#enjoyed seas windy with waves sounding

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

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今宵彩雲夢 興許故人逢 一步一回顧 他日待東風

─ poem : 仲茵 ‧ 盼君歸 Looking forward to your coming by Chu Lan

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IU – Give You My Heart (마음을 드려요)

Lyrics

[zylophie]

Furina meeting someone in fontaine who somehow doesn't know them... Sounds refreshing and fluffy!

꒰⌗´͈ ᵕ ॣ`͈⌗꒱৩ — furina

✿ — ♬ ⌨️ᶻᶻᶻ : x/modmafuyu is typing... ✉!

✿ — ↻ SYNOPSIS : Furina meeting a fontainian(reader) who doesn't know her.

✿ — ♯ GENRE : Fluff(mostly), bittersweet

✿ — ⊜ CW : Nil

✿ — ↠ NOTE : Hi hi Anon~ Thank you for requesting~ I had a lot of fun making this fic and I hope you'll enjoy reading it ! I know you wanted fluff but I accidentally made a bittersweet ending. Hope that's alright!<3

Timeline would be Furina still acting out her role. So that this fic would not go too far out of character.

Just a warning, 4.2 spoilers.

[h/c] - hair color

[e/c] - eye color

✿ — ♪ REMINDER : reblogs & likes are appreciated, in doing so will motivate us to continue delivering stories to you, thank you for all of your supports ~ !

Extra: if you would like to request, click here and read the writing rules for each writer !

✿ — ♭ ⁿᵒʷ ᶜᵃˡˡⁱⁿᵍ... : ...No one

✿ — ► ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Furina

CLICK CLACK CLICK!

A petite girl was seen running out of the Palais Mermonia in the Court of Fontaine. As she took off running as far as her legs could take her.

-----------------FLASHBACK-----------------

"...Miss Furina, I do hope you know the prophecy will come sooner or later. Even if Fontaine hasn't experience any deleterious flooding.. yet.. We must act fast to ensure all our citizen are safe and won't live in fear. Who knows how long till they believe in those 'rumors'"

"I do know that! ...I promise I'm doing something useful to help everyone."

"I can clearly sense that you are hiding something from me. Please, just tell me what is it that you are covering up."

"I-I'm telling you! I'm not hiding anything. I am your archon, could you PLEASE stop doubting me?!"

...

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

'How much longer..'

pant pant pant

'So lonely..'

pant pant pant

'Please let this show end..'

THUD

The petite girl collided with the ground due to exhaustion. She began looking around, upon seeing no one, she felt a little relieved to see that no one had spotted her being in a mess from earlier.

..Well probably except for the Chief of Justice.

'..Way to go Furina, if he wasn't already suspicious of me, he definitely is now..'

As the girl slowly picked herself up from the ground and continued to wandered mindlessly, wanting to get her mind off things for a bit.

Furina strolled leisurely while admiring the scenery upon her. She usually doesn't have time to be curious and as carefree while playing the role of the archon.

'Where am I anyways? I've.. Never been out of the city before'

As Furina came across a sunny and bright view. Where the sun is beaming while waves crash into one another, accompanied by golden rocks.

Although it is an unfamiliar surrounding, Furina only felt comfort feeling the breeze of the atmosphere as she slowly trotted over to the sea.

'What is this place? I've never been here but it feels really easy to relax..'

As Furina slowly took in the sunlight and windy zephyr and sighed. If only she could adventure and explore the world even more..

Being lost in thought, the petite girl did not notice someone in the distance sneaking up behind her.

'..It's really hard being an ar-'

"BOO!"

"AHHH?!"

Furina out of instinct, quickly lifted her arms into a defensive pose to shield her from whatever is coming after her.

"Ahaha! You should've seen the look on your face."

As Furina slowly opened her eyes, she saw a unfamiliar [h/c] person with [e/c] eyes. Realising they were a fontainian, she immediately cleared her throat.

"What look? I was preparing to attack you, you're lucky I took the flight response or else I would've seriously injured you!"

Furina folded her arms looking really displeased with whoever scared her.

"Ahaha.. Sorry, you just looked a little bit depressed. Anyways, I'm [name], nice to meet you. Now, may I ask why such a beautiful lady was looking quite down?"

"B-beautiful?!"

"Mhm! I've heard my friends say that the hydro archon was really pretty. At this rate I might mistake you as them!"

[Name] looking quite content with their response, giving a close-eyed smile.

"Ahem! A-Anyways, to answer your question. I was simply dreading about my workload. I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"Oh really? Guess it isn't a big issue. I'm glad."

'They're glad? I'm just some stranger though, I'm not sure why they're that relieved..'

"So, how's the beach? Pretty relaxing huh? I usually come here after I run my errands."

"Oh.. So this is called a beach, I've never seen one my whole life until today. It really isn't that bad at all to spend a day off here."

Furina then turned her view back to the waves, wanting to treasure this moment before returning to her dull stage.

Suddenly Furina felt something. Only to turn to see [name] placing a rainbow flower in her hair.

"Eh?! What's up with the sudden flowers?! Forget that, how did you even get them?!"

"I did mention I run errands, and that is when I go flower hunting to find beautiful flowers to add to my garden. I decided to give this rainbow flower to you as a gift. It's fitting for a beauty like you~!"

"W-wha-"

"Also, just want to ask, do you work for the hydro archon? You called me a mortal, surely the hydro archon must've have cute colleauges!"

"..."

[Even-More-Fluff Ending] - Optional to read

"Do you not know who the hydro archon is?"

"..Not really, I live on the country side, but I do hear adventurers say that she is dazzling and charismatic. Although it fits into your description.. Surely I'm not talking to the hydro archon."

"...Yeah you're right, I'm not the hydro archon ahahaha! I-I'm her coworker. Yep, pleasure serving under her!"

'God damnit Furina! What are you doing?!'

'...'

'Maybe they are the person I can confide in.. However I know that's impossible, but it does feel nice to not need to put my guard up as high..'

[Bittersweet Ending: continuation of Even-More-Fluff Ending] - Optional to read

When Furina returned to her office in Palais Mermonia. She sat in her chair recounting her recent encounter with [name]. Hoping to see her again.

So she began having meetups with [name] more frequently. Of course, this caught onto Neuvilette's attention since Furina never leaves the city much. So he decided to follow her on one eventful day.

Only to see the archon with a mortal. He didn't know much about this other person that was with Furina so he decided to interrupt their conversation.

"Miss Furina?"

"Huh?! Neuvilette?! W-What are you doing here?"

"Well the hydro archon has been frequently leaving the city for quite a while so I wanted to check it out. Whose this other person you're with?"

"W-wait.. Furina?! You're the hydro archon?!"

[Name] stared in disbelief, immediately apologising for their rude behaviour towards her.

'Well there goes my identity.. Oh well it was pretty fun while it lasted."

[tojigasm]

House

Authors note: Here is the long-awaited Sam fic!! Funny thing, actually. I finished this last night only to open my computer and realize it hadn't even been saved, so I've spent this morning or so rewriting all of it, lolz. Anyways, I hope you lovelies enjoy!!

Warnings: nsfw 18+, smut, fem!reader, stepcest, sam is your stepdad, daddy kink, creampie, doggystle, kissing, anxiety

Synopsis:

Home is not the same afterward.

She doesn't notice Sam's more frequent absence as he spends more time in your room. And when you don't have college work to get done, the two of you are talking, making out, or fucking.

Your mother doesn't notice. Because if she did, what would you do.

The stone is hot beneath you – settling a baking ache into your skin that seeps up from your beach towel beneath you.

And the sounds of the rushing waves are heavy and soaked with foam that crawls up the sand as though it's coming to grab at you and pull you into the sea along with it.

You pop a bubble of gum from your glossed lips, swinging your feet behind you. You've finished the page of your book.

"Y/n," Sam's voice calls to you against the windy beach. "Look here."

He's set up a few feet away, and a digital camera stares back at you in his hands. The red recording light pulses above the lense.

You wave bashfully, fingers dancing as you wink to the camera from under your sunnies. "Hi, Sam's camera," you roll your eyes, turning back to your book.

Sam tugs at the string of your pink bikini top, "What's a pretty thing like you doin' out on the beach all alone?" His voice draws in a southern heat to it. He looks from side to side before settling down next to you, "hundereds of boys out here probably waitin' fr'their chance to steal y'away, huh?" He tips your chin, still recording you as you meet his baby blues.

A smirk pulls over your lips and you smile, teasing at the end of the string of your bathing suit top, "oh, nothin' just enjoyin' the view," you stifle a giggle through your southern accent.

Sam nods from behind the camera with a smile before stroking his hand over your jaw to behind your ear, thumb circling the soft of your cheek.

His thumb slips past your sticky lips, he lets you wrap the plush of them around his digit, and he sighs softly.

"You're a naughty girl," the light of the camera catches your eye, and you stare down the barrel of the lense before looking up at him, smirking. "What would your mother think?" The southern accent weans.

You pull away from his thumb with a 'pop', "What would your wife think?" You pull your sunnies up to rest on your head.

Sam gages you under a watchful eye of baby blue. Tongue poking at the inside of his cheek, he lifts the camera up again to look at you through the grainy lense.

Your lips perk under the scene, glossed and plush when you run your tongue along the soft of them again.

"Keep doing that, and you're gonna be in trouble, missy." Sam teases, his voice deep with warn.

You nod, "Oh, of course, daddy." There's a draw to your voice that Sam catches almost instantly. A draw of dangerous wean that suggests something that challenges him.

"Am I a bad girl, daddy?" You peer over your shoulder, "a bad, bad girl?"

Sam doesn't say anything. Rather, he watches you, smirk pulled in loftiness and eyes narrow for a moment before he stands and makes his way near the water.

—

The ride home is gentle and soft as music plays throughout the car.

Your legs are propped out the side window, and the sun blazes over your skin a glittery shine.

Sam keeps a hand on the wheel and the other past the button of your jean shorts, circling the pads of his fingers over your clit.

—

Sat in his lap, thin fabric of your bathing suit pressed into his hot bulge. Sam's hands slide up and down the soft of your back to squeeze at the plush of your ass.

You gasp playfully, arching your back some to press your hands up into your breasts with a soft moan.

Sam groans from beneath you, relaxing deeper into the leather of the couch and spreading his thick thighs.

"You're so pretty." Sam speaks earnestly, resting his head against the arch of the couch.

You bite at your bottom lip, scuffing your hands into his thick tufts of roan. "What would my mom think?" The question is far softer.

Sam chuckles, and you can feel his leg bounce up and down beneath you. His head rolls to the side lightly, "Let daddy take care of you, hmm?"

Rough hands scoop under the plush of your ass to lift you, gently moving you to rub against the hot bulge of his cock.

A sharp hiss passes through Sam's teeth, and he holds a hand at your waist as the other strokes up and down the length of him.

The fat swollen tip presses into your bathing suit, and you whine, followed by a teaching 'shh' from Sam.

"Christ, can already feel how wet you are."

"Please fuck me." Your brows drop into a pout "wanna feel good, daddy." and Sam nods, moving the thin material to the side with one hand before pushing his tip against your sopping folds.

"Deep breath fr'me, angel," Sam guides gently as you take the girth of him inch by inch. The ache pools in your thighs, stretch so delicious your knees ache.

Your head falls forward to his chest, and he takes on a protective role when you've taken the bulk of him. Completely filled with him, balls pressed up against your velvet folds.

Sam presses a kiss to your temple, "feel okay?" He asks, testing a soft thrust that makes you keen in want.

"Please," you sob, tucking your face into his shoulder.

The two of you go on like that for a while; taking from one another and all at the same time fliiing each other up in a suffocating hold that contracts and pulses.

Windows of the living room fog and both you and Sam's skin runs slick with heat.

"M'legs hurt." You mumble, and Sam nods.

"Okay, hon," he helps you off of him before standing and maneuvering you to sit on the slick seat of the couch.

You wiggle in an anticipation and Sam chuckles quietly, running his hand over the globes of your ass.

"Arch yr'back, sweetie," he stands behind you, pushing at the dip of your spine to which you follow, dropping your head to cushioned pillows and letting your knees support your cunt In the air. "There y'go."

His cock fills you so deliciously that you sob.

And it's all so overwhelming; your slick that trickles down the insides of your thighs, the 'pap, pap, pap' that echoes throughout the living room, the weight of him and the stretch of his girth against your gummy walls, and the vulgarity of it all.

"Fuckin' swear you were made fr'me," Sam groans and you cry.

Your cheek presses into the hot leather of the couch, and your nails dig into the rough seat.

Sam's hand trails down your arm to hold your own, grounding you as he gently circles his thumb over your hot skin.

"So deep," you mumble, "feels so good."

His hand slips to hold at your chin, pulling you up to rest your back against his chest.

The angle makes your breath hitch and your eyes screw shut as his cock stretches you open.

"Please," you cry.

And when you cum, your lashes fall to your cheeks and your walls squeeze around his girth.

"M'cumming, daddy, fuck" you sob and Sam soothes you, letting you fall back to the couch, laying himself atop you.

"You're okay," Sam whispers against your cheek, still pumping into you.

The overstimulation sends shivers through your thighs and toes, making you squeal under him.

Sam drops his chin to your shoulder, kissing up the soft of your neck and your chin. The bristles of his beard tickles against your soft cheeks.

"Oh fuck," Sam warns, swollen balls tapping your soaked folds. "Shit, daddy's gonna cum," he bites at the skin of your shoulder when he fills you.

The heat of him spills into you and trickles down the insides of your thighs and Sam gently places you to the couch before scooping his cum back into your swollen cunt.

Large hands run up and down the soft of your legs.

"You okay?" He asks after a moment.

You nod. Lashes closed to your cheeks.

He stands and sits beside you on the couch, pulling you into his lap, holding you to his chest as he rocks the two of you back and forth gently.

—

Home is not the same afterward.

Your mother doesn't return from her trip for a few days, and though she's none the wiser, you know eventually one of the two of you would slip.

She doesn't notice the Sam sitting on your side of the table, his hand soft on your thigh or your foot on his shoe.

She doesn't notice the small splintered pieces of leather from her favorite couch that are missing.

And she doesn't notice how excited you are when she tells you she's planning another girl's trip at the end of the upcoming month.

She doesn't notice Sam's more frequent absence as he spends more time in your room. And when you don't have college work to get done, the two of you are talking, making out, or fucking.

You tell yourself your mother doesn't notice as Sam pulls you into his lap against your headboard, kissing over your cheeks and nose and chin. The bristles of his beard tickles you again, and you giggle.

Your mother doesn't notice. Because if she did, what would you do.

[shiningfremi]

hi! was wondering if i could req hurt to comfort - where freminet gets injured badly and reader gets so worried that they stay by his bedside waiting for him to wake up :(?

— same anon that req fremi cuddles (can i be 🧤anon?)

freminet gets injured [hurt to comfort]

[ freminet x gn!reader, modern au ]

!! CW: descriptive injury, mention of blood !!

aww this is so endearing 🧤 anon!! :*( i love this request sm,, and i'm proud of how this turned out! enjoy~

wc: 2.8k

🪼⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

you were on a picnic date with freminet on the rocky cliffside, nothing could beat the wonderful view. you two were now enjoying desert, which consisted of delicious, spongy strawberry cake, your favorite muffins, and some berry red fruit punch.

freminet was telling you all about his favorite fairy tales and myths, since you wanted to hear so much about what he liked to read. more impressively, he could tell you the entire plot, getting into the nuance of it all. you admired how his eyes lit up as he described the stories. you could listen to his voice all day, it was soothing and a bit deeper than usual as he was completely relaxed.

“and then, the two little birds had gone to follow the wind, unaware of where they would go, or what they believed in.” 

“wait, that's how it ends?” your mouth was agape. “no way! i need to know what happened to them,” you huff. 

“that's right, the author wanted to leave it up for interpretation,” freminet sighed. 

the wind began picking up, the checkered blanket underneath you two threatening to lift up. freminet held out his arms, flattening it down.

“whew!” you held onto the hat you were wearing. “it's getting windy up here, isn't it?”

all that was left were the finished paper plates with crumbs scattered about, and the near empty juice bottles.

“indeed it is..” he hummed. “how about we clean up, then stay for the sunset?”

“that sounds amazing. let's do it!” you shine him a bright smile. the sky always looked gorgeous from the cliffside.

after you both finish packing up and loading it into the trunk of freminet's car, you eagerly take his hand in yours to check out the breathtaking sights, as the sun was already beginning to dip down, and a golden orange gleamed down on the thrashing ocean below, making it sparkle from every angle.

“alright alright, i'm coming~” he softly chuckled as you dragged him along.

once you got close enough to the edge, you gaze out into the waters, your expression full of awe. “wow..”

freminet remained silent, simply holding onto your arm, his cheeks a slight rosy pink.

the scene looked as if it were a painting that was being crafted right before your eyes.

you just had to snap a picture, so you reach into your pocket, before pulling out your wallet instead.

with a confused gaze, you think back to where you saw your device last.

“woops! i think my phone is in the car-” 

suddenly, a strong gust whipped through and you lost your hold on your wallet. with a startled gasp, you reached out but it was no use, it was already flying off the edge.

separating from freminet, you hurried to get closer, then sadly peer down. 

your wallet was plunging into the depths below.

“oh no.. my wallet..!” you panicked. you had a great deal of cash in there, your driver's license, your id card.. what were you going to do? you glanced at him, full of anxiety.

“it's okay y/n, i can go in and get it! there's a trail that leads down to the beach,” he pointed in the opposite direction.

“are you sure fremi? the waves seem harsh right now.” 

“w-well, i've actually gone swimming here before in similar conditions, so i can do it,” he assured you. “cmon!”

with a hint of reluctance, you nod, remembering all of the important things in there that could be lost to the sea. 

freminet was a professional, and the wallet didn't stray far at all yet.

“alright!” you followed after him down the narrow pathway, small pebbles clanking down as both of you try to get to the shore as quickly as you could.

once you were finally there, freminet took off his sandals and his jeans, revealing black swimming shorts from when he went surfing earlier that day. and yes, he could surf just as well as he could dive~

“i can see it. this will be quick, i promise.” he grinned back at you, determined to put his talents to use to retrieve it for you.

he seemed sure of himself, so you stood back as he waded into the water, and then his agile body climbed the huge stones that jutted out, gradually inching closer to your wallet. it was lodged in between two smaller stones. he then snatched it out of the water before a wave could take it away.

“here it is, y/n!” he called out to you, waving it in the air.

“yay! thank you!!” you cheerfully shout back.

he looks so cool right now~

but...

that's when it happened.

freminet's back was turned, and he was getting up onto the rock to come back the way he came. as he was lifting his leg, an enormous wave was closing in behind him, bigger than what you've ever seen that evening.

where did that..? no, no! it's not safe! he needs to-

“wait!” 

you yell out a warning once you realize what was going to happen, but it was far too late. a horrible crashing noise filled the air, and your eyebrows twisted in horror as he disappeared into the salty mist.

the water was unforgiving, it carried him away from the stones - slamming him into the side of the escarpment. he had no time to react, and his head banged against the rock face. freminet's ears rang, a high-pitched sound roaring into his skull, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“freminet!” you scream, your voice shrill with terror. you automatically jump into the water, legs staggering in the sand, moving with haste. 

you climbed onto the stones with a grunt, and frantically observed the area until his unconscious frame came into your focus. your heart felt like it had dropped all the way down to your feet. your eyes welled up with tears, and that's when you broke out in an uncontrollable sob.

“f-freminet..!” you wail, your voice shaking. 

you lunge forward, and lock your arms around him, trying to haul the boy out of the sea as quickly as possible. warm, fresh blood was streaming out of a deep gash on the side of his head, flowing down to his shoulder and coating your hand. you stare at the wound in shock, and keep pulling him out until you reach the safety of the shore.

.

.

.

it was a couple of hours after freminet's incident, and he was now in a bed, all bandaged up, but yet to wake up. after you got him out of the water, you never ran so fast in your life, bolting up the hill to the car and getting your phone out, then frantically dialing the police and running back down as the phone rang. he was then taken away by the ambulance, which you quickly followed behind, and now you were here in the hospital room with him, refusing to leave his side. 

the doctor had informed you that his condition would improve, as the hit wasn't fatal. 

she stated that it was a mild traumatic brain injury - or more commonly known as a concussion. 

so, he had a nice chance of waking up in the next couple hours or so. when he does, they’ll have to do more examinations. but for now, it’s a waiting game.

the wave of relief that had flooded through you was too great to describe, but you felt so terribly guilty. if you hadn’t dropped your wallet, none of this would have happened. or… you should’ve stopped him, because you knew something was off.

you were hunched over, kneeling at the bedside, whilst nurses checked in on him periodically.

your head was down, and you were clutching on his hand, with a mind that was racing with prayers. 

“please wake up freminet.. please.”

it seemed like forever, until…

“y-y/n..? is that you?” freminet slowly awoke, blinking the drowsiness away, and instinctively lifted his head before he winced with pain as his head throbbed. it felt as if something was pounding on his brain, over and over again…

“you’re awake!” you quietly gasp, perking up. “lay down, lay down…” you gently usher him, hating to see him struggle.

his eyes darted around the small room, trying to take in his surroundings.

“do you remember what happened?” you ask, with worry clouding your gaze. 

he knew your name, which gave you some amount of solace.

“the last thing that i f-felt was a slamming sensation. and i let go of your wallet…” he fidgeted with his fingers, dejected. he opened his mouth again, but the only words he could utter were,

“i’m sorry.” his tone was as soft as could be, but he sounded so shameful.

“no, this is anything but your fault! i should’ve stopped you,” you jump to tell him, tears threatening to build up again. “nothing else matters right now. i could always replace my belongings, but i could never replace you.”

“in the end, i was the one who decided to go in..”

you choke back your feelings, trying not to add any more distress than what he was already feeling. you wanted to be calm, not only for your his sake, but your own.

freminet was quiet, and his face felt like it was on fire. how could he burden you like this?

the fact that the very place that he’s known by heart for the majority of his life, the ocean… was the culprit for hurting him. he thought that it would never happen, could never happen, since he knew the ins and outs of every situation. 

and for that, freminet felt utterly crestfallen. 

when he caught your gaze, he wanted to wail and hide far, far away.

“i’m sorry!” he said for the second time, voice breaking as he held back all of his emotion. he felt completely helpless right now, and that was the last thing he wanted to be. 

“please stop that…” you realize that guilt wouldn’t do either of you any good, and so you let out a long sigh, taking both his hands in yours.

“neither of us knew what was going to happen. nobody could have predicted that a giant wave would come out of nowhere like that.” you attempt to comfort him, gently rubbing his knuckle with your thumb.

“i- i just…” freminet was still distant.

a knock could be heard.

“how are we doing in here?” a nurse came in, softly shutting the door behind her. her voice was comforting. 

“we’re going to run some tests on you to gauge your condition, alright freminet?” she gave him a gentle smile.

after his memory exams were conducted, everything came out well. but he told both the nurse and doctor that his headache was only getting worse, and that he was feeling pretty weak. they assured him that it was completely normal given the trauma inflicted, and so he was given medication to help ease the symptoms.

“where you’re at right now, it would be okay for you to head home. but we highly recommend an overnight stay so you can leave in the morning. not only for your health aspect, but for convenience as well.” the woman was writing words down on her clipboard and checking boxes off.

“it is completely up to you, love. absolutely no rush.” you turn to him, squeezing his hands.

“i would love to be back home, believe me, but right now.. i don’t think i have the energy to stand.”

“alright.. no problem, we'll keep monitoring you then.” the kind nurse handed the clipboard to freminet for his signature, and reminded you both to take it easy before leaving the room. she also made sure to mention that she would be available with a simple press of the help button and would be checking in every hour or so. you thank her for everything she's done so far, and she nodded back, glad that it all turned out fine.

“are you.. going to stay in here with me?”

“of course i am.” you promise him. “i'm not going anywhere.”

“okay.” he tried to get into a more comfortable position to get some more rest, but he just couldn't.

“i want to go back to asleep…” freminet sighed. “i'm exhausted, but my eyes are refusing to close.”

“is your head still bothering you?”

“mhm.. i guess so.” he was turned the opposite direction from you now, just staring at the wall.

“ah, okay. should we ask for something that will help you fall sleep quicker?” you suggest.

no response.

“fremi?” you whisper.

just then, you could hear sniffling and small sobs coming from him, and you stayed completely still. you never heard him cry before. he was really good at regulating his emotions, and never cried in front of anyone. but freminet deserved to let it out, that's for sure. your eyebrows were knitted, a deep pang of melancholy engulfing your expression.

poor freminet..

“what a terrible way to conclude our date..” he murmured, it was difficult for him to face you like this, heck, it was hard enough having you witness everything unfold right then and there.

you didn't think that the image of him getting swept away and hitting the rock would ever leave your mind - the way your hair on the back of your neck stood up on end, how your reactions felt so overwhelmingly delayed.

those couple hours of uncertainty were the worst of all. speeding through traffic for him as your nails dug into the steering wheel, whilst every possibility in your head whirred..

how serious would it be? why did this have to happen? if only i was faster..

..what if the worst case scenario comes true?

“trust me, that is the last thing i'm worried about. you're awake, you're talking to me.. and you'll be able to get out of here tomorrow. i'm beyond grateful.” you stayed seated right behind his back, knowing that if you saw his tears streaming down, you wouldn’t be able to take it..

“y/n..” he bawled, covering his eyes with one shaky hand.

“it's okay, everything will be okay.” you soothe, though hearing him cry when he's the calmest person you know was breaking you.

“i.. oh, goodness, i-i’m just a mess right now...” he took a ragged breath in. “and the trouble i've caused you-”

“shh, my darling..” you caressed him, the same as he always did for you whenever you were at your lowest. your fingers danced along the shell of his ear, brushing through his short blonde locks, paying great attention as to not disturb the bandage wraps.

freminet began to calm down, and he slowly released his hand away from his face, relaxing upon feeling your touch.

“i don't know what i would be without you..” he confessed. “i’ve never, uhm,’ he didn't finish his sentence, but you nodded, which signified a mutual understanding.

“i've asked myself the same exact thing.”

you look down at him, and he turns to meet your gaze at last, his under eyes red and puffy. you were sure that your signs of crying from earlier were also visible.

“..are you feeling hungry? thirsty? there's plenty of water for you on the counter, but i can get you anything you want. anything,” you say to him, hoping that it would help to get his mind off the situation.

“anything?” he blinked.

“always.” a smile tugged on your cheeks.

“hmm..” freminet thought for a moment.

“i would like a hug. i think that's all i need at the moment.” there was the shine in his eyes that you came to know and love.

you pause for a moment, feeling warm inside. even though he must be in a good amount of pain, he just wanted a hug..!

“one hug, coming right up!” your heart fluttered.

freminet steadily got himself into a sitting position, nodding to let you know that he was alright. and that's when you promptly took a seat on his bed and slowly wrapped your arms around him, still making sure that you weren't hurting him any further.

you were finally feeling at peace. you’ve never been so scared before.

“i love you, oh god, i love you so much..” you took in his familiar scent, ever so thankful that he didn’t suffer a serious injury from the hit. you were reminded how unpredictable life can be, and that you could never take him for granted, not even for one second.

“i love you too. more than you could ever know.” he was quick to reply, closing his eyes as you held him.

a few moments pass you by before freminet’s soft voice spoke again, his grasp on you tightening. you could hear the serenade of his heartbeat as you two were now close enough for your chests to be touching.

“my interpretation for the tale i told you about..” he nuzzled into you, feeling safe and comforted. “it was that the two little birds found something in the drift of wind, and it was their love for one another. that was the missing piece that they needed to honor. the breeze had tested them.. tested them to stay strong.”

🪼⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

[thetruearchmagos]

Swift Seas And Whirlwinds

An Excerpt: Prologue

Hey folks, Arch here, with a little Prose written on a sudden whim. I've had a a few vague ideas of what I'd like to see someday in a novelisation of SSAW for some time, and one of them pertained to what might go into a 'Prologue' of the first book. Here, that idea's been put to words!

Tagging @athenswrites @theprissythumbelina @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations @thatndginger @username-cause-i-need-one @avrablake @coffeexafterxmidnight @nerdexer @lividdreamz

They came for him in the morning. 

Three cars, jet black with tinted windows, glided down the road on St. Quentin Street. This early, the ordinarily busy thoroughfare was empty and lifeless, cast in shadow and the dim light of dawn. The storefronts on the street were still shuttered, and with their lights turned out. 

Except for one. 

The Cafe Dubois wasn’t open for business just yet, but its first customer of the day was already enjoying his breakfast. Seated at a table along the window facing the street, Captain Girauld Castex enjoyed his black coffee and buttered toast, and the show slowly unfurling across the street.

The motorcade pulled along the curb opposite the cafe, coming to a stop in front of a stately brown townhouse just like all the others on the block. The sound of their breaks screeched into the still air, followed quickly by their doors, which opened in unison. 

The men who stepped out of the cars moved with just as much measured efficiency. The fore and aft cars discharged three each, the one in the centre letting out just two. After all, it had to leave an empty seat.

Once they’d formed up in the windy street, they set off towards the house in two lines. All were dressed sharply in black, under black hats, but those pulling up the rear pulled out batons from under their coats.

Castex heard a small noise coming from behind him, distracting him from the scene. It was Mr Dubois himself, standing behind the counter, leaning himself against it for support with his right fist to his mouth. The Captain ignored him.

The man in front rang the doorbell, though Castex certainly couldn’t hear anything. After a moment’s pause, he would, as the smashed point man smashed the door in with two hard kicks. The assembled mass surged through with all the power of a tidal wave, sweeping through and into the home.

The next few minutes were, no doubt, a period of frenetic, vicious action, tearing through all three stories of the fine estate. Castex couldn’t see anything past shadows against closed curtains, or hear anything beyond the occasional crash of something smashing to the ground, but he nonetheless knew every move and every act taking place within those four walls. He knew it in his bones, with all the certainty of a conductor playing the same score for the five hundredth time.

It was all over by the time Castex finished his cup of coffee. Silence reigned as the first rays of dawn’s light cast themselves down the road, and the eight men swept through the shattered door frame the other way, with one more tightly penned in between them. The new figure, forced into the cool morning still in his underclothes, held his head low and hands covering his face as best he could. They each returned to their respective vehicles, the ninth man wedged between the two in the centre car. Then, with all the fanfare with which they came, they slipped into the slowly waking gloom.

“Another coffee, if you please.”

Castex heard no reply, and with an exaggerated groan worthy of his station turned once again to Monsieur Dubois. He hadn’t moved an inch in three minutes, frozen as still as stone. 

��A coffee, Monsieur.”

At last, the man’s lips moved, though his words barely crawled out of his throat.

“Monsieur Capitaine… Monsieur Allard, he—”

“Will receive his due as a criminal, and no more, yes. And so shall you, good sir.”

Castex could see the pasty man turn even more pale, if such a thing were possible.

“Sir, I…I only—”

“You did your duty for your country and countrymen, and for that the People owe you a great debt. Approach the local magistrate, the same man you gave your little ‘tip’ to, and I’ll see to it that our nation’s gratitude is adequately expressed.”

The Captain smiled, though it probably did little to calm the man’s silent terror. Dubois pulled away from the counter and to his feet. Without the support, he seemed almost to curl in on himself, shrinking in stature before turning away, wordlessly, into the back of his cafe.

“And get me another coffee!”

Castex couldn’t help himself. Sometimes, he loved his job.

[jwenvs3000w24]

Nature's Music

Hey everyone, welcome back! We’re getting right back into it this week, and will be talking about nature’s music! I hope you enjoy the video, Songs and my thoughts on this subject!

Music can be found in many places in nature. Music can also be different for every person. The obvious place in nature that music can be found is the birds that sing their beautiful songs throughout the spring, summer, and fall. They make their own melodies that are sung for all to hear. In the course notes there is a quote that says, “every known human culture has music” (Gray, P. Krause, B. Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C. & Baptista, L. (2001). The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music. Science. 291. 52-54.). I think that this is very important and I would go even further to say all animals have music. It may not always be the nicest sounding music to humans, but to another of the same species it can be the difference to whether they form a bond and mate or not. Another area in nature that music can be found is from inanimate objects such as wind and waves. The wind blows through the treetops or through shrubs and reeds to make very distinct sounds. There was once reeds at the beach Singing Sands, Tobermory that when the wind blew through them would whistle in a sing-song fashion and that’s how that beach got its name (Here’s some more information on singing sands and the surrounding area, https://explorethebruce.com/place/singing-sands-beach-trails/). Unfortunately, due to human activity these reeds have been removed/destroyed from that area. People may not think of it but waves are music as well. As they crash amongst the shore or simply just the sound of lapping water from gentle waves can be very calming which many people also find when listening to music. I find it a bit ironic that the chaos of the raging waters can have a soothing/calming effect on people watching or listening to it.

This is a video of the waves raging and crashing along the shoreline of Indian Head Cove, Tobermory. It's hard to hear the waves because of how windy it was and it was taken on my old (very beat up) phone.

In the reverse nature can be found in most music as long as you pay attention to how the instruments and lyrics are. Sometimes it is a lot more subtle, but other times it is very blatant. Many times as well nature is used in songs as a metaphor for something else. Bands tend to use nature or aspects of nature in their names or song titles. Some notable bands with names from nature include but aren’t limited to the Beatles, Great Big Sea, the Animals, Guns n’ Roses and so many more. A lot of these bands are very famous and sing about nature in different ways. For example, Guns N’ Roses was very successful and one of their top songs is called Welcome to the Jungle (https://youtu.be/oD-uXoY4Eqo?feature=shared).

This is a picture of the band Great Big Sea (https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGreat_Big_Sea&psig=AOvVaw3nrW97OBvDYfMWxDdiWpYn&ust=1709168822503000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCKDKm57szIQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE)

Two of my favourite songs that bring me back to nature no matter where I am are Fish in the Sea from the Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (https://youtu.be/4zBm_6IfInY?feature=shared), and Drunken Sailor by Irish Rovers (https://youtu.be/qGyPuey-1Jw?feature=shared). Whenever I hear these songs remind me of being at my cottage hanging out down by the water enjoying the sunlight. One artist that reminds me of fishing with my dad is Johnny Cash. Whenever we would go fishing and be out on the water for 30 min-1hr without catching anything we’d joke and say, “it’s cause we don’t have Johnny playing” and then start playing any songs by Johnny Cash which then goes to being just country songs. My favourite song by Johnny Cash is definitely Ring of Fire (https://youtu.be/5WyLhwYFgmk?feature=shared), but honestly any song by him is a good one.

I hope you all enjoyed this week's post and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s thoughts and posts! Come back next week for the next post!

Hooykaas, A. (2024). Unit 7: Nature interpretation through music. University of Guelph. https://courselink.uoguelph.ca/d2l/le/content/858004/viewContent/3640021/View

[weenwrites]

Hello! I hope im not bothering you but if possible could I request how Knockout, Starscream and Predaking would react to a human reader who’s a sailor.

(For clarification they sail something like a butterfly, and if that’s too vague of a request maybe a storm is rolling in, it really windy and the boat tips but the reader is able to get it back up)

Hope you have a good day/night!

-Cloud Anon

TFP Knockout, Starscream and  Predaking W/ A Sailor Reader

Pairing - Platonic, Romantic (Up to reader interpretation) Category - Headcanon Trigger Warnings - None

Knockout

Knockout prefers to stay on land, he finds the ocean to be a gross, wet, and salty place. Mind you, he'd like to avoid having to scrub rust off his plating. He'll be amazed that you can actually tolerate the ocean, and he'll be even more stunned to discover that you can sail such a small boat through a rough storm and come out of it alive! He'd love to hear any tales you'd have to share about your times out at sea.

Starscream

Starscream has had experience with the ocean—well, large bodies of water in general—before, and he hated it. The Nemesis had crashed into the ocean and it was horrible, and so you'll never really see him around beaches or the ocean at all. He'll question how you actually enjoy sailing around on the ocean in such a small ship. He'll certainly be impressed to see that despite being roughly tossed and jostled around in a storm, you manage to see it through and come out of it alive. He'll remark that "you humans are tougher than you seem."

Predaking

Predaking has never been to the ocean before, if you take him with you to see it he'll find the water rather fascinating. He likes how the water feels nice and cool against his plating and he'll like the sound of the ocean, so overall he'll find it rather nice and fun up until rust strikes him. But when he learns that you sail around on the ocean in such a small boat, he'll be surprised, even more so when he learns that you can survive rough storms that stir up massive waves that push and shove the boat around. He'll ask you about your experiences at sea and what sorts of disasters you've seen off during your time at sea. For a being so small, he's amazed at your resilience.

[min-jpg]

may i request albedo , venti and kazuha with a bimbo reader?

Note: more bimbo gf lets goooOOOOO. It honestly surprises me how many people want to see more, but I appreciate the interesting idea. Enjoy!

---

Genshin Boys x Fem Bimbo!reader pt.3

Part 1 - Part 2

Characters: Albedo, Kazuha, Venti

Genre: fluff, established relationship, suggestive theme for Kazuha and Venti (sfw overall)

---

ALBEDO

seeing the both of you together will surely have people baffled. Albedo, the alchemist only fixated on his job that never projected interest on anything outside of it, now dating you?

you constantly receive inquiries on how did you even attract a prodigy like him. Not only that, but you have been criticized for not cultivating a level of intelligence or maturity on par with Albedo. "What am I supposed to do about that? My boyfriend's brain is out of this world."

Albedo usually overlooks topics regarding this when appointed towards him, unless they go too far with their judgments to the point of insulting you. "You better watch what you say. I'm not sure if you want to keep running your mouth like that." The tone of his voice is always perceived as serene and tame, but one would know if Albedo has any residing anger

he also loves your fascination over his experiments or whenever he wonders on and on about what he knows. Albedo wants someone to listen and engage in what he finds interesting, whether the latter possesses any knowledge on it or not. You always give a profound response because of how easily amused you are by the simplest things. He finds your reaction adorable and felt contentment in sharing more

his lab is off-limit because your clumsiness is a walking hazard. With many potions, fragile and brittle items in there, he admits he is not willing to take the risk for himself and also for your safety. But he always promises to tell you the result of his experiment or discovery by the end of the day

with your revealing garments, although Albedo would not react much, he likes to have you as a subject for his drawing. When going outdoors, he will ask you to stop by any scenic point of interest that inspires him to pull out a canvas. "It's a method for me to preserve a beautiful memory. I hope you don't mind, my muse." paint me like one of your french girls moment

KAZUHA

it was only a matter of time before the both of you got together. You get along with Kazuha because of how honest you are, vocalizing everything that comes to mind first. He can gauge you as a person with no ill-intention that way. Although others may view you as naive, your boyfriend loves your free spirit that rides along with the flow

he feels at ease around you, especially because he can also speak of anything. Whether you understand or not is another thing, but you always answer back frankly

Kazuha can get metaphorical with his string of words, leaving you confused most of the time. Other times, he speaks in a simple manner. He probably began picking up that habit and adjusting to it once he dated you, just to make better conversations with you

you follow Kazuha to sail out to the sea when you feel like it. He lost count of how many encounters there are of you nearly falling off the edge of the boat when the waves come crashing. You always laugh it off and give him a peck, "I wouldn't drown. You'll save me if I do, right?" To which he just sighs at you, but not refuting to the idea

being very in tune with the condition of the weather, Kazuha will take notice of a windy day. If you wear something revealing, like a miniskirt or a short dress, he will be very wary with how he positions his gaze. Kazuha refuses to stare at what he should not if it makes you uncomfortable

you do not bear such concern as he thought you would be, so whenever a breeze wanders by, some things may be exposed to the public a little too much, "If it's you, feel free to enjoy looking at it." Kazuha will be remarkably concerned about that, but he would not hinder you from wearing what you like. He only holds onto the sentiment that you will be extra careful and also trying not to glare at everyone gawking at you. Now, if he detects a windy day, it would be something Kazuha dreads. How ironic for the Anemo vision holder

VENTI

similar to Kazuha, you have great synergy with Venti and he welcomes your presence. Your attitude is recognized as the embodiment of freedom that Venti desires because of how you act based on your own accord without fretting what others may presume of you. You are oblivious of this yourself since it comes as natural to you, but Venti can discern it well. He feels at peace being by your side

your relationship can be described as the quote, "Prepare for trouble and make it double." Venti involves you a lot in his pranks. You tag along since the fun factor is there

sometimes the pranks end up with you being the victim because of your gullible nature. He finds your reactions just too hilarious and precious. You seldom doubt anything that comes from Venti, even if it sounds ludicrous. The two of you started dating in the first place because he asked you out as a harmless joke. Only it did not fall within his expectation that you would actually believe him and accept

still, he took the responsibility to explain he was not sincere, but you only replied, "You don't have to lie! You're just shy about having a crush on me, hmm?" Venti did eventually develop genuine feelings for you after some time as mentioned earlier how he feels at ease around you

one of the favorite things your boyfriend likes to do with you is when you sit on his lap when he performs in the tavern. It would not be strange for two eccentric people to clump up together. He just thinks your beauty should be exhibited by his side, "All of you can look at her, but not too much!"

wearing anything short around Venti is asking for trouble. That prankster who can command the wind at his convenience will send a heavy breeze your way, causing your dress or skirt to fly. He finds your outfit cute though, never neglecting to sing praises every time he sees you

[secretlysheikah]

Calling of The Wind

You know what we need? A BAMF Windy fic. I have been neglecting this loveable lad for too long and I say enough is enough! So I present to you, Wind meeting the chain! All these fics are hopelessly out of order still, and I promise one day I will fix that but for now I hope you all enjoy! 

Read it here on AO3 

Start here:   

Link could feel the shift in the air like a thrumming hum of a cello, a storm was building and his heart was singing along with the swelling ocean. Storms on the sea were something else, all raging winds and harsh waves and he delighted in it all. It spoke to his soul even as the others scrambled and barked out commands to batten down the hatches in a crazed fervor. Despite it all he often found himself kicking Niko out of the crows nest so he could ride the waves and watch for dangers of course. 

Today was no exception, he practically scaled the tallest mast in glee in his haste to get to the crows nest, all too ready to toss the smaller man out. Lighting cracked like a whip above them, pulling a delighted squeal out of him as he crawled over the side of the lookout. Niko sighed in exasperation, already knowing the routine as he worked to loosen the knotted rope around his waist. 

“Honestly Link, must you do this every time?” He groused, his hands fumbling with the tight knots. Link only breathed out a breathy laugh, still working to catch his breath after his mad climb to the top. Niko gave him a flat look and shook his head, choosing to ignore him in favor of working the rope free. Link could hear Tetra far below, shouting out commands as she steered the massive ship, navigating the swells with a practiced ease from years of sailing. Link grabbed the center post and hopped up on the side of the crows nest, leaning as far out as he could, practically daring the lightning to strike once more. Rain slammed into them hard, soaking them almost immediately and Link could hear Niko cursing up a storm, they could hear Tetra shouting for Niko to get down so he could help pull the sails. 

“Will you get off there and help me already?” Niko snapped and Link sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically, letting himself swing back down and land the puddle of water that collected in the small space. He watched as his friend’s hands shook, fingers trembling to the point of clumsiness. He always got like this, but Link could never tell if it was for fear of the storm or an anxious need to fulfill commands. 

“Sorry Niko, here let me..” Link said as he started on the last knot that Niko was still struggling with. He was almost done pulling the knot free when he felt Niko’s hand slap wetly on his back. He made to brush it aside but stopped when it became more urgent and the sound of the others yelling about something over the ocean finally touched his ears. 

Link stood up straight and looked around through his rain soaked locks. He could barely hear Niko shouting to him over the now raging storm but he was able to follow his finger where it pointed off the port bow. Between the lightning bolts and the lashing rain he could see a purple split forming above the waves. He squinted and leaned over the edge, holding on tight as the ship dipped and bucked underneath them. 

The split opened wider and he heard a shout as he saw what looked like people falling out of it. There was a mad rush happening on the deck below, the sails forgotten and flapping madly in the near hurricane like wind. Life lines were tossed over the edge and he watched as the people in the water swam over to them the best they could through the harsh waves that tried to pull them under. He didn’t know why, but his eyes were drawn back to the sky and the tear that had formed there. Call it a feeling or maybe intuition but his eyes were pulled to the opening in the clouds like it was singing a siren’s song. He blinked water away from his eyes and he saw something or rather, someone fall into the sea, someone who was pulled under the water in an instant and didn’t readily rise to the surface again. 

“Hey! There’s someone in the swell!” Link called frantically down to his fellow crew members and they all looked up at him before rushing over to the side of the ship, leaving the four people they had just pulled from the water to rest on the deck.  

“I don’t see anyone!” Tetra called back and Link felt panic flood him, he knew what he saw. 

“You’re seeing things kid,” Niko said, apparently deeming things fine for the time being seeing as the people were pulled aboard. Link shook his head and watched the water for a sign of the person who fell from the rift. His heart pounded so hard in his ears that he could only feel the thrumming of words from Niko as he spoke to him. Then, there in the hungry waves a  flash of blonde hair and a speck of blue bobbed to the surface only to be pulled back down again. He let out a yell and whipped his sword off his back in one fluid motion, slicing the rope off of Niko and tying it around his own waist faster then thinking. He climbed the edge of the crows nest quickly, ignoring Niko’s hands as they tried to pull him back to safety. He heard Nudge yell something followed by the others as he leaped off the crows nest and into the surf.

All sound disappeared as he dove into the raging water. His breath nearly stolen from the ice cold water he kicked up hard towards the surface of the waves that were being lit by ferocious lightning strikes. When he breached the surface he had to take a moment to reorient himself in the furious swell. He looked around frantically for a moment before he saw it, that flash of gold and blue he had seen from the nest. 

“Pull him out! Link you fool, this is madness!” Mako or maybe Senza cried behind him but he paid it no mind. He struck out into the waves, cutting through the water the best he could given the choppy waters. He really prayed that they didn’t pull him back, he could see blonde hair again, so close now that he could practically grab it. 

The blonde head was pulled under the waves once again and Link cursed a blue streak as he sucked in as much air as he could and dived. The salt water stung his eyes badly and he had to blink away the sting in order to get a clear look. There, floating, sinking was a man, little air bubbles leaking from his mouth as he struggled weakly. He pushed forwards as hard as he could, his arms and legs protesting the strain. His fingertips just managed to brush the struggling man as he felt the pull of the rope on his waist. Bubbles burst from his mouth as he cursed and he stretched, reaching and managed to grab on to the sleeve of the man as he was pulled back. 

He clutched it as hard as he could with his numb fingers as he was pulled back to the surface. He sucked in a deep gulp of air, swallowing salt water as a wave broke over top of him but he was undeterred, determined to hold on with all he was worth. He reached down with his free hand, tugging the man closer and with the strength he had left pulled him close and brought his head above water. Terror filled him as he looked down and saw that man’s eyes had slipped closed, unconscious and now dead weight. He wrapped his arms around the man’s thin waist, his mouth right next to his ear and shouted reassurances he wasn’t sure that the partially drowned man could hear. 

It felt like years they drifted, and Link struggled to keep their heads above the angry swell of the waves. His body felt on the tipping point of collapse, his legs losing the rhythm of treading water and it was becoming near impossible to keep both their heads above water. Just as he himself felt the pull of unwanted sleep he felt hands grab him roughly and they were deposited on the deck of the ship. Link laid there for only a moment before he was turning on to his stomach and crawling towards the drowned man, ear pressed to his chest and listening desperately for lung sounds. He heard muttered cursing and could feel eyes on his back as he pressed on the man’s chest, and breathed for him. He only got a few rescue breaths in before he was shoved bodily aside and the massive form of Gonzo took over. He sat on the deck, heaving in gulping breaths as he watched, his body shook and before he knew it he was flat on his back, blinking away the rain that splattered his face. 

Tetra’s face swam into focus above him, and he could tell in an instant that she was pissed. A snarl was firmly plastered across her face, and he offered her a tiny smile. That was apparently the wrong thing to do because she fisted his shirt in her fist and began shaking him roughly. It made his head spin and the sky above them dip and spin in a crazy whirlpool of motion. 

“What the Hell was that? Do you have a death wish Link?” She raged and he grabbed weakly at her hand, trying his best to stop her incessant shaking. 

“I was right, why can’t you admit that?” He said and was graced with her suddenly letting him go. His head smacked hard onto the deck and he saw stars. 

“Shut up you obstinate ass! I was talking about the bullshit you just did! You know better than to leap into the sea during a storm! You are lucky I don’t keelhaul you!” Her rage was cut off by the sound of gasping and choking and they both looked over to where Gonzo was lifting up the man to a sitting position. The man’s hat was laying on the deck but it didn’t seem like he cared as he spat out sea water and slumped against the huge man at his side. Link watched Tetra purse her lips, her hands clenching and unclenching as she took in the scene. 

“Get him below deck, toss him in the brig with the others but make sure they are comfortable. Give them whatever they need, we don’t need them dead after we went through the trouble of pulling them aboard.” She said before whirling around to look at him and Link could still see the rage that burned brightly in her eyes. She tapped her foot clearly thinking before she snapped her fingers and called for Senza who appeared like a specter next to her. 

“Get Link to his quarters, he is useless right now and I doubt he can lift a finger to help with the sails.” He nodded quickly and before he knew it he was being lifted to his feet and dragged towards the hatch. 

“Be glad I’m not making you work! Or that I’m not tossing you in the bring with the rest of them!” She yelled after him but Link couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips. His head nodded, his whole body drained and cold to the point where he barely registered that they were in his room before he was being sat down on a chair with dry clothes being thrown at his face. He squawked in surprise and flailed a bit before he managed to blink blearily at Senza with an affronted look pulling at his brows. He was met with a snort and a towel smacking him in the face. 

“Would you cut that out?” Link snapped as he pulled the towel away and began drying his hair. Senza rolled his eyes and crossed the room to the bed. He tugged the blankets down and after a moment of thought went to the wardrobe and began to rummage around. 

“That was stupid, you know that right?” He said, his voice muffled as he dug through the wardrobe. Link shrugged off his shirt and put on the dry one before he leaned back against the chair and breathed. He was spent, almost too tired to move. 

“I wasn’t about to let someone drown,” He muttered as he eyed the pants next to him like they had just insulted his grandmother.  

“You defied a direct order from Tetra, you know that right?” He said as he straightened and turned to face him.  His arms were piled high with blankets and towels making Link purse his lips in distaste.

“I didn’t hear any order, so it doesn’t count,” He said simply and was met with a glare as the large man walked towards the door. 

“I’m taking these to the prisoners, it’s what you deserve for being stupid. You better get into bed Link, sleeping in a chair isn’t good for your back.” Senza said as he let the door fall closed behind him. Link let out a huff of breath and stuck his tongue out at him before he snatched up the pants and wobbled to his feet. It was a battle to get his boots and socks off, and a completely different struggle to put on the dry pants but he managed. The tossing of the ship made his head spin and he stumbled over to his bed and all but collapsed face down onto it. It was devilishly soft, and he felt his eyes fluttering closed before he could get himself under the covers. 

********

He felt someone in his room, and he would have moved but he wasn’t sure if he could get his body to cooperate. Through barely opened eyes he watched as a large shadow moved in front of him. He opened his eyes just enough to see that it wasn’t Senza in his room and he felt a puzzled noise get lodged in his throat. In fact he wasn’t familiar with the shape at all now that he had a proper look at it. He let out a soft noise that didn’t make it past the blankets around his mouth and made to push up off the bed but his arms only twitched. He watched helplessly as the shadow bent forwards over him, reached out a hand and pressed his face deeper into the plush surface of his bed. 

Link struggled as his airways were blocked, his arms flailed but he couldn’t get any leverage. The hand on the back of his head pressed down harder and the once safe and comfortable bed was now a death trap. He forced himself to struggle harder but it still yielded nothing but the weight doubling down and his aching and spent body could do nothing but twitch and writhe. He felt himself blacking out and with one more attempt he forced his head up and to the side and yelled with all he was worth. 

A loud crash had him opening his eyes and he looked around the room wildly before his eyes alighted on the startled face of Senza, chair tipped over behind him, clearly startled awake from his resting place. Link’s chest rose and fell with greedy breaths as he pawed at the blankets. He didn’t remember being tucked in, or the added weight of heavy blankets that he knew wasn’t there when he had fallen into bed. 

“Are you okay?” Senza asked as he made his way over to him and grabbed his face, turning it this way and that as he looked into his eyes. Link made an attempt to swat his hand away but failed miserably though the older man got the hint and let his hand drop. 

“Fine, just uh, a nightmare. What time is it?” He asked as he stared around the dimly lit room. Senza wiped at his face and groaned. 

“My guess? Just past midnight? You haven’t been asleep for nearly long enough.” He grumbled as he stretched his back with the sound of muffled popping. Link licked his lips and nodded, his heart was still racing. 

“Right, right. I guess I should go back to bed, huh?” He said listlessly and fell back against the pillows. Senza nodded along with him and slowly pulled the covers up around his shoulders although he didn’t tuck him in fully. 

“Can you fall asleep?” He asked awkwardly and Link hated the flush that crawled across his cheeks. 

“Of course,” He said stiffly, but it was clear to both of them that he was lying. Senza didn’t comment on it though, instead opting to sit down on the edge of the bed. 

“Well I think I need some help, mind if I tell you a story?” He asked and Link felt warmth flood his heart, grateful for the older man. 

“I wouldn’t mind,” He said and was graced with a bright smile. 

“Thank you Link. Did I ever tell you how I became a pirate?” He asked and Link shook his head. He always liked stories. He nestled down further into the blankets as Senza started to tell his tale. He let the words wash over him and watched as Senza swung his arms around, telling him the story with his body as well as his words. He felt his eyes grow heavy, his frantic heart slowed and matched the rocking ship below him. He let the words carry him away, willing the memory of the nightmare to sink down below the waves as he drifted off. 

****

The door to his cabin slamming open awoke him the next morning and had him nearly flying out of bed in shock. Tetra stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and speaking words that his half asleep brain couldn’t parse out. He blinked stupidly, heart racing as his brain caught up with the tirade that was coming from the other side of the room. Dimly he was aware that he was being told to do something and he shook his head completely lost. 

“What? Huh? Slow down I just woke up,” He groaned as he grabbed his head, he could feel a headache cresting his thoughts and he threw off the blankets with a little more annoyance than he meant to. Tetra puffed up like an angry seagull and rolled her eyes, her foot tapping impatiently. 

“I said, gather the prisoners and bring them to me and make it quick. The winds are starting to favor Windfall and I need all hands on deck to correct the sails.” She said before she turned and left him to start his morning. He grumbled and stretched the best he could. He was still sore, his muscles aching and stiff from the cold water and his mad swim through rough waters. 

He changed quickly and strapped his sword to his back. Senza or maybe Niko must have retrieved it for him after everything had settled for the night. The straps were still damp and they made his skin itch where they dampened his dry clothes. We walked slowly to the brig, his body refusing to be fully awake just yet despite his best attempts. He stopped when he got to the thick wooden door that led to the brig and took in a deep breath and cracked his neck, slipping into his best tough pirate facade. 

The door opened easily on well oiled hinges and he eyed the bedraggled group that they had pulled from the surf. They were in various states of sleep still but the big one with the armor looked like he was a least a little bit aware. Link swaggered up the bars and leaned on them, the picture of ease. 

“Morning laddies, I hope you slept well,” He said and was met with stony silence and sour looks.

“Thanks for the help, though I have to say the way you handle guests leaves much to be desired.” The man with the armor said coolly, his arms folded over his chest in clear displeasure. Link snorted and rolled his eyes. 

“You fell from the sky in the middle of a storm, what were we supposed to do? Make you tea?.” He asked rhetorically, easily brushing away the other’s comment like it was gnat. He let his eyes look at them all in turn but stopped when he saw the man with the blue hat that he had saved the night prior. He was still laying on the floor of the cell, his hat sat next to him as he slept under a near mountain of blankets. He leaned away from the bars and felt his brows knit together in a worried grimace. 

“How is he doing?” He asked and cursed to himself when he saw the older man’s eyes soften ever so slightly. 

“Fair enough, you pulled him out of the water yeah? Thank you for that.” There was a pause as the older man tilted his head and let a small smile ghost over his face. 

“Are you worried about him, sailor?” He asked and heat flashed across Link’s face before he could stop it. He balked and snorted out a breath through his nose. 

“Well it would be a pity if he died after all that work I did to save him,” He said defensively and studiously ignored the raised eyebrow that was shot at him. 

“Rouse yourselves, the Captain wants a word with you all, that includes sleepy over there,” Link said hotly as he moved to grab the keys from where they hung on the hook on the other side of the room. He heard muffled groans and sounds of people getting to their feet. He looked over and watched as the one in the brown cloak hovered a hand over the sleeping man and gently shook him awake. Blue cap as Link decided to call him stirred and moaned, a pale hand slipping out from under the blankets to clasp around his eyes. The cloaked man made a soft noise of concern and Link’s mouth fell open when his fingers sparked golden pink light and rested on the other’s brow. Blue cap seemed to relax at the touch and after a moment he too was sitting up and thanking the other, for what Link had no clue. He never saw anything like it but at the same time it was familiar. After a second he shook his head and clamped his mouth shut before letting out a cough and jangled the keys, reminding them all that he was still there. Blue cap sent him a frosty glare and Link gave him a wink.

“Feeling better little fish?” He asked and watched as blue cap’s face twisted in a snarl. He shoved his hat back on his head and stood, and it wasn’t without Link’s notice that he made sure his body was covering the man in the cloak. His mind worked through the implications, but ultimately came up with nothing useful. 

“Little fish? How cute, what do you want?” He snapped and Link smiled at him. 

“The Captain wants words, I’m here to bring you to ‘em” He answered smoothly and watched as blue cap nodded. 

“About fucking time. I can’t believe they sent the weedy cabin boy though. I figured they would want to show some sort of power here. I guess you are the best they got which isn’t saying much.” He said as he eyed him up and down. Link felt his smile become tight as anger began to boil in his stomach. 

“I bet I could take this ship with my hand tied behind my back. What says you cabin boy? Think you could stop me?” He asked as he leaned belligerently against the bars.

“Legend,” He heard someone hiss at blue cap but Link was already moving swiftly over to the cell, his hand drawing the blade from his back and leveling it at the man’s throat. Blue cap, or Legend as he seemed to be called didn’t move, didn’t even flinch as the cold steel pressed against his throat.

“Bold talk from an unarmed landlubber who couldn’t keep his head above water,” He said and watched as something, maybe anger flashed in the man’s eyes. 

“Any of you make a move to be defiant and I will cut you down where you stand without hesitation,” Link said as he looked the man in the eyes. Legend smiled and made to open his mouth but was forcefully dragged away from the bars. 

“We apologize for our hot headed companion. He apparently has a bad case of not knowing when to shut his mouth,” The man who had pulled him away said. Link looked him up and down, the weird fur cape on his back looked distinctly wrinkled and mussed but he could see the strength in the hand that was firmly clasped around Legend’s mouth. 

“Keep him in line, I would hate to have throw his corpse overboard.” Link said dangerously as he pulled his sword away from the bars. 

“We will make sure he doesn’t cause any issues,” The man with a fancy white cape said. He gave the pelt one a look and they exchanged nods before letting his hand fall away from Legend’s mouth. Satisfied with the promise he made quick work of unlocking the cell and ushering the prisoners in front of him. He walked them through the bowls of the ship and up to the deck, giving terse directions and marching them into Tetra’s Captain quarters. He could feel the eyes of the crew on them as they went. Link could tell they were wound tight, ready to jump into action at any signs of trouble and he relaxed knowing that he would have help if things went south.

It was a tight fit in the small room but they managed and Link made his way to stand next to Tetra, back straight and eyes hard as he stared down the five men. Tetra for her part lounged in her chair, feet on her desk as she appraised them. 

“Welcome aboard, I hope your stay has been pleasant so far,” She said lazily and Link had to fight to keep a grin off his face when he saw the slightly sour looks on their faces. 

“Now let’s get down to it, my time is precious. How did you end up in the sea, who are you and why are you here weighing down my ship? Let’s start with names shall we?” She asked, her feet sliding off the desk in favor of leaning her elbows on the polished wood. 

“Names, of course, let’s see. We’re all named Link so we go by our titles,” Armored man started and Link felt a chill run up his spine. What were the odds of that? He fidgeted slightly, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. 

“I go by Time. The one with the pelt is Twilight and the man with the white cape is Sky. The one in the brown cloak is Hyrule and the one with the blue hat that that young man pulled from the sea is called Legend and he is the newest member to our group.” He said as he pointed to each man in question. 

“Interesting names to be sure, and why are you here?” Tetra pressed and Time shuffled a little, clearly uncomfortable.     

“Ah you see, the story is a bit of an oddity so please bear with us. I’m going to explain the best I can,” Time spoke as he seemed to collect his thoughts. There was an odd feeling growing in the air around Link and he struggled to draw in breath. It was like a riptide, and his full attention was held hostage and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the older man if he tried. 

“As far as we have gathered in our short time together, we are the heroes from different eras. We have been brought here I’m assuming to find the hero for this era. I’m not sure why we were dropped in the ocean though, normally we just appear in Hyrule, so I am a little confused why we were dropped here.” Time said and Link sensed Tetra lean back in her chair, clearly thinking the same thing he was, they really weren’t from this time and place. 

“Well if it’s Hyrule you’re looking for, you need only look under the waves. As for the hero, well he is closer than you expect,” Tetra said and Link watched as all of them started and looked down. It was almost comical really, and if that didn’t prove that they weren’t from around here then he didn’t know what did. 

“Ah, I see. Well if you know where the hero is we would much appreciate getting to know him.” The one named Sky said, his eyes looked hopeful and Link found it hard to look at him. Honestly he had trouble looking at any of them, he didn’t really know what to think. If they were looking for him it only meant one thing, another adventure. He was both thrilled and drained at the thought of it. The scar on his arm throbbed and he shrugged his shoulder, trying to ease the pain away that always flared up with bad memories.   

“In time, now can you tell me what is so important that heroes are being collected?” She asked in response to Sky. This time Legend piped up, arms folded like he was bored with the conversation and wanted it over and done with. 

“I doubt you all had time to notice, what with being in the middle of the sea, but there has been a rise in monster attacks across the eras. Black blooded things that are a pain in the ass to kill and seem to be multiplying.” He said, his tone harsh and ever so slightly impatient. 

“Now that is alarming to say the least. Unfortunately you are correct in your assumption. We haven’t been to port in a week or two so I wouldn’t know anything about it.” Tetra said as she stood and started to pace. Link could see the worry starting to bubble in the back of her mind. They were trying to reform Hyrule after all and this new information could hinder things. 

“Now will you tell us where we can find this hero already?” Legend snapped making Tetra look at him with a hard look and getting him a smack upside the head by Time. 

“Don’t be rude,” He reprimanded and Legend grumbled curses under his breath while the other snickered. She made to answer but a call from the deck snapped all of their attention to the doors behind the heroes. 

“Captain! We need you here! There is something strange on deck!” Link recognized Nudge’s voice and they were all off like a flash. Tetra shoved past the men easily with Link hot on her heels, both with weapons drawn and ready to face whatever had the crew calling.

They were met with a sight of a large glowing purple arch. Link watched the mist swirl around in it’s depth and he felt his stomach twist. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tetra go scarily still, her sword drooping as she took in the scene.   

“Why is that here? We haven’t even found the hero,” Twilight said and Link could see the confusion written plainly on his face. He looked over to Tetra meeting her wide eyes with his own. There was a question there and she nodded at him. He nodded back and straightened, she knew when he was being called just as well as he did.  

“It looks like you boys have places to be,” She said, never taking her eyes off Link. There were confused sounds from the heroes as she sheathed her sword. 

“I still haven’t thought of a fitting punishment for you defying my orders but it looks like it will have to wait. Senza, grab Link a bag and fill it with everything he might need on the double. As for you others, meet your hero. Keep him safe or I will run you through.” She snapped and Link felt all eyes land on him. 

“Cabin boy? He’s the hero?” Legend said incredulously and Link snapped his eyes to him and glowered as he shoved his sword back into its scabbard. 

“I saved your ass, don’t look so shocked. And I’m not a cabin boy,” He snapped as he walked over to the group. He raised his head and looked Time up and down. He could see a pained look in his eyes that he didn’t understand. 

“How old are you?” He asked him and Link puffed out his chest. 

“Fourteen, just had a birthday not too long ago,” He said and the pained look only grew deeper in the older man’s eyes. 

“If you’re worried that I can’t hold my own, don’t. I can handle myself just fine.” He said a bit harshly and he suppressed a wince. He heard the hardness in his tone but there was little he could do about it now that the words were out of his mouth. Time took a deep breath and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. It was comforting in a way and the soft smile Time gave him filled him with a warm feeling. 

“I am not worried in the slightest, I am sure you are a fantastic hero and will be a wonderful addition.” He said with just a touch of stiffness in his tone. He didn’t understand why it was there and it frustrated him. But Link only nodded and gave him a warm smile of his own, trying his best to be reassuring. He knew he was young, but he was sure he could handle anything, he would show them that there was nothing to worry about. 

“I think it’s time we give you a name,” A gentle voice said and Link looked over to Sky. He held the master sword gently in his hand and pointed it reverently at him. Link felt something warm and calming wash over him like a breeze and he let his eyes drift closed. It hummed in his heart and he felt a smile break over his face. 

“Hero of the Winds, Wind, how joyous. I think that fits you,” Sky said as he lowered the sword and walked over to him, hand extended. Link took it and might have squeezed just a bit harder than necessary as he shook it. Sky offered him a kind smile and squeezed back just as hard if not harder. 

“Great, wonderful, welcome to the chain kid. Can we get this over with?” Legend sighed and he watched the way he eyed the portal distrustfully. 

“Hold it! Link! Here you go, be safe lad,” Senza said as he ran back onto the deck. He threw the bag at him and it hit him in the gut making him wheeze out a breath. He nodded his thanks and gave him a thumbs up before straightening and turning to face the portal once again. 

“Link, I command that you come back safely or I will go through a portal myself and drag you back here and tie you to the mast for a week, you hear me?” Tetra said as she walked up to him and punched him hard on the shoulder. He winced and rubbed at his arm, he could already feel the bruise. 

“I promise I will be safe, you just make sure you don’t tip the ship over,” he said and was given another hard punch in the same spot. 

“Not another word out if you about that, it was one time,” she said but Link could see a slight sheen in her eyes, she was going to miss him. He blinked away the moisture that was collecting in his eyes, he was going to miss her too. 

“Tell gran and Aryll I love them and I’ll see them soon okay?” He whispered and she nodded, blinked hard and shoved him towards the others. He eyed the portal for a moment, the fear of the unknown making him hesitate at the mouth of the portal. A hand landed on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. He looked up and saw Time standing next to him, his oddly marked face kind and encouraging.  

“It will be okay, it’s a bit disorienting but it will be okay.” He said his voice, rumbling low so low he was sure only he could hear it. He steeled himself, cast one last glance to the ship and the crew and gave them a wave before turning back to face the portal. Time’s hand never left his shoulder and together they walked through into the swirling mist and into what Wind could only describe as pure chaos.

[sanctuary-kingdomhearts]

Sanctuary Prologue II - Beach Beginnings

    Waves crashed against the once dry sand, turning it wet and dark, dragging it away back into the sea. Seaweed and seashells make it to the shore, along with rocks of many assortments, a little ways away, into swimmable water, fish jumped and splashed. 

  The wind was nice today, cooling but not windy enough to be a problem, the sun had graced the islands with a nicer day, hot enough not to be cold, cold enough not to have to sweat. The perfect day. 

   The leaves moved with the wind, pulling tree branches to move with them, creating the song of nature that was accompanied by the song of the waves. A truly beautiful day. Picture perfect. So I wondered why I couldn’t enjoy it.

  “Riku!” A little boy's voice yelled, he sounded out of breath, appropriate for the running he’d just been doing. The boy was tanned skinned, blue-eyed, and had nice light brown hair that spiked up, he looked like an islander, a native. And he was my brother.

  “Sora!” Another boy's voice teased the first, he looked ready to run a little more. He was taller, older by a year, pale, incredibly pale for these islands to be his home, where the sun beats down regularly on its inhabitants. He had blue eyes too, and short white hair. 

  I picked up a seashell, mom likes them and always smiles when I bring some home for her. Her smile is nothing like Sora’s, it's fascinating to me. 

     “That race was no fair, you saw me trip on that crab!” Sora whined while Riku laughed. “No excuses Sora! I even gave you a five second head start.” 

  “But your legs are longer, five seconds is nothing!” My brother complained. I grabbed another seashell, this one was pink and white, swirling among the twists and curves. 

  The boys keep talking, but I tune them out. I think I see a seashell that mom’ll really like under the old bridge. 

   “(Y/n)? Where are you going?” Riku called out to me. I turned around and saw Sora running up to me, grabbing my hands, “Don’t you wanna play with us, sis? We can do something other than race, if you wanna,” his smiles so bright, and his eyes twinkled, waiting for my answer. 

  I smiled too, it doesn’t feel right, it’s different than his, not mirrored like how it usually is. “In a second, I saw something mom would like over there,” I pulled my hand away and pointed under the bridge that connects the old shack to our lookout island, “and I wanna go get it for her.” 

  “Ah, okay!” He let go of my other hand and ran back to Riku, “Just don’t go too far, okay?” The white-haired boy said. I nodded, I wouldn’t be long, and I’d still be in his line of sight. Nothing was going to happen. 

   So why did this seem so ominous? 

  I felt darkness on the other side of the beach, the boys didn’t seem to notice. I walked closer to it, it felt overbearing. Like how it was when Sora made me laugh too hard and I didn’t swallow my food correctly, mom said that was called choking. 

   I picked up the shell quickly, putting it in my drawstring bag filled with the other shells. There’s a crunch of sand to my left, and I turned to see a person there. Wearing really strange clothes. They were woven with black and red cloth, they had a gradient on the arms and he had a lot of belts too. High boots and a black helmet that covered all of his face. The longer I looked at him, the sadder I felt. 

  I walked closer to him, holding the strings to my backpack. “Go away, kid.” He sneered as I plopped down next to him. 

  “No,” I replied curtly to him. I don’t know why he was surrounded by so much sadness, but I could at least sit with him right? When Sora’s sad and I sit with him he feels better, so it has to help. 

   He turned to me, “I said,” he repeated himself, “go away.” 

  I looked at him, “You're sad, and alone. No one should be alone when they're sad.” I told him. He scoffed, “You have no idea what I feel.” 

  I looked away from him, back to the ocean. “True. I don’t know for sure how you feel, I’ve never quite been good at that. But,” I turned back to him, “even so, no one should be alone when there’s this much darkness in the air. It’s not healthy.” 

  “How do you know about that?” The mask muddled his mumbles, but I still heard them. 

  I brushed off the sand from my knees, “I dunno, how do you keep wearing that mask in this weather?” He’s got to be hot under there, maybe that’s why he was so mean. 

  He didn’t answer my question, only standing up, “Sorry kid, it’s time I go.” 

   Didn’t he hear what I said? The negativity in the air was hurtful, and it had to be getting to him. Did he want to bear it alone? 

  I grab his hand, even through the gloves I can feel it, “It’s cold.” 

  He pulls his hand away, “Don’t touch me.” 

 “It’s coming from you, isn’t it?” I asked him. The bad feelings in the air, it’s coming from him. He’s sad, and the darkness is clouding around him. 

 He’s silent for a moment, I take the time to stand up and give him a hug, though I’m only as tall as his thigh. He pushed me off. 

  “Look kid, I don’t exactly know how you can tell, but just stay away from me, okay?!” He snapped at me and started walking away. I frowned. 

  “You're lonely,” He was alone, he kept pushing me off, and the darkness clouds him like a defense with no one there to cut through it. 

  “Stop doing that.” I followed after him. 

  “But–” 

  “You know, people are supposed to be afraid of those who reek of darkness, or at the very least avoid them.” We passed under the bridge, in the distance, Sora waved to me, and Riku looked as if he was about to drag me away from the stranger. 

  “Why should I be afraid? The worst you’ve done is push me, and the most all that darkness has done is sit there,” I told him, standing so my back was to my brother and friend. 

  “You're a strange kid,” his voice sounded just a tad bit lighter. “Look, how bout we make an arrangement, you leave me alone, and I’ll work through my problems by myself. Promise.” That last word had so much negativity in it, an almost hateful energy. 

  “I don’t like promises. People are always saying how they’re meant to be broken, I don’t like that. If you make an agreement with another person you should keep it.” I crossed my arms. 

  “Wow,” he mumbled. 

  Behind me, Riku called for me. I huffed. 

  “Look, mister. Let's make a deal, okay? Next time we meet, you’ll be less lonely, okay? Go make a friend! And I’ll respect your feelings more, okay?” 

  “Fine, whatever.” With that, he left toward the shack. Stopping at the handle to add one last thing. “Just so you know, kid, you can’t respect others feelings without a heart. So, I’d get working on that.” He chuckled before walking through and slamming the door. 

  A heart of my own? I put my hand on my chest, feeling it beat. Wasn’t my heart right there? 

  Riku walked up to me, grabbing my arm gently, “Hey, (Y/n), it’s time to go home. My dad’s here to pick us up.” He said. I looked at him, “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.” 

  The farther we walked away from the stranger, the lighter the air got, and the more my fear of the dark came back. It was overshadowed by my concern for the stranger. 

  But even so, the question stayed in my mind on the way back home the whole time. A heart of my own? 

                             ꧁ఌ꧂

   “Aw, thank you (Y/n)!” Mom took the seashells from me, smiling widely as she placed them on her special shelf. 

  “Your welcome, mom.” 

  She ruffled my hair, “My little sea star, you never fail to bring me back something special.” Her voice is full of love and comfort. If I were like mom, maybe I’d have been able to better help the stranger earlier. 

  “Oh, I know, how about after dinner we read that book again?” She claps her hands together, looking expectedly at me. 

  “Sure!” It was an interesting book, one about different worlds and people with magical powers that would travel between them. Mom said that the author wrote the whole book after a strange dream.

  “Sis, you coming?!” Sora called from upstairs. Mom giggled, “You should go clean up with your brother, dinner’ll be ready when you come downstairs, okay sea star?” 

  I nodded and ran up the stairs, “Coming!”

                             ꧁ఌ꧂

     “Good night you two,” Mom left the room with the book in her hands, closing the door behind her. 

  I shifted and grabbed at my covers, pulling them over my shoulders and right around my face, trying to keep myself nice and warm.

  It was a couple moments after she left when Sora jumped out of his bed and tip-toed over to our nightlight. 

  “Sora, what are you doing?” I whispered, not wanting to disturb mom. 

  He looked at me, “Riku doesn’t sleep with a night light. So I can’t sleep with one either!” 

  I sat up, “But I have to, Sora! I’m scared of the dark,” it unnerved me. An irrational fear that something was waiting in the dark, ready to strike. It almost made me want to cry thinking about it. 

  Sora pouted, “I know, (n/n). But can we at least try for tonight? I really want Riku to think I’m cool,” 

  I sighed, I can’t say no to my twin. “...Okay.”

  He smiled and unplugged the light from the wall, I curled up in my covers and Sora made his way back to his bed happily. 

  I tried to close my eyes, but it just felt like I was blinding myself. Like whatever was there could be looking over my shoulder right now, breathing down right above me and I wouldn’t know. I put my face under my pillow, but it was just uncomfortable. I tossed over to the opposite side of the bed, but my back was exposed to the outside of the room. I didn’t like that, so I switched back. But it felt like there was something behind me on this side too. 

   I needed the night light back on. I tossed off the blankets and heard the sound of snoring, my brother was asleep, he wouldn’t mind. 

  I couldn’t see anything, as I tiptoed around our room, I stepped on some toys and leftover books, but I couldn’t find the wall, or where Sora put the night light. And I was starting to get increasingly more scared about the lack of light in the room. 

  There was a noise, a creaking of the floorboard that made my tears start to roll and for me to huddle up on the floor. 

  I don’t wanna be in darkness anymore.

  Where’s all the light?!

  Where did Sora put the darn night light!?

  I want light!

 I need light now!

I can’t do this, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t..!

  Please!

   A soft weight and warmth manifested in my hand, and I opened my eyes to see myself carrying a giant key as it emitted light like magic, with a soft noise like sparkles. 

  It was so comforting. 

  The room went silent once again, but the light persisted. I realized I couldn’t hear Sora snoring anymore and I turned to his bed. He was staring at me, eyes wide open along with his mouth. 

  “MOM!” He cried out, and he surprised me so much I dropped the key onto the floor, causing a large thumping sound. 

  There was silence for a moment before the sound of running from down the hall and our mom running through the door greeted us. 

  She looked around, then looked down at me. I followed her eyes from my tear stained face to the cause of the sound, the giant key still lying on the floor.

  She looked back up at me, in the eyes, before tears fell out of hers. 

  “Oh honey, oh no…” 

A/n:

Another chapter down! I’m so happy! We’re gonna try and get these out more often, as for now the plan is every Sunday at 3.

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I think. I’m WhatIsShame. And unless stated otherwise I’ll be doing the authors notes.

Rewrite-Central wrote this chapter though! So thanks, Rewrite.

I really wanna shitpost and make oneshots to post for you guys until the next chapter, but I can’t until we get to a point where there wouldn’t be any spoilers 😫.

Anyway, have a nice night, y’all! Happy Friday, and hopefully see ya Sunday!

[fandomficsnstuff]

Little Dragon - Part 13

Summary: You were a child slave of Meereen, when one day a silver haired woman sets you free. Though your master isn’t too keen on letting you go, and Daenerys took personal action to see you freed and taken care of.

(Warnings: talks of former slavery, time skips and it’s a bit fast forwarded, Jorah’s death, lots of angst I think, let me know if I missed anything, stay safe out there ya’ll!)

High Valyrian is in cursive

And Dothraki in bold

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You kept your head down as you rode on your horse, a fairly new experience for you, but it was similar to riding Rhaegal, just smaller, less scaly and less windy, you had reigns to hold onto, and a saddle to sit in. You were broken out of your train of thought as you heard your name called, turning your head to see none other than Jon Snow, giving you a nervous glance “hello” he said awkwardly, making you look ahead, spotting Daenerys talking with Missandei, before turning back to him “Lord Snow, can I help you with something?” he grimaced a bit, but still gave you a smile “if it’s alright, I would prefer if you didn’t call me Lord” you nodded “forgive me, I don’t know what to call you then. All these… customs are new to me, I have only lived with them for a few years now” Jon frowned at your words “how long then?” you shrugged as you looked ahead again “around five, I was ten when our Queen Daenerys found me” you smiled at the memory, glancing at Jon who only gave you a look that silently asked you to explain further.

“You see, I was a slave, in Mereen,” Jon immediately frowned “but you were a child?” he sounded disturbed, and it brought a tiny sense of envy, envy that he didn’t grow up with such horrible things “yes, though that didn’t concern my former master. I remember the day that Daenerys liberated Mereen, I remember seeing her silver hair in the street as she walked with the freed children, but I was still a slave. My master had let his other slaves go but not me, he kept me locked up in his small pyramid… Daenerys saw me watching her in the window, so she waved at me. I remember being so scared of my master that I looked over my shoulder before I waved back, I was so scared of how many beatings I would get if he caught me, but he didn’t, anyway, I must have leaned over the edge of the window, because she saw my collar. I remember how angry she looked as she walked into the house, she immediately had my master thrown in the cells, and then she saw me, on the steps, watching her again” you smiled warmly at the fond memory, a few tears building up in your eyes, but as you looked back at Jon, he seemed horrified and confused, looking away from you as he thought over your words, as if he didn’t know what to say “it’s alright, Jon Snow, I wouldn’t want your sympathy” he looked at you with confusion, something that made you smile ever so slightly, he didn’t know why you didn’t want sympathy.

“I don’t want sympathy because that is not why Daenerys took me in as her own, at least I’d like to believe it wasn’t. Yes, she felt bad for me, but I remember seeing those purple eyes of hers… I remember how safe I felt. It was only later that I learnt of Rhaego. Perhaps she saw in me what she had lost, or maybe it really was just sympathy, whatever it was, I no longer wear a collar, my body no longer bears bruises except for those I earned in training. Daenerys may not have carried me, but she is my mother. That is why I do not want sympathy, Jon Snow, because I no longer need it, I am no longer in a position where it keeps me alive” you finished, speeding up your horse to join Daenerys and Missandei, leaving behind a sympathetic, but understanding Jon Snow.

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Your lips slightly parted in awe as you neared Winterfell, you felt as though the only grounding force that told you it wasn’t a dream was Rhaegal and Drogon above you, their roars and the sound of their wings let you know you were wide awake, and you finally turned to Ezzo, smiling amazed at him before looking back to Winterfell. You had read about it in Mereen, and you remembered how out of all of the cities, you wanted to see Winterfell the most, and here you were, approaching it slowly as people of the north watched you ride by. You felt Ezzo’s hand gently nudge your knee, making you look at him as he gave you a smile “what?” you asked as he just looked at you, he shrugged and just kept smiling “just wanted to look at you” you blushed at his words, the colour of you (Y/S/C) cheeks flushing red, and you looked away, much to Ezzo’s dismay, he thought it looked beautiful with your (Y/E/C) eyes. You shook your head, almost as if you tried to shake off the blush on your cheeks, but you couldn’t shake off the smile that graced your lips “I’ve read a lot about Winterfell, it was built so long ago, it’s said to be built over there natural hot springs, so even though it’s snowing, the castle is much warmer than it looks” you looked back to Ezzo, only to find him already looking at you, and you refrained from saying anything, just enjoying the soft look he gave you as you looked back to Winterfell.

You marvelled at how big it actually was, and Daenerys, upon seeing your face, couldn’t help the smile that found it’s way to her lips.

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You sat tense by Daenerys’ side, something she had noticed long ago. You were cold, colder than before. When you read about the hot springs under Winterfell, you had hoped it would have given more of an impact, but here you were, willing yourself to stop shaking, while your mother sat quite comfortably, since she was a Targaryen. Your eyes scanned the crowd as a way to distract yourself, and you noticed how everyone seemed to love Jon, everyone knew him, adored him, admired him, and you could see, out the corner of your eyes, Daenerys’ smile wavering, she noticed as well. Daenerys was so used to being loved back in Essos, in Essos she was the Breaker of Chains, the Unburnt, the Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, she brought wonder and awe to people’s lives as she entered them, but here, here she was the foreign queen who their king had knelt to, the daughter of a madman, leader of an army of savages, and you imagined how much it must hurt her, so turning to her you gently nudged her, giving you her attention, and you knew the smile she put on her lips were fake, it was forced and stretched, like a piece of leather being forced over shapes it wasn’t meant to embrace.

You got up, pulled your new arakh out from behind your back and sat back down, your whole body facing her as you showed it to her “Ezzo gave it to me” you let her hold it and study it, watching her smile fade as realization struck her “your name day…” your own smile fell, you hadn’t meant to force it upon her, she was busy, it was a time of war, you understood how she could forget it, so you quickly shook your head “Mhysa I-... I didn’t mean it like that I just… wanted to show you… he carved the handle himself and-”

“I’m so sorry, Little Dragon” she looked heartbroken and you quickly shook your head again, reaching out for her hands “no, no Mhysa, please don’t be, we’re at war, I nearly forgot it myself, as have Missandei, please don’t feel bad. We’re all busy, you most of all, and after Viserion-” you stopped yourself there, knowing you’d get nowhere with her, and mentioning Viserion would only bring the both of you pain, you could already feel the tears building up in your eyes “I will do my best to correct this, I swear, (Y/N)” you sighed, taking back you anakh, putting it on the table, leaning over and hugging her “you don’t have to, just be happy” you whispered the last bit, feeling her arms finally wrap around you to embrace you as well. Once you parted you saw how sad she still was, which made you feel a guilty, you hadn’t meant to force it upon her, you heard her give a short sigh, turning back to look at the different people, studying them and how they loved Jon Snow, you followed her gaze, and you couldn’t help moving your hand down to gently grasp hers, she was so warm compared to you, her Targaryen blood had fire running through her veins “you are so cold, are you freezing?” you turned to look at her concerned expression, making you smile slightly “no, no I’m just cold. Mhysa, you’re a Targaryen, you have fire in your veins” you giggled slightly, and she joined you, briefly, before looking back over the the northerners “they’ll love you, you know, they’re just scared, perhaps even a bit betrayed, they trusted their king to never kneel again and then he did it, they’re just angry, but I don't blame them, who wouldn’t be in this cold?” you whispered the last bit to her, making her grin and do her best to hold in a laugh that you knew wanted to tear it’s way out of her and make itself known to everyone in the room, a thought that kept you warmer than the fires your brother’s breathed.

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You frowned as you stared at her in disbelief, taking in her words, each time you tried to decipher it a new frown appeared on your forehead “but-...” you leaned back in your chair, your gaze off to the side, not looking at anything in particular. You finally looked back at Daenerys, seeing her being torn between worlds as well. You leaned forward, gently grasping her hand in yours “who knows, Mhysa?” she swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking up “his brother, Bran, Samwell Tarly, and he’s going to tell his sisters” you frowned at her last statement “but I thought he loved you?” at yours words Daenerys finally let a tear roll down her cheek, all her life she had believed she was the true heir to Westeros, and now, now all of the sudden she wasn’t, the goal she had worked her way towards her whole life was gone, snuffed out, like a candle in a storm. You sighed heavily and got up “and he says he doesn’t want the throne?” you looked out a window before back to Daenerys, seeing her nod briefly and weakly, making you sigh again “then that’s that, Mhysa, he doesn’t want it, you are the heir to the Seven Kingdoms, you are the Queen of Westeros, there is nothing else to it” you kneeled down in front of her, you knew how much this meant to her.

She gently shook her head “it doesn’t matter what he wants… he’s the rightful heir and the people-”

“No! Mhysa… you’ve worked towards this your entire life! He doesn’t want the throne, they can’t force him upon it, can they? I-... I know you love him… I know you haven’t said so but, the way you look at him, and the way he looks at you, he loves you as well, I’m not-... experienced in love but, you have to at least trust that, right?” Daenerys sighed and looked at you, raising a hand to gently hold your cheek, you leaned into her touch and she smiled at the gesture “my sweet little dragon” she whispered, leaning over and placing a kiss on your forehead, her eyes closed as yet another tear fell from them.

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You glared at your mother as she looked at you with a pleading look “I am not going into the crypt, I want to fight!” Daenerys sighed, you two had been at it for almost an hour now “(Y/N) there is nothing to discuss, please, my little dragon, do as I say. You have a responsibility, you’re the heir to the throne, my ONLY heir, please, I can’t let anything happen to you” you sighed as she used your nickname in Valyrian, mulling over her words before finally giving a weak nod, making Daenerys close her eyes in pure relief. You sighed heavily as you walked down the steps, mumbling annoyed, making Sansa frown as she studied you, looking down at Tyrion, who sighed “she wants to fight, a Dothraki has been teaching her for months now. I think she’s scared,” he whispered the last part, making Sansa lean in as he continued “I think she’s scared of losing yet another brother, or perhaps even her mother, she thinks that somehow if she fights with her, she could prevent it” Sansa frowned even more “but the dragons are not her brothers” Tyrion shrugged “she has grown up around them for the last five years, whenever she was sad and Missandei or Daenerys wasn’t around, the dragons comforted her, I’ve heard stories of how they flew up on her balcony and came close to her, let her lay up against them and cry. When they were locked in the pyramid, she visited them every day, Rhaegal was her dragon, and now Jon Snow is riding him, she may not be a Targaryen, but she understands those dragons, almost as well as their mother, so try to tell her, once a little girl, lost and afraid of the world, protected and cared for by these dragons and their mother, that they are not her family. She already lost one brother, forgive me, Lady Stark, but I do believe you can understand how she feels” Tyrion ended, looking back at you as Missandei sat down next to you, talking with you quietly.

Sansa watched you with sympathy now, she understood what it was like to lose family, and while she couldn’t see how you saw dragons as family, she could understand the bond and the grief you must have felt when Viserion died, especially now that it was known that he had joined the Night King as an undead dragon, no longer the brother you knew.

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You stared at the piles upon piles of dead bodies, blood covering your face, your akanh in your hand, a cut on your hand and leg, still bleeding, your eyes widening as you saw a white figure in the distance leaning over someone, crying. It was nearly dawn, the Night King was dead and so was his army. Your feet took off before you even knew it, you barely felt the wound on your leg as you ran across the body littered field, you fell to your knees, you arakh long forgotten as you stared at the body in Daenerys’ arms. You breathed heavily as you just stared at his pale skin, the blood splattered across his face and armor, and the small drops of tears from your mother’s eyes. You gently shook your head as you held your breath, at any moment he would wake up, right? He would wake up, let you know that he was alright, he was okay, he was wounded but alive, right? You let out a whimper as none of that happened, he stayed still and pale, and you leaned over his breastplate, resting your head on it, not caring about the blood smearing onto your forehead. You let a sob escape your lips, only one, you told yourself, but it was followed by another, and another, and another, and before you knew it you were sobbing against the cold, hard metal covering his chest.

You looked up at Daenerys to see her crying as well, holding Joarh close and you couldn’t help but lean down and hug his stiff form, your arms around his neck as you sobbed against his throat, silently begging him to wake up, and when that didn’t work you tried verbally “wake up, please Ser Jorah, please, please wake up, please no, no, no, no! Wake up!” you hadn’t even noticed how you had begun to speak Valyrian, it was your native tongue after all, even though Jorah never understood it. You shook him as hard as you could, tears streaming down your face as you shook your head once more, you could barely breathe, Jorah had been the one to cut off your collar, he had been the one you had talked the most with, even though none of you understood each other back then. You leaned against Daenerys’ shoulder as you both cried, tears streaming down your faces as you continued to hold the old knight.

You don’t know how long you stayed like that, clinging to his corpse and Daenerys’ side as you cried over his body, praying that somehow he would wake up, somehow his eyes would open, or he would cough, say something, anything. But nothing happened, and nothing ever would, he was dead, cold and stiff, buried in metal as he laid in the cold snow, blood surrounding him, some of it his own, some of it not, that thought chilled you to the bone more than any wind ever could, he was bathed in blood, some not his own, it made you sick, and you felt the urge to throw up, leaning away quickly and throwing up over the side, making sure none of it touched Jorah or your mother. Afterwards you groaned, tears still streaming down your face as you glanced at Ser Jorah, another sob forcing it’s way through your body and out your mouth as you yet again fell to Daenerys’ side, holding Jorah. You felt Daenerys’ hand slowly place itself on your back as you sobbed, her own cries still spilling from her lips as you both just held him, not caring who watched or who was nearby.

[monsterfloofs]

Female Selkie x Anonymous Protagonist

(Tried my hand at something different! A little folktale lovestory and writing it almost made me cry haha! Hope you enjoy♡)

You sat upon the windy bank playing your guitar and singing to the sea. Singing shanties and love songs to your love, who had yet to come ashore. 

She would appear to you many times as a maiden, with salt strewn hair and dark almond eyes. You would read her poetry and buy her trifles. Staying curled up together by the fire when the night was stormy. The nights you spent together you were but smitten laughing lovers. Kissing and cuddling until sleep descended upon your eyes, and by morning you would be alone. Pretty shells left on your table and no lover to be seen.

You loved her, so much your heart ached when she was gone. She took the sunshine with her to the sea, but you knew that since you loved her. You must also love her mystery.

You knew what she was for a long time, but decided not to speak of it. Thinking that she would feel safer, if you had stayed ignorant. You wanted her to tell you, and if she never brought it up, it was just not for you to inquire. It was hard on your heart, when the words of your mind rumbled around, but you stayed true to your word. Letting her slip easily in and out of your world.

There were those who jeered at you to claim her hide. But you would shake your head and smile, "My love is as free as the sea, you cannot contain the power of the ocean in a bottle, yet you know of it's might. So too shall be my love." That day, you could have sworn you felt faces watching you from the crashing waves, but still you strummed love songs, humming softly your tunes. Waiting for her at the rocky shore.

She was gone for many moons, and you had begun to worry. You sat alone with your lantern by the shore, a still and heavy song in your heart as you looked over the gentle rolling waves. You sat, and sat, holding your guitar, as the hours slowly rolled by. 

You had slowly begun to rise when you heard a splash and your heart stopped to quiver. Holding your candle up to see what had made such a sound. You saw a slow procession of shadows in the dark and your heart leapt. Running along the sand to meet the family. 

Seals by the dozen with whiskers and deep intelligent eyes sparkling in the candles light. And your love walking in the center a loving smile upon her lips. 

They held a fairy wedding, underneath the moon for you and your love that night. You wept tears of joy as her family gave you their blessing. Shells adorned her hair, a dress of soft and milky white. The two of you cried together and held hands. Fingers interlacing as you kissed each other tenderly.

 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ♡ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

...And to this day, Selkies Port has always been a safe place for fae and humans to coexist together. There are still tales of weddings held at midnight, in memory of the two lovers, whose love brought their two worlds together. 

The house by the seaside was a little rambleshackle cottage that can still be seen today. After the couple had been married, it became a place of welcome to those of Selkie kind. Where they would stop to rest during their long travels and would trade stories by the firelight. ☆

[mymedicine]

Occam’s Razor

5.6k of surfer harry and y/n, mostly fluff, frenemies to lovers type beat

moodboard

warnings - marijuana usage, swearing, very light sexual language, lotsa teasing, harry being really sassy

notes - this started as a little blurb for @majorharry‘s 20k fic celebration and then it spiraled out of control into this very self-indulgent fantasy. I used the prompt “You’re lying. I can tell when you look at me like that.” Cass’s work inspired me to start writing harry fic in the first place, so if you enjoy this, you have her to thank! <3

more notes - fair warning y’all, I’m not a stoner by any means. i’ve been high like twice in my life and i cried both times so please forgive any inaccuracies in the smoking department. that being said, I urge you to click this link to learn about the decriminalization of cannabis in the US and how you can help correct the injustices associated with it. ok, yes I will shut up now please enjoy!

Island life was a dream come true for Y/N.

There was no sound she loved more than the crashing of waves against the shore, no smell more lovely than the salty aroma of beach air, and no sight more beautiful than the bright sunrise from her home two blocks away from the sand. She squinted at the rising sun as she rode the familiar route to the beach, surfboard clutched underneath one arm. With the other, she steered her trusty bicycle—the only form of transformation she needed on the island. All she ever needed to do was go back and forth from home to work at the surf shack on the beach and back again, with an occasional Target run in between when she was low on mangoes for her smoothies.

It was a perfect morning for an easy surf. Not too hot, not too windy. Just pale skies and a gentle summer breeze bringing peaceful energy to the tiny shack on the sand. She approached the back of the shop, clutching her board a little tighter as she rode over the uneven beach terrain. When she reached the wooden structure, she deposited her bike and board out back before waltzing inside through the back door.

“Morning, H!” Y/N yelled into the room, gripping the strap of her backpack over one shoulder.

From the main shopping area of the store, a curly head popped into the back room. “You’re late,” he replied, pushing his sunglasses through his already messy hair and perching them on the crown of his head. He sauntered into the back room, following Y/N over to their shared locker in the corner.

“C’mon Harry,” Y/N shrugged him off, “island time.”

In truth, neither of them really cared about her being a few minutes late to their agreed meeting time. The store didn’t open for hours and even then, the owner wouldn’t mind. It also didn’t hurt that said owner was none other than Harry’s mother.

“'S pretty out today,” Y/N continued, shoving her backpack into the locker they stored their stuff in during the day. “Should be plenty of nice hollows to play around in before—”

“My smoothie better not be melted,” Harry interrupted her just as she was pulling two thermoses out of the bag.

He was smirking, obviously uninterested in what she was saying and instead transfixed with the sweet drinks in her hands. Y/N rolled her eyes at him. Harry may not have been the most gracious company, but he was company at least. Island life was simple, relaxed, and perfect for Y/N, but it’d be lonely if it weren’t for him. He also consistently supplied her with decent weed and excellent board wax, which certainly didn’t hurt his case. In return, she brought him a mango smoothie every day. As underpaid and overworked coworkers, symbiosis and a shared love for the ocean kept their friendship relatively intact.

“Just for that, you’re not getting it until after dawn patrol,” she taunted, rattling the thermos above her head. She enjoyed the way his eyes followed the drink like a cat’s would a piece of yarn.

His tanned chest rose and fell as he inhaled an exasperated breath, jaw tight and eyes glinting with playful contempt. Along with his teasing expression, he wore only orange floral board shorts and the pair of sunglasses pushing back his curls. Y/N couldn’t help but notice his lack of clothing, even after months of working and surfing together nearly every day. Fuck, she thought, he just keeps getting hotter.

She couldn’t decide whether the fact that he was an actual work of art was helping her withstand his presence in her life, or if it was just simply torturing her with something she didn’t think she could have. Either way, his beauty was a constant distraction.

“Fine,” Harry taunted as Y/N put the drinks in the mini fridge beside the locker. “But just for that, I’ll out-surf your ass.”

~~~

Y/N laid with her cheek pressed down on her board, sighing as the hot sun gently warmed her wet skin. Dawn had brought plenty of excitement in the form of large, smooth waves, but by mid-morning the sea had calmed to a pleasant lull. She spread out her arms and let her fingers trail lightly in the water, finding comfort and solace in the coldness of it. Her board bobbed softly with the mellow waves, rocking her body like a mother rocking her baby. She could have fallen asleep if it weren’t for Harry’s sudden loud cursing coming from somewhere behind her.

“Y/N! Wake the fuck up!”

“I’m not asleep, asshole,” she called back, not moving from her peaceful position.

“C’mon, we’re already late. And s’ gonna rain so we have to pull in the racks.”

Y/N remembered the way the rising sun had been beating down on them all morning. She felt like she was being roasted out there in the humid air with her back exposed to the rays, not obstructed by even a single cloud. But the island weather was as volatile as it was beautiful, and the start of tropical storm season was imminent.

Y/N picked her head up and pushed her chest up on the board, observing the large, dark storm clouds in the distant horizon. I’ll be damned, she thought, he’s right. There was no way in hell she’d ever actually say that to him, though. Not with the way he was continuously taunting her from his place on his own board—“Y/N! Waaaakeeeey wakey! We have woooork!”

“Alright, Harry, shut up! I’m coming.”

Despite Harry’s incessant nagging, they both paddled to shore at a pretty lazy pace, trying to savor their last few minutes of peace in the water before having to deal with all the daily nuisances of customer service.

Anne’s shop on the beach was a hit with the locals and tourists alike. For years, she and Harry had been providing beachgoers with sunscreen and board wax and rash guards and even souvenir t-shirts and mugs, that sort of thing. Anne finally hired Y/N when they started selling bikinis two months ago and the business went through the roof. Having more customers was great, but it meant there was more work to be done.

Y/N and Harry approached the store, dragging their boards with their hair still dripping wet and feet caked with sand. There was a boy lingering outside, dressed in a tank top and board shorts that both looked half a size too big on his skinny frame. They both recognized him immediately—he was a regular at the beach but kind of a shubie, which deeply irritated Harry. Y/N wasn’t Tyler’s biggest fan either; it pissed her off a little when he’d show up bright and early before Anne, Harry or herself had even arrived to open up. But she was at least less hung up on it than Harry was.

“I got him,” Y/N told Harry. “Can you start on the racks? Don’t need you chasing away our best customer.”

Little did Y/N know, Harry disliked the guy for more reasons than just the facts that he showed up ridiculously early to the store and that he tried to dress like a surfer and hang with the locals but was too much of a pussy to go near the water.

While Y/N was tending to Tyler, Harry begrudgingly began pulling in the clothing racks stocked with t-shirts that Anne liked to keep outside in front of the shop. During last year’s rainy season, he’d have to pull the damn things inside nearly every other day. He glared through the open front door at Tyler while he interacted with Y/N, making her use the pole to reach one of the tank tops hung high up on the wall. “Interacted” was a soft way to put it, he reckoned. It could not possibly be more obvious that he was flirting with her.

It only annoyed Harry because he knew he was about eight thousand times better than Tyler on literally all levels, yet the boy still got to enjoy Y/N’s attention for as long as he wanted (he was a paying customer, after all). All while she was none the wiser. Harry loathed the way his eyes lingered on her chest, especially since today she hadn’t had time to put her coverup on before having to get the fucking tank top for him.

Y/N’s head snapped away from Tyler and his incessant talking when a loud crashing sound rang out. Harry was already looking at her from the doorway, face twisted with irritation. One of the racks was crashed into the wall beside him, leaving a few fallen shirts scattered on the floor.

“You missed the door, H.” Y/N laughed at him. She was amused by the grumbling noises he was making as he struggled to yank the rack through the door frame.

“You wanna do this yehself then? ‘F you just gonna make fun of me…” He frowned, voice getting fainter as he disappeared outside to grab the last rack.

“Sorry about him,” Y/N turned back to Tyler, who was waiting patiently for her to scan and neatly fold the top he was buying.

The boy flashed her a charming smile. “S’ fine. I’m not here for him.”

Y/N was not an idiot. She noticed his flirting, but didn’t take it remotely seriously. He was far too young for her. He was thinner than she preferred. His hair was too blonde, skin too pale and clean of any ink. And, well, he wasn’t Harry.

She kind of hated that everyone had to be compared to Harry in her mind, but she couldn’t help it. He was a masterpiece. Her gaze followed him as he sauntered back into the store, picking up fallen merchandise here and there before strolling right past her, into the back room.

Y/N sent Tyler a tightlipped smile when she realized she’d been inadvertently ignoring him. She felt his eyes on her as she finished the transaction. He took the bag from her outstretched arm, but his presence lingered even after she’d given him a polite yet dismissive “Have a nice day.”

“I’m Tyler, by the way,” he began, and Y/N internally groaned. He’d introduced himself several times already during the past few weeks. She was nicer about it than Harry, sure, but fuck she did not want to entertain this kid’s advances. “And you’re—“

“Y/N!” Harry’s voice called from behind her, interrupting Tyler rather rudely in the middle of his sentence. Harry appeared at her side as if she’d conjured him up by thinking about him. She be lying if she said she minded the interruption. “Here’s your smoothie from the back,” he said with a charming smile.

Harry produced one of the thermoses and presented it to her as if it were a prize. He knew he was the real winner though—one look at Tyler’s dejected expression confirmed that much.

“Oh! Thank you, Harry,” Y/N chirped, trying desperately to thank Harry with her eyes while still remaining diplomatic. “I was just finishing up with Tyler here.”

The blonde boy looked between Harry and Y/N, lingering for only a few more seconds with his anxious fingers twisted in the plastic bag he was holding. “Right,” he stuttered, “er…you guys have a good one…” And he backed away from the store.

Y/N turned back to Harry as their customer left. She took the thermos from his hand before playfully scolding him. “That was rude, Harry.”

"He was being rude first. He wouldn’t leave.” Harry shrugged, sipping his own smoothie and swooping back into the back room before Y/N could tease him on his poor excuse.

The Tyler ordeal aside, the work day passed as all the others did. Maybe a little less busy than usual due to the impending storm. By early evening, the tourist crowd at the beach had thinned considerably. One or two local surfers lingered in the water as the dark clouds began to roll in and slowly hide the sun. Harry and Y/N watched them absently from their places behind the counter, sitting beside each other on matching stools.

Y/N took in the view. Even painted an ominous shade of dark gray, the horizon brought a serene wave of calm over her. This was where she belonged, and she was sure of it.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Harry asked, noticing the far away look in her eyes.

“The water,” Y/N replied. It was true—she was looking at the water. But she was really looking beyond it, taking in the entire scene. The lull of the crystal blue ocean, the fading sunlight hitting the palm trees, the soft sand being pelted with raindrops, even the display case of I <3 2 SURF mugs that was mildly obstructing her view out the window. She turned to face him and, of course, he fit right in. He was an integral part of her vision, the beautiful fantasy that she was lucky enough to be living in.

He smiled at her. “’S pouring fuckin’ buckets, Y/N. There’s water everywhere.”

She laughed at his joke, happy to slip back into her real-life daydream.

“What should we do, then? No one’s gonna be coming to the beach.”

“I dunno. Play a game?” Last rainy season, Harry had been alone in the shop. Those past lonely days felt like an entirely different lifetime. In this one, Y/N was his present. His here and now.

He stood from the stool and crouched down to survey the shelves underneath the counter. Anne kept random necessities like water bottles and fruit snacks and a flashlight and…yes! A deck of Uno cards.

Y/N sighed dramatically. With Harry, she knew even a simple little game for kids would quickly spiral into momentous occasion.

“Well if I’m gonna have to play this game with you, there’s no way I’m doing it sober.” With that, Y/N didn’t hesitate to hop off her own stool and head to the back room to retrieve her backpack.

Harry raised his eyebrows, amused by the suggestion. Maybe it was irresponsible to get high when the shop was technically still open for another hour, but what the hell. The crowd had already been thinning for hours. 

“We’re gonna smoke in my dear mother’s shop?” Harry mused.

“We? Did you want one?” Her voice was teasing, growing clearer as she returned from the back room. She perched herself back in her stool and began to prepare a single joint for herself.

“Love, I literally provide you the weed. Of course I fuckin’ want one.”

“Okay, sassy. You can do it yourself if you’re gonna be a dick about it.”

So, he did. And naturally, the task turned into a heated race between the two. The pelting rain outside was an appropriate soundtrack for a race which Y/N, distracted by the way Harry’s nimble fingers packed the rolling paper and pink tongue slipped out to seal the edge, was destined to pathetically lose.

“Hah,” said Harry once he’d twisted the tip, flourishing the finished joint between them for himself to admire.

Y/N rolled her eyes as she finished her own, “Whatever, Harry. I out surfed you this morning and I’ll out smoke you tonight.”

“Well then I’ll have to beat your ass at Uno.”

“Game on.”

They played six rounds of Uno, taking hits in between turns until they were both high as kites. They lost interest in the middle of round seven when Y/N accidentally knocked the deck off of the counter, scattering the cards all over the floor. Even though they each had an even three wins under their belt, neither wanted to pick up the cards, so they agreed to a truce. The pitter-patter of rain and whooshing sound of high winds continued as Harry was muttering in a low voice—something about him dreading having to clean up all the cards tomorrow—but Y/N wasn’t really listening at all.

The high disintegrated the invisible barrier between them, effectively magnifying their usual playful touches into prolonged caresses. Y/N had one leg draped over Harry’s lap, perfectly placed for his massive hands to clutch her calf and gently massage her skin in tune with his soft ramblings. His touch sent sparks flying deep in her belly. He was everywhere, his presence so commanding she was almost disoriented by euphoria. She only fell back down to earth when she realized the comforting din she’d gotten used to had gone silent.

“Listen, H. It’s stopped raining.”

He silenced his mellow prattling and stood from the stool, making Y/N frown a little at the loss of touch. She watched him as he moved over to the window, resting his palms on the sill and peering through the glass at the beach. “Not for long. Look at the clouds.”

She followed his movements, wandering over to him and then tugging one of his arms off the sill. Craving his touch, she effortlessly wedged herself in between his body and the window—a move that would have made sober Harry a little flustered. But his fuzzy brain allowed him to relax into the feeling of her body against his. He lifted his arm to point at the second cluster of storm clouds approaching the beach from the horizon, in turn pressing his bicep to her shoulder.

“Hm,” Y/N surveyed the incoming clouds. “Maybe I should get home while it’s stopped. No one’s coming to the shop when ’s pouring out.”

“Yeh gonna ride your bike high?” Harry mused. “Don’tcha think that’s kinda unsafe?”

She didn’t think so, really. But she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want an excuse to hang out with Harry some more, especially now that they were standing way closer than necessary and she could once again feel his bare skin against hers. “I guess…” Y/N trailed off, distracted by the high coursing through her and the feeling of his arms around her. They were strong from years of propelling himself through the sea water, hot and tan from the hours spent in island sun.

“Fancy a dip to sober you up?”

She paused to ponder the offer, putting considerable effort into focusing on thinking rather than feeling his body. The water did look as inviting as ever now that the rain had let up—temporarily, at least.

“Okay.”

The words had barely left her mouth before Harry was moving eagerly away from her. Y/N stumbled out the door behind him, struggling to keep up while he excitedly meandered down the sand on unsteady legs. Halfway there, Y/N gave up on trying to catch up. She shed her board shorts and sandals right there on the sand, leaving her in her bikini top from earlier and matching bottoms. As she waded into the sea, part of her was regretting skipping the rash guard that morning as the salt water stung the reddening skin on her exposed stomach.

Harry was feeling a similar pain on his own bare abdomen, but he paid it no mind as he bounced through the white water. Instead he took in the twinkling sea and the early evening sunset, appreciating the way the pink clouds reflected in the water. It was so pretty, he thought, endorphins flooding his brain. Might be the prettiest fuckin’ sight I’ve ever seen…

Suddenly, Harry’s reverie was rudely interrupted by a cold blast of salt water slapping him on the back.

“What the fuck?!”

He whipped around and there she was, waist-deep with her cheeky smile and challenging eyes giving her away. Of course she was guilty, there was no one else in the goddamn lagoon five minutes before another torrential downpour. He inched toward her, impishly preparing his own counter attack. She was giggling profusely as she, too, moved backward as if she were his prey.

When she’d backed up to where it was too deep for her to stand, she squeaked and lifted her hands up in front of her face to protect herself. The water was up to her cheeks, flushed with heat, with elation, and alighted by the setting sun. Harry splashed her mercilessly, both giggling like children as her attempts to thwart his attack failed. His head was spinning, melodic laughter and splashes resonating between them. She flung her arms blindly in and out of the water as he moved closer and, foolishly, he underestimated the power of blind luck. Harry spluttered and spat as salt water landed directly in his open mouth. He swatted with his hands, whipping his soaking wet hair around before playfully glaring at her. She was squinting and rubbing the salt water out of her eyes, but she still wore that cheeky, challenging grin.

“Right, tha’s it. Yeh in for it now.” he howled at her. He reached out for her waist, intending to pick her up and throw her into the white water to wipe that stupid victorious smile off her face.

It didn’t work, but how could he be upset when he was faced with her pretty head popping up out of the white water, face lit up with pure happiness? When he was laughing along with her, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest, all with the stunning background of the most beautiful beach sunset he’d ever seen?

The sun had long set by the time they decided to call it quits. It was getting cold and, as expected, it was starting to drizzle again. They marched up the damp beach together, walking side by side with their shoes in their hands. Neither of them had bothered to bring a towel and the once pleasant island wind was now biting their wet skin. Y/N picked up her pace to warm her muscles and keep up with Harry, whose longer legs were trudging through the sand up toward the shop.

“It’s pretty late…” Harry drawled, craning his neck to observe the bright shining moon that had taken the sun’s place.

Y/N took a few seconds to reply, panting from the exertion. “Yeah.”

“And ’s raining again…”

“Mmhm.” Y/N stole a sideways glance at him. He was smiling, as per usual. And he had that playful glint in his eyes that she adored.

“…Aaaand I live just up there…” He swung his arms like a child as he walked beside her, causing one of his flip flops to repeatedly whack one of her sandals in her grasp.

Endeared, Y/N cracked a smile of her own. “Right…”

“Do you wanna maybe…”

She stopped marching then, as they reached the front of the store. She was hit with the sudden realization that part of her fantasy was becoming real. There was no work to be done at this hour, no Tyler to pull tank tops for, no interruptions. Only Harry, her favorite distraction.

Taken with his own thoughtful musing, Harry walked a few more steps before realizing Y/N had stopped. He turned around to face her, and even in the darkness she could see the flush in his cheeks.

“…spend the night at mine?”

~~~

Harry lived even closer to the beach than Y/N in an even tinier studio. Anne of course had a house a few miles into town that Harry frequented, but he was a grown man. It was more than enough to be working for his mum. As much as he adored her, he did not want to live with her.

His place very much resembled the shack they worked in from the outside. Inside he had four walls, a window, a bed in the middle, an armchair in the corner, and a hammock strung out on the porch. Y/N briefly imagined herself lounging in it, maybe sipping a mango smoothie. It would have been very pleasant if not for the fact that it was just exposed enough to be catching the rain water. A brilliant idea sparked in her brain, one she couldn’t ignore.

“I’m g’na sleep in the hammock,” she declared.

“Uh, fuck no yeh not.” Harry replied immediately, equally as firm.

“Yeah I am. It’ll be nice.”

He huffed, setting his backpack on the nightstand and cursing when it slid off. Y/N failed to fight back laughter as she watched him struggle to fit his bag next to the antiquated lamp on the side table. He swore again, finally deciding to push the lamp to the corner of the table and nearly breaking it in the process.

Having successfully removed his shoes, he sat gingerly on the bed and sighed. “But—but…” He paused, shaking his head and letting out a flustered half-laugh. “It’s wet!”

“So?” Y/N teased with a knowing grin, pleased that he’d taken the bait. All she really wanted to complete her real life daydream was to hear him request for her to sleep beside him.

“Do you know what my mother would do to me if she found out I let you sleep outside in a hammock in the fuckin’ rain?”

Oh she knew. Anne would lose her goddamn mind. As kind and gentle as she was, she demanded respectfulness and courtesy from her Harry. She wouldn’t hesitate to fire her own son for misbehaving, or at least withhold his paycheck for a few weeks.

“Fine,” she gave in with a sigh, leaning her back against the far wall, “you’re right.”

He perked up, turning around sharply to face her. “Sorry, what was tha’?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, already knowing what he was getting at. She ignored him and began undoing the clasps on her own sandals, refusing to repeat herself. Admitting he was right once was far more than enough to feed his already giant ego.

“You said I’m… what? Couldn’t hear you properly…” He had the upper hand now, and he knew it.

“Shut up, asshole.” She tossed her shoe at him, and to her delight, it landed directly on his sunburnt face. Y/N laughed loudly as he swatted the air and proceeded to rub his cheek, grimacing.

“That’s not wha’ you said, you little bitch,” He sent her a pointed smirk but didn’t retaliate, too busy tending to his own wounded skin.

Y/N gasped playfully, “What was that you called me?!” she dropped her jaw, committing to the melodrama of it all, “What would your sweet mother do if she were to find out you called me the b-word?”

With that, the ball was back in her court. Victory just within her grasp.

The light pain in Harry’s cheek had faded, but his pride was still feeling it a little. As his hand moved away from his face, Y/N caught a glimmer of mischief flicking in his eyes. “Don’t bring her into this,” he smiled, “she’s an innocent.”

“No one’s safe.” Y/N fired back immediately, a playful grin pulling at her own cheeks.

“Yeah, you’re definitely not safe,” he taunted. He hauled himself off the bed with intent to exact his revenge on her. She had a lot to be guilty of—the shoe incident, the splashing episode she started, the name-calling, the relentless teasing, and mostly the way she was looking at him right then, with fondness and...lust, unmistakable in her eyes, that was making him lose his mind.

He had her cornered against the far wall. Two hands went out to catch her bare waist and release his wrath on her in the form of tickles. Y/N laughed violently, squirming in his arms and yelping, “Stop it, Harry!” Lust clouded his own still foggy brain as he glanced downward, eyes trailing down her bikini-clad chest to her waist where he held her firmly against him.

Y/N caught him, of course. She was staring at him just as intently. As always, she was enchanted by how beautiful he was. His hair was still damp and she was close enough to see bits of sand hiding in the curls. He was grinning wildly, eyes crinkling, cheeks flushed red, teeth adorably poking his pink bottom lip.

Without warning, he ducked his head pressed his lips to hers. Shock melted away as his mouth molded to hers, igniting an inferno in the pit of her stomach. Likewise, flames of passion were roaring within Harry as desperation took over for rational thought. He kissed her with the same eagerness and intensity with which they both would dive into the ocean, head first with no hesitation. His tongue was salty and sweet against hers. He tasted faintly like the sea and weed and mangoes—everything Y/N loved.

Which made it all the more difficult to pull away.

“We should stop,” she sighed but continued to accept the hot pecks he was dotting on her cheek, her jaw, her neck.

“Why?” he muttered against her skin, pruned hands squeezing her waist tighter.

“Because, we’re all salty and gross…” she wrapped her arms around his neck, anchoring his supple lips at the nape of her neck and shivering at the feeling he gave her. His lips were hot on her skin, lighting a blissful trail of fire wherever they went.

“I don’t mind.”

The pelting rain outside sounded distant to her, like background noise against the vibrations of Harry’s husky voice.

“Well...I do. Besides, we should talk about…whatever this is…” Y/N trailed off, thoughts evaporating into feelings, words melting into breathy whines.

“Wha’s there to talk about?” He pulled away from her neck but she didn’t let him go far. She held his sunburnt cheeks in her palms and let their noses brush against each other as he declared, “’S very simple. You’re in love with me.”

Y/N’s eyes widened and she let out a joyful laugh. She pulled away a millimeter, letting the back of her head graze the wall behind her as she continued to softly, nervously laugh, “You’re crazy, Harry. I’m not in love with you.” The lie tasted salty on her lips, as if the universe did not want to let her forget how delectable his own tasted against hers. She let herself gaze into his eyes, helpless against such a force so far beyond her control.

“You’re lying. I can tell when you look at me like that.”

She was sure he could feel her heart racing in her chest as she let out a breathy sigh, “Like how?”

“Like yeh want me to tell you you’re pretty and then fuck yeh into tha’ bed you fought me over.”

He smirked evilly as he said it, loving the way she shivered in his arms. She whined against his skin, way past pretending his words didn’t affect her. She shut her eyes and pressed another deep, languid kiss to his reddening bottom lip, unable to resist. “And what makes you so sure that’s love, H?” she whispered against his mouth.

“You’re kissin’ me like you’re in love with me, you’re looking at me like you’re in love with me, so, says Occam’s razor, yeh must be in love with me.”

“When did you become a goddamn philosopher?”

“‘M fuckin’ baked, Y/N,” he laughed, his breath tickling her cupid’s bow. “But ‘m also right. Yeh said it yourself.”

“Bullshit, you peaked a while ago.”

“Maybe I’m just fuckin’ smart then, Miss not-so-subtle-at-changing-the-subject.”

“Fine,” she deadpanned. And after a deep inhale: “I love you.”

Her voice was even, but a tsunami of feelings crashed in Y/N’s chest as the words left her lips—relief, joy, adoration, love.

An easy, knowing smile graced Harry’s mouth. “Spectaculah. I love y—“

“No,” she interrupted him with a peck on the lips, “tell me in the morning…when you’re sober. Then…”

She felt the heat rise up her throat and a smile pull at her lips at the vivid images running through her mind. The soft rays of morning sunshine peeking through the window, the sound of waves crashing in the distance, Harry’s naked chest against hers, his mouth muttering sweet, filthy praises across her chest, her tummy, the insides of her thighs…

“Sure thing, my love,” Harry laughed lightly. He had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on behind her red-rimmed eyelids. His own imagination was conjuring up dirty images of himself buried between her legs, basking in her salty skin and breathy whines. But there were softer thoughts, too. Fantasies involving sweet kisses pressed to her lips and her cheeks and the dulcet melody of her laughter and the feeling of her soft hands on his face. He saw her face while she was riding the biggest wave of the morning—lit up with a huge smile and eyes twinkling with the ocean’s reflection in them. He envisioned her soft lips stained orange with mango juice. He saw her cheeky, joyous grin when he was splashing her against the powdery pink backdrop of the sun setting into the sea. The prettiest fuckin’ sight I’ve ever seen.

Come morning, the first thing she heard was the crashing of the waves and Harry’s raspy voice in her ear.

“I’m in love with you, too.”

thank you for reading <3

please tell me what you think! I’d love to hear from y’all :D

informal taglist, aka a lovely bean who requested to be tagged: @fortrapsandfordaphne

[little-red-beret]

Hey gang I made a Promare fic if anyone has seen that! It’s my obsession atm so here ya go:

Galo Thymos woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs drifting through the loft and smiled. Today was a special day, and he was already being surprised. He wandered into the kitchen to find Lio in a loose shirt and boxers holding a frypan over a hand omitting a small blossom of pink flames. Lio glanced up from his cooking and a small smile spread across his face.

“Is our stove broken?” Galo asked.

“I haven’t been using my flames enough, they’re getting restless.” Lio explained.

They sat together at the dining table, eating at a leisurely pace with no job to be at all weekend. The only place they had to be was at an island resort much later in the day for a long awaited holiday.

“Have you finished packing?” Lio checked.

“Are you kidding, I finished that last night!” Galo answered as he passionately devoured Lio’s cooking.

“No, you haven’t, your swimsuit was still in the draw this morning.” Lio pointed out.

“Right!” Galo noted. “This is going to be so fun! We’ll go swimming! In the sea! And we’ll play volleyball on the beach! And we’ll eat so much food! There’s a couples’ dance class at the resort, too!”

“Can you even dance?”

“Wanna see?”

“No, you’ll hurt my eyes.”

Galo grabbed a pillow off a couch close behind him and threw it at Lio’s head.

They finished packing and set off after breakfast, Galo in a straw hat and colourful button up shirt, Lio in his usual all-black getup. The bus trip to the ferry terminal was sunny and Galo was buzzing with excitement. He and Lio rested their heads on each other’s shoulders, staring contently out the window. The ferry terminal was like another world. Lio squinted against the wind that blew his hair in his face. The waves were capped with foam, and clouds lined the horizon.

“Did you check the weather before you planned this trip?” Lio asked, staring apprehensively at the port.

“No, why would I?” Galo shrugged. Lio took out his phone and opened the weather app. Whatever he saw caused him to literally burst into flames. Travellers around them screamed and hurried to put space between them. Somewhere in the terminal a child started crying.

“It says there are storms all weekend, you idiot!” Lio cried, showing Galo the neat row of lightning symbols on his phone.

“Cool it, firebug!” Galo whispered, glancing around nervously. “It’s just a little surprise! Besides, weather reports are never accurate, anyway!”

“You really don’t think ahead, huh.” Lio muttered bitterly, taking a deep breath and vanishing the fire.

“It’ll be fun, I promise! You know I’ll always find a way to make things fun!”

Lio glared at his lover, but the longer he glared, the harder it got to suppress the smile breaking out across his face.

“Let’s get going, then.” He took Galo’s hand and they continued towards the ferry.

The ferry ride was terribly rough. Galo marvelled at the view from the railing the entire time, eyes glued to the sea.

“Look at that wave!” He exclaimed, just as he had for every other wave. “Ooh, that one is like ‘whoosh’!” He wiggled his hands about in imitation. Lio was resting his head on the railing beside him instead of actually looking. “Are you good, Lio?”

Lio uttered a tiny moan as a response.

“Are you getting seasick?” Galo fretted, lightly placing a hand on his back. Lio nodded against the railing.

“Honestly, I don’t do well with motion....” he muttered weakly.

“It’s okay, we’ll be there soon!” Galo assured him, watching the overcast island in the distance.

Lio didn’t speak a single word after Galo’s reassurances, nor did he move. The clouds only got darker and the waves taller as they neared the island. Galo put a hand over Lio’s and felt how tightly it gripped the railing. He kept his hand there to ground him and continued his ongoing ocean commentary on the view Lio was missing.

When the boat docked, Lio finally straightened, looking incredibly pale and delicate.

“You really don’t look like you’re hanging in there...” Galo worried, squeezing his lover’s hand tightly.

“I’ll be fine, I just need to lie down for a bit when we get to the hotel.” Lio insisted bravely.

The second they stepped off the ferry, it began to pour rain. Galo burst into laughter at their misfortune.

“Now you look stupid in your beach outfit.” Lio remarked wryly, and Galo laughed even harder. Lio smiled weakly and snuggled into Galo’s arm. They walked quickly to a taxi queue, eager to escape the rain as soon as possible.

Much to Galo’s horror, the taxi took them swerving through a windy mountain range where they could barely see through the heavy rain. He helplessly watched Lio’s complexion begin to match his hair as their journey progressed. Every few minutes he offered hushed reassurances that they were almost there, stroking Lio’s hand with his thumb. Lio’s hand began to tremble beneath his as they were pulling into the grand driveway of the resort.

They were dropped off and elegantly suited doormen took their suitcases for them. Galo stared at the luxurious decor in awe. The staircase leading into the hotel was marble topped with a red carpet. Gold accents lined the doors and windows. Then Lio tore away to the nearby gardens, collapsing next to a rose bush in the rain.

“Oh, no...” Galo muttered. Lio sat there rigidly with a hand pressed to his mouth. “I’ll get us checked in!” He called, figuring it would make Lio’s life easier and that he would still be there when he got back.

Sure enough, Lio was still kneeling by the rose bush every time Galo glanced out the panoramic reception window while he waited in the queue. Even after they were checked in and Galo had been handed the key card, Lio still hadn’t moved. Galo stood by the window and watched in concern as Lio sat there getting drenched by the rain. He noticed a woman in a white sundress a metre from him staring wistfully at the miserable weather. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one who didn’t believe in reading weather reports.

“Great beach weather, huh!” Galo joked, always eager to lighten the mood.

“I have a boyfriend.” The woman responded flatly.

“Me too!” Galo beamed, pointing to the small man kneeling in the garden. “He’s about to throw up.” Right on cue, Lio’s back arched and he produced a vile torrent of sick. “Oop, that’s my cue to leave!”

Galo joined Lio in the rain, dashing over to make sure he was okay.

“Poor sweetie!” He cried, crouching in the wet grass beside his lover. Lio was shaking violently on all fours. Galo patted his back as he brought up another stream of sick, retching loudly. They were fortunate that the rain softened the awful process a bit, muffling the sounds and washing away the mess as it was made. “That’s the way, get it all up, Lio!”

Lio belched and heaved up the last of his breakfast. He convulsed and gagged helplessly as his stomach continued trying to rid itself of its perceived poison.

“Good job!” Galo encouraged. After endlessly gagging for a few more minutes, Lio finally sat back on his heels, letting the rain pour down his face for a moment. Then he slumped against Galo and buried his face in his shoulder. Galo took him into his arms. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re good.” Lio trembled in his arms. Whether it was from the vomiting or if he was crying, he wasn’t sure, but he held him all the same. “Poor baby!” he cooed.

Eventually, Galo convinced Lio to come inside. They dripped trails of water all the way to their hotel room, shivering and worn out from the cold in each other’s arms. They changed into dry clothes, and then Lio ignited pink flames in his palms.

“Lio, not here, you’ll set off the smoke alarms!” Galo scolded.

“It’s warm.” Lio defended.

Galo sat against the headboard of the queen sized bed and opened his arms. “You know what else is warm?” he prompted. Lio let the flames flare up for a moment, but ultimately chose to climb into Galo’s arms and snuggle against him.

“How are you feeling?” Galo asked, resting his chin on top of Lio’s damp hair.

“A lot better, but I need a nap.” he mumbled into Galo’s chest.

“We can take a nap together!” Galo declared.

“Sounds fun...”

Galo stroked his hair tenderly.

“Of all the people to be stuck indoors with, I’m glad it’s you... idiot...” Lio murmured, setting his heart ablaze once again. On second thought, everything Lio did made him glow inside several times per day.

“Me too.” Galo said, enjoying the rare moment of profoundness from his normally shy lover. They spent that afternoon nestled together and fell asleep to the sound of the rain.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Genji Heavy Industries (Part 6) The Red Sea

This is my fiction writing. There is no scene like this in the novel or the game. But it could have been there.

Enjoy!

Because it involved your abilities, the earthquake preparedness system of Tokyo interested you. You understood that if enough seismic activity were detected, the Early Warning system would activate, giving more people time to seek safety from the seismic activity that could be generated by Soul Skill Eruption. So now, in the hopes of causing as few casualties as possible, you increase the pressure on the fault line at a carefully measured pace taking minutes, rather than seconds to reach the point of no return, where the pressure you were exerting would be released and the earth would move. 

As you grit your teeth in the dark of your improvised shelter of concrete and mud and exert the extreme forces of the earth, You think of Chu Zihang, Caesar, and Lu Mingfei. By this time, Chu Zihang and Caesar would know you were missing and start to look for you. Perhaps they would be trying to find this Hell floor but they wouldn’t know it even existed. It was like you had truly gone into a bottomless pit. They could run around forever and never find you.

But you hoped that Caesar would trust you to make your way out through the underground on your own without his help and get to safety. Once the earthquake hit, it would throw the Hydra in disarray. They would be too busy fighting monsters and escaping themselves to even notice the boys. They could explode the Kaguya computer core and blow things up, as many things that would make him happy to make them pay the debt for Ms. Makoto.

Your smile fades and you huff out a little whimper of a laugh. That would be way too easy and in his leisure mind, he would definitely waste time trying to find you.

All across Tokyo, television programs were interrupted with a message window showing the epicenter of an earthquake under Tokyo. On the radio, two sets of chimes sounded, followed by a voice announcement in Japanese. “This is an Earthquake Early Warning. Please prepare for powerful tremors!” Japanese major mobile phone carriers blast out text messages urging the citizens across the city to take cover now!

People flooded the streets in panic, rushing to shelters and emptying out highrises. Traffic turned from neat rows of shining cars to a snarled mess, as people panicked and collided. Everywhere, hundreds of thousands of feet pounded, creating vibrations on their own.

Five seconds later, it hit.

To most people's eyes, skyscrapers stood still on the ground, unmoving. But this is only an illusion. Skyscrapers use steel as the skeleton. The physical properties of steel are not only strong, but also flexible.  When under pressure from an external force it will naturally bend to unload the force, and then rebound. At the height of the Genji Heavy Industry building, in windy weather, the top floor will also be given a few dozen centimeters of sway. A few dozen centimeters compared to the height of the Genji Heavy Industry is insignificant. The general public will not use laser rangefinder and other sophisticated equipment to observe it, so this sway is usually ignored. But in a high-intensity earthquake, all the skyscrapers in Shinjuku district swayed the moment the shock wave passed through, like a cedar forest in a gale. 

You hold your breath in your own minishelter, feeling the pull of the enormous forces being exerted on these buildings. Each sway was a potential disaster that could mean hundreds, even thousands of lives lost, but the results were out of your hands now. Like a waiter bumping a table full of delicate crystalware, all you could do was observe the whole city as it jostled and pray.

You’re shaking from fear, exhaustion, and mental fatigue, but also lack of oxygen. The shelter was watertight as well as air tight. You force open a small hole in the top and peer out. You had formed a dome shaped earthen shelter for yourself that held back the water and shielded you from falling debris. Fresh air poured in the smell of seawater and fish.

Z was gone. All around you the whole basement was flooded save for the section surrounded by your little levee. A few red emergency lights illuminated the shattered tank and bits of glass block and made them look like you were floating in an extremely large pool of blood.   The tank wall was gone and the room that was already large now seemed more like a baseball stadium in size.

Through your spiritual feelers, you could detect the frequency of vibrations that your mind could interpret as sound. Many muffled voices were desperately screaming and yelling and pounding on doors.

There were still so many people in this building. Why had they not evacuated? The ground was full of tension. Aftershocks were sure to come and there was no way you could stop them. These people needed to get to shelter! Hydra were so organized even by Japanese standards. This disarray was unusual.

You’re struck with a sudden vertigo and dizziness. Your mind becomes aware of the smallness of your body, while at the same time it is still aware of the vast depth of the earth beneath you. You try to take deep breaths against the wave of nausea but the food you ate in the elevator comes up in a single heave. You lay down against the levee and clutch your head against the stabbing behind your eyes. Cluster headaches were normal and actually a good sign that the blood vessels in your head were still working. If you didn’t feel anything, it was likely you had lost too much brain function to ever recover. But they also made it impossible to move or think about escaping. After using such an apocalyptic force you were rendered as weak as a child.

You close your eyes and feel your tired brain rebound from your body back to the residual spiritual energy in the Earth. Every time your mind returns to the earth,you hear something strange. It was as if a long river of metal was flowing underground and scraping against rock, except his metal river hissed with powerful breath. It growled with menace at the same time it breathed, as though there were many of them. 

Something massive was moving near Tokyo. It was underground. It was alive.

In that moment, another sound hits you, a loud explosion, followed by gunfire. This time it was much nearer by. The sound echoed down from the elevator shaft. Because it was connected to the building, these sounds were reverberating through the ground. By the time they reached you they were quite faint, but wherever they were coming from, it must have been a very loud noise.

Caesar and Chu Zihang could be engaging with the enemy, or maybe the Hydra were engaging with the monsters. Either way, you have to start making your way out.

The water surrounding you was going to be a problem. Any hole you made at this point would be immediately flooded. Before you could tunnel out, you needed to move the water away and drain it.

A movement catches your eye. One of the floating blocks of glass is spinning rapidly in the opposite direction from the other floating bits. Something knocked into it. You freeze, gasping in fear, and reach for your pistols. With shaking hands, you start to load them with mercury laden armor piercing rounds. Your eyes scan the dark water but every wave could be concealing a serpentine creature. The floating glass created their own ripples. Plus, you were surrounded by water.

A loose bit of metal detached from the glass wall of the tank. It fell, colliding with a piece of concrete slab sticking out of the water with a soft clang. A three meter long tail thrashed wildly and an invisible shape formed a clear wake in the deep water as fast as a jet ski. It exploded from the water. Its claws were like scythes and serrated. It’s golden scales were like copper in the crimson light.

The creature's upper body was six feet long, so that made it a good fifteen feet, enough to rival a saltwater crocodile. It lifted the piece of metal and bit down and the steel deformed between its teeth. Infuriated that this actually was not edible, it flung it high in the air where it twinkled for a moment before descending. After a few seconds, you hear a small splash somewhere else in the room. The beast screeches and dives in the water, heading for the splash it didn’t realize it made itself, soaking you in the process.

Huge, fierce, strong, reactive… stupid. You recall Z’s play with these creatures. They reacted to light and sound very strongly and they were also cannibals. The emergency lights largely meant that there was no power in this place and a quick glance upward at the now-still and silent ventilation fans seemed to suggest the same. The pumps and siphons that managed the tank were shut down. But that may not last either. 

So long as that thing was swimming around there’s no way you’d be able to work. It had to die. You had your guns and your ammunition and you also had a little C4 and a detonator. You remove your trenchcoat and pin it to the levee with a pocket knife. Then you adhere a bit of the C4 to the coat. Once everything was set up. You whistle loudly.

The beast’s roar echoed and  you duck as low into the water as you can. It flies beneath the water toward the flapping windbreaker and seizes it, tearing it away from the knife and stuffing it down it’s throat. You press the detonator. It was so fast to swallow the bait that the C4 must have been half way down its throat. The lower half of the monster’s head shatters in a bloody spray and bits and pieces of it plunk into the water. The beast howls and chokes, still alive but unable to bite, only flailing about uselessly.

You’d scarcely begun to smile when the wake of something else slips by you. Fortunately you’d been standing still so it didn't notice you were there. Another monster of the same kind reared up out of the water and bit down on the other injured animal. While they were both distracted you ran away. Every step sent water slapping and splashing in all directions.

You were heading for the control panel. There was a long wiring run that ran up the wall through metal pipes attached by bracing. You should be able to climb it! You don’t dare look back but take a flying leap and hit the wall. Your fingertips just barely grasp the braces holding up the wiring run. When you look down, the uninjured sphinx is waving its claws just inches from your swaying feet.

But then it’s pulled back! The other sphinx with the half head is now missing part of its right arm but  has pulled your pursuer by the tail and slams its claws into its head piercing its eye while it screamed and flailed its forked tongue. It pulled the eye out. The nerve still dangled like a bloody root. It popped the eye into its upturned throat. It didn't need a lower jaw to eat that.

Using just the strength in your arms and shoulder, you pull yourself to the next brace. Soon you’re swinging precariously 20 feet in the air. From this vantage point you can see that under the water is a massive pile of glass and steel rubble. The water actually isn’t that deep and if you fell from this height, you would probably die due to impact with the debris. But at least now you could see the entire complex. 

It looked like most of the sphinxes were gone from the cavern, only these two were left. But then the world goes blurry. Once again you’re hit with vertigo! You moan softly and squeeze your eyes shut as the room tilts and your mind reacts to movement in the earth. The ground was filled with great tension, like the tension a cold person feels right before they shiver.

Your eyes snap open. Aftershock!

You didn’t have much time. A powerful aftershock could easily shake you off the wiring run and kill you.There was a small ledge next to the ventilation fans. But it was a good distance from the last brace. You wouldn’t be able to just leap frog up to it.

The two beasts below were still locked in a battle but the one eyed monster was winning. Unable to bite and now missing a limb, the one injured by the C4 was grasped by its head and tail while its opponent ripped bloody chunks out of its flesh with its shining bald head.

It wasn’t even swallowing the meat. This was a vengeful tearing apart!.

Finally, it dropped the lifeless body into the water and turned back to you. It hissed, baring its red tipped fangs. It’s body undulated once and reached the wall. It climbed with spider-like alacrity, claws plunging straight into the concrete like it was soft mud. It only took a second to reach your height. It lashed out and you rocked away from it’s claws, coming inches from being disemboweled. It leaped to the side to pounce on you!

And it fell short. The single eye made it lose depth perception!

With a mighty heave you lift yourself upward by your arms. The flat of your foot smashes into its face and using that as a springboard you make it to the ventilation ledge!

The strong aftershock hit the Genji Heavy Building and pounded it. Cracks spread through the reinforced concrete structure, steel was shorn, water pipes burst, steam and cold wind filled the air. The monster was knocked off balance by the sudden quake and plunged twenty feet to be skewered by a piece of steel that was bent upward. It wiggled it’s long serpent body, curling silently like a worm on a hook for a few seconds before it began to scream, a single high pitched note. Over and over and over. 

A single shot to the eye and it goes limp. You hold the gun at the ready, just in case another was needed, but there was no more sound.

You lie on the ledge to catch your breath. But you couldn’t rest. You weren’t done. You had to drain the water.

With what little residual spiritual energy you had left remaining in the earth, you use it to form a channel under the wall, forming a pipette that would hopefully lower the water level. You wave your hand and from a distance your eyes glow gold. Mud rolls in hills pushing the water towards the channel. It takes a long time, several minutes. Meanwhile, you can feel yourself getting more and more dizzy. More and more sleepy and less able to think.

An extremely loud sound banging and crashing is getting nearer and nearer. Something big was falling down the elevator shaft! It crashed with such force that the car folded like an accordion on and one door was blown out, flipped and landed with a loud splash.

Blood oozed from the resulting debris and a golden clawed hand fell limp. You take a few deep breaths and crawl back to the wiring pipe and slide down it easily. You cautiously sift your way through the debris.

By looking at the elevator shaft can feel the scale of the building, the elevator shaft of ordinary buildings are only three or four elevators, elevator shaft area of no more than twenty square meters, but the source of The levator shaft can accommodate more than a dozen elevators at the same time. So it has an area of more than a hundred square meters. In this one hundred square meters hundreds of high-strength angle steel columns stood in the middle of the steel crossbeam. This kind of high-rise building uses super high-speed elevators, and the metal cars pass up and down at a high speed of 5 meters per second, reminding people of the future cities in science fiction. 

You sniffle. Red drops of blood come from your nose. You no longer had the strength to create a tunnel. But you could crawl up above ground and find a way out that way.

The elevator was pitch black and impossible to see inside like an endless starless sky. The idea of climbing up such a massive shaft would be impossible for an ordinary human. But even in your state of fatigue and pain, it wasn’t too far to go when it came to distance. It was just vertical. 

You step over the dead sphinx. Its upper half was in the shape of a woman's body and it’s guts were torn out of it. It was missing limbs and the skin of its face was falling off in a flap. This beast was never a danger to you. It must have been torn to shreds and fallen. It was dead before it hit the ground bottom of the shaft. It served as a warning to you. It would not just be a matter of climbing the elevator shaft out of the Basement called Hell level. The elevator shaft was another level of Hell!

You check your weapons briefly, go to the back of the shaft where the rail created a sort of ladder and start climbing.

[detroitbydark]

Fox and Mouse Finale 1/2

Characters: Commander Fox x Mouse (reader), and more Jedi/clones/politicians than you can shake a stick at.

Summary: Fox makes plans and then remakes them...

A/N: Ladies and Lads this is it! A chapter so stupid long it required it be split in two pieces. I'm not going to make you wait and I'll be posting both this evening. I'm feeling really sentimental because this is the longest thing I've ever written and completed. I couldn't have done it without y’all. Your support and comments have helped me get through the tough periods of writing and the stress in my life as of late. This is for you guys! Thank you. I love you! 

Special thanks as always to @skdubbs and @crimson-dxwn for being there to listen to me and help me every step of the way. You are both absolutely amazing!

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The crick in his neck is the least of Fox’s worries when he wakes. It wasn’t like he could call the tossing and turning he’d done for the last six standard hours much of a rest. After returning to his room, tail tucked between his legs, Fox hadn’t been able to unwind. He couldn’t lay his head down without a million thoughts racing through his head.

He loved her. 

Yes, it was something he’d known for a while, maybe even longer than he was willing to admit. He loved her more than he loved himself. For a long time he’d thought that’s how love was supposed to work. You sacrificed yourself for the things you loved. Now he’s not sure.

Mouse loved him. It was something he hadn’t hoped for, but after being near her, feeling her lips against his own, seeing the depth of emotion in her sad eyes as she’d kicked him out of her room - he didn’t question it. The issue he finds himself struggling with is hard to put into words. If he couldn’t love himself, if he didn’t think he was worthy, could he truly love her? Mouse was willing to accept him at his most broken, for his flaws and his lingering self doubt. If he couldn’t do the same for himself-

The thoughts kept him up the better of the night. He’d lost count of the times he’d walked to his door intent on barging into her room… and doing what? That’s where the plan got dicey and inevitably where he decided against any further action until first light.

Of course, by the time he’d fallen asleep he’d been so exhausted that he’d missed first light. It wasn’t until a pair of noisy male tik-tak birds jostled for the affections of a female outside his window that Fox woke.

His first thoughts were of Mouse as he shooed the noisy creatures from his open window.

He didn’t enjoy the smell of failure -or sweat - that permeated the air around him. He took a sonic shower so fast he would have set a record back on Kamino. 

He focused on the words he’d say to her. The words that would make her see that he was sorry. That his shabla behavior was a fluke that he could and would correct. That he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her if she’d just give him one more chance.

 He pauses as he slips into his armor.

The rest of his life.

He didn’t want her for a moment in time. He wanted her for all time, at his side through whatever life would throw at them. Resolve settles over him, the kind that a lifetime training for battle honed. There’s a certain peace to it.

Darasuum.

Like any good soldier he makes a plan. When she fails to answer her door when he knocks, he goes to plan B. He knocks again. Louder.

When that doesn’t work, he moves on to plan C.

There’s a small cadre of Jedi and Clones eating a quiet breakfast on the veranda. The sun is just peeking over the waterfalls in the distance. Cody and General Secura are speaking in quiet tones over two cups of caf. General Kenobi sits nursing a cup of tea staring out over the placid lake. Like, a sore thumb, Bly sticks out, devouring whatever pastry and fruit had been piled on his plate like he was a cadet late for morning exercises. He looks up in time to see Fox and give him an encouraging smile and a wave over before taking a bite of some sort of plump sausage even Fox found to be too large.

“Vod!” The golden yellow hues of Bly’s facial tattoos seem to glow brighter in the sun. “Su cuy’gar!” he greets happily.

Fox pauses, then pulls out a chair, grabbing a cheese filled pastry from his batch mate’s plate. “Su cuy’gar,” he greets in return. “After the sounds I was hearing last night I wasn’t sure I’d see you in one piece this morning.”

“Don’t be fooled. I’m held together by the Force and a prayer. My Aayl’ika does nothing in halves.”

Fox, even with the pressure of his impending conversation with his own love weighing on his shoulders, can’t help but chuckle as he steals the other Commander’s mug of caf. 

“Oya!”

Bly snatches the mug back and hot caf sloshes over the edges. The commander of the 327th makes a grunt of discomfort before leaning in and sucking the drops of spilt caf from the space between his thumb and index finger.

Fox smothers a laugh with a large bite of pastry. Bly raises an eyebrow before his eyes narrow in on Fox’s mouth.

“I know red is your color,” Bly grabs a napkin and tosses it to Fox, who catches it easily, “but I didn’t believe you were a lipstick man, regardless of color.”

One swipe across his mouth brings back a small smear of star cherry red lipstick. Mouse’s lipstick. He must have missed it in the shower.

“Since I don’t see the lovely dal I’m taking it either went very well or very poorly.”

Fox takes another swipe and places the napkin down when it comes back clean. “It’s a work in progress”

Bly gives him a serious look, the easy going manner from a moment ago pushed to the back burner.

“Tell me, vod. How do you and General Secura-“ Aayla glances up when she hears her name. Fox offers a tight smile. Bly shoots her a wink. “How do you do it?”

“Well you see Fox’ika, when a clone loves a Jedi-“

“Fierfek! Bly I’m being serious!”

“We’re honest with one another” Aayla’s smooth Ryl accent interrupts whatever comment Bly was getting ready to make. She moves gracefully over from her previous spot near Cody. The Marshal Commander has now joined his Jedi staring peacefully out across the water. Fox doesn’t doubt he’s listening in.

He isn’t sure whether he should be thankful for Secura’s intervention or not. Never having had a Jedi of his own, he still has moments where he finds their presence overwhelming. Aayla looks about as intimidating as a loth kitten this morning in leggings and a loose tunic, somehow looking incredibly chic and supremely comfortable all at once. Her eyes find his, searching for something as she sits down next to her Commander. “We’ve had to learn the finer points of communication.” She looks to Bly. Adoration is written across her delicate features as her lekku twitch happily. “We have to be able to trust each other.”

“It’s work,” Bly says, taking Aayla’s hand and placing a soft kiss along her knuckles ,“but we make it work.”

“And after the war?”

Aayla sighs. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it, but I don’t know if my loyalty can remain with the order alone. Once the Force has shown you something-“ she pauses and smiles softly at Fox, “The Force works in mysterious ways, would you agree?”

“General Secura.” Cody’s voice comes from across the veranda because - of course - he was listening, “I believe you forgot to mention respect.”

Aayla smothers a smile. “Oh yes, respect is quite important.”

Fox is very quickly beginning to feel the nonexistent walls close in around him. “Yes. Yes. “ he grumbles, “I’m a lousy di’kut.”

“You said that - not us - Commander,” General Kenobi chimes in without turning his head away from the lake spread out before him.

“Beg your pardon Generals, Commanders, but I don’t need the Force to tell me that I made a fool of myself last night.” He pushes up from his seat, stealing the caf back from Bly and finishing off the dregs. The other Commander makes a disgruntled sound. “Now, if just one of you could point me in the correct direction I have some-

“Groveling?”

“Pleading?”

“Apologizing?”

The voices all mingle together as they chime in and Fox sighs, rubbing his temple.

“Yes, all of that and then some. Just-“ he lets out an exasperated sound “-has anyone seen her?”

——-

Mouse hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Really, she’d just hoped to get away for a bit. She needed to separate herself from the faces that looked so much like his and the sad looks they’d given her as she’d picked at her breakfast.

She needed to know that Fox wasn’t just a few easy steps across the hall. She’d stood with her hands flat against the door too many times for her liking last night. It was only a few steps and she could be wrapped up in him, repercussions be damned.

Mouse wanted to pretend that her ultimatum may not end with a choice she wasn’t happy with. If Fox decided he couldn’t - or wouldn’t - do what she’d asked, well, she wasn’t sure how she’d handle it.

The field, nearly half a klik from the estate, had become a favorite over the last few months. Close enough to the waterfalls to hear the rush of water over the edge - and catch some mist on a windy day - but rarely visited by locals. It was peaceful. 

The summer grasses had easily surpassed the height of her knees weeks ago and - with a little more rain and sunshine - would soon be at her waist. For now it was just long enough to make a makeshift nest when she lay a blanket down. The green stems stood proudly around their brothers and sisters squashed by the worn quilt she spread out. 

The sun shone softly through a sea of gossamer clouds, its rays warm and soothing as she lay down with a datapad to review Padmé’s personhood bill in its entirety. Mouse couldn’t help the pull of sleep. The legalese of the document and warm kiss of sun paired with the sleeplessness from the night before had her first drowsing then, finally, blessedly sleeping sheltered from the world and her problems that lay outside her ring of softly swaying pastoral grass and millaflowers.

Her dreams begin as nothing in particular. Another blessing in disguise. Nothing bad troubles her sleep, though nothing good brings tenderness either. Instead she catches glimpses of Coruscant, of Fox and the other boys of the Guard, of a tiny green-skinned twi’lek girl. Images of Luke and Leia older and toddling around with their mother and father laughing and following behind them. Slowly, the boys are filtered out, then the Amidala-Skywalker clan, even little Me’kar fades away. All of it is gone and Mouse finds herself alone in front of a tiny cottage. It has a vegetable garden along one side and rows of flowers along the other. She hears her name whispered softly, the warm rumble of it so familiar.

“Mouse.”

“Mouse”

“Mouse.”

Her eyes flutter open, and she squints into sun spilling around a vaguely humanoid shape while her eyes attempt to adjust to the sudden change. 

“I’ve been looking all over for you.” 

Fox.

She’d know his voice anywhere. Hope springs to life in her chest. He’d come to find her. Surely that had to be a good thing, right? She moves to stand, getting as far as sitting before he makes a disgruntled sound and angles himself down and onto her blanket. She watches him look around, his head barely above the tall grasses surrounding them. His gaze moves to her discarded shoes and bare feet, slowly traveling up over her calves where her dress has ridden up in her sleep. She blinks, trying to push the residual fog of sleep from her head. Fox’s gloved hand reaches out and skims over her ankle. That electric spark she’d felt at his touch last night is still there.

“Fox?” He won’t look her in the eyes. The feeling of his touch is missed when he pulls his hand away. “Fox-“ she tries again, hiding and failing to hide the slight quiver in her voice.

He holds his hand up. “I have things to say and I need you to listen to every one. I’m- I’m not sure if you’re going to like what I have to say.”

Mouse nods slowly. He’s more his namesake now, more animal than she’s ever seen him. She moves slowly to rise to her knees, afraid the wrong move, a sudden quick one, will see him breaking away.

“I can do that,” she offers slowly. Fear at what he has to say leaves a thick knot in her stomach. “If we’re going to do this, though, I need to see your eyes. Ok?”

Fox makes another sound, a small grunt of assent as she rises on her knees and puts her hands to either side of his bucket. She releases the locks, hears the gentle hiss of release. His features are schooled when she lifts it off, but she knows her Fox. Whatever he has to say is eating at him. She can see it in the dark circles that rest underneath his eyes, the exhaustion that looks almost permanent in the soft brown eyes she adores so much. Always the caregiver, she fights the urge to pull him down, make him lay his head in her lap. She wants to card her fingers through the new growth of hair, brush through the locks that were just beginning to curl and swirl at the ends until he falls asleep. 

But she also needs to know what he has to say. She needs her answer so her heart can shatter or mend because whatever it is, there will be no in between. Not with him. Not with them.

She watches him swallow, look at the sky and the soft clouds above them before bringing his attention back to her.

“I’ve made mistakes in my life,” he begins, “Some of them widely known. You- you are the mistake I regret the most.”

Mouse attempts to turn away, but she can’t. His words- it feels like she’s watching a hover train come off the rails in slow motion. Fox glances down at his hands, squeezes them into fists.

“I-“ his eyes travel back to hers, pinning her in place “I’ve called you my precious girl more times than I can remember, because to me you are the most precious gift the maker has ever deemed fit to give me. But you're not a girl. You’re a woman,. A smart, strong, caring woman and I called you a girl. When things got hard, I treated you like one, like I had never made a mistake, like I knew what was best for the both of us.”

Mouse can see it in the little ways he moves, the clench of his fingers and the way his eyes trail to her shoulder, the scar covered by the thin summer dress, that it is taking everything for him to muscle through this.

“Fox, why are you saying this?”

“Because I need you to know.” His jaw is set in a sharp line. “I need you to know that I’ve thought about you every day since you left Coruscant, that I dream about you every night. I need you to know that I’m afraid to be around you, that even with the chip gone and that- that hut’uun,” spitting the word out as if it tastes bad in his mouth, “dead, I’m scared that it’s not enough, that someone is going to say the wrong thing and I’m going to do something you won’t come back from - and there’ll be no field of wildflowers for me to find you sleeping in, because you’ll be dead and it will be my fault”

Mouse grabs his hand, forces her fingers between his until he relents and lets her hold it. Her other reaches up, strokes along his right temple and feels the telltale ridge of scar under her fingers.

“Listen to me.” It’s a firm order and his eyes go a little wide. “You are not a bad man. You never have been. You never will be. You are the reason I’m alive. Your will, your strength kept you from making a shot I know for a fact you could make in your sleep. The scars I bear are your love brought to life.”

Fox shakes his head quickly. “That is sick, cyar’ika, you were-“ 

It’s Mouse’s turn to make a sound of discontentment as she pulls at the collar of her dress, stretching it out and down around her shoulder. “Look at it,” she demands. When he hesitates, she places his hand on it, holds it down with her own. “It’s just skin, just flesh over bone. Do you think Palpatine would have allowed me to live even if you hadn’t been the one to do it?”

Her hand slides his down to her chest where she holds it high on her left breast. “This has always been yours. Do you feel it?”

Fox’s fingers twitch over her racing heart. She had to make him see. Even if this was the last moment they were ever together, he had to leave without the guilt. “This has always been yours,” she repeats again, “You protected it and I’m alive because of it.”

Fox pulls away from her with a rough exhale, shaking his head. Mouse lowers herself, sitting on her feet, pretending she doesn’t feel the pins and needles building in them. He won’t look at her as she adjusts the neck of her dress back. She’s failed. The sudden realization hits with such certainty. She was going to lose him for good.

“You are so warm. You draw people to you and take them in, claim them as yours and care for them. You’ve never seen myself or any of the other Guard as just clones. From day one you spoke to each and every trooper you met as an individual. You’ve always tried to help and for some reason I was the one lucky enough to have you helping me. Even when I was acting like osik. Even when I was gruff and dismissive. You dealt with me-“

“-And I loved you” 

Love her head screams at her to correct but she doesn’t. Fox nods.

“Someone else will come along and they’ll love you with everything they have to give.”

Mouse feels a sharp pain in her chest and tries to turn away. Fox’s curled finger catches under her chin and brings her eyes back up to his. Mouse sees something steely in their warm depths.

“They’ll give you the world. Everything I can’t. But you know what?” He lets the question hang in the air for a moment. “I don’t want anyone else to love you. That’s my job. I don’t want to lose you and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I ever put you in a position to think otherwise.”

Relief, warm and fluid fills her veins as tears threaten at the corners of her eyes. Fox watches with slow building panic.

“I- please don’t cry.”

Mouse laughs then and leans up, capturing his lips in a chaste kiss that he doesn’t respond to immediately. When she pulls back, he looks pleasantly bewildered.

“I’m not sad.” She wipes aggressively at a tear rolling down her cheek. “These are happy.”

Fox’s hands cup her cheeks, his thumb brushing away another stray tears. “Well if that’s all…”

 He leans in and captures her mouth in another sweet, delicate kiss, pours his love into it until it’s spilling over and Mouse thinks she could happily drown in the feel of it. 

When she attempts to deepen the kiss, he pulls back. Mouse bites the inside of her cheek to stop a whine from escaping.

“My self control is negligible at this point.” Fox manages a strained laugh while he cradles her face. “I don’t want to rush-“

Mouse presses forward and kisses him hard, sharp teeth nipping just this side of painful along his lower lip. The growl she’s missed over the last few months rumbles in his chest.

When she pulls back, letting his lip slip between her teeth, she can’t help but appreciate the way his eyes have darkened. His hands fall down to her hips and he stares. Just stares into her eyes, searching for something. Mouse doesn’t look away.

“You want to do this right here?” His voice is thick with the familiar gravel of lust and Mouse feels a wave of heat ripple through her body. Right here, on the blanket in the warm sun where anyone could see. There’s a certain thrill to that thought. She swallows thickly. 

“We need to slow down,” Fox repeats.

“Are you saying that for you or me? Because I’ve been waiting months to touch you,” she admits. If possible, Fox’s eyes darken more at the admission. She’s always loved his durasteel will, but right now Mouse found it more than a little irritating. 

“Cyar’ika.” His tone is warm, but the warning underneath is very clear. Ok. Fine. She could go a bit longer. 

“Can I show you something?”

A smile pulls at the corner of his mouth as his thumbs brush small light circles over her dress. 

“I suppose it depends on what you're trying to show me.” 

Mouse leans forward and the pair meet in a slow kiss, just a soft press of their mouths that neither can seem to deny. She murmurs against his lips when she pulls back. 

“Come with me.”

——-

Link to part 2/2 here