#mavin au

[shadeofazmeinya]

A Hiss in the Darkness

Summary:  A routine cave expedition for resources turns sour after an unexpected run-in.

‘Gavin almost doesn’t hear it, so faint in the dark as he is lost in thought. But the hair on the back of his neck stands up and the slow hiss creeps behind him. A sound that stops his heart as he realizes.

Creeper.’

A/N: For the @rtwritingcommunity‘s secret springfairy event! My fic is for @fornhaus. As always, reblogs and comments are always appreciated! Hope you enjoy!!!

“Have you found anything besides fucking cobblestone and coal?” Michael grumbles as they walk deeper into the mine. They had been in for hours to try to find anything valuable to bring back to the village. Jack is needing more iron to craft tools and Matt is asking for precious gems for reasons Gavin’s not gonna ask about. But despite how deep their mine is and how long they’ve been using it, today they just weren’t finding much.

 “Just coal,” Gavin says, raising his lantern to look around. The low light flickers around them, making the dark edges only more ominous. “Maybe we should go back up… It must be getting late.”

 “Let’s just try one more end,” Michael sighs. “Don’t want to come up with nothing.”

 Gavin sighs but continues with Michael. Walking through the dark cave in search of anything to provide their village. These mining expeditions were becoming more and more frequent, with needing to have more supplies. Their village was expanding a lot after all. Growing with new members and expanding in size every day. And while Gavin enjoyed all their new friends, it was nice to spend time with just Michael again. Maybe that’s why Gavin also doesn’t push to go back up even if he is getting tired. Just to have a bit more time with his boi.

 Of course, they are around each other often. They’ve been friends for years at this point. But it’s been… more than that recently. Likely due to Fiona pointing out Gavin’s obvious fucking crush the last time she visited. Gavin hadn’t (wouldn’t) considered the crush on his best friend but now he couldn’t deny it. He wanted to do more, but how? He won’t risk losing his friendship. Gavin is silent as he ponders his predicament yet again as they head into the darker tunnels.

 Gavin almost doesn’t hear it, so faint in the dark as he is lost in thought. But the hair on the back of his neck stands up and the slow hiss creeps behind him. A sound that stops his heart as he realizes.

 Creeper.

 It’s pure instinct after that. Gavin reaches for Michael, shoving him away as hard as he can. He throws his body over his. There’s no running. No time. Only instinct to save Michael from the blast.

 And the blast comes, a horrible explosion that rocks the cave. The force of it pushes them to the wall and Gavin’s whole body flares in white-hot pain. The air is punched right out of his lungs as he falls into Michael. He feels Michael duck into him, but can’t hear a sound as his ears ring. The whole earth shakes as rocks start to fall, the ceiling cracking and dust coating them.

 Silence. But it only lasts a moment, a breath.

 Then the ground shakes again.

 The walls vibrate and the cracks from the explosion deepen. Stretching down the walls, racing through the ceiling. Rocks start falling and they both pale realizing what this means. A cave in.

 “Move!” Michael yells, grabbing Gavin and yanking him. Gavin just tries to move his feet as best he can, blindly pushing his legs as Michael pulls him. But pain is flaring up his back, aching from the first blast making it hard to keep up. His lungs still burned as he tried to catch his breath.

 Gavin can’t see but the sounds of crashing stone behind them explains enough. He feels rubble at their heels, the whole cave collapsing in. They push up as best they can, jumping up steps as the walls groan. Then they see the entrance, a bit of light at the mouth. A strip of blue sky.

 And then it's gone.

 There’s a thunderous crash, rocks cracking and then folding in just at the entrance. They both fall besides it as the vibrating finally stops. The way behind was cut off and the way out firmly sealed. They were trapped.

 Michael curses, trying to dig out the rocks but Gavin reaches out and holds him arm. “Don’t,” he coughs, brushing dust off his face. “You could make it worse.”

 “Worse?!” Michael snarls. “How much fucking worse can it get?! Look at this! A fucking creeper took out the whole cave!”

 “I know,” Gavin sighs, sitting down as the pain catches up to him and it was taking too much to stand. “But you could collapse the rest of it. On top of us.”

 Michael snarls, hands clenching his fists but finally huffs and steps away. “What the fuck do we do then?”

 “Wait,” Gavin groans, resting back against the wall. “The others will come. They’ll notice we’re gone.”

 Michael sighs but turns to look at Gavin. Really look at him, seeing him grimacing in pain and the thin trail of blood on the side of his head. “You need help,” he frowns, sitting down beside him. “Let me take a look. You took the full brunt of that creeper. Which you didn’t fucking have to do.”

 Gavin just nods, sitting back but letting Michael shift over and start poking at him. “Didn’t want you to get hurt.”

 Michael scowls, gently lifting Gavin’s shirt up. “Well I can take it. I don’t fucking want you hurt.”

 Gavin’s too tired to argue. He rests his head back on the rock as all his energy just feels drained. His head is swimming and it's getting a little hard to focus on much. “M’sorry.”

 “Let me try to clean and wrap this with what we have,” Michael just sighs. “Lay down so I can look at your back.”

 Gavin groans as he shifts positions but manages to lay down. The lantern was warm besides him, providing the only faint glow around them. The shadows flicker far too close as the darkness seems to grow around them. Michael rummages around their packs and Gavin sends a silent thanks to Jack’s preparedness so that they have at least enough food and water if they’re stuck here a while. Though he dreads the thought of it too.

 Michael gets to work wiping off dust and debris and grabbing bandages Jack had thrown in the mining packs ages ago. It’s a careful job but he manages to at least wrap around the worst of the wounds. The pain stings but having it wrapped feels comforting in a way. Gavin is afraid to ask how bad it is, but Michael’s frowns say enough. Michael sighs and sits down as he’s done, glancing back at the entrance. Gavin reaches over to take Michael’s hand. Michael glances down to it and then offers a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “We’ll be ok, right?” he mumbles. “Just have to wait.”

--

 “Do you think they’re looking for us yet?” Gavin murmurs in the dark. It’s hard to tell how much time has passed. Enough that the lantern has fully gone out and they haven’t bothered to find a way to light it again.

 “Should be,” Michael sighs. He’s sitting besides Gavin, resting his head against the wall. Gavin’s laying down on his stomach, trying to keep off his back. It had been awkward at first, but then Michael had let Gavin rest his head onto his lap. Gavin tries to not think about the intimacy of it all, glad the darkness is hiding his blush.

 “Probably dinner time,” Gavin hums. “Fuck, I hope we don’t miss it. Geoff’s cooking is the best.”

 Michael snorts and hesitantly reaches down, brushing a hand in Gavin’s hair. Gavin blushes even more, but in his tired, hurt state, he leans into the touch before he can stop himself. Michael blinks and smiles softly. “I’m sure Geoff will save us some food. Or make new food after they get us out.”

 Gavin hums. “You think they’ll be able to get us out?” he murmurs, almost not even heard.

 Michael frowns. “Of course they will,” he huffs. Though really he doesn’t know for sure. Who knows how these walls will hold as they get the rocks away from the entrance. Their rescue could just as likely be their demise. But Michael isn’t going to tell Gavin all of this. “We have some smart people in our village. A lot smarter than us.”

 That earns a small chuckle from Gavin, though it turns into a groan as his back flares again. It makes Michael frown as he continues to brush his hair, gentle circles to soothe him. “We’ll be ok,” Michael assures.

 Gavin frowns. “If we’re not… I just…” Gavin reaches up, taking Michael’s hand and squeezing gently. “I want you to know-”

 “I know,” Michael assures. “Fuck, I’ve suspected for a while. And been told by others but I was too scared to believe them. And we’re both stupid and too scared to make a first move.”

 Gavin gives a small chuckle. “We’ve both been getting yelled at for it then? I’ve been told that you liked me just how I liked you, but I was never sure…”

 “Who wouldn’t?” Michael smiles. “You’re fucking funny and a good guy. And despite how stupid your face is, its attractive too.”

 “You find me attractive?”

 “Unfortunately, I do,” Michael chuckles.

 “Well, I find you attractive,” Gavin smiles. “If we get out of here, we’re going on a date.”

 “When we get out of here,” Michael corrects.

 “When,” Gavin hums, but it doesn't sound like he believes it. “Until then… Can I kiss you?”

 There’s a silence that twists Gavin’s heart, Michael not responding for a long moment. Gavin shifts, opening his mouth to back down, say it was a joke but suddenly Michael pulls him up and a pair of soft lips are against his.

 It’s soft, careful as they kiss for the first time. Both hesitant but slowly sinking into the feeling. Michael holds him close as Gavin wraps his arms around his shoulders. They both gasp for breath before pulling in again. Seeking each other.

 And then a voice cuts in. “Michael?! Gavin?!” a voice calls from the other side of the rubble. “Are you there?!” It’s Jack, sounding worried but it brings instant relief.

 They quickly pull apart but stay holding each other’s hand. “Jack!” Michael calls back. “We’re both here. Fuck, its good to hear you.”

 “Oh thank the Gods,” Jack sighs in relief. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

 “Creeper caused a cave in,” Michael explains. “Gavin’s back is hurt but we’re ok for now. We just need to get out past the entrance.”

 “I can see,” Jack sighs. “I’m going to get everyone else and come back. We need to move these rocks carefully. Are you ok if I leave?”

 “We’ll be ok,” Gavin speaks up. “Just rather not spend the night here. Bloody uncomfortable.”

 That earns a chuckle from Jack. “Ok, good. I’ll be right back.”

--

 It takes a few hours, well past sunset but slowly they get free. They had to slowly remove stones along the side until they made a hole big enough for them to squeeze through. There had been some debate about who would go out first but Michael won out and Gavin climbed through first to freedom. The second they are both out, Geoff is throwing his arms around them. “Thank the fucking Gods you’re ok,” he nearly sobs against them. “We were so worried.”

 “We’re alright,” Gavin chuckles, hugging him back. “Though, I would like to get home and bloody sleep for three years.”

 “Let me check out that back first,” Jack hums. “Then sleep. I think we all can use some.”

 After getting checked out, both boys were cleared to go home. But Michael took Gavin to his house and then didn’t leave. Still having that fear, the flashbacks of Gavin getting hurt. But also the gentle kisses that would be rather nice to continue.

 They both crawl into Michael’s bed, a little tight but they make do. They both smile, stealing soft kisses but not pushing it. Too tired to go any further and too happy to want to leave each other’s arms. “I’m so glad you’re ok,” Michael murmurs in the space between them.

 “I’m glad we’re both ok,” Gavin hums, burying against him. “Now we can officially go on dates.”

 Michael laughs, pulling him close and kissing his hair. “Now we’re going to go on so, so many dates.”

#rtwriting #ragehappy #mavin #minecraft au #a hiss in the darkness #writings #hope you enjoy!

[alfryco]

Got tagged by @miss-ingno! Thank you lovely :3 Sorry it took so long to do this, I was waiting for the RT Writing Springfairy event to be done!

Rules: List the LAST lines of the last ten (10) stories you published. Look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any. Then tag some friends.

1) A Love as True as Mine (Alfreyco, T, hurt/comfort Western AU)

With the warm reassurance that the person he loves feels the same and has his back just like he always has, he falls into the warm embrace of sleep.

2) To Shelter You (co-written with @confusedeevee; WIP, Alfreyco (and later Jackeoff), M, RT hybrid AU)

Their hands reach out to squeeze Michael and Alfredo’s, and then they lead them obediently back out into the lab.

3) I'd Rather Stay in Bed With You (Alfreyco, G, fluff GTA AU)

Both men fall asleep buried beneath the blankets of their bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. And if they don’t get up till well past noon that day then, honestly, who can blame them?

4) The World in My Hands (Alfreyco, G, hurt/comfort GTA AU)

His broken arm is resting between their chests, his ribs might be aching a little bit, and Trevor is almost falling off the bed but they both have to admit that there is nowhere else they would rather be.

5) To Hell With Good Intentions, To Hell is Where I'll Go (no pairings, M, horror GTA AU)

Because, even though he was put in a coma for two weeks, he still feels like he could sleep for a year. He lets out a deep breath and settles into the bed, finally safe at last.

6) Kind of Perfect (Rewrite) (Alfreyco, G, no specific AU just fluff)

Driving down the highway with the smell of salt and suntan lotion filling his nose, a cute boy in his passenger seat singing off key to some pop song, and Geoff’s barbeque in his near future Alfredo came to the conclusion that maybe this move wasn’t such a bad thing. That it actually might be kind of perfect.

7) Wolves Will Take Me Home (Mavin, T, hurt/comfort Werewolf AU)

The only sounds filling the room were those of soft breathing and two hearts connected, beating in time with each other as the rest of the world woke up around them.

8) In the Woods Somewhere (no pairings, G, Fantasy AU)

As his eyelids shut, with the sound of sleeping creatures around him, Dan’s last thought before being overcome by sleep was that it was a good thing to have met Gavin today and that hopefully he had all his limbs when he woke up tomorrow morning.

9) Lights Will Guide You Home (Jackeoff, T, fluff and angst AH Kings/Fantasy AU)

And with a sudden rush of relief and joy that almost knocked him off his feet, Jack realized he would be able to hear it for all of eternity until time itself decided to stop.

10) A Stray in the Wasteland (Stucky, G, Mad Max AU)

The man’s arms encircled his waist when he increased the bike’s speed. Bucky wondered what Natasha and Sam would think when they saw what he brought home.

I'm gonna tag: @confusedeevee, @jusst-you-wait, @futureboy, @everamazingfe, and @boulangerlee (you don't have to do it if you don't wanna, and for anyone else who didn't get tagged mutual or not you can do it you wanna!)

The most common thing I notice is that I love the hell out of comfy, happy endings where usually one or both people are asleep apparently. It's just so cute to make everyone fall asleep after they've had a rough time and they deserve it! You just can't go wrong with a good snooze!

Also (which tbh I already knew) I love me some fluff and hurt/comfort. That shit just hits DIFFERENT. And happy endings (even if the plot itself is sad).

#tag games #can't believe I have over 10 published fics #high school me would be so proud #thank you again missy for tagging me <3 #ur the cutest #anyone who wants to do this is more than welcome to do so!

[infosurbaines]

Don Jazzy réagit au concert de Burna Boy au Madison Square Garden

Don Jazzy réagit au concert de Burna Boy au Madison Square Garden

Le patron de Mavin, Don Jazzy, a profité de sa plateforme de médias sociaux pour réagir à l’événement historique de Burna Boy au Madison Square Garden. Le PDG et super-producteur de Mavin Records, Don Jazzy, s’est rendu sur sa plateforme de médias sociaux aujourd’hui, vendredi 29 avril 2022, pour réagir au concert à guichets fermés de Burna Boy « One Night In Space » qui s’est tenu au Madison…

View On WordPress

[astronamies-void]

Mavin AU #1 (Amie’s AU’s)

Cute AU, they could be together or they could be just really close friends! Or on the verge of something more

————————

There is a huge celestial event happening tonight that Gavin really wants to see. He begs everyone in the office to join him but everyone has their excuses (Already have plans, I got kids, I don’t want to, etc). He is bummed out because he really doesn’t want to sit in a big empty dark field alone with a telescope, his camera, and no one else.

He is starting to accept the fact that he’ll be going solo, that is until lunch time rolls around and in walks his Saving Grace: Michael.

Immediately Gavin is on him asking if he wants to join him, but in typical Gavin fashion he says so without actually saying what it is he wants Michael to do.

“Gav, slow down. Start again, what are you wanting to do??”

“Sorry, I’m asking if you want to join me tonight as I try to photograph the comet passing by tonight. It will be absolutely incredible, because there will also be a meteor shower.”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Michael laughs, and Gavin reacts expectedly.

“What! No! I’m not. I just- I’m- I want you to”

“Come with you to a dark place that’s only lit up by the twinkling stars above? Where it will also be cold and we’ll have no choice but to huddle close to share our body heat? Or better yet a blanket between the two of us because your dumbass would only bring one? I dunno Gav, sounds pretty romantic to me”

“Michael please! I have asked literally everyone else in the office, hell in the bloody company! You’re my last hope”

“I’m not even your first choice?! Way to woo a guy, Gav”

“You just weren’t here. You know you’re always my first choice, boi! It’s you and me versus the world, or in this case the celestial happenings that won’t happen again for another Six Thousand years!”

“Okay fine.” Michael says after a beat of silence. Gavin squeals and actually begins jumping in place. Michael laughs and shakes his head.

“But I swear if this is a ploy to Murder me or seduce me I will never forgive you”

“Michael I would never!”

“I can literally see you crossing your fingers!”

——————

That night Michael picks Gavin up and his ridiculous amount of things. He is surprised by how much equipment stargazing needs. In the movies all they had was a blanket and a thermos of Hot Chocolate.

They load Michael’s car with all the things then head out to Gavin’s predetermined location. It’s a large dark field that conveniently has an incline in the centre which is perfect for their set up. Michael drives as close as he can then helps Gavin carry everything to their spot.

Once everything is in place Michael settles in while Gavin immediately gets to work with locating the comet, and setting up his camera. Michael lays back and watches the stars above, he is amazed by how many there are compared to in the heat of the city. Gavin explained on the way that it’s due to light pollution.

“Michael come look!” Gavin yells excitedly.

Michael gets up to check out what Gavin wants him to. He has him look in the telescope, which he does, and he sees a black background with a very bright star in the centre, there seems to be dust or something flying off it.

“There she is, in all her comet beauty” gavin tells him.

Michael has to admit it’s really cool actually. Gavin is just buzzing with excitement, and Michael again has to admit to himself that he loves seeing Gavin so happy and passionate about things.

He sits back on the blanket and lays down to look back up at the sky.

“Whoa hey Gav what’s happening up there?” He asks. Gavin looks and gets excited again.

He immediately lays down to Michael, who notices how close Gavin actually is.

“That’s the meteor shower! They’re basically a bunch of tiny comets flying above us. They’re much closer to Earth which is why they go so quick. They’re made of tiny meteors, or meteorites.”

“You really know your stuff, huh?”

“Yeah, back home when I was a kid Mum and Dad would always bring me and my siblings to view astronomical events. We always had so much fun.”

Michael just listens in Aweh, he doesn’t know what’s come over him. Probably the obvious romantic vibe he mentioned back at the office. He finds himself looking at Gavin instead of the stars when he talks about his childhood. Only the outline of his face, and his eyes, can be seen under the tiny lights above.

They lay there for a while watching the stars above. Gavin is in Aweh, and Michael is too but he’s not sure exactly if it’s at the stars or his companion.

Gavin jumps up a bit later when he realizes he hadn’t taken any photos yet. Michael laughs and watches him hurridley capture the moments above.

The ending could go two ways.

Either they have a lovely evening and go home, Gavin gets a lot of good photos to sort through while Michael has some thought and feelings to sort through himself.

Or

After taking some photos Gavin decides to sit back down on the blanket to watch the sky next to his Boi. Michael again is very aware of how close Gavin is.

“Isn’t it just breathtaking, Michael?”

“Yeah, it is” He replies, but instead of the sky he is looking at Gavin.

Gavin glances at him and catches Michael staring at him. They both look away and back at the stars.

“I’m glad you asked me to come, Gav. Even if I was your 800th choice.” He laughs.

Gavin nudges him and says, “I told you! You’re always my first choice, boi.”

“I know, and you’re always mine” He smiles and glances at Gavin again, who is actually already looking at him.

They stare at each other for several moment, the stars above forgotten.

“The stars really are beautiful,” Michael mutters.

“Yeah, they are...” Gavin agrees, still staring into Michael’s eyes.

“Maybe we should get back to looking at them...”

“Probably”

Gavin licks his lips, Michael’s eyes lower and sees that, he mirrors the action.

“Gav, I...”

“Yeah?”

“I...” Then Michael leans forward and Gavin does the same. They meet and their Leila press against each other in the sweetest kiss.

If anyone takes this prompt the rest is up to you😌✨

#mavin #AmiesAUs #AmiesAHAUs #AmiesMavinAUs #mavin au #michael and gavin #mavin fanfiction #au #galileojoneswrites #achievement hunter fanfiction #mavin fics #michael jones #gavin free #achievement hunter #ah #tnd #team nice dynamite

[everamazingfe]

Magic in the Mundane

Fic Summary: Everyone had something special about them, their own personal bit of magic. Most found out about their abilities early, but Gavin had always been a bit of a late bloomer. Luckily, Michael comes by to help him put the pieces together. 

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

Words in this chapter: 5521 Pairings: Gavin Free/Michael Jones Warnings for this chapter: None

Notes: Written for Kait (@uy8hg) for the RT Writer’s Discord Secret Sunshine event! All of her prompts were amazing and I spent far too long trying to decide between them, but I'm so glad that I decided to go with this one because it was so much fun to write. Check the source for a link to read it over on A 0 3!

Prompt: Someone discovers a new power or something that they find really cool, and they want to show it off to everyone else, with varying levels of success.

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

In a world full of wonder, it wasn���t always easy to appreciate the beauty in the mundane, but those who had magic running through their veins found it quite simple. The way that magic would manifest itself in those people wasn’t always the same, though. Sometimes, the magic was in their personality. Jack had a warmth about him that could make anyone’s day better in a matter of seconds. Trevor’s charisma was off the charts, he was such a smooth talker that it was hard for anyone to dislike him unless they really tried. Other times, it was in their looks. Alfredo had a smile that could light up any room, big and beaming and bright enough to outshine the sun. Geoff had amazingly artistic tattoos that seemed to come alive if one looked at them a little too long (he would always deny this, but there was a gleam in his eye that made everyone think twice about his words). Sometimes, it was something else entirely. Their magic came in the form of special abilities, of genuine magic. Lindsay could speak to animals, using their skills for good a majority of the time, but otherwise causing mischief. Michael could create just as well as he could destroy, rendering entire buildings obsolete and creating new ones in their wake. 

There was a little bit of magic in everything, but oftentimes there were those that couldn’t see it in themselves. That was where Gavin stood. He was a smooth talker, sure, but not as smooth as Trevor. His smile wasn’t as bright as Alfredo’s. He didn’t have any magical abilities. Though he was welcomed into their group, he didn’t feel as though he belonged. He didn’t have any magic. They insisted that he was part of their crew, magic or not, and that he was welcome, but sometimes he didn’t want their comforts. He just wanted to be left alone. It was hard enough to be the lone member of the mundane in their little crew, he didn’t want their pity points on top of it. Still, it didn’t stop them from trying to help.

“Maybe you’re just a late bloomer?” Fiona suggested to him late one evening when the sun had already set, laid out on her back on the roof of a building Michael had created just for her. Her magic was her ability to be good at anything she set her mind to, with an unwavering confidence that Gavin admired (and sometimes envied), even when it was misplaced. “Or you could just be totally oblivious to it. That’s always an option.”

He let out a soft sigh, shrugging a shoulder as he turned his head to look at her. “Someone else would’ve noticed it in me by now though, I think. Everyone has something, even if they're not the ones who see it.” Those who had magic were usually pretty good at picking it out in others. It had been how those without genuine magic had discovered theirs. How Jack had discovered his warmth, how Ky had discovered her strength, and so on. 

Fiona bit her lip, going quiet. He had a point there, but she didn’t want to admit it. She hated when he was right. “Maybe your magic is just being an idiot?” There was a grin on her lips, but the way that she spoke made it sound like a genuine suggestion. Gavin couldn’t help but burst out into laughter, his and Fiona’s giggles echoing out across the landscape. 

“Kind of a shitty magic, don’t you think, Fifi?” He asked finally, when his sides ached from laughing and his lungs begged for air. “I know Michael would certainly agree with you, but… I really hope that’s not it.”

“I don’t know, Gavvy. Could be. But I hope that’s not it too. I think you’re made for something a bit better than that.” Instead of pity, or jokes, she gave him a vote of confidence, and there was a little gleam that formed in Gavin’s eyes at her words. 

“You mean that?” 

“Of course I do! 

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

The day after speaking to Fiona, Gavin was still thinking about her words. Despite how good it had made him feel in the moment, they’d ended up putting him in a worse mood than usual, and it was hard for him to even begin thinking about the magic he might have held. Was he really meant for something better than the idiocy his friends assigned to him? He wasn’t sure. 

He’d set out on a hike, outside of the city that they’d made for themselves and into the woods surrounding it. Some time out in nature always made him feel better, more at ease, more connected to the magic of the world around him. The small nuances on how the ecosystem worked together to thrive always intrigued him, and he was jealous of how cohesive it all could be. 

“I’m just a bit too all over the place for it, I guess,” he muttered to himself, taking a seat on a fallen tree. The moss was soft beneath him, and he ran his fingers over it as he talked to himself. Working through his thoughts aloud always made them feel less jumbled. 

A figure sat down beside him with a heavy sigh, and a hand was placed over his. “Don’t beat yourself too much, Gav,” Geoff said quietly, wrapping his arm around Gavin and pulling himself close. “We can’t all be something special, otherwise there wouldn’t be anything special at all.”

Gavin let out a long sigh, leaning into the gent when he was pulled in. He’d stopped asking how Geoff could find him so easily long ago. It was the same answer every time, ‘I just know where to look, you assholes aren’t exactly all that hard to find,’ said with that same glint in his eye. “Yeah, I know. But it’d be nice to be able to do something more than exist.” 

Geoff hummed softly, rubbing his thumb gently over Gavin’s shoulder. It always made him feel guilty when any of his friends were upset, particularly Gavin, but he’d been so hung up on the same thing for so long. “Are you sure you don’t just want an excuse for the attention to be back on you for a change?”

The lad sat up quickly, pulling away from Geoff and cutting him a confused look. “The hell’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I’m just saying! Going around talking to everyone, being all mopey about not having magic? Pretty good way to get everyone to pay attention to you for a change, right?”

Gavin scoffed at the notion, pushing Geoff away from him. “That’s not what I’m doing at all!” 

“Are you sure?” He asked, arching an eyebrow as Gavin stood up suddenly. 

“Yes.” They’d had a few new members join their ranks, and attention was divided as they worked to expand their little city and network with others, but he hadn’t minded people paying less attention to him. If anything, he enjoyed it. It meant there was less pressure on him to perform. “Now, I’m going. And this time, you’re not allowed to search for me.” 

He didn’t even know where he was going, he just wanted to go away. He wondered if that’s what everyone thought, or if Geoff was just trying to get a rise out of him. If they all thought that way, they’d certainly never said anything of the sort, but this was how people were going to treat him, Gavin didn’t want to be around them.

“What a dick,” he muttered to himself, pulling his cloak tighter around himself as he walked deeper into the forest. It was a beautiful green and gold tapestry, the hues blending together to make a simple but pleasing pattern. The threads had been hand-woven by Matt and enchanted to protect its wearer from whatever may come their way, and it did a remarkable job. 

As he ventured deeper into the woods, the trees grew taller and thicker, blocking out the sun’s rays and sending a chill through the air. As the coldness began to creep in, the cloak kept him warm and made him feel safe. However, it couldn’t protect him from the turmoil inside his own mind. 

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

In the city center, Michael was having a different sort of crisis, and his angry shouting could be heard all across the land. 

“You said what to him?!’

His relationship to Gavin was indiscernible at best, no one knew whether they were deeply in love or mortal enemies, but one thing was certain: he was fiercely protective of the fact that he was the only one allowed to bully Gavin, and anyone else could only do so with his permission. Whether they were soulmates or archnemesis, Gavin was his boi first and foremost. 

“I just suggested that maybe being an idiot was his form of magic! It was funny, we were both laughing!” Fiona said, completely oblivious to the way that Michael was shooting daggers her way. Usually Michael played along with her playful teasing of Gavin, so when he didn’t continue to make jokes, she looked over. “Don’t you give me that look, you’re thinking it too.”

“I’m not, though.” Fiona scoffed, and Michael all but growled. “I’m not. You all underestimate him, and when he does find his magic, you’re going to be blown away. All of you will be.” There was a special sort of conviction to his words, one that was usually reserved for saying the most ridiculous things completely stone-faced. 

Michael stormed off after that, ignoring Fiona’s demands for him to keep hanging out with her. Movement came from the bushes on the outskirts of their community, spotted just out of the corner of his eye, but his attention snapped towards it in an instant only to reveal that the movement was caused by Geoff. His eyebrows furrowed as the other tried to pretend like he wasn’t covered in burrs and twigs, like he wasn’t trying to sneak out of the brush and back into the city unnoticed.

“Do you know where Gavin is?” he asked instantly, lifting a hand swiftly to raise a dirt wall behind Geoff, who was trying to retreat back into the bushes as quickly as he’d come out of them. 

“Why would I know where he is?” Geoff asked, his voice pitchy and lilted like he certainly did know where Gavin was, but also that he knew that revealing that information would get him in more trouble with Michael than not at the same time. 

Michael’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward, the ground beneath his feet rumbling and propelling him like a moving walkway until he was nose to nose with Geoff. “Because you know where everyone is, you always know.” 

There wasn’t fear in Geoff’s eyes, but the man’s chest rose and fell rapidly with anxious breaths. The staredown was long and tense, though he eventually relented, letting out a long sigh as the wall behind him fell. He wasn’t going anywhere. “I spoke to him in the woods maybe an hour ago, he told me that I’m not allowed to look for him, but here.” He reached into his gear, pulling out a weathered piece of parchment that was rolled and tied with a thin strip of leather. A map, one that he’d made with the same magic that lived in his tattoos, that not only held the lay of the land but also markers for everyone who lived in it. Geoff offered it to Michael, who quickly swiped it from him and unrolled it. “He never said anything about you going after him.” 

The lad hummed quietly as his eyes scanned the map for the forest green marker that indicated Gavin’s name, wordlessly stepping beyond the brush and into the woods towards it. 

“I don’t even get a thank you?!” Geoff cried out behind him, annoyed by the lack of gratitude. The ground beneath his feet rose suddenly, knocking him off his feet and onto the earth. He cried out, flailing his arms in an attempt to stop himself from falling, but it was futile. Michael was already gone.

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

The woods looked easy to traverse on the map, and they most likely would have been if Michael had stayed on the trails, but he opted to make a beeline towards Gavin. The terrain was rocky and there were steep cliffs off the beaten path, but it was nothing that he couldn’t handle. He could mend and mold the earth to make it easier to traverse, creating stairs along the cliff faces for an easy descent. The climate was what was really getting to him. The chill in the air was unbearable for him, only getting worse as the sun began to dip down, and he had a bear’s pelt to keep him warm. Gavin’s frame was thinner and frailer than his own, he most likely wasn’t faring any better.

He lit a torch as night fell, raising up dirt and stone walls around himself to block out the cold and keep himself safe from the nocturnal monsters around him. After jamming the torch into the wall, he unfurled his map and saw that Gavin’s marker had stopped moving and was instead spinning around in frantic circles. Evidently, he was trying to make camp for the night as well. With a swift movement of his hand, miles away on the other side of the woods, similar walls raised up around Gavin, and the marker finally stopped moving. Satisfied that his boi was safe, he settled down, wrapping his pelt around himself tightly for warmth as he laid down to sleep. 

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

Gavin was startled as the dirt walls rose up around him, terrified that something was trying to trap him within them, though he quickly became at ease when he realized what it meant. Geoff had listened and wasn’t going to be searching for him, but Michael was certainly looking out for him instead. The fear that came from being alone out there dissipated as he ran his fingers down the dirt, pulling out several clumps of roots and knocking bits of earth loose. Dirt walls were less than fancy, but they were a great comfort regardless.

He slept easily through the night with a newfound sense of safety, his cloak pulled tightly around himself for warmth. It worked wonders against the cold. As the sun began to rise, it didn’t emerge from the clouds, the sky grey and dreary as rain began to fall. Gavin could hear the rain hitting the tops of the trees, but even as he began to move none of the drops ever hit him. Above him, the branches of the trees bent and molded, shielding him from the downpours as he walked. No doubt this is Michael’s doing, he thought to himself, a small smile forming on his lips. No matter how much they seemed to argue, the other lad still managed to be protective of him. It was something he was always grateful for, even when the others seemed to give him shit for it. 

His pace that day was slower, more leisurely now that he had calmed down some, but he still had no intentions of going back to the city. If Michael was the only one who cared enough to come for him, they could start their own city far, far away. Together. He quickly shook the thought from his mind, pushing his hood down and taking a look around. Though the trees were tall above him for now, he knew that if he just kept going they’d give way to a beautiful, grassy plain. He couldn’t wait to walk on grass again, the dirt and stones beneath him were starting to make his feet ache. 

Several yards from where he’d first had that thought, he had to stop, kneeling down to untie his boots so he could re-lace them tightly. Moving slowly, he bent down, not wanting to end up with another cut on his knee from landing too hard on a rock like he’d already done far too many times this trek. But the terrain beneath his knee was soft, and as he looked down at his boot, he saw that there was soft, lush grass beneath him. Not dirt. 

“What on earth?” He asked himself, brushing his fingers through it. There was some grass on the forest floor around him, but it was rough and patchy, nothing like this. “Michael’s really outdone himself this time.” With that thought, he smiled to himself before continuing to lace up his boots with deft fingers. Before he stood, he spotted a small wildflower that had bloomed among the blades , and he gently picked it and placed it behind his ear. “What a dope.”

What Gavin didn’t know was that Michael didn’t have the ability to create foliage or flowers underfoot. No one in their community did. And with each step that Gavin took, more of it sprouted up from the dirt beneath him. 

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

Night fell again soon enough, and Gavin wasn’t sure where he was. He could’ve sworn that the forest gave way into plains at this point, but instead he found himself in the middle of the desert. Stupidly, he’d continued on, just in case the plains were just beyond it, though now he was too tired to turn back. 

“Maybe Fiona was right,” he muttered as he sat down in the sand, digging his toes into it and wiggling them for some amusement as he propped his cloak up over himself like an umbrella. It was nighttime now, but it would be morning again soon enough. He didn’t want to end up burnt to a crisp before he even woke up. No walls came up around Gavin this time either, so it was up to him to protect himself. 

Gavin leaned forward against his knees, peering up at the night sky for a few long moments. Jeremy had spent many long nights back in the city teaching him the constellations and the stars within them, though he could never tell which ones were real and which ones the lad had made up for his own amusement. Orion was certainly real, but Beauregard’s Chariot was almost certainly not. Almost. He picked that one out, finding comfort in its familiarity, before he decided it was time to get some rest. Toes still in the sand, he laid back, arms crossed beneath his head as he closed his eyes. He had been so focused on the sky that he was unaware of what was happening in the sand beneath him. 

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

With Gavin’s slowed pace, Michael was able to start gaining on him. He raced through the trees with even greater speed now that he was beyond the craggy cliffs and difficult landscape, the earth moving beneath him to propel him along. By nighttime, he’d closed in on Gavin’s position, and he was stunned by what he saw.

Smack dab in the middle of the desert, where not even cacti could manage to survive due to the horrible heat and scorching sunbeams, Gavin found himself within an oasis. That same lush grass and wildflowers were no longer just underfoot, but in a wide circle around the lad, almost tall enough to completely hide him from Michael’s view. Small trees were even beginning to grow, supporting Gavin’s cloak above him in place of the flimsy sticks he’d set up before. 

“Gavin?” Michael called softly, stepping forward with caution in case it was a facade, a trap of some sort. The desert was known for causing hallucinations, for preying on the hope of the desperate. That was the kind of magic it held, and it was very skillful at using it. But as he knelt down at the edge of the circle and reached forward to feel the greenery, sure enough, it was real. “What the hell? Gavin! Wake the fuck up!”

The lad sat bolt upright with a start, catching himself in his cloak and fighting it off with all the fierceness of a kitten. Sleep was still gripping him, catching him somewhere between being wide awake and deep asleep, but he was quickly coming to. “Who’s there?!” He shouted, finally tossing his cape away from himself and looking around in confusion. “Michael?” That wasn’t the last thing he expected to see out there, but it wasn’t the first either. “What are you doing here, Michael?”

It had taken everything in Michael not to laugh at the display in front of him, but he quickly wiped the smirk off his face to look offended when Gavin addressed him so incredulously. “Jeez, don’t sound so happy to see me,” he drawled, rolling his eyes before shuffling forward on his knees. “Mind telling me what all this is?” He arched an eyebrow, gesturing to the small haven among the sand. 

However, Gavin had no more answers than Michael did. “I’m not… I’m not sure what it is,” he responded earnestly, glancing between it and the other lad before reaching for his cloak. “I thought you were doing it. You’re not?” Michael shook his head fervently, and Gavin only frowned as he pulled the garment on. “Then who is?”

Michael shrugged a shoulder, humming a soft ‘I don’t know’ before standing, stalking around the mysterious growth. This wasn’t anything that anyone he knew could do, and when he tried to make it happen himself, all he could do was raise the earth itself. He couldn’t make anything grow from it. Which left only one option…

“Come here,” he said suddenly, and Gavin looked at him like he’d asked him to do something insane. “Stand up! Get the hell over here!” When there was still no movement from him, Michael reached forward, hauling Gavin to his feet and yanking him out of the circle. Sure enough, grass sprouted up beneath the lad’s feet, extending the circle and connecting it to wherever he stepped. “Holy shit… Gavin! Look!”

Gavin had thought that Michael was angry at him, scolding him, but the tone of his voice was nothing but excited. Thrilled, even. He followed Michael’s gaze down to his feet, but he wasn’t quick enough to put the pieces together like the other had. “This happened to me back in the forest too! I don’t know what’s going on!”

“You’ve found your magic, that’s what’s going on!” Michael was practically screaming, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking at Gavin with a big beaming grin. “You can make stuff grow! That’s incredible!” 

That made things click for Gavin, finally, and his grin ended up matching Michael’s. “I can make stuff grow!” Geoff was going to be blown away, everyone was. He wondered if Michael would be okay with them going back to the city immediately, they’d be able to get there by morning thanks to his abilities. “Fiona was right!”

The other bristled immediately, his grin turning to a frown in a fraction of a second. “Fiona was… Right?” She’d told Gavin that his magic was being stupid, that his special ability was being an idiot. This certainly wasn’t that, not by a long shot. “Gavin, this isn’t stupid. This is awesome! Fiona wasn’t right.”

“What? What are you on about? No, she… She said I was made for something better than what everyone else thought. And she was right! Oh, and she’s had such shit luck getting flowers to grow at her place too, no wonder!” Gavin threw his arms around Michael’s neck, wrapping him in a tight hug that was fueled by nothing but pure glee, and he could only hug him back just as tight. “We have to get back there, immediately. Everyone is going to be so jealous, Michael-boi.”

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

Some proper rest would’ve been a great benefit to them both, but Gavin had insisted that they return to the city as quickly as possible. The moving ground beneath their feet made it a relatively quick task, and Michael had managed to find a well-worn trail that made it even easier. They were back in the city by sunrise, and while the excitement had died down in Michael to give way to sleepiness, Gavin was no less giddy. Probably because he’d climbed on Michael’s back at one point and managed a small nap. Lucky bastard, Michael had thought to himself when he’d heard the soft snoring in his ear, but he hadn’t woken him up. 

“Michael. Stop here, Michael,” Gavin urged, nearly losing his balance as the dirt beneath him ground to a halt suddenly. They were just outside the city, inside the same bushes that Geoff had attempted to sneak out of a few days prior, hidden from view as residents began to leave their houses to begin their tasks for the day. “I’m gonna get on your back-“

“You’re not taking another fucking nap,” Michael interjected, and the other huffed and waved him off. 

“No! I’m gonna get on your back so I can do a grand reveal, you dolt. The flowers appear when I step, and if I step too soon the surprise will be ruined!”

“Hey, assholes!” Jeremy’s voice boomed across the city center, no doubt hearing the commotion, and Gavin quickly began to scramble onto Michael’s back. 

“Ow! Watch it, you’re gonna knock off my glasses! Stop!” Michael huffed, swatting at Gavin’s hands as they reached for purchase anywhere they could. He stepped out of the bushes once he was settled, looking annoyed while the lad on his back was nothing but gleeful. “Hey, Lil J! I rescued our favorite dumbass. You’re welcome.”

Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh as Gavin let out a little ‘hello!’ and waved, though he was curious about why the other was on Michael’s back. It wasn’t unlike Gavin to demand piggy-back rides. Though normally once Jeremy was in view, he made it his mission to climb onto his shoulders instead. “Gav, are you hurt? What’s going on?” He stepped up with caution, ready to call for help if needed. Injuries weren’t uncommon, but if Gavin needed to be carried, it must’ve been serious. 

“No, the asshole’s not hurt. Not yet, at least. He’s just got a surprise for you,” Michael assured, rolling his eyes. “For everyone, actually. Do me a favor and ring the bell? They’re gonna want to be here for this.”

An eyebrow shot up, but Jeremy was quick to comply with the request. He crossed the city center, grabbing the rope and pulling it once, twice, three times to signal that it was a meeting of utmost importance, but not one that brought bad news. When the bell rang three times, it meant that there were good things to come.

Soon, all of the residents of the city were there, eagerly awaiting to learn the reason for this meeting. Very rarely did the bell ring thrice, and there were hushed whispers and guesses of what was to come. They all fell silent when Michael, with Gavin still on his back, stepped forward.

“I’ve found my magic,” Gavin announced, savoring the look on everyone’s faces as they processed that announcement. Particularly Geoff’s, whose face was twisted into one of apologetic guilt. A sense of satisfaction bubbled up inside of him at that. And of course Fiona was delighted, jumping up and down and pumping her fists, shouting ‘I knew it!’ before she even knew what Gavin’s magic was. It didn’t matter to her. Alfredo and Trevor were also excited, but only because their beloved Dusk Boy had finally joined their ranks, though Jack and Matt simply looked skeptical. He couldn’t blame them, really. Why now? Why did it take so long for him to find it? Those were the questions behind their eyes, and Gavin wished that he had answers for them.

When he felt like he’d let the suspense hang in there air for long enough, he stepped down. For a moment, nothing happened. Matt was about to open his mouth to complain about being dragged out of bed for a grand display of nothing. And then, all at once, a beautiful display of lush grass and flowers appeared at his feet. The more he focused on it, the bigger it grew and the more beautiful it became. No longer was it simply wildflowers, either. In the hours of their journey, he realized he could control the types of flowers that grew. He opted for sunflowers this time. Everyone knew that they were his favorite. It was proof that the magic was his, and not anyone else’s pretending to be his. 

The reactions were mixed, and Gavin deflated a little as several people seemed unimpressed and walked off to return to their duties. It wasn’t the most spectacular power in the world, he knew that, but it was his and he liked it. That was what mattered to him. There wasn’t much time for him to mope though, as Fiona quickly rushed him, wrapping him in a hug and lifting him off his feet. 

“Gavin!” she shouted, stepping back to inspect the flowers closer. She plucked a few blades of grass, feeling them between her fingers. After a few seconds, she gasped, her eyes lighting up. “You can help me grow flowers at my place!”

Gavin laughed, nodding quickly and beaming at her. He could always trust her to cheer him up. “I can, yeah. No wonder you’ve not been able to grow anything.”

“Yeah, cause you stole my green thumb! That’s hardly my fault.”

“Oh, I dunno about that. You should’ve been keeping a closer eye on it.”

They bickered back and forth, Michael watching with a tired but fond smile, until Fiona decided that she’d had enough and thumped Gavin on the side of the head before racing off. The lad was too exhausted to follow, so he just stepped over to Michael, the foliage underfoot following him as he went. Everyone else came up to congratulate him in time, Geoff doing that and apologizing for the harshness of his words in one awkward convoluted mess that Michael wasn’t even sure was an apology, but Gavin understood what the gent was trying to say. He’d learned to decode Geoff Speak over the years. 

Still, the person whose opinion Gavin valued the most was Michael’s, and once the excitement had died down and they’d retreated to their homes to rest, Michael stopped by to give it. 

“I’m real proud of you, Gav,” he said, making himself comfortable on the bed next to the lad without a second thought. 

“Proud of me?” he asked, snatching his blankets back from the lad as he tried to steal them. Michael always did this to him. 

“Yeah. Proud of you. For putting up with the bullshit and finding your magic. Even if it was a total accident.” Michael snorted out a soft laugh and smiled, crossing his arms beneath his head and looking over at the other. “You just lucked into it, just like you lucked into everything else.” 

“Including you?” Gavin arched an eyebrow as he met the other’s gaze, desperately wanting to wipe that smug look off his face.”

“Especially me, are you kidding?” That comment earned him a gentle smack to the chest, a kiss to the cheek, and a mutter of ‘I’m going to make a tree grow through your damn house.’

To everyone else, their relationship was indiscernible at best. But Michael and Gavin knew exactly what they were to each other, they didn’t need anyone else in their business about it. They were partners. Not just in life and love, but in their magic as well. As he learned how to hone and control his abilities, Gavin would decorate the city and beautify the buildings that Michael had created. And once he had mastered his skills, Michael began to create buildings specifically for Gavin to embellish. Dirt roofs became his signature style, the gravity-defying feature held together by the roots of the flowers that Gavin planted into them. The city had never looked better, and even those who were initially unimpressed by Gavin’s abilities had to admit that it was perfectly suited to him. He took great pride in rubbing it in their faces. 

Gavin was happy to not be a member of the mundane anymore. His spirits were higher, and he felt more useful to the city. His abilities, with more practice, extended beyond flowers and grass and into fruit and vegetable plants. The magic that Gavin held could sustain them all. 

But Gavin had always held magic within him, in Michael’s eyes. He had never been mundane. That gleam in his eye when he got another crazy idea to cause chaos was nothing if not supernatural, and his ability to find the fun in even the most boring of situations had proven to be valuable time and time again. It just hadn’t been the form of magic that Gavin had always desired, so he never took note of it despite it always being there. Michael was just glad he could finally see it in himself too. 

#ragehappy #rpf #mavin #oneshot #magic au #secret sunshine #secret sunshine event #fic #my fic #my writing #everamazingfe

[ezwra]

It’s Late [MAVIN]

Michael is loyal to a fault, Gavin has learned. The man has only been Gavin's personal guard for seven or eight moons and he has fulfilled his duty without preamble or hesitation. Even on his days of rest, Michael still finds his way into Gavin's chambers. 

"I don't think I've ever actually seen you sleep," Gavin comments, sat up in bed. His legs are crossed under the covers and there's a delicate cup clutched in his hands, steam rising and warming his face. "You must be exhausted."

Michael, sprawled on the chair in front of Gavin's desk, simply smirks. "If i'm sleeping all the time i can't very well guard you, now, can i?"

"Can you focus on your job while you’re sleep deprived?" 

"I can assure you I will always focus." Michael sits up, tilting his head and pressing his fingers against his own face, pale skin going paler under the pressure. "Can you focus and make decisions for the good of your Kingdom if you stay up talking to a simple king’s guard all night?"

Gavin rolls his eyes, placing his cup to the side carefully and pushing himself to his feet. "How am I meant to sleep on a night like this, Michael?"

[CONTINUE ON AO3]

#mavin #ragehappy #king au #my writing #prompt fill

[miss-ingno]

Triple Duke Coup, 2/?

Fandom: AH RPF/AH Kings Ships: Fionsay, Alfreyco, Mavin Words: 5.5k Tags: king au, prince!Alfredo, princess!Fiona, mage!Trevor, sorcerer!Lindsay, elf!Gavin, bounty hunter!Michael, action, mystery

Summary: When his uncle, the Duke of Luzon, stages a coup, Crown Prince Alfredo has to flee the castle, leaving his sister behind to deal with the mess. But what could have caused the sudden shift in power?

A/N: next chapter might take a bit, the writing muses haven’t been kind ^^° thank you for all your lovely comments and tags, though, they really help! 💖

Read here on Ao3. Chapter 1 |

***

Fiona flattened herself against the wall, holding her breath. The guards passed by, never noticing her boots poking out from under the curtain. Once they’d walked down the hall and around the corner, a sigh escaped Fiona in relief. Poking her head out, she snuck further down, took a left, up another hall until she reached the stairs of the tower. There she stood still, listening for steps echoing down from the stone. Once she started up the stairs, there would be no place to hide.

And she wasn’t supposed to leave her chambers, so.

She crouched behind the round tower stairs filled with half-empty crates and cobwebs, waiting for the faint sound of footsteps to grow louder. Fiona could hear the sound of slippers switch from the gait of someone hurrying down the stairs to hitting the carpet of the hall. Peeking out from behind her hiding place, she could see a maid scurrying down the corridor, arms laden with dusty sheets. As her footsteps faded in the distance, Fiona darted out from behind the crate and up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

The tower which stood on the southernmost corner of the royal castle was the domain of the court sorcerer, magical advisor to the throne and protector of the kingdom. It was there that Fiona hoped to discover answers.

Like where the fuck Alfredo was. And what the fuck her uncle thought he was doing.

A bloody coup, like, what the hell.

She had been out riding with her ladies, her guard detail trailing a polite distance behind, skipping out on yet another boring court session. Nothing of import had been on the itinerary, nevermind anything interesting, and since she wasn't the heir (suck it, Fredo!) her parents were lenient. Except then a black something had shot across the open field, coming straight at her. At first she thought it a bird, what with the long, black wings, but it quickly came apparent to be something more.

While her guards shouted in alarm, Fiona urged her horse to race across the field, dirt flying up from thundering hooves. The projectile - the spell veered off as she did, always aiming straight for her.

It wasn't until later that Fiona understood: the guards weren't trying to protect her - they were attempting to intercept the message, stop word from reaching her.

Not that they ever stood a chance.

As it came closer, wings flapping erratically, Fiona barely had enough time to make out the vague form of a flying rodent before it exploded in her face. Black smoke dispersed, tendrils of it spreading over her skin, rising into her nostrils and diving into her ears, her mouth, muffling her scream of shock.

And then her brother’s voice in her mind, like a distant whisper, speaking a warning. The king is dead...

Fiona shook her head, dispelling the memories. She had to focus, trying to get up the stairs as noiselessly as she could. If she could reach the court sorcerer at the top, without her uncle any the wiser, she would finally be able to get to the bottom of this.

Her uncle, who had told her next to nothing when her guards had ushered her back into the castle, splitting her up from her ladies. Her uncle, who had lied to her, unaware that Alfredo managed to give her a head’s up. Something about a terrible accident, of Alfredo going missing, about how he was named regent for the interim until the emergency had passed.

In short, just loads and loads of bull fuckin’ shit.

Determined, Fiona pressed on, sneaking up the stairs, only pausing to listen for steps. There weren’t many places to hide in the spiral of the tower, only a closed door on each level. Except for the one on the third floor, that one stood wide-open. Fiona took a quick, little peek in, seeing maids bustling about dusting what looked like ancient furniture. Ducking past the open door when no one was looking, Fiona mulled that discovery over.

The only rooms in use were supposed to be the court sorcerer’s laboratory, their library, and their chambers at the foot of the tower.

So why had her uncle sent maids to clean up the third floor chamber?

She was still contemplating the significance of that change when she heard voices just as she came up to the fourth floor’s landing. Pressing her ear to the door, it swung open. Heart pounding, Fiona pressed herself up against the wall, but the voices didn’t so much as stutter. Peeking around the corner, she could see the rows of bookshelves lining the walls, and the shadow of two people on the opposite side.

One of them was her uncle, the Duke of Luzon. The crown of the regent made his silhouette unmistakable.

He was speaking to the second person, the court sorcerer. His voice gave away his irritation, tone sharp and impatient. The court sorcerer interjected here and there, their voice a dry drawl, clearly not intimidated by the Duke’s snapping. Fiona watched their shadow shift as they crossed their arms and had to stifle a sigh.

Lindsay was so cool.

Then what they were talking about filtered through the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the mere thought of the court sorcerer, and Fiona stiffened. Lindsay’s words were too quiet to make out well, but her uncle was still feeling snappish, his voice echoing out into the staircase.

“-with no further delay! The artefact is of the most import, its power necessary, but useless while it’s locked away. Do not make excuses!”

Lindsay’s reply sounded nonchalant. As far as Fiona could puzzle together, they were missing something that was “needed”, some sort of key, and possibly something about a prophecy? Shaking her head, she frowned and inched closer to the doorjamb, hoping to get a better angle for the sound to rebound.

“The princess, yes, I got that part,” her uncle growled, sounding surly. Fiona’s eyes widened. “She’s been brought back to the castle. I have no doubt she will comply with our request."

“The princess isn’t stupid,” Lindsay stated, their own tone growing sharper in response. “She will know something is up.”

Fiona had to see Lindsay’s expression. Had to see for herself those minute reactions before they were absorbed into that perfect poker face, to know what Lindsay was truly feeling. Holding her breath, Fiona took the risk and stuck her head through the door. To her good fortune, either Lindsay nor her uncle were looking her way.

“That bird? It can’t have been a spell, or if it was, it had no effect,” the Duke of Luzon dismissed the sorcerer’s concerns, turning his back on the door. Fiona took her chance to sneak inside, ducking low and behind the bookshelves to the left. For a moment, it felt like eyes landed on her, piercing through her skin, leaving the hairs on the back of her neck standing up in alarm. However, as she peeked through the tomes and scrolls, neither occupant spared her so much as a glance.

“Besides, little Fiona trusts me. I am her uncle, after all, her only remaining family.”

Fiona had to bite back curses, fighting the urge to jump the arrogant jerk and punch that smug smirk off his face. She knew better, of course, but the impulse was hard to contain, knowing what he did.

Father is dead at the hands of our uncle. The Duke is holding the throne.

The words were burned into her memory, down to the quiver in Alfredo’s voice and the stink of the smoke they arrived with. It was good to know her little play at confusion had convinced their uncle, however.

“You still have to convince her to help with the ritual,” Lindsay cautioned, and Fiona’s stomach dropped. It couldn’t be. There was no way Lindsay had sold them, sold her out. Not to her uncle of all people. Right?

“She will,” the Duke replied with certainty, raising his chin in challenge. Lindsay simply shrugged.

“Then everything will proceed as planned,” they stated, arching a brow at the Duke. “As soon as you manage to find the person you’re seeking.”

The Duke of Luzon scoffed. “We have spread the word and put up wanted posters all over the big cities weeks in advance. It is only a matter of time.”

Her uncle turned on his heel, cloak flaring out dramatically. His eyes landed directly on Fiona, and she felt cold dread run down her spine, spreading over her head and shoulder like dripping slime, with the sound of an egg cracking just behind her ear making Fiona flinch. The Duke’s brow furrowed lightly, then his gaze trailed past her and he stalked out of the sorcerer’s library.

Leaving her alone with Lindsay.

Despite this being the whole point of her little excursion, Fiona hesitated. She should step out from behind the shelves, announce herself, pepper Lindsay with all of her questions, and yet… could she be sure, after this, that they were on her side? She’d never doubted Lindsay’s loyalties before. The court sorcerer, after all, served the people by serving the throne.

And now Uncle holds the throne.

“You can come out, you know,” Lindsay called, shutting the door with an echoing click. It sounded final. “I know you’re here, Fiona.”

Swallowing, Fiona rolled her shoulders back and raised her head, unwilling to let her hesitation show as she stepped out from behind the bookcases. As she did, it felt like she walked right through a wall of hot air, chasing away the slimy, cold feeling that had plagued her since she met her Uncle’s eyes.

“Court Sorcerer,” she greeted in her most regal impression.

“Princess,” Lindsay returned dryly, tilting their head as they mustered her intently. “I presume you heard quite a bit of that, hm?”

Fiona grimaced, moving to cross her arms, before deciding to put her hands on her hips instead. Like Mama would, when she was displeased with Papa. She resolutely did not linger on the thought, focussing instead on the present.

“I came here for answers,” she declared. Lindsay’s lips twitched up into a smirk.

“Then may I assume you got what you came for?” They jerked their chin towards the door. For a second, Fiona thought Lindsay was throwing her out, before she realized it was simply meant to indicate the Duke who’d just left.

Fiona narrowed her eyes. “I still have questions.”

Lindsay hummed, then shrugged one shoulder as if without a care in the world. “Alright. Follow me, your Highness.”

They led the way out of the library and up the stairs, past the door of the laboratory and onto the very top of the tower. The warm wind played with Fiona’s short hair as she stepped outside, staying at the stairs while Lindsay leaned back against the battlements, propped up on their elbows.

“Well, then. Ask away, your Highness.”

Fiona crossed her arms, less out of a feeling of defensiveness but a growing discomfort in the pit of her stomach. “Lindsay… I-” She wrapped her arms around her own waist, not quite daring to meet the sorcerer’s eyes. “What happened? Uncle said it was an accident, but…”

“But Trevor told you otherwise?” Lindsay guessed, all humour vanishing from their tone. Glancing at them from the corner of her eyes, Fiona saw they’d adopted a serious expression finally. “Yes. It was a coup.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut, and Fiona gave a jerky nod in acknowledgement. She’d thought the warning would have braced her, that she’d accepted the truth, yet having confirmation… somehow, that made things worse.

“What of Alfredo? He’s not-” He wasn’t missing, she knew that much. He’d gotten a warning to her, after all. But what she didn’t know… She turned her head to meet Lindsay’s eyes. “Is he in the dungeons?”

For a long moment, Lindsay just watched her. Then they shook their head, just as Fiona’s patience started wearing thin. “He managed to flee the castle in the chaos.”

Fiona exhaled shakily, relief making her knees feel wobbly. To hide the weakness, she stalked over to the battlements, keeping a safe distance between her and the court sorcerer.

“Uncle is looking for him, isn’t he,” she murmured, and Lindsay stayed quiet. Fiona shook her head and sighed. The answer was obvious, and there were more important questions. For a breath-taking, grief-stricken moment, all Fiona could think of asking was Why? Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, letting air expand until the tightness left her chest. “What ritual were you talking about?”

“One to unlock a great power,” Lindsay explained. Fiona shivered.

“Sounds ominous,” she quipped, rubbing a palm over her bare arm. “How’s that work?”

Lindsay mustered her for a long moment, the breezed hiding their expression behind long locks of hair dancing in the wind. Through that curtain, they appeared unreadable and all-knowing at the same time.

“An elven artefact,” they finally offered, their gaze turning piercing. “Your late father brought it to the castle recently. It’s been a great point of contention between the Crown and the Dukes ever since.”

And the reason they staged a coup. Fiona nodded slowly, turning the information over in her head. An artefact that promised great power, but for some reason her father had been unwilling to use it… and she was necessary to unlock it, somehow.

“Why me?” she thought aloud. At her side, she caught Lindsay tense before rolling their shoulders and putting on a show of nonchalance.

“Royal blood,” they drawled, flipping their hair over their shoulder. It gleamed rose pink in the sunlight. “Your uncle may be regent, but he is not crowned. Alfredo would be better, but the Duke is impatient.”

And he thought Fiona would be more easily duped, what with Fredo witnessing their parents’ death. Or perhaps he wanted to use her as leverage against her brother. Neither idea particularly appealed to her.

From the top of the southernmost tower, she could watch the city bustle beyond the castle. The streets were crowded around the marketplace, patrols of soldiers moved about in groups, and caravans of horses navigated through the crowds. The sun was dipping low on the horizon, sinking everything into tones of red. Somewhere out there, Alfredo was hiding. For one fanciful moment, Fiona imagined she knew exactly where through their sibling bond.

Better that she didn’t, though. She had no doubts the Dukes would use her to find him if possible.

The thought gave her pause. She didn’t know much of sorcery, but surely there were tracking spells that used blood. And while they’re uncle was a close relation, wouldn’t it make more sense to use hers to find Alfredo? Her uncle could even weave it into his tale of Alfredo potentially being kidnapped, getting her help to save him.

Yet Lindsay hadn’t mentioned so much as the possibility, to her or her uncle, as far as she knew. She wondered why.

If only she knew whether she could trust Lindsay. Not two days ago, it wouldn’t even occur to her to doubt the sorcerer. Hell, she had snuck out of her house arrest to meet with Lindsay on the assumption that they would help her, no questions asked. If she hadn’t run into them discussing magical matters with her uncle, she wouldn’t have thought twice about trusting them.

Where did Lindsay’s loyalties lie, truly? If they were colluding with her uncle in truth... why were they answering her questions? Could Fiona trust the answers in the first place, or were they simply another misdirection, another web of lies?

Her uncle’s betrayal cut deep. Fiona didn’t want to imagine a world where Lindsay betrayed her, as well.

“Are you going to tell my uncle about this?” she finally forced herself to ask, staring off into the distance. The sky was turning a beautiful purple, the clouds heavy in the sky. It would rain soon.

“Will he have reason to ask?” Lindsay returned, an evasion that was a sign in itself. Fiona nodded to herself, pressing her lips into a thin line.

“He won’t even know I left my chambers,” she promised, shooting Lindsay a half-hearted grin.

Whether or not she could trust Lindsay… she would trust them to keep this a secret for now. And in the meantime, she could verify the information shared, double-check how much of it was true. Then she would know for certain whether the court sorcerer could be trusted or not.

And whatever the results, Fiona would deal with it.

***

The first truth possessed by the noble ones: life is suffering, death is suffering.

***

The cart rattled down the uneven path, every bump and dip shaking the unwilling passengers to the core. From where they sat, hands bound behind their backs, they could only see the two bandits bringing up the rear guard. Most of the injured had stayed behind to heal up in the little town, since it was closer than the capital. They'd taken Hidalgo and their saddle bags with them, much to Michael's outspoken dismay.

Gavin gave up on sleep around the time the sun rose. They’d travelled through the woods all night, presumably because the bandits wished to avoid further ambushes stealing their prize. Between his hands tied behind his back and the rough wood digging into his shoulders, jostling him whenever he started to drift off, sleep wasn’t coming any time soon. Michael laid curled up next to him, eyes closed and breathing even, but Gavin thought he knew him well enough to tell he was faking it.

Not that it mattered. If the bandits pressed on at this pace, they’d make it to the capital before nightfall.

The sun was nearing its apex when they finally made it out of the forest, the dappled shade of leaves giving way to large fields of corn and rows of other vegetables as far as the eye could see. Every other acre stood a lone farmhouse surrounded by fruit trees, or stables attached to fenced off pastures filled with sheep and cows.

Without the trees breaking their line of sight, the bandits relaxed, ranging further ahead of the cart to scout ahead. At this, Michael seemed to decide faking sleep was no longer worth it, as he sat up with a grunt, shoulder bumping into Gavin’s as he tried to find his balance. Gavin steadied him wordlessly until he pulled his legs under him.

“You should have run,” Michael muttered, not looking at him. Gavin bowed his head, watching him from under his fringe. Michael huffed and kicked at the wall of the cart, frustrated. “Idiot. Why didn’t you?”

“Aw, Michael, I couldn’t leave my boi behind, boi.” Gavin tossed his hair back, using the gesture to glance over his shoulder. The closest person was the bandit leading the horse pulling the cart. Most of the rest had gone ahead, possibly to talk out of earshot, with two on foot bringing up the rear. Then he met Michael’s furious gaze. “They would have killed you, boi.”

“So what?” Michael snapped, tugging impatiently at his bound hands and nearly unbalancing himself as the cart wheel hit a stone. “What do you care? I’m the one who got you into this mess in the first place, remember?”

Gavin pressed his lips together and looked away.

It was true, they both knew it. Michael was a bounty hunter, just after the money like the bandits who’d ambushed him. And yet, Gavin couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at his friend.

“That’s different,” he asserted, jerking his chin up defiantly at the disbelieving glare Michael shot him. Leaning forward and wiggling his bound hands, Gavin gave Michael a pointed look. “If we escaped… could you…?”

But Michael was already shaking his head. “It’s tied to whoever set the bindings. In case the prisoner learns the passphrase - so they can’t free themselves.”

“Well, shite,” Gavin murmured, brow furrowing. As long as he was bound, he couldn’t reach his magic. Which he’d been fine with when he knew Michael would protect him, but with both of them tied up, that wasn’t an option.

He glanced at Michael, trying to guess at what his boi was thinking. But unlike Gavin, Michael wasn’t counting the bandits or keeping track of their positions, too busy glaring at the wood of the cart under his feet, face drawn into a dark frown. Knowing Michael, that could only mean one thing.

Gavin let the movement of the cart sway him close, bumping into Michael’s side and then just dropping his whole weight on the other, head resting on Michael’s shoulder.

“Hey!” Michael protested, but compared to his usual shouting it was downright quiet.

“I don’t blame you, you know,” Gavin stated, ignoring Michael’s squirming to get away from him. Michael froze at the words, and when Gavin raised his head to look at him, he avoided Gavin’s gaze.

“You should,” Michael muttered, still refusing to meet Gavin’s eyes. Gavin jammed his elbow into Michael’s ribs, just so Michael would glower at him. Since it worked, Gavin grinned and winked, which only made Michael’s scowl darken. “I mean it. I ruined your life, asshole.”

“Nah,” Gavin replied easily, shrugging the shoulder that wasn’t pressed against Michael’s. “Life’s a journey. This was really just a detour, boi.”

“Shut up.” Michael tried really hard to keep the scowl, but Gavin could see his lips quirk at the corner of his mouth. Delighted, Gavin flopped back against him, letting Michael take all of his weight. “By the gods, what do you even eat, you’re so fucking heavy, fuck Gav.”

“M’not!” Gavin objected, unable to keep the glee out of his voice. He wriggled until he laid half on top of Michael, who dropped onto his side in an attempt to squirm out from under him. “Take that back!”

“Heavy as a fuckin’ boulder, dammit, Gavvers.” Michael rolled onto his stomach, pulling his knees under him in an attempt to buck Gavin off. Gavin ignored him, sitting on Michael’s legs instead. Their hands brushed, and Michael stilled. “...Gavin?”

“Once we’re in the city,” Gavin said quietly, keeping an eye on the bandits behind the cart. They were closer now, paying attention, probably due to their conspicuous squabbling. Just to be safe, Gavin lowered his voice even further. “Once we’re in the city, you need to make a run for it, boi. Okay?”

“The fuck I will,” Michael grumbled, keeping his hands painfully still as Gavin fumbled with the rope tying them together. If he could just pry them loose enough to push his finger into the loops…

“Boi, I don’t know what they’ll do with you, boi,” he replied absent-mindedly, all his focus on the rope. He glanced over his shoulder, but he couldn’t quite see the knot, not with how both their hands were behind their respective backs. “We both know what’ll happen to me, but you’re a loose end.”

“I’m not just going to leave you!” Michael’s voice rose in protest, and Gavin pinched his palm. “Ow! Asshole, what-” Michael’s teeth ground audibly.

“They’re watching, boi.” 

The bandits, for whatever reason, hadn’t decided to investigate yet, but the rearguard was slowly catching up with the cart. They needed to hurry up, even if he only loosened the bindings enough for Michael to slip them later. He didn't know why the bandits decided to bring him along, what their plans were for Michael, but at least they hadn't killed him - yet. And Gavin had the ominous, foreboding feeling it had everything to do with securing Gavin's cooperation after he'd come back for the bounty hunter.

At least they wanted, needed Gavin alive. Michael had no such guarantee.

He managed to loosen the knot enough to slip one end of the rope through its loop by the time the bandits caught back up and forced them apart. Gavin settled into one corner of the cart with Michael on the opposite site under the bandits’ stern eye. He hoped it would be enough to give Michael a shot at freedom - or they’d have another opportunity later.

The sun reached and passed its peak. The cart only stopped long enough to give the horse a chance to drink from a nearby river, while the bandits broke out the rations. As captives, Michael and Gavin weren’t fed, but they were allowed to wet their parched throats a little before they moved on. The sun just started setting when they crested one last hill, revealing the sprawling walls of the capital ahead of them. They’d caught glimpses of towers on the horizon for the last hour or so, but it had been hard to tell how far away they were at any given moment.

Now they were less than two miles out.

“It’s my fault,” Michael murmured, sounding as if the words were pulled from him against his will, pressing out from between gritted teeth. “They’d never have caught you if I hadn’t…”

“Shut up, boi.” Gavin kicked at his ankle, forcing down the panic bubbling up in his chest. Focussing on Michael blaming himself helped to distract him. "I forgive you, boi. You know that, right?"

Scowling, Michael met his [genuine] eyes with a dark look of his own. "You shouldn't."

"That's not up to you, innit," Gavin returned lightly, undeterred. "Michael, I know why you did it, Michael. I understand."

"Doesn't make it right," Michael muttered, tossing his head and rolling his shoulders, his spine a single line of tension. "I tricked you. You trusted me, Gav."

"I still do," Gavin admitted quietly. Now it was his turn to avoid the other's burning gaze. Clearing his throat, he switched the subject before Michael could work himself up into a retort. "You should make a run for it at the gates. The guards will want to check the cart, they won't be able to chase you far. I'll distract them, buy you some time."

"The hell you will," Michael grumbled. His eyes darted from one bandit to the next. Then he leaned into Gavin, ducking his head and keeping his voice low. "Once we're through the gates, I'll feint an escape, grab myself one of their weapons. Fight them long enough for you to run, find yourself a place to hide."

Gavin scowled, whipping his head around to glare at Michael and nearly braining him with how close they were. Their noses brushed, but Gavin didn’t let that stop him from hissing, “I didn’t come back for you only to leave you at their mercy now.”

“And I’m not going to sell you out just to save my own fucking hide,” Michael grumbled, his arms shifting as if to cross over his chest before he remembered to pretend they were still tied up behind his back. He glowered instead. “I’m not stooping that low, Gav.”

“No,” Gavin murmured, eyeing the other contemplatively. “No, you wouldn’t. Not for your own sake.”

A grimace crossed Michael’s face at the reminder of what he would sell Gavin out for, for what he had set out to do. He grit his teeth and lifted his chin, glaring back at Gavin defiantly. “Well, I’m not getting any money out of this anymore, am I? So there.”

Their eyes locked into a staring match, jaws clenched in equal stubbornness, neither willing to give in or blink first. A stalemate.

Gavin was the first to break, lashes fluttering before he scowled at Michael’s smug grin. “Alright. But only if you make a break for it, too, as soon as I’m off.”

“Yeah, sure,” Michael lied easily. Gavin narrowed his eyes.

“Swear it, boi.” He knocked their knees together, grimacing when the force vibrated through his bones. Despite that, he held Michael’s gaze. “Swear it, or I won’t run.”

The cart came to a shuddering halt. Michael’s eyes darted back over their shoulders, and Gavin’s followed, brow furrowing. They had arrived at the capital, a small queue building in front of the looming gate. They’d run out of time.

Meeting Michael’s solemn, brown eyes, Gavin pressed his forehead to his boi’s. “Swear it, Michael.”

Michael licked his lips, then his head dipped barely perceptibly. “Alright. Fine. Fuck.”

The guards talked with the leader of the bandits, who gestured towards Gavin while pulling the wanted poster from his pouch. One of the guards unrolled the crumbled parchment, reading it over with a frown before glancing between the poster and Gavin, who ducked his head. The other guard poked him in the side with the butt of his spear, and Gavin flinched, head jerking up to glare at them. The first guard nodded, rolling up the parchment and clasping the leader’s shoulder.

“What about the other one?” the second guard asked, their spear snapping to hit Michael in the chest, who snarled in response.

“Insurance,” the leader replied shortly, pulling their hood down and tossing their hair over their shoulder. “To make the el-” They cut themself off, glancing around at the dwindling crowd, before correcting to, “-the prisoner behave.”

“Very well.” The guard nodded. “We will take it from here.”

Immediately, the bandits fell into protest, until their leader raised their hand to silence them. They stared steadily at the guards. “What about our reward?”

“You will receive the bounty once the prisoner is secure,” the guard declared. The leader crossed their arms and glared.

“No. I will not hand the elf over until we’ve got our money.” They bared their teeth. “You understand, of course.”

“And what makes you think you can make those demands?” the second guard questioned, a growl to their voice and their grip tightening on their spear.

The leader tossed their long hair over their shoulder with an elegant shrug. “I hold the wards binding the elf’s magic. He cannot be released by anyone else than the one who set the bond.”

The first guard narrowed their eyes, then snorted. “You will hand over the warding in return for the bounty?”

Gavin exchanged a quick, wide-eyed look with Michael as the bandits came to an agreement with the guards. The first guard took the cart from the bandits and only the leader was allowed to follow. The moment the bindings were released - that was when they’d have to stage their escape.

Michael gave him a subtle nod, having come to the same conclusion.

The guard brought the cart to a halt shortly behind the gates, next to the guard house. Inside, Gavin could here more guards, back-up or the next rotation on break, probably. But right now, it was just the one guard, the bandits’ leader, Michael, and him. He cracked his fingers behind his back and rolled his shoulders, trying to get rid of the tension in his muscles from the uncomfortable position he’d been forced to spend the day in.

They brought Gavin down from the cart, to stand between the leader and the guard. They spoke the passphrase, the binding dropping from his wrists. He brought his hands up to rub at where the rope had cut into his skin, a heavy, gauntleted hand on his shoulder keeping him from making a run for it.

“And I just repeat those words?” the guard asked, and the leader nodded.

“Yes. Just tie the rope around his hands first. Here, let me-”

Before they could go through with it, Michael jumped off the end of the cart, landing on the bandit leader with all of his weight, hands immediately going to their belt for the dagger strapped there. The guard shouted in surprise, and Gavin ducked out from under their hand on his shoulder, shaking them off in that moment of shock.

“Run!” Michael grunted, having won the struggle for the knife and kicking the bandit in the gut, only barely catching the guard’s spear attack on his bracer.

“You, too!” Gavin yelled back, scrambling past the cart and darting down the street, dodging into the first alley he could find. The sooner he got away, the better chance Michael had at making a run for it. He knew his boi wouldn’t go for it until Gavin was out of sight, at the earliest.

He dodged past the evening crowd on the streets, ducking into alleys in an attempt to get as far away as possible. His breathing came in harsh pants and his legs were burning from the sudden exertion after so long of sitting still, yet he pushed on. Alarm bells started ringing, guard squads jogging through the streets, pushing the crowds aside.

“There he is!” Gavin heard the yell from ahead of him, and without pausing he darted off, jumping onto a stack of crates, rolling across a canopy, before sprinting over a roof. He hopped over the edge, into an alley, the landing jarring his legs to the bone. Taking a quick breath, Gavin pushed off, back out onto the street, glancing back.

The guard squad raced around the corner, chasing him. Shit.

A quick spell helped him propel himself up onto another roof, roots creating footholds for him to use as a stair. Leaping across the gaps between the houses, Gavin made it several streets down before coming up against the stone wall encircling the capital. Deciding against going up - too easy to see him, and besides, he needed to meet up with Michael later - he slid down with the help of another rapidly growing root, saving his legs the force of landing.

Gavin paused only long enough to catch his breath, before darting around the corner, knowing he needed to put some space between where the guards last saw him on the roofs and where he came down. So busy plotting a route to juke them, he ran face first into a patrol, his nose nearly breaking against the iron chestplate of the surprised guard.

The guard stared at him in surprise as Gavin fell back over and onto his arse, before levelling their spear at his throat and slowly stepping forward, until one boot on his chest pinned him on the dirt.

Well, fuck.

Hopefully Michael managed to escape at least.

#achievement hunter kings #ragehappy #ah kings #ah fiona #ah lindsay #ah gavin #ah michael #ah trevor #ah alfredo #fionsay #mavin #alfreyco #fic rec #ingno writes #triple duke coup #tdc #fantasy au #btw did anyone notice how Fiona subtly remembers Fredo's warning differently? #idk I just had fun messing with that instead of copying it straight #because memory is a funny thing that's never quite accurate #but then again I'm a nerd for that kinda stuff :'D #so! Fiona enters the story! #and so does Lindsay! #how'd you like their dynamic?

[sorcererinthestars]

Listen:

An au where Michael is a really good lute player and everyone thinks it’s weird because he’s so aggressive but he makes such beautiful music. No one will be his patron though because he’s such a wild card.

Enter rich nobleman’s son Gavin who has a lot of money and nothing to do with it. Who is fascinated by Michael and ends up becoming his patron to help him with expenses. Michael writes the most beautiful pieces for him.

And they fall in love because of course they do.

#mavin #ragehappy #lute au

[kiraraneko]

Michael wants pets right! meow! RT Hybrid AU is my lifeline ♥

#mavin #ragehappy #hybrid au #catmichael #birdgavin #digitalart #drawing #kirawra #kirarart #team nice dynamite #allrt

[mrmustachious]

Chapters: 6/6 Fandom: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jeremy Dooley/Gavin Free/Michael Jones, Jack Pattillo/Geoff Ramsey Characters: Gavin Free, Michael Jones, Jeremy Dooley, Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Kings AU, Kidnapping, Violence, Injury, Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Camp Nanowrimo, Only One Bed Summary:

Gavin had it all. He was a prince, the next in line to the throne. He had two parents who loved him and would do anything for him. He was quite happy with his life, as long as he ignored the lonely feeling that was growing with each day.

Then, he got kidnapped by two bandits from his own home, the one place he felt safe. However, these two men may end up being just what he was missing.

Written for Camp NaNoWriMo April 2021

#ragehappy #jeremavin #jeremichael #mavin #jerevin #kings au #enemies to lovers #camp nano april 2021 #camp nanowrimo #fanfiction #mine

[shadeofazmeinya]

fluffy hybrid shenanigans? I have this image in my head of cat!Michael chasing bird!Gavin across the yard/house, vaulting over table and sofa, while being filmed by Jeremy or someone. doesn't have to be that exactly, but if it inspires, I'd love to read about them!

(Went with generic fahc au with hybrids. Just their usual chaos haha. Had fun writing this, so thank you so much for the prompt!!)

“Get back here, you piece of shit!”

Michael’s shout echoes throughout the whole penthouse, loud footsteps vibrating the floors as they chase through the house. Gavin only laughs, wings flapping as he flies over the couch and coffee table. Ruffle feathers nearly collide with Jack as she steps into the room, brushing past her on a quick turn. Gavin clutches a t-shirt in hand, matching Michael’s lack of one as he dashes around shirtless. Michael’s tail flicks, ears pressed back, as he vaults over the couch after him. Michael’s sharp teeth show in his hissing, claws swiping towards Gavin, but the other flies just out of his reach.

“Try not to break everything in the house!” Jack calls, shaking her head as she adjusts the toolbox on her hip. “You break it, you have to be the one to face Trevor!”

Neither respond, darting right past her with laughter and growling. Jeremy was half out of the kitchen, half sandwich in hand, ears perked up at the noises. They laugh as their phone is out, filming every second. “If you break shit, it better be at least funny!” they call to the chasing pair.

“Michael!” Gavin squeaks as he bolts, darting up the stairs towards the bedroom. “Michael, don’t hurt me, Michael!”

“Give me my shit back!” Michael growls. He pauses, shifting his weight to his hind legs and then launches himself forward. He . They wrestle together in the hallway, Gavin squawking as Michael grabs the shirt out of his hands. Gavin gives way easily, just laughing as Michael pulls the shirt on over his head.

“But you look so good without a shirt, boi,” Gavin smirks up as he’s pinned under Michael’s weight.

Michael rolls his eyes, but his cheeks turn a shade of pink that makes Gavin smirk more. “What happens when you actually fucking work out.”

The door besides them opens, a pair of pajama-covered legs moving to their side. They look up to Matt’s sigh, his badger ears twitching. “Don’t fucking have sex in the hallway, I swear to God,” he grumbles before stepping around them, heading down towards the kitchen.

Michael scowls, shoving off Gavin and quickly standing. “Just making Gav give my shit back,” he explains as Matt doesn’t stop walking. “We’re only wrestling.”

“I don’t need to know,” Matt calls back, not looking back as he slips away.

Gavin snickers, sitting up as well. “Don’t scar poor Matt,” he teases Michael, kissing his cheek. “Sorry for stealing your shirt, boi. But you made it too easy.”

Michael rolls his eyes, but leaned into the kiss. “Whatever. You better not have ripped this shirt,” he says, examining the red shirt a little closer, brushing over the smiley face and dynamite design.

“I would never,” Gavin assures.

“Hey!” Jeremy calls up from the bottom of the stairs. “You have to watch this video, Michael you looked fucking awesome jumping over the couch like that.”

Michael grins, bounding back down, tail swishing from side to side. “Let me see! If I look badass, you have to send it to Fredo.”

Gavin laughs as he follows, looking over their shoulders. The penthouse is always a buzz of energy, their animal sides never helping in their brands of chaos. But they all wouldn’t have it any other way.

#fake ah crew #fahc #fahc hybrids #hybrids au #ragehappy #mavin #again not edited so please just kindly ignore mistakes #prompt fill

[alfryco]

if we’re doing the whole RT hybrid!au thing again I vote for Alfredo as an African wild dog and i will fight to the death if someone tries to change bird!gavin and cat!michael 

#rtah #rt hybrid!au #erin's chitterchatter #i will duel over hybrid mavin

[thefahc-motheringvampire]

What if the fahc got stuck in the penthouse together cause of quarantine and then romance happened

WHAT INDEED. If there’s one thing I know about being stuck somewhere with someone you have chemistry with, it’s that THINGS WILL ABSOLUTELY HAPPEN.

Gonna go ahead and call this the Oh my god they were quarantined AU.

MAVIN: With Mavin, everything would be normal until it’s not. Let’s face it, the lads are bound to get into trouble; videogames can only keep them pacified for so long, and they are both utterly destructive and chaotic forces in their own right. So maybe after pulling one too many pranks, Geoff threatens to ground them if they don’t smarten up, which turns into them having a prank war against each other. Because obviously they can’t just stop. Anyway Gavin gets Michael good (with something simple like getting doused by a bucket of water perched precariously on the top of a door, which is the infuriating thing), Michael gets mad and gives Gavin a chase, gets him trapped and then…One minute Michael is yelling at Gavin, who is squealing and giggling, the next they’re a tangle of limbs and lips on the floor, with Jack telling them to get a room. Which they do. Lots.

JEREMYATT: This one is definitely a slow burn because both of them are soft idiots who are afraid to make the first move. Because like I imagine Matt's pretty introverted, so even though he’s not particularly bothered by the quarantine, what he is bothered by is being in constant close proximity to the other noisy idiots in the penthouse. So he spends a lot of time in his room, playing on his computer or cleaning his weapons, enough that the others tease him about being a moody teenager. But it bothers Jeremy, because Jeremy’s the one who quietly monitors the group to make sure everyone’s having fun. But he wants to respect Matt’s space, right? So he decides the best way to do the solidarity thing is to spend time in his room, across the hall, playing his guitar and trying to guess at the kind of music Matt might like. Sometimes he plays country ballads, sometimes covers of his favourite music, sometimes just instrumentals. But after a bit he begins to second guess himself, and feel dumb about it. He’s probably just bothering Matt. So he stops, and there’s a few days of silence, until there’s a knock on his door one evening and it’s Matt asking if he takes requests (trying to be really suave about it but the blush in his cheeks being a dead give away). So they spend the evening in Jeremy’s room; Jeremy on the bed playing his guitar and singing softly and Matt sitting on the floor listening with his eyes closed. But…um…Matt falls asleep? Because listening to Jeremy is really relaxing, and it’s done wonders for his insomnia.  It takes a while for Jeremy to realize it, but when he does he kind of panics because what does he do now? So he stops and waits and hopes Matt will wake up, but he doesn’t. Eventually he decides to just wake Matt up (it’s not like he could pick him up and carry him to his room), and Matt is obviously embarrassed but coyly asks if they can do this tomorrow before he goes back to his room? But like I said they’re both soft idiots so they don’t kiss until the third or fourth time, but at least after that Matt gets to stay asleep once he’s fallen asleep.

JACKEOFF: Bold of you to assume they aren’t already madly in love with each other. The way I see these two is that they’ve already given a run at the whole relationship thing, but decided they were better off as friends. Except with this quarantine, they’re forced to spend a lot of time together (if for no other reason than because bored lads and team hivemind are a handful at the best of times and hiding out together in Geoff’s master suite seemed like the best idea). And with so much time to sit and cuddle and reminisce, they’re bound to think that maybe they oughta give it another shot, right? I mean, they have nothing to lose and maybe something nice to gain? Besides, everyone else in this goddamn penthouse is getting some, why should they be left out? (They really are just better off as friends though, which they’ll redecide once this madness is over, but for now they get to live in the wonderful dream of the two of them together).

I might do some other ships later? I dunno, we’ll see. Pretty clear who my favourite ship is, eh? But thanks for the ask, I love writing about these idiots! If you wanna see a different ship, let me know! I might write it anyway, I have a lot of free time on my hands suddenly!

#ragehappy #oh my god they were quarantined au #fahc #fahc michael #fahc gavin #mavin #fahc jeremy #fahc geoff #fahc jack #jackeoff #fahc fanfiction #writing #ask answered #fahc matt #jeremyatt #edited

[astronamies-void]

Mavin AU #2 (Amies AU’s)

Cute, Alternate Universe, Can be AH universe or not tbh

——————

AU where Michael and Gavin live together as boyfriends and it’s Gavin’s birthday. Michael is no where to be found when Gavin wakes up because he left to get his birthday gift. When he returns Gavin can’t be mad at him because he has brought home a kitten.

——————

Michael leaves early in the morning, when Gavin wakes up he’s alone and wondering where Michael is. He calls him and texts him and texts their friends but he is no where to be found. He’s be lying if he said he wasn’t dissapointed that Michael wasn’t there when he woke up and made him a birthday lunch in bed.

A couple hours pass and that dissapointment turns to worry. He wonders if Michael is okay and hopes nothing happened to him, or worse he left. But Gavin keeps telling himself that Michael can be an asshole sometimes but not enough to leave him on his birthday. That is a whole other level of asshole that Michael could never reach.

Just after lunchtime Gavin is considering going to look for him when the front door unlocks and in walks Michael.

“Gav? I’m home! Sorry for leaving you for so long. My errand took longer than expected.”

Gavin runs to the front door and is ready to yell but when he sees Michael all anger leaves his body.

“What is that?”

“What is what?”

“That? In your hand”

“Oh, this?”

Michael walks forward and Gavin does too.

“This is your birthday present. It took a little longer than expected to get...”

“Oh Michael!”

“I had a plan on how I was going to give it to you but I guess in our front hallway works too”

“I love it!”

“You haven’t even seen it yet.”

“I know but I still love it!”

“Here,” Michael hands the gift to Gavin who takes it carefully.

“I can’t believe it”

“Well, are you going to open it?”

“Can I?”

“Of course! It’s your birthday present after all”

Gavin decides to go into the living room with it. He places it on the floor and sits in front of it

“Hello there” He coos at the small travel kennel.

He opens the front cage door and the tiniest sound can be heard.

He reaches in and pulls out a tiny gray striped kitten.

“Michael this is the best birthday present ever!”

“Only the best for my boi. What are you going to name her?”

“It’s a her?”

“That’s what the shelter told me”

“Hello you little girly! What should we name you? How about Princess Cute Nose”

“No”

“Why not? Look at her nose, Michael!”

“I see it, but we are not naming our cat that”

“Fine but you only get so many vetos”

—————

If anyone takes this prompt the rest is up to you😌✨ (of course you don’t have to follow my own little insert)

#mavin #mavin fanfiction #michael and gavin #kitten #au #mavin au #fanfiction #fanfic #michael jones #gavin free #achievement hunter #team nice dynamite #ah #tnd #galileojoneswrites #AmiesAus #AmiesMavinAus #AmiesAHAus #cute #mavin fluff #fluff #the fic and the kitten lmao

[gvnchvcks]

Do you have any ships you like in fahc?

I do!! My personal favorite is and always has been Mavin, but I'm also a big fan of Alfreyco, Jackeoff, Jerematt, and the Joneses. Also kinda been getting into Jeremavin lately :o

#fahc #fake ah crew #achievement hunter au #mavin #jackeoff #jerematt #juggey #alfreyco #ragehappy

[everamazingfe]

You Can Ride On My Rocket 69 - Chapter Ten

Fic Summary: Jeremy has recently awoken in this strange world, 210 ten years after he was put to sleep, and is now the lone survivor from his vault. Trevor's a radio host from Diamond City who's barely left the station, lonely in his own right and isolated from the rest of the Wastes. When they meet, Trevor finally gets a chance to see the rest of the wasteland like he's always wanted, though Jeremy becomes more of his bodyguard than Trevor does his companion. They meet various people along the way, some being friends like the odd throuple they meet in one of the neighboring city, or foe like a certain Diamond City guard. Both are wary about bringing up their pasts, but the wasteland has a strange way of bringing people together.

Chapter Summary:  Jeremy and Trevor learn the truth about Vault 111, and Trevor takes a little vacation to Good Neighbor and makes some strange bedfellows. This chapter's song is "Maybe" by The Ink Spots.

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

Words in this chapter: 4296 Pairings: Jeremy/Trevor, Michael/Gavin/Lindsay, Jeremy/OC Warnings for this chapter: Mentions of death, minor character injury, alcohol use

Notes: There's a link to the first chapter of this fic as the source of this post! Click it to go read this fic over on A O 3, or you can search up the title or ‘everamazingfe’ on the site! This is also my longest chapter ever, and there’s some art to go along with it, but that’s in a separate post.

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

The vault had clearly remained untouched since the pair had last been there, the dust that coated everything undisturbed aside from handprints on the cryopod and dust wiped from the terminal's keyboard. Trevor was back at that terminal, typing and clicking away as if it would get him any closer to accessing the menus hidden behind the password screen. Jeremy stood at the pod, his forehead and hand pressed on the glass. 

A groan of frustration came from the computer, followed by a soft thud as the side of the monitor was hit, and Jeremy turned his head. "No good?"

"Nope. No good," Trevor muttered, shaking his head and huffing in frustration. "I'm gonna try and find another terminal, maybe one of the others won't be so broken. Just... Hang out here." He let out another huff as he picked up his bat, leaving the room to explore the vault more. There were radroaches everywhere, but with the mods Jeremy had made to the swatter in his hands, it killed them in one swift hit. He didn't remember there being so many the last time they were there, but maybe they were just getting bold. 

Trevor figured his best bet would be the overseer's office, maybe the computer there would have some sort of master control system. He didn't know. Computers weren't really his thing, but he was trying his best to be helpful. He made his way down the hall towards where he figured the overseer's office, but before he reached it, he found another room full of those same pods. That terminal was unharmed, and though he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it held, he looked anyway. 

What it held was rather appalling. Whatever malfunction had caused Jeremy's pod to open had shown mercy on him, because he was the only one to make it out of there alive. The cryogenic array and life support systems had long gone offline, and everyone left in the pods had thawed and begun to rot. It was easy to figure out that something similar had happened in the room that held Jeremy's husband's pod, and in every other room in the vault. The realization that he was standing in a room full of corpses, already entombed with their family and friends, made him stagger back, bile rising in his throat. He'd suspected it, but the confirmation was something he wasn't ready for. 

The overseer's terminal didn't bring Trevor much better news either. The all-clear that was supposed to come from Vault-Tec never did. The resulting incident, as staff of the vault rioted and overthrew the overseer, was one of chaos and horror. The skeletons littered about the vault had made that clear, but somehow those were easier to stomach. They didn't still look like people, and from the sound of the memos he found, they weren't meant to make it out of the vault alive either. 

Trevor let out a long sigh, scrubbing his hands over his face as he tried to process what he'd learned. It was all so much. Vault-Tec was pure evil, that much was certain, and he was glad he never had had to deal with them. The Institute was bad enough as it was. He slid down the desk until he was sitting on the floor, looking over at the skeleton of the overseer nearby. "Were any of these people ever supposed to leave? Were you?" 

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

Jeremy hadn't budged from the pod since Trevor had left. His eyes were still fixed on it, on his husband inside. The harsh reality of the situation was all around him, but he refused to accept it without concrete proof. The man couldn't be dead. He had fought for years in The Great War, only to die a week after getting home? It just seemed too cruel, Jeremy couldn't accept that as the truth. But he knew that the man inside didn't deserve a life out in the wastes, either. Maybe he was better off in the pod. 

"I wish I was still in mine," he whispered, examining the lines of the other man's face. "I wish I could remember you." He put his palm flat on the glass, his fingers curling against it. "I remember us. I remember... Our life. But not you."

Something about coming out of cryofreeze must have fucked his brain up, maybe he'd gone without the life support functions for just a little too long after thawing, before his pod had opened. Or maybe his mind was protecting him from something bad. Jeremy didn't know. But luckily, his eyes still worked fine. At least he could still see him clearly. He inspected him closely, committing his face to memory and filling in the gaps where decay had caused the skin to fade away. The man inside the pod still looked as handsome as he did in all those photos from before the war, in Jeremy's mind. But what was underneath wasn't muscle, or bone. 

Jeremy pressed his nose right up against the glass, almost like he was trying to push through it to see better, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. 

"What the hell?" He squinted and looked even closer, and all at once his breath was ripped from his chest. 

When he got it back, all he could do was scream. 

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

"Trevor!" 

The pained cry echoed off the walls of the vault, and Trevor's head snapped to attention. It was Jeremy. For a moment, he was excited, thinking that maybe he'd finally gotten the manual release switch to work, but as the other man screamed again, he knew that it was anything but joy in his voice. He'd never run faster, but the vault was maze like and confusing. When he found Jeremy, the man was no longer standing calmly and staring pensively into the pod, but repeatedly punching the glass. 

"Jeremy, what-"

"-He's a fucking synth!" Despite Jeremy punching the glass again and again, his knuckles bloodied and bruised, there wasn't a single crack in the surface. "That's not my husband, that's a fucking synth!" Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he hit the glass one last time before he turned to face Trevor. "He's... Trevor, he's..." He choked on his words, covering his face with his hands as he dropped to his knees. "This is worse than him being dead."

Trevor approached slowly, kneeling down in front of him and tentatively putting a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. It was shrugged off, so he decided not to push it. Looking towards the pod, he saw that Jeremy was right. How had they missed it? Wires and metal, all on display. A false bone faceplate and synthetic skin that didn't look quite right upon close inspection. One of the earlier models for sure, the newest ones had no differences from their human counterparts, but he didn't think that they existed before the drop. "That's sick. That's... That's downright disturbing." What business did the Institute have with a Pre-War corpse? "I don't even know what to say." What was there to say? 'Sorry that the man you love turns out not to be a man at all?' Bones were easier to break than that thick glass, especially when Jeremy was the one throwing the punch. 

"Was my whole life a lie?" Jeremy took a shuddering breath, trying to keep everything from fading to black around him. "Was he even real? Did he ever even love me?"

"No, no... The Institute... It wasn't around before the bombs. There's no way." Either the man was somehow always a synth, or they came and swapped his body out. But that didn't answer the question of why? What was so special about him that they'd sentence everyone else to death? He realized now that this was probably the source of the malfunction that had doomed the other pods, and they'd probably cut off the manual release to keep anyone from finding out. "He was real when you knew him. I'm sure of that." 

Jeremy scoffed. "Great, so then the Institute is a bunch of graverobbers. What are they, the fucking Resurrection Men?" 

"I don't know who that is."

"They're... Fuck it, nevermind. We need to find those fuckers." His tears had gone from distraught to furious, his whole body running red hot with anger as his fists clenched at his sides again. The Institute had taken so much from him. They'd taken a peaceful death from him, and now they'd gone and taken away the only thing that had ever made his existence bearable. That hurt more than all the hits he'd taken out in the Commonwealth combined. 

"No one knows where they are, Jeremy. Otherwise they would've been taken out decades ago."

"Even better, we'll be the first!"

"Where would we even start?" 

"I don't know!" Jeremy was shouting now, standing up abruptly and startling Trevor in the process. Pointing at the pod, Jeremy continued. "He might still be out there! He could be out there, alone and scared and wandering the wastes like I was before I met you, or the Institute could be doing shit to him, and I don't know which is a worse fate. We have to find him." He lowered his hand, hauling Trevor up. "I have to find him."

Trevor just stared down at Jeremy, finding his footing and freeing his arm from his grip. "I don't know if I'm gonna be able to help you."

"Then forget you, I'll do it myself." He started to walk away, but Trevor grabbed him by the shoulders to stop him, and Jeremy met his eyes with a flare. 

"Stop! Wait. I meant I don't know how to help you. But... Remember how I told you 'bout how I was brought up by Nick Valentine?" Jeremy nodded, though he was uncertain. "He's a detective, back in Diamond City. He can help you." 

"Oh." Jeremy instantly relaxed, his glare being replaced with a softer expression. He'd thought that Trevor meant that he wouldn't help him. "Well, I guess we're going back to the city, then." 

"Guess so," Trevor agreed, letting out a sigh. At least Jeremy seemed a bit less worked up now, but he still felt a bit on edge. "All this back and forth is fucking exhausting."

Jeremy nodded in agreement, shaking out his hand and pulling a bundle of gauze from his pocket to wrap it with. "Hey, Trev?" He said once they were back on the elevator platform, looking at the other man for a few long moments before he actually hit the button to take them back up. 

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. And... Thanks."

Trevor shrugged, looking down at his feet. "That's what friends do, right? Help each other?" He looked back up at Jeremy now, a soft smile on his face. "And when they can't, they point them in the right direction."

"Yeah, exactly. But, uh... We gotta be careful out there, alright? I can't lose you too."

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

"I can't lose you too."

The words echoed in Trevor's head as he stared up at the sky. They were camped out in some abandoned house somewhere halfway between Sanctuary Hills and Diamond City, Trevor's own exhaustion nearly making him collapse and Jeremy's injured hand making it hard for him to hold a gun well enough to protect them. The roof was long gone, but the walls were intact enough that they could barricade the holes, and there were some mattresses left on the floor that were perfect for sleeping on. Only, Trevor couldn't sleep. Jeremy was snoring way too loudly beside him for that, and his armor was uncomfortable. 

The sky was always so clear, aside from the occasional radiation storm that rolled through, and he wondered if people before the war ever got the chance to appreciate it like this. Jeremy had said no, that the lights of the cities were so bright that you couldn't see the sky anymore, when he'd asked. He couldn't imagine living without being able to see the stars. They'd always brought him some sense of comfort, and if he was a smarter man maybe he would've taken the time to learn their names. But he wasn't, and that information wasn't available to him anymore even if he was. 

Trevor let out a sigh and rolled over, his eyes on Jeremy now. The words still replayed in his head, over and over. They had since he'd said them. Maybe he was putting too much meaning into them, but to him it felt like proof that someone finally cared about him. No one ever had before. His parents had abandoned him, leaving him to end up just another Diamond City orphan until Nick took pity on him. Nick had cared for him as much as a synth could, but he'd still said, "My hands are tied," when Trevor had gone to him with complaints about Ian. Everyone in Diamond City shunned him and didn't do anything to protect him, that had all been Jeremy. Because he actually cared about him. And he realized, as he lay there listening to the ambient noise of the wastes and the loud snoring, that he cared about Jeremy too. 

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

"I'm not going back to Sanctuary again."

"Not asking you to, Trevor."

"But Nick said he wants to go look at the vault, take a look around. So we gotta go back." 

"You don't have to go."

"Yes, I do." 

The conversation had been going on like this for around ten minutes now, Nick and his assistant Ellie standing by and politely pretending that they weren't eavesdropping. Trevor was reluctant to let Jeremy leave without him, despite being in no shape to travel. Whether it was because he was too scared to be on his own, or too scared that he wouldn't be there to help Jeremy in case things went bad, Trevor didn't know. But regardless, staying in Diamond City without Jeremy sounded terrifying. For all he knew, Ian could be back on duty, just waiting for a chance to catch Trevor alone. 

"Look, Trev... You're exhausted. I am too, but... I gotta go back there with him, I have to start trying to get this figured out. And you? You need to rest, I'm sorry but you look awful." Jeremy didn't like the sound of leaving Trevor alone either, but there was really no other choice. He at least had army training under his belt, he could run of too little sleep for far too long if he needed to, but Trevor didn't have that. And, admittedly, he'd been pushing the other man a bit too hard since they'd gotten back out in the Commonwealth. "Look, I'll take you to Goodneighbor, how about that? I'll bribe Michael to keep an eye on you, set you up with enough caps for a room at the Rex. How's that sound?" 

"Sounds a lot better than staying here."

Jeremy smiled at that, clapping Trevor on the shoulder. "Great. Nick, I'm gonna go do that, then I'll be back." 

"Don't worry about it. Take your time," Nick assured, waving them off. Both he and Ellie watched them as they left, the pair still bickering quietly. When the door shut, he turned to her and spoke. "I'm glad the kid's found a friend, but I thought he had a better head on his shoulders than that." 

Ellie shrugged, returning to her desk and writing up a report to go into the case file. "I dunno, Nick. Seemed like they're more than that to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing, it's just..." She smiled. "Intuition, I guess."

"Right. 'Intuition.' Just be careful you don't end up like Piper, sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

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

Good Neighbor without Jeremy was just boring, Trevor decided. It wasn't the comforting retreat he thought it would be either. Instead of worrying about the people around him, he was just worried about Jeremy. Spending time with Lindsay, Michael, and Gavin at the Third Rail was a decent distraction during the day, but there was nothing like that when he had to go back to the hotel alone. 

"You should check out the Memory Den some time," Gavin said one afternoon a few days into his stay, passing Trevor a Nuka Cherry with the cap already off. "Some people like taking a trip down memory lane when the real world stops being interesting enough for them."

Trevor scoffed quietly, taking a long sip from the soda. "Yeah, I'll pass. Most of the memories I've got, I don't wanna revisit."

"Not even your night with Lindsay?"

Trevor spluttered, nearly spilling his drink all over himself as he stared at Gavin in shock, who could only grin wryly back at him. "You know about that?"

"Course I do, it's not like I don't talk to them," he said, chuckling as he popped the top on a Gwinnet Stout for himself. "We're quite close, y'know. The three of us are. We talk. And Lindsay loves to talk about you, they'd been dying for you to some back ever since you left."

"I don't think that's true at all." His cheeks were as red as his soda now, and he just wanted to run away and hide. 

"Oh, but it is. You really impressed them." Gavin was getting a great deal of joy out of making Trevor squirm the way he was, and he glanced behind him towards the stairs that Lindsay was coming down right then. He winked at them, putting a finger to his lips when he made eye contact, quickly lowering his hand when Trevor was looking his way again. "So, tell me Trevor-boy. Were they as good of a neighbor as their songs claim? Oh, come on! Don't be shy now." 

"Okay, well... Honestly? They were great. I mean, just... So sweet, and so perfect, but... I don't think that's gonna be happening again." 

Both Gavin and Lindsay's face fell, and he leaned in close. "Why not?" 

Trevor bit his lip nervously, hoping he hadn't upset the other with his response. He swirled his soda around in the bottle, staring down into it before he looked up at him. "I don't think I was that good of a neighbor." Saying that he was dealing with some complicated feelings about Jeremy felt like he'd be confessing too much to someone he barely knew, and it wasn't Lindsay's fault that those feelings had only gotten more complicated since the last time he'd been around. 

"Oh, Trevor." Lindsay's voice came from behind him, and they wrapped their arms around him from behind him, making him bristle. "Don't be so hard on yourself. I think you were the best neighbor, but... I'm not against giving you a chance to redeem yourself." 

"You... You set me up!" He cried, pointing at Gavin accusingly, but the only response he got was a wink as he knocked back the beer. "This is the worst. You're the worst, Gavin." 

Lindsay laughed and unwrapped their arms around him so they could sit on a stool beside him, asking Gavin for a glass of wine when he was done being a dick. "I'm sorry, darlin', but it was just too cute watching you get all flustered like that." 

Some version of the same antic happened every day, and he didn't know how he hadn't gotten wise to it at that point. After the fifth day of being in Good Neighbor, he took Lindsay up on their offer of redeeming himself because he just couldn't stand how lonely his hotel room was anymore. It was much the same as the first time they had spent the night together, and it didn't really fill the void. 

The next night, Lindsay invited Trevor back to the apartment they shared with Gavin and Michael. Not for sex, but just so he wouldn't be alone at night anymore, because it really seemed to be getting to him. He'd swapped his Nuka Cherry for whatever beer Gavin had on hand, and they'd all started to get concerned. They all considered him a friend, they thought he was sweet and fun to talk to, and he had good choice in music, and they weren't going to let their friend be miserable if they could help it. Trevor was better after that, switching back to soda after his nights were filled with games of Blast Radius instead of listening to his own voice on the radio, staring up at the ceiling because he couldn't see the sky from the window. 

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

Jeremy wasn't doing much better, either. Nick Valentine, as nice as he was, just wasn't as good company as Trevor. That was his biggest problem with the synth, really. That he wasn't Trevor. The man's voice did play over the radio, but he knew it wasn't the real deal. The real deal was, hopefully, safe in Good Neighbor. 

The trip back to Sanctuary had been easy enough, but a tour of the vault didn't really tell Nick anything that Jeremy hadn't already told him about the situation. He'd expected as much, but it didn't hurt to look for any sort of calling card that may have been left behind. Their trip had taken quite a few detours, too, because of Nick wanting some help looking into other cases that he had on the docket. Jeremy had been reluctant to help, but he figured since he was being helped for free, it was the least he could do to pay him back. Once they were back in Nick's office in Diamond City, he relayed the information to Ellie for her to write up and add to the case file, and spoke with her to try and figure out the next step. She said something, and Nick's face lit up, knocking on the desk to get Jeremy's attention.

"Lucky for you, where you're gonna want to go next is where you have to go anyway," Nick said finally, turning to Jeremy, who'd nearly fallen asleep in the chair he was seated in. "In Good Neighbor, there's a place called the Memory Den. People usually use it to try and look back on fond memories, but I think in your case, it may be the key to figuring out what happened while you were on ice." 

Jeremy was glad to not have to roam all over the Commonwealth again, and even more excited that he'd get to see Trevor again. Next time, he wasn't going to be leaving him behind. "Great, I'll look into it."

"Come back to me if you get anything useful." 

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

It was another day at the bar for Trevor, another day wishing that there was something he could use to get in touch with Jeremy somehow. Letters were useless, and he was pretty sure that a Pip-Boy couldn't receive any messages from terminals without being hooked into it.

As usual, he was leaned against the bar, chatting with Gavin who stood next to him, and Michael and Lindsay who were seated on the other side on the stools. The Third Rail wasn't open just yet, but Trevor had taken to helping Gavin get the bar set up and keeping the other two company as they waited for opening time. And though it wasn't open, it seemed like Michael had forgotten to lock the door back up behind them, because heavy footsteps started coming down the steps. The conversation immediately stopped, Trevor and Gavin ducking down below the bar as Michael moved to stand in front of Lindsay. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Trevor heard Michael say, but it wasn't in anger like he'd been expecting. He and Gavin glanced at each other in confusion, the Brit silently reaching to grab a pistol that was stored beneath the counter just in case. 

"I'm here for Trevor. Guy at the Rex said he'd been hanging out with you guys lately."

He recognized that voice, and he knocked the gun out of Gavin's hands before popping his head up to confirm what his ears had heard. "Jeremy! You're back." 

"You didn't think I'd forgotten about you, did you?" Jeremy asked, a grin spreading across his face when he saw Trevor stand up from behind the bar. Barely a moment passed before Trevor was stepping out from behind the bar, running up to Jeremy and wrapping him in a hug. "Whoa, okay... Guess you did," he laughed, awkwardly raising and lowering his arms a few times before he settled for wrapping them around Trevor, hugging him back tightly. 

"No, I didn't, I just... Missed you." The confession made Trevor's cheeks go red, and after a minute he pulled away from the hug. "But... I'm glad you're back. How'd the search go?" 

Jeremy made a noncommittal noise, gesturing vaguely. "It was kinda pointless, to be honest. But I know where to go next. Some place called the Memory Den?"

"Oh, well I could have told you that! You didn't need some crackpot gumshoe for that," Gavin said, "That's where I told Trevor he should go when he started getting bored." Michael reached across the counter to thump him across the head. "What? I did!" The ghoul just cut him a look, and Gavin stuck his tongue out at him in response before quieting down. 

Trevor cleared his throat, turning back towards Jeremy with a smile. "Hey, at least we know where to go. And it's not very far, either. I bet you're even more sick of wandering around the wastes than I am at this point."

"You've got that right," Jeremy said with a chuckle, heading over to the bar to take a seat and motioning for Trevor to join him. "Mhm. But we're not going there right now. First, I need a drink."

#ragehappy #rpf #treremy #doollins #jeremy/trevor #mavinsay #juggey #gavinsay #mavin #fallout au #fallout 4 au #fic #fanfic #my fic #my writing #everamazingfe