#i forgot how much i shipped them until they were in front of my faces again

[demonpiratehuntress]

Ace + (Name) Day

Portgas D. Ace x F!Reader

summary - part 2 to "marry me", since someone wanted the wedding :) Ace chooses his birthday to be the date of your wedding, and you wonder why until he tells you.

warnings - none

a/n: happy birthday to the man who never fails to make me feel better regardless of my mood, our very VERY special fire fist <3

After proposing to you, Ace wanted to immediately start planning the wedding. Being pirates, you couldn't have a very big, very extravagant ceremony, but you didn't want one. You insisted that just being his wife made you happy enough, but Ace wanted you to have a wedding.

And he chose his birthday as the date.

Except that he didn't let you keep track of the date, so you wouldn't know he did that until the day came.

Marco helped you shop for a dress, Thatch baked an absolutely gorgeous cake and the rest of the crew decorated the ship as best they could to suit a wedding ceremony. Naturally, Whitebeard was asked to officiate. Ace even had backup plans upon backup plans for anything that might go wrong, a testament to how much he wanted this day to be perfect for you.

And when you walked out in that long white dress, a radiant smile on your face and nothing but happiness and excitement in your eyes, Ace swore he would have broken down in happy tears right then and there. As he watched you come down the improvised aisle, walked down by Marco, he couldn't take his eyes off you and felt them brimming with tears. You looked absolutely stunning, and for the first time Ace found himself speechless. His tongue was tied. A lump formed in his throat. He was marrying the most beautiful woman to ever exist.

Marco handed you off to Ace at the makeshift altar, which was really just you and Ace standing in front of Whitebeard's seat. You smiled up at your soon-to-be husband, and Ace's knees knocked together. It wasn't often that he got nervous, but you looked so amazing it was damn near impossible for him to keep it together.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate a love that is truly rare among pirates," Whitebeard began, trying not to read off of cue cards Marco held up from the back. Still, it was extremely sweet.

You barely listened to Whitebeard, your gaze transfixed on the stunning man before you. He did not wear a shirt, as predicted, so his tie kind of just...hung there. It might have been tacky to anyone else, but it made you giggle and you loved it because it was just so him. He still looked godly, so handsome you could cry. And the smile on his face...nothing in the world made you happier. You wiped a few tears from his cheeks as Whitebeard finally got to the questions.

"Do you, Portgas D. Ace, take (Last Name) (Name) to be your wife?"

"I do."

You smiled even more, as Ace hadn't even let the captain finish before he gave his response.

"And do you, (Last Name) (Name), take Portgas D. Ace to be your husband?"

"I do."

Now it was Ace's turn to smile, and you both felt butterflies bloom in your stomachs. You had been together long, but you still gave each other that sickeningly sweet feeling every time and it was only compounded now by the fact that you were making your union, your marriage, official.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Ace didn't hesitate, he was grabbing you and pulling you forward to press his lips against yours as soon as that sentence ended. He kissed you passionately, moulding his lips against your own with such fierce love that you could barely stay standing. His grip on you was the only thing keeping you from collapsing as he stole the air from your lungs with his absolutely breathtaking kiss. When you pulled apart, you were both breathless and Ace rested his forehead against your own with a soft smile.

"Oh, and happy birthday Ace."

Your eyes shot wide open when you heard that, and panic filled you. You hadn't realised it was already his birthday, it wasn't like you forgot but you had just not been able to keep up with what day it was.

"Ace-"

"Shhh," he put a finger to your lips, "I wanted to marry you today."

"Why?" You mumbled against his finger, blushing madly. "It's your-"

"Our day," he corrected, still grinning, "I wanted to marry you today because...(Name), I've never really felt like I could celebrate my birthday. I hated my existence more than anyone else until you came and made me feel like I was worthy of living. You came and made me feel like I had a purpose, and that purpose is loving you. You've given me a reason to live, a reason to exist, so I want to dedicate this day to you. To us. I wanted to marry you today because you are the best gift that I could ever receive."

Your eyes went wide again, before you smiled softly and felt tears fill your eyes, "Ace...that's so sweet. That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I love you, I love you so so much." You pulled him in and hugged him fiercely, peppering kisses all over his face.

"I love you too," he sighed happily, enjoying your passionate affection.

The rest of the day was spent celebrating the official union, with lots of partying, lots of eating, and most of all...lots of drinking. Laughter and cheering filled the air, and there was no happier atmosphere than that on the Moby Dick that day.

Later on, you pulled Ace aside and handed him a small giftwrapped box, smiling.

"I would have left it with everyone else's gifts but I wanted to give it to you personally."

He took it slowly, already overwhelmed by the love you'd shown him today, and stared at you in awe for a moment - as if he couldn't believe you were real. Then he opened the present slowly, and what he saw inside melted him entirely.

It was a beaded bracelet just like his necklace, only it had both your intials carved onto the beads, with a heart in between.

"This..." He looked up at you again, actually starting to cry again, "(Name) this is..." He couldn't even describe how much it meant to him. His hands were trembling, but he slid the bracelet on immediately. "This is perfect. I'm never taking it off."

"I'm glad you like it," you beamed, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

He turned at the last second and connected your lips with his again, arms winding around your waist so he could hold you against him as he locked you in another dizzying, world-rocking kiss.

"I love you, I love you, I love you..."

Praises and 'I love you's' fell from the fiery commander's lips repeatedly, his lips finding as many places to kiss on your face as he could. You smiled, giggling a little cause it tickled, and held him close.

"I love you too."

Eventually you and Ace were called upon to slow dance in front of everyone, and you happily wrapped your arms around your husband's neck as you gently swayed together on the improv dancefloor. Your head rested on his shoulder, and his chin on top of your head, and as you listened to his heartbeat, you knew...this was where you had always been destined to be. Safely wrapped up in Ace's arms, for the rest of your life.

"To Ace and (Name) Day!" Someone cheered loudly, eliciting even louder cheers from the rest of the crew.

You smiled at that, and Ace grinned, as both of you spoke at the same time.

"To Ace and (Name) Day..."

a/n - i hope this was as good as expected! and again, happy birthday to our loveable, fiery goofball, Portgas D. Ace!

[pallysuune]

Summery: You were unfortunate enough to catch the eye of Jago Sevatarion. By some stroke of luck, you were able to slip away from him. There's only one thing you forgot to take into account - the Captain's Raven still haunts the ship.

Pairing: None really? Sevatar/fem!Reader/Rushal eventually.

Warnings: Night Lords are just a warning all their own. Especially Sev and Rushal. Not much else here.

A/N: No smut here, but maybe I'll make a second part with it, if people would like one.

You had always heard such horrible rumors about what the Night Lord's did to their serfs. You had done the best you could to keep your head down and desperately tried to be as uninteresting as possible. You were human. You were disposable. Worse than that, some of the Night Lords enjoyed hurting humans, and would use any excuse to relieve a serf of their position to use as a toy.

But you'd messed up. After a long, frustrating day, you'd snapped to one of the other humans about what you would do to one of the more rude Astartes if you 'got your hands on them'.

You were scrubbing the floor and didn't see the man you were talking to go pale. Didn't see someone looming behind you.

"Is that so?"

You'd frozen at the sound of that impossibly deep rasp. Your heart stopped. You thought you were going to die, right then and there. You didn't need to look up to know who it was.

And you didn't look up, you just pivoted toward him, pressing your forehead to the ground. "M- my lord, forgive me, I-" you gasped, your voice wavering with dear.

"Save it," Sevatar dismissed your words. "Look at me."

You couldn't bring yourself to look up. Your heart was racing too fast, the world darkened at the edges of your vision. It was only when he shifted impatiently, when you heard that slight squeak of the pneumatics of his armor, that you moved, jerking your head up so quickly you nearly gave yourself whiplash.

You looked up at Jago Sevatarion, your heart in your throat. He looked back down at you, impassive and apparently unconcerned with your panic. He studied you a moment longer, then his lips twisted into a smirk.

"Come to my rooms after the serf's final meal tonight," he said. And before you could say anything, he turned and walked away.

Oh.

Oh, you were so dead.

You looked back at the other serf who you had been speaking to, only to find them frantically washing the floor, ignoring you. Well, you couldn't blame him. It was every human for them self on a Night Lord ship. Which also meant you were on your own if you wanted to find a way to survive.

You had to run.

The serfs day was separated into times to work, times to eat, and times to sleep. There was a morning meal, and an evening meal. You decided to wait until the change between work and meal time to slip away when all the serfs were shuffling from one place to another. You slipped into a serf's corridor and then, from there, into the vents. You couldn't think of anywhere else to go. It wasn't a permanent solution, you knew, but you didn't know what else to do and you were panicking.

So you crawled through the vents until you found a dark little maintenance corridor. There, you pressed your back to the wall in a corner, pulled your legs up to your chest, and tucked your face into your knees.

You were scared and alone, in the dark. It all weighed down on you. All you could do was close your eyes and cry.

How long you stayed like that, you had no idea.

There was the faintest sound just in front of you. Your head snapped up and your heart stopped.

He looked like a ghost, crouched just in front of you. An Astartes without any armor on, dressed only in black linen pants and shirt. Long, messy black hair framed scarred, paper white face. The heaviest scarring was around his mouth and lips. His eyes were pure black from corner to corner as he looked at you.

You'd forgotten about him. He was so rarely seen.

The Raven.

Sevatar's Raven.

Tears welled in your eyes immediately. "Please," you whispered.

He just looked at you, studying you silently for a long moment. Then he raised a hand, making a complicated series of signs you didn't understand. You shook your head, tears slipping silently down your cheek.

"I don't understand..."

Silently, he shifted closer to you. It was impressive that he could fit in the maintenance tunnel at all, let alone move so smoothly and so quietly. You realized with a little spike of horror that the sound you heard before, the one that had alerted you to his presence at all, must have been intentional.

He stopped just in front of you, close enough that you could feel the warmth radiating from his body against your legs.

"Please," you whispered again. You squeezed your eyes shut, more tears spilling out. "Please don't take me to him. Just- just forget you saw me. Please."

A large, calloused finger traced the curve of your cheek, not wiping the tear away as much as following it, trailing it down your skin. Your breath hitched in a rough sob. He cupped your cheek. His hand was large and warm, and despite the well-worn hardness of his skin, he was gentle when he touched you. As if you were glass.

"Please?" You whimpered, trying one last time, as your eyes fluttered open to look up at him.

He met your gaze with his, and slowly, so slowly, shook his head.

Your heart fell.

[toastnpretzels]

home

relationships: crosshair x reader

masterlist

word count: 733

warnings: angsty, fluff, there's an unexplained relationship between the reader and crosshair, kinda left it up to interpretation whether you think they were together before or if it was just them having feelings for each other.

season 3 episode 4 spoilers

author's note: i have not posted a fic in so long. ive been so busy but that doesnt matter. the new episode had me feeling some type of way so here you go. its kinda short but i didnt want to expand without seeing hunter and wrecker's reaction to crosshair being back.

thank you for any support whether its likes, reblogs, or comments <3

“I had help.”

The last few months had been terrible. From losing Tech and then losing Omega to the empire. Spending everyday looking for her with no success. Nothing was ok. All of us were miserable. Our family was being torn apart and there was nothing we could do about it. It couldn’t have gotten any worse.

Getting the comm from Omega was one of the best things to ever happen to us, but seeing her running down from the ship was even better. Embracing her, knowing she was safe, felt better than anything had. Things were starting to feel right again. All it took was one hug from Omega.

But then he walked off the cargo ship and everything in my body froze. He looked so different. He had been gone for so long that I thought the feelings had disappeared. Seeing him there, I knew they never were.

I forgot what it was like to be near him. I forgot how my heart sped up and how my head felt dizzy. I forgot how he smelled and how warm he was. I forgot how much I loved him.

-

After Kaller, nothing was ever the same. He wasn’t the same. The chip had changed him. The Empire had changed him.

He let us go on Kamino. The same day you had told him you loved him. On the platform before we left, with tears in my eyes. I told him I loved him.

“You shouldn’t.”

“Crosshair, please,” you whispered. He could hear the way your voice was breaking. You couldn’t lose him again.

When he didn’t say anything, you turned to walk away. Typical Crosshair to not say anything. He grabbed your wrist as you started walking.

“I love you.”

You stared at him. Your tears threatened to spill out from his confession.

“But I can’t come with you. You deserve better. This is where I want to be. With the Empire.”

I should have dragged him to the ship. I should have done more. But what more could you do when he didn’t want to be there. He wanted to be with the Empire.

Why couldn’t he have just came with you that day?

-

No one moved. Everyone was just as shocked to see him. No one knew what he was going to do, how he was going to react. He had tried to kill us before, but he had also let us go. No one trusted him anymore. You chose to remember how he had let us go.

You were the first one to move. Slowly, I stepped out from behind Wrecker. Every step I took towards him was filled with anxiety. It had been too long.

He doesn’t want to see me.

Is he still him?

Why did he come then?

Why would he still be here if he didn’t want to be?

You stopped a few feet in front of him. I could see how tired he looked from where I was standing. I couldn’t stand seeing him like this. It hurt so much. He had been through so much since Kamino.

What did they do to him?

I couldn’t stand there anymore. I ran the few feet that were left in between us. I wasn’t sure if he would push me away. As I got close to him, I fell right into his arms. I didn’t realize just how much I had missed him until this moment. He wrapped his arms around me in the tightest embrace I’ve ever had. It had been too long since I had felt him. He was safe. He was here.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered after a few minutes, so quietly that you barely heard it.

I looked up at him. He had tears that were threatening to spill over. Your heart broke at the look on his face.

“Shh. Not now. Just let me hold you.”

You stood there for what felt like an eternity just holding each other. Quiet tears were spiling from both of your eyes.

“I love you,” he whispered into your hair. His arms tightened around you again, as if he was afraid you would disappear.

It would be hard to forgive. Hard for everyone, not just you. So much had happened. But for now, all that mattered was that him and Omega were safe. Omega was home. Crosshair was home.

“I love you too.”

[owlwithanapple]

The Light and The Dark

Chapter 05. Change

You really can't take it lightly. All the crew members on the ship are men, even if they are all companions. When you are immersed in joy, all you are thinking about is what kind of shower gel to choose today and how to tie your hair tomorrow.

All the items and equipment on the ship are shared. Because you are the only woman on the ship, many things that are the same as before must add new rules. One side is for your sake, and the other side does not want to create conflicts.

Because of your new arrival, Rayleigh set some rules, especially for the bathroom. He stated that whenever someone uses it, a sign must be hung outside the door to indicate that someone is using it to avoid causing trouble and accidents. With Rayleigh's attentiveness and tolerance, you feel much more at ease on the ship.

But you still got into trouble, not intentionally, but unexpectedly. You were so immersed in the joy that didn't notice the sign outside the bathroom door mentioned that someone was using it. You didn't knock on the door and directly reached out to open the door then walked in.

You put the folded and clean clothes in the closets by the door, not noticing that there were men's clothes next to it. You took off all your clothes and threw them into the wooden barrel beside you, exposing your skin completely naked.

You sat on a wooden stool and poured a bucket of water on yourself. The warm water relaxed your tired body and muscles. You took a spoonful of shower gel and evenly applied it to every corner of your body, including the most private parts. The bathroom was filled with a faint floral shower gel scent, which really relaxed your mood.

While you were washing your hair, you hummed a melody softly. Suddenly, a sound of water gushing out came from the direction of the bathtub. The sound made your body tremble, you stopped your work then slowly turned your head to looked back.

A figure climbed out of the bathtub, with soaking blond hair and an attractive body, strong and reliable arms, sexy and wild body, perfect muscle all over the body, just like that, it appeared directly in front of me.

Your eyes slowly moved down from his neck, not letting go of every detail and part of his body, not missing any traces at all, until you saw the part that shocked you so much was the thing between his legs, you saw with your own eyes how magnificent it is.

"Wow..." You swallowed and blurted out.

"Oh my god..." He was so shocked that he forgot to close his jaw.

You were attracted by his majestic and strong body, and he was shocked by your slender figure. Both of you were impressed by each other's naked bodies, and silently gave each other the same reaction in heart. Enjoying the scene, it suddenly dawned on you that there was a person of the opposite sex in the same place in the bathroom.

"Y/N...?!" Rayleigh's voice came, and he looked at you with a blushing face.

"Rayleigh?!" You straightened your back shyly.

"Didn't you see the sign outside saying someone is using the bathroom?!" He quickly pulled a towel around his waist, then he threw a towel over you, revealing both of your naked bodies.

The towel slipped off your body, and you hurriedly picked it up and wrapped it tightly around yourself, facing the wall to avoid his sight. You were embarrassed and shy quickly apologized, "I'm really sorry! I didn't notice there was hanging outside the door! I didn't mean to! I'll go out right now!"

"No need...! I'm done! I'll go out first!" He told me in a panic.

You were still facing the wall when heard hurried footsteps from behind. He immediately took the clothes and rushed out of the bathroom. You almost jumped up with a loud noise. His arm strength was extraordinary, especially when he slammed the door.

Suddenly the door opened again, with a loud sound. You glanced back, it was him again. He was holding your clothes, even your underwear. Your eyes widened, showing that you were shy and at a loss. You were confused, didn't know what to do.

He covered his erection with the towel. You were shocked by his reaction. How could it be more majestic than before it was erect? He put your clothes back to the original closet neatly, and looked away after carefully checking his own clothes.

He cleared his throat to relieve the tension and said, "Sorry. I took your clothes and put them back. I definitely didn't do anything against my conscience."

"It's okay... I accidentally barged in..." You looked down embarrassedly.

"Ah... take your time washing... and my side is a natural reaction, I hope didn't scare you." He tried to comfort you carefully and gently.

You didn't answer him because you hadn't calmed down yet. You still wrapped yourself tightly, then you nodded in panic to show that you understood. He left the bathroom, this time closing the door gently. After confirming that no one was around, you threw the towel aside and continued to take a shower.

He stood outside the bathroom door, leaning against the door with his eyes closed, scratching his wet hair, looking down at the erection between his thighs with a towel, he said to himself, "Calm down, myself."

After a while, Rayleigh calmed down and put on his clothes outside the bathroom door. He found a place to sit down and dry his hair. During that time, your naked body kept repeating in his mind. Although he had seen it once, he still felt very impacted the second time. Especially the plump breasts, slender waistline, and cute buttocks like peaches. What's more terrifying is your face, how can it be so attractive.

Suddenly there was a sound, it was the sound of Shanks and Buggy quarreling. He noticed that they had towels and clothes in their hands and walked towards the bathroom. He didn't realize the seriousness of the problem until he remembered that you were still taking a shower. The impact of your figure was too amazing, he rushed over immediately.

At this moment, you finished shower then took a new towel to wipe your body. Shanks and Buggy ignored the sign and opened the door. You were standing naked in there, wiping your wet hair and body. They were shocked by the scene in front of them.

"Oh my god..." Buggy's eyes were shining.

"Is this heaven?" Shanks didn't even close his mouth.

The impact made them both give thumbs up at the same time to show their satisfaction. Their noses bled and so shocked their eyeballs rolled back then they fainted on the ground at the same time.

Hearing the sound of a bang, you looked towards the door saw Shanks and Buggy fainted with a nosebleed. You were so nervous quickly wrapped a towel around and squatted beside them gently patted their cheeks.

"Shanks! Buggy! Are you okay?!" You were already panicking. You and Rayleigh had just had a chaotic scene, and now it was these two's turn.

Rayleigh rushed over saw Shanks and Buggy, just as he said. He stole a glance at your cute face, your breasts that were covered by the towel but vaguely visible, and the part that just covered your private parts. You exuded temptation from head to toe, which was too stimulating for the two children.

"Put on your clothes first, I'll take care of them." Rayleigh easily carried Shanks and Buggy on his shoulders, his eyes stole a glance at you.

You just realized that you were still naked, just wrapped in a towel. You blushed and avoided Rayleigh's eyes, thinking back when you saw him naked and erect just now, so embarrassed. You quickly stood up and closed the bathroom door, leaned against the door and said "Okay..."

He breathed a sigh of relief and carried Shanks and Buggy away. After a while, you put on your clothes and left the bathroom. On the way, you passed their room and heard Rayleigh's voice coming from inside. You curiously leaned against the door to eavesdrop, although it was a bad behavior.

"Rayleigh! Sister has a great body!" Buggy told him excitedly.

"I almost thought I had ascended to heaven." Shanks said this in a very intoxicated manner.

Thinking back to your body being exposed naked in front of them, you covered your red face thought about how you wanted to jump into the sea. Why were you so careless caused so much trouble for the three of them?

At this time, a very serious and stern voice came from inside, and the voice came from Rayleigh, "Listen you two, don't talk nonsense about sister's body. Sister is the only woman on this ship, you are not allowed to hurt her purity, learn to respect women. Even if you two die, take this matter to the grave together, understand?"

Shanks and Buggy looked at each other, raised their left hands at the same time and said "Yes!"

Rayleigh curled his lips and smiled then said again, "After 20 minutes, you two can use the bathroom. Sister may not have finished showering yet, knock on the door. Understand?"

They both said "Yes!" at the same time again.

You walked away from their room with a sigh of relief, and found a place nearby to rest. You were touched, especially by Rayleigh's behavior and his attitude towards educating Shanks and Buggy.

Although what happened just now made you feel very embarrassed and confused, Rayleigh was gentlemanly and had a moral bottom line. He also explained to you the reaction of his erection, you knew it was a normal phenomenon. But he didn't take advantage or sexually harass you, thanks to him, you didn't feel ridiculous and stupid.

A comfortable coat was draped over your shoulders, Rayleigh sat beside you, quietly looking at the sky. The moment you saw him, you recalled that scene, then looked down at the ground, your heart couldn't calm down, and couldn't forget that memory.

"Y/N, I'm sorry. I didn't notice you and accidentally saw your body." He said with a sense of self-blame.

You shook your head said in a shy accent, "I should say sorry, I didn't notice the sign outside the door."

He scratched his cheek with fingers. "If you want to slap me or hit me, I don't mind."

"No need! Besides!" You suddenly leaned closer him.

He was shocked by your loud voice and close distance. "Besides..?"

You realized that you were too close to him, and shy. You immediately lowered head, closed your eyes, and clenched hands. You were so nervous that couldn't speak. He smiled gently, realized you hadn't calmed down yet. He considerately stretched out his left hand to gently stroke your hair, then stroked the back of your head then hugged you to his shoulders.

You buried your face in his shoulder, enveloped by his gentleness. His right hand reached your back and moved down to your waist to hold you, then pulled you close until body was completely against his.

He stroked your hair while rubbing circles around your waist to comforted you, "I'll find a way to fix the bathroom issue. I don't want to repeat the same mistake again, and don't want anyone else to see it."

You nodded quietly, nuzzling his shoulder like being cute. The corners of his mouth curled up, and his heart was itching because of cute little action, but he clenched his teeth to suppress the emotions, whether it was sexual or selfish desire. H e kept telling himself after what happened just now, must not tease you. Especially now.

But there was a moment when he couldn't help but see your current appearance, which was only exposed in front of him. He stroked your hair quietly, and the scent of flowers on your body meant that you had just taken a shower with a floral scent. His other hand was still stroking your waist in circles, and he could feel your breath through a layer of clothing.

You pull away from his shoulder a little bit, your cheek rests on his shoulder, you can see his expression from the angle of his chin, you can smell his faint scent, he reaches out to touch your cheek, during this time you vaguely feel his admiration for you.

At this moment , both of you have each other's heart, even if it is a little bit of possession or selfishness, but want to be with each other from the bottom of your heart. His other hand is still on your waist, he gently pinches it to feel that the physical touch is real, you don't care at all and don't mean to reject him.

You shyly nuzzle his shoulder and think about whether you can act coquettishly to him "What you just saw in the bathroom must not be told to anyone."

After hearing this, his eyebrows rose, his mouth were covered with a wicked smile. He nodded in a doting manner, "I know. Don't tell anyone about my erection."

You immediately buried in his shoulder shyly, your ears were red, and shyly, "I won't tell anyone."

He chuckled, resting his chin against your head, and said in a playful and seductive tone, "Very good. Don't tell others that I'm very majestic. You understand what I mean, right?"

You still shy about that moment. He noticed your mood change and smiled evilly, hugging you tightly, your bodies completely pressed together. His face nuzzled against your ear, his breath was transmitted to your skin, especially your sensitive parts.

However, this time his words were a little calm, "I'm a little selfish, I don't want others to see your body, even those two."

You reach out your arms to wrapped around his waist to hug him, feeling his calm but a little nervous to confess to you, you move your hand up to his back and pat twice before blurting out a sincere word, "I don't mind you being a little selfish."

You realize what nonsense you are saying, immediately step away from him and try to explain, but his hand covers your mouth. From a distance of one hand, he presses a kiss on the back of his hand that covering your lips, not directly on your lips, and this action makes you excited.

He pulled away with his hand away from your lips, his fingers rubbed your cheeks and then stroked your lips, he curled his lips and smiled, revealing an attractive and happy expression "Very good. I love to hear it. I will be selfish. And..."

You tilted your head and stared at him cutely. He was infected by your cuteness after seeing it. He took a deep breath and told you in a serious tone, "Next time there will be nothing in between, I want your lips."

"Rayleigh..." His declaration seemed to tell you what he wanted, but you were confused. Was it like Crocus said, that you both had the same feelings for each other? Or was it just pure interest?

"I'll take you back to your room." He said and withdrew his hand.

The wind blows across your cheek, the stars fill the sky, the waves form a huge arc, the whole ship drifts slowly on the sea. It is a scene you are used to seeing after being a pirate. But today is a little different, these scenes cannot be compared with the person in front of you.

On the way back to the room, your footsteps came from the quiet corridor. He holds your hand tightly with his rough palm and a strong arm, the temperature of his hand conveys warmth to me. The broad and steady shoulders carry heavy responsibilities, bringing you countless warmth.

After he let go of your hand outside the door, you were a little reluctant to quietly slip away without his warmth. At the moment when you hold the door handle to open the door, a pair of hands behind you reach out and hug your waist, his face buried in your hair, and stay there quietly.

"Rayleigh?" You stole a glance.

"I don't want to let you go, want to hold you to sleep." These words came out of his mouth, the hands were holding your waist tightened a little, but didn't hurt you.

You were silent because you didn't know how to respond to him, your hands reached out to hold his arms around your waist. A small laugh came from behind, after he satisfied, he nuzzled your hair and your neck to lean against it. Just like that, you two stayed still for a moment and indulged in it.

At this time, Roger left the room to go outside to enjoy the night view. He saw Buggy and Shanks hiding behind the wooden box. They covered their mouths and stared with eyes wide open, as if they had seen an incredible sight. Driven by curiosity, he quietly approached them and squatted beside them. He looked in their direction and found Rayleigh and you.

"Wow, so passionate." Roger rubbed his chin with his fingers, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, as if he had seen a rare sight.

"Ro—" Buggy and Shanks were so scared that they almost screamed at the same time, but fortunately Roger quickly covered their mouths.

"Be quiet. Look at their expressions." Roger said to them with a smile, but he still covered their mouths.

Feeling very confused, Buggy and Shanks did what Roger said. What they saw was that you and Rayleigh were full of smiles on their faces. Rayleigh's touch on you was a strong intimate hug and super close contact, which was completely different from before.

"Hahahaha, the so-called adult world." Roger let go.

Buggy was so surprised that he was flustered and wanted to speak loudly, but Shanks covered his mouth to stop him from screaming, "Shut up, don't disturb them. Let's go take a shower."

Buggy was like a wooden box being dragged away by Shanks. Roger was about to leave but accidentally bumped into the wooden box due to his tall stature, making noise. Rayleigh did not immediately release the hug between the two of you, but followed the direction of the sound with a hint of murderous intent. Roger quickly hid, Rayleigh's expression was like a wolf ready to fight.

After Rayleigh let go of you, you immediately turned around to face him. At that moment, he retracted his terrible murderous intent and his expression had returned to a gentle look. He opened the door and motioned you to go in, but when you walked in, he once again hugged your waist, lowered to rested his forehead against yours and pressed it gently.

"Good night. Have a good dream." Feeling your warmth, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment.

You closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his forehead resting on yours. "You too. Good night. Have a good dream."

"I... will have a good dream, especially the beautiful scenery I just saw in the bathroom." He smiled like a wolf and couldn't help teasing you.

Your face was flushed like boiling water, because his reminder made you think back to the scene in the bathroom. "Please forget that scene! It's too embarrassing!"

"Hahaha! This is our secret. And... you've seen me naked. I have a strong body and I'm proud of myself. It should meet your aesthetic standards, right?" He gently pinched your waist with his right hand, put his strong left hand on the door, and lowered his head to your face.

"Ah... it fits..." You said shyly.

"I hope you will dream about me." He let go of your waist and lifted your chin.

You swallowed and nodded nervously, "I will try to make myself dream."

A burst of laughter emerged, Rayleigh covered his face to cover himself, his shoulders kept shaking as if he was trying to hold back his laughter. But in fact, Rayleigh was touched by your innocent side. He was just teasing you but you took him seriously.

He cleared his throat, scratched his hair, bit his lower lip once, and smiled evilly, looking straight at you. "Then I have to try to make myself dream about you. Good night, Y/N."

After he let go of you, he took a few steps back. You stood at the door and smiled slightly, still blushing. You nodded slightly. "Good night, Rayleigh."

After that, you walked into the room and closed the door. He was still standing outside the door, looking at the closed door. He reached out and touched the wooden door, feeling reluctant. He wanted to stay by your side, but he couldn't get over that obstacle. He was also uneasy, wondering your feelings was same as him.

After left, he walked towards the wooden boxes. Seeing Roger still hiding there, he kicked him mercilessly. "What are you doing here, idiot captain, spying on me in the middle of the night?"

"Hahaha! I'm just curious about how far you and the little girl have progressed." Roger sat on the floor and scratched his head laughed.

Rayleigh chuckled after hearing what Roger said, leaned against the wooden box, looked at the starry sky at night and muttered to himself, "It's not that simple. I don't want to scare away the only flower in Roger's pirate group."

"You are very uneasy." Roger's words hit Rayleigh's pain directly.

"Hahaha. Sometimes I really don't want you to be so sharp to expose me." Rayleigh bumped Roger's arm with his fist like a buddy fight.

"When you looked at her, the expression is completely different from the other crew members." Roger didn't show weakness and bumped his arm with his fist.

Rayleigh smiled like a wolf and said, "Fuck."

Roger laughed after hearing the swear words burst out of Rayleigh's mouth. He liked to pick a fight with Rayleigh the most. Then he stood up and prepared to leave. Before that, he looked directly at Rayleigh and said, "Don't let her go. I don't want to see her fall into other men one day. I don't agree with other men owning her, only you."

Rayleigh looked at Roger's leaving figure and smiled and muttered to himself, "When did I say I would let her go. Idiot captain."

At this moment, you are lying on the bed staring at the ceiling in a daze, your eyes cannot close at all. You have been trying to recall the scene in the bathroom and trying to make yourself dream, but the sleepiness disappears over time. This action seems to be a struggle with sleep.

"I can't fall asleep at all..." The scene in my mind keeps replaying, some gentle and some seductive memories keep emerging, and all the intimate contact just now is vivid. It is too stimulating and makes me unable to sleep every night.

Finally, morning has arrived. There are many noises coming from outside the room. The crew members have started to get busy. As soon as you opened the door and left, the crew members passing by were frightened by your face. Shanks and Buggy walked towards you cheerfully. They both looked solemn and stiff. They said at the same time, "Sister! What's wrong with you!"

You touched your face and said awkwardly, "Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night."

Before you finished speaking, the two of them ran to find Roger and Rayleigh. Buggy jumped on Roger's shoulders and kept shaking him, shouting, "This is terrible! Sister's face is so scary!"

Rayleigh directly grabbed Shanks and asked anxiously, "Where is she?!"

Shanks pointed in the direction of the dining hall, "Sister is there."

The four of them rushed in that direction quickly, they found you sleeping soundly on the dining table. Rayleigh came closer and saw that you had dark circles under your eyes. You must not have slept well last night. Fortunately, you were not injured, he was so scared that his soul was burning like ashes.

"So didn't sleep well, hahahaha!" Roger put his hands on his hips and laughed, Buggy covered his mouth to prevent Roger's laughter from waking you up.

"What should we do?" Shanks looked at Roger and Rayleigh in confusion.

"Shanks, you don't have duty today. I'll carry her back to the room, you keep an eye on her, find me or Roger first if anything happens." Rayleigh told Shanks in a serious tone.

"I will take good care of sister!" Shanks straightened his back and saluted.

Buggy immediately joined in, "I want to take care too!"

Roger ruffled Buggy's head, carried him on his shoulders and took him away with a smile, "No~ Today you are responsible for cleaning and fishing with me, the captain~"

Rayleigh carefully picked up the sleeping you, trying to keep the shaking motion not too obvious, letting your head rest on his chest, Shanks hurriedly followed the footsteps, and the crew passing by made way because Rayleigh stared at your sleeping face with a very serious face.

Shanks opened the door, Rayleigh walked in and put you on the bed gently. Shanks pulled a small stool and stood on it to cover you with the quilt. Rayleigh, who was watching from the side, curled his lips slightly. Shanks left the room and went straight to the kitchen to get a bottle of water for use. At that time, only Rayleigh was left in the room.

He wandered around and there was no one around. He leaned over and gently pressed a kiss on your forehead. The kiss stayed on your forehead for a while before retreating. He touch your cheek when he saw your face. He felt the same warm breath as when you leaned on his shoulder last night. A seed was planted in his heart and it lingered for a long time.

Shanks came back excitedly with two bottles of water. "I'm back. I prepared two bottles in case sister is thirsty."

"Very good, sister will be in your care for the time being. I'm counting on you, Shanks." Shanks' hair was messed up by Rayleigh, then Rayleigh prepared to leave. Before that, he looked at you to make sure you were safe, then closed the door before leaving.

Shanks pouted and complained while fixing his hair. "Damn, my hair was messed up after so much effort."

He looked at your sleeping face and smiled brightly. He pulled a chair and sat down, shaking his feet. While waiting, he had nothing to do, so he jumped off the chair and ran to your desk, where he saw a pile of unfamiliar books and Enbu in a wooden box. The books all recorded many ancient texts. He flipped through a few pages and saw a lot of profound knowledge, unlike what he read every day.

"So cool..." Shanks sat there quietly flipping through a book.

Two hours had passed, and suddenly the ship shook violently. There were many rumbling sounds of shells outside, and the shouts of other crew members. Shanks ran outside to see that something was wrong. It was the Marine ship that was attacking. Suddenly, a bang startled Shanks.

He looked back and saw you fell off the bed woke up directly from sleep. Shanks immediately ran to your side and asked nervously, "Are you okay, sister?!"

"I'm fine...what happened?" You sat on the floor and scratched the back of your head.

"It's the Marine. They are also sailing in this sea. It seems that a war is about to start. Sister, stay here and don't run around. I'll go and see what's going on outside." Shanks reached out and gently stroked the back of your head. It felt like a brother comforting his sister.

You grabbed Shanks' arm to stop him, and got up from the ground, taking out Enbu from the wooden box for self-defense. You touched his red hair and said, "Let's go together."

The End.

[nethhiri]

Marooned: Chapter 20

Kid x FemReader x Killer

Warnings: Violence, murder

Fire-Roasted Revenge

You spent the next several days staking out the base, making a note of where and when guards were posted. You had a plan. The base was bigger than you anticipated. It would have been better to wait until Giemsa left on a ship. Though, you had never been patient and you had waited long enough for this moment. You waited until dark to execute your plan, and hopefully Giemsa.

You had picked off a few guards ands stolen the uniform of one of them, putting it on over your clothes, though keeping your coat on, of course. You put a torch in Mini's mouth and had her light up the perimeter, effectively trapping anyone inside, including yourself, but you would figure that out later. Then, you busted through the doors on boarback, whoever you didn't snipe in front of you was trampled by hooves. You were on a beeline to the captain's office, which was unfortunately in the center of the facility. As you went further, the marines started clearing out, either helping put out the fire or running from it. In the chaos, you were mostly ignored unless you were right in front of someone. 

You dismounted as you got close to your destination, changing strategy to be a little more inconspicuous. You had Mini wait down a hallway next to a window. It was your escape plan. It wasn't the smartest idea or the best one, but it would do. Before you left her, you thought for a second, grabbing a sword you had picked up and putting the handle in her mouth. Her tusks were sharp and dangerous on their own, but a sword probably wouldn't hurt. Plus, the pig seemed pleased to be wielding it. "Wait here. If I'm not back in 15 minutes, leave without me and meet me on the docks. And if I'm not there... it's been a pleasure working with you, Lieutenant." You pressed a kiss to her forehead and took off running. 

Your path was blocked by a few straggling marines, obviously scared out of their minds, but trying to carry out their duty until the end. Light smoke started to fill the hall. You could hear cries and screaming in the background, nearly drowned out by the blood rushing in your ears. You forgot how good the feeling of adrenaline was, and how good it would feel to be one step closer to your goal. "You can run and have a slow death or I can show you mercy. Choose." You leveled your gunblade at them. They fled. So much for duty. Melting wasn't a very pleasant feeling, you would know. 

The double doors in front of you were locked, not an obstacle for your devil fruit. You pushed them open and saw a man sitting behind a desk. "Giemsa," you said in a phony greeting. You see confusion on his face until you threw your uniform hat to the side. Then the man looked like he wanted to evaporate into thin air. The blood drained from his face. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." You laughed. "Maybe I am a ghost." You shot at him.

He had just enough sense left in his head to dodge. There was a metallic clang as his sword was blocked with your blade. He was faster now than he was then. You managed to back him up with your blade work, pulling the trigger only for him to roll away, leaving a bullet hole in the wall. The man coughed as darker, thicker smoke filled the room. You didn't even feel the stinging in your eye as you cornered him. 

"H-how are you alive?" 

"I told you. I'm a ghost." You brought your blade down hard, hands shaking as you grunted against the force of his own blade blocking you. Again, you heard screaming. This time you really heard it, though. The voices stirred something in you. In your brief distraction, Giemsa pushed you back, unbalancing you. Your mind was racing. Why did that get my attention? A bad feeling settled in the pit of your stomach. You gritted your teeth and kicked him away from you, landing a shot as you did so. He fell to a knee with his side gushing blood.

The room started getting hotter and the screaming got louder. The smoke was starting to interfere with your vision. It hit you like a sea train. The screaming sounded eerily similar to... No. You looked from the direction of the screams to Giemsa on the floor. This was your chance to end him. "Fuck! Tell all your bastard friends that I'm coming for them." You ran in the direction of the screaming, dodging pieces of the ceiling that started to fall. You would be a hypocrite if you let something bad happen to your crewmates when the entire nidus for this revenge was because your former crew let something bad happen to you.

There wasn't a lot of time left. If you got out of this, you would have a massive target on your back now that they knew you were alive. Best case scenario is Giemsa burns alive here. There wasn't time to worry about that now. You were getting closer. These looked like interrogation rooms. You kicked the door down. Without wasting time you were removing shackles from wrists and ankles. "What the fuck are you doing here?! Who else is here?!" You had worry in your eyes as you looked into Quincy's. 

"Em-Emma and Dive." 

You grabbed her arm and hauled her over to the other doors. "Start checking all of them." You didn't want it to be true, that the screaming you heard was Quincy's. You could hear her voice crack screaming for her captain, but you still didn't want to believe. The amount of guilt you would have on your head if any of them died because of you... You kicked down doors until you came across Dive, releasing her in the same fashion as Quincy. You grabbed her and looked around to see Quincy pulling Emma out of a room, but she looked awfully limp. You ran to her and held Emma up from the side opposite Quincy. You pointed in the direction Mini was in. You hoped that boar still had a stubborn streak. 

"You goddamn pig! I told you to get lost!" You slapped her on the back as the four of you made it to the window. "But I'm glad to see you," you said, already helping Quincy and Dive onto her back so they could pull Emma up. "When you get out, you have to get as much fresh air into her as possible. Do you understand?" They both nodded.

"You're saying that like-"

"There's not enough room. I'll be fine." You really hated lying to your friends. You shot out the window and knocked the sharp edges from the frame. "GO!" You shoved Minerva towards the opening. 

You turned around to see fire blocking your path in every direction. The oxygen pouring in from the broken window fueled it to burn faster, hotter. Window it is. You climbed out the window, straddling the edge to see a clear exit path. There was another window that didn't have the orange glow of flames on the inside. Using your devil fruit, you made handholds in the brick of the outer wall. You looked down to see a brownish-red blob darting around the courtyard and breaking through a wall to get out. And they say I'm hard-headed. You climbed down towards the other window, but the brick under your hands was hot. Almost there. The skin on your hands started to burn as you swung yourself into the glass, landing in the broken shards. You got up, ignoring the pieces that were embedded in your flesh. 

Stumbling into the next hall, you were able to see through the smoke to a stairwell. Seeing that as your best route, you dropped to avoid the smoke that was building up, doing an army-crawl until you got to the stairs. The smoke was still thick, however crawling was not an option. Taking in a deep breath, you got up and ran down the stairs as fast as you could. Nearing the exit, you had to take in a breath. The heat and fumes scalded your throat. At this point you didn't feel very much. You knew you could heal it later. You had to get somewhere safe first. There was a great rumbling somewhere behind you. The ground started to shake harder as the rumbling got close. The building was coming down. You couldn't see well anymore. You ran in the direction of the exit, stumbling a few times as the smoke started to overtake you. At some point you looked down and you were on grass. You turned behind you to see a billowing cloud of rubble and flame. The second you found somewhere slightly hidden, you allowed your body to give out. Thank god. That would have been the lamest death ever.

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

Kid's head looked like it was about to explode when Pomp and Reck had told him earlier that day that some of the girls had gotten captured by marines. They hadn't even seen it happen. They only overheard some marines talking about it. Killer, Heat, Wire, and a few others were quick to volunteer to aid in Kid's cause to "kill all those marine bastards". 

"Looks like someone got here first." Killer observed. Smoke and flame licked at the sky through broken windows. 

A few marines were scattering like ants from the inferno. Kid dragged one over clutched in his metal grasp. "WHAT'S GOIN ON? WHERE ARE PRISONERS KEPT?" 

The marine was too scared to form a coherent sentence. 

"USELESS!" There was a squelching crunch before Kid tossed him to the ground. The flames were reflected in his eyes. "LET ME FIND OUT THAT BITCH SET THIS FIRE. IF A SINGLE HAIR IS BURNT ON ANY OF MY CREWS' HEADS I WILL RIP HER LIMB FROM LIMB!" Kid was about to barge into the burning mess when Killer held him back. 

"I don't think that's wise, Captain." 

"SO YER FINE WITH THEM BURNING ALIVE?" Kid looked like he wanted to deck Killer. 

"It's too dangerous! You know that!" The first mate was torn. Of course he loved his crew, but Kid was his best friend, the man who was going to be King of the Pirates. 

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! WHAT KIND OF CAPTAIN WOULD I BE IF I DIDN'T TRY?"

Killer released him. He understood. He didn't like it, but he understood. "Okay. I'm right behind ya then." No way would he let his captain go alone. Killer saw something in the distance and grabbed Kid again. "Wait! Look!" 

Kid looked in the direction Killer indicated. He saw the rotund shape of a boar. "I KNEW IT! WHEN I GET MY HANDS-" 

"No! On top!" Killer gently smacked Kid on the head.

The closer Mini got, they could make out their missing crewmates. Emma was conscious now, but drowsy. They were all covered in soot, had some minor scrapes, but there were no singed hairs on any of their heads. 

Killer helped them get down. He couldn't help but notice the obvious absence of the person he expected to see. "What happened?" He looked them over for any major injuries. Turning to the other pirates, he ordered them to take them all back to the ship and do their best first aid until he got back. 

Quincy was on the verge of tears, "It was Y/N. She saved us but...b-but..."

Dive finished for her, "But she's still in..." Her voice faded off as the building in front of them started to collapse. From one end to the other, it folded in on itself, spewing hot ash and smoke in all directions. 

They stared in silence. The only sound being the crackling of fire and the settling of twisted metal and crumbled stone. 

"Well," Kid started. "That's that then. Rest in pieces, Sea Snake." He turned in the direction of the Victoria Punk, but stopped. He could feel the eyes of Quincy, Emma, and Dive burning into his skull. "WHAT?! I'm only kidding." 

Even Killer gave him a disparaging look. 

Kid threw his hands up. "FUCK OFF, ALL OF YA! I can tell her stupid fucking gun's somewhere over yonder. Relax!" He flung his hand in the direction of the forested area next to the pile of rubble. Growling and muttering to himself, he grabbed Minerva by the tusk and tugged her in that direction. "Help me find her, pig!" As much as he didn't want to, he owed you. You had saved four of his crew now. Granted, the fire was your fault to begin with, and he wouldn't let you forget it either. 

The redhead thrashed through the forest, with Killer behind him, yelling about how stupid your gun looked and that you were lucky you didn't have a real weapon, since that would be indistinguishable from anyone else's. Kid stopped at the place he felt the presence of your gun and looked around. "I don't see anything. Time to go. We tried." 

Minerva snorted, nudging at what Kid thought was a soot-covered log. A log that coughed. Kid threw his head back and groaned. "Damn it all to hell. Fucking found her." Killer made a displeased sound. "I mean, phew. Good thing we found the twat," Kid amended. He knelt down and brushed some soot off your face just to make sure.

You were too exhausted to move. You felt someone jostling you a little, no, carrying you, and groaned. Peeling an eye open, you saw a very blurry image of mostly red. Your voice was raspy and grating, yet still carried a tone of disappointment, "Ugh. You." 

Kid hushed you, putting his hand over your mouth. "I'm not happy either but my girls would be very upset if I left ya." Kid yanked his hand back quickly and about dropped you right there. "DON'T FUCKEN BITE ME! Ya shouldn't be talkin!"

The great Captain Kid cares about your health? What next? Pigs flying? You frowned and tried to point. "Want Killer," it really did hurt to talk, you were realizing. 

"TOO DAMN BAD! YA GOT ME!" Kid grit his teeth. 

You could hear Killer laugh at Kid's discomfort. Have you ever heard him laugh out loud before? No. He only looked like he was laughing, never made a sound. You hummed, amused. "Your laugh," Killer tensed at your words. "It's nice."

Kid and Killer shared a glance. Unbeknownst to you, Killer was entirely pink under his mask. 

You let your eye close and decided to save your voice, no energy left to wonder if you were safe with them or not. You thought so, though. The soft, rhythmic tamping of Mini's hooves against the dirt and grass lulled you to sleep. 

Next

[beanghostprincess]

The Strawhats go to an amusement park and Sanji sees the most adorable, softest, cutest, plushie of a fish as a prize in one of those Shooting Games. He loves it. It's so cute. And he has always been fond of soft things, even if the only one who has ever known this is his mom. Usopp stops next to him and asks "What? Did you see something you like?" and Sanji blushes furiously and brings a cigarette to his lips, looking away and muttering "No- No. It's stupid. Let's keep walking, I saw some food trucks right this way". But Usopp won't have that. And so he lets the crew walk away and do whatever while he stays in that Shooting Booth for a long, long while. Usually, he would just finish the game and win whatever he wants in no time because, well, he's the best sniper ever. But apparently, he just can't win this fucking game no matter how good his aim is. And he knows he's not doing it wrong. He knows it's not him.

The dude working there says that maybe he's overconfident because the game is perfectly fair. But you know, Usopp is also the best liar in the world and he just knows when somebody isn't telling the truth.

--

After a long while, Usopp finds the crew eating together at one of the tables close to the food stands, but he can't spot Sanji anywhere. Not until he looks around and he sees him obviously talking to one of the cooks in what seems to be his break. Of course he would ask about recipes instead of eating. Well, Usopp just waits there until Sanji finishes talking and he turns around, their eyes meeting for the first time in a few hours. Sanji's immediate reaction is to grin at him, but then he tones it down a bit and clears his throat, looking away for a few seconds. "Did you get lost on the way to here? That's more of a marimo thing to do, huh? What were you doing?"

Usopp is excited to give him the gift. Or afraid he won't like it. Or maybe just anxious. Maybe it's too much. Maybe he realizes that he has a crush on him and every effort he's made to hide it will go to waste. But it's more important to see Sanji smile, he thinks, so Usopp breathes in and shows him the stuffed animal. "I was just getting back something you forgot on the way. Nothing much."

Sanji's face is indescribable. He gasps and drops the cigarette he's been holding to take the fish from the sniper's hands. He looks at it with so much love and fondness that Usopp is extremely glad he did this. "You're an idiot." But there's no malice in his eyes when he looks up at him. "Why did-"

"A sharpshooter cannot back down in front of a challenge like this!" But he leaves his cocky speech aside to shrug and smile at Sanji back. "And you seemed to like this cutie, so I thought it'd be nice for you to have it."

Sanji stares at him deadpanned for a few seconds. "I'm buying you food."

He can't help but roll his eyes. "Shut up. You're not." Sanji always does these things.

"It's true. I'm not." He holds the plushie close to his chest with one hand while he starts pushing Usopp, his other hand on his back. "We're going back to the ship and I'm cooking you something."

Usopp wants to stop walking, but the other keeps making them move. "Sanji." He sighs. "Accept a gift like a normal person."

The only thing Usopp can see right now is the back of Sanji's head because he's walking faster than him now, impatiently leading the way to Sunny. "You're my sniper and you got me this. And I'm your cook and I will make you something to eat." He turns around for a second and grins, brighter than the fireworks around them. Brighter than any light from this festival Usopp has seen. "That's how we work. Shut up and follow me."

So Usopp follows.

When they see that same Shooting Game again, completely in ruins and a bunch of kids taking the prizes and having fun around the chaos, Usopp tries to walk faster. And faster. But Sanji stops walking, so he has to stop too. "Usopp."

The sniper looks around anxiously. "Yeah? What's up?"

"No." Sanji frowns. "You tell me what's up."

Usopp is about to lie or confess, one or the other, but full of fear of rejection anyway. Until he sees Sanji's amused expression, about to burst out laughing, and it brings his confidence back. "You know. I guess some liars just don't deserve to get away with their schemes. That's all."

And when he sees Sanji giggling and rolling his eyes, holding the fish closer, Usopp thinks he would set a thousand booths like this on fire if it meant seeing him smile.

[snowyaika]

pairing: felix x rebel!reader

summary: you and felix became close when he joined the rebellion. when he’s gone from a mission longer than he should be, you set out to find where he really is.

word count: 2.2k

warnings: season 6 chapter 10 spoilers, swearing, symptoms of a panic attack but not actually stated, brief mention of suicide(but not acted upon), pain pain pain!, kind of an open ending, all lowercase, gn!reader, follows plot of show

notes: whew! put a lot of prompts into this one, gotta make it sting a little! keep in mind this is my first work for this fandom and for…well, anything! please please please comment your thoughts on it, hope you all enjoy :)

-

“felix, rendezvous back at the ship, it’s time to let them end their war once and for all.” the radio goes quiet for a moment, the other side contemplating their choice of words.

“tie up your loose ends.”

the line cuts off with static, locus supposedly getting ready for the attack on the federal army.

it’s quiet, until a long sigh breaks through the empty room. “fuck.”

-

it’s no question that felix and you have a… special relationship. ever since he joined the rebellion, it’s as if you two just clicked.

you were one of the best in the rebellion, although you didn’t have much competition. because of your superior skill, or well, the inferior skill of others, you had trouble connecting with the other soldiers.

when felix showed up, everything changed.

like a flipped switch, you were never alone, always by each other’s side. of course, other than when he went on his own missions and when you had your own duties to attend to on base.

you two did everything together. training, dining, hell— even chores (although, he was more so just keeping you company as you were on dish duty).

eventually, things started to take a turn. training sessions and missions suddenly turned into late night walks and deep conversations in your quarters.

of course, this soon led to more… intimate moments between you both.

soon after, everyone could catch on that you two had something going on.

… or maybe it was after felix beat up a new recruit to the brink of death when he found out the poor guy was flirting with you.

nevertheless, things were going fine— perfect even. as fine as things can be during a civil war.

until everything wasn’t.

-

“felix? i thought kimball sent you out to scout the feds?”

you’re in the back of the weaponry, sharpening your knives (gifted by a certain someone) and preparing your other guns for an upcoming mission when you spotted him walking up to you.

“oh god, please tell me she doesn’t want me to tag along. i don’t know how many more bullets i can take for you.”

he let out a soft chuckle as he stood in front of you, staring down at you seated on a crate.

“oh please, it was one time. and you didn’t even get shot, it grazed your leg.” his eyes flicker down to the knife in your hand, his chest puffing up smugly.

he’s weird that way. seeing you use the knives he gifted you gave him a sense of possessiveness, as if he was staking his claim on you. you always called him a creep when he brought it up.

neither of you brought up how you never denied it.

“as much as i’d love to have you on this next mission, no, she didn’t tell me to come get you.” he clears his throat before continuing, “i just… wanted to you to see me off.”

you pause your work, staring up at him with a confused look. of course because of the helmets, he doesn’t see it, so you both stare at each other in awkward silence for a moment.

“...okay, i’ll bite. why?” you set your weapons to the side so you can stand face to face with him. “you don’t plan to die on this one, do you?” your tone has a tint of humor to it, but your body is clearly tense.

“darling, please. look who you’re talking to. you think some weak federals can kill this awesome bod? i’m offended.” he makes a pose of showing off his arm muscles, causing you to just scoff and lightly shove his shoulder.

“right. i forgot i was hanging with the strongest man on the planet,” your tone drips with faux praise, glancing behind him at the lingering soldiers giving you both cautious glances.

“i’m serious though. i just wanted to see you before i left.” he steps closer, his hand reaching for yours, his fingers brushing against your wrist. your helmet clinks gently against his like a childish kiss. everyone already knew about you two, but it’s nice to keep some professionalism in public.

“how long will you be gone?” you whisper softly, as if raising your voice would shatter the intimate moment between you two.

“not long. intel says it’ll be quick. i should be back in a few days.” he responds just as gently, all humor in his voice gone and replaced with a tone you would never hear him use with anyone else.

“okay, be safe.”

-

it’s been two weeks since your last conversation with him, and it’s safe to say you were… on edge.

you’ve been going around the base non-stop asking the same questions, where is he, what do you know about the mission he was sent on, and at some point during it all kimball summoned you herself after you snapped at one of the rookies.

“what the hell were you thinking, pulling a gun on a fucking rookie? have you lost your goddamn mind?!”

kimballs voice is loud enough to echo throughout the whole base, yet you remain unphased as she throws words towards you that are intended to hurt. you tune her out, completely uninterested in what she has to say.

your mind hasn’t been the same since he left. you can handle when he goes off on his usual missions, but when he doesn’t come back two weeks after he said he should’ve?

it’s logical for you to get a little high strung.

you let her hurl a few more insults towards you before interrupting. “it won’t happen again. am i dismissed?”

she grinds her jaw to restrain the next string of curses about to be let out, and huffs. “look, i know you’re stressed that felix is gone. shit, i don’t know where he is either, okay? but you need to get your shit together. i don’t want to see another fuck up like this again, understand?”

you only nod, turning on your heel and walking out of the building. as you make your way towards your quarters, you overhear the galaxy's greatest heroes (a bunch of lazy idiots if anyone were to ask you) talking about some sort of rescue mission to save the rest of their team.

you tense up. maybe felix was sent to go after them and got captured himself? you were willing to take the chance to find out.

pausing, you contemplate the risk of asking to join them. not because it would be betraying your alliance to the rebellion, but because hanging around with them will surely lower your chance of survival.

waving away your doubts, you walk into the building they were in. they notice you immediately, instantly becoming tense. “oh… hey there,” the yellow (orange, he always corrects you) one says.

“i want in on your little rescue mission. it’ll be wise for you to bring me along.”

they all share a look, before the teal one speaks up, “uh… sure. but why?”

-

oh my god, they’re fucking idiots.

there is absolutely no possible explanation as to how the five of you have made it this far, and you don’t plan on questioning it, instead thanking whatever god is up there that you haven’t blown your own brains out from the frustration of having to deal with their idiotic antics.

you don’t think about it any longer once they reunite with their team, your disappointment evident when you don’t see felix being one of the people among them.

for fucks sake, where could he have gone?

your question gets answered shortly after.

“...felix?”

you stand amongst the other soldiers, staring at him with a confused expression. your heart stutters in what you thought was relief, but you should’ve known better.

once the fight broke out, you were so confused. you had no idea what to do. do you shoot at him? what if it was just a huge misunderstanding? why was he with locus? there was too much going on. before you even knew it, one of the soldiers, you’re assuming one of the heroes allies, teleports your team away.

you were left behind.

following your instincts, you fucking book it and run, away from whatever the hell just happened and whoever the hell was chasing you.

not long after, because your training wasn’t that good, you’re worn out from running away, deciding to take cover behind one of the many rocky pikes surrounding the base.

you drop your gun, your hands shaking too much to hold it steady. “fuck, fuck, fuck!” you hear footsteps running past you, and you try your best to hold your breath. you didn’t know what to do, you weren’t cut out for this, you weren’t cut out for this war.

your breath is shallow as you rip off your helmet, taking large gasps of air and clutching your chest tightly to help ease the pain forming there. you couldn’t feel anything, your chest was hurting so much it numbed the pain in your legs from running.

trying to steady yourself, you count your breaths, praying that you can just calm down and keep running.

“i knew i’d find you here.”

your heart drops, and you raise your head to look up at the person approaching you. you take a deep breath to try and focus.

“felix, i thought you- what the hell is going on?” you stand up straight, starting to walk towards him. you’re so confused and you need to know if it's really him.

before you can even take a step, his gun is aimed straight at your face. “stay where you are.”

your body instantly freezes, a sudden chill shooting down your spine. “felix.. what are you doing? we can leave before they find us, stop messing with me and put the gun down!”

he doesn’t seem to listen, his gun following your head as you try to move slightly out of its range.

“you know, from the day we met, i knew i’d hurt you eventually,” he lowered his gun, starting to pace slowly in front of you.

the radio in his suit buzzes, most likely containing orders to the soldiers nearby to eliminate you immediately, but all he does is switch it off.

“i was surprised, really, how easily you opened up to me. i mean, come on, trusting a mercenary? i thought i taught you better,” he keeps the gun lowered, but you know the threat is still prominent, “and then you had to go and fall for me. you sure gave me trouble finding ways to report to command without you being on my back all the time.”

your brain lags, trying to piece together what he’s saying but you’re so deep in denial. “felix i- what are you even saying?”

“do you remember the first time we met?” he cuts you off, taking a step closer. “the first conversation we had?”

when you don’t respond, he takes pride in answering his own question, “i told you not to get too close to me. kimball said it herself– i was hired to help you guys, what makes you think you and your little crush on me could ever change that?”

it’s like a wave of ice water washes over you, and you finally come to your senses. it really is felix, and he really is betraying you.

your gaze slides down to your previously dropped gun, and as if reading your mind, he lifts his gun again towards you, “i don’t think so, darling.”

what once was a nickname that made you smile giddily, now makes your body tingle in a new feeling of discomfort.

“what is this, a lesson in not trusting people? god, spare me the act,” your words leak with newfound hatred, glaring at him as if looks could kill. “just get it over with and say you never loved me.”

your brain yells at you to not be so hostile, to start begging for your life, but you’re stubborn.

just how he taught you.

your comment takes him by surprise, the grip on his gun faltering slightly. he quickly recovers, tightening his grip and aiming it at you with a new sense of justification. “don’t make me kill you.”

you let out a scoff, “what, going to shoot me? go on, do it.”

after a moment of silence between you both, and still no sound of a trigger, your eyes narrow at him, “don’t have the balls to do it? you don’t need me to call locus over, do you?”

he lets out a low growl, but still makes no move to pull the trigger. letting out a sigh, you lean back on your heels. if you were going to die now, you’d at least like one of your questions answered.

“what was going through your head when i told you i loved you?” you try to sound like you don’t care, like him betraying you didn’t feel like a fucking train wreck, but you can’t help the unsteadiness in your voice.

“that i wish you never had trusted me.”

you see his finger twitch on the trigger, and you look up to the sky.

as much as you hated the feds, they had a pretty damn good view.

[floating-mid-air]

The Princess of all Saiyans

-

Check out my Masterlist on my blog! Tumblr wont let me link it in this post 🙃

-

Starting 2023 off with a bang! Chapter 14 is finally here. I've also added chapter summaries to all the chapters too (on A03 only. It would take me way too long on Tumblr). Not rly sure why I never thought to add them before. As always, thank you for your patience and support for my writing. And my DM's/Comments are always open if you have any comments, questions, or concerns.

-

Chapter 14

-

You, Vegeta, and Raditz all ascend into the air, but once again, that earthling voices yet another one of his "concerns," or as you like to call them, unnecessary setbacks. "Hold on!" Krillin's grating voice echoes. "We're not going anywhere until one of you explains where we're going." He quickly realizes that none of you will turn around to acknowledge him. "Because we're not going on another wild goose chase with you!"

"We don't have time for this!" You throw your head back, groaning.

"Well, we have the right to know!" Krilin shouts. "Especially since Goku's injured."

"God, you insufferable human!" Raditz snaps, turning his body towards the earthlings. "We're going to Frieza's ship."

Krilins jaw drops. "Have you three gone completely insane?"

"If those Dragon balls don't work, then we're going after Frieza without them. So I want Kakarot in top shape." Vegeta remains calm, showing no sign of losing his temper. You don't like that. Whenever your brother is this collected, you know things are dire. "I refuse to put up with any weakness."

"What?" Krillin's brows raise as Gohan shifts uncomfortably, struggling to stand in place for so long with all the extra weight from helping balance his father.

Unlike Raditz, you only snap your head toward the earthlings, your deadly gaze landing on the bald one. "He's going to treat his injuries there, you moron. Now let's go!"  

"Hurry up." Vegeta chuckles. "I'm sure you don't want to find out what happens if Frieza interrupts us. And that

is, if you even make it there. Cause, by the way, my sister is looking at you. I think she'll take you out before you even have the pleasure of meeting Frieza."

Raditz shifts his gaze onto you, a smirk appearing on his lips. "I forgot how much I missed your brooding." You cringe at his fondness. Your reaction only seems to add to his amusement.

"Hey, Raditz. A little help here?" Raditz's attention shifts from you to the earthlings. They're currently struggling to fly in sync with all of Goku's extra weight. Raditz looks them up and down before scoffing.

"You and the half-breed seem more than capable of holding that nitwit on your own." Raditz howls in laughter, watching the pair almost drop his brother... again. That is until Vegeta shoots him a knowing look. Over the years, he's become far too familiar with that gut-wrenching glare. Without Raditz's aid, Gohan and Krillin finally figure out how to move concurrently. It was about time. Aren't those humans supposed to be all about teamwork? You think they'd have it down by now. You all take off, heading straight into the lion's den.

You arrive at the ship, walking down what you sure were once pristine hallways. Corpses, burnt remains, and various pieces of scattered armor decorate the halls. Vegeta sure did some damage here. "Damn, Vegeta." Your eyes light up. "You really know how to start a party." Your brother glares at you unamused before opening the door in front of him. You all enter the room, your gazes landing on the healing chamber. The earthlings look astonished while you and Raditz share a look of annoyance.

"So this is the technology you were talking about, Raditz?" He glances at the tallest Sayian uncertainly. Most likely due to the conflicting expression on Raditz's face.

"For fucks sake," Raditz mutters to himself before answering Krillin. "No. Absolutely not."

"This is going to take forever." You huff in frustration.

"Ignore them." Vegeta snarls. "They're just whining because it's an older model. It's still state-of-the-art technology, especially compared to what they have on your pitiful planet. It'll get the job done." Vegeta moves over to the control panel, starting to mess with the buttons. "Get him in the healing chamber."

Once Goku's in the healing chamber, Vegeta presses one last button to start the process of Goku's recovery. "How's it work?" Gohan presses his face against the glass, watching in awe as the water-like substance fills the chamber.

"It's far too complex for your feeble minds to comprehend. It would take years to explain the specifics to you. All you need to know is that it'll heal his wounds." Vegeta turns around, pointing at the earthlings. "Now, you two. Come with me. We'll see if we can find you something less pathetic to wear. You'll need more protection than those rags if you're going to battle Freiza."  

"You mean like armor?" Krillin asks. "Like the kind you're wearing?"

Gohan's eyes widen. "Cool---"

"And what are we supposed to do?" You narrow your eyes, placing a hand on your hip. "Keep Kakarot company?"

"Absolutely not. You two are going to check if they have any armor in your size. You're competent enough to find it on your own. And Raditz can reach all the shelves you're too lazy to fly to." You look down at your armor, assessing just how much damage you've taken. It's worse than you thought. You know you're battle with Burter caused a fair amount of damage to your armor. But it must have gotten worse when you and Raditz tossed Ginyu around. "And after Kakarot's all healed. I want you in there next!" He barks at you in typical Vegeta fashion.

"I want you in there next." You mimic your brother in a high-pitched voice the second he leaves the room. You turn to Raditz. "Come on. If we're still here when Vegeta comes back, he'll throw a fit." You both leave the room, heading back into the hall. "I can never remember, is it left or right?" You turn to Raditz, a cunning smile appearing on your lips. "You should know. You've taken far more damage than I have over the years."

"Left." Raditz grins widely as you walk down the left corridor. "You know. I haven't seen you this beat up since planet Telia." His grin turns into a sly smirk. "Those Talolians were quite pathetic, too, unlike Burter. So small and weak, and yet they almost killed you."

"It was all that runt Cado's fault." You grumble as you arrive outside of your destination. You walk through the doors with Raditz in tow.

"Of course!" Raditz chuckles playfully. "Blame Cado. When he's no longer here to defend himself."

"I was cleaning up his mess." Your eyes meet the floor as the not-so-fond memory invades your thoughts. "If that fool listened to me the first time and didn't take his infamous shortcuts, it wouldn't have happened in the first place." You look back up, staring straight into Raditz's soul. "And if my memory serves correctly, you didn't find it so amusing back then. You were practically sobbing."

"I was not crying! I'm not capable---"

"You were so scared I was gonna die. I even faked losing consciousness once or twice just to fuck with you."

"You wretched woman!" Raditz's face falls. "And to think, I almost killed Cado for that."

"Yes, I remember that well." You nod. "You're lucky I gained enough strength to stop you. If you killed the runt back then, hiding that from Vegeta would've been much more challenging." You begin searching for your armor on the lower shelves while Raditz tackles the higher ones.

"I still can't believe we got away with it for so long too."

"And if you didn't open your big mouth, Vegeta still wouldn't know." You continue searching down the row. If you can't find any armor in your size, you're going to have a problem. "Though I am surprised we were able to convince Cado from telling my brother."

"That's because Cado knew if Vegeta found out, things would not be very favorable for him. You got hurt, and it was his fault. Vegeta would have strangled Cado to death with his own tail. While it was still attached too." Raditz pulls out an armor set in your size. "Found one." He hands it to you.

"As infuriating as that runt was, I kind of miss him sometimes." Raditz raises a brow, staring at you in disbelief. "Don't get me wrong. He was weak and pathetic. But damn, was he a great source of entertainment." You place your new armor set on a bench, yanking off your old chest piece. "Remember how he would bicker with Nappa? Nappa would say the dumbest shit----"

"And that little vein on Cado's forehead would pop out,  he would yell at Nappa till his face turned red." He finishes your sentence. It's as if your brains are on the same wavelength. "Vegeta would get so mad at them. And he'd be so focused on those morons. It made it so much easier for us to get away with stuff." Raditz turns around, allowing you to remove the rest of your outfit.

You quickly slip on your new bodysuit, tapping Raditz on the shoulder. Signaling to him that he can turn back around. You sit down on the bench, putting your new boots on. Raditz moves to sit beside you, turning his head in your direction. "Y/N?" He sighs. "This isn't going to be like anything we've faced before, is it?"

"Of course not." You let out a breathy chuckle. "This is Frieza we're talking about." You slip on the last piece of your armor, your chest plate. You stand up, moving over to the mirror. Everything seems proper. You don't see any defects.

"Do you think--- Do you think we'll be able to get the dragon balls to work before we have to face Frieza?"

"No." You huff. "But you know Vegeta. He's really fixated on this whole immortality thing. And that's assuming he can even wish for such a thing."

Raditz stands up, tilting his head. "What do you mean?"

"From what I understand, if those Dragon balls are similar to the set on Earth, they have limitations. And it's possible that immortality might be one of those."

"And why haven't you told Vegeta about your little theory?"

"It's not like Vegeta would listen to me anyway." You snicker. "Now, let's go find my brother and those earthlings. They must be done by now." You both exit the room, traveling throughout the ship, searching for the others.  

After a few failed attempts, you finally manage to track them down. They're now standing outside the ship. Vegeta turns around, hearing you both approach. "Took you long enough." His gruff voice echoes.

"Where's the bald one?" Your eyes scan your surroundings, but Krillin is nowhere to be found.

"He went to go see the Grand Elder. He's going to find Dende so we can activate the Dragon Balls." Gohan answers your question way too cheery for your liking.

Raditz's face scrunches up. "What's a Dende?"

Before Gohan can answer, you speak. "It's their little Namekian friend. He must know the incantation to awaken the Dragon." You narrow your eyes at the Saiyan. "Didn't you meet him?"

"Raditz just called him that Namekian child the whole time," Gohan tells you.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's discuss the plan." Vegeta turns to Raditz. "You're going to go get the last Dragon Ball. Since you're the only one who knows its location." Raditz nods, but before he can take off, Vegeta stops him. "And, Raditz. Hurry." Raditz shoots up into the air, leaving the three of you alone.

"And what are the three of us gonna do?" You cross your arms. You better not just be sitting here the whole time. You hate waiting. You always have. And you always will.

"I'm going to go in there" He points to the ship. "And get some sleep. I can't even remember the last time I got proper rest. So the two of you will guard the Dragon Balls." You were right. He's making you wait. Again! "If either of you senses Frieza coming our way. Wake me up."

You watch Vegeta walk into the ship until you can no longer see him. Gohan turns to you, huffing. "Is he serious?"

You nod. "Deadly." You and Gohan each sit on one of the massive Dragon Balls. Gohan places his hands under his chin, sighing dramatically. "Cheer up, brat. Be thankful you don't have to deal with Vegeta and his temperament on a daily basis."

"Do you think Raditz will be back soon?" Gohan turns to you.

"He better be." You shut your eyes, returning to the anxiety-inducing silence. After a few minutes, which feels more like an eternity, your eyes snap open as you feel two power sources approaching you rapidly.

"Is that Frieza?" Gohan gasps.

"No." You shake your head. "Trust me. When you sense Frieza. You'll know it." You hop off the Dragon ball. "It matters very little who's approaching us. Get ready to fight, brat." Gohan follows your lead, standing up, and moving beside you. You both stare in the direction of the energy, anticipating the worst. You're not afraid of the beings approaching you. Their energy levels are so low that you could take them out without Gohan's assistance. You're more irritated than anything else.

The second you can see who's approaching, your posture relaxes. It's the earthling and that Namekian child. Wow, that was quicker than you anticipated. Gohan flies up to meet them halfway. "You're here!" He cheers. His joyful demeanor is making you sick. "That was quick. The last time we went to see the Grand Elder, it took much longer than that."

"Dende was already on his way to meet us. I didn't even make it halfway there by the time we bumped into each other." Krillin moves his attention onto you. "Dende, this is Y/N. She's one of the Saiyans that's going to help us fight Frieza." The word help makes you cringe. You simply have a common interest in Frieza's demise. That's all.

You wave at the Namekian, completely uninterested. You tune out the rest of their conversation, having no interest in their personal affairs. You stare off into the distance, knots forming in your stomach. "Come on, Raditz." You mumble to yourself. "Where the hell are you?"

It's been at least an hour, and your nerves have only worsened. Where the hell did Raditz hide the Dragon Ball? On another planet? You hear a large thud from behind. You quickly shift your body around, your gaze landing on Raditz. He's casually carrying the Dragon Ball under one of his arms. "Finally. You sure took your sweet time, Raditz." You groan. "I'll go wake up, Vegeta. Let's get this all over with." You want to get this whole thing done as soon as possible. Before Frieza can even catch wind of it.

You move into the ship, heading straight to the room with the healing chamber. You move closer to your brother's sleeping form. "Vegeta! Wake the fuck up!"

Your brother snaps one eye open, looking even more agitated than usual. "What did I tell you? Unless Frieza's here, you are not to wake me. And I don't sense that freak anywhere." He closes his open eye. "I know there's no possibility of Raditz and Krillin being back, either. Those weaklings are far too slow. Now stop fooling around, and get back outside. I don't want to waste any more of my energy on this."

"You're so right, big brother! Like always. My mistake." You know this isn't the time to be petty, but you simply can't help yourself. You turn around, smirking as you exit the ship. You approach the others, placing your hands on your hips, raising your voice. "Alright. Let's summon this Dragon."

Gohan turns to you, gaping like a fish. "B- But what about  Vegeta?"

"His royal pain in my ass refuses to get up. Because he just always knows best. So we'll just summon the Dragon without him. He'll come to his senses when he can feel its power." You hope the Dragon has a power level. Cause if not, Vegeta misses his chance at immortality. And he'll probably slaughter you for that.

"Alright." Krillin rubs the back of his neck, turning to Dende. "You heard her. Let's summon the Dragon."

Dende glances at Krillin before timidly walking up to the Dragon Balls. He begins to utter the incantation in his native tongue, but before he can finish, you stop him. "Wait!" He flinches, turning around to look at you. "Let's do this away from the ship. Just in case it causes any damage."

"But when we summon Shenron, nothing like that ever happens." Gohan tries to reason with you, but you refuse to budge.

"I don't know if you're blind, Gohan. Because in case you haven't noticed, those Dragon Balls are much larger than the set on Earth. I'm not willing to take the chance. So just move them, alright!" Man, for a second, you really sounded like Vegeta. That's a scary thought.

To appease you, they all work on moving the Dragon Balls to a more secluded location. It's not far from the ship. In a murderous rage, Vegeta would be able to get there in seconds. Once all the Dragon Balls are in place, Dende walks back to them. "Let's get on with it, Namekian!" You bark. "Preferably before Frieza comes to slaughter us all."

Dende holds his hands out and begins uttering the chant once again. As soon as he finishes, the orbs begin to glow. From what you remember from your book on wish orbs, this is a good sign. Next, the sky turns dark. From the earthling's reactions, you're assuming this is the same thing that happens with the Earth set as well. You shield your eyes as a blinding blast of light shoots from the Dragon Balls. Once the light dims, you look up to see the Dragon in all its glory. You've traveled all over the galaxy, yet you've never seen anything quite like this.

"Holy shit---" Raditz's jaw hits the floor. Well, that's a first. You don't think you've ever seen Raditz at a loss for words.

"He's huge. I've never seen anything this big in my life." Krillin's words are barely audible. So the Earth Dragon must be smaller. It makes sense when you think about it.

"This is Porunga. In your language, it means Dragon of Dreams." Dende announces. "I've never seen him before. This is the first time I've ever summoned him."

Before Dende can continue, the Dragon finally speaks. "You have gathered the Dragon balls and summoned me forth. Speak to me your heart's desires. As the maker of dreams, I shall grant you any three wishes within my power."

You shift your gaze rapidly onto the earthlings, furrowing your brows. "I thought you said we only get one wish!"

"T- That's how it works on Earth. Like you said, there was a chance these Dragon Balls would work differently." Krillin answers you with only minor hesitation.

"Wow! What should we wish for?" Gohan turns to Krillin.

"We save Vegeta's immortality for last since it's the one thing we're sure of." You shrug your shoulders, stepping back. "You runts can have the other two."

"Wait! Really?" Gohan and Raditz speak simultaneously, in very different tones. Gohan in shock, and Raditz in disbelief.

"I don't desire anything." You answer nonchalantly. "So go crazy. Just hurry up! Cause there's no chance in hell Frieza hasn't noticed this."

"Man," Krillin turns to Gohan. "What should we wish for first?" Without speaking, the earthlings nod at each other, seeming to come to a mutual understanding. Krillin shifts his gaze back onto Dende. "First, ask Porunga to bring all the people on Earth killed by the Saiyans back to life."

"You're really wasting a wish on something so pathetic? Those humans were a waste of space! Your friends will be no help against Frieza! In fact, they'll only get in the way." You thought they were going to wish for something helpful to aid you in your current predicament. Not to revive a few beginnings with power levels less than some of the bugs on this planet.

"You're the one who said we can have the other wishes," Gohan tells you. "And you said we can wish for whatever we want." You're regretting your decision more and more with each second that passes.

"Hey!" Raditz shouts, grabbing all your attention. "Why don't I get a wish? I'm the reason we have all seven Dragon Balls in the first place." He's not entirely wrong. It was your plan, but he's the one who executed it.

"Okay, Raditz."  You tilt your head. "What do you want to wish for?"

"Oh," He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "I don't know. You're kinda putting me on the spot here!" You narrow your eyes at him. Raditz is lucky you're not strangling him right now.

"So no wish for Raditz." You nod at the earthlings. "So hurry up and waste away your wishes."

Dende nods, turning back to the Dragon. "Here goes nothing." He translates Krillin's words into his own language as he speaks to the Dragon.

"That wish is beyond my power to grant. I am limited to transporting one person back from Otherworld at a time." You've never been happier to receive a limitation in your life. "Speak again your heart's desires. I can grant you any three wishes within my power."

"We can only bring one of them back?" Gohan's voice cracks.

"I knew it was too good to be true." Krillin sighs. "There's always a catch with these guys."

"What do we do? I can't choose----" You push past the humans, moving to the front.

"What's the name of your Namekian friend?"

"Dende?" Krillin furrows his brows in confusion. "Haven't you been here?"

"Not the child, you fool! The broody one from Earth."

"Piccolo?" Gohan seems as lost as ever.

"That's who you'll resurrect."

"But why Piccolo?" The idea of betraying their other allies is really clouding their judgment. Or those two fools might not be capable of critical thinking. You remember back on Earth after Nappa killed Piccolo, that his life force was connected to another. The creator of the Earth's set of Dragon Balls. So with his resurrection, the Earth Dragon Balls should come back too. Bringing back Piccolo first should just be common sense to them. How have they survived this long? Kakarot---- for a moment, you forgot about that neanderthal.

"Because he's the least pathetic out of all your friends." He's the only one of them that could actually be useful to you. Reviving him is the perfect contingency plan for when things go wrong here. Cause you know they will.

"I- I don't know. Could we really just---" You cut Gohan off, mid-emotional brake down.

"Dende!" You bark, "Tell the Dragon to resurrect Piccolo. Now!" Dende stares at you, dumbstruck. "Do not make me ask again!"  The young Namekian nods furiously, turning back to the Dragon.

As Dende translates the phrase, the two earthlings look at you. "I thought you said it was our wish?"

"It is your wish. I made the hard decision for you. You two would have wasted all our time if I didn't."

"Very well." The Dragon speaks. "Your first wish has been granted."

Gohan turns to Krillin. "What should we wish----"

"Gohan! Can you hear me?"

"Piccolo? How are you---"

"I'm speaking to you telepathically through King Kai."

You tug on Raditz, lowering your voice to a whisper. "Who the hell is King Kai?" Raditz just shrugs. He seems to be just as lost as you are.

"Use your second wish to transport me directly to your location on Namek. I'm eager for battle and want to take it all out on Frieza. The very bastard responsible for the slaughtering of my people. Summon me right away. Do you understand?" So the Namekian is suicidal. Even if Piccolo spent every waking second training in Otherworld, he's still no match for Frieza. Though, you do need all the help you can get. Well, there's another wish down the drain. "And Y/N? The others weren't too thrilled with your decision."

"Oh, no! How will I ever survive?" The sarcasm in your voice is impossible to miss.

"Well, that was until I explained to them how Earth's Dragon Balls return with me. But I'm sure you knew that already didn't you? I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you're with them." You scoff. "Don't get me wrong. After Frieza is taken care of, you and that brother of yours are next."

"Alright." Gohan nods. "We understand. See you soon, Piccolo!" He moves his focus onto Dende. "Tell him to transport the guy he just brought back to life here, on Namek."

An all too familiar chill runs down your spine, your mouth becoming as dry as a bone. You stare off into the distance, your eyes fixating on the dreadfully familiar power level. You'd recognize it anywhere. That's Frieza, for sure. "Y/N---- Raditz?" Krillin speaks up, breaking you out of your trance. You didn't even notice that Raditz noticed him too. "What are you guys---- ahhhh!" Krillin's eyes go wide as he finally senses Frieza. "Dende, you better hurry with that wish! I've never felt power like that  before." He gulps nervously.

Dende nods rapidly before saying something in Namekian. Then there's some sort of commotion, but you can't seem to focus on it. You are far too focused on the direction of Frieza. So hyper-focused that you don't even pick up on Vegeta's energy rapidly incoming.

Twenty-Something Years Ago:

"Oof." You gasp as your body slams back against the training room's cold ground.

"Come on, Y/N." Frieza's grating voice invades your ears. "You're going to have to do better than that." You spring to your feet, launching yourself at the frost demon again. Before your fist can even make contact, he grabs your wrist. "So pathetic. My lowest level soldiers could hold their own better." He flings your small frame against the wall with ease. "I'm beginning to think all these training sessions are a waste of my time. It's been several months, and you've barely improved. From what I know about Saiyans, you should be much stronger than this by now."

You shakily stand back up, barely able to keep your balance. These past few months have been hell. When those goons told you, Frieza wanted you to get stronger. You never thought that Frieza would be the one overseeing your training. From what you remember, your father was always adamant about how Lord Frieza never does his own dirty work. So why is he making an exception with you? "Look at you." He tisks, shaking his head. "You know I'm not one to admit when I'm wrong. But I think I'll make an exception this time. I thought you were far more capable---" Before he can continue to degrade you, you strike. Finally, landing a blow on his smug face. You used so much force that his whole head turned to the side.

Frieza brings a hand up to his face, wiping off some of the blood that's oozing down his cheek. He looks at his hand, chuckling to himself. You stand in front of him, frozen in fear. "That's enough for today." He shoots a ball of energy at you, knocking you unconscious. "Zarbon!" He shouts out into the hall. "Get that other Saiyan brat!"

Raditz scampers into the room, unwilling to meet Frieza's gaze. "Take her to the healing chamber." Raditz nods, picking you up, holding you in his arms. He hates seeing you like this. He's supposed to protect you, but from where he's standing, it seems to be the other way around. He hates feeling this powerless. He hates that there's nothing he can do for you. Frieza's just too strong, far stronger than he ever imagined. His power is out of this world. All his instincts are screaming at him to attack Freiza, but Raditz is prideful, not stupid. He knows acting rashly would not help. In fact, it would probably make your situation worse. He returns to his senses, exiting the room as fast as he can, wanting to get you fixed up as soon as possible.

Frieza walks out into the hallway where Zarbon is waiting for him. "My, Lord, your face!"

"It's nothing to worry about, Zarbon." Frieza pauses, making sure Raditz is out of his sight before continuing.  

"I've decided tomorrow we'll reunite Y/N and Vegeta."

"But, my Lord, I thought you said her training was lackluster? You said it would take years before you'd even consider letting her fight for the Frieza Force."

"My mind has changed, Zarbon." He moves his hand back up to his face, wiping off the rest of the fresh blood. "When she hit me, it actually hurt." Frieza would have never calculated that you were one step ahead of him the whole time. Every time he would train you, you'd only fight with half your strength. So he'd never know how strong you've truly become. You want him to underestimate you. It's the only advantage you have.

"Y/N?" Raditz places a hand on your shoulder. "Are you alright? You're--- You're shaking." You snap back to your senses, looking down at your hands. He's right. Your entire body is quivering like a child. You are acting so pathetic.

"I---" You take a deep breath. "I'm fine." You look around, refamiliarizing yourself with your surroundings. "Where's the Namekian?"

Raditz scoffs. "The kid messed up the wish. He's somewhere else on Namek."

"Hey!" You hear your brother shout. "Are you finally going to acknowledge me?" When the hell did Vegeta get here? You swear you didn't notice him before. He walks over to you. "Why the hell didn't you wake me up? You know what's at stake here!"

"I tried." You pout. "But you shooed me away."

"Well, you should have tried harder! Now we're all---" Mid rant, you cut your brother off.

"Relax. This Dragon, unlike the Earth one, grants three wishes. I told the earthlings they could have the other two. Don't worry---- I made sure to save the last one for you. I'm not an imbecile Vegeta."

"But----" He stares at you in shock. "Why didn't you wish for immortality yourself? Like we planned."

"Just the two of us having to spend all of eternity together? No, thanks. Trust me, the rest of my mortal life is plenty misery for the both of us. And after this, we can always come back and make me and Raditz immortal too."

"You still want to spend the rest of eternity with me?" Raditz's interest has peaked. After everything, you still want him by your side. He can't believe it.  

"Of course. If it's just my brother and me, I'd end up losing my mind."

"Ugh, guys--- Can we hurry up." Krillin interrupts. "I don't like how close Frieza's getting."

"You!" Vegeta shouts, stalking toward Dende. "Hurry up and make the wish!" Dende shakes in fear. "Are you deaf? Do you not understand our circumstances? Frieza will be here any second!" Vegeta grabs him by the collar, holding him up in the air.

"Vegeta, stop!" Gohan shouts. "You're scaring him!"

'He should be scared. The most powerful being in our universe is coming to slaughter us! Make the wish, brat!"

"Speak your final wish. Now!" You can't decide who's more impatient. Vegeta or the Dragon.

"You're testing my patience! Tell this thing to grant me immortality! Now!" You change your mind. Vegeta is definitely more impatient.

"Dende, grant the wish!" Krillin speaks up. "I know Vegeta's evil. But compared to this Frieza guy---- he's a saint. It's our only chance of survival!"

"Okay, okay." Vegeta throws the young Namekian to the ground.

"About time you came to your senses." You're sure your brother is doing a whole super-villain monologue in his subconscious right now. You can practically hear his maniacal laughter. Dende begins to translate Vegeta's wish to Porunga. Once this wish is granted, you'll feel safe for the first time since you were a small child back on planet Vegeta. It'll all finally be over.

Once Dende finishes the translation, something different happens from the previous times. The Dragon begins to fade. That can't be good. Then the Dragon howls, almost like he's in pain. A blinding light flashes from the Dragon, similar to how it was when he first appeared. After a few seconds, you regain your sight. Only to see the Dragon Balls fall to the ground, but now they're made of stone.

"What the hell?" You walk over to one of the spears, running your hand along it. Yep, it's definitely stone. You move your gaze back to Dende. "What just happened?"

Dende falls to the ground, landing on his knees. His eyes, brimming with tears. "The Grand Elder. The Grand Elder  has passed out of this world." Shit. That means----- fuck. None of you stand a chance against Frieza now.

"You're lying. You just don't want me to get my wish!"

"No." You shake your head. "The Dragon balls only exist as long as their creator does, Vegeta. Remember?"

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fucking shit!" Raditz sticks his hands in his hair as he begins to hyperventilate.

"Raditz." You place your hands on his shoulders, turning him toward you. "Calm down."

"Calm down? How the hell can I calm down? We're all going to fucking die!" You take your hand, slapping him across the face. He takes a deep breath, rubbing his cheek with his hand. He seems to have come back to his senses. "Thanks." Now that you have dealt with Raditz's meltdown, you have a much more terrifying issue to deal with. An enraged Vegeta.

"This is all your fault!" Vegeta shouts, making his way to you. "If you behaved like an adult for once in your life and ensured I got my wish, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I'm the one who can't act like an adult? You're the one throwing a temper tantrum over a wish! And if I knew the old guy was gonna kick the bucket, I would have made sure your immortality was our first wish!" You turn to the earthlings. "Why the hell did neither of you think to mention that the Grand Elder was dying?" They both jump at your screaming. "Do you two morons ever use your brains?" This is the vicious cycle of blaming everyone but yourself. And taking zero responsibility for your own actions. You and Vegeta have far more in common than you'd care to admit.  

And to only make matters worse, you can now see Frieza in the distance approaching you rather than just sensing him. "Y/N." Vegeta turns to you. "Go back to the ship."

"What? That's bullshit!"

"Do not argue with me."

"Is this because of my injury? It's almost entirely healed."

"Almost is not good enough!" Vegeta snaps at you.

"You need me! Even with my ailment, I'm still more powerful than the three runts, and Raditz combined!"

"Y/N," He sighs. "Please---- before it's too late for you to leave." You give in, nodding. "Once you've been healed, you can fight to your heart's content, alright." You take off in the direction of the ship just in the nick of time. This goes against every one of your morals. Saiyans don't run away from battle. Even when they're no match for their opponent. Some would say it was stubbornness, but nothing is more important than a Saiyans pride.

-

How will Vegeta and the others hold their own against Frieza? Will Y/N even listen to Vegeta's orders? And when will Goku be healed? Find out in the next chapter of The Princess of All Saiyans.

[ternfic]

Reboot

Chapter Two

Emmet was working on putting the roof back in place when the voice called up to him.

“Hey so I couldn’t get anybody in that cavern fortress to respond, think you could tell me what’s going on around here?”

Emmet yelped, the suddenness of the voice startling him enough that he lost his balance. He flailed for a moment, but ultimately lost the battle, and toppled right off the roof. “Ah, geez-!” the stranger yelped, and Emmet found himself expertly caught and placed on his feet. He blinked at the other, tensing. The face had a few more lines on it, the dark hair sporting several strands of silver now, but there was no mistaking the dark blue and bright green space suit.

“Rex.”

Rex blinked at him in surprise. “You remember-” He cut himself off, then slowly shook his head, chuckling helplessly to himself. “Really should’ve expected that. You’re his avatar, after all.”

“What are you doing here?” Emmet demanded.

Rex sobered up at the question. “I need your help. You’re the only person I can trust.” Of all the reactions he’d expected Emmet to have, his younger self stepping forward to shove angrily at him wasn’t one of them.

“You lied to me! You tricked me into causing Armomageddon! And you- you said you were just gonna go back and try it all over again until you ‘got it right’! How can I trust that you’re not just trying to trick me into helping you destroy everything again?!”

Rex floundered for words for a few moments, and realized there were only two he could say that could possibly make things right. “I’m sorry.”

Emmet stopped, staring at him. “What?”

“I was… wrong. About a lot of stuff.” Every fiber of Rex’s being screamed discomfort at having to admit to such. “She came back for you. She fought tooth and nail for you. Those aren’t the actions of someone who’d gladly forget you for an easier life. And it was… dumb of me to ever believe otherwise. I should’ve trusted that she never would have forgotten us without outside interference.”

“Outside interference?”

“That’s why I need your help. I went back to investigate, to try to find out why they forgot us so readily. When I told you before they were brainwashed, yeah I lied to you then, but… I think, in my timeline, they actually had been. My interference last time broke whatever spell they’d nearly been put under. But I got caught out and had to run. That’s why I need your help. There’s never been anybody who could go unnoticed better than you.”

Emmet quirked a grin at him. “That’s probably the most backhanded compliment I’ve ever received, even counting that time with Metalbeard and my couch.”

Rex gave him an uneasy grin in response. “So, uh. We cool?” He tentatively offered his hand. Instead of taking the offered hand Emmet launched himself at Rex, wrapping his arms around his other self in a tight embrace.

“Yeah, we’re cool.” He pulled back to smile bright at Rex. “Bro.”

Rex smiled back at him in relief. “Awesome.” He then turned his attention to where Emmet’s house-ship stood nearly finished behind him. “…You know, I got room for two in my cruiser. How about we leave that here where it’ll be safe?”

Emmet sagged in relief. “Oh thank goodness, yes. I’d much prefer you to fly.” Rex laughed and clapped his shoulder.

“Let’s get a move on then, the clock’s ticking.”

They hadn’t taken two steps toward Rex’s cruiser when they heard the sound of an engine approaching. Before long they could see the vehicle in question, a familiar black and white car hovering over the dusty ground. They watched in stunned silence as it pulled to a stop in front of them and Bad Cop got out.

“Brickowski,” the officer growled.

“Yes?” both of them answered automatically. Rex winced. Emmet just wondered why Bad Cop was there.

Bad Cop seemed equally surprised by Rex’s response. He turned to Emmet. “Who’s this?”

“My brother!” Emmet chirped back without missing a beat.

Bad Cop’s frown deepened. “…We weren’t aware you had a brother.”

“Yeah he’s older than me by almost ten years. He’s been in space until recently.” Rex tried not to let his awe show in front of the cop. Granted, most of that wasn’t even really untrue… But Bad Cop still didn’t seem convinced.

“Our family had a ‘falling out’ years ago,” Rex picked up. “I got disowned. Probably why you didn’t find anything about me when you were investigating Emmet.”

“I see,” the cop finally relented.

“Is there something we can help you with?” Emmet asked brightly.

Bad Cop’s mouth pressed into a thin line as he shifted his stance. “We’re coming with you.”

That surprised Emmet. “You are?” He certainly wouldn’t object- even though Rex had apologized, Emmet wasn’t certain he trusted him 100% just yet and he knew he could rely on the cops- but he still had to ask. “Why?”

Good Cop switched out. “Because it’s our duty to protect the citizens of Apocalypseburg. The people here will be fine; I doubt any Duplos will be arriving so soon after General Mayhem’s appearance. Your friends are the ones who need help right now. And we didn’t want to leave you to do this all on your own.”

Bad Cop switched back out, eyeing Rex warily. Rex simply lifted his chin in challenge. “Weren’t expecting you to already have help, though.”

“Honestly? I wasn’t either.” Emmet smiled at the cops. “I’d be glad to have you along, though. Makes our chances of success that much better.”

“Good.”

“I dunno,” Rex interrupted, frowning at them both. “We bring too many people, and our chances of being discovered are that much greater, too.”

“Three bodies isn’t ‘too many’,” Emmet argued. “I really do think we could use their help.”

“I don’t have room in the cruiser for one more.”

“Then we’ll follow in my house-ship.”

Rex growled out a sigh, dragging his hands over his face. “You’re not gonna give up til I say yes, are you?”

Emmet shook his head and grinned at him. “Nope.”

“Alright, fine, they can come.” He eyeballed the cops, then turned to give his cruiser a considering look. “Maybe all three of us can fit in there, though it’ll be a squeeze.”

“At least it’ll only be until we get to the Rexcelsior, right?” Rex nodded.

“Then we’ll manage,” Bad Cop said.

“Alright. Let’s move out, the longer we dawdle, the less time we’ll have to put a stop to the Systarians’ plans.”

[naberrie2024]

Elysium

“Elysium”

The Naberrie lake house was an idyllic place to raise a family. A hidden gem surrounded by water and magnificent plants and trees, in a remote village of the beautiful Naboo. Obi-Wan Kenobi found himself in peace as it happened each time he went there. He felt home and he was blessed to know that the Naberrie family was safe, happy and…

PUM!!

“LEIA!!!”

A realm of chaos too.

“ANAKIN! Just stop teaching our daughter how to built a ship in her room for God’s sake!!!!”, screamed Padme Amidala Naberrie from the spot in the garden where she was painting calmly along Luke.

Obi-Wan smiled to himself. Even if they had changed names to not catch too much unwanted attention, it was pretty obvious that Luke and Leia Naberrie were Anakin’s children. Stong, chaotic, passionate, fascinating and.. a mess.

He walked to the spot where Padme was teaching Luke how to paint when both of them realised he was there. Luke knew first. He could feel the Force strongly and he always knew when Obi-Wan was close by.

“Uncle Ben”, said Luke happily as he ran to his open arms.

He caught the kid in his arms and hugged him. Then, he looked at his 5 years old face. He looked exactly as Anakin as a child. Fortunately, he seemed more quiet, more similar to her mother in that way. And it seemed, he also learnt a bit from himself. He was indeed his uncle and he visited them every week, sometimes, he even stayed for months.

“Master Kenobi”, said Padme with her serious voice. Then, she laughed and Obi-Wan looked at her in awe. She looked so much young than those terrible years of war and fights.

Sometimes Obi-Wan forgot how very young those two have been. Anakin was only 23 when he had to fight against Palpatine. His padawan, his little brother fought with all his strenght saving everyone that day. Anakin Skywalker was only 23 when he ended the sith and brought the light to the galaxy. And Padme Amidala was only 27 when she gave birth just after defending herself from some clones that tried to attack her. How she managed to do that while in pain, only God knows.

The thing was that Anakin grow old quickly after that day. He looked ten year older than his wife. He lost a lot of life energy saving the galaxy from the sith, indeed he almost died. He still remembers Master Yoda bringing Anaking to life in his own trembling arms. He had been in shock, unable to help his brother after seeing him kill Palpatine, he had thought his padawan, his dear brother was dead. But he wasn’t.

God, he was blessed that day and everyday afterwards.

“Milady”, Obi-Wan bowed at her.

She hugged him as she continued laughing.

Luke didn’t let go of his arms.

Nor that he was thinking of letting go of him anytime soon.

He adored Luke so much.

Padme sat again on the soft grass, caressing her long hair and staring at the lake.

“How long are you gonna stay?”, she asked as she continued painting, “Luke, aren’t you going to show uncle Ben what you painted for him, my darling?

“You painted something for me?”, he asked to Luke.

“Of course I did”, he answered just as Anakin used to do.

Padme laughed again and he put the boy in her arms. He kneeled in front of Luke’s painting.

It was his lightsaber and Anakin’s , side by side.

He smiled.

“You’re so good, my boy”, he smiled to Luke, “ You paint so much better than your father used to when he was a child, you know?”

“Its’ for you, Ben”, said Luke, a bit sleepy.

Padme caressed Luke’s hair until the little child fell asleep.

“He’s in Leia’s room”, she said smiling

He bowed at her one last time

“Oh come’on, go to him, you know you’re dying to see him and so is he”, she smiled sweetly at him.

……………………………

Anakin Skywalker, or Anakin Naberrie these days, have lost more than a few years of youth fighting against Palpatine. He lost the feeling of both his legs, so his young brother had to live in a weelchair for the rest of his days. It seemed it didn’t make him angry, just a bit nostalgic about his time as a warrior and pilot.

Obi-Wan regreted it everyday. If he could exchange their places, he would. He would give his last breath so Anakin could breath a second longer. He would give him his legs and his whole body if he ever needed one.

“Anakin”, he said knocking slightly at Leia’s door.

Leia and Anakin were… doing some sort of dance with their arms. Rap or something like that.

“Ts… Ts.. You are the star and I’m just a peasant.. Ts.. ts..”, sang Anakin as Leia danced along his father, both of them sitting on the floor.

“It seems to me you’re unable to build your daughter’s new bed, aren’t you?”, he teased his student.

Anakin looked at him, smiling funny with shiny blue eyes. “Ocean eyes” had once said Padme, the same eyes Luke and Leia inherited.

“Master”

“Padawan”

They both looked at each other. Then, they bursted into laughing. He went to Anakin and hugged him tightly, he kissed his head and he caressed the golden, a bit grey, long hair of his brother.

“How are you doing? Want some help?”, he asked as he sat beside him.

Leia ran to his arms then, hugging him and whispering how much they have missed him.

“You think you can do a child bed with.. the shape of a royal ship, old man?”, asked Anakin as he looked confused at some instructions.

“I think you’re looking at them.. upside down, daddy”

Obi-Wan laughed hard and Leia smiled at them.

Anakin sighed, laying down with his eyes closed.

“Who do you think build your bed when you were a child, brother?”, he asked Anakin as he took some pieces of the bed and started to glue some of them.

“I had a bed with ship form as a child?”, asked Anakin.

Sometimes he reminded him of a puppy. Innocent, naive and childish. And he loves him so much. More than anything else in the galaxy, along with his children.

“Of course you did. Your whole room was like a ship. Your ceiling full of stars and distant planets. The room of a true pilot. I built it of course. I wasn’t gonna ask Mace or Yoda. They would say it’s attachment. Not that they think that way anymore”, he said smiling at Anakin and Leia who stared at him as they usually did when he started to tell a story, “It amazes me, though, that the best pilot in the entire galaxy can’t build a bed”

“It’s not so easy, master!”, said Anakin as Leia decided to sit on his chest.

Obi-Wan looked at them. Leia looked exactly as Padme although her character was… in the middle. Also, she inherited from her mother….

“I’m gonna continue doing my budget for the extraordinary session for my planet”, said the little girl as she got up.

Anakin and him stared at each other in shock.

“Your what?”, asked Anakin

“My budget for my planet. Daddy, don’t you know what a budget is?? Its..”

“Don’t look at me like that Obi, the one obsessed with politics is her mother, not me”, said Anakin as he shook his head, “Not only one politician in my house, but two. My luck”

“It could be worse”, he said as he saw Leia writing down her “speech” as she vocalised each word carefully. She saw them looking at ther, so she got up and went to other room, chanting her speech.

“Amazing”, said Obiwan as he looked still at where she had been just a moment ago

“You enjoy that my children and wife torture me, Obiwan. You’re enjoying it too much”

“Do I need to remind you that I raised you?”, he asked laughing at Anakin, “ Once, you literally, blew a ship when you were 10. I was so scared you had hurt yourself that it took me several minutes to realise you were standing there like a king, smiling because you haven blown a royal ship. Which cost me..”

“I know, I know..”

“And there was another time you…”

“I get it, Obi-Wan, I get it”, said Anakin as he crawled to lay next to Obi-wan, the young man put his head on his lap as he used to do as a child and teenager, “I missed it. I miss flying”

“I know, dear heart”, he said as he looked at his brother’s face. “But what if I told you… I changed a few things in my ship so you can pilot it safely?”

Anakin almost jumped at that.

“You didn’t!!!!!”, shouted Anakin as his eyes shone with happiness.

“I did”, he repeated as he continued building Leia’s new bed.

“PADS!!!!! KIDSSSSS”!!!!! LOOK AT WHAT OBI DID!!!!”

Obi-wan laughed as the whole family reunited in the room, yelling with happiness as he told them how he changed his ship so it could be anakin’s ship.

After a while, Padme went away to help her maids to make dinner. While Anakin and Obi-Wan continued building Leia’s bed.

Obviously, both ended up falling asleep.

When Padme went to look for them, she didn’t have the heart to wake them up, so she took a picture of both of them sleeping, smiling.

Master and padawan

Brothers.

Family

[burnwater13]

Grogu wondered what it would take to talk his dad into letting him have a massiff or a barghest as a pet. He was sure that they would be great pet owners. How could they not be? Plus, after the time they spent on Tatooine, Grogu knew that Din Djarin liked massiffs. He’s scratched them and talked to them in a very kind manner. Grogu wanted to do that too.

He’d asked Peli Motto about getting a critter like that to accompany them on their adventures and she had snorted spotchka out of her nose. It was funny but Grogu tried hard not to laugh. Once she wiped her face, her shirt and the table in front on them she shared a few words of wisdom.

“Kid, you don’t want a smelly ol’ critter crammed into that little bitty starfighter with you. It’ll be worse than that time you forgot about the dung worms you saved after that banquet with the Daimyo. And… did ya think about that? A critter like a massiff will eat you out of house and home. Do ya really want that kind o’ competition?”

Grogu sighed. Peli was right. A massiff or a barghest would eat a lot. They’d never have left overs again. Which actually would have saved him from having to clean the insides of the N-1 with that tooth polisher his dad had handed him. Hmmm. That was a plus. They’d clean up his messes and as far as Grogu was concerned that was a huge plus for having a pet.

But he didn’t want to ask his dad about until he had a lightsaber proof argument for why they should add another member to their family. Peli had a point. The N-1 wasn’t really the best ship to use for vacations with a family pet. 

When they were back on Nevarro, Grogu began to pepper Din Djarin with questions about the native species of Nevarro. Din finally told Grogu to go to the High Magistrate’s office and see if they had an official brochure or data tape or something explaining Nevarro’s flora and fauna. Grogu was only too happy to make that trip. 

On the way to the High Magistrate’s office he bumped into IG-11-M and decided to ask the marshal what they knew about it.

“Greetings, Din Grogu. I will access my data storage to retrieve the information you have requested. One sec… Nevarro is home to a wide variety of native and invasive species…”

Ten minutes later, IG-11-M was still rattling off the list of insects that called the planet home, but hadn’t even gotten out of that part of the animal kingdom. Grogu didn’t know how to stop the droid from reciting the whole record of every critter so he just quietly walked away. Maybe someone else would be able to interrupt the droid…

He managed to make it to the High Magistrate’s office and the protocol droid there was a much bigger help. Yes, there were massiffs on Nevarro. No, the High Magistrate didn’t have any rules about owning, keeping, or caring for the creatures. Yes, they would fall under the general liability clause of ownership of a creature that could cause harm or damage if left un-supervised. Yippee! They could get a massiff as long as he took good care of the critter.

“Din Grogu, please recall that such creatures do require a license and a ten credit fee for the processing of such license if you intend to bring it into Nevarro city.” 

Oh. Hmmm. Well, that wasn’t bad, right? He just needed the credits. He could earn ten credits doing chores right? Oh. Wait. The Mandalorian said chores built character, not equity, whatever that meant. He wondered if anyone in Nevarro city needed help? Something that Grogu could do that they valued. At least valued enough to give him ten credits.

He was pondering that when he walked back out to the main street and saw IG-11-M still standing there reciting facts about Nevarro. He wondered if he should just hit the droids re-set switch when he heard the Anzellan’s yelling that someone was leaving without paying their bill. He looked over and noticed the person trying to rush a way.

Grogu only had a split second to make a choice and he could only hope that he chose wisely. It happened so quickly, it was hard to say. He just used the Force a little to push IG-11-M into the path of the person trying to run away. The tiniest bit, really. He heard a crash, a bellow, and the sound of a certain marshal switching from the discussion of habitat for the lava flies to the placing a perpetrator of a crime under arrest. That made Grogu giggle. It just did.

In the end, IG-11-M was holding the person by the scruff of their shirt, the Anzellan’s were calling him ‘Good Baby’ and High Magistrate Greef Karga was handing him a ten credit bar and thanking him for capturing the person who was trying to cheat the droid-smiths. 

Grogu was pretty happy with how that all turned out. Now he just needed to find a massiff and explain it all to his dad. Easy, peasy.

[thewillofdeez]

50/50: A Shanks/OC (and Beckman/OC) Romance - Chapter 3: Old Friends and New

Summary: A twenty year journey of friendship, love, and heartache between Shanks and the woman he loves.

Chapter 3 word count: 3071

The next morning, Riley, Shanks, and Beckman gathered the last of the items they needed from Riley’s home into a bag, which Beckman slung across his chest.

“You guys ready?” she asked.

“We are if you are,” Shanks said with a smile. “Let’s do this.”

“And…and you’re sure you still –”

“Oh my God, Riley,” Beckman said, grabbing her face and forcing her to meet his eyes. “Yes. We want you with us.” Beckman pulled her to him and kissed her on the top of her head. “Stop it. Okay?” Riley was still a little teary and unsure from the night before, and must have asked the men a dozen times already if they were really sure. She didn’t think she’d be able to believe them until she was on the ship and thoroughly out to sea. But the reassurance certainly helped.

She smiled and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go. I promise I won’t ask again.”

Shanks and Beckman opened the front door and stepped out, and Riley followed, closing the door behind her and taking a moment to look up at the building that had been her home and workspace for the last time, bidding it a silent goodbye.

“Umm, Riley?” Shanks said. Riley turned around. What appeared to be a good chunk of Isha Island’s population was standing in front of her - her patients, her friends, people she did business with…easily over a hundred people had come to see her off. At the front of the crowd was her old teacher, Dr. Hikaru, now rather aged and bent and well into her retirement. She had been the one to help Riley become a doctor in the first place, and who passed her practice onto her. In a way, it was sort of because of her that Riley was now able to go on this adventure. Riley couldn’t hold back the tears as she went to the old doctor and engulfed her in a hug, allowing it to really sink in that she might never see these people again. It was a bittersweet realization.

Shanks and Beckman stood back and allowed Riley the time to say goodbye to everyone. Some people even came with gifts, and Shanks and Beckman’s arms quickly filled with items - a few bottles of sake and rum, crayon drawings from some of her younger patients, baskets of fruit and dried meat, and more. By the time she had worked her way through the crowd, the two were thoroughly bogged down.

“Bye everyone! I’ll miss you!” She turned and waved to her village one final time as she and her friends crested a hill, and the village slowly sunk out of sight, hundreds of hands waving back at her.

Riley took some items away from the men to lighten their load, and together they made their way to Bill’s house and the shipyard.

Bill greeted them as they approached, waving enthusiastically. He brought Riley in for a bone-crushing hug - the man sometimes forgot how big he was, but Riley couldn’t complain. This was going to be the last time she’d see him for some time, after all, if ever. Together, they loaded the last of the items onto the ship. On the deck, wind whipping through her hair, Riley couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Not only had she never been out to sea, but she didn’t really know much about sailing, her boat in town being quite simplistic compared to a full-sized ship. Bill, Shanks, and Beckman had walked her though how to handle the ropes and steer, and she’d been reading up on the subject as well, but this was going to be her first time actually putting what she’d learned into practice. Not only that, but this ship was far larger than she had ever expected, and it was, for the moment, just the three of them. It was doable, but it would be difficult.

“Bill, thank you for everything,” Shanks said, embracing the larger man.

“We could never repay you for this,” added Beckman.

“We can and we will,” Shanks responded with a sly grin, “When we get some treasure under our belts.”

Bill laughed. “No need, truly. It’s been a joy! I wish I had workers like you around here more often. You boys take care of Riley, you hear?”

“We will!” said Beckman with a smile and a fond look at their new crewmate. “We’ll keep her safe.”

Finally, it was Riley’s turn to say goodbye. Bill brought her into a hug, this one gentler. He then held her out in front of him at arm’s length. “Your family would be so proud of you,” he said softly, then tilted his head in thought. “Perhaps not for the piracy part, but in general.” Riley laughed, trying to hold back more tears - she’d done more than enough of that in the last 24 hours, thank you. “Everything you went through, everything you’ve accomplished as a doctor…and your journey is only just beginning. You’re gonna do great, kid.”

“Love you, Bill.” Riley said, rubbing an eye with her hand. “Thank you.” One more embrace and he released her, stepping down the gangplank and back onto land.

Shanks and Riley lifted the gangplank as Beckman worked on unfurling the sails, then made his way to the helm. They waved goodbye to Bill and his family and team one last time, and the ship was off. When the course was set and the sails filled with wind, Riley made her way to the stern and leaned on the railing, watching as Isha Island became nothing more than an ever-shrinking spot in the distance. Shanks joined her, resting his crossed arms on the railing. They shared a smile, before resuming their watch on the speck of land in the distance. 

When the island was no longer visible, Riley spoke. “So, Captain, what’s the plan?”

“Welp, Phase I is to find people for the rest of the senior officer roles. I’ve got a vice captain and a doctor, but we need at a minimum a navigator, a sniper, a cook, a musician, a shipwright, and a helmsman. After that, we flesh out the rest of the crew. You’ll have a medical team of your own, eventually. And from there, we’ll see where it goes. We’ll build up our reputations, get our names out there, get stronger, maybe cause some trouble for the World Government.” He shot her a wink. “You’re gonna look great on a wanted poster.”

“And the One Piece?” Riley asked, smirking.

Shanks barked out a laugh. “We’ll get there in time. Officers first.”

Over the next half a year, Shanks, along with Beckman and Riley, began to assemble their officers.

The first person they added to their crew was an enormous teenager named Lucky Roux. He’d helped the trio out of a scuffle elsewhere in the South Blue. He and Shanks got to talking, Shanks learned the man was a line cook by trade with dreams of being a chef, and suddenly Shanks was helping him make that dream a reality aboard their ship.

In the East Blue, along the Gecko Islands archipelago, they found Yasopp, a sniper. Riley was surprised to learn that Shanks had met the man before and he had previously turned down an invitation to join Shanks’s crew. But as she and Beckman knew, Shanks was, if nothing else, persistent. This time when Shanks asked, Yasopp said yes at the insistence of his wife. Riley watched as he bid her and his young son goodbye to join the crew. Yasopp was also the one to name Shanks’s crew the Red Hair Pirates, and created the first version of their jolly roger, painting it on the mainsail: a skull and crossbones with a mop of crimson red hair.

Elsewhere in the East Blue, they met a young man named Limejuice, an amateur shipwright who left his father’s company to join the crew.

In the North Blue they met Building Snake, a navigator who had washed ashore a rocky, deserted island when he was shipwrecked, his entire crew presumed dead. He had initially planned to come with them only until he could reach another island, but it was only a matter of time before he agreed to become a permanent fixture of the crew.

In the West Blue, the Red Hair Pirates came across a musician called Bonk Punch. It was because of Riley, actually, that he joined the crew. Bonk had a pet monkey named Monster, who was only a few weeks old at the time. In a village that had been ravaged by pirates, Riley had gotten to work doing damage control, tending to the injured while the rest of the crew drove the other pirates out.

“Please,” Riley heard a voice as a tall figure emerged from the settling dust. “I know you’re not a veterinarian, but…please help him.” In his large hands was a tiny monkey with a gash across its chest bleeding profusely.

Riley nodded at the man, taking the monkey from him. Logically there were humans who might have needed her immediate assistance more, but she couldn’t say no to the big man and his small companion. She patched up Monster, and when he was back to full health, it took no convincing from her and Shanks to have them join the crew. When Monster grew up, Shanks was very insistent on him being considered an officer of the ship in his own right, and not just Bonk’s pet. He was, after all, a very smart monkey.

And on the Grand Line, the crew met Gab, their helmsman, an enormous man with intimidating looks but the kindest heart of perhaps all of them. Gab had been working under duress for a much crueler pirate crew, and when the Red Hair Pirates encountered them, engaging them in battle and eventually sinking their ship, Gab was quick to escape and join them.

What Shanks had said to Riley when they first met remained true - Shanks wanted kind people on his team, and all of the assembled officers met that description. Which wasn’t to say they weren’t capable of fighting, or even killing - they were, and they did when they had to. But as a crew, their goal wasn’t to cause chaos, instill fear in the average person, or get copious amounts of gold at the expense of others. It was to live freely, and to help where they could.

With the senior officers assembled, Phase II began. The Red Hair Pirates had already begun climbing the ranks of formidable pirate crews, with each member having a wanted poster boasting a decently-sized bounty (except for Riley's – as the sole non-combatant member of the crew, she was only worth 20,000, but she was determined to get that number up). Riley proudly displayed them in the mess hall every time a new one came out. They had been written about in the papers numerous times, taken on Marines both on land and at sea, and had a unique reputation: The World Government hated them, of course. Many other pirate crews hated them. But on average, while they were initially met with fear and loathing on every new island they visited, they always seemed to befriend the average person along the way. 

It took another year after that, but eventually they were able to say that the Red Hair Pirates were complete, with ten senior officers (including Monster) and 49 pirates working under them, plus Shanks, totaling 60 pirates. Shanks and Beckman had no trouble recruiting crew members - by this point, they’d developed enough of a reputation that they were worried they’d eventually have to start turning good people away.

True to his word, Shanks did provide Riley with her own medical team - working under her were a pair of brothers from Fishman Island named Dirk and Dane. They were young, but had good hearts and were eager to learn.

Shanks, Riley found herself musing one day, was an excellent captain. He was a natural for the role - brave, charismatic, a strategic thinker, and he cared deeply about every member of his crew. He kept a list in his quarters of everyone’s birthdays and insisted on celebrating every single one, was always happy to spend time with even the lowest-ranked people on the crew, treating them as if they were a member of his inner circle, and was very good at making sure everyone knew how much he appreciated them. It was the kind of family-building on a pirate ship that, as far as Riley knew, only people like Whitebeard had ever really achieved.

For her part, Riley was happy. Though it wasn't always easy being the only woman amongst fifty-nine men (and oh how she longed for the day when another girl was willing to join the crew), not a single man aboard ever gave her any hassle, and she had a friendly, playful relationship with most of them. She had their respect both as a senior officer, and as a doctor. Which wasn’t to say they couldn’t be kind of crude, boisterous, and gross - they were still men, and pirates at that - but she never once felt intimidated or endangered around them, which was more than she could say about some men she’d met at bars. If anything, the rest of the crew had a tendency to be annoyingly overprotective of her - her job was to be the crew’s doctor, and in order for her to be able to do her job in the midst of battle, the rest of the crew would act as her protector so she could work on the injured. In doing so, however, her protectors often ended up being injured themselves.

And that was the only thing Riley didn’t like about life on the Gold Dragon. Every other member of the crew was a fighter in some respect. Shanks with his sword, Beckman with his rifle, and both of them with their growing Haki. Axes, guns, staffs, slingshots, knives, and even just feet and fists - every other member of the Red Hair Pirates knew how to fight in some way, and they all worked together to help each other get stronger and share their knowledge. Hell, even Dirk and Dane knew a good bit of Fishman Karate and were able to hold their own in battle when they weren’t assisting Riley. None of them needed Devil Fruits to be a formidable crew, they were powerful on their own merits.

And that just left Riley, the weakest, the one who didn’t know how to fight, whose strength was limited, and who felt powerless about it. The one who had to rely on everyone else for her own safety. In the early days with the crew it was a minor annoyance to her, but as more and more years passed it increasingly became something she hated.

After a difficult and almost devastating battle with a fleet of Marines led by a Vice Admiral, Riley and her team had just finished fixing up the crew. In the process of defending her, Beckman had gotten a bullet to the back, just barely missing a kidney, Yassop got a minor concussion, and Gab had been stabbed. As she treated their wounds, the men still carried smiles on their faces, despite the pain. She knew that they didn’t mind looking out for her and getting hurt or killed in the process, but she minded.

When the last patient left her office, Riley made her way to the upper deck to get some fresh air. Looking out over the sea and lost in thought, she almost didn’t notice when Shanks came up beside her.

"Berry for your thoughts?" He said, grabbing her attention. Riley looked at him, then back to the sea.

"The guys got their asses kicked today," she said quietly.

"Eh, we win some, we lose some," Shanks replied with a shrug. "There were no casualties, and I consider that a win in itself. Just means we gotta get stronger."

"Shanks…” Riley began, unsure of how to continue. How would he react? She had known Shanks for several years at this point, but a request like this, from subordinate to captain, was uncharted territory. And she knew that of all the people on the crew, Shanks felt perhaps the most protective of her. She looked up to meet his gaze. “I want to get stronger too. I want to learn how to fight."

Shanks almost let out a laugh, but the look on her face stopped him. “You’re serious?”

“Deadly,” she replied, echoing the words he had spoken to her a long time ago.

Shanks sighed. "Riley, you don't need to learn how to fight. You have fifty-nine men who would die for you without question."

"See, that's the thing," she shot back, "I don't want anyone to die for me. Beck got shot defending me, Shanks, the bullet missed his kidney by less than an inch. If it had been any worse I don't know if I could save him without getting him to a hospital. I hate seeing you guys get beaten up taking care of me."

"None of us mind, Riley, we–"

"It doesn't matter if you don't mind. I mind. I want to be able to defend myself, and you, and everyone else on this ship. I want to be able to hold my own with the rest of the crew. Please."

Shanks looked at her, and could see the desperation in her eyes. She'd make a good fighter, sure. She was lithe, and fast, and with some work he was positive she could effectively wield any number of weapons. But allowing her to fight meant allowing her to be in danger, more so than she already was, anyway. He couldn't risk that.

"The answer is no, Riley. I'm sorry, I won’t sign off on this."

"Shanks…"

"Your safety is my priority, Rye. I'm not gonna allow you to be in any more danger than you already are." With that, he turned and walked away, hoping it would be the last he'd hear of the matter.

For Riley's part, she could be as stubborn and persistent as her captain. She didn't stop bringing it up every so often, careful not to push him, but making sure he knew how she felt. If she had to out-stubborn Shanks, it would be hard, but she'd have to try.

Previous - Chapter 2: Conditions and Compromise

Next - Chapter 4: Rescue and Reconciliation

[tickle-page]

Hii!! How's your day, talented writer? hihihi I really hope you're doing well! If you have time please consider writing an enstars tickle scenario, where the producer (male) is jealous seeing hokuto being close to tomoya (knowing that tomoya have a crush on hokuto) when hokuto noticed it, he began teasing the producer and eventually tickling him lol, the scenario seems fun because of the one sided tickle fight (lee male producer, ler the one and only merciless hokuto) Take your time & have a nice day!

Jealousy!

Sorry I added this gif, I’M SO FUCKING SHOCKED AT IT😭

P.S. Sorry it’s not long. If you need me to redo it to your liking, say something and I’ll try my best, promise. I didn’t know where I was going with this and I apologize.

P.P.S! I didn’t know what ship u exactly wanted, so I made Hokuto, Tomoya, and the producer be in a relationship. I’m really sorry if that’s not what u wanted

⚠️Tw⚠️: Cringe

————————————————————————————

The producer heard faint pleads coming from Hokuto’s room, so he did the only right answer, went to go give it a look. What he didn’t realize was the cute, yet, annoying display in front of him.

Hokuto was tickling the ever loving shit out of Tomoya. “Aw~ Can’t take what u dished out, Bunny~?”

“Nohohoho, Stahahahap, please, H-Hohohohkuto!!!” Tomoya withered in place; he couldn’t really do much since his hands was being pinned down by the bigger one, so all he could do was take it.

“Too bad, u knew my thighs were really ticklish, but u still squeezed them? If I don’t know any better, I’d feel like u wanted this type of attention.” Hokuto slowly traced down the man’s stomach, to his navel and wriggled inside of it.

The teases and tickles Hokuto placed on Tomoya, made him squirm in place. It reminded him everytime someone else would do the same thing, but they were never… this intense? He doesn’t know how to describe it, all he knew was that he wanted to be in Tomoya’s place. Something tickled the inside of his stomach, wether it was butterflies, his giant lee mood, or… that he was… jealous? Couldn’t be, he doesn’t know why he was jealous, he has no reason to be. But nothing he says will stop this growing urge to go over there and stop this mess.

Hokuto looked up at the door because he felt a strange presence, as he saw the producer walk out, quietly closing the door behind him. Something was off with his face tho, he looked… sad. Hokuto got off of Tomoya, as he rubbed the latter’s stomach, “There, now you’ll learn your lesson. Never tickle me unless u want to be tickled back.” He laughed walking his way towards the door.

Tomoya panted, “it… IT WASN’T INTENTIONAL!”

“Yeah yeah, but u still did, and u had a smirk on your face, learn your place jellybean~” Hokuto looked back and winked at him, then walked off, closing the door.

Tomoya blushed.

——————————————————

“Hey, sport, can I come in?” Hokuto knocked on the producer’s door with his middle and index finger.

“Yeah.”

“You ok? I saw u leave the room, u looked sad.” Hokuto walked to his desk to where he was sitting, and sat on top of it.

The producer blushed tenfold, it was more embarrassing that Hokuto saw him walk out of the room, then watching the scene itself, and he doesn’t know why.

“It was nothing, now please get off my desk so I can finish my work in peace.”

Hokuto wouldn’t let this slide, he got off, walked behind the producer and swirled him around to where he was facing him. “Aw~ your face is all red~, wanna tell me why u seem upset?”

“Ugh, your head is bigger than your body, get. OUT!” The producer tried pushing him away, but he was bigger and stronger, and he didn’t look like he was moving any time soon.

“No! Not until u tell me!” Hokuto squeezed his sides. The producer squirmed away from the attacking fingers.

Hokuto stopped. “Oh? I forgot u were ticklish, hehe, now u gonna tell me why ur upset. Or u want me to attack u?~”

“How can you just FORGET someone’s ticklish? And no! Get away from me you big oaf!” The producer tried to push him off a second time, but his attempts were ineffective.

“Idk, I guess I just tickle Tomoya too much, that I forgot other people were ticklish.”

There he goes again, always talking about Tomoya. The producer doesn’t have a problem with him, but whenever Hokuto mentions his name, he has a strange urge to punch the wall. He loves Tomoya matter of fact, he loves Hokuto too, but… he just doesn’t know what he’s feeling anymore. “Did u forget u were ticklish too?” The producer squeezed his side, causing him to fall to the ground, giving the producer a chance to run, until he caught his ankle and made him fall.

“Don’t think u can wiggle away from the tickle monster~ He’s got his ways.” Hokuto managed to get up while still holding the producer’s ankle and sat on his back. He ran a finger down his spine, making him arch his back with a squeal.

“Eek! No! Plehehehease, Hokuto!” The producer begged, hoping his pleads won’t work because he kinda didn’t won’t this to end, well not yet of course.

“You gonna tell me what’s up?” Hokuto flipped the producer around, facing his reddened, smiley face.

“It’s none of your business.” He turned his head to the side as to not look up at his ler, who had this shit eating grin that was making him squirm with anticipation every second he stared at him.

Hokuto examined the producers sharp jawline that looked like it could cut a rock in half. It was so defined and smooth, he could kiss all over it-. What the hell is Hokuto saying right now?! Kiss his best friend?! That’s absurd, not too mention he was probably straight, but every time Hokuto kept telling himself lies, he couldn’t find himself looking away, distracted by the beauty. He brought his index finger up to trace it, only for the producer to scrunch his neck back towards the man who looked like he was written by Aphrodite. “Heheheheh, Hokuto!”

Oh yeah, that’s what he was doing, interrogating the cute one underneath him. He almost lost control for a second, “Aw, what’s wrong, producer? A little ticklish?~”

“Don’t even, you’re extremely ticklish too.” The producer brought his hand up to squeeze his side for demonstration, but was caught and brought up above his head.

“Any last words?” Hokuto wriggled his hand above the producer’s outstretched armpit.

“Uh…um…”

“Ha, all choked up? I didn’t even start.” Hokuto brought his hand down, making skin contact.

“Pfft- Hohohokuto!” The producer wiggled in place, making it kinda obvious that he still wanted it to continue.

“Tell me now, or I’ll tickle all the way down from your armpits to the bottoms of your oh so ticklish bare feet.” The ler whispered in his ear teasy lines, while he lightly scratched the producer’s bare underarm. “You wouldn’t like that would u?” Hokuto got close to his face where the producer could practically feel his hot breath.

The producer rapidly shook his head, “N-no, I won’t!”

“Then your gonna tell me why you’re upset, doesn’t that sound fun?~”

He gulped, and it was a pretty loud gulp because it got the attention of Hokuto.

“Wow… So you aren’t gonna tell me? You know, this could all be over with one quick swoop!” Hokuto squeezed up and down the producer’s ribcage.

“GaH! Nohohohoho please, Hohohohkuto.”

“You do realize since you’re not telling me to stop, you’re enjoying yourself, right?” Hokuto stopped his attacking fingers.

The producer looked up at him with teary eyes. “Wh-What, but… but I don’t…” he sounded like he was about to cry, and that struck something inside of the ler’s heart.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok, trust me. Your secret is safe with me.” Hokuto caressed the producer’s face, staring deeply in his watery eyes, getting lost like he was in a tide pool trying to survive. It was beautiful, charming, to be exact… “Tomoya enjoys it too, but he has his limits, and it’s just so cute, haha-“

“SHUT UP!” The producer blurted out, letting his jealousy get the better of him. “You always talk about Tomoya. Tomoya did this, Tomoya did that, AND I’M SICK OF IT!! Ever since… ever since u met him, it felt like we lost connection. You would always tickle him, I would never even get a poke out of you. And I can’t say how I feel… b-because, I don’t want to be judged…” The producer sniffed out, god he swore to secrecy that he will never explode like this to anyone, but he couldn’t stop as the tears kept flowing down his cheeks, and words kept getting spurred up by his saliva forming at the corners of his mouth.

“Woah, Woah, Woah, what do you mean?”

“I like you, Hokuto, I love Tomoya too. In fact I wanna date both of you guys, but… But, I can’t” The producer whispered that last one, taking in heeps of breath. “I know it’s weird to be in love with a men since I’m one too, let alone, in love with two at the same time, so I get it, if you don’t want to be friends with me beacuse I’m gay, then that’s fine… I-”

Hokuto interrupted the producer with a passionate kiss, lasting for at least 3 minutes, till the producer broke apart. “Wh-What was that?!”

“I love you too, producer, I love Tomoya as well.”

“What are u saying?”

“I guess what I’m saying is… will you go out with me? Please?”

“O-Of course!” The producer went back in for another kiss, until they both heard a knock at the open door, coming face to face with Tomoya.

“That was the hottest shit I’ve ever seen. YOU GUYS LOVE ME!!” Tomoya squealed with excitement.

*cringe warning*

They both laughed, “Tomoya, will u date us?” Hokuto asked.

“OMG YES!!! But too bad I missed out on tickling the producer….”

“It’s ok, you can help me tickle Hokuto if you want!” The producer smiled at Tomoya and grinned at Hokuto.

“Wh-What?!”

“Did u honestly forget u were the most ticklish one out of us three?” The producer got up, leaning over a scared, soon-to-be, lee.

“Oh, yes~ I forgot that too.” Tomoya walked over to him with wiggly fingers and a meanacing grin matching his lover’s.

“Wait, wait guys. It was ok if I tickled you two because u enjoyed it and I don’t, please guys, have mercy on me!” Hokuto slowly backed up to where his back was pushed to the wall.

“Mercy? We haven’t even started yet. Tomoya, hold him down.”

“Yes, sir!”

“NO! STAHAGGAGAGAP!”

That night was filled with laughter, kisses, and truth or dares. It was one hell of a night, a night that they all will remember.

[elitebuster2012]

Penetrating the Double Zero: Part 3

(Here's the third part, and as far as I've written so far, as usual Characters and setting belong to @constellor, and feel free to follow to catch further chapters! TW: Suggestive)

    As the ship eased away from the hanger, doors closing behind it, Karo joined Orion in the cockpit, clipping the last of a couple earrings onto his ears. “By the way, you forgot this in the bathroom.” He dropped a crumpled up piece of paper onto the pirate’s lap. 

    “Wha?” He blushed after unfolding the centerfold of Karo lounging seductively on a bearskin rug. “Oh…Whoops? He chuckled as the ranger rolled his eyes, guiding the ship on its journey.

    “So then, Mr. Pirate, what’s your plan? You know that Don Vorban is gonna skin you alive if he catches you…like, literally. Nicolas Cage would be jealous.”

    Orion sighed, an unusually serious look on his face. “Yeah, I know. Look, you know I’m not a fan of “Laws” or “order”, but I’m not a murderer. Vorban is. I tricked some guards to get into his place, was wearing a mask and disguise and all that. The guy fed them to his pets, even after what they told him everything, then he burned down the building of the company I stole the uniform from, and then the owner’s house.” His hands tightened around the ship’s controls. “They had nothing to do with what happened, and he didn’t care. I don’t care about the money for the rest of the stuff, I just want Vorban taken down.”

    Karo looked at the other man, and part of him wanted to reach out to him, but he didn’t know how Orion would react. “So that stuff about “being free to sell the rest of the haul” was just a front?” 

    He shrugged. “Not entirely, but I can’t exactly tell the Rangers that I’m a big ol’ softie, can I? It would ruin my reputation.”

    “Oh, but you can tell me?” 

    Orion blushed slightly, not willing to lock eyes with the bunny. “Well you’re…you’re….you’re different, you know?”

    “Mhm…..” Karo sat back in his chair as the cockpit fell silent, that same part of him that earlier wanted to comfort his partner now strangely pleased that he thought so much of him. They stayed quiet as the ship approached their docking hanger in the shadow of the massive casino cruiser docked nearby, and packed up without much conversation before disembarking with their luggage. Once they had entered the terminal, it wasn’t hard to find their way, what with the advertisements for the maiden voyage of the Double Zero plastered on every wall and holoscreen they passed. Before too long, they were at the gate, which was specially built and three times as large as the other gates, and had a small stage set up in front of it.

    On said stage was their target, Don Alexander Vorban; at almost 7 feet tall, with handsome reptilian features and greenish skin with patches of scales, the man definitely stood out, and if the muscles under his suit were any indication, he could easily handle himself in any sort of fight. He was smiling, showing sharp carnivorous teeth, and joking around confidently with the other people on the stage as they approached, the newcomers melding into the crowd of people waiting around the gate area.

    After a couple of minutes Vorban approached the microphone on the stage, motioning for the crowd to quiet down. When he finally spoke his voice was deep, husky, and powerful, barely needing the minor amplification of the PA speakers. “Hello everyone, thank you all for coming! For those of you who may not know me, I am Alexander Vorban, head of the Vorban Group, CEO of Vorban Shiplaying, and now Owner and Operator of the newly completed casino cruiser, the Double Zero!” With a flourish he motioned to the windows of the docking gate, which had been up until that point covered up with velvet curtains. The shades dropped, revealing the sight of the truly massive vessel docked outside while the crowd clapped.

    After a bit, he motioned for them to stop clapping. “Alright, alright. Now, as you may have seen around the station, the ship’s official maiden voyage starts isn’t for a couple months, but this is a special treat: it’s my nephew’s birthday this week, so I decided to give a sneak preview of what we will have on offer to you wonderful people before me. Everyone here is either family, a friend of the family, or has been personally selected among critics, influencers, and travel bloggers to be one of the first in the galaxy to experience the luxury and hospitality of the Double Zero and share that with the world and your audience! And while what we have this week will be only a fraction of the final variety on offer when we are fully operational, the quality is guaranteed to satisfy! On behalf of everyone who has worked so hard to bring this project together, I just want to say thank you, and I hope you enjoy the trip!” He stood back from the mic as the couple hundred or so people in the gate applauded.

    “Hmph, I wonder how many of these people would be clapping for him if they knew what he’s done.” Karo whispered to Orion under his breath.

    Orion shrugged. “Half these people are “influencers”, they’d give a wet paper bag a standing ovation if it’ll get them a free trip and enough likes.” Karo sighed, knowing it was true. Before their conversation could continue, they were approached by a functionary carrying a tablet, and flanked by a pair of masked and helmeted guards.

    “Excuse me, we’re just doing a ticket check, would you mind showing us your boarding pass?” The attendant gave them a smile as she held up the tablet, wating for them to hold up their passes. 

    Karo and Orion looked at each other then back to the worker. Orion cleared his throat. “Well, we don’t exactly have tickets, but I was hoping I could have a word with Mr. Vorban. I’ve got something that I think he’d be rather eager to receive.” 

    The clerk’s smile didn’t falter, but it did seem a bit less genuine. “One moment!” She stepped away, tapping her earpiece and whispering for a moment. After a couple seconds, she turned back to the pair. “And what would that object be?”

    Orion gave a smile and a wink. “Unfortunately, that’s a bit above your price range dear. Just tell him, and I quote, “I won’t let the cat out of the bag, it’s for his eyes only, and he wouldn’t want to misss out and bust”, Ok?”

    She nodded, that same professional smile on her face even though she was wondering wtf his deal was as she turned away and went back to muttering. What she heard back clearly surprised her enough to break through her customer service persona, because confusion was evident on her face as she turned back to the pair. “Well, umm…If I could please see your wrists?” Orion and Karo held their wrists out, and she snapped a band around them before scanning them with her tablet. They beeped, a small screen lighting up on them and displaying the time. 

    “Please keep the bands on you at all times when outside of your rooms, as they’ll function as both your room key and your payment for goods and services on-board. There will be someone waiting to escort you to Mr. Vorban once you are on board the ship.” She motioned towards the gate entrance, which was currently blocked by a velvet rope with a line forming. She lead the two over to it, where another attendant scanned their bands and opened the rope, allowing them to enter and skip the line. “Enjoy your trip!”

    “Oh we will!” Orion waved back to her as the two walked down the long airlock tunnel that connected the cruise ship and the station. “See? Not a problem!” Karo rolled his eyes, still not convinced something else wasn’t gonna implode.

    When they arrived at the ship, an attendant gave them a bow and a smile, welcoming them aboard. They were fairly certain that this wasn’t the escort they were informed about however, since there was also a quartet of guards standing there looking rather menacing. “Come with us.” It wasn’t a question, but an order, and the bird & bunny men had no real choice but to comply. The halls and passages that they walked down were very sumptuous, with wide viewpanels along the outer wall looking back at the station they had just left. Soon enough though, they turned and headed deeper into the ship, into the heart of the cruiser.

    After a couple minutes, they arrived at a pair of wide double doors with attendants standing outside that opened silently at their approach. Within was a room that was better appointed than any room aboard any ship that either man had been on before. At the far end, wide windows looked out into the ship itself, revealing what looked like a shopping district in any resort town, complete with sunny blue skies overhead, walkable paths and greenery down below, shops lining the sides, and even a couple fountains. Over the shops on the sides were balconies, leading to the most expensive rooms on board. Both men were rather speechless at the sight. 

    “So I take it you like it?” The deep voice broke them out of their stupor, and they turned to see Don Vorban sitting at his desk on one side of the room. “I do hope so, after all…” the crimelord stood, removing his suit jacket and starting to roll up his sleeves as he slowly walked around his desk to circle Karo and Orion. “You’ve done so much to get in uninvited. You said you had something for me?” 

    Karo kept the fact that the giant handsome lizardman was more than a little intimidating down, and nudged Orion. “Show him what you got.”

    Orion nodded, throwing Karo a reassuring wink. “Why of course! May I?” He motioned to a small cart at the side of the room, and with a nod from Vorban, who had completed his circle to lean against the front of his desk, he pulled the cart over and placed the case on top. “I believe this is yours?” With a flourish, he popped open the case, revealing the opal bust.

    Vorban stood slowly, a wide and dangerous smile spreading over his face. “Well well well, I see that message wasn’t bluffing after all. You dinguses, bring it over here.” One of the guards pushed the cart over, and Vorban inspected the bust up close, lifting it and testing its heft. 

“I must say, when you said you had something I would be eager to have, you weren’t lying.” He placed the bust back into the case. “Now, I would be remiss in not asking why and where you acquired such a piece.”

    Orion gave his most charming smile as he replied. “Well, I’m in the business of…well lets say the “Import and Export of objects of great value and secrecy”, if you know what I mean. On a certain trip to acquire some of these objects, I heard a couple locals talking about a ship that had crashed nearby, and that the wreckage was in the process of being scavenged when some local wildlife decided that the people doing the scavenging looked tasty, and chased them off. I figured there might be something worth looking into, so I outsmarted the fauna, and recovered the bust from a hidden compartment in the hull that the earlier scavengers must have overlooked in their haste.”

    “Mhm…that certainly is an interesting story, Mr….?”

    “Starlor, Orion Starlor, at your service.” He gave an overdramatic bow and a smirk.

    “And your…friend? Do they have a name as well?” Vorban raised an eyebrow as he looked Karo up and down slowly.

    “I’m Kevo Blackwater, nice to meet you. Orion here promised that he’d show me a good time that nobody else ever could.” 

    “Oh did he now? Quite presumptuous of him.” Vorban chuckled, looking between the two. “Well Mr. Starlor, what is is that you came here for then? A finder’s fee perhaps?”

    Orion waved that away. “Nah, that would be asking too much.” Vorban’s smile as he said it showed that the Don very much agreed. “However, if you graciously allowed us to join you on this little cruise, it would be more than enough for me.”

    Vorban locked eyes with him, and was silent for a few moments before letting off a loud laugh. “Oh is that all? I suppose it would keep you around long enough to confirm your story, so I’ll agree to your terms.” He stood up and reached out to shake first Orion’s hand, then Karo’s. 

“You enjoy your stay, Mr. Starlor. And as for you, Mr. Blackwater, I hope you find your time here as good as he promised you.” This last line was punctuated by a gentle squeeze of the bunny man’s hand and a smile, and for a brief instant Karo imagined the feel of the lizardman’s large, strong hands on his waist before the handshake was broken. 

“Guards, put them in 713, that should be open. Gentlemen, welcome to the Double Zero.” The pair followed the guards out, and Karo could feel Vorban’s eyes on him all the way until the doors closed behind them.

[credinaa]

“captain log 3, december 14th, palaven base. there have been signs of a security breach, the lower shields are damaged. we were forced to perform an emergency landing and we have two injured starfleet officers- ahhh! dad! [loud rumbling, followed by a kid’s laugh] stella, why is there all these pillows and cardboard boxes? can you not insult my ship, dad? [ian laughs] come on, starling, dinner is ready. okay, okay, i’m coming!”

sasha is not able to hide her smile as she watches her younger self focused on stopping to record everything going on in her room. her clothes are obnoxiously thrown together and the young girl is missing one of her front teeth, visible as she giggles as ian almost falls when he bumps into the cardboard ship. back then she had found her father’s old recording device, watched a few logs and had started to record her own. seeing the younger version of her father laugh as she rushes towards the kitchen makes her heart skip a few beats. she misses him so much.

“captain log 10, january 23rd, palaven base. my da- supervisor is taking me for my first training session! he says it’s going to be super exhausting and we’re even going to a real starfleet building! [lots of shuffling] he said i have to dress accordingly, so! [rumbling as the recorder gets put down and stella comes in sight, dressed in the miniature version of a starfleet uniform, lacking official insignia and some details] he says we’re running late, so.. stella!”

the recording ends abruptly and sasha laughs at her younger self. what would she think of me, she wonders, would she be proud or disappointed?

“captain log 45, august 22nd, palaven base. oh my, it’s been a while since i..did this. today i met this woman..she’s in training for starfleet. and honestly, she’s super cool, or just..i don’t know, i just wanted to talk to someone about it. aneida is visiting her family and dad’s just..on another mission. [deep sigh] he’s been away a lot lately. okay, back to business..i really hope i meet her again.”

she is older now, approximately around thirty-two, and talking about no other than general laeponia indso - she did meet her again and that more than just once. even when they were on different planets their relationship was never strained - it is only now that they haven’t talked in days, weeks, months. and she hates it. she hates that in one of her darkest moments she isn’t there with her. no one she has ever loved is.

“captain log 58, june 28th, palaven base. it’s been what? eight years? since i last did this. but can you freaking believe that this guy that i have been thinking about for weeks talked to be today? he approached me as i sat down on a bench and used a pick up line to talk to me. like what the..? but i guess he’s nice? we’re going for a run together tomorrow.”

the venpalan has to be somewhat around forty-three now, given that’s the age she met specialist vito russo. sasha considered him a little strange back then, but now she would give a lot to be able to talk to him normally again. 

she continues watching until she reaches number 68. the woman remembers exactly how many logs she did and what she said in most of them, especially her last one she remembers, so seeing there’s 68 instead of the 67 that should be there, she pauses. then she clicks on the 68th.

“stella. my little star.”

her father’s face pops up and she almost drops the recorder. 

“i vividly remember the first time you ever recorded a ‘captain log’. [gentle chuckle] you were so amazed by this old thing. i don’t know if you remember, but when i tried to buy you a new one, you declined and wanted to keep the old one. i’m not sure if it’s nostalgia or if it’s an asset you kept from your days spent in foster care, but i’m glad you kept the old one. these new ones are horribly complicated. oh, i forgot to say your usual words..captain log 68, december 29th, palaven. this is ensign ian hemnes soverall speaking, captain of the regina caelorum. i’m going on a mission right before you leave for the new planet, stella. [long pause] it’s going to take me a while. you have to know one thing, my little girl - you’re not a starling anymore, you’ve grown to become a full star. i couldn’t be more proud of you. i love you so much, stella. please promise me one thing, please, do not wait for me. keep on living no matter what happens. this is a tough one, yeah? [long pause] you won’t ever see this, anyways. but..i love you, stella. so much. okay, how do i do this? bye, stella. take care of yourself while i’m away.”

the tears come unasked as she watches her dad wave goodbye. her apartment feels horribly silent as the screen fades to black and shows the overview of logs again. there’s no words to describe how she feels, it’s a mixture of burning rage and emptiness. he knew there was something going to happen. he knew it.

sasha spends the next two hours looking through all the materials she has collected on the case, analyses everything she has put together and then throws it all in one of her drawers, 

after the 68th log, there is now a new one.

“captain log 69, november 23rd, sotiris, starfleet housing. [long pause] i have dreamt of becoming a starfleet member my whole life. the day i was officially declared as one of the starfleet, i felt the happiest i have ever felt. my father, ian hemnes soverall was there. he hugged me and made sure i knew how proud he was to have me as his daughter. today, i, sergeant sasha cerlan soverall, will sign the papers that declare him as dead. ian is- was the greatest father i could have ever imagined and i am thankful for everything that he has done for me. [silent scribbling as she signs the papers] may he rest in peace.”

[seigephoenix]

Happy Friday! How about "Comfort after a nightmare" from the cute couple prompts for the pairing of your choice?

Thank you! I do love the variety of ships I have that fit this prompt! I had to roll a d12 to figure out who to write for it. XD I wound up going with Elaina Cousland x Alistair for this prompt. It seemed to fit just right.

Content Warning: canon storylines mentioned Length: Again I forgot to look. XD Oops

Elaina jerked awake grasping the front of her shirt as sweat poured down her face.  She struggled to breathe, forcing the air in her lungs was too hard with the panicked thoughts still racing through her head.  She pressed the heel of her palm against her temple, as if willing the panic to go away would work.  She knew it wouldn’t, it never did.  She looked up as she heard footsteps outside of her tent and she braced for the inevitable questions.

“You alright?”  Elaina released a shaky laugh as she realized it was Alistair.

“I’ve been better,” she admitted.  Her eyes widened as Alistair pulled back the flap on her tent.  “Yes?”  She shook her head at the unspoken question in his eyes.  “It.  It wasn’t about the darkspawn if that was your question.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”  He shifted until he was inside her tent, letting the flap fall close behind him.  She felt the tears welling up and hastily brushed them away with her fingers.  “That bad?”

“I.” Her words were broken on a quiet sob, and she bit down on the inside of her cheek.  There was no time for grieving, not until Howe was dead at her blade and the Archdemon no longer a threat.  Only then would she let herself break.  “I was just reliving what happened at Highever the night Duncan recruited me.”

Alistair thought back and realized what she meant.  He reached out and grasped her hand in his.  “You know, it’s alright to let yourself feel.  Duncan told me that keeping everything pent up would create a wound on your soul.  That’s not something you can heal like a wound.”  Alistair ran his thumb over her knuckles and Elaina paused at the ache in her chest.  This wasn’t sad and it made her heart yearn for something she didn’t want to put a name to.  “If you need to talk about it…”

“Maybe I should…”  Elaina whispered as she stared down at their hands.

“I’ve always been told I’m a good listener.”  He grinned and she couldn’t help but laugh at how earnest he looked.  She had no doubt he was a good listener, Alistair had just as much a sad story as she did.

“I saw my father again, begging me to leave Highever.  So that at least one of his children would make it out alive.  We.  We didn’t know if Fergus was still alive or not.”  Elaina sorely missed her older brother and did not want to tell him the news if he did live.  “The last image I have is of them facing their deaths because they trusted the wrong man.”  Alistair’s thumb never stopped moving across her hand, just silently reassuring her that he was there.  “I.  I can’t help it.  I should have stayed.”  She closed her eyes as the tears began anew.  His hand reached up and brushed across the tears on her face, until his palm rested against her cheek.  The touch startled her, and her eyes darted towards his.

“I think that your parents would have been very sad if you had stayed.”  Elaina felt the tears welling up again and she hiccupped around the sob rising in her chest.  Alistair pulled her against his chest as she let the tears fall and she broke down.  “We can’t ever change the past.  No matter how much we wish we could.”  She felt his hand running down her back as he spoke.  “The only thing we can do is live.  Live and fight on as they would want us to.”  Elaina sniffled and leaned back.  “Better?”

“Haha, somewhat.  Thank you, Alistair.  I’m glad I wasn’t alone.”  He gave her a cheeky grin.

“That’s me.  Look, whenever you do need a shoulder?  I’ve got two really strong ones.  Okay?”  Elaina nodded and leaned back as she sensed he was growing uneasy.

“Alright.  I’ll remember.  Thank you again Alistair.”  He nodded and shifted.  “I think I’ll try to get some more sleep before sunrise.  We’re heading into Orzammar and I don’t want to be sleepy when facing the king.”  Alistair nodded and bid her good night before he headed out.  Elaina looked down at her hands and closed her fingers as she felt them aching to feel his warmth again.