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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

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@fabro-de-omres HOLD UP BESTIE, I GOT ONE LAST FIC FOR YOUR LIST-

Star-Ninja!

Prompts: Siblings and Competition

Word Count: 5,884

Characters: The ninja

Timeline: Snapshots throughout the series

Trigger Warnings: None

Summary: What happens when the loveable gremlin the ninja adopted off of the streets introduces them to Starfarer comics?

Chaos ensues, of course.

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“Take that! And that! Oh, yeah-” Jay leaped to his feet, grinning. “Die, lava zombies, die!”

Level complete. The words flashed across the screen, and Jay whooped. Only one more level and he would beat Zane’s high score.

“You could’ve beaten it faster if you had taken out the little guys first.”

Jay whipped around to see the little wispy-haired kid draped over the arm of the couch, staring at the TV screen with a glazed, listless look in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Jay snapped.

“I’m borrrred,” he whined, kicking his legs against the couch. “Can I play with you?”

“No.”

“Can I use the training course?”

“No, you’re not a ninja.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“It’s not our job to entertain you, kid.”

“I didn’t ask to be kidnapped by you,” Lloyd snapped.

Jay felt his face flush. “So you’d rather still be with the Serpentine?”

“Well no, I just wanna have a choice!”

Jay stared at him for a moment. I don’t know his whole story. He’s a kid who’s been dealt a bad hand in life. He exhaled slowly. “Look, Lloyd, you’re just a kid. I know it’s hard for you to understand- but you’ve caused a lot of trouble. The Serpentine are dangerous, and you don’t know enough to deal with them. You just gotta trust us, okay?”

Lloyd sighed dramatically, sliding off of the couch and onto the floor. “Yeah, whatever.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Can’t you find something to do for a little while? Please? I’ll talk with Sensei about what we’re going to do with you as soon as he gets back.”

To his surprise, Lloyd actually left him alone, and Jay turned back to his game. He knew it wasn’t a very responsible move, but he had never agreed to babysit the kid. Besides, they were going hunting for Serpentine again tomorrow, so it would likely be Jay’s last chance to have some downtime for an entire week.

By the time Jay had finally beaten the top score, his fingers were sore from playing. Flopping onto the couch, he glanced up at the clock. It had been an hour since he had sent Lloyd off, and he hadn’t heard so much as a peep from the kid.

Jay had only known him for a couple of days, but already that seemed like suspicious behavior.

He headed into the storage room that Sensei had scrapped together into a makeshift bedroom for his nephew. Lloyd was sprawled across his mattress, reading a book.

I guess he’s not up to anything. I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge him. Jay turned to leave before stopping suddenly and whirling back around.

“Hey!” he yanked the book out of Lloyd’s hands. “Is this a Starfarer comic? Have you been snooping around in my room?”

“No! I haven’t touched your stupid stuff. Figures, the one time I actually didn’t do anything wrong, you blame me.”

“Have you not heard of The Boy who Cried Wolf?” “What?”

“Nevermind.” Jay examined the comic. It was an old edition, but not one he owned. Besides, the cover was wrinkled and there were dog ears on several pages. Jay would never treat his comics so harshly. “If it’s not mine, then whose is it?”

“It’s mine. Is it so hard to believe that I don’t steal everything?’

“No, I mean, you like Starfarer?”

“Of cou- I, uh, I mean, Starfarer’s for babies, ha. I’m only reading this because it’s the only book I have and you wouldn’t give me anything else to do.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I guess I’ll have to go enjoy my Starfarer comic collection on my own, then. Since it’s too babyish for big kids like you.”

“Your what?” Lloyd was suddenly sticking to him like a barnacle. “You collect Starfarer comics?”

“Not just comics.” He grinned as he watched Lloyd’s eyes widen. “Movies, posters, action figures- you name it.”

“No way! Can I see? Please, please? Just for a second-” Jay put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. “Hang on, kiddo. I thought Starfarer was for babies?”

Lloyd shifted on his feet. “Well, I didn’t really mean that, I just- I was just testing you!”

Jay raised an eyebrow, smothering a laugh. “Uh huh. If you’re such a master, why aren’t you reading the new comics?”

Lloyd looked down, shuffling his feet. “I… this is the newest one I have. We didn’t really get many opportunities to buy what we wanted at Darkley’s. Especially not a book about superheroes. Because we were super busy being evil and stuff, heh.”

Jay felt his heart twist. Am I really pitying Lloyd Garmadon right now just because of some comics?

Although, when he looked at Lloyd now, he didn’t see the annoying, mischievous son of a villain. He saw a wide-eyed, naive kid looking at Jay with such hope that it was hard not to feel a strong urge to protect him from the burdens of the world.

Jay crouched down next to him. “Y’know what? I’ll show you my newer comics. You can even keep some, if you like.”

“Really? You’re not messing with me?”

“As long as you promise not to treat them like that.” Jay gestured towards the wrinkled comic. “Seriously, dude, you better go wash your grubby little hands before I even let you within five feet of my stuff.”

Jay didn’t think he’d ever seen Lloyd be in such a hurry to do anything.

---

“What’s this do?”

Nya snatched Lloyd’s hand away from the control panel. “Don’t touch that!”

“But what about-”

“Or that! Just-” She took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair. “Don’t touch anything unless I specifically tell you to, okay?”

“Well, then what am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, find something. I’m not here to babysit you, Lloyd, I’m managing the comms. It’s important to make sure we stay in touch with the guys when they are on their mission.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” he huffed. “Why couldn’t they take me with them? I am a ninja now. I could’ve bashed in some Serpentine heads!”

Nya glanced at him, glaring defiantly in his oversized gi. “I’d hardly call you a ninja, squirt. You haven’t even grown into that gi yet.”

“Yes, I have! See, it fits me perfectly!”

“...Lloyd, those pant legs almost completely cover your shoes.”

“They do not! Uncle Wu said I was a ninja.”

“A ninja in training, at best,” Nya corrected.

“What’s the use of being the green ninja if I don’t get anything fun out of it?”

“One day, green machine. You just have to be patient.”

He groaned loudly, flopping onto the chair. “I hate being patient.”

“No! You? Impatient? Who would’ve guessed?”

“Can’t you at least show me how to turn on the alarms?”

“No. Alarms are for emergencies only.”

“It is an emergency! I’m going to die of boredom!”

“Fine,” Nya relented. “What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone- and stay out of trouble? Can I rent you a movie?”

“Ooh, can I watch Zombies: Back for Revenge? Or Ghost Story? Or Dawn of Destruction?”

“Nope, nope, and nope. Too scary, too mature, too violent. Pick something more family-friendly, Lloyd.”

He pouted. “Kai got to watch those movies.”

“Yeah, well, Kai’s older than you and is responsible for his own actions. If you watch those, you’ll be up all night with nightmares and Sensei will never trust me again.”

“I won’t have nightmares! He’ll never know! Please, Nya.”

“No. End of discussion. Pick something else or nothing at all. Remember, it’s my money paying for the movie here. What about those… space wars movies you love?”

“It’s Starfarer,” Lloyd snapped, although his expression looked considerably lighter. “There’s one I haven’t seen yet…”

After Lloyd showed her the movie and she paid for it, Nya turned back to the control panel and checked for messages from the guys. Still nothing.

She really hated when they left her in the dark like that.

There were sounds of explosions from behind her, and a cheer from Lloyd- she glanced over her shoulder to see him grinning gleefully at the screen as the main characters blew something up. She shook her head- what was it with young boys and explosions?- but she couldn’t stop a smile from creeping onto her face. Glancing over at the comms, she double-checked that no one had said anything.

The guys obviously weren’t taking the effort to communicate with her. It wouldn’t hurt to take a quick break.

Sitting down next to Lloyd, she focused her attention on the movie. It seemed nonsensical and boring at first, but after a bit, Lloyd started explaining things to her, and, to her surprise, she found herself happy to listen. As it got later, his talking slowed, and at some point- Nya couldn’t quite identify when- Lloyd was leaning against her side, snuggling with their shared blanket.

Nya watched him carefully. She hadn’t cuddled with anyone like this since she had been younger, with Kai- but then, she had been the younger one, the one being protected. Now, she was experiencing what she imagined Kai must’ve felt, and despite how annoying he could be, Nya felt a strong urge to pull him close and never let him go.

She understood their reluctance to let Lloyd fight fully now. She didn’t want to ever send him off into battle, especially not the Final Battle.

How could this sweet, stubborn little wisp of a child be the green ninja?

Many hours and three movies later, Nya was afraid to even look at the clock. Rubbing Lloyd’s head, she murmured, “It’s way past your bedtime, kiddo.”

“‘m not tired,'” he mumbled in an obviously tired voice.

“I already let you stay up way later than you should be.”

“Just one more movie!” “Lloyd! These things are two hours long!”

“I promise I’ll go right to bed after!”

“That’s what you said after the last one.”

“Well, I really mean it this time.”

“No way.”

“Please?” Lloyd suddenly looked a lot more nervous, twisting his hands together. “Just… just until we hear something. From the ninja.”

“Oh, Lloyd.” She put a hand on his back. “It’s okay. They’re okay. Most likely, they just forgot to report back. They do that all the time.”

“But we don’t know that.”

“...Yeah. You’re right. We don’t.”

“Is it always this scary? Waiting for them to talk to you, not knowing what’s going on?”

Nya nodded slowly. “Yeah, a lot of the time it is, bud. But eventually, you learn to trust them. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t worry about their safety, but I know they are strong and capable and can take care of themselves.” Lloyd nodded. “That makes sense.”

He still didn’t look quite content with her answer, though. Nya leaned in, murmuring to him.

“Tell you what. What if we watch half of one more movie?”

Man, she was turning into such a disgustingly gross softie for this kid so fast, wasn’t she.

But the wide, genuine smile that split across his face made it worth it.

---

Kai stood in front of the long expanse of bookshelves, stacked with dozens and dozens of comics.

“Excuse me,” Kai gestured to the nearest bookstore employee, and he walked over. “Which part is the Starfarer section?”

The employee blinked at him. “You’re already in it. This entire wall is Starfarer.”

Kai gawked at the wall in utter amazement. There had to be at least a hundred books there. How were these many Starfarer comics even possible?

“Which one is the best one?” he asked the employee.

The man pushed his glasses up his nose, looking increasingly annoyed with Kai’s lack of Starfarer knowledge. “That’s hardly a straightforward question. Starfarer is our most popular franchise, they’re all popular. It’s impossible to pick one book. If you’re looking for our most popular selling comics of all time, that would be volumes 1, 32, 45, and 79. As for comics trending right now, that, of course, would be the most recent ones, 273 through 282. Although volume 13 has seen a sudden influx in readership. If you are looking for those with the best ratings-”

How do I say, ‘which comic is best for my little brother who was just aged up several years, without warning, and I want to help him regain his sense of childhood?’

Deciding this wasn’t going to be helpful, Kai gently dismissed the employee and began looking on his own. He tried to pick out ones with interesting covers, but ended up throwing many of them back after skimming the summaries on the back.

That wasn’t working very well either, and Kai was just about to throw the towel in and grab some random comics and hope for the best- or worse, call Jay and ask for help- when he decided to open one comic to skim it.

This quickly turned into a mistake, because before Kai knew it, five minutes had turned into an hour, and he had completely finished the comic. One comic turned into two, then five. He only was able to yank himself from his reading when he got a text from Zane asking where he was and that dinner was going to be ready soon.

Gathering up a large handful of the comics he had liked, Kai headed back towards the Bounty on his motorbike.

He found Lloyd on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with earbuds in. He pulled them out when he saw Kai, his gaze darting curiously towards the stack of comics.

“I got you these,” Kai said, setting them down next to him. “I know things are… different now, with you being older, but you’re always going to be my little brother. And I wanted you to know that just because you’re physically older doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the things you love. So if you still want to make doodles for our fridge, or make your food into shapes on your plate, or read Starfarer comics, no one’s going to judge you.”

Lloyd picked up a comic, slowly leafing through it. He was quiet for so long that Kai began to worry that he had completely messed something up. But when he finally spoke, he simply said, “You read it.”

“I… what?”

A smile spread across Lloyd’s face. “You read these before you bought them. Didn’t you?”

Kai spluttered. “I- what? That doesn’t make any sense! You have no proof!”

“The pages are creased over here. You always crease back the pages when you have a book. And there’s a slight depression here that shows the presence of fingers. Too big to be Jay’s or Nya’s, and too small to be Zane’s or Cole’s.”

Kai blinked at him. “You pay way too much attention to people, don’t you?”

“Hey, I paid attention during training, y’know!”

“More than we give you credit for, apparently.”

“I just can’t believe I spent all those months trying to pressure you to read Starfarer and you suddenly pick it up when I’m not even forcing you.”

“Shut up.” Kai shoved him gently. “It was a one-time thing. I was only doing it so I could find a comic you would like,”

“Yeah, so it makes sense you would look at them for five hours.”

“How did you- I mean, I didn’t go to the bookstore right away! I was doing other things! I only went there a few minutes before I came home!”

“Oh, yeah?” Lloyd raised an eyebrow. “What ‘other things?’”

“Uh, very important ninja business, like, um… patrol?”

“Cole returned from patrol two hours ago.”

“Well, this was a super-secret different patrol that Cole doesn’t even know about.”

“Really. Does Sensei know?”

“Nope. Just me.”

Lloyd elbowed him playfully. “You’re gonna have to watch all the movies with me now, y’know.”

“No way. Aren’t there like, fifty of those?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“No, thanks.”

“You have to! It’s part of the experience. Wait until I tell Jay you’re into it now.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“You bet I would!” Lloyd looked over at the pile of comics again, examining them more closely. “Nice, these are some good ones. Which ones did you read?”

“Um. The ones I bought?”

Lloyd looked up at him, his grin fading. “But like… not just these, right? You read others? In between them?”

“No… is this supposed to be some sort of poke at me being a slow reader-”

“No! I just can’t believe you read them in this order! Seriously, you couldn’t have gotten it any more wrong! You’ve ruined the whole series for yourself!”

“Oh, that’s such a shame, guess you better not tell Jay, then-”

“Oh, no way, you’re still getting into the fandom. We’re going to fix this. Come look at my comics. We’re going to read them together, and I’m gonna show you how to do it right.”

“Oh, is that Zane calling for dinner-”

“Nice try,” Lloyd smirked. “But you’ve entered the Starfarer fandom now. You’re in it, good and deep. There’s no coming back from this, Kai.”

“Glad to see your psychotic gremlin tendencies weren’t lost in the tea,” Kai grumbled. “Probably the one thing I could’ve gone without.”

---

“Are you out of your mind? The movie adaptions of Starfarer are way better.”

“Okay, there is clearly no hope left for you, Lloyd. The show is far superior to any of the movies.”

“Are you kidding? The budget for the show was so much lower! They just used a bunch of cheap, corny special effects, the movies were much smoother!”

“Visuals aren’t the most important thing, Lloyd. The show had a smaller storyboard team, meaning their ideas were more consistent and developed. The plot is overall much more in-depth in the show, and the extended time also gives them more space to do what they want.”

“It also leaves a lot of space for pointless filler! The movies are more direct. Every scene is important. Whereas I can name half a dozen episodes from the show- and that’s just on the top of my head- that were completely useless and would not change the plot at all if discarded.”

“You’re insane, every filler episode had importance! Some just showed it in smaller ways than others.”

“They could’ve fit the minor details into the other episodes!”

“Yeah, but filler is nice sometimes. Getting some more chill episodes between all the action is good.”

“No way, they’re boring and ruin the pacing. The movies have you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole thing.”

Zane sighed, glancing over at Jay and Lloyd. Their argument was getting increasingly more physical, with each boy attempting to tower over the other- not an easy task, considering they were both short.

“Can you two please be quiet? Or at least take this somewhere else? I’m trying to watch the news to make sure there aren’t any danger reports in Ninjago City.”

Jay suddenly whirled on him. “Zane! That’s it!”

“...What’s it?”

“Zane should decide! Which is better? The Starfarer movies, or the show?” Turning to Lloyd, he added, “Since he’s a nindroid, he’ll be the least biased of all of us.”

“One problem,” Lloyd said. “Zane hasn’t watched either.”

“Well, then, he’ll have to watch them,” Jay shrugged.

Zane glanced back and forth between them. “You want me to watch twenty-seven movies. And all seven seasons of the TV show. Just to help you win a disagreement.”

“It’s actually eight seasons,” Lloyd corrected.

“Exactly!” Jay beamed. “You’ll do great. Get back to us when you’ve watched them all and have formed an opinion. The sooner the better, so that I can prove Lloyd wrong as quickly as possible.”

“Hey! If anything, I’m going to prove you wrong!” “No way! The show-”

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it!” Zane stood up suddenly, putting his hands between them before another argument could break out. “Just stop fighting. Please.”

“You got yourself a deal,” Jay winked.

Two weeks and over a hundred hours of content later, Jay and Lloyd were staring at him expectantly over the dinner table.

“Well? What’s the verdict?”

Zane blinked at them with glassy eyes. “They were both very good. I enjoyed them. However, I feel like I never want to watch a minute of Starfarer ever again.”

“Seriously?” Lloyd fumed. “We waited all this time for him to not even properly answer the question?”

“Who cares about the question?” Cole grumbled. “Zane was so tired from watching your guys’ dumb Starfarer stuff, he messed up the gumbo.” Cole drew a spoon listlessly through the stew. “This is my favorite meal. I’m never forgiving you guys for messing it up.”

“Starfarer isn’t stupid,” Jay and Lloyd cried at once. They blinked at each other, surprised, and Kai and Nya laughed.

“I think that’s the first thing they’ve agreed on all week,” Nya grinned.

“It won’t last,” Kai murmured to her as the green and blue ninja set on Cole for his statement on Starfarer. “I give them two days to find something else to bicker about.”

---

“Hurry, Nya, he’s almost at the navigation!”

“I’m trying!” Nya bit her lip, an iron grip on her video game controller. “He’s sabotaged the security system!”

“No-”

Game over flashed across the screen, and Jay leaped to his feet, cheering. Nya rolled her eyes, tossing down her controller, while Zane, Lloyd, and Kai watched with disappointment.

“I can’t believe he won again,” Kai huffed. “How is he still undefeated? We’ve been playing this game for weeks.”

“I thought you were supposed to be good at this, Lloyd,” Nya grumbled. “You’re the Starfarer expert. You’ve got so many hours logged on here.”

“I’d like to point out that I’ve gotten closer to beating him than any of you have,” he snapped. “The last time I was only seconds away from winning.”

“Yeah, well, close isn’t good enough,” Kai said. “We need to beat him. Otherwise, it will get to his head.”

“Clearly none of us are going to be winning any time soon,” Nya groaned.

“There is someone who hasn’t played against him yet,” Zane mused. “Someone who has a track record of beating Jay’s top scores in games.”

Five gazes drifted towards the chair on the other side of the room. Cole looked up from his book when he realized the others were looking at him. “What do you want this time?”

“You gotta beat Jay in Starfarer: Alien Invasion 3,” Lloyd insisted, at his side immediately. “He’s undefeated. You know how unbearable he gets when he’s cocky.”

Cole blinked slowly up at them. “I don’t know the first thing about Starfarer.”

“I can teach you,” Lloyd begged. “Just do it. Please. Since when have you passed up an opportunity to beat Jay in something?”

Jay grinned. “Admit it, guys, I’ve defeated you. There’s no way Cole will ever win against me.”

Cole stood up abruptly. “Oh yeah? We’ll see about that. Lloyd, give me that controller. Jay’s about to get a serving of humility.”

For what appeared to be just another mundane rendition of a classic monster-fighter game, it surprised Cole to find it was actually much more complex and engaging.

It would’ve actually been really fun, had Jay not been so ridiculously goated at the game.

“What? Your character is invulnerable to the imperial sludge? How is that fair?”

Jay scoffed. “If you had read the Aliens Strike Back arc of Starfarer comics, you would’ve known that.”

“This totally isn’t fair. You have a bunch of background knowledge on Starfarer that I don’t.”

“It’s not our fault you’re the only one who hasn’t read or watched any Starfarer,” Lloyd said.

“Oh no,” Cole groaned. “You guys are dragging me into this too, aren’t you?”

---

“Where’s my copy of issue 117 of Starfarer?”

Jay looked up from the counter, where he was munching on crackers. “Like I would know, Lloyd. It’s not my responsibility to keep track of where you put your stuff.”

“I know exactly where I put it. But it’s gone now! I left it on my nightstand last night, right next to my bed. I haven’t touched it since.”

“Well, evidently, you have, since it’s not there now.”

“No, I didn’t touch it! Someone must’ve moved it!”

“And? I don’t see how this is my problem.”

“Everyone knows you’re the biggest Starfarer fanboy on the team apart from me, and I happen to be aware that you don’t own that particular comic.”

“I didn’t steal your comic, Lloyd.”

“Oh yeah? Then what happened to it?”

“Don’t ask me!” “You know that’s my favorite issue, Jay.”

“So? You think I’d take it just to spite you?”

“I think you’d-”

He cut off as Kai meandered into the kitchen, eating crackers and reading a comic.

Lloyd’s eyes widened. “Hey! That’s my missing comic!”

Kai glanced up at him. “You said I could borrow it.” “I did not! And give it to me, before you get cracker crumbs all over it!”

Kai rolled his eyes as Lloyd snatched it from him. “Alright, fine, take your dumb comic.”

Jay crossed his arms. “I think you owe me an apology, Lloyd.”

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at him, and Jay returned the gesture.

“Hey!” They turned to see Nya strolling into the room behind Kai, elbowing her brother sharply. “You said I could have that comic once you finished it.”

“Seriously, Kai? You can’t go around giving my comic to people without asking.”

“I wasn’t going to give it to her! She’s lying!” “Excuse me? You literally just said that like ten minutes ago-”

Zane and Cole joined them not long after, glancing around. “Guys! What’s with all the racket?”

“Kai promised me his Starfarer comic after he was done-”

“It’s not Kai’s, it’s mine! And he took it from me without asking and just auctioned it off to Nya!” “I didn’t auction off anything, it’s not like she paid me for it. Although, that's honestly not a bad idea…”

“What is this, a monopoly?” Jay asked. “We’re not paying for comics we already own, that’s dumb.”

“Yeah,” Lloyd agreed, “especially when they were mine in the first place.”

“Liar! Most of them were mine!” Jay insisted. “I should get dominion over my own comics!”

“Just because you own the most doesn’t mean you own all of them,” Lloyd countered. “You may have more comics by sheer number, but I have more rare comics than you and, overall, my comics have a higher value.”

“I’m sick of you two always deciding everything about Starfarer,” Cole said. “Why can’t one of us regulate the comics?”

“Whoever gets control over the comics is just going to have bias and distribute them to their advantage.”

“I think I would be the most responsible man for the job-”

“Stop lying to yourself, dirtclod, I’d obviously be better-”

“Better than Kai, yeah, if you’re trying to set the bar low.”

“Excuse me?”

“Guys,” Lloyd interrupted, slamming his fists down on the table. “There’s only one solution to settle this. We have a competition. Winner gets control over the Starfarer comics for… let’s say, the next six months.”

Kai cracked his knuckles, grinning. “You had me at competition.”

---

“When you said, ‘competition,’ somehow I was expecting something a little more grandiose than this.”

The ninja had gathered around the kitchen table, glancing down at the box Lloyd had dropped there. Starfarer: Galaxy Wars, it read.

“Yeah, Lloyd,” Cole agreed. “A board game? Seriously?”

“Not just any board game. The most popular, most difficult, most fun game out there. It is truly for the Starfarer master. Part roleplay, part strategy, part trivia- it puts your Starfarer knowledge to the test. That way, we know whoever wins this didn’t just get the win out of chance, but actually deserves it.”

Nya raised an eyebrow. “I mean, I guess. But you better not be an expert at this game.”

Lloyd shook his head. “I’ve only played it a few times, I promise.”

“Okay then,” Kai said. “May the best ninja win.”

As usual, that lasted about five minutes until they were all yelling at each other.

“Oh, come on!” Cole threw down his card. “I got stuck in the Imperial Sludge Swamp again?”

“Ha!” Jay leaned forward, moving his piece across the board, jumping over Cole’s pawn. “Next time you know to pick a character with better environmental perks.”

“Cole’s character is more well-rounded, though,” Zane pointed out. “If you are unable to gather enough energy before the end, it is likely the aliens will take you out.”

“Quit your yapping and let me take my turn.” Kai snatched the dice from Jay’s hand and tossed them- landing a perfect 12.

“You’re cheating!” Nya snapped. “That’s the third turn in a row you’ve rolled higher than a ten. Are you using weighted dice or something?”

“He’s using the exact same dice I just used, Nya.”

“It’s called skill,” Kai scoffed. “Maybe someday, you can be as good as me.”

“Rolling dice is completely based on chance! If the best skill you can boast is being able to roll high numbers, I think I’m doing pretty well.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see how useless it is once I win this thing and get total control over all the Starfarer comics.”

“Fat chance,” Nya huffed as Kai moved his piece.

“Oh, look at that, I found a pile of scrap metal! I get to roll again!”

“Are. You. Kidding me!”

“Wait,” Zane put a hand on Nya’s shoulder. “He’s right by the alien spaceship. If he gets an 11 or less, he’ll be on their turf and they’ll shoot him down, kidnap him, or confront him, depending on his stats. The only way he could possibly get through this without negative consequences is by rolling a 12.”

“There’s no way he’ll do it again,” Cole agreed. “Nya, this is your chance to overtake him.”

“Let’s see.” Kai grabbed the two dice and shook up his hands. He shook and shook, stopped to blow on the dice, then shook some more-

“Just roll the stupid dice,” Cole snapped.

Kai dropped the dice, and time seemed to move in slow motion. Lloyd held his breath, leaning forward-

And watched as the dice rolled one six, then another.

A perfect roll.

“Cheating!” Nya cried. “Cheating, I tell you! There’s no way this is possible.”

“We can’t let him win,” Jay groaned. “He won’t share any comics with us.” “Not true! I’ll let Lloyd have one.”

“Only one?” “That’s better than none at all,” Jay snapped. “At least he’s giving you something.”

“He’s not going to be giving me anything, because he’s not going to win.”

Kai grinned, gesturing at the dice. “Sure, be my guest. See if you can beat me.”

Lloyd rolled, earning a seven.

Jay hissed between his teeth. “Tough luck, green bean- you get injured and robbed by aliens.”

“Actually,” Lloyd said, slipping a card from his pile and slamming it down on the middle of the table. “I don’t, because I play this special ability card, allowing me to pick the number of spaces I travel. I choose 10, landing myself on the abandoned spacecraft. Then I use my character’s high level mechanics skills and use this card-” he slammed down another card that showed scrap metal reserves- “to instantly fix the ship. Then I spend my energy points to get another turn, use the gas from my generator to fuel the ship, and then am able to fly the ship back to the base and restore the artifacts. According to the manual, it would take three days from my location, and Kai, the closest, would take five days in his slower spacecraft, meaning it is impossible for anyone to beat me back, and I win the game.”

For a moment, they were silent, gaping at him.

“How?” Cole murmured. “Dude, how did you do that?”

“He just crossed half the board in one turn,” Kai spluttered. “And I was about to win! That shouldn’t even be possible!”

“How many moves were you planning ahead?” Zane shook his head. “Your strategy appears to be far more complex than any of us were anticipating for this kind of game.”

“I knew something was up when he kept stashing his ability cards,” Jay groaned. “We were all using ours, but he hardly used any- he was saving them up to use them all in a big power move and catch us off guard, the little rascal!”

“You liar,” Nya hissed. “You said you only played this game a few times! This was way too complicated of a plan for a novice player.”

“Technically, that’s true,” Lloyd grinned. “I have only played a few times. But I never said how long I played for each time.”

“You conniving little gremlin.”

“Now, Nya,” Lloyd scolded in a sagely voice, barely able to suppress his laughter, “I’d be careful how you speak to me from now on. If you’re rude, I may not give you any Starfarer.”

“Yeah, this is going to get old, very quickly.”

“I can’t believe it,” Jay sighed. “You never share comics with us.”

Lloyd gawked at him. “Are you kidding? It’s because of my sharing that you guys are even into Starfarer in the first place! Jay was the only one who knew about it before I came, but even he didn’t tell anyone else he was a fanboy and kept stuff hidden in boxes. When I showed interest, do you remember how excited you got? You took everything out, just for me.”

Zane shook his head, smiling. “I still can’t believe you got me to binge the entire series.”

“Or how I spent hours investing in that game and tracking down all that information in the comics just to beat Jay’s high score? Which I crushed, by the way.”

Jay scowled. “For the last time, you beat me by five points! You didn’t crush anyone.”

Cole scoffed. “Someone’s just jealous. If it weren’t for Lloyd, I would’ve never beat you.”

“You showed us all something we love, huh, squirt?” Kai ruffled his hair, and Lloyd pulled away, like usual, but grinned at him, bumping his shoulder gently.

“Remember when you used to get all upset at me for slacking off and reading Starfarer comics during training?”

Kai reddened. “That was different! We were preparing you for the Final Battle, there was a lot to be done.”

“Hypocrites,” Lloyd whispered, giggling as he ducked a swing from Kai.

“Well, what are you going to do now, ‘master of the comics?’” Jay asked. “Hoard all the books to yourself? Read in front of us to taunt us?” “Tempting,” Lloyd said, “but I think first, I want to play another round of the Starfarer board game.”

Cole blinked. “Lloyd, it’s seven pm. And this took us like five hours to get through the first time.”

The ninja blinked at each other.

“Oh, it’s on!”

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #lloyd garmadon #jay walker #ninjago kai #ninjago nya #ninjago cole #ninjago zane #ahhh this is my last bingo fic!#its been so fun thank you all!#I'm especially grateful for Fabro :)#without this event we might've never been anything more than just acquaintances :)#im so glad we're friends now #luv u bestie #thanks for being so supportive and for hosting this event!#thanks for reading!#reblogs and comments greatly appreciated!

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cloversreblogs · 6 years

Text

Brass in the grey- Chpt. 10

Previous chapters (AO3 only): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

Links: FFN.net, AO3, Wattpad

Read on Tumblr: 7 / 8 / 9 / X / 11

Christmas chapter because Christmas! :D

Pairing: FrUK

Genre: Modern AU, Artists AU

Chapter rating: K

Chapter warning(s): None!

Just some quick Christmas fluff for the holidays :) The bolded lines are the phone dialogue, btw.

João- Portugal

Angus- Scotland

Just as swiftly as the transition of November to December, Autumn left and Winter arrived.

The snow had a delicate magic to it. It turned whatever it touched into something sublime and enchanting. The park's trees had long lost its leaves the previous week, but this morning, a blanket of snow had covered the park so that it was like a piece of Narnia had dropped into London.

"Anything else on your mind, Francis?" The therapist asked.

"Erhm… no, actually," he replied. It was actually the first time in a while that he had meant it when he said those words.

"Alright, fantastic!" She said with a smile, and they shook hands. "I think that you've made quite a lot of progress over the couple of weeks! I'll be visiting my family back in Suffolk, so I won't be here for the rest of the year, sadly. Are you planning to do anything for Christmas?" she asked as Francis grabbed his coat.

"Not much. I'll probably just Skype my dad and such. One of my friend's brother have a Christmas party going on at their place, so I'll probably be there."

"Sounds great! See you next year! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too!" And then he left his therapist's office.

Dr. Turner was a therapist who Francis saw every two weeks. Even though this was only their second session, Francis was starting to feel better already.

Her office was across a mall near the apartment block, so as he walked through it, he could hear the Christmas cheer everywhere.

Carollers were singing the carol of the bells, a Christmas tree that touched the ceiling stood proudly in the centre of the room, a line of children lined up for a mall Santa, and people carrying bags of wrapping paper as well as toys and other gifts buzzed like bees. A violinist who busked outside of the mall played Silent Night, and Francis tossed a shilling to the violin case.

It was even snowing a bit, just enough to dust the people in snow, but not too heavily as to cover people up with snow entirely, which added to the nice Christmassy atmosphere.

Very soon, he made it back to the apartment. The apartment was decorated with tinsel and Christmas lights. Gilbert plugged in the Christmas lights, making the Christmas tree in the middle of the room light up.

The TV was showing Home Alone, while on the couch, he could see Antonio chatting with his (recently declared) boyfriend Roderich.

"Hey Fran!" Antonio called out. Gilbert, on the other hand wasn't as certain.

"Ah, Fran! Erhm… how was the therapist's?"

Sure, Francis had felt better, but ever since he had told him about his anxieties, Gilbert had started restraining everything that he said.

"Gil, it's fine, you don't need to censor everything you say. I wasn't being completely honest with myself over the last couple of months, so I'm trying to do so right now. I'll just remind you whenever I want the topic to be changed. OK?"

"Hm, kay." Gilbert still seemed distracted. Francis sighed. He was a perfectionist, and hated causing problems.

Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. While turning the doorknob, a small part of him wondered if it was Arthur. Turned out, it was Antonio's brother, João, who had came all the way from Portugal. He greeted him, and went over to the sofa before promptly going into a lengthy conversation with Antonio.

As Francis stood, and looked over to Antonio with João and Roderich, he realised something.

Arthur on the other hand lived alone, as far as he could tell. He never mentioned much family, either. Was Arthur spending Christmas alone?

He walked into the bedroom, and dialled Arthur's number.

"Hello?"

"Arthur! Hi! We're having a Christmas party at a friend of mine's, do you want to come?"

"Erhm… no thanks. Parties aren't exactly my thing."

After some more small talk, (how were you, etc) they hung up.

Francis thought. Maybe he could go over to his apartment, but then there was the Christmas party over at Ludwig's house, and he didn't want to miss that. On the other hand… how alone was Arthur? Maybe he could just give him a gift or something.

He knew that Arthur liked to read, but his bookshelves were full, and besides, it was sort of a predictable present. Arthur wasn't great at cooking, so maybe he could cook him something. Maybe a casserole? They still had more than an hour until they needed to be at Ludwig's. Yes, that sounded good.

And so he got to the kitchen and got to work.

Watching re-runs of Doctor Who while embroidering and sipping hot chocolate was a good way to spend Christmas, in Arthur's book. He wasn't the type who got too festive of anything, he just hung up some tinsel and called it a day.

He held up the embroidery hoop, and examined the piece of embroidery. The blanket stitches hadn't worked as well as he had hoped, and were a bit wide for his liking. Again, the satin stitch-

A knock on the door distracted him, and he stood up. He was pretty confident that it was Francis, though he wasn't sure why he was here, especially so shortly after a phone call. He took a deep breath in. The worst case scenario would probably be Francis accusing him for not wanting to go to the Christmas party, though he reasoned with himself that it'd be insanely unlikely. The best case scenario would be that Francis decided to spend Christmas with him or something like that. The most likely thing would be that Francis decided to drop in for a quick "Merry Christmas", maybe even give a card or a gift or something.

As per with his third prediction, Francis was standing at the door carrying a casserole pot.

"Hi, Arthur!" He greeted before handing him the pot with a smile. "Merry Christmas."

"Ah." He took the pot. Even with the lid closed, he could smell the savoury content of the pot, and it smelt absolutely mouth watering. "Thank you. Erhm, wow, you didn't have to give me a casserole." Francis smiled, and shrugged.

"It's the least I can do. I have to go now, unfortunately. Bye!"

Arthur waved while Francis walked away to join with another small party of people. Arthur looked down at the hallway, and then down at the casserole, still warm in his hands. It had been awhile since he was given a Christmas present. Sure, there were still the Christmas cards given by that overly festive co-worker, but otherwise, it had been awhile.

He brung the casserole back into his apartment and onto the table. Actually, it had been awhile since he had something close to a proper Christmas dinner. During Christmas, he usually went out to eat, whether if it was at a fancy diner or at a takeaway place. The last time he had a proper, hearty Christmas dinner was…

Was…

Seven years ago.

Had it really been that long? Wow. Seven years. Almost an entire decade.

He grabbed a dish and opened the lid. The tantalising aroma of hot lamb, rosemary, potatoes, and peas flooded the room immediately. His mouth watered. It smelt delicious!

A memory popped in his head. One year during Christmas, Angus tripped on the cat and fell into the trifle. He snickered at the memory. Mum wouldn't let the cat sleep on the dining room floor after that.

After he put some of the casserole into the dish, he noticed the way the potato slices were arranged so that they overlapped like fish scales. His own mother would just stack them.

He blew the casserole piece on the fork, and ate it. A million memories of Christmas during his childhood flooded his mind.

It tasted good. It tasted like home.

Arthur went on to finish half the casserole, and put the pot into the fridge. While he did, he wondered: shouldn't he give Francis a Christmas present as well?

He thought. What would Francis like as a present? Something music related, maybe? The stores were closed already, so if he was to give him a present, he would had to improvise. He definitely couldn't give him something cooked, hell no. Well he did have books…

There was this book he bought earlier in the year. Arthur walked over to his bookshelf. He had only read it once or twice, so it should be somewhere at the bottom shelf…

Ah! There it was wedged in the bottom. He pulled the book out, and brushed the cover.

For a second, he wondered if it was a good idea. Was he really going to give him a book? At least the casserole had effort put into it, this book was pretty much just something he pulled out of his ass.

Arthur took a deep breath in. The shops were closed, and he couldn't think of anything more suitable as a present. At least the book wasn't at the same calibre as, say, gifting Francis a used napkin or a plastic bag, at least there was some thought put into it. Besides, the book was still in a pretty good condition.

After reminding himself of those things, he felt better about it, and went out and headed downstairs.

"Hey, Fran, I think that this is for you or something," Gilbert called out as he came back from collecting mail the next day.

"Hm?"

"Here. It's from that Arthur guy." He handed him a book with a post-it note stuck onto it. A book from Arthur? Huh. The cover had a blue trombone on it. The reason that Arthur had picked this one was probably because it was about trombones, which was somewhat close to saxophones. Sure, Francis didn't like trombones more than saxophones, much less know how to play one, but he appreciated that at least Arthurĺ tried to pick something that peaked his interests.

"Thanks, Gil." He read the note:

Hi, I found this book while rummaging through my things. It's a book about a girl with sound-colour synesthesia, and it's quite an interesting read. The shops were closed, so I wasn't able to get wrapping paper, I must apologise. By the way, thank you for the casserole.

Merry Christmas,

Arthur

He flipped the book over, and read the summary. Reading books were not exactly his thing, but the premise sounded interesting. He reached for his phone:

Thank you for the book! <3

A few seconds later, there was another text:

You're welcome :-)

The book, trombones are blue, is a real book, by the way, though it is a WIP by @wildrhov. Thank you, Rhov for letting me mention the book!

I'll be taking a bit of a hiatus to figure out what's going to happen in the next couple of chapters, so no chapters next month, unfortunately. But on the other hand, thank you for the comments last chapter!

Happy holidays, everybody!

#aph france #aph england #brass in the grey #my writing #fruk

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evieshook · 7 years

Text

smile for the camera

pairing: harry/evie rating: pg-13 words: ~1800 a/n: oops, i didn’t realize they actually weren’t on the red carpet like you requested until i finished writing it, but i hope this still satisfies you. the media can be dogs. prompt: Can I ask for a prompt for a hook and evie au where they're on the red carpet together and get asked a bunch of questions like Ben and mal in the movie?? requested by: @thatmartinskishit read on: [ao3] [ffn.net]

While Evie was one to normally bask in attention, especially in the sight of flashing cameras and numerous reporters, this situation was one that her wishing that she wasn’t placed in the spotlight for once. The crowd of reporters around her were nothing like the crowds at the Cotillion, where they were at least respectful as she sauntered down the carpet, modelling her newest designs. No, these reminded her eerily of the press interviews she had seen Mal been hounded by especially during the beginnings of her relationship with Ben. Her previous wishes to perhaps experience the same thing had been flushed evidently down the drain when she realized just how similar to a pack of wild animals the press was.

They just wouldn’t leave her alone.

It had been a few days since news broke out of her relationship with one Harry Hook, the both of them finally deciding it was time to go public after keeping it secret for so long. Harry was getting annoyed at having to always hide all the time, and while Evie had previously not shared his annoyance, the tolls of keeping a clandestine relationship had caught up to her in no time. It was hard enough getting alone time together as it was, with Harry’s new spot as a member of the R.O.A.R team and Evie’s blooming fashion line, but they had managed to make it work under the guise of Harry being her male model.

So under heavy convincing from Harry, Evie had finally conceded to making their relationship known. However, when she thought of revealing the news only to their trusted friends, she did not realize that news would spread around the school like wildfire, nor did she expect that it was just as noteworthy as Ben dating Mal. The response had been nothing like when she had first dated Doug, everyone seemingly chill and not making such a big deal out of it.

But it was like once she started dating Harry, she was only to be thrown to the press hounds. Evie truly didn’t understand the fascination behind their relationship. Besides the fact that it was probably an opposites attract thing, she didn’t think it would be so interesting, not when she had previously dated a dwarf’s son. But apparently dating a pirate was a big deal, especially when it was one Harry Hook, who had quite expectedly become a big deal in Auradon. Perhaps it was devilishly good looks, or his notorious reputation of being a little cuckoo, but nonetheless Harry appeared to garner attention everywhere he went.

News of the new VKs from Auradon had indeed spread like wildfire, and while most students were accepting of them now, it still didn’t mean they weren’t the least bit curious. Harry, Uma and Gil were the students’ most popular topics of discussion it seemed, the fearsome trio garnering as much looks as the four of them originally had. While Gil had seamlessly integrated into Auradon society, Harry and Uma were a little different. It took a while for Uma to come around, but she did eventually, but Harry seemed to be the hardest to change. He was never the most rational of people, and he did have his dark side but it wasn’t as dark as she had previously thought to believe. When they had finally gotten together, she had learnt many things about him, including his true aspirations of being as great of a captain as his father and wanting nothing more than setting sail on a great big adventure.

He was still rebellious by all means, but he had calmed slightly when he had gotten to Auradon, Evie playing a huge part in that. So perhaps it was because they were the only VKs to actually start a relationship with another villain child that they were gaining so much attention, but Evie wasn't exactly sure if it was a good thing.

She had admitted enjoyed all the renewed attention, basking in it like she was raised to do but it was strange to her that she was the only one who ever got hounded. Whenever she was with Harry or he was alone, crowds of reporters never seemed to mob him just as they did with her. She had cursed her luck that day when she found herself alone, becoming a target for the press yet again.

“Tell us Miss Evie, how did you and Captain Hook’s son begin your relationship?”

“Did he curse you?”

“Or did you curse him?”

“Did you ever date on the Isle?”

“What was your previous relationship like back on the Isle?”

“How come you two are the only villain children that ended up dating each other?”

“Are you two conspiring to get revenge?”

Evie frowned at this. She was afraid that people would think that their coming together would only lead to an insane vengeance plot, or that people assumed they aspired for world domination, which was most definitely true.

“Are you looking for world domination?”

As she was about to open her mouth to speak, she felt an arm slide around her waist tightly, Evie almost jumping until his voice reached her ears. “Now that sounds like an interesting idea. Perhaps we’ll steal the barrier remote and let all the villain folk free,” she heard him say, his seemingly teasing words having dangerous undertones.

Evie raised a brow, saying nothing as he continued speaking. “And then after that, we’ll come back to Auradon and pillage the lot of ye, burning down castles and houses.”

“Is that true Miss Evie?”

A bunch of microphones were shoved in her face, Evie scowling at the sudden flashing lights. A hand moved in front of her to move it all away as she felt Harry’s arm grip her tighter. “Are ye lot stupid or what? Of course not ye dumb shits. We aren’t plotting revenge, and we sure as hell aren’t going to let those villains off the Isle.”

She could hear him reign in his anger, and for that she was grateful as she didn’t think she wanted to see Harry hooking a bunch of reporters be aired on national television. “I thought that by now, with Mal as queen, you’d all have lost this stigma you still carry of us villain children but perhaps not,” Evie finally spoke out from beside him, glaring into the cameras as a few reporters had the decency to look guilty.

“But you’re dating another villain child! Who’s to say you won’t turn against us?”

Everyone turned to look at a plump reporter who had the audacity to raise his head up high as he spoke to the two of them. From the corner of her eye, she could hear Harry clench his fists and she knew that if she didn’t say something soon, Harry would really let loose.

“Are you saying that just because I’m not dating an Auradonian folk, that I will lose all the morals and values I have lost since coming here? Are you saying that it was just because I dated someone who was from Auradon, that makes me good?” she spoke frostily, glaring dangerously at the man.

“Did you not hear of when I helped save the kingdom from Maleficent? Did you not hear of me setting up a charity out of all the money I earned from my fashion line? Do you dare question the King and Queen’s royal advisor of her allegiances?”

He seemed to have silenced at the words, lips tightly shut as his face went red. Evie felt Harry press his lips against the top of her head, muttering, “Serves him right Princess. Ye did well.”

She grinned as she leaned into his touch, attention now diverting to the reporters who still crowded around them. “Now are there any other questions not accusing me and Harry of world domination? Or are we done here?”

Perhaps she should have ended the conference there while she had a chance for she was soon posed a number of questions from people all around her, asking of details of her relationship with Harry that she really not want to share. But Harry had sensed her discomfort and had answered it all himself, smoothly dodging questions that were too personal to answer or answering with some clever wit.

If Evie wasn’t already so in love with him, she thought that this would’ve definitely sealed the deal.

“Last question to you both,” a reporter asked from her right. Harry and Evie turned to the voice, Evie nodding for him to continue.

He smile at them. “Can we get a kiss of you for the cover of the paper? The crowds would love it.”

Harry and Evie shared a look, before a smug smirk crept onto Harry’s face. “Now that is somethin’ I’d be more than glad to oblige to.”

He turned to Evie, who was looking up at him expectantly. “Princess,” he said before leaning down to lightly press his lips against hers, Evie moving her hands to cup his face. She could hear the numerous camera flashes around her but Evie paid them no heed as she deepened the kiss only slightly, Harry tightening his hold on her waist.

When they finally pulled away, they met the satisfied faces of the reporters before Harry shot them a look, ordering them to scram. They did so at once, leaving the couple to their peace with arms still tightly wrapped around each other.

Evie let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding as she leaned into him for a hug. “I can’t believe that was what Mal had to go through every day. No wonder she wanted to go back to the Isle.”

“Auradon folk, thinkin’ that they can make what’s our business theirs. But it’ll die down eventually, until they find somethin’ new to waste their lives on.”

She hummed in agreement, decidedly enjoying his presence while she still had him. “Thank you for saving me though. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

She lifted her head to see him crookedly grinning at her, a grin she knew was only used when he was around her. “Pleasure’s all mine Princess. After all, that’s what pirates are for, to save ye damsels in distress.”

Evie slapped him lightly on the chest. “I’m not a damsel in distress.”

He chuckled as he breathed in her scent, comfortably resting his chin atop her head. “Aye, ye aren’t.”

#hevie #harry x evie #descendants #descendants 2 #harry hook #evie descendants #evie #m: fic #he: fic #mine #request filled

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gkingoffez · 7 years

Text

Their Colour and Light

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels

Words: 2,568

Warnings: tw blindness, graphic description of a traumatic injury

AO3 | FFN.Net

Kanan Jarrus is used to darkness now. He has no choice- it is before him constantly, a heavy curtain of endless black drawn between him and the vibrant world of light and colour he’d always taken for granted. Malachor and Maul had taken a lot of things from him in a very short amount of time, but it hadn’t been the first, nor would it likely be the last time his life was turned upside-down in a moment.

In the days after returning to Atollon, all the med-droids had been able to tell Kanan was what he had already figured out for himself- that his eyes were well beyond medical repair, and biotic replacements simply stretched too far outside of the Rebellion’s current means, not that he would have wanted them anyway. He knows one man isn’t worth that much cost or effort, especially in the face of the Empire’s tyrannical rule and the galaxy’s suffering. It was better to have those resources go where they were actually needed.

The droids settled for reconstructing the bridge of his nose and his eyelids, and letting the eyeballs themselves heal the best they could with the help of time and bacta. No one seemed to want to describe to Kanan what his face looked like now, and he can’t bring himself to blame them. The smell of roasting flesh still creeps up on him at odd hours in the night, and he tries not to think too hard on how the tip of the red lightsaber had gouged its way across his face. Sometimes, however, he can’t help it, and he gags on bile, always having to force it back down his throat. It would be embarrassing to ask someone to lead him to the refresher just so he could throw up. It was embarrassing enough asking for help when he needed to go to the refresher anyway.

There had been nothing to be done for his tear ducts. It’s strange to think that he will never cry again. Then again, he had been taught as a child not to show those kind of emotions, even if they were a natural part of living.

After some months, they finally tell him that his eyes have settled down and are now a traumatised, clouded over blue, while a jagged but slowly fading red scar apparently spans the line between the corners of his eyes. He doesn’t dare touch the area for the longest time for fear of aggregating it. The memory of pain stays with him even after he no longer requires pain medication.

It isn’t too difficult for Kanan to find his peace with his new shroud of darkness- it is with him always, surrounding him no matter where the sun is in the sky or how bright the lights on the Ghost are.

It takes far longer for him to come to peace with his sudden uselessness. After all, how can a blind man be anything but a burden on friends and a growing rebellion? He’s not a Jedi anymore; if he were to ignite his lightsaber now, he wouldn’t see even a dim flicker of blue light, much less be able to protect the ones he loved with it. He hasn’t called on the Force in months, seeing no need for it.

With every passing day, all he is doing is taking more precious time, energy and resources away from the rebellion, unable to give anything back. It’s slowly killing him, but Kanan eventually finds peace with that too.

After all, his family would never willingly abandon him. They are too stubborn, too kind.

Although his sight is gone, Kanan’s remaining senses cannot help but remind him that the galaxy hasn’t changed an atom around him. He sits in meditation at the edge of Chopper Base, the warmth of the sun kissing his hands, while a gentle wind rustles at his hair and ears. A spider-creature scuttles by the sensor fence, noisily kicking sand up with its long legs, and Kanan has to shuffle to pull a rock out from under his knee that had been biting into his skin. He takes a refreshing gulp from his water canteen and behind him, the distant murmur of movement and life continues as the rest of the base goes about their duties, his crew among them.

The world around him still turns and tumbles in its orbital path through space, but Kanan Jarrus cannot see it happening.

He has only memory of colour and light to work with now.

In the first few weeks after Malachor, it feels like he doesn’t get a single minute to himself. There is always a helpful (yet almost pitiful, patronising) voice in his ear, a guiding hand on his shoulder or back as he adjusts his entire being to a new, monotone reality.

A lot of the time it is Hera. He tries hard to imagine her in his mind; she is the light green of her skin, swathed in orange and brown, a nebula of light emanating from her smile, framed in the dazzling blue streak s of a hyperspace tunnel opening, the soft glow of that final sunset when he’d promised to see her again. In the black, he feels Hera’s soft arms around him, warm and comforting, her patient voice directing him, her light kisses on his skin sustaining him on nights when he lets the darkness get too close. Just as before, Hera is a beacon calling him home, and he has never been more grateful to have her in his life. But a heaviness in his heart has to remind him that Hera cannot be his guide forever; she is too important to the Rebellion and Phoenix Squadron, and so she is gone in longer and longer intervals during Kanan’s recovery.

For a while, Chopper takes it upon himself to be Kanan’s personal, if eternally-complaining cane. He remembers Chopper in orange, yellow and white, covered in dirt and glinting in the Ghost’s artificial lights, the blueish jolt of electricity leaping from his tazer extension. It must look strange from the outside, a blind man being led around base (with its haphazard array of ships and equipment from various sources bleeding different coloured whites and greys into each other, while beyond, hues of yellows, oranges and browns stretch out into the desert- at least this is what he pictures, from memory) by a cranky astromech, who shouts at everyone in binary to ‘get out of the way’ while Kanan is coming through. He finds himself memorising the steps between ships, and feeling out the well-worn pathways under his shoes for himself rather quickly, if only so he can stop apologising to the confused pilots and rebels volunteers that Chopper keeps terrorising.

Back on the Sith temple, it had been an overwhelming comfort to hear Chopper’s beeps and boops after only having Maul’s sickening voice, some of Ahsohka’s last words and the thrumming dark power of the temple powering up to keep him company. Just to put his hand on the Chopper’s worn metal head and tell him to ‘lead me to Ezra’ had calmed Kanan down immeasurably. Once he’s mapped enough of the base in his mind to get by, Kanan makes sure to thank the droid for his help. In true Chopper fashion, he tells Kanan not to mention it, and somehow makes it sound like a threat.

Out of them all, Zeb is the most notably uncomfortable around Kanan, at first. Zeb (yellow and green, the electric purple of his bo-rifle, a swift blur of colour in the middle of a fight) tries to keep the stutter from his voice, and the shaking from his hands as best as he can, but Kanan can hear his sadness and anger in the way he rustles and mutters for revenge under his breath. The Lasat had no doubt seen horrific wounds during the genocide of his people, and it pains Kanan to once again show him that they are all built of flesh and bone that is too easily scarred and torn apart. Zeb holds on to Kanan a bit tighter, and more frequently now than before, holding Kanan’s shoulders as they walk side-by-side down corridors and hovering with hands on his back as he climbs down ladders on the Ghost. ‘I got you, mate,’ Zeb says, every now and then, and Kanan doesn’t doubt it. After a while, they fall back into old habits and jokes. They are both soldiers, after all, and soldiers carry on.

Sabine, he quietly admits to himself, is the one he misses seeing most, because Sabine is the human embodiment of everything he can no longer process. Sabine he thinks of not only in bright, raging colours (orange, dark blue, turquoise, burgundy, browns and blacks, in splatters and stripes and checker patterns, the brightness of an explosion chemically designed to be a rainbow) but in the heat of her determination, the bright warmth of her courage and the glow of her kindness. He hears Sabine’s sadness as well, in her quietness around him the first time they are alone together after Malachor, and the soft sobs and angry spray painting sounds he hears coming from her room late one night. She is a calming and reassuring voice, a gentle but firm touch, an arm linked through his, a tight hug. She offers, jokingly, to let Kanan ride on her back so he won’t bump into anything , and he tries to remember her smile as he jokes his way out (‘Not this time, Sabine, but I might take you up on that offer in the future.’). He misses her orange Starbird tags.

Sabine takes one look at the plain black half-mask Kanan finds, and asks if she can paint it. She makes it a green similar to his old sweater, and paints white jaig eyes on it using a thick white paint so that Kanan can trace his fingers over them whenever he wants. He isn’t quite sure if he deserves the eyes like this, but finds he cannot refuse her wish. The familiar smell of paint calms him more than he would ever admit.

Ezra…

The last thing he remembers of Ezra is shrouded with regret and shadow. He sees Maul (red and black, like the red lightsaber arching towards his face; the blinding, red pain that fades to black; the deep red anger and dark fear that fills him at the words ‘Ezra will be mine!’) and beside him, smaller but determined, stands Ezra. Perhaps Kanan should have fought harder that day, perhaps he should have fought less, but he’s wise enough to know not to dwell too much on what could have happened if he been beside Ezra as that elevator ascended upwards, and not Maul.

In his mind, Ezra is in blues (hair in certain lights, bright wide eyes, and clever multi-purpose lightsaber), oranges (his tattered, too large jumpsuit) and whites (the glow of Lothal’s twin moons shining down on both of them). Ezra is an eclectic mix of the darkness and the light. Ezra is a small voice breaking in horrified realisation (‘Kanan, your eyes.’), a hand gripping his being pulled away with all the angry might of the Force (‘I know, I’ve got you!’) and a wetness on his shirt, while he runs his fingers through Ezra’s hair trying to ground himself amidst the pain and the then-new suffocating darkness (‘It’s over now. It’s over.’).

Ezra is also silence, and distance. They haven’t talked a lot since Malachor. In truth, Kanan hadn’t talked that much to any of them, as they were all busy with missions and useful tasks. It’s Ezra’s voice he finds he misses most- words dripping with sarcasm and laughter; a smile brighter than a supernova; a dirty child with wild hair, too small for his age, jumping on the speeder Kanan had been about to steal and driving off with a cheeky salute.

Of them all, Kanan misses Ezra most dearly, so much so that it creates a physical ache in his chest. They’d gone to Malachor for answers, and none of them had returned unscathed. Ahsohka (blues, whites, browns) hadn’t returned at all.

With the help of the Bendu, Kanan eventually learns to see himself again, but sometimes wishes for more. The Force allows him to see things in new and different ways, and suddenly he is useful again- but there is still the absence of light and colour.

He misses Sabine’s paintings every time he smells fresh paint in the air, and in quiet moments misses tracing his fingers along the markings on Hera’s lekku. Ezra cuts his hair one day, and simply doesn’t tell Kanan. One night, some of the pilots hold an impromptu circus performance in the mess hall, and while Kanan can sense the objects being juggled flying through the air, he cannot put a word into describing them. He is there when Chopper steals one of Sabine’s paint cans, and it ends up exploding neon purple all over his chasse, and there when Zeb wakes up to find one of the shuttle crabs has crawled over him in the night, leaving a sticky residue that puts his fur on end and sends everyone else into fits of laughter. He pulls Sabine aside one day, and asks her to describe her new hair colour, and while she tries her best to relay it, he can’t quite picture it in his mind, although he thinks that white and purple must look good on her. He can only listen to the sound of Hera’s fingers as they dance their way around the Ghost’s cockpit when they rush off to Reklam Station, both nervous of what they will find there.

He doesn’t see Ezra grow six inches taller. He doesn’t see the Sith Holocron until it is too late. He can’t reach for Ezra when the kid collapses in the middle of a debriefing, despite the horror clawing at his chest begging to understand the situation. He can’t see the tears in Sabine’s eyes as she screams her family’s betrayal at him, holding the Darksaber aloft. He can’t see if Sabine has her mother’s eyes, and despite feeling the cold touch of snow through his boots and listening as best he can to Ezra’s description of the landscape on Krownest, he feels heartbroken that he cannot see it for himself.

Zeb tries a new way to style the fur around his ears, and Sabine laughs so hard at it she falls out of a chair. Chopper argues with AP-5 over the way Ezra has painted his latest Imperial disguise. Hera stops wearing her shoulder pads, and he is surprised to find them missing when he reaches for her shoulder one day. The world continues spinning around him.

Most of the time, Kanan can simply accept his blindness, but there are times when he wishes he could see how his family is growing and changing before him. He isn’t sure how long he’ll be able to keep the memory of their colour and light in his mind before that too succumbs to the darkness, but he knows that it will never fade completely.

After all, Kanan Jarrus may be used to the darkness, but he knows very well that the light is still there- even if he can’t see it.

Kinda wanted to experiment with Kanan and descriptions that didn’t rely entirely on sight. I really liked the idea of focusing on colour and light, since that’s the two things Kanan can no longer experience (especially with Sabine ).

Big thanks to everyone who’s been leaving likes and comments on my last few fics. I’m not too good about replying, but rest assured I’m reading them all and squeeing to myself.

#star wars rebels #kanan jarrus #my writing #swr

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evieshook · 7 years

Text

make the switch (ii)

pairing: harry/evie rating: pg-13 words: ~4200 a/n: the much requested and perhaps long awaited sequel to ‘make the switch’. thank you to everyone who requested, and hopefully you find this sequel just as enjoyable as the first. read on: [ao3] [ffn.net]

It had only been three days since she had gotten captured, but it had felt like forever. Evie didn’t ever dream that their rescue attempt would only leave her stranded back on the Isle, but it had. And to make matters worse, she was stuck with the one person she thought she’d never see again.

They hadn’t particularly ended on good terms, yet not so bad that it was as embittered as Uma and Mal’s rivalry once Mal left for Auradon. But still, some matters had been left unspoken between the both of them, and a heavy cloud still hung where easy companionship should have.

She had to admit however, that Harry hadn’t really changed all too much during the six months they’d been apart. He was still as wild and off-kilter as ever, his unpredictable nature still both dangerous yet infuriatingly attractive to her. Yet a detail hadn’t escaped her eye unseen, not when she noticed the new closeness that he had with Uma. There was something between them that was more than simple camaraderie, and it bugged Evie more than she should have when she noticed it the first full day she had spent back on the Isle.

While he had always had a thirst for power and a bit of control, Harry seemed unquestioningly loyal when it came to Uma. He would follow her every word without so much as a protest, and he seemed to be the only one Uma would confide in. It unnerved her more than she liked; she really shouldn’t have been feeling like this, she had no right to. She was the one who encouraged him to move on in the first place, and one of the first words she said to him once she saw him again was that she had someone waiting for back in Auradon. And it seemed totally unfair that she was getting rather worked up over it all.

She should be happy that he had found happiness with someone that wasn’t her, someone that was always with him on the Isle, and someone who could understand him better than she ever could. But she wasn’t. Evie wasn’t happy at all.

And she had a strong inkling why.

It was naive of her to think that putting a little distance and a little time between them could shut down all the feelings she had for him in the past. No one could forget their first love, but she didn’t think that not forgetting would also involve not forgetting her feelings for her too. It was like no matter how far she went, and whether or not she disappeared for decades at a time, those same feelings would still erupt the moment she saw him again. It was absolutely maddening.

But she would be lying to herself if she said that she hadn’t enjoyed the past three days, despite feeling like a lifetime had passed. Evie didn’t really expect to have so much fun, not when she was supposed to be held captive against her will. Yet being back on the Isle with him reminded her of exactly why she was initially reluctant to move in the first place. The Isle may have been decrepit and far from welcoming, but it was still home, her home. And she had missed him, above all else.

It was like the old days, before she had moved to Auradon and before things had gotten a little rotten. After Harry’s initially kidnapping of her per se, he had granted her as much freedom as she needed, refusing to treat her like a common hostage. She wasn’t his hostage, he would say to her, she was his princess, and princess weren’t locked away against their own will. He had gotten that part right, at least to some extent for she still missed Auradon, and not a day would go by when she didn’t think of the VKs.

But it didn’t do her any good dwelling on what could happen. Rather, she spent the days re-exploring the Isle with fresh eyes and spending most of her mornings with Dizzy. But her afternoons and evenings were spent with Harry, as agreed upon, his reasoning that he wanted to ‘repair’ things and that he hated how they had left it. And being the kind of person she was, she agreed, deep down sharing the same sentiments.

After their initial conversation, and giving her the space she needed as she tried to recollect her thoughts and reel in her anger, she had reluctantly agreed to spending the night with him under the stars. They had simply enjoyed each other’s presence, Harry being more tactful so as not to rile her up again as he stirred away from any sensitive topics, rather bringing up old memories that had made her sigh in nostalgia and slowly destroying the little wedge that had existed between the two. She didn’t realize just how much she had missed him until after that night, and she was more than glad that he was at least making an effort. Evie had torn down her walls to give him that one chance, and so far he hadn’t blown it.

Slowly and slowly, piece by piece, that easy friendship they had once had had returned to the surface. It was truly so natural being with him, just laughing with and at him, sharing little stories as they caught each other up to speed with the missing months spent in between. It really didn’t feel like she had been captured in the first place, and while Evie still had her lingering suspicions about Uma, she never brought it up. Rather, to her surprise, the girl had been quite welcoming, well as welcoming as you could get on the Isle. She couldn’t say that she’d had the best of relationships with her prior to her moving, but Uma’s problems laid with Mal and not her, so it was a bit easier (not by much) to get her to warm up.

However, she couldn’t deny that Uma was probably up to something, but she didn’t want to destroy what delicate friendship they had managed to build within the past few days. Perhaps, if they talked a bit longer, she could possibly talk her into coming back to Auradon with her. It was, what she suspected, one of the main reasons why she had despised Mal so much. And now that she knew, she just had to do something about it. She didn’t want to lose what she had already managed to regain.

Harry looked strangely pensive when she found him seated by the docks, feet dangling on the edge as he fiddled with his hook. She raised a brow before she took a seat beside him, lightly nudging him in the shoulder to gain his attention.

She didn’t say anything as she shot him a questioning glance, Harry turning to face her, expression unreadable.

“Who is it?”

Evie rested her chin on his shoulder, as she looked at him curiously. This sort of open display of affection had always been quite natural between them, even when they were still only just friends.

“Who?”

“Yer boyfriend, who is he?” He sounded strangely serious as she removed her head, eyeing him in bemusement.

She didn’t know why or if he wanted the actual answer, so she had tried playing it cool instead as her eyes twinkled. “I thought you said he was you.”

That familiar glint in his eye returned only just slightly. “Well if ye insist Princess, I’ll be—“

Evie rolled her eyes before sighing. She had wanted to avoid this, seeing as though being with him made her feel guiltier than normal as much to her shame, she hadn’t spared a single thought toward Doug. But Harry had brought it up and she decided that this was the time to be truthful, perhaps the perfect opportunity to also clear up these confusing feelings she still held for him.

“Doug,” she finally let out, “His name is Doug.”

He raised a brow as he tested the name on his lips. “Doug, eh? Is he a prince too?”

Evie shook her head. “No, he’s not a prince.”

He cocked his head to the side in bemusement. “He’s not? I thought ye’d jump the first prince ye saw.”

She knew he was teasing but she playfully slapped him on the shoulder anyway, the pirate holding up two hands in surrender. “I’m not desperate!”

He chuckled. “Keep tellin’ herself that Princess,” he said, before sobering, “But really. Who is he?”

Evie eyed him in suspicion. “Why are you so curious?” she asked, leaning slightly into his side.

“Just answer the question.”

She let out a sigh. “Fine, Doug is the son of Dopey, and before you say anything else he’s smart and kind and—“

She didn’t think she had ever seen anyone’s eyebrows raise up so fast as he looked at her incredulously. “Dopey? Ye mean yer telling me yer datin’ a dwarf’s son?”

He looked like he was ready to laugh just as Evie slapped him harder this time. “Don’t laugh!”

Harry shook his head as he swatted her hands away. “I’m not laughing Princess. But really, ye went from a pirate to a dwarf? What happened to all those princes ye kept dreamin’ about? Figured out that they really aren’t yer taste?” He said rather derisively that it made her frown in anger.

Evie huffed, preparing to stand up. “You know what, if you’re going to be a jerk about all this then I’m going. I don’t even know why I told you this in the first place when I knew you’d say something like this.”

Before she could move however, a hand grabbed her around the wrist, tugging her back down. “No can do Princess. I still have one more question.”

She glared at him in exasperation. “What is this, twenty questions?”

He ignored her, instead staring her straight in the eye as he asked her seriously, “Does he make ye happy?”

Evie couldn’t figure out what he was hiding beneath that expression of his and it was irritating her to her core. She didn’t know where he was going with this, and was slightly afraid to find out.

“Yes, very,” she said confidently, her tone almost warning.

“Do you love him?”

She scowled. “I thought you said only one more question.”

But Harry didn’t reply, opting to stare her into submission. It unnerved her, the way he was looking at her, and before she could get lost in those bright blue eyes of his, she shook herself out of her trance. “Fine! Yes, I do love him.”

Something flashed in his eyes but it was gone before she could make a comment. She could feel his grip on her wrist slightly tighten, but not so tight it made her uncomfortable.

“Are you in love with him?”

Evie eyed him incredulously, discomfited by the sudden question. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m dating him aren’t I?” she burst out in anger, the pirate saying nothing as he only watched her.

Before she could reply however, his lips suddenly broke into a grin, irking her at the timing of it all. “Thanks Princess. That’s all I needed to know,” he told her before letting her wrist go, instead taking the time to head off instead.

Evie was left glaring daggers into his back as he whistled away, still utterly confused by the entire exchange. What was that?

"Did ye ever think of me?”

Another day passed on the Isle, but Evie wasn’t really too pressed on it anymore. The conversation they had the day before still lingered, but neither wanted to bring it up again, so they had left it be. It still didn’t mean that it hadn’t kept her up the whole night, that suspicious grin on his face still haunting her.

Evie turned to him with a small smile. “I did.”

He raised a curious brow. “When?”

She leaned back against his chest as he kept an arm loosely hung around her shoulders. “The day we got to Auradon, and the few days after that. I knew we hadn’t parted on the best terms, and I kept thinking what it would’ve been like if you had come with me or if I had stayed back here. But then a lot of things happened on Auradon like I told you, and I forced myself to leave it in the past.”

Her tone had turned apologetic at the confession, but he responded by giving her a little squeeze on the shoulder in assurance. “I wouldn’t have expected ye to have waited, ye know. I’m not that cruel.”

She glanced at him sadly. “But you probably would have waited yourself, even though now I don’t think you are.”

Harry eyed her in bemusement. “What do ye mean about that?”

She cringed, internally berating herself for the slip. She didn’t want to have to ever voice her insecurities, afraid of how he might take it, but she couldn’t deny her curiosity of his answer. “You and Uma seem to have gotten close lately and—“

He pulled away suddenly, Evie hurt at the action. She had overstepped her boundaries hadn’t she? Now it was like these few days hadn’t happened at all. “Me and Uma? What gave ye that idea?”

Evie winced at his tone. He sounded very angry, almost offended at the thought. “You may be her first mate but you two are closer than before. It’s like you're glued to the hip.”

His nostrils flared. “I’m not glued to her hip now am I?”

She shook her head. “No, but—“

“But nothing Princess. Yer still my Princess, and Uma is still my captain but nothin’ more. Ye were right, I would’ve kept waiting and that’s why I went to Uma. It was nice to have someone there with me.”

She nodded. “And that’s why I didn’t want to come between you two.”

He looked even more offended at her answer. “Yer completely missin’ the point Princess. There is no Uma and me. She’s my best friend, I’ll give ye tha’, but like I said, we’ve never been done. I would never do that to ye.”

Evie lowered her head in shame, reproaching herself for jumping to conclusions. But it didn’t stop the tiny sliver of relief and hope that she felt at his answer. So they weren't a thing. That was good.

“But seein’ yer reaction, it seems like I wasn’t the only one who thought that way.”

Her head shot up to meet his, a smirk playing on his lips as he eyed her in mischief. “What are you talking about?”

“Ye may have a boyfriend now Princess, but yer still my Princess and I’m still yer pirate. Yer little outburst the other day told me what I needed to know.”

She glared at him frostily. “And what was that?”

His smirk widened. “Yer not in love with him.”

Evie opened her mouth to retort but he shook his head. “Ye may think ye do, but yer words said everything. Ye love him, yes, and he makes ye happy, but yer not in love with him, not the way yer still in love with me.”

Her eyes flashed. “Still in love with you? I—“

Her protests were muffled when she felt a mouth press itself against hers, the words dying in her throat. Gosh, it had been so long since she had last kissed him, she thought to herself as she felt herself immediately melt against him, Harry pulling her closer and resting a hand comfortably on her waist. Her reaction was almost immediate as she snaked her hands up into his hair, holding him in place she continued to kiss him. Too long, it had been way too long.

When they pulled apart, Harry was left with a triumphant grin on his face as Evie was left with her heart hammering, struggling to catch her breath. Breathtaking, his kisses were always so breathtaking.

“Yer still in love with me Princess.”

She looked at him in protest. “I’m not—“

He put a finger to her lips as he shook his head. “Ye might not want to finish that sentence if ye don’t want me to kiss ye again to prove it. Just admit it Princess, ye still love me.”

Before she could reply, a group of loud voices, rather familiar voices, stole her attention as she looked away into the distance. Her hands immediately went to cover her mouth as she took in the four familiar figures that were walking toward her, Evie standing up immediately as she ran to them, leaving Harry watching her in a mixture of emotions.

When the group saw her approaching, Mal’s lips broke into a grin as she jogged up to meet her halfway, the boys following not so far behind. “I told you we’d come back for you.”

“Mal! Carlos! Jay! Ben! You’re all here!” she exclaimed in excitement, wrapping the four into tight hugs as soon as they were close enough. They each returned the hug wholeheartedly, Mal eyeing her up and down to see she hadn’t been harmed.

“Of course. It wasn’t easy, but we made it,” Jay told her with a smile.

Carlos nodded as he looked at her expectantly. “Ready to go home?”

“I—“

Just as Evie opened her mouth, they were interrupted by the presence of one angry Harry Hook as he glared daggers at the group, standing beside Evie. “And what do ye lot think yer doin’?”

The VKs shot furious glares at him as Mal tugged Evie to her side, stepping forward to provide a barrier between the two of them. All the while, Ben’s eyes flitted between Evie and Harry curiously, intrigued by the body language. Evie was eyeing Harry worriedly, and rather sadly as the pirate glared heatedly at the group, eyes meeting Evie’s then and again. There was definitely something going on here.

“We’re taking her back, and you can’t stop us.” Jay and Carlos nodded, flanking Mal with determined looks on their faces.

Evie shared a look with Harry, who turned back to face the three with a resentful frown. “Is that so? And what if the princess doesn’t want to go back?”

“Harry…”

They glanced at Evie in confusion before turning back to glare at the pirate, whose face screamed of something rotten. “Why wouldn’t she? Auradon is her home.”

“And so is the Isle. Tell them love,” he spoke directly to Evie this time, eyes piercing hers.

Carlos raised a brow, “Love?”

Mal’s eyes flitted between Evie and Harry in confusion. “Tell me what?”

She looked into the girl’s green eyes, “I’m in love with Harry.”

“WHAT?”

Evie winced at the loud exclamation of incredulity, Harry sporting a rather smug smile as he watched them. It was the first time she had admitted it out loud, and she was afraid of what she was going to say next.

“But you're right, Auradon is my home just as the Isle is. But Auradon is where I live now, and that’s why I have to go back.”

They all looked at her in shock, Harry looking especially shaken as he reached toward her. “Princess—“

She shook her head, eyes sad and afraid to see heartbreak in his own eyes. It was the second time she was going to do this, and it hurt even more than the last. Harry clearly shared the same feelings as he held her gaze, before shaking his head in resignation.

“Have a nice life,” he spat out bitterly, storming away before could say otherwise.

Evie scrambled to chase after him, but was held back by Mal who shook her head. “He’ll get over it. But we have to go, now.”

She shook her head frantically, eyes still following Harry’s retreating figure. She turned to Ben almost pleadingly. “Can I speak to you Ben? Alone.”

“Wait—“

She held out a hand. “I’m coming with you. I promise, but I need to talk to him first Mal. Just wait for us in the car,” she said, gesturing to the other boys too. They held her gaze, unsure of whether to trust her before Ben gave them a nod in reassurance.

Mal sighed. “Fine. But if you don’t come back in five minutes, I’m coming out here.” Evie nodded firmly, watching as the VKs turned to leave.

It was only once they were safely inside the car, away from hearing distance that she turned to Ben, eyes almost teary.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can I ask a special favor from you?”

He nodded almost instantly. “Yeah, sure anything.”

The girl bit her lip, trying to think of how she would phrase this. “Would you allow me to invite a few other VKs to live in Auradon just like what happened with us?”

Ben raised a brow. “Who were you thinking of?”

“Harry.” The name slipped out before she could stop it, her eyes widening in horror. This was a bad idea, wasn’t it? It was when she failed to hear a reply that she felt her hopes shatter, unconsciously deflating at the realization.

Evie shook her head. “You know what, just forget I said anything. I’ll invite Dizzy instead because she’s been wanting to—“

“Yes.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Huh?”

Ben only smiled at her, lifting a hand to rest on her shoulder. “Yes he can come to Auradon. In fact, invite Gil and Uma too. We’d be happy to take them.”

She stared at him blankly, failing to comprehend his words. “Wait, wait?”

His smile only grew wider. “Like the saying goes, we all deserve a second chance in life. The original plan was to keep inviting VKs over anyway, but I’ve just been too wrapped up with my kingly duties to continue it.”

Before he knew it, Evie had pounced on him to wrap him in a tight hug in gratitude. “Thank you so much!” she squealed happily, pulling away after a few moments.

Ben only shrugged, readjusting his clothes. The girl could really hug. “It’s nothing much. Really, after everything you’ve done for me and Mal, it’s the least I could do. I want you to get your happy ending just like we did.”

Evie blushed, as she looked away shyly. "What gave it away?"

“Apart from you declaring it to us, your smile. You really like him, don't you?"

“Love,” she corrected him. “I've loved him even before I went to the Isle.”

Ben raised a brow at the sudden revelation.

"Then why?”

She flashed him a sad smile, fiddling with the bracelets around her wrist. "Long distance relationships just don't work. That's why I wanted to bring him back with me, because I didn't want to lose him again. I already lost him once, I don't know if I can lose him again.”

He nodded in understanding, giving her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder in reassurance. "And you won't. I'll do everything in my power to keep you happy."

Evie’s eyes began to water, "Thank you Ben. You really are a great friend."

Ben smiled at her, wrapping her in a small hug. "And you are too."

She found him at their usual spot, their little getaway spot near the lake. It was one of the calmest places on the Isle, and it was usually where they spent their time alone and away from the bustling crowd.

She approached him from behind, anxious at what she was going to say. "I guess this is goodbye again princess,” he said to her, refusing to look back.

Evie bit her lip, "No, it's not.”

He raised a brow at that, finally turning to face her with a small glint of hope on his face. “Are ye staying here?”

Evie shook her head. “I’m not.”

He frowned. “Then what?”

She stepped forward, closing the gap between them as she took her hands in hers. Evie titled her head up to look directly into those eyes of his. “I want you to come with me.”

He looked taken aback at the request. “To Auradon? As if they’d take a troublemaker like me,” he scoffed, shaking his head at the thought.

She shook her head confidently, trying to reign in her excitement. “I already cleared it with Ben. He says you can start at Auradon Prep as soon as possible, so come with me. I love you, and I don’t want to lose you. Not again.”

His lips almost quirked at the words as he stared at her. "Neither do I princess. But Auradon? I don't think—“

"This is your chance to go to Neverland isn't it? And Auradon's not so bad, especially when you have the best person to guide you around,” she said playfully, lightly flipping her hair.

He chuckled in amusement. "Not to mention incredibly beautiful. Ye make a convincing point though love, but me? An Auradon boy?”

Evie shrugged, tracing light circles around the back of his hand. "You'll be fine. I'll be here with you every step of the way."

"Every step?”

Her lips grazed his.

"Every step."

#hevie #harry x evie #descendants #harry hook #evie #evie descendants #he: fic #m: fic #request filled #mine

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gkingoffez · 7 years

Text

The Sun Comes Shining In My Eyes

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels

Words: 1,858

Summary: Kanan asks Ezra to describe the sunset to him. It doesn’t quite work out that way.

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The sun was setting over Chopper Base. Kanan knew this not because he could see it, but because a dusk chill was starting to creep under his clothes and he could feel the long warm dying fingers of the sun sliding down his mask-less face. He also knew it because Ezra was standing at his shoulder, trying and failing horribly to describe it to him.

“Well really, it’s all just a whole lot of orange,” Ezra was saying, and Kanan could sense his arms flailing about as if to punctuate his words, the effect, of course, entirely lost on Kanan. “Well, orange and yellows and pinks, but there’s also a bit of blue and purpley stuff in there as well. And it’s all kind of… smushed in together, really, bluer colours on top and orangey ones on the bottom. What’s that word? When more than one colour all blends in together in a line?”

“An ombré?” Kanan supplied helpfully, raising one eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s all an omber thing. Ombré? Ombré’s everywhere you look, but the colours are all soft and making everything else like the sand and the rocks look like they’re glowing. It’s putting all those big plant things in shadow and makes them look bigger and darker and more ominous than they actually are. And that other planet’s up there as well, in the blue bit. All blue and shadowy and… big? Is this any good at all?”

“I would say no, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” Kanan replied, turning to grin and bump his shoulder playfully against Ezra’s.

Kanan expected a snarky reply, but instead Ezra sighed, long, frustrated and tired. His next words were slightly muffled, as though he’d scrubbed a hand down his face and kept it there.

“I’m terrible at this. You should have asked Sabine to do it, she’s the artist. She could probably use all those fancy art words and describe it so good you’d get the perfect image of it all in your head. I’m useless.”

There was a note of bitterness in Ezra’s voice that Kanan recognised immediately. How often over the years had he felt like he wasn’t enough, not strong or talented enough to help someone he cared about, even for the smaller things like making Hera the perfect cup of caff on a rough day or describing a simple sunset to someone who couldn’t see it.

Ezra sighed again. “It’s just so beautiful, Kanan, all the colours are amazing. I wish you could see what I’m seeing,” Ezra said with such longing in his voice it made Kanan’s heart ache.

Besides the shining light of the holocrons, Kanan hadn’t seen anything other than impenetrable darkness since he’d lost his sight. He’d made peace with it some time ago and had even found a new and different sight in the Force, but there were occasionally moments he wished he could experience through his own eyes.

Today, the sunset had become one of those moments- he’d found himself earlier that day wistfully regretting the many setting suns that had gone by without proper appreciation in his life before Malachor. That was why he’d dragged Ezra along with him to Zeb’s hangout spot (apparently the best place to watch it on the base, or so Zeb bragged), and why they now stood side-by-side in the dying light. Perhaps he could have asked Sabine to accompany him, and maybe he would do just that another day to get her more artistic perspective, but for that evening he had wanted nothing more than to hear Ezra’s view.

Kanan reached out and gripped onto his padawan’s shoulder. “Okay. How about we come at this from a different angle- forget how it looks. How about you tell me how it feels.”

Ezra shifted under his hand, confused.

“Feels?”

“How does the sunset make you feel? When you look at it, what emotions does it evoke?” asked Kanan. “Tell me what you feel… I want to know,” he added softly.

He felt Ezra’s gaze on him for an extended moment, before it shifted back frontwards. Kanan kept his own sightless stare firmly on where he knew Ezra’s face to be.

“It feels… um. Warm? Comforting? But also a little cold, like the warm is being taken away? I mean, it is, but... no, that’s stupid.”

Ezra paused there, clearing his throat, and Kanan knew he was frowning from the tension in his shoulders. The kid stayed silent for long while, long enough that Kanan started to feel the need to try and break the awkwardness that had settled between them.

However, Ezra beat him to the punch.

“It feels different than on Lothal. The sun is warmer here, and there are probably different things in the atmosphere, and obviously there’s so much less green in the landscape. But it’s still mostly the same, the same colours, anyway. A lot of things are different here, but the oxygen is breathable and I have you guys here with me so it’s not bad-different. The sunset feels… well, it does feel comforting to watch. It’s soft and bright and hopeful, and- I feel hopeful when I look at it.”

Ezra drew in a deep breath and noisily released it before continuing.

“It’s like- Kanan, there are so many terrible things out there in the galaxy that want to kill us, but here we are now watching the sun go down and it’s so beautiful. It makes me feel peaceful, it reminds me that beautiful things still exist in the galaxy, natural things that the Empire can never destroy because it’s impossible. That’s a good thing to know, that not even the Emperor himself can stop a sunset being beautiful.”

Kanan found himself smiling, a swell of pride burgeoning in his chest.

Ezra broke out his reverie with a shake of his head, and barked out a laugh. “Or maybe I’m looking too deep into it. I mean, it is just a sunset. They happen every day on nearly every planet in the galaxy.”

Kanan knitted his eyebrows together and turned his head away. Behind his eyes, there was nothing but blackness. The sun could be dancing a cantina dance and drunkenly sauntering towards the horizon for all he knew. It was a big galaxy, who’s to say that couldn’t happen.

“Not for me,” he whispered.

There was a heavy silence. He couldn’t tell what Ezra was thinking, but he knew his words had upset him.

Ezra’s next words were tentative.

“Do… do you want me to show you how it makes me feel? Might be better than me trying to explain it with words, anyway. You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to.” He laughed awkwardly. “Actually, you know what, forget I said anything, never mind. It’s stupid.”

Kanan considered the offer, reaching up to stroke at his beard. It was a kind proposition to be sure. Immediately, he thought of turning it down. There was no point in an exercise where he would only feel envious that he couldn’t experience a feeling for himself, and besides, it wasn’t fair for him to try and live vicariously through Ezra.

But that other part of Kanan, the part that wistfully missed sunsets, rainbows and Hera Syndulla (also known as The Most Beautiful Sights In The Entire Galaxy) ached for it with all the fierceness of an exploding supernova.

The second part won out, and he sighed, nodding. “Actually, I’d like that very much, Ezra. But only as a one-time deal, there’s no point in making it a habit. That wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

Kanan felt a hand touch his shoulder and then an arm reach around his back and grip onto his waist. He obliged by lifting his own arm up and completely wrapping it around Ezra’s shoulders, locking their sides together, before allowing his padawan to direct both their attentions to the space in front of them.

“Open yourself to the Force,” Kanan instructed. ”We are all connected by it, you and I most especially. Find me in the waves of energy that surrounds us, and forge the connection so I can see what you feel. You’re good at connection, Ezra, I know you can do it.” Kanan wasn’t exactly sure when this had turned into a lesson.

The warmth was starting to fade with earnest from the air, the sunset probably fading with it. Ezra nodded in understanding and began slowing down his breaths to a meditative pattern. Kanan mirrored him, closing his eyelids out of habit more than anything else.

They stood there breathing in unison for a short while.

At first the feeling was slight, approaching timidly through the ebb and flow of the Force, and Kanan opened himself up to its embrace eagerly. Suddenly, he was swept up in a tide of feeling; it was warm and tingly, and safe. Hopeful, like Ezra had said, and awash with the feelings of soft bright colours- blues and oranges, pinks and purples. Kanan felt almost overwhelmed by how beautiful the feeling was. He missed sunsets like a long lost old friend. He missed a lot of things he’d never be able to see again.

As quickly as it had come, Ezra’s sunset receded back into the folds of the Force, and Kanan was almost surprised to find himself back on Atollon, Ezra on his side and Zeb’s hideout of stacked crates and chairs behind him.

“Kanan? Kanan, is that okay, was that too much?” Ezra asked, voice thick and concerned.

Kanan chuckled, feeling warm all over despite the bite of cold in the air. “No, it’s fine,” he said breathily, “Ezra, thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ezra sniffled quietly, and Kanan felt him furtively try to reach for his face. He probably thought he was being sneaky about it, but Kanan knew without needing to see that Ezra was crying. He gave the boy’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“It’s okay. You’re right, you know. The Empire will never be able to take things like this from us. They can’t take our hope, no matter what they do.”

Kanan turned towards and reached around with his spare hand to ruffle at Ezra’s short, slicked back hair, before gently cupping the boy’s cheek. He used his thumb to wipe a tear away. Ezra ducked his head, probably in embarrassment, but didn’t push away Kanan’s hand by any means.

They both turned back frontwards and stood there for a few minutes, until Kanan could feel the last rays of sunlight travelling down his legs towards his toes. The approaching night time had most likely already dulled the bright hues of the sunset, so Kanan shifted his attention to merely enjoying half-hug that neither Ezra nor he had yet broken off from.

The sun must have been gone completely over the horizon by the time Ezra suggested they head back. Kanan didn’t see it, but he felt it in the chill in the air and heard it in the chattering of Ezra’s teeth.

“Thank you,” he said again as they headed back. He imagined Ezra grinning in response.

So this was intended as both a soothing balm for that last fic I published and as something nice because I don’t know about ya’ll but I’m really sad Rebels is ending.

This started with just wanting to have Kanan wipe away Ezra’s tears, and for some reason it became beautiful fluff instead of angst like all the others????

(An alternate title for this fic is ‘Fucking Nerds Watch The Sunset And Cry Like Losers And It’s Really Cliché’.)

#star wars rebels #swr #ezra bridger #kanan jarrus #swr fanfic #my writing #im just *tears up* so into this show and these idiots

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