#remus fucking his way through the captains of a cursed ship

[lynxindisguise]

the feminine urge to make them all pirates

[dragonologist-in-the-making]

You’re the only one I want to charm

Pairing: Sirius x reader

 Summary: You and Sirius are both head over heels for each other, but both refusing to admit because you’re adamant the other doesn’t feel the same way, so James and Lily take it upon themselves to meddle and prove you both wrong.

 Word Count: 1.8k

 A/N: I would love it if someone shipped me my own personal Sirius Black please. This is just some lovely fluff to sustain you throughout the day.

 Requests are still open!

 Warnings: there’s one singular curse, and other than that just my poor writing of quidditch, sorry about that.

  “No Sirius you’re wrong, that’s not the right wand movement at all.” You chastised him as you both sat in the common room, hunched over sheets of parchment as you went over your charms notes.

 “I’m completely right here! You’re thinking of the wrong charm!” Sirius fought back, although neither of you were taking your debate too seriously, and your laughs could be heard in all corners of the common room. In fact, they could be heard by the group of four students who were sitting watching you with disbelief painted on their faces.

 “Seriously, how do they not realise that they are sickeningly in love with each other?” Lily asked, rolling her eyes as yet another one of your laughs echoed throughout the room – it seemed that Sirius had been right about the wand movement for the charm as he was teasing you light-heartedly and overdramatically, clearly arguing that he was the superior wizard.

 “Aw, come on Lily-Flower.” Her boyfriend nudged her lightly in the ribs, a smirk playing on his lips. “You took long enough to realise you love me.” She rolled her eyes at him, shoving his shoulder away from her gently, although in a similar fashion to Sirius took the overdramatic route and let himself fall backwards onto the sofa, hand over his heart in mock dismay.

 “The difference, James, is that we were never that.” She pointed to them, not laughing so much anymore as the concentrated on the parchment before them, sitting impossibly close together and you offering Sirius squares of your chocolate every so often, which he insisted you feed to him. “Sirius hasn’t even had a girl hit on him in months, because everyone already thinks they’re a couple. I overheard some of the Ravenclaws talking about it weeks ago.”

 “He likes her, he told me.” Peter piped up, a hopeful expression lighting up his face.

 “Yes Peter, we all know. The only one that doesn’t is (y/n).” Remus replied, rolling his eyes at the boy next to him. “That settles it, we’ll just have to prove to them that they have it bad for each other, and then we don’t have to keep watching whatever this is.”

 …

 “So, you and Sirius?” Lily asked you as you sat together in the Quidditch stands, watching the aforementioned boy help James to practise before an upcoming game. Distracted, watching the way his muscles flexed underneath the shirt he was wearing, and the way his hair flew behind him with the wind, it took you a couple beats longer than it should have to turn to Lily with a reply.

 “What do you mean, me and Sirius?” You asked, trying to look confused, but unable to stop the rush of blood to your cheeks. Hoping Lily would assume it was just the cold wind whipping around you, you still turned your face back to the boys, hearing James’ successful whooping echo around you. “Me and Sirius, are two of the most fun people you’ve ever met? Me and Sirius are also the smartest two people you know? Me and Sirius-“

 “Are totally in love with one another?” You choked on the drink you had brought out with you at her words, leaving Lily to gently pound on your back whilst you cleared your throat. “Come on (y/n/n), you’re smitten and I know it. You can’t deny it.” Sighing, you gave in, knowing that Lily was much to observant to let you get away with lying to her this time.

 “Okay yes, I really enjoy spending time with him. He makes me laugh harder than anyone else can, and it seems like he just knows how I’m feeling all the time, and knows exactly what to do with those emotions? I don’t know, he understands me, but he also respects me more than any guy I’ve ever been interested in before.” You rambled, finally having someone to listen to your outpouring of emotions. You shook your head, however, getting lost for a second in your mind. “It doesn’t matter Lily, he doesn’t feel the same. There’s no point getting so wrapped up in this, I’m sure if I just leave the feelings alone they’ll go away.” You sighed, pulling your jumper tighter around you.

 “Are you kidding?” Lily exclaimed, her voice loud but thanks to the wind not loud enough to carry to the boys. “Considering you just claimed to be two very smart people, it’s incredibly thick of you not to be able to see that he feels the same.” But you just shook your head, and knowing that she wouldn’t be able to press you any harder on this, you both turned to watch the boys carry on their practise.

 …

 “So,” James shouted, having to raise his voice loud enough for Sirius to hear it both over the wind and over the distance between their brooms. “You gonna ask (y/n) out any time soon?” He asked, throwing the Quaffle towards the hoops, and having shocked Sirius into a frozen state, managing to score. Recovering quickly, Sirius flew down and caught the Quaffle before it hit the ground, flying back up to James’ height and throwing it back to him.

 “I don’t think so, Prongs.” He shook his head slightly, diving to the left and catching the ball when James threw it again. “I really like her, but I don’t know if she feels the same, and I really don’t want her to not be a part of my life. I would rather just let the feelings go away and keep her as a friend than fuck this all up, you know?” He asked as they both flew around a little, distracted from their practise as they looked over to the two girls watching them, who both waved excitedly as they realised they were looking.

 “Mate, you can’t be serious.” James shook his head.

 “But I am.” Laughing at his joke, James turned back to look at him, his incredulity rising slightly.

 “She’s literally wearing your jumper! And she’s come to watch you help me practise Quidditch. Ask her. If she doesn’t feel the same, I’m resigning as captain.” James encouraged, confidence now radiating from him as he assured his friend. Sirius just shook his head with a slight chuckle, throwing the Quaffle back to his best friend, but with a new thought, a new hope, now tugging at the back of his mind.

 …

 The tense excitement of the atmosphere was stifling as the Quidditch game played out in front of you, Gryffindor vs Slytherin, always a highly anticipated game and this year one of the first in the season, a game which would set a precedent for how the teams would play for the rest of the year. Lily cheered loudly on your left, as Sirius, Remus and Peter were to your right, all of you enthusiastically giving your support, dressed in your supporting colours of red and gold.

 The score was currently 110-100 Gryffindor, and the pace was picking up, passes being made and teams intercepting almost too quickly for the commentator to keep up. “And Potter’s got the Quaffle, and he shoots – and he scores! That’s another ten points to Gryffindor!” You all screamed loudly, congratulating James as if he could hear you. You all quietened down again quickly though, as the game continued and you watched with eager eyes.

 The seekers had been circling above for the duration of the game, keeping their eyes peeled for the snitch, and you suddenly smacked Sirius arm, gaining his attention as you pointed up to show him the Gryffindor seeker suddenly diving and weaving her way through the players, reaching out in front of her and closing her fist around the snitch, winning the game for Gryffindor.

 Roars erupted all around you, pure delight from all members of your house, as well as a considerable number of people from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses. You turned to Lily and tightly squeezed each other, as the boys all huddled together in celebration, before Lily quickly fled to the pitch to congratulate her boyfriend, Remus and Peter following her, although not in as much of a rush. You turned to Sirius, bright smiles on both of your faces at the success of your friend, and at the prospect of the huge celebration there would be that night.

 You jumped into his arms, your own snaking around his waist as you held each other tightly, pure adrenaline pumping through your veins, although you weren’t too sure if that was from the game or from the scent of leather which surrounded you. The both of you pulled away slightly and you looked into Sirius’s grey eyes, which were crinkled slightly from all the grinning.

 Without really knowing what was happening, your eyes were closed and you were leaning in, Sirius’ lips were against yours and you were kissing him back, pure joy exploding through your chest as you tried to wrap your head around the fact that this was actually happening, he was actually kissing you. And boy, was he good at kissing. Eventually, your happiness won over your desire and you were smiling too wide, causing Sirius to break away, his expression matching your own.

 “I like you,” you blurted out, unable to stop yourself from telling him. “And I don’t want that kiss to be a one time thing.”

 “I would hope you do.” He laughed, tightening his grip on you as he threw his head back. “I haven’t lost my reputation as a lady killer for no reason, you know.” He continued, leaning in closer to you with a wink. “There’s just one witch I wish to charm now.” You closed the gap between the two of you, reconnecting your lips, and not noticing how you were the only two people left in the stands.

 James’ smile at all the congratulations dropped slightly, as he looked at the circle around him and noticed what was missing. “Where’s Padfoot?” he asked, making a show of counting his friends to show someone was missing. “Why is my best friend not here to congratulate me on my team’s win?” Remus smiled, pointing up to the stands where two distinct figures could be seen in each other’s embrace.

 “He’s slightly preoccupied. I’m sure he’ll congratulate you later”. Remus smirked as James and Lily high fived and cheered for their success.

 “Ah, I understand.” He commented, a mock seriousness playing in the tone of his voice. “At least I can keep my position of captain now.” He smiled up at the two of you one last time before he and the rest of the group made their way up to the castle, knowing that you had both found the person who would make you the happiest.

[snowdice]

Fear of Drowning (Part 2)[Dice Roll 15]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Endgame LAMP, established LMP (but the perspective character is oblivious for most of it), very background Dukeciet

Characters:

Main: Virgil, Roman, Logan, Patton

Appear: Janus, Remus

Summary: He’d come to the conclusion that the best way to be buried would be to be buried at sea, and it had also been the most probable conclusion anyway considering how often he was on a boat. Some omnipotent being must have a morbid sense of humor. Now he was drowning. It wasn’t the first time. When Virgil had wanted to be buried at sea, he’d anticipated being able to die.

Virgil has been assigned a mission, not particularly of his own will. Finding and delivering the Pearl of Life to it’s next owner is important enough that he’s been ‘gifted’ temporary immortality until the task is complete. This ends up being far more a curse than a benefit as he faces people who do and do not know what he’s been tasked to do. Of all things… the pirates aren’t that bad though.

Universe: Pirate AU

Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending

Notes: Temporary main character death (we have a description of the main character dying repeatedly in the first chapter and possibly will again later), drowning, starving, imprisonment, blood, swords, it’s a bit dark, there will also be cuteness eventually, throwing up blood mentioned (Ch 2)

This is part of my Roll the Dice Event which is where I do random ships, universe, and genres for the Sanders Sides fandom. For more details see this post. I posted my results from this dice roll here.

This is still not a priority, so don’t expect frequent updates for a bit.

(I will put ~~ around mentioned/ allusions to drowning. Starting in this chapter. The first chapter was pretty much all drowning so I won’t do that here. Here’s a summary of chapter 1.

Virgil has been tasked with a mission to find and transport the pearl of life which I'll get into later. For this he's been granted temperary immortality. He has increased stamina and strength, though if it gets to be too much, his body will die and resent back to a time where his body could realalistivally recover. Some people trying to prevent him from doing his task and put him in a casket before throwing it overboard. So we get him constantly reseting over and over again until the casket finally hits a rock and breaks. Virgil eventually manages to get to the surface. He finds a piece of driftwood. Later he is picked up by a Golden Tetra ship.

Tell me if I ever forget to do the ~’s. Thanks!)

Virgil was hauled up onto the large merchant ship and immediately went down onto hand and knee when he was released by the woman who had helped him up. He took deep shuddering breaths, staring at his hands on the wooden ship deck.

“Get him some water,” a gruff voice demanded from somewhere above him.

Virgil vaguely heard people moving and whispering around him, but it was hard to make out exactly what was happening through the rushing in his ears and the pounding of his heart. He watched in detached curiosity as the borders of his hands almost seemed to blur like he was about to disintegrate into the sea air.

The sharpness of reality returned when he felt himself get yanked back fully onto his knees by the tattered remains of his shirt. A cup was pressed to his lips. A flicker of worry zinging though his mind because he knew how Golden Tecta Shipping worked. He wondered how he’d be expected to pay for this charity.

~

Still, his throat had been burning from the amount of salt coating it for so long now; he could barely remember a time when it wasn’t raw. He opened his mouth, and the cup was tilted so he could drink. 

~

He did his best to not drink too fast considering how fucked his stomach probably was by now. After a few moments, the water was pulled way.

“So,” the voice from before said. Virgil looked up. The man standing in front of him was the captain of the ship. He was wearing the decorated red coat and large black hat typical of captains of Golden Tecta ships, but besides that, Virgil would have been able to tell just by the way he held himself. Virgil’s eyes flickered to where the man’s hand was resting casually on his sword: a warning. Since Virgil was clearly in no condition to be a threat, he quickly deduced that the man must just be an asshole. If Virgil was feeling less than ½ dead, he would have rolled his eyes. “Who are you?” the captain asked.

Despite the water, Virgil still had to cough a bit to get his voice to work. “I’m Virgil Shaw,” he said. The last name was a lie, though he doubted these people would recognize his actual one even if they knew of him.

“And how did you end up drifting alone in the ocean and needing to be picked up by my crew?” he asked. He put a subtle emphasis on ‘needing’ as though Virgil could somehow forget his own vulnerability.

“Shipwreck,” Virgil lied. “I’ve been drifting for a while now.”

“What type of ship?” he asked. It was a very loaded question. There were really only four options. Golden Tecta Shipping had a monopoly over trading goods by sea and they kept their control over the market with a viciousness most humans could rarely stomach outside of corporate disconnect. Therefore, many ships on the sea were owned by the company.

He could claim to be from a different Golden Tecta ship, but then he’d have to lie his was through a barrage of questions about his position in the company and would be expected to know the corresponding duties on the ship. Not to mention, they’d insist on keeping him once they got to shore to verify that he was who he said he was. Lying would likely be a one-way trip to the gallows… which would end even worse that it usually would considering he wouldn’t die from having his neck snapped.

His second option, saying he was transporting goods and wasn’t part of Golden Tecta i.e. he was transporting them illegally, i.e. he was a pirate would get him thrown directly back into the water, probably after being ran through by a sword.

There was, of course, the option of saying he was part of a navy, but there was no guarantee that they’d like that any more than him being a pirate. While they played nice with most navy ships, they didn’t particularly like the law, and with him weak and alone, they may take the opportunity to dispose of one of the people who regulated them to an annoying degree.

So, all that was left was the truth, or, well, a shadow of the truth. “I’m a traveler,” he said. “Private ship.”

“I see,” the captain said, eyeing Virgil suspiciously. Virgil internally cringed. “I’m Captain Yates. This is a Golden Tetra ship, the ST-788. We’re heading to the Darwell port and are expected to arrive in around 8 weeks.” He looked away, feigning boredom with Virgil though Virgil could feel his attention like a chain around his neck. “We are a fairly packed ship with not much extra in way of supplies and living space. If you choose to stay on my ship for the rest of our journey, you will be expected to accept the accommodations we can find for you as well as contribute to the ship running in order to access any other resources.”

Seriously? Virgil thought. If he chose to stay on the ship. As opposed to what? 

~

Jumping back overboard and drowning again? Virgil was not fooled by the official phrasing. 

~

He knew how Golden Tecta often treated their low-level employees, let alone helpless guests and Yates seemed to have an air about him that said he was worse than average. He was smart too; he seemed to sense that Virgil wasn’t telling him everything.

“Do you agree?” Yates asked.

Virgil tried his absolute hardest not to let the anger already coursing through his veins pour out onto his face. Signs of resistance wouldn’t help him any. He wasn’t sure if he managed to not screw up his face into a scowl considering the dark, threatening look that flickered over the captain’s face in the moment before Virgil managed to choke out, “Yes. I agree.”

“Accommodations” ended up being a literal cell below deck. Yates claimed that this was simply because they had no real beds, but that didn’t explain why they locked the door whenever he was inside of it. Virgil wasn’t an idiot even when his mind, to be completely honest, was not working at full power. He understood what this was, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

He did his best to breathe as he laid in the shit cot he’d been so kindly allowed to use. He was pretty sure that he had a couple of broken ribs, and they were nowhere near healing. The deal he’d “agreed” to meant working for all food and water and, even at full capability, he wouldn’t have ever been able to earn enough of it. As it were, there were some days he wasn’t able to complete the tasks assigned to him because of his injuries, which meant he did not get any food that day and would often get slammed around for his failure. This, of course, made it even harder the next day for him to complete his task. Such was the way of Golden Tecta Shipping.

Just the day before, he’d blacked out while trying to scrub the ship deck and had waken up back on the floor of his cell with a bonus new footprint on his chest and fresh bruises in other places. If his ribs hadn’t already been broken, they certainly were now. He’d just barely managed to drag himself onto the cot.

He stared at the ceiling above him. How long had he been on this ship? Two weeks? Three? He felt numb. Empty. He’d felt empty for a while at this point, he realized. Well, almost empty. He was in physical pain, of course, that hadn’t gone away, but emotionally he was pretty much on empty save for the anger that had been slowly growing strong and stronger over the course of his time on this ship. It was the only thing holding him up most days and it buzzed so strongly in his chest that it almost blocked out the pain from the broken ribs. Sometimes when he was dazed enough and retching on his empty stomach, he liked to imagine that the blood he was spitting up was the anger given form. It made him feel better about it somehow.

Eventually, he managed to doze off, his mind in a haze of pain and boiling hatred, until he heard something bang on the metal bars of his cell.

“You still alive in there?” a voice said. It was a rather cheery tone for the content of the question. Virgil recognized the voice. He wasn’t sure of the man’s actual position or name, but he was up there on the food chain, and he was a bastard.

“Yes,” Virgil said blankly.

“Damn. I’m impressed. I’d thought I’d been sent to try to wake the dead with how you went down yesterday.”

Virgil said nothing. He just slowly sat up and put his feet under him.

The man whistled, “and walking too,” he said, sounding mockingly impressed.

Virgil would be dead, Virgil thought. If his story had been completely true and he had just been some poor shipwrecked injured guy, if he’d been able to die, he’d be dead by now. The man in front of him and Captain Yates didn’t give a damn. Honestly, at this point it could have been pure rage that had him putting one foot in front of the other to the cell door.

“Think you’ll be able to actually finish scrubbing the deck today?” the man asked casually like Virgil had just ran out of time yesterday and his body hadn’t shut down completely from the exhaustion, starvation, and pain.

Virgil still stayed quiet and the man shrugged, leading him up to the deck. A scrub brush was shoved into his hands. He went to his knees and moved to begin his task. He distantly registered the large amount of pain he felt at the movement, but he had no choice but to push through. He managed to zone out for the most part, almost hypnotized by the repetitive motion of moving the brush back and forth across the wooden deck.

He was so engrossed in his task, that it took him a moment to realize what was happening when everyone started rushing about and barking orders. Virgil looked up. Huh, he thought, a pirate ship.

Want to read more? Click below!

Masterpost

[whereisstevethestove]

Boys Who Cry Pearl and Sea: Flying Dutchman AU

Fandoms: Sanders sides and technically the lore behind the Flying Dutchman.

Characters: Virgil, Roman, Remus

Relationships:  Roman/Virgil

Additional tags: Mer AU, Pirate AU, Human AU, Siren!Roman, Sailor!Virgil

Word count: 3263

Summary:  Virgil Tempesta was born at sea.  Perhaps that is why he has never felt like he belonged on land.

Notes: I wrote a sea shanty for this! (x)  I hope you enjoy!

AO3

Virgil Tempesta was born at sea.

His English mother was traveling from her home in London to join her merchant husband in Cuba, but by the time that she arrived, her son was nearly a month old, and strange, with storm grey eyes that seldom blinked.  He grew up mostly indoors, there not really being any other children his age that his family would let him socialize with.

Virgil himself was an odd child, quiet, and when he turned ten, his father sent him to another sea captain for an apprenticeship.

The Windborne was a young ship, not even five years old, and the captain was quick to shove the pale boy belowdecks, for a child has no place among a crew of men.  Virgil spent his first year feeling like an outcast, a stowaway on a ship he was technically part of.  

That was of course until they found out that Virgil could squeeze himself into small spaces, and climb faster than anyone else on ship.  He also seemed to need less sleep, so they started to put him on the night watch as months passed.

Virgil didn’t mind.  At least it gave him an excuse to hum the shanties that the others sang as he stared at the dark water that was reflected with stars.

He was fifteen when something interesting finally happened during one of his watches.

“There was a boy, Icarus~”   The haunting melody stretched over the water in the secluded cove that they were anchored in and Virgil leaned a bit more over the side of the ship as he strained to hear the song.

“You pronounced Icarus wrong.”  Virgil called out and the song stopped.

“How do you pronounce it then?”

Virgil pursed his lips before answering.  “It’s not I-Car-Us, it’s all one beat, kinda like: ǐːkaros.”

“Oh.”  The voice seemed confused.  “There was a boy, Icarus, who flew too close to the sun-”

“That’s better.”  Virgil smirked as the voice sputtered in annoyance.

“His wings were made of brass and wax-”

Virgil listened as the voice sang about the greek myth, before abruptly hopping topics to sing about a sailor’s myth, the Dutchman.  Virgil wasn’t one to believe in silly legends, but the voice was nice and it made him feel lightheaded in a good way, so he continued to listen as the second chorus faded out and the voice switched verses again.

“There is a simple sailor boy,

Not wanted by land nor sky-”

Virgil stood up from his spot and looked over the water.  “Woah, wait.”

“What?”  The voice was definitely irritated now.

“Simple?  That’s all you can think of to describe me?”  Virgil teased as some of his hair fell into his face.

“Uh... to be honest, I thought you’d be drowned by now.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, the shanty only has two verses, I’ve been making the rest up.”  The voice said sheepishly and Virgil heard a splash of something going into water.   He watched as the dark water below rippled and a moment later, a red and gold blur shot out and landed on the deck next to him.

Virgil fell back onto his ass in shock.  “Mermaid.”

The creature flashed him a grin.  “Close, I’m a siren and I am a male by your kind’s definition., so not a mer-maid either way.”

Virgil took in the red and gold tail, the dark skin as he slowly looked the siren in the eyes.

“You’re gorgeous.”  He breathed out reverently and the siren’s fins on the side of it’s head flared in surprise.

“You are very pale and small.”  He responded back, which broke Virgil from his reprise as he scrambled back up to his feet.

“Thanks, I get that a lot.”  

“Oh.  I thought for sure you’d be taller standing.  Hmm, okay.”  The siren balanced himself on the railing better, looking at Virgil with curious eyes.

Virgil blushed, ducked his head and then looked back up.  “So, how am I not dead?”

“Excellent question.  I have no fucking idea.”  The siren shrugged and Virgil nodded.

“Alright then.”

“Can I get your name pale one?”  The siren asked as he leaned forward and Virgil leaned back.  

“Me giving you my name doesn’t do any weird shit- like I sell my soul to you, right?”

“No, why would it do that?  Is that some weird human thing no one told me about?”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “It’s a fae thing, I thought that since sirens are real, maybe they were.  Anyway, I’m Virgil.”

The siren’s eyes widened.  “You have a siren name.”

“Okayyy?”

“I’m Roman.”

“That’s an odd name.”

“Says the one who literally didn't know that my kind existed, despite having a siren name.”  Roman shot back with a sharp grin.

Virgil smirked and gently shoved at the siren, who wobbled nervously.

“You should go.”

“Why?” “My watch is almost over.  I want to go to sleep.”  Virgil yawned and the siren shrugged.

“Alright.  I’ll get you one of these times.”  Roman said as he fell back, disappearing into the water.

…

Virgil didn’t see him for another year.  The Windborne traveled to many different locations and so it was rare for them to pass through the siren’s waters, and when they did, they didn’t stay the night.

So he wasn’t surprised when the song started across the water.

“I’ll sing you a song of ravens and stone--”   Roman’s voice definitely had some bite to it and Virgil could feel himself slipping as he struggled to keep his mind clear.

“With the temper of a storm!”

Virgil jumped into the water, fully intending on beating up Roman for being so fucking annoying.

What he wasn’t expecting was for arms to wrap around him and start dragging him down.

Virgil tried to elbow the person, mer(?)  behind him, but the singing just intensified and his head felt like it was full of cotton….

…

…

…

Roman couldn’t believe that Andy had managed to snag Virgil the second the teen had jumped in.

His half brother was a force to be reckoned with though, and Roman watched as the lithe siren dragged the sailor out of the water and tested for a pulse.

“Aw, he’s still alive.”

“I asked for him to still be alive An.”  Roman muttered as he looked at his human.

“I don’t know why you’re attracted to him.  He’s awfully pale.  And when there’s so many other options up there on that ship..”  Andy trailed off once he saw the look in Roman’s eyes.  “Oh, you see the pale on as a mate?  You’re a mess, sing once you get your life together Ro.”

With that, he left with a snap of a jet black tail slapping water.  

…

Virgil sat straight up and vomited,  coughing as seawater exited his lungs and he shivered on the rock that he was somehow on.

“Are you okay?”

Virgil threw up again and shook his head as someone gathered him up, pressing a hand against his chest.

“I’m sorry, I got worried because you stopped breathing.”

Virgil’s mind had cleared enough for him to look up through lidded eyes to see Roman looking at him with concern.

“What?”  Virgil croaked out, voice absolutely ruined by the seawater that he had ingested.

“Uh, you jumped overboard, my half sibling brought you here and then I pulled the life back into you.”

Virgil vaguely remembered jumping over, but after that…

He passed out again.

…

Roman was not expecting humans to be so fragile.   Virgil had indeed become unresponsive after throwing up, but now he was asleep again, with no warning at all.

At least the sun was coming up, so it would be a bit warmer.  

He just had to hope that Virgil’s ship wasn’t leaving, or else Roman wasn’t sure what he’d do.  This was supposed to be a fun interaction, not him watching an almost corpse.

Unfortunately for him, the sun rose, The Windborne left the cove, and Virgil slept.

Roman wasn’t sure how he was going to admit to his human that his only way back home was gone.

…

Turns out, Virgil was fucked.

He woke up and realized almost immediately that his ship had left and the first thing he did was try to sneak off the rock that Roman had stuck him on, so that he could swim to the shore and try to work out his life then.

He didn’t notice that Roman was on the rock also, until the siren grabbed his shoulder.

“Where are you going, the ship is gone.”

Virgil hissed and recoiled, falling into the water before surfacing to curse at Roman.  “What the fuck?”

“Sorry!  I assumed that humans could hear when someone is coming up on them!”

Virgil hissed again and scrambled back onto the rock.  “I wasn’t paying attention, and yes I know that the ship is gone, it’ll be another few months before they anchor back here.”

“A few months?”

“Yep.  We had planned a few routes over the next year that come this way…  I just have to wait out the storm, and I’m not doing it on this tiny ass rock.”  Virgil went to slip into the water when Roman stopped him again.

“Let me swim you over, it’ll be faster.”

“Thanks I guess.”

Virgil watched as Roman slipped into the water and then swam around the rock to wink at him.

“Ready my raven?”

“Oh, stars no.  No pet names.”  Virgil grumbled as he got in and wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck as directed.

“Ready?”

“You won’t drown me, right?”

“Of course not!”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Roman swam slowly, but still, it was faster than Virgil could’ve gone, so it was nice to hitch a ride in a sense as they made their way to the beach.

They finally made it to where Virgil’s feet could touch, and he quickly let go, wading through the water to collapse on wet sand.

“Are you okay?”  Roman called from his spot in the water and Virgil stuck his head up.

“Oh yeah.  I’ve been kidnapped by a siren, threw up my body weight in saltwater, haven’t eaten since almost two days ago, and now I’m here for a good long time, all alone!  Don’t forget that if I don’t get some actual water soon, I’ll be a rotting corpse on this beach!”

Roman was by his side faster than Virgil could comprehend, eyes flashing nervously.  “Water?”

“What about it?”

“You can’t drink seawater?”

Virgil groaned and buried his face in his hands.

This was going to be a long three months.

Assuming he could survive for that long.

…

The first week was the worst.  Roman had to watch as Virgil disappeared into the treeline, leaving for long hours, even though he had offered to provide for any of the sailor’s needs, after all, it was his fault that Virgil was stuck.

All the human had asked for was a knife though.

He built an odd structure on the shore, and Roman watched as he (unsuccessfully) fished, and got sick from being in the sun for too long the second day.

By day eight, Virgil was screaming at the sky to just hit him with some lightning.

Roman was impressed that his human had even made it that long.

By night nine, he finally had the courage to go back on shore.  Virgil was laying on the ground, staring at the stars, seemingly distracted, but his eyes did flit over to Roman as the siren adjusted his tail and also lay back.

“Are you okay?”

“No.  I miss people.”

“Ah.”

They lay there in silence, and it wasn’t until Roman looked over and he saw the streaks of silver running down the other’s face that he realized something was wrong.  He sat up and scooted closer to Virgil, gently wiping at the strange stuff.

“What is this?”

Virgil blankly looked at him, still not moving.  “Tears.”

Roman brought the ‘tears’ to his face.  “Weird.  They look… wrong.”

Virgil sniffed and sat up, wiping at his face with a torn sleeve.  “Why is that fish?”

Roman looked at the ‘tear’ again.  “It is a liquid.”

“Are you implying that tears aren’t made of saltwater?”  

Roman sniffed the tear and realized that Virgil was right.  It smelt like ocean. 

“You cry the sea when you are sad?”

“I guess.”  Virgil sniffed again and Roman sighed before putting a finger to the corner of his own eye, quietly shedding a pearl as he cried.

“I do too.  Perhaps we are not as different as we like to say.”

…

The dynamic changed after that.  Roman started to bring fish, which was a godsend in Virgil’s opinion, and in exchange, he’d tell the siren about something from his world, or he’d teach him a new shanty to sing.

And as much as he denied it, Virgil fell in love.

It wasn’t a major revelation in a sense.  It was about a month into his stay and he looked up and remembered that it was his birthday.

Hurray, seventeen years on this earth.  He hadn’t told the siren, who didn’t understand the concept of age, and even though Roman certainly acted like he was Virgil’s age, he had told him once about the first time his pod had moved, and it was because the first merchants were sailing into the area.

So yeah, his siren, wait, when did he start considering Roman as his siren?  Virgil shook his head, trying to clear it of the traitorous thoughts as Roman came in with the gentle waves, grinning.

“Hello my stormy night!”

“No nicknames!”

…

Roman was in love.

Deepy, irrevocably, in love.

He was screwed.

Sirens only choose one mate, and it is always the first one that you fall in love with.  No take back, so changing in the future.

The only problem was that he knew that Virgil didn’t love him back.

The different specie? Not a problem, many sirens fell in love with humans, and they could change their mate to be like them with a simple draw of blood.  The fact that Roman was immortal and Virgil wasn’t.  Fixed when turned into a siren.

Literally everything had a solution.

Except when your love didn’t feel the same way.

They were both on a rock one night, Roman and helped Virgil swim out, although the young sailor was surprisingly good, despite most at the time who couldn’t swim, and Roman had been caught up in the way that the moonlight framed Virgil’s face to notice that the human was addressing him.

“RO.”

“Oh sorry, what?”

Virgil laughed before suddenly looking serious.  “The ship will be arriving any day now.”

Roman deflated and looked away.  “I know.”

“I have to leave.”

“I understand.”

“Part of me doesn’t want to, you know?  Stay here for the rest of my short and pathetic life… but I don’t want to watch you watch me die..”  Virgil trailed off and Roman saw that he was crying again, oddly reminiscent of their first night like this.

“What if you didn’t have to die?”

Virgil looked at him sadly.  “I’m not like you Roman.”

Roman gulped.  “I know, but you can be.  There’s just one problem.”

“What?”

“You’d have to be my mate.”

Virgil’s eyes widened and a blush spread across his face as he ducked his head to hide behind his longer hair.  “Oh?”

Roman nodded.  “I know, it’s something that we take very seriously and I understand that you wouldn’t want to do it and--”

“No, I want to.  Maybe not now, but in a few years?  Yeah, it sounds amazing.  All of it.  Being with you… mates.”

Roman blinked at Virgil.  “Really?”

“Really.”

Roman surged forward and kissed Virgil, wrapping his arms around the human’s waist, sparks flashing across his vision as Virgil kissed him back, all passion and quiet love.

It was his first kiss and Roman could feel it clear as day that the human was meant to be his.

When they pulled away, with Virgil gasping for air and Roman trailing kisses along his mate to be’s jaw, nipping at the skin.

“Seas below, I love you.”  Roman whispered as he pulled away, looking into Virgil’s dark eyes.

“I love you too.”  Virgil kissed him again and this time they didn’t break away for quite some time.

…

Virgil stands at the edge of the ocean.

The Windborne came into the cove about a week after he and Roman had claimed each other, the siren later marking him with a bite that scarred silver against the still pale skin.

Hell, Virgil really wished he could get tan.

Roman had also given him a gold coin, one that he was supposed to give away when he was ready to return, and then they would be ready.

Roman had promised to come back for him.

When Virgil boards the ship later, they’re overjoyed to see him alive.  When they anchor for the night, he collapses in the barracks below decks, grateful to be sleeping in an actual hammock, rather than on sand or on stones.

When they sail out of the cove the next day, only he can hear the song that Roman sings in mourning of his mate.

Only he wants to jump back.

…

Years pass, three to be exact, before they sail by that cove again.  Virgil meets Remus, a younger sailor that he teaches everything, despite sometimes wishing that the younger would just shut up and give him a peace of mind.

Remus is bold though, and he believes in mer.  Virgil tells him about Roman, one day when they’re both in the crow’s nest and he doesn’t think that he sees anyone look so excited.

Of course, that is before he hears the song as they are sailing by, not stopping as night falls.

“I’ll sing you a song of ravens and stone--

With the temper of a storm!

With those who sail the waters deep,

Calling the entire sea their home!”

Virgil doesn’t realize that Remus is allured by the song until he snaps out of his funk and drags them both below decks, defying his heart.

He gets sick.

Remus nurses him back to health.

A month later, he insists on being alone for night watch, and luckily they are anchored just outside the cove.

Roman still has that wild smirk and he still kisses with a passion that makes Virgil dizzy as his mate cuts their palms and presses them together, mixing human and siren blood.

Transformation doesn’t hurt.

Virgil lets Roman pull them both overboard and the first time he breathes in saltwater properly, he cries, his tears still made of sea.

“You haven’t changed a bit my love.”

Virgil laughs, his voice carrying the unrestrained power of a new siren.  “Oh darling, but I have.”

His song is wild, just like a storm on the sea, free.  It melds with Roman’s perfectly as the two harmonize, voices weaving sea shanties and siren lullabies as easily as a fisherman mends a net.

Virgil wonders if Remus can still hear a siren’s song.  He may regret leaving the young boy behind, but he can take care of himself, after all, Virgil did as well.

…

Virgil Tempesta was born at sea.

Maybe that’s why he never felt comfortable in his own skin, why he was quiet for a child, taking in everything he saw.  Maybe it was the siren name that his mother gave him, for she believed in the beautiful creatures that dripped with song.  

Perhaps it was like in Roman’s shanty:

Not wanted by land nor sky...

[black-out-wonder]

Sink or Swim // Chapter 2

So...my hands slipped and here’s the next one already...let me know if you want to be tagged!

Warnings: Unsympathetic Remus, eventual Unsympathetic Patton, anxiety mention, sword mention, cursing

Chapter 1 // You are here // Chapter 3

                              *********************************************

The next day came and went in a blur. Virgil refused to sleep, his nerves focusing on the meeting that night. He couldn’t get his mind off of it. It was the first time since he became first mate that he didn’t know what they were up to. And it made him feel...strange. He didn’t like not knowing. 

Once night came again, the ship was anchored in the harbor. He rose from his cot, grabbing his coat that Remus always told him to wear to meetings. They were a sign of dignity, his captain claimed. It was jet black with purple accents, and it had belonged to a very rich man before Virgil had quite literally stolen it from him, simply because Remus had said he needed a nice coat and they pirated a ship almost immediately after that. He got the memo. 

He threw the coat on and made his way to the upper deck, where Remus was waiting for him, head held high. “Keep close,” was all that Remus barked when he turned to walk off the ship.

Virgil immediately caught up without asking questions, even when the captain handed him the statues he had given him yesterday. “Hold on to these,” he ordered.

“Yes Captain,” he replied on instinct, recognizing the tone. 

Remus was on edge, and a captain on edge is not one you want to fuck with. Short, polite, and to the point was how he had to approach his captain at the moment. It probably had to do with the meeting. Since when did a meeting get him this worked up? It made Virgil nervous. Who the hell were they meeting? 

He followed his captain through sharp turns and narrow alleys until they came across the large wall right outside the entrance of the castle. Virgil’s heart rate picked up when he noticed Remus tapping against the brick. “What are you do-”

He couldn’t finish his sentence because Remus found a crevice, opening a door where there shouldn’t be. It lead to a staircase that was pitch black. “What the hell are we doing, Captain?” 

He was shocked when Remus didn’t snap at him or berate him for talking like that right now. He only replied calmly, “Meeting someone very important. You’ll find out soon.”

He knew he wouldn’t be able to get anything else out unless he wanted to piss him off. He followed his captain with a sigh, knowing that the penalty for being caught on any royal ground was jail time, or depending on the severity of the breach, a capital crime. He closed the door behind him before listening for the captain’s footsteps, since he couldn’t see an inch in front of his face. He remained focused on the footsteps, the dark making him grow anxious. He couldn’t see if he needed to defend himself! How was he going to- “We’re here,” Remus hissed, gaining his attention.

Virgil swallowed the lump in his throat as the dark corridor became flooded with a flickering light. Firelight. He followed Remus out of the staircase, being faced with a man with a cloak. The hood was hiding his face. He glanced around the room, taking note of his surroundings. A window that seemed to lead out a high story, expensive-looking furniture, a large fireplace that filled the room with light… He interpreted that they were inside the castle, which was enough to make the air get knocked out of him.

They had never reached this high in the hierarchy before. Sure, they got governors and judges through bribery, but never the royalty, or anyone close with the royals. This was why Captain Remus was so serious. If they slipped up, they were fucked. Virgil eyes the cloaked man hard, making sure that he wouldn’t be able to try anything while they had this meeting. Royalty was tricky business, Remus knew this.

Then why was he meeting with one?

“Captain Remus!” The cloaked man exclaimed in a voice that he didn’t expect. It was bright and cheery. “It’s an honor to finally meet you!”

The man skipped forward to shake hands with his captain, but Virgil swiftly pulled out his sword, making it a barrier between the strange royal and Remus. The man stopped, glancing over at him. “No contact,” he hissed.

This didn’t seem to phase the man, instead making him gush as he approached him. “Aw, you must be his mysterious right-hand man! You’re so...adorable!”

“Put away your weapon,” his captain told him. 

He obeyed Remus without a second thought, placing his blade back in its place on his belt. His eyes never left the man as Captain began speaking. “We have the statues as requested. Now, you are to explain why you employed us to take these.”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business!” The man’s sugary sweet voice seemed to have a hint of something sharp beginning to form. “Now, if you give me what I asked you to get me, you will be rewarded handsomely.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Remus smirked, stepping closer, a murderous intent filling the room. “You promised knowledge. And you know what happens to people who break their promises.”

The man let out a “hmph” sound, “You pirates are always so serious. Alright, I suppose I agree with the terms. Now hand them over.”

His captain nodded at him after a moment to toss the statues to the man. Virgil couldn’t help but feel a slight irritation at the fact that this was not only a thieving job but an errand job too. He almost got caught for some stranger. God, he hated errand jobs. With a huff, he pulled the statues out of his bag, tossing them at the man one at a time. The man caught them effortlessly, staring at them intensely right before tossing them onto the couch. “Perfect. Now that that’s in order...let’s talk.”

[slytherindragonfly]

I Won’t Say I’m In Love - James x Reader

Request: JAMES FICS WHERE HES REALLY FUCKING COCKY 

Word count: 1,4k

The sun had set just as the Gryffindor Quidditch practice ended, the April twilight making the air cool rapidly as you sat in the bleachers with Remus. Usually, Sirius sat there with you too, but a member of the team was sick, so he’d filled in to help the team practice, meaning he was down in the pitch with James.

They were packing up the equipment, and your gaze had wandered to the head of curly dark hair down below, an inadvertent smile on your lips.

“Who you thinking of?” Remus asked, a very teasing look in his eyes as he caught your glance.

“What? No one!” you replied, heat rising to your cheeks as you realized he’d caught you staring at James. “Just had my head in the clouds,” you tried, your voice more confident than you were.

He chuckled at your reaction, before examining you intently.

“So what’s the deal with you and Prongs, lately?” he asked, trying to be laid back but the curiosity seeping into his voice.

“What do you mean?” you asked back, not sure you understood what he meant.

“You two have been pretty cozy over the past few days, you can’t deny it,” he hinted, amused.

“James and I have always been close, Remus, don’t go imagining something” you laughed, rolling your eyes playfully.

“Oh, believe me I know,” he responded, huffing. “Just seems like there’s something more lately, is all.”

“Come on Remus, falling for my best friend? That’s way too cliché,” you chuckled, but you were feeling your nerves starting to surface.

“Whatever, conceal it all you want, I can see right through you,” he replied mischievously. “Just admit you’re in love with him already,” he kept on teasing, pushing the joke.

“Get off my case Moony, I won’t say it,” you laughed, hitting him on the arm playfully.

Just as he pretended to be hurt, your eyes found their way back to the pitch, where you saw James was waving in your direction. You waved back, grinning, while Remus rolled his eyes very hard behind you. 

"Just give up already, give in,” he laughed. “Check the grin, you’re in love.”

“Please do shut up, mate,” you sighed, shaking your head.

Meanwhile, down on the field, James and Sirius were making their way back to the locker room.

“So, Y/N, uh?” Sirius asked him, hitting his side with his elbow, winking devilishly.

“What about her?” James asked, puzzled. 

“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps the fact that she’s the Earth and heaven to you?” Sirius replied with a sarcastic tone.

“Didn’t know you were such a poet, Pads,” James teased him. “Honestly though, we’re just friends, you know that,” he added, but something in his voice didn’t quite convince Sirius.

“I’m so not buying that,” Sirius chuckled. “I know how you feel about her, it’s written all over your face whenever you look at her. Now, are you gonna grow a pair and ask her out?”

“You’re way off base, mate,” James replied, trying to sound unaffected. “This scene won’t play.”

“Hey, no need to be proud Prongs, it’s okay you’re in looove,” Sirius cooed mockingly.

“No chance, no way,” James shook his head. “She’s nice, and smart, and overall amazing, but it’s not like that,” he added, sighing slightly,

Sirius stared at him, slightly shocked, for a good second.

“You got it bad, don’t you?” he chuckled, incredulous. “Man, James Potter, weak in the knees for a girl, who would’ve thought.”

“You’re such a pain in my arse, Pads,” James shook his head. “And I don’t know where you’re coming from with that, I thought my brutal rejection by Evans had been widely publicized,” he grimaced.

“It’s not like with Lily,” Sirius replied. “With her, it was more like you were trying to prove a point, which is probably why she said no, if we’re being honest here,” he reflected, opening the door to the locker room, James following him inside.

“Do you often psychoanalyze my love life, mate?” James asked, surprised that they were still on the topic.

“Only when your snoring makes it impossible to sleep,” Sirius answered with a straight face, though the glint in his eyes indicated he was proud of his reply. 

“Well now you’re just being hurtful,” James faked being offended as he began changing, trading his quidditch robes for regular clothes.

“Look, keep it hidden all you want, I’ll just keep bugging you until you admit it to yourself,” Sirius concluded solemnly, before starting to change himself.

Now, because James changed at an extraordinarily slow pace, which actually made him the butt of many jokes on the team, Sirius was done and ready to go before him.

“Hey, I’ll head outside if you don’t mind, otherwise if I wait for you Y/N and Moony are gonna think we both died in here,” Sirius joked, heading for the door. “Do you want me to tell her about how you swoon every time you see her, or do I leave that up to you?” he asked finally, before swinging the door wide open. 

“I won’t say it!” James shouted back, but the door had already closed behind Sirius. “Not out loud, at least,” he mumbled under his breath to the empty locker room.

You were waiting outside the door with Remus, chatting about an upcoming charms exam, when Sirius bust out the door with a smug smile, James shouting something inaudible after him. 

“So, d’you get anywhere with her?” he asked Remus right away, motioning in your direction.

“She won’t fess up,” Remus replied, shrugging.

“Don’t tell me you’re on that boat too,” you sighed with dread. 

Remus, you could deal with. But if Sirius was going to start meddling between you and James, well, nothing good could come out of that. 

“Love, I’m the captain of the ship,” Sirius replied with the voice he used whenever he was exaggerating for the sake of comedy, which was basically 80% of the time.

You rolled your eyes at him.

“Why are you two so suddenly hell-bent on me fancying James, anyways?” you asked, genuinely wondering why.

“Wait, you really don’t know why?” Remus asked, surprised.

You shook your head, at loss.

“Where the bloody hell were you during our little camping trip, then?” Sirius asked, incredulous.

“Did you really think we wouldn’t see the two of you sneaking away to look at the stars? Not that I blame you though, I’ve looked at the stars with Sirius and it’s not nearly as fun when he’s cursing off every single star and constellation he has a relative named after,” Remus explained, amused.

“Please, it’s twice as fun,” Sirius snickered.

Your eyes grew wide and you blushed at the recollection. You’d collectively sneaked out to camp in the forbidden forest last Friday night, after Sirius had bet none of you would without chickening out before dawn. Long story short, he was now a few galleons short.

“S’what I thought,” Sirius smirked. “Now wait here in case Prongs comes out while Moony and I go... get the remaining equipment,” he instructed, before walking away with Remus.

In the mix of your embarrassment and recollection of your stargazing episode with James, you didn’t realize that they left in the opposite direction of the field.

Remus had been showing Sirius and Peter how to start a fire without using magic when James had grabbed your hand, silently asking you to follow him away from what you’d deemed your ‘campsite’. 

He’d lead you to a small clearing where the two of you had sat down, talking about everything and nothing like you usually did, while looking at the stars above. At some point, you’d gotten cold, and James had pulled you towards him, resting your back against his chest as his arms encircled you to try to warm you up. 

You hadn’t allowed yourself to make much of the moment, but you were still very aware of how your stomach had fluttered and churned as you’d leaned there against him, and you didn’t like the awareness. You thought you’d been inconspicuous enough, coming back with wood for the fire and pretending you’d been looking for it all along, but it seemed not.

As you were deep in thought, rehashing the moment, James finally stepped out of the locker room. 

“Hey, where are the others?” he asked you, looking around.

“They should be back soon, they said they were going to get the rest of the equipment,” you explained, coming back down to Earth.

“That can’t be right,” he frowned. “There was no equipment left,” he said.

You blinked, processing what he’d said, before sighing in realization of what move they’d just pulled.

“Of course there wasn’t,” you mumbled. “I think they abandoned us, then,” you stated.

“Well, at least we’ve got each other,” he chuckled. “Wanna take the long way back, since it’s just the two of us?” he asked, nonchalant.

“Sure, let’s make them wait,” you chuckled. “Besides, it would be a waste of a lovely night if we didn’t,” you smiled at him as you started heading off.