#and yeah K sleeps in craters in the ground

[cookinary]

Mornings in the city ruins be like (aka K’s morning routine)

Just a little comic I whipped up real quick cuz I felt like it

Lesson learned: Don’t sneak up on K. Because you can’t.

#My Friend Pedro #Post Apocalyptic AU #K #comic #doodles #pen sketches #if this wasn't clear: he's searching for anything interesting in the bounty hunter's backpack on the last page #and yeah K sleeps in craters in the ground #he likes it for some reasons #and yes i'm shit at drawing backgrounds don't @ me #as for an explanation for his camping gear: #he found a sport/outdoor activities store and raided the camping section #any resources are good to take

[yourdeepestfathoms]

The Most Important Part of Your Body

[Wing AU; UK Tour]

My part of the art/writing trade I did with @thenicestnonbinary!! They asked for a continuation of my last fic for them and an explanation to Joan’s prophecy, so here you go! Enjoy!

Word count: 3486

----------------------

  “Lighting a candle just to breathe the smoke is a bad, bad thing… Tread carefully, for we walk on hot coals… When you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned… Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, you’re going to burn with the rest of us.”

Those words kept replaying in Anya’s head no matter how hard she tried to think of something else. They kept shoving their way to the surface of her mind, ripping apart every other thought until it played on loop, taunting her, torturing her.

What did it mean?

She didn’t sleep at all the night it was said. The image of roaring flames flickered behind her eyelids whenever she closed her eyes, so she just stayed up, thinking.

That was a prophecy. She knew it was.

So what did it mean?

Would there be a fire? Was she going to light it? She couldn’t possibly see herself doing such a thing, but after the dark futures Joan told her about… 

She had looked down at her claws and saw that they were shaking.

It had been six days since then, and Anya was on high alert. She was always looking for something that may start a fire- a frayed wire, a fallen light, just someone who looked more pyromaniacal than usual. But, so far, there was nothing.

Morbid curiosity soon grew to be too much- she approached Joan.

  “Joan?”

She found the little hybrid in the rehearsal room, surprisingly. It was almost strange to see her out of her dressing room when a performance wasn’t going on. 

Joan was tinkering with the piano, practicing with notes and a few chords. When Anya walked in, her ears swiveled around to her, then her head. Her wings perked up slightly, tail raising.

  “Anya, hello,” Joan greeted, cracking a small smile.

  “Hello, Joan,” Anya greeted back. She cleared her throat. “Joan, I need to ask you something.”

Joan tilted her head. “What?”

  “Do you remember when you stayed over at my house?” Anya asked, and Joan nodded. “I wanted to know what that thing you said in your sleep meant. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

Joan blinked. “What thing?”

  “The prophecy.”

Joan’s eyes widened. “I gave you a prophecy?”

Anya was confused. “Yeah, you did. Did you not know?”

  “I don’t know anything about a recent prophecy,” Joan said, sounding anxious. She wrung her claws in her shirt. “What did I say?”

  “Something about fire,” Anya told her, trying to swallow her own fear. “It was--”

Joan suddenly whimpered. 

  “Joan?”

The little hybrid was now curled on the piano stool, wings drawn in tightly around her, hands clutching at her head. She began to shiver, whimpering in distress, eyes squeezed shut.

  “Joan? Joan.” Anya gently touched her shoulders, and they quaked beneath her hands. “What’s wrong? What do you see?”

  “Fire,” Joan gasped raggedly. “Oh god, oh god, oh god--”

  “Joan? Joan, breathe.” Anya told her, hoping to get through to her. “Come on, honey. You can do it. Breathe. Come back to me.”

Joan suddenly flinched backwards, eyes popped open, breathing heavily. Sweat beaded on her brow and ran down her pale face. She scrambled to her feet, nearly collapsing.

  “W-we have to stop them!” Joan floundered, rushing for the door.

  “Joan! Joan, hey!” Anya grabbed the panicked girl by the shoulders, squeezing her to try and ground her. “Hang on a moment.”

  “No!” Joan yanked away from her and ran out into the hallway. Anya followed after her, watching the way she looked around wildly.

  “Wh-where are they? Where is everyone?!” Joan cried. “W-we have to find them, Anya! We-- Agh!!”

She suddenly crumpled again, clutching at her head. Anya lunged down to her side and propped her up against her, stroking her with one wing.

  “No! No!” Joan squirmed like she was being electrocuted. “Oh god, no! No!!” Tears were now streaming down her cheeks as she spiraled into full blown hysterics.

  “Joan, what’s going on? What do you see?”

Joan screamed and shoved away from her, hightailing it down the hallway.

  “Joan!!”

Anya chased after the girl, surprised by how fast she was despite her condition. She rounded the corner and found her collapsed on her knees in front of Cathy, Cleves, and Jane. They all looked simultaneously confused and concerned. 

  “Joan!” Anya went back down to her side and wrapped a wing around her. “Joan, honey, you need to breathe. You’re having a panic attack.”

  “That’s what this is?” Cleves asked.

  “Is she okay?” Cathy added. 

  “I--” Anya faltered, frowning down at Joan’s shuddering form. “I don’t know.”

Joan’s body spasmed. She looked up and her eyes were blank and glazed. When she began to speak, her voice wasn’t scared or panicked or anxious or pained. It was calm. Hollow.

  “You feel it all over, and you can see it. And it deals with you. It really works on you. And you don't like it. You don't like it, I don't deserve that, y'know. And nobody else can really understand. You feel it all over. You feel it all over. And you just get the shakes. And it just, it comes up on you. Feel it all over. You feel it all over. Feel it all over…”

Anya swallowed thickly and looked up to gauge the reactions of the three queens: Cathy looked frightened, Cleves looked curious, and Jane looked concerned, but they all seemed to be a little unnerved.

  “Was that a prophecy?” Cathy whispered.

  “Was it?” Cleves asked, shifting. She shook out her wings as if they were crawling with spiders. “Brr. I’ve got goosebumps. That was freaky.”

  “It’s coming,” Joan muttered, hanging her head limply. “It’s coming.” Her breathing rattled, body twitching. “We’re animated meat accepting complete infidelity of the body.”

Then, she shook her head and her eyes popped open again, grey and normal-looking. 

  “Joan, what is going on?” Jane asked. 

  “Where is everyone else?” Joan croaked. Her elbows trembled like they were about to buckle beneath the weight of her trembling body. “We have to save them!”

  “Save them from what?” Cleves furrowed her eyebrows.

  “The fire!” Joan cried. She leapt to her feet and scrambled down the hallway, using the wall for support. She began crying out the names of the other queens and ladies in waiting. 

  “Joan, wait!” Anya went after her. 

She chased the hybrid to the wings of the stage, where Kat was talking with Bessie. When Joan saw the fifth queen, she let out a cry of relief and collapsed against her.

  “Kat! Kat!” Joan wept.

Kat’s eyes widened and she lowered the girl to the ground. “Joan? Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

  “I think it’s her visions,” Anya said. She watched as Kat swept her wings around Joan and held her close to her chest. “She’s really freaking out.”

  “Oh, honey,” Kat murmured, stroking Joan’s head. “You poor little thing… Your head must be hurting so bad, huh?”

  “K-Kat-- Kat--”

  “Shh, shh,” Kat rocked her gently. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

  “N-no-- No!” Joan tried to push away, breathing heavily. 

Maggie came down from the nearby staircase, glanced at the scene, wrinkled her nose, then began walking onto the stage. Joan screamed.

  “No!!” Joan shrieked, thrashing wildly in Kat’s arms and wings in an attempt to get free. “No! Don’t go in there! No!”

Maggie looked back at her. “Why?” She ruffled her wings and sniffed, clearly miffed. “I do what I want.

  “No! No, Maggie, there’s a BOMB!”

And then, with a whoosh and a crash and a burst of light, the stage exploded into flames.

------

  “Anne Askew was burned at the stake at Smithfield, London, aged 24, on 16 July 1546, with John Lascelles, Nicholas Belenian and John Adams. She was carried to execution in a chair wearing just her shift, as she could not walk and every movement caused her severe pain. She was dragged from the chair to the stake which had a small seat attached to it, on which she sat astride. Chains were used to bind her body firmly to the stake at the ankles, knees, waist, chest and neck.

Those who saw her execution were impressed by her bravery, and reported that she did not scream until the flames reached her chest.”

------

After an interminable time floating in a semi-conscious haze, the piercing smell of some burning annoyed her into a state of full wakefulness. 

The smell of smoke and burning feathers choked her as she shuddered on the floor, slumber against a wall, nose pressed against the gritty floor. Her wings felt heavy, like they were being weighed down by dozens of logs, and an uncomfortable heat pressed down on her. Pushing herself up on weak arms, she raised her head to face the destruction in front of her. 

Smoldering tendrils of curtains dot the floor from after they fell from the overhead poles, leaking toxic wisps of white smoke. Without them hanging up, she could see that half the stage had been turned into kindling, surrounding a yawning crater where the risers for the band once stood. The speakers and instruments and tech pieces were now blackened twists of scrap metal, and a hole’s been punched through the back wall, echoing into another room that was slowly being flooded with smoke and ash. Half the sprinklers above were raining water, the other half just dangled from busted pipes. She couldn’t see any bodies; the fire was too big. A few wounded in the wings with her were just now recovering from the shock of the blast; first someone groaned, then she heard someone calling for help.

Anya blinked and realized that her head must be rattled more than she had realized, because she was slumped against the wall without a memory of collapsing. She spent a few moments trying to make sense of what just happened.

As her head cleared a bit, she saw Kat pushing herself up from the ground, covered in a caking of soot. She saw Bessie on her knees, wide-eyeing the fire. She saw Cathy and Anne and Cleves and Jane and dozens of others running towards the wreckage, while others ran in the other direction.

She saw Joan standing in front of the flames, her quaking body outlined by the golden light.

  “Oh my god!” Jane cried, clapping her hands over her mouth in shock.

  “Wh-what happened?!” Cathy stammered in fear.

  “What did this?!” Cleves shouted at the same time. 

  “Where is Maggie?!” Anne yelled, her eyes wide with fear.

  “I tried to warn her,” Anya just barely heard Joan mutter. “I told her. I told her what would happen.”

Anne rounded on Joan, tears trembling on her lower eyelids. “What did you do?!”

  “What did I do?!” Joan’s voice raised into a fever pitch. “I did nothing but try to prevent this happening! I tried to save everyone, and she did not listen to me! She went in like the ignorant fool she is!”

She turned to the fire, spreading her wings to the heat. “I saw it! I saw these flames and I tried to save everyone! I tried! I tried!”

Anne took a shaky step back. “Is Maggie dead?”

Joan did not answer, and Anne sobbed.

  “Maybe I can--” Bessie stepped up and breathed in deeply, releasing a blast of frost on the fire trying to crawl into the wings. The flames were smothered, but the hell storm on the stage continued to rage wildly. She breathed out another jet of frost, fighting back the fire as more and more people began to flee the building.

  “Watch out!” 

There was a blur of gold as someone ran into the fire with their wings shielding their flammable clothing and hair. A moment later, they appeared again, dragging someone else by the arms.

  “Maggie!!” Anne shrieked, lunging down to the body. Her friend was covered in burns and ash, and one of her wings looked badly charred, but she was breathing. “Maggie, oh Maggie! I’m so sorry! Maggie, I’m so sorry!”

Aragon frowned, then ran back into the fire. She was not immune to the bite of the flames, but her scaly wings were not flammable, and she was able to pull out two more bodies without only minimal burns.

Anya couldn’t recognize the two other corpses. All she knew was that they were very, very dead, charred beyond belief, wings turned to black skeletons upon their backs.

Anya attempted to get up, to maybe help, but a comforting hand pressed on her shoulder and a warm voice spoke to her, “Don’t move, you’re hurt.”

Looking up, she saw Cathy kneeling beside her. Her face was twisted with worry and fear. Anya’s vision began to blur as she was gazing at her. 

  “I’m perfectly able to--” As she talked, she made the mistake of trying to push herself to her feet. Something shifted in her right shoulder, sending a flare of pain throughout her body, making her gasp as her right arm collapsed under her weight.

Instead of saying, “told you so,” Cathy yelled for help. Medics had apparently arrived.

  “Please," Cathy said, “don’t move. You have a large chunk of metal sticking out of your shoulder.”

Anya looked down and saw it gouged there. A twisted hunk of black iron embedded in her flesh, spilling out fountains of hot blood. Her vision began to blur even more. How did she not notice it before?

A painted lady Cimex and a blue Hydra in EMT jumpsuits finally made it through the crowd of people clogging the entrance and came over to where Anya was kneeling. They pushed Cathy aside with their wings, much to Anya’s dismay. She tried to reach for her friend, but the medics coaxed her into saying still while they began speaking. Something about a female black kite Avem showing signs of significant trauma and blood loss. She lost the thread of what they’re saying, because the Hydra medic started to cut the clothes off of her.

  “What?” Anya croaked, and she didn’t realize how rough her voice was. The word echoed in her mind like she was in a cave. How much blood was she losing?”

  “Shh,” The Hydra told her. “You need to stay still for me, hun.”

When she tossed aside a bundle of unidentifiable shreds of fabric that used to be a stage manager joke t-shirt, stained with equal parts blood and soot, Anya had to agree.

Anya felt very light-headed and dizzy, so she decided to close her eyes.

Funny. This felt a lot more peaceful than how she actually died. 

  “You’re right, Cathy. I’m really injured.” Her voice was a half-whisper and half-groan, and she had no idea if her friend heard her. She barely cared.

She felt the cold sting of something in her uninjured arm, and the drugs pushed her the rest of the way into unconsciousness.

------

Anya eventually woke up to bright white and the sharp smell of antibiotics. The slight dizziness she felt, and the absence of pain from her wounded shoulder told her that she’s probably still drugged-up on painkillers, if nothing else. 

She was laying in a bed in a blindingly white hospital room, staring at the blank wall. She could smell blood somewhere.

She wondered how long she had been drugged insensible. She had no real memory after the Hydra medic stripped her and shot her with something. But, however badly she’d been hurt, they seem to have patched her up. She recovered to the point everyone felt safe ignoring her.

Anya groaned as she got to a seated position. She ached all over. The place where the intrusive chunk of metal once laid was now gone from her shoulder, and she realized that there was an IV tube injected into a vein in her left arm.

  “Hey, don’t move around too much.”

Anya whipped her head around and saw Cathy. Relief instantly bloomed through her when she saw the blue jay unharmed and okay.

  “Cathy,” She breathed out.

Cathy smiled softly and took her hand, twining their fingers together. “Hey, you.” She said. “It’s good to see you awake.”

  “How long have I been out?” Anya asked, and her voice came out croaking and rough. She coughed and Cathy frowned, brushing some white hair from her face.

  “A day.”

Anya’s eyes widened. “A day?”

Cathy nodded. “They sewed up the wound in your shoulder, but wanted to keep you under for a while longer. It’s nine, now.”

  “Damn,” Anya muttered. “What happened? How is everyone?”

Cathy’s expression went grim. “Jackie and Sean are dead.” She said, referring to a robin Avem and cricket Cimex, both of which had been on the tech crew. “Maggie’s pretty beat up, but the doctors said she’ll make a full recovery soon. A few others are just burned.”

  “God,” Anya said softly. “I can’t believe that really happened…”

  “Me too,” Cathy said. “I’m just so happy you’re alive. When I heard the explosion go off I was so worried about you. I thought you had—”

  “Hey.” Anya brushed her wing against Cathy. “None of that. Happy thoughts. Look, I’m here, aren’t I?”

Cathy smiled. “You are.” She squeezed Anya’s hand again, then cleared her throat. “The show is being shut down for awhile. Obviously.”

  “Thank the goddesses,” Anya said. “I don’t know how anyone would be able to work after what happened.”

Cathy nodded. “Yeah. On the bright side, we get a vacation!”

They both shared a laugh.

  “Where’s Joan?”

Cathy made a disgruntled expression that Anya didn’t understand. “I don’t know. I don’t really care, either.” Her voice was so hostile; Anya wasn’t used to her sounding so angry.

  “Why not?” Anya furrowed her eyebrows.

  “She could have stopped it!” Cathy suddenly exploded, causing Anya to flinch in surprise. “She has precognition! And she was having visions! Why couldn’t she have told us what she had seen sooner instead of crying on the floor?”

Anya frowned. “Cathy, I don’t think she could.” She said. “You saw her. She was in a lot of pain. She was scared, too. I think she was too overwhelmed to be able to speak.”

Cathy scoffed. “Yeah right. I wouldn’t just flail around on the floor with the knowledge of a bomb about to go off. She could have told us before the day even happened! She can see the furtive! Why didn’t she see this sooner?”

  “There’s a lot of different futures to see,” Anya tried to convince her. “This may not have been one she saw.”

  “What, is a fucking bombing not big enough for her mind?” Cathy said cruelly, her voice loaded with venom. 

  “It’s not her fault, Cathy.”

  “It is!” Cathy yelled. “If she had just said something, then Jackie and Sean wouldn’t be dead, the theater wouldn’t be destroyed, Maggie wouldn’t be in urgent care, and you wouldn’t be hurt right now!”

  “Don’t blame her!” Anya yelled back. “She tried, okay? She tried. We have to give her that. A lot more people could have died without her.”

Cathy huffed and crossed her arms. “If that’s what helps you sleep at night, alright.”

Anya clenched her jaw, but didn’t argue. She was just tired and confused and so, so worried.

She stayed in the hospital for another hour until she was deemed well enough to leave. The first thing she did was fly to the wreckage sight, even though the doctors advised she didn’t fly for a day or so. 

Police cars swarmed the building below Anya. Yellow tape was rolled out, restricting civilians from going in. The theater had turned into a full on crime scene. 

Anya flew to the park field next, and that’s where she found her. In the same place where she took her hunting.

Anya landed beside Joan.

  “I tried.”

Anya could tell from her voice that Joan had been crying. 

  “I did. I really tried. I wanted to save everyone.”

  “You did your best.”

  “My best wasn’t enough. Now two people are dead.”

Joan looked at Anya, and her grey eyes were puffy and red. Tear tracks were stained on her pale cheeks.

  “Are you--are you--?”

  “I’m okay, sweetie,” Anya said. She tugged down her sleeve to show Joan the bandages around her stitched shoulder. “See? I’m okay.”

Joan sniffled and tears spilled over. “O-oh god. Thank goodness.” 

Anya wrapped her wings around the young hybrid and pulled her in close. Joan clung to her like a baby bat would to its mother, latched on with her little dewclaws. She sobbed into her chest, and Anya stroked her hair comfortingly, occasionally scratching behind her ears, hoping it would help.

  “I wanted to save everyone,” Joan whispered shakily. “I did. I tried.” She sniffled. “Maybe I should just do what Henry did to me when I kept giving him bad prophecies…”

  “What did he do?”

  “He cut my tongue out.” 

#wing au #six the musical #six the musical au #six the musical fanfic #six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fic #uk tour #sixtended verse #anne askew #anya askew #tour joan on the keys #tour katherine howard #tour anne boleyn #tour catherine parr #tour catherine of aragon #tour bessie on the bass #tour jane seymour #tour anna of cleves #tour maria on the drums #the most important part of your body

[colehasapen]

(ONE SHOT) cin'ciri STAR WARS

“Keep your eyes open, Trooper.” Cody orders as the younger clone in his arms lists, tightening his hold around his waist. “Almost there.” His eyes are on the cave he can see in the distance, barely visible through the thick snowfall and illuminated by the lights mounted on his helmet. They had been walking for hours, since their transport had gone down miles from where it had meant to land, and he’s feeling every minute in his aching body.

The others had died on impact, while Cody had been thrown out of the gaping hole in the side of the ship - likely the only reason why he could walk at all. He’d landed in a snowdrift without much more than bruises and a rattled bucket, but he’d been forced to watch the shuttle carrying his men dip into a sharp nosedive, smoke billowing from the cockpit, and he’d seen it hit the unforgiving ice, heart in his throat. Every member of the ten man squad had died within moments of the ship crashing, all of them but the youngest.

Wooley had still been alive, half-buried under the rest of his squad. It looked like they had tried to protect the Shiniest among them with their own bodies when the shuttle had gone down, and Cody had had to quickly extract the whimpering Trooper from the pile of dead brothers. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at Wooley’s injuries then, because water had been rapidly filling the hull and had already reached his knees and soaked through the younger trooper. He hadn’t been able to spare the kid much of a look beyond a quick scan to make sure he had all his limbs intact and his suit wasn’t torn before the storm had hit.

They’d been walking since, looking for shelter they could use until the rest of Ghost Company could come looking for them, or the storm broke. At first, Wooley had been able to move under his own power, with little help from the Commander, but the further they got from the frozen lake where the shuttle had sunk, the more the younger clone started to lag. Despite his own aches and pains, Cody had been all-but carrying the kid for the last hour. He had stopped shivering thirty minutes ago, and now he was starting to go limp.

Dread pools in his stomach, and he gives the kid a quick shake, wincing at the pained noise Wooley makes. “Eyes open, Wooley, that’s an order.”

Wooley’s head lolls, thunking off of Cody’s pauldron and it takes a moment for Cody’s brain to translate what the kid slurs; “Leave me, C’mmand’r.”

“I won’t do that, Private.” He says, then lifts the younger clone into his arms, wincing at the bite of frozen plastoid he can feel even through his own cold weather armour. Wooley’s temp controls must have been damaged in the crash. He had been freezing steadily for hours, and hadn’t brought it up.

“Gotta - gotta get to th’ rendezvous-” The young trooper tries to argue, but he leans into Cody’s chest despite himself and his stubbornness.

Cody picks up the pace, jogging through the thick snow, “I don’t take orders from you, Shiny.”

“Not a Shiny ‘nymore, C’mmand’r.”

“You’re still Shiny to me, soldier.” Cody barks, and he can hear Wooley’s ragged laughter through their internal comms. The noise cuts off with a pained hiss, and it makes Cody wince. “Stay alert, you’ll need to shoot if anything comes after us.”

Wooley is silent for a second, head dipping towards Cody’s shoulder, before the Private jolts. The delay in his answer sets the worry in Cody’s stomach to a boil, “Yessir.” The young trooper slurs, fumbling for a blaster with uncharacteristically clumsy hands.

He doubts the kid would be able to fire it even if their life depended on it, but it would hopefully have his training kick in and keep Wooley alert. Luckily, it doesn’t come to that, because the cave Cody drags the two of them into is empty.

Cody gently lowers his younger brother to the ground once they were out of the biting winds and clinging snow. Wooley whimpers, curling in on himself, and Cody murmurs a quick apology as he tugs off his trooper’s dented helmet. The damage done to the visor - a massive crack leading from the deep crater in the side of the plastoid and marring the little bantha horns he had lovingly painted on it - meant that his brother must have been mostly blind over the hours they had been walking.

“Reckless, stupid Shinies.” He grumbles, setting the bucket off to the side. Wooley blinks at him groggily, some of his ridiculously long curls falling from his topknot to rest across his pallid face, and a wound on the side of his head bleeds sluggishly. Cody hisses sympathetically at the sight of the injury and blue lips as he gets to work pulling the younger trooper’s frozen armour off of him. Luckily, the insulation hadn’t been compromised in the crash and the kid’s thermals are dry and still working - though weakly. They’d probably been nearly burnt-out from trying to heat up the damaged armour as well.

“Dinner first, C’mmand’r.” Wooley slurs, head drooping, but there’s a weak little cheeky grin on his pale face.

“Tell you what.” Cody grunts, moving to begin stripping out of his own armour - he needs to get Wooley’s core temperature back up, or his younger brother will freeze. “The General introduced me to this little diner on Coruscant, I’ll take you next time we’re on shore - we can put it on General Kenobi’s tab.”

Wooley giggles, sounding almost hysterical, “‘s a date.” He teases weakly, watching with heavy eyes as Cody, now down to his own thermals, starts clicking his armour into place over Wooley’s.

“You’ve been around the General too much.” Cody tells him, amused, and Wooley snorts, humour sparking in big dark eyes.

“Says you.” Wooley teases fuzzily, slumping into Cody’s side, and the Commander loops his arms around the kid’s torso, pulling him into his lap.

He winces when Wooley’s frigid nose presses against his jaw, but his brother’s shivers are steadily returning the longer they talk, his body starting to warm up again, so he doesn’t say anything about it. “What’s that supposed to mean, Trooper?”

Wooley huffs a chittering snicker, curling even closer to Cody’s chest - which he’s thankful for, as the cold was starting to creep into his limbs without the heated armour. “‘veryone’s b-bettin’ on when you-you an’ th’ Gen-Gen’ral are gonna k-kiss.”

“Are they?” Cody says blandly, trying to ignore the sudden heat in his formerly chilled face. “You all must have too much down time then, to be able to gossip about your commanding officers.” He hugs Wooley tighter, feeling his own shivering setting in. “I’ll need to run more drills.” Wooley snickers against his chest, and Cody shivers violently.

Someone would come for them, Cody knows, because his HUD is still operating and reporting his status and location to tactical, even if his ranged comms were shot by the storm. They’d come, so until then he’d keep himself and Wooley alive for them to find.

Without fully realizing it, Cody finds himself drifting off to sleep between one blink and the next, listening to Wooley’s shivering breath as it steadily starts evening out once more as the heat from Cody’s armour settles into his body. He had closed his eyes one moment, and then the next thing he knew he found himself surrounded by noise and light.

Cody jerks, fumbling to roll over, to put himself between his younger brother and whoever had come across them. Frozen hands scramble for a blasterm and Wooley’s whimper is loud in his clogged ears.

“-safe Commander.” It takes him longer than he’s proud of to work out what the familiar voice is saying, and longer still to force his heavy eyes open. He’s surrounded by a sea of white, and Cody worries faintly for a moment of the possibility of snow blindness having settled in, but then his eyes adjust, and he recognizes the blue paint.

“Kix?” He tries to say, but his voice is garbled and slurred, and he can’t make his frozen lips cooperate with his mind. What was the 501st doing here? They were supposed to be on the other side of the planet.

Well, he wasn’t going to turn a medic away when he had an injured brother in his arms. Carefully, painfully, his stiff limbs protesting with every move, Cody heaves his heavy body off of Wooley, flopping over bonelessly as soon as Kix pulls the young trooper away.

“Head injury.” He tries to tell the medic, “Ship crashed.” Kix’s helmet tilts, pulling out a scanner as he crouches over Wooley, and he waves some troopers closer. Without being fully aware of it, Cody relaxes the moment he recognizes Rex’s helmet bobbing towards him.

Help had come.

Cody sags against a warm chest as Rex gathers him close, sighing in relief as he’s completely surrounded with warmth - they had brought thermal blankets.

Good, Wooley would need them.

“We’re already looking after Wooley, Codes.” Rex soothes, and Cody blinks groggily.

Was he talking out loud?

Rex snorts, and Cody lets out a huff of surprise as gravity shifts around him. “Yeah, vod. You’re talking out loud.” Rex is teasing him, and Cody frowns heavily at his younger brother’s chest. “Once we’ve got your hypothermic ass microwaved, I’m sending this footage to Wolffe.”

Ass.

“Oh, language Commander.” Rex mocks, and Cody squirms, annoyed, in his arms - oh, Rex was carrying him. When had that happened? He’s trying to puzzle this out when his brother speaks next, his voice softer, carrying a lilt of worry, and Cody wants to apologize. “Little Force gods, you’re cold.” He had never wanted to worry his younger brother. “Go back to sleep, Cody. We’ve got you.”

Cody blinks again, letting his heavy eyes slide shut, and he relaxes into his brother’s hold. “Not doing it ‘cause you told me to.” He makes sure he says, pointedly getting the last word in before he drifts off once more, Rex’s laughter ringing in his ears.

#cole writes #fanfiction #star wars #whumptober 2020 #no.21 i don't feel so well #commander cody #clone trooper wooley #captain rex #clone trooper kix

[happythexceed]

Summary of “K SEVEN STORIES Episode 5  K: Seven Stories “Memory of Red - ~Burn~”

Spoilers ahead. Sorry for any discrepancy. I tried to put in whatever I remembered I watched once and I’m not so good in remembering details.  Some of the sub feels a bit vague.

The Idol K

The Silver Record Trio headed to the school island to pay the duo a visit. Kuroh wondered why they need to pay them a visit when their entertainment companies had agreed to help them. Shiro mentioned they were just going to tell them to “Please support them”. The school island had the sceneries suitable for filming.

The duo were filming special effect for a kid show where one is an ally of justice and the other is a devil who kills all people. Yeah, Yata is a hero and he gets a cape on screen on The Idol K finally. The two of them had a healthy rivalry relationship Shiro hoped Kuroh can have with Yukari. 

Yata and Fushimi should have been over (the betrayal) as Yata is talking to Fushimi and getting along very well with him. During their break, Fushimi was grumbling about how lousy the script is written and Yata said he enjoyed it. Shiro greeted them and hope to get their support. They had both heard from their company about the charity event. Yata had no complaint if Kusanagi had agreed. Fushimi will just do his job. 

Shiro presented them with the onigiri as the reward. Fushimi stared at it and Shiro replied that there’s only salt as filling. Yata teased that Shiro have even make the effort to research on Fushimi’s preference. They are going to have a wonderful performance.

Memory of Red - ~Burn~

The movie started off with the Damocles Down happening. The former Blue King Habari Jin couldn’t stop the former Red King Kagutsu Genji on time and his Sword of Damocles fell and he was caught in the blast. Various kids saw the Damocles down happening including Hisui and Tatara (if not Neko) who was hugged by his parents watching the blast intently. Young Iwa was shown at the scene. 

The slate kid appeared commenting on the destruction. Kagutsu is the representation of it. What will the next Red King do? The next scene had a kid wearing his soccer uniform with the name “Suoh” on it witnessing the destruction from the Kagutsu crater. Suoh woke up from his nightmare. Anna who had been having a nightmare as well woke up and Mikoto wondered if she had a nightmare. Anna explained she could be affected by his dream sleeping by his side. Anna asked if Mikoto wished to be free.

Mikoto found himself in a cage with Totsuka and the rest of HOMRA members. He wished to be free but he doesn’t hate to be trapped.

It’s December and HOMRA members were having a discussion about Anna’s birthday celebration. Totsuka wanted to bake a 5 metres tall cake and everyone were like NO! This is only meant for her wedding. Everyone have their ideas which were scrapped until Kusanagi came up with the idea everyone to present Anna a rose and Anna would be able to form a bouquet from them. Anna overheard them and headed back to Mikoto’s room upstairs. She remarked that it isn’t a good time for her to go downstairs.

Totsuka shared his plan with Mikoto. He couldn’t stop harping on the 5 metres cake. He told King to present a rose and congratulate her on her birthday. They commented how time flies and they had taken in Anna when she was 7 and now she is 11. 

There is a scene with Anna telling Totsuka he would not live long if he remains by Mikoto’s side.

The drinks arrived and Mikoto is staring why they have a “normal” drink and why is his drink so “girlish”. Red and with strawberry and suitable for King. “Strawberry fizz” was what Totsuka had ordered for King since he said he could decide for him and the red suits him.

They talked about their past how they started HOMRA with only the three of them at first. The man who was a supporter of Kagutsu caused Mikoto to become the Red King and what kind of destruction he could cause if he become the Red King instead. In the first place, they are already dead by now. (That make me wonder if Mikoto was not the supposed red king? He somehow took the power from that guy). People wanted to destroy everything surrounding them not caring if the world is destroyed tomorrow but doesn’t deny there are some good within it.

Totsuka waved goodbye to the two of them as he wanted to buy some stuff from the convenience store before going home. That was when he crossed his path with “Shiro” who was possessed by the Colourless King for the first time.

Preparation for Anna’s birthday is going on and everyone was busy. Chitose is flirting, Eric is looking at a necklace, etc. Totsuka showed everyone a dress and he wore a ribbon.

As for Mikoto, he passed by a shop and seemed to be having a debate in his mind. He gave up and walked into the shop. Mikoto was staring hard at a cute little teddy bear. He was like telling the bear to stop looking so cute, stay away from him, and he can resist not buying him. He gave up again and going to grab the bear. Little did he expect another hand grabbed the bear the same time as him. 

That guy who is eyeing the same bear was Munakata. Mikoto wanted to leave and Munakata could have the bear. Munakata stopped him asking him didn’t he want to get the bear for HOMRA princess? Mikoto can’t deny. They talked how how they have their friends and family. They are Kings but at the same time they are both human. Munakata is in a cage like him. Munakata questioned if Mikoto wanted to leave the cage. The life outside the cage is too dangerous for human.

“Shiro” and Hisui in Kotosaka was having a discussion. “Shiro” thanked him for providing this body to him. This body is light and good. Hisui provides information about Totsuka and Kusanagi to him for him to plan his game. “Shiro” the new Colourless King using Weismann’s voice commented how he possessed many people obtaining their memories, how human are black and he is going to combine them together. First step he declared he would kill Totsuka Tatara who is the weakest. 

Yata burnt the pot in bar HOMRA practicing his cooking for party food and heading home with Kamamoto (subs keep spelling his name wrong). Yata defended his fried rice is delicious ok? He just can’t manage party food. An airship passed by them, flying close. They noticed a girl using a candle app raising up to the sky aiming at the ship. To think people are still doing it now. Yata recalled how he went after it when he was still in middle school. He thought his world might change if he hopped on to it. Kamamoto added Fushimi was with him back then isn’t it? Yata changed the subject by demanding Kamamoto to lend him his kitchen to practice his cooking.

Totsuka is heading home from the bar and bumped into King who is going out to get cigarettes. He asked King to accompany him to the rooftop and showed him the night scene. Mikoto wondered about the red blinking light and Totsuka told him about the candle app. There is an urban legend that if people who feel down and out raised their device to the air with the app when the airship passes by, their troubles will be sucked in by the ship. Mikoto asked if he likes that. Totsuka replies that he didn’t need to as he had Kusanagi, Anna and him. He preferred to be grounded.

At the bottom of the building, “Shiro” is staring up at the rooftop where Totsuka and Mikoto are.

The night before Anna’s birthday, HOMRA alphabet boys had a talk among themselves after leaving the bar. Eric got a little sentimental and how happy he was taken in somehow and found a sense of belongings and the boys “beat” him up for spouting nonsense. 

Totsuka asked Kusanagi if he needed help and Yata offered to help. Totsuka decided to head off to get Anna the “cake” instead. He reminded Mikoto although he can’t bake the real one, he wanted to film that same scene he and Mikoto saw that night. The blinking red light resembled that candles on top of the cake and he wanted to show Anna that. (It was as though everyone knows this was the last time they see Totsuka alive). Kusanagi tell Totsuka to take care, Kamamoto said he will pick up the cake from him tomorrow. They would see each other tomorrow. (Tomorrow never came).

Totsuka came to the rooftop and was shot by “Shiro” and he asked him why as he laid in the pool of blood. “Shiro” introduces himself as the Colourless King as he shot the camera Totsuka dropped. He declared to Totsuka on the Seven Kings and Seven Stories they have he wanted to take them all and make them all his. He raised the phone with the app as the airship appeared above him.

Totsuka wanted to go back to inform them but his body didn’t allow him to do so. He fell and laid on the ground in despair if he is going to die there. He is also worried that the rest of HOMRA friends will be targeted. Yet when he thought about the time he had with them he felt happy and peaceful. He took out his phone he wanted to call king. He wondered if he would be angry. He called Kusanagi. (The phone keep ringing and we wondered if he will answer). Totsuka told Kusanagi he was happy. 

He saw himself on the speeding on the mountain road and met King who stood in the middle of the road. He thought of the past during school days how much fun he had.

Totsuka died in Yata’s arms later. Mikoto heard from Kusanagi and informed Anna who started to cry. She just woke up dreaming of Totsuka breaking into pieces like a marble.

The whole HOMRA grieved. Tears running down Eric’s cheek, Bandou burst into tear. Yata in bloodied shirt yelling why in frustration.

Fushimi went into Munakata’s office to report about Totsuka’s death and they had a meeting. Awashima mentioned Kusanagi contacted her and asked her and Scepter 4 not to interfere. It is between Red Clan and Colourless clan. How can Scepter 4 not get involved when it is clan related and they had the safety of people in mind. Munakata decided they will advance for their cause is pure. 

Mikoto watched Totsuka’s body and Kusanagi noticed he got a new ear ring on his ear and recognized as Totsuka’s but didn’t remember it was that red. It’s hollow so Mikoto filled it with his blood. He wanted to remember Totsuka’s existence as there won’t be a grave or anything left of him when he burns him. HOMRA held the ceremony by the seaside. Anna left Totsuka a rose before Mikoto burnt the coffin. “No blood no bone no ash!” There wasn’t a trace left by Totsuka after the fire died out.

Mikoto sat quietly alone looking out at the sea when Kusanagi approached him. Totsuka lives his life the way he wanted and Mikoto decided he would do the same. Kusanagi would not stop him. It was payback time.

Hisui and Iwa discussed about the Colourless King. Hisui played a supporting role this round and he would not want to get involved in his game. The plan Colourless King has would help him to move his greater plan. Iwa can choose not to watch if it’s hard for him. Iwa after all witnessed the Damocles down and lost all his clansmen as the only survivor.

Neko as a cat came to Ashinaka Academy and slept when a boy fell from the sky and crashed.

HOMRA gang walked into the street. Mikoto signaled them to do their job as he walked on with Anna. Anna asked if he wanted to avenge Tatara. Mikoto thought about Totsuka’s words that he needed a place of belonging, Munakata’s words about the world outside the cage is not meant for human etc, Mikoto merely replied he would do whatever he wants.

Thoughts:

The life in the cage is the world the people involved in the Dresden slate is it seems. Yata and Fushimi used to be really normal wanting to change the world found themselves inside it. Mikoto wanted to get out yet he doesn’t hate to stay in the cage where people he cared and care about him are in. Life outside the cage is dangerous although they set themselves free. Hisui will want a life outside the cage. This is a movie setting up for Season 1. The bit and pieces of various characters getting together and their discussion will ultimately lead to the series of happening in season 1. I’m hoping for a miracle and a different ending to happen yet it won’t be nice if there is a major change changing what led to the end of season 2.

#k seven stories #k memory of red #totsuka tatara #suoh mikoto #setting up for season 1 #tatara witness the damocles down isn't it? #the kid looks like neko too #problematic when the kids look similar #can't differentiate by the colours #poor Kusanagi can't say anything to stop Mikoto #totsuka tatara was the character that brought me into K fandom #liking sarumi came later

[sassycassie-s-writing]

You Belong With Me

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): Avatar: The Last Airbender/Zuko

Rating: PG/K+

Original Idea: @welovegroot asked if I’d do a Taylor Swift “You Belong With Me” songfic for Zuko and here I am to deliver that.

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) This one is really long, over 3,000 words, but I’m really proud how it turned out. It’s different from other songfics I’ve written in that I used the lyrics a little less obviously but I hope it’s still good!

^^^^^

Zuko sighed. “It’s all so much,” he muttered. I nodded. No way I could relate—I wasn’t the one running the country—but I could see the toll it was taking on him.

“I'm sorry Zuko,” I said quietly. “You know that if there’s anything I can do…”

“I know. And you’re doing plenty enough just by being here. I’d go crazy if I were in here all by myself.”

Not long after he took the throne, he’d extinguished the flames that burned between the throne and the steps that led down to the rest of the huge chamber. It made the room colder but friendlier—more personable. “Well I'm always here for you and happy to do whatever I can to help.”

“I know.”

The curtain to the throne room rustled. I ducked behind a pillar out of habit. I wasn’t technically supposed to be in the throne room helping the Fire Lord.

Mai came in. I could tell by her voice. I tuned out the details of their conversation. Figured it was none of my business.

Zuko said something he thought was funny. Mai went off the rails about it.

I couldn’t help but sigh, hiding behind my pillar. I had my arms folded and one foot braced against the pillar. I understood Zuko’s humor better than she did, apparently. I’d been with him through his banished—I’d been there through all the changes. From the good kid with a good heart to the hotheaded jerk to the more understanding, quiet young man trying his best. I’d seen it all. Mai hadn’t.

She probably knew I was in the throne room. Just didn’t care.

I felt like I knew and understood Zuko better than a lot of the people here. They hadn’t seen him through his banishment. They hadn’t seen how he changed and grew and developed as a man. I had. I’d been there all along. Through it all.

Mai was still going off about Zuko’s joke. I wished I could leave. But I couldn’t without revealing myself. So I stayed where I was.

^^^^^

“M’lady?” Zuko asked, appearing in the council chambers where I was getting some work done.

“Yes, my lord?”

He gestured for me to follow him. “Take a walk with me.”

“Of course, sire.” I got up from my seat and joined him.

He was in a worn-out, average citizen outfit with his top knot removed and his hair falling all over, including mostly masking his scarred eye. As we left the back gate of the palace to stroll the city, no one even noticed us.

“This reminds me of Ba Sing Se,” I said casually.

“But… it doesn’t look anything like Ba Sing Se,” Zuko pointed out.

“No. I didn’t mean that. I mean… this. You and me taking a walk through the city. Alone. Surrounded by people who have no idea who we are. It feels like our time in Ba Sing Se.”

“Yeah…” he muttered thoughtfully. “This is how it ought to be.”

“Anonymous?” I suggested, confused.

“No… wandering the city with you and no one reveres us. This is how it should be. We’re just like everyone else. We’re people. We just have a responsibility to serve these people,” Zuko said.

“Ah,” I said. Made sense. Really, this was how it ought to be.

We kept walking, slightly in silence.

“So… how’s Mai today? Still upset?” I asked.

Zuko sighed and bowed his head. “Not as much,” he said. “She just didn’t get the joke. She’s cooled off a little.”

“Hmm… how are you?”

“Fine.”

“Zuko.” I took his hand and pulled him to a stop. “I know you better than that,” I said. “You’re the Fire Lord and we’re still young. That’s taking a toll on you. I can see it.”

He sighed. “I'm fine. Really.”

I grunted, unconvinced, but didn’t say anything.

We made our way to a park and found a bench to sit on. Families milled around. There were children chasing each other in circles, laughing and playing. I giggled, watching them. One of the kids was a Firebender, shooting tiny little plumes of non-damaging flames at his sister—but they never reached the other kids.

It was a pleasant, warm day. It was easy to relax. To laugh. It was easy to look around. To watch Zuko watch the kids.

Zuko laughed as one of the kids pretended to get killed. I grinned. Zuko noticed I was watching him more than the kids and looked at me. “What?” he asked with a small chuckle in his voice, grinning.

I shrugged. “I miss your smile,” I said. “You could light this city on your own with that smile. But I haven’t seen it in a while.”

He sighed. “Just been stressed. I'm the Fire Lord. Doing a lot of stuff.”

“Yeah,” I agreed quietly, flatly, unconvinced. He smiled as the Fire Lord. But I hadn’t seen him smile any time Mai was around.

“I'm fine,” he insisted, hearing my tone.

“I know you better than that,” I said. “Why don’t you smile around Mai? What are you doing with her if she doesn’t make you happy?” I winced. “Sorry. That was out of line. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Zuko was quiet for a moment. “You and her are so different,” he said. “Yet you both speak your minds and you’re honest.”

Mai and I were pretty different. She was quiet, pessimistic, a bit gloomy, wore dark clothes, and a skilled fighter without Bending. I was loud, a realistic optimist, bright, tended to wear bolder colors, and a master Firebender. We were both noblemen’s daughters with sarcastic senses of humor, but the similarities ended there.

I glanced at Zuko. “I'm sorry, my lord,” I said.

“Apology accepted. You’re alright. I know what you meant. You didn’t mean any harm.” He patted my hand.

“Thanks. Sorry for speaking out of turn.”

“You didn’t.”

^^^^^

“Y’know,” I began as Zuko slipped out the back door of the palace where I was waiting for him, “I think you spend more time with me than Mai.”

“You’re my political advisor,” he said dismissively.

“She’s your girlfriend.”

Zuko grunted noncommittally. I snorted to myself. That was supposed to be my thing.

“You’re the one who’s stood by me through everything, you know that right?” Zuko asked as we snuck out of the palace grounds at night and climbed the edges of the volcano that surrounded the city. It was beautiful on the edge at night. The moonlight on the volcano side, the firelight in the crater from the city.

“And I’ll be standing by you and waiting at the back door as long as you’ll let me,” I said.

“Thank you.”

I sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the night air. It was cooler and crisper than tired daytime air. Refreshing.

Zuko glanced over at me. “Something wrong?”

I shook my head. “No,” I lied.

Truth was, I’d been plagued for years by selfish feelings. It wasn’t my place to express my desire for Zuko. He’d only ever see me as a friend—and now an advisor. It didn’t matter that I’d had a crush on him since we were small children. It didn’t matter that I’d gone with him during his banishment because I couldn’t bear the idea of living in the capital city without seeing him. It didn’t matter that my feelings grew when he changed for the better.

It wasn’t my place to tell him I was in love with him.

He was the only person in the country who would see a confession like that as genuine. Everyone else would assume I was “in love with him” because he was the Fire Lord. Which was blatantly false. I’d had a crush on him since we were children.

“I know you better than that,” he said. “I can tell when something’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong. Just tired from our hike,” I said.

After all this time, I was confused on how he couldn’t know how I felt about him.

“Okay,” he said.

^^^^^

Knock-knock-knock! Knuckles on the front door of my house roused me from my sleep. My parents were out-of-town on Ember Island for a few weeks of relaxation, leaving me alone. I wasn’t expecting visitors this late at night.

I sat up and tried to tame my messy hair as I pulled a dressing gown on over my nightclothes.

Knockknockknockknockknock! Rapid-fire knuckles rapped on the door urgently.

I ignited a small ball of fire over my hand so I could see my way to the front door. I slid out of my bedroom and trotted to the front door.

“Zuko!” I whispered. “It’s the middle of the night! Are you alright?”

It was a dumb question. The moment it left my lips I knew for certain that he was not alright.

Due to his scar, he usually only teared up in his good eye.

But both of his eyes were watering.

“Oh Zuko!” I whispered, extinguishing my flame and pulling him inside. I kicked the door shut as I wrapped him up in a hug. “Zuko what’s wrong?”

He just clung to me, letting me drag him over to the sofa and pulling him down to sit with me. He held onto my shoulders and waist with his arms, his face buried in my shoulder. I reached up with one hand and stroked his hair.

He wasn’t crying yet, so maybe I could cheer him up.

“Hey,” I whispered. “Guess what?”

“What?” His voice was breaking.

“I started sleeping in the fireplace,” I said.

“What? Why?”

“Because I sleep like a log!”

That made him pause for a moment—and then snort loudly. “Wow. You’ve been hanging out with Sokka too much!”

I giggled. “A ship carrying red paint crashed into a ship carrying purple paint. Both ships were… marooned!”

That made him laugh. He rested his head back on my shoulder.

When his laughter died down, he sighed. “Thank you.”

“So… you wanna tell me what’s wrong?” I prompted gently, stroking his hair again.

“Everything all at once.” He shook his head against my shoulder. “I can’t… I can’t do this…”

“It’s okay to be human, Zuko,” I whispered.

“I can’t… I just… Being Fire Lord is just so much stress and Mai got mad again and I couldn’t stand the negative attitude anymore so I told her we were through. And you—I haven’t been nearly as appreciative of you as I should be.”

“Zuko, no,” I murmured. “You’ve been plenty appreciative. How could you—”

“Because you’re always there for me in every way and I never—!” He sighed and hung his head. “I never tell you how grateful I am for all that you do.”

“I know a way you can thank me,” I said.

“Name it.”

“Tell me about your dreams. Your aspirations.”

“Well, I have to restore the honor of the Fire Nation—”

“Nonono. Your dreams. What you want for you. Forget about the country for tonight.” I held him closer to me and rubbed his arm. He thought for a moment.

“I saw the world while I was in exile. Most people dream of travelling the world. And I did it. The only dreams I have left are for my future. Someone to love. A family. Happiness that my parents… didn’t have.” He looked up at me. “But I can’t have that with Mai. I tried. But it didn’t work out.”

“It’s alright. You tried. That’s the important part,” I said. “And I’ll always be here to help when I can.”

“Thank you.”

He paused for several long moments. Then he lifted his head from my shoulder and looked at me.

“I can’t believe it,” he muttered.

“What?”

“I can’t believe I never—I’ve never seen you in this light before.”

“Zuko, there’s no light,” I said. “It’s the middle of the night.” True enough. The blinds were closed and the sitting room was dark.

“No I mean—you’ve always stood by me. You have always been there for me. You gave up a formal education for three years and came with me into exile even though no one ordered you to and plenty of others tried to talk you out of it. You’re still catching up on what you missed. And you did it all for me. How could I not see before…” He dropped his head back on my shoulder, his nose bumping my collarbone. “I belong with you.”

“Zuko, you’re just reeling from your breakup with Mai,” I said. “You don’t mean that.”

It broke my heart to say that, but I couldn’t just be a rebound. I couldn’t let that be a romantic relationship between he and I.

“No, no. I do! I do mean it! You’ve been right here all along and now I see that I belong with you!”

“Zuko, it’s late. Get some sleep. You’re just saying that because you’re tired and stressed and I'm not going to let you self-destruct. C’mon.” I helped him to his feet and took him to my room. Where I pushed the covers down and tucked him in. I sat next to him and played with his overlong hair until he fell asleep.

Then I got up, tiptoed next door, and got in my parents’ bed. They wouldn’t mind. I’d make it all nice and pretty before they got back from Ember Island.

Curled up on my side with my back to the wall that my parents’ room shared with mine, I broke down in tears. For years I’d dreamed of Zuko wanting to be with me, and now that he was saying he did, all I could do was shut him down.

I didn’t want him to want me for the wrong reasons.

For years I’d played the strong young woman who never let anything get to her. But that vanished pretty quickly when the right thing got to me.

I wanted him to belong with me. But not like this.

^^^^^

I woke up to the smell of breakfast. Our housekeeper must have arrived.

For a moment, I couldn’t work out why I was in my parents’ bedroom.

When I did, I felt tears prick at my eyes. Everything was going all wrong. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be at all.

I took a deep breath and let out a shuddering sigh. I climbed out of my parents’ bed and pulled my dressing gown on where I’d left it on the floor. After tying the cord securely around my waist, I left the room to check mine.

My bed was empty and the covers had been neatly made.

Zuko was gone.

That didn’t surprise me. He probably left before dawn—before someone in the palace could notice he wasn’t there.

I headed to the kitchen to see what our housekeeper was cooking.

I froze outside the doorway when I heard voices.

“—realized that I'm never going to find anyone better than her, you know?” Zuko was saying.

“You really wouldn’t,” our housekeeper agreed. “The lady is a beautiful, smart young woman. Any man would be lucky to have her.”

I peeked through the semi-open door. Zuko was sitting on the table in the same place I usually sat, a teacup in his hand that he was sipping from. There was a smile on his face—the bright kind that could light the city. My heart ached for it. For him. I closed my eyes and forced the emotion out.

“Yeah…” Zuko said thoughtfully. “I just… I don’t think she feels the same way about me.”

The housekeeper scoffed. “You’d be surprised.”

“She shut me down, last night,” he pointed out.

“She’s looking out for you, sire. She doesn’t want you to get with her for the wrong reason. And she knows how it would look to the Fire Nation people as a whole if you started a relationship with her so soon after breaking things off with Mai.”

Zuko sighed. “I guess you’re right,” he muttered.

“Trust me, Fire Lord,” the housekeeper, Akemi, continued. “She talks about you all the time. She loves you. If she’s not complaining about work and restoring the Fire Nation, she’s talking about you. The joke you told or the way you handled a Fire Nation citizen’s request. How your eyes light up when you laugh. The way you genuinely care about the people you rule. There’s rarely a word from her mouth in this house that isn’t talking about you.”

“Uhm—oh,” Zuko said.

There was a moment of silence.

The kitchen door flew open. “Eavesdropping is rude, young lady,” Akemi chided. “How many times have I taught you that?”

Our housekeeper raised me more than my parents did. I was used to her discipline. “I was going to come in,” I said. “But I thought Lord Zuko had returned to the palace. I was startled so I stopped. Tried to figure out a way to enter without being ridiculous.” I smoothed down my hair.

“Get in here and greet the Fire Lord like a lady—and then eat.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said, following her into the kitchen. I bowed to Zuko. “Fire Lord Zuko.”

“Morning,” he greeted casually, taking a sip of his tea. “Really, Akemi, leave her be. It’s not her fault.”

Akemi grunted and handed me a plate. “Eat,” she ordered.

Zuko jumped off the table. “So. Is she telling the truth?”

“You slept well,” I muttered.

“Yeah.” He grinned.

“Akemi never lies,” I said. “Got me in a lot of trouble growing up.”

His grin grew. “Do you really love me?”

“I want you to belong with me. But for the right reasons.”

He nodded. “How about I take some time to get over Mai and then ask you to be with me?”

“Time would be good.”

“Promise?”

I tilted up onto my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Promise.”

He captured my lips with his. “It’s a deal,” he whispered. “Thank you, Akemi, for your counsel and your tea. It was delicious. But I need to be going.”

Akemi and I both bowed. “My lord,” we said.

I walked him out. He took my hand and kissed it before leaving for the palace, pulling his hood up.

I sighed. Maybe everything would be okay after all.

^^^^^

“Fire Lord Zuko,” I said, entering the throne room. “You wanted to see me?”

“Ah. Yes. Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“M’lady, I do believe we made a promise to each other. And now it’s time we honor that promise.”

I grinned. Zuko got up from his seat on the throne and came down the steps, hands resting on my upper arms.

“I do believe you belong with me,” he said.

“I'm all yours,” I said.

With a smile, he leaned down. I reached up and closed the distance. His lips were soft and warm and everything I’d ever dreamed of for years.

He smiled against my lips. “Then it’s sealed,” he whispered.

“You belong with me,” I agreed.

#You Belong With Me #Zuko #Zuko Imagine #Zuko FanFiction #Avatar: The Last Airbender #avatar the last airbender #avatar #ATLA #A:TLA #avatar: the last airbender imagine #avatar: the last airbender fanfiction #avatar the last airbender fanfiction #avatar the last airbender imagine #Avatar Imagine #Avatar FanFiction #ATLA imagine #ATLA FanFiction #a:tla imagine #a:tla fanfiction

[petri808]

Hawaiian Souvenir

‘Levy, would you watch Nashi & Happy for us?’

‘Sure, Natsu.  What’s the occasion?’

‘Since we never got to do it, and our anniversary is coming up… I was thinking of taking Lucy on a real honeymoon.’

‘Really!  That’s a great idea Natsu, of course I’ll watch Nashi for you.’

‘Thanks Levy…’

~~~~~

Natsu watches from the door with a smile as his wife tucks their sleeping daughter into bed.  “She’s so adorable…”  He whispers as he wraps his arms around his wife and kisses her cheek.  “I’m such a lucky guy to have two beautiful women in my life.”  Their daughter was the spitting image of her mother but with his pink hair and green colored eyes.

“Alright, what do you want Natsu?”  Lucy teases

Feigning shock, “I already have what I want…” he leads her out to the living room and sits her on the couch.  “But do you?  Are you happy with how things turned out Luce?”

“Of course, I am, Natsu, why wouldn’t I be?”

He puts his arm around her shoulder, “We had Nashi so young, and the wedding was kinda just thrown together…  I just worried that there were other things you maybe thought you were missing out on…”

“Well…” she leans against him.  “Having Nashi at eighteen wasn’t easy and rushing the wedding before she was born…  sigh, but I don’t have any regrets.  Natsu I loved you and that’s all that mattered to me.”

“But still, I wish I could have, I don’t know, given you more.”  

“Like what?”

“For starters, I couldn’t take you on a honeymoon.”

She laughs, “That wouldn’t have been much fun being 8 months pregnant.”

“I know, but now that Nashi is seven and we’re more stable financially…” he pulls out the two tickets he had hidden behind a pillow…  “…I thought for our anniversary this year…” … holding them up in front of her…  “I could make that up to you.”  

Her eyes widen, “Are you serious!!” she grabs the tickets from his hand.  “Hawaii!!”

“I’ve already arranged with Levy to babysit Nashi and Happy, spoke to your job and mine,” grinning that cheeky smile, “all you need to do is pack.”

Lucy squeals and throws herself against her husband almost tipping over the loveseat they were in, “God I love you Natsu!”

“I love you too babe.”  He grins and pulls her tight to him.  “I can’t wait to see in your bikini…”

She slaps him in the arm, “Goof!”

“You married this goof!  What does that make you?”

Giggling, “Touche.”

~~~~~

“Hawaiian Airlines flight 332 to Hilo International Airport will be landing shortly at gate number 5, baggage claim 2.  Please fasten your seatbelts and bring your seat backs and trays to their upright and locked positions.  The local time is 10:16am and the weather today is a balmy 78 degrees, mostly sunny with a few scattered showers later in the evening.  On behalf of the crew, we’d like to say Aloha and Mahalo for choosing Hawaiian Airlines.”

“Natsu…” Lucy pushes on his shoulder.  “Natsu, wake up, were going to land soon.”

“Ughh…” he groans and holds his stomach as he presses his face into her shoulder.  “I can’t wait to get on solid ground…”  Lucy chuckles at her husband but smiles; she knows that his motion sickness makes travelling difficult for him.  Medication helps for short stretches, driving to and from work or around their hometown, but being in a plane is far out of his comfort zone.  The fact that he is willing to suffer so much to make her happy just reminds her how much he still loves her.  

She reads through their itinerary again while gently stroking his hand.  The first week they’ll be staying on the east side of the island at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and the second week they’ll be on the west side at the Hilton Waikoloa.  Originally, they were going to vacation on Oahu but after doing some research on the Aloha state, she decided the Big Island seemed much more relaxing and ultimately that’s what she wanted.  Of course, with Hawaii being such a tourist friendly state, it was easy enough to find, book, and plan-out things for them to do during their vacation.  “Lucy?”

“Yes, Natsu?” she looks up from her papers to see him pointing out the window.  “You’re missing the view.”

Turning her head to see what he’s pointing at, Lucy’s eyes expand as she struggles to grab her phone from her purse.  “Wow…”  Snapping pictures as the plane slowly passes the largest mountain on the island, “…Look Natsu, it’s Mauna Kea, it’s more beautiful than the pictures!  You can see the observatories!” squealing, “Wait is that snow?!”

“Snow?  In Hawaii?” he mumbles.  “I picked this place cause it’s supposed to be warm year-round.”

“I read that during the winter months they sometimes get snow on their mountain.”  She squeals, “and we’re lucky we get to see that!”  

Natsu rolls his eyes, “I’m more interested in the beach.”

“I know,” she pokes him, “You don’t like the cold…  Oooh!”

“What?”

“A waterfall!!” pointing again.  “Look, look!”

He leans over her to see for himself.  “That’s cool.”

“The landscape is really beautiful…  Sigh, I’m so glad you brought me here.”

“Only the best for my wife.” He squeezes her hand.

~~~~~

“So, the front desk clerk told me we might be able to see lava in the crater, I guess the volcano’s been more active than usual.”

“Oh yeah…” Natsu turns to see his wife flipping through brochures in the passenger seat before staring back at the road.  “What else you wanna do at the park?”  

“Hmm… I’d like to check out the museum next to the crater, maybe even try out some of the short trails.”

“Sounds fine, though I’m surprised you want to go walking.” Lucy slaps him.  “What!” he grins at her.

“Are you insinuating that I need to lose weight or something?”

“No!  Your body is just as smoking hot as the day I met you!  But exercising wouldn’t hurt ya know, it’s healthier, plus it sets a good example for Nashi.”

“So, you’re saying I’m not being a good mother for Nashi?”

“What!  Hey, I didn’t say that!  You’re the best mother I’d ever want for my child.”

“Keep digging Natsu, you’re still in the hole.”

He reaches over and grabs her hand from her lap.  “I loooove you baby…” he coos to her

“It’s not working…”

He pouts and gives her the best puppy dog expression he can muster.  “Come on Luce…”

Sigh, “Damn it, I can’t win against that smile of yours!”

Laughing, “I know…”  She rolls her eyes but smiles back.  Yup, that stupid, shit eating grin is what melted her the first time they met and it still works even all these years later.

Once inside the museum, the pair separate and wander around to the different exhibits.  No surprise that Natsu becomes fascinated with anything showing fire and stands gawking at a running video showing actual footage of recent lava flow activity.  There was a time, all be it brief, that he had considered going to school for volcanology, but when Lucy became pregnant their senior year of high school he knew that was a dream that would never become reality…      

Lucy is immediately drawn to the paintings of the Fire goddess Pele.  She knows that the depictions of this woman are just fanciful but it’s the essence of the woman that pulls at her.  One painting in particular, it shows Pele from the neck up, her body becomes the land and her hair is a river of lava.  ‘Pelehonuamea…’ she reads the sign next to it, ‘…Pele, goddess of volcanoes…  Ancient traditions about her reveal an impetuous, lusty nature… at times gentle and loving, but always jealous and unpredictable, capable of fury, and great violence. -Herbert K. Kane’  

Looking over to his wife staring so entranced at Pele’s painting, he walks over and puts his arms around her waist.  While leaning on her shoulder, “Locals say she is sometimes seen around the island when the volcano is erupting as a sign or warning, either in the guise of an old woman in white or a young woman in red, sometimes as a white dog…”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I believe all the stories, but it’s kinda cool.  Her lava builds new land, or destroys it,” he motions to the painting.  “Did you know that volcanic soil is very fertile?”  Lucy shakes her head.  “So even after she destroys the land with lava, once that lava turns to dirt, it gives back again by nurturing the plant growth.”

“So, she’s almost like mother nature?”

He chuckles, “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.  In the Hawaiian culture, there is another goddess with such a title but I don’t remember the name, I was only interested in Pele because of the whole fire thing.”  Unwrapping himself he grabs her hand and pulls her towards the doors.  “Let’s go see the crater, suns starting to set so we’ll be able to see the lava better.”

Lucy takes one last look at the picture… ‘The expression the artist used…’ she shivers, ‘Like she’s staring into your soul…’

“You can feel the heat even from way up here.”  Lucy holds out her hands towards the crater.  “It’s amazing that the scientists go down there sometimes.”

“Well they use special heat resistant suits, but they also don’t go in if it’s too dangerous.”  He sighs.  “It’s fascinating how much they’ve been able to learn from studying this volcano.  Kilauea has the longest continuous running eruption in history, over 30 years now.”

She hears the sorrow in her husband’s voice and it tugs at her.  “Natsu…” Lucy hugs him, “I’m sorry, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant you could have followed your dreams to study…”  

“Lucy don’t…” he cuts her off.  “That wasn’t your fault, I had a hand in that too ya know.  But I don’t regret a damn thing.”  Grabbing her cheeks gently.  “You gave me something even greater than that dream...” Tears pool in her eyes.  “…a family that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.”

“Natsu I…” her eyes widen.  “Natsu… there’s a lady down there…”

“What are you talking about?” he turns to see what she’s looking at.

“She’s…  She was right there!” she points at the floor of the crater.  “I swear I saw someone down there!”

“I don’t see anyone Luce, maybe it was the heat distortion.”

“M-maybe…  Yeah, you’re right, it must have been a mirage or something….”  

It’s the last day before the couple plans to head over to the west side of the island so they spend the morning doing some last-minute shopping.  After dropping off some treats they found at Big Island Candies, and other places at their hotel room, they head back out for lunch.  Unbeknownst to Lucy, Natsu has a surprise planned for his wife.  

The car pulls into the Imiloa Astronomy Center, “What are we doing here?”  Lucy asks.  “I thought this place was closed because of system issues.”

“It was, but I called this morning and they said it’s all working now.” Her face is brightening as he pulls into a stall and parks.  “The planetarium show starts in about an hour so we can eat lunch at the restaurant before it starts.”

“You’re such an awesome husband!” She shrieks as she gets out of the car and hurries over to him.  With barely a chance to close his own door, Lucy jumps into his arms kissing him.

He grins, “This smile…” he lifts her chin, “…makes this all worth it.”  

The lights dim in the large circular auditorium and Lucy squeezes Natsu’s hand, excited for the show to begin.  She’d found a short video on YouTube of one of the star shows and it was, in her opinion the most spectacular thing she’s ever seen and now she’s was going to see it in person!  Lucy grins again at Natsu who squeezes her hand back.  He wishes he could see her eyes which are probably sparkling right now, but they are stuck behind the Visual goggles; he grins anyway.    

Billions of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies flash in front of their eyes mesmerizing Lucy.  “Oh, Natsu…” she whispers.  “It’s all so beautiful…”

“I see my favorite star.” He whispers back.

“Where?”

“Right next to me.”  Even in the darkened room he knows there’s a blush on her cheeks…

~~~~~

Hilton Waikoloa Village…  A beautiful resort along the Kohala coast was designed as both a luxury getaway or a family adventure with beautiful beaches, pools and waterslides, spas, trails and walking paths, even a dolphin experience.  So expansive is the property, a tram or boat can be taken to get from one end of the resort to the other.  

Within an hour after checking into the hotel, the pair are down at the beach relaxing.  Natsu tries to coax Lucy into paddle boarding but all she wants to do is lay out and soak up the sun.  That’s fine with him, so once he’s sure she’s settled he heads out into the water.  She watches him for a short time, laughing when he falls off a couple times, but eventually closes her eyes to relax.

“Hey baby…” a male voice stirs her from her respite.

“Not interested.” She retorts without opening her eyes

“Aww.  Don’t be like that Lulu…”

‘Lulu?!’  Her eyes pop open.  “Dan?  What the hell do you want?”  He’s standing above her.

“Is that anyway to talk to your old flame?”  

“You’re not an old flame, now please go away before my husband sees you.”  She closes her eyes again trying to ignore the man.

“Who, Natsu?  Don’t tell me you’re still with that loser.”

“Loser!” she pops up shouting.  “Don’t fucking call him…”

“Is there a problem here?”

“Natsu,” Lucy hides behind him as he glares at Dan.

Still staring the man down with his fists clenched, “I asked you a question Dan, why the hell are you bothering my wife?!”  

“I’m not, just came to say hi to my old girlfriend.”

“I was never!”  Lucy starts to scream back when Natsu stops her.

“I know you weren’t babe, he’s always been delusional.” Putting his arm around her.  “Had enough of this jerk?”

“Hell yes!”

“Then let’s go.”  Natsu grabs her belongings, “Stay the fuck away from her Dan or I’ll call security.”

“Pussy!  The old Natsu would have swung by now.”

“This Natsu grew up… Unlike you.  Go find another piece of tail to harass, but this woman, is off limits.”  He guides Lucy towards to the ferry without a second glance.

“Ugh, I can’t believe, all the way in Hawaii and we run in to that asshole.”

“He didn’t try to touch you or anything did he?”

“No, I would have hit him myself if he tried.”

Natsu chuckles, “I believe that, your kicks are pretty painful.”

That night after a romantic dinner at Kamuela Provision Company, they return to their room to unwind from the day.  Stripping down to something more comfortable, Natsu’s in his boxers waiting for Lucy to get out of the shower.  When she comes out in just a towel he pulls her onto the bed before she can get dressed.  “You know I gotta say, babe, you looked stunning in that bikini earlier.”    

“Liked that huh, Mr. Dragneel…” she purrs.  

He nods, “You shoulda seen all the guys just staring at you…” Grinning, “But I knew I was the one you’d be coming home with.”  

“Does that turn you on…” she shifts her body allowing the towel to loosen, “Other guys looking at me?”

“You always turn me on my Queen.”  A slight growl in his voice as he runs his hand under her towel.  “that smokin’ hot body of yours keeps me wrapped around your finger and yes because it makes me feel proud that I’m the one you picked.”

Sigh, “You only love me for my body…” she turns her head as a tease

Trailing his hand lightly along her thigh, “I don’t hear you complaining either…” and over to her pleasure zone.  “…when I worship your body.”  Lucy lets out a wispy exhale as he slides his fingers over a sensitive button.  Leaning over her, whispering in her ear, “Someone… is very… very… wet…” his voice husky in tone.

“And…” she nibbles his ear, “…what are you gonna do…” her response is reduced to a groan when he slips a finger inside her moisture laden cave.

He grins, “Baby, I hope you’re ready for a long night ahead…”

The rest of the week is filled with evenings reserved for steamier Hawaiian trysts…  and days of sightseeing and shopping up and down the Kohala to Kailua Kona coast.  With lots of local confections from cookies to chocolates, coffee to wine for friends and family as well as several souvenirs for Nashi, their suitcases were so full they had to purchase a third to bring everything home.  

But on the final day, they had gone back to Kona for a few more trinkets and a to pick up a gold Hawaiian bracelet and a Koa one they had found for Nashi that was being engraved.  It was already late, about 9pm as Natsu drove them back to the hotel along Highway 19.  There were still a few vehicles on the road in both directions but other than that it was a quiet, still evening.

“Natsu slow down, that looks like a woman hitchhiking up ahead.”

“You wanna pick up a hitchhiker?”  he looks at her like she’s crazy.

“It’s a woman, Natsu, it’s more dangerous she’s out here alone.”

“Ugh, okay… Just hope she’s not a crazy person or something.”  Signaling he pulls over.  Lucy rolls down her window and waves at the woman.  

“Hi ma’am, would you like a ride?  We’re only going to the hotels but we can could take you a little more further.”  The woman walks slowly up to the car, is she being hesitant in her movements, cautious, or just walking slow Lucy couldn’t tell, but as she got closer the couple could see that she was older, maybe 50’s or 60’s with long white hair that was almost to her knees, a white flowy dress, and no shoes on her feet.  ‘How odd…’  

“Oh, bless you child, for stopping to help an old woman…” she thanks the couple as she gets into the back seat.

“Sorry it’s a little full back there with shopping bags…” Lucy apologizes, “It’s our last day in Hawaii and we went overboard with the souvenirs.

“No worries, my dear…”  The woman sits back to where Lucy cannot make out her facial features but a sense of déjà vu creeps over her like she’s seen the woman before.

Midway between Kona and Waikoloa Beach Drive, the strange woman who had been silent up till now starts to talk again and says something the couple will never forget…

“Congratulations, you’ll have that son you had been hoping one day for…”

“Excuse me?”  Lucy asks a little surprised.  “Did you say…”

“The child you carry will be a boy, and he’ll be a strong one, I can tell, feisty like his father.”

Lucy stammers, “But I’m not p-pregnant.”

“Keahi, name the boy Keahi...”

“Okay, lady I’m sorry but you’re starting to freak my wife out….”  No response so Natsu looks in the rearview mirror.  “Hey, I’m talk…”  He sees the woman disappear.  “What the hell!”  He stomps on the gas and races the few more miles to the hotel with Lucy panicking in the chair next to him.

“Did you see that, she just faded away!”  Lucy blurts out.

“Uh-Huh.” He keeps his eyes focused on the road.  

Finally, they reach the hotel and pull straight up to the lobby, both jumping out as soon as the car is in park.  There is an older valet working who comes over to the panicked looking young couple.  “Are you two okay?”

“N-No!”  Lucy is freaking out.

“My wife made me pick up a hitchhiker and then she just disappeared on the way here.  What the hell was that?!”

“Older, long white hair?”

“That’s her!  Does she live around here or something?”

“You just met Pele.”  Natsu and Lucy’s jaws drop.        

“Not possible!” Lucy starts crying and Natsu holds her tight, “She’s not real…”

But the older man stays calm, “It’s strange that she appeared to non-locals…  Did she say anything to you?”

“S-She said I was pregnant with a son and to name him Keahi.  What does that mean?”

“Keahi is the Hawaiian word for ‘fire’.  Miss, you shouldn’t be afraid, Madam Pele must have taken a liking to you for some reason and whether you wish to believe it or not, in the Hawaiian culture it is tradition for a child to be given their name.  The fact that Pele herself gave you the name, means that boy will be special.”

“Really?”  Lucy sniffles

“Oh yes,” the man smiles at her.  “Here,” he grabs a porter cart, “Let me help you unload your car so you can get some rest,” and helps to offload their bags.

Natsu sniffs one of the bags as he pulls it from the back seat, “I smell something burnt,” and pulls out the jewelry inside.  On the Koa wood bracelet, there appears to be a brand.  “Hey, we didn’t ask for…”

“What is it?”  Lucy grabs the bracelet out of his hands, “It looks like…”  She faints but luckily the valet catches her before she hit the ground.  

“Lucy!” Natsu rushes to her side, cradling her as the valet takes the bracelet clutched in her hand.

“Wow, Pele really must have like you two…”  Next to Nashi’s name is a what appears to be a volcanic cone and a Liko Lehua blossom, Pele’s favorite flower freshly branded onto the bracelet.

~~~~~

Five months later, Lucy returns home from her monthly doctor’s visit and finds Natsu playing with Nashi in the living room.  “Um, babe there’s something I need to tell you…”

He looks up to see his pale faced wife.  “Are you okay Luce?  Is there something wrong with the baby?” Natsu scrambles to his feet and guides her over to the couch.  “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

One month after returning from Hawaii, Lucy and Natsu found out that she was in fact pregnant, almost certainly having conceived during the vacation.  While they were thrilled at the prospect of expanding their family, and for what he had nicknamed their ultimate Hawaiian souvenir, it still played in the back of their minds, the old woman’s prediction…

“Natsu…  It’s a boy!”

*Note I’ll be editing this or posting a link to AO3 with an altered, longer, smut/lemon version of this story hopefully in a day or two. 

#nalufluffweek2017 #day3:vacation #reblog #nalu #nalu fanfiction