#a desperate kid who can only shouts her frustration to the sea | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chenziee · 3 years

Text

Romance Dawn for the East Blue

Inspired by @feriowind‘s blessed tweet about Yamato winding up on Dawn Island :)

Enjoy 4k words of the 4 brothers driving everyone crazy :D

[Read on AO3 or below the cut]

----------

Slowly blinking awake, Yamato struggled to remember why he was lying on the beach of some strange island, the smell of sea salt and trash mixing in the air into something almost worse than the confines of his prison of Onigashima. Almost. It was still freedom after all, and Yamato would gladly take this disgusting smell over his father threatening to place bombs on his wrists.

Looking around groggily, his eyes finally fell on the sad, wooden remains of a small boat, a boat that Yamato had been using to sail this unfamiliar sea during the past weeks. And he finally remembered the terrible events that had led him to this island.

Yes, it was a dark, stormy night, the likes of which Yamato had never seen even in the unpredictable New World, and definitely not since his escape in the peaceful and calm East Blue. He had fought to keep his boat from capsizing, fighting against the strong winds and ocean currents all by himself for hours… but then suddenly, a Neptunian so large it could only have come from the Calm Belt appeared. Yamato had managed to fight it off but unfortunately, his boat suffered too much damage from the power of his Thunder Bagua. He was then forced to swim to the nearest shore with the last bits of strength he had left—

"I saw the Lord of the Coast attack the fishing boat this person was sleeping in. It was really funny, when they woke up, they screamed so loud I think even the people in Fuusha heard. And then they fell in the water while trying to stand up. But the idiot apparently can't swim so I had to go fish them out."

Yamato froze in place at the boyish voice who was retelling his heroic battle so rudely. Wasn't he allowed to at least pretend?

Another boy, this one sounding even younger, started snickering then. "I like this person, Sabo! They’re so funny!"

"Luffy, you're the last one who should be laughing here," a third voice sighed. "Anchor boy." Yamato could almost hear the cheeky smirk on his face as he teased this 'Luffy'.

“Don’t call me that!” the youngest one cried, sounding like he was about to fight the other boy.

“Ace, don’t provoke him,” the first boy chided. “You’ll wake the idiot with your fighting.”

That was it.

“Will you stop calling me an idiot?!” Yamato shouted as he sprung up to a sitting position, an embarrassed blush on his face.

They all paused at the sudden movement, blinking up at him in shock. Yamato glowered at them one by one, taking note of how tiny these kids were—the blond and the freckled one looked no older than 12, while the other could be maybe 8. The blond was the only one dripping in water, just as much as Yamato himself was, and Yamato could only assume this was Sabo, the one who had pulled him out of the water. That would make Freckles ‘Ace’, and the youngest one ‘Luffy’.

Yamato had to wonder, though, how Sabo was able to save him all by himself. Yamato was 16 years old, a lot older than however old these boys were, and he was Kaido’s son—meaning he was already much taller than some adults. Although, he supposed he had seen stranger things and people a lot stronger than a human their size should have been. An image of Oden during his execution came to mind immediately but Yamato quickly chased the memory away.

“Oh look, the idiot’s awake,” Ace said lazily, looking thoroughly unimpressed by Yamato’s glare and simply returning it with one of his own.

Luffy, on the other hand, grinned brightly, hopping over to Yamato to stare up at him with stars in his eyes. “Are those horns? Real ones?”

Blinking, Yamato’s hand automatically reached up to touch one of his horns. “Yeah?” he replied slowly, unsure of what he was supposed to say. Was it that weird to people not from the Grand Line to see someone with features like this?

“That’s so cool! Join my pirate crew!” His grin only widened with his request—or demand.

Yamato tilted his head to the side. “You have a pirate crew?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, not yet,” Luffy said, a small pout appearing on his lips. “But eventually, I will be the Pirate King so of course I will have one!” he announced looking so proud and sure of himself and Yamato felt his lips twitch upward.

“Sure, King, I’ll tag along with you,” he laughed, seeing no harm in indulging the adorable kid. And who knew? Maybe he really would end up sailing with him. After all, in 12 years, the Nine Red Scabbards would come back to Wano and Yamato needed to be back there by then. He needed to help open the country.

And who was to say he couldn’t bring the Pirate King with him?

Sabo clicked his tongue then, walking up to Luffy and ruffling his hair. “Stop that, you don’t even know this person’s name.”

“Oh right,” Yamato said, hitting t he palm of his hand with his fist in sudden realization. “Sorry. I’m Kozuki Oden. You can also call me Yamato. Son of Kaido. Thanks for helping me.”

----------

“Ace! Luffy! What’s the meaning of this?!”

Yamato groaned; always a wonderful way to wake up. “Are you drunk again, you bull-gorilla? Go away it’s too early for this,” he shouted back, not even bothering to open his eyes.

There was a moment of silence until someone stomped over to stand right above Yamato’s head. “What did you just call me, you brat?”

Finally, Yamato blinked up at the person with long ginger hair, a cigarette between their lips, and looking decidedly female. He closed his eyes again, mumbling, “Oh you’re not my father. Whatever then.” As soon as he was done, he pulled his blanket over his head to try and get some more peace and quiet.

It might not have been his father but it still was too early for this.

“Dadan, shut up,” some one whined from somewhere around halfway down Yamato’s body.

“Yeah, what’s the problem?” another person joined in, their voice coming from Yamato’s other side.

Oh right. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy had brought him back to their place last night; this had to be the nasty old hag they mentioned. Definitely seemed like one.

“First Garp drops you two on me, then you bring in more and more kids with you? What do you expect me to do, this isn’t a daycare!” It sounded like the woman was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Finally, Sabo spoke up, sounding about as sleepy as Yamato felt, “Dadan, this is our brother, Yamao. Yamao, Dadan.” With that, he flopped back down, his head coming to rest against Yamato’s thigh.

“I’m not a pillow, you three!” Yamato snapped upon the realization of how the boys were laying with their limbs thrown all over the place, Yamato’s own body included. “And it’s Ya-ma-to,” he added with a sigh, already giving giving up on convincing them to not use Luffy’s nickname.

“Where the hell did you manage to pick up another brother,” Dadan complained and Yamato was starting to feel a little sorry for her. He had to admit that dealing with these three was like fighting a hurricane and it hasn’t even been 24 hours since he met them. At least now he was there, a responsible teenager to keep them in check. She should really be grateful he happened to… choose this island to land on.

“Alright, kid. I don’t care who you are you where you came from—” the woman paused, folding her arms over her chest as she stared down and Yamato— “but I will not feed you. One bowl of rice per day is all I can guarantee you.”

Yamato laughed, “That’s not necessary. Oden could do it, I would be a disgrace if I couldn’t take care of myself and my brothers, too.”

Dadan stared at him for a moment, blinking once, twice, before she threw he hands up in frustration. As she walked away, Yamato could hear her mumbling to herself about stupid brats who couldn’t be phased by anything and how she was going to ‘let Garp have it’ the next time he ‘bothered to show his sorry ass’ there.

Yamato simply shrugged and went back to sleep.

----------

Life on Dawn Island turned out to be surprisingly easy and, even more surprisingly, fun. It didn’t take Yamato long to get to know the forest, the mountain, and the Grey Terminal beyond it, running around the place with his little brothers like he was born there with them.

“Yamao, where are you going, that’s the opposite direction!” Sabo called after him in exasperation, pointing the right way.

A few days after his arrival, he went to retrieve his kanabo from the waters just off the shore. Ace had looked at him, asking why he was so desperate if it was the same weapon the father he so hated used and Yamato couldn’t admit he had a point but… he simply didn’t feel right without it. It was his weapon as well now, and the bull-gorilla wouldn’t take that away from him.

It took him three hours of diving but the happiness and rightness of his kanabo next to him was well worth the effort.

“What are you two anchors doing?” Ace shouted from where he was in the water and towards the two at the beach, looking incredibly annoyed.

Yamato and Luffy exchanged a glance before turning back to Ace and replying in unison, “Building a pirate ship from sand.”

Just then, Sabo’s head popped out of the water next to Ace. “I need a break,” he gasped, struggling to catch his breath after being underwater for so long.

“This club of yours better be made from gold, Yamao, or so help me,” Ace grumbled before leaving Sabo to rest and diving in instead.

Once he had his kanabo in hand, it became incredibly easy to hunt even the most ferocious beasts around, allowing Yamato enough room to stay back and direct the young brothers, giving them pointers and helping them with their hunting techniques. Usually, he simply watched, letting the boys do most of the hunt, even if it meant the prey got away sometimes. After all, making mistakes and losing was a good way to get stronger. So he let them do their own thing while making sure they were okay, and only jumping in when necessary.

“Okay, here’s the plan. We go around the river, then we split up. Me and Luffy will go up while you and Ace follow the riverbed. It’s risky, but on my signal, you will catch its attention and keep it distracted. Then me and Luffy jump down at its head. Hopefully that will at least knock it out so you and Ace can then come help us finish it. And Yamao—” Sabo paused, giving Yamato a hard, subtly threatening look— “if you run ahead screaming and scare it off again, we’re having you for dinner.”

Yamato could only gulp and nod obediently.

He even managed to impress the local Madonna, the cute pub owner Makino. The first time she had come to visit after Yamato had arrived, she immediately dropped all the food, alcohol, and children’s clothes that she had brought, and ran straight to him. She gave him all of her attention the rest of her stay. And even though Yamato wasn’t interested, he had to admit that being fawned over, and especially the jealous stares all the bandits were giving him, felt great.

“Oh my,” Makino muttered when she noticed Yamato. “Luffy did say Yamao was a little taller than him but…” she trailed off, her expression turning troubled.

“You don’t have any clothes big enough for him, do you?” Dogra asked, munching on one of the cones Makino had brought.

The young woman shook her head, sighing, “I think I’ll have to make them all from scratch. Yamao, can you come here? I need to take some measurements.”

"Yamao, you're blushing more than Ace did!" Luffy pointed out immediately, clutching his stomach as he doubled over in laughter.

Yamato made sure his hand was coated in haki when he hit the boy over the head.

Over all, he had to say he much prefered the life of a cool big brother over being a pirate crew’s' ‘young master’. It was a lot more fun, a lot easier to breathe. He never felt more free than he did while laughing and running around the mountain, plotting pranks on their brothers with Ace, or getting grounded— getting thanked by Sabo for running off and beating up the pathetic excuses for pirates who had hurt Luffy and threatened the boys' treasure stash.

Even Dadan's frustrated screaming felt more loving than anything the bull-gorilla of a biological parent had ever shown him. And no, it definitely wasn’t much more embarrassing.

----------

"I don't want to be a marine!" Luffy screamed one morning just as the others were getting ready to head out to work their brand new tree house base.

Both Sabo and Ace froze, turning to stare at each other for a moment with wide eyes.

"Run?" Ace asked in a whisper.

"Run," Sabo nodded seriously before they both turned to look at Yamato.

The teen simply sat there, turning his confused gaze between Ace, Sabo, and the direction from which Luffy's voice came a few seconds earlier. "What's going on?"

Ace and Sabo exchanged a glance once more, seemingly coming to a mutual understanding before Ace answered, "Go see for yourself. Luffy could probably use the help."

Immediately, Yamato was on his feet, heading outside to save his adorable baby brother from whatever monster he was facing. He was slightly suspicious of the high five Ace and Sabo had exchanged, not as sneakily as they probably thought, but as long as Luffy was in trouble, it didn't matter much to him.

As soon as he made it outside the little house, his eyes fell on the two figures fighting just a little bit away from the house. Obviously, one of them was Luffy, who was visibly fuming; growling and snapping his teeth like he was getting ready to literally bite the legs off of his target.

The target in question was a tall, although obviously much shorter than Yamato, and muscular old man clad in a bright red and white aloha shirt, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared Luffy down. He looked thoroughly unimpressed by Luffy’s pistol punches—which admittedly still left much to be desired despite Yamato’s efforts to help him out; it was only a question of time before he managed to find the right bang feeling. The man he was fighting looked vaguely familiar but Yamato couldn’t place that face no matter how much he wrecked his brain.

But it didn’t matter.

“Luffy, are you okay?!” Yamato called in alarm, rushing forward while preparing to swing his kanabo at the stranger.

The both of them turned to look at him then, identical angry expressions on their faces and suddenly, Yamato realized who the man reminded him of. It was more than obvious where Luffy got his personality and expressions. Maybe he should… not attack this person on sight?

Making the decision for him, Luffy huffed upon seeing him approach, raising his hand and making Yamato stop. “Stay back, I’m fine! I can kick gramps’ ass myself!”

“Who’s ass are you gonna kick?” the man snapped, his light punch making Luffy clutch at his head. “You can’t win against the fist of love, Luffy!”

Yamato blinked. That was obviously haki but… fist of love?

Ignoring Luffy’s complaints, the man gave Yamato an obvious once over. “And who are you? Wait—” he paused, looking like he just remembered something— “you’re Yamao, aren’t you?”

“My name is Ya-ma-to, and I’m Luffy’s big brother,” Yamato replied, not entirely sure why he even bothered to correct anyone on his name at this point. No one ever listened.

“Part of the family already, hm? You have an impressive swing; you’ll make a fine marine.” The grandfather nodded, grinning at Yamato in approval.

Yamato did a double take. “I’m not going to be a marine!” he responded immediately, the horror he felt at the though clear in his voice.

“Exactly! We’re gonna be pirates!” Luffy joined in, fully recovered and launching a new rubbery pistol punch, which went completely ignored.

Gramps puffed up, raising his fist threateningly in front of himself. “Nonsense! All four of you will be the strongest marines the navy’s ever had if I have any say in it!”

“No way!” Luffy and Yamato cried in unison, the both of them jumping at the man in a joint attack.

A second later the both of them were rolling on the ground together, clutching at their heads and trying to recover from yet another fist of love. Seriously, Yamato only just met this guy, why was he getting a fist of love? Or better yet, why did it sound like he was already considered a grandson? He didn’t even know his new grandfather’s name.

He guessed it was simply one more proof of his relation to Luffy. It was exactly the same to when Luffy had decided by himself that Yamato was the big brother now, not even half an hour after meeting him, and just like back then, Yamato was powerless in defying that decision.

Not like he wanted to. He would be lying if he said being considered family so easily, so warmly, so unconditionally didn’t make him happy. But still…

“I’m already a pirate,” he growled. Not to mention marines did nothing but fight Oden and the Pirate King’s crew. Like hell was he becoming one of them.

Gramps took a deep breath, looking like he was about to explode, but Yamato interrupted him. “The navy wouldn’t want someone with my blood anyway. They’d execute me on the spot,” he said flatly, looking the man straight in the eyes, trying to convey how disgusted by the institution, the world government, the current world he was. Like hell was he participating in that. He’d much rather wait patiently for the one who was going to change it all and support them.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, neither of them faltering as they stared each other down silently. Until finally, gramps grinned, a smile so similar to Luffy’s that Yamato startled.

“If blood’s the problem, all the more reason you should join,” he announced, the smile never leaving his face even as his eyes turned almost sad.

Yamato tilted his head to the side as he watched the man slowly look at Luffy before his eyes slid in the direction of the bandits’ house. When Yamato turned to look, he could see Ace turning around and walking away, Sabo quickly following with a worried expression on his face.

Well.

At least Yamato wasn’t the only one who obviously hated his biological family around here.

Deciding to leave Ace in Sabo’s hands, Yamato turned back to the problem at hand but before he could snap at the man, Luffy did so for him, “No. He’s joining my crew!”

“Over my dead body!” gramps roared in response, looking like he was going to go off on a rant.

Yamato, however, wasn’t about to sit around and listen to that. “No, over my dead body. Do you even hear how fucked up it is that you need to join the navy to be safe from getting hunted? Neither of us going there,” he growled, baring his teeth for good measure.

The old man paused, blinking at Yamato once, then twice, before he burst out in laughter, one so loud, so honest, and so contagious that, despite having no idea what was so funny, it made even Yamato want to laugh. All his anger was forgotten as his lips stretched in a grin, shaking his head at the sudden realization of how weird this entire situation was. He barely knew what was even happening but… it wasn’t like Yamato ever really paused to think about things. If it felt right, he’d go with it. If it didn’t, fuck it.

And this, incredibly, felt right.

It was only a long while later that gramps finally caught his breath enough to speak, “I like you, kid. Are you sure you’re Kaido’s son?”

As if hit by the bull-gorilla’s Thunder Bagua, Yamato stopped laughing, only staring with an open mouth as dread ran through him. “How?” he could only say after a dreadfully long moment of heavy silence. Or maybe it was only a second. But it was too much, and made Yamato feel too on edge. Ready to fight. He didn’t want to even hear the bull-gorilla’s name; definitely didn’t want to hear it in relation to himself.

Gramps looked at him as if asking if he was kidding then, but with his only answer being a glare, he started laughing anew. “Kid, if you don’t want people to know, or the asshole finding you, maybe stop introducing yourself with ‘son of Kaido’ to anyone you meet. You have poor Makino quite worried.”

Oh.

Whoops?

“Yamao, you’re stupid,” Luffy laughed.

The teen huffed, shoving hard at Luffy’s shoulder. “You’re stupid,” he hissed back, making Luffy stick his tongue out at him.

Yamato saw it only fair he do the same in return.

Just then, a dark shadow loomed over the both of them and they slowly looked up, only to see gramps looking down at them with an evil grin on his face, slowly cracking his knuckles. “Whatever you say, I will train you stupid brats into proper marines, yet.”

Yamato finally understood why Ace and Sabo’s immediate reaction was to run, then send Yamato as what he could now only assume being a sacrifice. There was no way even Yamato was going to be a fair match for this man. “Oh fuck,” Yamato cursed, scrambling to his feet to follow Luffy, who who was already hafway down the clearing away after taking the first popped knuckle as his signal to bolt.

“Watch your fucking language in front of your baby brothers!” gramps shouted after him just before something that might have been a pine cone flew past him at an impossible speed.

Yamato and Luffy exchanged a glance, identical grins spreading in their lips before they both took a deep breath. “ACE! SABO! HELP!!”

If they were to die today, they’d make sure to take the other two down with them.

----------

Hours later, Yamato lay awake in his bed on the floor of the mountain bandits’ cabin long after his brothers started snoring softly. He was exhausted from the day spent laughing and running away from gramps—or Garp, as he had finally learned earlier that evening once Dadan finally stopped hiding from the man—but as opposed to the others, he didn’t want to sleep.

Not when gramps and Dadan were busy talking on the other side of this thin wall. What had started as the two of them sharing their frustrations and complaints about their kids quickly turned into fondness as they instead told each other stories about the brothers and their antics. Yamoto wasn’t surprised the bandit knew exactly where their secret base was, just as he wasn’t surprised by Garp only pulling out the most embarrassing stories he probably could.

It was a good thing the other three had managed to pass out the second their heads hit their pillows or they’d be trying to fight the old man all over again over it.

Yamato, on the other hand, refused to miss out on a second of this. The adults might not have allowed him to drink with them, claiming Yamato was too young for that—to which he not-so-politely disagreed, but then Garp’s fist disagreed with him—but they couldn’t stop him from listening. Those were his brothers they were talking about and he wanted to hear all about the past ten years of their lives that he had missed.

And if he maybe got a little bit happy every time they brought Yamato up, well… no one had to know that.

“Yamao, I swear if you don’t stop laughing at their shitty stories, I will strangle you with your own hair.”

283 notes · View notes

duuhrayliegh · 3 years

Text

watch your six - part four

pairing: eventual bucky x reader (still a slow burn but it’s getting closer)

warnings: some violence but not really, men being creepy, language (one f bomb), also badly written speaking while crying, aaand i think that’s it

word count: a little over 2300

a/n: aaaah it’s part four babes!!!! the response to this has been so positive i’m in love with y’all!!! <3 <3 <3 i’m still way behind on my classwork and going through a terrible break up but we’re pushing through here

p.s.: my requests are still open if y’all want me to write yall something! aaalso, there’s a bucky short coming tomorrow ;)) <3

series m.list

ray’s m.list

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

This strange man’s hand was still caressing my hair as he smirked down at me. Running has hands up to the root and then yanking my head upwards to face him directly. “When I speak to you, you look me in the eye, little one.” Not one to show my fear, at least not to men like him, I scoffed. Thick brows shot towards his hairline and a twitch in his jaw as he clenched it. The hold he had in my hair gave him leverage over me. I winced as he lifted his arm to bring my face closer to his. A small whimper escaped the back of my throat, saliva gathering in my mouth. “Don’t test me, little one.” I sneered then spat in his face, the wet substance sticking to his face across his nose and cheek.

Bringing a hand up to his face to swipe the thick liquid from his skin, he glowered as he pulled his palm away. Then several things happened at once. The man forced a harsh breath out and then I was facing the ground with a sting on my left cheek. A gasp left my lips, he just slapped me. Who the hell does he think he is? I shook my head and then leveled my gaze with the man’s. I’m almost positive that my cheek is sporting a bright red handprint that does nothing for my complexion.

“What the hell man? What was that for?” I groaned while attempting to soothe my throbbing cheek on my shoulder. I mean, was it kind of justified? I did just spit in this man's face. No, he totally deserved that. After releasing his grip on my hair, he transferred his hands to the sides of the chair I was chained to. The metal scraping along the concrete floor caused a loud screech to reverberate through the small room.

“I said not to test me, bitch.” the man growled out as he pushed my chair onto the back two legs. I’m starting to think that this is a bit more serious than I originally thought. “Now, you’re going to sit here like a good little bitch and tell me what I want to know.” He retreated only to grab the chair that Suits used. Slamming against the pavement he straddled the chair with his forearms resting on the back.

“How many missions did you participate in?” I released a groan and rotated my head, leaning my head back.

“I already told your friend,” I tilted my head to speak directly to the absolute jerk-wad of a man in front of me, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man quirked an eyebrow and clenched his jaw. He rolled his neck, causing the bones in it to crack and then stood. He walked to the other side of the metal table that sat in the middle of the room. The sound of a zipper caused me to snap my head to where he was standing. The tactical vest he was wearing dropped to the metal surface allowing for a loud thunk to flow through the room. He stretched out his shoulders and swung his arms out in front as if he was trying to increase the blood flow. I’m the one who’s literally tied to a freaking chair, what does he need blood flow for? My breathing quickened, calm down, don’t show any fear. He popped the knuckles of his hands and approached me.

“I’m not a patient man.” He bent at the knees and leaned his face closer to mine. Exhaling into my face, he maintained eye contact with me. “And you’re not acting like the good little girl we both know you oh-so-desperately want to be.” I rolled my eyes at that, apparently that was the wrong thing to do in this man’s face. His left eye twitched as he stared at me.

“Do you think you could back up? Your breath reeks, man.” I have no concern for my own well-being do I? The man’s head tilted to the side and then he wolfed out a gruff laugh. He shifted his weight to land on the heels of his feet and threw his body into the laugh. It was a bit disconcerting to see this man laughing so wholeheartedly in a situation that didn’t feel funny to me. Another blow to the side of my face was issued, however this time he didn’t stop. Several open handed hits were delivered, all the while he was resetting my head back by grasping my chin. My breathing was becoming labored, my chest heaving up and down in a frenzy. He gripped my chin and jerked it upwards so he could stand at his full height to tower over me.

“How many missions did they send you on?” He demanded, increasing his hold on my face surely leaving sickening bruises that would match his fingers perfectly. At some point, tears began running down my red cheeks.

“I don’t kno-ow what you’re talking ab-about!” Tears streaming down my swollen face, “I s-swear to god, I don’t know wh-what you mean!” Choked sobs were preventing me from breathing correctly. The man grabbed my shoulders and shook my body.

“Calm the fuck down and speak clearly.” Small hiccups were escaping my mouth without permission. Why am I letting this guy get to me? What the hell is happening? “How many missions did they send you on?” I broke down again, fat tears leaking out of my eyes.

“I ju-just want to go h-h-home. I s-swear I don’t kno-ow anything!” I shouted in his face. He glowered at me and lifted his hand from my shoulder. My whole body tensed as I readied myself to the impact.

“Johnson.” The door burst open, stopping Johnson from landing another hit. “This is not what you were supposed to be doing.” Suits walked back in the room. Johnson backed down, lowering his hand and turning to the new member in the room. “Sir, I was told to interrogate the prisoner.”

“Yes, Johnson, interrogate her. Not beat her to a pulp.” He gestured wildly with his hand. “If the boss found out you were doing this, he’d have your head on a platter.” Suits took steps closer toward us and Johnson shrunk into himself. “Get out of here before I call him about this.” Johnson nodded quickly and left the room quickly, leaving his tactical vest on the table.

I was still quietly crying while strapped to the metal frame of the chair. Suits approached me while pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. He raised it to my face and I jolted backwards away from his touch. “Easy now, I’m only here to help.” Is he seriously pulling a good cop, bad cop routine on me right now? He wiped my cheeks of the salty remnants, “Now, how can I help you besides that?”

“You co-could let me go h-home.” I tried to say without stuttering, clearly unsuccessful. I didn’t want to show my emotions but really at this point, could it get worse?

“Awe, girly. You know I can’t do that until you tell me what I want to know.” He began to drag the chair next to me, back to the opposite side of the table. This created an obstacle between the two of us, which made me slightly more comfortable knowing he wouldn’t be able to reach me as quickly.

I heaved a sigh, “but I don’t know anything.” My weeping had come to a definite end, making way for frustration. My face heated for a different reason than being struck several times.

“See, this is where we disagree because I know that you’re lying to me.” He shook his finger in my face and I scrunched my brows together, flicking my eyes between his finger and face.

“You’re kidding me. I told you I don’t know about any missions.”

“Oh really? Then who’s Gemini?” He reclined in his chair, looking smug. “Actually, you know more importantly, who is Libra? The whole thing is just fascinating to me.”

“I don’t know what any of that is. I swear to whatever you want me to.”

“Then why do I have this that says you do.” He held up the manila folder that he first walked in with. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Whatever is in there is lying to you.” He cocked his head to the side and flipped the folder open. He removed a photograph from the folder and placed it on the table in front of me. Staring back at me, was a slightly younger version of myself with shorter hair. A large X was drawn across the whole picture and underneath it read the words ‘Agent Libra.’

My eyes widened, “I have never seen that before, in my life.” Suits sighed heavily and then began flipping through the rest of the papers.

“So what is the Svengali?” He threw out another paper and I glanced down at it. It looked like a typed report of some kind. Much of it redacted by thick black lines. The words Libra, Gemini, and Svengali were visible amidst the sea of dark ink.

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

A ping sounded throughout the room causing the screen of the phone to illuminate. A metal hand reached for the thin device.

New mission alert. You’re needed. Meet at the compound.

Great, this is just what Bucky needed to keep him distracted. Sleep never came easy to him so he was spending copious amounts of time trying to catch up on what he missed out on. Steve told him to make a list and Sam kept rambling on about some gay Marvin man? Bucky much prefered to do things on his own. He hasn’t had help for over ninety years, why should he need it now?

Throwing on his leather jacket as he began to leave his apartment, he checked the pockets for the keys to his motorcycle. He also made sure to grab his gloves. Even though T’Challa and Shuri were good enough to give him a new vibranium arm, Bucky still wasn’t too keen on being stared at in public. It was better for everyone if he just kept the arm tucked away as much as he could while around strangers.

He did one last once over of his apartment before locking the door behind him. He jogged down the stairs towards his bike. It definitely was his pride and joy, it was the first thing that he bought with his own money since 1943. His apartment was courtesy of Pepper Potts, no thanks to Tony’s complaining. Tony and Bucky had eventually worked out their differences, to say the least. Tony still hadn’t fully forgiven the Winter Soldier for killing his parents, and neither had Bucky so they were agreeing to disagree.

The ride to the compound from Brooklyn wasn’t a hard one. It gave Bucky time to appreciate the scenery around him. Slowing to a stop at a four way stop just outside of the compound, Bucky dropped his feet to the tarmac below, stabilizing the bike between his legs. He tilted his head back and felt the warm rays of the sun on his face. Warm was something that Bucky was still getting used to, it was easier in Wakanda. He had his own hut, voluntary therapy sessions, and easy-going check ups with Shuri in her lab.

Everything was simpler in Wakanda, but what Bucky missed most from Wakanda was the stability. He didn’t have to worry about missions, or keeping up with Steve, or the crushing guilt that he felt whenever he saw Tony. After parking his bike at the facility, Bucky made his way to the meeting room. Dark wooden tables in an L-shape appeared in his view. Steve and Sam were standing in front of the large monitor that was displaying images of an unknown, yet familiar looking woman.

“Tony, we don’t know if she knows anything.” Natasha said, apparently trying to rationalize with someone else in the room.

“Natasha, we don’t know that she doesn’t not know anything.” Tony shot back, Sam turned slowly and opened his mouth with a confused expression on his face.

“Tony, we aren’t in an episode of FRIENDS. This is serious. We need to decide if this is worth pursuing or not.”

“Wilson, that’s all well and good but we have to acknowledge that this woman could get us our first real break in our search.” Tony explained while taking deep breaths.

“What are we deciding?” Bucky interrupted as he plopped into one of the chairs. Now that Bucky has been given his freedom back, he’s able to display a difference between his mission self and his regular self.

“This woman here,” Steve gestured to the woman on the screen, “is a member of the Virago. It’s an international branch of SHIELD that was believed to be infiltrated by HYRDA years ago.”

“This is the agent code named Libra. Her last mission was with another agent code named Gemini. The mission report has since been lost to us. All we know is that Libra and Gemini were instructed to watch a Svengali safehouse. Apparently something went wrong and only Libra made it out alive.” Tony added, “Which is why we need to find her and see what she knows.” “Tony! There’s no guarantee that she has any knowledge of this mission.” The redhead stressed as she leaned over the table towards the man she was speaking to.

“I think we should find her.” The words left Bucky’s mouth before he could stop them. All motion in the room stopped.

“Um, did the Manchurian Candidate just agree with me?” Tony questioned as the rest of the room remained quiet.

“Look, I’m not necessarily agreeing with you.” Bucky started.

“Nope, can’t take it back.” Tony mused, “Already said it.” Bucky sighed and shook his head.

“Why do you think we should go after her Buck?” Steve inquired. Bucky’s brows furrowed and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I think I know her from somewhere.”

#watch your six #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #james buchanan barnes #bucky x you #eventual bucky x reader #female reader insert #Sebastian stan #bucky barnes #bucky x y/n

79 notes · View notes

pumpkaaboo · 3 years

Text

Here's chapter 1 of the Revolutionary Girl Utena/Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover I've been working on with @nerd-dot-jpeg! It's been really fun to work on so far! Full text under the cut.

“Attention, due to the special state of emergency declared for the Toukai region and the surrounding mid-Kanto area, an evacuation has been ordered. Please proceed to your designated shelter immediately.”

Utena stretched nervously, bouncing into a lunge with her left leg forward, then her right, before standing up straight and pulling her arms to the side one at a time, relishing in the weight of her thick black jacket. She grunted with exertion, then sighed, leaning back against a nearby telephone pole. “She’s late…”

For once, the city’s streets and monstrous buildings of concrete, glass, and steel were silent. No cars honked in tune with the screaming of their drivers caught in a traffic jam, no neighbors shouted at each other from their windows, and all the speaker systems that usually blared a cacophony of arguments for why Utena needed countless products she had never heard of only repeated that same toneless message in perfect sync. Not even the pigeons were around to make noise.

“Attention,” the message looped, “Due to the special state of emergency declared…”

Utena pulled her long pink hair into a ponytail. Then she took it out. She kicked an empty soda can into the air, bouncing it between her feet. She made a game out of not letting it hit the ground, before finally sending it soaring to a perfect landing in a nearby trash can. She gave herself a moment to celebrate her shot, but the excitement faded quickly, leaving only a gnawing anxiety behind. Then she put her hair back up.

“Maybe she got delayed by the Angel… I should be out there, doing something… I came all this way to help, but I’m useless now!”

With a growl of frustration, Utena sprang back to her feet and started doing lunges again.

Suddenly, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She whipped around, and met the gaze of a girl with dark skin and long violet hair that cascaded down to her waist. Her green eyes seemed to almost glow in the afternoon light, and she stood perfectly still in the middle of the intersection, the heat distortion causing her form to waver like a mirage, a trick of the light. Something about her seemed familiar, somehow.

For some reason, she reminded Utena of a doll.

Perhaps it was the way her arms hung limply, languid, at her sides, perhaps it was her empty expression, perhaps it was the fact that Utena had been staring at her, frozen, for at least twenty seconds and she hadn’t blinked-

“Attention, due to the special state of emergency-”

Utena jumped, the announcement snapping her out of her trance. She glanced up at it, then back at the girl, who hadn’t moved. She took a step forward. “Hey-”

You need to get to an evacuation shelter, she wanted to say, it’s not safe here, but she was cut off by the sounds of a revving engine and the screeching of tires against pavement as a bright yellow car skidded to a stop in front of her, almost tipping over itself in the process.

The driver’s-side door opened, and a woman in sunglasses and a red military jacket leaned out. “Sorry to keep you waiting! Utena Tenjou, right?”

Utena blinked, then nodded. She stood on her toes, leaning to the side of the car to try and catch a glimpse of the girl again, but the intersection was empty save for the steaming tire tracks and smell of burnt rubber.

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing I just… I thought I saw someone.”

The woman followed Utena’s gaze, then shook her head. “Well, whoever it was, they must have left. I hope they get to a shelter in time… You should get in, by the way. I hate to rush you, but, well… unforeseen circumstances and all that.”

As if on cue, a thunderous boom rang out from somewhere in the distance, as a shockwave rippled across the city. Utena stumbled, catching herself on the car. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry I had to make you come all this way at such a time… it’s rotten luck, really.”

The woman grinned. “Don’t worry about it. I’m Misato Akagi, by the way, and I’ll be your commanding officer from here on out.”

Utena nodded, climbing into the passenger’s seat and buckling her seat belt. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Akagi.”

Misato groaned. “Please, Ms. Akagi is my wife. You can call me Misato.” She took in Utena’s poorly-disguised shock and laughed as she pulled out of her “parking space”. “Let me guess: first time you’ve ever met a real live gay person, huh?”

“I- well I mean- I’d heard of- and of course there must have been some that I just didn’t know they were- but-”

“Don’t worry about it. Just treat us like you would any other couple and we’ll get along fine.”

Utena nodded. “Got it, Ms. Misato.”

“Hey, you’re getting it! By the way, I need to make a call now that I have you, but is there anything you need to say first?” Utena shook her head. “Great, this’ll just be a couple minutes.”

Utena took this as her cue to tune Misato out and stare out the window. Just over the mountains, she could see a couple of silver dots moving through the sky.

“Hey, Ritsuko, it’s me. I have the Sixth, and we’ll make it to the car shuttle train in about twenty minutes, assuming the Angel doesn’t fall right on top of us, of course. Make sure it’s ready.” Some muffled words came through the speaker, but Utena couldn’t make them out. “Of course I don’t doubt you, I just wanted to check to be safe… oh, and make sure Ohtori knows we’re on our way, too. He’s been quite vehement about making sure this one gets to HQ ASAP. Love you too, see you soon, bye!”

Misato hung up the phone with a loving sigh, her eyes taking on a relaxed softness as they returned to the road. Utena glanced at the phone, then back at Misato. “Your wife?” she asked.

“The one and only Ritsuko Akagi, the sharpest mind this side of the Andromeda galaxy. God, I love that woman.”

I can tell, thought Utena. Now that she’d had a bit of time to get accustomed to the idea of two women being… together, she could appreciate what the romance had clearly done for Misato. She fought back a pang of envy at the adoring expression on Misato’s face. Maybe someday, when I find my prince…

They drove in silence for a few minutes, barring the occasional shockwave from the battle with the Angel raging on in the distance. A blinding light cast the entire valley they were driving through into shadow, but it was gone as quickly as it came, leaving nothing but a plume of smoke behind.

Utena shifted in her seat. “I hope the pilot’s okay…”

Misato grimaced. “It’s Saionji-san this time, he’s tough, he’ll be fine,” she said, unconvincingly. The silence, which before had been uncomfortable, was growing unbearable. “So!” Misato said, clearly in a desperate attempt to break it. “From what I’ve read in your file, we actually have a lot in common!”

“Really?”

“Yep! Antarctica, Second Impact, right?”

Utena stared. “You too? I didn’t realize anyone else…”

“As far as anyone knows, the two of us are the only survivors, and we were both kids whose parents worked there. Kind of a weird coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Definitely. Um, if it’s not too forward of me to ask, how long were you…?”

“Oh, I wasn’t in cryostasis like you were, so I didn’t lose any time. Luckily, the protective capsule my dad put me in got found floating out at sea before I died of dehydration, but as a result of my experiences, I was unable to speak for several years.”

“Oh.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago, and I’m totally fine now!” Misato flashed Utena a grin. “What about you? What’s your story? If you feel comfortable sharing it, that is.”

“Um, this is going to sound kinda silly.”

“Don’t worry about it! This is a bonding exercise, anything goes.”

“Well… it was a prince.”

“Wait, what? What was?”

Another shockwave tore through the car, stronger this time, or maybe they were just closer to the source. Utena cried out in alarm, and she could see that Misato’s hands had tightened on the steering wheel.

“After the wing my parents were in collapsed, but before the big explosion, there was a prince who came to me. Like, right out of a fairy tale. He was shining, and he smelled like roses. He told me to never lose my strength or nobility, even when I grew up, and then put me in the pod and sealed it. Um, but my memories of that day are pretty fuzzy, so I don’t really know where he came from or… anything else.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it, seven years in cryostasis will do that to you.” Misato flashed Utena a reassuring smile.

Utena returned the smile, and then, emboldened by Misato’s encouragement, continued. “Well, after that, I decided that I wanted to become a prince who saves people just like he did for me, so I started dressing like a boy, and I adopted a chivalrous lifestyle… and well, here I am now.”

Misato’s eyes shone. “That’s so cool! It really gives me hope, you know, that people still choose to be brave and kind to each other, even after everything… oh, and by the way, the school you’ll be attending has a mandatory dress code, but one of the perks of being an Eva pilot is that you get to wear whatever you want, so you won’t have to fight the teachers on the whole uniform thing.”

“Really? That’s a relief.” Utena rubbed her fingers absentmindedly, protectively, against her jacket’s thick sleeve, enjoying the texture. “My last school had this crazy guidance counselor… I swear, you put one toe over these invisible lines people made up about what boys and girls can and can’t do, and everyone loses their minds.”

Misato winced. “Tell me about it…”

“Oh! Oh right, of course you’d know all about that-” Utena flailed around verbally once more, suddenly remembering Misato’s… situation. “Sorry, I just forgot-”

“Hey, no worries. I guess you could say we’re birds of a feather in a lot of ways, huh?”

“...Yeah, I- I guess we are.”

“By the way, how would you feel about-”

Whatever Misato was about to say next was cut off by another shockwave, this one even stronger than the last. But this time, instead of dissipating harmlessly, it was followed by an avalanche of boulders thrown into the air from when a nearby mountain had- oh dear god, it had exploded.

Misato shouted with alarm and slammed on the brakes, just barely avoiding a crash with the boulder in front of them. Several more impacted with the road behind them, trapping the car right where it was. A roar shook the mountains, and the pair slowly turned their gazes toward the source.

There was an Evangelion standing there in a combat stance, prog knife in hand, its metallic chassis gleaming blood-red in the harsh afternoon light, with green and gold accents shimmering like stars through the heavy smoke rising from the ashes of what used to be a mountain. And standing across from it…

“That’s an Angel?” Utena asked, horror keeping her voice from rising above a whisper. Misato gave a terse nod.

The thing was titanic , almost half the size of the mountain that it and the Eva had just wiped off the face of the earth. It had six sinewy arms and no legs or head, and a red orb portruded from its back. It roared once more from its many gaping, salivating jaws, one at each shoulder and probably several more where Utena couldn’t see, before making another charge at the Eva. The massive robot sprang into action, dodging the Angel’s hands and slashing at it with its prog knife again and again, but was repelled each time by some sort of shimmering orange field.

“I… I’d seen the videos, but…”

Misato didn’t take her eyes off the fight. “Nothing can prepare you for the real thing. I’m sorry you had to find out like this. We need to get out of this car; it’ll be of no protection for us if either of them hurls something — or, god forbid, themselves — over here.”

Utena nodded with agreement, and together they exited the car and climbed on top of a nearby boulder, hoping for a better vantage point. Utena pulled her knees to her chest. “So that’s gonna be my duty next, huh?”

“If we survive this…” Misato’s voice was barely a whisper; she didn’t seem to have noticed that she had spoken aloud. “You’ll be added to the rotation of pilots for Unit R05, yes.”

“Ah.”

They sat together in silence for a few more minutes, watching the fight. The combatants seemed to be at a sort of standstill, with the Angel unable to pin down the Eva for long enough to bite into it, and the Eva unable to pierce the Angel’s strange orange shield.

Misato’s eyes narrowed. “Saionji’s sync rate must be down, if he can’t get through that A.T. field. Argh, I knew we should’ve prepared Miki instead, but he insisted-”

The Angel got a hit on the Eva's face.

There was a moment of sudden, deafening silence.

And then the Eva screamed.

Giant steel-plated arms grasped at its head, metallic and organic screeches blending together. Blood-red spikes shot out of the chassis, fracturing it in several places. Misato cursed and whipped her phone out of her pocket, hastily pressing a few buttons. The face of an intense-looking blonde woman popped up on the screen, with a white hospital room in the background. “He’s been the pilot for too long, psychological contamination is setting in! R05’s going berserk!” Misato shouted.

“We know that!” the other woman hissed.

“So what are our options?”

“We’ll have to shut down R05 and send D10.”

Misato sucked in a breath. “No… Anthy’s still injured! She can’t pilot in her state!”

“Do you have a better plan?” the woman shot back.

MIsato glared at her feet.

The blonde woman turned to her side. “That’s it then. Anthy, you’re being deployed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Utena gasped in horror as a wheeled gurney came into view of the camera. There was a girl on it-the same girl she had seen in the intersection, but her purple hair was curled into a tight roll all the way around her head, and she wore a pair of round glasses, and almost every inch of her skin was covered in bandages, some of them already showing red with blood soaking through. The girl seemed to mentally steel herself, before sitting up with a soft cry of pain and slumping against the blonde woman’s side, panting.

“No!”

All eyes turned toward Utena.

“I’ll pilot the Eva! That’s what I’m here for, right? You can’t make her do this!”

Misato met the blonde woman’s eyes. “...Could that work?”

She thought for a few seconds. “If we perform a full shutdown of R05, we could buy the Sixth about thirty seconds to get into the entry plug before it restarts itself and resumes its berserk rampage. Of course, that would be thirty seconds of total vulnerability…”

“We could distract it by sending military jets to bomb it,” Misato added.

“That could work… but there’s still the risk of the Angel realizing what we’re trying to do, or a stray bomb hitting the Sixth.”

“Then let’s leave it up to her. Utena, are you sure you want to do this?”

Utena hadn’t broken eye contact with the strange girl. Those green eyes, shining with pain and fear and despair...

“I’ll do it.”

The girl’s eyes widened with shock and, perhaps, a spark of hope.

Misato closed her eyes. “That settles it, then. Ritsuko, I hope you’re prepared to line everything up quickly, because we’re going to need that time. Utena, I’m going to need you to watch R05 closely. Try to predict where it’s going to fall, because you’re only going to have thirty seconds to get into the entry plug, where its spine meets its neck. Once you’re in there, you’re going to find Saionji unconscious in the cockpit. He’s wearing a pair of triangular metallic hair clips-those are the neural interface, you’ll need to clip them to your own hair, as close to your head as possible. Got all that?”

Utena nodded, her stance tense with determination. “Good. After that… Well, from what I’ve heard, piloting an Eva is sink-or-swim. There isn’t really any advice I can give you, since I’ve never done it myself… so try to swim. Good luck.”

Misato returned to her phone and started barking orders, and Utena slid off the rock towards where the battle was raging on. The spikes piercing out of R05’s chassis had started dripping a red liquid that steamed when it hit the ground. The metal at its shoulder blades bulged and cracked, and she could see an eerie purple light shining through the fissures.

One drop of liquid hit the Angel’s hand, and its howl of pain shook the entire valley. The hand melted away completely, leaving a stump at the wrist. The spots on the ground where the melted flesh had landed turned green, and if Utena looked closely, she could see thorny vines growing out of them.

Utena returned her attention to the Angel. Maybe, without its hand, we have a chance… her thoughts were cut off when the Angel flexed its arm, and two more hands grew from the stump. Oh. It can do that. Okay. The Angel screeched from all of its mouths, and as R05 lunged at it, caught the mech’s arms with two hands each, and began scrabbling at the Eva's chestpiece with its free arm.

With a keening cry, more spikes shot out of R05’s chest, catching the Angel’s shoulders and causing it to stumble back. The Eva took a few steps backward, panting. There was a sickening crack , and Utena could see that the fissures in its back had grown a bit larger, the purple light spilling out a little bit brighter.

Misato cursed. “Its wings are about to erupt! Ritsuko, we need those reinforcements now! ”

“They’re on their way!” And sure enough, Utena could hear jet engines approaching rapidly, Something streaked toward the Angel, and an explosion rang out. The Angel stumbled forward and whipped around to face the squadron of fighter jets that were flying towards it. It let out a roar, and sprinted away from R05.

“Utena, go! ” Misato shouted as the Eva, seemingly about to charge after the Angel shuddered to a halt, then collapsed onto its side. Utena sprang into action, sprinting towards R05 before it even hit the ground and vaulting onto its wrist, before climbing up the arm. She pulled herself up onto its back and began making her way towards the entry plug as quickly as she could, taking care to avoid the red spikes, which she could now see were black at the base.

Another explosion from the Angel’s battle with the jets rang out, and Utena cried out in alarm as she fell into a crouch, clinging to one of the fissures in R05’s armor to keep from falling off. It was emanating some sort of strange energy, and Utena’s hands were starting to go numb. She pushed herself back to her feet, wincing as she tried to massage the feeling back into her fingers, and kept going.

She had just barely reached the entry plug when a shudder ran through the Eva, and it began to move its arms into position to push itself back up. Utena gulped, then twisted the release on the emergency escape hatch on the entry plug and slipped inside, shutting it tightly behind her.

And not a moment too soon, for an instant after the hatch was sealed, she was suddenly vertical, flung forward into empty space. Then she hit some sort of uncomfortably warm liquid, and didn’t even have time to gasp for breath before she was submerged. She coughed and sputtered, but after a few seconds, realized that she could breathe in the liquid almost as easily as air. It was orange, and transparent, thicker than air or water but not gelatinous, and it smelled like salt, with a faint hint of something acrid and sickly sweet. Fighting down a wave of disgust, Utena swam deeper into the entry plug, towards where she could see a chair suspended in the liquid.

Sure enough, just as Misato had said, there was a boy floating there, unconscious, his dark hair swirling around him like a kelp forest, with the triangular neural interface clips attached close to his scalp. Utena gingerly undid the clasps, then with both clips clutched in her hand, shoved the boy (Saionji?) up away from the seat. She settled into it, and somehow, the chair seemed almost made to fit her narrow frame.

Alright, R05 , Utena thought, it’s just you and me now. Moment of truth. With a deep breath, she affixed the clips to her own head.

She was enveloped by the scent of roses.

A heartbeat later, she was nearly bowled over by a wave of sensation and pain. The walls of the entry plug around her flickered , and suddenly displayed the scene of the battle, as if she were seeing through R05’s eyes. She could feel the spikes protruding from the Eva's body just as though it was her own, along with waves of pressure pounding at her shoulder blades.

Utena couldn't suppress a cry of agony, and she curled up in her seat. She could see R05’s movements jerk to a halt as it adjusted to this new connection. Emotions tore through her, somehow more intense than they were normally. Pain, confusion, fear… familiarity? Something about this, about being so close to this monstrosity of steel and fluid felt… right , somehow. Forcing herself upright, Utena reached out and stroked the wall of the entry plug.

“Hey, it’ll be alright,” she said, in the most soothing voice she could muster, “I’m new here, and I don’t really know how to do this, so we’re going to have to work together, okay?”

The Evangelion had stopped moving. It stood at attention, and even though Utena knew on an intellectual level that it was just a robot, it almost seemed… hopeful? “I know it hurts, I’m so, so sorry. Please, just work with me here and it’ll be over soon, I promise.”

Utena felt a ripple of some emotion — was it acceptance? Relief? — and then, suddenly, the pressure at her shoulder blades receded, and the limbs of the Eva became her own. Utena smiled gratefully. “Thanks, bud. Now let’s go kill an Angel.”

Together, they turned their attention back to the fight. Two of the planes had crashed to the ground already, a third was missing with no sign of where it had gone, and the Angel stood on four of its arms, the other two flailing wildly into the air, occasionally extending far past where its bones should allow and requiring a plane to make a hasty dodge to avoid it. “We need to get it to leave those planes alone. Can you do that?”

As if in affirmation, Utena felt her attention directed towards R05’s wrist. A small gun was embedded there; not strong enough to do any real damage to the Angel, but enough to distract it enough to give the planes enough time to retreat. She lifted R05’s arm and fired.

The shot hit the Angel right at the edge of one of its mouths. The thing stiffened, and turned towards them. “Hey wait, how does it see us if it doesn’t have any eye- AH!” Utena’s sentence was cut off by a scream as the Angel charged them, slamming into R05’s chassis and knocking them both back. One of its shoulders collided with the Eva’s forearm, and she gasped in pain as its swordlike fangs dug in. It’s not real , she tried to convince herself desperately, as she felt the fibers of her muscles severed and teeth grinding against her bones. It’s just feedback, it’s not your pain…

But it was R05’s.

Machine or not, R05 felt pain.

A newfound determination welled in Utena’s chest. I can’t let this continue, she thought. I’m fighting for both of us, now.

She clutched the prog knife in her free hand and drove it upward. It crashed into the orange forcefield, sending splinters of pain up Utena’s arm, but she kept pushing. She felt a pulse of energy shoot out from R05’s core, and suddenly, the knife’s blade slipped through the field, right into the monster’s shoulder.

The Angel howled in agony and released her, but Utena didn’t retreat, instead springing back to (her? The Eva’s?) feet. She grasped the knife in both hands and brought the blade down on the orb in the Angel’s back again and again, until she felt something crack underneath the point. She dug the knife deeper, and the orb suddenly lit up, brighter than the sun—

She and R05 were thrown back by the explosion, they hit the side of a mountain, their heads impacting painfully against the rock, stars danced before their eyes—

It smells like roses, Utena thought.

Then there was nothing but darkness.

#revolutionary girl utena #rgu #neon genesis evangelion #nge #shoujo kakumei utena #sku #utena tenjou #anthy himemiya #utena x anthy #misato katsuragi #ritsuko akagi #utenanthy #my writing

34 notes · View notes

threeletterslife · 4 years

Text

Resonance

→ summary: your college art final prompt is so unbelievably broad that you might just flunk it because you have no idea what you’re gonna draw. luckily, there’s a cute guy who’s totally into you that might just help you out. even better: he’s a merman.

→ pairing/rating: taehyung x reader | PG-13

→ genre: 80% crack, 20% fluff | mermaid!au & bullet point fic

→ warnings: profanity

→ wordcount: 9.4k

cr.

well

this is just

great

you are a creative person

you ARE a creative person

ok maybe if you keep saying that in your head, it’ll come true

but fat chance

because you're still drawing a blank

your university professor JUST released the art final prompt

and it is the most broadest and vaguest prompt you've seen in your whole entire nineteen years of life

it sucks!!

like what the fuck?

how are you supposed to draw something that "calls to you"

what's that supposed to mean???

your best friend yoongi tries to help you interpret the wack prompt

but you really shouldn’t be trusting a guy who uses art sketchbooks as scratch paper to solve batshit crazy math problems for fun

it’s a no brainer that yoongi’s a no-nonsense chemical engineering major

in conclusion, he wouldn’t know aRT

not like you do anyways

he can barely draw a stickman. and he even has shitty handwriting (that’s so barely legible that he always gets called back after finals to translate his writing for the prof)

enough roasting your best friend though

especially when he’s actually trying to lend you a hand

“what calls to you…” yoongi trails off thoughtfully

he lets out a snort

“ha!” he says triumphantly. “y/n, i got it!”

“really?!”

“just draw a phone with your mother coming out of it!”

you frown. “i don’t get it”

yoongi sighs, shaking his head disdainfully

“because your mother literally calls you on the phone, y/n”

“i hate you”

yoongi is no help

“prof would flunk me if i turned a drawing like that in”

yoongi snorts. “or she’ll give you extra points for thinking literally. artists these days are so into thinking outside of the box. maybe you’ll be unique for being literal”

god no

being literal won’t fly with your professor

she’s the fucking queen of abstract art

if you hand her a painting of your mother coming out of a fucking phone, she might just burn the piece in front of your face

besides, you can’t draw something that doesn’t stir some sort of inspiration in you

no offense to your mother (but she’s also a no-nonsense physician)

yoongi’s just back at it again with his nonsensical advice

you’d expect better from the dude who does math for fun

“you know what?” you huff. “i can’t trust a guy who uses a freaking sketchbook to solve advanced calculus problems”

yoongi grins. “just tryna help, y/n”

“my god”

“wanna help me since i helped you?” yoongi teases

he holds up a stack of paper riddled with numbers with one too many digits and foreign symbols from the greek alphabet

you feel like you’re gonna puke

“aaaaand goodbye!” you say, standing up from your seat at the campus cafe. “i’m gonna go to the beach!”

“right now??”

“yeah why not?” you laugh, shrugging. “i need some inspiration!”

“but then i’m gonna look like a loner sitting here all by myself,” yoongi pouts

“then come with me, duh”

yoongi gives you a look of repulsion

“i hate the beach,” he grumbles

“fine,” you snort. “just call hoseok or something. i don’t know. but i’m leaving! bYe!!”

you can hear yoongi cursing at you under his breath and you laugh

he’s got such a mouth of a sailor that he honestly belongs on the beach—if not, the ocean

you pay his cursing no mind as you rush out the cafe and across the school campus

the literal reason you chose to attend this university was its close proximity to the beach

you’ve always been drawn to the waters

yoongi, on the other hand, only came here because of a scholarship

smart bastard

but he’s a good friend

it’s kinda sad you’re always hanging on the beach alone though

you don’t particularly fit in with the rowdy party crowds on the sand

and you don’t go there to flaunt your summer body in a bikini

you just go for

~inspiration~

by the time you reach the beach, it’s nearly empty

when it’s nearing finals, no one dares to step foot on the warm sand because once you go in, there’s no way in hell you’re going back

some students learn the hard way

and then end up flunking their finals

it’s you

you’re ‘some students’

(to be fair, that was freshman year and you’re a sophomore now, so you won’t make the same mistake again!!)

okay… maybe

you’re on the beach and it’s nearing finals so maybe you haven’t learned your lesson

but in your defense, you’re only here for

~inspiration~

the salty ocean breeze caressing your face

the smell of open waters

the brisk air

you would live on the beach if you could

there’s a small little rocky ledge at the far side of the beach that serves as your little private area you’ve been using since you got here

no one ever comes this far

so you just claimed the rocky ledge as yours

it’s where there are cute little crabs roaming about

where the bright orange starfish and sea anemones attach themselves to the rocks in the shallow tide pool and (maybe) watch you watch them

(you don’t exactly have extensive knowledge about ocean life lol)

omg there was even this one time when you saw a fish in the tide pool

granted, it was dEaD so you had to make yoongi carry it in a plastic bag and give it a proper burial ceremony

anywho

you love sea animals and plants!!

for a brief second as you crawl onto the rocky ledge you contemplate if you should draw a fucking fish for your art final

technically, it calls to you… right?

the late afternoon sun warms up your cheeks and you sigh, out, leaning back to admire the waves of the ocean lapping at the wet sand on the beach

if you just lie like this, basking in the sun… you’ll come up with an idea… right?

two hours later, you’re still stumped

“well, fuck,” you curse

the tide’s starting to come in and your feet are already underwater

it looks like you should just go back to your dorm at this point

you’ll find your ~inspiration~ tomorrow

you sigh

why can’t you think of a cool idea for fuck’s sake

what calls to me??

the only thing you can think of is a flobbering fish and your mom coming out of a phone (a tribute to yoongi)

you end up accidentally staying until the moon’s high in the sky

the waters have turned into a black oblivion and the tide’s so high, you have to shift up the rock to avoid making it look like you wet your pants

if you were a werewolf, you could draw the moon

because haha, get it? the moon calls to them!

but unfortunately, you are not a werewolf

“this sucks,” you huff

usually, you’re quick to come up with good ideas and it’s frustrating that for finals you can’t do the same

right when things actually matter

you look down from the sky to stare at your feet

maybe you’ll just stay here until you can come up with an idea

you aren’t gonna give up so soon

besides, the quiet sound of the undulating waves is so soothing

you stay a little longer, gazing at the twinkling stars and daydreaming of simpler times when your art teachers would tell you exactly what to draw without giving you vague-ass prompts to interpret

that’s when something catches your eye in the dark waters

illuminated by the starlight… you see… a…

HUMAN???

“hey!” you shriek

okay now you’re 1000% sure there’s someone in the ocean right now

they have a head of bright turquoise hair and pale but toned arms

yet the person has their back turned to you so you can’t quite see their face (though you assume they’re attractive just based on the back of their head)

“hey!” you shout again

come to think of it,,,

are they skinny dipping in the fucking ocean???

freshmen these days!! they’re nuts!

“you’re gonna die of hypothermia!” you yell. “or a shark’s gonna bite your limbs off!”

slowly

very slowly

the kid turns around

and you nearly choke on your breath

because he is beautiful

not in a conventional tiktok boy way but in a mysterious manner

his alabaster skin glows in the starlight

his turquoise-colored hair is styled perfectly on his head, just swept gracefully across his forehead

his deep sea-green eyes sparkle as he cocks his head and stares at you

oh god

he’s definitely shirtless

“h-hey!” you call again, hoping you don’t sound desperate. “what are you doing??”

the boy doesn’t answer though

he just stares at you curiously, eyes glancing back and forth at your bare legs and your shocked face

normally, you’d be creeped out if a random guy decided to check out your legs, but for some reason, the boy doesn’t stare at you like he’s a predator

he just looks… curious

you gasp when he suddenly disappears underwater

“hey!!” you shriek

damn. maybe he just wanted to be alone

no biggie

you’ll just sit on the rock or something until he decides to talk?

or you can be like any other sane person and just go back to your dorm

a sudden splash of water jumps you out of your thoughts

you nearly fall back when the strange boy stares up at you from the ledge of the rock

he’s still submerged under the water up to his shoulders, but he leans against the rock and smiles at you

it’s as if he’s saying ‘hey, loud person, who won’t shut up. how are you today? nice to meet you’

at least you think that’s what he’s trying to convey to you

“hi?” you say, raising your eyebrows. “isn’t the water cold?”

the boy shrugs his shoulders then shakes his head

he seems friendly enough that you decide to continue talking to him

he has a strange alluring aura that makes you want to get to know him

before you know it, you’re scooting closer to the stranger

he doesn’t flinch when you’re close enough to touch his strangely dry head of beautiful hair

“woah,” you deadpan. “how’s your hair dry?”

the boy shrugs again, smiling mischievously

can he even talk??

or maybe he’s just being polite and he wants you to leave

maybe he’s naked?? and he actually is a skinny dipper

and he wants you to get the hell away from him so he can get into his clothes??

“do you want me to leave…?” you ask cautiously

the boy shakes his head

ookkayyy…

“oh… it’s just that you’re not talking to me so i just thought…” you trail off, uncertain

the boy laughs and it’s the only kind of sound you’ve heard from him since you first saw him in the waters a few minutes ago

and his laugh is just like the rest of him—beautiful

the boy touches his throat with one hand and shakes his head

you frown

what?

the boy repeats the motion again and again until it finally clicks in your head

oh!!!!

“wait, you can’t speak?” you say. “i’m sorry… i didn’t know!”

the boy smiles as if saying ‘it’s all right. you’re fine’

“i haven’t seen you around campus…” you start. “do you live around here?”

the boy shakes his head

“you just like late-night swims, huh?” you giggle. “i’d swim too but something about swimming in the ocean at night is super scary for me”

the boy laughs good-heartily. he points at you curiously, then gestures at the surroundings

“oh, why am i here?” you say

the boy nods his head

“i’m just trying to get inspiration,” you say. “i’m an artist”

the boy smiles widely. he raises his eyebrows and points at you

“yes, really!” you laugh. “wanna sit on the rock with me?” you say, patting the spot next to you. “you don’t have to be stuck in the ocean to talk to me”

the boy hesitates

he looks at you through his beautiful eyes and parts his pink lips

it’s as if he’s asking, ‘can i really sit next to you?’

“i don’t bite!” you laugh. “at least, the last time i checked”

the boy giggles

he reaches out and lightly touches your hand

you’re shocked when you realize his hands aren’t wet from the water

come to think of it, you are covered in more water droplets than the boy

well

something is a bit fishy around here

you slowly look up at the boy’s face

he shrugs but a mischievous, all-knowing smile plays on his lips

“what are you, a mermaid?” you snort

the boy looks offended, placing a hand against his chest and letting out a silent scoff

“sorry. i meant merman,” you roll your eyes. “better?”

you were only half-joking

but when the boy waves what looks like a fucking tail towards you, you nearly fall back

“WAIT!” you shriek

that better be a fucking costume

the boy laughs and he swims a bit away from the rock, only to do a backflip

that’s when you see that this boy is not really a boy

he’s a mythical mermaid???

with a sparkling turquoise tail and everything?? (on a side note, you have to appreciate the way it matches his hair)

okay

well

deep breath in

deep breath out

you were never one to say that mermaids existed

but you weren’t one to say that they didn’t exist either

okay

either you’re still dreaming or you just kinda befriended a mermaid—er, merman

“please tell me this is real!” you squeal, scooting closer to the waters so that your knees are submerged

when you were a kid and adults asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, you said a mermaid

as you grew older, society drilled in your head that mermaids only existed in disneyland

so that was that

until now, of course

the boy pops up from the ocean again and he hoists himself up on the rock right next to you

he’s shirtless as mermen go, but that’s the least of your interests now

his tail comes up with him and he gestures towards it, allowing you to touch the shiny scales

“it’s beautiful!” you breathe, running your hands over the surprisingly silky tail. “i better not be dreaming right now”

the boy laughs. he points at your legs curiously in response as if to say, ‘i better not be dreaming too’

“you’ve never met a human??”

the boy shakes his head. he looks at you like you’re the most special person on the planet. and it makes sense too because you’re the only human he’s probably communicated with in his life

“wow… i guess there’s a first time for everything…”

the boy nods enthusiastically

“are you even allowed to approach people?”

the boy grins as if to say, ‘mAyBe’

“poseidon or some dude with a trident’s not gonna zap me with lightning for talking to you right??”

just a safety precaution!!

the boy laughs boisterously, head thrown back and eyes squinted

“well… i guess not,” you smile

you’ve never really been friends with someone… not human…

if yoongi heard you talking about this merman, he might call the psych ward on you

or you’re just batshit crazy and you’ve been imagining this in your head

the boy points at you politely, cocking his head

“my name?”

he nods vigorously

“i’m y/n!” you tell him

‘y/n…’ he mouths with his lips but you can’t hear it

“what’s your name?”

the boy presses his lips together, then as if a light bulb went off in his head, he grins

he mouths his name to you, lips pursing and parting with exaggerated movements

you squint

“daeyoung??” you guess

the boy snorts, shaking his head

he mouths his name again but this time with more emphasis in the beginning

“ohhhh! i got it!” you say excitedly. “taeyoung!”

the merman holds up a number one and nods but shakes his head when he holds up two fingers

“the second part’s wrong??”

he nods

“uhhhhhh, tae… young… young… something that rhymes with young…”

“oh!!” you shriek, “TAEHYUNG!!”

the merman claps his hands together gleefully

“am i good or what??”

taehyung pats you on the back as if to congratulate you for figuring out his name

“thanks,” you grin. “hey do you come here often? you know, on this rocky ledge”

‘yup,’ taehyung mouths. ‘i’ve seen you before,’ he mouths slowly so you can understand him

“woah. you watched me?”

taehyung bashfully looks away

“it’s okay! it’s okay!” you say. “i just hope i wasn’t doing anything embarrassing… like picking my nose or something. i’m always alone here”

taehyung grins, wiggling his eyebrows. it’s as if he’s saying that yes, he did see you picking your nose that one time

“well it’s a human thing,” you argue. “you wouldn’t understand!”

taehyung giggles. ‘sure, sure,’ he seems like he’s saying

you huff. “in my defense, i didn’t know anyone was watching!”

taehyung gives you a look as if telling you that was the lamest excuse ever

“whatever, tae,” you scoff. “i’m just flattered that you thought i looked interesting in the first place”

the merman grins wildly, making it quite obvious he likes the new nickname you had given him. he shrugs his shoulders and pokes your arm playfully. ‘friend!’ he mouths enthusiastically

“you wanna be my friend?”

taehyung rapidly nods his head

“hmmMm…” you pretend to think. “i’m a bit swamped with friends at the moment…” you fib. in reality, you only have like two best friends (yoongi and yoongi’s bestie, hoseok). but it doesn’t hurt to lie a little to tease tae

the merman’s lips pull down in a slight frown

but you snort and slap his bare shoulder

“kidding!” you giggle. “why would i say no to being your friend?”

taehyung rolls his eyes but he grins happily. he looks at you expectantly, almost as if he’s asking when he can see you next time

damn

you’re starting to get the hang of reading taehyung’s expressions

“when can you see me next time?” you ask

taehyung nods

“well… finals are coming up… i reckon you don’t have mermaid school or whatever?”

taehyung shakes his head, grinning. ‘no school!’

“lucky,” you sigh. “but fuck finals!” you pump your fist in the air. “i’ll see you tomorrow!”

‘same time?’ taehyung inquires

“sure!”

the two of you shake hands to seal the deal

you would’ve spent hours on end talking to taehyung but he’s the one who points to the direction of the beach and mouths ‘you should sleep’

“i don’t need sleep!” you declare but unfortunately, that follows with an embarrassing yawn

taehyung gives you the look

“okay… maybe i do need sleep…”

taehyung giggles. he pushes your shoulder slightly, nudging you away from him

“and i can visit you tomorrow…” you reason

taehyung nods

“so maybe i should get sleep”

‘that’s it!” the merman laughs

so you say your lasting goodbyes and watch as taehyung dives away from the rock

when he’s gone, shining tail and all, you’re left dazed and confused

maybe you’ve been hallucinating???

welp

if you were hallucinating, you’ll figure it out tomorrow when a cute merman doesn’t come to meet you at night

for now, you just need sleep to digest everything that had just happened

okay

you just woke up

and now you’re more unsure than ever that this… taehyung exists

what if you were so stressed out yesterday

that you were literally… seeings things

yoongi keeps asking you if you’re okay because you spaced out TEN times in ONE conversation

you keep trying to convince him that you’re fine

but yoongi knows you so well that he knows you’re definitely NOT fine

“i’m just tired!!” you tell your best friend

yoongi sCOFFS “so am i but you don’t see me spacing out like i saw a unicorn last night”

eRrrr…

how do you tell yoongi that technically you did see something like a unicorn last night???

well

you won’t

because yoongi is a no-nonsense-old-fashioned-traditional-by-the-textbook-chemical-engineering-loving-student

he would never believe you

“wEll i’m sensitive!” you protest, crossing yours arms. “plus i’m still stressed about my art final”

“i thought you went to the beach to get inspiration!” yoongi points out

“errrrr…” you scratch your head. “i got distracted”

yoongi sighs. “aRt mAjOrs”

“excuse me, how dAre you???”

but yoongi just laughs it off, patting you on the back before announcing that he had to go study for his finals

you should be studying for your other finals too

but you end up doodling all over your notes

doodles of tAeHyuNg

every ten minutes, you force yourself to sTOP doodling to actually read your notes

but it never works

by night time, you’ve gotten nowhere

oh well

now you can go meet taehyung!!

if he exists…

what if your brain was actually playing games on you??

regardless, you swallow all sense of doubt and march out to the ocean

the beach is completely empty and you make use of the privacy, skipping along the sand and towards the rocky ledge

and sure enough, there’s no one there

hMph

okay

maybe taehyung’s late

no, wait you’re early

so you’re gonna wait for the merman

and if he doesn’t come in… ten minutes, you’ll just leave and deem yourself absolutely bonkers

waiting is really boring

you keep thinking at least five minutes passed every time you look at your phone for the time

but, in reality, it’s always been less than forty seconds

you go back and forth between looking at the time to looking at the dark waters

FOR FIVE WHOLE MINUTES

you’re starting to get ANTSY

and doubt starts to settle in

if yoongi knew what you were doing right now, he’d laugh at you

oh god…

should you just… leave?

THAT’S when you see a familiar bob of turquoise hair in the waters

you let out a little shriek, scooting closer to the edge of the rock

“taehyung??” you call out

the figure leaps in the air like a gracious dolphin and dives back down into the opaque waters

two seconds later, the familiar merman leans against the rocky ledge and grins up at you

‘hey,’ he seems to say with his sparkling eyes. ‘missed me?’

“UM, YES!” you say. “i was starting to think i was going crazy”

taehyung chuckles deeply, the sound reverberating against the calm ocean waves

“i was worried you wouldn’t be here”

taehyung raises his eyebrows as if to say, ‘why wouldn’t i be here??’

“i don’t know! self doubt? maybe you have some underground castle you wanna hang around with your friends and family rather than come up to the surface to hang with me!”

taehyung shakes his head, laughing. he points to himself and mouths the word, ‘solo’

“really?” you raise your eyebrows. “no family or friends?”

taehyung nods. ‘SOLO!’ he declares silently, grinning

“are all merfolk like that??”

the merman shrugs. ‘never seen another’

“oh gosh, you must be lonely,” you say. “here.” you pat the place next to you. “sit on the rock with me”

taehyung obliges but he protests he’s not lonely by shaking his head

“what do you do by yourself all the time, then?”

taehyung grins mischievously

out of the corner of your eye, you see bubbles of water rising up from the surface of the waves. you gasp as they begin to float in the air

“bubbles!” you reach out to pop one, laughing when the remnants of the water splash against your cheek

the merman nudges you as if to say, ‘but wait! there’s more!’

the next thing you know, a huge floating water bubble splashes above your head, drenching you from head to toe

“vEry funny!” you scoff, trying to shake the water off yourself

taehyung gives you another one of his cheeky grins. ‘sorry,’ he mouths, but he does not look apologetic at all

‘but look! i can dry it!’

he waves his fingers at you and instantly, your sopping wet hair and clothes are dried. there’s even a ocean breeze smell that lingers on you now

“do you go around splashing people with water bubbles and drying them right after?” you accuse taehyung teasingly

he laughs boisterously, shrugging his shoulders. ‘mAybE’ is his answer

“you spend a lot of time on the surface, huh?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘maybe’

“not much of a fish dude?”

‘they’re creepy,’ taehyung answers

you howl with laughter. “and scary! like sharks, viperfish, hatchetfish… oh god,” you shiver. “i hate them. i can’t swim in the ocean. and i know most of the scary-looking ones don’t even live in the same ocean zone”

taehyung pokes at you. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he mouths

“am not!! how are you creeped out by fish when you’re half fish??”

taehyung scoffs. ‘my tail…’ he gestures majestically at his sparkling tail, ‘is not a fish tail’

“sure… fishboy”

taehyung raises his eyebrows and raises his hand as if to threaten to splash you with a water bubble again

“i was only joking”

taehyung laughs, poking at you then pointing to the waters. ‘wanna swim, though?’

“are you serious? i just told you i’m terrified!”

taehyung pouts, his pink lips pulling down into a sad frown

“that’s not gonna make me change my mind, tae”

‘just for a little bit!’ he protests

“i don’t even have my goggles, i can’t swim without them! and i’m not going in water that’s pitch black”

taehyung sighs. ‘fine!’

“i’m really good at swimming in the pool though,” you say. “i mean, they used to call me a mermaid. because i was really good at dolphin kicking. but then i watched a few underwater documentaries… and nope. never again. i am not going in the same waters that goblin sharks live in”

to your surprise, taehyung teasingly pokes your cheek. ‘cute,’ he mouths. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he adds

“show anyone a goblin shark and they wouldn’t be able to get in the water for a year!” you huff in response

‘never seen one,’ tae sings—if you could hear him, you imagine his voice would sound as soft as lavender with just a drizzle of rich honey

“doesn’t mean they don’t exist!” you argue. “maybe one day i’ll swim with you. but definitely not today”

technically, you just met the man—er, merman

you’re not so sure if you can trust him to console you of your great fear of the ocean

maybe once you get to know him a little better

you see

you’re very quick to make friends

you probably have a lot of acquaintances

they all know your name and you know theirs

but you probably could not name three facts about any of them. and they probably couldn’t think of three facts about you either

so yes, you tend to have shallow relationships with many

but if you find people you like, you cling to them

like yoongi and hoseok

you just hope taehyung won’t be one of your acquaintances

he better be one of your best friends

how cool is it to say your best friend is a merman????

very cool

‘cool’ is just not a word to describe you as yoongi often likes to point out

but you’ll show him

you visit taehyung every day

for seven days

it’s been a full week

finals is closer than ever

you have like… five days to get your art final done

and you still haven’t gotten an idea

yikes

okay well you have an excuse

actually, you have excuses. plural.

because 1) you’ve forced yourself to fOrget about finals and 2) taehyung is wAy more interesting than any final you will ever take in your life

besides, all the time you spend on the beach is absolutely worth it

you and taehyung sometimes even meet before night falls, just before the sun’s setting so the two of you can prank the seagulls

(tae hates those little monsters-with-wings so he enjoys it a whole lot to dump water bubbles on their heads)

you help him prank the stupid birds by giving him moral support! that includes cheering him on when he successfully attacks an unsuspecting seagull and feeding him some cookies from your school cafeteria to keep him well-nourished

taehyung loves human food

he says he has to live off of clams and seaweed

which, isn’t all that bad (you love salted seaweed chips and clams), but imagine having a diet solely composed of seafood

yuck

so you bake kale chips for tae one day (nearly burning down the communal kitchen) and he enjoys it so much, for five days, you bring all sorts of good human food for him

by the end of the week, taehyung’s put on some pounds

you think he looks even more adorable with a bit of meat on his bones

taehyung just complains that his abs are starting to disappear

so one day, you bring a yoga mat and the two of you do some ab exercises off of youtube

of course, that led taehyung down the youtube rabbit hole

and once down that rabbit hole, it is very hard to resurface

after tae got ahold of gordon ramsay’s youtube channel, it’s all he watches when you come to the beach

in the end, you have to ban him from youtube because he almost took your phone underwater when you tried to get him to stop drooling over gordon ramsay and his incredible cooking skills

but taehyung prefers talking to you over watching youtube

at least you think

you hope

there is never a day you meet taehyung and it isn’t eventful

there’s always something to do with the fun-loving merman!

which makes it very, very easy to lose sight of iMporTAnt things… like, uh finals

so, today, five days before your art final is due, yoongi sits you down on your desk chair and sighs. “have you figured out your art final yet?”

it is a question that catches you off guard

“er… no”

“iSn’t it due in FIVE days???” yoongi shakes his head disapprovingly at you. “c’mon, y/n, don’t some artists take over a week to finish a painting??”

“well i can take uh, three days without sleeping if it really comes to that”

yoongi sighs. “you’ve been going to the beach every day. still no inspiration?”

“err… i got… distracted”

“do you want me to come with you today or something? so i can whip you back into shape and make sure you get properly inspired?” yoongi offers

“no!” you shout

yoongi raises his eyebrows

“i mean, um, no thank you, yoongs,” you stand up and pat yoongi’s head

he scowls at you

“i’ve got it all figured out!” you tell him very convincingly

but it is a lie

“rEally?” yoongi raises his eyebrows at you

“yes. don’t you worry, my friend.” you pat his head again

yoongi rolls his eyes. “okay, well, worse comes to worst, you can always use my terrific idea”

“never in a million years”

“oh well. wanna skip the beach today? i’m inviting hoseok over to watch a movie. you can come too, if you want”

“no can do,” you say, shaking your head. “i’m going swimming!” you hang your swim goggles in front of yoongi’s face

“in the dark?? in the ocean?? i thought you were afraid of gobbler sharks!”

“goblin sharks. not gobbler. and no. not anymore. i trust the waters now”

er, or, you trust taehyung

he’s been trying to convince you every day to swim with him

and every day you declined or made up some stupid excuse

but today is the day you will accept

you even prepared by wearing a bathing suit under your clothes

and you’re gonna bring your swim goggles

you’re so ready!!

you trust that taehyung won’t let the fish get to you

he promised and swore on his own beautiful tail

so he can’t possibly be lying

“oOokAyyyy…” yoongi says, giving you a strange look. “if you drown, can i have your comforter?”

“oh, shut up. i’m not gonna drown”

“sure”

you huff. “whatever, yoongs. have fun watching that movie with hoseok. i’m gonna get going”

“i will. just don’t drown or something”

“i won’t”

five minutes later, you’re terrified you’re going to drown

as you walk across the beach, you worry that you’re only walking to your death

what if you actually drown???

and taehyung can’t save you because the water’s so dark, he can’t even see you???

what if a jellyfish comes out of nOwHerE and stings you so hard you’re gonna be paralyzed forever????????

EVEN WORSE

WHAT IF THERE’S A GOBLIN SHARK OUT OF ITS HABITAT

WHAT IF IT BITES YOUR LEGS OFF????

ohmygod

you think you might die

taehyung’s waiting for you on the rocky ledge as he always does

but today, he has a shit-eating grin on his face

he looks at your goggles and nods. ‘today’s the day!!’

you grumble. “this is not helping my stress”

taehyung cocks his head

“i’m stressed because of college, tae. lucky you. you wouldn’t understand”

the handsome merman snorts. ‘i wouldn’t’

he pokes at you as if to say, ‘tell me what’s wrong’

you sigh, plopping yourself down on the rock and looking down at your feet

“i have a really important painting i have to finish in five days…” you groan. “and my professor gave me an art prompt, you know, something i need to interpret and draw. but i can’t, for the life of me, figure out what i wanna paint”

‘hMmm,’ taehyung hums. ‘what’s the prompt?’ he mouths

“what calls to me”

‘what calls to you?’

“ugh. yeah. horribly vague, isn’t it? my friend suggested i draw my mother coming out of a phone”

taehyung cocks his head, curiously

“yeah, it’s stupid. so i’m stuck. and the final’s due in five days. but i was totally forgetting about it until yoongi decided to bring it up. and now i’m stressed”

the merman giggles

“this isn’t funny!!” you protest

but the merman giggles again

when you give him a disdainful look, taehyung dives into the ocean and pops his head out, waving at you to come in

you sigh, staring at your goggles. reluctantly, you put them on

once you strip down to your swimsuit, you stare hesitantly at the opaque ocean. you crouch down just before the water, contemplating and contemplating

suddenly, something grabs your arm and you’re tugged into the ocean

you sCreAm bloody murder and voila, now salt and fish feces water is up your noise

how wonderful

but two strong hands hold your waist and you’re able to resurface

the water’s cold, but not freezing cold at least. and taehyung’s actually really warm against your skin

“you fucking dragged me in!!!” you shriek after coughing the water out of your lungs

you hit tae’s bare chest in agitation

the little shit just shrugs and grins at you

you huff, wrapping your legs tightly around taehyung’s hips. “if you let me go, my friends are going to find you and roast you. literally”

taehyung chuckles. ‘i won’t let you go,’ he seems to tell you with a meaningful look on his face

“you better not!” you tell him

he laughs at you, softly touching your forehead with the back of his hand. instantly, you feel much, much warmer. even cozier in the supposedly freezing waters

even the water weighing down the hair on your head feels lighter. when you reach out to touch it, you realize it’s completely dry

“woah,” you breathe. “that’s so cool…”

you forget that you’re even supposed to be mad at the merman

taehyung grins at you, petting your hair. ‘i know, right?’ he seems to say with his twinkling eyes

he motions at you to take your goggles off

“what?? are you crazy? i can’t survive without these! i am not opening my eyes in salt water, tae”

the merman shakes his head, laughing. ‘it won’t sting your eyes’

“why? did you put a magical charm on me or something?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘mAyBe’

you sigh, skeptical

‘i’m trying to help,’ tae mouths. ‘it’s for your art final’

you raise your eyebrows doubtfully

‘i’m serious’

“why, is there something cool underwater?”

taehyung nods. ‘you need your eyes open’

you wrap your legs tighter around the merman. “so… you’re gonna show me… something underwater… that will help me with my art final??”

the merman nods enthusiastically

he ruffles your hair and pinches your cheek. ‘trust me’

ohhHHhhh if you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t be clinging onto him for life right now

“promise you won’t let me go??”

‘promise’

you hold out your pinky for taehyung

he cocks his head. ‘what is that for?’

“pinky promise??”

‘hmm?’

oh man

that might just be a human thing

silly you

“oH uh, nEver mInd th—”

you try to retract your pinky but taehyung stops you

he slowly pulls up his own hand, his pinky jutting out awkwardly

‘like this?’ he questions, poking at your pinky with his

you have to stifle a laUgh

“um, not quite,” you say. “you have to wrap your pinky around mine. yeahh, like that. and then it’s a pinky promise! it’s practically illegal to break a pinky promise”

taehyung nods. ‘i won’t break it’

“okay good! uh…” you look warily at the dark waters. “what is it that you wanted to show me?”

taehyung grins. suddenly, you’re submerged underwater again and you let out a scream

but you can’t hear yourself

not because you’re choking on the water, no

it seems like… you can breathe????? UNDER THE WATER????

you hug taehyung tighter and try to scream at him to stop plunging you in the ocean without a warning

but no sound comes out of your lips

‘taehyung!” you shriek soundlessly

“open your eyes, y/n…” a deep, resonate voice tells you

you nearly gasp in shock

was that… was that taehyung’s voice? his speaking voice????????

“it’s okay… you’re protected under a charm,” his mellifluous tone soothes you. “you’re able to breathe underwater, y/n. but you won’t be able to speak.” he laughs, which sounds very familiar to your ears. “how the tables have turned!”

‘taehyung!!!’

“how good it feels to finally speak to you!!” taehyung laughs. “you don’t have to hold me in a vice grip anymore,” he snorts. “i won’t let you go. we pinky promised, remember?”

you groan in your head. ‘i-i can’t. i can’t do it, tae’

“aww, y/n…” you hear taehyung softly pet your hair. “take your time”

‘i can’t open my eyes. i-i’m sorry’

you can see the blackness through your eyelids. and there is no way in hell you’re going to open them

fine, you trust taehyung. and sure, the water may not sting your eyes

and on top of all that, you can fucking breathe underwater thanks to tae, but no

you’re still scared

you’re scared of what you’re gonna see

or what you won’t see because the ocean is probably pitch black

you just try to focus on taehyung’s beautiful, deep voice. it seems to reverberate through the ocean waves even after the sound hits your ears

“it’s okay,” he says. “don’t be sorry.” he holds you tighter against his bare chest. “you don’t have to see what i wanna show you anyway”

you make a confused grunt sound in the back of your throat

“you can hear it”

‘what???’

but of course taehyung can’t hear you. nor can he see you with your chin resting on his shoulder

“what calls to you, huh?” taehyung says in his syrupy voice. “i have a good idea”

then, to your utmost shock, he begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your listening ears

and gently caresses your lips

there lies a great ocean

the waves undulate under the dark sky

under these waters

is a lonely merman

he longs, waits for a friend

a lover,

anyone who will save him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the great ocean lies

where the waves undulate under the dark sky

where the lonely merman waits

under these dark waters”

your insides melt

taehyung’s honey voice entrances you and you squeeze you eyes shut even tighter

a rush of inspiration washes over you

you shiver

oh god

you didn’t have to open your eyes after all

you don’t have to see it to feel the immense amount of emotion, love, sincerity interwoven to taehyung’s song

it’s the most beautiful music you’ve heard in your life

and it pains you that taehyung’s stopped singing

you’re speechless, pulling away from taehyung so he can read your lips. ‘that… that was so beautiful…’

“thanks,” taehyung chuckles deeply. “i sing that song a lot when i’m bored”

‘your voice…’

“i know. too bad i can only sing underwater, right? if i could do this on the surface, i’d serenade you all day every day”

‘i’ll come underwater with you,’ you mouth before you can stop yourself

then you pause

well

you suppose being underwater isn’t so bad

it’s just dark since your eyes are closed

but you’re warm in taehyung’s arms

and you can even breathe too

if you can hear taehyung’s voice and hear him sing, then surely, that is a tiny sacrifice you can make

“you’re gonna come underwater with me?? again??” taehyung seems in disbelief. “you already seem uncomfortable now!”

‘no i’m not!’

and to prove it, you force your eyes open

immediately, you’re so taken aback, your grip on taehyung loosens

the merman catches you before you slip away

‘o-oh…’ you breathe

the ocean is not as dark as you had imagined it

in fact, there is a halo-like light that surrounds taehyung

it illuminates his face, his hair, his whole body

he is like a walking—er, swimming—star

the light shines further out into the dark seas, making the water sparkle

‘oh…’ you breathe again

“nothing to be scared about right?” taehyung snorts. “scaredy-cat”

he bops you on the nose

you’re so in awe, you don’t even mind

“are you inspired now?”

oh!! right!! your art final!!

you were almost distracted again (even after taehyung just dangled the answer in front of your face!!)

RIGHT!

TAEHYUNG JUST HELPED YOU SOLVE YOUR ART FINAL FIASCO PROBLEM

YOU’RE SO INSPIRED YOU COULD PAINT FOURTEEN HUNDRED PAINTINGS RIGHT NOW

your fingers feel tingly

and your head whirls with ideas

taehyung’s voice, his song, his whole being…

it calls to you

omg

he just saved your ass

in one single song!!!

‘god, i’m so happy i could kiss you!’

and you’re not even joking

“kiss me??” taehyung seems taken aback, but he grins. “kiss?”

the way he seems curious about it, you’re not quite sure he even knows what that is

‘do you… do uh, merfolk kiss?’ you ask cautiously

taehyung smiles. “let’s find out”

his eyes sparkle as both of you begin to lean into each other

you take it slowly, admiring his alabaster skin, pink cheeks and rosy lips

he stares into your eyes and gently tucks your hair behind your ear

right before you move in to kiss his lips, he leans in to rest his forehead against yours

taehyung’s eyes flutter close and he sighs as you stay still in his arms, confused

but you decide to go with the flow, keeping your foreheads together as you close your eyes too

it’s an intimate moment

you, resting your forehead against his while under the same ocean you were once so scared of

you, feeling emotionally attached to a merman

you, dreaming of kissing taehyung. properly. you know, on the lips and whatnot

when taehyung finally pulls away, he grins

“wasn’t that a nice kiss?” he whispers, touching your cheeks and giggling just at the thought of it

yikes

how do you break it to him

that forehead touching is not really… the kissing you were thinking of

‘well…’ you giggle. ‘in the human world… um…’

“in the human world…?”

‘we kiss with our lips’

“oh!” taehyung exclaims. he scratches his head. “lips????”

‘like this!’

with that, you tug him into a kiss. a proper one this time

he melts in your arms, sighing as he leans forward and instinctively closes his eyes

you let yourself relax too

and god what the fuck

his lips feel so soft

is there a special ocean chapstick he uses???

does he use some special sand as a lip scrub??????

and even though he probably hasn’t kissed the human way before,,,

man he knows what he’s doing

it makes you think for a hot second

damn

you’re making out with a merman

… under the sea

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

this is what your life has become

and honestly, you can’t complain

taehyung’s the first to pull away, panting slowly. “i didn’t think my breath could ever be taken away,” he grins cheesily

‘you’re welcome,’ you grin back, slightly breathless yourself

“so… now that i’ve given you amazing inspiration… don’t you need to write it down somewhere?”

‘oh!’ you gasp. ‘right!’

you need to get started on painting as soon as possible!!! you can’t ever forget the feeling of taehyung… singing for you. but something about painting it when the memory’s fresh promises the best results

what calls to you…

you smile

a goddamn merman!!

literally

you’re so gonna ace this art final

you paint nonstop for four days

although you want to, you can’t even visit the beach

because you absolutely HATE it when your workflow is stopped

so you have to keep on painting until you finish

you force yoongi to go out on the beach and lay some cookies on your special rocky ledge. he frowns at your strange directions

“i dOn’T thInK yOu sHouLd fEeD tHe sEaGuLlS, y/N. iT’s gOnNa iNtErRuPt tHe eCoLoGicAl bAlaNce,” yoongi says very knowledgeably

oh god

you tell him to shut up

he pats your head and walks out toward the beach with the cookies

at least he doesn’t ask questions

you just hope taehyung takes the cookies as an apology

you don’t want him to think after you kissed him, you ditched him!! you’re just busy with your art final!!!

so you also make yoongi sneak in a note and a slice of cake the next time

except yoongi comes back in ten minutes and aSks: “WHO’S TAEHYUNG???”

you gulp

but you pretend you can’t hear yoongi as you continue painting on your canvas

the perfect, bright turquoise color was very hard to recreate with paints, but you somehow managed. you just need to add some finishing touches and your beautiful painting of your merman friend will be finished

you know yoongi secretly admires your art skills, but he laUghs when he sees you painting a merman

“is that a siren???”

“no—”

“a mermaid, then?”

“a merman,” you say. “and he’s singing the most beautiful song in the history of songs”

yoongi laughs. “sure, sure. looks nice, though.” he steps closer to the canvas. “really like what you did with his facial structure or whatever. and his hair color. pretty tail too. i did not know you had the capacity to imagine that hard”

you huff. well, technically… you didn’t imagine that. but you’re not going to admit it with yoongi

“i’m more talented than you think,” you snort, stretching back and picking at the paint dried to your fingers. “if i close my eyes, i can almost hear him sing to me”

“um, i think you fell in love with your own painting,” yoongi snorts

“oh, leave me alone”

yoongi raises up two hands in defense. “okay, well, the final’s due tomorrow, right? are you done?”

“well…” technically, yes. but… “i’m gonna go to the beach”

“wait a minute, with your painting??? dude, what if a seagull snatches it away? what if the paint chips? leave your painting! that’s your final”

“i’ll be careful!”

“your idea of careful is reckless”

you sigh. “well, i’ll be extra careful!”

yoongi can’t argue with you after that. 1) because he knows you’re stubborn and won’t give up and 2) because when you say you’re gonna be extra with anything, you go all out

you take nearly twenty minutes getting to the beach because you walk very slowly with your painting in both hands. you hold the painting above your head so sand won’t fly onto it

and you check out for those nasty seagulls because sometimes they decide to shit on people’s heads

if they decide it’s a good day to shit on your final, it’s over

nevertheless, you need to show your masterpiece to taehyung

when you get to the rocky ledge, you call for the merman

in just a few seconds, taehyung pops up his head from under the water

“were you waiting for me?” you laugh. “did you get the cookies and cake i sent?”

taehyung nods, grinning as he begins to swim toward you. he points curiously at the canvas in your hands

“it’s my art final,” you explain to him. you turn it around so taehyung can see it

he gasps

‘that’s me???’

“yup”

‘you didn’t draw my abs!!’

“well, can’t draw what you don’t have,” you giggle, teasing the pouting merman. he huffs

‘i like it, though’

“reallY??” you gush. “that’s all i wanted to hear!!”

you set the painting down carefully to the side and scoot closer to the rocky ledge

taehyung rests his hand on your forehead before cupping your cheek. he grins before cocking his eyebrows and pulling your head underwater

‘taehyung!!!’ you shriek

“i just wanted to tell you how beautifully you drew me,” taehyung laughs, booping your nose. “i mean, i’m much, much better looking in real life, but the colors. you’re very talented, y/n”

you smile. ‘well, i did try really har—”

taehyung interrupts you by kissing you. he misses your lips the first time and gets the corner of your mouth, but the second time, his lips meet yours perfectly

the heavenly moment would’ve lasted wayyy longer if it weren’t for the:

“Y/N, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STICKING YOUR HEAD IN THE WATER???”

you let out a silent shriek and taehyung’s eyes widen. both of you break apart from the kiss and taehyung suddenly dives deep down into the ocean

and right when the merman is out of your range, you can’t breathe nor see clearly in the ocean anymore

when you get your head out of the waters, you’re a choking, coughing mess

you wipe away the droplets of water streaming down your face before you look up to see yoongi

“are you bobbing for fish in the ocean?” yoongi snorts. “for fuck’s sake, y/n, you can’t just leave your art final around like this!”

your best friend picks up your precious painting of taehyung and sighs. “what were you doing?”

“i, uh…” you touch your lips. “i was… uh… i dropped my ring in the water”

yoongi narrows his eyes. “you don’t even wear jewelry”

“okay fine. i was just trying to meet the merman of my dreams underwater”

at that, yoongi raises his eyebrows. “cool,” he says

“cool??” is that all he had to say?

“well, yeah. mermaids are cool”

“merman”

“whatever”

yoongi’s so chill with it that you’re unchill

“are you sure??” you say.

“am i sure that it’s whatever?” yoongi snorts. “yes? c’mon, let’s go watch a ocean life documentary with hoseok or something. finals is gonna be over soon, so we should celebrate starting now”

okay well

cool

this is chill then

yoongi is chill

you suspect he doesn’t believe you, even though you told him the truth

you could probably tell him that you kissed taehyung, a merman, but he would probably laugh it off

your best friend is quite strange. no-nonsense. sensible. rational.

but you love those things about him

yoongi helps you carry your art final back to the dorms. but just before you step off the rocky ledge, you turn around

taehyung’s waving at you very discreetly, so you smile and wave back

yoongi never notices a single thing

welp

it’s over now

finals is over

which means,,, IT’S BEACH TIME

unfortunately, everyone in the whole fucking school think’s it’s beach time too

even late at night, there are still a few idiots on the beach drinking the last of the beer they stashed away

it’s hard to meet taehyung just because the lack of privacy

you wait and wait and wait on the rocky ledge, but you know, with so many people, taehyung probably wouldn’t want to come out of hiding

it’s one thing for a merman to trust one girl

it’s another for a merman to trust fifty rowdy college students

but you have a feeling taehyung is always close by

you visit the rocky ledge every day, singing some of your own little songs (though you’re not a very good singer, you try)

you even talk to taehyung like he’s there, listening to you

but it starts to get lonely

there are so many people on the beach, but the one being you want isn’t here

you sigh, wiggling your toes that have become pruned due to the salty water. “i never thought i’d be saying this,” you say. “but i miss finals week”

taehyung would have laughed if he was with you now

god, you miss him

“or maybe you’re in the water right now, waiting for me to jump in…”

you sigh again. “or maybe you’ve migrated or something. do you even have to migrate? i have no idea…” you trail off, looking at the blue waters lapping at the sides of the rock

cautiously, you dip one foot in

the water’s cool, but not completely freezing

you dip the other foot in

okay

you can do this

you’ll just…

jump in

and if taehyung’s not underwater, you’ll just… leave for the day

you’re supposed to hang out at a computer cafe with yoongi and hoseok anyway

okay deep breath in

deep breath out

goblin sharks don’t even live near the shallow part of the ocean… right?????

so you’re safe, right????

unless there’s a lemon shark or something

oh fucking god

you shouldn’t have watched that ocean documentary with your friends

but the need to see taehyung surpasses everything

you close your eyes

pinch your nose with your fingers

and you JUMP

and immediately you gasp because fuck the water’s cold

lowkey, your heart nearly stops because of the sudden rush of cool water surrounding your whole body

and right when you think you should swim back to the surface, a pair of strong arms hold you, and a soft hand taps at your forehead

“hello, you”

‘TAEHYUNG!’ you open your eyes and see your favorite merman staring at you

“the beach is crowded these days, isn’t it?” he grins

‘i know! pesky people!’

taehyung laughs. “i made another song while you were gone. nice singing, by the way. i heard you a couple days ago”

you flush. ‘i can’t sing! but um, can i hear your new song?’

taehyung nods, clearing his throat

he holds your hands to his chest and begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your waiting ears

and gently kisses your lips

there lies a beautiful ocean

the waves ripple beneath the awakened sky

under these waters

is a happy merman

he’s found his friend,

his lover,

his treasure that has saved him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the beautiful ocean rests

where the waters ripple beneath the awakened sky

where the happy merman lives

under these sparkling waters”

‘you changed the lyrics!!’

taehyung nods. “i think it’s much more fitting, don’t you think?”

the two of your resurface from the waters, gripping each other tightly

your hair is completely dry and it blows in the light breeze

the sunlight warms your face and turns taehyung’s cheeks even rosier

oh god

your heart skips a beat

but you try to calm down before you wrap your arms around taehyung’s neck and pull him close

the moment your forehead touches his, you close your eyes and it feels like there’s nothing else in the ocean, on the beach, except you and taehyung

the two of you may never speak out loud in the same place as you’re kept silent in the ocean and taehyung’s kept silent on land

but...

sometimes, you don’t even need words

gazes, actions, little touches here and there

they speak in louder volume than words

you don’t even have to say you love taehyung. he doesn’t have to say it either

it’s as if both of your hearts, your actions proved it

masterlist

#ficswithluv #btswritersnet #btswriterscollective #bangtanfairygarden #bangtanidx #tae #taehyung #kim taehyung #taehyung imagine #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fanfiction #bts #bts fanfiction #resonance #the way this was supposed to be posted in october #➖👄➖just gonna pretend it was supposed to be posted in nov all along #anyways #something new! a bullet fic 😳

97 notes · View notes

365days365movies · 3 years

Text

April 8, 2021: Swiss Army Man (2016) (Recap: Part One)

Don’t think about the Boy who Lived.

Daniel Radcliffe is a talented actor with a wider range than he’s given credit for. He’s been working since childhood, and has picked up quite a lot over time. While most famous for...a certain role that will go unnamed...he famously started his stage career in 2007 with the musical Equus, and that later progressed to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Endgame.

Meanwhile, he also made appearances of television in varied roles, live-action and animated. He started his career in an adaptation of David Copperfield in 1999, voiced a character on The Simpsons three separate times, hosted Saturday Night Live in 2012, and also currently has an excellent role in the anthology series Miracle Workers.

And MEANWHILE, he also had quite the robust film career, especially after...the role which shall not be named. There were a few films made during that time period, like December Boys and The Woman in Black, but most of his time was understandably taken up, as was his public image. That, of course, ends in 2011. The first time I saw him in a role outside he who shall not be named was in the film Kill Your Darlings, about the collegiate career and romance in the life of famous gay poet Allen Ginsburg. It was very good!

The same year, 2013, he starred in Horns, a unique fantasy film that I considered watching for Fantasy March. His film career would be full of ups (The F Word, Trainwreck, Lost in London) and downs (Victor Frankenstein, Now You See Me 2, Playmobil: the Movie oh God REALLY JESUS). And right in the middle of those came one of his most famous weird roles. And that’s today’s focus. And I’ve been wanting to watch it for YEARS. And while we’re talking about him, let’s talk about this film’s other star: Paul Dano.

Dano’s career also began young, and in the opposite way to Radcliffe’s: in theatre first. After a stint on Broadway at the age of 12 (GODDAMN) in Inherit the Wind, as well as several other productions, he transitioned to film in 2000, around the same time that Radcliffe started as well. Eventually, he gained acclaim with his role in Little Miss Sunshine, and then...anybody else in the mood for a milkshake right about now?

Yeah, I haven’t seen that movie, but I really should this year. Consider it on my list...at some point. I’ll figure it out. Anyway, Dano’s role in There Will Be Blood only increased his acclaim, and found him acting in a number of indie films. Dano’s definitely not a blockbuster guy, but that’s not to say that he completely avoids them either. He’s been in Knight and Day, Cowboys and Aliens, and Looper, which all fall under that category. And except for the last one...they aren’t especially good, either.

But again, he was also in 12 Years a Slave, Okja, Wildlife, Where the Wild Things Are, and Meek’s Cutoff, and all of those were critically acclaimed, and some almost reached blockbuster status themselves. So I don’t really know how to feel about his upcoming role as...the Riddler.

Yeah, we’ll see, but I’m holding my breath. Dano’s great, and I love the Riddler, but...I dunno. Like I said, we’ll see. But in the meantime, that’s enough navel-gazing. Let’s watch Swiss Army Man! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

We begin at sea. If you have thalassophobia, this is already terrifying for you. After seeing many plastics floating on the ocean, covered in written messages, we make our way to a deserted island, where Hank Thompson (Paul Dano) is committing suicide after being stranded there for so long.

However, as he does, he spies someone lying on the beach. The rope snaps, and Hank runs over to greet the body, hoping that he isn’t dead. Unfortunately, after a very loud burst of flatulence, it’s pretty damn clear that this is a dead body. And yes, this is Daniel Radcliffe, but I’ll introduce him formerly when the time comes.

Hank’s sad that the guy isn’t alive, but still speaks to him about his hopes and dreams in the past. He’d always wanted a life of parties and friends and love, and imagined that he’d see that kind of life in a flash before he died. Instead, he only saw the body, who responds with yet another fart. But with that, Hank goes back to trying to hang himself.

And as he does...the body keeps interrupting with its INSANE gas. Like, it’s so bad that the body keeps shaking as if it were alive. The body washes into the sea, and its flatulence begins to propel it away from the shore. Hank sees this, and he uses the humming he was doing to make the Intro Song, which is strangely mesmerizing? Like, literally soundtrack-worthy, I’m not kidding. He also grabs a piece of his noose, uses it to grab onto the body, and rides it as the farts propel them both far away from the beach. It’s absolutely absurd...and kind of great. And then the titles play.

Hank wakes up on the short of a different island, or possible a larger land mass, and is overjoyed by the change in scenery. He shouts his name to the world, and credits the body with his rescue. No longer stranded in the Pacific, as far as we know, he tries to use his phone, to no avail. He decides to head out and look for help, grabbing a bag of Cheetos that washed up alongside them, bids the body farewell...and then comes back for it.

Carrying the farting body on his back (and kind of treating him as if he’s alive), he wanders through the forest to find help. He wonders if the gas is the result of decomposition (likely, if excessive), or if its the body’s soul leaving it. Either way, the trudge forward. They settle in a cave for the night, as it rains heavily outside. As Hank is want to do, he hums to himself, and shares more of his personal life with the body, as he sings to it. And yeah, I’ve been linking to these songs, because the soundtrack is genuinely fascinating to me.

Morning comes, and Hank awakes to a raccoon prying at the body, which he subsequently chases for food. In his desperation for food and water, he’s once again about to leave the body in the cave, but notices it leaking copious amounts of water from its mouth, which it had collected from the cave walls overnight. And yes...he drinks it. Which is absolutely disgusting when you think about it, which I now choose NOT to.

In the process, Hank squeezes the body for more water, and air escapes his mouth in such a way that it sounds like it’s speaking a name: Manny (Daniel Radcliffe). From that, Hank gets the body to speak his name and a simple greeting, but grows frustrated from the inability of the body to speak properly. This leads to him being a bit abusive towards him, reminding him unfavorably of his own father. Ooh, character revelations, me like.

Anyway, he apologizes to Manny for treating him that way...and Manny responds. Which FREAKS HANK THE FUCK OUT, understandably, and he punches Manny and flees the cave. As he comes back, Manny is indeed speaking outright, which is either a miracle or Hank just straight-up hallucinating. Either way, Hank asks Manny to try and remember his past life, but all he can get is the vague recollection of the Jurassic Park theme song. But Manny can’t remember the movie itself, which is when Hank says the most correct line ever said in all of film.

You’re goddamn right. Anyway, from, there, Hank tries to teach Manny about the ways of the world, and the nature of life and death. And the resulting conversation is absolutely fuckin’ ridiculous, and I love it all. Through the process, Manny learns about the world, and Hank asks him to help get home.

In the process, Manny inadvertently insults Hank, causing to walk off and once again look for help, only to eat poison berries and throw up for a sec. The two reunite, and their conversation turns to the topic of sex. See, there are some magazines in the cave that they’re in, which prompts some questions about women, sex, and love. To both of their surprise, this conversation causes Manny’s heart to beat! Spurred on, Hank continues, and Manny’s heart appears to reawaken...as does his penis. That’s a link to the soundtrack, I promise.

Hank and Manny both freak out, as his little Manny seems to have a mind (and motility) of its own. But in the ever absurd nature of this movie’s premise, this too has a secondary function: it’s a compass. Yup. And that prompts the next step of their journey, which is full of a conversation about fetishes and masturbation. Yeah, Hank’s surprised about that, too.

This leads to a conversation about his parents, as well as somewhat traumatic parts of his childhood, including his mother’s premature death. This makes Hank upset, and he lashes out at Manny, who briefly returns to being dead until Hank apologizes. As they go on, however, they encounter another denizen of the forest: a bear. This causes the two to fall off a cliff, and causes Hank’s phone to fall out of his pocket and turn on, allowing Manny to see the picture of a girl on his background.

Manny’s enraptured by the picture, and constantly asks to see her again, as Hank continues to struggle for food. The problem is that Hank needs to conserve the power on the phone, but Manny asks if Hank can dress up as the girl in order to help him remember, and bring him back to life to help save them both. He does so reluctantly, but Manny calls him beautiful, to which Hank reacts positively. This not only helps Manny come to life a little more, but also leads Hank to shave to look more convincing for Manny...and possibly for Hank, too.

As these two engage on a fake date and create a fake bus (while Manny listens to a fake self-sung cover of Cotton Eye Joe that I’m putting on my playlist), this is a good time to mention the one thing I know about this movie...maybe. I don’t quite remember where I heard this, but I have heard that this film is possibly a commentary on the transgender experience, or at the very least that Hank is transgender, but hasn’t come to terms with that as of yet. Now, I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I have heard that, and I’m definitely interested to see if that’s the direction this goes. This scene definitely seems to somewhat confirm this theory. Also, I will say (as I have said before when watching The Danish Girl), I’m a straight dude of the cissexual sort, so this is in NO WAY in my wheelhouse, but I still figured I’d mention it.

We’re also at the halfway point now, so this would seem like a good time to pause for Part 2! See you there!

#swiss army man #daniel scheinert #daniel kwan #daniel scheinert and daniel kwan #the daniels #daniel radcliffe #paul dano #mary elizabeth winstead #comedy april #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365days365movies #365 movies a year #moviegifs #tusernyx #userpayel #usermike

19 notes · View notes

halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

TLTNL- DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES

Lily's dark red hair could have actually been set ablaze and she wouldn't have noticed as she held Remus' gaze, her hand held out expectantly. Careful of each move he made, he passed it to her like a loaded gun, all eyes now on her as she started in as clear a voice as she could manage. She cared about Sirius like her own adopted, annoying as piss little brother, but only for the past three years or so. She had not a clue how to help any of them with a grief ten times her own, but damn it all, she was going to read her part and hope the universe would just do one kind thing for her and let this be the chapter with an answer already, they weren't going to last much longer without finding out what happened to him!

Harry got clumsily onto his horse, hampered by the beast still trying to lick his robes.

"Snack for the road," Sirius agreed.

"You really are lucky these things have been dealing with Hagrid all their life, otherwise that would be going an entirely different way," Remus muttered, but since they were all right next to each other they heard anyways and simply chose to ignore him.

He tried to get comfortable on the boney back, finding little notches behind the wing joints he could secure his feet in.

"You've even got practice from Buckbeak," James agreed, hardly believing his own words, that this was his son's life.

Around him, Neville was clinging to the Thestrals neck threatening to strangle the beast though it seemed not to mind, Luna was sitting sidesaddle as if she did this every day,

"Maybe she does," Sirius shrugged, now picturing her house with a herd of unicorns on the property, it fit her anyways.

while the other three were watching them with open mouths.

"I can imagine," Lily agreed. Even with Harry's descriptive depictions of them, all she could see in her mind was three of them apparently sitting on top of nothing, and sympathizing more with the other three.

He impatiently asked what they were waiting for, and Ron pointed out they could hardly get on something they couldn't see.

Luna slipped off with ease and guided them each to one, helping them feel secure before she got back astride her own.

Ron kept running his hand along the silky mane, stating how mad this was, if only he could see it this would be slightly less mad!

Harry told him he'd better hope they stayed invisible.

Lily spluttered as she looked around desperately to him, but Harry couldn't find it in him to apologize for the bleak words, as he still wasn't sure if they remained true.

Then he told his Thestral to head to the Ministry of Magic, visitors entrance in London.

There was only a moment's hesitation, before he was launched into the air to a bright red sunset.

Harry couldn't feel that errant fascination. He could picture it, sitting around trying to pick their brains apart wondering the how's and why's a Thestral was able to do this, a magical ability or some inner bred trait...but he could not find the words to start anything of the sort.

On they soared, the air tearing through them at high velocity as the castle quickly faded in the background, the Thestrals taking them across wide mountains and soon even across tiny villages.

Ron was still shouting for all to here how bizarre this was, and Harry imagined it would be worse for those who were seemingly going along with this without support.

"Oi, Prongs, what about an invisible broom?" Sirius launched at him what was clearly an old thing between them, Sirius loved offering him new broom designs even if they only did appear on paper for now.

James still had to take a slow, careful breath to make sure he wouldn't start panicking again if he unclenched his throat before agreeing, "I can't believe we never thought of that. As often as we lived under the Cloak."

Night fell, the world around them turning into nothing but a sea of lights whenever they passed over a town now, and Harry cared nothing for it, still more concentrated on his scar and any foreign feelings. He still had nothing to go on, no jubilation or triumph, not even the burn he'd felt when Mr. Weasley had been attacked.

Lily's eyes burned, her throat like its own heavy weight trying to force her not to say those words. She just didn't want to believe this was happening...

Time flew by as fast as the beasts, who barely flapped their wings as fast as they traveled.

Sirius clenched his fists, it was getting harder all the time to hold onto his acceptance of this happening to him. Last time Harry had gone through a sensation like this he'd been speeding towards Order headquarters, to safety, now he was pelting into danger all for him, it wasn't right he'd never seemed to have done anything for Harry's life except cause him more trouble.

Harry's inner mind still arguing back and forth if he had time...but Sirius was still fighting, he could feel it; but if Sirius cracked...he'd know!

Lily could only read Harry's internal fight in a whisper, her voice would go no stronger, he just had to be right, Sirius would be okay...

This went on until the new sensation of the Thestral leaning down, and Harry slid forward almost onto its neck at such a fast descent.

Sirius muttered anxiously, as if he'd been hoping Harry would never get to this point. The others ignored him. Despite the fear clinging to them for Harry finally arriving, this had been what they'd been wanting, hoping for, Harry was going to save him just like he had so many others.

He thought he heard a shriek behind him and twisted around dangerously,

Lily's eyes nearly fell out of her head she jumped so hard, kept reading fast as she could, she knew Harry wasn't collapsing on himself just by her forceful tone, the promise of an immediate answer.

but could see no sign of a falling body . . . presumably they had all received a shock from the change of direction, just as he had.

Harry had still shook anew as he all too easily pictured it, that really could have been one of his friends and what would he have done? Stopped trying to get Sirius and go help them? The question was unbearable with no answer.

The lights below were flooding his vision now, coming in quickly until buildings were discernable, and then the Thestral gave a surprisingly light landing right next to the old vandalised telephone box.

James was having to fight off the urge to start screaming in frustration all over again. Of the last time Harry had been here, and how this was somehow unbelievably worse, far more precious than school expulsion.

Ron stumbled off of his at once, staggering around as if drunk while muttering never again, only to collide with yet another Thestral he couldn't see and stating never, ever again!*

Sirius' whole body was still shaking, and he wanted to pretend just for a moment it was all for Ron's unintentional humor right there at the poor lads expense.

Hermione and Ginny got off with just a bit more dignity, while the other three dismounted and looked at Harry expectantly, Luna asking what next as if this were a day trip.

"I really do like this one," Sirius politely informed Harry. "You clearly need her around more, never met a more level headed person."

Harry gave him an even look, considering no one had seemed to appreciate Hermione trying to keep her head while he was losing his, but the difference was fair, Luna was going along while keeping herself in check where as to them it felt as if Hermione was only hurting them more than helping them until it came down to it.

He gave his Thestral a quick, grateful pat,

Remus felt somewhere in him the gratitude as well, never failing to notice Harry's care for creatures that many wouldn't have given a passing glance to in this situation.

and went over to the telephone box, all of them cramming inside, and Ron having to bend his arm awkwardly to reach it while Harry told him the numbers to activate it.

"How on Earth did you remember that almost a year later?" Sirius demanded.

"It was a rather memorable day," Lily reminded when Harry's jaw was trembling too hard to figure his own response.

The welcoming voice greeted them and again asked who they were and to state their business.

Harry prattled off who all was in here quickly,

"Would have been an awkward moment if you'd suddenly realized you didn't know someone's last name," Sirius pointed out.

"Padfoot I swear-" James scowled at him for the near constant interruptions now when he just wanted to hear of him walking back out of this place.

Sirius just smirked, he wasn't going to stop and Prongs wasn't going to make him, his talking was the most reassurance he could offer them he was fine.

Remus sadly chose to indulge him as well, saying, "I'm just impressed Harry didn't try to say it was only him. It wouldn't have worked, the magic would register them all, but it's interesting he's not even thought of cheating the system even now."

"Truly Lily's Fawn," Sirius chuckled, never having more appreciated the blend of his best mate and the wife in this kid, and all the more fascinated he'd grown as such without having them around.

and said they were trying to save someone unless the Ministry wanted to do it first!

"Don't encourage them," Lily shivered, as that's all they needed, to get Sirius out of one danger only for him to be executed on the spot by some Ministry fool.

The voice thanked them and let six pins slide out of the slot again, Harry saw the top most one said his name and Rescue Mission.

Sirius managed an awkward kind of laugh they had a badge for that, though he was sure it was much simpler and the voice only reprinted the 'business.'

He was again warned to have his wand checked in the Atrium, and the moment Harry impatiently agreed the lift was moving.

Down below, the great hall was empty, not a soul in sight, even the grates had gone dark.

Lily's innards gave another squeeze, the pain as if fresh all over again. The visitors entrance should have been closed after visiting hours, the security guard should have at once noted their entrance. Impossibly, this was feeling more dangerous by the word.

Harry was once again wished a pleasant evening by the woman's voice,

"So do I," Sirius muttered, unable to think of the consequences if they weren't.

and the door opened to the great sight of the fountain.

"I have been wondering what Hermione would think of that thing," Sirius mock cheered.

James wrapped his arm tight around Sirius, to pull him in even closer, and try to muffle him for just a moment.

Harry disregarded it and ran right past, also going straight to the lifts without being stopped because the guards seat from before was vacant.

Whatever composure Sirius had once held finally slipped away, his breath came out in a hiss that may well have been his last. "Hermione was right."

"Sirius?" James demanded in concern.

"This is a set up," Lily was almost too horrified to whisper the words. "There should always be someone there!"

"Why?!" Remus rasped, his voice far more hoarse than after any full moon as this set in.

"I don't know," Sirius murmured, eyes locked on Harry's. It was a miracle if his pup could even hear them; he was stiff, pale, and looked in far more pain than they'd yet seen him which was really saying something. It terrified them all, that Harry had been set up and Sirius was the key in this happening, and they had just as many answers to this as they did if Sirius was going to be okay!

It made them all realize at once though, this was why Sirius hadn't yet been cast off as no use for whatever Voldemort wanted him to get, because Sirius wasn't supposed to be the one getting it. Somehow, he needed Harry for this, and Voldemort was just playing with a new toy in the meantime until Harry got there. The moment he arrived though...kill the spare, echoed in the back of all their minds so loud Voldemort could have been standing in the room hissing it for their ears.

Harry felt sure there should have been, and it felt ominous as he pushed the down button, the lift arriving causing far more noise than he remembered, the din would surely raise every alarm in the building.

'Normally it would have,' Remus found the urge somewhere in him to agree, but it helped nothing to still his thready heart beats. If even there was someone at the Ministry, it would only be another spare now...every single person with Harry somehow felt in even more danger than before this trap had been sprung.

Yet when they made it to the Department of Mysteries, the doors opened, still no one was there. Finally, after all those months, he was in person walking to the plain black door.

Harry's grip was turning bruising on his own head, he looked likely to rip his own ear off in moments. The deep feeling gnawing at him all year, warning of this place had finally come full front in understanding. He pleaded with his mind to take it back, he wouldn't make this mistake again, but as always, his pleas went ignored.

The others followed without question, Luna's mouth opened slightly gazing around.

Sirius found an odd noise pushing against his vocal cords, like a laugh did want to come through at Luna's reaction to all this.

He stopped just in front of the door, saying maybe they should have a look out-

"I get what you're trying to do," James shivered, his eyes still hardly following along in here less than ever even as he kept the minimal focus on what was being said, yet always feeling each word with the intensity of the answer he needed. "I wouldn't find it a good idea though Harry, being separated at a time like this when you have no clue if Voldemort's alone in there..." His voice failed, his own words weren't enough to convey whom he suddenly feared could be in there, simply watching all this happen. Harry had been bad enough, a genuine stab in his heart, but if he was in there...

All refused this idea, and Harry said no more about it as he pushed the door open, and stepped over the threshold.

'Shouldn't that have been locked?' Harry's mind pushed that thought so violently into his consciousness he curled into himself all over again, just wishing all this pain away. His dreams, for almost a year now, had always shown him nothing but this until much later, when something had changed and it was all too twisted together for him to understand the difference now...

Lily was struggling to grasp how Harry had done it. She was a fine tuned mess just imagining all this, she'd have been running forward and screaming for him, but then she supposed, that's how she felt right now just hearing about this. In fights with Death Eaters, against Voldemort himself, there had been no true feeling until much after the fact, and she fought for that now, some level of clear headedness Harry held in his time that seemed to be evading him in here having to relive this with them.

They were standing in a large, dark room, only lit with blue torches, the ceiling and floor indiscernible from each other so that they may have been standing in an endless dark water.

Some nerve ending not yet connected in his mind gave a hard thump at the reminder, far too lost in the background of memories yet collected to even be registered at a time like this.

Harry told the last person to close the door behind them, and instantly regretted it.

"Why?" Remus demanded.

"To not be caught from behind," Harry said slowly, though it was getting harder by the moment to stay in the moment of answering even the simplest questions of what had been running through his mind at the time.

In his dream, Harry had always walked purposefully across this room to the door immediately opposite the entrance and walked on.

"Because it's such a comfort Voldemort knew this place well enough he knew exactly where to go, even when he couldn't get in," Sirius said bitterly.

Now though, there were doors on all sides of him, even straight across it was impossible to tell which should he have picked. Then they began to move.

With a great rumbling, the wall spun in such a blur it left blue lights imprinted into their eyes, Hermione grabbed hold of Harry in fear as if the floor would start up as well.

Some absent part of James' mind honestly wondered at a time like this if Ron would get jealous of that too. Sirius must be rubbing off on him.

As suddenly as it had started, it all stopped, and everything became stationary once again.

"How the bloody hell did you end up in a maze again?" Remus demanded before he'd even thought of his own words; while Harry finally lost his fight and cried out in pain. His dry heaves promised any moment he was going to start vomiting all over again.

"I'm sorry!" Remus gasped, he couldn't believe he'd just said that! "I'm so sorry Harry, I-"

Harry didn't hear anymore, couldn't see anything but the dark black of the endless room and a graveyard.

"Moony, you idiot," Sirius primly informed him while Harry buried his face into Sirius' shoulder.

"I-"

"Shh," James shushed him, watching his son and thinking back to the other night, Harry calling out for Sirius with such insistence. It was all too clear why now, and Remus apologizing for his mouth getting away from him was not at all going to be held against him by them.

Past Harry's own heaving mind, it took him quite some time to hear anything else, and the first thing he heard was Sirius muttering something. This was hurting like nothing before, if ever he'd had one memory he wouldn't gain back it would have been whatever was waiting at the end of this particular journey, but finally he gained some stability back in him when he leaned back and looked his godfather in the face.

Scared didn't cover it, but somehow Remus' words also left him reeling from a different kind of pain, yet a reminder all the same of what he'd lived through. He'd been so sure he was going to die that night in the graveyard and he'd been wrong then, maybe he had this all wrong and it wasn't Sirius' life in danger but his own? If he came close to death again, that could certainly be what had him so far stretched for this day. Yes, that must be it, if he somehow traded himself for Sirius and something almost happened to him, he without a doubt could handle that. He turned back to his mother and finally found in him the steadiness he'd possed when going to rescue Sirius, now that he was much more easily able to ignore the fright from his past trying to tell him what was happening.

Remus still looked miserable he'd scared Harry so bad, but at the same time they all felt more hopeful than ever for the outcome that had to be true. Harry wasn't going to let what happened to Cedric happen again, that look of determination on his face promised that, right?

Harry said in frustration he had even less of a clue which door now, but Ginny pointed out they didn't even know how to get back now; which was all too true. Every door was as unremarkable as the last, their exit blending in with the door they still had no clue which to go through in the dozen around them.

"How the bloody hell do people actually work in this place?" Harry muttered belligerently. He may be sitting at a better place, but it hardly improved his mood past grating frustration he was still in there rather than running out with his godfather and friends.

"I have no clue," Lily said honestly, though she now had every intentions of asking someone, just in case.

Harry said they'd worry about that later.

Hermione warned Harry not to start shouting for Sirius. Harry hadn't needed that advice, all his instincts were warning him to remain quiet.

James made a huffy little noise, still wanting someone nearer to blame and landing on Hermione again, why had Harry wanted her to come along again if he'd said himself he didn't need her advice.

Ron asked where they were supposed to start, and Harry began to say he didn't- but then swallowed the rest.

"Probably best not to go admitting right now I had no clue what I was doing," Harry said morosely, though no one had needed that pause explained.

Instead he explained the dream, the room they were searching for, and so they could only try whatever was next. He marched forward to a door, and it opened with ease.

"All six of you should have tried a door at once," Remus ruffled his brow as he tried to work this out. "You said there's a dozen doors, give half of them a push, and then do the others."

"I'm wondering if they even could," Sirius disagreed. "I'll bet you can't open more than one at once."

"Plus, his friends were right, they really shouldn't be separated, even like that," James shivered yet again, though he'd never quite stopped. "Probably best to all focus on one at a time."

Inside was a small rectangular room much resembling a classroom, it even had desks,

"This place gets creepier every minute," Sirius shifted restlessly, not wanting to know what kind of classes were held in there.

but instead of a desk, there was a tank at the back of the room, floating in an eerie green liquid, that housed brains.

"What?" Remus barked in disgust.

Lily's squidged up face made it clear she had not misread that as she continued.

They inched closer, but their eyes did not deceive them, several of them were floating like grotesque cauliflowers.

James could think of nothing to say to that but, "Why?"

"For you I'm sure, clearly the first one wasn't doing you any good," Sirius offered.

James shook his head in disbelief at his idiotic friend even as that did manage to make him smile just for a moment again, though a reply escaped him, far too busy trying to get Lily to go on.

Harry muttered they should get out of here, this wasn't the right place, but Ron asked if they should try one of these doors?

Harry looked around and saw he was right, even along this room were yet more doors. How big was this place?

Lily wondered if she was the only one who remembered Snape, how positive she was he'd understood Harry and had sent word of what had happened. That meant the Order should have been there by now, honestly beaten Harry here as they'd have a much faster way of it. Was this already taken care of, Sirius was fine, and now they were searching for the kids? She certainly hoped so, though her fingers cramping along the pages only tensed more with hurt this couldn't just be done with, the suspense was going to kill her faster than anything now.

Harry insisted they should stick with his dream, and he'd gone from that first room into a glittering one. This wasn't it, so they should try again.

Before this door was closed though,

"How do you close a door without a handle?" Sirius muttered.

"Close it as you leave you ding-dong," Remus huffed back, though he wasn't surprised that was a concept that escaped him.

Hermione used the spell Flagrate on it, crossing a red x on the door with her own magical fire.

Once the door was closed, the spinning began again, except now the new color was added to the mix, and was still present when the doors stopped again, showing the door they'd just tried on their left.

"That's brilliant," James didn't have a touch of grudge in his voice as he complimented this, telling his mind to stop taking this out on Hermione when she was still the only one coming up with recurring plans for this.

Harry moved onto the next door.

In this was a large stone pit, the whole room nothing but steps descending down to a raised dais with its own set of stairs leading up to an aged arch with a long dark veil fluttering as if someone had just touched it.

The fear for Sirius' life was still running rampant through Lily, but some intrigue for this place was coloring just a bit of her tone so she finally didn't feel like she was reading about an Inferi. That brain room, now this, the Department of Mysteries really lived up to its name.

She dared not glance up at Harry again when he'd finally marshaled himself into control being in here, and everyone else was still keeping one protective eye on Sirius and the other on her for some kind of change that wasn't the kids poking around. Haste still left them all twitchy with no real movement to be had in here.

So they all missed the dread flinging back into Harry, whatever sense of security he'd once had failing him again as memory of this room was replaced...

Harry jumped curiously down the steps, asking who was in here?

"What the hell is that?" Sirius muttered, his lower lip sticking out slightly as he concentrated on this alone rather than where he was possibly one door off.

"It, sounds like a lethifold," Remus began a bit curiously, explaining for Harry's benefit even as he hadn't quite noticed yet he wasn't really paying much attention to the chatter around him. "Also known as a living shroud, it honestly looks like a shadow moving, it creeps up on people in their sleep and envelopes them, they pass right through it and are never seen again, I suppose they're eaten alive. Only known defence for it is actually a Patronus, which is why they're classified so dangerous, though they don't cause the same effects as a dementor. They're mainly found in the tropics though, I suppose they could be studying this one-"

"Must you relate everything back to beasts," James muttered with a small shake to his head, wishing he had more energy to pick on Moony for this. His father used to speak of the Department of Mysteries just like Arthur did, and whatever information was passed around only spoke of how ancient the place was, possibly the whole Ministry had been built around this one area. James honestly didn't think this was something so passable as that, and he had a nagging feeling this well could be the actual center of the whole place, and he didn't at all like the sound of it.

Harry went all the way up, right to the arch, and called out to Sirius.

Sirius gave a heavy sigh as he gave Harry's shoulder a comforting squeeze, noting how hard he was trembling again and still hoping he'd appear at Harry's side any moment now so they could all get out of there.

He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway.

"I somehow doubt Voldemort has me hiding behind that puny thing with him," Sirius rolled his eyes as obvious as it was possible to do to keep Harry's attention now.

Harry dragged his eyes to his godfather's face, there was a truth and a lie somewhere in there, and it was impossible to know which was what.

Hermione hissed at him there was no one in here, they should keep going, but Harry was entranced now, finding the fluttering curtain such a curious sight he wanted to go up to it and push it aside, go through the arch himself.

"Oh great, this thing is even creepier than the last thing they came across!" Remus grumbled.

"Harry doesn't go through it," Sirius shrugged with confidence for that.

"Hermione gets him away," James agreed, trying to push Lily onto that part already.

Harry was still watching Sirius, his vision shaking so bad he could have fallen into a seizure any moment and not known the difference.

This close, he was sure he could hear whispering.

"Sirius isn't there Harry," James said through gritted teeth, he couldn't understand why Harry hadn't left yet when he realized this.

Lily grasped his hand with one of hers, looking first to him before telling Harry, "it's alright love, you'll get there."

Suddenly the image of The Mirror of Erised came back to Harry clearer than ever, and he had no will to understand why.**

Hermione was being insistent now, actually trying to pull Harry from the room, but he asked the others couldn't they hear that?

Luna agreed she could, there were people in there.

Lily felt her skin crawl, and it took all of her will to repress rubbing her hands along her arms, though somehow James understood anyways and did it for her. She snuggled into his weathered hands, grateful and wondering at how he managed to spare even a second of attention for her when he still could hardly breath in fear for what was happening to his brother.

Hermione's voice was hitting desperation as she shouted there was no 'in there.'

"Hermione really doesn't like this thing," Sirius pointed out.

"She doesn't understand it, and she has no immediate way to. Of course she doesn't," James shrugged.

Remus also was getting the start of a suspicion that Hermione had another reason somewhere in there, she had no connection to this thing.

Sirius wasn't in here, and they needed to go!

Something of that finally got through to Harry, but it was harder than it should have been for him to back up. Hermione was there though to lead him back out, and he wasn't the only one. Ron had to grab Neville's arm to bring him out as well, and Hermione was holding both Luna and Ginny's hand to escort their dazed gazes.

Remus had almost thought he'd had it for a second. His original idea wasn't holding as well, but considering lethifolds attacked those while they slept, perhaps they did create some form of whisper of their previous victims? All three who could see the Thestrals were apparently entranced by it, what if that thing spoke of death? Yet Ginny had apparently been affected by it to...but then again, she'd been a breath away from death in the Chamber. He made a disgruntled noise and told his mind to shut up, he had no want to linger on this place, Harry hopefully would never have to suffer another death again and the place was irrelevant.

Harry asked one last time what that could be, but Hermione said she was only sure it was dangerous as she crossed out that door before closing it.

"Hermione used to think I was dangerous too, oh, no wait, that one's still true," Sirius looked so proud of himself reminding them of that. It seemed impossible he was worried about his ego at a time like this, but clearly he was picturing Harry coming across him any second and seeing him in the most degrading position he could ever be in his life.

Harry just shook his head at his godfather, he'd never agreed with Hermione more in his life.

Once the place stopped spinning again, they tried the next door, which was the first and only one locked.***

"Is that one it?" James hissed, his hands tightening almost painfully around his wife now though Lily didn't feel a second of discomfort, it was grounding and helped her not to fly out of her mind with worry.

"No, no, must be something you need special access to," Remus babbled at the top of his lungs, trying to ignore his tunnel vision. "Everything else has been open and too easy, this must be something else."

Harry agreed, he had a funny little frown in place even as he said aloud, "yeah, don't think I actually go into this room."

Lily made a breathy little noise, some combination of discomfort and relief, her heart really was going to sink right out of her soon if this didn't end.

Hermione tried the Alohomora charm, but nothing happened.

"I wouldn't exactly be surprised, that spell doesn't fix everything, there's charms you can use to block charms," Lily muttered.

James moved to brushing at her hair, for the first time recognizing how grateful he was she was the one reading this. He wasn't sure what he'd do with himself when hers ended and if his began without any resolution but still more problems.

Harry even tried Sirius' knife he still had in his bag, but when he pulled the blade out from the crack in the wall, it had melted straight to the handle.

Sirius looked offended! "Oi, what the bloody hell is behind that thing!"

"Now I really don't want to know," Lily muttered, if it was warded powerfully enough to stop conventional means, she was more sure than ever it really was something she didn't want her son around.

Hermione decided they were leaving that room be, though Ron said what if that was really it with honest curiosity in place.

"I can understand that though," James sighed, another part of his life saying how cool all of this would have been to poke around any other circumstances.

Hermione reminded of Harry's dreams,

'Oh, so now his dreams are credible,' Remus thought bleakly, wishing for this attitude hours ago instead of for the first time wondering how long Frank and Alice had suffered before their damage had been irreparabile...

marking the door before they tried again, as it began spinning once they'd stepped back away from it.

Luna began to offer her own idea of what was in there,

"I'm sure she'll tell us," James told with whatever affection he could muster for a person who wasn't Sirius right now.

"Why was the wall moving? You didn't open a door," Remus muttered.

"I guess the room took that as intent and did it anyways," Harry shrugged.

Hermione said it was something blibbering before she could finish, and Neville gave a nervous laugh.

No one managed one in here, though Hermione's sarcasm right now was at least appreciated.

On the next door, Harry shouted they'd found it!

"Oh boy," James stated, trying to look over Lily's shoulder, to find at any moment what was going to happen already.

Lily wasn't giving him the chance, making sure he couldn't hurt himself by reading ahead by continuing loudly with determination now, this had to be the end, they couldn't stand anymore delays.

It was finally the room full of glittering lights sparkling off glass, which now that Harry was present saw the room dominated by a giant hour-glass that was filled with an egg that was slowly rising up, cracking as it went so that by the time it reached the top it was a fully hatched chick, but when it reached the top it sunk back down into its egg, reaching the bottom only to begin again when going up.

Harry released a suddenly heavy breath. For the first time since his vision of Sirius, his eyes traveled unfocused again, a memory trying to return to him, and he could almost hear the echo of someone calling his name, 'Harry, watch out-'

"Harry?"

Lily had frozen, everyone realized what he was doing now, and he softly whispered, "I wasn't having a go at my memories, I swear, just, this place-"

"You've been dreaming about it for ages, it's natural to start feeling overcrowded now remembering a dream coming to life," Sirius told him with comfort he was sure would help Harry to stop looking at him with that desperate face any second.

Harry didn't answer, the memory was already fading away but leaving him in no less dread of what happened in this place on any occasion.

The rest of the walls in the room were covered with every kind of clock imaginable, there was even a glass case dedicated to time-turners.

"It's a room for time," Sirius muttered in fascination, though for just a second he had a walk over the grave moment. Last time his life had been saved due to a time-turner, he didn't like the premonition Harry was walking through a room dedicated to studying that just before fetching his arse. He only hoped if something went wrong, at least Harry could come across something to help him this time as well.

Harry paid no mind to any of this as he darted through, wrenching the next available door open, they'd finally found the right place.

Lily couldn't help but still, every rampant emotion coursing through her reaching its peak all at once, and finally ebbing off for just a moment so she could collect herself. No more waiting, no more wondering, Harry was there, and whatever happened, was going to happen.

The room was large as a cathedral, with rows upon rows of shelves. Harry reminded they were looking for ninety-seven, and Hermione saw the nearest one was fifth-three,

"Why would you start-"

Remus was shushed again, and he'd never been more grateful for it. He more than anyone wished his mind would shut off, it hurt to breath enough as is without wasting the air on stupid questions.

to the right was fifty-four, so they went along that way. Harry struggled to hear anything as they took off, but no noise echoed except their own feet. Sirius was still okay though, he was possibly gagged, or even unconscious, it didn't mean...

Harry could hardly hear his mother, his own pulse thumping so loud in his ear. He cared not for anything but the steady presence of his godfather on his side, watching more than listening to those around him, it was too hard to take in every word but each syllable was held with all his concentration.

They stood grouped around the end of the row, gazing down the alley way.

There was nobody there.

It happened all at once, five heart beats stilled until every possible thing went flying through their mind too fast; he'd been stowed away, he was being tortured somewhere else now and brought back in front of Harry when needed- Harry made a noise first. Half a sob of relief, half a scream of surprise, and all around one of confusion.

Lily looked to him for some kind of answer, but it was impossible. He was actually making even less sense now than when the vision had first started. All they knew was a combination of their own fear and confusion, where was Sirius?

Harry insisted he must be down there, darting to the end with still nothing in sight. He even checked the next available rows as if he'd crawled away, and still there was no one in sight.

"I, don't, understand," James said slowly, scrutinizing Sirius now like he was still worried he'd vanish any second.

"Maybe, the Order really did come and help out already?" Remus tried to offer.

Lily shivered hard, something tight refusing to unclench in her as that still was no answer for the state Sirius was in.

Harry had no answer for any of them, feeling more every moment he only wished those around him would remain in this state of confusion, whatever lingering hope they were clinging to, because once that ended...

Hermione finally told Harry she didn't think Sirius was here.

"That's, supposed to be a good thing, Lily," Sirius said every word carefully, trying with all his might to put that into his own tone, but it was hard going.

"Right you are," Lily agreed without looking up. She'd gone in with this expecting some sort of fight between Harry and Voldemort again, now they felt more in limbo, a never ending state of fear for never being given an answer.

Nobody said a word, Harry started to feel sick with fear. He did not understand, Sirius had to be here, Harry had seen him.

"Then that's what happened!" James stated, there was no other option. "Clearly something happened in the meantime."

"The Order, or Merlin, maybe even the Ministry did find some way to step in," Remus uneasily agreed, trying to nod his head but really only getting a jerky movement in before Lily ignored the lot of them. She could feel they were trying to push into something more bearable, but her terror still resided.

He looked desperately around for some kind of clue, but there wasn't even a sign of a struggle.

Sirius hummed, nestled as he was it was harder to focus on what that could have been as he still kept eyes on Harry. He was more concerned his Godson may still well run into trouble before he caught up with him now, the idea of that ambush, that this was all set up had yet to be explained anymore than, well anything!

Ron called out to Harry, and at first Harry refused to turn back towards him, afraid Ron would tell him this was stupid and they should go back to school.

"You're not stupid!" Remus said at once, the word never should have crossed his mind when clearly something had happened, Harry just didn't know what yet.

"And Ron would never suggest otherwise," James agreed vehemently.

Instead Ron called for Harry to look at this, and he came back eagerly hoping he'd spotted something, but Ron was looking at the shelves. Now Harry stopped to look, he saw they were filled with a million glass spun orbs, all coated in dust. Some were dark, but others were lit up as if from the inside, like the one Ron was now looking at. Up close, they each had little plaques below them,

"Err," Sirius said with genuine concern now.

Lily blinked slowly, an itch at the nap of her neck promising this wasn't the kind of answer she'd been hoping for.

and the one Ron had spotted was dated sixteen years ago labeled;

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

Dark Lord

and (?)Harry Potter

"This is where the weapon's supposed to be," Remus recalled slowly, this information coming back to him now that their panic for Sirius had subsided for a moment.

"What are the odds something relating to Harry would be in the same place?" James agreed with a detached horror, he didn't believe in coincidences.

"That's a weapon?" Lily tried to scoff, not wanting to believe what they were trying to say for a moment.

"It's, something," Sirius agreed uneasily, as a memory tried to offer up what this could be, his old aunt telling a couple of kids the secrets the Ministry held.

Lily grumbled, but honestly paid it not too much mind, she still wanted more than anything to hear of Harry being out of there.

Ron was looking at the adjacent shelves and asked why none of them had one as well?

"Maybe they're in alphabetical order," Remus said snidely.

"Or Ron's just not important enough," Sirius shrugged.

"Well don't tell him that," Lily huffed.

Hermione told Harry she didn't think he should touch it, as Harry's hand had been reaching out to do.

"Neither do I!" Lily shrieked as she looked to Harry like he'd lost his mind. "Are you crazy Harry! You shouldn't be touching anything in there! Sirius wasn't in there, so you either keep looking for him or try to find someone else to find out what's going on!"

Harry kept wincing like each word had struck a blow in him.

Lily had seen she was on the last page, and while she wanted to keep informing him what an idiot her son was being, she supposed she could do that later when whatever this was stopped feeling like a mouse trap ready to snap shut. None of them had forgotten, this still felt like a trap, he'd made it here without any resistance from anyone, and they had no more explanation to that than when they started, only more questions.

Harry insisted it had his name on it, so with a reckless surge he grasped it in his hand. He'd hoped something would happen, but it only continued to swirl in his hand as if a miniature crystal ball of gray fog.

"Err, does it have an on switch?" Remus asked through that tingling feeling raising down his spine was quickly coursing out to the rest of his body, already leaving his fingers twitching for his wand any second.

"Don't know," Sirius honestly muttered, whatever details he'd tried to attain from his forgotten youth too mixed up to be of help now. "Maybe they should try breaking it open."

"That's your answer to everything," James huffed.

"He still shouldn't have even grabbed it," Lily snapped at the lot of them, anger was replacing fear, she wanted to smack her son upside the head for doing this when all she wanted him to do now was leave.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke for Potter to give that to him.

"Who was that?" James demanded slowly.

Harry didn't even hear him, he didn't care! "Sirius isn't there," unbelievably that relief was still holding Harry together, even as something very painful tried to warn his hopes from springing too high, and he blissfully ignored it all. He'd been wrong, he'd suffered those consequences, and he wouldn't let them fall him again.

He got up and stretched, trying to walk away for just a moment to ignore that heavy weight mashing down on him for trying to remember something too early, for still feeling a part of him that knew that not to be true. Remus watched him go uncertainly, Harry growing more jittery by the second was not at all encouraging as they now had even more questions of who'd arrived, all but him seemed to agree it wasn't going to be a good thing!

Lily mutely handed the book to James while Sirius gave a flick of his wand and the living room righted itself. The couple got whizzed back across the room still partially seated and both glared at his innocent smile. James gazed heavily at the stupid book, wishing now more than ever Harry'd taken Sirius' offer when it had been given and skipped past all this while they had a chance. They'd suffered for nothing apparently, his idiot of a brother was okay, he must be! That was probably Moody right behind them, to tell them where Sirius finally was and get Harry out of there.

HPHPHP

* This one still manages to make me laugh every single time, Ron just has that effect on me I suppose.

** I also imagine Cedric said something along the lines of 'I don't blame you,' but I couldn't work out how to add that in.

***I also love the symbolism they go from the door of death to the door of love, feels appropriate.

#The Life That Never Lived #Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #HP #Marauders #Jilly #James Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Lily Potter #OotP

3 notes · View notes

shifting-lark · 3 years

Text

AHHH SORRY I COULDN’T STOP MYSELF I just wanted to write angst of Zoro and Lark being idiots and not knowing how to handle emotions. Enjoy!!!

Deny Deny Deny.

Pair: Roronoa Zoro x Lark Normandy (DRself)

Info: angst angst, emotions bad ew, denial, sadish, non-happy ending??

TW: some cussing, minor description of drowning/passing out, minor nudity?

Rating: PG (sfw)

I hated winter. The cold, the snow, the everything about it. Winter just was not my season. I preferred tank tops and shorts, not bundled up in coats. But living on a pirate ship you don’t really get to choose the weather, and in the Grand Line the seasons are always unpredictable and changing.

It was late at night and I was exhausted but I couldn’t fall asleep. Instead of tossing and turning in my cabin I went for a midnight stroll on the deck. I shuddered, pulling my leather jacket closer to my chest. I adjusted my black scarf to cover my mouth as I leaned against the ship railing, watching the almost black sea beneath. The gentle waves crashing against the wood of the Thousand Sunny gave a calming ambience as I tried to clear my head. I was usually pretty good at hiding feelings. More like ignoring them altogether. Living alone, being homeless, stealing and hitchhiking, it had no room for feelings. Emotions only got in the way of surviving. I was doing fine on my own.

Yet somehow, I found myself a part of a crew. The Straw Hat pirates were like a family to me, even though I had only met them a few years back. Luffy, Sanji, Robin, Franky, Brook, Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and of course… Zoro. I shook my head at the thought. Why was Zoro so different from the rest? Sure, he was handsome, but I’ve met plenty of handsome people before. Why do my hands always get so clammy when he’s around? Why do I worry myself sick whenever he gets hurt in a fight? Why am I even thinking about him now?

I sighed hanging my head, “I’m hopeless.” I muttered to myself. Deep down I knew the answer for all of my questions, but I desperately didn’t want to admit it. I would fight off my true feelings with a baseball bat until the day I died. ‘Deny, deny, deny’ was basically my life motto. I hopped up onto the railing and sat staring aimlessly at the stars above. The wind was cold against my face, but I almost didn’t notice, so lost in thought.

“Hey.” A deep voice said, catching me off guard. I gave a small shriek in surprise and before even seeing who it was, I lost balance on the railing. Suddenly I was fall backwards off the ship and into the ocean. I landed with a splash and everything went fuzzy. Being a Devil Fruit user was great for the power, but the ability to not swim was a major downside. I could feel myself weakening and the air from my lungs escaping me. I was frozen like a statue, the icy cold water rushing around me, suffocating me. Fuck, I’m gonna die because I fell off the ship. Was my first thought. How embarrassing.

My vision was beginning to fade before I was a blurry, shadowy figure jump into the water above me. I saw a glimpse of green hair and felt a sense of relief. I reached out to him helplessly but before I could get to him, everything went black.

I heard his voice first. Cursing under his breath as he tossed his katanas onto the floor. I slowly opened my eyes and took a deep breath. I was back on the ship, in my quarters, lying on my bed. I turned to the left and saw Zoro standing there shirtless, his wet shirt in his hands as he wrung it out, the water splashing onto the wooden floor. “Zoro?” I said, cursing my voice for being so pathetic.

His head shot up and his eyes met mine, “Lark. You’re awake. Are you okay?” He asked, his deep voice immediately calming to me.

I sat up, “I’m fine, just cold as fuck.” I stared down and realized I was in a baggy white t-shirt. Where did my clothes go? I looked to the floor and saw the pile of sopping wet clothes on the floor. Zoro must have taken them off for me while I was unconscious.

I paused for a moment.

“DID YOU UNDRESS ME?!” I almost screamed, my face growing hot.

He glared at me, “I didn’t want you to catch hypothermia! You were soaking wet.”

“I could have done that myself when I woke up!” I snapped.

“Did you want to die?!” He shouted back, his voice only slightly annoyed. I avoided his eye contact and pulled the blanket closer to me.

“Thanks.” I finally whispered, realizing it was the best course of action, even if it was incredibly embarrassing. He only gave a small nod, continuing to wring out his wet shirt. “Thanks for jumping in after me.” I added, “How did you know I fell in?”

“Cause I was the one that scared you and made you lose balance.” He explained, “I was heading up to the crows nest for a workout session and saw you sitting on the railing. I was just saying hi and then you fell in.” He gave up drying his shirt and tossed it to the floor with the rest of my clothes.

There was a moment of awkward silence. I suddenly realize how chilled to the bone I was. A late night swim in the middle of winter definitely wasn’t good for you. Zoro noticed me shivering and sat on the bed next to me, almost too close.

“Uh…” I said questionably before he put his arm around my shoulders.

“Chopper says body heat is the best for warming someone up.” Zoro said. “You got a better idea?” He almost growled, eyeing me sideways, daring me to make a joke about it.

I decided to keep my mouth shut and scooched a little closer to him. His body radiated heat, something I’ve always noticed whenever I was near him. I was thankful he was willing to sit next to me, I could already feel the cold slipping away. It was quiet between us, only the sound of his steady breathing next to me.

“Have you ever dated anyone Zoro?” I asked. I didn’t know why it came out of my mouth, maybe I was just trying to fill the silence, but I immediately wished to take it back.

He didn’t seem too alarmed by the question and gave an honest answer, “I don’t date people. Too much work.” He replied. I was going to drop it before he continued, “I did like a girl once.” I looked at him a little surprised. He gave a short chuckle, “A long time ago. Way before I met Luffy and everyone.” I sat quietly, not daring to interrupt. “Her name was Kuina. She was the daughter of the man who owned the dojo I went to. He taught me many things about being a swordsman, but so did she.” He had this look of fondness that I hadn’t seen before. Zoro was always stoic and stone faced, it was a once in a lifetime chance to see him like this. To see him vulnerable.

“We were just kids. Children playing around with wooden katanas. Kuina was the strongest at the dojo, stronger than I was. I fought her constantly, desperate to be better. She was fierce and determined and skillful. She was everything I wanted to be. I respected her so much and thought for a moment that when we got older I would marry her.” He paused, his emotional wall reappearing before my eyes, “Unfortunately she died. A total accident, and completely out of the blue. She was gone, and I never got to say goodbye.” I felt my heart tighten in my chest.

“I had no idea. I’m so sorry.” I whispered, afraid my words would somehow shatter in the air.

Zoro gave a small shrug, “Things happen. After that, I haven’t liked anyone or ever thought of dating. The only thing I’m focused on is being the best swordsman I can be.” He turned and fully looked at me. “I don’t have time to focus on anything else.” I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. His eyes weren’t just looking at me, they were looking through me, looking into my soul. Why was he so intense right now?

“What does that mean?” I asked, stupidly. He didn’t say anything and averted his gaze. “Zoro…”

“I’m an idiot, but I’m not that much of an idiot.” He said, his jaw clenched. “I know.” My mind was spinning.

“Know what?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“Know what’s going on between… us.” He said, and I noticed his cheeks had a hint of red.

“What is going on between us?” I asked again.

He clenched his fist and jerked his head to face me, “Lark don’t play dumb!” He snapped, “I see how you look at me! I know you stayed by my side that whole week I was bedridden after we left Thriller Bark! I know how you feel!”

“Well enlighten me then!” I spat back, “Cause apparently I’m lost.”

He growled, “You’re so dense.”

I gave a shallow laugh, “I’M dense? Look in the mirror.”

“So, you don’t have any feelings towards me?” He shot back, as he stared me down. The question might as well have been a punch to the jaw.

“You’re my crewmate! I care about you, but not in that way!” I replied quickly, I felt my chest tighten, the tension in the room reaching unbearable levels. “I don’t know what you think, but you don’t know me and you certainly don’t know how I feel!” I said, each word as cold as ice, as I pushed his arm off my shoulders. Silence fell between us as we stared at one another.

“Fine.” He stood up, grabbing his katanas and his shirt. “Sorry if I crossed a line.” He walked towards the door, “You’re right. I don’t know you at all.” He slammed the door behind him, leaving me alone.

I felt hot tears stream down my face as I cried in frustration. Stupid. Idiot. Dumbass. What the fuck do you know? I screamed in my head, wanting to pull out my hair. Why did he have to question me like that? What just happened? What did I just say? Why couldn’t I just be honest with him? I pulled my knees close to my chest and sobbed quietly to myself. Why couldn’t I just tell the truth? The truth that I…. I loved him.

I loved Zoro. I wiped my tears away and tried to collect myself a bit. I was hopelessly in love with him and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. There was only one thing left I could do.

Deny. Deny. Deny.

14 notes · View notes

etherealwaifgoddess · 4 years

Text

The Truth At Last (1981)

*A One In A Million AU fic*

Summary: After 40 years together the truth of Rose's identity comes out at last.

Word Count: 1.7k

Author’s Note: Thank you to the lovely reader who asked about if/ when Rose tells the guys she's actually from the future. I know I gave a mini head canon in my answer but the more I thought about it the more the plot bunnies hopped around and this little fic was born.

The Truth At Last (1981)

“Come on lazy bones, let’s go!” Bucky shouts up the stairs. You place a hand on your husband's arm, settling him in his excitement. Even at the ripe old age of sixty-three, Bucky still gets overly excited at new things like a child. He gives your youngest grandchild a run for her money at times and she’s only four.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Steve grumbles as he descends the stairs to join you in the foyer. He’s fumbling with the buttons of his favorite blue shirt, unable to get the buttons through the holes as quickly as he’d like. His arthritis is flaring up again, it’s been doing that more and more lately.

You push past the pang of sadness at seeing your husband struggle and pull him close when he reaches the bottom of the stairs, “Come here, love. I’ve got it.” you tell him, fixing the buttons of his shirt with quick efficiency.

Steve checks his hair in the mirror by the door; the blonde is shot through with white and silver, though the cut is the same as when you met him. Even at sixty-two he’s quite striking. Bucky and you make sure to remind him of that regularly too. “You look great, Stevie.” Bucky assures him, pressing a quick kiss to the other man’s cheek before you head out the door.

The walk to the new cafe is only four blocks from your old brownstone but the three of you take your time. There’s no need to hurry anymore. Now that you’re all retired, you can spend your days together doing whatever piques your interest at your own pace. Bucky had retired at fifty-five after an accident at the docks; his foot healed quickly but he realized he was getting too old for that type of work. Steve had been doing commissions only since the kids were born, taking jobs here and there as needed. It had helped tremendously when the kids were young. The last two years though, his arthritis had worsened and he’d stopped taking jobs. He claimed he wanted to create for himself while he still could. You were the last to retire, finally giving your notice the year before, and leaving your beloved library after almost forty years of service. You still go in once a week to lead story time for the children but you left the heavy mantle of Library Director behind.

The cafe is a little brick shop with a lavender awning and wide glass windows. It’s cheery looking and definitely fits in with newer shops that have come into the neighborhood in recent years. Bucky holds the door open causing a little bell to chime up above and the scent of coffee hits your nose. It smells like heaven.

Bucky insists on ordering for all three of you, so you and Steve take a table by the window while Bucky hurries over to the counter. You sit quietly looking around, letting a gentle melancholy sink into your bones. You miss the days of setting up shop in a Starbucks to work on your college papers, sipping an endless stream of lattes and staying right up until they closed for the night. Being back in a cafe like this dredges up those fond memories and you wish you could share them with the guys. You’d always meant to tell them, but even after forty years together, the timing never seemed quite right. And the longer it went, the more impossible it seemed.

“Here we go!” Bucky interrupts your reverie, placing a tray with three steaming cups and a plate of treats on your table. He slides into his seat and snatches a lemon scone with a wide grin, his sweet tooth just as wild as ever.

You reach for the cup immediately after recognizing it as a latte; eager to devour it despite the steam flowing freely from the foam. The first sip is overwhelming, the taste of espresso and steamed milk hitting your tongue for the first time in four decades.

“It’s called a cafe au lait.” Bucky explains, “This is the only place in the city that serves them and they’re just the best.”

You’re lost in your own little world, practically on the verge of tears as your taste buds welcome the familiar flavor. “God,” you murmur to yourself, “I missed this.”

“What, doll?” Bucky asks, his nose wrinkling in confusion.

You look up to see two pairs of blue eyes staring at you in confusion.

“Nothing,” you assure them quickly, “It’s nothing.”

“You said you missed this? Did you come here without us? They just opened last week.” Steve chimes in. He’s like a damned dog with a bone.

You’re overwhelmed by the memories the latte has drug up and the guys are pestering you in unison with increasingly teasing questions as to what you meant and how you could have had one before in order to miss it.

Steve is chuckling at Bucky’s last guess, “If she’s able to climb out a window at 2am-”

“Because I have had them before! Okay?!” you snap, cutting him off. “Hundreds of them. I practically lived off them while I was studying for my masters!” You huff out an exasperated breath, your pulse racing with frustration.

“Your what?” Steve chokes out in confusion.

“Oh hell.” You mutter, now you’ve done it. The conversation you’ve been avoiding for two thirds of your life is upon you and somehow you’re still not ready.

“I think this is an at home type of conversation.” Bucky suggests. “Let’s just finish this up and we can head home.”

The three of you drink your lattes quickly and Bucky asks for a paper sack to take your treats home in. None of you are willing to eat anything with the nervous energy buzzing around. You feel like you’re going to vibrate out of your bones between the caffeine and the terror of what you’re about to reveal to your husbands. You can’t even imagine what this will do to your marriage. To your family. The happy plans you had for your retired lives together are turning to ashes in your mind.

You and Bucky take your usual seats on opposite ends of the sofa leaving Steve to opt for the middle seat opposed to his favored recliner. You barely know where to start but the guys are waiting patiently for you to begin. “I know things are going to change after this, but please, please know how much I love you. How much I’ve always loved you.” You choke back a sob before continuing, “I didn’t move to New York in 1941. I’d lived there since college in 2028….” Slowly, and through a sea of tears, the whole truth comes out. It takes almost an hour and you feel like your insides have been scraped raw between your memories and the quiet tears freely flowing from all three of you. By the time you’ve finished you’re convinced they’ll ask you to leave. They haven’t said a word, just gripped each other’s hands desperately and sniffled at the occasional stray tear.

“We always suspected you had an interesting past.” Steve chuckles wetly, “But I never saw that coming.”

Bucky huffs a teary laugh which brings one of your own up and just like that the tension that’s been brewing for the past hour spills. Steve scoots forward to take you in his arms, peppering you with kisses while Bucky moves in to hug you overtop Steve.

They have questions, lots of them, but you expected they would. The guys take turns; Steve asking about your life growing up and Bucky mostly wanting to know about more “cool future shit” as he’s calling it. You’re discussing the challenges you faced trying to adjust to life in their time after knowing how much better it was for women in the future when Steve gets himself so worked up in self righteous fury that he has an asthma attack. You hold the inhaler patiently to his lips, pressing the cylinder to release his medication for him since his hands still ache. When his breathing evens out enough that you and Bucky are no longer concerned, Bucky starts teasing Steve about trying to be the center of attention despite this being about you.

You spend the full day on that old olive green sofa together. Things you haven’t thought of in ages coming to mind, and you happily share the memories with them. You’re all stiff-muscled and sore by dinner time when you finally get up to rummage through your kitchen for food. The heaviness in the air is gone now, a subdued feeling of relief in its place. You all agree the children won’t be told. It’s better just keeping it between you three. The guys seem to truly understand your reasoning in not telling them and aren’t holding it against you. All in all, they took the news remarkably well. You should have known though. The love you share is the love of a lifetime and something that strong doesn’t just flicker out.

You’re putting three little frozen chicken pot pies in the oven when you hear the guys shouting in outrage over the sound of the television in the living room. You head towards the sound of their discontent.

“Rose!” Steve calls to you, “The MLB just went on strike! Can you believe it?! They’re cancelling 23 games!”

“Oh my god.” you gasp, surprised that the league took such drastic action. Baseball was the only sport watched in your house, both of the guys completely obsessed from July through October every year. It’s going to be odd seeing how this strike plays out and you’re sure the guys will be complaining about it well past when the season ends.

“But you probably already knew that, right?” Bucky teases you lightly.

You stare at him in shock for a moment before swatting him with your dish towel. “Jerk.”

Steve snorts in his effort not to laugh, but Bucky laughs with his whole body, amused by his own self.

“Funny.” you chastise him, “Really funny, guys.”

They settle but are still wearing twin grins of amusement. Throwing an eye roll their way, you head back to the kitchen to start on the salad. After everything, a little teasing is a small price for years of hiding, and one you’re more than willing to pay.

#One In A Million #reader inspired fic #stucky #stucky x reader #reader insert #stucky fanfic #steve rogers x bucky barnes x reader #female reader insert #captain america fanfic #marvel fanfic

23 notes · View notes

xxrainbow-princessxx · 4 years

Text

Under the Surface - Leo x Isabella (N*FW, 🍋)

Synopsis: Follow on to ‘Unfortunate Accident’ Isabella is on the war path and Leo is in the firing line

This fic is for Day 11 of the CFWC Kinktober Challenge

Day 11: Creampie | Hate-Fucking | Leather

The words used in bold are included in this fanfic. Please only read if you are comfortable with the subject matter and also you are 18+. PSA completed.

TW: In this fic there is some violent behaviour between characters. If this makes you uncomfortable, please do not read

Tagging: @drakewalkerfantasy @itslaniquelove @kingliam2019 @kimmiedoo5 @mom2000aggie @lorirwritesfanfic @lorircreates @hopefulmoonobject @rafasgirl23415 @texaskitten30 @rainbowsinthestorm @desireepow-1986 @speedyoperarascalparty @liam-rhys @choicesficwriterscreations

The drive back to the Cordonian Palace was an icy affair and the tension could be cut with a knife. Their relationship had hit a rough patch recently with the Royal couple getting on each other’s nerves and accusations of Leo being quite attentive to the young, blonde attending he met in Boston: Isabella was not in the mood to play happy families. Slamming the car door behind her, the Laurentian Queen sucked in her cheeks as she followed her husband towards the drawing room that Natalia was in. “Natalia!” Isabella pushed passed Leo, making a beeline towards her daughter urgently checking her for any other bumps or bruises, “Mi querida...” Isabella sighed heavily as she tried to smile, hugging the small Princess and covering her with small pecks but Natalia wanted to go back to playing, “Mama...” she protested, “No more kisses!!” wiping her face with her arm as Jackson giggled. Isabella ignored the three men behind her as she checked the time on her Rolex, “Natalia...” she spoke firmly, “It’s already past your bedtime... mama can ready you a bedtime story...” Natalia’s hazel eyes looked across to Jackson before pouting sadly and Jackson reached out pulling on Isabella’s chiffon sleeve, “Can I hear a story too?” Isabella smiled, gently stroking his cherub cheek, “Of course mi amor...come...” Isabella stood tall in her Louboutin heels as she took the children’s hands glaring at the three men with complete distain as she led the children to bed.

“If looks could kill...” Drake mumbled downing his whiskey, “What happened when you picked her up?” Leo glared at him over his whiskey glass, his grip tightening around the crystal tumbler, “I’ll not even burden you with that... it was pretty rough...” Leo scowled as he stood up, walking towards the intricately decorated decanter, “... but whatever you hear tonight, it doesn’t leave these four walls Liam...” Leo barked as he poured more of the caramel coloured liquid into the glass before swirling it around. “I need a cigarette...” Leo sighed, “Drake?” Drake reached into his jeans pocket, removing a tobacco tin that contained some pre-rolled cigarettes. Liam raised his brow rather unimpressed but was only met with a chuckle from Drake, “Emergencies?” before he threw the tin across to Leo. The newly Crowned King of Laurentia took one out, tapping the filter end against the engraved metal. “Strike two...” Liam began to shake his head in desperation as Leo patted his blazer jacket whilst placing his cigarette into his mouth to find his zippo. With a mischievous grin, Leo winked at his brother and Drake, “Go hard or go home brothers... may as well make the screaming match worth it...” heading out onto the balcony into the cool Cordonian night air, with a flick of his wrist, Leo lit his cigarette and took a long drag allowing it to calm him as he exhaled slowly.

Isabella returned, her cheeks sucked in rolling her eyes to the left where Liam and Drake knew best to not speak. Without skipping a beat, Isabella barked, “Can you two get out?” folding her arms angrily as he brow raised. Liam’s brow began to furrow, “How dare...” Drake reached out holding his best friends shoulder to stop him in his tracks but Isabella was incensed pointing towards the door, “Unless you also want me to rip you both a new fucking asshole too, don’t have me repeat myself...” Leo flicked his cigarette into the ashtray beside him as he rolled his eyes mumbling, “Here we fucking go...” Isabella began to tap her foot as Liam and Drake hastily made their exit, “Are you going to hide out there all night?” The Laurentian Queen hissed towards her husband, “Its always like you to put your head in the fucking sand!” Leo took a deep breath, trying his hardest not to succumb to Isabella’s taunting. The former Crown Prince of Cordonia turned, walking quietly as his sea green eyes tried to stare down his petite wife, “Still not off of that fucking pedestal huh?” Leo growled towards the Laurentian beauty who began to slowly smirk much to Leo’s annoyance. “Pedestal?” Isabella began to laugh, “I’m not the one that those kids look up to and I’m also not the one who sidelines them... so excuse me if I am pissed off that the first time in months you’ve spent quality time with one of your daughters and this happens!”

“Get over yourself Isabella... it was an accident that could have happened anywhere!” Leo spat, “If you weren’t so preoccupied with everything, maybe, just maybe, you might have found time in your fucking schedule to come too and actually enjoy yourself!” sighing heavily he continued, “Ever since the Coronation, you have became a bigger pain in the ass than before...” Leo extended his hand out, almost pleasing with her, “it’s like every single piece of you is trying to find fault with everything!” Isabella rolled her eyes to the point that it began to hurt, “Don’t give me that shit Leo... if you actually came home every once in a while, I wouldn’t have to be!” “How many fucking times?!” Leo sighed heavily, “I told you I need to be here for Liam... I’m all he’s got!” Isabella slowly stepped towards Leo leaving barely an inch or two between them, her cheeks were sucked in, eyes narrowing with distain. Leo had hit a nerve and Isabella was not standing for it. Clenching her jaw, Isabella raised her hand and smacked her husband across the face, “How dare you!” Isabella screamed, “My father is barely three months in his grave and that’s what you say to me?” Isabella turned on her Louboutin heel walking away until she began to see red that removed any partial filter she had left.l as Leo shouted at her, “Don’t bring Felipe into this to try to make me feel fucking guilty... we were having problems way before he passed away!”

Immediately, the petite brunette turned back to face Leo to go in for the kill as he rubbed the sting from his cheek, “You know what?!” Isabella began to evilly laugh into Leo’s face, “You know what? Fuck you... and... fuck Liam too!” Leo clenched his jaw tightly as he commanded, “Isabella... that’s enough!” but defiantly, the petite brunette continued with her taunting. She was more than hurt, she was angry. As Isabella’s doe like dark chocolate brown eyes narrowed, glaring up at her husband, Isabella spat, “I really fucking hate you right now!” Leo leaned down towards her, his nostrils flaring as he held himself back seething, “The feeling’s mutual!” Isabella took a deep breath, pursing her lips, “Good!” She retorted as her eyes darkened locking onto Leo’s, their internal power struggle just kept bubbling to the surface as the tension in the room rose stemming from months of frustration. Leo growled as he removed his blazer jacket, throwing it onto the high winged back chair. His tensed muscles strained under his already tight crisp white shirt as his breathing became faster and heavier, “Bella... don’t fucking push me!”

There was a moment of silence between them as they glared into one another’s eyes until Isabella put her arms around Leo’s neck and jumped up into his arms. Their lips urgently crashed into one another, leaving the couple breathless, “This doesn’t change anything...” Leo grunted as his hands firmly caressed the petite brunette’s ass before he roughly pinned her to the adjacent wall. Isabella through her head back as her King peppered her neck hungrily with kisses, running her fingers through his sandy blonde hair until she grasped it in her hand pulling Leo’s head back to look at her before kissing him again passionately. Their tongues intertwined with one another as Leo pressed his body weight against the Laurentian beauty, holding her in place as he ripped open her chiffon blouse exposing her bare breasts. “Hey!” Isabella began to protest, “I liked this blouse!” but Leo began to kiss her again whispering, “Shut up...” against her lips before kissing her again. Isabella reached out and hurriedly unbuttoned Leo’s shirt, keeping his tie around his neck. Leo moved his hand as Isabella slapped it away barking at her husband, “Leave it!”

Stumbling his way across to the couch, Leo walked into the table holding the Crystal with Isabella’s heel knocking over the decanter and a handful of glasses, both of them so preoccupied to notice the noise as they smashed against the floor. Leo threw the petite brunette onto the couch and pulled off her shoes, firing them over his shoulder before running his hands up her thighs, feeling the buttery texture of the leather. Taking both her pants and thong off in one single rough pull, a growl left the Laurentian Kings throat as Isabella reached up, swiftly unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his trousers. Isabella beckoned Leo to sit before manoeuvring herself to sit on his lap to straddle him. Leo clenched his jaw as he groaned, feeling her wet core running against his already hard throbbing member. Isabella sat up, grabbing Leo’s thick shaft in her soft hand and lowered herself down until he was fully sheathed.

Isabella bit down on her lip as she whimpered, the feeling of fullness made her eyes roll back before she began to slowly bounce up and down on her husband’s length but Leo couldn’t help himself; he began to buck his hips in rhythm with the Laurentian beauty, roughly fucking her as his fingers gripped tightly onto her hips. Isabella wrapped Leo’s tie tightly around her hand as she pulled on it hard, bringing him forward towards her. Her dark chocolate brown eyes burned with a desire he’d never seen before, trying so hard not to moan out in ecstasy. Isabella gasped as Leo smacked her ass hard with a furrowed brow “That’s pay back for slapping me!” Isabella clenched down on her teeth as she seethed, “I still fucking hate you right now....” tightening the tie around Leo’s thick muscular neck even more as her core’s walls began to tighten around his member. Leo began to pick up the pace, mercilessly thrusting into the petite brunette as she dug her long, crimson red manicured nails into his muscular shoulders, scratching into his tanned skin.

Leo grunted as he felt the sharpness of her nails dragging against him, groaning loudly as both he and Isabella began to come. Isabella began to scrunch up her nose, immediately getting up from Leo’s lap, picking up her clothes and getting changed. “What... no cuddles?” Leo sarcastically quipped as he ran his fingers through his hair, watching as Isabella had to tie her blouse in a knot to close it over. The room fell quiet once more as Isabella tucked a piece of her long, chestnut brown hair behind her ear before looking over her shoulder towards the newly crowned King, “No...” she spoke bluntly, “... Natalia and I will be leaving tomorrow with or without you...” Leo began to shake his head as Isabella walked towards the door, “And don’t even fucking think of coming to bed... you can sleep here because I really don’t want to look at you any longer...” The Laurentian Queen slammed the drawing room door behind her, leaving Leo in an awkward position, but the question was, did he want to work on his marriage or not?

#choices #leo x isabella #n*fw text #🍋#cwfc Kinktober #the royal romance #playchoices #prince leo #choices fanfiction #choices the royal romance #playchoices fanfiction #queen isabella #royal romance au

10 notes · View notes

thelastspeecher · 4 years

Text

Pirates!

The post I made where I mentioned that we developed a Pirate AU on the discord recently got five likes, which is all the encouragement I need, so. Here. Have Stan talking his way into being a pirate, then later climbing the ranks to be a first mate to a feared pirate captain and discovering said captain’s biggest secret. I have even more stuff written, but here’s a bit of a taster to tempt y’all.

Shout-out to the folks on the discord who have helped to develop the AU, esp @bluestuffeh, who first said “Hey what about a Pirate AU where...”

Enjoy.

——————————————————————————————

Stan held his breath as another pirate walked past the barrel he was hiding in.

Stan. You’ve made a lot of shitty decisions in your life. This might be the shittiest. The ship hit a rough wave. Stan’s barrel toppled over, spilling him onto the deck. Promptly, there was a cutlass at his throat. Yep. This is the shittiest.

“Uh…hi,” he said weakly. The man pointing a sword at him, enormous and redheaded, glared at him.

“Someone fetch the captain to deal with this stowaway,” the man said. Or rather, roared. Stan winced.

This guy went into the right career. He clearly doesn’t have much of an inside voice.

“No need to fetch me, Dan,” a voice rasped. Stan’s heart leapt into his throat. “I heard you from my cabin.” Stan swallowed nervously as footsteps approached. The captain walked up to Stan, looking him over with a careful eye. A thick scar on one cheek marred his surprisingly delicate face, but Stan’s gaze was drawn to the scar on his neck. Rumor had it that the captain got it his first night on a ship when someone tried to slit his throat. Whoever tried to kill him hadn’t survived to tell the tale. Neither had the captain’s voice. It was irrevocably damaged.

“What should we do?” asked Dan. The captain watched Stan expectantly.

“I think I’d like to hear what the stowaway has to say for himself,” the captain said. Sure enough, his voice was rough and mangled. Stan opened and closed his mouth silently for a moment. “Well?”

“You’re short,” Stan said without thinking. Dan grabbed Stan roughly and pulled him to his feet. All the gesture did was further prove how short the captain was. Stan was almost a full foot taller.

“Wanna rephrase that?” Dan snarled.

Yes. But I’ll just bury myself deeper, because the only other thing I can think of to say is that he’s handsome. At Stan’s continuing silence, chuckles came from the crewmen that had gathered to watch the spectacle. The captain stepped closer to Stan.

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you right now.”

“I want to join your crew,” Stan blurted out. The crew’s laughter grew louder. The captain held up a hand, silencing the crew. He raised an eyebrow at Stan.

“What exactly do you think this is? This is a pirate ship, boy, not a bar. I don’t exactly let anyone who walks on board interview for a position.”

“Hear me out,” Stan said desperately. The captain made a “go on” gesture. Stan took a deep breath. “I can’t work for my brother anymore. He- he’s the captain of the ship you raided last night. I wanted to be at sea ever since I was a kid, but my brother, he was the one who was going places. So I just sort of went with him when the governor hired him to captain a ship. And I’m sick of it.” Something flashed in the captain’s eyes, a startling blue that matched the waves hitting the ship’s prow. “I can’t- I can’t be his lackey anymore, I can’t just do the stupid, pointless tasks he gives me. I mean, I’m not even his first mate, I’m just- I’m just the cabin boy.”

“Hmm.” The captain’s eyes bore into Stan. He resisted the urge to look away. “Dan, put the sword down.” Soft murmuring broke out amongst the crew. “What’s your name?”

“Stan. Stan Pines.”

“Stan. Welcome aboard. For a probationary period.”

“You have a better vocabulary than I’d expect from a pirate,” Stan said, again, without thinking. An expression crossed the captain’s face, too quickly for Stan to identify. It might have been amusement, it might have been frustration. It might have been both.

“And you’re damn good at putting your foot in your mouth,” the captain retorted. “I’ll let you join the crew for a while. If you try to get out of pulling your weight, if you turn out to be a spy for the crown, you’ll be in Davy Jones’ Locker before you’ll know what hit you. Got it?”

“Got it.” Stan swallowed. “Uh, and thanks.”

“It’s not a favor to you,” the captain said roughly. “A man’s gotta have a code to live by. I spent most of my life feeling adrift at sea, and I try to help people who are in the same spot.” The captain turned around. “Dan, show him where he’ll be sleeping. And Stan?”

“Y-yeah?”

“You should probably know who your new captain is.” The captain grinned viciously over his shoulder at Stan. “The name’s Sullivan McGowan. But you can call me Captain Sully.”

“Will do, Captain Sully,” Stan said dutifully. Captain Sully’s grin broadened.

“That’s what I like to hear.” The captain marched away. Stan could only stare silently.

How the hell did I pull that off?

-----

The ship doctor finally emerged from the captain’s cabin. Stan stopped pacing and looked at the doctor hopefully.

“Can I see him?” he asked. The doctor’s face was unreadable.

“Yes, you can see the captain,” the doctor said. Stan entered the cabin, his heart racing. When he’d seen Sully go down in battle with a sword in his side, he’d feared the worst. But Sully was a tough bastard, so of course he stuck around. Stan closed the cabin door behind him. At the sound, Sully sat up in bed. Stan’s jaw dropped. He’d never seen Sully shirtless before, and now he knew why.

The captain has…jugs. Stan immediately winced and prayed that Sully didn’t hear him think that. Sometimes, it seemed like the captain could read minds. Sully stared at him, face reddening. After a moment, he cleared his throat.

“Well…I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” Sully said softly. His voice was higher than usual, clearer. It lacked the distinct gruff rasp that Stan knew so well. Stan swallowed.

“Look, captain, I’ve- I’ve met people who used to be guys but then became girls, and girls that became guys. I’m not judging you, and you- you being- it doesn’t mean you’re not a man.” Sully let out a soft laugh. He swung his legs over the side of his bed.

“That’s very progressive of ya. But not necessary. I’m a woman. Have been my whole life. I just pretend to be a man ‘cause it’s a man’s world.” Sully scowled. “When I first got into piracy, I knew I couldn’t be myself if I wanted to survive.”

“What made you think that?” Stan asked.

“What was the first thing ya said when we first met?”

“Uh…that you were short.”

“I’m not just short fer a man, I’m short fer a woman. I was soft, petite, fragile, like young ladies are s’pposed to be. Someone like that won’t last long on the sea.” Sully got up. He- no, she limped over to her desk and sat down. “I changed myself so’s I could live.”

“That’s…that’s rough, buddy,” Stan finally managed. Sully snorted.

“Thanks. I am plannin’ on tellin’ the crew at some point that I’m a woman. Can I trust ya to keep this secret until I’m ready to spill it on my own?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

“And I’ll make sure the doctor doesn’t let anything slip, too,” Stan added. Sully nodded gratefully. “If you don’t mind me asking…” Sully waved a hand airily.

“Ask away.”

“Sully isn’t actually your name, is it?”

“No.” Sully’s lips flattened into a thin line. “It’s Sally. And- and even then, Sally’s my middle name. My first name’s Bridgette.”

“I see why you went by Sully,” Stan said. Sully- no, Sally chuckled. “One other thing.” Sally raised an eyebrow.

“Yes?”

“Your voice-” Stan started. Sally let out a bark of laughter.

“You know I’m a woman and keepin’ my voice low strains it, so of course it’s higher than yer used to.”

“No, I figured that out. I was wondering why it’s not so…rough.”

“Ah.” Sally pointed at the scar on her neck. “The rumor that my voice was affected by the wound that caused this? Just that. A rumor. I got it my first night on a ship. The person that patched me up said it might mess with my voice. So I went with it. Anything to make myself more intimidatin’.” Sally grinned. “And as fer the accent you’ve no doubt picked up on, I’ll explain that some other time. Right now, I need to rest. Go run the ship like the capable first mate you are.”

-----

Fiddleford charged through the crowd of battling sailors. He could see his target, gleefully kicking his first mate overboard.

“Anyone else want a piece?” Captain Sully snarled. His voice rasped painfully, in line with the rumor his vocal cords had been damaged years ago.

“Me,” Fiddleford said, stepping forward. Captain Sully’s head whipped around. He grinned viciously.

“You’re gonna regret that.” Captain Sully marched towards him. Fiddleford grit his teeth.

You’re doin’ this fer Angie. Yer doin’ this to find out where yer baby sister’s gone to. Before he knew what was happening, Captain Sully was in front of him, his throat tickled by the pirate’s cutlass. Fiddleford could only stare silently into Captain Sully’s eyes.

“What, you won’t even try to fight me?” Captain Sully snapped. Fiddleford’s heart was in his throat. The nose was a dead giveaway, and so was the height; but there was a spark in the pirate’s fierce blue eyes. A spark that Fiddleford remembered seeing whenever he played games with his overcompetitive little sister.

It can’t be… A few strands of blond hair fell into Captain Sully’s face. Fiddleford’s stomach churned. It- it’s Angie. He wanted desperately to say something to his younger sibling.

“Are you like me? Did you start a new life, where no one would know the name you were born with?” But not a single word crossed his lips. Captain Sully, fed up with his silence, spat in his face. Fiddleford wiped it off quickly, but while he was occupied, Captain Sully knocked his legs out from under him and chucked him overboard. His head broke free from the water. He stared at the pirate captain that had once been his baby sister.

What happened?

-----

Once again, a cutlass was at Fiddleford’s throat. Captain Sully sneered down at him.

“Anything to say?” he said jauntily. “I’ll grant you last words. It’s the least a man can get.” Fiddleford swallowed.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. Captain Sully frowned, bemused. “I’m sorry fer bein’ a poor excuse of a big brother. I should’ve been there fer ya.” The pirate’s stony expression broke. Shock filled his eyes, a blue that they both had inherited from Ma. “But…if this is what ya wanted, to have a new life, start over, I- I’m just happy to know ya found yourself.” The cutlass at his throat quivered.

“I…” Captain Sully’s brief devastated expression returned to a vicious glare. “Dan!”

“Yes, captain?” asked a redheaded bear of a man. Captain Sully sheathed his sword.

“Take him to the brig.”

“Uh…” The ship’s crew looked at each other. “Are- are you sure about that?”

“Are you questioning me, Dan?” Captain Sully snapped. Dan swallowed.

“N-no, sir.” Dan marched forward and pulled Fiddleford to his feet. “I don’t know why the captain decided to go easy on you, but you should count yourself lucky.” Fiddleford watched Captain Sully disappear into his cabin, closely followed by a man he could only assume was the first mate.

“…I do.”

-----

“Hey.” Fiddleford’s head whipped up. It was the first mate he’d seen follow Captain Sully into his cabin. “What’s your name?”

“F-Fiddleford.”

“All right. Fiddleford.” The first mate unlocked the door. “You’re coming with me. The captain wants to talk to you.”

“He’s not doing the interrogation in the brig?” asked Fiddleford’s guard. The first mate shrugged. “Man, what is it about this guy that’s making the captain go so easy on him?”

“Dunno,” the first mate grunted. He grabbed Fiddleford’s arm. “You’re coming with me, Twiggy McGee.” The first mate dragged Fiddleford out of the brig, up to the deck, and into the captain’s cabin. “Sit.” Fiddleford was shoved into a chair in front of the captain’s desk.

“Stan,” the captain said softly.

“Yep.” The first mate – Stan – closed the door. “You better cooperate with anything the captain asks you, capisce?”

“I- I was goin’ to,” Fiddleford stammered.

“Good.” Stan leaned against the door. The captain looked up from his desk. He steepled his fingers, his eyes staring into Fiddleford’s. A tense silence fell. Clearly, Captain Sully wasn’t planning on speaking first. Fiddleford cleared his throat.

“You make a fine young man,” he said finally. Captain Sully leaned back in his chair.

“So do you. But I’m guessin’ that you ain’t pretendin’ to be a man like I am.” Fiddleford sat up straight. “I heard ‘bout yer…passin’. Well, the passin’ of Viola.”

“H-how?”

“I have my ways. Why’d ya think I named my ship Sweet Viola?” Captain Sully snorted. “If I’d known my sister died so my brother could be born, maybe I would’ve named her somethin’ else.”

“Wait, what exactly is going on?” Stan asked. Captain Sully sighed.

“Remember what you thought when ya first saw me shirtless?”

“Yeah,” Stan said. Captain Sully nodded at Fiddleford. “…Oh.”

“You- you aren’t a man now?” Fiddleford asked.

“Nope.”

“But-”

“Sally’s been dressing like a man so that people take her seriously,” Stan said. Fiddleford frowned.

“…Sally? If yer first mate knows yer a woman, why don’t he know yer real name?” he asked. His younger sibling, who he now felt comfortable thinking of as Angie again, narrowed her eyes.

“He knows Sally’s my middle name,” Angie ground out.

“But-”

“By the way, don’t think I missed that little squeak ya made,” Angie said, talking over him, probably to prevent Fiddleford from letting slip that Sally wasn’t her middle name. “When I said Stan saw me shirtless. If findin’ out someone saw me without a top on is enough to make that overprotective siblin’ nature kick in, you’ll be apoplectic once ya hear what else I’ve done.” Angie kicked her legs up on her desk. At some point, she had changed out of her long pants and into shorter ones. Fiddleford’s mouth went dry at the scars running up and down her legs.

“Look…Sally, I-”

“Save it,” Angie snarled. “I didn’t kill ya ‘cause yer fam’ly. But that don’t mean yer entitled to-” Stan cleared his throat.

“Sally, remember what I said? About how he clearly hadn’t written you off? And was trying to find you?” Stan said gently. Angie closed her eyes. Fiddleford’s heart sank.

That’s why she’s so upset. She really- she really thinks that we abandoned her.

“Junebug,” Fiddleford whispered. Angie looked away, but not fast enough to hide the tears beginning to trickle down her face. “We- we never gave up on ya. I’ve been- I’ve been searchin’ fer ya fer years. Why else do ya think a farm boy went and joined the navy?”

“…Farm boy?” Stan said. “Sally, did you grow up on a-”

“Not now,” Angie mumbled. She rubbed her face roughly. “I…”

“I’m sorry it took so long to find you. And I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help when you needed it,” Fiddleford said, leaning forward. He cautiously reached out a hand. Angie didn’t move away. Emboldened, Fiddleford took hold of her hand. It was as thin and dainty as he remembered, but roughened by callouses and scars. “But I’m here now. I want- I want to know what you’ve been through, and I want to tell ya what you’ve missed.” Angie took a shuddering breath.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “First things first, you should prob’ly tell me whatever name yer goin’ by now.”

“Oh. It’s Fiddleford.”

“Fiddleford.” Angie snorted. “Of course, when you had the chance to choose a name, ya went with Fiddleford.” Fiddleford grinned. Angie didn’t return the expression, but the steely, vicious glint in her eyes softened.

Just a bit.

#being purposefully vague about the details blue said when proposing the AU #bc those details are a bit spoiler-y ;)#but yeah this AU is fuckin LIT y'all and I love it so much #Stanley Pines #Manly Dan Corduroy #Fiddleford McGucket #Angie McGucket #Pirate AU #my writing #my stuff #ficlet #speecher speaks

21 notes · View notes

sonicringbond · 3 years

Text

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 28

Here we go, my favorite scene out of the whole story so far. I had so much fun when I wrote this scene, and the emotions and action just came to me so naturally. Even the scenes that come after this one have yet to hit me so hard as this one did.

But let me not keep everyone away with my gushing though. instead, please enjoy...

~It was so noisy, which was not what I was expecting when I tried to take my cards out. As I touched them with my fingers it was like the voices of all the ghosts tore through me and I couldn’t make out anything. But there were flashes of images. They were so tinged with fear. So much fear. And it was all directed to that planet in the sky. What was it? Why was it so frightening? And how could they see it in this storm?

~And is it looking at me? Smiling?~

“Come on! Snap out of it!”

“Wha...?” Rosy barely mumbled her question as Draw shook her from her trance.

“Come on, I hear voices, and they don’t sound like ghosts!”

Rosy was barely able to connect reality with her hazy mind. The image of the small planet that hung in the sky watching her everyday was now watching her from within her field of vision as if she were having a half-asleep hallucination. Draw did not care however as she had at least responded and no longer resisted his attempts to lead her to a massive fissure in the tower floor.

“–Talk big all you want flightless rodent! That Red Star Ring is mine and all the power it entails. Then I’ll make sure all the world knows the name of Doctor Fukurokov and his Battle Kukku Armada! Even that fool Eggman won’t be a match for me once I harness it’s power.”

The voice of the mad owl that came up through the fissure was unfamiliar to Draw. The voice that responded to it was also one he had not heard before. However…

“Oh yeah bird brain. I may not be looking my best, but that hasn’t stopped me before.”

“SONIC!”

Rosy snapped out of her daze in an instant. The voice of none other than Sonic the Hedgehog had that powerful of an effect on her and she missed the amusement that lingered uninvited within her being held by the vision of the small planet in the sky. That did not matter to her even if she did notice as she was more concerned about the fissure that Draw had led her too. The same koala who was holding his ear with both hands. “What was that for!”

“I’m sorry Draw, but that’s Sonic! And it sounds like he’s in trouble! We have to go help him!”

“We don’t even know where he is,” Draw tried to calm Rosy down, but she did not hear him as she pushed back the cuff of her glove and fiddled with the small device strapped to her wrist. As a holographic little screen was emitted from it, she whined out her frustrations.

“Ooh~! Why didn’t I check like I always do! Sonic really is here, but…”

Dashing to the edge of the tower in a blink, leaving Draw chasing after her, Rosy looked out at the raging ocean. “He’s out there…”

“Out… there…,” Draw panted as he caught up and looked at the ocean. “Then those stories about underwater ruins…?”

“We have to go find out now! Hold on!”

“Gyah~!”

Draw had noticed it before, but when Rosy was desperate or extremely emotional she seemed to handle her speed a lot more competently than when she was having fun. She demonstrated as such when she smashed into him with her back and snagged his arms pulling him into an awkward piggyback position. He wrapped his legs around her almost instinctually and was glad he did as she jumped down the fissure and charged through the castle.

‘I wonder, if she, does this on purpose,’ Draw pondered, faced with Rosy’s sudden competence.

The koala failed to understand how much Sonic meant to Rosy though, and she herself could feel the warm glow of her Ring Bond with Sonic in her chest as she ran with everything she had. She was running so fast Draw could not hear Sonic or the voice that belonged to Doctor Fukurokov anymore. He could barely see where Rosy was running as she bounced off walls, columns, the ceiling, and any other structure that redirected her desperate run in pursuit of the warmth in her chest. Even the ghosts were no match for such, which made Mote keeping up all the more surprising.

‘Why didn’t you share that speed with me?’ Draw practically criticized the fairy with his thoughts. What he received in return was not the response he was expecting though as the fairy turned its eyes fearfully to the stormy sky. “What is that!”

Creating a vortex within the clouds, a massive artificial island with an equally absurd impossibly large spinning propeller on its underside descended along with a fleet of airships. The Jolly Roger of the battle Kukku Armada flew high as countless rocket powered pods descended upon the ocean as it was pulled up into a swirling wall of destruction. Draw could not see the exposed ruins beyond the wall of sea water, but he knew Rosy was running towards it. And unlike the growing fear in his chest, or the fear shared by Mote and the spirits of the dead of the little planet in the sky, Rosy ran without fear.

“No way!” Draw yelled trying to pull away from Rosy fruitlessly against her surprising strength. “You can’t run into that!”

“That’s where Sonic is, and I’m not letting a wall of water stop me!” Rosy shouted back determinedly.

“You’re crazy you WEIRDO GI~~~~~RL~~~~~!!!!!” Draw cried out in horror as Rosy truly ran right into the swirling wall of water as she ascended debris pulled from the ruins by the island above. ‘She’s going to drown me!’

Draw’s fear was in vain as he suddenly found himself upside down as Rosy kicked off a ceiling she hit after emerging from the water.

“Where are we now!”

“Almost to Sonic! I’m sure of it!”

~I know Draw didn’t believe me. But he didn’t have too. I just had to reach Sonic. The ruins that floated within the swirling vortex of water wasn’t going to stop me. The ghosts and even the golems that occupied it weren’t either. I could swim fast enough even with Draw on my back. I could run fast enough even as the island above us made the water even fiercer. I could run to Sonic wherever he was. It didn’t matter. If I knew where Sonic was, I could always run to him.~

“Wait for me Soni~~~~~c!”

Draw was unprepared when Rosy suddenly tossed him across a pool of water full of rubble. As he landed on the steps on the other side, he drew an arrow from his quiver, shocked it was still there. Jamming it into the cracked brickwork to stop himself, he fought to hold steady against the pull of the island above’s impossibly huge propeller. As he did so he barely had time to see Rosy dive into the water, curling into a tight ball of destructive rotation as she hit the surface.

“What are you doing now you crazy weirdo girl!”

Beneath the water Rosy did not hear her companion who was less likely to survive the vortex than her. She believed in him though and knew that right now it was not him who needed her help. She knew exactly who needed her embrace right now as she hit the rubble and decimated it making her way fully to the bottom of the pool. There she found him and smiled so bright even as the sight of her stole what breath he had left away. That did not matter though.

As she bounced off the ground, she revved her best underwater Spin Dash and smashed into the rubble that had pinned him and ricocheted back and off the wall behind her. She knew he was obviously feeling weak from lack of air as he otherwise would not have let her grab him.

And she embraced him, shoving her head into his chest and him clear out of the water as she swam with everything she had. Every ounce of speed she could pour into her legs granted to her by the blue hedgehog whose life was in her hands for once.

“Gya–!” Draw shouted as Rosy miscalculated her ascent and crashed straight through the stairs he was situated on. He did not have to risk being pulled away by the vortex though as he was promptly pinned by two hedgehogs. “Oof!”

“Sonic!” Rosy cried out as she forced herself up by fully extending her arms. Looking down at none other than the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog, her heart skipped a beat as he was bent over backwards on Draw and she could not see his face. Or the awkward smile he offered Draw before holding up a hand and giving Rosy a thumbs up. “Ah… ah… ah… SONI~~~~~~C!!!!! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! WAHHHH~~~~~!!!!!”

“Looks like you’ve been making friends though kid,” Sonic comforted Rosy as he sat up despite the force the hedgehog girl buried her face and tears in his chest with. Placing a hand atop her head, Sonic ruffled her quills soothingly and Rosy lost every ounce of strength she had left as she cried with overwhelming joy into Sonic’s chest.

Scene 28 · CLEARED A Tide of Ghosts, End

-----

And there we have it! Rosy has finally caught up with one of her friends, and of course it’s Sonic 😁 And I really did have so much fun writing this scene. It just felt so right and came so naturally. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it and are hyped for what comes next. I really hope you enjoy!

Thank you!

-----

Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – Second Advent – Tsutomu Narita, GRANBLUE FANTASY – Granblue Fantasy Original Soundtrack: Chaos

Fair Use Disclaimer

Sonic the Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement. The Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

*Sonic Ring Bond logo created by DEE Art – twitter.com/daryliscute.

Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein considered for all legal purposes the property of the Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic fan fiction #sonic au #sonic au series #sonic ring bond #the journey #classic amy #amy rose #rosy the rascal #au amy #amy redesign #doctor fukulokov #sonic oc #patch #draw the koala #mote the fairy

2 notes · View notes

jasontoddiefor · 5 years

Text

Title: Sea shells and all the things he left behind

Summary: Dick Grayson didn’t go to the beach. He didn’t watch any ocean documentaries, he didn’t talk about his childhood and he most certainly did not work with the mers at Blüdhaven’s Ocean Life Rehabilitation center. And then they brought in a kid clinging to an injured mer and Dick was 9 years old again and drowning.

AN: @thursday-batfam-prompts Prompt 7: Mermaid/Siren. Inspired by Gifts From the Sea.” Please go read that story!!

Dick already knew it was going to be a bad day when he got up. His back hurt and his throat itched and he had the taste of seawater on his tongue, though maybe that was just residue from his tears. Dick couldn’t recall what he had dreamed, but when he closed his eyes, orange flashed in front of his vision.

It was better if he didn’t remember.

Dick contemplated staying home sick, playing catch up with another happy kids’ show he had missed out on when he noticed his phone vibrating. It was nothing new for Dick to wake up to a hundred messages or more - the benefits of being friends with a lot of people who kept odd hours.

To his surprise though, it wasn’t the Titanic Idiots group chat blowing up his phone, just Wally. He was getting a new message every second - either Wally was taking his break way too early or they had an emergency at work.

Dick’s shift didn’t even start until twelve and it was what - nine in the morning?

Instead of bothering with reading through all of the messages, he just called Wally. The phone rang only once and his friend already answered.

“Dick! Holy fuck, you need to get your ass here like immediately we’re way too understaffed and nobody knows what we’re supposed to be doing Roy already called up OLRC main office this is why you don’t let a bunch of volunteers and marine life bachelors work on their own without any superior supervision of you know the people who have actually been trained to deal with-”

“Wally. Breathe. Calm down. What’s going on?”

Dick could hear Wally take a few deep breaths before he continued speaking, only a bit slower than before. At least Dick could make out where a sentence started and where it ended.

“We’ve got an emergency. A kid showed up with an unidentified and severely injured mer today. We think it’s a mermaid, but it doesn’t have a tag from what we can tell, and it’s super hostile, well as hostile as mermaids get given they’re the shiest mers, so we can’t get near it. The kid won’t speak either and separating the two already probably broke Donna’s arm. We need some more manpower here.”

Dick couldn’t wait to eat breakfast. Nutella, marmalade, honey - whatever would get rid off the salty taste on his tongue.

“Wally, I don’t work with the mers, you know that.”

“Yes, Dick, and I’m sorry, but you’re the only guy we’ve got.”

Somehow Wally managed to ooze his frustration and worry over the phone. “Please, Dick. You can look after the kid in the meanwhile and I can help check on the mer, but we need someone here.”

Dick’s premonition proved to be true. He should have just stayed in bed. He marched into the direction of his wardrobe, checking if he still had any clean clothes left.

“Give me thirty minutes to get dressed and grab breakfast and I’ll be there.”

“Thank you so, so much. I owe you.”

Wally’s evident relief made Dick smile. The redhead was Dick’s oldest friend. He had helped Dick find his place in a world he hardly understood, willingly shared a dorm with the resident weird kid and had managed to get Dick this summer job in-between college classes, if anything, Dick owed him.

“No prob, Wally,” Dick replied and ended the call.

He quickly grabbed an old pair of jeans and a shirt he was pretty sure was one of Roy’s hand-me-downs. Their small kitchen was always stuffed full due to Wally’s metabolic disorder, so it didn’t take much time to find something sugary and eatable that would still fill him up and prepare him for the stress that was to come.

Twenty minutes later, he was standing in front of Blüdhaven’s Ocean Life Rehabilitation Center. Dick didn’t even study marine biology. He was taking theatre classes, set on his goal to be as far away from the ocean as he could possibly be.

Yeah, that had turned out exactly like planned.

Not trusting himself to not stall any longer, Dick stepped into the strangely deserted building and headed straight to the part where they kept the mers. Before he could even reach the actual aquarium though, Wally already caught him.

His friend looked way too tired for someone who started his shift two hours ago. He stood right next to a couple boxes, his right hand holding an energy drink while his left was occupied with a donut.

“Dick!” Wally exclaimed and quickly swallowed the food in his mouth. “You’re here!”

Dick just rolled his eyes and focused on everything but his stomachs doing flips. “You did ask me to come. So where’s the kid?”

“In the office right here,” Wally said and pointed at the closed door behind him. “The kid’s not speaking at all. We’ve tried every language we’ve got between all of us, even some clumsy ASL, but the kid won’t react. Wouldn’t even look us in the eyes. And since he still has a knife, we don’t want to surprise him. CPS has already been notified, but they’re overrun as always and won’t come until the afternoon, but maybe you can get him to talk? You’re great with kids.”

That was an exaggeration. Dick was good with kids because he could keep them entertained and tell them the stories that captivated them. Generally speaking, that included kids up to age twelve. Everyone above that? Nope, not Dick’s age group.

Dick sighed. “I mean, I can try. Just don’t expect much, alright?”

Wally smiled, exhausted, but as bright as always. “I’m not expecting a miracle, Boy Wonder. Let me just finish and I’ll introduce you. If he doesn’t start screaming on sight seeing the terrible bags under your eyes-”

“And whose fault are they?”

“- then I’ll leave you two and look after the mer.”

Wally inhaled the remains of his snack and wiped his mouth clean on his jacket. Then he slowly opened the door.

The office had been pretty much emptied. Dick recalled that this was Dinah’s office/private break room, but she was on vacation until the end of the month. All of her belongings must be in the boxes.

When Dick and Wally entered the room and the kid looked up, measuring him. The boy had dark hair and his skin was quite pale by comparison. His blue eyes were sharp, evaluating. He definitely wasn’t keeping silent because of shock then.

The boy was dressed almost normally, aside from the old blood sticking to his hoodie. He wore jeans that had obviously been wet in the past hours. No wonder if he had shown up with a mer - Dick should have asked Wally how that had gone down.

“Hey, kiddo,” Wally said. “This is my friend Dick. He’ll stay here with you now if that’s alright?”

The kid didn’t react. He kept staring at Dick and playing around with his knife and the cord of his necklace. Dick studied it and almost took a step back when he realized what he was looking at.

Shark teeth, dark black scales, corals, fish bones, and two shells.

The necklace was identical to the one Dick had stuffed in the darkest corner of his dresser, except Dick’s had seven shells more, one for each year he had survived. Dick had almost thrown it out in anger multiple times, but in the end, he’d always kept it and felt guilty for even thinking of destroying it.

Suddenly, the puzzle pieces slotted together smoothly.

Dick had grown up multilingual until his parents had died. And then, after, he’d spoken only some English. His primary language had been his adopted father’s language made up of clicks and snarls.

“Who are you?” Dick asked, his throat almost hurting from the sounds, and finally, the boy paid attention.

His expression was a stunned one, like Dick’s question had torn down a wall so high you couldn’t even imagine anything lingering behind it.

While Wally looked at Dick like he was crazy, the kid already had tears forming in his eyes.

“You speak!” The kid still had a strong English accent, he couldn’t have been learning to speak for long.

“I was taught, like you,” Dick replied. “What are you doing here.”

“You speak,” the kid only repeated, hope almost choking him. “You’re human and you speak! You’re eldest-who-can-fly-on-land.”

Now it was Dick’s turn to be stunned while the kid started crying for real.

“You’ve got to help us. He’d got hurt badly after missed-love-bright-as-the-sun died and then venom-in-his-blood came and he said not to come but I didn’t know who else to turn to-”

“He-” Dick’s eyes went wide and he jumped up. “Come with me, now.”

“Dick, what the hell is going on?” Wally shouted as Dick turned into the other direction and leaped into a sprint.

He and the kid quickly followed him, but all Dick could think of that they were going to be too late, that he wasn’t going to make it-

“Dick, what are you doing!?”

“Siren!” Dick shouted back. “The mer is a siren, not a mermaid!”

Behind him, Dick could hear Wally starting to curse. None of the people on shift were actually experienced in handling anything above a selkie. And if the kid was as close to Bruce at the necklace suggested, then he wouldn’t just stop at a broken arm, no matter how injured he was.

Dick pretty much kicked the door to the aquarium open, and not a minute too late. Roy had just fallen into the water and a massive dark body was pulling at his clothes while the others desperately tried to reach for him.

Why had nobody broken the cabinet with the tranquilizers?

Dick didn’t hesitate, he didn’t even bother to kick off his shoes or get rid off his jacket, he just jumped right into the water, followed by the hysteric sounds of his friends.

“Where is my son!?”

The water engulfed him and Dick is seventeen and leaving the next, fifteen and on the surface for the first time in years, thirteen and complaining he’s slower than Kori and Babs, eleven and falling asleep on scales, nine years old and drowning alongside his parents, except he got saved by-

“Bruce!”

The siren suddenly let go of Roy, who struggled to get back to the surface and just stared at Dick like he couldn’t quite believe he was there.

“Dick,” Bruce said. “My eldest-who-can-fly.”

The name Bruce had given him when he’d taken Dick into his family had changed. Somehow that was still what caught him off-guard the most.

Dick had left screaming, spitting poison, but he was the-eldest now, not the-reject-who-left though that opened a whole other can of worms.

Bruce looked less like the predator he had just moments before. His eyes were still dark and cat-like, and his massive black tail with razor-sharp fins lingered in the deep of the pool. He had more scars than years ago, never mind the many festering lacerations they needed to take care off as soon as possible.

But Bruce’s expression was made up of terrified hopefulness. Dick was glad he didn’t have a mirror. He didn’t want to know what face he was making, but going by the sound of roaring waves in his ears, he was close to heartbreak as well.

“Hi, Dad.”

The words were much too weak for what he wanted to say but-

They’d have to be enough for now.

#dc #dc comics #batman #bruce wayne #dick grayson #tim drake #wally west #fanfic #I'll just pepper in the fact that Jason is dead

202 notes · View notes

ericsonclan · 4 years

Text

A Bloody Struggle Part 1

Summary: After over two years the Ericson Pirates are forced to face the Delta Pirates once again after they have captured one of the crew.

Read on A03:

Louis felt his heart rate quicken as they made their way to the enemy ship. He couldn’t believe he had let one of his crew get taken. It had all happened so fast. The crew had split up into different pairs when they went into town. Willy and Mitch had decided to check out the local bakery in hopes of finding some sweet bread or other treats that the crew rarely got. That’s when Lilly’s crew ambushed them. The struggle was over in mere minutes. Mitch had defended Willy from the onslaught of pirates, telling him to run back and get the others. But by the time that the crew got there he was already gone. All that remained in the streets was splashes of blood.

Luckily they were able to track him following the trail that Lilly’s crew had so sloppily made, most likely due to Mitch’s attempts to flee. It took them several hours to reach the location where the Delta ship stood hovering over the seas as if it was the very master of it. Louis stood by Clementine who was at the helm. His body was shaking even more now that they had stopped by the Delta’s ship. Immediately the Ericson crew waved a white flag back and forth as the two ships slowly crept towards each other. It was only when they stood side by side that Louis spoke.

“I want to parley with Lilly.” His voice quivered even though he had tried his best to cover his ever-growing fear.

The enemy crew didn’t move. All of them glared at the Ericson Pirates with menacing and heartless looks. Their hands were already placed on their scabbards. The tension in the air grew larger by the second, causing some of the Ericson Pirates to cautiously move their hands down, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. It felt like an eternity had passed until suddenly the Delta crew parted, giving way for their captain Lilly to stride forward.

“So, let’s hear it then. What do you have to say?” Lilly’s voice was calm and collected, her eyes stared directly into Louis’, piercing them with her overwhelming aura.

“All we want is Mitch back. The crew member you stole.” Louis carefully took a few steps forward to which the Delta pirates started to unsheath their blades until Lilly rose a hand motioning them to stop.

“Why should I do that?” Lilly looked at the Ericson Pirates, her eyes studying each and every one of them. “What could you possibly have to offer in exchange?”

“What would you want? Name it and it’s yours as long as Mitch comes back to us unharmed.” Louis’ voice was firm as he maintained eye contact with her.

“Well, I’m afraid we can’t come to a deal then,” Lilly gave a small sigh as she shook her head.

“What? Why not?” Louis’ voice cracked.

“Because I have what I want, the key to what I’ve been searching for.” Lilly’s smile grew when she walked forward, stopping by the side of her ship.

“Besides,” Lilly casually tossed something to the other ship. “I can’t return him unharmed.”

The crew looked down at the item she had tossed. A finger bounced off the deck, rolling around before stopping by Brody’s feet. The pinky finger laid there bloody and wrinkled. Brody's face twisted in horror. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her heart pounded in her ears while countless questions consumed her mind. That’s not Mitch’s… is it? Brody’s eyes shot up with burning rage, glaring at Lilly. “What the fuck did you do?!?”

Lilly gave a small smirk back to Brody before her face twisted in fake, mocking sadness.

“It was a small but tragic price.”

The Ericson Pirates' faces twisted in hatred. Each of them right then and there wanted nothing more than to break their code and kill the enemy captain before them.

Violet’s voice was coated in a thick, venomous hatred as it rang out. “Listen here, you fucking psycho bitch! You give him back or else-”

“Or else what? It’s clear we can’t parley. You have nothing that I want. So I guess there is only one thing left to do.” Lilly lifted up her hand, signaling her crew to attack. Grappling hooks flew across the sky, hooking onto the Ericson ship. The sea echoed the soft clang of the grappling hooks as they embedded into the wood of Ol’ Kickass. It only took seconds for the two ships to be tied together.

“Everyone! Prepare to fight!” Louis shouted, turning back to his crew and throwing out his arm.

Louis instantly went to the cannons with AJ. The ship was slowly getting taken over by the enemy. Wave after wave of cutthroat pirates invaded the ship, each of them desperate for the taste of blood. Ruby, Aasim, Omar and Marlon drew their weapons and began to push back, hoping to give Louis and AJ time to load the cannons and give the crew a fighting chance. The rest of the crew swung over onto Lilly’s ship. As they landed they were greeted by a wave of enemies. Their twisted smiles and rapiers shone in the light, challenging any of the Ericson pirates to dare cross them.

“Prisha! Go with Willy and Brody and get Mitch!” Violet dodged an incoming attack, sending a swift punch that dug deeply into her enemy’s gut as she fended off the enemy crew.

“There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you!” Prisha’s voice was firm but fear lingered within it. She rushed forward and unsheathed her blade, using the hilt to knock out a pirate.

“We don’t have time to argue. The sooner we get Mitch, the sooner we can get the hell away from this shit! I’ll buy you guys time.” Violet’s fist connected with an enemy pirates’ jaw, smashing it to pieces before she looked back at her lover. “Now go!”

Prisha froze. She wanted to disagree, to stay by Violet’s side and help deal with the opponents before her. But even though it was hard to accept, it was the best plan. She turned sharply on her heel, grabbing the other two. The three of them sprinted through the chaos of the Delta ship and made their way to the lower decks.

Sophie let out a deep breath, her dual blades knocking out the two enemies in front of her. She had to make sure that she stopped any enemy in her way. She was one of the few crew members that blocked the way from their enemies reaching the others. A pirate ran forward, giving a mighty war cry while he swung his cutlass towards her. Sophie easily sidestepped him, hitting him with the butt of her sword in his gut before knocking him out. There were still so many of them, but she was making progress. She was about to run off to the starboard side of the Delta ship to take out a swarm of enemies trying to make their way to Ol’ Kickass when Sophie froze.

Standing before her was Minnie, her cavalry saber drawn at the ready. A look of utter hate was plastered across her features. Her eyes held nothing within but a husk of her former self.

“Minnie!” Sophie called out as she slowly walked towards her.

Minnie’s eyes widened in confusion. “Sophie?”

Her face seemed to regain some of its life, a look of relief and disbelief washing over her face before she shook her head, her face contorting in frustration. “You’re not her! This is a trap!” Minnie yelled, lunging forward. Her blade jabbed towards Sophie whose rapiers blocked it. The clash of metal rang out through the ship as the two sisters were locked in a desperate battle.

The chaos of fighting slowly consumed both ships as Violet fought the enemy before her. There was only some much stamina and strength behind her fighting and sooner or later she would run out. Letting out a shaky breath, she regained her composure. All of a sudden a jagged blade made from bone came from behind her. With only a few seconds to react, Violet took out her dagger, barely blocking the attack. Her dagger slowly slid against her enemy’s sword and her eyes fell upon her attacker. Abel.

He gave a twisted animalistic smile. Violet took a step back, putting her weight on her left foot and kicking Abel in the stomach with her right. Digging in deep. He slid back with a pained groan. Taking the opportunity, Violet ran forward and landed a punch in his gut. Her iron-studded glove connected with a slight crunch. She had definitely broken something within him. Abel reacted right away, his blade clipping her shoulder, its jagged teeth tearing at her flesh as she sidestepped. Violet felt her heart pounding. When she stepped back, the blood slowly trickled from her shoulder. The burning sensation pierced through her entire body.

“That’s all you got? I guess that’s what you get for trying to walk the higher path,” Abel’s voice was cocky as he strolled forward. “But lucky for me, I’m not afraid to kill!” Abel’s eyes lit up with excitement, swiftly jabbed his blade towards Violet. Violet dodged the attack, her hand immediately grabbing his arm before punching it. Another disturbing cracking sound emitted from it, causing him to let out a cry of pain as his sword fell to the ground. Her fist quickly found his stomach again, adding to his list of injuries.

“You little bitch!” He yelled. In one fluid movement he used the back of his hand against her face, causing her to stagger back. Her face stung with pain from the impact. When Violet finally regained her balance, she saw his blade come crashing down towards her only for it to get caught in the bannister of the ship as she dodged it. But Abel was far from done. His hands immediately caught her and tossed her towards the edge of the ship. He pinned her against the side of the ship, slowly choking her out as his grin grew bigger and bigger. Every second made his eyes dance with more joy. Violet felt herself struggling for air, looking around desperately for a way to break free. She needed to breathe. Her limbs flailed around, trying to get out from her potential death that was looming over her.

“You know what's wrong with your little group?” Abel hissed in her face, his stench swirling around in the air. “You’re weak! Pathetic little kids trying to play at being pirates.” His voice was twisted with disgust as he pressed down harder, his eyes filling with happiness with each second that he got to watch her struggle.

Violet made one last desperate attempt to kick him between the legs. The blow landed with a sickening thud, causing him to groan and fall back. Violet coughed, her hands reaching up to gently touch her throat as she tried to catch her breath. Abel let out a vicious scream, his body lunging towards her. Violet’s eyes widened in fear before she rolled out of the way. Turning around quickly, she grabbed his legs and flipped him off the edge of the ship. His body fell into the sea with a loud splash while he cursed furiously.

That was close. Violet stood there catching her breath through wheezes and pained coughs. Her eyes caught the sight of her enemy, watching Abel try to swim with one arm. He kept bobbing up and down in the water, grasping for anything as his eyes filled with terror. If he dies, he dies. Violet turned without a second thought, leaving Abel to his fate, sprinting off to rejoin the fight.

The fighting had calmed down a bit on the Ericson ship. Louis and AJ were using the swivel cannons that Mitch and Willy had designed, slowly taking out the enemy’s cannons in hopes that they could stop their ship from being sunk. Louis looked at Lilly’s ship, his eyes filled with concern as he watched his crew fight. Each of them struggled with their opponents, trying to stop the Delta pirates from getting the upper hand. There were far too many enemies over there for only a portion of his crew to handle.

“Aasim! Ruby! They need help over there!” His voice rang out across the ship. He really hoped that they could hear him. Luckily they had. Ruby and Aasim knocked out the last enemy they were fighting and immediately went over to the other side. As soon as they landed they stood back to back in hopes of increasing their chances of winning. Aasim’s first opponents appeared, two large pirates running towards him.

“Ruby, get down!” Aasim shouted. She followed his instructions, bending forward. Aasim laid his back against hers, using both of his legs to kick down the two enemies. The two enemies stumbled backwards, falling onto the deck.

“Aasim! Spin me!” Ruby instructed. Aasim quickly grabbed her arms and interlocked them with his own. Then he swung his wife around, giving her enough momentum to knock out the pirates before her.

Their fight continued this way, both of them taking turns helping the other attack. One would kick out an enemy’s leg before the other swiftly knocked them out. Each of them tried their best to take out enemies while also defending the other. Many times Ruby’s sword blocked an attack meant for Aasim and vice versa. With each attack they helped whittle down the enemy’s numbers. It seemed like the battle was slowly turning in the Ericson Pirates’ favor. Louis let out a sigh of relief before he felt the ship shake as a crash rang out. David and Dorian had made their way onto Ol’ Kickass.

Louis felt a chill run down his spine when he looked over at the two fearsome enemies. This fight was far from over.

5 notes · View notes

lov3nerdstuff · 4 years

Text

Dark Stars {Part 5}

*Loki x OFC*

Part: 5/10

Words: 5.6k

Warnings: violence, injuries

Summary: ~Loki could just let her die here and now. His problems would be solved and he could go back to his usual ways. But then he would forever be left with an unsolved mystery and he hated the prospect of that even more than the fear of what would happen if she lived.~

A story of what happens when Loki stumbles upon someone who is like him in every way. Only better. Oh, and they just happen save Asgard too.

A.N.: MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone who celebrates it, and happy times in general to absolutely everyone else 💗 To celebrate over 1000 people following me (how insane is that?!), I decided to share the newly edited version of the very first Loki fanfiction I ever wrote! Enjoy the mischief 💚

All Parts can be found on my Masterlist!

______________________________

Ivy remained standing exactly where she was, closing her eyes for a short moment, as she tried to breathe away the feelings that wanted to surface so badly. Who was she kidding, it had been too nice to be true. She had promised herself to not let anyone ever get close to her again. And out of all people who could possibly have broken down her walls, it of course had to be the only person in all the nine realms who was about just as broken and complicated as herself.

To hel with Loki... Ivy didn't even really know him, really! He and her had been in this mess for roughly a day and she was already this desperate for his affection. And here she was, calling HIM a loser…

It was stupid to get all upset about it now, and Ivy rolled her eyes at herself.

Only a few hours back they had been at each other's throats and he had been a total jerk… a rather charming jerk to be honest, but a jerk nonetheless. The teasing had been fun and games and all, but it didn't give her silly mind the right to hold her own expectations against him now. Ivy sighed to herself and chewed on her bottom lip, lost in thought as she still hadn't moved an inch. Why had he even gone with her in the first place, if he wanted to distance himself? Not to mention the dancing… the warming-up had been her own idea, admittedly, but the rest had been Loki's doing. Ivy could still feel his hand on her back as if it had left a lingering, burning print, a scorching mark of the first appreciated touch after years...

She should go looking for him, at least… or he might just get his godly ass locked into prison again. As soon as she had made up her mind, she walked out of her hideout and into the nightly forest at last.

_______________

Once Loki had left the opening and found himself in the solemn company of swaying trees, he already missed her warmth. And her endless babbling. And her eyes. And her enchanting mind.

He frowned at himself in equal frustration and anger. Why had he allowed her get this close to him? She had gotten deep under his skin, and he hadn't been able to do a single thing about it, really. Surely she would only hurt him, eventually… or worse: he would end up hurting her. If he was being honest with himself, he feared the latter even more. For despite his love for messing with people, he just couldn't let himself be the reason for her doom. For once in his life he couldn't be selfish. For once, he would put someone else's well-being over his own, even if it was hurting him.

He would spare her the pain of finding out that he had been right all along: he was not a nice man. He was despicable, dangerous and mischievous and utterly broken. Thoroughly messed up. And honestly, she deserved so much better than the turmoil that was loving Loki.

Surely she hadn't become too attached to him after only a day, and he hadn't given her all that many reasons to like him after all. Surely, his leaving wouldn't hurt her.

But Loki would miss her indeed. Terribly so, even, and it annoyed and pained him equally. So he went to the only place he knew where she wouldn't dare to follow, unless she was completely and hopelessly stupid. Maybe, he just a little bit hoped that she was.

_______________

Ivy stood in utter darkness, in silence but for the soughing trees, thinking... Loki was a smart man, beyond smart actually, so he would certainly not go back to the palace. On the other hand, he wouldn't go to a place where she could easily follow him to... That left one certain place, out of the likely choices, which popped into her head immediately and she rolled her eyes. That genius idiot…

She made a mental note to never tell him of something that bothered her ever again, and to simply keep her fears to herself. Though now… she had a plan where to go, and she had a plan on how to find him.

Once she had made her mind up, it didn't take her much to bring herself into the city, and even less to change her shape into that of a (by common standards) 'normal' woman. Long blonde hair, tall, thin, large blue eyes and pouty lips. In her opinion she looked stupid, like this was the most ridiculous of disguises her subconscious could've come up with, but the hungry glances she was already getting proved her wrong in that. Once she had made sure her disguise wouldn't indeed attract any attention, she went on to finding Loki. Knowing him even to the slightest, or rather knowing that he was uncomfortably much like herself, Ivy was led to assume the worst.

Thus, she walked around the city for a while, trying to find the busiest, most crowded place around. On her way through the streets, she still felt highly exposed, despite her desperate attempt to fit in. Almost every male she came across stared at her like a predator would ogle its prey… it made her stomach drop in disgust. Some women did stare oo, actually, but Ivy didn't discriminate, she simply despised all of them, regardless of their gender or status. Some people even whistled after her or shouted rude comments… It was as if the entire city had made it their mission to make her as miserable as she could be.

Ivy concentrated on the task at hand though. She was sure that Loki would've changed his appearance as well, and she was just as sure that he would be one of the very few people who didn't try to undress her with his eyes. The thought made her skin tingle.

Yet, at the present moment, she rather hated him for putting her through this… which actually he hadn't, for she had decided for herself to run after him like a lovesick teenager, but Ivy was mad at him nonetheless.

Following him seemed rather stupid now, given her circumstances, but she was still determined to find him and… what, apologize? Snap at him? She would have to find out once she actually found him.

Geez, that stupid idiot would be the end of her... and yet, for some unfathomable reason, she felt the dire need to save him. Not from the people in the city, or the guards, or even the allfather, for he was perfectly capable of doing all that himself. No, Ivy felt the need to save him from himself.

She finally reached a hopelessly crowded bar that was bursting with people inside out, and they were just everywhere, staring at her while she squeezed her way through the crowd towards the counter.

"Hello there, beautiful…" A tall blonde man cooed. "Wanna have some fun? You sure look like it." Then he pulled her against his chest with a start, and rather unceremoniously started groping at her butt. Ivy pushed him away in utter disgust and immediately moved to hide in the crowd, only to find herself in the arms of yet another smirking man who moved to grab her hand to pull her closer. Dear gods, had everyone suddenly gone insane?!

After threatening a few more people with a dagger once they came too close to her, Ivy finally reached a corner of the bar where she could stand with her back to the wall while having a look around the place. There were so impossibly many people… dancing and drinking and singing and eating and she hated every bit of it. They made her nervous, and almost dangerously tense.

How ridiculous… She could have fought all of them at once, easily eliminating the problem of too many people, but being here with the aim of NOT causing a fight made her feel sick to the stomach with anxiety. She would oh so gladly just kill anyone who had dared to touch her, but that would likely draw too much attention towards herself, and very likely end with her getting arrested again. Thus, with a defeated sigh, she sat down behind the bar and just went ahead to pour herself a drink, downing all of it in one go, hoping it would help numb her frayed nerves. But even after the fourth drink, she still felt on edge.

It wasn't so much the people who made her nervous, but rather the thought of what she might do to them if she wasn't careful. If she would just let her darkness surface for one second, allow it to take control over her, she would be doomed and everybody in the room along with her. And with all those annoying, disgusting creatures nagging at her self-control, she came dangerously close to losing the fight against herself.

Once more a man came sauntering towards her, looking over the counter and licking his lips in a very distasteful way. And once more it made her sick to the stomach. Thus, ignoring the man who was luckily held at a distance by the furniture, she downed another drink before she made her way back into the crowd at last, feeling all the hands on her, the elbows to her ribs, the feet kicking her... A deep frown fell onto her face as her heart began beating too quickly, and she let out a shivering breath in a vain attempt to keep her composure, as she shoved and staggered her way back towards the exit. The pain of holding herself together, of repressing the dark was almost unbearable now.

Escaping the crowd took forever, the door seemed miles away, and she was shoved around like a flag in the storm, a ship on the rough sea, until she was finally close to the exit. It had been a terrible idea, exposing herself to the crowds like that… Her heart was racing like it would explode any minute now, and she felt her chest aching like she wouldn't live to see another day. Her breathing became more ragged and steadily faster, her vision more blurry until she could hardly see the world but in a swirling storm of colors. And while small beads of sweat covered her skin as did goosebumps, she felt too hot and yet too cold at the very same time.

"How much for a night with you?" A short and chubby man murmured into her ear, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind all of a sudden. That was when Ivy finally lost it.

She closed her eyes and her entire being stilled for a few seconds, frozen in place and time, and only then a loud crack followed by a pained scream made the room fall silent. Both came from the man who had been holding onto Ivy's waist.

He let go of her immediately as he still screamed, holding his broken arm with his other hand before that arm cracked as well, causing him to drop to his knees in agony. All eyes fell on Ivy as she stood her ground in front of the man, motionless, expressionless. His arms hung limply at his sides, twisted and shattered, and he finally succumbed to pain and fell weeping onto the dirty floor. Then another scream cut through the silence, and another and another, as slowly one by one the people who had groped at her dropped down and wreathered on the ground. The lights flickered and the went out at last... bottles filled with various liquids exploded into a million shards, liquids forming dark pools all around, and some people started screaming in fear. And then the crowds began to move, screams echoing through the room and turning the previously happy, lively place into a scary symphony of carefully orchestrated screams. The walls of the bar slowly started to crack, stones crashing under their own weight and threatening to collapse and burry everyone beneath tons of massive brick.

People started pushing each other around, blindly rushing to the exits in mindless panic. More and more people dropped to the ground with broken limbs while others simply went stiff, lifeless in their run and tumbled down among the living.

Ivy for her part stood completely still and smiled, as if enjoying the omnipresent agony of everyone around her. Then however she was knocked to the ground by the panicked masses and hit her head on the floor, suddenly brought back into reality by the hard impact.

And only once she realized what had happened, what she had done, it came rushing onto her like she was struck by lightning… the unbearable pain and the graveness of her actions made her stomach drop at first, then she felt sick beyond measure. She struggled to her feet and let the masses drag her along to the exit, until she was finally free from the crowd, stumbling into the chilly night. It didn't make her feel any better nor calmer, only much colder, and thus she stumbled on and on and on, until she reached a dark and tiny alleyway and let herself sink down in a dark corner, allowing her form to change back into her normal self once more. There was no energy left within her being to uphold any form of pretense. Her breathing was still hysterical and she gagged a couple times when no air seemed to reach to her lungs despite any effort. Her chest, her heart, everything was in pain and she just felt too unbearably hot. Evey nerve of her body was on fire, scorching and frayed, yearning for release from this misery.

Meanwhile her mind jumped from the darkest place to an even darker one and another, a thousand thoughts per second, but she wasn't able to grasp any of them. A rush of pictures, a tightening of space and time forced to squeeze into a reality too narrow for comprehension. In a desperate attempt to calm herself down, she hugged her knees to her chest so tightly it hurt her bruised body even more, rocking forwards and backwards as she wept in silence. Her eyes were fixed on the opposed brick wall as she waited for this broken moment to pass, hoping it was nothing but a bad dream.

It wasn't like she didn't know what was happening to her body, didn't know what she had done… but she was merely unable to do anything about it, once it had started, once it had taken a hold of her. Nothing but waiting for it to pass.

That's why she did actually notice distant footsteps coming closer to her, rapidly closer, but still found herself unable to really care at the moment. Anyone could've come and done whatever they pleased to her, arrest her or beat her up maybe, or kill her in seek for revenge... she wouldn't have been able to do much about it. She only sat on the ground, staring wide eyed at the wall as her body had gone numb but for the pain. Then, suddenly and out of the cold nothingness, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her small body and she was pulled closely against a chilled, muscled frame. "It's alright…"

Loki… Ivy wasn't yet able to smile nor cry at the realization, but she did let herself fall against him, and tried to control her breathing for now. In his embrace, her body slowly stopped trembling and her breathing evened out after a long while.

_______________

Of course Loki had been there from the very first moment Ivy had set foot into the city, he had seen what had happened back at the bar and honestly, he still hadn't fully processed it. He had never seen anything of the sort happening outside of war, and he surely hadn't expected to face it tonight.

Just when he had been about to reach out to her back at the bar, the masses had pulled him away like a river grabbing onto a fallen lief and carrying it with all the force of nature. He had lost sight of her in the crowd almost immediately, and had started looking for her nonetheless, running through the streets until he finally found her heavily shaking and barely breathing in that dark alleyway. At least for now, he ignored whether or not he was good for her, because right now, she needed him. And he would be there.

So he held her shaking form in his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest while they both waited for her to calm down into a less… lethal state.

He wanted to shout at her, for how stupid she had been for coming here… for how utterly, completely stupid she was for running after him. And for how sorry he was for believing she wouldn't.

But that could wait, until they were somewhere safe again. Or maybe even until he forgot about it. And definitely until she would be fine again.

"Loki..." Ivy breathed, after what seemed like hours of silence broken by heavy breaths.

"I'm here." His voice was quiet, yet soothing and soft as he had never heard himself speak. "I'm not leaving you."

Her shivering had stopped, and her breathing was almost back to a normal rate, but she still clung onto him for dear life. "I hate you." She whispered, and her voice broke without her consent.

"I know…" He said in the same sad voice. "I'm sorry."

"That doesn't nearly suffice. You are the single most stupid man in existence."

"I know."

"And I hate you."

"I know."

"Why did you just leave like that? I mean, I know, I have pushed you too far with the dancing and the sort, and you are obviously free to do whatever you please, but you did you have to run off like that? Without a word?" Her voice didn't reflect any anger, and yet he could tell that she had been hurt by his actions. And he actually cared, for once, that he had hurt someone.

"I thought it was the best I could do for both our sakes." He answered honestly.

"Well it was fucking stupid, and if you ever do stupid shit like that again I will kick your ass into chaos. Or Hel." She said and pulled away from him just enough to look at his face. He smirked slightly at her rather harsh choice of words, but otherwise he looked quite as shaken as she felt.

"I will not walk off without a word again…" He said with a sincere expression on his face, helping Ivy up to her feet. "But I have to ask… what happened back there?"

Ivy sighed and looked to the ground in what looked like both shame and sadness. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But… That was just incredible, I mean I have never seen anyone doing anything quite like this." Loki frowned, his voice a mix of astonishment and worry.

"Please, Loki… Just let it go." Ivy begged, and when she gazed back at his face, her eyes were reddened and filled with slightest glimmer of unshed tears. Loki nodded without another word, looking away, unable to bear the sadness this sight of her eyes inflicted in him.

He brought them back to the hidden opening in the forest a short moment later, and quietly let Ivy lead the way through the boulder. The sun had started to rise, but it was still rather dark around the little opening. Once they took place on Ivy's blanket camp, she sighed tiredly and laid on her back, facing the fading stars with a very much torn expression. Loki followed her example, crossing his arms under his head.

He didn't regret coming back here, nor coming back to Ivy. He had been foolish to believe that he could leave and forget, and to expect the very same of her. Life didn't work like that, and maybe he would have known that if he hadn't cared for solemnly his own sake for the last millenia or so.

"Loki?" She asked quietly, yet not looking at him. Likely to hide an expression of the kind she had tried to keep from him before.

"Yes?" He was still not sure whether he should allow himself to feel what he did, for her, but he knew now for sure that whether or not his feelings deserved a title, they were already changing him and his behavior. But was that so bad? They could be friends after all... Yes, Loki would be a friend to Ivy. He didn't quite know how to work that, but for her, he would find it out.

"Why did you really leave?" Her voice was quiet and soft and he couldn't help himself but tell her the truth. Half of it at least.

"Because I'm dangerous, Ivy. I mean harm to anyone who dares to come close to me. I could kill you in an instant and not feel remorse at all." He breathed. There had been so many times when his reason had abandoned him to be alone with the darkness lurking beneath the surface of a pretty face and flattering eloquence. Ready to lunge at whoever was unfortunate enough to be close to him.

"And what do you think now?" She asked in a quiet yet curious voice.

"I think that just the same might be true for you. I saw what you did there and I… it certainly was quite something."

"I wish you hadn't seen that." Ivy rested her head on her hands, looking almost shyly at Loki who merely turned his head towards her. "I wish you hadn't seen the monster that I am."

Loki smiled, a sad, bitter smile which made Ivy's eyes drop to the dusty ground beneath them. He wanted to tell her that she was no monster, never could be, not like him... that she was the most extraordinary, enchanting and interesting person he had ever met. That he cared about her. That there were many pretty women in the nine realms, beautiful creatures of elegance and pride, but never in a million lifetimes there would be someone with a more beautiful mind than hers. But Loki didn't say any of it.

"I think you should sleep now." He said instead, calmly, and rose to his feet.

"So you can run off again?" She frowned sadly, but she knew he was right. She needed to sleep, her body felt drained, weak and shivery as did her mind.

Loki thought about lecturing her about how she couldn't tell him what to do, about how he was a prince, a literal god, about how no one could restrain him, keep him from whatever he felt like doing… But he couldn't. "I will be here when you wake up. I promise." Was all he said.

"I hope so, for your own sake. Next time you go, I won't be following. And I doubt you would expect me to." With that Ivy turned her back towards him, and rolled herself into the blanket as tightly as possible. She had made enough stupid decisions for one day. And she had certainly done enough damage along the way.

Once Loki was sure Ivy had drifted off to sleep, he was gone once more, far away from her, as far as possible. He needed a plan, and he needed to think. And that was simply impossible when she was this close by, this close to tempting him to lay down with her and simply allow himself to dwell in her presence.

_______________

The sound of thunder startled Ivy, and a second later she noticed the first raindrops hitting her chilled skin. She felt dizzy, confused and blinded while yet everything around her was too dark. Then it started pouring down onto her, buckets of water as thick as a wall.

There was no shelter anywhere around the opening, nor around the forest expect for trees towering high above. She stumbled to her feet and took in the impossible darkness that surrounded her.

Suddenly, when a strike of lightning left the opening as bright as day, she saw Loki standing a few feet in front of her. His back was facing her, dark frame contrasting against the too bright sky for a mere second, and her feet carried her over to him involuntarily.

Once she stood right in front of him, another lightning struck. He was covered in blood, dark and thick and all over him like the rain that was drenching Ivy herself. A grin, wicked and evil, played on his face, twisting his beautiful features in a way that made her blood freeze. Darkness again.

"I'm so sorry…" He whispered, confusing Ivy even more than she already was.

"What..?" She breathed. Lightning.

She could see his face had completely changed, and his wide eyes were filled with tears and horror. Ivy gasped. Darkness.

"I told you, I warned you…" His voice was low and thick with tears. Ivy felt a jolt of hot white pain rushing through her, sizzling through her being like a single droplet on hot stones, and she screamed. Lightning.

Loki was still staring at her with eyes of an almost complete black, yet filled with more emotions than Ivy could comprehend. His gaze left her own to travel down her body... And she followed his eyes down to the blade that was deeply imbedded in her stomach. Darkness.

She felt hot tears escape her eyes, scorching rivers down her skin, and the pain grew stronger by the second, making her drop to her knees. "Loki..." She breathed, and a second later she felt his bloodied hand on her cheek, gently caressing her skin.

"I told you… But you just wouldn't believe me." His voice was so sweet, so soothing… Ivy wanted to drown in it and never resurface. Lightning.

Ivy could barely hold herself on her knees, with Loki kneeling right in front of her, still caressing her cheek with the most pained and heartbreaking expression on his face.

"What did you tell me? What didn't I believe?" She cried in pain. Darkness.

The pain grew to the unbearable, and Ivy felt her head spin, the haze taking over any rational thought.

Suddenly soft lips touched hers, for not more than a second, yet so tenderly as if they feared to break her. "I love you…" It was nothing more than a breath, but Ivy had heard it. Lightning.

She blinked up at Loki through her tears, seeing an utterly grave, emotionless expression on his face before he rammed another blade right through her heart. Darkness.

_______________

When Ivy woke up, the sun had already started to set far back in the west. She groaned… what a fucking weird dream. Her whole body hurt like she had been thoroughly beaten up. Then she remembered the past day and it all made a little more sense. At least the beat up feeling.

She looked around the opening then: no Loki. With a sigh she sat up, rubbing her head to maybe get rid of the strong headache that was starting to form right below her temples. Of course he wouldn't be here… He was the god of freaking lies after all. But honestly, Ivy didn't even feel that bothered by it anymore, the lies that is, not his absence, as if she had just gotten used to the betrayal and pain that was a constant companion in her life.

What had happened last night was purely due to the severe lack of sleep she had suffered from before. At least that's what she told herself to feel a little less like a clingy teen. On a normal day she would NEVER be that easy to crack, but also not that easy to stop once she actually did break down.

For now, she only felt ashamed of herself… this was supposed to be a part of her past, not her present. She didn't hurt people anymore.

Once she stood up, she tried to push everything back into the shadows where it had come from, taking a small moment to collect herself. This was a new day after all, a fresh start, and with a slightly less desperate feeling she walked a few steps, stretching out her sore muscles.

"Did I ever tell you that blond hair doesn't suit you?" Loki suddenly whispered into her ear, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin of her neck.

In an instant Ivy turned around and punched him in the face as hard as she could, so hard in fact that he landed on his butt, on the floor a few feet back.

He looked equally surprised as she did herself, only frowning once she came to stand above him.

"Wow…" He said in full on sarcasm. "A simple 'Good morning Loki' would've sufficed, you know…"

"How about a 'Don't make me regret my life choices even more than I already do' for breakfast?" She stretched out a hand to help him up, but he eyed it curiously before popping himself up on his elbows.

"Is that what friends do? Mock each other even before breakfast?" He asked bemusedly.

"Yeah, they punch each other in the face, but then also help each other back up." Ivy replied with a roll of her eyes. "Now come one, I'm hungry."

With a sigh he accepted her hand, and once he stood back on his feet, he brushed the dust off his clothes with another frown. "That was a decent punch, by the way. I'm more into magic than direct combat, honestly, but you might want to meet my brother. HE can throw punches... you'd be surprised."

Ivy laughed, shaking her head to herself.. This, whatever it was between them right now, felt much better than last night. And it certainly distracted her from her terrible nightmare and the events at the bar, which she wished were also just that: a nightmare.

Maybe that was just what she should treat Loki as: a gigantic, living nightmare… but one she couldn't quite give up nonetheless. Geez, she really must be a masochist. The idea made her snort.

"You said you wouldn't run off again." She finally stated, teasing him with a small smirk. Honestly, she was quite relieved that he'd come back despite her attempts at convincing herself of the opposite thing.

"No, I merely said I would be back. That's something completely different." He winked at her in return. "Oh, and I brought you breakfast for the unlikely case that you were up already and out and about to kick my 'sorry ass' right to Hel." He pointed to a few items now lying on her blankets.

"Seriously Loki?! Wine for breakfast?" She rose an eyebrow at him.

"Well, it's breakfast for you and dinner for me, dear. Despite that, it's always wine time." He plopped down on the blanket and crossed his legs underneath himself. With another roll of her eyes, Ivy sat down next to him and began devouring the bread and fruit he had brought. Honestly, she didn't even care where he had gotten it… she was just feeling starved.

Loki on the other hand didn't touch any of the food and went straight for the wine.

"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" Ivy asked finally, frowning at him as she munched on a few grapes.

"I'm not hungry."

"And you didn't sleep at all, the entire night?"

"Who said I didn't?" He rose an eyebrow at her and threw a grape in the air only to catch it with his mouth. "There, I ate something. Happy now?"

Ivy sighed and finished her small meal. "So… Do we continue to pretend that yesterday didn't happen? I mean especially the part of me doing those..."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." He interrupted with a small smirk, and then watched the clouds as they slowly drifted over the sky, colored in the shades of the sunset. "Though I'm most certain that I will never get rid of the image of you walking around the palace naked."

"I was not naked!" She groaned, nudging him in the side with her elbow.

"No, you were wearing my shirt. That doesn't really make it any more forgettable." He chuckled in return and took another sip of the wine. "Maybe alcohol will make my brain more forgetful at last."

"Gimme that!" She pulled the wine from his hands with a start, making him roll his eyes in amusement.

"Wine for breakfast? Seriously Ivy, you should be ashamed of yourself." He laughed, earning himself a sinister glare from her once she had taken a big gulp.

The bottle was empty in no time, leaving Ivy only mildly frustrated. He'd brought her something to eat… people who don't care wouldn't have.

"Why did you just bring one bottle?" She inquired with a small whine, eyeing the tall glass bottle almost sadly. It wasn't like the alcohol was affecting her much, but she surely wished it would. Would make it easier to forget and drown her feelings.

"Well, go and get yourself another if you want it so badly." He shrugged as he rose an eyebrow at her, pointing towards the direction of the city.

And while Loki had been joking, seriously joking only, he didn't expect her to actually do it. And yet, with an exaggerated sigh, Ivy grabbed Loki's wrist and they were off in a heartbeat.

______________________________

Tags:

@vodka-and-some-sass @t-sunnyside @lokis-high-priestess

General Tags:

@its-remy-not-ratatouille @wegingerangelica @thidls12333 @tomstoobeautiful @dreary-skies-stuff @averyhill4445 @wiczer @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @theweirdlunatic @caretheunicorn @kthemarsian @lady-of-lies @sadly-falling-through-wonderland @strawberrysandcream @noplacelikehome77 @theoneanna @mishaandthebrits @mygodisloki @i-am-a-mes @nonsensicalobsessions @exygon @hiddles-lobotomy @rjohnson1280 @annwhojumps @spookycatqueen @salempoe @headoverhiddleston @fanfiction-and-stress @createdfromblue @halszka-potter @thecreatiivecorner @themusingsofmany @inthemarvelvoid @from-hel-i-with-love @kinghiddlestonanddixon @scorpionchild81 @foodthatsgoodforyoursoul @crystal-28 @adefectivedetective @lokis-girl-in-mischief @booklover2929

This chapter honestly needed so much editing 😅 I hope it's still somewhat enjoyable! Hugs to everyone and I hope you have a lovely time 💗

55 notes · View notes

wild-springflower · 5 years

Text

Do or Die

My own take on the follow-up to the tsunami everyone is doing. I haven’t seen the episode yet, or even any promos so, this is just what my head came up with!

“Captain Nash, Captain Nash do you have a copy?”

A strong female voice cut through the din of their surroundings and Bobby was quick to pick up his radio, not sure what he was needed for. In this type of emergency, it could be literally anything. “Go for Captain Nash.”

“Sir, I have a gentleman here that is asking for you, he’s pretty insistent.”

Bobby sighed, they really didn’t have time for this, not in the middle of a disaster. “Look, my team is pretty swamped down here, he’ll just have to wait.”

“He said to tell you his name is Evan Buckley, that he works with you?”

Bobby felt a flash of rage course through him, he loved that kid to bits he really did, but he never learned. “Swear to god,” He grumbled, before picking the radio back up, “Ma’am, yes he works for me, but right now he is on leave due to an outstanding injury and should not be working at all, so you tell him to stop what he’s doing and go home immediately or he will be seriously reprimanded-”

“I’m sorry Captain, you misunderstood. Mr. Buckley isn’t here helping with the tsunami, he was in it.”

“He was what?”

“Yeah, I’m transporting him to the triage center now, but he’s been asking you to meet him there.”

Bobby felt his heartbeat spike, using all his years of training to keep his breathing under control. “Okay, we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

Chimney halted in his search through the water, tagging bodies as they went, and glanced at the captain warily, having been close enough to hear the whole conversation.

Bobby nodded once, as an offer of reassurance, no matter how pitiful it may have been, before turning to the rest of his firefighters. “Alright team, drop what you’re doing here, we have somewhere else we need to be right now.”

Hen sat up and gave Bobby a quizzical look, “What do you mean?”

“We have to go the triage center; Buck was caught in the tsunami.”

“Oh my god.” Hen breathed, shock and fear coating her voice.

Eddie’s feet halted in his steady progress back, staggering and nearly falling over completely. “What?”

“I don’t know much, but he was cognizant enough to tell them who he was and have them contact us.” Bobby tried to soothe some of the fear and tension he could so clearly feel.

Eddie just shook his head, having trouble keeping himself calm enough to make sense and get his point across clearly, “No, Christopher was with Buck today. Did they say anything about a little boy, is he okay?” The team fell deathly silent, and Eddie stared for a moment with wide eyes before his frustration and fear got the better of him, “Bobby is my son okay!” He shouted.

Bobby held his hands up in a calming gesture, his voice cool and collected, “They didn’t say anything specific, but let’s get in the boat and head over there right now. We’ll get you to Christopher Eddie.”

Hen offered a hand, basically guiding Eddie into their little boat and forcing him into a seat. He couldn’t focus, couldn’t think of anything past the pounding fear in his heart; it was debilitating. He was terrified for his son, and worried about his best friend as well. And on top of that he felt a bone crushing guilt. The two of them were only out because he had pushed Buck to get out, to get some fresh air and have a little fun. He’d been so down and gloomy, Eddie had just figured him spending time with Christopher was a good way to lighten his spirits. If anything had happened to either of them, it would be his fault. The boat lurched forward, water spraying in his face as they booked it back to the emergency triage center that had been set up in the wake of this disaster, but Eddie barely noticed. They had to be okay, they both had to be okay; Eddie couldn’t even begin to think about what he would do if they weren’t.

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

When he’d been pinned under the truck, with no means of escape and a psycho with a bomb strapped to their chest standing over him, Buck thought that was the scardest he could ever be. And then the wave came, and he lost Christopher.

Logically, he’d known he wasn’t going to be able to keep a hold of the kid, not with the force of all that water slamming into them, but the first few minutes after he resurfaced that Christopher wasn’t in his arms were some of the worst in his life. He had felt his heart bottom out in fear, desperation coloring his tone as he screamed, begging to hear a response.

And he’d gotten one. Obviously, their situation hadn’t been ideal, they’d just been struck by a tsunami for goodness sake, but at least they were together. At least he knew Christopher was safe.

And then the wave reversed, receding with almost as much force as it had attacked with, and Buck had to wonder who up there had such a sick sense of humor because he was really getting tired of being in such horrible situations. Yes, he knew how ironic that sentiment was coming from a firefighter, but there was a certain amount of detachment when he wasn’t the one being crushed by a truck or searching for a loved one after a disaster.

He’d turned his back for a minute, just a minute, to try and help some of the people begging to be saved as they were swept out to sea, and when he turned back around, and his eyes didn’t immediately see the bright shirt or sun reflecting off the glasses, he’d literally begun to panic.

Buck didn’t even spare a second to be mad at the rest of the people on the truck, because how could they have let him fall into the water? How could they not see Buck had been trying to save other people? How could they have not taken just one moment to be responsible for someone other than themselves? Because if he thought on that too long, he sunk deeper into self-loathing; he was the one who was supposed to be responsible for Chris. He shouldn’t have let Chris out of his sight, he’d let Chris fall in the water.

The fear from earlier was nothing compared to the raw terror he was feeling then, shouting desperately, on the verge of hysteria, as he continued to get nothing in response. No shout of his name, no flash of orange and white in the water, nothing. Christopher was just gone, in the span of less than a minute his best friend’s son had disappeared.

And it was all his fault.

Buck did his best to keep his breathing under control, the last thing he needed was to get lightheaded and pass out in the water, he was close enough just shouting at the top of his lungs. He knew he was feeling fatigued, the multiple trips into the water having really done a number on his newly healed leg. But he couldn’t let himself feel that, not yet anyway. There would be a time and a place to feel.

“Christopher!” He screamed again, his throat cracking with the effort. He thought he maybe tasted blood, but chose to ignore that fact, hoping if there was blood it was just from vocal cords being rubbed raw and abused by saltwater.

Something heavy and hard collided with his leg, his healthy one thankfully, but the shock of it still pulled him under the water. Buck surfaced sputtering, wiping water out of his eyes as he tried to regain some semblance of control in the raging wave. It had been a while since his feet had been able to touch any sort of hard surface, let along the ground.

Buck looked around again, wide eyes stinging, when he caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of red glasses. His stomach, which had been resting somewhere low in his stomach since he’d first realized Christopher was no longer on the fire truck, fell the rest of the way down to his feet.

Fighting against the current, Buck swam over and grabbed the glasses, which had been snagged against some debris, tightly in his hand. “No no no no.” He whirled around, combing the area and praying; he’d been doing more of that recently. Until Maddie had gone missing, he hadn’t really sent up a prayer in years, but he’d prayed then, and it had worked, they’d found Maddie alive. And then he’d prayed again, when his leg had been crushed under the symbol of his dreams and aspirations, and it seemed to have worked then too, because he was still alive. So, he prayed again, prayed harder than he ever had in his life, he needed to find Christopher alive. He couldn’t do that to Eddie.

The kid had to be somewhere close, at least, that’s what Buck was hoping. “Christopher!” He called, pausing when the need to cough became too great. “Chris buddy I need you to make some noise if you can hear me!” Buck stopped, treading water to the best of his ability and scanning the area, “Please hear me.” He whispered, blinking back against the sting of tears. He was surrounded by enough saltwater at the moment, he really didn’t need to be adding more, not to mention he was almost definitely dehydrated.

Faintly, he heard what sounded like metal on metal. His eyes widened and he spun around, trying to quell the threads of hope, because there had been a tsunami, of course debris was going to be making noise. “Christopher?” He called, moving towards where the sound seemed most prominent. “Christopher is that you?”

“Buck?”

Buck was pretty sure that one little call of his name added ten years back to his life, and he nearly sagged with relief. “Christopher!” As quickly as he was able Buck swam through the water, to where he saw a little hand reaching up from behind what had probably been part of the pier at one point. Now it served as a makeshift raft, where Christopher was holding onto the wood tightly, knuckles white and arms shaking, whether from exertion or fear though Buck couldn’t be sure.

Either way, the kid looked just as relieved as he felt, and quickly launched off the floating debris and into his arms. “Christopher, holy shit don’t ever do that to me again.” Buck wrapped him up in his own arms, holding tight and burying his face in Christopher’s hair, planting a soft kiss against it, and vowing to never let that boy out of his arms ever again.

“Dad says that’s a naughty word. We aren’t supposed to say naughty words.”

Buck chuckled, pulling Chris back to try and look him over for any obvious injuries, “My apologies, let’s not tell your dad about that huh?”

Chris smiled almost playfully, “What do we tell him from this?”

“Well, I suppose nothing isn’t an option. How about we leave out the scariest bits okay?”

Chris laughed, “Yeah okay.” Then his little hands were reaching up and brushing against his face, which Buck was only realizing now was slick with tears. “Why are you crying?”

“What this?” Buck tried to laugh it off, smiling as big as he could, “Nah, that’s just water buddy, no tears here.”

“I just have water too.” Christopher said, leaning back and looking towards the sky, still smiling, his own eyes bright with ‘not-tears’.

Buck laughed again, he probably sounded crazy, but he was just so relieved. He pulled Christopher back up against his chest and squeezed, taking a moment to calm his breathing and let his heart settle back down to a slightly less worrisome rhythm. At least he no longer felt like he was about to go into cardiac arrest. “Oh hey, I have something of yours.” Buck said, just remembering the glasses. He held them up where Chris could see them and watched as the boy smiled excitedly.

“My glasses!” He cried, he reached out a hand to grab them, but left the other where it was, holding a chunk of Buck’s shirt in a vice-grip.

Buck sniffed and adjusted his position so he could help Chis put the glasses back over his eyes, still smiling and laughing softly.

“Now what?” Christopher whispered; little arms tucked back around Buck’s neck.

“Uh, that is an excellent question buddy. Now we figure something out, I’m gonna get you outta here.”

“Yeah, I’m a little sick of the water now.”

“Only a little?”

Chris smiled and nodded, “Only a little.”

Buck shook his head with a breathy laugh, he took one more minute to cradle Christopher’s head against his shoulder, fingers rubbing gentle circles in the sopping wet hair, before his firefighter brain took over, telling him they had to get moving. They had to find help soon, because Buck was definitely beginning to feel the effects of the tsunami. “Okay kiddo, here’s the plan, you’re gonna slide around and ride on my back while I swim through this mess.”

“Like a monkey?”

“Yeah, just like a monkey Monkey.” Buck tickled Chris’ stomach just enough to get the kid to giggle, “Think you can do that?”

“Roger that Team Leader.” Christopher nodded strongly, already adjusting his grip so he could move.

Neither of them really let go of the other, which made the process of Christopher moving to his back slow-going, but slow and steady won the race, or at least got them into their desired position. Then they began their painful shuffle through the gradually falling water. Buck could tell it was getting more shallow, but not enough to make much of a difference at the moment.

He kept swimming, just like he and Christopher had talked about earlier, just like Dory. The burn in his arms, the uncomfortable wrenching in his leg that hinted at what could potentially be a worsening injury, he ignored all of it, pushed it to the back of his mind and locked it in a box, throwing the key away with the tsunami. Buck didn’t have much energy for talking however, so the two spent a vast part of their journey in silence. Christopher seemed content to simply be hugging Buck tightly anyway, and Buck knew that pressure against his back was all he needed to keep himself going.

“Hey,” A gentle pat against his cheek drew Buck’s attention, “Do you hear that?” Christopher asked.

Buck shook water out of his face and paused a moment, listening. It took a moment, but sure enough after a few seconds of straining, his ears picked up on what sounded like a motor. He’d been so focused on moving in the direction of land that the possibility of running into other rescue operations hadn’t even crossed his radar. “Hey!” He shouted, although the sound didn’t carry far with how raw his vocal cords were. He tried waving his arms but all that accomplished was an uncomfortable mouthful of water that left him coughing.

“Hello!” Christopher shouted, a little louder than Buck had been able to manage.

“Keep shouting buddy, wave your arms around a bit, I’m gonna hoist you up.”

“Like one of the rides!” Chris smiled, arms already above his head. “See us!” He cried again, and when Buck shoved him as far above the water as he could Christopher waved his arms around even more.

Buck’s own arms shook with the effort, but he pushed himself to go further, do more, and lifted Christopher even higher, almost falling completely underwater when the two of them came crashing back down. But it had been worth it; when Buck’s head resurfaced the little rescue, boat was turning in their direction, someone on board waving their arms back to let them know they had been spotted.

A small hand was once again patting at his wet cheek, “You did it kid.”

“You were an incredible help Christopher. Great job.” Buck breathed heavily, counting the seconds until he could stop moving his arms and just let them melt into the jello they wanted to become.

The boat slowed as it neared them, and a female firefighter Buck had never seen before ran to the edge, “Hey there!”

“Take him.” Buck didn’t waste a second, he needed to get Christopher out of the water.

“Come here kiddo, I’ve got you.” She called gently, strong hands wrapping under Chris’ armpits and hoisting him above the side of the boat.

“Now you gotta get my Buck.” Christopher whispered, scooting out of the way but staying very close to the middle of the boat.

The lady smiled and gave him a strong nod, “Of course. Sir, grab my hand I’ll help pull you up.”

Buck barely had the energy needed to throw his arm over his head, let alone pull himself all the way into the little boat. But somehow his hand reached past the rubber lip, and he felt a strong tug against the back of his shirt. He was straining as hard as he could, wincing with the effort, when he felt a small hand grab his own and start to help pull as well. It was enough to give Buck a last burst of effort, and with the much-needed assistance of the firefighter, Buck was able to flop ungracefully into the boat.

He fell on his back, panting heavily and just staring up at the blue sky. Christopher laid his head against Buck’s chest, and Buck instinctually began running his fingers through his hair. “Thank you.” He gasped out, not quite sure who he was directing that gratitude to.

“Just hold tight you two, we’re gonna get you on dry land and get you all nice and warm.”

“I want hot chocolate.” Christopher whispered, and Buck smiled.

“We can get you some hot chocolate kiddo.”

Christopher’s next request was voiced a little quieter than the first and was accompanied by a squeezing of Buck’s fingers. “I want my dad.”

That got Buck moving again, groaning as he moved to sit up, ignoring how the world spun for several seconds too long when he was finally upright again. “Are you in contact with the other firefighters working here?”

The woman glanced at him from her position steering the boat, “Yes sir, why?”

“I need you to contact Captain Bobby Nash of the 118. He and his team need to meet us back on shore.”

“I don’t know where they’re stationed, everyone is spread pretty thin.”

“I know I know, but I need Captain Nash. Just, radio him, please. I work for him, tell him it’s Evan Buckley.” Buck explained, he was getting really tired of talking, and he tried pleading with his eyes. “Please, Captain Nash of the 118.”

The woman pursed her lips but relented with a nod, “I’ll contact him once we get closer to shore, you can’t hear much of anything over these motors.”

Buck just nodded, sagging back and letting his eyes slip closed. “Thank you.” He whispered, his arms once again finding their way around Christopher’s waist and gently tugging him as close as he was able.

When they finally docked it was to a scene of absolute chaos. Someone tried to grab Christopher from him as they hopped out of the boat, but Buck just shook his head, too tired to even tell them to back off. The two of them were ushered towards where several cots had been set up, someone giving them a quick preliminary medical check just to assess whether or not they were dying. Then they were given a thick blanket and told to sit tight.

So that’s what the two of them did. Buck soon began to lose track of everything but the warmth in his arms, the steady beat of Christopher’s heart. It cancelled out anything else he might have been feeling and he fell into an almost blissful state of numbness.

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

The zodiac had barely touched down before Eddie was jumping out and sprinting through the crowd, eyes wide; he wasn’t even trying to hide his desperation. “Christopher!” He shouted, growing more desperate the longer he went without seeing him. “Christopher!”

“Eddie, over here!” Hen called, waving to get his attention. She pointed to where several cots were all lined up, and sitting on one, looking more exhausted than Eddie ever wanted to see, was Buck. And clutched in his arms: Christopher.

Eddies shoulders sagged in relief, and if he hadn’t been so desperate to hold Chris close to him, he knew his legs would have given out right there. He jogged closer, tears falling unchecked, “Christopher.”

Christopher’s head poked up, and he glanced around to try and see where the voice was coming from. “Buck,” He said, shaking Buck’s shoulder, “Buck it’s dad!”

Buck blinked, the boy’s words took a moment to process, probably a moment longer than they should have, but when they finally did register he quickly set Chris down, no matter how much he didn’t want to, and watched him stagger towards his dad.

Eddie crashed to his knees and pulled Christopher as close to him as was physically possible. “Are you okay, does anything hurt?” Eddie pulled back and held Chris at arms’ length, studying him carefully.

“I’m okay dad.” Christopher smiled, brushing a hand against Eddie’s chin. “Buck kept me safe.”

A spike of emotion shot through Eddie’s heart, and he glanced up to see Buck sitting exactly where Christopher had left him, Eddie couldn’t even tell how much awareness he really had, the poor guy looked about ready to collapse.

“He needs a nap.” Christopher stated matter-of-factly.

The sentiment made Eddie chuckle, knowing that whenever Christopher was particularly exhausted, a nap was his go-to solution. “I think he needs more than just a nap buddy.”

“A nap is a good place to start.”

“That it is. Hey, you remember Hen and Chim right? Can you let them look you over while I check on our friend over here?”

Christopher nodded, holding his arms open for one more hug that Eddie was all too willing to give him, before he started making his way to where the two paramedics were waiting, figuring Eddie would want them to check his son over anyway.

That allowed Eddie to stand and make his way closer to the cot. “Buck?” Eddie asked, holding a hand out and looking at his friend warily.

“Eddie.” Buck’s shoulders sagged in relief, a tired smile stretching across his marred face. “I found him Eddie, I found him, and I didn’t let him go.”

Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed; not quite sure what Buck meant. “How you feeling buddy?”

Buck didn’t really seem to register what had been asked, instead positing a question of his own, “Is Christopher alright?”

“Yeah, yeah Buck, you got him here safely.”

“Oh thank god, I was real worried for a bit. Wasn’t sure we were gonna find you.” Buck sighed heavily, his eyelids drooping and his entire body listing to the side.

“Woah woah buddy, Buck buddy you gotta stay awake okay?” Eddie called frantically, catching Buck before he could fall out of the cot completely.

“We made it back,” Buck breathed, still not quite seeming to comprehend anything Eddie had actually said to him.

“Yeah Buck, you did.”

“‘M tired.”

“I know you are buddy, but you could be hurt, we need to check you over. Eyes open okay?”

Buck just blinked sluggishly, “Christopher? Is he hurt?”

Eddie sighed, lips tight, he wasn’t sure if it was just exhaustion or if Buck had a concussion or other sort of injury that was interfering with his ability to focus. “No Buck, just a few cuts and bruises, nothing serious at all.”

“Okay good, was real-” Buck’s voice tapered off into an exhausted whisper, “worried for a sec.” He finished, the small sentence obviously taking quite a bit of effort, before his eyes rolled back and his entire body sagged downwards. He would have hit the ground had Eddie not already had a firm hold of his shoulders. “Buck, Buck hey! Guys I need help over here!”

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

Buck didn’t remember closing his eyes, granted most of the day after he’d lost Chris had been a blur, but it was still a weird feeling to wake up in a room he had no recollection of being moved to. He was starting to get far too used to hospital beds though, so although he didn’t know all the details he knew exactly where he was when he finally came to.

The room was quiet, a heart monitor beating softly in time to his pulse next to him and the quiet shuffle of some sort of material; the general din of the world outside his own room was the only source of any significant noise. He could only imagine how busy the hospital was after the disaster they just experienced.

His eyes peeled open with minimal effort but attempting to turn his head and survey the room resulted in a hiss of pain.

Maddie had been sitting in the chair next to his bed reading a new book Chimney had bought her when she heard the noise of discomfort, the book immediately falling away when she saw her brother awake. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Okay, all things considered.” He whispered, throat feeling like he had gargled nails for breakfast.

“Yeah, you were amazingly lucky. Mostly minor injuries.”

Buck’s eyebrows raised and he looked up at Maddie in trepidation, “Mostly?”

She nodded with pursed lips, but she’d promised him she was never going to withhold medical information, no matter what it might be. “Yeah. Lots of little cuts and bruises. Your ribs took a real beating, so you’ll have to be careful about those. Whiplash, hence the sore neck, so careful moving your head. Your leg, well for what you went through it sustained amazingly little harm. You’ll need to use crutches again, at least for a little bit, and the doctor has to keep a close eye on things to make sure nothing was damaged structurally and the metal implants are still holding up okay, but otherwise you’ve been given a clean bill of health.”

Buck nodded, swallowing with a wince. It really wasn’t as bad as he had expected, with how he’d been feeling by the time they’d finally been picked up by rescuers. They. A spike of icy terror shot through his heart, vocalized by the shrill scream of the heart monitor, “Christopher, where is he, is he alright?”

“Evan, relax, okay? Just breathe, Christopher is fine. He’s at home resting, he is perfectly safe. Thanks to you.” Maddie was hoping that would at least calm Buck down, make him feel a little better, but if anything, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“No, no I lost him Mads. I had him and then I lost him, he almost died.” Buck shook his head vehemently, face scrunched in disgust.

Maddie settled gently on the hard hospital cot, gripping the hand not full of tubes in her own, “What are you talking about, Ev I don’t understand.”

Buck’s eyes began to water, and he’d just opened his mouth to try and explain, when a slightly breathless figure in the door caught his attention. “Eddie.”

Eddie’s eyes were wide, breathing heavily as if he’d just run up several flights of stairs in full firefighter gear, “You’re awake.”

Buck nodded with a swallow, “You’re alone.”

“I didn’t know- Christopher is in the waiting room, he was having a little trouble sleeping back home but I didn’t know if you were still out of it. I didn’t want him coming in here if you weren’t, well if you weren’t conscious.” Eddie shifted nervously, still standing in the doorway, “He saw you pass out at the triage center and it uh, it really freaked him out.”

Buck’s face scrunched up in anger, one more thing to add to the ever-growing tower of self-loathing. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Eddie demanded immediately.

Maddie watched the two interact, could feel the tension radiating off her brother in waves, and knew this was a conversation the two of them needed to have alone. “Hey Evan, I’m gonna go get some coffee okay? I’ll be back in a bit.”

Buck smiled up at her briefly but otherwise didn’t say anything.

On her way out the door Maddie gave Eddie’s arm a reassuring squeeze, “He’s real upset about something, I don’t know what though.” She whispered.

Eddie gave a small nod and stepped out of the way as she left, book in hand. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, he wasn’t terribly good at navigating emotions, but Buck had saved his son’s life, not to mention he considered the man one of his closest friends. He owed it to him to try and figure out what was going on. So, with a deep breath he stepped through the threshold, and crossed over to the recently vacated chair. “So how are you feeling?”

“Well, I really just woke up not that long ago, so I think the discomfort hasn’t really sunk in yet. That or they have me on some pretty good pain meds.”

Eddie laughed, “Probably a little of both.”

The room lapsed into silence and Buck stared so intensely at the wall Eddie thought it was in danger of spontaneous combustion, “How many?” He finally whispered.

“There isn’t a final count yet, but a lot.” He responded somberly.

Buck just nodded, teeth chewing the inside of his lip almost subconsciously. “There were so many people out there, I wish I could have helped them.”

“You did, you helped a lot of people Buck.”

Buck just sighed, the exhale almost sounding bitter, which only served to confuse Eddie further. Maddie had been right; something really was bothering him. Eddie moved to sit in the hard-plastic chair that had been moved close to Buck’s bed, studying his face as he went. “Can I help with anything, I mean, do you need me to get anything for you?”

Buck ignored Eddie’s question and responded with a question of his own. “Why aren’t you mad?”

The inquiry had Eddie reeling, blinking in shocked confusion, “What are you talking about?”

“You should be furious with me.” Buck said, his tone resigned, like he was just waiting for the mood to shift and for him to be proven right, “You should hate me.”

Eddie’s heart stuttered, “Why would I hate you?”

It took a moment, and when Buck finally did answer it was in such a small, quiet voice, Eddie almost didn’t hear, “Because I hate me.”

“Buck, you saved my son’s life, how could I ever hate you? Hell, I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to repay you.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Don’t do that.”

Eddie sighed, “Don’t do what?” He pressed gently, hoping Buck would just open up already and the conversation that clearly needed to happen could finally start.

“Thank me. Act like I’m some-some hero or something.” He said the word like it tasted bad on his tongue.

Eddie chuckled nervously, mostly because he really didn’t understand where any of this was coming from. “Well what should I treat you like?”

“A failure.” Buck snapped, his eyes were bursting fiery with anger, but Eddie could tell it was directed inward and not at himself.

The vehemence in his tone took Eddie by surprise and he was left sputtering, “What? Buck, how could you be a failure? You’re alive, Christopher is alive-”

“Yeah well he almost wasn’t!” Buck interrupted with a crackling shout, tears welling but refusing to spill.

Dread pooled in the pit of Eddie’s stomach, mind racing with possibilities, of the doctor’s having missed something, him missing something; Christopher hadn’t mentioned anything but maybe he didn’t want to talk about it. “What-what are you talking about Buck?” He hated how much his voice wavered.

Buck shook his head, he looked like he wanted to stand and pace, work out some of the tension in his body. “He fell off the truck Eddie! I turned my back for a second, and he fell off the truck and he was just gone. I thought he was dead, I thought I had killed your son and I knew it was something neither of us were ever going to be able to forgive me for. And yeah, sure, I jumped in to look for him but I- I was- Eddie if I couldn’t find him, I wanted that wave to kill me. Because being dead would be better than having to face you and tell you I let Christopher die. That it was my fault you lost someone else in your family.”

Eddie felt the confession hit him like a brick, sucking the air from his chest and immediately making tears prick behind his own eyes. “Buck, Ev listen, I don’t care. Okay? I don’t. Look, whatever happened in the middle, I’m sure you protected Christopher to the best of your abilities.”

Buck opened his mouth to interrupt, probably protest, but Eddie wasn’t going to give it to him. “Ev it was a disaster. You said Chris fell off the truck? Then he fell off the truck. But you found him again, you brought him to safety.” Eddie had to stop and breathe as a sob threatened to wrench its way out of his throat, tears were already free flowing down his face. “You brought him back to me. And we can talk through anything else that happened later but right now the only fact I care about is that you and Christopher are alive. You understand?”

Buck nodded, not trusting his voice to work past the tears lodged in his throat.

“God,” Eddie laughed wetly, swiping the tears off his face with a sniff, “Here I was afraid you were gonna be mad at me.”

“W-what?” Buck croaked.

“Buck, you wouldn’t have even been out on the pier if I hadn’t pushed you to get out today. I’m the reason you left your apartment.”

“I don’t blame you, honestly I-I know I needed it. I just happen to have the shittiest luck in the universe. But I didn’t blame you for a second Eddie.”

“What if we just say it was no body’s fault?”

The sudden voice from the doorway drew their attention away from each other, Christopher stood with a big, albeit tired, grin on his face.

Eddie stood and was quick to scoop Christopher off his feet, tickling his tummy on the way up, “Hey you, how did you get up here?”

“Hen brought me!”

“Hi,” Hen waved, leaning in the doorframe, “Sorry if I was interrupting something, Maddie said Buck was awake and this one was insistent on seeing him immediately.”

“You were?” Buck asked playfully, “C’mere you goof.”

“You’re the goof!” Christopher squealed as Eddie hoisted him above his head and swung him around the room a little before plopping him onto the hospital bed.

Buck’s hand drifted towards Christopher without him really even seeming to notice, still instinctually needing to be close, to ensure Chris was safe. He leaned forward as much as he was physically able, swallowing a wince, “So, what’s the status report?”

“Nothing of consequence.” Christopher said matter-of-factly with a strong nod of his head.

“You sure?” Buck asked, a mischievous grin growing on his face, “Not even here?” He poked at Christopher’s side, “Or here?” Buck poked his other side and Chris wiggled out of the way. “Definitely here!”

Christopher fell back with a loud giggle, clutching his stomach where Buck was tickling him playfully. “Stop!” He cried, a large grin on his face.

Buck pulled his hands back, laughing along with Christopher, no matter how much it hurt his ribs. Eddie must have picked up on his discomfort though because a second later he was walking over and kneeling at the edge of the bed, looking Chris in the eyes. “Whaddya say we let Buck get some rest hm?”

“Aww.” Chris sat up, smile fading.

“You can totally come back and see me tomorrow,” Buck promised, before opening his mouth in a hugely exaggerated yawn. “I am pretty tired.”

Eddie met his eyes over Christopher’s mop of curly hair, a small smile of gratitude silently expressing his thanks. Christopher needed to rest too, and he would feel much better about leaving if he thought it was because Buck needed to sleep himself.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow kid.” Chris said, reaching his little hand up once more to rub against Buck’s cheek.

Buck leaned into the contact and took the opportunity to blow a quick raspberry, wanting to hear the boy’s laughter one last time before he left for the evening.

“Alright mister,” Eddie gripped Chris and easily pulled him off the bed. “Can you wait for daddy out in the hallway real quick?”

“Roger that!” Chris nodded and started making his way to the door, progress a little slow-going without the aid of his crutches.

“Thank you,” Eddie said, standing and placing a firm hand on Buck’s knee. He sounded more sincere than Buck had ever heard him, “Seriously, thank you.”

“Thanks for visiting. You’ll be back tomorrow?” Buck wasn’t even the least bit embarrassed by the hopeful lilt of his voice.

Eddie smiled, glancing over his shoulder where Christopher was sweet-talking a nurse. “I don’t think that one will stand for anything else.”

“Good. Now get outta here.”

“Alright, I’m going. Have a good night Buck.”

Buck smiled gently, “You too.”

Hen watched Eddie leave the room, once again snatching Christopher right off the ground and pulling him close, the sight made her smile. She couldn’t even imagine how she would be feeling if it had been her own son lost in the disaster.

“Thank you, for bringing him up.” Buck’s soft voice broke the relative silence that had encompassed the room.

“I think he needed it as much as you did. Now get some rest, you look about two seconds away from passing out completely.”

Buck sighed, trying to stifle a real yawn that time with little success, “Any idea on when I can get outta here?”

“You don’t enjoy the scenery?” Hen joked with a roll of her eyes. “Go to sleep Buck, I’ll ask around.”

“M’kay. Night Hen.”

“Good night Buck.”

#9-1-1 #911fox #this is long #but there will be more #because i literally can't help myself #you know nightmares are a thing that need to happen!#my writing #evan buckley #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #bobby nash

81 notes · View notes