#mainlanders: *still shook and confused* | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sunjaesol · 2 years ago

Note

#6 for the kisses prompt makes me think of engagement juke 😭

6. Wild, breathless kisses brought on by a heartfelt gift (princess x guard au)

*~*~* Solaria, 1845 *~*~*

Princess Julianna Molina of Solaria has never left the island. She spent most of her time inside the gates of the castle though rarely found herself promenading in the city to visit lords, ladies, ambassadors, or the orphanage. But beyond were strange waters and unknown worlds.

Her father said the sea creatures and pirates didn't like princesses, but still: at night, she wondered what else was out there.

Her lady-in-waiting, Kayla, came from the mainland Los Dédalo. She rarely spoke of her time there. All she knew of Kayla was the tragic history of her deceased father, the Marquess Caro, which led her to live with the court of Molina.

"It's colder," she once uttered, untangling Julianna's curls, "and the woods extend for miles and miles. They use brown brick instead of pale stucco for their houses." A gentle, foreign smile lifted on her thin lips. "And there's a lot of dancing."

A week after Kayla's quiet words, her father beckoned her to his study for news. A new batch of guards would commence on their grounds, of which one would become her personal guard.

Julianna frowned. "I have my chaperones and Lady-In-Waiting. I don't need more protection, father."

King Raymond shook his head. "You are seventeen years of age. Soon, you'll start attending balls and getting called on by nobility. I won't have your reputation be ruined because I was lenient with your protection."

The words made him perk up. "Attending balls? On the mainland?"

"Yes." She gasped. "But do not get your hopes up. The mainland has nothing on Solaria, the monarchy you'll rule over one day." A rueful smile twisted on his mouth. "Though I'm sorry your mother isn't here to guide you."

Julie placed her hand on her necklace, on heirloom from her mother, and tilted her head to the ceiling. "She's here, though. Don't worry."

Ray placed a kiss on her forehead and told her to go. Her large purple skirt ruffled around her as she went.

Twelve guards descended onto the island by ship the next day. Guard Lukas Patterson was assigned to her. He had a strong built, a kind smile, and no issue speaking to her whenever she allowed it. At first, it unnerved her to find a guard standing outside her quarters at all times, but soon he became part of the routine. Wake up, get washed and dressed, and greeted Lukas as she went to break her fast.

She was walking around the garden with her Lady-In-Waiting Kayla and Viscountess Flynn, when she peeked over her shoulder at Lukas shadowing them a couple feet back. Before she realised what she was doing, a question sprung from her tongue.

"May I ask how old you are, Guard?"

His brows raised in surprise. From her periphery, she felt the confusion of her friends. "Eighteen, Princess," he replied.

"Isn't that young to be a guard?"

"We start training at thirteen."

A curious smile lifted on her lips. Thirteen? At thirteen, she was learning Latin, Italian and Greek, was called a genius on the pianoforte by her governess, and had her hair trimmed for the first time in her life. She couldn't imagine a life so different from hers.

The conversation should end there, but instead she continued, her interest piqued. "Is it hard? Training?" She nodded at the sword in its sheath draped around his hips.

"Julie," Flynn whispered, gently reaching for her elbow. "Perhaps we should walk another lap."

The words had a sheen of warning. It wasn't a request. Flynn was perhaps the only woman of nobility that didn't oblige to every of Julianna's whims. The princess nodded and turned away from the guard.

Her curiosity was often chastised as a child. Princesses didn't need to know things that didn't concern them. Professors taught her politics, history and geography, but the moment she begged for personal anecdotes or an odd detail, the books slammed shut. At least she had her pianoforte. Then, she could escape into her own imagination and create the most beautiful compositions.

Later that evening, she sat alone in the grande library, curled into a velvet couch while reading with candlelight. But she couldn't focus. Outside the mahogany doors, Lukas stood still, alert and waiting for her to make a move.

Would it be improper to invite him inside? Nothing would happen. Julie just wanted to talk, listen to his years of training.

And so, she did.

Tiptoeing to the door, she craned her neck around the corner and caught Lukas' eye. He straightened up. "Is everything okay, Princess?"

"Yes," she said. A hesitant pause. She never broke the rules. "Would you... like to come inside, Guard Lukas? I still want to hear the story about your training."

His expression fell into an incredulous gawk, not at all like the cool gaze he usually sported. She withheld a giggle. Her guard was sort of cute. "Uh... I- I'm not sure if-"

"You won't get in trouble," she rushed. "I asked you, didn't I?"

Slowly, he nodded, lightly bowed his head, and entered the library. He sat down in the chair opposite of her, a little awkward, though seemingly in awe by the grandeur of the space and the buttery texture of the furniture. Her long hair was down and she wasn't wearing her gloves, but somehow, she didn't feel exposed.

"So, tell me about your training."

And so it began. Luke wasn't just her guard, but a confidante. He told her about his life before the Molina court. That he used to live in the uppermost province of Los Dédalo and joined the military to take care of his parents. That he made his best friends there, Reginald and Alexander, but that he called them Reggie and Alex, and they called him Luke.

Luke. It wasn't at all like the names people chose in Solaria. But she liked it. Short and sweet and it rolled off her tongue in a pleasant manner.

Meanwhile, balls had commenced across the islands and mainland. Julianna wore dresses dripping in gold and gemstones, her hair braided with pearls, silk gloves and glass, sunkissed skin. She was the vision of perfection; a wonderful dance partner, too.

Except much to her disappointment, she didn't match with any suitor. They called on her the days after a ball, of course, but none have her an easy feeling. There was no comfortable rapport.

All the while, Luke stood in the corners, the shadows, watching her.

One evening, Julie paced along the glass-stained windows of the sunroom in agitation, venting about the lack of ardent men on the dance floor. Luke listened while leaning against the wall, slight amusement on his face.

"I'll be frank: do you even like these balls?"

"I like the dancing," she conceded. "But nothing else. Not that my opinion matters." Julie sighed and plopped down in a rattan chair. "I know these are... quite luxurious problems, but it's still my life. And I want a love match, as silly as that might sound."

With a frown, he moved towards her. "It's not silly, Princess. I dream of a match like that, too."

That surprised her. If she was honest, she didn't think guards had dreams. Their lives were pre-determined, just like hers, unless they wanted to flee and be marked as a treasonous fool. "Really?"

The guard nodded, his eyes flitting from her to the lush gardens behind the glass. She wished to step closer, place her hand on his arm and ask what that fond look meant, but it was a risk too great to take. It was daylight still. A passing servant wouldn't be pleased seeing their easy relationship, and would no doubt gossip.

Pressing her hand in her side, she mustered a comment. "Do you want me to set you up with one of the kitchen maids?" she giggled. "Chef Gisela is a catch!"

Luke rolled his eyes. "No thank you, Princess."

"Please," she found herself saying, "call me Julie."

He paused. "J- are you sure?"

No, she wasn't sure. Her proposal screamed impropriety. Them talking in the sunroom like this, with him unguarded and smiling, shouldn't even happen in this realm of existence. But Julie never backtracked. With a raised chin, she uttered: "Yes"

Luke's green eyes shimmered in the golden light at her conviction. "Okay. Then Julie, please don't set me up with Chef Gisela." A smirk danced on his handsome face. "I don't really have a thing for redheads."

That night, she dreamt of Luke. Of that smile he sent her, of his eyes and kind voice, of his bold statement. What did it mean? She hadn't really thought about what she had a thing for. A man that connected with her on a soul-deep level, sure, but what else? Did she imagine a blonde or brunette by her side? Pale or dark skin? One with a culture similar to her own, or wildly different? She was woefully unprepared.

Tossing and turning, she came to the huffed conclusion that she had to speak to Luke further about 'having a thing'.

"You're not seriously asking me this!" he squeaked the next day. His hair was unkept, brown strands standing in all directions and curling at the nape of his neck. Something she should chastise, but it looked rather nice on him.

"I am," she stiffly replied. They were in the garden, away from the preening eyes of the court, and she busied herself picking flowers and placing them in a basket, in fear he'd see her plum blush and shy eyes if she faced him. "You don't have to indulge me, but I'd be grateful if you did."

He puffed. "It doesn't sound like I have a choice."

"You do." Julie straightened up and dared to lock eyes. Her hands folded together in front of her floral dress. "I'm asking this as a friend, Luke, not as a princess."

The guard sighed, looked over his shoulder to check they were indeed not being eavesdropped on, and uttered: "Okay... at these balls you attend, what catches your eye?"

"About people's countenance?"

"Sure."

"Well..." A zinnia twirled between her fingers, a pensive expression dancing on her face. "I like men that are taller than me."

"That's not hard," he jested. She stuck her tongue out.

She continued: "And... I like when they appear strong. And I suppose that I like darker features, like dark hair." As tangled as her thoughts were last night, as clear as day they were now. "Blonde looks so lifeless to me, for some reason."

Luke smirked. "Wasn't that Viscount Nick Dawson you spoke about a blonde?"

"Maybe."

"But there you go!" With a bounce in his step, he closed the distance between them and plucked the flower from her grip. Surprised, she looked up at his looming figure, her breath catching in her throat when he gently tucked the flower in her updo. "Now you know what you like. What your 'thing' is."

Her head tilted. "What's your thing? If it's not redheads?"

He smiled. She wondered if someone ever told him he had a perfect smile; the perfect ratio of lips and teeth and scrunch of the eyes. But then he dismissed her with a slight bow. "What I like is not important."

"It is! You said you wished for a love match!"

He took a step back. "We both know I'll be protecting Solaria until my retirement, whether as your guard, or at sea."

Right. His position as her guard wouldn't be forever. After she married, or went on her honeymoon, or the military needed reinforcements, or after her inauguration as queen — somewhere in that timeline, he would be gone. And no one would speak of him, as though a ghost, as guards weren't meant to be friends with.

Julie looked down, hoping to hide her sorrowful expression. "Right. You're right."

The following days were devoid of Luke. She didn't feel like talking to him. She never had to anticipate losing a friend before, and didn't know how to deal with it. And so, she spent her free time playing the pianoforte.

Her father noticed her mournful demeanour. "Don't fret, my Dahlia, more suitors will call on you when we host a ball."

Her fingers paused on the keys, a sharp sound piercing the quiet. A ball? The last one was a couple weeks ago, given the several engagements between nobility that had popped up left and right. Julie hadn't been there to celebrate, obviously, isolated on her island.

She frowned. "We're hosting one?"

He laughed. "Of course! And you'll be the diamond." His finger laid beneath her chin, his eyes boring into hers. "No one will compare to you."

"I don't think that matters, dad," she whispered, losing all decorum as hope sunk to her feet. "It's been months since the first ball, no one is interested. I'm not interested. I think I'll have to try again next season."

"At eighteen?" he stammered. "Your mother married me at sixteen."

"Lady Wilson married at twenty-one," she argued.

Father sighed. "Yes, and now she's across the world in a land with the coldest climate, away from her family. That is not a life I wish for you."

His voice was resolute. Don't fight, it meant. Without another word, she returned to the pianoforte, though her hands shook with frustration.

The night of the ball, Julie was a mess of nerves. The maids fluttered around her in the quarters, helping her into her purple gown and adding crystals in her hair. If her father's conviction she'd find a match at their ball, than he no doubt would chat up the mamas and papas with charming eligible sons. Didn't matter if Julie found them uninteresting. It was time for her to choose. To act like the princess she has trained for her entire life.

Kayla fanned her flushed face, concerned, to which Julie mustered a weak smile. "I'm just excited," she lied. "So excited."

The first dance had begun by the time Julie and Kayla padded down the luxe hallways to the ballroom. The double doors were closed, music and chatter and warm light bleeding through. God, she didn't want to go. She really didn't want to go.

"You can already go inside," she heard herself say.

Kayla appeared surprised. "Excuse me?"

"Enjoy yourself," she encouraged. "I just need a second to- to collect myself."

Her Lady-In-Waiting hesitated for a beat, eyeing the ballroom that lured her closer, before she sighed and nodded. "All right. If you're not inside in five minutes, I'll come and get you."

Finally, Kayla left. The servants opened the doors for her and she entered the ball. As they shut, with only servants that chatted amongst themselves, Julie had her privacy to take a breath.

"Princess."

Julie gasped. Twirling around, she found Luke standing in a dark alcove. Flitting her gaze to the servants, she ensured they paid no attention and picked up her skirt, rushing towards him.

He looked distinguished: a crisp white shirt and his gear polished for the party. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes raked from his clothes to his imploring gaze. They hadn't spoken in weeks, but it felt like days, and yet, she had missed him.

Her conversation with Luke shot to the forefront of her mind. Her 'thing': that was what she should look for. A tall, strong man, with brown hair... and handsome features... and a sense of humour... and-

Oh. Her racing thoughts came to a standstill. Oh.

"You've asked me what my thing is," he whispered.

Julie blinked. That was why he called her? Glad the shadows hid her disappointment, she sought her voice. "I... yes."

"I just wanted to say that..." He took a deep breath. "It's girls with brown hair in pretty dresses."

Oh. "Luke..."

"I wanted to give you this." From his pocket, he revealed a strip of elegant white lace. At the ends, dried zinnias were sown on. Dainty and unassuming, but a fortune for a man like Luke. Tears welled in her eyes. Luke seemed flustered. "It's— I mean, I figured you could wear it as a bracelet, but—"

"I love it," she exhaled, "thank you. I—"

Surging up, she grabbed his cheeks and pressed a hard kiss on his mouth. He was frozen. Fear overtook her senses and she stepped back, about to exclaim okay, bye! when his hand gripped her wrist, mumbling a breathless wait and pulled her back in his chest. His lips locked back on hers. Relieved, her hands fluttered from his arms to his neck, settling there. His own touch rose up her back and stopped when his thumb grazed the skin of her shoulder blade.

Oh, no. Kayla.

Julie took a step back and found Luke chasing her, but she pushed him back into the dark. The servants would have his head if they saw.

"I need to go," she whispered in a flurry of excitement and nerves and elation. Her heart hammered in her throat. "I... I'll find you at the end of the ball."

Luke smiled. "Not if I find you first."

kiss prompts (closed!)

#i love anachronism so yeah julies dresses are 1840 to 1855 but luke has a late medieval style going on à la sean teale in rosaline (2022)#anyway #princess x guard my beloved !!#juke #julie and the phantoms #jatp fics #jatp fanfiction #i'm incorrigible

45 notes · View notes

hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy · 2 years ago

Text

Ungratefulness (A Sodor Spirits Short Fic)

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

Oliver, the metal spirit, leaped from platform to platform, keeping a close eye on the other's he had yet to reach. He skimmed across the floating islands, yet still, no sight of Thomas.

Oliver had become worn out from his search and chose to settle down on one of the islands.

“Where is that idiotic blue haired boyfriend of mine when you need him?!”, he complained. “Where could he have possibly gone off to?”

He swore he asked every spirit and human who knew Thomas...

“Sorry, Oliver”, Edward apologized. “I think he got up early to Norramby. I did see him there for a while, but he looked hurried.”

“No, Thomas isn’t here”, Arthur said. “But I saw him heading to the Little Western.”

“Uh, no”, yawned James. “I have no clue we're he went. Just go check out Knapford, he's probably dawdling around with Annie and Clarabel.”

“But I just came from there!”, Oliver exclaimed.

“Oh. What a pity I suppose”, James responded with apathy (that annoyed Oliver to no end).

“Hey, he's your partner, not mine.”

“That old fusspot”, Oliver grumbled angrily. “When I find Thomas, I swear I'm gonna bash his tender-”

Then, Oliver's speech was interrupted by the sound of shrieking and screaming. He frantically got up as he began to look around again. The screams sounded a lot like Thomas', but also very different.

He came to a stop when he found Thomas on a small platform, being attacked my an eldritch monster.

Well, at least he thought it was Thomas.

Was it Thomas? Last time he checked he didn't wear blue overalls accompanied with turquoise sleeves that had red stripes, and he didn't wear a collared shirt. Well, there was a number 1 sign on his right arm but that didn't prove anything. His hair was completely black too, and his skin was tan and—

“Are those wheels on his boots?!” Oliver thought. Wasn't sure if he was Thomas anymore. Just then, the black-haired man faced Oliver has he was being ambushed.

“What in Godred are you just standing there for?!”, he yelled. “Aren’t you going to help me?! I’m gonna die here!!”

Oliver quickly shook his head as he went out of his trance. With his power, he summoned three giant metal poles and charged towards the black tentacled monster...

“Let me go, let me go!”, the man with overalls screamed as he attempted to squirm out of the metal spirit’s arms. And there, Oliver’s patience was running thin.

“I will not drop him, I will not drop him”, he repeated to himself. “He’s a human, it’ll be wrong to do so”, he reminded himself.

The two had eventually reached land at long last, away from the floating islands. Oliver settled down with his aggravating passenger and he dropped him to the ground.

“Hey—Ow! Who...who are you?!”, the shortie man asked as he stood up.

“I’m Oliver, a spirit who protects people from monsters. And you are clearly from the Mainland”, the Great Western spirit said grumpily, tired out from the trip he had.

“And you, clearly, aren't great at your job”, he replied crossly. “And I am from the Mainland. In fact, I was built there.”

“How could’ve you been? You’re a human.”

“No I’m not”, the man said smugly, as he put his mouth around his fingers and made an awfully familiar whistle...

“Peep peep peep!”

Oliver was shook from the sound he made. It was an engines whistle. It definitely wasn't human.

He decided to ignore this and ask. “Enough of that, where’s Thomas?”, he demanded.

The human man looked confused. “But...I’m Thomas?”

“No you're not”, Oliver interjected. “At least...not the Thomas I know.”

“Even with all the similarities, you can’t possibly be him”, he said in his mind.

“Well, you aren't the Oliver I know!”, ‘Thomas’ answered rudely. “Even if we aren't close, he’d probably never treat me this horribly! First, why did it take you 10 seconds to even help me with my dilemma?! Second, the ride to safe land was bumpy and uncomfortable! Learn how to hold someone properly! Third...”

Oliver didn't bother to listen to Thomas’ rant anymore. He was feeling rather jaded now. He just stared at Thomas while he was complaining. But the longer he looked, and the more he heard him, the more he softened up. A tired yet amused smile drew across the metal spirit's face, with lime blush forming too.

“I suppose even if you're from another universe”, Oliver sighed in his head,

“You’re still the blue idiot I know.’

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

GREETINGS HELLO

Hi @sodor-spirit i decided to make this for pure humor because all my other crossover fic's are depressing. I hope you enjoy this fic and my art! I hope I didn't get anything wrong tho...

34 notes · View notes

mythicalsanctuarysodor · 2 years ago

Text

Happy late James day! Have a pic and a fic for my lateness-

(Warning! Under the cut is a fanfic that may contain topics sensitive to some readers, read tags for more info. Otherwise, you have been warned, read at your own choice.)

James smiled and waved as he saw Gordon, Duncan and Sir Bertrum board the train out to the mainland, Edward and Henry standing at his sides were doing the same as the old stallion and forest spirit wished them good luck. Once the train had left the other mythos were left with their own plans for the day, Edward was taking his wife into town so they could go furniture shopping for their new house, Henry was finally ready to go into the forest he once called his home, Thomas was going to do a bit of expansive exploring around the island, Percy was going to visit the Skarloey, and their jockeys were going to hang around the docks chatting with old friends.

James however had a train to catch as he was going to the mainland for a visit, when the others questioned him his answer was- “I always wanted to learn a little bit of alchemy, and now is the best time with all the classes popping up.” They bought it as it also was to explain why he would be gone for a few days. With suitcases in hand James’s own train to Manchester was coming in, the others wished him luck as the unicorn boarded the coach.

James made sure to get a coach that had compartments so he wouldn’t take up to much space, he had a long way from Sodor to Horwich after all. So he sat his luggage on the seat and laid down in the middle of the compartment. As the train carried on, after an hour someone knocked on the compartment door, James looked up from a book he was reading to see a human there, James was honestly expecting a mythic to join him before a human would.

“Hello, do you mind? Everyone else is full.” The man said. “Sure, though I apologise for the tight space.” James said as his body didn’t quite take up the whole small isle but there was enough space for two humans. The man smiled and sat down on the opposite seat to James’s luggage. James was about to go back to his book when the human decided to engage in small talk.

“So, where are you heading?” “I’m heading back home to Horwich, I’m hoping to still find some family there.” James said. “Ah,” the man smiled and nodded then got a notepad and pencil out and began writing down what James had told him. The crystal mythic found this strange and asked about it, “Do you record your conversations with people?” “Oh! Sorry, no-no I’m a mythology professor in Manchester, ever since the new law many of my colleagues have been jumping at the chance to talk to as many mythic as possible to record things while their still fresh.” “Ah! Well in that case I’m one to brag and boast, if you have questions I’d be happy to answer, professor…?” “McGlynn, Oswald McGlynn.” The man said extending his hand for a shake. “James, James Shire!” James smiled and gently shook his hand.

The first thing Oswald did was gasp when he got a good look as James’s hand and arm, as the unicorn was wearing a short sleeve dress shirt and vest today. “My goodness your arm, is this solid gemstone?” Oswald asked. “Yes it is, 100% ruby and my tail and frills are flecks of gold.” “Good gracious you’re a walking few million pounds! You must have done something extraordinary before boarding this train.” “Not really, I did mixed traffic work on a railway off of Barrow-in-Furness, granted I did pull the express there a few times but otherwise it was mainly goods work with some passenger trains mixed in.” “So you were an industry mythic?” “I guess I still am, because our owner offered us to still work there if we wanted, I said yes and he’s given me a few months to get my interests in order.”

This confused Oswald, he had gotten the impression that many industry mythic had been glad to leave their old jobs behind. “Why are you still working there? I’ve seen several reports of mythic loathing their old jobs they were forced into.” “My boss was actually rather fair compared to what I’ve heard about other railways, and he still is fair by giving us proper wages, heck, I did just say he’s giving me a few months to get my things together before going back to work.” “True, I guess there are a few good eggs out there. But moving on, since you’re an industry mythic, were you paired with a locomotive?” “I was, a Lancashire and Yorkshire class 28.” “So how did you get from that railway to the one you’re on now?” “That particular class of locomotive was riddled with problems, and mine was chosen to have some modifications done. They worked, but they didn’t have enough money to do it on the others. So I was eventually sold off to the railway I work on now when they needed a quick cash grab.” “Sounds like that was for the best in the end.” “Absolutely, my best years are with my current home.”

As Oswald scribbled down his notes he then moved onto a more personal topic. “If you don’t mind this next topic, I was wondering if you could tell me about you personally. Like�� your middle name, last I knew working class mythic didn’t get family names and rarely got proper names at all.” “Ah! Well… I was wild caught truth be told, my herd had its own language and when my name was translated it meant supplanter, and the human name James means supplanter. As for my surname, I just needed something to write on my new birth certificate, so since Yorkshire and Lancashire both ended in ‘Shire’ I chose that. It also makes sense because I’m a horse.” James explained with a chuckle. “Alright, then what about your heritage? I’ve never seen a unicorn made out of minerals before, so are you from an area with caves?”

James seemed to pause at that question. Back when he first arrived at the NWR he got asked that frequently, eventually people just stopped asking but it was always still a mystery in the air of what James 100% was. “It’s… complicated. I’m sorry but this isn’t one I’d like to answer.” “No need to apologise, I understand that some things of the past should stay there. But if you can’t tell me that then I would like to ask how you maintain your body, do you need to eat rubies or gold? Or what is your diet in general? I couldn’t help but notice you also have wrather sharp teeth.” “Well to answer the whole thing about my food I’d have to say I’m an omnivore like you, I can eat my fruit and meats. Not rocks however, my body isn’t the you are what you eat factor.” “If you don’t mind me asking then, how do you bathe? Do you polish the rock or do you just run it under water?” “Run it all under water and then dry the gem part with a special towel.”

Oswald then got to the last few questions he had. “Okay, last few, and the most awkward of all. How do you court and mate?” “We’re still not barn animals so I wouldn’t say ‘mate’, but to answer that question my species specifically reproduces asexually, using a method akin to how most industry mythic were born except instead of using a female or female equivalent they put the beginning embryo into a large crystal, and it gestates from there. As for dating? My species are technically gender fluid or don’t identify with any gender so we don’t mind who we date as long as they’re the right person, but me personally I’m not looking for any love at the moment.” Oswald smiled as he put a firm dot at the end of his last note. “Thank you very, very much James, I’m hoping this will help my classes understand mythic better. Um, if I could interest you, would you like to come to the university I work at for a live demonstration? You’ll be paid and such.” Oswald handed James his card. “I’ll definitely consider it, it was fun getting to talk about myself for an hour or so.” James said as he checked his pocket watch. Oswald was surprised to, checking his own wrist watch. “Oh my the time flew by fast, my stop should be coming up soon.”

James did his best to stretch as his own stop would be coming soon as well. “Well if you get off before me I want you to take this.” James made a small square plate of ruby form in his hands that had some odd pictures but also some numbers on it. “This is so I can just teleport into your class room if you place it on the floor, it also has my crystal ball sigil and phone number on it, but I might not be me answering the phone, just ask for me if not.” Oswald was amazed! He just saw James do magic and he didn’t even think to ask about that! He took the ruby with glee and carefully wrapped it in cloth before packing it in his brief case. “Thank you very much James, and who knows, maybe now having a sigil will give me an excuse to use a crystal ball or magic mirror.” Oswald said as he got up and saw his stop approaching. “Well this is my stop, it was a pleasure talking with you James.” “Likewise! If only more humans were like you, we would be a lot further along than we are now.” Oswald chuckled as he smiled and left the coach, waving to James.

Once James was on his way again he began to dread reading the signs of the stations as they came up, but eventually he found the one he was looking for… Horwich. He began to collect his things and climbed out of the coach, to his surprise he saw a lot of mythic walking around on the platform, working as ticket sellers, maintenance, he even saw who looked like a tall faun hybrid as the station master. Regardless he trotted off and began to search around, he remembered some of the tracks but a lot of them had been paved over by roads, now the only ones really around were tramway tracks. But as he undoubtedly knew, all tracks lead to the place where engines run, so he followed them across roads and past other landmarks he used to know until he was standing in front of the brick building of Horwich works.

He trotted in to try and see if he knew anyone there, it was being cleared out as the working class mythic that would have previously lived there were moving out. And to his surprise he did see someone he recognised, a brother in steel as they were paired with the same engine type but weren’t biologically related. “12517?” James asked. The unicorn centaur turned around from the other mythos he was addressing and gasped when he saw James, “12520?! Holy cow! What?!�� The centaur trotted up to James and pulled him into a tight hug. “Brother it has been decades! Where have you been? Is this a new gemstone? What’s with the solid red look? Why have you come back? Do you have a name now?” James laughed as he hugged back and even ruffled his brothers short hair. “Haha! It’s good to see you again to big brother! To answer your questions- A railway on an island from Borrow-in-Furness, yes it is new and the gem is ruby, I went for a solid red look since I asked for a new colour after I had a bad crash, I wanted to see my family in steel again, and yes! I was christened that nickname I insisted you all called me back in the day, my name is James!”

The class 28 unicorn chuckled and trotted around James in a playful manner. “Well James, it’s nice to finally say that’s your name, the old managers here will be furious! As for me, my name is Jacob! Just got it on paper a few days ago actually.” Jacob laughed. “Jacob? My name is a derive from that name, they both mean ‘supplanter’, did you struggle to come up with a name or something?” James asked actually feeling a little offended that his brother would just copy his name. “Actually… all of us choose a name beginning with ‘J’, it was so we could honour you. You were the most gutsy of us to insist you had a name and hardly responded to anything else.” Jacob winced as he remembered those punishments James would get if he didn’t listen to his industrial name.

James grimaced and squirmed under his clothes, remembering those days of his youth well. But he pushed it aside at the feeling of pride that his brothers and sisters would name themselves after a similar theme to his own name. But just then a shout came from an office door, “52530! Quit your gossiping and get back to work!” Jacob jumped as it seemed a manager was addressing him. “Yes sir! Right away sir!” Jacob was about to gallop off but James skipped in front of him and stopped him. “Woah, woah, woah! Hold your horse Jacob, what does he mean by work?” “I’ve been pulling wagons of living stuff for the other mythic that have been moving out, there’s a lot to get through, would you like to give me a hand?” Jacob asked. “Did you somehow manage to open a moving company in the span of a few days ago from getting your name on official paper?” “What? No.” “Then why are you moving other mythic’s crap and not just your own?” “Because I was told to?”

James facepalmed at his brother, the clink of ruby on ruby from his hand to his horn not being very subtle. “Jay… that kind of defeats the purpose of what this whole mythic rights thing has done for us, you don’t have to do anything that manager tells you to do! Did you ask the other mythic if they wanted help with moving out?” “No.” Jacob said. “Did they ask you and you agreed to help?” “No.” “Are you only doing it because that man told you to?” “Yes.” “Those mythic are grown adults they can sort their own moving situation out, now. Where is your crap? I’ll help you pack and we can get you started on getting out of here.”

Jacob looked to be thinking to himself as James could see the gears turning in his brothers head when they heard another shout from the manager. “52-!” “How about getting off your own fat ass and doing it yourself you lazy git! He doesn’t work for you anymore and his labour is not for free!” James shouted causing the whole works to go silent. The manager in question standing in the office door stood completely out and marched right up to James with a furious scowl. “Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that centaur?” the man yelled. “I am this stallions brother in steel, that’s who the hell I know I am, and who do you think you are demanding things of him? He’s not your worker, his time is not a charity, if you want him to be a moving service you’d better start paying him.” “I’ve been his manager for the past five decades, so when I tell him to do something, he does it!” the man shouted. “In case your dead braincells in the back maybe didn’t hear, the only manager your of- is the bacteria in this tetanus hot spot! You have no power here! Come on Jay, show me your stuff and we can blow this joint.”

James grabbed Jacob’s arm and started walking further into the works for Jacob to show him where he was staying. “So, where’s your stuff?” James asked only to not hear a word from Jacob. When he looked back he saw his brother quietly crying to himself, tears dripping off his cheeks. James stopped and addressed his brother again, “Jay? Hey Jacob? Come on bro use your words.” To his surprise, Jacob shoved James away from him, huffing as his face became red from anger. “What good has words ever done? All the words I tried to say to you just always went right over your head! I was always getting in trouble for you James, and even after fifty years you still haven’t changed! I’m still going to be getting in trouble for you!” James looked hurt but also confused. “Jacob, you shouldn’t be getting in trouble because of me, not back then and sure as dam hell not now. If you think you have to cop that on the chin still your wrong, you can walk away no matter how much he yells at you because for once in your life he has no power over you. You just saw what I did, I don’t have to take anything from him, you’re in my shoes now, you don’t have to take it ether.”

Jacob still cried. “It’s not that easy James, fifty years doesn’t just disappear like that.” “I know! Thirteen sure as hell weren’t off my back the second I left here, and you coped a tongue lashing while I endured a literal lashing, I was broken and shattered so many times Jay, I was most of the time in too much pain to even move because they never allowed me a second to just let the part of me connected to the stone actually heal, you remember why I was so bad at magic back then? That was because the migraines made it physically impossible for me to even conjure the will with how many times they broke my horn. I was in a hell Jay… it took me more than thirty years, if I can get over it, I know you can to. Granted, it’s obviously not going to be the same journey as mine, far from it. Like you said, that’s fifty years that’s not going to go away overnight. But where do you think beginning to recover starts? You’ve already been given the push, you just need to take the first step.” James held onto his brothers shoulders as he spoke to Jacob, having the older stallions full attention.

Jacob looked to be in thought again and this time James covered his ears so no outside source could cut him from them. It took a minute or two but eventually Jacob whipped his tears, then guided James to the back of the works where his personal belongings were. They were in a large gym bag, packed and ready to go. “This all?” James asked. “Yeah… I didn’t bother much for personal possessions that I couldn’t carry on my person.” “Fair, you lived in a work shop after all.” James picked up Jacob’s luggage and they began to trot out. “Are any of our other siblings here?” James asked. “No, I was the only one who stayed here, everyone else were in sheds.” “You have a new living arrangement sorted out yet?” “There’s a local mythic shelter, I was going to crash there while I get my bank details in place for the money.” James gasped and instantly shook his head. “Oh hell no, no brother of mine is staying in a shelter until he gets his life together. You can crash at my place, I kind of went over board when making it and now it’s just that bit too big.” Jacob was surprised. “James seriously, you don’t have to take me in.” “Bull shit, I have an obligation out of love to. Plus, if your still looking for hauling work, the place I’m at is still looking for hires, we’re wrather short on unicorns.”

Jacob thought about is for a second before smiling and nodding. “Alright it couldn’t hurt to live with family. So, where is your new place?” “It’s on an island past Barrow-in-Furness, the island of Sodor.” “I’ve heard of Sodor, its alongside the isle of man isn’t it?” “It is!” “Huh… well it’s a little far but if your happy with it than it must be worth it.” “Great! I can teleport us there now.”

James erupted a 10ft stalagmite of ruby from the ground, it’s red glow being a sign of imbued magic. “Holy cow! You figured out how to teleport?” Jacob asked. “My own way of teleporting, yes. I still can’t do it the way you lot can though.” James said as he began to walk through the ruby with Jacob following him. When they got to the other side, they were in James’s front yard on a large property of land with farm land and horse paddocks in the surrounding area.

“Woah… I see what you mean when you say you’ve made it to big.” Jacob commented. “This isn’t what I meant. I knew I wanted a large bit of land because, well come on, we’re half horses. What I meant when I said I made it to big was my house.” James said as he began walking up the hill and gesturing for Jacob to follow. The unicorn stallion did and when he was over the hill he could now 100% see what James had meant, on the top of the property after a small hill was a giant mansion made with all variants of gemstone and other such materials, plants climbed up the walls and made archways, some bricks sporadically had a shine to them, the windows were all stained glass around the rims with wooden windows having carved details, there were towers around the roof reminiscent of old castles with many balconies, and the pathway lights were designed to ether be glowing plants or gems that would light up at night. Jacob was amazed at how much effort looked to have gone into this, like it was ripped right out of an old times fantasy novel that a matriarch would live in.

“Sweet Jesus fucking Christ…” Jacob whispered out loud. “Regret choosing to come with me yet?” James asked cockily as he began to walk up to the front door. “I’m beginning to trust your judgment more and more despite knowing I shouldn’t.” Jacob said quickly trotting to catch up with James. “Trust me dear brother when it comes to architecture, I am a king at it.” James said as he opened the door and let themselves in.

To Jacob the inside was no better than the outside, archways that connected the rooms were heavily detailed in different themes of pictures, large centaur sized leather sofas lined the living room walls with a giant magic mirror mounted on the wall, the stairs were all with decorated railing, marble floors with some carpets and rugs in the appropriate rooms, and again, everything looked like a palace!

“Upstairs are the bedrooms, study, library, studio, theatre, and entrance to the veranda out back, though there’s an entrance on this level to. Bathroom on this level is over on that side, and there are bathrooms with all the guest rooms. Master bedroom is on the third floor, if you need me during the night that’s where I’ll be. Kitchen and living room are to the right as you can see, I don’t have much food kept yet but there are a few quaint café’s down the road if you get hungry at the moment. Theres a pool and fountain at the back along with a garden, there’s also a river and pond, I don’t recommend swimming in there because there are a few fish. The only rules I have off the bat are don’t go down stairs, there’s a magic stone there that leads to my personal forge, and my bedroom is off limits unless you get my say so. Otherwise, that’s the whole place. If you want to explore the bedrooms and pick one go right ahead.” James said as he whipped his hooves on the carpet and left his luggage at the front door.

Jacob almost dropped his bag in surprise at how massive the place was, he swore he was walking through a modern palace with how everything looked. “Do you have anyone else living here?” Jacob asked. “No not yet, I haven’t shown any of my friends this place yet but I want to offer them it while their own homes are being built. The majority of them have been getting personal stuff out the way first like healthcare and marriages.” “Understandable. So, what do you want to do first?” Jacob asked. “I actually wanted to immediately head back out, back to Horwich.” “Why? We just came from there.” “I know. I wanted to visit the works first to see if any of you were there and needed help, but I wasn’t just there for the works.” “Really? What else then?”

James gave Jacob a saddened expression. “You remember I’m wild caught right?” “Yes, but what-” Jacob then had an idea of what James was getting at. “Oh! Are you going to try and find your birth family?” Jacob asked. “I know where they are, it’s just a journey I have to take alone. There are some sides of my past that I don’t want you or quite frankly anyone else seeing, and I especially want to have some time with my mother.” Jacob was surprised; even when they were kids James hardly ever talked about his life before he was captured and ran through the trade. Back then James wasn’t even any kind of gemstone, he was just ore rock with a few things from metal to precious stones sticking out of him and he didn’t speak English.

“Okay… I can hang around here for a bit while you’re out. How long do you think you might be gone?” Jacob asked. “I might be gone for a few days if I’m being completely fair… I’m hoping to broaden my knowledge on my unique magic and also catch up with many people.” James admitted. “Where will you be going?” Jacob asked causing James to slope his shoulders and look rather pensive. “Do you remember Aspull pumping pit?” James asked. Jacob gasped, “The pumping pit? What on earth could you want with down there?” “That’s where I was found and roped. And it’s not the pit itself I’m there for, it’s the local mines in the area that the pit drained. Down those mines are where my craft of magic comes from.” Jacob looked very concerned. “Just… please little brother, come back home, preferably in one solid piece.” James hugged Jacob before handing him a cut of the house keys. “I’ve got a wave point set in the back yard, I’ll come back through there when I arrive home, you’ll know it when you hear it. In the studio I’ve got multiple clothes I’ve made that you can try on and have, the completed ones are in a walk in closet, try those on. But I recommend having a shower first. Here’s 500, feel free to use that at the café’s I mentioned. If it’s an emergency here's my personal sigil, you have plenty crystal balls around here to use. And feel free to study up on some magic if you like.” James said handing over a paper and some bills. Jacob smiled and hugged James again before watching him leave back through the ruby he made, once he was gone, Jacob got to searching for a bedroom to pick.

With James he had teleported back to Horwich works, and when he came back through the crystal he immediately shattered it into a red sand that blew away in the wind. Now it was just the long walk to the old pumping pit.

This proved to take under an hour though, much to James’s surprise as he remembered it being a lot longer. Once he was out of Horwich and had run across the train tracks he was into more open farm land as he came closer to Aspull, he followed the farmlands boarders until he came across the forest where the pump now resided in the middle of. He was aware of it’s closing in the 30’s and it now being abandoned, that made it all the more easier to James though.

When he finally found the pit, he was surprised to see how different it looked. The quiet forest a complete contrast to the horrid loud growling the pumps had made back in the day. The tubes gone, and the boilers gone to that operated the pistons. James walked over to the maintenance cover that sat in the ground almost sacrilegiously with how the old moss covered stones looked, he removed it and couldn’t help but shiver as he thought over how he was really doing this, no turning back now.

James gently poked one of the stone pillars, what grew from the spot was a flat plate of ruby. James lifted his luggage up to the mounted ruby and when the gem lit up James’s belongings were teleported through it, acting like a storage pocket dimension. With James unburdened of his packaging his clothing was next, he stripped of all the cloth on his body, leaving his skin and stone left. What was next was something not even his siblings in steel have seen, not even anyone from Sodor. James’s lower body of crystal that resembled a horses began to change and shift, the breaking and grinding of stone took over the silent forest as James began to morph.

Gone became of James’s horn and hooves, his legs becoming two and turning much more human minus the feet. He began to hover off of the ground as the rest of him changed, the gold glitter flow of his tail and frills disappearing and being relocated to his hair, a long whisp of a golden trail started falling from his scalp and trailed far behind him to drag close to the ground. The crystal that attached to his skin began to grow and cover his body more, growing down from his ears to his neck and connecting at his shoulders to his spine then at his new legs. Spikes of ruby grew from James’s more exposed sides of his shoulders and top of his arms, across his hips and even around where his ankles would be. Eventually the only skin that was left was James’s face, front neck, and front chest and ribs. But that wasn’t to say his organic parts didn’t change ether, James’s usually sharp teeth were sharper, turning from canines to outright fangs, his red eyes turning a more fire orange with white pupils and black sclera.

James looked at his hands once he was done, his nails now claws and the world looked so much more different to him now. He was annoyed by the daylight and the lack of any immediate magic around him besides his own made him practically blind on the surface, but underground was a very different story.

He gently lowered down the maintenance hole, and then closed it up once he was under the earth. Instantly his vision was much better, his eyes allowing his sight back once he was in a complete abyss. He lowered down to the bottom of the pit and searched his memory for the old tell-tale signs of caves, once he found where an old pipe used to be James’s old childhood memories came back to him, the routes and the curiosity he used to be so naïve with.

James followed the old holes where the pipes used to be, and eventually he found the water source they used to drain so long ago. James didn’t have any issues about breathing, so he dived into the water and swam through the underground rivers to where they lead. It took a long time, swerving the tight corners and sometimes resurfacing and travelling down the old abandoned mines before needing to dive back into the water again. But eventually, he found what he was looking for.

After another dive into water from a mine, this time the water sucked downward like the plug from a bathtub. James was taken down with it before he was spat out on the other side down a waterfall into a more open natural cave. He fell onto the stone with a thud and clink with a few shards of ruby breaking off, James groaned and just decided to lay there for a second while the pain subsided. That was until he saw something familiar.

Lining the wall above him, was a vain of sapphire. And it wasn’t a normal natural ore, it was like when he made his rubies appear, they had a magic aura to them that James saw as glowing. He instantly shot up from the floor and began to follow the sapphire down the cave, the more he followed the vain the more carved out the cave got, like it was shaping out to be a walk way or tunnel. It ended up being a muralled tunnel as different gemstones suddenly started showing up and forming a picture the further in James followed them.

Eventually he came to the mouth of the tunnel and when he was out the other end what greeted him was a massive miles upon miles long underground ravine with raging waterfalls and a river flowing at the bottom. But what was most surprising was that this ravine was inhabited, along the faces of cliffs and inside some more open spaces of cave were carved out houses into the rock faces. A massive architect of a bridge stretched across the two sides and more bridges roped across on some lower levels, and even from here James could see some species of mythic milling about and going about their days, it was a whole city and society, and it was his old home.

James felt like he wanted to scream with joy as he almost instantly recognised the layout, he was about two-fifths into the ravine and currently in the more middle class suburban area than the city. James knew he needed into the actual city itself and the closer to the capital he got the closer to his old house he’d get, so without any more time wasted, James bolted off down the path he was on to get to the bridges and cross them.

James’s speed made him seem like a sparkler as he ran down paths and roads, he spooked many of the mythic but didn’t stick around long enough to hear them out, quickly crossing town after town before he was rapidly approaching the capital. Once James got close enough to it’s boarders he slowed down considerably to take it all in, these were his city streets, this was his true home he remembered from fifty plus years ago.

As he rounded a corner he finally saw the ravines crown jewel, at the very end on a straight rock face, was a castle mounted on the stone. It had multiple spires and towers, thousands of windows, millions upon millions of fancy decorations, and it was all for one thing. A vampire clan.

Back in the late 18th century a vampire family business discovered a source of gold and coal at the top, and throughout all the mining down, they eventually came across this society of cave golems and other various types of underground mythic. Once they did they began asserting themselves as the ravines monarchy, eventually it didn’t become too uncommon to see bats down here and vampires joining into this society.

James remembered staring at that palace long ago when he was much, much younger. Someday hoping that his father would magically decide one day to come see him from that castle, so he could know who his other half was. James didn’t realise how intensely staring at it he was until someone broke his focus. “Quite the detailed place isn’t it?” A voice next to James said speaking in the local tongue. James quickly had to recollect his old language to answer them. “I-I’ve seen bigger.” James stuttered out hoping he wasn’t forgetting anything. “Are you okay? That came out rather odd.” A cave golem looking similar to James said but without the human flesh part. “Sorry, I haven’t spoken this language in a very long time. I went to the top for a while you see,” James explained to the crystal golem.

“You’ve seen up top-?” the golem seemed to stop himself in his tracks once he got a better look at James, noticing that he wasn’t 100% crystal. And to James’s surprise, he said his old name. “Zirconiame?” “Um, yes actually. Sorry though, have we meet?” “Zircon! Oh my boy it has been a very long time indeed! Yes we have meet, I was the sorcerer that tutored you, don’t you remember that?” James gasped when he did recognise the golem in front of him. “Mr Ospal! Yes I do remember! Sorry for not recognising you sooner, you’ve changed a bit since the last time I saw you.” James gave his old teacher a hug as he was happy to finally see a familiar face. Mr Ospal laughed while gently petting James’s back and setting him down, “I could say the same myself dear boy, your adorning ruby now? And your locks, weren’t they admitting coal dust before? And my you look much older, a lot like those vampires. It seems your mother was right when she said your vampire heritage would show up the more you got older, there’s no mistaking those fangs.”

James almost instinctively hushed his old teacher and began to guide him away from the public spot they were in. “Maybe still keep that vampire knowledge on the low, I don’t know how much has changed but I don’t want to take any chances.” “As your mother always said little Zircon- in little ways where everything stays, I agree keeping your heritage hush might be a good idea for a little while longer. But enough about that, where have you been? You disappeared one day and never came back. You said you came to the top?” Mr Ospal asked.

“The surface, yes. I didn’t listen to my mother’s words and went exploring up the waterfalls, I travelled up and up for hours before I finally found the surface. I was amazed by what I saw, these creatures were of warmer flesh than vampires and only had flat stones for moving on, they motioned with four legs on a long body and a large sharp rock stuck out from their heads and that’s how they casted magic! I ever so wanted to do what they did, pulling items with no magic at all, a whole new language, a whole new set of rules, it was all so exciting that I did everything I could to try and act like them. It worked, but not in the way I thought it would…” James grew sad at the old memories.

“I was wrapped up to tight in thick fabric chains, I was hurting before I knew it and wanted them to stop but they didn’t. I eventually just started crying and pleading with them to let me go but they understood none of my words as I was taken away into an order that didn’t allow me to come back home. Compared to them, they made the vampires appear as the water harmonies. It wasn’t until a few cycles ago did I finally have my freedom back and decided to come see down here again.”

Mr Ospel was horrified by James’s words, they had been told by vampires that creatures up top were much more horrid than they, and judging from James’s experience he was inclined to believe it. But regardless, at least he was home now, that was the good thing. “Well Zircon, I imagen your mother would like to hear it. She had never been the same since you had gone.” James became worried when he heard that, he could imagen his mother not taking it well. “Is she still where her old home was? I was on my way to her when I caught sight of the palace.” “No, she moved after a few years of your disappearance. She now lives down the deep halls of the palace.” James knew what the actual deep halls were, to the cave golem they were less personalised homes, but James knew better when he heard their descriptions, they were cells. His creator being in the palace cells made his heart pound he could feel his teeth begin to poke him gums. The anger in his body must have reflected strongly to his old teacher as Mr Ospel grew concerned.

“Zircon? What is the matter?” “Those deep halls are not something to be called homes, the vampires view them at an entirely different view. Do they except visitors to the deep halls?” “Yes they do, I visit her often. I was actually just on my way.” “May I accompany you?” “I was hoping you would.” Mr Ospel smiled as he began to lead the way to the palace entrance. They travelled over a few bricked roads before coming up to the bridges that entered the castle, James was nervous as he had seen what vampires were capable of up top and didn’t want to be involved in a fight with one despite him being half vampire. James covered the rest of his body in ruby so they wouldn’t become suspicious, but he was still on guard as he saw the entrance guards.

Mr Ospel spoke to them mainly and they let them in without issue, but soon a lone guard escorted them to the dungeons. When they were finally down to the cells, to James’s great shock his mother had a rather swanky prison, it had some flower plants around the room with glowing sunstones above them, a king sized bed in the middle with canopy, and despite the bars being open she could lower a privacy curtain if she wanted. James smiled when he saw her sitting on the bed, but saw that someone was in there with her sitting on the bed, it appeared to be a male vampire.

“Gemini, please… won’t you have something today?” The male vampire said in a tinge of a Scottish accent, causing James to grow concerned. Gemini wasn’t his mother’s name, and what was this about having something today? But Mr Ospel spoke up when he saw the two together however. “Sir Nightingale, how is she today?” Mr Ospel asked as they were let into the cell. “Ah! Mr Ospel, please I am hoping you can convince her to consume today.” It was obvious to James that this Sir Nightingale wasn’t all that fluent in gem-glyph, making him think this man was a doctor. “I actually have hope that this young man may be able to do that better than I.” Mr Ospel said gesturing to James.

James was surprised, but was quickly on it when he realised that his mother hadn’t been eating with what they were implying. James dropped the ruby coving his remaining skin and floated up to his mother’s side, the vampire gasped but quickly floated out of the way. James got under his mother’s face to meet her gaze, she looked at him and instantly perked up with interest at the sight of him. “Mother? What is going on here? Are you alright?” Were the first words out of James’s mouth before he was tackle hugged tightly by his mother. “Zirconiame!” She shrieked as she pulled James into the air with a spin. “Mother! Mother! To tight! My neck!” James cried as his mother’s strong arms crushed his neck. “Ah! Oh my child, I’m so sorry, you are not to hurt are you?” “No, no, no! I am okay, just a little crushed. But mother, what on graces happened to you? Why are you in the palace? Why are you not eating? Who is this man and why do they call you Gemini?” James asked having many questions. “You ask me questions?! Zirconiame! Where have you been? Why have you been gone so long? What happened to you? Why are you in different minerals? What of your tone? You speak as if you have trouble with your voice.”

James gently sat his mother back down on the bed and had a proposal. “Okay, okay! How of this? I answer one question of yours, you answer one question of mine, deal?” “Yes, now- where have you been?” “Ah, that has to also answer my tone. I found my way up to the top.” Both his mother and the vampire next to James gasped. “You have been to the surface young man?!” The vampire shouted with his eyes glowing red. “Yes I did, and please do not authorities me sir, I do not know you. I would also not call being over fifty young.” “It is to over two-hundred.” The vampire said snootily. “Zirconiame, this is your other half, father.”

James’s jaw hit the floor when he heard his mother’s words… this vampire was his father? James looked to the man and could now see the resemblance between him and his more human appearance, but still… last he checked his father was a no show with nothing to do with him or his mother, why was he here now? James switched to English for this as he didn’t want Mr Ospel or his mother knowing what he was really saying. “You are my dad?” Sir Nightingale seemed surprised that James knew fluent English, but rolled with it anyway also in English. “Yes, I am. I can gather that you are upset with me Zirconiame.” “Call me James, it was a new name I insisted on when I was up top.” “Alright then. So, James, you are unhappy with me?”

James sighed. “I confess my anger is more of confusion. Why is my mother in a cell? Why are you suddenly here? Where were you when I was growing up?” “Well, to answer where I was when you were growing up, I was here, in the castle. …Have you been educated on the roles of a vampire clan?” “A vampire hierarchy, yes.” James nodded.

Sir Nightingale went on to explain, switching back to gem-glyph for the golems in the room. “Well, at the time my parents had just pasted, so I fled here to hide from the hunters that killed them, taking on the new title of king and ruling this ravine as its matriarch. While I was still coping from the loss of my parents and suddenly needing to take over a kingdom, I met your mother.” The king paused with a chuckle.

“It in all honestly played out like a romance novel. At the time I thought that we could have you, I thought everyone was moved on with the times and that I was allowed to officially marry your mother and have her be queen beside me with you as the prince, but apparently my vampire subjects still didn’t see it fit. So I was forced to marry a vampire and live my life as such of a typical king and queen, with the relationship I had with your mother and you a secret. But things came to a nasty end when your half-brother was born.”

“-He was born, found out he wasn’t an heir, vamp wifey put logic in her head and discovered about me.” James interrupted having actually heard this story from Harper. The king was surprised and shocked causing James to elaborate, “It’s not the first time I’ve heard that story, heck, I actually have a co-worker who is a hybrid and a vampire heir from America. Now he works on the same railway as me.” “R-Really?” James’s father asked shocked that he wasn’t the only one.

“Yeah, so what happened next? My co-worker said that his step-mum wanted him gone so that her child could be the true heir, did that happen with yours?” James asked. “Yes actually, once my wife found out she set up a warrant on your head. I came to warn your mother and you but when I saw her again she looked in a similar state to now, not eating and just had no life left in her. You were also nowhere to be found.” Nightingale said. “By then you had been missing for a year, I had searched the whole ravine for you and found no trace.” James’s mother said. “So we concluded that if you weren’t here, you had to be up there. I got to searching on the surface for you while also dealing with the many other things that happened, your mother I moved in here so she could be under constant surveillance and so that the other vampires wouldn’t grow iffy, I divorced my wife, I actually got custody of my son, and I still had all the mining business to deal with.” “While searching probably the whole country for me…” James hushed out and slumped down onto the mattress.

“Yes… but, please James, what happened to you?” “James?” the ruby mythic’s mother asked her love. “Ah, that was my new name I choose once I was on the surface. I told Mr Ospel this story already but I’ll give you the abridged version. I followed the waterfalls up from where they came and eventually found the surface, I saw unicorn centaurs working and wanted to be like them, so I shape shifted into looking like them and when I went out in the open I was captured and ran through the trade-” “WHAT?!” The king roared when he heard that, the whole stone around them shaking.

“You were ran through the mythos trade?! That’s why I couldn’t find you, I was looking for you assuming you were ether still looking like a golem or using your vampire side to live amongst them, I had no clue you were in the working class. Where did you end up? What did you do?” James’s father asked sounding really concerned. “What is this trade? Why does it worry you my love?” James’s mother asked sounding concerned as well. “I believe the rest of our sons story will reveal more my Gemini, lets listen.” With that James continued.

“Yes, like I was saying, I was ran through the mythos trade and ended up being put to work as a railway colt. I didn’t know how to speak English at the time, or cast the normal spells that the unicorns did, so it was a few months of trial and error before I got everything right. Afterwards I started to rebel a lot more, I insisted on them naming me instead of just calling me a set of numbers, that got me in a lot of trouble and caused a lot of pain. But at some point the locomotive I was paired with got an overhaul to fix its problems, it worked but they couldn’t do this to all the others and eventually I was sold to another railway where I still work today. I have a new home, I’ve got a big set of land with a nice house I made myself, I have a brother in steel with me at the moment and I have an amazing group of friends, all in all I guess I got what I wanted when I travelled up those waterfalls and saw those unicorns.” James chuckled.

“Where do you live now James?” His father asked. “On an island off of Barrow-in-Furness and in between the isle of man, the island of Sodor.” “Sodor? I’ve heard of that place, my distant cousins visit there for vacations every so often with the Hatt family there.” The king mentioned. “The Hatt’s are my bosses actually, and I think you’re referring to the Duke and Dutchess of Boxford aren’t you?” James asked. “Yes I am! Ohh… you were so close yet so far, I’m disappointed in myself for missing you.” “Well, to be fair, it wasn’t like I wanted to be found out by anybody up there. None of my steel siblings or close friends even know my true origins, the closest they know of it is that I was wild caught and spoke another language while being half made of stone.” James admitted. “Then what did you tell them when you went to come down here?” James’s father asked. “I said I was coming to Horwich to expand my magic knowledge, which wasn’t entirely wrong, I was kind of hoping mother would catch me up to speed.” James’s mother chuckled and slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry to say Zircon that I don’t have much magic left, I would not be able to teach you properly with how little I have.” “I’m in my older years as well Zircon, I would not be able to mentor you ether.” Mr Ospel said.

James thought for a bit before asking, “Do you still have those books on them?” “Yes I do, here, this is them.” James’s mother handed him a flat rock of lapis, it was another magic rock like what James used to teleport his belongings into a pocket dimension. “This is great! Is it all of them?” James asked. “Yes, down to the final addition and master class.” “I can imagen those would be really useful for the times up top.” James’s father commented when his love mentioned master class. “Really, really useful! These could actually help a friend of mine if I predict the craftsmanship of some prosthetics he’s going to get.” James said as he looked eager to bite into the knowledge of the rock. “I agree, if that’s the best those professional alchemists can do then their a flop just waiting to be found out.” James nodded with his father.

“Well then Zircon? What will you be doing going forward?” Mr Ospel asked. “I kind of want to stick around for a bit while I study these, catch up a little and get reacquainted.” James said. “If your looking for more magic knowledge on your plate I can show you these old vampire mage spell books, my other son didn’t take much of an interest in them but you seem to be quite the academic.” James’s mother and Mr Ospel chuckled a little at that since James wasn’t much for school in the past. “I didn’t know vampires had their own magic.” James commented but never the less intrigued. “We do, but its considered old magic, so nobody really bothers with it anymore. It’s on the lines of necromancy if that’s something you’d want to look into.” James nodded his head enthusiastically with a big smile on his face.

The king chuckled, and got up to show him where the books were, switching back to English. “There in the library, there’s also a study that you can use, but I’d recommend practicing your alchemy magic outside.” “I can work with that,” James smiled before giving his mother a hug and kiss on the cheek, “I’ll come and visit you every day, I love you so much mother.” James’s mum kissed his forehead before letting him go, watching as his father guided him out the cell and back up the stairs. She then proceeded to have a coughing fit, hacking up clouds of dust and gravel and grinded lapis. Mr Ospel caught her before she fell back on the bed and sat her up right so she wouldn’t choke. “Lazillie, do you really think you can afford to spend any more time spent lost with him? You don’t have much time, you should follow them up to the study.” Mr Ospel pleaded. “No…” Lazillie croaked out. “I’ve had my best memories with my child… Harlow deserves his best moments with his son just as much as I had. My boys deserve some time together.” Mr Ospel was very concerned and hoped she knew what she was doing, because he didn’t have the heart to tell her son that his mother that he just saw again after fifty years was dying.

For the rest of the month James had gotten into a new routine, he would see his mother at every mealtime and eat with her, while the other time was spent with his father in the study hall. Apparently his majesty had wanted to take up alchemy for the longest time but the methods that the golems used wasn’t translatable very well to written form, so James did his best in coaching him through the beginners steps. During this time James also took up a new form while in the castle of a far more human body, even wearing pants and shoes for the first time in his life, the ruby of his body pushed so far up his limbs that it looked like his nails were painted and he had red earrings in.

He also had the pleasure of meeting his half-brother Damon who was a pure blooded vampire prince, but since James was the heir that made this vampire a duke. Needless to say they didn’t get along all to swimmingly, Damon was three years younger than James but sometimes he made it sound like they were thirty years apart, he complained like a man child all the time and argued with James about every conversation even if James was in the right. It especially ticked James off when he insisted he was right about alchemy even if the guy had never bothered to read a word of gem-glyph in his life, so James often took a page out of Toby’s book and let the man child make a fool of himself to prove a point. It didn’t make their father any to pleased but it was plenty satisfying.

In the end James got a lot more skills than he initially thought he’d come back with, he graduated up to archivist in his alchemy studies that was essentially a master’s degree, he got to the level of bachelor in his vampire sorcery, he also walked away with a diploma in fashion as a tailor had offered to teach him in the middle of his other studies. All in all, James was pretty darn proud of himself for doing all that in the span of a month.

At the end he wished his family well and gave them his address so they could visit him, but under the guise of being old friends. So it was surprise that not even a week after James had come back home, Sir Bertrum announced that the vampire king of Aspull was coming to Sodor for a vacation along with the Duke and Dutchess of Boxford.

But that is a story for another day…

#mythic!au #ttte #ttte james #cw implied abuse #cw slavery #cw abuse #cw terminal illness #cw kidnapping

7 notes · View notes

sincerelyjxyy · 1 year ago

Text

Gold Rush - Three

Invisible String - Gold Rush

Chapter Three - Being Known Is Only Terrifying In The Best Ways

Song Of The Chapter - Brighter Than The Sun by Colbie Calliat

✧ i was very young when I was cracked open. some things you should let go of, other's you shouldn't. views differ as to which. i keep hold of everything, just in case. — emily berry, the numbers game ✧

Summary: Hurricane Agatha makes it's way over Kildare Island, leaving the Pogues to take full advantage of the off day. But how are they gonna bode well when they stumble upon a mysterious, sunken boat?

Word Count: 11.9k

Gold Rush Masterlist

LIVING ON AN ISLAND OFF THE EAST COAST HAD ITS POSITIVES. Being away from the mainland meant that during most of the year, residents didn't have to worry about overcrowding. When vacation season was over, the bustle of the island was kept to a minimum.

Being surrounded by water on all sides meant that the population of Kildare got to know each other pretty well. If anyone needed something done, you could always count on someone who knew someone.

And, of course, it meant that surfing was a must-have hobby for most kids growing up in The Banks.

As Josie ran down the front steps of the Wreck, she couldn't help the excited whoop that left her mouth the moment she caught sight of the Twinkie. For the last half hour of her shift, she'd been bouncing in her shoes as adrenaline simmered in her gut. The promise of surfing an insane swell had her giddily excited.

Rain slapped down hard against the pavement, but it only aided in Josie's racing heartbeat. She all but sprinted toward the sliding door of her friend's van and yanked it open, throwing herself into the back.

"Hello boys!" She slid the door shut behind her, grinning widely as she glanced at the boys in the front.

Once settled, her eyes flittered around to note that she was the only one occupying the back. She knew Kiara wouldn't join them, as Josie had just bid her goodbye not two minutes prior. Kie had stayed behind to help her parents storm-prep the restaurant.

But the lack of a blond surfing fanatic had Josie reeling in confusion.

She crawled toward the front and leaned in between the seats. Her brows raised as she shot both boys a questioning look. The lack of chaotic energy was unnerving. "JJ's not coming? Since when does he miss a surf?"

"Since he got shitfaced so hard, he passed out on my couch." John B chuckled as he turned to greet her with a pogue handshake. She then turned to Pope when they'd finished, brows raised in query.

He raised his hands in surrender and shook his head. "Don't look at me; I told you when he texted earlier that he was smashed." Josie rolled her eyes; nevertheless, she accepted the explanation.

JJ had texted her during her shift to ask if she wanted to surf the swell coming in, and it was easy to tell that he'd definitely been drinking. All Josie could do was laugh, especially once she'd gotten the text from Pope confirming their friend's state.

Still, Josie, Pope, and John B had all made plans to go out and surf the incoming storm's waves. Josie had assumed that the incentive would've given JJ a reason to sober up, but due to the apparent absence of her best friend, she had been mistaken.

She raised a brow at John B once she registered his similarly giddy expression. "You sure look happy for someone who's supposed to get interrogated by DCS tomorrow."

John B's eyes rolled as he steered the van through the pouring rain toward the beach. Josie's focus moved to the seat behind him as she lifted off the top, searching for the surf housing case for her camera. She'd left it there the last time they'd gone out on the water, too tired to remember to take it with her when she'd gone home.

She pulled it from its hiding spot and listened as John B spoke. "You see that storm right there?" He nodded toward the front windshield. "DCS isn't coming by anytime soon, and we're about to get some of the craziest shots ever out there."

He shot a wide smile over his shoulder as his gaze flickered to the device in her hands. "I'd say that calls for a little excitement."

Josie hummed in agreement, pulling her camera from her backpack to check she had the correct lens. Once satisfied, she began assembling the case over the camera. She'd spent enough time in the water and with a camera to understand how dangerous filming during a surge was. It was important to protect her equipment.

Being on the water was one of the only times anxiety didn't absolutely consume Josie, so she couldn't find it in herself to care too much about what could happen. She was so much more focused on the addictive feeling the surf was bound to give her.

"Let's just hope the new housing lives up to the storm better than the last one did," Josie offered.

Her previous camera had been completely ruined by doing something quite similar to what the three of them were setting out to do. Not less than a year prior, the pogues had been surfing a small storm when the casing on her camera fell apart.

She'd been devastated as she watched her camera plummet to the bottom of the ocean. Not only had it destroyed her to lose such a prized possession, but she also had to endure a stern lecture from Kiara on the repercussions of littering.

Petunia, of course, had never been made aware of the true reasoning for the camera's disappearance. The teen had simply claimed that she'd dropped it off of Kiara's dock. For Josie's following birthday, her mother had surprised her with a better camera, and the incident was never mentioned again.

Josie did have to buy the surf housing on her own, though.

"It'd be better for you to hope that you don't wipe out again. We can't afford to lose our photographer to drowning," Pope joked.

In retaliation, Josie leaned forward and laid a smack on the back of his head. "For your information, dearest genius, it's not a wipeout if you do it on purpose. I did it to get the sick shot of Kie, which was totally worth it."

She continued to fiddle with the protective cover. "Also, I literally had a procedure done today. So, if I do wipe out, it's excusable."

Pope shook his head in disbelief. "It's insane that your mom called the doctor yesterday and somehow you got in. I'm pretty sure we have to wait like a month after my mom calls our doctor."

Josie paused her movements and tried not to dwell too much on how her mother's cutthroat reputation led them through life. "Yeah, well, when you have a mother as ruthless as mine..."

The conversation faded as she finally clicked the cover into place. Her gaze moved to the windows, watching the rain outside as it poured heavily over the island. Harsh winds blew the palm trees so much that they bent at the top.

The surge was sure to be insane—nothing like any of them had seen before. Josie smiled as her veins buzzed with exhilaration. "This is gonna be so sick."

Soon after, John B pulled the Twinkie to a stop on a short patch of gravel to the side of the road. The three of them stared out the windshield as the rain crashed around them, excitement dancing in their eyes. "Alright, we get in, get some sick hang-time, and get out before it gets too bad. Agreed?"

Josie and Pope verbalized their accordance, and that was all John B needed before he opened the door.

As the boys exited the van into the storm, Josie moved to shimmy out of her clothes and down to her bathing suit. She then pulled on a rash-guard top someone had left in the back. Once she was dressed, she pulled the camera strap around her neck and climbed out to join the boys.

She was immediately hit by hefty rainfall and took a moment to adjust to the chill that overcame her. After a few beats, she grabbed the pink board John B handed down from the roof.

The trio quickly darted toward the water with their boards, squinting through the rain to watch where they stepped through the dirt and sand. The last thing any of them needed during a hurricane was a trip to the ER for stitches.

John B led the group, which meant he was also the one who had the best view of what was happening out on the water. "It's a double overhead out there, guys."

"Double overhead?" The concern was prominent in Pope's voice as they stopped to survey the water.

John B's claims were confirmed by the tall, crashing waves that made their way ashore. The cacophonous sound of thunder and lightning added to the ambiance of the rough waves that begged to be surfed. Wind guided the water inward as if to taunt the teens.

Josie would never admit it out loud, but her heartbeat fastened as the adrenaline began to kick in.

Ever the levelhead, Pope conceded his previous desire to surf the swell. "Those aren't surfable waves, bro."

But the other two weren't backing down.

"Says who?" John B laughed as he made eye contact with Josie, who stood on Pope's other side. His gaze bore a question into her, brows raised in anticipation.

Are you up for it?

Josie glanced back out at the raging water, and she tried to make her voice audible against the storm. "In 1778, Captain James Cook caught sight of Tahitian surfers riding the waves of the Pacific; it was the first time Europeans had ever witnessed surfing." She smirked at John B and nodded. "The Tahitians were able to do it because they knew how to hold their own in the water, just like us."

John B's grin widened in response. "Well then, RJ, let's make those surfers proud!"

The two of them raced into the water; Josie stayed further inland so that she wouldn't get swallowed by the giant waves while sitting on her board. She removed the camera from around her neck, utilizing the casing stand as she paddled back and forth to get the perfect shots of her friend.

Josie was aware of how ridiculous she probably looked as she photographed John B. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was grateful that it'd ended up only being the two of them out there.

She stood and rode a few small waves further inland to get some cool in-motion shots. It was a bit difficult to keep her balance while at a standstill, but she tried her best not to topple over as she crouched down on her board.

The easiest photo she'd taken was when he'd stopped for a few moments to sit on his board and stare out at the storm. She wasn't exactly sure why he'd done it, but it made for a simple and picturesque shot.

It wasn't an hour before Pope made his way to where the water met the shore. He flailed his arms around to let them know it was definitely time to move back in. Once John B began paddling his way toward them, Josie started her own journey back in.

"Get anything good?" Pope, who newly sported a hoodie and no board, yelled as Josie jogged her way to him.

She shrugged in response as he took the board from her arms and glanced back down at the camera that hung from her neck. The rain slammed down harder than when they'd first arrived, and she had to squint just to see the friend right in front of her.

Considering the strain it took her to figure out what he was saying, she figured it was probably the best time to head home. Her mother was probably having a freakout at Josie's delayed arrival.

"Guess we'll see, right? There's gotta be something in there!" Josie's shouts were carried away by the storm, and she could only hope that Pope could comprehend her words. The nod he sent her confirmed that he could.

She felt a passing pat on her shoulder and turned to catch John B motion his head toward the Twinkie as he ran past them. "Let's go, before it gets any worse."

The duo hastily followed and made the short jog through the violent rain. Once they approached the van, Josie immediately pulled open the sliding door and climbed in. Desperation to shield herself from any more wet torment outweighed any desire to help the boys.

John B and Pope strapped the boards to the roof, and Josie could make out their petty arguing as they tried to secure them. She had to squint through the bellowing storm as she slightly leaned out the open door.

Once they pulled the last safety strap, Josie hastily shut the door to rush around the back and look for her clothes. She retrieved them from the seat she'd stuffed them in and packed away her camera away. As she pulled her clothes back on over her suit, the boys piled into the car and slammed their doors shut.

Josie scurried toward the front as she buttoned her shorts. Her pleading gaze shot to John B. "I know this is probably the last question you wanna hear, but is it too much to ask that you drop me off at home?"

Josie grimaced as John B's eyes widened and looked back out into the rain. Guilt clenched in her stomach, and she knew it was a lot to ask him to go out of the way. Pope's house was on the way back to The Cut, whereas he'd have to go all the way across Figure Eight to get Josie home.

Still, Josie was nothing if not persistent. She pouted out her bottom lip and folded her hands together in front of her. Once she added a bat of her eyelashes, John B groaned in acquiescence. "Fine, fine, but only because I don't want your mom to kill me. Or sue me for kidnapping."

Josie pursed her lips in agreement and nodded, before she slid back to sit behind him.

John B's claim was anything but irrational. It was very possible that her mother had already called the National Guard because she hadn't arrived home. The fact that her phone had died during her shift didn't help her situation either.

Luckily, with John B's anxious driving, the ride to Josie's house was cut into a short six minutes.

Josie instructed him to pull to the front curb rather than into the driveway, both for the sake of her mother and her friends. She could see the debate in his eyes, torn between being gentlemanly or doing what his best friend asked of him. Ultimately, he complied with Josie's request.

She smiled and leaned in to give them both half-hugs, one at a time. "Love you guys! Be careful and text me when you get home, or if anything happens, okay?"

Both boys responded with their own acknowledgements and "love yous."

She moved back to place her bag over her shoulders, before she hurriedly opened the door. After taking a second to hype herself up, she climbed out and yelled a quick "bye," slamming the door closed behind her.

Without sparing another glance at the van, she raced to unlock the front gate. The water and wind falling down caused her hands to slip from the latch a few times, but she was eventually able to get through and relock the gate behind her. She didn't even second-check the latch before she desperately raced across the rounded driveway and up the front steps, repetitively chanting go as she went.

She audibly pleaded for the door to be unlocked, and she let out an elated thanks when she turned the knob and was able to push it open. The warmth of the home swarmed her as she rushed in.

The harsh slam of the front door caused her to wince; the sound echoed through the foyer. She was immediately greeted with a surprised shout of her name, and she knew her original plan of sneaking up the stairs was a bust.

Through the doorway to the left of the foyer, she could see her mother marching toward her from the living room. The harsh rain and wind outside loudly slammed against the house, but it was nothing compared to the thunderous energy that Petunia Shoupe exerted.

Josie cringed, trying to bypass her mother and sprint toward the stairs. To no avail, because her wrist was instantly caught in her mother's grasp. "Josephine Margaret Grey, where have you been?" The emphasis on each of her names caused Josie to sink back and grimace.

"Do you know how many phone calls I've made in the past half hour looking for you? I called Anna and Mike, Max, and even Rose because you didn't answer your phone!"

Petunia's eyes scanned Josies to finally take in her drenched state, along with the rash guard under her shirt that she'd stupidly forgotten to take off. "Josephine, you did not go surfing." The older woman's jaw set in undeniable anger as her eyes closed. "Do not tell me you are that stupid."

Josie kept silent, fiddling with her fingers, as she listened to her mother's angered breathing. There was no hiding where she'd been; she was quite literally wearing surfing gear. And she couldn't exactly tell her mother she wasn't that stupid because, technically, she was.

She mentally cursed herself for being naïve enough to assume that she'd be able to sneak up the stairs before her mother caught her. A mistake on her part.

She should've climbed through her bedroom window.

Her mother's face reddened with rage as she scoffed at Josie's silence. She yanked the bag from her daughter's shoulders, and Josie helplessly watched as she unzipped the bag. It wasn't difficult for her to find the camera that Josie had left in its protective case.

Petunia slowly pulled the camera out of the bag, before she tossed the bag on the floor in anger. She pointedly glared at Josie, who actively avoided her mother's enraged gaze.

"Did you really go out, in a hurricane, to take photos?"

The way she spat out the words with so much venom made Josie flinch away from her mother. The teen wanted nothing more in that moment than to shrink to the size of a mouse and scurry away to the safety of her bedroom. She wouldn't even be mad if Sparrow, their cat, ended up eating her.

At least she wouldn't have to deal with this interrogation.

"Who was it?" Her mother questioned.

Petunia grew even more irate as Josie continued to evade her eyes. Huffing, she slammed the camera down on the entryway table. "Josephine Grey, you answer me this instant! Was it those-" Her eyes shut firmly once again. The amount of anger radiating off of the woman was terrifying. "If you were with that Maybank boy, so help me God, you will never see the light of day-"

"I wasn't with him," Josie quickly butted in as she vigorously shook her head, finally meeting her mother's gaze. It wasn't technically a lie; she hadn't seen JJ all day.

Her mother stood unimpressed, hands on her hips, with an expression that commanded Josie to continue.

"I went by myself. I borrowed a board from Kie and thought it would be cool to get pictures of the storm on the water. You're right, it was stupid; I'm sorry."

Her mother huffed in incredulity, looking around as if to check that someone else was there to witness Josie's words. "I cannot believe this. I did not raise you to be this disrespectful and reckless."

Josie stayed silent as her mother scoffed. "I mean, do you realize what would've happened if you'd died and no one knew where you were? So many people would have to take time out of their days to look for you because you were being stupid."

Josie nodded, and she watched as Petunia pulled out the fake waterworks card. As the tears slid down her mother's cheeks, she had to refrain from reciprocating the tears. Because, despite knowing they weren't real, they still felt real.

But Josie had to stand firm and stick to her story. If her mother found out that she'd been with the boys, the woman wouldn't stop until she figured out how to ruin their lives for enabling her daughter.

The tears were an act—something used to victimize herself in this situation. It was something that Petunia Shoupe was particularly good at.

"I'm sorry, mom, okay? I knew it was stupid and reckless, but I did it anyway. It was entirely my fault. And I'm sorry I didn't text you; my phone died at work." Josie carefully moved to pick up her backpack from the ground. She gently placed her camera back into the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Petunia wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks and immediately straightened. It was like a switch had flipped in her brain; her emotions changed as her jaw tightened. "No, you know what? I refuse to believe any of this. Who were you with?"

Since the tears failed to work, it was back to the interrogation. "I dropped you off at work today, so someone must have driven you to the beach and back home."

Josie's eyes widened as her mother smirked, seemingly successful in backing the teen into a corner of her lies.

Josie had completely forgotten about the fact that she had no alibi for getting home. She hadn't been given any time to grab her Jeep after her OBGYN appointment on the mainland. Her mother had driven her straight to work and dropped her off, expectant of Kie to drive her home.

Max had also been at the club all day, so there was no way she could claim it was him. That, and the fact that her mother had already said she'd called him to inquire where Josie was.

But, like an angel whispering in her ear, the answer was clear.

"Okay, okay." Josie sighed like she'd been caught in a lie. "It was Kie. I didn't want to say anything because I don't want her to get in trouble with her parents. I convinced her to take a break when I got off work, and she drove me to the beach. When I realized things were getting bad, I called her. She'd been leaving work when she stopped by to pick me up."

Petunia shook her head disappointedly, and Josie had to hold in her sigh of relief. Crisis averted.

"Please don't tell her parents, Mom. She was just being a good friend; it was me who made her skip work."

In all fairness, she wasn't entirely lying; Josie really didn't want her mom to call the Carreras. Because if she did, Petunia would be made aware that Kiara had, in fact, been with her parents all day.

"Okay, okay, I won't tell her parents, just this once." Once Petunia looked away, Josie sighed from relief. "But you will call Kiara and apologize as soon as you get up to your room. Do you understand me?"

Josie nodded and went to push past her mother and race up the stairs. But once again, her wrist was caught before she could get far.

"And I promise you, Josephine. If you ever do something like that again, you will not see the outside of this house until you graduate." Her mother's glare was austere as her words spilled out of clenched teeth. "I will not let you make me look like an unfit mother who doesn't have a handle on her children just because you're going through a phase. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Josie mumbled.

Petunia harshly removed her grasp to rub at the bridge of her nose, before she quickly stopped to smooth out the same spot. She waved her hand to send her daughter away and turned to head back toward the kitchen.

Without waiting, Josie sprinted up the stairs and out of her mother's presence. She was so focused on getting up the steps that when she made it to the landing, her form slammed into someone at full speed. She stumbled back on the step from the force, steadying herself before she tumbled backward.

"Woah, dumbass, watch where you're going." Naomi irritably backed away and expectantly stared at her older sister, waiting for the redhead to move.

Narrowing her eyes down at her sister, Josie crossed her arms and leaned against the railing. "Wow, okay, grumpy pants. Someone's in a mood." Josie chuckled, but it faded when her sister glared up at her. "Oh great. Why are you mad at me?"

Naomi faked in-thought, sarcastically placing a hand to her chin. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because you had Mom flipping out today." She blankly stared at Josie as if she'd asked what color the sky was—like it was a nuisance to answer her.

It stung a little.

"I get that you want to hang out with your stupid friends in peace, or whatever, but do it in a way that doesn't affect both of us. Because if you make her mad, I'm the one who has to hear about it."

Josie sighed and nodded, sympathetic to her sister's wishes. She knew all too well what it was like to be the younger sister, taking the brute of a mother's anger toward the older sibling. She grew up with not one, but two older sisters who tested their mother's patience every day.

"You're right; I'm sorry." Josie's gaze was apologetic as she uncrossed her arms. "I'd never want to make you feel the same way the twins made me feel, ever."

"I know," Naomi huffed as she followed, uncrossing her arms.

They stared at each other, sharing a mutual understanding of the reality hidden behind their words. It was no secret that Lily and Daisy were the family jewels, starting from childhood. Having fraternal twins had been a dream for their mother—a blessing in an otherwise terrible experience.

Lily was Petunia's princess, and because of her hearing disability, they'd spent so much time together growing up. To appease their mother, she'd ended up going to med-school at UPenn, no surprise.

Daisy, on the other hand, had always been Peter's favorite. Because while Lily looked similar to him, Daisy looked like a carbon copy of him. Everywhere they went, people always mentioned how much Daisy looked like their father, and he ate it up every time.

It was no surprise, then, that Josie, a carbon copy of Petunia, was her father's least favorite.

As she'd gotten older, Josie realized that the distance between them had always stemmed from the resentment he possessed toward her mother. He'd always claimed that Petunia had baby-trapped him and kept him away from his true calling in life. And because holding it against her wasn't enough, he held it against Josie too.

Sure, he'd tried to be there for her and be her father growing up—key word tried. They'd had their moments, and there were times when Josie thought that maybe their dynamic had changed. But that was all wiped away when her parents divorced, and he disappeared.

Because of everything, it was well known that Josie heavily resented her older siblings for their childhood. Josie was glad that it seemed like Naomi understood that she'd never want to enable that cycle to continue. They might not have been super close, but they both could recognize the fucked-up family dynamic they were born into.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go shower." Josie pointed toward her bedroom door and moved aside for her sister to walk down the stairs.

Naomi nodded and offered a blunt, "don't get struck by lightning."

"Will do." Josie fake saluted, before she made her way down the hall and through her door.

The door was shut behind her as soon as she entered, and an immediate sense of comfort enveloped her. The roaring sound of the wind slapping tree limbs and rain against her window continued, but she paid no mind to it. If anything, it added ambiance to her place of solitude.

That solace was shattered with a hammer as soon as her gaze drifted across the room.

She was greeted with the form of someone's back. Standing at her desk to the left of her room was Cory, her mother's aggravating boyfriend. He shifted through a stack of papers on the wood, and he paid no mind to being caught in the action.

Glaring at his form, Josie sat her backpack down beside the door. "Do you mind? Or are you just gonna continue invading my privacy?"

Cory wasn't fazed by Josie's hostility, turning to face her with a raised brow. He leaned against her desk and raised a sheet of paper toward her, as if she knew what it was from the other side of the room. "This is my house; I can go through whatever I want."

Josie rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms and made her way across the room. "Please, this is the house my mother pays for. You just mooch off her, sleep in her bed, and use her name to filter through jobs." She snatched the paper from his hand and didn't bother to look at it, placing it at the bottom of the stack.

She swiftly glared back up at him. "Speaking of, how's the academy going? Heard from a little birdie that Peterkin made you cry doing push-ups the other day."

She couldn't help the smirk that grew on her face as he clenched his jaw. She found small pleasures in his obvious distaste for her. She hoped that she'd made him mad enough to disengage from further conversation.

Her little birdie had been Naomi, who'd overheard him fussing about his mishap with the sheriff to their mother and uncle. He had apparently wanted Petunia to sue Peterkin. They both had to inform him that, legally, there was nothing Petunia could do because it was what he'd signed up for.

According to Naomi, he'd bawled at their refusal.

"You little fucking brat," Cory hissed as he stood to his full height. He sought to intimate Josie by towering over her, but it failed to work. Josie had seen him blubber when his father told him they couldn't rent a yacht on vacation, so the intimidation act had already lost its effect after she'd turned fifteen.

She stared up at him, unimpressed, as her arms returned to their crossed position over her torso.

"You know, as soon as I put a ring on your mother's finger, you're out. Permanently." Cory's obnoxious audacity caused Josie to scoff and roll her eyes.

Her overbearing mother would never even consider letting Josie out of her grasp without a fight. Not that Josie wasn't already planning to move out the moment she turned eighteen.

Still, she entertained his tactics. "Watch it, Cory. You'd have to actually make money to put a ring on her finger."

The rouge color of his face was enough to satisfy Josie, and she backed away from him triumphantly. His nostrils flared as he huffed down at her, but she smiled unbothered. "Now, please leave my room."

Josie grew a bit surprised, and a little impressed, with herself as she watched Cory stomp out of the room and slam the door behind him. There weren't a lot of people Josie felt like she could stand up to, much less be objectively mean to.

The list was small and few, and while Cory wasn't at the top, he was definitely on the list.

Once he was out of sight and out of mind, Josie made herself busy by grabbing a set of pajamas and heading into the Jack and Jill bathroom. She made sure her sister's door was locked, before jumping into the shower.

She let the warm water wash away both the salt and the tension from her entire day.

❁

mandatory pogue meeting. attend not optional. b on the dock and ready by 9 :)

Josie smiled down at the text from JJ, squinting and covering her eyes from the blistering sun overhead as she stared at her phone. She'd been pulled from a hectic morning of hurricane cleanup when she received the text, and she was more than happy to leave the suffocating nature of her house.

She couldn't think of any better way to spend a post-storm day than with her favorite people.

Her backpack weighed heavy on her shoulders, filled to the brim with snacks and her Polaroid camera. She could already tell that the day was going to be a hot one too, so she prayed that Kie brought good drinks. The last she'd heard from the brunette was the confirmation that she'd pack Josie's favorite, so the redhead was hopeful.

She continuously peeked over her shoulder as she waited on the dock, praying that her mother wouldn't peer outside and catch her. Agatha had hit the island hard, and Josie hoped the bustle of the post-storm cleanup crew would distract her mother long enough for her to hop on the boat. It'd been Petunia's only focus all morning.

Josie's attention was ripped from her phone once she heard the approaching sounds of whistles and whoops. All three pogue boys smiled and waved as they neared the Shoupe dock.

She grinned and repeatedly motioned her hand downward, instructing them to duck down out of her mother's potential view. They all complied, but John B struggled to steer the boat and hide at the same time. She snickered at the sight, rolling her eyes at the sound of his voice.

"Good morning, princess!"

"Mornin' fair lady, care for a boat ride today?" JJ's put on the most dramatized accent in his repertoire, greeting his best friend with a smile so wide that it met the creases by his eyes. Josie had to hold herself from cackling at his attempt at an accent.

"Only if your gorgeous face is there." She snorted at the redness she could just make out creeping up JJ's neck, and she refrained from teasing him about it.

The weight that had been on her shoulders all day began to slowly slip away. The mere presence of her friends provided more security than any house or bedroom ever could.

"My mom's gonna kill me if she finds out what I'm doing." Josie chuckled, shielding her eyes from the sun, as she walked alongside the boat at the end of the dock. As soon as John B pulled close enough without stopping, JJ stuck his hand out to help guide Josie onto the boat.

With ease, thanks to the golden-haired boy's assistance, she was able to step onto the boat without a problem.

"Well, let's keep her from finding out then." JJ's brow lifted in query, and she nodded her head in agreement.

For a few moments, they both stood in their spots, smiling at each other. JJ sported that goofy grin of his, blue eyes swimming with mischief as they always did. Josie giggled as she habitually reached out and playfully pinched his stomach, overwhelmed by her admiration for her friend.

Scoffing good-naturedly, he reached forward to pinch both sides of her waist. It wasn't uncommon for the duo to start playfully fighting one another. The wars ranged from many things: biting, pinching, slapping, wrestling, or tickling. JJ and Josie were both physically inclined beings, and therefore, any playful messing around with each other usually had something to do with touch.

Josie swatted at his hands, glaring at him playfully, as she squirmed away from his wandering fingers. "Truce, please." She raised her hands as if to surrender, and he narrowed his eyes at her—not one to back down so easily. She groaned, looking up at him through her lashes. "Please, Jay. Pope is over there burning holes in my face because I haven't said one word to him."

She looked past JJ to wink at Pope, who, sure enough, was playfully glaring at the interaction between the two. It was no secret that JJ was her favorite, but she still owed the others their greetings.

If JJ had anything to say about it at all, neither of them would ever speak to anyone else.

He turned to look behind him and smirked back at Pope, who rolled his eyes at the blond. The boy then turned back to Josie, tapping a finger on his chin in fake thought. "M'kay, I'll call truce. But you have to give me a back massage the next time we share the hammock."

Josie narrowed her eyes and scrunched her face up at him. Typical JJ.

He stared down at her, a perfect grin ever-present among his sculpted face. The smugness of his stare clearly showed that he knew he'd already won, but of course he wanted to hear her say it.

And as much as a part of her wanted to wipe the confident look off his face, she concurred. "Okay, okay. I'll give you a back massage, you freak."

He accepted the withdrawal and, without further teasing, grabbed an old fishing hat from atop his backpack on the floor. He placed it on her head and winked down at her, pulling a few strands of air out from under the hat to fall around her face.

Josie chuckled and nudged his stomach lightly with her elbow. She was relieved that one of them remembered her tendency to easily burn in the sun, because she never did. But she had Kiara and JJ, who would never let her go anywhere with sunscreen and a hat.

She fleetingly sent him a grateful smile, before she made her way over to Pope and dramatically embraced him. She rocked him back and forth, laughing, until he shoved her off of him. She greeted John B with a hug as well, which he returned with only one arm in favor of steering the boat.

"Nice to see ya!" Josie drawled in a Midwestern accent as she patted John B's check.

"Wow..." JJ whistled, crossing his arms and pretending to huff.

His brows raised over his wide eyes as he watched his best friends' interactions with each other. Josie inwardly cooed at the pout on his face. JJ playfully glared at her. "These two idiots get a hug, and all I get is assaulted? What kinda crap is that?"

Shrugging, Josie rolled her eyes and placed her backpack on the floor of the boat. She stood up and stretched her arms out, letting out a groan of pleasure as her joints clicked.

She was incredibly unaware of the heart eyes cast in her direction as her shirt lifted slightly above her belly button.

"These two idiots didn't get the cops called on me the other night; now did they?" Josie shot him a smirk, and the younger boy playfully winced. He nodded his head and raised both hands in surrender, as the aforementioned boys oohed and jokingly grimaced.

"Yeah, fine. I deserved that."

Josie hummed in agreement and bent down to dig through her bag. Once she found what she was looking for, she pulled out the Polaroid camera and placed the strap around her neck.

"By the way-" She looked up toward JJ, the corner of her mouth quirking once she realized he'd already been staring down at her. She stood to her full height and chuckled at the curious expression on his face. "You know that mandatory and attendance not optional mean the same thing, right?"

She snorted through a giggle as he rolled his eyes, pshing at her as he sat down. He raised his hand to help her down, and once she was settled to his left, he responded. "'Course I do, was just seein' if you'd notice."

Josie was not at all convinced, but she let him nudge her shoulder with his and flash his gentle smile at her. She skeptically hummed and nodded as she looked out past the front of the boat. They slowly made their way up the coastline, and not much further was the Carrera house.

"So, how's your mornin' post-Aggie been?" JJ asked, motioning his head back toward the house they'd left behind. Josie groaned in response, throwing her head back as she leaned back, palms flat on the boat.

JJ chuckled and leaned into her, allowing their shoulders to brush as they spoke. "Parents laying down the law?"

"My mother went into momzilla mode at five a.m. this morning. She came into my room shouting about a tree outside that was blown over, followed by a meltdown because a branch landed on her car." Jose rose off her hands to slap them against her cheeks, and she softly mimicked her mother's pitched scream.

"She and Cory have been arguing all morning about paying the cleanup crew and what they were gonna do about stuff around the house. So, I told her I was going to Kie's to help and booked it out back."

Pope snorted as he shook his head in disbelief. "Can't believe your mom hasn't dumped him yet."

The many awful qualities of her mother's boyfriend were well known amongst the group of friends. Josie had complained many times about the man living in her house, and she had no shortage of choice words when doing so. "Yeah, well, guess that's her type. Deadbeat, who can't keep a job and has no redeeming qualities."

Josie took no notice of how her blond friend's shoulders tensed after she spoke. Nor did she see the pitiful look John B sent JJ as she lifted from her spot upon seeing Kiara down the way.

She sent her female friend an enthusiastic wave before looking back at a preoccupied JJ, who was too lost in his own head. "Just look at my dad."

"Think she'd go for me then?" John B joked, doing his best to divert attention away from the ever-growing tension radiating from their other friend.

Josie scoffed in disgust and picked up a stray can to hurl at his head. The brunette tried his best to duck away from the attack, but it hit him square in the chest and fell flat at his feet. Josie flipped him off and ignored the grin he sent her, instead turning to face the friend they approached.

"Oh, top o' the mornin' to ya," John B greeted Kie as she stood at the dock with a cooler and her backpack.

Josie beamed at her, wiggling her fingers in a teasing wave as they got close. "Hiya, beautiful."

"Good morning, boys and lovely lady."

Despite having FaceTimed her only hours prior, Josie was incredibly happy to have the group completed. She was also very grateful for the opportunity to leave the conversation of her parents behind her.

Pope and JJ greeted Kie as they passed, and John B chuckled as he steered the boat as close as possible to her dock. "What'cha got? You got some juice boxes?"

"You know, just some yogurt, some carrot sticks."

Josie reached out her hand toward Kie, who smiled gratefully as she grabbed it. As they did so, JJ spoke from below Josie. "How 'bout my kind of juice boxes?"

The green-eyed girl's nose crinkled in humor as she glanced back down at him. As she did so, the corner of his mouth lifted.

"Brace for impact," John B once again cracked as Kie climbed aboard the boat. Once she was fully on, she placed the cooler down on the floor of the cockpit, and Josie immediately pulled her in for a greeting that was happily accepted.

Once they'd separated, the group situated themselves as Kie passed around drinks. "So, how'd you get away from the Addams family today?" Kiara quipped, handing Josie the pink lemonade Smirnoff that she'd specifically requested.

She coked her head to the side, sending Kiara a look that asked, what do you think? "I'll give you two hints; it starts with Y and rhymes with boo."

"Always the scapegoat," JJ teased humorously as he tilted his unopened beer bottle towards Kie.

Josie scoffed and reached over to hit him in the stomach. Startled, JJ let out a choked laugh through his gasp for air as she did so. He bent over and dramatically held a hand to his stomach.

"I can't exactly use the rest of you, can I?" Josie sarcastically asked, watching as JJ rubbed his stomach. She turned to look at Pope, who nodded in agreement.

Realistically, she could probably get away with using Pope if she played her cards right, or John B under extenuating circumstances. But if Josie ever were to even utter JJ's name, her mother would put both of their heads on pikes.

"You know I don't mind. If it means having you here, it's worth a little white lie to your mom." Josie jutted out her bottom lip appreciatively and clinked her bottle with Kiara's.

JJ's mouth curved into a smile, and he lifted his bottle towards them in cheers. "I'll drink to that."

"Salud." "Sante." "Skoal."

Once the boat diverted from the landline, John B was able to pick up speed and steer them up and through the marsh. But despite the ease of navigation, the pogues were still slow to move through the marsh.

They all laughed and drank as they spent the morning together without a care in the world. The boys alternated driving through the water, while Kie and Josie laughed at whatever stupid idea they could concoct. And when JJ excitably pulled two joints from his backpack, the day got even more enjoyable.

It was everything that made sneaking around her mother worth it. The absolute freedom that Josie always felt when she was surrounded by the people she loved most in the world.

They didn't care about how she dressed or if she stuttered when she spoke. They didn't scold her when she nervously fiddled with her fingers or chewed on her nails. None of them had any problems dealing with her anxieties and pushing her to do the things she'd otherwise be too sheltered to even think about.

They'd been her best friends for what felt like her entire life, witnessing and comforting her at the highest and lowest points of her life. And mornings just like that one further proved that Josie's life was best when she was with those people.

Her people.

"Let me show you a party trick," JJ declared as he moved to stand up at the front of the boat.

Josie leaned back and groaned as Kie teased him. "Terrifying."

"Hey Pope. Can you go a little faster, please?"

Josie watched her best friend find his balance at the bow, and she giggled from her spot next to Kiara. "JJ, please not again."

She looked to Pope for some sort of refusal of the blond's request, but he shrugged and looked up at their friend in dubiety. John B declared his spot away from the action, and Josie helplessly watched as Pope concurred.

They began to pick up speed, and Josie inquisitively smirked up at the boy. John B's complaints sounded from behind Pope. "Doesn't work; we've tried this like six thousand times." Nevertheless, he watched their friend with mild amusement.

Josie knew how the situation would end, and she couldn't deny the bit of anxiety that grew in her belly. Regardless of knowing that it would be funny when they looked back, she really didn't feel like calling a water ambulance out into the marsh again.

But JJ would do what JJ wanted.

"It got this. It's gonna work!" JJ placed his foot on the edge of the boat, and Josie immediately grabbed at his other ankle to keep him steady. She peered back at Kiara, exasperation clear on the redhead's face.

The younger girl only smirked in response, and she tilted her bottle up at JJ as if to say, your circus, not mine.

"Sunny, this isn't gonna go any differently than the thousands of times you've already tried!" Josie's pleas were of no use, and she watched as he grinned down at her over his shoulder.

A small part of her wanted him to do it. Either way, something interesting was bound to happen.

He raised his bottle in her direction and winked. "You just gotta believe, baby!" He adjusted his stance on the front of the boat, wind blowing his hair back, as he tilted his head back slightly and held the bottle in front of his mouth.

Josie plainly resided in the splash zone, but she opted to keep her left hand's grip firm on his calf to keep him from face-planting on the water. In her right hand, she gripped her drink, which she anxiously sipped from as she stared up at the ridiculous boy.

She watched as he attempted to have the wind blow the drink into his mouth, and she groaned when sixty percent of the beer missed his mouth and splashed out behind him. "JJ!"

"Oh my god, you're getting beer in my hair!" Kie complained and tried to duck away from the liquid. Josie folded into herself to try and keep the beer out of her eyes, laughing when John B and Pope also got splashed.

"Alright. Alright! You're done-stop!" Pope admonished, and the boys continued to do their best to talk JJ down from his position at the front of the boat.

They both continued to yell out sternly, but the blue-eyed boy completely ignored them. Josie giggled as she looked up toward the side of his face, his blissful and focused expression contrasting the reprimands behind him.

It was only a moment later that the boat veered into a sharp jolt to the right, and the whole group flung across different ends of the vessel. The girls squealed as they crashed into each other, foreheads colliding while their sides rammed into the top of their seats. They immediately grabbed at each other to steady one another.

Kie was the first one of them to speak. "Jesus, Pope!"

As John B groaned out, Josie quickly realized that there was one person missing from the batch of groans. She no longer held a grip on JJ's leg, and he was absent from his previous post.

Without a moment's hesitation, she scrambled to lean over the side of the boat and look out into the marsh for her boy. "JJ?"

He was quick to pop up from the murky water, and Josie sighed out in relief. She leaned her forehead down against the edge of the boat, hoping that the cool metal would ease the burning headache from colliding with Kiara and worrying about JJ. Her best friend was an idiot—so, so stupid. But if something had actually happened to him, Josie couldn't even begin to think of what she'd do.

But he was fine.

Still an asshole, but fine.

"You okay, JJ?" Pope called out to where their friend was groaning in pain.

Josie rubbed her stinging side and huffed at JJ's idiocy, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She repeatedly reminded herself that he hadn't maimed himself flying off of the boat.

"I think my heels touched the back of my head," JJ coughed out.

With the confirmation that JJ still had enough of his brain to make stupid commentary, Josie's head fell back in relief. Feeling confident that he was fine, she lifted her camera to capture the boy in the water and only provided a short "told you not to" as an explanation.

With the flash and the sound of a camera, a chorus of pained chuckles followed. Josie turned away to sit with her back against the boat and finally took a moment to catch her breath, shaking the photo around to develop. Once she was satisfied, she placed it on the seat beside her.

"Kie, you okay?" John B groaned from where he'd been flung, not having yet moved.

"I'm alright," she responded.

Josie slightly moved over to grab Kiara's hand and help her situate herself. Josie scanned her for any scrapes or bruising, and they shared a breath of laughter when Kie subconsciously did the same.

The moans of pain around them grew apparent, as the adrenaline of being thrown around wore off and the sting of the jolt settled in. Josie leaned back to rest her head against the boat, and she rubbed at the spot on her ribs where she could feel a bruise already forming.

How she was going to explain that to her mother, she had no idea.

"Pope, what did you do?" JJ asked from the water as he made his way back toward the boat. Josie watched him swim to the front end, and she lazily made her way up the bow to meet him.

"Sandbar. The channel changed," Pope answered through his strained voice.

"No shit," JJ chastised.

Josie rose to her knees on the front of the boat, lifting her arms above her head as she tried to stretch out the kinks in her body. She shared a pained look with JJ as his eyes scanned her for injuries.

"Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up." John B groaned as he looked around the marsh, doubting that he could correctly navigate through it in its current state. So much for fishing today.

"Hey, I saved the beer though," JJ affirmed. He lifted the beer in his hand, thumb pushed into the opening to stop marsh water from entering.

"Congrats, JJ," John B let out in pained sarcasm, and Josie grimaced in disgust.

"Yes, because the beer is worth more than your legs, Jay, of course." Josie extended her arms towards him, rolling her eyes when he handed her the beer first. She placed it down and went to extend her arm again, but Pope reached out to stop her.

She watched him, confused, as he stared down at the water below them. "Guys...I think there's a boat down there."

"Shut up," John B chided. The girls expressed their disbelief as Josie's eyes skimmed the water under JJ for any sigh of what their friend was claiming. She saw nothing.

"No, no, guys. I'm serious. There's like a boat down there, for real."

Pope's insistence made Josie inclined to look again, using his pointer finger to navigate her gaze through the water. It was then that she made out the faint light color contrasting against the dirty water of the marsh. "Holy shit."

"It's a boat!" Pope exclaimed persistently, while the rest of them realized that their friend actually wasn't crazy. At least, not about that. There was, in fact, a sunken boat resting in the water.

Kie immediately turned to change out of her clothes. "Holy shit, he's right. Let's go."

Josie didn't need any more confirmation before she kicked her sandals off and shimmied out of her shorts. She haphazardly threw them behind her, same with her shirt, and returned the grin the boy in the water sent her. She jumped in, followed by John B's dive, and swam towards where they'd seen the boat.

"You think there's a dead body down there?" Pope excitedly asked from where he undressed on the boat, which caused Josie to laugh and simultaneously cringe.

"God, I hope not! I will throw up."

She smiled at JJ, who swam closer to her, as they watched Kiara cheer as she jumped in. A frantic Pope pleaded for them to wait as he threw his hat off. After taking a moment longer, JJ couldn't help but tease him. "Get your ass in here, Pope!"

They all cheered him on as he cannonballed into the water. Once they'd grouped up, they looked around to confirm everyone was on board.

Josie caught JJ's eyes, wildly grinning from the adrenaline newly pumping through her veins that vastly contradicted the anxiety she'd felt only moments prior. She felt like she looked like an insane person, laughing at the possibility of finding a boat wreck. She wondered if she was being dramatic in her excitement.

But JJ simply returned her grin, staring at her as if she held the answers to everything he'd ever felt.

He winked at her, before looking around at everyone else. "Last one down's a smelly kook!" He quickly submerged himself, and the rest of them followed.

They all swam down toward the boat, which stuck out like a sore thumb given their new perspective.

The group moved around the cockpit of the boat to confirm that it was, in fact, a fucking sunken boat. Josie couldn't wrap her head around the fact that they'd actually stumbled upon that. Who knows how long it'd been down there, given how inconspicuous it was. It could've been sitting there for months, only just being found because of the hurricane's channel change.

Josie's stomach sank once she considered the possibility of them actually seeing a dead body. She would throw up.

A tug on her arm caused Josie to turn to JJ as he motioned his head upward. She nodded, and the pair followed the rest of their friends up. Their gasps for air rang out as everyone broke the surface.

"You guys saw that, right?" JJ exclaimed, looking over at Josie in elated bewilderment, before he turned to the rest of them. Affirmations sounded from everyone, incredulity prominent as they took in what they'd just seen.

"What the..." John B was at a loss for words, shock filling his clouded mind.

Josie couldn't help the noises of excitement that fell from her lips at the giddiness she shared with her friends. "Holy shit, was that-"

"A Grady-White?" JJ excitedly finished for her as they swam back to the boat. Josie shook her head in bewilderment as he continued. "A new one of those is like five hundred Gs, easy."

Once they approached the side of the boat, Josie waited for everyone to climb over first so that the boat wouldn't tip over from them clambering on all at the same time. Pulling himself up to stand on the boat, JJ scanned around animatedly and set his eyes on Josie in the water, reaching out to help her up.

"That's a primo rig."

He pulled her up and bent to meet her eyesight as she stood. She chuckled at the look on his face—like he was a kid in a candy store.

Almost no one Josie had ever met knew as much about boats as JJ did, so it was no surprise that an expensive boat would garner that type of thrilling reaction from him. The fierce joy shining behind his bright blue eyes was infectious, and Josie couldn't help but return the emotion as she stared into them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the boat I saw when we surfed the surge." John B glanced over at Josie, who shook her head in confusion. He hadn't told her about any boat, much less one similar to the one below them. "Maybe it hit the jetty or something."

"You guys surfed the surge?" Kiara questioned, looking between the two guilty parties in disbelief.

Josie avoided the concerned look Kie shot her, feeling even worse knowing she'd used her as an excuse to do it. She was certain that wasn't classified under Kiara's list of things that were okay to use her as an alibi for. John B, however, was happy to confirm their deathly activities from the day prior.

"That's my boy and my girl. Pogue style, guys." JJ praised the both of them, pogue-shaking with John B before wrapping his left arm around Josie's shoulders.

Josie stared at Kie apologetically and tried to ignore the appraisal from the boy beside her, no matter how much she found herself relishing in it. She turned to JJ with a lopsided grin, and he peered down at her with so much pride that she felt like she could combust. The gleam behind his eyes was addicting.

"Got some sick ass shots too." John B smirked at the entwined duo, and Josie shot him a quick glare. She narrowed her eyes at him, confused since he hadn't even seen what the photos looked like.

What was he playing at?

That detail didn't seem to matter to the blond beside her, who squeezed her closer to him. "You're so fucking cool, y'know that? You gotta show me all of 'em later." He placed a fleeting peck to her temple and headed toward the bow.

Heat crept up Josie's neck as he walked away. She wanted to interject that it was his idea. That he probably didn't remember, but he was the one who'd given them the idea to surf the storm. He was the cool one with the tendency to be impetuous.

But the way Kiara glared at her was enough to make Josie abstain from saying anything, and she instead picked at her nails. Kie shot her a look that Josie was quite accustomed to.

We'll talk about this later.

"Wait, wait. Do we know whose boat that is?" Pope questioned, watching as John B bent down to dig the anchor out of storage. JJ crouched down at the bow and observed the boat in the water.

"No, but we're about to find out," John B asserted, and Josie's eyes widened at him. He was in no way qualified to go searching around underwater for that long, and he could only hold his breath without assistance for so long.

In her concern, she failed to notice Kiara gaping at them all as if they were lunatics.

"Dude, it's too deep," JJ admonished as he stared down into the depths of the water. If JJ was saying something was a bad idea, Josie had no idea why anyone would want to follow through.

John B rebutted through a groan as he lifted the anchor, the smile ever prominent on his face. "Oh, for the weak and feeble, JJ."

"Alright, well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear upfront," JJ warned.

Josie rolled her eyes and patted John B's back reassuringly. "Don't worry. If it comes down to it, I'll resuscitate you."

John B smirked over his shoulder as he climbed up onto the front of the boat. "Is that just because you wanna kiss me?"

Josie scoffed and lightly shoved him forward, recalling anything she said about helping him. "I'm spoken for, buddy-boy. I think it's you who wants to kiss me." Josie held up her wrist to show off the golden bracelet Max had given her.

John B satirically nodded, pulling a face to look like he'd been caught in a lie. "Every night in my dreams." He concededly shrugged, and Josie chuckled at his stupidity. She flipped him off, earning a loud laugh from the boy.

Her smile was bright as she looked over at JJ, but it quickly fell when she saw the unimpressed look he gave the both of them. She shrugged and watched as he bitterly rolled his eyes.

"John B," Kie warned, voice soft as she gazed at him concerned.

"What?"

Josie acknowledged that Kie had a point to be concerned. John B really planned to swim all the way down and search the boat with no diving gear in sight. Not to mention that he was the exact person who was the most prone to life-threatening situations out of all of them.

"Diver down, fool." Pope saluted up at John B, who sighed and returned the gesture back at them.

"Diver down."

"Yeah, he is," JJ playfully declared, shoving the brunette off the bow.

Josie's fingernails flew to her mouth as soon as he hit the water, undeterred by the fact that they'd just been in the marsh. She was much more focused on the status of John B's safety than her dirty fingers.

The four of them gathered at the side of the boat, keeping an eye out for any bubbles or signs of a struggle under the water. The air was tense as Josie tried to concentrate on watching the movement of John B's faint form swimming around.

Somewhere in her brain, Josie implored that she probably should've been the one to go down, had she been given the option. John B probably wouldn't have let her, but it still seemed like the more logical choice. They'd done a plethora of playful challenges that proved she could hold her breath for a considerably longer time than the rest of them.

She couldn't help but consider the worst as she stared down at the water. It was unnerving to think about John B struggling to keep his mouth shut. His body would eventually take that last involuntary gasp for air, letting the water sink down into his lungs.

The boy beside her must've noticed her extreme concern, because she felt JJ remove her hand from her mouth and wrap his hand around it. "Stop stressin'. He's gonna be fine."

Looking over to him, she accepted his nod of reassurance and the squeeze of her hand. She returned the action and turned back to the water, but she withheld from releasing his hand.

"Should we go get him?" Pope asked.

Josie was fully prepared to jump in, when the boy resurfaced with a cough. She let out a long sigh of relief and released JJ's hand, smiling as John B shook the hair from his eyes. From beside her, JJ let out an "ah, geez."

"Oh, my god. That took forever." The worry was clear in Kiara's voice, a sentiment shared by both the girls.

Pope, however, had more concerning matters to press. "Any dead bodies?"

"Looting potential?" JJ added, and Josie slapped his shoulder.

John B denied their questions but lifted up his hand to show what he'd found in the boat. "I found this motel key." The keychain he held up was long and yellow, and Josie figured it wasn't rusty enough to have been down there for too long. Which negated her previous assumption about the boat being down there for a while.

JJ pulled up the anchor as Josie backed away from the side. She couldn't believe that all he'd found down there was a key. After all of that excitement.

Obviously, Pope felt the same way. "A key?"

"Yes, a key, Pope," John B stated matter-of-factly, climbing his way up the side of the boat.

"Great! We salvaged a motel key." JJ leaned over the side to look down at the Grady-White once again, as if wads of cash were going to float up from it. A boy could dream.

"Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard," Kie spoke up, as Josie plopped herself down on one of the seats, hands pressed to her heart to calm the racing pulse in her chest. After Kie checked that John B was secure in the boat, she moved to sit closely beside her friend.

"I second that. There's a huge possibility that whoever was in that boat is still out there," Josie concurred.

"Alright, we'll go report the wreck; see if anyone's out lookin' for a sunken boat," John B agreed, nodding at Pope to start the boat back up. Pope made his way toward the wheel and cranked the boat, before he lurched them to head off around the island.

Josie twisted in her seat to look around for something in particular, and she grinned as she picked up the Polaroid that had fallen to the floor. She turned to smirk at JJ and mischievously waved the small picture around. He approached her with a raised brow and a playful glare as she cheekily spoke. "I was thinking this would be a perfect replacement for the wallet photo."

JJ snatched the Polaroid from her hand and couldn't help the chuckle that fell from his lips as he looked at it. The pain from bending like a pretzel was evident from his expression in the photo. She immediately knew that the photo was going on her wall, despite the joke about his wallet.

"Yeah, right. Why would I carry this thing around when there's a perfectly good photo of you instead?" He reached down to dig into his own bag, but Josie instantly slapped his hand away to stop him from pulling out the leather item.

She dared not to think about the hideous photo of her stuffed into a pocket of JJ's wallet.

It'd been taken on a random night when they were all hanging out together. Her camera had been passed back and forth between the friends as they all wasted the film on anything they wanted to remember. Josie had been mid belly laugh when JJ took the picture of her, red faced and her hair a mess as she looked like a madman.

She'd immediately demanded that he burn it, but he'd adamantly refused on the grounds that it was his picture, and he decided what to do with it.

For almost two years, JJ had been carrying around that same stupid Polaroid of Josie in his wallet. It was arguably the most embarrassing photo of herself that Josie had ever seen, and she felt the candid did her no justice whatsoever.

And because of such, JJ, of course, declared it his favorite. He'd been adamant about keeping it on him at all times, because he couldn't dare risk it falling into the wrong hands or, God forbid, being ruined by Josie herself.

She rolled her eyes and snatched the photo back from his hand, smiling down at it. It was a funny thing to look back on, even if it had been the root of her consuming anxiety in the moment. Her heart filled with admiration at the sheer adrenaline-fueled pain tolerance of her friend.

"I'm keeping this forever and ever," Josie teased as she looked up at him with a goofy grin. He rolled his eyes, but Josie could see the corners of his mouth tilting upward.

"Good, 'cause I still look hot as fuck."

Josie gently elbowed him in the stomach, but let the conversation fall as they made their way over the water. She bent back down toward her bag, fishing out her journal and pen in an effort to pass time. As they made their way toward the channel, Josie had a sudden thought pop into her head.

The previous summer, a tourist named Clyde Hayes had found the local fruit vendor, Leroy Scott's, boat off the coast of Figure Eight. He'd gotten something like a three-thousand-dollar reward for finding it. "Y'know what, guys? Maybe we'll get a finder's fee!"

"Yeah, and not work all summer," JJ pointed out. It was a blunt reminder that they were going to spend all summer cleaning up the mess made in one night.

"Thanks, Agatha, ya batch."

⋄ ⋟⋆ june 18, 2020

as I sit on a boat caressing the waters of the atlantic ocean, I cannot help but stop to think about tim kreider's quote about the mortifying ordeal of being known. and whilst I agree with the notion of it being terrifying for others to know you; I cannot help but simply disagree as I look around to the people surrounding me. nuture is siting to my right, brushing her curls into a make-shift ponytail as her hair blows in the wind. responsibility, benevolence, and loyalty smile as their laughter rings out among the water. and I can't help but think that being known is terrifying only in the best ways. because sometimes a loved one mentions something you never considered about yourself, or looks to you when they tell a joke to make sure you're smiling along. you can't help but feel like your heart is cradled in their hands, but it's held with such care. it makes life so beautiful; the idea that people could be so delicate.

- josephine grey ⋄ ⋟⋆

3 notes · View notes

averagemorrowindenjoyer · 5 months ago

Text

Dipsy survives au chapter 2

Dipsy shook the blood off of his hands, groaning in disgust at the scene. He was never a huge fan of gore or blood. Dipsy frowned when he realized his hat was stained with the blood of the white Teletubby beneath him. He still picked it up anyway and put it on his head. He sighed, bothered by the dried tears on his face.

Dipsy crossed his arms, wondering what to do. There was nowhere to go. If he went back to the mainland Tinky-Winky would surely kill him. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He might as well just continue on through the outskirts. He walked lazily through the strange place, slightly slumping. He felt tired.

He was just about to leave the place when he saw a familiar yellow Teletubby. Her eyes were scratched out, and she kept twitching and moaning as if she were in pain.

Dipsy stared at her for a moment with wide eyes. She was blocking the exit. Maybe I could go another way. Dipsy looked to the left, noticing that there was an exit there. He snuck over there, careful to not alert Laalaa.

When he was close enough to the exit, he ran for it. He ignored the screech from Laalaa and continued sprinting away from the outskirts.

—

Dipsy raised an eyebrow in confusion when he found weird metal doors. He tried to open them, but they wouldn't budge. He looked down and saw levers. Oh, great. A puzzle. He rolled his eyes. He flipped the levers until the door opened, revealing multiple blue Teletubbies. They were all walking around the place with things like clipboards and pencils.

Dipsy was caught off guard when the doors shut behind him after he entered. “Uhm..hello?” He awkwardly greeted one of the Teletubbies.

The name tag said ‘Ron.’ “Who’re you?” Ron asked, raising an eyebrow. “My name is Dipsy.” Dipsy glanced around the place. All of the Tubbies staring made him anxious.

“What’re you doing here? I'm pretty sure you don't work here.” Ron examined Dipsy for a moment. “My friend went c-crazy and killed my other friends. I escaped and found this place.” Dipsy stammered. Work here? Dipsy didn't know what he meant by that. “Huh..” Ron glanced at a Teletubby behind him.

“Come with me, I'll contact the military for you.” Ron gestured for Dipsy to follow him. Military? What? Dipsy had no clue what this guy was talking about.

#slendytubbies 3 #slendytubbies

0 notes

tinkerbcll · 3 months ago

Text

besides the pirates, tinkerbell had never met a soul who didn’t like peter. he was adored by so many and people were blinded by his charm, so much so they couldn’t see peter for who he truly is. the other fairies didn’t even know peter and merely know of him, yet they still find him extraordinary. he’s been gone for some time now, long enough that peter didn’t look like the boy they remember. yet, they still talk about him and wonder if he’ll ever return. truthfully it always irked tink, after all she believes herself to be the reason he’s so wonderful since it’s her pixie dust flowing in his veins. of course they don’t know that though, only mother dove.

if tink was being honest with herself, she was somewhat happy terence wasn’t like the others so she didn’t have to hear him boast about him. but it did leave her feeling confused on why he didn’t feel the same way as everyone else. terence liked everybody and was kind to everyone, it sometimes even confused her that the two of them were so close. so for him to not like someone, it felt strange to her. even his tone had surprised her. she was feeling defensive.

the whole reason she brought terence up to the highest branch of the home tree was to talk to him where no one else would hear. he knew about her visits to peter, knew how he had broken her heart all those years ago, he knew how much this was absolutely killing her. each visit left her feeling worse and worse and terence was the one she went to for comfort. she was a storm cloud and he was her sun, she always felt lighter and content around him. but not right now, she knew this conversation was taking a turn for the worse.

“those visits aren’t me hanging out with him, it’s me checking up on him to make sure he’s safe and happy there.” to see him in case he ends up changing his mind about coming back home were her unspoken words. she didn’t care what peter said, neverland was and always will be his home. not the mainland. “he never even told me he wants me to come see him, i just do it. sometimes i don’t even talk to him. for all i know he would be happy if i never went there again.” she bit her bottom lip to stop from trembling.

tears welled up in her eyes, but she shook her bangs in her face to hide it. “he’s not stringing me along or anything like that! you can’t blame peter for that, if anything it’s my fault because i’m the one who keeps going back. i’m the one who just keeps hurting myself because i don’t know how to live a life without peter in it.” she hiccuped from holding in her sobs. “trust me, terence, if i could forget about him i would. it would be so much easier if i forgot he ever existed.” but fairies don’t forget, so tink supposes she’s stuck feeling this way for eternity. a broken pot that can’t be fixed.

@tinkerbcll ; ❝ were you ever going to tell me or were you just going to make me guess what you're thinking and feeling. ❞

❝ i was hoping i wouldn't have to tell you, ❞ for terence to finally put his distaste for peter out there so bluntly had been an honest mistake. he didn't want to risk things changing between them, and despite his feelings, he would have been content just remaining by her side as her friend ; but he couldn't stand idly by and watch her continuously get hurt by him. the final straw was another conversation in which she brought up peter only to complain about him. it seemed all she ever did lately was complain about something he did or said and it had wore terence's patience so razor thin until it finally snapped. ❝ i don't understand why you continue to hang around him if all he ever does is string you along and hurt your feelings, ❞

#i-#idk why i bother to even TRY keeping things short #✧･ﾟ we can navigate the stars to bring us back home { thread } ✧･ﾟ #✧･ﾟ { verse :fairy haven } ✧･ﾟ #neverlland

1 note · View note

braddock-the-bear · 5 years ago

Conversation

Billy, introducing the Fennbirn crew to some family and other mainlanders: This is my girlfriend, Arsinoe, and this is Arsinoe's girlfriend, Jules, and this is Jules' girlfriend, Emilia...

mainlanders:

Billy:

mainlanders:

Billy, taking out a small bird from his pocket: and, oh yes, I almost forgot, these are our grandchicks!

mainlanders:

Billy: aren't they adorable? :D

#mainlanders: *still shook and confused*#incorrect three dark crowns quotes #billy chatworth #queen arsinoe #three dark crowns #jules milone #emilia vatros

68 notes · View notes

the-iceni-bitch · 4 years ago

Text

Paralian

Pairing: soft!Winter Soldier x fem!Reader

Words: ~3.6k

Summary: You find the Winter Soldier washed up on the beach in front of your small cabin and debate what you should do with him.

Warnings: explicit language, explicit sexual content (titty worship, soft sex, unprotected vaginal sex) minor angst, SMUT!!! 18+ ONLY!!!!

A/N: My official entry for @bonkywobble ‘s halfway to 1k challenge! I chose the prompts paralian (one who lives by the sea) and stranded so here we are!! Congratulations Georgie!!!!

It was your third year being stationed on Rankki, and fuck you were starting to get so bored.

You cursed yourself every day for taking this shit assignment. Sure, an isolated life on an idyllic Finnish island sounded great! All you had to do was monitor the radar for any Soviet subs and the radio for any communications that were worrisome, and other than that, you could enjoy the nice quiet life by the sea you’d always wanted.

Fuck all that shit.

Nothing ever happened, the last blip on the radar you’d received was just a pod of whales, and as sure as SHIELD was that they were tapped into the appropriate Soviet channels, you had never heard anything exciting or important.

You were damp all the time, the wind and sea spray soaking you to the bone and leaving you with a never ending chill. You had a fireplace but there was no wood anywhere on the tiny island. You knew, you’d walked all over the damn thing a thousand times. You had to arrange for shipments of wood from Helsinki every few months.

You were standing on the rocky shore outside your tin sided house as you sipped a mug of tea with a thick wool blanket wrapped around you. There were vicious looking black and purple clouds rolling in from the east, and you sighed to yourself before heading back inside to prepare for the upcoming storm. At least that would be a break from the monotony you were stuck with.

Within twenty minutes you heard the roll of thunder and then the wind hit your house with a howl, shaking the siding as rain pounded on your roof. You just stoked the fire with a sigh, secure in the knowledge that the construction of your house was sound.

You sat back in your armchair and curled up under your blankets to look out the window as lightning streaked across the sky. You could see see massive waves rolling far out in the gulf when suddenly your radio crackled and a distress call broke the silence in your living room.

The caller was speaking in frantic Russian as you scrambled to pick up the microphone. You tried to get a location or any information from the caller but they were babbling frantically and you didn’t think they heard you. The only words you were able to make out were Sverdlov, Karpov, and Soldat.

You sucked in a sharp breath at the last word. That was supposed to be a fucking rumor. Maybe evidence of the Winter Soldier would finally get you off this god forsaken strip of land. You tried to remain calm as you called back over the radio, but all you got in response was dead air.

You cursed before trying to raise the SHIELD base over comms, but there was no luck, the storm was causing too much interference. No matter which frequency you tried, you couldn’t get anything but static.

“Goddamn it.” You muttered, chewing on your lips as you gazed out the window again. You’d try again once the skies had cleared, maybe you’d get lucky and the ship would make it through, and you’d be able to hail them again.

The storm ended in a little over an hour, stopping as suddenly as it had started. You stood up and stretched, folding your blanket and tossing over the back of your armchair as you headed to your radio. You flipped through each channel slowly, desperately trying to find a signal, but all that greeted you was dead air.

A sigh escaped from deep in your chest as you shook your head resignedly, deciding to head out to walk over the island for the million and first time.

You cursed when you walked outside. The beach was littered with driftwood and other debris, including what you were quite certain were the pieces of the vessel you had received the distress call from.

You muttered angrily to yourself as you picked your way over the rocky beach, dreading the task of clearing up all this shit. At least it would be something to occupy your time over the next few days.

You caught a hint of movement out of the corner of your eye and felt your body tense as you went to investigate, suddenly regretting your decision to leave your gun inside.

You came up on what you initially thought was a dead body until you saw it roll over and jumped back warily. A set of blue eyes gazed up at you questioningly and you caught a glimpse of metal below the man’s sleeve.

“Who are you?” He rasped in surprisingly good English, struggling to stand up. “Where am I?”

“You’re on the island of Rankki in Finland.” You answered, searching for something you could use as a weapon gas you kept one eye on the stranger. “What do you remember?”

“I don’t know.” He muttered, drawing slowly to his feet as you sucked in a breath at the sheer power of his build, not missing the glint of metal on his left hand.

“Fuck.” You muttered as you realized you were now stuck on a tiny ass island with the Winter Soldier and no outside communications. “What’s your name?” You asked, looking around desperately for something you could use as a weapon if you had to fight him.

“I... I don’t know.” He mumbled, shaking his head and staggering as he tried to walk towards you.

You took a step back and chewed on your lip, trying to decide what to do. If he really couldn’t remember anything, he was going to be useless to you, though SHIELD would probably love to take apart that arm and study it. If he was faking it, he would most likely kill you in your sleep.

The look he gave you was full of pain and confusion, though, and you cursed yourself in your head for being so soft and gullible.

“Ok, let’s get you inside before the sun sets. I’ll make you some tea and get you into some dry clothes, ok?”

He nodded and followed you inside, looking around warily once he stepped into your tiny cabin. You chewed your lip as you closed the door behind him, still trying to figure out exactly what you should do about this new complication.

“The bathroom’s through here.” You said as you ushered him towards the back of your house. “Maybe take a hot shower and I’ll try to find you some clothes?”

He just grunted as he closed the door in your face, and you let out a deep sigh. You moved to put the kettle on the stove and reheat some lentil stew before heading to your radio. You flipped through all the channels, cursing under your breath as you still failed at raising the SHIELD base on the mainland. You worked at stashing all of your weapons as you listened to the shower running, knowing that if he really wanted to hurt you, he wouldn’t need a weapon.

You heard the shower shut off and grabbed an oversized sweater and some thermal leggings you hoped would have enough give to fit over his thick thighs. He stepped out of the bathroom and you swallowed a moan once you saw him with nothing but a towel slung low around his hips. It had been three years with nothing but your fingers to keep you satisfied and the presence of the massive soldier was reminding you just how hard up you were. You took a deep breath as you handed him the clothes and turned back to the kitchen, pouring two mugs of tea and serving up the leftover stew.

“Eat up.” You said when he returned from getting dressed in your bedroom. “Sorry, there’s not a lot of food options here.”

“S’fine.” He mumbled around a mouthful of stew as he sank onto your couch, and you did your best not to ogle the outline of his cock in your too tight leggings.

You gulped down your tea quickly as you tried to school your thoughts. This was very bad. You were stuck with one of the most dangerous Soviet agents alive and all you could think about was crawling into his lap and fucking yourself on his cock. Even if he did have amnesia, this was a very, very bad idea.

“The stew was good.” He mumbled as he finished his bowl, turning to you as you worked on your own helping. “Thank you.”

“Mmhm.” You mumbled, still trying to think about anything else except letting him bend you over and fuck you against the counter.

He stood up and moved to rinse off his dishes in the sink, brushing past you and making you clench. You tried to move out of his way but your kitchen was so cramped that all you ended up doing was tangling your feet with his until you almost fell over.

You gasped when he caught you by your elbow and yanked you into his chest to keep you from going down. His chest rumbled with a low growl as you steadied yourself, and you could’ve sworn you felt him sniff your hair.

“You ok?” He murmured before releasing his grip on your arm and letting you step back.

“Yeah, just clumsy.” You whispered, squeezing your thighs together to try to do something to relieve the ache in your core.

“Good.” He said with a deep sigh, running his hand through his hair. “Where am I sleeping?”

You cursed in your head as you thought about that question, looking around your tiny house as you tried to think about where you could stash him. The couch was too small for either of you to comfortably rest on, and you only had the one bed.

“Shit, I guess we’re doubling up.” You muttered, chewing your lip again as you dreaded spending the night in your kind of small bed with the gorgeous, massive stranger that was staring at you with puppy dog eyes. “There’s not even room on the floor anywhere.”

“Ok.” He grunted, avoiding making eye contact with you as you slid past him to wash up for bed.

You locked the bathroom door behind you and started splashing cold water on your face as you tried to calm down. Bad, bad, so bad this was bad. You couldn’t even try to reach SHIELD now and you weren’t sure when you’d have the chance to try again. You brushed your teeth furiously as you did your best to school your thoughts.

You threw on your pajamas once you were finished and stormed into the bedroom, determined to not let your libido get the better of you. He was sitting on the bed in just your leggings, and you swore under your breath as you moved past him to your side of the bed.

“Back to back?” He said with a cocked eyebrow as you slid under the covers and he turned off his lamp.

“Yeah.” You muttered, shutting your own light off and pulling the blankets up your body as you curled around yourself and squeezed your eyes shut.

You heard him let out a deep sigh as you tried to fall asleep, your brain refusing to focus on anything except the warmth of his back against yours.

You didn’t know when you fell asleep, but you did, until you woke up under the suffocating weight of his body draped over yours, his face buried in your hair as he whimpered in your ear.

He wrapped his arms around you and snarled, and you were surprised to feel tears soaking your hair.

“Um, hey.” You muttered as you tried to turn towards him. “Wake up.”

You squeezed his shoulder and gave it a small shake to try to rouse him and his eyes flew open. You yelped as he flipped you over and pinned you to the bed with his hand around your throat.

His eyes were murderous as he gazed at you, his pupils blown wide while you feebly clawed at his metal forearm, struggling to breathe. He finally came out of his post-sleep haze and released you with a hiss, scrambling back on the bed until he was huddled in the corner as you sat up and spluttered to catch your breath.

“Fuck, I don’t know what happened.” He muttered as he buried his head in his hands.

“It’s ok, I think you just had a nightmare.” You said as you rubbed your hand over your neck. “Are you ok?”

He turned his gaze back to you and you sucked in a breath as you saw tears glistening in his cheeks. Your instincts took over and you crawled towards him, curling your body around his and murmuring softly as his chest shook with sobs.

You ran your hands through his hair as he tucked his face into your shoulder, trying to figure out what exactly you should do to help him calm down.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He choked out, his tears soaking through your shirt as you tried your best to comfort him.

“It’s gonna be ok.” You cooed, running a hand over his back softly as he moved his face up to your neck and inhaled deeply, moaning as he took in your scent.

His breathing had finally slowed down, and you could feel his chest moving in deep breaths against yours as he sighed into your hair. You moaned when he suddenly brushed his lips against the hollow beneath your ear as he wrapped his arms around you tightly.

“You smell so good.” He murmured as he ran his mouth over your throat, his soft lips on your skin making you whine. “Like pine and wind and home.”

“Uh-huh.” You muttered, trying your best to get control of yourself as he ran his hands over your sides until they came to rest on your hips.

His teeth brushed over your jaw and you whined as you felt your core clench around nothing as you throbbed with need. Your breath hitched when he moved his lips to yours and barely brushed against them as you rested your forehead against his and screwed your eyes closed.

“I need you so bad. Open your eyes.” He ordered, bringing his metal hand up to cup your cheek. You did as he asked, losing yourself in his darkened gaze as you breathed deeply. “But we can stop if you want.”

You but your lip as you considered that for a second before smashing your mouth against his in a desperate clash of teeth and tongues as you moaned against his lips.

He wrenched your shirt off and pressed his palms against your tits, gripping them harshly and groaning before bending forward to rub his face over your nipples. You felt a rush of arousal seep out of you as he laved his tongue over one of them and pinched the other, gazing up at you through his lashes as you arched into his face. He brushed his lips over the soft slopes of your breasts as you devolved into a whimpering mess.

You started grinding against his thigh as he worshipped your breasts, tracing their curves with his tongue and lips as you felt the sensation echo in your core. It was too much for you in your touch starved state and you felt a shiver travel up your spine as he brought you closer. He brushed his teeth over your nipple and you came apart with a wordless cry, your pleasure rolling over you in a wave as your pussy fluttered wildly over his thigh, your release soaking your leggings.

He moved his mouth back up to yours and nipped at your lips as he started to turn your bodies to pin you underneath him. His mouth devoured yours as he pulled your leggings off you before shoving his own down his legs as he slotted himself between your thighs.

You bit your lip as you felt him run his steely length through your puffy lips, coating himself in your slick before lining himself up. He rested his forehead against yours and gazed into your eyes as you just blinked at him and pressed your knees against his sides. Your eyes rolled back in your head and you dug your fingers into his biceps as he slid into you slowly, letting out a low moan as you stretched around his girth.

“You still good?” He asked, his eyes still focused on yours as he felt you relax around him.

“Very, very good.” You mumbled as he started to move his hips in long, slow strokes, hitting every spot inside you that had been neglected for the past three years as you melted into the mattress.

“You feel so good.” He murmured, moving to bury his face in your neck as he continued pushing his hips into you. “So tight and warm and... fuck you’re just perfect.”

You couldn’t say anything, you were so consumed with the feeling of him inside of you, your pussy clenching around his cock in waves from base to tip and tip to base as he edged you closer and closer to your release. He sucked your ear lobe between his teeth as you locked your ankles together at the small of his back and did your best to draw him even further inside you.

He kept moving his hips in smooth thrusts, his lips moving over your throat softly as he took you apart with slow, deliberate movements. A final twist of his hips had you screaming, every muscle in your body tightening and releasing like a bowstring as you spasmed uncontrollably around his cock. His eyes moved back to watch you closely as your face contorted with pure bliss and you sobbed underneath him.

You panted as you came down, smiling back at him and unwrapping your legs from around him as he slowly slid out of you. He moved his lips over your shoulders as his hands slid to your waist, starting to turn you over slowly as your breathing finally returned to normal.

He brushed your hair aside and pressed his lips to the back of your neck once he had you on your stomach, his chest pressed against your back as he nudged your thighs apart with his knees. You bit the pillow as he teased his tip against your entrance before pushing into you again, making you whine.

His hips started moving again as he wrapped his fingers through yours and pinned your hands above your head while he fucked you in swift thrusts, his hips slapping against your ass as he smothered you with his body.

“You close, honey?” He murmured against the shell of your ear as you arched your back to meet his thrusts.

“Yeah, I’m so close.” You moaned, your cunt clamping around him as he dragged his cock over your g-spot with each push. “Need more.”

“Yeah? I can do that.” He grinned before sinking his teeth into your shoulder and slamming his hips forward.

You shrieked as he fucked you, your body sinking into the mattress as he pressed against you. It only took a few thrusts before you shattered around him, stars exploding behind your eyes as you vibrated underneath him. His hips started stuttering and then he roared in your ear, his cock throbbing and swelling inside you until he was flooding you with his spend, warming you from inside as he fucked his cum into you with quick, rhythm less jerks.

He collapsed on top of you when he was finished, his breath coming in deep sighs as you panted into the pillow. You felt exhaustion starting to drag you under, your lids growing heavy as you felt him soften inside you.

“Can we just stay like this?” He muttered, his lips brushing over your neck gently. “I just want to hold you.”

“Yeah, ok.” You hummed, surrendering to the pull of sleep as he pulled the covers back over the two of you before he sank on top of you with a deep sigh.

You woke up with him still on top of you, his limbs tangled with yours as he snored softly. You moved gingerly as you worked to extract yourself from him, desperately needing to use the bathroom.

He gave a soft huff when you rolled him over, but quickly relaxed as he nuzzled himself into your pillows. You closed the blinds to block out the early morning light and tiptoed out of the bedroom. You took care of your business quickly and we’re heading back to bed when you heard the faint sound of your radio crackling to life.

You rushed into your comm room and turned the radio down before really listening to what you were hearing.

“Agent Y/L/N? Come in!” Someone from the base was calling over the link.

“This is Y/L/N.” You answered.

“We got reports of a wrecked Soviet ship in your area. Intel says they had some sort of asset on board. Has anything turned up?”

You chewed your lip as you thought things over. If you turned the Winter Soldier over, you could probably finally get off this island and land a cushy desk job back in the States. It was all you’d been thinking about for years.

But then you thought about waking up to those small fearful sounds, and the look in his eyes before he started sobbing into your chest. And there was no way you could turn that broken creature over to the cold scientists at SHIELD.

“Just some debris.” You called back over the radio. “Nothing important.”

“Alright, well keep us updated.”

You hung up the receiver and started to move back to the bedroom, smiling sadly as you heard the soldier wondering where you were.

——————————————————————————

A/N: 🥺🥺🥺

Tags!!! (If your name is scored it won’t let me tag you, update your privacy settings to stay updated!)

@buckysnumberonegirl

@slothspaghettiwrites

@captain-asguard

@starlightcrystalline

@harrysthiccthighss

@quxxnxfhxll

@bonkywobble

@chrisevanscardigan

@chubbybuckydumpling

@StanAllStarks

@blackestpinkworld

@Fistmebuckyskywalker

@wandering-spiritash

@khadineberry

@shutupstevie

@muzzyandbusy

@slytheriin2002

@isysen

@babyb3ar

@WanderingAlice00

@kaleeelizabeth58

@tlcwrites

@angrybirdcr

@Unsaltedalmonds

@amerikakapitanyy

@lizette50

@daughterofthenight117

@obsessivereaderchick

@mariaenchanted

@Marvel-baby

@iwanttobekilledtwice

@stan-all-the-things

@bucky-bunnie

@oops-aquarius

@riemasonline

@superoopuniverse

@ethereal-beaut-y

@Lex-Is-Up-All-Night-To-Get-Bucky

@ambthegamer

@tapouttt34

@drabblewithfrannybarnes

@stargazingfangirl18

@jack-skellingtons-stuff

@chrissquares

@msmarvelwrites

@sweeterthanthis

1K notes · View notes

kagebros · 2 years ago

Text

The Orca (A Shockop Fic)

Summary: A kind, gentle orca merman saves the life of a marine biologist from a watery grave during a diving session and ends up falling in love with one another. Warnings: N/A Word Count: 2735

There’s an orca that loves to hang out in the North Shore area in Hawai’i. If you’re ever in the Banzai Pipeline area and wipe out, the orca might give you a hand and bring you back to safer waters.

Of course there’s times where he may be somewhere else near the island. The orca has to explore after all, or visit spots that he’s fond of when he needs some time to relax.

Kahuna Canyon was where he was today. A popular diver’s spot, so he stayed far enough away to keep a watchful eye on them. There weren’t many divers today. It was a weekday instead of a weekend, so of course there wouldn’t be that many. In most cases, it was just marine biologists during the weekdays doing research.

But they usually came in pairs.

So when he saw only one marine biologist in the bowl today, he was confused. Especially when this diver went deeper and deeper into the depths. He follows, making sure he isn’t seen by them. It’s only when he sees the diver crawl under a narrow cliff that he grows worried. Why the diver went under there, he didn’t know. But he waits for a few minutes, watching as the bubbles trickled out until there were only a few coming out every now and then. They must have realised they were stuck and was trying to ration oxygen.

So he goes into action and his larger body struggles to squeeze under, but he gets in enough to grab at the diver and pull them out. He’s slow to bring them up, knowing how it works with humans and the bends. The two eventually break to the surface and the diver gasps before ripping off their mask in surprise to get a better look at the man who just saved them.

He has to stop himself from widening his eyes as he sees how beautiful this person really is. In another life they could have been a model.

They sputtered and he held them in his arms for a moment to keep them afloat until he finally spoke aloud in Native Hawaiian.

“Maikaʻi paha 'oe?” he asked.

“Wha?” they replied. He repeated, gentle as ever.

“Maikaʻi paha 'oe?” They blinked this time as the initial shock left them and they shook their head apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak Hawaiian,” they frowned. He sighed. So they weren’t Hawaiian.

“Are you ok?” he asked this time in English.

“Yes, I- thank you for saving me down there. If you didn’t get me out of there I would have been… a goner,” they said.

“What were you doing down there alone anyway?”

“My diving partner couldn’t make it so I went myself and I was initially going to research some lobsters until… I found this,” they said, holding up the empty intact conch shell.

“You almost got yourself killed over a shell?” he asked incredulously. “I thought you marine biologists were smart,” he teased.

“I’m a very, very dumb one apparently,” they lamented. Their face then flushed as they realised they were still in his arms. They pushed away and he let go, the two floating in the water, getting a good look at him. He was handsome, much more attractive than anything they’d ever dated before back on the mainland. He was well built and stocky, yet he wasn’t at all rough when handling them. “Um,” they said, treading. “What’s your name?” they asked.

“Optimus,” he replied.

“Optimus,” they repeated. “That’s an interesting name. I’m Kazuo,” they said, holding out their hand for him to shake it. He doesn’t take it, not knowing what to do with it and Kazuo’s face flushed, realising the cultural difference. “It’s nice to meet you,” they then said.

“Your face gets red pretty easily,” Optimus said. “Like a lobster,” he said. Kazuo’s face flushed even more and they laughed.

“I-I should get going,” Kazuo replied. “Thank you for saving me, again,” they said. They went to swim back to shore before stopping for just a moment. “I’m gonna be here for only a week but… where can I find you?” they asked. Optimus thought about it for a moment before deciding on telling them where.

“Go to Three Tables Beach on the North Shore, but go on the other side of the rocks,” he replied. “I’ll be there tomorrow,” he added. Kazuo nodded before they turned around and went back to shore.

Optimus lingered in the water, watching them before eventually diving back down into the water and heading back to his home, a little private beach away from all the commotion. It was his little slice of paradise despite being close to the pod he belonged to. There was a bed he had made for himself to sleep on the beach, the tide going in and out around him as he got comfortably settled. He laid on his back and looked up at the stars until he drifted off to sleep.

-----

Kazuo awoke early in the morning, getting dressed in their wetsuit as soon as they jumped out of bed and put some comfortable clothing over it before heading out of their hotel room. They made their way to their rented car and made their way up to North Shore. They eventually made it to the Three Tables, parking in a spot close to it and made their way to the empty beach. It was still early morning after all and there wouldn’t be many people at the beach on a Tuesday. They looked over to see the rocks aligning the side of the beach and went over, the heavy sand slowing their footsteps. They climbed over the rocks and went to the other side, sitting at a sandy bank and waiting for Optimus to come see them.

They waited for a few hours, the sun coming up into the sky. They spent the time taking a nap, sleeping under the sun until they heard the tell tale splash nearby. Their eyes fluttered open and they saw Optimus at the edge of the water. He chucked something at them and they flew up, catching it in surprise only to see a boiled red lobster. Kazuo’s face flushed red once again and Optimus laughed.

“Got you lunch,” he simply said. They sat there looking at the lobster and right back up at him. He really expected them to eat the lobster just like that. Still, a boiled lobster was a lobster. They cracked at it as best as they could before grabbing their Swiss Army knife to crack at it. Eating at the meat, the two sat in silence before Kazuo spoke up.

“Where did you get this and even boil it?” they asked.

“Grabbed it nearby and put it over an underwater volcano vent,” he said.

“Oh,” they said. “This is… one of the largest lobsters I’ve eaten,” they then said.

“Well, yeah, I got it from one of the deepest areas around here,” Optimus replied, seemingly proud of himself.

“You didn’t have to do that,” they said, feeling flattered now.

“I wanted to,” Optimus said, smiling this time as he crept up close. They noticed he had sharper canines than a human normally had as he smiled. He rested his head on his arms and looked up towards them with a lazy smile.

“Listen, thank you for saving me again,“ they said. “I- I knew mermaids were somewhat of a rumour around the beaches, I didn’t think I’d be saved by one though.”

“They think that my people around here are water spirits of the islands,” Optimus said. “They’re not wrong, we’re descended from them, at least my people from around here, it’s the same as it is on the islands. The Hawaiian gods only exist here in Hawai’i, but nowhere else,” he added.

“Really?” they said, intrigued now. There was a twinkle in their eyes that made Optimus smile widely again.

“You know you haven’t dived in the best areas around this island yet,” he then said. “I could take you there and dive with you.”

“Would that be alright?” they asked this time, picking at the last of the lobster. They looked down and then offered a fat juicy piece to Optimus to which he took and ate. He lifted himself up this time and grabbed Kazuo to drag them into the water. They squeaked and he let them go, letting them put on their flippers, tank and goggles before letting the tide pull them in. The two began to swim around for a bit, exploring Shark’s cove nearby before Optimus took them, held them in close and began to swim at a higher speed than they were used to to a quiet area in the water. They stopped above for a moment before Optimus dove deeper down to a nearby coral reef.

He watched Kazuo’s eyes light up upon seeing the reef and they drew closer, looking at the green sea turtles that swam by. A school of manta rays passed by them and they whirled around, watching them before eventually moving onto another area.

It was soon sunset and the two sat at the beach near Three Tables, Kazuo holding their legs close to them as Optimus sat in the surf. Pinks and oranges painted the sky as the sun began to lower past the horizon.

“Thank you for a wonderful time out there,” Kazuo said quietly. They paused for a moment and then looked over to Optimus. “Do you save a lot of humans out here?”

“Pretty often. I save a lot of surfers near Pipeline most of the time,” Optimus replied. Kazuo frowned at that. “I haven’t ever met up with them again like this though,” he said. They blinked this time and a small smile grew on their face.

“Would you… be up for seeing me again?” they asked. Optimus couldn’t help but chuckle, a deep rumbling one that made Kazuo shudder.

“You should meet me at Makapu’u Point, make sure to get down to the beach under the cliff.”

“Is that where you live?” they asked.

“Don’t tell anybody,” he winked. They could only nod as they got up to go.

-----

The next day came and Kazuo was once again on the road. They made their way to Makapu’u Point and trekked down the trail all the way down to the beach, the waves crashing against the cliffside. They saw Optimus and he waved at them from the water. As they drew closer, he seemed to be holding something large in his other arm. They went over to a stonetop and crouched over as Optimus came up and slammed a large yellowfin tuna onto the slab.

Their eyes widened, bewildered at the size of it. It could have been around 300 pounds! How he managed to snag one, they did not know.

“I can’t eat all of this,” they then breathed. Optimus only let out a hearty laugh.

“Don’t worry, this is my breakfast too,” he said. He produced a handmade knife from his belt and began to cut at the fish, all too familiar with gutting and preparing it. He took a slab of meat and handed it to Kazuo before cutting at his own pieces.

“I know that orcas have to eat around 375 pounds of food a day in the wild… is it the same for you?” they asked, picking at the slab and popping the raw tuna into their mouth.

“More or less,” Optimus shrugged.

“Are most of your dietary needs and just… behaviours similar to orcas?” they asked. Optimus only chuckled.

“I suppose so,” he said. “But we are different and not exactly animals for you to study,” he said.

“I didn’t mean to offend,” they said. “I’m just curious, I haven’t really focused on cetaceans as the topic of my studies but I’ve always had a vested interest in them.”

“You’ve been working on crustaceans instead?” he said, throwing a large piece of tuna into his mouth. They shrugged.

“I’ve been tasked with researching lobsters in the Hawaiian islands for the time being, my main work is regarding bioluminescence and the deep sea, but I offered to help cover for a coworker for the time being,” they said. “Besides, being tasked in Hawai’i is an offer I wasn’t going to miss.” When Optimus cut at a specific piece, the otoro, they pointed towards it. “C-can I have that piece,” they asked. Optimus smiled, showing his fangs again.

“You like the fatty pieces?” he asked, handing it over. They nodded.

“I’ve had a lot of otoro when I was in Japan,” they said, taking it and eating it. They smiled. “Oishii!” they grinned.

The two ate at the yellowfin for a bit longer before eventually heading into the water once again. Optimus took them to spots on the west side that had to do with researching lobsters, knowing they had to work while being here. Despite it all, he acted silly, grabbing a lobster every now and then and messing around with it to earn a smile and laugh from Kazuo despite not being able to hear them.

At one point he got Kazuo’s attention.

“Listen,” he said. He then made the squeaks and clicks that orcas usually made. After a few minutes, Kazuo looked off into the distance to see large figures approaching. People from Optimus’ pod came into view, surrounding Kazuo. They looked around in awe for a bit before Optimus reached out to them and they held onto him as he dragged them up to the surface. The rest of his pod followed. “These are my sisters,” he said, introducing two of them. “My parents, my aunties, uncles,” he said, listing them off.

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Kazuo replied, unsure what to say. His sisters were kind and happy to meet them, but the rest were rather uneasy and worried.

The two sat at the beach once again, watching the sunset, this time at Optimus’ spot where he slept. They ended up sitting closer than intended, Kazuo leaning into his touch as they held their legs close once again. The two listened to the tide come in and out, the Makapu’u lighthouse off in the distance. Kazuo closed their eyes and listened, breathing calmly before opening their eyes once again and watching the sun lower itself. They laid down against the sand and put their hands behind their head, resting it atop them as they looked up towards the night sky as it began to darken.

“You have a wonderfully big family,” they said finally. “I’ve never had that big of a family, nor any brothers or sisters,” they said. “It’s really only been my parents and I,” they said. They didn’t know why they were saying this. But probably because they’d never been part of a pod like that before. “Have you introduced them to anyone else like that before?” they asked.

“No,” Optimus replied.

“Why… did you introduce me then?” they asked. There wasn’t an answer this time. Only shuffling amongst the sand before they saw Optimus looming over atop them, his arms placed beside them. A silent “oh” came from Kazuo as they realised what his answer was. They slowly lowered their arms as they looked straight into his brown eyes that glimmered in the vanishing sunlight. They could feel their face turning red the longer the two stared at each other so when Optimus began to lower himself, they let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. His nose brushed against theirs, hot breath mixing with theirs and their eyes fluttered shut as Optimus kissed them oh so gently.

He unsurprisingly tasted like seawater and fish but Kazuo didn’t exactly mind at all. His fangs accidentally nicked at their lip and they hissed for a moment. He pulled away, looking apologetic and Kazuo wiped away the blood that beaded at the spot before pulling him down again and kissing him with more fervour this time. Optimus clicked, his throat producing the sounds an orca usually would make during echolocation, as he kissed them back with more hunger than before. The two finally pulled away, breathless and Optimus nuzzled into their neck, hot breath warming it.

“Stay the night,” Optimus murmured into their nape. They sighed and stroked at his back, thinking about it before deciding.

“Ok.”

Like my work? Leave a comment or a Ko-Fi!

#shockop #transformers #maccadam #shockwave #optimus prime #humanformers #merformers #kagebros.writing

50 notes · View notes

gladerwolfstarkimagines · 3 years ago

Text

Mako x Fire Nation Princess Series: Part Four

You and Mako decide to do something special to mark the one year anniversary since you met and travel to Republic City for a holiday. Everything is going great...until someone sees it as a chance to attack the Princess of the Fire Nation.

Part One Here

Part Two Here

Part Three Here

Part Five Here

_______

Your nine-month anniversary was soon approaching and Mako had an idea for it. He suggested you come visit Republic City, it was close to a year since you’d met in that exact city so he thought it would be a nice thing to do. Not to mention Mako was becoming more and more serious about moving to the Fire Nation so it’d be a good idea to visit while he still lived there. So you agreed and then moved on to the biggest hurdle, convincing your family.

The first person you approached was your mother. She’d always been lenient with your freedom and she was a big Mako fan so she was a good person to approach first. Your mother agreed a holiday away together would be nice but also warned you that your father might not agree and would claim it was too dangerous. However your mom was sneaky and mischievous so she advised you to speak to your grandmother before your father. If the Firelord approved then there wasn’t much your father could say against it. So you went straight to Firelord Izumi.

Your grandmother usually had a tea break around 3 pm every afternoon so you and Mako made your way to her office. You agreed it’d be a good thing for you to speak to her one on one so Mako just came for the moral support. “You’ve got this” he smiled at you and you nodded “I’m getting us that holiday if it’s the last thing I do”. Mako chuckled “well please don’t actually sacrifice your life for it”. “So don’t challenge my grandmother to an angi kai?” you asked pretending to be confused and Mako shook his head smiling “no don’t do that”. “Got it” you nodded and with a grin you knocked on your grandmother’s door.

Izumi called for you to come in and smiled as soon as she saw you. “Y/n, what a lovely surprise. What brings you to my office at such a boring hour?”. You laughed “coincidentally something remotely serious” you replied and your grandmother feigned shock. “Don’t tell me you’re actually embracing your future role?”. “No we're not there yet” you admitted and your grandmother smiled “well there’s plenty of time for that. In the meantime come and sit. I’ll get us some tea and you can tell me what’s on your mind”. Once you had a steaming tea in front of you, your grandmother smiled “now how can I help?”. “Well I wanted your permission for a trip Mako and I were thinking of taking. You see it’s our 9 month anniversary soon and almost to the same date marks the first time we met a year ago so we were thinking of going back to that spot to celebrate”. “To Republic City?” Izumi asked and you nodded. "I know you're worried about my safety but Mako is sure we can get Lin Beifong’s support and Tenzin has offered to let me stay in his home with him, his family and the Avatar so i’d really be very safe. Plus that far away from the Fire Nation nobody should even recognise me! Even if they did Mako and I are both skilled and he’s promised he’ll ensure I get back to the Fire Nation safely. We’ll protect one another I promise!". Izumi paused "is Mako here?". You nodded "he’s outside". "Bring him in" she said and you called his name. Mako appeared waving awkwardly "hi". Izumi nodded in reply “this visit to your city and y/n’s plan to stay with Tenzin, do you live with Tenzin yourself?". "No, I live on the mainland but it's not far and the island is very well guarded. It has...". Izumi nodded "yes but what about your apartment? I’m under no pretences that the two of you won’t be together 24/7 and so y/n will be staying over at your place more than at Tenzin’s". Your grandmother was perceptive and both Mako and you blushed. Mako recovered first "my apartment is on one of the top floors of a popular towerblock. It's in a good neighbourhood and lots of my neighbours are from the force so no criminals would want to come into our building". Izumi frowned "that's not enough...you mentioned Lin could help, would she be willing to have some officer patrol the building?”. Mako nodded “i’m pretty sure yeah, I can send her a fire hawk straight away”. “Good, you’d also have a task force of Fire Nation guards too who would follow you everywhere which is unnegotiable, would that be acceptable?”. You and Mako nodded before you paused “wait does this mean...you’ll let us go?”. Izumi smiled “if Lin Beifong herself is part of your security team then you couldn’t be in safer hands. I’ll give this my blessing and speak to your father”. You and Mako burst in excitement and rushed to thank your grandmother. She brushed away your thanks and told you to have a good time.

So two weeks later you were on your way to Republic City just as you had been a year ago. This time however you wouldn’t dream of ditching your company. You and Mako watched as the city came closer and closer and Mako got more excited with every mile covered. “I can’t decide on what to show you first!” he cried “the park, the arena, the docks? The Fire Nation district? There’s just so much!”. You laughed “whatever you decide will be perfect” but apparently your first stop had already been decided for you. Lin Beifong was waiting for you on the air pad and she immediately launched into an extensive talk of how this weekend would go. She was strict but fair. The two of you could go anywhere you wanted in the city but no dodging guards and you must tell them where you were at all times. Lin was not adding a royal assassination to her record.

So, after a royal lecture, you and Mako were free. Mako decided that the best thing to do would be a quickfire tour of all the tourist attractions before heading to dinner with his friends. So you had a busy first day. You saw everything and anything remotely touristy. You visited Aang Memorial Island, Yue Bay, Little Ba Sing Sei, Kyoshi Bridge, Harmony Tower, Avatar Korra Park, had a tour of the Pro-Bending Arena (where Mako attracted a lot of attention which made him blush adorably) and of course the Spirit Wilds which were the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen. Then the two of you headed over to the Fire Nation district to meet his friends for dinner. They’d chosen a Fire Nation restaurant to make you feel more at home and you loved how thoughtful Mako’s friends were. Korra and Asami were already outside waiting when you arrived. They spotted you and rushed over seizing the two of you in a hug before asking you what you thought about everything you’d seen. Mako predicted Bolin would be late so you went inside and got a table while you waited for him. You knew Bolin had arrived when Mako was put in a headlock meant to be a hug. Apparently Bolin still didn’t know his own strength and nearly crushed Mako’s windpipe before Opal told him he was hugging too tight again. After that Bolin gave you an equally bone-crushing hug and Opal gave you a much gentler but still lovely one.

Your table was the loudest one in the whole restaurant and you loved it. Everyone chattered happily and a lot happened. Old stories were shared, new details were added and you all caught up in each other’s lives. You helped everyone pick Fire Nation food and it was a very memorable occasion. After a fair few drinks had been consumed Korra challenged Bolin to an arm-wrestling match to work out who was the strongest (according to Mako and Asami this had happened several times) and Korra won to the fury of Bolin who placed his fists down so hard he made everything in the restaurant shake. You had a really good night but the restaurant had to close sometime so after paying your hefty bill and adding a good tip for the tears and violence courtesy of Bolin and Korra you all left.

It was quite late, you’d apparently been in the restaurant for hours and so Mako suggested you head back to his. You agreed, stopping to get Fireflake hot chocolates and strolled calmly through the streets of the city. Mako chuckled suddenly “you know it was around this time a year ago wasn’t it?”. You smiled “it was...let’s walk past where we met?”. Mako agreed and you walked arm in arm through the bustling city. You found the same building and Mako smiled “if I’d have known who I was going to meet that night...”. “You’d have run for the hills?” you asked chuckling and Mako smirked “not at all. That night changed my life for the better or should I say you did”. You blushed “you changed my life for the better too. I always thought I’d be paired off with some boring Fire Nation guy and then I stumble across this amazing one while ditching my guards...I liked you from the moment I saw you”. “You did?” Mako asked and you nodded “I’ve seen a lot of Fire Nation men but you stood out, that’s why I knew you were different. Your Earth Kingdom heritage showed and you were honestly the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. I didn’t need your help ducking those guards but when a hot guy walks over to you and offers you his coat, you take it”. Mako laughed blushing in a way that had nothing to do with the spicy hot chocolate. Mako stumbled over his words trying to think of a reply before he just gave up. “Cat got your tongue?” you asked and Mako blushed “I just never know what to say when you compliment me. What do you say when a girl like you calls you hot? 9 months and I still haven’t worked that out”. You smiled “you don’t have to say anything” and leant up to kiss him. That Mako had gotten used to. He kissed you back immediately and you wrapped your arms around his neck to get closer. The two of you forgot there was anyone else in the world and got lost in one another. Finally Mako separated for breath and panted looking at you with dilated pupils. “If you wanted to continue this my apartment isn’t too far from here...” he said a blush appearing on his cheeks once again. You smiled “let’s go” and put your hand in Mako’s.

Mako led you to his apartment building and you nodded to the Fire Nation and Republic City guards as you passed. You took the stairs and got to Mako’s apartment quickly. You had a very brief lookover of the apartment before Mako captured your attention and you were wrapped in his arms once more. Suddenly the situation you were in dawned on you and it made you really happy. You were here sharing a private sweet moment with your boyfriend who you cared for dearly. It felt so nice kissing Mako here in his apartment hidden away from everyone. There were few guards and you were just alone in a city with your boyfriend, privacy a royal couldn’t dream of. You weren’t the heir to the throne or the future of the Fire Nation at this moment, just a normal girl. Then there was a loud noise outside the window.

Mako broke the kiss but didn’t move away from you. He was several stories up so there shouldn’t be any noise from outside this high up. "What was that" you asked and Mako frowned. He moved away from you and opened the blinds to see a guard from upstairs tumble off the roof. Mako jolted and closed the curtains. "Y/n I think we need to go". He took your hand and pulled you away from the window. In the hallway you heard a distinct thump and Mako crept to the door. "Mako what is it?". "There’s someone out there" he said "I'll go out and see who it is, you hide and...". "What no way" you cried outraged. "Y/n they're here for you". "So I abandon you? No way" you repeated adamant you wouldn’t leave Mako. "But y/n you're the future Firelord I'm...". "You're Mako!" you cried "you matter just as much as me, you have family and a little brother and friends...I'm not sacrificing you, we go out together or both stay here". Mako went to argue when the door was thrown open. Mako rushes in front of you and you both prepared to fight when you saw their faces. "Jazak?" you asked recognising the man in front and Mako tensed “you know him?”. You nodded “he’s Okum’s father”. “Princess” Jazak nodded “you’ll forgive me if I don’t bow”. “What do you think you’re doing?” Mako yelled and the man shrugged “finally taking a stand. For too long this family has ruined the Fire Nation. It all started with her great grandfather ruining all of Firelord Ozai’s hard work and with each generation they’ve got worse and worse. We thought with the right person by her side she’d get things back on track but you couldn’t even pick the boy chosen for you could you?”.

You glared "so this all because I rejected Okum?" you cried and Jazak shrugged. “It didn’t start from that but it was the catalyst that made us realise your bloodline needs to be corrected. So it's ironic the boy you chose over him will be taken down at the same time as you...see if you’d have chosen my son you’d be married by now and all would be well but you chose this" Okum’s father said featuring at Mako "an ex-con with no respectable lineage and your family encouraged it! Actually allowed you to leave the fire nation with him...that was too good a chance to miss so we came too. Your family are wholly to blame for what's going to happen to you". "Just try touch her" Mako spat. The men beside Jazak laughed. There was only two of you and 6 attackers at least, probably more on the way...how could you fight them all? However Jazak must’ve seen something in Mako because he hesitated. “You know it doesn’t have to end with your death” Jazak told Mako "If you step aside we won’t kill you. Plus we don’t even want to kill her, we just want to ransom her but if you move to protect her then we will kill you. Your brother won’t even find your body and you will be forgotten all alone". You gripped Mako’s arm "Mako it’s okay" you said concerned for his life but Mako jumped violently "No it’s not, there’s no way I'm letting them take you even if it does kill me but trust me I don’t plan on going down easily”. You sighed "but Mako I don’t want you to get hurt for me!". "I could say the same for you” Mako smiled sadly "so there’s only one solution, we stick together and neither of us gets what we want". You frowned "but I'm not worth your life". Mako shrugged "I honestly can’t think of a better cause than the girl I love". You laughed in shock. You and Mako had skirted around the word before but this was the first time either of you had said. "The girl you..." you blushed and Mako nodded "I was planning on telling you soon but I guess now is as good a time as any. I love you so there’s no way I'm letting them take you". You paused staring "but what if...". "Please" Mako said "let's handle this together” taking your hand. You nodded smiling "I love you too by the way". Mako grinned and Jazak groaned "guess it’s the hard way. Hope her love was worth it, because you're dead" and he sent a fire stream right at Mako. However all of Mako’s experience as pro-bender and the years spent watching his back on the streets gave him incredible reflexes so he sidestepped the attack with ease and turned to Jazak. “You’re going to regret ever ruining our holiday” and he jumped into the middle of the group. Mako worked on injuring as many of them as possible providing a distraction. He sent out large blasts of fire to cause as much chaos as possible. In contrast you used precise shots to incapacitate two of the hitmen before they even realise what was happening. “It’s a distraction! Get the girl” Jazak yelled, not as dumb as he looked, and two of the men turned to you. The other two, including Jazak focused on Mako. Mako locked eyes with you and you could see the worry in them but you nodded to him. You could handle this, you were the princess of the freaking Fire Nation and heir to the throne. You could handle this group in your sleep.

You attacked first surprising everyone and managed to floor one of the men before he even realised what had happened. After that everyone sprang into action and things got messy. A lot of Mako’s furniture was smashed and more than one of the attacks hit the wrong person but after a few minutes everyone was on the floor except you and Mako. Mako quickly grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the door. He hurried you down the stairwell and out of the building aware there were likely more around. Sure enough he found two in the reception and took them out with some lightning bending. You were dazed, the adrenaline running out and so just stepped over the men trusting Mako’s instincts. You finally made it outside and Mako was telling you how he’d get you to Air Temple Island where you’d be safe when he spotted someone on the floor. "Chief" he called and rushed forwards. You saw it was Lin Beifong and helped Mako turn her over. She groaned and you saw Mako’s face fill with relief. "Eugh....Princess? Well done kid now get her out of here!". Mako nodded "I'm on it!". "Head to Air Temple Island! With Tenzin and the Avatar she’ll be safe". Mako nodded "way ahead of you, let's go". He moved to pick her up but Lin frowned "no! Your mission is the princess, I'll show you down". "We’re not leaving you here" you said and Mako nodded "princess’s orders!". Mako carried Lin as you searched for her car. You finally spotted Lin’s car just around the corner and Mako laid Lin on the back seat. You went to get in next her to her but she grunted "front seat is more protected, get in there". You didn't argue and got in beside Mako. He sped you to the docks and then used his officer title and Lin’s reputation to get a boat. You were halfway to Air Temple island when you heard motors. "I told you to leave me!" Lin barked and Mako gripped the boat steering wheel harder "we can make it!".

The boat picked up speed but you could see lights appearing behind you. The men had smaller boats that could travel faster and were gaining on you. “Y/n take the wheel I’ll shoot at them” Mako called. Lin groaned “you can’t let the princess get involved, what if she gets hurt”. “I can handle it” you told her and slid into the driver seat. Apparently Mako’s shots gave the group ideas and they soon returned the fire, literally. Lin was the lookout and yelled “duck” whenever one came too closer however the boat itself wasn’t so lucky. The right side was hit and went up in flames before the water could put it out. “Shit!” Beifong cried rushing to the side and she and Mako tried to put it out but they weren’t water benders. “We’re going to have to abandon ship” Lin called and Mako nodded “but not before taking these jerks out first”. The three of you stood back to back and fired at the speedboats. One by one your marks hit and just in time. The smoke began getting too strong and Lin broke out in a coughing fit. “That’s our queue!” Mako cried “everyone off the boat” and you all leapt overboard. You gasped as you fell into the cold water. The current was stronger than expected but you managed to stay afloat. "Y/n" Mako yelled from somewhere nearby and you nodded "I'm fine! Where’s Lin?". “I’m right here” the officer replied and you saw Mako was holding her up much to the seasoned officer’s disdain but she didn’t verbally complain. “We have to get away from the ship before it blows” Mako called and you frowned unsure how Mako could swim and hold Lin when the lights in air temple island flared on. "Mako" a voice yelled from right behind you and you both turned to see the Avatar had swum out to rescue you. “Korra” Mako smiled “thank god”. Korra grinned despite the situation “did someone want an Avatar?”.

____

Next part is the last one!

This was meant to be the last one but it was far too long so I had to split it into two.

134 notes · View notes