#you could be pulling the silly sunshine castle boys!!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

peaches-writes · 4 years ago

Text

heart attack!

description: han jisung can charm any heart if he wants to but he just wants one, whether he admits it to your face or not.

member: jisung / han

genre: fluff, fantasy, rivals to lovers au, childhood friends to lovers au, witch / wizard au (sugar sugar rune-inspired), royal au, college au, roommates / housemates au, slice of life format, a side of hwang siblings, sunshine twins, cousin chan, and minchan (!!)

word count: 25.1k i’m so sorry

warnings: explicit language, alcohol, some mentions of injuries, a brief episode of someone getting abducted, mentions of a creep being,,,well a creep at public transportation, self-indulgent tooth-rotting cheesiness, idk if i should put a warning for unconscious emotional manipulation but im gonna write that in here anw

note: idk if i want to write little drabbles w this same pairing again since it ended up being so long but i kinda lost the plot halfway lmao lmk if u guys want additional lil drabbles for this hehe + again happy 1k yay!

You don’t always get along with Han Jisung, crown prince of the Eastern Kingdom, for reasons you simply can't limit to the number of fingers and toes that you have. He loves annoying you for the sake of getting a reaction, bratty as far as a wizard prince goes, and prideful among many traits that you were forced to grow up alongside with.

These days, however, you hate the way that he is the only other candidate alongside yourself for the High Crown of the magical world. As if fate didn't just want the two of you to butt heads in school and at royal social functions all the time, suddenly you're pushed to compete with him for something much greater.

For the record, though, it's tradition that all firstborn heirs of the 4 major kingdoms are considered eligible for the highest throne that unites all of your domains. You were going to compete with him either way, just with other people initially involved. However, with prince Hyunjin of the Southern kingdom mysteriously disappearing over a month ago and princess Lia of the Western kingdom subsequently refusing the candidacy, suddenly there was only you and the Eastern prince for the high jury to challenge in their Crown Candidacy exam. Fate and circumstance clearly love you with the way Jisung is always in your line of sight when all you want for yourself is to not be on the receiving end of his teasings and competititve streak all the time.

Though you yourself didn't desire the High Crown at first, the elders continuously pressuring you eventually pushed you into accepting the task. Plus, knowing that it's Jisung—the brat who pulled on your hair during those silly etiquette lessons the high jury made you and the other royals take as kids and embarrassed you when you once confessed your past crush to him in middle school—who would be automatically crowned without a test if Hyunjin isn't found in time and you also refuse made you go forward with it. After all, as much as you personally don't want to answer to Jisung as the next High King, you also think that entrusting the entire magical realm to him is simply not right. You would know, you had to grow up with him.

So, here you are on the night that the Crown Candidacy exam begins, receiving the final blessing from your mother and the high jury with Jisung who has been sneakily trying to poke on your side and get a reaction out of you since the ceremony began. If 15 elders and your mentors aren't surrounding the two of you with their scrutinizing eyes right this very moment, you would've easily snapped on the first poke and blasted the blue-haired boy.

"Stop that," You instead gritted your teeth next to him with the 17th poke to your waist, lowering your voice that only he can hear. "Ji, I swear to the gods—"

Among the circle of witches and wizards chanting ritual protection spells over the two of you, your mentor Younghyun glares at you and Jisung as if in a non-verbal scolding that the two of you should stop "playing around" as he would usually word it. You simply roll your eyes at this in response, earning you more quizzical looks from the other elders.

You also hate the way that Han Jisung keeps stringing you into his antics as his favourite person to mess with. If anything, you're most often in trouble with the elders because of him.

"This part of the ceremony is so unnecessary. I'm bored" He murmurs tiredly under his breath, bringing his hands back inside his black cape and pushing his shoulders back as he stands up straighter once more. "It's not like humans can hurt us. We're the magical ones, hello? Besides, the jury’s already cut the one-year exam by half. What could even happen in that time?”

"Stray monsters can still hunt you there if you don’t stand still." You correct immediately, earning you a look from your own mother this time as she finishes leading the last of the spells. At this point in your unwanted association with him, you don't even care much anymore that you get in trouble because you entertain his antics. You just want him to shut up. "Whatever. It's done."

The prince then giddily springs up in place once all of the spells are casted, suddenly looking more awake than the past 5 minutes of ceremony. "Finally! Okay, thanks for that! We'll be going now!"

"Wait." Your mother calmly interrupts him, perfectly hiding her slight annoyance over you and Jisung as she whips out her blue wand from the pockets of her ceremonial robes. "For the high jury to properly tally the ecure that you'll collect in the human world after this task, we'll be providing you with vessels to keep them."

As she mentions the vessels, a sapphire locket and an emerald ring materialize in front of you and Jisung respectively before settling at the palms of your hands. You're then quick to notice the way that the diamond-cut sapphire encrusted at the center of your locket emits warmth as you place it around your neck, indicating its magical properties.

"These vessels have been modified further to record everything that you collect and any spell or potion that you might use them on while undertaking in this task." Your mother then continues. Simultaneously, Younghyun gestures for you and Jisung to mount your brooms and prepare to fly off into the yellow crescent moon where the portal to the human world lies on its other side. "Though the ecure that you lose is not counted in the final tally, knowing how you used or lost them also contributes to the jury's examination of your magical skills and knowledge."

Jisung chuckles, bumping the bristle end of his broom with yours playfully. "And to see what kind of trouble we'll get ourselves into, right?"

In response, you simply roll your eyes. Your mother, on the other hand, purposely tunes out Jisung's usual antics and continues, "Remember, this exam will determine the next monarch that unites all of the 4 major domains. Collect as much ecure as you can from the humans in the 6 months that you're given with them and you will be rewarded greatly. Until then, have a safe journey to the human world, candidates."

With that, you and Jisung push yourselves off from the castle balcony, heading straight to the crescent moon.

"Last to the other side is a lousy flyer!" Jisung yells playfully into the quiet night, speeding ahead before you could even process his words. “And has to pay for a meal sometime!”

"Ya! Han Jisung!" You increase your speed yourself anyway despite knowing that his words don’t have any ill meaning, catching up to him with ease just as the two of you pass into the portal. “I paid for the meals last time!”

Han Jisung isn't always fond of you, the heir to the Northern Kingdom, for reasons he simply can't limit to the number of fingers and toes that he has. He thinks you're too uptight (especially in the presence of the high jury and the other elders of the bigger royal circle), easily irritable, and surprisingly a bit of a pushover to your kingdom's advisors ever since your cousin, Chan, renounced his royal title and settled in the human world.

These days, however, he hates the way that you've suddenly taken up an interest in competing for the high crown of the magical world alongside him even when you've made it clear countless times before that you only wanted to rule your own kingdom. You only started showing interest after Lia formally refused her candidacy and the elders pushed you more into changing your mind, clearly hinting that you don't want Jisung to automatically be crowned High King.

Do they really think that terribly of me? Jisung has resorted to thinking a lot about these days, even now as the two of you arrive at Chan’s place where you would be staying for the duration of the test. I make a good high king as much as I do the king of my own people! Hmp!

It shouldn't bother him this much, it's just you anyway. But at the same time, it bothers him for this very same reason: because it's you, the know-it-all who always busted his antics to the teachers back in school and embarrassed him to his friends when you confessed your past crush to him back in middle school. Jisung hates the way you challenge and compel him to be petty and competitive all the time, especially in the little things. Like right now, as the two of you argue on who gets the bigger bedroom in Chan's house right after you arrived.

"You know, I was just holding back a while ago because we were in front of the elders but I swear, I won't hesitate to blast you now that we're away." You warn as you try your best to stare him down while he blocks the bedroom door you both want. You have your hands raised to the side, sparks of a spell encircling our fingers and the space between your hands. "Move, Jisung!"

Still, Jisung stubbornly refuses. You two have bickered enough to last you all of your lifetimes and for him to know that you won't really do it. "I was here first! You go to the other room!"

The blue ball of energy in your hands begins to shape itself into a more tangible shape as your brows furrow even deeper in frustration. "But I called dibs on this room to Chan firs—!"

Before you could finish your words, however, Chan peeks his head out from the opposite end of the hallway with a pile of blankets in his hands. "You two still going at it? It's almost 2 AM." He teases in feigned disapproval, approaching the two of you to throw a blanket each of your way. "Come on, give it up, Sung. Y/N gets the big room."

Jisung's initial smug expression contorts into disbelief in an instant while you celebrate with a wide grin and a teasing tongue stuck out at him. "What?!"

"Ha! Thanks, Channie!" You clasp your hands together in satisfaction, the red sparks in your hands disappearing into thin air as you do so, before pushing the paralyzed Jisung out of the way and locking yourself in the bedroom. Once Jisung's pulled himself together at the betrayal, you then briefly peek your head out of the door, sticking your tongue out for the last time before greeting the two boys with a quick, "Goodnight!"

Jisung glares and purses his lips in front of Chan who chuckles at this. "Hyung!" He whines, grabbing the older boy by his biceps and shaking him wildly like how a child would throw a tantrum. "I don't see you for three years and when I do, I get treated like this?!"

"Exactly." Chan nods with an amused smile, tugging Jisung to his side and leading him to his room across from yours. "Y/N was kind enough to visit me here while you didn't even send a letter. I think that's enough to give them the big room."

"Aah, but you already know why I couldn't! I was busy with all the prince stuff!"

"Y/N was too, though? And they’re doing twice the work than you."

"But Y/N's more organized than me!"

"So you agree? My cousin earned the bigger room?"

"No, it’s not th—aish! Bang Chan!" When the older boy in question tries pushing Jisung back to the smaller bedroom, the latter childishly protests by gripping onto the doorframe. "I'm making it up to you now! I'm literally staying here for 6 months!"

"Yeah and I'll definitely treat you to lots of other things for that later. Seriously, Ji, give it a rest. It's just your temporary room for the exam." Chan sighs with a tired laugh, prying the younger wizard's hands off of the doorframe and shoving him inside the room. "Unpack your things and get some sleep. We're having a welcoming party for you two on the weekend."

"You're supposed to side with me here."

"Don't pull that face, you're not kids anymore." Chan chuckles, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "And I'm not siding with anyone. It’s just a room! Night, Sungie."

Jisung opens his mouth to protest, only for Chan to close the door on him and walk back to his own room. With a sigh, the boy defeatedly trudges to his new bed and, after taking out his expandable pouch from his pockets, jumps to the mattress with a muffled groan to the plush pillows.

Jisung also hates how one of his best friends favors you better just because you're cousins first. He's had enough of Chan coddling you before from when you were kids, always taking your side when the two of you bicker and offering you his extra food when the three of you are together, and he would much prefer it if he doesn't see it now that the two of you are undergoing an important exam.

"At least the view's nice." He pouts to himself once he's seated up once more, facing the window that overlooks the city. After just spending ten minutes flying over Seoul and exploring Chan's vast mansion, Jisung gets it a little now. Chan definitely didn't choose this realm over their home for no reason.

If I'm not in line to be king, Jisung thinks to himself, this life also seems nice.

Hovering his hands over the enchanted green pouch, its neatly packed contents of clothes and other personal belongings then emerge from its seemingly tiny space before levitating to their respective places. "Aish, that Y/N!" Jisung yells loudly on purpose, leaning on his side closer to the door to hear your reaction.

Across the hall, while you make a fuss out of unpacking and changing the appearance of some furniture, you yell back, "Shut up, Ji!"

Jisung has many reasons for disliking you at times but, if anything, he lives for your reactions when he purposely annoys you. Even when he knows you’re always a spell away from actually snapping at him, you never actually do and it never fails to amuse him. Scoffing, he lets it slide for now and quietly unpacks.

If attending social functions as a royal has taught you anything over the years, it's to avoid being within reach of Jisung at a party before, during, and after he makes a huge mess of things. You've had your own fair share of spilled drinks to your dress robes, purposely getting embarrassed in front of the elders and other important public officials, and even a huge fight over not wanting to be his dance partner to remind you of this at all times.

Of the places that you and Jisung have to be standing next to each other, it's the parties that you hate having to see him at the most because they bring you nothing but trouble. Chan's welcoming party for the two of you, with witches and wizards living in the human world as well as Chan's own human friends in attendance, is no exception.

"What do you think he's going to do this time?" Yeji snickers next to you on the makeshift dance floor of the house's backyard. Ever since her brother disappeared, she's been staying in the human world combing through every inch of Seoul and trying to retrace what is little known of the steps he took. Naturally, you've stuck to each other like glue since she arrived. "It's been two hours since this party started and all he's doing is—"

"Flirt with every human on the dance floor. I know, that's why I'm not looking over my shoulder. I think that's all he's planning to do in this party, given that we've started with the test." You frown, taking a sip of your beer as the song changes to a more lively one. "This guy's never taken any exam back in school seriously but now he suddenly wants to win this one exam. Weird, right?"

"Hm, maybe he really wants to win this exam and become high king. You can never really tell what goes on in that head of his." Yeji shrugs, blinking twice in quick succession to make her eyes turn red, an indication that she's scanning the venue for the humans' ecures. "Anyway, he's definitely working hard. I see a lot of orange hearts for him as much as there are for you."

Only then do you also turn your head around the place, your own eyes turning blue as you collect the orange hearts of infatuation and green hearts of friendship that people you've met tonight have for you with a non-verbal spell. As you catch these little crystal hearts into your locket, you briefly catch a glimpse of Jisung at one of the foldable tables chatting with three human girls. It somehow irritates you.

"He never lost that cringey fuckboy persona, huh?" Yeji points out once you're done with your collecting, shaking her now empty bottle and frowning once she realizes that it's already empty. "I guess I didn't miss out on much even after being away for a few weeks."

"You talk like you were gone for a year, not 3 weeks." You laugh. When she then asks you if you want to get new beer bottles, you follow her back to the coolers behind Chan's DJ set. "I hate how we'll be seeing more of those again when we start attending uni to collect more hearts."

"Oh, right! You're attending mine, right? You'll be with me, Seungmin, and Ryujin?" When you nod once more, she links her arms with yours and adds, “Gosh, I can just see it now, girls from the different departments flocking the two of you on the first day but especially Sung. A lot of girls I know from uni really dig that e-boy thing he has going on."

You pretend to gag, making her throw her head back in a cackle of laughs. "Humans and their weird tastes in men." You scrunch up your nose, the two of you briefly pausing to politely wave at Chan as you pass by his booth.

Your cousin doesn't hesitate to wave back at you both before going back to his spinning. You and Yeji then head to the back of his area where the coolers of different beverages have been placed.

"Oh shush, didn't you too also have a crush on him way back then?" Yeji teases the moment the two of you are alone again, opening the cooler with a simple flick of her hand. You follow along despite the glare you send her way, your empty beer bottles getting replaced by new ones. "Sometimes, Ryujin and I like to think that you still have a little bit of that."

"No way." You shake your head in denial, picking up a bottle opener from one of the closed coolers and using it over yours and Yeji's. "Middle school was a long time ago. Jisung just irritates the hell out of me now."

"Who irritates who now?" A voice behind you perks up almost immediately, causing you to jump and spill a little of your beer on the grass. When you glance over your shoulder, Jisung's white bucket hat comes into your vision, eventually uncovering his mischievous smile. "Ah, so clumsy. Look, you spilled a little beer on the grass.”

Next to you, Yeji giggles behind her hand while greeting Jisung. You glare at her in response.

"You're annoying." You point out with a pout, thrusting the bottle opener to his chest before linking arms with Yeji. "We're going."

Jisung only shrugs with a smirk, waving goodbye to Yeji as the two of you pass by him to go back to the dance floor. "It makes you look, doesn't it?"

"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that." You roll your eyes before disappearing back into the crowd with Yeji.

Once Jisung is out of earshot, Yeji then nudges your side with your linked arms. "I'm telling you, there's still a little something. Deep, deep down there." She teases in a singsong. “That’s probably why the banter just won’t die out.”

"Nope, definitely not." You shake your head. "Have you been watching too much of those human dramas while you’re here? It’s playing with your judgement."

It comes even as a surprise to Jisung himself that he hasn't caused a major mishap in this welcoming party so far. Since the majority of the guests started arriving two hours ago, he hasn't done anything troubling besides losing to Ryujin at beer pong and finishing a whole red cup of Chan's jungle juice concoction as punishment almost an hour ago.

It doesn't bother his "instincts for mischief" that much—his mentor's words not his. It means that he's more focused on collecting ecures at the moment with the amount of humans he's mingled with at this party, especially the girls who have taken it upon themselves to flirt with him.

What does bother him slightly, however, is the way you occasionally glance over to him knowingly from across the lawn, as if you're expecting him to do something. You always seem to do that after years of getting roped into his troubles, much like a lot of your childhood friends who'd frequently end up in similar predicaments. Somehow, however, it's always intimidating when it's you looking at him. He personally hates that, the look in your eyes when you're trying to catch him in his mischievous acts.

"Who are you and what have you done to my twin brother?" Felix has been teasing the entire night every time he encounters Jisung. When Jisung pouts this time, while the two share a drink on a couch that was brought out for this party, Felix laughs over his drink and adds, "Oh, so you're really focused on this test, huh? No trouble until this party's over?"

"Why do you guys think I'm not?" Jisung frowns, elbowing his brother by his side. "Geez, Lix, you're supposed to root for me here. If I win, you get to be king too."

In response, Felix waves his solo cup dismissively. "No, no, I think you're doing great! You've caught how much already? Twenty hearts in this party? That's a great start, bro." He comments with a proud smile. "It's just a little new, seeing you all so serious and focused. It's not because you're up against Y/N, right?"

"Ha? Nope, definitely not. It's barely a competition when I'm clearly winning." Jisung shakes his head a little too defensively as he sinks into the soft velvet couch. "I just think it's natural that another kingdom should get the high crown this time and since it's only me and Y/N competing, unless we also find Hyunjin while we're here I should work hard and make it happen."

Just then, Seungmin sits down on his other side with a cup of punch and a small paper plate of sweets from the chocolate fountain. "If Hyunjin was here, he would've whipped your asses in this party by getting all of the human guys and girls with one smile." He points out matter-of-factly. "Plus, if Lia accepted the candidacy, all three of you would've lost even before you left home."

"You never really rooted for me, huh, Minnie?" Jisung feigns sad eyes as he rests his head on Seungmin's shoulder. "And here I thought we're best friends."

"Oh no, I'm totally rooting for you now." Seungmin replies with a dry chuckle, passing his paper plate over to Felix when he holds his hands out in a motion asking for food. "But if the gang was complete, I would've changed to team Hyunjin."

Jisung scoffs at this, swiping a marshmallow covered in chocolate from Seungmin's plate. "Fine, I won’t hold it against you. I miss Hyunjin too."

"Yeji and Chae are doing everything they can to look for him. He'll turn up somewhere, he just has to. Until then, you should just focus more on your exam. Hyunnie would want that." Felix quips in before turning his attention over to you and Yeji at the nearby karaoke mini bar. "Look, that's what Y/N and Yeji are doing right now."

When Jisung looks through the crowd that has gathered around you, his eyes turning a deep green, he sees a lot of orange hearts gravitate over to you, mostly from the uni boys and girls that Yeji, Seungmin, and Ryujin have invited to this party.

"You guys are seeing it too, right?" Felix asks, his own eyes a matching shade of green when he tilts his head over to Seungmin and Jisung. "At least twenty new hearts in a span of 10 minutes, right after they just gave Y/N a bunch of green hearts."

Seungmin nods, his head movements making Jisung's head shake a little on his shoulder. "Yeah. Y/N's really working extra on this." He notes in complete awe. "The competition's really close, don't you think so Lix?"

"Definitely. What do you think, Ji?"

"Nope, definitely not." Jisung crosses his arms and shakes his head in disagreement. "It's impressive but not enough to catch up to me."

But the smallest hint of a frown gracing his features is enough to give his feelings away to his friends. Only now does it fully sink in that it’s definitely a tight competition between the two of you.

one out of six months

At one point, you understood why people would foolishly fall for Jisung. On a really good day, when he's not causing you or anyone too much trouble, you could see his playful side as charming, maybe even too cute for you to admit it out loud. A long time ago, back when you were still so naïve, you had a small playground crush on him too, after all; a crush that ended so badly you're convinced it's where your bickering naturally escalated.

But now, as your days in the human world turn into a month spent fulfilling your Crown Candidacy exam at university with your friends, you just wish that not a lot of humans are so insanely attracted to Jisung. It's nothing personal, of course, you're not jealous at all in that way. Whenever you sit in the library to study, attend classes from late in the morning to early afternoons, or even just sit in the quad with your shared friend group discussing updates on Yeji's search for Hyunjin, however, your competitor is just always being followed by flocks of smitten girls with their orange and pink ecures of crushes on their sleeves, ready to be collected by Jisung's emerald ring.

And you're not going to get started on the rainbow-colored hearts that send him little gifts and love letters at least once a week before classes, sometimes even directly to Chan's house where the third kitchen fridge is now filled with bakery goods stashed along with Chan's fan gifts. Not wanting to admit it to him or any of your friends, you're admittedly quite jealous because he attracts the ecures from the humans so easily while you have to work extra harder in socializing with your human peers to garner even just pink hearts. You hate having to work extra, extra harder just to be on par with him all the time, especially when he seems to be effortless in his ways.

"Before Lix went back to the magical realm, he relayed that Changbin from back home suggested that we start expanding our search for Hyunjin to—" For the sixth time since your group met up at the quad after classes this particular afternoon, another group of girls pass by and greet Jisung, interrupting Yeji in her explanations. Pouting slightly, she then turns to Jisung and pokes him with her pen, snapping the smirk off of his face. "Sung, focus."

Jisung nods quickly, waving Yeji's pen away from his side. "Yeah, let me just collect their hearts real quick."

You roll your eyes in response, nudging Yeji to resume her updates. "Just go on, Yeji." You encourage her, Seungmin and Ryujin nodding along in agreement. For emphasis, you make sure to tap Jisung's hand on the grass with your own pen harshly, making him wince dramatically in pain. "You're extending the search to Incheon, right?"

"Oh, uh yeah. Like I said, Lix said that Changbin suggested Incheon since Hyunjin briefly mentioned it in one of his letters. We'll start looking into it ourselves before this semester is over." Yeji continues on, ignoring the next group of passing girls that Jisung gets distracted over again this time around. "Chaeryoung is going there in the following months, though, to scout the places first. Then, we'll try and follow up with a search of our own. I'll have to ask Chan and the jury back at home if you and Jisung are allowed to go, though, since you're taking your exam."

"Among those places, Hyunjin often went to this stretch of the beach because he was investigating a monster from home who escaped here and took an artifact from our kingdom." Seungmin added, pointing to a location on Yeji's map sprawled over your laptops at the very center of your circle. "It was one of his last assignments here before he suddenly disappeared. We'll probably stay here the longest."

You try your best to listen, adding your own inputs to how your search operations would go while also noticing a couple of people who recognize you and wave your way, but Jisung somehow keeps grabbing your attention by the way he entertains his admirers who greet him shyly as they pass by you group. The playful smirks he sends their way, the polite waves, and the way his hand keeps twitching in between the two of you as he collects the ecures with his own spell keep eating away at your attention span, pressuring you that he's taking the lead in your race.

You also try discreetly collecting your own share of hearts under your breath whenever someone you know passes by but you eventually find it hard finding people while trying to listen to your friends. "Ji, focus." You mumble under your breath after a while, breaking his focus as he collects two more orange hearts.

"Y/N, keep up with me here." He smirks, just as the orange hearts disappear into his ring. "Why are you so distracted by me, anyway? Jealous?"

"I’m not jealous!”

"Guys focus." Ryujin snaps at the two of you this time, chuckling in amusement when you and Jisung both glare at her. "Hey, easy on the stink eyes. I'm just telling you two to listen over here."

"Do as I do, Ryujin, and just tune them out." Seungmin jabs nonchalantly as he and Yeji take down notes of their discussion, not even once looking up at you nor Jisung. "It works out splendidly once you've mastered it."

"Hearing them bicker over random things before was one thing. Hearing them bicker over ecures now is a whole new playing field." Ryujin smirks, particularly to you. "Ah, you guys sound even more like a married couple now that you're competing. Tsk, tsk..."

"No, we're not!" You and Jisung answer in chorus, looking incredulously at each other after. "Ya!"

"Seungmin's right. Just tune them out, Ryujin." Yeji points out without missing a beat, a small smile taking out the initial annoyance from her face. "Anyway, what's important is we settle our plans first. Let the married couple race for the crown."

"Ya! Hwang Yeji!" You scold, flinging your notebook towards her which she dodges swiftly. "I'm listening, I swear."

Yeji gives you a look of mock disbelief in response before chuckling and going back to her work. "Whatever you say."

Jisung won’t admit it to any of you nor his friends’ faces but he may be just a little jealous that you’re catching onto him at a great speed and looking surprisingly nonchalant about it on the outside. You work extremely hard, that’s a given and Jisung respects that as much as the two of you annoy each other. But he doesn’t even have to sneak over to your room at night and check your locket for your ecure count; the boys and girls from uni, the market where Chan forces the two of you to run errands on weekends, and even at Ryujin’s favorite skate park who always take two glances your way wherever you go are enough giveaway to the amount you’re collecting everyday. And it’s a whole lot of hearts. He won’t even be surprised if you’ve managed to collect 300 hearts by now.

And he’s not even going to get started on how fast you manage to take ecures from the same people twice in less than a week, managing to charm same-age neighbors and classmates from good friends to secret admirers in a span of a few days and getting you at least twice the amount for your tally. You have enough hearts on your locket to keep up with Jisung’s count and use your magic leisurely at home. You definitely keep your competitor up on his toes all the time with how you’re giving your all in this competition and it’s gnawing at him to do even better.

What annoys him on top of this, however, are certain kinds of people that look your way, or even Yeji’s and Ryujin’s for that matter. When the three of you aren’t looking and a bunch of passing jocks would eye you weirdly on the quad or at the library, especially since you’re new to the school, his natural instinct is to glare them down until they’re looking away. He sees their purple ecures from where he would sit across from you as you study, a sign of a lusting kind of feeling, and it does nothing but to tick him off into intimidating them until the color fades out.

Seungmin thinks that, in a way, this is cheating and that you’d probably think the same way if you find out since purple ecures are ranked quite high in the tally, just above pink hearts (”Y/N’s gotten mad at you before for going too far or breaking the rules. You, of all people, should know not to get on their bad side.”). When Jisung writes to Felix back home after, however, his twin naturally defends him and says that he’s just looking out for you.

“You guys don’t always see eye to eye, even now that you’re competing against each other,” Felix recorded over the enchanted mail that arrived after your meeting at the quad, Jisung and Seungmin separating from your group to do some more studying at the library. “but you’re just looking out for Y/N and protecting them from any weirdos, like for Ryujin and Yeji. Just tone it down a bit and let them handle it sometimes.”

“See? Lix thinks I’m doing something right.” Jisung sticks his tongue out at Seungmin who simply shakes his head in stubborn disagreement before returning back to his class notes. “I’m telling you, I’m not sabotaging Y/N on purpose.”

“Still, whether they want to collect those purple ecures or not is not your choice to make.” Seungmin points out. Though he agrees with Jisung’s intentions, as he’s been doing the same and looking out for you and your friends in his own ways as well, he also trusts that you can take care of yourself. “Just let them handle it next time, unless they actually do need your help.”

“But—“

“Consider the guys that passed by at the quad the last time you’ll mess with Y/N’s ecures.” “You saw that?!”

Still, it gnaws on Jisung’s conscience when he takes the train home with you later that day, when another purple heart springs up for you as he checks your surroundings and finds it to be from a stranger. What a creep, Jisung cringes internally with disgust before strategically blocking the man out from your sight and standing closer to you, Y/N’s competition but I’m a decent being! Be the bigger person or whatever bullshit.

“Ya, what are you doing?” You push him away with your index finger to his stomach, leaving a bigger gap between the two of you as you stand on the moving train. “Ji, personal space.”

“We’re literally cramped in this train like canned sardines, Y/N. I’m just trying to make space for the people coming in.” Jisung fibs in retort, unknowingly timing his words perfectly with the train making a stop and justifying his next action of taking a step closer to you. This time, he makes sure that he’s towering over you and blocking the creep behind him completely by moving his hand over to the train handle right next to where your hand is. “Don’t make it weird!”

Your expression is surprisingly unwavering now, clearly unamused by his boyish quips. “You’re the one making it weird! You keep hovering over me.”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.” He rolls his eyes, instinctively steadying you with one hand when the abrupt movements of the train pushes you slightly forwards. “Oops, careful there.”

When Jisung takes one last glance at the creep and finds him still looking over your general direction, the boy finally snaps and sends a little spell over the man’s way, one that makes him itch all over and ties his shoelaces together. This is the last time, Jisung swears to himself with a chuckle under his breath, oh what the hell? Punishing creeps is kinda funny.

two out of six months

The first time Han Jisung spots a red heart that he can collect, it’s 2 months into your candidacy exam and he makes the surprising decision to prolong collecting it by several days. It’s not that Soonyoung from your Math class is aware of this. As far as she knows, Jisung is simply stringing her along much like he does with every other girl he’s flirting with and she doesn’t seem to mind this fact.

But you mind, you and your other friends do a lot. “It’s a powerful heart and costs 5000 points on the point system.” Seungmin even noted himself once on another day that Jisung left your class without Soonyoung’s crystal red heart. You mostly agree on this, coupled with the fact that you can’t steal the heart for yourself to gain more points in the race since it’s not for you. “Just take it, it’s not going to get any higher than that.”

No matter how much you or any of your friends nag, however, Jisung simply lets the days pass doing nothing much about it besides entertain Soonyoung whenever the girl approaches. As his sole competitor in your candidacy exam, you visibly feel the most frustrated out of everyone else by each passing day, especially at the thought that you yourself haven’t managed any red hearts yet.

“It is weird, very not like him but also a bit like him if that makes sense?” Ryujin notes by the 10th day, after you recounted Math class to her as you take a short break together. Today, Jisung agreed to go to lunch with Soonyoung, only to tell you and Seungmin that even then he’s not going to take her heart today. “I mean knowing what happened between you two in middle sch—”

You immediately shake your head before she could even finish her thought, “No, I don’t think that has anything to do with now. Definitely not.”

“It’s not like that! I meant to say that this is even worse than when you had a crush on Jisung. The girl’s ecure is as red as red could go!” Ryujin exclaims, forcing you to cover her mouth with your hand just as Soonyoung and Jisung comically pass by your table at the kiosk to eat lunch together. Slowly prying your hands off once the pair in question are out of earshot, Ryujin then leans over the table and continues, “But even then, he’s not taking it to gain momentum in your exam. Aren’t you a little bit curious why?”

You hesitantly shrug, “I mean, a little...but honestly I think he’s just being stupid. If I were him, I won’t string the girl along, not for this long anyway. It’s a waste of time and effort when he can just pick up the heart and reject her carefully.”

“Then, maybe he has his reasons. If you know about it, you might get an advantage!” Yeji speaks up this time, joining your table late with a huge pile of library books on top of her laptop bag in her hands. As much as this girl has been busy looking for her brother, she also keeps up with her human world cover surprisingly well even when she doesn’t have to with all the studying that she does on the side. “One way to find out, right? I heard Felix’s not that busy these days back home.”

You feign a frown at the two girls agreeing in unison, especially at Yeji as she takes out her phone from the magical realm. “You know, you’re really good at sticking your head into a lot of things even when you’re busy looking for your brother.” You note dryly, making Yeji laugh while dialling Felix’s phone on the other side. “That was sarcastic, Yeji.”

“I’m a great multitasker.” She winks before placing her phone at the center of your table then scooting her chair closer to you and Ryujin, effectively hiding the odd-looking device that projects Felix’s face almost immediately. “Hey Lix!”

“Hi Lix!” You politely greet along with Ryujin anyway, waving to the small projection of the prince on Yeji’s phone. By the faint greenery that surrounds him, you immediately assume that he’s back at home and tending to his personal garden.

“I’m not in trouble, am I?” The younger Eastern prince jokes, greeting the three of you individually after. “What’s up? Seungmo and Sungie not with you three today?”

“Seungmin got held back in class today for a TA offering and your brother’s on a date! Can you believe it? A lunch date with a human girl!” Yeji explains a little too excitedly, you and Ryujin immediately shushing her up. Giggling, the princess continues anyway, “Which is why we called! We just thought it’s a little weird that Jisung’s not trying to catch this red heart when it’s a clear advantage to his tally and maybe you’d know why.”

All the while Yeji explains your purpose for calling, you slowly observe how Felix’s own expression morphs into that of genuine surprise. “What? He hasn’t taken it?!” He exclaims in response after Yeji finishes speaking. “Are you sure? That’s not very like him.”

“Well, why do you think he hasn’t taken it, then?” You suddenly find yourself asking this time, earning you incredulous looks from your peers. Brushing them off, you simply glance over at Felix as he tries thinking of a reason himself.

“Maybe he still can’t reject admirers for shit.” Ryujin snickers under her breath, making you elbow the girl harshly on her side.

But surprisingly, Felix nods absentmindedly to this. “Maybe…”

“Are you seriously agreeing with that, Lix?” You frown. “I think he’s just up to no good.”

“Hey, Ji can act weird and not be up to trouble too, you know.” Felix pouts back. “But honestly, I don’t know why he’s not thinking of taking it either, especially knowing how he’s so proud of getting to receive it alone. Maybe he likes this person, who knows?”

The thought feels so foreign to you, Jisung genuinely liking someone, especially knowing what he did when you were much younger. But when you glance over to your friends, you also notice the same confused looks on their faces.

“Han Jisung...liking someone? Enough to respect their feelings?” Ryujin muses out loud before eventually shaking her head. “Nope, sounds weird. Dangerous! Alien! Y/N, have you been noticing any other weird things from your housemate lately? Maybe he’s been secretly abducted by aliens!”

“Oh stop it, Ryujin! Whatever it is my brother’s planning, I trust that he at least has an idea what he’s doing.” Felix sighs, running a hand through his blonde locks. In the background of his end, the faint voice of Changbin beckoning him over momentarily catches his attention. “If he’s being stupid again, then just let him be. If he does like this person, though, I just hope that he treads carefully while he’s at it. You know how precious witch ecures are.”

“Oh, I know…” You murmur under your breath as you scrunch up your nose, unconsciously glancing over to Jisung and Soonyoung’s table where the two are laughing over something you can’t hear from across the room. When Changbin’s voice grows louder on Felix’s end, you then smoothly steer the topic to a close, “Anyway, sorry for bothering you at this time. Bin’s calling for you.”

Next to you, Ryujin and Yeji agree with nods and smiles as Felix waves his free hand dismissively at this. “No, it’s okay! Just look out for my brother, yeah? I gotta go, Queen Lia just arrived for tea with me and my mom!”

“Oh, then we’ll see you!” “Have fun at tea!” “Say hi to Lia for us!”

Felix waves one last goodbye before ending the call. As his image disappears from Yeji’s phone, the princess is quick to pocket her phone back and turn to you with a raised brow, “So, what do you think? Even Lix finds it weird.”

Personally, you think it’s odd. The thought that Jisung could easily be developing feelings for someone while taking your exam, to someone human no less. You’ll probably never admit it to him but he’s been working hard in collecting hearts up to this point and you know him enough to know that he won’t let himself get distracted with something like this. “What is he planning exactly?”

You’re giving Jisung that look again, through the boy’s reflection on the bus mirror no less as the two of you head to Chan’s studio where he has promised the two of you dinner. The same look you kept giving him during your welcome party just last month, probably without you knowing, rests on your tired features as you listen to music on your phone and rest your cheek against your propped up hand on the window seat you almost threw him out of the bus for. What did I do now? The boy can’t help but whine pitifully to himself as he steals another glance at your direction while scrolling through his phone.

Jisung helplessly rakes his brain for anything that he’s done today that could’ve possibly pissed you off while pretending to look down on his phone, missing the way you shift uncomfortably in your seat as if you were going to ask a question.

“So—” “I meant to ask—”

Jisung’s immediately closes his mouth shut when the two of you speak at the same time, eyes widening when he looks up and sees you already looking over at him directly. Simultaneously, you’re quick to look away from him and cough awkwardly, quietly mumbling out that Jisung speaks first. “Go ahead.”

“What did I do this time?” Jisung immediately goes for it, pouting and sinking into his seat for extra emphasis. This visibly surprises you by the way your eyes widen slightly and you visibly freeze in front of him. “You’ve been glaring at me from the window since it started getting dark outside and it’s starting to get annoying but I’m too tired from today to think of everything that I did today to pinpoint where I ticked you off again.”

Your lips curl down to a frown and you bring your propped up arm back to your side, sinking down your own seat to his level. “I wasn’t glaring at you!”

“Yes you were—” “—No, I wasn’t!” “Yes you—”

“Okay, then, if I was glaring at you like you said, it’s because I meant to ask you something.” You huff before shyly looking away, gazing out of the window again. “W-Why haven’t you...whyhaventyoutakenthatgirlsheart?”

Now, Jisung is even more confused than ever from not understanding a word you just said. Raising a curious brow, the prince nudges you by your shoulder with his own until you look back at him again, uttering a slow, “What?!”

You inhale slowly, as if holding your embarrassment in, before repeating, “Why haven’t you taken Soonyoung’s heart?”

“I—really? That’s what you wanted to ask?” That’s it? So I didn’t do shit? Whew...

You nod, crossing your arms and looking away. “Well, don’t act so smug now! I’m just curious, it’s powerful and worth a lot of points, after all.”

Caught off-guard, it takes Jisung a worryingly long time to answer your question. He looks down on his phone first, with his emerald ring right next to it, before glancing over to the distant LED screen at the very front of the bus, announcing the next stop. “Just because…” He trails off with a reluctant shrug, avoiding the feeling of your curious gaze. If it were any other situation, maybe involving a lower-ranking heart like a yellow, green, or even an orange one, he would be laughing at you and teasing that you’re obsessed with his count or trying to compare it with your own. “You, of all people should know…”

But it’s a red heart, one that’s made him a bit too flustered for him to admit to anyone, even to his own brother. “I don’t know what I’ll do with it.” He answers vaguely because of this, hearing a little ‘oh’ from your side. “I already told Soonyoung over lunch that I don’t see her like that but it’s still red. Her feelings are too sincere for me and I feel like I can’t take advantage of that, not for a competition.”

Jisung doesn’t hear any verbal response from your side after this, not even when the LED screen ahead announces that you’re nearing your stop. When he glances over to you through the window, however, he catches a glimpse of the smallest hint of a content smile on your features.

Only when the two of you arrive at your stop, while you’re following him down the stairs down from the bus, do you nudge him on his side once more and say, “I guess that’s sweet of you. Plus, you’re actually using your head for once.”

Your soft smile momentarily catches him off-guard, freezing him on the sidewalk, until a passerby brushes him by his shoulder and snaps him back to reality. “Y-Ya! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

You wave your hand dismissively at him with a laugh, running off ahead to Chan’s studio. “Last one to the studio is a lousy runner and won’t get dessert!”

“Hey! Y/N! What’s that supposed to mean? Did you just call me stupid?!”

The next day, a ‘secret admirer’ leaves a red apple, a milk box, and an unsigned heart-shaped note on your usual table as you enter Math class. Though the note has your name and its message typed and printed, a simple nonverbal spell that you cast over the gifts reveal a familiar fingerprint.

“So, who’s it from?” Jisung asks, swiftly swiping the apple from your table and taking a huge bite. “How many points are we looking at here?”

You scoff at his action, taking the apple for yourself and biting on the opposite side. “It’s from Soonyoung.” You answer with a mischievous smile, causing your competitor to choke. When you glance over at the girl’s table, your eyes briefly turn blue to see a pinkish heart for you. “I guess you don’t want her red heart, huh? Mind if I make a pink one from her into a red for me?”

Jisung coughs violently, thumping his fist against his chest as he recovers. “Y-Ya! Don’t you dare!”

three out of six months

One thing you’ve been most looking forward to in this Crown Candidacy exam, besides seeing your cousin and friends currently staying in the human world and helping with Hyunjin’s search, is getting to see your cousin’s boyfriend again. Though the rest of your family doesn’t really approve of Minho, mostly since he’s the reason why Chan renounced his duke title in the first place and why your cousin might be permanently tied to the human world in the future, you’ve taken a liking to the guy since you first met him on a short visit 2 years ago and have been looking forward to hanging out in person once more after a long while.

Minho makes Chan the happiest you’ve ever seen him since you were kids, cooks really well, travels the world as a performing artist, and is totally cool with the idea that his boyfriend is a wizard from another realm. Plus, he catches onto magical items really quick, having adapted quickly to using your realm’s inter-world mailing system hence how you’ve been keeping in touch up until this point. You honestly don’t see any reason to hate him, even before meeting him in person. If anything, knowing that it’s Minho that’s keeping Chan from fulfilling his royal duties makes you support your cousin’s decision even more than before.

However, you’re already halfway done with your exam and Minho is still nowhere to be seen. He initially promised you that he’ll cook you and Jisung a meal as soon as you arrived but last-minute plans in his touring schedule with a ballet company held him back abroad, postponing this plan indefinitely and making you focus more on school and helping look for Hyunjin.

That is until you and Jisung came home from your usual Saturday grocery errands to inhale the smell of meat and mushroom soup coming from the kitchen.

“Is Chan cooking?” Jisung raised a brow at this, closing the door behind you and walking further inside the house. “It smells nice, though. So it’s not him?”

You roll your eyes, biting down a laugh at this surprisingly funny quip. “That’s definitely not Chan.” You affirm anyways, excitedly walking past him to the kitchen where you find the familiar back of a person stirring a big pot of soup next to Chan who’s chopping up side dishes. “Minho!”

Jisung follows you to the kitchen and watches from the doorframe as this said Minho turns around, opening his arms out to hug you as you quickly drop your groceries on the dining table and run towards him. Next to you two, Chan stops his own work and laughs at the sight, prying you away after a moment and reminding you, “Hey, hey, Minho’s tired from his flight!”

“Tired? Then you make him cook dinner? I don’t think so!” You giggle, clutching onto Minho like a koala while the said boy pretends to shrug you off. “I was wondering when you’re coming home! You haven’t even written since I came here, you jerk!”

“My schedule was jam-packed until the other day but I promised some magic freaks that I’ll cook them dinner so I came home as soon as I can.” Minho laughs, hugging you back and only then catching sight of a confused Jisung. “Oh, hi there! You must be Han Jisung?”

“Y-Yeah?” Jisung nods slowly in confusion, raising one hand holding multiple eco-bags up in a wave. He hates it when he’s not in the loop of things but more importantly, he hates it when it’s you keeping him out of the loop in particular. Who’s this guy?! “Sorry, and you are?”

“Lee Minho! I’m keeping Chan hostage here on Earth.” Minho formally introduces himself, earning him a nudge from both you and Chan. “What? Should I curtsy? I know your family and Hyunjin’s doesn’t really require it but I don’t know about the others so—”

Oh. At this, Jisung visibly relaxes with a chuckle and finally approaches your little group, settling his own share of the groceries down on the dining table before sitting down himself. Chan then takes this as his cue to reluctantly drag you over next to Jisung while he and Minho finish cooking. “No, no, it’s cool! We’re not at home, anyway.”

“Okay, then, cool. You guys are okay with waiting for a little bit, right? The lamb’s not fully cooked yet.” Minho explains. “I was going to make you two a meal when your exam started but I got caught up in work so—”

“Yeah it’s fine!” You agree eagerly, taking out your groceries and organizing them on the table. “We’ll just fix up the groceries.”

Jisung side-eyes you with an incredulous look in his eyes, something Chan definitely notices as his lips quirk up into a knowing grin before whispering something to Minho. “Why are you so chirpy all of a sudden?” He asks you, helping you take out the groceries and arrange them into their respective shelves.

“What do you mean? I’ve been chirpy since this morning.” You scoff. “Why do you even keep track? I told you not to stare at me, weirdo.”

“Um no, you weren’t. You were complaining about me breathing next to you on the bus a while ago. ‘You’re not helping me get any hearts’ or whatever it was you were rambling about a while back.” Jisung points out with a huff. “And I don’t stare, that’s you! If anything, you’re the weirdo, always up my business!”

“Well, why wouldn’t I complain? I was at the market with you all day! You don’t know how to pick good vegetables and you kept flirting with the store clerks to try and up their orange hearts to pink ones! Then, you wore that stupid perfume again when I told you already that it smells bad! Now we’re at home and you can stay the fuck away from me.”

“Ya, you little sh—”

Across the kitchen, Minho giggles in amusement at hearing you and Jisung bicker live for the first time. You’ve always complained about this Jisung fellow in your correspondence and he’s never had a clear grasp as to why you’re always at this boy’s neck but now that he’s meet Jisung in the flesh and is starting to hear what you two are exactly fighting about, Minho can’t help but laugh into the mushroom soup. “So this is the troublemaker who’s been bugging our Y/N.” He ends up musing out loud. “I see why you need me home now.”

“Believe me, you should’ve seen them grow up together with the other kids. Always fighting over the smallest of things, competing on who’s better, and all that.” Chan rolls his eyes in disinterest, glancing over to you and Jisung as the latter starts chasing you around the dining area with a bundle of scallions. “What you’re seeing right now is barely the tip of the iceberg, Min.”

“Reminds you a little bit of us back then, don’t you think?”

“Ya, and which one am I supposed to be?”

The couple glances over their shoulders to see that you’ve now successfully snatched the scallions from Jisung with your magic and have started to hit him over the head with it. This then makes Chan squint his eyes suspiciously at Minho who only chuckles. “Babe, you and Y/N are definitely related, don’t you think?”

“Do you also want to get hit with scallions?”

Though Jisung was initially wary of Minho at the start of the evening, having only heard of him vaguely from gossip among the other royal kids prior, your cousin’s boyfriend slowly and naturally transitioned over the prince’s good graces as soon as the lamb chops and mushroom soup were served along with stories of Minho’s own adventures and questions about the magical realm. Now that he’s put a name and a face to the person that people back home simply referred to as the reason why Chan left (and who he’s admittedly been blaming as well for the sudden shift in your attitude at the royal courts), Jisung now genuinely believes that the people back at home jumped to their conclusions quickly about Minho.

Minho’s really nice, Chan is really fond of him and you clearly support the two. In return, Minho looks out for you and Chan, you in particular as the older guy proceeds to drill Jisung shamelessly with questions on whatever it is that you’ve mentioned about him in your letters.

Jisung didn’t even know a lot of the things Minho kept rambling on about while you tried so hard to keep his mouth shut next to him by helplessly trying to cover his mouth.

“Y/N talks about you a whoooooooole lot. Like, a minor inconvenience during their royal duties then they’re quick to talk to me about it.” Minho grins playfully, dodging your attempts at shutting him up while he eats his share of the pastry dessert. “When we first met and this candidate exam thing was first brought up, they talked about the other royals briefly but they talked about you in super great detail! Oh, and Y/N was rambling a lot about how you reacted to when they confessed to you in middle school and everything, it was so funn—”

“Minho shut up!”

“It was really funny!” Minho pins your wrists to the table after a while, gesturing towards Chan, sitting next to Jisung across the table, who then uses his magic to switch your places. This then effectively shuts you up as your flustered expression overcomes your face upon accidentally locking eyes with Jisung right after. “But I want to know what actually happened when you rejected Y/N at your magic school? I want the full scope of what happened just so I get both sides!”

“Y-Ya!” You protest, only to be silenced by Jisung this time who laughs as he swallows a mouthful of food. “Ugh, you’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

“Why do you still talk about that, anyway? It was a long time ago.” Jisung chuckles, propping an elbow up on the table and resting his cheek on his palm as he glances over to you with a smirk. “God, you’re in love with me, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m no—” “So, Minho hyung, what did Y/N tell you about that?”

It was in the 7th grade, on Valentine’s Day of all days even, when you confessed your crush to Han Jisung. You actually didn’t plan any of it to happen because you just thought of it as stupid, especially at the thought that almost everything Jisung used to do back then annoyed you and made you think of him as childish.

But Hyunjin somehow slipped you an enchanted cookie on that day as a prank after you confessed at Ryujin’s party the previous weekend that you thought that Jisung was cute sometimes (”I specifically said sometimes and it was one time. Clearly, it wasn’t me who had a problem, right?” “That still doesn’t change the fact that 12-year-old you had a crush on me, Y/N.”). He told you that it was from a batch Felix made for their baking class, bluffing about its distinct strong vanilla scent as a mistake on the younger Eastern prince’s end.

As it then turned out, however, the cookie was laced with a potion that forcefully exposed the true color that your heart reflected towards Jisung in front of the entire cafeteria while the two of you bickered over some mishap that happened in one of your shared potion classes. Being young as he was as well and feeling embarrassed of all the passersby that looked at you both, Jisung’s fight or flight response made him visibly cringe at seeing the surprisingly pink, bordering red, heart and childishly berated you for it until the potion wore off and your ecure disappeared back into the sleeves of your robes. You ran away crying while Jisung didn’t go to school for the few days that followed in embarrassment.

“You were like 12 back then, it happens.” Minho shrugs after yours and Jisung’s messy storytelling. “And for the record, Y/N, if Chan did that to me as Jisung, I would’ve been annoyed at him too. Your rants are totally valid.”

“I’m eating my croissants in peace.” Chan complains, slapping the younger man’s arm. “Don’t drag me into this.”

Simultaneously, Jisung glances over to you and sees a small pout rest on your features. “Well, I don’t know, it’s not really an ‘it happens’ kind of situation if you come from our world.” You point out, glaring at Jisung when you feel him staring at you. “Especially back then. My heart was looking pink and a little reddish for Jisung at the time—ew—which gave him the power to take it if he wanted to.”

Now, this is apparently new information to Minho as he then asks, “You can do that? I thought witches only have one heart so it can’t be taken away?”

“Yeah, exactly.” You nod. “Since we don’t produce the crystal hearts as infinitely as you humans do, it could only be taken if it’s pink or a higher color. It’s the natural law in our world.”

“And if that happens, the witch could become weak, controlled by the other witch who takes their heart, or killed.” Chan quips in this time. “That’s why marriage is sort of a permanent commitment back at home and witches are more encouraged to use human ecure when performing higher-level magic.”

“That’s a bit of a stretch in our case, though! It’s not like 12-year-old me would think of killing Y/N back then.” Jisung purses his lips into a thin line at you, unamused. “You really are a bit dramatic sometimes, you know? What would I even do with your heart?”

“You were 12, Jisung. Who knows what you were thinking back then...if you were thinking at all.” You retort immediately, turning to Minho again after. “That’s why my family’s a bit wary about you, Min, no offense. With you and Chan in a relationship, he can give up his heart to you but if you don’t reciprocate it by exchanging with one of your own, he might get weak or die.”

This then makes Jisung turn to Minho as well, curious as to what his response would be.

Unfazed, Minho smiles and turns lovingly to his boyfriend. “Then, aren’t you lucky I’m obsessed with you, huh?”

“Really now?” Chan chuckles, slinging his arm over Minho’s shoulder and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Then I guess I can stay here permanently, right?”

You pretend to gag as you sip on your water, reminding the older guys that there are “children” in front of them. Jisung rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair at this scene, looking away at the tender display of affection across the table. The two of you don’t even have to check how the pair’s ecures reflect towards each other with your magic to know that they’re a matching bright red.

When he looks over to you, he catches the briefest and fondest smile gracing your expression as you mumble about how “stupidly cute” Chan and Minho are being. Jisung knows he shouldn’t look, not in this moment when he sees you at a vulnerable state and you would slap him over the head if he teases you about it, but his eyes unconsciously turn green and peeks over at your ecure as it watches over your favourite cousin and his boyfriend.

It’s a bright blue, a sign of deep respect and familial love for Chan and Minho. Jisung looks away immediately when you glance up at him curiously, forcing his eyes back to their natural color before he could accidentally see how your heart reflects to him. “What?”

He gets it now. Why you’ve been so uptight in fulfilling your royal duties, snapping just a little more easily these days whenever he annoys you, and acting like a pushover to the elders who keep ordering you around back at home. You’ve been shouldering a lot of the responsibilities back home, both yours and the ones that Chan has left behind, all because you want your cousin to be happy in this world without worries.

“Why were you looking at me?” You pout. “You didn’t check my—ya, Han Jisung!”

“I wasn’t looking at you like that! I was gonna ask you to pass me the cream puffs!”

You begrudgingly pass him the bowl of cream puffs, rolling your eyes before smiling at Minho and Chan again and changing the conversation to something else. “Anyway, Minho, you’re staying longer now, right?”

“I saw what you did at dinner, by the way. Y/N would beat you to a pulp if they knew you were looking into their heart, especially since we were just talking about it.” Chan speaks up after a moment of walking around Jisung’s room, tidying up the fallen music sheets on the ground and closing the curtains for the night. You’ve long stolen Minho from your cousin right after dinner hours ago to binge his tour videos and so he’s resorted to hanging out with Jisung, playing video games until the clock struck midnight.

Jisung pouts as he tucks himself away in bed, turning to his side to face Chan as the older boy continues arranging his “messy” work table. “I looked at how it reflects for you and Minho, not at how it looks at me. Just that, swear.” He clarifies in between protesting over Chan’s actions (“It’s an organized mess!” “It’s a mess, Jisung.”) “It’s almost like your family’s sapphire when it looks at the two of you, bluer than how it looks when Y/N’s with the King and the High Queen. You’re more family to them than their own parents.”

This effectively freezes Chan in place for a moment, a small smile gracing the former duke’s features. “Of course I know that.” He replies, almost as an inaudible mumble from across the room. “That’s why it was so hard to leave at first.”

“Then why did you—?”

“Because Y/N told me to.” Moving to the door and preparing to leave, Chan sees Jisung’s face and continues, “Believe me, I was even more conflicted than you’re being right now back then. We both know that my own siblings are too young to shoulder the job I’ll leave behind but Y/N told me that they’ll gladly handle it if it meant that I can be happy here. We argued about it a lot, I kept telling them that I can just juggle moving between the two realms, but you know how persuasive and stubborn Y/N can be.”

The last comment makes Jisung chuckle. Of all people, he should know of it the best. “It’s just hard to argue with them.” He nods in agreement. “I heard they’re the one who got you this house and everything.”

Chan nods, slowly putting one foot out of the door. “Y/N cares a lot, sometimes a little too much, that they end up sacrificing a lot and putting their own feelings last because of it. Since I went away, I’ve only ever been worried that they’ll just explode one day, actually, but I know you and the other kids keep them in check.”

“I’d hardly call Y/N relaxed with me.” Jisung pouts, fiddling with his fingers nervously as he confesses this shyly. “I think they just find me annoying…”

“Oh you definitely annoy each other but that’s just how you two are together. It’s all in good fun and that’s good, especially now that you’re going to take much more responsibilities once you go back home.” Chan notes with a shrug, briefly glancing over his shoulder as you and Minho arrive on the second floor. “Just be a little gentler with them. Night, Sung.”

four out of six months

You know better than to expect nothing less from Lee Chaeryoung, one of the best investigators from your realm, as she helped Yeji lead Hyunjin’s search party. When you initially expected that she would finish scouting Incheon before the end of the semester, she came back with the most solid lead that anyone’s picked up since the start of the search party around Seoul with 2 months left on your time in the human world.

Apparently, from the scouring she’s done beyond the initial parameters of the search, a few magic and non-magic folk living around the beach area have seen the Southern kingdom’s prince at a party on the night he disappeared, interacting with a strange group of people they only described by their unusually white hairs, matching snake tattoos, and icy blue eyes. What was even more interesting is that these people were still around the area when Chaeryoung visited but without any sign of Hyunjin. With this, she could only confirm that they’re also from the magical realm.

“They could only be Northwestern ogre witches, I’m sure of it.” Chan commented after hearing Chaeryoung’s report over dinner with everyone present. When Minho then asked about it, your cousin didn’t hesitate to explain, “A group of witches back home who were initially banished to the wastelands because they practiced darker arts and only collected black ecures. Lately, a lot of them have been turning up here and doing gods-know-what.”

“But if they only want the artifact that Hyunjin recovered, why would they still keep him?” You ask, crossing your arms over the dining table as Chaeryoung showed you photos of the location she ascouted on her phone. “Hyunjin’s high-profile too, yes, but unless they want him to collect colored ecures for them, there’s no other reason to keep him captive when there are other magic folk there. Why him?”

“Unless they have something bigger up their sleeves.” Seungmin notes with a frown, closing Chaeryoung’s phone as he grows more and more upset from across the table. When you and Jisung glance over to him curiously, he then meets your eyes and adds, “Maybe we shouldn’t let you two go with us on this.”

“What?! Why?” Jisung is the first to instinctively speak up against this, sitting up taller in his seat. You echo the same question, albeit a little quieter when you see Chan nodding worriedly on your side.

“I have a feeling that they might be after the two of you too from this.” Seungmin explains once Jisung calmed down a bit from his sudden outburst. “Like Y/N said, keeping Hyunjin to collect colored ecures against his will doesn’t seem like a good enough reason, at least not this long.”

“It’s timed perfectly, too, that they caught Hyunjin right before the candidacy exam.” Yeji quips in, belatedly nodding in agreement to Seungmin’s suggestion. “They might be luring you two specifically by using my brother.”

“But that’s just a hunch for now! We don’t know th—”

Chan’s entire disposition in a flash, slamming his hand down on the table a little too loudly and effectively shutting everyone up around the table including Minho. “That’s exactly why we can’t risk it.” He counters firmly and you know, just by the tone of your cousin’s voice, that he already has the final word. “Remember, you and Y/N are here first and foremost because you’re taking your exam. Keeping you on wraps with this search is formalities, at most. Anyway, there’s enough of us here who can look for Hyunjin. You two just stay put until we can sort this out and ensure that this problem stops interfering with the exam any further.”

When you peek over to your right to glance at Jisung’s reaction two seats away, you see him glancing back at you from the corner of his eyes before sighing in defeat. “And if they want our group separated?”

“The house’s enchanted with protective spells. Minho and Ryujin will also stay and watch over you two while we extract Hyunjin over the weekend.” Chan notes, continuing before Jisung could complain further. “That’s final, Ji. We’ll take over from here.”

“Don’t fret too much, Sung.” Seungmin adds comfortingly. “Anyway, if we find Hyunjin, we’ll all stay here for a few days before going back home.”

In response, you hear Jisung slam his back on his seat hard before huffing childishly, glancing over to you as he opens his mouth. Knowing that he’ll throw a fit, you immediately shake your head, forbidding him from doing so. “Fine...” He murmurs under his breath with a sigh, knowing better than to start an argument with one of his best friends at this time. “Just—just bring Hyunjin back quickly.”

Somehow, even when you understand where Chan’s coming from, you also feel somewhat bad for Jisung. You want to see Hyunjin too but your circumstances aren’t exactly favourable to let you be of much help.

As much as Jisung used to hate how Chan coddled you, he hates it even more now that the same behavior is directed towards him, especially in situations like this when he wants to actively help in Hyunjin’s search. The circumstances couldn’t have been more unfavorable to him now: the group finding a lead but at a time when he’s participating in an exam that has him more at risk of being targeted by creatures from the magical realm that have strayed to this world.

On top of this, he hates how he can clearly see that you want to see Hyunjin just as much as he and everyone else does but you’re quicker to comply the moment Chan, and eventually even Yeji, put the two of you on house arrest for the weekend while the rest of the group goes to Incheon. It frustrates him to no end that you keep quietly complying to everyone else when you clearly want to do something else. And, as a result, you end up channeling your energy aggressively elsewhere much like today as you spend most of your Sunday cleaning and redecorating around the expansive house with Minho.

“Can’t you two like, tone it down a bit?” Jisung complains for the third time this afternoon as he plays with the music software on Chan’s laptop, lifting his feet off of the coffee table in the living room when Minho passes by with a vacuum before pushing a levitating plant that hovers too close for comfort to his face. Somewhere, Ryujin has retreated outside to the garden in order to tend to more plants. “The house’s going to get thrashed after a while anyway.”

“And why can’t you help clean?” You ask back in retort, fluffing up the pillows next to him as you occasionally glance over your shoulder to make sure that the levitating objects around the room aren’t falling over. “If you’re just going to complain while we’re cleaning here, you can just go up to your room since we’re done upstairs, anyway.”

Jisung pouts, crawling over to the other side of the sofa anyway when you gesture for him to move. “The sunlight’s better here at this time.” He points to the glass windows. “Just finish up quickly already.”

“If you want to get some sun, you can help Ryujin outside.” You poke back, moving over to the sofa across the coffee table. As you move, the hovering plant pots slowly move to where you want to relocate them to, one moving next to the sofa almost hitting Jisung in the face once more with its leaves. “Make yourself useful, Jisung.”

The witch in question scoffs, closing Chan’s laptop and finally planting his feet back on the floor to a stand. Jisung also hates that tone you use when you order him around because it always makes him do whatever you ask without fail. “Fine, I’m going outside.” He grumbles, trudging to the direction of the back door leading outside and making sure to close the door with a loud thud.

Out in the gardens, Ryujin is busy reviving dried up leaves and flowers while a few watering cans go around to water the trees and bushes. Upon seeing Jisung walking down the mini stairs with a pout and furrowed brows, the younger witch can’t help but laugh, “Y/N banished you outside?”

“I’m supposed to help you but you don’t even look like you need help at all.” The prince continues to grumble, setting himself down on a foldable chair and crossing his bare arms over his chest. “If I do help, I might actually kill the plants. You already know how I’m terrible I am at healing magic.”

Ryujin acknowledges with a hum, turning her attention back to Chan’s mini garden of camellias. “Just sunbathe, look around or whatever, I can handle this.” She assures with a smile. “I won’t tell Y/N too, don’t worry.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that looking around thing later.” Jisung sighs, sinking into his seat and closing his eyes. “I’ll nap for now.”

“He just does whatever you say, huh?” Minho points out to you as soon as you finish cleaning the living room, tiredly taking up the empty space next to you on the couch with two pillows hugged close to his chest. When you open your mouth to protest, “I know I said it’s amusing when you two bicker over stupid things but it’s actually really nice and quiet when you two reach compromise like this. So peaceful.”

“He just knows when to not mess with me. Don’t exaggerate it.” You scoff at this, pushing Minho away from you as you lift your legs up to the coffee table. “He knows that I feel the need to be busy when I’m on edge like this but he was in the way. The least he could do is either be useful around the house too or just stay out of my sight for a while.”

“Don’t be too worried, I’m sure they’re all being careful and getting to Hyunjin soon.” Minho assures you with a small smile, waving his human world phone in front of you as it displays a flurry of messages from Chan. “If it makes you feel better, your cousin’s been asking me about you and Jisung as much as he’s been updating me of what’s happening.”

You frown at this, making Minho chuckle. “He’s been talking to you but not to me? I’m his cousin!”

“He knows you’re redecorating his house in 50 different styles while you wait for him so he just asks about you through me. Don’t get it twisted, Y/N.” The older boy continues laughing, carefully shoving a pillow away from his face when you levitate it closer to him. “Anyway, they said that they’ve confirmed that the ogres are still staying at the beach resort so they’re planning to get to them tonight and confirm if they really took Hyunjin.”

Your expression visibly shifts more positively, eyes widening and mouth hanging agape. “Really?”

“If things go smoothly, everyone, including Hyunjin, would be home really soon. Until then, Chan has asked me to make sure that you and Jisung don’t kill each other or go outside without permission.”

You shove Minho once more at the last statement, mustering up a laugh this time. “Hey, we’re not that childish.” You point out with a pout before another thought crosses your mind. “Oh, right, I can tell Jisung, right? I mean, it’s just an update anyway.”

“Yeah, go ahead.” Minho nods, poking you on your side to get you to stand up. “It’s also getting dark out, call Ryujin in too so we can reheat some leftovers for dinner.”

You scoff at the thought of leftovers for dinner, standing up anyway and heading outside where the sun has indeed set on the horizon. As you walk down the steps leading down to the backyard, you easily spot Ryujin by the back gate as she flirts with one of your neighbors who holds an orange heart up her sleeve but it takes you a moment to see Jisung fast asleep under one of the outdoor umbrellas.

“Ryujin!” You call for your friend, biting down your lip when the girl she’s been flirting with awkwardly looks away and your friend in question consequently glares at you for interrupting her. “Where’s Jisung?”

“There.” Ryujin quickly points towards the outdoor umbrellas on the far corner of the backyard before turning her gaze back on your neighbor whose heart immediately turns a shy pink at this.

You roll your eyes at this with a chuckle before heading over to Jisung, finding him snoring lightly and snuggling into a pillow despite the cold evening breeze. He doesn’t budge an inch when you call his name or poke his side, stirring only when you slap his cheek gently awake by instinctively swatting your hand away and mumbling a string of curses for you to go away. “What?!”

“It’s starting to get cold out here. Come on, we’re eating dinner in a while.” You respond, taking the pillow from him and grabbing him by the arm to help him stand up. When he doesn’t budge, you resort to adjusting his hoodie at least so he doesn’t freeze himself to death. “Minho also said that Chan’s been texting him. Everyone’s okay so far and they’ll interrogate the ogres tonight, maybe even get Hyunjin if they really took him.”

Jisung finally springs awake at this, jumping to a stand in surprise. “What? Really? Is there—well, is there anything else?” He asks quickly, stumbling over his words in shock while you drag him back inside.

Ryujin follows along after a while, running to the kitchen to check what you’re having for dinner. You and Jisung walk a little slower as he rubs his eyes from his surprisingly long nap next to you, somehow not making a fuss this time about your linked arms.

“Sadly, that’s only what I got from Minho a while back so I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning for anything new.” You answer his previous question as you head to the kitchen where Ryujin and Minho reheat leftovers and make some new side dishes. When you see Jisung’s ears perk up slightly at your words, you quickly add, “Don’t try staying up late just for an update. You should get some more sleep after dinner so you don’t look like a ghost when we see Hyunjin again.”

He scoffs at this, sitting down on the dining table and dragging you along with him on the adjacent seat. “How can I sleep if I know that we’re so close to seeing Hyunjin again after months? I’ll stay up late if I want to!”

“And I’ll kill you two if you stay up all night then get all cranky tomorrow when you have to get to class.” Minho cuts you off before you could even speak, setting the dishes down on the table. “Okay, eat up!”

“That was him, not me.” You shrug at Jisung’s semi-permanent pout with a chuckle, receiving a plate and utensils before thanking Minho for the food. “Eat up, Ji.”

You don’t even have to glance back over to his direction to know that he has his usual determined look plastered over his face again. Because of the new update on Hyunjin’s situation, he’s suddenly more alert now that he might actually take you up on staying awake the entire night.

“Jisung, are you awake?”

Jisung doesn’t really expect you to hold true to your word and check up on him at 3 AM when Ryujin and Minho have both gone to sleep. You suddenly knock on his door while he’s in the middle of a song he’s been trying to write on his guitar lately, startling the poor boy who almost falls off of the window and causes a big fuss about it.

“Are you okay in there?” You ask worriedly from outside after knocking for the 4th time, the doorknob clicking gently after. When only shuffles reach your ear on the other side, you immediately add, “Hey, I’m coming in!”

Jisung doesn’t even have time to protest, catching a glimpse of you going in and closing the door as a tray of mugs trails behind you. Quickly hiding the guitar by the curtains, he clumsily scrambles up to a stand and retrieves the tray from the air, “H-Hi! You made...tea?”

“Those two mugs are for me.” You pretend to swat his hand away jokingly, joining him on the small balcony on the other side of his window. Spotting his guitar hidden haphazardly on the side, you’re quick to pick it up and slide it over your lap while Jisung’s occupied with the tea, strumming a few chords. Only then, do you also notice his music sheets strewn across the balcony, all labelled with the word ‘sunshine.’ “I didn’t know you brought this along. It still plays good, I suppose, but do you still play badly?”

Jisung scowls at you as he sets the tray down next to his notebook, sitting down criss cross once more before swiftly snatching the guitar from your hands. “I play better than you, at least.” Ignoring your protests, he then strums a few chords of his own and continues, “Why are you still awake, anyway? Don’t you have a 9 AM later?”

When he turns to you, he sees you taking a sip of your tea first before answering, “I feel like ditching,” a statement he’s definitely never heard from you before by the way his eyes widen in surprise. “Don’t act so surprised! Uni’s just a cover and a way to get hearts while we’re here in the human world, anyway. Since everyone could be here later and there’s a possibility that we’ll see Hyunjin again with them, I wouldn’t want to miss a second of him back.”

“Don’t tell me, am I rubbing off on you?” Jisung snickers playfully. Deep inside, however, he’s undoubtedly a little impressed. After all, it’s been a while since he’s seen you so carefree outside of royal duties. “This is bad. We’re still competing, you know!”

“Tch, don’t push it. My current count’s quite high so I’m not that worried.” You shake your head in disbelief, leaning back against the windowsill and gazing ahead to the brightly-lit city. “It’s just that it’s been 5 months since Hyunjin’s gone missing and Yeji started combing every inch of Seoul, only to find a lead out in Incheon. I want to see him as much as you do.”

Jisung nods slowly in agreement, picking up the second mug of tea and taking a sip. It’s chocolate matcha, the flavour you always craved on elementary school field trips back in the magical realm whenever you missed home or so Felix once said. “It’s been that long, huh? And we’ve been here taking our exam for 4 months now.” He muses out loud between sips of tea, warming him up in an instant against the unusually cold night. “Time flies a little weirder when you’re on the other side of the moon, don’t you think?”

“I think you’ve just been having too much fun flirting with humans.” You point out, gesturing over to his emerald ring. Over the months, you’ve noticed that the vessels grow warmer every time you reach a thousand points which is roughly every 100 hearts or so. In the rare moments these days that Jisung’s ring has accidentally brushed against your skin, usually at the bus or when passing dishes along, the stone feels intimidatingly hot and almost burning. “How much do you have already?”

“Enough to win against you.” He teases playfully as he hums along to his song, making you scoff. “I mean, it’s been fun. Gaining a lot of ecure here has made my magic feel more powerful but, still, I can’t help but think sometimes that this whole exam would’ve been fun if the 4 of us were complete.”

You take another sip of your tea, listening along to Jisung’s humming. “If Hyunjin didn’t disappear beforehand and scared off Lia and her parents from letting her compete...yeah, I guess it would’ve been much more fun if we’re all competing together and the exam duration was 1 year like normal.” Thinking about it more, you end up chuckling at imagining how this whole exam could’ve gone differently. “But, at the same time, it’s been fun competing with you so far.”

“Going soft on me?” He raises a brow with a smirk. “I know we’ve been stuck to each other like glue for the past months but you should look out for that heart of yours, it might turn pink for me again.”

“I mean you’ve put up a fight so far. It’s a professional compliment, don’t exaggerate it.” You roll your eyes with a slight snicker, making him laugh. You purposely ignore his last comment, though, knowing that he wouldn’t really look into your feelings for him, anything but that. “Maybe you’re the one who’s going soft on me. Seungmin told me about the purple hearts.”

“He what?!” Jisung exclaims, his smug expression instantly morphing into panic as he almost throws his guitar off of the balcony. “Wait, I can explain!”

You shake your head and wave your hand dismissively. “No, you don’t have to! I understand.” You assure with a laugh, placing your hand on his nearest shoulder and making him sit back down when he wobbles over the messy and narrow space. “Though, yeah, I probably would’ve yelled at you if Seungmin told me any earlier but it’s all said and done now, anyway. I appreciate it, actually.”

“A lot of guys were being creeps to you so I thought...I got protective, okay? Ryujin and Yeji were getting stares too so even Seungmin would do the same thing to protect them.” Jisung pouts. “I know we’re in a competition and we’re supposed to rake up a bunch of hearts but your dignity’s much more important than some stupid crown...”

“I know, and I also know that you would’ve done it for Lia if she were here.” You nod understandingly, mustering up a small appreciative smile. Jisung can be sweet if he wants to, you conclude internally. “Ah, seriously, just imagine if there was 4 of us competing. This would’ve been much more fun and less stressful. You would’ve gotten your ass handed to you when you wanted to race to the moon.”

“Tch, Hyunjin would’ve taken all of the red ecures for himself.” Jisung adds, sharing in your quiet laughs now that the conversation’s shifted once more. “Much like how he charms everyone back home. He might even win, like he always does in every challenge the elders give us. He’s just the favourite!”

“I can’t wait for him to come home safely. He’s been gone for too long.” You sigh against your tea, tiredly adjusting to the uncomfortable space of the window. Seeing this from the corner of his eyes, Jisung doesn’t hesitate to pass you a pillow and nearby blankets this time which you’re more than grateful for. “I can’t wait for all of this to be over and go home, just visit again when I feel like it.”

“Me too. I can’t wait to see him.” Jisung sighs, peering down onto the balcony as he adjusts his guitar on his lap. “And I can’t wait to go home, too.”

And just then, the car that Chan used to drive everyone over to Incheon materializes at the front porch, spewing out Chan, your friends, and Hyunjin who’s supported by Seungmin and Yeji.

five out of six months

Hyunjin sports distinctly black cuts and gashes across his arms and legs when you greet the group in front of the house, similar to the ones Chan and Changbin also sported one time when the two also had an encounter with dark magic. Limping on his right leg and supported by his arms, Yeji and Seungmin used their magic to lift him over to the nearest sofa once they’ve reached the other side of Chan’s protective spell from the front door while the rest of the group crash into the vast expanse of the living room.

“I tried healing him as much as I can so it’s easier for you and Ryujin.” Seungmin huffs, tiredly sitting down on the ground by the coffee table. “He’s mostly fine, just exposed to a lot of dark magic.”

“And you guys? Are you okay? Is anyone else hurt?” You ask worriedly, darting your eyes over to Chan, Yeji, and Chaeryoung who all individually affirm to you that they’re not nursing any big injuries. “What happened?”

At that moment, Jisung arrives in the living room with a half-sleepy Minho and a frantically running Ryujin who immediately makes a beeline to Hyunjin and Yeji. Standing next to you, he echoes the exact same question to Seungmin. “What happened? Is Hyunjin going to be okay?”

You kneel down in front of Hyunjin, right next to Ryujin, and examine the cuts and gashes. Meanwhile, Jisung sits next to Seungmin while Minho runs over to Chan. “Turns out, they’ve been keeping Hyunjin to try and get him to activate the artifact.” Seungmin answers Jisung’s question after a moment, taking out the stolen compass that Hyunjin was supposed to retrieve from this world. “Then they heard that you and Jisung were going to proceed with the exam. So they tried using him as bait as well but the protective spells the elders casted on you two made it hard for them to find you even when they planned to separate our group.”

“We got there before they could manipulate my brother into it with dark magic.” Yeji continues tiredly in between casting her own spells, making her smaller wounds and a sprained ankle disappear. “They were quite hostile but we managed. It’s just that Hyunjin still hasn’t woken up since we took him.”

“Then aren’t you glad we stayed at home, Ji?” You mumbled under your breath as you and Ryujin casted spells to identify the magic needed to heal the half-conscious Hyunjin’s injuries. “Hyunjin’s probably not waking up because of exposure. We’ll have to determine just how much dark magic those witches used.”

Behind you, Jisung grumbles stubbornly at your comment. “So, is Hyunjin okay? What’s the diagnosis?”

Hovering your hand over Hyunjin’s chest, his heart suddenly reflects a horrifying black over your magic and making yours and Ryujin’s eyes widen. “Oh no…”

“What?” Suddenly, Jisung’s next to you and peering over Hyunjin’s ecure. “What the hell? Why is his heart black?”

Ryujin then places her hands over Hyunjin’s forehead, going through his fresher memories as her eyes turn a bright blue. “He’s...it’s an ancient spell, a really powerful one.” She eventually concludes, turning to Chan after. “Chan, do you think you can take a look at this?”

Across the room, Chan stands up with Minho’s help, having just treated a healing cut on his leg, and sits on Ryujin’s other side to briefly access the same memories. “The three of us can do it,” He gestures to you and Ryujin with pursed lips. “But it’ll take hours and a whole lot of ecure. We’ll need to purify his heart with an equally powerful spell.”

From the corner of your eye, you see Jisung immediately turn to you in worry, as if he already knows what you’re going to say. “Y/N, don’t—”

But you’re already reaching for your locket, forcing the stone to reveal its contents. “I can give up mine. It’ll save you both your energies and time.” You assure, tuning out Jisung’s protests.

“A-Are you sure?” Ryujin asks worriedly, echoing Jisung’s concerns. Next to her, Chan shakes his head at you in equal concern. “Y/N, these are your ecures for the candidacy exam, you can’t just—not right now when you’re almost do—”

“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that we save Hyunjin.” You nod without any hesitation. “Anyway, I have enough for both purifying Hyunjin’s heart and healing his wounds. It’s fine.”

You then take out more hearts from your locket, the clumped crystals of oranges, greens, pinks, and reds hovering above Hyunjin as he continues lulling in and out of consciousness and his body tries rejecting the prior spells Yeji casted to help him heal. Before you could fully empty out the vessel, however, Jisung’s hand with his emerald ring flies over yours to stop you. “Wait!” He exclaims, startling you, Ryujin, and Chan. “I’ll give up some of mine too. Don’t empty yours out.”

“Ji—”

“—Y/N.” He snaps frustratingly, raising his voice and confusing you further. “Please, let me help! I don’t want you to empty your count, I’m not letting you.”

This seems to effectively catch you off-guard. Jisung then takes this as an opportunity to stop you, not letting your hand go while he summons his own collected hearts out from his ring and firmly making sure that you don’t argue with him further until Chan has reluctantly made sure that you have enough ecures to convert into magic. Even then, he doesn’t let you go by your hand and instead moves his over to your free hand while Chan instructs you and Ryujin on how to purify a black heart.

“J-Jisung.” You call for him once your initial annoyance of him stopping you has died down, eyes widening when he glances back at you with worry. “I need my two hands.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry.” He lets go of your hand immediately, keeping his hands down on his lap before leaving the three of you to check on Seungmin, Yeji, and Chaeryoung. “Sorry…”

You cough out awkwardly as he leaves, glaring at Ryujin when she musters up a teasing smile despite your current predicament.

“He’s right, you know.” Chan comments after a while, instructing you the following spells while the dark color of Hyunjin’s ecure fades to a glowing white.

“Don’t start.” When you send a glare over your own cousin’s way, however, he quickly drops the subject with a shrug.

Purifying a darkened heart, as it turns out, lasts until the very break of dawn as the three of you exhaust the ecures you and Jisung have put out to heal Hyunjin. As time ticks by agonizingly slow for Hyunjin who could only lay back on the sofa and absorb all of your energies to heal himself, Minho eventually gets everyone to clear the living room and sleep in the much more comfortable guest rooms after making sure that no one is greatly injured before hurling himself to the kitchen and make breakfast.

But you see Jisung stay from the corner of your eye, taking up space on your opposite side to steal glances at you or comfort Hyunjin. From the way his eyebrows furrow over his sleepy eyes and how he refuses to leave even when you awkwardly tell him off, you could tell that he too can’t make out your previous exchange.

“—Y/N. Please, let me help! I don’t want you to empty your count, I’m not letting you.” You know that he acted the way he did because it was Hyunjin that you were trying to save, one of his best friends. But the way he sounded so angry, the way he snapped at you in the spur of the moment, a small part of your thoughts wants to make you think that he had other reasons for doing what he did.

“Hyunjin? How are you feeling?” Chan asks after 2 hours of nonstop spellcasting, halting you and Ryujin in your steps after. “Can you sit up?”

Your eyes turn blue at the same time you see Jisung’s turn green, surveying Hyunjin’s heart for any hints of leftover dark magic. Meanwhile, Hyunjin struggles to sit up with Jisung’s help, tiredly groaning under his breath. “Much b-better.” He manages to stumble out after a moment, mustering up a small smile despite the dizzying and overwhelming fel. “Thanks, you guys.”

You sigh in relief, resting your back against the coffee table behind you before nodding. “Finally…”

“Come on, Hyunnie, I’ll move you upstairs.” Chan volunteers, standing up from his position on the floor and briefly stretching his arms out. Turning to you, Ryujin, and Jisung, he then adds, “You guys get some rest too. Just skip for today and tomorrow. I’ll write to everyone back home.”

You don’t even argue against your cousin this time, finding yourself nodding when he gives you the same look he always does whenever you intend on shouldering some work for him. Standing up from the floor, you, Ryujin, and Jisung then head upstairs in silence.

The entire walk, you feel Jisung stealing glances over to you but you decide to not act on it, shaking your head when he suddenly opens his mouth to speak before the two of you could go on your separate ways.

“Y/N, wait—” “Goodnight, Jisung.”

Growing up, Jisung has always relied on two people in helping him through the crisis of accidentally going too far with you: Chan and Felix. Chan, obviously, because he’s your cousin and the only other friend he has who harbors an inkling of a braincell and Felix because he’s everyone’s favourite and he knows the kinds of snacks that get on your good graces. These moments when he’s actually pushed your buttons too far are rare (as much as the two of you like to express your annoyance over each other, you’ve actually come to understand that this is just your dynamic growing up), but Jisung personally keeps a list of steps to do in situations like this anyway. Now more than ever, it seems, because suddenly, it feels weird and awkward being around each other—and not the usual kind.

But as fate would have it, Chan is busy working out how to safely get Hyunjin home and explaining to the elders what happened. If normally Jisung would be asking Chan first about you and what he could say when he confronts you, this time he’s asking all of them to his twin brother who’s more than willing to listen (after listening to Yeji, Ryujin, and Chaeryoung gossip everything to him prior, of course).

“Why did you do that anyway?” Felix points out on the other side of the call, snuggling into a pillow as night falls on both realms. It’s been 3 days since Hyunjin returned and both the house and the officials back at home have been busy arranging his return with Yeji, Seungmin, Ryujin, and Chaeryoung; only allowing for the twins to talk in the late hours of the night. “And you said it angrily too from what Ryujin told me. No offense, bro, I’d feel a little weird if you raised your voice at me, too, then offered up half of your collection on their behalf.”

Jisung groans in frustration, running his hand through his hair as he shuffles uncomfortably around his bed sheets. “I don’t know, it’s just...I was thinking of a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

“This candidacy exam, what Chan told me beforehand, Hyunjin, Y/N…” The older twin purses his lips, taking his eyes away from Felix to gaze down at his hands. The emerald ring is much cooler now after losing ecure but somehow, it feels heavy on Jisung’s ring finger. “I thought that it’d be unfair if they lose all of their ecure at this point in the race, trying to save Hyunjin, then the elders might not be too pleased about it when we return. But most importantly, I thought about what Chan told me when Minho first arrived, about how Y/N’s always jumping at every opportunity to help other people without thinking too much of themself. I was right there with my own vessel of hearts for them to use and if I just let them empty out theirs, then I’d be letting them get the short end of the stick in the long run again.”

Felix nods along understandingly at his brother’s words, all the while trying to hide a smile behind his hand. So Yeji was right! “So why did you call me, then? You seem to have your reasons sorted out, just tell Y/N what you told me.” He shrugs after Jisung’s extensive speech, giggling at the dramatic reaction that he receives from his brother after. “I know you guys aren’t those emotional kinds of people to each other but you said so yourself that Y/N’s been quieter these days and that it’s been eating at your conscience. I say you just go for it and tell them how you feel.”

“I’m not you, Lix. Y/N’s going to laugh at me.” Jisung pouts helplessly. “I can’t just tell them that.”

“You’re so dramatic! It just implies that you care about Y/N like a decent human being. Anyone in your situation who knows what you know about them would’ve been considerate enough to do the same thing.” Felix argues back, rubbing his temples at how the older boy’s acting. “Don’t get it twisted, brother...unless you want it to, of course.”

“Ya, and what’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Figure it out yourself.” Felix sticks his tongue out teasingly before laughing and waving a dismissive hand. “Anyway, Yeji told me that Y/N’s been craving blueberry pancakes lately. You can just make them right now and give it tomorrow so you don’t have to go out.”

“If anything, I want to leave the house right now and never come back.” Jisung grumbles back in frustration before sighing in defeat. “For the first time, I can’t believe you’re no help at all, Lix. I’m hanging up.”

“Tch, you just can’t handle the truth, Sung. Anyway, I have to go too, mom and dad are asking me to come to this thing. I’ll update you on it later! Love you! Bye!” Felix then waves to the call one last time before hanging up, leaving Jisung in the uncomfortable silence of his room.

Jisung sighs against the heavy blankets, throwing his phone to the other side of the mattress before ultimately deciding on standing up and heading to your room across the hall. Fuck it, he thinks to himself, it’s not like I like them or anything like that! Nothing to worry about! Let’s not get it twisted.

When he opens the door, however, the first person he unexpectedly sees outside the hallways is you just as you close the door behind your own room. “Y/N!” He ends up blurting out loud in the moment, catching your attention with wide eyes. Not knowing what else to say, the first thought that comes to mind is, “Are you going to Hyunjin’s room?”

You furrow your brows in confusion, shaking your head slowly. “No, I’m going to the kitchen?”

“O-Oh.” He runs his hand through his hair once more in nervousness, nodding along and hiding the heat rising up his neck in embarrassment. “Well, I’m going there too. Mind if I join you?”

You simply nod in response, walking down the end of the hallway with him in relative silence. He hasn’t seen you much since Hyunjin’s arrived either since you spent most of your time checking your mutual friend for his condition and brewing tea. The dramatic gears in Jisung’s head would like to think that it’s just pure convenience.

“So, what did you and Felix talk about?” “How’s Hyunjin?”

Jisung glances over to you on his right just as you mirror his actions, the gesture somehow making him flustered this time around as he’s quick to look away. “S-Sorry. Um, we just—talked about how things are back home.” He shrugs in his best feigned nonchalance, mentally cringing at how visibly awkward he looks as the two of you go down the stairs anyway. Not that it’s a lie, anyway, he and Felix did talk about other topics besides you. “Everything’s pretty busy back home since the elders are talking about how Hyunjin coming back is going to affect the exam now.”

“Oh.” You nod along almost absentmindedly. “That’s...yeah, I’ve heard about it too. It’s pretty hectic on my mom’s end right now.”

“So...how’s Hyunjin?” Jisung chimes in almost a little too quickly, feeling even more awkward that he accidentally brought up your candidacy exam again. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

You purposely pretend to not notice anyway, answering his questions carefully as you approach a curve into the spiral staircase. “He’s regaining his strength at least. Still on bedrest but he should be okay by the weekend when Changbin fetches him and the others.” The two of you then pass through the living room to get to the kitchen, finding Minho and Chan cuddled up on one of the sofas as they watch a movie on the television.

The kitchen, on the other hand, is deserted when you turn on the lights which Jisung internally thanks every guest in the house for before taking a deep breath. “About what I said back then, by the way…” He starts carefully, catching your attention before you could even detach yourself from him to open the nearby fridge. You freeze a few steps ahead of him, making the poor boy gulp nervously. “Um, I’m sorry that I raised my voice at you. I shouldn’t have done that, even when I was stressing out.”

Much like when he actually did raise his voice, you momentarily freeze in your spot before eventually shaking your head reassuringly and moving over to the fridge. “It’s alright, you don’t need to apologize for that.” You add with a small smile, taking out the fruit bowl from the fridge. “Is that why you’ve been quiet these past days? It’s okay, really.”

“I haven’t been—it’s you who’s—” Jisung stops himself halfway before he could even start another argument, biting down his lip before shaking his head. Walking over to the stove area, he then opens a few cabinets in search of the pancake mix while you shuffle around the area behind him. “A little, yeah. It’s just that it looked like it bothered you so it bothered me too.”

When Jisung then glances over his shoulder, he sees you approaching with the fruit bowl hugged close to your chest. “I thought about it a few times. After that, I just thought that you were bothered so I couldn’t talk to you after.” You explain slowly, voice growing louder as you set the bowl next to him. In the dim lights of the kitchen, he suddenly can’t tell if you’re lying or not. “But it’s all good now. Are you making pancakes?”

Jisung nods sheepishly, finally finding the pancake mix in the deeper crevices of the cabinet and taking it out with a pan and spatula from the adjacent cabinet. “No, but you have to know that—that—”

“Hm? What?” You raise your brows curiously, taking the pan and spatula for him before proceeding to the stove and twisting the knobs to preheat.

“You’re not letting me finish.” Jisung points out with a feigned disapproving situation while quickly preparing the pancake mix, one which you somehow find amusing enough to laugh at. “Come on, don’t laugh, my twin made me say a bunch of things then coerced me into telling you so I’d—”

“Yeah, I know.”

“—So, I appreciate it if you’d lis—wait, you know?!” His feigned expression then turns into one of surprise once more as you nod and break into giggles. “W-What?!”

“You were being really loud, Hyunjin was even complaining to me from the next room by phone that he can’t sleep because of you.” You chuckle in amusement, nudging him by the arm when you notice that he’s slowed down his mixing. “He said something about you complaining to Felix about something or whatever. I don’t know, I was on a call with Lia.”

“Then why did you—? So, you just came out here for pancakes?!”

“No! I wanted to hear what you were going to say! I didn’t hear any word besides the pancakes, I swear...well, not clearly at least.”

By now, all of the awkwardness has immediately dissipated as Jisung stops mixing the pancake mix altogether to turn to you and cross his arms. “You’re unbelievable.” He pretends to roll his eyes and scoff at you, earning him a glare. You then swipe the pancake mix from his hands, pouring them into the pan in big circles. “And you still have the audacity to make me do this pancake mix.”

“Well, you’re already mixing it so might as well.” You shrug with a knowing smile before nudging him again by the handle of the spatula. “Now, go on, what were you going to say?”

Jisung shoots you one last incredulous look but you effectively counter it by encouraging him, promising that you “won’t laugh.” “Ah, well...I just wanted to say that you shouldn’t go all out wasting all of your collected hearts at this point, not when we’re almost done with the exam.” He blurts out, gazing down and fiddling with the fruit bowl while you take spoonfuls of blueberries from it to mix with the pancakes. “I want to win but it won’t be fun if your tally suddenly drops, right?”

When he looks up, you’re raising your brow at his last comment as you make more pancakes. “I mean, I know you want to do what’s best for everyone but you have to look out for yourself too. Geez.” With a sigh, he then corrects which makes you nod in agreement. “A-And I guess lean on us too. We’re your family and friends, don’t shoulder all of the work for us all the time.”

“I doubt I can lean on you.” You tease, flipping through your second batch of pancakes to cook. When Jisung sends a glare your way, you simply stick your tongue out at him. “Kidding.”

“I get all emotional and all you say is that you doubt you can lean on me. Unbelievable…” Jisung scoffs, stuffing his mouth with more blueberries in feigned annoyance.

The blueberry-filled pancakes are all eventually set on a plate you find on your opposite side, stacked up as a tall tower leaning on one side. Carefully passing Jisung the plate, you then twist the stove’s knobs off and reply, “You also made me cook the pancakes you wanted to make for me so I think that makes us even.”

“Y/N!” He whines between mouthfuls of blueberries as you move around him to transfer the pan and spatula to the sink.

You sigh in defeat, chuckling when you meet gazes once more and see him sulking with his cheeks full. “Right, right, I’m sorry!” You then beckon him over to the dining table, taking the fruit bowl on his side. “A-And...you know, thank you for that. We’re all good now, right?”

“If you are.”

“Definitely. Want to eat with me? I still owe you that meal from our first day.”

six out of six months

Your mother as well as the high jury of elders from back home eventually proposed that you and Jisung finish your Crown Candidacy exam while Hyunjin, should he eventually announce that he wants to participate as well in the incoming 6 months, do his under stricter supervision in the following year. This ensures fairness in your situations, that yours and Jisung’s efforts aren’t wasted in the past 5 months while also thinking of Hyunjin who wasn’t around in time for the traditional schedule of the exam. When Hyunjin was escorted home by Changbin and Felix, however, he briefly hinted towards a plan on refusing the candidacy and the exam. He left with the others before you or Jisung could even ask him about it.

Regardless, you and your sole competitor easily fall back into the race as soon as Hyunjin, Yeji, Seungmin, and Chaeryoung have settled their business in the human world and went home, returning to university over a week later to regain the ecures that you lost. Not that it’s suddenly harder, anyway. Timely as it is, an announcement for a school festival at the end of the month has Jisung signing up to perform while you join the organizing committee to spend more time with your human friends.

In the time that you’ve spent in the human world, you’ve made many genuine friends beyond collecting their ecure for your exam, especially in your classmates Yuna and Jeongin. Though they don’t know about your true nature, the two have unknowingly aided you a lot in your mission by accompanying you through the different activities around university.

Yuna, in particular, was even the one who first mentioned the school festival to you, encouraging you to join the events committee with her and invite Jisung to perform. “It’s free backstage passes and we can see all of the artists up close!” She sighed dreamily on the day she showed you the gold and red poster that she picked up from the department bulletin board. “And come on, you’re really good at organizing stuff! We should do it together!”

And more hearts to collect, you thought to yourself when you accepted and attended the orientation.

And more hearts it was, indeed, as you spend the next 3 weeks meeting people from different colleges as you and Yuna are assigned to helping organize the music performance for the end of the festival. With your previous experience fulfilling your duties back at home, it’s unsurprisingly easier for you to juggle the work assigned to you—contacting students to perform, arranging the program flow, and turning the university football field into a makeshift mini concert stadium—with socializing and fulfilling your original mission of collecting hearts.

Across from your room at home, on the other hand, Jisung has been busy spending the same time making his own music to perform at the music festival. You invited him to perform some time after starting your work with the festival committee—well, your friends insisted that you invite him and Chan after finding out that the famous DJ, CB97, is your cousin and that you and the “College of Psychology Cutie” commute home together (“Don’t tell me...are you guys secretly dating?!” Yuna had shamelessly asked during one of your meetings, to which you had to smack your hand over her mouth and improvise a cover story for you and Jisung that you live in the same neighbourhood).

Jisung accepted at the thought that he could garner a huge crowd of hearts from this opportunity, cooping himself up in his room right after the following days that followed to complete his 15-minute set. Ever since, all you’ve heard coming from his room in the middle of the night would be guitar strums, drum loops, and the faintest hints of Jisung’s voice singing along to freestyle raps and lines.

He mostly sang about love, of all things; something you, Minho, and Chan immediately noticed in the next 3 Friday nights that the three of you would be huddled in the living room to watch a movie, only to hear Jisung repeating lines as if he was talking to someone in Chan’s home studio. You wanted to ask about it out of pure curiosity, and just the general worry that he might not be looking after his heart while finishing your exam after all, but decided against it in favor of waiting for the final product at the music festival.

Fortunately, the month somehow went by in almost a flash as you and Jisung both got busy preparing and collecting more hearts on the side. Before you know it, it was the afternoon of the music festival and Felix is suddenly back in the human realm to accompany you and Minho to the school festival.

“So, did he tell you what he prepared for tonight?” Felix asks you as the three of you walk around the festival grounds. Over the course of 3 weeks, you and a large team of student volunteers have managed to haul in food stalls, arcade booths, and rides from the quad all the way to the football field for this festival, amenities which you yourself haven’t tried yet because of your busy schedule but Felix and Minho have both been so overwhelmingly excited to check out even on the bus trip to your university.

In response to the prince’s answer, you shake your head with a small pout. “I just hear him all over the house and I didn’t really want to pry if he didn't want to tell me anything.” You point out, the two of you suddenly changing the course of your mindless walk as Minho points to a crossbow shoot booth. “Why? Doesn’t he tell you what he’s been working on?”

“No! He stops whatever he’s doing whenever we call, even when I ask him to play just a little bit of his work.” Felix is quick to mirror your pout, only for it to disappear when Minho jokes that the two of you help him cheat in the booth as he picks up a crossbow. “I thought since you guys are living together, you’d know better than me.”

“Ah, you kids just wait until Jisung and Chan perform later.” Minho dismisses your concerns, holding the fake crossbow up properly while the staff manning the booth prepares the targets on the other side. “Now, help me win Chan a giant wolf.”

You roll your eyes at Minho, shrugging at Felix. “I guess he’s right. Let’s just help Minho get a giant wolf first.”

Chan and Jisung arrive at university 10 minutes before the music festival from Chan’s studio halfway across the city, initially unable to find you in the crowd of organizers as they set up backstage with Yuna and Jeongin’s help until you call Chan late that you’re “babysitting” Minho and Felix.

“They’ve somehow teamed up and have been competing with the rigged booths since we arrived.” You explained over the voice call, the distant sounds of Minho and Felix yelling while tossing metal rings around almost muffling your own. “I’ll be on my way in a while as soon as Minho leaves the ring toss alone but Yuna and Jeongin are there. Just ask them if you guys need anyth—oh my gods, Felix, you won another plushie? That’s so cool! Wait, I’m on a call with Chan!—uh, yeah. I’ll be there in a second!”

The commotion on your end makes the two boys laugh, even as you bid your goodbyes and end the call, but especially Jisung who’s been looking nervous since he arrived. Throwing his head back in a laugh as he tunes his guitar, he comments, “That’s a bit unexpected. I didn’t know my brother and your boyfriend would get along like that, and this quickly!”

“Beating out rigged games sounds about right.” Chan chuckles along, seated on a plastic chair and running a quick check on his equipment. Turning to the younger boy, he then asks, “Are you still nervous?”

“Me? Nah, I wasn’t even nervous to begin with!” At this, Jisung’s laughs naturally die down to an uncertain shake of his head. He dismisses with a scrunch up nose which Chan immediately raises a brow at.

“Come on, Sung, I practically raised you with the other kids.” Chan proceeds to roll his eyes as Jisung’s brief confident facade crumbles down slowly. “What’s up?”

The boy in question eventually sighs in defeat, shoulders slumping against the plastic chair he occupies. “Fine, maybe I’m a bit nervous! Just a little bit, though, I can still get on stage later! I mean, it’s not like performing here is gonna be different from back home like you said on the way here but…”

“But what?” Chan asks patiently, glancing up to see Jisung’s gaze fixed down on his yellow acoustic guitar. When the younger boy doesn’t respond immediately, he then continues, “I’ve heard bits and pieces of what you’ve been working on this month and all of the songs sound great. You’ll catch a lot of hearts tonight with them, I’m sure. What are you worried about?”

Jisung looks up from his guitar and opens his mouth to speak, only to get cut off when you come in the performer’s tent running and balancing different kinds of microphones in your hands. “Sorry I’m late!” You announce in between tired pants, catching both his and Chan’s attention as you pass the microphones around the artists with Jeongin who instinctively comes to your aid. “I was with my friends and they wouldn’t budge from the ring toss!”

“I think I’m going to faint.” Jisung mumbles under his breath with furrowed brows, loud enough for only Chan to hear, until you approach them last with their microphones.

“Mics?” You offer obliviously, holding up the last 2 hand mics in your possession. Passing one to Chan quickly, you then sit down next to Jisung and pass him his hand mic. “Hey, you’re up fourth, right?”

Jisung glances over to Chan with a panicked look but the older boy simply shakes his head with a chuckle and focuses on his keyboard. Turning to you, Jisung then nods quickly with a hum before gazing down at his guitar and the laptop he’s set up on the table in front of you two.

Immediately sensing his odd behavior, you then hover your hands in the space between the two of you in a quick spell, eventually verifying his nervous feelings. “Yeah, totally not nervous.” You chuckle in amusement, laughing even more when he turns to you and whines in complaint.

“Ya! Don’t do that!”

“Well, it’s not like you’re that good at hiding your nervousness!” You point out in defense, holding your hands up in front of you in between uncontrollable fits of giggles. When the glare he sends your way doesn’t relax one bit, you then fish out a small quokka plush from your backpack. “Anyway, Felix was kinda expecting that you’d be a little nervous so wanted me to give you this plushie he won at the milk bottle game with Minho for good luck. He would’ve given it himself but LUCY was already performing when we came here so he dragged Minho to the audience area before I could even bring him here.”

You then place the plush toy on the table right next to his laptop, looking around once to make sure that no one is looking your way before mouthing a quick spell to shrink the quokka into something smaller that he can hang on his guitar strap. As you do so, Chan notices how Jisung’s ears are quick to turn red as he follows your every movement. “You can stick it to your guitar strap and bring it with you to the stage.” You point out once you’re done, only then noticing his stares. “What?”

“Huh?” Jisung shakes his head absentmindedly, mentally slapping himself back to reality before scrambling to pick up the plush toy by the chain you added on top of its head and tying it to the small hole along the edge of his guitar strap. “O-Oh, yeah, thanks!”

You chuckle, just as Yuna suddenly calls for you to help in getting the next act’s microphone stands on stage. Standing up, you then pat Jisung’s shoulder reassuringly, saying one last, “Don’t be nervous!” before running off again to where most of your committee members are.

Once you’re out of earshot, only then does Chan look up from his equipment once more but this time with a knowing grin and squinted eyes. “Yeah, Sung, don’t be nervous!”

Jisung rolls his eyes in front of the older boy at this, securing the quokka plushie on his guitar strap one last time. “Shut up.”

Your committee heads lay you off of work just as Jisung heads to the stage for his set, the small quokka plush you gave him dangling behind his fretboard with a toothy grin while he sets up his laptop and greets the energetic crowd. When you discreetly scan the people’s ecures while standing behind the curtains, you quickly spot a growing number of pinks and oranges. “Such a charmer.” Chan notes, eyes also blue when you look up at him.

You nod in agreement, reverting back to your original color as more of your peers gather around the curtains to listen to Jisung’s introduction. “Um, hi, I’m Han Jisung from the Psych department.” You hear him greet with a shy chuckle over the microphone, earning him another wave of cheers. Behind you, even Yuna and Jeongin cheer despite Jisung having his back partially facing you. “This is my first time performing here at uni and the songs that I’ve prepared so please go easy on me.”

You then turn to Chan again, taking a sideways step closer to him as a thought crosses your mind. “Hey, Chan,” You call for him in a lower voice, craning your head up when he leans towards you. “Have you heard of the songs he’s going to perform tonight? You were together before coming here, right?”

“Only a little bit. We mostly talked while we were at the studio.” Chan shrugs in response. “I think he wanted it to be a surprise to everyone.”

On stage, Jisung then checks his guitar one last time before announcing the name of the first song. “So, this first song is something that I’ve been thinking about since I moved here. It’s called ‘Close.’” He says, pressing play on his loops and singing the first lines of the song. “Can you tell me about you? You, seen from afar. I just don't want to watch. Yeah Just tell me about you.”

Jisung is a great performer, there’s no doubt about it. Though you’ve grown up hearing him sing and rap at your more casual events back at home, he always manages to surprise you every time he performs just with the way he enjoys himself on stage. You can see him smile widely from the side of the stage, his nervousness long gone as he interacts with the crowd and collects the pink crystal hearts that float above your heads.

“He’s really good…” You murmur, more to yourself than to Chan, as you find yourself gently swaying to the song. “What was he even worried about? It’s a great song…”

Chan glances knowingly at you, a small smile playing on his lips as you sing along to the next round of the chorus. “I don’t think he has nothing to worry about too, not right now at least.”

“Hm?” “Nothing.”

In truth, even with the positive response from the crowd and the amount of ecures he’s collected from this set alone, Jisung is still nervous for his last song. “Sunshine” was supposed to be just another warm-up song with barely a cohesive topic, a compilation of sketches about his experiences in the human world that he spent his free time on when he wasn’t collecting hearts these past 6 months. As more time passed by, however, and the time of your exam was suddenly coming to a close, they eventually took a different direction without him even realizing it until you were inviting him to perform at this music festival.

The times that the two of you would bicker just to laugh at each other in the end, the competition that brought the bests and worsts in you, and your chocolate matcha tea and musings on the one time you sat down with him on his balcony. Eventually, you were all he was writing about. On top of the nervousness that comes with finishing the competition you’ve found yourselves in for half a year and finding out who will be declared the winner, Jisung was more nervous about the thought that you’re just behind the stage curtains with Chan, anticipating his next song.

“For my last song, I picked this one for someone I know whom I’ve spent a lot of time with these past few months.” He confesses shyly in front of the crowds. Among the hundreds of people that came tonight, he easily spots his twin brother in front of the barriers with Minho, sporting the most exaggerated surprised face ever. “I was hoping that when all of this is said and over, we’d get well-deserved breaks...maybe music and tea at night again or something.”

Jisung doesn’t have to turn around to gauge your initial reaction as he begins the song, Felix’s expression turning into that of giddiness as he looks over at the stage curtains is enough to set every gear in his head to pump out more nervousness. Instead, he pushes through until halfway to the song before he could steal his first glance over to you since beginning his set.

With his eyes still an emerald green from scanning the crowd’s ecures, your eyes meet under the harsh stage lights as he sings the bridge. “This place is quiet without a sound ye ye ye. Quiet except for the sound of our breaths ye ye ye.” He doesn’t intend to look again, not in that split second before he’s turning his gaze back to the crowd of cellphone lights and LED signs, but he sees your heart’s reflection once more.

Reminiscent of when you first confessed in middle school, a pinkish heart floats by the sleeves of your sweater, almost looking red if he just looked longer. You didn’t even turn away this time and simply just stood there, heat visibly rising up your neck.

Reminiscent of when you first confessed in middle school, a pinkish heart floats by the sleeves of your sweater, almost looking red if he just looked longer. This time around, however, you don’t turn away to try and hide it.

And this time around, Jisung doesn’t childishly call you out for it or ignores it. This time, it makes his own heart swell at the thought.

The car ride home, with Chan on the wheel and three extra boxes of equipment most of the backseats in his SUV, is a comfortable and awkward mix of quiet between you and Jisung as the two of you are forced to sit next to each other in the cramped space. You sit by the window, using it as an excuse to peer outside and avoid any kind of small talk from the boys, while Jisung has hisi eyes glued to his phone while a sleeping Felix snuggles into his shoulder. The only human noise in the car, as it seems, is coming from Minho and Chan as the two recall the songs the latter and Jisung performed at the program.

It’s even quieter at the thought that you, Jisung, and Felix will fly back to the magical realm tomorrow, something that Minho reminds you when he suddenly asks, “Right, what do you kids want me to cook for lunch later, by the way?”

The question comes right as the car suddenly comes to an abrupt stop at Chan’s garage, masking the way you and Jisung simultaneously jump in surprise. You instinctively glance over to him after with wide eyes, before gazing over at Minho who has a poorly-hidden snicker on his expression from the front passenger seat. “Um,” You stutter out awkwardly, glaring at Minho when he smirks teasingly over your way. “Anything’s fine for me.”

Jisung nods over to your direction in agreement. “Yeah, anything’s fine.”

Minho nods with pursed lips, as if he was biting down a laugh. “Does crispy pork belly sound good?” He asks, earning him nods from you. “Okay. You guys have been quiet back here this entire time, you guys good?”

“Yeah?” “Totally.”

Clearly unconvinced, Minho shakes his head and scoffs before twisting his upper body to face front once more, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the car door next to him. “Oh, kids…”

You roll your eyes at the comment before stealing a glance over at Jisung again, only to find the boy already staring at you. “W-What?” You manage to ask this time despite your initial surprise. In front of you, Chan has already turned the engine off and left the driver’s seat to open the back of the car. “You okay, Ji?”

He hums almost absentmindedly, phone now set down on his lap as he fiddles with his hands nervously. “Yeah, um—” He stutters out, biting his lips down once. Briefly glancing at his side, he then gestures towards his twin and adds, “Wait, sorry, um, let me wake Lix first.”

“Okay.” You nod awkwardly, deciding to unbuckle your own seatbelt and open the car door next to you. Jisung then gently shakes Felix awake, leading his brother out through the same car door since the opposite one’s blocked by more of his and Chan’s equipment.

“You go on ahead, Lix, I’ll just talk to Y/N.” You hear Jisung say as the three of you now stand outside in the cold, levitating boxes of instruments and computers flying over your head and heading inside the house.

Felix nods at this immediately, sleepily bidding you and Jisung with loose hugs before trudging back inside the house with Chan and Minho.

Once the doors leading back to the house fully close on the two of you, only then are you engulfed in the same awkward silence again and the two of you, for the third time in the past 6 months, speak up at the same time.

“So um—” “—Yeah, a while ago—”

This time, the two of you chuckle awkwardly over speaking at the same time again. You then gesture for him to go ahead and speak first as you adjust your sweater’s placement on your shoulder.

Instinctively, Jisung fixes your sweater for you before speaking, causing him to stutter a little. “S-Sorry, um…” He licks his lip awkwardly, retracting his hand as fast as he can and moving a step back. “Yeah, I meant to say that I didn’t...I didn’t mean to look at your heart.”

Suddenly, at such an important moment, you’re speechless and frozen in front of Jisung. Your hands find their way down the hem of your sweater, absentmindedly playing with the loose threads as you shift your weight on the balls of your feet and stutter out your response. “I-I um…”

Simultaneously, Jisung takes in a huge intake of breath and continues, “I looked at you because I actually made the song for you—well, about you but not in a weird way! It can be for you too, that is if you want it!—”

“Jisung?”

“Ah, anyway, I’m losing track! Just, I looked at you because I wanted to know what you thought of it the most in the moment, you know—”

“Jisung…”

“And I didn’t realize that my eyes were still green and I saw so I looked away as fast as I could, I swear—!”

“Ji.”

“I know you don’t want me looking into your heart and stuff because of before. I promise I won��t do it again—”

Realizing that he’s not going to stop in his ramblings, you then impulsively take a step towards him and grab him by his arms. “Ji, it’s fine.” You shake him gently, effectively stopping the endless flow of thought. “I mean, you already saw it and everything.”

“But I—”

“Just don’t lash out or stop talking to me again while I sort it out.” You shrug reassuringly with a sigh, reluctantly sliding your hands off of him and taking a step back again as you see him listen intently to your words. “It’s just pink, anyway, it can still go away like before. Just don’t avoid me again this time.”

Though he’s clearly been listening intently, you see his brows furrow and his expression suddenly becomes confused towards the end of your words. “What?” He echoes helplessly after you. “No, I...why would I stop talking to you? That was a long time ago. I won’t do that now, I...”

“Then just don’t take my heart or something.” You point out, almost like a question as his reaction confuses you similarly. “Anyway, that’s not the point, like I said, I’ll sort it ou—”

“Don’t.” He cuts you off immediately this time with more conviction, shaking his head and suddenly taking your hand. “Don’t sort it out. Don’t make it go away or anything.”

“What? Why?”

You’re pulled closer again, Jisung mumbling an incantation to show his ecure under his breath. “Look at mine.” He points out, a pink crystal heart floating over to your upturned palm as he holds onto you by your wrist. “If anything, I should be the one telling you to not take mine on the spot or something.”

“It’s pink.” You muse out loud in surprise, the warmth of his ecure feeling overwhelming as it floats above your hand. “And it’s for me…?”

Jisung rolls his eyes at this in disbelief, nodding patiently anyway. “Who else would it be for?” He scoffs gently, making the heart disappear before it could burn your palm. “I don’t know since when it’s been like that, maybe it’s been like that for a long time even I don’t know I’ve only looked at it while Chan and I were at the studio. All I’m sure is that suddenly I was writing a song for you and sacrificing half of my ecure count so you don’t lose easily in the exam and looking out for you and—just, this time it’s me who’s afraid that you’ll run away or disappear for a while if you knew.”

“So don’t...sort it out.” He concludes after unknowingly speaking at such a fast rate, heaving belatedly from this. “I like you now, I like you a lot, and I’m not going to lash out like when we were kids. Take my heart if you want just don’t change your feelings for me, please.”

There’s a brief pause that follows, the only noise ringing in your ears being the unusually loud beating of your own heart as the two of you freeze in place. Jisung tries waiting as patiently as he visibly can in this silence, puffing air in and out of his lips as he fails at trying to conceal his recurring nervous feelings, while you gaze at anywhere but him because of the heat rising up your neck.

“Listen…” He speaks up after a while. “I’m sorry, I—”

Fuck it, you think to yourself before stepping forward, shakily cupping his cheeks, and pressing a kiss to his lips. “Don’t say sorry.” You muster up a shy smile in between brief kisses. “You already know that I like you too.”

bonus epilogue

When you return to the magical realm to the news that Hyunjin won’t be taking his own candidacy exam next year in favor of his own kingdom’s crown, the elders are quick to take your locket and Jisung’s ring to proceed with the final results. Since the decision takes at least 3 days, coupled with the fact that a major complication arose in the 6 months that you were given, Jisung was asked to stay at your castle until the jury could come to a conclusion and crown either one of you.

The others would also occasionally come and visit (especially Lia who’s mostly kept up with your trip through Yeji and Ryujin) but since confessing to Jisung, the boy has been doing the most trying to sneak you away from everyone and your regular royal duties just to spend more time with you.

“So this is what you meant with Sunshine?” You ask in the afternoon before the elders would summon you back to the throne room, the two of you hidden away in your favourite greenhouse garden. Today, Jisung has somehow convinced you to ditch a visit to Chan’s family in favor of just sitting on your greenhouse’s cushioned sofas and listening to him hum his songs until your mentors would eventually come looking for you. “Chocolate matcha and your guitar?”

“Yeah, just a relaxing rest date with your crush.” Jisung points out next to you, his head snuggled into the crook of your neck as much as the guitar in between the two of you could allow him. On your opposite side, his cuddle rival, the quokka plush toy you’ve somehow managed to turn into a life-size pillow today, sits on your lap and occasionally pokes on the end of his guitar. “Why? Do you want to refill your tea? I’ve been getting Felix to teach me this spell to refill tea, you know. I’m getting it but chocolate matcha’s kinda hard to replicate.”

You shake your head in disbelief with a chuckle, a stark contrast to how you’re internally flustered over the small comment on your favourite tea flavor. “Who said you’re my crush? Bold of you to even assume, Ji…” You pretend to roll your eyes, sinking deeper into the soft cushions behind you.

“Baby, you’ll be taking those words back when I get crowned tonight.” He pouts, elbowing you gently before shifting to place his guitar on the side. With his hands now free, the prince then resorts to linking his arms with your free one and intertwining your hands together on top of the plush quokka. “If I win, I’ll make sure to banish this quokka first so you’ll be forced to cuddle with only me.”

“Tch, Felix won you this quokka. You’ll have to duel with him first if you want this gone.” You argue, sliding the quokka closer to him so its face is adjacent to Jisung. “Plus, it kinda looks like you. If I get crowned and you’ll be away doing your own duties back East, I have something of yours.”

“I think you meant that if I win and you’ll be staying here doing your own duties, you’ll have something of mine.” Jisung huffs pettily. “Maybe we should keep the quokka, after all. You might get lonely if I get busy.”

You shake your head immediately with a chuckle, leaning more of your weight on his side. “Oh, no, no, no.” You correct teasingly, making him giggle along against your shoulder. “Who said you’re going to win later?”

“Wanna bet?” He raises a brow and smirks, lifting his head briefly to glance over to you.

You roll your eyes at this, leaning forward to meet his lips. “You’re so competitive, babe. Give it a rest, you know I’ll win anyway.”

545 notes · View notes

wallflowerimagines · 3 years ago

Note

Hi! if your not busy or backed up could you do the four lords( and possibly the dimitrescu daughters totally cool if you dont) helping a s/o who's stressed about starting college

I'm cracking my knuckles right now. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!

Warning: Some unhealthy behaviors? You call these dorks out on it though.

Alcina Dimitrescu

Initially, you're stoked! College is a big deal for anyone at any age, and you're thrilled to check off this box on your list of accomplishments. It's a big deal!

A...really, really big deal...

Your internal monologue becomes a mess of "Oh god, oh fuck, oh no", on loop, ad infinitum. There's a lot to consider here, and with every new thought you just get even more stressed.

The minute Alcina sees you in this state, she pulls you in for a hug, plays with your hair, and talks you through your feelings. Do you really want to go to college, or do you feel forced into it? Are you worried about the distance? The amount of work? Do you want her to hire tutors instead?

She very much takes a logical, structured approach to addressing your worries. If it's a problem with paperwork, she can have someone handle it for you. If it's general stress she very efficiently talks you through your feelings. If there's someone in particular that's making you feel this stressed, they'll just disappear. No muss, no fuss.

Alcina dissects any possible reasoning you might have to be pressured until it's such a non-issue you feel almost silly for being panicked at all.

Still, she promises to call you every day, if you need her. Honestly, she expects you to call as often as possible, because she's going to miss you like crazy. But she will always be there for you, Darling. Don't you ever worry about that.

Donna Beneviento

College? You're leaving? 🥺

Donna's not trying to guilt you, but the thought of being away from you for an extended period of time is extremely stressful. It's not quite separation anxiety, but it's close.

Something might happen to you if you're away from the Manor for too long! What if you need help and she can't get to you? What if someone tries to hurt you? Donna might be sheltered, but she's heard things about what happens at Colleges, and not all of it is good.

Considering the fact you're also stressed about this situation, it's not a great combination. Both of you are very emotional at the moment, so there's a likelihood that this might cause one or both of you to have a little breakdown.

Instead of your normal fun, relaxing nights together, the lead up to your departure gives your nights a different atmosphere. You're on the floor of the sitting room, sifting through paperwork with a devastated look on your face, while Donna is nearby and trying hard to pretend this isn't happening.

One of you is going to break first, and the confrontation is not going to be pretty or easy. It's a build up of a bunch of emotion, and both of you just sob while holding each other tightly. You vent your worries to Donna, and she explains her concerns to you, and while you guys might not solve all of those dilemmas in one night, both of you do feel better after having explained your anxieties to each other. Communication is key for this to work out, and both of you need comforting.

Donna winds up building you a brand new doll with a piece of her Cadou in it. It's a new member of the family, specifically crafted to keep an eye on you and help you two communicate over long distances. If something goes wrong, or you two miss each other so badly you can't stand it anymore, you two talk through this new friend and immediately feel connected. The distance doesn't feel so great anymore <3

Salvatore Moreau

HYPED! (Devastated)

Moreau adores you, and he is so, so happy you're going to go pursue your dreams. He can't wait to hear about all the things you've experienced, all the people you meet...

You're going to make tons of new friends, he just knows it!

(You're going to meet someone else, someone better, and you're going to leave him. He just knows it. )

Moreau will never tell you how he really feels about you leaving. You could have a full blown panic attack, and he will hold you close, comfort you, reassure you, and do his absolute best to make you feel better. Meanwhile he is absolutely trying to bury the fact that he thinks you're going to meet your perfect partner at college, abandon him, and live your own version of happily ever after.

It might sound silly to you, but it's a genuine concern for him. He's a monster, and you're about to leave to spend time with a bunch of normal people. As he holds you close and convinces you that the things you're stressed about are easily solvable and are tasks that he could help you with, internally he's absolutely convinced that once you leave, you're going to find your soulmate on campus.

The last thing he wants to do is add to your stress, so unless you can read him well, it's likely you'll never know how worried he is. He's so focused on comforting you and making sure you feel confident enough to handle your next adventure that his own worries take a backseat.

He'll be less concerned if you call him and tell him about your day. It reassures him that you love him, even from afar, and his own stress dissolves when you start to ramble about how much you miss him. 💕

Karl Heisenberg

It's cute that you think you're leaving him behind.

You two are a team, did you seriously expect that he'd be alright with you leaving? With you trying to go to a campus where he can't get to you if something goes wrong?

Heisenberg reacts like an upset pet or a clingy child when it comes to the idea of you leaving for college. He knows it's not forever, and he knows you're coming back--that's not his problem.

His problem is the fact that you're leaving at all.

You two are partners-- a perfect match. He's had this idea in his head ever since you both became a couple that the two of you would hardly ever be apart. Now that you're going to be out of his sight for longer than a week? It's preemptively triggering separation anxiety. He's not happy.

He genuinely tries to get you to take exclusively online courses if you aren't already, just so that you stay with him.

He's so consumed by the concept that you'll be away from him that it takes a while for it to click that, uh, this attitude of his? Not helpful.

You're twice as stressed as you were before, and now you're also angry at Heisenberg for pulling all of this childish nonsense. You love him, but he's being an incredibly insensitive dumbass, and you've got to call him on it.

Phones exist. Skype exists. Hell, the two of you can write letters to each other if you want. It's not like he won't ever get to talk to you! All he's doing is adding to your stress and making you feel worse about a big decision that you've already made, and that's not okay! If he's supposed to be your "perfect match", why isn't he being more supportive?

That snaps him right out of it. While Karl still sulks a bit, he puts on his big boy pants and gives you a proper apology.

Once he's got his head on straight, he's very good at helping you through your worries. Heisenberg will massage your shoulders, talk you through any paperwork you might be having trouble with, and helps you triple check your to-do list. He loves you, and always wants to help, but sometimes he gets carried away.

Just...promise to visit often, alright? He's gonna miss you. 💕

Bela Dimitrescu

Jealous. As. Hell.

She doesn't openly make it obvious, but you know her. You know Bela's little mannerisms and tells, and it's obvious to you that the eldest daughter of the Dimitrescu clan wants to go to college along with you. Unfortunately, due to the fact that she can't easily travel, she can't come along.

It's... not a great situation, considering you're so stressed. You're worried about admissions, being accepted into the classes you need, your curriculum, but Bela doesn't try to comfort you. Instead, she sulks in the background.

Eventually, this blows up between the both of you. You're upset and angry that Bela isn't being more supportive, and Bela is angry that you're the one who gets such an incredible opportunity to leave and explore the world while she's stuck in Dimitrescu Castle.

Why are you stressed? It's an amazing opportunity, it doesn't make sense that you're so worried!

...She's so harsh about it that you might start crying, at which point Bela realizes that she might have fucked up. The last thing she wants to do is hurt your feelings, so she'll pull you into a hug and immediately babble apologies until she's blue in the face.

Once you calm down, you're going to have to explain that just because it looks and sounds fun, College does have challenges of its own. The idea that you get to go learn all sorts of things isn't sunshine and roses--there's a lot of pressure to do well.

Bela is a little quiet after that, but you notice she's much more supportive. She starts to treat your worries more seriously, and even will go to Alcina to try to get some advice on how to help you.

She's still a little envious, but she hides it better now. The last thing that Bela wants to do is stress you out right before you leave. She loves you, and wants your last memories before you go to be positive and something happy that you can look back on when you're away.

Cassandra Dimitrescu

Thrilled for you!

College sounds so exciting! She honestly desperately wants to go with you, but due to the composition of her body, she can't exactly leave the Castle.

She winds up asking you all sorts of questions, following you through the hallways, wondering how you feel about leaving to a brand new place, with brand new people, all of the classes you're going to take....

...It really doesn't help with the anxiety. Cassandra won't leave you alone, and is so fixated on asking you all these questions that it actually makes you worry about things that you hadn't even considered before. What if you hate your Major? What if your professors turn out to be terrible?

Instead of your cheerful responses from before, you start to shut down at all of the questions. Cassandra quickly cues into the fact that something is wrong, and when she asks, all of your worries come pouring out.

Immediately, she pulls you into a hug and apologizes. She didn't mean to stress you out at all, she just wanted to share the experience with you!

Once the two of you clear the air, though? She cracks her knuckles and goes full bookworm.

Cassandra's...not great at staying focused, but she does have a few tips and tricks that she shares with you if it helps.

She also is really great at finding resources that might help you out. Despite her issues focusing on anything other than non-fiction, she does know her way around a library, and will pull any and all reference texts about what you might be studying while you're away.

By the time you're ready to leave Castle Dimitrescu, you've got two years worth of knowledge packed into your head, an optimally organized suitcase, and a lingering kiss from your girlfriend that makes it hard to worry about anything else 💕💕💕

Daniela Dimitrescu

...doesn't handle it well at all.

Daniela doesn't want you to leave. It doesn't matter the situation, it doesn't matter what the context is, you're her partner in crime and she refuses to let you go.

In fact, she tries to sabotage your efforts to leave.

It starts small. Your suitcases mysteriously unpack themselves in the middle of the night. Important papers keep going missing, and you have to reprint a lot of documentation. Your phone disappears for hours at a time.

When all you do is grumble and fix what she's messed with, she gets angrier and escalates. Your laptop goes missing. Your textbooks disappear. You start to question where you left your keys, because they seem to move around the room without your input.

Meanwhile, Daniela is being passive aggressive any time you bring up college. She refuses to talk about it at all with you, and acts like you're not even leaving.

It all comes to a head one day when you burst into tears from all the added stress. This is so, so important to you, and not only are you not getting any help or comfort from your partner, but all of your stuff is going missing!

Daniela immediately feels terrible. As much as she didn't want you to go, the last thing she ever wanted to do was make you cry.

She's not super emotionally mature, so while she comforts you, she has a group of flies separate from the rest and bring back all of your things. You figure it out an call her on it, but she actually looks on the verge of tears herself as she explains to you why she did it. She's so, so sorry, but she doesn't want you to go! She loves you!

You two have a long talk about why this isn't cute, funny or acceptable, no matter her feelings. You might even bring Alcina in on it, just in case. Still, the two of you do work through it, and while Daniela isn't the best with helping with general prep, puts 100% into keeping your mood high.

With time, she finds herself... well not okay with it, but she can now tolerate the idea. As long as you talk to her every day!

(And yes, she calls you multiple times a day when you're gone. Alcina eventually caves and gets her a phone, just so she isn't constantly using the line that Mother Miranda uses to check up on the Castle. The two of you talk so often you barely even have time to miss her💕)

352 notes · View notes

nad-zeta · 3 years ago

Text

The Little Bee

Fandom: Ikesen

Pairings: Nobunaga x Reader

Genre: Fluffffff

Words: 1400+

Comments: Eeeeep whoop whoop! Kame's birthday! Happpppy birthday! eeep! Happy birthday@kamesama Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Kame la da dee dooo! The cutest little bee of all, wishing ya the best day❤❤ ❤😳🥺 Hehee hope you eat way more cake and candy than you probably should! 🥺😳Love ya loooooooots and lots❤🌈

.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’･ﾟ｡.*:・’ﾟ: ｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。

You awoke that morning not to the quiet morning cuddles and kisses you were accustomed to, but to a morning filled with chaos— not that you minded a little chaotic energy, being the leading supplier of that— but still. From the moment your eyes fluttered open, you had been pulled from one direction to the next, neither leading to the warm, strong arms of the man you loved— Nobunaga.

A dejected sigh left your lips; he promised to spend the day of your birth with you, yet where was he now? No doubt he too was dragged away at dawn to deal with the madding admin part of ruling the world, much like you were now being drawn from bed to do some menial tasks.

You accepted your fate reluctantly; after all, there was little use for moping around, mourning the loss of your morning cuddles. Especially when the warlords were breaking down your door trying to get your attention.

Ooh, what you would give for an energy drink— vitamin B shot— Espresso— pretty much any form of liquid energy that didn't include the vial substance Nobunaga managed to secure as a caffeine substitute from the Western traders. As much as you appreciate your boyfriend's efforts, no amount of matcha tea could give the same buzz and hype as your beloved energy drinks.

Nevertheless, you let yourself be dragged off to help solve problem after problem— slightly grumpy for not having the time to enjoy said vial caffeine substitute, and the opportunity to wake up slowly and enjoy the sight of the rising sun.

Hideyoshi was the first victim subjected to your grumpy edge, being the one to throw open your door moments after you called out to the other side. With an apologetic smile, he put you to work, thus starting your daily duties.

Thrusting a bag of coins in your hands with the instruction to buy more sugary candies— you smirked at him knowingly; he must have discovered the aftermaths of the nightly raid. "Sure," was all you said with a shrug and flick of the wrist. You were positive that this menial task and early morning wake up call was revenge for the nightly heists.

Bag of diabetes secured, you started taking a slow stroll back to the castle, only to be swept off your feet by hurricane Masamune. Ahh, your chaotic brother in arms, of course, you welcomed the bit of excitement after the boring market trip. And excitement he brought, as it wasn't long before the two of you raced through the plains engaged in some friendly competition. High stakes and high reward just the way you liked it.

With cocky smiles and beaming eyes, you looped back to the stables riding like the wind and securing your sweet, sweet victory. "Masa, my man, I believe we had a deal," came your ever-growing smirk and outreached hand.

"You drive a hard bargain kitten, but fair is fair," he grinned like a wildcat, pulling the imitation sour patch candies from his sleeve— although something in the way his blue eyes beamed gave him away. He let you win— and he knew that you knew, that he knew, although before you could challenge him and make yet, another friendly wager, the resident sunshine came skipping up the cobblestone path toward the stables.

"Ah, I've been looking for the two of you," he beamed in pure, unfiltered sunshine.

"What's up, sunshine," you chirped, throwing a handful of the sour candies in your mouth and pulling your face involuntarily at the taste. Masamune had done wonders perfecting the recipe, striking that perfect balance between sweetness and sourness with the perfect amount of tart kick.

This is how you now found yourself at the kitsune dubbed snakes home, finally able to enjoy your first warm beverage of the day. The banter and teasings were the same as always— flung into every direction, and floating like a cloud over the head of the innocent Mitsunari.

It wasn't before long that a summons had arrived, demanding the boys' attendance at the nightly war council— an invitation that naturally extended to you, albeit more of a command to attend than a suggestion.

You hung back as the other warlords entered the room before you. You felt a little disgruntled, not by the fact that your birthday had been forgotten but rather over the fact that you had not seen Nobunaga for three days now. Up before dawn and back well after dusk— long after your dreams had stolen you away for the night. With a sigh, you plaster a smile onto your lips and open the door to be greeted by the mighty cheers and happy birthday wishes.

And in the centre of the festivities, only one stood out to you; only one could draw in your gaze like a moth to a flame. "Fireball, come", his low voice rumbled with an easy smirk on his face as he stretched out his hand towards you.

He didn't even have to ask you twice as you crossed the room in an instant and deposited yourself straight into his lap. His arms closed around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer and touched his lips to your forehead. You let go of a contented hum finally in the arms of the man you loved the most.

"I missed you, fireball," he spoke, red-eyes gleaming with affection. His expression soft and loving as he leaned down to nuzzle his nose with yours.

"I missed you too," came your reply, followed by a playful nibble of the tip of his nose, causing a roar of laughter to erupt from his chest. The two of you were in a world of your own, utterly unbothered by the banquet happening around you.

"I have something for you, my little bee," he spoke up once more, lips forming a wide smirk.

"Oh?" your eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Close your eyes," he commanded, calloused hands coming up to cup your cheeks. His carmine eyes gazed into yours, waiting for eyes to flutter shut— instead you stared back at him challenging, before his impatience got the better of him, moving his hands over your eyes.

Once the flutter of your lashes was felt, marking the telltale signs of eyes being sealed shut, he reached behind him to retrieve the birthday parcel. Carefully examining your face to ensure the surprise would go unseen for a few moments more, he gently placed it down on your lap.

"Can I open now?" you asked with an impatient excitement.

"Yes, open," he wore a satisfied smirk, chin tilted in the air with confidence. You wasted no time as you quickly opened the parcel, and when you saw the contents inside your breath caught in your throat. You lifted the matching black kimono to spot the delicate detailing of tiny bees between the spider lilies. It was then that you noticed, he, too, was wearing a new Hoari, littered with matching bees. Your heart melted at the sight.

The silence from you made him fidget, head tilting to the side and smug smile faltering for a brief moment as he spoke with a tinge of uncertainty, "I trust this gift pleases you."

Despite the cold rumours surrounding the man, you knew better. You knew the real Nobunaga, the boyish and at times childishly silly man he was.

A bright and brilliant grin made its way to your face as you threw your arms around his neck in a crushing embrace— relief flooded his chest— nose nuzzling into the crux of his throat before scattering kisses and playful nibbles to his sensitive neck, jaw until finally lips. He flinched at the sensation, and your grin widened, knowing precisely what you had done.

"I see my fireball is as bold as ever to launch such a stealthy attack," his hands roving over the curves of your body to find the places you were most ticklish, to return the attack in kind. It wasn't long before a flurry of laughter erupted from you." Nobee-naga! Stop!" came the breathless laughs.

He ceased his attack and raised a brow at the new nickname given, "No-bee-na-ga", he repeated slowly.

"Yes, Nobeenaga!" you exclaimed once more, exuding confidence, "the cutest bee of all," you concluded, throwing your arms around him and lacing your hands behind his neck.

He smirked, a dusting of pink rising to his cheeks at the new nickname given. "You're the cutie," he repeated the endearment learned a few days prior. Before you could continue your playful banter, he caught your lips in a final kiss before standing up with you in his arms.

"Now, I believe I promised to spend the evening with my little bee," his husky voice whispered in your ears, sending shivers down your spine as he carried you to your shared room to celebrate the remainder of your birthday to the fullest.

#ikesen nobunaga #oda nobunaga #nobunaga oda #nobunaga x reader #ikemen sengoku nobunaga #nobunaga fic #Kameees birthday!#whoooooop #whooooop!#Birthday week continues!

64 notes · View notes

padfootagain · 4 years ago

Text

Infuriating

Here we go for a new fic for my 4.7k event!! Answering the request made by @inkhearthes for Sirius using the following prompt (they are written in italics in the fic):

9. "Does it hurt?"

"Not that... OUCH!"

10. "I can't believe you got punched in the face."

"For you. I got punched in the face for you."

11. "It's dark, and it's late, and I'm cold and I'm drenched with this freaking rain and yet all I can think about is that I love you."

34. "Cuddles, cuddles, cuddles!"

It's fluffy. A tiny bit angsty, maybe? I'm not sure, I think it's pretty fluffy.

Anyway, I hope you like it!!

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Word Count : 3683

Of course, you had to be duelling against Sirius fucking Black.

Of course, out of all the students in seventh year with you, you had to be paired with the one you hated the most.

You found him absolutely infuriating. 1000% infuriating. The most annoying person on the surface of the Earth, you reckoned.

You had been facing him for five seconds and you were already so mad at his stupid long dark hair, and his bloody cute chin, and his stormy grey eyes that didn't seem to have an end, and those stupid lips you dreamt about kissing…

Argh! Really, he was insufferable!

And why did he even pick you? You knew the reason, of course, it was just to allow his idiotic best friend to try and seduce your idiotic best friend… as if Lily wasn't already just as head over heels for James than he was for her…

And so, you found yourself paired with Sirius fucking Black, of all people, and you wanted to slap this smirk of his away, or maybe kiss it, you weren't 100% sure yet.

Because, of course, you got along perfectly well with Sirius. You were both playful and full of banter, and he was charming despite being an idiot sometimes, and he was smart too, and talented, and very very sweet, and a little dangerous maybe and…

… and you had a crush on him.

Huge, HUGE crush on him, and that was bad. Very bad. Terrible. Especially because the crush you had wasn't really a crush and more like love.

So, you were mad at him. So mad at him for making you fall for him when you never even intended to befriend him in the first place, let alone love him. And yet, there you were. All this because he was just an absolute sweetheart with a stupid sense of humour and a heart of gold despite all the pain he had been through during his childhood, and had cheekbones to die for.

Of course, how could you resist him?

So now, there you were, about to duel you friend, aka crush, aka potential love of your life, and he was acting so smug about it you heaved a defeated sigh.

Both of you knew that you were better at duelling than he was, and you would soon kick his pretty arse, but you almost felt bad for it. You had your bloody, irrational heart to blame for it all.

Your teacher was gone for just a few minutes to fetch something - you were too focused on watching Sirius laugh at that moment to listen to your professor about what he was leaving the room for.

All you knew was that there was no teacher in the room, which quickly turned into some nasty argument between a few students behind you.

Why was your name even brought up in the first place, you had no idea. All you knew was that before you could understand what was really going on, one of the Ravenclaw boys you had rejected a couple of weeks before was shooting nasty comments at you.

But when the word slut rang through the room, the whole situation got out of hands.

"Hey, Trevor, why don't you shut it!" Sirius snapped before you could have time to reply on your own.

"Sorry, Black, What were you saying? Were you talking to me?"

"I told you to shut your stupid mouth! How dare you talk about her like that? Especially you, Trevor, considering that you have the brain of a mandrake: all you can do is whine all day long."

"Say that again to my face, just to see, Black!"

"Oh, but with pleasure…"

"Sirius!" you tried to hold him back as he strode across the room, meeting Trevor halfway, standing chest against chest and taunting each other to hit first.

James and Remus had taken a step towards the boys too, ready to defend their friend if need be.

You walked over the two of them and pulled at Sirius's sleeve.

"Sirius, please. He's not worth it."

"Yes, Black, listen to your girlfriend… oh wait, you ain't together. Yeah, I bet she rejected your sorry arse."

"Coming from you, who can only insult every girl who refuses a date, I find the blow particularly ironic."

"Don't worry though, I bet she's not a good enough shag anyway. Probably aren't worth the trouble…"

"Say one more word and I'll turn you into a toad," Sirius warned the Ravenclaw, grabbing him by the collar of his robes.

He was so blinded by his rage towards the boy that he didn't see anything else in the room.

How could he dare speak of you like this? You of all people? You, who were a literal ray of sunshine, and so incredibly talented, and bright, and kind, and smart, and hilarious, and he was head over heels for you. Sirius was ready to lose his mind with how much he loved you. Had for years. Had since that night in third year where he had caught you making a trip to the kitchens at midnight and had ended up sharing his snacks with you. Since that moment that you had laughed so much you had ended up chocking on your pudding. Since that night when, for the first time, you talked through the whole night. Since that early morning when you had cried when he had told you about how his family treated him. Since the second you had wrapped your arms around him and promised him that if he needed help, he just had to call you, and you would protect him.

And now hearing some idiotic ghoul insult you was making his blood boil so much that he wasn't able to notice anything happening around him, including Trevor's fist flying across the air to land on his cheekbone and make a clear cut through his skin.

Sirius was hitting the floor before he could understand what had happened, and his body had barely hit the ground that you and the rest of the Marauders were pointing your wands towards the Ravenclaw and his friends.

You were interrupted by the sound of footsteps of your professor coming back, though.

"Y/N, get Sirius to the hospital wing," James instructed, but his friend was already back on his feet, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, Prongs. 'S just a scratch."

"You're bleeding," you argued, but he shot you a grin as an answer.

"You should still go," Remus jumped in. "Or we might all end up in detention."

You grabbed Sirius's hand.

"Come on, you idiot."

"Hey!"

But you ignored his protest and dragged him into the corridor and away from the class, heading for the Hospital Wing.

"Now, I'm not sure that if we truly want to avoid detention, going straight to Mrs. Pomfrey would be the cleverest idea," Sirius argued. "Besides, it's nothing."

You had to agree with him on that, going to Mrs. Pomfrey would get both of you in detention. It was pretty obvious by the look of Sirius's cheekbone, bloody and slowly turning from pinkish to purple, that he had been punched.

"I think I can patch you up," you offered, taking a closer look at his bruising face.

"Perfect. Let's go to my dorm then. We won't be disturbed there."

You accepted with a nod, and followed him all the way to the Gryffindor tower and to his dormitory. And the more you walked across the castle, the angrier you were. Sirius was hurt, and it was because of you. You wanted to go back and turn Trevor into a lizard. You wanted to punch him too.

And what was Sirius thinking? Acting so recklessly?

The wound colouring his cheekbone wasn't serious, but it still needed to be cleaned, so he reached for the bandages and bottles of disinfectants that the boys kept for their monthly trip to the whomping willow, just in case.

It's only when he let himself plop onto his bed with a sigh that Sirius noticed that you were glaring at him.

"What's wrong, Y/N?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

And Merlin, did he annoy you… what was wrong? He was bleeding!

"I can't believe you got punched in the face." You shook your head.

"For you. I got punched in the face for you," Sirius corrected you, waving his finger at you pointedly, a smug smile on his face. "I reckon that you owe me one!"

"Why by Agrippa's name would you do that?" you asked, ignoring his stupid remark.

Because you weren't in the mood for his stupid charm, and his insufferable smug smiles, and his silly humour, and the way he always hid his pain behind wits. You weren't in the mood for any of that, you weren't in the mood for the way he always tried to look tougher than he was, because for so long no one had showed him any other way to deal with his emotions, except by bottling them all up in his chest. And you were tired of his tough act, and all you wanted to do now was shake some sense into his head and make him realize that someone had just hit him, and for what?! Because Trevor had insulted you?! That was most definitely not enough of a reason to get punched in the face.

But he looked at you with a curious frown, as if he didn't understand why you asked that question, as if the answer was obvious.

"He… He was making fun of you. He was insulting you. So, I defended you."

"I didn't ask you to."

"We're friends, you don't have to ask me to. I'll be there whenever you need me."

"Who says I needed you back there?"

He didn't answer, studying your expression with an unreadable look across his features.

Why were you mad?

You didn't say anything more, and reached for a clean clothe instead.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not that... OUCH!"

Sirius bucked away as you harshly pressed the piece of fabric against his wounded cheek.

"Now, don't be a baby," you mumbled under your breath, a deep frown adorning your brow.

"I'm not being a baby! You're the one being as delicate as a cave troll! Besides… what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What?"

"What is wrong with you? Why are you mad at me?" Sirius snapped, his voice staying low, but his tone as corrosive as acid. "I've just got punched in the face for you, and you're mad at me?!"

"Yes, I am mad at you, Sirius," you replied, throwing the clothe away in exasperation. "I am mad at you, because you got punched in the face! What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that you needed me…"

"I don't need you, Sirius!"

The words escaped before you could refrain them, even if they were a mere lie.

Of course, you needed him. That was the point, actually. You needed him safe, and happy, and laughing. You needed his stupid long dark hair, and his bloody cute chin, and his stormy grey eyes that didn't seem to have an end, and those stupid lips you dreamt about kissing…

And you needed the way he always hid his pain behind wits, and the way he made you laugh every morning when you drank your fist swing of tea on purpose just to make you choke on it and look at how mad it made you with that stupid smirk plastered on his lips. And you needed the way he always held the door for you, and how he didn't even ask before he would pick up the mountain of books you were taking from the library for your essays. And you needed the way he said your name in that deep voice of his, and this almost-shy smile he gave you every month when he walked back from Hogsmeade and offered you a bunch of sweets from Honeydukes. Always your favourites. Every single trip to Hogsmeade ever since you had been allowed there during your third year. You needed to hear his laugh ringing through the corridors, so loud that you were aware of his presence way before seeing him. You needed his stupid pranks and his even more idiotic acts of kindness. You needed his broken parts and all his scars if only to help him make them slowly get better. You needed him. You needed him so badly, it hurt sometimes, right there, in your chest, and there was no way, absolutely no way that you would let him endanger himself for you.

You needed him more than you needed your pride or reputation.

Yet, it was the opposite that your tongue formed on its tip as you spoke.

And the words kept on ringing through his mind like a broken record, and it was more painful at each echo of your voice.

I don't need you, Sirius.

Well, that was clear, at least. No need for Sirius to keep his hopes up anymore. He had kept on hoping for you to maybe, one day, feel for him something else than a platonic friendship, but clearly you weren't on the same page. Instead, you didn't need him.

And he hated you, then. He truly did. He hated you, because he wished he could have answered with a remark just as poisonous and painful as your words had been, but he couldn’t. Not that he didn't find the right words, no the problem was more insidious.

He couldn't say it.

He couldn’t, because then, he imagined the pain crossing your features, and he couldn't bring himself to be the reason behind any of your sorrow. He was used to it, really. Being in pain in silence. Taking the punch without saying a word. Swallowing the insults without fighting back. Years of survival skills had developed while he was a child. Now, he was excellent at biting his tongue and imagining what scenarios could come out as a result of his words. He had made progress over his years spent by James's side to loosen up that tendency of his to overthink everything. That, coupled with his natural will to rebel, and he was good now at fighting with both his curses and his remarks. But not to you. No, not against you. He didn't want to use this weapon with you. He knew way too well that words were often way more effective at hurting someone than fists. The wounds cut deeper, and the scars never healed. He knew for certain that he would never forget the look on your face as you said that you didn't need him.

And he couldn't summon the strength to reply with words that would be just as painful. He had just gotten punched in the face for you, after all. That ought to speak about the way he felt for you.

So, instead of replying, he walked out of the room, leaving you behind.

It took you two hours to find him.

It was raining so hard, and the late days of September had brought a cold wind that curved the veil of droplets as they fell from the heavy black clouds above your head. The sun had almost set by now, and judging by how you were hungry, you guessed it was time for supper in the great hall. Your feet were frozen because of the mud that covered your ankles and splashed across your calves.

You had checked the shores of the lake, and Hagrid's home, and the edge of the Forest, and the Quidditch Pitch. But he was sitting a few meters away from the Whomping Willow.

He didn't seem to mind that his robes were covered in mud and drenched by now. Actually, he didn't even react as you hurried towards him.

"Sirius!" you called as you approached him. "What are you doing? It's freezing, and it's raining, you'll catch your death!"

He slowly turned his attention towards you, his grey eyes fixed upon you, his dark locks clinging to his forehead, his neck, his temples, because of the heavy rain. With the sadness in his gaze, he looked like a sad and wet puppy.

"Let's go inside," you mumbled. "You'll catch a cold, or worse. For how long have you been here?"

He took the time to look carefully at you, finding that you were just as drenched as he was, shivering in the cold rain.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, ignoring your own question.

"I was looking for you, obviously," you answered. "Now, come on, let's get you dry…"

"You were looking for me?"

"Of course! You just… disappeared, I was worried sick about you!"

He merely blinked up at you.

You heaved a sigh, swallowing your pride with the lump in your throat. You had to apologize for lying to him, and acting like an idiot, when he had simply tried to help.

You were such an idiot, sometimes…

"Look, Sirius… I'm sorry about what I said in the dorm. I didn't mean it. Please, let's go back inside."

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you," he answered with a soft smile.

"What?"

"I'm not mad. You're right, you don't need me. I was acting as if you did, but I was wrong. I guess… I thought we were closer friends than you mean for us to be. It's okay. I understand."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm used to it, really. It's fine. Sometimes, I start needing people more than they need me. It's alright, I get it."

"No, no… No, Sirius, you don't get it. I was just mad because you got punched in the face, and I was worried about you, and I said utter nonsense…"

"No need to feel bad about all this. It's okay."

"It's not okay! It's not okay, because it wasn't true!"

"Y/N…"

"It's not okay at all, how can you say that it's okay?!" you asked, starting to raise your voice. "I hurt you! And I was mean! And I shouldn't have said that, because it's not true at all! So be mad at me!"

"I… I don't want to be mad at you…"

"I'm sorry!"

"I forgive you, alright… are you, are you crying?"

It's only then that you noticed that hot tears were mingling with the cold rain across your cheeks.

"I'm so sorry. I never want to make you feel like that. I'm so sorry," you whimpered.

"It's… it's alright."

"I was lying. It's not true. Please, don't say that we're not friends anymore. I do need you. I do need you, Sirius. And I hate it! I hate it, but I need you! And it's… It's dark, and it's late, and I'm cold and I'm drenched with this freaking rain and yet all I can think about is that I love you."

You didn't seem to notice your confession as it passed your lips, and for a moment, Sirius wondered if he had heard you right. But there was no mistake, you… you had said it.

You loved him?!

Slowly, he stood up, while you kept on crying.

"I was just mad at you because… because you mean so much to me, and I… I hate to see you hurting. I hate to see you in pain. And I hate it… I hate it when people are mean to you. I'm so sorry. I was so worried about you. I'm…"

But you were shushed by Sirius's arms wrapping around you, encaging you all of a sudden. You needed a few seconds for your brain to register what was actually happening. But it was his arms pressed against your back, and it was his chest against yours, and it was his cheek against yours.

"It's alright," he spoke in a soft, warm voice. "I'm not mad. I forgive you."

Finally, you wrapped your arms around his frame too, your tears finally stopping.

"Thank you, for defending me," you eventually whispered in his ear, your warm breath such a burning contrast with the cold air against his skin, making him tremble in the best way.

"Anytime. We should go back inside though, you're frozen."

"Yeah, I'm really cold."

"You know what… I think we could cuddle. Cuddles, cuddles, cuddles!" he mumbled, making you sway from one foot to the other, and you couldn’t refrain a laugh at his silly behaviour.

"I'd like that," you nodded. "With blankets."

He hummed in agreement.

"But… are we gonna discuss the fact that you've just told me you love me?"

Your heart stopped altogether.

"Did I?" you asked, although you knew perfectly well that he was right.

What had passed through your brain to make you say something like that?

"Yeah, you did."

You looked for the right words to apologize, but Sirius was faster than you to speak again.

"So… What about we go to Hogsmeade together next month?"

You pulled away just enough to be able to look at him.

"Are you… Are you asking me on a date?" you asked.

"Maybe…"

"Maybe?"

"Depends on… whether you'll say yes or no."

"What would we do then, if it's a date?"

"I have a few ideas. Know about a couple of places we could visit. I know you'll like them."

"Already? You already know what we're gonna do? Even if you've literally just asked?"

"Maybe… just maybe… I've been imagining that for a while," he admitted, blushing.

You couldn't help the grin that formed on your lips.

"Really?"

"Yeah… really… but… huh… you have to give me an answer before I get my hopes too high…"

But your grin didn't waver. And when you stared at his eyes, he could read your answer already, without needing you to speak the words.

Still, it was a nice thing to hear, and a nice thing to say, so you answered out loud anyway.

Merlin, Sirius was infuriating. And you loved him so much.

"Yeah, I'd like to go on a date with you, Sirius Black."

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

Tag list : @geeksareunique @giggleberts @justanothermaraudersblog @sad-orange-thoughts @aylinnmaslow @benbarnes-world @ladyblablabla @drinix @joelynnp @mxrihollxnd @mikeselevenn @knowledgeisthebomb @madamrogers @newtstarmander @wangmangagavroche @inkhearthes

@ponycake27 @horsesreign @xinyourdreamsx @jbluevelvet @notkeppeki @daynigt-dreamer-stuff @fudgeflyss @stuckupstucky @snek-shit @suchatinyinfinity @i-padfootblack-things @buckybsarmy @heyohheyitsgabi@jigsawlover10 @emyyjemyy @addictedtofictionalcharacters @staringmoony

315 notes · View notes

extramemberkpop · 4 years ago

Text

MTL Popular Ships with the Members

(Plus a favorite moment) I’ll do a separate post about the nicknames.

Yoongi - Kigi: The fans love how protective Yoongi is of Kira, plus knowing that he is completely soft for her makes the fans incredibly happy. They know that Yoongi would do anything for Kira and seeing the two interact makes fans' hearts grow warm.

Numerous fans were waiting in the airport to try and get a glimpse of BTS. Once the group was spotted the fans became rowdy, some even trying to push their way towards the group. Seeing Kira jump slightly from the fans closing in around them, Yoongi instantly wrapped an arm around Kira’s shoulder’s and tucked her into his side. Kira looked up at Yoongi and whispered a quiet “thank you”, only for him to give her a quick kiss on the forehead in reply.

Taehyung - Taera: The fans adore how smiley and goofy the two get around each other. Watching the two try to make each other laugh (which really isn’t difficult) and then get scolded by Namjoon or Jin always makes fans smile.

Being on the Ellen show for the first time, Kira knew that it was between her and Namjoon to translate for the group. This made Kira very focused on her task and stayed pretty serious throughout the interview. Taehyung had other ideas though. During the interview he kept trying to get her attention when Ellen and Namjoon weren’t paying attention. Finally with one silly face after another, Kira couldn’t hold in her giggles anymore. She quickly threw both of her hands over her mouth and looked away from Taehyung. But Taehyung was satisfied with making her laugh and had a huge smile on his face through the rest of the interview.

Jimin - Jira: Fans love how these two are almost always next to each other and touching in some way. Though this isn’t the most popular overall ship it is the most popular ship in the sense that fans ship them romantically.

Jimin was in the middle of a solo Vlive answering fan questions when there was a soft knock at his door. He turned his head as Kira opened the door and stuck her head through. “Squish?” She asked. “Yes, jagi?” He replied, waiting for her to continue. “Could we cuddle? You can still stay on live.” A bright smile instantly made his way onto Jimin’s face, “Of course! Come here.” He pushed his seat back and opened his arms, welcoming Kira into his embrace. A smile made her way onto her face as she skipped over. She crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his waist and shoving her face into his neck.

Jungkook - Kirook: The two being so close in age is probably the main reason that these two are shipped together pretty often. These two are also so sweet together though which makes the fans very happy.

Kira and Jungkook were casually playing with a basketball, though Kira was quickly becoming frustrated because Jungkook was doing a lot better than her. “It’s not fair! You’re too tall.” Kira exclaimed with a pout. Jungkook smiled, “You’re just too short, Ra.” This made Kira’s pout grow, if that were even possible. Jungkook only laughed in response walking up to her and turning her around so that she faced away from him. Kira opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing but shut it when he lifted her by the waist, allowing her to easily make the next basket. Kira’s frown turned into a huge smile as he gently placed her back on the ground. “Thanks, Kookie!” “Anytime.” He replied as he ruffled her hair.

Namjoon - Namra: Fans love seeing these two nerd out together. Between talking about books and random facts that they learned, they always have something interesting to talk about. Everyone thinks it’s sweet how these two are constantly learning something new because of the other.

Kira bounced up and down, gripping Namjoon’s hand tightly as she pulled him along. Namjoon chuckled as he watched her, “Calm down, Belle. Hogwarts isn’t going anywhere.” “I know, but I’m so excited. There’s so much for us to do! I need to get a wand and my robes. Plus we need to drink butterbeer and -” Her sentence gets cut off with a loud squeal as her eyes land on Hogwarts castle. “There it is Joon! It’s so beautiful!” Namjoon let out another loud laugh but before he got the chance to reply, Kira threw her arms around his neck pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you so much for taking me here!” “I’ll do anything to get you to smile like this, Belle.”

J-Hope - Hora: Fans always think it’s really cute how playful this pair is. Called the “sunshine pair” by some because their smiles can light up any room. Though it isn’t the most popular ship fans are constantly looking forward to any interactions the pair may have.

The group was at Buzzfeed answering fan questions and playing with puppies. Namjoon and Kira took turns reading the questions, though Namjoon definitely ended up reading more due to Kira being distracted by the dogs. One of the questions Kira did read though was “Who gives the best hugs?” Which caused Hobi to immediately reach over and pull her into a side hug screaming, “Minha vida!” The others quickly nodding their heads in agreements. Not knowing how to respond, Kira hid her blushing face by raising one of the puppies to block her.

Jin - Jinra: Though this may be the least popular ship out of the group, don’t let the placement fool you. So many of the fans adore their interactions because they get to see how sweet and motherly Jin really can be.

Kira usually picks up on choreography pretty fast considering that she’s been dancing since she was three. But for whatever reason she kept messing up one part of the DNA routine. She told the boys that she was going to stay behind and work on the part for a little longer. Both Hobi and Jimin asked if she wanted them to stay behind to help, though she politely declined saying she wanted to work by herself for a while. Again and again Kira tried but only got more annoyed as time went on and she still wasn’t getting the choreography right. Angry at herself and unaware of Jin entering the room with food she threw her phone across the room and slid down the mirrors with her head in her hands. “Oh angel.” At the sound of Jin’s voice, Kira whips her head up. The older boy quickly makes his way over to her as she fights to hold back her tears. “I can’t do it Jinnie.” She mumbles as Jin cradles her in his arms. “Yes, you can. You’re being too hard on yourself. You need a break. I brought food and after you’re done eating we’re going back home so you can sleep.” “I need to practice more.” Kira tries to argue. Jin instantly glares, “No.” He says sternly. “You’re coming home with me and taking a nice warm shower and then bed. Practicing more right now is just going to get you more worked up. You’ll get the dance down tomorrow. You always do.” Kira bite her lips but nods, knowing he’s right. She leans in to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek then turns to her food, just realizing how hungry she is.

#bts imagines #bts #bts reactions #bts fanfic #bts eighth member #bts extra member

64 notes · View notes

gainaxvel3o · 4 years ago

Text

A Miraculous Tale of Rubybug and Cat Blake: Chapter 1

First / Next

Once Upon a Time, Part 1: Along Came a Ladybug!

Once upon a time, the Earth was a barren wasteland. Creatures known as the Grimm dominated, leaving mankind at the brink of destruction at any given moment. All hope seemed lost until a band of humans gathered together to call upon the gods for aid. Their prayers were answered, as the Kwamis descended from the heavens above to aid humans in their time of need.

Because they could not exist in the physical world without a tether, jewels were forged to tie the Kwamis to the humans, bestowing extraordinary powers on whoever wielded them. These were... the Miraculous. The humans overcame the Grimm, and throughout history, heroes have used these magic items for the good of mankind.

Of all the Miraculous, two of them were more powerful than the others: the earrings of the Ladybug, which provide the unlimited power of luck and creation, and the ring of the Black Cat, which grants the power of misfortune and destruction. According to legend, whoever controls both these jewels at the same time will be able to achieve absolute power that will grant forth whatever their hearts desire.

…

"I see."

An older woman played around with the brooch in her hand, the fingers on her other hand tapping on her desk. Her lips curved into a cruel smile, one that promised pain towards those who crossed her.

"Then I want that absolute power, Nooroo." She said. "I must have the Miraculous."

_______________________________________________________________________

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

A tall girl crushed her sibling in a tight bear hug. The elder had blond hair, lilac eyes, a brown jacket, a yellow tank shity underneath and short pants; the younger had grey eyes, black hair with tips were colored red, a white shirt combined with a red hoodie. The bus had taken them far from their home in Patch into Vale, the big city. They were on their way to Beacon University, a college known for producing some of the best in the world. Only the most determined would survive even a year in this school.

"Please… stooooop." Ruby said while gasping for air. "You're embarrassing me in front of everyone!"

Yang chuckled, letting go of her sister. "But I'm so proud of you!

"Really sis," Ruby said low, "it was nothing."

"What do you mean? It was incredible!" Yang said bewildered. "Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees."

"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees' okay?" Ruby said. "I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees. I wanna get through this year without too much trouble."

Yang looked at her a touch sad. "I know things were rough at Signal. Mom, Dad and I were honestly grateful that you got the opportunity because of how miserable you were. But things will be different here! Aren't you excited?

"Of course I'm excited... I just... " Ruby sighed. "I got moved ahead two years. I went from the beginning of high school to college. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."

"But you are special, Ruby." Yang pulled her sister into a one-armed hug, gently squeezing her. "Trust me, by the end of the year you're gonna be so happy."

Unknown to the sisters, a blond boy trembled with his hands on his stomach. He hunched over on Yang's foot and vomited all over her.

"What the HELL?!"

"Oh, Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!"

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!"

"Get-Get away! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!"

_______________________________________________________________________

A while later, the two got off the bus to stare at their future.

Beacon University was a castle in the middle of the city. The first thing one notices is the tower in the middle of the structure, with smaller building surrounding it on all sides, a long entrance to the University welcoming all.

The sisters carried their luggage with them as they looked at the sight of their future with awe.

"Wooow…"

"The pictures have nothing on this, Rubes!" Yang said. "Rubes?"

"Ohmygosh, sis! Everybody looks so pretty!" Ruby said while staring at students walking pass. "I see people frills and… oh a goth too!"

Ruby tried to run off but Yang pulled her by the hood. "Ow! Ooww!"

"Easy there, little sister." Yang said. "We only just got here and you're gushing about everyone's clothes!"

"Sorry it's just… fashion is an extension of ourselves!" Ruby said gushing. "Clothes represent us you know! Oh, they're so cool!"

Yang rolled her eyes, but completely understood. Ever since she was a kid Ruby had been passionate about her dreams.

"Well, I'm gonna do some explorin'! 'Kay, see ya, bye!"

She ran off, leaving Ruby by herself flailing.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Ruby yelled out "Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?"

Ruby looked around the area. All she could see were students passing by, not even noticing her. She sighed.

"I don't know what I'm doing…"

So she decided to just move on ahead. If Ruby remembered correctly there was supposed to be a meeting at the auditorium later so maybe she should just find a way there? Yeah that seemed right. Makes sense. All she has to do is just keep walking and walking, maybe do a skip-

Ruby bumped into a luggage cart, knocking it down and sending the cases to the floor. Someone is standing over her.

"What do you THINK you're doing?!"

Ruby looked up. She saw a young girl, white hair and blue eyes, coldly staring at her. Ruby got up on her hands. "Uh, sorry!"

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

"I'm so sorry really I was just…" Ruby looked at the cases. "Huh? Those are-"

"Give me that!" The girl snatched the cases from Ruby. "These are Schnee brand high quality dresses! Very expensive material if I say so myself."

"Wait," Ruby pointed at the girl. "Then you must be-!"

"Does your brain-dead skull at last recognize me?" The girl placed a hand to herself, giving a proud smirk. "Everyone far and wide knows the name of Weiss Schnee! You've probably seen me across billboards, magazines and live contests, winner of several Model of the Year awards! I have studied and trained my whole life to enter this university but you… you seem a bit too young to be here."

Ruby scratched the back of her head. "Well, I-I..."

"This isn't your ordinary school." Weiss crossed her arms while scowling. "It's not just sunshines and rainbows in a and of make believe! We're here to climb to the top, so... watch where you're going!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" Ruby had had just about enough of her. She gripped her luggage to storm off.

"It's heiress, actually."

Upon hearing that, Ruby and Weiss looked to the side. Another girl, tanned skin and the most golden eyes Ruby had ever seen, stood over the two. She had a bow on her head, a book in hand and her bag in the other. She looked profoundly annoyed.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Fashion Company, one of the largest fashion brands in the world."

Weiss smiled smugly. "Finally! Some recognition!"

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

Ruby chuckled at the sight of Weiss immediately dropping her smug demeanor and getting angry. "Wha- How dare- The nerve of... Ugh!"

She placed the last case into the luggage cart before walking off in a huff.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby turned around. "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day... So, what's..."

The stranger wasn't there. Ruby moved to see she had been walking off as well.

Ruby sighed. "Welcome to Beacon…"

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Ruby turned to see the blond guy from the bus giving her a sympathetic look.

"I'm having a pretty bad day too." He raised a hand up. "How about we go to the auditorium together? 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.' like my mom says."

'Oh shoot, he wants to be friends!' Ruby thought. 'Okay you're not screwing this up Ruby, don't screw this up don't screw this up YOU GOT THIS!'

"Ruby." She took his hand and shook it. "You're the vomit boy from the bus!"

_______________________________________________________________________

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!"

Ruby and her new friend walked down the indoors of Beacon. They passed through a window that gave them a view of the garden currently being taken care of by helpers.

"Look, I'm sorry!" Ruby said. "Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"How about we don't do that then?" Vomit boy said. "The name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!"

Ruby gave him a skeptical look. "Do they?"

"They will!" He looked to the sides nervously. "Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind. Are you majoring in anything?"

The shorter girl giggled. "I am! I plan on becoming a fashion designer. Lemme show you!"

She placed her bag down on the floor. Opening it up, she pulled out a notebook. It read on the spine Volume 1. Ruby had labeled it that after realizing one notebook wouldn't be enough for her creative mind. She's had several notebooks over the years, seven of which she brought with her.

"I've had all these designs and ideas for a long time!" Ruby said. "Here here take a look!"

Jaune took the notebook and started flipping through it. He didn't expect much out of the notebook except some neat doodles. The more he saw, the more his eyes widened.

"My God, these are so complex! It's incredible!" Jaune said, amazed. "You made all these yourself?"

"Yup, sure did!" Ruby smiled. "Been practicing since I was little. I love fashion, it's like a reflection of who we are and what we decide to put out into the world. I wanna bring out the best in everyone. Sorry, that sounds silly right?"

Jaune laughed. "You kidding? That's pretty cool. It's pretty amazing you had this all figured out as a kid. I still haven't figured out what I want. I don't even have a major yet."

"Well Jaune," Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find your way. My mom says that college is a realm of possibilities and we're starting so you'll have all the time in the world to figure it out."

Something sparked in Jaune's eye that Ruby didn't understand. "Thanks Ruby, I really needed that."

"Hmhm." Ruby looked around and stopped. "Hey, where are we going?"

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you." Jaune's eyes widen in fear. "Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark? Is, uh... Is that a 'no'?"

Ruby clutched her head in despair. "OH NO WE'RE GONNA BE LAAATTEEEEEE!"

She grabbed Jaune's arm and they took off as fast as they could.

"Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease PLEASE be close!"

"H-hey I almost dropped my-"

The two saw Yang hanging right outside the door.

"Ruby! Over here!" Yang waved at the two. "Wait why are you hanging out with Vomit Boy?"

"Oh Yang thank God!" Ruby breathed in and out, stopping to catch her breath. "So this is Jaune, he's a friend- I think we're friends- are we friends Jaune? Anyway we're not too late are we?"

"Nah you made it a bit early actually." Yang said. "I guess you can come if you want, eh, Jaune is it?"

If Ruby looked no worse for wear, Jaune was clearly exhausted. He barely let out breaths before he took notice of Yang.

"Yup, that's my name! Jaune Arc," Jaune said. "Rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!"

Yang rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they do. Let's sit down."

The three went up a few steps and took seats. Jaune sat next to Yang, who sat next to Ruby. The trio noticed that the auditorium was large, potentially fitting over hundreds of students in one place. In the center stood a stage. The teachers sat next to each other while in front of them was the podium. The headmaster was supposed to make a speech, but she hasn't made an appearance yet.

"How's your first day going, little sister?" Yang asked.

"You mean since you ditched me and I made a joke out of myself?"

"Yikes! Meltdown already?"

"No, it's just that earlier after you left I started walking but then I tripped over a crabby girl's luggage, only this crabby girl was actually WEISS SCHNEE the Model of the Year winner and then she yelled at me, and I felt really, really bad, but when I said sorry she just kept yelling at me and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me so I was gonna say something but then this really cool and pretty girl shows up an-!

"You!"

Ruby jumped in fear, almost fleeing into her sister's arms. "Oh no it's her!"

Weiss scowled at the two of them. "You're lucky I decided not to have my team of lawyers come down on your throat and sue your sorry butt into oblivion!"

Yang whistled. "Wow she really is crabby."

"Look Weiss, it was an accident I swear!” Ruby moved away from her sister and clasped her hands together. "I promise I won't get in your way okay?"

Weiss said nothing. "As long as you stop talking to me I don't care."

"Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot." Yang said. "Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?

"Yeah! Great idea, sis!" Ruby said. She turned to Weiss. "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!

Weiss turned to her, enthusiastic. "Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and scraggly over there!"

"I'm cute?" Jaune asked, hopeful.

"Wow, really? I mean I don't talk much about boys but-"

"No." Weiss said. She turned back to the stage. "The headmistress is here, so quiet yourself."

All of the students' attention are drawn to the stage. A blond woman wearing a white dress that with violet shadings here and there walked up to the podium. She adjusted the microphone.

"Testing testing… ahem, hello everyone. I am Headmistress Salem, pleasure to meet you all. Now I'm sure you're all eager to get to your dorms and unpack so I'll try to keep this brief. Pinky promise!"

Some of the students laughed which made Salem chuckle.

"Haha, thanks for that. Now, you have all traveled far today. You came in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you are done you plan to dedicate your life to whatever you decide to pursuit. Each of you possess knowledge and passion that have gotten you this far, and the potential to do more. But those are only the first steps. Make no mistake, Beacon will not go easy on any of you. The toughest challenges lie ahead. You may start out rough, stumble around in the middle stretch, but I have the highest confidence that by the end you will come out of this university having improved tremendously and the ability to go beyond expectations. Everyone… Welcome!"

Salem waved everyone off.

"Alright now take the cookies from the tray and uh… eat! Phew, that was easy."

The students dispersed. Ruby took note of one teacher- Glynda Goodwitch she recognized- going up to Salem and arguing with her on something, but Salem continued smiling at her.

"She seems nice." Yang said. "Reminds me of a kindergarten teacher."

"That's how she is." Ruby responded. "She's a nice person, Yang."

Yang corked an eyebrow. "Oh you know her?"

"Yeah, she was the one who invited me to Beacon in the first place."

Ruby and Yang got their ID Cards from a nearby table and parted off their dorms.

Off to the side, Jaune was trying to talk to Weiss.

"I'm a natural blond, you know!" Jaune wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm totally cute enough!"

Weiss placed a hand to her face in exasperation. "Please just go away."

With that she stormed off, never to be seen again. Jaune raised a hand towards her.

"Hey, wait!" Jaune yelled out. However, he knew a lost cause when he saw it. He sighed. "Ah, great. And Ruby's gone too. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?!"

He walked off, unaware of a red haired woman staring at him with hands on her hips. Her green eyes narrow in mischievous intent.

_______________________________________________________________________

Ruby let out a sigh as she stood in front of her dorm.

'The first day of the rest of my life.' Ruby thought. 'Okay here we go…'

She swiped the ID card through the handle, and opened the door.

It was a hallway that connected to two rooms. Ruby was thankful that at least she'd have her own room to hang around in. She wasn't sure if she could deal with three roommates that'd snore or bring people over or play loud music or-

"Well let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Ruby started unpacking her bag. "I'll just set everything up and get supplies afterwards. Maybe even get some cookies! Yummy."

As she placed her notebooks on the table, Ruby thought back to when she was first accepted into Beacon.

_______________________________________________________________________

"You wanted to see me ma'am?"

Ruby closed the door behind her, sitting down to face the one who called her.

"Ruby Rose. Age 16. Class President." Salem said, flipping through the papers. "You've been involved in several school projects designing banners, arranging class activities, setting up parties, etc. By all accounts, you are a remarkable girl."

"Um… thank you." Ruby said, blushing at the kind words.

"At ease, Ruby, you are not being judged here." Salem waved her off. "Instead, I am extending you an… opportunity."

Ruby blinked. "What do you mean?"

Salem placed the papers on the desk, and stared Ruby directly in the eyes.

"Tell me, Ruby… what is it that you want out of life?"

The question threw Ruby off. She questioned whether this was some sort of test or not. If she said something wrong would she be thrown out of a window? Wait no that's murder. Thrown out of Signal? Yeah that made more sense.

"I… I want to become a fashion designer." Ruby said finally. "I want to make dresses and bring smiles to people."

This seemed to please Salem. She smiled at the girl.

"Very well. My name is Salem. I'd like to extend to you an invitation to Beacon University. I hope you survive the experience!"

_______________________________________________________________________

"She gave me a chance… to start over." Ruby said. "I won't let her down."

She proudly surveyed her room. Posters of rock bands and fashion models, neatly stacked books, a prepared bed and a fantastic work bench for her creativity to flow. Neat and tidy aren't how she usually operates, but when you're trying to come up with ideas for fashion designs it's best to keep things simple in case one day she gets an idea and just has to jot it down.

"Looks like everything's out! Nothing could possibly ruin this."

The door opened, and Ruby felt a chill down her spine.

She turned around to find Weiss Schnee at the doorstep, carrying the stacks of luggage she had knocked over before. The two regarded each other, neither aware of how long they stood there, before Weiss grabbed the door handle.

"No. I am not going to room with you." Weiss simply stated. "I will correct this mistake with the headmaster."

With that she slammed the door shut.

"Figures," Ruby said, placing the hood from her jacket over her head. "Should have kept my mouth shut."

_______________________________________________________________________

The store where they kept the school supplies was luckily only a few blocks away.

Having spent her whole life in Patch, Ruby could only stare in awe of the city she was in. Lots of places to be, stores to shop and a lot of people up and excited. The falling sun contrasted with the lights slowly popping up everywhere. If nothing else, Ruby knew she was gonna like it here.

Opening the door to the shop, Ruby waved hi at the person in the cash register, an old man who smiled and waved back at her. Luckily there weren't too many people in the store, otherwise Ruby would have had to claw and fight her way around.

"Okay the things I need should be…"

Ruby found them on Aisle 3.

"A ruler for composition, I already have pens and pencils to write notes down but could use more, several notebooks for the end of the year, a pen drive haha of course I need one of those what if there's a project to do!"

At this moment, Ruby forgot that she had a tendency to bite off more than she could chew. In that instance, she forgot that her small noodle arms are not enough to hold a huge stack all together.

"Whoaaaah!" Ruby steadied herself carefully. "Okay okay calm down it's gonna be fine. You can take this to the register and no one's gonna get hurt. Except me. Hopefully not me. I don't wanna pay for breaking anything."

As she almost stumbled over to the register, Ruby saw a tall ginger man in front of the old man at the register. The old man smiled.

"Why hey there sonny what can I do for you?" The old man said to the customer in front of him.

"Well you see, um," the ginger man held a gun in his hand. "I kind of need help with getting all of the money inside this bag. if it's not something that bothers you that is."

"Ah… ah, please don't hurt anyone." The old man sweated. He opened up the "Here, take it! Please leave!"

"Pleasure doing business with you good sir." The ginger man smirked at him, opening up his own bag and pushing the money inside of it.

Ruby stared at all of that. She wanted to move to stop him but… he had a gun. He could shoot her or shoot the old man and then nothing could get done. It was too dangerous to try anything.

The ginger man fastened the tie on his bag before opening the door. For a second, he glanced at Ruby with a frightful glare.

"You didn't see anything kid. Call the cops and I'll find out who you are and kill you."

With those words, he slammed the door shut.

"Thank God he left," the old man said. "Everything seems to be getting worse and nobody's stopping it."

Ruby didn't say anything.

After spending money on her materials, she left the store and turned left.

The reality of the situation startled her. Not even her first day at Beacon and Ruby was at the scene of a crime? She could have died! This truly was the worst day of her life.

Still, Ruby couldn't help but beat herself up over letting that guy go. Even if logically she knew that jumping the guy could have resulted in someone getting shot, Ruby wished that there was something she could have done. It made her so upset.

'If only I had some kind of weapon… like a gun... or a scythe... hmmm a scythe gun… yeah, that would be so cool.'

Either a gun scythe or some clever plan to take that guy out. As it is, there was nothing she could have done. And that made her mad.

Ruby continued walking, before she spotted something from the corner of her eye.

'That old lady is… waitwaitwait WAIT!'

She immediately dropped her bags, rushing forward. An older woman was about to cross the street with a speeding car about to run her over. so her body moved without thinking. Ruby grabbed the older woman by the arms and pulled her away from her deadly fate as the car continued moving.

"Watch where you're going you hag!" yelled out the driver before he sped away from the scene.

"You could have stopped at any time! Jerk!" Ruby blew a raspberry, before turning to the old woman she had just saved.

"Such a rude man that one." said the elder, a short woman with tan skinned and sunglasses, hair tied in buns. "Not like you dearie. Thanks so much for helping me not be roadkill today."

Ruby laughed, "Ha ha, that's just what anyone would do! Just make sure to look both directions next time."

"I wish I could but," The old lady pulled her sunglasses away, revealing peculiar grey eyes. "I don't see the point, you know?"

"Oh… oh you're blind! Wait ohmygosh I'm so sorry I don't mean to be so insensitive!" Ruby flailed her arms around before a cane stabbed at her stomach.

"Now don't give me that. My name is Maria Calavera." The old woman smiled. "I must repay you for saving my life!"

"No no you don't have to it was nothing rea-" Ruby could not say more because she felt something reach her hands.

"This is a box I found the other day. An antique" Maria said. "I want you to keep it with you okay?"

Ruby, not wanting to embarrass herself any further, nodded fiercely. "Yes, yes! I'll cherish it forever and won't let it out of my sight!"

Maria laughed. "That's good! You're a very sweet girl. You deserve the world, I tells ya! Have a lovely evening!"

"Thanks you too!"

With that, Ruby placed the box inside of her bag and ran off.

_______________________________________________________________________

Weiss was thankfully not in the room by the time she arrived.

Based on the fact that her luggage remained in the hall unpacked, Ruby figured that she was still arguing with Salem over her room arrangements. She might show up at any time.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders, deciding she'll just have to get used to her. No way she was gonna throw her chance away because of a crabby girl she only knew for a few minutes.

"Time to see what's inside this box." Ruby said to no one in particular.

She moved the bags on top of the bed, while gazing at the box. The box itself was a peculiar thing. It was utterly black, but neatly crafted and cared for. The top of the box had a symbol that Ruby didn't recognize. It looked Chinese but she didn't want to make any racist assumptions there.

With no other recourse, she opened the box.

Inside were a pair of shiny red and black earrings. The while thing was red but covered in black spots that made it resembles those of a ladybug.

"They're so pretty!" Ruby grinned, wide eyed. "I better put these on!"

And so she did, placing them carefully on her ears.

"I can't wait to show these off to Yang! She's totally gonna freak when I walk around in these babies."

"I'm sure she will! You're so pretty!"

Ruby blinked. She wasn't sure her brain caught up with her ears.

Slowly, she turned around. A bright, glowing red creature with black spots floated next to her. The creature smiled at her.

"Hi!"

Ruby screamed.

"Oh my god what the heck are you please don't hurt me please don't hurt me what the fuck what the-"

"Ruby please calm down! I'm a friend!"

Ruby shook her head. "Nuh uh, I must be crazy. Yes, maybe that robber shot me and I'm dead!"

The creature raised an eyebrow. "If you were dead wouldn't you want to be somewhere that isn't school?"

This made the younger girl stop. She clutched her head as she sat on the floor. "Oh God you're right."

"Okaaaaay so maybe I handled this all wrong."

"NOOOOO really?" Ruby almost yelled, but she breathed in and out. "Sorry… sorry it's just um… who are you- WHAT are you?"

"Oh that I can answer!" The little creature did a dance, making breezy movements in the air. "I am Tikki, the Kwami of Creation and Good Luck! You received the Ladybug Miraculous, a pair of earrings worn across generations of powerful and extraordinary heroes! Since my master gave you the earrings, that must mean that you're meant to be a new hero!"

Ruby let out a tiny laugh. "Me? A hero? I mean, not that I don't like the idea but I'm not at all what you're looking for. You're looking for a brave and inspiring person and I'm… I'm just me. No one special."

"But you are special!" Tikki floated in front of Ruby's face, still smiling. "You dropped everything and rushed just in time to save my master's life. That proves that somewhere inside of you is a heart of a hero."

"Anyone could have done that," Ruby smiled sadly, "If I was brave I would have stopped that robber at the store."

"I don't think you could have done much in that situation Ruby," Tikki said. "You exercised caution and didn't act rashly in a way that got people hurt. You are very smart."

The two sat in silence for a bit. Tikki floated, unsure of what was going on Ruby's head as she kept changing expressions.

"Okay then… assuming this isn't a dream or something," Ruby finally said. "What can you do?"

"Oh!" Tikki smiled again. "There are so many things I can do, given I'm a Kwami of Creation. However, I only manage to exist in this plane of existence because my physical body is tied to the earrings you're using right now. If you say a certain phrase, I merge with you and grant you some of my abilities."

"So I become a magical girl?"

"Yes yes!"

"Wow… wait, you said you were a Kwami? What is that?"

"Kwamis… well, we're basically beings of thoughts and expressions. I am the Kwami of Creation, so I have the ability to create! There's others like me out there, with their own powers and things they represent. For example, my counterpart is Plagg, the Kwami of Destruction. Don't hang around him, he's a huge troublemaker!"

"I can imagine…" Ruby said. "Why do you need to be tied to an object?"

"Because we're beings of thought, we exist outside of the boundaries of linear time and space. We need to be tied to specific objects so we can appear in your reality."

"Wow, you guys must be so old!"

Tikki's eyes bulged in fear.

"Heh heh, yeah…" Tikki nervously chuckled. "uh, do you have any other questions?"

"Your master… she's the old lady from before? Maria right?"

"That's right! She's one of the many Guardians of the Miraculouses!"

"Right…" Ruby got up from the floor. "So I have to find her to return you."

"What?! But Ruby-"

"You're very nice and all Tikki but I just started University.' Ruby said. "I don't want to get into any trouble and there are so many options out here than just me. I'm gonna find Maria and return you to her!"

"Wait! How about this? Use me once. I'll tell you the words, you turn into the ladybug champion and try it out. If you decide it's not cut out for you, then you can return me. Is that okay?"

"I don't know…"

"Please Ruby. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're a good person who'd make a great hero. Just trust me."

Ruby placed fingers on her chin.

"Hmmm… okay. We'll give it a try." Ruby pointed at Tikki. "But if i don't like it then I'm returning you, no questions asked!"

"It's a done deal Ruby!"

Tikki descended to Ruby's eye level. The two of them shook hands, a partnership established. Just then the door opened.

"Oh no Weiss! It's not what you think you're totally fantasizing!"

"Impossible," Weiss said, "my fantasy would have you out of this dorm and outside of my life."

"Wait you don't see-"

Ruby looked up and found that Tikki had disappeared. She felt a pressure coming from her earrings, which answered where she went.

"Oh… eh, heheh!" Ruby chuckled forcibly. "So how did it go with the Headmaster? Are you gonna be moving out… hopefully…?

Weiss slammed the door shut.

"According to the Headmaster all the dorms are full and there will be no others open for months. Which means I'm going to be stuck with you."

"Oh… that's too bad-" Ruby course corrected. "i mean for you I imagine! Haha being stuck with silly old me!"

"Riiight…" Weiss rolled her eyes. "So I'm going to lay down some ground rules. No annoying babbling, don't talk to me, I am not your friend and will most never barge into my room for any reason. We will leave each other alone and that's it. Understood?"

"Hmhm, yeah yeah."

Ruby moved away from Weiss and onto the door.

"Where are you going?" Weiss asked.

"Well, uh," Ruby smiled. "I have some errands to run! Gotta see how Yang's doing and all haha! Bye!"

Quickly, she opened the door and shut it. Weiss only let out a sigh.

"That dolt is going to be the death of me."

_______________________________________________________________________

Alright, so she was going through with the crazy idea of being a magical girl.

Okay. Fine.

Before any of that though, Ruby decided to check up on Yang and see how she was doing. Yang texted the room number which apparently wasn't too far off from Ruby's. Down the hall, take a right.

Ruby went on her tip toes and gently knocked the door. It opened to reveal Yang, who had already taken a shower and switched to her pajamas.

"Ruby! Come in, I gotta show you my roommate's!"

She grabbed Ruby by the arm and dragged her over.

"Yaaaaaang!" Ruby whined. "Let go!"

Yang laughed. "Sorry it's just exciting to be here isn't it?"

"I guess," Ruby broke away from Yang's hold. "It's a bit weird not knowing anyone."

"What about Jaune? He's…" Yang scratched the back of her head, "Nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

"Hmmm… I guess that's true." If Ruby counted Tikki that would be two friends. If, since she wasn't sure how it was gonna go down. "Still, making an enemy out of Weiss Schnee is pretty bad. Worst part is, we're gonna be roommates Yang!"

"Really? Bummer that sucks," Yang said. "How about changing rooms?"

"She tried to but she said that the dorms are full and there won't be any available space for months. I have to live with her Yang!"

"Shit that's bad…" Yang said. "At least you're gonna get more than a few rods out of her! My roomie's been pretty quiet. I tried talking to her but she just wouldn't budge."

"That's probably because you infected your personality her." Ruby smirked. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"Ah ah! Watch it Ruby, or I'll give you a noogie!"

Ruby laughed. For a few moments, she looked at Yang, and considered possibilities. Ruby Rose was just a normal girl, but Yang was incredible. Big, caring and strong. She's nothing less than extraordinary in Ruby's eyes. Maybe she should give the earrings to her? Yeah, Vale could have a Ladybug hero who fit the job description, instead of silly little Ruby. Maybe.

Yang showed her to the beds. Ruby could tell the one on the right was Yang's thanks to the messy state it was it was in, with a couple of beer cans already thrown over the floor and sheets spread. The left side had books stacked to the side and not much else to it. Sitting on the bed was someone Ruby remembered.

"Hey… you're that girl…"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You know her?"

The girl looked up from the book. This girl had changed to her own pajamas, a black and violet yukata. Ruby could noticed one of her hands there was a black ring.

She regarded Ruby closely, her eyes narrowed. "You're that girl that knocked over Weiss' luggage?"

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me... um…" She blushed a little and smiled. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby. I wanna say thank you for saving me earlier today, I don't know if I could stand being yelled at by Weiss all day."

"Oh." The girl nodded. "Don't thank me. It's always a pleasure to rattle a Schnee."

She went back to reading her book, ignoring the two in front of her. Ruby wasn't sure what to do, and Yang's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Rolling her eyes, the elder sibling decided to step up. So she went in front of Ruby and cleared her throat."

"So... What's your name?"

The girl only gave an irritated sigh. "Blake."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I like your bow!"

"Thanks."

"It goes great with your... pajamas!"

"Right…"

"Nice night, don't you think?"

"Yes, it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!" Blake turned to the pages of her book. "That I will continue to read."

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang turned to Ruby, clearly annoyed. "Anything you wanna tell me about your day or-"

Ruby stepped in front of her sister. This time she pointed at the book Blake was reading.

"What's it about?"

Blake looked up. "Huh?"

"Your book. What's it about?"

"Well…" Blake trailed off, seemingly confused by Ruby. No matter. it was just a question. "It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

"That's really cool." Ruby said. "I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of princesses, monsters, and the heroes who saved the day… They've been a major inspiration in my life even after I decided I want to be a fashion designer."

Blake laughed a little. She was a touch amused by the girl in front of her. "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?

"Well, I'm hoping we all will." Ruby said. "As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"

"That's... very ambitious." For the first time Ruby could see Blake form a tiny smile. It disappeared quickly, turning into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"I know that… but it's not hopelessly bleak either." Ruby said, firmer than before. "We're all here for a reason, even if we don't know it yet. The world can be a better place so long as we're kind and help each other out. That's what really matters I think."

Immediately Ruby felt herself being dragged up into the air by a pair of strong arms.

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang yells while hugging her precious Ruby.

"Cut it out!" Ruby playfully punched Yang. "Yaaaaannng you're embarrassing me in front of her!"

For the first time, the sisters heard a soft laughter. Blake had placed the book down, staring at the two while having a slight blush. She raised a hand up.

"Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to have you."

Ruby reached out and shook it. "Pleasure to meet you too."

_______________________________________________________________________

The roof of the dorms. Everything changed in this one spot.

Carefully closing the door behind her, Ruby took a glance at Tikki, who did her cute little dance across ways from her. The girl sighed.

"How does it go again?" Ruby asked the tiny creature.

"What happens is," Tikki responds. "You say a command phrase, 'Spots on!", and I fuse with you to become the Ladybug Champion!"

"Right… how does the fusion work exactly?"

Tikki stopped her dance, waving her arms in front of Ruby.

"Well you're you. You're the one in charge. You just gain some new powers too. You have a yoyo that acts as your weapon. You can summon an object that will be instrumental in defeating an enemy. You can alter probability to suit your favor."

"Wait… a yoyo?" Ruby's eyes bulged in shock as she yelled. "Why a yoyo instead of something cool like… I dunno, a scythe gun? That would be way better."

"Well Ruby" Tikki explained. "The yoyo has many uses in the battlefield. With creativity and imagination, Ladybug wielders make do with what they have and use it to their best advantage. A scythe gun, in addition to a rule instated later that Miraculous users can't kill, is an impractical weapon for a crowded city where hundreds of people could be watching you and dangerous since a ricochet can kill someone if you're nor careful. No amount of luck will save every person if you use it."

Ruby backed away slightly. "Okay okay, that makes sense. Right…"

She brushed herself off, breathing in and out as she mentally prepared for the task ahead.

"Okay then… Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

Tikki disappeared from Ruby's line of sight, turning into a bright red beam of light that swirled around her body…

She felt was a nest of insects crawling up her feet.

Everywhere she felt cloth there were things that spread and made herself disappear. First came her shoes, to which her feet felt the ground upon her toes. They continued up her legs, her shirt, her hoodie jacket, the bugs eating away at the material objects that Ruby Rose tethered to the real world. She feared herself when the bugs came to her face.

"Stop it! Stop it…. wait…"

The moment of terror was replaced by a relief she had not felt in ages. She stared at her own hands, no longer seeing the slightest bit of human skin. Instead they were wrapped in a red ultra thin fabric that felt as though it was second skin. She no longer felt her clothes but instead a sense of self she had never known.

"I feel… miraculous…"

Ruby Rose was no more.

With a toothy grin she hadn't had since she came here, Ladybug threw her yoyo out to the sky. It found a pole to cling on, and she took off without haste.

_______________________________________________________________________

"Oh God… THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!"

Here she was! At last, Ruby Rose, lame first year college student, flew through the air on her yoyo as if she was Spider-Man! Or Spider-Girl. Or Spider-Woman. Or none of them since ladybugs are not arachnids. Probably.

Whatever, swinging through the air felt marvelous. She could feel the winds blow through her, the sounds of crowds below her, shouting and yelling things her ears did not pick up.

Insults? Praise? Who really cares! The night belonged to Ladybug, and no one else.

"WooooooooHOOOOOOOO!"

She couldn't smiling as she yelled. When she found a building too tall to swing through, Ladybug landed on the side of it and began a vertical runn. Ruby remembered the days at Signal where she participated in track. She always came up with high grades there, much to everyone else's annoyance. No one would expect the little rose to be running up buildings and later the rooftops.

Like Spider-Girl. But cooler.

From there Ladybug jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Luck truly was on her side. She was glad that at no point did she not fall down in a clumsy fit or an accident. She was in control all along.

The strangest thing for the girl wasn't the new found confidence in herself she didn't possess before. It wasn't the fact that she didn't tire from running, or the fact that she had greater dexterity using the yoyo to swing across. It was magic, they probably helped her out.

No, the truly strange thing was that none of these things contradicted who she was at the core. All these feelings, these emotions, they came from a place she kept locked away but now embraced with glee. Perhaps this is the true power of the Ladybug Miraculous. The ability to reveal the true self, and set it free.

She stopped right in front of a platform. Her eyes darted to the left.

"Please Roman, no… somebody help!"

"Shut it or I'll kill you, you little bastard. Call it my special brand of mercy."

Her enhanced hearing-no doubt more of the miraculous' power- picked those up right away. Ladybug recognized the voices and knew exactly what she had to do.

With that, she dropped right into an alleyway, forcing the pair to look at her.

"What the- some kind of cosplayer?!"

"Get away from here he's got a gun!"

The robber from before-Roman she recalled- was holding Jaune Arc hostage with his gun. Roman had Jaune's head caught in his shoulder as he pointed the gun at Ladybug.

Jaune, one of Ruby and Ladybug's new friends, could very well die if she made a single slip up.

She won't allow that possibility to happen.

"If you're going shoot at someone, shoot me." Ruby said, in a moment of anger. "If you've got the guts for it."

Roman darkly chuckled. "Guts? I've shot two-bit cosplayers before, the cops won't mind seeing another one in the morgue."

In an instant he lined up a shot to kill Ladybug. No remorse, no hint of emotion. Just the cold blooded murder of a teenage girl as the boy next to him begged and cried.

Or not.

He pressed the handle and nothing came out.

"What? Jammed?!" Roman yelled, shocked at the outcome. "Impossible I had this thing-"

The hand that carried his gun suddenly found itself wrapped in a tight rope. Roman suddenly found himself pulled from his position onto the air.

"You're not gonna get me you damn- UGH!"

Roman could not say more, as Ladybug clocked his face in. He fell to the ground, consciousness lost in the small struggle.

With the danger gone, Ladybug turned her eyesight from the robber to Jaune.

His face belied a string of conflicting emotions: bewilderment, shock, amazement at the event that just transpired.

"Th-thanks!" He let out finally. "I didn't think anyone was gonna save me."

She couldn't help but smirk at the hapless teen. Ladybug saluted him.

"My pleasure. You're lucky I happened to be in the area at the right time. Next time try to keep off the bad side of town."

"I think I'll, uh, do that." Jaune asked. He shook his head. "Sorry I mean no offense really, thank you for saving my life but- who are you and where the heck did you come from?!"

"Sorry. Can't exactly answer that. Girl's gotta keep he secrets after all." The hero struck a pose. "Just call me Ladybug. I'm here to help."

With that Ladybug jumped up into the air, leaving Jaune alone with a knocked out crook.

A safe distance away from the alley, Ruby had detransformed. Tikki appeared in front of her, watching the girl jump up and down so excitedly.

"OHMYGOSH Tikki that was so AWESOME!"

"You see Ruby?" Tikki said. "You really can do it!"

"I could! I could…" Ruby trailed off. She stared at the moon in the sky, smiling at the way it shined tonight on this city. On her.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Tikki asked. "Still want to return me to Maria?"

"Well… I'm still not sure if I'm cut out to be a hero…" Ruby said. "But I'm willing go stick with it for now. I'm sure I'll come across her sooner or later."

"Yes yes!" Tikki flew right into the girl's face, using her tiny arms to hug her. "You're gonna go far Ruby!"

"Not without you Tikki…" Ruby hugged her new friend. "Not without you."

_______________________________________________________________________

As breakfast time came, Ruby Rose skipped just a bit.

Since last night's adventure she had been feeling great. The exhilaration that came with being Ladybug placed her on cloud nine. Ruby almost didn't hear her name being called out in the crowd.

"Ruby!" Yang waved at her from the table she was sitting, Blake reading at book next to her. "Come sit with us and look at the TV!"

"Coming!" Ruby yelled. Ruby took her seat next to her and Blake. "What's happening?"

"Just watch Rubes, you're not gonna believe this," Yang said.

The younger sister rolled her eyes, only to be shocked at what the TV displayed. It was herself on the screen! Or rather, her Ladybug self. She wore a skintight red suit with black spots and a similar colored domino mask.

'That's such a BORING costume!' Ruby thought in her head. 'It doesn't even have a cape! No way I'm gonna keep wearing that thing. I'm redesigning it after I eat.'

"This is Lisa Lavender from VNN," The lady on the screen said. "Vale seems to have a costumed daredevil on the block. No one knows who she is and where she came from, except for an anonymous tip that identified the girl as Ladybug."

"Holy shit Yang!" Ruby pretended to be surprised. "It's a superhero!"

"A real live one!" Yang looked at Blake. "C'mon aren't you the least bit excited?!"

Blake narrowed her eyes in concentration towards the screen. There seemed to be a manner of recognition in her eyes. "I… I'll wait on her before I say anything."

Almost as soon as she said that, Jaune burst onto the table and slammed his hands near Ruby. "Thank God, guys, you're not gonna believe what happened last night!"

Yang cringed at his presence. "Ew who let Vomit Boy near us?"

"Yaaang!" Ruby pouted. "He's a friend."

"Listen, I was mugged on the street by some weirdo when this girl in a costume showed up and saved my life!"

"You mean that?" Yang pointed at the TV.

Jaune looked up. "Yeah her! She's Ladybug! I hope I didn't embarrass myself too much around her, she was so cool…"

"What seems to be the commotion around her?"

The students turned their heads to find Headmaster Salem staring at them. Yang waved her off.

"Aw nothing Salem," Yang said. "We're talking about Ladybug. See over there?"

Everyone turned towards the TV. They were all so focused on the screen, no one noticed the way Salem's face hardened at the sight of the superhero.

"I see…" Salem said carefully. "We live in very interesting times indeed…"

"I'll say," Ruby said while gently rubbing her earrings. "Maybe things will be better this year… I just gotta keep at it!"

#rubybug and cat blake #rwby ladybug #Ruby Rose #Blake Belladonna #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #salem #tikki #jaune arc #roman torchwick #fic #crossover #rwby #miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #My Writing

11 notes · View notes

milomeepit · 5 years ago

Text

Diamond In The Rough: Chapter Nineteen

Roman has always wanted better. Has always believed that there’s a better life, a better world, just out of reach. Just beyond the veil of shitty teachers who don’t care, angry classmates that scream insults and slurs at each other all day, and drug-hazed parents who are more concerned with their next hit than looking after their ten year old son.

When he runs away after a particularly bad night at home and finds a quiet little cafe/bookstore tucked away in a back alley of the city, the sweet couple who run the joint (an odd pair; a quiet, gloomy man with a wry sense of humour and a cynical gleam in his eye, and a bouncy man who smiles like sunshine and laughs like a storybook king) help show him that maybe- just maybe- he really can have the life he always dreamed of.

Masterpost (to be added soon!)

Word Count: 3314

Chapter Warnings: nightmares, blood, snakes, confusion, stabbing, panic, anxiety, crying, happy crying, food

“Roman. It’s time to get up, Roman, come on.”

A hand shook his shoulder gently. Roman raised his head from the pillow, blinking at the bright sunlight that streamed in through the window. He looked towards the disturbance to see Logan’s face, hovering above him. A concerned frown creased the man’s eyebrows.

“Are you alright?” He asked softly.

“‘M... tired,” Roman yawned as he shook his head. “S’fine.”

“I made pancakes for brunch. Would you like some?” Logan sat on the bed next to him. The mattress dipped under his weight, and Roman had a brief flash of the sensation of falling.

“I, uh... sure. Thanks,” He flopped back down onto the pillow, facing towards the window.

Logan leaned down to the floor and picked Arwen off the ground. He brushed her off before offering her to Roman. “I’ve also got hot chocolate warming on the stove, if you would like some.”

Roman took Arwen. “Yes, please.” He forced a smile onto his face. His head ached, and his limbs felt heavy as lead, but he didn’t want to worry Logan.

Logan squeezed his shoulder gently. “I’ll see you downstairs in a few minutes, then.” He smiled before getting up and leaving the room.

Roman lay in bed for another minute, staring out the window. Crisp white snow covered the ground, glittering in the morning sunlight. Part of him ached to go out and play, but he knew it would just be him and Cody. Logan had mentioned he wasn’t much of a fan of the colder weather, so it seemed unlikely he would join in a snowball fight. He sighed and got up, swapping his cozy pyjamas for sweatpants, a long sleeved shirt, and his red hoodie.

Breakfast passed, painfully slowly. Logan did his best to keep up a conversation, but Roman felt sapped of energy, like lead weights were tied to his wrists and dragging him down. He felt bad for the one-word, disinterested answers he gave Logan, but he just couldn’t bring himself to pull up his usual pep and bounce.

By the time Logan disappeared into his office, Roman was practically ready to crawl back into bed. Everything ached, and he wanted to hide away for a little while. Though, he could practically already hear Patton rambling about sleep schedules and making the most of the day, so he instead settled for curling up with a blanket on the couch in the rec room and watching a movie.

The familiar crescendo of the Walt Disney sequence was comforting, as was the sepia-toned rainy opening scene of the film. His eyes were glued to the screen as Lewis fiddled with his PB’n’J dispensing hat, half wondering if it would work the same with pop tarts.

If he was Lewis, the one being adopted, then he decided that Patton would definitely be Lucille. Virgil could pass for Bud when he was in a silly mood. Virgil had mentioned he had siblings, so the two of them could probably be Fritz and Joe. And Roman wouldn’t mind marrying someone like Franny. She was funny and passionate and strong and loved her family more than anything, all the best things he liked in a person.

He cuddled Arwen tightly, only half paying attention to the movie as his mind wandered. It would be amazing to have a time machine like the Robinsons did. He could go anywhere, any time, he wanted. Just fly through the sky and pop to wherever he liked.

Though, he thought, it would be cooler to ride on a dragon. Feel warm scales beneath his hands, the wind rushing through his hair, the powerful wings pushing them up, up, up through the clouds. Dragons were cool. He’d always wanted a pet, something friendly and scaley that climbed up his arm. A snake could be cool.

He could picture it now; shining eyes and shimmering golden scales, smooth to touch. Dropping down into his lap from the sky, a gift from the heavens above, like a fallen star. It would curl around him, wrapping him in a serpentine hug before slithering away.

Roman got to his feet, slowly following it. The golden scales drew him forward like a magnet, almost hypnotizing. When he finally broke his gaze away and looked around, they were in a forest. Green and blue and red and purple plants surrounded them, and the snake nimbly weaved between them. Roman trotted along behind it, looking around at the scenery. It rather reminded him of the valley from his last daydream.

He looked down at the snake again, watching it curl around a tree and onto rocky ground. He blinked, looking around to see a cave. Stalactites clung to the ceiling, water drip-drop-dripping from them in a soft rhythm. Piles of treasure littered the space, almost glowing in the shadows where the light didn’t quite reach. He heard voices, distantly, faraway conversations he couldn’t quite catch.

Fear tugged at his chest, and he instead returned his attention to the snake. It wound back around and out of the mouth of the cave, and when Roman looked up again, he was walking through a garden. A picnic blanket was spread carefully across the grass, and a box of cookies sat half-eaten on top of the basket. Bottles of water sat unopened on the checked blanket, and Roman felt the distinct urge to go sit.

He blinked, glanced back to the snake, and then they were in a ballroom filled with people that spun gracefully past him. They seemed undisturbed by the snake that stretched across the shining floor. Faces flashed past him, too quickly to get a proper look at, but achingly familiar. A young man with a moustache and a mischievous grin, with a tall young woman with a shy smile and fluffy brown hair that fell down her back in waves. A girl with eyes bluer than he’d ever seen and a flowing white dress winked at him. Another woman, older, with dark ginger hair and a sharp smile swept past. He knew them. He couldn’t know them, and yet he did.

It made him dizzy. He looked down again, silently begging the snake to take him somewhere else. Somewhere quieter. It seemed to respond to his discomfort, hooking to the right and away from the crowd. Before Roman knew it, they were outside. It was night, but not dark. A full moon cast a silvery light over the scene, a grassy hill dotted with small flowers that waved in the breeze. Stars sparkled overhead, glitter spread across the dark, dark blue that covered the sky.

Roman let out a soft gasp at the bone-deep longing that spiked through him. It was beautiful, more so than anything he could think of. He felt that same pull to sit, to just soak in the scene and stay there forever, but the snake didn’t pause. As it was, he broke into a jog to catch up with it. He studied it as he walked. It, too, seemed somehow familiar. Something seemed to be trying to click in his head, like an engine having trouble starting.

The scene changed again. Stone walls appeared around them rough and imposing, and when Roman looked back down, the snake had vanished. A cold sense of horror rose up, and he broke into a sprint, trying to find it.

The night became darker. The glittering stars faded from the sky. He shivered as he searched the maze for his guide. There seemed to be no escape from the cold, no matter how hard he tried to will himself to another place. The walls began to form cracks, stone splintering off and falling to the ground. He had to step around chunks of rubble as he ran further into the labyrinth.

Carvings appeared on the ruined walls. Images that seemed to dance before his eyes, hard to focus on. A terrible monster, huge and angry and merciless, destroying towns and villages, swallowing people whole. Figures bowed down before the giant creature, a snake with those same golden scales he recognized. Roman skidded to a halt in front of a depiction of the snake staring straight at the viewer. Its eyes drilled into him, sending a chill right through his body.

“... What are you?” He murmured, reaching up to touch the wall.

As his fingertips brushed against the stone, a loud crash rang through the night. He spun around, blinking rapidly. “H-hello?” He called. “Who’s there?”

“You don’t understand, he’s gone completely rogue!”

He jumped at the noise. A girl’s voice, both familiar and not. He was getting pretty sick of that feeling.

“Look, I know you two used to be really close, but... he’s.... changed. Badly.”

A boy, this time. A little nasal and whiny, and something inside him ached at the shaky words.

“Hello?” He started walking towards the voices, yelling out to them.

“He’s a monster! Nothing we can do would change that!” The girl snapped.

The walls around him shifted again. Banners appeared, large enough to hang down to the floor, with careful embroidery and bright colours.

“I know. I know you want him back, but...” The boy trailed off.

At some point the rough ground had changed to smooth stone. Windows dotted the walls between tapestries. Torches on the wall threw dancing shadows as he sprinted past them. A castle?

“Gods, why can’t you just trust me on this?” The girl’s voice was filled with anger and hurt and desperation.

Roman wondered who they were talking to. It certainly seemed like pieces of the conversation were missing.

He hurtled around a corner and skidded to a stop. A dead end. He looked over the hall, noticing the spears that lay abandoned on the floor, some snapped and broken. Blood was splashed across the castle stone, violent red smears that made his stomach roll. He peeled his eyes away from the floor and up to the tapestry hanging on the wall.

That same golden snake. It felt like it was taunting him, it’s cold eyes mocking his confusion and distress. Poor little prince, lost and alone, it seemed to say. Nobody to save you. Nobody to chase away the shadows and monsters. Nobody to protect you.

Roman’s head felt like it was going to split open. What was this? He didn’t want this. He didn’t want any of this. The dizziness, the nausea, the darkness and panic and violence and cold. He didn’t understand. He didn’t want to understand, he just wanted out.

Footsteps clacked on the stones behind him. He turned to see a tall man, his features hard to make out in the dim, flickering torchlight. The only thing Roman could see clearly was his eyes- shining gold.

Just like the snake.

It took a moment for him to register the knife in the man’s hand. A dagger, shining in the firelight, with a sharp, thin blade. It took another few seconds for Roman to realise it was pointed squarely in his direction.

His heart leapt into his throat. What was happening?

“You need to wake up, Roman.” The man’s voice was smooth, like liquid gold. Roman shivered at the strong pang of some unfamiliar emotion that shot through him. The man threw a glance over his shoulder as running footsteps drew closer to them, clattering down the hall. Someone shouted out at the man, and he stiffened, stepping around the corner and much closer to Roman. “You don’t belong here, little one.”

Roman stumbled backwards. He hit fabric, his back up against the snake tapestry hanging on the wall. Something was wrong about this. Wrong and bad and much too real. “W-who are you?” He choked out.

The man froze for a moment. His eyes swept up and down Roman, and he opened his mouth.

“Get away from him!” The boy’s voice boomed down the hallway, and the man glanced over his shoulder again.

His mouth twisted into a snarl, and Roman was distracted for a moment by the sharpsharpmuchtoosharp teeth. His eyes glowed with something Roman couldn’t identify. Not quite hatred, but something close. “Your murderer.”

Roman’s eyes snapped open. He gasped as he bolted upright on the couch and clutched at his chest. Pictures danced in his vision, too fast to focus on. Constellations that sparkled overhead, their shapes utterly foreign. Smooth scales under his hands, warm and soft. Fires that blazed, higher than he could see and hotter than he could bear. Soft smiles, barely visible out of the corner of their mouth. A knife, plunging into soft flesh that parted beneath its blade.

His chest ached. A familiar feeling, one he knew as well as the freckles that dotted his arms, but it seemed to burn. He curled into himself, clapping both hands over his mouth in an attempt to muffle the sobs that burst from his throat.

“Roman?” Logan appeared in the doorway. He crouched down next to the couch and reached out to touch Roman’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?” He asked gently.

Roman flung his arms around Logan’s middle and clung to him. “Bad dream,” He mumbled against the fabric of Logan’s shirt.

Logan sat on the floor and rubbed Roman’s back. “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you okay?”

Roman shrugged. “I... I dunno,” He admitted. “M’scared.”

“What are you scared of?”

“I... what if I don’t...” The words died in his throat, bitter and uncooperative.

Logan hummed in understanding. “It will be alright. I can’t see any reason that things wouldn’t work out.”

Roman pulled back a little and scrubbed at his face with his sleeve. “... But what if they don’t anyway?” He whined.

Logan frowned sympathetically. “Well... whatever happens, I’ll be here for you. I promise.”

Roman sighed. He sagged against Logan’s chest and turned his head to look at the TV screen. It was black, the timer device having turned it off after a period of inactivity. He wondered how long he’d been asleep. His stomach growled, as if to say ‘Long enough we need food, dingus!’

He peered up at the clock on the wall and his stomach sank. It was 4.30pm. Only half an hour left before his fate was revealed.

“Would you like to do a puzzle? I still have an unopened one in the hall closet.” Logan suggested. “I think it’s a fantasy scene, a lake with mermaids.”

“Yes, please.” Roman nodded. He slid off of Logan’s lap and shuffled on his knees over to the coffee table.

They spent the next half hour chatting about mermaids and mythology as they fit together the glossy puzzle pieces. Roman worked on the trees and plants while Logan worked on the water, and it quickly took shape under their hands.

Roman had never realised quite how much he enjoyed doing puzzles with people. It was pleasant to work together on something so casual, especially if you could talk while you worked. The pretty artwork and brightly coloured scenes were a big plus, too.

“As legends go, the first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria, around 1000 BC. The goddess Atargatis, mother of Assyrian queen Semiramis, loved a mortal, and unintentionally killed him,” Logan explained. “She jumped into a lake and took the form of a fish, but the waters didn’t hide her divine beauty. After that, she took the form of a mermaid- although the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as a fish with a human head and arm, similar to the Babylonian god Ea.”

“Cool!” Roman exclaimed. “Who was Ea?”

“Well, that’s actually quite interesting! Enki is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge, mischief, crafts, and creation. He was later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mytho-” Logan was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Roman froze and looked up at Logan. “It’s not 5pm yet, is it?” He mumbled. “Can’t be.”

Logan ruffled his hair lightly. “It’s alright, Roman,” He reassured. “Come, let’s go see.”

Roman slowly got to his feet and dragged himself after Logan. It felt like he was marching to the gallows, or pulled along in an ice cold river that intended to toss him over a jagged waterfall. He wrapped his arms around himself and hovered in the doorway of the rec room. He stared at the front door. From here, he wouldn't be able to see who was there, but they wouldn’t be able to see him, either, so it suited him just fine.

“It’ll be okay,” Logan glanced over his shoulder and smiled again before returning his attention to the door as the visitor knocked again.

Roman’s heart thudded in his chest as Logan turned the handle and opened the door. A gust of wind swept into the entryway, and he shivered. It was obviously still freezing outside. At least he might be able to play in the snow at some point, he thought. That would make things a bit better.

He couldn’t quite see Logan’s face from here, either. He was speaking quietly with whoever was at the door. Roman couldn’t make out the conversation, and his anxiety ratcheted up another notch as he strained to hear the other person’s voice.

A few tense seconds passed before Logan moved out of the doorway. Roman held his breath, his eyes wide.

Please.

He almost screamed as vibrant green and purple eyes met his around the door. Virgil broke into a wide grin and dropped to one knee as Roman threw himself forward into his arms, already bursting into tears again.

“Oh, sweetheart, honey, it’s okay, we got you, it’s okay, darling.” Patton’s arms joined Virgil’s, and Roman felt like he was going to burst into pieces like a firework.

“Hey, hey,” Virgil murmured. He dotted kisses on the top of Roman’s head. “We got you, buddy.”

“I-I...!” Roman wheezed, flailing a hand wordlessly. What words were there, when his heart was so full of love and relief and hope and joy? What could possibly encapsulate how happy he was to see them?

Patton took his hand and squeezed it. “I know, honey,” He beamed, and Roman saw the shiny film of tears swimming in his eyes. “Me, too.”

“I can stay?” Roman asked as he relaxed into their grasp, feeling safer than he had in quite a while.

Virgil nodded. “You sure can, Ro,” He whispered. His voice was soft and raw, and Roman realised that he’d probably already been crying.

He could stay. Forever. Cookies and hugs, movies and blankets, spaghetti and kisses, storybooks and warmth, and love. So much love. His heart felt like it was going to burst open. His hands shook as he clung to Patton and Virgil, and he never wanted to let go. He would never have to.

Logan cleared his throat, and the three of them looked up to where he stood, awkwardly holding the door open. “We’re letting all the heat out,” He pointed out.

Virgil laughed. “Sorry, Specs. Got a little distracted.” He kissed Roman’s forehead again, and Roman swore that he felt sparks zap right through him. “C’mon, guys.”

Some undignified scrambling later, they were all on their feet once again. Patton hung off of Virgil’s arm, cooing over Roman and chatting away about all the ideas he had for decorating Roman’s room and making it his. Roman liked that idea.

As Roman sat in the rec room, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, sandwiched between his new fathers, and his hands wrapped around a steaming mug of sweet hot chocolate, he sighed contentedly.

Sometimes, he thought, just sometimes, life really did come equipped with all the parts of a fairy tale. A down-on-their-luck hero, villains to make your blood curdle, and, most importantly, a loving family.

As Patton leaned across to peck Virgil on the cheek, his arm looped lovingly around Roman’s waist, Roman thought to himself that he liked that part best of all.

#TS-Storytime 2019 Submission #milo writes #ditr #gemstone tales #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #remus sanders #sanders sides

50 notes · View notes

zwei-the-penguin-with-a-pen · 5 years ago

Text

‘Umbrella Beach’

"You people just love to bring that dog around me, don't you?" Blake lightly complained as she saw her favorite Corgi walking with Weiss and Yang. Ruby had been distracted by something a block or so back, so she should be catching up with them any time now.

"You know you love him, Kitty Cat!" Yang jabbed, walking toward Blake and kissing her lips softly. Blake pulled her Sunshine closer to her by the back of her neck. "Whoa, Blake! You're voracious today!"

"I haven't seen you in a few days, Sunshine. Even a shadow misses the light, you know..." Blake purred into Yang's neck. Yang shivered at the vibration and the warm breath against her neck.

"GAY!" Ruby shouted as she appeared next to Weiss. The white queen was spooked for a moment but relieved when she laid eyes on her favorite gemstone. Weiss grabbed Ruby by the shoulder and pulled her into a kiss. Ruby was shocked but didn't complain. She leaned into the kiss, pushing her body against Weiss. Weiss's right leg rose from the ground, shooting up behind her like she was in one of those silly old movies.

"Now that's gay..." Blake fired off, the four of them sharing a laugh. They set out walking again, looking for the beachside snack shack they dearly loved. A warm summer's day could only mean beach time for the four of them.

Ruby wore a red tank top with matching shorts that fell to her knees. Flip flops protected her feet from the scalding hot concrete. Weiss was clad in a powder blue sundress with white loafers. Blake was wearing a purple one piece with gaps in the abdomen and back areas, a black sarong with Nevermores printed on hit tied around her hips. Yang had dressed in cutoff denim shorts and a yellow and black checkered flannel shirt, unbuttoned so she could make Blake's nose bleed at the sight of her black bikini top.

Or her abs. It was usually her abs that gave Blake the desired reactions.

Zwei wore only his collar. His fur was still thick from the long winter, so he didn't need any clothes. One of his t-shirts would have been cool, though. He had a nice collection, thanks to Ruby and Yang. Every time they saw any cool dog clothes they scooped them up for Zwei.

"Put a shirt on, Monkey King! Someone's gonna have an episode!" Blake announced, seeing Sun chatting up some boy. He turned to see her and grinned at her and the team.

"Sun's out, guns out!" He told her proudly, flexing his arms for good measure. Yang flexed back, her muscles bursting out and complicating Blake's breathing. The two yellow-haired muscleheads flexed back and forth for a moment, stopping when they apparently caused some boy and girl to swoon. They ran over to see if the couple were okay, and the girl asked Yang to have her offspring.

"Sorry, sweetheart, my heart and muscles belong to another." Yang hated to disappoint the cute faunus girl with the dog ears, but she was more fond of cats. The human boy gawked at Sun, and the two got to talking. Sun seemed to need to remind himself that he had a boyfriend, but that didn't stop the boy from asking to be friends with him.

"Neptune's going to whip his butt!" Ruby told Blake.

"Too bad for Neptune, Sun will enjoy it," Blake replied. Ruby and Weiss could have fallen over at that remark. "Well, he liked that sort of thing when I messed around with him."

"You were with Sun before?" Weiss and Ruby questioned.

"Kinda. We didn't do much more than mess around. He discovered that he liked boys because of me."

"Wow, you brought the gay out of him!" Weiss joked. Blake laughed.

"Well, it didn't take much. One time we hooked up and he asked 'Do you want to top?' and then he started dating boys more often than girls!"

"You thot, you! You pegged that boy!" Yang commented as she walked back to the group.

"I'll do it for you any time you like, Sunshine!" Blake snapped back. Ruby made a fake gagging sound.

"I'm certain your sister would sooner not hear about your sex life, Blondie." Weiss yawned. "Neither would I."

"Why, Weiss Cream? You jealous because you don't have a sex life?" Yang fired back. Weiss's face went white at the remark.

"You hush, Yang! We do plenty, we just aren't as wild as you two! Or as LOUD, for that matter!" Ruby chimed, standing up for her girlfriend. Weiss high-fived her funky little redhead.

"I could hear you guys the other night..." Blake mentioned.

"You've got four ears, Blake. You can hear everything!" Weiss reminded her.

"Sometimes it's a curse. Like the other night when Pyrrha and Jaune got up to some 'experimenting' in their dorm. I think Ren actually left..." Blake chuckled, the rest of the girls trying diligently not to think about Pyrrha and Jaune and their bedtime misadventures.

They finally made it to the beach and stood in line for the snack shack. A song caught Ruby's ears and she danced to the beat. Weiss shook her head at her girlfriend but joined her anyhow. The two bounced and swayed to the jazzy tune bumping out of the speakers. Yang smiled at her kid sister, over there dancing with the love of her life.

"They're just adorable, aren't they?" Blake spoke aloud exactly what Yang had been thinking. She nodded at her Kitty Cat. "I'm glad those two got together. They bring balance to one another." She mused, scratching at the back of her neck.

"Yeah, our little Weiss Cream is growing on me. I've always known she was a great girl, but if my sister loves her then I'll love her too." Yang chuckled as a thought crossed her mind. "It's a shame Pyrrha is over the moon for that boy. We've all had crushes on her."

Blake laughed hard at that. "Everyone at that school has had a crush on Pyrrha, save Ren and those idiots in Team CRDL. Then again, I'm pretty sure they are paired off with one another. Or maybe all four of them are together." Blake stretched her arms toward the sky "They deserve each other."

"Welcome to Seaside Snackage! I'm your hostess with the mostest, Chartreuse Toppsy! What can I get for you four wonderful ladies this morning? Ooh, is the doggy gonna want some food also??" The cashier, a stunning young woman with a bob of dark green hair and bright red eyes, asked the four of them. There was a loud CLANK when she stepped toward the register. "Sorry, my new leg's kinda loud and clunky. Not used to this model yet." Her right leg was cybernetic, and the metal on her knee had struck the counter.

The four girls ordered drinks and food. Ruby had a burger with the works, Weiss had a garden salad with roasted chicken, Blake had a salad with tuna she'd brought with her, and Yang had a strip steak and fries. They bought Zwei a rare steak to eat, making him the happiest dog on the beach. The girls made certain to give Toppsy a great tip for her excellent service.

They wondered out to the beach, where Blake and Yang laid out a towel and wasted no time getting up to some quality kisses and cuddles. Weiss began building a sandcastle with Ruby's help. Zwei lay in the sand on his back, occasionally sniffing something out and digging it up. He found a treasure or two and brought it to Ruby or Yang.

"Do they always have to make out?" Weiss asked no one in particular. Ruby looked at her girlfriend, then the girls in question, and back to her girlfriend.

"If Blake was my girl, I'd want to kiss her all the time, too..." Ruby mused. Weiss pouted. "But you're my girl, Snowdrop, and I always want to kiss you."

"Thanks, Petals. I don't disagree with you about Blake, though. She's definitely a snack." Ruby almost fell over hearing Weiss say that.

"I think that's the first pickup line Yang used on her. 'Did it hurt when you fell out of the vending machine? Because you're a snack!' I still can't believe it actually worked." Ruby laughed.

"I mean, Yang is a beautiful creation, Ruby. If she had walked up to me and said that, I probably would have jumped on her right then."

"That's a great thing to hear you say about my sister, Ice Queen." Ruby joked. Weiss pouted some more. "Yang is a ladykiller, so I can't blame you. Like, only Coco Adel has broken more hearts than her. Yang has broken more bones, though, for sure." They shared a laugh at that. They stepped back and admired their masterpiece sandcastle.

Ruby snapped a photo with her Scroll. She then kissed Weiss and snapped a photo of them kissing in front of the castle.

"I'm Queen of the castle!" Weiss sang between kisses. Ruby laughed so hard at that she wound up coughing. "And you're my queen, Rose! I love you, Flower Pot!"

"I love you too, Snow Fairy!" Ruby replied, leaning in for another kiss. She leaned in too quickly, and the two of them crashed into the water that had crept up the beach. Soaking wet and covered in sand, they simply kept kissing through it all.

\/\/\/\/\/

Day 13: ZWEI!

This sort of fits the WRW prompt ‘Jealous’ but not exactly. I guess I’ll let @white-rose-week decide, maybe. Like Weiss is a little jealous of Blake and Yang but not much, so idk if it fits.

Day 4: Jealous (maybe)

Anyway a beach day for White Rose and Bumbleby. And Zwei doing dog stuff like usual.

73 notes · View notes

thehighlandhealer · 5 years ago

Text

Unfortunate Mistletoe, Cont. || Bronwyn, Leslie, Cam, Vindrik, & Charleson

Vincent: "Food will never lose appeal." The bird smiled between a mouthful of whatever he had grabbed. He'd yet to figure that out.

Perhaps he should swallow. "I like parties. I like this party." He smoothed his untucked shirt and felt his bowtie. Those were also fun. "I don't smell demon. Where is the demon?"

Charles: Charles bit down on a chuckle. "Slow down. Don't choke yourself, Vincent."

He'd polished off his own snack and reached for a cup to fill with punch. "I'm glad. Mason is... somewhere." Hiding, more than likely. "Possibly outside with the children. Bobby froze the lake, so some people are skating."

Vincent/Mason/Leslie: Bobby was a good egg. He liked him.

"Oh! I don't have stakes but I'm going!" He would ride along on someone's shoulder if he had to.

Mason was indeed hiding. Specifically, he was hiding away the children from a certain witch, fresh from a tree. A kind soul he may be, but he was foreign. Mason needed time.

Leslie was busy taking new photos of the newest decorations, followed around by Ester and Ruby like a tiny flock.

Charles: Laughing, Charles grabbed a cookie from the tower and gestured toward the doors. "Don't worry. We have spare skates. I'll take you out. Did you bring a coat?"

Vincent: "Yes! ... No. But no, I don't need one." Well, if Charles was grabbing, he would grab a cookie as well. No wait, two! Both stuffed in his mouth.

Charles: "If you asphyxiate yourself with baked goods, Bronwyn will have my head. Slow down." Charles led his way toward the front doors, pulling his own coat from the hall closet as they went. "We have spare jackets, as well. It's quite cold."

Vincent: "Are you so concerned about my skin?" If Charles could manage to decipher any of that cookie-stuffed language resembling English.

Charles: A snort. "Yes. Your skin is very important to me. As it should be to you."

Vincent: "Kay." He didn't want to be weighed down by a jacket, and his werebear was absent, so the man before Charles melted from human form to that of a raven. One which would begin hopping around in a figure eight.

"Pick me up!" the bird squawked.

Charles: "I don't know how you plan to skate without human feet, but very well." He bent down to offer the bird a hand, carefully setting him on one shoulder.

The grounds were vast and brightly lit, but the lake wasn't too far of a walk. Cheerful music filtered through speakers mounted around the area, and a good two dozen people enjoyed the biting air. Stopping at a table nearby, he traded his punch for a cup of cocoa. "Warm enough?"

Vincent/Leslie: Vincent settled in with a small shake of his tail feathers. Charles' shoulder was perfectly warm and his clothes the right amount of soft and sturdy.

Leslie was busy trying to figure out what he'd just seen, but Ester was tugging his sleeve for attention. He'd hardly spent a full two minutes with his host and his pang of guilt was short-lived as Ruby joined in demands.

"I'm perfect and you're perfect," said the bird. "Now, to skate! Go!"

Charles: His lips twitched faintly with amusement as he watched the girls pester the witch. He could step in, but he wouldn't. It was Christmas, and scolding could be done another day. "I wouldn't say perfect."

A soft laugh. "Oh, I see. You're expecting me to be your legs. It's been a while. Ruby, Ester, do either of you know how to skate?" He figured he'd take pity, after all.

Vincent/Leslie: "Of course you're my legs." Vincent began to play with Charles' hair. He could make an excellent nest of this.

Both girls craned to look over their shoulders, quite busy with their interview of the witch. Today, they could be mistaken for the twins.

"No," they said in unison.

"But I can make a wicked snowman," said Ester.

"Let's do that," Leslie smiled.

Charles: "Have fun."

Smoothing down his hair, Charles crossed to the box of skates waiting to be claimed, selecting a pair in his size. He had his own, somewhere, but couldn't be bothered to go inside to hunt for them. It had been years since he'd so much as touched them. The things one did for friends. "All right. We'll skate for a bit. Not all of us are immune to the cold. Hold on."

Vincent/Mason: "How many witches do you know?" Vincent asked. A question given in full scratchy voice. Neither of the girls had kept Leslie a secret, but neither had they flaunted his name around the castle-like school. Regardless, the word witches had begun circulating after his visit. A word which made Mason scowl in the raven's direction.

Charles: "Mm. Two. At least to my knowledge. There's a very real possibility that I've met a which without knowing."

He shrugged and crossed to the lake proper on wobbly, doe legs. He was much more graceful on the ice, pushing off swiftly into a gentle glide. "Why do you ask?"

Vincent: Vincent strained his neck to watch Charles' feet during the brief journey towards the ice. Once he proved they would not come crashing down in a heap, he began to resettle.

"I like witches. Obviously."

Charles: "Oh, obviously. Silly me." His lips quirked into the slightest smile before he dropped it.

There was no flourish to his skating. The most he had was an ability remain upright as he glided smoothly around the perimeter of the lake, skirting around couples as he went. "How many witches do you know? I've been learning a bit of magic, myself. When I have the time."

Vincent: "Then you're a witch! I'm acquainted with many! It's my job to be!"

The raven held out his wing, playing signaler for where Charles intended to turn.

"Do you like bears?"

Charles: "I don't know if I'd go so far," he laughed, pausing for just a moment to help a fallen boy to his feet.

"Bears? I suppose." What an odd question. "They're... big. I've never encountered one in the wild, but they're great. Polar bears are quite lovely."

Vincent: Vincent was helpless of the vivacious tone of his voice as he said, "Well, you have one in your house."

Charles: "I'm sorry, what?"

Vincent: "My bear. My Adrik. You said I could bring a plus one."

Charles: "I did. So, he's... a familiar, like yourself? Or a shapeshifter?" He could admit to some curiosity.

Vincent: "He's a Fera. Do you know what that is?"

Charles: "I do not."

Vincent: "Werewolves?"

Charles: "Yes, of course. He's a... werebear?"

Vincent: "Yes. Fera is simpler, isn't it?"

Charles: "I suppose, if less specific. That's fascinating. I look forward to meeting him."

Vincent: "Are you bothered?"

Charles: "Bothered by what, Vincent?"

Vincent: "By a bear being in the house."

Charles: "By a man, capable of shifting into a bear? Of course not. That'd be rather hypocritical of me, don't you think? I trust you wouldn't bring anyone here who would try to hurt anyone."

Vincent: "He was probably a bear first. He's a teddy."

Charles: "If he's sentient, he's a person first."

Vincent: "I was hatched out of an egg. I am bird first."

Charles: "I'm not going to argue with you about your identity, Vincent. But, I don't generally hold full conversations with birds. People, sure."

Vincent: "Because you don't speak their language."

Charles: "Fair enough. It might be an interesting ability."

Vincent: "I knew a witch. Speaking to everything was her only desire in life. She could even speak with inanimate objects."

Charles: "I only speak to inanimate objects when they refuse to cooperate. I'm perfectly fine, provided they don't speak back."

Vincent: "They probably have some things to say about you, too."

Charles: He laughed, brightly. "Well, they can just keep those to themselves. I shudder to think what my computer would say after all the abuse I've put it through. Bloody thing is quite temperamental. Particularly when I have something pressing to finish."

Vincent/Leslie: "I'm sure some expletives would be thrown around between the both of you," said Vincent with mirth.

Leslie was doing what he did best. Their snowman had become something grotesque, with rocks for teeth and stubs for arms. He'd been given a personality, that which had Ruby, Ester, and a handful of other children on the ground and against a tree with laughter.

"'What have you done to me?! My arms are useless!'" Leslie protested in his best Gollum voice.

Bronwyn: Finally having freed herself from impromptu phone call that had taken up more of her time than she would've liked, Bronwyn rejoined the festivities and went in search of her loved ones who were...nowhere to be found. Probably outside.

She grabbed her coat and stepped out, immediately spotting Charles and her familiar.

"I'm back!" she called once she was close enough. "I'm so sorry, that awful man wouldn't get off the phone."

Charles: "Me? I would never!" A lie, if he'd ever told one. His laptop was an 'ill-behaved bastard', more often than not. He scraped to a stop at the druid's approach, ice flying, just at the edge of the lake. "Bronwyn! I'm glad you're back! Are you going to join us?" His cheeks were rosy with cold, but his smile was wide and sunshine-bright.

Vincent: His favorite shoulder above all shoulders! At least metaphorically. Vincent swooped from his perch for his mistress, nearly falling from the ledge of her fuzzy jacket.

"Charles is a witch now! And he's collected more witches!"

Bronwyn: "Point me toward the skates and I will. Easy!" she chuckled when Vincent came to her, greeting him with a scritch to his head. "Is he indeed? Have you been holdin' out on me, Charles?"

Charles: Aww. His shoulder was so lonely, now. "I'm not a witch. But I have met one, recently. He's over there playing with the children. The skates are just there." He gestured with the hand still holding his empty cocoa cup. "I can introduce you first, if you'd like."

Bronwyn: "That'd be lovely. We can get some o' that cocoa while we're at it." With extra marshmallows for Vincent.

Charles: Back to wobbling across the snow. He sat on a nearby bench to change shoes. "So, what was the call about? If you don't mind my asking. " He didn't know what sort of person called on Christmas Eve, short of family or very dear friends.

Bronwyn: "One of my suppliers. He thought now was a good time to tell me that I wasn't goin' to get my order of essential oils until after New Year's."

Charles: "Calling on Christmas Eve with disappointing news. He sounds lovely." When his laces were re-tied, he stood and nodded in the direction of the silly game, raising a hand to the witch as they made their approach. "Leslie! Leslie, can I steal you for a bit? I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Leslie: An exceptionally tall witch. One to rival her revenant. Dirty blond hair was sticking to his face where a snowball had caught his forehead. He was breathless and so were the children. The Gollum voice never failed.

"'Oh, yes! Steals us!'" Ruby covered her mouth with both hands. Leslie cleared his throat.

"Sorry," he coughed, voice raspy, "I've made mistakes."

Bronwyn: "Oh, he's a peach," said Bronwyn, laughing and shaking her head. She would save her anger and annoyance for after the holidays.

Leslie couldn't have made a better first impression, even with the stuck hair and sore voice. It was hard not to immediately like a handsome man playing in the snow with children.

Bronwyn chuckled. "Ye're fine. I have two boys, I can relate." She offered a hand. "Bronwyn MacAllister. It's nice to meet you."

Charles: Charles had to physically turn away from the sight. He dragged a numb hand down his equally numb face and breathed slowly. In. Out. In. Out. Thankfully, Bronwyn had the presence of mind to introduce herself. The telepath was absolutely helpless. And useless.

Leslie: "Bronwyn. What a beautiful name. Leslie Issott."

Oh no. He looked towards Charles' turned back and grinned.

"'What's the matter, precious? Doeses not like my voice?'" His throat was going to be destroyed by tomorrow regardless of meditation.

Bronwyn: Oh yes, she definitely liked this man. "Why thank you, Leslie. My mama chose it on the fly."

She couldn't help but laugh at Charles' brave attempt to maintain his composure. "You all right, darlin'?" she asked him.

Charles: Charles held up a silent hand. God damn it all. It took everything in his power to control his breathing. He knew that if he let the tiniest giggle slip, he was done for. That was always the case, with Leslie Issott. His face had gone from pink to beet-red with the strain, but he managed a tight smile as he turned around. "Perfectly well, thanks." The effort was audible. "The two of you... you should. Magic." Eloquent. A breath. "Bronwyn here is a Druid. Leslie's been teaching me a few spells here and there. He's a fine. Fine teacher."

Leslie: Now it was Leslie covering his mouth. "Oh Trinity," he mumbled, eyes bright from Charles' tomato face. Call it many things, but to the witch it was beautiful.

"Yes, that, but not really. I'm pretty chaotic in teaching."

Bronwyn: Poor Charles. Bronwyn almost felt bad for getting such amusement out of his predicament. Almost.

"Well magic is a chaotic beast, so yer teachin' style works perfectly. I'll bet Charles is an excellent student."

Charles: At least he wasn't alone in this. Biting down hard on his cheek, Charles shook his head. "I enjoy our lessons. Less structure. More... allowing the magic to take us where it will." Had they gotten any real work done at their last meeting? No. But at least he'd done his homework. "He's incredible, Bron. Don't let him fool you."

Leslie: "Am I be - Feels like you're trying to sell me," he chuckled. "So, he said druid? Must be my lucky year. I just introduced myself to a druid in October. More than I've meet in almost a decade."

Cam/Adrik: Per the usual, Cam was always a little late to the party. He mostly did it to avoid being the first person there and that awkward period of small talk before other people arrived. Today he had two large duffle bags slung over his shoulder, and he adjusted them over his jacket as he rang the doorbell. It wasn't like he didn't basically live there on occasion and really had no reason to ring the bell, but today he felt oddly formal, and like he should.

As he waited for someone to answer he heard a crunch of footsteps through the snow behind him, and a glance behind brought the frame of a giant into startling view. The man, at a height of 6'7" and body built to look unmovable, stepped up behind cam. His actual size was hidden beneath a long, burly black coat lined with appeared to be fur, and under his arm was one long present above a small bag of his own.

He had a greying, finely trimmed beard (much nicer than when Vincent last saw him) beard, and for 2 seconds Cam wondered if Charles had ordered some sort of sexy Santa Claus to the party and Cam had misunderstood the invite.

The man looked down at Cam and Cam up at the man, and Cam's brow knit with slight confusion.

"Do I know you?" he asked suddenly, the question burst from his lips like compulsion he couldn't control. The man stared back, and Cam saw the tiniest crease form in his stoic brow.

"I... do not know."

Bronwyn: "Aye, I'm a Druid. We tend to be as rare as unicorns." Bronwyn's brow furrowed. October... Wasn't that when...? "You wouldn't happen to live in North Carolina, would you? In a town called Edenton?"

Charles: "Not selling." He shook his head. "Merely explaining."

No one would hear the doorbell ring. The music was loud, the guests louder. Cameron and his newfound friend would have to enter of their own accord, or circle around back, where more cheerful sounds could be heard. Perhaps, a student or two would breeze right past them, wanting a reprieve from the frosty air by the roaring fire in the den.

Cam/Adrik: After an awkward beat of silence where Cam felt oddly foolish for not just entering of his own accord, opened the door and lead the stranger inside. Cam didn't even bother explaining to his quiet companion where he was going, he simply stepped in, shrugged off his coat, and then picked up his duffle bags to head down the hall.

Adrik followed quietly behind as they followed the sounds of a party further into the mansion.

Charles: Closer, certainly. Inside, the pair would find food, music and general merrymaking. Cam, of course, would recognize a slew of familiar faces. Students, staff, and close friends of the mansion's residents. Young children chasing each other down the halls. Not his host, however. Charles was busy making friendly conversation and freezing his ass off by the lake. If asked, anyone might be able to point the newcomers in his direction.

Vincent/Leslie: "And... this is where I begin to wonder if all druids somehow know one another like some kind of intricate network." Leslie glanced over the woman's shoulder to Charles, question written on his face before returning to her attention. "Yes, actually."

Vincent perked and turned towards the house. Wings stretched excitedly. He had said his bear was here, but now he could feel his presence, and his excitement was almost too much to contain.

And off he went towards the opening door.

Bronwyn: Oop, and off Vincent went.

"That's the benefit o' bein' as rare as unicorns," Bronwyn chuckled. "But no, I just remembered that my sister Deirdre had taken a trip in October to see our cousin and I wondered if just maybe she was the one you'd met. Blonde, around my height?"

Cam/Adrik: Cam mingled with the staff he knew and handed out a couple presents from one of his duffle bags to some that he'd gotten close to. He seemed to do the same for each student he'd ever crossed paths with, or who had been in any of his gym classes, each personalized to something he knew about them. They were all fairly simple gifts, some even homemade, but with thought and care put into each one.

Adrik stood awkwardly amongst strangers, shoulders tensed as he sniffed the air in search of a familiar scent. The mix of people and food made it hard to pinpoint, but eventually Adrik found himself at the back door to the lake, at about the same time Cam set his bags to the side and was preparing to head back out into the cold. With a small nod to Cam they both stepped out into the cold, and the tight line of Adrik's shoulders seemed to relax as soon as he caught sight of a familiar bird flying in his direction.

Cam started to approach his own familiar faces, when a smirk flashed over his lips. A green light flashed and snowballs, one for each familiar face, rose into the air beside him.

"Merry Christmas!" He called to them all before a snowball each sailed in the direction of Charles, Leslie, and Bronwyn.

Charles: He didn't know the question, and could not offer an answer, what he could do was listen on politely as Leslie and Bronwyn became acquainted.

When the snowball flew his way, Charles was quick to step behind Leslie. What good were giants if not for use as human shields? Take one for the team, Issott.

Vincent/Leslie: Vincent didn't take to a shoulder as he had with the others. For Adrik, the bird planted beak first against that impossible chest, as though the raven had splat itself onto a wall. This wall just happened to be made of muscle.

"Teddy!" Ink black wings regrew into pastel long sleeve covered arms winding their way around shoulders and neck. hanging talons into jeans, legs wrapping around hips. He was attached, quite literally.

What was Charles behind him? Oh, that's why.

"I like your sister! I think she's dating my best friend!" The higher volume quite involuntary as he turned his body to the side in defense of not one but two snowballs.

"Cam!" he laughed. "Don't make me retaliate!"

Bronwyn: "Oh yeah, she mentioned that she--ahh, Cameron!" Bronwyn laughed and tried to dodge a snowball but didn't quite make it in time. It had gotten her square in the back.

"I'm goin' to tell Santa on you!"

Cam/Adrik: Adrik chuckled and wrapped his arms around Vincent as he changed.

"Where is your coat? You will catch cold," Adrik rumbled and leaned into the smaller man as if to try and envelope him with his own body.

"I mean, I DID just declare a snowball fight, unless you all are chicken..." Cam called, and this time he crouched down to pack an actual snowball. He tossed it tauntingly in the air beside him as he grinned at the others.

Charles: Chicken? Yes. Definitely. Oh, he was going for cover. There was a massive tree nearby for him to duck behind. Trading one shelter for another, Charles took off at a sprint. "Cameron! I will call for backup!"

Vincent/Leslie: Vincent just smiled. "I told the professor witch I'm not cold." His skin would disagree, but Adrik's body heat was already righting his wrong.

Leslie bit into one of the fingers of his leather gloves, tugging away the material. If this was going to well and truly be a snowball fight, then he needed to feel, especially if magic were a factor.

"I want a nice clean fight from all of you."

Ruby and Ester peeked around the corner of the same tree Charles hid behind.

Bronwyn: "Cam, I'm no' wearing the right outfit for a snowball fight! Charles, scooch over!" Bronwyn quickly hid behind the same tree he'd gone behind. The fuzzy jacket and dress she'd chosen--while festive--would not survive the chaos.

Cam/Adrik: "That's not my fault, Mama B!" Cam called, but of the snowballs that floated into the air beside him, none were aimed at her, or the children. Instead one zoomed towards Leslie (as Cam ALSO threw his packed snowball at Leslie), and the other curled around the tree to nail Charles in the shoulder. Two separate ones rose and hovered over Ruby and Ester, only to poof into gentle puffs of snow and sprinkle snowflakes over the two.

"Better call for back up Charles or I'm gonna win~!"

Adrik chuckled and gently pried his little bird free. A short shrug later and Adrik's heavy coat was off and around Vincent's shoulders. "I only wear it for show, I am a bear after all," and then Vincent was back in his arms.

Charles: "Hey!" He was laughing, as his hiding spot was taken over. "The lot of you! Find your own barrier! I--"

Whatever he'd been about to say was interrupted by the impact. He had no gloves. No hat. But he'd be damned if he took a direct hit without retaliation. Already numb fingers packed a solid ball of snow, and Charles peeked around the tree to fling it. "Les, get out of the way!"

Vincent/Leslie: Vincent groaned dramatically under the mighty weight of Adrik's great coat.

"It's too much! How do you wear this?!" The dramatic fall he had planned was interrupted by a great bear paw scooping him back up. This was also fine.

What even constituted as a clean fight when magic was involved? Magic Ruby and Ester did not (yet) possess? The girls were delighted either way. Absolutely thrilled with Cameron's power. Despite being gentle, the Gollum snowman was being gutted for ammunition.

Leslie sidestepped the shouts, packing one of his own snowballs as he laughed. This was meant for Cameron, but Charles...his back was right there. How could he resist?

Cam/Adrik: "It is not too much," Adrik rumbled in disapproval, but the added weight of his coat did nothing to hinder scooping up his little bird bridal style and holding him tight to his chest. He wore a nice pair of black dress shoes and slacks, a dark maroon button up rolled up to the elbows. All of the clothes were tight and pulled in all the right places, and he seemed not to notice the bite of the cold air around them as his eyes turned to the fight unfolding.

Another snowball at Leslie, then another that smashed over the tree hiding Bronwyn and the girls.

Bronwyn: Bronwyn would only peek out of her hiding spot to take pictures or to dodge any stray snowballs that came a little too close for comfort.

Although Cam's magical little snowfall did give her an idea.

She looked up at the sky and smiled. It was mostly clear save for a couple of clouds, but a couple was all she would need.

A deep breath and a few moments later, the clouds had gathered just a little bit closer and big, beautiful movie snowflakes were gently floating down from the sky. Nothing big enough to drive anyone inside. Just a pretty little flurry to delight and enchant.

Charles: "Et tu, Brute?" This treachery was more than he could stand. The snowball intended for Cameron would fly directly at Leslie. Not to worry, though. He was quick to bend down and scoop up another to throw at Cam, as well. Only Bronwyn was safe.

He glanced up as the clouds drew closer, his eyes widening as the snow began to fall softly about them. Oh. Oh, how lovely. "Bron, is this your doing?" She'd won, as far as the telepath was concerned.

Vincent/Leslie: Vincent laughed at the lot of them. That is, until his attention turned skyward and his eyes full of reverence. So proud of her.

His mouth opened, widening his tongue to catch a few flakes.

Leslie looked up as well, body covered in snow, and smiled.

"Beautiful magic."

Cam/Adrik: Cam looked up just as the snow started to fall, giving a snowball the perfect opportunity to collide with his face. He made a noise of surprise and laughed, wiping the cold substance from his skin before he looked up to admire the sky and the scene unfolding like something from a movie. It was beautiful, and he glanced at Bronwyn as if to ask if she were the culprit.

Adrik chuckled and leaned down to steal a kiss from that open mouth, once there wasn't a tongue sticking out of it.

Bronwyn: Bronwyn smiled at her handiwork and then at the lot of them, unbelievably pleased with herself. "Aye, it's me. It's been a while since I've made it snow. I have more practice just makin' it cold but Mother Nature is already doin' that for me."

Charles: "That she is." His fingers had gone from red to white, still damp with melted snow. He shoved them into his pockets. "It's beautiful, darling. Shall we grab that hot chocolate? It's freezing. And I can't feel my fingers, Cameron." Why, yes, that was an accusatory glance at the green-haired mutant, followed by a twitch of a smile.

Vincent/Leslie: "Can we make a fire?" asked Vincent from the werebear's arms. "Oh! I can make a fire!"

Leslie was utterly fascinated by that man, whatever he was. But he would rather the old-fashioned method.

"Gimmie those." He gestured to Charles' hands. He would warm them himself, sandwiching them between his own and brought to his lips for a long exhale.

Cam/Adrik: Cam grinned at Charles and shrugged innocently.

"I don't know why I'm responsible for that Charles," he lobbed another, poorly aimed, snowball at the professor before starting to walk backwards towards the house.

"Is there a fireplace?" Adrik asked the man in his arms. He knew nothing of this place and was reluctant to let go of Vincent to let him start a flame.

Bronwyn: Bronwyn gave a small gasp. "Yes, please! I also need a gingerbread cookie." And to make sure Cam ate, but she'd be more subtle about that.

"Care to join us, Leslie?"

Charles: "You know precisely why you're responsible for that." He neatly sidestepped the projectile.

His lips titled into the slightest smile. Leslie had been flinging snowballs, same as Charles, but he offered over his chilled hands anyway. "I'm certainly not opposed to a bonfire, Vincent, but you know there are several fireplaces inside. A few of them already lit."

He glanced up at the witch. "You should. There's coffee, tea, cider. I made sure to have a few sugar-free treats on the menu." Not a first, certainly, but it would taste a lie to say that Leslie hadn't been on his mind when he'd finalized the list.

Vincent/Leslie: "It's not the same as starting the fire yourself. Don't you know?"

Vincent pointed towards the house, where Cameron was making his escape. "To the fire, Teddy. Have you ever met a demon? There's one somewhere here."

Leslie just smiled before offering a final long exhale to those hands. The effort warming his as well.

"Thank you, dear. Be delighted." They would be tailed by Ruby and Ester, of course. He'd never had followers quite like these before.

Cam/Adrik: "I have not," Adrik rumbled and followed Cam back into the building without letting go of Vincent. Once inside he let Vincent down so he could help remove Adrik's coat. He'd surely roast alive if he left it on.

Cam dipped inside and went off to find where he'd put his duffel bags.

Bronwyn: The girls would both get a hot chocolate with plenty of marshmallows and a gingerbread cookie before Bronwyn treated herself. Fluffy snowflakes continued to fall, lighter now but still going strong. They'd cease once the cloud was depleted.

"So ye're teachin' Charles magic?" she asked Leslie. "Do you have a particular area of expertise?"

Charles: "Thanks," he smiled, sliding his warmed hands back into his pockets. He'd quietly wait for everyone to help themselves.

Vincent/Leslie: Vincent shook his arms and took a breath once inside. A habit mirrored in bird form, as Bronwyn had seen many times before. He could still feel his feathers regardless of their absence.

"You might meet one today. He's playing with his children. The boy changed my colors once! I made him fly. Charles didn't like that."

Leslie turned to the professor, about to ask what he would like when Bronwyn spoke. Instead, he gestured to the table. What would you like?

"I do. How much does a druid know about mages?" He was curious how knowledgeable Deirdre was as well, and if she'd ever slip with Oliver.

Cam/Adrik: Cam returned with a few packages in hand. A large square one that was fairly hefty in weight was handed to Charles. Inside was a metal chess set with a glass box containing the pieces. the box doubled as the board itself, and inside all of the pieces were moving and shifting slightly, as if alive. "Figured of all the chest sets you have, you don't have one that moves on its own," he grinned.

To Bronwyn he handed a bag, and inside was a gorgeous set of heels, lavender in shade, with a strap around the ankle that looked were embroidered lavender flowers.

Leslie received a small parcel with a little shrimp stuffed animal inside, complete with an adorably embroidered smile, to commemorate their first meeting (the good start of it anyway, a model of a burning car felt a little in bad taste.

Mason's gift remained tucked into his pocket until he saw the demon himself, and both small girls were given small, little gifts of their own, each chosen to suit them, as he had for each one of the kids stashed away in his second duffel bag.

Adrik raised a brow. "I have never heard of a demon with children. Is that a common occurrence?"

Bronwyn: Bronwyn would have a cookie as well, and whipped cream instead of marshmallows in her hot chocolate.

"Bein' what I am and havin' the experiences I have, I have a workin' knowledge. Baseline, mind you." Still, Druids in general liked to be aware of others with magic and others who only pretended to have magic.

Cam would be met with a smile and a confused look upon his return, at least until Bronwyn realized that what he was carrying were gifts.

"Aw, thank you, darlin'," she said as she accepted her gift, squealing in delight once she'd peaked inside.

Charles: Charles shook his head with a small smile. He was the host. He'd serve himself last.

When Cameron appeared with his burden, the professor lifted an eyebrow at him. The package was solid and heavy, his curiosity piqued. He had to find a flat surface on which to open it, eyes widening with shock and pleasure as he realized just what it was.

"Oh. Oh, Cam. They move? On their own?" He was positively beaming. "How fascinating! It's incredible, Cameron. Thank you." It took every ounce of his willpower to resist running off to find someone to play with. Where was that bloody magnet when you needed him?

Vincent/Leslie: Leslie turned to the sound of Cameron and smiled. He just managed to resist a dirty joke at his full sack. Completely distasteful!

Perhaps later.

"Hahaha!" He'd never had a stuffed animal like this growing up. Were shrimp stuffed animals even a thing back in the 90s? He turned to the girls to show them.

"Why?" said Ester.

"I work on a food truck," he explained.

"But you're a wizard, Harry."

Both arms dropped to his sides, face deadpan. The girls giggled, and Leslie had to fight a smile.

Vincent shrugged. "I don't think so. I think the Atlas brothers are exceptions because of...something."

Cam/Adrik: "I figured you'd look bangin' in them!" Cam grinned as Bronwyn squealed. He'd hoped she would like them, and the added ankle strap sealed the deal when he saw them.

Then he turned to Charles and nodded, his smile warm. "Yeah, you can also pick them up and move them if you want, or alternatively you can tell them the space to move to! They do like- idle movements while they wait to be moved, and then will walk- or have their own little thing they do when you tell them to move! I had to animate each set of the pieces separately, so it took a while because of how much energy permanent changes take- but if you want sometime- you should teach me how to play."

Adrik hummed and moved so he was standing behind Vincent, and wrapped his arms loosely around Vincent's shoulders as he watched the room. "Who is the host?"

Bronwyn: "They're beautiful, Cam, I love them." Her unofficial son was pulled in for a hug and kissed soundly on the cheek. She would have to find a chance to try them on.

"Are you hungry? Want a cookie?"

Charles: So much effort had gone into the beautiful gift. He was deeply touched, and more than a little excited. Charles was next to pull the mutant into a bone-crushing hug. "I'd love to. I need a fresh opponent."

For now, he'd release Cam from his hold and pick up his gift. The food was completely forgotten as he went to find a corner to sit in and examine each piece thoroughly.

Vincent: Vincent pointed towards the man wandering off. "That one. The short one," he grinned. In all his 5'6" glory, he had no room to speak.

Cam/Adrik: Cam returned the hug to Charles, and watched with a smile as he ran off to look at his gift. "Dunno if I'll be any real competition, but I definitely want to learn." Then he turned to Bronwyn and returned her hug as well. "I would love one!" then he paused and glanced at his gift to Bronwyn. "let me know if they don't fit, I can use my powers to adjust the size, I just took my best guess when I found them."

Adrik's eyes followed the host, and reluctantly he left his little bird to approach Charles. with a stop at his coat he pulled out a long cardboard box, and he gently tapped on Charles' shoulder to get his attention.

"I am Adrik," he said simply and offered Charles the box. "Vincent explained that there were little ones who live here," and that was the only explanation he gave for the box’s contents. Inside were a series of little wooden animal toys, roughly carved but with just enough detail to be clearly be an adorable rendition of the intended animal.

Bronwyn: "Well now ye've gone and opened Pandora's Box," Bronwyn chuckled. "Watch me call you ev'ry time I find a pair of shoes I love that doesn't come in my size."

She got him a cookie and a hot chocolate and took another minute to gush over her gift.

Now to find Leslie for more magic related conversation. It wasn't often she came across a true witch.

Charles: Charles glanced up. And up. And up. How lovely. Another giant. This must be Vincent's bear. He was certainly bear-sized. The professor smiled warmly and stood to take Adrik's hand and the offered box at once.

"Charles. It's a pleasure to meet you, Adrik." Careful fingers opened the lid of the box and his smile widened at the contents. Gifts for his kids always went far with the professor. "Thank you. How very thoughtful. I'm sure the children will love them. Did you carve these yourself?"

Mason/Leslie: Leslie was sitting near the fire with Ruby, Ester, and others he had yet learned the names of. Ruby and Ester were making demands of him, of more voices and to check on their flowers. Could he make the Christmas tree last forever? Would he? Would Charles allow it?

Was this what being a parent was like? No parent could (or should) half-ass this.

Mason watched from the entryway. A sleepy Rory resting on his shoulders, little arms wrapped around his forehead for balance and warmth.

Cam/Adrik: Cam laughed and settled into a cheeky grin. "Well, you feed me every time I'm in your house so even though you're gonna do it anyway, we'll just call it payment if you do want me to fix a pair of shoes for you." He took the offered snacks and tried not to look like he was enjoying her gushing too much.

Adrik nodded. "I am a tattoo artist," he lifts both of his hands, showing Charles the bear paw prints tattooed onto the back of his hands, leading into the forests that disappeared under his button-up. "But I do woodwork as well. I built my home," these were a lot of words for a normally silent bear, so with a small nod to Charles he turned and returned to Vincent's side.

Then Cam spotted Mason, and he grinned as he gave Bronwyn a small hug and promised to return. He approached Mason with a small parcel, and offered it to the demon along with smaller gift for the sleepy child on his head. Inside of Mason's was a dagger made of a black metal, with intricate carvings etched into the black hilt and pommel, as well as a single ruby set into the center of the hilt.

"If you press the ruby, it extends into a sword- or back into the dagger if it's in the sword form," Cam grinned. The blade was seamless, so it was obviously an extension of his powers. "You gave me a sword last year, I thought maybe you'd like something similar, but a little more versatile."

Bronwyn: "It would be lovely if the tree could last forever, wouldn't it?" Bronwyn said as she joined Leslie and the children. "It would be like Christmas ev'ry day."

Charles: "How fascinating." His smile brightened, curiosity piqued. Meeting interesting people was one of his greatest joys. He didn't know many tattoo artists, and he knew fewer individuals who'd built a home from the ground up with their own hands. More besides, he'd never (to his knowledge) met a werebear. But apparently this particular Fera wasn't much for conversation. With a small smile and nod in return, Charles reclaimed his seat and picked up a new chess piece to examine.

Mason/Leslie: Mason studied the piece, posture absolutely perfect for Rory's sake.

"Weavin' your mutation into items now? How are ya doing that? Someone teach ya?" He pressed the ruby, causing his son to squeak in surprise as the blade suddenly lengthened. Much more awake now. The jewel was pressed again and the weapon stuffed in his pocket. "Thanks, kitten."

Leslie turned to the sound of Bronwyn's voice and smiled. Druids were so ethereal and earthly.

"I think, if we ask the tree nicely, we can make it happen. Don't you?"

Cam/Adrik: "I've always been able to do it- or something like it. This is just the first few times I've tried making them do stuff with a purpose- like stay active for specific reasons, and not just be permanent changes, like the nursery- or have minds of their own, like I did to a teddy bear for a friend's kid," Cam shrugged. "I just... decided to try making it have a singular purpose- likes Charles' chess pieces- and your sword." Cam made sure to point out the sheath, a small leather piece with similar markings to it as what was etched into the hilt. "You're welcome."

Then Cam smiled and handed a small package up to Rory, who now seemed awake enough for his gift. Inside was a little metallic fish with iridescent scales, and as soon as Rory went to touch it, it sprang to life, leaping from its bright wrapping paper to zip around through the air around Rory's head. Then it paused in front of the little boy's face, and zipped forward to give his nose a playful smooch.

Adrik stepped up behind Vincent and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, and he leaned down to nuzzle into Vincent's ear.

Bronwyn: Bronwyn returned the smile. Leslie radiated good energy. Nurturing energy. They would get along very well indeed.

"You know, I think we can. But if you ask me," her voice dropped to a dramatic whisper, "We should ask the professor if it's okay for the tree to live here. The tree should feel welcome if this is goin' to be his home."

Charles: Charles was busy introducing himself to his chess set, studying each of the pieces before placing them in their rightful places on the board.

Vincent/Mason/Leslie: Mason caught a glimpse of Rory's gift and smirked. There was more to Cameron than just genetic mutation. Of that he was almost certain. Unlike the less wholesome (in his opinion) magic of witches, such as the one in the corner smiling oh-so-charmingly with his druid, Cameron's magic did not bastardize living things.

Hearing his son giggle turned his smirk into a full-fledged grin. "I think that won ya 'uncle of the year'."

Leslie played along, nodding sagely.

"Why not go ask him, Ester?" Both girls got to their feet, moving with purpose to grab Charles from whatever that was he was going, tugging him towards their guests, both trying to talk over each other. Something about living trees and can the Christmas tree stay. They promise to feed it and read to it as they did their lilies.

Vincent brought his hands to Adrik's forearm, giving a squeeze to that mighty muscle.

"It's warm here, isn't it?" he whispered to the bear. He hadn't meant the temperature, though it was of course that as well.

Cam/Adrik: "Well he'd be right, I am obviously the best uncle," Cam flashed a grin up at Mason, "and I shall relinquish my title to no one."

Adrik tilted his head, and his arms gave Vincent's shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"Is it?" He asked with another nuzzle. "Is there somewhere we may go to... Cool off?"

Bronwyn: "Looks like I'm goin' to need to make more elemental crystals," Bronwyn chuckled once the girls were out of earshot. "This strappin' lad will need some help if he's goin' to stay up." Provided Charles allowed it, of course.

Charles: Laughing softly, Charles allowed the girls to haul him away from his present engagement, a bishop still clutched in one hand. Though it was all but impossible to hear either of the girls when they were trying to out-speak one another, he gathered the gist of the conversation from all present.

"Hm. Well. I don't know about leaving a living tree inside forever." The thing was massive. Charles loved Christmas more than most, but he was charged with thinking long-term. "Why don't we leave it up for a while, then move it outdoors?" So it didn't have to die. He turned to Bronwyn with an eyebrow raised. "Would it be possible to re-plant? We certainly have the space for it. "

Vincent/Mason/Leslie: Leslie's smile widened with Charles' approach. Mason glanced in their direction before returning his attention to Cameron. He wanted to know how being here, all but living here made the mutant feel. Comfortable? Yearning? He brushed his fingers over Cameron's mind. Asking permission his new shtick.

"I can do it," said Leslie. The jewel cousins' eyes lit up. Perhaps a little more skepticism from Ruby. "I can," he insisted to her, laughing.

"Does cool off mean cool off, or something else?" Vincent asked, craning his head around enough to give Adrik a look.

Cam/Adrik: Cam let Mason into his mind with ease, but he appreciated the request. He liked it here. The kids are all great, and being something of a gym teacher and coach was not a career choice he could have predicted. He did miss the action. The rush. The distractions.

Adrik chuckled and leaned down to kiss Vincent's cheek when he turned his head. "Whatever you wish."

Bronwyn: Bronwyn nodded in agreement. "Aye, it's possible. He'll just need a wee bit of extra care so he can take root." Namely, keeping the tree alive so it could take root.

"It's just like replantin' a branch. With enough time and patience it can be done."

Charles: "Splendid." He smiled between the both of them, never doubting their abilities. "In that case, by all means. Our tree is your tree."

Vincent/Mason/Leslie: Leslie's smile widened. "So long as old boy is held steady, and the soil beneath is soft enough to accept him, I can give him roots again."

Now the girls were chattering amongst themselves, trying to think of something else these two witches could root. As far as they were concerned, Bronwyn and Leslie were one and the same.

"Let's sneak away, then," Vincent whispered. "I'll show you around." Adrik was gently tugged towards the nearest hallway. Just an excuse for privacy. About 80% privacy, 20% tour guide.

Mason clasped his hand to Cameron's shoulder.

"As do I," he whispered. "I don't have nearly enough collections."

Cam/Adrik: "I believe I am a bit too large to sneak," Adrik chuckled, but he followed his little bird, as directed.

Cam smiled up at Mason and placed a hand on his arm to give it a squeeze. "Sounds like you and I could both use a little... fun." He grinned.

Bronwyn: Bronwyn beamed at the pair of them. "You wee lassies should think of a spot for him to go so we can start preparin' the soil. Do you think he needs some friends? We can plant flowers for him so he won't be lonely."

Charles: About to mention the hardening winter ground, Charles nodded instead. "That sounds lovely. There's plenty of free space for you girls to choose from. Just remember to dress warmly, please. No running off without your coats."

Vincent/Mason/Leslie: Shouted yeses were thrown back at Charles as the girls ran towards the foyer. Leslie exchanged looks with Bronwyn. He was already tired and he'd only been here a few hours.

"A bear can be quiet. You're quieter than me!" Vincent was whisper-yelling, which really wasn't much better than his full voice.

"What, wanna go on'a collection with me? Again?" Those were a bloody good time. The red blended well coated over Cameron's green hair and eyes.

Cam/Adrik: Adrik chuckled at that and continued to follow.

Cam hesitated for a moment, but a beat later he smirked and nodded. "You know what, yeah," he'd killed enough already, what was a few whose time was up anyway?

Bronwyn: Bronwyn just laughed. There was no denying or containing the excitement and energy of children around Christmas.

"Look at the bright side. We won't have to go diggin' until the springtime."

Charles: "I should probably go with them," Charles sighed, pocketing the chess piece. "They'll stay out there searching for hours, if I let them."

He paused on his way to the door to eye Cameron and Mason with a raised brow. "Are you planning on joining the party, properly? Or at least letting Rory down so that he can?"

Mason/Leslie: Mason smirked, glancing to the side at a foot. "He's gonna be put down early. Look at him." Barely with his eyes open, despite Cameron's gift. Probably had bought him another five minutes of wakefulness.

Leslie stretched and groaned. He turned back to Bronwyn and smiled. "Should we go with him?"

Cam: Cam smiled up at the sleepy boy, and his new toy nestled comfortably against his cheek. "Understandable, he looked ready to pass out before I even walked over here. He chuckled.

Bronwyn: "Aye, we should," she said with a nod. "We're goin' to have to approve the site of our new project if it's goin' to succeed without too much of our energy bein' spent."

Charles: Charles smiled warmly, and reached up to stroke the child's cheek. His boy. So quiet, when he was exhausted. "And not a moment too soon. You'll have plenty of excitement tomorrow, won't you? Where's Cee?" This last question was directed at the demon.

Mason/Leslie: "I'll be back, then." And a true sign of domestication, Charles was given a quick kiss before turning away.

"Come on, Uncle Cam." We have collections to discuss.

Leslie watched the seemingly happy couple and sighed.

"We should be fine. Not my first tree by any means."

Once more turning back to Bronwyn. "So, Montana? Is that where all of you live? Your family, I mean." He'd gathered much intel from Oliver.

Cam: Cam followed Mason with a smile and a nod.

Bronwyn: Bronwyn couldn't help but smile at the lovely scene, grateful that her beloved Mason finally had the family he deserved.

"Deirdre does, aye. I moved down to New Orleans a few years ago and she came over from Scotland to oversee our family ranch."

Charles: Charles shook his head, chuckling fondly at Mason's back before starting down the hall after the girls.

Mason/Leslie: Leslie gestured after the professor, waiting on Bronwyn to fall into step by her side. "Your sister is definitely magic; she turned a grown man to putty." A flood of laughter spilled from the witch. "For the better."

Mason remained verbally silent while preparing his son for bed. A glance given over his shoulder to Cameron while Rory brushed his teeth.

'You're serious about joinin' me? I have one in the next few days.'

Cam: Cam watched the two with a small smile as he leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom. It was a cute picture.

'Yeah' he replied after a pause. He glanced at Rory, a little uncertain about meeting Mason's gaze. 'Do you... think less of me for wanting to go with you?'

Bronwyn: Bronwyn laughed and shook her head. "She usually has that effect, for better and for worse. I think she would have it even if we weren't what we are. And for what it's worth, she hasn't stopped talkin' about him. She got his dog a Christmas present."

Charles: Charles had dressed for the cold, again, this time donning gloves. The girls could be anywhere, so he blanketed his awareness out to find them.

Mason/Leslie: I hope she can help him. "He needs something good in his life." Leslie continued to smile, holding the door for Bronwyn while rezipping his jacket.

'Why would I think less of you? Did ya forget what I am?' Mason scoffed, a sound which went unnoticed by the little boy as he walked past to his bedroom.

'You're not slaughterin' the fuckin' innocent. You're dealin' with the bottom barrel of fuckin' humanity. Do with em what ya want.'

Cam: "G'night Rory, Merry Christmas," he smiled at the boy as he passed, who was quickly followed by Cam's gift as it nestled into Rory's shoulder to 'rest'.

Then he turned to Mason.

'I dunno... I guess it just... You know if I told Bron or Charles or- anyone else they'd probably say I shouldn't, and a part of me feels like I should feel the same way. I did once- you remember how I struggled the first time I helped... and I just... don't care like I did- in this situation. It's... weird looking at myself like that.... I've changed.' And something about it terrified him. He only shared a sliver of that fear with Mason, followed quickly with a strange surge of determination not to run from it.

Bronwyn: "Well, even if it doesn't work out for some reason, she'll turn his life upside down. In a good way," she added as she stepped outside.

"Speakin' of turnin' someone's life upside down in a good way, how did you meet Charles?"

Charles: Ah. There they were, examining an empty area not too far from the building. Rather than call to the girls, he stopped and waited for Bronwyn and Leslie to catch up.

Mason/Leslie: Alone once more, Mason returned to voice.

"They aren't cut from the same cloth. I call em angels, but they're not. Angels slaughter every fuckin' day. Don't feel pity for the damned. They did it t'themselves."

Leslie shook his head. "Ha! Is that what I did?" The biting cold forced a self-hug. "I met him on the metro in NYC. I don't think it was random chance."

Cam: Cam nodded and smiled slightly. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

Bronwyn: Bronwyn shook her head. "I don't think so either. And aye, you kind of turned his life upside down. Magic tends to do that for people who don't grow up with it or grow up believin' it isn't real. He always seems fascinated by what I can do, I imagine he's the same with you."

Charles: Charles would stare up at the dark winter sky as he waited for their approach, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet in a fairly fruitless effort to ward off the cold. When they did, he'd offer his brightest smile. "Glad the two of you are getting on. I thought you might."

Mason/Leslie: "I mean it, kitten. Not even me."

A hand roughly found Cameron's head, giving an affectionate ruffle.

Leslie smiled at their host.

"Have you ever been afraid of us, Charles?"

Cam: "I don't pity you, Mason. I love you and care about you, there's a big difference," he scowled as Mason ruffled his hair and he swatted away Mason's hand with a laugh. "Hey! I took time to style that today!"

Bronwyn: "Of course we are," Bronwyn said to Charles. "Leslie is lovely and I enjoy the company of lovely people." Especially if those lovely people cared about people she loved.

Charles: "That he is," Charles agreed, before looking up at Leslie with a raised eyebrow. "Afraid of you and Bronwyn? Of course not. Not for an instant."

Mason/Leslie: "And nothin' pleases me more than fuckin' it all up." Mason grinned. In fact, he was going to mussy up that green fauxhawk with both goddamn hands.

Leslie looked between the two of them and laughed. There might have been some modest embarrassment in his smile.

"Did the jewels find a spot?"

Cam: "Hey- hey!" Cam laughed and dodged the hands to the best of his ability, and he tried to duck around Mason in an attempt to escape.

Bronwyn: "Aww, thank you, darlin'." Bronwyn tugged Charles down to kiss his cheek. "Yes, did they? The soil will need some attention before the spring."

Charles: Charles laughed softly, both at Bronwyn's affection and Leslie's little nickname for the girls. He offered the druid his arm and gestured toward the two little figures kneeling side-by-side in the snow, a ways off. "Looks like it. We should head over there before one of them gets frostbite." Ruby was already missing a finger. "How does one magically prepare soil for tree planting?"

Mason/Leslie: "Where ya goin'? Huh? M'not done." This would be a slow chase if ever there was one.

Leslie followed on Charles' other side.

"I'm not sure what a druid would do, but I just need another plant or some worms I can place in the ground, something I can offer as... tribute, I guess you can say, to enrich it."

Cam: "Listen- hey! Nooooo- No touching the hair!" Cam laughed as he tried to escape, although his attempt was half-hearted and he was easily caught once again. "Be nice to my meticulously groomed head!"

Bronwyn: "The soil is probably pretty decent, it just needs some enrichin' as Leslie says. More than normal since it's goin' to support a magical tree. More...potency."

Charles: He nodded, thoughtful. "Well, I'm fresh out of worms. I'm sure the grounds have enough organic matter about, to be useful. Even if we have to do a bit of digging to get at any of it. Erik promised to build a greenhouse, before he left. Pity he never got around to it."

He slowed and then stopped as they reached the girls. "Is this the place, then? Looks sound to me, but then I'm only a humble geneticist."

Mason/Leslie: "But it's beggin' t'be fucked with. It's too dapper." Coming from a man with not one but two closets overfilled with suits, blazers, and vests. Not to mention the array of shoes and wristwatches. This was a matter of preferences. He preferred a disheveled Cameron.

"This is a good spot, jewels," Leslie praised. "Just have to move the snow out of the way and he'll be ready. Does he have a name?" All trees needed a name.

Cam: "Says the man constantly wearing formal clothes!" Cam laughed but eventually gave in to Mason, letting him ruffle Cam's hair with a small scowl on his brow. "Happy?"

Bronwyn: Bronwyn turned to Charles with a thoughtful look. "Are ye still interested in a greenhouse? There's this landscapin' company near my house that builds them. They do good work, I have them mow my lawn when I can't be bothered."

Charles: While the girls fell to whispering between themselves, debating the best name for their tree, Charles looked at Bronwyn with a smile. "Oh, yes. Definitely. I thought it'd be a good addition to the school, and a place for the kids to occupy themselves, if they're interested. We'd been discussing it on and off for years. Would they be able to work all the way up here?"

Mason/Leslie: "Fuck right I am," Mason smirked. "Let's join the others." More specifically, he wanted to keep an eye on that witch Charles had taken a shine to. "N'tell me how involved ya wanna be when the time comes."

"It would be another opportunity for them to learn something," said Leslie. "That would be amazing."

Cam: Cam stuck his tongue out at Mason as he started to readjust his hair, and he began to walk back towards the party.

"I'm down for... whatever- I guess. If you want to set up a plan we can, I wouldn't want to be the only one... Finishing it- I guess. If that makes sense? Not like the last time where it was just me."

Bronwyn: "It wouldn't hurt to ask. If they can't for whatever reason, maybe they could recommend someone or give you some guidelines on what to look for. I think they'd be willin' to work up here though." For the right price.

A price she would be paying.

Charles: "I agree," he nodded to the witch, a tiny smirk tugging at his mouth. "We can hire you to be the herbology professor." For Bronwyn, a proper smile. "Well, if you give me their information, I'll definitely contact them. You seem to know all of the right people, darling."

Mason/Leslie: "I'll make the killin' blow if that's what ya want. Don't feel sympathy for the one I got in mind. They'll deserve every ounce."

Leslie gasped. "Can I wear robes?" But then again, "Bronwyn should be the herbologist." Despite being Verbena, the opportunity seemed better suited for a druid.

Cam: "I dunno if that has to happen- but I don't think I'm opposed. We can play it by ear. Why's this person deserve it?" Cam asked and glanced over at Mason as they walked.

Bronwyn: Bronwyn smiled. "I just spend a lot o' time out and about and stumble across people." She laughed softly. "Ye'd have a whole lot of teenagers learnin' verra obscure poisons if you had me teach them." Among other things she shared with the pair of them while enlisting the help of their girls to inspect the spot they chose for the tree.

Charles: Charles allowed himself to carry on this amusing line of conversation, arguing the merits of each potential professor at their nonexistent school of magic. It was he, however, that ushered everyone along when witch and druid had made whatever preparations were necessary for tree-planting.

"All right. It's freezing." And getting rather late. "We should head inside. I'm sure we'll make time to get him in the ground, once the holidays are over."

Mason/Leslie: "We'll discuss the details when properly alone. Too many telepaths out and about. Besides, ya should get some socializin' in 'fore I steal ya away for bloodlust."

Bronwyn would need watching over as well, no doubt. Sharp eyes on a gentle and seemingly kind Verbena. His duties to his family would not cease over some made up holiday.

Cam: Cam nodded to Mason as they neared the party once more.

"I'll be sure to text you," he winked and slipped off to the side to find the other teachers he had yet to greet.

#Unfortunate Mistletoe chapter #leslieeissott #askprofessorx #masonatlas #vincentcorvidae #changingthelights #camdockstader

1 note · View note

rosesisupposes · 6 years ago

Text

Do It For Us

Sequel to Do It For Him

word count: 5,881

pairing: Royality, background Analogical

warnings: Some mentions of poverty, forced ending of friendships, Deceit Is A Bit Of A Dick, mention of arranged/forced marriage, but mostly Quite A Lot of Fluff

reader tags: @residentanchor @royally-anxious @bewarethegrammarpolice @jemthebookworm @arandompasserby @sparkly-rainbow-salt @astral-eclipse @thelowlysatsuma @adorably-angsty

And, of course, happy birthday month to Royality Queen @notveryglittery and a million thanks to my beta reader and platonic wife @mariniacipher

I had so much fun with the previous fluff, and then @xxxbladeangelxxx inspired me to give the sunshine gays a sequel <3

Read on ao3

Sun glinted and flashed over the metallic staccato of swords clashing against each other. Grunts of efforts mixed with heavy breathing, as two men squared off in the castle courtyard. One feinted to his right then brought his blade in a flashing arc to his left, but his opponent saw through the ruse and blocked easily before retaliating with a snake-like thrust, laying his blade on the other’s neck. The man knelt, acknowledging defeat.

“I yield.”

“A good match, Ian!”

The kneeling man smiled, shaking sweat-matted hair out of his eyes. “It’s kind of you to say, but we all know you’re just so gods-cursed fast, Sir Roman. All we can hope for is to hold our own.” The standing knight grinned, auburn hair only just barely dark at the edges from exertion. “That’s what training’s for, is it not? Learning how to beat me.”

Roman was stretching and chatting with other knights and soldiers in the training yard when he caught sight of a silent audience member to the early morning exercises.

He slipped over to the corner to greet his Prince, grabbing a damp towel on the way to wipe his face.

“Patton, dearest, what wakes you so early?”

The young heir to the throne grinned up impishly at the knight-captain of his guard. “A little birdie told me you practiced shirtless.”

None of his bravado and bluster was enough to prepare Roman for this. A blush immediately spread across his cheeks as his gaze dropped. He was the man primarily responsible for the kingdom’s heir, and he’d run his mother’s farm for years before beginning the rigorous knight training of the past decade and a half. Every inch of his body had been toned in service to the crown and the prince in front of him. And said prince was gazing besottedly at his muscled chest with a warmth that had nothing to do with lust. Or rather, almost nothing.

Pulling them both around the corner, out of view of the soldiers, Roman leaned down to kiss Patton softly. Patton smiled up into the kiss, feeling the heat of Roman’s continuing blush. He broke apart, letting the sensation linger, when suddenly he squeaked as Roman lifted him and spun him around.

“Who knew our sweet prince was so shallow?” he asked with a lopsided grin.

“Only my gaze is shallow: my love is deep,” the prince responded, giggling as he regained his footing. He kissed Roman’s cheek and delighted in the pink tinge that resumed there.

“Dear one, as much as I love to see you, I am starving. I’m on my way to the kitchens unless you need my protection now?”

Patton’s smile dropped for a moment before returning. “No, sweet. I would never keep you from your meals. I will be in my room.”

Growing up as a single child in a royal family meant a young Patton had to be rather creative when it came to making friends. An impressively strong sweet tooth combined with an ability to easily slip past his etiquette teacher led him to toddle down to the kitchens almost every other day. Puppy eyes earned him cookies from the maids and chefs unable to resist. It was after a successful mission, when he was sitting in his favorite alcove, munching on macarons, that he spotted another boy his age.

“Hey! Hello! Who are you?” he piped up happily, waving with his free hand. The other balanced his haul of violet cookies in his now-stained tunic.

The boy froze, eyes wide as he realized the comment had been indeed aimed at him.

“Me? ‘M no one.”

“Silly, no one is no one!” the little prince said cheerfully. “Do you wanna mac’ron?”

The boy approached shyly. “Yeah, that would be nice. They’re my fav’rite color too.”

Patton handed the dark-haired child one of the tiny sandwiches. Cautiously, the other bit into it.

“Oh! ‘S good!” he exclaimed, mouth full.

“What’s your name?”

“Um, Virgil. Virge.”

“I’m Patton! Hi!”

Virgil nearly dropped the remaining half of the cookie. “The prince?”

“Uh-huh! Here, do you want another?”

“I, uh, no, I can’t, they said I can’t talk to the prince or the king or the duke because I’m too little and shy, I don’t wanna be bad.”

“That’s silly,” the little prince said. He squinted at the other boy. He’d already decided that Virge was his new best friend - for the first time, an adult hand wasn’t immediately pulling him away from him. “Dada is very nice. An’ Lyle is silly. You won’t be bad for talking to them!”

Virgil swallowed, then ate more of the cookie. “You sure?”

“Of course!” Patton responded, beaming. “Do you wanna play with me?”

Every day, Virgil expected he’d see the last of the prince, that playing hide-and-seek with a scullery servant would lose its appeal. But instead, their friendship only grew as the years stretched on.

When they were ten, he’d snuck Patton out of the castle for the first time, checking behind him every second. But they’d made it into the city without detection. They’d played hopscotch with other children in the main square, helped a seamstress hold her fabric still, and found a mother cat giving birth to a litter of kittens. Not even discovering his allergy to the fluffy creatures had dampened the young royal’s spirits, and they’d snuck back into the castle high on success.

When they were fourteen, Patton had found Virgil hiding in the dark corner, trying to calm racing thoughts that wouldn’t shut up. Patton had held his hand, talking quietly, and gotten him to start listing what he could see and feel. Virgil had confessed that he’d never tried those strategies before. Patton had hugged him tight to make up for all the times he hadn’t been there.

Roman had put a shirt on, at last, to go find food after training. Following his nose, he spied jam tarts cooling on the counter and slipped into the kitchen through the back door. Cautiously, he went to take a treat, only to get his hand slapped by a mixing spoon. Virgil’s glare made him smile sheepishly.

“Just one?”

“If you want to explain to the full Noble’s Council why their pastry tray isn’t perfectly arranged, then yes, you may have ‘just one,’” the pastry chef complained. “You know we have regular food down here, too.”

Roman sighed dramatically. “But without pastries, how will I survive? How will I live? I beg of you, take pity on me!”

“Then beg,” Virgil responded flatly. Then he made the mistake of making eye contact with the knight and snorted, falling into true laughter. “I’m making regular jam cookies later, Ro. Come back in the afternoon, I’ll keep some on the side for you. These are just the nice ones, kay?”

Roman grinned. “This is why you’re the coulis-t person I know, Virge.”

Virgil groaned in response. “I never should have taught you proper pastry terms. Talyn has some sliced ham and rolls in the next room, go beg from them, alright? I need to finish decorating.”

The knight gave a small mock of a bow and obeyed.

He and Virgil hadn’t always been so friendly. As a young man arriving to the castle for knight training, he’d haunted the kitchens every waking moment. The idea of a full belly was still exciting to a boy whose farm had struggled with droughts for almost half his life. But his sister and her husband had taken over the farm, and he’d been picked out for his strength to become a fighter.

He’d spent his first month in the castle sneaking into the storerooms at every given opportunity, eating anything he thought he could get away with. The kitchen helper, who was about his age, perhaps a year younger, had caught him first in the middle of the day, despite the lunch rush, then in the dead of night. How had he even been awake?

Roman was self-conscious of his hunger, surrounded by all that wealth, and lashed out at the creepy cookie who kept turning up when he least expected it.

But then, one quiet afternoon, he’d been sure the kitchens would be entirely empty. It was the rest period, so surely the safest time for a quick snack. Walking cautiously, he’d rounded the corner, only to see Virgil, covered in flour and butter stains as he carefully plaited a pie crust into a sheaf of wheat. The serenity of his concentration, the clear ease that came with no kitchen madness around him, and his proud smile as he successfully sealed his pastry forced Roman to see him in a new light. He’d cautiously come forward and complimented a job well done. One would think he’d actually seen a field of wheat, once!

The other man had nearly jumped out of his skin at first, but had then calmed enough to wave off the compliment with a smile. They’d had an actual conversation for the first time ever, and hundreds more soon followed. A strange friendship, perhaps, one that was tested every time Virgil made homemade jam for a treat that Roman wasn’t allowed to eat, but a strong friendship all the same.

Roman often wished he was able to show his love for Patton more openly, so that he could introduce the prince to the friends he’d made in the castle.

As he got into uniform to begin an official day as Patton’s protector, Roman spared a sigh for an old friend he’d yet to find here in the capital city. Growing up in a small farming community on the furthest borders of the kingdom, Roman had known only his siblings and parents until a new family moved into the plot next door. Their house burst with children, but there was one boy his age, one who viewed his very energetic siblings with a world-weary eye, even at seven years old. But Roman, the youngest by a huge age gap, was lonely, and jumped at even a stick-in-the-mud as a potential playmate.

Their parents saw Logan and Roman’s friendship as oil and water, yelling matches during chores, long arguments that stretched through the harvest. But their clashes only showed how well-matched they were, how their competition forced them both to improve. Logan brought home books from the headwoman’s private library and introduced Roman to classics and plays, if only so they could immediately argue about the proper interpretation. More than one winter’s night found them in one of the barns with Roman leaping around a makeshift stage in an effort to prove how dramas were meant to be seen, not read.

But then, Logan left. The headwoman knew how much his parents struggled through the droughts with so many mouths to feed, and saw Logan’s innate brilliance. She found an opportunity for him to receive room and board in the capital city itself, and he’d be able to receive the best education Solarya had to offer. It was everything he could have wanted - except, he couldn’t bring his friend. Roman couldn’t leave his farm, anyway - his older brother was serving in the army, his sister had married and moved, and there was no one else to help his parents.

“Lo, I promise, someday I’ll come join you! You’ll see!”

“Roman, while I hope you’re correct, do not make promises you may never be able to keep. It is enough to say that we will try to reunite one day.”

They were standing at the gate, waiting for the coach that would take Logan and his few worldly possessions away, when Roman impulsively hugged the other boy. “I’ll miss you, Logan.”

The eleven-year-old stiffened, then hesitantly hugged back. “I… will miss you as well, Roman.”

Logan hadn’t expected the capital to be so overwhelming. Obviously there would be more people, but why was it so loud? Did more people in one space mean everyone needed to shout all the time? Even inside the castle, there was ambient sound everywhere. He didn’t find his first moment of peace until he was shown to the library. And the quiet of the room couldn’t compare to the symphony of excitement in his brain. Who knew there were so many books? So much knowledge to be unlocked! He was about to dive in when the closing door behind him caught his attention.

“Hello there!” a cheerful voice said in a very energetic library whisper. “You must be Logan!”

Turning, he caught sight of a jovial-looking man in the robes of a Royal University scholar. Round glasses balanced atop a long nose above a huge smile. “I’m Dr. Picani, your tutor. Do you how do?”

Logan stared. This man was not at all what he’d pictured as the most-respected professor in the kingdom. And what was that last sentence? He recognized all the words, but not in that order.

“Uh, hello?” he murmured back. “Yes, I’m Logan. I… sorry, you’re my tutor?”

“You betcha!” the happy man replied. “Not yours alone, of course. We’ll be sharing our time with one other student, who should arrive any second. Let’s go to the study room, shall we?”

He led the way to a small room that contained even more books in addition to a huge slate hung on the wall and two tables with a handful of chairs. Logan sat, still a bit dazed.

Barely a moment had passed before a rap sounded on the door. Dr. Picani opened it to reveal a huge soldier with a no-nonsense expression. “Dr. Picani. His Highness for his lessons.”

The professor nodded, and the soldier stepped aside to reveal a boy a bit younger than Logan. He had clean golden curls and wore a silk tunic. Logan was immediately uncomfortable. Sharing a class with a noble? Who’d probably be much smarter and resentful of sharing a class with a less-educated commoner? He looked down at the wood grain of the table, swallowing disappointment with the reality of what had appeared to be all his dreams coming true.

“Hiya!” a voice cut through. “I’m Patton, what’s your name?”

“Uh, Logan,” he replied, looking up once more.

“Nice to meet you Logan! I’ve never seen you in the castle before, are you new?”

“Yes, I just moved to the city.” Logan decided to not mention where he’d come from - better not give this noble any more reason to look down on him, no matter how strangely friendly he appeared to be. “I presume you’ve lived here for many years?”

“Since I was born! Not that I remember it exactly. Or really anything until I was three. Maybe I only moved here then? No but Dad says we’ve always been here so that’s probably right…”

Logan stared at the other young man as he happily chattered away. Was this what all nobles were like? The few who’d ridden through his hometown had barely made eye contact, let alone talked to commoners like normal people.

“Your Highness, maybe we better start the lesson?” Dr. Picani interjected with a smile.

Logan’s eyes grew huge in his face as he stared at the boy next to him. The guard had said it too - was this really the Prince of Solarya? Yes, Logan knew the Prince was named Patton, but it had become a very popular name in short order since the royal family chose it. The heir to the entire kingdom was grinning bashfully up at their shared tutor, practically still bouncing in his seat with anticipation.

The capital city was bizarre. But seeing the eager smiles on both his tutor’s and the prince’s faces, Logan realized he was probably going to have to get used to it.

As he neared his eighteenth birthday, Prince Patton was pulled into a small audience with his father and the vizier. Both men were stern.

“Prince Patton, why have you been neglecting your deportment classes?”

Patton winced - he’d hoped they wouldn’t notice. “Actually, Father, I have been using that time to learn more about my future kingdom and subjects-”

“You mean you’ve been spending excess time with your servants,” Duke Lyle cut in. Patton fell quiet, seeing his father’s frown deepen.

“Patton, you’re the crown prince; one day, you’ll be king. Our entire country’s fate will be in your hands. But the throne is only as strong as the respect our people have for it. If the prince himself doesn’t exercise proper decorum, doesn’t maintain the acceptable boundaries between liege and vassal, then no one will. Order will disintegrate, and every noble house in our realm will be affected. Now that you are coming of age, you must end these distractions, before another day passes.”

“But Father-”

“No buts, Prince Patton. My decision is final. If you cannot treat those who serve us in the proper manner, and insist on treating them as peers, I will be forced to dismiss them entirely.”

Patton felt tears brimming at the edge of his eyes. He was to lose his friends, then, no matter what he did. At the very least, he would not cost them their livelihoods.

“Very well, Father. I will do as you ask.”

Duke Lyle watched, eyes glittering in victory, as Patton left his father’s study and slowly trudged up the tower steps to his room.

Patton’s birthday arrived, and he was officially presented to the realm as the now-adult heir, no longer just the son of the king but now the official Crown Prince and king-to-be. He performed his role in the pageantry well, smiling and appearing solemn in the appropriate moments. He greeted dignitaries who brought well-wishes, he listened to subjects’ petitions as they appealed to his father, and he did his best to follow the deliberations of his father’s council of advisors. But under his polite mask, he was miserable.

Without his friends, he was alone in a world filled with adults who expected him to carry himself with all the dignity of a royal, yet did not listen to a single suggestion he made. Without the ability to visit Logan in the library, or Virgil in the kitchens, Patton’s days started to blend into one another as he was sent from meeting to audience to meal to meeting.

He begged his father to at least let him visit the city. “I won’t forget my position, Your Majesty. But I wish to be visible to them, at least. Please?”

King Thomas weighed his son with his eyes, then relented. “You may, then. But you’ll need a guard with you at all times.”

Patton deflated the slightest bit. “I suppose that would be most proper, wouldn’t it. One of the castle guards, then?”

Duke Lyle piped up, “Your Majesty, now that the Prince is of age, he ought to have a personal contingent of guards, shouldn’t he?”

The king nodded. “Indeed. There are a number of promising knights who might perform the job quite well.”

Patton was able to even smile naturally at both men. Having to keep the common folk at arm’s length wasn’t ideal, but at least he’d be able to talk to them. And having a knight-guardian would mean he’d at least have companion, if not a friend.

“Your Royal Highness,” Duke Lyle spoke up. “It has come to my and His Majesty’s attention that your silver jubilee is approaching.”

“My what?”

“You turn 25 this year, son,” the king answered. “When I was your age, I had been married a year, and you, my first child, had been born. It is time we look into marriage for you.”

“Father, Duke Lyle, I hardly think such a thing is necessary, not when Father is in such good health-”

“This is not just for the purpose of heirs and lineage, your Highness,” the vizier said smoothly. “Through your marriage, we can make an alliance, or settle tensions with noble houses in our realm or our neighbors’.”

Patton twisted hands in his tunic, hoping neither man noticed. How could he bear to marry another, when Roman’s love was all he wanted or sought? But they’d never approve, or allow such a thing.

“For instance,” the duke continued, his tone one of careful detachment, “the great house of Sanders has a son about your age. His parents are actively searching for an eligible match for him. And of course, they would never want to match him with someone entirely outside his preferences, just as we never would for you, Prince.”

“There are also some younger sons in neighboring kingdoms who could potentially make for a good alliance, but securing the support of House Sanders would be my preference,” the king added.

“I, uh, I thank you, your Majesty, your Grace. May I be excused to think on these options?”

“Of course, son. We will resume at another time.”

Patton walked outside quickly. Pushing through the door into the hall, he came face-to-face with Roman, who was smiling at him with that same gorgeous light in his eyes that always set the butterflies in his stomach a-flutter. But now the butterflies were sluggish and frail, disintegrating into a nauseating goo.

“Roman, can you come to my room? We need to talk,” Patton said. His normal smile quivered as he looked around the hall for observers.

“Of course, dearheart,” Roman said warmly, leading the way. He was so graceful in all his movements that Patton’s heart burned just to watch him walk away.

“Roman, my rose, it’s my father, and the vizier. They… want me to marry. A political marriage. One who just so happens to be Duke Lyle’s nephew. The young Baron Remington of House Sanders.”

Roman stiffened, then smiled sadly. “We knew it would come to this, did we not? We dared to love, knowing the impropriety of it, but we dared all the same. Sunshine, I would never interfere with your duty. I will always guard you, with my heart and my life, but if you must needs marry this noble, I will not stand in the way.”

“You wouldn’t resent it?”

“Would I pine and sorrow for my misfortune?” Roman asked, kissing Patton’s hand softly, then holding it against his own cheek. “Of course I will. I’ll curse my ill luck in being born common, cry fie upon the stars for separating us by our lineage. But I could never resent you, dearheart. Nor can I regret having the chance to have known you and loved you these past six years, not when I treasure each adoring glance and each kiss as dearly as I treasure my life. I only ask that you allow me to remain your vassal and guard, to hold you safe when I cannot hold you close.” Patton melted, hearing Roman’s rich, caramel-sweet voice speak such tender words of devotion. He leaned in to kiss the knight’s affectionate words while they lingered on his lips, and in that moment made a decision.

“Roman, I am to be king, am I not?”

“You’re already the king of my affections, but yes, you will be king of Solarya too, in time.”

“And the king’s rule of Solarya is absolute.”

“As it has been since the Sun herself named the first monarch, yes.”

Patton nodded. “If I’m to be the absolute ruler in the future, I can’t let anyone push me around with edicts that go against my heart and conscience.”

Roman caressed his prince’s cheek with a quizzical expression. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I won’t be coerced into marrying for politics when it necessitates a revolt against my affections. I will refuse to marry Baron Sanders.”

Roman felt his heart galloping in his chest as he met Patton’s shining, determined eyes.

“Patton, do you mean…?”

“Yes, my dear knight. Please, if you’ll have me…” He sank to one knee in front of Roman, keeping their hands clasped. “Sir Roman, will you marry me?”

Roman felt tears leaking out the edge of his eyes as he smiled so wide that his cheeks started to ache. “I will follow you to the ends of the earth, Prince Patton. I have been and always will be yours. Yes, I will marry you, dearest sweet.”

Patton found he was tearing up as well Roman pulled him up to stand with him. Brushing his cheek with light fingers, Patton kissed his now-fiancé thoroughly. As the kiss suddenly turned salty from spilled tears, both men started to giggle. Roman felt his breath catch in his chest, watching the afternoon sun catch Patton’s curls as he threw his head back to laugh. The knight pulled his prince back to him, tasting the sound of laughter on his love’s lips.

“Father. I am not going to marry the Baron. I will be marrying my guard, Sir Roman.” The king stared in shock as his son continued, doors still hanging open from him barging into the king’s private study. “I will be also inviting my old friends from within the castle to our wedding. You may rule as you wish while you continue on the throne, but my reign will not be so divided between classes.”

The vizier, in his customary place by the king’s side, found his voice. “Your Highness, this is all highly-”

“‘Highly improper’? Yes, your Grace, I’m sure it is. And I plan to do it all the same.”

“Your Majesty, you must intercede-”

King Thomas turned to face his chief advisor. “Lyle, you know I value your judgment and advice, but it’s true. Patton will determine his own ruling style. I won’t undermine it, through marriage or otherwise.”

The duke tried once more. “Perhaps, then, a small, private ceremony within the castle?”

“No, your Grace. I am not ashamed of my fiancé nor his status. It will be a full state wedding.”

And it was.

The day dawned bright and sparkling. Keepers of the royal dovecote prepared the white feathery creatures for the grand finale. Footmen laid yards and yards of carpet along the aisle and lined up the benches and chairs of the interior ceremony, while even more footmen and maids displayed bouquets down and out of the public audience doors where the rest of the crowd would watch.

In the office that had been taken over as the central location for the wedding planning, Patton knelt to be on eye level with his floral consultant. “Is everything in order?”

“Yup!” Val responded with a grin the displayed a missing front tooth.

“Even the crowns?”

“You don’t get to see them yet!” she responded, sticking out her tongue. “No peeking!”

Patton grinned and kissed her hand. “I’ll leave them in your capable hands then!” Standing, he exchanged a quick hug and kiss on the cheek with Teresa. He’d commissioned them to arrange every single flower for their celebration, with the full power of the royal treasury behind them. Looking around this room, still filled to bursting with lovely blooms and wreathed in a rich bouquet of scents, he knew he’d made the right choice.

He left and went through the kitchens.

There was Virgil, head pastry chef, forehead creased in concentration as he directed the last details of the grand wedding cake, as a helper delicately placed a sugar-spun rose on the top. The chef turned and caught the eye of the prince with a shy grin. Patton mirrored it and flung himself forward to hug the man.

“Thank you for forgiving me, Virgil.”

“Hey, it was royal duty and all that, right? Knowing you wanted us back, and to be part of your wedding - how could I say no? Even if it is to that lunkhead of a knight.”

“Excuse you!” Roman said, entering with an offended gasp.

Virgil smirked and hugged Roman as well. “Oh good, I didn’t want to talk about you behind your back. Always better to call you a simpleton to your face.”

Roman grinned. “I’d expect nothing more from my favorite marzi-pain. You’re going to be free for the ceremony, right?” He slipped his hand into Patton’s, still getting a tingle of excitement from being so open in front of others.

“Yes, I’m just finishing up here. Is L-, uh, is Logan getting pulled away from his books too?”

“We twisted his arm, or rather, Patton asked very kindly and possibly offered to increase the library budget. So yes.”

“Why, is there a reason you’d perhaps like our resident scholar to be present?” Patton asked in his blandest-possible court voice.

Virgil ducked his head in response and said nothing, but Roman and Patton made eye contact as they both noticed the tiny smile playing across their friend’s lips.

A servant popped his head through the kitchen door. “Your Highness! And Knight-Captain! Thank goodness. We’re getting close to the ceremony, we need to get you both ready!”

The fiancés squeezed their linked hands once more before following the servant out, waving to Virgil as they left.

Royal fanfare sounded as a string quartet began to play processional music. King Thomas stood at the altar as Duke Lyle attempted to conceal his glower in his place at the king’s elbow. They looked with the rest of the audience as people from the city, the guard, and the castle turned in their seats. Two aisles curved on either side of the seating area.

As gentle tones played, young women strode down the carpeted aisles, sprinkling flower petals. One wore light pink and purple under a blonde updo, and the other in blue and white under a matching hairdo in light brunette. Patton and Roman emerged in their wake from separate entrances. Virgil and Logan, in matching slate-grey suits, accompanied each fiancé as they paced deliberately down the aisle. Roman wore a custom dress uniform, a beautiful work in red and white, accented with gold filigree. The seal of the ancient House of Solarya had been reworked into his own flattering colors. His auburn hair was perfectly curled and shone in the sunlight. But it was nothing compared to the blaze of his smile as he neared his beloved Prince.

Patton gripped Virgil’s elbow tight as he strove to keep his steps in time with the music. The prince had kept the pomp of his station for the ceremony itself, but when it came to his own person, his modesty shone through. He did not wear the silken doublet and hose of the royal family, nor the yards-long cloak. He had chosen to leave off even a modest tiara or circlet to show his rank. Instead, he dressed in the finery of his citizens: tailored long jacket and long pants in his signature light blue. In his lapel, a rose as red as cherries in summer was affixed proudly, mirroring the lovely sprig of hydrangea pinned to Roman’s sash.

At last, both journeys down the aisle were complete, as Roman and Patton came face-to-face at the aisle. Taking his hands, Patton smiled so wide his face was practically split in two. The musicians finished on a last sweet note as King Thomas stood forward to officiate.

“Ladies, lords, nonbinary nobility, and all our treasured friends of Solarya,” he spoke, his strong voice projecting out the open public doors to the waiting public beyond. “Thank you, one and all, for joining us on a day of such bliss for our family. Our son and heir, Prince Patton, means today to wed Sir Roman, Knight-Captain of the Castle Guard. We are beyond proud of our son, and bless this union wholeheartedly. They have prepared their own vows.” The king stepped back, bowing their head. Virgil, far too close to the current head of the nation for his comfort, was startled to spot the king wiping away a single happy tear that coursed down the royal cheek.

“Dearest Patton,” Roman began, clearing his throat. “Whether near or far, I am always yours. I was content to be your guardian from all the world. Now, I pledge to be your champion, protecting your person, your throne, and your heart. I will tell you each morning those qualities of yours that I’ve fallen in love with, and I will never run dry as I fall in love more each day. From now until forever, dear sweet. I love you.”

Logan watched his childhood friend glowing with adoration and found his normal distaste with sentiment had entirely vanished. Or perhaps it had curled up in his throat and was the reason he now felt almost close to tears. He surreptitiously sneaked a glance as his fellow groomsman and saw Virgil’s shining eyes grow soft in his face as he watched the gentle kiss Roman planted on his beloved’s hand.

Patton carefully wiped an eye underneath his glasses and took his turn to speak. “My precious Roman. I feel as if I have loved you for a thousand years, and yet I know I will love you for at least a thousand more. Glorious knight, your courage takes my breath away, and your ideals alight a fire in my mind and heart. I pledge to never again be your liege, but your partner, equal in every sense. You will be no royal consort, but my king as I will be yours. From now until forever: I love you.”

At the prince’s pronouncement, Virgil watched Roman’s eyes widen. He risked a look behind to see a similar level of shock in the king’s eyes, and something that looked like speechless indignation in the Duke’s. It seemed Patton hadn’t told any besides his best men of his plan to elevate Roman to full royal status, including his husband-to-be.

But Roman recovered as Patton elegantly bowed to kiss his hand in return, and Teresa, glorious in a coppery gown, stepped forward with a mahogany box. Virgil and Logan walked to meet her as she flipped open the top, revealing two flower crowns nestled in a velvet bed. Tiny red roses and individual blue hydrangea flowerheads created two circlets as the best men removed them and set them upon the grooms’ heads. Long silken ribbons in gold connected the two crowns to each other, allowing room for Roman and Patton to turned to face the crowd. As the audience caught sight, there was a gasp followed by a roar of approval and joy. The binding crowns, as they were called, were part of the age-old Solaryan commoner marriage ceremony. Only the most progressive or least-connected noble houses had adopted the tradition that almost every other citizen of the country practiced. But now the citizens of Solarya watched as their crown prince stood with his husband in the finery they themselves had worn on their wedding days. And the delicate crowns sat where soon would lie the two crowns of their future kings.

King Thomas was barely able to speak through his delighted tears, but managed to squeak out: “Husband and husband!”

Roman took the opportunity to dip his love deep and kiss the prince in full view of the entire kingdom as white doves took flight and celebratory bells began to peal, bright and loud. They’d done it, in spite of all. They’d defied, class, norms, and propriety to declare and affirm their love to all who cared to see. A new age of Solarya dawned on the horizon, as bright as their patron Sun and just as warm.

68 notes · View notes

aoibaratraveler · 5 years ago

Text

A Look Back At My Time In Japan Part 1!

Time for some Japan nostalgia!

I was hoping to write this much sooner than now but between settling back after our road trip, finding a job and then finding time to organize my life during my days off has been difficult!

This will be part of a three semi-detailed/summarised blog looking back at what I can remember from living in Japan three years ago; since I was too much of a fool to document it back then but then again I was having the time of my life so that can be a good enough excuse I guess, right?

Part One will be my first month in Japan where I was living in Tokyo with a friend who graciously let me stay in her apartment. Part Two (and maybe three) will be my four months living, studying, and working in Nagasaki and Part Three (or 4) will be my hitch-hiking back-packing trip around Japan in what was my final month of my six months living there!

Pre-arrival/Arrival in Japan and First Impressions:

I was excited beyond belief that I was finally going to go live and explore Japan and be away from home for the first time. I was also super nervous, the preparation to study abroad was pretty intense for someone who had never done it before and for someone who had never gone through the paperwork of visa application, passport renewal and getting all the documents together for the study abroad application itself. Once that was settled though it was just the wait to be able to go (maybe I should write a simple how-to of my experience with the study abroad application and why I think every university student should do it?). I purchased my departure ticket to be on 29th February 2016 which I thought was pretty cool since it’s not every day you get to fly on a leap year. About six months prior to this I had met up with a close friend of mine who was about to leave for a year to participate in the JET programme and she, we’ll call her L, invited me to stay with her for the month of March in Tokyo to sightsee and hang out before my study program would start in April and of course I took her up on it!

In the days leading up to my departure, I really went all out and planned my own going away party with all my friends and had the best time with an escape game, archery tag and a poutine party. The bf, who at that time was just a friend, met up with me beforehand and helped me pick out a bunch of Canadian souvenir type things to bring with me to Japan so I could give to my homestay family. It was a fantastic day and very special so I had no idea that on the day I was set to leave that one of my other close friends, A and the bf planned to sing me a going away song at the airport (to be clear, the bf didn’t actually sing, A did and he provided the music on his laptop and speakers). This tidbit may a bit unnecessary in my nostalgic walk down memory lane but it is just part of what made those six months some of the best times in my life.

Anyway, enveloped in jitters and excitement I boarded my plane to Japan to start my journey, or as the Japanese say “tabi” (旅). I flew into Haneda airport which is quite central to Tokyo and I then found myself squeezed into a sea of evening commuters on the metro. Unfortunately, when I got off the metro and proceeded to take the escalator out of the station…I dropped my suitcase down it and one of the wheels broke which made walking around Tokyo a tad difficult. At that time I hadn’t realized that there was free wifi pretty much everywhere in Tokyo and while trying to find my friend’s apartment…I got lost for about an hour. It was pretty funny and I wasn’t too worried, to be honest, but I did feel bad to be keeping my friend waiting. I found a payphone to try and call her to tell her what was happening but I ran out of change while on the call (had a bit of leftover change with me from when I had first vacationed in Japan two years prior). After a while of walking around and trying to follow google map’s offline directions, I found a koban (a small police station) and gave the police officer the address that I was trying to find. The police officer was very kind and accommodating and pulled out a map to show me where I was and where I was trying to go (which actually wasn’t too far away…I was walking in circles). He then copied down the address on a big piece of paper with some instructions and hailed a taxi for me since he figured it was late and I should just take a taxi which I didn’t mind. I got to my friend’s place in no time at all and settled myself in.

First Two Weeks in Tokyo:

In my first few days, I took out my Japanese textbooks so I could prepare myself and brush up on things to be ready for classes at my university in Nagasaki and because I was planning to be staying with a homestay family that could speak no English…..well, being that I am pretty much the queen of procrastination, those collected dust pretty fast. Since it was a small apartment and I had a suitcase and big travel rook sack with me, L’s sister advised me to just send it to my homestay to be stored there in the meantime. The Japanese postal service is amazing and although my suitcase was pretty big and heavy they had no problems with shipping it to my homestay in Nagasaki the same day.

L’s neighborhood was quite cute and quiet and super pleasant to explore. It was pretty suburban and away from the hustle and bustle of central Tokyo which I greatly appreciated. Since L had work, I often explored on my own and was able to borrow her sister’s bike to further acquaint myself with the area. One of the days I borrowed her sister’s bike, I rode to Arakawa river which is a huge river just outside central Tokyo. I brought my textbooks along and thought I would spend a quiet afternoon just revising next to the river. I didn’t. Instead I rode the bike along the river and took everything in. There were other people there on runs, some guys practicing skateboarding and an old man playing the saxophone. When I finally got around to sitting down and opening up my textbook, a friendly old man walked up to me and with a big smile on his face asked me what I was doing there and why I was in Japan. I told him and we had a pleasant conversation at the end of which he handed me a bag of something from his garden–I think basil? And then told me to enjoy Japan. I didn’t exactly know what to do with this bag so I just gave it to L’s sister who had been doing most of the cooking in L’s place to include in whatever dish she was next going to make.

In the following days, I did all the typical touristy stuff in that I spent an entire day at one point just walking to and around central Tokyo and taking as many artsy photos as I could manage with my old phone. I explored around the Tokyo Sky Tree, perused Sunshine city—definitely made sure to check out all the Ghibli and Sailor Moon items I could find and get a spectacular view from the 59th floor (the place has 60 floors but you have to pay from the 60th and I ain’t about that life).

At the end of my first week in Japan, I made my way to an Airbnb hostel where I would be spending the next 4 days. This place was pretty interesting and my first real hostel experience. Everyone there was really friendly and I became quite close with my roomie who was the embodiment of a stereotypical German woman in that she was tall, pretty, had long blonde hair and sky blue eyes. She was in Tokyo for a mini-vacation from where she had been staying in Hokkaido and basically just wanted a change of pace. We exchanged stories, shared a few laughs and went sightseeing together. We are both fans of anime so we decided to check out Akihabara and since neither of us wanted to go to one alone, we decided to go to a maid cafe…and boy was that an experience. Firstly, it was super expensive so props to the girls who work there because they probably make a ton of money but it was also just very awkward. The maids put on a performance and called us “master” and refused to take any orders for food from us unless we put our hands up to our faces like cat paws and said “nyaa nyaa” first. Afterward, we did the very cliche anime couple thing and went to ride a pedal boat at Ueno park; it was a very silly but funny day. In the following days at the hostel, the roomie and I explored Shibuya crossing, the Hachiko statue, the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno on a rainy day and went to a Pokemon center where I purchased a little Charmander souvenir for the bf (who was then just a friend). It was definitely a very cool little pocket of my time in Tokyo. I ended off my first two weeks in Tokyo by visiting the imperial palace and exploring the royal gardens and…..go to the Ghibli Museum! The Ghibli Museum was beyond impressive and I definitely teared up a bit to be there. It was so cool, we weren’t allowed to take any photos from inside but it was like being transported to another world. On top of the museum was a life-size statue of the robot from Castle in the Sky and inside the museum were all these cute little bits from the movie and a mini theatre where you could watch original Ghibli film shorts. There was also a lovely gift shop with so many beautiful items like illustrated postcards; I purchased a lovely illustrated postcard of the Ghibli museum during the day…which I inevitably misplaced (I’m terrible, I lose everything).

Second Two Weeks:

I met up with a Japanese friend who I had met in Vancouver and we went for a day trip to explore Kawagoe also known as “Little Edo”. I say day trip but really it wasn’t until I got there that I realized that Google had lied to me when I searched best day trips from Tokyo because as lovely as Kawagoe was, it wasn’t worth a “day trip” because it was so small that it could be done in an hour or two! It was really quite funny, to be honest. It was very pretty and had loads of old-style architecture from the Edo period, hence where it got its nickname but there wasn’t all that much to do and a bit expensive to get to so after a couple of hours of walking around and trying to make our money’s worth of the train ticket to get there we decided to head to the next biggest spot to explore; Yokohama. Yokohama was definitely very fun and vibrant and the Chinatown there was great. We snacked on a bunch of samples and enjoyed the pretty night lights of the area. It was certainly a day with a lot of contrast.

The next day was great because the next day L and I headed to Taiwan! L managed to get a week off and so we thought why not explore Taipei during that time and get a little break from Tokyo. I, unfortunately, did not know the geography of the city too well and when I booked the Airbnb it ended up being too far from the centre of Taipei city and hence too far from any convenient connections to explore outside of Taipei PLUS we went right in the middle of the rainy season so it was a bit difficult to do any fun outdoorsy things. We still made the most of our time there and had a lot of fun. We ate at a few night markets and tried a lot of food, explored the area near our Airbnb, visited a cafe that was owned by a family friend of L’s and went to the National Palace Museum which housed tons of historical artifacts from China, it was pretty grand. Even though we spent the last two days of our trip sick in bed I’d still go back to Taiwan again to explore more of what the country has to offer and try more of the food!

Last Week in Tokyo + Night in Fukuoka:

I spent the majority of my last week in Tokyo just chillin’ really and preparing for my departure to Nagasaki, although I did go with L and her sister to do some lesser-known sightseeing in parts of Ginza and did the obligatory visit to the Tsukiji fish market to taste a delicious array of food. As well as some egg on a stick. Good stuff. The last bit of sightseeing that I can remember for that week was in two really interesting parts of Tokyo that not many people think to visit when they explore the city (well this was back then, it seems to have gotten a lot more popular now) known as Yanaka and Nezu. These two neighborhoods make up what used to be Tokyo old downtown and have really kept their old-timey style. Walking through these neighborhoods felt like taking a trip back to the Show era of Japan and walking through the Yanaka cemetery felt very mysterious and cool. I gotta be honest though, as pretty as these places were, I mostly remember them because of the delicious beef korokke and taiyaki that I had there. 10/10. I’m only in part one of my nostalgia blogs but I’m telling you now that I basically ate my way through Japan.

So it was my final night before heading to Narita airport for my flight to Fukuoka and what did I decide to do? Laundry. Except L didn’t have a dryer and the weather wasn’t warm enough for my clothes to be dried fast enough to pack them up and I’m not sure what exactly happened but I think I broke the washer or something because for some reason the water didn’t drain so it wouldn’t have mattered if she had a dryer because my clothes were soaked. With only an hour to go before I had to be out of her apartment (L was asleep and I had decided to just not sleep that night since my flight was so early and I had to leave her apartment at 5 am), I wrung the clothes out as best I could, packed them in the new suitcase that I purchased in Taiwan to replace the one that I sent to Nagasaki with the wheel I had broken on my first day in Tokyo and was off. L’s place wasn’t far from the train station and I arrived 20 minutes before the first train of the day so I decided to go grab some breakfast and use the toilet at the nearby 7/11. Many convenience stores in Japan have two floors and a seating area so it’s a really nice place to just chill for a bit if you’re waiting for a train. A bit dramatic but I’ll never forget this day for the sheer amount that happened in a single morning. So I said before that I thought I’d use the toilet before heading off for the train and I guess for the first and only time in my life, I left the door unlocked…well a construction worker walked in on me on the toilet because of course. I screamed, he screamed and then he awkwardly and for some reason, slowly, closed the door while I died of humiliation. Anyway, I finally hopped on the train to Narita with tears of humiliation still in my eyes and also simultaneously laughing at myself. There weren’t many people on the train thankfully but I’m sure I was still dubbed a crazy foreigner in the minds of the people that were on the train. Oh, by the way, I may not have kept a journal at the time in a technical manner of speaking but I did have a daily journal in the form of me texting the bf every day (again, he was just a good friend at this point) and sending him long messages of what I did every day. Having him to confide in all the time definitely helped me to not go insane, especially that day and especially since Japan is ahead of Canada so he was still awake at that point. Once I arrived at the airport, I was to be greeted by the news that my suitcase was too heavy to be checked in without having to pay an extra exuberant amount, why you may ask? Because my clothes were still frigging wet. Well, partially owing to that and the fact that I accidentally purchased a heavyweight suitcase in Taipei…oops. After some reorganization of my suitcase and bag and *ahem* throwing out some things that I no longer deemed necessary to my life, I was finally able to be checked in..rather late (everyone was waiting for me, what can I say? I was a mess). Pretty sure I cried in my sleep when I finally arrived at my seat on the plane and passed out.

It was a relief to finally arrive in Fukuoka and the airport was so close to the main train station! It only took about 7 minutes to get there. I obviously got there really early in the day so I walked around Hakata station and explored the area before meeting up with the rest of the people who were part of my exchange program for the Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies at the hotel that they were to be staying at and signing in to show that I had arrived. Now I said they were staying at that hotel because of course, I wouldn’t be. But don’t worry, this was by choice, why spend the equivalent of $80 somewhere when the true shoestring traveler way is to rough it up somewhere for little to nothing? It took a bit of searching but I managed to find a family restaurant that was open 24/7 and not too far from the hotel (although sadly had no wifi), left my big ol’ suitcase outside (yay for safe Japan) and headed inside for the night where I did my best to study for the whole night, order some food every now and then and eventually pass out for a couple of hours. The next day I met back up with the exchange group, boarded the bus to Nagasaki and headed to the university to meet my homestay family who I would be staying with for the next four months! (spoiler alert: my homestay mother was about an hour or two late to pick me up and I was, in fact, the last person to be picked up at the university…so yea the first of many reasons why my homestay experience was certainly an interesting one).

#lifeinjapan #nostalgia #studyabroad #japantrip #firstsolotrip #japantravel #japan #Travelblog

1 note · View note

zpidey-sense · 6 years ago

Text

Dark Night: The God of Thunder.

Previous Issue / Next Issue

Description: Loki fucked up big time and now the whole Realm knows they have been ruled by him for 4 straight years. Meanwhile Thor and Mae finally reunite again and Mae is asked take a decision, whether to stay in Asgard or go with them to Midgard. Which decision will she take?

Warnings for the whole fic: yes, a lot. Strong language such as cursing, violence of course, death yes, also spoilers for all the MCU movies already released to date, and also a lot of fluff cause yeah lol I love fluff. AND ANGST.

Words: 5.483 ohhhhhh

Note: maybe some chapters will be written on third person. And it’s finally here! And oh I love writing Thor, he is such a sunshine!

And here is my masterlist! If you are interested!

This is it; this is how my Asgardian adventures will finally come to an end and how I will end up in jail for the rest of my sad, pathetic, human life.

And no, it wasn’t for the jokes I used to pull on the guards of the castle, it wasn’t for trespassing places people weren’t allowed in, it wasn’t neither for occasionally making something, most likely something bad, happen at school just for fun.

Nope, it was going to be for something that wasn’t even in my control.

Fuck. Goddammit.

I really should have said no back then when Loki offered this to me and let him kill me just there. Jesus, why do I always have to do the wrong things?

‘’Uh, my son, Thor, has returned!’’, Loki said out loud, for everyone there to listen as he pointed at Thor, with a fake smile on his face. ‘’Greetings, my boy!’’, he added.

Everybody started to clap as Thor kindly smiled at them, but just a little bit. I clapped as well; slowly starting to walk away of there because I knew what was coming. But there were a lot of people surrounding us anyway, so I couldn’t get away without anyone noticing.

Perfect.

‘’It’s an interesting play. What’s it called?’’, Thor asked as he started to walk towards Odin… Loki was sitting again on his chair as Thor looked at him, trying to determinate him.

Loki was too relaxed, too unbothered. Or at least, he was pretending to be so.

‘’The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard’’, Loki said with pride on his voice. I just shook my head as I closed my eyes, I couldn’t believe he said it that way. ‘’The people wanted to commemorate him’’, he added when Thor didn’t say anything.

‘’Ah, indeed they should’’, Thor said as he stood in front of Loki now. ‘’I like the statue’’, he added.

I let out a little chuckle, because sarcasm coming from Thor was always better than it coming from Loki. When I laughed Loki looked at me for a small fraction of a second and then just looked back at Thor.

I’ve always said to him that the statue was the main thing that would give him away if Thor ever returned to Asgard, which he would soon of course, and he did.

‘’A lot better looking than he was when he was alive, though’’, I just couldn’t keep my smile back when he said that. ‘’A little less weaselly, less greasy, maybe’’

Oh, Thor definitely knew he wasn’t Odin. That’s why he was saying that.

Loki kind of let out a faint laugh on a rather uncomfortable and nervous way, he shifted positions while he was still sitting and I just smiled a bit more. Oh, maybe this was going to be more hilarious than disastrous. And if it was going to be like that then I might as well enjoy this and have the time of my life before going to jail.

‘’Do you know what this is?’’, Thor asked as he held up what seemed to be like a skull, with some huge horns on it. Loki seemed now surprised.

‘’The skull of Surtur. That’s a formidable weapon!’’, but Thor didn’t pay attention to him or what he said.

‘’Do me a favor’’, he spoke to one of the soldiers that stood behind Loki. ‘’Lock this away in a vault so it doesn’t turn into a giant monster and destroy the whole planet’’, he said as the soldier took it away from his hand.

Loki and Thor then exchanged looks, Loki seemed really nervous meanwhile Thor seemed… not as angry as I thought he would be, but still angry. Loki stood up quickly and kind of followed his brother to where he started to walk when they both stopped looking at each other.

‘’Thank you dear’’, he said quickly giving the cup of wine, still full; to one of the girls he always kept around to help him. They didn’t like me, and I did neither, so I just smiled when a bit of wine dropped on her dress. ‘’Uhm… so it’s back to Midgard for you, is it?’’

Thor smiled:

‘’Nope’’, he said as he simultaneously threw the Mjolnir in the air, and caught it back as if it was just a little ball you’d play with.

Loki looked quickly at me, like asking for help as Thor was too distracted now looking at the Mjolnir. I just made him a little sign, because I honestly didn’t know what to do neither, then we just looked back at Thor as he started to talk again.

‘’I’ve been having this recurring dream lately’’, he looked back at Loki. ‘’Every night I see Asgard fall into ruins’’, and he threw his Mjolnir again.

‘’That’s just a silly dream… signs of an overactive imagination’’, Loki said as they both got closer to each other.

‘’Possibly’’, Thor responded with a smile. ‘’But then I decide to go out there and investigate. And what do I find, but the Nine Realms completely in chaos’’

And he threw his Mjolnir again, catching it just as easily as he threw it:

‘’Enemies of Asgard assembling, plotting our demise, all while you Odin, the protector of those Nine Realms, are sitting here in your bathrobe eating grapes’’

Ouch.

Thor really said that in front of everyone.

Everyone was looking at them, everyone was listening at them. They were pretending not to be doing it, but that’s what they always did. Some of them were of course just admiring Thor and wondering why he had disappeared all these years, but most of them were totally eavesdropping.

‘’Yes, it is best to respect our neighbors’ freedom’’, and Thor smiled again, rather sarcastically.

‘’Yes, of course, the freedom to be massacred’’, and just as he finished that sentence he threw the Mjolnir on Loki’s direction. He was almost hit by it, but he moved quickly aside.

Now everyone really turned their attention to the both of them. Pretending time was over.

‘’Yes, besides I’ve been rather busy myself’’, Loki quickly added to the conversation. He was really nervous and it showed. I just rolled my eyes at how dumb he was for saying that.

‘’Watching theatre’’, Thor nodded.

‘’Well… board meetings and Security Council meetings…’’, but Thor quickly interrupted him, getting closer now.

‘’You’re really gonna make me do it?’’, he asked, rather disappointed than mad.

Oh no. So this is how it’s going to happen… in front of everyone.

‘’Do what?’’, Loki asked totally oblivious of the situation. Or more like in hopes that it wasn’t what he thought it was. He was in denial.

Thor just kept silent for some seconds with a blank expression on his face, until he threw the Mjolnir again but this time farther away from us. Loki seemed confused and now just a bit scared of what was going to happen. Everyone started to murmur as they seemed scared too.

‘’You know that nothing will stop Mjolnir as it returns to my hand’’, he said as he walked behind Loki and just smiled a bit. ‘’Not even your face’’

The guards quickly put themselves in position as Thor put his hand behind Odin’s head, everyone seemed alarmed and ready to attack him, and meanwhile I just watched the whole situation, totally serene. Everyone seemed scared of Thor, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen… Thor just wasn’t like that.

‘’You’ve gone quite mad. You’ll be executed for this’’, Loki said rather calmly, but no, he really wasn’t. I knew he was shaking. I knew him too well; he was too scared of his brother right now.

But Thor just smiled and then he said on an unbothered voice:

‘’Then I’ll see you in the other side, brother’’

The look on Loki’s face said it all, he was busted.

‘’Alright! I yield!’’, and then Thor pushed him away of the Mjolnir’s way, just before it returned to his hand. Loki took off his Odin appearance and then just showed his true self.

As soon as he did that everyone screamed, some people surprised and some others scared of him. People dropped things and some others even jumped a few steps back, Loki kept quiet for some seconds until he turned around and looked at Thor again, he gave him one of his smiles.

I just rolled my eyes as I saw how Skurge, the one who was supposed to tell the King who is entering and leaving the realm at any times, appeared through the crowd:

‘’Behold!’’, he began to say while he was still gasping, too tired to even talk. ‘’Thor… Odinson… ‘’

‘’No’’, Loki finally spoke as he turned around to look at him. ‘’No, no, no… you had one job. Just the one’’

And then he finally turned around to see his brother, who seemed tired and still mad at his brother, but again not as mad as I imagined he would be. I mean he was impersonating their father, I thought he would be raging fire and fighting Loki at this point.

But I guess not, and I’m really glad it wasn’t like that.

‘’Where’s Odin?’’, Thor asked immediately.

‘’You just couldn’t stay away, could you?’’, Loki asked now looking totally defeated, but also amused. He was smiling still. ‘’Everything was fine without you!’’

Well, he wasn’t that wrong. I’ve heard from people in the street and even at school that Asgard hadn’t had a war or battle in years, and the people seemed alright with it. And they also liked the theatre plays, a lot to be honest.

Loki continued to speak:

‘’Asgard was prospering. You’ve ruined everything’’. He said as he started to walk towards Thor, too confident on himself now. ‘’Ask them…’’

But Thor quickly interrupted him, walking now towards him as Loki quickly walked backwards, almost falling with the stairs behind him. He seemed notably scared of his brother.

‘’Where is father? Did you kill him?’’, he asked again.

‘’You had what you wanted’’, Loki continued to say as he kept walking backwards. ‘’You had the independence you asked for’’

And then Loki fell on top of the chair he was sit on just some minutes ago, Thor just put Mjolnir above his chest, pressing it a bit just as Loki started to shout in pain. After some seconds he finally gave in.

‘’Okay, I know exactly where he is’’

And then Thor just smiled, lifting the Mjolnir off his chest and just walking away of him:

‘’Then let’s go brother’’

‘’Alright, alright’’, he said as he quickly got up and started to walk behind his brother. He then made me a sign to follow the both of them.

‘’No’’, I whispered as I shook my head saying no a couple of times, everyone was looking at me. And they were starting to whisper.

He then raised his eyebrow as he looked at me that way I already knew too well, he was threatening me again, so I just rolled my eyes and then just followed them, Loki smiling again.

Sometimes he was really a child.

‘’Hey, Thor’’, I murmured as I just walked next to them.

‘’Hey, Mae’’ he smiled just as big as the last time he smiled at me, and I just smiled back. ‘’It’s good to see you again’’

‘’And it’s good to have you back’’, I replied actually happy, just as Loki made an annoyed sound.

‘’What are you looking for, again?’’, Thor asked now rather annoyed.

I get him; we had been here for the last half an hour.

‘’Something’’, Loki murmured.

‘’And is it that important?’’, Thor asked again.

‘’Yes, it is’’

‘’Why?’’

‘’For Odin’s sake, literally! Because it is the paper they gave me where I left father and without it they will not let us in’’, he said as he opened and closed cabinets. We were on Odin’s chambers and now it just looked like a giant mess.

‘’Are you sure you remember where is he?’’, Thor asked again, not believing Loki’s story that much.

‘’Yes, I am. But you came back out of nowhere and I of course don’t have that damn paper at hands. Also you’ve ruined everything, brother’’, Loki said more annoyed than Thor was. ‘’So don’t expect me to be faster than this’’, he added on the low.

‘’Oh come on, you knew he was going to come back some day’’, I said as I kept eating my apple, totally unbothered. I was sitting above the desk just as I looked at him.

‘’I knew he was going to come! And I had a plan for that, that’s why that idiot of Snurge needed to tell me just before, so I could be prepared to execute the plan!’’

‘’Skurge’’, I corrected him.

‘’That moron’’

‘’Anyhow, don’t you think he was going to notice the huge Loki statue over there, or the changes you did in Asgard?’’, he was going to reply but I just kept talking. ‘’I told you the idea of the statue was a bad one, and yet you didn’t listen to me’’

‘’Come on! You were the one who helped m…’’, he started to say but was quickly interrupted by Thor.

‘’Wait, Mae, you knew about him impersonating Odin all this time?’’, he was really surprised.

‘’Huh…’’, I gulped but then quickly spoke in my defense. ‘’He threatened to kill me if I ever told someone, especially you’’

Thor then looked at Loki, and he just shrugged as he smiled, turning around and starting to look for the paper again. Thor just shook his head in disapproval, as he closed his eyes and held the bridge of his nose:

‘’Now he is threatening children… god, brother. When will you learn?’’

I was going to say that I wasn’t a child, but Loki just laughed in response of his brother’s question. I just rolled my eyes and then just turned back to face Thor.

‘’I’m not going to jail, right?’’, I asked to him.

‘’Oh no, you’re just a child. And he threatened you, so you’re clearly not going to jail’’

‘’I’m not a child anymore, I’m almost 16’’, I replied while frowning

‘’You’re a child, Mae. And that’s the only thing keeping you from going to jail, so just hush and be a child’’, Loki said as he looked at me, I just looked down and kept quiet.

He was probably right, so I wasn’t going to argue against that; instead I just took another bite from my apple.

‘’Huh… also, because you’re my friend’’, Thor quickly added and I looked at him, my heart pounding really fast as I saw how he was smiling. ‘’I’m glad to see you again, Mae!’’

Thor said it, he considered me his friend. That was it, my life was made.

‘’I’m really glad to see you again too!’’, I smiled again, too big that it even hurt.

‘’Oh please brother, I was your friend too and you still put me in jail some years ago’’

‘’No, you were my brother and you were being a moron, so you totally deserved to go to jail’’

‘’Same diff’’, he commented.

‘’How is it the same to try to slave a whole planet to keeping quiet because someone threatened you to do so?’’, Loki just shrugged in response and I looked back at Thor. ‘’Moron’’, he repeated.

We then went silent for some minutes; meanwhile we could only hear the sound of the papers flying through the room as Thor kept throwing the Mjolnir in the air and catching it back, as if it was a tennis ball.

‘’But why is a paper necessary, where did you leave father?’’, Thor suddenly asked as he caught the Mjolnir again.

‘’He is in Earth, alright?’’, Loki finally let it out, facing us.

‘’Wait what?’’, I quickly asked.

‘’You went to earth, again?’’, me and Thor said, in unison.

‘’Yes…’’

‘’And you went unnoticed?’’, Thor asked now skeptical.

‘’How I didn’t know about this?’’, I asked at the same time Thor did.

‘’I went there when you were still passed out, like two days after the guards saved you from drowning’’, he said looking at me and then he looked at his brother. ‘’And yes, I went and then left as quickly as possible, totally invisible’’

‘’And now we are going back, and you don’t want to go, clearly… be fast Loki’’, Thor said.

‘’I’m trying brother’’, he replied now really pissed, as he kept throwing papers aside.

And then we all went quiet again, until many minutes later when I finally dared to ask the one thing I was dying to ask Thor since he said that he wanted to leave Asgard right away.

‘’Are you sure you want to go… like right now?’’, I asked as I made my, mostly finished, apple vanish in thin air, Thor looking at me with that weird expression he had whenever I used my magic tricks. ‘’I mean… you have been gone for too long’’

‘’When my father is back we will have a big feast to celebrate it, and I will stay for a longer time than the last one’’

‘’That’s amazing’’, I replied with a smile. Because I actually missed Thor being around.

When he was there it was just easier for me, because I could kind of hang out with him. And maybe if he was back I wouldn’t have to spend my free time hiding from people that were already murmuring about me.

‘’Amazing indeed’’, Loki said too loud and too sarcastic.

‘’By the way, how is it going at school Mae?’’, Thor asked, ignoring Loki’s comment.

‘’The school… is going’’, I nodded and then looked at him again.

‘’Is that a good or a bad thing?’’, he was a bit confused.

‘’It’s… a thing’’, Thor looked at me weirdly and then I just smiled, making him smile a little bit.

‘’Alright, Loki… really, how long is it going to take?’��

‘’If you two are not going to help me and keep sitting there, then is going to take a lot, brother’’, he said as papers were surrounding him and the mess was getting bigger.

‘’I mean, I don’t even know what you’re looking for so…’’, I say as I shrugged.

‘’Alright… Mae, let’s go! Let’s take a walk by the castle, I haven’t been here in a while’’, Thor said as he got up and walked to the door.

‘’Oh, magnificent’’, Loki said as he frowned and just kept looking, with the difference that he was really mad now. ‘’Don’t help me at all!’’

‘’Sorry, Loki’’, I quickly added as I just followed Thor out of the room.

I mean, I kind of felt bad for him because he actually looked distressed now and I wasn’t used to seeing him like that. I wanted to help, but when I tried to do it at the beginning he asked me to not do it, so I didn’t.

‘’So Mae!’’, Thor said as he closed the door behind me and started to walk away of the room. ‘’Do you really like Asgard? How it is going for you here; is it really better than your life back on Midgard?’’

I looked at him and then just smiled, he truly seemed worried about how was it going for me here. And I appreciated it.

‘’Oh, definitely’’, I nodded as I looked in front of us. ‘’It is so much better’’

‘’Really, how?’’

‘’Well… first thing, I don’t have to share my room with other 9 kids who absolutely hate me and always pull pranks on me, so that’s a huge improvement’’, I said as I nodded, I heard his laugh and couldn’t help but smile.

‘’Alright, that’s a great thing. But... what about your friends, do you have some?’’

When he asked that I unconsciously made a pretty clear face of ‘’I don’t have any friends here’’, and I noticed because Thor made a little sad sound in response. But I quickly spoke before he could say something:

‘’I mean, it’s not like I’m lonely… I kind of have friends here’’

Well, if Loki counted as my friend, of course.

‘’What do you mean by kind of?’’

Uh, oh.

‘’I mean… it’s not like I’m always alone or I don’t have anyone to talk to’’, oh but I was and I definitely didn’t. ‘’Really, I have this study group on Saturdays and after it we always hang out, so I think we are friends’’, I said to him while faking a smile.

The study group was in fact a real thing, and the part of going out wasn’t fake… the only thing that was fake was the fact that I actually didn’t hang out with them afterwards, and it was because they never invited me to go with them. But I didn’t want Thor to get sad about it, so I just lied.

‘’That’s great!’’, he nodded and then we just kept walking. ‘’And talking about study groups and such, how is it going for you at school. What did you mean back then?’’

It’s hell.

‘’Oh, I meant… it’s great!’’, I nodded.

‘’Is it really? How are your teachers?’’

They are the absolute worst.

‘’They are good teachers, if I’m honest’’, I said faking a smile.

I mean they were, but they were also awful people.

‘’And how are your classes going, your grades?’’

Actually, that was the only thing that was going great.

‘’You know, I’ve always been a study nerd type so my grades are the highest in the class’’, I said now really proud of myself, because it was true.

‘’Really! Congratulations, Mae’’, he said with a warm smile as he softly patted my back, which made me feel so much better.

As I said, when Thor was there everything was easier. Happier.

Better.

‘’You know… these past moments, I have been thinking’’, he started to say as he looked at me and then we just stopped in one of those huge windows, that gave away the view of the town.

‘’Oh, yeah?’’

‘’Yeah! And well, I think you should go back to Midgard with us’’, he finally said, a huge smile appearing on his face.

‘’Huh… what?’’, I asked immediately, not getting it.

‘’Yes!’’, he nodded as he smiled. ‘’I’ve really been thinking about it and I think your life would improve, I mean you wouldn’t go back to that ugly school you always talk about, of course not, but to my friend’s place… you might know him, Tony Stark, he’d l-’’

‘’Wh-what?’’, this felt unreal. I suddenly felt dizzy and had to lay my back against one of the columns, was he actually being serious? ‘’I mean, wh-why would Iron Man a.k.a. Tony Stark take me… and where exactly? What?’’

I was startled.

‘’I have seen you’ve gotten really better with your powers and abilities, and I also think Loki has been teaching you some of the Asgardian magic himself’’, I was going to deny it but he talked first ‘’and don’t deny it, I know Asgardian magic where I see it’’

I just blushed in response, so he kept talking.

‘’But it’s okay, my mother was also great using it… but what I’ve been wanting to say is that you would probably be a great member of, you’ve probably heard of them, The Avengers’’, he was smiling way too big and I just felt like fainting right there.

‘’I-I… The Avengers… I’’

I was speechless.

This couldn’t be happening.

Loki’s plan.

The Avengers.

Tony Stark.

Going back to Earth.

This is too much. Oh, I was going to vomit.

‘’You have a golden heart, Mae’’, I gulped as I thought on all the times I’ve thought on how to wreck The Avengers, thinking on Loki’s plan and how to make it happen. ‘’You are a good soul, you could help us protect Midgard’’

I gulped again. Was I a good soul? I didn’t feel so good after all these years.

‘’I- just, woah’’, I looked at him again and then closed my eyes; I took a deep breath and then looked at him. He was smiling so big, my heart was sinking. ‘’This is a lot to take in, I mean… The Avengers!’’

‘’Yes! I’m telling you, you’d be a great member of the team’’, he said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

Oh man, I felt like shit.

‘’I don’t know if I’m ready’’, I finally said. ‘’About going back to Earth, I mean. And I know I’m just not ready for The Avengers neither’’

‘’I think you are, for both things’’, he said being totally honest, I just knew he was being honest. I could someway feel it.

Oh man, this is horrible.

I gulped and then nodded, feeling guilty about it:

‘’Please, let me just think about it first’’

‘’For sure!’’, he smiled now bigger. ‘’Oh, you will love The Avengers’ Compound, and the members of the team!’’, he said as we started to walk again to Odin’s chambers.

‘’Yeah, for sure… huh, but could you please don’t tell this to Loki’’

‘’Oh, don’t worry, I won’t. Just think about it’’

‘’Yeah… I am’’

And oh man, I was really doing it.

Jesus Christ, Thor really fucking believes I can be an Avenger and also believes I’m a good person with a golden heart, and a good soul, meanwhile I feel like a total hypocrite because I have been secretly training and thinking for the past 4 years on how to fight, destroy and literally pull The Avengers apart.

Holy shit, life was really a simulation because this couldn’t be possibly happening to me.

I mean, this was worst than I thought it would be.

Because okay, I really didn’t know how Loki was planning to get me inside The Avengers on the first place and thinking about it, that plan seemed so metaphorical, so far away... so impossible to make, but no. Now it was a reality, I actually got an invitation from An Actual Real Avenger to be part of The freaking Avengers.

And he thought I was a good person, when I was really not.

And he was Thor, and I cared about him, and he actually thinks I have a heart of gold and thought of me as his friend.

And oh, I was really going to faint soon.

‘’I found it!’’, Loki shouted as we opened the door, he was smiling and sitting above the desk.

‘’Amazing, finally brother’’, he said smiling as well.

I just smiled faintly as I quickly closed the door and looked at them; I laid my back on the doors as I looked around. The chamber was back to its original status, everything were it belonged.

‘’Well, let’s go… I want to be over with this as soon as possible’’, Loki said as he started to walk towards the door, but I stopped him.

‘’You’re not going to go dressed like that, right?’’, I asked.

‘’Of course not’’, Loki looked at me as he quickly changed to a fully black suit. I smiled as I saw him looking like that, I mean; I had to admit he had a great sense of style.

‘’Alright’’, I said as he smiled back at me, but just a bit. ‘’Then, you can’t go looking like that’’, I said to Thor as I looked at him.

‘’Okay, Loki… I’m ready’’, he closed his eyes as he opened a bit his legs and arms. I quickly looked at Loki as he just tried not to laugh. ‘’Suit me up’’, he added with his eyes still closed, I just smiled at how adorable he looked.

‘’Brother, I am not doing that’’, Loki finally said after some seconds.

‘’What?’’, he opened one eye and then he just glared at Loki. ‘’Why not?’’

‘’I’m just not. Like I said, you’ve ruined everything’’, and he shrugged, now leaving the room.

‘’God, he can be so dense sometimes’’ I murmured as I looked back at Thor.

‘’Tell me about it’’

‘’Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll dress you casual, you don’t want to be walking around Earth looking like a witch, like some others do’’, I commented as I just quickly changed Thor’s outfit.

‘’I can hear you’’, Loki shouted from behind the door.

‘’Good’’, I said.

Thor then let out a faint laugh and after I finished he just looked at me with a huge smile:

‘’Alright, how do you think I look?’’

‘’Amazing, of course’’, I smiled back.

And it was true.

‘’Oh, even Mjolnir, cool!’’, he said now looking at the umbrella on his hand. ‘’You did a great job, thanks Mae, at least we know Loki knows how to do one thing good’’

‘’I said, I can hear you!’’, Loki shouted louder.

‘’I know!’’, Thor shouted back. ‘’Let’s go to the Bifröst’’

‘’After you’’, and then I opened the door for us. Loki was already waiting for us so we could finally go.

Both brothers were actually really impatient about going, and it was actually going to take a while to walk from where we were to the where the Bifröst was, so I suddenly stopped them.

‘’Hey, wait’’

‘’What now?’’, Loki asked rather annoyed.

‘’Do you wanna see a cool trick?’’, I asked totally ignoring Loki.

‘’Sure! What’s it?’’, Thor asked with a smile.

‘’Hold my hand’’ I said as I showed my hands to the both of them, Thor was the first who took it. I looked at Loki as he didn’t do it. ‘’Loki’’

‘’Mae’’

‘’Loki’’, I said again.

‘’No’’, but then I just looked at him on the same way he used to look at me, so he just rolled his eyes and took my hand. ‘’Al-‘’

But he couldn’t finish that sentence, I just closed my eyes and when I opened them we were already at the end of the Bifröst.

I let go of their hands after some seconds, when they seemed alright to be standing there by themselves, they seemed giddy. Skurge, that was where he had to be always, got surprised and almost fell off the stairs when we suddenly appeared out of thin air.

‘’Are you alright?’’, I asked to Thor and Loki. They still seemed to be a bit light-headed, meanwhile I was already used to that feeling.

‘’When did you…’’, Loki started to ask as he looked at me, surprised.

‘’Two years ago’’, I said, casually. ‘’And it wasn’t nice the first time neither. It also takes a lot of energy’’, I added, already feeling dreaded.

‘’I-‘’

‘’Skurge’’, Thor quickly interrupted Loki. ‘’We are ready to go’’

‘’Okay, alright. Sir- Thor Odinson, sir’’, I gave Skurge a weird look and then turned around to see the both of them, again.

‘’Alright’’, I said with a smile. ‘’This is it’’

‘’Mae, have you thought about it?’’, Thor asked.

‘’I’m- I’m just not ready right now’’, I finally said and totally meaning it.

I wasn’t ready, at all.

‘’It’s alright’’, Thor said as he nodded and then quickly gave me a hug, I reacted a bit later but after some seconds I gave in the hug. ‘’You’ll be great in that team some day, when you are ready’’

‘’Oh, thanks’’, I murmured and then got away, I felt my cheeks burning.

‘’We will be back sooner than later, and with Father’’, he said.

‘’Great, I’ll be looking forward to it’’, Thor just smiled and then got closer to Skurge.

‘’What is he talking about?’’ Loki asked immediately, getting close. ‘’What team?’’

‘’It doesn’t matter’’, I sighed and then just look at him. ‘’This feels weird’’

‘’What do you mean?’’, he frowned.

‘’Well, you’re leaving Asgard. And it just feels weird’’, I shook my head. ‘’I just feel odd; like there is a weird feeling I have… I don’t know’’

‘’Well, I’ll come back soon. Not sure if things are going to be like before with Odin back but… I guess it was meant to happen, it will be fine’’

‘’I just feel odd’’, I said again. ‘’Take care on Earth, please’’

‘’It’s just a care home Mae, we will have to sign some paperwork and then we will be back here’’

‘’Yeah… still, just… take care’’, I repeated.

‘’Alright… you take care too, kid’’, he said as he put a hand on my shoulder and then kind of walked away.

‘’Wait, Loki’’, I just walked to him and then suddenly hugged him. ‘’I… take care, I mean it’’.

I didn’t know why I did that, but it felt like the right thing to do in that moment.

‘’You too, kid’’, he said as he hugged me back for some seconds and then we just let go.

I saw them walk away and then stand on the same spot, they both gave me a last smile, Thor a big one and Loki a really faint one, but still a smile. And then they just left.

And now I was alone in Asgard, for the first time ever.

Next Issue:

Dark Night: Lingering Feeling

tag list: @newtycuty @blacksnowed

if you want to be added into this, just tell me. And also, I’d love some feedback, I love you all, thanks for reading!

12 notes · View notes

shipmistress9 · 6 years ago

Text

FTLOAP: Chapter 9: We Were Strangers, Starting Out On A Journey

Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8

Alpha/Co-author: @athingofvikings

Important notion: The planned hiatus gets pushed back yet another week. This chapter is ridiculously long already, but the next is about to become a mammoth. So it's going to get split. Meaning: The last chapter of part 1 will get posted on the 15th June, and we start again with part 2 on 20th July.

This chapter's title also comes from a song from Anastasia. It's from the end-credits song At The Beginning by Richard Marx & Donna Lewis, and it really has some very interesting lines. You'll definitely read more of them here.

. o O o .

That morning, Astrid woke to the sounds of the morning birdsong coming in through her window. The dim autumn sunshine sketched patterns of light on her wall, and she wasn’t entirely sure that she wasn’t still dreaming. For what felt like an eternity, she stared at the painted ceiling of her bedroom and tried, not for the first time, to grasp what had happened the day before. There had been so much, and it still felt weirdly surreal. Meeting Hiccup at the stables, those precious minutes they shared in that quiet room, and how easily he seemed to fit in with Daniel and Eret... It all seemed like a dream.

As if of its own accord, her hand wandered to her chest again. She chuckled shakily at the strange sensation, at this warm connection that seemed to glow brighter the more she thought about him. Absentmindedly, she wondered when she would see him again. Hopefully at some point today. And, equally hopefully, they would get the chance to talk in private. She had so many questions, ranging from the serious to the inane. She wanted to know everything, from why he’d been on the road for two years and what he’d been looking for while he’d been out there, to his favourite colour and where he was ticklish.

Of course, the likelihood of getting to actually ask such questions was minimal. Yesterday had been an aberration with the amount of time that she’d managed to duck her minders. Silly and irreverent they might be, but the twins took that part of their jobs seriously, especially since last spring. It was rare that she managed to carve out five minutes out from under their watch... which, of course, made her wonder if she’d had a little help yesterday.

She made a face at the ceiling. “All-Father, I don’t want to sound greedy...” she began, but trailed off. What, she was going to ask for more help? Odin and Frigga had already eased her path to a man whose soul now beat in time with her own heart. Clearly, the rest was up to her. But how she would manage to pull that off was a bit beyond her, she had to admit.

But even that realisation wasn’t able to darken her mood. Last night’s joy was still bubbling through her, and when Rachel finally came to help her dress for the family breakfast, Astrid greeted her cheerfully.

“Good morning, Ruff,” she said with a happy smile. “Isn't it a lovely day? The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and–" She’d been about to wave toward the high windows that led out over the green hills around Lake Vola behind the castle when she caught Rachel's amused expression.

“I guess the feast wasn't as bad as you’d expected?” her maidservant stated dryly, lips quirked up into a smirk and arms crossed in front of her. “Did anything special happen that put you in such a good mood? Or something that's worth mentioning in general? Some interesting bits of gossip to spread? I so loved your description of Grand Duke Spitelout's face when he realised those were his pigeons last summer. What was it again? ‘He looked like a cross between an overfed pig and a burst cake’?”

Astrid's heart sank a little at Ruff's words. She was grateful for the fact that Ruff had stepped behind her to detangle and unknot the simple plait Astrid had put her hair in before going to bed. Would there be any gossip about her and Hiccup? There had been no reactions last night, but… Had anyone seen either of them disappearing into the other room...? Or even just seen him emerge from it after she and Eret had left it? Or had anyone noticed how… how meaningful their small interactions had been?

Trying to sound casual, she said, “No, there was nothing worth mentioning. Unless you include Countess Whitevale’s attempts at matchmaking as interesting. Did you know that Alicia apparently is ‘fond of animals’? I always was under the impression that she's scared of anything bigger than a fly.”

“You don't say,” Ruff said, chuckling lightly, and Astrid sighed inwardly in relief. Diversion successful. “But no, that doesn't count. It would only be worth mentioning if she managed a night without advertising those poor girls like livestock. There really was nothing else? How boring.”

Biting her lip, Astrid considered how much more she could say while Ruff was busy lacing up the back of her dress. There was so much that had happened, but she couldn't say anything. Except…

“Well, Eret's new squire made for a good start in his new job,” she said lightly. Ruff would have heard about Hiccup anyway, and her not talking about their major public interaction would only raise her suspicions. "He directly interfered with Daniel’s stupid law – without knowing about it, I should add."

Behind her, Ruff paused. A heartbeat later, she continued, sounding slightly anxious. "Uhh... elaborate on that? What happened? I mean, you’re obviously okay... but, well... Damn, don't tell me he lost a hand right away. That would be awfully inconvenient for Eret, wouldn't it?"

Astrid grimaced, and shook her head, glad that Ruff would think she was only worried on Eret's behalf. "No, none of that. And it wasn't that bad, really. It was only an accident, Daniel warned him off, and that was it. Besides, the boy actually seems to be all right. Daniel invited him to sit with us, and, apparently, he knows more about architecture than you, me, Eret, and your brother together.”

“Well, then he should be safe,” Ruff snickered. Resuming her work, she said, “Your brother wouldn’t risk losing such a conversation partner.”

Astrid giggled a bit at that, if shakily. “You’re probably right. And I mentioned it because it was more or less the only actual gossip-worthy bit that happened. No, wait. Eret crashed the formal gathering a little when he asked me for a dance and at some point some other couples joined us. But aside from that it really wasn't that much of an interesting event, all things considered."

The understatement of the year, but, hopefully, Ruff would never know.

. o O o .

Once Astrid was appropriately dressed in a light blue silken dress, Tuff escorted her through the busy corridors toward the breakfast room.

The very room in which she and Hiccup had kissed last night.

“Is everything all right?” Tuff asked, sounding confused. She’d stopped a few steps in front of the door, wide eyes staring as the rest of her body refused to move on. It was the official entrance to this room – the broad double door that led to the front part of the room and not the hidden servants’ entrance that was closer to the kitchens, the one she and Hiccup had come through last night – but the prospect of entering this room and having to keep her composure was daunting.

And yet, she had no choice. Swallowing, she raised one hand to her chest, and the already familiar warm glow made her feel more confident. She could do this. For his sake, she could act as if nothing had happened. As if she was still the same person as yesterday. Taking another second to calm herself, she pushed the well-practised mask of a composed smile back onto her face. “Of course,” she replied, batting away his concerns, and stepped through the door as soon as Tuff opened it for her. Her gaze flickered immediately to the back of the room, to where they’d kissed and their souls and lives had become one, and to the cupboard behind which Hiccup had hidden. She still could hardly believe that Eret hadn’t noticed him standing there. But then, it had been pretty dark, and Eret had obviously not expected to find anyone but her.

With much effort, she forced her eyes away from that spot and her thoughts away from those memories. Instead, she tried to focus on the scene in front of her. Her father, Daniel, and all three Erets were already sitting around the table – laden with a basket full of light bread rolls, small pots of butter, honey and fruit jam, and plates with cheese and cold meat – and Astrid tried hard to keep her mask in place as they all looked up at her entering the room. It felt weird to so with these men, but letting her emotions show was not an option.

“Good morning, Milords,” she greeted the men with a curtsey, and sat down on the chair next to Daniel. He and Eret greeted her with warm if tired smiles which made her guess their night had been quite a bit shorter than hers. Her father nodded, equally tired, while the Grand Duke’s expression broke into a friendly grin.

“Good morning, Astrid. As always, your sight is a blessing for these tired eyes.”

She accepted the compliment with a polite nod and was about to reply, when Eret the Elder beat her to it.

“Yes, yes, the girl’s a pretty sight in that expensive dress,” the old man grumbled. “I only wish a sight like hers would rejuvenate my back instead of my loins. Honestly, this bed in the room you gave me was hard as a rock. Poison for my bones and joints, I’m telling you. Poison! The offer was well-meant, Osmond, but you’ll have to accept that I’ll relocate to my townhouse until I return home. From what I remember, the beds there are more comfortable.”

The King only replied with a grunt, indicating that he’d heard and accepted the words, and Astrid had to hide a grimace. The castle was brimming with guests who’d come for Eret’s accolade and for the upcoming Midwinter festivities. From what little she remembered regarding the planning, the fact that Eret the Elder had been offered a room in the castle was only thanks to his grandson giving up the room that would have gone to him as the guest of honour. Eret had chosen to spend the night on a couch in Daniel’s quarters, as the two friends would have talked for hours anyway. Sometimes, the tone in which the old goat spoke to his King surprised Astrid – his insulting tone about the accommodations in the castle, not the comments about her. Those didn’t surprise her anymore. But then the old man had been her own grandfather’s friend and advisor, and an honorary uncle to her father. A relationship like that apparently didn’t change just because the boy he’d seen grow up became King. And in most cases nobody bothered to call him on his oftentimes inappropriate tone anymore anyway.

Caught up in her thoughts and not really listening to the old man’s complaints anymore, she reached for a roll and a pot of honey. Every now and then, her gaze shifted to the other end of the room again, and the memory of Hiccup holding her in his arms made a warm smile spread across her face. Oh, what would she give if she could go back to those minutes, to feel his embrace right now, his lips on hers, and his warmth. Being here in this room again but under these completely different circumstances only heightened the sense of surrealness of last night’s events. Lightly touching that spot on her chest, she knew that it all had happened, but at the same time, it still felt like nothing but a dream. If only she could be sure to soon see him again and to be able to talk to him...

Suddenly, a light dazzled her. Astrid blinked, and realised that it was the reflection of the sun on Eret's knife as he deliberately tried to catch her attention. She looked up to see him questioningly raising an eyebrow at her. Remembering how easily he was able to read her, she gave him a nondescript smile, and then put in some effort to school her expression. She couldn't let any of her emotions or thoughts show.

Still distracted, she was about to take a first bite of her breakfast when her father's voice drew her attention. She’d deliberately ignored their conversation, mostly due to the old goat, but now that he raised his voice to address Eret, she couldn't fail to notice his words. And the topic would have drawn her attention anyway.

“A word about your squire, Eret,” the King said in a serious voice, and Astrid momentarily froze mid-movement. Her hand half-raised to her mouth, she felt her heart skipping a painful beat as she tried to think of any reason why her father would want to talk about Hiccup of all people. Did he know after all? Had someone noticed and told him? She felt as if she would know if something had happened to him, but...

“I know we talked about him yesterday already,” her father said, and Astrid noticed how all men around her perked up their heads at this topic. “And I haven’t changed my mind, don’t worry. On the contrary, now that I’ve seen him… Well, I’m glad you took the boy in. And I’m sure he’ll be good for you, too. Especially when it comes to formal behaviour, from what I’ve heard.”

Astrid returned her eyes to her plate, and tried not to show how eagerly she absorbed every word her father had said. Even the King knew who Hiccup was? Was he someone one ought to know then?

“Thank you, your Majesty. Your approval means a lot, to both him and me,” Eret replied relieved, drowning out his father’s and Daniel’s low chuckling with his sure voice. Astrid pushed her internal contemplations aside to further listen to what they might say.

The King nodded, but before he could say any more, Eret the Elder interjected. “And what about my approval?” he sneered in his usual unpleasant tone. “Nobody asked me. But just so you know, I do not approve of your choice, lad. That twig can’t be any good at fighting, he’ll only be a hindrance to you. And where did he come from anyway? Surely you could have found a better squire among our vassals, maybe Dogsbreath of Greyhound. His grandfather fought well for us; held the bridge for an hour, giving us time to regroup, and lived to tell the tale! And his mother’s line is just as distinguished. But your boy there?” He shook his head. “No. He surely comes from a bad breed. Just look at him! That’s a weak bloodstock, as scrawny and thin as he is.”

Astrid was used to the insulting words of Eret the Elder, but suddenly it had become a lot more difficult to stay calm. She was hard-pressed to keep herself from interjecting that Hiccup was anything but weak. A part of her wanted nothing more than to throw into the old goat’s face how she’d felt his strength last night, his wiry muscles that had held her so tight and sure. But she fought down the urge. She took a small bite off her roll to give her face something to do while she worked to appear unperturbed – and only slowly noticed the change in atmosphere around her.

All the other men had become strangely quiet, a practically tangible awkward silence covering them that didn’t make any sense to Astrid.

“So, I’m right?” Eret the Elder kept ranting. “He’s nothing but a peasant after all? Or the grandchild of one of those yellow-livered captains that we gave a county to, despite hiding in the back ranks? Or is it even worse? Is he your bastard, Son? Did he crawl out of a Temple and now thinks he can benefit from his sire’s name? Bah, that would fit, I thought he looked familiar somehow. You should–”

“He’s Valka’s son,” the Grand Duke interrupted his father with a dangerously calm voice that betrayed the rage beneath. Astrid stowed that name away in her mind for later use, unable to react in any way. It wasn’t just her own father. Everyone in this room seemed to know what Valka’s son meant, everyone but her. But not everyone seemed to be happy about this revelation.

“WHAT?” the old goat shrieked, and was on his feet before Astrid knew what had happened. Behind him, the chair toppled to the ground with the sound of delicate wood cracking. His face was a mask of anger, turning dangerously red, with his eyes blazing and spit flying as he went on. “That scrawny little weakling? That son of a failure? Bah!” He turned toward his son, one finger raised accusingly. “This is all your fault. You said both of your sister’s suitors were equally good choices. You convinced me that letting her choose between them would avoid any political consequences. But I never should have listened to you. BAH! I should have known the girl would choose wrong, just as silly as every other woman. And you!” he turned toward his grandson. “I thought you had better sense then that! This is about your future. You should have considered building alliances when picking a squire. But no, you’re apparently just as stupid as everyone else. Bah. BAH! I wish I was still the head of my own House. I would make sure you marry this girl here before you could make any other stupid decisions on your own.” He snatched up his cane and went to the door. “Have the kitchens send something to my chambers. I’ll eat privately. I can’t stomach the arrant stupidity in here any longer!”

Long since used to old Eret’s tendency to rant and spit without a way to stop him, everyone else had stayed quiet until the door slammed behind him. Once he’d left, an oppressive silence fell over the room that left nearly everyone staring at their plates in discomfort.

Astrid, however, used the quiet moments to filter all the information she’d just picked out of the elderly man’s words. Hiccup’s mother was a woman named Valka. And she was the Grand Duke’s sister. Of course, Eret had introduced Hiccup as his cousin, but… Slowly, she shook her head as she processed it all. She hadn’t thought that they were that closely related. Her eyes widened as another realisation hit her. If Hiccup’s mother was the daughter of Eret the Elder… Then the old man was Hiccup’s grandfather, too. How was it possible that he was so closely related to one of the most powerful Houses in the whole of the realm and yet held no power himself? Being deliberately kept in the dark about any political matters could be so inconvenient.

The silence was broken by Eret II uncomfortably clearing his throat. “Well. That was... horrible,” the Grand Duke stated, and rubbed his temples. “And that’s not even taking into account that we’d agreed on keeping the boy’s identity a secret from the old man. Gods, I only hope Father won’t pester the boy with one of his tirades, he’s been through enough.” There was mumbling agreement from the other men while Astrid still stared at her plate, unmoving, as her mind seemed to race in circles.

Who was Hiccup? He obviously was not just a simple stable boy, but that much she’d learned last night already. And he’d said that he held nothing but an empty title, but… which title? If he was the grandson of Eret the Elder, the direct nephew of the Grand Duke of Eastervale… No, nothing made sense. He couldn’t be this powerless, not with relatives like this.

Without thinking about it, her gaze roamed over the paintings and portraits hanging on the walls around her to land on that of her mother. She didn’t often think of her – one couldn’t really miss what one had never known – but right now, she wished she was still alive. She wished she had someone to talk to, someone who could answer her questions not only about local up-to-date gossip, but about more far-reaching connections, too. Surely, her mother, the independent Lady Brenna, would have been willing and able to answer her questions, unlike her many governesses. They were more concerned in carving her into the form of the perfect princess, proper, decorous and empty-headed, than teaching her about the state of the kingdom.

“So, what is on the agenda for the day for everyone?” came the Grand Duke’s barely concealed attempt at brightening the mood a few minutes later.

Out of the corner of her eye, Astrid saw how her brother shrugged. “Well, I’d like to see the horses you brought,” he said. “There’s nothing else to do anyway, and the sooner I might get accustomed to a new stallion, the earlier I can return to my men in Westhill. I hope to set off shortly after the Midwinter festivities.”

The Grand Duke nodded. “That should be manageable. You know your way around our horses, after all. Getting used to a new one shouldn’t take all that long.”

“Right. Let’s head over there directly,” Eret suggested, standing up already. “I dearly need some exercises and fresh air.”

“Weren’t you just on the road for five days?” asked Daniel, amusement clear in his voice. “Seriously, can’t you sit still for even half a day? Read a book, or so?”

“Heh. No, I’ll have enough time to read once I’m old. Hopefully, that will keep me from giving unsolicited and insulting advice to my descendants that they’re not heartless enough.” Eret shook his head in annoyance, and headed for the door. “I know that Grandfather was the old King’s political adviser, but I’m starting to wonder if he cut out his heart, instead of his eye, for a drink from Mimir’s Well.” Eret II scoffed in grudging agreement, and Eret III opened the door.

“Aren’t you coming, too, Swanja?” he called back as Astrid made no attempts to get up and follow him and her brother. She threw a glance back at her still barely touched breakfast, but decided that she wasn’t hungry enough to stay behind. The idea of going to the stables, to the familiar and soothing company of horses, was too tempting.

. o O o .

“Hoy. Is she ready yet?”

Daniel's voice echoed from the front room over to where Astrid stood in front of the floor-length mirror in her dressing room. His words served to heighten her own restlessness, and she let out a suppressed sigh. Rachel grumbled something about royal impatience under her breath, and kept on fixing the many cords on her back. This time, Astrid didn't need to sneak away and toward the stables in secret, so she’d grudgingly agreed to change into a more suitable dress. Even though it meant she had to wait even longer. She couldn't wait to finally go to the stables, to feel the comfortable familiarity and simplicity that always overcame her there. It would be a welcome change to this morning’s tension.

“Not yet,” Tuff replied in his usual slightly bored tone. “But Ruff already cursed the amount of laces on her dress, so it can't be long now.”

“I'd like to see you bind all these Lokied knots and loops every time,” Ruff called back, her exasperation only partially humorous. “There, it's done.”

Happy that they would finally be going now, Astrid left her dressing room to join her brother. Daniel stood near the door, wearing rather simple trousers and an unadorned though still splendidly tailored shirt and jacket over a pair of riding boots. One would think that might have been enough of an indication already.

“Oh, no, not again,” Tuff whined when he saw her and recognised her dress as one of her usual riding outfits; A deep blue dress made of sturdy linen, barely adorned with anything but a few simple stitchings, and with long sleeves that would protect her from the autumn chill. It was completed by a set of light calfskin-gloves and the unmistakable sounds of her own riding boots on the stone floor. “Don't tell me I have to walk all the way out to those stables again. Seriously, wasn't the hike through the entire castle yesterday enough already?”

Daniel gave Tuff an amused look at where her manservant lounged sidewise on one of the cushioned chairs around a delicate tea table in the corner of the room. “Best not overwork the poor man,” he said with a barely hidden smirk. “I don't think your services will be needed today, Timothy. Eret and I will be with her, so you can have the day off. Although, I do hope that you don't use your time to play yet another prank on one or the other of our honoured guests. Like, say… Sir Eret the Elder, for example. The old goat is fuming already as he is.”

Astrid couldn't hide her smirk at this barely hidden challenge, or the look the twins shared. “What, in Loki's name are you thinking of us, Highness?” Tuff inquired in mock indignation, just as his sister threw in, “As if we would ever do such a thing.”

“Exactly…” Daniel murmured.

. o O o .

When Daniel and Astrid reached the castle’s entrance, Eret was already waiting for them. He, too, was dressed in practical and comfortable riding gear, and carried a heavy-looking basket over one arm.

“Ah, excellent,” Daniel grinned, and pointed at the basket. “You were able to talk Heather into packing us a picnic?”

Eret smirked. “Yeah. It wasn’t that hard, as it’s literally her job to keep you two fed. And, conveniently, your guests as well. Besides, they have a lot of leftovers down there from last night. Would be a shame to let all these pastries go to waste.”

“Indeed,” Daniel agreed, and lifted the lid to pull out some food directly. He handed each Astrid and Eret a few pieces.

Astrid, who’d practically skipped breakfast, ate the first bite eagerly, but couldn’t resist teasing the men a little.

“Didn’t you just eat breakfast? How can you be hungry again already? Just wait, before long you’ll be as vast at Fyrir Alvin.”

Daniel and Eret paused to share a strange look. “Well,” Eret began hesitantly. “Since I know us, this is not just an in-between snack, but also lunch. And, to my defence, it’s not only for the three of us. I guess Hiccup hasn’t eaten much so far, so this is his breakfast, lunch, and probably dinner, too.”

“Hiccup?” Astrid couldn’t help the small pause in her steps that nearly caused her to stumble. She glared at a small rock as if it was to blame while countless thoughts whirled around her head. Hiccup! They would meet Hiccup? Was he at the stables? Would she really see him again in only a few minutes? Her heart started to beat faster at that thought, and she was glad when Daniel inquired after him, too, and drew the attention away from her.

“You left him at the stables?” her brother asked, sounding indignant and growing moroes as he went on. “Why? You yourself said he’s no ordinary servant, much less some stable boy. He surely has the right of better accommodations, at least for being your squire, if nothing else. We have quarters for the other squires, he could live there for the time being. Or you could even claim that you ‘need his assistance’, and accommodate him somewhere closer to you. Or what about your family’s townhouse? I understand that you didn’t want to return there last night, but, surely, he could have–”

Eret interrupted him by raising a hand. “Believe me, this is the best solution,” he said with a gloomy expression. “We talked about it beforehand, Father, Hiccup, and I, and we agreed that Hiccup would stay with the horses. On the one hand, we would have wanted someone to do that anyway, and he agreed to it, no matter whether he would become my squire or Father’s new stable master. At least as long as we stay here at the castle. And on the other hand… Well, I wouldn’t want to house him with the other squires. Grandfather is right on one point after all. He’s no fighter, not buff or strong like some of the others. And you know how young men can be if they think they found the weakest link in their chain. No, that wouldn’t be a good idea. And the same goes for our townhouse, if for different reasons. I wouldn’t want Hiccup anywhere near the old goat.” Daniel winced, and gave a grudging nod of agreement, as Astrid felt her own anger rise at the mere thought of Eret I screaming at Hiccup. Seeing Daniel’s nod, Eret continued, “As for me needing his assistance… Well, I’ve managed to dress myself for over eighteen years now, and I would prefer to keep doing so, thank you very much. Besides, where exactly would you suggest he could have slept last night? There is only one couch in your rooms, and I don’t fancy sharing that tiny bit of space with someone else. I like my cousin, but not that much. Which reminds me... Please tell me the couch was… erm… safe.”

Daniel gave an exasperated snort. “Safe as in clean? Yeah, don’t worry. Believe it or not, but I’m not that busy that I can’t make the way to the temple on my own. I don’t need for one of the Ástir to come to my rooms instead.”

“Are you telling me that strategically placed mirror on the opposite wall actually is simply for checking clothes?” Eret laughed, and shook his head. “I could have sworn it served a better purpose than simply showing dressed people.” Daniel gave Eret a flat look, but Eret ignored him and cheerfully continued. “Anyway, I’m not complaining. It’s still a nicer room than what I normally would be able to expect as the juniormost knight in the kingdom, regardless of who my father is.”

“That much is true,” Daniel said, musing. “Right now, the other knights in my retinue are packed six to a room and whining about it.”

“Like I said, much nicer,” Eret commented. “Although, while you’ve got great taste in furniture–”

Daniel interrupted, his tone syrupy sweet. “Thank you! Even though I’ve noticed that your tastes, if I remember correctly, run towards something I’d expect to see in one of your family’s stud farms – specifically, in the barns.”

“Neeeeigh, I must protest!” Eret whinnied with a cheerful smirk. “But back to the point. A man of taste and refinement such as yourself could use more paintings of Ástir at work on the walls. Maybe a nice tasteful mural of the Eighty-One Acts of Bliss?”

Astrid giggled as Daniel choked.

Eret grinned and said, “I could have one commissioned for you! Imagine coming home from campaign and finding it on your walls.”

Daniel glared at Eret. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Astrid snorted and Daniel looked at her. “What?”

“You do remember who you’re talking to, right? Your almost-brother Eret, the man who has no shame when it comes to a bet or dare?”

Eret chuckled evilly and Daniel looked exaggeratedly worried; she wondered which incident he was remembering. There were, after all, so many to choose from...

As Eret continued to cackle, Daniel gave him a side-eyed look. “I can see what Dagur means by like how guests are like fresh fish.”

Eret waggled his eyebrows with a giant grin. “What, they start to stink after three days?”

“That, and you’d occasionally like to gut them and see them fried in oil,” Daniel said mock-dangerously. “Sleep lightly tonight, friend.”

“On that couch? Like I’ve got a choice with those lumpy cushions,” Eret replied with a smirk.

“You’re talking as if you actually managed to sleep last night,” Astrid threw in with a dry smile. “I’m pretty sure that you two were up until daybreak talking again. Or wait, no. Didn’t you order that special barrel to be delivered to your rooms when I left?”

“Ah, yes. Dagur’s Special Brew.” Daniel’s praise was almost comically exaggerated. “Honestly, I could kiss Dagur for coming up with this recipe. From what I remember, we were pretty smashed. Or rather judging by the… erm… lack of memory. But today there’s nothing left. No headache, and I’m not even tired.”

“Kissing Dagur?” Eret asked, smirking, and with a raised eyebrow.

Hearing the teasing tone in her friend’s voice, Astrid decided to play along, and threw in, “Oh, I’d like to see that. That surely would be hilarious to watch.”

Daniel groaned exaggeratedly, and threw his hands up in mock exasperation. “That was figuratively speaking. Honestly, can’t you two detect a joke when it jumps at you? Or are you so busy making them that you can’t tell the difference!?”

Eret and Astrid burst out laughing, and, a moment later, Daniel joined in. If felt good to do so, even if Astrid was acutely aware of the accumulating number of secrets between them. It felt weird, wrong even, but she couldn’t help it right now. If Eret thought it better to keep his secret then that was his decision. She had no business interfering there.

And as for her own secret… Under different circumstances, she probably would have told them about her feelings. Freya, she definitely would have done so last year. But with this stupid law in place and Daniel being so unyielding about it, she didn’t dare to give away anything. Not when it was Hiccup’s life that was at stake.

And talking about him now didn’t feel right anyway. She would have loved to hear more about him, but somehow was also glad for the change of topic. Hearing all these weird comments about him earlier had felt wrong, like an intrusion, especially without understanding what they meant and without him being there to explain them. She wanted to learn more about him, but she wanted to do so by him telling her. And if she was to meet him again in a few minutes anyway… She could wait that long! She would wait, would keep her feelings for him hidden, and outwardly be the same woman she’d been yesterday. Hiccup appearing in her life had turned her whole world upside down, but she couldn’t let anyone see that.

And as long as she could spend her time like this, laughing and joking with her brothers, that was easy. Only later, when Hiccup was around, she would need to be more careful. Eret and Daniel knew her so well, she would need to be on her guard then. She was only glad, that they’d stopped talking about him now.

Or maybe not…

“But back to serious matters,” Daniel began when their laughter had calmed down again. “About Hiccup… Did he… tell you anything? About what happened on Berk, I mean?”

Astrid tensed, but managed to not react at all while Daniel looked expectantly at Eret, waiting for his answer.

Eret’s face turned into a dark grimace, and he shook his head. “No, he didn’t. I asked him once, but… The memories seem to be quite painful, understandably, and… well, I didn’t ask again. All I know is the semi-official part which you surely know, too. That they’re dead and the Tribes blamed him for it. Which would be ridiculous if it weren’t so grim. I mean…,” he trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. “Anyway, there’s not much we can do without causing an uproar. It’s none of our business, after all. Even your father agrees there, if I understand correctly.”

Daniel nodded. “Yes. Interfering with the Tribes’ inner politics didn’t seem like a good idea, even if they are part of Volantis.”

“Just a semi-independent one,” Eret commented. Astrid bit her lip and tried to keep her questions to herself. Hiccup was from the Tribes? She only knew the basics of the Northern Tribes; they lived on island chains in the Northern Sea, and mostly kept to themselves… and that was the extent of her knowledge.

Daniel shrugged. “You can’t reign over an archipelago like you would a river valley – or open grasslands. Father talked it through with their dukes and agreed on giving them time to sort it out on their own. But now, I wish we could do more. We didn’t even know he was still alive.”

“Yeah, well, neither did I. Anyway, there’s not much we can do right now. Because you’re right, we can’t interfere. All we can do is support him until he, maybe, can return one day. And that includes keeping his identity a secret for now, hence the whole squire business.“

Daniel nodded again, though with a grim expression now. “Agreed.”

They fell silent for a while, and Astrid turned her gaze to the ground in front of her. The path that led to the outer stables became narrow and bumpy here, which provided an excellent excuse for her not to meet Eret’s or Daniel’s eyes and possibly betray her troubled thoughts. She was still anxious to see Hiccup again, to compare the little information she’d learned with reality and to ask him all her questions. And yet… Suddenly, she was strangely reluctant to approach him about his past.

Whatever had happened that had brought him into this position, it must have been bad. If he hadn’t even told Eret, if what had happened was too painful for him to talk about… Well, she hoped to learn about it all, but she wouldn’t push him. There were enough other things to learn about him than simply how he’d ended up where he was now.

Despite the grim revelations she’d just overheard, a nervous smile spread across her face. The stables were almost in sight by now which meant she would see him again in only a couple of minutes. How would that be like? During the party last night, she hadn’t really been able to process it all, had been too busy with hiding her feelings to examine them. Seeing him and being in close proximity to him had been weird, but manageable. It had been just another thing that added to the craziness that that night had been. But now?

Now, it had all settled. He was her soulmate. Despite the fact that she’d already thought about marrying him one day yesterday, today that thought seemed to have even more weight. Her soul, her future, her entire life was tied to him, in whatever way, and it felt… meaningful… important.

“Yeah, I know that look!” came suddenly Eret’s voice. Just now, he’d been talking to Daniel, but she hadn’t paid them any attention. Not until he now spoke louder, deliberately, almost calling out to her.

Startled, Astrid looked up and into his wide grin. Only now did she notice that she’d stopped walking and that both he and Daniel were watching her from a few steps ahead, where they had paused and turned to look at her.

“Yeah, she seems to be in an entirely different place inside her head,” Daniel mused with an amused smirk. “I do wonder where though. It seems to be a nice place, judging by that dopey smile.” He seemed intent on turning the table on her now, after they’d teased him before.

“Oh, I do have an idea,” Eret laughed. “And I’d say the question is not where but who. Am I right, Swanja? Are you thinking about a special someone?”

Shocked, Astrid stared at them. Had she revealed too much? She’d been so careful… “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she sputtered, and, trying to reign in her features, hurried past them.

“Ha! I knew it,” Eret crowed. “Come on, Swanja. What’s his name, eh?”

“What, are you suggesting our little sister might be thinking of someone male?” Daniel chimed in, his voice weirdly teasing and disbelieving alike. “That’s hard to believe.”

Daniel’s tone struck her as odd. Surely, if he thought she’d been thinking of a man, he would react differently? She went on, fully intending to ignore their teasing, until Eret’s words caught her off guard.

“No, I’m sure I’m right. Am I not, Swanja? Admit it, there is someone special waiting for you. Why else would you’ve gotten that dreamy smile and ignore us so determinately?”

Astrid’s steps faltered. He knew? But… if he knew, had he told Daniel, too? And what would happen to Hiccup? From everything she’d heard so far, it seemed like Eret and Daniel wanted to protect Hiccup, but that could change in the blink of an eye. If Daniel learned about...

Or maybe they didn’t know of whom she’d been thinking, after all. Yeah, that had to be it. Maybe they were just beating the bush, suspecting that she was thinking of someone without knowing who it was. She looked up at the sturdy wooden building that had come into sight by now. She only needed to cross this meadow and walk past the paddock, and then she could see him again. But did she dare to do that? Would she be able to act naturally enough when Eret and Daniel already suspected–

“I bet I can guess who it is,” Eret went on, grinning mischievously. “Let’s see… Does he have a thick mane of auburn hair and you’re just dying to bury your fingers in it?”

Astrid stopped dead in her tracks. So he had noticed? Slowly, she turned to look at him. How could she make him stop talking, make him not reveal what he knew in front of Daniel? Would he even do that? Would he lie to his best friend for her sake?

“Oh, don’t look so surprised,” Eret went on, oblivious to her growing panic. “It’s no secret, after all.”

“Care to tell me what you’re talking about?” came Daniel’s puzzled but still amused voice from behind him. Astrid threw Eret a pleading look, begging him not to say any more, but he didn’t seem to understand. Instead, he turned toward her brother with a mischievous grin on his face.

“Oh, don’t look so surprised, Daniel,” Eret replied cheerfully. He strolled past her, arms crossed behind his head. “I thought you knew your sister. Who would it be that puts her in such a good mood? There aren’t all that many options, I’d say.”

Astrid had turned to follow Eret with her eyes. She was still trying to make him stop talking, slightly shaking her head, but he barely paid her any attention. Instead, Daniel suddenly burst out laughing behind her. “Loki, you got me there,” he gasped in-between. “And here I thought you were actually suggesting… No, you’re talking about that gelding, right? What was his name? Markan?”

“Markor,” corrected Eret, nodding. “Yeah, sure. Swanja and the horses, that’s a love story on its own, after all.” He chimed in on Daniel’s laughter.

Relief washed through Astrid, but before it could show on her face, she managed to put on an incredulous expression. It equally suited her feelings, but didn’t give away anything. “Oh, that’s mature,” she scoffed, and left them standing. With resolute steps she crossed the remaining distance between her and the stables, if only to get away from the laughing men. That had been awfully close. For a moment, she’d thought they knew…

But, lucky for her, they, too, still saw her as a girl and not as the woman she was about to become. And, maybe, she could use their expectations for her own advantage.

. o O o .

“Hey, no need to get greedy,” Hiccup chided Cassie as the mare made a move to snatch one of the two apples out of his hand. “You already had yours, these are my breakfast.” Affectionately, he patted her nose, and then went to sit on one of the many straw bales that littered the stables. He was done with his usual morning routine – providing the horses with fresh hay and water and making sure none of the spirited animals had hurt themselves. Trample had a shallow scratch on his rear, but Hiccup had directly applied a healing salve which should be enough. Now, he finally had time to care for himself.

He ate the first apple quickly and then began to nibble at the second, absentmindedly rubbing his scarred leg. It didn’t hurt, not really. But rubbing it to get the stiff muscles to relax whenever he got the time had become somewhat of a reflex over the last two years. A warm smile spread across his face as he contemplated what kind of a strange morning this was. His leg didn’t hurt, hadn’t played him up at all during his work, and he’d actually slept through the entire night. Not once had he woken up, screaming or panting because of nightmares. For once, there had been no images of a vicious beast attacking him or of the burned remains of his life. No memories of surging pain, freezing cold, or bitter accusations had haunted him. No, instead he’d slept peacefully, for the first time in over two years, with the only image in his mind being her warm smile.

Indulging in the moment, he closed his eyes and called forth the memories of the previous day. Of her, of her true and unaffected laughter, of her radiant eyes. Of the way she’d melted into his arms, fitting perfectly as if they were made for her. A warm sense of ease spread through him at these thoughts, but he also couldn’t help the spark of uncertainty that accompanied those feelings and memories.

In an attempt to calm his nerves, even marginally, Hiccup stood up again and walked over and into Cassie’s stall. He gave her the remains of his second apple, and scratched her neck in greeting. She responded in kind, gave a happy snort and rubbed her head against his chest, which made him chuckle. “Yes, you’re a good girl, aren’t you?” he murmured quietly. He’d learned early in his life that humans weren’t the only ones one could talk to when one had troublesome thoughts. Animals were equally good listeners, with the advantage of them not spreading the gossip as soon as he turned his back on them. And, unlike when he’d been a boy and that had just been a nice addition, now it was of utmost importance that no human ever learned about what he needed to get off his chest today.

“Yes, a good girl… You can keep a secret, can’t you?” he continued in a low voice, head resting against her strong neck. “Because I don’t know what to do. I miss her, can you believe that? Not even a day ago, I didn’t even know she existed, and now… Now I feel like every minute I can’t look at her or listen to her voice is wasted.” Cassie gave a snort and Hiccup chuckled quietly. “Yes, it’s silly, isn’t it? But I can’t help it. I want to see her again. I even thought about going up to the castle, but... “ he trailed off, shrugging, and slowly shook his head.

There was no point in going up to the castle to look for her, he knew that. He couldn’t very well walk up to the guards and request to be led to the Princess’s chambers. And they certainly wouldn’t let him walk around for hours to look for her on his own, either. Sure, he could always use Eret as an excuse, that he’d gone up there to see whether his master had any tasks for him to do. And there always was this hope that she might know that he was looking for her, that she would come to intercept him, or that they might even meet somewhere in the corridors by chance. But that wasn’t very likely to happen. And even if that were to happen, there would still be servants and guards all around. Too much company to talk to her like he needed to talk to her.

All this was so… bewildering. Yes, he knew who she was, knew all the stories about the Princess, the official ones, just as well as he knew those few tales Eret had told him privately. And he knew her soul, could still feel it glowing in his heart. But all that wasn’t knowing her.

“Am I going insane?” he asked quietly, but the only answer he got was a nondescript snort. Still leaning against Cassie’s neck, he smiled weakly. “You’re right, maybe I’m already insane. But I just can’t get her out of my head. Her eyes and her smile and her hair. Freya, this hair… What would I give to simply be next to her and play with her hair right now? That would be enough. That, and talking to her without fearing who might overhear us. Like yesterday, when she was here. Gods, if only I knew when I can see her again. And...”

Hiccup trailed off as Cassie nickered, sounding almost amused. With a sigh, he scratched her neck once more and then left her stall again. Spelling out his problems hadn’t helped, not really. He felt a little lighter for having done so, but he still didn’t know what to do now. All he knew was that she was his future. It sounded absurd even if he just thought the words. But he didn't mean them like that, not exclusively at least. It wasn't just that nothing but her seemed to matter anymore. It was more that… that their lives were connected from now on. Whatever he did, every decision he made from now on would include her. She was inside him, was a part of his every thought, and even if he could change it, he wouldn't want it any other way.

And his path lay clear ahead of him. He would go to the West, would fight and distinguish himself as best he could. After last night’s conversation, he was positive that he would get along well enough with the Prince. He had little doubts that the plan he'd made last night would lead him to the desired outcome. Especially as the Gods were on his side, too. They had to be, or they wouldn’t have given him such a broad hint as to which path he had to choose.

No, that part wasn’t his problem. He was confident that his plan would work. All he was uncertain about were the next few months. How often would they be able to see each other? Would they be able to talk at all? Would he ever get the chance to hold and kiss her again? The thought of even spending just this one day without doing so seemed like too much already. Last night, he'd bravely thought that he wouldn't mind possibly waiting for over two years to marry her. But if that also meant two years without… knowing her, he’d go insane.

Grimacing, he rubbed the back of his head as another, not all that pleasant emotion rose in his heart. Suddenly, he was angry at his father. Hiccup had never begrudged his father’s choices in how to live and how to lead their House. Their lives had been simple but peaceful – or as peaceful as they could be with flying and fire-breathing monsters raiding their food stock regularly – and it had always been enough for him. But thinking about how things could have been, how, if his father had decided differently, he could have known Astrid for all her life…

The thought kept nagging at him, and he was still trying to pull himself together when he heard the sounds. Footsteps approaching quickly, and the raucous laughter of men.

. o O o .

As I said, ridiculously long... But, oh well...No direct Hiccstrid in here, but I hope there were enough other bits to entertain you. ;)

Two more chapters until the short break. :)

Next chapter

#for the love of a princess #hiccstrid #hiccstrid fanfiction #httyd #httyd fanfiction #httyd fandom #shipmistress9 #Hiccstrid Medieval AU #hiccstrid royal au #Hiccstrid Soulmates

32 notes · View notes