#yes even over sand who's not technically in the friend group anyway

[chaos0pikachu]

Boston is the only one in that friend group that would know Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels by Todrick Hall word for word

[sparatus]

From the group section 7 & 10, for the milfs (Teia, Nauti, Sephira, Sina… did I miss any. I think I got All The Milfs)

oc situation asks

oh my god..... i have a milf squad....

oops i went a little insane about beach day

7. Beach day! What will your characters wear to the beach, and what activities do they get up to?

well first of all nauti's hosting, she and tippi literally have beachfront property on parnithas, it's a vacation at nauti's place while the boys are at work, teia and nauti started planning it and then sephira messaged teia cause aephis is deployed and she's empty-nesting hard so she gets invited, and then sina gets dragged in too because of course teia knows nihlus's mommy and knows she gets lonely it's fine nauti has a huge house and it gets so empty when tippi and the kids are away

anyway.

teia's in a sarong and a big floppy sunhat and sunglasses and nothing else, turians don't care about toplessness and i will die on this hill. yes you can probably see her plates through the wrap no she does not care. nauti's in cargo shorts and shades, also topless, and also covered in water + sand in under five minutes because she is Not Normal about sunny days on the beach. sina is also in cargos, but she's actually wearing a top, a loose draped tank but a top, because she's self-conscious even among friends, and also has a glove on her prosthetic hand and something tied around the arm to protect the mechanisms. technically it'll be fine, but it'll be a bitch to clean, and nobody feels like listening to her complain about it the entire time she's cleaning it. sephira's the only one mostly covered up, long sleeves and a wrap skirt, all in loose breathable fabric to stay cool but covered up, because albinism. parnithas has more of a magnetosphere than palaven so she's safer, but at this point it's force of habit.

nauti, feral animal, is gonna go charge into the waves and have fun getting knocked over a few times before she gets some in her lungs and sputters a bit while she staggers over to the tide pools to climb on rocks and poke at things. teia's walking along the edge, enjoying the sand between her toes and the sea lapping at her feet, and eventually decides fuck it and tosses her hat and shades to sephira and goes to also get wet, has fun doing that, then retreats when she's tired to sunbathe. (sparky gets pics of every step of this process, naturally, to make him jealous and also a lil hot and bothered about it.) sina Does Not Like This Nature Shit, and is sitting curled up at the edge of the beach watching suspiciously for a bit until she gets bored and starts doodling in the sand. sephira brought a book, and is sitting under an umbrella reading, until eventually teia convinces her to come build a sand castle with her. at some point nauti finds her volleyball from last vacation and starts playing with it, convinces sina to join her, and then all four go on an adventure into the garage to find the net so they can play volleyball (nauti and seph vs teia and sina, to keep the jocks separated). once everyone's tired they're building a bonfire and having dinner cooked over it, and oops this was partially a plot on teia's part to get nauti worn out so she'd sleep at a reasonable hour and not be sad about tippi not being there.

10. Your characters are having a potluck. Where are they holding it? What do each of them bring?

probably having it either at teia's place on the citadel as the most central place for all of them to get to (sephira living on palaven, nauti also on the citadel when not deployed, and sina in terminus) or nauti's again, because beachfront. they may also be able to swing sephira's parents' house, which axilus moves into after the war as trierceo and orian are too old to live alone much anymore, it's huge and spacious and great for hosting people, but unfortunately there's a trierceo there. teia or nauti's homes are probably the safest bet.

i think of the four of them sephira and teia are the only ones who can actually cook. sephira goes mildly insane, three kinds of zouklian curry (which they are all legally required to say is better than invictan before they're allowed to leave the table), a basket each of bread and stew-bones, and two different desserts. she's used to feeding a whole entire large army officer and his equally large sons, plus herself, she doesn't even know how to cook for just a couple people anymore. they compensate for this by allowing the husbands to come, on the condition that ierian and aephis play nice or they go home without dinner. sina gets to bring nihnih to compensate for lack of marty. teia brings roasted dazduus and skarrit, fresh from verritana's farm and calvetana's nets, plus meat pies made with the dazduus meat that didn't make pretty roasts. nauti brings the only dish she can confidently make, Noodles With Meat In Sauce, in a couple different varieties to hide the fact that she kinda sucks at cooking. tippi can also only cook a few things but it's different things so they could still give their kids decent variety growing up, it was fine. sina cannot cook in the slightest and so is tasked with finding the fruit and veg platter and the drinks.

[sluttywonwoo]

the bet || j.ww x reader

Summary: you help your boyfriend’s best friend win a bet against your better judgement

Warnings: swearing, lil bit of jealousy, light smut (18+) 

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: originally posted on my tom holland fic account ( @wazzupmrstark )

Masterlist

“Hey, can I ask a huge favor?”

You hoisted yourself up from your beach towel onto your elbows and pulled down your sunglasses to glare at the boy in front of you. You narrowed your eyes at him in suspicion. What could Kim Mingyu possibly want from you?

“What is it?”

He ran a hand through his still-wet hair awkwardly. “Um, the boys and I are about to play a game of volleyball, and we’ve bet some money on it…”

“Okay?”

“And, well, it’s me and Hansol against Wonwoo, Soonyoung, and Seungkwan. Wonwoo’s their best player and I was wondering if you could distract him? So that we have a better chance of winning?”

“Distract him… how?” you asked, not fully understanding.

“You know… whatever it is you do that drives Wonwoo crazy. He’s your boyfriend, I’m sure you know how to wind him up.”

“You mean you want me to get him hard during your game?”

Mingyu nearly choked at that. “Um, I mean pretty much, yeah. Just do something that will throw him off his game.”

“So you want me to help you guys cheat?”

“It’s not technically cheating.”

“I think your definition of cheating is much looser than mine.”

“So is that a no?” he asked.

You thought about it for a second. “Is there anything in it for me?”

“We’ll give you a cut of the winnings.”

You found yourself grinning. “How much did you guys bet?”

“Two hundred if they win, three hundred if we win. Basically whoever’s on the losing team has to cough up a hundred bucks.”

“Jeez, I can’t believe Wonwoo is risking that much on a stupid game.”

“Are you upset?”

“No, it’s his money he can do whatever he wants with it. I just think he’s a dumbass.”

“Not arguing with that.”

“Do you need me to remind you that you’re betting the same amount?”

“Fair enough,” he chuckled. “So you’ll do it? For a hundred?”

“Yeah, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Pleasure doing business.” Mingyu smirked and held out his hand for you to shake. You rolled your eyes at the formality but shook his hand anyway, just as Wonwoo came up to the both of you and clapped Mingyu on the shoulder.

“What are my best mate and my best girl talking about?” he asked, leaning down to kiss you.

“I wanted to go swimming, but Mingyu said you guys are about to play volleyball?” You piped up before Mingyu could say anything. Maybe you should’ve felt guiltier than you did about lying to your boyfriend and for what you were about to do, but hey, a hundred dollars was a hundred dollars . And if everything went according to plan, you’d be getting some good dick too. A win win.

Wonwoo frowned a little bit. “Oh yeah, sorry. Wanna play, love?” he offered. “There’s still some room on Mingyu’s team.”

You made a face. “What about your team? Can’t you make one of your other team members switch?”

He winced. “I love you, y/n, but you’re shit at sports.”

Any trace of remorse left over what you’d agreed to do dissolved in that moment. He fucking deserved what he was about to get.

“The stupid game is that important to you? Asshole,” you scoffed, and put your sunglasses back on before laying back down on the towel.

“Y/n,” Wonwoo whined, and crouched down next to you. “I-”

“Go play your fucking game.”

He stood back up, but lingered for a moment. You could tell he felt bad, but you weren’t having it. “Wanna go swimming after?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“Sure, whatever.”

You could tell he’d walked away when the shadow over you disappeared. You weren’t going to lie to yourself, you were a little pissed about the comment he’d made. Were you shit at sports? Yes, definitely, but could he have at least pretended to love you enough to be on the same team as you? Also yes. He should’ve known you were going to say no anyway.

While you were still fuming you hadn’t even realized the boys had started the game. Not even a minute in and you were already slacking on your end of the bet. You propped yourself back up for a moment to watch. You could see why Mingyu had asked for your help. Wonwoo and his team were dominating so far, and you couldn’t help but admire how fit your boyfriend looked as he served the ball to the other side of the court. You licked your lips absentmindedly, ready to pull him back to the car right fucking then.

You forced yourself to stop watching the game stood up from your towel, brushed yourself off, and began walking towards the water. You made sure to pull your bikini bottoms as far up your ass as you could in the process just to get Wonwoo’s attention as you walked past the volleyball net. Sure, you’d agreed to go swimming with him after the match, but you’d never promised to wait for him.

As you made your way down to the shore, you noted that not only Wonwoo’s head turned to watch you walk, but all five of the boys cast their attention away from the game and towards you. You glanced behind your shoulder for a second, and caught Mingyu’s smirk. He took advantage of Wonwoo’s lapse in concentration to spike the ball back over to their side and score a point.

You heard some yelling and protestation, but pretended to ignore it and continued to wade into the water.

It was warmer than you thought it would be, and deeper. There was a steep drop a few feet in that you might have tripped over if you weren’t careful. You only ended up staying in the ocean for a few minutes; Wonwoo couldn’t really get distracted by you if your whole body was submerged underwater. You weren’t there to swim around anyway, just to get your bathing suit wet so it would stick to your body.

You’d worn one that didn’t have pads in it so you knew that once you got out of the water the whole beach would be able to see your nipples poking through the fabric. You didn’t have a problem with that. Wonwoo might.

While you were down there you got your hair wet too, just for good measure. Might as well pull out all the stops since a hundred dollars were on the line.

You weren’t sure what the score was by the time you made your way back up to your towel, but you didn’t make an effort to ask. What you did know, though, was that Wonwoo was getting frustrated. Even from where you were you could see that his jaw was clenched and his brows were furrowed.

The opposing team seemed to be doing just fine though, and you stopped to watch them high-five each other after Mingyu scored another point by slamming the ball over the net onto Wonwoo side of the court.

“Damn, nice one, Gyu!” you called out from where you were standing, giving him a big smile and thumbs up. It was sort of dorky, not to mention a cheap shot, but if you knew Wonwoo as well as you thought you did, it’d be the perfect thing to rile him up.

“Thanks, y/n!” he shouted back and winked, ignoring the weird look Hansol gave him. “It’s about time you started rooting for the winning team!”

You struggled not to laugh when you looked back over to the other side of the court and saw all three boys scowling at Mingyu. You didn’t even know why he needed you in the first place, he knew how to push their buttons so well already.

Wonwoo’s fists were clenched now, and he looked this close to tackling his best friend to the ground. The two of you weren’t even flirting with each other, not really, but Wonwoo was the most competitive person you knew and it wasn’t always the best color on him. For you to be cheering for the team that he’s not on, and for that team to be winning- there was no doubt in your mind that he was royally pissed. Not to mention, that you just so happened to be cheering for his attractive best friend who may or may not have mentioned having sex dreams about you once or twice in passing.

It was good, but it wasn’t enough. Soonyoung made some offhand comment about how close the scores were so you knew you needed to keep going. You turned your attention away from the game again and lowered yourself down on your stomach on top of your towel and casually undid the strings of your bikini top to “sunbathe”.

If anyone asked it was so you didn’t get tan lines on your back, it was something that a lot of women did. In reality, however, you didn’t give a shit about tan lines, you just wanted to see how Wonwoo would react.

You pulled out your book to read while you tanned, tuning back into the game every once and a while to see how it was going. You could hear Soonyoung and Seungkwan yelling at Wonwoo to ‘pay attention’ or ‘snap the fuck out of it’ and smiled to yourself, excited for what was to come.

After several more minutes, your bathing suit was almost dry and you were starting to fall asleep on your towel. The volleyball game was taking way longer than you anticipated and you just wanted Mingyu and Hansol to win already. You didn’t have any other ideas to distract your boyfriend so you hoped they could pull it off.

Then, what you would call a fucking miracle happened. You were still nearly dozing off on top of your book when a pink Frisbee landed on the sand right in front of your face.

“Sorry about that!” called the voice of its owner and you squinted to see him jogging over to you. A few of his friends weren’t far behind and they all congregated in a little group in front of your towel. They looked to be about your age, maybe a little older. “Sorry to wake you up,” the ringleader apologized again, but smiled like he wasn’t really that sorry.

You propped yourself up on your elbows, one hand holding your loose bikini to your chest, while the other handed the Frisbee back to smiling guy. “No worries, I didn’t mean to fall asleep anyway.”

“What’s your name?” Ringleader asked. “I’m Jeonghan, and these are some of my fraternity brothers.”

Of course. You should’ve guessed. They were all jacked, tan, and had an air of privilege about them that you couldn’t miss. They were objectively cute, sure, but nothing in comparison to your boyfriend playing volleyball behind you. Not to mention their pack mentality freaked you out a little.

“I’m y/n,” you said and held your free hand out to them to shake, still keeping your other hand on your bikini top so you wouldn’t flash them. “Are you guys on a holiday break or something?”

“Yeah, just trying to make the most out of our last few days.”

“You from around here?” another boy asked, not being subtle at all in the way he was eyeing you.

“No, we just took a little day trip,” you explained and cleared your throat, wondering how long they’d stick around and when Wonwoo was going to come over and dick you down out of jealousy.

“We?” Ringlea- Jeonghan asked, cocking his head to the side. “Are you here with your friends?”

“Her boyfriend, actually,” Wonwoo piped up calmly from behind you. You looked back and saw him standing a few feet behind your towel with his arms crossed. He could be annoying, but fuck if he didn’t have good timing.

“Oh-uh, well I was nice to meet you.” Jeonghan mumbled abruptly and nodded to his friends to get back to their Frisbee game. They were gone before you could even say goodbye back.

“Attracting all sorts of attention today, aren’t you, love?” Wonwoo sneered and knelt down beside you.

His words went straight to the heat between your legs and you turned over onto your back to get a better look at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you lied, daring him to challenge you.

“I think you do, y/n,” he continued. The way he whispered your name sent a shiver down your spine. “I mean, you’re practically naked in front of the whole beach right now.”

“I’m wearing a swimsuit.”

“You know what I mean. And all for what? To make me jealous? So I’d fuck you? Because you could’ve just asked, baby.”

You whimpered, but didn’t say anything and leaned up to kiss him, desperately wanting to feel his lips against yours. He leaned in too, but stopped just short of your mouth, pulling back a bit to look into your eyes. “I could just pull your bikini bottoms to the side, no one will notice.”

You moaned softly, wanting nothing more than for him to do exactly that. You weren’t even sure if you could wait to get home at this point, you wanted him inside of you now. He put a hand on each knee and spread your legs apart, whistling in awe at the wet spot on your bathing suit. You felt your face heat up in embarrassment. “I haven’t even touched you and you’re already this wet.”

“All because of you,” you panted, reaching out for him, but he pulled back.

“You know all of your teasing made me lose the game, right? I couldn’t focus because I was so distracted.” You nodded. “I was so fucking hard the whole match because of what you were doing”

And then your dumbass had to open your big mouth. “So Mingyu told you?”

Wonwoo pulled back, and gave you a confused look, clearly caught off guard. “Told me what?”

“Y/n, that was incredible, you were perfect!” Mingyu exclaimed as he ran up to you and Wonwoo, holding out a hundred dollar bill to you.

You winced as you took it, wishing you hadn’t said anything.

“Y/n, what the fuck?” Wonwoo demanded, even more frustrated than he had been a minute ago. “What were you incredible at?”

“Fucking distracting you, dude. I asked her if she’d be in on the bet with me for a cut of the winnings since you guys had more team members.”

Your boyfriend glared at you. “Is that true?”

“I mean, it’s just a game… and I thought it’d be fun,” you said quietly.

“That’s what you guys were talking about earlier, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, she didn’t need any convincing she was totally down-”

“Mingyu,” you interrupted, pinching the bridge of your nose, “please, if you have any mercy for my pussy please shut the fuck up.”

His face went scarlet and he shut his mouth without further comment.

“So that’s it?” Wonwoo asked, obviously not ready to drop the subject yet. “You’re just gonna sell out your own boyfriend that easy?”

“You said you didn’t want to be on a team with me!”

“Don’t turn this around on me! You’re the one who helped them cheat!”

“Oh I don’t know if I’d call it cheating,” Mingyu interjected again.

“Shut up, Mingyu!” you and Wonwoo both shouted.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Mingyu said quietly. “If I had known it was going to be this big of a deal I wouldn’t have asked her. I just thought I was being clever, that it’d be a fun way to beat you guys, but I’m sorry I went too far.”

Wonwoo sighed and ran a hand through his wet curls. “It’s fine. I’m sorry I overreacted.”

“So… we’re good?” Mingyu asked, holding out a hand to help Wonwoo up.

“Yeah, we’re good. Next time, though, we’re playing fair.”

“Deal.”

“Y/n, you still want to go swimming, love?” Wonwoo asked, turning back to you.

“We’re not- we’re not going home?” Despite everything you were still incredibly horny, and you’d been patiently waiting for Wonwoo to rail you for what felt like hours now.

“Not yet,” he said and helped you to your feet. “Let’s make the most of our beach day.”

“I think the rest of us are going to find an ice cream shop,” Mingyu added. “Winners are buying. Do either of you want anything?”

“No thanks, we’ll hang out here by ourselves for a while.” Wonwoo answered for the both of you.

He wrapped an arm around your waist as you walked down to the water together and you relaxed, enjoying the feeling of his warm skin on yours. Only once you were out of Mingyu’s earshot did he lean down and whisper “your ass is going to be seven shades of red for that little stunt once we get home,” in your ear. Now it was your turn to be distracted.

lmk what you thought; i always appreciate feedback)

wonwoo tags: @wonw00t 

shoot me an ask if you’d like to be added to my taglist

[txemrn]

Faded

Book/Pairing: The Royal Romance; Leo x Madeleine

Warning: angst (some dark discussion that would give away the plot); smut 🍋 (awkward, NOT sexy); language

Word Count: 3008 (+/-)

Song Inspiration: Faded by Alan Walker ft. Iselin Solheim (lyrics quoted in the text)

A/N: This is a Royal Roulette, technically, but then again, RR was created specifically for Wacky Drabbles, and I just couldn't get the word count down! Oops! Anyway, this idea came to me when I heard this song, and this story needed to be told. Some of it is canon; some of it is creative canon; some of it, well, we'll call it creativity. lol Any and all of these ideas came from my head, but I acknowledge that others have probably written similar stories (purely coincidental).

Huge special thanks to some of my sweet writing friends: @ao719, @charlotteg234, and @kat-tia801. This took a group effort, and I love you ladies so very much for pre-reading and making this story better. And as always, these characters belong to our friends at Pixelberry!

***

He was a rushing wind; my billowing sails drift me into the unknown, but I don’t care. He’s an incinerating inferno: every tradition I was taught was set ablaze by his touch. My caged heart was unlocked by him; he set the monsters running wild inside of me. In my world of propriety and decorum, he taught me to live; more importantly, he dared me to love.

He broke free: from the customs, our culture, the captivity of our world. He broke free.

Without me. And the mess is all mine to clean up, left with only a picture of our passion--a photo of the love we once shared together. But even that is fading, and will be lost.

I’m alone with my thoughts this morning on my walk. The bite of salt in the coastal breeze tickles my nose, inviting my platinum strands into a carefree dance amongst the sunrise. Adjusting my oversized tortoise-shell sunglasses, my bare toes leave the comfort of the white sand beach only to discover the sting of the barnacle laden steps to the stone jetty. But, the shallow waters never met what I needed. My soul craves to commune with the waves from the deep.

I’m lost; there isn’t enough time in the world to think this through, and yet somehow a decision has to be made. God, where are you now? Was it all in my fantasy? Were you imaginary?

Many described our relationship as ‘destiny’--no, not exactly the romance you read about in foolish fairy tales or hear about in silly love songs. Our families ran in the same spheres of wealth and power. Politics. We are royalty. Since we were close in age, we would spend countless hours together throughout our childhood and teenage years. Being the oldest son to the king, he is--well, he was--the crowned prince of Cordonia; an agreement to our nuptials started well-before my formal training specifically for his social season.

But, something was different about Leo and me. We grew quite fond of each other, a friendship that developed into sharing secret kisses in darkened corners. Was this normal for friendships? Or did we have something deeper? Was this love?

As long as I can remember, I was taught my body was not my own; I was born with a greater purpose, and in that purpose, I would bring honor to my family and my name. I would earn my place in history: a woman who gave of herself everything she could for the sake of a country. Even love.

My reputation is to be held in the highest regard. My efforts in style and wardrobe would be subject to conversation and scrutiny. My eloquence and table etiquette could determine whether or not I’d be fit to be a queen. Every eye movement, every smile, every response could bring honor or dishonor to my family. No one cared about me as long as I presented a pristine package to court, a sacrificial lamb for king and country.

But, when the moment came for me to be chosen as his bride, I felt the swelling of joy inside my chest, bursting like strobes of light for everyone to witness. Suddenly the ideas of ‘the one’ and ‘happily ever after’ that I read about in the great classics teased my senses; I wanted to cry, to scream, to laugh. My body had a sudden thirst, a yearning for him that I didn’t understand.

In my innocence, this could only be one thing.

“Countess Madeleine,” he knowingly grins, “will you do me this honor?”

Swallowing thickly, her jade eyes flutter open at the sound of her name. In a handsomely fit tux, adorning his family colors in full regalia, her future husband, the future king of Cordonia, takes a knee to present the stunning canary solitaire. The dread melts away as the butterflies overcome her nerves.

Keeping with propriety, she nods her head while curtly dabbing away tears. But, something is distracting her: she is to be relishing in her accomplishment of winning the honor, for winning all of the glory, for winning the crown. She is to be the next queen of Cordonia.

But she is overwhelmed by all thoughts of him, her husband-to-be, the father to their future children. Suddenly the life she had been training for didn’t matter; she was betrothed and in love.

Smoothing out the tightness of my heathered linen pants, I take a moment to stare at my empty ring finger. I feel soreness from the collection of tears, but I refuse to allow anymore drop on his behalf. Today is hard enough.

I hug my body, remembering the warmth of his intimate touch. I had kept myself pure for him. Until that night.

Within an hour of making his intentions known to the court, Leo scurries away with his future bride, leaving only a trail of giggles and whispers along the way to his chambers.

Shrugging off his jacket, Leo presses her petite body against the locked door. His hand gently cradles her head, his thumb tracing the length of her jaw. His lips hungrily search hers, wolfishly devouring her mouth before she can react.

“Is this okay?” he whispers under his breath, his smoldering gaze entraps her innocent eyes. Breathlessly focused on his swelling lips, she nods her head dutifully.

He places his hands on her waist before sliding them intently back onto the curves of her ass, grabbing at her fullness under her whimper. A growl becomes his breathing, staring at his prey.

“Do you love me, my future queen?”

Love. Was that love?

The hypnotic rise and fall of the waves is starting to sour my stomach, but the ocean spray is so inviting and calming on my clammy skin. Finding a smooth stone, I seek refuge from the surge of the sea’s tantrum. Relaxing under the gentle rays of the morning sunshine, I close my eyes, only to see him.

He cheats her out of her next breath, his tongue overwhelming her mouth. His eager fingers find the zipper to her ballgown. He paws at her back, his fingers brushing against the secret skin of her body.

Her bra tosses to the wayside; admiring his new found treasure, Leo’s hands plunder her supple curves. His mouth plummets to her hardening nipples, his teeth teasing her nerves with fear. The sudden twinge of pleasure thrashes her head against the door.

“Shall I continue, beautiful?” he exhales, catching his breath; but, before an answer is uttered, he stumbles back into the temptation of her perfect body. His fingers tease across the waistband of her petal pink briefs; her eyes cinch closed, her mouth unable to hold back a moan.

“Someone is enjoying themselves,” he chuckles, standing to tower over her. He kisses her cheek, leaning his mouth close to her ear. “Is this what you want?” He tucks a strand behind her ear.

“Mhmm,” her lips curl slightly, leaning into his touch.

“Do you like what I am doing for you?”

“Yes,” she softly groans.

“Yeah?” He reaches into her panties, her knees buckling to the wandering of his fingers. “Mmmm,” he pulls his hand out, licking his fingertips, “that’s my good girl. You love my touch.” He stands back, shaking off her body. Locking his eyes with hers, he casually steps backwards until he reaches the bed. He slides off his belt, unfastening his slacks.

“Come here,” he motions for her to step closer. “Show me your love for me.”

Madeleine’s eyes focus on his growing girth, bulging from his unzipped pants; but, then her gaze darts around the room. Surely he knows that she isn’t well-versed in such endeavors.

“Maddie?” he combs his fingers through her blonde tresses. “I love you. You know that, right?”

She closes her eyes. The words send a jolt of happiness through her veins. She was experiencing love. She was prepared for everything else, but this?

"Then, let me show you,” he growls, pushing her back onto the bed. Hungrily ripping off her panties, he exposes her to his touch. Youthful and pure. "Are you ready?"

He spreads her legs apart, her thighs trembling. She grips the sheets with her tiny fists. Her doe-like eyes stare into his hunting blues as she feels him touch her again; but this time, it wasn't his fingers.

With an inexperienced push of his hips, red flashes before Madeleine's eyes as she squints her eyes in pain, hiding the gathering of tears. He thrusts again; her teeth gnash at the breaking of her body. Her head thrashes back and forth, groaning as she serves a penance under his rhythmic plunges into her warm, narrow core again and again. Harder and harder. Faster. Deeper.

Without warning, the beating of her body stops, leaving her stretched, completely filled with him. Moaning her name in the company of obscenities, his breathing becomes quick and shallow despite his efforts to slow down. Sweat gathers across his brow as he savors the delicate tightness of her depths. Stumbling into his ecstasy, he loses control, pouring himself into her. The sudden rush of fullness makes her whimper, the sting begins to dull as a smile crawls across her face. His lips meet her soft, glowing skin. Finally, it’s over.

That night: it was so long ago. But, I can still feel it; I can still feel him. The smell and taste of him lingers on my tongue. I miss him.

And with that, my breathing labors as I choke out a sob. I press the back of my hand to my lips as tears cloud my vision from the Mediterranean horizon. A sour pang creeps up my throat as I cradle my tender belly with my other hand. Clenching my eyes closed, I hope to hold back the downpour of tears from my soul. God, please not again.

Madeleine's head rests on Leo's shoulder, his strong arm securely around her exposed body. Her marigold diamond catches the pale moonlight perfectly, it's brilliance mesmerizing the bride-to-be as she subtly teeters her hand on his well-structured chest. He suddenly engulfs her hand with his. Turning towards him, her lips meet his perfectly like the final piece of the puzzle, locking seamlessly in place.

"Runaway with me, Madeleine."

The flecks of evergreen in her eyes sparkle with curiosity. "What--?"

"This life, Maddie," he gently rubs her back, "is this really the life that you want-- that you'd want for us?"

She sits up, taken aback from the peculiar question. "You mean the life we're living right now? Us? Being engaged?”

“Yes--I mean, no. I--” Leo stumbles over his words, dragging his hand across his face. “I love you, and I want to be with you--” he pushes a platinum strand behind her ear, “--but do you ever wonder what it’s like out there? Out in the real world? Away from all of this pressure? Away from all of these rules?”

“Away from the public eye? Living life--” she titters into a big smile, “--like everyday people?"

"Yes." He sighs, pressing her hand against his heart. "Before long, we will be in charge. In charge, Maddie. Of an entire country." There is a quake in his voice, a quiver that even makes her feel chilled. "I don’t think I’m cut out for this,” a breath hitches in his chest. “Will I even be a good king?"

“Of course," she whispers, offering a doting smile, “Of course, Leo," her voice becomes stronger, authoritative. “You can do this. You were made for this. And while, yes, you are the king, you’re not alone.” She laces her fingers with his. “You’ll always have me. You have my support--” she kisses the back of his hand, “and most of all, you have my love.” She leans down to kiss his hand again, but rather he captures her in his arm, bringing her to his lips, making her squeal.

“I love you, Madeleine.”

She moans into his pout as he kisses her once more. “I love you, too, Leo.”

The creaminess to his baritone voice dissipates from my memory, fading away much like our love. How could I have been so foolish? I gave him everything--I promised him everything. My life, my whole existence was for him, and I naively thought that love would somehow stitch us together, that somehow we would be the monarchs that did have it all. Wealth. Power. Love. A happily-ever-after that could join the rankings of the greatest love stories ever told.

But, it wasn't enough. I wasn't enough.

The sudden rapping on the door abruptly wakes Madeleine from a deep sleep. The sunlight pours mercilessly through the windows as she grabs the sheets to cover herself.

The door suddenly tramples open, Constantine bounding first into the room, followed by his head guard Bastien. “Where is he? Where’s Leo?” The king sneers as the blonde trips out of bed, reaching for clothing. “For God’s sakes, couldn’t you two show some fucking self-control?”

Madeleine cinches the high-thread-count sheet around her body, leaving her slender shoulders and décolleté exposed. As a blush crawls across her face, the question begins to haunt her: where is Leo? He wasn’t in bed this morning. In fact, his clothes are missing from their disheveled heap that was next to her discarded dress. His watch and cell phone were missing from the bedside table. But, otherwise everything seemed to be in place.

Madeleine rushes to the ensuite bathroom, hoping to find a logical clue to Leo’s whereabouts there.

"Call him. Now," the king growls at the anxious countess.

"He's not answering us, Countess Madeleine. We assume given your current relationship with his majesty--" Madeleine nods in understanding.

"I'm sorry, but the phone number you're trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service."

Her eyebrows furrow as she ends the call. "I--I--I don't understand," she stammers, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "His phone has been disconnected--"

"Fucking ungrateful--” growls Constantine, ripping the phone from Madeleine's tiny hand, “--selfish son of a bitch!" He throws the phone against the wall, shattering it into pieces. He gruffly turns towards his future daughter-in-law. “Are you certain you dialed the right number?" He spits. Madeleine braces herself against a wall, turning her face away from him. She carefully nods, refusing to make eye contact. “Unbelievable!” Constantine knocks over some antique silver candelabras before exiting the room, leaving Bastien behind.

“Sir?’ Madeleine quietly calls to the guard, drawing closer to him, ensuring her body is covered. “What is all the commotion about? Where is Leo?”

“Leo failed to report to his morning engagements about last night festivities. According to our cameras, he left this morning through the northwest gate in an unmarked black Sudan around o’four hundred hours.”

Madeleine cups her mouth as she stumbles to sit down on the bed. She nervously combs her fingers through her tangled tresses. “What does this mean?” She spouts nervously, her body shaking with tears gathering in her eyes.

“Please try not to worry, ma’am,” Bastien carefully places a comforting hand on her bare shoulder, quickly withdrawing it when their eyes awkwardly meet at the gesture. “Um--” he clears his throat, “--I don’t know what he’s doing, but we will find him.” He turns on his heel to leave Madeleine alone when suddenly a thought hits him. “By any chance, did he mention anything to you?”

‘Runaway with me, Madeleine.’ One simple request. He asked me to just simply follow him. I thought he was joking or simply making a hypothetical request due to his uneasy nerves; but, my love for him aside, this was my calling: to serve him. If I had chosen to honor him rather than challenge him… if I had chosen to remind him of responsibility and duty rather than trying to win him over with ludicrous ideas of love in marriage…

Leo abdicated the throne.

No one speaks about royalty relinquishing their responsibilities. We’re born into this; we were made to do this. We spend our entire lives preparing, being told that it is an honor to bear such greatness, it is an honor to host such power. No one speaks of the alternative. Truth be told: if we knew there was a way to escape, to renounce such a life as this, how many of us would take that chance?

It’s been seven weeks since that awful morning. Seven weeks of silence and darkness. Seven weeks of broken dreams and false hope. Seven weeks of only one absolution: Leo had found his freedom. He wasn't coming back.

I pull out the photograph of our love just one more time as the tears gather once more in my eyes. Leo’s last words to me were ‘I love you;’ but somehow as I trace my fingers amongst the black and white print, I have to say, ‘goodbye’ for both of us this morning.

“Ms. Amaranth?”

“Yes, ma’am?” Madeleine wakes from her daydream, her voice trembling. She chews incessantly on her nails as her crossed legs bounce nervously. The sterile white walls around her seem to be closing in around her; the air grows thick, stifling. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

The dark brunette stands to come closer to the blonde. She straightens out her white coat while fixing an endearing smile on her face. She sits down next to Madeleine, taking her hand. “I asked if you are sure about this decision?”

If Madeleine had learned anything in the past two months, it's that she could only be sure about nothing. She stares at her bobbing toe, hypnotically entranced with the clicking of the clock in the exam room.

“There are other options," the doctor continues. "Adoption. Keeping the baby.”

I tear up the ultrasound picture in my hands, letting the wind chase it to the sea. The tattered pieces drift for a place to rest, sinking to the depths my soul will forever crave, a secret place far too precious for this world. For my world.

Goodbye, love.

***

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[aluthorand-asupercorp]

Stuper: A Supercorp Oneshot

Suggested by @kuekyuuq:  It's game night and Lena has a little Luthor-moment and shuffles the cards for "Who am I" so Kara ends up with the one that says "Supergirl" for herself, and Kara can not figure it out, Lena has a blast and - if present - Alex a growing migraine. (Could also work if Kara previously solar-flared and everybody has to work but her, so it's only Lena and Kara; and both pre- or post-reveal.)

----

They had made the cards for "Who Am I” weeks ago. Lena, Nia and Kara had sat together in L Corp making them for game night that evening. Super problems, Lex trying to end the world, and the collapse of Obsidian North had taken game night and pushed it six weeks into the future. Lena told herself that was the reason she had made this card. Originally, the card had been a joke. Would Supergirl count as a celebrity? Lena said yes. Kara said no. Nia had shrugged and mumbled ‘probably.’ Lena picked up her ‘celebrity’ and cheered. There was no way she and Kara could lose! Kara was Supergirl! 

Lena looked around the room and tried not to gloat. They were tied with Alex and Kelly, and now they were going to win. Lena covered her smirk and looked around. Nia and Brainy were terrible at this. M’gann and J’onn were definitely cheating, but they were still in third place. Lena gave Kara a thumbs up, then pointed at Alex and Kelly. “What do you say we sweeten the deal? Double or nothing?”

Alex looked wearily back at Lena. “What did you have in mind?”

Lena shoved the paper in her pocket. “All or nothing. If Kara guesses the celebrity, we win. If she doesn’t, you and Kelly win.”

Alex looked at her sister, then back at Lena. A fire flashed in her eyes. “Deal.”

Kara tried to argue, but Lena shushed her. “You’ve got this, watch.” 

Alex grabbed the timer and got ready. “3, 2, 1, start!” The hourglass, finally flipped over, drops grains of sand. They have sixty seconds. 

“Okay!” Kara clapped her hands together. “How many words in the name?” Lena flashed Kara a two, then pointed at Kara. “Me?” Lena nodded, and Kara’s eyebrows knitted together. “Reporter? Writer? Pulitzer prize winner?”

Lena froze. Technically, that is all correct. She shook her head anyways, then attempted to make a diamond on her chest.

Kara ran a hand through her ponytail. “Diamonds?” Lena nodded. “Madonna!” A frantic handwave from Lena indicates Kara is wrong. “No, not Madonna.” 

Lena can feel the win slipping away. She changes tactics. First, she has to pretend to be an archer. “Arrow?” Lena nodded, then jumped to the side, trying to be a new person. She pumped her arms quickly, looking at Kara with pleading eyes. “The Flash?” Lena moved over one more time, throwing one hand up and pretending to fly through the air. “Superman?” Lena covers her face and shakes her head. Everyone else in the room in the room has caught on, and a quick glance at the timer lets Lena know that time is slippinmg away too.

Lena covered her face, knowing that she has one last attempt. She breaks the rules. “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no wait, it’s...” She waved both hands at Kara, gesturing up and down.

The confusion doesn’t leave Kara’s face, and Lena knows it’s over. “It’s a helicopter?” 

Alex kicked the timer off the table in her rush to jump up and hug Kelly. Nia’s scream laugh fills the room as Brainy’s hand comes up to cover his mouth. He would rather not shame his friend. He’s been in her position. 

“Who was it, everyone?” Lena asked the group dejectedly.

“Supergirl!” The group shouts in unison. The upstairs neighbor starts slamming their feet down on the ground, telling the group to be quiet. Kara stared at the wall, a blush growing across her cheeks. She would never live this one down, not in a million years. 

[hcywards]

ocean — jj maybank

summary: y/n l/n couldn’t surf and her boyfriend decided to teach her

words: 1.7k+

t/w: kissing,, and i think that’s it sjsjjsjs

request:

this was a request from anon!

“omg could you do one where the reader is terrible at surfing and afraid of drowning and JJ teaches her?”

note: i am really serving you with jj content 😌 and the 8 drafts of him i have agree

     Y/N stared down the board, her eyes wide but her expression stoic. She knew what would happen if they found out she was afraid of surfing. She’d be practically exiled from the group, not to mention dating JJ. God, what would he think? His own girlfriend was afraid of one of his favourite things to do. Her stomach churned just thinking about it, and tears threatened to come up to her eyes as she looked back to the grinning blonde.

     “JJ, seriously,” she pleaded, “I don’t feel great. Can we just stay home?”

     “Come on, Y/N,” he picked up her board, tucking it under one arm and giving her the smile she hated saying no to. “It’ll just be us.” 

     That wasn’t true — technically, her friends would be there as well, sitting on the dock or by the sand, however none were going to be in the water with them. But, still, that must’ve gotten a reaction out of her, as he was putting down the boards Y/N was so deathly scared of. He pulled her against his chest quickly, and she wrapped her arms around his back, pressing her face into his shoulder to hide her burning cheeks.

     Y/N was not the liar of the relationship, that was for sure. She couldn’t lie whatsoever, and even if she could, her lies would never get past JJ.

     She could make up excuses easily, however — she’d been doing that since birth. It was how she’d managed to last for so long without ever going surfing. “I’m on my period,” she’d say, or “I’ve got a stomach ache” or “I sprained my wrist” or “my board needs fixing”. Thankfully, the others never seemed to notice — after all, they did spend more time on the boat than surfing, and that, Y/N could handle. She didn’t have to actually get in if they were in the boat, and the boat provided a false sense of security. The surfboards, however, did not.

     She managed to choke out “it’s hayfever”, praying to God he’d believe it when he pulled back a little. The way he arched an eyebrow told her otherwise, though, and she sighed. “I can’t surf, okay?”

     “You’ve got to be joking,” he responded, grinning — he thought she was making it up. 

     She shook her head, wiping at the tears coming to her eyes. “I’m not. I can’t surf.”

     “Alright,” he replied, and at the soft tone in his voice, Y/N frowned. This was not the reaction she was expecting. “Well I guess I’ll have to teach you.”

     “No, JJ, uh,” Y/N swallowed thickly. “I’m— I’m afraid of the water, too.”

     “What?” JJ laughed at that, and Y/N’s heart dropped. Here came the reaction she’d been anticipating. “Come on, Y/N, you can’t expect me to believe that. I mean, you live on an island. How can you be afraid of the water?”

     “I just don’t go in,” Y/N responded, feeling breathless and lightheaded as her eyes moved from his to the surfboard and then back to his again. “I don’t— I don’t want to go surfing, JJ.”

     He shook his head, frowning. “You have to have gone in with us at least once.”

     “Never,” Y/N almost whispered. 

     “Why are you afraid of it?” he asked, voice curious. 

     Y/N let out a laugh at that, her voice light as she responded, “Why do you think, JJ? Because I don’t want to drown.” She felt far from the happy humour that she’d managed to force into her voice, and JJ could clearly see that, pulling her into his chest and holding her there tightly.

     “You can swim, right?” he asked, and she nodded, laughing. 

     “Yes, I can swim, JJ,” she answered. “It’s just. . . I don’t like surfing. It scares me, okay?”

     “Come on, I’m going to teach you, okay?” he pleaded, and Y/N sighed, looking up at his face.

     His lower lip was pouted slightly, his blue eyes practically begging her to say yes. She groaned. “Fine. Just, don’t leave me? Please?”

     He grinned at that. “Of course not. I’d have to be a pretty shitty boyfriend to do that.”

     Y/N nodded, but his words only marginally helped with her fear as he picked up the boards again and began walking towards the sand in front of John B’s house. She followed slowly, and with each step it felt like her heart dropped further and further into the pit of her stomach, weighing her down like an anchor. She kept going, though — she’d promised, and she did need to learn at some point. She just wished she’d tried when she was younger.

     The sand eventually turned into waves, and that was where Y/N stopped, looking out to her boyfriend already in at waist-height, looking at her with an encouraging smile. She groaned, stripping herself of her shorts covering her bikini bottoms, and he wolf-whistled, as he always did when she was in just a bikini, if only to get a smile out of her. Today, though, she couldn’t seem to muster one, just swallowing thickly as she began walking into the so-hated salt water.

     Her eyes didn’t leave her feet, and she watched as they slowly got less and less visible in the murky water. Her throat constricted as they did, and she looked back up at her boyfriend again — he was still donning the supportive grin, holding onto the surfboards a few metres away as he waited.

     She nodded, swallowing, and continued to walk. By the time she reached him, the soft waves met her mid torso, and she looked up at the blonde with the sun cascading down him in a manner she would’ve usually admired but now she couldn’t even notice, eyes wide and body heavy. She pressed her hands flat against the board and hiked herself up, steadying herself by grasping onto his tanned shoulders tightly.

     He grinned up at her when she managed to steady herself, squinting slightly in the light but still managing to give her a proud smile. “See? It’s not so bad, is it?”

     Y/N’s hands still rested on his shoulders and she took the time to glance around the deep blue water she was floating on before letting her gaze fall back onto JJ’s face. “J, I’ve hardly done anything.”

     “You’ve done more than you’ve ever done before,” he responded, and Y/N rolled her eyes. “Is it alright if I get on my board?”

     Y/N looked into his blue eyes that were the same colour as the thing she was so afraid of and swallowed, “Uh, yeah. Okay.”

     JJ nodded, and got onto his board a few feet deeper in the water. “Okay, now paddle out a little further,” he called over his shoulder, and Y/N eyed the water warily before starting to paddle towards him.

     He was sat on his surfboard while he waited, legs hanging down into the water in a way that Y/N would only do in her worst nightmares. As the wave he was aiming for approached them, he gave her a grin — she responded to it with the biggest smile she could muster, which was not a lot as she faced the wave that looked to her to be a death wish.

     JJ was smiling at the approaching wave, though, positioning his board in a way that Y/N copied. He glanced back at her as the wave grew closer, yelling instructions over his shoulder that Y/N could only just hear over the sound of her frantically beating heart.

     She copied his actions as best she could as the wave approached, standing up on shaky legs, only to have it come crashing down on her, knocking the air out of her lungs as she was pushed forwards and off of her board. She gasped as she resurfaced, wiping hair out of her face and checking her bikini was still tied on -- thankfully, it was, but she triple knotted it anyway, pulling herself back onto her board and sitting down as JJ paddled over to her.

     “Hey, you okay?” he asked, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear gingerly, the motion soothing. Y/N swallowed and nodded as she looked down at the water, disdain in her eyes, but she tried again anyway.

     It felt like hours later when she finally stayed on her board for a wave, and she grinned as she came out of the other end, yelling out her excitement and looking over at JJ, who was paddling towards her. He brought his board up to hers, grinning proudly as they floated along side by side.

     He pressed his lips to hers — softly, at first, but when her hands found their way into his wet hair to draw him closer, it became a lot more passion-fuelled, and his hands roamed from her cheeks to her waist, body pressing into hers. She was smiling into the kiss, tugging on his hair lightly when his tongue grazed her lip expertly — and then he took her lip between his sharp teeth, and she let out a moan that echoed around the beach. He smirked into the kiss, only encouraged by the groans that came from the direction of the Chateau.

     She pushed him away, though, a blush staining her cheeks as she glanced over his shoulder and to her friends, scattered across the dock. He grinned at her, whispering: “Well done, babe. I’m proud of you. We can go back now, if you want.”

     Y/N nodded, lips swollen as she mumbled, “Yeah, but can you kiss me again first?”

     JJ smirked, and did just that.

taglist! there is a form in my description if you would like to be added! also if your name is in italics i couldn’t tag you, and if you could add yourself again that would be appreciated.

@thorsangel @dpaccione @ceruleanjj @thatsonobx @spilledtee @supremestarkey @babypogue @sadcupofcoffee @sacredto @poguemacking @outrbank @ilovejjmaybank @calumbroutledge @headedfortheopendoors @thelocalpogue @decap-quadrant @everydayimfangirling @raekenliar @jayjaymaebank

[secret-engima]

@hamelin-born

*kicks down door* Okay so I’m so sorry you’ve had a bad week, and since I am physically incapable of coming over and giving you a hug, I shall give you bby Dionysus being adorable with his (dead)relatives and Deleantur getting shipped by the local Galahdian bear woman instead!

...

     The man shrugged and played with the edge of his cloak, “You may call me Herodotus. Or,” he added when he saw Dionysus’s face screw up at the long name —so many of his dream relatives had such long names that were hard—, “you can just call me Wander.”

     “Wander?”

     The soft smile grew bigger, mischievous, “It’s a nickname. I’ve never really been the kind of person to stay in one place for very long. Will that suit, Little Traveller?”

     Dionysus mouthed the word, then nodded, “Wander.” He looked around them in curiosity, at the glowing flowers and living magic lights and trees bigger than buildings, “Where are we?”

     “One of my memories,” Wander answered as he leaned back against the tree trunk, “my … safe place I suppose. Though I have had many over the years, this one was my first, so I suppose it is my favorite.”

     “But where?” He’d never seen anything like this outside of storybooks. He wanted to go see it for himself when he woke up next.

     Wander shook his head and looked amused, “I’m sorry, Little Traveler, but this is not a place you can find on Eos.” Dionysus stared at him with big eyes and Wander leaned in with a whisper and a gesture at his cloak, “When I was younger, I met a wonderful group of people who liked to travel as much as I did, and they showed me many things. Some of those were places that you could not, and will never, find on any map of Eos.”

     Dionysus leaned closer, “Like the story of the magic rock that secretly led t’ the world of Hiso Hiso al’ens?”

     Wander’s eyes glittered and his magic that draped around them felt like delighted laughter, “Just like that, yes. But my doorway wasn’t a rock.”

     Dionysus looked all around in awe. He was in a secret world just like in the stories! Or the memory of a secret world anyway. He looked back over at Wander, “Did you fight an evil copy of your frien’? Did the copy try t’ de- delete the whole world ‘till you an’ Serah stopped it an’ saved all the Hiso Hiso?”

     Wander’s shoulders shook a little, then stilled, “No. Nothing quite so exciting. But I did meet a woman with cat ears and a tail, and we did become good friends.” Dionysus gasped in excitement, and when Wander stood up and held out his hand, Dionysus took it without hesitation, “Come on,” Wander chuckled, “I’m afraid I cannot show you any aliens or evil copies, but I can show you a few other places I’ve been that no one on Eos will find.”

     And he did. A few steps into the woods and the trees all turned to hills of sand and shimmering waves of sunny heat. Strange creatures with humps on their backs plodded slowly by in the distance, and in front of them was a tower that reached up to the sky all by itself. Wander told him that it was a dungeon, and that anyone who managed to reach the treasure at the very top would become a king and get magic of their very own. Dionysus asked him if he’d ever done it, if he had dungeon magic, but Wander shook his head and said he already had magic, so he’d let a friend take it instead. They plodded their way through a few shifting steps of sand and suddenly they were out of the hot sand and on an island in the sky. There was a strange ceiling high-high-high above their heads, and Wander told him that this was not one floating island, but a hundred of them all stacked on top of each other, each one just a bit smaller than the last so they didn’t block out all the sunlight for the levels below. Dragons swooped off in the distance, and when Wander led him to the edge and held him tight so he wouldn’t fall, Dionysus leaned over and saw nothing but thick clouds drifting below them.

     They stepped back and the world became an ocean. They stood on the wooden deck of a ship and around them was bright blue water and flapping sails and before them was some kind of creature so big it was an island, it’s long legs plodding slowly through the sea with trees and buildings on its back. Wander told him that talking animals lived on the back of the big creature, and that very few people could find the island unless they were born there because it was always moving. He led Dionysus below decks and then they were on an island with a tree growing in the middle that was so tall and so big it had another, much smaller island sitting in its branches. The air tingled with old-friendly-amused magic that felt like laughter and mysteries, and Wander told him that this was the island of fairies.

     He showed Dionysus a bunch of places, each one different and strange and amazing, each one with a little story to go with it that made Dionysus want desperately to know and explore more until the next one came and he wanted to see that one instead. Wander held his hand the whole time, steady and sure, making sure he never got lost or stepped too close to something dangerous. It was amazing and weird and exciting, and Dionysus decided he liked Wander a lot. Wander was different from the others, even Grandma Crepera. He didn’t seem to have any questions, and he didn’t mind answering all of Dionysus’s. He wasn’t grumpy, or loud, and there was … something about him. About his soft voice and the look in his eyes that reminded Dionysus of his dad.

... (And here’s Deleantur!)

     He sensed someone approach through the outskirts of the crowd. Not that it was easy to miss someone as big as Chief Ligeia considering she stood a head taller than most of the other people here. He tipped his chin to her in greeting as she came to a stop next to him, a mug of something that smelled like alcohol in one hand. She grinned at him, all teeth and good humor, “Going to just watch? Or are you going to go have some fun?”

     Deleantur shrugged and went back to crowd-watching, “I am having fun.” It wasn’t a lie, he found it both fascinating and entertaining to watch the party unfold before him. Galahdians weren’t all that different from the mainland in how they celebrated, but there were differences that were interesting to see. For one thing, there was a lot more dancing and singing. Even people taking a break at the makeshift feasting tables were all but dancing on the benches, feet tapping, heads bobbing- there was never a moment of stillness even from the groups lingering on the outskirts of the party to talk rather than dance.

     The dances themselves were a lot more vibrant and energetic too. There were no royal waltzes here, but circle dances that dragged everyone nearby into them, or spinning dances where partners traded off at dizzying speeds. There was also a vaguely alarming number of somersaults, backflips, and instances of people climbing up trees and rubble like squirrels to better perform an acrobatic flip in time to the music, and not just from the children and the teenagers. He half suspected that the only reason the Elders weren’t doing such stunts were because they were physically too old and arthritic to pull it off.

    Chief Ligeia scoffed, “Just watching is never fun. You should go out there and dance. Don’t want Stella to think you’re ignoring her, do you?”

     Deleantur blinked at her, then glanced into the crowd where Stella was currently spinning and flipping in time with her little brother Eventus like some kind of circus performance rather than a dance for a party, “She knows where to find me if she needs me.”

     Chief Ligeia slapped one of his shoulders hard enough that he had to bite back a hiss, “Not the point. You should be out there dancing with her. It’s good for young people like you two.” Deleantur gave her the flattest look he could manage and barely refrained from telling her that he was currently two thousand years removed from his date of birth —though that distance was technically in reverse—, even if he only looked to be twenty-six. But that wasn’t something he told anyone, especially not a party-happy stranger. Chief Ligeia rolled her eyes, utterly undisturbed by his look, and slapped his shoulder again in an effort to get him moving, “Go on.”

     Deleantur raised an eyebrow and didn’t budge, “Why do you care?”

     The Behemoth of a woman took a long drink from her mug, then answered blithely, “Because Candor is my second cousin and Stella is the best niece I ever had and I want her to be happy. You dancing with her will make her happy. So,” the woman moved with astonishing speed, so fast even Deleantur’s instincts and borrowed experience couldn’t stop her from bodily lifting him by the back of his tunic with one hand and all but toss him into the flow of the crowd, “go dance with her!” Deleantur staggered into the crowd, trying to catch his balance, then yelped as his hands were snatched up by a passing dancer and he was pulled into the flow.

... (and here, have a long snip of Buckler too)

     They camped on the nearest Haven for the night, and Axis cooked dinner without comment while Nox fussed over his uncle and the redhead just sighed and complained about losing his shirts. He listened to them bicker, watched the way their shoulders slowly relaxed the longer Axis went without recoiling from them or acting afraid, and came to a decision. It was a reckless one, a stupid one even but … but it felt like the right one. He hadn’t asked about what happened, or how Ardyn had magic, but he knew what he’d seen and so did they. He knew not just one, but two of their greatest secrets now —that Nox was a Lucis Caelum, that Ardyn was a Lucis Caelum and couldn’t die—.

     In the morning, before they could wander off into the wilderness again, Axis invited —ordered— them to come with him to Meldacio HQ. The two exchanged nervous glances before obediently following him on the trek up to the Vesperpool area.

     If his wife was surprised when Axis turned up a week later with not just Nox in tow, but Niflheim’s Chancellor, she didn’t show it. She just smiled and welcomed them into their tiny house with a gesture and a promise of dinner soon. Nox’s eyes were wide as they shuffled in and Axis had known Ardyn long enough to spot the nervous edge in his sweeping bow.

     Both of them went totally still when they spotted the playpen taking up most of the living room floor, filled with ratty stuffed toys that Axis had either purchased from Outposts or had been gifted by members of his, Tredd’s, and Luche’s Clans. Inside the playpen, Axis’s triplets —his treasures, his children, his greatest and most precious secrets— cooed and babbled eagerly at Axis, waving their hands and crawling around. His last visit hadn’t been that long ago, and they remembered him —the fact that he had been gone for long enough stretches when they were smaller that he’d been a stranger to them would always hurt—. Venia, his smallest and boldest, spotted Nox and Ardyn and babbled at them, fearlessly crawling up to the edge of the playpen to look at them. Axis reached in and picked her up, kissing her forehead and tickling her stomach with a hand to hear her laugh before turning to watch Nox’s and Ardyn’s reactions.

     Nox was still staring at Historia and Spiritus in the playpen, a bright-eyed look on his face and a shiver of power in the air that felt protective. He looked at them like any of Axis’s remaining clan did, or how Tredd and Luche had first looked at them. Awe and protectiveness and already blooming adoration. Axis glanced at Ardyn.

     Ardyn was staring at Venia, and the look on his face took Axis’s breath away. There was pure, open adoration there, wonder and a bright-edged fear, like just being near her would be enough to break her. Venia spotted Ardyn staring, dressed in all his clashing layers and colors, and giggled at him. She had never been afraid of strangers, and she didn’t hesitate to flail her hands in his direction, babbling with all the energy of a healthy nine month old. Ardyn flinched faintly away, even though her hands were nowhere near him, his own hands curling shyly inside his long sleeves like he was terrified of touching her.

     Something in Axis’s heart broke a little.

     No one as unexpectedly kind as Ardyn should fear being near a child.

     “Her name is Venia,” Axis murmured, “that’s her sister Historia, and her brother Spiritus.”

     “They’re so little.” Nox cooed as he crouched just outside the playpen, watching the two babies who stared back with far less fearless curiosity than their sister had —but not outright fear, Axis wondered if they too could feel Nox’s magic swelling around the room, rumbling with protective and already loving emotions—. Porrima reappeared at Axis’s elbow, reaching past him to pluck Spiritus out of the playpen. She gave their guests a considering look, then calmly reached out and plopped their son into Nox’s arms. Nox’s grip tensed, but his arms shifted into a proper position with a speed that looked instinctive, “Hey, wait-!”

     Porrima ignored Nox’s breathless squawk and Spiritus’s wary coo, just picked up Historia and turned to face Ardyn, who had gone stiff as a board and deathly white, “Madam,” Ardyn said tensely, “I don’t think-.”

     “Are you going to hurt them?” Porrima asked.

     Ardyn’s jaw tightened, “Never, but I don’t-.”

     “Are your arms so weak you’ll drop her?”

     “No, but-.”

     “Are you sick?”

     Ardyn shook his head but kept shying subtly back, “I-.”

     Axis sighed at his wife as she exchanged Historia for Venia, then turned and fearlessly stepped into Ardyn’s space to put their boldest daughter in the arms of Niflheim’s Chancellor —and the king’s unknown relative—. Ardyn went stone still as soon as Venia was in his arms, hands cradling her like she was fragile as glass and his eyes huge. Axis bounced Historia in his arms a little as he scolded, “Porrima. Don’t force them to hold the children if they don’t want to.”

     “But they do want to, and it’s good for the triplets to meet new safe people,” his wife sniffed back. Then she flitted back to the kitchen without waiting to see the fallout of her actions.

     Sometimes his wife trusted his judgement and choice of houseguests a little too much.

     Axis sidled closer to Ardyn and held out an arm, “I can take her back if this really makes you uncomfortable.”

     Ardyn stared down at Venia with the roundest eyes Axis had ever seen. Venia blinked up at her new handler, looked over at her dad, then looked back at Ardyn and clumsily patted his cheek, grabbing curiously at his red-violet hair a moment later. Ardyn inhaled, and Axis felt a second magic flood the room, old and powerful and monstrously protective. Where Nox’s was deep like the ocean, powerful but … subtle, like currents under the surface, Ardyn’s magic felt wild. It felt like the ripple of spotted fur in the jungle, the glimpse of fangs and teeth of a feral beast. Nox’s protective adoration of the little boy he was bouncing in his arms was like the pull of the tide, sweeping in and out with each breath, but Ardyn’s-. Ardyn’s was the rumble of a Coeurl’s purr as it curled around its cub, the singing edge of bloody steel, promising death to anyone that so much as looked wrong at Axis’s triplets.

     Ardyn very slowly sank down onto the floor, legs crossed to form a lap for Venia to flop on, and when he looked up at Axis, his normally blue eyes were a brilliant, Coeurl gold, “They’re beautiful.” He whispered hoarsely.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are weird “Hypnosis”

Hope you guys are already having a great weak :) 

BOOK UPDATE: You guys have been asking when my next update on wattpad is going to be within the next week, so don’t worry. My beta readers have chapter three, and I am feverishly working on the chapter after that. 

The fairgrounds were alive ad teaming with color. The once deserted terrestrial moon had since been turned into the largest ever recorded outdoor market that had ever existed. The introduction of humans into the GA had brought the universe new and unconsidered ways of selling, buying, and tourism. On all sides humans and aliens alike were demonstrating their artistic craft. There were metal workers, carpenters, sculptures, artists, leather workers, and artists. A few industrious groups had even crossed inter-species borders to collaborate on projects. They had a real tough time pulling Sunny away from a Drev/human blacksmith partnership that created Drev armor in the style of medieval humans and human armor in the style of the Drev, but now after she had purchased herself a helmet, which Commander Vir, Adam, openly admitted looked ‘friggin awesome’, but then again, that was coming from someone who had purchased himself a cape, and insisted upon wearing it because it “made him look fancy.”

Krill tried not to be distracted by the frivolous, but turned out to have a great weakness for a specific vendors art works which depicted surrealist landscapes. Of course, when captain vir pointed out that they travel the universe and often see things just as strange, the doctor pointed out that, this way, he could look at how pretty it was and not worry about how dangerous it was.

They cut a strange group in the crowd, a human, a Drevv, and a Vrul, one wearing a steel- horned helmet, the other a cape, and the third holding a large roll that was almost taller than him.

Technically they were supposed to be here providing security, but out of all the jobs they had been given, recently, this one was surprisingly easy. They met up with another “Patrol” walking down the main thoroughfare and found hat Cannon, sunny’s brother had also purchased himself some new armor.

They walked with each other for a few minutes  before a voice caught their attention over the roaring of the crowd.

“COME ON IN, SIT DOWN, AND ENJOY IT BECAUSE I’M ONLY GOING TO BE HERE ANOTHER DAY…. YES YOU THREE.”

Adam lept easily onto sunny’s back peering over the crowd trying to see what it was all about.

Sunny craned her head back to look at him, “What is it.”

He squinted, “Hold on, I can’t- wait a HYPNOTIST hell yeah! I love those guys. Come on lets go before all the seats are taken.”

“What is a hypnotist?” Sunny wondered, but received only a pat on the muzzle.

“You shall see.”

She blinked shaking her beak in mild confusion. Krill inflated his helium pouch and allowed Sunny to drag him through the crowd. A few of the other humans followed along curiously as did Cannon.

Together they made their way to a row of benches and took their seats. Sunny looked on stage to find a well dressed man in a suit, standing in front of a line of chairs. He didn’t look particularly special, but who was she to judge. He glanced around at the crowd for a few more minutes hollering for people to come in. Once the crowd was filled up, an assistant pressed a button at the back of the stage, and a sudden flash of blue light surrounded them before fading away to a dim shimmer.

The sound field left the interior quite silent, and the man cleared his throat taking a sip of water, “That can’t be good for my voice.” before smiling and clapping his hands together, “let's get started, how many of you know what a hypnotist is?” 

Most of the humans raised their hands.

He glanced around the crowd, “Well that was to be expected, for those of you inhuman visitors, a hypnotist is someone who is trained to bring other people to a state of, what should be best explained as, deep state of concentration and suggestibility. We have used hypnotism for thousands of years in psychological treatment, relaxation techniques, and certain types of medical procedures. However, I’ll have you know now that it is STILL one of the most controversial techniques in both the psychological and physiological medical fields, however, I’m not a doctor, I am an entertainer, so we shouldn’t have any issues here today.” 

He looked around the crowd, “Let me get rid of a few common misconceptions about hypnotism. First of all, if you don’t want to be hypnotized you CANNOT be. There has never, ever been a case of someone who was hypnotized against their will. This as to be something you are willing to participate in because most of the work is done by the subject, and not me. You CHOOSE to allow me to do my work, the second misconceptions is that, once you are hypnotized, you will not be persuaded to do anything against your moral code, like murder, or injuring someone, unless you are that kind of person anyway, and in that case it isn’t my fault that you’re a terrible person.”

The crowd chuckled.

“So no one will be dropping any deep dark secrets on us that they wouldn’t already tell us anyway. Last of all, if you are a human you have 100%, for sure, been in a state similar to hypnosis before. Daydreaming, meditation, driving home and then realizing when you got home that you cannot remember driving home, all those states are, in essence a form of self hypnosis, so what I am going to do here, is, I am going to give you a bit of a test, and then pick those of you who seem good subjects to be part of my demonstration. If you do not want to be hypnotized than don’t do the test, simple as that. I invite our inhuman friends to try too because I would find it very interesting to see what the results are.”

He motioned towards his assistant, who fiddled for a moment with a speaker before the soft eerie sci-fi music began, “Don’t look at me like that, we are on a moon circling a gas giant, so I can choose whatever weird music I want….. Alright, now those of you who want to try this, can I have you stand up,there we go, some aliens too, that’s good.”

Sunny glanced to her left and right. On her left Adam had taken to his feet, but that wasn’t surprising. On her other side, rill was looking on skeptically. Her brother Cannon had chosen to stand. Sunny herself was content to simply watch and see what would happen.

“Alright, everyone ready? Good…. Now those of you who want to participate I will ask to close your eyes, and when you close your eyes, I want you to hold your hands out in front of you, your right palm facing down and your left palm facing up. Now on your right hand, I want you to imagine that you have a string tied around your wrist, and on that string is a balloon, those things in the fair that are really colorful and filled with helium for those of you who don’t know. Now as you hold your hand there, the balloon gets bigger and bigger, and as it gets bigger and bigger, its filled with more helium, and as it is filled with more and more helium, it pulls you hnd higher towards the sky. Your hand grows lighter and lighter. Your arm is being pulled towards the sky higher and higher making your arm feel lighter and lighter.”

Sunny watched in general amusement as the participants right hands began to raise slowly towards the sky. Over to her right, Krill would have rolled his eyes if he could. The man continued to speak his voice retaining a distinct cadence repeating and then continuing to repeat the same instructions, and as he did hands raised towards the air. A couple of people peaked towards their counterparts sitting down once they realized it wasn’t going to work on them.

“Now in your right hand I want you to imagine you are holding a weight, and every second I keep talking the weight grows heavier and heavier dragging your hand towards the ground. Heavier and heavier the weight gets while lighter and lighter the balloon gets.” The man continued to speak as he stepped down into the crowd glancing around at the subjects. He made a few people sit  back down , examined another and then came around their side of the room stopping at Adam, who, to sunny’s amusement, probably wouldn't have raised his arm any higher or dropped his arm any lower.

He looked pretty dumb.

The man paused at his side, placed a hand on his shoulder, and began to whisper something in his ear. Sunny and Krill couldn’t hear it from where they were sitting, but then the man reached up and tapped Adam on the forehead.

“Sleep.” 

The crowd gasped. 

The humans laughed. 

He collapsed like a wet bag of sand s if his spine had suddenly vanished, knees buckling and sagging forward face first. Sunny lunged to catch him, but the hypnotist had already caught him grunting slightly under Adam’s dead weight. 

Krill leaped to his feet in shocked horror stepping forward to help, but the man held up a hand, “It’s alright.” he grunted under the dead weight, “here, do you mind?” Before she could say anything, the man had turfed Adam’s corpse? Onto her lap. He sagged towards the floor, and she caught him, holding him in place with all four of her arms as his arm dangled towards the floor.

Krill reached over and felt for his pulse.

“What the hell.” He muttered 

“What/” Sunny whispered to him

The Vrul held up an appendage for a second counting internally, “His pulse….. 45 bpm.”

“Isn’t that….. A sleeping heart rate?” She wondered unsure.”

Krill nodded. Off to their left another human slumped into her seat. This went on until about 12 people had been incapacitated. Adam was still not moving.

The hypnotist took a stand back on stage, “Alright now I am going to count back from three, and once I count back from three, those who are asleep are going to wake up, and then I’m going to ask them to come up on stage. When I count back from three and say wake up they are going to wake up and then come up on stage…. three …. two ... one …. Wake up.” 

Adam stirred, lifting his head groggily from Sunny’s lap blinking owlishly around looking almost confused.

“Please welcome our volunteers to the stage everyone. Sunny nuged Adam to his feet, and, almost drunkenly he plodded up the isle and onto the stairs. By the time he had taken a seat in one of the chairs he APPEARED to be awake bright eyed and looking around at his neighbors as they introduced themselves.

Sunny wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it.

The hypnotist walked down the line pausing near the woman who sat Next to Adam, “What is your name Ms?”

“Jessie.”

“Ok Jessie, tell me, do you think you are hypnotized?”

She nervously shuffled her feet, “Um, no, I don’t think so?” 

“Well don’t ask me, I don't know.” He turned to Adam, “Can you raise your arm for me, Sir, yes right there.” He then reached out a hand to the woman, “Well it was nice to meet you Jessie.” With a sharp tug he pulled on her arm, “Sleep!” She collapsed head first onto Adam, who looked a little more than surprised. The hypnotist moved his arm to keep hold of her, “Hold his for me will ya.”

Adam looked horribly uncomfortable as the man went down the line asking others their names and then causing them to collapse onto each other “Asleep.” 

He eventually made his way back to Adam, “Comfortable there?”

Adam shrugged, “Um…. not sure.”

“Not sure, well why don’t you tell me your name.” He had reached out to take Adam’s hand.

“Adam.”

“Alright, Adam, are you hypnotized?”

“Er…. I don’t know>”

“If you had to guess?”

“Um…. Yes?” he looked pretty confused, and sort of nervous despite the fact he was smiling.

“And what do you do for a living.” The handshake was getting really long and awkward.

“I captain a spaceship.”

“Wow, thas a new one. Well Adam, do me a favor, and why don’t you look in the crowd, and focus right there on your blue friend, yeah the shiny top of her head right there, and Sleep.” He jerked his hand forward, and Adam collapsed over the top of the first human one arm dangling towards the ground. The crowd giggled.

Krill still looked quite skeptical.

The man spent the next few minutes repeating his instructions to relax repeating, “And as you go deeper and deeper into this state of relaxation, you will feel your muscles relax, the muscles in your face, the muscles in your arms, the muscles in your back, all deep and relaxed and limp, relaxed and limp, loose relaxed and limp.”

The crowd burst into a fit of giggling as Adam and his neighbor slipped onto the floor. Adam’s mouth was wide open lying flat on his back crumbled in a heap.

The hypnotist paused behind them and chuckled, “This always happens, can never keep them in their chairs, now, I know some of you out there are probably skeptical.” He looked pointedly at Krill, “Im looking at you spider legs, I can spot a skeptic a mile off. Now I know what you must be thinking, if he CAN”T hypnotize people against their will than it isn’t real, they are just pretending, but no; what you don’t understand is, I am not doing this, they are doing it to themselves, and they are using me as an excuse to do it. Think about it, wouldn’t you want to be this relaxed. What I have done is convinced THEM that they can make themselves relax.” He reached down picked up Adam’s arm and dropped it, and like a wet noodle it flopped back onto the floor, “You can’t just fake relaxation like that. These people really have convinced themselves, through my suggestion that they can do this, and that they should do it. They have DECIDED to follow my instructions.” 

There was a murmuring from the crowd, and Sunny turned to find that, her brother, Cannon had fallen to the floor supposedly unconscious. The hypnotist raised his head, “Do we have another one….. Oh look at that, he’s not human.” More muttering as he stepped off stage, walked over and woke Cannon up, “Do you want to come on stage with us.”

Cannon paused and then drunkenly nodded his big head. Sunny found it greatly amusing as the tiny human led her 9 foot brother onto the stage, “Here, just sit down right her big guy till I figure out what to do with you…..” He glanced at the crowd, “happens to me every time. Someone in the crowd always gets it,” He tapped Cannon on the head, “Sleep.” he hit the stage with a loud echoing thud, but otherwise looked rather peaceful. 

The man did a few more demonstrations with rigidity as opposed to relaxation, explaining the entire time what he was doing so the crowd could follow along with his intentions,  “Oh now when I count back from three you are all going to wake up, and you are going to feel relaxed and fresh, and great, but when you wake up you are going to see the most beautiful person you have ever seen, guys girls, girls guys doesn't matter, he or she is the perfect specimen, drop dead gorgeous, you would do anything to impress this person. Three two one… awake.”

Sunny couldn’t help being amused at the sight of ten humans doing their best to impress an imaginary hot person. One guy stood up and began posing like a model, the women twirl their hair around their fingers, one woman even adjusted her chest. The crowd giggled. Her brother Cannon didn’t seem interested, and probably wouldn’t, not after the death of his made, so he just looked on quietly approving following some unknown Drev back and forth across the stage. 

Adam on the other and, went red, shuffled his feet, and promptly crawled over e back of his chair to hide.

The crowd howled with laughter.

“Hey, hey Adam, where are you going.” Adam did not show his head. The hypnotist went back behind the chairs, “What are you doing back here.”

“Pretty girl.” Came the muttered answer.

“Well don’t you want to impress her.” 

“No…. yes…..no.”

“Well why not. Come on you fly a spaceship, how could she not be impressed.”

A loud whisper this time, “What if she sees me.” 

The hypnotist had to stifle a giggle, “Well that’s alright if you want to stay here that's alright, I’ll Come get you when the coast is clear.”  He stepped out from behind the chairs. Sunny wasn’t entirely sure if she should laugh hysterically or feel bad for him. The other members of the crew were giggling madly from the side. 

Krill had at least accepted he was stuck here at this point, and so looked on at the antics with mild amusement.

“Ok ok, the hot person is gone now, you can all return to your seats.” Adam moved a bit shamefaced from behind his chair and took a seat. “Alright, here is an easy one, the hot person is gone but all of a sudden you are going to realize that I am suddenly very very naked, and not only am I horribly naked, but I am also about 100 years old.” 

The expressions of disgust, embarrassment and avoidant eye contact was greatly amusing.

“Um…. sir, sir.” 

The hypnotist turned to Adam, who had stood from his seat.

“yes , Adam.”

“Um…. you’re not…. Wearing anything.” With one hand he offered up the cape he had bought earlier, “You should put this on.”

The crowd laughed, the hypnotist turned to look at them, “Such a kind your man.”

“Sleep.”

The entire group collapsed back into their seats, and in some cases, onto their seats and then onto the floor.

Sunny found herself chirping madly with glee and amusement. Whether it was real or not was beside the point, the humans were doing goofy things He had one human convinced he was fighting ninjas, another that she had forgotten her name,  a third that she was the world's premier prima ballerina.

He walked up to Adam’s sleeping form, “The person whose shoulder I am touching and only the person whose shoulder I am touching, when you wake up you are going to realize that you do not speak English at all, hear that you do not speak English at all, three two one wake.”

Adam lifted his head.

“What’s your name.”

The human made a strange hissing and humming noise at him.

The crowd murdered in surprise. They hadn’t exactly expected him to start speaking fluent Vrul either. The hypnotist looked on in surprise and reached up to switch on his translator, “Oh I see, you don’t speak English…. Ha ... isn't that interesting. What would happen if you couldn't speak Vrul either.” 

He tried, and when Adam began speaking again, Sunny was stunned. The noises he was making were deep and guttural originating from inside his belly and chest. It used a lot of grunting gurgling, clicking and hissing  far deeper than the human’s usual voice…..

He hadn’t told her he was learning how to speak Drev…

-

“Alright when you all wake up, you realize that I have something you really want, and in order to get something that you really want, you are going to have to bring me a gift, the best gift you can think up.”

What followed was probably the funniest thing Sunny had ever seen.  It was pretty tame at first, a few of the humans simply pulled out money, some gave him the things they had purchased at the fair. Cannon walked into the crowd, grabbed one of the crew members and brought him up confused and laughing to sand on stage.

“What is this?”

“Gift.” Cannon grunted 

Howling laughter.

“What am I going to do with this?” The hypnotist wondered trying to hold back a laugh.

“Good mechanic.” Cannon grunted patting the human on the head, who was nearly doubled over laughing.

Another human came up on stage holding his baby.

Sunny was pretty sure some of the humans were crying now, “What the hell is this!”

“My firstborn son.”

“What do I have that you would trade your firstborn son for?” the hypnotist choked.

The human stood confused holding the baby for a moment, “Um…. second born son.”

Sunny lost it.

Trying to keep a straight face, the man turned to Adam, only to find he was proffering his own leg, the prosthetic one obviously. “Can I have my friends back now?” He wondered 

The man looked down confused, “Aright Mr. Unexpectedly wholesome, back to your seats everyone.” 

-

By the end, Sunny’s sides hurt, even krill looked like he was having a good time. The man had convinced them they were all naked which was amusing to watch. Many hid themselves, a few made themselves comfortable, Adam looked resigned, Cannon was unaffected. 

He did a few more things before time was up before convincing the humans they were awake and no longer susceptible to his hypnosis. Adam stumbled down from the stage looking a little confused. Sunny motioned him over.

“So, when were you going to tell me you could speak Drev?” 

He groaned, “Shit, that was supposed to be a surprise.”

She just grinned, “It was pretty good.”

“Really?”

“Really…..” She smiled, “You should have seen yourself.”

He blushed, “Was it bad?”

“I almost peed myself. I’ll have to tell you about all the stupid things you did later.” She wrapped one arm around him, and he tried to escape but found the attempt useless.

Krill walked past, “Yes…. I should have to write a paper about this….. Still don’t entirely believe it, but a good paper.”

Adam sighed, “Oh great, now the entire galaxy is going to know about me being an idiot.”

Krill didn’t look up, “Don’t worry, they already know.”

“Thanks for that.” 

[starlighttaek8]

Redamancy

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Word Count: 4k+

Genre: Fluff. Just Super Fluff.

Plot Summary: This is a sequel to my other story, Untitled. I guess you don’t HAVE to read it, but this story will be able to be understood better if you do.

So, this is just a really fluffy Yoongi x reader story, with a lot of cute moments. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Him.

You had just met up with Seokjin and his wife. 

Tragic really, he was your first love and to see him married and with a child will always hurt. 

That nagging voice, toxic in nature, always in the back of your mind, plaguing your thoughts of how to rip and shred and cause havoc just to make him yours. 

Thankfully, these intrusive thoughts were only a very small piece of your mind and as you left the coffee shop that day, you couldn't help but be proud of yourself for how much you have grown as a person.

Although you have always been a more in your head person, a person whose world is so internally focused, you should really focus on what is right in front of you.

Especially when you walk out the door of the coffee shop right as another person walks in. 

The surprise collision also made you spill your coffee, all over this person's, objectively nice, sans coffee, dress pants and shoes.

"I'm so sorry!" You exclaim, rushing back into the shop to get some napkins.

"I'm really such a clutz, I'm always in my head, please forgive me!" You rush out, practically begging for this stranger's forgiveness although he had yet to speak. 

"Erm.. It's okay." He responded, shock from having hot coffee spilled all over his ankles substantially subsided.

You looked up and you admit, you were startled at his appearance.

He was quite handsome, bleached blonde hair falling lightly over his forehead. His eyes were the second thing you noticed, the intensity of the brown irises not one that you could soon forget.

Min Yoongi.

At the discovery of the identity of the person in front of you, once you had finished cleaning off his pants the best you could, you slowly stood up to meet him.

"Min Yoongi?"

"Um.. Yes, have we met?"

"Well... Not officially. I've been Seokjin's friend since we were little. He would occasionally talk of his friends and point them out to me."

"And you remembered me?"

"Well... Yes. I may be clumsy with my feet, but I usually never forget a name or face."

There was a reason why you didn't forget his face in particular though.

He was the only other one, besides Jin, that would have let you play with them. 

Occasionally, as the rest of the class was walking inside, he would look at the drawings you made in the dirt, and give you a tiny grin.

Then there was that one time where most of their friend group had gotten sick from the nasty germs that infested the public schools. 

This time, it wasn't a tiny grin as you drew intricate designs in the sand.

This time, he picked up his own stick, and as you drew, he drew. 

While your designs were more freeform, circular, wavy, carefree, his were angular, calculated. Each line he drew complimented yours, with the both of them creating a beautiful pattern in the sand.

Neither of you talked during this experience, two silent people drawing shapes in the ground.

As the bell rang, and the teacher started gathering kids to go back inside, you shared a small smile with him, as newly kindred spirits and went back inside.  

That same moment never happened again. 

5 months later and just as school was ending, you overheard that his parents were getting divorced. He was going to live with his father, about 3 hours away.

Until now, you never saw him again.

But then was then, and now is now, and seeing his older, yet still youthful features grace your eyes once more sent a small smile to your face.

"Well, color me impressed then. Are you in a hurry?" 

"Erm.. No, I'm not, I just.., I just met with Seokjin, his wife, and their new daughter. We haven't seen each other in a good 5 years."

"Wow, so it's been a while. Are they still here?"

"No, they left just about 10 minutes ago, Seokjin mentioned something about a pediatrician appointment. Are you sure you're okay? Um, I can buy you a coffee as an apology, if you want..," you offer, still embarrassed as you look at the mess you made on his nice pants.

"Oh... Yeah," he snickers softly, "I'm fine, these things happen, but if you don't mind, since I was the one who interrupted your thinking process, I could get you a new cup of coffee, and we could catch up a bit. You know, since you're not in a hurry and all."

Having an actual conversation with him was different.

When you were kids, the only conversation you had was the unspoken kind, the kind that only kindred, creative, quiet minds could have. 

But as you spoke with him that afternoon, you realized just how much you both were alike, and just how much you were different.

You shared a lot of the same interests. He had studied Music in university, you liked music, liked being a term that did not, in any way, describe your love for it. 

Music, to you, was another form of life in and of itself. Another plane of existence so to speak. 

It was vibrant, it flowed, each musical note a new wave in the air, perfectly differing from the note before it, creating chords, symphonies, tying in all that mattered in the world into neat little waves of sound. Each note had a life of its own, but only with the other notes did it have true meaning, only with the other notes was it able to become true music to your ears.

That's how spending time with Yoongi was. 

After your impromptu coffee shop date, you both exchanged contact information, and as soon as you arrived home that night, a small buzz accompanied by a picture of Yoongi greeted you.

As time went on, you were able to get to know Yoongi better. You often hung around the same coffee shop that you met at, and you could already feel a small twinge of something in your heart. 

The first time you held hands with him you weren't sure you should count, as it was, much like many things that you did, purely on accident. 

It had been precisely a week since you two exchanged numbers at the coffee shop, and you had already arranged to meet each other for dinner. 

There was something about not only the way you met all those years ago, but also, Yoongi realized from the short conversation you had shared over coffee that there was something special about you, from the way that you frequently spaced out into your own thoughts, as if your inner mind was a much more interesting place than anything the outside world had to offer, to the way that you got so excited when you saw a cute puppy across the street that you just about ran into traffic in an effort to get to it.

The way you started to take steps off the sidewalk alerted him immediately, and he took hold of your hand, barely saving you from a car speeding past you, and bringing you back into the safety of the sidewalk, and coincidentally right against his chest. 

As you looked up at him from his embrace, you could see the panicked look in his eyes and the short breaths that escaped his lungs in small puffs, visible due to the chilly weather. 

From that moment on, he didn't let go of your hand, claiming "I can't lose you because you get distracted by a butterfly and decide to get yourself killed by traipsing through fast traffic."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As said before, many things in your life happened by accident, both good and bad. 

Two months after the hand holding incident, something else happened. 

Accidents happen, you understand that, but why of all the accidents did it have to be this.

"...and that's why Jin has a short scar on his hand."

"Oh my goodness! Yoongi!" You laughed as he told you some of the things that happened in your elementary years, bonding over nostalgic times.

This conversation happened on a phone, one night where you hadn't been able to see him all day, as was the same with most days, but  you didn't know how such an average day could turn into a special one. 

"Anyways, it was really nice catching up with you, I feel like we haven't seen each other in weeeeeks!" Yoongi said, making you both laugh a little bit.

"I know! But that's probably because it has been. We've both been rather busy lately. I should probably let you go now. It's 2 am and I have to be up in 5 hours."

"Alright, well then sleep well!"

You don't know what possessed you to say what you said next.

"Alright thanks! Goodnight! Love you!"

As soon as you pushed end, you flew into a self-deprecating swirl of a human.

"WHAT DID I JUST DO? DID I REALLY JUST SAY LOVE YOU?" You thought out loud before collapsing on your bed, face down onto your pillow, not caring if your mascara stained your pillowcase.

*buzzzzzzz* *buzzzzzzzzzz* 

It feels like your whole bed vibrates and so you decide to look at your phone before falling asleep.

One (1) new message

Yoongles: Love you too. Sleep well.

Delivered 2:17 am

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since the accidental "love you" exchange, it has been, honestly, quite uneventful. You had work as usual, Yoongi had work as usual. You started going on little outings with Yoongi, maybe once or twice a week, and they started becoming your favorite parts of the week. 

The outings didn't have to be anything special, sometimes they were not even outings, instead choosing to spend time together on your couch (his place was always a mess, he said, plus you had the bigger tv).

The question of whether or not you two were actually dating always seemed to linger in the air. In every sense of the word, yes, yes you were, but technically speaking, he never asked, you never clarified, and labels were never that important to you anyways.

But labels are there for a reason, and that is for clarification. 

Jin and his family wanted to meet up with you again, and you asked if you could bring Yoongi, because it seemed Jin hadn't spent much time with him lately either, and this way he wouldn't be the only guy surrounded by women.

You arrive at the cafe, this time with Yoongi, (less of a chance to spill coffee on him again he said, if we came together) and you spotted Jin and his wife almost immediately. They didn't have their child with them, so they must have gotten Jin's parents to babysit. 

The outing with Jin, his wife, and Yoongi goes well, so well in fact that this conversation happens.

"So we've been talking a lot about us lately, now tell us, are you and Yoongi a couple?"

"Ye-"

"N-"

You both look at each other. He had almost said yes, while you had almost said no. 

"Trouble in paradise already?" Jin laughs.

"What she meant to say was yes, yes we are dating, and yes we are boyfriend and girlfriend, that is in fact, what she meant to say."

"And what do you think of that?" Jin asks pointedly.

"Um.. Yeah, yeah that's exactly what I meant to say, 100 percent, completely and utterly fact, it's just the first time we clarified it." You say as you rub your neck, a slight smile coming to your cheeks as you feel the blood rushing there. 

The rest of your lunch was filled with teasing coming from Jin, and from Yoongi, he was a lot more touchy, always wrapping his arm around you, holding your hand with his other one. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As time went on, your life intertwined more and more with Yoongi's. 

You both shared your passions for life, even though you both already knew each other's likes and dislikes.

His passion was music.

Mixing, to be specific.

It always took a long time to finish each track, but when he did complete it, you were the first he called to listen to it. 

It didn't always go well though.

There were times where he didn't feel like his work matched up to his previous masterpieces. 

He would work as if he was tireless, often spending several days and nights without rest.

On these nights, it's become your custom to bring him some sustenance, as he usually worked so hard he forgot to eat. 

Vanilla Latte in hand, as well as a box of fried chicken, you knock on the door of his studio.

You tried the door, locked.

"Yoongi," You call out, knocking a few more times, "I brought food."

The door clicks and you enter, already finding Yoongi back in his chair, headphones around his neck, face illuminated by the computer screen. 

Which is also the only source of light in the room.

You tell Yoongi to close his eyes and you turn on the main light, the adjustment harsh on even your eyes. 

You both eat together, him offering you the wings while you offer him the drumstick, sharing the Cola that came with the set. 

After eating, you clean everything up, and he gets back to his work, but this time offering you a pair of headphones as you turn out the light. 

You know that he's tired. 

His eyes have dark circles underneath them, body movements are slow, and if you look closely, you can see the red lines in the whites of his eyes, all of these clear signs that this might just be his 2nd day of no sleep. 

Nevertheless, you know that he refuses to sleep until he's satisfied, and you give him your thoughts on his latest piece.

Just like this, you both stay up the rest of the night, your head sometimes leaning on his shoulder.

As soon as the latest masterpiece is completed, you help him out of his chair and into his bed. He can shower after he's gotten some rest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It has been approximately 6 months since you started dating Yoongi, and your dynamic as a couple was truly something amazing. 

Ever since clarifying the relationship to Jin, and to yourself, Yoongi had amped up his efforts to really make you fall deeper for him.

Or maybe he hadn't, but it sure felt like it, because you could feel the love for him in your heart grow every passing day.

You feel your phone buzzing in your pocket and see an incoming call from Yoongi. 

You excitedly pick it up, feeling your heartbeat quicken.

"Princess, can we meet tonight? I want to take you out to dinner," Yoongi said, his voice deep and smooth, just like the voice that you hear those nights that you spend with him in the studio.

Those nights were the best. 

He had gotten you your own rolling chair for his studio, along with a comfortable headrest and blanket. 

So those nights where neither of you could quite get to sleep, where just being in each other's presence was cathartic enough, even if you don't say a word, you would oftentimes find yourself at his studio. 

He would welcome you with a hug, arms around you tightly, head nestled ever so lightly in your neck, so that he could be as close to you as possible.

From there, he would wrap you in a blanket and pull you along to your chair. He would make you sit down and make sure that the blanket was covering every inch below your neck for optimum comfort. 

The final touch was the big, studio-quality, headphones that would encase your ears and cut off everything else that you would hear. The exception being Yoongi's smooth voice and background tracks  that played throughout the dimly lit hours of the night. 

Oftentimes, you would fall asleep right in the chair, it being more comfortable than you ever thought it could be.

Reflecting on what were some of the best nights of your life so far, almost caused you to miss something. 

Yoongi just called you Princess. 

It was a good thing he couldn't see you through the phone, because when you realized that he called you Princess, you could feel your cheeks get hot, and you had the biggest smile on your face. 

It made your heart start to beat just that little bit faster, but thankfully that didn't stop you from replying normally.

"That sounds wonderful, Sweetie."

You couldn't see it through the phone, but Yoongi's cheeks slowly turned pink when you called him that, and his heart started to beat just that much faster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It has now been one full year since Yoongi started dating you. 

Before Yoongi, you didn't know it was possible to love a person this much. 

Sure, you had loved Jin before, you grew up with him, and there wasn't any doubt in your mind that your feelings for him at the time were absolutely, 100%, true. You knew they were true too, from the way that even after 5 years apart from him, when you met him again for the first time in so long, those feelings struck you hard again, and you could feel the jealousy creeping back up into your soul. 

But then, you saw him smiling.

You knew that he was happy. And you wanted that happiness for yourself.

You wanted to let go of all the negative feelings that came from keeping your love for Jin inside for too long. 

You wanted all of the jealousy you had towards his new family to disappear. 

And that's exactly what being with Yoongi did.

It took a while.

The first few weeks, when you weren't quite sure if you were dating or not, were difficult beyond belief.

So many thoughts would creep into your mind, saying that Yoongi didn't even like you, and that he was just reconnecting with an old friend from kindergarten. 

Saying that this relationship would end up the same way as your friendship with Jin ended, with you falling hard and no one to catch you. 

But after that fateful day in the cafe, when he told Jin that you two were, in fact, dating, your heart SOARED. 

He liked you back, and you could work with that.

Bit by bit, Yoongi tore out your old, still broken feelings for Jin, and replaced them with his own.

Except his weren't broken. 

His were healing, you could feel that every passing day, you were forgetting what you felt for Jin, the scars that were self-inflicted on your heart from an unrequited love were being healed by someone who wanted to take care of you, who wanted to love you. 

All of these emotions went into the planning for your 1 year anniversary.

You made his favorite food, made sure that he had time tonight, because tonight was something special. 

He was able to get out of work early tonight, coming to your place while you were still in the middle of cooking, and while you wanted to hug him, you didn't want to ruin his clothes, so you didn't run to the door and throw your arms around him like you wanted to, but that was okay, because he came in and hugged you from behind.

This was another one of your favorite moments.

Your back against his chest, his arms secure around your waist. A short kiss placed on your neck.

"Princess, I love you so much."

"Aww Sweetie, are you just saying that because I have your favorite food?"

"That's just a bonus. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Sweetie."

His arms let go of your waist and shortly after you could feel something cold and metal being placed on a chain around your neck. 

"I specially ordered this for you Princess. I was able to design this necklace to imitate the same designs we used to draw in the sand together back in kindergarten."

You had a huge smile on your face as you rushed to wash your hands so you could see it in the mirror. 

You fingered the small metal design, it looking so fragile against your neck. 

He wanted to see your reaction so he had followed you into the bathroom, and right there, you turned around and kissed him. 

Arms around his neck, looking into his eyes, you say, "Happy 1st Anniversary, Yoongi."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 months after your first anniversary, something else happened.

You adopted a dog.

Rather you and Yoongi, both adopted a dog. 

You went to the animal shelter that day, dead set on getting a cat with Yoongi. 

You both loved cats, they were always so adorable, with their little toe beans and whiskers. 

When you arrived at the shelter, that's when you saw a box. 

Specifically a box full of tiny, little, brown, curly puffs of fur, sleeping peacefully.

Then one of the puffs of fur opened his eyes, and you both had instantly made your decision, looking each other in the eyes and nodding. 

You picked up the small puff of fur and brought him inside the shelter.

"Ahhhh hello! I see you've spotted our puppies! Their mother was pregnant with them when she was brought to the shelter, and then in a very sad turn of events, passed away due to complications in giving birth."

A few tears dropped at the story, sad for this puppy's  start in life.

But that's what you were here for. 

"We'd like to adopt him now, please."

"Absolutely! Follow me and we can fill out the paperwork."

And that was how you two ended up with a dog instead of a cat.

That small, clumsy puff of fur immediately set off in your house, sniffing everything and becoming familiar with his new home. 

Around its neck was a simple collar with a tag that said "Min Holly"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your relationship with Yoongi was a whirlwind of emotions. 

From the very moment that you two had reconnected, to this very moment that entranced the two of you, you knew that what you felt for Yoongi was special. 

Your energies combined and swirled around each other in the same ways that your dirt drawings contradicted each other yet still made a beautiful picture. 

At this moment, you two were overlooking the ocean from a high cliff, watching the waves crash against the sharp rocks at the bottom, the water frothing and foaming with each wave. The sky was littered with stars, each twinkling in their own constellations. 

Your fingers were intertwined with Yoongi's, head on his shoulder as you looked out at the scenic view. 

"You know," said Yoongi, turning his head slightly to look you in the eyes, "I never imagined that the little girl who drew pictures in the sand every afternoon during recess would be the one I would eventually love to the ends of the earth. It's quite sobering, really, to find the one that completes you so fully, and yet I've never felt so completely entranced, yet so level-headed, I've never felt more sure about myself, than when I'm with you."

"I love you too, Yoongi." You whisper in his direction, his eyes drawn to yours, never breaking contact, never wanting to, because if you could do one thing for the remainder of your life on this earth, it would be to see the soul and passion of Min Yoongi in his own two eyes. 

There was something.... Special...about Yoongi. He made all of your troubles seem as they were merely cirrus clouds in the neverending blue of the sky, light and wispy, as if they were going to disappear with even the slightest of breezes. 

He made you forget about your past feelings towards Jin, as if every thought that was formed about Jin when you were younger was nothing but a mere breeze that briefly wove through your hair, and nothing more. 

Yoongi somehow erased all of your negative thoughts, worked with you through all of your lapses, and loved you every step of the way, through this very moment that you spent with him.

And as you looked into his onyx eyes, you knew that you loved him with every beat, every blood vessel, every ounce of your heart, and you knew that you wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

"There you go again, staring into my eyes and getting lost in your own thoughts. Let me bring you back down to Earth." And, as he said that, he produced a small golden ring and slid it onto your left hand fourth finger. 

"Y/n, I love you, and with this ring, I promise that I will always love you, and I ask you, here and now, will you marry me?"

"Yes."

[somedayonbroadway]

Could you give your thoughts on the Rise of the Guardians AU?

Okay! This one’s super fun!

Rise of The Guardians AU

Characters

Racetrack Higgins — Jack Frost (The Guardian of Fun)

Jack Kelly — Santa Claus (The Guardian of Wonder)

Katherine Plumber — The Tooth Fairy (The Guardian of Memories)

Spot Conlon — The Easter Bunny (The Guardian of Hope)

Crutchie Morris — The Sandman (The Guardian of Dreams)

Warden Snyder — The Boogeyman (The Essence of Fear)

Les Jacobs — Jamie Bennett

Elmer — Sophie Bennett

Story

Frost wakes up after being magically pulled from a frozen pond, carrying no memory as to how he’d ended up there or any life before that. The moon names him Frost. Frost is an immortalized sixteen year old.

Frost is thrilled at first, seeing that he has a sort of magic that he can control through a hook shaped stick he finds beside the frozen pond. But he quickly discovers that he is invisible to the word and people can walk straight through him, leaving him completely alone in the world.

Three hundred years later in the middle of spring, Santa Claus, more affectionately known to his friends and elves as Jack Kelly, his birth name, is making toys and preparing for next Christmas. Yes he has sleeve tattoos, yes he’s only actually twenty six (though technically he’s been alive for hundreds of years) and yes he’s still a big goofball who happens to be a badass.

His elves rush in and scream that something’s wrong. When Jack rushes out, he finds his map being engulfed in black dust. He believes it to be a warning from the man in the moon who chose him to be a guardian. He believes that it means The Boogeyman is coming back.

He summons the rest of the guardians.

Katherine, known to the world as the tooth fairy, arrives first. She looks just like a regular woman. She where’s brightly colored clothes and has wings though and she wears a colorful mask. Her helpers look like the little fairies in the movie though, including Smalls, who is Baby Tooth. Katherine and Jack have a bit of a history. She’s twenty seven.

Then comes Crutchie, the sandman. He’s missing a leg and is mute, but can communicate through pictures of sand that appear above his head. Jack and Crutchie are very close. Crutchie loves to hang around the North Pole in between sending dreams to the kids of the world. He can get around by floating on magic sand, but sometimes he makes himself a crutch to get around. He’s nineteen.

Lastly, Spot. Jack calls him that because of the way he paints his eggs. Eventually, it just stuck. He’s not really a bunny, but he’s still a magical being who uses bunnies to help him with his holiday. He is a tough guy. Him and Jack are often competing to see who’s the tougher of them. He uses a boomerang as a weapon and is very fast. He looks very intimidating at first, but once someone becomes his friend he’s fiercely protective of them. He’s twenty six.

Anyways, the moon tells them once they’re all there that there is going to be a new guardian.

Frost.

The guardians are a bit surprised at this as Frost is very immature and has pulled pranks on every one of them.

But Jack tells them that’s what the moon’s saying, so it’s what has to happen.

Meanwhile, Frost, or Race as he’s known by Jack and some other magical beings who caught him many times trying to mess with his elves but was too quick for him to catch, is messing around with some kids, overall spreading joy and happiness, even though the kids still don’t believe in him.

He actually ends up with a big group of kids. Specifically one Les Jacobs and his friends. Les is nine, and still believes in Santa and all of them despite his friends not.

Race starts a snowball fight between Les and his friends, getting them to laugh and smile for a good while before Les loses a tooth and goes to put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

Race is disappointed that people still don’t believe in him, but he watches over the Jacobs house until the sandman starts sending out his dreams.

He follows one until he ends up in an alley where he’s cornered by Spot who mentions to him that he’s still made at Race for his last prank. Race tries to laugh it off and go, but he’s stuffed into Santa’s bag and taken against his will.

When he’s released, he finds he’s in Jack’s office and the guardians are all around him, trying to officially swear him in as a guardian.

Race tries to run, but Jack grabs him and brings him back. Race says he doesn’t want to be a guardian because he just likes to have fun and he doesn’t want to be held up with responsibilities.

Jack tried to explain to him that they were all chosen for a reason. He tells Race a little about his past. How he was just a boy who used to steal and gather money for the kids in his village and give them presents to put a smile on their face. How he was poor and had nothing but made sure the other kids always had something. He says that’s why he was chosen.

Before Race can ask any questions, the tooth fairies helpers send out a signal for help. So Jack gets everyone on his sleigh to take them there.

Spot hates riding in Jack’s sleigh as he’s terrified of heights and would much rather travel by rabbit tunnel. But Jack doesn’t give him a choice and Race teases him about it the whole time by jumping off and around the sleigh, joking that Spot cared when he thought Race had fallen from the sleigh.

When they arrive at “Tooth Palace” the guardians find that the place has been destroyed. They’re attacked by a swarm of nightmares who are kidnapping all the fairies and taking every single tooth that had been stored for safekeeping. While they’re being attacked, Race manages to catch one of the nightmares and save a single fairy.

Smalls.

The boogeyman, dubbed The Spider by Jack, confronts them then and there, believing Race to be a neutral party since no kids believe in him. He then tells the official guardians that he plans to destroy children’s belief in all of them, thereby making them disappear completely. Katherine begins to feel a bit weak. The boogeyman explains that it’s because children were waking up on one side of the world and realizing that no fairy had replaced their tooth with any kind of gift that night. Jack has to catch her as her wings give out a little bit.

Spider warns Race against staying with them because they obviously lied to him about what it really means to be a guardian, that being, if kids stop believing in them, they aren’t just invisible, they cease to exist. This prompts Spot to throw a boomerang at him, going to attack him as Jack grabs a couple of knives and goes at him too.

But Spider gets away.

Katherine is heartbroken. She goes a little frantic trying to find any one of her fairies that are left. Race hands her Smalls and Katherine calms, but only slightly. She then explains to Race that the teeth they kept weren’t just teeth. They held memories. Whenever someone needed a reminder of something, the fairies would help them remember. She explains that she was just a normal girl in her past life. She came from a wealthy family but was surrounded by others who had nothing, so her goal was to get them to smile, always. She tells them that when they were in the midst of a good moment, to close their eyes and hold onto it for as long as they could and when they opened their eyes, there would be a gift waiting there for them.

She explains to Race that she even had his memories from his past life which makes Race pause because he believed he didn’t have a past life. She assures him he did and Race makes it his mission to find his lost tooth to regain his memories.

Though the group knows danger is coming, Race can’t help but notice they all seem to be hopeful still, making jokes and messing with each other like normal as they try to come up with a plan to save themselves and protect the children.

Katherine states that there’s still one side of the world that hasn’t woken up yet. Without the help of the fairies, the only people left to do it are all of them.

So they go.

Jack and Spot create a competition to see who can get the most teeth the fastest, pulling Crutchie and Race both in as Jack is determined to make this at least a little fun. They try to cheat to get around each other, using their own entrances and magic to get by. Race is much more competitive with Spot than with anyone else, in fact, him and Jack team up to beat Spot.

They make a pretty good team.

But they forget to leave gifts under the kids pillows.

So they make a game out of going back through and doing just that.

Jack wins.

And they all end up in the room of one Les Jacobs.

Race catches up with Kath there first. She tells him she hasn’t been out in the field for over four hundred years and she can’t remember why she stopped. It’s not until the others join them that they get too loud and Les wakes up.

Les is amazed at the sight of them, especially Jack. But he still can’t see Race.

Before Les can say anything, his dog jumps up on his bed, growling at all of them, but mostly Spot who insists he can handle a puppy. Race isn’t so sure. So he sets off Les's alarm clock, startling the dog and laughing as it attacks Spot. Spot tells Crutchie to knock the thing out and Crutchie tries, aiming but missing, instead hitting Kath and Jack first with his magic and then Spot before he can calm the dog and put Les back to sleep.

Race is still slightly amused until he hears Spider laughing.

Les’s letting brother Elmer, only four, sneaks into the room and uses Jack’s magic ball to transport somewhere without anyone knowing.

Crutchie and Race are forced to face him alone. They’re lured out into the street where Spider summons his army of nightmares and attacks them with it, explaining to Crutchie that he stole the concept of his magic, taking the good dreams and turning them into nightmares. Race manages to freeze a few nightmares, but they’re no match for the big army and Crutchie ends up struggling to get away.

The rest of the gang tries to catch up to them, only for Spider to get Crutchie and infect him with bad dreams forcing him to give up and dissolve into nothing.

Race screams for him but can’t do anything to stop it.

They watch as Crutchie dies and Spider only laughs at them.

They go back to the North Pole where they make a small shrine for Crutchie. It’s the first time in three hundred years that Race sees Spot cry.

Though the group is upset and frustrated, Spot makes it known that Easter is still in a few days and they have to go get ready for it. He hopes it’ll bring everyone’s spirits up.

Jack offers to take the sled again, but Spot says since it’s his turf, it’s his way or no way, just as he taps his foot on the ground and creates a rabbit hole without warning and they all fall down into it.

Once they get there, Spot notes that something’s wrong.

They all gear up for a fight until they realize that it’s just a tiny little boy. Elmer. Les’s little brother.

None of them have any idea what to do, except for Race who tells them that they live everyday working for kids. Kath tries to talk to Elmer but ends up scaring him even more so Race tells Spot to give it a try.

Spot is mortified. But he walks over to the scared child and Race throws a snowball at him, spreading the joy of winter onto him and Spot immediately knows what to do to calm Elmer down, taking the kid into his arms and asking if Elmer wanted to help him paint Easter eggs.

All of the guardians help watch Elmer while they all paint eggs and get ready to hide them until Elmer eventually falls asleep in Spot’s arms.

Race promises to take Elmer back home and return before Spider comes back even though Spot asks him to stay in case there’s another attack on them.

He goes anyway, putting Elmer back to bed with the help of Smalls before he hears someone calling for someone named Antonio. He knows he’s heard it before. So he follows it falling into Spider’s lair where he finds all the fairies and is ambushed by Spider who gives him a pretty decent beating and taunts him with the fact that his greatest fear is that no one will ever believe in him. While they’re arguing, Race manages to swipe his tooth and his memories.

Spider manages to distract him long enough to capture Smalls and let his nightmares destroy all of the Easter eggs Spot and the others painted and hid, ruining Easter and causing the world to lose faith in Spot, making him invisible to the world.

Race tries to beg forgiveness, trying to explain, but Spot can’t hear him out and walks away. Jack tries to comfort him but Katherine pulls him away.

So Race runs away to Antarctica, hiding out for a little bit until Spider finds him. The boogeyman tries to convince him to join his side, but Race refuses. So Snyder turns against him immediately, hreatening to kill Smalls unless Race gives up his staff. After a long moment of hesitance, Race gives it up and demands Spider give him back Smalls. But Spider refuses, moving to take Smalls with him until she bites him and flies back to Race.

Spider snaps Race’s staff in half, causing Race to feel physical pain. Before he can recover, Spider throws him into an icy pit and throws his staff in after him. And Race cries for a minute, hugging Smalls to him until she wiggles out of his grasp and gets into his sweatshirt pocket while Race sobs about never doing anything right and ruining everything he touches. He thinks Smalls is just hiding for warmth until the container with his memories inside is placed in his hand.

Smalls prompts him to open it.

Eventually he does.

And it all comes back to him.

He remembers a boy that looks just like him with brown hair and brown eyes. It takes him a while to remember that it was him.

He remembers making kids laugh and having fun with them even when things seemed bleak.

And he remembered the day he died.

He did it to save his brother’s life.

Romeo.

He told him they were going to have a little fun instead of Romeo falling through ice.

He used the staff to throw Romeo to safety and fell in himself.

That’s when the moon chose him.

After this, Race is ecstatic. He’s smiling and laughing and happy because he understands now. He remembers his family. So he takes his staff and forces it back together with his magic and chases after Spider, Smalls on his shoulder all the way.

He goes back to Spider’s lair and tries to free the fairies only for them to be unable to fly because none of the kids believe in them. All but one have lost hope and Race knows immediately where to go.

Finding Les all alone in his room, his faith fading fast, he makes it snow the boy’s bedroom, drawing in frost on his window of Easter eggs and Christmas presents.

Les recalls the name of someone his brother mentioned once. Mr. Frost.

He turns around to Race who takes a minute to realize that Les can see him and is more excited than he’s ever been. Race tells Les that he needs his help. He takes Les to find the rest of the guardians, finding Spot only supported on Jack’s back as he was getting weaker and weaker. Katherine could no longer fly and Jack could hardly walk. Race tells Les that everything’s gonna be alright before just as they’re cornered by Spider who tells them that for hundreds of years no one had believed in him.

He explains that back in the dark ages he thrived on the fear of others but the moon chose Jack, Katherine, Crutchie and Spot to counter him and bring hope to the world. He says that now it’s their turn to be forgotten and he goes to strangle Jack who drops Spot to the ground as he fights for air but he’s too weak to fight Spider off.

Les tells Race he’s scared. It’s the same thing Romeo had said to him before. So he tells Les they’re going to have a little fun instead and he manages to catch Spider off guard so he can and Kath can get everyone on a makeshift sled and they can go get the rest of Les’s friends.

Once Les’s friends see him flying, they can all see Race who Les introduces as Mr. Frost. They rally all of his friends together and it gives Spot enough strength to stand on his own, fighting right beside Jack as he comes to.

Spider introduces himself to the kids as the boogeyman who haunts their dreams and will continue to forever. Les tells him that just because he might believe in him, doesn’t mean he has to be afraid of him, and when Spider comes at him to hurt him, Les just stands his ground and the black sand turns back to gold.

As all of his friends stand by his side, Les tells Spider that he can’t have his dreams and Crutchie emerges from the golden sand, taking Spider by surprise and knocking him unconscious.

Jack's first reaction is to hug Crutchie tightly and all the other guardians join him in second.

When the kids try to figure out what happened, Race distracts them with a snowball fight which all of the guardians join in on.

Realizing he’s lost, Spider tries to crawl off and escape.

Jack catches him with all the others close behind. Spider says there’s nothing they can do to stop him from trying again, but soon realizes he’s surrounded by his own nightmares and they can sense his fear. They’re ready to pounce.

The nightmares charge at Spider and drag them down to what we can only assume is the underworld.

Jack then looks at Race and asks him if he wants to be a guardian, if it sounded fun to him.

Race accepts the offer, getting named The Guardian of Fun by the man in the moon.

I hope you guys like this one! I think it’s so fun! Lemme know if you wanna see more from this AU.

For more AUs check out my list!

[smirkingsolo]

Orpheus: A Reylo Story (Chapter 1: Ash and Memory)

The World Between Worlds Reylo Fix it fic you’ve been craving since TROS ripped out your still beating heart and crushed it to death.

Canon-compliant, universe-plausible, multi-chapter

Please read the Prologue first; it will literally not make any sense if you don’t!

Prologue can be found here or over on my AO3 (Rinnagirl) at https://archiveofourown.org/works/21984730/chapters/52460923

Your comments, likes, reblogs, kudos, etc. mean the absolute world to me!

Chapter 1: Ash and Memory

For what feels like the hundredth time, Rey ignites Leia’s saber. Its blue beam casts the surrounding woods in an unearthly glow. The effect is immediate. A sound like a distant scream of frustration echoes in her mind, pounding against the walls of her skull like some caged creature desperate to break free. She drops the saber, hands shooting to clutch at her throbbing head, clamping down over her ringing ears. When the saber hits the ground, de-igniting, the silence is just as immediate.

Two months.

It has been two months since Exegol. Two months since she has been able to use the saber, either saber. Though it had meant the triumphant return of her staff, the inability to use the only sabers she had was becoming incredibly inconvenient. She could tell she was already losing some of her skill and coordination with single-bladed weapons after two full months of being unable to even ignite the sabers, let alone train with them, without the horrible screams. Some days she vowed to ignore it and train anyway.

That never lasted long.

Even when there was no screaming, the alternative was not much better. It was either a desperate, trapped scream or a chorus of voices so loud they drowned out her every thought with their incessant chatter.

She glares at the saber resting oh so innocently on the forest floor. They are on Takodana at the moment, a place Rey would normally have enjoyed visiting. Poe and Finn were meeting with Maz to discuss what Rey usually referred to as “CC (co-comander) business.” In the months after the Battle of Exegol, the group of former Resistance fighters had kept busy. More than enough small pockets of First Order loyalists and even the odd scattered Sith cultist groups still stirred up enough trouble here and there to keep them on the alert.

Rey, honestly, hasn’t a clue what Maz and her friends are meeting about this time. She’s sure Finn told her, maybe no more than two hours ago on the ship, but like so much in the last two months, it just slips right off as soon as she hears it. She is distracted, and now, thanks to her lovely situation with the sabers, incredibly frustrated.

She picks up the saber, turning it over in her hands like she used to do with the scrap parts she looted from the ships crashed in the Jakku desert. Leia’s saber, like Luke’s, was a marvel. She never grew tired of the schhwizz that accompanied an igniting lightsaber. But the Skywalker sabers still feel distant in many ways, like they are still being borrowed even though they had both technically been left to her. You need to make one of your own, she thinks, not for the first time. But how?

She sighs, tucking Leia’s saber into her belt and settling into her meditative position. The Force hums around her, coming alive in her new attentiveness. She feels the grass growing and the brush of the wind across her skin as it stirs fly-aways loose from her buns. The solid earth presses upwards towards her and she can feel herself lifting up off it, her diving off point into a sea of feeling. A sense of pure calm washes her bones in sunset warmth. She concentrates. Be with me. Be with me. Be with me.

She reaches out, stretching towards the memories and souls of the past Jedi, their experiences hovering at the edge of her consciousness like her own forgotten thoughts. There is a sense of understanding, of surety, and she chases after it, the fingered tendrils of her mind reaching further, tracking the feeling. She catches up to the memory, brushing against it like one might brush the hair from a lover’s eyes.

She sucks in a breath. It’s him.

In her mind’s eye is a young Ben Solo, white padawan robes and all, eyes closed in focused meditation. Before him float the pieces of an unfinished lightsaber, twisting and hovering, held in place only by his concentration. She feels an understanding of what he is doing seeping into her own mind. Then the scene begins to flicker, the once defined shape of Ben Solo blinking in and out of form, alternating with another, smaller figure. It’s her. Her vision leaps rapidly between the two of them, both somehow occupying the same space and position. As she watches, the two begin to blur together before settling on the image of Ben once more, his eyes snapping suddenly open, wide and dark.

He is looking at her.

She feels a jolt; a once familiar tug in her gut overtakes her. It’s been two months since she last felt this feeling. The feeling of him. The feeling of connecting to him across lightyears of space rocks and stardust. The feeling of their Force bond comes alive inside her and she aches. She knows it is impossible to connect with a memory, for it to acknowledge her in return, but Ben’s eyes are focused, looking past the hovering lightsaber pieces and trained on her.

“REY,” Finn's voice collides with her like a blaster bolt, ripping through her vision of Ben and snapping her meditative state in half, dropping her unceremoniously to the dirt. She is breathless and disgruntled when Finn reaches her and she has half a mind to smack him with her staff.

Times like this almost make her wish for the solitude of Jakku again. They’ve been hovering over her these past two months, Finn and Poe. Moments of peace and quiet are rare. She knows they mean well, appreciates what they are trying to do for her. But it has been difficult to grieve with them around. There is something more personal about her grief over the loss of Ben Solo, something they would not understand. It wasn’t like losing Leia. It was like losing part of her own soul. He still felt close to her in some strange way that she couldn’t quite identify, but still, it wasn’t the same.

She hadn’t known what he was to her when she lost him, hadn’t had the time to even try to work it out. Their relationship up until that point had been complicated to say the least. So much so that she hadn’t even known how to explain herself when she returned from Exegol a shell shocked mess. They had attributed it to her encounter with Palpatine, to the revelation of her bloodline, to the loss of Leia. She had told them what she could in the simplest of terms. Told them that Ben Solo had had a change of heart after all, had come to help her fight Palpatine, had saved her life. Finn had pressed her about it, about the life saving bit in particular, almost as if he knew that she had died completely. She waved it off, claiming that he took a blow meant for her and died of the wound. She still wasn’t entirely sure why she lied to him, but something about the intimacy of that memory felt too precious to share with someone who still only knew him as the hated Kylo Ren.

There was only one person with whom she had shared the full account of the events on Exegol. She hadn’t expected the conversation, hadn’t expected to share so much, but Lando Calrissian was quite charming. There was an ease about him that seeped into her and knocked loose her secrets.

So few were the people left who had known Ben Solo before he was Kylo Ren. She had asked him with as much nonchalance as she could manage what Ben had been like as a child. Lando had studied her for a few moments before answering. But then he had launched into a tale of the time he’d presented young Ben Solo with a blaster with which he’d accidentally blown a hole through the wall of a visiting diplomat’s chambers.

Lando had caught her not long after that conversation in the back of the Falcon, tears in her eyes and a small lockbox open in her lap that contained a plain black shirt with a hole burned through it and a familiar blaster. He asked her how she had come to acquire Ben Solo’s blaster and from there the truth had tumbled forth.

He had listened patiently, placing a comforting hand on top of hers on the blaster when it came to the difficult parts. A gesture that reminded her of Leia. She had even told him about the kiss. He didn’t press or ask her to explain, he only nodded, a knowing look in his eye.

“Some people are never really gone, Rey. Especially the ones we love.”

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

When they reach the ship Rey gathers Finn and Poe to her.

“There’s somewhere I need to go.”

Both Finn and Poe nod, but she can tell they aren’t really hearing her. Both are eyeing a precariously placed BB-8 on the roof of the Falcon, his tiny blowtorch ignited in an attempt to reseal a crack that Poe had undoubtably caused.

She gives them each a light tap on the head with the end of her staff and they refocus their attention on her.

“I need to go to Dagobah. Alone.”

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

“Ben, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Ben rolls his eyes, shooting his mother a look of thinly veiled annoyance.

“Yes, mother. I’ve flown plenty of interdimensional ghost crafts before.”

Leia presses her lips together; a tiny, wry smile threatens to slip through.

Ben wonders if she can tell he is doing none of the steering. It isn’t that he couldn’t fly the Falcon if he wanted to, but this Falcon has a mind of its own and a clear destination that Ben cannot discern. He can’t even see through the front windows for the blue blur of lightspeed until they land, as if the ship has shifted from lightspeed to landed without need for transition. Then it’s nothing but sand.

Kriffing, World Between Worlds rules.

Before Ben can push the release on the door, Leia clears her throat. He only half turns.

“Yes?”

“I don’t quite know how this world works, but I wonder if perhaps we ought to dress a little more inconspicuously. We still don’t know if or how we will appear to others.”

He notes now that she has already changed into a spare set of clothes, ones she stored in a compartment long ago, still right where she left them, even in this strange dimension. Ben glances down at himself. All black. Perhaps she is right, it is a bit dark side for what appears to be a hot desert planet.

She offers a bundle to him and he heads off to change. He snorts derisively when he opens the bundle. It is clear that these were once his father’s clothes. They practically scream “scoundrel smuggler,” but there is no sense in disagreeing with an insistent Leia Organa, even in an alternate dimension. She turns away from him quickly when he emerges, concealing a small smile and a few tears, and he knows he must look exactly like Han. Though he elects to keep his own black pants and boots, the loose white shirt and lightweight vest are better suited for the environment, necessary even. At least, that’s what he tells himself. He knows the low slung blaster belt and holster are nowhere near as necessary, but he straps them on anyway. May as well.

The nearest village is eerily familiar, at least to Ben. The longer they linger, the more he remembers, and he truly wishes he didn’t. They are on Jakku in the village of Tuanul. The village is largely empty with the exception of a few marauding scavengers who seem entirely unable to see them. Leia calls out to one, even moving to touch the man’s shoulder, but there is no response. Her hand passes through him, a blurry mirage-trail of her movement following behind it. They are smoke and ash here, a match to the ruins of the settlement.

Ben is staring at one of the burned out structures when Leia returns to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Ben?”

“I did this.” His voice is no more than a choked whisper.

The air around them begins to stir, a sluggish tornado of trailing ash forming images as the remaining scavengers move off into the desert, unaware of anything more than a light breeze.

The images solidify, Ben’s memory set around them now in a frozen rendition of the past. The villagers cower in a huddled mass in the center of the village. Ben can see himself, as Kylo Ren, strike down Lor San Tekka. No mercy, no pause, no regret. They watch as he gives the stormtroopers the order to execute the remaining villagers, and he looks away, unable to bear witness to the terror in their expressions. The terror you caused, murderer.

He feels sick, an overwhelming urge to vomit pits his gut. What does it matter if you could live again? Do you even deserve to? More than any one of these innocent people you sentenced to death?

He stumbles away from the scene, finally collapsing to his knees in front of the memory-figure of Kylo Ren. His tears fall, mingling with the ash. Black raindrops in the sand. He’d thrown away his saber, but knows he can’t throw away his past actions so easily. He’d told the memory of Han Solo that he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to do what he needed to; Han had assured him that he did. So he had. He had thrown away his prized saber. He had given his life for another. But this? What more of himself had he to offer? He was a ghost in the world now, not even a body or soul to give. Was there even anything he could offer that could atone for these sins if he returned to life?

Leia’s hand is on his shoulder again, warm and firm, offering a light squeeze of reassurance. He turns towards her, arms wrapping around her legs, his face pressing into her stomach like he is a little boy again, ashamed and afraid.

She strokes his hair, bringing her other arm around as she bends to hold him.

“Mother...” His voice breaks. “I don’t know how to undo the past. I don’t deserve to live again, not after all of this.”

“Ben.” He never understood how his mother managed to sound both gentle and stern all at once, but there it is, the tone she would use on him when he was a child. He holds her tighter.

“Ben, there is so much you must unlearn if you are to live in the world again.” She cups his chin in her hand, tilting his face up to look at her. “But you have taken the hardest step. The first step is always the most difficult, but it matters. It means something that you made the choice to walk away from this life. I won’t lie to you, my son, you have done many things that are worth regretting. I know you did so much out of anger, out of fear, loneliness, sorrow...”

Leia’s voice shakes; she tightens her hold on him.

“So much done out of the pain that we... that I was supposed to protect you from.” Her tears flow freely now. “And I am so sorry, Ben. I am sorry we ever made you feel like you were less important to us, like you were unloved or unwanted or abandoned. Your father and I loved you and still do. And I want nothing more than to see you live a life of happiness and belonging. Oh Ben, what you have done doesn’t matter nearly as much as what you will do. If you return to life, you need only live a life of deliberate, intentional love. Choose to take care of others. Choose to be compassionate, protective, kind. You earn the life you live by making the lives of others worth living. There is still time, Ben. It is never too late to love others, to care for them.”

She slides to the ground, kneeling before her son, placing both hands on his face.

“I sense great love in you, Ben. I always have, but now more than ever.”

With that he folds into her, clinging to her with abandon, a lost child found again. They stay like that for a time, the years of emotions ebbing away gently, leaving them both peaceful and renewed.

When they stand again, the memory-figure of Kylo Ren has dissolved into ash once more, scattered in the desert wind.

The pair once again move about the frozen memory, observing as parts of it begin to dissolve. Ben pauses in front of a lone Stormtrooper. A bloody handprint stains the trooper’s mask.

“What happened to the stormtrooper? FN-2187. The one who defected...is he...is he happy?”

Leia smiles, nodding. “Yes, he’s quite happy now. He’s found a home. It is my understanding that he is now co-general with Poe Dameron who you might recognize.” She gestures towards a memory-figure frozen in the act of being dragged towards the First Order ship by two half-dissolved Stormtroopers.

She smiles at him affectionately. “Yes, Finn is in good hands.”

Ben nods, extending a hand towards FN-2187...Finn, resting it on his shoulder.

“I am glad.”

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

Lightyears away Finn jolts in his seat, a vision passing before his eyes, the mug in his hand splattering caf onto Poe who lets out an indignant shriek.

“Kriff, Finn! What was that about?!”

But Finn barely hears him. His hand resting on his shoulder where he had just felt the presence of a hand, not quite touching but close enough to sense. Not just any hand. The hand of Kylo Ren. Through new to his Force-sensitivity Finn recognized the Force signature immediately.

“Finn, Finn? Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Poe is standing now, hovering near Finn, wide eyes creased with lines of concern.

“I...I think I did.”

Poe cocks one eyebrow at him, but doesn’t scoff.

“What did you see?”

“Leia and Kylo Ren. They’re somewhere. Not quite alive, but definitely not dead. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like he almost touched me.” He gestures to his shoulder. “Dead people can’t do that, Poe, not even through the Force! Look, I know it sounds crazy but—” Poe slides his hand to cover the spot on Finn’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze, effectively cutting off Finn’s babbling. He looks Finn straight in the eye.

“I believe you.”

[mrneighbourlove]

The Rising Sun: Ch 5. Power Exchanged

"Oh thank the goddesses we're here."

"I thought we'd never hear the prattle end from your grandfather about his glory days."

"Give him a break, he's old and just wants to give an impression that he can still kick ass."

"Can he still kick ass?"

"I... think so? To a degree? If you're close enough to hit with his cane, perhaps."

"Or his farts, those are lethal."

“Oh, hush the lot of you.” Ganondorf, former King of Hyrule, had grown older with age. Man was just over a century of age. Even kept his build up over all the decades. Up until Zelda passed away. His wife’s death shook him to the core, and over the last few years since her passing, he lost muscle mass. No need to work out, but also a loss of spirit. Still, he held joy for his family: children, grandchildren, friends. And this day was one of the most joyous he’d ever have in a long time.

With all his children and grandchildren finally gathered, with their significant others, they were traveling to Taiyo Town in a large caravan.

"We would have been here sooner if you didn't have to stop to pee ten times."

"Shut it, you were the one that kept complaining about being hungry."

"I was hungry! What's wrong with being hungry?"

"Ganonpa," Luimaya sighed in annoyance, listening to her siblings and cousins’ bicker. "How did you do it with Dad and his siblings?"

“To be honest, it was your grand mother that was the level headed one. I often encouraged some healthy bickering. Was also easy to haul you all by the scruffs when you’ve been misbehaving. Also helped to have Rinku and Leere step in once in a while.” The Mortuus had a nice cloak to protect her skin from the sun. Sunny was letting little Joy play with Skyla. “Well that became difficult when all our younger siblings become rebellious giants.”

"Hmph, when you could catch us by the scruff, old man."

"Remember that time when we pranked him with the stink bomb with Skull Kid?"

"He chased us through the halls for hours before giving up."

"I told you it wasn't a good idea at the time."

"What do you mean, Lui? It was your idea."

"Yes, my idea, just not at that time. He was in a mood that day and we set it off."

"What are we even doing here, anyway? I thought the future queen couldn't leave the castle unless it was for diplomatic reasons."

"It is." Luimaya clarified. "I'm here to meet the leaders of Taiyo Town."

"But you're going to be the queen, and you're Gerudo. So, doesn't that make you their leader?"

Revan cleared his throat, sitting next to Nakeso and Luimaya. There were so many grandkids he’d barely known here now. Not to mention, he was finally about to enter the town his father put so much time and attention into. The whole feeling was daunting, but he did his best to relax. Heck, Kanisa’s kids didn’t even look like Gerudo. “Well, yes and no. All the tribes of Hyrule ha e either sworn fealty to the crown of Hyrule or formed alliances. So technically, my father and anyone else who’s in charge here could lead without outright obeying Covarog and later Luimaya.”

Luimaya and Ganondorf both shot Revan a glare at his words. Like grandfather, like granddaughter, it seemed. She definitely inherited his scowl. Evidently, the two of them agreed on the premise that the Gerudo of Taiyo Town should still hold some respect for the original King, his son, and granddaughter. "We don't want a repeat of the past, Revan. We're going to ensure it stays peaceful, but there has to be some grounds of respect." Luimaya told her bodyguard. "Your father or another leader, it matters not."

“I never suggested that.” Revan drew closer to Nakeso, freezing when his thigh touched hers. “And I’m sure my dad isn’t a fool. Just stubborn. Something I’ve heard and know you two can have in common.”

The cart laughed as Ganondorf merely smiled lightly in agreement. It wasn’t something he could deny.

"That's right, you're the fool and he's just stubborn." Luimaya teased, earning another round of snickers from everyone in the caravan. "You've nearly gotten yourself killed numerous times, not counting the times you were trying to watch my back."

"I don't know who is the worst, Revan or you."

"Revan." The grandkids all responded in unisons.

"He has more tallies." Nakeso held up a notebook. "Revan has nearly gotten killed 158 times while Luimaya is only at 37."

"What? Really? I thought she'd have more."

"She's reckless, but she's not stupid enough to put herself in situations to die."

"True."

"Hey! Your future queen is hearing all this!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know it's true."

Revan was bright red in the face. “It hasn’t even been a year since- Wait, how long have you kept that book around for?”

"Since you were five and almost stuck your head into a forge to prove you were fireproof like your sister." Nakeso remarked, earning a snort from Donoma. "I still can't believe you did that."

"He was just jealous that I could walk in fire without getting burned." Donoma giggled. "And pouted when I held fire in my hands like a ball. Insisted he could do it too. I don't think I've ever seen Mama scold him like that for an hour."

Revan was growing uncomfortable. Pretty much every grandchild was not only older than him, Ralnor’s children themselves being in their mid thirties to cap the height of age, but they were all together on his misery. Even Donoma seemed to be more suited with them. “Yeah. Sure.” When he saw Skyla looking at him, he sighed, secretly signing to her. “ Least I’m not afraid of spiders.”

"You in trouble. A lot." Skyla signed in return with a small smile. She was still shy, like she was when a tiny girl, but had opened up to her cousins and was flourishing in her studies to be a veterinarian. "But good fighter. Luimaya lucky to have you. Don't worry. Everyone loves you. Just tease you cause love you."

“Could fool me.”

“Hey ya’ll!” Rinku shouted from the front of the horse cart. “We’re here. You all behaving back there? Hate to turn this ride around~”

"Hey, if we're not behaving, it's only because we learned it from you." Covarog snickered.

Orana jested with him. "Yeah, you tell her."

“Well, you got me there.” They could hear the putter patter of her feet walking on the sand to the doors. Opening them, sunlight poured inside. “To those unaccustomed by desert heat, please apply sunscreen that’s been provided. This mostly applies to my gothic sister pale as a vampire and Kanisa’s one eyed, blue skinned, always a pleasurable attitude husband and my adorable nephew and niece from Uskar. My sister in law Sunny has provided sun hats for those who prefer them.”

"Is your sister always this cheery?" Vidar grumbled in Uskarian to Kanisa. He absolutely loathed the desert and the heat. The poor man looked miserable. "I don't see how it's possible with all this sand and sun."

"Just deal with it a little while longer please, love." Kanisa assured her husband. "We'll be back in Uskar soon enough."

"If I don't melt first."

Leere addressed Skyla and Joy together with Tebanem. “Since you’re both the youngest, I’d like you both to stay together at all times. Stay within eyeshot of an adult.”

"Hey! I'm not a kid." Tebanam huffed. "I'm an adult!"

"She means Skyla and Joy, Teb." Faris clarified, amused, to his husband. "She doesn't want them wandering off."

"Oh."

The shit eating grin on Leere’s face filled up until she couldn’t help but keel over in laughter. “If you need the advice of the oldest siblings, talk to me or Luimaya, Tebby. I’m sure Kanny will love to be your pair buddy~”

"Oh shut it, I knew what you meant, I was just joking." Tebanam refused to look her in the eye, crossing his arms.

Once all the others had stepped outside, Ganondorf made his way out of the cart. It had been too long since he breathed desert air and tasted life upon the winds. With light robes he turned to the massive walls of the town. Was like a fortress. “Impressive.” The gates opened as Revan and Donoma handed out passes to the men that their father had given them in advance. What awaited inside amazed the old king. Gerudo of all shapes and sizes interacting as a community. Everyone of them shouted out one big greeting when they saw the family gathering. “VASAAQ!!! SAV’AAQ!!!”

Revan himself blinked, surprised by how many red headed women there were. He looked at his sister surprised. “You’ve been coming here?”

"Yeah, what of it?" Donoma was taken aback by her brother's surprise. "I've learned a lot about our history. Mama taught me all I needed to know of what we had of Lorleidian history. Dad taught us what he knew of Gerudo history, but there's only so much he can teach. The rest of it needs to be experienced. Besides," She waved at a few of her friends. "I've made a lot of progress in my studies and I have friends here. It's nice to have a second home."

“Must be nice.” Revan couldn’t help but let his bitterness out. Was he not Gerudo enough to belong here? The man of the hour appeared. Malik opted for stylized, yet comfortable robes. Beside him, Gali was wearing a nice Vai dress. The Lord of Taiyo Town smiled to Zarazu before addressing the group as a whole. “My extended family, and royal family of Hyrule. I am honoured that you can finally see the hard work all of our generations have worked towards. The Gerudo people prosperous once again. I welcome you to Taiyo town.”

Each family member extended their greeting politely before the King spoke. "I am impressed by the amount of work here, and absolutely delighted that we finally are able to see the restoration of our people." Covarog then noted Gali. "Please let me to express my thanks in allowing Lord Malik to help you oversee the construction of Taiyo Town. May I present my wife, Queen Zarazu of the Lorleidians," He gestured to his lover. "And my children. Marena and Syrena are the youngest twins, then Zahirog, then Turagor and Luimaya are my eldest. My Luimaya is next in line to rule our kingdom."

Gali bowed her head politely to Luimaya. “It is a privilege to learn the next high Queen will be a Gerudo Woman on the throne. Strong, and fiery from what Donoma has told me in her studies. You will make a remarkable queen, I’m sure. We encourage you to explore Taiyo Town on your own. We want to be an organic experience for all of you.”

"It is a privilege to be here in your town, to learn more of my history and to walk with the fierce warriors that I have read so much about in books. I feel like this is something out of a fairy tale, even though I know it's simply history." Luimaya returned a respectful nod of her head to Gali. "I ask that you teach me, my siblings, and cousins all that you know and anything you wish for us to learn; whether it be ways of combat or simple knowledge." Then the future queen gestured to Skyla. "I ask you have patience with my family, but especially my cousin, Skyla. She is deaf and reads lips. I don't suppose any of you know sign? She can write in Gerudo, but that takes a time." "Hi!" Skyla signed to Gali with a bright smile. "I do read lips, but accents make lips move odd. Please talk slowly for me." Luimaya then translated, "She is greeting you and asking for you and the other members of the town to speak slower for her, to give her time to read your lips."

Gali nodded, addressing the town in Gerudo to look out for the little one. Turning to Skyla, she got on a knee to kneel down to her and speak in Sign. “Hello Skyla. I am Gali. I think I’ve met you and your father’s people on my travels before. Hard to forget a tribe as pretty as you.”

"You tall lady." Skyla motioned to the women surrounding Gali. "All tall. Garai women like me, not so tall. Sister tribe, you come visit sometime." She then stomped the sand with her foot and made a sailing wave with her arm. "Ride Sand Rays! Learn of Gerudo now. You learn of Garai too. Too much time pass without sister tribe. Sand here. Stone there. Much to know." "Skyla, don't sign so fast, she might not get it all." Tebanam hopped down from his camel, Loogie, and signed to his daughter. "They go slow for you, you go slow for them. Not too fast." Skyla blushed and sheepishly signed, "Sorry. Excited!"

"That's more than fine Skyla. We'll get to learning about each others culture very quickly." Gali patted Skyla on the shoulder as she stood up. "We have tour guides in green patched shoulders who'd love to take you around our markets, bars, training grounds, schools, saunas, spas, and the rest of the joyous spots in Taiyo Town. If you'd like to explore on your own that's fine too. I hope you all enjoy the joys Taiyo Town can bring!"

Ganondorf was lost in thought as he looked around the town. While Gali was addressing the crowd, he watched small Gerudo children kick a ball back and forth. A woman was beating an old styled blanket he used to wrap himself in previous lives from her balcony. And there was a Hylian in the background laughing with a Gerudo. A union he had been working hard since with his wife to normalized. A view he knew his cousin had struggled to come to grips with. Yet here they were.

~

Donoma was struggling to pull her brother through the throng of women. This was a headache. She kept politely asking for the ladies to step aside, but they were more interested in talking to Revan. "Girls... girls, for fuck's sake!!!" Donoma shouted over the crowd. "You can feel his pecs later, we're going to see my mom now."

“Come on Donoma! This is the virgin brother you have! Can’t we just, you know, kiss him. For homework purposes?” Her roommate asked in a little sexy voice for her brother.

Revan wasn’t expecting so many of the girls around Donoma’s age to be so horny. This wasn’t the type of attention he wanted. “I have someone else...”

"No. At least, not now. Later." Donoma yanked Revan into the tent that her mother and father shared. Finally, maybe the crowd would go away. "Damn vultures, I swear..."

"Revan!" Asakonigei was on bed rest, currently trying her hand at knitting and failing miserably. Although, her face lit up when she saw her son and daughter. "Donoma! I'm so happy you're both here!"

“Mom!” Revan ran forward, hugging her close. “Are you ok? I can’t believe Dad got you pregnant again.”

"I'm fine, Revan, just a little uncomfortable with all this extra weight." Asakonigei hugged her son tightly. "We were not exactly planning this, but nonetheless, it happened. I've been very well cared for while I've been here."

"Do you know what the baby is now?" Donoma asked her mother. "I've been wanting to know for so long!"

"Yes, actually, I do know the baby is going to be." Asakonigei smiled widely. "You're both going to have a little brother."

"Queen Zarazu birthed three Gerudo boys and now, I suppose I'm lucky to have a second one." Asakonigei then added. "Though your father and I have been at odds about a name."

“You have?” Revan sat beside her, wanting to not leave her side. Been months since he saw his mother.

"Get a load of this," Donoma plopped onto the bed, opposite to Revan, their mother in the middle. "Dad says he wants another Gerudo name, but Mom is insisting on a combination between Gerudo and Lorleidian since my name is Lorleidian and yours is Gerudo."

"It's only fair." Asakonigei defended her point. "I doubt I'm having another baby, so half it, right?"

“Well knowing father, he most likely doesn’t want a Frankenstein name put together.”

"It's not that bad, I don't think." Donoma shrugged her shoulders. "Mufratir is all right, isn't it?" Asakonigei asked her son.

Revan couldn’t hide his displeasure at the name as his face contorted at the corners. “Keep it simple?”

"Or she could go all out like Zarazu and Covarog did with Zahirog and name the kid Malikonigei." Donoma snorted.

"Oh, hush you!" Asakonigei gently shoved at Donoma's shoulder.

“Could call him Dad’s first name?” Revan pondered on the possibilities.

"One Malik in the world is enough, the world has enough stubbornness." Asakonigei laughed.

"The world didn't need even more with Revan, what have you done, Mom?"

"Your brother is not that bad."

"He went into a match without magic."

"That's just his ego."

“Excuse me?!” The comment of the world not needing him stung Revan to his core. “I’m sorry I tried to prove that I had value in the skills I crafted for myself. I’m sorry I’m not daddies favourite child!”

"Oh, stop being a brat." Donoma snapped at Revan. "You know that's not what I meant. I implied the world doesn't need more of your 'I'm-undefeatable' attitude." She then scoffed and said, "Favorite? Dad doesn't choose favorites, but if you really believe that's true, it's only because I actually listen and behave."

"Hush, you two, stop fighting." Asakonigei scolded both of her children. "I shall not have you two fighting in front of me or your father. He has enough to worry about as it is."

“Oh you know what, fuck dad too. Too important with all of this to give a damn about me.” Revan gestured all around the village with wide arms. “Skipping dinners, celebrations, and ceremonies to be here. Except while I’m stuck out busting my ass, he chooses you to live here with him. You’re probably aware he’s never once invited me here.”

"He didn't choose me to live with him here, you dumbass! I'm a woman, for starters, and at least I look Gerudo!!!" Donoma spat back at Revan. "He's trying his best to rebuild some semblance of what our ancestors lost! If you're so upset about not receiving a personal invitation, it's not Dad's fault! The Gerudo women here don't trust men! The only reason they trust Dad is because he is Gerudo!"

"ENOUGH!!!" Asakonigei shouted so loud that Revan's ears and Donoma's rang something fierce. "If the both of you are going to squabble like children, then you can do so elsewhere! I do not need the stress of seeing you two fight and neither does your little sibling! Out! Right now!"

"But Mom---"

"I said, OUT!!!"

“You hit the nail exactly on the head. In his eyes I’m not Gerudo. And if I am, I’ll only carry the worst aspects. So how about you go crawl back to your sisterhood like the good little girl you are.” Revan looked to his mom, daring to glare at her something fierce. “A baby will kill you. Why would you risk putting us through something like that?”

"At least I don't follow around a girl who doesn't love me!" Donoma shot back. "Luimaya will never like you in that aspect and you think being her bodyguard will make her view you as some romantic hero? You're an ass." With that, Donoma tromped out of the tent.

Asakonigei gave Revan a hard stare. "I had complications with you, I lost too much blood with Donoma, and yet, both of you are still here and alive." Asakonigei said very sternly. "Your father and I didn't plan this. I did not even think I could get pregnant again with the trauma my body suffered. Yet, this baby is growing within me and will need you and your sister. I would gladly die for you and Donoma, and this baby. It's part of me and part of your father, and will be your sibling. Don't you dare patronize me, son."

“Is this because you want to give father his large family. You really think it’ll be fair to the baby to grow up in a world without a mother?” Revan sat down next to her, disbelief wrapped around his face. “You think that’s fair to me and Donoma to lose you for another one of father’s grand dreams? Honestly, are you even thinking properly here?”

"No, I don't think it's fair. Not for me, not for you, not for your sister or father, and certainly not the baby." Asakonigei stated as her son sat beside of her. "As I said previously, your father nor I planned this. It simply happened. And I am thinking very clearly. I am a mother. You will not be able to understand until you have children of your own, Revan. I want this baby to be born surrounded by love regardless of what happens to me. I may or may not survive... but at least this time, I will have more help."

“How? What makes you believe that? Your body will kill you. Dr. Bovier made that perfectly clear.”

"Yes, Doctor Boveir did. Yet, these women believe differently. So now, the only thing I have left is faith."

“Faith? Are you out of your mind?” Revan sneered at the very thought. “We should just get on our hands and knees and pray? Or perhaps we should get some shaman to throw flowers on top of you.”

"Don't. Patronize. Me." Asakonigei yanked her son forward by the collar of his armor. She was pregnant, but still strong enough to get Revan's attention. "I prayed to Kovina for you. You are here. If you are going to be like this, then you can leave. I will not have your attitude around myself or your new sibling-to-be when the time comes. Either you can support me, or go. What is it going to be?"

“I’ll leave when her royal highness deems it ready to go.” He held her hand, his fingers gentle, yet firm on her. His eyes were angry, but his lips trembled small hesitation. “I don’t want Klinge’s ego to take you away from me.”

"... you know I'll fight the Goddess of Death to stay here with you." Asakonigei held the side of his face with a small sigh. "If you don't have faith in the deities, at least have faith in me. Your mother is a tough old woman."

Revan’s eyes were heavy as he slowly nodded in agreement. “Alright...” Careful to not hurt her, he hugged his mother closely. “I don’t trust Father to look after you. So you have to be strong enough to look after yourself.”

As Revan hugged her, Asakonigei slowly stroked the back of his hair, trying her best to soothe him. "I have a lot of women here ready to help me. I'll have help, Revan. And if you decide to stay for a little while, then you can help me too."

Revan choose to ignore that last part. “I hope they can help you...”

~

The first day of the royal family visit was going smoothly. Malik was incredibly proud of his people. Seeing Luimaya, he waved the girl and her siblings over. “Young princess. Princes and princess’. How are you this afternoon?”

Luimaya had been exploring the town with her siblings and cousins. All of them were currently enjoying a recipe of the Gerudo heritage. Poor Turagor was coughing from the spiciness, the younger twins barely batted an eye, and Zahirog merely nibbled on his, trying to save face. "This is... a different experience for sure. It's not exactly what I've read in books." Zahirog admitted to Malik.

"I guess history left out a few parts." Turagor said in-between sputters from the spicy chicken leg.

"I really enjoyed seeing such beautiful custom clothes!" Marena smiled.

"And hearing the music!" Syrena added.

Luimaya stayed silent for a while, thinking. "Though... Ganonpa won't stay here to lead them." She then asked. "So I suppose Gail is going to?"

“Ganondorf is too old to lead. The man has lived long enough for this lifetime to be a ruler. Gali certainly makes a qualified Chieftain in my absence.”

The siblings exchanged glances.

"... you?" Zahirog appeared to be confused. "You're a man. I thought the Gerudo wanted a female leader like Nabooru in the old days?"

“There have been Kings and Queens in our past too.”

"Yeah, though Zahi and Turagor needed a pass just to come in here." Marena noted. "So... it's safe to assume they're not too trusting of men." Syrena pointed out to her uncle.

"I know Mom and Dad will probably want to talk to them about keeping good ties with Hyrule." Luimaya told Malik. "I know Dad is King and a descendant of Ganondorf, so surely there will be peace from here on out."

“That’s something we are working out. I just don’t want these people to be taken advantage of.” Malik smiled softly, speaking gently to them all. “Just how I didn’t want your father, uncles, aunts and all of you taken advantage. History can sometimes be tricky and like to repeat itself.”

"Do you think they'll allow Lorleidians here too? Maybe some Hylian civilians?" Luimaya inquired. "For trading purposes?"

“Yes. It’s what I want. It’s what we are already trying to integrate. Look closely, and you’ll be able to spot one or two amongst the town even now.”

"As long as there is prosperity and peace, that's what matters the most." Luimaya stated.

"Though, I really wish you wouldn't stay here."

"Yeah, the castle would fall apart without you." Turagor remarked as he chugged down some water, trying to wash away some of the spiciness of the chicken. "I mean, you did keep our aunts and uncles from arguing all the time. Sort of."

"I think what he's trying to say is you're a peacemaker and we don't want anymore food fight incidents between Uncle Corsaire and his crew against the Hylian guards." Zahirog blanched. "I was pulling noodles out of my hair for weeks."

“Children...” Malik tried to sound soft to counteract how tired he was of this particular conversation. “I’ve been a peacemaker before your parents were even born. If you still need to rely on my guidance, I fear for the stability of Hyrule.”

"What they're trying to say is, they're going to miss you if you stay here." Marena clarified.

"Yeah. It would suck, cause we wouldn't get to see you as often." Syrena added to her twin's statement.

“Your Aunt Kanisa lives a whole ocean away. I’m still less then a days travel away. Besides, distance makes the heart grow fonder.” He gently patted Syrena on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but at least she has a dragon to bring her here to see us." Syrena sulked slightly. "If you move away, you might not come back cause Uncle Ralnor annoys you."

"We all know that Uncle Ralnor can annoy anyone with his 'proper-ness'." Marena snickered. "I hold my pinky finger out when I sip tea, look at me, I'm so proper." The siblings did exchange giggles at that mentioning.

“What? You can’t travel here to see me?”

"We can but who knows when we'll be able to." Luimaya admitted with a heavy sigh. "Come on, Uncle Malik. Even Mom and Dad don't get out of the palace that much. You know that."

"And when Lui becomes queen, it will be harder for to do so." Turagor frowned slightly. "Maybe for us if we have to stay at home too."

"At least we have each other." Zahirog noted. "That's what counts."

"But on a lighter note, Mama told us that Aunt Asa is pregnant again." Marena smiled. "What are you going to name the baby?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Syrena asked.

“I don’t know yet.” Malik didn’t want to know, least, not quite yet. Sighing, he figured out how to approach their worries. “The same way home will keep you busy in central Hyrule, my home here will keep me busy. This is simply part of life though children.”

"We know." Zahirog shrugged, holding his siblings together with his arms around their shoulders. "Though you better find the time to visit if we do."

“I-“ Malik saw Ganondorf from afar. The man held an expression of light urgency, waving the Lord with the wrist of a hand. “If you will excuse me children.”

Reaching Ganondorf’s side, Malik still felt slightly humbled in his presence. “Is something the matter?”

“No. Not at all. However, there is something of great importance I wish to discuss with you.”

“I understand.”

“I think privately will be best.”

Privately? This intrigued Malik. “Very well. Inside the eyes of the goddess statue then?” Ganondorf looked to the edge of the town where a giant woman of stone observed the town.

“You can go inside?”

“Yes. I made it a place of pray and to chronicle our people.”

“How spiritual of you. Let’s not waste time. Still a night of celebration to share.” The two Gerudo men reminisced on their shared past as they made their way to the temple. Inside, Ganondorf and Malik took their seat in front of a mural of great Gerudo’s past. “Cousin, don’t think me rude, but I invited two others.”

"I swear, if Malik wanted me to drag my ass in here for another stupid test of his, I'mma choke him. Getting too old for that."

"Now, now, Rinku, I'm sure he just wants to talk without a ton of eyes upon us."

"I'm serious, I'm so over these tests of his, Zarazu! At least he learned his lesson with you."

"How so?"

"... you took the man's arm; he should be grateful you didn't take his dick." Rinku and Zarazu had no idea that the words in the temple could... echo.

Ganondorf turned to daughter as she made herself visible with Zarazu. “Colourful vocabulary.” Malik was surprised to see Zarazu and Rinku together. “I didn’t expect you both to be here.”

"You invited us?" Zarazu held a tone of questioning to her voice. "Unless I misunderstood, you wanted to meet with the holders of the Tri-Force?"

"Hey, I've heard worse from you, Ganondad." Rinku pointed a finger at Ganondorf.

“I did.”

“What is this all about?” Malik stiffened, uncertainty filling his being. His words said otherwise, but deep down his heart knew why they were all gathered now.

Ganondorf changed his gaze over to Malik, a deep and heavy look falling on him. “We are here to talk about The Triforce of Power’s new owner.”

Silence was cast over the room, and a shocking realization hit Malik now it was in the open air. “Me?”

"...?! WHAT?!" Rinku shook her head. "Wait, I thought Covarog was supposed to get the Tri-Force? He's next in line, no offense, Malik."

"I am... surprised myself." Zarazu stated slowly, not expecting this. "Might I ask why?"

“Rinku...” Ganondorf waiter until his eldest daughter was a little calmer before continuing. “Every child of mine, with the exception of you, carries a seed of darkness that I share. I fear the Triforce might corrupt them as it corrupted me.”

"Corrupt them?!" Rinku took offense to that. "All your kids are the best of you and Mom. Do you truly think that if you give the Tri-Force to Covarog that he'll turn dark?" She then said, "If you don't want to trust Covarog with it, then give it to Ralnor. Hell, give it to Orana or Kanisa, even Teb! They're not going to be corrupted! None of them are part of this curse that you, Mom, and I have repeated!"

“No. They both struggle with darkness in their choices. And I won’t expose Orana, Kanisa, or Tebanem to temptation of abuse. I need someone who’s motives are incorruptible. That knows the weight of true magic and power.”

"You have so little faith in them! Look at how much they all have overcome!" Rinku frowned and gestured to Zarazu. "They're married. They have families. They're happy! And not once ounce of lust for power within them! And you think Malik is the one? Good goddesses, look at what you both have done in the past!" Rinku exclaimed. "Look at how much bloodshed both of you have on your hands! He's a carbon copy of you, Ganondorf! This is not a good idea!"

“Have we not redeemed ourselves? Has he not suffered enough under my hands as much as any of my other past victims? He rose from being my tool to regaining his humanity.” Ganondorf sent a penetrating look at his daughter. “What’s more, he has never broken my trust. Even in the deepest depths of depravity he was always honest with his intentions.”

"Yeah, he regained his humanity, but not due to you." Rinku remarked with a glare of her own. "Due to her," She motioned to Zarazu, and then added, "And his wife. What do you think will happen if they're no longer around to keep him in check? Do you want me to have to strike him down like I had to do you in our past lives if he loses control?"

“I regained it due to me wanting my humanity back. I worked hard for it. I earned it.” Malik was about done with the hero talking down on him. “You speak as though you aren’t without blood on your hands. So many of your past lives ended entire bloodlines due and the ramifications can still be felt today. We keep each other in check. I was kept around to keep you in check since you were a child. So don’t patronize me.”

"I know I have blood on my hands and I regret my actions. Yet, I've never been influenced by power. That's your lot. You still seek it today, and you're blind to it." Rinku shook her head. "I don't agree with this. When Chaos comes, he'll use it against you to turn you to his side and you'll end up fighting with Luimaya instead of with her. I'm out of here." The heroine tromped out of the cave, steaming. Zarazu, on the other hand, had remained silent the entire time. Thinking.

Malik couldn’t help but laugh at the old Princess. Even now, she still had a young spirit. “You’re going down to a dead end.”

As she stomped around, Ganondorf was less amused. “Rinku. You aren’t being fair here. As Zelda trusted Zarazu, I trust Malik. Please... sit.” The old king was also tired. He didn’t want to argue this point.

Rinku was done with this conversation and refused to be a part of it further. She turned around, found another tunnel, and exited the cave to prove her point and kept walking.

"Maybe we should give her some space to think as well." Zarazu suggested, trying to keep Rinku and Ganondorf from arguing again as her sister-in-law left the temple.

“She’ll have to accept it.” With Rinku gone, Ganondorf sighed. “She’s in the dark, but I know you’re no fool to Ralnor’s darker actions in protecting Hyrule, even now. And for my eldest, I wasn’t completely sure until I heard Malik show Zannah respect where Covarog couldn’t let go of it his hatred of the Hasai. That is ultimately why I choose Malik over your husband Zarazu. Malik has shed his hate.”

Malik looked softly at Zarazu, wondering what she was thinking. “Rupee for your thoughts?”

"I can understand Rinku's view and your view, because I'm trying to be fair from a standpoint." Zarazu admitted to the men. "I'm well aware that my husband has flaws. Everyone does, we're human. However, I do think you should tell Covarog why he is not getting the Tri-Force of power. I won't lie, I'm sure it will hurt him. He has been looking forward to succeeding you in being a carrier because he wants to make you proud." She then continued, "Though, if Malik has the Tri-Force, I know you trust him and I know that he has more respect for the Hasai than my husband. I cannot help but wonder if you too will be immune to the temptation of power, my oldest friend." The queen was wise, for sure, though still cautious. "Many times in history, power has corrupted... are you sure that it's temptation will not affect you like it has Ganondorf?"

“I don’t know for sure. That’s why I want my friends and family to keep me honest. To use a seat and source of power for the betterment of all people.” Malik glanced over to Ganondorf, a sudden frown on his face. “If you give me your greatest source of power, you will lose your immortality. You might not live for long.”

“Who wants to live forever? No. Not me. As for Covarog, he knows how plenty proud I am of him.”

Finally, Ganondorf stood up from his bench. “Zarazu. I want your support on this. Do you think Malik is a good man? Do you think he can wield power in the name of peace?”

"... I do believe Malik is a good man. I do believe he sincerely wants the best for our people, for the Gerudo as well. Though, as said previously, there is always temptation." Zarazu looked at her own hand. There she saw the slight glow of the Tri-Force piece of Wisdom, reminding her there were always two sides to every tale. Those years ago before Zelda's death, she entrusted the Lorleidian queen with the Tri-Force of Wisdom. She did not want her daughters to carry the burden and trusted Zarazu to keep it safe. "Though we are only human, Ganondorf. Sometimes, even I feel the slight pull of the Tri-Force, calling me to use it. To dip into that magical essence that is so pure and addictive, that I have to be careful. I resist it for the sake of my family, my friends, and my kingdom." She held up her fingers glowing with magic. "If you want my support, and my utmost trust... then I must ask that we form a bind. This way, no matter where these pieces may end up... we will not let them fight against one another again." The queen then stated. "We'll revoke this curse."

“I can agree to that. If the pieces of the Triforce, ever, ever need to come together, then it will be for a wish of healing to the people.” Malik’s breath didn’t hitch as he reached a hand out to Zarazu to shake on this sacred pact.

"Not to destroy, but for peace." Zarazu took Malik's hand. "No longer destruction, but healing."

“For love, not hatred.”

"Agreed." Zarazu used her magic to implement the contract of the binding. A ring of runes in the Lorleidian language formed on her wrist and Malik's, identical in nature. "And if we break it... we die."

Malik nodded. When finished, he seemed almost somber when he spoke. Perhaps now was the time to tell his friend. “You should know that I’m not coming back to Hyrule. This is my home. With my people. They want to elect me to the position of Gerudo King. The sworn guardian. I’ve waited to be here again since I was a boy.”

"... I know." Zarazu simply replied to her friend. "I want you to be happy. Though I must be blunt with my next question." She took a small breath and said, "When the time comes... you will still remain loyal to my daughter?"

“I will be a friend that she can rely on.”

"She will need you." Zarazu actually looked... concerned. "As much as that snake gives me the creeps, I cannot deny his magic or his status. He said it will be soon... and I am worried."

“The Triforce bearers and the sages will need to protect the world.” Ganondorf stretched out, taking a deep breath. “Are you both prepared for that?”

"I am prepared for that. I am ready to give my life if it means my family will be safe." Zarazu clasped her hands together, her gaze downcast. "I am not ready to... to sacrifice my daughter. If what Bonegrinder says is true, and... his prophecy is correct..." It was hard for her to speak the words. "I've seen what has happened to Bonegrinder's mind. It is warped. He shares two souls in one body. He is a host for a deity and no longer his original self... if that happens to my Luimaya..."

“Bonegrinder is a freak. I won’t let him or anyone else hurt your daughter Zarazu.”

"... I trust you." Zarazu sighed, still thinking of what the future could hold. "I do think you need to check on Asa, Malik. From what Nakeso overheard when she went to take your wife some food from Gail, Revan and Donoma were... disagreeing."

“It is.” Ganondorf took a few sound breaths. Opening his right palm, a feint and soft glow emerged as a small golden triangle appeared. There was no celebration of grand ceremony behind it. The earth didn’t shake, and the sky didn’t change colour. It simply appeared. Ganondorf gently handed it to Malik to hold with both hands. “Take it.”

Zarazu simply waited in slight apprehension. She did not know what would occur once Malik took the piece.

Ganondorf stepped back as his cousin held the Triforce. Malik didn’t expect it to feel so warm, like a campfire. But with a squeeze of his right fist around it, he felt his heart light in a blaze of might. The Triforce connected to him physically, mentally, and spiritually. His breath felt freer, and he felt more alive then ever. One his palm, the triangle of the Triforce emerged from nothing, looking like tattoo. The top triangle lightly glowed, signifying the merger was a success. Malik, son of the desert and blade of the Gerudo, was now the weirder of Power.

"... Malik?" Zarazu finally spoke. "Are you all right?"

"I can relate." Zarazu took a slow inhale. It seemed he was still himself... for now. Maybe the fail-safe spell was keeping everything in check. Maybe Rinku was wrong and Malik would not be corrupted. Yet, personally, though she might not admit it, Zarazu was not willing to take that chance when it came to her daughter. If he tried to use it for evil... no, it was best not to think about it.

Malik took a few moments to self reflect. With the Triforce, he felt connected to life and magic on a deeper level in a near instant. To be truthful, it suddenly became overbearing. “I think I need to sit down.”

Zarazu formed a chair of ice for him to sit upon in the cave. "... the magic is overwhelming for a new holder." The queen then offered. "I can help you channel it for a bit to get you used to it."

“Give me a moment. I just need to adjust.”

"Close your eyes and try to imagine the flow of the magic." Zarazu instructed Malik, trying to make it easier for him. "You feel it within you, within your surroundings, and others... let it talk to you."

“Cousin, imagine the Triforce as a heart within you. It beats within you as a generator of life and magic. Ease into it. Should be similar to the magic you know.”

Malik nodded, feeling deep within and focusing on himself. Over the course of five minutes the man finally felt he had control over the new weight of his soul. “I’ll be fine now.”

"All right... let's just walk slow then. We'll need to help Ganondorf."

Malik took another breath, looking down at the yellow triangle burned upon his hand. He knew in his heart of hearts this was the key to bringing glory to the Gerudo and all of Hyrule.  

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Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/622576982282141697/the-rising-sun-ch-4-uncertain-future

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/622772431507062784/the-rising-sun-ch-6-like-father-like-son

Crossover with @ridersoftheapocalypse

[erintoknow]

evidence

fallen hero: rebirth fanfic, set right after Heartbreak ~1.8k words, staring everyone’s favorite Sergeant Steel. retribution alpha minor spoiler

content warning for a That Guy

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Not quite civilian business, not quite Ranger business. Chen wasn’t really sure how to dress, wasn’t comfortable with this blending of lives. But if he didn’t get to the bottom of this, who would? Ortega was in no state of mind to pursue this. The odds of a dead end was too high. He couldn’t do that to his friend. Things were bad enough right now. Breath in, breath out. Straighten his collar. Ring the doorbell, knock on the door. Wait.

It had taken Chen more than a few beers and hours of reminiscing with Ortega. Surreptitiously going over what they remembered of old stories, writing down the details and cross-referencing everything against each other with a map of the city. Cross out options and narrow down the list. Maybe the fourth time would be the charm. Hopefully it would be worth it.

Someone shouted from the other side of the door, the sound of shuffling furniture. There was the sound of several locks being undone and then finally, the door cracked up, a single suspicious eye peering out. “Who is it?”

Chen clasped his hands behind his back. “Sergeant Steel, we talked on the phone briefly yesterday?”

The eye stares, boring in to him.

Chen stares back.

The eye blinks first. “Yes, yes, I remember now.” The door shuts, there’s a rattling of a chain, then opens again wider. “Com’on then, take a seat.” Defying expectations the owner of the eye is not a crone of an old woman but a man, maybe in his forties? Greying hair, wrinkles coming into their own on his face. If he dressed a little nicer, Chen might even class him as handsome. Untrimmed beard and beer-stained tank-top, however? Not so much.

“Thank you,” Chen says as he steps inside, closing the door behind him.

“Please, take a seat,” his host repeats, gesturing towards the wooden chairs arranged around a dining room table. His host pulls a chair away from the table edge before sliding into his own, a pile of books in poor condition scattered in front of him.

Chen raises a hand. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Alright then, suit yourself.” He shrugs, “I’m John Carpenter, nice to meet you in person, Mr…?” Chen eyes the man. Definitely a fake name.

“Sergeant Steel is fine.”

John frowns at that.

“You said the person I’m looking for might have been a tenant of yours?”

He nods, reaches to grab one of the books in front of him. This one looks like it’s seen some heavy water damage. “Yep, the name Becker sounded familiar, and you certainly don’t see too many German names in this part of town these days, mostly–” He stops himself, and looks at Chen uncomfortably. Chen allows him the courtesy of pretending not to notice.

“Anyway,” John flips through the book, stopping on one page to circle a name with a red pen. “Here we go.” The way John just rips the page out of the book and slides it over is enough to make Chen wince. “Moved in back in 2007, stayed about… oh, two years?”

Chen scans the page. Towards the bottom, the circled name ‘Chelsea D. Becker | April 13th, 2007 | Deposit and Rent: Paid’

Chelsea? A fake name? Even for Sidestep that seemed a little lazy. With some care, the fine motor control in his hand wasn’t the best, Chen pulls a photograph out of his unbuttoned front pocket, putting it down on the table. “Does this person look familiar?”

John leans over, squinting down at the small, crinkled picture. The only group picture Ortega had been able to corral Sidestep into taking without her suit on, dressed in a vest over a long-sleeved blouse and skirt with tights. It was supposed to stay on the fridge. Hopefully he’d find something out of this that would get Ortega to forgive him.

John purses his lips, pushes his tongue in his mouth from side to side and makes a clicking noise. “The one on the far right there,” Chen keeps a blank expression as John points a finger right on Sidestep’s face. “Reminds me of the kid Chelsea always had around, maybe a sister?”

That throws Chen for a loop. “Parent-Child?”

John shakes his head. “Don’t think so. This kid just showed up a not long after Chelsea did. Maybe right out of high school?” John clicks his tongue and shrugs. “Normally I’d charge extra for stuffing two people in studio apartment like that, but I think the kid had been homeless so I pretended I didn’t see nothing.”

Alright then. What was the connection between this ‘Chelsea Becker’ and Ariadne Becker?

“Can you tell me anything else about them?”

“‘friad not, I respect my tenants’ privacy.” John says with possibly the most lying-through-my-teeth look Chen has ever seen on a man’s face.

Chen waits him out.

Finally; “Okay, well. I think the woman might have been a drug dealer or something. Always weird hours. Always paid on full, never late–”

“That’s cause for suspicion?”

“Around here it is, yeah.” John waves a hand, dismissing the question. “Now that I think about it, you know how women are,” He shoots Chen a knowing look. “Maybe she was just keeping the boy around as a fu-“

“Excuse me,” Chen cuts him off, “Boy?”

“Yeah, boy. Kid was a boy.”

Chen frowns. Another dead end then after all.

John clicks his tongue. “Probably a fairy though,” He makes a face, completely oblivious to the fact that only years of self-discipline is saving him from having his nose broken. “Kept running around in girl clothes and shit. Hell, maybe that’s not a sister in your picture. Could just be him.”

Maybe not a dead end then? But that would mean… It would mean Chen has even more questions now than when he started this whole process.

“…when was the last time you saw the kid?” Chen asks, keeping his face blank.

“So, when Chelsea moved out, I offered to keep renting to him, but he couldn’t afford it. Felt bad though, so generous man that I am, I let him stay, off-the-books, until I got a new tenant to rent the room like, a month later? Never saw him again after that.”

“No idea where they might have went?”

John shakes his head. “Him? Nah, he just straight up vanished the day I gave him the heads up, didn’t even take anything with him.”

Chen sighs, frustration mounting. Why was trying to dig into anything about Sidestep like digging in sand?  “What about the… the woman, Chelsea, any idea where she went?”

John shrugs, “Left the city, I think?” An idea occurs to him and and he leans in for a conspiratorial whisper. “You think she was on the run from the law? You Rangers tracking down a cold-case?”

“Something like that.” Chen pinches his nose. “I can’t discuss the details of an investigation in progress.” That was… technically true.

John clicks his tongue, grins. “Say no more Sarge,” he winks. “Say, you know what? Maybe you want to take a look at the stuff he left behind, maybe something’ll help out the case?”

Chen raises an eyebrow. “I find it hard to believe you held on to a tenant’s property for half a decade.”

John waves him off and gets up the table, trundling into a back room. “I am a collector Sarge.” He says the word with an uncomfortable level of relish.

A few minutes of rummaging later and John is back with a small plastic bin. He drops it on the table in front of Chen. “Few pictures, a journal. Think there were some tapes and records too, but I kept those for me.” He looks at Chen, “Always figured I could sell it back to the kid if he came around again. Never did though.”

Chen has to will his hand to keep steady as he picks through the few items in the bin. Pull out one photo, a young blonde-haired woman standing next to an even younger looking androgynous teenager with short reddish-brown hair, and green eyes. Chen lays the the picture down next to the earlier photo he had brought with him. It feels like he’s looking at something he shouldn’t be – there’s an itching in the back of his skull. But the similarities are too close to be ignored, right down to the way the uncomfortable smile breaks across the face.

“I’ll need to hold on to these for evidence.”

John opens his arms wide, “Be my guest, always happy to be of service to the law.” John winks again, “Provided of course, the law remembers me favorably in return.”

Chen frowns, “I’ll make a note of it.” He says, with no such intention to do so. He reaches back into the bin, pulls out the journal. No indication on the cover who owned it. Just a plain black moleskin bound book, held shut with a cloth strap. Slip it open with a careful slide of the thumb, start with the first page.

chelsea thinks keeping a journal will help that I can write out the nightmares as if that’ll like get them outside of me?

she doesn’t understand why I can’t do that I can’t explain it to her either I mean

last night wasn’t even that bad, since i started saving people things feel better

like

i’m in control again it’s fun actually? just hang around with a police scanner and be ready to run across town tucking sucks like super shit though

i don’t trust the rangers charge seems real full of herself thinks she’s so hot with her perfect smile and the way she stands with her hips cocked and

wow that’s embarrassing

you know what forget this this is dumb sorry chelsea

Chen flips through the rest of the book, all the other pages are blank. Another dead end. Nothing to suggest what might have happened to Sidestep now. Nothing to hint at what was up with the ambulance Chen knows carted Sidestep away in direct contradiction to the official report. Where had Ariadne lived between this and now? Where did she go when she wasn’t at a crime scene or following Ortega like a lost cat? Who did she associate with outside of the Rangers?

Maybe they could put the journal in the ceremonial casket, it’d be better than nothing. But how to explain finding it to Ortega without giving away the investigation? And there was the matter of... Maybe it was best to keep the journal to himself after all. This was one secret that didn’t need to be exposed.

Chen puts the journal back in the bin and adds both the pictures and the torn record book page. Might as well hold on to it. Hopefully his government contact would get back to him soon with something, anything, about the where he’d seen that ambulance go. This had been his best shot at nailing down a residence and it ends up being years old. The only other lead left was this ‘Chelsea’ woman, and given his luck so far, it was hard to be optimistic about the odds.

Ariadne Becker, woman of mystery and thorn in his side, couldn’t even have the courtesy to have a non-mysterious death. This one was going to eat at him.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day One Hundred Eighty-Six: Trickle Down ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Hyūga Hanabi, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Manami ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

Is it really a proper Summer vacation unless you go somewhere water-related? And of course, if you want to go full cliche, you go to the beach.

And that’s exactly where they’re headed.

In all honesty, Sasuke’s surprised Hiashi agreed. Though that technically might have to do with the fact that he’s yet unaware about the fact that his daughter is dating one of the three boys she’s been given permission to travel with.

Him, specifically.

Hanabi is also with them, the little tagalong. It would hardly be fair to keep her away, after all. Technically there are four adults in the arrangement to keep an eye on them: his aunt Manami, her son Shisui, and of course Itachi. And much to Sasuke’s surprise...Itachi brings someone along.

A girl.

But, Sasuke’s not one to butt into his brother’s business. All he knows is that Manami drives himself, Hinata, and Hanabi. Everyone arrives on their own to the beach two hours from their home suburb. 

It’s actually been a few years since he bothered to go. They’ve even got overnight rooms, having the rest of tomorrow until the drive home that night. The only arrangement he’s aware of so far is the girls having a room...minus Manami, who’s splurging on her own. He’s assuming the boys will then be left to their own devices.

Which is wonderful...because Shisui snores like a bear.

But at least it’s just one night. For now, they have the entire day ahead of them, having left fairly early this morning.

Dressed in a button-up blouse and a skirt, Hinata emerges from the car and holds a hand to her brow, shielding her eyes as she looks over the beachfront. It’s...rather crowded, but what can you expect? “Wow…! I can’t remember the last time I was here!”

“Look at all the people,” Hanabi marvels, mirroring her sister’s pose.

“Yeah...be careful not to get lost, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah...I’m not a baby. And I’ve got my phone, I can always text you.”

Hinata wilts a bit at the girl’s flippant attitude, but in the end just gives a small sigh. “...grab your bag, we need to go check in.”

The group heads inside, Manami handling the rooms. While the rest of them wait, Sasuke brightens as Itachi and his...friend arrive. “Hey, you made it.”

“Traffic was a bit hectic, but yes, we’re here,” the elder brother replies, smiling. Turning to the sisters, he softens. “It’s good to see you two again. It really has been a while.”

Hinata gives a dipping nod. “You look well, Itachi! How’s college going?”

“It’s...going.” A tinge of sheepishness tinges his expression. “Let’s just say I was eager for Summer to arrive.”

“You’re working though, right?” Sasuke asks, hands in his pockets.

“I am. Just part time - on a week, off a week. Thankfully Manami’s plans lined up perfectly.”

As the brothers chat, the girls take to their own conversation. Already Hinata seems rather enamored with Itachi’s companion...which Sasuke can’t help but perk a brow at.

“...I’m glad you two are speaking again,” Itachi then offers softly, drawing his brother’s gaze. “I know it pained you to go without her friendship for so long.”

“Yeah, well...I had my own shit to sort out,” Sasuke mutters in reply. “But yeah...me too.”

There’s a knowing curiosity in Itachi’s eyes, and he then asks, “...so, is this little getaway a platonic one, or…?”

Stiffening a hair, Sasuke’s cheeks dust pink. “W...what’s that supposed to mean?”

Clearly already understanding, Itachi smiles. “...just a kind of...intuition. Manami told me you’ve been spending quite a bit of time together. Including after curfew.”

“Uh...she knows about that?”

“Oh please, Sasuke: she’s ex military. You really think you could sneak out of that house without her knowing?”

Mouth opening to speak, Sasuke instead squawks as an arm lands over his shoulders. “Hey!” Shisui cuts in with a gleaming grin. “What’re you two chattin’ about?”

“Your mother’s uncanny ability to know every little thing that happens in her house,” Itachi explains dryly.

“Ooh, yeah...no avoiding those hawk-like eyes, I tell ya. Sasuke get busted for sneaking out again?”

Scowling, he ducks out from under his cousin’s grip. “Busted, no...at least, I’m not in trouble.”

“She knows you’re not dumb enough to...well, do something dumb. Probably just figures you’re out for a stroll in the quiet,” Shisui offers.

“Exactly…”

Glancing to the group, the eldest then asks, “So am I the only one without a date, or…?”

“Seems that way,” Itachi teases with a hint of a grin.

“Maybe I’ll find one out on the beach, eh? Once I stride out there in my speedo, they’ll have to peel the women off me,” Shisui retorts, cracking another good-humored smile.

“Please God tell me you aren’t actually going to wear a speedo,” Sasuke deadpans.

“I mean -”

“Come on, guys!” Manami then calls, turning them all to the counter. “Rooms are booked, let’s go settle in! Then we’ll hit the beach, okay?”

Hanabi gives a whoop, following close behind as the rest trail after her. As arranged, the girls take their room, the boys to another, and Manami to her own. “Meet back out here in twenty, and we’ll head down together.”

Nodding, Sasuke hauls his bag into the assigned room, finding two beds. Seems he’ll be bunking with his brother like the old days. Getting right to the point, they all change into swim gear...and Sasuke mentally sighs in relief when Shisui pulls out trunks like the rest of them. He did not want to see that man in a speedo…

Once enough time passes, they head into the hall with towels in tow, meeting the rest of the group. Manami simply rocks a tank and shorts, prosthetic in clear view. Hanabi dons a white one-piece, an innertube around her waist. And both of the older girls are...still dressed?

“You not gonna swim?” Sasuke asks.

“No, I just…” Hinata goes pink. “I’ve got my suit on under. I wanted to wear this down to the beach for...for a while.”

A blink. “...okay.”

Herd assembled, they squish back into an elevator and head out toward the sand. Hanabi takes off at a dead run, prompting Hinata to chase. “Hanabiii! Slow down!”

Manami crows in laughter, everyone else sighing. “I’m so glad none of you three are that young anymore…”

“Hey, I’m still twelve at heart,” Shisui retorts.

“True, but you’re also physically a legal adult and pay for your own medical bills if you were to sprint, fall, and break something,” she counters with a grin that matches his own. “Feel free to act twelve all you want.”

Both brothers snicker as Shisui pouts. “Love you too, Mom,” he mutters.

Eventually they catch up with the sisters. Hanabi’s already in the water, floating with her tube. Hinata’s laid claim to a pair of umbrellas, somehow not taken...but also a good deal distant from the hotel entrance.

“All right, you all head into the water...I’m gonna sit in the shade and read,” Manami declares, throwing down her towel and making to do just that. Itachi and his date decide to wait a bit as well, leaving Sasuke to try to convince Hinata to ditch her clothes and go swim as Shisui just...barrels out with a warcry. 

“Come on, you can’t go to a beach and not swim.”

“S-sure you can!”

“...what, are you self-conscious? Hinata, you’re fine, just -”

“So what if I am?” she cuts in, once again pink in the face. “I just...d-don’t like being so...undressed.”

“What about me? I’ve basically just got long boxers on.”

“I do n-not want to think about that…!”

“Come on,” he offers, practically whining. “I wanna see your suit.”

“It...it’s nothing special.”

“Knowing you, I bet it’s adorable.”

Looking shy at the compliment, Hinata hesitates another moment before sighing, working the buttons of her blouse. Under is a tank-like top: white with sunflower prints. And once she peels off her skirt, there’s a high-waisted bottom, the same warm yellow.

“...I like it,” he offers. “But man, you need more sun.”

“W-what?”

“You’re so pale!”

Her cheeks puff with a pout. “...well the only time I seem to go out anymore is a-after dark!”

That earns a grin. True...he drags her out so late, she probably doesn’t do much else for being tired. “...fair enough.”

Once they’re both lathered with sunscreen (Hinata having already tended to her sister), he coaxes her out from under the umbrella. “C’mon, we’ll get in the water and then no one can see you.”

“B-but -?”

“No one’s gonna be looking at you, anyway - they’re all doing their own thing. The only eyes you gotta worry about are mine,” Sasuke teases, earning a slap against his shoulder.

Making it to the waves, they stride in to their knees, Hinata squealing at the cold. “This...this is a mistake!”

“No way - you’re not backing out now.”

“But -?”

Scooping her up, Sasuke ignores her protests and carries her further in before just...throwing her.

“Wah -!”

Sploosh!

Scrambling for the surface, she stands in the now chest deep water, dripping wet. “You...you…!”

He just grins, ducking behind arms as she splashes him. “Looking a little drenched there, Hina.”

“I’m gonna k-kill you!”

They mock fight for a bit, ocean spraying at each strike of a hand before it devolves into laughing and chasing. But it’s not long before the novelty wears off, and Sasuke suggests heading up to dry off for a bit.

“Okay...good idea.” Taking the lead, Hinata wrings out her hair as they emerge from the water.

A few paces behind, Sasuke mops it from his face before his gaze gets a bit...caught up in the way water trickles down Hinata’s back and legs.

...oh.

Shisui and Hanabi are still in the water, and Sasuke notices the elder pair have disappeared...but he doesn’t see them in the waves. Eyes narrowing a bit, he forgets as Hinata gestures for him to sit. Manami, true to her word, is still reading...and clearly ignores the couple a few towels over.

“That was fun!”

“Told you,” Sasuke teases.

Out sticks her tongue. “There’s a pool too, right?”

“I think so.”

“We’ll have to try it later. For now I’m a little swimmed out.” A pause. “...swum out? I’ve...had enough swimming.”

Snorting, he just reclines on his towel, deciding to doze for a bit until they get led to their next activity. Hearing Hinata do the same beside him, he cracks an eye, finding her pinkie with his.

She grips it back, a subtle smile growing as her eyes close.

Yeah...this was a good idea.

                                                         .oOo.

     Not...too much to say about this? Just your basic day at the beach kinda fic, featuring...lots of family xD This is technically part of the "Neighbors" sub modern AU. I still need to go back through all these and make sub lists for the mini 'stories', I just...haven't had the time, especially with now 186 of them to go through...I will eventually! Just...not likely for a while, aha ;;;;;      But yeah! It's late, and I've had a busy day with another one coming up, so that's all outta me for now. Thanks for reading!

[ask-ivory]

Chapter one: Welcome to Shade

Those hunk muffins earned it! I don't care what they thought. If they were so worried about their little dust company, then I would have sided with the Schnees.

"I'm done with dust." I told my stepfather, as we parted ways, "I want to be a huntress; a hero. And nothing is going to stop me!"

Those days were far behind me. Weeks of prepping and training were way in the past. I had passed the entrance exam, my real parents filled out the paperwork, my documents were handed in and I was on an airship bound for Shade Academy, in Vacuo.

My bags were packed the previous night (courtesy of my sand servents). I had barely slept last night, because questions like "what is Shade gonna be like?", "Who will be on my team?", "How many friends will I make?", And many more floated in my head. Now I was actually going there, flying at a hundred miles an hour towards my dream come true.

I wasn't the only one here on this airship. A hundred people, at least my age or older, were here on this airship with me. The Vacuo news was on the screen systems near the windows, (probably to keep the passengers from getting bored, because if so, things tend to get pretty ugly). The news was announcing the latest robberies from the technical laboratories in Vacuo. Normally the news doesn't really interest me, but now that I'm training, I'm beginning to wonder if a huntress fought more then just the Creatures of Grimm. If so, then I would also stop crime.

"Focus on the task at hand," I told myself, "Train and prepare to be a huntress first, fight evil Grimm and other junk like that later."

I gazed out the window, thinking about my brother Basin. He was already at the academy, starting on his third year. He told me about how great Shade Academy is, and sent me pictures of the school.

He also sent me pictures of his team, Team BLCK (Pronounced Black), and told me about each teammate. On his team, he had a pair of fox faunus twins, whose names were Larry and Kerry Steel (get it? Steal? Steel? I just got that). He also had a another guy named Cade Blackstone. All of them were the same age and followed in Basin's leadership (well, most of the time anyway).

He even snuck some pictures of his classes that he had attended in his first and second years (spoiler alert, he got into detention for that, but with a semblance like his, that rarely happened).

Anyway, before the day came to move here, I looked at the pictures over and over again, memorizing the school grounds, my brother's teammates (just in case they decided to kill me with pranks), and teachers' mad faces when they caught Basin taking illegal pictures in class (heh heh).

I thought about pulling my scroll out again to look at the pictures again, but then the news shut off on the screens and a holographic image of a woman appeared. She was tall with long black hair. Her bare arms were adorn with golden bracelets and she wore a sleeveless dress that faded with purple to blue at the waist, all the way down to green at the bottom. In her hair was a golden headset, decorated with peacock feathers. She had a pair of, what looked like fans, strapped to her golden belt. She had golden high heels that were so ridiculously high that she looked like she had ballerina slippers on. Her face was beautiful but in a harsh mother-knows-best-now-don't-cross-my-path-or-i-will-have-to-step-on-you, kind of way. She wore blue eyeshadow, which matched her eyes.

"Welcome back all returning students and greetings to our new first year students." Her voice sounded stern, like she had spent her free time yelling at bad puppies. "I am Professor Hera Peacock, your combat trainer for this year. You are all very privileged to be attending this excellent institution. The world of Remnant is moving at an incredible length of pace, maintaining it's peace and prosperity. As future hunters, your training here will be vital to your future career. I wish you the best of luck"(I don't think she meant this part)" and welcome again to Shade Academy." The hologram turned off after finishing the welcome speech.

I looked out the window to find that the airship was just yards away from the landing docks. I ran to get my bags, but I bumped into someone.

"Ow!" I exclaimed.

"Ohff!" My accident responded. We both fell backwards.

"Sorry." I apologized, getting up, "I'm soo-" then my voice left me speechless. The girl I bumped into stood up.

The girl wore a sleeveless dress that started at gold and faded to orange and ended with blue. The dress itself was short at the knees. Her hair matched her dress, but only matched to the fading orange part. She wore a black belt, with pouches for dust on the side, and a pair of golden swords, that appeared to be folded in half, were attached to the back. She wore dark blue shoes with star patterns on them. Her eyes were a light crystal blue. But her wings were the thing that unnerved me.

On her back was a blinding white pair of wings. She was definitely a faunus, but she was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. In the few months that I lived in Vacuo, I had seen faunus of all types and traits: everything from ram's horns to lizard's tails. I had only heard of faunus with wings from the stories my father told me, the tales of the Great War. One of the things he said was that after the Siege of Vacuo, the winged faunus who fought with Vacuo just left and never returned. I heard people say that the chances of a faunus born with wings were pretty rare.

But here I was. And here she was.

"You can stop starring now." the girl said. "Just please, don't make any jokes."

"Oh no!" I protested "I wasn't planning on making jokes about your wings. It's just, I've never seen anything like this before. Their beautiful."

The girl seemed to brighten up at this comment, "You really think so?"

"Of course! I heard that having wings is a really rare trait. I've never seen it in person before."

"Yeah..." the girl muttered "That's what everyone thinks. Their not exactly right though...."

"Wait. What?"

"Nothing." the girl held out her hand. "I'm Lyra by the way. Lyra Phoebus."

"And I'm Aliar Ivory." We shoke hands.

"Oh!" Lyra exclaimed,"you are a first year student, are you?"

"Of course." I responded. "I'm so excited to start the year. But..." I hesitated "I'm also kinda nervous too. Even though my brother told me what Shade Academy's like, I still don't know what to expect."

"Is your brother a huntsman?"

"No, he's a third year. His name is Basin Obsidian, and he's the leader of team BLCK." I pulled my scroll out of my purse. "I've got pictures of him and his team. And..." I added with a smile, "He managed to sneak some pictures of the classes we'll be attending. Wanna see?"

She was about to respond when the speakers overhead turned on, "Attention students, we are about to land. Please bring all personal belongings with you as you leave the airship. Another reminder to reclaim your baggage and suitcases before you enter the school. For returning students, please meet up with your team leaders and move your things to your assigned dorms. For first years, once you have retrieved your items, please drop them off at the Great Hall. All students will meet in the auditorium for the ordination speech in eighty minutes. Welcome to Shade Academy."

People started flocking towards the exit. I could feel the ship landing slowly under my feet.

"Come on!" Lyra grabbed my wrist and started pulling me towards the door,"The pictures can wait. We're about to see the real thing!"

She dragged me out the door into the golden sun. The cool atmosphere of the airship turned to scorching desert heat in a heartbeat. Momentarily, I was binded by the shinning rays of the sun. When I adjusted to the light, I couldn't find the words to describe what I saw, or how I felt.

In front of me was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. Shade Academy was a huge palace-like building, maby eighty years old, it was several stories high, surrounded by a tropical court yard. It looked really good which is saying alot because nowadays, it's hard to find beauty in Vacuo. Now I'm not saying that it was perfect, because it wasn't. Some of the sandstone benches were broken, and the marble memorial wall was well worn. Not to mention the entire courtyard had a decent layer of sand covering it, but this was Vacuo, so there wasn't much they could do about that, (but that kind of thing doesn't really bother me very much.) Despite all it's flaws, I loved it. It was even grander then Atlas.

"This place is great!" Lyra exclaimed.

"And packed." I added, "come on. Let's get our things."

One thing I learned the hard way about Vacuo: all sence of order and organization is tossed out the window.

There was no line or anything. Just a crowd of people trying to get to there things before any of it got stolen. We squeezed through the crowd and barely managed to get our stuff (not-so-cool fact: it took us at least twenty minutes, which is generous because it probably took longer.) The airship wasn't too tightly packed, but other airships were coming in, some had even more people than our airship. All of the luggage was delivered in a big package mess of chaos, so we had to shuffle through hundreds if not thousands of bags and hope we didn't grab the wrong luggage. It was so crowded that at one point, Lyra said that she needed air. So she climbed on a random guy's back while he was leaning over to grab a suitcase, and leaped into the air,(yes, dear readers, we somehow managed to stay together the whole time, though, I'm still not entirely sure how.)

Much later, we finally stumbled out of the crowd. I was sweating so hard, I wondered how I didn't faint. We collapsed on one of the stone benches. Small groups of students (probably teammates, probably friends) were walking around the courtyard talking about their vacation time, or maybe some of them were new students becoming friends. Most of the students were trying desperately not to trip and fall as they hauled their things indoors. A few managed, but others had no such luck. One poor guy accidentally opened his suitcase while he was pulling it out of a sand dune, and all of his things fell out. Another guy, maybe a friend or family member, dropped his things too help his buddy out. It made me glad to see that, even though it was a rough start for everyone, the school and the students still kept the same respect that Vacuo had for it's people.

Well... almost everyone.

"Hey! Your in my seat!"

Startled, I turned to see a tall blonde girl barely managing to stand straight and tall in her fancy clothes. And when I say fancy, I mean something a casual Atlisian citizen would wear: a sleeveless pink dress with a faint flower print towards the bottom. She wore a pair of hot pink high heels that were so ridiculously high, that I thought she was going for the floating princess look. Her face was covered in a super heavy layer of makeup. Her blonde hair was streaked with pink all over the place, and she was oviously wearing hair extensions, because there was no way that her hair was long enough to touch her butt.

"I'm sorry," I said as I looked at her sideways, "you must have the wrong bench."

"And the wrong school." Lyra added.

The blonde gave Lyra a distasteful look. "No one asked for your opinion, weirdo. By the way, are those pillows on your back? Or are you supposed to be some kind of 'rare' species or something?"

Lyra's face burned with hate "They're wings. And before you ask, yes, they are real."

"Well," the blonde sneered "I don't know what kind of trash is going through the headmistress' mind, recruiting freaks like you into one of the most famous combat schools in the world. You're definitely not worthy of even being here."

I was so mad that I got to my feet in an instant. "Well at least this is the most friendly kingdom in Remnant. In Atlas, they don't give a dime about anyone unless your rich. They definitely don't like faunus. And because of that, I think that Atlas is a crappy kingdom. I bet that you come from a rich, spoiled, ignorant, family who only cares about themselves. I wonder what would've made them hate you so much for them to send you to place that's to low for your standards."

She was so mad, that I thought she was going to blow a fuse. "What?! How dare you just assume..."

"I'm not assuming!" I snarled. "I was raised in Atlas. And I know first hand how awful the people are."

"You traitor!" She shrieked. "How dare you betray your home kingdom like..."

"Like what?" A taller girl walked up. She had deep red eyes, which shone behind a pair of circular spectacles. Her long brown hair was tied back in twin braids, and her bangs with red streaks were parted. She mainly wore dark red and brown colors, with gold as an accent. The only thing I could say was different about her, besides her clothes and her neat appearance, was her accent. I wouldn't say she sounded atlesian. Maybe she was half and half? I don't know. I couldn't tell how she felt because she looked pretty emotionless, but my guts told me she was far from pleased. I could tell because her position was rather tense and her tone was rather stiff.

"This little brat is talking trash about her home kingdom! She needs to be put in her place!" The blonde shook her head, flouncing her overdyed hair. The other girl rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. She used her other hand to push her spectacles in place.

"Sounds more like you need to be put in your place. If you wanted people who looked, walked and talked like you as friends, then you should have gone to Atlas. You made a poor choice in Academy chosing. Your physic doesn't even look huntress worthy. It's a surprise you even passed the Shade academy entrance exam." The girl bluntly stated, causing the blonde to glare daggers right through her newfound enemy.

"I-it's not my fault I was sent to this garbage kingdom! I was forced to! By my parents!" The blonde protested.

"Huh, how fun. It's a shame really. If this is an Atlesian tradition, then it must suck like crazy. What forced your parents to send you here, when you could have been at home, spoiled rotten to the core?" The girl grinned wryly. Boy, there was no end to the shame this girl could endow upon that blonde.

"And besides," I added, "Technically, I was born in Vacuo. So that gives you no valid excuse to call me racist."

"And I've visited Atlas in the past." Lyra said in a sour tone. "Do you want to know what I think of Atlas? It's an illusion. An illusion to all the people outside and in. People look at Atlas and think it's the best and most advanced kingdom of the present. But like any illusion, it can shatter in an instant. If you think Atlas is a great kingdom, then you can believe that if you want to. Nothing lasts forever."

"I've been born and raised in Atlas, and I will say that my lifestyle sucked, which is why I left to live in Vale. My only friend was a faunus, who was beaten and discriminated because of her faunus traits and family status. I agree with the standard that Atlas is nothing more then a mere fantasy. You can enjoy your beliefs, but watch where it will lead you, because it may lead you straight to your doom." The dark girl joined in. She wasn't even fazed by the Barbie girl's reaction. She just glared laser eyes through her plastic frame.

The blonde girl was looking at all of us with a murderous glare, "Well, I can't stand for any of this trash. I'm heading inside to find more sensible people to talk to. I think you all are a bunch of a..."

Her cuss word ( I'll let you guess which one,) was cut off by a squeal of joy that was so loud, that I almost had to cover my ears. It came from all the way across the courtyard, where the students were being dropped off from the airships. I couldn't see who exactly screamed, but she was definitely loud enough to silence the whole courtyard.

"Wow." I said in a small voice, "Someone's definitely excited."

"I bet even the people inside heard that, too." Lyra added. The dark girl nodded in agreement.

After a moment of silence, the blonde said, "Let this be a warning to you. If I see you ever again, then I will beat the stuffing out of you."

She gathered her four hot pink colored bags, and started struggling to get her things to the academy.

"What a jerk," the dark girl said, "I hope I'm never on a team with that girl."

"Um..." I looked more closely at the stranger and instantly realized something: the only luggage she had was a leather backpack. "Hey. Where are your bags?" I asked.

"I dropped them off at the Grand Hall." She said casually, "I kept my backpack on me just in case."

"Huh." Lyra nodded, "ok, who are you?"

"I'm Dracella. Dracella von Burgundy."

"Hi, there." I said "I'm Aliar Ivory." I helt out my hand. Dracella took my hand, and we shook.

"And I'm Lyra Phoebus. " Lyra shook hands with the new girl.

"Are you an Ivory?" asked Dracella.

"I am." I responded, "but I'm not into business, I'm a fighter."

"Interesting." Dracella said. "My uncle told me about the Ivory family. My parents don't like you guys."

"Um... Does this make us enemies?"

"No. In order for us to be enemies, we have to hate each other. I don't hate you."

Lyra let out her breath like she was relieved, "Thank goodness. Cause I thought you were gonna..."

"Take a selfie!!!" A squeaky voice behind me exclaimed.

I almost jumped out of my shoes. Behind us was the girl with the exact same voice that echoed throughout the courtyard. Except, she wasn't a girl, she was a faunus. She was wearing a vertically stripped skirt patterned with black and white. She wore a magenta colored shirt with short puffy sleeves, and a darker purple button-up vest on top of that. She had a pair of dark purple high heeled boots on. Also, she was wearing a tie across her neck. I usually thought that ties were worn by business workers, but she wore it like a practical joke. Her crazy, purple colored hair and matching colored cat ears only made her look more unprofessional, but in a good way. Maybe it was her black gloves that gave off the message that she wasn't here to mess around. With a folding fan on her belt, a scoll in her hand, and a look of pure craziness on her face, she looked like she was ready to fight an army of Grimm, then take a bunch of selfies of herself right next to the decaying corpses. Then, she'd probably take selfies with her scroll on every inch of the campus.

All in all, she looked like someone from the lower classes of Atlas, or maybe someone from Minstral.

"How did you get here?" Asked Lyra.

"I took the scenic route." She sounded like a girl who was living the life of a party. "Oh! And my name is Catness Magenta."

We all exchanged names. Then Dracella said that she had to go text her cousin before the welcoming ceremony, and she ran into the school.

"So," Catness asked, "Why aren't you two inside the building?"

I face palmed myself. "Right!" Then I turned to Lyra, "We should get our bags to the Grand Hall."

"Well if you wanna talk later, then I'm always available." Catness offered. Then she smiled, flashing two rows of shiny white teeth, and disappeared.

For a minute we didn't say anything. Lyra piped up first. "Huh. That was a thing."

"We should probably go drop our stuff off." I suggested. I picked up my black duffle bag and slung it over my shoulder. Then I grabbed my two white suit cases by the handles and got to my feet. Lyra grabbed a golden suitcase and a blue duffle bag.

"Yeah," she agreed, "We don't want to be late."

I amplified my Aura and the sand beneath my feet solidified, creating a solid ground for me to walk on.

"Lyra," I told her, "I may have just met you and I think you're a good person. I hope maybe we can be on a team together. Or at least be friends."

Lyra smiled. "Well we can be friends. And I think I could definitely live with you on the same team as me. But..." Her smile faded, "I don't know how they pick the teams. Let's just hope the system's friendly enough to at least let us make a choice."

"One can only hope." I muttered. "Wanna meet me at the auditorium after we drop our stuff off?"

"Sounds fun to me." Then she took off, flying over the scorching sand, with her suitcase dangling in the air.

"Oh yeah." I smiled as I walked towards the Grand Hall. "This may be a tough first year, but it's gonna be fun."

@saiyoyuutsume, @cinnamon-pineforest, @taiyang-too-long, @doctoroobleck, @fallentitan98, @ask-stjerne-a-fallende, @ask-dracella-von-burgundy, @ask-professor-goodwitch

[thejollyroger-writer]

Keep Hope at Hand, Chapter Sixteen

a/n: this is a HUGE chapter, both length-wise and content-wise, so as a gift, I want to thank each and every one of you that have stuck with me this far for your time, plus those who have joined along the way. You have no idea what this means to me, and without this story and all of you lovely people, this semester probably would have been very different for me. 

Summary:  When a curse is going to send the inhabitants of Enchanted Forest, Captain Killian Jones, husband to the Princess, must take their daughter through the wardrobe to save them from the curse and give her the ability to break the curse when the time comes.

From the Beginning: tumblr // ao3

Previous Chapter: tumblr //  ao3

This chapter on AO3

The regular crew:  @shireness-says​​@wellhellotragic​​@flyflyangel​​@stahlop​​@superchocovian​​@kingofmyheart14​​@drkeldonmd​​@darkcolinodonorgasm​​@profdanglaisstuff​​@pirateherokillian​​@captainsjedi​​ @let-it-raines​​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @cocohook38​

The Jewel of the Realm rocks peacefully on the waters of Misthaven, her sails blowing softly in the warm breeze of the sea. The sun beats down from the clear sky, and there are seagulls perched on the sails of the ship.

All is quiet in the world.

Well, that’s not technically true: all is quiet in Killian’s world, though he knows that somewhere on the ship, the crew is rejoicing, but he fails to hear it. All he can hear is a deafening nothingness, an eerie, ear-piercing silence as he holds his brother in his arms. He knows there should be sounds: the waves crashing against the sides of the ship, footsteps from the crew on the deck above them, and the cheers - they made it out of Neverland, back to the Enchanted Forest, something none of them — especially not Killian himself — thought was going to happen after the chaos of their journey.

And maybe somewhere, in the very back of his mind, he does hear these things; but all he can focus on at the moment is Liam, unmoving in his arms, the only pillar of his life that he’s always known to be solid. All he has now is… nothing. No family, no possessions beyond the small trunk of clothing sitting at the edge of his bunk. He remembers the words he said to him just moments ago: “I would follow you to the ends of the earth, brother” - and it is true. Was true. He would have followed his brother to the very ends of the earth, through every kingdom and realm known to man and those unknown. He would have gone through hell for his brother — but sitting here, holding his lifeless body, is a hell worse than any he has ever imagined.

Because now, he has no one to follow, a fact that becomes exceptionally clear as he watches Liam’s body hit the water, the burial at sea that he always wanted - though not at so ripe an age.

When one of the crew hands the sextant to him — “This belongs to you now, Captain,” — he doesn’t know what to say. He never wanted to be captain, never wanted to be in charge of his own ship — all he ever wanted was to sail the seas with his brother.

And then, running his thumb over the patch attached to the sextant bag with his brother’s name — his name — he has an idea: he may no longer be able to sail the seas with his brother, but he can surely sail the seas for his brother.

Taking a moment to look out over the crew, he can feel his heart pounding in his chest, hears it even over the sound of the waves against the hull of the ship. It is time to rally his crew.

“We are sworn to serve the king and the realm. They sent us to retrieve an unthinkable poison, one that killed our dear captain. Never again shall we take such orders, serving the king, fighting his wars. That is the way of dishonor! And all you who disagree flee now, or walk the bloody plank!” No one moves a muscle, other than to look around at the others, everyone staying true to their new captain. “For those who stay will be free men, and I will be your captain. We’ll sail under the crimson flag, and we’ll give our enemies no quarter. We’ll take what we please! And we’ll live by our own rules, for that is the best form of all!

“Our kingdom is corrupt and immoral. They took my brother from me,  and now I’m going to take everything they’ve got, starting with this ship! Bring the paint from below! It’s time we rename this vessel!” He points to a crewman, who immediately goes to follow his orders. “We no longer sail as The Jewel of the Realm , we now sail as the Jolly Roger !” Now he is truly enraged, and removes the jacket of his officer’s uniform, tossing it overboard and into the waters of the corrupt realm, following the body of his lost brother. “When they come for us, I want them to know exactly what we are — pirates! For at least among thieves, there is honor!”

His crew begins to cheer, then chant his name: “Captain Jones! Captain Jones!”

Adrenaline rushes through him, and he clenches his jaw. He may have lost a brother, but he has gained a crew, a crew that has decided to stay true to him, even after he turns against the corrupt King.

But as the newly-renamed Jolly Roger sails back towards the sea port owned by their corrupt king, a dark shadow of a man dives into the ocean behind them, not far from the burial at sea that just took place on the deck of the ship. The shadow, backed with the strongest forms of dark magic in the universe, pulls the still-sinking body of Liam Jones from the water as it flies back towards the horizon, disappearing in the sky just as the stars begin to twinkle.

When it sets it's feet down on the ground, it's owner smiles devilishly, hands on his hips.

“Good job, shadow!” he cheers, and the group of boys gathered behind him join in the cheer. “Now, all it should take is…” His words trail off as he pulls the canteen out from under his belt, popping off the cork and kneeling down to pour some into the man’s mouth, the other hand moving in slow circles over his chest.

Expectantly, he leans back, his eyes glued to the man’s chest, which should start moving at any moment.

Except, it doesn’t. 

“Tinkerbell!” he yells, jumping to his feet, and a woman  — the first woman to ever be on the island — pushes through the line of boys, her arms crossed over her chest. “You said this would work!”

She rolls her eyes at him, and he sneers at her. “I said it might work, Pan. Bringing people back from the dead isn’t the easiest thing.”

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appears behind them, and each of the boys draws their weapons as a face appears out of the smoke.

“Good thing that I know how to help you!”

“We don’t want help from you, Dark One!��� Tinkerbell yells, but Pan’s eyes just go wide as he stays silent. “Why would you want to help us anyway?”

The Dark One begins pacing in front of them, wringing his hands behind his back. “There will come a time when I will come to you with a favor regarding this man in particular, and his dear younger brother, whose face will become one that you all know very well. And because I have helped you resuscitate him, you will owe me that favor. Without me, this man will never come back to life and you will never be able to do… well, whatever you’re bringing him back to life to do.”

“We would never accept help from you,” Tinkerbell yells, but Pan holds up his hand, staring down the man in front of him.

“Yes, okay,” he says, and Tinkerbell’s eyes widen in disbelief as the Dark One smiles. “I accept your help, Dark One. What do I need to do to bring Captain Jones back from the dead?”

“Hand me your canteen,” he commands, pulling a vile of sparkling black liquid out of the satchel around his waist, which he pours into the container before handing it back to Pan. “Now do as the fairy told you to.”

Pan stares up at the Dark One for a moment before pouring the liquid carefully into the sailor’s mouth, his hand moving in slow circles over his chest.

Nothing happens.

Then the Dark One snaps his fingers, and Liam Jones comes back to life.

— — / — —

Baelfire pushes through the line of trees in front of him, slowing only when his feet reach the sand of the beach. He finds the ship on the horizon, right where he knew it would be — right where it always is. He is the first of the party to make it to the beach, so he sits in the sand, his fingers digging holes into it at his side.

They meet under the cover of darkness, Bae begging to universe, the gods of fate, whoever — if anyone — is watching over him to let him get away without Pan’s knowledge, or at least without Pan's intervention.

Which is difficult on an island that Pan controls.

So much has happened since what must has been months ago, when he decided he needed to leave Neverland before Pan tried to kill him.

Again.

Tried to kill him again.

As always when he sees the Jolly Roger swaying peacefully in the waters of Neverland, he wants to be angry, but is instead just sad. When he found himself on Killian’s ship all those years ago, he really thought the man had come to care for him. Even if he was the man that tore his family apart, that took his mother and killed her when she tried to leave, he thought maybe the pirate still had a heart. But he has been here for dozens of years, and the damned pirate had never even tried to help him. He knows the Jolly can travel realms, and escaping would be that much easier if Killian wanted to help him.

But he doesn’t. Tink must have shared their plan with him by now, knows that she spends time with the pirate. The man just doesn’t care, which shouldn’t surprise him as much as it does.

Shouldn’t hurt him as much as it does.

Tinkerbell and Wendy push through the treeline, and Bae snaps his head towards the sound, thankful that it is his friends and not any of his enemies.

“Do we have enough?” he whispers, still trying to get used to the way his voice has dropped in the past few weeks. After being fourteen for so long, the magic that keeps time from passing in Neverland has stopped working for him, and he has grown a few inches, started to find some peach fuzz covering his face, and, of course, his voice.

It turns out that when you stop calling Neverland home, when you long to leave the island and live somewhere else, Neverland stops being your home. For this, Bae is almost thankful, save the fact that it’s been terrifically difficult to hide from Pan.

Tinkerbell reaches into the bag slung over her shoulder and pulls out a small jar filled with glittering powder, her fingers gripped tightly around the glass. “I collected as much as I could find without him getting suspicious.”

“But is it enough?” Wendy asks.

“I…” she starts, then presses her lips into a tight line. “I honestly have no clue. No one has ever tried to use fairy dust to leave Neverland before.”

Bae nods, reaching out to slide the jar from Tink’s grasp.

“Thank you, Tink,” he says softly, and instead of taking the jar from her, he pulls her in for a hug, his rapid growth more obvious now as he stands a few inches taller than she does. “You risked everything for this, for a whim. And one day, I will come back and take you away from this wicked place as a thank you.”

“Just get off the island for now, Baelfire,” Tink responds, a small smile pulling at her lips.

“Go somewhere he can never find you,” Wendy whispers in his ear when he moves to hug her. “Stay safe.”

“Thank you, Wendy,” he whispers back, pulling away from her just enough to look into her eyes. “In another life, things would have been different between us.”

“Perhaps, but we will never get the chance to find out.”

“Please come with me,” he pleads, for what must be the hundredth time.

“You know I cannot, Bae. Who knows what he could do to my family if I left here.”

Bae has so much more he wants to say, since the two standing in front of him are the only friends he has ever had  — but a rustle in the bushes behind them replaces all of these thoughts with terror instead, and he pulls the jar from Tink’s hand, quickly unscrewing the lid and pouring the contents of it over him.

“Go, Bae!” Tink yells. “Close your eyes and think of where you want to go.”

“Be safe, Baelfire!” Wendy calls as his feet leave the ground just as Pan pushes out of the clearing, his shadow and the other that follows his commands already flying after the boy.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know what you’ve been up to?” Pan asks, his voice a low growl, and both Tink and Wendy take a step away from him. “You’ll pay for this, you know.”

High in the air above them, Bae screams as one of the shadows takes a hold of his ankle and the other his arm, but they do not stop moving. A smile spreads across Pan’s evil features, but it fades away when Bae disappears from the sky, replaced with a momentary sparkle before the sky grows dark again.

“It worked,” Tinkerbell breathes, a smile taking over her face, and when she turns to Wendy, she finds that the girl has a smile of her own.

“Son of a bitch!” Pan yells, his shadow and the shadow of the young Captain moving back towards him, and he turns towards the girls, pointing his finger in their faces. “This isn’t over. This is far from over.”

  When Bae’s feet hit the ground, his whole body crumbles. Every inch of him hurts, his face and his legs badly bleeding, his arm most likely broken, and his head pounding.

Thankfully, he is not alone. “Baelfire?” a voice asks from behind him, the crippled man moving as quickly as he can towards the body that he somehow knows is his son even though he hasn’t seen him for decades, though he has aged about ten years since the fairy dust swept his feet off the Neverland beach.

“Papa?” Bae whispers, barely strong enough to speak, and when Rumple finally reaches his body, he barely has the energy to smile at the one man he has wanted to see for far too long. “Please, help me.”

“I — I don’t know how,” he chokes out, trying to stop the sob that comes tearing through his chest.

“You idiot,” a voice in his head that is not his own retorts. “You know exactly how to save him, but you’re nothing but a coward.”

He shakes his head as tears begin to stream down his face. “I — I can’t!” he responds out loud, but Bae has lost his consciousness, so no one hears him anyway.

“You must,” the voice responds. “You must, or you will lose your son.”

“I can’t lose you, Bae,” he sobs, flicking his hand through the air, and a dagger appears. “And if this is what I have to do to keep you at my side, then I will do it.” He holds the dagger over Bae’s chest, which is barely moving anymore. “Baelfire, I make you the Dark One, I transfer the Darkness from me to you.”

A blinding flash of light radiates from the dagger, and Rumple drops it on his son’s chest, knocked back by the force of the blast.

Momentarily paralyzed, Rumple watches as Baelfire sits up, an evil smile spread across his face. “Thank you, papa,” he growls, taking the dagger in his hand and disappearing in a cloud of grey smoke.

— — / — —

“Rumple!” Her voice travels through the house, but no one hears her. “Rumplestiltskin!”

Finally, the man in question opens the door to the library, and when Regina realizes that he is carrying a pile of laundry, her eyes go wide, a confused smile spreading across her features.

“What a sight,” she comments, gesturing towards her. “The Dark One fulfilling his domestic duties.”

Rumple opens his mouth to speak, but Bae appears behind them before he can say anything, a piece of parchment in his hands and his boots resting on the edge of the table. “That's because he's not the Dark One anymore,” he quips, failing to raise his attention from the parchment in front of him.

“Excuse me?”

“He's no longer the Dark One,” he says again, slowing down his words as if that were the issue, and then raises his eyes to meet hers. “I am.”

Regina crosses her arms over her chest. “And who are you, exactly?”

“Baelfire,” he replies, and Regina turns on her heels to face Rumple again.

“Baelfire, as in your son? The one you became the Dark One to save?”

Once again, Rumple opens his mouth to speak, but Bae's words come first.

“It turns out that the way he was to save me was by making me the Dark One after the shadow of Peter Pan and that naval captain he brought back from the dead almost tore me apart as I was trying to escape Neverland.”

Regina blinks at him a few times before shaking her head. “There's a lot to unpack there, and I don't really have time to go through it all. But if you're the Dark One now and not your father, I suppose that means I now need your help and not his.”

“Why should I help you? My father offered his services because he thought he would find me in this Land Without Magic your curse would take everyone to. Since I am obviously not there, we no longer have a need for your curse.”

Regina's eyes go wide, and she takes a few steps towards Bae, seated at the table, leaning forward against the chair beside him. There's not anything you want?” she purrs, smiling at him. “If you help me in the same way your father was going to, you can write whatever you want in the curse. Tell me, Baelfire, what do you want most in the world?”

There is not even a moment's hesitation before the words fall from his lips. “Vengeance. Revenge against Killian Jones, the man who killed my mother and tore my family apart.”

After widening with an idea, Regina's eyes sparkle as she turns to the shelf behind Bae, her slender fingers moving across the items she finds there until they finally reach the one she is looking for: a small handheld mirror that she runs her hand over before smiling down at it and handing it to Baelfire, whose eyes grow wide with a devious grin when he sees what she is showing him.

“You mean Captain Killian Jones, betrothed to the Princess of Misthaven? Marrying the daughter of the very people whose lives my curse is written to destroy?”

Bae finally tears his eyes from the mirror, the image of a proper-looking Killian Jones — no doubt the same man he met years ago, since he looks exactly the same — with the arm that ends in a hook wrapped around the shoulders of a beautiful blonde woman and his hand holding a glittering chalice as they talk to the people gathered around them. He smiles up at Regina.

“How, exactly, can I be of assistance?”

--/--

At first, he swears it must be a dream. Another dream, like the ones that have filled his mind since he slipped into unconsciousness in that alley. Or perhaps it is instead the entrance to whatever afterlife the world has planned for him. The last thing he expects it to be is reality, because it is the last thing he deserves after everything he has done.

But when he begins to move, tries to reach his hand out and is instead met with searing flames of pain across his body, he decides that either he has instead descended into hell, or is somehow still alive after everything that happened with Neal in that alleyway.

He almost hopes it is the first option.

Until she stirs, realizing what is happening in front of her before reaching out the hand that she must forget is wrapped around the chain in her hands to press it against his chest. Even hell would not be this cruel to him, using the perfect morning sun coming through the curtains to light up his wife’s peaceful face.

“Jesus, Killian, don’t try to move,” she whispers, and if the incessant beeping coming from the machines around him weren’t already making it obvious, he can swear that his heart is pounding hard enough for her to feel it with the hand still resting on his chest.

“I’ve worked that much out on my own,” he croaks out, his voice sounding nowhere near as smooth as he hoped it would, and the laugh that escapes his chest at this sends tremors of pain through his whole body.

“What do you remember?” she asks, her voice soft and soothing and everything he’s been too afraid to think of her as since he left her behind and went through the wardrobe.

He closes his eyes, focused on the beating of his heart and the warmth radiating from her hand resting right above it.

“Neal,” he tries, but it comes out as a whisper. Taking a deep breath, he swallows slowly, then tries again. “He’s — he’s more dangerous than you ever could have known, love. He wants to kill me, to kill my girl, and now that he has his powers back, he’ll be even harder to stop.”

He hears Emma suck in a breath beside him, and he opens his eyes to look at her. Her gaze has fallen to the bed, and when her hand starts to slowly fall from his chest to meet her other resting on the mattress beside him, he stops it with his hand, wrapping the chain around some of his fingers.

“His… powers.”

It is not until she speaks these words that he remembers how much she is unaware of, and he tightens his fingers around her hand, opening his mouth to speak but realizing he does not have the words.

“You mean, like, the disappearing thing?” she asks in the silence, and though her eyes are still avoiding his gaze, he watches as she pulls her bottom lip up between her teeth, slipping her hand out from under his so she can run both of them through her hair.

“Aye,” he whispers. “That’s just the beginning.”

“And he’s working with Regina.”

“He told me that, too.” Finally, she raises her gaze and finds his again. “He monologued a bit before he stabbed me,” he says, then attempts to laugh again before the pain becomes so strong all he can do is wince.

“Be careful, you have a few broken ribs, and a large laceration.”

“That must be why it hurts when I laugh.”

“You’re lucky you’re not dead, Killian,” she says, her voice more sincere than he was prepared for.

“I’m a survivor,” he comments, trying not to reveal just how much the fact that she cares gets to him, but it’s nothing compared to the overwhelming wave of pure adoration that rolls through him when she speaks again, so softly that he almost did not hear it over all of the machines running around him.

“I’m glad you’re not dead.”

“Thank you, Emma.”

A moment passes between them, Killian’s focus on the emotions crossing her face as her eyes search the room to look at anything besides him.

“Can I—” he starts, and he can barely meet her eyes before they’ve darted away from him again. When he reaches out to place one of his hands on top of hers, resting against the edge of the mattress, though, she keeps his gaze. “Why are you here, Emma?”

She opens her mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a long breath. When she tears her eyes from his this time, they turn down to where their hands are joined, his thumb moving slowly across the soft skin on the back of her hand. How does she tell him everything going through her mind, when it all seems so insane?

But everything that’s happened over the past few weeks is so insane anyway, so the least she can do is attempt the truth.

“Everything else in my life is falling to pieces, and even though I’ve only known you for a few weeks, you seem to be the one constant that holds everything together.”

He does not know how to respond, wants in this moment to tell her the truth more than ever before, so instead, he pulls her hand to his lips, and as he kisses the edge of her knuckles, she sees a flash of a memory in her mind — or a flash of something, because it certainly cannot be a memory, can it?

How can she have a memory of the man before her, years younger, wearing the oddest outfit she has ever seen — is that leather? — a smile on his face with one hand on his sword and the other — no, not another, there’s something in place of it — on the railing of the Jolly Roger, wearing the largest smile she has ever seen as he leans down to kiss her.

What the actual fuck?

But, as quick as it came, it’s gone again.

Killian must see something change on her face as the vision fades, as she pulls her hand back from his grip.

“Emma, love, is something the matter?” he asks, his voice caring and sincere and things that it certainly cannot be in this moment.

“I can’t — I have to go.”

She jumps to her feet, the chair sliding against the floor as it moves away from the bed, but Killian reaches out to stop her, his hand wrapping around her wrist.

“Please, love, don't—” he says, but she pulls free of his grasp, staring down at him for a moment before quickly leaning to press a soft kiss against his cheek and —

Wrong move.

This certainly can’t be a memory: Killian is there again, wearing the same leather jacket from before, but this time he’s in the middle of a bright room, surrounded by flowers and people and music and she is —

A wedding ceremony.

“Emma?” he asks softly, pulling her back to reality, but she is even more terrified of whatever is happening to her, frozen with fear and curiosity and something much deeper that she’s too afraid to try to give a word to.

She leans forward against the bed, steadying herself against the mattress, and it’s all she can do to not fall to the floor. And then there is something else, Killian’s hand resting against her arm, his bright eyes still staring up at her, trying to decipher exactly what is happening, except her head is spinning and traveling in a million different directions at a time, because none of that can be real, it’s absolutely impossible, she knows what’s real and what’s not, and she’s only known Killian for a few weeks, so none of it can be anything other than… visions.

In her heart, she knows this is a lie, and this scares her more than anything else.

“I can’t deal with this,” she says, and though every muscle in her body is screaming for her to leave, she still finds herself completely frozen in place. “I can’t do this to a man who has a family and a — a wife that he’s trying to find to get his family back together, trying to raise his daughter —”

“Emma,” he says again, and all she can do is look down at him as he stares at her with the most intense expression she has ever seen — but she feels like she has seen it before. “Trust me, love,” he whispers, then reaches up to press his hand against her cheek.

She doesn’t know what this is supposed to mean, but she finds herself unable to fight him, unable to do anything besides trust him, as he wipes away the tear that is falling on her cheek before leading her face down towards his so he can press a soft kiss against her lips.

No, no, no, this is wrong , she tells herself. He has a family, has someone he loves, I can’t—

Suddenly, everything is flooded with a bright flash of light, her entire body growing warm for just a moment, and it disappears just as quickly. When it clears, Emma is still right there, inches away from his face, her eyes wide.

But something is different.

Everything is different, and the brightness in her eyes that was missing just moments before is restored.

“Killian,” she breathes, smiling as she finds his lips with hers again, her hands moving to cup his face. “Thank god, Killian.”

“I had no idea if that was going to work,” he comments, trying to laugh again, and somehow it seems to hurt less than it did before. “Bloody hell, did I need it to work, though.”

“You did it, Killian,” she says, kissing him one more time before sitting back in the chair, one hand still pressed against his cheek while he laces his fingers through the other. “You broke the curse.”

When David pushes through the doors a few moments later, they both turn in anticipation of the same excitement they share.

But it does not come.

“How do you feel, Mr. Jones?” he asks, showing no sign that anything has changed.

“I’m alive, at least,” Killian manages, trying to keep his confusion off his face. “Any updates on Neal?”

“We’re still searching for him,” is all David has to say, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he stops to stand behind Emma. “Though it’s increasingly difficult to catch a man who can disappear into a cloud of smoke.”

“You’ll keep me updated, though?” Emma asks, turning around to face him.

“Of course.”

A beat passes, none of them sure of what else to say.

“I’m going to go find your doctor, Jones,” David says finally. “And I’ll send the rest of the crew in.” Smiling at them, he turns on his heel and walks out of the room, only to be replaced by Henry and Hope.

As soon as David is out of earshot, Emma jumps up out of her seat to wrap her arms around Hope, pulling Henry in after a moment.

“My sweet girl,” she whispers, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Does this mean—” Henry starts, but Emma’s nod, and then Killian’s when he turns his attention to the bed, is enough of an answer for him.

“We broke the curse, lad.”

A smile breaks out across Henry’s face, then Hope’s, but it does not last very long. In just moments, it has disappeared from the younger boy’s, turning instead to a worried, and very confused, knit of his brows.

Emma realizes how much this look resembles the same look on his father — his real father— and her heart soars.

“But then why didn’t David act any differently towards us?”

“If the curse was broken, wouldn’t he know that he’s our grandpa?” Hope asks, her own look of worry spread across her face.

“It’s only been a few moments since it happened, darlings,” Killian explains, and Emma leads them all over to his bedside. “We’re still trying to work out the details of it all.”

“But you’re right,” Emma adds, when none of the worry drains from the looks of her children.

Her children.

“If we really broke the curse, the whole curse, my father wouldn’t hide it from us.”

“But then what are we going to do?” Hope turns her bright blue eyes up towards her parents, full of more worry than a twelve year old should be able to understand.

Neither Emma or Killian know what to say to calm her nerves. “Come here, my cygnet," Killian says, opening his arms to allow the little girl to crawl up the bed and rest her head against his chest, trying to hide his wince when the pressure she puts against his ribs causes him pain.

“We need to find out how to break the curse,” Henry says, and for the first time in what actually feels like forever to a man who has been alive for centuries, when Emma pulls her bottom lip up between her teeth, Killian reaches out to set his hand on her leg, finally able to comfort her.

“We need to talk to Jefferson,” Killian replies, Hope nodding in agreement against his chest as the other two sets of eyes turn towards him, full of confusion.

“Jefferson?” Emma asks, and Henry adds, “Like Grace's dad Jefferson?”

“Aye, he's not cursed. He traveled here not long after it was cast to collect information on it and try to learn how to break it.”

“Then I guess I'll give him a call,” Emma replies, still a bit awestruck as she moves to stand, but the weight of Killian's hand on her leg keeps her where she is. “Who else knows?”

“Well, the four of us in this room, Jeff and Grace, and Regina and the Dark One. Neal. Baelfire. Whoever he is in this world."

“Wait.” For a moment, her body is stuck, completely frozen, overwhelmed by what Killian has just revealed to her. “Neal is the Dark One? I thought Rumple was the Dark One?”

“As did I, but when he was monologuing to me as he tried to kill me in that alleyway, he revealed otherwise. Turns out when he escaped Neverland, around the same time you and I met, he was almost killed by Pan's magic, by Pan's shadow, so to save his life, Rumple was forced to transfer the Darkness to him, making him the Dark One.”

Emma takes a few moments to think over this revelation, nodding slowly. “So when Rumple helped us find the kids when Neal took them…”

“Turns out he was actually trying to be helpful, aye.”

“Maybe the man has a heart anyway.”

“That seems a little drastic, don't you think, mom?” Hope asks, turning her head away from Killian's chest to look at Emma.

Emma smiles down at her, running her fingers through he blonde curls. “You've been waiting for quite a while to call me that, haven't you, Hope?”

The little girl nods, and Emma turns her eyes up to her husband, her memories slowly coming back to her. “So you went with Hope, huh?” she asks, Hope slightly confused, but Killian just smiles when he realizes what she means. “I think it's perfect. You named her for a prophecy about herself.”

Killian wants to pull her lips down to his, wants to give her every kiss he has missed for the last twelve years, but has no choice but to pull away from her when David comes back around the corner, his eyes widening a bit in surprise at the four of them, all crowded onto the small hospital bed.

“Dr. Whale wants to keep you for a few more days to make sure your healing goes as planned, so because we haven't yet caught Neal Gold, I'd like to continue to have police protection watching over you. I can call Graham to relieve you, if you want, Emma?”

“No!” she says perhaps a bit too quickly — and definitely too enthusiastically, given the look that covers David's face. “I'd, uh, I'd like to stay here with him,” she tries again, reddening just a touch.

“Yeah, okay,” David responds, running his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair. “Of course, that's fine.” He lets out a deep breath, trying to keep the smile off of his face as he changes the subject. “Do you want us to go get breakfast from somewhere? I don't want to make either of you eat hospital food if you don't have to.”

“Thank you, Dave,” Killian responds. “I know it's early still, but I would, uh — I'd really like a cheeseburger, if that's okay?

David smiles, shaking his head. “Of course I can get you a cheeseburger, Mr. Jones. And for you, Emma? Your usual?”

Emma just nods before wrapping her arm around Henry's shoulder. “You guys go with David, okay? Killian and I will be here when you get back.”

“Okay, mom!” he replies, hopping down off the bed, closely followed by Hope.

“Thank you, David,” Emma mumbles, catching herself before accidentally calling him “dad” — which is a very odd feeling, having a family after believing for so long that all she was was alone.

As soon as David closes the door behind him and the two kids, Emma turns on the mattress, re-situating herself so she is laying next to him, her arm wrapped around his shoulders so he can rest his head against her chest.

For a few minutes, they are silent, simply happy to be back together in the way they were destined to be, Emma carding her fingers mindlessly through his hair.

Finally, Killian is the one to break the silence. “Gods, love, I missed you so damn much,” he whispers, pressing his lips against her collarbone, her neck, her shoulder. “Every day I had to live without you felt like an entire lifetime.”

Emma laughs, a light giggle that might be the greatest sound Killian has heard in twelve years. “That's saying a lot for a man who's lived a few hundred years.”

“I'm serious, Emma,” he replies, his whole face holding the same sincerity as his voice.

“I know.”

He has so much more he wants to tell her, to apologize to her for, but instead of trying to piece the words together, he finds his lips with hers, putting all of the words into the slide of his tongue against hers.

“I love you,” she breathes, pulling away just far enough to say the words against his smile.

“And I you."

They allow the silence to overtake them once more for a few more minutes.

“We should move to a less confusing position for when David comes back with food,” Killian whispers, and Emma nods, her forehead knocking softly against his.

“And call Jefferson, apparently.”

“Aye, yes, love, that, too.”

When David does arrive back, Emma has returned to the chair beside the bed, a notepad spread out in front of her as they try to work out everything they know so far about the curse — though when David comes through the doors, Emma flips to the page before it, where they have started to write all the information they could think of about Neal, which would make more sense to everyone who still has cursed memories.

Lunch passes quickly in the hospital room, Killian practically inhaling his burger while Emma barely picks at her bear claw, and David is trying to find the politest way to excuse himself when Killian yawns just as one of the nurses enters the room.

“I think we should let Mr. Jones get some rest so he can heal better, don't you think?” David asks, smiling at the nurse, who nods in agreement.

“I would like to check on his wounds anyways, so I'm going to have to ask you all to leave the room.”

Hope turns to hug her father before hopping down off the side of the bed, and Henry flashes him a sad smile, wishing he could do the same.

“Keep me updated, Emma,” David commands gruffly as the nurse leads them out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“You know it.”

With another clap on the back from David, plus a hug from both Henry and Hope (the second leaving tears in her eyes), the three of them head down the hallway, leaving Emma behind to watch them until they turn the corner to the elevator.

After a moment, her phone begins to vibrate in her pocket, and she pulls it out to reveal an incoming call from Jefferson.

“Emma!” he cries as soon as she answers the phone. “Is everything alright?”

“Killian's getting his bandages changed, so he's not available at this exact moment but I —” Just thinking of the fact that she can reveal this to someone, that she even knows what it means, pulls a smile across her lips. “I have my memories back. True Loves Kiss worked, but it only worked for me. We have no idea why, and we're trying to figure out where to go from here.”

“That's… That's certainly interesting, Emma. I'm glad you have your memories back, of course, but this just makes the curse that much harder to break now.”

“Any ideas?”

She can almost see the way he furiously shakes his head at her question. “I'll look through my books and see if I can discover anything else.”

“Thanks, Jeff. And be safe out there, we still don't know where Neal went.”

“Thanks for the warning. I'll let you know when I find anything.”

As she slides her phone back into her back pocket, the nurse opens the door behind her, and Emma turns towards the noise.

“How is he?”

“His wounds are much better than we thought they would be when he came in. His broken ribs are going to take a while to heal, and the scarring along his ribs may never disappear. But he's alive, and in a much better state than we anticipated.” The smile the nurse shares with her is genuine, and she tries to place this woman's face from the Enchanted Forest — Dorothy. She wonders if they had ever met, if she had ever even seen her before.

“Thank you, Miss Gale,” Emma replies, needing to stop staring at her before suspicions arose — and needing to get back to her healing husband. “I appreciate all the work you've done.”

The nurse walks away after flashing another small smile at Emma, so she returns to the chair next to Killian's bed. “I talked to Jeff on the phone, he's seeing what he can find about the curse now that I have my memories back, or if anything of his has changed.”

“That's good,” he says, his voice soft, and though he tries to hide his exhaustion, he fails miserably.

“I should let you get some rest.”

“Please, stay here,” he whispers, reaching out to cover her hand with his.

“I'm not going anywhere, Killian,” she responds, leaning forward to press her lips against his cheek. “Never again. I promise.”

But he is already asleep.