the museum in Trollhunters Season 1. (“I wish our play had these costumes.”) 

Is that the Decimaar Blade Jim is holding? I remember theorizing that he could wield it while in the Eclipse armour and I’ll be very excited if I’m proven right. 

And that shot of the troll army was captioned ‘Killahead Bridge’ so it looks like we might finally get an official date for when that battle occurred - because every time travel story worth its salt has the characters establish, “okay, when exactly are we?” 

... 

WHAT IF JIM KILLS GUNMAR IN THE PAST, AND CLAIRE DEFEATS MORGANA IN THE PAST, CHANGING THE FUTURE, AND THAT’S WHY MERLIN HID THE TRIUMBRIC STONES AND GAVE JIM THE TROLL POTION, TO GET THE TIME-LOOP STARTED, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET RID OF GUNMAR AND MORGANA?! 

The plot-related bit of the press release, for anyone who doesn’t feel like clicking the link or if the article vanishes after a while, reads as follows: 

Following Trollhunters and the second series 3Below, Wizards marks the final chapter in the trilogy that brings together the three disparate worlds of trolls, aliens and wizards. In the newest installment, wizard-in-training Douxie and the heroes of Arcadia embark on a time-bending adventure to medieval Camelot that leads to an apocalyptic battle for the control of magic that will determine the fate of these supernatural worlds that have now converged.