#flint n eleanor

[illuminated-in-darkness]

The Parson's Farewell Black Sails Musical Parallels | I. IV. VII. XXXVIII.

music variation note: this almost always plays as background music that exists within the scene itself. The exception to this being in VII, where it begins as tavern background music while Gates and Dufresne talk, and builds to become much grander, introducing the hurdy gurdy and more electric-sounding instrumentation as we cut back to Gates and Flint preparing for castoff.

I spent a year rewatching Black Sails and tracking all the bits of music that repeated at any point during the show, and my findings are reinforcing that Bear McCreary is a genius and this show should have been called 'parallels that will kill you over and over again'* (tag | chronological)

[llycaons]

I don't think anyone's obligated to even try watching black sails but there is a certain genre of person who specifically hates and derides it for having lesbians and for having lesbian sex scenes or just ignores them because they're not gay enough I guess and recently this has been no more clear than in these stupid arguments where ofmd fans break their backs trying to claim that their gay show is better because their two guys kiss while completely ignoring the three canon lesbians/bi women in black sails even when they manage to acknowledge that the protag of bs is also a gay man and also kisses another man onscreen

[erme-aeterna-arts]

so i’m watching black sails, and i’ve been having thoughts about s1-s2 and why they feel different from each other and how it serves the narrative.

so, the first impression from s1 was that somebody lied to me and the show is just your average one. like you see the characters who act a certain way, but you can’t tell why the hell they are doing what they are doing. see, eleanor, flint, they say what they’re doing it for, but it’s not what actually drives them, as we discover later. but in the beginning it still feels shallower and simpler than it is. even the relationship between eleanor and vane seems to have a completely different power structure (at first, the viewer is lead to expect the usual toxic dynamic with vane as the abuser, but i’d argue that eleanor has always had all the power, whenever she was with him, she used it for her political ambitions). or ned low who we expect to be the villain of the season and then he’s very quickly decapitated (bc he isn’t not the true villain of the story). there are many examples, but the point is that the viewer in s1 (and partly in s2) is an outsider to the story, is making assumptions based on what we are used to seeing in media, on the expectations and tropes we all subconsciously know and naturally employ to interpret situations when lacking information and later hold these interpretations as the ultimate and indisputable truth. and then they start debunking all that. the viewer begins to learn the truth, begins to immerse into the story.

and this experience of the viewer is necessary to the following dismantlement of the idea of “civilization”. this is the word being thrown left and right in s2, and it’s no coincidence that right until miranda is dead even flint still wants, desperately, to make peace with it, to be a part of it. discourse is a power structure, it is desired, everything that is spoken exists within it and according to its logic, like the concepts of good and evil, men and monsters. and if in the beginning to flint the purpose was to somehow make himself, his family, nassau, worthy of being a part of it, he later realizes that this will never mean freedom, so he tries to build a world outside of the reach of the empires, outside of the discourse.

because that world was never going to accept flint, a queer man, even though we see in his face before miranda speaks up that he would go through with peter ashe’s plan to tell the whole truth. because that world never existed for us, and i relate so much to it, the entire season is the pinnacle of the queer experience.

to sum up, the parallel that is drawn here is that in both cases the viewer is reminded not to trust the expectations we have of the world, not to expect what seems to be the truth to actually be it, that what you are being told is all lies and bullshit. because when miranda says that nobody but her knows why flint is doing it [trying to destroy the fort], we should believe her; because when we see the flashbacks with james and her, we should not assume automatically that the affair is between them, as it was only stated as a fact by other people like eleanor’s father, because it was thomas that james was in love with, because it was all the “civilization” needed to destroy their lives, because we, the lgbtq+, have always been pushed aside, into the shadows, from which captain flint as a persona was born; because when they, the empire, claimed then that this persona is the essence of the person, they did so to excuse the damage they’d inflicted, to hide the fact that the pain brought into the world was caused by them.

* i’d like to add something about the idea of the western world as a discourse (i’m including imperialism, patriarchy, queerphobia here as the basis of the power structure, hence the generalization), in the show it’s not just the word “civilization” that is used, it’s also “reason”, “society”, “rationality” and so on, bc they belong to this discourse. a very illustrative scene is the negotiations between jack rackham and that captain about sharing the prize like “reasonable men”. where it turned out that reasonable ≠ fair, that it meant that the one with more power was to have everything, according to “reason”, and the other one to end up with nothing. it’s a detail, but everything is connected in this show and so fuck the discourse :) fuck the empire :)

[who-scrambled-my-ocs]

The current full cast:

A.

Abeni*

Areshe*

Auilt (S)

Azure

Almara (U)

Adonis (S)

The At leader (name pending) (S)

The At successor (name pending) (S)

B.

Bes

Bruno

Beatrice*

Barti (U)

C.

Clara

Callon

Celosia (S)

Charlie

Cassandra

Clarion

D.

Denise (S)

The Drow

Deore (U)

E.

Evan

Elise*

Eleanor*

Elaereth

F.

Felix

Flint

Farid

G.

George (U)

Gouria (S)

H.

Haeven

I.

Ilaereth

Iridessa

J.

Juliette (S)

Jumoke*

K.

Kosma (S)

L.

Lucas

Lewis

Luna (joint custody pet oc)

The Lawyer/ Attorney (title to recheck) (U)

M.

Maera (formerly Mairae)

Micheal

Mira

Malea (U)

Markus

Maria

N.

Neora

Najma*

Nayma

O.

Odette*

P.

Plague (PL46U3)

Q.

Quartz

R.

Rho

S.

Sia

Scooby

Sara

Solaris* (S)

Silvie

Seth (S)

Snippy (joint custody pet oc)

The Sea Witch (U)

T.

Taren

Toby

Toblerone (Toby jr)

Taraeji

Tireal

U.

V.

Viola

(?Elven kid/good friend Neora in adult au)

W.

X.

Y.

Yarrow

Z.

*for Sia’s past lives

(S) for spoilers/ yet unrevealed OCs

(U) for heavily unfinished ocs/little established lore

(More to add as I remember my own ocs names and not just their cool powers 😂🫣)

[servena-writes-fic]

Prompt: Sacrifical Lamb (Promptlist) Fandom: Black Sails Characters: Charles Vane, Ned Low Words: 234 A/N: Felt the urge to examine that one scene between Charles Vane and Ned Low in 2x3 a little closer. First try for this fandom, please be gentle? Also I wrote this in like 20 minutes.

---

Charles Vane has never wanted to jump over a table more. Wrap his hands around the throat of the man sitting opposite. Yank down his head and slam it onto the table. Grab the nearest object and cave that bastard’s skull in.

He can feel the weight of his mens’ eyes on him, watching.

Ned Low smiles a smile that doesn’t reach his mismatched eyes. “So that we’re clear. No matter how bloody this feud gets between she and I. I can rest soundly knowing you won’t take no part in it.”

All he can think about is Eleanor’s face in the tavern, her wide-eyed, pleading look.

It would’ve been easier, had Low made a move right there and then. Came after Eleanor with his bloody knife. No time to think then. Just instinct.

But he hadn’t. Careful bastard.

“None whatsoever.” The words taste like ashes in his mouth.

Vane watches him leave. He knows men like him. He’s smelled blood in the water, and he won’t stop.

The bag of gold feels heavy in his hand. Dirty. He wants to fling it after him, scatter the coins over the dusty ground.

It’s not wise to get involved. Let Eleanor solve her own problems for once, or have Flint do it for her.

But Flint isn’t here.

And deep inside, he already knows. He’s going to kill this man.

All he needs is an excuse.

[thybeholder]

okkk we on season 2. real shit….both vane n flint are in the wrong, but there doesn’t seem to be any other way this could’ve gone fr. only on ep 4 or 5 i think? also. still don’t like ms barlow. i just don’t like cheaters. or eleanor.

[koryuoftheriverflow]

James Flint Appreciation Week -   Favorite Relationship

James + his daughters

[kermitheefrog]

finished s1 of black sails while doing my art hw 👁️👁️ had fun plus flint is the definition of a hashtag girlboss

[fromashescomephoenixes]

Fool’s Gold

author’s note: that’s right! it’s here! the promised two fic (check out the other one here) collab with @derrysdenbrough​ in celebration of valentine’s day! this one is dedicated to Cedric Diggory! yep, I finally wrote a Ced fic haha :) so, enjoy!!

word count: 3.6 k

summary: a collection of secret notes and accidental spells lead to a true love!

****

“I’m still not happy with you,” I said, and Cedric only laughed. “Stop laughing!” I scowled, and he swung an arm around me.

“The tournament is well and truly over, Y/n, and you never have to go in the Black Lake again.” He grinned at me, and I only scowled.

“You could’ve gotten killed, or worse, lost the tournament!” As a member of Slytherin, winning is absolutely everything. Maybe Ced dying was a tad worse.

“But I won.” His shit-eating grin said it all, and I whacked his shoulder.

“Get off of your high horse.” I shook my head, and he stood up. For some reason he had taken to sitting at the Slytherin table during meals, not that I was about to complain.

“Look’s like Sprout’s about to charge me, I’ll see you in potions?” He asked, and I nodded. Potions was definitely my favourite class, and it had nothing to do with a greasy haired git, but everything to do with the golden boy I sat next to.

“See you then.” Not a second after he left Eleanor Flint clutched my shoulder.

“You’re totally dating! When did he ask you out? Was it right after Chang dumped him, or did he wait a while? Waiting is totally more classy, but I can see Diggory not wanting to wait.” Eleanor babbled, and I stared at her.

“We aren’t dating, and nor does he want to.” I said, but as soon as the words left my mouth I knew I had made a mistake.

“But you want to.” El screeched, and I quickly covered her mouth with my hand.

“No! Cedric still likes Cho, I’m certain of it.” I said, and El pushed away my hand.

“Rumour has it she broke up with Diggory because you were in the lake and not her. If Diggory liked her more than you she would have been in the lake.” El was batshit crazy, I was positive.

“I was in the lake because I’ve been best friends with Ced since first year. I’m not listening to this, El.” I stood up quickly, and before she could continue arguing with me I speed walked my way out of the Great Hall. Good thing too, since I realised that I had left my advanced potions textbook in my dorm.

****

The dungeons weren’t too far from the Great Hall, and I made it there in what I would consider record-timing. My textbook was on my desk, and it wasn’t until I was leaving did I see the note on my bed.

I gingerly picked up the note, all too aware of how the Weasley twins had it out for the Slytherin house, and froze.

I’m like a crow on a wire, you’re the shining distraction that makes me fly.

I spun around the room, as if the writer of the notes would be standing in front of me, but the room was still, void of life aside Eleanor’s plant that was bordering death anyway.

I shook my head and stuffed the note in one of my robe pockets. I really didn’t have time to contemplate shit like this. With my potions book in my bag, I turned and left the dorm, soon entering the common room and eventually the hallways of the dungeons. I didn’t have to go far, since the potions room was only a couple corridors over. I slid into my seat seconds before Snape swept into the room, and I looked at Cedric who was already staring at me.

“What?” I whispered, and he looked at Snape before replying.

“Where were you?” He asked, and I pulled out my quill, ink pot, and finally some parchment.

“My dorm, why?”

“You left the hall in a rush. Why’d you go to your dorm?”

“I forgot my potions book. Besides, El was killing me and I had to get out of there.”

He nodded thoughtfully, and I decided to listen to Snape for once in my life. Anything to keep my mind occupied.

****

Later that afternoon, we were sat in the dark, stuffy tower for divination. The scent of lavender and peppermint was already overcoming my senses to cloud my mind and make me feel extremely sleepy. According to Trelawny peppermint was meant to sharpen seeing abilities, however I’m not sure anything can sharpen the non-existent...

Luckily, this was another class with Cedric. Merlin knows why we chose to continue it after OWLs, but I suppose that’s the Slytherin in me again: proving I can do it, and do it best.

Right as I’m preparing to drift into my sleepy daze, Ced nudges me.

“Trelawny. Five o’clock,” he mouths, nodding his head in the direction of my left shoulder.

“Hello dears!” She springs up, slightly like a jack in a box. I entertain the thought of telling her so, but she cuts me off as I open my mouth.

“Have you seen anything in your teacups yet?” She questions, staring at us in a way that is a touch too dramatic for my taste.

“Erm, yes.” I respond, trying to save Cedric’s skin since he just saved mine. Grabbing his emerald green tea cup, I grasp the golden yellow handle, and twist it three times. I’m not sure why... it just seemed right.

I glance at my book, but decide to wing it.

“I see a knight- or er. Perhaps a hero?” Trelawny nods, her eyelids fluttering as she rests them close and furrows her brow.

“No, it’s a knight in shining armour.” I nod, settling on this seeing. Cedric glances up slightly at the word ‘shining’ but shrugs it off quickly. He smirks at me,

“Oh, and what does that symbolise y/n?” His eyes flash slightly with mischief.

“It means you should keep your big mouth shut!” I glare at him, but can’t help cracking into a smile after a moment in his laughing gaze.

“Well dears,” Trelawny chirps at us, grabbing for the cup. “Indeed! I see...”

She gasps as I lazily flick my wand to float the cup off of the ground. I still wish I had remembered this trick when we were working with crystal balls...

“Oh Professor!” I groan miserably, despite the traces of thick sarcasm. “Please don’t say I’m due to die,” I throw myself back in my chair while Cedric tries to hold in a snort.

“I’m afraid you are my dear, in a most unfortunate incident involving a revolving door and a popsicle...”

****

“Charms is the worst.” Cedric groaned from beside me, and I nodded. Charms was fucking boring is what it was.

“Flitwick said it was a practical today.” I remembered, and Cedric brightened up considerably.

“About connecting minds?” He asked, and I nodded.

“I think so, partners?” I answered and asked, but I already knew what Cedric was going to say.

“Howdy.” He tipped an imaginary hat at me, and I sniggered.

“Attention seventh years! I’d like you all to get into pairs, and I will form the mind connecting spell. It will last for just one minute, and there may be minor discomfort as the minute comes to a close. Jordan and Brown, you’re first up.” Flitwick began the charm on the first Hufflepuff and Slytherin duo, and they laughed excitedly as the charm went into effect.

“Diggory and L/n, let’s get to it. Face one another and stare into each other’s eyes.” Flitwick instructed, and Ced beamed at me as we stared at each other.

“Now hold each other’s hands, please.” I felt myself growing sweaty at the thought, but Cedric took my hands with ease, and without breaking eye contact.

His grey eyes were more startling than ever, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell the pretty boy was thinking.

“Ut copulare,” Flitwick began murmuring until out of the corner of my eye I watched a flying wand hit the professor. “Oh!” Flitwick let out a startled cry, and Cedric and I nodded simultaneously as we broke eye contact to stare at him.

“Uh oh.” He tittered nervously, and I swallowed. The last time I heard a professor say uh oh was when Slughorn brewed a de-aging potion and it exploded on one of my classmates, rendering them to infancy for a good three weeks. Rumour had it she still used the pacifier from time to time.

“Do you feel okay?” Flitwick asked, and I nodded.

“I feel fine, Professor. In fact, I’ve never felt better.” This was a lie. I had woken up with a knot the size of a rats nest in my hair this morning, as well as having forgotten to do the potions homework last night. However, my teacher looked relieved, so I smiled at him.

“Same here.” Cedric added, and Flitwick sighed.

“Just in case the spell worked, I won’t be able to perform another one on you until at least a week from now.” Flitwick said, and with that he moved to another pair.

“Well I’d say that went well.” Cedric said, and I snickered.

“About as well as your date with Cho.” I was talking about his final date with Cho, which ended in her pouring a milkshake on his head.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, and I stuck my tongue out.

—

“Salazar, what’s the reasoning for all these decorations?” I asked as we left charms. Pink and red decorations hung from ceiling to floor, and it was then that I realised it was Valentines next week.

“Every year the house elves go overboard. We should talk to them about it sometime.” Cedric wrinkled his nose, and I nodded. This was just too much.

“What’s going on over there?” I pointed to a circle that had formed, and it looked like two people were in the centre of it.

“Only one way to find out.” Cedric said, and we slowly approached it. Adrian, a fellow Slytherin, nodded at me.

“What’s going on?” I asked him, and he gestured to the pair inside the circle.

“They’re trapped until they kiss, because a rose fell from the ceiling right in front of them. It’s magically binding, so we could be here a while.” Adrian explained, and I tugged on Cedric’s arm.

“Did you hear that? It’s like mistletoe, they can’t leave til they kiss. It only happens when two people are in love.” I repeated, and Cedric nodded as we walked away from the circle.

“I barely survived the mistletoe.” Cedric said with a shiver, and I laughed as I remembered the girls that had chased Cedric down while waving mistletoe. It had been a sight for sore eyes.

“It’s okay, Ceddie. Time for lunch!”

—

“Could we maybe eat by the lake?” He asked, already having dodged three eager third years. The Great Hall was as busy as ever, and I noticed I myself was subject to several glares.

“I suppose.” I dramatically consented, grabbing two pumpkin pasties and some carrots with hummus from the nearest table. “Let’s go,” I led the charge.

A particularly determined looking Goyle stood directly in my path, stationed by a suspicious rose. I debated how best to get around, when I felt my feet lift off of the floor altogether.

“Cedric!” I shouted as I was levitated a good ten feet across the hall towards the door. I could only hear Cedric’s laughter as he ran below me, and I ducked as I saw the doorway coming straight for my head.

“Mr. Diggory!” McGonagall was heard shouting across the hall, however we were already halfway to the lake.

Dissolving in a fit of laughter, we sank onto the bank of the lake.

“Ah, back where it all began.” Cedric grinned towards me. I could think of a great deal of memories surrounding this lake, but I wasn’t entirely sure of any that had marked the beginning of something.

“What began?” I nudged him with my elbow and took a rather ‘unladylike’ bite of my pumpkin pasty.

Cerdric shrugged, and responded by taking a large mouthful of his own. He then grinned with a pumpkin paste covering his teeth.

“Ugh, you’re disgusting!” I threw a pebble at him gently. He simply transformed it into a golden finch. And so, another calm, sunny day was passed by the lake.

****

After lunch, I took a quick trip to the dorms while Cedric was in quidditch practise. I needed to finish this potions essay, and only one person could save me.

“Come on, Y/n! You’re so slow.” Pansy teased as she speed-walked to the dorm, and I only huffed.

“These legs weren’t made for walking!” I shouted as she entered the portrait, and the only response was the faint echo of her laughter.

By the time I stepped through the portrait, the common-room was empty aside a few stray kids from the years below. I walked through the short hallway to our dorm, and Pansy was staring directly at me as I came in, a note in her hand.

“I’m the first to admit that I’m reckless, I get lost in your beauty and I can’t see two feet in front of me.” Pansy read it aloud, and I froze.

“What the fuck is this?” She asked, and I shrugged.

“I don’t know. I got another one yesterday, I kinda forgot about it.” I explained, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.

“That’s sus, but whatever. Come on, let’s get to the library!”

****

“Holy Hippogriff!” I jumped as I felt a hard impact in my lower back.

“You okay y/n?” Pansy frowned as I rubbed my back. I frowned back, puzzled by this unexplained pain.

“I think so? Something just hit me in the back,” I explained, glancing around for the remnants of a prank of some sort. None appeared. Pansy shrugged and returned to her potions work. I gathered my stuff, and debated where to head next.

It was the end of the day, and I had completed all of my homework. So I was blessed with some nice free time. In a last second decision I veered towards the Quidditch pitch to meet Cedric after his practice.

“Hey y/n!”  A sweet voice called out as I was about to duck out of the entrance hall.

“Hello Holly!” I spun on my heel. Holly was always quite nice to me, even though most of the Gryffindors avoided me. “How are you?”

“Swell thanks,” she nodded. “Just wanted to say congrats to you and Diggory! You two are so cute together!” I blushed all the way up to my ears.

“No I-“ she was already speeding down the hall back towards the tower. I sighed and continued towards the pitch.

****

“Y/n!” Cedric waved across the field towards me. I noticed him limping slightly, but didn’t think anything of it.

“How was practice Ced?” I asked, and he only shrugged.

“Managed to take a bludger to the back, but it wasn’t too bad.” He said as he approached me.

“Doesn’t look good if you’re limping. Want to go to Pomfrey’s?” I gestured towards the various windowsills side by side that was the infirmary, and Cedric shook his head.

“I’m fine, Hooch said it would be worn off by tomorrow. Did you get all your homework done?” He asked, and I saw his face flinch.

“That’s it. We’re going to the infirmary. Give me your arm. Besides, my back has been aching since the library. Maybe I can get it checked out.” He held his arm out curiously, and I wrapped it around my shoulder so I could help him put less pressure on his leg.

“Thanks, Y/n.” He said sheepishly, and I smiled at him.

“I got all my homework done, by the way. Pansy even helped me with the last part of the potions essay that we struggled to do, so I’ll explain it tonight or tomorrow.” I said, and Cedric nodded.

“Sounds good, let’s go.”

****

“For some reason you’ve both bruised the exact same area in your lower back. Do you two have anything you’d like to share with me?” Pomfrey stared at us, and Cedric laughed.

“It's a complete coincidence!” He said, and I nodded, but I was mentally frowning.

There’s no such thing as coincidences.

****

“One day you’re going to spill the boiling water all over yourself.” I said as I watched Cedric in a feeble attempt to pour the water from 15 inches above into his teacup.

“I’m not the quidditch captain for nothing-ow!” Cedric yelped at the same time I hissed, and I quickly inspected my wrist.

“Some of it just landed on me!” I glared at him, and he stared blankly back.

“It landed on me, Y/n. You’re across the table it couldn’t have splashed you.” Cedric said slowly, and I realised my wrist was bone-dry.

“I swear to Godric I felt it hit me.” I said earnestly, and Cedric nodded.

“I don’t doubt it. Shall we go back to Pomfrey?” Cedric asked, and I shook my head.

“It’s probably nothing. Lighten up, Ced, we’re fine. We’ve got the lovely class of charms next, followed by Sprout’s endless herbology lectures.” I nudged Cedric with my elbow, but he still seemed upset.

“Hey, what’s up?” I leaned closer and murmured, and he leant his head on mine.

“What if it’s not nothing? What if we’ve been cursed somehow?” I wished I could erase the worry from his face.

“I highly doubt that. Hogwarts is one of the safest places ever, and if someone was going around cursing people we would definitely know about it.” I tried my best to reassure him, and he sighed.

“Okay, dipshit. I guess I trust you.”

****

“Odds on you asking Sprout what the word sex means?” I asked, and Cedric laughed.

“Ten.” I looked at him in surprise.

“You sure? That’s pretty low.” He nodded.

“Why wouldn’t I be sure?” He asked, and I snickered.

“No reason. Three, two, one!”

“Eight!” We both shouted, and I screeched with laughter. Ced was done for.

“No! Rematch!” He said desperately, and I tried to control my laughter.

“Nope! Go ask!” I put my hand over my mouth in an attempt to control my laughter again, and Cedric reluctantly raised his hand.

“Professor? I have a question.” Cedric called out, and Sprout turned around to face us.

“Yes dear?” She smiled at him, and I nudged Cedric’s leg.

“What’s sex?” The entirety of the Hufflepuff-Slytherin class erupted into screams, and Sprout gasped.

“Mr Diggory!” She exclaimed, and I genuinely thought I was going to piss myself.

“Well, as my head of house, I thought you would be the best teacher to ask.” He said, and I noticed his cheeks were bright red. He shot a glare at me before smiling innocently at Sprout.

“If you stay after class I might be able to explain, however, we are currently in a herbology lesson!” She looked like she was about to cry, and I slapped Cedric’s arm as I laughed.

“You’re insane!” I said, and the smile he gave me made my breath get caught in my throat.

****

The next day I ran into Cedric just before potions. He was about to trip right over his own two feet, when I caught his hand.

"Morning, clumsy!" I smirked slightly as he brushed off the imaginary dust he had acquired during his slip.

"Morning, y/n," he mumbled, lacking his regular enthusiasm. After chatting for a minute or two he started to back away slowly.

"Hey, I just have to run to the bathroom. I'll be back in time for class though!" He yelled over his shoulder now. He started to run down the stony corridor, however I realised after a moment that he was heading the wrong way.

"Wait! Ced, you're heading towards the common rooms!" I tried to yell after him, but figured he'd learn it in a moment anyway. It's not like he hadn't learned this before either. He came to the Slytherin common room almost as much as I went to the Hufflepuff one.

I followed his footsteps, figuring I would be able to talk to him on his way back. What I didn't expect was to see a single slip of parchment fluttering to the floor, and Cedric nowhere in sight.

I bent down quickly to pick it up, crinkling the hard corners with my anxious movements.

I’m like a boat on the water, you’re the raise on the waves that calm my mind.

It was in the same, scrawling writing as the other notes I had received, and the paper was exactly the same to all of the other's I had received.

Was it Cedric? I flipped the paper over and looked at the blank back. He couldn't possibly love me. Could he?

I smiled at the message, remembering when we met up over break once. We had taken his father’s boat sailing, and had somehow managed to capsize on three different occasions.  I heard footsteps coming down the corridor, and I shoved the message in my pocket.

"Hey!" Cedric called out as he came near.

“Hi, Ced. Or should I say boat on the water?” I twirled the piece of paper around my fingers as he approached, and I watched as his face fell.

“That’s not mine.” He said quickly, and I raised my eyebrows.

“Hmm. If that’s true, then I better go search for my secret admirer.” I grinned as he took the bait and grabbed my hand, tugging me closer to him.

“How long have you known?” Ced asked, and I shrugged.

“I had my suspicions on Finch-Fletchley, but you proved me wrong with this note,” I laughed at Cedric’s reaction. “I’m joking of course, Ceddie. I had no idea who it was, but I’m glad it’s you.”

“Wait, really?” He seriously was the cutest. The way he was looking at me right now made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world; then again, I just might be.

“Of course I am. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been trying to drop hints for four years.” Cedric laughed at my confession, and I elbowed him.

“Oi! I was only laughing because I’ve been dropping hints for five. I figured in our last year at school I may as well confess that I’m in love with you.” My breath caught in my throat, and he raised his hand to my face only to brush a piece of hair out of my eyes.

“You’re in love with me?” I asked, and he nodded.

“It’s practically impossible not to be. Now that you know it’s me, I was wondering if you wanted to be my valentine?” Cedric asked, and a rustling from above made us look up.

A red rose had just bloomed. I smiled, and leaned towards Cedric. 

****

It was valentine's day. Of course, just about everywhere was packed with starry eyed couples. We had opted to stay at Hogwarts, and have a sweet picnic together. Cedric had taken care of the setting, and I had found all of the food.

It wasn't a bad effort. In my opinion he went slightly overboard with the pink, but I did appreciate the various hints of green he had added with the plates and napkins. Plus, I had brought plenty of food from the kitchens (which Cedric had shown me in my fourth year)

We settled down on the edge of the lake, and I took a moment to appreciate the sunny day, and the time I could finally spend with Cedric not just as friends, but as a couple. I laid down, and gently rested my head of Cedric's lap.

"We should have done this a lot sooner," I joked, but I meant it as well. Knowing I could have been dating Cedric for months before now was a little bittersweet. I tried to remember that at least we were here now together.

I wasn't exactly sure if I believed in soulmates, but I knew that if I had a soulmate, it would be Cedric.

"Thank goodness you found the note I was going to hide the other day," Cedric smiled.

"That's true, you're no Gryffindor," I teased. "Thank goodness!" I stuck my tongue out in mock disgust.

And that's when things took a turn. I watched as Cho came up to us, with a nasty frown on her face. Her frown darkened our picnic almost instantly.

“Fuck.” I breathed under my voice. What in Merlin’s name could she possibly want with me and Cedric? Obviously we were about to find out.

“Ceddie, honey!” She sang sweetly as she came closer to us. Cedric shot me a look and quickly set a reassuring, soft kiss on my lips before getting up.

“Cho. What are you doing here?” He asked, sounding incredibly confused. He rubbed his hand through his hair, anxious about her mission

“I came to rescue you!” She grinned innocently. As she reached for her hand I couldn’t help myself.

“Hey! Back off!” She shot me a burning glare, and sent a stinging spell at my wrist.

“Shit,” Cedric and I spoke in unison as we both grabbed our wrists. I muttered a healing spell or two as I glared towards Cho.

“Look, Cho, go away. Okay?” Cedric tried to kindly shoo her away. “I’m perfectly happy with y/n!” I smiled softly, glad to here Cedric say that.

“It’s okay Ceddie! I realised exactly why it was her in that lake and not me!” Cho chirped. She sounded quite proud of herself, and I was curious what on earth she had come up with.

“Yeah, it’s because I love her!” Cedric explained. Cho let out a shrill laugh, and patted his arm.

“No silly!” She smiled sweetly, as if explaining to a young child. “You THINK you love her!” She shot another laser like look towards me.

“I’m pretty sure I know who I love Cho!” Cedric’s face began to harden as he realised this wasn’t going to be easy to brush off.

“She used a love potion on you!” Cho screeched, grabbing hold of Cedric.

“I said let go of him!” I got up off the blanket and walked over.

“She’s best in our potions class, she’s loved you since we were 13, and she’s a fucking Slytherin!” Cho explained desperately! She had small, glistening tears in her eyes now. I almost felt pity for her, but I couldn’t.

I walked over slowly, deciding exactly what I should say.

“Being a Slytherin doesn’t make me evil Cho, just like you being a Ravenclaw doesn’t make you smart!” I frowned. I hated how much the stereotypes of our houses defined us. “People aren’t able to be perfectly categorised between four groups!” Cho glared and jabbed her wand at me.

Before I realised what was happening, Cedric jumped between me and the flash of white light, but it couldn't stop the spell for some reason. I doubled over in excruciating pain that hit right around my belly button. It was as if my stomach had turned inside out and began to burn the surrounding flesh. I glanced over, and Cedric was in obvious pain as well.

I couldn’t contain the whimper that escaped from my mouth, and Cedric met my eyes.

“How the hell did you hit Y/n with that?” He spat out, while Cho only stared at us in shock and what looked like panic. After Cedric let out what sounded like a painful groan, Cho waved her wand and relief flooded me.

“Tell me! How did you do it?” Now that he was able to stand up without pain, Cedric got incredibly close to her, towering over her.

“I-I don’t know! You jumped in front, she must have been faking it!” I watched as Cedric lowered the manicured finger she had pointed at me, and whispered something in her ear. The effect in had on her was instantaneous; she slowly stepped away before turning tail and bolting away.

“We need to go to Pomfrey.” Cedric spoke without looking at me, though when I clasped his hand he squeezed mine tightly.

****

“I don’t know what to tell the pair of you. Have you been hit by an unknown spell in the past month or so?” Pomfrey looked tired, I noticed.

I wondered how often she slept.

“Not that I can think of.” Cedric said, and I nodded.

“Unless someone’s hit us without us noticing, then no.” I added, and Pomfrey sighed.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with the two of you. I’ve only heard of cases like these, never seen one myself. I think there’s only been four or five documented.” She explained, causing Ced and I to exchange glances.

“Well, what happened to those people?” I asked the obvious question, since my lovely boyfriend clearly wasn’t going to. Pomfrey shifted slightly.

“One person in each pair died before a full analysis and case study could be completed.” I almost laughed at the look on Cedric’s face until I realised that one of us was totally going to die soon.

“Well, my darling, it was lovely knowing you.” I patted him on the back, and he wrapped his arms around me, encasing me with love.

“What can we do?” Cedric asked, and Pomfrey shook her head.

“Not a whole lot. Try and remember if the pair of you have been struck by a spell in the past though.”

****

It took fourteen seconds after we left the infirmary to Cedric to slap his forehead.

“I think we’re stupid.” He said, and I raised an eyebrow.

“Speak for yourself. Personally, I’m the smartest person I know.” He snickered, and I frowned. Where was the joke?

“Flitwick hit us with that spell, remember? And the spell was interrupted halfway through, which created a new spell entirely.” Cedric explained, and I sighed.

“I think we’re stupid too.”

****

We'd spent another lovely 10 years being stupid together. Sure we'd had our ups and downs, but we always knew that we were soulmates.

Since we had found out about the spell, we've helped Flitwick research whatever charm had put us in the situation of feeling each others pain. It was actually quite strange when I was pregnant with our son, Cedric had noticed the contractions first.

After spending a couple of years with Flitwick researching the spell, we'd moved to Scotland and gotten married. Life had been quite pleasant. We owned a small farm where we raised cows and hippogriffs alike. Our son was now 6 years old, and had already decided that he wanted to be in Slytherin 'Just like mummy!'

Currently we were sitting in our favorite wizarding restaurant. I gazed over towards Cedric's kind face as he helped our son go through the maze on the children's menu. I grinned over at my two lovely boys, and nudged Cedric with my foot under the table.

"Hm?" He looked up, and our son copied him. I smiled towards them both, and silently thanked Merlin that I had these two lovely boys in my life.

"What do you want to eat?" I held up the menu, and raised my eyebrows. Cedric and our son looked at each other and then looked back towards be in sync.

"PIZZA!" They said together. I giggled and they quickly joined in.

Just as we share pain, Cedric and I share the multitude of joys that have bloomed in our lives. And that made the joy all the better

[acciomalfoy]

fool’s gold (cedric diggory x reader)

summary: you’ve been best friends forever, and valentines hasn’t meant much until now

a/n: GO FOLLOW @fromashescomephoenixes THIS IS YET ANOTHER COLLAB WITH HER!!!!! FOLLOW NOW AND CHECK OUT HER FICS!!!

-

“I’m still not happy with you,” I said, and Cedric only laughed. “Stop laughing!” I scowled, and he swung an arm around me.

“The tournament is well and truly over, Y/n, and you never have to go in the Black Lake again.” He grinned at me, and I only scowled.

“You could’ve gotten killed, or worse, lost the tournament!” As a member of Slytherin, winning is absolutely everything. Maybe Ced dying was a tad worse.

“But I won.” His shit-eating grin said it all, and I whacked his shoulder. 

“Get off of your high horse.” I shook my head, and he stood up. For some reason he had taken to sitting at the Slytherin table during meals, not that I was about to complain. 

“Look’s like Sprout’s about to charge me, I’ll see you in potions?” He asked, and I nodded. Potions was definitely my favourite class, and it had nothing to do with a greasy haired git, but everything to do with the golden boy I sat next to.

“See you then.” Not a second after he left Eleanor Flint clutched my shoulder.

“You’re totally dating! When did he ask you out? Was it right after Chang dumped him, or did he wait a while? Waiting is totally more classy, but I can see Diggory not wanting to wait.” Eleanor babbled, and I stared at her.

“We aren’t dating, and nor does he want to.” I said, but as soon as the words left my mouth I knew I had made a mistake.

“But you want to.” El screeched, and I quickly covered her mouth with my hand.

“No! Cedric still likes Cho, I’m certain of it.” I said, and El pushed away my hand.

“Rumour has it she broke up with Diggory because you were in the lake and not her. If Diggory liked her more than you she would have been in the lake.” El was batshit crazy, I was positive.

“I was in the lake because I’ve been best friends with Ced since first year. I’m not listening to this, El.” I stood up quickly, and before she could continue arguing with me I speed walked my way out of the Great Hall. Good thing too, since I realised that I had left my advanced potions textbook in my dorm. 

The dungeons weren’t too far from the Great Hall, and I made it there in what I would consider record-timing. My textbook was on my desk, and it wasn’t until I was leaving did I see the note on my bed. 

I gingerly picked up the note, all too aware of how the Weasley twins had it out for the Slytherin house, and froze.

I’m like a crow on a wire, you’re the shining distraction that makes me fly.

I spun around the room, as if the writer of the notes would be standing in front of me, but the room was still, void of life aside Eleanor’s plant that was bordering death anyway.

I shook my head and stuffed the note in one of my robe pockets. I really didn’t have time to contemplate shit like this. With my potions book in my bag, I turned and left the dorm, soon entering the common room and eventually the hallways of the dungeons. I didn’t have to go far, since the potions room was only a couple corridors over. I slid into my seat seconds before Snape swept into the room, and I looked at Cedric who was already staring at me.

“What?” I whispered, and he looked at Snape before replying.

“Where were you?” He asked, and I pulled out my quill, ink pot, and finally some parchment.

My dorm, why?

You left the hall in a rush. Why’d you go to your dorm?

I forgot my potions book. Besides, El was killing me and I had to get out of there.

He nodded thoughtfully, and I decided to listen to Snape for once in my life. Anything to keep my mind occupied.

Later that afternoon, we were sat in the dark, stuffy tower for divination. The scent of lavender and peppermint was already overcoming my senses to cloud my mind and make me feel extremely sleepy. According to Trelawny peppermint was meant to sharpen seeing abilities, however I’m not sure anything can sharpen the non-existent...

Luckily, this was another class with Cedric. Merlin knows why we chose to continue it after OWLs, but I suppose that’s the Slytherin in me again: proving I can do it, and do it best.

Right as I’m preparing to drift into my sleepy daze, Ced nudges me. 

“Trelawny. Five o’clock,” he mouths, nodding his head in the direction of my left shoulder.

“Hello dears!” She springs up, slightly like a jack in a box. I entertain the thought of telling her so, but she cuts me off as I open my mouth.

“Have you seen anything in your teacups yet?” She questions, staring at us in a way that is a touch too dramatic for my taste. 

“Erm, yes.” I respond, trying to save Cedric’s skin since he just saved mine. Grabbing his emerald green tea cup, I grasp the golden yellow handle, and twist it three times. I’m not sure why... it just seemed right.

I glance at my book, but decide to wing it. 

“I see a knight- or er. Perhaps a hero?” Trelawny nods, her eyelids fluttering as she rests them close and furrows her brow. 

“No, it’s a knight in shining armour.” I nod, settling on this seeing. Cedric glances up slightly at the word ‘shining’ but shrugs it off quickly. He smirks at me,

“Oh, and what does that symbolise y/n?” His eyes flash slightly with mischief.

“It means you should keep your big mouth shut!” I glare at him, but can’t help cracking into a smile after a moment in his laughing gaze.

“Well dears,” Trelawny chirps at us, grabbing for the cup. “Indeed! I see...”

She gasps as I lazily flick my wand to float the cup off of the ground. I still wish I had remembered this trick when we were working with crystal balls...

“Oh Professor!” I groan miserably, despite the traces of thick sarcasm. “Please don’t say I’m due to die,” I throw myself back in my chair while Cedric tries to hold in a snort.

“I’m afraid you are my dear, in a most unfortunate incident involving a revolving door and a popsicle...”

—

“Charms is the worst.” Cedric groaned from beside me, and I nodded. Charms was fucking boring is what it was.

“Flitwick said it was a practical today.” I remembered, and Cedric brightened up considerably.

“About connecting minds?” He asked, and I nodded.

“I think so, partners?” I answered and asked, but I already knew what Cedric was going to say.

“Howdy.” He tipped an imaginary hat at me, and I sniggered.

“Attention seventh years! I’d like you all to get into pairs, and I will form the mind connecting spell. It will last for just one minute, and there may be minor discomfort as the minute comes to a close. Jordan and Berg, you’re first up.” Flitwick began the charm on the first Hufflepuff and Slytherin duo, and they laughed excitedly as the charm went into effect.

“Diggory and L/n, let’s get to it. Face one another and stare into each other’s eyes.” Flitwick instructed, and Ced beamed at me as we stared at each other.

“Now hold each other’s hands, please.” I felt myself growing sweaty at the thought, but Cedric took my hands with ease, and without breaking eye contact.

His grey eyes were more startling than ever, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell the pretty boy was thinking.

“Ut copulare,” Flitwick began murmuring until out of the corner of my eye I watched a flying wand hit the professor. “Oh!” Flitwick let out a startled cry, and Cedric and I nodded simultaneously as we broke eye contact to stare at him.

“Uh oh.” He tittered nervously, and I swallowed. The last time I heard a professor say uh oh was when Slughorn brewed a de-aging potion and it exploded on one of my classmates, rendering them to infancy for a good three weeks. Rumour had it she still used the pacifier from time to time.

“Do you feel okay?” Flitwick asked, and I nodded.

“I feel fine, Professor. In fact, I’ve never felt better.” This was a lie. I had woken up with a knot the size of a rats nest in my hair this morning, as well as having forgotten to do the potions homework last night. However, my teacher looked relieved, so I smiled at him.

“Same here.” Cedric added, and Flitwick sighed.

“Just in case the spell worked, I won’t be able to perform another one on you until at least a week from now.” Flitwick said, and with that he moved to another pair.

“Well I’d say that went well.” Cedric said, and I snickered.

“About as well as your date with Cho.” I was talking about his final date with Cho, which ended in her pouring a milkshake on his head. 

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, and I stuck my tongue out. 

—

“Salazar, what’s the reasoning for all these decorations?” I asked as we left charms. Pink and red decorations hung from ceiling to floor, and it was then that I realised it was Valentines next week.

“Every year the house elves go overboard. We should talk to them about it sometime.” Cedric wrinkled his nose, and I nodded. This was just too much.

“What’s going on over there?” I pointed to a circle that had formed, and it looked like two people were in the centre of it.

“Only one way to find out.” Cedric said, and we slowly approached it. Adrian, a fellow Slytherin, nodded at me.

“What’s going on?” I asked him, and he gestured to the pair inside the circle.

“They’re trapped until they kiss, because a rose fell from the ceiling right in front of them. It’s magically binding, so we could be here a while.” Adrian explained, and I tugged on Cedric’s arm.

“Did you hear that? It’s like mistletoe, they can’t leave til they kiss. It only happens when two people are in love.” I repeated, and Cedric nodded as we walked away from the circle.

“I barely survived the mistletoe.” Cedric said with a shiver, and I laughed as I remembered the girls that had chased Cedric down while waving mistletoe. It had been a sight for sore eyes.

“It’s okay, Ceddie. Time for lunch!”

—

“Could we maybe eat by the lake?” He asked, already having dodged three eager third years. The Great Hall was as busy as ever, and I noticed I myself was subject to several glares.

“I suppose.” I dramatically consented, grabbing two pumpkin pasties and some carrots with hummus from the nearest table. “Let’s go,” I led the charge. 

A particularly determined looking Goyle stood directly in my path, stationed by a suspicious rose. I debated how best to get around, when I felt my feet lift off of the floor altogether.

“Cedric!” I shouted as I was levitated a good ten feet across the hall towards the door. I could only hear Cedric’s laughter as he ran below me, and I ducked as I saw the doorway coming straight for my head.

“Mr. Diggory!” McGonagall was heard shouting across the hall, however we were already halfway to the lake.

Dissolving in a fit of laughter, we sank onto the bank of the lake. 

“Ah, back where it all began.” Cedric grinned towards me. I could think of a great deal of memories surrounding this lake, but I wasn’t entirely sure of any that had marked the beginning of something.

“What began?” I nudged him with my elbow and took a rather ‘unladylike’ bite of my pumpkin pasty.

Cerdric shrugged, and responded by taking a large mouthful of his own. He then grinned with a pumpkin paste covering his teeth.

“Ugh, you’re disgusting!” I threw a pebble at him gently. He simply transformed it into a golden finch. And so, another calm, sunny day was passed by the lake.

••••

After lunch, I took a quick trip to the dorms while Cedric was in quidditch practise. I needed to finish this potions essay, and only one person could save me.

“Come on, Y/n! You’re so slow.” Pansy teased as she speed-walked to the dorm, and I only huffed.

“These legs weren’t made for walking!” I shouted as she entered the portrait, and the only response was the faint echo of her laughter.

By the time I stepped through the portrait, the common-room was empty aside a few stray kids from the years below. I walked through the short hallway to our dorm, and Pansy was staring directly at me as I came in, a note in her hand. 

“I’m the first to admit that I’m reckless, I get lost in your beauty and I can’t see two feet in front of me.” Pansy read it aloud, and I froze.

“What the fuck is this?” She asked, and I shrugged.

“I don’t know. I got another one yesterday, I kinda forgot about it.” I explained, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.

“That’s sus, but whatever. Come on, let’s get to the library!”

—

“Holy Hippogriff!” I jumped as I felt a hard impact in my lower back. 

“You okay y/n?” Pansy frowned as I rubbed my back. I frowned back, puzzled by this unexplained pain.

“I think so? Something just hit me in the back,” I explained, glancing around for the remnants of a prank of some sort. None appeared. Pansy shrugged and returned to her potions work. I gathered my stuff, and debated where to head next. 

It was the end of the day, and I had completed all of my homework. So I was blessed with some nice free time. In a last second decision I veered towards the Quidditch pitch to meet Cedric after his practice. 

“Hey y/n!”  A sweet voice called out as I was about to duck out of the entrance hall.

“Hello Holly!” I spun on my heel. Holly was always quite nice to me, even though most of the Gryffindors avoided me. “How are you?” 

“Swell thanks,” she nodded. “Just wanted to say congrats to you and Diggory! You two are so cute together!” I blushed all the way up to my ears.

“No I-“ she was already speeding down the hall back towards the tower. I sighed and continued towards the pitch.

••••

“Y/n!” Cedric waved across the field towards me. I noticed him limping slightly, but didn’t think anything of it. 

“How was practice Ced?” I asked, and he only shrugged.

“Managed to take a bludger to the back, but it wasn’t too bad.” He said as he approached me. 

“Doesn’t look good if you’re limping. Want to go to Pomfrey’s?” I gestured towards the various windowsills side by side that was the infirmary, and Cedric shook his head.

“I’m fine, Hooch said it would be worn off by tomorrow. Did you get all your homework done?” He asked, and I saw his face flinch.

“That’s it. We’re going to the infirmary. Give me your arm. Besides, my back has been aching since the library. Maybe I can get it checked out.” He held his arm out curiously, and I wrapped it around my shoulder so I could help him put less pressure on his leg.

“Thanks, Y/n.” He said sheepishly, and I smiled at him.

“I got all my homework done, by the way. Pansy even helped me with the last part of the potions essay that we struggled to do, so I’ll explain it tonight or tomorrow.” I said, and Cedric nodded.

“Sounds good, let’s go.” 

—

“For some reason you’ve both bruised the exact same area in your lower back. Do you two have anything you’d like to share with me?” Pomfrey stared at us, and Cedric laughed.

“It's a complete coincidence!” He said, and I nodded, but I was mentally frowning.

There’s no such thing as coincidences.

—

“One day you’re going to spill the boiling water all over yourself.” I said as I watched Cedric in a feeble attempt to pour the water from 15 inches above into his teacup.

“I’m not the quidditch captain for nothing-ow!” Cedric yelped at the same time I hissed, and I quickly inspected my wrist.

“Some of it just landed on me!” I glared at him, and he stared blankly back.

“It landed on me, Y/n. You’re across the table it couldn’t have splashed you.” Cedric said slowly, and I realised my wrist was bone-dry.

“I swear to Godric I felt it hit me.” I said earnestly, and Cedric nodded.

“I don’t doubt it. Shall we go back to Pomfrey?” Cedric asked, and I shook my head.

“It’s probably nothing. Lighten up, Ced, we’re fine. We’ve got the lovely class of charms next, followed by Sprout’s endless herbology lectures.” I nudged Cedric with my elbow, but he still seemed upset.

“Hey, what’s up?” I leaned closer and murmured, and he leant his head on mine.

“What if it’s not nothing? What if we’ve been cursed somehow?” I wished I could erase the worry from his face.

“I highly doubt that. Hogwarts is one of the safest places ever, and if someone was going around cursing people we would definitely know about it.” I tried my best to reassure him, and he sighed.

“Okay, dipshit. I guess I trust you.”

— 

“Odds on you asking Sprout what the word sex means?” I asked, and Cedric laughed.

“Ten.” I looked at him in surprise. 

“You sure? That’s pretty low.” He nodded.

“Why wouldn’t I be sure?” He asked, and I snickered.

“No reason. Three, two, one!”

“Eight!” We both shouted, and I screeched with laughter. Ced was done for.

“No! Rematch!” He said desperately, and I tried to control my laughter.

“Nope! Go ask!” I put my hand over my mouth in an attempt to control my laughter again, and Cedric reluctantly raised his hand.

“Professor? I have a question.” Cedric called out, and Sprout turned around to face us.

“Yes dear?” She smiled at him, and I nudged Cedric’s leg.

“What’s sex?” The entirety of the Hufflepuff-Slytherin class erupted into screams, and Sprout gasped.

“Mr Diggory!” She exclaimed, and I genuinely thought I was going to piss myself.

“Well, as my head of house, I thought you would be the best teacher to ask.” He said, and I noticed his cheeks were bright red. He shot a glare at me before smiling innocently at Sprout. 

“If you stay after class I might be able to explain, however, we are currently in a herbology lesson!” She looked like she was about to cry, and I slapped Cedric’s arm as I laughed.

“You’re insane!” I said, and the smile he gave me made my breath get caught in my throat.

-

The next day I ran into Cedric just before potions. He was about to trip right over his own two feet, when I caught his hand. 

"Morning, clumsy!" I smirked slightly as he brushed off the imaginary dust he had acquired during his slip. 

"Morning, y/n," he mumbled, lacking his regular enthusiasm. After chatting for a minute or two he started to back away slowly. 

"Hey, I just have to run to the bathroom. I'll be back in time for class though!" He yelled over his shoulder now. He started to run down the stony corridor, however I realised after a moment that he was heading the wrong way. 

"Wait! Ced, you're heading towards the common rooms!" I tried to yell after him, but figured he'd learn it in a moment anyway. It's not like he hadn't learned this before either. He came to the Slytherin common room almost as much as I went to the Hufflepuff one. 

I followed his footsteps, figuring I would be able to talk to him on his way back. What I didn't expect was to see a single slip of parchment fluttering to the floor, and Cedric nowhere in sight. 

I bent down quickly to pick it up, crinkling the hard corners with my anxious movements. 

I’m like a boat on the water, you’re the raise on the waves that calm my mind.

It was in the same, scrawling writing as the other notes I had received, and the paper was exactly the same to all of the other's I had received. 

Was it Cedric? I flipped the paper over and looked at the blank back. He couldn't possibly love me. Could he? 

I smiled at the message, remembering when we met up over break once. We had taken his father’s boat sailing, and had somehow managed to capsize on three different occasions. I heard footsteps coming down the corridor, and I shoved the message in my pocket.

"Hey!" Cedric called out as he came near.

“Hi, Ced. Or should I say boat on the water?” I twirled the piece of paper around my fingers as he approached, and I watched as his face fell.

“That’s not mine.” He said quickly, and I raised my eyebrows.

“Hmm. If that’s true, then I better go search for my secret admirer.” I grinned as he took the bait and grabbed my hand, tugging me closer to him.

“How long have you known?” Ced asked, and I shrugged.

“I had my suspicions on Finch-Fletchley, but you proved me wrong with this note,” I laughed at Cedric’s reaction. “I’m joking of course, Ceddie. I had no idea who it was, but I’m glad it’s you.”

“Wait, really?” He seriously was the cutest. The way he was looking at me right now made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world; then again, I just might be.

“Of course I am. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been trying to drop hints for four years.” Cedric laughed at my confession, and I elbowed him.

“Oi! I was only laughing because I’ve been dropping hints for five. I figured in our last year at school I may as well confess that I’m in love with you.” My breath caught in my throat, and he raised his hand to my face only to brush a piece of hair out of my eyes.

“You’re in love with me?” I asked, and he nodded.

“It’s practically impossible not to be. Now that you know it’s me, I was wondering if you wanted to be my valentine?” Cedric asked, and a rustling from above made us look up.

A red rose had just bloomed.

-

It was valentine's day. Of course, just about everywhere was packed with starry eyed couples. We had opted to stay at Hogwarts, and have a sweet picnic together. Cedric had taken care of the setting, and I had found all of the food. 

It wasn't a bad effort. In my opinion he went slightly overboard with the pink, but I did appreciate the various hints of green he had added with the plates and napkins. Plus, I had brought plenty of food from the kitchens (which Cedric had shown me in my fourth year) 

We settled down on the edge of the lake, and I took a moment to appreciate the sunny day, and the time I could finally spend with Cedric not just as friends, but as a couple. I laid down, and gently rested my head of Cedric's lap.

"We should have done this a lot sooner," I joked, but I meant it as well. Knowing I could have been dating Cedric for months before now was a little bittersweet. I tried to remember that at least we were here now together. 

I wasn't exactly sure if I believed in soulmates, but I knew that if I had a soulmate, it would be Cedric. 

"Thank goodness you found the note I was going to hide the other day," Cedric smiled.

"That's true, you're no Gryffindor," I teased. "Thank goodness!" I stuck my tongue out in mock disgust. 

And that's when things took a turn. I watched as Cho came up to us, with a nasty frown on her face. Her frown darkened our picnic almost instantly.

“Fuck.” I breathed under my voice. What in Merlin’s name could she possibly want with me and Cedric? Obviously we were about to find out.

“Ceddie, honey!” She sang sweetly as she came closer to us. Cedric shot me a look and quickly set a reassuring, soft kiss on my lips before getting up.

“Cho. What are you doing here?” He asked, sounding incredibly confused. He rubbed his hand through his hair, anxious about her mission

“I came to rescue you!” She grinned innocently. As she reached for her hand I couldn’t help myself.

“Hey! Back off!” She shot me a burning glare, and sent a stinging spell at my wrist.

“Shit,” Cedric and I spoke in unison as we both grabbed our wrists. I muttered a healing spell or two as I glared towards Cho.

“Look, Cho, go away. Okay?” Cedric tried to kindly shoo her away. “I’m perfectly happy with y/n!” I smiled softly, glad to here Cedric say that.

“It’s okay Ceddie! I realised exactly why it was her in that lake and not me!” Cho chirrped. She sounded quite proud of herself, and I was curious what on earth she had come up with.

“Yeah, it’s because I love her!” Cedric explained. Cho let out a shrill laugh, and patted his arm.

“No silly!” She smiled sweetly, as if explaining to a young child. “You THINK you love her!” She shot another laser like look towards me.

“I’m pretty sure I know who I love Cho!” Cedric’s face began to harden as he realised this wasn’t going to be easy to brush off.

“She used a love potion on you!” Cho screeched, grabbing hold of Cedric.

“I said let go of him!” I got up off the blanket and walked over.

“She’s best in our potions class, she’s loved you since we were 13, and she’s a fucking Slytherin!” Cho explained desperately! She had small, glistening tears in her eyes now. I almost felt pity for her, but I couldn’t.

I walked over slowly, deciding exactly what I should say.

“Being a Slytherin doesn’t make me evil Cho, just like you being a Ravenclaw doesn’t make you smart!” I frowned. I hated how much the stereotypes of our houses defined us. “People aren’t able to be perfectly categorised between four groups!” Cho glared and jabbed her wand at me.

Before I realised what was happening, Cedric jumped between me and the flash of white light, but it couldn't stop the spell for some reason. I doubled over in excruciating pain that hit right around my belly button. It was as if my stomach had turned inside out and began to burn the surrounding flesh. I glanced over, and Cedric was in obvious pain as well. 

I couldn’t contain the whimper that escaped from my mouth, and Cedric met my eyes.

“How the hell did you hit Y/n with that?” He spat out, while Cho only stared at us in shock and what looked like panic. After Cedric let out what sounded like a painful groan, Cho waved her wand and relief flooded me.

“Tell me! How did you do it?” Now that he was able to stand up without pain, Cedric got incredibly close to her, towering over her. 

“I-I don’t know! You jumped in front, she must have been faking it!” I watched as Cedric lowered the manicured finger she had pointed at me, and whispered something in her ear. The effect in had on her was instantaneous; she slowly stepped away before turning tail and bolting away.

“We need to go to Pomfrey.” Cedric spoke without looking at me, though when I clasped his hand he squeezed mine tightly.

-

“I don’t know what to tell the pair of you. Have you been hit by an unknown spell in the past month or so?” Pomfrey looked tired, I noticed.

I wondered how often she slept.

“Not that I can think of.” Cedric said, and I nodded. 

“Unless someone’s hit us without us noticing, then no.” I added, and Pomfrey sighed.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with the two of you. I’ve only heard of cases like these, never seen one myself. I think there’s only been four or five documented.” She explained, causing Ced and I to exchange glances.

“Well, what happened to those people?” I asked the obvious question, since my lovely boyfriend clearly wasn’t going to. Pomfrey shifted slightly.

“One person in each pair died before a full analysis and case study could be completed.” I almost laughed at the look on Cedric’s face until I realised that one of us was totally going to die soon.

“Well, my darling, it was lovely knowing you.” I patted him on the back, and he wrapped his arms around me, encasing me with love.

“What can we do?” Cedric asked, and Pomfrey shook her head.

“Not a whole lot. Try and remember if the pair of you have been struck by a spell in the past though.” 

-

It took fourteen seconds after we left the infirmary to Cedric to slap his forehead.

“I think we’re stupid.” He said, and I raised an eyebrow.

“Speak for yourself. Personally, I’m the smartest person I know.” He snickered, and I frowned. Where was the joke?

“Flitwick hit us with that spell, remember? And the spell was interrupted halfway through, which created a new spell entirely.” Cedric explained, and I sighed.

“I think we’re stupid too.”

-

We'd spent another lovely 10 years being stupid together. Sure we'd had our ups and downs, but we always knew that we were soulmates.

 Since we had found out about the spell, we've helped Flitwick research whatever charm had put us in the situation of feeling each others pain. It was actually quite strange when I was pregnant with our son, Cedric had noticed the contractions first. 

 After spending a couple of years with Flitwick researching the spell, we'd moved to Scotland and gotten married. Life had been quite pleasant. We owned a small farm where we raised cows and hippogriffs alike. Our son was now 6 years old, and had already decided that he wanted to be in Slytherin 'Just like mummy!'  

Currently we were sitting in our favorite wizarding restaurant. I gazed over towards Cedric's kind face as he helped our son go through the maze on the children's menu. I grinned over at my two lovely boys, and nudged Cedric with my foot under the table.

"Hm?" He looked up, and our son copied him. I smiled towards them both, and silently thanked Merlin that I had these two lovely boys in my life.

"What do you want to eat?" I held up the menu, and raised my eyebrows. Cedric and our son looked at each other and then looked back towards be in sync. 

"PIZZA!" They said together. I giggled and they quickly joined in. 

Just as we share pain, Cedric and I share the multitude of joys that have bloomed in our lives. And that made the joy all the better.

[bonniebird]

I do not give my permission to be posted to any third party sites!!!

.

*New* - New Fandom /Character

*Updated* - Masterlist is up to date

*Outdated* - Outdated / missing Masterlist

*No Fics or N/A* Nothing has been requested for this character

.

James Flint *N/A*

Eleanor Guthrie *N/A*

Anne Bonny *N/A*

Charles Vane *Updated*

John Silver *N/A*

Billy Bones *N/A*

.

Tv show Masterlist

Film Masterlist

[phenomenal1500]

~The Voices In His Head (II)~

Masterlist

A/N: Continuation of chapter 1, requested by NinaNyara on AO3. 

Summary: After finally accepting he likes the new charming male captain that has arrived in Nassau, they start to work together. 

Timeline: 2 months after chapter 1.

Pairing: Captain Charles Vane x Male!Reader.

"CHARLES!" Y/N yelled enthusiastically and stormed into the sleeping man's tent, laying down beside him. "Wake up handsome." He lowered his voice just a little bit but kept his enthusiasm.

"What." The Captain grumbled and Y/N laughed a little, knowing after 2 months of knowing him he hated to be woken up like this.

"Open your eyes and look at me."

"I prefer not to." Charles turned to his side and buried his face into the comfortable pillow behind him.

"Look at me." Y/N demanded it this time and pulled the pillow from underneath him, Charles groaning in annoyance when his head hit the hard mattress. "We got an anonymous lead...."

"We do?" He instantly woke up completely and stared at the other man in disbelief.

It had been hard for them to get leads after Eleanor refused to give them any.

"Yeah, and we're leaving right now because we can't have anyone arriving there before we do now, can we?" The man shrugged sarcastically and got up, pulling the other Captain up with him.

"No we can't." Charles got dressed quickly, grabbing his weapons and wrapping their holders around his waist as well. "What is it about though?"

"The gold Flint was after.... he failed to get it and now it's lying, unprotected and without a crew to secure it, on a small island." Charles' exhausted eyes lit up just a little bit and he smirked at the man before him, suddenly kissing him roughly. "And what did I do to deserve that?"

"Being the smart ass you are. Let's go!" Charles left the tent and yelled back at the man, him rushing to the coast line with him. Once arrived there, both men said a simple goodbye to each other there and then climbed onto their own ships to set sail together. Apparently, Y/N had already packed everything in the middle of the night so everything was already arranged and they could leave quickly.

Weeks filled with sailing came to an end when they spotted the Urca gold laying on the white beach of the island they had been told it would be laying on, no Spanish soldiers anywhere to be seen. Charles had made his way onto the other captain's ship, walking into his cabin to talk to him.

"Y/N?" He opened the door slowly and quietly closed it again, secretly smiling when he saw the captain sitting behind his desk peacefully while staring out of the window next to his desk.

It had been a long while since they saw each other because they both had their own ships and so they sadly couldn't cross over to the other's and it made Charles' heart warm up to see him this close again.

He really seemed to love him....

"We fucking found it, Charles." Y/N got up from his chair slowly, still staring out of the huge window that had a perfect view on the Spanish gold.

"Thanks to you." The man grabbed a bottle of rum and pointed at him with it before taking a big sip.

"Captain Charles Vane praising someone else? That's new." Y/N chuckled and he rolled his eyes, putting down the liquor before walking to him.

"Only you because you've been a great partner." Charles positioned himself next to Y/N and stared at the gold as well, the gold that was now being taken into small sloops by their crews to bring it on board.

"Been? You're thinking about replacing me?" The man was joking of course and Charles smirked a little, keeping his eyes on the shiny gold while deciding to play along.

"Perhaps, because partners sounds so impersonal."

"Then if I'm not your partner anymore, what do you want me to be?" Y/N finally switched his attention to the man next to him and raised his brow in a cocky way, very curious to what the man would answer.

"For you to be mine." Charles growled and looked back at him too, Y/N's jaw dropping a little.

"As in-...." He couldn't find the right words and stumbled a bit until Charles interrupted him again.

"Lovers."

A short silence followed, a small moment where both men just stared into each other's eyes quietly, and then they both smiled.

"I would love that."

"Perfect, now come here." Charles ordered and Y/N got closer, feeling his arms sneak around his waist before Charles' lips found Y/N's lips, them smiling against each other's lips before they kissed deeply.

The kiss felt so different from the others.

The kiss felt passionate yet rough, lustful yet filled with love.

This is what Charles had wanted all along, this was the true him, and he figured it out all thanks to one simple man that had walked into Nassau one day. He honestly loved him more than he had loved anyone in his life and he would fight for him as Y/N would fight for Charles too.

[nxrdist]

A/N: This is a one-shot for right now, but I may add to it later. The idea has been bugging me for weeks now and I had to write it! Hope ya’ll enjoy this even though I’m like 5 years too late to the party on Black Sails lol

Story Summary:  A year ago, Olivia was ship wrecked in Nassau by a late season hurricane on her way to the New World. As one of the few survivors of the wreck she's had to make her own way. Starting with no money and no prospects on a pirate controlled island can be hard, but there is much to be learned.

Words:3241

The sun had set hours earlier, but still, the salty Nassau air was thick and humid in an echo of the day's heat. It caused sweat to bead at the nape of Olivia's neck as she went around emptying mugs discarded on tables into her pitcher. Heat was one of the first things she'd had to get used to since arriving in Nassau against her will. Sure they had some warm days back in Scotland, but those were nothing in comparison. Often as she sat fanning herself, Olivia would lament the complaints she'd had about the weather in her homeland. Her former life there almost seemed to belong to someone else after a year here.

Sighing to herself, Olivia put the thoughts out of her mind as she went about her work. Most patrons had stumbled off some time ago, leaving her with her final duty of the evening. It didn't take long, and Olivia did her best not to dwell further on her unfortunate circumstances as she completed the chore.

There was, after all, not much to be done about it now. The hurricane that forever changed her life had been a surprise so late in the season. Once the ship had become caught in those tumultuous waters, there had only been so much the crew could do. In the end, they'd lost the battle against the vicious waves and torrential rain. The ship had bashed against a crop of rocks near the edge of the bay, leaving the few survivors stranded. It had not taken long to learn where exactly it was they'd landed -Nassau being rather notorious after all.

Placing the pitcher down on the bartop, Olivia looked for the bartender Mr. Le Goff to inform him she had finished, but he was nowhere to be seen. Frowning slightly, she hesitated. Usually, she would bid him good night before making the short trek to her small home. Tapping her fingers idly against the bar, Olivia glanced around for him again, her eyes eventually drifting toward the second floor. She could hear voices coming from the direction of Ms. Guthrie's office. Interrupting whatever the two might be discussing was certainly not something she had any desire to do, nor did she particularly wish to wait for them to emerge. Ms. Guthrie had been in a sour mood as of late. Nearly every time Olivia saw her, the blonde's features were tight, and she knew why. All the business with the whore from across the way and the pirates had become messy in recent weeks. 

Pirates , Olivia sighed.

When she'd realized where she was, Olivia had vowed not to become entangled with them, to keep her head down, and get out as soon as possible. It was difficult, though, when the main clientele at her workplace was precisely that sort. However, Ms. Guthrie's close association with the island's Captains certainly didn't help matters either. Before long, Olivia had realized pirates, while often more vulgar and violent at times than normal men, were just that -men. 

The footsteps startled her slightly, and Olivia spun in the direction of the disturbance. Emerging from the kitchen was a lanky bare-faced boy of about fourteen called Kit, who worked alongside the cook. Realizing he'd startled her, Kit smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Ma'm."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Olivia replied gently.

Kit was the quiet sort which was a surprise in a place like this, but he was a kind soul by her measure. Olivia had wondered a time or two how he had ended up there, but she'd never felt it proper to pry. He mainly kept to himself and was an excellent aid to the cook, so he often went unnoticed.

"Mr. Le Goff said to let you know it's fine to pop off once you've finished up."

Olivia arched her eyebrow slightly at the boy. "Did he?"

Kit nodded. "He left a short while ago -was muttering something to himself about his son when he left." With a soft 'huh' of understanding, she nodded. Unbidden, her eyes drifted back to the door of Ms. Guthrie's office curiously. If it wasn't Mr. Le Goff, then who was with her?

"It's probably that Captain Flint fellow," said Kit lowly.

For fourteen, he was awfully observant, but with how quiet he was, that should've been no surprise. Still, occasionally the boy made her feel like he'd read her mind. Or perhaps she was simply that easy to read; however, she would prefer to assume the latter.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Olivia nodded. "Well, I'd better get going. Are you alright on your own?"

Kit shrugged. Frowning, Olivia realized she didn't even know where the boy lived.

"Good night then."

"Good night Ms. Adair."

Out in the street, Olivia paused, glancing up at the sky. Twinkling stars looked back at her, mocking in their familiarity. Not being one for astronomy but still loving the stars, it was easy to convince herself she was looking at the same ones as were over her home, which of course they weren't. Scoffing at her own foolishness, Olivia focused back on the path before her. It wasn't far, but becoming too comfortable in a town infested with pirates would be an altogether different level of foolhardiness. So, she kept her hand poised to draw the short blade hidden in the folds of her skirts as she walked. 

The blade had been gifted to her by one of Ms. Guthrie's guards after an incident the second week of her employment at the tavern. Olivia had gone out back to use the outhouse when a drunken man had caught up with her. He'd unceremoniously grabbed her and started kissing her neck, but Benjamin had pulled the man off before it could go further than that. After knocking the man out, Benjamin had turned to her, taken a blade from his belt, and pressed it into her palm.

" Don't ever walk alone unarmed. " He'd warned.

And Olivia had taken that very much to heart.

At this time of night, the bustling town had quieted aside from the odd drunk struggling to find their bed. So, when Olivia heard the distinct sound of retching coming from an alley as she passed, it was no great surprise. Initially, she didn't even break stride; drunks were nothing if not messy and unpredictable, and outside of her job Olivia didn't much care for dealing with them. She was perhaps ten paces past the alley when scuffling and a loud grunt drew her attention, giving her pause. As she stood listening for any further movement, Olivia could hear a vaguely familiar voice grumbling to themself. Turning slightly to look back, she could see the form of a stocky man leaning heavily against the wall, looking very much like he was about to slide down it. It was difficult to see his face well in the dim light, but something about his outline was as familiar as his voice. Not that that was much of a surprise, Olivia'd gotten to know many of the locals since coming to Nassau. 

Against her better judgment, she stalled there in the street a few moments hoping, if nothing else, then to alleviate her curiosity. It wasn't long before the man exhaled a deep breath and turned his face toward the sky, allowing his profile to become illuminated by a lantern. Without even realizing it, Olivia let out a soft gasp. The noise, however, was enough to draw the man's attention, and he turned in her direction.

Olivia couldn't convince her body to move as the piercing gaze of Charles Vane fell on her. He held it for what felt like hours. It felt like he was staring into her soul until quite suddenly, he doubled over and began retching again. Without thought, Olivia rushed to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder and holding hair away from his face as he vomited onto the ground. When he finished, Charles wiped his mouth with his sleeve and wrenched himself away from her scowling. He said nothing as he turned his back on her and started shuffling down the street as if nothing had happened.

Scoffing at the absurdity of the situation, Olivia watched him go. It was the first she'd seen of the famed Captain in weeks -since Eleanor had, according to the gossip, swindled his ship and crew out from under him. To say she was a bit shocked was an understatement though Charles Vane was among the most feared and respected on the island. Seeing him so low bothered Olivia in a way she did not expect.

The first time she had seen the man was almost a year ago on the beach. New as she'd been to the sweltering Caribbean heat, a moment of weakness led her there in search of a place to swim. As Olivia made her way along the beach, a skiff landed a short distance from her, carrying Captain Vane and several others. Immediately Vane stood out, and even without knowledge of who he was, his commanding presence had struck her. As more of the Ranger's crew came ashore, Olivia'd thought it prudent to abandon her idea of a swim and head back into town, but the man on the boat stuck with her. Later that evening, he'd appeared at the tavern, and Olivia was unable to help asking Benjamin about him.

That man from her memory was so unlike the one she'd just encountered, and before truly deciding to do so, she was following Captain Vane towards the beach. Staying a fair distance behind, Olivia watched him and wondered. Could it be the loss of a ship and crew that brought such a man to this? Sure, she did not know him well. In fact, she hardly knew him at all aside from having served him at the tavern, but she could never have imagined seeing him like this. 

When they reached the beach, Charles made directly for his tent disappearing inside without delay leaving Olivia alone in the dark. A few dying fires still burned in some places along the shore, but the only light came from the stars for the most part, and she suddenly felt rather senseless at having followed him. Charles Vane, ship or not, was a pirate Captain, and she just a merchant's daughter. What on God's green Earth was she doing following him? Intoxicated or not, the man could easily kill her or worse. And she was what? Ensuring he made it unharmed to his bed?

Her self-berating was interrupted then by a soft groaning from inside the tent. Olivia bit her lip. Glancing between the tent flap and the path, she felt torn despite herself.  So much for staying clear of pirates,  Olivia thought spitefully at herself. Even with all the reasons she'd just thought of not to, Olivia reached out to open the tent flap.

Inside she found Charles lying spread-eagled on his back, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. He didn't so much as acknowledge her presence, and by his expression she imagined he was fighting the urge to empty his stomach once more. Looking around the tent, Olivia noticed several empty bottles lying on their sides, an opium pipe, as well as various other articles strewn about. In all, it was a mess, but she did notice a bowl with water and a rag lying beside it. Someone had been taking care of him somewhat recently, but tonight they were nowhere to be seen. 

Accepting she'd already gone all-in on this predicament she'd gotten herself into, Olivia knelt beside him. Despite her closeness, Charles's gaze remained fixed on the canopy. Either he was that focused or truly unaware, but she had a feeling it was a latter after the small gasp she'd made in the street grabbed his attention. So, Olivia proceeded with caution as she reached for the rag and dipped it into the waiting bowl. It wasn't until the cloth was about to brush his forehead that a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, causing Olivia to stifle a yelp.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was deep and quite irritated as he questioned her.

A sudden boldness struck her at the rudeness of his tone. "Ensuring you don't drown in your vomit."

Turning to fix his gaze on her, he furrowed his brow in confusion. Up close, she could see just how glassy his eyes were. For a moment, she was unable to attempt pulling her wrist away or moving at all under his stare. Then he grunted and dropped his grip, breaking the spell.

She waited a moment before tentatively dabbing his forehead with the rag. When he didn't respond, she continued wiping the beads of sweat from his tanned skin. Exhaling a heavy sigh through his nose, Charles seemed to relax some. His eyes slipped closed, and when she pulled away to refresh the rag, he frowned.

"Why?" he murmured, barely above a whisper.

Olivia had a distinct feeling; he wasn't asking why she was there but felt compelled to answer anyway.

"Truly, I do not know." She paused, wringing out the rag slightly before returning it to his forehead. "I'm reckless, I suppose."

That was a true enough statement, she had chosen to stay on at the tavern even after learning of the more respectable -and markedly safer- employment possibilities further inland. 

He said nothing. Olivia was beginning to think he'd passed out when he reached out blindly to brush his fingers along her arm. She halted at his touch.

"Mmm, your skin, it's so soft," he breathed. "Missed it."

Her tongue felt stuck in her throat at his words, but she couldn't manage to pull away. Now Olivia was confident; he was not speaking to her, at least not in his mind. His fingers trailed along her arm tenderly a moment or two more before his hand dropped onto his chest.

There was only one person she could think of that Charles Vane might speak with such softness towards, and it made her stomach sick. When Olivia had first arrived in Nassau, Eleanor was in the midst of her affair with the Captain though it ended not a few months after. She'd thought it to be an ill-fated fling with how unconcerned either party seemed about its end, but now? Well, men didn't speak that way to whores, did they? Olivia didn't think so, which left only Eleanor. 

After that, Charles did not stir again aside from a few unintelligibly mumbled words, and eventually, she felt her eyes beginning to grow heavy. It had grown very late or early, depending upon perspective, in the time Olivia had spent tending the Captain. Having finished dabbing his face, she moved to his neck and exposed chest and did what little she could to clean the sick which had gotten on his shirt.

Blinking a few times, Olivia sighed. He didn't look all that much better than when she'd first seen him, but he'd been asleep a while with no sign of waking. Feeling as though there was little else she could do, Olivia got to her feet and went to exit the tent.

As she stepped out, Olivia had a strong feeling of being watched that made her hesitate to look back over her shoulder, but Captain Vane was still sleeping like a rock. Guardedly she peered about for the source of the feeling, initially finding nothing. Until she let the flap fall behind her, someone close by cleared their throat, making Olivia immediately draw her dagger. Spinning to face the source of the sound, she found a man with dark windswept hair holding up his hands in a sign of peace.

"Ah, don't be alarmed."

Olivia scowled, hissing as she lowered her dagger marginally. "And why shouldn't I? A man sneaking up on me in the dark, fairly alarming if you ask me."

The man cleared his throat and took a tentative step towards her which Olivia responded to by raising the dagger once more. He looked rather put out at her actions and sighed audibly.

"You're in the camp of Captain Charles Vane, don't you think if I were going to harm you, I'd have done so by now?" Reasoned the man.

Pursing her lips in irritation, Olivia had to admit he had a point, but it still wasn't enough to convince her to lower the dagger.

"I'm only curious, you see," he began again when she didn't respond.  "You've been in there for several hours-"

Olivia scrunched up her nose. "I'm no whore."

"No, I didn't think so, dear lady," he said. "I only mean, you've been taking care of the Captain, yes?"

"The way I've heard it, he's not exactly a Captain anymore." She paused. "And who're you?"

"Jack, Jack Rackham quartermaster of the Ranger," he said, straightening slightly with his words.

Olivia arched an eyebrow at him condescendingly.

"Well, formerly, but that's not the point." A beat of silence passed, only filled by the distant lull of the waves on the beach. "I saw you seeing the Captain to his tent. It left me wondering why a barmaid in Eleanor Guthrie's tavern would do such a thing."

Oliva frowned. It was the question she'd been asking herself. Having it posed aloud left her feeling uncomfortable, and she shifted slightly. She also found herself annoyed at being referred to in such a way. Yes, she worked in the Guthrie tavern, but it wasn't as if they owned her. Just because Eleanor had spurned, Captain Vane didn't make it forbidden for her to speak to him -not that they'd really spoken.  

"I am in no way accusing you, Miss," Jack said assuringly.

"You know," Olivia finally began. "That's not the first time someone's asked me that tonight."

Technically, Vane asking her why clearly hadn't been in regards to why she was there, but she'd asked herself enough times. And if she was honest, she knew the answer even if it didn't necessarily make complete sense.

"Truthfully," she breathed before raising her voice slightly. "I suppose I just couldn't stand to see a man like that so low."

As she spoke, her face twisted with confusion at her own words. Saying them out loud still didn't explain why she felt that way, but the truth in them was evident. Jack even nodded in a seemingly understanding manner at the explanation.

"Perhaps-"

But before he could say more, Olivia had turned her back and was striding away, still wielding her knife. Wisely, Jack chose not to follow, but he did watch her until she was out of sight -wondering.

In the days that followed, Olivia heard of the disappearance of Captain Vane and the acquisition of the local brothel by Mr. Rackham. She couldn't help feeling a sliver of spite towards Ms. Guthrie for the state of the Captain. Nor could she stop herself feeling mildly irritated at Mr. Rackham for possibly allowing some misfortune to befall the man. Outwardly Olivia carried on as normal, but in a quiet moment or two, she allowed herself to wonder if the Captain was alive. 

Eventually, she decided it was respect that had driven her actions that night. For all the things pirates were -thieves, murderers, or in some cases worse- there was something about Vane that Olivia respected. And with his disappearance, she may never know what that was.

Black Sails Taglist; N/A

Charles Vane Taglist; N/A

[fangirlings-things]

anon said: If you’re still taking music requests for your 1k celebration, can I get Charles Vane + We Found Love by Rihanna?

A/N: this was such a nice request, anon, I loved it!!! Hope you like it 💕

Fandom: Black Sails

Word count: 702

Warnings: none

gif credit: @daeneryssansa

Summary: you just can't deny what you are feeling for Charles

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“I have to go meet Jack, he wants to speak about something related to the management of the brothel” Charles sighted as he said so, as if leaving that place and you was the very last thing he desired to do.

“Stay a bit more” you tightened your grip in Charles’s shirt, at the same time as you kissed him again on the lips, the taste of him always keeping you insatiable. As he leaned in to deepen the kiss you pulled slightly away, teasing. “I am sure Anne can handle Jack on her own”

“I have no doubt about that. But still, I told him I would be there” Charles caressed your left cheek with his fingertips as he licked his lips for a brief moment. “You know I am a man of my word”

“That, I do know” you rolled your eyes and released him from your grip, sighting so exaggeratedly that it made him laugh. “Will you have time for the later, Captain Vane?”

Charles frowned for a moment, as if he was thinking about it. Then he leaned in and whispered in your ear. “Do you want me to have time for you? Or should I enjoy some time in the brothel, since I will already be there?”

“Do that, and I will have your balls” you threatened and without waiting for an answer, turned to walk away. Before you could go very far though, you felt his arms closing around your waist and pulling you behind, his chest pressing against your back.

“I will see you later, love” he kissed your cheek dearly making you sight in appreciation and then walked away into the night, soon disappearing in the streets of Nassau. As you watched people come and go, drunk alone or laughing with mates, you only thought about how anxious you were for the ‘later’ Charles had just promised you.

“Are you certain being with Charles Vane is the smartest thing to do?”

You recognized that voice even before turning around to look at it’s owner. Crossing your arms over your chest and you leaned back against the closest wall of the tavern. Coming from the inside, you could hear the sounds of cups being filled and coins being exchanged. From time to time, Eleanor’s voice would rise up to scream to some unrespectable costumer. “I know what I am doing, Billy”

“You sure?” he reached the place by your side finally, looking at you with a deep frown. From the expression on his face, you saw that he had witnessed the whole moment between you and the pirate captain.

“Did the Captain tell you to keep an eye on me?” you questioned, raising your eyebrows in his direction. The thought of that would not surprise you at all. You knew very well that history between your Captain and Charles was long and old.

“No, Flint has been so caught up in his own business that he doesn’t even tell me what to do anymore” Billy also leaned against the wall, his gaze going to the fort in the top of the hill, far away from where you stood. “I am serious about what I asked, (Y/N). Play this game with Vane, is it worth it?”

You squeezed your lips in a thin line for a moment. You understood your friend’s concern about you, it was reasonable at most. But still, Charles had never treated you wrong. He was as unperfect as any other man, and you loved him. “It is the way I am feeling, Billy” you shrugged, smiling a bit. “I cannot deny it. Maybe I will have to let it go at some point but right now, I am just going to enjoy his very pleasurable company”

Billy chuckled, shaking his head. “Very well, then. You know what is best for yourself. You found love in Nassau, (Y/N). Who would have thought” he looked at the inside of the tavern through a window, inspecting as an idea seemed to cross him mind as you laughed at his statement. Moments later, his gaze went back to you. “What about a drink?”

You smiled and slapped him playfully in the shoulder. “There you go, mate”    

[laufire]

001 & Black Sails for the ask meme :)

Favorite character: Max. She's even competition for Caroline in my fave character ever ranks.

Least Favorite character: I probably despise Peter Ashe as a person more than anybody else in the show lol. He's such a fucking coward.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Silverflintmadi, Maxanor, Anne & Jack & Max, Flintmiranda, Jack/Rogers.

Character I find most attractive: all the women in the show are really attractive, each in her own type, which I really appreciate :D (like I've said before: the men have nice personalities xDD). Rn I'm gonna go with Madi.

Character I would marry: Max. She's the definition of a good catch.

Character I would be best friends with: a lot of the characters in the show definitely fit with the kinds of people I'd be friends with (Jack, Silver, Flint, Idelle...).

a random thought: still pissed we didn't get proper names for Mr. Scott or the Maroon Queen.

An unpopular opinion: I disagree with a lot of fandom's opinions on Thomas lol. I just don't think he's that impressive as a person *shrugs*

My Canon OTP: Silvermadi, ig (depending on how canon you'd consider Silverflint + the ot3 lol).

My Non-canon OTP: see above. Otherwise, Jack/Rogers.

Most Badass Character: Mr. Scott. He really impressed me.

Most Epic Villain: Rogers is the one that brings the heat in the show. But also, for the people that consider Silver ~the real villain, it has to be him xDD

Pairing I am not a fan of: Silver/Thomas or Madi/Max, because I just think they wouldn't make sense together. Eleanor/Rogers because yikes.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): n/a.

Favourite Friendship: Flint & Madi (although yeah, I also ship them) or Max & Silver (& Jack), if I take an... unusal definition of friendship lol.

Character I most identify with: I have my similarities with Flint, but I also project a lot onto Silver. So it's a fun experience lol.

Character I wish I could be: I insist on what I said about indoor plumbing.