#im gonna stretch his suffering until they both end at roughly the same time

[cubbihue]

due to my adhd urge to make everything line up and be nice round numbers

i'm stretching out chimmy's arc with an intermission between his leaving his parents' house, and his arrival to the new location

that man will be TORMENTED

he will SUFFER

he's gonna get HIS WALLET STOLEMB

[yugyummygot7reactions]

Behind the Curtain - 7

| Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Epilogue |   

Updates are Sundays at 5pm PST! Next week is the end!!!

Characters: Jaebeom x You

Genre: Smut

Warning(s): Breath Play, Light Name Calling, Size kink? sort of not really

Word Count: 2,248

You were turning the final corner to your room when you slammed face first into a wall of a human. Im Jaebeom. 

“I’m sorry!” You said as you stood up and tried to catch your breath. “

My office.” He said as he walked past you, “NOW!!” 

Dealing with the situation inside of you would have to wait. It was time to face the fearsome leader.

He’s twice your size. Easily. He’s nearly a head taller than everyone but Yugyeom and is built with the shoulders of a linebacker. You fidget uncomfortably, wondering why your stomach insists on flipping like a gymnast at the Olympics. JB’s eyes settle on you, anger seething from them and for some reason you blush and quickly avert your gaze.

Jaebeom paces around the room while you just awkwardly stand there, waiting for whatever storm was about to come your way and his arms keep brushing yours as he paces. Whether it was accidental or not, it was sending shivers down your spine. He pushes a button on his desk and then finally stops to turn and face you.

“Did you know what was coming and not tell me?” He finally asked, his voice is loud in your ear, his head so close that you are occupying practically the same space in his large office. You have to fight the flush crawling up your neck having him this close. “The raid?” You ask innocently, “Why would I have known before you?” “That is the true question Y/N.” He paces again before pulling his face hairs away from yours, his eyes piercing your soul. “Why did you know before us? Are you involved?” “I didn’t know.” You said firmly, trying not to falter as your heartbeat began to race. He might seem soft to those who know him, but he isn’t the gang leader for nothing. “Ahhh…I thought we didn’t lie in this gang.” He said as he pulled back a little. “I’m not lying.” You try to convince him and a smirk overtakes his lips. “That’s impressive.” he says, taking a sip of the water you just now notice is on his desk. “You must practice a lot.” “Practice?” You asked, confused at the statement. “Yeah,” he says, slyly, “Practice keeping your life story straight, your lies straight, keeping us complacent with your nearly flawless work only to have it all come crashing down in the end.”

You were looking anywhere but him. If you make eye contact, you’ll die. Literally and metaphorically.

“Someone has to work hard to make a good girl out of you.”

His voice has dropped an octave with that comment. You feel it in your core, but have to remain calm and collected on the outside. Does that mean he is letting you live? That he has some kind of plan that will assure his victory?

“Sometimes you need direction to find your way back to where you belong, a heavy hand, maybe?” He asked as he began to come closer again. “Do you like it when someone’s strict with you? You seem to not tremble as much as I thought someone like you would.” “Someone like me?” You asked, swallowing harder than you meant to.

“A traitor.” His hand comes up—hot, searing fingertips ghost against your jaw before carefully sliding back so that his thumb hooks under your chin and the rest of his fingers can put heavy, pressure on your throat. His fingers span the entire width of your neck easily and the pressure on your windpipe quickly hits you. He leans down until his face is directly in front of yours again. You can feel your knees start trembling when you realize that your life is literally in his hand and he knows your secret. “I wish you would look me in the eyes instead of looking away all the time.” He tilts your head up, almost forcing your eyes to lock on to his. You stare fiercely, emboldened by his dare. You look at his lush eyelashes, his moles above his eye, the stubble he missed on his chin, the way his skin creases at his eyes. Most of all, you look down at his mouth—pink, soft lips that he wets with the tip of his tongue before he speaks. If this was the last thing you ever saw, you wouldn’t be too mad.

Jaebeom quickly swapped places with you and pushed you up against his desk. His one hand reaching your waist to hold you still. He squeezes, a fingertip ever so gently gliding under the waistband of your pants. It drives all of your blood south, making your clit throb against the seam of your pants. In the craziness of earlier with Jackson, your underwear had disappeared.

You yelp as JB releases your throat for a moment, grabs you around the middle and completely lifts off the ground with a pair of arms as immovable as iron shackles. You squirm, nearly managing a kick where it hurts the most, but you are pulled back tight against a warm, solid body.

“I kinda like you scared,” he counters, squeezing you. “seeing the look in a traitor’s eyes before death always gives me a rush.

“I’m not a trait-“

His hand is around your throat again in an instant. It makes your whole body dizzy, it makes you feel vulnerable as hell and you can’t help but want to melt into the arms of the man who is about to kill you. The weirdest thing is that you can breathe easily—his fingers only squeeze on the sides, effectively cutting off the blood flow to your brain, instead of your windpipe. He is trying to weaken you for information instead of just outright kill you and you realize just how skilled with his hands this man is. The effect is like a live wire to your cunt.

“Why is it you only listen when you have to be manhandled into it?”

He sets you down on your feet again and you gasp for air, the blood rushing back to your head. It sends a trickle up your spine.

His hand sneaks up your shirt to squeeze your breasts hard enough to make your whimper. “Gonna fucking devour these tits. If you’re going to lie, you’re going to die, and I might as well have some fun first.“

“Jaebeom,” you accidentally moan, sounding pretty needy.

He pulls back, wiping his mouth where spit has practically dribbled onto his chin from his forceful talking. It should be gross, but instead you want to lick him clean.

“Get on your knees, sweetheart.”

He pushes you down on the hard wood. “I always knew you were a little slut,” he mutters, undoing his belt. “Christ, the things I’ve thought about doing to you— and yet you went to everyone else but me for relief over the last few days.“ You watch his zipper with a concentration usually reserved for combat.

His cock springs out, hard and heavy under its own weight. It’s nearly as thick as your wrist.

“Fuck,” you whisper. It’s so much better than anyone else in the gang you had seen. You knew It was your last fuck and you couldn’t be happier it was with this dick.

“You’re going to suck me off until I come in that pretty little throat, right? You have to swallow, okay? Obey one last order before it’s time to go.”

You nod, entranced by the throbbing tip, where he’s leaking pearled drops of pre-cum.

You lean forward and lick the flat of your tongue up his shaft to taste him.

Immediately, he grabs a fistful of your hair, which normally you would break someone’s finger for, but you kind of like being held like this. It just shows his dominance and proves that no matter what, you can’t get away.

Your open your mouth and ease the entire head in as far as you comfortably can on the first try, but when you gag yourself a little, he makes sure to force himself in more, if only a notch deeper.

His cock suddenly jerks to draw your attention, tightening up a bit, as if trying to get harder than he already is. He begins moving your head back and forth and your jaw is already edging on its way to soreness, but somehow feeling the tip hit the back of your tongue, tasting each time more pre-come leaks out of him, feels good.

His breath becomes more labored as you suck on him more. You learned you love the way his chest heaves, the fabric of his shirt stretching across his pectoral muscles. If only you really were on his side, you both would make a great power couple both in and out of the bedroom.

One of his feet slide forward, settling between your thighs. “Good girls get to grind their pussy on my boot while they suck cock,” he growls. “I’m not even that cruel to deny someone release before their death.”

You moan around his length when your clit meets the friction of the shoe through your too thick pants. You roughly hump his leg and leave a clear puddle of evidence. Would he smell it tomorrow, your pussy on his clothes, and think of you on your knees? Crying with a cock between your lips? Would the raid happen as planned and he won’t even make it to tomorrow?

Suddenly his hips find the will to move urgently. His cock fills your throat up enough that you can’t breathe, the hand on the back of your head presses you further into the stretch, and you feel his cock push forward into your gag reflex.

You feel tears leak out of your eyes. It feels like you have been caught in a perpetual choke.

“Good girl,” he groans out. “Swallow. I want to feel it.”

Your mouth quivers. He seems too in control to come. That seems to be the theme with Im Jaebeom though, In control until the last moment.

He groans loudly, hips stuttering. “Feels so fucking good. Knew you could take the whole thing, my messy, drooling slut.”

He slides out and you launch into a coughing fit, doubling over. He gives you a second to catch your breath before tugging at your scalp again, pulling you back up on your knees. “I.. can’t.. take it, please, fucking do it already ...” you begged, not knowing at this point if you wanted him to just fuck you or kill you already. “Do what? “ he said coyly, as he slid your pants down and moved you up onto the desk, pushing his still hard tip slightly into your folds. “Kill you? No. you are too valuable for that. I need more details before you can have this suffering end. I know you aren’t on our side and that your ‘mother’ who you write to is actually your handler. I’m smarter than you clearly give me credit for.” With that, he lined himself up and quickly thrust himself into you. You couldn’t contain your loud gasp as his cock filled you up so quickly. The stretch was painfully blissful. Jaebeom began to pound into you, keeping up a consistent rhythm, hard and quick. He was going to fuck you silly so that he could get all of the information he needed. You were starting to lose focus, but you had to stay coherent. He slowed down as he felt himself come close to climaxing, his breathing becoming heavy again. “Tell me when the raid is.” He said as he slowed his pace, stopping your pleasure in its tracks. “No,” you panted, trying to keep your cool. His hands found your neck this time, cutting off airflow. “Tell. Me. Now.” His teeth were clenched and he was clearly ready for this game to be over. You shook your head as best you could. The lack of airflow and fullness of his cock inside of you was bringing you to your climax without him needing to move at all. You knew you wouldn’t last too much longer. You might even black out first. “TELL ME!!!” he screamed as he grabbed your neck tighter. Your orgasm hit you hard with his rush of anger and much to his surprise, the way you clenched around him caused his focus to slip and an orgasm hit him harder than he thought it could. He grip tightened again as he came, and before you could black out and accept your fate, the door to the office was kicked in and the special forces were there to save you. Jaebeom let go of you out of surprise and you fell to the ground coughing. The agency made it in the nick of time. “Who?” Is all you were asked by the lead; you recognized the voice as your former partner. “I’m glad you got my message to move up the raid. A second later and I would’ve been a goner.” You barely got the words out your throat was so sore.

“We can talk about that later. Who?” He asked again. “Mark, Bam Bam, Yugyeom.” You said, rubbing your neck to rid the feeling of JB’s hand trying to force the life out of you, still working on catching your breath. “What does that mean?” JB asked angrily as two men ran forward and restrained him. “Mark,” you stood up, “Bam Bam,” you fixed your pants, “and Yugyeom.” You took a gun from your former partner put it right between Jaebeom’s eyes. You heard the agency spread the word on who to save while you quickly removed the safety from the weapon. “I’m glad I was able to let you cum one last time before the end.” You smirked. “I’m not even that cruel to deny someone release before their death.”

You pulled the trigger.

_______________________________________________________________________

Hello My Lovelies!!

So that was the last smut chapter!!! What did you think??

Were you surprised on who was light or dark?

Let me know!!! Epilogue is coming next week.

Until Next Time,

~LoLo

[ultyutae]

A Melancholic Melody

Jaehyun x Reader

Word Count: 2.2k... Yeah I really did alot for this one

Tags: Angst if you squint hard enough, fluff?, healing, comfort

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of death, illness, implied trauma

A/n: honestly this was sort of experimental for me and im not sure how to feel about it. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated <3

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, calming yourself as you placed your fingers above the correct keys of the piano that sat in front of you. You began to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Your fingers flew over, back and forth between the keys, not hesitating once. You knew the entire piece by heart and muscle memory, with it being the first piece you were taught since you were young. It was a slightly long piece, but it was a beautiful one, like many of Beethoven's works. You were too engrossed into your playing to have been able to notice the figure that was standing by the doorway. By the time you finished the piece, you let out the breath you'vebeen holding in, letting out a sigh of relief. You stared at the keys, realizing that once again, you had stopped playing two thirds of a way through. Your fingers hadn't moved at all for the last five minutes. You had just sat there, staring at your fingers, envisioning yourself playing the piece you knew you couldn't bring yourself to finish. You let out a chuckle, and proceeded to play another tune. Valse Sentimentale, by one of your personal favorite musicians, Tchaikovsky. When you were finished, you decided to finally address the other person who had been in the room with you, staying silent the entire time. You had noticed their presence before you started playing the second piece, and it had annoyed you a bit, not really being used having another person listening while you practiced.

"How long have you been standing there?" you asked, turning your head to finally take a look at your listener. When your eyes met with the stranger, you held back from letting out a gasp. It was Jung Jaehyun, one of the more popular boys in your grade. He was not only a top student in class but also the best in choir, and everyone not only admired him for his princely looks and demeanor, but also his heavenly voice. You were suddenly more curious than annoyed, as to why such a person like him would be watching someone like you, who's a complete stranger to him.

"Long enough," Jaehyun replied, still leaning against the doorway. "You're a beautiful player, by the way. But why did you stop? You never finished Moonlight Sonata."

"So you did see that, huh..." you mumbled. You let out a bitter laugh. "I can never finish that piece. Wanna know why?" Jaehyun stared into your eyes for a few seconds, not letting go of his gaze upon you. You stared back at him with almost a coldness behind your eyes, careful to not let your shield slip any further. Jaehyun nodded.

"Yes, tell me," he said, and he walked closer to you and sat down on the piano stool right next to you. Your heart skipped a few beats as he got closer. This was a new feeling for you. You rarely felt such emotions like this anymore, especially for a stranger. Unable to look directly at him, you turned around and stared at the piano keys.

"It was my mother's last stage performance. She was suffering from an unknown illness, and even though we told her we didn't want perform on stage until she got better, she insisted that she wouldn't let her audience down. She was a well-known and widely admired pianist, and she was well aware of how people all over the world would come to concert festivals just to hear her play. Mother was the closing act. The grand finale. Before she went upstage, she told me to listen carefully, and that most of all, she wanted me watch her play, one last time. Honestly, I thought it meant that she was going to stop playing after that performance. I really wish that was what happened." you explained, not taking your eyes away from the keys.

"So, what happened? Did she keep playing afterwards?" Jaehyun implored, clearly intrigued.

"No," you took a deep breath. "About ten minutes into the piece, she had a heart attack. Her body was too weak to keep playing, and so it gave out before she was able to finish the piece. Everyone in the audience, including me, had to watch as she just...collapsed," you sniffled. Jaehyun put a hand on your shoulder. You didn't bother to look at him, but you appreciated his gesture anyways. "I'm sorry, there was no need for me to tell you all of that. We don't even know each other that well." Jaehyun shook his head.

"No, it's fine. I'm really sorry for your loss... I can only imagine how traumatizing that had to have been. But is it okay if I ask, was the song your Mother was playing...was it Moonlight Sonata?" Jaehyun asked. This caught you off-guard, causing you to look right at him.

"Yeah...it was. I used to treasure this song, it was the the first song I learned, and the first song my mother had taught me. But now..."

"Now you can't play the whole thing, after the incident?" Jaehyun finished. You grimly nodded.

"I always imagine myself picking up from where my mother had stopped at, finishing the piece for her but i- I just can't. I remember every single note and keystroke, I just can't move my fingers until I imagine the piece to be over." You werent sure why, but you had no problem telling Jaehyun all of this. It's almost as if you felt comfortable enough to tell him everything. Jaehyun didn't say anything for about a minute. His eyes flickered back and forth from between you and the piano. Without a word, he turned around in his seat, facing the piano.

"Play with me." Jaehyun said, while staring right at you. You could feel your ears turning red.

"W-w-what??" you stuttered, suddenly becoming now aware of how attractive he really is.

"Oh my god, not like that! I meant on the piano, dummy" Jaehyun replied, with a small flick to your forehead.

"Ow! Is that how you talk to someone you just met?" you jabbed back, now giggling a bit.

"Do you always tell everyone your whole life story after you just met them?" Jaehyun said, playfully. Now it was your turn to flick his forehead, but this time harder than he did to you.

"Ow, what the heck!" Jaehyun yelped, rubbing his forehead.

"No not normally, but let's just say you seem...trustworthy. Don't let it get to your head though, you're still basically a stranger to me" you responded, ignoring his reaction.

"A stranger?? We've been in the same class multiple times throughout the years, not to mention you were the pianist for one of our choir concert's before...do you really think of me as a stranger?" Jaehyun asked, his voice suddenly becoming much softer than it was before. You stared at him for a couple of seconds before giving your answer, not sure how to respond.

"No, I guess not. But I've been wondering, why were you standing here and watching me play in the first place? Shouldn't you have gone home by now, or at least, isn't there choir practice today in the chorus room?" you asked.

"Practice would've probably ended.." Jaehyun room a quick glance at the clock, "ten minutes ago, roughly. But I don't mind, I'm sure the choir teacher will be fine with me missing out on just one practice" he said, not giving much thought.

"Crap, I'm sorry for making you miss your practice," you responded, becoming slightly embarrassed. It had hit you just now that Jaehyun had skipped out on choir practice just to watch you play.

"I was on my way to the choir room, but I noticed someone was playing on the piano, which is why I came to check it out. I stayed after seeing that it was you," Jaehyun explained.

"How could you tell it was me?" you asked, suddenly confused.

"I've seen you play before at a past choir concert remember? You have a gift. It would be pretty hard for me to forget the way you play, or you in general. I think missing out on practice just to watch you play is worth it," Jaehyun said. His tone made him sound chill but once glance at him and his reddening ears had given him away, he was clearly a bit embarrassed by saying this.

"Oh. Thanks, I guess," you responded, now feeling your own ears turn red. An awkward silence came about you two, which was quickly ended by Jaehyun clearing his throat.

"Okay, so should we start?" Jaehyun asked, cracking his knuckles.

"You know how to play?" you asked, also stretching out your fingers.

"Yeah, I learned a little bit of piano when I was younger. I'm not as gifted as you are but I can play a few pieces. Wait here," Jaehyun quickly slid out of the seat and made his way over to the drawers filled with sheet music for the piano. He rummaged through the stacks, searching for the piece you assumed would be the one he wants to play with you. You werent sure why you had no objections to this, as you've never played with someone before, but there was something that made you feel excited when thinking about playing with Jaehyun. The more you had interacted him, the more you noticed about him. He had pretty, delicate hands, and long eyelashes. His eyes also lit up a bit when he smiled at you, which at first had no effect on you, but as he gave you a warm smile while hearing back to your shared seat with the papers in hand, you could feel your heart race faster and faster. You only now just met him, you reminded yourself. You've never once had a conversation with him before this. There was no way you could be developing something for the very attractive choir boy who sat a few desks ahead of you in class. Jaehyun placed the sheet music in front of both of you, quickly opening it to the last few pages. You took a glance at the notes, and recognized it immediately.

"We're gonna play Moonlight Sonata? But you just saw what happened when I tried playing it-"

"Don't worry, the song will be finished. We'll do it together, okay?" Jaehyun said, reassuringly.

"Why are you doing this?" you blurted, now more confused than ever. Jaehyun shrugged.

"Do I need a reason to?" he stated. You took a deep breath and faced the piano keys, readying your fingers and placing them over the starting keys. You expected Jaehyun to do the same, but he just stared at you. "Okay, go ahead and start," he said, nodding. You glanced at him once last time, before closing your eyes and letting your fingers take control of your mind. You started off slow at adagio, but as the piece carried on, you went through the movement of allegretto, and soon enough found yourself nearing the last part you couldn't bring yourself to finish. As you reached the presto agitato, you could feel your fingers slowly start to shake, and your mind starting to shut down. However, instead of hearing the silence that usually came, the sounds of the piano was still audible, and as you opened your eyes, you saw Jaehyun, playing the rest of the piece for- no, with you. You could feel your eyes watering up as you finally heard the rest of the song play, after many years. You had forgotten how beautiful the rest of it was to you, and slowly, you could feel your fingers work their way into playing with him, finding the courage to move your fingers above the keys and play the rest of it. As you finished, you closed your eyes and let out a sigh of relief. It felt like a thorn inside of you had finally been plucked out, like a weight had been taken off your chest. In that moment, you had never been more grateful towards anyone else like you had towards Jaehyun. You felt your eyes water again, and this time, you just let them fall.

"Thank you..." you sputtered in between sobs, "thank you so much for helping me with this," you were sobbing as hard as a child but you couldn't help it. Tears of both happiness and sadness came flooding out at the same time. Jaehyun simply smiled at you and slung an arm around your shoulder, slowly pulling you into his chest.

"It's okay," he whispered. "You can cry as long as you want, I don't mind. I can tell its been tough for you, but it's alright now. You can move on now," he said softly, while stroking your hair. You sobbed even harder, face buried into his chest. You hated showing your emotions like this, but Jaehyun just felt so safe. You didn't want to admit it at the time, but looking back at it now, the day the two of you really met, it was the day you had fallen in love with him.

[psychosistr]

FOWL Facets- Chapter 8

Summary: Despite all the warnings, both from Gandra and from his own instincts, Steelbeak goes to check on Domino after they return to the ship. It goes about as well as he expects..

Notes: Time for a delicious double-decker chapter sandwich of angst, backstory, fluff, and more angst. Enjoy the suffering!

-First Chapter-

Steelbeak walks through the halls of his ship, a determined look on his face as he heads for one particular room..

Along the way, he sees Loony sitting near her shelf of “treasures”, the spinel currently huddled against it with many of the softer toys and trinkets pulled down to cover her in a make-shift cocoon until only her beak and eyes are visible through a small hole in the front.

“Steely..” Loony slowly stretches her head out of the soft fortress so that she can meet the melanite’s eyes properly as she speaks. She has a troubled frown on her face, looking more nervous that he can ever remember seeing her. “He’s not okay, Steely…I..I-I keep feeling lots and lots and LOTS of bad things from him, even all the way over here..” She looks up at him, her eyes almost pleading. “Dommy hasn’t felt this bad before…I know I’m supposed to cheer him up and make him all better, but..but I don’t know what to do…he..h-he won’t even talk to me..” Steelbeak sees the spinel’s eyes misting over-

Nope. Can’t have that at all.

“ ‘ey, c’mon, Loons- this is Domino we’re talkin’ ‘bout here, right?” The rooster asks while patting her on the head, giving Loony an encouraging and confident smile. “Snowflake’s tough as they come, he’s just gotta blow off some steam for a bit and he’ll be good t’ go in no time.”

Loony looks up at him with a concerned frown. “You sure?”

“ ‘ey, would I lie to ya?” Before she can answer, he starts digging in his pockets for something. “Tell ya what, if it makes ya feel any better, I’ll go have a little chit-chat with ‘im right now and make sure he’s okay.” He finds what he’s looking for and pulls out a small box with a red ribbon on it. “While I do that, why don’tcha play with your new present?”

The sight of the small box instantly brightens the stretchy gem’s mood and her arms extend out of the cocoon to grab the offered gift, not minding the few items that got knocked over in the process. “You remembered!” She says with an excited smile while taking the ribbon off and opening the box. “Wowie-wow-wow!” She exclaims excitedly, her eyes practically shining as she pulls out what looks like a shiny metallic cube made of many smaller, different colored cubes. “It’s so colorful! What is it??”

“It’s some Earth-creature game.” Steelbeak explains, pointing to the different colored cubes. “Ya turn an’ twist it ‘til ya get each side the same color.”

Loony curiously starts twisting and turning the rows of the cube, looking bewildered by the way the smaller cubes move. “Ooooooh!” She manages to look away from the moving, shimmering, brightly-colored toy and gives Steelbeak a hug, her long arms wrapping around him several times over. “Thanks, Steely! I love it!”

It’s times like these that Steelbeak’s glad he’s not an organic and lacks a skeletal structure- otherwise, he’s pretty sure Loony would’ve broken his back and arms more than a few times by now. “Anytime, doll.” He takes a moment to fix his bowtie and straighten his jacket before continuing his trek down the hall. “I’ll check back in ten- don’t break it.” He calls with a wave over his shoulder, receiving an affirmative response as the other gem is already engrossed in trying to solve the small and colorful puzzle.

Well, at least she’s back to normal. One down, one to g-

The door to the cockpit opens when he’s about to walk past it, Gandra stepping out and holding her hand up parallel to his face so he doesn’t have a reason to say he didn’t see her. “Hold it.”

Steelbeak stops, but he definitely doesn’t look happy about it. Crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently, he looks down at the star-sapphire with an impatient and annoyed scowl. “Is this gonna take long? I gotta go talk t’ Deedee.”

“I would wait on that, if I were you.” Gandra warns him, crossing her own arms to match his annoyed stance. “Going in there right now could be dangerous. You should wait until he’s calmed down.”

Steelbeak actually laughs at her for that one. “You seriously think he’s gonna calm down if I sit around an’ wait? You don’t know ‘im that well, do ya, stardust?” He tries to walk around her, but is blocked by the arm she extends in front of him. “Gandra.” He says her name in a warning, threatening tone of voice- showing that he’s slowly moving past “annoyed” with her interference and into more dangerous territory.

“I did a reading before they went down to rescue you.” She doesn’t budge from her stance, but she also doesn’t raise her head to meet his eyes, either. “The future I saw…ends with Domino shooting you..and you getting shattered…” Her words are heavy, weighed down by the seriousness and gravity she’s trying to express with her tone of voice alone.

“Ya done?” Steelbeak doesn’t look even slightly bothered by the star-sapphire’s news. When he doesn’t receive a response right away, he lifts her arm out of the way so he can move past her. “I’m real’ moved by your concern, toots- I’m so touched, I might start cryin’- but I know how t’ handle old short fuse when he’s moody.”

Gandra finally looks up at the other bird, catching his wrist before he can get too far away. “Don’t you get it?!” She turns to face him fully, keeping a firm grip so he can’t just brush her off like he normally would. “This is different- he might actually kill you if you go in there right now. I know you don’t want to hear it, but you need to know that there’s a 99.9998% chance that you’ll DIE. So just listen for once and-”

“No, YOU listen t’ ME.” Steelbeak snatches his hand out of her grasp but, instead of walking away, he uses that same hand to grab Gandra’s arm in return. He easily picks her up so the two of them are now startled-blue-eye-to-glaring-black-eye. “First: This ain’t the first- or last- time I’ve walked in there knowin’ I’d get my head bit or blown off. I know what I’m walkin’ int’, alright?” He holds up his other hand, counting off his points as he lists them. “Two: You ain’t got no say in when I go see my partner- I wanna talk to ‘im, I’m GONNA talk to ‘im. And three:” He drops her so she lands roughly on the floor, turning to continue his walk. “If Dom was THAT predictable, we wouldn’t still be partners after this long.” He doesn’t wait to hear her response as he walks away.

Gandra watches him walk away, her annoyed scowl losing its edge as he heads further down the hall. “…..” She looks down at the floor bitterly, saying her words so quietly that no one could possibly hear them but her. “You’ve still got a 0.0002% chance of surviving..hope your luck’s good enough to beat those odds..”

Steelbeak eventually reaches his destination. He looks at the door emblazoned with the image of a step-cut black and white snowflake obsidian and, for a second, he hesitates to go in. With a quick shake of his head, though, the hesitation is gone and he walks right in.

“Knock, knock.” He calls as he walks into the other gem’s room, not bothering to knock for real before or after entering. He spots Domino seated at the table on the left side of the room in the seat further from the door, the loon hunched over whatever he’s working on (though Steelbeak already has a pretty good idea what it is) and apparently unaware of the rooster’s entrance. Not one to beat around the bush, Steelbeak walks right up to the table and takes his place in the seat beside Domino, opting to sit backwards so that he’s leaning back casually against the table in the backless chair as opposed to his partner’s properly seated position facing it. “How’s it goin’, snowflake?”

Now that he’s closer, Steelbeak has a better view of what Domino’s working on and is, for once, disappointed to find out he was right:

The obsidian is hard at work breaking off pieces of the “mini-cluster”. The forcefully fused mass of shards is held tightly within his right hand while his left employs different methods for breaking off the other shards. On the table in front of him are an assortment of tools ranging from high grade pliers to a 155 micro-inch laser cutter (the one from Steelbeak’s tool box, he mentally notes) and even a pointed white gem destabilizer.

Red eyes narrowed as he focuses on the task at hand, Domino doesn’t seem to register Steelbeak’s entrance when the taller gem first walks in, having been too busy trying to break off a sharp jade fragment using his barrier-glove reinforced left hand. He does, however, notice when the melanite brazenly takes a seat next to him. Not looking away from the shards in his hand as he attempts to break off the jade fragment, one harshly spoken (practically growled out) word leaves the loon’s beak. “OUT.”

Steelbeak doesn’t budge, literally or figuratively. “The pliers’d be better for that one.” He suggests, trying to hand the tool over to the struggling gem.

“I said..get…OUT.” Domino ignores the suggestion and the offered pliers, still trying to break off the green shard by hand. It does eventually break..unfortunately only the tip of it breaks off, further frustrating him. “Darn it!” He throws the splintered-off shard against the wall by the table in frustration.

Steelbeak shrugs calmly at the aggravated display. “Hate t’ say I told ya so, but I did warn ya…” When he sees Domino trying the same approach on another shard, he starts to reach over with the hand closest to the loon. “Here, lemme-”

Before he can get anywhere near the cluster of shards, Domino’s barrier-gloved hand shoots out and grabs the melanite by the wrist, slamming and pinning the other gem’s hand to the table harshly. “I told you to GET OUT!” He looks his partner in the eye for the first time since he entered the room; sadly, it’s a look filled with frustration that’s quickly boiling into full-blown rage.

Steelbeak winces slightly at first when his hand is pressed to the table, but he recovers quickly enough and meets the snowflake obsidian’s eyes calmly. “I was just tryin’ t’ help, Deedee.”

“Help?” Domino releases the rooster’s wrist and shoves his arm away. “I don’t want help, I want answers!” He grips the mass of shards tightly in his hand and holds it close to his chest, paying no mind to the way the sharp bits of broken stone dig painfully into his body. “I want to know how one of my partner’s shards ended up on the other side of the universe THOUSANDS of years after his death! I want to know what happened to the rest of him!” He grabs Steelbeak’s collar with his barrier-gloved hand and pulls him closer to properly meet his enraged red-eyed glare. “And I want you to tell me what YOU know about all of this!”

To his credit, Steelbeak doesn’t flinch or back away at all- he just meets the shorter gem’s menacing glare head on with a firm, unwavering look of his own. “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout this, Dom.”

“That’s a load of concrete, and you know it!” Domino snaps at him, getting to his feet so he can look down on the rooster while keeping a firm grip on his collar. “You’re the chief agent of F.O.W.L.- you know all of their plans!”

“And you’re my partner.” Steelbeak counters, looking up into the other gem’s eyes unflinchingly. “If this was F.O.W.L.’s doin’, you’d know as much ‘bout it as me- that’s part of bein’ partners, remember? We’re equals.”

“Not in White Diamond’s court.” The obsidian’s grip tightens. “Liquidator said this whole thing was the Diamonds’ project. As one of her elite garnets, you have to know something!”

“Oh, please…” Steelbeak rolls his eyes, prying the other gem’s hand off of his shirt but being careful to only touch the gloved sections. “I’m ‘bout as loyal t’ White as YOU are. Even she knows that- that’s why she don’t tell me nothin’ ‘less it’s got somethin’ t’ do with takin’ over a planet.” He looks back up into the other gem’s eyes, still holding onto his hand. “If I knew anythin’ ‘bout this, I’d’ve told ya YEARS ago.”

Domino snatches his hand away, the barrier disappearing as one of his guns appears in it instead. “And I’m just supposed to trust your word?” He points his pistol right at Steelbeak’s chest, his normally analytical mind clouded by his racing thoughts and warring emotions- fury, confusion, betrayal, sorrow, rage; it was overwhelming. “How do I know you weren’t sent to spy on me? To make sure I didn’t turn around and rebel? You were assigned to me right after I lost Checkers- did they do that so I wouldn’t have time to dwell on it? So I wouldn’t have time to mourn and ask questions?” His eyes are starting to burn, but he will not let a single tear fall, not until he receives the answers he wants- no, needs to hear. “How am I supposed to trust your word when you won’t even tell me anything?!” His hand, normally so steady and calm whether he was aiming his weapon at a random organic creature or a fellow gem, is now shaking so badly that he can’t even aim straight. He starts to readjust his grip without lowering the gun-

A feathered hand comes up to rest on top of his pistol in a surprisingly gentle motion. Steelbeak guides the deadly weapon until the mouth of the barrel is pressed right against his gem. Once it’s in place, he looks up into Domino’s eyes once more. This time, though, he doesn’t look calm, he just looks…sad. “Dominic, I didn’t know.”

Domino is about to say something else, to accuse the shifty rooster of lying to him yet again while tightening his grip on his weapon to keep it steady..

But then the name registers in his mind.

Dominic.

Not Domino, or Dom, or Deedee. Dominic.

Steelbeak doesn’t call him by his name- his real name- lightly…

The trio of dark gems stood together on the walkway of F.O.W.L.’s spaceship hangar. They watched as a vehicle below engaged a tractor beam to drag away the twisted and distorted mass of golden metal that was once the “Lucky Star”.

Loony turned to look up at Steelbeak with a frown. “Steely, I’m really, really, reeeaaaaaalllyyyyy sorry…”

“……” Steelbeak took in a deep breath and sighed, turning away from the sight of his once prized ship to give Loony an understanding smile and a pat on the head. “Eh, don’t worry ‘bout it, Loons- part of flyin’ ships is survivin’ the crashes.”

She only frowned more at his words. “But it was my fault we hit the mountain!”

Steelbeak shrugged off her worries. “It’s just a ship, doll. They come, they go, we live another day an’ move on without ‘em.”

“But you LIVED there!” Loony stretched her body so she was eye-level with the melanite. “What are you going to do now?”

“She does have a point.” Domino commented, having been leaning against the railing and calmly observing the whole exchange. “Have you thought about where you’ll be staying?”

He was truly surprised by how calm his partner was over the whole ordeal. Loony was right about the ship being Steelbeak’s unofficial home: While the melanite could have easily requested a palace of his own due to his rank in White Diamond’s court, the thought of it often bothered him because it was too “ritzy” for his liking and because it wasn’t practical as he spent most of his time off of homeworld either conquering planets for White Diamond or running missions for F.O.W.L.. The sensible thing was for him to live in the same place he worked- the Lucky Star. He’d spent thousands upon thousands of years maintaining that ship and designing his own personal live-in room to his exact tastes. He’d even set up a small living space in the main room of the ship for any guests or “temporary” partners he had to bring with him with the bare-minimum furniture of a few chairs and a bench. Overall, the Lucky Star had been a small vessel, but it had been a home for Steelbeak for nearly 18,000 years.

And, in all honesty, Domino and Loony had begun to think of the gaudy golden ship fondly after spending so many years in its main room.

“Snowflake,” Steelbeak looked over his shoulder at the obsidian with a smirk. “Do you REALLY think I’d be this calm if I didn’t already have somethin’ lined up?” He gestured for the other gems to follow him down the catwalk. “C’mon, I got somethin’ you’re both gonna like.”

“??” Confused but curious, Loony looked to Domino with a questioning tilt of her head.

Domino replied with a silent shrug before the two of them followed the taller gem’s lead. He had as little of an idea about what was going on as Loony in this situation.

Steelbeak led them to a separate area of the hangar, going down the catwalk’s stairs at one point so they could walk among the countless ships. “Dom, Loons-” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black device that looked like a black crystal that was flat on the bottom with four prominent facets on the top. Steelbeak pushed one of the crystal’s facets and it lit up with a soft white light. Right after he pressed it, one of the nearby ships opened its hatch and the power came on inside of it, illuminating its dark features. “-say hello t’ the ‘Black Iron Comet’.”

Domino and Loony stared at the large ship, taking in its sleek black form.

Neither of them were surprised when Loony was the first to approach the gleaming new ship. “Wooooooooow!” She stretched and swung her way around the ship, swinging around each of the wings before landing on the top by the striking red windshield so she could peer inside. “This is amazing, Steely! It’s huuuuuuge!”

Steelbeak chuckled at the spinel’s enthusiasm as he walked towards the opened hatch and its extended ramp. “If ya like that, wait ‘til ya see what’s inside.”

While Loony cheered and swung back around the side of the ship to beat them to the opened hatch, Domino walked alongside his partner up the ramp. It was nice being able to actually walk into the new ship- the Lucky Star’s high-up entrance had left him with no way to get inside without relying on Steelbeak lifting him up to it on one of his platforms or Loony stretching an arm down to him, both of which were annoyingly inconvenient for him. “You must have pulled quite a few strings to have this ready on such short notice.”

Steelbeak shrugged at his partner’s assumption. “I’ve had this beauty waitin’ in the wings for a while now. Not exactly how I thought I’d be introducin’ ya to ‘im, but the timin’ worked out great.”

“The timing-?” Domino started to ask, but was unintentionally interrupted by Loony’s excited exclamations as she explored the ship’s interior with as much enthusiasm as she did its exterior.

“This is sooooooo much bigger than the last ship! And look at all the new furniture!” The stretchy gem brings attention to the elegant but tasteful set of chairs and benches in the main room when she jumps and lands on her back on one of the black and white cushioned benches. “This is gonna be a lot softer to sit on when we’re traveling!”

Steelbeak grinned as he watched the spinel try out each of the chairs and benches. “I bet there’s a room down that hallway you’d like even better for that, doll.” He pointed down the hall in question and chuckled when the other gem immediately began to run down the hallway to see what he meant.

Domino, on the other hand, took his time looking over the new ship and its décor as he made his way down the same hallway. While the Lucky Star was nice, the gilded furniture and glittering colors were a bit gaudy for his taste- this one was much more to his liking. “I’m impressed, Steelbeak- your sense of style has improved quite a bit.” He looked up at the other gem, his tone light and teasing. “I can’t believe you’d actually own a ship this tasteful.”

To his surprise, Domino actually saw Steelbeak look away and- wait, was that red he saw under the taller bird’s cheek feathers? Was he…BLUSHING? While it certainly wasn’t the first time he’d made the rooster’s face heat up, it was interesting to see it happen when he wasn’t even trying to flirt with him.

“It ain’t just my ship..” The melanite’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

Before he had a chance to clarify what he meant- or perhaps as a cosmically timed way to do so- Loony’s excited voice called to them from the end of the hall. “DOMMYYYYYYY!!” She stretched her upper body to meet him halfway, her lower half standing in front of one of the doors. “We get our own rooms!”

Domino blinked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise at his friend’s words. “We do?” He looked to Steelbeak for clarification, but the rooster was still avoiding eye contact with that little bit of red visible under his feathers.

“Come on, come on! Look!” Loony’s upper body rapidly retracted back in place so she could point at the door beside her. “This one’s got my gem on it!”

Domino caught up to her soon enough just by walking down the hallway and, when he arrived, he saw that she was correct. There were a series of rooms at the end of the hall. The first door on the right was blank (as was the one in the middle of the hall between the two sides), but the one next to it had a black heart-shaped spinel emblem right in the middle of it. Looking to the left, he saw that the first door had a black ball-cut melanite and the one directly next to it had a black and white step-cut snowflake obsidian.

Steelbeak reached around the pair and pressed a small panel beside the door with Loony’s gemstone on it. “Why don’t’cha take a peek inside, stretch?”

The door opened to reveal a room that was surprisingly sparse on furniture, but very fitting for Loony, nonetheless: The floor had a black and white striped pattern that matched Loony’s arms and legs- the stripes stretching and twisting up along the walls to create decorative swirls. The lines all culminated at the top of the room to form a black border around the room’s see-through ceiling which would likely offer some amazing views once they were somewhere other than the hangar. There were also gleaming silver shelves built into the walls that housed a collection of colorful trinkets and toys from all over the galaxy, each shelf lined up so that it sat in the middle of one of the swirls on the walls. What little other furniture that existed in the room- primarily a large silver bench with cushions in a rainbow of colors- was built into the wall, as well, rather than sitting on the floor.

The moment Loony stepped into the room, Domino instantly realized the reason for the lack of floor-resting furniture.

“Wowie!” Loony’s smile looked like it couldn’t get any bigger as the spinel stepped inside to look around her new room properly. “This is so pretty! I’ll be able to see the stars through-” When she stepped on the floor, she stopped and looked down, feeling the surface give slightly under her weight. “Huh?” Bringing her other foot beside the first, her eyes widened with a gasp as her body rocked up and down for a second. “Ah!” With a smile that practically split her beak and stars gleaming in her eyes, she began to jump and tumble all over the room- the floor recoiling before propelling her upwards relative to her momentum. “THE FLOOR IS BOUNCYYYYY!” She laughed in pure delight, enjoying herself immensely for a while before leaping back out of the room so that she crashed right into Steelbeak in a fierce hug. “I love it, Steely! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!”

After regaining his balance (and his bearings), Steelbeak grinned and gave the excited gem a pat on the head. “Eh, don’t mention it, doll. Now, go have some fun.” Giving him one last excited squeeze, Loony thanked him again and ran off into her new room to do as suggested. Once she was behind the door, Steelbeak exhaled a heavy breath and rubbed at his side. “That gal’s gonna poof me one o’ these days..”

Domino shook his head with a quiet laugh. “Perhaps..but, honestly, what did you expect would happen?” The loon turned to look at the door to his own room, as well as the one next to it as he walked to the other side of the hall. “Any particular reason our rooms are next to each other?” He glanced over his shoulder, giving his partner a smirk that never failed to fluster the taller bird.

As usual, the flirtatious tone in Domino’s voice and the look sent his way had Steelbeak averting his eyes and brushing his fingers over his red comb, the color in his cheeks a bit more noticeable now. “That depends- ya want the smart reason or the stupid one?”

“Both.” Domino watched as the melanite crossed the hall to stand next to him again. “Start with the stupid one.”

“Always gotta make it difficult for me, don’t’cha?” Steelbeak crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders, still not able to meet the shorter bird’s charming red eyes. “If ya REALLY wanna know, it might be ‘cause I actually kinda LIKE your company for some stupid reason.”

That was the exact answer Domino knew he’d get. “And the smart one?”

A slow smirk spread over Steelbeak’s metallic beak as he leaned down and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “This way, neither of us gotta room next t’ Loony. She’s a sweet gal, love ‘er t’ pieces, but-” His sentence was punctuated by another cosmically timed event courtesy of a loud crash from the room behind them and a call of “I’m okay!”. “-well, ya get the idea..”

Domino agreed wholeheartedly, another quiet laugh making his shoulders shake. “Hmh, that IS smart.” His eyes drifted over to the unmarked door next to his own. “Who are the other rooms for?”

“Dunno yet.” Steelbeak’s answer involved another, more casual shrug. “Could be nobody, could be somebody- depends on what happens.”

Domino regarded the taller gem with a curiously raised brow, repeating his words back to him. “ ‘On what happens’ with what, exactly?”

“With what ya say next.” The melanite reached over to the panel by Domino’s door and pressed it, opening the room up for the other’s inspection.

Curiosity only heightened by the other’s words, Domino stepped into the room to have a proper look and was not disappointed at all by what he found: The walls of the room were as smooth as the black-stone exterior of the ship, but with white snowflakes scattered randomly across their surface to simulate falling snow. The white floor was pleasantly soft under his feet, the plush carpeting made to look like fallen snow. Looking up, Domino saw that the lighting for the room was provided by several tiny crystals embedded in the ceiling that were made to look like beams of sunlight poking through the grey cloud pattern painted above him. Bringing his gaze downward once again, he was pleased to see the furniture was as much to his taste as the seating in the main room- a small two-person table built into the wall on his left with matching backless chairs, a large book/datapad case that was also built into the wall a couple feet away from the table, a window (with blinders built in) on the far wall between a pair of black-framed armchairs with red cushions, and-…wait, was that curtain covering up?

Domino walked to the right side of the room where a sheer black curtain was draped over something built into the wall. He would’ve simply thought it was another window, but that wouldn’t make sense given that there should just be another room in that direction.

“What’s this?” He asked as he inspected the slip of fabric. Looking back to his partner for an answer only prompted the other bird to wave his hand in a “go on” gesture. Heeding the other gem’s unspoken advice, Domino tugged on the material until it slipped from its barely-held anchors and fell to the floor. “!!” His breath hitched at the sight of four shelves that, like the book/datapad case, were built into the wall. These shelves, however, were lined with holo-disks featuring images of Domino and the different gems he’d come to care for over the years:

The top shelf had four different images of him and Loony- three of them being pictures the spinel took herself by stretching her arms out far enough to fit both of them in the picture while making silly faces at the camera. The first three pictures didn’t have much in the way of background because they were just big enough to get the two of them in the frame together, but he could clearly remember when each one of them was taken and it served as a way to see how the two of them had grown and changed over the years. The last one, however, was one of his favorites and featured him and Loony lying on one of his exceptionally large cushioned-barriers with the other gem pointing up at the stars above with a bright smile on her face while Domino looked at them with a contented smile of his own.

The third shelf held four pictures of him with Steelbeak. One which they’d been forced to reluctantly take after their first successful mission together with the two not even looking at one another. An interesting one of them that had somehow been taken in the heat of combat with the two agents standing not-quite-back-to-back on one of Steelbeak’s platforms as they shot at enemies outside of the hologram’s range. A candid picture that Loony had taken of them a couple years ago while they’d been seated next to each other on one of the benches in the Lucky Star with him laughing over a story that Steelbeak had been telling him. The last picture was one that Domino had never seen before of him reading something aloud from a datapad while Steelbeak watched him with an uncharacteristically gentle smile on his gleaming beak and an adoring look in his eyes that he was usually so careful to divert or cover up whenever he knew Domino was looking at him.

The bottom shelf was more diverse, showing a few gems that he’d met within the past few centuries but had become very good friends with. One was of Domino seated at a table with a heavyset female pigeon bearing a square-cut black tourmaline gemstone on her right hand, the two having a pleasant conversation despite another black tourmaline (one with a trapeze-cut stone under her right eye and a skinnier, though much dirtier body than her fellow tourmaline) inserting herself into the picture’s background just to stick her tongue out at the camera. Another was of him leaning against a wall and pinching the bridge of his beak with an annoyed look on his face while standing next to a female fox who was rubbing her temples with an equally annoyed look as they discussed something, light gleaming off of the ocean blue drop-cut kyanite gemstone that was positioned just right to look like a belt buckle on the fox’s waist. The last two were of him with a rather charming and handsome penguin who had a slightly cracked beak and blue eyes that matched the round celestite stone on his right shoulder- one of Domino sitting on a counter and smirking down at the celestite with a finger under the apparently annoyed (and slightly flustered) gem’s cracked beak, while the other picture featured the two of them standing outside of a building while looking at each other fondly as snow fell around them.

Every picture was neatly placed and aligned (a ruler most definitely would have been needed to get everything that meticulously spaced and centered), with the only oddity being that the second shelf was nearly empty. The nearly part was from the fact that a lone item rested on the shelf- a small four-faceted crystal which matched the one that Steelbeak had used to unlock the ship earlier, except its facets were alternating black and white instead of pure black like the melanite’s.

Once Domino had picked up the crystal, Steelbeak moved closer to join him at the shelf of pictures. “I meant what I said earlier, Dee. It ain’t just my ship this time:” He held out his own crystal next to Domino’s, the pair of stones sparkling in the light. “It’s ours.”

And, just like that, everything about the Black Iron Comet’s design made sense: The sleek black body made to look like obsidian with a windshield the same shade of red as the accents on Domino’s outfit and white spots on the bottom resembling the quartz spots in his own stone. The ramp for easy access into the ship without the need to fly or stretch or rely on someone else for assistance. The choices for the main room’s décor that were far closer to Domino’s own taste than Steelbeak’s usual flashy style. The pre-designed rooms that catered to both his and Loony’s own tastes and comforts. Even the perfectly aligned shelves of holo-disks…

All of it- every single part of the ship- was crafted that way for Domino.

Looking away from the matching stones in their hands, the snowflake obsidian stared up at his partner. “How long have you been planning this?” This was all too well done- too expertly executed- to have been started within the past month on their way back to homeworld.

“Started thinkin’ ‘bout it last century.” Steelbeak didn’t hesitate or look away like he normally would when called out for engaging in, as he would often put it in his own words, “sappy nonsense”. Instead, he met the shorter gem’s eyes confidently while keeping his tone of voice softer than usual to show that, for once, he was completely serious. “Caught myself thinkin’ ‘Wow, this ship’s kinda cramped for three gems, we should get a new one’ and it scared the sediment right outta me ‘cause, in all the years I owned the old girl, the Lucky Star NEVER felt cramped or crowded and I NEVER thought of gettin’ a new one t’ make someone else feel better……but, I didn’t ‘ave YOU before, neither..” The corners of his beak lifted in a small smile as he regarded the snowflake obsidian fondly. “I ain’t never ‘ad a partner like you before, snowflake..never ‘ad anyone that I actually WANTED t’ keep around..got me thinkin’ ‘bout alotta things..” As he spoke, he grabbed something else out of his pockets- four more holo-disks that he carefully arranged into their proper places on the previously vacant second shelf. “Got me thinkin’ ‘bout how I wouldn’t mind seein’ your grouchy face and scary eyes everyday..or how I’d like bein’ there when ya do embarassin’ stuff like get so int’ readin’ one o’ your stories that ya start makin’ faces without realizin’ it..or how I wouldn’t have t’ worry ‘bout goin’ int’ war zones ‘cause, even if I got damaged, I’d be fine ‘cause you’d have my back….or how, after a long day, I could sit right down next t’ ya and just…BE there without havin’ t’ talk ‘bout nothin’, ya know..?” He finished setting the disks up and looked down at Domino again. “Maybe I’m readin’ too much int’ it. Maybe, for gems like YOU, a thousand years ain’t worth that much..” Had it really been that long already? A brief glance at the date on his watch confirmed for Domino that, yes, it had not only been one thousand years since they’d first met- it had been one thousand years to the day. “But, for me, that’s a pretty big deal. Ya told me you weren’t goin’ nowhere..and, for some reason I’m still tryin’ t’ figure out, I actually believed ya.” He shrugged, his earlier smile growing into a full-blown grin. “So, I figured, if you ain’t goin’ nowhere, and I ain’t goin’ nowhere, and we’re already stuck t’gether all the time anyway..why not just bite the bullet an’ say it already?” Steelbeak looked back to the new holo-disks that he’d set out on the shelf. “This place was already gonna be my home..but..if ya still feel like stickin’ around..” He reached over and, one at a time, began turning them on to display the pictures they held. “It can be your home, too.”

“!!!” As the new images lit up before his eyes, Domino actually had to place a hand to his beak because, though he didn’t want to admit it, he wasn’t sure what sounds might leave him at the sights that greeted him.

Tears started to gather in the corners of his eyes as he saw that each of the four images contained himself…and his former partner, Checkers. The first picture was of them right after they’d graduated from the F.O.W.L. academy, officially earned their agent status, and been told they were assigned as partners for the foreseeable future- Checkers had insisted on taking a commemorative picture to celebrate and dragged a very unprepared & surprised Domino in front of the camera by putting an arm around his shoulders and taking the picture before the loon was ready (he’d reflexively elbowed the fire opal in the side right after the picture was taken, causing the dog to double over in pain and apologize for forgetting the other’s “do not touch” rule). The second picture had apparently been taken from some security camera footage within their former base- it was a simple but wholesome image of the two walking together down an empty hallway and holding hands while tenderly gazing at one another, each with a faint blush on their cheeks and an adoring smile on their face as it was the first time Domino had reached out and grabbed the fire opal’s hand without putting one of his barrier-gloves around it like he usually would. The third was taken shortly after he and Checkers had been gifted Loony- the spinel had stretched her arm out to hold the camera and get all of them in the picture with her other arm stretched over to Domino’s head so she could do her favorite trick of giving him fake mammalian-style ears, Checkers was in the middle with one arm around Loony’s shoulders doing a similar gesture and the other resting comfortably on Domino’s side, all while Domino himself had his arms folded across his chest and had attempted to roll his eyes but the action was meaningless with the lovingly fond smile on his beak at the other gems’ antics. The final picture was another one that had apparently been taken from a security camera- this one was outside of their former base, with the two gems standing in the snow at the building’s perimeter and sharing a loving kiss; it had been a few hundred years since they’d started dating, and that was the first time they’d kissed, making it one of Domino’s happiest memories.

“I know I ain’t like ‘im,” Steelbeak said softly as he looked at the pictures. “And I ain’t gonna try t’ be.” He turned so that he was fully facing his partner. “But..I already said I ain’t goin’ nowhere…that means I’ll always be ‘round ‘ere somewhere if ya need someone.” The melanite brought up one of his hands, holding it out in invitation. “So, whattaya say, snowflake? Feel like puttin’ up with me for another thousand years?”

Domino turned away from the holograms that continued to stir up wounds and emotions that were still fairly fresh in his memory. The love he had for Checkers and the pain from losing him wouldn’t go away anytime soon. It might not ever go away completely.

But, as he looked at the other man and his extended hand, he knew that it wasn’t a bad thing. Steelbeak knew about Checkers before things really even started between them. He knew that Domino was still hurting and had never once tried to take advantage of that fact- never tried to use his pain as a way into his metaphorical heart. Steelbeak, who’d been praised by both F.O.W.L. High Command and White Diamond herself for his ability to deceive, manipulate, and infiltrate organizations thanks to his keen intellect and skills in knowing how and when to take advantage of others, had only ever offered his partner quiet support and understanding in the rare moments when he found the other man vulnerable while wracked with grief. He never once pitied him, or falsely sympathized with him by lying to him about knowing the same pain, or tried to tell him he should move on and find happiness elsewhere.

All he’d ever done was the same as what he’d done in that moment: He showed Domino that he accepted his past feelings, the ones he still held in the present, and the ones he would continue to have in the future without putting forth any pressure for the snowflake obsidian to change whatsoever. He showed that he accepted every part of Domino and would take whatever the darker bird was willing to give him.

Knowing that made a smile spread easily over the loon’s beak. “As if you needed to ask..besides, you already cheated by showing Loony her room first- if I try to make her leave now, I’ll never hear the end of it...” Domino brought one sleeve up to his eyes and wiped away the tears that had been threatening to spill over, Steelbeak glancing away as he often did in the exceedingly rare moments he actually saw his partner cry so they could both pretend he didn’t see it (it was one of the only things the taller gem didn’t tease him for). With his dignity preserved, the snowflake obsidian looked back up at his partner and reached towards the offered hand. “But, even with that aside, another thousand years sounds more than doable.”

As usual, a white barrier appeared around his hand like a glove so he could grasp the melanite’s hand, though this one was much thinner than what he would normally use. Most of the time if he had to shake someone’s hand, the barrier would be so thick and rigid that he wouldn’t feel the other person at all; those were more like wearing heavily padded winter gloves. This one, however, was so thin that it was almost translucent and had a bit of elasticity to it, allowing him to actually feel the warmth and pressure of Steelbeak’s hand in his own.

“I’mma hold ya to that, Domino.” Steelbeak smiled softly for a moment, accepting the contact and knowing what the change in the darker bird’s barrier meant without either of them having to say a word on the matter.

“Dominic.”

The word caught Steelbeak off guard, making him look down at the other bird in confusion. “Huh?”

“It’s the name I chose for myself.” Domino explained calmly. “If we’re going to be together for another thousand years, then I believe I can trust you with it.”

“!!” The look of surprise on Steelbeak’s face was truly priceless. He clearly hadn’t been prepared to hear something so important and quickly tried to cover it up with his usual sarcasm and bravado. “ ‘Dominic’? Really? Outta all the names in the universe, ya go an’ pick one that’s only two letters off from your given name?”

Domino shrugged, easily seeing through the other bird’s attempt to hide how touched he was by the shorter gem’s show of trust. “I liked the way it sounded.”

“Feh, ‘course ya did..” Steelbeak was quiet for a minute, avoiding eye contact as the conflict of what he was about to say was easy to see between his shifting eyes and tensed muscles. “……Mine’s Pauly..” The slightly uncomfortable look on his face made it glaringly obvious that he’d never shared that information with anyone before.

Domino raised one eyebrow while looking up at the melanite’s still-averted eyes. “ ‘Pauly’? Really? And you’re making fun of MY name?”

“..‘s better than ‘Dominic’..” The embarrassed melanite was growing increasingly flustered, even attempting to subtly pull his hand out of the other’s grasp.

“Not really.” Domino chuckled at his partner’s expression- it was always fun when he could find something to tease the normally self-confident chief officer over, but, this time, he decided to be merciful. “But,” He adjusted his grip on the lighter hand so that their fingers were now laced together rather than cupped as they had been before. “It suits you, Pauly.”

Steelbeak had been preparing what was likely a snappy comeback, but, when he heard the snowflake obsidian’s words, he stopped and looked down at their joined hands. “……” After a moment, he huffed out a quieter version of his usual nasally laugh. “Guess yours ain’t that bad either, Dominic.” He smiled adoringly at his partner, looking at him in that special way that he reserved when it was just the two of them- his eyes open and unguarded with none of his usual walls of sarcasm and cockiness there to hide what he was thinking.

Domino smiled back at Steelbeak in a similar manner, knowing that, while they likely had a long road ahead of them, they were both taking a huge step forward that day.

“Pauly..” Domino’s earlier anger begins to fade away. What was he doing? They’ve had their differences and disagreements before. They both have their issues. But Steelbeak has never lied to him. Avoided the truth as a form of self-preservation because he wasn’t ready to admit to something? Sure, plenty of times. But he’d never lied to Domino even once over the course of their entire partnership. “Pauly, I-” Looking back down at the seated gem, Domino is hit with a sudden wave of déjà vu.

The stance he’s in…

The way his hand is clutching the cluster of shards protectively against his chest…

The sad, sympathetic look on Steelbeak’s face…

The way his gun is pressed against the melanite’s shiny black gemstone and his finger is trembling on the trigger, about to pull back when the simulated muscles of his hand clench-

With a gasp, Domino realizes: He KNOWS this scene.

He KNOWS how it ends.

<-Previous Chapter Next Chapter->

End Notes: Oof..lot to unpack in this chapter. For any of you who have never read my work before, you will soon find out that I am physically incapable of writing any characters I ship in a story without putting them through the emotional hell that is angst.

For anyone who doesn’t know who the ones in bottom row of pictures were, here’s the breakdown: The first one is Domino with Ammonia Pine (and Ample Grime photo bombing them). The second one is him with @sandyferal ‘s OC Susanne Gnamie. The third and forth one are both @lesbian-duck-lord ‘s OC Marty and both were based off of pictures drawn by @thefriendlyfour .

Also, the whole thing with the given name versus the chosen name is an element of the main story that I’ll be introducing down the line: Gems are given a name when they’re created so they don’t have to keep going by their gemstone ID, but it’s kind of an unspoken rule of their society that, down the line, you end up picking a name for yourself, as well. It’s something very personal that you only share with those closest to you, hence Steelbeak getting all flustered when Domino shared his x3

On a side note, thought I’d mention that making Steelbeak’s real name Pauly came from a conversation I had with a friend about how he’s one of the few bad guys that never gets their actual name mentioned anywhere. We were talking and I was like “His name can’t just be STEELBEAK- he had to have been called something BEFORE he joined F.O.W.L., right?” and I thought about how Quackerjack, similar to Steelbeak, was never given an official name, but everyone in the fandom unanimously decided that his first name is some form of Jack/Jacky and his last name is Bell like his voice actor. I decided to play on that for Steelbeak’s name and said “Well he doesn’t look like a Rob, so how about something involving the last name?” and I eventually got “Pauly” out of “Rob Paulsen” and have now unofficially decided that that is his secret real name!