#like i always thought she knew her way around the catacombs because she was down there a lot but no

[freaky-flawless]

Well...damn.

I finally watched The Phantom of the Opera, and now I have to grapple with how much Operetta makes absolutely no sense.

Like I'm wracking my brain, and the only conclusion I've come to is that she'd make sense if she wasn't a ghost at all, but a siren.

Maybe after years of being cast out by his fellow humans, Erik finds refuge in the monster world which welcomes him with open arms, and also gives him the chance for a new start.

And given his love of opera, he falls in love with a siren and they have a child together. Thusly making Operetta half human, half siren.

This way, she can keep her hypnotizing voice, since she sure as hell wouldn't have gotten it from Erik.

[jate-kara]

Hold It Down | On AO3

Cayde's flown off to who the hell knows where to chase another piece of his past, Andal's so wound up he's practically climbing the Tower walls, and Shiro hasn't stopped moving in days. Tevis is just doing his best to help. Sort of. In his own way.

Even with their fireteam divided, they find a way to hold each other together.

---

His armor was pocked and marred and streaked with blood, his throat was clogged with ancient dust, and this was the last damn time he was doing Andal Brask any favors.

Even as he thought it, Shiro knew it was a lie. Ever since Andal had taken up the Vanguard post, he'd been under a hell of a lot of stress - more than what he'd ever had to deal with when he'd been out roaming the Wilds with the pack. There was a permanent line of tension strung through his shoulders that got worse every day he was up in that Tower, and he had dark circles under his eyes that rivaled Tevis's, so when he'd asked if Shiro could go down into a maze of catacombs beneath the EDZ to retrieve a Guardian who'd gotten themselves stuck there - Shiro had agreed immediately. It hadn't relaxed Andal at all; if anything, he'd gotten more tense. But it was one less mission for him to worry about assigning, at least. And Shiro had checked in as regularly as he could manage, up until he'd hit the Hive horde and had to focus all of his efforts on getting in, grabbing the idiot, and getting out in one piece.

"Thanks for doing this," Andal said, from the little hologram in his palm. Even at this resolution, Shiro could see him cataloging the sorry state of his gear.

"It was no problem."

"I'm sorry I asked it of you."

"You trusted me to get it done, Andal. That's enough for me." Shiro forced a smile he didn't feel. As much as he liked talking to Andal, he was covered from helm to boots in blood and grime and Traveler knew what else, and there was a piece of a sparrow lodged in one of his knee joints, from where one of Marcus's damned friends had run straight into him the second he'd set foot on the surface of the Cosmodrome with the wayward Guardian slung over his shoulders. Suzume had offered to heal it if he'd pulled the scrap out, but he'd been too pissed to really listen to her.

Andal frowned. Shiro scrambled to bolster his smile. It did nothing to smooth away the furrow in his Vanguard's brow. "Did you get hurt?" Andal asked. "Saint saw you in the Hangar after you dropped our missing Guardian off. He said you were limping. Is Suzume okay?"

"Suzume's fine. She'll heal me later."

"Why-" Andal cut himself off, then blew out a breath. "Is everything okay?"

Shiro sighed. Around him, City life carried on under the dim glow of the setting sun. His apartment's door was right there. Then it was up some steps and through his actual door, and he would finally be free to strip off the armor and scrub everything clean - if only Andal would cut the chatter.

"Shiro?"

"I'm fine, Andal. I'll talk to you later."

"Are you sure you're-"

Shiro cut the connection before he could think twice about it, and turned away from Suzume before she could catch him with the disapproving dip of her shell. "Don't," he muttered, tapping in his access code and starting up the stairs. "He'll go on all night with as wound up as he is right now."

"That's because he was worried about you," Suzume reminded. Her voice was deceptively gentle for the steel he knew was hidden behind it. "You have to call him back later."

"He's not just wound up because of me. Cayde went off on one of his damn personal missions again. He's been out of contact for two weeks. That always drives Andal up a wall."

Suzume knocked into his shoulder. "I know," she said. "But it would help if you talked to him so he knows you're okay."

Shiro closed the door behind him and blew out an exasperated breath. "I'll call Andal after I clean up, all right?"

"Let me fix your knee first."

Shiro yanked the obstructing shrapnel out in one brutal motion. Every nerve it hadn't deadened fired at once, and he heaved a gasp and set his jaw and tried to stay upright. The soothing glow of Suzume's Light fell over him a second later, smoothing the pain's jagged edges until it had been washed away completely, and the delicate nerves had reconnected enough that he could stumble a few steps toward his bedroom. Just had to get the armor off, get the armor cleaned up, get himself cleaned up, and maybe find the strength to get something to eat before he called Andal and tried not to nod off wherever he ended up.

A faint clatter came from his kitchen and he froze mid-step, knee still tingling from its restoration. He hadn't heard anyone when he'd come in, but between the stabbing pain and the overwhelming aggravation, he hadn't been paying a lot of attention to whether or not he had an uninvited guest rifling through his home. Shiro snapped Trespasser out of its holster and to the ready right as the soft shuffle of footsteps reached the kitchen's threshold and came to a stop.

"Shiro," Tevis said, "why the hell isn't there any food in your kitchen?"

Because he'd been on an assignment for Andal. Because he'd forgotten to pick some up after the last batch spoiled from being in there for so long. Because sometimes he ate those specially formulated rations rather than bother with cooking. Shiro didn't say any of that, though. All that came out as he holstered Trespasser was, "Tevis, what the fuck are you doing here?"

Tevis shrugged. If he was bothered by the harsh tone, he didn't show it. The sunlight streaming through the windows caught him in their waning beams and made him look softer than his usual scowl would suggest. His long dark hair was damp, and pulled up in a loose bun, and he was, for the first time in forever, not dressed in his field gear. Instead, he'd opted for a faded black and yellow hoodie that hung far too loosely on his wiry frame to actually belong to him, and a pair of soft grey pants Shiro was pretty sure he'd stolen from Andal, because they were identical to what Andal always wore when he was relaxing, and because Tevis had rolled the bottoms of the pant legs up so they weren't too long for him.

"Is that my sweatshirt?" Shiro asked, a long moment later.

"Maybe."

"Did you let yourself into my apartment?"

"You said any one of us was always welcome here. You excluding me from that now?"

"No," Shiro grumbled. "I'm just surprised you took me up on it. I thought you hated being in the City."

Tevis gave another half-hearted shrug. "You're out of food," he said, shouldering by on his way to the door, and the boots he'd left there. He snatched the piece of shrapnel out of Shiro's hand with an eyeroll. "Go clean up. I'll be back."

It took Shiro the entire time he was scrubbing his armor, then himself, plus the time he spent perched at the counter in the kitchen watching Tevis lay out ingredients and cook, to realize what else was different: th dark circles set against the pale skin below his eyes were faded. "You don't look completely exhausted," Shiro said. "What changed?"

"Slept on your couch."

"What?"

Tevis stared at him disdainfully. "I took a damn nap. Aren't you supposed to call Andal?"

A single nap wouldn't fix that kind of fatigue. Shiro cast him a skeptical glance. Tevis, despite clearly noticing the gaze, carried on cooking as if he hadn't. They stayed in that silent stalemate for a long few moments until Tevis sighed, slapped the spoon down on the counter, tugged his communicator out of his pocket, and tapped a few keys. It buzzed a few times, then clicked as it connected.

"Tevis," Andal said. He sounded surprised, but in a delighted way, like he always did when he didn't have to try seven times to get Tevis to pick up the comm. Shiro hid a grin behind his hand. "It's good to hear from you."

Tevis tried to scowl, but warmth bled around the edges of it until it was a poorly suppressed smile. "I'm with Shiro. He's fine."

Andal let out an audibly relieved breath. "Good," he said. "Is he getting some rest?"

"He will be after I make him eat something. Has the damn Vanguard buried you in reports again?"

Andal groaned. "You don't wanna know."

"Tev is making dinner. You should join us," Shiro cut in, and Andal laughed. It sounded just shy of desperation. Shiro caught Tevis's flinch, there and gone in the same instant.

"I'll be there," Andal promised, and paused. There was a loud slam, then another voice in the background: high and agitated, prattling on about something, something, Dead Orbit. Andal gave a resigned sigh. "I have to go. See you soon. I hope."

Tevis frowned as he slipped the comm back into his pocket. "Think it'd get him in trouble if I kidnapped him?"

Shiro hummed noncommittally. There was a nonzero chance that Tevis would try it if he said anything one way or the other: either because Shiro had encouraged it, or because he wanted to be a jackass and prove Shiro wrong. Both branches led to the same root, though: Tevis missed Andal the same as Shiro did. "I think," Shiro said, by way of diversion, "that you should tell me why you don't look half dead."

Tevis's expression didn't sour like he thought it would. Usually, the answer to 'why are you less zombified' was 'copious amounts of caffeine', which launched them into an argument that went back and forth with no real resolution. This time, Tevis's face shuttered. He didn't move from his spot by the stovetop, slowly stirring the mix of fried vegetables, but his shoulders hunched, and his grip on the spoon tightened until his forearm was trembling.

"You were gone a couple of days," he muttered. "I slept through most of them."

Shiro leaned forward to scrutinize him and Tevis turned his full attention to carefully checking each spoonful. It wasn't quite a refusal, but it was a step back, so Shiro let the silence be. More than once, Tevis had mentioned that the Void's Devour let him feel traces of Light, and that each trace was different depending on whose it was. Some he was indifferent to; they were noise and nothing more. Others set him on a knife's edge. But while he claimed that Shiro's and Andal's and Cayde's traces fell into the first category, none of them had ever believed him. Whether Tevis realized it or not, he relaxed the stiff set of his spine when he was in a place suffused by their presence, like he only felt safe enough to let himself rest if he was surrounded by those soft echoes.

He'd probably never say it unless someone was dying, of course, but that unspoken trust made Shiro's heart turn, and he reached out to clasp Tevis's wrist with a touch so light it was almost nonexistent. "I'm glad you got some rest," he said, and squeezed gently.

Tevis huffed a vague acknowledgement, though he let the touch be. His shoulders relaxed. "You heard anything from Cayde lately?"

"Nothing since he left."

"You think he'll be okay after he finds whatever's in the next journal?"

Shiro sighed. At some point in one of Cayde's previous lives, one of them had decided to leave notes and mementos in various caches, to forge a better foundation for whoever came after, and to give the next self a good shot at being a good man. Shiro didn't know which past Cayde had started it, or why, but he suspected one of them had been someone their Cayde-6 would have shot on sight, and that if he did enough poking around about Caydes one through five, sooner or later he was going to turn it up, in which case 'okay' was going to get really relative.

"I don't know," Shiro said honestly.

Tevis tilted his head in something like agreement. "I wish he'd at least check in with Andal," he grumbled. "Pretty sure we're gonna be out another Hunter Vanguard if he keeps stressing him out like this."

"I'll try talking to him about it."

"Good luck."

Shiro blew out a disbelieving breath. "You realize how it sounds when you complain about someone else not answering their comm, right?"

Tevis made a show of plucking Shiro's hand off his wrist, as if it had only started offending him after the jab. He did it with a blank expression that was so at odds with the drama of the removal that Shiro couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of him. "You're such a pain in the ass," Tevis said fondly, and reached across the counter to shove his shoulder. "Go get me the rest of the vegetables out of the fridge."

Andal didn't turn up until the rest of the food was nearly done, and he didn't so much stroll in as he did stagger. Tevis's eyes tracked him as he shrugged off his cloak and toed off his boots. When he finally looked up to meet their gazes, Shiro flinched. Andal's long hair was half pulled into a bun that must have come apart hours ago. His dark eyes were distant. There was a streak of dried blood on the warm brown skin of his cheek, like he'd cut himself shaving and forgotten to clean it off - or gotten grazed by a knife.

"You look like hell," Tevis said. "When's the last fucking time you slept?"

If Andal heard him, he didn't show it. He padded across the floor and eased down onto a stool next to Shiro, then slumped against the counter and buried his head in his arms. "Has anyone heard from Cayde?" he asked, and despite his valiant attempt to smother the ragged desperation, his voice still cracked.

Shiro's chest ached. "Not yet," he offered gently, before Tevis could spit whatever acrid opinion on Cayde's contact frequency he clearly had burning on his tongue. "He's usually back inside of a month, though, so it shouldn't be much longer."

Andal didn't answer, but the tense line in his shoulders curled that much tighter. Shiro rested a hand on his back, and Andal pushed himself upright in several halting motions. "You cooked for us," he said, with a faltering smile at Tevis. "Reviving an old tradition?"

Tevis scoffed. "It wasn't a tradition. I only made dinner back then because I didn't trust Cayde not to poison us. Wouldn't have been on purpose, but it also wouldn't have been pleasant."

"For you two, anyway," Shiro supplied. "And Lush, when he was still around."

Andal tried to laugh at that. It didn't make it to his eyes. Shiro exchanged a look with Tevis, and got to his feet to get the plates. "Dinner, shower, sleep," Tevis said, manhandling Andal to the table, where the chair had a back he could lean against. "In that order."

"Which one of us is Vanguard again?" Andal muttered, picking at the plate Shiro had set in front of him. At Tevis's stare, he managed a few actual bites, then went back to absently staring into the distance while he fiddled with an errant vegetable.

Maybe Tevis had a point about being out another Vanguard if things kept up this way. Shiro ate his own dinner slowly, mostly because the exhaustion he'd buried beneath his concern was now welling up again. His movements flagged, and he caught Tevis shooting him a sharp glance, but he was more concerned with the fact that Andal seemed to have given up pretenses entirely, and was now staring blankly out the window, dinner completely forgotten. Shiro had just made up his mind to say something when Andal jolted suddenly, set his fork down, and pushed the barely touched plate away. "Sorry," he blurted. "It's good. It's - I can't right now."

Tevis gave him a considering glance, then stood to round the table and haul him to his feet.  "All right," he said. "C'mon. The shower and the sleep aren't suggestions."

"All of my clothes are back at the Tower."

"You're gonna borrow some of Shiro's."

Andal cast him an annoyed look. Shiro had just enough time to catch it before Tevis hauled Andal off to the bedroom, threw some of Shiro's clean clothes at his head, shoved him bodily into the adjoining bathroom, and slammed the door.

"You're an ass," Andal called, voice muffled, and Tevis banged a fist on the door twice in a wordless demand: get moving . He stayed there until the water started running, smacked the door one more time for good measure, and returned to the kitchen to start clearing the table. Shiro watched him blankly for a second, then moved to get up - and just as quickly found himself being pushed back into his seat.

"You look like death," Tevis informed him briskly. "Stay put."

"You know I don't technically get tired. I just feel-"

"Stay. Put."

Shiro shot him a side-eye. Tevis was too busy dumping leftovers into containers and storing them in the fridge to notice it. He was wound tight; Shiro could almost see the pressure physically building in his chest. "I can help clean up," he hazarded, bracing for a glower that didn't come. "You already made dinner."

"I don't need your help," Tevis returned, already elbow deep in dish suds. "Fuck off."

"It's not that you need me to help. It's that I want to."

Tevis's only answer was to roll his eyes and carry on scrubbing the dishes with more force than he really needed. Once he finished, he moved on to meticulously drying each plate, and Shiro risked pushing himself to his feet and crossing the small distance between them. Wordlessly, he held out a hand. Tevis smacked it away.

"I told you to stay put," he muttered, and there was a raw edge to his voice that he tried to pass off as anger. If Shiro didn't know him so well, he would've believed it. Instead, he gently settled an arm around Tevis's shoulders and squeezed once.

"I'm okay, Tev," he said quietly.

Tevis snapped to face him. His eyes swept over Shiro's face, at first scrutinizing, and then, more softly, in a careful scan. He stayed like that for a long few moments until, at last, some of the tension in his shoulders relaxed. "If you're gonna be a pain about it, fine, you can help," he grumbled, and flung the dish towel at Shiro's head.

They'd barely finished cleaning when Andal finally appeared, clothed in loose pants he'd had to tie twice and an oversized long-sleeve t-shirt with a ridiculous Sparrow racing league logo emblazoned on it. Shiro couldn't recall ever receiving it, but he knew Cayde was good friends with Marcus Ren, and Marcus Ren was known to produce both outlandish ideas and merchandise, on top of whatever death trap he'd cooked up for his next "competition". Odd shirts were probably the most normal thing to come from that workshop, and Cayde was just the sort of person to snatch one up on his way out.

Andal looked down at the shirt with a small smile. "I didn't know you were such a Sparrow league fan, Shiro."

Shiro sighed. "I'm not. And can you even call it a league? It's mostly just Marcus and Enoch doing crazy stunts on patrols in the EDZ."

Andal shrugged and sank onto the couch, nestling down into the cushions with a sigh. He settled on his side, with one arm curled beneath his head, but despite the fatigue that was clearly set heavy in every bone of his body, he didn't close his eyes. His gaze turned distant, and behind the haze of old stress and overwhelming exhaustion, there was only sadness.

Tevis flicked off the lights before he moved to sit carefully beside him. One of his hands hovered uncertainly, then slowly lowered to settle on Andal's hair. "Close your eyes and get some sleep," he said quietly, combing a few strands back. "You need it."

Andal pressed his eyes closed and grimaced. "I'm not going to sleep well while Cayde's not here."

"Better shitty sleep than no sleep. I think you told me that."

"Don't use my own words against me."

"Stop saying things that makes sense, then."

"If it makes so much damn sense, then why don't you listen to me more?" Andal huffed.

"That's what I keep asking him too," Shiro chimed in, easing down onto the floor in front of them and tilting his head back to rest against the couch's cushion. He was just getting comfortable when Tevis curled stubborn fingers around the collar of his sweatshirt and yanked until Shiro got the idea, fumbled half upright, and all but fell onto the couch on Tevis's other side.

"Sitting on the fucking floor." Tevis made a face that came very close to disgust. "The hell do you even have a couch for?"

With Andal lying on his side and Tevis right next to him, adding Shiro's large frame meant that they were all pressed tightly together, even with how much smaller Tevis was. Shiro shifted carefully. Generally, they as a pack tended to avoid crushing Tevis between them; he could be tense and flighty on his best days, so if they collapsed in a pile, he took a spot on the edge, no questions asked. It worked out fine, since Shiro was mostly okay with wherever he ended up, and Cayde and Andal craved physical affection and contact like nothing else, so they'd happily sprawl in a tangle of limbs any time. Tevis initiating anything like that, though - that was rare.

Gingerly, Shiro leaned back and rested an arm around Tevis's shoulders. "You should get some sleep too," he said.

Tevis snorted. "I slept for most of the last four days."

"You almost never sleep otherwise. Couple more hours can't hurt."

"Quiet," Andal mumbled. He was curled in on himself, like he always was when he wanted Cayde to lie down behind him and wrap himself around him. His eyes weren't so much closed now as they were squeezed shut. It made Shiro's chest ache.

Tevis noticed too. His thumb brushed a soothing line along Andal's brow. "Cayde'll be all right," he murmured. "He's got luck in spades."

"He promised me he'd stay in contact this time."

"Digging into that shit always messes with his head, Andal. He's probably just caught up in it."

"He always keeps his word." Andal's voice cracked, and not for the first time Shiro wished he'd pushed Cayde into telling them where he was going, so he could fly there and drag him back. Suzume and Astraea were constantly monitoring their usual comm lines and sending out requests for an immediate response, so if anything came through, they'd know immediately. The knowledge didn't soothe him, though, and he knew it wouldn't soothe Andal or Tevis, either. At this point, only Cayde could do that.

“He might be in a dead comms zone,” Shiro said. “I'm sure he'll check in when he can.”

He got a shuddery breath in response, and nothing else. In the dim light coming from the kitchen, he could make out the faint gleam of tears on Andal's cheeks. Tevis must have seen it too; he eased forward, tugging at Andal until he sat up and let himself be pulled in closer. He fell to rest against Tevis's chest, head tucked beneath his chin, and Shiro wrapped an arm around both of them and held tight.

“Cayde'll be okay,” Tevis repeated. Shiro felt him tense, and then relax, once, and then again, like he was reminding himself he was safe, and not trapped. “Try to sleep. Our Ghosts hear anything, they'll let us know.”

Andal didn't respond. Another tremor shivered down his spine as he breathed. Tevis smoothed soothing circles into his back, and Shiro reached over to rest a hand on Andal's shoulder. He hated the damn Vanguard sometimes: not the people, or even the body as an organizational concept, but as something that hurt Andal - something that kept him in the Tower, away from them, where they didn't know when he was close to breaking, and couldn't bring himself to say it.

“Try to sleep,” Tevis whispered again, once Andal stopped trembling. “We'll wake you if we hear anything.”

Shiro didn't follow suit, even when he heard Andal's breathing deepen. “I know you're still awake, Tev,” he said, as softly as he could manage.

Tevis's cheek pressed against his arm. “So are you. Shut the fuck up and pass out already.”

“You first.”

That earned him a warm chuckle, so soft and light that Shiro's first retort formed and died before he could say it. “You're nicer when you sleep for four days straight,” he managed at last. “You should do that more often.”

Tevis blew out a short breath that sounded more like a laugh. “My head's a lot quieter when you're all around.”

Warmth swelled in Shiro's chest. If he brought it up in the morning, Tevis would scowl and vehemently deny it. For now, though, he was safe in the familiar comfort of the darkness, and shielded from the bright glare of his own honesty. “I'm glad,” Shiro said. He wrapped the fingers of his free hand around Tevis's wrist and pressed them to the steady thrum of his pulse.

He didn't remember letting it lull him off to sleep, only snapping awake to the world rocking around him. It took him an embarrassingly long moment to realize it was because Andal had launched himself out of the tangle of limbs and across the room. It was still dark. The door to the apartment hallway was open, silhouetting a familiar figure standing just inside.

“Hey,” Cayde said. “Sorry to drop by unannounced. I-”

Cayde cut himself off with a loud oof that Shiro registered as him absorbing Andal's impact. “Hi,” Cayde croaked, like he'd gotten the wind knocked out of him. “Miss me much?”

If Andal was coherent enough to talk, he didn't. Shiro was vaguely and then intensely aware that Tevis had gotten up too, because the lights turned on and sent a bright spike straight through his eyes. It only took a fraction of a second for his visual sensors to adjust, but it felt like an eternity, and he swept his gaze over Cayde as soon as he could make out more than a blurry outline.

Their gunslinger was clad in his field gear; it was scorched and torn. The pants were tattered, the entire left sleeve of the shirt was missing, and from what Shiro could see past Andal's clinging form, there was a large slash torn across the chest. He winced to think of what might have caused it, and he knew without having to check that Tevis had cataloged the same.

Still, it wasn't the sorry state of Cayde’s gear that made his heart turn over sickeningly. It was that Andal had been hanging on for a few minutes now, and Cayde hadn't moved at all. His arms hung at his sides, tense and trembling, as if he wasn't sure what to do with them. The glow of his eyes didn't have the usual gleam of mischief: only some vast distance, and a deep well of churning uncertainty. It was like he was trapped between his desire to stay and some overwhelming urge to escape, and the pull of the two opposing forces was tearing him apart.

Andal let go and eased back to look him in the face. His eyes were blown wide and searching, and they bled more desperation than he'd ever admit. He stood there silently for a few beats, and then slowly raised his hand as if to set it gently against Cayde's cheek.

Cayde flinched away, from the touch and from Andal himself. His breath hitched, and he took a decisive step back. “Sorry,” he blurted, like the words had been forced out of him. “I'm gonna go clean up. Back at my ship. Really shoulda done that to begin with, before I tracked dirt onto Shiro's nice floors. I'll, uh - we'll talk later, okay?”

“No.” Tevis's single word stopped him cold. “There's a damn shower here, Cayde.”

Cayde shrugged awkwardly. “Mine's better?”

Tevis stalked across the space between them and stopped a few inches away. He didn't grab him or push him or drag him in; he only raised a finger and stabbed it toward the interior of the apartment in a silent demand. Shiro watched Cayde start to protest, summoning whatever will he had left beneath the exhaustion set heavy in every line of his frame. He only made it as far as opening his mouth before that small surge of flame flickered and died, and he ducked his head and slipped past them. The bathroom door clicked shut, and the water started running.

Andal hadn't moved, except to let his hands fall to his sides. He blew out a ragged breath. “I'll find him some clothes,” he muttered, and brushed by. Shiro watched him until he disappeared into the bedroom, peripherally aware of Tevis closing the door.

“Guess that answers my question,” Tevis said, massaging the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger. “Damn it, what the hell did he find?”

Shiro shook his head. It might not be exclusively related to Cayde's quest to turn up any other journals that could be out there; the universe was a big place, and he'd met as many people that loved him as he had people that wanted to kill him. Maybe it was an old enemy. Maybe it was a buried nightmare, resurrected to torment him again. Maybe it was the damn journal after all, and Cayde had learned something about a past self that he wished he hadn't.

“Could be a lot of things ” Shiro answered at last. “Whatever it is, it's hitting him pretty hard.”

“He stayed, though. That's good.” Tevis's voice bled relief as he moved to the kitchen and started unpacking leftovers from the fridge to be reheated. They both knew if Cayde didn't want to be here, he wouldn't. “Go talk him into coming out here when he's done.”

All the lights were off in the bedroom, save a single lamp. Shiro could just make out Andal, sitting with his back to the wall and knees pulled to his chest. He was at least half trying to seem like the sheen in his eyes was from exhaustion, and not because Cayde pulling away had hit him like a punch to the gut. “He'll be a while,” Andal said, without looking up.

“I know,” Shiro returned softly, easing to sit cross-legged in front of him. What he didn't say, Shiro already knew: Cayde usually let Andal help, after he got back from these kinds of missions - reached for him instead of pushing him away. Let himself stay close instead of suffering alone, even if they didn't talk about whatever he'd found for a couple weeks. Grief flared in Andal's eyes every time they darted toward the bathroom door: that he was out here, apart, instead of in there, holding Cayde together.

Tevis was rattling around the kitchen. There was a loud clatter, a series of creative expletives that Shiro wasn't completely sure were technically words, and then some distant grumbling, but no serious cries of pain, so he stayed where he was. Andal didn't comment on it, either - he barely seemed to have noticed the noise. He'd cleaned the small cut on his face when he'd showered, though he must not have asked, or allowed, Astraea to heal it. It remained an angry line on his cheek that he was idly tracing with a finger.

“How'd that happen?” Shiro asked, to fill the silence, and also to find out if he needed to shoot someone.

Andal started. His hands dropped into his lap. “It was nothing,” he said, and shrugged half-heartedly. “Someone broke into my office. I dodged when he threw his knife, but it still grazed me on the way by.”

Shiro jolted, suddenly wide awake. “Someone tried to kill you?” he demanded, in a harsh and disbelieving whisper. “Andal, what the hell? Why didn't you say something?”

Andal stared at him blankly. “I lived, didn't I?”

“Was it another Guardian?”

“Well, a Lightbearer. He kept babbling about the Darkness and salvation. I wasn't really listening. I took him down. He's in Vanguard custody now.” Andal touched the cut absently. “He did something to his knife, though. A corruption, or a poison. Astraea cleansed the cut, but she couldn't get it to heal.”

Shiro's stomach turned. It had missed his head, Andal had said. If he had been slower, or startled, or hesitated for even a fraction of a second, it would have speared his skull - and that wasn't an injury you bounced back from. Astraea couldn't heal the cut. Maybe she wouldn't have been able to bring him back from a corrupted death, either. “When did this happen?”

“Sometime after I talked to you but before Tev called. Why?”

Shiro didn't have words. Andal was overstressed, overwhelmed, and then almost assassinated, and all he'd asked when they'd called was if they were okay. All he'd wanted to hear about when he arrived was if they'd heard from Cayde. Shiro didn't know if he wanted to scream and shake him or hug him and never let go. Typical Andal. Typical idiot. “I'm telling Tev,” Shiro decided, once he regained the ability to speak. “What the hell , Andal?”

Andal shrugged again. “I know Tev said you're okay, but I never asked you. Was he right?”

“You could've died your Final Death today and that's what you wanna talk about?”

Andal snorted. “Have a little faith in me, Shiro. I might be the Vanguard, but that doesn't mean I've stopped training.”

“I do have faith in you,” Shiro shot back. “I always will. But someone was trying to kill you. Permanently. It could've gone sideways.”

“I know. But it didn't, and I'm still here.” Andal tried for a smile. “And I want to know if you're all right.”

Shiro blew out an exasperated breath. Andal wasn't unreasonable on most things; he'd back down in an argument if he thought he was wrong. But if anyone else had been attacked like that, he'd be climbing the walls over it, and somehow, despite all of the aptitudes that had earned him the title of mastermind, he'd convinced himself he wasn't worthy of the same - that because it was him, pack leader and Hunter Vanguard, he should shoulder the fallout alone. Not even Cayde had figured out how it worked, so Shiro wasn't about to try now.

“I'm fine. Just tired,” Shiro said, resigned. “Tev's been trying to help, in his own way.”

“I noticed.”

“He's a little aggressive about it.”

Andal huffed a laugh. “Just a little.”

His eyes drifted back to the door, and that grief flashed in them again, stark enough to make Shiro's heart turn. He leaned forward, took hold of Andal's shoulders, and pulled him into a crushing hug, and he didn't let go until that damned door finally opened and Cayde stumbled out, drowning in one of Shiro's many hooded sweatshirts, and fiddling with one of the strings you could use to tighten the hood. His pants, oddly enough, fit perfectly.

“Are you keeping stashes of your clothes in my apartment again?” Shiro asked, trying desperately for a bit of levity.

Cayde shrugged and jammed his hands into the hoodie's pocket. He avoided Shiro's gaze completely, but Shiro caught the quick, habitual scan he did of Andal. The expression he had when he realized he'd done it was oddly close to guilt. “Is Tevis gonna kill me if I don't eat his cooking?” he asked, rocking back on his heels and staring somewhere behind Shiro's head.

“He might.”

“Guess it's death by Tev's cooking, then.”

“You're just jealous because his food is better than yours.”

“It absolutely is not.”

The panicked vulnerability wasn't gone, only covered by a playful smile. It was Cayde's instinct to mask his pain with a joke and a grin, the same way Tevis deflected with a scowl and a jab, and Andal redirected with a gentle touch and a warm smile. Shiro knew that, he'd seen it a thousand times - and somehow, it never failed to make his chest ache. He gave Cayde a slight push toward the kitchen. “Go eat while it's hot.”

Cayde's gaze flickered to Andal again, before he tore it away and abruptly traipsed off to the kitchen with a sing-song, “Oh, Te-vis, Shiro said you're gonna make me eat your poison.”

Andal made a noise that was probably supposed to sound like a laugh, and came out as a miserable groan. He dragged a hand down his face. “I should go. Whatever's wrong, I'm making it worse.”

If Andal left, Cayde might implode. “Stay in here.”

“What?”

Shiro waved at the bed. “Sleep,” he said. “Give Tev and I some time to figure this out.”

Andal blinked at him skeptically. Still, when Shiro tugged the covers back, Andal moved to slide beneath them without complaint. Shiro took a minute to settle him in, then pressed a hand to his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Rest. I'll come and get you if we need you.”

If Andal heard him, he didn't respond. Shiro waited a moment, until he was sure Andal wasn't just faking relaxation, flicked off the lamp, and slipped out to join the others in the kitchen. Usually Cayde perched on a stool at the counter, balancing in increasingly convoluted ways while he steadily worked through his meal. Tonight, he was quiet at the table, stirring his food around his plate while Tevis sat across from him with his arms folded and pretended not to notice. Shiro slipped into a seat beside him.

“What happened to Andal?” Cayde asked, without looking up.

“I told him to rest. He had a hell of a day.” It wasn't what Cayde meant to have answered; he'd noticed the unhealed cut, too. But it wasn't like Shiro could explain that while he still seemed two seconds from bolting.

“Oh.” Cayde's eyes snapped to the open bedroom door with such a look of pained longing that it made Shiro's chest tight to see it. He stopped fiddling with the food on his plate, completely fixated, and completely unmoving. It was the same as when he'd first stepped through the door and hadn't been able to raise his arms to cradle Andal close: like he was afraid to, or not sure if he should, but he desperately wanted to anyway.

“You can go to him, you know,” Tevis pointed out, with an eyeroll. “Doubt he's even asleep yet anyway.”

Cayde's breath hitched. “Nope,” he forced out, past a weird little hiccup. His plate of ill-treated food regained his full attention. “Let him sleep.”

“You're just gonna sulk out here the rest of the night?”

“Nah, thought I'd head out after I eat.”

“Not with my hoodie, you don't,” Shiro cut in. “You still haven't returned the last one.”

Cayde clutched at the sweatshirt like he thought Shiro would actually try to wrangle it off him if he didn't have a tight grip on it. “They're comfortable.”

“If you leave, that stays.”

Cayde huffed at him. “Really not giving me a lot of choices here, are ya?”

“Eat,” Tevis reminded tiredly. “You're gonna have mush if you keep picking at it like that.”

“When did you become such a connoisseur?”

“Just eat your fucking dinner, Cayde.”

Cayde slumped in his chair. “Yeah,” he said, after a minute. “Sorry. Not happening. It's, uh, nothing wrong with the food.”

His gaze was locked on the bedroom doorway again. He tightened his grip on his fork, as if he could will himself to stay put that way, then opened his mouth and snapped it shut just as quickly. That strange guilt-ridden fear passed over his face for a second time. Shiro leaned forward to rest a hand on his wrist, so slowly and gently that it took him a solid few seconds to actually make contact after he started the motion.

Cayde stared at the touch like he wasn't sure if he should accept it. That kind of hesitation was an odd look on him. He was as tactile as they came: a hand on the shoulder here, an arm slung across the back there, always nodding off against whoever was closest. He'd never bothered with deserve , only with allowed . “Hey,” Shiro said, so quiet it was almost a whisper. “Something bad happen out there?”

Cayde didn't move: not to deny it, not to crack a joke, not to storm away, and not to collapse in on himself. What little Shiro could see of the glow of his eyes was sharp with panic. His jaw trembled. “Yeah,” he managed. “Something like that.”

“You wanna talk about it?” Shiro asked, and when Cayde glanced past him, tried, “You want me to get Andal?”

“I can't tell Andal,” Cayde exploded, a harsh and desperate whisper.

Shiro exchanged a look with Tevis, and smoothed a soothing circle against Cayde's arm with his thumb. The only sound between them was the hoarse rasp of Cayde's breathing, strangled and low, and the longer the quiet went on, the worse it got, until he tugged away to drop his head into his hands. “I should go,” he whispered. “This is my damn problem.”

“You've been making your problems my problems for centuries now,” Tevis scoffed. “The hell's one more?”

Cayde made a noise that was more sob than laugh, and Shiro settled an arm around his shoulders. “Was it the journals?”

Cayde's next inhale was higher and more ragged. “Yeah,” he croaked a long few moments later, and stopped to heave a nervous chuckle. “Was, uh, different, though. Never actually felt like I was - like it was me who…”

Shiro tightened his hold: not enough to spook him into bolting, only enough to ground him. He remembered with sickening clarity what he'd said to Tevis earlier, about Caydes one through five, and knew without having to ask that the tremors running down Cayde's spine were from his memories of someone else's nightmare. “It wasn't you,” he reminded.

“Felt like it was.” Cayde lowered his hands to look at them. They trembled, and he stared at them as if he expected them to be less unremarkable: to be scorched and battered and covered in blood. “This guy - this other me. Think he was a mercenary. Hurt a lot of people that didn't deserve it. I mean, a lot. He kept a log of all his jobs, too. The me that made the journal, he'd found it. And he put it in there. I think he was the one that started everything. All the record-keeping. All the notes for the next man, hoping he wouldn't turn out like the one before.”

Cayde stopped to draw a struggling breath. “Wasn't in the records, but when I read ‘em, I remembered. Like, really remembered. I don't know how long it was I was just sitting there. But this mercenary guy, he had a partner. Inseparable, for life kinda deal. I don't know what happened, exactly. If it was on purpose. I just know he killed him, the same as the rest.”

“Shit,” Tevis muttered, and Shiro tensed and braced, and saw him do the same: half a step ahead of Cayde’s recollection and already making the connection. His own chest was too tight. Cayde's breathing quickened. A staticky wheeze escaped him.

“It's not always the other me and his partner I see in my head,” Cayde forced, voice cracking and breaking in a rush. “It's me, and it's Andal. And he's dying, and I'm holding the knife, and I'm holding him, and his blood is…”

He flexed his fingers slightly, as if he was reminding himself they were clean, and not curled around a weapon. A choked sob wrenched its way out of his throat, and he curled in on himself while his shoulders heaved.

Shiro barely registered the soft pad of footsteps, but he knew it had to be Andal. So did Cayde. His head snapped up and around, and his fear-blown eyes locked on Andal, barely a few steps out of the bedroom.

“You been there the whole time?” Cayde whispered.

Andal shook his head. “I could hear you from the bedroom,” he answered, voice impossibly soft. He grimaced, and dragged a hand through his disheveled hair. “I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. It's just - you sounded like you were crying, and I couldn't just…”

His voice failed him, and he shrugged helplessly. When Cayde didn't move, Andal did, crossing the room and coming to a stop beside him. The whole way, Cayde's eyes never left him. For a long moment, all they did was look at one another, locked in some silent exchange that only they could understand. At last, Cayde raised a trembling hand and slowly, agonizingly, let it come to rest against Andal's cheek in the barest whisper of a touch.

“Sorry,” he said, punched out. “Meant to call you.”

Andal hesitated, then leaned into the warmth and lifted his own hand to press it atop Cayde's. “It's okay,” he returned, still with that impossible softness, and for all of the grief and pain written across Cayde's face, he melted at it. “You're home now. That's all that matters.”

Shiro squeezed Cayde's shoulders a final time and pushed himself to his feet to cede the space to Andal. No sooner had he moved than Andal was in Cayde's lap, holding and letting himself be held, smoothing his hands down his back and pressing their foreheads together and whispering quiet reassurance.

“They should still eat something,” Tevis muttered, from his new spot at the counter. Shiro slipped onto the stool beside him, and propped an elbow on his shoulder.

“They can eat in the morning. They're gonna have a hell of a conversation first.”

Tevis cast a glance at the clock, and then the window, where the faintest light of dawn was beginning to break the horizon. “It is morning.”

Shiro followed his line of sight blearily. “Oh. Right.”

Tevis glanced at Cayde and Andal, talking too lowly to be heard, and stood, pulling Shiro with him. “C'mon,” he said. “There's a market that's open at dawn.”

Shiro stared at him like he'd just said his dream was to be the next Hunter Vanguard. Fatigue sat heavy in every line of his frame. Go to a market at dawn? Sure, any other day. Right now, all he wanted to do was collapse in a quiet corner and sleep. Tevis knew that, he was sure, the same way he knew that if they stayed, Cayde wouldn't really talk to Andal about what had happened, and what he didn't say would fester like a wound. Better to give him the space now, exhaustion be damned.

Tevis's mouth twisted in faint regret. “Sorry,” he said, as he tugged him out the door. “You can pick a spot and stay there and I'll come back for you once I have everything.”

“I'm all right.”

“You're dead on your damn feet is what you are.”

“I'm staying with you.”

Tevis gave an exasperated sigh. That raw edge was back in his voice when he grumbled, “Fine, then keep up.”

Despite his words, Tevis led them through the quiet streets of the City at a leisurely stroll. The market was situated in an open square with a fountain in its center. Various vendors had set up shop around the perimeter, and while the walkways weren't packed yet, Shiro guessed they would be in a few hours. “You come here a lot?”

“Only when you get on my ass about not visiting enough.”

Shiro hadn't had to bother him about coming to see the rest of them in a long time, mostly, he guessed, because Tevis had finally begrudgingly admitted to himself that he missed them. Not that he'd say that. “Never pinned you as an early riser.”

Tevis snorted disdainfully. “Is it getting up early if you were never asleep?”

Shiro rolled his eyes. Tevis stopped suddenly to look over some fruit, and he only narrowly avoided knocking into him. “You like strawberries, right?” Tevis asked, scrutinizing the carton as though he expected there to be a tiny thrall tucked away in it, ready to attack.

Shiro shoved his head, lightly. “Yeah. So do Andal and Cayde. Stop looking at the fruit like that. It's not going to bite you.”

“Never said it was.”

“No, you make that damned face whenever you think something's going to attack you. I've seen you do it at Cayde, too.”

“I'm sure he deserved it.”

“Just get the damned berries, Tev.”

Tevis didn't argue on that point, at least, though he did shove the bag at Shiro after the fact. “Did you bring me along just to carry your stuff?” Shiro huffed, but took the bag anyway.

Tevis gave a low laugh and shook his head, and in the light cast by the sun's slow rise, he looked more at peace than Shiro could ever remember seeing him. The slight smile curling the corner of his mouth glowed with genuine warmth. There was still tension strung along his spine, and Shiro guessed maybe there always would be. Still, even so, this was miles from the bloodshot ghost of a man Tevis became when he spent too long on his own, running solo with nothing but the Void in his veins.

“It's good to see you like this,” Shiro said quietly.

Tevis tossed him a confused glance. “The hell are you talking about? I look the same as I always do.”

Relaxed. Happy. Safe with the people he cared about, and unwilling to admit it in the daylight under pain of death. “Nothing,” Shiro returned, trying to bite back the smile in his own voice. “Don't worry about it.”

Tevis arched an eyebrow at him, though he did let it be. “I meant to ask you before. You know what happened to Andal?”

“Someone tried to assassinate him with a corrupted blade. He dodged. They fought. He won. Apparently it's ‘nothing’.”

Tevis stopped dead in his tracks. “Fucking typical,” he groaned, and dragged a hand down his face. “What the hell?”

“That's what I said.”

“Bets on whether he tells Cayde?”

“If he doesn't, Astraea will.”

“Good. Someone's gotta get him to stop keeping that shit to himself.”

“You realize how that sounds, coming from you.”

Tevis gave an exaggerated huff. “Pain in the ass,” he said, and it was all warmth and fondness. He started walking again, and Shiro fell into step beside him. “You don't have to point it out every damn time.”

“Wouldn't feel right if I didn't.”

Tevis made a vague noise of amused acknowledgment, distracted by a vendor's fresh bread. He didn't talk again until they left that stall three bags heavier. His gaze had gone distant. “You think Andal'll get through to him?”

Shiro hummed. “If there's anyone that can, it's him.”

Tevis nodded agreeably, but there was a pinch to his brow that hadn't been there a moment ago. “Hell of a thing to go through.”

“He'll be okay, Tev.”

“I know.” Tevis was suddenly incredibly interested in a stand full of paintings and carvings. Shiro followed him around it for a while, until Tevis decided he'd spent a suitable amount of time avoiding the topic, and led them on. Shiro barely caught the flash of concern on his face, there and gone in a breath.

Shiro frowned. “What?”

Tevis didn't meet his eyes. “The memories,” he started, haltingly, like he didn't know if it was all right to ask. “The ones Cayde gets back when he reads those journals. You ever get anything like that?”

Nothing so intense or specific. Always scrambled. Sometimes cold. He was never sure if it bothered him or not. “No,” Shiro answered, after a beat. “Nothing clear. Why?”

Tevis inclined his head in his hack at an innocent shrug. “Just curious.”

“If I decide to start digging into my past, I'll leave the coordinates with Andal,” Shiro said dryly.

Tevis didn't answer for a long few moments. “Thanks,” he offered, avoiding Shiro's gaze again. “I mean it.”

Shiro clapped him on the back gently, and left his hand there, a grounding touch Tevis would, under other circumstances, shrug off with a scowl and a grumble. Today, he let it be without a word of complaint, and he didn't break his stride as he said, “Couple more things and we'll head back. They'll probably be done talking by then, and you can get some rest.”

Shiro followed him through the rest of the market, and then back along the waking City streets to his apartment. The lights were off inside, save the one in the kitchen. It cast enough of a halo to see Andal, curled up on the couch with Cayde wrapped protectively around him. “Hey,” Andal murmured, half awake, and with a content little smile. “Where'd you guys go?”

“To get breakfast,” Tevis said, voice pitched low and gentle as he toed off his boots. “Get some sleep. We can eat later.”

Shiro kicked his own shoes off and busied himself with storing their market purchases. Cayde had at least had the sense to put his unfinished food in the fridge, but had done so at such a haphazard angle that the container almost started an avalanche when Shiro moved it. He'd only just fixed it when Tevis's hands landed on his shoulders.

“Sleep,” Tevis ordered, maneuvering him to sit on the end of the couch. He left long enough to retrieve a pile of blankets from the closet, then meticulously tucked a few over each of them with intensely focused care. Cayde would have teased him about it if he had been more awake. As it was, he mumbled something that sounded vaguely like thanks. 

Shiro caught Tevis's wrist before he could slip by. “You too,” he reminded, and tugged, once, to get Tevis to sit on the other side of him, at the end, because it was convenient, but also because it would be the easiest place to slip out of if the contact was too much.

“I already slept for almost four days,” Tevis pointed out. Still, he offered no resistance, and once he was settled, he nudged at Shiro's arm until he lifted it and settled it around him.

Shiro pulled the blankets up over them, pillowing his head on the back of the couch, and immediately felt Andal's fingers curl loosely around the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Cayde flailed his hand around until Tevis leaned over to take hold of it with a deep and unconvincing sigh, and Shiro stifled a laugh. By Tevis's side-eye, he wasn't completely successful.

“All of you shut up and pass the fuck out already,” Tevis muttered, and closed his eyes.

Shiro didn't follow suit - not for a while, anyway. It had been too long since they'd been together in the same place. He'd never thought about how much he'd loved the constant proximity until he'd lost it: until Andal had gone up to the Tower, and Cayde and Tevis off on their own into the Wilds. This, though - this was close enough. He had all of them around him, safe from everything that was always threatening to take them away, and he could feel their constant weight and let the soft rhythm of their breathing bring him peace.

That was everything, and it felt like enough.

----

[beifongsss]

firebending [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Requested?: Yes! By a wonderful anon: “your zuko fics are all so well-written! I have a request for a firebender reader who hates the fire nation and was never trained in the art of fighting. then she/they join the gaang and learns firebending with aang from zuko. it’s awkward between them at first but cue ~ romance ~”

Summary: If someone told you that you’d end up dating the Fire Nation prince one day, you would’ve laughed in their face. If only you knew how right they were.

wc. ~5.2k

.masterlist.

~

When you first joined the Gaang, everyone expected you and Katara to hate each other. After all, you were from the Fire Nation and everybody knew Katara was the biggest anti-Fire Nation enthusiast there ever was.

They were quickly proven wrong when you didn’t fight against Katara’s harsh remarks, instead agreeing with them and even adding more scathing words of your own to show your distaste towards the Fire Nation. Since joining them, you never wore anything related to the Fire Nation. Nothing that is, with the exception of an elaborate hairpiece that your mother had left you. The hairpiece never left your body, the sunstone in the middle of it shining from its place on your head.

Escaping Ba Sing Se (and therefore the Earth Kingdom) had simultaneously been the best and worst thing that had happened to you. You were glad that Aang was alive, obviously, but being back in Fire Nation clothing was making you anxious.

Ever since the battle in the catacombs, you had been avoiding everyone. You had revealed your firebending in a panic, shooting a strong blast of fire at the banished prince as he snuck up on Katara. He had been taken off guard just long enough for you to subdue him before he realized that you didn’t know what you were doing.

There had been no time for Katara to question you after that. You had all fled and met up with her father, Hakoda, before seizing a Fire Nation ship to use as a disguise. As soon as you stepped foot on the ship, you had scrambled to an empty room and locked yourself inside. You had ignored Katara’s pleas for you to open the door, never once moving from your spot unless it was to use the bathroom or to get the tray of food that you knew had been placed at your door.

No one had known you were a firebender, and the initial shock eventually wore off as everyone found themselves missing your presence. It wasn’t until Aang woke up that you finally emerged.

~

“(Y/N)?” Sokka asked hesitantly, knocking softly on your door.

“Go away!” was the muffled reply that came from your room.

“Nope. I think Aang wants to see you.”

Sokka waited for a few seconds before the door swung open, reveling you standing there. You were wearing your Earth Kingdom clothes, trying to delay the inevitable. You looked up at him, making his heart hurt when he noticed the exhaustion in your eyes.

“Is he really awake?” you asked, your voice small. Sokka nodded.

“Hurry up and get changed. He’s on the deck.”

You nodded softly before closing the door. You opened it again a few minutes later, now dressed in red. As much as Sokka hated to admit it, you looked good in red. The Fire Nation was your home, after all. You followed him up to the deck, your finger nimbly twisting part of your hair into a knot big enough for your hairpiece.

“(Y/N)!” Aang yelled when you came into view. He launched himself at you and you caught him with a small “oof”. You giggled softly as you rubbed his head, making his hair stick up in all directions.

“Aang!” you cried in reply. “You have hair!”

Aang made a funny face at your words before fixing his hair. “Yeah, I guess I was out longer than I thought.”

You leaned down and swept the boy up into another hug, pulling him close as you held tears back. “I’m so glad you’re okay Aang. I don’t know what we would’ve done if you-”

“Don’t worry! Look at me, I’m fine!” Aang said, trying to make you feel better. He led you over to where everyone else was, Katara looking up and smiling softly as you glanced at her. “They also told me about your firebending! How come you never told us?’

You reeled back in shock, looking around wildly as everyone heard Aang’s word. When there were no negative reactions, you relaxed slightly.

“Everyone already knows huh?” you asked drily, being met with nods from everyone on board. You sighed and tapped your foot before speaking. “Okay, yes I’m a firebender. The reason I never told you guys is because I never wanted to use it. I was young when I fled and I never got a chance to learn anything other than the basics.”

Aang nodded in understanding. “But you could’ve built your skills that time we met Jeong Jeong.”

“No. After my family...” you trailed off, thinking about why you never became a master bender. Aang gave you an encouraging look and you breathed in deeply. “I promised myself I wouldn’t firebend ever again. Not after that.”

Aang nodded in understanding as you fell silent, thinking about your past. The Fire Nation was the reason why you had been all alone. They had killed your family with the weapon you now hated: firebending.

The silence engulfed the entire ship, everyone lost in their own thoughts. There was a peaceful atmosphere as the ship drifted along, but of course it didn’t last long.

Soon enough, you found yourself chasing after Aang, eventually being forced to hide in the Fire Nation as the Day Of Black Sun loomed closer and closer.

~

The promise that you had made to yourself to never firebend again was still intact. You hadn’t let any bursts of fire out, not even when you had found yourself surrounded by Fire Nation troops on the Day of Black Sun. The eclipse was a blessing to you, the brief eight minutes just long enough to make you feel normal.

Of course, you soon found yourselves fleeing to the Western Air Temple, silently mourning the loss the rest of the invasion army. Once you all settled in, you kept wearing the red top you had acquired in the Fire Nation. You don’t know why; it just brought you some type of comfort. Aang had grinned when he noticed, wondering if all your adventures in the Fire Nation had lessened your hatred towards the nation.

It had.

But not by much. Wearing the color red weighed heavily on your soul and you spent many of your waking hours debating whether or not keeping the red clothes was the right choice. It frustrated you to no end, how a simply piece of cloth could jumble your thoughts so easily. The red reminded you of the pain and grief you had experienced when you had lost your family, but in a twisted way it also reminded you of them. It reminded you of the days back when you still had them, back when you still had a home and you were happy. Deep down, you knew that you were Fire Nation but that knowledge didn’t stop your inner turmoil. And over the next few days, it only got worse with the arrival of a certain someone.

“Hello, Zuko here.”

You tried to hold back your groan, you really did. But it was as though the universe wanted to test you and had decided to do so by sending the Fire Nation prince your way. Zuko’s soft smile had dropped at your reaction, the corners of his lips quirking downward.

“Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so, I just thought I'd wait for you here,” he continued. Appa walked up to the prince and sniffed him before proceeding to lick him. Zuko’s face twisted up in disgust. “I know you must be surprised to see me here.”

"Not really,” Sokka said. “Since you've followed us all over the world!”

“Right,” Zuko said, wincing slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, uh, anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed, and I, uh, I'm good now, and well I think I should join your group, oh, and I can teach firebending to you. See, I, uh-”

“You want to what now?” you asked sharply, exchanging a look with Katara.

“You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?” she asked, opening her water skin. “I mean, how stupid do you think we are?!”

Zuko’s eyes shifted to you before he answered. “You trust her. She’s a firebender.”

Your eyes widened in anger and you began to march up to the prince, only stopping when Katara held you back.

“I am not, a firebender,” you hissed, staring Zuko down. “And I am not Fire Nation.”

Zuko stayed quiet, his eyes drifting from your red shirt to the hairpiece on your head. You followed his line of sight, eyes widening when you realized he was staring at the sunstone. You yanked your arm out of Katara’s grip, angrily stomping out of the room. You quickly stripped yourself of your red top as soon as you were out of sight before sighing deeply and pulling your hairpiece out. You arrived at the sleeping chamber and sat down on your sleeping bag quietly, holding the hairpiece in your hand tightly.

You stared at it sadly, the sunstone glinting in the dim light. Without hesitation, you pulled your arm back and flung it away, watching the sunstone glint in the sunlight as it rolled towards the edge. It was gone in a second, tumbling over the edge of the temple.

Now you were truly no longer Fire Nation.

~

Your life had just gotten ten times harder now that Zuko had been allowed to join the group. The defeat of Combustion Man had been intense and you had found injured when it was all over. Unlike Sokka, you had never been good with fighting, always relying on your intelligence to get you out of dire situations. With Combustion Man however, that proved to be a problem, and you had found yourself caught in the middle of a fight with no protection whatsoever.

In addition to the pain of your injury, you found yourself dealing with the prince’s presence. You found yourself avoiding the group entirely, taking on the more tedious chores (like laundry) to avoid spending time with the group and even hanging out with Haru, Teo, and The Duke as they explored the temple.

Tensions didn’t rise until a few days later, beginning when Aang approached you with an idea. After your tragic failure with Combustion Man, Aang believed that you needed to learn how to protect yourself and he thought that the right way to do that was by learning how to firebend. You had vehemently refused, accidentally yelling at the Air Nomad as everyone else watched in silence.

The argument was put on pause for a few days when Aang and Zuko traveled to the Sun Warriors’ ruins but when they came back, Toph had sided with him as well. You felt slightly betrayed by the small earthbender but still refused, stating that there was no way you would willingly learn how to firebend. At least you still had Sokka and Katara on your side.

At least you did until Sokka and Zuko took a trip to The Boiling Rock the next day. When they got back two days later, Sokka was on Aang’s side as well. The fight with Azula on the gondola had left him shaken as he realized just how hard it was to fight a bender with just a sword. You didn’t know how to use a sword, but you could firebend and so Sokka became one of Aang’s supporters. Katara was the only one who was still on your side, but that changed when Azula raided the temple.

Everyone had been woken up suddenly, reacting a bit slower than normal as Azula appeared. She immediately lunged at you, shooting blasts of blue fire as she stalked closer to you. Your eyes were wide with fear, dodging her attacks as much as you could.

“Watch out!” Zuko yelled, tackling you from the side, a pillar crashing down where you had been standing as a result of Azula’s lightning. You grunted softly as you landed, the breath leaving your lungs as Zuko landed on top of you. You opened your eyes immediately, meeting bright gold irises before they looked away as Zuko began to scan you for any visible injuries. Zuko’s hands rested on either side of your head as he tried to keep his weight off of you, not that it helped considering you were still struggling to catch your breath.

Or maybe you were struggling to catch your breath because of how close he was.

“Are you okay?” Zuko asked, drawing your attention back to him. Scowling, you threw him off of you before scrambling to your feet, rushing to help Katara when you heard her yelp. Zuko noticed Toph earthbend a tunnel into the side of the temple, and rushed to join the others. His eyes landed on you as you threw yourself to the side, narrowly dodging another one of Azula’s deadly blasts. The princess grabbed you by the hair, laughing maniacally before dragging you to the airships.

“What are you doing?” Aang yelled, noticing that Zuko had stopped in his path.

“Azula has (Y/N)!” Zuko replied, turning around and facing the airships. “I’m gonna go get her.”

Katara rushed to Aang’s side, exchanging a worried look with him before getting on top of Appa. The rest of the Gaang joined them, holding on tight as they tried to maneuver the sky bison through all the debris. 

Zuko ran and launched himself onto the airship, landing safely on top of one. He glared at his sister, noticing that she was still holding onto you.

“Let her go, Azula!” Zuko yelled, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Hmm, I don’t think I will,” Azula replied, the blue flame in her palm growing brighter as she held it up to your face. “I think I’ll get rid of her instead. Then I’ll get rid of you. I can’t wait to celebrate being an only child.”

She inched the flame closer to your face, prompting Zuko to shoot a fire blast near her head. Growling, Azula tossed you to the side before confronting Zuko. The two siblings fought for a few minutes and you tried your best to avoid any wayward blasts. The fight stopped when they both struck at the same time, the resulting blast blowing both of them backwards.

“Zuko!” you cried, sprinting to grab the boy before he fell. You managed to grab onto his hand but his momentum sent you both tumbling into the chasm, a scream getting stuck in your throat as you plummeted. You were so overcome with fear that you didn’t notice Zuko pulling you into him, holding you close as you fell.

The fall didn’t last long, Appa managing to swoop in and save the two of you. You sat quietly on Appa’s saddle, both you and Zuko watching Azula as she kept falling.

“She’s...not gonna make it,” Zuko said softly, his arms tightening around you slightly. You watched with wide eyes as Azula used firebending to propel herself to the cliffside, sliding down a bit further before she took out her hairpin and stuck it into the side of the cliff, effectively ending her fall. “Of course she did.”

The seven of you sat in silence for a few minutes before Katara spoke up, tears in her eyes as she looked at you. “(Y/N), seeing Azula capture you got me thinking. I think...I think that you should learn how to firebend. You need to know how to defend yourself.”

“And I think that you can let go of each other now,” Sokka said cheekily, trying to diffuse the tension that had settled upon the group at Katara’s words. You shimmied out of Zuko’s hold, walking up to the Water Tribe girl and looking at her in disbelief.

“You’re supposed to be on my side Katara,” you hissed, flinching when she tried to reach for your hand. Without another words, you walked away and took Appa’s reins. The rest of the flight was silent, everybody knowing that now was not the time to be chatty.

~

Once again, you had retreated from the group. It wasn’t exactly hard considering the fact that now it was Katara and Zuko who had disappeared, gone on a quest to find her mother’s murderer. After a few days, Zuko reappeared alone and you found yourselves traveling to Ember Island.

Upon your arrival, you made your way over to Katara, who was standing quietly on the deck.

“I heard what you did,” you spoke first. “I’m glad you didn’t kill him.”

“I couldn’t bring myself to do it,” she whispered back, still looking straight ahead.

“Why?”

She turned slightly, facing you before speaking. “It’s not in my nature to kill. I couldn’t bring myself to use my bending for that. I have the chance to prevent other’s from going through what I went through; from going through what you went through. I want to use my bending for good.”

You mulled over her words for a few seconds before sighing deeply and walking away. Aang watched you quietly as he walked over to Katara, his eyes widening slightly when you walked up to Zuko.

“Ok,” you said quietly, looking up at the prince. “Teach me how to firebend.”

Zuko’s eyes widened briefly before he crossed his arms and composed himself. “Tomorrow at dawn. Be ready.”

And ready you were. Every day. Firebending was a lot easier than you expected, and you found yourself breezing though the basics and the intermediate moves. It wasn’t until you got to the advanced moves that you began to have some trouble.

“No!” Zuko barked. “That’s not how it’s done. Again!”

Your eye twitched before you took your stance again, launching yourself into the move that you were currently working on. You sighed deeply when you realized you had done it wrong again.

“Wrong. Again.”

“If you’re so good at it then come and show me,” you snapped, fed up with his attitude. Zuko straightened up before walking over to you, motioning for you to take your stance once more. You rolled your eyes, blowing the hair out of your eyes before complying.

“I will,” he said, moving your arms into the right position. He walked around you and you opened your mouth to make another comment, stopping when his hand came around from behind and gently shut your jaw. “Don’t say anything.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as he spoke. He was closer than you thought, his lips brushing your ear as he spoke. You shivered when his hands landed on your back, fixing your posture before they made their way to your waist. He gripped your waist firmly, shifting you into position before leaning forwards slightly, whispering in your ear once more. “Do it again.”

Fighting a blush, you did as you were told. You chuckled breathlessly when you did it correctly this time, a blast of fire leaving your hand at the right moment.

“See? You did it,” Zuko said, a faint smirk on his lips. “You’re a natural.”

You bounced up to him, wrapping your arms around his neck in excitement. His arms immediately wrapped around your waist, enjoying the closeness of the hug. You leaned back slightly, meeting his eyes as you smiled cheesily. “It’s only because I have such a great teacher.”

The two of you walked back to the beach house, joking around after a long day of training. Upon entering the beach house, Katara pulled you aside. “(Y/N)! Thank goodness. I need your help in the kitchen!”

You gave Zuko an apologetic smile as you followed Katara, being met with an understanding nod as he went off on his own. Katara handed you a tray of cups, smirking slightly before speaking. “So, you and Zuko huh?”

“What? N-No,” you replied immediately.

“I’m talking about firebending. How’s that going?” Katara said, filling the cups with watermelon juice as she arched an eyebrow.

A bright blush spread across your cheeks as you realized what she was talking about. “O-Oh. It’s going great. Zuko’s been teaching me some advanced moves now!”

Katara hummed in reply, waving you away now that the cups were full. You headed out of the kitchen in a hurry, loosing your footing when you heard Katara speak yet again.

“I bet the next move he makes is gonna be on you.”

~

The conversation between you and Katara was basically forgotten as the days went by. 

Zuko had informed the Gaang about his father’s plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom, causing you all to worry greatly. In addition, Aang had disappeared overnight and all attempts to find him had been futile.

And that’s how you found yourselves following June and her shirshu as she led you to Ba Sing Se, where Zuko’s Uncle Iroh was supposed to be. You had been warmly welcomed by the Order of the White Lotus and Zuko and Iroh had made up, leaving you with only a day to plan out what you were going to do before Sozin’s comet arrived.

It was quickly decided that the Order of the White Lotus would stay behind and reclaim Ba Sing Se while Sokka, Suki, and Toph would set out to destroy the airship fleet. Zuko had asked you and Katara to join him in defeating Azula and although Katara had agreed immediately, you were a bit hesitant. Of course, Zuko noticed and he decided to confront you about it.

“(Y/N),” Zuko said, coming up to you when you were prepping Appa for the ride. Katara was a few yards away, giving the two of you privacy. You glanced at Zuko before climbing onto Appa’s saddle, the prince following closely behind you. “What’s wrong?”

“Zuko, I,” you paused, breathing deeply. “I shouldn’t go. I just started bending and what is something goes wrong? I don’t want to be a liability to y-”

“Hey,” Zuko whispered, ducking his head to make eye contact with you. “I meant what I said on Ember Island. You’re a natural. You’ll be fine.”

You sighed before hugging your knees to your chest. “I just can’t believe that I’m actually returning to the Fire Nation, even if it’s to help you reclaim your throne. I’m just glad that maybe under your rule, things might finally change.”

Zuko stayed quiet before standing up and reaching for his bag. He shuffled around for a moment before kneeling behind you, his fingers gently grabbing your hair.

“What are you-”

“Shh,” Zuko cut you off. “Give me a second.”

His fingers weaved through your hair, putting it up into a style you were all too familiar with. He was gentle with his actions, letting his hands fall to your shoulders when he was done. “There.”

You reached up, your fingers trembling slightly as they brushed over the sunstone that you had known your whole life.

“M-My hairpiece,” you gasped, tears springing to your eyes as you realized how much you had missed it. “How did you-”

“I found it at the Western Air Temple,” Zuko interrupted quietly. “It was after I came to you guys the first time. Katara sent me away and when I was walking under a balcony, it fell onto the ground. I recognized it so I picked it up. I assumed you would want it back at some point.”

Zuko fell backwards when you threw yourself at him, wrapping him up in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” you whispered, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his cheek. A tiny gasp escaped him and you pulled back, meeting his eyes as he stared down at you. The two of you stared at each other for a few tense seconds before you both leaned forwards rapidly, your lips meeting in the middle.

Maybe it was a spur of the moment decision, kissing Zuko. Maybe it was due to to the anxiety bubbling up in you, your emotions hard to control as you prepared to end of the war in one way or another. Or maybe, it was simply two teenagers too shy to tell each other how they felt, finally sharing a tender moment.

“So, are we ready to go?” Katara asked. The two of you sprung apart, blushes on both of your faces as the Water Tribe girl smirked at you. Zuko nodded and you looked away, taking your place at Appa’s reins.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Yip yip.”

~

The fight had been a blur to you. You didn’t remember much other than the fact that Zuko had taken a bolt of lightning meant for you. After Zuko had been injured, you and Katara had teamed up to take Azula down. She had challenged you to an Agni Kai after striking Zuko and you had accepted in order to lure her away from his body. To say she had been surprised when you actually fought back with fire was an understatement.

With Katara’s help, you managed to chain her to an old grate before rushing over to aid Zuko. After Katara had done all she could, you helped Zuko into the palace where he had been taken to the infirmary. You hadn’t seen him since.

You had however, met back up with Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Suki. They informed the two of you of what they had done and in turn you had told them about Zuko’s injury. They were all worried about him but after hearing that Katara had healed him, they were slightly relieved.

The next time you saw the prince was on the day of his coronation. Some of the palace guards had come for you, stating that Zuko was requesting your presence. You felt your heart jump into your throat as you nodded, allowing them to lead you through the palace until you came to a pair of gilded doors.

“He’s in there,” one of the guards said. “Would you like us to announce your arrival?”

“No, it’s fine. I can just knock,” you said meekly, causing the guards to smile amusedly. You bowed shortly to them before turning to face the door, gently knocking and waiting for a response.

“Come in!”

The door swung open at your touch and you awkwardly stepped inside, still standing near the doorway as your gaze landed on Zuko.

“Close it,” he said, his voice quiet yet rough. You complied, stepping aside and shutting the door before inching closer. He was shirtless, thick bandages covering his torso. Covering the new scar he had earned because of you. He turned around, his face softening when his eyes met yours.

“Hey,” he said softly, his eyes scanning you for injuries the way he did back when Azula raided the Western Air Temple.

“Hi, how are you?” you squeaked, shuffling awkwardly. You winced at your words, blushing in embarrassment as Zuko’s lips quirked up. He walked over to his bed before picking up the shirt he was going to wear.

“I’m fine. How are you?” he asked, a teasing smile on his lips as he began to put it on. His smile dropped as he moved too harshly, pain shooting through his torso as he struggled to pull the fabric on.

“Spirits! Be careful,” you said, all embarrassment leaving you as you rushed forwards and took the shirt from his hands. “Here, let me.”

You helped him slide one arm in before slipping it over his shoulders and guiding his other arm in as well. You grabbed the belt used to hold it in place before standing in front of him. Your breath caught in your throat as you eyed the bandages, guilt settling in your stomach as you softly placed a hand on his chest. Zuko’s hands automatically went to your waist, pulling you closer to him as he stared at you worriedly.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, still looking at his chest. “This was my fault.”

“Hey,” Zuko replied, one of hands leaving your waist to lift your chin. You shivered softly at the action, your eyes finally meeting his bright gold ones. “It wasn’t your fault. Azula shouldn’t have done it in the first place. She challenged me to an Agni Kai, not you.”

“You should’ve let it hit me,” you said, looking at him sadly. “I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if Katara hadn’t been there. Zuko, you could’ve d-”

Your eyes widened and your words died on your throat when Zuko leant down, softly pressing his lips to yours. The hand that was still on your waist wrapped around you, pulling you closer as Zuko kissed you gently. He began to pull away after a few seconds, noticing your lack of response. Mentally kicking yourself, you began to kiss back, closing your eyes as you wrapped your free arm around his neck to keep him close. Zuko couldn’t help but smile at your response.

“I took that hit because I love you, (Y/N),” Zuko whispered, finally pulling away and leaning his forehead against yours. “I couldn’t let Azula hurt you.”

“Zuko, I-I love you too,” you confessed, your eyes still closed. Suddenly, you pulled away before gently swatting his head. “But that doesn’t make what you did any less stupid.”

“Hey! I saved your life!” he exclaimed, rubbing his head.

“I know,” you said, rolling your eyes before hugging him close once again. “And I love you for it. But never, and I mean never, do that again.”

“No promises,” Zuko replied, guiding your lips to his once more. This kiss was different, full of trust and love and peace.

You pulled away reluctantly, fixing his shirt and looping the belt around him before taking his hand. “Now let’s go. You have a coronation to get to.”

Zuko stopped for a second, pulling you back to him as he looked at you uncertainly. You looked up at him curiously, prompting him to speak.

“Are you-” Zuko stopped abruptly, trying to get his thoughts in order. “Will you stay with me? Here? Even after everyone else leaves?”

You hesitated for a split second, remembering everything that you had suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation. You opened your mouth to reply, looking up to meet Zuko’s gaze. You faltered for a moment, taking in the way he was looking at you. Here in front of you stood the crown prince, the very symbol of the nation that you had spent the majority of your life hating. But he was also just a teen, and he was willing to put in the work to fix the Fire Nation’s past mistakes.

Your heart swelled in your chest as you thought about the golden-eyed boy , and everything he had done to help the Avatar. Because of him, the Fire Nation now had a chance at redemption, and you knew it wouldn’t be easy to undo centuries of imperialism and pain. Especially not when it was so deeply rooted in the nation. And so you answered his question, confident that you were making the right decision.

“Of course I’ll stay, Zuko. And I’ll be here to help you every step of the way.”

~

taglist!

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[inknopewetrust]

Manipulate Me

Summary: As Peter travels Europe as a normal kid, the world’s peril throws a wrench in his plans. With you by his side chaperoning the trip as an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D agent, the mysterious introduction of Quentin Beck leaves you breathless. 

Pairing: Quentin Beck/Mysterio x Fem!Reader 

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: None! 

A/N: Thanks so much for requesting this @mrs-blooooom​ ! I had a great time writing for Quentin Beck again. For context, reader is Peter’s older sister but also happens to be a shield agent (it was the easiest route of explanation as to why she would be meeting with Fury and Maria Hill). Requests are currently OPEN and you can check out who I write for in my request guidelines tagged in my bio. Thanks for reading! :) *gif not mine* I do not own any of the dialogue from the film. 

“May-” 

“-And don’t forget the passports! Oh! The passports!” 

“May!” 

May stopped scrambling around the apartment only to find that you had the two passports already in your hand. The tired aunt pushed her disheveled hair out of her face, pushing her glasses back up her nose, and slowly calming down. It was fine... Peter had you, Peter had all his friends, Peter would be fine in Europe. 

“Everything is going to go fine. I’ll be with him at all times and if he decides to wander off and do his Spiderman stuff––well then I’ll just have to call in some Avengers to stop him.”  

“I trust that you’ll be able to keep him out of trouble if it comes down to it.” May picked up Peter’s suitcase off the floor and listened to his heavy footsteps draw down the hallway and into the living room where you had gathered with her. 

“All ready?” He asked with those inquisitively wide eyes that reminded you so much of your mom. May handed him the suitcase but not before capturing the boy in a tight hug. Her “motherly” instincts grew since she returned from the blip. It was strange without the two of them. You, stuck here in New York without a leader in either Fury or Tony and the remaining members of S.H.I.E.L.D, Avengers and then the developed Sword, were left to pick up the pieces and build a life without them. That was the most difficult part. 

“Promise me that you won’t get into any trouble?” May asked Peter who in reply rolled his eyes with a chuckle. 

“It’s just a school trip. Besides, Y/n is going to be there and I’m sure she’s told you a million times that she can keep me in check.” You smacked the side of his head but he just ignored you and turned to the door, opening it with a rough pull with his spider-y force. 

“We’ll see you in a few weeks, May!” 

If you were able to take back all the words you said and never go to Europe, you would ask Stephen Strange to reverse time. 

Venice was a mess. The water-creature-man-thing...? had erupted the small city into a chaotic terror with locals and terrified students trying to find cover. Peter was somewhere flying with webs while another hero whom you had never seen before was assisting him. After a few minutes of trying to guide a group of students to safety, you secured cover underneath an awning in front of a store. 

“Ms. Parker! What do we do!?” Flash was almost in tears from fear which you couldn’t help but judge. It was water? the kid survived Thanos’ snap so he could survive this. Not to mention Fury would have your ass if any of the kids died on your watch. 

Out of nowhere the ground started to fill up with water and cracking of concrete or bricks began echoing throughout the small courtyard you trapped them all in. The green man came swooshing in with a cloud of smoke, almost like an illusion, and stopped the water with the sheer force of his magical abilities. The creature reformed into what looked like a water man and the green man dodged the attack with made the sound of bricks tumbling increase in intensity. Suddenly, the tower to your right began crumbling and you pulled as many students as you could closer to the building you sought shelter next to. 

“Get back! Get back!” 

“Who is that guy!?” Jason, one of the students shouted out but you couldn’t answer the question because you didn’t know. 

“I don’t know, but he’s kicking that waters ass.” Brad voiced exactly what you would have said. 

The green man continued to fight the water as the tower crumbled beside you all and then, like the blink of an eye, the monster was gone and the water scattered, soaking your shoes with a safety that was much welcomed. The man landed to sounds of cheering from the students and locals that found themselves in the same spot as you. But something was different. 

Maybe it was the fact that you couldn’t see his face, or maybe the fact that you had never heard of this hero and you literally worked for the agency that worked with them all. Maybe he wasn’t from this world? Space? Another universe? You could have sworn that you heard of the idea of a multiverse. 

But maybe it was the fact that beneath all that smoke and mirrors that made up the helmet of the mysterious man, it felt as though when he looked around at his admiring fans, his eyes trained on you, staring through your soul with some feeling that wasn’t welcomed or unwanted either. Intrigue, that’s what it was. And when he flew off, everyone was left with a curiosity that sparked a great debate throughout the entire world. Who was this man? 

Well, the T.V. at the hotel identified him as Mysterio. Peter managed to make it back in one piece which you were able to celebrate in a brief moment outside before the voices of interested students and the television interrupted the moment. Betty and Ned were searching every website for some kind of clue but nothing other than what the news reported was to be taken as fact. It wasn’t aliens, it wasn’t witches, it was just another hero. 

So that was what you went with. That was until you opened your door to Fury sitting in a chair next to the window. 

“Oh my God!” You shrieked and Fury laughed, laughed, at you. 

“You scare too easy.” 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were in spa-” 

The slight reveal of a green hand made you shut up. "Fury” tilted his head with a slight “Ah, well.” 

“Is this about that Mysterio guy?” 

“We’ve got him at a site. Says he’s from another Earth and that these creatures destroyed his own and intend to destroy this one too.” 

“Another Earth? So, the multiverse.. it’s real?” 

“Fury” didn’t respond to that, but he simply rose and gestured over his shoulder to the window. 

“There is a car outside. Go and wait in it while I go get Peter. The big man told me I need to scare the kid.” You smiled at the thought as the man left to go retrieve your brother. 

You had been part of the world of superheroes far longer than Peter had. You had been there when Loki first attacked New York way back when and that seemed like so many years ago. With the blip, it seems like an entire eternity. Nick never let you in on his secrets of his relationship with Carol Danvers, but you had met the Skrulls when you went on a mission three months ago to visit Monica Rambeau in space. Unlike her, you weren’t blessed with some badass powers, though she didn’t always have them. 

Peter looked terrified walking out to the car and when he saw you inside, he breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t be alone. The site of S.H.I.E.L.D in Italy wasn’t far from where you had all taken up residence for the last day or two, but it was secluded, down in the catacombs of old buildings that no one would suspect. It reminded Peter of a Mission Impossible movie that you had watched with him before the two of you left for Europe, he felt more like a spy than a superhero in that moment. 

As you walked behind the two down the long corridors of the abandoned treasure that was used as a make-shift S.H.I.E.L.D, you were surprised to see Maria at a computer, though now knowing about Fury, you were sure it wasn’t even her. The center of the room was filled with scattered agents who you weren’t familiar with and then a projection in the middle of the room, along with the man without the helmet. 

You weren’t one for fawning over men. Jesus, you worked with Thor sometimes and while you were aware of his Godly looks, you never gawked. But this man, he wasn’t a God, he was just naturally beautiful. Dark hair, blueish-gray eyes that surely did pierce your soul, and a stature of a man who knew how to carry himself with power in the world. It was like he walked out of your dreams and into reality. 

“This is Mr. Beck.” Fury introduced you and Peter to the man. Mr. Beck approached Peter with a small smile and held out his hand. Peter looked nervous but responded with his own shake. 

“Mysterio?” 

“What?” 

“It’s just what my friends were calling you.” 

“Well, you can call me Quentin. You handled yourself well out there today. I saw what you did with the tower. We could use someone like you on my world.” 

Peter looked puzzled but Quentin looked behind the boy to you. He held out his hand with another smile which you returned. Maybe there was a shock when you touched hands, but you were sure it was just your imagination. 

“Y/n Parker, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” 

“It’s good to meet you, Y/n.” 

“Likewise.” 

Did time rush by faster when you were in the presence of someone you were obviously attracted to? Yes, because before you knew it, the night was over, and Fury was leading you and Peter back out to the car. Peter was absolutely smitten with Quentin and could hardly break conversation. The man gave the attention to Peter like Tony did. It was like life imitating itself in another time. Quentin reminded you so much of Tony. Smooth with words, handsome, gifted in almost an unfair way, and he took an interest in the last piece of close family you had. You wanted nothing more than for Peter to have a figure in his life to give him a positive purpose. With Tony gone, he’s struggled trying to find his niche again. 

“See you, kid.” Quentin looked disappointed but hopefully that his and Peter’s paths would cross again one day, even with Peter trying to avoid being identified by his class or the world. At some point, someone would figure it out if they hadn’t already. 

“Yeah, see you.” Peter said as he walked out, following Dimitri, who Fury ordered to keep Peter in check with you. You were more than capable of doing it yourself but for some reason, Fury felt the need to send another agent. 

“Good luck, Quentin.” You told him and he nodded his head, glancing at the holographic map of Venice next to him. 

“I fear I’ll need it. But I’m hopeful that the good luck will be for more than just winning this fight.”

Swoon. That’s what you did for the remainder of the night and into the early morning. You couldn’t sleep a wink after the revelations that Quentin relayed to you and Peter about the elementals. That worried you too. How in the world was Peter supposed to sit by while other heroes with indisposed and couldn’t help? Sam and Bucky were on their own missions, Carole and Monica were off, Stephen and Wanda were no use and Thor was off on his own adventures with that team of riff-raffs from space–you know, the one with the talking tree. 

But somewhere in all the jumble of thoughts, the scenery of the canal that had been a scene of something far different, calmed the noise. Enjoy the trip. This was the first time in years that you had traveled for something other than work and yet it was still filling every thought and moment. The thoughts were so loud and invasive that you didn’t register the person coming up to your right, ready to take the bag off your shoulders. You felt the tug and turned around, ready to punch the person but they dogged it, pulling it off your shoulder. It was a game of tug of war for the bag, but the person was strong. 

“Let go! I said let go!” You pulled as hard as you could, therefore the bag came flying back to you and its contents spread across the sidewalk. The person glanced at the wallet on the ground and then back at you before you both dove to the ground. They grabbed it first and you tackled them to the ground. Wrestling with grunts and yells, you hadn’t noticed the audience of one that rushed to help. A blast of green light shot the person off of you and you clutched the wallet to your chest tightly, trying to reel in your ragged breath. 

“I heard yelling from my hotel...” The hero started only to realize that it was you and with a turn of your head, you had realized it was him, Quentin. 

“Oh! Are you alright?” He extended a hand, which you readily took to stand. He then helped collect the scattered items and put them back in the now ripped bag before handing it back to you. 

“I’m fine. Thank you.” 

“It’s no problem.” There was a brief, awkward lull but you weren’t sure what else to say. 

“So, do you always wander around at night in a city you don’t know?” It was an icebreaker, a line that he knew would make you at least chuckle. 

“No... I just had a lot on my mind. What you told us in there–it’s a lot of information to retain.” 

“I’m sure an agent like you could handle it though.” You smiled bashfully at the compliment. Quentin gestured over his shoulder and shoved his hands in his pockets. You realized he wasn’t wearing his uniform anymore but just a pullover sweater and some dark jeans. How he shot the green light in the first place you didn’t know, but all heroes worked a little differently you suppose. 

“Would you like to take a walk? I promise I won’t try to steal your wallet.” 

“How do I know I can trust you?” The conversation was so light, and carefree that for the first time in a long time, you felt like a normal person. Quentin returned your cheeky smile and began walking. 

“I’m pretty sure a woman like you could figure out who trust and who not avoid. Isn’t that what they train you for? Agents?” 

“I suppose so, yes.” 

“Can I ask you something?” You asked Quentin and he looked at you with a nod of his head. 

“How did you know the elementals would turn up in our Earth?” 

“Intelligence. My wife, she had worked for our version of your agency. Before they came to destroy our city, one had already manifested itself in Mexico. It was as if there would be a pattern to follow. So when she passed, I used her intelligence to figure out where they might be, which led me here.” 

“I’m sorry for your loss.” 

“Thank you, it’s been some time now. She would be glad to see Peter helping me, and you helping out with the cause.” 

“Peter really took a liking to you. I could see it in the way he could barely contain himself.” You laughed, changing the heavy subject to one more light. 

“He’s a good kid. You’re related I assume?” 

“My little brother.” 

“You should be proud of him. He is doing a lot of good for the world. I just wish he was more confident in his abilities to realize identity protect isn’t everything.” 

Quentin was right, it wasn’t everything. But it was more than identity for Peter. It was also no Tony to lead the way, his want to be a normal kid, his need to have friends and well, MJ to like him. But neither of you would know what it was like to be a teen hero, that was a lot of unneeded pressure. 

“It seems that I brought you around full circle.” The sound of Quentin’s voice broke the silence and the realization that you were outside the barely standing hotel. You sighed and tugged the bag on your shoulder. 

“Thanks for saving the day, Mysterio.” 

“Anything to help protect Agent Parker.” 

If you hadn’t just met him a few hours ago, you would have asked him to come upstairs but that was far too forward for the world you created for yourself, so you extended your hand as he had earlier. 

“May our paths cross again.” 

He grasped your hand tightly and agreed. 

“Hopefully under better circumstances.” 

You watched then as he walked away, unaware of the man underneath the facade of Mysterio. How he already knew who you were, knew all your secrets, and was ready to manipulate you to take down the institution that denied him success so many years ago. 

[tchallasbabymama]

All For Us Chapter 9

Hey y’all, thanks for being patient with me on this one, but it’s finally done! Not to be the bearer of bad news or anything, but there’s only one chapter left (and maybe an epilogue) on our journey with Mira, Erik, and Cupcake. If you’re just here for Killmonger, I have a couple Erik oneshots heading y’all’s way in the next few weeks. Also, check out The Temple. 😉

As always, don’t forget to look at my masterlist to read my other stories and oneshots, and let me know if you want to be tagged in anything. Like, comment, and reblog away! 🥰

CW: a little smut

Word Count: 6,481

Erik’s eyes flew open as he bolted upright through the sand that covered his body in his temporary grave. He was in the heart of the temple where the Black Panther ceremony took place, the City of the Dead. The lost prince pulled himself from the sand and brushed the clay-colored sediment from around his eyes as he climbed the stone staircase leading up into the garden of the heart-shaped herb. When he made it to the top, Erik took a deep breath before stepping into the garden. To his surprise, nothing caught on fire like in his previous dreams. His shoulders relaxed as he took another step into the garden, and another, and another until he was face to face with Bast’s statue. A smile took over his face as he knelt at her feet.

“Took you long enough, Jaguar.”

Erik lifted his head, and her celestial glow nearly blinded him as he laid his eyes on the panther goddess once more.

“Long enough for what?”

“For your senses to come back, obviously.” Bast circled him and laid down, licking her paw. “Pretty soon, you won’t have to be asleep to talk to me.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Oh, I had nothing to do with it.”

Erik turned to face her and sat back on his heels.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I never took them away. You did.”

“I’m not following.”

“Your guilt blocked your senses, Erik,” she sighed. “You had been holding onto pieces of it, but you finally let it go.”

“I felt guilty for ruining our marriage,” Erik mused aloud.

“But you didn’t, so congratulations,” she said nonchalantly. “That’s not why you’re here, though.”

“Ok, what’s up?”

Bast chuckled at his informality.

“Last time we spoke, I said I would need you to do something for me. I’ve finally made up my mind as to what that is.”

Erik sat with bated breath as he waited for his assignment. For a moment, he was reminded of his military and mercenary days, except this time, he was being given a mission from a goddess. His goddess.

“As you know, Wakanda has never had a Golden Jaguar before. You are an anomaly, but that is a good thing.” She stood up and started walking, making him rush to his feet to follow after her.

“It is?”

“Yes. You know, the good thing about cycles is that with destruction comes rebirth…change. You’ve forced Wakanda to change, and you’ve forced me to think some things over. Truthfully, after the little stunt you almost pulled, I did think about removing your powers. I don’t need to preach about it, though, since you already know all about your wrongdoings, but I heard what you said about your people. We have neglected them, and for that, I have no words of apology that would adequately ease your pain. The Lost Tribe, as my people have come to call you, needs a champion. Wakanda already has theirs, but since you seem to rather enjoy toying with colonizers, I have an assignment for you.”

Erik’s ears were trained on Bast as he hung on every word she said. He walked next to her as they made their way through the catacombs towards the temple’s entrance.

“Before you came to Wakanda, you were involved with Klaue and his hunt for vibranium. Your vast knowledge of African and diasporic artifacts combined with your training makes a great equation for what I need you to do.”

“Which is?”

“I want you to act as the Golden Jaguar on the Lost Tribe’s behalf. I recognize that as just one person, you can only do so much, which is why I will talk to T’Challa about you heading his Wardog program. I would like for you to have an army of spies at your disposal to act instead of just watch and report as they have done in the past.”

“So basically what I wanted to do before but without the world domination?”

“Precisely,” Bast chuckled and stopped walking at the door to the temple.

“Ok,” Erik thought on it as a smile crept up his cheeks. “I’ll do it.”

“I knew you would. I think you’ll like my first assignment. Well, second. First, you need to stop avoiding the City of the Dead in your waking life. You need to go visit the garden.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Erik said, his nerves twisting in his gut at the thought of actually stepping back onto the sacred land.

“Now, my second assignment: artifact reclamation. Instead of searching for vibranium, which you might find, I want you to return items to their rightful owners.”

“So, stealing,” Erik deadpanned.

“Yes, but for a good cause. I will let you work out the details, but the point is to return the power to the people by building them back up, brick by brick. They were separated from their gods, so the Ancestors and the Orishas are working on bringing them back to us spiritually. They are still working on getting other spirits and pantheons on board...alas, my brother and sisters are choosing to take a more passive approach.” She sighed. “The Lost Tribe was taken from the land, so T’Challa has already spearheaded initiatives to build up other African countries that need his assistance and bring the Lost home to the continent. Now, I need you to bring our belongings home. Our thrones, our art, our history. Take it back. Bring it back to its rightful place.”

“I’m with it, but, um...how am I supposed to do this without getting caught? If shit just starts disappearing en masse, somebody’s gonna notice.”

“They won’t disappear. The colonizers won’t even know they’re gone.” Bast flicked her tail mischievously. “Your wife designs kimoyo beads, does she not?”

“Well, yeah-”

“And your cousins are scientific geniuses, correct?”

“Yes…”

“Then I’m sure that between all of your big beautiful brains, you can figure out a way to make replicas of the artifacts.”

“Why does that compliment feel like an insult?”

“I like you, Jaguar,” The goddess chuckled. “Now go enjoy your time with your wife.” She winked at Erik as she nudged him out into the brightness shining from outside the wide-open temple doors. Erik returned to consciousness, and he was shocked by the feeling of Mira’s mouth traveling up and down his shaft.

“Fuck, girl. This how you waking Big Daddy up now?”

She popped her head off his tip, and he groaned at the sight of a bridge of spit still connecting her to him.

“Good morning, baby.”

“Mmmm, good morning to you, too,” he grabbed her loose curls that she had forgotten to tie up the night before. The silk sheets kept her hair soft and bouncy as her hair spilled over his fist while it rested at the back of her head. He pulled her in for a kiss, and then she went right back to taking him down her throat. “You’re gonna make me nut all down that throat, Princess.”

Mira’s hand cupped and massaged his ballsack while she sucked on his bulbous head. Her tongue swirled around the tip, and her other hand traveled up and down his length, making his toes curl.

“Fuuuuck, you remember just what Big Daddy likes. Imma bust a fat ass nut, girl,” Erik groaned through gritted teeth. Mira giggled at her control over him and continued to work his dick. Her nose reached his pelvis as she took him down her throat, and he came with such force that she almost choked. Almost.

When she pulled off of him, she tongue-kissed his tip before sitting back on her haunches and wiping her mouth. “How’d you sleep?”

Erik let out a breathy laugh, “Like the dead.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t feel me moving. You were out cold.”

“That’s because I was talking to Bast.”

“What’d she say this time?”

Erik sat up against the headboard and motioned for her to come to him. Mira crawled up his body and straddled him, sliding down on his dick so that they were connected as deep as they could be. They had always been like this; whenever they needed to have a serious conversation, Erik would set her in his lap and have her take all of him. They both reveled in the connection they had in that moment, and even in their stillness, their united bodies responded to each other as the words fell from his lips.

“She wants me to be the Golden Jaguar officially,” he said as he kissed down from Mira’s ear to her shoulder.

“What does that mean?” Mira asked, barely above a whisper.

“She wants me to be a champion for us, the Lost Tribe. Wakandans have T, so I’ll be protecting the rest of us with the Wardogs.”

“How, though? That’s so many people.”

He came up from kissing between her breasts to look her in the eyes. “Well, remember how I told you about the museum heist to get the vibranium?”

Mira nodded.

“She wants me to steal artifacts from museums and shit and return them to where they were stolen from.”

“That sounds right up your alley,” Mira snarked, and he tickled her sides, making her pussy clench around him, and he let out a groan at the feeling. He grabbed her hips and moved them back and forth.

“It is. I can’t do anything until I visit the garden of the heart-shaped herb, though.”

“Why?” she moaned.

“I’ve been avoiding it,” he sighed.

Mira pulled him into a kiss and cycloned her hips as she wound on him. “Do you need to go alone, or do you want me to come with you?”

He connected their foreheads as he pushed his hips forward into her, and she called out his name.

“I need to go alone.”

Their hips ground into each other as the sexual energy inside them built up slowly and erupted through their bodies. Erik placed kisses all over Mira’s face and neck as she caught her breath from the intensity of her orgasm.

“How about I make breakfast?” Erik asked, and Mira simply nodded and kissed him. She moved to get up, but he held her down. “Nah, I didn’t say right now.”

After another round, the two of them separated from each other, if only because of the rumbling of their bellies. They showered together, and Erik couldn’t help himself from bending her over and eating her pussy and ass from the back. Pretty soon, he was balls deep inside her again, and when he came all over her cheeks, he about keeled over from the way the orgasm shook through his body.

“Aight, I need a break,” Erik said, and the two of them shared a laugh as they finished their shower without any more funny business.

“Can I have one of your t-shirts?” Mira asked as they slathered themselves in shea butter.

“You can have anything you want, Princess. MIT or Navy?”

“MIT please,” she cheesed at him.

“Coming right up.”

Erik left the room and returned with his maroon-colored MIT t-shirt. The same one she wore the first time she stayed over at his apartment back in the day. He knew it was her favorite and the look on her face when he handed it to her was priceless. She quickly shimmied into it while he slid on a pair of sweatpants that left little to the imagination.

The two of them relocated to the kitchen, and Mira toyed around with her latest kimoyo design on her tablet while Erik got to work on breakfast.

“That a new one?” he asked, nodding towards the design hovering over the counter.

“Yeah, I haven’t gotten it to work right, though,” she grumbled as she stared at it. “I want it to be able to apply cloaking tech to whatever it touches, but so far, I can only get the bead to disappear.”

Erik listened to her complain about her failed design for a little while, and when she was done, she turned off the tablet and hopped up on the counter.

“Anything I can do?” Mira asked

“Mhm,” he came over and stood between her legs, placing a sloppy kiss on her lips. “Just sit there looking fine as hell.”

“I’m serious,” she smiled.

“So am I,” he said incredulously with a hand over his heart, making her chuckle at his dramatics.

“Fine, I’ll be your muse.”

“And my guinea pig. Here, try this.”

Erik lifted the spoon to her lips so she could taste the yam hash he had been working on, and her eyes bugged out of her head.

“I forgot you turn into Top Chef after sex.”

“Gotta feed my woman,” he kissed her cheek and cracked a couple of eggs sunny-side up in the skillet.

Mira giggled, and an idea struck her. She reached back for her tablet again and pulled up her latest work in progress, a story about a decades-long whirlwind romance that she had gotten stuck on. All she needed was a little inspiration, and Erik ended up being just what she needed.

He watched his wife type away with a smile on his face. Erik loved watching her work; the look of determination on her face was always so endearing to him. She’d bite her lip and squint her eyes as she tried her best to focus on the task at hand. Erik always thought it was adorable.

The smell of fresh vegetables coming in contact with hot oil filled the air, and Mira’s mouth started to water. She looked up from her work to see what Erik was doing but got distracted by his body. She watched his sinewy muscles moving beneath his textured skin, and a chill went down her spine.

“What the fuck is that?” Erik sniffed the air, following the sweet scent that had just wafted from out of nowhere.

“What’s what?” Mira asked, swinging her legs back and forth.

He turned to face her, and his pupils blew wide as the smell hit him again.

“It’s you,” he turned off the burner and stalked over to her, standing between her legs again and placing his nose in the crook of her neck. He inhaled her scent and let out a growl.

“What is that?”

“My bodywash?”

“Nah, it’s you. What-” he cut himself off when it dawned on him. When he was king for a day, he only smelled fear from those around him. Fear smelled like decay, it smelled rotten, but this was the exact opposite. It was enticing, like the most beautiful forbidden garden, and Erik knew exactly what it was. Her arousal. He bit into her neck, making her moan out as he ground his hips into hers. The aroma grew, and Erik’s composure slipped away the more he inhaled it.

“E-erik, the food.”

He took a deep breath as he stood to his full height. “I can smell when you want me.”

“What?!”

“I wonder if it’s different for every person...shit, I wonder if I can smell other people. I hope not-”

“What are you saying? You can tell when I’m horny?”

“I guess so. I only smelled fear before, but it makes sense. I’m just caught off guard because it hit me out of nowhere, like last night.”

“What happened last night?”

“I could hear your heartbeat.”

Mira’s face lit up, “That’s good, though, right? It means your senses are coming back!”

“Yeah, I’m just surprised by that one. I wasn’t expecting all that,” he laughed.

“So...I smell good?”

“You don’t know how good, Princess,” he grumbled as he finished cooking. Mira crossed her legs, making him chuckle. “That’s not helping. It’s all over you.”

“Damn...what else can you do?”

“I need to test out my strength and speed, but my sight was different, too. Everything was brighter, more vibrant. And my brain moved faster...I don’t know how to explain it. Bast said my guilt was the blockage, so they’ll probably slowly come back over time. After they’re back, I’m supposed to start on my mission.”

“You still felt guilty?”

“I thought I broke us. I mean, I did, but I felt like it was unfixable, you know?”

Mira nodded, “Yeah, it felt like that sometimes.”

Erik pulled the dishes out of the cabinet and set them down next to her.

“Mira, I’m-”

“Erik, if you say you’re sorry one more time, so help me, Bast,” Mira said, making a dimpled smile appear on Erik’s face.

“Yes, ma’am.”

They fell into a comfortable silence while Erik plated the food, and when he handed Mira hers, he left a kiss on her cheek. She smiled and hopped down from the counter to sit at the table. When she sat down, she couldn’t help but stare at Erik as he walked over. Her man, her formerly violent man was really chosen by a goddess to protect Black people around the globe.

He noticed the look on her face and couldn’t quite place it. “What?”

“Nothing, just...look at you, doing the work of gods now.”

“I bet you never thought you’d say that about your mercenary husband,” Erik winked at her.

“Sure didn’t,” Mira laughed, “but it fits. You always had it in you. You know, I’m glad I came out here. I wouldn’t get to see this new side of you otherwise, and so far, I like it.”

--------

A couple of hours later, Erik found himself in front of the City of the Dead with his palms sweating and his breath shaking. He wasn’t sure why the temple unnerved him so much, but it did. Erik knew he had to do what Bast told him, though, and took a step forward. He climbed the stairs to the ornate stone doors and waited as they slowly opened for him. Erik was met with the sight of a surprisingly calm woman in purple robes. He recognized her as the woman he had choked out, the new head priestess.

“My prince,” she saluted him. “Welcome. I have been expecting you.”

“You have?”

“Of course. Come in.”

He hesitantly stepped forward again and entered the temple. A chill went down his spine as the doors shut behind them, and he looked around the space. He had only been there once before in his waking life, but this time it felt different. It probably had something to do with the fact that she wasn’t scared of him this time around.

“What’s your name?” he asked nervously.

“I am Zaya, my prince.”

“You don’t have to do the whole ‘my prince’ thing. Especially since I...you know.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I’m sorry about that. I should’ve never put my hands on you.”

“I have spoken to Bast about it, and I forgive you. Just don’t let it happen again,” she warned.

Erik put his hands up in defense, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good. Now, you are here to see the herb, no?” She started walking, and he followed behind her.

“How’d you know?”

“I spoke to Bast, remember?” She quipped with an eyebrow raised.

“Heh, yeah,” he chuckled nervously and cleared his throat. “I don’t know why I’m so anxious.”

“I assume that is a normal reaction when reckoning with your past.”

The two of them traveled deeper into the temple, and when they reached the door that led to the garden of the heart-shaped herb, he froze. Zaya looked back when she no longer heard his footsteps and smiled warmly, reaching out her hand to him. He took it, and she led him through the doors. Erik almost wanted to close his eyes, but he knew he had to face his past actions head-on.

He looked around, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw there were dozens of tiny glowing purple buds just begging to become full-grown flowers. He laughed in disbelief at what he was seeing. He had burnt the garden to ashes, but now here it was, thriving in spite of him.

“It took us a while to get them to grow again, but thankfully we were able to put out the fire before the roots were harmed,” Zaya spoke as he wandered through the garden in awe.

“And these...they still work?”

“The princess took a sample and tested it in her lab. According to her, this new batch might be a little different, but they should still work. Bast has given them her blessing, so that is enough for me.”

“So, I didn’t ruin Wakanda’s future like I thought...”

“No, just a bump in the road,” she smiled.

Just as he was about to respond, the strangest thing happened. His eyes were trained on one of the buds, and suddenly he could see every little vein in the leaves and the detail of the curled-up petals. The color became brighter and even more purple than most people could comprehend, and a tear rolled down his cheek as he smiled.

He could see again.

“Are you ok?” Zaya asked tentatively.

Erik cleared his throat, “Yeah, I’m good. It’s just my senses are coming back, and...they’re beautiful.”

“And resilient.”

He laughed and wiped the tear from his face.

“How about I give you some time alone?”

“Thanks, Zaya, that’d be great.”

She bowed her head in deference and went back the way they came. When she was gone, Erik let out a sigh as he took in the sight before him.

“They really made it…”

“Of course, they did. Did you think I would leave my people defenseless?” Bast’s silky voice rang out through the temple, and he turned around to see her standing there in her mostly-human form. She was a statuesque and curvaceous woman with the head of a panther and locs that spilled over her ebony shoulders. Erik dropped to his knees as she walked towards him. “No need for all of that. Stand up, Jaguar.”

He laid eyes on her once more as he rose from the ground. Her glow was almost blinding, but his eyes adjusted quickly.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing you in person.”

“Get used to it. I like to pop in on my champions every now and again. Sometimes in dreams, sometimes in your thoughts, and sometimes in person. It all depends.”

“On what?”

“On you and what you need, or what I need from you.”

“Ok, so what do you need from me?”

Bast chuckled. “Truthfully, nothing this time. I just needed to see you face-to-face.”

“You don’t have an assignment for me?”

“Not yet. I know how much you enjoy the sanctuary, so I’ll let you stay there a little whille longer. Plus, you are just now mending your marriage and need time to spend with your wife and child before I call you away.”

“How much time?”

“Enough,” she winked.

“You’re so cryptic,” Erik chuckled.

“Yes, your cousin thinks so, too. However, I prefer ‘mysterious.’”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he smirked.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you long,” she sighed. “You have some party planning to do. They grow up fast, don’t they?”

“Especially when you miss a couple of years,” he murmured.

“Which is why I’m giving you at least a year before I call on you. Make good use of it, Erik.”

“Yes, ma’am, I will.”

“Good. Oh, and one more thing, Erik.”

“Yeah?”

“Try running back to the palace,” she winked again as she shimmered away, leaving him alone in the temple.

Erik tried to contain himself as he left the garden and ran into Zaya.

“Was your ‘alone’ time fruitful?” she asked knowingly.

All he could do was beam at her with his megawatt dimpled smile.

“Very.”

Erik said goodbye and ran back through the forest to the city, his heart beating out of his chest in excitement. His superhuman speed carried him back in no time as the wind whipped against his body. A smile was plastered on his face the whole time, even when he slowed down as he reached the outskirts of Birnin Zana. He hurried to the palace as inconspicuously as he could and happened to run into Mira just as she was leaving. When she saw the look on his face, she couldn’t help the grin that took over hers.

“So, how did- Erik!” She squealed as he picked her up and twirled her around with barely any effort.

“They’re back!”

“Your powers?”

“Well, yeah, but the heart shaped herb is coming back!” he peppered kisses all over her face and neck while she giggled. “You’re more beautiful than I ever imagined you could be.”

“So I take it your vision came back, and you’re super strong again?”

“And fast. I ran here in like twenty minutes.”

“From the CIty of the Dead?!”

“Mhm,” he nodded as he set her back on the ground.

“Damn, baby, that’s...that’s amazing.”

“I need to test them out some more, so I’m gonna see if T has some time to spar. You going to the lab?”

“Shopping, actually. Okoye and Ayo took Imani so I could get some last-minute party stuff.”

“Need someone to carry your bags?”

“Oh, hell yeah. Especially since you got that jaguar strength again.”

“Lead the way, beautiful.”

--------

Early that Saturday morning, as the sun crested over the trees, Mira and Erik stood on the tarmac watching as the Royal Talon descended from the sky. Mira was almost shaking with excitement as the doors opened and T’Challa stepped out, followed by some of her favorite people in the whole world.

“Titi!”

SJ ran down the ramp past the king and flung himself into his auntie’s arms. She held him tight and rocked him from side to side as Stef and Ana approached, with Daveed teetering between the two of them.

She looked up at them and gasped, “Oh my god, he can walk now? How long have I been gone?”

“Girl, too long,” Havana complained as she wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law.

Stefan was next to greet her, and his eyes stayed glued to Erik the whole time as he enveloped his sister in a bear hug, “We missed you, Sammy.”

“No, you miss my cooking,” she laughed as she crouched down to say hi to her littlest nephew.

“You remember Titi Mira?” Ana asked him, and he shook his head, hiding behind his dad’s leg.

“That’s ok, we can get to know each other while you’re here,” Mira smiled at him and stood back up.

“Who are you?” SJ asked when he finally noticed the man standing behind his aunt.

“SJ, this is your Uncle Erik. You might not remember him but-“

He thought about it for a moment before it dawned on him. “Do you still have all those bumps on you?”

Stefan tried to hold in his snickering, and Havana hit him in his chest.

“Uh, yeah, I do.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Heh, thanks, lil man.”

“So, brother in law…It’s good to see you,” Stef deadpanned. He was clearly not feeling Erik anymore.

“You, too, man,” Erik went to dap him up, and he stared at his hand in contempt.

“Stefan, behave,” Havana said with a roll of her eyes. “Hi Erik, how are you?”

“Much better since I’ve been here.”

“Good, good…”

T’Challa had been standing to the side while the family reunited but decided to intervene when things got awkward.

“Stefan, Havana, let us show you to your quarters.”

“Oooh, our ‘quarters,’” Ana sang excitedly. “Sounds so fancy.”

“It’s a palace, Ana. Of course it’s fancy,” Stef grumbled.

She cut her eyes at him. “Don’t act out in front of company.”

Mira chuckled. She hadn’t realized how much she missed hearing their playful bickering.

As they made their way through the place, Stef and Ana stared slack-jawed at their surroundings while SJ ran ahead of the group.

“You live here?” Ana asked.

“Mhm. It’s gorgeous, right?!” Mira bragged.

“That’s not even the word…”

T’Challa smirked as he listened to them compliment his home.

“So, where’s the birthday girl?” Stefan asked.

“She is with my mother and Ororo.”

“Ororo?” Stef stopped in his tracks. “Munroe?!”

“The one and only,” T’Challa grinned proudly.

“Holy shit…”

“Language,” Havana chided her husband as she covered SJ’s ears.

“What is it with these men and cursing around children?” Mira shook her head at her brother.

“Girl, I don’t know, but let’s get back to Storm. How’d y’all meet?”

“She’s his girlfriend,” Erik nodded towards his cousin.

“Dang, how’d you get her? I mean, I know you’re a king and all, but- Wait, are you a mutant, too?” Stef asked.

T’Challa and Mira made eye contact, and she nodded for him to continue. They were family and would most likely be seeing a lot of Wakanda, so they’d find out eventually.

“I am enhanced, yes.”

“Like Steve Rogers?” SJ chimed in excitedly from a few feet ahead.

“He wishes,” T’Challa complained under his breath as they stopped in front of the door across from Erik and Mira. Both of them chuckled at the king’s arrogance.

“So...you’re enhanced. Why, though?” Stef asked.

They entered the suite, and the interrogation was cut short when the Greenwoods saw how beautiful their temporary home was.

“Holy shit…” Ana mused as she covered SJ’s ears.

Mira gave them a quick tour while T’Challa and Erik hung back in the living area.

“So, you and Stefan-”

“He never liked me, and I made things worse by disappearing,” he shrugged.

T’Challa nodded as he changed into his suit.

“Oh, so you’re coming all the way out?”

“They will find out eventually, so I might as well get it over with.”

Erik nodded as Mira rounded the corner and saw T’Challa in his suit. She smirked and called SJ. He ran back into the room and froze when he saw Black Panther standing there next to his uncle. Ana was next to round the corner and looked at her son questioningly before she looked up and saw what he was staring at with his mouth open.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said with a hand on her hip.

“About what?” Stef came next, and T’Challa’s mask disappeared into his necklace. “This place is insane.”

SJ couldn’t move. He was looking at his favorite hero in the entire world, right there in the place he’d call home for the next week. His mind could barely wrap around what he was seeing, and he couldn’t process his emotions. Tears started flowing down his face, and a sob wracked his body.

“Hey, hey. It’s ok, baby,” Ana crouched down and wiped his tears as Stef came over with Daveed on his hip.

“You’re not excited to see Black Panther?” He asked his eldest son.

SJ shook his head, and T’Challa deflated. Erik kept his snickering to himself, but Mira shot him a look anyway.

“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to upset him.”

“He’s just in shock. It’ll wear off eventually,” Ana said as she brushed SJ’s locs out of his face.

————

It took way longer to wear off than they thought, and by the time they arrived at the party venue in the palace’s botanical gardens that afternoon, he still hadn’t said a word. T’Challa tried to speak to him a couple of times, but he shied away behind Mira or his parents. Eventually, Erik convinced him to give the kid some space and pulled the dejected king away to the other side of the garden. While the other kids and their parents arrived, SJ kept looking at T’Challa out of the corner of his eye.

“You know, he doesn’t bite...or scratch,” Mira leaned in and said to her nephew as she sat down next to him at the kid’s table. “In fact, he’s pretty cool once you get to know him.”

“Does Imani know?” he spoke up for the first time in hours, and Mira was happy to hear his voice again.

“Oh, yeah. He told us when we got here, but it’s a secret so she pinky promised not to tell. You know, I screamed when I saw him.”

“You did?!”

“Mhm. He really needs to learn how to ease people into it, huh?” she asked as she poked at his side, making him giggle. Stef and Ana watched from a few yards away and smiled with him while they kept a watchful eye on Daveed as he waddled around the flowers.

SJ nodded in response, and Mira kissed his temple before getting up and leaving him to ponder her words. Right when he had worked up the courage to speak to his hero, Erik announced that Imani was on her way with Ororo and Ramonda.

“I can’t wait to see my baby girl!” Ana squealed.

Mira excitedly grabbed Erik’s hand, and he kissed her knuckles, making Stef narrow his eyes as he and his family hid behind a mango tree.

Imani appeared with her auntie and future cousin, and T’Challa recorded as she squealed excitedly at seeing everybody. A’Kidi, Kofi, Sanaa, A’Sami, Ade, and all her other friends from school greeted her with a loud “Happy birthday!” The newly five-year-old’s tunnel vision made her almost ignore her parents and other adults completely until Erik picked her up and gave her a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

“Happy birthday, Cupcake!”

“We have a surprise for you,” Mira sang.

“What is it?” Imani asked excitedly.

Erik set her down and turned her around as Mira motioned for her family to reveal themselves. SJ ran out from behind the tree and nearly tackled his cousin to the ground while her aunt, uncle, and baby cousin took a calmer approach.

“There’s the birthday girl!” Stef exclaimed while his eldest son continued to squeeze her tight. SJ let her go, and she ran into her uncle’s arms. Ana crouched down next to him, and Imani threw her arms around her neck.

“We’ve missed you so much!” Ana said as she fought tears.

“I missed you too. Wakanda is so cool! I can’t wait to show you everything,” Imani babbled.

“Did you know about Black Panther?” SJ asked, still a little nervous about meeting his hero.

Imani nodded, “I promised to keep it a secret, or I would’ve told you. It’s so cool, right?”

SJ nodded, and Imani dragged him off to meet her friends.

Erik couldn’t keep the smile off his face if he tried as he watched his little social butterfly play with her friends and cousin. It wasn’t until Mira came up and nudged him that he even realized he was staring.

“You ok?” she asked.

“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he put his arm around her and kissed her temple. “Just reliving some things.”

Mira looked at him curiously and he continued, “One of the few good memories I have from childhood that we talked about in therapy was my seventh birthday party. This kind of reminds me of that.”

Mira smiled as they stood there and watched Shuri, Ororo, and T’Challa play with the kids. The king regaled them with stories of his adventures, and Shuri let them ride on very slow hoverbikes while Ororo harnessed the wind to lift them up and let them fly a couple of feet off of the ground. The kids were having a ball, and their parents seemed to enjoy themselves as well. Okoye, M’Baku, and a couple other people gravitated towards each other and fell into conversation about being single parents. However, the rest of them spent most of their time ogling the royal family.

Eventually, it was time to eat and the parents were able to corral the kids into sitting down at the table. After stuffing their faces with an array of Imani’s favorite foods, Mira led the “happy birthday” song as she and Ayo carried out a huge Doc McStuffins birthday cake. Imani and SJ were the only kids who knew who she was, but everyone enjoyed the cake nonetheless. Erik couldn’t help the tear that almost came to his eye as he listened to his wife sing to their daughter, just like his mother had done to him. Loudly and slightly off key. Next, Shuri led the group in a Wakandan birthday song, and Imani blew out the huge number five candle in the center of the cake.

Mira kept stealing glances at Erik as he sliced it up and handed out pieces to everyone. He looked so happy. Even when one of the kids tripped and got icing all over his pants leg, he just kept on smiling.

Even Stef noticed the change in his brother-in-law’s demeanor and brought it up to Ana, “He smiles too much now. It’s weird.”

“It’s weird that he’s happy?”

“No, it’s just weird to see. He used to be so…”

“Surly and unapproachable.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Maybe you should get to know him?”

“Hmph,” he grunted in response. Ana decided to leave it alone for the time being and left his side to go talk to Erik.

“You think you can handle the sleepover?” she asked him.

“Thank Bast it’s not all of them.”

“It’s not?”

“Hell no, just her little crew,” he pointed to A’Kidi, Kofi, Sanaa, A’Sami, and Ade. “I’m not taking care of all these kids.”

Ana laughed, “Understood.”

“So...your husband still doesn’t like me, huh?”

“Can you blame him?” Ana deadpanned.

“Nah, I’d be the same way in his shoes.”

“He’ll come around eventually...maybe,” she said as she placed a comforting hand on his arm before being pulled away by her son to watch the Black Panther and Storm show off their powers some more. SJ still couldn’t bring himself to speak to T’Challa, but it was a start.

As the party wound down and most of Imani’s classmates went home, the few that stuck around relocated inside to the Stevens’ suite in the palace. Even with a handful of screaming children in his home, Erik was on cloud nine. He loved to see a smile on his Cupcake’s face, and he wondered if he looked that happy when he was a kid. He concluded he probably did, and as the kids watched an animated movie, he and Mira curled up on the couch behind them. While the rugrats were distracted, he pulled her chin up to plant a kiss on her lips.

“What was that for?” she smiled.

“I’ve just been thinking…”

“About what?”

“About making more good memories, you know? Some of the happiest times in my life were times just like this…and time spent with you.”

Mira looked down with a smile on her face and he brought it back up to look in her eyes.

“Marry me again.”

Her eyebrows damn near reached her hairline and a Grinch-like smile crept up her face as she nodded.

“I’d love to.” Next Chapter

Taglist: @ladymac82, @kitesatforestp, @harleycativy, @raysunshine78, @maddeningmayhem, @theblulife, @motheroffae, @love-mesome-me, @toni9, @bribrisback

[zukosgal]

Day 6: Zutara From Other’s POV

Just a short and silly fic about Toph and Sokka getting up to some ~shenanigans~

“You know, Zuko’s wound is probably healed by now,” Toph said, loud enough for Sokka to hear but not Aang. This was Toph’s not-so-subtle way of getting his attention, because she knew Sokka couldn’t resist the juicy possibility of gossip, especially involving his sister. He slid over and leaned entirely too close to Toph’s ear to whisper – she was blind, after all, not deaf.

“I don’t know much about healing or magic bendy water, but every other time she’s only needed to heal them once. Why does she need to keep going back to his tent?”

“Maybe because he took a lightning bolt to the chest,” Suki said, startling them both. “He nearly died. I’m sure it’ll take more than one session to heal.”

“Yeah, sure,” Toph huffed. “I don’t buy it. She sneaks in there an awful lot. And last time when I caught her leaving I asked how Zuko was doing; her heart rate shot up. It was definitely a law, I just don’t know which part of it was a lie.”

“Maybe he’s dying,” Sokka said somberly, and Suki hit him upside the head with a sharp twack.

“Don’t even joke about that,” she said, though the venom of the threat wasn’t there. “Look, you two are going to get into trouble, nosing around the way you do. Leave me out of it.”

Suki went back to the fire, and Sokka turned back to Toph. He had a conspiratorial grin stretched across his face, and though Toph couldn’t see it, she just knew it was there.

“How about we do a little reconnaissance tonight?”

It was something he wouldn’t have to ask her twice.

-

The plan was simple – they would set up outside Zuko’s tent on a stakeout, and then wait. Toph wanted to ambush them, but Sokka wasn’t on board with that plan – at least, not yet. He wanted to wait it out, see what was going on. If she was really just going to heal him, then it would just be embarrassing for him and Toph to admit they had been spying in the hopes of finding something more scandalous.

They had to wait until the moon, full and bright, was nearly at its highest point. Certainly an odd time to be paying a visit just to heal. Sokka and Toph were perched behind a rock, where Toph could feel every step and Sokka could hear hushed words coming from the tent.

“What are they doing? I can’t understand them!” Sokka hissed, and Toph swatted him away.

“Dunderhead, maybe you can’t hear them because you won’t shut up. Would you just concentrate?”

Sokka grunted but relented, straining his ears in an attempt to make out the words. He could hear a few – “healing” and “scarring” and some other words about bending he didn’t really get. It went like this for about fifteen minutes, and Sokka could feel himself dozing off. He was glad Zuko was doing fine. He could still remember the horrible first minutes when he’d heard Azula and lightning and “saved me”, Katara tearfully recounting the story of the last agni kai (though not so tearful, he noticed, when it got to the part where she just wrecked Azula). At first, he’d thought he was dead, the new Fire Lord, the surprise friend he never thought he’d have. To find and lose the person who’d helped him rescue his father – it was like when Aang had nearly died in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se.

To his relief, that hadn’t happened, and now the heir apparent was roughing it up with them, instead of living in the castle. Because he needed constant supervision for his wounds, and Katara was the best healer he knew, so of course he could follow her around for a few months. Anything to get the best care he could.

The voice had gone quiet, and Sokka stretched as he let out a yawn. He assumed that Katara was about to return to her own tent, her work done. Nothing particularly exciting, but playing spy had been fun. That was, until Toph grabbed his wrist and yanked him down again, head so close to hers they nearly collided.

“Sokka, they’re kissing,” she hissed, the delight apparent. Sokka felt his cheeks grow red. He knew is sister had kissed Aang before, would kiss in general, but it was always weird to be reminded of it.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure they’re doing more than that, but I don’t think you need to know what my feet are hearing.”

This was enough to drive Sokka over the edge. How like Toph to make it as uncomfortable as possible! He’d take his trusty boomerang and he’d prove Toph wrong. With an expert throw, the boomerang slid between the tent flaps and hit one of them with a satisfying twak. He would guess it was Katara, with the high-pitched yelling that followed. Her appeared, a dark red blotch forming on her forehead and her eyes filled with murder. Her hair was mussed, as if – as if hands had been tangled in it.

Sokka realized simultaneously that Toph was very, very right, and he was very much a dead man. At least he had a head start as Katara gave chase.

[pieces-by-me]

Golden Eyes

Words: 2627

Summary: There aren’t only rats in the tunnels under York. A big surprise for Ivar that takes his breath away.

Warnings: mentions of blood, death, imprisonment. English is not my first language and first time writing for Vikings.

@maggiescarborough​ - thank you again for the help with this!! I hope you like it and still want to read it (Even though it took me four months to write this)

Ever since Eadrick and Hilda found out she was with child they knew that it would be special. They knew because the pregnancy felt different. Hilda didn't have sickness in the morning and her emotions stayed the same all throughout the months. When they went to the healer of their small village he told them that it was a curse from the Devil. For no women had ever a pregnancy like it, it was unnatural. Eadrick couldn't understand why the healer had the idea that his child could be a curse. How could it be? They tried for so long and never were blessed with one and now that it finally happened they had to hear that it was the Devils work? Hilda had tears running down her face as she stood tall and declared that the healer should feel ashamed. “My child is not made by the Devil but blessed by God!” The healer sneered after them as they exited the small cottage.

Months passed by and the happy pair couldn't wait to see their little boy or girl.They didn't care what the child would be as long as it was healthy. But with the time fleeting and the stomach growing the looks from the people of the village would grow as well and become more and more evil. Word had got out that Hilda supposedly carried the Devils child and with every day that passed Eadrick became more worried for his wife. He knew that he had to protect her and his child, so he did everything to build them a little home in the middle of the forrest surrounding the village.

When Hilda went into labor Eadrick feared for his beloved. The healer refused to help birth 'a cursed child' and they were alone in their small home. Only a fire to help and warm them in the cold winter month. The birth went so fast it was as if it never really happened. And the strangest thing was that Hilda felt not one bit of pain. She was smiling when she pushed and then her child came into the world. Hilda birthed a little girl and Eadrick couldn't help but look at his family with love and adoration. He swore to God that he would do anything, even sin, to protect his family.

She didn't scream when she came into this world. Her big eyes were just looking, searching, for her mother and father. And as soon as her little eyes met the tear filled ones of her father she let out a little laugh that made both her parents cry for joy. Her eyes had the color of light. An almost golden hue that could not be discribed. She was not a curse. She was a blessing. They decided to name her (Y/N). The little girl with sunshine in her eyes.

_______________________________________________________________________

Ivar wobbled through the streets of York with eyes in search for any small thing he could have missed. He had to make sure that everything was in order and that nothing would go wrong. The smoke from the burned up rats and rotten meat made it hard to examine the traps but he managed. More annoying was the smell. He had to swallow back his already eaten food to not vomit all over the street at some points. That would not be a good look for the ruler of the Heathen Army. But that also was something he managed. Ivar sent Hvitserk away to survey the catacombs under York after his big brother questioned his plan. Idiot. As if he didn't build everything in his head to a point and thought about how everything could turn out. Of course he had a plan. A plan that would soon be taken into action, for as the Saxons were on their way to take back York. With an almost malicious smile Ivar made his last round around the outer ring of the city. Oh yes, the Saxons would come soon and think that death took all the heathens away. But they would be met with nothing but death for themselves.

Hvitserk cursed his younger brother. He knew very well that Ivar was not an idiot and had a plan. He just wanted to be included. Not be left out and always chasing answers and responsibility. Not unlike with Ubbe. But now he kind of wished that his brother would have given him another order. And not running around the dirt and rat infested tunnels that stretched out under this Christian city. He didn't really know for what he, and the other worriers that went down with him, should be looking for, but he guessed that if he found something suspicious or wrong he would see and know.

After walking through the foul-smelling tunnels for hours, Hvitserk was about to call it quits and wanted to go back up the ladder when he caught something in the corner of his eye. It was a door. A rotten door with huge metal bolts that looked like it would bust with one small push and fall out of its hinges. He walked closer to it, intrigued to find something after hours of nothing. The wood on the door felt rough to his touch making him think that it was not used often. When he tried to open it though it wouldn't give. It stayed shut and only then did he see the whole for a key.

'You're not the first thing that wanted to stay untouched but I always got my way.' He thought with a mischievous smirk as he thought about some of his past conquests. When he slammed his body for the third time against the door, with running start, and it's still not budging he grew irritated. The wood definitely being more robust then it appeared. What the hel was behind this door that needed to be so protected? After one last push something in that room moved. Hvitserk could hear it. Almost like a hound. Whimpering and shuffling as if to get away. Why would the Saxon leave an animal locked in these dark tunnels?

His thoughts were broken up by the sound of running feet and people flooding the tunnels. The time has come. The Saxons were here. With one last glance to the door Hvitserk made his way back to the entrance where he was supposed to meet up with Ivar. As he rounded the corner he saw how his little brother was being hoisted down and someone was already waiting with his crutch on the ground.

_______________________________________________________________________

The Saxons entered the city. Empty of all beings except the rats that crawled over the muddy grounds. Why were the rats on the ground? The Bishop looked at the small rodents with uncertainty. It was not common for rats to run this free around people. Soon the cheers of the soldiers were washing his worry to the back of his head. Bells were ringing and people celebrating; they have defeated the Vikings.

But while the rats ran free on the ground the tunnels swarmed with Viking warriors lusting for blood. Ivar did it again. He came up with a plan that fooled his opponent and would guarantee his success. He looked up through the manhole to the feet of soldiers walking over him unbeknown to the threat underneath their them.

Hvitserk arrived and made his way over to his little brother. The two Ragnarsons met eyes and in both radiated the intend and want to kill and mark the streets of York with the blood of the Christians. In the back of Hvitserks head the thought of the mysterious door and animal surfaced for a split second, he would go back there and try to open it when the battle is won. With a little shake of his head to get back to now he heard the Saxons cheer for their victory.

Ivar and Hvitserk met eyes again, both smiling like two mad men. Anticipation running through their veins at the thought of finally running their sword and axes through bodies and bones. And with a small turn from his body Ivar watched his warriors, everyone at the soles of their feet to start, threw is right hand in the air and ladders were pulled up. Everyone had to be silent.

As the first men stepped through the opening, Ivar and Hvitserk letting out roars of battle, the Saxons had to realize that they made a huge mistake.

Cheers turned to screams of shock and the streets turned red with blood and gore.

The Heathens were not dead but they brought it with them.

_______________________________________________________________________

The battle was done. The bishop in chains and Ivar was basking in his win. Heahmund thought he was looking in the eyes of the devil when he saw the crawling figure coming closer and closer to him. Chuckling like a demon. While he relished in the humiliation of the Christian, his brother was distracted by something else. In the back of the church were two dogs that fought over a bone, it seams that ever creature was fighting on this day. But the display and sounds brought back a memory to Hvitserks mind. The animal in the tunnels.

He went out of the building without a word in search of a bigger ax. His brother not even realizing he left. When Hvitserk made his way back into the tunnels he had a harder time finding the mysterious door again. The shine of the torch not being light enough for him to see everything. With his luck we would get lost. But the gods were on his side and after he ran into a dead end for the fifth time he found it. 'You're done'

His shoulder hurt after the battle. One Saxon having brought their sword down further then Hvitserk could reflect with his. The dried up blood was still on his clothes. It seamed to open up again as warm liquid trailed down his arm in small droplets. But he didn't care. He needed to know what exactly was behind this stupidly, hard to open door. With a final blow of the ax the wood splintered away and gave sight into the room.

It was dark and the smell of sick and rotten flesh made its way into his nose. It was worse then when they burned flesh for the plan. Even with his torch he couldn't see inside so he made his way back a little and began to bring the ax back to the hole he created. More and more wood split away and after only four more hits he could fit through. Of course it was probably not the best idea to go blindly into a locked room but his curiosity won over common sense.

At first he didn't see anything. No animal running towards him. No treasure or anything being stored in this room. All his eyes were met was stone walls that were covered with vines and mold, water running down in small streams down the sides and puddles of old and dried up blood littering the floor. This was not a room for save keeping. No this looked like a cell if he ever seen one. He turned around and was about to climb back through the door when a sound made his body freeze.

It was the same thing. The small whining of a broken animal. Barley there but in the silent room it appeared to echo from everywhere. He turned around and really searched every corner and halted when his eyes came on a small bundle of brown fabric. Fabric that moved in a feeble attempted to get away from the viking. He took a step closer, cautious as to not scare it even more. He didn't even know what lied before him until two golden eyes looked back at him with so much despair he faltered in his step.

It was a girl. A small, sickly Saxon girl that, by the looks of it, was trapped in this cell for only the gods knew how long. She trembled and flinched and even though he didn't move closer she tried to get away even more. But her body seemed to gave up on her. All throughout her weak attempted to escape the threat they held eye contact until the gold vanished and she collapsed on the ground.

'What in the name of Odin?'

Hvitserk ran up to the girl and up on a closer look saw that her hands and feet were shackled to the walls. Her wrist scraped raw and red. Ankles crusted over with old blood.

Unbeknown to Hvitserk the closer he got to the girl the less his shoulder bled and hurt. But with the situation a little bit more severe he just simply couldn't focus on it. He blamed it on his new discovery and excitement and moved on. With his ax he had little effort with the chains that weighted more then the girl herself, picked her up over his shoulder and made his way back to the church. He couldn't wait for his brothers reaction of his find.

Ivar was getting impatient. Sitting on the table at end of the hall he wondered where his brother was. A small feast was being held to celebrate the defeat of the Christians. He wanted to talk to him about the bishop and then rub it in his face a little that his plan worked. The rumble of conversations died down a little with the sound of opening doors and people made room for whoever entered the hall. By now Ivar could see that ,finally, his brother came. But what he nor anyone expected was the sleeping girl in his arms. What was going on?

With each step from his brother Ivar felt something change inside his body. He couldn't put it into words but there was a force spreading from his chest to his legs. Hvitserk went to the middle of the room and laid the girl on the floor right to his feet. Ivar's eyes widened, breath stuck inside his lungs. Could it be? He didn't feel like this since he was just a little boy. He only remembered that once he had felt it because his beloved mother told him. With a start so abrupt he made everyone in the room look at him he lowered his body to the ground.

Hvitserk looked at his little brother who crawled over the unconscious Saxon girl. Faster then he ever crawled. As if she was the only thing that would keep him alive, that she was the last drop of water for a dying man. His whole body covered hers and he was only breaths away from her. The look on his face was a fuse of shock, astounding, revelation and skepticism. But also, if you were close enough, fear. He looked as if the biggest treasure lay under him. The other vikings in the room stopped at what they were doing and observed what their leader would do. No one said a word. There wasn't even the sound of a single breath. Ivar's eyes didn't even blink as he slowly graced her face with his bloodied hand. Leaving a small trail of blood on her cold face. Who was this girl?

“Ivar, what it is? What are you doing?”

Ivar could only vaguely hear his big brothers words. But they came through the haze he was trapped in and with a small voice, so quiet Hvitserk had to lean closer to the two bodies lying on the ground to even hear him, he said:

“I don't feel any pain in my legs.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think about this. I have an idea for a little series with this. 

Hope everyone has an awesome day!

[passable-talent]

Is this even necessary? Yes please part 6!!!

and so we return, one whole month later

| part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 |

After Azula’s attack, and the forced flee from the Western Air Temple, you spent a few days being pissed at Zuko. Like, really pissed. You didn’t speak to him at all. This was something that concerned and confused the prince, because it had seemed like the two of you were making real progress only a few nights before.

What had happened?

He didn’t try to fix it before he left with Katara. Partially, he thought, to give you space, and because he assumed that your issue would be easier to fix than Katara’s. So for a day or so you simmered, just like you had back at the Western Air Temple, rage as always masking your hurt.

When he returned, and things with Katara settled down, he found you perched among the jagged stones that lined the pathway up to his family’s old vacation home. You were still hidden here, but felt even excluded from the team, which let you think, and sulk.

“Y/N,” he said, announcing his presence as he climbed up the rock. You had your back to him, and your shoulders tensed up. You didn’t face him.

“What do you want,” you asked, giving him a shoulder so cold he’d lose his firebending.

“I want to know why you’re angry with me,” he said, and you looked up at the sky, frustrated, as though he should clearly know without you needing to tell him.

“That so?” You spat, and as you weren’t wearing shoes, you sensed as he walked closer to you, arms at his sides. It seemed he was attempting to be non-threatening.

“Yes. I realized I’ve done a lot of explaining, and not much listening. Whatever is keeping you so angry at me, I’ll listen.” You fixed your gaze to the stone in front of you, glaring, before you shut your eyes tightly. Your fists tightened up, and you brought your arms to your chest, and it was like your body was contracting to prepare for an explosion.

It was.

“You want to know why I’m angry with you?” You shouted, turning around while throwing your hands down to your sides, “it’s because you’re so stupid!” Your gaze avoided his, but not purposefully, instead because your anger manifested in rapid movements while you spoke. “You get ambushed by your psychopathic sister, who has been known to manipulate you, and you- you go after her anyway?” You held up your hand, four fingers shown to him, just in case he’d forgotten how to count.

“She had four airships. And you had nothing. No backup. You didn’t let Aang or I follow you, and you charge off into battle.” You leaned forward, a snarl on your lips.

“I watched you fall. I thought you died!” With the final exclamation of your anger, you stepped forward and shoved him backwards, but with a twist of your planted front foot you moved out of the way some of the jagged rocks he might’ve stumbled or fallen onto. Anger finally released, your expression turned to one of pain, of fear, of sadness.

“You told me you’d make it up to me. You can’t do that if you’re dead.” You turned to the side, now avoiding his gaze as he collected himself from the ground, and felt tears begin to fall.

“For so long I mourned Lee, right? Thought that the guy I loved was gone, because who you are isn’t who he was. And I finally figure out that that’s not true, that you are almost as good as I thought you were, and then I think you’ve died...” you trailed off, wiping the wetness of your face with a roll of your shoulder.

“I’ve already mourned Lee, I cant mourn Zuko, too, okay? I don’t want you to die, especially not by something stupid, like charging into a battle you couldn’t win.” You turned your eyes back to him, and found him staring at you, an expression you’d never quite seen on his face. It wasn’t a clear expression that you could pin, other than that he looked so... young. Surprised, almost.

“What?” You asked, voice still a bit jumpy from being choked up.

“You said you loved me.” It took a mental backtrack through your words to realize that you had, indeed.

“Zuko...” you breathed, and you turned toward the horizon, where the sun had long ago dunked into the ocean but still it reddened the sky. You brought your hands to the other’s bicep, as though it could help you protect your heart, and you forced some of your own hesitation away as you breathed out.

“Zuko, I loved you,” you admitted, finally, and that rush of it almost made tears re-emerge. “I did. You were sweet and funny and we got on so well.” You heard him step toward you, and you looked away from where he was near to being. “But the reality I thought I was living in... the floor fell out from under me. The Dai Li were secretive, and they weren’t what I thought they were. Iroh wasn’t just a kind old man, but was a fire nation general. The new leader of the Dai Li wasn’t a brilliant young soldier, but was a fire nation princess. A manipulative and snakish warrior who wanted to topple the earth kingdom. There was a war going on I’d never even heard of!” After the volume of your statement drained away, you hung your head, closing your eyes before your gaze could find the ground.

“And I wouldn’t have minded finding out you were the prince of the fire nation. Some part of me says I should’ve figured it out myself. What hurt me was that... you had so much more anger than I thought you did. Sure, you could be moody, but when we found you in those catacombs, the way you looked at Aang...” You let out a breath, and opened your eyes to look out over the ocean.

“I didn’t know you could be so... malicious. It was something I’d never seen from you before.” You turned your gaze to him, and let your mind wander to the moment when you stood between him and Katara, when Aang was dying. You remembered that predatory look in his eye.

“Did you even see me, that day? Or could you only think about getting to Aang?”

He didn’t answer, and you spared him from needing to. You didn’t think you wanted to know his answer.

“I think that I’ve blamed you for everything that went wrong that day. Aang’s death, your betrayal, the Dai Li’s betrayal. And I guess that isn’t fair. But I can’t seem to let it go.” You felt tears well up again, and Zuko slowly slipped his hand into yours.

“I want to forgive you,” you said, squeezing your palm around his fingers, “I want to let go of all this anger, and grief, a-and confusion, but I look at you and I... I see this boy who made the wrong choice. And that’s so frustrating, because you’ve made the right choice, again and again, you’ve defended us and helped us and fought alongside us. It’s not fair of me to focus on your mistakes when you’ve been making up for them.” You took a deep breath, and with its shaky exhale, let go of some of the sadness still clawing at you.

“I just want to let it go, so I can love you again.” There was an instant’s pause, when the prince took in your words, an instant’s pause in which the waves crashed on the shoreline and a bird cawed overhead. An instant’s pause, and then Zuko tugged you by the hand into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around you. You hugged him back, tightly, almost squishing his torso into yours while a final few trembling breaths fought their way out of your lungs.

“I’m sorry,” he said to your shoulder, and you could hear emotion in his voice. “You deserve so much better than me. I’m so sorry. I- Y/N, I loved you then, too. If it weren’t for you, I might not have had the courage to leave the fire nation. You helped me change, and you didn’t even know it. Please, please don’t be mad at yourself.”

“I’m glad I met you,” you whispered, when a few moments had gone by.

“Me too,” he said back, laying his face down and into the crook of your neck.

You could’ve stood there and hugged him forever. You could’ve stayed in his arms, where you knew it was safe to be conflicted. He understood, and didn’t ask you to change, or make a decision. Maybe Zuko was better than Lee after all- he was flawed, but he chose to overcome those flaws and be a better person in spite of them.

It made him stronger. And, you thought, it would make you stronger.

Your heart had been broken. You’d been lied to, and cast aside. But you found it in yourself to forgive him, and to be honest with him, and to keep him close to you.

“Zuko?”

“Hmm?” You pulled from his chest, your eyes dry of their tears but heart still raw and open. You were ready to forgive him, and to move forward.

But there was one more thing.

“I need you to tell me what happened to Iroh.”

request for pt 7

edit: pt 7 requested!!

edit: | part 7 | part 8 |

-🦌 Roe

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[maybe-a-fangurl]

The Moon and the Sun (Zuko x Reader) Part 11

Part 1 Part 10

Masterlist

You were sitting out by the water, feeling the waves come up and softly flow over your feet before retreating back to the sea. It was the push and pull that you were longing for, but this was as close as you would be able to get to feelings it. Once you had reached Chameleon Bay you had automatically come out to the water, it was a habit you had picked up on when you were traveling through the earth kingdom. You would go and sit out by the water after you landed, either to heal yourself or to just feel the water moving. But as you reached the edge of the shore you realized you couldn’t feel the water flowing like you usually could, and that thought was enough to send you to your knees.

Once your knees hit the ground you fell forward, quickly catching yourself with your hands as you looked down at the sand. You felt as if your whole world was caving in, you felt utterly alone and helpless, abandoned. You closed your eyes, not willing any tears to escape as you slowly pushed yourself up so that you were now sitting with your legs crossed. And when you opened your eyes you just sat there, envying the ocean as the waves came on short to barely touch your feet before being pulled back.

Everyone understood that you had lost a lot during that one night, they didn’t know how much you truly had lost but they didn’t want to ask you. They were scared to ask what happened after they lost you in the tunnels, and they were even more scared to ask how you got the new scar on your face. So instead of asking they watched you sit on the shore, bringing you food and trying to start a conversation but after they realized you didn’t want to talk yet, they stopped asking. They were just content that you were still eating and were somewhat taken care of.

But after four days of you sitting out by the water, not leaving other than to go to sleep, Sokka decided it was time to talk to you. You hadn’t talked to anyone since that night, your last words being to Sokka before you started to sob and couldn’t get anything out. He had just pulled you into his chest, silently hoping that you would be okay and stop crying, but he didn’t realize when the tears stopped the you would also stop talking.

Sokka didn’t say anything as he walked to the shore and slowly sat down beside you, glancing to see that your eyes weren’t red and puffy anymore but instead looked lifeless, and he didn’t know which one was worse. In the past few days they just sat your food beside you before walking away, so when he sat down you knew that he wanted to talk.

“You’re being uncharacteristically quiet.” You said after a few moments of silence, and your voice was so quiet that Sokka questioned whether or not he had heard you.  

“I just didn’t want to talk if you weren’t ready to.” He said in a soft and caring tone, it was the same tone that he used when he confronted you about sneaking out in Ba Sing Se, the same tone that he used when comforting Katara, Aang, or Toph. He looked over at you, hesitating for a moment before he decided that he couldn’t wait any longer to know. “What happened once we were separated?”

“Once we were separated I ended up being found, I thought I was going to be able to get away, but I hit my head and when I woke up Azula was there and had already taken over the Dai Lee. I tried to get out a few times, but it never worked. The day Aang came they were taking me to the Fire Nation and I was able to get away from the Dai Lee agents who were escorting me and then I met up with Katara and Aang.” You paused for a moment as you looked down at your hands, which were now covered in scars that resembled lightening. They were small, barely noticeable, but they were all you could see when you looked down at your hands, and you knew that they stretched up your arms and to your back. “Why were they in the Catacombs that day?”

“Iroh came to us for help on finding Zuko, Azula had captured him and he knew that Katara would be wherever he was.” Sokka said and you couldn’t help but feel a sting in your chest when you realized they were there looking for Katara, not for you. Sokka seen the hurt that crossed your face, and he knew what you thought so he was quick to correct himself. “Y/N we did look for you, but we thought that maybe you hadn’t got out and they destroyed the Dai Lee tunnels so we thought that you were dead. But when Iroh came to us he said that Azula mentioned you to them, it was why she got the best of Zuko.”

“Azula has always used him and I against each other, she knows we make each other weak. That’s why she tried to kill me, she knew he would be stronger without me, no weaknesses and no reason to question which side of the war he belonged on. I know you just see her as a lunatic with fire and lightening but she is smart, smart enough to know that I always thought the best of her. I always knew she would hurt me, I have a scar across my back to prove that, but I never thought she would have it in her to kill me.” You said the words slowly, turning away from Sokka as you thought about the next words that were going to leave your mouth. “But that’s the worst part about it is that she didn’t kill me, at least if she killed me I wouldn’t have to live knowing that she tried to, and that he didn’t do anything about it.”

“Y/n you’re scaring me, you sound like you wish you would have died.” He said as he looked over at you in shock, practically praying that your next words would reassure him that you were going to be okay. Realistically he knew that you weren’t okay, that it would take a while for you to be okay again, but he wanted to know that you knew things would get better.

He just sat there looking at you, waiting on you to say something. But when he seen the tear run down your face he knew he wasn’t getting an answer, because you couldn’t give him one that wouldn’t scare him even more. So instead he just moved closer to you and pulled you into a hug, careful not to hurt you and giving you time to pull away if you didn’t want to be that close to anyone right now. But almost as soon as his arms went around you, you buried your face in his chest as you let out a broken sob.

You cried for a while, him just silently rubbing your back to comfort you. He was scared to say anything in the moment, scared he would make things worse, and even after you stopped crying he stayed silent. You had pulled away from him, now sitting beside him and once again looking out at the water.

“I know you feel like you’ve lost everything, but you haven’t. You still have us. Me, Katara, Toph, and Aang.” Sokka said after a while of silence. And as he looked over at you he felt the same protectiveness he felt when he seen Katara upset. “We’re your family, and we aren’t going to leave you, not like they did.”

“Sokka you have to calm down.” You said in a calm tone as you put your hand on his shoulder, trying to stop him from digging at the rocks that had just collapsed.

“You want me to calm down?!” He yelled as he turned around and looked at you, throwing his hands in the air. “How can you even ask me to be calm in a time like this?” “It’s okay, we’ll find them, and we’ll get out of here.” You said with confidence, but truth was you were terrified. You had traveled with Zuko and had been in a few situations that you didn’t know what to do, but at least you knew where you stood with Zuko, you still had no idea where you stood with Sokka. And that was an important thing to know when you were trapped in a cave with no way out.

Aang trusted you because you helped him escape from Zuko and Katara trusted you because of everything that happened at the North. But you still weren’t sure about Sokka, the two of you had had a few conversations but it wasn’t near the level of openness your conversations with Katara had been.

“I can’t listen to anymore music.” He said in a hushed voice to you, and it took everything in you not to roll your eyes at him. You couldn’t help but think of how the comment was something Zuko would have said, except he would have said it loudly for them to hear while Sokka tried to at least spare their feelings.

“It’s not too bad.” You said back to him with a shrug, he stopped and looked at you for a moment in disbelief.

“You were a ‘bad guy’ you shouldn’t be this optimistic.” He said, using air quotes when he called you the bad guy, as if to not offend you.

“A wise man once said that the way you approach a situation has a greater impact on the outcome than how you deal with the situation.” You said, a smile coming to your face as you thought about the number of times you had heard Iroh say those exact words to Zuko. “So, I like to try to have an optimistic approach to things.”

“You really think we can get out of here?” He asked, and when you nodded he let out a small sigh. “Okay, then I guess we should get moving.”

You gave him a smile as you started to walk behind him, trying not to crowd him as he looked over the map. It wasn’t long before you heard music and it once again took everything in you not to roll your eyes at Sokka when you seen the annoyance on his face from the situation. You knew it wasn’t the most ideal, situation but you honestly didn’t think that it could truly be that bad until you once again came to a dead end.

“Oh great, your plans have led us to another dead-end.” Moku said as he gestured to the wall of the cave that now sat in front of you.

“At least I’m thinking of ideas and trying to get us out of here Moku.” Sokka said as he turned around and glared at him and everyone else except you.

“Wait a minute?” You heard Chong say, causing everyone to look over at him. “We’re thinking of ideas? Because I’ve had an idea for about an hour now.”

“Yes! We’re all thinking of ideas.” Sokka said in a loud, and openly annoyed tone, as he moved his arms around the air.

“What’s your idea?” You asked, causing Sokka’s mouth to drop as he looked over at you in disbelief. You just gave him a shrug as you crossed your arms and looked back over at Chong.

“Well listen to this, if love is the key out of here, then all we need to do is play a love song.” Chong said, and you immediately looked over at Sokka to see him hit his forehead with the palm of his hand, hard enough for you to hear the contact. Chong started to play a song and as he started to walk, everyone followed him.

“I give up.” Sokka said as he shrugged and walked in the direction they were heading, you stood there in disbelief for a moment before jogging to catch up with him.  

“So, do you believe love is really the key to getting out of here?” Sokka asked after a while of walking, and you looked over to see that he was already looking at you.

“I don’t even know if I believe in love.” You said as you let out a sigh and looked down at your hands.  

“Well since your boyfriend is an angry boy with a pony tail, I don’t blame you.” Sokka said in a joking tone, and you just shook your head as you kept your eyes on your hands.

“He isn’t my boyfriend, never was.” You said and when Sokka let out a scoff you looked away from your hands and to him to see disbelief clear on his face. “It’s complicated.”

“Well it must be complicated for you to have feelings for someone like him.” He said, and you just let out a sigh as you crossed your arms tightly over your chest.

“He wasn’t always like that, he used to different. But life was never kind to him, so I guess he just decided that he wouldn’t be kind either.” Once the words left your mouth and you seen the look on Sokka’s face you knew he was about to argue with you, so you were quick to cut him off. “I know you think he is a horrible person and I know you probably think I am a horrible person too for staying on his side for so long. But he was all I had and now that I’ve chose this side to fight on, I don’t have anyone.” “That isn’t true.” He said, and you felt yourself tearing up as you seen the comforting look on his face. “You have us now. Me, Katara, and Aang are your family now.”

You remembered the hopefulness you felt when he told you that you were family in the Cave of the two lovers, but you didn’t realize how truthful the statement was until now. He was right, they were your family and they weren’t going to leave you. So instead of continuing to mourn over everything you had lost, you decided it was time to cherish everything you still had.

“Can we go see everyone else?” You asked as you looked away from the water and over to Sokka, watching as a smile came to his face.

“Yeah, we can.” He said as he stood up from the sand, brushing it off of his legs before helping you up. As you stood up you could see two figures standing by the edge of the makeshift base, and you instantly recognized them.

“It’s about time.” Toph said as you and Sokka reached her.

“Toph be nice.” Katara said in her signature mom tone, which caused a smile to come to your face as you pulled the two of them into a hug, Sokka joining in. You all stood there hugging one another until Toph started to complain about how Sokka was pulling her hair, and when you all pulled away you couldn’t help but smile at them, at your family.

@tpwkatsumu @caswinchester2000 @frickin-bats @winchestergirl907 @eridanuswave @the-firebender-girl @myarthetics @royahllty @izzieserra @akariblue  @coldlilheart @thirstyforsometea @cirtruss @lammello @bigbuckyenergy @aangsupremacy @lozzybowe @duh-dobrik @emogril @justab-eautifulmess @whalerus @im-me-and-noone-else @nataliahaslosthershit @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak @slytherky @shemakesfanvids @sokkas-honour @nomin-rights  @miraculous23456

[gyllousos]

Warnings: Depression, masochists, language.

Copyright @ gyllousos 2021. All rights reserved.

Dedicated to @the-grimm-writer

_________________________________________

Hannya despised hospitals. She hated the smell of disinfectant, the plain white walls decorated with awareness for the human body, as well as the chairs in the waiting room. Not that the one she was sitting in was uncomfortable, yet her ass felt like a pin cushion since she'd been in the thing for well over an hour and counting. Just ten minutes ago she had gone to the vending machine for a soda, downing the Sprite in one gulp.

She was still staring into the empty soda can as though it would refill with more of the carbonated beverage. Her thumb pressed into the side, crinkling the corner. Above her a TV played an old show, something about two children using their imagination to escape into a new world.

One where they forgot about all the bad stuff, even for a moment, a paradise for two. A haven. Thinking about that made a lump swell in Hannya's throat. She set her can onto a nearby table, curling her hands into her lap. A nail dug into the fabric of her leggings, she winced at the bruise there. It was still throbbing a week later, still sore. Her back arched from the cut diagonal cut, also a week old, but it didn't pulse like the thigh bruise did.

Her old cuts and bruises hurt most days, even though half of them were healed for weeks, despite their ugliness in the beginnings. She used to never recognize herself in the mirror after they fucked. Not screwed, but fucked until she lay beneath him unable to move, a quivering mess of orgasm.

God. She was truly sick.

She inhaled slowly through her nose. Hannya refused to cry in this place. One of the nurses had been looking at her so often, a pitying look in her eyes. Hannya avoided eye contact.

She knew that nurse too well, she'd nearly made a home here. But that was long ago. And the nurse, a petite brunette with gentle doe eyes was always so kind to her.

Vague flashes of Hannya in a room where she was monitored, wearing a gown, and counting the hours on the clock to her meds. No, she wasn't going down memory lane again.

What if she broke again? But not because of him.

Dabi.

ㅤHe twisted the fabric of her shirt, bunching tightly. There were tearing sounds. Fraying sounds. Dragging her to within inches of his leering, predatory smile.

ㅤHer shirt came away in a ribbon, leaving her in unkempt, scant rags. He sneered, pinching a nipple as her pert little breasts jiggled free. Dabi tweaked the nipple, and swatted her breast with an open-palmed slap.

Hannya let out a cry between a gasp and a moan.

Dabi clenched his fist around her throat, thrust his arm so she was pinned to the wall behind her. One hand constricted the air from her lungs, while the other twisted cruelly on the same nipple from before.

"Scared yet?"

"No."

ㅤㅤ"No need to lie."

ㅤHis other hand slipped low, her breast freed from his cruel touch only for his hot breath to caress it. Dabi sank teeth into her its supple flesh, snakelike tongue uncoiled to writhe slick against the nipple. His loose fingers delved between her thighs, groping a handful of her warm, tender sex.

ㅤHe didn’t need her to black out from the choking, but it was designed so that every throb of pleasure he squeezed into her body lightened her head. A cruel, sadistic practice to strangle every last drop of ecstasy, to send her spirit into heaven but her body to hell.

Dabi's fingers were long and defined, two sunken deep into the supple heat of her cunt. His pace, merciless. The villain ground the heel of his wrist firmly against her clit, assaulting every inch. He worked in and out of her with aggressive vigor, stirring up loud, sloppy noises from her.

She felt him adjust, she bit her lip from the harsh penetration when he slammed himself into her, those haunting blue eyes never leaving her face.

"You're mine, Hannya."

"I'm yours."

"If another man looks at you the way I look at you, or even thinks about fucking you, I'll split his goddamn skull."

Hannya snapped back to reality at the alert of her name being called. She remembered now that she had been called into the exam room for tests. The gown felt paper thin on her, exposing her to the nurse who held her clipboard in hand.

She hadn't commented on the palm bruise on her thigh or the cut on her back. Hannya was almost relieved her skin was back to semi-normal. It had been a long time since she last been here. How long ago?

Three years since her last attempt.

"You're doing well Hannya, much better since your last visit with us. You've been keeping up with all of your appointments, last time you were hear you had bad anemia and an infection. You bounced back like a champ. "

Hannya smiled faintly. The plump old woman reminded her of a doting grandma.

"Your appetite back to normal?"

"Yes ma'm. Everything is good."

She tried best to hide the clip in her speech.

"Now that we're following up, I'd like to wait for the rest of your test results to come in."

Hannya hid her impatience, wishing time would go forward, she could grab her things and leave. Back to her home where she could close off the world. Block everyone out. Would Dabi be waiting for her? For once, she didn't want to see him. As much as their sadistic games were fun time both of them, she just didn't have the desire. No other man could get her off the way Dabi did.

Lately, she dreaded seeing him propped in her couch, or getting a text from him. She could damn near feel him without him being near. A moment later, when the same woman poked her head in, Hannya actually beamed.

The door closed behind her.

That's when Hannya left the hospital in a daze, barely clutching her phone and purse, she didn't even know she drove home until she parked in the driveway. Turning off the engine, she sat in stunned silence, her knuckles tight onto the steering wheel.

God, she just wanted to turn back time to the last month, the last year, erase everything. She was numb enough as is and she hoped Dabi wasn't waiting on her. She just couldn't take it right now.

“No,” she said, barely audible. The nurse's words echoing in her ears once more.

A sob escaped her. She dragged herself out of her vehicle, barely registering her feet moving towards her home, inside of her apartment. She locked the door behind her. And didn't have to look around to see a tall man with spiked dark hair and a smile that gave her goosebumps.

"Dabi..."

"Miss me?"

Her legs felt like jelly. Her heart was being so fast she feared it rip itself through her chest. Hannya's knees shook, and her heart hammered in my chest. She felt like she was already walled in, and she didn’t even know it.

“I wish I’d never met you,” she said, almost whispering.

He stopped, his boots creaking the wooden floor under him. “Believe me, girl, the feeling is fucking mutual.”

No arguments, no shouting, no cursing even though she wanted to spew a blue streak at him. Eventually she fell onto her knees, the metallic clink of a belt and a zipper being pulled down; she parted her lips for Dabi's cock already slick with precum. She swallowed him into the back of her throat.

"Good girl," he praised her, stroking the back of her head.

___________________________________________

Hannya hadn't seen Dabi since that day, what felt like over a month had turned into sixteen months. As much as she didn't care, she ached for him, and not in the sexual sense. She truly yearned for his company if she could actually believe it. Just what happened to him after that?

No texts, no calls. No sudden appearing without warning. Poof! He never told her he was leaving. Then again he never told her a lot of anything. Hannya often dreamt of him, as the little boy named Touya. The same boy who came crying to her in the catacombs and she to him. Two kids yearning for a place in the world.

She hadn't given up hope she'd see him again, if ever. Hannya swiped her fingers across her phone screen, tucking her device back into her pocket, her blue eyes swiveled up the moon, an ache swelling in her chest.

"I'm losing it..." She mumbled, proceeding to walk. She was patting her pockets for her car keys when a hand snaked its way around her forearm, dragging her into a brick corner, pinning her against a wall.

She couldn't scream because of the stranger's hand covering her mouth. Her eyes doubled in size, his sinister smirk making her skin flush.

Touya!

"Dabi." It came out as a muffle.

"Like you've seen a ghost," he sneered, letting her go.

"For a minute I thought I did..." She whispered.

His eyes raked over her outfit, eyes narrowing in on her chest. He sure knew how to make her vulnerable, naked without undressing her. So he hadn't left after all. Was he hiding from her?

He was never far to begin with. Something told her this wasn't a social visit, she needed to get home before she did something like kiss him. He'd take her right here in public. Wouldn't be the first time.

"I was looking for you, " she said.

"Is that a fact?" His voice was utterly emotionless. Not the least bit of warmth.

"I suppose I was looking for you, too. You made a big mistake Hannya."

The way he said it made Hannya scoot an inch from him.

"What are you talking about?" Hannya remained composed, furrowing her dark brows. Dabi only advanced.

"Telling lies, keeping secrets. It was all gonna come out eventually, you just should have been more careful."

"Dabi..." He chuckled, one hand stuffed in his jacket pocket.

"I...I meant to find you...I was looking for my family."

Dabi almost laughed, shaking his head slightly.

"You were looking for a family, huh? One could argue it's my family you’re looking for right? How are my baby boy and girl by the way? Got my eyes don't they?"

All the color drained from Hannya's face.

A glimpse into memory had her back in the exam room months ago.

"We ran more tests Hannya. Your bloodwork shows you’re also pregnant, a little over eight weeks along. Congratulations.”

Why couldn't the Earth just swallow her whole now? There's no way he could have known. No she wouldn't have told him right away, if at all. He wouldn't have been a great father. When she was told she was pregnant Hannya wanted to cry, scream, break something or even someone. The last thing she had ever wanted inflicted on her had happened, she was in such hysterics she nearly fainted.

Why couldn't it have been anyone but him? The raw cry she let out. She imagined life with two tiny humans, ones she could give unconditional love to. Innocent souls. Her twins. She knew she was going to keep them, her darling babies. How she tried to keep them from Dabi and now...

"You knew...how long..."

"Does it matter? You honestly didn't think you could hide them from me forever Hannya. You should know better than that." His voice was almost a taunt.

"Try keeping them away from me, if you so much as leave with them I'll burn everything down in my path, everyone, to get what I want."

It was like a slap in the face. He wouldn't? Right? No, he had no rights towards their children. Her children. As far as Hannya knew Dabi was just the sperm donor.

Hannya scowled.

Dabi smirked.

He was right, the twins got his eyes alright.

Still advancing, Dabi pinned Hannya to the rough brick wall, his nose level with hers. He didn't want to admit he missed his little devil. He had to resist the urge to to tear off her clothing and fuck her until she was begging him to stop. God, her scent. She couldn't have been more beautiful, plump lips, inviting breasts, fair skin he wanted to mark again.

"I'll be watching you and our children, doll. Who would have thought..."

He gripped her oncoming wrist from slapping him. Should he break it? No. Some other time. He released her, backing up to give her space, almost yearning for the closeness again. No more talk, he left quietly as he came. He heard the faint falling of Hannya on her knees, cursing him to hell and back.

[lifeofkaze]

October Writing Challenge 2021 - Day 7

Seeing as Ava doesn't have the slightest intention of killing Charlie on the spot, this is obviously set before whatever is going to happen in their fic Larger Than Life. Same goes for every other prompt featuring this OTP.

There is a director's cut showing what happens after the end of this prompt, but that will be released some other time, (if you guys want to see it that is?) because... get to know them first, will you? 😅

Ava’s eyes darted frantically over the page of her textbook. The words written on the old, crumbling paper were Latin, and even though Ava was fluent in the ancient language, it did slow her down considerably. The writing was small, the ink already faded in places, and she bowed deeper over the page to better see in the dim, grey light shining onto the table from the tiny windows.

It was just this one more report, and she would surely be a huge step closer to finding what she was looking for; she just had to finish before…

A deep sigh coming from the sofa behind her broke Ava out of her concentration. She closed her eyes in annoyance and breathed in slowly through her nose, exhaling through her mouth.

“What is it now, Charlie?” Ava asked, and there was an audible strain to her voice.

She knew Charlie didn’t distract her on purpose, and she should probably be more patient with him, but her patience had run thin at the hundredth time they had played this game; that had been a good hour or so ago.

The ginger-haired head of her boyfriend appeared over the backrest of the sofa he had been slouching on. He sighed again as his eyes travelled to the windows and the biblical flood pouring down on the other side of them.

“”I’m sorry we’re stuck inside,” he said, like he had every time one of his heavy sighs had forcefully returned Ava from her mental venture into ancient Rome. “This isn’t at all how I planned your visit.”

Ava turned around in her seat. “I keep telling you, I don’t mind. The weather isn’t your fault. At least that way I’m getting some research done. Theoretically,” Ava added with a glance at the page she had been trying to read for quite a while now.

“You’re not supposed to be researching,” Charlie said and got up. “You’re supposed to see the beauty of Romania. There’s so many things I wanted to show you.”

Ava tilted her head to have a better look out of the window, but all she could see was the rivulets of water running down the glass. It had been chucking it down with rain ever since she had arrived in Romania a few days ago.

Neither Charlie or she were fazed by a little rain, but the constant bad weather had turned the earthen paths leading around the dragon reserve and everything surrounding it into streams of water and mud. They would have been able to apparate to go places, of course, but even so it really wouldn’t be too pleasant to be outside.

“We could play cards, if you want to?” Ava offered.

She really wanted to go back to her book, but it was apparent that Charlie was struggling a lot more with being cooped up inside than she was; she hated to see him restless like this.

“We did that yesterday, the whole day,” Charlie said and shook his head. “I won’t be able to look at a deck of Exploding Snap for years to come.”

“Hm,” Ava contemplated loudly, “how about we cook something?”

Charlie crossed his arms on the backrest of the sofa and rested his chin on them. “I’m not hungry.”

“Then I’m out of ideas, I’m afraid,” Ava sighed and turned back to her research.

She heard Charlie get up and walk over to her, his bare feet surprisingly light on the wooden floor. Judging only by his burly figure, it was easy to forget how fluent his way of moving was, just as it had been back at school when he had breezed over the Quidditch pitch.

“What is it you’re reading about anyway?” Ava heard him ask, surprised at how closely he was standing behind her.

“Old recordings about the catacombs beneath Rome,” Ava said, her eyes lighting up eagerly, “The expanse of them is fascinating, and many of them still aren’t properly explored.”

“Is my brother making you do all this preparation work?” Charlie asked and leaned over Ava’s shoulder to get a better look at the tiny writing.

“He won’t even be part of this expedition,” Ava smiled broadly, “if all goes according to plan, it will be my first assignment without Bill.

“They’d be stupid not to send you,” Charlie told her with a broad smile, “you’ve been working so hard on this. So awfully hard,” he repeated and his smile turned decidedly more mischievous.

His big hands came to rest heavily on Ava’s shoulders and rubbed at the tension which came from the hours Ava had spent hunched over her studies.

Before she could stop herself, a sigh escaped Ava’s lips at the relief in her strained muscles and the pleasant warmth of Charlie’s body behind her. She leaned back against him and allowed herself to get carried away by the touch of his rough hands that never were anything but gentle with her.

“You’re working way too much, in fact,” Charlie mumbled into her ear, his voice suddenly a good bit lower than before. Ava felt a shiver run down her spine as the faint trace of red stubble on his cheek grazed her skin.

She ignored the increased beating of her heart and turned around just enough so she could see him; she cocked an eyebrow at him. “So what are you going to do about it?”

Her challenging smirk vanished when Charlie quickly pulled her from his chair and kissed her with a hunger that surprised Ava.

She wrapped her arms around Charlie’s neck as she kissed him back. Her head was spinning,and the intensity of Charlie’s kiss took her breath away. She pulled him in, inviting him, and his hands were everywhere, her hair, her face, her back, her waist.

Ava let her own hands wander up his back beneath his shirt; Charlie’s skin was always warm to the touch but now, he was positively burning.

Ava could feel the edge of the table in the small of her back, and heard the rustling of parchment when Charlie grabbed her around the hips and lifted her onto the table. She reached behind herself to push her precious books out of reach, but Charlie only used the moment to lean in, and Ava had to use her hand to support her weight instead.

“Careful Charlie,” she said breathlessly between kisses, “my books…”

“Forget your books,” Charlie replied as he trailed kisses from her lips and down her neck. Ava squealed in surprise when he suddenly got hold of her, lifted her off the table again and threw her over his shoulder.

She laughed as he carried her over to the small wooden stairs that led to the gallery that made up the second level of his lodge where he had his bedroom. “What are you doing?”

“Getting dessert,” Charlie said, and although Ava couldn’t see his face, she positively heard the smirk in his voice.

“I thought you weren’t hungry,” she pointed out, holding on as best as she could.

“Well,” Charlie grinned, “I might have just changed my mind.”

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 10

part 1 | part 9 | part 11

A/N: it only took 10 parts but....we have Sokka and Y/N interacting!! If you’ve read the atla comics this is inspired by “The Bridge”. If not, it doesn’t matter! This is just what happens after Aang is injured by Azula and before Season 3 episode 1

Everything about being on the boat made Y/N uncomfortable. She had fought with Katara and Aang in the crystal cave proudly, but now that she was out in the open and more people knew what she had done, she felt like an imposter. She still held the weight of regret high on her shoulders, especially now that she realized that no one was ever going to fully trust her. Nobody was going to trust someone who was willing to change sides in a war. She would always be a traitor whichever side she landed on. 

“I told you Sokka, she helped Aang and I. She’s staying.” Y/N could tell Katara’s patience was waning. Two days aboard the Water Tribe ship and she had told her brother and the earthbender––Toph––what had happened in the catacombs four times, and yet Sokka was still persistent that Y/N needed to leave. The four of them were sitting below deck in the mess hall drinking tea from thick ceramic mugs. It was colder being on the water and Y/N was grateful for the warmth. 

“Look, we can even be nice and give her one of the canoes!” Sokka countered. He gave Y/N a pointed look. “You know, as opposed to throwing you out of sea.”

Y/N nodded. “Yup, I caught that. Thank you.” Y/N really didn’t like that they were talking about her like she wasn’t sitting next to them.

“Snoozles, I think you need to give it a rest,” Toph said. She sipped out of her tea cup and pressed her knee into Y/N’s. The girl had either taken a quick liking to Y/N or she really liked to piss Sokka off, and Y/N guessed it was the latter. 

Sokka ignored her. “We should leave it up to Dad whether we take her as a prisoner or not.”

“He has more important things to worry about, and so do I!” Katara yelled. She stood, nearly spilling her teacup. She pressed it into Sokka’s hands. “And she’s not a prisoner!” She left the room fuming, likely to go check on Aang who was unconscious in the healer’s room. 

Y/N looked around the room awkwardly. “Does this boat even have, like a place to hold prisoners?”

Sokka glared at her. 

“Yeah, so this is fun, but I’m going to go find anything else to do.” Toph moved to leave only to have Sokka pull her back down. 

“I want to hear it again. From her, not Katara.”

Y/N couldn’t help but groan. “Again?”

“Why do you need me here?” Toph sat down again. 

“Tell me if she’s lying.”

“She isn’t interested in lying to the people who are keeping her safe right now. I’m a fugitive,” Y/N said angrily. “I watched someone who I used to call my best friend nearly kill her uncle. I watched her become a person I didn’t recognize anymore because of this mission. Except,” Y/N turned her empty cup over in her hands. “I’m beginning to think she was always that person, and it wasn’t her that changed, it was me.”

“She’s not lying, Sokka.” 

He didn’t look convinced. “Look, all I know is that the Fire Nation is full of evil people. You can’t just expect us to forgive you–”

“I don’t,” Y/N interrupted. “I know you’re mad. I can see the looks the crew gives me. I don’t expect forgiveness from anyone. I don’t even think I forgive myself yet,” she painfully admitted. “I just need redemption.” 

What she had said didn’t look like it had convinced Sokka any and Toph’s expression was the same as it was before. 

“Come on, let’s go for a walk on the deck, Toph.” 

They left, and Y/N was alone. Y/N picked uncomfortably at the hem of the tunic Katara gave her to wear. The green pants were three inches too short when she bent her knees and the actual tunic was almost immodestly tight but it was the kindness that Katara showed her by giving them to Y/N, even if they were just some Earth Kingdom clothes she was given while she was in Ba Sing Se. 

Everything about being on the boat made Y/N uncomfortable. She had fought with Katara and Aang in the crystal cave proudly, but now that she was out in the open and more people knew what she had done, she felt like an imposter. She still held the weight of regret high on her shoulders, especially now that she realized that no one was ever going to fully trust her. Nobody was going to trust someone who was willing to change sides in a war. She would always be a traitor whichever side she landed on. 

Y/N wandered below deck after leaving the mess hall. There wasn’t much to see, the ship wasn’t as large as a Fire Nation ship, just one hallway and a smattering of doors that she probably wasn’t allowed in. Ahead of her though, was a door that was cracked open; the healer’s room. Y/N peeked through the crack at Katara kneeling over Aang. She must have just finished a healing session with him, and she was muttering to herself. 

“–have to get better.”

The boat rocked as it crested a wave and Y/N bumped into the door startling Katara. She lifted the water from the basin she was using and then immediately dropped it when she saw who it was. 

Y/N, caught now, closed the door softly behind her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She pretended not to see Katara blink tears out of her eyes.

“I was finished anyways.”

“How is he?” Y/N asked, unable to come up with anything else to say.

Katara looked back at him and Y/N followed her gaze. He looked like a little kid, not the all powerful Avatar she had seen a day ago.  

“The same as before. Hey,” she pointed at Y/N’s head. “Do you want me to heal that cut some more?” 

Y/N lightly traced the gash on her forehead that she’d received when her and Katara were thrown into the rocks by Zuko and Azula. It reached into her hairline and the only reason she let Katara use her healing powers at all was because it was still bleeding when they’d boarded the ship. She’d only had the energy after healing Aang to close it enough for it to stop bleeding.

“No, don’t worry about me.” Y/N smiled and left without another word, feeling like an intruder. She didn’t need any more hospitality from them. 

---

There weren’t any spare hammocks on the ship for them so the four of them slept on the floor in the crew cabin. They laid out fur pelts underneath their sleeping bags to make it softer; and much like the night before, Y/N was in the middle between Katara and Toph, Sokka at their feet. 

Y/N knew this arrangement was purposeful. They were still suspicious of her, and if she was surrounded by them she would have a harder time getting up and leaving. She wasn’t a prisoner, but she wasn’t free to roam either. 

For the first time in a long time, she dreamt of home; of playing on the beaches and swimming in the warm ocean. She was happy and Y/N realized she hadn’t felt like that in a long time. She didn’t even mind when she was woken up by Toph kicking her in the shin the next morning. 

“Come on, we need to go above deck.”

“Why?” 

“They spotted a Fire Nation ship.”

Y/N had never pulled her boots on faster. She braided her hair on the way as they ran up the steps. It seemed like the whole crew was milling around the deck, muttering in small groups, all eyes turned to the east where a trail of black smoke announced the arrival of enemies. 

Hakoda nodded at her as Y/N and Toph approached. He’d been just as cautious with Y/N as the rest of the crew, but nicer to her than his son. “Do you know what kind of ship that is?” 

Y/N tied off her braid and threw it over her shoulder she squinted and leaned on the rail. “Looks kind of small, maybe a scouting ship?”

Hakoda hummed. “That means we’re going to be outnumbered fast.”

“We won’t be able to fight them, ‘Koda,” Bato warned. “And we can’t run, our sails are torn to shreds from our last fight with them.” 

The two shared a look. Surely, they weren’t thinking of surrendering, were they?

 Katara evidently thought the same. “We have to think about Aang, Dad. We can’t let the Fire Nation have him! We have to protect him.”

“We will! All we have to do is think of a plan.” Sokka seemed unusually happy for their situation.

Beside him, Toph punched his arm. “Alright, idea guy! Lay it on us.” 

“If we can’t beat them, join them!” Sokka beamed.

 Y/N let out a humorless laugh. “You can’t possibly be suggesting that we switch sides.”

“What, are you excited about seeing some of your Fire Nation buddies?” he asked, his voice was light, almost joking, but she could hear the accusation. 

“Sokka!” Katara clenched her jaw. 

He held up his hands. “Okay, okay, sorry!” He did not sound sorry. “What I meant is that we just switch boats.”

Katara, Bato and Hakoda stared at Sokka like he was insane. Toph gave him another punch on the arm. “That’s your plan?!”

 Y/N on the other hand, nodded her head. “Huh.”

Hakoda looked at her like he was looking at Sokka moments ago. “You think that this could work?”

“Yeah, I do actually,” Everyone seemed surprised that she agreed with Sokka. Especially Sokka. “I mean, scouting ships have soldiers on them but they aren’t the best fighters and they don’t station firebenders on them. Their job low risk; just to scout out enemies and relay messages back to bigger ships. If we could find a way to sneak up on them it is very possible that you have enough warriors to take them out and steal the ship.” 

Nobody had anything to say to that. Hakoda grabbed Sokka’s shoulder. “Alright, what’s the plan, son?”

---

Sink the fleet.

Y/N still couldn’t believe that this was Sokka’s “brilliant” idea. And she really couldn’t believe that Hakoda had let them go through with it.

Y/N looked back from her place at the front of the canoe to the smashed wooden ships behind them. The point was to make it look like the Water Tribe had already been beaten, so Katara and Toph had used their bending to flood and crush the ships. It was sad for her to watch it all happen, she couldn’t imagine what it was like for the warriors who had called the ships ‘home’ for years.

A sharp kick to the bench under her jerked her out of her thoughts. “Keep paddling! You’re making us turn the wrong way.” 

Y/N put her oar back into the water and wondered how good it would feel if she just slipped a little and let her elbow fly back into Sokka’s nose. Just how cute would the Water Tribe boy be with two black eyes and a broken nose? 

Y/N swallowed down her anger. “Oh shut up, I haven’t done this since I was nine.”

---

The Water Tribe had found a treeline to camp in for the night. At dusk the next day, they would attack the Fire Nation ship. 

Y/N lay in the grass a few feet away from the Chief, Katara and Sokka and Toph, staring at the stars. She traced the constellations she knew with her eyes, she was just looking for ‘the dragon’ when the stars were blotted out with a figure standing over her. 

“Come sit with us by the fire. It’s cold out.” Sokka crossed his arms. 

Y/N shook her head and sat up. “Thanks, but I’m good.”

He dug the toe of his boot into the grass. “They won’t let me come back until I bring you.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Y/N smiled and flopped back onto her back. “Guess you won’t be eating dinner!”

Sokka raised an eyebrow. “Is this punishment for being mean to you?”

Y/N rolled her eyes. She could tell him that, yeah it probably was, but it wouldn’t be fair of her. Y/N was pretty sure he had a right to be mad with her for joining out of the blue. 

“If you can be nice over dinner, I’ll go over there with you.” Y/N nodded towards the fire. Katara turned away quickly when she locked eyes with Y/N. 

“Deal! I’m starving.” Sokka held a hand out to help her up. Whether it was because he was trying to be nice or force of habit, she accepted it and let him pull her to her feet. 

They let go of each other quickly and didn’t look at each other on the walk over. 

Turns out it was easy for Sokka to keep his promise because he ignored her the whole time and spent the entire meal chattering about the plan for tomorrow with his dad. It was fine with her, Y/N was more interested in Katara’s silence than anything. Anytime either of the men tried to talk to her she shut them down or snapped at her father. 

She nudged Katara’s elbow. “Are you okay?”

She looked up from where she was scowling into her bowl of food. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” 

Y/N nodded. Katara was lying but Y/N didn’t want to press. She could have been stressed about Aang who was still unconscious in the tent behind them. And if there was anything going on between her and her dad, it wasn’t Y/N’s place to meddle in, especially when her relationship with the Water Tribe was as precarious as it was. But something gnawed at the thought of leaving it completely alone. “Let me know. If you want to talk, or something.” Y/N shrugged noncommittally.

Katara didn’t say anything the rest of the night to her, not until they had snuggled into their sleeping bags around the dying fire and Sokka had already started snoring. Somehow, Katara knew Y/N was still awake. 

“Thanks, Y/N.” She whispered the words so quietly that they could have been Y/N’s imagination. She figured out it was real when she opened her eyes to find Katara closing hers. Y/N smiled and tucked her head closer to her chest and fell asleep to the buzzing of cicada-bats in the trees. 

---

The next day, Hakoda did something that surprised her. “Here.” He thrust Y/N’s sheathed sword under her nose. She was seated on a rock next to their smoldering fire, just hours before the Tribe planned on leaving to raid the Fire Nation ship. All around her, warriors were sharpening their swords and spears.  

“Um, thank you?” Y/N hesitantly reached out for it, wondering if this was a trick. She had turned it over to him the moment she slid off of the Appa’s back. And to be completely honest, she wasn’t expecting to get it back at all. 

“I want you to come with us.” 

Y/N widened her eyes. No one had explicitly told her, she wasn't going, she just expected to be left behind. “Why?”

“I heard you can fight.” 

Y/N wondered which sibling gave him that information because that could be a good or a bad thing. She lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “A little.”

He chuckled. “I also heard of a few of my warriors making a bet on when you would turn on us.” He started to walk away. “Don’t make me lose silver to Bato because I think you’ll stick around.”

---

The only sound around was the soft lapping of water against the metal sides of the ship. Y/N’s heart began race and her muscles tensed in anticipation. She drummed her fingers on the side of the canoe, not able to keep still.

Behind her, Katara was less enthused about being brought along. “I should be with Aang, not here.” She muttered to Toph. 

“Aang is going to be fine. And once we take this ship he’s going to have somewhere safe to recover.” Katara went silent. 

As quiet as possible, the Water Tribe warriors scaled the side of the ship with grappling hooks and rope. Y/N could hear shouts of surprise come from the soldiers on the deck as they jumped over the railing. 

When it was Y/N’s turn, she landed on the metal deck next to Toph and Katara. Some warriors had split off to taken down any soldiers on the bridge as well as look for soldiers sleeping below deck. Katara bent water over the railing to knock down three soldiers that rushed them. Two more came from the right; one of them wielding a spear, the other a dao. Y/N deflected the tip of the spear and sliced down, snapping the wood in half. She kicked him in the chest, and he skidded backwards on the deck. She parried a strike from the other soldier, and sent her elbow flying into his face, bringing him to his knees. 

Y/N watched in awe as Toph ripped a piece of the railing off the boat and bent it around the two of them on the ground, restraining them back to back. Y/N looked around the deck and noticed Sokka kneeling, tying another soldier’s hands behind his back. What he didn’t see what the Fire Nation soldier who was sneaking up behind him.

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat and she ran. 

She got there just in time to intercept his sword with her own. But catching him so late in the blow cost Y/N her upward momentum and the tip of her sword scraped the deck. She grabbed his wrist and pushed it away. She brought her left knee up into his side, using their closeness as an advantage. He groaned and bent forward. She swung the flat of her blade against his wrist, forcing him to drop his sword on the deck. For good measure, she grabbed the back of his head and sent her knee into his face. The soldier sprawled back on the deck; dazed, with a bloody nose. 

Snickering behind her drew Y/N’s attention. She watched as Hakoda elbowed Bato in the chest, and Bato, irritated, pushed him away. 

“I told you so!” Hakoda called after him. 

---

Y/N was surprised when Katara said that she could have her own room. 

“Everyone else, has their own. We figured you would want one too.” she shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal and left. Except it was a huge deal. Y/N grinned. They weren’t worried anymore that she was going to wake up in the middle of the night and go on a murder spree. They were giving her an inch of trust and that meant everything to Y/N. She knew that she had a long way to go, but this was something. 

She pulled her hair out of it’s tangled braid and dropped her sword–which Hakoda had allowed her to keep–next to her bed roll before collapsing onto it. She sat back up immediately as someone knocked on her door. 

“Yeah?” she called, crossing her legs. She began to comb the knots out of her hair with her fingers. 

She dropped her hands in surprise when Sokka opened the door. He closed the door behind him and leaned on the wall just inside. 

Suddenly the room felt stiflingly hot. He had traded his blue Water Tribe clothes for a soldier’s uniform and replaced his wolfs-tail with a Fire Nation top knot. 

“What’s up?”

Sokka shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “I want you to teach me how to sword-fight.”

“Oh?” Y/N was surprised to hear that come out of his mouth. “Why?”

“I would have died if you hadn’t been there,” Sokka admitted. “I feel like I rely on the others too much in a fight. I’ve never had a Master to teach me anything.” 

“Well, I’m not a Master,” Y/N said apologetically. She could understand where he was coming from. She was born into a family of firebenders as the only nonbender and it made her special in all the wrong ways. She had to be good at something to survive.

“Maybe not in title, but you’re good. Really good. I–actually never mind.” Sokka turned the handle to the door.

“No, wait! I’ll do it!” She shot up and grabbed his arm. It didn’t matter how much he had hated her twenty-four hours ago. This was something they had in common and if she ever wanted to be in their good graces, she needed to do this. 

“Yeah?” He looked hopeful, and little surprised like he figured she would have said no. 

“How about we start tomorrow?” Y/N asked. She realized her hand was still wrapped around his wrist. She pulled back and crossed her arms. 

Sokka nodded. “Tomorrow.”

---

A/N: now I’m just trying to decide how much of a slow-burn this is going to be.... ALSO two things! One: you’ll notice that I keep mentioning her being a non-bender. You’re all like, “yeah, yeah we know.” but it’s important!! If you haven’t read the Imbalance comics, I highly recommend you do. I have taken some of the issues from that and decided to use them in here because they moved me so much. Being a non-bender is part of Y/N just as much as being a waterbender is to Katara. It defines her, even if she doesn’t like it. Two: No Master Piandao here because, why would we when we can get Sokka and Y/N bonding over sparring and sword-fighting lessons? :)

Taglist: @myexgirlfriendisthemoon @reclusive-chicken-nugget @astroninaaa @aangsupremacy​ @beifongsss @crownofcryptids @welovediaaxx​ @littlefluu​ @lozzybowe​ @thebluelcdy​ @ohjustlookalive @sugarmoongey​ @fanficdepot​ @teenbiology​ @13-09-01​ @riespage​ @davnwillcome​ @naanlianid​ @creation-magician​ @lunariasilver​ @vintagerose1014516 @bcifcng​

[beifongsss]

threatened by the blind bandit [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x Beifong!reader (also an earthbender)

Summary: requested by anon. “ hii 👉👈 could we get a nervous, flustered!zuko going to sokka for advice on how to get you to like him back?”. This also takes place during season three sometime during the Ember Island Players. I also made the reader Toph’s older sister because I thought it’d be interesting 🙊

i also kind of changed it a little too much so i hope you still enjoy it anon! <3 sorry :(

~

The first time Prince Zuko had seen you had been the time that Azula had been tracking you and the rest of the Gaang with her mysterious machine. You had gotten there along with your sister, bursting in to help Aang fight against the royal siblings. As Toph ran off to help fight against the princess, you had cornered the prince, a slightly crazed look present in your eyes due to your lack of sleep. He had exchanged glances with his uncle before Iroh stepped forward, his hands raised in surrender.

“We mean you and the avatar no harm,” Iroh had said softly. You had tilted your head to the side, glancing at him before making eye contact with Zuko. His eyes had widened as they met yours, a faint blush spreading up his neck that was only visible to Iroh. Your gaze had hardened as you looked at the prince, backing up slightly before speaking.

“If it were just you, I’d believe your words. But since he’s here, I’m not taking any chances,” you said sharply. Turning around, you waved your hand behind you, causing the ground underneath them to become uneven and send them stumbling against the wall behind them. With another wave, pieces of rock flew towards them, chaining their hands to the wall.

Zuko’s eyes didn’t leave your form as you jumped into battle, fighting his sister with a grace that admittedly made his stomach flip. He was so caught up in watching you that he didn’t realize that Iroh had freed himself until he spoke. “Maybe you should spend less time looking at the earthbender and more time trying to free yourself.”

Zuko scowled as he ripped his gaze from you, settling on shooting his uncle a glare. “Free me.”

Iroh chuckled at his nephew’s words but did as he said. Zuko wasted no time in going after Azula, trying not to get distracted by the way you made bending seem so easy. You didn’t notice him, too busy making sure that Sokka was safe from any stray fire or falling rocks.

Eventually, you became the last thing on his mind. Once Azula had attacked Iroh, his well-being became the only thing that mattered. When he screamed at the Gaang to leave him alone, he felt your gaze on him and he hesitantly glanced up, his vision blurred by the tears welling up in his eyes. You took a hesitant step forward, only stopping when Zuko flinched and looked away, his tears finally spilling.

“We have to go,” Toph exclaimed, grabbing onto your hand and pulling you towards Appa. “Now!”

You allowed your sister to pull you away, throwing one last glance behind you. You felt your heart clench at the sight of Zuko hugging Iroh. You climbed onto Appa and sat next to Sokka in silence as you flew away.

~

You didn’t see the prince again until Azula and her friends infiltrated Ba Sing Se. You and Katara had stayed behind to plan the invasion into the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun while Aang, Sokka, and Toph each embarked on their respective journeys.

“You’ve got company,” a Dai Li agent called out, tossing someone down next to you. You gasped quietly, turning away from the tunnel you had been creating for you and Katara to escape through.

“Zuko?” you questioned, exchanging an uncertain glance with Katara.

Katara stepped forward, an angry expression on her face. “Why did they throw you in here? Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!”

The prince stayed silent as Katara continued her ranting. “You're a terrible person! You know that? Always following us! Hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!”

You ran in front of Katara, placing a hand on her arm as you noticed Zuko’s expression. “Katara maybe you should calm down.”

She looked at you incredulously before yanking her arm away from you. You flinched out of instinct, stumbling back and landing on your butt next to Zuko, who immediately helped you up and stood in front of you. “Don’t.”

Noticing the way her arm was raised, and how it had implied that she was going to strike you, Katara took a step back. She brought her arm back down to her side, shooting a worried glance at you. She was surprised at the prince’s actions; she had never seen him be that gentle, not even with Iroh. You kept your gaze down, admittedly feeling safe knowing that Zuko was standing in front of you.

“(Y/N),” Katara whispered. “You know I’d never-”

Her voice faded as she noticed Zuko’s fiery glare. Her tone changed as she addressed the prince. “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zuko said, his voice gruff and his eyes never leaving you. Katara opened her mouth to speak only to be interrupted by a loud boom coming from the tunnel you had begun earthbending.

“Aang!” you had exclaimed, running over to the avatar. “Where’s Toph?”

“She went to warn King Kuei about Azula. Sokka’s with her,” Aang replied. Your eyes widened before you began running back out through the tunnel.

“(Y/N)! Where are you going?” Katara asked, stumbling after you.

“To help my sister,” you replied fiercely. “And to make sure that Sokka doesn’t get injured!”

Katara tried to go after you only to be stopped by an enormous wall of crystal. Everyone in the catacombs stared after you as you ran away, amazed by what you had just done. Sure, they had known you were a talented earthbender, but this...this was raw power and it had shocked them into silence.

The silence was broken by Zuko, who was still staring wide-eyed at the tunnel you had escaped through. “Wow.”

Everyone else had turned to look at him, causing his cheeks to burn. Remembering his actions from earlier, Katara’s expression changed into a knowing one as she looked at the blushing prince. He avoided her gaze, instead looking at Aang, who’s face held a wide smile, before finally looking at his uncle, who couldn’t stay silent. “Staring at her again? Prince Zuko, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you are very enamored by the earthbender.”

Unfortunately, Zuko’s response was quickly ignored as Azula entered, two Dai Li agents at her side. Zuko got into a defensive position, forcing himself to stop thinking about the beautiful earthbender.

~

The third time you saw Zuko was when he finally joined the group at the Western Air Temple.

He had received a cold welcome from the group, you and Katara especially. After fleeing from Ba Sing Se, Katara had filled you in on what had happened after you left the catacombs, causing you to feel an ache in your chest for some unknown reason.

Maybe it was because you thought that there was no way Zuko could have been evil, not with the way he had shielded you when you thought Katara was about to strike you. Not with the way he threw himself over Iroh’s unconscious body when Azula has attacked, sobs racking his body. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because a part of you had felt your heart flutter when you noticed the soft way that Zuko had been looking at you in the catacombs.

But he was the prince of the Fire Nation, and you now knew that the Fire Nation could not be trusted. The only reason you were keeping him around was so that he could teach Aang firebending. Other than that, you were ready to throw him off a cliff, especially when you found out he had burned Toph’s feet.

You spent more time with the prince than you expected, especially after finding out that he was the only other bender that had any training in hand-to-hand combat. Before him, Sokka had been your sparring partner, but you were always hesitant to fight him because you were used to using your earthbending as an advantage and you didn’t want to hurt the nonbender. When you weren’t out sparring with Zuko, you spent your time with Sokka, ranting about said prince.

Sokka found the whole situation amusing. He could tell that Zuko had feelings for you. If the blush that coated his face every time you sparred wasn’t enough of an indicator, the way Zuko would stumble and stutter every time you addressed him was more than enough evidence. It also didn’t hurt that Toph could feel his heartbeat speed up whenever you were around him.

The water tribe boy leaned against a pillar as he watched the two of you spar, wincing slightly when you hesitated to strike and were hit with a fireball. Sokka’s lips twitched as you let out a hiss from where you were sitting, cradling your arm to your chest as you inspected the burn. Zuko ran forward, panic clear on his face as he took in the damage he had caused.

“(Y-Y/N), I-I’m so, so s-sorry,” Zuko stuttered out, crouching next to you as he reached for your arm. You glared at him, pulling your arm away from him as you rose to your feet. “I d-didn’t mean t-to.”

You didn’t say anything to him as you stalked away, deciding to find Katara so she could heal the burn. Once you were out of sight, Sokka stepped towards the prince, clapping slowly as Zuko scowled.

“You know, it’s pretty funny to watch you turn into a stuttering mess when you’re around her,” Sokka said, smiling widely. “I can help you with that.”

“Why would I accept any help from you,” Zuko replied rudely, turning to walk away.

“Because I’m her best friend,” came Sokka’s smug reply. “And trust me, if there’s anyone that knows how to deal with her anger, it’s me.”

Zuko paused, thinking over Sokka’s words before turning back around, a defeated look on his face. “Okay. Help me win her over. Please.”

~

Sokka did end up helping Zuko, to an extent. In return, Zuko had helped Sokka break his father and Suki out of the Boiling Rock. No matter how much the two boys would deny it, breaking in and out of the Boiling Rock had helped them grow closer together, something that annoyed you to no end.

Now, whenever you wanted to talk to Sokka, Zuko was right there next to him. It was like you could no longer avoid the prince no matter what you did.

After Zuko had helped Katara track down her mother’s murderer, she had finally forgiven him, leaving you as the only one who hadn’t welcomed him fully into the group. You did all you could to avoid him once the Gaang had reached Ember Island, spending most of your time with Appa.

~

“You have to get over it sometime,” Toph’s voice broke through the silence, startling you slightly as you turned to face her.

“What?” you asked, pretending to not know what she was talking about.

Toph remained silent as she stared at you, or at least as she stared at where she thought you were. In reality, she was staring at Appa as you stood off to the side. You tried your best to stifle a laugh.

“Why can’t you see he’s changed? Everyone else has, even the Sugar Queen,” Toph continued, crossing her arms. “Besides, I’m getting real tired of the way his heartbeat gets when you’re around. I swear you’re gonna kill that boy.”

You flushed at your sister’s words, opening your mouth to reply before you were interrupted by Sokka’s screaming.

“Let’s go see the play!”

“Look,” Toph said, beginning to walk away. “Just think about it okay?”

You stayed silent as you followed her, wondering when the hell she had grown up so much.

~

The play was set to start in a few minutes so you all decided to me your way to your seats. You were about to take a seat next to Toph when she pushed you away before pulling Katara down next to her. “Sorry this seat’s taken.”

You glared at your sister before sitting next to Katara, stiffening up when you looked next to you to see Zuko sitting there. The two of you blushed as you made eye contact.

“Toph’s a genius,” you heard Sokka snicker from behind you, causing you to sink down in your chair. The play began soon after and as far as plays go, this one was absolutely terrible. Hilarious, but terrible. You and Toph were having the time of your life laughing at the way everyone was being portrayed. You had no idea that the Zuko was paying a lot more attention to you than he was to the play.

Intermission came too soon (at least in your opinion) and you found yourself heading to the lobby to buy some fire flakes.

Back near the doors, Zuko was sitting down with his back against the wall and his head buried in his arms. He glanced up when he heard a set of footsteps approach him only to find Toph standing next to him. He put his head back down.

“You’re pathetic,” were the first words to come out of Toph’s mouth, causing Zuko to look up wildly, disbelief and offense visible on his face, not that Toph could see it.

“What?”

“You heard me,” the Beifong girl stated. “I can’t believe you’re over here wallowing in your pity instead of confessing to my sister.”

Zuko opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Toph. “Don’t deny it! In case you forgot, I can feel your heartbeat and I know that it goes crazy whenever you so much as think about her.”

Zuko’s face burned as he noticed the rest of the Gaang coming back.

“Just man up and tell her how you feel okay fire pants?” Toph spoke again before stomping back inside the theater.

Once everyone was settled back in their seats, the play began once again. After a shockingly accurate portrayal of you and the reveal of Toph as a buff man, the play finally got to when you had been trapped down in the crystal catacombs.

You and Katara shifted uneasily as Actress Katara raised her hand, causing Actor Zuko to step in front of Actress You and stop Actress Katara.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her,” Actor Zuko growled.

“What do you care?” Actress Katara replied. “This doesn’t concern you Zuko.”

“Yes it does!”

“Why?”

“Because I love her,” Actor Zuko roared. “Because I love her and I won’t let anyone hurt her.”

You tuned out the play when Actress You also professed her love for Actor Zuko, who then proceeded to kiss Actress You. You could feel Sokka’s stare burning into your head and you sunk low into your chair, turning to glance as Zuko only to find him already looking at you. You swallowed uneasily as you maintained eye contact only to break it when Aang spoke.

“Why are you all silent now?”

Katara glanced at the stage and then at the two of you as subtly as she could, not that you didn’t notice.

“Is it because of the confession?” Aang asked adorably. “It’s not like it’s weird, we already knew that Zuko liked (Y/N/N)!”

You heard Toph and Sokka try to stifle their laughs as you and Zuko sank impossibly low in your seats, flinching when you felt your arm rub against his.

~ It was dark out when you decided it was finally time to talk to Zuko. After searching for him in the house, you noticed flashes of light and you followed them to find Zuko firebending down at the beach.

You observed him for a while before deciding to speak up. “Zuko.”

Zuko flinched and whirled around, losing his footing when he saw you and toppling into the sand. “(Y-Y/N)!”

You smiled softly, offering him a hand. He took it, standing up and coming face-to-face with you.

“W-What are you d-doing out here?” Zuko asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I just thought I should tell you that I’m sorry for being so rude to you and not welcoming you into the group,” you whispered, your eyes never leaving his.

“You don’t h-have to apologize,” Zuko breathed, growing nervous under your soft gaze. “I d-deserved it, after everything I’ve done t-to you.”

“No. I was being unfair to you, even after you proved that you had finally changed,” you retorted, closing your eyes before continuing. “The truth is, I was upset that you had chosen Azula’s side because a part of me...a part of me has feelings for you, and I was angry with myself for letting myself fall for you.”

The silence that followed was deafening and you found yourself regretting your words. What if your sister and Sokka were wrong? What if they were just lying to you? There was no way that they could know how Zuko truly felt abou-

Your racing thoughts were silenced when you felt a pair of lips press against yours. Zuko’s hands trembled as they gripped your waist, pulling you closer to him. You returned the kiss, your hands weaving through his hair and your head spinning as you realized that you were kissing someone that had been considered your enemy for the longest time.

“I left the palace to train Aang,” Zuko said huskily, finally pulling away. His hands didn’t leave your waist. “But I know that I also left because I wanted to see you again and I wanted to prove to you that I wasn’t evil and that having feelings for someone as good as you wasn’t wrong.”

You stared at him before speaking once again. “I never thought you were evil.”

Zuko’s gaze changed to surprised before going back to the soft gaze he had been directing at you. Without saying anything, he pulled you into a hug breathing deeply at your words as a weight lifted off his chest.

“I never did,” you continued, clinging onto him. You stayed like that for a while before Zuko pulled back, staring at you for what felt like an eternity before stealing another kiss from you.

“I’m glad we finally talked,” he mumbled against your lips, causing you to chuckle.

“I can’t believe we have my sister to thank. She basically threatened me into talking to you,” you said, breaking the kiss.

Zuko’s eyes widened before he started laughing. Wrapping an arm around your shoulders, he began to guide you back to the vacation house, pressing a kiss to your temple as he smiled down at you.

“Funny. She threatened me too.”

~

hiiii i hope this was good i kind of struggled with how i wanted this to play out but i hope you enjoyed!!

[cozy-the-overlord]

Dances and Daggers

Summary: The Summer Festival is upon Asgard, as is the tradition of the dagger ceremony, where each unmarried gentleman chooses a lady to bestow with the honor of carrying his dagger for the night. As Prince Thor’s betrothed, Teki’s only goal is to accept his dagger with grace and hope that her violent stepfather doesn’t find fault with her in the process. But Prince Thor is unpredictable, and when he ignores his engagement on a whim Teki finds herself in a desperate situation. Luckily, Thor isn’t the only prince in Asgard…

Pairing: Loki x Original Female Character

Chapter 18: The End

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Word Count: 1,793

A/N: Oh my goodness, we're here. We're at the last chapter. I can't believe it. Thank you all so much for reading and liking and commenting-- you've all made the last seventeen weeks absolutely wonderful, and I'm so grateful :)

TW: Mentions of violence, child abuse, description of a dead body

Tags: @lucywrites02 @gaitwae @moumouton4 @berriemalfoy @whatafuckingdumbass @sophlubbwriting

if you want to be tagged, feel free to just send me an ask/message! :)

Read it on Ao3!

The Winter Festival was in full swing. Teki surveyed the crowd from her place on the royal platform. She still wasn’t entirely comfortable sitting so high above everyone else, but the spot wasn’t anywhere near as unnerving as she had first found it. Besides her, Brant munched contentedly on the meat she had chopped into tiny pieces for him. In the beginning, he had been so frightened of sitting atop the podium that he was afraid to even ask her to cut his food, but after several months he had grown quite at ease with the whole thing.

“Teki!” he’d whisper excitedly, pulling on her sleeve. ”You can see everyone in the hall from here!”

She couldn’t help but grin.

On her other side, Loki grasped her hand.

“Would you like to dance?”

Teki returned his eager smile. “Of course!”

People parted for them as he led her through the crowd, the skirt of her emerald dress billowing around her legs, a silky cloud of green. Loki’s dagger hung at her hip. She had been wearing it every night as of late. It brought a strange sort of tranquility to feel it at her side, something that she hadn’t thought was every possible. It had been hard to look at it at first, to hold it in her hands and know that it had allowed her to take a life. Osvald’s blank stare haunted her whenever she closed her eyes.

But … there was something powerful in it as well, something she couldn’t quite explain. For so long, she had been this helpless little girl who kept her head down and hands clasped in her lap, whose only defense had ever been to close her eyes and hope for the danger to pass, but now … she wasn’t. Everyone knew about her now, not as the fiancé to a prince who held no interest in her, but as a survivor who vanquished the monster who murdered her father. It was an odd feeling. Teki had never expected to command respect of any kind from her fellow Asgardians—even with a future as queen she had always known that she’d exist only in Thor’s shadow—but now, people bowed their heads when she passed.

Loki pulled her on to the dance floor with a twirl, grinning as her dress fanned out around her. Teki giggled.

“Remember the first time you asked me to dance?” she asked suddenly. It seemed eons ago that he had first found her crying on the balcony, and yet somehow it had only been less than a year.

The prince nodded. “I was so nervous,” he confided as he held her closer to him.

Teki laughed incredulously. “You were nervous!”

“I was!” he insisted. “You seemed so sad. I wanted to make you feel better, but I was afraid I was only making things worse.” He paused. “And you were meant for Thor, so I wasn’t certain I’d even be welcome.”

She sighed. That seemed eons ago too—a time where Loki didn’t know her better than she knew herself.

“Well,” she mumbled, cheeks burning. “You’re always welcome.”

He laughed. “Good to know.”

Teki laughed as well, but she hoped he knew how true her words were. She didn’t know what she would have done without Loki these past few months. He had been by her side throughout all the insanity that had followed her mother’s arrest and her stepfather’s demise, whether it was something as grand as testifying before the court that Osvald was killed in self-defense or as simple as sitting next to her at her piano as she played the first few lines of the piece she was composing herself.

He had been with her when she received word that they had found what they believed to be her father’s skeletal remains. Her mother’s confession had included the details of where and how Steinn’s body had been disposed of, down to the gory details that Teki had never wanted to know, how they dismembered him so Osvald could sneak him off world in a rugsack and bury him on Alfheim. Teki’s only attempt to read through the whole thing had ended with her coughing up her breakfast into a chamber pot.

But thanks to Áslaug’s description, they knew where to look, and within a fortnight they found him. Peeling back that blanket to look at her father’s remains had been an experience she couldn’t quite describe. The two felt so disconnected—how could a man so larger than life who she could picture so clearly in her memory be reduced to nothing but a box of dusty bones? For several hours, all she felt was numbness. It wasn’t until late that night that the reality truly struck her. Brant stumbled into her room to find hunched over on her bed, sobbing ferociously into her pillowcase.

They held a funeral for him. It was nothing elaborate, there wasn’t a big production or a huge crowd in attendance, but it was something. Teki didn’t know the next thing about archery, so instead of shooting a flaming arrow, she lit his pyre with a torch before sending it across the water. They probably could’ve gotten a professional archer for it—Loki had offered to shoot it himself—but it had to be her. Teki couldn’t explain it, but it had to be her.

She sighed as her father drifted across the waterfall, across the threshold beyond. It was as if an invisible weight she had carried with her since she was small had floated away as well. He could rest easy now, high in Valhalla. Perhaps she could too.

But there was one thing stopping her from embracing that peace.

Teki followed the guard down through the catacombs of ancient stone, head low. It seemed colder down here, far below the palace. At least, she told herself that’s why she was shivering.

Behind translucent shields of glowing light, prisoners loomed at her as they passed. Teki kept her eyes straight ahead. Based on their biting leers, she got the feeling that they didn’t see a lot of visitors around here.

Her mother sat on the cot in the corner of her cell, picking at her nails. For a moment, Teki almost didn’t recognize her. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, her dress plain and shapeless. She couldn’t recall the last time she had seen her mother without her face painted.

Her eyes had lit up when she noticed Teki lingering on the other side of the ray shield.

“Tekla!” she smiled, her voice hoarse. “I hoped you’d come to see me!”

She wasn’t lying. Áslaug had been sending messages to her daughter through the guards nearly every day since she had been arrested, begging her to pay her a visit.

“You realize you don’t have to do it, right?” Loki had asked her. “You’re not beholden to that woman in any way. If you never want to see her again, you don’t have to.”

Teki knew that. And a part of her would be perfectly content to live out her life without her mother ever being in it. But there was another part that wanted to know what Áslaug could possibly have to say to her.

At first, it didn’t seem like much. “How’s Brant?” she asked after a moment of awkward silence.

“He’s well.” Teki’s voice was stiff. When she first decided to visit her mother, she had told herself she’d be polite. But now, looking at her sitting there pretending as if she had ever given a damn about either of her children, Teki decided she’d settle for civil.

Still, her mother continued on in her bubbly, fake happy voice. “Lovely dress.” She gestured to her emerald gown. “So it’s true then? You’re marrying the other one?”

Teki nodded.

Áslaug breathed a chuckle, shaking her head. “All of that, and you’re not even going to be queen.” She let out a sigh. “I suppose the Norns need a good laugh every now and then.”

“I don’t see anything to laugh about.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Look, I know you hate me,” she paused, as if waiting for Teki to contradict her. Teki only stared ahead in stony silence. She huffed. “I want you to understand, everything I did, I did for you.”

Teki raised her eyebrows. “You killed my father for me?”

“I had to!” Her mother sprung to her feet, leaning as close to the shield as she could without touching it. “Tekla, he didn’t care about your future! We had the chance to make you the most powerful woman in the Nine Realms, and he wanted to let it pass by. Would you be able to forgive me if I hadn’t taken that opportunity?”

“It would have been easier than forgiving you for murdering my father.”

She huffed. “Tekla—”

“What about Osvald?” Teki interrupted. “Did you marry him for me too?”

Her mother sighed. “I didn’t realize what he was like. Had I known—”

“You knew damn well what he was like,” she snapped. “He was willing to kill—”

“For me!” Áslaug pressed her hands to her chest. “He was willing to kill for me. That’s hardly something a woman should pass up.”

“No.” Teki inhaled. Her mother seemed so desperate to convince her, to convince herself that she believed what she was saying. She almost pitied her. “He was willing to kill for what you could give him. He loved you as much as you loved my father.”

Her mother frowned at her. “You’re angry with me now,” she said. “But one day you’ll understand. You’ll wake up and realize that everything you have today, everything you are today, is because of me.”

“You’re wrong,” Teki retorted. “I am what I am today in spite of you, not because.” She let out a shaky breath, motioning towards the guard that she was ready to leave. She met her mother’s glare with a firm stare of her own.

“Goodbye, Mama.” There was nothing else left to say.

The song was changing, morphing from the upbeat strings to the more somber piano solo.

Loki pulled her closer. “Do you want to go to the lake?” he whispered in her ear.

She laughed, cocking her head. “Are you going to push me in?”

“Of course not! Believe me, I learned my lesson with that one.”

“Uh-huh.” Brant was waving at her from the podium. She waved back with a grin. Loki stood beside her, eyebrows raised expectantly. Teki grabbed his hand. “Well, what are you waiting for, my prince? Lead the way!”

This is it, she realized as they scurried through the hallways, giggling like a pair of toddlers.

This is what happiness feels like.

[dicedungeons-and-dragons]

Aroma

A quick little drabble about the nature of being surrounded by magic as a nonmagical creature because I have brain rot for my underrepresented son Gadreel

Gadreel never thought that he had a particularly strong sense of smell growing up. He had thought that his mom always smelled like sunshine and warm bread because she enjoyed her gardening and cooking. He had never wondered why that scent clung to her even after she and mother had spent all day together in the forge, and mother’s skin wafted the scent of hot metal and cooling sweat. It wasn’t until much later that he was told a lot of mages, the utilitarian kind, the less powerful kind, the kind that reached for magic as a tool instead of a part of themselves, often don't consciously know what their magic projects from them. (Waylan read that in one of his many books he snuck back from the ‘big city’ that used to be Gadreel’s home. And Waylan had been somewhere between proud and fearful when he admitted that the smell of fire he exuded was just an extension of the burning he always felt under his skin.) How even after learning this he never wondered or worried why he could smell the magic under his mom’s and Waylan’s skin. How it wouldn’t be until much later he had to contemplate if it was something that was typical of orcs or elves or if it was something inherent to who he was. And how he was too much of a coward to ask Lugh about it. So he never did. He kept it to himself and tried not to let any of the others know.

How sitting out in the fields with Waylan never made him feel like they were getting fresh air because everytime the younger man got worked up or excited all he could breathe was smoke. How when he finally gotten to kiss Waylan, hold him close-- how a hard metal hand and thick rope of scars pressed against his skin, things he had never imagined during the dark nights he fantasized about touching his best friend like this-- he had never realized that the air between them would smell like burning, and that Waylan’s mouth would be open flame, and his skin would taste like ash.

How when Vani was with them she radiated warm sunshine, soft damp earth, wildflowers and sage. And when they went to see her home, even in the dead of winter he knew her magic was allowing her to carry a piece of her kingdom everywhere.

How when he was pushing himself between fragile, bold, timid Lughnasa (his half sibling-- just own it already everyone else already knows) and whatever danger was coming for them next he could smell wine and sweet rum, and touches of something like thick soft grass in a far off foreign meadow. How it made him wonder if Lugh’s magic was desperately latching on to the memories of their home and the toxins they'd tried to use to forget.

How when Ray reached out to him, her hands soothing his hurts in his mind and body, he would be overwhelmed with petricore and seawater. How when she did it in Ketterdam it was like walking along a beach after a gentle rain. But after they had visited Vasselheim, after her stint in the catacombs, and her sword had started to spew dark water-- he had recoiled from her spells. Because then her magic had taken on a horrible odor, a brackish briny rot of a bloated animal whose drowned body had washed up on a beach, left to fester and putrefy on the sand.

And how at first he liked that he knew this part of them, especially given they seemed so unaware of it themselves. And he had thought the longer this... arrangement, alliance, friendship went on he would just get used to it, put it away in the back of his mind. Because smells were something that people could get used to. But magic, he found, was not. He smelled it every time they did something as mundane as cleaning their clothes and changing their eye color (and what a strange privilege to be in any position where doing something like that could be considered commonplace) to ripping a monster from this plane of existence. But what was worse was the way the smells made him feel.

How at the faintest whisper of wine, water, or smoke, his whole body went tense. His fingers would curl around the hilt of whatever weapon was nearest and his eyes would dart around for any possible threats. How even if it was just Lugh weaving an encouraging phrase or Waylan lashing Ray with a flame that they both knew wasn't made to harm her, his body would coil itself tight because when his companions threw magic it was always a draw if they would be using it to play or to fight. Always a coin hanging in the air, filled with the heavy scent of possibility, for just long enough it may turn into a guillotine on the way down.

How he hadn't thought this was weighing on his mind before Jinx came along. Not until there was someone who didn't carry a smell that made the air tingle and hum obtrusively. No. Jinx smelled like old leather and sometimes gutter muck if she had been doing her favorite work of scaling buildings. But her scent could fall to the background. When they were together she was a sanctuary. Nothing about her being pushed in on his senses. She did not exude an aura that forced him to take notice of her, she simply was. And oftentimes, when she felt like it, she simply wasn't too. She had the amazing ability to make herself disappear. Not in the same way that Waylan or Lugh could-- though when she had their help the effect was only compounded. She could just become smaller, quieter, thinner, like existing in this reality had left her so tattered and threadbare that the shadows and cracks between cobblestones welcomed her and let her slip between them far away from prying eyes. He can admit that her being a blindspot, a dead zone, in the sea of magic he had been treading for the past-- two? Three, maybe?-- years is what made him approach her.

What had kept him at her side was how she had been so out of her depth, unfamiliar with so much of the world, so much of the world's strangeness each of the others represented. How she had a story of her own-- orphaned, growing up in foster homes, and then on the street. How that wasn't an uncommon story in big cities. How he had been so relieved to hear her old wounds were something mundane enough for him to empathize with. How he could understand those while banishment, dragon inherited fury, siblings lost in Hell, and rebelliousness that nearly brought a civil war were so far out of his depth he never felt like he could say the right thing to his friends. How he never felt right voicing his own concerns and struggles with them when they were so little. Jinx, smelling like the mud caked on her boots from their long day's travel, leather of her gloves and coin pouch, and the oil he had given her to keep her blades clean and sharp, would walk up to him, or wander off with him, and ask him his thoughts. She would be glib and she would be tactless, and she would understand. She was like him, so far removed from magic, from being extraordinary in the strange exotic way the rest of their friends were, and she made him feel like it was okay for them to exist in that space. To be nothing like the others, and still matter. Like they did help, even if they could only hack and slash, couldn't close a fatal wound with a shining gem and a few murmured words. She gave him respite when the heavy press of magic all around them made him feel like he was seconds away from shaking apart trying to hold still or having to fight for their lives. She bought him a little bit of sanity the nights that he could sit in their camp, surrounded by all of them, and her presence allowed him to believe the smoke on the air was the fire they'd lit to keep them warm, and the sweet smell of wine was the skin she would pass him between sentences. And for now, that would be just enough to give him peace.

[scarletemeterio-thesecond]

I love all of your zuko fic's so much♥️ could you write an angst one when he betrays the water bender reader in ba sing se and they were dating at that time?

Omg, thank you so much! I love writing for Zuko. I'm such a sucker for angst, this literally just hurt me by reading the request. I swear I'm SO bad at choosing titles, but besides that I really liked how this ended up Anyways, I hope you like it!

•••

Heartbreak and Betrayal (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: Mentions of death.

Genre: Angst.

Fandom: Avatar, The Last Airbender

Summary: See Request

Word Count: 2105

part 2

I've been living in Ba Sing Se for a little over two months now. I ran away from the Northern Water Tribe in order to be free; I didn't want to use my bending for just healing and domestic things. I was a fighter; I had been my whole life, ever since my parents died.

I still didn't know the whole city, so I was really happy when I found a tea shop one day. A pretty new tea shop. I started spending a lot of my time there, going almost every day, not only to drink tea but also because it was calm enough for me to draw peacefully. I had been lucky enough to find a place to stay with a loving family in the upper ring of the city, but I couldn’t get much alone time.

I had been here for a few hours already and it was getting late. I got up, picking up my things and instead of heading towards the exit, I walked over to Mushi.

"Do you need someone to work for you?" I asked abruptly and quite desperately actually. I was running out of money, and I was scared for my future. It definitely hadn't been wise of me to spend that much money on tea. "Please, sir, I'll do anything you need to"

He looked at me a bit sad and I almost started crying at his expression. Then, he looked at the boy a couple of meters away from him.

"What do you think, Lee? Should we help this little kid?"

I looked at him, hopeful, but the boy didn't seem to care much.

"You know, we do have a lot of clients and maybe one waiter isn't enough".

"I-Is that a yes, sir?" I asked.

"You can call me Mushi, kid. And yes, it is a yes" I hugged the old man and he hugged me back, I was so happy. "Now, you are one of our best clients, but I'm afraid I don't know your name".

"Oh, I'm (Y/N)" I said. "Thank you so much, Mushi, when do I start?"

I stayed a little more, listening to Mushi as he told me all I needed to know to start tomorrow. I said goodbye to both of them and walked to my place with a smile on my face.

I never thought I'd be so happy to have a job; I loved spending my time at the shop. Over time, I grew closer to Mushi, who was always kind to me. However, my relationship with Lee was a bit weird: he rarely talked to me and when he did, he was very serious. I figured he didn't like me, but I didn't let it bother me. The thing is I was wrong: I guess we just needed some time to get to know each other.

It was pretty obvious to everyone that I had a huge crush on him; to everyone except Lee himself. His uncle had told me several times that he definitely felt the same, and that he didn't know how to act on his feelings but I wasn't so sure about that. Still, one day I decided to take a chance and ask him out on a date. He said yes, and the rest was history.

We've been dating for a little while and, honestly, I was extremely happy. I grew up thinking I would get married to some unknown man, forced to be only a healer and practically a servant, so this was all new to me. When I ran away, I thought I'd never find love, but I was wrong. Maybe I was being a bit rushed, but I knew I loved Lee. He was so sweet to me, and he always made me laugh. He was very understanding when I told him why I had run away from home. I always found comfort in the warmth of his skin since mine was always a bit cold, and he didn't mind; it was so funny to place my cold hands on his back from time to time, surprising him with my cold touch. I loved the sound of his laugh and I loved him even more.

We were about to close the shop when a man came in unexpectedly, giving Mushi a scroll with a message from the Royal Palace. We had been invited to serve tea to the Earth King! Or at least, they did.

Next day, when I heard a knock on the door and heard Mushi was looking for me, I got worried; he was supposed to be at the Palace with Lee. Of course, I immediately went with him.

"What's going on, Mushi?" I asked concerned.

"There are a lot of things going on right now" he answered. "We’ve been lying this whole time. My name is not Mushi, I’m Iroh, and Lee’s name is Zuko. We’re Fire Nation refugees".

I had a lot of questions, even more with every passing second, but he told me to follow him and that he would explain later. I nodded and we started walking, almost running. We stopped in front of a door and I wanted to ask who we were looking for, but I didn’t have any time since someone had opened the door.

"Hey, glad to see you’re okay" said a little girl.

"I need your help" said Iroh.

The two other boys in the room started to wonder how the little girl knew Iroh, but I didn’t pay them much attention. I was lost in my own thoughts.

"May we come in?" They agreed and so we entered the house. "Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se. She has captured my nephew, as well".

"Wait, what do you mean she captured Lee?" I asked, worried about my boyfriend and not thinking about saying his actual name.

"Who’s Lee?" asked the Water Tribe boy, but no one paid much attention to him.

"We’ll work together to fight Azula and save Katara and Zuko" said the other boy.

"Whoa, there. You lost me at Zuko".

"I know how you must feel about my nephew, but believe me when I tell you, there is good inside him". I stood there, not knowing what to do. I just couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t want to help Lee. He was the sweetest person I had ever met.

After exchanging some more words, they decided to help us.

"Wait, who are you?" asked me the Water Tribe boy looking at my blue clothes and making everyone look at me.

"I’m (Y/N), I’m dating Lee- I mean, Zuko" the three of them stood there, a bit shocked, but we didn’t have any time for explanations, so we quickly started moving.

We decided to split up. Iroh, this Aang kid and I were going to look for Zuko and a girl named Katara. While walking down the tunnel, Aang and Iroh exchanged a conversation, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about Zuko and everything that was happening. I still had a lot of questions and not even one single answer.

We eventually got to the catacombs, and it wasn’t long until we found Katara and Zuko. Iroh immediately hugged Zuko and then I did. He hugged me back and buried his face on my neck.

"I’m glad you’re okay… Zuko" I said.

"Y-You know?" he asked surprised.

"Your uncle told me". He tried to explain but I interrupted him. "It's okay, I still like you the same"

He smiled and I did too, even though I wanted to say that I didn't just like him, but that I still loved him the same way.

We rapidly split up again and Iroh started talking with Zuko while I was looking around the catacombs. Suddenly, everything started moving and I could see that Iroh was trapped. I hid myself the moment I heard a girl’s voice. Since she called him Prince Zuko, I realized she must have been the princess and therefore, his sister. She was trying to convince him to join her and Iroh kept telling him that he shouldn’t listen to her.

Then, I heard Katara’s voice again, and the Princess started attacking her. When she was distracted, I decided to help them and use my bending to try to stop her. And then something I never would’ve expected happened: Zuko decided to attack Aang. I just couldn’t believe it.

I could tell Katara didn't need any help against Azula, but I still decided to help her fight the Princess. I didn’t have time to stop and think about Zuko’s actions, I had to act and do something. The course of the fight changed, and now Katara was fighting the Prince and I was about to try to stop Azula from hurting the Avatar.

"(Y/N), stop!" screamed Zuko.

"You don’t get to tell me what to do right now!" I was angry, and I felt betrayed. He was going to let her kill Aang.

He threw fire at me and caught me by surprise, so I bent down while covering my face, which resulted in my arm getting burned. I let out a scream and immediately looked at Zuko. For a moment I saw regret in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced with anger.

When Aang got hit, they both decided to go after Katara, and I tried to help her, but my arm just hurt too much and I didn’t have any time to heal it; I definitely was going to have a scar. When she got thrown against a rock, Azula started attacking me. I ignored my pain and started defending myself.

"Wait, don’t hurt her!" he said, getting closer to me.

"Stay away. I don’t want you anywhere near me ever again, Zuko" I threw water at him, pushing him away. I could feel tears running down my face. "I trusted you! I thought you might even feel the same way I did, but I guess you don’t".

"What do you mean, (Y/N)?"

"I love you, Zuko! Or at least, I loved the person I thought you were. But you’re not that person anymore, maybe you never were!"

"I do love you! Just let me explain, please-"

"No, Zuko. You don’t betray the people you love". I didn’t care anymore about him seeing me cry, and I could tell he was trying not to let the tears run down his face. I had so many emotions inside of me, I was angry, sad, disappointed, and even ashamed of myself for trusting him. And there were so many things I wanted to say, but I just couldn’t get the words out of my mouth.

Suddenly, the Dai Li appeared, and now we definitely were outnumbered. I quickly ran to Katara, who was getting ready to attack again. Then, Aang put some rocks around him and we all were waiting to see what he was doing. When he got out, his eyes and tattoos were glowing but it didn’t last long since Azula decided to throw lightning at him. The other waterbender and I looked at each other and used our bending to try to catch him before hitting the ground. Thankfully, she did, and I remained ready to attack in case we needed to. When Azula was about to throw fire at us, Iroh stopped her.

"You’ve got to get out of here. I'll hold them off as long as I can" he said.

‘’Go, Katara, I’ll help him" I said.

"No, (Y/N), go with her". When I heard Iroh’s voice, I looked at him confused. He definitely was going to get caught, and he needed help.

He started throwing fire and I still stood behind him, not knowing how to react, or what to do. I didn’t want to, but my eyes immediately landed on Zuko, who was already looking at me. He started walking towards me and I could see his lips moving but I just couldn’t -nor wanted to- hear him.

"(Y/N), let’s go!" Katara said behind me. I got out of my trance and went to her, helping her bend the water from the waterfall.

"Wait, (Y/N), please!" said Zuko quite desperately. But I didn’t pay any attention to him, I wouldn’t let him trick me again.

While we were getting out of there, I looked at him in the eyes. He was crying and kneeling on the floor, asking me to come back. I started crying and closed my eyes, trying to get him out of my head since I didn’t want to see him ever again.