lykaokrios

[lykaokrios]

Perfectly Fine - M!De Sardet x Vasco

Fandom: Greedfall

Paring: Captain Vasco x M!De Sardet

Word Count: 1,658

Description:  Vasco is battling with feelings he most certainly doesn't have for De Sardet, until it all comes spilling out.

Warnings: Mild swearing

My AO3

Vasco wasn’t a man prone to rash emotion. Usually able to keep his head steady in most situations; else he’d make a poor captain. Annoyed? Yes. Miffed? Of course.  But angry? Very rarely.

But anger had seemed to slither into his veins the longer he was on land. It was the land’s doing of course. Being too far from sea. It had nothing to do with the handsome noble he found himself following.

It was never anger AT De Sardet. But anger at situations and people around him. The more he… became friendly with the man the more things that seemed to tick him off.

And it most certainly didn’t have anything to do with the way said man made his heart quicken. With the way he looked at him. With the feelings he refused to acknowledge as anything more than mere attraction. A battle he was sorely losing.

The idea of being in love with a noble seemed crazy. Being in love with the nephew of a Prince however, seemed absolutely insane. Even if he was willing to accept his own feelings, which he wasn’t, there was no way De Sardet would reciprocate. And even if he did, which he wouldn’t, it wasn’t like he was in any position to be with him. He was the Legate of the Congregation, nephew of the prince, cousin of the governor, and he was in line for the fucking throne. As if he could be with a Naut even if he wished to be.

But no. Those thoughts certainly never bothered him. They rarely crossed his mind. And never had he taken that anger out on the next battle they fell into or looked to the bottom of a bottle of whiskey for the answer to this problem.

If he just wasn’t so… caring. If he just didn’t look at him so.. fondly. Vasco concludes that must be it. While the Nauts are a close family, you were set to your own devices to figure things out fairly early. They said that’s how you grow, how you show who you’re going to be. There was no motherly or fatherly roles, just mentors. They cared in their own ways. But never anything outright.

But De Sardet. He often wore his heart on his sleeve. A trait Vasco first saw as a weakness. Caring for too many people. Trying to help too many people, all out of sense of doing the right thing. But over time he found himself enamored with the ideals of the man. The way he tried to maintain peace with everyone. How he wanted to think the best of all parties. The way he took everyone’s voice into account.

The way he easily built friendships as their little crew expanded. How he’d drop everything to help one of them. The day Vasco had asked for his help, he immediately started planning, and had the file to him within 24 hours. It was an odd feeling, having someone in his life that would risk their life and reputation just to make him feel more whole.

The Nauts had long told them that who they were before didn’t matter. To just forget it. But it mattered to Vasco. And because it mattered to him, De Sardet decided it mattered to him as well.

The day Vasco went down in battle, De Sardet was to him in moments, standing over him warding off the attackers with a fierceness he’d never seen. After a pile of corpses lay before them, he swiftly turned to Vasco to check on him. Calloused hands moving impossibly soft across his face, blue-green eyes full of worry staring into his soul.

De Sardet had the eyes of the ocean. Their color reminded Vasco of the waters surrounding the Naut island. The water he grew up splashing in with the other children, swimming in and training in as he grew, and the water he returned to happily each time he made it back. A beautiful blue-green. The storm that seemed to wage in them when he was angry, the calmness in them when he was happy. The captain felt like he could happily get lost in them every time they were trained on his own golden eyes.

Not that his other features were easy to ignore. It would take a blind man to not notice how handsome the legate was. A rugged rough masculine build. Strong jaw, strong frame, a dusting of facial hair. A smile that made him weak in the knees each time it was directed at him. Unfortunately, Vasco wasn’t the only one that noticed.

He knew there would be nothing between himself and the legate, as he continued to remind himself. Others enjoying his features, flirting with him, or attempting to seduce him wasn’t to be of Vasco’s concern. The man could do as he liked.

Not that those people didn’t infuriate the captain to no end. He often just scoffed at their attempts, or focused on maintaining as neutral of an expression as he could manage. A task he didn’t seem to be that good at, if Kurt’s reactions were anything to go by.

“You looked as if you were ready to kill that man,” Kurt states simply as the two of them follow behind the legate as they leave the half Brothel half gambling ring basement of San Matheus.

“No clue what you are on about,” Vasco responds sternly, fighting down the anger still flowing through his veins.

“Either you have a history with that prostitute and you don’t like him, or you don’t like how he talked to De Sardet I’d wager by that reaction,” Kurt pushes.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Vasco still insists, clenching his hands as they walk, his eyes trained on the design on the back of De Sardet’s cape.

“Man was just doin’ his job. Green-blood seemed interested anyway,” Kurt teases.

“He did not!” Vasco hisses, whipping around to face Kurt. His fists clenched and his chest heaving. “The man should be able to see he is an important diplomat doing a job, and fucking watched his mouth. He didn’t immediately need to try to climb him like the fucking mast.”

“Vasco?” De Sardet stops walking to turn back to his companions, his expression confused. “Is everything alright with you two?”

“Perfectly fine,” Vasco responds back through gritted teeth.

Looking unconvinced, the legate’s gaze turns to his old weapons-master, “Kurt?”

Kurt lets out a laugh before reaching out to grab the Naut on the shoulder, a move Vasco refutes, shaking his hand off of him. “I’m just havin’ a bit of fun with him, and he took it seriously.”

Crossing the distance between them, De Sardet approaches Vasco, noticing the obvious tension in his body.

“Kurt, please give us a moment to speak,” he says, placing a hand to Vasco’s chest as he backs the man into an a nearby empty alleyway. “What happened?”

In that moment, the dirt road suddenly got far more interesting for the Naut captain. His eyes trained to one specific boot print in the dirt as he tries to mumble a lame response.

“Vasco.”

“He was just… teasing me a bit, nothing more nothing less,” he insists.

“What did he say that got you that riled up? I’ve never seen you this agitated. Then again… you were agitated before this. What is going on?”

Vasco remains silent, just kicking his own boot in the dirt. His body still tensed, but now he’s not sure if it’s previous anger or how close he now found himself to the other man.

After a few moments of silence, De Sardet grabs ahold of both sides of Vasco’s uniform and shoves him back into the brick wall behind, causing the Naut to immediately look up into his eyes in shock. “Vasco.”

Before he can formulate an answer, he finds himself crashing his lips to the legate’s. De Sardet jumps at the the initial contact, but quickly deepens the kiss between them. Vasco’s arms wrap around him, his hands gripping his cape as a growl escapes his throat.

De Sardet knocks his hat off as his hands go to the Naut’s hair, quickly freeing it from its tie. His hands sink in his long brunette hair as they pull each other impossibly closer.

And seemingly as quick as it began, they’re pulling back gasping for a breath. A chuckle from De Sardet as Vasco’s eyes desperately search his.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for months,” the legate admits softly. “But was that just to distract me from my questions or…?”

“Or,” Vasco responds immediately, cursing himself at the dumb response as he earns another chuckle. He can feel his cheeks flushed, and his mind feels scrambled.

“What were you angry about?”

At this point, Vasco decides it’s time to just answer truthfully. If there was any chance… “He was teasing me about my anger from the interrogation.”

“He was teasing you for being angry in the brothel? You seemed angry, but I assumed you just didn’t like how unhelpful he was being.”

“I was… aggravated… at his advances,” he admits. “At you.”

“You were upset that the worker tried to seduce me?”

“Aye.”

Another chuckle. And with that Vasco can feel his cheeks heating ever further, “Sea and love both share a bitter bite… the sea seizes. Love seizes. Love scalds us, and the seas scalds us. For neither are free from tempest might.”

De Sardet looks back at him curiously, the sea in his eyes calm as he finds himself staring into them.

“A poem?”

“Yes… uh.. a poem I read and which I was trying to remember. It makes me think of you… of us,” he admits. “I- would you… want to spend some time alone together?”

A gentle smile spreads across De Sardet’s face, his hand moving to Vasco’s cheek as he strokes it gently, “I thought you’d never ask.”

#captain vasco #vasco #greedfall #greedfall vasco #de sardet #de sardet x vasco #fanfiction #fanfic #greedfall fanfic

[lykaokrios]

Arena Fears - M!De Sardet x Vasco

Fandom: Greedfall

Paring: Captain Vasco x M!De Sardet

Word Count: 2,047

Description:  Vasco fears losing De Sardet in his fight with a Champion in the arena.

(Poem quote from Tyler Knott Gregson)

Warnings: Mild swearing

My AO3

“I must warn ya, he’s a killer.” “Expecting you to last less than a minute.” The words kept repeating in his mind.

While Vasco had no doubt of De Sardet’s skill, the sinking feeling in his gut after those statements from the bookie and then Candy Cane refused to go away. Followed up with the fact he wasn’t even allowed to be in the arena with him.

He’d stayed quiet as they ran around setting up for the fight, but he couldn’t understand the excitement in Petrus’ voice or the confidence in the Legate’s.

He kept telling himself to remain silent. That everything would be fine. But as he watched De Sardet finish sharpening his sword and the sound of the games master calling his name, Vasco couldn’t hold it in anymore.

He throws himself at De Sardet, causing the man to drop his sword to hold onto him. Clutching onto his armor, the Captain whispers in his ear, “Don’t do this. Please don’t do this.”

“I- Vasco it will be alright,” the Legate assures him, stroking his back and holding him close.

“And if it’s not alright?” He demands, his grip tightening. “You’re going to make me watch you die for this?”

“You know my skill, you know I can do this,” he tries to reason.

“But I don’t know the other man, neither do you. All you know is he kills his opponents, and he’s obviously been a champion this long for a reason.”

“And I won’t be one of them,” he assures Vasco, who’s trying hard to control the trembling in his body. “It’s one fight, then it’ll be over. Please believe in me.”

“One fight,” Vasco repeats, stepping back from his lover. “I- will try to be supportive.”

“You don’t have to watch if it’s going to upset you.”

“I’d rather be there than waiting for someone to tell me,” the Naut hisses at him. “Finish this quickly, and let us not speak of it again.”

De Sardet nods before pressing a kiss to Vasco’s forehead, and motioning for Petrus to take him to the audience.

“Come my child,” Petrus says as he grasps Vasco’s arm. “Let us get into place and allow him to finish preparing.”

“Ok,” Vasco responds emptily. He glances at his lover one last time before allowing Petrus to pull him away.

Once they’re in place, Vasco’s mind continues to torment him with that one statement. “He’s a killer.”

He tries to calm himself, but it seems useless. The smell of sweat, blood, and alcohol thick in the air mixing with his anxiety make him feel like he’s going to be sick.

Either his Tempest wins and they continue on their way like normal. Or he’s about to watch the love of his life be slaughtered for sport in front of a crowd of drunk nobles betting on his life.

If the man killed De Sardet, he’d kill him, Vasco had already decided. Tack, laws, rules, guilds be damned. He’d rather rot in a jail cell than live a life free without him, and with the man who killed his lover walking away.

The game master starts his introductions. At this point it just sounds like noise, not actual words.

The champion jumps down into the arena. A bigger man than his Tempest. Not that he’d not fought massive creatures. Hell Vasco had seen him take down a guardian alone the day they met. But it did little to help his anxiety.

Next De Sardet jumps into the arena, his sword already in his hand. Within seconds they’re both at one another, the sound from clashing of blades echoes through the arena as the people around them cheer.

“Yeah, cut his head off!” The noble next to Vasco screams, his bottle of whiskey sloshing on to the floor.

He grimaces at the statement, gripping the barrier tightly to keep himself from punching the spectator. Petrus gives him an apologetic smile before gesturing back at the arena.

The larger man is obviously stronger. De Sardet was playing to his strengths of agility, but the man had caught him once and thrown him halfway across the arena with a thud. Vasco’s hand immediately snapped to his gun, his finger twitching as he holds it in his grasp.

The Legate was quickly back on his feet, and right back into his typical flips and handstands to maneuver around the champion.

Each close brush of the opponents blade has Vasco flinching. Any second could be his Tempest’s last. He’s unable to tear his eyes away from the battle.

After what seems like an eternity, De Sardet manages to stick the champion through his back, a gasp emanating from the crowd as Vasco finally lets out the breath he’d been holding. The Legate raises his sword in the air before heading toward the exit.

Vasco quickly races to the entrance, knowing that walk too well. He’d been hurt.

“See? Told you it would be fine,” his lover assures him, a forced smile clearly on his lips. “Hand out Vasco.”

“What?”

“Give me your hand.”

Holding his hand out, De Sardet deposits a heavy bag of gold into his palm before stumbling past him to the benches.

“I- Tempest!” He responds flabbergasted. “You’re obviously wounded, and I’ve spent the last ten minutes watching you nearly die and all you have to say is you’re fine and give me gold?”

“I want you to have it,” he says simply. Grimacing as he sits down.

“I don’t need gold, I need you!” Vasco seethes at him. He hooks the bag to his belt and drops to his knees tugging at his lover’s boot. “Let me see it.”

“I’m fine,” he tries to insist, but the angry glare trained on him seems to shut him up.

Discarding the boot and sock, and rolling back his trousers, Vasco’s faced with a deep gash in his leg. “Tempest,” he breaths out quietly.

He pulls back his own coat to tear a shred from his shirt to hold against the wound, and shouts over to the Siora for her help.

As he does his best to stop the bleeding, Siora races over with magic ready. He trades places with her to give her a better view, and instead goes to sit beside him, gripping his hand in his own.

As Siora sets to healing him, De Sardet rest his head on Vasco’s shoulder, a sigh leaving the Captain’s lips as he leans his own head against his and grips his love’s hand tighter.

“When you are finished, we should go see Cornelia,” Petrus states as he walks over.

“Tomorrow,” Vasco snaps out before the Legate can respond. “He’s injured and it’s late.”

“Of course,” Petrus nods. “Do you want help getting back my child?”

“No,” he responds softly. “Siora will finish up and Vasco will make sure I make it back. You can head out.”

“As you wish,” the Bishop nods and takes his exits.

Vasco mutters under his breath, bringing a chuckle from the man beside him. “I’m fine.”

“Are you?”

“He is,” Siora responds cleaning the rest of the blood from his leg. All that’s left is a long angry looking scar where the wound once was. “But you need rest.”

“You are a miracle worker,” De Sardet thanks her, Vasco sending her a quick nod and smile.

“Let us get back then,” the captain says, helping put his lover’s arm across his shoulders, and his own arm around the man’s back. “Don’t put pressure on it.”

“I can still-“ he tries to argue but once again stops at the glare he receives.

Siora helps the two of them out of the fighting pit and up the stairs of the basement before commenting she will hang back on their walk back. “So you two may talk.”

Vasco nods and continues on shouldering most of the weight.

“So…” De Sardet says after a few minutes of walking.

“I’m angry, anxious, stressed, upset, and fucking relieved,” Vasco interrupts. “I could have fucking lost you just so Petrus could anger a noble.”

“It should help Constantin,” the Legate insists.

“Perhaps, or it was a non-existent problem the two of you were trying to solve for him. He’s a governor, I understand he’s your cousin but you can’t intervene on everything.”

De Sardet goes quiet at that, and they continue the walk in silence. Reaching the home, Vasco helps him through the door, then up the stairs with the help of Kurt who jumped from his chair.

“I’ve got the rest handled,” Vasco tells Kurt after they’ve help De Sardet to a chair.

Kurt leaves with a nod, and Vasco starts removing the Legate’s coat and various pieces of armor. Once all his upper armor is removed, he drops to his knees to get his boots off once again.

Once he’s stripped to his underclothes, Vasco goes downstairs to retrieve the water for a bath.

When he re-enters the room, he notices De Sardet examining his leg.

“How is the pain?” He asks as he pours the water in the tub.

“Manageable,” the Legate responds softly. “Did you really believe I would not win that fight?”

“I… don’t know,” Vasco answers carefully, helping De Sardet into the tub as he speaks. “You are skilled, but it was reckless.”

“We live reckless lives Vasco,” he answers, grimacing as he moves his leg to make it comfortable in the small space.

“No, we live dangerous lives. It’s dangerous enough without reckless and nearly pointless fights that could leave you killed with little to no good reason.”

“I thought I could win.”

“That’s the problem,” Vasco snaps back, “You thought about how you felt and how Petrus felt. You didn’t think about what would happen if you didn’t win. How Constantin would feel; how Kurt, Aphra, and Siora would feel. How I would feel watching you be murdered in front of me with nothing I could do, in the name of pissing off a noble and a sack of gold.”

“It wasn’t for just that!” he insists. “If this could even slightly help Constantin isn’t it worth it?”

“De Sardet don’t you just come into my life and show me love, show me everything I could feel, give me more happiness than I’ve had in my entire fucking life then throw your life away!” He hisses at him angrily. “If you were going to so casually toss away your life, you should have never let me get close to you.”

De Sardet goes silent once again at that, and Vasco sighs, pulling the tie from his lover’s hair and beginning to wet it.

Putting the soap in his hands, he runs his fingers through the hair deftly, lathering it in the tension filled silence.

“‘When you have swam in the sea, a lake will no longer do. Everyone else was a pond, but the ocean was always you,’” Vasco recites softly.

“What?”

“I’m scared to lose you Tempest,” he admits. “Completely and utterly terrified. The idea of going back to life how it was before after having known this, having known you…”

“Shut your eyes,” he commands, starting to rinse the soap from his hair.

“I’m sorry,” De Sardet says after he’s told he can open his eyes. “I… really didn’t think. And that wasn’t fair to you. Come here.”

Vasco leans in closer, and the Legate gently cups his jaw and pulls him in to give him a gentle kiss, “I will do better.”

“I believe you’ll try. Don’t promise what you can’t do,” his gaze drifts down to the water in the tub.

“Hey, look at me,” De Sardet states, carefully tilting his lover’s face up toward him. “We’ll discuss these things before I jump into them. I won’t rush into it without listening to how you feel. Actually listening.”

“That’s all I ask,” Vasco sighs, leaning his head into De Sardet’s wet palm against his face. “I’m going down with this ship Tempest, just don’t sink it this quickly.”

“That won’t do,” he teases, his thumb running along one of Vasco’s tattoos. “This tattoo says you’ve not lost a single crew member. I wouldn’t want to make a liar out of your face.”

“Oh shut up.”

“I love you too Vasco.”

#captain vasco #vasco #de sardet x vasco #greedfall vasco #de sardet #fanfiction #fanfic #greedfall

[lykaokrios]

Predestined Sea - F!De Sardet x Vasco: Part 2

Fandom: Greedfall

Paring: Captain Vasco x F!De Sardet

Word Count: 2,616

Description:  Larke De Sardet knew there was always a chance her uncle would use her as leverage in some arranged marriage. What she hadn't expected was for it to be a contract marriage with the Nauts, leaving her married to a young Captain she'd never met.

AU Where the events of the game didn't happen, she is actually the daughter of the Princess, and she's not going to New Serene (at least not yet). I gave her a name because it's going to fit into the story at later points, and I just want her to have an actual first name :)

(Poem that Vasco quotes : Beyond The Sea By Thomas Love Peacock Poem that De Sardet quotes: From The Sea by Sara Teasdale)

Warnings: Mild swearing, though AU may be some spoiler stuff

My AO3

Part 1

Vasco sighs and drums his fingers on the table before him, earning a pointed look from his Admiral beside him. Pulling his hand back he glances around the extravagantly decorated meeting room and shifts in his seat.

He typically kept on top of his own personal hygiene, but he’d been warned enough about the noble expected level of it and felt like he’d nearly scrubbed his skin off to remove all traces of ship life in preparation. While he wasn’t looking forward to this, he wasn’t going to be the reason an opportunity for his family fell through. Even if it meant scrubbing harder than he had in his entire life, tying his hair back tighter than he thought possible, and sitting in a brand-new starched Captain’s uniform.

As he looks around he catches his reflection in a fancy mirror. It was odd seeing himself so… ‘distinguished,’ particularly the lack of hat, but he had to admit he cleaned up well.

The sound of an angry voice and approaching footsteps snaps his attention to the door across the room. He can hear harsh whispers being exchanged on the other side of it, but he’s only able to make out the word ‘repercussions’ before the sound of a loud smack echoes into the room, and the door swings open to reveal the smiling Prince.

“Admiral Cabral, Captain Vasco, so glad you could join us today,” he greets them warmly as he steps into the room, reaching back to tug in a young woman behind him. “I’m delighted to present to you my niece, Larke Da Sardet, daughter of Princess d’Orsay.”

“Enchanted to meet you both,” Larke states immediately, with what seems to be a forced smile on her face.

“Likewise,” the Admiral responds from beside him. “We’ve heard much about you from your uncle.”

“Charmed,” Vasco simply replies, quickly examining her. Hair tied back into a long braid, beautiful blue green eyes, a forced smile, hand clamped over a spot on her arm, and what looks like ink stains on her fingertips.

Her uncle directs her to sit across from him as he sits before the Admiral. As they begin to discuss more details of the contract, Vasco finds himself still gazing at Larke in front of him.

There definitely was something different about her, not like most nobles he’d come into contact with. She seemed to hold herself in a different way. The way her jaw was set, the look in her eyes.

With the way she leaned away from the Prince, she was clearly not comfortable around him. Not that he could blame her from what he thought occurred in the hall. Probably what her one hand seemed intent on covering.

Eventually she seems to have felt his gaze, and meets his eyes, a flush moving up her neck as they do. He gives her a gentle smile, one she slowly returns.

“Would the two of you like to go for a walk in the palace to get to know one another?” the Prince offers, his voice immediately making them drop their eye contact.

Vasco clears his throat and looks to the Prince, forcing a smile to his own face, “That would be lovely.”

“Larke, be a dear and show him around the palace,” the Prince states, looking to his niece. “We will cover the rest of these details without you. Nothing inappropriate from either of you.”

“I’d be delighted uncle,” she responds, immediately standing up from her seat.

Vasco follows suit, and walks out from behind the table and offers his arm to her. She accepts it after a moment and they walk through the door.

After they hear the sound of the door shutting behind them, Vasco exhales deeply. “Stuffy as shit in there.”

Larke immediately laughs, but quickly brings her free hand up to cover her mouth and stop her laughter, “I apologize sir. That wasn’t appropriate of me.”

“Laughter isn’t appropriate in the royal palace?” Vasco asks. “This place is more dire than I thought.”

Grinning at him she shakes her head wistfully. “Not when in earshot of the Prince or his dignitaries at least,” she whispers.

“Then let us get out of earshot of them shall we?” He asks.

She nods and leads him down another fancy hallway full of statues and paintings of the Prince himself.

“And nothing inappropriate,” Vasco chides. “As if I’m idiot enough to ask the Prince’s niece to show me the royal broom closet to paw at each other. I want to live to at least tomorrow.”

She chuckles at that but once again goes silent as they reach the end of the hall to a large window overlooking the garden.

“From the look of you, you aren’t usually this... subdued,” he mentions after a few moments.

She sighs heavily at that and responds back quietly, “This is important to my uncle. And if I do something to ruin it I will suffer. Typically I don’t spend much time under his thumb, my cousin, his son tends to be there while I live my own life in the background.”

“I can tell by your arm,” he says gently, his gaze flickering to the angry red handprint she’d previously covered with her hand.

She curses quietly under her breath and reaches up to cover it once again, “It would be good to forget you’ve seen that for these negotiations.”

“I understand,” he nods sadly. “From what I heard, you don’t want to marry me?”

“It’s not that... it’s just... I don’t know you yet,” Larke admits. “You dream of growing up, falling in love, and marrying that person. Then when you’re forced into something else...”

“You are a noble.”

“I know. My life is decided for me,” she smiles forcefully once again. “It’s the life I have.”

“What else did you dream about?”

Letting go of his arm, she places her hands on the window sill and stares out at the sky, “I’d run to the shore whenever I could as a child. Still do when I can get away with it. Especially at night. Staring up at the stars or out at the sea. I dreamed of exploring beyond this shore. Getting far away from all this and just… being who I wish to be. Silly dreams I suppose for who I’m supposed to be.”

“I don’t think they’re silly,” he comments, leaning forward to also place his hands on the window sill, their shoulders just barely touching. “Freedom of the sea isn’t silly.”

“I guess that’s your life though right?” She asks. “Sailing beyond the horizon to new places.”

“‘Beyond the sea, beyond the sea, the swallow wanders fast and free. Oh happy bird, were I like thee, I, too, would fly beyond the sea,’” he recites as he watches the garden staff below them.

Larke looks over to him with a mixed expression of surprise and interest, “A poem?”

“I- yes,” he admits with a nervous cough. “I like to read out at sea. Poetry is… I suppose beautiful is the best way to say it. Peaceful. I am not the most gifted at words, I appreciate what it does.”

“‘Yet when I heard your name the first far time, it seemed like other names to me, and I was all unconscious, as a dreaming river that nears at last its long predestined sea,’” she says after a moment.

His eyes widen at her words, he can feel a warm heat working its way up his cheeks as he looks at her, his mouth agape.

“I- I mean, it was the first poem of the sea that came to mind,” she stammers as an explanation. “I enjoy poetry as well.”

He clears his throat and pushes off the window still before extending his arm out to her again. She immediately accepts it but remains silent as they walk. “Contract not yet signed, and you are already trying to woo me with love poems of the sea, little bird?”

“I was not!” She objects, a flush going across her cheeks as she leans into him. “And little bird?”

“Your name is Larke is it not?” He asks as he glances down at her.

“It is.”

“A lark is a bird?”

“It is.”

“You are smaller than I am?”

“I am.”

“Little bird,” he concludes, his other hand reaching over to brush a stray hair from her face. “I quite like it.”

“I… So do you fight Vasco?” she asks, rapidly changing the subject.

“Fight? Of course I can fight.”

“Are you up for a duel?” She asks, tugging his arm to lead him into her sparring room, indicating at the barrel of wooden swords.

“We’re to be getting to know one another for marriage, and you wish to spar?” He grins and lets go of her arm to pull one out.

“I think I’ll learn quite a lot from this actually,” she teases.

“I suppose I will too, if you last more than two seconds lass.”

“I have trained Captain Vasco,” she informs him as she pulls her own sword out and twists it in her hands.

“Aye, you’ve trained but have you used the skills outside of these walls?”

“Not as much as I’d have liked,” she admits before rushing him, barely giving him enough time to throw his sword up to block her.

He raises a brow before taking a swipe at her himself, which she quickly parries and swings at his feet. He jumps out of the way of it easily but immediately has to parry another back at her.

They go blow for blow, parry for parry for what seems like an eternity before Larke commits too far to one side, and he kicks her feet out from under her. Kneeling down he places the wooden sword to her throat with a grin, “Do you yield lass?”

He can see practically she her brain trying to figure a way out, her eyes flickering to different parts of his body before finally sighing and admitting defeat. “You have won Captain Vasco.”

“One of the best duels I’ve had in a long time,” he admits as he steps back and offers her a hand to pull her up. As she climbs back to her feet, they’re interrupted by the sound of the training room door slamming open.

“Larke De Sardet! Come, now,” the Prince hisses, a look of panic crossing Larke’s face before she looks down and crosses the floor to him.

Vasco momentarily curses himself, realizing the state she’s in. Braid falling apart, her clothes wrinkled and dirty from the training room floor. He’s certain he isn’t in much of a better state if the hair now in his vision was anything to go by.

Standing back, he brushes off what he can off his own clothes, and reaches up to pull the tie from his hair and quickly fix it to the best of his ability as he listens to whispered angry words coming from the Prince.

When he noticed the man grab her wrist, he decides to intervene, stepping up next to them, “I have very much enjoyed my time getting to know Lady De Sardet, She kindly showed me her prowess in dueling and I was much impressed. When you’re traveling the seas going from port to port you never know when those type of skills will be necessary.”

Prince d’Orsay quickly lets go of her wrist and smiles, “Only the best from the royal family of course. She has been trained by an elite captain of the guard as her swords-master since she was a child.”

Vasco nods approvingly, his eyes glancing over at her rubbing her wrist, “It shows, she’s very skilled.”

“It is fortunate this time proved fruitful then.”

“Indeed. Has the the wedding date been discussed?” he asks as the Admiral looks into the room.

“It has!” The Prince announces happily. “We are discussing six months from now once you return from running goods to our city New Serene.”

“Yes of course.”

“Let us go formalize the the contract while Lady De Sardet goes to clean up and attends her lessons,” the Prince comments shuffling Vasco toward the door.

“She is not needed for the formalities?” he questions.

“My niece has graciously already stated what I decide is what she shall do,” the Prince states, looking toward Larke. “Correct my niece?”

“Yes sir, you would only choose the best for the Congregation and the family,” she says simply and coldly, all traces of the person he’d spent the last hour with gone.

“Then I’ll say goodbye to you now,” Vasco says, pulling away from the Prince and lifting Larke’s hand in his own. “I will be at the port until we set sail for New Serene, if you have need of me before then find me there. If not, I will see you when I return.” He lifts her hand to his lips and presses a kiss to it, sending her a quick wink and soft smile.

She returns his smile and bows her head to him before ducking out of the room.

“Now then, we can finish this business up,” The Prince says as he leads the Admiral and Vasco out and toward the room they met in.

-

“Green-blood!” a voice she knows all too well shouts to Larke as she hurries off. Sighing heavily, she turns on her heel to see Kurt leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

“Yes Kurt?”

“Good try, but you still lost,” he comments.

“I- you saw that?” she stutters.

“Of course, I hear swords clashing in the training room I’m gonna look, didn’t expect to see you in there fighting with a Naut I gotta say,” he explains, giving her a questioning look. “The Prince said you’d be late for your lesson, so I was surprised you were in there at all.”

“My uncle is arranging a marriage between myself and the Naut Captain,” she explains, crossing her own arms. “I was meeting him today. It turned into a duel, and you saw the rest I suppose.”

“Meeting your future husband and you challenge him to a duel,” Kurt laughs and pushes himself off the wall. “I’ve certainly trained you to fight, but it sounds like your etiquette teacher went soft on you.”

“He said he showed him a lot about me,” she insists, a pout forming on his face.

“I’m sure it did green-blood, I’m sure it did,” he teases. “Now get your behind upstairs to change into proper training clothes and meet me back in the training room.

Opening her mouth to protest, Kurt holds up a hand to stop her, “You’re the one that just lost a duel right in front of me, makes me look bad as a swords-master. You have to run through drills again De Sardet.”

Sighing, she looks up at him, “You know you can just call me Larke right? You’ve known me long enough.”

“I’m your swords-master and bodyguard, not your friend. I’m not going to refer to you in a familiar way like that,” he says simply.

“Yeah sure, not my friend,” she rolls her eyes at him. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“How you see me is your own business,” he insists.

Reaching out to pat his arm she chuckles, “I know you’re about to put me through several terrible drills, but just accept that you are a friend to me. I don’t have many, but you are amongst them.”

“I… go get changed Larke, you have double drills now,” he responds, shaking his head with the hint of a smile on his lips.

__________

Part 1

#captain vasco #vasco #de sardet #de sardet x vasco #fanfiction #fanfic #greedfall #greedfall vasco

[lykaokrios]

Predestined Sea - F!De Sardet x Vasco: Part 1

Fandom: Greedfall

Paring: Captain Vasco x F!De Sardet

Word Count: 1,467

Description:  Larke De Sardet knew there was always a chance her uncle would use her as leverage in some arranged marriage. What she hadn't expected was for it to be a contract marriage with the Nauts, leaving her married to a young Captain she'd never met.

AU Where the events of the game didn't happen, she is actually the daughter of the Princess, and she's not going to New Serene (at least not yet). I gave her a name because it's going to fit into the story at later points, and I just want her to have an actual first name :)

Warnings: Mild swearing, though AU may be some spoiler stuff

My AO3

Part 2

“You are asking me to do WHAT?” Vasco asks, not believing his own ears. Surely he’s mistaken.

“We wouldn’t ask this of you if we didn’t think it was what is best for the Nauts,” his Admiral says firmly. “I know it’s not ideal. But we are working on the details of the contract.”

“How would me marrying a noble from the Congregation possibly help the Nauts? And why would a noble family agree to this, they marry their children off to other nobles not us,” he insist as he crosses his arms.

The admiral sighs and lays a draft of the contract on the table. “There are things happening I can’t fully explain to you, but we need someone involved in their politics for our benefit.”

Vasco narrows his eyes at her as she talks, “Who exactly is this noble that just our marriage would significantly help the Nauts in Congressional politics?”

“Prince d’Orsay’s niece.”

“What!” Vasco shouts leaping from his seat. “You want me to marry a lass in line for the throne?”

“She’ll never take the throne,” she dismisses quickly. “The Prince has a son. Sit down.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” he mutters as he slides back into his seat. “What are we or they getting from this?”

“The idea is she will marry you and become more... sympathetic to us. But long term being your children will be in the high court helping make policies and decisions. They’ve been raised living in the courts and on our ships, with a noble mother and Naut father. We’re also getting better ports, and a better standing on Congregation lands,” she explains.

“Children? You’re already putting children into this?”

“Yes. As for what they will receive, better prices on voyages, transporting goods, and priority over the other nations. Both sides are getting good outcomes.”

“And I’m expected to just leave my ship, marry a noble and live in the courts like a pet?” He scoffs.

“No, you’ll get married and go back to your ship. You can take her with you if you two wish, or you can just come back and visit her. You will have to make appearances for some events with the both of you and you obviously have to have children, but we’re willing to work your schedule around it all,” she finishes.

He rolls his eyes, “The day the niece of the Prince wants to live on one of our ships under the direction of a Naut Captain is the day I eat my hat.”

“I’d suggest getting a replacement hat ready then,” she teases. “We’ve of course done research into her. She seems quite fond of the water, much to her uncle’s unhappiness.”

“So the oddest noble,” he sighs. “Maybe she won’t be awful, but why is it me?”

“The Prince was specific on who she married.”

“He chose me?”

“Not by name of course. But he wanted a high ranking Naut within five years of his niece that could be composed enough to attend court when need be.”

“Who old is she?”

“23.”

“I... see,” he mutters. “And I being the youngest Captain at 25 have fallen into this trap.”

“That’s why it’s you Captain Vasco. We regret the need for this, but I do not see it changing the path of your career. If you’re not an admiral by the time you’re my age, I will be very surprised.”

“So when is this happening?”

“That’s why I had you bring goods to Serene, they are here. We’re meeting with the Prince and his niece in two days.”

“Shit.”

-

“Uncle you can not be serious,” Larke De Sardet insists as she stands across from her uncle. “I can’t marry this man.”

“I am, and you will,” he states firmly, the frown growing on his face.

“I do not even know him!” She all but shouts, adrenaline pumping in her veins. The pit in her stomach growing.

“That’s how most arranged marriage work, you will meet him in two days, and you will marry him within the month and that is final,” the Prince snaps back.

“But uncle!”

“If you say one more word and force me to leave my seat to deal with you, you shall regret it child,” he growls at her. “You are to meet me in this room at sunrise the day after morrow. Dismissed.”

Nodding obediently, Larke turns on her heel and rushes out the door, the tears prickling at her eyes as she blinks to force them back.

Her mother and her cousin Constantin stand nearby waiting for her, but she brushes past them without a word heading for the back of the palace.

She hear’s her cousin shout her name, but she continues on her path until she hits the back door of the palace and takes off into a run.

She ran until her lungs burned and the sea air raced into her nostrils. Ripping off her fancy dress and kicking off her shoes, she discards them on the beach before she wades out into the water and stares across the open sea at the setting sun.

She’d always loved the ocean since she was a child. She was told her father was an explorer, that he spent his life uncovering the unknown, mapping out places she couldn’t imagine. A part of her had always hoped one day that could be her.

Looking further down the beach, she spots one of the Naut ships in the far distance and sighs. She didn’t want to marry a man she didn’t know. And knowing her uncle he’d go for the highest ranking person he could, which probably meant a much older man.

A chill goes up her spine at the thought, and she trudges back to the shore before plopping down to let the dying waves crash against her feet.

She sits for what feels like ages, until the sun finally settles behind the water and she allows herself to lay back in the sand to look up at the stars.

They’d always been another interest. All the pictures astronomers and Nauts had painted in the sky. Each with their meaning and story to go with the random combination of stars. There was always something comforting about being under the stars.

Under the vast open night sky, with the sound of the waves in the background was her one true ‘happy place.’

After a short while the sound of footsteps comes from further up the beach, her ears pricking at the sound before a smirk crosses her face as she hears her cousin utter a curse.

“Fair cousin, don’t try to drown yourself in the sea to escape a man, that’s a terrible plan,” he teases as he too kicks his boots off and sits beside her.

“Could have fooled me,” she chuckles. “Sounds preferable to the situation I’m currently facing.”

Constantin sighs heavily and places a hand on her shoulder, “I tried to talk him out of it… it didn’t go well but I tried.”

Glancing over at her cousin, she notices the evident bruise on his cheek, “Constantin… don’t fight with your father over me. You know he doesn’t change his mind. I love that you want to stand up for me, but you know him.”

“Unfortunately I do,” he agrees. “But I had to try. That a man is going to take away my dear cousin without my approval is a hard fate to accept.”

“He’s taking me away?” she questions, immediately sitting up to face him. “A Naut is taking me away, I’m going on a ship?”

“I spoke with your mother and apparently she fought with my father over the contract and put her own requirements for the marriage,” he explains. “That father couldn’t marry you off to someone more than 5 years your senior, and that you be allowed to travel with him if you so choose.”

“My sweet mother,” she sighs with relief. “I still want nothing to do with this… but she made it what she could I suppose.”

“Auntie is quite distraught over it all,” he admits. “I sat speaking with her after you took off. She hopes this will end up being a good outcome for you, getting you away from the palace and away from my father for awhile.”

“He’s not an easy man to get along with,” she agrees.

“He hates me, he just gets annoyed with you,” Constantin adds with a shrug. “I’ll never be good enough, and you’ll always be wrong. I suppose there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“I suppose,” she says unhappily before looking back up at the sky.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love with a handsome Naut Captain and run away to the seas,” he teases her with a smile.

“Fuck off.”

__________

Part 2

#captain vasco #vasco #de sardet #greedfall #de sardet x vasco #greedfall vasco #fanfiction

[lykaokrios]

Jealous - Thane Krios x F!Shepard

My first posted Thane fanfic 💚 I’ve written fanfics for quite a few fandoms before, but never ended up posting any of my Mass Effect stuff anywhere before, here’s my first :) 

Paring: Thane Krios x F!Shepard

Word Count: 2,242

Description:  "Jealous over a magazine. They didn’t even know if they’d live until the end of this cycle, and he was upset over a magazine."

Warnings: None

My AO3

“Siha?” Thane calls out questioningly as he steps into her quarters.

“Come in, I’m over here,” Shepard shouts back from the other side of the room.

“I’m not interrupting anything I hope?” He asks as he walks further into the room, leaning against her desk when he spots her on the sofa.

“No, I’m just planning,” she replies looking up from her datapad to give him a tired smile. “When you promise fifteen people you’ll do twenty different things, the log book gets a bit messy if you don’t prioritize.”

“I see,” he nods giving her a smile back. “Don’t overreach Siha, you want to help everyone but you also must help yourself.”

“I know, I know,” she waves dismissively at him. “But things like figuring out why Grunt wants to tear a hole in my ship is pretty important. Finding data for some guy named Ish, not so much.”

“Just remember to relax sometimes,” he adds as he looks at her model ship collection over the desk.

“I do,” she responds looking back down at her datapad. “I have some down time.”

“Is that right?” He questions, his eyes drifting to the cover of a magazine laying beside her terminal. 'Sexiest Drell Men of 2185'.

Her response evades him as he wrestles with the feeling of unease in his stomach looking at the cover. Not a feeling he’s used to feeling. If he’d ever felt it at all. A mixture of aggravation, discontent, and unease all rolled up into one.

Reaching over he flips over the magazine while trying to calm himself. His eyes glossing over the back. 'Want to meet one of our models? Write into Fornax today to win!'

His fingers grip the edge of the desk, as he tries to will the annoying thoughts from his head. Lifting up the magazine, he holds it tightly in his hand before dropping it to the floor. “I… have something I must attend to,” he states before backing out of her quarters and all but running to the elevator, hearing her voice call his name after him.

Shepard could have nearly any man in the galaxy. An angel sent by Arashu to this destructive plane of existence they were sorting through. A rare light of hope in a galaxy he’d long seen dark.

It had been easy to fall for her. How could he not? Devoting her life to impossible cause after impossible cause all to save a galaxy that seemed to tear her down at every turn. Her small acts of kindness on their missions, defending those who couldn’t defend themselves. Throwing herself across the battlefield like it’s an art only she truly understood. Elegant, graceful, deadly.

And their solo talks on the ship, hours debating philosophy, trading battle tactics, enthusing over guns and books alike. That genuine smile she beamed at him, telling him she believed in him, that he was more than the life he’d destined himself to. The worry in her eyes and tenderness of her touch when he’d taken a bad hit on the battlefield. The pure kindness she showed him and the overwhelming affection in the simplest touches.

After what seemed like ages, the elevator doors finally opened to the third floor. Thane quickly exits it, heading toward his quarters, before changing his mind and turning into the men’s restroom instead. Glancing around the room to ensure he was alone, he approaches the sink to look at his reflection in the mirror.

His looks. Not something he’d ever put any thought into. Not even something he’d paid much attention to. Unlatching his jacket, he lets it fall to the floor before unzipping his top. He grimaces as he turns himself various directions. The last ten years had snuck up on him faster than he wanted to admit. He was nearly 40, and his career hadn’t exactly been kind to his body. His scales littered with scars shown under the intense bathroom light.

He sighs as he meets his gaze in the mirror and zips up his top. Jealous over a magazine. They didn’t even know if they’d live until the end of this cycle, and he was upset over a magazine. Over his age. Over his scars. Over his mortality. Over not being the young, healthy, and unscarred Drell on the cover of Shepard’s Fornax magazine. The person that could stay at her side indefinitely, not trying to outrun an invisible clock ticking closer to the end each day.

Snatching his jacket off the floor, he slips it back on before flinging the bathroom door open and storming into Life Support.

As the doors slide shut behind him, he looks up surprised to see Shepard sitting in her seat at his table. Her hands in her lap, a concerned expression across her face.

Taking a deep breath, his mind races to come up with an excuse as he slips into his seat in front of her.

They sit in silence as he grows nervous under her intense gaze, an awkward cough from him finally prompting her to talk.

“It was a joke, from Kasumi,” she says quietly, her cheeks reddening.

“What?”

Sighing, Shepard pulls the magazine out from under the table and slaps it onto the desk. Flipping to the title page, she turns it toward Thane.

Glancing at her then down at the magazine, he’s met with a bright pink piece of paper stuck to the page, “Happened to see this on Omega and thought you might enjoy this for when lover boy is too busy with his mediations, happy reading Shep.”

His mouth opens to speak, before snapping shut. His frills lifting in embarrassment as he avoids her gaze. “Oh,” he simply replies after a few moments.

“I didn’t think to hide it,” she explains sheepishly. “She’d left it there for me, and I just read the note then tossed it back on the desk to deal with it later.”

“You shouldn’t have to hide it,” he replies. “It shouldn’t bother me.”

“Well… if it was the other way around I’d be bothered,” she admits with a shrug.

“Siha I-" he begins before his shoulders slump and he stares down at the table in defeat.

Standing up from her seat, Shepard goes around the table to Thane, pulling his chair out further from the table and sitting on his lap. Her arms wrap around his waist, her legs across and over his lap, and her head on his shoulder tucked into his neck.

His body immediately relaxes into hers, and he rests his head on hers as her lips brush against his neck and frills.

“I haven’t read the thing, but if you’re in it I’m jealous, and if you aren’t I’m offended,” she says softly after a few minutes, prompting a dry laugh from Thane.

“And why is that?” He asks.

“Because if you’re not there’s been an egregious error, but if you are, I don’t exactly like sharing Krios,” she teases, her fingers brushing across his exposed chest.

“Very clearly not an error Siha,” he adds, humming slightly at her touch.

“Very much so an error,” she insists. “The blind could see that body with the way your leathers hug it.”

“Is that so?”

“Hell yeah it’s so, I about got shot the first time I put you on a mission team. You were ahead of me ducked behind a crate, your muscles on your arms and shoulders tense while you were shooting, your pants way too damn tight on your ass. Then you flipped around facing me, leaning to the side to continue shooting as your jacket fell away from your chest, your pants strained against your whole lower body, and you caught my eye and smiled. About got myself killed again, because I was distracted by you.”

“Then one day you just show up with these piercings,” she continues. “Like ‘oh yeah I already had it pierced’ and ask me if I think they suit you.”

“I was unaware you were struggling Siha,” he chuckles. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Not your fault that you’re incredibly attractive,” she adds with a shrug. “Though thankfully that battlefield gawking has gone down to a minimum now that I get to personally help remove that armor afterwards.”

“Not as tempting now that you have it?”

“Oh still as tempting, I just know the view later will be better,” she presses several light kisses along his frills, causing a shiver to go up his spine.

“You’re making it very difficult to not just lay you across this table now,” he mutters as she laughs softly against him.

The sound of the room’s door sliding open tears him from his thoughts, and he looks down quickly to Shepard in his lap. While they hadn’t exactly spoke of hiding their relationship, they tended to pull away from one another when they were interrupted.

She gives him a quick shrug and doesn’t move from her position in his lap as they wait for the person to come in.

“Need something?” Thane finally calls out to the silence of the open door.

“I’m just looking for the Commander,” Jacob’s voice responds back. “She wasn’t in her quarters, so I was seeing if she’s just making her rounds. You seen her?”

“What do you need Jacob?” Shepard replies, still not bothering to remove herself from her position on Thane’s lap.

“Commander?” Jacob questions, finally stepping into the room looking around, his eyes widening when he spots her.

“What do you need?” She repeats, turning slightly to meet his gaze.

“I- well you had said you’d let me know when we’d be able to check out that distress signal I talked to you about,” he answers, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

“Shit, yeah, sorry about that,” she lifts her arm as her omni-tool appears, and types into it quickly. “We’re near Tuchanka so we’re stopping there first to get Grunt checked out and rescue Mordin’s student. From there we’ll stop in the the Citadel to pick up supplies on our way to the distress signal. Did something change with the situation that we need to get there quicker?”

“No, that’s fine,” Jacob responds. “So what’s… going on Commander?”

“Hm?” she asks looking back over to him.

“You just cuddling the squad in your down time?”

Sighing, Shepard drops her feet down to the floor and turns on Thane’s lap to face Jacob, “Really Jacob?”

“I’m just surprised. Trusting a well known assassin to watch your back is already pushing it, to trust him to this extent… unnecessarily risky,” he comments crossing his arms.

Pulling herself up from Thane’s lap, Shepard crosses the room to stand in front of Jacob, her own arms crossing as she stares him down, “We have a group of dangerous people that are the best at what they do, all on a ship owned by an organization seen as incredibly dangerous by most of the galaxy, fighting impossible odds, against dangerous enemies, into a mission none of us may come back from. I don’t see how who I’m dating is a notable risk or of your concern Mr. Taylor. And if you actually took some time to get to know Thane, maybe you wouldn’t have such harsh criticism of him on our ship.”

“I- apologize commander,” Jacob responds immediately, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Thank you for answering my question, I will be in the armory if you need me ma’am,” he finishes before backing out of the room quickly.

As the doors slide shut, Shepard’s tense muscles relax once again when she turns to look at Thane, “Sorry about that.”

“His views of me aren’t your fault,” he says simply. “You’re too kind.”

“I suppose I could have yelled a bit,” she muses, sitting on the table in front of him.

Laughing, he stands up to get in front of her, “I meant to myself, not Mr. Taylor.”

“We’ve all had to kill,” she responds dismissively. “Judging you because you’re trained as an assassin instead of a soldier that got sick of the Alliance is ridiculous. And if it’s over you being a drell, I don’t have time for racist bullshit on my ship. You also earned my trust a lot quicker.”

“So, you said we’re dating,” he says, changing the subject as he steps closer to her, placing his hands on the table beside her legs. “What does that make me to you?”

“I, well, I assumed we were,” Shepard responds hesitantly, her cheeks reddening. “I figured that was what the whole confession thing was.”

Thane chuckles, leaning in closer to her, “I didn’t disagree with you, I just want to know what I am to you.”

“My boyfriend?” she mutters carefully.

“Works for me,” he answers, bumping his hand against her leg. She wordlessly spreads them so he can press himself against the table. Her legs wrap around him as he tilts her head up to his.

“Oh does it?” she asks, her pulse quickening under his fingertips on her neck.

A smirk spreads across his face as her already dilating eyes meet his, and he leans in to feather kisses along her jaw until he reaches her mouth. “Is it still too early to admit how I actually feel?” He asks, his breath ghosting over her lips.

“No,” she whispers, leaning in closer to him.

“I love you Siha,” he whispers back before capturing her lips with his own.

---

My AO3

#thane #thane krios #mass effect #shepard #female shepard #commander shepard #mass effect 2 #me2 #fanfic #fanfiction #thane x shepard #thane krios x shepard #shrios #femshep