#my friend keep trying to convince not to kill abyss but uh... too late for that

[cittythekitten]

To anyone who thinks I'm dead, well, I actually did a felony (other than killing Abyss). I murdered a bee... By stepping on it and getting stung by it in the process. Yes, I got stung by a bee. 🐝

[clynnra]

Strongest Together

After that disappointing last ten minutes of the series finale, I didn't think I would ever write for my beloved boys again. But, thanks to binging lots of episodes of the show on ion since it started airing there (happy to post this story on one of ion's Five-O Fridays) and reading many fix-it fics, I had to do this for Danny. I will be forever bitter that our last glimpse of him ever was hurt (physically and emotionally) and alone on Steve's beach. So this is my way of fixing that sad image. There's background (literally, just a few minor mentions) Steve/Catherine and Danny/others, but this is a McDanno story. I didn't want to vilify Steve, since he should take care of himself and find peace, so I hope that comes across. Finally, eternal thanks to my beta PhoebeMiller for making my story way better than it was with her fantastic feedback about story line, diction, and all the grammar. She's an awesome writer in her own right - go read her wonderful stories! And always thanks to SheppardMcKay for inspiring me to post fic.

Steve and Danny. Danny and Steve. Steve left Danny. Danny was alone.

Sighing, Danny knew he had his kids, his family and the team. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt so fucking much. Days like today, it still hurt to breathe.

Danny didn’t begrudge Steve finding his peace. Or his taking care of himself. Hell, he tried to instill self preservation in his Neanderthal time and again. But when Steve finally took his advice and put himself first, it had ripped Danny’s heart to shreds.

It still hurt so damn much because of the way Steve left. The timing sucked. Just out of the hospital, Danny could barely walk even with his cane. This proved Steve was hiding the depth of his own suffering. Normally, he'd never leave Danny when he was injured. Danny smiled and remembered Steve raiding his house for cookies after he'd been shot in quarantine. The fondness bubbling up just about killed him.

More memories of this year from hell came back, and Danny had to sit down. He'd moved himself into Steve's house after Doris died because he sensed Steve needed him. The loss was just too much after Joe's death. When Joanna had died, Steve was there for him, cooking him eggs most mornings, claiming routine was good. Danny knew Steve was talking about himself, too.

They'd fallen into something Danny dared call a relationship when he was awake late at night, insomnia raging. He and Steve lived together. They ate meals together most nights. They walked Eddie, locked up the house and said good night like a couple.

A couple of idiots, Danny grumbled now. Or was he the biggest idiot? He'd made this huge leap into what proved to be a lonely abyss.

What hurt the most was Steve pretty much rejecting the idea of the two of them growing old together on that beach. Danny didn't know for sure when his best friend would return from his Kung Fu adventures. He'd only counted on Steve coming home at some point. Now, when he replayed their last conversation, the dagger twisted in his chest even more.

The sad fact was - Danny loved Steve. Not just like a friend. He loved him like I want to spend the rest of my life with you even though you drive me crazy, you caveman. He never told Steve he was in love with him. Danny was scared and convinced such an admission would be suicide. Because he feared their friendship would be over, was so sure of it, in fact, that he kept all of his feelings locked away. He didn't want to fuck up the best friendship he'd ever had.

Not to mention, Steve was straight. He'd never given Danny any hint that he was interested. Unless you counted Steve's octopus arms and his total disregard for Danny's personal space. Which Danny did not dwell on. No way could he let himself go there. That's why he'd pushed Steve into dating. First Brooke and then the vet. Neither had really worked out, and Danny did not allow himself to question why. He would have kept on searching for the perfect mate for Steve, too, if he hadn't left. Even though Danny wanted it to be him.

No one knew Danny's secret. Although he mostly dated women, he had a few relationships with men while at Seton Hall. He kept his attraction to men close to the vest. He'd thought his college experiments were in the rearview mirror until the giant goof stole his crime scene.

To distract himself from the heartbreak over Steve’s dating, he’d focused on reconciling with Rachel in a vain attempt to stitch his family back together. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, it just didn’t work since he was in love with Steve. When they finally figured out they were better as friends, Rachel shocked him with advice to stop dithering and tell Steve. He was so taken aback by Rachel’s accurate insight into his heart, past all his bullshit, he’d gone to that bar and met Joanna. Like so many other things in his life, hooking up with her to forget Rachel and Steve had ended all kinds of bad. Spectacular didn't even cut it. Joanna's death wasn't his fault. This he knew. But he couldn't stop feeling guilty. She was with him in the car because of how he'd chosen to mend himself, and she'd died after everything he'd done to try to save her.

And of course, there was Catherine. He envied her for having Steve the way he wanted. She knew every inch of him. She knew so many more secrets.  Steve had opened his heart to her - and what had she done? She'd pulled a Doris. More than once. And the idiot took her back.

Weren't they a pair? Danny knew he was a hypocrite for being angry with Steve about getting back with an ex time and again. He didn't care. He couldn't help feeling upset that Steve was with Catherine (probably this very minute) and not him.

+++++++

Three months had passed since Steve left, and Danny’s PT was coming along well. He texted Steve a few times a week to check in, while Steve returned his texts within a couple hours. They’d spoken on the phone a few times, and Danny lost himself in the comforting cadence of Steve’s voice. Their calls ranged from about 20 minutes to almost an hour, and their talks were nice. But during one of their conversations, as he listened to Steve chatter on about what he did in whatever destination he was currently staying, Danny realized that Steve’s journey to find himself didn’t include him. Steve didn’t need him like Danny needed him. And that revelation punched the breath out of him. He tried to cover it, but Steve, with his keen SEAL senses, heard it.

“Danno, you okay?” Steve interrupted his story about what he saw in Scotland.

“Yeah, babe, I’m ok. Just still get tired sometimes. Had PT this morning and energy kinda zapped. You mind if we pick this up some other time? I’m gonna have a lie down.” Danny chewed his lips as he lied. It was a white lie, but still.

“Ok… you take care buddy. I love you.” Steve said with a note of concern.

“You too.” replied Danny. He couldn’t tell Steve he loved him on their calls because he didn’t want Steve to hear how in love with him he was. Texting “love you, too” was fine, but when he said it, he felt his heart in his throat.

Putting his phone down, Danny glanced around himself. He was still at Steve’s house sitting on his couch. Eddie was laying on the floor nearby. And Danny came to a decision. Steve was out finding himself, and Danny really needed to do the same. He had spent so much of the past ten years being part of Steve and Danny that outside of being a father to Grace and Charlie and being on the task force, he‘d kinda lost himself. He felt like his life wasn’t making sense after deciding to just be friends with Rachel and then the tragedy with Joanna. He knew that in order to move on with his life, he had to make a change. He would always be there for Steve, but it was time he was there for himself.

A few days later, Steve called again. This time he was in Ireland. He told Danny about the beautiful scenery there, and after he was done, he asked, “So, what are you up to now, Danno? PT almost done right?”

Danny took a deep breath and started. “Funny you should ask that. I, um, I’m gonna move back to my place, Steve.”

There was a moment of stunned silence.

“Why? Danny, is something wrong?” Steve replied, trying to keep a lock on his emotions.

“No, babe.” Danny grimaced and continued. “I just, uh, think it’s time to move back. You know, you’re out there trying to find yourself and your peace without me…”

Steve gasped, “Danny…”

Shaking his head, Danny kept going. “and that’s fine, Steve. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. You deserve to find the peace and happiness you need. I just need to find myself again a bit. After Joanna died, I felt sorta lost. And I was starting to make sense of my life again before Daiyu Mei swooped in…” He didn’t mention and when you left me. Danny shook that thought from his head.

“So, I need to do this. To remember who I was before I was part of Steve and Danny…” he finished with a fake chuckle.

“Danno, are you sure?” Steve asked, a note of sadness in his voice.

Danny nodded even though Steve couldn’t see him. “Yes.”

There was another moment of charged silence.

“Ok, Danno, I got it. You need this, so I got your back. Whatever you need. Hey, I gotta head out, but I’ll call again, alright?” Steve sounded like he was happy for Danny but wasn’t quite believing it.

Danny replied, “Sure. Bye, babe.”

Steve said clearly, “I love you, Danny.”

“You too.” Danny croaked out. When the call ended, he dropped his phone next to him and covered his face with his hands taking in a few deep breaths.

It was time to find who he was again without Steve.

+++++++

Danny finally completed his eight weeks of PT, and his doctor okayed his return to light work aka paperwork. He still had to check in each month since it was his second gunshot wound in his chest in two years. As part of his process to return to Five-O, the governor mandated Danny to complete visits with his therapist since he survived such a traumatic experience. At first, he was annoyed he had to go to therapy again; he’d rather eat pineapple on his pizza. But during the couple of months of sessions about his kidnapping and near death at the hands of Daiyu Mei, he found himself working through various issues including the death of his partner Grace, his guilt over Matty, his complicated relationship with Rachel, Grace’s kidnapping and almost fatal car accident, Charlie’s paternity and medical condition, as well as other work related stresses and traumas. The governor’s directive for Danny’s therapy was once a week for two months, but he continued past that, and for a few weeks, he was going twice a week. He just unloaded whatever was burdening his mind and heart. He felt stronger for it. He even told the therapist about his feelings for Steve, and she suggested that to find closure or peace about it, he should consider discussing his feelings with Steve. Danny knew she was right but wasn’t ready yet. However, talking things out gave him the perspective he needed.

With the end of PT and his ongoing therapy doing well, he told the kids first he was moving out of Steve’s house. They were shocked, Tani near tears while Junior took the news stoically. But once Danny told them why, they were very supportive and helped Danny move to his now renovated place over two weekends. Lou, Quinn, and Adam also chipped in their time to help with Danny’s move. Since Junior moved in with Tani, they figured out a schedule of who would check on Steve’s place and when including the upkeep of the grounds. Junior and Tani told Danny once he was cleared for regular work, he could share some of the maintenance duties. They'd take care of it for now. Tani joked that maybe they could get Kamekona to hire some of his family. Danny rolled his eyes and smacked her. None of them had enough money for that enterprise.

Eddie was another story. Poor guy was just adapting to his master being gone. Now they were relocating him. Danny decided Eddie would live with him, and Junior would take him as time allowed since he loved Eddie, too. It was a good arrangement, as the loyal dog loved each of them. And he enjoyed the extra attention he was getting.

Danny felt like things were starting to get back to the new normal without Steve while he was at work doing paperwork and running point for any cases from HQ if needed. He surprised himself that he got the hang of the HQ computer table after getting lots of help from the team. Quinn was especially patient, and he appreciated it.

While Danny settled back at work, he still kept in contact with Steve. His best friend would mostly text him to check in with how things were going and send some pictures of gorgeous landscapes and appetizing food. When they did talk on the phone here and there, Steve would catch Danny up on things with him. Danny winced when Steve spoke about Catherine, but tried to sound as supportive as possible. He had to keep reminding himself that if Steve was happy with her, he would just have to accept it. And during one of these phone calls, Danny promised himself that he needed to start dating again. He may be in love with Steve, but he also owed it to himself to move forward and not spend the rest of his life pining after his best friend who was happy with the love of his life.

In a bold move, he asked Adam to be his wingman, explaining he needed to shake things up. He wanted to reclaim who he was before Daiyu Mei and even before his last disastrous attempt to get back with Rachel. What he left unspoken was his need to reinvent himself without Steve.

Adam didn’t even raise an eyebrow and had replied, “You got it, brother. You were there for me when I was lost without Kono, so I’m here for you.”

Danny was so grateful. They went to nice bars, the types professionals patronize. Danny did score dates with some doctors, lawyers, and accountants. He surprised Adam by dating both men and women, but after that initial shock, Adam supported his choices, even offering to set Danny up with friends. He even went on a few double dates with Adam and Tamiko. The companionship was nice, and the sex even nicer, but Danny didn’t feel like any of these people would help him get over Steve. At least he felt like his life was more balanced and not just focused on Steve all the time.

When he first mentioned to Steve that he was dating again, there was a silence long enough that Danny thought the call dropped. He could easily FaceTime Steve but just could not find the courage to see his beloved face again. The phone calls offered distance, a buffer. And Danny needed it so he could continue to support Steve and survive his updates when they included Catherine.

Just when Danny was ready to ask his best friend if he could hear him, an exaggeratedly upbeat Steve jumped back in.

“Hey, buddy, I’m glad you’re getting out there again. You deserve to be happy, too.” His voice cracked on the last bit.

After that last odd tone from Steve, they continued like normal when Danny filled him in on the latest with Grace and Charlie. The rest of the call was pleasant with some of their usual teasing.

But on the next call when Danny mentioned how he and Keith went on a double date with Adam and Tamiko, Steve choked and started coughing on the phone.

“Hey, babe, you ok? Don’t choke on the butter in your coffee, alright?” Danny joked.

Steve got his breath back and said, “Sorry, went down the wrong tube. Wait, so you’re dating guys now, Danny?”

Danny didn’t care for Steve’s tone, but answered, “Well, I did date a few guys back in college, but just stopped once I met Rachel.” He didn’t mention and once I met you. “Is that gonna be a problem for you, Steven?”

Steve quickly responded, “Of course not, Danny. I’m just shocked you never told me this in the over ten years we’ve known each other. And for the record, it’d be hypocritical of me if it was.”

Now it was Danny’s turn to gasp. “Wait, when the hell were you dating guys, Steve? In all the years we’ve been together, you’ve only talked about women.”

Sighing, Steve said, “Well, I didn’t really date guys, Danny. When I was deployed, I helped my teammates out like they helped me. So to be more specific, I’ve had sex with guys, but not actually dated them. I enjoyed the sex and was even attracted to some of the guys, but DADT kept me from being open about being sexually attracted to men.”

Danny couldn’t help himself. “Did Cath know?”

Steve chuckled briefly. “Of course, man. I told her I slept with several men and was attracted to some. She was cool with it since she had some bi friends and family.”

Danny admired Steve’s honesty, and he wanted to be honest, too.

“Steve, dating these men and women - it’s nothing serious. Don’t get me wrong, the company and sex are great, but they don’t compare to you.”

It sounded like Steve sniffled on the other end of the line. His voice was slightly hoarse. “And just so you know, partner, no one will ever replace you. No one can. Hey, we gotta grab some food…”

Danny teased, “Try not to ruin your food with pineapple, you animal. Enjoy your meal.”

Snickering, Steve added, “Copy that.”

Steve’s voice became sincere again. “I’ll call you again soon, Danno. I love you.”

Automatically, Danny replied, “You, too.”

Steve’s breath hitched before saying, “I miss you, Danny. Talk to you soon. Bye.”

Danny exhaled, “I miss you, too. Bye, babe.”

Once Danny placed his phone down, he was like, good going Williams. You almost told him you’re in love with him while Cath was right there. Don’t be an idiot next time.

+++++++

It had been a week since that eye-opening phone call and about six months since Steve left, Danny had been back to regular responsibilities at work for about a month. His therapy sessions were twice a month now. He was still seeing people but didn’t feel the desperation to date like when he first started a few months ago. He felt confident in his own skin again, feeling better both professionally and personally. But he was still in love with Steve. Danny finally decided. Fuck it. I’ll always love the maniac, I just have to live with it.

And it came to a head during one of their phone calls almost two months later.

Danny couldn’t keep himself from asking, “You happy with Cath, Steve?”

There was a pause before Steve said, “I wouldn’t know. She left about two months ago on another CIA assignment. She offered to come back when her job was over, but I told her that I need stability and consistency and her work didn’t provide that. I said I was proud that she found her way and happy for her that she loved her job. I told her that I would always love her, but she deserved someone who was in love with her.”

Danny’s heart sped up with hope. “So, what are you saying, Steve?”

Steve pushed air through his nose. “I’m saying that I couldn’t commit to her because I’m in love with you.”

“Steve…?” Danny’s voice shook with emotion.

“Danny, every time I told you I love you when we ended our calls, I meant it as I’m in love with you. You never repeated it to me so I assumed you didn’t feel the same way. But once you told me you dated guys, I got hopeful again. And after that phone call, I stopped sleeping with Cath. And she knew something was up with the no sex but never called me on it. That’s just not what we do. Things are easy for us, and when they’re not, we still pretend that they are. But my heart couldn’t just be satisfied with what was easy and familiar anymore. I needed the challenge and passion. I need you.”

Danny confessed, “Babe, I’m in love with you, too. I just couldn’t tell you since I thought you had your happily ever after with Catherine. When I figured you guys were permanent, I dated to move on without you. But it’s no use, Steve. I want you. I want everything with you.”

Choked with emotion, Steve whispered, “Danny.. I’m coming home.”

“I’m so glad, babe. I love you.”

+++++++

Two days later, Danny was at baggage claim. He spotted Steve immediately, tall and gorgeous with a full beard and short but longer than military regulation hair. Steve saw him too, and his face lit up with a huge smile that crinkled his eyes. They moved quickly through the crowd to each other. As he got closer, Danny spotted the specks of white in Steve’s hair and thought it just made his big goof even more handsome. Finally, they were in front of each other. Dropping his duffel, Steve wrapped his arms around Danny hugging him tightly. He tucked his face into Danny’s hair and inhaled deeply.

“Danno, I missed you so much.”

Danny just squeaked out a “me too” while he hugged Steve. He was too busy inhaling the travel worn scent of Steve. He couldn’t get enough of the man he loved. He rubbed his face into Steve’s chest, reveling in the physical presence he had wanted so much all these months and at long last had.

They moved so their foreheads were resting against each other. Breathing the same air, not aware of the bustle of the people around them.

Danny broke their peaceful bubble by moving his face away so he could look into Steve’s eyes. “Did you find the peace you needed, babe?”

Huffing and licking his lips, Steve shook his head. His left hand held Danny’s face as his gaze never wavered. “Not yet, but I’m working on it. I know I’ll get there with therapy and what I need most.”

Danny tilted his head questioningly at Steve.

“You.”

Then Steve kissed Danny. Eyes fluttering closed, Danny returned the kiss. Like this thing they were doing happened every day.

Feeling a surge of joy, Danny broke the kiss with a smile. Smiling himself, Steve opened his eyes.

“I think I need you to repeat yourself, I didn’t quite hear you,” Danny said with a smirk as he pulled Steve down again. This time, the kiss was firmer. Danny nipped Steve's bottom lip and he opened his mouth. Always the control freak, Steve cupped Danny's face so he could move him where he wanted. He hummed contentedly as he tasted Danny. A couple times, their teeth clacked, but their tongues soothed the minor mishaps. The frantic exploration continued until they needed air.

Eyes opening and panting a bit as their lips parted, they grinned at each other goofily.

“I think we gave the airport enough of a show, babe.” Danny joked.

Steve chuckled. He sobered a bit and said, “Danny, I love you.”

Danny smiled brightly as his heart thudded happily. “I love you, too, Steve. Let’s go home.”

“And where is that exactly?” Steve asked mischievously.

“Wherever you and I are together.” Danny replied quickly.

Appeased, Steve grabbed his bag and slung it on his left shoulder. He pulled Danny under his right arm as they walked to the car.

Danny with Steve. Strong on their own. Strongest together.

FIN.

[death---dealer]

Delving. [ Brian May Oneshot ].

A/N: Sorry this took so freaking long, I really hope it was worth the wait! Reblogs and likes are always appreciated guys! Thanks for reading. Have a good one! 

--Em.

Title: Delving. Pairing: BoRhap! Brian May x Reader. Words: ~4k. Rating: T. ( Just a lot of fluff, some language!) Summary: What would your first date with Brian May be like before he found fame with Queen?

Frozen. That’s what you were. You were frozen on the spot you were standing in, staring rather ludicrously at Brian, your eyes only catching the slight movement of Roger next to him, taking a swig of his drink before leaning in to murmur something unintelligible to his friend. The guitarists eyes widened at whatever the blond man had said to him. It was only ten or so minutes now after the latest gig that Smile played and they were enjoying some well-deserved beers in the back of the van. You had watched a few people come and go, commenting on the show and how awesome their music was and that’s what spurred you to move forward and attempt to do the same thing. Now, you hadn’t intentionally meant to draw all of this attention to yourself. This was meant to be a sort of stop and chat situation, you just wanted to tell him how great the show was and how talented of a guitar player he was.

Ultimately, your feet were stuck to the ground as an intense dance of electricity surged between you and Brian, an acute sign of attraction though your heart was beating too hard and too fast to notice it at all. His only thought-up response was a delicate ‘thank you’, something you figured he told all the bypassers as they strolled by. Things moved oddly quick after that. You waved your hand at him awkwardly, smiling at Roger before turning to the left and walking down the street. You were exhausted both mentally and physically. You hadn’t realized how packed the show was going to be and you were pushed and shoved more times than you would have liked. And that interaction with Brian… That pull you felt towards him was more than enough to send your mind into a downward spiral of tiredness. You just wanted to sleep it off now, cursing silently to yourself. You shouldn’t have said anything. You should have just smiled at them as you walked by instead of stopping and commenting on the show and pointing Brian out as your obvious favorite.

“Hey, wait!!” You heard a voice being yelled and for a moment you assumed it was for someone else, you stride picking up ever so slightly as you were eager to get home. “Hey.” It was your turn for your eyes to widen as Brian jogged in front of you, hair bouncing in the small breeze. He gave you a rather blissful smile, full of kindness once he was in front of you. It had you completely floored. You had seen him in the lights of the stage, full on and happily playing the guitar, but even here in the terrible street post lights he looked just as stunning. You smiled politely, trying to appear as calm as possible. You hadn’t expected him to chase after you. Hell, no one ever had before and you weren’t sure if it was alright to consider it a romantic gesture or not. “Listen, if this is too bold then just forget it’s ever happened but…” Brian waved his hands between the two of you and laughed nervously, “There’s something here. I mean, I’ve felt things before but this was…”

“New?” You offered to him with a slight, crooked smile.

“New,” He agreed, “some sort of vibe or something, I can’t really explain it at this time but I’d like to well…”  Your grin was stupidly large as you watched him fumble over the words he was trying to express and you were well aware of how big it was but found yourself unable to stop. He lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his head, “a date would be nice. I don’t really… Roger is usually the one to take girls home… Not that I’m taking you home!” He held up a hand in defense, “Oh my god…” He rubbed his face in what seemed like shocked embarrassment as you giggled in front of him. That sound shot him back to Earth and forced him to finish his thought, “I just wondered… If you’d like to go on a date with me?”

“Sure.” Had you actually just said that? Did you just agree to a date? Oh god, if felt like you were have some sort of out-of-body experience. Your grin turned up slightly, your lips curling into an outrageous smile which he seemed to mimic.

“Fantastic! Oh right, before I forget, my name is Brian.” The smile that he gave you had the power to strike you down and you felt weak to the knees. “Brian May.”

“I’m…” Please, say your name, you thought to yourself momentarily side-tracked by the moment that was laid in front of you, “(Full Name).”

And that’s how you got to the moment you found yourself in. You hashed out a plan to meet at a cafe down the street from where the gig was at, noon on Saturday. That gave you literally no time to prepare for anything. But then again, what did you need to prepare for? You asked yourself and rolled your eyes dramatically at your own inquiry. It was just a casual date, nothing too serious. Right? Right! But, Brian was right. You argued inside of your mind and pressed a hand to the collar of your shirt and decided it was a good idea to fiddle with that. There was something there between the two of you and now that you had time to process, it was very obvious. Whatever it was, it was intriguing and you wanted to dive more and more into the deep abyss of the unknown. Now your fingers were fiddling together rather nervously. It felt like you had looked at your watch at least twenty times in the last minute and you needed something to keep your mind off the time that seemed to go eagerly slow just to torture you. You were waiting--- well, you were early thus you were forced to wait for Brian to show up. Only a few more minutes, you’d tell yourself. Reaching down, you flattened your skirt and cleared your throat. “(Name)?” Oh. This was it. No more silly reaches to prepare for any sort of outcome.

The sound of your name falling from his plump lips made something soar inside of you as you stood up to greet him properly. “Brian May!” Why you used his full name you didn’t know as it was a spur of the moment decision followed by an increase of regret. “Uh… Hi.”

“Hello, there. Sorry I’m a few minutes late.” He laughed and held out a hand for you to take. You tilted your head to the side and gave into the temptation though it took very little to convince you otherwise. You took his hand in yours, another shot of electricity sending shivers down your spine as your skin touched his own. “Thanks for actually agreeing to go on a date with me, most of the time,” He took his hand back and held it out to offer you a seat. You gratefully sat down for it felt like your knees were going to give out under your weight and he pushed your chair in, “Like I said, Roger is the one who gets the attention of girls. You’d be surprised by the line of them who want to date him.”

You giggled as he sat down across from you, instinct kicking into gear as you bit onto your bottom lip and chewed it nervously. “I mean, he’s cute but I think you’re a lot cuter. Sexier.” Mentally, you slammed your face against the table a few times. Why did you say that? Get. Yourself. TOGETHER.

Brian chuckled this time nodding slightly as if he completely understood that your blabbering was due to nerves. He was very much the same way though often times he tried to cover it up by playing cheeky. It depended on the situation whether or not that worked and he prayed it worked today. “I’ve… Never had a girl say that to me before and I’m going to take it as a compliment. Thank you.”

“That’s what it was.” You gasped gently, “A compliment that sort of came out wrong, I’m sorry.” A sigh of relief escaped your lips as the waiter came to take your orders, thus breaking the tension that you felt was building between the two of you. You were making a complete fool of yourself but Brian seemed to be okay with that. Brian ordered a black coffee and you ordered yourself a hot cocoa as it was a particularly bitter winter afternoon.

“I understand.” He smiled reassuringly at you, “I’d like to give you a compliment as well, if that’s okay with you?” You nodded, scrunching your nose rather absurdly at the prospect that he had asked before blurting it out. “I think you’re very, very cute.”

Heat filled your cheeks suddenly at his words as you bit onto your bottom lip once more. “T-Thank you, Brian.” You cleared your throat and looked at him, the redness in your cheek intensifying as he caught eyes with you. “U-uh so… Your band! Smile, right? Very catchy. Your songs are great too.”

“Have you seen us often?”

“Just a few times,” You admitted gently and tucked some of your hair behind your ear, “the first time was a few weeks ago actually, my friend took me with her. She’s all hung up on Roger.” You laughed at the irony. “She’d probably kill me if I told her who I was with right now.”

“I’ll be sure to mention her to Roger if I get the chance.” Brian joked leaned forward in his seat ever so slightly.

“She’ll be forever in your debt if you even mention her name to him.” Teasing quietly, you shifted in the seat a bit to get more comfortable. “How long have you been a band?”

“We started in 68’ so…” Brian tilted his head to the side and you admired the way that his hair flooded with the movement. “It’s been almost two years now. I was a college student before. Studied astrophysics at the Imperial College.”

“Oh, does that make you like really smart?”

“Incredibly.” He said cockily and wiggled his eyebrows funnily. “Does that interest you?”

“Just a tiny bit.” You held up a hand and made a small pinching gesture with your pointer and thumb. “I think intelligence is incredibly attractive.”

“Then it makes sense that you like me more than Roger, he’s really the blond seep into his brain.” Brian touched his hair and smiled at you as the waiter dropped off your drinks. You murmured a small thank you and caught eyes with Brian across the table. Snip! Another shot of electricity seemed to shoot right between the two of you and it seemed at least for a moment that Brian felt it as well for you watched his lips open as the tingling came to rest in your fingertips as if he were touching you once again. Breath catching in your throat, you lifted the hot cocoa gently and pressed it to your lips before taking a sip. The sweet taste simmered down your throat and warmed you to the bones as Brian shuffled a bit and put the smallest bit of sugar in his coffee. No creamer, just sugar. You took odd note of that as if it were information you were going to need in the future. You made a mindless comment about it as you sat your cup back down. “Black coffee?”

“I started drinking it like this when I was in college. I could barely afford it, much less sugar or creamer for it.” He shrugged his shoulders, “needless to say, the bitter taste has grown on me.” He lifted the cup and gestured towards you before taking a drink. You giggled once again and wiped your mouth.

“I’ve never been a fan of just black coffee.”

“Is that so?”

“I prefer super sweet drinks.” He looked at your drink and raised his eyebrows. That was apparent and something about it was oddly… Cute and sensational to Brian.

“Seems to fit your personality very well.” Brian complimented you once more with a sensually cheeky smile which left you feeling like your jaw had dropped to the floor.

“Funny, your drink of choice doesn’t seem to fit yours.”

“How do you know? I could be a bitter old man, love.” He gave you a wink which made your heart flutter.

“And I could be an absolute jerk.” You retorted with a small smile.

“You know what?” Brian leaned forward and laughed softly. You found yourself fixated on his canines. They were sharp and were more…. More than appealing and then your eyes curled into his smile. His absolutely perfect smile.  “That’s plenty fair. We’ll be a good pair. The bitter old man and the absolute jerk!”

“You know…” You looked up at the tall man walking beside you, and in the now setting sun, he seemed to shimmer with beauty that caught you completely off guard. The sun sunk into his hair and gave him a more caramel look around the edges as if his dark hair had a halo around it. “You didn’t have to walk me home.” Brian huffed at that, snuggling his hands deep into his pockets as he finally dropped his gaze to look at you. The two of you had spent nearly five hours at the cafe talking to one another about the simplest and mundane things. You hadn’t even realized it had been that long until you looked at your watch, otherwise your attention was completely on Brian the entire time. There was a slight breeze that rocketed through the air causing a mild chill to run through your body as you shuddered.

“It’s my pleasure. I wanted to make sure you got there safely” He knew it was down the street from the cafe but… He wanted to spend more time with you. There was something about the time he’d spent with you today that set something off inside of him and there was some mild desperation to spend all of his time with you now. Brian reached up with his right hand and untucked the scarf around his neck and handed it to you. “Here. It’s a lot colder than I thought it was going to be.” You took it cautiously with wide eyes. That was very gentlemanly. Smiling slightly, you wrapped it around your neck and waited for the street to clear so you could cross. Nuzzling your face into the fabric, you took a deep breath in. So, that’s what Brian smelt like. Musky, like a light beer that had just been open, a fire that had just been lit in the fireplace and a bit like black coffee… It was soothing. “I was wondering though…” His voice tugged you back into reality as the two of you crossed, your flat just a few doors down now. “If you had a good time today… Maybe another date, tomorrow? I’d love to take you out to dinner.”

You smiled sweetly and fiddled with his scarf on your neck as you came up to the front door of your flat building. “You know I’m going to order the least expensive thing on the menu if you buy me dinner.”

Brian laughed at that and nodded. “For you, I’d be willing to shell out for the most expensive thing.”

“The most expensive thing is usually the smallest portion. I want a big portion. If we’re going to date more then you need to know how I actually eat.” You grinned and covered your face with the scarf for a moment.

Brian reached forward and cupped the side of your face which caught you absolutely off guard. Your eyes widened once again as you looked up at him, his fingertips burning holes into your skin. “If you eat like an absolute maniac, that won’t stop me from going out with you. I think it’s attractive when a woman can put food away.”

“Oh, you’re in for a surprise then, May.” You teased, the dark haired man craning his head down affectionately and kissing your cheek. Mouth agape, Brian lingered there while another shot of cold air hit the two of you. His hair moved with the wind, tickling against your face as he pulled back enough to look at you straight in the eyes.

“I’ll pick you up here tomorrow evening at 6?” He whispered to you, still leaning down so he was literally face to face with you. You nodded reaching up suddenly to unwrap his scarf from your neck. His hands touched yours. “You keep it. I think you need it more than I do. Have a good evening, (Name). I’ll see you tomorrow.”

For what seemed like the thousandth time that day, your breath caught in your throat as he took his hand away from your cheek, the cold air now leaving you kisses there as he began walking away with a rather bashful wave. “G’night, Brian.” You said to him when he was still in hearing range. It was his turn to bite his lip as his heart seemed to glow happily.

Bonus Third Date Ending:

Your fingers were tangled in his happily as the two of you trailed down the street, coming up on a park that was decorated with Christmas lights. You had expressed to Brian on your last date that you had been meaning to see the lights at this particular park but hadn’t had the chance or anyone to go with as all of your friends were very busy this time of year with family Holiday events. He then offered eagerly to take you himself. There was a familiar scarf around your neck, one that reminded you of him even when the two of you were apart. It was strange, you thought to yourself and tilted your head upwards so you could gaze tenderly at the tall guitarist. You felt like you were falling hard and falling fast for him without a safety net in place in case he wasn’t feeling the same way. You were free falling, you figured would be the phrase. “Why’re you looking at me like that?” Brian chuckled deeply and you could feel the rumbling of that action in his chest.

You grinned cheekily and tipped yourself into his body. He caught you happily and wrapped his arm around you snuggly so you were both being kept warm. “No reason. You just look very cute tonight, that’s all.” And, you were absolutely right in saying that. He had another one of his scarfs wrapped around his slender neck, this one being a darker blue than the one you had, a somewhat thick fleece overcoat that gave his otherwise lanky figure the impression of being much more broad, and as the lights on the trees came up, he looked angelic as the lights glimmered into his hair, illuminating his skin. You hadn’t any idea that he was thinking the same exact thing about you at this time. “Thank you for taking me.” “You needn’t thank me for something I want to do, darling.” He said affectionately and pressed a tenderly hot kiss to your forehead which you reveled in as you sauntered into the park entrance. There were multiple colored lights hanging everywhere and you felt like you had stepped right into a fairytale world. You shrieked which seemed to catch Brian off guard as you walked a bit ahead of him, holding up your arms to point at the lights. You were muttering to yourself about how beautiful they were as Brian followed behind you, laughing gently at your excitement as you looked at the lights with such merriment.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” You sighed dreamily, looking at a particular tree that had crystal lights shining on it as if it were crying tears from the branches and bundling onto the ground. You bit your bottom lip and looked up at Brian who simply nodded.

He wasn't looking at the lights. He could care less about them despite how beautiful they were. The only thing that he saw right now was you. It was always you. Something clicked inside of Brian like a twig. He’d never fallen in love before, well, at least with another person who was so close and so near to his grasp. He was though… Falling and falling harder than he’d care to admit. “Yeah, they’re absolutely gorgeous….” He murmured more to himself as you grasped his hand. It began snowing; flakes falling from the pink-tinted sky above as if they were dancing from the heavens. You were staring at the lights still, admiring their cheerfulness as the snow flurried around you gently. Brian looked down at you once more and it felt as if his heart had stopped. There was snow clinging to your hair, your cheeks, your eyelashes and your nose and yet you didn’t seem to notice. The lights in front of the two of you were mixing with the flakes, giving the impression that your skin was illuminating. “(Name)?” “What’s up, Brian?” You snapped back to your world and turned to look at Brian with a smile plastered on your face. You looked like a child who had just stepped foot into a candy store for the first time with money to spend. Brian wasn’t sure what possessed him as he turned on his heel so he was facing you completely. Obscuring your view of the lights, you were about to tell him to move out of the way before he cupped your face with both hands and dipped his head down. You didn’t have the chance to ask him what he was doing before you felt the pressure of his smooth lips against yours. You drew a breath inwards out of surprise, taking a moment here to process that he… Was indeed kissing you! Brian was kissing you. Kissing… You? Kissing you!!! And you weren’t kissing back right away. Kicking yourself into gear, for you had to get over the initial shock of your first kiss with him, you applied pressure and wrapped your arms around his neck to help support yourself against his much taller frame. His hands dropped from holding your cheeks down to wrapping around your waist and pursuing a desperate urge to press you fully against him. You moaned at the feeling of his warmth finally pulling you in and finally mixing with your own as you tugged away with a small, ‘oh my god’.

“I hope that’s a good oh my god otherwise I am absolutely fucked.”

“It…” You swallowed hard and pressed your forehead against his, “It was a good one, I promise…. Oh my god…”

“Can I kiss you again before you say that again?”

“Please, I think I might say it over and over again until you stop me.” You swooned lightly as he leaned down for another kiss.

[bisexualryder]

Okay dude i’ll bite, can i know more about your trio wardens au ? Like how did they meet ? Who did they romance ? What happens to them after dao ? In da2 ? Dai ? (Sorry im just a huge fan of ocs and i love the wardens)

Ahhh, first off - thank you for asking! I’m happy to gush about my trio of idiots wardens :D Secondly - don’t apologize for asking! I love talking about my OCs, I’m just bad about keeping up with posting and such lately (but hope to fix that soon, especially if I make this extra sideblog). ANYWHO, gonna jump in and apologize now if this gets long, lol.

—

SO I’ll hit romance first since that’s quicker and easier. Rylee and Ise (eventually) become a thing - they’re married by the time DAI rolls around. Typical grumpy asshole falls in love with ray of sunshine and doesn’t want to admit it at first. She tries to play it cool and ends up playing it too cool until she gets some help from the couple companions she befriends (mostly Zev, since Sten doesn’t care that much, but he offers his insight on what qunari do). But they don’t actually, like, really become a romance-y thing until after ghoul!Tamlen shows up and oof that one is painful.

Eleri I… don’t know yet, to be honest. She was a re-imagining of my old Cousland, who romanced Alistair, but with Eleri I’m actually leaning a bit more toward Zevran. But uh, still not sure yet, I’m mad indecisive on this one. tbh even Nate is in the running for her *shrug emoji*

On to the rest!

DA:O

They don’t all join the standard way, I guess, but they do all meet at Ostagar. Ducan officially recruits Rylee and Isethari, Eleri recruits herself, lol.

Rylee is recruited first. Standard Tabris origin there and it’s on the way to Ostagar that they plan to stop and see the Dalish elves and that’s when they find Isethari half-dead in the middle of the woods (it was sheer luck, really). Duncan sends Rylee, carrying the nearly-dead Ise, to the camp and goes to investigate the area. Other than Rylee wandering around the Dalish camp like an awestruck idiot, most of the Mahariel origin is the same. Rylee stays behind in the camp, though, when Ise and co. are sent back to the ruin where they run into Duncan. Once they leave, Rylee earns herself the duty of ensuring that Isethari doesn’t run on their trip to Ostagar, bc let me tell you Ise is not happy about leaving without finding Tamlen.

Now for Eleri, she escapes the castle with only her mabari after her parents sacrifice themselves to buy her time to get out. She manages to make it to the stables for her horse and rides as hard as she can to Ostagar, desperate to find her brother. When she basically gets told that he’s out scouting and she likely won’t see him before the battle, she asks about the wardens and is pointed toward Duncan. At that point, she goes up to him like: “I just slaughtered my way through an army of men trying to assassinate my family. I have nothing left but this dream, please.” He asks clarification, she provides, he eventually agrees and sends her off to gather the other recruits and report back with Alistair. It’s at that point she meets Rylee and Isethari, who are hanging around close together by the quartermaster (after Rylee nearly kills Daveth for hitting on that one woman, you know the one). 

From there up until the start of the fight, it progresses as it normally would in canon. They all get their quest, go out into the wilds, etc. etc. And once they survive the Joining, they have a pre-meeting meeting thing. Alistair and Eleri join the meeting as per canon, and Duncan assigns Rylee and Ise to the remaining warden forces. So from there, canon-typical for Eleri. Go to the tower, light the beacon, get almost killed and then saved by Flemeth, etc.

Rylee and Ise, however, have a much more trying experience. Rylee takes a genlock to the face (claws? blade? idk lmao) for Ise to protect her - this being around the time they can see the battle is going south. Duncan’s already been killed at this point and Ise starts to panic (she hates fighting as it is) and manages to half convince, half drag Rylee from the fighting and they flee the battle to the nearest town (naturally, Lothering). They end up meeting up with Eleri and Alistair (and Morrigan) again and explain what happened from their perspective and then work with Eleri and Alistair to come up with a plan of action.

Eleri takes up the role of warden-commander (since Alistair and Ise don’t want to lead and everyone knows Rylee leading is a Very Bad Idea™).

Uhhh, key highlights of what they do I guess would be:

Sided with the Mages

Irving saved, Uldred dead etc etc

Put Bhelen in power

Branka’s killed

sent Dagna off to study ofc

Sided with the Dalish against the werewolves

two elves with one being Dalish and the other violently racist made it a simple choice for Eleri to lessen a headache later (she had way too much else to worry about than argue with them)

Helped Redcliffe and saved Conner

demon killed w/Jowan’s help (he does the ritual and Morrigan is sent in to yeet the demon out)

Isolde’s alive

side note: didn’t poison the Urn

Anora rules w/ Alistair

Loghain alive & recruited as a warden (recruited post-final fight)

Alistair still performs the ritual with Morrigan

Awakening

Not too much of note here. Rylee is the one that finds Nathaniel, though, and it does not go well for him. It’s only Ise that stays Rylee’s hand from killing him. When they bring him to Eleri, she immediately recruits him when she realizes it’s her old friend. He’s still pretty ticked, but softens about the whole thing a bit when he realizes Eleri is around.

With more wardens, they’re able to more easily protect the Keep and Amaranthine. And the Architect does live (much to Rylee’s great annoyance).

DA2 & DAI

Sometime in here is when Rylee and Ise get married. They have two ceremonies - one in the Denerim alienage to honor Rylee’s culture and then again when they find Ise’s clan outside Kirkwall.

Hawke and co. do run into Ise and Rylee in the Deep Roads during the expedition (as they are canon with Ashley Hawke, there’s not a twin to save). BUT the two of them help Ash and crew gtfo and back safely to Kirkwall. Turns out they saw Bodahn on their way into the Deep Roads to investigate and got a tip to keep an eye out for some lost members of the expedition (the whole leaving suddenly without them thing didn’t sit right with him).

Later on, in that mission where you run into Nate? Eleri’s with him, though doesn’t actually advertise herself as the warden-commander while chatting with Ash. Ash isn’t dumb, though, (not always, at least) and gets a feeling Eleri might be kinda more in charge than she was told. So when wardens start disappearing, she takes a chance and makes contact. It ultimately pays off when Eleri sends Rylee and Ise to help the Inquisition.

During the events of Here Lies the Abyss in Inquisition, it’s Rylee that stays behind to buy everyone time to escape. And, much like when Ise was taken from her clan, she has to be dragged out - this time by the Inquisitor herself (Olivia, for the record) - kicking, screaming, and utterly sobbing that they’re leaving her wife behind.

BUT because fuck canon, Rylee survives and kinda wanders around the raw Fade until she finds another open rift. This ends up dumping her into the ass end of Orlais somewhere and it takes her a while to make her way back to Skyhold, but dammit! She and Ise do get a happy ending. It does take a while though, it really does. And for that duration, Ise doesn’t leave Skyhold for anything after they get her back there. Resigned, more than anything, she usually perches on an empty wall away from the hustle and bustle of the main areas near the stables. She also doesn’t eat much, only what small bits that Cole brings her.

As for Eleri, she - along with Nate, Velanna, and Sigrun - are searching for the cure. And I really haven’t thought much beyond that.

MAN this got long, I hope you don’t mind! I had a lot of fun thinking about this and gushing a bit about my girls and what they do :D So thank you, again, for asking! One day, I think I plan to write something detailing their journey from start to finish in DAO and maybe beyond, but it’d probably be a series of drabbles? I struggle with long fics and flowing from one chapter to the next, but maybe.

[rainsonata]

Doppelgänger 1/15

Chapter 01: Another World

Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; none Rating: K+ Word Count: 5,624

Summary: It was like looking into a mirror. What happens when one’s reflection talks back and throws uncomfortable questions? El Search Party struggles to find entrance into the Demon Realm, but Dominator has a plan. 

AO3 Link / FF.NET Link

— [Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06] [Chapter 07] [Chapter 08] [Chapter 09] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] —  

Class Notes:

Canon Path: Knight Emperor, Aether Sage, Daybreaker, Rage Hearts, Code: Esencia, Comet Crusader, Apsara, Empire Sword, Doom Bringer, Ishtar and Chevalier (Innocent), Bluhen   

Alternate Path: Rune Slayer, Oz Sorcerer, Anemos, Furious Blade, Code: Ultimate, Fatal Phantom, Devi, Flame Lord, Dominator, Timonia and Abysser (Catastrophe), Richter

Rune Master

Once the El Search Party parted away from the ruins of the ancient capital for their next destination, everything was starting to look blue. It gave the Rune Master a headache to how everything down to the soil had traces of cyan, the color of toothpaste and hurt his eyes. Due to the influence of the El, it was difficult to tell if night time came because the forest glowed regardless of what time of the day it was. He was going to lose Richter at this rate because the trees were the same shade as the priest’s hair.   

The El’s presence attracted monsters and anyone else that wanted it for personal gain, including the corrupted monsters that were once Henir’s followers. Their numbers ever-growing, it felt wrong to leave them to the El Masters despite being told it to. Running away from the enemies didn’t sit well for Rune, but half of his friends wanted to visit the demon realm. For different reasons, but at least they had a common interest, which was all that mattered because it was better than sitting around and waiting to see what the enemies next objective would be. At least until they figured out how to reach Demon Realm.   

“What is this?” Abysser asked. The demon squinted at the strange device, plated in black material similar to the Henir monsters they fought in Elrianode. Blue light flickered through the minuscule windows covering its sides and shone as his teammate tinkered with its coding. “This machine you claim to work...”

“Of course it will,” A man in white didn’t look up from his machines, his gaze glued to holographic screens that never seemed to run out of power. Legs crossed, Dominator kept his balance sitting on Dynamo and hummed as he worked. “I figured out the basis of how it functions. All we need now are new coordinates.”

“That’s great!” Rune was impressed by to how quick his friends were in utilizing the little material they had in Elrianode. Rubbing his hands together, he grinned, “See? That didn’t take long!”

“Who are you trying to convince?” A woman dressed in purple kicked her shoes for ruffled frills to shimmer under the night sky. Oz watched her breaths evaporate into the cold air and ran her hand through her hair with an exaggerated sigh, “You’re the one rushing to leave.”

Rune’s cheeks flushed to the same shade of red as his hair, glancing down and avoiding looking at Oz, who was definitely snickering over his embarrassment. What did the Oz Sorcerer know about what went through his mind? The El may have increased his powers, but being close to a powerful energy source left static in the air that made Rune self-aware of his powers and feared setting something ablaze if he wasn’t careful. He huffed and maturely stuck out his tongue at the dark mage before turning his head to look at the device in Dominator’s hand.  

“How does this work?” Flame scratched the back of her neck, “Say it again for some of us to understand.” 

“It was once connected to the Heart of Henir and will take us straight to the Demon Realm,” Dominator wasn’t fazed by the Flame Lord’s uncertainty. One could say he was beaming on the concept of potential interdimensional traveling, too eager on the new discovery to be bothered by small questions. He chuckled, “No need to thank me.”

Flame had her knuckles placed under her chin for support, a thoughtful expression on her face. Rune could see the wires turning as his sister processed the new information and accepted the explanation with a nod.  

“And this will transport all of us?” Blade asked.   

“Where is this sudden skepticism coming from?” Dominator looked up from the screens to see the mercenary gingerly tapping the surface with his Nasod arm. “Are you doubting my perfect plan?”

“Last machine,” the Furious Blade deadpanned. “Bugs.” (1)

“You remembered that?” Dominator covered his mouth, but Rune could hear the amusement in his voice. “Anyway, that’s in the past. Things will be different this time.”  

“What machine?” Rune asked. How come Blade got to tinker with Dominator’s inventions while he was pushed out for ‘messing with important data’ when he tried to break into the scientist’s lab? He leaned over to see numbers and letters running across Dominator’s screen, too quickly for anyone aside from the scientist to understand them.

“It was supposed to kill mosqui-”

“If it could transport enough monsters to fight us, it can handle a dozen of us.” Fatal Phantom said with nervous laughter. “How long will it be until it’s done setting up?”

“As soon as you all stop talking and let me work.” Dominator complained, but the effect was lost in a smile as if pleased by the sudden attention by his teammates. Scanning over the screens for last-minute adjustments, he mumbled to himself, “What else?”     

“Elsword,” a male voice called. “There you are.” 

“Ain!” Rune spun to see a blue-haired man in white robes with a somber expression. Spreading his arms in a gestural hug, he exclaimed, “I was starting to think I lost you back there with the Elrianode monsters!”

“You remembered me,” Richter blinked, as if the celestial couldn’t believe it.

“Of course I do,” Rune frowned at his friend’s statement, confused to why that surprised the priest.

Richter has been bringing up that topic more lately - memories, missions, whether or not he would be remembered. He thought after near corruption from Henir and apologizing to Timoria in Elrianode, Richter would be more at peace with himself. Quiet as ever, Richter didn’t express it, but his eyes crinkled to Rune wrapped his arms around his friend into a tight hug to let him know the redhead was there for him.   

A pair of mechanical wings came into view from Rune’s peripheral vision, drawing his attention to see Code: Ultimate with Moby and Remy. Arms to her side, the Nasod queen’s forehead was framed by a black helmet matching with the rest of her armor, wings folded in to make space for Rune to approach his teammate. Cold and stoic, her face betrayed little as the knight searched for answers to why Ultimate looked so stern.   

“Heya, Eve.” Rune chirped and let go of Richter. “Are you here to remind me about something?”

“Yes,” Ultimate said. Side eying Dominator, who was still mumbling numbers to himself, she placed a hand over Rune’s shoulder and nodded to Richter. “If you mind, we need to talk. Away from everyone.”

“Both of you?” Rune was flabbergasted when she ushered him to the side, closer to the edge of the woods where the party chose as their new resting area. His hands growing warm at thought of what could have nudged Ultimate and Richter to team up. “What is it?”

It must be serious if they confronted him on an individual basis, was it about Demon Realm? But why Ultimate too? She had no reason to be affected by demons, but it was Richter that worried Rune. The priest was surprisingly impulsive around demons as evident when he lost control in Feita and disappeared. Richter retained his composure since then, but after what happened between him and Timoria last week…   

“The El has been temporarily restored because of your interference.” Light flickered in her eyes, but Ultimate blinked and it was gone, “It’s stable for now, but there isn’t much time for us to find a new source before that it becomes unstable again. When entering the Demon Realm, it’s best that you let us take care of the demons.”    

“Huh?” Rune tilted his head to the side.

“Consult us,” Richter said. “Think before you act.” 

Rune opened his mouth in protest, “If this is because of Solace.”

“It’s because you do things without telling us first,” Ultimate snapped. “You discarded yourself without considering the consequences or how the rest of the group would respond. I won’t hesitate in fighting if you fail to reassess yourself next time.”

Spears drew out from Ultimate, long blades emerging from her back and pointing at Rune to make her point. He snapped his mouth shut at first sign of anger from the Nasod queen, grumbling as he did so, feeling Richter’s daggers drilled into the back of his head.      

“You wouldn’t hurt me, would you Eve?” Rune gave her the best puppy eyes he could make, searching for hints of joking or sarcasm from Ultimate, only to see cold ones staring back.

“We have alchemists on our team to keep you alive.” Richter said, yet Rune found little reassurance in those words. 

It was naive to believe what Rune did would be dropped in a matter of weeks, but it stung that the more stoic of his friends showed strong emotions. Richter’s disappointment was like a sharp blade through his chest, feeling guilty if the celestial had nothing to say and mouthed an incohesive phrase in an unfamiliar tongue.

Uh oh… The priest must be furious if he was swearing in another language.

“What are you guys doing?” Anemos appeared between them. Pulling Rune away from Ultimate, who still had her weapons out, the elf groaned. “We’re about to depart and you three are fighting?”

Withdrawing her spears, Ultimate lowered her head. “I apologize. I won’t let this happen again.”

Rubbed his temples, Rune interjected. “It’s nothing. Tell Add we’ll be ready in a bit.”

Unconvinced, Anemos had her hands on her hips. “Just don’t lose your heads over petty fights.”

“I’ll make sure Elsword is safe,” Richter promised the elf.

What happened to the threats on keeping him alive, speared or not by Ultimate? Sparks emitted from Rune’s fingertips at the earliest signs of annoyance, a newfound emotion as of lately. He could take care of himself fine! It was clear that his friends were worried for his safety, but he didn’t need to be coddled like a child. Maybe it was a bit of pride on his part, but it served as an aching reminder to how far he had to grow if he wanted to be taken seriously.

Rune sighed. Nothing will be accomplished if he didn’t keep pushing forward like he always did. No use in dwelling over small things like pride. It wasn’t his style. Guilt surfaced once he recognized the sadness in Ultimate’s features.         

“I don’t think you realize the effect you have on people,” she uttered. “That’s why I’m upset.” 

That snapped Rune out of his trance and looked at Ultimate in distraught. He had known her for years since they have met in Altera, but this was the closest thing she had come to admitting her emotions out in the open. Confusion hazed his mind as he swallowed down the guilt.

“Now I do,” Rune admitted. “That’s why I’m trying to make up for everything.”

“You don’t need to change,” Richter said. “Stay the way you are.”

Looking at the two, Rune smiled. Their words held weight, but their expressions and body language told another story. Tense from his impulsive decisions, yet they stayed because they trusted him and fussed over him. He had underestimated how much his friends valued him. How he be blind?

A pair of purple cat ears poked from the side of a small bush. Rune blinked and turned his head again, but there was nothing. His paranoia told him it was another corrupted monster, but sneaking around was out of character. Rune sighed and rested his chest over the base of his sword. 

“Thanks, guys.” Rune said with a smile, “Let’s get going before everyone wonders where we went.”

 Comet Crusader

Cannon laid down by his side, Crusader leaned over and wiped the edges clean with a cloth until it shone. Black soot and ashes smeared over his hands and some fell on his white armor. It was a routine for the guardian of Hamel, one that required diligence to make sure he reached all the corners and sides of the cannon. The destroyer was easily taller than him, but creating and testing new functions to stay up to date with their fighting situation kept Crusader on his toes.

“Chung?”

He looked up to see a man glancing over at him with concern. Wearing a collared shirt with long sleeves cuffed at the end, Cavalier’s hair was tied into a thin ponytail trailing behind the half-demon. Balancing on one hand was a blue tray with a tea kettle and pristine teacups in a neat stack of twos or threes. If Cavalier hasn’t spoken up, Crusader wouldn’t have heard the butler approach him. 

“Did you get any sleep?” Cavalier frowned, “You look exhausted.”

Wiping his brow, Crusader laughed. “Hardly. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Setting the tea tray onto the grass, Cavalier offered him a cup. “Would you care to join me for tea then?”

Crusader nodded.

Using the tea tray for a flat surface, Cavalier held the tea kettle up and carefully poured a cup to offer to Crusader before pouring one for himself. The butler followed the younger male as he grabbed the sugar bowl to drop a couple of sugar cubes into his tea. White clouds turned into mist inside his cup as Crusader stirred the contents with a spoon. Its aromatic smell invited him to take a sip.   

It wasn’t the first time he had Lanox tea. Apsara’s herbal teas had a sharp and bitter taste that reminded him of the earth on summer mornings, but Cavalier’s had a clean yet sweet taste at first sip. He let the light and spicy aftertaste linger on the tip of his tongue as the butler spoke.

“You’re committed,” Cavalier eyed the destroyer on the ground. “You should be resting.”

“Ain healed me,” Crusader grew defensive. 

“Even magic can’t heal scars.”     

Small tugs and stinging sensations strained his muscles at a moment’s movement with Crusader setting his teacup down on the tray to pause. With limited resources, potions and elixirs exclusive were weaker and took longer to heal injuries that once recovered within hours. Injuries weren’t new for him, especially with stronger enemies waiting for them at every turn, but it pained him in know he was dragging the team down for being hurt. 

Burnt marks over his chest were from Nephilim Lord. They were clean cuts, making them easier to clean and bandage every few hours, but the pain inflicted held a constant icy burn over the days he spent healing. He knew the Lord of Spirit Asylum was influenced during the attack, but bitterness lingered as an afterthought. Once again, someone or something reached their goal before they did. How much longer could they do this until the gap between them and their enemies was too much?

“I’m not angry at you,” Cavalier said with kindness. “It was a tough battle against Nephilim Lord. You’re not the only one that got hurt.”

“I know,” Crusader stared at the crimson mist hovering over their campsite. “This really is the Demon Realm… Everything here is different than what we’ve encountered before.” 

Demon Realm, or as the dark elves dubbed it as Varnimyr had contrasts. Red mist against blue trees and there were numerous moons instead of the suns Elrianode had. Eternal nights overtook the region with many of its inhabitants using their body or external means to brighten the dark forest with fluorescent light. They have found a way to flourish with limited resources. 

Crusader had found his strength in recent battles against stronger enemies the longer he fought, but was it enough to withstand future enemies? Far from the El’s influence, his powers have weakened and to his astonishment, Cavalier and Ishtar were affected as well.     

“I suppose it’s different than what we’re used to,” Cavalier agreed. “But that didn’t stop us in Elysion or Elrianode, did it? We sorted out the misunderstanding with Nephilim Lord and are closer to our goal than before.” 

Crusader wasn’t one to ponder over his friends’ histories out of respect, but with Cavalier, it was hard not to be curious, if not wary. What was a human like Cavalier doing with a former demon queen and what could have happened to have them act as one unit? Their fighting style synchronized in a way that couldn’t have been achieved without magic involved, leaving much to Crusader’s imagination to why or how.

No, that was none of his business! The El Search Party were at their most vulnerable in a place outside their comfort. Those two have stayed long enough to have plenty of opportunities to backstab them if that was their intention. He needed to have faith in the Knight Emperor’s judgment in letting Cavalier and Ishtar be a part of their group. However, no amount of loyalty in his closest friend could undo the ongoing suspicion he had on a pair of demons, even if one of them was half demon.     

“You’re right, it’s too late to have doubts after coming this far.” Crusader was apologetic. “I’m sorry for taking up your time to attend to my needs.”

Cavalier said, “I need to be here for my friends too. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I guess so,” Crusader broke into an awkward smile. “Where’s Lu?”

Taking his cup in one hand, he held it to his eye level. A unique design of intricate lines cut into the edges to form into flowers native to Lanox, it was a true work of art. He admired the effort his teammate had put into making tea in enemy territory when they should be rushing back to Elrianode to report their findings to the El Masters.

The butler sighed, “Still asleep. It’s been a long week for all of us. I won’t bother her.”

“There you are!”

Purple hair obscured his view with color matching eyes narrowed with displeasure. Cheeks puffed out and bright pink, a look of distraught as Aether Sage folded her arms inward to hug herself. The white jacket she wore slide over her shoulders and the bow on her collar was uncharacteristically uneven today. One might think the woman was hit by a hurricane by the two strands of hair standing over her roots with the rest of her hair in a mess of disarray.  

“Have you seen Elsword?” Aether asked out of breath. “He’s gone!”

Rubbing his chin, Cavalier shook his head sullenly. “He offered to help me with the chores this morning, but I saw him just an hour ago. Have you checked his tent?”  

She sighed. “I told him not to move around after that fight. Why doesn’t he ever listen?” 

“Let me go look for him,” Cavalier said. “He might be training with Raven again. Why don’t you and Chung search the surrounding areas?”

Lowering his cup onto a tea plate, Cavalier set it down to grab a platter of pastries over to his left. Croissants, fruit tarts, and bread rolls stacked on top of one another with slices of preserved meat in between. Placing inside a small cloth bag for storage, it was enough food to last them for a few meals.  

“You don’t think he’s going to be gone for that long, do you?” Alarm rose in Aether’s voice in response to seeing what was meant to be their rations. “He’s been fine before.”

“We are in Demon Realm,” Crusader placed his hand on his destroyer for support to stand up. Quiet grunts escaped from his lips as he struggled to find his footing, leaning against his weapon. “Even with the dark elves on our side, demons are waiting for us.”

“I know that,” Aether snapped. “That idiot better not do something stupid again.”

One moon hung over his shoulder with light soaking into their path as he and Aether walked past their campsite in search for their missing teammate. Radiant colors danced off the fungi and fauna lining up the dirt road, glowing faintly in time to the chilling breeze sending shivers down his skin. An eerie silence occupied alongside their heavy footsteps with quiet sighs and breathing from either of them. With better luck, maybe Cavalier could find Knight before they had to consider researching past familiar territory.      

“Was there something you needed Elsword for?” Crusader asked.   

“I was going to check his bandages,” she said. “Ain can’t always be there for him.”  

Blinking a few times, he looked at her in confusion. “I suppose so. Did he say anything about where he went?” 

“Elsword said he needed to talk to the dark elves again,” Aether groaned. “That was this morning. He should have been back by now, but his stuff is still gone. He needs to stop acting like he’s alone in this, we’re here too!”  

“I don’t think that’s why he does things alone.”

“What do you know what about Elsword thinks?” She was hard-pressed to let Crusader back down, demanding answers and glaring at the guardian of Hamel.

Despite knowing her for years, it surprised Crusader to see the mage initiate interactions with Knight, who often buried her head into books with a sandwich in hand outside of battles. What brought on the sudden change in tune? After rescuing Knight from the El, something happened to make Aether stay close, her attention always drawn back to the redhead. Harsh words from before softened into mild comments on Knight needed to look after himself more. Her tough exterior always wavered to reveal a gentler side for her friends as evident when she approached Crusader to help. She was stubborn about showing her emotions, but she didn’t let her pride stop her from seeking help. It was something Crusader admired about the mage.      

If Knight went back to talk to the dark elves, he couldn’t be far, but the village’s location remained unknown. Unless he had gone back to talk to Edith, the dark elf elder who granted them an ear to listen to their side of the story after the El Search party was caught by their sentry guardians. Were the dark elves still there? Crusader saw the tents waiting for them in a distance. What could be on Knight’s mind to seek the dark elves first instead of his friends?

“What am I doing losing my temper with you? You’re not Elsword.” Aether rubbed her temples, “I shouldn’t have said any of that. It’s just frustrating feeling like he left us again.”

“Well, he does what he thinks is right, even if it means going through demons.” Crusader chuckled, “We’ll catch up to him.”

“Then we better hurry,” she tugged on her white gloves to tighten them with her stuff between her arms. “I don’t want to look like a fool because he did all the fighting without us.”

Striking her staff overhead, water danced across her feet from the puddles and morning dew, lifting her feet to leap as the stream turned into solid ice. Awe and wonder stole Crusader’s concentration as Aether landed on her feet and slid over the frozen path with her hair flying from behind. Thin layers of frost brushed over the ice in powdered snow, water droplets surfacing before freezing again from the cold air. Flowered patterns overlapped as Aether slid forward to form a path with magic emitting from her staff.  

Mud mixed with thin layers of ice made it difficult for Crusader to skate without losing his balance. Aether didn’t seem to notice his struggle and was already several meters ahead with her head held up high. Following after his teammate, all Crusader could do was to make sure he wouldn’t lose the mage in the fog.

  Flame Lord

“I’m back!”

Out of breath, Rune waved his arm over his head, red hair mopped over his head in disarray not unlike a bushfire. Walking from behind him were Richter and Ultimate, maintaining stoic expressions on smooth features as the first hint that they weren’t of human origin. Their walking movements had the same grace as angels. Anemos was the last to appear with her arms crossed with mild frustration from the way she bit into her inner cheek. Did something happen back there without her knowledge?     

“Took you long enough,” Dominator scoffed. He tucked his bangs behind his left ear, only for it fall back and cover his eye again. “If you walk off again, we’re leaving you behind.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ultimate gave the scientist a cold glare. 

Attentive and precise in the smallest details, the care Dominator placed into a device that wasn’t of his creation impressed the Flame Lord. It reminded her of the kind of care she placed into cleaning her claymore in between battles. According to Dynamo, it has been over an hour since Dominator made adjustments to stabilize it. There was something mesmerizing in watching him work with something Flame had little understanding of.  

Half of the El Search Party grew restless from the wait and drifted away in groups of twos and threes. Phantom sat on the floor to clean his phantom shooters. Blade and Abysser recounted their supplies in preparation for the upcoming journey, a quiet discussion among themselves with Timoria giving them tips on rationing food. Devi said little, but the Haan warrior held a steady gaze when their eyes met.  

“Do we all have to hold it to activate it?” Flame asked. From what Blade had told her, an earlier invention held a similar function as to what Dominator was currently working on.  

The scientist’s brows rose, “It should work as long as we’re all touching each other while one of us holds the device.” 

“So we should hold hands,” Rune grabbed the scientist’s arm and cheered. “I’ll be your partner!”

“Don’t decide things for me without my permission!” Dominator protested.

Flame’s heart fluttered as Dynamo blinked pink (“It’s magenta!” Dominator huffed.), her skin patched with sweat not because of the sparks threatening to escape from her warm palms. They were doing it. Demon Realm was minutes away from their reach.

Entering the strange dimension demons considered to be home was something she had anticipated for years. It was a strategic decision to initiate their attack on the source of their troubles in Elrios. Yet her heart couldn’t stop racing on the idea of threading into enemy territory with limited resources. Timoria was a demon, but how useful could her knowledge be if they were going to be outnumbered? Learning the mechanics on how the place functioned, its origins, and going there was surreal for the fire knight. 

“Add, the machine.” Flame breathed. Turning her head over to the rest of their party, she cried. “Grab someone’s hand and don’t let go!”

Quick to act, Phantom searched for Dominator’s hand with his silver shooters hanging off his belt and his arm extended. Ultimate followed suit and let Timoria and Abysser hold hands with the rest of the El Search Party. Blade was with Anemos and Richter, hands hooked together to form into a chain behind them. At the end of the long line was Oz, standing her ground as the gravel around them hovered from the earth shaking. Black gloved hands grabbed Flame’s with no hesitance, a familiar grip leaving little surprise in seeing Devi next to her. 

Flashing light burned her retinas as Flame struggled to keep them open in search for red hair. Concern was as foreign of a concept as raisin cookies were to Timoria, but it was a strong emotion driving the ‘what ifs’ running through her head. Flame reached for Rune’s hand in the blind. Gravity pressed against them as static encaved the group and lifted them off their feet. Fear latched onto Flame’s subconscious with the knight struggling to not to fall over with nothing to grab onto. Her fingers slipped from Devi’s grasp and gasped.  

Everything stopped. Her weight brought her back to earth with the Flame Lord crash landing with her face first. Bleh! Demon dirt!

Her sides hurt when Flame rolled over with her elbows on the floor. She dug her hands into dry crumbled soil, a dusty brown tinted with red. She took deep breaths. The rustic foreign landscape reminded her of Lanox, but the humidity was that of Feita. Mist hovered over the blue and purple-hued grass, or was it because it was nighttime with two (no, three!) moons overhead. Demon Realm looked different than what she imagined.

Strong and steady, claymore maintained its balance as Flame drew out her weapon, a black blade bearing markings in gold writing. Flame held her guard up with her legs spread apart with claymore in one hand and fire building up in her other. Gold sparks flared up and burst into flames from her blade at the feeling to someone tapping her on the shoulder.

They were faster and twirled to disarm her, pulling claymore away and grabbing her arms, pinning the fire user and bearing tiny fangs into a wide grin.   

“Looks like Add’s plan worked.” Devi balanced claymore with her fingertips before tossing it back to its owner. “Did I surprise you?”

“I could have burned you!” Flame protested. 

Devi giggled, “Hopefully that’ll be the last time we do that.”               

It took Flame a moment to force her temperature down to stop the heat from traveling up to her face and leaving her tongue-tied on being snuck on by Devi. Black bangs obscured one side of Devi’s face with the back of her hair was tied into a tight bun by a multitude of hairpins. The longer ends of her dress fanned out to touch the ground.    

“Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here,” Flame tucked claymore back to its strap. She strained her eyes for Oz’s iconic pointed hat or Richter’s radiant aura shining like a lighthouse between the misty terrain. Timoria and Abysser could avoid arousing trouble because they were demons, but what about the others? She held faith in her friends to stay hidden until they were reunited, but where was Rune? He wasn’t one to keep a low profile for long.

“You’re eager to fight,” Devi said with glee. She took Flame’s hand, “Your hands are getting hot.”   

“I’m not,” Flame felt sick. She needed to find Dominator and give the scientist a talk for alternative traveling methods that didn’t make her want to throw back whatever Furious Blade made for lunch. “Have you seen anyone else from our group?” 

“No.” Concern graced her pale features, “What’s putting you on the edge?”

“Nothing,” Flame clenched her fists. “Let’s find everyone and go.”

“Do you really think this will be resolved that quickly?” Devi asked with no humor in a dark chuckle. “Our poor luck won’t let that happen.”

Blue light flashed across the sky like fireworks and rained overhead. Fire whistled and burst into violent flames for all to see, trees trembled and tectonic plates shifted to loosen the soil from beneath. She struggled to keep her footing as she charged to the chaos, covering her face and coughing. The smoke and fire made it hard to breathe. Each step grew heavy as she dragged her foot over to where she heard voices. Flame didn’t check to see if Devi was behind her. 

Between a grove of trees were monsters with extra limbs and moved around mechanically, but they were too fluid and organic like to be a machine. Blue web-like veins etched through their bodies and illuminated the destruction they left behind. How did the Elrianode monsters follow them into Demon Realm?

Orange light blazed from behind, Devi throwing herself through the air and her spear pierced into a Skin Splitter. Blood blotted out from the monster through its armored skin with an inhuman screech. Mutated monsters crawled around them and hissed in response to the hot fumes created from Flame’s palms, all of them disintegrating into ashes from the contact of her fire. Runes showered over the monsters to set ablaze. 

“Sis!”

Rune’s voice rang over the chaos. Scars decorated his exposed skin with the redhead beaming.

“Elsword!” Flame cried.

Behind him was a creature that towered over most humans and had a multitude of long appendages as limbs to support its weight. Glossed armor-plated around its “shoulders” if that was what one would call them and had half a dozen eyes moving and blinking all at once. Metallic appendages shot out and curled around Rune’s arms and legs, pinning him to the ground and limiting his movement. His pupils were dilated with the beast reflecting off the lights of his eyes.

Flame raced to find a way to climb onto the monster and pull her brother out, but someone else beat her to it.

A harsh breeze picked up, two shadows in the form of Timoria and Abysser appeared to slam their bodies against the Spatio Reaper and causing it to tumble, putting out the fire hazard created by the Sieghart siblings. Silver bullets hit the creature in the chest just below from where Rune was positioned. A young man in plated armor pursued after the creature with pistols at his arsenal. Anemos and Phantom Phantom!          

“Ignis...” Fire enclaved around the red knight. “Crusher!”  

Fireballs hit the Spatio Reaper’s exterior, melting away a thin layer of its armor and dripping out an unnatural blue liquid from its pores. Attacking it did little to slow down its sluggish but persistent movements that caused the ground to shudder while Rune squirmed in its grasp.

“No!” Flame choked on blood and saliva. Her legs were heavy lifting them and forcing herself to stay upright. Smoke and fire hindered her vision. Where was it taking Rune? “Must keep going…”

Her eyelids grew heavy and everything faded to black.

 Notes:

“Bugs.” (1) - Raven was sent back in time in his webtoon “Company” Double Crow when he touched Add’s invention designed to kill mosquitoes by sending them back in time. Yes, Add invented such a thing. 

Author Notes: Please like and reblog! Leave a comment or tag your lovely thoughts! I've been so excited to write this fic and make it work to write 24+ characters interacting with each other. I had fun writing from everyone's different perspectives and hope to upload the next chapter by next month or so. Thank you @dezimaton for beta reading!

[quarterfromcanon]

There’s A Reason Not to Want This (But I Forgot)

Heather & Valencia - Femslash February - Day 10 - 3 A.M. [2,418 words]

In retrospect, Heather admitted to herself that none of it was particularly surprising. Rebecca’s and Valencia’s joint effort to get over Josh was one thing while he remained single. It convinced them they had gained the upper-hand, that they took back their power and left a shared mistake in the dust at Electric Mesa. If he should be the one to bounce back first, however, and start a new relationship while both of them were unattached? A backslide into fixation was sure to be imminent.

They were all spending a mellow late afternoon together, and the dining room table was their shared work space. Conversation was sparse and consisted of mostly inane muttering, save for Rebecca’s less-than-subtle hints that she was not over her recent fight with Paula. Then Valencia declared her relief to be able to surf the web without danger of recent Josh content. That marked the beginning of the spiral. 

Heather was in the middle of damage control with some online Miss Douche users, and so she only spared the passing thought that a little digital distance was probably healthy for both of her friends. Rebecca and Valencia began drawling nonsensically about their present browsing. There was a gradual shift in their speed like a stealthy verbal tennis match. The more bizarre their comments, the more difficult they became to ignore. Heather abandoned her A.M.A. during the course of this indecipherable conversation and looked back and forth between them. 

Nothing had changed about their body language, but something was definitely amiss. Heather’s index finger traced pensively over the touchpad on her keyboard. Clues to what was happening under the surface might present themselves, but she had to be on the lookout. It was not long before both women’s jabbering departed from all reasonable explanation. Heather voiced the first theory that came to mind.

“Are you both high right now?”

Frankly, if that turned out to be the case, Heather was mostly disappointed she hadn’t been offered the chance to get in on it. 

No such luck.

Valencia and Rebecca had just become aware of Anna Hicks, alternatively known as Anna the Browbarian. Her sole life event of genuine interest to them was that she appeared to now be dating Josh Chan. Heather watched with an equal blend of annoyance and dismay as Valencia circled to sit beside Rebecca and co-analyze the stranger.

“Guys,” Heather interjected in an effort to pull them back from the abyss, “don’t do this. If you fall down the rabbit hole of internet-ing an ex’s current girlfriend, you may never come back.”

Rebecca shushed Heather and gave her arm a light shove. Heather did not allow the dismissive response to deter her. She continued to caution them against their course of action, but to no avail. They were already too far gone. Heather gave an irritable shrug. 

She lifted her computer and walked away from the table, but her departure was neither noticed nor remarked upon by the people she left there. “You two are completely ridiculous,” Heather grumbled on the way to her bedroom.

No reply.

That could have been the end of it. Perhaps it should have been, Heather conceded. Yet she seemed unable to leave them to their own devices. She reemerged from her room every half hour or so, under the pretense of some excuse or other, just to check on how they were doing. 

“I’ve gotta use the restroom. Did either of you already call dibs? ... No? Okay, cool.”

“Did no one hear the washer buzz? We’re just gonna leave our wet clothes in there for hours, like a college campus? So much young fun -- I really missed out studying from home.”

“Dryer’s done. Aaaand, uh-huh, right where I left you. What a relief. Maybe you should, like, stand up and do some stretches at least? Keep the blood flowing? Or sit perfectly still while you talk over me and ignore me. I’m sure that works just as well.”

“Gonna make some dinner. Don’t let the clanging pots and pans disturb you. Whoa, watch out, using both computers now. Mixing it up. Good for you. Divide and conquer. That’s scientifically sound.”

Rebecca and Valencia spent the entirety of Heather’s meal prep time arguing about the creation of a fake Instagram account to gain access to Anna’s personal photos. Fortunately, logic -- or at least fear of the law -- prevailed without any intervention on Heather’s part. She poured two glasses of water and carried them to the table. 

“Okay, clear a spot. You guys have gotta at least eat something.”

They both stirred a little as if they perceived her in their periphery even if there was no break in their discussion to acknowledge that. She plucked their servings of food off the edge of the island countertop and returned.

Heather nudged Valencia’s arm with the plate in her right hand. “V, check it out. Mini tempeh patties. We only have the makings for these in the house because of you. Do you wanna maybe try one?”

“Hmm?” Valencia finally tore her gaze from the screen. She turned to see what Heather was repeatedly tapping against her biceps and brightened. Her eyes lifted to Heather’s face with a touched expression. “Aww, they’re adorable! And they smell amazing.”

“Great. Maybe you should eat them, since it’s seven-thirty at night and the only thing you’ve chewed on since lunch is your own finger.” Heather handed the meal to her, along with a napkin to catch spillage before it could land on the electronics. 

Valencia took a tentative bite and groaned. “So good. And small enough to keep at least one of my hands free for typing. Good thinking.” 

“Yeah, you got me. All I want is for you to be able to keep searching.”

Valencia reached back and caught hold of Heather’s palm to give it an appreciative squeeze. “Thanks, Heathe. You didn’t have to.”

Heather watched Valencia’s fingers slide free from hers once more. “I mean, I kinda did since clearly neither of you were going to do it, but... You’re welcome.”

“Heatherrrr?” Rebecca wheedled while still clacking away at the keys. “When you were making Valencia cute little bean burgers, did you happen to throw on any --”

“Yours are the regular kosher,” Heather answered the question before it was voiced. “No lettuce or tomato.”

“Thaaaanks. You’re an angel.”

“Is that just a thing you call people who make you food? You said basically the same thing to my dad,” Heather reminded her.

The comment was ignored as the next page of Google results loaded. Heather carried her own dinner to her room and shut the door.

Long after midnight, Heather woke and realized she never heard the sounds of Rebecca getting ready for bed. She hadn’t picked up on the closing of the front door, either. Heather propped onto her elbows and tapped her phone to check the time. 3:28. 

She rolled off the mattress, hissed at the frigidity of the floor on her feet, and shuffled into the common living space. Rebecca was sprawled forward in her seat with one arm curled across the bottom of the still-open laptop while the other was crooked under her ear. Valencia’s forehead was resting against her crossed wrists, face concealed from view.

Heather shook her head. She went to Rebecca’s bedroom first and grabbed her pillow and blanket. The fabric unfurled and trailed behind her as Heather brought the provisions back to her slumbering companion.

“All right, dude. Your neck will be killing you in the morning, so we’re just gonna...” She curled her fingers under Rebecca’s cheek and lifted her head. “Ugh! Oh my god. Yeah, so, that was a whole puddle of drool my hand just touched. Did not see it until now. That’s on me. Here’s your pillow.” Heather dried the spittle from her skin with her sleep shorts. She draped the blanket over Rebecca’s shoulders. “Sweet dreams, kiddo.”

Heather padded into her bedroom and opened the closet. She stood on tiptoe and pulled down a quilt that used to drape across the foot of her bed as a kid. Heather threw that over her shoulder and tucked the soft cushion from her chair under the opposite arm.

Valencia’s head had tilted to the side while Heather was gone. Strands of hair clung to her features. A few wisps twitched as her breath stirred them in passing. Heather reached out, hesitated, and then moved forward to coax the errant locks back into place. Her fingertips accidentally brushed Valencia’s lips in the process and their soft curvature against her knuckles made Heather’s insides feel like they all plummeted simultaneously to crash against her pelvis. She withdrew and tried to ignore her heart’s uptick in beats per minute. 

Heather tucked the quilt securely around Valencia’s shoulders and torso, hoping it would be enough to keep the bulky stitched cloth from slipping free overnight. The cushion posed more of a problem. She would need to touch Valencia’s face again in order to slide the padding into place. Heather struggled with the approach for a moment. Her arm formed practice arcs in the air as she tried to work out which angle involved the least amount of contiguity. Ultimately, she settled on moving to the other side, where the tumble of tresses could act as a barrier between her fingertips and Valencia’s cheekbone.

She established a grip in the narrow opening between Valencia’s forearm and her jaw. Valencia stirred but did not wake. The shift of her body brought the weight of her head down on Heather’s wrist. Valencia responded to the external source of warmth and snuggled against Heather’s open hand.

“Nooo,” Heather whispered desperately. She tried to pull free, but Valencia was heavy with the complete relaxation of a deep sleep. Gingerly, Heather lifted Valencia’s head away from the table and inserted the cushion into the empty space. She managed to free her arm and gave it a subtle shake at her side. “There. Now at least you won’t wake up with an imprint of your bracelets between your eyebrows.”

Heather prepared to go back to bed, but an open tab on Valencia’s laptop caught her attention: How to Know If Someone Likes You.

“Right, because they were doing that weird thing trying to guess who initiated all of Anna’s breakups,” Heather mumbled. “I mean, either way, it left her single to date Josh now, so like, does it really matter which of them looked disinterested in their selfies?”

Her voice trailed off when she noticed the introduction below the title. ‘What hints suggest that someone is secretly interested? Is there somebody in your life who may be giving you signs they want to go from friend to romantic partner?’

“Well, that’s some unfortunately appropriate timing,” she observed. Heather glanced at Valencia. She grimaced and rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna regret this.” 

Heather crouched beside Valencia’s chair and began skimming through the article. As she took in each behavior on the list, flashes of images appeared in her mind’s eye. 

Clue #1 Personal Questions Valencia wanting stories for every aspect of the rooms at her old house... being so earnestly fascinated by all the hobbies she let fall by the wayside and skills she never fully developed... prompting her just enough to learn how she really felt about her parents...

Clue #2 Changing Space Or, rather, eliminating it, Heather learned upon reading the paragraph. Valencia bumping against her as they climbed the stairs... often sitting so close they were touching from hip to knee... Valencia grabbing her hand to thank her even though a verbal expression would’ve sufficed...

Clue #3 Mirrored Behavior Valencia following her lead at the disastrous Sex Toy party, copying her body language and responses to the drama that unfolded, sticking so close to her side that sometimes they moved and reacted as one...

Clue #4 Eye Contact There were too many now, parading through her memory in a flickering series like photographs in a zoetrope. Valencia, never shying from her gaze, always lingering with warmth and trust behind her dark irises...

Heather frowned. Everything was stacking up favorably, but none of it felt irrefutable after a day of Valencia obsessing over her ex-boyfriend’s new flame. Besides, many of those meaningful moments could easily be attributed to Valencia’s concern over being a good friend. Their trio meant the world to her, and she was not shy about expressing that fact. 

If anything, Heather’s own actions might give cause for scrutiny. She squirmed uncomfortably with the knowledge that she’d been making a lot of exceptions for Valencia ever since they began spending regular time together. It felt important to help ease Valencia into this new world of female friendships, and to look out for her as the transition presented challenges. That being said, a commitment to offering herself as a dependable guide did nothing to explain away the quickening of Heather’s pulse every time their physical contact lasted for longer than was socially customary.

Heather’s sigh echoed through the stillness. “Guess I might as well read the last one.”

Clue #5 Special Attentiveness ‘When you are with the person in question, do they do the following: Offer you their coat when the air gets cold?’

Heather turned slowly and looked at the cover - her childhood quilt - where it lay wrapped snugly around Valencia.

“... Crap.” She dragged the scrollbar back to the top of the page and stood. “Nope, universe, we’re done here. That’s on-the-nose even for you. It is way too early in the day for you to be at-ing me directly, so just... chill.”

Valencia opened one eye at the sound of Heather’s voice. “Did I miss something? Is everything okay?”

Heather jammed her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “Don’t worry. You’ve still got hours before sunrise. Go back to sleep.”

Valencia tilted her head to indicate the vacant chair between her seat and Rebecca’s. “Maybe you could come out here too, so you’re not the only one sleeping alone.”

Heather laughed quietly. “Day-long lower back pain and breadcrumbs stuck to my chin. Sounds super tempting.”

A slow, sleepy grin crossed Valencia’s face. “Yeah, that’s fair. See you in the morning?”

“I’ll be around.”

“Mm-kay.” Valencia hugged the cushion and fell silent.

Heather strode back in the direction of her room, but a parting sentiment from Valencia halted her steps.

“G'night, Heather.”

Heather gripped the corner of the wall and looked over her shoulder. “Goodnight, V.”

[elricedz]

tiger, rashomon and lucy – oh my

characters: atsushi, akutagawa, lucy note: thanks to @34takano for inspiring this. hope you enjoy this, astral!

The fluffy clouds dotting the sky is familiarly surreal, and the thousands of stuffed animals surrounding this square of tiled floor are enough to stir his memory. Atsushi spins around and meets a pair of blue-green eyes, watching him expectantly.

“Lucy!” he exclaims, lips breaking out in a smile. Lucy just pouts and turns to face the clouds, looking like she’s hiding something.

“Don’t you know when to keep your nose out of trouble, Atsushi?” she chides, folding her arms across her chest. She glances at him with narrowed eyes, and a chill runs down his spine.

“Uh, well . . . You see--”

An insistent cough interrupts his explanation, and his expression contorts into one of exasperation. He had been so overjoyed by Lucy’s sudden appearance that the presence of his so-called partner slipped from his mind.

“Weretiger!” Akutagawa barks as he struggles to his feet, still shaking off the disoriented state of his mind from the jarring swap of environments. “Where are we?” He finally spots Lucy with his sharp, steely eyes and juts his chin towards her. “Who is this?”

“Lucy Maud Montgomery,” Lucy introduces before Atsushi has a chance to, looking just as regal as she always does, carrying herself with as much pride as Akutagawa does. She spreads out her arms and gestures to the room they are currently occupying. “Ability: Anne of Abyssal Red.”

“Ah, a Guild operative?” Akutagawa replies, memory as sharp and refined as a polished knife. He gives Atsushi a wary glance -- can we trust her? Atsushi is about to reply with a nod and another explanation when Lucy corrects him.

“Ex-Guild operative.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Akutagawa still doesn’t look convinced, his suspicion pungent in the air, and Atsushi can see the hostility rolling off him and Lucy alike. He clears his throat awkwardly.

“So, Lucy, this is Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, my . . .” Atsushi trails off uncertainly, suddenly at a loss for words. He doesn’t know how to describe Akutagawa. He certainly isn’t a friend, but he’s not an enemy. Partner doesn’t seem like the right fit so far. He continues to stare at Akutagawa, who looks peeved by Atsushi’s dazing off into space.

“Colleague,” he finally growls. Atsushi can’t think of anything else, so he shrugs.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, Akutagawa? As in the man from the Port Mafia who tore your leg off?” Lucy asks, eyebrow quirked up in challenge, concern kindling inside her chest, but she doesn’t let it on, in case Atsushi’s watching her too carefully. Atsushi instantly regrets telling her that fact when he sees Akutagawa react.

Akutagawa splutters and appears bitterly outraged. “Excuse me? That’s private information,” he hisses, glowering fiercely at Atsushi, who leaps back helplessly in defense.

“Oh, please. It’s not that private,” Lucy snorts, looking away. “Doesn’t the whole Armed Detective Agency know?” She looks Akutagawa up and down. “I thought he’d be taller, you know.”

“Lucy, please . . .” Atsushi pleads, smile growing painfully awkward as Akutagawa continues to glare at him.

“Whatever,” Akutagawa finally relents, rolling his eyes and deciding to ignore the comment, much to Atsushi’s relief. He coughs into his hand before resuming. “Let’s go, weretiger. The enemy will find out where we are eventually.”

“Doubt it,” Lucy interjects, shaking her head while studying the clouds again.

“So we need to move,” Akutagawa continues through gritted teeth.

“A ‘thank you’ would be nice,” Lucy says, and Akutagawa glances at her incredulously.

“Respect to a Guild member? Ha.” Akutagawa meets Lucy’s intense scowl with his icy gaze, and the room seems to darken ominously. Atsushi feels like his body is about to shatter from the amount of tension in the room. He steps forward and tries to smooth down the edges of the situation.

“Look, Akutagawa, that was rude, and you should apologize, but Lucy, please don’t stoop to his level--”

And Lucy decides to do exactly that, when Atsushi finally notices the huge, looming shadow shrouding Akutagawa. Akutagawa looks up a second too late, and by that time, an enormous hand has wrapped its fingers around Akutagawa’s thin frame and lifted him into the air. Akutagawa actually yelps and whips his head around to face Anne, the main opponent of Lucy’s Ability.

Akutagawa is also one to react extremely quickly, and proves this characteristic right when he immediately fights back, tentacles of Rashomon swinging around him, tearing at Anne. Anne barely flinches and hovers closer to the door at the end of the room. Atsushi’s stomach drops.

“Lucy, no! Come on, he’s not worth it,” he says quickly. Lucy looks at him once.

“He need to apologize,” she finally shrugs. Atsushi suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. Yes, because that’s going to happen.

“Please, Lucy,” Atsushi asks again, trying to tune out Akutagawa’s disgruntled threats being hurled at them. He tries his best to summon his inner puppy-dog, the look he’s tried so many times on Kunikida to no avail, but he prays Lucy isn’t immune. She hasn’t worked with Dazai Osamu, after all.

Lucy gives him a hard look, eyes flashing. “That will not work on me.”

Atsushi widens his eyes more. Lucy’s teeth emerge to bite at her bottom lip. Atsushi smugly notes the crack in her resolve. He leans in just a little more.

“Please.”

Lucy waits a good five seconds, and by the time she sighs out a strangled noise of defeat, Akutagawa is already halfway into the darkness of the prison cell.

“Weretiger!”

“Anne, let him go. These two were just leaving anyway.”

Atsushi literally sparkles with gratitude, beaming joyfully at Lucy, golden-violet eyes twinkling. Lucy glowers and Atsushi’s happiness washes away immediately, and he peers down at the marble floor timidly.

Meanwhile, Anne glides over to the white exits along another side of the room, Akutagawa still in her clutches. The door swings open, allowing a gust of fresh air to fly into the room, ruffling Lucy’s hair. Atsushi stares at her for a moment too long and clears his throat when she turns to face him.

“Um, Lucy, we’re on this mission right now.”

“I can see that.”

“And we were in big trouble--”

“No, really? You? Nakajima Atsushi, who defeated the Guild in one fell swoop?”

“Yeah, who helped you out with that, genius?” Akutagawa quips, wriggling in Anne’s large hands, Rashomon still swirling around him.

“And maybe we could use a little help . . .” Atsushi looks at her, trying to cover up his sheepishness. Lucy only laughs and reaches out to smooth down his tie.

“Atsushi,” she starts, blue-green eyes sparkling, “I’m pretty sure you can handle yourself.”

“Is this because Akutagawa’s involved?”

“Oh, please. Like I want to get in the middle of this Who is Dazai Osamu’s favorite? competition.”

“Seriously, weretiger, how much did you tell her?” Akutagawa snaps hotly, still trying to free himself from Anne. However, his attempts are brought to an abrupt halt when Anne flings him out through the door. Akutagawa flops onto the road with a grunt, tangled up in his long jacket.

“So, I guess that’s a no?”

“Yes, that’s a no.”

Atsushi slumps.

With a small smile and a huff, she places her hands on Atsushi’s chest and pushes him out the door. Atsushi wonders if it is the warm scarlet glow on Lucy’s cheeks is due to the glare of sunlight from outside as she stares off to the side. “Don’t get killed, Atsushi.” The door snaps shut, and Atsushi is left outside with a grumbling Akutagawa and a lightened soul, sighing wistfully.

“Charming woman,” Akutagawa hisses, bitter venom dripping off his voice. “Don’t bother inviting me to the wedding.”