#i feel like i had a ship name for this but i straight up forgot lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

txtmetonight · 6 months

Text

Ms. (?)

call summary ⋆ ★ you and yeonjun since high school have had major rivalry. now you two are teachers at the same school, and your fiery bond hasn’t broken yet. but the other teachers and students make you guys the hottest ship in school. so…what’s next?

pairings *. * yeonjun x fem! reader

genre ⋆ ★ fluff, enemies to lovers (?) dunno its a little complicated, coworkers to lovers (?) again confusing...you'll see once you finish it, oneshot

warnings *. * a bit of cursing (just a pinch) :/, alcohol, a tinge of insults, bad grammar (english isn't my first language 💀 and Grammarly sucks)

featuring ⋆ ★ chaewon, taehyun, felix

call duration *. * 3.4K

It was no big secret to the whole school about the immense tension between the sweet 10th-grade Math and Science teacher and the handsome music professor that almost every high schooler (whether you were a girl or not) drooled over. You and Mr. Choi's (aka Yeonjun) relationship with each other were rather tense and complicated. You’ve known Yeonjun ever since he overtook your place in the spelling bee in High school, spelling ubiquitous right, and ending it with a humongous, ludicrous, smirk sent towards your face. And once you graduated High school with high credits that got you into a prestigious college to receive your bachelor's degree, you thought that you would never see his stupid face again. But imagine your surprise when the same face you’ve hated for years walked through the building doors, ready to greet you in front of your new classroom, the same smug smile on his face.��

“You’ve worked in this school for four years, yet you still don’t know how to properly use the printer, do you even qualify as a teacher Mrs. (L/n)?” You grit your teeth in annoyance, instead focusing on the papers that spit your worksheets for your lovely kids. “No comment?” Yeonjun jokes, pushing around you to grab his own stack of papers, yet furrowing his eyebrows once he notices that the papers he printed out were filled blank. No ink or anything, just plain white copy papers looking like they came straight from out of a newly opened pack. “Um” He tries to turn his body so you wouldn’t notice his stupid mistake but you catch on right away loudly snickering. “I think you forgot to press the side button, again” You grab your papers swiftly before quickly sticking your tongue out once his back was turned and rushing out as fast as possible towards your classroom. Composing yourself, you stick your head into your room to watch Ms. Kim who was playing hangman with your class.

“Nope, there’s no- oops your teacher’s back” She stays seated in your chair, completing the word she was thinking about while you stride towards your desk, the class filled with groans and gasps once the expo marker marks the last letter, spelling out your first name. You notice but don’t bother as Chaewon snickers, getting up so you could whisper your gratefulness in her ear. “Thank you, god, I already feel a headache coming on” you whine all while she understandingly pats you back before a devilish smile comes upon her cunning face. “Was it because of Yeonjun…you know I saw him hurriedly running after you while you were walking towards the printer room”. You sigh and instead glare at her giggling figure, you’d prefer not to feed into her mindless delusions. She takes the hint and opts to stride out of the classroom, of course not before butting her head back in for a final goodbye “Alright then, don’t give your teacher a hard time” Chaewon finally leaves with a flourish and you could probably guess where she was heading next, ready to prey on her next cup of coffee. Which leaves you to turn back to your kids to teach.

“So who’s ready for more Quadratic Functions” you smile (still stuck on your friend’s comment earlier about Yeonjun following you), and the class breaks out in another round of cries, some even begging you to not pass out those papers in your hands.

______________________________________________________________

“Ms. (L/n)?”

You turn around to face another of your co-worker, who taught the 9th graders, just a hall over, though it was quite surprising to see him in the breakroom. “Mr. Lee, how may I help you?” you ask, politely smiling at the man who flashes a cheerful grin. “You know, it’s ok to call me Felix…I’m pretty sure you call Mr. Choi, Yeonjun, right?” The mood was a little awkward as you shuffled around quietly nodding a brisk okay and sorry, before he brushed it off with a loud chuckle. “Your classroom?”. You were hoping that you actually reminded him about his own kids to teach since he was spending so much unnecessary time with you, secretly wishing that he could leave you alone so you could eat your lunch. “We have a guest speaker who told me she could take over everything and that she was going to be fine on her own”. By now you were practically rolling on the heels of your feet, praying for any distraction of some sort. And it seems your quick prayers may have been answered because in came Choi Yeonjun with his own bento, confusedly staring at you and Felix then noticing the big empty and supposedly the best spot in the whole break room, which you were gonna sit in.

This idiot better not.

You clench your hands, watching the arrogant man take your place before being brought back to reality by a small cough, totally forgetting that Felix was in front of you. “Um so…I was wondering if you could- or wanted to eat dinner with me tomorrow, of course, no problem if not” He looks at your wide eyes while trying to gulp his nervousness away. “A date?” you point towards yourself, both you and Felix unaware of the angry eyes watching you two. Yeonjun looked like a ripe tomato that was gonna explode. The blonde in front of you sucks through his teeth, letting out a small exhale. “Yep” Ok now, Yeonjun was furious and one half of him wanted to confront and stop the interaction and the other wanted to stay put and see what you would do. So he decides the latter, beginning to forget his lunch and instead spreading his legs to lean back on the couch, staring intently. “You’re a great man, but I don’t think I’m the one for you” You somehow get your words out, carefully picking them as they slip out of your tongue. “How can you be so sure about the future, when you’ve never ever even gone on a date with me before” You swallow hard, senses running all over the place, and his pitiful face definitely didn’t help. “I’m already dating someone” Your whisper was loud enough for Yeonjun to hear, making him sit upright eyebrows raised.

This was new.

Felix looks taken aback, mouth pouting in shock. “Is that so? you should’ve told me the first time, then I wouldn’t have bothered you anymore” He bows down, ashamed of his actions. “Oh no, you’ve done nothing wrong, but please don’t tell this to anyone” Smiling he nods embarrassedly before gesturing that he was gonna stay quiet. “Have a great day!” he sheepishly skips out of the classroom and you continue waving, keeping the simple grin, it falling down right as his body was out of sight.

“You’re dating someone?”

Shit

You forgot that Yeonjun was in the room with you guys, tuning into your guy’s conversation. “Were you eavesdropping on us?” You already knew the answer. “It’s not eavesdropping if it was loud enough for me to hear, so are you actually dating someone?” He finally spoons a piece of his chicken in his mouth, though it was a bit weird that he actually started eating after you took your first bite out of your pizza from last night. Tired of his antics you decide to play along a little, nodding and smiling a little, a loud gasp led out by the male who was surprised by your confession. “Is he cute, or even good enough for you?” Yeonjun grumbles. You glance towards him with a huge grin “Yep he’s perfect…but don’t tell anyone though, keep it a secret between the both of us and I guess Mr. Lee” He continues to stare at you before turning back towards his meal, ears hinted with a tinge of red. The rest of the 15 minutes was quiet, except for a few bickers on the best sauce to go on a salad and the worst football team. It was almost the end of the period where you were finishing up your drink, smiling against the straw while your eyes peered at Yeonjun as he kept defending his point that when he was so into the discussion, his lidded eyes gaze at you, practically sending you into a cardiac arrest, leading you to accidentally swallow the drink through the wrong hole.

And after Yeonjun notices he blanks out, panicking along with you. “Oh my god, are you okay!?” ‘Does it look like I’m okay’ you try to rasp but instead, you cough even more. He goes to kneel down next to you on the couch, slowly rubbing in circles into your back to calm you down and it works! Instead of full-on choking, you were left with little splutters in your throat. “Here drink some water, and try not to choke again” he grins, handing you his water bottle which you gratefully take. Taking your fill of water, you notice the close proximity between you and Yeonjun, and you could feel the red slithering up your back and neck while you turn towards him to give him your thanks. “Thank you” God your noses were basically touching, and at school too! You’ve never been this close in your guys’ workplace so it sent a shiver of butterflies down your spine. “You're welcome” He breaths and right when he looked like he was coming closer the bell rang sending you two flying apart.

“Oh, Mr. Choi and Ms. (L/n)!” Both pairs of eyes shoot towards the unexpected intruder and you relax once you notice that it was Chaewon, her red lips tugged at the corners. “Ms. Kim '' Yeonjun immediately gets up to bow and you quickly follow, a little flustered about how your friends caught you and your coworker so close together. “I’ll take my leave, my 4th-period students are probably at my door…Mrs. (L/n), you didn’t forget about the staff meeting after school right?” He lifts his eyebrows at your gasp, entertained while watching you dive for your phone and open up your calendar. And there it was, your little reminder on how you were scheduled to overtime and drive all the way home and then back to a bar so you could catch up with your other workmates, all arranged by the principal. You take a look at Chaewon who also pulled her phone out, shrugging once she met your gaze before erupting in a small laugh. “Of course, you forgot, I thought Math and Science teachers were supposed to be smart, I guess not” He looks you up and down, letting out his squeaky laughs as he grabs his water bottle and bento, your face was frozen in shock and offense. “Bye Mrs. (L/n), Ms. Kim” He bows once more towards Chaewon and spares you a look before walking away.

“The fucking nerve of that guy, you saw him!” She hurries towards you, slapping her hand over your mouth, not letting you speak another word. You look at her, a little startled as she pats your cheek gently. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself, you need to go back to class Ms. (L/n)” She still holds your cheeks, her other hand moving your chin up and down to nod at her words. Her hands give you back your lunchbox, pushing you out of the room. “Your kids must be waiting for you, go back before they scribble something on the board again” She waves a goodbye while you cringe, agreeing with her, leading you to fast walk back to your classroom. The last time you were late to your class, the whiteboard was filled with little doodles of you and Yeonjun, each picture demonstrating romantic actions, and they had their own little actions too. The kids knew very much about the cute (in your words revolting) atmosphere that you two teachers had. And they took advantage of it. Some of the lockers were filled with small drawings of yours and his initials in a heart. Yeonjun once even got a love note that had your name on it, which he still teases you about to this day. The birth of a ship name of you two was even made and is still stuck on a water fountain in the 11th-grade hallway. But by the time you got to your classroom, you knew you were too late. The board was already filled to the brim.

______________________________________________________________

The bar was packed with customers and through the window you tried to spy your own group, which wasn’t too hard to find. All you had to look for was a shiny bald head that belonged to your boss. Almost everyone was there already, including Chaewon who looked like she was going to die from boredom. “You’re not going in?” You turn around to face Yeonjun who was pocketing his keys. You smirk, “Nope, was waiting for you, ladies first” He rolls his eyes playfully, yet taking your offer to lead the both of you into the bar. “Haha you're so funny” You follow him through the door which you held for him, awkwardly standing next to him, watching your group. “I know”. Waving back at Chaewon, Yeonjun and you stride towards the table. “Oh my, Yeonjun and (Y/n), you’re here, we thought you’d never come” The principal slurs his words, all while checking you up and down which you grimace in disgust. “Come here (Y/n), sit next to me” Mr Park lazily smiles, pointing to the empty spot next to him (which was forcefully cleared by him). You try to refuse but before you could get a word out, Yeonjun had already sat there. “Yeonjun?!” The man exclaims, ready to scold him out. “Sorry sir, but I’m deathly allergic to shrimp and rather not sit there” Yeonjun responds, slightly dipping his head in respect. The only open seat had fried spicy shrimp next to it. “Oh is that so, that’s fine I guess” Mr Park, slumps his cheek onto his palm, staring at you take the seat across from Yeonjun and next to Chaewon who hugs you excitedly. You knew that Yeonjun was lying and for a fact was definitely not allergic to any types of seafood, but you were extremely thankful.

“Here Yeonjun, drink” Mr. Kang pushes him a glass, but Yeonjun refuses. “I’m not drinking tonight, I have to drive back home”. Taehyun nods before turning to you, offering a drink, and you accept the glass, the bright boy (Currently a student teacher) pouring you the liquid. Conversations rise and die down but there was a lot of chattering at your table. As the night progressed so did your face, turning red and red from the amount of alcohol you were downing. Everything around seemed blank and normal until Mr. Park brought up a futile question. “I’ve noticed that Yeonjun and (Y/n) always go home together and always arrive at the same time in the morning, has anyone noticed that?”. You and Yeonjun stop breathing in shock, even more, stupefied at the murmurs of agreement that arise from your co-workers. “W-we just have the same routes, that’s all” Yeonjun stutters, his black hair sticking to his face, chewing on his lips nervously.

“(Y/n)?” Chaewon shakes you out of your ogle towards Yeonjun, who was staring back at you too, eyes flitting the entirety of your flushed face. “Yeah, he’s right, in fact, me and Yeonjun have a bus to catch, we should go”. You try to stand up but the drinks coursing through your veins makes you stumble, the world around you spinning. “I thought Yeonjun was driving? He could stay a little longer” A 9th-grade teacher pipes up, a lovesick look on her face as she looks at the man. Though instead of reciprocating her look and lightly clears up his throat before sending a formal smile towards everyone. “I have to wake up early in the morning tomorrow, it’d be better to go now”. Usually, no one would believe that very obvious lie but they let it slide, their minds under the influence of alcohol. Yeonjun walks towards your side, laughing at your attempts at walking, and swinging his arm over your shoulder to help you. Sure everyone knew that Yeonjun hated your guts but he wasn’t that heartless. After a string of goodbyes, you both slowly slump out of the building, you sighing at the fresh air. Yeonjun titters softly at your swaying before looking back to make sure no one was behind him.

“Aww is my baby tired?” You whine into his side, comforted by his large presence, his cologne making you sleepy. “Shut uppp”. Yeonjun couldn’t blame your fatigued figure, it was certainly tiring keeping your marriage a secret. Once you two were far away (and when he couldn’t watch you struggle anymore) his hands slither down to your thighs and in a blink of an eye you find yourself dangling in a pair of strong arms. “Jun what are you-” You’re cut off to a sweet kiss and you happily take it, leaning more into his mouth, wanting to feel him more but he cuts you off from your need, instead landing you onto your feet so you could get into his car. His hands gently move the pieces of hair that stick on your face, eyes glazed with something so pure that it made you want to melt into the seat below you. He spots your squirming, turning his hand so the back of it, laid on your cheek. “Do you need to throw up?I brought plastic bags?” You smile against his cold hands, shaking a no. The silence felt comfortable, as Yeonjun decided to crouch by your seat still out of the car, still observing you with a delicate look, and his soft lips pouting at how stunning you looked. “Stop staring at me like that” You whisper, taking his other hand in yours.

“Baby you’re the smartest woman I know, I didn’t mean what I said today at school” He snuggles into your cheek apologetically. It’s been gnawing at him all day after he said that, feeling extremely guilty even though you knew he meant it as a joke. “I don’t mean anything I say that’s rude, I swear” He continues on, giggling with you as he burrows his nose deeper, lips puckered to leave a trail of gentle kisses. “I know Junnie, I don’t mean anything like that either”. You slowly turn your face, capturing his lips in another kiss, noses brushing with each other as his touch feels scalding hot against your skin. “I really wish you could use my last name at school” He sulks. “Me too, love” You pet his hair, threading your fingers in it, forcing him to release his (fake) glower. “Come on, let's go home” He leaves one last smooch on your nose before groaning while getting up, stretching his limbs. You reach over in the glove compartment to grab your rings, and when he gets in the car, you grab his hand to slide his on, his own fingers scrambling to slip your own ring on your hand. At last, he starts the car, and the rumbling engine almost lulls you to sleep. “You could sleep if you want, I can tuck you into bed” He looks down at your jelly figure against the leather seats. “No I want to sleep with you” He bops his head softly at you, starting to softly hum a song. But alas your eyelids felt droopy and heavy like a dozen rocks sat upon them, so you decide to close them for a second, and the last thing you heard was a little muffled but in enough volume to where it sent blood rushing around your body.

“I love you, Mrs. Choi”

Bonus:

Chaewon walked out of the building a little after her best friend and coworker left. She wasn’t going to deal without Mr. Park’s nonsense any longer. But as she walked farther and farther she noticed a young couple, the boy carrying his girl. “I swear to god, I’m going to sleep on the highway” she groans, walking faster to her destination so she could call for a taxi. Her eyes glance towards the girl, which looked like (Y/n), and the boy that twinned with Yeonjun. But that’s impossible, Yeonjun carrying (Y/n) would happen when pigs could fly. Maybe she drank a little too much.

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*sooo how was it? Sorry this is my first one-shot, hopefully, they'll be better and longer ones in the future :) Ask me to be added to my permanent tag list.

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xoxoavenger · 8 months

Text

I Wish You Would

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader

summary: You say it's in the past And drive straight ahead You think I'm gonna hate you now 'Cause you still don't know what I never said

word count: 2819

warnings: alcoholism, cheating (minor)

1989 masterlist main masterlist

JJ isn't quite sure why he goes this way to the Chateau.

There's a faster way. It's already really early in the morning, and he's exhausted from work. But he can't bring himself to avoid this road, no matter how much it hurts every single day.

It's probably the the fact that every time he drives by, he can only think of good memories.

"Hey!" A girl calls from her window on the second floor. She's leaning on the sill, her hair fluttering in the wind as she smiles. He puts his hand up to shade his eyes as he releases the lawn mower, causing it to turn off.

"What?" He yells, taking in her face. The first thing he notices is her eyes, glittering in the sun. The second is her smile, practically blinding him.

"What's your name?" She asks, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"JJ!" He tells her, brows furrowed. His eyes are still squinted, because he forgot his sunglasses at his house and he's terrified of going back while he knows his dad is unemployed and still there. "What's yours?"

"Y/N!" When she says it, he feels his heart stop momentarily. "What's your number, JJ?" She asks, and he lets out a laugh.

"Not even a date?" She asks through her giggles, and JJ thinks this sound will kill him.

"Fine!" He chuckles, thinking about what he has to do. "How about tonight at the Ship Wreck?" It's the nicest place he knows that he can also afford, and he expects this rich girl to wince. Instead she smiles even brighter, eyes crinkling.

"7 PM! Don't be late!" She winks, her laugh flowing out the window as she walks back into her room, leaving JJ to wonder how the hell he just got the easiest date of his life with the prettiest girl he's ever seen.

When he realizes he stopped in the middle of the road in front of her house, he takes a deep breath and reminds himself of what happed only a couple weeks ago. He feels like he's gonna be sick as he starts back up again, driving ahead once more.

It doesn't really matter what he thinks. It doesn't matter that he's still in love with her, because she clearly doesn't care anymore. And if she caught him outside her window, she'd probably come out just to yell at him. He wouldn't be surprised if she beat him with a stick.

She knows he's out there.

Well, she doesn't know for sure. But she can hear the rumbling of a motorcycle, and it reminds her of him. She hears it every night around the same time, and it makes her wish that he would just come back up to her room. She wouldn't even ask him questions, just let him into her bed so that he could hold her in the way she's been missing for a month now.

She doesn't go to the window to check for fear of being wrong, of seeing someone else. What she's most afraid of, however, is that someone else will be on the bike, in her place.

She knows she shouldn't feel this way. She knows they weren't dating for that long, that they were in love for such a short time that she should be able to get over it; they didn't even tell each other 'I love you' anyway, so there's no reason for her to think he loved her back. On the outside, they were the party couple, showing up and being all over each other at parties, always next to each other, always with each other. If they were both missing, everyone knew that if you found one, you found the other.

And she was always on the back of his bike.

"I can give you a ride home." He tells her, smiling. The date had gone perfect; they had hit it off quickly, and Y/N saw even the waitress smiling (later, she would realize that the waitress was Kiara, who was friends with JJ). When she had leaned out the window and asked JJ on the date, she wasn't expecting this. She knew he would be fun, she had heard of his reputation, but she didn't think he would be funny or offer to drive her home.

On his motorcycle?

"That one's yours?" She asks, blinking as JJ stops by the thin motorcycle. When he nods, she almost lets out a laugh. "And you think we're both gonna fit?" She smiles, but it's a nervous one that frays on the edges.

"We don't have to take this if you don't want to." He tells her, but she shakes her head.

"No, it sounds fun." She smiles and steps closer to him, causing him to smirk in return.

"Hold on tight." He tells her, putting his helmet over her head before climbing on. He holds his hand out for her, and she takes it while sitting on the back of the seat, thighs clutching the bike and arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Where's your helmet?" She asks, tilting her head to look at him.

"You're wearing it." He tells her, toeing backwards.

"Please be careful." Her heart is racing at the idea of something happening to JJ without his helmet. When she squeezes him tighter, he can practically feel how much she cares. It makes him feel like he could just melt, something he'd never felt before.

"I always will with you." He smiles before pulling out, and if she didn't have the helmet on she would kiss him right there.

And then, of course, she had messed it up.

It started with a party. Usually, it was well known that Y/N and JJ were together, but it was the beginning of summer and the tourons were back. Specifically, one that JJ always hooked up with.

"Jay," CarrieAnn calls, smiling with two drinks in her hand. Y/N had just gone into the Chateau with the girls to use the bathroom, and JJ had been told he wasn't allowed to follow.

"Hey, Carrie." JJ smiles tightly, instantly uncomfortable with how close she is. He steps back, but she clearly doesn't get the message because she steps forward. When JJ takes a sip of his drink, he realizes it's not beer, but something much, much stronger. Apart of him knows he shouldn't drink it, but the part of him that he gets from his dad, the addictive part, wants to slam it all down to let the alcohol numb his heavy feelings.

"How've you been?" She asks, one hand on his shoulder. He tips the drink back before he can think about it.

"I need a new one." He tells her instead of answering her question, turning in the direction of the makeshift bar they had. As they got older and more people chipped in money, they were able to get better alcohol instead of just the kegs. JJ had never been more thankful for that when he threw back a shot and then poured another mixed drink with a heavy hand.

By the time Y/N was out of the bathroom, JJ was three drinks in. He hadn't even left the huge stump they called a bar, standing and smiling with CarrieAnn.

To JJ's defense, Carrie looked a lot like Y/N. Same colored hair and height, similar skin tones and build. But he should have known it wasn't Y/N because while CarrieAnn's eyes were similar, they were no where near as gorgeous as JJ found Y/N's. So when CarrieAnn pulled JJ down for a kiss after pretending to whisper something in his ear, JJ had honestly thought it was Y/N.

Until Y/N grabbed him by his collar and yanked him back.

"How could you?" She screams, taking a look at him. Kiara and Sarah are behind her, mouths open in shock. JJ loved Y/N, everyone could see it; so why was he kissing someone else? the hurt in her voice makes him hurt as well, but he's too drunk to realize why she was so upset.

"Wha," JJ starts, turning drunkenly between CarrieAnn and Y/N. "I thought," Y/N lifts her head in understanding, but underneath it still stings like a dagger to her heart. JJ shouldn't have been drunk enough to think she was someone else anyway. He had promised to cut back when they started dating, and so far he had. Even at other parties, he hadn't gotten fully drunk around her.

"Who's this?" CarrieAnn finally steps up, taking a hold of JJ's arm. He shrugs it off, looking at her with confusion. He honestly can't even remember why he had been around Carrie in the first place.

"My girlfriend." He walks forward to Y/N, but she takes a step back, holding a hand up.

"You just kissed another girl." She whispers, backing up a couple more steps. Tears flood in her eyes, her beautiful eyes, and JJ would do anything to take them away.

"I thought she was you." JJ says as he moves forward, confirming Y/N's thoughts. She had figured as much, but it only made the hurt of him kissing someone else marginally easier to bear.

"Because you're drunk." She whispers, as if it's not obvious to everyone that he had been pouring himself half a handle.

"I'm sorry," He finally says, tears starting to spring to his own eyes.

"Let's talk about it when you're sober." She turns, happy that Kiara and Sarah are right there for her, waiting to take her into their arms and away from the party. She leans on them, letting them take her to Kie's car where they'll all go back to Y/N's house.

"Wait!" He calls, but he knows that even if they heard him over the sound of the music, she's not coming back. He deflates as Pope and John B come up to him.

"Dude," Pope starts, frowning. They had seen everything go down, but they were powerless to help; they all knew that stepping in would only make things worse.

"Don't worry, man." John B puts an arm around his friend, and the three of them start walking toward the Chateau. "I've done way stupider things, and Sarah and I are still together." As if that's supposed to comfort JJ. By the raise of Pope's eyebrow, he doesn't think it was a great thing to say either.

The next day, JJ had tried to go to Y/N's house, but she wasn't around. It wasn't until he walked around the whole house that he realized she was on vacation.

Shit.

He calls her immediately, still on her porch. She picks up quicker than he expected, and he's thankful for it.

"Hello?" It sounds nice enough, but it isn't her usual greeting and it upsets JJ. Usually, she's so excited to get a call from him that she can barely shut up long enough for him to tell her what he needed to.

"Y/N, I'm so so sorry about last night. She kissed me, and I honestly did think she was you. I didn't realize until you pulled me back. I was so drunk, I could barely stand. And I know it's not an excuse, but if you could just forgive me and give me another chance, it'll never happen again. I swear to God." He's begging, he knows he is, but he'll do anything to make it right.

"That's the thing, JJ," She starts, and his heart drops because he has no idea what the thing is. "You're always apologizing for getting drunk. I mean, you've seen what it does to your father, and you still chose to abuse it! I don't mind you having fun and drinking, but," She takes a deep breath as her words get softer with more emotion, and JJ feels like the world has just spun off it's axis. He collapses into one of her patio chairs, heart racing to the point of pain. "If you're so drunk you can't distinguish your girlfriend from another girl, then maybe you shouldn't have one." She tells him, and he could just throw up at her words.

"I know but Y/N,"

"No buts, JJ! Are you gonna get your act together or not?" She's giving him a chance, letting him pick the easy way out or the hard way to her.

"I'll try." Is the best he can do, but clearly it isn't good enough for Y/N. He doesn't want to lie, however, and he can't make a promise that he doesn't fully know he can keep.

"There is no try in this situation, JJ! You either get a handle on your problem or you lose me." It's very clear that she isn't budging, and JJ shuts his eyes as he feels them water.

"You don't understand!" He begins pulling at his hair, quickly losing his temper. "Yeah, I know how my dad ruined my life with it. I know how he drove away my mom and I know how he fucked himself and me over. But it's not as simple as knowing that. I just, I have so much anxiety, and it helps numb."

"I understand that, Jayj. I can help you-"

"You can't!" He yells, and she just widens her eyes from the other side of the line. He knows he should just shut up, calm down and talk to her later, but his mouth is moving before he can stop it. "You don't understand because life is like walking down the yellow brick road for you!" He was about to say more before he stops himself, knowing that he's already said enough. He knows that life hasn't been like walking on sunshine for her, that she's told him about her mental issues and her struggles with different experiences.

"Goodbye, JJ." She tells him.

"No, wait! I didn't mean that-" He starts, but the dial tone sounds and he knows its over. And the worst part is, he's sober. He has no one, nothing to blame but himself for this one.

When she hears a motorcycle go past her house again, it's a late night. It's actually an early morning; two am. She has to know now, needs to see if the person riding their motorcycle past her house every single night is JJ, and if he has anyone else. Namely that girl that looks like her, but it would hurt just as much if it were anyone else.

When she looks out her window, JJ Maybank is stopped in the middle of the street, staring at her house. Her heart gets caught in her throat as she stares from the darkness. She runs down the stairs as fast as she can, hoping he doesn't leave by the time she can get out there. She flies out the door, catching JJ's attention as she sprints across the grass.

"Hey," She whispers, slowing as she reaches him. He just stares at her, his helmetless face betraying all his emotions in the light of the street lamp. She wants to tell him to put on a helmet, but she's sure that's not a good starting point.

"What are you doing out here?" He asks, turning off his motorcycle. He puts the kickstand down and pulls his leg across it to stand. They're staring at each other in the silence, Y/N panting while JJ's heart races in a way that has nothing to do with exercise.

"I wish I would have told you that I love you on the phone." Her admission still makes his heart pound, and he's stunned into silence. "I didn't mean to hang up the phone, I swear. There was so much I wanted to say to you, but I couldn't because of how angry I was. And all I can think about is if I wouldn't have hung up, if I would have just let you explain yourself and if you would have let me express myself, then we would still be together. You know we would still be together." What she says is so true that it makes JJ have to swallow down his emotion.

"It's my fault." He tells her, heart breaking at the way she's taking responsibility for something she didn't even do. "I'm the one who messed up, and I didn't mean to say all those things. I was just so upset and I didn't trust myself." He knows it's a shitty excuse, but for some reason, she puts her hand on his face and tilts his head so he's looking at her.

"We're both sorry. We'll both try to be more understanding." She says, moving even closer until their bodies are touching.

"I love you too." He says before she can apologize or brush off anything else. "And I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like I didn't." He barely finishes talking before her lips are on his, and he smiles as he puts his hands on her hips and pulls her in closer.

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @one-sweet-gubler

#jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #obx imagine

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half-dead-ham · 1 year

Text

I've waited this long

Day two of Shipweek is Soulmates! And so I offer the masses a humble Roy Harper/Danny Fenton ship, so rare they don't even have a ship name yet! Upon the offer of one, I may be tempted to make more of this ship, they are a match made in hell imo. ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

here's: [Ao3]

Despite how much Danny’s parents invest in the scientific method, they were never one’s to believe in things like ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’. They stood by their ideals that ghosts were real but soulmates were things people imagined so much a market grew for it, despite forty per-cent of the population having one.

So of course the first thing Danny’s parents did when Danny showed off the white ring he got on his left middle finger was tell him to take it off.

He told them he couldn’t, of course. Danny didn’t know what soulmates even were, he was only four. When he asked them why, they thought he was playing a prank. They tried to take it off his finger by force, but of course it wouldn't budge. They ran tests and did experiments and theorized and hypothesized and hummed and hawed until they were pulling their hair out.

And still the ring would not leave little Danny Fenton’s finger.

They finally settled on Danny having some sort of allergic reaction with the metal and surrounding samples of ectoplasm bonding the ring to his finger temporarily and told him to test it every once in a while to see if it came off.

And then they forgot about it.

Jazz found Danny later, curled up and crying on his bed after the whole ordeal. She comforted him, told him what the ring actually was, and said that if he ever did find his soulmate that he shouldn’t bring it up to his parents. He silently agreed, then drifted to sleep in her arms.

~~~~~

Stupid idiot. Stupid Danny. Why did you follow Rory into a city you didn’t have the map for?

Danny kicked a crumpled can along the sidewalk, watching it skitter along the pavement as he tried to remember which street he had turned from. He honestly didn’t even want to be here, in a city so far from Amity and his parents, it wasn’t his idea to sign him up for the end-of-school field trip; it was Jazz’s. Danny would rather be back in Amity Park, playing DOOMED with Tucker while they figure out what classes they were most likely to have together in high school.

Instead he was lost in a city he’d never been to, thanks to his free time buddy, Rory, leading him around after stealing his phone and stranding him without the map they were given. Jackass.

Another kick to the can sent Danny’s current stress relief straight into a storm drain. Danny froze, staring at the spot it had disappeared, before letting out a sound that was half growl, half groan. Stomping back on his original path, Danny sneered at his sneakers. He was going to murder Rory over this, there were enough tools in their stupid basement for Danny to beat that stupid smirk off that ass and- “Oof!”

Danny staggered back a step, clutching his nose as he blinked up at what- who- he had bumped into.

Concerned jade eyes met his lake blue as a boy slightly taller than him rushed to grab his shoulders and stabilize him. He froze, deer-in-the-headlights style as the stranger swept his eyes over the rest of Danny to make sure nothing was damaged.

“You okay?” The other asked, jolting Danny out of his daze.

“Uh, yeah, of course!” Danny squeaked out, feeling a small embarrassed flush warm his face.

The stranger looked down slightly, to Danny’s confusion. He quickly realized he still has his hand over his face like an idiot.

“Ope- yeah totally okay!” Danny quickly tore his hand away from his face in further embarrassment, really hoping he was right in not feeling any signs to the start of a nosebleed. Just to make sure, he checked his palm, giving a small sigh of relief at not seeing any red, just some light pink on his finger… Wait-

He spun his hand around, making sure to check if his ring really had turned pink.

“Holy shit,” the guy in front of him whispered, and looking up Danny could see him inspecting his own pink ring. Maybe he should thank Rory instead of murdering him, the guy led him to his soulmate after all.

The guy- his soulmate oh god he needed to tell Jazz- looked up to him, stunned and a little awestruck. Danny, for lack of anything else to do, stuck his hand out with a goofy grin as he introduced himself.

“Hey, my name’s Danny; Danny Fenton. Looks like you’re my soulmate.”

∆•∆•∆•∆

So as it turned out, the guy -Roy was his name- was a Star city native. After they made their introductions Danny asked if Roy knew the way back to his hotel. Roy gave him the most confused look he’d seen on him (yet) and told him that he’d almost made it to a completely different part of the city, and “why the fuck are you in the south side to begin with?” And, well Danny sheepishly explained his situation as they started walking the right way back.

While Roy didn’t say much to his explanation, the brilliant vermillion Danny’s ring turned probably meant that he and his soulmate had the same thoughts about Rory at the moment.

It was nearing supper time by the time Danny and Roy made it back to the hotel, and Roy was unfortunately witness to the rant Danny’s teacher went on about “Staying with his buddy” and “not following strangers in a large city”. As soon as Roy held their rings up she redacted her last statement with a click of her jaw. Roy then proceeded to explain to Ms. Montal about how Danny’s “buddy” left him stranded in a different part of the city without his phone, and how if Roy hadn’t found him that she might’ve had to resort to calling the police and explain how unsafe it was to have kids running around the city unsupervised.

Yeah, Danny was definitely glad Roy was with him at that moment. The nice shade of red that tinted Ms. Montal’s face -either in embarrassment over being so thoroughly called out by someone the same age as her students, or seething rage- had Danny moving a hand over his mouth to muffle his suppressed laughter. He didn’t know if it was any help, if the glare that could melt steel he got from his teacher was any indication.

After they got to watch the lovely conversation Rory had with their teacher for leaving Danny behind, he asked if Roy wanted to come up to his room to talk some more after they had supper. Roy refused, saying he had somewhere to get to and the dinner was already pushing his time into the ‘late’ category. He asked if there was any good time for them to meet up the next day, but again their schedules didn’t line up. Roy asked about the day after, but they couldn't meet then, as tomorrow was their last day in the city.

Danny stared at his shoes, at a loss for what to do. He really wanted to spend more time with his soulmate now that they’ve met, especially when Roy had so many stories about his mentor/foster father and his screw ups.

“Well, you have a phone right?” Roy asked. When he nodded Roy’s face split into a grin. “Then you can just give me your number!”

They ended up trading both phone numbers and emails, just in case. Apparently Roy had just as much of a chance to break or lose his phone as Danny did.

With one last wave, Roy walked back the way they had come, the light of the dying sun setting his red hair ablaze. With how far apart they lived, Danny wondered if they would ever get to see each other again face-to-face.

He hoped they would.

~~~~~

Star City

August 28th 2006,

15:07 PDT

While getting a ride back from Oliver's house Roy felt something. He didn’t know what that something was exactly, but it felt like someone just hit him with a live wire and dunked him in a bath of hydrogen peroxide.

It hurt.

It hurt like someone haddunked him in acid, slammed him into an electric fence then gave him a million paper cuts and bathed him in lemon juice. It hurt so much he screamed and blacked out.

Apparently it hurt so much for Oliver to pull the car over, because the next time he could see clearly he was leaning up against the side of the car on the pavement. Olliver was in front of him, worry clear on his face. He blinked as his mentor fretted over him, thoughts not really deeper than ‘god that hurt like a bitch’.

A light wind brushed his cheek and the cold stuck in tracks down to his chin. Absently, he brought his hand to his face, feeling the damp trails that led to his chin. Was he crying? He groaned, twitching with aftershocks and trying to think about anything other than the feeling of full body pins and needles he had.

“Roy,” his mentor called, voice shaken. Why was the Green Arrow so shaken over what just happened?

Roy looked to his mentor, only to find that Oliver was looking at the hand he had raised to his cheek. Dread settling in his stomach, Roy shakily lifted his hand up.

The band around his middle finger was charcoal black.

It felt like someone had just squeezed all the air out of his lungs. It couldn’t- no. Danny was fine. They had just talked yesterday, he couldn’t be dead! There was no way Danny could have died, it was impossible.

Roy was shaking now, for a completely different reason than the pain he just felt. He jerkily grabbed the ring between two fingers, desperately trying to- to- to do something! Either to rub the dirt (it was just dirt it had to be Danny couldn’t be dead) or keep the piece of jewelry from crumbling off his finger. It still felt solid, despite its colour being the exact color soul rings turn when a person’s soulmate dies.

Desperately he looked to Oliver. He was the adult here, he should know what to do, right?

But the stare Roy got back from his mentor was one full of grief and sadness, not the look he got when he was able to help, just loss. Roy’s lungs weren’t drawing in breath. His hand went from his ring to his phone, ripping it out of his pants pocket and dialling the one number he needed to pick up right now. Please Danny please pick up.

The Dial tone rang once, twice, thrice. The whole time Roy repeated please pick up please pick up please pick up in his head, eyes never leaving the black band on his finger.

“Roy?” Danny’s voice rasped through the receiver and Roy’s lungs finally caught breath.

“Holy fuck Danny, are you okay? What happened‽” Roy nearly screamed into the phone, to Oliver's clear shock as he looked between the still black band and the cellphone in Roy’s hand.

“Nothing,” Danny groaned, clearly still in pain. “I just got a small shock from one of my parents' inventions.”

“Bullshit,” Roy shot back. “If you call what you got a ‘small shock’ then where the fuck did the police TAZER shoot me from?”

Another groan from the other end of the line, along with the sounds of hushed voices that he couldn’t make out. Rustling fabric and soft footsteps was all that he listened to for what he thought was too long until Danny spoke up again.

“Look, I don’t really know what to tell you right now, Roy… I just feel like I got hit by a train and everything’s still kinda…” Danny trails off for a moment, making Roy worry that he passed out or something, but a sigh fills the call with static and then Danny’s back. “I just really need a bit to not feel like shit now, Roy. You think I can call you back tomorrow? We can talk more then.”

Was- wh- is Danny really just brushing all that pain off? Like it was nothing?? Like ‘oh, of course Danny, all you need is a little sleep and you’ll be good to go tomorrow!’ Fuck no, thats not how this works!

Another grunt of pain makes its way through the line, and Roy sighs. ‘Danny is alive,’ he reminds himself, ‘and he’ll still be alive then he wakes up tomorrow’. Even while thinking it the words sound like a lie. The band around his finger is still black. Logically Danny shouldn’t be talking with him at all, he shouldn’t have been able to pick up the call. A small voice in the back of his brain whispers to him, ‘Someone got to him, someone who wanted to use him to get to Green Arrow. That isn’t Danny on the phone, it's a fake’. It's a part he’s afraid to prove right.

“Sure, Danny. Just- just tell me one thing right now, okay?” He’s practically begging his soulmate -who he thinks is his soulmate- as his voice grows dry. A grunt was all he got in reply.

“What color is my ring right now?”

~~~~~

Star City general hospital

November 12th 2007,

15:07 PDT

Danny is dead, for real this time.

Roy doesn’t know when it happened, he’d been taken by Luthor and his goons for the last three months and the whole experience was a bit of a blur, but sometime during that Danny's ring finally crumbled off his finger.

He sat in the hospital bed, refusing to acknowledge the tears coming from his eyes as he stared at his bare finger. ‘I should’ve been there for him, I should have made sure he was okay.’ His thoughts spiraled as he wished, begged, for the ring to magically reappear on his finger. He prayed to every higher power he could think of to bring Danny back. Just one more day with his stupid texts, his long rants about the stars, his anything. He’d give the world to hear his soulmate's voice again.

A knock on the hospital room door had him scrambling to wipe his face of tears and clear his voice as quietly as he could.

“Come in,” he tried not to croak. He could tell it was Ollie as soon as he opened the door, but still he didn’t turn his head.

“Roy…” His mentor didn’t know what to say either, he almost wanted to scoff. Of course the old man didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know the first thing about having a soulmate. In the end it was something he had to deal with himself.

They stayed there, silence choking them like a snake coiling around its prey. Roy really didn’t want his old man to see how bad he was taking it, and his old man couldn’t console him for the gaping emptiness he was feeling. So they just did nothing, frozen like a picture in time.

Finally, a sigh escaped the man behind Roy. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find you sooner,” he murmured out. He sounded so broken. And still Roy didn’t turn to face him, he just struggled and failed to keep a sob from escaping him.

That day Roy told himself to keep the memories he had of Danny close to him, and to never speak about him to anyone again.

~~~~~

Star City

January 19th 2011,

21:25 PDT

‘Everything… Was a lie. Everything I knew about myself isn’t real. I was just a pawn, a chess piece for someone else's game.’

Vandal Savage, that asshole.

Roy (was he even really Roy if he was just a replacement?) was in… not his room. It was Roy’s room in Ollie’s place. It was dark, he didn’t bother to turn the light on when he came in and was just watching the lights of the city from out his window.

What… What should he do now? He can’t just go on living somebody else's life now that he knows it isn’t his own. That would be wrong, and fucked up even for him.

But Guardian, he had said that the light didn’t have the real Roy. If the light didn’t actually have him, then where was he? He refused to believe the real Roy was actually dead, those fuckers wouldn’t kill him off after cloning him. It was too easy, to just dispose of a chess piece that still has use? No, they wouldn’t do that…

Right?

He stood up and walked to the window, tracing the lights of cars criss-crossing along the roads like lines of ants.

No. No, he refused to believe the real Roy was dead. He couldn’t be, he would eat his bow before he believed the real Roy wasn’t still out there.

And Roy was, he would find him.

~~~~~

Washington D. C.

March 8th 2011,

21:07 EDT

Today's search with Jim was a bust, a complete waste of time. Even with the new tech provided by the league, the Wayne Ecogram unit told them the exact same thing as what we already found the last dozen times we went down there. Nothing. Not a scrap or clue or anything.

He layed in bed on his stomach as he groused over the day. He could still feel that Roy was alive somewhere, like an itch just under his skin. It was telling him to keep searching, look, find him but people were starting to lose faith.

He was just so tired. He hadn’t moved in hours since he got back, just thinking over what little they knew of what happened. He turned his head so he could see out of the window. The lights still shone from the city outside, people going on with their nights- with their lives- while he was stuck watching as time marched forward mockingly. His neck protested the movement, muscles sore from overwork and the strain of being still for hours making itself known as he finally moved to haul himself into a sitting position.

On a brighter note, Jim had his lab work come back. They were in the same boat now, both being cloned from the same guy. Though somehow he still felt like they weren’t on the same page.

Jim already had his own identity, his own self built personality. He wasn’t meant to be a copy of someone, a replacement. No, Jim wasn’t aware of the feeling of getting the rug ripped out from under your feet because you find out (in the worst way possible) that the life you’d been living, the fucking name you used, wasn’t your own. He was blissfully unaware of how that sucker punch to the gut felt, and so it left him alone even with someone like him to understand.

And he was just. So. Tired.

But he couldn’t rest.

~~~~~

Star City

November 9th 2011,

17:22 PST

Ten months.

It has been ten months since this search had started for the real Roy, and not even the Bats have found anything. The League has resorted to tailing Luthor on rotation for any clues, but they’ve started asking why they were still trying.

‘Roy’ had pulled Robin away to Star City with him, so they could go through the original Roy's things. He honestly hadn’t bothered to touch most of the older things in Roy’s room, he was too focused on the mission at the time to care for whatever little civilian interaction he had kept for convenience. It had taken some convincing, but Robin at least saw how hard he was working.

“Dude, when was the last time you checked your inbox?” The Boy Wonder asked as he scrolled through old emails and spam on a laptop he had found buried under a clothes pile.

“A while,” he drawled sarcastically as he searched an old box of trick arrowheads. Honestly why did he even have these in here?

Robin continued to scroll as he quickly lost interest with the box, shoving it off his lap in frustration and moved to pick through the bottom of Roy’s closet. Quiet settled for a while, with only the occasional sounds of ‘Roy’s grunting and the clicking of the laptops trackpad keys.

“Hey Roy…” He turned to look at the Boy Wonder as he read something from the laptop, eyebrows scrunched together behind his pointless sunglasses. “Since when did you have a soulmate?”

The question struck him like an arrow to the heart, making him straighten where he sat. He had almost forgotten by now that he- Roy- had had a soulmate before he went missing. A wave of sadness washed over him as he realised Roy would never be able to see Danny again.

“I don’t,” he replied softly, unsure of how to feel over those memories. “Danny died sometime while I was kidnapped by Luthor, I didn’t know about it until I was in the hospital.”

“Who told you that?” Robin asked cautiously, eyes going back and forth from the screen to his face.

“I…” He… couldn’t remember. He could’ve sworn it was Ollie, but he couldn’t remember having the conversation- with anyone. Just the immense feeling of loss afterwards. But it was something so important to him- to Roy- why couldn’t he remember? “Why?” He asked instead, “what did you find on there?”

Robin just shuffled up the bed some, making space for him to sit down beside him. At first he didn’t understand what he was looking at, just a short message from Danny; nothing too personal, just saying something about him being worried over him and asking to get in touch when he could. It read like one of their old conversations they would have before Luthor got him, so why was Robin showing him this?

“Look at the date it was sent,” Robin instructed, pointing to the little bar showing when the email was sent. His eyes grew to saucer size when he realized why it was of interest.

“September eighth, 2009?” He mumbled out dazedly. The email was sent over two years after he died? That didn’t make any sense, why would someone use Danny’s old email just to send him something like this?

“Who told you your soulmate was dead, Roy?” Robin asked again, and he realized that he didn’t have an answer. No one had told him that Danny was dead, he just remembered it.

“N-no one… I just remember that he died while…” The realization hit harder than Superman, knocking the air from his lungs and leaving the Boy Wonder to finish his thought for him.

“You just remember that he had died while you were with CADMUS. You never thought to check your sources because you thought you just lost him, but maybe you should look into that now.”

He could only nod in agreement as he reread the email over and over again.

~~~~~

Amity Park, Il

December 12th 2011,

11:27 CST

‘Roy’ knocked on the door of the townhouse that could hold the answers he needed to find the real Roy. He looked up, tilting his head at the chrome UFO stationed precariously on the roof of the building. Something told him that the Drs. Fenton did not have a permit for that thing, but from what he could remember of his -Roy’s- conversations with Danny, there wasn’t a government that could really stop the Fentons from doing what they wanted. Still, someone had to have tried, right?

Robin was probably looking into it from where they parked up the road, along with whatever permits they needed to keep that thing that had just pulled out of the driveway from being impounded and torn for scrap.

His head snapped back to the door as it opened, revealing- oh god.

Danny was definitely taller than he remembered, paler too. His original’s soulmate now stood a head taller than he did, which when he was over six foot was saying something, with lean arms running up into a baggy t-shirt, no doubt hiding more lean muscle underneath. Maybe he did track or swim in high school? He was still Danny though, the same guy Roy met all those years ago when he was still trying to make Ollie take him on as an apprentice after his parents died. The same kid he helped get back to his school group and the kid he almost punched someone over.

God, he missed Danny.

Eyes a much brighter blue than he remembered widened so much it looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets, he almost wanted to laugh before they narrowed, zeroing in on where he knew he had his hands. Danny looked from his hand to his face -which he kept carefully neutral- before sighing, leaning himself against the frame of the door with a silent curse.

“Please tell me Vlad didn’t make you,” he asked, looking even more tired than when he opened the door.

“Whose Vlad?” He responded, twisting his face in confusion. Danny gave him a long, hard look. Neither of them blinked, and he was starting to get worried as to whether or not Danny would actually talk to him.

Finally, with a sigh Danny turned to walk inside, leaving the door open for him to walk in. “No one,” he grumbled before he trudged into the living room. “Let's chat, clone boy.”

∆•∆•∆•∆

When Danny had asked if anyone knew they were meeting, he hadn’t expected for him to ask to go get Robin from the car for the conversation. “My parents will be out for a while, they got a signal from the other side of town. Might as well take this chance,” he said to brush off the Boy Wonder’s concerns of them having their chat in the living room.

“So,” Danny started as he clapped his hands together. “Since you haven’t attacked me yet, we can start with your names.”

“You can call me Rob,” Robin said from the seat next to him.

“Roy,” he reluctantly gave, to which Danny shook his head looking disappointed.

“Nope, try again. I asked for your name, not the name of the guy you were cloned from.” Robin stiffened at the mention of the real Roy, having not yet been told about Danny’s earlier comment.

“How do you know that?” The Boy Wonder questioned, falling into his mentor's way of interrogating.

Danny just snorted, “You think I don’t know my own soulmate when I see him? This guy isn’t him; I know ‘cause you can’t clone a soul ring.” He held up his left hand, showing the grey band on his middle finger. A jolt of relief surged through him, the ring wasn’t black, Roy was alive!

“And how are you so sure of that?” Robin prodded, keeping the conversation on track for the two of them so he could have his validation in peace.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, waterboy,” Danny quoted at Robin before turning back to him. “So, do you have a name yet or do we need to think of one?”

The question was asked with a tone so soft he thought Danny thought he might break at the suggestion. It was kind, just as kind as he remembered Danny to be. He glanced at Robin before looking at his own hands, uncertain.

“I… I don’t- I haven’t thought of one yet,” he stuttered, feeling suddenly far too vulnerable. He didn’t want to look up at his originals’ soulmate's face, scared of what he’d see. Funny how he could face world ending threats and yet this civilian from some small ass town in the midwest was the thing that scared him more.

He heard Danny shift from in front of him as he spoke, “Alright.” The word was spoken so gently he had to look up, just to see if he meant it like that. Pools of ice froze the breath in his lungs as he stared at an expression so full of melancholy. Fuck, why is Danny looking at him like that? Why is he looking at him like he’s seen what he’d done -what he is- and understands?

Danny is just a civilian, isn’t he?

Their stare broke as Danny looked to Robin. “So, if you aren’t here ‘cause of Amity’s problems or Vlad, what are you here for?”

Robin was about to answer, but he cut him off. “We need your help.”

Those icy-blues turned back to him with a tilt of his head. “Help? What help can I give you?”

He swallowed, mouth dry, “We need to know anything you know about Roy- the real Roy. It might be a stretch but we’re running out of options.”

“And why do you think I know anything about where he is when nobody’s told me anything about what you’ve been doing for the last five years?” Danny’s eyes glanced between the two heroes before him. “I mean, I know he’s not dead. I’ve checked more than a few times to make sure. And since I’m pretty sure he’s in the living world I can’t help you magically find him.”

“Living world?” Robin asked before either of them had the chance to decipher what that could mean.

Danny looked between the two across from him, face twisted in utter confusion. “You mean after all this time, even when I have two of the Justice league Juniors here-” he lifted his hand to stop whatever denials Robin was going to try to start. “-Yes I know you work with the Justice League, I’d be stupid not to know who works with the ignorant Super Friends when they’ve been ignoring every call for help we’ve sent. You also work in such a similar occupation to the town hero to have been cloned, but that's not the point. The point is, you came to Amity Park, the most haunted place on earth- to Fentonworks- and you haven’t done your research?”

Silence filled the room as the two heroes looked at each other. What do they even say to that? Apparently Robin knew, as he looked back to Danny, sitting his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers over his mouth.

“How about we all start from the beginning?”

∆•∆•∆•∆

So.

Ghosts are apparently real. That was not something he expected to have confirmed today. Robin looked to be in a similar state of shock, though the bat-poker face kept his expression level for anyone not used to their microexpressions. Danny had a similar look of contemplation, though much less surprised.

“So let me get this straight. You-” Danny pointed to him, “-were created five years ago by an evil extension of the American government with funding by an evil-er billionaire. You took Roy’s place so you could make it to the big leagues so that this evil billionaire and his evil friends could gain control of said big leagues. Because Roy had a soul ring and you don’t, they gave you the implanted memory of me dying so you wouldn’t think to check in on me and accidentally throw off your mission. You succeeded in getting control of the Justice League, found out you were actually a clone, then promised to find your original. Now you’re here because you're running out of ways to find him. Did I get all that right?”

The two heroes nodded dumbly, before Robin piped up. “And let's see if I get what you’re telling us.”

Danny nodded as Robin took a breath. “So. Ghosts are real. Your town has been dealing with ghosts for the last six years without help from the Justice League because you stopped trying to call for help after year three. Your town hero has fought world destroying beings and gods and no one ever noticed. Five years ago was the last time you heard from Roy, but you know he’s alive because A. You’ve tried looking for him in the literal realm of the dead, and B. Your soul ring hasn't gone black and crumbled yet. Did I miss anything?”

“You forgot the part where the whole town basically has a bone to pick with the league now ‘cause they never even answered our calls, and the secret government facility trying to capture and experiment on anything with even an ounce of ectoplasm in their systems with a base right outside the town limits.”

Robin took in another breath and held it. “Right, that too,” he squeaked out.

Looking back to Danny, he tried to examine him more than he could at the door. Eyebags so deep you could sleep in them, musculature suited for dodging and running, rather than brute strength, faint scarring crisscrossing both arms reaching as far as his collarbones.

“You fight them,” he realized.

Danny shrugged, “When I have to, yeah. You won’t find many people in Amity that don’t have these kinds of scars. Even the kids have a few good scrapes here and there.” He looked down then, eyes following the paths his scars made with an expression of someone who’d seen too much for his age. The same kind of look he knew greeted the Team whenever one of them looked in the mirror.

Heavy silence engulfed the living room as the two heroes tried to come up with something to say to this civilian, to console or apologize or to rectify years of neglect- something. But there was no excuse for this. For what the whole town -for what Danny- had to go through, no words were enough to make that right.

It wasn’t his place to apologize anyway.

Instead he stood up, Robin following quickly after. “Well, this was enlightening in more ways than one, but since you can’t tell us where Roy is we have to go find answers somewhere else.” He remarked with no heat, he couldn’t even find it in him to sass.

He was so hopeful that this would give them something, anything more than just to prove that the real Roy was alive. They found that out, at least, but no clue as to where Luthor might have hidden him. This was their last real lead, even if it was a longshot.

A noise from behind them had him turning to see Danny following them. “Now where do you think you’re going?” Danny asked them.

“Back? We need to track down more leads or nothing will be done,” he replied.

“We also need to report the situation in your town. This was a major oversight, and it needs to be rectified,” Robin added on.

“Not without me you’re not,” Danny said as he crossed his arms.

He gave Robin a look of confusion as Danny continued. “I’ve waited this long to hear something about my soulmate and you think I’ll stay put when you tell me he needs help? Fat chance of that.”

“It’s too dangerous for a civilian,” Robin tried to argue. “If we do find him he’ll be surrounded by highly trained guards. It would devastate Roy if he came back and you weren’t there.”

“That’s why I’m going,” Danny argued back. “And who said anything about me being a civilian?”

Before either of them could ask a bright light sprung from Danny's waist, splitting in two and crossing his body. Where the light passed Danny changed, from a t-shirt and jeans to padded cloth and armor. Green eyes stared at them under ethereal snow white hair, accented by a sharp smile.

“Meet the town hero,” Danny quipped in a voice of static and screams.

~~~~~

Tibet

February 14th 2013,

02:01 BT

“Your source better not be wrong, Phantom,” Will hissed at the half-ghost as he crouched behind the outer wall of a League of Assassins base.

“Trust me Will, Dani knows better than to joke about something this serious,” Danny whispered back, scoping the place out from the inside just to make sure. Dani knew how serious this was, sure, but Danny said he still needed to see it with his own eyes.

It had been a little over two years since Danny had joined Will on his search for his template. Another two years of searching for someone the rest of the League thought was dead, even if the evidence to the contrary wrapped around Danny’s finger. Even Dick and Jim, the two who had held out the longest, had turned their backs on the search. Now it was just him and Danny, and Danny’s clone whenever she decided to give them a lead with a call.

“One more door,” Danny murmured through the comms. “This door is even more heavily guarded than the others, think this is the one Dani was talking about.”

It was quiet for a few seconds as Danny bypassed the guards and the door, and the silence stretched longer than Will thought acceptable. “Phantom?” He asked through the line.

A rough breath enhanced the light static that never seemed to go away with Phantom on comm. It was shaky, and Danny didn’t need to breathe in his ghost form. “Did you find something?” Will asked urgently.

“It's him,” Danny croaked, before putting a little more force in his words. “It’s him, Will. We found him.”

Will has wanted to hear those words for the last three years. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry, he wanted to scream and dance and hug someone. They found him. After three long years they found him.

Now they just had to get him out of there.

“Pull back, Phantom,” he ordered. “We’ll have a better time of extracting him if we get rid of the obstacles in the way first.”

“On it,” Danny responded. Will readied his trick arrows.

~~~~~

Danny was reading when Roy woke up. He came to slowly, looking around the room first -checking for possible exit strategies- before his eyes fell on Danny. Danny could see a spark of recognition flash by before his face twisted in confusion. He glanced at his ring, then Danny, then did a double take at his lack of right arm. Panic rose in his face, so Danny put his hand over Roy’s, dragging his soulmate’s attention from his amputated limb back to Danny.

“I know you want to freak out, but how ‘bout we explain a few things first, okay?” He suggested softly, to which Roy shakily agreed.

With his other hand Danny snatched up his phone, sending a text to Will that Roy was awake. He ran into the room not five minutes later, followed by Oliver Queen, Roy’s mentor and -to Danny’s not so recent knowledge- Green Arrow. Ollie looked almost like he wanted to cry. Will just looked relieved, Danny could sympathize.

He’s waited too long for this reunion.

“Great, the whole gang’s here,” Roy quipped, drawing Danny’s attention back to him. “Now can someone tell me why Danny’s here, why there’s another me, and where the hell my arm went‽”

Will and Ollie glanced at each other in uncertainty, unsure of where to start and how to let him know gently that he’s been asleep for six years. Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes as he gave Roy’s hand a pat and stood up to be next to the other two heroes.

“Cowards,” he hissed at them before turning to face Roy, who was looking more than a little lost. “Well Roy, It's nice to finally see you again, now buckle up ‘cause this is one hell of a story.”

∆•∆•∆•∆

Danny watched as the other two left the room, before turning back to Roy. For all intents and purposes he looked like a confused teenager that had just been told he was replaced for six years, but the ring on Danny’s finger was blazing with something hotter than confusion and loss.

“I said I wanted some time alone, Danny,” Roy ground out. His acting was so clear Danny let a chuckle escape his throat as he sat back in his chair.

“No luck Roy, I’m not leaving you this time.” A glare was shot his way from the boy on the bed, he brushed it off easily with a smile. “I’ve waited this long to be with you again, you really think I’ll leave you alone so you can ghost me?”

Roy sneered, dropping the act entirely in favour of a glare so strong it would make Vlad quiver in his boots. “You can’t keep me here, not when Luthor needs a beating.”

“Keep you here?” Danny chuckled, “who said anything about keeping you here? I want to go with you. If I can’t stop you from leaving I can at least make sure you don’t get yourself in another mess you can't get yourself out of.”

Roy cocked his head, dropping the glare in favour of a confused look. “Danny, not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, but you really think you can keep up?”

Danny looked his soulmate over before he gave a sharp grin, exposing his fangs as he flashed his eyes to green. “If I could keep up with you but older for three years, I can keep up with you for as long as I want.”

Only the book Danny was reading greeted Will and Ollie when they made their way back to the recovery room.

#dpxdcshipweek2023 #DPxDC shipweek #Day 2 #RoyxDanny #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc #dp x dc fanfic #danny phantom #soulmates #roy harper #will harper #danny fenton #Love these gremlins together #Pls let this not be the only one #I wish for more #Ham's fics

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lapetitechatonne · 10 months

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Lightning Strike

so, this was originally for dpxdc ship week back in Febuary, and i just realized i forgot to cross post it lmaoo, so here's my obligatory wlw contribution to tumblr ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ ao3 link - here! kate's masterlist - here!

Lightning Strike - 2.5k

Since becoming Clockwork’s apprentice, Dani had seen it all. The beginnings and endings of societies, civilizations, and even whole worlds. She understood now why Clockwork had taken her on, it wasn’t because he needed the help, but rather the company.

Watching all of time pass, over and over again, was a lonely business.

But Dani was used to lonely.

Her years spent on the streets, watching people pass by but never really interacting, taught her that. Sure, she made some friends along the way, but the connections were fleeting as the pull in her core demanded she move on.

Clockwork’s tower was the first place she felt okay truly staying at, but that had to do with the infinite possibilities playing on the portals all around her. It was hard to feel suffocated when you had a new adventure every day.

It wasn’t something she thought about often, but doing her routine portal checks was tedious, and perhaps she had seen one two many happy groups of friends or couples. The human part of her deep down wanted that. Someone to talk to and joke around with who didn’t know all her punchlines—she swore hanging out with Clockwork got more frustrating every day.

Father Time truly was a big blob of dad. All the way down to finishing her jokes for it.

Maybe she should pay her cousin dearest a visit. At least he wouldn’t see her pranks coming.

Her mind was so occupied with the pranks she could pull, she didn’t even notice lightning start to break through thick ectoplasm, until the was a large crack and a hole tore open right beside her.

Dani jumped as an arm of lightning reached out, almost hitting her square in the chest. The green of the zone mixed with the golden colored lightning, swirling in a bright halo of the oddest electrical storm she’d ever seen.

Almost too quickly for her to see, the storm collapsed in on itself, settling into an uneasy silence. Then, as quickly as it collapsed, it expanded to twice the size before spitting out a yellow blob. The blob shot straight through Dani, who barely had time to go intangible, and into the ghost zone, lightning trailing behind it.

Dani didn’t wait for her thoughts to catch up, she just raced after the thing. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but she was pretty sure it was her problem. God, she hated being Clockwork’s personal bouncer.

It wasn’t hard to follow the blur, electricity tended to linger in the ectoplasmic filled atmosphere longer than others. When she finally caught up with it, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Floating upside down, wiggling her legs, was a redhaired girl in a yellow superhero suit—or at least Dani assumed from the Flash symbol on the girl’s chest. Her red hair was falling out of the back of her bun, swaying with her movement, and when she caught sight of Dani there was an immediate fire in her hazel eyes.

Dani liked this one. She seemed fierce.

“Are you just going to stare?” The girl crossed her arms, glaring at Dani.

Dani just giggled and reached out, poking the girls shoulder. She squeaked as her body hurdled around. Dani used a hand to stop her from going in a circle.

“Oh,” the girl blushed lightly and gave Dani face splitting smile, “thank you. You wouldn’t happen to know where I am, would you?”

“The Ghost Zone.” The girl tilted her head and furrowed her brows. It was too cute. “Well, some people call it the Infinite Realms. Or the Place Out of Time. Oh, and the Between.”

Dani tapped her chine, trying to remember any other names. It seemed like every Earth and time had a different name for it, so Dani didn’t really retain any of them.

“Hm. Do you know how I could like, get home?” The girl cringed as she looked around, and a small frown played across her lips.

“Probably,” Dani crossed her arms behind her head, leaning back, “Clockwork would know. If anyone can get you back to your time, it’s him. I can take ya, if you’d like?” Her chores could wait. This was way more interesting.

“Don’t really have any other options, so I guess so,” the girl smirked, playful and a touch mischievous. “I’m Impulse.”

The girl held out her yellow gloved hand and Dani smirked back.

“I’m Dani—with an i.” She took Impulse’s hand, and even through their gloves Dani could feel how warm she was. It was nice. “Humans can fly in the zone, so just hold onto my arm and you should be fine. Wait, you are human right?” Dani blushed as Impulse giggled.

“Meta-human, if that makes a difference?” She tilted her head and blinked her long eyelashes.

Dani could feel the cold ectoplasm rise to her cheeks giving them a green tint.

“It shouldn’t, but I guess we’ll find out,” Dani gave Impulse the cheekiest grin she could muster, and the other girl actually laughed.

Dani offered her arm to Impulse like the movies she’d watched with Jazz.

“A proper gentleman,” Impulse teased as she placed her hand in the crook of Dani’s elbow.

“Of course! I was taught to treat cute girls right.” Dani winked, and they both dissolved into laughter.

Something fluttered in her stomach as they laughed until they were out of breath. It was a euphoric lack of oxygen that stopped all critical thoughts in Dani’s head. The only thing that existed was them and this moment.

“Do you want to take the long way?” Dani asked, not knowing what she was saying until she heard herself. She couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

“Sure,” Impulse smiled, all teeth and pretty pink lips, “we’ve got time.”

Dani beamed at her and began the flight back to Clockworks. She flew slower than normal, but not by much. Irey’s brain was fast, making connections that Dani couldn’t dream of faster than she could keep up.

Still, there was something oddly content about the redhead as she flipped around in the green atmosphere. Dani showed her some of the more interesting sights, almost running them into the River Styx because Impulse wanted a closer look.

“I can’t wait to tell my brother, he’s gonna be so jealous,” Impulse gushed as Dani pulled her away from the black churning waters. “You know, this is actually the slowest I’ve ever gone. Well, my brain I mean, not me physically.”

“It makes sense,” Dani let them float up towards the far frozen, the last place on their little tour, “the Infinite Realms are technically a place outside of space and time.”

Impulse hummed in response, looking deep in thought. Dani let her think—it was a lot to learn there was an afterlife of some sort, Dani learned that on her travels. It was sometimes even harder for people to understand that it wasn’t what they pictured or believed in.

Dani witnessed a lot of breakdowns she didn’t know how to stop before realizing it. Sue her, she was technically like four.

They stayed silent until they reached the Far Frozen, which got the redhead rambling again. This time about biomes and how they related to different species across the universe. Dani thought that she would get along too well with Danny.

It was all too soon that they reached Clockwork’s tower, which rendered Impulse speechless for the first time on their journey.

“Here we are!” Dani gently held Impulse’s sides and brought her down to the platform. Dani could feel her hot breath fanning across Dani’s face and the static electricity that covered the girl's body.

“Thank you,” she smiled, her hazel eyes sparkling with different golds and greens across the deep brown surface, “not just for helping me, but for being so kind. Not everyone is this nice when you fall into their dimension.” She giggled, and Dani sensed there was history there.

She wished they could talk about it all. Funny—even in a place without time, Dani never felt like there was enough.

“It was my pleasure. And kinda my job? It’s a little unclear.” Dani shrugged, while Impulse shot her a questioning look. Her head was tilted to the side, her brows furrowed making a cute little indent on the bridge of her nose. Dani wanted to run her fingers over the area until it smoothed out.

Dani shook the thought out of her head. Now wasn’t the time.

“I’m Clockwork’s apprentice, though, I think he took me on to keep him company more than anything,” Dani pushed open the large doors to the clock tower, the screech of the hinges echoing against the dark stone. “And you’re lost in time. So, it’s kinda my job to help get you back. That’s why I chased after you in the first place.”

“Oh,” Impulse frowned a bit, almost looking disappointed.

Dani felt herself internally panic—oh god, did she make a pretty girl sad? How was she supposed to fix this?

Dani took a deep breath, trying to calm her suddenly racing thoughts. This was not something Vlad’s programming taught her, but you know what? She could figure it out. Yeah. She could do this.

“But I’m really glad I was the one that found you,” Dani said. She watched as the frown on Impulse’s face softened, and Dani knew she was on the right track. “You’re the most interesting thing to happen around here in a while. I liked showing you around.”

Impulse smiled at her and stepped forward into Dani’s personal space. The redhead reached up, and slipped off her mask, revealing more of her tan skin—and freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose.

“My real name is Irey.”

Dani could only stare at Irey, both amazed and shocked by the show of trust. And even though she might never see the redhead again, Dani wouldn’t—couldn’t—let her walk away without knowing the girl behind the ghost.

Dani held eye contact as she let her transformation go. Waves of cold power washed over her skin until she was fully human.

“My name’s still Dani,” she chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck, “but I’m part human too. Half ghost, half human. A halfa.”

“That’s sick,” Irey laughed, a small yellow spark jolting through her eyes.

Dani could have stayed there staring into Irey’s eyes for eternity. Unfortunately, Clockwork had other plans.

“Danielle,” the sound of Clockwork’s voice pinged off the walls as he descended from the top of his tower, “I see we have a guest. Aren’t you going to introduce us?” He gave her the smirk he got when he was actively trying to be a little shit.

Sometimes they were too similar for Dani’s tastes. Now was one of those moments.

“I’m Impulse,” Irey put her mask back on, staying close to Dani’s side. “I’m a little lost. We hoped you could help get me home.”

“Of course, child,” he smiled as his form shifted from an adult to an old man. He flew up the tower without another word, just expecting them to follow.

Typical.

Dani huffed, but walked up the broken staircase with Irey, helping her jump from the harder platforms.

“A bit cryptic, isn’t he?” Irey asked as she effortlessly parkoured over the platforms. It was hot.

“That’s his brand or something. We’ve given up questioning it,” Dani shrugged lazily floating up, enjoying the show. Dani’d never seen anyone seriously attempt to take the stairs, even Sam and Tucker would make her or Danny help them.

“Yeah, I know the type—ah!” Irey squeaked as a platform moved at the last moment, causing her jump to fall short.

Dani rushed into action, propelling herself forward to catch Irey. She wrapped her arms around Irey’s lean frame, static electricity and heat coming off the redhead in waves.

“Are you okay?” Dani asked searching Irey’s eyes for any sort of pain or discomfort.

“I’m good,” Irey’s voice was breathy as she relaxed into Dani. She wrapped her arms around Dani’s neck, pulling the dark haired girl close to her.

Dani let her eyes flutter closed, the scent of burned rubber and apple shampoo burning itself into her memory. Her boy tingled where it met Irey’s in a pleasant way, and the heat warmed the parts of her usually cold to the touch.

After a few moments, she felt Irey’s hold on her loosen and the warmth pull away. Dani pushed down the urge to chase the feeling.

“Thank you.” Irey smiled and the bridge of her nose tinted pink. Dani knew that she probably looked like a tomato by now.

“Anytime.”

Dani broke eye contact and floated up to the top of the clock tower. She gently let their feet hit the ground, not wanting to jolt any possible ankle injury Irey might have sustained in the fall.

“Well, you took your time,” a child Clockwork commented, a pleased smirk on his face. “Anyways, I think I’ve found your time.”

With a flourish of his staff, a portal sprung to life, swirling in front of them. In shades of green, Dani could see people dressed a lot like Irey with lightning bolts adorned all over their bodies in a field looking around.

“That’s it! That’s where I was when—well whatever happened, happened.” Irey excitedly pulled out of Dani’s arms, the electric field around her crackling.

Clockwork laughed, deep and boisterous as his form switched to adulthood. “The Infinite Realms is the place between universes. The buffer of the multiverse if you will. Instead of moving between earths, you were going just fast enough to get stuck between them.”

Dani watch different emotions cross Irey’s face faster than she could keep up.

“So, I could come back if I wanted?” She eventually settled on excitement, the air around her crackling with small yellow lightning bolts, the light catching the shine of her hair perfectly.

Dani didn’t know that someone could took so beautiful standing in the middle of a lightning storm. She was suddenly sad lightning didn’t strike the same place twice.

“With your abilities? No doubt about it.” Clockwork shared a look with Irey that Dani couldn’t decipher when her heart was pounding in her chest.

The idea of getting to see Irey again was exciting in a way that life hadn’t been for a long time.

Suddenly, in a burst of wind and yellow, Irey was standing right in front of Dani, their faces only inches apart.

“I’ll see you soon.” The way she said it, like it was a promise, made Dani grin back.

“I’ll see you soon.”

Irey leaned in and placed a small kiss on her cheek, soft and electric all at once.

As quickly as she was there, she was gone. Through the portal back to her world. Her family.

Dani smiled, a dopey stupid grin that Danny so would have made fun of her for, but she didn’t care.

Dani couldn’t wait for the next storm.

#Dani Phantom/Irey West #Short Circuit ship #dpxdcshipweek2023 #dpxdc event #Prompt: First Meetings #meet cute #based off of Green Lantern: Alliance Irey West #dpxdc #batpham #kate's fanfics #kate ships #sapphic ship #wlw ship

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silvercap · 2 months

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Last Line Challenge :))

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).

Tagging: @thebrandywine, @fonulyn, @lightenupcowboy, @resident-rats, @velkyr, @leonisdumbasallhell, @sunhatllama, and uhhh anyone else who wants to join in. I don't think I have enough names for the amount of words there lmao and I apologize if I forgot someone!

Thank you @phoenixmetaphor for tagging me!! 👀 at your mermaids... <3

Speaking of! I've been working on the pirate au lately:

"He shouts again in wordless rage, and the thing sends him plummeting back into the shattered deck, arm disappearing as it punches Krauser's body straight down into the belly of the ship."

;)

Also, because you mentioned drawing (and I'm insane) here's a little animation (?) I dreamed up at like 4am last night as some kind of. Well, I don't know. Opening to the pirate fic? Listened to the same song like 60 times and had a Vision I had to pencil down asjdjds

Only sharing because it's related and also I'm insane. Yes I had a theatre phase.

Thanks for the tag!! <33

#🐙#my fics #pirate au #tag game #<33 #there's a whole other page to the animatic thing. btw. I can see it so clearly in my head #hehe #no pressure also I know some of you are busy haha

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kanerallels · 10 months

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Finally, I have a fic worth posting for @jacensyndullaweek! (although I do have one thing that I'm gonna end up posting late that I want to share)

Prompt: Culture/Heritage

Rating: G

Read here on AO3!!

1. Sabine

“Are you sure Ezra’s gonna be okay with this?” Jacen frowned at Sabine as they headed into the cockpit of the New Dawn.

“Rule number one of art as a Mandalorian,” Sabine said. “Never ask. Just do. Unless it’s Hera’s room. Then you ask. Besides, the Dawn needs a little brightening up. No ship should be entirely gray.”

The boy wavered for another second, then grinned. “Okay, cool! Where are we starting?”

“That’s more like it.” Sabine paused, turning in a circle. “That wall,” she said, pointing. “You start there, and I’ll start on the other side.”

“What should I paint?” Jacen asked as she passed him the box full of small finger paint cans she’d bought just for this— it was a good place to start for a beginner.

Pulling out her paint guns, Sabine said, “Whatever you want. If you don’t know, start with a feeling. Or something you know. Just don’t hesitate. When you’re doing graffiti, you need to be confident. Got it?”

Jacen nodded, his eight-year-old face screwed up into a serious expression as he pulled out green and blue paint. “I got it.”

“Good. Let’s get started.”

2. Zeb

“Okay,” Hera said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Zeb recognized this expression— she’d worn it about a thousand times while lecturing him and Ezra back in the day. “Run it past me one more time. How in the name of the Force did you break your arm, Jacen?”

Wincing, Zeb said, “It was an accident, I swear.”

“It was!” Jacen agreed earnestly, struggling to push himself upright in the hospital bed and wincing slightly. Hera pressed her lips into a straight line— never a good sign.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Kanan offered from next to Hera. His expression was serene, and he brushed a gentle palm against Hera’s arm, which seemed to calm her a little bit.

“Right,” Zeb said. “So, I was talking to the kid about some of the old sports they had back on Lasan.”

“And there was this one where the greatest warriors would jump from rock spire to rock spire, show off their climbing skills,” Jacen said, his eyes gleaming. “So I asked Uncle Zeb to show me—”

“—and he asked to try it out—”

“—and I fell,” Jacen concluded.

Throwing her hands in the air, Hera said, “And you didn’t even think about the fact that Jacen could get hurt doing that?”

“Well, Lasat cubs usually didn’t,” Zeb offered. “I guess I forgot that humans have more fragile bones. No offense.”

Kanan let out a choking noise that Zeb immediately knew was a snort of laughter, and hastily disguised it as a cough. Hera shot him a sideways glare, but her expression softened a few seconds later as she sighed.

“Thank you for trying to teach Jacen, but you do need to be careful. Next time, maybe start with something a little easier? Or make sure Kanan or Ezra are there to catch him?”

“Absolutely,” Zeb agreed.

As Hera turned to talk to the approaching doctor, Jacen leaned towards Zeb. “Can we try it again when my arm gets better?” he whispered.

“Only if you get better at not falling,” Zeb whispered back. “I don’t want your parents to skin me alive.”

“Deal!”

3. Kanan

“Hey, Dad?”

Kanan lifted his head, pulled out of his meditation trance by his son’s voice. Tracking him to the doorway to his and Hera’s room, he waved for him to come in as he said, “What’s going on, kiddo?”

He heard Jacen move into the room and drop down into a similar posture in front of him. “I’m doing this school project— we’re doing family trees,” he explained. “And I need your help.”

Kanan chuckled. “With this family, I’m not surprised. Where’d you get tripped up? Miss an aunt or uncle?”

“Nah,” Jacen said, his matching grin clear in his voice. “Grandparents, actually. I got Grandpa Cham and Grandma Eleni on Mom’s side, but I don’t really know any on your side.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Kanan said, “Well, you and I are in the same boat there, actually. I never knew my biological parents.”

“Okay— so should I just leave it blank?”

Kanan frowned, stroking his beard. “You could,” he said slowly, turning the question over in his mind. It might have been easier just to leave it that way. But the point of these family trees— he assumed— were that the kids didn’t forget where and who they’d come from. The people who’d shaped their lives before those lives had even really begun. “Let me show you something,” he told Jacen, getting to his feet.

He knew the layout of the room well by this time, and it was a matter of ease to step over to the shelf nearby and pull down one of the holodisks stacked there. Turning it on, he let it rest in his palm and held it out to Jacen. “What do you see?”

“Um, two people— a man and a woman. Looks like they’re posing for a picture,” Jacen said. “The woman has braids, and she’s laughing. The guy’s more serious, but he’s smiling a little. He’s taller and bald, looks like he has darker skin than the woman.” He paused, then said, “They’re both wearing Jedi robes. Are these—”

“The woman is my master, Depa Billaba,” Kanan said, turning off the holodisk. “And the man is her master, Mace Windu. A friend recovered this holo for me a year or two ago. It’s the only thing I have left of them.” Reaching out, he pressed it into Jacen’s hand. “They are as close to family as I ever had.”

Jacen was silent for a moment, and Kanan waited, knowing his son was thinking. “Thanks for showing me, Dad,” he finally said.

“Any time, kiddo.”

4. Ezra

“Why are we going here again?”

Ezra glanced at Jacen, who was bouncing on his heels with impatience. “I thought you said we were going to do Jedi stuff,” the fifteen year old pointed out.

“We are going to,” Ezra said truthfully. “We’re just making a stop first.” Looking both ways, he started across the street, keeping one eye on Jacen as he followed him. The kid had finally outgrown his habit of forgetting to look before he leapt— mostly. At the very least, he looked both ways before he crossed the street now.

He was still willing to throw himself headfirst into situations, though, not unlike both of his parents. That included Jedi training, and Ezra knew that he should be just as excited as Jacen was for this.

And he was, really. He was just also pretty sure Kanan had chosen wrong, and that his old master should be training Jacen himself.

But that wasn’t the point. Right now wasn’t actually about that. Right now was about visiting somewhere he hadn’t been since he’d gotten back from the Unknown Regions, and showing Jacen a new piece of Lothal.

Turning a corner, he spotted the old warehouse. Even just the outside looked different than it had in the years during the war— no guards, and the door was wide open.

He looked at Jacen. “Did your mom and dad ever tell you about this place?” When the boy shook his head, Ezra explained, “During the war, this was where the main black market congregated, particularly around Life Day. I used to come here all the time— mainly when I was by myself, but I came with Kanan and the others a couple times.”

Starting towards the entrance, he continued, “But Lothal doesn’t really need a black market any more— so now it’s just a regular one. One of Lothal’s hidden treasures. I thought you should see it.”

They stopped at the entrance together, and Ezra took in the familiar sights. He recognized some faces— the elderly owner of the stall selling woven blankets, the Gotal who pretended not to notice when he’d stolen a few kebabs every now and then— and noticed others missing.

The war had changed everything, but they were putting it back together, slowly but surely.

He looked at Jacen, who was taking in the place with wide eyes. “So. Lunch, then training?”

“Sounds good,” the boy said with a grin.

5. Hera

“And you’re sure you’re ready for this?” Hera checked as she, Kanan, and Jacen headed towards the small building awaiting them.

Her son gave her a grin. “Mom, we’ve talked about this like twenty times now. I’m seventeen— I’m ready. You got your tattoos way younger than this.”

Wincing at the memory of the needle’s sting, Hera said, “I know. That’s why I’m checking. I don’t want you to do it just because someone said you couldn’t, like I did. It was terrifying—”

“And you were like eight,” Jacen pointed out. “Of course that would be terrifying. But trust me— I want to do this. I already got Dad’s looks, and I want to honor your side, too.”

Kanan, who’d been silent thus far, spoke up. “He’s right, Hera. Besides, he’s almost eighteen. Even if you put your foot down, he’d only be delaying it for a couple months.”

Letting out a sigh, Hera said, “I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

“Nope!” Jacen said cheerfully. “Besides, you let Dad get the tattoos.”

“Your father is a full grown man,” Hera said. “And incredibly stubborn, I might add.”

Kanan let out a snort. “I think we all know who the stubborn one is in this relationship, Captain Hera.”

Grabbing the door handle, Jacen said, “Yeah, I know better than to get involved in this argument. Come on— Ivri’s already inside!”

Hera followed his nod to where Jacen’s friend, the half-Mirialan boy with a perpetual smile, was waiting for them next to the Twi’leki tattoo artist. “Alright,” she said reluctantly.

“Go ahead, Jacen,” Kanan told him, catching hold of Hera's arm. “Your mom and I will catch up with you in a minute. Don’t choose anything obscene or too embarrassing while we’re gone, okay?”

Grinning, Jacen said, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

As he ducked inside, the door swinging shut behind him, Kanan lifted an eyebrow at Hera. “What are the odds of him listening to that?”

“Well he has your genes, so about fifty-fifty.”

“Harsh.” Kanan paused, then said, “You okay about this?”

Unable to hold back a wry smile, Hera said, “You know me well, love. But… yeah, I am. Mostly. It’s just…” she looked through the window where Jacen and his friend were chatting with the Twi’lek. “Our little boy is growing up,” she said with a sigh. “It’s strange.”

“You’re telling me,” Kanan said with a sigh. “At least he’s less likely to shoot himself into the Unknown Regions than the last one is.”

Hera snorted with amusement. “He’d better be, or we’ll be having words.”

“I believe it.” Offering her his arm, Kanan said, “Shall we?”

Taking a deep breath, Hera looped her arm around his. “Okay. Let’s do this.” She let him lead her into the tattoo parlor, trying not to think about just how much her son was growing up.

We’re proud of him, though, she thought with a twinge. And he’s still our son.

+1. Trill

(set a few weeks before the last chapter of Disproving The Love At First Sight Theory)

Jacen sensed it as soon as Trill woke up. Generally speaking, he wasn’t terribly skilled at sensing living beings— not the way his dad or sister were, and definitely not the way Ezra was. His master was one with the living Force in a way Jacen never had been.

But this didn’t seem to be true for Trill, for whatever reason. Jacen could always sense it when she woke up, and could track her pretty easily throughout the ship. It was like he was attuned to her, more than he was to anyone else.

Sometimes he wondered why that was, but since he was currently living in close quarters with not only her, but also the galaxy’s nosiest Kalleran, he decided not to spend too much time on it.

It was about ten minutes after she woke up that she made her way into the New Dawn’s kitchen. Stifling a yawn, she said, “Morning— what’s that smell?”

“Good morning,” Jacen said cheerfully. “Remember that mysterious package I… picked up on Cantonica yesterday?”

Trill arched an eyebrow at him. “You mean the one that you stole from the hotel and smuggled out under your poncho?”

“That’s the one,” Jacen said. “But the people there are corrupt and tried to kill us like four times, so it doesn’t count. Anyways— behold! Our new waffle maker!”

He flourished a hand at the maker, which stood on the counter, emanating the delicious smell of cooking waffles. Trill frowned at it, then directed the expression at Jacen. “You stole a waffle maker?”

“You’re focusing on the wrong thing here,” Jacen told her. “Remember, they tried to kill us. But also, yeah. Now we can have waffles for breakfast!”

Settling at the table, Trill swept her loose hair out of her eyes, and Jacen tried to pretend like his gaze hadn’t followed the movement, and lingered for just a moment. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s so important about waffles?”

The iron beeped, and Jacen turned towards it. Rolling up his sleeves, he flipped it open and started to remove the waffle with a fork, responding to Trill’s question as he did.

“It’s a family tradition. My dad makes the best waffles in the galaxy— Uncle Zeb makes the second best, tied with me. We always used to eat them whenever my mom would get back from a dangerous mission, or before Ezra and I would leave, or any special occasion like that.” Maneuvering the waffle onto a plate, he slid it towards Trill. “And I guess… I wanted to share that with you. If you’re interested.”

She looked surprised, in that way she always did whenever Jacen said something like this. It was the kind of surprise that made him think maybe, just maybe… she’d stick around.

For a minute, Trill held his gaze, then offered him a smile. “I— I am. Thank you.”

Don’t read into it, Jacen ordered himself, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at her smile. Aloud, he said, “Good. Cause I have a feeling Kasmir’s gonna be here soon, and he’ll be hungry. So you’d better get started on that waffle.”

“Will do,” Trill said, hopping up to grab a fork. Turning back to his work, Jacen felt himself grinning. Starting out a day with waffles and Trill? It really couldn’t get much better than that.

#jacen syndulla week #jacen syndulla week 2023 #jacen syndulla #sabine wren #garazeb orrelios #kanan jarrus #ezra bridger #hera syndulla #trill gedyc #jacen syndulla x oc #star wars rebels #swr #janus kasmir #star wars rebels fan fic #swr fan fic #writing stories is a kind of magic too

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eveenstar · 1 year

Note

I read your Dagan Gera HC's/fic, and I love it!

May I request a Dagan Gera and reader one-shot, sorta inspired by the HC's you posted, where he meets/runs into the reader who was present during the High Republic with him?

Thank you!

Hello!! So glad you liked it <3 I hope you don't mind but I wrote the reader as a woman, it's just what I found more easy to write with. Hope you still like it tho?? I might make a part 2 if this one is well received :)

The Force Priestress | Dagan Gera/f!Reader -> one-shot |

DATE UNKNOWN, Jedi Temple of Coruscant, High Republic era

The Jedi are the keepers of the peace of the galaxy, Dagan repeated to himself as his blade slashed another training dummy in half. It fell to his feet with small clouds of smoke evaporing in the air. I am a warrior, I am a-

"Jedi." A woman in red stood at the door of the training room. She bowed her head in respect and a kind smile spread across her lips. "Your thoughts are quite loud for a master, no?"

Dagan raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

The stranger shook her head, "No, at least not yet." She took a step forward, "My name is (Y/N)."

Dagan tilted his head as he looked at her up and down. She had no lightsaber, yet the Jedi Knight could feel the Force within her, moving in ways he had never felt before.

As the silence dragged on, the world seemed to stop around them. Dagan could no longer hear the footsteps down the hallway, the chattering of padawans and their masters, or the training droid behind him. All he could feel was her.

And it scared him as much as it called out to him.

"I think you might be Dagan Gera, am I correct to assume?" She asked as she took another step forward. Her eyes followed the way his yellow lightsaber gave his pale skin a golden contrast.

"Yes." Dagan narrowed his eyes, "How do you-"

"I don't know."

There was a moment where it felt like both their breaths were being held in. A moment that was gone as soon as it came.

"Dagan?" A more familiar face came into vision, Santari. She stood where (Y/N) stood just a few seconds ago. "What are you doing?"

Dagan blinked and stared, confused and alarmed, but those emotions were so brief in his eyes that one would not be able to catch it unless you were looking for them.

After a moment's breath, he turned back to his lightsaber.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

The ship's bridge was quiet except for the beeping of some unknown button. Dagan stood straight as he watched the stars. There were times where he would close his eyes and think of the old days, back before Tanalorr, before...

But he wasn't alone, at least not as much as he'd like to be. At the co-pilot's seat was a woman named (Y/N), fiddling with a holocron Force knows where she got it from.

Dagan watched her with an unreadable face, but he felt his fingers twitch at the sight.

"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi," The holocron echoed, "The Jedi Order-"

"What are you doing?" At the sudden interruption, (Y/N) yelped and the holocron fell from the air, clashing against the floor with a thund. She turned on her chair to look at him.

"Oh, sorry, forgot you were there." She nervously smiled and scratched the back of her neck with a forced laugh.

"You lack the focus of a Force user." Dagan hummed and an arrogant smirk revealed itself. One she was much too used to seeing. "I don't even know why I still keep you around."

(Y/N) rested her feet on top of the controls. "Maybe because deep down that cold, stone heart you still feel an inch of gratitude."

Dagan laughed dryly, "Don't test your luck, little priestress."

(Y/N) rose from her seat and brushed past him. In some other time, the Fallen Jedi would have been annoyed, mad even, but he found himself smiling as she walked away. It awakened something in him, a feeling that he hasn't felt since...

The smile faded from his face and was instead replaced by a suspicious frown.

That same day, Dagan found himself meditating upon the Force on the darkness of his chambers. The anger and the hatred swirled around him like a storm in the ocean, one that he felt himself drowning and sinking until there was nothing left to breath in. But the feeling of walking so close to the edge, of falling into the depths of his darkest desires, was more tempting than anything he had ever tasted before. Even more than Tanalorr.

But it wasn't about Tanalorr anymore, was it?

No, it was about him. Of what rightfully belonged to him. Had the Jedi listened to him, had they seen what Tanalorr could have done for the galaxy, for the future of their order... But now the Jedi were no more, the Sith reign supreme on their empire.

There was something else to his anger. Something Dagan could not quite place. After spending so long in stasis, the memories of his prime days were nothing more than foggy whispers on his mind, blurred faces and fights. Yet there was one face in particular he couldn't ignore, no matter how hard he tried. Someone whose face he had seen in his dreams, or his nightmares, even in waking life as well. In the Jedi Temple, in the streets of some backwater planet, down to the caves of dead beasts.

And that face was (Y/N)'s.

The realisation disrupted his meditative state, and Dagan lowered himself from the air. The galaxy seemed to stop, as if nothing else existed except for him and the strange Force Priestress. As they locked eyes, he felt a glimpse of the past. It was as if they could finally breathe again.

"It's you."

#jedi survivor spoilers #dagan gera x reader #dagan gera #star wars #star wars x reader #jedi survivor

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ramblingsofafanatic · 1 year

Text

Can't Believe I Forgot You

Summary: Kallus gets captured by imperials on a mission and they wipe his memory.

Word Count: 4,791

Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios

Warnings: Memory Loss

Can also be read on AO3 here!

Note: my very good friend @5wolfdog5 had this wonderful idea and allowed me to run with it. this is the result <3

Zeb has a bad feeling as the Ghost undocks and pulls away from the station. He knew he shouldn't have let Kal talk them into splitting up, but Kal said he'd borrow a shuttle from the imperial docking bay and meet them at the rendezvous coordinates they set up before the mission in case this exact situation occurred, and Zeb trusted and believed him enough to go along with it. Last time he does that.

They wait, listening to both rebel and imperial comm lines to see if they can hear anything. Zeb spends that time pacing, listening carefully.

'Caught the rebel insurgent, sir, it's former ISB-021, Kallus, what do we do?'

It sounds out over the comms around 45 minutes later, and Zeb's ears go back. Karabast.

"We need to get him," Zeb says.

"We will, but first we need to get back to base and turn in this mission's data, and then we need to make a plan" Hera says.

"But-"

"We're no good to him without a plan" Hera says again and Zeb deflates, knowing she's right. Ezra tries to argue in favour of action as well but it's futile. They head back to base.

"We have information on Kallus." Hera says as Zeb enters the meeting room. It's been weeks with no intel, but based on Hera's tone and body language, this doesn't seem like it's going to be the update he wanted.

"He's alive," Hera starts and most of the tension leaves his body, alive is good, alive he can work with.

"But, they've appeared to use a new device on him, his memories have been wiped and he's been reinstated in the ISB." Hera continues and Zeb takes a second to process what's being said.

"Can we get him back? His memories?" Zeb asks, hopefully.

"We can get him back, but until the medics have access to him we won't be able to know if his memories can be restored." Hera says gently.

"Okay, when do we leave?"

"Slow down, we're still working on where he is, I will update you when we have a plan"

"Okay, can I help?" He offers, he's not usually one for intelligence work or strategy planning, but he's not bad at it and if it will help get Kal back he'll do it.

"Rest up and be ready to go when it's time." Hera says apologetically, she knows continuing to wait around with nothing to do will drive Zeb crazy, but there's no other options. Zeb leaves, heading to the makeshift gym the rebels set up. Punching something may not help find Kal but it will make him feel a bit better about being useless right now.

Logically Zeb knew Kallus had his mind wiped but it's still hard to be faced with the man and see no recognition in his eyes. Even worse to see the hatred that washed over the others' features as they fought - back when they first 'met' there wasn't that level of animosity on Kallus' face.

If Zeb didnt know him he'd be unrecognizable, his hairs been buzzed off and he's clean shaven. He didn't even recognize his own name, only referred to as ISB-021 now. It made rage boil through Zeb and he used it to push forward and not stop until Kal was in binders on the Ghost heading back to base.

However, Zeb's a bit lost now that it's all over. He doesn't know what to do. He was told to wait for medical to do their evaluation before trying anything with Kal, but it's so hard to have him back and right there and do nothing. He volunteers to guard Kallus, not willing to let him out of sight again anytime soon. He watches as Kal sits there, calmly staring straight ahead at the wall of the ship. Zeb longs to reach out - after a month apart it hurts having Kal this close and yet at the same time so far away.

After getting back to base and a lengthy time pacing outside the medbay waiting for the medics to finish whatever poking and prodding they deemed necessary, Kallus was released to the holding cells. Zeb watches them go and waits for the medics to come out and give him an update as they said they would when they kicked him out of the room to begin with.

They say as far as they can tell the procedure should be 100% reversible, however they don't know how. The only option they can think of right now is to wait and see. Zeb is tired of waiting and asks if there's anything to try and get things to move along faster. They say he's welcome to try and talk to Kallus about shared memories from their past, but warn him that 1) he should be careful not to reveal any sensitive information until Kallus has returned back to normal in case he escapes and gets back to the empire (duh) and 2) a reminder that Kallus isn't his Kal right now and there may be anger, confusion and some lashing out when trying to tell him about anything he's forgotten (double duh).

Zeb listens carefully and after agreeing to let them know of any updates, he turns to make his way down to the brig to see Kal. He's stopped on the way as Ezra finds him to pass on a message from Hera - Zeb's been moved to on-planet guard duty for the time being unless an emergency calls for reassignment until Kallus is better.

Zeb makes a mental note to thank Hera later, as he continues on his path to the holding cells. It feels like its only seconds later that the current guard is nodding at him as he passes to stand in front of where Kal is.

He looks so small, sat there on the bunk with his knees pulled to his chest. He's shivering, but stubbornly refusing to use the blanket under him. Zeb longs to be able to wrap him up and carry him off to their own bunk, but that's not possible right now.

"Hey Kal." Zeb says softly, as Kallus lifts his head slightly to peek out over his arm.

"You're the lasat that brought me here." Kallus states, and Zeb's ears twitch at how devoid of life Kallus appears like this. His face blank and his voice even and monotone.

"I am," Zeb says, "What did medical tell you? About all this?"

"That I am actually a rebel suffering memory loss." Kallus says.

"Do you believe them?"

"I am ISB-021, I have always and will continue to serve the Empire." Is the only reply Kallus offers. It's so hard to talk to him when he's like this, it's both Kal and Not Kal at the same time it's giving him an uncanny valley feeling. But Zeb is determined to get his Kal back and so he'll push on and hope something works.

The conversation continues to be mostly one sided, Kallus doesn't talk unless absolutely necessary and is absolutely not believing anything Zeb tries to say.

Zeb stops by medical after being kicked out of the brig for lights out. He tells them about Kal's reactions - well the lack of reactions - and they don't have any answers right now but promise they'll look into it.

Zeb goes back to the Ghost, he hasn't been back to their quarters on base since Kal was taken and he's not going to start now. It's filled with so many memories that it will just remind him that his Kal was taken away.

He'll have to go there eventually, the Ghost won't be staying on planet with him, they have missions to run. But until that time comes, he doesn't see the need to subject himself to that.

When Zeb returns the next morning Kal is pacing his cell like an animal at the zoo. It's the most lively Zeb has seen him since he was captured. When Kal turns and sees Zeb however, he stops and returns to the blank droid-like state he was in yesterday.

"You eat?" Zeb asks, Kallus' eyes just narrow at him.

"What are your plans with me?" Kallus asks instead of answering. The blunt change in topic to avoid a question is new, but at least he's talking. The guard on duty shakes his head when Zeb looks at him - Kal hasn't eaten, as he thought.

"I thought medical explained the plan?" Zeb says, he'll ignore the eating for now, he'll bring both their lunches in later and get him to eat then.

"The rebellion's plan, not yours."

"I told you yesterday, I'm here to get my friend back." Zeb says. Really, he wants his bondmate, but based on Kal's reaction to the idea of being friends yesterday he doesn't want to bring up that they were anything more.

Kallus scoffs and moves to sit on the bunk in the corner, pulling his legs to him before proceeding to start a staring contest with Zeb. Zeb sighs internally, Kal never makes anything easy does he.

"I brought dejarik?" Zeb says as he holds up the collapsed portable game console. Kallus remains quiet.

"What? Scared you might lose?" Zeb tries, maybe some goading will get Kal's arrogant ass moving.

"I don't know what that is." Kal admits after a couple seconds of silence. They erased a lot more than just his rebellion years it seems, cause Zeb knows Kal was playing dejarik well before he was ISB.

"I can teach you then?" Zeb offers. "I'm your only company for however long you're here, there's no getting rid of me until your memories return." Zeb continues at Kallus' hesitation.

"Fine." Kallus says and Zeb motions for the guard to drop the shield for a second so he can enter the cell. Kal stiffens a bit when Zeb steps through quickly before the field goes back up. He moves and sits on the other side of the bed from where Kal is and silently unfolds the device before turning it on. The board casts a faint blue glow around the cell and Zeb takes a second to look at how it reflects off Kal's face - he's so close.

Zeb shakes himself internally and forces himself to focus on teaching Kal the game.

It doesn't take long, Kal picks it up quickly (Zeb had no doubt he would) but it doesn't seem to make him remember anything. It's fine, the chances that dejarik would free up any memories was extremely low to begin with. The medics said to be patient so Zeb will.

Kallus is silent as Zeb talks to him as they play. Zeb's telling him about some stupid stunt Ezra tried to pull as Kal was gone, and even though not one hint of recognition crosses the human's face, he is smirking slightly at this 'strangers' idiocy and Zeb will take that as a win.

Lunch rolls around and Zeb heads to the mess to grab it, they have some of the fruit Kal really likes that Zeb can never remember the name of and Zeb hopes that, even if it doesn't bring back memories, it can still make Kal smile.

He gets back to see Kal has started playing against himself. There's a slight pinch between his eyebrows in concentration and without his usual facial hair it's even more obvious that he's chewing the inside of his cheek as he thinks.

Kal doesn't notice Zeb has returned until he hears the field's low hum stop for the two seconds it takes for Zeb to step through. Good, if he's allowing himself to be distracted like that, it means that on some subconscious level, he feels safe here. It's small but it gives Zeb a little more hope at their chances of getting his Kal back.

"The rebellion gets fresh fruit?"

"On occasion" Zeb replies as he places Kal's tray in front of him. Kal just looks at it.

"You gotta eat eventually."

"Technically, I do not." Kallus says, but he does reach out to pick up a piece of fruit. Kal's smile (well the corner of his lip twitching up slightly for a microsecond) when he tastes the fruit is counted as another win on Zeb's behalf.

Their routine is largely the same for the next few weeks. Kallus was on edge for the first couple days about not being interrogated, but after seeing that the few other imperials being held here are treated the same way he relaxes a bit.

Zeb brings something to both keep them entertained and to try and get Kal to remember something, but so far nothing has worked. Not all is lost though, even if he can't recall the memories Zeb can tell they're still there the more time they spend together. It's small things, stuff that Kal probably doesn't even notice he's doing, but Zeb notices.

Oh, he notices. The most notable though is when Kal reaches towards his wrist to fidget with the konshari that used to be there. Kal's brief look of confusion when he catches himself doing this is adorable, but Zeb can't help but hope one of these times it will be recognition that crosses the human's face.

Zeb made him a new one almost identical to the one lost, Kal may not remember, but Zeb does. He wants to tie it back around Kal's wrist to see if that can make Kal remember, but hasn't figured out how to give it to him without revealing that they were bondmates. He needs an alternate explanation for what the konshari is in case it fails to bring back any memories. Kal is warming up to him again and he doesn't want to push him away by bringing up anything more than friendship.

"It's your turn." Kallus says, snapping Zeb out of his thoughts. Right. Cards. They were playing some card game Ezra had taught them once and it's very obvious Kal can still count cards with ease. Zeb looks at his cards, the piles on the bed between them and then his cards again before placing one down. He tries to focus on the game, even though he knows he’s never going to win even if he tries, but Kallus is distracting.

The closer Kallus gets to looking like himself again, the harder it is to restrain himself. He has a nice layer of stubble on his face now and Zeb just wants to rub their cheeks together to get his scent all over it.

“Something wrong?” Kallus asks and Zeb realizes he spaced out again.

“It’s nothing, sorry, my turn again?” Zeb asks, and when Kallus nods he once again tries to focus on what he’s supposed to be doing. He tries not to squirm under Kallus’ scrutiny, and is relieved when Kallus decides not to question him further.

Months pass, Kallus seems to have settled into the idea that he’s stuck here. Zeb had managed to dig up a few holo’s to try and see if they'd help. There aren't many to begin with, let alone ones that weren’t of them obviously being more than friendly together. The holos don't work as intended, but they make Kal more willing to humour Zeb’s attempts to restore his memories and at this point Zeb will take any progress he can.

Kal’s hair has grown out to the length it was when he first defected from the Empire now, and Zeb's brought him his spare set of clothes so he could change out of the ISB uniform. But, seeing Kal there sitting on the bed, hair a bit ruffled and jacket zipped up to his chin, Zeb briefly thinks that yea, he was right, having Kal look like himself again is making it harder to not treat him like his old self as well. But he manages to restrain himself.

Kallus continues to ask about what was bothering Zeb, and Zeb gave half truths. I wish you believed us (I wish you’d believe me), I wish you had your memories back (I wish you remembered me, remembered us), I wish this never happened in the first place (I failed you, I’m sorry for letting this happen to you).

They’re playing dejarik again, it’s one of the few games they're evenly matched at. Zeb is distracted again though, which allows Kal to wipe him out with ease.

“It’s me isn’t it?” Kal asks as Zeb’s last guy flickers off the board, and something must show on Zeb’s face because Kallus continues unprompted. “What was I to you?”

“I already told you, you were my best friend.”

“Garazeb. What was I to you?” Kallus repeats.

“If you’re asking, you already know” Zeb says as he stands, if Kal knows he probably doesn’t want Zeb around, its probably why he's bringing it up. Zeb should leave. Leave before he has to hear Kal tell him he doesn’t want to see him again, before-

“Don’t,” Kallus says and he grabs Zeb’s hand to stop him from leaving. “I may not remember but I’d like to hear more.”

Zeb sits back down and sighs.

“What was I?”

“You are my bondmate,” Zeb says. He can’t bring himself to talk about it in the past tense like Kal does, as far as he’s concerned this is his bondmate - whether he remembers or not.

“Bondmate?” Kallus says.

“You referred to us as 'boyfriends' once or twice, but 'partners' more often than not.” Zeb adds and it feels weird to talk about Kal like this as he's sitting right there.

“I’m sorry I don’t remember.” Kal says softly, Zeb realizes his hurt must be written all over his face and tries to reign it in.

“S’not your fault.” Zeb says.

“It’s not yours either.” Kallus says.

“I shouldn’t have-”

“I’m sure you did everything you could.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Zeb says. He's not looking for a fight right now, quite the opposite actually.

"Of course it matters, it's you" Kallus says, and it's something he's said before but only Zeb would remember that.

"I did it again." Kal says, "said something to make you remember," he continues. So he's been noticing for a while then.

"Everything about you makes me remember," Zeb says with a huff.

"Yet you still come here, everyday."

"Being without you would be worse." Zeb admits before he can think. Kallus opens his mouth to reply but is cut off by the guard reminding them lights out in 5 minutes.

"Guess I should go," Zeb says. He stands and Kal doesn't stop him from stepping away from the bed this time.

"Zeb," Kal calls out before the field is lowered. Zeb pauses and looks over his shoulder at where Kal is sitting on the bed.

"Yea?" He asks

"I may not remember, but I can see why I would love you." Kallus says softly, and it makes Zeb hurt all over again.

"He still doesn't remember?" Hera asks.

"No"

"Maybe you need to kiss him like in those old fairytale stories!" Ezra adds in. Zeb glares at him, Hera scolds him. Ezra shrugs it off.

"Well now that he knows, that does open more material for you to try and get him to remember." Hera says.

"Yea," Zeb says, thinking… well it doesn't hurt to ask. "Do you think command would let me take Kal to our quarters? You can post guards outside, but maybe being somewhere more familiar would make him remember something."

"I can ask, but no guarantees," Hera says, Zeb nods before the topic is changed and they continue eating.

As promised, Hera asks, but command doesn't go for it, too much of a security risk right now. Zeb understands, he does, but at the same time he's running out of things to try and get Kallus' memory back.

He showed Kal the rest of the holos, he told Kal every anecdote he can think of, he even took new holos of their room on base and the Ghost, he's getting desperate. Worse is, he can tell Kal is starting to feel real guilty about not being able to remember anything. Zeb is horrible at hiding his emotions, especially from Kal, so his disappointment at every failed attempt is broadcasted clearly.

"I'm sorry," Kal whispers after another failed attempt. He always apologizes after, no matter how many times Zeb reminds him it's not his fault.

He decides that maybe they should stop trying to force it. He should focus on what they have, not what they lost. Kal is right here, he's not gone.

We're bondmates, we'll get through it.

It's another four months before Kal kisses him. Zeb wasn't expecting it - he never thought Kal would make a move without the return of the lost memories - but he's not complaining.

Zeb gives him a questioning look when Kal pulls away, and realizes that Kal obviously wasn't expecting himself to do that either.

"I um- I'm sorry I-"

"You don't have to apologize for kissing me," Zeb says with an easy smile, before deciding maybe he should take this a bit more seriously.

"You don't have to try and like me you know, I won't lie and say I won't be hurt, but I'd hurt a lot more if you start forcing yourself to do things you don't want on my account." Zeb explains, and gives himself a mental pat on the back for being such a mature adult about the situation.

"I wanted to, it's just-" Kal cuts himself off. Zeb waits for Kal to explain in his own time. There's no rush.

"I don't want to disappoint you." Kal says, so quietly that even Zeb has a hard time hearing them. He does hear them though, and it's a load of bantha shit.

"You'll never disappoint me,"

"I can't promise that I'll get my memories back, and-"

"I don't need you to remember, I just want you to be happy, whether that includes me or not" Zeb says, and he is so getting an A+ in communication today.

"I would like it to include you," Kal admits and Zeb grins.

"Then I'll be here until you want me gone." Zeb says and this time when Kal kisses him, he returns it with glee.

Hoth was a horrible choice for a rebel base, which Zeb knows is probably why it was chosen but that doesn't mean he has to like it. They've had power outages and system failures for their entire stay, the cold is not kind to their technology, and this time it's the heating system that's gone.

Zeb wasn't supposed to be on the Ghost, he told Hera he'd return to his and Kallus' room, and even though they both knew he was lying, again, she turned the systems off in hopes it may drive him out. They're inside the hangar so he wouldn't freeze if he did stay, and so Zeb stayed. He may have gone into the room to take holos and grab things but he can't sleep in their bed knowing Kal is in the brig.

Because of this, Zeb doesn't know the heating was off until he gets a comm from Hera explaining the situation. She also pointedly states that she tried to tell Zeb in person, in his room, but he for some reason, didn't answer the door or appear to be in there. Zeb ignores all that in favour of muttering curses under his breath as he gets out of his bunk.

He needs to get to Kal, the brig isn't known for being warm with the heating, so with no heating it must be frigid. Zeb knows Kal would be fine, this isn't the first time the heating's gone out since the rebels set up here. However, this is the first time it's gone out since Kal lost his memories and Zeb really wants to make sure he's okay.

And he is okay. He's awake and it doesn't look like he managed to fall asleep before the heating went out, but he's okay. Kal perks up when he sees Zeb approach the shield.

"I thought you went to bed." Kal says.

"Heating's gone out, wanted to check on you." Zeb replies as he gets the shield lowered and steps in.

"Oh." Kal says. He seems to still be shocked everytime Zeb shows compassion, and this time is no different.

"Scoot." Zeb says as he climbs into the bed before pulling Kal into him and draping the thin blanket over them. Should have stopped to grab some blankets from our room, he thinks, but it's too late now. Kal seems to be warming up nicely anyways.

"Why would you pick such a cold place without ensuring your heating would be foolproof." Kal asks, and Zeb laughs.

"You helped." Zeb points out, and Kal pouts a bit and frowns. Like every time before, Zeb can almost see the gears turning as Kal tries to remember the event Zeb is talking about. Zeb waits patiently, but Kal shakes his head and sighs before leaning back into Zeb.

"At least you're warm." Kal mutters, and it's not long after that before he's fallen asleep. Zeb follows shortly after.

Zeb wakes slowly, the heating still hasn't kicked back on yet but the bed is nice and cozy with the two of them wrapped up like this. Zeb takes a second to appreciate it. He hasn't had Kal in his arms like this in so long, it's nice, and he doesn't know when or if he'll get this again.

The lights turn on as the morning cycle starts and Kal starts to stir.

“If we ever move from Hoth we’re going somewhere warm.” Kallus mumbles.

“What?” Zeb asks. He never told Kal where they were. Sure he mentioned the planet was cold, and he’s sure there’s been stray snowflakes caught in his fur sometimes when he’s come to visit, but Kal should not have been able to figure it out from that. He’s smart, but there’s gotta be a limit somewhere. Zeb can’t stop himself from getting a bit hopeful that Kal remembers something.

"Zeb?" Kal asks, waking up a bit more now. There’s an expression on his face that Zeb can’t place, but it doesn’t help his attempts to squash his hopes.

"Yea?" Zeb’s heart is racing now. Zeb watches as Kal’s face flits through a series of minute expressions before his eyes slip close as Kallus whispers his name and leans in. Kal hasn't kissed him since that first time when he didn't seem to realize he was doing it until he did. Now though, this seems all very intentional. Kallus is kissing him the same way he used to after Zeb had been on a mission for a bit longer than necessary or when one of them had a close call. Zeb gets a bit lost in it before he realizes Kal is muttering something against his lips.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't believe I forgot you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I got caught like that, I didn't know they could do that, I'm sorry,"

"Hey hey, you remember?" Zeb asks, sitting up and in turn bringing Kal up with him.

"Yes, I'm sorry I ever forgot. How did you even stand to be near me at the start like that? I'm -" Zeb cuts him off by pressing their cheeks together and rubbing, letting out a small purr at finally being able to scent him without the fear of it scaring him away.

"Doesn't matter anymore, you remember now, and you better remember next time you try and run off on your own like that again." Zeb says.

"Of course."

"What jogged your memory?" Zeb asks as he moves them to settle back down after he notices Kal’s arms getting little bumps on them. Kal called them something once, but Zeb can't remember, he only remembers that it meant Kal was cold.

"I don't know, maybe falling asleep next to you in the cold? Worked before"

"You mean like that ice moon over Geonosis?" Zeb can't think of any other time, but that time wasn't really making Kal remember anything, just telling him to ask questions.

"Bahryn, yea, reminded me who I am as a person" Kal explains as he rests his head against Zeb's chest.

"Well if I knew that would work I would have turned the heating off months ago." Zeb says.

"I'm sorry you went through all that." Kal says again, his voice soft.

"Not your fault, 'S the Empire's." Zeb says.

"Shouldn't we tell someone that my memories returned?" Kal asks after a couple minutes.

"Not yet." Zeb says as he squeezes Kal a bit closer. Kal hums and settles in.

#kalluzeb

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shadowsxgwynriel · 1 year

Text

Mistaken Identity

Day 1: Meet Cute 🥰 @sjmromanceweek

Gwyn tries to help Nesta breakup with a clingy guy, but Gwyn accidentally dumps the wrong man.

Ship: Gwyn and Azriel 💕

Word Count: 1,822

Read on AO3

“So, let me get this straight,” Gwyn said. “You want me to go and dump some guy for you? One that I haven’t even met or knew you were dating?”

“Pretty much,” Nesta confirmed.

“And why can’t you do it?”

“I tried!” Nesta insisted. “But Dave keeps crying and hyperventilating every time I mention the word breakup. One time, he even got on the ground and begged me not to leave him. In public. Do you know how many people were staring at me like I was a heartless bitch?”

Gwyn winced in sympathy.

“And when I tried to text him that we were over, he just ignored it! I don’t know what else to do. We’ve only been dating for two weeks, so I don’t know why he’s acting like this. I mean, most of the time I forgot he even existed!”

Well that explained why Gwyn had never heard of him until now.

”Maybe he’ll miss the sex?”

“Ha! We haven’t even had sex!”

Gwyn frowned. “Really? What about other things?”

She snorted. “We barely even kissed. It’s like I’m a toy that he wants to look at, but doesn’t want to play with.”

“What happened to your no relationship rule?”

“He put me on the spot. I said yes without thinking. But he’s not . . . he’s just not my type.” Gwyn had a feeling that she was about to say he wasn’t Cassian. She wondered how long Nesta would deny her feelings for him. “I really want to be single again, so will you help me out? Please?”

“Fine,” Gwyn said with a sigh. “I’ll breakup with him for you.”

~~~

Gwyn looked around at all of the cubicles. She normally wouldn’t show up at anyone’s place of work, but she figured that he couldn’t possibly make a scene around his colleagues.

“Excuse me, could you tell me where Dave’s desk is?” Gwyn asked a balding man.

He looked away from his computer with a tired face, reminding Gwyn of a zombie. His eyes squinted as if he wasn’t used to human interactions. “Who?”

“Uh, Dave?” She didn’t know his last name, but surely he had to know who he was, right? There couldn’t be that many people who worked in the building with the name Dave.

“Oh. Him. His desk is right next to the water cooler.” Without another word, he went back to typing on his computer.

Okay then.

She found the water cooler and came to a halt. That’s because the man standing at the desk was absolutely stunning.

He was wearing an all black suit and had his dark hair slicked back, though a few strands were out of place, like maybe he had a habit of running his hand through it. His face was polished and classically beautiful, and he had golden-brown skin with piercing hazel eyes. No man had the right to be that perfect.

What was she doing? She was here to dump him for Nesta, not ogle him.

He was busy looking over a file of some kind, so he hadn’t noticed her yet. Gwyn took a deep breath to steel herself, then she approached him.

Though she almost reached his shoulders, she still had to tilt her head just to look up at him. Gwyn tried not to blush as he gazed down at her. She tried even harder not to wonder if he liked what he saw—coppery-brown hair, big teal eyes, freckles. It shouldn’t matter to her what he thought.

“Hey, so, I’m very sorry to be the one to tell you this, but . . . Nesta doesn’t want to be with you anymore,” Gwyn told him in a kind yet strong voice.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up a hand and shushed him. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, like this was the first time anyone had ever silenced him.

“No, no. There’s no need for you to speak, Dave.“ She placed her hand on his muscular arm—and okay, maybe her touch lingered for longer than necessary. “It’s best if you don’t try to contact Nesta anymore. In fact, it’s probably better if you just delete her number.”

His lips twitched and Gwyn figured it was time to leave. She didn’t want to risk him causing a scene.

“I’m sorry that things didn’t work out between the two of you, but I’m sure that you’ll find someone who is perfect for you.” She gave him a sympathetic smile before turning to leave.

That hadn’t been so bad. It was actually pretty easy.

Gwyn stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. The doors were in the process of closing when a hand suddenly stopped them. Her eyes widened when Dave joined her inside the elevator.

It was just the two of them, so admittedly she was a little concerned.

Gwyn cleared her throat. “If you try anything, just know that I have a black belt in karate.” That was a lie, of course, but she didn’t have to know karate to kick him in the balls.

He ignored her and reached out to press the emergency stop button. Her jaw dropped. There was no way he actually just did that. Just how crazy was this Dave guy?

“Are you serious?” Gwyn questioned him. “You and Nesta went out for two weeks! Don’t you think you’re overreacting? I mean, why can’t you just get broken up with like a normal person?”

“I think there’s been some confusion,” he said, leaning against the wall like he wasn’t completely batshit. Also, how dare he have a deep and sexy voice when he was holding her hostage?

“And what confusion would that be?”

“I’m not Dave.”

Gwyn laughed nervously. “What? Of course you are . . .”

“Afraid not.”

“But you were at his desk!”

“I was looking something over.” She recalled that he had been looking at a file when she approached him.

“So then . . .” Gwyn was almost scared to ask. “Who are you?”

The man—not Dave—smirked. “Azriel. And you are?”

“Gwyneth,” she mumbled. “Look, I’m sorry about, you know, mistaking you for someone else.” She bit her bottom lip nervously. “Um, can you start the elevator now?”

He eyed her long enough for her cheeks to heat. She had to fight the urge to squirm under his keen gaze.

Finally, he nodded. “Sure,” he said, restarting the elevator.

She frowned as something occurred to her. “Aren’t you worried you’ll get in trouble?”

Azriel outright laughed. “I don’t think I’ll have anything to worry about.”

Cocky bastard.

But as it turned out, he was right. Nobody said anything to him when the doors opened, despite the long line of people waiting to get on the elevator.

“There’s Dave over there,” Azriel told her, pointing at a man who just entered the building.

Gwyn squinted. Dave wasn’t Nesta’s type at all. She was honestly surprised that he even managed to get a date in the first place. It wasn’t that he was unattractive, but he just looked so mundane.

“Great, guess I can dump him after all.”

She left Azriel standing there and caught up to Dave as he was signing in at the desk.

“Dave?” Gwyn asked. She would double check, just to be sure this time.

“Yes?” he said cautiously. “Do I know you?”

“Not really. I’m a friend of Nesta’s.”

His eyes brightened. “I can’t believe I actually get to meet one of Nesta’s friends.”

“Yeah, just listen,” Gwyn said. Unfortunately for Dave, she had used all of her patience on the accidental breakup with Azriel. “Nesta doesn’t want to see you anymore.”

His face dropped. “Wh-what? But she can’t! We were just starting to become a serious couple!”

Okay, so clearly this guy was delusional. And he was starting to draw attention to them.

“Mr. Winston, if a woman sends her friend to breakup with you, then shouldn’t that tell you something?“ Azriel interjected.

Gwyn jumped. She was too busy dealing with Dave, that she hadn’t even realized he had followed her.

Dave paled, and started to fidget nervously. “S-sir!”

“Sir?” Gwyn whispered in confusion.

But Azriel had heard her. He smiled at her. “Did I perhaps forget to mention that I was the CEO?”

She stared at him in disbelief, mouth agape. “CEO?”

He nodded, amusement clear in his eyes. Well, she was glad that he seemed to find levity in the whole situation, because she was completely embarrassed.

“Why are you still here?” Azriel asked.

Her cheeks heated. “I-“

“Not you, Gwyneth. I meant you, Mr. Winston. Why are you still here when you should be upstairs working?”

“Oh, yes, of course. I’ll go right away, sir!” Dave started to rush off.

“Oh, and Mr. Winston?” Azriel called, stopping him. “Don’t contact this Nesta woman again. She’s obviously not interested, so leave her alone. Do you understand?” His tone was full of authority, making her shiver at the sound of it.

Dave turned bright red. “I-I understand. I won’t contact her anymore.”

“Good. You can go now,” Azriel told him, and Dave took off like the floor was on fire.

While he wasn’t looking, Gwyn slowly inched her way to the main door.

“Leaving so soon, Gwyneth?”

She sighed, figuring that maybe he wanted another apology. “Just Gwyn is fine. And once again, I’m really sorry for earlier.”

“I like Gwyneth. It’s a beautiful name,” Azriel said.

“Uh, thanks.”

“Can I walk you to your car?”

“I don’t have a car.”

He frowned. “Then how did you get here?“

“I took the bus.”

Azriel looked at his watch. “I have a meeting in thirty minutes. I’ll have my driver take you home.”

“Thank you, but that’s really not necessary.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that my intentions are purely selfish.”

Gwyn raised an eyebrow. “How’s that?”

“I want to take you out on a date,” he informed her causally. “And in order to do that, I need to make sure that you get home safely.”

Wait a second. “Did you just say you want to take me out on a date?”

“I did.”

“But why?”

Azriel smiled. “What can I say? You had me hooked from the moment you opened your mouth.”

Gwyn couldn’t help but return the smile. “Well . . . I guess maybe it would be nice to get a ride home. If you’re sure it won’t be too much trouble?”

“Of course not. And how about that date?”

This wasn’t how Gwyn pictured her day going, but she certainly wasn’t about to complain. Nor was she going to turn down a date with a very attractive man.

“Does tomorrow work for you?” she asked him.

“Just one sec.” Azriel pulled out his phone and typed something, presumably a text or email. “My schedule just cleared up,” he told her.

“Then, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

His eyes gleamed with something that made her pulse race. “I look forward to tomorrow, Gwyneth.”

#sjmromanceweek2023 #gwynriel #gwyn berdara #azriel #meet cute

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corrodedcoffinfest · 19 days

Text

Let's get a little practice before the full event in July!

Here's a prompt for the 15th of each month leading up to the event to work out the kinks and get into the rhythm of the event!

APRIL 15TH - TAXED

It's tax day. Do they need to pay their taxes? Is this a write-off? Or, are they just taxed from being on the road? Tax them.

MAY 15TH - GET A JOB

Put 'em to work. First jobs, side hustles, etc. Surely they've had some other jobs besides being in the band. Tell us about them.

JUNE 15TH - BAND ON THE RUN

Are they late for a gig? Running from monsters in the Upside Down? On a tour from hell?

Same guidelines as the full event will apply:

GUIDELINES:

Ideas for works include: fic, art, gifsets, fanvids, moodboards, edits, playlists, or anything else you can think of to celebrate Corroded Coffin! For fics, there is a word count minimum/maximum of between 300-1000 words. We'll use wordcounter.net to check the word counts before reblogging, so make sure you stick to that range!

This will blog will comment with a 🦇 when your fic has been checked for word count and queued for reblogging.

All submissions should include any pairings featured, content rating and any content warnings (CW) or tags that you think are appropriate. Please put the prompt you are fulfilling as well, just to keep things straightforward. A sample could look something like this:

Prompt Day 9: The Hideout, Word Count: 666, Rating: M, Pairing: None, CW: Underage Drinking, Recreational Drug Use, Tags: Corroded Coffin, First Gig, Partying, Eddie, Gareth, Jeff, Freak, The Hideout

Also, please consider putting any explicit material under a read more cut, because anything rated E that's not hidden under a cut will not be reblogged.

For the artists! Your art submission must be posted on the same day as the current prompt in order to be reblogged by this blog. Your piece of art (or other creation) must be Corroded Coffin focused, using any combination of the guys, together or solo. Of course, other characters can be included, too! But you need to have at least one of the CC band members in it for it to count for this event. Thank you!

All ships are welcome, as long as they include at least one member of Corroded Coffin: Eddie, Jeff, Gareth & Freak. (Who I look forward to learning the name of from you all, time and time again!)

Please tag us here @corrodedcoffinfest when you post your work for the day so we can reblog it!

Be respectful of your fellow participants and readers. We're all here to have fun and share the love of all parts of Corroded Coffin.

Definitely feel free to ask me anything if the rules weren't clear in places, or if I straight up forgot something (or if you just have anything else you'd like to ask). You can send an ask/message to this blog or reach out to @thisapplepielife.

Please submit your post by 11:59 PM EDT on the day of the prompt in order to not be missed for reblogging.

If posting on AO3, please feel free to use the collection associated with this event: Corroded Coffin Fest AO3 Collection after your submission has been reblogged by this account.

FULL EVENT COMING IN JULY.

#corrodedcoffinfest #corroded coffin #mod post #rules #guidelines #eddie munson #gareth stranger things #jeff stranger things #freak stranger things #warm-up rounds #stranger things event

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in-my-feels-probably · 1 year

Text

Empyrean - Chapter One

Chapter 1

A/N - Please read the prequel first if you haven’t, and remember that this fic is a sequel! Check out Ineffable first and give it a read before starting Empyrean :)

—

Elham scrunched up her nose as the stench of the Barrel filled her nose. The further her and the Crows walked into the city, the worse the smell got. It was enough to make the pigeons’ eyes water, forcing them to find solace in one of the many clubs Ketterdam had to offer. Elham had nearly forgotten just how bad it was, wishing she had something to cover her nose with. The air was cold–but somehow humid, too–clinging to her bare skin like a wet blanket.

“I can’t believe I forgot my coat on the ship.”

“I don’t know how you did that,” Jesper snickered, throwing an arm around her shoulder. “You can borrow one of mine when we get back to the Crow Club, alright? Besides, it was high time you threw it out, anyway. It wasn’t doing you any favors, darling.”

Elham dug her elbow into Jesper’s side, making him whine. “It was my favorite coat. I’ve had it for longer than I’ve known you.”

“Then you definitely needed to throw it out,” Jesper mumbled, running a hand up and down his side.

Barely five minutes off the ship, and Elham was already regretting stepping off. She rolled her eyes, increasing her pace to catch up to Inej. She linked her arm with hers, the two now walking side by side. Kaz led the group, with Jesper trailing behind, still pouting from Elham’s attack.

“Home sweet home,” Jesper drawled out, moving to walk next to Elham again. “Straight off the boat from Ravka, and no one was waiting to kill us as soon as we arrived. Yay! That’s a good sign. I think I might celebrate with a little dice and debauchery.”

“No debauchery,” Kaz spoke for the first time since deboarding.

“Dice, then.”

“No dice. We have stops to make.”

Elham sighed, feeling her nerves beginning to increase. She didn’t mean to sound so snappy, but being back in Ketterdam was making her skin crawl. Too much had happened since they left, and too much could go wrong with their return. Jesper was just trying to lighten the mood, as always, but it was only further souring Elham’s mood.

She spoke through gritted teeth, taking a calming breath. “Jesper, darling? Dial it back a little, for my sanity, if nothing else. I just spent weeks babysitting you, and I didn’t get paid for it. Let’s focus, yeah?”

Inej ignored the bickering between her friends, letting go of Elham to match Kaz’s stride. “What’s first? Tante Heleen?”

Elham flinched at the name. Her eyes flitted to Kaz, who had a look of determination on his face as he kept his eyes forward. If he was anxious, he wasn’t showing it. Elham wished she had his ability to hide her emotions like that. It certainly would make their return easier, especially with the consequences of her deal she made with Heleen beginning to catch up to her.

“We get to the Crow Club,” Kaz said, turning down an alleyway.

The Crows followed close behind him, walking the familiar streets to their home. Elham had almost forgotten just how dark the city was, save for a few streetlights. It was a lucky thing the alleyways were shortcuts, or her paranoia would have doubled moving through rival gang territory. When they finally turned the corner to the street the Crow Club was on, Elham furrowed her brows in confusion.

The spot where the Crow Club sign hung was gone, replaced by a circular green sign with a crown logo interwoven in the center. Kerch writing wrapped all the way around the perimeter of the sign, and Elham had to squint to read it as they got closer.

“The Kaelish Prince?” She said exaggeratedly, more so reading aloud than asking a question.

“What sort of name is that?” Jesper asked as he stopped next to her, his confusion matching hers. “Where’s our sign?”

“It’s been replaced…Dime Lions,” Kaz said in realization as he focused on the man guarding the door, who had a lion tattooed on his neck.

Inej took a subconscious step back towards Elham. “Pekka Rollins owns the Crow Club?”

Jesper shook his head in disbelief. “Where does that leave us? Are you saying we have no home? But, my suits. All my hats!”

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Elham grimaced, her heart pounding in her chest.

She hunched over, resting her hands on her knees. If Pekka owned the Crow Club, what else had he gotten his hands on? Did he know they were back in Ketterdam? Did he take over the club just to spite Kaz. Oh, Saints, she thought. Kaz. She turned her eyes to Kaz, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Elham shakily stood up straight, taking a cautious step toward him. “Boss?”

Her voice seemed to pull him from his thoughts, and he quickly turned around. “Split up. It’s not safe.”

Just as they all turned around to leave, a shrill whistle blew a few feet away from them. Suddenly, the Stadwatch came through the alleyway, cornering them with only one exit point near them. Elham reached for the hilt of her sword, when the men began unholstering their pistols.

“Halt! Your four, hands up!”

“Shit,” Elham mumbled, letting go of the hilt. She looked between her friends, who appeared to be just as equally confused as she was. Deciding there was no easy way out of this, Elham reluctantly put her hands up in surrender.

“Kaz Brekker,” one of the men said, pointing to each of the Crows as he walked down the line. “Jesper Fahey, Inej Ghafa, and Elham Creed. Only a matter of time before you turned up.”

Kaz put his hands up as the Stadwatch drew nearer. “Is there a problem?”

“For you? Yeah. You’re wanted for murder.”

“What?” Elham asked in shock. “I think I’d remember killing someone in the ten minutes we’ve been back, sir.”

Jesper kept his hands raised while the Stadwatch kept a gun on him. “We didn’t do anything! We just got back in town. Unless it’s a crime to kill Volcra.”

The man scoffed, choking out a laugh. “Very funny, gunslinger. Now…slowly, hand over those shooters. You, give up the cane, and you, hand over the blade.”

One of the men came to stand next to Elham, grabbing the hilt of her sword. He pulled it out of its sheath, handing it to one of the men behind him. Elham seethed silently, already itching without her sword. She had just gotten one back, and now it was already being taken away from her.

“And you, spy–” he said, turning to Inej, before letting out a gasp. “Oi! Where’d she go?”

The men all turned to look around, some peering up at the rooftops. Elham stifled a chuckle, just now noticing the absence of her friend beside her. One of these days, Inej was going to have to teach her how she does that.

“Yeah…she does that,” Jesper smirked with pride.

Elham nodded, grinning. “Cool, isn’t it?”

“Three’s enough for now. Come on,” the leader of the Stadwatch said, signaling for his men to grab and cuff the Crows. “Off to Hellgate to await trial.”

Elham’s grin fell as cuffs were slapped on her wrists, along with Kaz and Jesper’s. She sighed as the men led them to an armored carriage, making them pile in one by one. Elham was last to enter, her eyes widening when she realized the carriage was full of nothing but men. The only seats left available were one next to a man with a hat pulled down far enough to shield his face so that Elham couldn’t clearly see him, and one next to Kaz. She quickly moved to sit next to Kaz, barely having sat down before the carriage lurched forward. Her forearm pushed into his side as she nearly fell over, and she quickly withdrew it.

“Sorry,” she anxiously muttered under her breath, trying to press herself as close as she could to the man on the other side of her, giving Kaz as much room as the confined space would allow. Kaz said nothing, giving her a stiff nod.

Jesper sighed in frustration, looking back and forth between Kaz and Elham. “Let’s all go back to Ketterdam. It'll be fun, they said. Now I’m off to Hellgate. Hellgate. Pekka’s got his grotty fingers in every part of that pie. We end up there, we’re as good as dead.”

The man on the other side of Kaz fidgeted, his bare forearm brushing up against Kaz’s side. As they went over a rickety part of the road, his hand pushed up against Kaz’s thigh. Elham winced as she noticed, sliding further away from him again, choosing to press herself up into the side of the man next to her.

“Little lady,” the man croaked out, his breath reeking of whiskey. “Come any closer, and you’ll be in my lap. Not that I would mind, though. What did a pretty little thing like yourself do to get locked up with the likes of us, anyway?”

“Piss off,” she snarled, cringing when he moved his cuffed hand to grip her thigh. “You’ll be missing a few fingers if you don’t get your hands off of me. I won’t be giving you another warning, so I advise you to choose wisely. Got it?”

The man let out a dark chuckle, squeezing her leg harder.

Elham saw red, pulling her wrists as far apart as the chain would allow to tighten its slack. She reached up to grab the center of the chain, squeezing it as she heated it up just enough so that it would burn to the touch. In one graceful swoop, she dug the chain overtop her thigh and under the man’s fingers, wrapping it around his pinky and ring finger. Twisting as tight as she could, she yanked in a downward motion until she felt the tips of his fingers pop out of their joints.

With a final twist–and the heat of the chain–the tip of the man’s pinky and ring fingers came clean off.

The heat of the chain seemed to cauterize the wound, so it didn’t bleed. But it must have hurt like hell, because the man involuntarily stomped and nearly drove his foot through the floor in shock. He let out a wail, drawing his hand close into his chest in pain. Before he could scream for help, she raised her elbow high, driving it into his temple.

In one strike, he was knocked out cold.

The other men in the cart didn’t seem too fazed, keeping their eyes settled towards their laps. They were apparently smarter than the moron who had the unfortunate circumstance of finding himself sitting next to Elham. Jesper, on the other hand, looked at the sight in front of him in pure shock. There was fear behind his eyes, but also amusement. He was clearly impressed. He clapped his cuffed hands together, laughing at the man unconscious next to Elham.

“Tough luck, mate. Serves you right, though. Did your Mother never teach you to respect a lady? She did tell you to piss off.”

Another bump in the road, and the men inside the carriage were once again jostled around. Despite her best efforts, Elham couldn’t keep her shoulder from brushing up against Kaz’s shoulder. The heat she radiated seemed to lessen the effects that touch had on him, but the man on the other side of Kaz was cold and clammy. He brushed against Kaz yet again, and Kaz let out a choked gasp.

“Boss?” Jesper asked uneasily.

Elham kept her voice as low and calm as she could. “Kaz? Kaz, breathe.”

Kaz desperately gasped for air, his entire body rigid. Elham watched him in horror, turning her eyes to meet Jesper’s. He looked just as scared, not knowing what to do. He turned to the barred window at the front of the carriage where the Stadwatch could be seen.

“Hey, stop this wagon! Now!”

Elham felt her heart sink into her stomach as Kaz leaned forward, trying to get as much of his body away from the other prisoners as he could. Elham leaned forward, speaking as softly as she could to him. He was practically shivering.

“Kaz? Kaz, listen to me. You’re alright. You’re alright, you’re right here with me, I promise. You have to try and breathe for me, love. Kaz, please.”

Elham rubbed her hands together, trying to create as much heat in her palms as she could without actually sparking a flame. Not touching him, she hovered her palms over Kaz’s arms and shoulders as close as she could, praying that he could feel the heat well enough that it could distract him enough to calm down. Jesper banged on the wall of the wagon with his cuffs, shouting for the Constable to stop the carriage. He didn’t stop banging until the wagon screeched to a halt.

Within a few seconds, the Constable had opened the back of the wagon to peer in with a less than amused face. “You three. Out!”

Jesper grinned as he met Elham’s gaze, before looking at the prisoners. “Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure.”

Elham stood, quickly hopping down and out of the carriage. Jesper followed, with Kaz right behind him. Kaz was covered in a light sheen of sweat, and he took a grounding breath as he was finally free from the carriage. He stopped to stand next to Elham, but wouldn’t meet her eyes. She took what she could get, gladly trading his passive demeanor for what looked like a scared caged animal that she had been locked up with just moments ago.

The Constable moved to close the door, before he peered back inside the carriage once more. “What…what the fuck? Will one of your dimwitted morons pick up that man’s fingers from off the floor? Saints, I hate this job.”

He snapped at one of the other guards to do it, before motioning for Elham, Kaz, and Jesper to walk ahead. They were led inside what looked to be a very expensive estate, and escorted to what Elham assumed to be the dining room. The guards pulled out three chairs and lined them up in a row, before grabbing each of the Crows by the shoulder to force them to sit.

Elham ripped her shoulder from the guard holding her, now wishing more than ever that she had her coat to cover her bare shoulders. “I’ve got it! You can stand down.”

“Watch the coat!” Jesper whined, taking a seat in the far left chair.

Kaz was forced into the far right, with Elham sitting in between the two. The men backed up once the Crows were seated, standing guard while the Constable moved to stand in front of them.

“What’s all this, then?” Jesper asked, sounding just as annoyed to be there as Elham and Kaz were. Although, it certainly beat the inside of that carriage, which smelled like a tavern floor.

“Somebody paid good kruge to spend some time alone with you three.”

Suddenly, the door on the far side of the room swung open, and Dreesen stepped through with a fervor. “Criminals.”

Kaz had finally collected himself, back to his usual uncrackable self. “Dreesen.”

Dreesen smirked as he stalked into the room, followed by a few guards. He asked for a few minutes alone, and the Constable reluctantly agreed, only after being handed a wad of cash. One by one, the Stadwatch filed out, until there was no one left but the Crows in their chairs, and Dreesen with his guards.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened?”

Jesper raised his cuffs like it was an obvious question to be asking. “We’ve been framed for murder?”

Dreesen scoffed, stalking closer. “I’m not asking about that. Where is Alina Starkov?”

Kaz narrowed his eyes at Dreesen, before looking away like this conversation was beneath him. “We don’t have her.”

“You left with an advance on my million kruge with passage on my ship. And you dare to return empty handed? The deal was meant to include one Sun Summoner in exchange for the advance. And you step off the ship with no such person in your possession.”

Kaz’s eyes discreetly flitted around the room to look at each of the bodyguards as he listened to Dreesen. Elham followed his line of vision, looking at each of the men one by one. Her search stopped when she landed on one of the men standing off to the side, with an emerald cufflink attached to his coat. She squinted at him, trying to get a better look. He looked so familiar, so much so that Elham huffed in frustration when she couldn’t put her finger on it. She turned to meet Kaz’s gaze, ever so slightly nudging her shoulder in the direction the man was standing. Kaz imperceptibly nodded, silently telling her that he had noticed something, too.

“Clearly you must have something of value to me or else you would not have dared–”

“It wasn’t your money, Dreesen,” Kaz interrupted, looking away from the man with the cufflink. “You were brought in as an intermediary. Someone to hire the likes of us. But this operation wasn’t yours. It was his. Wasn’t it?”

Everyone’s attention was now directed to the man standing with his hands crossed in front of him.

“Outrageous–”

“Yes, totally convincing,” the man mused, cutting Dreesen off. “Thank you, Dreesen, but I’ll take it from here…that was me politely telling you to get out. Now, go on.”

Dreesen scoffed, looking between the man and the Crows. Finally, he nodded for his men to follow him. The rest of the guards left the room with Dreesen, leaving just the Crows and the mystery contractor in the room. Able to better focus on him, Elham couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew this man from somewhere.

“Well, this is much easier,” he said, setting his hat down as he began taking his coat off. “Tell me, what gave it away?”

“You dress too well for a bodyguard. And you were hanging on every word like it was your money on the table. You wanted to hear our story, but we don’t know you. We know him. Dreesen. So, you kept up the charade until now. My question is…who are you?”

The man raised a brow, like he was actually surprised his identity had yet to be revealed. “What, you don’t know me? Maybe in profile.”

As he turned to the side, Elham narrowed her eyes at him again. From the sound of his voice, to his mannerisms, to the way he articulated his sentences, he was so familiar, and it was on the tip of her tongue. He cut in before she could figure out the truth.

“No? Very well. The name’s Sturmhond.” Jesper nodded in realization. “I’ve heard of you.”

“Yeah, I should hope so. He’s a very rich pirate. A privateer, actually, it’s an important distinction.”

“Rich enough to get me another coat?” Elham asked, rubbing her hands together. “I seem to have misplaced mine.”

Sturmhond grinned at her, but Kaz interrupted before he could answer. “The question remains, why is the Sun Summoner so important to a privateer?”

“You may not be aware, but half the world is looking for her. Or even just confirmation of death. And the reward has gone up. Twenty million to hand her over to Fjerda. Turns out they weren’t particularly pleased with Kirigan and the Sun Summoner’s plan to weaponize the Fold.”

Elham flinched at his wording, remembering all too well the plans the Darkling had in mind for her to use her powers to weaponize the Fold. A wall of fire and darkness, incinerating and destroying everything in its path, or leaving what it didn’t light up to the Volcra. The might of her powers, reduced to a force she couldn’t control. The thought made her skin crawl.

“I could buy lots of coats with that reward,” Elham deflected, her tone sarcastic. “Forgive me, but I’m not seeing your point.”

“Where is she now? I know you’ve been in contact with her.”

Jesper shook his head, groaning. “We don’t know where Alina is. She’s gone.”

A quiet clink of metal sounded next to her, and Elham looked down to see that Kaz had slipped his way out of his cuffs. He kept his hands in his lap, not showing that he had removed them yet. She playfully rolled her eyes, holding out her joined wrists in front of him. Kaz glared at her, but she just shook her head.

“He heard you slip the cuffs, Kaz.”

Sturmhond nodded, grinning. “If I had time, I’d insist you tell me how.”

Elham turned back to Kaz, jingling the chain connecting her wrists. “See? Now, if you would be so kind as to remove mine, I’m afraid the Constable put mine on quite tight. I’ve been slowly losing circulation for about an hour now.”

Kaz rolled his eyes, dropping his cuffs to the floor. Silently, he reached for the chain to pull her wrists closer, only fiddling with the cuffs for a few seconds before hers were on the floor, too. Without a word, Elham turned to Jesper, slipping a lockpick out from the inside of her boot.

“Gross,” he muttered.

“Do you want them off or not?” She asked impatiently, and he reluctantly held his wrists out for her to take. After a few moments, she grinned victoriously, and Jesper’s cuffs were the final pair to hit the floor.

“Fascinating,” Sturmhond said while pouring a drink as he watched the Crows free themselves. “Anyway. My intel informs me the Sun Summoner was wearing this when she entered the Fold. It’s part of the Queen’s collection. A well known piece…the fabled garnets of Ivets.”

He picked up a jeweled necklace, the one Alina gave Kaz as payment to keep quiet about her whereabouts. Elham internally groaned at the sight of it. Of course the one form of payment they had would be taken from them. It was just their luck. Sturmhond approached them, holding it up in a way that felt like it was taunting her.

“Either she used this to pay you off to keep quiet about where she was going, or you found her bloody corpse and stole it off her neck like vultures.”

“How dare you?” Jesper scoffed, feigning offense. “We are not vultures. We are crows…and that makes more sense with context. But my point is, we’re not grave robbers.”

Kaz and Elham shared an exasperated look, and she rolled her eyes as she turned to look forward again. Sturmhond grinned giddily, as if he had just solved the last piece of a puzzle that led to the location of the treasure. In a way, he actually did.

“Which means it was a payoff, so you know where she went. Now, if you tell me, I’ll give you twenty seconds alone here before the Stadwatch comes back in.”

Jesper chuckled. “You can’t bribe us–”

“Leave the necklace,” Kaz interrupted, keeping his eyes on Sturmhond. Give us twenty seconds and I'll tell you.”

Sturmhond laughed, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “The bribe she paid you to keep quiet about her next move, in exchange for her next move. I like it.”

“Kaz,” Elham bristled, getting his attention. “You’re not serious?”

He couldn’t be serious...could he? After all that work to get Alina out of the Darkling’s clutches, Kaz was just going to let her be captured again. As far as Elham could tell, Sturmhond was doing what they were hired to do in the first place: capture the Sun Summoner, and sell her to the highest bidder. Elham wouldn’t have reacted as strongly a few weeks ago to a proposition like that. A fake Saint for a million kruge seemed worth the trouble. But an actual Saint? And a victim of the Darkling at that, just like Elham was? It was too far, even for her. What would Inej think, when she finds out they willingly handed over a Saint? Elham cringed at the thought, silently trying to get Kaz to see reason. She should have known better. Money was just about all that drove him now.

Money…and revenge. And if he was ever going to get his revenge against Pekka Rollins, he needed money to do it. The necklace was his way in, and he was taking it. In a way, Elham couldn’t blame him.

But there was a small part of her that couldn’t push down the guilt she was feeling. A part of her that ached for the little girls of the world who fall victim to men with power and authority, like with Alina and the Darkling. Like the Darkling and her. How could she just let Kaz hand Alina over? But then, Elham was hit with a sudden realization, one that made her blood boil and tied her stomach into knots.

Kaz was just as much a victim to powerful men who abuse their authority as she was. He deserved revenge just as much as she did.

The only difference between her and Kaz was, he had nobody to protect him. Elham first had Baghra, and then the Crows. She met Kaz so young, and he had protected her ever since. But who had protected him? Who was there for him when he needed someone the most, when he and his brother fell victim to Pekka Rollins’s tricks? No one. The revenge he so desperately wanted, he had to get alone.

At least, that’s what he thought. He had Elham now, who had just as much hate in her heart for Pekka Rollins as Kaz did. And she had vowed to help him, whether he wanted it or not. Brick by brick, Pekka Rollins would be torn down until all he knew was suffering.

Kaz needed this necklace to do it. And the only way to get it was to give up Alina. Elham understood now. Kaz needed this. He needed this, and he needed someone on his side to protect him. And Saints be damned, that person would be Elham. Even if she had to burn every bridge to get to him so that there was nowhere to escape after, she’d still do it. And despite her heart screaming at her, telling her that this was wrong…she let it go.

Alina was one of the most powerful Grisha in the world, and she had Mal at her side. She had people who would lay down their lives to save her. That was enough against Sturmhond if he truly had ill intent, so Elham made her peace with it.

Finally, she gave Kaz a nod. She didn’t have to say anything, the look on her face was more than enough to show him what she was trying to say. She gave him a look that said I know, and I understand. I’m with you.

Sturmhond cleared his throat, breaking the tension. “There’s still the mess of having to fence royal jewels.”

He tucked the necklace into his coat, pulling out a wad of cash in its place. Jesper gave Kaz an uneasy look, but Elham set her hand on top of his, silently telling him not to question it. Kaz watched the money passively, but Elham could see the spark in his eyes when he saw it.

“You three stepped off the Edam tonight,” Sturmhond prodded, looking for the information he needed before he was willing to hand over the cash. “Was she with you then? Is she in town somewhere?”

Kaz was quiet a moment, seeming to internally battle with himself on whether or not he should speak. The solution he needed to crush Rollins was so close he could quite literally reach out and grab it. And yet, he was hesitating. Perhaps he, too, was thinking of Inej, knowing she would consider it a betrayal. Maybe, the finish line was in sight, and he didn’t know if he had it in himself to cross it alone. Whatever it was, it was eating him up. And Elham couldn’t bear to watch him suffer. She took a deep breath, clearing her throat.

“You’re smarter than you look, aren’t you Sturmhond?” Elham asked, turning to him. “Alright, we’ll bite. She stayed on the ship to Novyi Zem.” Sturmhond grinned, dropping the wad of cash on the table as he headed for the door. “Thank you. Good luck.”

“Sturmhond,” Elham called, making him hesitate at the door before he opened it. “If I find out you’ve done something to hurt Alina…I’m coming for you. I want you to know that. I’ll find you, and that is a promise.”

Sturmhond watched Elham with curious eyes, before putting his hat on, tipping it towards her. “I’ll keep that in mind, Valkyrie.”

He was gone before Elham could say anything else. Kaz immediately stood, pocketing the money. Elham stood as well, offering Jesper a hand to pull him up out of his chair.

“For the record, we knew,” she said, before joining Kaz at the table. “About you being a Durast. But I figured you’d rather have me take off your cuffs than let Sturmhond see you do it for yourself.”

Jesper narrowed his eyes at her, an uneasy grin on his face. “How?”

Kaz spoke like it was obvious, and to him, it probably was. He had only just hinted at it to Elham on the ship back to Ketterdam when her own suspicions arose.

“Your gun misfired in Arken’s train. You fixed it without moving. You repaired my cane with no tools. And when you shoot, you never miss. Of course I knew.”

“Why didn't you tell us?” Elham asked softly, not wanting to pry about it just yet.

“You’re not the only Grisha not too keen on telling the world about their powers. Let’s leave it at that, yeah?”

Elham let out a sad sigh, moving across the room until she collided with Jesper. She wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing him tight. He let his arms rest around her shoulders, hugging her into him. She let her cheek rest against his chest, giving him a final squeeze, before letting him go.

“We won’t tell anyone. I promise. But if you do ever feel like talking about it, I’m more than happy to listen. Alright?”

“Alright,” he agreed, before his eyes softened on her, his tone solemn. “Why’d you give up Alina, darling?”

Before Elham could answer, Kaz beat him to it while barricading the doors with chairs so that the Stadwatch couldn’t get in. “Don’t place the blame on her. If she didn’t fess up, I would have. He’d already deduced it. He knew the name of the ship that we were coming in on. The best we could do is get our money back.”

“And Alina?” Jesper asked. “She’s half a day ahead, and he’s a pirate. We should warn her.”

“How? And where do you intend to post a warning? She could be anywhere by now. We have enough on our plate here.”

“I have faith in her,” Elham noted, trying to be of some comfort. “If the day ever comes, I’ll apologize to her in person. I’ll even go after Sturmhond if need be. But Kaz is right. There’s nothing else we could do, he probably would have found her without us anyway. We’re no good to anyone rotting in jail or dead, and we needed that money, Jesper. I won’t apologize for doing what was best for all of us.”

Suddenly, there was a bang at the door, followed by the sound of the Stadwatch guards shouting at each other. They pushed at the doors, and the barricade started to give way.

“Shit!” Elham stammered, grabbing her sword off the table and sliding it back into its sheath. “Twenty seconds, what a load of bullshit. I’m hitting him next time I see him.”

“Window,” Kaz pointed, and the Crows one by one began piling out.

Elham went last, making sure everything they needed was grabbed off the table. Jesper held out his hands for her, motioning for her to hop down so he could catch her. She landed on the ground below the window with an oomph, before steading herself by holding onto his forearms. Elham bristled as she felt the cool air prick her skin, pulling the scarf from around Jesper’s neck off to wrap it around her shoulders.

“Where to?” Jesper asked as they hurried away from the estate, not having enough time to scold her for stealing it from him.

Elham could see her breath in the air as she huffed. “Let’s all be clear on something. Nicking me a new fucking coat is priority number one.”

–

A/N - Hi! New chapter up! I hope you enjoyed this, forgive the slow start. This is maybe halfway through episode 1, so I have a feeling this fic is gonna be much longer than Ineffable, but that’s also because I think I write more descriptively now. I don’t know if you can tell the difference, but hopefully my writing has improved. I think it’s a little meh in this chapter, but that’s just because I’m having to get into setting up the sequel, so hopefully it goes smoother as the plot moves. Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! Let me know what you think :)

#kaz brekker x oc #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x elham creed #elham creed #ineffable sequel #ineffable #empyrean #in my feels probably #chapter 1 #chapter one #sequel #six of crows #six of crows x reader #six of crows imagine #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone

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fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

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Little Dragon - 19

Summary: You were a child slave of Meereen, when one day a silver haired woman sets you free. Though your master isn’t too keen on letting you go, and Daenerys took personal action to see you freed and taken care of.

(Warnings: Fluff, fluff, and guess what? MORE FLUFF!!:3)

High Valyrian is in cursive

Dress:https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/281543719052873/

Daario’s gift:https://co.pinterest.com/pin/192880796532589610/

Crown:https://co.pinterest.com/pin/AbN0ixO56v2Wj6H6PxtKFaYsPF36hQ4JkyUMKwjcjzDKr5UdXRjz6dM/

Hair:https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/AXxDcTImMu_iN63SHq1HSC3LOrYhgMY3rlTckUReYLp67G2EGy39O8Y/

Throne:https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/309622543126026921/

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Looking into the mirror as the final touches on your hair was being made by the servant behind you, Elise, a short woman with red hair and brown eyes. There was a knock on the door and Elise glanced at you through the mirror walking to the door and opening after you gave her a nod. You got out of your chair as the door was opened, turning to see Tyrion and Gray Worm, a soft smile forming on your lips at the sight of them near each other and Tyrion’s throat uncut. “Your Grace, you look beautiful” Tyrion complimented as he bowed gracefully, a small smirk tugging on your lips “you’re not half bad yourself, Lord Hand” you teased lightly, your eyes turning to Gray Worm who stared at you with a deep frown, making your own smile fade as you began to grow concerned. “What is it?” you asked with concern and you swore you saw tears in his eyes before he blinked them away “your mother would be proud, Your Grace” he stated calmly and now it was your turn to feel the stinging of tears in your eyes, a smile forming yet again on your face as you walked over and hugging him briefly. “Missandei would be proud of you” you whispered as you put a hand on his shoulder before turning to Tyrion. “Is everything in place?” you asked gently as Elise walked over to you, silently asking if she could continue her work and you nodded, walking over to your chair and sitting back down, Elise getting straight to work on your hair. “Yes, Your Grace. Yara Greyjoy and the Ice Waters have returned. House Yronwood of Dorne has come to pledge their allegiance at your coronation, Robin Arryn has arrived as well with the same intent and so has Bronn…” Tyrion listed off and you nodded softly, frowning ever so slightly at your own reflection. So few houses were left, the Martells were gone so Yronwood took over Dorne as the second largest house, Robin Arryn was but a boy, Bronn was… well as Tyrion put it; ‘Bronn is Bronn’. “Another one has arrived as well, from Essos, the ship is about to dock in the ha-” you flew out of your chair at the thought of seeing Daario again, Elise barely managing to keep up with you as you ran through the hallways, your skirt lifted up so you wouldn’t trip on it, Tyrion feebly trying to catch up with you while Gray Worm relaxed and walked at a casual pace after you.

You couldn’t stop grinning as you saw him talk with one of the Unsullied you had sent to get him. His beard had gotten a bit longer, so had his hair and you forgot who you were as you sprinted towards him and jumped up, wrapping your arms around him as he spun you around while hugging you, Elise, Tyrion and Gray Worm catching up, the first two staring in shock at the new queen who was being spun around like a little girl, while Gray Worm allowed himself to smirk briefly, very briefly, at the sight. “You came!” you exclaimed as you were finally put down, Daario placing his hands on your shoulders as he looked you up and down “of course I came, Little Dragon! I would never miss your name day” he stated with a smirk, grinning as he made you chuckle lightly. “How is Mereen?” you asked with a small frown, Daario giving you a sad smile “I’ve heard nothing of slavery since you and your mother left… the people have begun to elect a new ruler, they’ve formed several laws and is currently putting them in place… the Second Sons are hardly needed there any longer” Daario informed and you nodded softly as you walked with Daario off the docks towards Tyrion, Elise and Gray Worm. “The Second Sons… they want to come to Westeros, (Y/N), I’ve talked with several of them and they all agree that they want to serve you” Daario added, heat filling your cheeks as you looked down with a soft smile “that’s very kind of them, but I don’t think the realm could afford it-”

“No, they won’t be paid, they only want to be part of your Queensgarde” Daario stated with a smirk, watching you as your eyes went wide in shock as you stopped, turning to look at him. “M-Me? Why?” you asked with shock, Daario chuckling “most remember when you ruled Mereen while Daenerys was gone, (Y/N). Even back then you were a just and fine ruler, besides, most of them want to see the famous Westeros and King’s Landing” Daario noted with a sly smirk, making you chuckle lightly “if that’s what they want, they’re more than welcome, but Brienne must meet them all and give her opinion on them… and what about you, Daario?” you asked with a small frown, stopping to look at him as he looked at you with soft eyes. Daario almost began to kneel but you quickly ushered him up, cheeks burning with embarrassment “don’t do that! You don’t need to do that!” you hissed, Daario chuckling as he got back up and continued to walk by your side, Elise and Gray Worm walking behind the two of you while Tyrion had left when you stepped off of the docks, seeing as Daario had all but ignored him. “Why not, Your Grace?” Daario asked through his own laughter and your cheeks got even hotter “because-... that’s what the people of Westeros do at the coronation! I-I’m not a queen” you stated with a huff, pouting lightly which made Daario chuckle “yet” he added in a teasing tone and you rolled your eyes, stopping and turning to face Elise and Gray Worm “Torgo Nudho, could you please show Daario to the barracks where he can get some rest?” you asked calmly, Gray Worm nodding and approaching Daario who smirked and patted Gray Worm’s shoulder as the two of them went off.

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Sitting at the head of a table outside felt… strange, to say the least. Daario was sitting at your left, Tyrion to your right as you didn’t have anyone else to sit with, Daario making you laugh and chuckle, occupying your mind so you didn’t think too much of it, he didn’t want you to dwell on the fact that he was just about the only one you had left. “When do you sail back to Mereen?” you asked while taking a sip of the wine in your goblet, Daario tensing up as he frowned at you “what do you mean? I’m not going back to Mereen” he stated with a nervous chuckle, putting his own goblet down to look at you, finding you already looking at him with a sad smile. “Yes you are… until a new ruler is elected you have to keep the peace and order, you know I’d go myself if I didn’t have the responsibility of King’s Landing” you pointed out, watching Daario as his smile faded, his gaze returning to the decorated table as he thought about it. “(Y/N)-”

“Daario, it was my mother’s wish… once it’s fulfilled, you’re more than welcome here, you know that… my mother only had a few wishes, to get rid of slavery, rule King’s Landing fairly and make sure that slavery will never rise again, especially not in the cities she has liberated. She can’t rule King’s Landing and she has already gotten rid of slavery, now it’s up to us to make sure it stays this way, peaceful, free” you stated softly, Daario sighing as he looked down briefly before nodding, looking back up at you as he leaned back in his chair “as you wish, Your Grace” he mumbled and you gave him a soft smile “don’t be like that, please” you begged softly, seeing him nod once more as he forced a smile on his lips “you’re right, Little Dragon” he murmured and you blushed, looking down as you smiled only for your attention to snap back to him as he patted the table loudly before standing up. Everyone’s attention shifting to Daario as he walked around the large table you sat at moving to stand in front of you as he pulled something out from a hidden pocket, walking over to stand in front of you, the table in between as he neatly laid it out in front of you, your eyes scanning over what appeared to be some form of jewelry with red and white stones, made of gold. “Once, when I was a young man, before I met your mother, the late Queen Daenerys, I served briefly under a Braavosi noble woman as her bodyguard. I saw her wear this, forgot about it when I moved on with my life, but a stunning piece such as this should never be forgotten, neither shall (Y/N) Targaryen, First of her name” Daario said loudly with a proud smirk, people clapping as he moved back to his seat, sitting down as he picked up the piece with gentle hands.

Daario carefully slid it on your left hand and over your middle finger and wrist, securing it with a smirk as you stared at it with wide eyes and a grin that started to make your cheeks hurt. You wrapped your arms around Daario and hugged him tightly, hearing him chuckle lightly as he gladly hugged you back. “Happy nameday, Little Dragon” he muttered quietly so only you could hear, tears threatening to spill over and run down your cheeks as you parted from him, “Daario, I thought I told you I wanted no gifts?” you asked quietly as you admired the piece, Daario merely smirking “I had it already made” he lied and you rolled your eyes but accepted the gift anyway with a smile.

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Your chest felt heavy as you watched the people gather in the hall, it felt as though your knees would buckle at any moment, letting you fall to the ground where the Iron Throne had once been standing, now melted and gone, you had ordered it to be melted into something useful, something the people could use, a new throne standing in it’s scorched place. You gulped lightly as you watched them create a path, the remaining nobles and highbornes standing to the side of the hall as the new High Septon arrived, a tall, lanky old man dressed in white robes, with more gray and white hair on his cheeks and chin than on his head, his expression one of indifference. There were dragon banners hanging behind you, Gray Worm standing to your left with what would be your crown soon, sitting comfortably on a beautiful black cushion. As the High Septon reached you, you bowed and courtesies as you had been taught, hoping that when you lifted your head you wouldn’t see malice in his eyes. You slowly lifted your head, almost daringly, your eyes meeting his and you saw a faint smile, your heart nearly stopping with relief as you stood back up as he walked past you to Gray Worm. He picked up the crown and your eyes returned to the people in the hall, heart beating harder than before in your chest, your palms sweaty as the High Septon walked over to you, holding the crown above your head. “I give you; (Y/N) Targaryen, first of her name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoyner and the First Men, Protector of the Six Kingdoms of Westeros, Queen of the Realm and the Last Dragon, long may she reign!” the last words were echoed in the hall as you felt the crown be placed on your head, it was heavier than you thought it’d be, tears in your eyes as you looked out over the hall, people chanting ‘long may she reign’, a small, proud smile on your lips as you basked in it. She would have loved this, she would have watched from the sidelines with a proud smile on her lips, standing next to Missandei as they both watched you with pride, (Y/N) Targaryen, Queen of Westeros. You could almost see her out of the corner of your eyes, standing there, clapping with a proud smile on her face and tears of joy in her eyes, chanting along with the others in the hall. You sat down on the new throne and the hall began to grow quiet, your eyes scanning the crown nervously as Tyrion stepped forward, his pin neatly on his chest. “If anyone wishes to pledge themselves to our new Queen, I believe this is the moment for it” Tyrion stated loudly and you had to bite your lips together to not chuckle at his choice of words, your eyes moving to the center as someone stepped forward, the young boy from the Vale, Robin Arryn. “Queen (Y/N), the Vale is yours, now and forever” the young boy said loudly as he kneeled, a smile forming on your face as you nodded “thank you, Lord Arryn, you have my faith, trust and gratitude” you replied softly, watching the young boy nod as he stood back up and walked back in place, next was house Yronwood, the Dornish man stepping forward as he bowed his head and kneeled as well. “Queen (Y/N), Dorne is yours, now and forever, long may you reign” he stated as loudly as he could and you smiled softly “thank you, Lord Yronwood, I can only hope Dorne will flourish in the coming years” you stated with a bow of your head, the Dornish man standing up with a smirk “it will under your reign, Your Grace… you know, I have a son about your age-” Anders Yronwood as cut off as Gray Worm took a step closer while gripping his dagger, only to halt as you raised your hand, amusement clear on your face as the entire hall waited with bated breaths. Would you laugh? Order his execution? Imprison him for insinuating such a thing?

You chuckled lightly as you nodded to Gray Worm, watching him stand back as you looked back at Lord Yronwood. “I’m flattered, My Lord, but I want the realm back on it’s feet before I think of such things” you stated with amusement, the hall chuckling lightly as Yronwood nodded and stepped back into the crowd. You couldn’t help but smile as Yara stepped forward, smirking lightly at you, about to kneel when you shook your head and stood up. “I’m flattered, Lady Grayjoy, you stood by my mother, I remember seeing you in Mereen… to see you kneel when you’ve earned so much of my respect and love wouldn’t feel right,” you stated as you walked down the few steps and walked towards her as she stood back up with a small hint of confusion. “Thank you” you muttered as you reached your hand out to her, as your mother had done, and Yara smirked when she noticed the resemblance, gripping your wrist as you gripped hers. “The Ice Waters are yours, now and forever, Your Grace” she stated loudly with pride, making you smile as you gave her a thankful nod. You turned back around and walked back to the throne, sitting down on it and nodding lightly, watching Yara join the crowd once more. Your eyebrows quirked up in surprise as you saw someone you didn’t recognise, your gaze moving to Tyrion who looked somewhat shocked before turning to you. “Ser Bronn of the Blackwater, Your Grace” he stated before looking back at Bronn, your eyes moving back to the man as he nodded. “Your Grace, I think it’s safe ter say you’ve done well for King’s Landing in the year you’ve been ‘ere, I have been serving as a Master of Coin in the small council which I would like to have the honor of again, if you’ll have me, and I think it’s obvious by now but my sword is yours” he stated casually, unlike the other lords and Yara who had a sense of pride, a larger-than-life type of air around them. “And I’ve heard many good things about your work as Master of coin, your wish is accepted and I hereby entrust you with the wealth of the city, you’ve done a good job before, let’s continue that, shall we?” you asked half jokingly, the hall chuckling as Bronn smirked and chuckled lightly “with pleasure, Your Grace. Though I don’t have any sons ter offer ya” he stated jokingly and you laughed briefly “thank you, Bronn” you stated with a smirk, watching him nod and walk back into the crowd.

You smiled as Gendry stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back until he bowed his head and kneeled “Queen (Y/N), the Stormlands are yours, now and forever” he announced and you couldn’t help but smirk “thank you, Lord Baratheon. You’ve done both me and King’s Landing a great service in the year you’ve been here, helping us repair, get back to the way life was before, thank you” you stated softly, watching him get up with a nod and walk back into the crowd, another face walking up, looking slightly hesitant. “My Lord, if you don’t want to pledge yourself, you don’t have to…” you stated loudly, Tyrion leaning a bit closer, letting you know this was Edmund Tully, Catelyn Stark’s brother, uncle to the now Queen of the North. “Lord Tully, pledge yourself to your niece instead if you’d like, you are under no obligation to follow me, the Riverlands are a part of the North” you announced loudly, the man studying you before nodding softly, hesitantly kneeling while you stared at him with confusion, standing up before he could begin to talk. “Lord Edmund Tully, there’ll be no repercussions if you leave now and pledge yourself to your niece, no one will blame you. Remember that before you do anything, if you pledge yourself to me, I’ll expect you to uphold that oath” you stated in a serious tone as you walked closer to him, hearing his ragged and unsure breathing as he kept his head low. “Edmund…” you kneeled down to be at his eye level, seeing him tentatively raise his head to look at you “go, be with your family and niece, don’t pledge yourself to someone else when you have your niece waiting in the North” you said quietly, watching his eyes as he narrowed them at you. “Queen (Y/N), the Riverlands are yours, now and forever, that is my oath and that is what I will fulfill” he stated loudly and you sighed softly “I’m touched by your decision, Lord Tully, if you’re sure it’s what you truly want then I’ll gladly accept it, thank you” you stated softly, putting one of your hands on his shoulder as you stood up, prompting him to follow. “Thank you for your trust” you added, watching him nod before walking back into the crowd, a sigh leaving your lips as you walked back to the throne and sat down on it.

You frowned lightly as you watched Daario walk from the crowd to stand in the front, right in front of you, a soft smirk on his lips. “Didn’t think you’d get through this thing without me, did you? I’m uh, not so sure what the Westerosi culture is, this whole kneeling thing, though I know you lot don’t like foreigners…” he stated with a smirk as he glanced around quickly before looking back at you, kneeling on not just one knee, but both. “Queen (Y/N) Targaryen, Your Grace. I served your mother, from Yunkai to Mereen… I ask that you allow me to follow you now, to wherever it’ll take me, my death, happiness, peace, as long as it’s in your footsteps” Daario spoke softer than the others, tears forming in your eyes which you quickly blinked away, clearing your throat “stand, Daario Naharis, you’re welcome at my side whenever you want, all I ask is that you promise to do what I asked first” you stated with a small frown, hearing him scoff as he stood up “when did I ever fail your mother?” he asked rhetorically and you smiled softly, subtly nodding your head to where he had been standing before, a smirk on his lips as he bowed his head and walked back to his spot.

#Daenerys Targaryen #Daenerys x Kid!Reader #Daenerys x Reader #GoT #Game of Thrones #GoTfic #Little Dragon

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brainyxbat · 2 months

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Chapter 1: Luffy vs. Karoo! Usopp Comes to Terms with his Feelings!

(episode 68/69)

It had been a couple days since the crew left Whisky Peak with Vivi, and so far, everything was smooth sailing. Until... "Oh!" Nami perked up while outside with Vivi, when the sails stopped moving. "The wind stopped again. "Just when we should be rushing straight for Little Garden, too. We're temporarily stopped again."

"Time is running out as we speak too," Vivi remarked.

"Don't worry," Nami assured, "I know we need to get to Alabasta as soon as possible, but-"

"Alright!" Luffy exclaimed enthusiastically. "Let's fish! Fish!" Karoo cheered with him, before they joined Usopp on the railing.

"Hey, anyone seen the bait?" Sanji asked around, and held up an empty bucket.

"Bait?" Luffy came over. "Oh, the stuff in there? I ate it."

"You ate it?!" All that was left for bait was a measly grub. "Those were bugs, you know!"

Luffy grabbed it out, and stuck it in his mouth. "Yeah? They taste good!"

"Don't eat stuff like that!" Usopp scolded.

"Now what?!" Sanji exclaimed angrily. "We can't fish, now that you've eaten our bait!"

"Use this, then!" Luffy held up a brown fuzzball.

"We can't catch anything with that!" Sanji yelled.

"Really We can't?" He pointed to Karoo. "Then how about him?"

"Oh, that sounds okay," Sanji obliged, to Karoo's terror.

He attempted to make a run for it, with Luffy and Sanji chasing after him around the mast. "Hey, you! Come here!"

"Get back here, bait!"

"Dammit, you guys!" Zoro yelled after having his nap interrupted by Karoo trampling him. "Knock it off!"

Nami sighed in exasperation. "But can't you guys be a little worried, at least?!" She scolded, making the chase stop.

Luffy had his arms around the duck's neck. "Worried about what?"

"Oh!" Sanji gushed. "Nami-san is lovely when she's angry too!"

She laid her hand on her forehead in frustration. "Honestly now!"

"But it's strange," Vivi commented, "For someone with a 30 million berry bounty, he doesn't seem that terrible of a person at all."

"Yeah, it might be hard to imagine, but he's beaten many big names. Arlong, the Fishman who was bent on ruling the East Blue; Pirate Fleet Commodore Don Krieg; Captain Kuro, an unknown pirate notorious for his cunning methods."

"You forgot one," Zoro reminded, "A Marine freak who wields a huge axe-hand."

"Oh! Axe-Hand Morgan!"

"Axe-Hand Morgan?" Vivi was surprised. "I've heard of him before. I heard he's a Marine captain who's feared in the East Blue for his overwhelming domination. You're saying he beat even him?!"

During the struggle to tie Karoo up, Luffy couldn't help but overhear. "Oh! The old axe-hand guy! That reminds me, I wonder what that guy with him is up to now." While he was distracted, Karoo managed to slip away. "I wonder if he's still at that Marine base."

"Who's "he"?" Nami asked.

"Yeah! His name's Koby! He's my friend!"

Venus descended from the bedroom, now in a new outfit with high plaits. "Hey Vivi, can I take Karoo for a short ride?"

"If he's okay with it, I am," Vivi grinned, "His reins and saddle are in the cabin.

"Okay, thanks! I'll ask him!" She trotted down the stairs, and grabbed them out; oblivious to the newly continuing struggle with the sniper, she approached the duck. "Karoo, can I ride for a little bit, please?"

Usopp became so distracted by her presence, he loosened his grip on their intended bait, allowing him time to slip away. "Okay, here we go. Tha- oh!" She managed to put his reins and saddle on him, but her gratitude was cut off by him frantically flipping her onto his back with his beak, resulting in her sitting backwards, and started running all around the ship to avoid the guys. "AAH!! Help!" She screamed through his quacking. "Vivi, help!"

"Karoo, slow down!" Vivi scolded, but went unnoticed. "She's sitting backwards!"

She struggled to hold on by his feathers, but managed to turn herself around, and pulled the reins back; she let out a sigh of relief when he slowed down. "Okay, I'm good now!" She beamed.

Luffy ran up to the sniper, and noticed the duck was gone. "Hey, where's our bait?"

"Venus-chan's riding Karoo," Usopp replied, and watched wistfully, as the ride slowed to a steady walk, "We'll wait until she's done."

"Agreed," Sanji nodded.

"But I'm hungry! I want fish!" Luffy whined. "And he's our only bait!"

"Well, whose fault is that?" Usopp sneered, and quickly returned to watching.

"Yeah, if you hadn't eaten our other bait, we would have fish by now," Sanji scolded.

Usopp quickly tuned them out, as he watched the young witch. The way the sun shined down on her green hair, and ivory skin; she sure was beautiful. "Hey, Ve-!!" He slapped his hand over Luffy's mouth, before she could notice him calling for her.

"Just let her finish!"

"Fine," He sulked, as Usopp returned to watching, er, more like admiring.

After a while of scaling the decks, and gazing at the ocean, Venus decided to end her joyride. "Okay Karoo, I'll let you rest now. Thanks for the ride." She began to lift one leg to disembark; but one look at Luffy's grin of anticipation made him throw her back on. "Oh! You want to keep going?" She giggled. "Okay then! Cool with me!"

Luffy sneered at him behind her back, as the ride continued. "She'll have to get off sometime, y'know."

"You like giving rides, huh?" Venus cooed, as she petted his feathers. "You're very good at it."

Usopp watched dreamily, with his elbow on the railing. "She's so sweet," He swooned, "And so cute."

Sanji smirked in his direction. "My friend, you truly have been bitten by the love bug."

"What? N-no, I haven't."

The cook rolled his eyes at Usopp's denial. "I was there to hear everything yesterday, dumbass. I won't tell Venus-chan, but I can tell you like her. Trust me; I'm an expert at these things."

"Sanji-"

"I know that look when I see it. You're smitten, and you know it, moron."

With a little hum, Usopp went back to admiring her silently. "You oughta be getting tired by now, so I'll let you go." Luffy grinned widely again, leading the duck to, yet again, hoist her back up. "Karoo!" She laughed. "We gotta stop sometime; I hate to tire you out."

Luffy sulked in frustration. "He's a clever bastard."

Later on, after a couple more attempts to end the ride, Venus was still at it. Involuntarily. No matter what, anytime she went to step down, he would force her back up. What was up with him? "Karoo, I'm getting hungry," She groaned, "Don't you need a break?"

Luffy glared daggers, as his stomach growled with famishment. When Karoo taunted him with akanbe, he had enough. "That's it! I'm not waiting any longer! Ride's over!" He stretched his arms forward, grabbed Karoo's legs, and yanked him over.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one suffering from his recklessness; Venus flew off of his back, and with a scream of terror, she fell into the ocean! "Idiot!!" Sanji shouted, as the sniper made a mad beeline to the railing where she had fallen. "She can't swim!!"

"Sorry!" Luffy called out while tying up the large duck.

"Venus-chan!!"

Zoro ran up, and stopped the sniper from jumping overboard. "Stay here! I'll get her!" He dove in, and seconds later, reemerged with the young witch, still conscious, over his shoulder. He wrung the water from his shirt, as she coughed and caught her breath. "Hey Luffy, quit being so reckless!"

"Don't worry, Venus!" Luffy successfully wrangled Karoo. "We'll have fish in no time!"

She glared at him, as she wrung out her braids, one at a time. "Great."

"Karoo!!" Vivi screamed in terror.

Sitting on the upper level ledge later that day, Usopp looked through a telescope out to the vast ocean. "Ah! I can see... a million Little Garden residents are out to greet Captain Usopp! The girls' high-pitched cheers, kisses being blown all over the place! Really, I'm so popular, that it's almost a crime. Don't fall in love with me, Mademoiselle; it's not my fault if you get burned."

Zoro grabbed an apple from the barrel, and walked away while taking a bite. "Are you stupid or what?"

"Stupid?!" Usopp began angrily kicking the wall. "Hey, I heard that, Zoro!"

"Cut it out!" Nami scolded from inside the cabin. "Keep it down, you guys!"

"Hey," Venus approached him curiously, "You see Little Garden already?"

"Not yet, Venus-chan," He grinned sheepishly, "Just predicting our arrival."

"Ah," She smirked, oblivious to his blushing, "Excited to get there, huh?"

"I-I suppose," He stammered nervously; and it wasn't just from the island's ominous possibilities. Venus looked so cute; her hair was in low twintails under a witch hat with a large bow. She was in a clean outfit after drying off from her former ocean plummet.

"No need to be scared," She assured, "I'll ward off anything that comes for you." She pumped her fist in determination.

He smiled down at her, as he set the telescope down. "Thanks, V." He then pumped out his chest with a proud smirk. "But Captain Usopp shall return the favor too!"

She giggled in her fingers. "Much appreciated, tough guy." She raised a brow when he peered into the window, but shot back up before anyone could see him. "Is Sanji almost done in there?"

"Possibly."

"Oh, cool!"

"Seriously..." After yelling at Usopp, Nami turned back to Vivi. "Sorry about that. So...?"

"Oh yeah, so it's like I was just saying," Vivi pointed to the map, "There aren't any islands, but it's easy to hit reefs due to elevated coral."

"I see. Thanks, that was helpful."

"You're welcome." She sniffed the air with a smile. "Wow, it smells good."

"Yeah," Nami agreed, as the witch joined them.

Sanji approached them with three platters each holding desserts for them. "Thanks for waiting. This is today's dessert, Tarte aux Poires. Bon appetit."

The girls, plus Usopp, admired his creations. "Wow! It looks delicious!" Nami and Vivi sneered at the intruder upon noticing his presence.

"Hey!" Venus grinned brightly at him.

"Yours is over there!" Sanji exclaimed angrily, pointing to his right.

"Hmm? Okay!" He ran to the platter with eagerness.

"Geez," He grumbled, then realized their captain was nowhere to be seen, "Hmm? Where's Luffy?"

"Oh, I asked him to draw water earlier," Nami replied, "Venus and I want to take a shower."

"Together?!" He beamed with excitement. Venus' eye widened at that; no way was she doing that! Not in a million years!

"No! Separately!" Nami snapped, then regained her composure. "I think he's at the water-drawing machine."

"No wonder he's been quiet." On cue, a huge quake rumbled all over the ship, startling Nami into spitting out her tea. "Or not."

"Ahhh, that scared me." Luffy emerged from the room. "That thing is dangerous!"

Everyone crowded outside to investigate. "What? What happened?" Nami asked.

"Ahh! Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed at the damaged exercise bike. "Why'd you have to break it?!"

"I was just trying to draw the water faster," Luffy defended himself, as he was pushed aside by the sniper.

"Oh, boy. The belt's been burned and broken."

"Yeah. I wonder what happened."

Nami jumped down behind him, and swung a punch to his head. "It's because of your ridiculous strength! Geez..."

"Can't it be fixed?" Vivi asked.

A disgruntled Usopp shut the door. "Well, we have to get materials from somewhere."

"Maybe Little Garden will have something?" Venus suggested.

Nami turned to Luffy with a sneer. "In any case, I probably shouldn't ask him to do anything. Usopp, could you get water from the other water-drawing machine for me?"

"Yeah..." Usopp brushed his hands off absently, before realizing what he just agreed to. "What?! Nami! Have you ever considered doing it yourself?!"

Luffy perked up at a certain scene wafting in the air, and looked at the upper deck. "I smell food!"

"And you," Usopp leaned in to the captain's face, "Show a little more remorse!"

"I'm sorry. But there's another one, so what's the big deal?"

"Saying something like that shows you're not sorry!"

"Shut up! I can't sleep!" Zoro complained.

Vivi noticed something up in the sky. "Nami-san, look."

Nami looked up to see a seagull perched on the mast. "Oh, the newspaper courier." It swooped down to deliver the paper, before flying off.

"That stupid Nami," Usopp grumbled, as he pedaled the water machine still intact under the right-side stairs, "Making me do all the hard work."

He looked up when a short-statured, hat-wearing shadow was cast in from outside. Venus. "How're you doing in here?" She asked genuinely.

"Been better," He mumbled, "Why do I get roped into these things?"

She rolled her eye in distaste, and leaned on the doorframe. "Nami's just lazy."

"Yeah. Not much we can do to change that."

"Do you want to take a break? I can cover for you."

"Oh, I couldn't ask for that," He nervously turned her down.

She frowned with sympathy. "Are you sure? I hate that you're having to do it all."

"It's fine, really," He assured, "I don't like it, but it's the way it is. Really, I'm fine." The last thing he wanted was for Nami to tear into her. And for what? For defending him out of her kind soul? If he had to exhaust himself working the water to keep Venus from suffering the brunt of Nami's wrath, then so be it.

"Well, if you're really sure," She reluctantly gave in, "I'm gonna go eat. I'll come back later, though."

"Thanks." After nodding, she walked off to join the others.

He smiled to himself through his pedaling.

She was so sweet.

By now, everyone, sans Usopp, was gathered in the kitchen. "At any rate, I can't believe they deliver the morning paper at snack time," Nami remarked, paying no mind to Venus' stink eye.

"That can't be helped, since we're traveling in the Grand Line," Vivi pointed out, "We should feel lucky that we still get news."

"I guess you're right," Nami smiled sheepishly. As she read, she tensed up at one particular thing.

"Did something catch your eye?" Vivi asked.

"What? Ah, no, not really," She tried to hide the story she was reading.

"I see." Nami expected her to press on for more information, but to her relief, that didn't happen.

However... "Ah!" A full-cheeked Luffy leaned into her personal space.

"Wh-what is it?"

"Here! Zoro, look!"

"Hm?" He looked up from sipping his tea.

"What? This is just a picture of the Marines."

"Yeah, but the guy in this picture isn't just anyone." Luffy pointed to a photo featuring two young recruits hugging each other in fear.

Zoro perked up at that. "Hm? Hey, it's Koby!"

"See?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.

"Koby...? That friend you were talking about the other day?" Nami asked.

"Yep! So what does it say?"

"What does it say? Let's see," She looked closely, "Vice-Admiral Garp's warship has arrived at Marine headquarters. The picture was taken right after they crossed over Reverse Mountain. Just as expected, Vice-Admiral Garp had a relaxed, imposed look; however, there were some young Marines whose faces were frozen with fear."

"Whoa... so Koby has entered the Grand Line," Luffy remarked.

"It said Marine headquarters," Zoro pointed out, "Not so bad."

"No matter what people say, he's a man who'll be a Marine mayor."

"Why would he want to become a mayor? Officer! A Marine Officer!"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"I see... so he's trying hard too."

"Be right back," Venus exited the room, smuggling some food on her platter, and made a beeline for the water work bike. She wasn't that hungry anyway, and Usopp needed to eat. She arrived at where he was, and tapped on the doorframe. "Knock-knock."

"Venus-chan?"

"Here, I brought you lunch."

"Oh, thanks," He smiled through his sweaty work, "I didn't think Sanji made anything for me, considering I'm still in here."

She glanced down at the food in her hands. "Well, he didn't," She confessed, "This is part of mine."

"What?! But I couldn't-!"

"You need to keep your strength," She gently lectured, as she entered the room, "And one of the best ways is to eat. You can't skip meals with this task." She held the tray between the handlebars. "It'll help you. Please?"

He sighed, and felt himself cave. "Okay, if you really insist. Thanks, V." He finally stopped pedaling, and began helping himself.

"I do appreciate you providing water," Venus said.

"Well, it's a pleasure." 'Providing for you,' he added mentally, as he ate.

That night, Nami was unable to sleep, so with the newspaper in hand, she sneaked out of bed, and tiptoed past Vivi. She shuddered at Venus, hair down and nightgown-clad, deeply asleep with Burton laid out on her scalp. Why did she have to have a tarantula, of all things? And why couldn't she keep him in his cage? Shaking her head, she quietly stashed the newspaper in a drawer, and turned to a sleeping Vivi. She only hoped they wouldn't get to Alabasta too late.

"Alright! Let's go!!" Luffy exclaimed... in his sleep. The boys were sprawled out in fishnet hammocks, all in deep slumber. "Little Garden..."

"Yeah!" Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji cheered in their sleep.

Just then, Usopp's mind started to wander from their destination, to one of his crewmates.

Venus.

More specifically, like last night, the realization he had about her recently, when leaving Whisky Peak.

"You have a crush on her!!"

"SHH!! I do not!"

"Do too! It's cute!"

"It's not cute!"

"Everyone can see it."

"Does your heart flutter around her?"

"Well, y-yeah, but-"