#like how hes always joking and trying to cheer neo up or buying her her umbrella

[wildtornado-o]

God yeah I think about this all the time :(( trying to help that woman and getting arrested really was the true start of his downfall sorry Roman :((

Some misc things :) Includes: Random Roman and Neo doodles and some stuff for my Roman survives Neo dies au. (The Roman outfit is kind of a messy drawing but I injured my arm so shhh)

[ceruleanchillin]

5 Day Stay

| Or, Angel down bad for a week |

Angel x F!Reader

Warnings: language, infidelity, Angst (?), lil bit chili spice at the end

Mon:

Angel felt he was too young to consistently feel so bone-tired, yet that’s how his day had been ending for weeks now. Sometimes it was all he could do to get off his bike and make it to the door, only to have to rest his head against it to prepare to make it to the couch and collapse.

Tonight was one of those nights, and he wanted to be dead to the world until it dragged him back into it.

It was the smell of mixed spices that hit him first. It felt like he was in suspended animation, and slowly being released as different things started to register to him.

His TV was on, someone was rummaging through his kitchen, and music played faintly from his desk. Thinking back to the last time an unwanted guest was in his kitchen, he placed a hand on the holstered knife fastened to his back.

The fridge door closed, and you appeared in the window, eyes focused intently on whatever you were cooking on the stove.

He exhaled, feeling like complete shit. It only spoke to how weary his mind was that he could forget you were staying with him for the next week. Especially after the conversation that led to it.

“I don’t know Angel…really I can afford a motel for a few days.”

“Here? Rusted-through pipes will be the last thing your landlord is worried about when you bring back bedbugs and shit.”

Your eyes had widened at that, but still you brought up the thing that had been chained to your hesitation. “I mean….do you think it’s ok to do this? After we…Nails..Ang-“

He remembered a flash of irritation, more so at himself than you, when you said that. “Yes querida, fuck. If you’re so scared, I most likely won’t even be there the way things are going. Nails is out of town til’ next weekend…”

“Relax Ignacio.” you had cut your eyes at him, and he’d felt his dick jump like it did whenever you gave him attitude. “I’m just not trying to be a problem.”

Your voice calling his name brought him to the present. He caught the last part of your statement, that you didn’t know he’d be back.

“Yeah, we got in earlier than expected.”

“While you’re standing there like a weirdo, let me shame you real quick. How does a man in his thirties still have the kitchen of a frat boy?” You leaned on the sill of the divider. “You’re lucky I already knew you were sad in the kitchen. I had to bring my own tagine.”

He stepped into the kitchen, his stomach coming alive with interest. “One, I don’t know what that is, two, I can’t help it if the kitchen isn’t my preferred room of work.”

He peeked over your shoulder, but the unique pot kept him from seeing what you were making.

“Neither is the bedroom, unless that work is piling up dirty laundry.” you stuck your tongue out at him and turned back to your simmering dish.

“Ha ha. Dinner and a show, she does it all folks!” he collapsed at the table, the day catching back up with him. “Should put your ass on the club’s payroll. End the cashflow problem real quick.”

You turned to him, concern etched on your face. “I heard from Hank about that…sorry. I know now isn’t a great time for that at all.”

Things got awkward like they always did when you referenced the recent changes of his life. He wasn’t sad about getting another chance at fatherhood, this one more tangible than the last. However, he wasn’t entirely sold on everything he’d accepted along with it, and he was pretty sure you at least suspected that. It threw the previously comfortable confusion that was your relationship off track when it was touched on.

“No, it’s not.” was all he could manage.

It was quiet for a beat, the simmering of the food and quiet Neo Soul the only sounds.

“Well,” you started, turning off the burner. “At least you don’t have to eat like a ‘we got food at the house’ meme for once.”

He laughed, a genuine and needed laugh. “Ok, you know what? Keep talking about my pantry stocking skills, and I might take it personally.”

The rest of his night went that way. Anytime you and Angel got together, things were just…easy…better. You spent the evening eating in front of the TV (Angel getting all the way to thirds for what turned out to be olive chicken and roasted potatoes), trading jokes, and going over the finer points of Golden Girls. Angel learned you took it very seriously, and mocked you for being “old”.

It wasn’t until you were nodding off, and he was left with his own thoughts, that he realized he hadn’t enjoyed coming home this much since he moved in.

Tues:

Angel had dreamed he’d been back in his childhood home, but as a grown man. There was music coming from his parent’s room, and when he got to the doorway, his mom was at her dressing table. She hummed along to the soulful seventies music and smiled at him from the mirror. She said something, but he couldn’t make it out, and woke up in the frustration.

He jerked up from his position on his stomach, and slowly came to. With a grunt he wiped his hand down his face, glancing at his phone to find it was six in the afternoon.

It then occurred to him the music wasn’t just in his dream, it was coming from his bathroom. He got off the couch and followed the sound.

“Hey coma head.” you grinned at him from where you were doing your makeup.

He shook his head, trying to let go of the last vestiges of the dream, and how eerie the scene before him was.

He focused instead on the nightmare of products and alien looking tools surrounding you.

He kind of liked the mess, even if he couldn’t see the counter anymore.

“Hey hurricane Ulta.”

You made a face that was a cross between being amused and suspicious. “You sleep in your jeans and buy your shirts in pack form. Don’t act like you know what that is.”

He made a face of mock offense. “That’s so classist.”

This time you paused completely in you what you were doing and twisted your body to meet him. “Uh oh…let me find out you’re actually learning something from EZ.”

“Angel Reyes can know something about something, damn.”

You laughed, lowering your hands from where you’d been lining your eyes to avoid a mistake. “I’m only teasing you Angel Reyes.”

“Looks like you plan on teasing more than me. Some clown is gonna get his hopes and tiny dick up for nothing.”

“There’s this new club in the city that Belinda’s getting us into. It’s bad luck to buy your own drinks on the first night at a new place.” you adjusted the bodycon mini-dress for emphasis. “You doing anything?”

“Club shit.” he started picking through the products, sniffing them every so often. “Then I think I’ve got a call with Nails at some point.”

“You think?” you popped his hands when he got too close to the good stuff, or the things you were using currently.

“Yeah..I think.” he shrugged, only realizing how short he sounded when you winced.

He didn’t know why he got so annoyed when she was brought up around you. He wasn’t like that with anyone else, and he knew you were only trying to support his incoming changes.

“Ok..”

Awkward silence settled in before he found the words to break it.

“Why do you wanna know? You want me to be that clown?”

“Never.” you pinched his cheek, tone pure saccharine jest.

He muttered in Spanish, stepping around you to the toilet.

“Angel!” you exclaimed.

“What?! It’s my bathroom, I have to piss.”

“You better never make me angry Reyes, I could end your whole Casanova game with ease."

Wed:

“You holding on a little tight there mami!” Angel called over his shoulder with a laugh. “You said go fast."

“Shut up!” you giggled, but he wasn’t lying.

You’d asked Angel to take you to work on his bike since even though you spent so much time with bikers, you hardly got to ride one. You were going to the same place anyways. He had been all too happy to shake up his commute, but your speed challenge took it over the top.

He didn’t know how you were up so early, he personally felt like the bags under his eyes were like a PEZ dispenser. You’d gotten in at two am, and still got up with him at eight.

He loved watching you in the morning, you managed to be cheerful without being obnoxious, and it worked better than coffee for him.

He loved how much he was learning about you.

As he pulled onto the street beside the cafe you’d asked him to stop at, he felt your arms uncoil from around him. He may have pretended to shift just to make you pause and hold him a few seconds longer, but he wasn’t going to acknowledge that.

“I didn’t scream, and I’m not shaking, so you still have to buy my breakfast.” You unclipped your helmet, grinning the whole time.

You looked so pretty to him, with the sun hitting your eyes and hair just right. He could catch you at just the right moment, and you’d look so gorgeous, he struggled to believe you were real.

He cleared his throat, afraid his voice would crack if he didn’t. “Fair enough, come break my pockets then.”

You laughed, squeezing his chin and pointing out his pout. “You don’t even have to tell me once sir, I know my worth.”

Once inside, he trailed after you to the counter, using your head like an arm rest when you reached it. “That’s good.”

“Boy!” You swatted his hand away, and it was his turn to laugh at your adorable pout.

“New bet,” he stepped around you while the customer ahead of you wrapped up. “If I get your entire order just right, you buy lunch.”

“Deal.” you leaned on the counter, eyebrow raised at him in challenge.

Angel knew the best part of his day would be watching your expression go from smug to shocked out of the corner of his eye. He nailed every pastry, the iced coffee, and their preparation with ease.

The simultaneously impressed and amused barista looked to you for confirmation. She got a shocked nod in response.

“I know my worth too mama, so don’t skimp on lunch.”

“Fair enough.” You shook off your shock as you repeated his earlier words and shrugged. “Can’t complain I guess. I trained my work husband too well.”

He scoffed loudly, and the two of you went back to swapping smart ass barbs while he tried to ignore the lingering dip his stomach did when referred to him as “husband”.

Thurs:

Angel was a grown man, with years of grown man experience, yet he was sitting on the edge of his bed feeling like a teenager again.

The end of your stay was nearing, and every time he thought about you going back home, he felt weird. He was pretty sure that’s why he’d been a little snappy and annoyed easily at the club the past couple days. He just wasn’t ready to delve into that too much.

Regardless, he had to admit you had some growing effect over him. All morning, while he should’ve been resting and preparing for a charter visit, he was fighting off hard-ons thanks to you.

“Can I borrow your kitchen for the day Angel?” He mimicked your voice in a nasally mocking tone. “I’ll save you some when I’m done baking.”

He’d thought nothing of it when you asked the night before. Really didn’t even feel like you had to at that point.

He realized why when he saw that the desserts you were making for your friend’s brunch were elaborate as hell. The effort took all your attention, and unfortunately for him, his too.

You were baking a lot more than dessert and didn’t even know it.

Now he was hiding in his room, fighting off arousal he knew wasn’t appropriate. You weren’t his and he wasn’t yours.

That didn’t change the fact that you in a short silk lounge set, singing in French (how the hell did you know French?), doing domestic things in his home, did it for him.

He ran a hand over his hair, still damp from his cold shower, and forced himself to finish getting dressed. He had to be ready to face a room of dangerous bikers and prove his patched in worth. He couldn’t be thinking of weird little fantasies and parallels to his parent’s marriage.

He must’ve zoned out again, because you startled him enough to almost make him hit his wardrobe.

“Oh my god Angel try this! I think I did magic.” You excitedly thrust a red cookie his way.

Angel took the offered treat, and found it was a red velvet cookie. “It’s fucking good mi dulce.”

“Really?” You looked so hopeful, so beautiful, that he would’ve lied if the situation called for it.

“Yes, but you know you kill it in the kitchen.” He turned away to put on the flannel he’d fished out.

Now you were in his personal space, smelling amazing, and all his senses were under attack. He couldn’t trust Angel jr. at the moment.

“Baking is different. It’s a whole thing for me...I go all in.”

“I noticed your little Broadway production in my kitchen.” He kneeled down, pretending to look for his shoes as something to do while you were there.

“Don’t shame me.” You pressed your foot into his back, gently pushing him. “It makes for better results.”

‘shit.’ He cursed mentally at the contact.

Luckily, he heard you turn to leave the room. “Oh, EZ said to tell you to hurry up or pick up your phone.”

He rose up once you were gone and checked his phone. Sure enough, he had several missed calls and texts from Gilly, Coco, and EZ. He cursed aloud this time and finished getting ready, determined not to get distracted again.

Of course, his boys having to physically come in and get him when he did just that destroyed that promise.

Fri:

It had come down to the last night of your stay with him, and what he thought was a favor to a good friend, turned out to be more for his benefit.

The hell with the club seemed so far away when he was home now, and he’d laughed more times that week than he had the previous few months total.

Tonight though… Tonight had him so in his head he didn’t know if he was coming or going.

You, sensing something was going on with him, had invited EZ and Felipe to dinner. He didn’t know how you got the latter to agree, his dad had never even been in his home before, but you did it. It went over a hell of a lot better than the last time they tried it too.

The missteps that reared their head when his family tried to talk to each other at length were mitigated by you. You were the perfect buffer, able to get them to engage with you and then each other.

He saw his family in an unfamiliar, but favorable light. His father was actually enjoying his time with him in his house. He knew that night wouldn’t have happened if not for you.

Now, as he distractedly dried the dishes you’d washed, listening to you hit all of the high notes in Loving You, it hit him.

‘She should be my wife’ the thought came so quick, and was so loud he almost jumped, confused if it came from him or someone else.

“Hey dishwasher-less!” you nudged him with your hip. “Move those hands.”

“Why can’t we be a thing?” he blurted.

You dropped the silverware you’d been washing, eyes wide and focused on him. “Um..excuse m-…what?”

He knew that wasn’t the most tactful way to introduce his thoughts to you, but it was his way. Fuck…he didn’t even understand them fully himself.

“You heard me querida,” he put the dish down on the counter, turning to you. “When I stayed with you that weekend that my head was all fucked up-“

“Angel.” your tone made it a warning, but he kept going. He was never afraid of a challenge.

“I was inside you so much that weekend I forgot that’s not how I came in this world. I can’t believe I’m saying it out loud, but I felt home cause I was with you-”

“Stop it!” you hit the sink, rattling the contents.

“Fuck that!” he shouted back, startling you both. He stayed silent for a moment before speaking in a calmer tone. “Fuck that. Why can’t we talk about it? Why couldn’t we talk about it then?”

You didn’t say anything, but he saw your chest heaving with adrenaline, and realized you were just as affected by the conversation as he was.

“You just decided it didn’t matter and put it in this space we can’t touch now. It’s all fucked up!”

“Because,” you hissed. “If you remember, it was all over that Adelita chick, and I don’t know what kind of hold she has or had over you, but it was deep.”

He cringed at that, and turned his attention to the light fixture over your head, unable to meet your heated gaze.

“Whatever feelings I have for you Angel, I put them away in a place where I can still be your friend and keep things in perspective.”

“Feelings you have for me?” he latched on to the lack of past tense, hopeful.

You inhaled sharply. “You are having a baby and just got engaged. What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing..I mean a lot, but nothing to do with this. I know-“

“I know,” you pushed away from the sink and reached up to cup his cheeks. “That you’re scared Angel. You’re scared, because you’re gonna take two steps you’ve never taken before at once, and you’re trying to sabotage it.”

He shook his head, taking your hands from his face and holding them tightly in his own. “No..mi dulce, no. I’ve been struggling with this all week, longer if I’m being honest. Tonight sealed it.”

You snorted humorlessly, looking around the kitchen as if something in the room would help you get through to him. “I cook you some big boy meals, and treat your speakers to some musical taste, and you’re ready for vows?”

“Don’t put this all on me. Tell me you don’t feel it. Right here and now, to my face.”

He watched your expression soften, and let you put one hand back on his face, your thumb gently stroking his cheek. “Ok, I can’t do that, but I also can’t just fall into a situation with you either.”

He scoffed and shook his head. “We both know we didn’t just fall into anything. We sat here and let it build and didn’t say shit, and now I have to. This week just made it too real not to.”

He placed his forehead to yours, his own hands cupping your face. “Please…”

He watched you have an internal battle by your changing features before you finally leaned into him. The moment you did, his lips were on yours.

He knew it was more than just a kiss a few seconds in. Everything he’d felt that the previous week was alive and confirmed between you too. He could feel you telling him you had moments like his own.

He palmed your thighs under your sundress before grasping them tightly and lifting you up. He placed you on the counter while you two separated for air. Your chests heaved in unison, and neither of you had to say you wanted the other touching you again before it happened.

He gripped your hair, tilting your head back for access to your neck. The smell of vanilla and cocoa butter surrounded him as he worked his mark all over your skin.

Your legs wrapped around his waist, and you pressed yourself against his jeans.

He hated he couldn’t feel the heat he knew was emitting from your core through the thick material of his jeans, and slid his other hand up your thigh to your panties.

Your entire body twitched when he ran his fingers over you through the thin cloth. It wasn’t just hot it was soaked.

“You need me that bad mami?” he pulled away from your neck, satisfied with his work, and beginning to work at his jeans.

“And quick.” you breathed into his ear, your tone and the sensation making him shudder.

The ache against his jeans didn’t need to be told twice to find its way into your heat. He slid your panties to side and pressed his thumb against you. You jumped, whimpering your need again, and he pulled your panties way from you.

You’d gotten them around one ankle before he was inside of you, and they were no longer your focus.

You clung to each other so tightly there’d be evidence on both of you.

In the quiet, he wondered if your mind was racing with the same thoughts that his was. What now? How do we get this again?

He pressed kisses to your cheek just as he started to move. You inhaled, your nails sliding down his back. Not quite catching the skin, but enough to set him on fire all the same.

He mapped out a rhythm by your whimpers and how you grasped at him until he crafted the right one.

This was the conversation he’d needed. Every thrust from him, every cry from you, every bit of give and take to heighten the other’s pleasure. The two of you were admitting that everything that was between you was deeper, realer than you’d wanted to admit. He loved you, and you loved him, and you were engraving that on one another.

The flirtation, the way you could be yourselves around each other, the heatless jabs. Good friends was always a ruse.

Your face was buried in his neck, and when he felt dampness he knew came from your tears, he hiked your legs higher, moving deeper.

You cried out so loudly it echoed in the kitchen, drowning out the soft crooning of an eighties songstress.

“I know baby, I feel it too.” his voice was choked by the threat of tears of his own.

He’d never been here before. Not with Adelita, not even close with Nails. He was terrified. Terrified for it to end because he never felt so good. Terrified for it to end because it might never happen again.

“Angel..” your voice sounded so small, but it was strong enough to anchor him back with you. “I’m close, I’m so close.”

“Let go,” he encouraged. “Let me have it querida.”

Your body seized up with your release, his name the only thing he caught in your unintelligible babble.

You clenched up repeatedly in the aftershocks, and that drug him over the edge with you, biting your shoulder.

His vision tunneled, pinpricks of pleasure traveling up and down his spine. Your hands smoothed up and down the area, and he realized it was because he was shuddering.

He gripped the counter for support, pulling back slowly. He was searching for a way to ask if he’d changed your mind, but the act hadn’t made words for his thoughts any easier to find.

It didn’t matter, before he could even speak you stopped him. Your eyes were glazed over with tears that had nothing to do with pleasure this time.

“That was all that I can give you Angel. It’s not right, none of this is, but it’s all I can give you.”

AN:

Am I the only one who wishes she had reference photos for their home/club layouts? Lol, it’s such a weird non-factor thing, but still. From memory, I’m pretty sure Angel only has one bedroom though.

No shade, no hate but this was partially inspired by how over Nails Angel looked when she was putting her back into it….🥴

I played with a few canon-timeline things + knocked the dust off my smut writing ability (I’m going under my humiliation rock now, no calls plz)

[strategicadventure]

Episode 85 - A Bard’s Lament

i kinda already know a big thing that happens in this episode so i’ve not been overly eager to watch

Grog pulling out a piece of paper with a G on it is so cute

“Morpheus is fighting Neo!” - excited for this fight

“its a test already! I hate the SATs!”

“this is a nightmare, I just wanna hit him!”  aww poor Travis looks like he’s breaking inside

“with gentleness there comes clarity” “I think you have to fuck him Grog”

10d10 necrotic damage?!!! OH SHIT

Earthbreaker Groon catches Grog’s attack - “oh god its so awesome!” 

Vex asking if she should flash him and Keyleth saying “it couldn’t hurt the rest of us either!”  nobody on this show is straight, polymachina exists, everything is beautiful

“ooo, he learned to be a dick!”

HDYWTDT!!!!!

GROG GOT POWER FROM KORD!

the knuckles are exalted now this is so cool!! enlarged resistance to cold, fire, and lightening? awesome

oh man that was so close! i wonder what would have happened if Grog had lost

its really interesting how the gods seem to be placing their favor on the various members of VM. the Vecna storyline is gonna be, if not next then very soon, a huge thing and having favor with the gods will be important. I’d love to see more with Kord and Grog and with Melora and Keyleth. I wonder if/when Pelor will make an appearance or more of a presence, given that he is the deity connected with Whitestone

“he did just take down an old man, so our streak against the elderly continues”

“kitten is the baseline hp counter in dungeons and dragons”

“if wizardry is Bob Fosse, druidism is Twyla Tharp” - I just want to thank Marisha so much for this

Oh Scanlan. and Grog’s face when he finds out that Scanlan didn’t hear his contribution.

Scanlan’s points are well made in regarding the knowledge of his parents and personal stuff about him from before VM formed, though he’d always deflect questions about his age. I know all these problems were a long time coming; as soon as Kaylie was introduced I figured Scanlan would have to make a decision at some point, and the pacing of the conclave arc kept him from really addressing it, but it really feels that key things have been going wrong for Scanlan the last few weeks. The others, Vax’s most recently, treatment of him in that period of time did not help at all. When Matt made the point to describe how small Scanlan felt in comparison to the dragons, then Vax picking him up and putting him down I knew that was going to be a defining point. I see where Percy was going with the prank after Scanlan was revived, but that was just one more thing in Scanlan’s eyes.

Scanlan’s hurt for a lot of reasons, but many of them are him lying to himself in some way and then snapping out at the others so they hurt too. Lying about the reasons they were doing things. This argument and division is so painful and real, they’re worse than friends they’re family is right.

[watching this again and its just so real. its one of those big family blowups where everyone says exactly what hurts other people the most. also, Sam looks at his notes to make sure of Percy’s parents names I think]

I keep starting and stopping and starting crying. “I need to be a Shorthalt for awhile”

Scanlan knows Percy’s parents names and Kaylie overheard everything

Grog gave Scanlan his salt lick rock. why is that so sad to me?

Grog going out to talk to Percy, wanting to send spies to keep an eye on the Shorthalts. I mean, obviously what Scanlan is going through, but this is a huge shake to Grog and it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with it

“I know we don’t always agree, and I know I can be unkind, but...you know you’re family right?” “I don’t know much, but I do know that” “its nice having an older brother again” Grog’s little smile at that!

aaaand there’s the final bout of crying! lay me down and let moss cover me

I always sorta placed Scanlan in the role that Troy had on Community - the connection that held everything together. Since the aftermath of his leaving was really only missing a Norwegian troll doll on fire, I feel justified in my mental comparison

and a darkest timeline joke from Keyleth! Life got dark Vex!

Pike and Vax in fun buns is a cute image. except for the fact that they’re hungover and miserable, but still

Grog trusting Pike, Scanlan, and Vex the most - and Vex because he’s seen her tits! then Vex asking if seeing them again would cheer Grog up!  “its so touching and ridiculous at the same time!”

Keyleth asking the Sun Tree to watch over Scanlan and Kaylie

tree lag

OMG their reactions when they find out its Sam’s new character! Laura trying to throw a tissue at him! [I went back and rewatched the Tary section, and as soon as Matt says they see a gold golem Travis quickly leans forward to stare at Sam suspiciously.]

Taryon Darrington. SAM. Sam what is that even. also, this character has a golem scribe ffs SAM.

“new dad’s wearing old dad’s skin” “I hate Tary he’s a dick”; I love that you can tell when Laura is really upset at someone cause she’ll use their full name - “how DARE you SAMUEL!”

“you, little elf girl, what’s your name?”  SAM YOU ARE PLAYING WITH FIRE

I keep glancing at Matt cause the faces he is making are just ugh just, Sam and Matt are such little shits this is amazing and horrible and I love it

Tary is a rich prat who hunts for the trophies

“I don’t like new people right now as of yesterday!”

“he’s like the worst alter ego version of Percy! he’s a rich kid who just buys all of his cool toys! no offense Percy”

“Doty only listens to me. If you had some sort of pet you’d understand” OMG “I’m gonna love Tary so much!” if Sam gets through this character without Laura literally killing him I will be surprised

ok the rod and the invisibility coin are super cool

....is this gonna be the second time they have randomly accidentally killed a normal citizen in Ank’Harel? first the lightening javelin now a crossbow bolt

THE CREW IS REVOLTING WITH NERF GUNS

that was awful and yet perfect. Sam looked way to fucking pleased with himself, Matt too frankly the little shits.

[worldofadvent]

NEO World of Advent Chapter Seventeen

NEO World of Advent Chapter Seventeen

Light forced a laugh with his teammates. They were just returning from rescuing a couple out at sea from their malfunctioning motorboat. Excursions at sea were decidedly less romantic when your motor starts leaking oil and starts spitting sparks, Light thought to himself. His life perpetually stuck on what was essentially a very big boat had at last given him his sea legs; it was his decisive action in removing them from a waterlogged boat filled with electricity that made the mission a success. It was, as Mist said, "An exemplary example for what she expected from the rest of them."

Speaking of Mist… Light tried to get her eye, but found her resolutely talking to Fin instead. The two of them had been painfully civil after their drunken night of love making. He let out a growl of frustration. She had refused to even talk with him about it after the fact. She had just dressed and was gone. Light had been transferred back to his room, but it felt empty after being back in his old one beside her.

"Cheer up man," Rak told him with a cheerful nudge. "We did it! First mission's a success. Even the Capo said you did well."

"Yes," Fin said, having finished his talk with Mist. "You did well. You should be proud of yourself; not everyone can react like that in the face of danger."

"I expect no less from any of you," Mist said. Her face was a mask, the perfect commander. "You did well, Light."

"What specifically," Light asked, desperate to talk to her, even if it were under the guise of just as her subordinate. "What can I do better?" There was a different meaning behind what was said, but Mist ignored it.

"You did fine," she said. "I see no need to criticize anything that was done. Your blocking the electrical malfunction was useful," she said. "It does us no good if we get electrocuted while trying to save them."

"Are you sure," Light asked. "I'm getting the feeling like I did something wrong."

"No," Mist said stonily. "What's done is done. I see no need to bring it up."

"Are we talking about the same thing here?" Rak's voice shattered the look Light held with Mist. "Because I thought we did great. Go us."

"You did better than I thought you would," Orca admitted. "I guess I might have been wrong about you."

Shale made a series of encouraging hand signs. Light thanked them both, but his heart really wasn't in it. "I appreciate the kind words," he managed. "I don't want to be left behind. The team, that is. I was afraid you guys wouldn't accept me."

"What apprehension we had is no more, I assure you." Fin clasped a hand on Light's shoulder. "You are a fine addition to the Meikai army."

"Thanks." Light removed Fin's hand, unable to bear another person's touch at the moment. It brought back memories of Mist's body pressed against his, their warmth intermingled as they… Light shook his head angrily.

"You all did well," Mist said. "Not just Light here. I do want to talk to him alone, if you don't mind. Feel free to do what you want for the rest of the day." She gave them a genuine smile. "Thanks."

Rak walked backwards, giving Light a thumbs up as he did so. Soon, they were around the corner. "Are we finally going to talk about what happened," Light asked. "Or are we going to pretend like it never happened?"

"As far as anything is concerned, it never did happen." Mist's own hand was clenched now. "As your commanding officer, I take full responsibility for what happened. I… I lost control. I wasn't myself."

"You were yourself," Light said lowly. "That's the thing, Mist. This isn't you. That was the real you, back there. Admit it."

"No," Mist told him. "That was nothing more than hormones getting in the way of my duties. I'm sorry for leading you on, but I don't feel the same way."

"I'm not gonna tell if that's what this is about," Light said. "Just please, can we go back to the way things were?"

"No." Mist's voice was a command, stiff and resolute. "Your behavior really was exemplary," she said in a mechanical voice. "You're off latrine duty, by the way. You don't have to clean the stalls anymore."

Somehow, Light thought as he watched Mist's back fade into the distance and round a corner, that hurt even more. His bet with Mist that led to his being made cabin boy was when they would give each other grief, would banter and flirt. Now it was gone. For good. For the second time in his life Light found the crushing despair of losing someone precious to him. "Don't go," he whispered. He didn't know if he was talking to a cerulean blue dress and its fierce owner or the fading forms of his two friends. "Please don't go."

He didn't know how long he stood there, the weight of what felt like an eternity crashing around him. He wanted to cry, to scream, to tear the place apart. For the first time in a very long time, Light wanted his parents. He wanted to hear Ciel's voice on something other than a recording, telling him it would be okay. He wanted to work out the stress in a spar against his father. It was so tiring, being alone. There was nothing more exhausting than to know that no one cared.

Light found himself staring at his communicator. His parents were a mere phone call away. He could call the Resistance. He could tell them that he was alive. He could even say he was being held hostage out at sea, Light thought with a hint of his old humor. That would get them coming fast. But he didn't. He never did. All he had to do was press 'send.' One press of a button, and everything might be made okay. They would make it okay. Wasn't that what parents were supposed to do?

Light's thumb hovered over the green button that would initiate the call. As the tips of his thumb brushed the smooth glass, he heard Sanctum's voice. The two of them were laughing at something Chaos had done. He didn't remember what it was, just her voice and his. And Chaos. The three of them were once inseparable. What wouldn't he give to have that again? Light pocketed the communicator. No, Light thought. He never did call them. There was always an excuse. Some way of getting out of it.

Light took a deep breath. Life went on, he supposed. It was just one more bump in the road. He didn't come here to get a date, he reminded himself. Even if he had met the girl of his dreams, she had moved on and left him behind, like so many other people had before. If you don't want to be left behind, you had to be prepared to chase after them. He couldn't force Mist to be anything more than Leviathan's daughter, even if Mist herself wanted to be something more. What happened between Chaos, Sanctum, and he was a mistake. A grave miscommunication, but a mistake nonetheless. He could at least make that alright.

Light found, with a jolt of surprise, that his feet were moving forward. He was almost to his room. Light eyed the door and the privacy it would provide, but stopped short of its threshold. They had the rest of the day off, right? Maybe the others would be playing cards, or foosball, or striking the balls all wrong in a game of pool. He could be a part of that now, if nothing else. Light made his way to the rec room, breathing a sigh of relief when it was apparent that his captain was not there.

"Hey," Rak greeted him. "What'd the Capo have to say?"

"She says I'm off scrubbing duty," Light said. "Something about my having earned my freedom or whatever."

"So that's what you were doing." Rak turned to Orca with a defeated sigh. "I guess I owe you fifty zenny."

"Damn straight." Orca held out his hand, which soon became a few bills richer. "Told ya it wasn't like that."

"You made bets," Light asked, "About what I was doing?"

"Well yeah," Rak said as Shale nodded. "What else are we going to do to pass the time around here? I guess I was way off," he said with a laugh. "I thought you were her secret husband or something."

Light forced his features into a smile that probably looked more like a grimace than anything. "Wouldn't that be something."

"Yeah," Rak said. "It was a long shot, but the odds were good. Orca promised he'd give me a yacht if you two were secretly smooching it up while the rest of us were doing our exercises."

"Really," Fin asked Rak. "What did you expect? Still," he added with a chuckle, "I would pay to see the look on Orca's face if he found out he had to pony up the zenny for Rak's private boat."

"Luckily," Orca said, "That will never happen. I don't know if I could actually afford something like that, in all honesty. Do you want your fifty zenny back? I don't feel like it was fair."

"Nah," Rak said. "You keep it. You won; I lost. Fair and square."

Shale made a few hand signs, letting them know that Orca could always just steal one of the many boats not in use here. They had a laugh about that, even if Light's was still forced. How he would have loved to see Orca's face of dismay. If only he hadn't been so stupid, he could have. She held up a deck of cards, asking them if they wanted to play.

They ended up playing a bootleg version of Blackjack, where the loser had to buy the rest of them something of their choice from the vending machine. Once they saw that Light was too distracted, they took pity on his wallet and ended the game.

"Hey," Rak said as he rummaged through one of the books Neo Arcadia approved for their library. He found a dusty old cover titled 'The Sea and You.' He tossed it Light's way with a wink. "I often find educational books to lift my spirits. You know, nothing quite brings me out of a bad mood like learning about the many different currents in the ocean."

Light nodded slowly, wondering if his new friend had lost his mind. "I'll check it out."

"Make sure you do." Rak high-fived Shale nearby, as if it were some sort of inside joke. Light shrugged; he'd figure out soon enough. "I'm kind of tired; the mission took a lot out of me. If you need me, I'll be in my room okay?"

"Gotcha," Rak said. "Go sleep it off. I can tell you're not exactly yourself."

Light gave a very real yawn, thanking him for the book. What he could find so interesting about sea currents was beyond him, but it really didn't matter. Dealing with his emotions was tiring and sexual innuendo could only do so much in lieu of distracting him from the crippling loneliness he had to keep constantly at bay.

Inside his room, Light collapsed on the bed, letting the book drop to his side. He let out a long sigh; why was it that whenever he found someone he really liked, some opposing force pushed them away? Even if that opposing force may have been his own idiocy, it wasn't like it had to be the end of their relationship. Besides, Light thought irritably, didn't people who like each other have sex anyway? What was so bad about being in bed with him? Surely he wasn't that bad at it.

Light cracked open the pages of 'The Sea and You.' Even sea currents beat his rising melancholy. To his surprise, he found a completely different table of contents. A quick scan of the rest of the book told him that it had been completely replaced with his favorite book. Light smiled; Rak had remembered what his favorite book was and had even gone through the effort of changing the title for him, like he did back when the team was still getting to know each other.

Light sunk into his pillow, losing his problems in the life of Allen Edgardo, gentleman thief. Soon Edgardo's problems replaced his own and he no longer felt the sinking maw of depression threatening to drown him in self pity. It was well past midnight when Light finally came back to reality, letting the book down with a reluctant earmark of the page. By now, he was too exhausted to even think, which was a definite boon in his opinion. He didn't know if he could handle any more thinking for the night. He closed his eyes, dreading what would happen should Mist find some hapless soul who mistook latitude for longitude and found himself at the edge of a whirlpool.

Light's alarm rang with a vexing beep. He just stared at the wall, not moving to turn the alarm off or face the reality behind what it meant. At last, after the automatic snooze had taken effect ten long minutes later, Light forced himself to an upright position with a groan. Staying up to read had been the death of his proper amount of sleep, but it had been what he needed, Light decided. She wants to pretend like it never happened? Fine. She wants to pretend like there was never anything between them? Fine. Hopefully breakfast would give him more satisfaction than his failed romance ever would.

Light got dressed, slipping his uniform on. For the first time, he noticed that Leviathan's head was on the emblem of the Meikai army uniforms. He found himself staring at the symbol with a sort of visceral hatred. No manner of vandalism would make Mist change her mind though, and the uniforms were kind of expensive. Light let the emblem rest out of sight on the side of his shoulders. It wasn't his problem, anyway. If Mist wanted to keep being no more than Leviathan's daughter, so be it.

Breakfast was a blessedly familiar act of going through the motions. Get your tray. Get your food. Sit down. Eat. Nothing complicated about that, Light thought. It's not like you could have a one night stand with a piece of toast. Light munched on a bagel as the others debated on the accuracy of Light's old nickname.

"I mean," Fin said, "It's not like he's actually a cabin boy anymore. Shouldn't we just refer to him as Light?"

"Nah," Orca said. "Let's do something like Bookworm. He's the one who had the idea to switch the covers, right?"

"I actually thought it was pretty brilliant," Rak admitted. "And don't tell me you don't have a few contraband books hidden away under that book about all the knots."

"That may be true," Orca said. "I never said being a bookworm was a bad thing. Hey," he addressed Light. "You mind being Bookworm?"

"I don't care." They could call him Ringworm if they wanted to. At this point, he was just too drained to give a crap about anything.

"See?" Orca took a sip of some kind of oil. "He doesn't mind."

"Alright," Rak said. "Bookworm it is." They grew quiet as Mist approached the table with the aura of purpose.

"I hope you're done fattening yourselves up," Mist said, "Because we have work to do." She ignored the small groan coming from them at the thought of going on a mission with a full stomach. "A group of human sailors have gone out of Neo Arcadian territory. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, but they haven't made the trip back in bounds in some time now. I suspect something may be wrong." Mist passed them all a folder each detailing the specs of the boat in question: the experience of the sailors, the path they had taken before going out of reach for their communication towers. "I want you all to go over these. Help me figure out what might have gone wrong."

Light went over their chosen path, noting that it had gone rather smoothly up until the last few days, where the dots that marked the last ping a sonar caught them under spread out erratically towards the edge of Neo Arcadian waters. This had not gone unnoticed by the others, who were bringing attention to it now. "I don't understand," Rak said. "This is a new ship. Like, brand new. They shouldn't be having any malfunctions in their systems. What made them veer off the course like that?"

"I don't know." Mist ran her fingers through her hair. "I was hoping we could get to the bottom of that."

"Are there mechanloids in the water," Light asked. If he wanted to make it look like their quasi-pseudo-not really a breakup didn't bother him, avoiding her wasn't the best way of going about it. "Maybe one of those went rogue?"

"Impossible," Mist said. "The defense grid would have taken it out while they were still in range."

Light nodded, returning to his packet. Something caused them to go off course, Light thought. It's not like the sailors all had a sudden fit of epilepsy and jerked the wheel. Light accessed the base's naval records, a privilege they had been granted access to via their personal communicators. The ship was brand new, so its engine, motor, even shielding should be perfectly functional. And if that defense grid would have taken out any threats outside of Neo Arcadian control, that shouldn't be a problem. Light's eyes browsed a section on obsolete mechanloids employed by Neo Arcadia in the past.

What if the threat wasn't outside of Neo Arcadian control? Light browsed a list of mechanloids in search of one large enough to prove a threat to the fishing vessel. He came across an old but very big machine based off a shark, called the Sharven. The Sharven series was deployed to deter any threats from reaching the city by way of water and to help keep nearby sailors safe from dangerous wildlife. It was decommissioned ten years ago due to a faulty processor chip that caused it to mistake newer Neo Arcadian mechanloids for a foreign threat. Light read up on the mechanloid in question until he was sure that he had found the problem.

"I think I know what it is," Light said, sending them all a link to the page. "You said this boat was new, right? Maybe this thing is mistaking it for a threat."

"You could be right," Mist said grimly. "If that's the case, then we need to hurry. The Sharven is meant to outspeed its' targets and destroy them. I want you on the Kraken, all of you in thirty minutes. Pack what you have to and be ready. We're leaving as soon as possible."

The others quickly packed what they had to in a frenzy of motion, taking to the deck when their designated supplies were all in order. Mist made a quick head count before telling them all to get in the Kraken's diving pods, which they would use to get up close to the ship. Mist stopped by to make sure Light was properly strapped in his Pod, sighing. "Be careful out there," she told him.

"What do you care?" Light took pleasure in the way Mist's head reeled back, as if she had just been slapped. She slammed the door harder than necessary before moving on to the rest of the crew. It had been petty, Light knew, but it sure felt good to say. Once they were out to sea, Mist made good use of Orca's refined sonar through an open communication channel they all shared.

"Two objects," Orca reported. "About the size of what we're looking for. One's stock still and the other is circling around it. I think Light might be onto something here."

"I will engage the Sharven," Mist told them. "Get the passengers out to the safety of the Kraken." Light gripped the controls determinedly as she released them from the Kraken's mechanical womb.

"Be careful," Light told her. "That thing may not look very fast, but it's designed to overcome smaller craft."

"Don't worry about me," Mist said. "I'll be fine."

Light rolled his eyes where no one else could see him. Couldn't she cut the tough girl act for one goddamn minute? Light watched her Pod's progress in relation to the Sharven in the corner of his eye as he sped toward the stationary vessel. The passengers aboard, for their part, were waving wildly at them, as though five random pods coming out of nowhere hadn't noticed their predicament. Light magnetically attached his own to the side of the boat as the captain let him know what had happened.

Apparently they had been out chasing it, thinking it was a whale, when it turned on them, chasing them instead. They had thought that if they went out of the borders, it wouldn't follow, but whatever prerogatives its processor chip programmed it to do were apparently fried or not as important as sinking this new threat the Sharven had found. Once they realized that they weren't going to outrace it, they put all the extra energy into the shields. It had been circling them ever since, waiting for their energy field to run out.

"Get inside," Light told him, keeping an eye on each spray of water that represented the Sharven and Mist's own pod. "We've got you now, don't worry."

"Aye." The man placed a grateful hand on his shoulder. "We appreciate it."

"Now would be great," Light said impatiently. "Single line, but hurry up if you can help it." The Sharven was gaining on her; at this rate, it would overcome her. Light made a quick question to the others: "Is her pod special? Can it go any faster than ours?"

"Each pod is made in the same fashion," Fin said nervously. "But I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

"Like hell she knows what she's doing." Light shut the door of his pod, forcing the rest of the stranded crew to get inside one of the other four. "She's getting herself killed, that's what she's doing."

Light redirected the Comm. Feed to his personal headphones as he took the wheel. It would not due to have his passengers hear whatever stream of curses his suicidal captain would have in store for him. He ignored the others' words of warning as well, piloting his pod within the reach of the Sharven, hoping it would take the bait.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Mist's voice was a screech of auditory disbelief as it blared through his headphones at a deafening decibel level. "GET THEM OUT OF HERE!"

"Engaging the target," Light said calmly, as if he couldn't hear her. "Let's take turns, shall we? I'll steer it away from you until it gets closer and then you can return the favor. Have the Kraken send it to the bottom of the ocean when we're in reach."

"I swear to whatever you consider holy," Mist breathed furiously, "If this has anything to do with my decision to keep things professional between us-"

"You're breaking up, Captain." Light enjoyed the double meaning the words held, even though it was a purely accidental pun. "That thing would have overtaken you and you know it. If you could take it off my hands now, that would be very appreciated." The passengers of his vehicle held their breath as the Sharven advanced, only to be distracted by the sight of another pod getting in reach. They let loose a sigh of relief when a torpedo crashed into the Sharven's side with a muffled explosion.

"Thank you for flying the S.S. Kraken," Light told the panicked crew. "May the rest of your journey be a lot less eventful than it's been." He hooked his pod up to the deck of the Kraken, where Fin took it from there. He felt no need to leave the relative safety of his own pod, turning off all communication channels and locking the sides. He would ride the rest of the way back in silence.

Once back inside the base, Mist made sure they all would receive proper medical and psychological treatment. The moment they were all accounted for and out of sight, Mist reeled on him. "You disobeyed a direct order," she told him. "Do you know what that means?"

"You're gonna court martial me?" Light was unimpressed. "Because that's worked out so well before."

"Do you think this is some sort of game?" Mist was in his face, the image of absolute fury. "You're not getting off the hook this time. Stay inside your room until I decide a fitting punishment."

"You're welcome, you know." Light threw down his headset, hearing it clatter against the metal floor. "If you're so worried about the people you care about dying at sea, maybe you should think about how they would feel if you were in their place."

"I don't," Mist spluttered, half with rage, half some other, unidentifiable mix of emotions. "How dare you?"

Light didn't answer; he found himself slamming the doors of his room the next moment. "What is she playing at?" he whispered. He picked up the picture of his friends and threw it at the door with some satisfaction as the frame shattered into a million shards of glass. He regretted it immediately after, brushing aside the glass as he held the picture tenderly. "I miss you guys," he said softly. "I'm sure you would know what to do." He held the picture to the light until the extent of the emotions swirling inside overcame him, and he was asleep.