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aitaikimochi · 4 years

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The BNHA Season 4 BluRay/DVD Vol. 1-6 Box Set comes with a special bonus light novel called the "Cultural Festival Wrap-Up Party" about Class A's after-party they had the day after the Cultural Festival, written by Anri-sensei. Here's the summary! Enjoy~

Boku No Hero Academia Cultural Festival Wrap Up Party

The story starts off with All Might greeting Aizawa as he enters the faculty office, a day after the Cultural Festival. He says good work to Aizawa and asks how the clean-up went for the Cultural Festival. Aizawa says that everything has been put away properly and recalls how it was a bit of a risky Cultural Festival this year with the whole fiasco that almost caused them to stop the festival, referring to the incident with Gentle and La Brava.

Aizawa mentions that the students are now preparing for an after-party. He says, “too bad they can’t put this amount of effort that they did in the Cultural Festival towards their studies instead,” and All Might laughs and says, “Well, they’re still just kids after all.” He also tells All Might that a little while ago, Sero stopped by the office to ask him something. Aizawa says, “What?” and All Might explains, “Well…you see…”

Next scene is at a nearby discount variety store (**note: basically a Don Quihote department store in Japan that sells a variety of things including food at really cheap prices). The Class A band team, consisting of Jirou, Kaminari, Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, and Tokoyami, are buying snacks and drinks for the after-party. However, Jirou seems to be the only one who’s actually taking this seriously as she can’t find where everyone else ran off to. She bumps into Yaoyorozu, who excitedly says, “Jirou-san, look at these super cheap drinks! They’re only 10yen each! If we buy 20 of them that’s only 200yen!”

Jirou looks at the bottles and notices that they’re only on sale because the drinks had already expired. She tells Yaoyorozu to put away the items. She then continues to search for the other band members and finds Kaminari. He tells her that he wants to add these cool snacks into their pile of food, which come with bonus cards or toys. He says, “Look at these! Doesn’t it take you back? Man, when I was a kid I used to collect these all the time!”

Jirou looks at the items and says “put it back,” and Kaminari whines but does so anyway. Yaoyorozu keeps getting distracted by all the things in the store since she’s very rich, she seldom has the opportunity to visit these discount stores that people go to. Jirou finds Tokoyami, and Dark Shadow dumps a whole bunch of sweets into their shopping cart. Jirou says that they don’t need that many sweets and to put things back. Tokoyami then gives Jirou a snack with packaging that says “The Witch of Darkness’ Apple Pie.” Dark Shadow says, “Fumikage used to love these sweets when he was younger!” and Tokoyami gets flustered. Jirou then pats Dark Shadow on his head, and Bakugou comes up behind her.

He says, “What the hell are you guys even buying!?”

Kaminari cries out, “Whattya mean!?”

Bakugou says, “If we’re gonna eat this at the after-party, then we need several big bags of food! And why the hell am I even here shopping with you guys right now!? This is so annoying!”

As he says that, he fills the shopping cart with bags of potato chips, sweets, paper plates, and trash bags. Jirou sighs in relief and says, “Yeah! I was thinking of getting paper plates too so clean-up would be easier!” They then agree to buy some more bottles of juice and soda, and Bakugou says they only need a maximum 5 bottles to which Jirou agrees.

Bakugou then says, “Well then let’s just get the hell out of here!” and Kaminari regrettably puts all of the sweets that he added to the shopping cart back on the shelves. Jirou looks at Bakugou and says, “Bakugou, you’re…kinda like a very capable Mom.”

Bakugou gets mad and says, “WHAT!? Stop saying such stupid crap!”

While the Band members are buying stuff at the discount store, the Dance Team members and Stage members are back in the Class A dormitory preparing food and decorating the common room. The Dance Team is in charge of the food and the Stage team is in charge of decorations.

Satou is the one who is cooking most of the food, but the other Dance Team members are helping him with the food preparation. Iida is in charge of chopping the vegetables, and although he is known for his speed, he’s not used to handling knives, so he chops them at a slower pace. Hagakure is in charge of prepping the oil and oil absorbent sheets to fry the chicken and place it on the sheets. Ochako and Ashido are in charge of stirring the pot, which contains beschamel and bolognese sauces.

Ojiro checks up on the oven to make sure that it’s the right temperature. Satou tells Ochako and Ashido to add the sauce for the lasagna and to not forget to put olive oil on top. Shouji says that he’s done making the dressing for the salad, and Satou samples it. The kitchen is full of lively sounds, and everyone is excited for Ojiro’s delicious cooking.

Ochako, Ashido, and Hagakure then discuss how Christmas is around the corner too, so they should do this again and throw a Christmas party next time. While they think about having a potential Christmas party, Iida says, “Hey now! Christmas is a day that celebrates the Birth of Jesus Christ! You should be spending it with your families, so this Christmas we…”

Satou then says, “Iida, the knife, watch out the knife!” since Iida was talking while swinging the knife around in his hand. Iida apologizes. Ashido then says, “But wouldn’t a party be fun?” and Mineta appears in the kitchen holding some peaches while muttering, “Christmas…Christmas costumes…Santa Girl skirts…That’s awesome…”

However, they eventually convince Iida that Christmas is indeed a time to celebrate things together, and Iida gives in and says he will ask Aizawa for permission to throw a Christmas party much to everyone’s delight.

Mineta had been slacking off on his duties by looking at the peaches and stroking them gently, imagining something lewd, and Hagakure calls him out on his perverted thoughts and tells him to help out along with the others.

He is in charge of cutting the carrots, and while everyone is helping prepare the food, Ochako stares at the fried chicken that just came out of the fryer. She can’t help herself and pops one into her mouth only to find that it’s burning hot. Tsuyu says to be careful since they’re still hot, and Ochako apologizes as the fried chicken looked and smelled so delicious she moved without thinking.

Satou asks her how’s the flavor, and she says the fried chicken is really good while giving him a thumbs up.

Ojiro and Hagakure are washing the dishes, and Hagakure holds the plates, making them look like they’re floating in mid air. Ojiro then tells Hagakure that she should probably put some clothes on if she’s going to be in the kitchen where people use fire and knives, but she said she just wanted to see what people’s reactions were to her small pranks. Shouji then passes her an apron, and Mineta muses that it’s one of those tropes where girls wear aprons while naked, but Iida warns him to not go further.

Meanwhile, in the common room area, the Stage Team is preparing the decorations to be strung about the living room. Deku, Todoroki, and Koda are folding origami together to put on the walls as banners. Deku folds a cool All Might shaped origami, and Todoroki praises him, saying “Wow, All Might! That’s awesome!” Deku actually used to practice folding the All Might origami countless of times to perfect its shape, and he blushes a bit when he hears praise from someone.

He then sees that Todoroki folded a crane, and Todoroki says that his sister taught him how to fold the crane origami when he was a child.

Koda then says, “Oh um…I…made a camera origami!” and shows them a whimsical camera shaped origami that makes a shutter noise when pressed. Deku then notices that Koda actually had folded a ton of different origami flowers and animals, and Koda gets a bit embarrassed at the attention.

Koda says, “But the All Might origami is amazing…” and Todoroki agrees.

Todoroki then asks Deku to teach him how to fold the All Might origami. Deku is happy to oblige, and he says, “Okay first you fold a triangle and then…”

As he starts teaching Todoroki, Kirishima comes into the room and puts up his own dorm room’s fisherman banner on the wall of the common room. He says that this will make the place a bit flashier, and the others agree. Aoyama then comes in and also says that they need something sparkly and bright. Aoyama tells them that he’ll come back with something sparkly.

Kirishima then says, “Oh wait I’ll come help too!”

Todoroki then turns to Deku and says, “Midoriya, so how exactly do you fold the All Might origami?”

Deku realized that he was in the middle of teaching Todoroki before they got interrupted by the others, so he resumes his lesson by saying to first fold a triangle. Afterwards, he goes off on a tangent about how to perfect the folding process as well as making sure to accentuate the silhouette of All Might through the folds, and as he mumbles a bit, he accidentally folds the origami too quickly.

Todoroki is patient with him though and says again, “Um…can you please start from the beginning and teach me the steps a bit slower this time?”

Deku apologizes for folding the paper too fast and teaches Todoroki again, this time at a slower pace.

Kirishima then walks by and says, “Woah Todoroki, you also want to learn how to fold the All Might origami?” He leaves them to their folding and joins Aoyama and Koda in putting the finished origami and other decorations up on the walls.

After Todoroki successfully folds the All Might origami, Deku says, “You made your first All Might origami!” and Todoroki responds quietly, “I think this should be able to fit in the letter…”

Deku says, “Hmm?” and Todoroki says, “Ah, it’s nothing.”

Aoyama them brings a disco ball into the common room, and he, Kirishima, and Sero put up the other decorations.

Finally, the preparations are complete, and the Class A students gather in the common room surrounding a bunch of food that’s placed on the tables. Iida then makes a toast to a successful Cultural Festival, and everyone raises their glasses and says, “Cheers!”

Satou mentions that he also has prepared dessert, and they have two choices of either a chestnut and fig montblanc cake or an apple and peach jelly. Tsuyu chooses the jelly as jelly is apparently her favorite food. Tokoyami also chooses the jelly dessert while Ashido takes the montblanc.

Iida mentions that he and Mineta were in charge of chopping the cabbages and carrots for the cole slaw. Todoroki and Deku praise him and say that the coleslaw is delicious.

Bakugou watches irritably and decides to leave the party, but Kaminari says, “Hey hey hey, where do you think you’re going, Kacchan-kun!?” Bakugou says that seeing everyone making small talk is pissing him off, but Kaminari rebutts by saying, “But you looked excited when you were buying food!”

Kirishima then comes over and says, “Bakugou! I brought you some fried chicken! Let’s eat a ton!” and puts a bunch of fried chicken in front of Bakugou, to which he says he doesn’t want it. Kirishima doesn’t back down though and says, “Oh I got it! So you want lasagna instead!” and brings a slice of lasagna for him.

Satou noticed Kirishima carrying the food over and says, “Hey, you should put a bunch of tabasco on it before eating too!” and pours a bunch of tabasco onto the lasagna and force feeds Bakugou with it. Bakugou yells, “What the hell are you doing!?” but eventually pipes down after taking the lasagna from Kirishima as it seems like he does enjoy the food after all. Kirishima watches him and says, “See, I told you it’s good! I’ll bring you seconds!” and goes to bring Bakugou more food.

Sero then turns everyone’s attention towards the TV in the common room. He says, “Well then now that Bakugou’s calmed down, let’s watch the recap of our Cultural Festival performance!” He turns on the TV and everyone gathers around to watch the recorded performance.

Some of the members mention that Deku was late to the performance, and they thought that he might not even be able to perform. Deku apologizes for being late, but as the performance starts, they can hear the audience’s chatter as someone yells “YAOYOROZU!!!” Ashido and Kaminari tease her about having fans, and she gets flustered. Satou then whispers, “It’s starting…it’s starting…!” and the screen fills with the sound of Bakugou’s drums as well as a huge explosion.

The girls all fawn over how cool Jirou looks while singing, and this causes her to blush and say, “Please stop…” Koda also adds, “You were really cool, Jirou-san,” which makes her blush deepen.

Ashido exclaims, “Look look, the dance is all in line too!” and the class watches as Ojiro uses his tail to swing around. Everyone on the dance team mentions how it was thanks to Ashido being their teacher that they were able to have fun while dancing and making this possible. Next is Deku and Aoyama’s synchronized dance, and Shouji murmurs to Tsuyu, “Wow, they are so in sync!” to which she replies, “Midoriya-chan and Aoyama-chan practiced real hard, right?”

The students continue to watch as Aoyama becomes a disco ball and the stage team starts their part of the performance with Kirishima shaving the ice that Todoroki created while Sero uses his tape, and Kirishima says, “You guys’ timing was perfect, Seroroki!”

Sero mentions that they should try this move out while doing actual hero work next time, and Todoroki agrees. As Kaminari watches himself play the guitar, he says, “Woah there…I feel like I’m gonna be super popular after this with those slick guitar moves…!” and Mineta says, “But wait did you guys see my harem dance? That was the best…!”

Jirou says, “Tokoyami, you’ve gotten super good at guitar!” and Tokoyami mentions that it’s all thanks to her.

Kirishima and Bakugou are watching the performance from a spot a little away from the rest of the class, and Kirishima smiles at Bakugou, saying, “Man, you’re great at drumming after all!” and Bakugou replies casually, “it’s just average.”

Jirou overhears their conversation and says, “No way! Your drumming was phenomenal! Your rhythm is what allowed us all to stay in sync! Thank you for taking on this role!” and Bakugou scoffs and says, “Well, you’re the one who carried the whole performance though!”

Everyone is really impressed by Jirou’s bass skills as well as her singing, and they vote for her as the Class A Cultural Festival MVP. Everyone, aside from Bakugou, smiles at her, and she blushes, saying, “What…why…”

Yaoyorozu remarks, “Jirou-san, you were shining the brightest!” and Aoyama says, “Even more than me!?☆” But he agrees that Jirou indeed deserves the MVP title.

The class asks Jirou to make a small speech. She thanks everyone for making this performance a reality, and she’s really happy that they were able to perform together.

After everyone is done eating, Sero and Kaminari tells the class that they have some cool party games planned for everyone. Most of the class are excited for what they have in store, but Bakugou feels like it’s a waste of time and gets up to leave. Kirishima tries to stop him, but Sero taunts, “Oh, you’re leaving because you don’t think you can win, right? Well that’s fine, you can go back. Even though we have a quiz specifically tailored for you, but I guess you’d fail anyway.”

This gets Bakugou angry, and he agrees to participate in Sero’s dumb quiz challenge.

The games that Sero and Kaminari have planned are for one member of each Cultural Festival team to undergo a “Can you guess the __” type of challenge. Bakugou is first up, representing the Band Team. His challenge is to differentiate between three different types of pepper spice seasoning purely by taste (called 一味 ichimi).

Bakugou sits down in front of the table that has the seasonings, and Sero blindfolds him by putting on an eye mask that has a funny grinning face on it. Deku and the others snicker at how ridiculous Bakugou looks with that eye mask on, and Bakugou gets mad, yelling, “Damnit Deku, what the hell is so funny!?” Deku replies, “Well, anyone would laugh when they see…hahah!”

Bakugou roars, “You piece of shit!” but Todoroki says calmly, “Hey Bakugou, maybe you should consider wearing a hero suit that matches that mask.” Bakugou is furious and yells, “Shut the hell up, you half and half bastard!”

The challenge then begins, and Kaminari spoon feeds Bakugou the three different spices. He surprises everyone by correctly guessing each type of spice and goes even as far to explain which company manufactures them. Kaminari and Sero are speechless, but Deku says, “I thought that Kacchan would know the difference. He’s always had a very particular sense of taste. He could even tell when sweets expired and would never eat the expired food.”

Bakugou gets mad and says, “Don’t put on that stupid face as if you know it all!” and throws the eye mask at Deku.

The next challenge is Todoroki’s turn, representing the Stage Team. His task is to figure out among three cups of brown liquid which one is soba noodle soup. The cups contain either coffee, soba noodle soup, or throat medicine, and Todoroki cannot smell or taste them before picking his answer.

Iida mentions that Todoroki often eats soba during lunch, so there’s no way he would guess incorrectly for a food that he loves. Deku says, “Good luck, Todoroki!” as everyone watches him study the cups closely. The catch is that he also has to drink from whichever cup he chooses. Todoroki decides on a cup and drinks from it, only to spit it out and say, “That…wasn’t soba noodle soup…”

Kaminari chimes in by explaining that the cup he chose was actually throat medicine. Todoroki apologizes for spitting out the throat medicine, which splurted all over Iida and Deku. They tell him not to worry as more importantly, they need to get tissues to clean up the mess. Todoroki mutters, “I don’t think I want to eat soba anymore after this…”

The next challenge is for Tsuyu, where she has to differentiate from three different types of fluffy things: Koda’s bunny, Ojiro’s tail, and Deku’s hair by touch only. As she puts on the eye mask, Koda, Ojirou, and Deku stand in front of her. When Koda offers the bunny, Tsuyu says, “it’s fluffy.” When Ojiro offers his tail, she also says, “it’s fluffy.” When Deku offers his hair, Tsuyu says, “it’s…fuzzy?” She then correctly guesses which fluffiness was which.

Kaminari and Sero then round up the results of the various challenges, and the winner ends up being Bakugou!

Bakugou says, “Obviously I would win!” but the party’s not over yet! Next up is the Personality Quiz! Sero explains that since the class is with each other practically 24/7, they should all have picked up on small details of each other. This quiz will test how well they actually know each other after all.

The first question they ask is, “What did Iida answer on his Hero Test the other day to name the three most beautiful Heroes of the past?”

The class guesses incorrectly, and the answer was that he wrote on his test “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone has their own different types of beauty.”

Baffled, Iida asks Sero and Kaminari how they even knew what he wrote on a test paper, and they explained that their accomplice, Hagakure, has been doing a bit of spying on everyone in order for them to make this quiz a reality. Hagakure apologizes for doing so, but she says that she saw it as an opportunity to also test out her hero skills too.

The next question is “What has Yaoyorozu been obsessed about lately?” Jirou answers first, saying “Oh, is it furikake (rice seasoning)?” The answer turns out to be correct, and recently, Yaoyorozu has taken a strong liking to furikake to season her rice, which makes her blush a bit.

Sero then says, “All right Kaminari, what’s the next question?”

Kaminari answers, “Okay! For the next question, what made Ojirou disappointed recently!?”

Satou guesses, “Cementoss said his effort was average?”

Shouji says, “Tetsutetsu told him his strength was average?”

Aoyama ponders, “Recovery Girl said his health was average?☆”

The correct answer is actually Ojiro changed the conditioner for his tail recently, but no one noticed. However, Hagakure sidles up to him and says, “I actually saw you looking around near the bathroom area to see if anyone noticed, haha!” and Ojiro gets red, saying, “Well if you were watching me, why didn’t you say anything…!?”

The next question was, “What was hidden in Kirishima’s elementary school yearbook!?” Kirishima panics and says, “Huh!? How did you…!” but Sero grins and says, “That’s only for me to know. But I totally could not believe what was hidden there!”

Ashido guesses, “Maybe a love letter!?”

Mineta exclaims, “A porn magazine!!”

Todoroki says, “Failed test scores?”

All three of them were incorrect. The correct answer is “a photo of him dressed up as a girl!”

Bakugou says to him, “You’re actually into that kinda stuff?”

Kirishima gets flustered and says, “Wait, you’ve got it all wrong! It was during my elementary school’s festival stage play of Cinderella where I played the Stepmother! When I left the picture at home, my mommy kept showing it to other people, so I tried to hide it!!”

Kaminari then continues with the next question, saying “Okay, so next question. Before the Cultural Festival performance, what did Uraraka mess up on!?”

Deku says, “She accidentally made herself float!?”

Iida offers, “She was too nervous she threw up!?”

Tokoyami asks, “She ate too much mochi and threw up!?”

Kaminari says they all guessed wrong and the correct answer is “she was looking for Midoriya but tripped and accidentally went into a room where Class B’s Monoma was in the middle of changing clothes!”

Ochako gets red in the face and says, “I didn’t do it on purpose!!”

Mineta comments something lewd, but Tsuyu shuts him down.

The next question is “What was the reason why Jirou and Hagakure were arguing!?”

Koda says, “Because Hagakure-san was messing with Jirou-san’s earphone jack…?”

Yaoyorozu offers, “Jirou-san accidentally stepped on Hagakure-san’s naked body?”

Mineta exclaims, “Fighting over a guy!”

The correct answer is because Hagakure tried scaring Jirou after they watched a horror film together. Ashido asked whether they actually argued, and Jirou said she got mad because when she takes a shower alone, she’s usually scared of the bathroom area anyway. So when Hagakure messed with her by causing the lights to flicker on and off and the faucet to suddenly turn on by itself, she absoutely freaked out and felt like she almost had a heart attack. Naturally, she was livid, and Hagakure says, “Sorry Jirou, your reactions were just too good!”

The next question is about Deku, and Kaminari asks, “Recently, Deku has been leaving the dorm early to meet with someone. Who is that secret someone!?” (**Note: The word they use is ‘aibiki,” which means secret date/meeting).

Deku is surprised and says, “Wait, how do you know that…?”

Mineta and Satou ask if he was secretly meeting up with a girl, and Iida says, “Midoriya-kun! Are you actually in a relationship with a girl!? You should prioritize studies first!”

Ochako is confused as she says to herself, “Aibiki? Like the type of meat?” (**Note: Ochako isn’t familiar with the word, so she thinks it’s referring to ‘aibikiniku,’ which is a combination of different types of ground meat)

Deku gets nervous and says, “No, it’s not like that…” He thinks of ways to deflect the situation without making it known that he’s actually meeting up with All Might in the morning to train his quirk, but the other classmates continue to guess.

Kirishima says, “He’s meeting with someone from the General Class!?”

Ashido says, “No way…maybe he’s meeting with someone older, like Midnight…!?”

Mineta suggests, “Maybe he’s meeting with a living thing other than a girl…!!”

All three of their guesses were incorrect, and the correct answer was that he was meeting with the Support Department’s Hatsume Mei!

Deku is relieved to know that the others have not found out about his secret rendezvous with All Might early in the morning to do training.

Bakugou snorts and says, “There’s no way that dumb nerd would ever be popular!” but Sero says, “No, Midoriya is quite popular among the ladies. Like during the Provisional License Exam when that naked upper classman got all over him.”

Deku rebutts by saying, “But that was because she was attacking me!?”

Iida then recalls how Hatsume helped Deku out when they went to the department together earlier, and after an explosion, she was also all over him. Mineta then gets lewd thoughts again, but the conversation switches to Mineta using his mogimogi hair balls and puts it on Deku’s head. Iida notes that it looks like Deku’s wearing those infamous mouse ears from “Zoo Dreamland” (aka Disneyland). Ashido mentions that she used to go to Disneyla—…Zoo Dreamland all the time when she was younger. The class chatter switches to discussing their favorite rides, attractions, and food.

The class then asks Mineta to put mogimogi balls on their heads too so they can look like they’re wearing those infamous mouse ears as well. Mineta enjoys the attention and says, “All right I guess…”

Before the party wraps up, Sero mentions that there’s one more video that they want to show to everyone. As they gather around the TV to watch, they see Aizawa on screen with a cat. As the video starts, Aizawa suddenly appears in the common room and reprimands them, asking what are they doing up so late? The video pauses on the screen.

Aizawa stops the party and tells everyone to clean up and go to their rooms. Since the party’s over, he tells Sero, Kaminari, and Hagakure to stay behind. The three students prepare themselves for a scolding, but instead, Aizawa asks them where they got this footage.

It turns out that Present Mic gave it to them after he recorded it while hiding in sight. The footage was of Aizawa trying to befriend a cat, but the cat ignores him and goes to All Might instead. Sero actually came to the faculty department before the after-party to ask for permission to show the footage, and since Aizawa wasn’t there at the time, All Might said it was okay.

However, Aizawa says he will be collecting the footage and tells the three to never discuss the contents of the video to anyone. They agree, and he sends them off on their way.

It’s been a long day, and Aizawa sighs and wonders just when he got caught up in all of this student stuff. However, although adolescence is short, that never stops them from chasing their dreams forever. Happily, while young, without sadness, sweetly, harshly…youth is a precious thing.

The light novel ends with Aizawa saying, “Good luck, everyone” with the words “the festival had ended, but even so, their bright days continue onward.”

THE END

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happytroopers · 3 years

Text

Sick days // Hunter x reader

My google history search after this: what do they call toilets in Star Wars? Star Wars rabies?

Summary: I would do anything for Hunter, even take care of him when he has food poisoning. I saw a sick day prompt list and didn't end up using anything but it inspired this cluster fuck

TW: throwing up, alcohol mention but no use, bad writing I just love him ok

"Hey, have you seen Hunter? I need him to sign off on some damage reports." You announced as you entered the cockpit of the ship as it barreled through hyperspace, throwing a pointed look at Wrecker who was the main reason for most of aforementioned damage reports.The other members of Clone Force 99 made some sort of acknowledgment of your existence. Wrecker grinned obliviously at you as continued doing bicep curls with a GONK droid while Tech made brief eye contact with you before going back to some sort of machinery he’d dissected. Crosshair was the only one to actually somewhat answer your question, giving you a sassily quirked eyebrow and motioning down with his toothpick. "I’m assuming that super vague motion would mean he’s in the cargo hold?" You pressed but you had already turned around to go find the sergeant. "Should we tell ‘er?" You heard Wrecker ask but when no one answered him, you assumed things would be fine. Besides after almost a year with the Bad Batch, you’d walked in on them in all sorts of compromising moments. Nothing would surprise you anymore.

After popping down the ladder into the cargo bay, you did a cursory sweep. Crosshairs rifle was disassembled on a crate for cleaning, more of Tech’s mechanical experiments in a heap by the bay doors, your own trunk of belonging… but no sign of Hunter. "Hunter? Are you down here?" You poked a little further into the sleeping quarters, like any room that housed four soldiers who didn’t know how to mop, the smell chased you right back out. Shaking your head you thought to yourself, That should be considered a hazard zone. You paused by the fresher to listen for water running but heard nothing, which officially meant Hunter hadn’t been anywhere you checked, Hell, did he jump out of an airlock? Just as you were about to give up, you heard an awful noise come from the fresher. Like a bantha dying in a fire. Did some animal stow away? Absentmindedly you considered getting Wrecker to handle it- the last thing you needed was contracting some planet-specific strain of rabies. But then you considered that in the process, Wrecker would probably destroy the entire bathroom. And then everyone would be without a bathroom for the next two days… and that could get ugly. Then the noise came again, bringing you out of your mental debate. With a heavy sigh, you decided you’d have to check it out yourself. So, after pulling a random tool off your belt, you let the door slide open. To your surprise, Hunter was the first thing you saw, bent at the waist over the vac tube, bracing himself with one shaking arm against the durasteel wall. His helmet was discarded carelessly two feet closer to the entrance, and the enhanced trooper was heaving breaths, looking rather haggard. Almost stupidly the first thing that came out of your mouth was, "Oh my God, did the animal do this to you?" Hunter actually startled, which had never happened before. He was impossible to sneak up on, it was his whole thing. When he did look up at you, he looked confused, among other things. His skin pallor was four shades lighter than it was supposed to be, slightly greenish gray, and dew dropped with sweat. "Animal? What animal?" "The animal that made that-" You cut yourself off suddenly feeling dumb, now lamely dropping your defense tool. Then the disbelief, "Oh my- that noise was you?" He didn’t get the chance to answer again, instead turning his head back towards the vac tube to wretch again. Now with that information, the haggard appearance made more sense. "Hunter… you look like shit." You scolded, hesitantly moving closer, “Like, legitimately corpse like.” The sergeant coughed a bit before throwing you glare, “Thank you, (Y/L/N), that’s very helpful. Did you need something?” Damage reports long forgotten, you ignored the question instead more concerned with the trooper in front of you, “Why the hell are you standing like that? What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?”

Hunter was confused with this sudden line of questioning, turning his head to gag a little bit but this time he kept it under control to answer you, “Clones don’t get sick.”

“So this is normal for you?” You snarked right back, “Here, try kneeling, it won’t take as much of a toll on your body like that.”

At first he didn’t listen to you, just when the ship hit a patch of turbulence it triggered another wave which forced him to a knee. Then it hit you, clones don’t get sick, they’re engineered with near perfect immune systems.

“You’ve never been sick before have you?” You whispered sympathetically, he legitimately didn’t know how to handle being sick. Frowning, worried welled up in your stomach. It was almost painful to watch the man be so sick, after all how many times had he saved you or helped you out of a tight spot, so you looked away until he quieted again. This time he took a minute to catch his breath so you took some liberties.

“First, let’s get your hair off your neck and face. You’ll feel less gross.” You promised, going behind him to gently scrape his long hair into a makeshift bun and tie it off with a spare hair tie.

“What are you doing?” He croaked, but didn’t pull away from your hands.

“Taking care of you, now shut up and let me.” While your voice was still kind, you were just stern enough not to argue with you, “Now, lean up.”

You didn’t wait for him to follow the orders, instead you started unfastening pieces of armor on his arms before moving on to the chest and torso pieces. Moments later he was able to move a little freer and his armor from the waist up was neatly stacked to you right.

“There, that should help with the overheating.” You announced, not mentioned how he couldn’t bend over properly with a piece of plastoid against his abdomen. You gave him another once over, he was taking deep breaths with his eyes closed, little baby hairs already escaping your rather pitiful man bun situation. You’d never seen him so vulnerable.

“So clones don’t get sick, why are you throwing up like my roommate after her twenty first birthday?” You asked quietly, gently moving the stray bits of his forehead.

“Would you believe that I ate an expired meal ration?” He asked with enough doubt in your voice that you immediately shook your head.

“You’re not that stupid Hunter.”

“I lost a bet with Crosshair and had to eat part of the Yalbec stinger. Tech did say it was a delicacy on some planets.” He sighed, dry heaving again.

“I also remember him saying it was mildly poisonous to humans.” You reminded him, going past him to the shelves that held shower things. Reaching into your own caddy, you produced a rag before wetting it in the sink.

“Yeah, I lost the bet before he enlightened us.” Hunter admitted, visibly relaxing when you put the cold rag on his neck before sliding into a sitting position next to him, “How do you know all this stuff?”

“Well, us normies get sick a lot.” You teased, laughing when you caught the disgusted look on his face, “But, I learned most of this stuff taking care of my hungover friends.”

“Oh, just your friends?” It was Hunter’s turn to sass you, but you just rolled your eyes. The two of you fell into a halfway comfortable silence, so you took your data pad to do a little research on Yalbec poisoning.

“You don’t have to stay for this?” Hunter reminded you, using the back of his hand to wipe sweat off his forehead. When you looked back over to him, he was staring at you. Even when puking, his eyes could stare straight through you. Hurriedly, you dropped your gaze back to your data pad.

“Well, you spend all your time taking care of them,” you motioned up towards the cockpit, “And me. So someone has to look out for you when you need it, you don’t have to suffer alone.”

His eyes softened as he relaxed slightly, you were glad to see his coloring was already getting better. But after a few moments, even the softness of his stare brought a flush to your cheeks so you just cleared your throat, “Well, the good news is that the holonet says someone of your size and weight will be fine. Symptoms should pass within twelve hours at the most, and it’s already been five.”

“Thank you, (Y/N).”

Your head snapped back up, he rarely ever called you by your first name. Somehow it almost felt intimate.

“Of course, Hunter.”

You scooted a little closer so that your knees would touch. Closer than you had ever been to him, but he didn’t scoot away. You smiled at the small contact, shaking your head.

“Can I impart on you a bit of civilian wisdom?” You asked teasingly, not even waiting him to nod. You took the rag off his neck and used it to dab sweat off his forehead, “Don’t eat random things on a dare, especially things you cut off foreign animals.”

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

#hunter x reader #bad batch x reader #bad batch hunter x reader

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themonotonysyndrome · 3 years

Text

REDACTED verse - Those that stood above the rest

Summary: Everyone in D.A.M.N simp for the power couple at least a little bit - the Vampire Prince of Dahlia and the Electro Energetic. Gavin and the Freelancer would be lying if they said they haven't been watching them... respectfully.

TW: [Swearing], [Profanity], [Explicit implications courtesy of Gavin, of course] & [Oblivious narrators]

Apologies for any grammatical or spelling errors because I wrote this the whole night and only edited it once. I’ll do the editing process again tomorrow morning.

Life as a student in D.A.M.N is nothing like regular colleges or universities. While the environment is hectic with exams, assignments and teachers with sticks up their asses - there's also a hint of craziness thrown into the mix. You can never really predict how your day would go here in the academy, and to most of the students, it's the typical college experience you'll get everywhere. Just... taken to the next level.

That's what you get for a magical academy, after all.

An Air Elemental would accidentally shatter the windows in a classroom with a powerful gust of wind on a random ass Tuesday because she was laughing too hard. A Graviton Energetic would sneeze, and suddenly, the gravity in the music room would stick the instruments on the ceilings. The entire soccer team would fall flat on the grassy field, snoozing because the Serenity Daemon playing as the Goalkeeper uses too much magic to calm their anxious Sweeper during his first play with the team.

With so many Empowered creatures of all kinds attending D.A.M.N, there's never a dull moment. You learned that the moment a loud growl came from the Debate Club on your second week as a student. A Wolf Shifter had gotten into a heated argument with a Vampire about the toppings that should and shouldn't be on a pizza.

So yeah, typical college life with magic thrown into your daily shenanigans.

Today, you can't help but wonder what sort of excitement would occur as the large clock above the lecture hall ticks by, counting down the second before the class is over.

You check the clock and sigh. Just ten more minutes to go, but it feels like time is creeping forward at such a snail-like pace. Tapping your pen on the open notebook laid before you rather irritability, you just want the lecturer to stop yammering already so you can grab lunch at the food truck parked outside of campus.

Something gently knocks against your knuckle. You tilt your head to the side and meet with Damien's unamused stare; it looks like this is the third time he caught you losing focus in class.

"I told you to grab a snack before class started." Damien whispers, mindful to keep his voice even so the lecturer won't catch them chatting. Sadism Daemons are scary when you piss them off, and the way the lecturer's eyes sweep through the students is more than enough to have them all shut the hell up the moment he begins their topic of the day.

"I was meeting up with Lasko and we lost track of time." You hiss back. Yesterday you made a promise to catch up with the Air Elemental before your first class started to organise the date and invitations for the next game night. Once Lasko starts talking about the things he's comfortable with, he loses his stutter and launches into an animated one-sided conversation. You didn't have the heart to stop him, not when he looks so happy and cute.

Buying that Arkham Horror board game was the right purchase to surprise him with.

While your mind replays the morning you spend with Lasko, Damien rolls his eyes. "Of course you did. Here." He pushes his coffee cup towards you. His fingers linger on the cup for a few seconds to make sure that the coffee remains hot enough to drink.

You grab the cup, grateful for his consideration, and take a big swing. The coffee settles pleasantly in your stomach as warmth spreads within your body.

You're more a tea drinker - the classic Early Grey and Gunpowder Green - but at this instance, coffee would hopefully kick your focus back into gear.

"Thanks, Damien." You said before passing the cup back to him. You peeked at his notebook and wasn't surprised to find that it's packed with notes written in different coloured pens. "Hey, want to grab lunch together after this?"

Damien switched the yellow pen for a red one when the lecturer mentioned something about a topic for the upcoming test. You absentmindedly wondered if it's worth your life stealing his notebook. "Sure. What are you in the mood for?" He asked.

Finally, the lecturer dismisses the class. Chatters erupt as students pack up while some scurry over to the podium to ask a few questions.

You lean against your seat to stretch your back; your notebooks and stationery are already in your school backpack. You're just waiting for Damien now. "I'm craving for a burger and some cheesy loaded fries with a boba tea." God, just thinking about it is already enough to make your mouth watered.

Being a health nut, Damien throws you a judgemental look at your food choice as you two made your way towards the main campus entrance. He easily follows your lead through a crowd of students, and Damien even gently pulls you closer to his side when a student whizzes by on her skateboard.

With so many people talking and laughing around you and Damien, you can't help but hear the conversations hovering around you.

"...had class with them yesterday? Dude, you're so lucky! Did you sit beside them!?"

"Are you fucking crazy? No! I sat two rows behind them, but it was enough to smell their perfume. God, they're so gorgeous - I couldn't focus the entire time!"

"I've heard a few players from the Earth Elemental team tried to invite them to their party this weekend, but they were shot down. Apply cold water on burned area."

"Well, duh. You can't just walk up to them like that! They're one of the hottest people in this academy."

"Yeah, but those players are in one of the most well-respected sports teams in all of Dahlia, and even they can't stand a chance against them!"

Students parted ways as you and Damien approached the gates. Rows of food trucks parked across the street with tables and chairs placed about. The conversations tapered off behind you, along with the hubbub of the academy. You have a pretty good idea of whom those students were talking about. It's been a topic surrounding the academy ever since the start of the new academic year.

Even as an introvert who prefers to hover to your few but close group of friends, you couldn't escape the latest academy gossip.

"Finally, I thought my ears would've fallen off before we could escape," Damien mutters. It's a cloudy Wednesday; dark clouds are rolling above them with an occasional burst of strong breeze cutting through. "You'd think they would just give it a rest already."

The food truck you and Damien stop by displays a menu with a wide variety of food and drinks. From burgers to pasta and desserts ranging from ice-creams to Thai banana pancakes, your stomach begins to growl. You place your order in a hurry, whereas Damien selects a hearty sandwich stuffed with juicy and tender slices of slow-smoked beef brisket with veggies of his choice and chipotle mayo in between two crusty loaves with a bottle of water.

You and Damien grab your meals to sit at one of the vacant tables and enjoy lunch together. Good food and good company - what more could you ask for? Well, other than Damien's tsk-ing and wiping the barbecue sauce that smudged the corner of your cheek like the mother hen he constantly denies to be.

"Can't you eat your food properly, Freelancer? You're getting your fingers dirty too. Give me your hand." Damien demanded halfway through his sandwich. You grin impishly and offer your left hand for Damien to wipe with some tissue while the other is holding a burger. The thick sauce begins to drip.

Soon enough, a familiar voice shouts at them from across the street.

"Yo, Damien! Freelancer! Are you guys, like, having lunch? Can I join!?"

You can't help but beam and wave your hand (that was still holding the burger) high up when Huxley crosses over. Damien squawked with eyes wide in horror when the barbecue sauce got all over the table. He hurried to wipe the table clean while you greeted Huxley.

"Hi, Huxley! Are you grabbing lunch too? Take a seat, man!"

"Thanks a bunch, dude. It's been a while since I hung out with you two."

"We literally had a class together two days ago."

"Two days too long, Damien. I miss you guys."

"Aww, that's super sweet of you, Hux!"

"Oh, for the love of - just go buy something already before the next class starts."

Huxley happily gives Damien two thumbs up before grabbing his food and drink. When he returned to their table, he brought a tray of smoothie consisting of kale, spinach, banana, orange, and vanilla blended into green mush in a plastic cup and a plate of vegan quesadillas.

The moment Huxley sat down, you took a sip of his drink and made a face.

"Yeah, I ask them to hold back on the honey because I like the vanilla more," Huxley explains before tucking in. "Oh! But I can ask them to add more honey if you want. That’s like, totally cool."

You quickly shake your head and clean your palate with your sweet boba tea. "It's cool, Hux. Just wanted to try a sip. You're really into these crazy healthy smoothies."

"They're the bomb, dude. My Mums introduced a few recipes to me when I was a kid, and I basically hooked ever since." The Earth Elemental explains after gulping down a good chunk of the green goo.

"Yeah, well, with the calories you burned up during practice, I guess you can't go wrong with smoothies," Damien added thoughtfully. His sandwich is all gone. He props an elbow on the table and cradles his face in one open palm. "Anyway, what's up, Huxley? Anything new happened?"

"Nah, it's been nothing but the same shit lately. Classes, assignments and practices for the upcoming Elemental & Energetic Games - normal stuff. What about you guys?"

"More or less the same." Damien replies, soundly ignoring your "We're hitting the tournament arc!" outburst. "Planning to organise a study group for the upcoming tests. I expect the two of you will be joining, by the way."

At Damien's words, Huxley beams brighter. Any brighter, you'd need a pair of sunglasses. "For real, dude!? You're like, the best friend ever, Damien! C'mere - lemme give you a hug!"

You snicker when despite Damien's frantic protest, Huxley shoot up from his chair and quickly hugs the Fire Elemental tightly before he has the chance to weasel away.

Also, you didn't miss the chance to snap a quick picture of them to show Gavin tonight.

Unaware of your phone, Damien grumbled when Huxley finally released him, and they sat down again. The three of you continue to chat about everything and anything. Soon, the topic shifts from tests to plans for the weekend.

Huxley snapped his fingers when you mentioned Lasko's gaming night and the tabletop game you recently bought for him so they could all play together.

"I totally forgot about the party! A few guys in my team are having a party this Saturday, and I want to invite you guys and Lasko. Oh! Gavin too! It's going to be a blast, and on Sunday, we can play that new board game."

You and Damien exchange a glance. "Sounds fun. Actually, we've heard about the party just now. How many people are your team members inviting?" You asked, curious.

Huxley takes a moment to ponder before shrugging. He's nearly done with this food. "It's supposed to be just with a few close friends. Nothing too crazy, you know? After the last party that ended with fireworks exploding in someone's bedroom, they want to keep it lowkey."

"Huh. Close friends, but they tried to invite a certain Energetic," Damien interjects. "What's up with that?"

"You heard about that too?" Huxley replied, surprise coloured his tone. "Word travel like, super-fast around campus! It happened, like, yesterday morning!"

Damien let out an annoyed groan and ran a palm down his face. "I think it's safe to say that everyone in this fucking academy is talking about it and nothing else. God, no matter where you go, you can't escape it."

You pat Damien's arm in a comforting manner. "They're hot and popular; people will be talking about them until we all graduate."

"And if it isn't them, people would be talking about their boyfriend," Huxley pointed out, stirring his smoothie languidly. Huxley smiles and offers it to you when you critically stare at it for a tad too long. Against your better judgement, you try again.

Blek! It still tastes the same! Huxley just chuckles and finishes the rest of the smoothie while you seek solace with your boba tea again.

"Besides, it's not often you see an Energetic and Vampire couple walking around," Huxley continued. "I think they're living together too. I mean, that's what I heard."

"Don't tell me you also have a crush on them."

Before Huxley could say anything, you tentatively raise your hand as if you guys are in class. Now you bear Damien's annoyed glance. "I was kinda hardcore crushing on them and their boyfriend before Gavin and I officially got together. They keep to themselves and their boyfriend most of the time, but they're super nice in classes."

The Elemental and Energetic courses often have classes that intermingle every week. However, they're primarily compulsory lessons like magical history, laws regarding coverts and taxonomy of various Empowered creatures.

So you're practically classmates with the hottest Electro Energetic in the academy and had even sat beside them a few times during class. Unlike many of the students who simp for them at a distance.

The power couple of D.A.M.N is certainly interesting, to say the least.

You narrowed your eyes at Damien when he refused to let up his disappointed stare. "Don't lie to me. You simp for them too."

Damien huffs and crosses his arms. "Both of them look good, alright. Anyone with a working pair of eyes could tell from a mile away. They're gorgeous, and the Vampire is hot - so what?"

"They're both super strong too." Huxley unknowingly throws more wood into the fire.

By the time their lunch ended, Damien had demanded they talk about something else, so you jump into plans for the weekend. Party on Saturday and a gaming session on Sunday.

Typical college life.

When the time on your phone displays 10.30 PM in glaring bright light and you're still on campus, you know what death feels like.

It's quiet in the cafeteria, save for a small group of students huddled together around tables scattered in various places. Their heads are hunched down as they go over textbooks and assignments. One of the students happens to be a Vampire judging from the blood bag beside his laptop.

A red swirly straw juts out of the bag, and for a brief moment of exhaustion, you entertain the image of the student sipping the blood bag as if it was a Capri Sun.

Just like those students, the reason why you've stayed late in the academy's cafeteria is because of assignments. You know that if you bring your homework back home with you, you won't get any of it done. It's better to stay here and slough through them instead.

Damien would scold and drag you home if he knew. Huxley would be sad and plead for you to rest, and Lasko would put on his guidance counsellor voice and advise you that a good night's sleep would help you think better.

The boys mean well, and you love them for it, but you know yourself better than anyone. If you don't finish these assignments tonight, you would just procrastinate until the deadline punches you right in the face.

You sigh and rub your temple in frustration. You've made good progress so far, but there's still a few left and you want to complete them all before going home. So you resume writing down the essay about the importance of convert and the Department on your laptop, fingers deftly flying all over the keyboard.

Nighttime at D.A.M.N is not as busy as it is in the morning. The students that are going in and out of classes are mostly Vampires and nocturnal animal Shifters. The academy's faculties are also lesser in terms of numbers compared to their morning counterpart.

Twice you've experienced the nightlife at D.A.M.N, and tonight would be your third. You wondered if Gavin is at home already. Hopefully, you can return to the apartment before him. Better wrap this up, then.

The steady rhythm of your fingers on the keyboard and quiet discussion from the group of students slowly lull you to sleep. Hang in there just a little more!

The sound of a Daemon Rifting into this world startles you awake.

"Here you are, Deviant," Gavin said, his ordinarily seductive voice laced with conceal anger. Oh shit, you're in trouble now. "I thought we talked about this."

You have no choice but to face him. Gavin looks devastatingly as sexy as ever; his black t-shirt snugly fits his body to the point that it showcases his biceps tastefully. A pair of dark blue jeans that he just so happens knows will get your heart racing and accompanied by a pair of shiny black Doc Martens boots. A rainbow-coloured bead bracelet is on his right wrist; a gift from Caelum.

You would've swoon at the sight of him if you weren't seconds away from face planting on your laptop.

So instead, you greet him with a, "Whaaa... Gavin?" You rub your eyes and blink at him. "W-What are you doing here? I thought you'd be - " You break out a yawn before sighing. "At home by now."

"Funny. I thought the same thing about you but colour me surprised when Caelum reached out to me while I was grocery shopping — saying that you aren't home even when it's close to midnight." Gavin explains and tilts his head to the spread of books you have before you. "So, want to explain why you're at the campus cafeteria right now instead of in our bed?"

The gears in your head are scrambling to come up with an excuse that's good enough to appease Gavin. So lost in your thoughts that you didn't hear the whispers coming from the nearby students.

"That's the main boyfriend..."

"Holy fuck, an Incubus? Damn, they're insatiable!"

"How often do you think they have orgies? Twice a week?"

" - collecting them like Pokemon!"

Oh fuck it, you can't come up with anything decent. "I'm nearly done with my assignments, Gavin." You assured the worried Incubus. "Just need to write down a few more paragraphs..."

Gavin is undeterred. "Freelancer, we talked about this. It's not healthy that you're making a habit of staying over at campus late at night because of assignments. You're going to burn out like this."

Well yeah, you could feel your body is already seconds away from collapsing but like hell would you admit that to your boyfriend. It's been a long day and an even longer evening. It's a good thing that tomorrow's the weekend.

Gavin startles you once more by leaning against the table and cupping your face in his large hands, so you're forced to look straight into his eyes. He's many things, but to those he deeply trusts and loves, his eyes would always betray the worry and concern he has for you and Caelum; even if his words aren't as forthcoming at times. "My stubborn, enticing Deviant... Are you being a brat again? Not listening to your Dom like you should be?" He purrs.

All of a sudden, your throat suddenly feels like sandpaper, and your heart skips a beat at Gavin's tone. You're very familiar with that tone - it always promises punishment and pleasure mixed together until nothing else exists except for your boyfriend.

But the question now is, how far can you actually push him. So with Gavin still refusing to release your face, you swallow and reply as nonchalantly as you can, "Oh, I don't know about enticing, Gavin. I-I mean, I've been running around campus the whole day. Probably have some barbecue sauce stain on my jacket and - Ow!"

You puff out your cheeks when Gavin pinched them.

"Are you purposely trying to test me, Freelancer? You know that just means more fun for me, and you tie up and helpless on the bed, right?" Gavin is all too happy to remind you, cocking one eyebrow at your impertinence. No doubt he already has your punishment in mind when the two of you are home.

But you're not going to budge that easily. Sensing your stubbornness, Gavin lets you go and unleashes his ultimate move with a sigh.

"I can see the Knots on you, Freelancer, and if I can see them, Caelum can too. I'm not covering your ass when he comes over for breakfast tomorrow and starts crying."

You gasp and immediately recoil. "Low blow Gavin!" You counter, but you know that he speaks the truth. Your heart will literally break if you're the reason that Caelum cries.

Gavin smirks when you switch off your laptop. He helps put your things away and offers a hand to you. With a small smile, you let yourself be gently pulled up by him and sling your backpack over a shoulder.

"Are you hungry?" Gavin asked as the two of you stepped into the large hallway, hand-in-hand. "I didn't manage to make anything when I put the groceries away, but I can whip something up real quick when we get home."

It's a sweet gesture, and you made sure that he knows how much you appreciate it by squeezing his hand. Ever since you two started living together, Gavin is determined to feed you properly. According to him, it's only fitting since you've constantly been feeding him too. "I'm more sleepy than hungry." You reply after a yawn. "I'll just eat a big breakfast tomorrow."

"I'll hold you to it. Also, look alive, Deviant. Hottie approaching at 12 O'clock."

That got your attention immediately, and snapped your eyes forward. Your jaw would've dropped if it weren't for Gavin lightly nudging your side when you saw who was walking towards the two of you.

It's them — the Electro Energetic that became the talk around campus.

They're as breathtaking as ever, even after a whole day of classes and club activities. Not a single hair out of place and clothes unruffled. Their body language stood out to you; their gait is a little hesitant but friendly, while their eyes are kind.

It's easy to see why so many people harbour crushes on them, and you've always been a sucker for cute faces.

When they finally approach you, they pull out a pair of wireless white earbuds from their ears. That's when you hear intense music playing:

It's the Pumpkin Patch King

With the corpse with the ring

And she'd fuck my best friend if I die here today...

"Um, hi. Good evening. I'm sorry for bothering you guys so late like this. Are you heading home?" They inquire tentatively.

Gavin waits for you to take the lead. "Hey, man. Yeah, we kind of are, actually. Want us to walk you home?" You could feel how pleased Gavin is beside you. The offer just crosses your mind, and besides, it's not nice to walk alone this late at night.

That's what you're telling yourself despite the small part in your brain whispered that walking them home would be a great step of getting to know them better. It's just a harmless crush anyway.

Unfortunately, they decline the offer. "I'm waiting for someone, actually, but when I saw you, I wanted to talk for a bit."

Your heart skips a beat for a second time tonight. They specifically sought you out? You? When they've never done so towards anyone before?

"O-Oh," You embarrassingly squeak, clutching Gavin's hand tighter.

The Electro Energetic nod. They tilt their head like an indulged, curious cat and god, that simple gesture shouldn't look so hot. "I don't know if you notice me, but we share Covert Laws - "

If you notice them? If you notice them!? They have a stronger presence than the lecturers themselves! They radiate magic like thunderstorms - intimidating, powerful and commanding that you have no choice but to submit to it.

Sitting beside them was an experience and a half! There's no way an Empowered creature could ignore them despite their quiet demeanour!

" - and I was wondering if you would like to be partners for the final project this year? Um, I heard that you're really good in that class, and I promise to pull my weight with the research and - "

You don't know how to react. Is this really happening? One of the most popular students in the academy wanted to be your project partner? You thought this sort of situation only occurs in animes!

"They'd love to." Gavin smoothly answers when you're too shocked to say anything. "It's always nice to make new friends after all. Especially with a walking wet dream such as yourself." Here, he purposely pauses to appraise the Electro Energetic.

Just like his Freelancer, Gavin has heard all about this Empowered human and even basks in the delicious energy coming from the thoughts and emotions his partner has for them. As an Incubus and their boyfriend, it's hilarious that his Deviant thought he's not aware of their crush. It's cute.

Hmm... it'll be nice if he and the Freelancer could invite the Energetic and their Vampire lover into their bed one of these days. Regardless if they've been Marked; honestly, that just made the couple as appealing as the biblical Forbidden Fruit.

And besides, Gavin has a strong feeling that the Freelancer wouldn't oppose the idea. It'll be the perfect anniversary present for his Deviant.

"...Was that supposed to be a compliment?" They ask warily. Oops, looks like he's coming on a little too strongly. Time to take it down a notch.

"It's whatever you want it to be. Anyway, now that you guys are... partners, what say you get to know us better, hmm? My lover has been eager to be friends with you." Gavin explains. You whip your head at him incredulously. Is he seriously doing what you think he's doing!? "I'm Gavin, by the way. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

The Energetic look confused, and you can't blame them. You need to save them before Gavin proposes something as crazy as an orgy on your behalf!

You laugh awkwardly, bringing their attention to you. "Right! Partners! I'd love to be yours - I-I mean, uh, for school stuff! Yeah! Can we exchange numbers?"

"Smooth, Deviant." Gavin teases. Something caught his interest, not that you notice as you and the Energetic trade contact information. They compliment the cute picture you have as your Home Screen (it's a selfie shot of you and Gavin, Lasko, Damien and Huxley during the previous game night. It's a shame that Caelum couldn't appear), and in return, you ask where did they buy their sick phone cover.

While they still feel like the human embodiment of a fierce thunderstorm, it's nice to have a casual conversation with them. They're thoughtful, kind and fun that you soon find yourself calming down a little.

"Not to cut this riveting conversation short, but are you sure that you don't want us to walk you home? It's getting really late, and we're more than happy to have you crash at our place for the night." Gavin interjects with a seductive grin, eyes half-lidded.

"Umm..."

Whoa, what happened to being friendly, Gavin!? You shoot him a look; he's going to drive them away!

"We have an extra guest room at our apartment." You hurried to explain. "So it's totally cool if your place is far away or something."

Their hesitation melts to understanding. The last thing that you want is a misunderstanding between you two.

"You guys are sweet, but I'll be alright. Actually, I'm about to leave the campus too. I'm just going to hang out at the cafeteria until he arrives." They said. You have a pretty good idea who 'he' is judging by their soft smile.

Gavin, for some reason, amp up his game. With a smirk, he cajoles, "Since he hasn't shown up yet, how about you hang out with us for a bit? There's a bar not too far from here - "

You flinched, and Gavin automatically shuts up and pulls you close to his side when a Vampire appears behind the Electro Energetic. It was so sudden that his appearance was a blur at first.

"Vincent? You're done with class already?" They blink. An arm snaked around their waist as the Vampire pulled his Mate close to his chest. The Energetic had to crane their head up slightly to look at him.

He's as tall as Gavin. Dressed in a casual black coat that screams money with a dark grey shirt accompanied by a pair of black jeans and boots. His silver studs, rings and watch glimmer underneath the fluorescent lights. Everything about this man reminds you of a panther sizing up its prey.

You gulped. He's currently glaring daggers at you and your boyfriend. You're itching to stutter out a, "This isn't what it looks like!" for some reason.

Now, ever since you learned about the existence of magic and Empowered creatures, you did your best to be open-minded. Even that whole ordeal with Vega didn't stop you from reaching out to the various Daemons attending the academy.

However, you haven't managed to befriend a Vampire due to their night classes, and even the few times you stay back like today, most of them are running back and forth through the hallways to catch their next lesson.

So to be the target of a pissed off Vampire made you uncomfortable. You want to fidget, but Gavin's arm secured around you ease some of that tension.

"Mm-hmm. I'm on break right now, so I can drive you back home. You done with that talk with your guidance counsellor?" The Vampire inquired, eyes still glued at you and Gavin.

"All done. We lost track of time when we discussed next semester's timetable for the Energetic course and potential careers once we graduate." His lover explains, unaware of the displeasure rolling off like waves from their boyfriend. "I think I need some time to go over them again. It's a bit much to take in."

The Vampire hums in acknowledgement. "We can go through them together this weekend if you like, Lovely. Maybe we can ask Will for help since he's coming over on Saturday for dinner too."

Oh, you suppose that's why they reject the Earth Elemental players' invitation to the party.

But the Vampire wasn't done. He assesses you and Gavin with narrowed eyes as if you were stains on the bottom of his boots. What the hell? "By the way, are these guys bothering you?"

A chill sweeps through you, sending goosebumps crawling on your skin at the sudden shift of tone. He was warm and affectionate when speaking to his lover, but now? It's colder than ice.

Gavin, whose smirk turns into a shit-eating grin, is utterly unfazed at the Vampire's hostility. In fact, you would go as far as to say that he's relishing it. "We're just keeping your gorgeous Mate company while they're waiting for you. I was just about to propose that we move the conversation to a bar so we could all get to know one another a lot more... intimately."

Oh god, they're so fucked. You have no idea why your boyfriend is trying to start shit up, but you're too tired to deal with this drama. So again, you try to salvage the situation.

"Just as friends!" You quickly butt in. "We decide to be partners for an assignment in Covert Laws, so hanging out at a bar sounds like a good idea as friends." You're sprouting bullshits at this point, but you hope it's enough to save both of your asses. You also made sure to emphasise the word 'friends'.

The Vampire quickly looks at the Energetic for confirmation, and they readily nod. His aggressive body posture relaxes somewhat, but he's still wary of you and Gavin.

Maybe this is the best time to introduce yourself to him.

"Uh, it's a little silly that we didn't introduce ourselves right away, but I'm a Freelancer." You mutter out rather awkwardly. Should you offer a hand to him?

Gavin saves you from doing so. "And I’m their boyfriend, Gavin. An Incubus."

"...Vincent Solaire." The Vampire - Vincent - reluctantly replies.

Wait - his surname sounds familiar, though. You think you heard it in one of the classes about the supernatural factions in Dahlia... It's on the tip of your tongue...

"Oh, we've heard all about you, Your Highness." Gavin slyly quips. "You and your lover are quite the celebrities around here."

Holy shit. Solaire! The most powerful Vampire clan in the city! You remember now; the King has two progeny - A Vampire Princess & Prince. You didn't expect the Energetic boyfriend to be the Prince himself! What a twist!

"Celebrities?" The Energetic - Lovely, as Vincent calls them - pipes up in confusion. The way their eyebrows furrow is adorable, but you wisely keep that to yourself.

They really are a mesmerising couple. You detect the perfume that lingers around Lovely is sweet and misty. It's calming yet so light that it dances just out of your reach; like a coy lover. Slowly driving you mad with desire. Vincent's cologne reminds you of husk and cedar. Subtle, but once you catch a whiff of it, it'll stay within your mind for hours on end. Wondering if that particular scent will ever return - like the perfect one night stand.

It says a lot about the couple.

"We haven't done anything wrong." Vincent Solaire stated, voice as hard as steel. "I don't know why you're trying to rile us up, Incubus, but I don't appreciate you and your lover hitting on my Mate when I made it clear that I Mark them."

Ooooh, he's jealous! Wait - did you come across as flirty to him!? Did Gavin purposely flirt with Lovely to make Vincent jealous? You've completely lost the plot.

"Consider it as an act of public service," Gavin answers, easily brushing off the Vampire Prince's irritability. "Besides, how can I not when you both are half of the student body's recent fantasies."

Lovely 'eeped' when Vincent bare his fangs at your boyfriend. "Back off, Gavin. Lovely is mine. Not yours or the Freelancer's."

Whoa, whoa! A severe misunderstanding is boiling here! No one is stealing Lovely away from him!

Fortunately, Lovely has gotten tired of the conversation. With a put-out sigh, they pat the arm around their waist to capture Vincent's attention. It worked. "No one is stealing the other's partner, Vince. It's all good; chill. You know you're the only one for me, right?" Here, they peck his cheek. "When did you get so possessive?"

Vincent grumbled but didn't explain himself, so Lovely just shook their head.

"Anyway, we better get going before Vincent's next class starts. It was nice meeting you two. I'll text you soon so we can plan on how to tackle that project."

You give a shaky smile and a thumbs up. "Looking forward to it."

Immediately after you said that, Vincent bares his fangs to you next. Oh my god, this guy needs to fucking relax!

"We're going! We're going! C'mon, Vincent. You're driving me home. Now."

And with that, you watch as Lovely drags the Vampire Prince to the parking lot. It's a strange yet comical sight. You only sigh in relief when they're out of your view.

"I thought I saw my life flashing before my eyes!" You complain. Those were the single most stressful moments that you’ve encountered— second to Vega invading your home.

"I think that went well, Deviant." Gavin objected, very pleased with himself. "He's pissed now, but he and his Mate will be thanking us soon."

So you were right; Gavin purposely flirted with Lovely just to rile Vincent up, and for what? Possessive, sexy time later tonight? Oh, whatever. That's enough drama for one night; you seriously just need to pass out now.

And with that, the two of you head home without realising your interactions with the power couple of D.A.M.N didn't go by unnoticed by the several students who were hovering close.

"Are you hurting anywhere, Lovely?"

"I'm alright, Vincent. The hickeys and bruises are healing nicely; my body still feels a bit sore but not enough to cripple me, so stop hovering near the door."

Vincent guilty did as he’s told and takes a seat on the corner of the bed. He watches you apply some light makeup on your face and neck in front of the vanity table as you're getting ready to head out to the academy. Your outfit compliments your look and, most importantly, hides any patches of skin except for your hands.

Vincent really went all out last weekend after his night classes ended. It's obvious that Gavin unleashed something within your lover, and you will freely admit that an unrestrained Vincent makes for a very fun and wild night.

The moment Will came over and realised that Vincent re-Mark you an hour before he arrives, he graciously decided to take a rain check and promise to have dinner with the two of you some other time.

Once Vincent gets it out of his system, he teased before leaving you gobsmacked and Vincent a blushing mess.

"You know, your guidance counsellor wouldn't mind if you're absent from classes today, Lovely. Probably." Vincent tries; a part of him doesn't want his Lovely to attend their lessons while their body is still healing. Then again, that part also whispers that the Incubus and his lover would be around them without his supervision.

Nope. No. Bad Vincent. Lovely is more than capable of taking care of themselves. They don't need him acting like a jealous, clingy boyfriend.

However, something that the Incubus bothered him.

"You and your lover are quite the celebrities around here."

What did he mean by that? He and Lovely had been playing good students the entire time they've been on campus! Their assignments are always delivered on time, grades nothing but above average, and they keep to themselves to avoid any typical college dramas.

Is it because of his status? For some reason, Vincent feels like it's more complicated than that. What a headache.

"Maybe, but I did promise the Freelancer that I’ll catch up with them to discuss our project," You commented and spritz your favourite perfume on your wrists and neck. You love this scent, despite it being cheap and common. "Vincent, honey, you're making that face again."

"It's my face, Lovely."

"Yeah, well, you have your happy-snappy-neck face again, Vincent." You dryly point out before sitting beside the Vampire. "Did that Incubus really rub you the wrong way?" Your voice is gentle. You didn't get any bad vibes coming from Gavin and the Freelancer - just genuine, harmless, friendly flirting. In a way, you welcome it as their attempts helped you drive your anxiety away.

God, walking up to them was hard enough. You always feel a little intimidated whenever you're around charismatic people.

"I don't know... I thought they were making you nervous, and the words that kept coming out of that Daemon's mouth? He knew what he was doing; I just can't figure out what or why." Vincent admits, frustrated.

Seeing him look so frustrated saddens you, so you propose a suggestion. "How about this, I'll ask the Freelancer what that whole thing on Friday was all about, and if it's anything gross, I'll give you a call so you can deal with them. How's that?"

It assured Vincent. Seeing his tiny smile urge you to peppered his face with kisses until he laughs. With your boyfriend now properly appeased, you leave the apartment for D.A.M.N.

It's a bright Monday morning. You hope that this week will be a little kinder to you than the previous one. However, the moment you arrived on campus, everyone was glancing at you curiously. When you made eye contact with the stares, the students couldn't walk away fast enough.

Weird.

Your first class of the day is on the second floor, so you didn't waste any time heading for the stairs. Students mingle around as they go about their day; some grab breakfast at the convenient store, while others chat with their friends at the cafeteria and lounge room. A Water Elemental is performing simple tricks at the marble fountain to an adoring crowd.

Just as you rounded a corner, the crowd parted ways with a subtlety of a serial killer in slasher movies, which is to say, absolutely none whatsoever to reveal your new friend. The Freelancer is flanked by their boyfriend, Gavin, on the left and on their right, the famous player in the Earth Elemental team Huxley and one of the academy's guidance counsellors, Lasko.

You couldn't help but notice that everyone is giving them a wide berth. Not that it matters when Gavin's body is positioned to shield the Freelancer from bumping into any of the passing students. Huxley passes a bottle of orange juice to them while Lasko is staring at something behind the Freelancer. He mutters something under his breath.

A loud voice suddenly bounces off the walls. "What happened to my water tumbler, Freelancer!?"

You and every other student in the area watch as the Freelancer turns around and loudly replies, "Don't worry! I already got you a new tumbler, Damien! It looks exactly like your old one. Except it's pastel pink with kittens on it, and the shape looks like a really fat snowman with bunny ears for straws." To make a point, the Freelancer rummage inside of their backpack and proudly present the weirdest looking water tumbler you had ever seen in your life to their boys.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

"You know you could at least see it before you judge it, Damien." The Freelancer grumbled and shoved the tumbler back. Huxley gently pats their shoulder in a comforting manner. Lasko laughs nervously while Gavin continues to protect his lover silently, all the while looking at ease.

Everyone knows of the Freelancer and their boyfriends. They're the most popular group in D.A.M.N for a reason. Friendly, yet no one can be a part of their group due to the tight bond they have with one another.

The Freelancer is quickly shaping up to be a remarkable magical individual in their own right, marching to the beat of their own drums rather than the world's. Unwaveringly kind and friendly, constantly making sure the people around them are comfortable and safe.

In terms of academic performance, Damien remains unchallenged among his peers. Everyone could tell that he would undoubtedly change their world for the better the moment he graduates, especially in governing. He's also known for his fiery temper, yet that fire becomes a hearth when it comes to the Freelancer. More than once, students have stumbled upon them huddled close in the library, softly discussing the future they wanted.

If Damien is known for his academic excellence, then Huxley is famous for his prowess in the field. His mastery over his element made the younger Earth Elementals look up to him as their role model while his teammates view him as their ace. Charming, cheerful yet a bit absentminded at times, and even then, you can't help but be fond of him. You can find the Freelancer cheering him from the bleachers during his matches, and once Huxley won the game, he would immediately launch himself at them. Sweats, dirt and grass all over him, but the Freelancer would laugh as he hoisted them up in his embrace.

Lasko is an odd addition to their group, but once he drops his stuttering, he shows just how capable he is as one of the academy's guidance counsellors. Acknowledged as one of the most powerful Air Elemental of his generation, Lasko is well on track to graduate D.A.M.N with honours, and while the future might be uncertain, students like to speculate that he will remain with the Freelancer and the others no matter what. Sometimes you can even catch a glimpse of them hanging out at one of the local cafes and see how bright and alive Lasko can be when around the Freelancer.

Gavin came with a mystery trailing his saunter. See, no one knew how exactly he and the Freelancer first met. Speculations range from a cute, accidental meet up in a random convenience store to the Incubus boldly inviting them into a threesome when the Freelancer stumbled upon him mid-feeding. Lovely wonders if there's a betting pool going around the academy. The seniors would recognise Gavin, for he was their peer before he suddenly dropped out and vanished for a while. But judging by his frequent presence around the Freelancer, some say that he's looking forward to retaking his previous course. But whatever the reason may be, no one can deny the chemistry he has with the Freelancer. How fiercely protective he is of them when the Freelancer isn't looking.

They're certainly an intriguing group, that's for sure.

And when Gavin notices you were watching them, he winks at you. No doubt as an Incubus, he could scent what you and Vincent had been up to the entire weekend.

That's what you get for a magical academy, after all.

PS: Everyone in D.A.M.N (including Lovely & Vincent) hilariously assumes that the Freelancer is in a poly relationship with Gavin, Damien, Lasko & Huxley when in reality, they're just with Gavin. BBBBuuuttt... Gavin could detect the romantic/lustful feelings the other bois harbour for the Freelancer but kept it to himself for now. He's just waiting for the Freelancer to feel the same way so he could give them all The Talk™ and then go buy a bigger bed!

Anyway, I seriously had a lot of fun writing for this oneshot! It's been a while since I had that writing fever again so I hope you guys enjoyed it!

#redacted asmr #fanfic #second pov #they/them pronouns #gender neutral s/o #lovely (listener)#freelancer (listener)#vincent solaire #game #damien #huxley #will and caelum are mentioned

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hwrryscherry · 4 years

Text

The one where the reader meets Harry as Jack

characters: HARRYxREADER!FEM

blurb: Harry is filming Don't Worry Darling in Palms Springs while Y/N is moving in in her new house in the neighbourhood where the movie is being filmed. Turns out the fate wanted to cross Harry and Y/N's way as a box full of books is very intriguing to Harry and Pride and Prejudice becomes Harry's new favorite.

word count: 2.7K

author's note: Heyy guys, it has been SO LONG and honestly I don’t think this is best work yet lol but anyway, I had the worst writer’s block of my life so it was so hard for me to write a single word. Honestly, I felt kinda pressured to write. I felt like I was pressuring myself for that so I had to take advantage of this block and take this idea out of my mind. I want to say something important too; I really want to say that the only story of mine that I’ll keep the face claim is HARRYxMODELY/N, just because I like to use the photos to make instagram posts sometimes. I will no longer describe types of hair as I used to say ‘’long strands of hair’’, it will be neutral for you to imagine yourself in the story. It’s all about you guys and how you can visualize the story and the character, if you want to imagine a face claim that’s cool but if you don’t want to it’s cool too. Feel free to read and visualize, it’s all about you. Thank you for the support on my account and my writing. I’m aware that I’m not the best lol, but I also think that I have so much to learn from you just as I have to teach. I’m so grateful for everyone who reads and like my stuff. Never forget that you’re unique, you’re loved, you’re so golden and treat people with kindness always.

"Why is it so hot in here? It's fucking December!", you'd think to yourself as you drove your new car through the streets of Palm Springs. The thing is that after you moved from Columbia to reside so many years in New York while you were studying English Language and Literature in Yale, you just got so used with the usual colder weather from NY and it's just a different vibe from California. You had such a hard time to decide what you wanted to do after graduating, though. And after a few weeks and some long conversations with your family, you decided you would go to California. Palm Springs, to be more specific. You decided that because you remembered all the times you went there when you were a kid because your grandmother lived in there before she passed. You remember spending your summer vacation with her and how cool it was. It was in the early 2000′s and there was many kids on your age that lived on her street. You remember playing with them all day and then getting back into your grandma’s house and feeling that cinnamon scent that for some one only her house had. It wasn’t a usual cinnamon scent. It had something special in it. It made you feel so warm and welcomed. You remember helping her to bake the most delicious cookies, brownies and cakes in her kitchen. You remember the kitchen had a yellow counter, but the entire kitchen was white. All very pale and then the cheerful yellow in the kitchen that colored everything. You remember going to play bingo with her and how it made her happy to having you around. You both were so close and you had such a hard time when she passed, but the most important was she taught you so many things during your time together, and you’d never forget those things and her.

As you drove, you’d remember those streets vaguely. You’d pass through the soccer court you typically used to go with the other kids and spent hours playing in there. You were vibing with the song in the stereo as you started getting closer to your new house’s street. It was Carolina by Harry Styles; you have to admit you’re not the biggest Harry Styles fan in the world, but you were definitely a One Direction fan when you were around 16, but you couldn't be considered a directioner either. You just listened to a few songs and thought it was good. But anyway, this specific song is one that you particularly like. It may have something to do with the fact that you’re from Carolina, of course. But it’s more about the vibe and the melody that by being animated it could actually cheer anyone up and the lyrics were undeniably good though, a little sexual, but good. It’s more about the vibe and the melody that by being animated it could actually cheer anyone up and the lyrics were really good though, a little sexual, but good.

When you turned the right way into the street of your new home, you came across much more than you expected to see on your moving day. There were, as it seemed, paparazzi. Apparently they were shooting a movie right in your street, and it had also many people with many cameras and trailers that probably were dressing rooms. Naturally, you knew that thousands of films were shot in California, that’s obvious. But you didn't expect one to be shooting exactly on your moving day and specifically in your street, let alone that the street would be this crowded since the world is experiencing a global pandemic, ironic. You observed some of the people walking down the street, or should you call it a set? You don't know, but there were many people and many cars, at least they were all wearing masks. It had many classic cars, probably in the 40s or 50s style. They were colorful; vivid colors, though. Colors like yellow, blue and lilac was really present. To resume, the whole street looked like a movie from the 50s and for sure that was the intention because you could notice some extras walking around the set dressed up as 50s people used to.

As you carefully drive through the street, you’d notice that from what seemed like a divine miracle, there was a vacant parking spot right in front of your house and you can’t help but smile when you see it. The first time you came here to see the house. You were with your family, and that was about four months ago. You just loved the house completely as it had such a different vibe from the place you used to live in New York, and honestly, just the thought of the house made your creativity activate as it had some really cool colored walls and you bought some colored mobile as well. Anyway, you stopped the car right in front of your house finishing the engine and grabbing your mask and putting it in your face as you'd use your hand to get rid of the seat belt and your other hand to open the car door and get out of the car.

After closing the driver's seat door, you go around the car walking to the trunk where you use the car key to open it. When you open it, you are faced with two cardboard boxes. One was full of books. Books of all kinds, books of period novels, books of suspense, books of investigation and etc. Books that piqued your curiosity and made you want to finish reading it as quickly as possible. The other box was already full of clothes, those last clothes that you would finally be taking home. Your mother has done the biggest job in the moving issue; she was the one who was bringing the furniture and your things while you finished packing the rest of your things to leave New York. You try your hardest not to pay attention to the set of recordings and the people who walked back and forth, at the same time that you tried hard not to make any noise, because if you accidentally disturbed a scene, you would feel extremely embarrassed and would probably not even show up at the gate until the end of filming, but that was not the case. You removed the two boxes from the trunk just before closing it completely. You chose, perhaps, to enter the clothes box first. You bent down taking the box in your arms and walked to the door of the house where you used the key you received from the real-estate agent to unlock it before entering. You immediately noticed that some sunbeams reflected on the living room floor due to the white linen curtain that covered the glass windows. You observed the contrast of the sofa in such a light tone with the lilac wall just behind it. You walked with the box in hand by the door extension to the room where you placed the box on the small coffee table in front of the sofa. Returning out of the house, you can see the figure of a tall man dressed in a brown suit crouched in front of the box of your books. He had brown hair and properly cut. It didn't look like he was messing with your books, but he was definitely looking at them and it seemed like he was trying to read the covers of it for some reason. You slowly got closer to the man's body without making too much noise while you analyzed him, you crossed your arms upon your chest as you noticed the book cover he was looking at: Love is a mixtape by Rob Sheffield.

— This one is amazing! — You said, surprising the man that stand up fastly with the book in his hands connecting his green gaze with yours. He was tall, really tall by the way. His suit seemed perfect, just as his hair. He had a black mask on as a protection but the 16 year old teenager inside of you could never mistake those eyes. It was Harry fricking Styles. You considerated being quiet as you, yourself were pretty surprised now, but then you took your gaze to the book in his hand and then back at his face — It's like comparing love to a popular song that we usually search to define love. Just to find out that love is like oxygen, or love is a kind of drug, or a battlefield for some... — You said referring to the book with a tender smile on your face that Harry couldn't essentially see, but talking about a book that you loved caused this on you. And as you talked you didn't notice that Harry had a smile on his face as well. Maybe it was because you completely ignored the fact that he is Harry Styles and he was messing up your books as he's on the set filming a movie, or maybe it was the fact that he loved this book just as much as you did. He'd use to say this is probably one of the books that if he had to read just one book to the rest of his life, he'd chose this one and he usually had so much to talk about this book and so much to put on an argument about it but now he was completely speechless. He was just tongue tied. He was tongue tied about your reflection of one of his favorite books and how it looked so identical to his own personal reflection. He was tongue tied for the number of great books that he always wanted to read that was on that box. He was tongue tied at the owner of those books and her beauty, her intelligence of her voice and her voice as well so he just chuckled. A nervous chuckle as he leaned his head to look at the floor for a second before looking at you and holding out the book in his hands to you that calmly took it from his hands.

— I know! It's one of my favorite books! — Harry'd ultimately manage to say it as he observed you admiring the cover and running your fingers through it as a truly book lover would do — It's very interesting the interpretation you have of it.

— Don't you agree? — You'd interrupt him rising your head to examine at his face. He seemed paralyzed by some way, little did you know that Harry was mesmerized. He enjoyed the informal way you were speaking with him, and it genuinely felt like you already knew it each for years.

— That's the intriguing part. We have the same interpretation! — He'd say serenely, and then running his hand through his hair as he frown a little because of the sun that just hit on his glowing eyes.

— Well...Maybe you're just trying to imitate me to impress me! — You'd joke, with a mocking expression on your face making Harry giggle at your words and your face. It was the sense of humor to him.

— Oh really? And what makes you think I'm trying to impress you? — Harry'd say back with the same mocking tone that you formerly used. He'd observe your face go from playful to thoughtful in just as you to come up with a response.

— I mean...you were the one looking through my stuff, mister! — You say raising your eyebrows as you utilized one of your hands to take some strands of hair out of your face.

— Right... — Harry said with a defeated voice before as he compressed his lips together and moved his suit away from his shirt a little as he places his hands on his waist — I'm sorry about it, though. There was this box hanging here and I guess I was just intrigued! — He said shyly making you start walking towards the box walking closely to him causing him to feel a hot warm from your body as you passed. You'd bend over to grab the box but was stopped by Harry taking the heavy box from your hands — Let me help you with this! — Harry said as he held the box on his arms.

— There's no need for that. It'll ruin your splendid suit! — You'd say gently to him as he was standing up in front of you carefully holding the loaded box. Legitimately, he looked hot. He properly looked like a 50s husband helping with the moving with this outfit — And if you piss off your costume designer because of me I'll die! — You'd complement receiving a loud laugh from Harry's lips that shook his head while looking at you.

— She’ll be fine! — Harry'd argue back, then get a sigh from you before nodding at him as a statement.

— My house is right there! — You'd say using your right hand to point at your house, watching Harry turn his back to you and start walking towards it. You followed him through the door that was already open. Harry looked at the house immediately. It had a good vibe, and he wouldn't deny it. The choice of colors was exceptional, but he also noticed it was not very tidy, which would probably indicate that you were moving today.

— Where do I leave it? — Harry asked, referring to the box as he went farther into the living room.

— You can just leave it on the floor — You serenely said crossing your arms together and watching as he left the box on the floor and turned around to face you, but then deflecting his gaze to the ceiling before staring at your face again.

— It's a beautiful house! — Harry said as he moved his gaze through the room. He observed everything. He likes to observe. He likes to notice things that maybe other people didn't — Just like the owner, if I might say — Harry said cheekily and charming hearing your giggle invade his ears as you started walking towards the box of books that he previously set on the floor.

— The owner says thank you — You said bending down and starting to take the books out of the box and place it on the coffee table beside you as Harry watched your movements. You shyly looked at him thinking for a second and them smiling under your mask — For both compliments! — You said getting your attention back to the books. It's not that you don't want to give him your attention. It's that you genuinely think that he's just being nice, and he's probably not even interested in anything that you say.

— So... I have to go back to the film now but maybe you can give me your number so we can talk about your interpretation of my favorite book — Harry said shyly. His words took you by surprise actually but you couldn't hold back the smirk you had under your mask as you stand up again turning to face his green eyes. You noticed that he had his phone on his hand, hoping and waiting that you'd give him your number even though both of you knew that the book excuse was nothing more than an excuse as he was truly interested in knowing you.

— Well, it depends... — you said slowly as you took a deep breath before actually saying anything — If you agree to read my favorite books too, I'll give you my number!

— I'd be honored! — Harry chuckled after letting a sigh out feeling relief that you asked for something so simple that he'd love to do if that would make you happy — What's your name? — Harry said as he unblocked his phone screen and started to save your phone number.

— Save it as Elizabeth Bennet in there! — You said fastly with a proud smile on your face as Harry giggled and did as you ask and then looked at your face as he put his phone back on his pocket.

— Only if you save my name as Mr. Darcy when I call you! — Harry said knowing that after this, Pride and Prejudice would definitely become one of his favorite books ever.

#hwrryscherry #harry and y/n #harry styles and y/n #harry x reader #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles au #harey styles blurb #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles blurb #harry styles one shot #boyfriend harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines

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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

Text

There's Sand Everywhere!

(quick shoutout to @fires-of-ninjago for the title idea and inspiration for this- you remember that ask game where people suggested titles for fics and you had to come up with a story to go along with it? Well, he sent in this title, and I came up with this, and liked it so much that I screenshotted it and- here we are!)

Prompts: Summer and Heist

Word Count: 7,922

Characters: The whole gang (including Pixal) :)

Timeline: Between seasons 12 and 13

Trigger Warnings: none (holy shit that's never happened before-)

Summary: It was just supposed to be a day off. A simple beach day. But when your family consists of six ninja and a samurai, including a nindroid convinced he’s a detective, his reluctant sidekick, an aquaphobe, a girl who can command the sea, an unassuming teen who seems to attract every animal he crosses paths with, and a bunch of argumentative idiots, nothing is ever that easy.

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Read on Ao3

Tumblr work under the cut

“We,” Kai proclaimed, surveying the room, “Need a day off.”

Lloyd shrieked at the fire ninja’s sudden outburst, falling out of his chair. Jay broke into snickers, and Lloyd shot him a glare.

“Kai,” Zane sighed, “get off the table.”

Kai stuck his tongue out at the nindroid, but hopped down, anyway. “Look at you guys!” Kai waved his hands at the group for emphasis. Papers fluttered to the ground where Lloyd had knocked them in his fall, Jay and Nya were sitting on the ground, surrounded by stacks of books tall enough to be mistaken for some kind of fort, Pixal was gathering some of the papers that had gone everywhere, while Cole and Zane had only just paused in their task of boxing up and carrying crates to the far side of the room. “Filing documents and organizing? Boooring.”

“Tasks which you’ve been a big help with, by the way,” Lloyd grumbled, as Cole offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet. He turned back to the desk, shuffling papers off of the keyboard of his laptop, the screen filled with lines of script and dozens of files that made Kai's brain hurt just to look at.

Nya pushed her reading glasses up her nose. “Jay and I technically aren’t working. We chose to do this of our own free will.”

Kai rolled his eyes at her. “What kind of psychopaths read for fun?”

Jay kicked his leg out, aiming for Kai’s ankle, but Cole quickly stepped between them, stopping the conflict before it could escalate into anything worse.

“We’re not reading them, we’re sorting them in order from most potentially useful to least so. They’re mechanics and engineering books. You never know when they might come in handy in a pinch.”

“Oh, because that’s so much more interesting. If you guys wanna spend all your free time geeking out, fine, what do I care. But what about the rest of you? C’mon, Lloydster. You don’t really wanna spend your entire day doing this,” he gestured at the laptop and paper-strewn desk- “do you?”

“It’s not about whether or not I want to. This stuff is important, Kai.”

“Lloyd’s right,” Zane agreed. “With all the crazy missions we’ve been on lately, we’ve neglected all our paperwork, and taking care of the Monastery.”

“It’s because we’ve been gone so long that we need a break!” Kai argued. “We just got done saving the entire city from an evil video game AI! If that’s not worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.”

“Technically,” Nya remarked, not even glancing up from the book she was skimming, “That was Jay who did that.”

Kai spluttered, ignoring the smug look on Jay’s face. “Okay, yeah, but we helped! And what about Aspheera? Or the Never Realm? That was all of us. And we didn’t have time to properly recuperate from that before we got launched right into Prime Empire!”

Pixal’s brow furrowed. “Y’know, he has a point…”

A frown flitted across Zane’s face. “I suppose we have been working for a long time…”

“That’s what I’ve been saying! Come on, let’s do something fun.”

“Not video games,” Cole groaned. “Jay and I spent the last three days playing a Lava Zombies tournament, and I’m all gamed-out.”

“No, let’s actually go somewhere. Like the-”

“The library!” Jay pitched.

“Or the museum!” Zane suggested.

“No!” Kai snapped. “Man, you guys are so lame. I meant somewhere fun. We should go to-”

“The beach!” Nya cried suddenly, standing up so quickly that she sent a pile of books toppling over. “Brilliant idea, Kai!”

“Wait, no,” he yelped. “That’s not what I was going to-”

But no one heard him. They were already scrambling to their feet, murmuring excitedly to one another.

“Guys, wait!” he cried. “Why would you want to go to the beach? It’s all sandy, and wet, and-”

“Don’t worry, Kai,” Nya giggled, “we won’t let the ocean hurt you.”

“That’s not-” he felt himself turning red as the others laughed. “That’s not what I meant! I just thought… wouldn’t laser tag or something be a lot more fun?”

The others glanced at each other, uncertain. Zane stepped forward. “Let’s take a vote. All in favor of laser tag, raise your hands.”

Kai lifted his hand, but no one else did. He scowled at them.

“And all in favor of the beach?”

Six hands went up.

“Seems like we have a clear winner. Let’s get going, shall we?”

---

“Do you have the towels?”

“All here!”

“What about the sunscreen?”

“Hold on- Jay, did you grab the sunscreen?”

“What?”

Lloyd cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling louder. “Did you grab the sunscreen?”

“Oh yeah, it’s here! Wait, do you have my-”

“Your what?” Lloyd called, walking over to him, passing Pixal and Zane as they came out of the kitchen. The female nindroid sighed.

“Can’t anything get done around here without everyone making such a racket?”

“Nope,” Nya elbowed her playfully. “When you’ve been with these idiots as long as I have, you get used to it.”

Pixal’s eyes widened. “I can’t imagine ever being used to all this.”

Nya smiled. “Did I mention I’m slightly deaf?”

“We finished making the picnic,” Zane told her, holding out the basket he was carrying. “Is everyone ready to go?”

Nya eyed the guys, who were running around the Monastery, barely avoiding tripping over one another. “‘Ready’ is an overstatement.”

“Hold your horses, we’re almost done,” Cole grunted, heaving the large beach bag over to them. “Have a little faith in us, Nya.”

Nya put her hand on her hip, waiting- and a second later, there was a crashing sound followed by an angry chorus of yells from Kai, Lloyd, and Jay.

Cole grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. “Okay, maybe you’re right to not have any faith in us.”

---

After an intense, fifteen-minute argument about what mode of transportation they would take, they ended up deciding on the city bus, and finally, finally got out the door. The bus ride went off without a hitch, for once, (except for a brief panic about not having the proper change for the bus fare, but luckily Zane had a few extra dollars on him), and before Nya knew it, they were staking out an area on Ninjago City beach. She was beginning to think this could actually work out.

Maybe.

“Check out my abs, dude.”

“They’re the same as last time.”

“Are not! I’m way more shredded than last time we went swimming.”

“Okay, that’s just a straight-up lie. I saw you sneak that extra piece of pie last night.”

“You better not be disrespecting my muscles, Flat Stanley.”

“Hey! I’m way more muscly than I used to be.”

“Are you kidding? We call you ‘green bean’ for a reason, and it’s not just because you’re the green ninja. You’re a twig!”

“I’m a twig? Have you seen Jay?”

“Hey, don’t rope me into this, green machine, and, for your information, I weigh a whole fifteen pounds more than you!”

“Yeah, well, you’re also two years older than me!”

“I think the lesson we need to learn here is that neither of you have abs anywhere near as pronounced as mine-”

Zane sighed, rolling his eyes. “Here, guys,” he held out a pouch to the group, “this is a waterproof pouch, you can store all your valuables in here.”

They quickly filled the pouch with phones, watches, and wallets. However, as Lloyd pulled back, he tripped over Jay’s foot, and half the guys collapsed into a pile, groaning.

“Jay! Get your foot out of my face!”

“Right after you get your elbow out of my ribs!”

Nya turned away from them, shaking her head. Glancing at Pixal, she asked, “Wanna help me get set up?”

The nindroid nodded, and they pulled the large picnic blanket out of the bag, unfolding it to lay it across the sand.

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon,” Kai cried, “You get back here right this instant!”

Nya looked up from the blanket to see Kai running through the sand after Lloyd, his feet sinking into the sand with each step, making it difficult for him to retain his balance. He waved a bottle of sunscreen at the green ninja. “It’s sunny out today! And you know how easily you burn!”

“No way!” Lloyd whined. “You always make me stay out of the water for at least twenty minutes to let it set, and it’s way too hot for me to wait that long! I wanna go swimming now.”

Kai lunged for him, and Lloyd yelped, barely dodging out of the way.

“Over here, Lloyd!” Jay cried, already wading into the shallows of the ocean. “He won’t follow you into the water!”

Lloyd hurried after him, splashing up water as he went, accidentally splattering Kai and causing the red ninja to flinch back with a yelp. Sure enough, he froze at the water’s edge, glaring at Jay and Lloyd, where they stood, only about ten feet away, laughing at him.

Zane rubbed a hand over his face, sighing. “They’re both going to get skin cancer, aren’t they?”

“At the very least, they’re going to be bright red tomatoes,” Cole laughed. “Oh, it’s going to be a blast when they take showers.”

Zane stared at him, horrified. “Please don’t let Jay do that again. He had the worst blisters, last time-”

Cole held up his hands. “It was a joke, Zane! A joke!”

Zane narrowed his eyes and didn’t reply.

Nya laughed, grabbing Pixal’s hand. “Come on. Wanna go bodyboarding with me?”

Pixal glanced at her. “I don’t know how.”

“That’s fine.” Nya stepped on the board, flipping it up into her hand and handing it to Pixal, before grabbing a second one for herself. “I can teach you!”

“Thanks, Nya.”

As they walked down towards the shore, they passed Kai and Cole, who had finally managed to get Jay and Lloyd out of the water. Cole had his arms locked around Jay, preventing him from running away as Kai slathered sunscreen across his face. Lloyd was sitting in the sand beside him, pouting, his face already smeared in white.

Nya grinned at him. “Can you guys handle yourselves for twenty minutes if Pix and I go out bodyboarding?”

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at her, and Kai rolled his eyes. “We’ll be fine, Nya. I think you’re forgetting we save the city on a regular basis? We’re perfectly capable.”

Nya put a hand near Pixal’s ear, whispering loudly into it. “Betcha anything the beach will be on fire by the time we get back.”

The two ran off, giggling at the sight of Kai’s smoldering glare, before he could set them on fire.

---

To Kai’s credit, he did not set the beach on fire, or anything, for that matter, but when Nya and Pixal returned, they found him and Cole shoveling sand onto Zane, who was chest-deep by this point.

“Zane!” Pixal exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

“When Kai told me he had something fun to show me, this wasn’t quite what I had imagined.”

“Aww, come on Zane!” Kai grinned. “I’m having a great time.”

Pixal shook her head, and stepped forward, grabbing Zane’s hand and pulling him up, sending sand cascading down everywhere. Cole and Kai groaned.

“Aww, come on, Pix, that took forever!” Cole muttered.

“Yeah, we were gonna shape it into a mermaid tail. Don’t you know how funny that would’ve been?”

“Humor is subjective.” Zane rubbed at his wrists. “Augh, now I’m going to have sand in my gears for weeks.” Shooting a glare at Kai, he added, “I’ll remember this the next time you ditch your swimming lessons.”

“Hey!” Kai yelped. “That’s totally different! Sand is warm, and solid, and most importantly, not dangerous!”

“You could suffocate,” Zane pointed out.

Kai scowled. “You’re a nindroid, you wouldn’t have suffocated.”

“You’re related to an elemental master of water. You won’t drown.”

“Being related to a master of water and being a master of water are two very different things! I control fire, not water, I can’t do anything to protect myself.”

Cole rolled his eyes. “You’re so lame. Remind me again why we brought our friend with aquaphobia to the beach?”

“Technically,” Zane said, raising a finger, “the word you’re looking for is thalassophobia. Kai doesn’t fear water in general, only large bodies, such as-”

“It was his idea,” Nya interrupted. “If it weren’t for him, we’d still be at the Monastery, filing papers.”

“I never suggested the beach!” Kai snapped. “That was your idea!”

“Yeah, well, your suggestions were lame. The beach was the obvious choice.”

“Hey,” Pixal interjected, suddenly realizing they were missing a couple of people. “Where are Jay and Lloyd?”

Cole sighed, pointing up towards their stuff, where Jay and Lloyd were struggling with a large, yellow duck inflatable that was very much not inflated at the moment. Jay had his lips around the mouthpiece, his face red.

“Blow harder, Jay,” Lloyd insisted, hovering by his side. “You’re hardly doing anything!”

Jay pulled his head back, breathing out heavily as the redness faded from his cheeks. “I’d like to see you do better! You’d probably pass out after a minute.”

“Would not!” Lloyd snatched the floaty away from him, blowing hard into the mouthpiece, putting even less air into the floaty than Jay had. His face reddened as he huffed desperately, although he still wasn’t making much progress. After a few moments, Jay pulled it away from him.

“Okay, that’s enough. I don’t want you to actually pass out.”

Lloyd glared at him, panting. “I wasn’t… going to… pass out.”

Jay sighed, grabbing the inflatable and staring at what looked to be the eyes and a very flat, crumpled-looking beak. “At this rate, we’re never going to get Mr. Quackington blown up.”

Lloyd’s nose wrinkled. “Mr. Quackington?”

Jay blinked at him. “Yeah, that’s his name.”

“No, it’s not! His name is Mr. Waddles!”

“Mr. Waddles? What kind of juvenile name is that?”

“Oh, like Mr. Quackington is any better!”

“It is! It’s loads better!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Is so!”

“It’s not!” Lloyd snapped, green energy sparking between his fingers. Jay glanced down at them thoughtfully. “Hey, what if…”

Lloyd was evidently catching on to Jay’s train of thought, his eyes lighting up. “We can use my powers to inflate Mr. Waddles!”

Jay narrowed his eyes. “Quackington.”

Lloyd bared his teeth, the small fangs glinting. “Waddles.”

Jay sighed. “Okay, whatever. We can use your powers to inflate Mr. Waddles.”

Lloyd grinned widely, whether about the promise of getting his inflated duck or having won the name debate with Jay, Pixal couldn’t tell. He held up a hand and formed a basketball-sized sphere of green energy. Jay’s eyes widened, and he held the mouthpiece up to the energy. Lloyd channeled it inside, watching with glee as the duck puffed up, the yellow plastic slowly tinging green, making the duck look like he was about to be sick.

Zane took a step forward, holding his hand out. “Lloyd, wait-”

There was a sharp snapping noise as the floaty popped, and Lloyd and Jay cried out in horror as the yellow pieces of plastic fluttered to the ground. Lloyd fell to his knees, gripping the busted plastic and wailing, and Jay landed next to him, crying, “No! Mr. Waddles, you were so young!”

“I can’t believe he’s really gone,” Lloyd sniffed. “He was my best friend in the whole world.”

Kai threw up his hands. “Great. You spend the last several years of your life looking out for him only to get replaced by his inflatable plastic duck.”

“Oookay,” Nya said, walking over to Jay and Lloyd and ushering them towards the picnic blanket. “Someone’s obviously been out in the sun too long. Go sit under the umbrella and let’s have something to eat.”

“Good idea,” Zane agreed. “I’m sure we’re all getting hungry. Jay, could you grab the picnic basket? It’s right behind you.”

The lightning ninja grabbed the basket, peering inside briefly as he carried it towards them. “I hope you brought the Pringles. I could really go for some of those right now- augh!”

Before anyone could stop him, Jay was falling to the ground, the basket flying out of his hands and landing sideways in the sand.

“Jay!” Kai cried. “Look what you’ve done to our picnic!”

“Hey! That was totally your fault! Why did you leave your shoes right in the middle of the sand, perfectly positioned for someone to trip over?”

“Why were you clumsy enough to get in the way of my shoes?”

“Guys, guys, it’s okay,” Zane assured. Walking over, he carefully lifted the basket out of the sand. “I’m sure it’s still salvageable.”

“Yeah, but now all our food is going to taste like sand,” Lloyd moaned.

“Lloyd, the food barely touched the sand,” Nya pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter. Every time you go to the beach, if the food gets even remotely close to the sand, it always gets sand in it. Every time. It’s one of the great mysteries of the universe.”

“Well, I think you’ll survive,” she said, passing Lloyd a sandwich and a bag of pretzels. Lloyd took them, but narrowed his eyes.

“Brings a whole new meaning to the word ‘sandwich.’”

“Just eat your food, mister.”

Lloyd shot her a glare, but grudgingly obliged. As Pixal bit into her own sandwich, she realized Lloyd was right, she could feel granules of sand between her teeth as she chewed.

“Hey… at least it adds a little crunch, right?” Cole grinned.

Kai grimaced. “Next time, I elect we don’t let Jay anywhere near the picnic basket.”

Jay chucked a grape at him, but Kai turned at the last second, catching it in his mouth. “Ha!” His gleeful expression faded as he caught sight of something behind Jay. “Um, Lloyd, you have someone you wanna introduce us to?”

The group turned to see a seagull had approached them, tilting its head where it stood only a couple feet away from Lloyd. The green ninja was staring at the bird with wide eyes, an awed expression on his face.

“Lloyd,” Nya sighed, “please don’t tell me you fed it.”

“He’s not an it,” Lloyd snapped. “His name is Scully.”

“Great.” Nya rubbed her hands over her face. “We’re already into name territory.”

“Scully?” Kai’s nose wrinkled. “Isn’t that the name of the seagull from The Little Mermaid?”

“No, that’s Scuttle,” Lloyd sniffed. “They’re completely different.”

“Lloyd,” Pixal scolded, reaching for Lloyd’s wrist just as he tossed another chunk of his sandwich at the seagull, “Feeding wildlife is not a good idea, it can be dangerous-”

Lloyd shrieked suddenly as the bird launched itself at Lloyd’s face. He scrambled to his feet, screaming, and Kai lunged forward, pushing the others out of the way. “Move, move!”

“Get it off me, get it off me!” Lloyd shrieked as the bird’s wings flapped in his face, sending feathers everywhere.

“Blast it with your powers!” Kai called, looking worried but keeping a respectable distance.

“I can’t! He’s on my face!”

“Well, I can’t do it, I’ll set you on fire! Nya, you do it!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying,” the water ninja spat through gritted teeth, globes of water already forming in her hands. “I just need to get a clear shot! For the love of… Lloyd, stop moving so much!”

Lloyd hardly seemed to hear her. “He’s going to claw my eyes out,” he wailed, batting weakly at the creature.

“Nya!”

Nya quickly thrust her hands forward, sending a large ball of water at Lloyd’s head, drenching him and the seagull. The bird squawked angrily, falling to the ground.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Nya and Kai darted over to him, Nya taking his face in her hands as Kai peered over her shoulder. A small red scratch stretched across his left cheek, but apart from that, he appeared unharmed, just frazzled.

“Dude!” Kai cried. “You just got attacked. By a seagull!”

“It owned you!”

Lloyd shot Jay a glare. “Did not.”

“You should have seen your face!” Jay laughed. “Oh wait, you couldn’t- there was a bird in the way!”

Lloyd crossed his arms. “I’d like to remind you how you reacted that time when my uncle set that berserk chicken on us.”

“The chicken had lightning powers. Hardly comparable to a simple seafowl, bud.”

“Ugh, I hope this doesn’t get infected,” Nya muttered, running her finger along the scratch. “We should probably get you checked for rabies when we get home.”

“Nya, I’m fine,” Lloyd groaned, pushing her off. “A seagull isn’t going to give me rabies.”

Nya shrugged. “With your luck, I can never be sure.”

“This is why you don’t give food to wild animals, Lloyd, it makes them bolder-”

“Watch out, Lloyd!” Jay shrieked suddenly, and they whipped around to see the seagull had caught its second wind, squawking as it charged at Lloyd.

Lloyd shrieked, taking off down the beach with the seagull in pursuit. Nya sighed, putting a hand on her head. Kai grinned, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Do you think he’ll learn his lesson?”

“No,” Nya said without hesitation. “Absolutely not. That’s the sad part.”

“Hey,” Cole said, pointing a finger down the beach. “The volleyball court’s just opened up. You guys wanna play?”

“Sure. Tell Lloyd he can join us when he gets that seagull taken care of.”

Nya glanced towards the green ninja, who was currently lobbing balls of energy at the bird and missing by an embarrassingly wide berth. “Looks like it could be a while.”

---

“Great job, team!” Nya cheered, high-fiving Pixal and shooting a grin at Cole. “Although, if I’m being honest, the rest of you didn’t put up much of a competition.”

“Hey, don’t look at me!” Kai snapped. “I was carrying the team! Jay, Lloyd, were you planning on helping me anytime soon?”

“I was trying!” Jay insisted. “But you kept getting in my way!”

“Because every time I let you get the ball, you dropped it!”

“Hey! I never said I was good at volleyball, okay? Why are you attacking me, Lloyd sucked too!”

“It’s not like I ever had time to fit in volleyball practice between all my green ninja training! It wasn’t exactly a top priority!” “Are you telling me you’ve never played before?” Kai spluttered.

“I’ve played!” Lloyd insisted. “Uh… once or twice.”

Kai facepalmed. “Why did I let you come on my team?”

Lloyd grinned widely. “‘Cause you love me.”

Cole elbowed him. “It’s because he lost the coin toss and Nya got to pick first.”

“Hey!” Jay yelped. “Are you telling me you would have picked me last?”

“After I saw you play, yeah,” Cole snorted.

“I’m still not convinced on some of those calls, Zane,” Kai said, walking over to the nindriod. “I don’t think that one play near the third point was a foul.”

“Hey, the ref’s call is law,” Nya smirked. “Stop trying to cheat your way to victory, Kai.”

“I’m not cheating! Zane’s girlfriend is on your team! He’s obviously biased!”

“I’m a nindriod, Kai. I cannot be biased.”

“Stop being a sore loser, Kai.” Behind her, a wave swelled up. She raised her hand- then pointed it forward at Kai.

Her brother shrieked as the seawater drenched him.

“Nya! What’d you do that for?”

“You deserved it, with all the whining you were doing. Besides, you looked hot. I was just doing you a favor.”

“It’s alright,” Lloyd laughed. “You can share my towel, don’t worry.” As he handed Kai the towel, the fire ninja eyed it shrewdly.

“It’s got ducks on it. Of course it does.”

“Hey, you want the towel or not?”

“No, I’m taking the towel.” Kai wrapped the towel around himself, shivering, unfurling the ducks for all to see. Cole snickered, and Kai shot him a glare.

“Should we pack up, then?”

Zane nodded. “If we want to be back in time for dinner, probably.”

The team trudged back to their blanket, wet and sandy, but chatting amiably. They had nearly packed up all their things when Lloyd cried out suddenly.

“Where’s my wallet?”

Zane frowned. “Didn’t you put it in the valuables pouch?”

“I thought I did, but…” he paused. “Oh, wait. I tripped over Jay. I must’ve forgotten to put it in after that.”

“Well, then, it’s gotta be around here somewhere. What color is it, Lloyd?”

“What do you think? Green.”

They spent a good ten minutes searching through their entire bag and the surrounding sand, to no avail. It quickly became clear that if Lloyd’s wallet had ever fallen around here in the first place, it wasn’t here now.

Kai shrugged. “Oh well. It’s not that big of a deal. You don’t have any cards, and I don’t think you were carrying any of the cash. We can get you a new one.”

“No, but I had the things in there!”

Cole frowned. “The things?”

“You know.” Lloyd lowered his voice. “The things. That the mayor gave us?”

“What?!” Jay yelped. “Those were in there?” “You lost them?” Kai cried. “Lloyd, how could you?”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose!” Kai groaned, rubbing his face. “We should’ve never trusted you with them. Or at least split them up, so they weren’t all together.”

“I still do not understand.” Pixal frowned. “What are these things that are so important?”

“They’re a top-secret gift from the mayor,” Jay whispered. “We’re not supposed to tell anyone we have them. Not that telling anyone now would matter anyway, because we don’t have them anymore.”

“It’s not my fault!” Lloyd insisted. “It’s that stupid seagull’s, he’s the one who distracted me-” Lloyd paused, his eyes widening. “That’s it! The seagull must’ve swiped my wallet when it was chasing me!”

“Looks like we have a lead,” Kai growled.

“Wait a minute, does anyone else hear that mysterious music-”

“Oh no,” Pixal muttered, putting a hand on her forehead. “Zane, please don’t tell me you’re going to do this again.”

“It seemed that, after only a few weeks, it was time for me to crack yet another case.” The odd, deep voice rang out, and they turned to see Zane slipping on a fedora.

“Where did that even come from,” Pixal despaired. “I’m positive you didn’t bring that with you. Positive.”

“Again, I was to be accompanied by my trusty assistant, but this time, my highly trained ninja associates would also be coming along, all determined to reclaim what someone had stolen in the heist.”

Jay glanced between Pixal and Zane. “What is happening right now? Am I supposed to know what’s happening?”

Pixal shook her head. “It’s a long story. Just go with it.”

Zane tipped his hat down. “Already, we were off with a very promising lead. I suspected the culprit to be the feathered fiend that had been spotted lurking around at the scene of the crime only an hour prior.”

Kai snorted, placing a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Oh, this is gold! Did you mess with his voice again, Jay?”

“No, I didn’t touch him! Pixal, you didn’t…”

She shook her head. “Believe me, I wouldn’t do this if you paid me. It was all him.”

Jay grinned. “What do we do next… detective Zane?” He and Kai simultaneously burst into laughter, leaning against each other for support.

Zane side-eyed them. “The primary suspect was as clear as a black bear in a snowstorm, yet the whereabouts of the creature were still unknown. It had vanished into thin air, without leaving so much as a trace in its stead.”

“Hey,” Lloyd said suddenly, leaning down to pick something up off of the sand, “What about this?”

“It appeared to be part of the plumage of a species of avian native to these shores. Could it belong to the specimen we were looking for?”

Kai plucked the feather from Lloyd’s fingers, examining it. “The feather was white with a dark tip, definitely having originated from a seagull- although the spiked, disturbed edges implied that this was from no ordinary gull- it was from one who had recently been in a fight.”

Jay grinned. “It seemed like we had hit the jackpot. Already, we were one step closer to tracking down this culprit.”

Pixal groaned. “Don’t you two start, too. It was bad enough with just Zane.”

Nya grimaced. “Yeah, this is already getting annoying.”

“How is a feather going to tell us where the seagull is now?” Cole asked.

“I could sense the wind was blowing in from the northwest,” Zane narrated. “If we wanted to find the culprit of the caper, we would have to walk upwind, hopefully leading us to the source of the feather.”

“Alright,” Pixal sighed, “let’s get this over with.”

“And so,” Zane grinned, “The Great Gull Caper began.”

The team trudged up the beach for about twenty minutes, to no avail. They passed many other beachgoers, pointing and staring as the ninja passed, but no seagulls were in sight.

“Are you sure about this, Zane?” Pixal asked.

“The feathered suspect had gained an hour’s head start in its escape from the scene, meaning we would have to hasten our pace if we ever hoped to catch up.”

“Oh, I am not walking an hour just to find this thing. Are we sure it’s that important?”

“Yes!” the guys yelped in unison.

“It’s a very important gift from the mayor! It would be rude to lose it,” Jay said. “We have to get it back!”

“Couldn’t you just ask for another… whatever they are?”

“No! They’re one of a kind!” “Well, can we at least hurry this up? Frankly, I’m getting quite tired of Zane’s shenanigans.”

Zane grinned at her. “Although she voiced her disapproval, my assistant knew the efficiency of my methods, as they had gotten us out of a pinch the last time things had been amok.”

“First of all, I was the one who successfully found Dyer last time. You just ended up getting caught.”

“Perhaps, but you used my techniques.”

Pixal huffed. “Second, I don’t appreciate that you keep calling me your assistant. If anything, we’re partners!”

Zane adjusted his fedora. “So it was a promotion she was after, eh? Well, if my assistant could prove her worth by properly complying with my techniques in this case, she may find herself with a loftier position in the future.”

Pixal sighed. “Whatever. Let’s just find the stupid bird, and go.”

The group trekked after Zane again, and Pixal wondered how long they would be here, when Zane suddenly stopped, causing half of the gang to crash into him.

“What?” Jay yelped. “What’s wrong? Why’d we stop?”

Zane pointed near his feet. “It seemed like the culprit had been careless enough to leave behind tracks in the sand.”

Pixal peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, the tracks of some avian species left a trail in the sand- and after consulting her database, it appeared to match the foot of a seagull.

“We’re getting closer!” Cole said. “It has to be around here somewhere.”

Nya’s eyes went wide, and she pointed towards something in the distance. “Look!”

Down the beach, a large group of seagulls was flocking around a half-eaten pretzel, flapping their wings and squawking as they tried to push past each other.

“It could be any of them,” Lloyd despaired. “How are we going to know which one was the one who stole my wallet?”

Jay smirked. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Lloyd eyed him nervously. “How?”

“One seagull, in particular, has come to associate you with food. One seagull has been known to chase you down.”

“Oh,” Lloyd paled, taking a step back and waving his hands. “Oh, no, I do not like where this is heading…”

“Come on, Lloyd, do it for the team,” Cole pleaded.

“You are the one who lost them in the first place,” Kai agreed. “It’s only fair.”

Lloyd groaned. “Why do I let you bully me into these things?”

“Go on,” Nya gave him a gentle shove. “We don’t have all day!”

Sticking his tongue out at her, Lloyd stepped forward, towards the seagulls. Several of them looked his way, a few flapping their wings anxiously and squawking in warning. Lloyd stopped, swallowing.

“Um. Hey. I don’t suppose any of you have seen a green wallet around here?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “They can’t understand you. Get closer!”

“Okay! I’m going, jeez-” he broke off with a yelp as a seagull darted in front of him, nearly tripping him as he stepped on its tail.

The seagull shrieked, and, in a flurry of feathers, the flock broke into a frenzied panic. Lloyd’s eyes widened, and he cried out, running away and frantically ducking swooping seagulls.

He darted behind Kai as a last nervy seagull hopped after him. Kai held up a fist, which burst into flame, scaring the bird off. Kai glanced back at Lloyd, amusement sparkling in his dark eyes. “You okay, bud?”

Lloyd glared. “Don’t look at me like that. These birds are vicious!”

“Look!” Pixal pointed at a gull that had remained behind. With the others out of the way, she could see the small, green wallet between its beak.

“That’s the one!” Cole cried. “After it!”

For ninja, the group was embarrassingly unstealthy as they clamored after the bird, shooting elemental powers at it and screaming as they narrowly avoided each other’s blasts, so that by the time the seagull reached the water, the beach was a mess of crystalized sand, crevices in the ground, and various burn marks from fire, lightning, and energy.

“It’s a seagull!” Nya cried. “We’ve faced giant snakes, lords of darkness, elemental masters, Oni, more criminals and gangsters than I can count, and an evil video game AI, yet we can’t catch one measly seagull? It shouldn’t be this hard, you guys!”

“It’s getting away,” Jay cried, pointing at the bird, who had finally taken flight and was heading out over the ocean.

“No!” Lloyd moaned. “Now we’re never going to get it back!”

“Not on my watch,” Nya growled, racing past them towards the docks. “Come on!” “Oh no,” Kai groaned. “Nya Smith, whatever you are thinking, stop it right now, because I’m not doing it.” “Come on, Kai,” Lloyd insisted, grabbing his wrist and yanking him along. “We have to hurry!”

They raced after Nya, who was running down the dock towards a man who was examining the boats. Kai followed them more slowly, taking careful steps.

“Sir, we need to use a boat, right away! We’ll pay for it, we promise!”

The man shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am, but these are all private boats. The only one we have is that one,” he pointed to a small, worn-looking fishing boat, “and the motor’s broken, so it’s of no use to anyone.”

“It doesn’t matter, I can take care of that. Everyone, get in!”

“W-wait,” the man stuttered, looking flustered.

“We’ll bring it right back, I promise! Now, come on, we don’t have much time!”

“No!” Kai insisted, as everyone else piled in. “Nuh-uh. No way. Not in a million years. You are not bringing me out into the middle of the ocean in a tiny, crowded boat with a busted engine!”

“You don’t need an engine when you’ve got me!” Nya raised her hand, and the water swirled under the boat, rocking it slightly. “Now, come on, we don’t have time for this!” “Y’know what.” Kai took a couple of steps back from the boat. “I’m good. I’ll stay here. You guys have fun finding the wallet. I’ll cheer you on from the beach. The dry, dry beach.”

“Nope.” Cole reached forward, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him in. “This is your gift we’re saving, too. If you want to get part of it, you’re coming with.”

“Finally!” Nya huffed. The water rippled beneath them, and suddenly, it was propelling their boat, and they were off.

“Where’s the bird?” Nya asked. “Does anyone see it?” “Over there!” Cole pointed slightly towards their left, where the seagull was gliding away with surprising speed. Getting into the boat had slowed them down, and it had gotten a large head start.

Nya gritted her teeth. “Hold on.”

“Don’t go faster!” Kai yelped from where he huddled near the middle of the boat, protectively sandwiched between Lloyd and Cole. “If you tip this boat, I will never forgive you.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Nya growled, although the boat slowed slightly as they continued.

“Our team continued to chase the thief, determined to put an end to the Great Gull Caper and put the culprit to justice. Even when our path took us across the raging waters of the ocean, with nothing but a rusty, broken old boat, and deep, swirling waters around us, filled with the dark abyss and the creatures that lurked there…”

“You mean like sharks?” Lloyd perked, peering over the edge. “Did you see any? I wanna see one!”

“Nope,” Kai yelped, pulling himself into a ball as he sat down on the floor of the boat. “Nopety nope nope nope. I’m done. I’m outta here.”

“The prospect of sharks was a dire one, but one we were willing to take. We would get that wallet back, no matter the cost- even if it meant competition from this fierce predator of the sea.”

Kai screamed into his hands. “Just end me now!”

“What Zane means to say,” Pixal said, elbowing Zane sharply, “is that sharks are actually very off-put by the taste of human flesh, and do not go after humans on purpose.”

Kai stared at her. “Oh joy, now a shark can devour my flesh by accident, what a relief.”

“Do not worry, Kai,” she told him. “There is only one estimated death by shark per year in the greater Ninjago City area.”

“Knowing my luck,” Kai grumbled, “I’ll be that one.”

“Did anyone bring their phone with?” Lloyd asked. “I wanna get a good picture when the sharks come for Kai.”

“I call dibs on his katana,” Jay exclaimed. “Y’know, the super flashy one with the flaming dragon carved into the handle?”

Lloyd wrinkled his nose at him. “Why would you want a fire dragon on your katana? You’re the lightning ninja!”

“Hey, just because my element is lightning, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a super dope fire design when I see one-”

“Guys,” Cole sighed, pushing his way between the two arguing boys. “No one is getting eaten. We’re perfectly safe here, on this boat.”

“Cole’s right,” Pixal agreed. “The sharks around this area are smaller, reef dwellers, and won’t come after us. They may, however, come after our seagull friend if he gets too close to the water.”

Kai made a noise in the back of his throat, and Cole scowled at her. “Thanks for the help, Pix.”

“Nya,” Jay whined, “the seagull’s getting further away! We have to go faster!”

“Don’t!” Pixal cried. “This boat has not been manufactured to withstand a lot of weight. With seven people, especially when two of them are titanium, going too fast would be sure to capsize us.”

“I told you I should’ve stayed behind on the shore,” Kai wailed.

Lloyd leaned further over the edge, raising a hand to his forehead to keep the glare off of his face as he peered intently into the water. “Is… is that a shark?”

Kai stared at him. “Shut up. You’re just baiting.”

Lloyd shook his head, his eyes lighting up in a way that was not reassuring in the slightest. “I’m not! It’s a shark! It’s a real, live shark! I’ve never seen one this close before! Except at like, an aquarium!”

Kai closed his eyes, rocking himself gently. “You’re lying. You stupid liar, I hate you.”

Cole peered over, following Lloyd’s gaze, and promptly bit his lip. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“This is a dumb prank, you guys!” Kai was half-yelling by this point.

“Stop being so loud,” Lloyd hissed. “You’ll scare it!”

Kai blinked at him. “I’ll scare it?”

Lloyd crossed his arms. “A scared shark is an aggressive shark.”

Kai’s mouth snapped shut.

“I can’t believe this,” Cole muttered. “Did we really not bring any weapons?”

“No!” Lloyd yelped. “Cole, you wouldn’t!”

“I would if it kept us from being eaten.”

“For the last time, sharks don’t eat humans!”

Cole ignored him. “Well? Did we?”

Nya snorted. “Why would we bring weapons to the beach?”

“Hey, with how often this city gets attacked, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Nya rolled her eyes. “It was supposed to be our day off.”

“It’s fine,” Pixal reported, keeping a careful eye on the shark. “It’s swimming away now. As long as we leave it alone, we’re safe.”

Kai frowned. “Looks like the gull isn’t so convinced, though.”

Pixal glanced up. Sure enough, the seagull was eyeing the shark nervously, pumping its wings as it flew higher and higher above the surface of the water.

“Do something!” Jay shrieked. “If we don’t stop it now, it’s going to get away for good!”

“Lloyd!” Nya cried. “Is your wallet waterproof?”

“What?”

“Just answer the question!” “Yes! Yes, it is!”

Nya gritted her teeth. “Hold on, everyone!”

Suddenly, a vast wave rose out of the water, looming over the seagull.

Kai’s eyes widened. “Nya, be careful, you’ll hit us too-”

But it was already too late, the wave crashing down, downing the seagull, and soaking them in saltwater. The team cried out, and Kai screamed, throwing his arms over his head in a futile attempt to protect himself. As they all tried to lurch away from the spray, the boat rocked precariously, and, for a horrifying moment, they were suspended there, on the point between balance and capsize.

And then that moment was over, and they were all falling into the ocean.

Pixal’s world immediately dimmed as she plunged into the water, quietness enveloping her like a blanket. For a moment, she was too shocked to do anything, until a foot thrashed past her face, snapping her out of her trance as she swam towards the surface.

A couple of feet before she reached it, a metal hand snatched her wrist and pulled her the rest of the way up.

“Pixal!” Zane cried, his detective voice dropped. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. What about everyone else? Are we all here?”

Zane nodded his head behind her, and she turned to see the others all within a couple of feet. Cole had his hands on the now upside-down boat, trying to use his strength to push it over, but it was hard for him to get a good grip and stay afloat at the same time. Just behind him, Jay was spitting out a mouthful of seawater, sending ripples across the surface of the ocean as he treaded water. Lloyd was doing the same a couple of feet away, only the green ninja was struggling a lot more because of the arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

“Don’t let me go, Lloyd!” Kai yelped, although the feat would’ve been impossible even if Lloyd had wanted to- the fire ninja was clinging to him like a barnacle. “I can’t swim!”

Lloyd sighed. “I know that, Kai. It’s the only reason I’m letting you hold on to me like this.”

“I can’t believe this happened,” Kai cried. “We’re going to die out here. This is the worst day off ever.”

“Hey!” Lloyd snapped. “It’s not my fault this happened!”

Nya shot them all a sharp glare from where she was drifting alongside the boat. She didn’t even bother to tread water like the rest of them, instead using her powers to keep herself afloat. “It was going to work until you guys made such a big fuss about getting a little wet and tipped the boat.”

Cole sighed. “We’re not going to die. As soon as I get this right side up again, we’ll climb up and get out of here. Can you give me a hand, Zane?”

As the nindriod moved to help him, Kai suddenly went rigid.

“Lloyd,” he whispered.

“What, Kai?”

“Something just bumped my foot.”

“It’s probably just seaweed, Kai,” Lloyd sighed, looking down- and promptly froze.

“No one. Move.”

Jay squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh no, oh gosh, don’t tell me that’s what I think it is, this is not happening-”

“Jay, shut up,” Nya whispered, her face pale as she watched the dark shape lurking below them in the water.

“Everyone, stay calm,” Pixal murmured. “Don’t make any sudden movements and try to look it in the eyes.”

“Please, the last thing I’m gonna do is look at it,” Kai breathed, burying his face in Lloyd’s hair.

After a moment, the shark slowly swam past, losing interest.

“It doesn’t care about us,” Zane realized. “It wants the seagull.”

Several yards away, the gull was floating on the water, still trying to shake off the moisture from Nya’s wave. Suddenly realizing the danger it was in, the bird raised its wings- and launched itself into the air, just as fierce jaws snapped against empty air where the seagull had been less than a second ago.

Kai’s fingers dug tighter into Lloyd’s shoulders, and Pixal caught Jay biting his lip as he swallowed back a scream, but, its prey lost, the shark was already swimming away.

“Gotcha,” Nya murmured, reaching a hand out and snatching up the wallet, which the seagull had dropped in all the commotion, before it could sink to the bottom of the ocean.

“Okay. That’s great. We got it. Now can we get out of here?” Kai pleaded.

After a minute, they finally got the boat flipped over, and Cole hauled himself aboard before helping to lift the others. Ten minutes later, they were all safely out of the water and on their way back to the dock, and Pixal had never felt more relieved by the fact.

“So,” Jay asked, as the boat glided through the water, leaning closer to Nya. “Did they survive all that?”

“Let’s see,” Nya murmured, opening up Lloyd’s wallet. Pixal leaned forward, anxious to see what all the fuss had been about.

“Yes!” Jay cried, pulling out seven slips of paper. “They’re all here!”

“Wait.” Pixal snatched one from his hand, quickly scanning it. “A summer pass for free all-you-can-eat ice cream from the Dairy Dragon?”

“Yup,” Jay smiled, passing them out to the others. “The mayor gave them to us as a gift after we saved the city from Prime Empire. That’s what we were going to do today, after the beach, actually.”

“You’re telling me,” Pixal deadpanned. “That we just risked our lives. For free ice cream.”

“Free ice cream is free ice cream, Pix.”

“You’ll understand once you’ve tried their butter pecan,” Nya told her. “It’s to die for.”

“Butter pecan?” Jay spluttered. “No way, the Ninjapolitan is best.”

“You heathen, chocolate fudge is obviously the best flavor-”

“What are you guys talking about, mint chocolate chip is superior!”

“You just like it because it’s green.”

“Do not!”

“Do so!” Nya sighed, putting her head in her hands. “Here we go again.”

“Calm down, all of you,” Pixal said. “You can get whatever flavor of ice cream you want. Just do me a favor and try not to end up capsizing us in the middle of the ocean this time.”

Jay hummed. “No promises.”

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #ninjago kai #ninjago pixal #ninjago nya #ninjago zane #ninjago lloyd #ninjago jay #ninjago cole #i cant believe i actually wrote something that is 100% fluff #that's never happened before #it feels... weird #but it was a lot of fun #and yes Lloyd loves sharks and I will die on that hill #thanks for reading!#reblogs and comments greatly appreciated!

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farfromharry · 4 years

Text

Never knew the proper story | Prince!Harrison fic

Summary: He thought they had a love like Verona's, too bad he never knew the proper story.

Word count - 21,515

Warnings - language, animal death, arranged marriage, fluff, angst?

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

June 3rd - 10:41am

Thomas was arguably Harrisons only friend in the world. The two had more or less grown up together, side by side, but with very different upbringings. Harrison had been raised as a Prince, of course, royal treatment day in and day out, more stuff than he could ever need. But Tom, Tom was the eldest son of a stable worker. The eldest of four boys to be exact, and the man that took care of the royal family's horses.

He earned a wage enough to feed a family of three, let alone a family of six, something Harrison would be determined to change when he was old enough to do so.

The walk down to the stables was always enjoyable for young Harrison. Excitement would always flood the nine year old’s senses at the thought of being able to see Moonlight, but this time was vastly different.

As he stepped inside the dirty stable there was no usual noise of his giddy horse, or the sound of the few workers chaotically tending to the stallions.

“Mr Holland?” the young boy called. His eyes were roaming the insides of the stable, looking for the main man that cared for the horses. Instead he spotted a boy that wasn’t much smaller and didn’t look any younger than him.

“Hello,” he greeted. “Are you okay?”

Harrison nodded, not quite sure how to approach the boy. The Prince didn’t really know much about children his age, having grown up without any friends that weren’t guards meant to babysit him, so he didn’t have very many social skills in a situation so informal.

“I came to see my horse, Mr Holland told me he wasn’t feeling well.” His voice was quiet to the point where the other boy had to pretty much strain his ears to hear what he said.

“Ah, Prince Harrison,” the man said, placing his hands on his son's shoulders. Tom’s eyes almost bulged out of his head at the realisation that the Prince was standing right in front of him. “I see you’ve met my son, Thomas.”

Tom awkwardly waved, looking between his dad and the visibly uncomfortable boy.

“I-I came to see Moon,” he said, looking at the man with teary, puppy dog eyes. At his young age, Harrison didn’t really understand the concept of his horse being sick, he thought it meant his precious pet was going to die, and he didn’t want that at all, he’d do anything in his power to prevent it from happening.

“Tom here's been taking good care of him today,” he explained, leading the two boys over to the horse. “He’s doing okay, sir.”

Harrison looked up at the older man with hopeful puppy dog eyes, praying that he was telling the truth. He sat on the floor next to the horse, placing a gentle hand on his body to stroke his fur.

Moonlight was a beautiful stallion. Pearly white fur and light coloured mane decorating the large body of the gentle horse. Harrison and even Tom’s father were certain they’d never met a more gentle animal.

The boy he’d learned to be Thomas sat across from him, sitting criss-cross with a tight lipped smile in the lingering awkward silence.

Mr Holland left the two alone when he was sure they’d be able to start their own conversation to keep them amused, sensing Harrison also wanted to spend some time with his horse.

After a while of silence he spoke up, catching Tom’s attention from where he was sitting on the hay.

“We didn’t formally introduce ourselves,” Harrison said. Tom’s eyebrows furrowed, his lack of education meaning that he didn’t actually understand what the Prince had just said to him. He looked at him as though he was speaking another language and Harrison blushed slightly, thinking he’d done something to embarrass himself. He brushed it off though, holding his hand out to the brunette with a comforting smile.

“I’m Harrison.”

With the simple action Tom understood, slipping his hand into the blondes.

“I’m Tom.”

That was over a decade ago now, the two boys now nineteen, and from that day on the two would cause complete havoc anywhere they went. Tom was forever in debt to Harrison’s family, his close friendship with their son being one of the main reasons his family was still alive, even though Harrison would often tell him it was nothing but common decency.

Harrison was currently helping tutor Tom’s youngest brother. In his defense, Tom had tried, but his minor experience in education was simply not enough to assist. Harrison’s high level, expensive, Prince worthy education however, was more than enough to help his brother learn how to read higher level books.

“Can you read that one for m-“ He was interrupted by the sudden movement from Tom, the two males' heads turning in his direction like he’d gone mad.

Tom jumped up from the bed as soon as he saw the Queen entering the room, not wanting to seem disrespectful to the woman who could have him imprisoned or even killed in a heartbeat, even though Harrison would never allow it.

The other male took his time getting to his feet, not seeking the urgency to please his mother as much as his best friend. Tom tried to signal for his brother to show some manners, but Harrison urged him to continue with his reading.

“Your majesty.” Harrison rolled his eyes, slapping Tom’s shoulder as a sign to get up from his bow. He’d assumed the boy had known him long enough to not have to greet his mother with a bow and such a formal greeting every time he saw her.

“Oh, Thomas, Patrick, hello,” she greeted, flashing them a nervous smile. Tom glanced between his best friend and his best friend’s mother, sensing some kind of underlying tension that he definitely didn’t want to watch unfold.

“There’s a uh- a horse I need to attend to, in the stables,” he lied, a painfully fake smile on his face, one that no one was believing. “Yeah, a horse.”

Paddy furrowed his eyebrows, scolding Tom when he practically dragged him out of his seat. “Come on, Paddy.”

The young boy just had enough time to grab his book, waving goodbye to Harrison as he was quickly ushered out of the room.

Tom didn’t even say goodbye before he left, quickly rushing out of the Prince’s chambers to the stables where he’d said he’d be, he could at least keep up with that part of his lie.

Harrison let out a deep sigh, taking a seat on the edge of his four-poster bed ready for whatever painful conversation was about to happen.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a little while as his mother thought about what she was going to tell her son, sending him a pitying glance that turned into a stern look.

“Now I already know that you aren’t going to be happy about this,” she began. Harrison quietly scoffed, busying himself by playing with the cuffs of his shirt. He tuned out the sound of his mother’s voice, something anyone else in the entire Kingdom wouldn’t even dream of doing for the sake of keeping their heads- well that might be slightly dramatic, but Harrison was already pissed off.

There were four words that caught his attention and would’ve knocked him off of his feet if he were standing. “You’re getting married.”

“What?”

»»——⍟——««

Tom didn’t really have anything to do in the stables, and everyone in the Prince’s room had already known that, so he just had to busy himself with anything while Paddy sat down to continue his reading. Tom spent a little bit of time with Harrison’s horse, talking to him about nonsense. He more or less expected to be alone in the stables, other than the ten year old of course, of who wasn’t paying attention, but normally it was just Tom and the horses, sometimes Harrison too.

So he most definitely wasn’t expecting an audience to his conversation with a horse...

He was too caught up to notice the pretty lady standing by the door, quietly giggling at how he probably seemed insane. She chose to speak up eventually though, feeling like she’d already intruded enough.

“Hello?” Tom’s head perked up at the sound of the feminine voice. He stepped out from behind the stallion, noticing a lady that didn’t look like she belonged in a stable at all.

“Can i help you?” he asked kindly, running his hand through the loose curls on his head, brushing them out of his eyes. His eyes roamed her face like he was in some sort of trance, his heart beginning to race.

She flashed him a nervous smile that had butterflies erupting in Tom’s stomach.

“I’m Delilah, I just wanted to come and see the horses, I was informed they’re lovely.”

His eyes widened slightly at the mention of her name, but he nodded in his trance like state, making the lady giggle. He was unable to pinpoint where he’d heard that name before.

“Are you alright?” she asked, snapping Tom out of it. He nodded his head, a pink blush creeping its way onto his cheeks.

“Sorry, I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere,” he explained, running a hand through his hair once again. She flashed him a grin, one that showed off her pearly whites and convinced Tom he could fall in love right there.

“Well, I suppose I should have greeted myself properly.” She took a deep breath, putting on some kind of façade that she was used to wearing in the company of others, to mask her disappointment.

It hit Tom like a horse and cart, the male having a quick moment of realisation.

“Princess Delilah?” he muttered, staring at her wide eyed. She nodded her head sadly, sending him a tight lipped smile.

“That would be me, yes.” His eyebrows drew together in confusion, the pieces not really adding up. Why would a Princess from another Kingdom come here unannounced?

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?” He tried to sound as kind as possible, the man was genuinely curious. “I-In the kingdom i mean.”

He noticed her face drop slightly, but she quickly covered it up with another one of her bright smiles.

“I’m afraid I’m not allowed to discuss that.” Tom respected her words, understanding that she could probably get into trouble if he was to pry it out of her. He would still probably ask Harrison anyway, seeing as that’s most likely what his mother wanted to discuss.

The topic was quickly changed so that the atmosphere wouldn’t be so awkward, the young boy in the corner of the room catching Delilah’s eye, thankfully giving her something else to talk about.

“And who’s this?” she asked politely. Paddy didn’t look up from his book, making Tom silently curse him out in his head.

“This is my brother, Paddy.” At the mention of his name he looked up, sending a confused smile to the two adults. Her eyes caught the cover of the book in his hands, peaking her interest.

“What are you reading?” she asked. Tom’s heart fluttered slightly, making a mental note that the Princess was good with kids. She obviously lived up to the sweetheart title the population of her Kingdom had so kindly graced her with, one that was famous enough that it carried through to other places.

“Romeo and Juliet.”

He could see her face light up with recognition, a sparkle coming to her eye as she looked at the well looked after copy of the book.

“That’s one of my favourites, I like that it’s different.”

Tom felt slightly silly that he didn’t know what they were talking about. He felt as though the ten year old was managing to bond with the Princess better than he was.

He nervously stuttered out. “Why is it different?”

He only felt brainless when they both stared at him. Part of him felt like he was being judged for not understanding the simple things behind the story that he hadn’t- no, couldn’t even read.

“It shows that not all love stories end happily,” Paddy explained, looking up at the wiser woman for confirmation. She giggled quietly, nodding her head at the boy.

Delilah let out a sigh, flashing Tom another smile that could convince him to do just about anything she asked him to.

“I should get going, I have to get ready for later,” she mumbled. “It was nice meeting you Tom.”

Like the kind gentleman he was, he bowed to the Lady, earning a playful eye roll from the Princess.

“The honour was mine,” Tom flirted, sending her a teasing smirk.

Paddy faked a cough, drawing their attention away from each other’s eyes and back to the real world. “It was nice to meet you.”

The Princess shook the child’s hand, nodding her head in agreeance. “Tell me how you like the book once you’re finished.”

Without another word she was gone, her beautiful pale blue dress flowing behind her in the faint summer breeze. Tom watched her go, mesmerized by the simple way she moved.

“You’re in love, aren’t you?” His words broke Tom out of his daze. Paddy may only be young, but he wasn’t silly. He could still clearly see the blush that had been coating Tom’s cheeks while he had spoken with the lovely Princess.

“Even if I was, it doesn’t matter,” he simply stated, not confirming nor denying Paddy’s statement.

“Why not?”

“She’s obviously here for a reason, and I’m not going to be the reason a royal deal is ruined,” he explained simply. “Harrison would kill me.”

Before anymore could be spoken on the matter, Harrison barged through the door with an angry scowl on his face, muttering some nonsense under his breath that either boys were able to decipher.

Tom called Harrison’s name, telling him to calm down and try to stop his racing thoughts before he spoke. He watched his friend take a deep breath, composing himself.

“You will never believe what my mother’s just told me.” Tom hummed for him to continue, telling Paddy to go and sit outside the stable, somewhere he wouldn’t hear their private conversation. The young boy huffed, standing up from the hay. He headed to sit on a patch of dry grass against the stone wall opposite the wooden barn, sending daggers at his oldest brother.

“They want me to marry the Princess of-“ That was all Tom heard. His heart sank into a pit in his stomach, any happy emotions about their earlier interactions were gone. “I can’t believe it.”

“Why’s that?” he asked, trying to act like he didn’t absolutely despise the idea just as much as his best friend did.

“I don’t want to marry some stranger, Tom.” He rolled his eyes at the prince, stroking his hand down the centre of the horses’ nose. Honestly, he did feel bad that his friend didn’t have a say in who he got to marry, but at the end of the day he was still marrying a princess, and that’s more than Tom could ever do, especially Delilah.

“She’s very beautiful,” he said, trying to at the least make things sound better for his friend. Harrison shot him a look of confusion.

“How do you know?” he asked.

Tom let out a sigh. “She came down to the stables just before you got here, said she wanted to look at the horses,” he shrugged. Harrison stared at him like he’d gone insane. “What?”

“You can’t be serious,” he stated, finding it hard to believe that the ‘proper lady’ that had been described to him could ever find herself willingly in a stable. Her mother was adamant she would never step foot in such a place, another thing that made him so hesitant, horses were a big part of his life.

“Why would I lie?” Tom challenged, holding his best friend’s stare. Harrison eventually gave in, letting out a groan as he ran his fingers through his hair for the hundredth time.

“She’s nice, she was good with Paddy, so she’s good with kids,” Tom said. “That’s a good thing.”

His eyes widened, throwing his arms in the air.

“How is that a good thing?” he asked. Tom rolled his eyes, flicking his pointer finger against the back of Harrison’s head, receiving him a glare.

“In a marriage, people normally have children-“

“Fuck,” Harrison cursed. “I didn’t even think of that, do you think they’ll want us to have kids?”

Harrison’s brain felt like it was going to explode, all of this information at once becoming overwhelming for the young man.

“Probably, if you’re going to rule one day they’ll want you to have heirs, Harrison.”

He placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him while he was clearly in distress.

Tom didn’t know if he’d ever heard his best friend sound so helpless. Normally, he always knew how to approach any situation head on. “What am I going to do?”

»»——⍟——««

June 3rd, 7:00pm

The Prince had been on edge since the conversation with his mother this morning. She’d found him wandering the castle later in the day and informed him of a spontaneous ball they were throwing in honour of their guests, one that she had forgotten to tell him about.

Harrison had rolled his eyes, leaving her without another word to go and find the stable boy so he could guilt trip him into coming with him.

Now a few hours later and here they were, standing above the crowd of the overcrowded ballroom, chatter and music making it hard to think, let alone have a proper conversation.

Tom had had to slow Harrison’s alcohol intake down, the male already having tried to take up to three glasses from passing by servers.

“You need to calm down,” Tom instructed, wanting to keep his friend sober so he didn’t say or do anything he didn’t mean in the moment and embarrass himself

The older male decided on the perfect distraction when he saw his younger brothers approaching.

The ball was open to those of the Kingdom who could afford to dress up, and luckily for Tom, Harrison would provide him with anything he needed if he wanted his family here.

In the end only Harry and Sam had decided to come, but that still meant the lads parents were getting a well deserved break from all their responsibilities, seeing as Paddy was capable of keeping to himself for a few hours.

“Your highness,” Sam teased, over exaggerating a bow to the Prince. He rolled his eyes, lightly swatting the back of the brunette’s head, flashing him an innocent smile.

“What have you been doing?” Tom asked.

“We’ve been trying to find some lovely ladies to dance with,” the younger twin explained.

The Prince rolled his eyes, scanning the dance floor for any potential guests for his friend’s brothers, they were only sixteen, so it was a difficult task when you didn’t have many options.

“Well, take your pick, and I’d even encourage you to go for those two over there.” Of course Harrison was pointing to two of the women his mother had named as other potential brides for him if he ruined the deal with the Princess’ family. He knew if Harry and Sam were to pursue them, his mother would most likely flip, and oh how he enjoyed when that happened.

“Aren’t they-“ Tom began. He cut his friend off with a look, chuckling and shaking his head.

“Let them have their fun Thomas,” he said, a devious smirk plastered on his face. He turned to the twins, noticing how the two were already planning what they would say to the fancy women. “Cause as much inconvenience to my mother as you’d like.”

The pair scattered off into the crowd, Tom not hesitating to hit the Prince’s bicep for encouraging their mischief.

“You’re going to get them in trouble.”

“They’re smart, they’ll be perfectly fine,” he defended.

The two men continued to wait for any sign of the Princess. With most women he could tell, as awful as it sounded, but some didn’t look cut out to be a princess.

That’s why he was certain he’d spotted her when she showed up at the top of the steps. Her hair was shining, loosely flowing down her back as her hazel eyes came in to focus with the flickering candle light of the large room. Her hands carefully dropped the golden fabric of her gown when she’d come to a stand still, allowing Harrison to admire her, completely, from afar. Beauty.

“Is that her?” he asked. Tom wasn’t given the chance to answer before Harrison was jumping in again. “She’s bea-“

“Not here yet,” Tom interrupted, looking at his best friend in confusion. Harrison turned to him with a furrowed brow, cocking his head.

He pointed to the top of the stairs where she was standing nervously, fiddling with the hems of her sleeves while she scanned the sea of smartly dressed individuals below. “Then who is she?”

Tom followed his stare to see her standing there. He was also slightly taken off guard when he saw her face, his jaw going slack. Harrison slapped his arm as a way of warning, silently having claimed the mystery girl as his, already, even if she wasn’t the Princess he was meant to be falling head over heels for.

“Let’s find out,” Tom smirked, starting to swiftly walk towards her. Harrison tried to call him back, cursing under his breath at the confidence his friend held.

“Tom, don’t you dare,” he warned. He simply received a swift middle finger from the male. Harrison let out a snort, covering it up with a cough when some of the guards gave him a stern look. This was surprisingly a common occurrence with the two males when it came to the guards of the castle.

Even growing up around the Prince, Tom wasn’t as polished as Harrison was, and had actually rubbed off on him some. Of course the Queen wasn’t happy about that, scolding her son every time he did something she wouldn’t class as ‘royal behaviour’, whatever that meant. So the authority in the castle often had times over the years where they had to scold the Prince for acting like a commoner, a word Harrison despised for the sake of his best friend.

Although he still had to remember that this was a proper, formal meeting with the royal family of the neighbouring country, so he had to be on his best behaviour. That meant also controlling his manic best friend who was now introducing himself to the beautiful Lady.

“I’m Thomas, but you can call me Tom, darling,” he lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss on the back of it. She felt her body growing hot, trying to act calm as if this very attractive man wasn’t greeting her out of nowhere. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been given as much male attention, especially not from someone so kind.

“I’m Annette,” she giggled. “But you can call me Annie.”

“It’s very nice to meet you Annie.” He had that silly smile on his face that Harrison recognised every time Tom tried to flirt. He met the two at the top of the stairs, standing beside them awkwardly rocking on his feet.

She turned to look at Harrison and he was almost breathless seeing her up close. Annie felt herself grow nervous at the blank look on his face. If she thought Tom was attractive, she had another thing coming when she saw Harrison. Her heart fluttered when she saw the blonde staring at her.

“I-I’m Harrison,” he stuttered, acting as though he wasn’t blushing profusely like a school boy with a crush. Her eyes stayed locked on his, the corners of her lips twisting up into a soft smile.

“P-Prince Harrison?” she asked, her voice shaky slightly. He nodded, his heart sinking slightly. “It’s very nice to meet you, your highness.”

Tom tried to hold back his laughter as she curtsied for the male, knowing that Harrison hated that kind of treatment from people.

“I’m Annette,” she stated. She almost melted when Harrison took her hand like Tom had. The Prince bowed to kiss her hand, flashing her a smile that made her knees weak.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you before,” he said. “I apologise if this is rude but, who exactly are you, love?”

Annie’s heart melted at the sweet nickname falling from his lips, her hands beginning to sweat slightly as she grew more and more nervous at the idea of messing this interaction up. She was convinced she might die if she embarrassed herself right now.

“I’m just a handmaiden to the Princess, nothing of importance,” she explained, a light chuckle following her words. Harrison shrugged, a flirty smile much like Toms decorating his lips. Now Harrison still didn’t have very many informal social skills, but he had turned out to be a natural flirt, even when he didn’t really notice he was doing it.

“I would say that’s an important job, having to get the Princess ready and proper,” he said, turning to the male. “Wouldn’t you Tom?”

He rolled his eyes. “I would, and speaking of, where is the Princess?”

Annie was glad that they’d changed the subject of the conversation so quickly, just so Harrison couldn’t see the silly grin that had blossomed on her face when he complimented her job.

“She’s a little bit nervous, but she should be here by now.” Harrison noted that she was angsty, unable to stand still as she waited to see if the Princess was even going to show.

It was an awkward few minutes of Harrison checking his shiny, golden pocket-watch every few minutes, mentally noting that the Princess was late. While Tom attempted to keep conversation with their new friend.

“Ah, Annie.” The girl turned her head, a thankful smile planting itself on her face. “I’m sorry for keeping you,” she apologised, greeting the other royal with a polite curtsy.

“No worries, Princess.”

She smiled at the group of three, noticing the familiar face along with her best friends, her eyes lingered on the dressed up stable boy for a second. She giggled, pointing a finger at him accusingly.

“From the stable,” she said. Tom nodded, shooting his friend an ‘I told you so’ look. “Nice to see you again.”

Harrison rolled his eyes, punching his friend's shoulder to tell him to shut up.

Upon his first meeting with Delilah, he didn’t feel the connection like he did with Annie, and the Princess was certain she hadn’t felt the connection like she’d felt with Tom. In Fact it seemed like Thomas had more of a connection with Delilah than the blonde did. Harrison was pretty sure he’d managed to screw up this deal before it had even properly begun.

“Shall we?” she asked, nodding in the direction of the ballroom floor, dragging him out of his thoughts before he could get too lost. He sent one last lingering look at Annie, one she returned, before he nodded his head at Delilah.

He took her hand with a forced smile, sending a glance in the direction of Tom and Annie, who had now been left alone, as he descended the steps with the Princess. He noticed how Tom seemed to be making her laugh, jealousy tugging at his heart at how his best friend could easily make her swoon.

But still he noticed the way she beamed at him, her smile causing butterflies in Harrison’s stomach. He watched as Tom politely offered her his hand, and he could almost hear his friend’s voice in his head asking her to dance.

“Harrison,” Delilah hissed, snapping his attention back to the girl on his arm. He hummed, silently asking what was wrong. “Take my waist.”

As he looked around he noticed numerous pairs of eyes on them as they waited for the soon to be engaged couple to begin to dance together. He grew nervous at all the sets of eyes, feeling as though they were silently judging him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, clearing his throat. He slipped his hands around her waist, holding her close to him, while hers circled around his neck.

Harrison felt bad that his eyes were practically glued to the way Annie flowed so gracefully across the floor in Tom’s arms, rather than on the girl he should be focusing on.

She raised her hand to his jaw, gently turning his chin so the striking blue of his eyes met hers. He could see the sympathy all over her face.

“I take it you don’t want to marry me?”

He didn’t expect her to bring that up so bluntly.

“I don’t even know, how could I possibly say that? I barely know you.” He didn’t know how she felt, and Harrison wasn’t going to jeopardise everything for the sake of a girl he’d met a few seconds ago, compared to the woman that was going to be his wife.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re practically drooling over Annie.”

He became defensive, shaking his head. “I’m not, really, I was just-“ He tried to come up with a quick lie, swallowing nervously. “I was looking at her dress, i-it’s bright and-“

“I don’t want to marry you either.” He let out a breath of air.

“Oh thank God.” She giggled, the man joining in with a more than relieved chuckle. The two had to reassure each other that they just weren’t ready and it was nothing personal, because truly it wasn’t. It didn’t take a genius to see Delilah had clicked with Tom in the stables and Harrison and Annie had some sort of obvious chemistry when they met on the stairs.

“What are we going to do?” she asked, feeling completely useless, letting out a surprised squeal when the Prince twirled her. Harrison shrugged, trying not to let the stress of the situation show on his face, forcing a smile on his lips instead.

“Well people are watching,” he said. “So for now, we dance.”

She hummed. “Now that, I can do.”

»»——⍟——««

June 12th, 1:26pm

A week or so after the ball, Harrison and Delilah were being pushed into spending time together, in their parent’s words it would be ‘building their love connection.’

The two had simply shared an eye roll and had to agree, pretending as though the idea didn’t sound weird and awful. With a few more painful comments from their mothers about how cute they were going to look together, they were ready to go and ‘bond.’

“Oh and, take Annie with you.” Harrison’s eyes widened, glancing over at the girl who looked just as shocked as the pair of royals. She obediently nodded her head, silently accepting that she’d have to get used to the couple somehow and now would maybe be her chance.

“Well Ladies, after you,” Harrison muttered, motioning for the two women to leave the room first.

The three took a stroll through the gardens of flowers, Delilah and Harrison making polite conversation while Annie hung back. She took the time to admire all the different types of vibrant flowers that looked as though they had been handled with such care.

She thought they were beautiful, and she could only wish the King and Queen would have something like this at their own Palace. As much as she’d begged them, they never gave in. She hadn't noticed that the pair in front had slowed to a stop, partially to give her the chance to catch up so she didn’t get lost in an unknown place.

Harrison’s eyes roamed the side of her face as she admired the rows of beautiful dandelions. He felt heat rising to his cheeks just looking at her, the way the sun beamed down and created something like a halo around her.

“You look at her like she’s the only person in the world, you know.”

He knew she was right. Harrison hated that he couldn’t control his feelings, that he couldn’t feel for Lilah like he did for Annie. There was just something so unexplainable about her, and he wanted to know so much more.

“To me, she is.”

Annie turned her head to look at the pair standing together, the baby curls that were framing her face blowing in the gentle breeze. She looked between the two royals who had obviously been watching her and ducked her head down.

She assumed that they’d been waiting on her and she felt guilt rising in her chest.

“Sorry,” she muttered, picking up her pace again and beginning to walk towards them both. Delilah linked her arm through her best friends, flashing her a bright, loving smile.

“Why are you apologising? We were just talking about how pretty you are.” The words came out of her mouth like it was nothing, yet here Annie was almost choking on her own breath. The Prince thought she was pretty?

She wasn’t given time to dwell on it when Harrison quickly jumped in, trying to save himself any awkward questions.

“Come on, I know somewhere we could go.”

The two women put their trust into Harrison as he led them through a forest type environment. They shared a look of confusion behind the males back, wondering if they dared to speak up.

“You aren’t taking us here to kill us are you?” Annie asked.

Harrison snorted, shaking his head with a rather amused smile planted on his face. “No, I'm not.”

“Then where are we going?”

He grinned, picking up his pace. He didn’t take into account how difficult it may be for them both to walk through all the fallen branches and twigs while in dresses, meaning he arrived at his surprise destination moments before they did.

The forest opened out into a small meadow-like area, housing a gradual grass bank decorated with the most elegant of flowers, that descended into a smooth flowing stream. The sound of the running water hitting various large rocks and the happy, chirping birds were the only thing that filled the rather calming atmosphere.

The stream looked like a place you could swim if you entered from the other side, the water being more deep than shallow. However, the end Harrison had led you to allowed you to comfortably see the bottom through the clear river.

Annie studied the place in awe, feeling an overwhelming calming sensation fill her body just standing there. The Princess was already off to admire the wildlife she’d spotted in the trees, wanting to get a closer look at the loud spoken birds.

For Annie this felt like a whole new experience, they didn’t have places this ethereal back home.

“This place is gorgeous,” she whispered. Harrison took his chance, seeing as this was the first time he was pretty much alone with Annie. She felt his presence behind her as she looked out across the stream.

“How did you find this?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, kicking at one of the stones beside his shoe.

“I found it when I was a kid actually,” he said, smiling at the memory of that day. “I was riding and my horse got startled, ran off and left me in the mud, literally.”

She giggled, the sound like music to the blonde’s ears. Speaking of his ears, they were currently tinting red from the embarrassed blush she’d managed to put on his face.

“I went to go and find him and found him drinking from the stream, must have known it was here.”

Delilah didn’t know what the two were talking about, but she did know that look in Annie’s eyes. The girl was admiring Harrison with soft eyes filled with adoration while he told his story, laughing every time he laughed, smiling when she saw the crinkles next to his eyes.

“Come on,” he said, holding his hand out for the girl. She tilted her head, tentatively locking her fingers with his. He led her down the small hill, closer to the running stream of water.

He gently placed his hands on her shoulders when the two came to a stop, him feeling her body relax under his tender touch.

The water was now only a hand width away, and she had to admit that the view from down here was much more exquisite than the view from above.

She could feel Harrison’s hands trailing down her arms, jumping to her lower back all of a sudden.

“What are you-“

She didn’t even manage to finish her sentence before Harrison was pushing her forward into the water. She gasped, trying to reach for him but to no avail.

He made no attempt to catch her as she fell onto her bum in the water, not deep enough to fully submerge her but deep enough to splash her so her dress was now drenched with pond water.

The Prince was laughing loudly, finding it truly hilarious how she pouted up at him while small water droplets trickled down her face.

“Harrison,” she whined, standing in the dripping dress as he laughed at her. Delilah watched in amusement upon the grass, shaking her head at just how obvious the adorable puppy-love attraction between them was.

He offered out his hand to her, telling her that he’d help her over the small rocks so she didn’t slip and fall. Annie saw that as an opportunity to get her own back, tugging on his hands so he fell in with her this time.

Granted it meant she also fell back into the water, Harrison practically on top of her, but the girl simply couldn’t stop laughing at the shock written all over his face.

“That was so mean,” he groaned. Only at his words did she look up, noticing just how close to her he was. His hands were holding him up so he was hovering above her, and her laughter slowly died down as she noticed how their faces were only a few inches apart.

“You pushed me in first,” she whispered. The two were lost in the other’s eyes. From this close Annie could see every different fleck of blue in his eyes, every tiny freckle on his face and-

“Hey lovebirds, you should really dry off if you want to make it back in time for dinner.”

The pair's cheeks flushed at Delilah’s interruption, remembering that the two weren’t alone at all.

Harrison had to be the first one to get to his feet from his position on top of her, holding out his hand with a pinky promise that neither one would push the other in again.

He helped Annie back to the grass bank, the two deciding that they would need to lay in the sun in order to dry off their clothes.

Harrison had pulled down his suspenders so they were hanging off of his hips, unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt hoping it would dry quicker. He laid down with his back against the grass, letting the sun loom over him.

The girl didn’t take long in joining him, laying beside him quietly. It was peaceful, the two soaking up the sun and the silence together.

Annie grew uncomfortable after a while, feeling her hair dampen the back of her clothes further. She pushed herself up out of her laying position until she was sitting upright, catching Harrison’s attention.

Her hand ran over the messy curls, her bottom lip jutting out adorably.

“My hair’s a mess,” she complained, pulling apart the thin string of ribbon that held it into a loose ponytail, now dripping wet with the water from the stream.

“I could plait it for you if you’d like,” he offered. She looked at him with slight amusement, almost disbelief.

“Really?” He simply nodded, holding his hand out to take the ribbon from her. He let her crawl between his spread legs, sitting with her back towards him so he could reach her wet curls.

He separated the strands as gently as he could, trying not to pull too hard.

“Where did you learn to do hair?” she asked, feeling him start the plait off correctly. Harrison grinned, his skilled hands creating the perfect braid down her back.

“I have a little sister.”

Annie’s eyes widened, looking over her shoulder at the boy in shock. He quietly scolded her for ruining his concentration, making her face back in the direction she was originally.

“Why haven’t I seen her in the castle?”

He chuckled. “You probably have, would’ve thought she was a maid with the dresses she wears.”

He noticed her visibly tense, her demeanor changing quickly.

“What’s wrong with maids?” she asked. His eyes widened, clearing his throat.

“N-Nothing I just-“ He didn’t know how to dig himself out of this hole he’d got himself in. “I just meant she blends in, doesn’t act like a Princess either.”

She nodded. Harrison could tell he’d messed up slightly. He hadn’t meant to offend her in any way and now he felt bad. He carefully tied the ribbon around the end of her hair, sealing off her plait tightly. He let out a sigh, gently moving to put his hands on her arms.

“I’m sorry if I upset you.”

She sent him a smile, shaking her head. “It’s okay.”

Over the course of the next few hours Annie noticed how touchy Harrison had got with her, wanting to, at the minimum, hold her hand. She wasn’t sure if it was his way of making up for what he said, but she wasn’t mad at it.

So, when the three of them headed back to the castle, he was completely reluctant to let go. He ran his thumb over her knuckles one last time before sadly releasing her hand, her positive smile causing him to break out into a smile too.

Harrison and Delilah were bombarded with questions from their mothers as soon as they stepped through the main door of the castle. They were ushered into a gorgeous, grand room where the ladies were sitting having tea.

“You’re back,” Alice announced.

Harrison’s mother tried to invite them all to sit down, instructing some of the maids to pour them some tea. He politely refused, telling the nice women not to bother.

“We’d love to hear all about your day,” she gushed, taking Harrison’s face in her hands with a grin. Lilah let out a quiet laugh, earning a glare from the Prince who was anything but happy.

“Actually, I was just going to introduce Delilah here to my horse,” he explained, quickly creating a lie so he could avoid having any kind of tea with their mothers. More so because he couldn’t really tell them what they’d done with their day, nor did he even want to try.

He noticed her perk up in her stance, probably at the thought of getting to see Tom in the stables.

“Horse?” her mother asked, slight disgust in her tone. He forced a smile, stiffly nodding his head. Delilah sent her mother a stern look. “Right, Annette you’re going with them, yes?”

The girl looked up from her place in the corner. Lilah noticed in the corner of her eye the way Harrison stood straighter when Annie looked in their direction, trying to stifle a giggle at how obvious his crush on her was.

“Yes, I suppose so,” she smiled. Queen Alice nodded, cupping the back of Annie’s head to move her along.

“Dear, do you know your hair is wet?” Her eyes widened slightly, flashing the Queen a nervous smile, but she calmly shrugged it off.

“It must be from my shower this morning,” she explained. Annie was just praying that she didn’t notice the way her hair had gone from being in a ponytail to a slightly messy plait. The long pause of silence made her nervous, the girl flicking her eyes over to the other people in the room.

“Very well, go ahead.”

It was only a short walk down to the stables, but in that time Harrison had managed to lock his fingers with Annie’s again. Neither of them said anything about it, just sporting grins instead, ones that made Lilah roll her eyes.

Upon entering the stables they noticed Tom petting Harrison’s horse, reminding Lilah of the day the two had met where he’d more or less been in the same position as he was in now.

“Oh hello, what are you all doing here?” Annie and Harrison shared a look when they noticed Tom trying to discreetly tidy himself up a little, having been looking a tad bit ragged from working the stables all day.

“We’re escaping our mothers and their tea,” Harrison explained. If Tom was even listening to him he didn’t show it, his eyes fixed right on Lilah’s.

“Would you two be okay if I maybe went with Tom somewhere?” she asked, turning her head over her shoulder to look at the two amused faces behind her. “I could always meet your horse another time.”

Annie grinned up at Harrison, whispering to let them go have fun for a little while, seeing as Delilah had spent the whole day watching her and Harrison have the time of their lives together.

“Go,” he encouraged. Tom sent his friend a grateful look, tugging Delilah away from the pair. They watched as she linked her arm with Tom’s, the stable boy leading her out into the gardens somewhere.

“What’s his name?” Annie asked once the two were out of sight. The Prince smiled, turning his attention back to his horse.

“This is Moonlight,” Harrison said, running his hand over the main of the lovely horse. Annie grinned at the name, prepared to begin her teasing on how it was slightly silly. no

“Moonlight, really?”

He scoffed playfully, sending her a look. “I named him when I was a child.”

The two descended into a comfortable silence, stroking the soft fur of the horse. Annie couldn’t hold back anymore, needing to make some kind of comment about the name once again.

“It’s rather silly though, don’t you think?” Harrison pushed her arm lightly, shaking his head at her teasing. He wrapped his arms around her waist, the girl biting her lip to hide her wide grin as his face rested so close to hers.

“Maybe I think your name’s rather silly.”

She giggled, looking over her shoulder. Harrison’s nose was practically pushing against hers in an eskimo kiss, the two so close that they were surprised their lips weren’t brushing over one anothers.

Annie had to be the one to pull away, knowing she couldn’t steal the woman, who was basically her employer’s soon to be fiancé away.

“We can’t,” she whispered, unwrapping herself from his arms. He frowned, having the knowledge that Tom and Delilah were probably doing the exact same thing with no regard for Harrison, so why couldn’t he kiss the girl he likes?

“Annie,” he said softly.

“So, tell me more about Moonlight.”

»»——⍟——««

June 25th, 11:31am

The longer Harrison and The Princess had to get to know each other, the more time he actually spent with the handmaiden, falling deeper in love by the day. So fast that it scared him.

It was around the three week mark when Tom finally decided he was going to spend the day with the girl he liked alone, leaving Harrison and Annie the opportunity to also spend the day together. The plan was to keep it as secret as possible, mainly because it’d be very frowned upon if his mother found out he didn’t love the girl he was meant to marry. But if either of them got caught they had already made their excuses to explain what was happening; The males were assisting the ladies riding the horses, simple.

Annie was obviously protective of Delilah, she was a Princess she had to be, so she was very uncertain about leaving her alone with Tom, a man they had only met a week or so prior.

“You don’t have to watch them you know,” he whispered, watching the way she raked her eyes over the pair cautiously. She turned to face Harrison with a small smile.

“I just want to make sure he behaves.”

“He will, trust me.” She hesitated before giving in under his soft stare, nodding her head.

She turned her attention to Moonlight, gently stroking the bridge of the stallion's nose. The horse really was beautiful to her, a very light shade of white that reminded her of the prettiest daisies she used to have in her garden growing up and the darkest eyes that still managed to feel comforting. He was arguably one of the cutest horses she’d ever seen, but she wouldn’t be boosting Harrison’s ego with that information.

“Do you want to go for a ride?” he asked, noticing the way her eyes were admiring the creature.

She turned her head to look at him, scanning his pretty face to see if he was being serious. When he didn’t budge she nodded, a grin creeping onto her lips at the idea of being able to ride a horse for the first time in weeks.

“Do you need to change?” He motioned to the puffy dress she was wearing, hinting that it probably wouldn’t work well with two people on a horse, or even herself on a horse. Dresses we’re definitely not made for riding.

“I only have dresses.” There was a slight pout on her lips. She took this to mean she couldn’t go riding with Harrison like she’d wanted, essentially crushing part of her spirit.

Harrison was quiet for a minute, giving Annie a chance to admire his face deep in thought. That was until his eyes lit up with an idea.

“What if you wore some of my clothes?”

She didn’t have time to agree nor protest as Harrison began enthusiastically dragging her to his room, all the way from the gardens. They got some strange looks from some of the guards, the men suspicious as to why he was running around with some girl that definitely wasn’t the Princess he was meant to be getting engaged to.

Obviously people were going to be suspicious when he was taking another woman up to his room.

“Wait here,” he instructed.

This was the first time Annie had been in the Prince’s room during her multiple week stay at the castle, so she took her time to admire the large, surprisingly homey room.

He grabbed some of the smallest clothes of his he could find, probably not that small when you considered Annie wasn’t a 5’10 muscular man like he was.

Harrison watched as her eyes roamed the four walls, a soft, admirable look on her face.

“Here you go,” he said, handing the folded up clothes to her with a smile. He grew nervous when she just stared at him, not quite understanding what else there was to do. She rolled her eyes at his visible obliviousness.

“Turn around,” she demanded, ending her sentence with a quiet giggle. Harrison made a quiet ‘oh’ sound and obeyed, staring blankly at the wall as he listened to the material of her clothing drop to the floor.

He waited patiently as she pulled on the oversized clothes, hearing a few huffs from the girl behind him. They made her sound even cuter than he already thought she was.

“I’m done,” she grumbled. He turned back around, snorting at the way the clothes basically fell off of her body, making her look like a toddler that was trying on their parents' clothing.

“They don’t fit,” she whined, looking at Harrison with an expression that resembled a small child. He had to bite back his laugh. Obviously he was much taller and bigger than Annie, so his clothes practically swallowed the girl up.

“Come here,” he whispered. She followed his instruction eagerly, shuffling over to him so she didn’t trip over the length of the trousers, until she was standing within a hand width away.

He ended up helping her back into her corset, keeping the shirt fitted to her body tightly. The two shared giggles as she attempted to instruct the clueless royal on how to properly fasten a corset, something he’d never had to do before.

She would shiver involuntarily more or less every time his fingertips brushed her back, her gasps not only being due to the added restriction to her breathing, even if that’s what she would claim it was.

“How’s that?” he asked, tying off the strings of the corset in a tight bow. She nodded her head, taking a breath as deep as she could.

“Perfect.” She could feel the heat from his body radiating off of him due to how close he was, her heartbeat speeding up significantly.

His finger teasingly hooked into the waistband of the trousers she’d been holding up, tugging them to emphasise just how loose they were. She let out a giggle, playfully slapping his hands away. Harrison now had to come up with some way to keep the material from constantly falling down her legs.

That’s when his eyes caught sight of the thin piece of red ribbon that was tying her hair together in a simple braid, similar to the one he’d done for her by the stream. She gasped when Harrison pulled it free, pushing it through the loops of his trousers so they were fitted as tightly to her waist as they could be. Annie could feel his breath on the back of her neck at the close proximity of the male, the warmth sending more and more shivers down her spine as time ticked on.

“I’m sorry about your hair,” he said, running his fingers through the mess of the braid until it came fully undone. The curly locks were now falling against the material of the borrowed shirt, covering up small parts of her face that Harrison wished he could see.

She turned around to face him, meeting his eyes almost instantly, seeing as they’d been burning holes into the back of her head.

Harrison’s hand came up to brush her hair out of her face like an instinct, tucking it behind her ears with utmost care and gentle touch, exposing those parts of her face that he wanted to see.

His striking baby blues were completely locked on her soft brown orbs, acting as a way of silent communication for the pair.

Neither of them noticed how they were getting closer, not until one more slight forward movement would cause their lips to brush.

“Better?” he asked, his lips barely even an inch away from hers. She gulped nervously, nodding her head. The clothes may not have fitted like they would if a tailor had made them specifically for her, but Harrison had done a good job of getting them to fit well enough for a ride on his horse.

There was a knock at the door that forced the two away from each other with a startled jump, standing side by side with wide eyes. Thankfully it was only Tom and Delilah, Harrison isn’t sure he’d actually want to find out what would happen if it was someone like his mother.

“What are you wearing?” she asked, her voice laced with utter disgust. Tom let out a snort, shaking his head at just how much she really did sound like a Princess.

“We’re going riding,” Annie explained, in a quiet voice that told Harrison she was embarrassed. He rolled his eyes, pulling her into his side with his arm around her waist. The girl’s eyes widened, looking up at the Prince in shock.

“I think she looks beautiful. Now, if you don’t mind,” he motioned for her to go ahead. “M’Lady.”

Tom and Delilah shared a look, the two thinking the exact same thing, those two had fallen for each other, hard, and there was no way either of them could give that up if it did eventually come down to a wedding.

Harrison led Annie all the way back down the short walk to the stables, the two refusing to unlock their interlaced fingers even in front of the prying eyes of the maids and guards, who of which would be sure to try and tell his mother.

It wasn’t long until the pair were reunited with the horse they’d left only minutes prior, Annie’s hand running over Moonlight’s soft fur.

“Are you ready to go for a ride?”

She nodded happily. Moonlight already had a saddle on his back, Annie assuming one of the stable boy’s had got him ready to go. She watched as Harrison easily hoisted himself up onto the horses back, shifting until he got comfortable on the seat.

“Come on,” he chuckled, generously holding his hand out to help her up. She grinned excitedly, taking his hand and using his assistance to make it onto the horse.

“Now, hold on,” he winked.

She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his torso, her grip only growing tighter when they began to move. It wasn’t that she had never ridden a horse before, she even had her own, but she’d never been the one not in control of said horse. She hadn’t even known Harrison a month, so she didn’t know if she could even trust him as much as she’d like to.

“I’ve got you I promise.”

The two didn’t have a destination, just knowing that they wanted to spend as much time away from the palace as they could. It was quiet, but it was that kind of comfortable silence that’s almost enjoyable.

Harrison had started looking for somewhere they could stop and spend some time, spotting a nice looking area on the hill over by some trees that would look over the entire kingdom.

“Is here okay?” he asked. She nodded her head, mumbling a perfect under her breath as Harrison willed Moonlight to a stop. He helped her down from the horse until her feet were once again firmly planted on land.

“This whole place is breathtaking,” she commented, motioning out to the homes of the kingdom.

Annie had decided to lay down on the soft grass in the line of the sun’s rays. Harrison watched her with a smile as he tied the reigns of his precious animal to a nearby tree so he wouldn’t stray too far.

The Prince was quick to join the lady laying on the ground, a soft smile on his face that he just couldn’t hide. He took a few moments to admire the way the sun was beaming down on her face, her eyes closed to protect those beautiful honey orbs from the harsh light. He thought she looked like an angel, all of her best features accentuated by the soft glow.

He decided that he wanted to get to know her more, casting his eyes nervously up to the sky when he saw her own flicker open.

“So, how did you end up a handmaiden to the Princess?” he asked, curiously. The question was innocent of course, obviously he didn’t know her life story, but it still made her tear up slightly to think about.

Thankfully, he wasn’t looking at her, instead looking up at the unusually bright June sky, the sun blinding him to the point he had to block it out with his hand.

“My mother was Delilah’s nanny,” she began, a small smile on her lips as she reminisced. Harrison turned his head watching the way she talked about her family with so much love. “Until she died when she was around 11.”

He frowned, sitting up slightly to rest on his elbow, so he could get a better look at her face, a better read on her emotions.

“Her parents thought the least they could do was give me a job when I could work, after all the loyalty my mother had given them over the years,” she explained. “They thought it wasn’t fair to let us go hungry.”

He listened intently, letting her know that he was hearing her every word. He did feel bad, he felt bad for even asking the question, but he hated that she had to experience those hardships where she didn’t know if her family would be able to eat the next day, when his entire life it was the complete opposite.

“When my father died, that was when they took me in, gave me a room in their home and treated me like a daughter. As long as I kept up my job of course.” There was a faint smile decorating her lips as she stared up at the clouds in the sky, giving Harrison the time to admire her.

She eventually turned her head towards him, a small smile creeping onto her face when she caught sight of him staring.

She didn’t really want to discuss the topic anymore, she’d received enough pity over the course of her life and she definitely wasn’t planning on receiving more from the man she liked.

“How did you meet Tom?”

»»——⍟——««

June 25th, 4:28pm

The two agreed on a slow walk back, Harrison holding the reins of his horse while Annie walked beside him. Conversation flowed easily, sweet stories of memories from their past being uttered in the quiet atmosphere of the vacant field.

“I don’t even want to go back,” she mumbled, sending Harrison a sad glance.

“Why not?”

“Today was just so perfect, and I don’t want to go back to engagement party preparations.” He understood completely, his mother had been getting way too out of hand with planning his wedding to Delilah, of which he still wasn’t happy about, when he hadn’t even proposed properly yet. He didn’t know when he was meant to propose but he hoped it was far enough away that he could try to convince his mother otherwise.

He’d tried to push all the thoughts about the engagement to the back of his mind all day but her words just brought them all back, forcing a frown onto his face as he watched her face as she walked.

“Annie, I-” He turned to face her, taking one of her hands into his free one, his other still holding onto the reins. She was scared to look up at him, wondering if she just managed to spoil everything that had happened the whole day. “Please look at me,” he mumbled.

Her eyes flickered up to look at his baby blues, her heart soaring due to the look of love in his soft orbs. He had a small smile on his face, their close proximity letting him gently rub their noses together.

She knew he wouldn’t try to kiss her without her permission, noticing him open his mouth to ask exactly for that. She giggled quietly, letting her hands slide up to rest against his chest.

“Annie-“

“Just kiss me,” she whispered. He nodded his head, leaning down until their lips brushed past each other so lightly it almost didn’t happen. She took charge, leaning on her tiptoes to take control of the kiss. She pressed her lips on his, tilting her head to properly slot them together. Annie’s stomach was in a jumble of knots as Harrison’s hand travelled from her cheek down to the side of her neck, his thumb applying the slightest pressure on her throat that took her breath away for numerous reasons.

She could feel the cool metal of his family crest engraved ring pressing against her flushed skin, making her heart race in her ribcage.

He broke away from her lips primarily to take a second to catch his breath, but he also wanted to give some love to her neck. She was panting heavily as his lips followed an invisible trail from the corner of her mouth, down to her jaw, down her neck- oh down her neck. He heard the breathy moan she let slip loud and clear. The sound hitting his ears perfectly. It made his knees weak knowing he had the most perfect girl he’d ever seen falling apart for him purely from something as simple as a few kisses.

She gently guided his lips back to hers when she felt like she’d die if she didn’t kiss him again soon. This kiss was slower than the first, the two really taking their time to memorise everything about the others lips.

He got lost in her, finally letting go of the reins to thread his hand in her curls, pulling her impossibly deeper into the kiss. This was arguably the best kiss either of them had ever experienced, sparks flying with each desperate clash of their lips.

Neither of them were expecting the spontaneous heavy rainfall, a gasp coming from Annie as she was suddenly drenched in the rainwater. She’d pulled away from Harrison, looking up at him with a contagious giggle. He leaned back in with a smile, planting one more kiss on her soft lips. “Your lips taste amazing,” he whispered, drawing a blush to her cheeks.

He removed his hand from her hair slowly, deciding that they couldn’t stay in the rain for much longer, especially when they weren’t moving.

They picked up their walking pace, heading straight for the stables where, like this, they would have to spend the night.

With the speed they were practically jogging at, they arrived in no time, the pair running into the dry warmth of the stable with loud bubbling laughter.

Luckily, thanks to his jacket, the shirt she was wearing of Harrison’s hadn’t gotten too wet, meaning she could still wear it. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for the Prince, after giving his jacket to the girl like the gentleman he was, he was now soaking wet with rainwater.

“If you don’t want to freeze, i’d suggest you take off your top.” Harrison’s eyes widened slightly at her almost demand, not knowing where the surge of confidence to say something that could’ve been perceived so differently had come from.

By the time he had snapped out of his daze Annie was already unlacing her corset, he didn’t know if she was just loosening it or if she was actually taking off the whole thing but Harrison looked away, trying to give her the privacy she deserved, trying also to busy himself with his horse.

“Harrison,” she mumbled. He hummed, not wanting to risk turning around. “I was serious about you freezing.”

Harrison stubbornly unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing, folding it over one of the shelves to try and give it time to dry before the morning. If Harrison had to walk back to the castle shirtless, it probably wouldn’t be a good look.

Harrison headed for the blankets next, the ones he usually kept in here from when he was a boy and refused to part with his horse for the night. He walked back to Annie with a small smile on his lips.

He wrapped the warm material around her shivering frame, noticing she’d also taken off the corset and the wet trousers, both of which were now left to dry off to the side.

“Thank you,” she muttered, teeth chattering due to the cold. Harrison nodded his head, moving to make sure Moonlight was okay before he himself could settle down.

It didn’t take long for the male to realise he only had the one blanket, conveniently the one that was wrapped around Annie’s shoulders currently. He cursed under his breath, trying not to visibly shiver at the gust of cold air that blew throughout the stable. He didn’t know Annie had been watching him the whole time he was thinking about his crisis, noticing how he was shaking from the lack of heat in his body.

She stood up from her spot on some hay, heading over to him with the intent of not taking no for an answer.

Her arms wrapped around his torso from behind, the blanket starting to cover some of his body. Even the little bit of fabric helped to warm him up ever so slightly.

His back was cold to the touch, the kind of cold where your body felt numb. Annie took his hand, leading him over to the hay she had been sitting on. It took awhile for the two to find a comfortable enough position to lay in.

The blanket only ended up being big enough to cover them both if they laid with their chest’s touching. Annie’s head was comfortably resting on Harrison’s chest, her arms wrapped around his torso. While one of his hands was running through her hair, stroking his hand over her head, the other wrapping around her body to keep her warmth as close to him as possible.

His hand stroked up and down her back for a little while, soothing her to sleep with the calming sound of the rain that continued to pour outside.

“Goodnight Harrison,” she whispered. He smiled, running his fingers through her damp hair. He placed a sweet kiss to the top of her head, squeezing her impossibly closer to him.

“Goodnight, darling.”

Harrison hadn’t been able to get to sleep that night. At first he assumed it was from the uncomfortable feeling of the hay bails on his bare back, but when he saw how sound on Annie was, he knew it couldn’t be that.

No, he was scared to death of being caught by someone, with her, like this. Obviously he knew how it would be perceived at first glance, especially without any knowledge of what had happened prior, and he couldn’t risk that.

He knew that if anyone were to come in early in the morning it’d most likely be Tom or his father, and if so he could easily persuade them to keep quiet.

The next morning Annie was woken up early by the loud chirping of the birds in the nearby trees, the sun barely rising in the sky. She was alone now, the blanket wrapped solely around her body tightly and no longer around Harrisons.

She stretched her arms above her head, letting out a small sigh at the feeling of her muscles relaxing. She spotted Harrison leaning against the door of the stable, still shirtless, just watching the light drizzle of rain and the sun beginning to rise over the castle.

She kept the blanket around her shoulders, moving over to where the man she adored stood, looking like one of those Greek God’s she’d read about in one of Delilah’s fancy books.

“Good morning,” she whispered. He turned his head to see her standing there, her hair messier than it’d been last night, he thought it made her look even more gorgeous though.

“Hi. Come here,” he cooed, holding out his hand for her to take. Annie’s eyebrows drew together in confusion, taking his hand anyway. He pointed to the sunrise just beyond the castle, watching as her face twisted into one of awe.

He coaxed her body back into his chest, wrapping his arms around her protectively. He rested his chin on the top of her head, exhaling slowly. This was the kind of love he wanted, the kind that was just so easy and natural. Annie could give him that, not Delilah.

He hated the fact that he couldn’t marry the girl he was falling so hopelessly in love with, how was he meant to give all this up?

»»——⍟——««

July 2nd, 9:03am

In retrospect after being in the Osterfield’s kingdom for almost a month the ladies probably should’ve visited their village earlier. Except for the most part they’d been locked up in the castle being wooed by two angel-like boys.

“This place is so lovely,” she whispered, looking around at all the different people communicating outside of the different stalls set up along the street. People sold a variety of things here, bright bouquets of flowers that added that pop of colour to the grey town walls and jewellery that would glint in the sun, they had it all and it was beautiful.

Delilah didn’t see it that way, as much as the Princess would say she wasn’t, she was spoiled and anything to do with ‘commoners’ usually didn’t interest her. Unless their name was Tom and he had curly, brown hair.

“Why are we here again?” she asked, linking her arm with Annie’s so she didn’t get lost in the crowd. The latter sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Because, it’s Harrison’s birthday soon and I wanted to get him a gift.” Delilah nodded, looking around the busy streets of the large kingdom.

“You should too, you know,” she said. The Princess looked back at her in confusion, furrowing her brow. “Get him a gift, he is going to be your husband.”

She could sense some hostility in those final words, her face dropping slightly. She knew Annie was falling for Harrison, but Annie knew that Delilah didn’t love him, and the poor girl didn’t understand why she was taking out her emotions on her.

“I suppose so.” She hadn’t even remembered when Harrison had mentioned it was his birthday, but she guessed it was the least she could do.

The pair walked down the streets just admiring the decorations that were already being strung up in honour of his birthday, the whole town celebrating the young Prince no longer being a teen.

“Delilah? Annie?” Their heads turned at the sound of the familiar voice. They found the curly haired brunette standing there with a confused look on his face, one of his hands on the shoulder of a much smaller boy that Annie had never seen before, while two older looking boys stood beside him.

“Tom.” She saw the Princesses face light up when she saw the man she’d fallen for, her heart aching at the way she treated her when she obviously didn’t love Harrison.

“What are you both doing here?” he asked. Lilah’s eyes fell from Toms to Paddys, her eyes lighting up when she realised she had something for him.

“This is for you.” She’d reached into her bag and pulled out a book, one that looked very familiar to the young boy. “The one you had looked like it was falling apart, so this is a new copy.”

His eyes widened, heart racing as he hesitated to take it from her, not sure if he should or not. His eyes flickered from the Princesses warm ones to Tom’s confused ones.

“Lilah, you don’t have to.” She shook her head, insisting that Paddy take it. The boy thanked her profusely, showing the book to the twins like it was some prize he’d won. She had a warm smile on her face as she watched him gush over it.

“Thank you,” Tom said, drawing her attention back to him. She simply nodded, holding that same look in her eye that Annie got when it came to Harrison.

“What are you both actually doing here?”

The handmaiden smiled, a blush creeping up onto her cheeks as she thought about what now seemed like a rather silly idea. “I-I wanted to get Harrison a birthday present.”

He smiled, thinking it was rather cute. He whispered something to his brothers, watching closely as they scattered away before turning back to the two girls.

“Well, I’m here to offer my services to help you look.”

Lilah was over the moon that he was coming with, happily lacing her fingers with his, forgetting about the surrounding public.

“What about a ring?” Annie asked, looking at the cart that had a fair amount displayed. She checked with Tom, not wanting to make the wrong decision here.

He gave her a nod, too wrapped up in the way Delilah was trying to kiss him to give her a full response. She rolled her eyes, sending a warm smile to the man who was selling them.

It didn’t take her long for her eyes to land on one that she deemed perfect, imagining the way Harrison would wear it.

“That one, please,” she mumbled, looking directly at a beautiful gold pinky ring with a black gem in the middle. She handed over the necessary amount of money- well Lilah’s money, cause hey that was one of the perks of being best friends with a Princess.

“Thank you.”

The three continued their walk down the long avenue. Annie twirled the ring in her fingers, panicking slightly as she thought about all the different reactions Harrison could give her. He could either absolutely love it and fall even more helplessly in love, or he could hate it and could- Tom had noticed the internal battle going on, taking his attention away from his love to gently squeeze Annie’s arm. “He’ll love it, trust me.”

She knew it wasn’t enough to get him to call off the deal with Queen Alice and his mother, but she at least hoped it could prove her love for him.

“I hope so.”

Tom was leading them somewhere completely unknown to both of them, well the whole place was unknown to both of them, but still.

“Where are we going?”

He flashed the girl who wasn’t clinging to him a smile, bringing them all to a standstill in front of a rather cute, dainty house, one that reminded Annie much of her own home growing up.

“Home.”

She was the only one to notice the reluctance in Lilah’s eyes as Tom led her through the door of his family home. She tried to silently reassure her, squeezing her arm with a comforting smile.

The two didn’t have much longer to think about anything, being swarmed by Thomas’ younger brothers that they’d seen earlier.

Paddy instantly rushed over to Delilah, wanting to discuss the next part of Romeo and Juliet he’d managed to read, while the twins headed straight for Annie.

“We didn’t formally meet earlier, I’m Harry.” The curly haired boy leaned down and placed a kiss on the handmaidens knuckles, a giggle escaping her at how cute he was.

“And I’m Sam, his twin, the older one.” He too placed a kiss on her hand, both teens clearly getting the idea that she was free for the taking. Tom let out a sigh, flicking the both of the boy’s heads.

“The Prince will have your heads,” he muttered. The twins murmured and left the pretty girl to her own devices, hearing her laughing quietly at the brotherly behaviour. Her attention was drawn to Paddy, the quiet brother who was just simply staring at her and waiting for his turn.

When he noticed her looking back, he jumped up with a smile. “Hi, I’m Paddy.”

He shook her hand politely, flashing her a toothy grin.

“Well hello Paddy, I’m Annie.”

She was amazed at how intelligent the ten year old was, using some words that she didn’t think even she knew the meaning of, but nonetheless she still enjoyed the conversation.

However, how would it be a conversation with a Holland boy if one of the brothers didn’t interrupt.

“Harrison better watch out, I think Paddy’s stolen his girl.”

»»——⍟——««

July 4th, 5:54am

Harrison didn’t expect to hear a knock at his bedroom door in the middle of the night, nor did he particularly want to answer it. It had woken him up and he wasn’t all too happy about it. The Prince rose from his comfortable, plush bed with a groan.

He didn’t bother to throw on a shirt or any clothing on his top half, considering he thought it would only be one of the guards, heading towards the door with heavy, tired eyes.

“Hello?” He pulled it open to find Annie standing there with a large smile, the girl pushing her way into the room without so much as a hello. He furrowed his eyebrows, checking for any guards that may have seen her, thankfully there were none, before closing the door carefully and quietly, cautious to not make too much noise.

He startled when she cupped his cheeks in her cold hands as soon as he turned around, her wide grin making him break out into a smile himself.

“Your hands are-“

She cut him off without a care, shaking her head. “Happy birthday,” she whispered, slotting her much softer lips on his chapped ones. The kiss was slow and passionate, every ounce of love they had for each other poured into the simple act of intimacy.

“Thank you, love.”

Harrison laced their fingers together and led her to the spot where he’d been sleeping, laying back against the headboard with his arms out. She happily crawled into his embrace, resting her head on his bare chest with a content sigh.

It was comfortably silent between the two for a few minutes, her fingertip lightly tracing circles on his stomach, while he mirrored the patterns she was making on the nape of her neck, a light breath of air coming out of her nose every time he managed to tickle her.

Annie eventually cleared her throat, drawing his eyes back over to her face where they’d just momentarily left.

“I got you something.” She pulled the small wrapped box from behind her back, letting it sit in the palm of her hand, Harrison noticing the ribbon matching the one that he always saw tied in her hair.

“You didn’t have to.”

She placed her hand on his cheek gently, pecking his lips for a short second. “I wanted to.”

In the past week they’d grown impossibly closer, sharing and sneaking kisses when they could, going on horse rides back to the meadow where he’d pushed her in the stream, it was lovely.

“Open it,” she said, pushing it into his hands.

He had a small grin on his face as he pulled the smaller string on the bow, watching it fall undone in his lap while Annie stared at him with childlike excitement. He carefully lifted the lid off of the box, his eyes widening at the sight of the beautiful ring laying inside, glinting in the light shining in from the window.

“Annie,” he whispered, slightly awestruck, his eyes flickering up to hers. Even knowing each other for such a short time was enough that she knew him perfectly. She took that as a sign that he wasn’t impressed, making her even more nervous than she already was.

“D-Do you like it?” He could sense the nerves in her voice, rapidly nodding his head. He took it from the box, sliding it on to his finger to show her with a boyish smile.

He placed a chaste kiss on her lips, bringing his thumb of the opposite hand up to stroke over her bottom lip. Their faces were so close that any slight movement would mean their lips were touching again, but the pair rather enjoyed that.

“I love it, thank you.”

Every word he spoke, he spoke with enough emotion that she would know he was being honest. He didn’t want her to doubt herself for even a second.

Harrison suddenly got an idea, telling her to hang on one second while he climbed off of the bed. Annie was left to watch him roam around, her eyes tracing the dips and muscles of his muscular back, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought about how he truly was beautiful.

The man grabbed something from his dresser, hiding it in his palm as he walked back over to the bed. He crawled in beside her, back in his previous position.

“While I have this one,” he started, taking her left hand in his grasp. He placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, raising it up to his mouth. “I want you to keep this one safe for me.”

He held up the item he’d just collected, showing the family encrusted ring that normally decorated his pinky finger.

“Harrison, I can’t.” He shook his head, not allowing her to make any sort of excuse.

“I trust you.” He held her hand tightly, sliding the ring onto her ring finger as though it was their wedding day. She could only imagine how much she’d like that to be a wedding band that was currently decorating her skin.

She tried to hide the faint blush coming through on her cheeks but Harrison was quick to notice it, a small smirk on his face as he watched her get all flustered at his gesture.

“A-Are you sure, what if I lose it?” she asked, thinking of all the possible outcomes where in her mind they ended with Harrison getting mad at her.

“Annie I-“ he hesitated, sending her a nervous glance. “I know this is soon but, I think I’m falling in love with you and I-“

“I think I’m falling in love with you too.”

Their smiles were contagious, the two finding it hard to share a kiss when they were unable to wipe the grins from their faces.

“Spend the day with me,” he all but demanded. Annie didn’t need any convincing, nodding her head rapidly.

“I’d love to.”

Due to it barely being 6am, the two decided on taking a quick nap together, after Harrison locked the door to his room so no unwanted visitors would show. He held her tightly in his arms, watching the sun peak out in the sky as her breathing grew steadier.

He struggled to fall asleep at first, admiring the beautiful girl laying on his chest. His thumb rubbed over her cheekbone as gently as he could so he wouldn’t wake her, his lips lightly grazing her forehead.

It seemed as though the universe wasn’t on their side that day. As soon as they tried to do anything there was some kind of interruption. Less than an hour into their nap, after Harrison had finally managed to drift off, there was a heavy knock on the Prince’s door, startling them both from their sleep.

The two had planned to go on a walk through the gardens and have a picnic around lunchtime, only to find that it was raining as they began to prepare to do so.

Then the Queen called her son away on royal duties when they decided that they would just sit in the greenhouse which held the glass roof, watching the rain together seeing as there wasn’t much else they could do.

“I am so sorry,” he apologised, finding the girl still sitting watching the rain pour. She looked over her shoulder at him with a smile, shaking her head.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure the birthday boy is very popular.” He chuckled, kneeling down beside her to press a kiss to her temple.

“What can I do to make this up to you?” he asked, stroking his hand over her soft curls.

“Just sit with me.” And that he did, perching himself in the chair next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders so she could cuddle into his side.

The evening rolled around all too fast and she unfortunately had to part with Harrison for some kind of birthday celebration they were having. He had tried to get her invited but he’d told her that he was unsuccessful. He left her with one last kiss on her forehead, heading to his room while Annie headed to Delilah’s to help her get ready.

“I can see you swoon every time you see him,” she teased. Annie warningly pulled the Princesses corset a little bit too tight, making her gasp in shock and playfully slap her hands away.

“I don’t swoon,” she defended, her voice quiet. Lilah let out a giggle, rolling her eyes at her friend. The two didn’t really converse that much as Annie finished helping her get ready, making sure she was up to that Princess standard that she always was.

“I’ll tell you all about it when I get back,” she promised, squeezing her hands reassuringly. The handmaiden was trying to shoo her friend, telling her that she’d be late if she didn’t hurry up.

“Go,” she encouraged, basically pushing her out of the door with a giggle, closing it behind her so Lilah couldn’t doubt herself.

She was gone for hours, a very boring, long amount of hours, so she decided to amuse herself.

Annie had been wandering the castle for a little while now, finding it far too boring to stay perched in Delilah’s room the entire evening. She just so happened to walk past the door to the dining room at the wrong time, catching Harrison’s words.

“Delilah, w-will you marry me?” He didn’t want to do this, God how he wished she would say no. He saw the tears building up in her eyes, but when she looked at him they weren’t ones of joy. She didn’t want this either.

Annie felt her heart shatter at the words, a quiet, spontaneous sob managing to escape her lips before she could stop it.

Harrison heard the noise, looking through the small gap in the door and seeing her standing there. He almost broke there and then, forgetting about the whole thing to run and comfort the girl he was definitely in love with, but he couldn’t.

“Yes,” she whispered. He slipped the ring onto her finger with a completely fake smile, hearing the claps from their family members around the table.

The girl didn’t know if she’d ever felt so betrayed. He’d lied to her, he told her this was a family thing for his birthday, now he was engaged to her best friend.

When he glanced back at the door a few minutes later, Annie was gone and he was sure his heart stopped beating for a second. Lilah noticed how pale he’d gone, looking almost like a ghost in her eyes. She could do nothing but squeeze his hand a little bit tighter, knowing if she did anymore than smile then the tears would fall.

Meanwhile, Annie was trying to remember the route they’d taken a few days prior to Tom’s home. She knew he wouldn’t be at the stables this late and so she assumed he’d have gone home to his family.

It was just her luck today that it was still raining, it had been since the early afternoon when it ruined her and Harrison’s picnic, probably trying to forebode to her the events that were going to take place tonight. If only she’d have listened.

Her feet carried her there, digging into the squelching mud uncomfortably, the rain belting down against her already soaked and shivering body. Sobs were falling from her lips without a filter, the noise filling the painful silence of the night.

She didn’t remember getting into the village, or leaving the gates of the palace, or even leaving the palace itself, but now here she was walking down the streets of the eerily quiet town.

Her eyes roamed the different street names, looking for the one she remembered Tom leading them down.

“Fuck,” she cursed, furiously wiping at the tears in her blurry eyes, assuming that she was lost in the middle of a village that was almost completely unknown to her.

Her shoes on the cobblestone echoed around the vacant street, her heart racing as she had to guess which one was her friend’s home. She knocked on the door that looked the most familiar to her.

She didn’t expect to have actually gotten the right one, but she was greeted with that familiar brunette with his warm smile. His face softened slightly when he saw the state of the girl standing outside his front door.

“Annie, god.” He hadn’t expected to see her showing up at his family home of all places. He didn’t even know how she’d remembered.

“Thomas, who’s at the door?” He watched as she stood so vulnerable in front of him, clearing sobbing with tears that were impossible to disguise as the rain.

“Just a friend, mother,” he called back. “I think she might need to stay for tonight.”

She was so grateful to hear him say those words, because there was no doubt that Harrison would be waiting for her back at the palace to try and give her an apology, and she didn’t know if she could face him or Delilah tonight.

And to be fair to Annie, Harrison was waiting. He was waiting nervously in the rain on the palace steps. At first he was hoping to just clear his head, trying to process the fact that he was now engaged to a woman he most definitely didn’t love. But then he remembered the heartbreak written all over Annie’s face when she watched him utter those simple words, and he began to anticipate her arrival back at the palace.

Tom invited her inside with a sense or urgency, wanting to get her out of the rain. He rushed to grab her a towel or anything to keep her shivering form warm.

“Here we go.” He wrapped the fluffy material around her shoulders, gently rubbing her shoulders. He didn’t know if he did it for comfort or if he was just trying to help her dry out quicker, but neither looked as though they were working.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

She sniffled sadly, her eyes flickering up to Tom’s soft brown ones.

“H-He proposed,” she cried, standing in front of the stable boy like a complete mess. Neither of them needed any names to know what she was talking about. Tom visibly deflated, his heart sinking into a pit in his stomach. Even if the both of them knew this moment had to come, neither were prepared for the emotions it would dig up.

“Fuck,” he cursed. Both of them were hurt, broken, felt cheated in all honesty. But they knew what the other was going through, and it was probably easier that they had another person to share that with.

Tom opened his arms for the handmaiden, making sure his hold was tight when she stumbled into his chest. He rubbed her back comfortingly, trying to hide his own tears that were racing down his face.

He rested his chin on top of her head, sniffling quietly while she sobbed into the material of his button up.

“We lost them.”

The two didn’t talk much, Tom leading her to his small room with an even smaller twin bed against the wall.

“I can go share with one of my brothers if you-“

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself nervously.

“I really don’t want to be alone right now,” she whispered, sniffling quietly. She was quick to jump back in when she realised how demanding she sounded. “I-If it’s okay that is.”

He smiled, climbing into his bed and welcoming her into his arms. It wasn’t intimate in any way, the two just needed all the comfort they could get at the moment and thankfully they could find that in each other.

“Goodnight Tom.” He pressed a friendly kiss to the top of her head, gently rubbing his hand up and down her back. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and hold back the tears that were threatening to spill over the edge of his eyes. He wanted to keep it together at least until she fell asleep.

“Goodnight Annie.”

»»——⍟——««

July 11th, 6:07pm

“Are you ready?” He didn’t answer, biting at the skin on his lip nervously, almost making it bleed. How could he ever be ready to see his pet die? Moonlight had been seriously ill for a few days now and Tom’s father had told him it didn’t look like the stallion was getting any better. Much to his heartache the man didn’t know if the horse would be able to carry on for much longer, and it hurt him so much.

He hadn’t spoken to anyone about how it made him feel, he probably should have and Tom had encouraged him too but the young Prince was certain he could keep it all bottled up.

Harrison shut his eyes tightly, breathing deeply as he felt the knot forming in the back of his throat. He could feel how tense Tom was beside him, hating this just as much as he did, it was never pleasant to see a horse die, they weren’t ones to die peacefully.

He felt a soft hand holding his, his eyes opening just long enough to glance to his side and see Annie.

He didn’t know why but even that simple gesture from her had managed to calm his racing heart and mind just that little bit, and that was all he needed.

It was risky for him to be this close to the handmaiden in public, but Delilah hadn’t come with and he’d needed any form of comfort he could get. Plus, Annie and Delilah were vastly different and unfortunately the girl he shouldn’t love was the one that was able to calm his heart.

She saw the way he winced when the shot was taken, his face turning in her direction so he didn’t have to watch.

Her hand carefully guided his head to rest in the crook of her neck, rubbing up and down his back with the utmost care. Neither of them said anything, other than the quiet shushed from her as she tried to soothe him.

It felt strange that he hadn’t heard her voice in so long.

In almost the week since she’d watched Harrison propose, she hadn’t spoken a word to him, and for that matter neither had Tom. He wasn’t even sure they’d be here today, and now that they were he still wasn’t sure they were going to speak. Delilah had already tried speaking to Tom already and it hadn’t gone very well for her.

He didn’t even look at her as she entered the stable, fiddling with her fingers nervously, arguably the most nervous she’s ever felt around Tom.

“Hi, can we talk?” She assumed he’d already heard about the engagement, whether it was from his best friend or her own, or if it was just because it was currently the buzz of the town. The male did nothing but shoot her a glare, turning his full attention back to the horse that he was trying to wash.

“I deserved that, but look I-“ She furrowed her eyebrows when he’d started to walk away from her, picking up his stuff to go around the other side of the horse.

She followed him of course, standing right in the spot where he wanted to set his water bucket down, so he did anyway.

Tom made no effort to stop the bucket of dirty water from splashing on Lilah’s dress, and deep down he did feel guilty, but not nearly as much guilt as pain.

“Tommy, please.” When he looked into her eyes she could see the clear amount of pain that he was feeling, and she felt awful knowing she’d caused it all. The ring shining on her finger didn’t help him either.

“I think you should go, your fiancé’s probably waiting.”

After that disaster of an interaction, Delilah had tried two more times to apologise to the stable boy, but not once did he give her the time of day. Tom was suffering in silence. He’d been there to comfort Annie everytime she showed up to his family home with tear stained cheeks, her heart aching at seeing the couple waltz around the castle without a care. But not once did he say how he felt.

He missed his best friend, and he missed being able to freely give his heart to the Princess, but he was struggling to let go of the heartache they’d caused him.

He wanted nothing more than to scream from the hills that he was in love with Delilah, but fate wasn’t on his side on this one.

Harrison on the other hand, he was hopeless without his true love by his side, faking smiles all around as he paraded Delilah on his arm like some kind of trophy he’d won. He hated it and so did she, and he hated the look in her eyes that told him she didn’t want to do any of it.

His goal today was at least to try and get her to talk to him, if anything just one word was all he was asking. So when the opportunity presented itself for him to have a moment alone with Annie, he took it.

“Can I please talk to you?” he asked, fiddling with his fingers nervously. She pursed her lips, glancing between Tom and the blonde. She eventually nodded her head, letting him intertwine their fingers together so he could lead her to his room. Tom said his goodbyes to her, shooting Harrison no more than a look.

It was silent as the two entered the castle, the male leading her to his room where they were certain they could be alone.

He took his time closing the door behind him, trying to prepare all the words he wanted to say in his head.

“I want to explain, at least my side of the story.”

His eyes were begging with her, pleading for her to just listen and that was all. The least she could do was hear him out, right?

Annie quietly took a seat on his bed, keeping her distance between the boy, watching him with sad eyes. The second he spoke he was instantly sputtering out apology after apology to her.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t-“ He could barely speak without getting choked up. The blonde was trying his best to swallow the lump in his throat so he could voice what he needed to say, but he was finding it increasingly difficult.

“I didn’t know it was a proposal at first.”

She didn’t open her mouth, letting him continue on without interruption. He explained how the dinner had started off as he expected, drinks and small talk between the families, a few birthday wishes and jokes here and there.

It’d all changed when Lilah’s dad had slipped a ring box into his hand, telling him that now was the perfect time. He had no say in it, unable to protest the family's wishes.

He told her how that was when he reluctantly stood up from his seat, gathering everyone’s attention and sending Delilah a wide eyed look of warning.

After a short speech about ‘how he loved the Princess,’ which was actually truthfully about Annie, he had asked her to marry him; Right at the moment his love had chosen to walk past the dining room.

“Is that really what happened?” she asked, gracing him with the sound of her angelic voice for the first time in days.

“It is.” He looked almost guilty as he watched her get lost too deeply in her own thoughts. “I’m really sorry, I don’t want to marry her,” he promised. Annie looked up, locking eyes with him from where he stood before her. She scanned his baby blues, trying her best to decipher if he was being honest or not, of which she thought he was.

“I have been trying day after day to stop it, and Lilah doesn’t want it either.”

Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Lilah?”

He realised that he’d never before called her that out loud, not even when they were no more than friends.

“S-She asked me to, said her full name sounded too formal.”

She noticed the tears that were building up in his eyes now, how could someone not when they were so clear to see. Annie’s walls were breaking down, she sympathised with him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and just hold him forever, tell him everything was okay.

“Everything was so incredible, and- and now,” he muttered, his voice shaking with the pent up sadness he’d refused to let go of for so many weeks. “My horse is dead, I’m engaged to a woman I don’t love, my best friend hates me and you, you must hate me too.” The list could go on for him. This past month really hadn’t been what he’d been expecting for himself. Her heart shattered for him.

He finally let the tears fall, his knees giving in and buckling underneath him. As quick as he was on the floor of his chambers, Annie was right beside him, pulling him into her chest.

She tried to stop the tears, whispering comforting words into his ear, but it was like he couldn’t hear her, nothing was registering in his head.

His hands furiously tugged at strands of his hair, running back and forth over his head out of pure frustration and anger.

He didn’t calm for a while, too worked up for too long over this for it to be over so quickly. All the emotions he’d been hiding and holding back were finally making themselves known.

Annie never left him or loosened her hold on him, not even for a second. She was still whispering things that she hoped would make him feel even the tiniest bit better, and it wasn’t until she said one specific thing that he finally heard her.

“I know it hurts, I know it all hurts,” she whispered, gently stroking the messy locks of hair, messy from how many times he’d tugged at it in the past few hours. “I promise, I’ve got you.”

Those were the exact words he’d told her the first time they rode Moonlight together. Harrison stared up at her as the tears slowed their stream down his face. Her heart was aching as she watched him break before her.

“Come on.” She helped him off the floor, her arms circling his body so she could guide him to his bed, a much comfier place than the floor in her personal opinion.

“Get some rest, you look exhausted.”

He didn’t fight it one bit. He curled into her body, letting her protectively wrap her arm around him to reassure him that nothing could hurt him while he slept. It was silly really, and he knew that, but he thought with her around he was completely untouchable by anything bad, she was his safety net.

When Delilah decided to go to bed for the night, if that’s what you wanted to call it, she didn’t expect to find two figures already in there. She squinted her eyes to try and make out who it was from the door, but there was no one else that it could’ve been.

“Annie, what are you doing here?” She forced a smile at Delilah, waving her over to Harrison’s bed. The two hadn’t at all been as close as they had once been due to the whole engagement situation, and it was breaking them both. She still obviously had to do her job dressing her, but it was now very rare that there would even be conversation there.

“You shouldn’t be here A, not in his bed,” she said. She felt a flash of rage fill her at her words, wanting to scream at the girl and ask her why she deserved it anymore than her, but she may have been jumping to conclusions too quickly. “Anyone could walk in and see.”

The words weren’t said with any kind of venom in her tone, simply just trying to look out for the girl who’d be the one getting into trouble. Annie nodded, willing away the tears that were forming in her waterline.

“He’s hurting Li, I-I was just taking care of him.” The Princess could see her friend getting worked up, gently coaxing her off of the Prince’s bed and into her arms.

Annie took a deep breath, falling into the embrace of her best friend, letting her head rest against her chest. She felt a wave of emotions overtake her, all that effort she’d taken to stop them no longer working.

She decided being honest would be the best way.

“I love him, I’m so sorry,” she cried, apologising profusely. She shushed her sweetly, running her hands over the back of her hair.

“I know, It’s okay.”

Delilah reassured her over and over that she wasn’t mad, she just wanted her friend back. She also confessed to being completely in love with Tom, telling the girl how much she was struggling with dealing with marrying the Prince.

“We’re trying Annie, I promise.” She nodded her head, wiping her wet cheeks with a smile. With one last look at the sleeping Prince she decided it was time for her to go back to her own room and get some sleep, she had to be up early tomorrow anyway to get Lilah dressed for her big day.

The walk back was agony, knowing Delilah was in Harrison’s room, the two being made to share by their mothers because that’s what couples do.

She got a few strange looks from some of the guards, but most of them pretended not to notice the emotional handmaiden strolling down the empty halls.

Once she was finally back inside her room she collapsed onto the bed, letting all of the emotions out, including the ones she’d hidden from Delilah, despite her crying.

Her head was buried in her pillow as she sobbed, clinging to it tightly as she felt like her lungs were closing up.

Her eyes trailed down to the ring that was still tightly sitting on her finger, tugging at her heart strings painfully as she recalled the happy moment when he first gave it to her.

Annie didn’t remember falling asleep that night, probably drifting off from the exhaustion that came along with so many pained tears. The next thing she recalls being the moment she felt Harrison’s warm arms circle around her body, pulling her into his chest.

A soft kiss was placed onto her head. Words of affection whispered in her ear.

“You’re the one for me, no matter what.”

»»——⍟——««

July 17th, 1:07am

Harrison had visited Annie in her room just like the day of his birthday. Waking her in the middle of the night. She had considerably forgiven him after their conversation over a week ago, that bond they had starting to rekindle nicely. It wasn’t uncommon to find Harrison sneaking into her room anymore, but it was uncommon to see him this level of nervous.

“Come in.” She pulled her robe tighter around her body, stepping out of the way of the door so he was able to creep past her.

“How are you?” he asked, flashing her a nervous smile. She rolled her eyes at how he was clearly beating around the bush.

“Why are you here?” He pursed his lips, nodding his head when he didn’t get an answer to his question. He looked up at the girl that was standing in front of him, taking her hands into his larger ones.

“I wanted to spend this time with you,” he said. He was getting choked up already. He leaned forward, gently resting his forehead against hers, giving them a chance to admire each other so close up.

She bit her lip nervously, trying to wish away the tears that were threatening to fall. It didn’t work though, Harrison watching as a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks.

“You’re getting married in the morning, H,” she cried, trying to resist him wrapping her arms around her. He squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to let a single tear fall at this moment.

“I’m going to figure this out, I’m doing everything I can.”

She shook her head against his chest, letting out a heart wrenching sob that made him feel even more guilt than he’d ever felt. He held her impossibly tighter, placing his lips against the top of her head as a single tear ran down his cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

They didn’t know how long they were standing there in each other’s embrace, hearts aching and a lot of shared tears.

A sniffle from Harrison brought her attention back to the moment, her arms squeezing his body before pulling back slightly to look at him. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, simply looking at each other and just understanding the pain the other was feeling.

“I tried Annie, I really did and I-“ She shook her head, placing a soft kiss on his lips. Her hand was resting against his cheek, her lips twitching into a small smile that she was trying to use to reassure him. He could feel his ring pressing against his skin, turning his head to press a kiss to her palm.

She took a deep breath, wiping away the rest of her tears. “I know, and I’m grateful for the time I had with you.”

His eyebrows furrowed, noticing how her eyes had moved from his face almost like she couldn’t stand to look at him.

“Why are you acting like-“

“I think you should go.” It of course broke her heart to say this. She wanted to be selfish, she wanted to run away with him so he didn’t have to get married to someone else, but who was she to do that.

He tried to change her mind, prepared to get on his knees and beg her if he had to. “Please, Annie.” She kissed him one more time, blinking away the tears on her water line.

“Goodbye H.”

He didn’t move for a few seconds, hoping she would be quick to change her mind so his heart could stay intact. There was no sign that she was going back on her words, but he didn’t know just how much it was taking for her to hold it back.

He eventually nodded, assuming he had no choice but to respect her decision. “Okay, goodbye Annette.”

It hurt her to not hear the nickname she’d grown so fond of hearing out of his mouth. It felt almost as if he said her name with so much venom.

She watched helplessly as he walked out of her room, and possibly back to the one he was sharing with Delilah.

“Fuck,” she cursed. She buried her head in her hands, slowly sinking to her knees on the floor as she let out a heartbreaking sob. She finally let it all out when she couldn’t see him anymore, assuming he hadn’t cared enough to stick around outside her door too long. That’s where she was wrong though.

Harrison was standing just on the other side of the door, his head rested against the wood listening to her cry. He wanted to go back inside and comfort her just like she had the night Moonlight had been killed, but he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. He took a deep, shaky inhale, finally building up the courage to walk away.

She barely got an ounce of sleep that night, tossing and turning with all the possibilities of what could or is going to happen tomorrow. Sometimes having an overactive mind was a gift but right now she would do anything to just make it go away. She was exhausted when she finally gave up trying to fall asleep and got out of bed instead, deciding that she could be productive instead.

You could clearly see the bags underneath her eyes from just how tired she was, but that would all be covered with wedding makeup anyway.

Maybe if she had taken up Harrison’s offer of letting him sleep in her room tonight, the final night they could be together, she’d be feeling much more energized.

An early morning walk was what the handmaiden expected would be the only thing to help to clear her head. And by early morning, she meant around six am. She expected there to be only the guards doing their morning shifts, however she was proved wrong when she saw all the people setting up the wedding in the grand hall. She felt herself getting choked up, this looked exactly like the wedding her and Delilah had planned together when they were no older than twelve. The only choice in her mind right now was to distance herself from the preparations as much as she could, and that meant heading outside the palace walls into the beautiful gardens.

It was quiet out there, the only sounds filling her ears being the chirping of enthusiastic birds in the air. She pulled her wrap tighter around her body, trying to keep herself warm in the slight chilly breeze caused by the wind.

The last thing she expected to find there was a small girl crying, her eyebrows furrowing in concern for the stranger. She approached cautiously, not wanting to startle her at all.

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve met.” She bent down to the small girl’s height, holding out her hand to introduce herself. “I’m Annette.”

She looked up with a sniffle and tear stained cheeks. Her eyebrows drew together, staring at the girl as if she was trying to place her.

“You’re the pretty girl that my brother’s in love with.”

Annie wasn’t sure she’d heard her right, laughing nervously as the girls tears came to a spontaneous halt.

“What’s your name?”

“Charlotte.” Annie briefly remembered Harrison mentioning the name of his little sister, that being Charlotte, so if she had to take a guess after what she just heard she could very confidently say this was Harrison’s sister. She brushed it off though more concerned with finding out what was bothering the child.

“And what’s wrong, angel?”

Charlotte explained to the woman how she’d managed to lose one of her dolls and the gardens were now one of the only places she had left to search, and upon quick glance it wasn’t there. Annie reassured her that they would find it together, offering her hand as they began to look around through the rows of flowers.

The Prince did not expect to see the lovely handmaiden holding his sister's hand when he was told the Princess was running around somewhere outside.

Harrison didn’t need this today, seeing Annie be so good with his little sister was just forcing him deeper in love with her. It hurt worse than anything he could’ve imagined.

He cleared his throat when he was close enough that he was sure they’d hear him. Their heads whipped around, Annie’s smile slowly dissolving from her lips. Charlotte was the opposite, grinning wider with her gappy smile as she ran towards her big brother.

“Hi, precious.” Nothing needed to be said. There was a lot of pain in this one area and even Charlotte was sensing it, the poor eleven year old confused as to what was happening. “Can you head inside for me, go find mum?” She nodded her head, waving goodbye to the woman she’d just met. The pair watched her scatter off before succumbing to the all too unfamiliar awkward silence that engulfed them.

Harrison opened his mouth to speak, to tell her what? He didn’t know. Maybe he’d apologise for not fighting harder for this wedding to not go ahead, or for not fighting hard enough in the early hours of this morning, but it didn’t matter anyway, because in a matter of seconds Annie’s lips were on his and that was all he needed.

So many unsaid words were forgotten as soon as her soft lips met his slightly chapped ones, but she didn’t care about that, it was like a wake up call.

That would be for sure the last kiss they got to share, filled with so much passion and love that it was a shame that it was ruined by their salty tears streaming down from their closed eyes.

“I have to go get ready,” she whispered, pulling away and letting her eyes flutter open. Harrison was thinking, and she could tell, taking that time to admire his face. It was something she’d begun to do out of instinct whenever she was this close to him. He sighed, his breath fanning her face. She watched as he opened his eyes, meeting hers instantly. He nodded, sniffling before turning his head and kissing her palm like he’d done just a few hours before, with the softest puppy eyes looking in her direction.

He cleared his throat, deciding to put his heart on the line, knowing she wouldn't let him fall.

“I love you Annie, with my entire heart.” The corner of her lips twitched, a gentle, barely there smile teasing him. That was the first proper time he’d said those words to her, catching the air from his lungs. For a few seconds he was terrified she wouldn’t say it back, breathing heavily through his nose as his eyes nervously flickered over every one of her features.

“I love you too.”

The ceremony came around quicker than anyone wanted. The morning rushed by in a flash or nerves and helpless tears from both females getting ready. The girls had a chance to reconcile properly, telling each other this was no one’s fault but the much higher royals. With a lot of breathing and makeup retouches and they were ready to go, flowers in hand and hearts in pieces.

The doors opened and the classic music began to play, Harrison focusing his eyes on the large archway. Everything became a blur of white noise when his eyes focused on her, the beige coloured dress trailing along the floor, her beauty completely mind numbing, ruined by the water welling up in her gorgeous eyes.

Annie's teary eyes mirrored Harrison’s as she walked down the never ending pathway that was the aisle. He sent her a warm smile, the glimmer of adoration he always got when he saw her ever so present. He thought she looked beautiful, she was taking his breath away even though she did that on a normal basis. He could only imagine this is what it’d be like waiting for her at the end of the aisle. His eyes drifted to Tom’s, the man who was the one leading her down the aisle, their arms locked while she carried a bouquet of pretty roses.

He looked very formal in the suit he’d been given to wear. Harrison was insistent that whether they were on talking terms or not, his best friend was going to be a part of his wedding. This was possibly the first emotion besides anger and disappointment that Tom had shown him all week. His eyes were mirroring Harrison’s, a sense of lingering sadness behind them.

Not too much longer and Harrison was taking a deep breath as the priest before them began to speak, reciting the same things Harrison had heard at every wedding he’d ever been to.

He glanced out at the people watching for a moment, seeing all the mixed expressions and emotions in the crowd. He gave a small, discreet wave when he noticed that the entire Holland family had gone, Paddy sitting there with a rather evident frown on his face, even at ten years old he knew this wasn’t how this was meant to go.

“Prince Harrison, do you take her royal highness Princess Delilah-“ Annie bit her lip nervously, so hard she was almost drawing blood. It felt like the worst kind of torture, seeing your best friend marry the man you’re in love with. As it happens, Harrison’s plan didn’t work, just like he had expected it wouldn’t even if it was worth a try. He thought if he was honest with his mother and more or less begged her not to make him go through with this, that there’d be a slight chance of sympathy from her, but oh how wrong he was.

“Mother please, I need to talk to you.” She sighed, stopping in her step and also tugging Charlotte to a halt to face her son. She had a rather annoyed look on her face, but at the end of the day Harrison was her child, so seeing him look so hopeless and torn up destroyed her inside.

“Please don’t make me do this, I don’t love her I-”

“There is nothing we can do, we need this unity Harrison.” He huffed, running his hands through his hair with a dry laugh. “I’m sorry, honestly I am, I see the way you look at Annette.”

Harrison sniffled, trying to push away the tears from the stress of the moment. Charlotte hated to see her brother this way, wishing she could do anything to make sure he got his fairy-tale ending with the girl he loved.

“If you truly were sorry, you wouldn’t do this.”

And with that he walked away, losing his hold on the last bit of faith he had for him and Annie to ever be together.

The wedding was beautiful, and no one could deny that. Delilah had been perfecting it since she was a child, but it was all unfortunately overshadowed by how much they didn’t want it, any of it. The pair at the altar had no idea how they were meant to keep up a loveless marriage for the rest of their lives, especially if they were expected to have children. While she was overthinking the night before, Annie realised she’d have to go back to her job as normal eventually, but Lilah would be Harrison’s wife, and everyday she would be helping her get ready in their room, for them to complete royal business together.

It was getting hard for her to hold back her tears now. The girl wiped them away as quickly as they fell so no one would see. But someone did, and that person just had to be Queen Alice.

“Oh, it’s lovely isn’t it?” She’d clearly taken these for happy tears, the woman taking the younger ones hand in hers to hold tightly as she watched her daughter get married. Annie’s eyes drifted to the Queen, but seeing as she didn’t trust her voice at the moment she just simply nodded her head.

When she looked back her eyes locked with Harrison’s ocean ones. Except now it looked like an ocean in a storm, grey, dark and cloudy. She had to force herself to look away, sniffling quietly.

Then it came time for the vows, the vows that Harrison wrote with Annie in mind, only she didn’t know that much. Hearing the words spilling out of his mouth, about his eternal love, about the times they’d spent together even in the short time they’d known each other, about how much she meant to him; It destroyed her inside.

There was a look shared between the handmaiden and the stable boy from opposite sides of the room. The look that told the other that their hearts were basically in pieces right about now, they were in the exact same boat, and the boat was sinking drastically fast. Harrison and Delilah were only just managing to hold it together out of professionalism only. They had been trained their whole lives to act stoic in moments of severe stress and anger.

“I now pronounce you, Husband and Wife.” There were cheers and applause from most people throughout the room, the people that didn’t see the obvious act the royals were putting on for their families' selfish deal. “You may kiss the bride.”

The kiss was stiff and awkward, nothing like what the Prince felt that first time he kissed Annie, as well as any other time he kissed her because it never seemed to lose its excitement or spark. Tom watched in disgust, turning his head away with a prominent frown.

“Paddy?” Tom whispered, turning his head to look at his younger brother with tears in his eyes. The boy frowned, placing his hand on his brother’s arm comfortingly. “What was the message of that book? The one you were reading that day in the stable.”

“Romeo and Juliet?” he asked, unsure. Tom nodded, remembering the familiar sounding name. “Not all love stories have a happy ending.”

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

harrison osterfield taglist → @seutarose @euphorichxlland @hjoficrecs @call-me-baby-gir1 @hazardosterfield @icyhollands @hollandbroz-n-haz @hopelessly-harry @siriuslyslyslytherin @musicalkeys-blog @itstaskeen @zspideyy @chrisosterfield @givebuckyhisplumsnow @lowkey-holland @hollandcrush @wizkiddx @sannie-san-shine @hopeless-romantic-baby @thehumanistsdiary @dummiesshort @itsbieberxholland @lillucyandthejets @piscesparker @bvttercupbby @kujokura @l0velyevans @jess-holland23 @captainamirica @gog0juice @annathesillyfriend @whoeveniskendall

#harrison osterfield #tom holland #tom holland fluff #harrison osterfield imagines #harrison osterfield oneshot #harrison osterfield imagine #harrison osterfield fluff #harrison osterfield angst

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ramzawrites · 4 years

Text

Wherever the world takes us Part 1 - A SBI!Reader insert

Pairings: none Characters included: Philza, Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, Cpt Puffy, Schlatt, Captain Sparklez, (mentioned) Fundy Warnings: small mention of death Series: Yes, planned slow updates but this happens in a slight AU world of the official lore of the dsmp and follows along the plot only this time the reader gets included as the middle hybrid child of the SBI Part 2

Summary: A small introduction to the SBI family dynamic including the reader! Today is Techno’s big day at the local festival! He get’s to participate in a fighting tournament but until that happens there is still a ton of time to somehow still get into trouble, isn’t there?

Word count: 4380

Shapeshifters aren’t as rare as many people think. In fact many carry that gene but not everyone ends up showing the properties of one. If you have the active gene you may show first changes during your early childhood which then stretches out until your late teens where the changes will stop resulting in the persons usual animal like form. These changes can range from a whole body covered in fur to having goat like eyes or just horns on their head.

As far as scientists know there isn’t a real reason as to what the final form will be since Shapeshifters who are directly related to one another can have complete and drastically different forms to each other. Though an old myth has been going around for as long as people know that the form a Shapeshifter takes is a result of their subconscious, something that mirrors their true self. Sadly due to this belief many Non-Shifters hold stereotypes and prejudice towards them.

Philza was a Shapeshifter himself. As a kid two stubs slowly appeared at his back and settled in over the years as beautiful huge black wings that he could use for takeoff and a bit for flying but mostly functioned better for gliding around. He used these wings to later travel around the world, learning everything about it and training himself.

At some point he did settle down again and ended up fathering four children alone of whom two showed Shapeshifter properties as well.

There were the twins Technoblade and Wilbur. Technoblade showed from an early age on a deeper interest in fighting. Always asking to learn more than the self-defense techniques their father was teaching them, so Philza took the time to teach him everything he knew. Gifting him later on a proper iron sword which Techno then used to train almost daily with. Philza later had to put mending on that sword since it was chipped and scratched in a short time over heavy use. He is also one of the two children of Philza who ended up being a Shapeshifter. They first noticed when two of his teeth in his lower jaw tended to peek out of his mouth. Over the years these two teeth turned into full blown tusks, flappy pink ears would appear on his head, his hair slowly turned into a soft pink, as well as bristle like fur begun growing on his arms. It were the characteristics of a pig as they soon realized.

Wilbur the younger of the twins by two minutes was more interested in music and books. Philza gifted him a guitar the same time he gave Techno his first sword. From that point on it was a rare thing if you didn’t see Wilbur’s guitar around him. Either on his person or laying close by him. Over time he got really proficient with the instrument and begun writing amazing songs as well as singing them himself.

The middle child Y/N was the more mellow of the whole bunch though this didn’t mean much in the context of the whole family. While they happily took part in whatever trouble their siblings got up to they were at the end the first person that would try to help solve these troubles as well and took care of any wounds. To that end they soon learned how to grow their own herbs to make medicine. This was something Philza taught them. Both would spent a ton of time in the garden, so much so, that the garden was dubbed Y/N’s and Dad’s garden. Techno would sometimes help out as well but that was a more rare occurrence. Y/N was the second kid with the active Shapeshifter gene. Just like their father, two stubs appeared at their back that too would turn into huge black wings. Y/N still remembered how perplexed but proud Philza was when he understood what was happening. They didn’t know what they expected from their father but this reaction wasn’t it. But they weren’t mad about it.

The youngest of the family was Tommy and he was the number one reason why the kids got into trouble in the first place. He would wake up, make weird plans and rope the others into it as well. Wilbur was the first he would usually try to recruit to which Techno then would reluctantly join knowing that if the two are together they will need help later on. Getting Y/N on board was pretty easy as well. It was either a thing of them knowing they will one hundred percent get hurt so best to join in now or they were feeling particularly chaotic that day and wouldn’t even hesitate to join.

Back when they all lived together in their old cottage home their daily lives would always start in the same way.

Philza would be the first awake. He would wake the children up and continue downstairs to work on breakfast for everyone.

There was no real order to who would be the first downstairs for food but it was always Y/N who would be the last to join the group. Moving in front of their designated chair only to stretch before properly sitting down.

“Ew! Gross! Your wing touched my food!” Wilbur exclaimed angrily, pulling the plate with his food closer to himself and farther away from his sibling.

Y/N rolled their eyes “I’m not poisonous, Wilbur.”

“Still gross.” He muttered more to himself as he reluctantly took a bite from his toast.

Phil eyed the two but looked back down to his food and coffee “Your wings are getting pretty big. I’m sure it won’t take long until you can do more than just gliding about.”

“So, that means you can teach them to fly soon?” Tommy was the one to ask surprisingly. Sure, that was on Y/N’s mind as well so they didn’t mind Tommy saying what they thought but they still felt like it was a bad sign and a call for trouble though they couldn’t think how nor did they care enough to find out.

Philza raised one of his eyebrows, obviously taking note of that fact as well. It was something you learned to look out for once you spend enough time with Tommy. “I’m not sure how soon but I think so, yeah.”

“Cool.” Was all Tommy remarked. He then proceeded to stare at his food so his family would get their suspicion off of him. Acting as if he didn’t just figuratively plant a huge red flag on the table with the words “I have a plan!”.

Y/N on the other hand couldn’t help to smile. They were excited for the eventual day when Philza could finally teach them how to fly. For the longest time now they have only learned to use their wings to glide and got really good at changing directions while doing so. Taking care of their wings was already a pain so they wanted to get at least something good out of having them in the first place and being able to properly fly is a huge plus since getting into positions where you could actually glide around was a difficult and a bothersome thing.

Philza sighed choosing to ignore Tommy and instead turned to look at Wilbur and Y/N “What is your plan today? Want to join me and Techno when we go into town for the tournament?”

After a few seconds of confused expressions between the two Wilbur suddenly shouted “Oh! Techno’s tournament! Of course! I wanna see him beat up other people for a change!”

Techno snorted “Really feeling the support here right now, bro.”

“I’m guessing you both are coming too?” Philza was now addressing the other two of his kids.

Both were fast and eager to agree. Wilbur was right. Usually Techno tried sparring with his siblings though using the word sparring was maybe an overstatement. He would mercilessly beat them up and complain they didn’t last long enough. At rare times where all of them were bored enough they would play a game of >Who can last the longest against Techno<. Y/N really wasn’t too big a fan of this game since they ended up being the only one who would address the wounds later including their own since they didn’t trust the others to properly apply a band aid.

From this point on the breakfast was more alive than before. Tommy and Wilbur would constantly ask questions to Techno about who he will be fighting or how everything will work. To which he all just gave a very non-committal “I dunno”.

After they all cleaned up the breakfast table, they got ready and grabbed everything they needed.

The town wasn’t super far away but it was a long enough walk that it would be inconvenient to get back for things you might have forgotten.

Techno grabbed his sword while Wilbur made sure to take his beloved guitar with him. Y/N made sure to grab all kinds of medicine and bandages with them. They knew Techno will get treated at the tournament should he get hurt but they felt better if they brought some stuff with them as well. Tommy on the other hand made sure to grab all kinds of things including a few pages of paper, pens, string and more. Philza wanted to just write it down to Tommy probably meeting up with Tubbo in town and doing harmless crafts but the chances were slim.

As they made their way to the tournament and Philza was preaching to them to not cause any trouble since there would be a lot of people there today, Y/N soon noticed how Techno would nervously play around with the hilt of his worn out sword.

They affectionately put their arm around their older brother for a short side hug, including putting their wing around him “You’ll do fine. I know it. Don’t worry too much and just imagine you are beating one of us up.”

Technoblade had to roll his eyes at that “I’ll try to take that advice to heart.”

As they arrived in town the kids looked around in awe. Everywhere were stalls set up selling food or little decorative things or toys. People where weaving in and out between stalls, loudly talking with each other. Laughter and yells filled the air.

In the middle of the town square there was a huge box marked on the ground. This is where the fights would happen. As far as Techno explained the rules were simple. Get your opponent on their back, get them out of the box or beat them unconscious. Tommy was absolutely loving the idea of Techno beating all of his opponents unconscious and said he wouldn’t take any other result as acceptable.

“Alright kiddos. Techno and I have to talk with the organizer. You three can go and have some fun but you have to promise me a few things. Whatever you guys do stay together! Don’t talk to strangers and as soon as the fights start you come over. I will find you then, okay? I will only let you guys go if you agree to this.”

“I can still try to find Tubbo, right?” Tommy asked.

“Of course but only if you all stay together.” He was looking at Wilbur when he said the last part. This meant Wilbur was the boss for today. Well until they met up again with their dad.

Wilbur put his hands on each shoulder of his younger siblings “We will! Don’t worry dad!”

Philza gave them a last nod before walking off. Before Techno followed him he looked at the three “Don’t… cause too much trouble. At least for me so nothing happens to the tournament.” With that Technoblade turned around and followed Philza closely.

“Well, what should we start with?” Y/N asked their brothers.

Tommy threw his arms in the air “Tubbo!”

Wilbur laughed “Alright. We’ll try to find your Tubbo. I’m sure he and his siblings should be around here as well.”

Tubbo was Tommy’s best friend and honestly he hangs around their home so much they almost consider him a family member as well. He had an older sister Puffy and an older brother Schlatt though. They were a curious case. All three of them carried the active Shapeshifter gene and all three begun growing horns, their ears turned into that of goats and they all had the horizontal iris’.

Y/N liked to spend time with Puffy. Just like Y/N Puffy too acted more like a caretaker to her siblings which the two soon bonded over while Schlatt and Wilbur soon hit it off as well. It was actually quite amusing to see them interacting since Wilbur was known for loving art and freedom. Schlatt on the other hand tried to see how he can scam the most people in the most effective manner in the shortest amount of time. Trying to turn in a profit at every turn. You wouldn’t immediately think they would end up being such good friends.

The three were raised by their father as well who everyone just referred to as Captain Sparklez though his real name was Jordan. He coincidentally also helped with setting up this little festival for the town.

Tommy suddenly took a deep breath in as he cupped his hands around his mouth “Tubbo!”

Wilbur furrowed his brows “Tommy, there are a ton of people around here! There is no way he heard you.”

“Tommy! Over here!” a different voice called out, away from all the stalls and people.

Wilbur and Y/N looked surprised while Tommy almost proudly smirked at them. The bond Tommy and Tubbo had was something else.

Together the three ran through the crowd to finally meet up with Tubbo and apparently his siblings. As a greeting Tubbo softly headbutted Tommy while Puffy did the same to Y/N. Schlatt never did this with Wilbur. Said he might have goat like characteristics but he is still more human than goat hence why he didn’t do this whole headbutting thing. It has been a whole ordeal with Wilbur once where he demanded to get a headbutt from Schlatt as well for a greeting. After enough prodding and being a general nuisance Schlatt decided to straight up headbutt him as hard as possible almost knocking him out and gave him a good bruise on his forehead. Wilbur never asked for another headbutt greeting since then.

Y/N gave Puffy an additional hug, making sure to wrap their wings around her as well “I’m glad to see you Puffy!”

“So am I! I heard Techno is taking part in the tournament, isn’t he?”

Schlatt was for some reason cackling at that “Oh I bet he will win, won’t he? This would be the best time for some betting!”

Tommy, Y/N and Wilbur all nodded saying things like “Of course he will win. My brother is the best”

Soon the group begun to fall into their usual banter. Tommy and Tubbo were doing something next to them, only sometimes getting back into the conversation. Schlatt and Wilbur on the other hand were talking about how they could start bets and maybe earn some money because surely Techno will win. Y/N and Puffy listened in only to interject at times to root them back down. Both made sure they wouldn’t end up doing anything too stupid, though they too were in on it and ready to help out.

In the end the whole group was sitting on the ground and writing their plan down on the paper Tommy brought with him as suddenly a loud voice boomed over the crowd announcing that the fighting tournament will soon begin.

Tubbo looked absolutely horrified “No! I didn’t have a chance to check out the candy yet!”

Schaltt sighed and gave Tubbo a reassuring pat on his back “Don’t worry kiddo they will still be here after the tournament.”

With that the group begun walking to the marked place for the fighting. All the while Schlatt was grumbling that this was way too early and he couldn’t act on his betting plans.

“There are a lot of people.” Y/N noted as they came closer to their goal.

Indeed there were a surprising amount of people standing around the place. If it was difficult to get through the crowd before, now it seemed almost impossible. It was almost comical how the crowd seemingly turned into a wall of steel as the announcer begun his speech in order to greet all the people watching.

“Ugh, I can barely see anything.” Wilbur whined as he moved on his toes. Wilbur was the tallest of the group so when he had problems seeing anything Y/N instinctively already gave up. Maybe one day it would be the other way around seeing as they all were still growing but for now this was the reality of the situation.

Tommy was frantically jumping into the air trying to see anything that happened. He didn’t say it but he wanted to make sure to not miss out on any second of Techno’s fights. He was his older brother after all.

“Hey, Schlatt?” Tubbo almost whispered as he tugged at his older brother’s shirt.

Schlatt barely made any proper attempt to look over the crowd probably still busy thinking about his lost business opportunity. He tilted his head down to look at Tubbo “Hm?”

Suddenly Tubbo’s unsure expression turned into a serious one. While Wilbur, Tommy and Y/N were confused about this, Puffy begun to snicker.

“Aw, come on!” Schlatt drawled out but as soon as Tubbo got his pouting face out it was over for him.

He rolled his eyes and knelt down. With the help of Puffy, Tubbo was soon sitting on Schlatt’s shoulders, overlooking the crowd.

For some reason Tommy looked absolutely betrayed “This is unfair!”

“And why is that?” was all that Tubbo asked smugly. He was grabbing onto Schlatt’s horns which lead to him involuntarily yanking around his head whenever Tubbo himself moved around. Annoyed Schlatt gave his younger brother a playful slap on his arm as a sign to knock it off.

Tommy crossed his arms “Hey, Wilby! Wait no, I’m not a child anymore.”

Before Wilbur could even do his obligatory cooing whenever Tommy used his nickname or before Y/N could remind him that he was indeed still a child and younger than Tubbo he turned towards them instead.

“Y/N! You carry me and fly up that is way cooler than sitting on someone’s shoulders like some two year old.”

This took Y/N quite by surprise “What?”

“Dad said you are ready to fly and you spent like most of your free time already gliding or flying about so like basically the same thing right?”

“No! This is completely different! Besides I’m pretty sure my wings right now are barely able to carry my own weight! To that I have no idea how to take off from ground!”

Tommy’s bottom lip begun to quiver. Both Wilbur and Y/N knew it was fake but it was still a weakness for the two.

Y/N tried grabbing Wilbur’s sleeve for support but he was already looking at them with sad eyes himself “I mean Tommy just wants to see his big brother win, which is understandable right? At least worth a try?”

It was Y/N’s time to look betrayed but their expression soon got exchange by that one of defeat “One… One try. If that doesn’t work out I will give up.”

So the group walked back away from the crowd to have more space, Tubbo still happily sitting on Schlatt’s shoulders. He looked annoyed but Puffy knew that he was just as happy as she was that Tubbo had obviously a good time.

Y/N would spent a few minutes just trying to take off the ground on their own saying that they would first need to be a bit in the air before being able to grab Tommy. Wilbur was just watching with an amused smile on his face. Oh he was almost certain how this will end in disaster but he was just too curious to see how exactly.

After multiple running starts Y/N managed to get a few feet off into the air, flying directly towards Tommy so they could pick him up. They more or less bodychecked into their younger brother but still managed to pick him up and for a short moment it looked like the two were indeed a few feet above the height of the crowd.

Tommy was screaming partially out of fear but partially out of excitement. Y/N was so concentrated on flying and holding onto Tommy they didn’t even try to look out for Techno on the ground. They stayed semi stable in the air for good two seconds before both suddenly noticed they were losing altitude rapidly.

Now both were screaming as Y/N desperately tried to glide towards the hay bails that the town put up as decoration but with the added weight of Tommy they still plummeted towards the ground pretty fast.

The next thing Y/N remembers was that they were surrounded by hay and that their whole body was feeling heavy and sore. Tommy was groaning as he tried his best to get out of the hay and off their sibling while Y/N first made sure to calmly fold their wings back against their back as they slowly got out of the hay as well.

Suddenly two strong hands grabbed the still disoriented Y/N and helped them properly back to their feet only to be met by an angry looking Philza.

“What on Ender were you thinking?”

“Oh hey dad!” Y/N croaked out as they avoided any eye contact with him. Instead they were busy plucking hay out of their wings. Due to the fall there was a lot of hay trapped between feathers, there were also a few bent feathers that felt uncomfortable at best.

Tommy was sheepishly standing next to them also avoiding eye contact.

“I told you to get to the tournament and wait for me! I told you guys I would make sure to find you so why did you do whatever the hell you just did?” Philza rambled off.

“Yeah guys why did you two do that?” Wilbur was now approaching his family as well, including their other three friends who followed suit.

Y/N let go of their wing as they turned towards their older brother with an angry frown “You encouraged us! Don’t act like you are the only innocent person here! Aren’t you as our big brother supposed to stop us or something when we are stupid?”

Philza sighed “Okay, we deal with this later but at least tell me why?”

“We wanted to see Techno but we couldn’t get past the crowd!” Tommy answered.

“My fights will only start in like half an hour dude. Didn’t you guys listen to the announcements?”

To their surprise Technoblade appeared from behind Philza. He looked bored but still had a somewhat smug smile on his face. Who wouldn’t feel a tiny big smug when your younger siblings gets into trouble with dad for something that was absolutely their fault and you were luckily this time no part of it.

“You three are in trouble! We will go back so Techno won’t be too late for when it’s his turn but once we are back home it’s three weeks of chores for all of you.”

This earned him a murmur of “Okay, dad.” And “But we didn’t do anything bad!”

After that the day ended up pretty normally. They had their trouble for the day so they continued on with following Philza back to the tournament place. He made sure that all the kids had the best places in front so they could watch as Techno absolutely destroyed the other kids.

Jordan joined them as well. Philza didn’t spend any time waiting on telling him how Y/N and Tommy crashed into one of his decorations. He wasn’t angry but did chew out his own kids a little bit for not even attempting to stop them.

For some reason this was the day Y/N always fondly thought back on. They got into their typical trouble that day but also spend a ton of time with their family and friends back in their hometown. Enjoying seeing Techno beat others up and of course winning the tournament to which then Phil and Jordan bought the kids a ton of candy from the stalls.

Yes, they loved their family so dearly and would do anything for them.

So when a letter arrived from Wilbur that informed them that a few days ago a friend betrayed him which led to him losing his first life of three as well for Tommy, Tubbo and their nephew Fundy it felt like their heart got ripped out of their chest.

Y/N was still living at their old childhood home with Philza but both were only rarely at home. The two traveled around the world independently from each other using the old cottage as a place to rest in between. Wilbur probably addressed the letter knowing that this was the most reliable way to contact his family.

Reaching Technoblade who was training out of country was almost impossible at this point in time.

Y/N got out a piece of paper and wrote a letter for their father.

“Dad, I’m going to visit Wil and Tommy. Love, Y/N”

This was all that needed to be said.

They put the letter including the letter from Wilbur visibly on the table so Philza would see it as soon as he got back home. They did this sometimes in order to talk to Philza as well as the other way around so both were always looking out for messages on the table once they got back home.

Y/N grabbed their old netherite sword they got way back from Techno as a gift and begun thinking about what to take with them for the flight towards L’Manberg. If they fly it would only take a few days to reach the place but they also couldn’t carry a lot of things with them.

“Hell of a reason to visit your family after a long time, huh.”

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