#twdg duckley

[ericsonclan]

Babe, Wake Up, It’s Pride Month

Summary: Clementine gets a friendly call from Duck kicking off Pride Month.

Word Count: 924

Read on AO3:

Clementine yawned as she started to make her way towards the bed. She was ready to get under the covers and watch the latest episode of Rupaul’s Drag Race with Louis. Her husband was currently completely absorbed in whatever was on his phone. He kept typing away while Clementine got into bed and kissed him on the cheek.

“Whatcha up to?”

“Getting the text ready for midnight.” Louis mumbled and before Clementine could say anything he spoke again. “It’s time! Send!” He whacked his thumb against his phone then went back to frantically typing. “Aasim, you’re next!”

Clementine’s lips parted, ready to ask what was on his mind when suddenly her phone started to ring. With a quick glance she saw who it was.

“Hey, Duck,”

“Happy Pride! How’s my favorite bi doing? Feeling gay? Because I sure do!” His voice blew up her phone, making Clementine hold it back from her ear.

“Hell yeah I’m feeling gay! And happy pride to you too,” She glanced over and saw the mountain of a text her husband was preparing. That’s why he was so glued to his phone. “So, you just calling to say ‘gay rights’ or are you wanting to party?”

“Seriously?!?! Hell yeah! Yo, Knox, wanna party at Clem and Louis’?”

Clementine could hear Duck’s partner say something but it was too quiet to tell what.

“Tell Oakley we won’t be too loud,” Clementine added.

“Okay, they said yes anyway but I’ll let them know! I gotta call one more person and then the pan squad will be there!”

Duck hung up without another word and Clementine shook her head. Oh yeah - maybe she should make a few more calls.

Violet grumbled as she kept hearing her phone ding with texts. She tried her best to ignore it and instead burrowed her face further into the crook of Prisha’s neck. She knew what those texts were gonna be. Pride celebrations could wait; all she wanted to do right now was be with her wife. Fate didn’t seem to agree with those plans though as there was a knock on their front door. Violet sighed but ignored it until it kept going and going.

“Mmm, what’s that sound?” Prisha mumbled as she tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. Whoever’s there is gonna go away,” But Violet was proven wrong when the knocking continued.

“I’ll go check who it is,” Prisha slipped out of bed before Violet could say otherwise and blindly wandered through the apartment. She double checked to make sure her pepper spray was within reach if worst came to worst. Unlocking the door, she opened it and was immediately surprised when colorful confetti of pinks, oranges and white hit her directly in the face.

“Happy Pride, ya gay!” Renata beamed at Prisha who looked completely exhausted and confused. Her feelings only deepened as Sophie popped her head into view.

“Whoa! Congrats on being gay!” Sophie blew into a rainbow party horn causing it to shoot out and whack Prisha in the forehead.

“Why are you two here at three in the morning?”

“Because it’s Pride Month! Now we gotta hurry - to the Everett household!’ Renata declared then was off like a shot with Sophie right behind. Prisha stood there for a moment then silently closed the door. It was too early in the morning to deal with this.

“Minnie, Min!”

Minnie heard her wife’s voice as she was shaken awake.

“Babe, wake up, it’s Pride month!”

Minnie groggily opened her eyes and saw Renata’s bright smile.

“Yay! You’re finally awake!’ Renata started to kiss all over Minnie’s face while the ginger started to wake up.”

“Ren, what time is it?” Minnie looked over at the clock and saw that it was five AM. Way earlier than Renata usually got up but not so much for her.

“Come on, we gotta go!” Renata pulled at Minnie who was still waking up.

“What? Where?”

“To the first of many celebrations!” Renata wiggled her eyebrows playfully then kept pulling her wife along. It took Minnie a while before she realized they were heading to her old family house. When she arrived she was met with a flurry of confetti to her face.

“WOOO! You’re gay!” Sophie grinned then disappeared back into the kitchen. Minnie followed behind Renata who was busy helping Tenn make colorful pride pancakes.

“Hey there, Firefly,” Walter walked over and gave his daughter a hug. “Happy pride,”

“Thanks,” Minnie was still a bit groggy. “Oh yeah, happy pride,” She watched as her dad let go of the hug and wandered back into the kitchen.

“Matthew, we’re gonna need some more coffee,”

“You got it!”

Minnie watched her family for a minute before she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Glancing down she saw that she had a ton of texts with the most recent being from James. As she opened it she finally registered what it said.

Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈 I hope you have a great start to the month. Also I was wondering if you wanted to join me on a walk later today. I found a great new hiking spot

Minnie smiled down at the message then sent one back.

Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈 and yeah sounds good

She clicked through all the messages and worked to reply to some when she heard her wife’s voice again.

“Minipie, come on, you gotta celebrate too!”

“Okay, okay,” Minnie smiled then put her phone away. She could tell this was gonna be a great Pride month.

[ericsonclan]

Oakley: Last week, I asked Duck to buy some paper towels, but instead, he came back with novelty cookie cutters. Now everything we eat is dinosaur shaped

[ericsonclan]

Duck: Remember when Oakley made that romantic dinner for me?

Clem: They microwaved you a pizza, Duck

[ericsonclan]

Oakley: I feel like I can be myself around you

Duck: You’re weird and quiet around me

Oakley: Yes

[ericsonclan]

My Town

Summary: Duck works with Oakley to protect their neighborhood from some baddies who want to steal Duck's toy car.

Word Count: 2102

Read on AO3: 

Duck swayed on his feet causing the walkie-talkie on his PJ pants to nearly fall off with his movement.

“Shit, I don’t know why they gave me a meeting out of state right before Christmas. Sometimes I think I work for a bunch of numbskulls,” Kenny grumbled as he worked to iron his pants. He usually wouldn’t bother with that kind of stuff but after all the grief that Katjaa gave him about it and pointing out how it would look unprofessional, Kenny had folded. Now here he was, a taxi coming in fifteen minutes to pick him up and he was still floundering around.

“Are you gonna be back in time for Christmas?

Duck’s question made his dad glance up from his task.

“Yeah, even if work isn’t done it's too bad. I’m spending the holiday with my family. If those fuckers have any problems with it then-” Kenny huffed and shook his head. “Anyways, stay out of trouble while I’m gone. Don’t go calling the police now over silly stuff,”

“I won’t,”

Duck noticed the smile appear on his dad’s lips at that reassurance.

Kenny ruffled his son’s hair fondly. “Good. Alright, son, I’m heading out.” He turned and grabbed his bag before moving towards the stairs.

“Got everything?”

“Yep.” Kenny sighed good-naturedly, ready to go over his son’s usual checklist. He knew how much it meant to Duck to help him out before work.

“Passport?”

“In my bag.”

“Wallet?”

“In my pockets,”

“And where are your pockets?”

“On my pants-” Kenny paused as he patted his backside where the back pocket of his pants would be but it wasn’t there. In fact, his pants weren’t on at all. He looked over to see Duck holding up his ironed pants with a goofy grin.

“Thanks. Okay, I’m heading out.”

“Okay, bye Dad!” Duck gave an energetic wave to his dad then walked down the stairs. He looked around the house for a minute. Everything had been set up. If those jerks decided to come to his house then he was ready. They wouldn’t get his toy car even though for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why that scary man wanted it. Duck was lost in his thoughts like he usually was until he heard something clatter in the kitchen. Poking his head in, he saw his mom struggling to get the plates back in place.

“Everything okay, Mom?”

“Duckie, what are you doing out of bed?” Katjaa immediately closed the gap between them and pressed the back of her hand to her son’s head. “Your fever seems to have broken but still. You need to rest or else those chickenpox will never leave your system.”

“Mom, they aren’t even visible anymore. I’ve become immune!” Duck declared loudly before a sharp cough overtook his gut.

“Duck!” Katjaa rushed over to get him a cup of water. Duck accepted it and drank heartily.

“Maybe I should tell my boss I can’t make it to work today.”

“No!” Duck blurted out. The last thing he needed was for those evil jerks to try and hurt his mom or for one of his traps to be set off by her instead. Katjaa looked shocked by his loud outburst.

“I’m fine, Mom. In fact, why don’t I fix up your coffee travel mug so you have something tasty and warm coffee on your drive over to work?”

“Zoon,” Katjaa whispered the Dutch word softly then took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m gonna grab my coat. I made you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It just needs a plate.”

“Got it!” Duck gave a huge thumbs up then got to work on the coffee. Everything was going great until he remembered the trap he had set in the closet.

“Wait! Let me get your coat!” Duck rushed past his mom and in front of the closet door.

Katjaa gave a confused smile. “Duckie, I’m already here, I can get my coat.”

“No, I wanna help you out! Come on!”

His insistence wasn’t unusual to Katjaa.

“Alright,” She wandered off to finish getting her travel mug ready. Duck stealthily looked to make sure the coast was clear and his mom couldn’t see the closet. Once he was sure the coast was clear he carefully turned the doorknob. Every second ticked by at a snail’s pace until the door opened and a red boxing glove attached to a metal rod shot out. Duck dodged it just in time and carefully extracted his mom’s favorite coat. Propping the mop handle against the rod he closed the door and went to the kitchen.

"Here’s your coat!”

Katjaa spun around and returned her son’s bright smile. “Thank you, Duckie,” She accepted his help with getting her coat on then pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Okay, I have my phone on me at all times. If you need anything, anything at all, I’m one call away.”

“I know,” Duck nodded with his usual optimism and moved to open the front door. He could see his mom’s hesitation to leave him alone for the day. “I’ll be fine, Mom, promise.” Katjaa took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay,” After giving one final goodbye hug she left and got in her car. Duck watched as she pulled out of the driveway, waving energetically as always until she was out of view. Once he was sure she was gone he took out his walkie-talkie and pressed the button on the side.

“Knox, you there?”

The other side of the line was quiet for a few seconds.

“Knox?”

“I’m here,” Oakley’s voice crackled to life over the walkie-talkie.

“Operation Save Christmas is a go. We’re gonna make sure these jerks leave our neighborhood for good!” Duck declared loudly and waited for his friend’s response but there was none.

“Hello?”

“Hi,”

Oakley’s voice made Duck spin around to see that Oakley had already come over. They pushed some of their long bangs away from their face with a frown.

“Knox!” Duck went over and hugged his friend then pulled back with a determined smile. “Alright, let’s get the last few traps in place.”

Oakley gave a short nod, a flicker of determination shimmering in their eyes.

“Okay, you know how this goes down. We split up and work to get inside that house. We find the car and get the chip then hightail it out of here. Mission complete, understood?” David looked back at his team who gave a short nod.

“How hard can it be to get a toy car from one little brat?” Abel asked as he opened the minivan door.

“You should know better than anyone. You couldn’t even catch the toy car when it was right in front of you,” Lilly noticed Abel’s expression grow bitter at that.

“Whatever,” He cussed her out under his breath and left alongside Joan.

David watched them for a minute then got his gloves on. “I’ll take the front of the house. You walk with that mutt and go around the back.”

Lilly nodded then pulled David in by his jacket collar for a kiss before pushing him away. Without another word she got the husky out of the car and started to walk her casually.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly as she walked down the street until the high-pitched sound of a whistle perked up the husky’s ears. Oakley stayed hidden in the bushes and carefully snuck to another spot to blow on the whistle again. The sound guided the husky over while Lilly was having yet another argument with Abel.

“Listen you idiot, why can’t you do one single thing ri-” Lilly’s sentence was cut short as Oakley used the dog whistle once more, causing the husky to book it towards the sound. Lilly immediately slipped on the ice and was dragged across the ground.

“No! No! Bad dog!” Lilly yelled, unable to stop the husky at all. After a minute or two of being dragged along the icy mud on the sidewalk Lilly was forced to let go of the leash and lay flat in defeat. The husky rushed around the corner where Oakley stayed crouched.

“Shhh, shhh, Arwen, stay still,” Oakley cautiously worked to undo the heavy-duty leash around the husky who was simply happy to see a familiar face. After a couple seconds the leash was off and Oakley threw it over some bushes.

“Okay, go back home. Nurgul is worried about you,”

The husky gave a bark and licked Oakley across the face. The young kid’s happy smile soon faded as the sensation of saliva on their face had sent them into a panicked state. They focused on staying silent and timing their breaths as their heart raced. They couldn’t afford to make a sound and risk getting caught right now. Even though it took a few minutes to finally calm back down, Oakley was glad that they got to help out their friend’s dog. They smiled as the husky rushed back to her home, disappearing round the bend.

“Hello? Lilly? Heh, bitch,” Abel sighed then used the earpiece to talk to Joan. “Joan, how are you doing?”

“I’m approaching the back porch. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of the kid,” She walked forward, unknowingly getting a dangling hook attached to the shoulder of her shirt. Joan continued on until she felt a small tug on her shoulder. Immediately she stopped in her tracks and spun around wildly. She kept looking around this way and that, trying to figure out if something had happened to her or if it was her imagination. As she continued searching the invisible wire that was attached to the hook slowly turned the valve of the backyard hose that the other end of the wire was connected to. Joan continued to spin this way and that until she spotted the clear string. The wheels of curiosity turned in her mind and without thinking twice she grabbed hold of the string and tugged. Suddenly Joan was hit with a cold rush of water from the hose. Her frantic yelps could be heard over the comms as she struggled to block out the hose only for a second one to burst to life shooting  cold water up her backside.  

“Joan? Joan? Damn it!” Abel grumbled then walked forward. What the hell was with the uselessness of the women on this team? He continued to stew angrily until he saw a set of red wires with a sign reading: Don’t touch!! Will shock you! A little stick figure being electrocuted stood by the warning.

“Heh, cute,” Abel said with annoyed disdain and was about to try to jump the obstacle when a hand appeared on his shoulder.

“Don’t. Look, the wires aren’t connected to anything.” David pointed out and Abel stared in silent shock as his boss tore out the wires and poles holding them up. “He’s just a kid. He thinks if he puts up some fake traps then it will scare us away.”

“Yeah, I knew that,” Abel nodded and followed David until they reached the front door. Abel was about to try the doorknob until David held him back. He motioned with his eyes to a thin clear wire running upwards from the doorknob.

“We’ll cut this and wait to see if anything happens.” David took out his army knife and sliced through the line. Both men took a step back and waited for a minute but nothing happened.

“See? Just a stupid scared brat,”

“Yeah, yeah you’re right. Don’t know why I was giving him any credit,” Abel stepped forward with David until suddenly they heard something crash through the attic window. A trunk full of books was falling from the sky and catapulting straight towards them. Both men let out high-pitched screams before they were brutally knocked over by the box.

Duck peeked out for a second then pumped his fist when he saw the trap had been successful.

“Arwen is free,”

Duck looked back to see Oakley who’d made their way over to join him.

“It’s working so far! They won’t be in our neighborhood for much longer!” Duck held up his hand and Oakley stared at it for a second before it registered with them what Duck wanted. Slowly Oakley tapped their hand against his, high fiving it. Duck grinned and curled his fingers with Oakley’s, holding onto their hand. The sudden gesture left Oakley shocked for a few seconds but soon they returned Duck’s smile with a softer, more subtle one.

Duck was right. They were gonna win against the bad guys today.

[ericsonclan]

Happy International Non-Binary People’s Day!

Since it’s International Non-Binary People’s Day to celebrate we thought we’d share some more about our non-binary oc, Oakley!

Oakley is a middle child who has an older sister and a younger brother.

They enjoy exploring the forest and searching for fairies.

Their favorite foods are granola and salad.

They are somewhere on the autism spectrum.

They enjoy cloudgazing.

They show that they care for others through actions more so than words.

They don’t emote that much but once you get to know Oakley you get used to their particular body language.

They are more quick to hide than to fight.

They are more of a day person and like to spend that time in nature.

Oakley’s birthday is April 21st.

Their significant other is Duck.

[ericsonclan]

Duck: Why are you staring?

Oakley: Oh, it came off as staring... sorry thought I was looking at you lovingly

[ericsonclan]

Clem: What flavor do you want?

Oakley: Blue flavor.

Clem: You mean blue raspberry?

Oakley: Blue flavors.

Clem: Blue is not a flavor

Oakley: BLUE FLAVOR

Duck: Clem, give Oakley the blue flavor!

Clem:

[ericsonclan]

Oakley: I could marry that granola bar

Duck, later, on his computer: How.. to..turn..into.. granola.. bar

[ericsonclan]

hello, can I see the full picture you have of duckley?

Sure thing! Here's the full picture of them!

Art credit goes to @rrosiepetals who was kind enough to draw our ship for us!

[ericsonclan]

Another Understand My Ship we’ve been holding onto for a while. Thanks so much @rrosiepetals for the beautiful art!

[ericsonclan]

Chestnuts Roasting on An Open Fire

Summary: Duck and Oakley try roasting chestnuts to see if this holiday snack is any good.

Word Count: 1422

Read on AO3:

Duck strolled through the house whistling a happy tune as he made his way to the living room. When he walked in he spotted Oakley who was staring at a chestnut with fascination twinkling in their eyes. Slowly they turned the chestnut in between their fingers, finding the texture of the shell comforting.

“Hey there, Knox,” Duck jogged forward causing the knives to bounce slightly in the cast iron pan. “I got everything we need,” He sat down crisscross applesauce and beamed over at his love. “Pan, knives, special gloves, cutting boar-” Duck paused when the realization washed over his face. “Shit, I forgot them,”

“I grabbed them,” Oakley causally lifted up the wooden cutting boards that were shaped like ducks.

“Whoa, you’re amazing,” Duck kissed his spouse on the cheek then focused back on the task. Oakley was definitely not as focused; the surprise gesture made their nerves feel all tingly but in a good way. Their brain was on a temporary high until their significant other spoke up again.

“Okay, so according to my mom, you gotta score the chestnuts. It didn’t make any sense to me at first, I didn’t know why you had to score a chestnut because what if one looks funky but that's its charm, like does that one get a lower score or-” Duck paused for a second, realizing that he was going all over the place and figured he should get back on track. Not that Oakley minded at all, they seemed completely fine whenever he went on a talking spree. “Anyways, it was score in the food kinda way so that's why we have knives and cutting boards,”

Oakley nodded along then set up their workstation their own way. Duck got to work on his prep too and made sure to distribute the chestnuts evenly. The fireplace crackled with the flames as the couple got to work. Duck happily hummed a Christmas song as his knife slid across the chestnut shells. He noticed Oakley bopping their head softly to the tune as they made quick work of their task. Their green rubber bracelet slid down their wrist as they went through the motions of scoring the Christmas treat. Duck felt a smile pull on his lips; he was glad he had chosen a day that had worked out for Oakley. His eyes had been glued to that bracelet all day making sure it didn’t change to yellow or red. If it had, he knew that Oakley would be too much in a funk to enjoy this holiday activity.

“All done,” Oakley began to brush their thumb across the scores, enjoying the sensation.

“Okay, I’m almost done!” Duck rolled up the sleeves of his Christmas Batman sweater though they immediately fell back down. With a determined grin, Duck got to work once more and made quick work of the rest of the chestnuts. A little too quick though as he accidentally sliced part of his thumb. “Ow, fuck,” Duck shook his hand and blew on it, thinking for some reason that would stop the pain.

Oakley studied their spouse’s hand for a second, an emotion flickering in their eyes before they got up. After a minute they returned with the first aid kit which Duck and them had decorated for the holidays. A single red bow was pressed on top of the box. Silently Oakley worked to get a reindeer bandaid on Duck’s finger.

Leaning forward Oakley kissed the bandaid. “Gotta kiss to make it better,”

Duck’s eyes widened at that, sparkling with appreciation. “Thanks!” He turned his attention to getting the chestnuts in the seasoned cast iron pan after making sure that the scored side of each was face up.

“Okay, just gotta find some hot embers and get my gloves on and then we’ll see if chestnuts are tasty,” Duck’s smile faded for a second as he noticed Oakley was fidgeting with their fidget ring with a bit more force than usual. “Hey, it's just a little cut, no big deal. Besides your kiss took the pain away,”

Oakley stared at Duck, taking a few moments to fully comprehend his facial expression. After a minute their fidgeting lessened. Their thumb gently brushed against the blue ring again and again, this time with a slower rhythm.

Duck’s shoulders relaxed at that and he put the special gloves on his hands. When he had successfully found a good roasting spot Duck placed down the pan, humming “The Christmas Song” as the seconds ticked by. Oakley watched their love work on the holiday treat before looking out at the snow slowly falling down onto the reindeer decorations displayed in bright lights on their front lawn.

After about five minutes Duck began to stir the chestnuts; a small sigh left his lips. Patience wasn’t always his strong suit and those five minutes felt like forever but he had done it so far. With a small victory tune Duck proceeded to stir the chestnuts some more for another five minutes. The smell of chestnuts filled the air along with Duck’s humming making Oakley smile, nearly overwhelmed with the positive feelings coursing through their veins.

“Alright, finally done!” Duck pulled the cast iron pan away from the embers. “Mind putting some salt on the chestnuts, my paramour?”

Oakley nodded and sprinkled a little bit of salt over the nuts. Duck immediately placed down the pan on a cooling rack then worked to build the fire again. After a minute he tossed off his gloves and plopped down beside Oakley. He watched the fire, listening to the gentle crackling sounds it made and smelling the comforting scent of chestnuts. Duck reached for his phone and started the Christmas playlist that he and Oakley had made. Putting it on shuffle he tossed it to the side and closed his eyes, enjoying the warm, fuzzy feeling that Christmastime always brought him. A few moments passed when suddenly Duck felt something on his lap. Opening his eyes he noticed that Oakley had decided to sit there.

“I want to be closer to you,” Oakley whispered as they started to trace their finger over Duck’s knuckle bones then on his veins. Duck lifted his arms and slowly wrapped them around Oakley’s waist. Gently Duck rested his head on his spouse’s shoulder and exhaled happily. Oakley closed their eyes, leaning back into the embrace. The feeling of pressure that Duck’s hugs brought always felt so nice. The two stayed like this for a while, enjoying the perfect holiday setting until Oakley stirred. “Chestnuts should be done,”

“Right!” Duck worked to free himself then put the chestnuts in a bowl. The couple worked together to remove the shells.

“Cheers to hopefully a new favorite holiday treat!” Duck held up a chestnut and clinked it against Oakley’s. Popping it in his mouth, Duck was hit with a buttery, nutty flavor as the warmth tickled his throat. The taste was so addictive that he had eaten a second one before he’d even checked to see if Oakley liked chestnuts. They were particular when it came to foods and their textures. Silently Oakley threw the chestnut into their mouth and chewed thoughtfully, their gaze focused as they carefully ate the holiday treat. After a few seconds, they swallowed it which was a good sign. If they hated it they would’ve spat it out.

“So, was it good, Knox?” Duck leaned forward, excitedly hopeful.

A smile pulled on the corners of Oakley’s lips as they made faint happy sounds in approval.

“WOO!” Duck pumped his fists in the air. “New holiday tradition made!” He shared a smile with Oakley. It was always a ton of fun discovering a new thing that made his spouse happy. Soon the two returned to eating chestnuts. Once they had their fill Oakley sat back down on Duck’s lap. Grabbing his arms, Oakley positioned them comfortably around themselves then turned their head and stole a quick kiss. The romantic gesture made Duck beam like a total dork.

“Christmastime is the best,” He pressed a kiss to Oakley’s cheek.

“You make it the best,” Oakley traced on the top of Duck’s hand again then looked back with a soft smile. Duck felt his heart flutter like mad at that, melting in the happiness that Oakley brought him.

“Nah, you make it the best!” Duck held onto his spouse and let himself get lost in this moment of holiday bliss. It was a moment that would stay in both of their memories for years to come.

[ericsonclan]

The Mystery Snack

Summary: Renata and Sophie prepare to sneak up to the surface when suddenly another merperson appears wanting to see the land dwellers again.

Word Count: 2876

Read on AO3:

Renata swam forward, her yellow tail cutting through the water with ease as she twirled amongst the seaweed. A large grin was on her face as she continued onward, not a care in the world. Her brown eyes glanced up at the waters above, noticing the small schools of fish and the warm sunlight that pierced through the surface of the ocean and highlighted the waters below. There really was no place to live like under the sea. Still, the surface was so mysterious with the land dwellers running around on things that looked like sticks and with their weird food. Renata still wasn’t over how disappointing that black block tasted.

“Stupid stale box,” Renata flicked her tail and did another small spin, instantly regaining her joy. Whatever, she was planning on meeting up with Allison today and after that she would finally go on that stealth mission that she and Sophie had been playing for ages. In fact, Renata was already forgetting sections of the three hour old plan. Her nose scrunched up in concentration as she continued forward before she shrugged it off. It couldn’t be that important if she forgot it.

With a happy, upbeat tune Renata made her way forward, dancing upon the small little pulls of the ocean below. Until her eyes caught sight of Allision; her blood red tail stuck out clearly in the water as it moved this way and that. The ends of her fins brushed against the sands of the ocean floor, moving at such an anxious pace that Renata grew curious at what could be getting her friend in such a mood. With a playful smile she swam forward and tackled Allison with a hug. “Surprise hug attack!” Renata declared loudly and spun the two of them around in the water for a few seconds.

“Renata!” Allison squirmed around in her friend’s arms for a moment. “You distracted me from the hunt!”

“Oops, sorry there. Whatcha hunting?” Renata’s eyes scanned the area and her smile faltered for a second when she saw a big shark. Without thinking twice she guided her and Allison into a hollowed out rock. “That was close! Mr. Grumpy Teeth almost saw us,”

“That's what I was hunting,” Allison mumbled, her tail flicking in anticipation of Renata’s disapproval.

“Allie, just because you got a badass shark tooth necklace doesn’t mean you won’t be this grump’s appetizer,”

Renata’s words made Allison glance down at the necklace that Renata had gifted her during their travels together before they found the place that they now called home.

“I know,”

“I mean, we snagged that off some shark that was totally dead. I’m pretty sure a whale sat on that shark or something but this one is bad news.” Renata’s tail curled around a little rock and began to whack it softly up and down.

“It could be a threat though,” Allison’s eyes watched the shark for a moment then looked over at Renata.

“It could or it could just be passing through. Best thing we can do is stay here for a little bit then head back home. If it decides to show its ugly mug in our home, then it's gonna learn what merpeople can really do!”

Allison was quiet for a moment, her hand playing with her necklace. She trusted Renata’s judgement here; she usually always listened to Renata’s decision when they revolved around things like this. Not when it came to dumbass matters though - that’s when Allison knew to not have a fin in those sort of things. Usually. “Okay, fine,”

“Wooo! Alright, I found some neato sticks so we’re playing tic-tac-toe!” Renata beamed over at Allison who nodded and took the stick.

It was an hour or so before the shark moved far away from them and off in a direction opposite to their home. Once the coast was clear Renata led the way before swimming around and around Allison. “Glad we made this a game day and not a hunting day!” Renata smiled over at her friend. The red-tailed mermaid gave a small smile in response.

“Yeah, I guess it wasn’t bad,”

“That’s the spirit! Now come on, let's get back home!” Renata grabbed Allison’s hand and pulled her forward as she swam. Soon the two friends were swimming side by side, happy and carefree. It wasn’t a long swim before they arrived back home to the giant sea stone that held dozens of caves that the merpeople had turned into a beautiful home with the help of rocks, shiny shells and the occasional hermit crab.

As Renata and Allison made their way through the entrance they spotted Oakley who was staring rather intently at a patch of seaweed. The merperson’s chestnut brown tail swayed slowly, moving with the ebb and flow of the thought process of their inner mind. After a moment or two of pondering Oakley opened their mouth with a pronounced ‘Ah’ sound and bit down on the seaweed. Chewing thoughtfully, Oakley went from a somewhat blank expression to one of disgust. With a ‘bleh’ sound, bits of seaweed swooshed away with a well-timed current. “Bad seaweed.”

Before Renata could go over and comfort her friend for their terrible loss of potentially good seaweed, a new merperson spiraled forward. His firetruck red tail stood out loudly against the softer colors of the creatures nearby him.

“Knox!” Duck moved forward, abruptly stopping and causing a small whirlwind of water with his tail nearby. “I found a new patch of seaweed that we haven’t explored yet! Wanna go?” Oakley gave a small nod which made a happy smile appear on Duck’s lips. Interlocking his pinky with Oakley’s, Duck swam forward, slowly guiding his love away. Renata and Allison watched them for a moment when suddenly a loud voice appeared nearby.

“Allie!” Willy swam forward, his hands cupped together. “I found a super cool stone!” Revealing the stone, Willy watched as awe danced around in Allison’s eyes as she studied the smooth blue rock that changed from lighter shades to darker ones. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah, really cool,” Allison carefully took the rock and examined it for a moment longer before pressing a kiss to Willy’s cheek. That romantic gesture made Willy beam with happiness and twirl in a circle a few times in a row.

“I found a whole area like this! Come on, we gotta check it out!” Willy grasped Allison’s hand. The positive smile on his face made a new smile appear on hers.

“Okay,” Allison began to swim away then looked back at Renata. “See you later,”

“Okay! See ya!” Renata gave a wave then was off like a shot after moving her tail with a strong flick.

Twirling about, Renata made her way through the merpeople’s land. As she swam by, she noticed Nurgul’s lavender tail and saw that she was making seashell necklaces with Gabe before stealing a quick kiss from him. Both of them were overwhelmed by that action and their faces only became redder when Gabe returned Nurgul’s affection with a kiss of his own. Nurgul smiled softly at that and swam around Gabe and his orange and yellow tail twice then took his hand in hers. Renata smiled at the happy couple then swayed her tail back and forth at a fast pace, propelling herself forward.

Her eyes caught sight of Ruby who was beside Aasim, her azure tail curled around his black tail that held red accents. Ruby watched Aasim with a warm smile as he tried to carve some sort of writing into stone. After a moment she caught sight of Renata and gave a small wave. Renata returned it in kind then continued forward, her gaze turning to the water above and picking up on the fact that night was fast approaching. She had to find Minnie for some quality snuggling time before she went on this top secret mission with Sophie.

Moving her fin at an alarming rate Renata cut through the water and made a beeline right towards her and Minnie’s home. There, already relaxing, was Minnie. The redhead’s eyes brightened immediately when she spotted Renata, her smokey grey tail happily swaying. “Hey there, Ren,”

“Minnow!” Renata swam forward and immediately wrapped her arms around Minnie. Peppering Minnie’s face with kisses, Renata pulled back with a warm smile. “Did you miss me?”

“Yeah, I did,” Minnie held onto the hug. “Did you have a nice time with Allison?”

“Yep! But now I want cuddles!” Renata nuzzled her face against Minnie’s. The action made MInnie’s face heat up.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, I’m down for that,”

Minnie’s answer made Renata’s smile grow and soon the two of them were cuddling up close to each other, their tails gently intertwined as Minnie gave Renata a kiss before falling asleep.

Renata’s eyes fluttered open and she gave a loud yawn, smacking her lips together for a moment. Glancing over, she saw that Minnie was fast asleep. It would be tough to sneak out now. Minnie wasn’t exactly a heavy sleeper. Giving a soft kiss to her girlfriend, Renata then got to work, wiggling and squishing her body together to slip out of Minnie’s arms. It took some awkward movements and a weird sound or two but soon Renata was free.

Giving a gentle goodbye kiss so as to not wake up Minnie, she started to swim off. Then she suddenly paused. Her eyes traveled over to Minnie and she resisted the urge to give her love another kiss. She quickly failed. Renata swam over and kissed Minnie one more time then used the end of her fin to tickle her face before leaving.

It didn’t take Renata long to spot her best friend. Sophie’s shimmery white tail swayed ecstatically with her anticipation for this secret mission. Her eyes soon found Renata and a smile appeared on her lips. “Heya, Ren! I see you succeeded in step one,” Sophie swam over to meet up with Renata.

“Yep! And I only gave Minnie two goodbye kisses so she won’t be waking up unlike last time.”

“Yeah, midnight swimming with dolphins would’ve been a blast,” Sophie’s tail stopped for a moment. “Oh well, that will be the next mission but this one first! I gotta see if this black block was really stale or if you’ve been hiding secret tasty land dweller food,” Sophie’s eyes narrowed at Renata playfully.

Renata gasped. “I would never do that to my best friend! That black block is gross but I guess we'll just have to go up to the surface to prove it to you,” She shared an excited smile with Sophie until suddenly the two mermaids heard the flick of a fin slicing through the water. Spinning around, the two of them spotted the familiar evergreen tail and the freckled chest of Louis.

“Hey, I’m here for the mission!” Louis grinned over at the two mermaids, his tail swaying excitedly.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Sophie crossed her arms and shared a secret look with Renata. “Can we trust him?”

“Hmmm, nah,” Renata answered and swam away with Sophie for a second before turning around and grabbing Louis’ hand. “Kidding! Okay, let’s go lick some weird land dweller food and see that stick lady that Louis likes!”

Louis sputtered a response but neither of his friends heard him in their excitement.

“Okay!” Sophie smiled and led the way. The three of them tried to be stealthy as they snuck out. They were less than successful. Sophie ran into a rock structure, accidentally knocking it over, and Renata got distracted by a funny looking crab while Louis tried to grab a fish in his teeth as a gift for the land dweller he was sweet on. Luckily for them though none of the merpeople woke up and so the trio soon swam up to the surface and towards the spot where Renata, Louis and Violet had run into those two weird-speaking land dwellers. Once they arrived though it was clear that the two stick folks as Renata called them and the stale black block were nowhere to be seen.

“Are they hiding?” Sophie’s face was barely above the water as she scanned the area.

“No, they love to be out and about,” Renata looked around. Louis nodded and started to speak but the fish in his mouth muffled his words. Spitting it out, Louis tried to speak again.

“Renata is right. Maybe they have a sleeping spot though. These rocks don’t look comfortable,”

“Yeah they look like real jerkfaces,” Sophie nodded in agreement to Louis’ words.

“Well if they do have cool sleeping rocks, then I wanna find them. That’s gotta be where their stash of stale food is too,” Renata dove down underwater and soon Sophie and Louis followed suit. The three of them searched around the area for a little bit before Sophie spotted a weird-looking wooden log in the sea. It had sticks poking out of it draped with strange white long seaweed. Without hesitating Renata and Sophie dashed forward, jumping and splashing into the water as they made their way forward. Meanwhile Louis was studying his fish gift.

“This is stupid, I can’t give a fish twice!” Louis frowned and tossed the fish over his shoulder. The dead fish plopped into the water then traveled along the surface’s currents. Louis thought deeply about what he wanted to give the land dweller who made him feel all warm and fuzzy. After a moment his eyes shone with the answer. “A jellyfish!” Louis jumped up in the air and dove back down into the water, determined to find the new gift.

Sophie struggled to get onto the weird floating wooden log. Her fin floundered about as she tried to get her full body onto its flat top. Once she was on the log she leaned over and helped Renata who gave herself small encouragements as she struggled along with Sophie to get onto the floating log. It took a few more moments but soon both of them were on the log and rolling about to see what they could find.

Sophie’s light blue eyes looked around for the supposed snack Renata had licked. Looking back and forth and back and forth as she rolled around, Sophie finally found it - the black block. “Heheh, found ya!” Sophie grinned then licked the shiny black item. Her smile immediately faded though and a small pout pulled on her lips. Renata was right, it was stale. Sophie continued to pout, upset by this news when suddenly she found a white, tiny three-pronged item. “Ooo! Ren! I found something!” Sophie whisper hissed over to her best friend who was currently busy sniffing a bag full of what looked like pebbles and sand. Rolling over, Renata stopped by Sophie.

“Look! Look! I think this is a tiny weapon!” Sophie held out the three pronged item.

“Ooo! Or a thing to help your hair be super smooth!”

Renata’s suggestion made Sophie’s eyes grow large and the redhead immediately began to run the three pronged item through her long red hair. She made a happy sound as she continued to brush her hair while Renata clapped along. Sophie was about to start up another round of brushing when her eyes caught sight of the bag again. “What's that?”

Renata followed her friend’s gaze and looked at the bag. “I don’t know but I hope it's tasty!” She pulled open the bag and dug around. Tossing a handful in her mouth, Renata let out a small gasp. “It’s good! It's tasty sand!”

Sophie immediately snatched some up and her tastebuds were bombarded with distinct sweet, salty and crunchy sensations. “It is tasty sand! This is amazing!” She smiled over at Renata who returned it and the two began to high five again and again and again. When suddenly they heard some sounds from inside the log and the strange dialect of the land dwellers.

“We’ve been compromised!” Renata yelled. She and Sophie began to roll over to the edge of the log. Both of them were in the middle of helping each other escape when Louis emerged from the water, a small pink jellyfish covering his eyes.

“Guys! Bad news! Jellyfish aren’t good gifts!”

“Not now, Louis! We have to get back home with the tasty sand!” Sophie jumped into the water, the food in the bag closed and secured.

“Okay! I just need help getting Mr. Jelly off my face!” Louis blindly swam forward, bonking his head on a rock a moment later. Sophie quickly pulled off the jellyfish then looked back to see that Renata had the three pronged item in her mouth. With a jump that Renata would describe as nothing short of godliness, although in actuality it was anything but that, Renata belly flopped into the sea.

“Ren!” Sophie called out to her best friend as she slowly sunk into the sea below.

“Haul ass, ladies! Back home we go!” Louis led the way back under the sea once Sophie had successfully grabbed Renata. The three of them successfully disappeared without being seen by the land dwellers. As they swam forward all three of them had one single hope: that they wouldn’t get caught sneaking back into the merpeople’s land.

[ericsonclan]

Falling For You

Summary: A part of Duck's past is revealed while on a date with Oakley. Oakley gives the address where Duck can meet them for their next date but no further details.

Word Count:

Read on A03: 3407

Life was good. That’s what Duck thought to himself as he contentedly chowed down on a burger while sitting in the corner booth at Ericson’s Diner. Across the table from him sat Oakley who was chewing upon a grilled cheese sandwich rather thoughtfully. Duck’s eyes pulled away from his burger to look over at his paramour. That’s what he liked to call Oakley. They both agreed it sounded gender neutral and romantic at the same time. Aasim had mentioned something about it not meaning what they thought it did, but Duck had never gotten round to looking into the exact meaning. Gulping down his current mouthful of food, he caught Oakley’s eyes. “How’s the food?”

“Crunchy,” Oakley took another bite, nodding in approval. Duck knew that was one of their favorite textures; the sandwich looked to be a success. He was glad. Some thought of Oakley as picky, but Duck always found it fun to try and guess what they would enjoy. Between the cushy booth seats and the enjoyment they were finding in their sandwich, Duck figured Oakley would be down for having more dates here. It was good news for him. Ericson’s Diner was usually one of the last delivery stops Duck made and besides he loved the people and the food here too. Making the diner a regular date spot when it was the first place they’d met sorta felt romantic to Duck too.

“Well, I’ll be damned. If it isn’t ol’ Duck Callaway,” The voice made Duck flinch. He looked up to see his memory had served his well. Roy Fortner stood before him, a girl Duck didn’t recognize on his arm. The young man smiled at Duck. No, not a smile. It was more of a knowing sneer. “Whatcha doing these days, Ducky?”

“Having lunch, same as you probably,” Duck mumbled. He looked over to see Oakley was still intently focused on their sandwich, seemingly unaware they had company. Good. Hopefully Roy wouldn’t say anything to them.

“Whatcha up to these days, Ducky? My old man got me onto the force just like I always said he would,” Roy flashed a smile over to the girl on his arm who seemed enchanted by his boasting. “How bout you? You flying airplanes now? You were always blabbing on and on about them,”

“No, I…” Duck cleared his throat, crumpling up his napkin. “I drive a delivery truck,”

“Huh. I guess that is more your speed tho. Get this, Carrie,” Roy turned to the girl on his arm with a devious grin. “We used to have another nickname for old Ducky here in school. I bet you can guess what it was,” He paused for a moment but not long enough for her to answer. “Dumbo! We called him that cause of his ears, see? Big as dinner plates! And cause he always talked about flying. But I guess you never did, huh, Ducky?”

Duck wanted to say something. Flying school was expensive; he was still saving up. He still had a long path ahead of him but he’d get there someday. But nothing came out. It was like he was stuck back at the lunch table at school, waiting for the teasing to pass.

“Anyway, it was good seeing you again. Later!” With a two-fingered mock salute Roy ended the conversation and strolled away with his girl on his arm, leaving Duck in an overwhelmed stupor.

After a few seconds though Duck looked up and saw Oakley’s eyes were on him. “Sorry about that guy, he’s a real jerk. I was hoping I’d never see him again but I guess the town’s not big enough for that,” Duck looked down at his half-eaten burger, his appetite gone. “He told that girl about the nickname as if I liked it, like it was a nice thing. But it wasn’t. They wouldn’t just say it when I talked about airplanes or even cause of my ears though they did that a lot too. They’d say it…”

Duck paused, his emotions from those days coming back. “I’m not the smartest. Not at life and not in school. So whenever there was a test or the teacher passed back papers they’d grab them and see how bad my grades were and tell the whole class. The teachers would tell them to shut up but they never did. Just kept calling me Dumbo every time,” He glanced up, suddenly growing self-conscious of his candidness. “Sorry, that was probably oversharing. Not like we’ve been going out long enough to say heavy stuff like that. I’m just…” The word ‘dumb’ drifted through the air between them, unspoken.

Oakley finished the last bite of their grilled cheese sandwich then carefully wiped all the crumbs off their hands. “I get to choose the next date spot,”

“Oh. Do you have something in mind?”

“I’ll text you.” Oakley looked round the diner before returning their gaze to Duck. “Good choice for this time. I like it here,” The small smile on their lips would normally brighten Duck’s day, but the encounter with Roy had left him in a bit of a funk. Oakley held out their hand, waiting for Duck to join.

Duck held out his hand too. He gave Oakley a down low high five then held out his hand for the same. On the second one their fingers drifted apart from each other then their firsts met in a fist bump. Their customary goodbye cheered Duck up a bit. He looked up at his paramour fondly. “Thanks, Oakley,”

“See you Friday,” With that Oakley got up from their seat and headed out.

Duck sat a minute longer, thinking back on what had just happened. Oakley hadn’t really reacted to any of that stuff with Roy or to Duck’s story from the past. Maybe they didn’t care about any of it? At least it hadn’t made them uncomfy. Rising up from the booth, Duck left a tip on the table as thanks for the free meal Clem had given them and headed out as well.

---

A week later, Duck drove out to the location Oakley had texted him. They hadn’t provided any details, only an address. It certainly wasn’t anywhere Duck had been before. The fact that he was driving outside of the city made him wonder if Oakley had some sort of picnic or hike planned. He never knew what to expect with Oakley; that was one of the things that made them so fun to be around.

As Duck neared the end of the directions on his maps program, his eyes widened as he saw what he was approaching. That was a plane on the tarmac! This was an air strip! Were they going flying today? It was a beautiful day for it, bright and clear, tons of puffy clouds. Duck quickly found a parking spot and hurried toward the main building, nearly bursting with excitement.

Once he was close enough to the building, Duck noticed a sign above the entrance: Wellington Skydiving Adventures. Skydiving! Duck had never skydived before. What an awesome date idea! Duck strode through the doors and toward the front desk where a friendly looking woman with goggles atop her head stood reading a flight schedule out of a blue binder. Her eyes brightened when she noticed Duck. “Well, hi there! My name’s Edith. Welcome to Wellington Skydiving Adventures! Do you have a reservation?”

“Uhhh maybe,” Duck scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile. “My name’s Duck Callaway and-”

“Oh, Duck!” Edith’s eyes brightened in recognition. “You’re Oakley’s boyfriend!”

“Yeah! Are they already here?”

“I should hope so! Otherwise they’re late for their shift,” Edith chuckled. She turned round and called toward the back room. “Oakley, Duck’s here!”

At that news Oakley emerged from the back room dressed head to toe in what looked to be a bright blue and orange skydiving jumpsuit. They walked over to Duck with a small smile and gave his hand a squeeze. “Surprise,”

“This is an awesome date idea! I didn’t know we even had skydiving around here!” Duck looked round the facility excitedly, taking in all the people and equipment. “So are we gonna join a group for training or is it gonna be more of a one on one thing?”

“One on one,”

“Oh, did you meet our instructor already?”

“It’s me,”

Duck looked over at Oakley in confusion. “Wait… you know how to skydive already?”

Oakley nodded. “It’s my job,”

“Oakley’s one of our best instructors,” Edith said proudly, tucking away the binder she’d been looking through. “They’re always patient with their clients and great on the jumps. I bet you two will have a lot of fun!”

Duck looked at his paramour in disbelief. Of all the jobs he’d pictured for Oakley, skydiving instructor had never even made the list. This was so badass. A grin broke out on his face as he swung their joined hands back and forth in excitement. “This is so awesome! I can’t believe I’m dating a professional skydiver! Does that mean we get to skydive just the two of us, holding hands and spinning in circles and doing flips while we freefall?”

“Maybe next time. You’re gonna be strapped to my chest this time. This way,” Oakley motioned and walked toward the training equipment, not noticing that their boyfriend had gotten a bit flushed at that prospect.

Duck followed Oakley into the training room. There were various stations reflecting different levels of difficulty and training. Oakley took Duck over to the workout mats first. The first training steps consisted of learning the proper posture and positions for jumps. Since they were going to do a tandem jump Duck didn’t need to know as much about how to control his movements as he would on a solo jump, but he still asked plenty of questions even though for this jump they were solely theoretical. He already knew he wanted to master skydiving or at least be good enough to jump with Oakley as an equal, not just as a student.

Oakley was patient and calm throughout the entire process, answering all of Duck’s questions simply and succinctly. Their hands were steady as they guided Duck in maintaining his core strength and changing his shoulder and arm positioning. It was great to see them so comfortable. Usually unless it was just the two of them Oakley was fairly standoffish, preferring to keep within their own world. But as Duck continued his training with them, he realized this was Oakley’s world. This was where they excelled.

Once they were done on the mat, Oakley and Duck headed over to the indoor skydiving tunnel. According to Oakley this was an alternate attraction for people who didn’t want to go as far as jumping out of a plane to skydive just yet but still wanted that thrill. The tunnel was reserved for training purposes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings though, so for now they had it to themselves. Oakley led Duck through a short series of hand signals since speaking wouldn’t be possible within the tunnel then helped him get suited up with a helmet, goggles, gloves and a bright green and yellow jumpsuit that matched Oakley’s in design.

Indoor skydiving was a ton of fun all in itself. Edith stepped into the wind tunnel with them to help Duck get started, lifting him up so he was horizontal to the floor and wasn’t simply knocked over by the wind. It certainly wasn’t as simple as stepping in and flying skyward. Duck started on his stomach upon the tunnel floor, trying his best to follow Oakley’s hand signals to move his body in such a way that he could lift off the ground. It took many, many attempts. An hour passed before Duck even felt himself fully levitate off the ground. But the glee he felt in that moment and the full-fledged smile on Oakley’s face made all the struggles worth it.

Edith placed a sticker upon Duck’s chest after helping him out of the wind tunnel, a fluffy cloud with pilot wings upon it. “Well done, Duck. You’re one step closer to becoming an officially licensed skydiver yourself should that be something you’d like to pursue,”

“Oh, definitely! This has been so much fun!” Duck beamed as he reverently traced the sticker.

Edith smiled proudly. “Wonderful. We can talk future lessons later, but for now I think it’s time for you to make your first jump. The plane is ready to go when you are, just waiting for its last few passengers,” With that she headed off to her other duties, leaving Duck and Oakley to their own devices.

Duck felt a soft pressure upon his hand and looked down to see that Oakley was holding it. His paramour looked up at him expectantly. “Ready?”

“Absolutely!”

---

It was a small plane that took them up in the air, a Cessna 182. As Oakley had explained, they would ascend until they were at 10,000 feet then make the jump. The freefall portion of the jump would last about a minute before Oakley pulled the chute and they’d float down from there for 4-5 minutes before reaching the landing zone. There would be a bus waiting for them there to take them back to the main building.

Duck’s heart pounded as he sat on the plane, strapped in front with Oakley behind him. It was rather loud within the plane, the sounds of wind rushing against the sides of the plane a constant background noise. Pilot Pete was calm at the helm, checking in with his passengers from time to see that everyone was doing well. The plane only held a handful of people: two other skydiving instructors and their clients waited in relative silence to reach the drop zone.

Duck wished he could look back at Oakley and talk with them. Instead, he settled for the calming warmth of their hand in his. This whole time Duck had been riding off of the high of excitement at the thought of the jump. Now that they were actually approaching it though, he could feel his heart doing belly flops within his stomach. He was about to jump out of a moving plane. His mother would have a heart attack if she knew. Duck tried to calm himself by focusing on the sound of the plane and its engines. Who knew, maybe someday whenever he got his pilot’s license it could be him flying the plane while Oakley led the jumps. They could be at work together, take breaks and lunch together, and he could fly every day. The charm of that daydream made the time drift away till suddenly Duck heard the announcement.

“We’re approaching the drop zone,” Pete announced over the mic. One of the other instructors got up and opened the airplane’s door. The rushing sound of the wind filled all their ears as the passengers’ hair tousled back and forth wildly. Duck and Oakley would be the third ones to jump. Duck bit his lip as he watched the first instructor position themselves by the doorway, their client strapped to their front. This was real. They were going to jump.

A gasp inadvertently left Duck as he saw the first pair drop. Moments later the second pair was standing by the open door. This was all happening so fast. Oakley’s steps nudged him forward, positioning them as the next and last in line. Before Duck could mentally prepare himself, the second pair had jumped. It was their turn. A few steps forward and he stood at the front of the open plane door, gazing down at the patchwork of green so far below them.

“Ready?” Oakley shouted in his ear, giving Duck’s hand a final tight squeeze.

He couldn’t back out. He didn’t want to. He wanted to be brave for Oakley, no matter how scary this was. And they’d be together the whole way down. He wanted to do this, for himself too. “Y-yeah!”

“Remember to scream!” With those final words, Oakley jumped out of the airplane.

They were falling, plummeting faster than Duck had ever gone before. Air rushed past Duck’s ears as the canopy of green so far beneath them stretched as far as the eye could see. Duck let out a loud, prolonged yell, forcing the lump out of his throat and grounding him back into reality. He could breathe, just like Oakley had said. The yelling worked to remind him. He wasn’t even short of breath and he didn’t have that dropping feeling in his gut like rollercoasters and water park slides gave him. Instead everything around him was quiet and peaceful but also beautifully exhilarating: a moment of pure, unbridled joy. It was almost like he was floating. No, more than that… All of a sudden, the parachute was pulled. They shot upwards into the sky for a moment and with the rush of the wind gone, Duck heard Oakley’s words as they leaned towards his ear.

“You can fly!”

Duck felt his heart swell at those words. He’d been flying. Euphoric excitement coursed through his veins, an amalgamation of joy and love. The words Oakley had said reverberated in his mind. With three words they had said so much. That last date when Roy had embarrassed him and Duck had let his past spill out to Oakley he’d wondered if it had been too much to share then wondered when they gave no response if Oakley had even cared. But they’d heard it all: the pain of that nickname, the long-forgotten dream. This had been their answer. They’d helped Duck fly.

“Wanna try?” Oakley offered Duck the handles of the parachute.

Duck quickly took them, smiling to himself as Oakley’s hands came to rest on top of his own. “I can see why you like it up here!” he called back as they drifted down peacefully, gently guided this way and that by the pull of the handles.

“Everything makes sense in the sky!” Oakley’s words were shouted, but their quiet tone was the same as always.

“That’s why you brought me up here, right? So, the words Roy said wouldn’t matter anymore!”

“I did it because you belong up here, with me!”

Duck wished he could hug Oakley right now. Instead, he settled for squeezing their hands, knowing that hug would be coming soon enough once they reached the ground.

It was silent between them as they gently floated down, their focus on the beauty round them as the patchwork of greens slowly grew larger beneath them, eventually settling into one uniform deep green tone as the landing zone came into sight. Oakley took control of the handles once more, guiding the parachute to turn and angle into the wind to help slow their descent. The brake lines were pulled and their speed slowed more and more as they neared the field until all that remained as they touched down was to slide along the grass to an easy stop.

“Wow, I-” Duck was about to say more, but a quick kiss from Oakley upon his cheek froze him in his tracks. He was left sitting in stupefied joy as his paramour undid the straps connecting them and began the process of removing themselves from the parachute. He turned slightly to watch them work. Dating a skydiving instructor really was the coolest thing ever.

Once they were done, Oakley took Duck’s hands and helped him up. “The bus is over there,” They nodded in the direction of it, moving to head out when Duck squeezed their hands lightly, causing them to look up at him.

Duck was grinning from ear to ear. “This was the best date ever! There’s no way I can beat this one!” He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his love’s cheek. “Thank you,”

“You’re welcome,” The smile was clear on Oakley’s face even as their eyes were locked on the ground. “You’ll come again!”

“Oh, definitely! Like I said, I’m gonna become a skydiving master! Just you wait, soon we’ll be able to do all the badass skydiving tricks together!” Turning toward the bus, Duck continued to gush about all that he wanted to learn to do in skydiving while Oakley happily followed along, listening quietly. It had certainly been a date to remember, one that felt like the beginning of something entirely new.

[ericsonclan]

Eye See The Problem Now

Summary: James hangs out with some friends and learns a new trick that may help with his anxiety.

Word Count: 2023

Read on AO3:

Minnie took a deep breath and let her head lean against the trunk of the tree. It was nice to finally be done with the school day. The harpy let out a content series of chirps and rummaged through her bag to get out her fried beetle snack. Cracking open the bag, she began to happily munch away at the treat. Tweets and twitters escaped her lips as she continued to eat until she spotted James. The cyclops looked absolutely drained and seemed to be searching for a quiet place to chill.

“James!” Minnie called out, making the cyclops look over with his big eye. A relieved, warm smile appeared on his lips when he spotted his best friend.

“Hey there, Minnie,” James lightly jogged over. His small backpack bounced with his movement.

“Hey. Wanna sit here for a bit? You looked frazzled,” The harpy offered with a smile.

“I’d like that,” James shifted off his backpack and took the spot that Minnie had cleared for him. The cyclops let out a sigh of relief before the bag of fried beetles appeared before him.

“Want any?” Minnie shook the snack bag that she held out for her friend.

“No thanks, just need a minute to catch my breath,” James took some deep cleansing breaths.

“Rough day?” Minnie’s question made the cyclops look over.

“Just a lot of social interactions today. New faces and I had two presentations. Just wish I didn’t have to deal with all this anxiety,” James’ fingers began to fidget with the grass.

“Yeah, anxiety fucking sucks,” Minnie finished off the bag of treats and moved to toss the plastic waste into her backpack. The harpy had moved the bag too quickly however and caused the contents of it to spill over. All of her books, some old pieces of paper and a fox plushie fell out.

“Oh, let me help,” James offered and began to help before Minnie could politely decline. The cyclops after a moment or two of helping picked up the fox plushie. “Aww this is cute,” He smiled softly. Minnie snatched it away with a panicked chirp. Her feathers ruffled for a moment before she realized how confused her friend was.

“Shit, sorry. It's just a gift from Ren and I don’t want it to get damaged.” Minnie whispered and hugged the plushie close to her chest.

“It's okay, I think it's sweet,” James passed over the items he had helped pick up. Minnie took them and put them away.

“Yeah, I had a test I was really stressing over so I thought if I had something nearby that smelled like Ren and reminded me of her it would help.” Minnie held the plushie tight and the comforting smell of cinnamon tickled her nose.

“Makes sense to me,” James smiled then looked out towards the school. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before the cyclops spoke up. “Wanna play some hacky sack?” “Sure,” Minnie flapped her wings to get back to her feet then walked over to a spot to play. James quickly found the knitted hacky sack that Nurgul had made and jogged over. Minnie smirked. “Better get ready, Jamie. I’m gonna kick your ass!”

The cyclops smiled at the harpy’s confidence and started to toss the hacky sack up and down in the palm of his hand. “We’ll see about that,” James tossed the hacky sack and kicked it into the air, starting the game. Minnie tweeted happily and sent the hacky sack back with her talons. The two friends laughed and talked competitively while they played. Both of them won a few rounds here and there before a bright, bubbly voice called out towards them.

“Miiiinnnniiiiieee!” Renata scampered forward, her tail twitching this way and that as she sprinted towards her girlfriend. The huldra tackled the harpy with a hug and began to pepper her face with kisses.

“Ren!” Minnie exclaimed with large eyes. Nervous, happy and overwhelmed chirps and twitters escaped the harpy’s lips at the plentiful affection.

Renata stopped for a minute but held onto the hug, her tail curled around one of Minnie’s leg’s “How’d the test go?”

“I think I did okay. Definitely passed but as for how high a score I got I don’t know,” Minnie awkwardly scratched the back of her head. That sentence didn’t put her in the best light. Renata deserved a smarter girlfriend than what the harpy felt she could achieve.

Renata smiled brightly up at her love though, her fangs poking out slightly. “That’s great, Min! We should celebrate!” Renata’s tail curled into the shape of a question mark. After  a second she noticed the cyclops standing there awkwardly with a hacky sack. “Oh, hi Jamie! Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt friendship time,” the huldra apologized with a grin.

“It's okay. Minnie, if you wanna go out and celebrate with Renata you can,” James smiled softly over at his best friend.

“You sure?” The harpy studied the cyclops’ expression. He seemed to be calmer now and didn’t look as stressed.

“Yeah, go on. I’ll see you tomorrow,” James watched as Renata excitedly jumped up and down and guided Minnie away.

“Ren, wait! My bag!”

“Don’t worry, Minarooni, Soph and Marlon are on the case!” The huldra nodded over towards the tree. Marlon and Sophie had already made their way there. Sophie let out a happy crow when she got the bag and stole a kiss from her boyfriend. Marlon was flustered but returned his girlfriend’s affection with a stronger kiss. An alarmed tweet escaped Sophie’s lips but soon her attention was on making sure Marlon’s head didn’t fall off. After the dullahan’s head had securely been placed back on, the couple began to slowly walk over hand in hand.

“Bag has been secured!” Sophie smiled over at her twin.

“Awesome, so where are we heading?” Minnie looked around at the others.

“I was thinking Briarwood Coffeeshop would be the perfect spot!” Renata replied with a happy smile.

“Sounds good to me,” Minnie gave Renata’s cheek a quick kiss.

“Alright, then let's head over there,” Marlon led the way after the four monsters gave one final wave goodbye to James.

The cyclops returned it then sat back down by the tree. He wasn’t sure what he would do now. Jesse had soccer practice for a while still. James was deep in thought about it for a minute or two when suddenly he spotted Oakley in their black shirt with an upside down smiley face walking forward with their boyfriend, Duck. Duck was happily talking with his love as his brownish flannel blew gently in the wind and the black hoodie on his waist swayed. The mare’s overwhelming, unnerving aura was tempered a lot now that they were with Duck. Oakley looked over at the cyclops and smiled for a second at the sight of their good friend.

“Hey there, James!” Duck smiled brightly and gave a friendly wave.

“Hello,” James returned the smile.

“You don’t mind if we sit nearby and do some cloud watching, do you?” Duck’s usual dorky smile was on his face.

“I don’t mind at all,” The cyclops moved over his bag and the couple strolled over and plopped down onto the grass. Oakley immediately lay down spread eagle and looked up at the sky. Duck soon joined his love and lay beside them. His hand immediately found Oakley’s,  causing a happy smile to appear on the mare’s lips. James decided he would get some homework done and started to work on a math assignment. Duck talked happily and pointed out all the different clouds he spotted while Oakley nodded and commented here and there. “Hey, James. Wanna take a break and cloudwatch with us for a bit?” Duck’s suggestion made the cyclops glance up, his eye widening in surprise before a gentle smile appeared on his face.

“Sure,” James sat down and looked up at the sky for a bit. Oakley reached over and pulled on Duck’s sleeve.

“Duck, hoodie?” The bags under the mare’s eyes shone in the sunlight.

“Sure! You feeling anxious, Knox?” Duck sat up and took off the hoodie before helping his love put it on. Oakley’s head popped out and their hair was all messy. Duck smiled and started to help them fix their hair which made Oakley’s heartbeat quicken a bit.

“Yeah, can I sit on your chest?” Oakley looked over at their boyfriend who nodded immediately. Soon the mare sat on top of Duck’s chest and looked back up at the clouds. Duck’s hands rested on Oakley’s legs.

“Feeling better?” Duck asked with concern.

Oakley nodded and gave a small, warm smile at the human. “Better,”

“Good,” Duck happily returned to cloud watching with his love when James spoke up.

“Seems like everyone is having anxiety today but it looks like you two have a pretty good system going,” James smiled softly over at the mare and human.

“Yep, I protect Oakley from getting overwhelmed from anxiety,” Duck declared proudly.

“He makes me feel safe,” Oakley smiled at their own words.

“And when I’m not here they have a special technique. Wanna show him, Knox?” Duck asked his love who gave a short nod. Oakley silently put on their hoodie and pulled on the strings, closing the hoodie completely save for their eyes.

“No one bugs me,” Oakley’s voice sounded happy.

James looked over, his eye large in awe at the simple yet seemingly effective trick. He definitely wanted to try that next time he got overwhelmed.

It had only been a few days since the cyclops had learned of the mare’s secret trick and his social anxiety was already flaring up. James quickly walked over to his locker and grabbed his blue hoodie. Pulling it over onto his body, James tossed the hood up and closed it. His big eye was the only part he didn’t block. He had to still be able to see in order to get to class. James could feel some of his anxiety melting away when suddenly he heard the soft hissing of Jesse’s snakes and felt his boyfriend’s hand on his shoulder.

“Hey James, ready for class-” Jesse paused in his sentence when James spun around, his face completely covered by the hood of his hoodie except for his big brown eye.

“Gah! What the fuck!” the gorgon exclaimed. His snakes hissed in confusion. They recognized James’ eye but didn’t understand why they couldn't see the rest of his face.

“Oops, sorry!” James pulled open his hoodie and put it back down. “Didn’t mean to scare you,”

“It's fine. Just wasn’t expecting that. Why did you have the hood pulled shut?” Jesse asked, his snakes happier now to see his boyfriend’s full face. They moved forward and gave small snake kisses to the cyclops. James softly laughed at the attention.

“Oakley said that it helped them deal with their anxiety when Duck isn’t around so I thought it could help with my social anxiety.But I can see the problem with it now,” James scratched the back of his neck.

“Yeah, it might not be the best idea. Works for Oakley but they have a unique way of getting through life.” Jesse took a deep breath. “Just come find me if you're anxious. And if you can’t find me, well... shit,” The gorgon hadn’t thought that far ahead. His snakes moved closer to him and hissed in his ears. “Listen, I have an idea for that too but for now just stick by me.”

James’ eye grew wide before softening. His heart pitter pattered happily at Jesse’s words.

“Okay,” The cyclops leaned forward and captured Jesse’s lips in a loving, warm kiss. The romantic gesture made the gorgon’s heart soar and he felt as though he had been petrified by the overwhelming emotions he felt in that moment. “Ready to head to class?”

James’ voice snapped Jesse back into reality. He cleared his throat, readjusted his sunglasses and took James’ hand. “Yeah,” Jesse led the way and the two began to talk casually while Jesse’s snakes hissed happily, truly at ease.

[ericsonclan]

A Heartstopping Aura

Summary: Duck is happily working at the juice shop when he meets a monster he's never seen before.

Word Count: 1671

Read on AO3:

Duck gave a small grunt as he leaned forward to reach the one smoothie splotch that remained on the table. Just a bit more to the left. Duck stuck out his tongue slightly as he navigated the cleaning towel to the splotch. As soon as he reached it he gave a victorious cry.

“Dun, dun, dun, dun da dun, duh, duh, duh!” Duck mimicked the battle victory cry from one of his favorite video game series. The little cheer made him really want to boot up Final Fantasy X and play it again. Duck looked proudly at the clean table and placed his hands on his hips. He felt like the superhero of cleaning with how great of a job he was doing with maintaining clean tables at Sarita’s Sips.

Duck continued scanning the different booths to check if they were clean. After he was positive they were he wandered back behind the counter in case any customers were about to enter the juice shop. Duck was double checking the supply of frozen mangos when he heard Sarita’s warm laugh. Looking up, he saw that she was busy talking with her boyfriend, Tripp. The two were in one of the corner booths of the smoothie shop. The gargantuan blond leaned forward over the table and gave a happy smile to his girlfriend. “I just figured that my queen deserved to have a nice cup of coffee,” Tripp’s words made a light blush appear on Sarita’s face. Quietly she leaned forward and pressed a kiss on Tripp’s cheek. That made the giant of a man’s face break out in a big grin.

“Would you like a smoothie? It will be on the house,” Sarita offered and pulled Tripp forward to follow her towards the counter.

“Well shit, a man can’t say no to a free smoothie!” Tripp gave Sarita’s hand a quick kiss before she disappeared and worked to make a smoothie. She was nearly halfway done when the bell on the door jingled softly.

“Welcome to Sarita’s Sips!” Duck gave a bright, friendly smile and was pleasantly surprised to see it was some monsters from Ericson High. All of the students over there were so cool. Duck felt super lucky that he knew Clementine because now he could become friends with all kinds of monsters.

He quickly recognized Ruby and Aasim. The dryad and fire elemental’s joined hands were covered in a special mist made to make sure Aasim’s flames didn’t harm Ruby. As the couple walked in Ruby applied some special lip balm and gave Aasim a few kisses which made his flames grow bigger, so much so that Nurgul had to take a few steps back. The cygnus gave a worried bird-like sound as her feathers ruffled.

Her hand grabbed a monster’s Duck had never seen before as Nurgul pulled them back to safety from the flames. The monster had hazel eyes with large bags under them and brown hair. Their aura was so overwhelmingly powerful that Duck could feel it all the way from behind the counter. An excited smile appeared on his lips. The aura made his heart pound. It felt like he was in a horror movie.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Aasim apologized as his flames cooled down.

“No need to apologize,” Nurgul smiled brightly “Just glad I got Oakley out of the way in time. You’re okay, right, Oakley?” Nurgul asked the mare who gave a short nod before slipping their hand free from Nurgul’s. It had clearly been a bit too much for them to handle.

“Well, we should order our drinks,” Ruby drew back the others’ attention and soon the four monsters walked over to the counter. While Ruby and Nurgul happily talked about the different choices for smoothies, Oakley was busy playing with a yo-yo. Their eyes seemed to have a special sparkle to them while they played with the toy. The charming sight made Duck’s heart do a little flip but he quickly pushed that aside. He knew Ruby and Aasim were a couple so that must mean that Nurgul was dating this monster.

“Hiya, Aasim,” Duck turned his attention to the fire elemental. “Got your eye on a special drink?” “Hmm,” Aasim glanced over at the human. “I'll probably get the Grapefully Greens. Oh and I brought my special cup.” Aasim handed over the cup to Duck who already knew the procedure. He also guessed that Aasim had already taken the special pill that made it so that his body could process some human foods like smoothies.

“A great choice! What about you, Ruby?” Duck looked over at the dryad who was busy laughing with Nurgul.

“Oh, I’ll have that Watermelon Whirlwind,” Ruby smiled brightly when she saw that Duck was already inputting the order.

“I’ll get the same,” Nurgul added and shared a fist bump with her best friend. Duck nodded and quickly added that to the order.

“And what about you?” Duck asked Oakley who snapped their wrist and sent the yo-yo back into their hand.

“Mangos Went Bananas,” Oakley replied simply. Duck quickly added that in and accepted payment from Aasim.

“I’ll get to work on those smoothies right away!” Duck declared brightly and strolled off while the four picked a booth to sit at. Duck moved around, grabbing the ingredients he needed for the different drinks.

“Do you need help, Duck?” Sarita looked up from her conversation with Tripp. Duck waved a hand dismissively.

“Nah, I’m a smoothie master at this point! I could make these drinks blindfolded!” Duck jogged around and continued to toss the fruit and other ingredients into the different blenders. Soon the sounds of several blenders went off as Duck ran over to grab the glasses. Pouring all the drinks and placing them on a tray, Duck strolled towards the booth.

“I bring smoothies!” Duck smiled warmly and saw that Aasim was standing beside Ruby since he couldn’t sit in the booth without melting it. Duck quickly handed out the different drinks. All the monsters thanked him except for Oakley.

“Oakley, you should say thank you,” Nurgul gently reminded the monster.

Oakley glanced up at the cygnus then over at Duck. “Thank you,” “No problem!” Duck’s smile remained the same as he scratched the back of his head. The monsters soon focused on their smoothies. Oakley’s intense aura immediately softened when the mare took a sip of the mango and banana smoothie. The shift to a happier aura made Duck’s eyes grow large. This monster was so freaking cool!

“So, how's classes at Delta High?” Ruby asked Duck, snapping him out of his awe for Oakley.

“Oh, umm, okay I guess. Math is kicking my ass, and English, and history,” Duck looked down at the ground and kicked the air. He really wasn’t the smartest student.

“If you ever need any help, let us know,” Nurgul’s kind words made the human look up and see Ruby and Aasim nod in agreement.

“We will gladly help,” Aasim smiled before he returned to drinking his smoothie.

“Gee, thanks! You guys are super nice and cool!” Duck’s compliment made the monsters beam. “I don’t think I’ve met you before though,” Duck looked towards Oakley who was completely entranced by the smoothie.

“This is Oakley. They’re a new transfer student and really cool,” Nurgul explained as she smiled over at Oakley. Oakley looked over at Nurgul and studied her face before returning to their drink. The faintest smile was on their lips. That was the first smile Duck had seen from Oakley;  it made his heart flutter. He resolutely pulled his head out of those thoughts though.

“It's nice to meet you! I’m Duck!”

Oakley give a small nod of acknowledgement.

“We decided to take Oakley here to show one of the nicest spots outside of Ericson High,” Ruby explained with a warm smile.

“It’s also our duty to look out for the newest students,” Aasim added as he finished his drink.

“That’s really awesome!” Duck smiled then continued to ask about how things at Ericson High were going. He received a plethora of wild tales, mainly revolving around Louis, Renata, Sophie and surprisingly Jesse this time. He continued to laugh at the different stories as the different monsters took turns telling their tales.

Before they knew it all of them had finished their drinks and it was time to head out. Aasim immediately helped Ruby up from the booth and the two happily walked together, their attention fully on each other. The world seems lost to them as they shared loving looks and soft kisses. Oakley casually walked behind them, returning to their yo-yo while sneaking some handfuls of granola from their pocket to their mouth as they walked.

Duck watched them for a second; he really couldn’t get over how cool they were. Nurgul was the last to get up from the booth and was busy preening her feather when she thought no one was looking. After a few seconds she strolled forward and stopped by Duck. “Thanks for the smoothies,” Nurgul wrapped Duck up in a quick hug. Duck immediately returned it, happy for the friendship hugs.

“No problem! Oh, your date is really cool by the way.” Duck paused when he saw the look of confusion on Nurgul’s face. “What? Was that not okay to say?”

“No, it's fine. It’s just Oakley and I aren’t dating.”

Duck blinked in shock. “Oh, really? I guess I read that wrong,” Duck awkwardly scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin.

“It’s okay. Well, I’ll see you soon,” Nurgul waved then jogged up to walk alongside Oakley. The mare glanced over at the cygnus and their aura became a bit softer again.

Duck watched Oakley disappear out of the juice shop and felt his heart grow hopeful. If Oakley was single, maybe he had a chance. He quickly shook his head though and walked over to clean up the table. No point  jumping to conclusions. But still, his heart couldn’t help but dream.