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peach-the-owl · 3 years

Note

Hello! Can I request a Vox machina and Mighty Nein child reader where the reader gets killed and revived? Thank you!!

Hi! Thank you so so much for the suggestion, not gonna lie it was a bit tricky to write because it’s a tough subject to nail… also I may have cried a little making this, but after looking through the tears at the results I’d say it turned out pretty good 😁

No, I will not apologize for the length… Enjoy!

Dancing with Death

Vox Machina, Mighty Nein & Child!Reader

Warnings: Death (I mean it’s in the ask and title so it should be obvious, I guess), may get a slight bit graphic

Vox Machina

Go in, investigate, kill some demons, get out. That’s what you were supposed to do, sure you knew it wasn’t going to be the easiest task but you didn’t expect to see Vecna himself make an appearance. The twisted archlich taunted the party as you all fight off the demons as best as possible while simultaneously thinking of a way to escape. Too focused on not getting hit you didn’t see the devious look that crossed his features when his sights set on you. You fight off enemies as best as your abilities would let you until you find yourself face to face with Vecna, a icy chill running through you as he stared you down. That icy chill becomes more literal when he grabs you by the neck and lifts you into the air, you gasp in shock as you dangle helplessly, still struggling to free yourself, his grip only getting tighter, slowly cutting off your air intake. Everything was going hazing from your lack of oxygen, you felt the cold touch of his hand around your neck, the pain increasing from said cold, you heard what sounded like distant screams or maybe cries of your name, you weren’t entirely sure, there was a sudden pop in your neck alongside a brief second of sharp pain then… nothing.

You find yourself sitting somewhere dark, legs brought up to your chest as you hug them closer to you. Looking around this darkness stretched on and on, with no end in sight. Where were you? What just happened? You felt very confused until you saw the only other figure with you in this dark void. A tall, slender feminine figure stands before you, a dark cloak flowing down her shoulders and a simple porcelain mask covering her face, a hauntingly beautiful sight to say the least. You tilt your head to the side as you stare up at her, trying to wrap your head around what was going on and why she seemed familiar. To your surprise she copies you and tilts her own head to the side, although hers was more subtle, you then tilt your head to the other side and again she copies you, earning a small giggle out of you.

"Wow, you’re really pretty." You, finally finding words, say without much thought, you mind still not fully grasping the situation at hand. She lets out a soft hum of acknowledgment and gives a small bow to you before straightening herself upright again. At this point it’s starting to click why she was familiar, your eyes widening in realization at just who you were talking to. "Wait… you’re the Raven Queen. Does-does that mean I’m dead?" You stare up at her for some sort of confirmation, but the porcelain mask she wore didn’t really help give you any clues.

"Life can be so short and unfair, never caring if they be young, old, good or evil when facing the reality that is death." You blink at her words, it felt like there was some meaning to them but you couldn’t place your finger on what.

"Is-is that a yes?" You ask hoping for a more straightforward answer. She lets out another hum and reaches down to pick you up in a fluid motion, shifting to help smooth back some of your hair the second you were secure in her arms. Her touch was cold yet oddly calming to you as she begins to glide her way across the empty landscape that surrounded you both, you wonder if she was taking you to the afterlife, then she stops. You look at her confused but something else quickly captures your attention, a bright light cutting through the darkness. You couldn’t make direct eye contact but you tried your best to, hearing faint voices emitting through it, you couldn’t make out any words but the voices sounded desperate, pleading. You look up at the Raven Queen and, even through the mask, you could feel her own gaze set on you. You stare at her with curious eyes and once again tilt your head to the side in an almost silent question, as before she copies your action and traces the side of your face, tucking back any loose hair you may have had.

"Sweet little bird," she starts making you perk up, that was what Vax and Keyleth would call you as a nickname. "It is not your time quite yet, you have much more to accomplish in this life and foes whose souls shall be brought to me by your hand." You couldn’t tell if she was trying to be uplifting or something, but you did find some encouragement in her words. She leans closer to you and the cool feeling of her mask presses against your forehead as if in a gentle kiss before your vision turns white…

You open your eyes staring up at the ceiling of your room in Greyskull Keep, you just sit there staring into space for a while until you adjust yourself to sit up. Strangely enough you feel something wrapped in one of your hands, slowly opening it to find a single ravens feather resting in your palm, you examine it a moment before breaking into a cough, a strange sensation in your neck like there was a hand still around it. The sound of your door opening makes you look over to see Pike enter the room and hurry over to you, she helps steady you to your feet, giving a little extra healing to make the feeling in your neck go away and hugs you tightly, you happily return the hug, stashing the feather into your pocket. The two of you make your way around the keep to the dining room where the others were waiting, the instant they all see you you're swept up into hugs and apologies from all of them.

"(Y/n)! You’re awake!" "How are you feeling?" "I’m so sorry we couldn’t get to you in time." "We were so scared, we thought we might not be able to save you." These alongside many other comments were sent your way as you just happily snuggle into each one of their individual embraces. Keyleth and Vex both clung to you tightly doing very little to hold back their tears of joy. Grog easily scooped you up into his arms, being careful not to crush you and just happy to see that you were back on your feet, even if he protested to being worried. Percy and Scanlan both played it neutral, giving you pats on the shoulder or back, Scanlan making a comment that he knew everything would be alright because Pike was amazing at her job, but you could see the relief in their eyes for your well being. Then there was Vax, like the others he was very much happy and relieved that you were alright, wrapping you up in a tight embrace but there was also this faint look of knowing in his eyes when he stared at you. You offer all of them a bright smile before looking back up at the rouge, pulling out the feather to show him. He looks at it a moment, his expression softening a little more as gently weaves it into your hair. You’re about to say something when Percy speaks up, suggesting everyone goes out for the evening to finally unwind and celebrate your recovery. Quick and happy to agree you all head out to Emon, because there was only one thing on your mind now… you were absolutely famished.

Mighty Nein

Being in a group of adventurers was a risky bet to take, one you took with a smile. It would be fun they said, you’ll get to see new places they said, nothing could possibly go wrong you thought. For the most part it was true, but facing off against a coven of sea hags wasn’t proving to be the most fun to you. Well in fashion for the Nein, it would seem, things only got worse before they’d get better, one of the hags activating an orb-like object summoning a water elemental to the battle. The water elemental lunges at you, sweeping you up in its torrent to keep you from escaping, you only had enough time to take in a quick gasp of air before you’re trapped in the creature. You try to flail your arms to break free of the creatures hold to no avail, it’s not long before you start to have a hard time holding your breath. In a desperate last attempt you try reaching out to grab hold of anything nearby that you could use to pull yourself free, it was a futile attempt, your arms not even breaking past the creatures watery body. Your lungs begged for air and without meaning to you release your breath and take in a water, it burned your throat and lungs when you tried to cough it out only taking more in. Everything around you started to fade away, it was like the elemental itself didn’t exist either, only you and this moment, you couldn't escape and you didn’t know where everyone else was. It was lonely and you were terrified… then the pain disappeared, your vision was still dark but it didn’t hurt to breathe anymore.

You weren’t too sure what was going on, you couldn’t move or at very least you chose not to move and looked every which direction to see if there was anything or anyone else with you. Finding nothing you shakily rise to your feet and slowly move forward in this dark abyss.

"Hello! Is anyone there? Caduceus? Jester? Anyone?" You call out into the darkness hoping for an answer… no response. You keep calling for anyone from the Nein in hopes that someone would answer you, though it felt as though your voice was just swallowed up and reaching nowhere. "Is anyone there?" You repeat feebly. "Please, I don’t wanna be alone." You sniffle and tremble a little, tears pricking the corners of your eyes. A soft light breaks the darkness around you and a feminine figure appears before you. Her hair long and wild, cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall well complimented by the vines and flowers growing among it, a warm motherly smile upon her face.

A comforting breeze, feeling like that of a warm hug, blows around you and words, unspoken aloud but still heard form in your mind. "My sweet child, do not fear, you have never been alone." The words were soft and gentle, easing away your fear and bringing a sense of comfort to you as you stare up at the woman. She gently lifts you into her arms, moving so fluidly you almost don’t realize it until you’re face to face with the deity. Curiously you reach a hand out and touch the various flowers in her hair, a small giggle coming from you at the feeling.

"Your hair's really soft and the flowers a very pretty." You compliment, she hums in response, taking one of the flowers out of her hair and tucking it behind your ear. You carefully place a hand on the flower and smile at her, all the fear you held earlier finally disappearing.

"It is not quite yet your time to rejoin the earth," once again you don’t quite see her lips move but hear a voice carried in the soft breeze she emits. "Your family still needs you, my child. Go. Learn. Grow." Her words brought comfort but you had no idea what she was saying, honestly you still weren’t quite sure what had happened or who she was. She parts her lips and blows air into you, your vision turning white for a moment before you find yourself coughing up some water, feeling some pain in your chest as a result.

"Easy, easy. It’s alright, you’re gonna be okay." You rub your eyes before peeking them open to see Caduceus staring down at you with a relived smile. That’s when it clicked into your head what happened, but before you can make a comment another voice jumps in.

"Oh my gosh, (y/n)! We were so scared when we saw you in that nasty water guy." Jester effortlessly scoops you up into her arms and twirls around, a few tears having fallen at her relief.

"I wouldn’t say I was scared, just… worried." Beau comments, though her voice wavered slightly. Jester places you down and you’re immediately tackled into another hug by Nott. No comment from her, just being held in a tight embrace only a mother could give. When she finally lets go Fjord kneels down to your height and gently rubs your back, having been in a similar experience before he knows how you felt and almost looked guilty for it. You place a hand on his cheek and offer him a closed eye smile, he returns the smile before standing up again. Yasha now kneeling down and taking her turn to wrap you in her arms. You could feel the slight tremble in her body as she held you close, whispering something so quiet you wondered if she was even speaking at all.

Something soft butting at your leg pulled you from your thoughts, looking down at Frumpkin the cat gently butts it’s head against your leg again before rubbing his body against it with a soft purr. You pick up the cat, cuddling him a bit before looking around for his owner, spotting Caleb leaning against the wall his hands covering his face as he draws in deep breaths. You walk over to him and tug at his coat until he looks at you, you then hold up Frumpkin for him. He bends down and takes the cat from you, letting the fey rest on his shoulders then reaches over and gives you a pat on the head. It wasn’t much but you gave him A for effort.

"Alright, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m done standing around in here." Beau speaks up again, making you realize you were still in the creepy sea cave where the coven once resided.

"I second that!" You say, it coming out more hoarse then you’d like. A few more voices of agreement later and your all making your way back out of the cave and towards your ship.

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cankarmawrite · 3 years

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11 for pikeleth, or 15 for beauyasha?

11. things you said when you were drunk (pikeleth)

“Wow, you’re reeeeally cute…”

The gnome’s cheeks, already rosy from being out in the cold, darkened in response to Keyleth’s slightly slurred compliment.

“Piiiike, you were right about needin’ mittens!” Grog lamented loudly, looking briefly at the small, well-bundled gnome perched atop right shoulder, the other shoulder was currently occupied by Keyleth’s lanky form as she’d had a little too much fun at the Winter’s Crest Market earlier and was now sporting a sore ankle.

After indulging in one too many mugs of Vax’s Spiked Hot Cocoa, Keyleth started arguing with Percy about what tricks both of them could still land after years away from the skating world. Both of them had skated for a while during their childhood- though Keyleth skated well into high school- so the rest of Vox Machina watched amusedly as both of them took to the fairly empty ice rink in the center of the Winter’s Crest Market.

Despite the slightly wobbliness that came with being tipsy, Keyleth landed a surprisingly solid double lutz- though Pike wasn’t sure of the terminology- much to everyone’s surprise. However, the jump wasn’t the cause of her sprained ankle. No, it was what happened after she landed the jump. Keyleth had thrown her arms up victoriously after landing on a single skate, but she was a bit tipsy and wasn’t paying much attention to what might be behind her still gliding body.

Pike hadn’t even had time to shout a warning before she watched Keyleth hit the wall of the ice rink and flip backward in a wild flail of limbs before landing in a pile on the other side of the wall.

Vox Machina and a few bystanders rushed to check on Keyleth, and a sigh of relief was heard all around when Keyleth sat up laughing heartily with twigs and leaves sticking out of her copper curls and her earmuffs acting more like an eye patch. The fall had just left a few sore spots here and there, but when Vex and Vax offered their hands to help Keyleth up she’d immediately walked forwards- forgetting she was wearing skates- and rolled her ankle after two steps.

Despite Keyleth’s protests Pike found a first aid kit and spent a few minutes wrapping and splinting Keyleth’s bruising ankle, blushing the whole time as Keyleth babbled aimlessly about figure skating and how good of a doctor Pike was. She had always been prone to rambling, but when she was tipsy it was a whole new level of talkative.

The rest of Vox Machina stuck around long enough for Pike to finish wrapping Keyleth’s ankle before they began saying their good-nights and heading back to their respective homes, it was getting late enough and some people unfortunately had work in the morning. Pike asked Grog to carry Keyleth back to her place, much to the delight of the giggly Keyleth, and the trio had set off down the quiet streets of Whitestone.

Logistically it made sense, seeing as Pike’s place was closer and Keyleth was in no shape to be hopping around her studio apartment trying to take care of herself, but of course those weren’t the only reasons Pike wanted to spend a little more time with Keyleth.

Unbeknownst to the rest of Vox Machina, Pike and Keyleth had technically been on their tenth date tonight. They weren’t necessarily trying to hide the fact that they were dating from their friends, rather that they wanted a chance to explore their feelings for each other before the rest of their found family started meddling. No one seemed to notice the gooey looks they shared, nor the way they reached for each other whenever they were together (everyone else had definitely noticed but continued to act as if they didn’t see the very poorly veiled affection).

The sight of her apartment building pulled Pike from her recollection of the night and she rolled her eyes at Grog’s complaining. “I told you how cold it was gonna get this morning when you texted me,” Pike reminded gently, waving sheepishly at the front desk attendant who just chuckled at the sight of Keyleth thrown over Grog’s shoulder.

---

“Do you need another ice-pack?”

Pike turned her attention from the movie playing on TV to where Keyleth was now comfortably lounging on the couch with her foot propped up on an ottoman and a few pillows.

The red-head scrunched her nose up in thought and wiggled her toes a few times before shaking her head, “No. Still nice and cold...but now everything else is cold.” Keyleth said with a pout.

She was readying herself to get another blanket from the basket in the corner when she noticed that Keyleth was opening the blanket she was wrapped in and motioning for Pike to snuggle in. Baby-blue eyes widened in surprise and the gnome found herself frozen to the spot for a few seconds before she shuffled over to Keyleth’s side. The sudden grip of hands around her waist made Pike squeak in surprise, her rounded cheeks flushing a deeper pink when Keyleth set her down in her lap so she still faced the TV.

“You’re warm Pikey…” Keyleth murmured as she wrapped the blanket back around both of them and snuggled further into the cushions.

Pike didn’t reply to that because she honestly felt like her brain was two seconds from melting like warm chocolate because it felt like she was being wrapped in a hug made of pure sunshine.

Golly, she liked Keyleth so much.

---

“I had sooo much fun tonight,” The red-head murmured a while later as the credits scrolled across the screen. Pike hummed in agreement before stiffening as Keyleth sleepily pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

The gnome was glad she wasn't facing Keyleth right now because her cheeks were a cherry red. Pike knew touch could be difficult for Keyleth and physical affection was usually very hit or miss, so right now felt even more precious to her.

“I did too,” Pike said sweetly, turning to bury her face in the crook of Keyleth’s neck as she yawned. When her nose met the smooth and freckled skin there she paused and let the familiar scent of Keyleth’s favorite perfume- a simple one that smelled of vanilla with the soft background scent of campfire smoke- wash over her and soothe her nerves. This would be such a nice place to fall asleep.

“I like you so much,” Keyleth whispered conspiratorially, pulling back to look in the eye as she continued, “Do you like me, Pike?”

The gnome laughed lightly and cupped Keyleth’s cheek with a single hand, “I like you, Keyleth. Why don’t we get ready for bed? I have rounds at 8:30 and you have a hurt foot so we both need our sleep.” Keyleth grumbled indistinctly and let Pike slip out of her grasp. “I’ll grab the air-cast from the freezer so you can sleep more comfortably. I’m telling you, it’s the most genius invention! A splint and ice-pack at the same time?”

There was a soft tug on Pike’s wrist and she turned back to see Keyleth bent over at the waist, her verdant eyes shining so brightly in the LED light of the television.

“I don’t think I’m moving off this couch, Pikey. I can sleep here...Look, I’m already doing it…” Keyleth gradually laid herself across the couch- despite Pike’s protests- and opened the blanket again, beckoning Pike to join her open the couch. There was a dopey, sleepy smile on Keyleth’s face and a look in her eyes Pike had never seen before.

She sighed heavily before holding up a single finger, telling Keyleth to wait as she retrieved the air-cast from the freezer. “Future Keyleth” of tomorrow morning would thank “Now Pike” for insisting on getting the air-cast, she just didn’t know it yet.

Keyleth let Pike fuss over her ankle again, wincing every now and again as she unwrapped the injured joint and slid on a compression sleeve before carefully adjusting the air-cast that now cradled her foot in gel ice packs and stiff plastic to immobilize it.

When she could delay no longer, Pike flipped off the lights and shuffled back to the couch where a half-asleep Keyleth smiled and reached out with a single han. Pike let herself be led onto the couch, settling on her side and shutting her eyes so she wasn’t tempted to look at Keyleth’s face laying inches from her own.

After a few moments of silence she heard rustling as Keyleth leaned forward and brushed the softest kiss against her cheek.

Before she had the chance to talk herself out of it, Pike turned her head so their lips met briefly, fleetingly. Keyleth looked like she was thinking about asking for another but after she had to pull back to yawn so widely her jaw cracked, she sighed and tucked her arm under head. “That doesn’t count, Pikey. ‘M too sleepy and tipsy to appreciate it.”

“Well, then kiss me goodbye when I leave for work, and be here when I get back. We can have a do-over.” Pike explained, smiling in the dark as she turned over and tucked herself into the curve of Keyleth’s form.

“Goodnight, Keyleth.”

“G’night, Pike. Love you.”

Keyleth wasn’t awake enough to notice how Pike’s breath hitched in her chest, and perhaps she wouldn’t even remember it in the morning, but the gnome gathered her courage and replied to the quiet room, “Love you too.”

#pikeleth #critical role writing #critical role au #modern au #writing prompt #cute winter first dates #ice skating #pike trickfoot #keyleth of the air ashari #nd keyleth #critical role fanart #wlw fic #they get a do over #so gay and so cute

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orbitariums · 5 years

Text

goodnight n go | peter parker + reader

goodnight n go | peter parker

You stretched as you reached to turn off your desk light and closed your binders and notebooks, done with your extra homework at last. You had decided to take a break before your shower and finish it after that. It was a test of discipline but you were very well-disciplined and diligent, one of the reasons why you were a star student. But on top of being president of National Honors Society, the top five percent in your class and a highly esteemed member of various volunteer groups, you were also (wait for it): Spiderman’s girlfriend.

You hated to think or say that you were - of course no one knew that you were Spiderman’s girlfriend since to the general public he was just nerdy Peter Parker - Spiderman’s girlfriend, but the fact became very apparent on nights like these, when he was out late trying to stop bad guys from stealing and using dangerous equipment. He would tell you about what he was doing but never enough, so you never really did know. But what you did know was that you were worried about him. You believed in him enough, you felt like he could be Spiderman and that he could handle it, but he scared you sometimes.

On nights like these, you would sometimes sit by your window and wait for him to swing by in his suit and tell you he was okay and on his way home. It was your unspoken agreement that he would do that. He knew how worried about him you were and that you wanted to make sure he was okay every night fighting crime, so he made it his duty to tell you that he was. And he always came by, a flash of red and blues in the dark blue sky, the stars beginning to twinkle in the obscure areas of the sky. He floated outside your window and told you goodnight, and sometimes if he looked battered up you forced him to come inside while you cleaned his bruises.

Tonight though, he was nowhere to be found. He usually came by around midnight to check in with you, and if he hadn’t texted to let you know he was running late or he ran late without a text, you always made sure to send a text. A simple: You okay? sufficed everytime. But this night you ended up with an automated message that was customized specifically for you on nights like these, and it read: “busy fighting crime babe! text you later.” You sighed, trying to push away the urging feeling of nerves and decided to sit by the window and wait, your last straw. But when he still didn’t come by, and you were too tired to sit up and wait, pushing past your worries or any nerves, you pushed up your window in case he came in later.

Despite your steady mannerisms, you still couldn’t help but glance behind you at the window one last time for any sign of him, before adjusting your tank top and shorts nervously, your teeth biting down on your soft coconut balm lips. You sent one last text to Peter that read: I hope you’re okay.

You didn’t want to wait for a text back, you knew the anxiety of the wait would be too overwhelming, and that you wouldn’t be able to sleep if you waited too long for a text back. So you crossed your heart and hoped he was okay, telling yourself you were silly to even think anything wrong had happened to him. You tucked yourself into bed and fell asleep.

When you woke up what seemed to be hours later the feeling of arms wrapped around you from behind didn’t fully kick in. You found yourself leaning into those arms and groaning quietly, sleepily, finding comfort in the strong arms wrapped around you. But you almost jumped when your eyes finally fluttered open and you actually saw the arms wrapped around you and hand firmly positioned on your shoulder.

“Shit!” you bellowed, scrambling to sit up in bed, and then when you looked down you saw Peter’s groggy but awake face, his hair all tousled and spread out on the pillow before him.

You still gasped upon seeing him and your breaths came in and out heavily.

“Oh- oh, I’m-”

“I’m sorry,” Peter murmured, honestly fighting falling asleep, his voice deeper than usual and the grog and sleep in his voice evident. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Oh… you… you didn’t. That’s okay,” you caught your breath and glanced over at him again before sinking back down so your head fell on your pillow again.

“‘m sorry. Was that weird? Should I have just texted you and gone home? I came in through the window, because you left it open for me. You did leave it open for me, right? I really really hope it’s not weird that I was just cradling you in your sleep and you didn’t even know until just now,” he rambled on and on apologetically, his nerves amping.

You laughed quietly,

“It’s a little strange, but I don’t mind because it’s you. Here, I’ll turn around, we can spoon again.”

You turned so that your back was facing him and restraining from a goofy giggle, Peter nuzzled up against you, wrapping his arms back around you again, your bodies pressed against each other’s. For PJs he had changed into a band t-shirt and some shorts and you were still in your tank top and shorts too. The two of you didn’t fall asleep immediately, though Peter’s way of rubbing your bare shoulder softly with his thumb made you sleepier. You hummed quietly at the innocent touch and he nuzzled his chin in towards the crook of your shoulder.

And you were relieved - a part of you would’ve been pissed to be so abruptly woken up but instead you were just glad he was okay, and the fact left a faint smile on your lips. The intimacy was pleasant and soft, and you were glad you had Peter to share it with.

He purposefully planted his face in your hair and tried to be slick and smell it, but you could feel his face in your hair and chuckled,

“Peter, you’re sniffing my hair.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, and went back to nuzzling his chin in your neck. “Your hair does smell nice though, what’d you wash it with? Lavender scent?”

“Chamomile,” you responded, and he nodded, intrigued.

“Oh! Nice.”

“Thanks,” you murmured.

After a bit of silence, he cleared his throat awkwardly,

“Um. I’m sorry, YN. I should’ve texted, should’ve called. Things were just getting crazy, I couldn’t reach you. I just wanted you to know I was alright. But I didn’t want to wake you up so… this seemed to be the next best thing.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re okay, baby,” you said, your voice beginning to drift into a dream state.

“Baby?” Peter repeated, a big smile appearing on his face. “You never call me that.”

You chuckled groggily,

“Yeah. I’m half asleep so. That would be it. Hey… everything okay?”

You glanced over your shoulder to get a good look at his face and your eyes met.

“Mm hm. No bruises, I promise. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“You sure?” you used your mom voice on him, because you knew it intimidated him and always got him to let you take care of him when he needed it most.

But he nodded, which meant he was telling the truth, and you turned your head again.

“Good. Hey… what time is it?”

“About two o’clock, why?”

You sighed, your eyes fluttering sleepily,

“Shouldn’t you be home, with Aunt May?”

“She thinks I’m over at Ned’s house,” Peter replied, getting tired again himself, twirling a finger in your hair to keep himself occupied and hopefully awake, at least for as long as you were awake.

“Won’t she be mad that you’re here instead?”

“Oh she would kill me. Like if she found out you and I were in the same bed right now? Absolutely dead. Yeah, a hundred percent. So… she doesn’t need to know.”

You sighed heavily,

“I’m not lying to Aunt May for you.”

“Exactly. You’re lying with me. As in telling lies and lying in bed with me! Genius. I mean, what are you gonna do, tell her the truth if she finds out?”

“I mean… yeah. Essentially.”

“Then be ready for the longest, saddest talk about your body and sexual health with my aunt,” Peter teased, and you nudged his foot harshly.

He winced and you grumbled,

“Gross, Pete.”

“Gross? Ouch.”

“You know I don’t mean it that way,” you smiled and the two of you chuckled. “Just… let’s go to bed. And promise me you won’t do this tomorrow night because you’ll have checked in with me before I go to bed.”

“Yeah, sure,” he kissed your neck gently. “Okay.”

You craned your head to kiss his lips just as softly and his cheeks grew a bright red, like he’d never been kissed before - but then again it was probably just the setting that was making him feel this way.

“Your lips taste like coconut,” he choked out, and you smiled sleepily at his reaction, caressing his cheeks and chin in your hands before turning to the other side,

“Goodnight, Peter.”

And just like that you both fell asleep, Peter cradling you in his arms. You fell asleep faster than he did - he just relished the moment, admiring how you looked when you were asleep, the way your lips parted as you breathed in and out, the way your rising and falling shoulders lifted his head up as you breathed. He tried to match his breathing pattern with yours and continued rubbing slow circles into your shoulder until the soft touch of your skin against his lulled him to sleep. And when the two of you woke up in the morning he swore he didn’t know how he ended up the little spoon- but you were sure he did.

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker headcanons #marvel #marvel imagine #marvel oneshot #spiderman #spiderman imagine #spiderman oneshot

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eastendies · 4 years

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Love the apd!Callum fic idea it’s super interesting and I love the little part you’ve written already can’t wait to read more :)

Aww, thank you!! When I got this I was working on chp 1 and wanted to share it as thanks for sending in this sweet comment but I wanted to be done w the first part before I did, so sorry that this took a while to answer!! Thanks again ❤❤

Here's the first section of Chp 1 for my ASPD!Callum fic! Hope you enjoy it!!

Maybe Callum should try doing cocaine. That would be close to caffeine, right? Callum's eyes blipped down the list of coffee prices from his place far away from the little airport shop, fingers gripped comfortably around the loose collection of things he had deemed worthy to bring with him to basic training. His rumpled clothes didn't stand out much from the crowd of men and boys around him, and touches of poor sleep showed on his eyes and lips.

Cocaine was just a drug, Callum mused, drawing circles with his thumb on his bag. It would be a rush. A thrill. A break from the never ending void of boredom grinding through his mind every second. And it'd probably be fun. He could imagine it, rushing through his veins, stealing his breath, feeling his mind with a euphoria that would shatter his windows and leave claw marks on his doors. Maybe he should try it. Find another way to fill that void. But, he reasoned, logic flowing in like the steady, infuriating clockwork it was, that would lead down a path to getting addicted and being poor and becoming ghastly. And Callum liked not being ghastly.

Caffeine was a drug too. Less potent, sure. But a stimulant nevertheless. Maybe if he had some, the sluggish, sleepy grog in his head would disappear. Though Callum really was more of a tea person, he found himself giving into the impulse and patted his pockets, confirming his wallet was all the way down in his bag. His eyes flicked to the nearby Sergeant, trying to keep a rambunctious 18 year old in line, and sized him up, thinking quickly--he really didn't want to pay for a four pound coffee--before walking towards him.

The Sergeant met his eyes after a few seconds of waiting as the kid was brutally scolded. From the creases on his brow, sleep had been torn from his eyes as well, and Callum could sense it: the weakness in how the old man carried himself. The way his back was straight but shoulders crouched, the way his eyes pinched together, the scowl of irritation tracing his lips. Appropriately, Callum whipped up a new face, slouching himself and putting his head to the side in a naive, infuriating way to show he really was a special kind of idiot, face uncertain and maybe a little bit frightened. It happened quickly--Callum already had half of it already made up before he walked over here in case the Sergeant wanted to poke at a random soldier--and the face only adjusted to become more uncertain as the Sergeant began talking.

"What do you want, Private?! Get back in line!" Annoyance laced his voice, and a vein was starting to pop up. Perfect.

Callum shifted his weight, looking as if he was about to hop back into line except for how his face contorted with indecision. "Sir, I--"

"That's Sergeant! And stand at attention!"

Callum corrected himself, twisting his hands out of a fidgeting motion to stand straighter and looking down at the Sergeant with the same apprehensive look. "Sergeant, before I--" a brief look of embarrassment, "--I really have to go to the bathroom."

The look given by the man in front of him could only be described as one overcome by the stupidity of humanity as his deadpanned eyes stared up at the face of a rather squeamish looking soldier, with perhaps a touch of pity drowning in the apathy that boiled there. After a few seconds of pause, the Sergeant apparently reached the conclusion that this particular soldier wasn’t worth the effort and pointed in the direction of the bathroom in a dismissive and defeated gesture. “Grab a battle buddy and hurry back, Private.”

“Thank you, Sergeant!” Callum released a dumb smile and nodded, grabbing his bag’s strap lying on his chest in a break of the stand at attention and let his eyes glide over the wide varitey of men in front of him. There, to his left, was a kid, about 18 looking, that wasn’t grouped up with anyone else, rather hovering over a group and only adjacently part of the conversation. Callum might not have to pay for his coffee after all.

He walked over to the kid, looking across the crowd as if inspecting each one with a rather bored expression, before making his way to the future soldier, face now passive and with only a bit of interest lit in his eyes. The kid seemed suprised when Callum stopped in front of him, confusion and anxiety shown by his scrunched eyebrows, but the group he had tried to enter only gave him a glance before going back to their conversation and ignoring both of them.

“Can you be my battle buddy real quick?” He jerked his thumb towards the bathroom, posture straight and head hung in that loose, confident way that people were drawn to. “I have to head to the bathroom and Sergeant says I need one.”

“Me?” The kid put a hand to their chest, letting the surprise blip out into a mimic of Callum’s own posture: cool and confident, a quick acceptance in a way to show that he got asked to do these things all the time. Wanted. “Yeah, sure.” Callum let a crack of a smile slip, letting the kid know he chose the right decision and that he was doing alright so far, which made the other stand up straighter with more confidence, following Callum’s long gait as he started for the bathroom.

They hit the bathroom on their long-ish journey, passing a few convenience stores, and he gave a nod to the kid before opening the bathroom door and entering the room. He waited a few minutes, the thrill from the chase and the game already setting into his bones. Plan now cemented in front of him, he opened the door with a new face: disappointed, troubled, but still hung in that aloof, unbothered way that would still hold the kid’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” he asked first, picking up on the signals on his face almost immediately.

“I was trying to pocket a few pills I need for this cough I had, but it must have fallen out of my pocket.” Callum pressed a few fingers against his throat absent mindedly, distress littering the previous apathetic face, and he bit his lip, self-contemplating, making it clear that he was trying to find his own solution, but body still facing him to show that he was in the conversation. That he could help.

“Oh. Is that bad? How bad is the cough?” the kid interrupted, head to the side and a concern littering his own eyes, brow scrunched together in that emphatic, caring way Callum never understood.

“Pretty bad, I guess, I was thinking about getting some medicine from the convenience store but I can’t find the money in my bag…” Here, a guide to the right direction. Hopefully, the kid wasn’t too stupid to see it.

The kid did draw the right connection, rushing in to help the distraught man, seeking inclusion, another smile from the aloof eyes that had picked him for exactly that reason. “I can pay for it, if it’s that bad. How much is it?”

Callum looked back at him with surprise, a pleasant surprise, before giving a smile of relief--not too much, but enough for the kid to smile back and stand up straighter. Callum made sure his voice was laced with a mix of relief, surprise, and a tantalizing bit of respect, “Really? Thank you, you have no idea how grateful I am.” His posture was more open now, inviting. Friendly. “It’s about 4 pounds I think? That isn’t too much, right?”

“No, no, it’s fine,” the kid dismissed, grabbing something from his bag and flicking him a 5 pound note, face still wrapped up in his smile and hullabaloo. His happy smile grew a bit as he assured that it was no problem, dismissing Callum’s voiced concerns. “You’ll just pay me back, right? When you have the money?”

“Yeah, yeah definitely,” Callum assured, giving one of his sunny smiles, littered with that grateful glint that people found important, before another nod and heading off to the convenience store, right next to the little coffee shop he had spotted before, before ducking into said coffee shop as his face slipped away. He let the paper money roll in his fingers as he entered the shop--out of sight from the bathroom, he made sure to check--as he looked the coffee prices up and down, face a mask of apathy and boredom. Espresso shots sounded nice. Picking one with the most caffeine as possible, Callum drummed his fingers against the counter as the barista faked a smile for him and whipped up his order. With a polite nod and smile, he took the coffee when it was finally finished and offered to him, moving to lean against one of the walls of the coffee shop, change clinking in his hand as he took a sip.

Dear God, that was like a cat and the blood of Satan had a baby. It fried his nerves a little, jingling his doorbells and nibbling at his walls, but he couldn’t get over the taste of it all. He should have gotten tea instead, really. Halfway through the drink, he tossed it into the trash, putting the change in his pocket before heading back to the bathroom, relieved smile back in place as he handed him the coins the barista had handed to him in change. The kid nodded in that enthusiastic way kids do and gave him another smile, dimmed slightly by how Callum now started to pull away, eyes not staying on the kid for long, but he waited once he started walking to make sure the shorter of the two matched his stride, which was enough for the kid to bubble in different talking points as if the two men were now buddies. Great. Callum’s smile was clearly a little forced now, not matching his eyes, which the kid picked up on as they approached the group again, and he didn’t hang so closely to the other’s shadow, eyes darting to the group he had been tailing before.

Callum jerked his thumb towards the mass of men in front of him, “I need to talk to Sergeant, but thanks for the medicine, mate, it means a lot.”

“Yeah, yeah, any time.” Disappointment fluttered over his face as Callum started to pull away, but he let a smile stay on which made Callum smile back, just in case he needed the kid again. The short young man was of the stupid varetiy that would probably be useful in the future anyway, he remarked as the young man slipped off, 4 pounds poorer and with no idea how Callum stringed him along like the mouse he was. He didn’t even ask what prescription Callum had or question why a sick soldier would be in the army. People like that had only themselves to blame for what came to them.

Callum let himself fall back in the place he was in before, hand on his bag strap and waiting for the Sergent to start pushing them towards the plane, where Callum would join the infantry and see war, famine, bloodshed. After basic training, of course. War was going to be a messy rush of adrenaline and something new, in the sharp, biting way that Callum craved, a way to distract himself from the maddening softness of boredom caressing every second of every day. The thrill of the little game he played, his eyes spinning his own universe and world and character, power over the empty hulls that surrounded him (lifeless, real only on paper, disconnected from the sky) still ran through his veins, mixing with the rumbled nerves he received from the coffee. Most of it was probably the coffee, anyway. As the mass of men started moving, an ease filled his gut.

He imagined someone next to him asking him if he was worried. Stuart, maybe, if he cared. His mother's lingering tendrils of sanity. Did he have concern that he would die, that the impulsive decision to join the military--dropping everything, leaving behind everyone--would be a bad one, etc. But Callum would just lie to them anyway if they were here. Because no turmoil rolled in his gut, no concern ladened his heart, other than the faint one of eating soon. Apathy drummed his bag, same as his fingertips, as it did for every impulsive decision Callum has ever made.

War was a thrill, change was a thrill, and Callum was bored. Inwardly shrugging, he picked his pace to reach the front of the mass of men. At the very least, war was safer than cocaine. Probably.

#eastenders #ballum #callum highway #ee #ee fanfiction #fanfic #ask #aspd!callum #aspd!au #sociopathy au #scarletseidhr #thank you sm for sending me this ask its so encouraging ❤❤❤#callum is a manipulative asshole here bc character development is later #and i want to actually show him being manipulative instead of dumping exposition #might change it a little when the chp fully gets done???#chp 1 is just him joining the army meeting chris and getting ptsd #so its gonna be longgg #hope you enjoyed this!! ❤

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otdderamin · 5 years

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Analysis: The hidden pain of Jester and Scanlan – CR C2 Ep76 and CR C1 Ep85

Spoilers for Campaign 1 through episode 85 and Campaign 2 through episode 76

One thing I really love about Critical Role from both campaigns is the way they show that the seemingly happy, jokey, funny, delightful people are really using that as a mask for a lot of pain and insecurity that they're either hiding or repressing and that can't last forever.

Scanlan was hurt and angry that no one asked about his issues seriously or asked what he needed, but he also buried everything and deflected when they did ask about him. He wanted to be seen and understood, but all he gave them was a facade of being fine. Until he broke.

Jester's playing with the same idea in a different way. She learned being seen is bad and her purpose is making other people happy. Her own desires aren't really important. She's afraid she'll disappoint everyone if she admits she's not okay (even to herself), so she buries it.

Both The Mighty Nein and a lot of the audience are kind of infantilizing her, largely ignoring her pain and complexity. Laura does not get enough credit for her roleplaying because I think that's the impression Jester is intentionally cultivating out of deep insecurity.

Misogyny is also a factor. She leans into a lot of ditzy, simple, girly tropes that are largely written off by men and many women as shallow. Laura is really playing with them to show there actually is a lot of depth there. But you have to be willing to deconstruct her to see it.

Jester wants to actively bring joy to people's lives because she's afraid that she won't be wanted if she doesn't. So, she's cultivated this happy, mischievous mask to hide behind and she's trapped herself behind it. She doesn't even want to see herself without it.

Just as much as Fjord trapped himself behind the faux-Vandran mask until he had a breakdown. Or Beau trapped herself behind the no-fucks-given mask she's been working really hard to set aside. Or Caleb trapped himself behind his bandages and bum disguise until his cover was blown.

But Jester's mask is harder to see around. She seems open and carefree and happy. Almost everyone in the Mighty Nein wants to feel that way and they're invested in the aspirational illusion. They really want one of them to be okay because maybe then they could learn, too.

T: Full scene from Campaign 1 Episode 45

2:30:57 Vax: "How do you do it? You're risking your life as much as anyone in this group. You're almost dying every day. You're fucking smiling all the time. How do you do it?"

Liam: "I'm kind of asking as Liam to Sam, as well. But mostly as Vax to Scanlan."

Vax: "How do you do it? You almost died yesterday, as well. Or two days ago, fuck. Why do you do it?"

Scanlan, as if it's obvious: "Vax, I… I don't know. I mean, I just… I like you people okay. Everything before this was not as good. This is better, that's why. It's very simple. You had a shitty childhood, didn't you?"

Vax: "Yeah."

Scanlan: "You and the sister."

Vax: "Yeah."

Scanlan: "I think Grog had some troubles. We've all had our share of shit, before we all met. Now we're together. We're a family. This is better, that's how I smile. It's better than it was before. That's it."

Vax: "We're probably going to die in the next month."

Scanlan: "Yes, but it's fun while it lasts."

Vax looks at him in disbelief and bewilderment.

Scanlan gives a contented sigh.

Vax, dubiously: "Alright. I thought I might…"

Scanlan: "Glean some wisdom?"

Vax: "Yeah, but I'm just as confused as before."

Scanlan: "Listen, I'm older than you."

Vax: "How much older?"

Scanlan: "A bit. I've seen more than you have, and… it's all shitty, so it just depends on how you look at it. You can dwell on the shit, or you can just leave it behind in people's beds and keep going."

But of course, Scanlan couldn't do it forever. He couldn't actually just leave all that shit behind him. He couldn't laugh all of it off. He reached the tipping point where he was too scared and hurt and angry to keep going.

Beau's started to see Jester's cracks and say something, most notably in episode 45 (4:55:48) and 46 (1:25:15), but she doesn't seem know how to address it without Jester pushing the concern away and deflecting, and I think she's scared Jester will pull away from her if she presses the matter. Beau might have the best chance, though.

Caleb tried to talk to her In episode 42 (1:08:49), but the conversation derailed almost instantly. She did express her fear she would never see her mother again, and that she was unsure about her feelings towards Fjord or his towards her, but again the conversation turned to other things fairly quickly. Still, it was more than she'd really shared before.

Jester actually showed her vulnerability and insecurity to Fjord in episode 72. but he was too up his own butt focused on his own rapidly spiraling break down to really notice or address it. Hopefully he keeps it in mind and circles back now that he's pulled through it.

Campaign 2 Episode 72

2:49:51 Fjord: "I just feel like there's more out there. It's always more. Even Port Demali and before that, my world just got bigger and bigger and bigger, and more time goes on the more you realize there is and the more that we affect and the more we can be affected. And there's a part of me that wants to leave it all behind..."

Jester: "And just somewhere quiet and disappear, and hope that it never bothers you again?"

Fjord: "Yeah."

Jester: "yeah, I understand that."

Fjord: "I just don't think it will let me."

Caduceus might be able to help if he understood, but Jester is baffling to him.

Talks Machina for Campaign 2 Episode 50

0:51:24 Taliesin: "[Caduceus] hasn't figured out that Jester is an adult yet. He doesn't regard her as an adult. I mean, which is, he kind of, his whole thing with her is very childish and playful and is not really... [...] He hasn't figured out that she's probably got-- I mean, he's aware that there's other stuff going on, but he hasn't really gone looking for it yet, so... He's like, 'Aw, she's happy and fine. Good. Thank god somebody is.' And obviously that's not true. And he should know better, but he hasn't gone looking for it."

Dani: "He has bigger fish to fry at the moment."

Taliesin: "I mean, the angsty boys are very angsty, and they currently have one emo girl to deal with as well."

It appears from the last episode that Caduceus has finally figured out there's more going on with Jester and is trying to make up for what he didn't see before. He let her know he saw through her sadness. Maybe he'll be able to be someone she can come to when she's ready to talk.

Campaign 2 Episode 76

4:44:05 Caduceus: "You okay?"

Jester: "Me?"

Caduceus: "Yeah you."

Jester: "Oh yeah. I'm fine. I'm always fine."

Caduceus: "Well…"

Jester: "That's a lie."

Caduceus: "Nobody's always fine."

Jester: "That's a lie, Caduceus."

Caduceus: "You do a lot."

Jester: "Yeah."

Caduceus: "And I don't think you necessarily get as much credit as you deserve, as often as you should. You deserve… more pastries."

Jester, laughing: "Everybody deserves more pastries."

Caduceus: "Yeah, but you do."

Jester smiles sadly: "Thanks, Caduceus."

Caduceus: "Well, we'll be figuring out your Traveler Con soon enough, I'm sure."

Jester: "Yeah. We're gonna work- that's gonna be really cool, right?"

Caduceus: "You got a good crew for it, so…"

Jester: "Yeah."

Caduceus: "We're here for you."

Jester: "Thank you."

Caduceus: "Thank you. You've done… I don't even know how to tell you what this has meant."

Jester has been ignored in part because she seemed… not fine, but less of an immediate and impending disaster than the others. Now that things are settling down with everyone else, I think they're trying to do right by her and support her better. Time will tell if she lets them in.

No one in Campaign 2 is playing an easy character. No one is playing someone who's well adjusted and fine. No one has their shit figured out. At best they've learned pieces or ways of learning how to be more okay with the tumult. Jester is far come complex than she tries to appear.

Her arc is coming up soon and whatever happens will come with big growth and change for her. The big difference (or similarities) in how the stories of these two characters will play out will come down to how well their friends see behind the mask. Vox Machina didn't until it was too late. The Might Nein might be beginning to, and if they keep at it, that will make all the difference.

----------

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#critical role #critical role meta #Jester Lavorre #Scanlan Shorthalt #critical role analysis #analysis

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nicolewrites · 5 years

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heartstrings - iv

hey here’s a reminder that this was supposed to be a one-shot and it’s now 4 parts with part 5 on the way because i wrote too much again.

part i | part ii | part iii

Rating: T Genre: Romance Characters: [Vax’ildan and Keyleth] [Percival de Rolo and Vex’ahlia] Words: 6,990

Kiki @keylethashari has tagged you in a tweet: New Q&A up and we’re talking music! creds to @vexmachina @vaxmachina @burtreynoldsesq @thelumineers and others!! // CR1 Vaxleth+Perc’ahlia YouTuber/Musician/Celebrity AU

AO3

Vax came to feeling a tingling pain in his abdomen. At first, all he could manage was staring at the backs of his eyelids because everything felt heavy and sluggish. After a long moment, he managed to force his eyes open, only to be nearly blinded by bright fluorescent lights. He squinted against them for a moment before his vision adjusted and he was staring at a plain white ceiling.

His limbs felt unreasonably heavy and stiff. He shifted, trying to raise his arm, and he finally looked around. He was wearing a thin, flimsy gown covered by thin, stiff blankets. His left index finger was encased by a plastic tip and there was a rhythmic beeping to his left. Vax also noticed that there was an IV connected into his left wrist.

The shock hit him suddenly as the memories slammed to the forefront of his mind. The dull pain in his stomach throbbed again and Vax jerked his hand to press against his abdomen. The sudden movement was apparently broad enough to awaken the woman dozing in the chair next to his bed.

Vax had hardly noticed Vex before she jolted awake, startled eyes fixating on him as soon as they opened. “Vax!” she gasped. She leaned forward in the plastic hospital chair and touched his arm. “How do you feel?”

Vax swallowed. His throat was uncomfortably dry. “I was shot,” he muttered.

Vex licked her lips, looking unnerved. “Yes,” she agreed. “And it scared the crap out of everyone.” She punched his arm.

“Ow!” he cried, glaring at her as he rubbed his shoulder. “What was that for?”

Vex folded her arms. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

The pain in his stomach pulsed again and Vax frowned, leaning back against the pillows. “How long have I been out?”

“All night and,” she paused, checking her phone, “most of today. They brought you into surgery almost immediately when you got here.”

Vax nodded slowly. “Sunday afternoon then, right?”

Vex nodded. “I should call your nurse. They should know you’re awake.”

Just as she stood to leave his side and the room, the door opened. A kind looking woman in scrubs who was likely his nurse stepped into the room, followed by someone that Vax recognized. His heart leapt into his throat as Keyleth followed the nurse in. She looked exhausted and worried, but as beautiful as ever. Her face was clear of make-up and she was wearing a simple sweater and jeans, but she was still radiant.

Her eyes lit up as they made eye contact and her lips curled into a relieved smile. Vax felt his own features twitch into a matching one, but the nurse quickly stepped to his bedside and broke his line of sight with Keyleth.

“Good to see you awake,” the nurse said politely. “How are you feeling?”

Vax shrugged awkwardly. “Okay, all things considered. I guess,” he paused, “I’m not sure how much is me and how much is the drugs.”

The nurse chuckled. “You’re on a fairly low dose, Vax’ildan, don’t worry. I can see about getting you something to eat and finding Dr. Carlisle to check up on you.”

Vex stood from her visitor’s chair. “I’ll handle the food. If he’s alright to have non-hospital food that is.”

The nurse nodded. She turned to look back at Vax. “You’re a very lucky young man. The shot managed to miss all of your vital organs. It did some tissue damage and will take time to recover from, but all things considered, it wasn’t a bad place to take a bullet. He’s free to eat almost anything, but softer foods would be better so not to agitate anything.”

Vex smiled. “Of course.” She looked down at Vax and then across the room at Keyleth who had resorted to standing awkwardly by the door. “I’m sure that Keyleth would be more than happy to keep you company while I go out and pick something up. I’ll let the others know you’re awake too.”

With that, Vex swept out of the room and after several brief moments of assessments, the nurse followed, leaving Vax and Keyleth alone. She hovered by the door, shifting from foot to foot nervously. Vax exhaled slowly and gestured for the chair next to the bed. Keyleth bit her lip, but walked towards it, sinking into the seat Vex had vacated.

“Are you alright?” they asked at the exact same time.

Keyleth’s eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. “Vax!” she exclaimed. “You were just shot! Why on earth are you asking if I’m alright?”

Vax laughed shortly. “Well, that man had been bothering you before he decided to put a bullet in me. Plus, I did pass out so I don’t know what happened afterwards.”

Keyleth’s expression softened. She took Vax’s hand in both of hers. “Don’t worry. Grog took him down almost immediately and the police were quick to respond. You were the only one who got hurt.”

Vax nodded. “Okay,” he replied slowly. “And,” he made eye contact, “I feel surprisingly okay.”

Keyleth exhaled in relief and squeezed his hand again. “I’m so relieved. You really scared us. I never thought there would be that much blood.” She trailed off, her eyes looking haunted and sad. “I thought we were going to lose you.”

“Didn’t Vex tell you? I’m much too stubborn to die.”

His response drew a tentative smile from her as she relaxed into the situation a bit more. “Regardless, I’m so glad you’re doing alright.”

Vax nodded. “Me too. Though I’ll admit, I have always fantasized about fainting in the arms of a beautiful person.”

Keyleth gave him a short look. “Idiot.”

To his complete dismay, it was almost two full weeks before the doctors felt comfortable enough to discharge him. Even then, they scheduled regular checkups and wanted him to go to physical therapy to regain core strength that the injury had destroyed. Vax was just glad to be leaving. Even with constant visits from Vex, Keyleth, and their other friends, he had been getting stir crazy.

Gilmore had offered to drive Vex and Vax back to their apartment from the hospital and Vex was currently wheeling Vax towards the side exit of the hospital. Apparently, somehow the news had leaked that someone big was getting released today, so paparazzi had gathered at the front of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The staff had graciously allowed the twins to exit through a usually employee only entrance as to avoid such deals while security attempted to control the crowd of reporters.

Once outside, a nurse and Vex helped him stand from the wheelchair. Vax grit his teeth and walked towards the car. Gilmore was already there, holding the door and Vax nodded gratefully to him.

Gilmore pulled away from the hospital very shortly after and they were headed home. Vex and Gilmore struck up a casual conversation and Vax pulled out his phone, unlocking it.

[Vax] headed home, finally

[Keyleth] oh yay!! i’ll come by tomorrow, ok?

[Vax] please do, i think i’ll go crazy otherwise.

[Keyleth] :P

He switched out of the text app and his finger hovered over Twitter. He had avoided the platform for the entirety of his hospital stay and it was morbid curiosity that caused him to open the app now. A news tweet was the first thing to catch his eye.

E! News @enews • 2 hours ago

Half of Youtube pop-folk duo #VoxMachina being released from hospital today after suffering gun-shot wound during fan meet-and-greet two weeks ago.

Vax sighed. He knew that the news would have broken somehow, explaining the crowd of reporters and celebrity watchers, but he was hoping it hadn’t been by a major celebrity news source. He switched to his page and saw several thousand mentions in tweets of people wishing him a swift recovery and thousands of new followers.

He searched up Vex’s username and saw that she had been conspicuously silent for the last two weeks. Her latest tweet was a retweet.

Vex @vexmachina • Aug 14

icymi :/ | Gunshots fired at Vox Machina event, sources report 1 seriously injured - cnn.com

The tweet was attached to a link from the CNN website reporting on the incident. Vax swallowed hard and left Vex’s Twitter. He was left staring at his own newsfeed and his finger drifted towards the compose button. He clicked it.

Vax @vaxmachina • Just Now

Headed home. Privacy for myself, family, and friends is appreciated at this time. #VoxMachina

Vex’s phone chimed as he tweeted and she paused her conversation with Gilmore to check the notification. She turned in her seat and made eye contact with him. “That was tasteful and surprisingly well-done,” she said after finishing reading it.

He shrugged. “Necessary.”

She sighed. “Unfortunately.”

True to her word, Keyleth buzzed the apartment at 10 the next morning. Vax let her up and opened the door as she arrived. He was walking with the support of a cane to compensate for his pained abdomen. She slid inside the apartment and immediately linked their arms together so that she could support some of his weight.

Together they walked to the couch where they sat side by side. Keyleth was studying him intently, but before either of them could say anything, Vex swept into the living room. Vax’s head snapped to his sister as she looked between him and Keyleth, assessing the situation.

“Hello Keyleth,” Vex greeted politely after a moment.

“Hi Vex,” Keyleth replied.

Vex’s gaze turned to Vax. “I’m assuming she can babysit you while I’m out?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not a child.”

She folded her arms and raised a perfectly manicured brow. “But at the moment you are something of an invalid, aren’t you?”

Vax scowled, but Vex just winked and strode into the kitchen. Vax and Keyleth sat awkwardly for a long moment. Vex reappeared in the room, now wearing a coat and she headed for the front door. She gave the pair one last look.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she advised teasingly.

Keyleth flushed bright red and Vax hurled a pillow from the couch at the door, but Vex managed to dodge by ducking out the door, laughing. He sighed and turned to Keyleth. Her cheeks were painted dark pink and she was looking anywhere else in the room except at him. He chuckled and gently touched her arm.

“Kiki, she’s just teasing.”

Keyleth turned back towards him and she bit her lip. “I know.”

They fell back into silence for a moment. Vax inhaled sharply and stood from the couch. Slowly, he made his way across the room to where his guitar sat in its stand. He turned back to the couch, returning to his seat next to Keyleth as she watched him cautiously. He studied her face for a long moment.

He strummed an A flat chord followed by a C minor, a B flat, and an E flat. Her eyes widened marginally and she leaned forward almost unintentionally.

“You’re afraid to need someone, ‘cause you’ve been burned, you’ve been burned, you’ve been burned,” Vax sang quietly.

Keyleth’s breath hitched as she listened to him sing. Vax sang the first verse softly, managing to only stumble on a few of the chords. He made it partway through the chorus before Keyleth’s hands reached for his and stilled them on the guitar. Vax broke off and looked at her. To his surprise, her eyes were filled with tears.

“What is this song?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s called Temporary Love. Ben Platt, the guy who played Evan Hansen, released his album earlier this year.” Vax inhaled slowly, turning one of his hands to hold hers carefully. “I have to admit it took me most of Friday night after Pike left to figure it out.”

She laughed and wiped her eyes with her free hand. “Vax, why are you so good to me? I pushed you away and you almost died and you’re still here singing to me.”

“Kiki, come on,” he mumbled gently squeezing her hand.

She gently pulled her hand back, letting it rest in her lap. “Well, the song was accurate enough. I’m terrified of love, Vax.”

He shifted, lowering the guitar to the floor before turning back to her. “Keyleth, does this have something to do with your mother?” She inhaled sharply and gave him a confused look. Vax gave a small half-smile in return. “Pike mentioned it, but said I should ask you about it.”

Keyleth let out a slow sigh. “My mother vanished on a work trip. One day everything was great, and the next day she was gone. My father was devastated.” She paused shaking her head. “I’ve never seen anyone that broken before. I missed my mother too, but the way my father reacted was terrifying. The thought of doing that to someone, or,” she made eye contact with him, “someone doing that to me, is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever felt.”

Vax leaned forward, taking both of her hands. “Keyleth, I’m so sorry about your mother. I can’t promise that nothing will ever happen, but I can promise I would never leave you unless there was no choice in the matter.”

She closed her eyes and frowned. “You got shot and you almost died and I was so terrified. I felt like my father in that moment and after I realized how stupid I was being since losing you still hurt anyways, even if I couldn’t let myself,” she paused, unable to finish the sentence.

Vax squeezed her hands. “I’m right here,” he urged gently.

She opened her eyes and he saw a new resolution there. “I’m a mess, Vax. I’m insecure and scared and naive. This won’t be easy.”

He smiled gently. “It’s a damn good thing that I learned some persistence in London then, isn’t it?”

Keyleth smiled and it was like sunlight breaking through the crowds. Vax had half a mind to lean forward and kiss her again when the apartment phone rang insistently. Keyleth jumped, her head whipping to where it sat on the coffee table. Vax rolled his eyes and picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Stringbean! Scanlan and I were wondering if you wanted some company since you’re finally at home and we haven’t seen you in days!” Pike’s voice was cheerful and startling because Vax had definitely been expecting Vex, not Pike and Scanlan.

“I’m, uh,” he paused glancing at Keyleth, “Keyleth’s here,” he said finally.

“Oh!” Pike exclaimed. She said something away from the receiver for a moment. “We can come back later?”

Keyleth was smiling and she shook her head at him. Vax chuckled. “You’re already here, might as well come up. We can see if we can get Vex, Percy, and Grog here later too maybe.”

Vax heard Scanlan laugh in the background. “If we’re getting the whole gang together we ought to hang out at my house there’s much more space.”

“Shut up, Scanlan,” Pike replied. “We’ll be right up, thanks Vax!”

Though he was a bit annoyed at Pike and Scanlan for crashing what could have turned into a romantic moment, he was glad to see their faces as they swept into the apartment armed with cheap takeout and a variety of boardgames. The four of them hung out and laughed and yelled over friendly competitions for several hours before Vax’s phone rung.

He motioned for them to hold his turn, but Keyleth just laughed and snagged one of his cards. He elbowed her and she giggled again.

“This is Vax,” he said into the phone, not even stopping to see who was calling him.

“Hello, Brother, you wouldn’t happen to be with Pike and Scanlan would you?”

He felt his lips twitch into a smile as he juggled the phone and swatted Scanlan’s hand away from stealing another of his cards. “I am, yeah. We’re all at the apartment.”

“Well I’m texting you an address and you all better make your way there: Percy is having everyone over and I’m ordering expensive Indian food.”

Vax grinned. “Sounds great.”

Dinner and their evening turned into a giant clusterfuck of shouting and laughing and storytelling amongst the seven of them. Vex, Vax, and Percy traded good memories of England while Pike and Scanlan were roped into telling the story of their meeting which somehow involved much more pudding than made sense. Grog was happy to chime in on that part to make fun of Scanlan. Keyleth revealed that she had met Percy near Whitestone when their publicists had tried to set them up, but that only resulted in Zahra and Kashaw being introduced to each other.

Vax learned more about his friends than he shared, but he felt relaxed and though there was the occasional twinge of pain from his side as one could expect, he was sandwiched between Vex and Keyleth on the couch as they laughed for hours and hours. It was almost weird, the group of friends that had developed, but it felt far more natural than he could have expected even though most of them were completely different genres of YouTubers, or not in the business at all in Percy’s case.

It was almost two in the morning when Percy finally kicked everyone out. Grog immediately headed for the gym despite the odd hour and Pike and Scanlan exchanged an unreadable look before calling an Uber together to Scanlan’s place. Vax gave Pike a curious look, but she just shook her head and wrinkled her nose―they really were just friends.

Vax and Keyleth stood alone on the sidewalk outside Percy’s apartment building, Vex having elected to stay the night with her kind-of-sort-of boyfriend. Keyleth lived nearby and was apparently planning on walking home, but she insisted on waiting with Vax until his Uber arrived. Vax, as always, found himself drawn to watching her.

The city lights combined with the bright full moon bathed her skin and made her glow. She was going on about something or another, but Vax was still distracted by the raw honesty she had shared with him earlier. Finally, when he couldn’t bear his own idleness any longer, he slid his hand into hers and tugged it towards him.

Keyleth’s words stopped flowing abruptly as she turned to him, curious. “Everything alright?” she asked. “You’re not in pain or anything?”

Vax smiled. “I mean I love you so much it hurts but I’m pretty sure that’s not what you meant.”

Instead of panic and fear like he might have expected weeks ago, a shy smile curled up her lips and she squeezed his hand. “Not exactly,” she replied gently.

Vax exhaled slowly and took a leap of faith. He leaned in and Keyleth met him halfway, her hand dropping his so she could rest hers on his face as she kissed him back. The kiss was slow and unhurried, but a familiar warmth curled deeply in Vax’s stomach as he let his arms wind around Keyleth’s waist as he pulled her closer.

She was the one to deepen the kiss, her arms sliding around his neck as she pressed them together even more closely. After a long moment, she pulled back, her breaths deep and heavy. There was a spark in her eyes that made Vax’s ears redden, but Keyleth didn’t step out of his personal space, keeping her arms around him.

“How are you feeling?” she breathed out slowly.

Vax smiled idly. “Fine. A little confused as to why you stopped though.”

Keyleth blushed under his heavy gaze. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” she admitted quietly.

Vax lifted a hand to trace her jawline. “You couldn’t even if you tried.”

Her lips twitched into a small, shy smile. “Your Uber is coming.”

“I’ll cancel it.”

“Vex won’t be expecting you?”

“She’s with Percy. You don’t really think she’s going home tonight, do you?”

“Come home with me?”

“You don’t even need to ask.”

The next morning, Vax woke up in a bed that was decidedly not his wearing decidedly less clothes than he would normally. There was a dull throbbing pain from his abdomen and he took several deep breaths to try and soothe his body before he attempted to sit up. He propped himself up against the pillows and studied the room.

In the events of the night before he hadn’t paid much attention to the room, but as he looked around now he was able to appreciate it fully. There were two large windows on one side covered by gauzy curtains that did very little to block out the bright LA sunshine. It was similar to Keyleth’s apartment in that it was decorated with artistic, bohemian decorations and many, many small potted plants and succulents. Her furniture was all the same wood tone and the canopy above her bed was a dark blue cloth peppered with white dots that looked suspiciously like a constellation map.

In looking around, he woke up more fully and was able to smell coffee and what was probably breakfast coming from the other room. He rolled his shoulders and swung his legs off the bed. Locating his pants was fairly simple, but the grey Slayer’s Take shirt he had been wearing was nowhere to be seen. He ignored that fact and made his way out of the bedroom into the rest of the apartment.

All the blinds were open and sunlight streamed in through Keyleth’s many, many windows. Music was playing at a low volume from the kitchen and Vax followed it and the scent of coffee into the kitchen. His first glance of Keyleth stole his breath away.

Her red hair hung around her chin, turning copper from the sunlight and she was shimmying along to the song that was playing. The next thing he realized was that he couldn’t find his shirt in Keyleth’s bedroom because she had taken it and it really wasn’t doing his mind any favours since it barely covered more on her than it did on him. Vax felt his lips curl into a smirk as he crept forward and let his arms encircle her from behind, pulling her back against him.

Keyleth squeaked in surprise, but she relaxed when she realized that it was just Vax. “You are entirely too sneaky for your own good,” she scolded. “Especially for an injured man.”

Vax pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck humming softly. “Injured perhaps only because not only did I wake up alone, but you seem to have stolen something of mine.” His hands drifted to her waist, thumbing at the stolen shirt.

Keyleth turned in his grip so that they were face to face. Her cheeks were completely red and she looked nervous. “You’re okay though?”

Vax smiled. “Of course.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and finally felt her smile against him. “Are you?”

She hummed. “Best I’ve been in a long time.” She paused, biting her lip. “Thank you,” she murmured. “For not letting me be afraid and for pushing it,” she elaborated after a moment.

Vax laughed softly. “You’ve met me, right? Vex and I, we don’t know when to quit.”

She kissed him gently again, her hands drifting up to his shoulders. “I’m more grateful than you know.”

Vax tipped his head and pressed a kiss to her neck just below her ear. “I think I have some idea,” he teased and Keyleth’s breath hitched.

Hours later, Vax finally left Keyleth’s place and made it to his physical therapist’s appointment. After two hours of pain and grueling exercise, he was dismissed and he headed home, desiring a shower. Vex still wasn’t home at the apartment, but Vax didn’t think anything of it―she was likely just with Percy still and it wouldn’t be the first time this had happened.

He showered with only minor difficulty and was on his way to the dedicated office space to fiddle on his guitar when his phone buzzed with a text.

[Shaun] Does Mr Popular have time for a drink tonight?

Vax smiled faintly at the screen before typing out his response.

[Vax] For you? Anytime, anyplace.

[Shaun] Raven’s Rook, 8?

[Vax] I’ll be there.

Gilmore didn’t reply again, but Vax redirected himself to his room to put on clothes decent enough for a meeting and a drink with his close friend. Two hours later, he was calling an Uber to get to the pub.

The place was fairly crowded, but no one seemed to give him a second glance, despite his recent publicity, and he spotted Gilmore at a small table in the back corner. Vax made his way over and sat down across from his old friend. Gilmore glanced up over his pint of what Vax was sure was something local and gave him a wide grin.

“Hello stranger,” Gilmore greeted, his low voice rumbling warmly in his chest.

Vax could still remember when he got horribly flustered whenever Gilmore used to flirt and now it felt incredibly natural. “Shaun,” he greeted.

“How is the recovery going?”

Vax shrugged. “Therapy is a bitch of course, but I have good people looking out for me like you and Vex and Kima and Allura.”

“And Keyleth,” Gilmore added.

Vax blinked and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Gilmore chuckled. “Come on, Vax, you forget that I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of those looks.” Vax bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for Gilmore to continue. Gilmore smiled though this one was slightly more bittersweet. “I won’t say I’m not a little disappointed, but it wasn’t the right time for either of us I don’t think.” Vax’s brow furrowed and Gilmore waved a hand. “Vax’ildan, that girl looks at you like you’re her lifeline and I know the feeling is the same. I’ll be fine.”

Vax sighed. “That doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to care, does it?”

Gilmore chuckled. “I would be horrified if you didn’t.”

Vax traced a finger over a particularly interesting swirl in the wood of the tabletop. “Gilmore, you’ve always been such a good friend to Vex and myself. I don’t know where we would be without you.”

Gilmore sipped his drink. “Probably still making really terrible coffee while pretending that you two didn’t have the kick ass talents you do have.”

Vax chuckled. “So even though you’ve heard all of our songs already, will you still be picking up a copy of our album when it releases?”

“Vox Machina’s debut album? The very same Vox Machina who I pushed to even launch their career?” Gilmore smiled slyly. “I had better be getting an autographed copy in the mail.”

Vax laughed and extended his hand for a handshake. “How about an in-person delivery instead?”

Gilmore firmly shook Vax’s hand. “Sounds agreeable.” He paused once more, giving Vax an appraising look. “Don’t let Keyleth go, alright? I can only have lost to the best and, Vax, she’s the absolute best of you all.”

Vax smiled. “I have no intentions of letting her go, don’t worry.”

Vax and Keyleth got dinner at Melora’s on Friday. They had elected to let Uvenda surprise them with their meals, and the food was as delicious as ever. The dinner felt easy and natural and Keyleth held his hand across the table any time he wasn’t using his hands.

“The album release party is coming up, isn’t it?” Keyleth asked as they were waiting for their bill.

Vax nodded. “Saturday night next week at Whitestone’s head office. Are you looking for an invitation?”

She leaned forward and smiled. “Only as a plus one,” she teased.

He chuckled. “Naturally.”

Before he could say anything else, both his and Keyleth’s phones went off in unison. He raised an eyebrow and picked it up. His lockscreen was filled with Twitter notifications and he cringed.

“This can’t be good.”

Keyleth pressed her lips together before glancing around the restaurant. She turned back to him and showed him the screen of her phone.

Keyleth is our Queen @queenkikiashari • 9 minutes ago

SHE’S AT MELORA’S ON A DATE THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Hand-holding has happened, but I can’t get a shot of his face!!

Vax shook his head. “They never quit do they. Come on, I’m sure Uvenda can let us disappear out the back again.”

Keyleth slid her phone into her purse and led the way to the back. Uvenda grumbled something about them taking advantage of her love for Keyleth before she let them slip out the back. Vax had tried to argue for the bill, but Keyleth hadn’t heard a word of it, insisting Uvenda charge her for the full price.

They stepped out into the alley and Vax looked up at the steadily darkening sky. Keyleth slid her hand into his and pulled him forward.

“A little different from the last time we were here, isn’t it?”

Vax smiled. “Yeah, well, last time I had no idea how in love with you I was.” Keyleth blushed and Vax dropped her hand, stepping back. He held up his hands like a camera and framed her against the setting sun. “Give me a moment to capture this moment, will you?”

She shook her head. “You’re silly.”

Vax paused, reaching for his phone. “If it’s okay, I would really love to share this view though.”

Keyleth’s lips parted in surprise, but after a moment she nodded. “If you’re okay with that.”

Vax smiled widely, opening the camera app. “More than okay.”

Keyleth turned so it was her rear profile in shot as she looked up at the sky. She was mostly darkened by the sun, but with the buildings around her and the sky lit up with deep purples and oranges, it was a beautiful shot. He admired it for another moment before he composed his tweet.

Vax @vaxmachina • Just Now

The best view in the house. | at Melora’s Garden

Replies, likes and retweets poured in almost immediately as it wasn’t hard to figure out who was in the photo. His phone buzzed relentlessly and he wanted to ignore it, but it chimed with a text so he paused to open it.

[Vex] very smooth.

[Vax] I like to think so

Keyleth was smiling at him and Vax reached out to tangle their fingers together. “Feeling up for a night of adventure?”

By the time the album release party was half over, Vax’s hand was actually starting to hurt from signing so many CD cases. He didn’t even know that many people still bought physical copies of albums. There were people everywhere in the Whitestone office and everyone was dressed to the nines.

Vex had managed to shove him into a navy blue tuxedo that complimented the deep blue dress with the plunging neck she had procured for herself. Zahra and Cassandra had applauded their coordination so Vax had given his sister credit where it was due. She was currently off schmoozing some of Whitestone’s investors, arm linked in Percy’s.

Vox Machina’s cover of Thinking Out Loud was playing through the sound system as people swayed on the makeshift dance floor and Vax leaned against the wall, watching intently. From his position he could see Zahra in a head-turning red dress with Kashaw and another pair that almost surprised him. He knew that it should not have been really surprising, but there was something still a little shocking to see Pike’s head resting atop Scanlan’s shoulder.

Vax presses a knuckle against his lips to hide his smile. With the way that Scanlan was looking at Pike and the fact that Pike had been so kind and supportive of him, Vax wondered if it was time to pull the blindfold off of Pike. His gaze finally skimmed past his friends and he caught sight of Allura dancing with a reluctant Kima, and just on their other side was Keyleth, a glass of champagne clutched in her hand as she chatted politely with some Whitestone executive.

“Boo!” came a voice to his left.

Vax spun, coming face to face with his smirking sister. “Jesus, Vex’ahlia, when did you learn to sneak like that?”

She jabbed her finger against his arm. “I learned from the best.”

He scowled and leaned back against the wall, slightly turned towards her. “Need something, Stubby?”

She shrugged. “Honestly I just wanted to talk to you. We’ve both been so busy,” she said. Vax caught her gaze drifting to where Percy was speaking with Cassandra.

Vax tipped his head. “How is he?”

“Surprisingly better about this whole thing than I am,” she replied carefully.

“How are you?” he asked instead.

Vex turned her eyes back to him. “I would love a glass of champagne, but other than that, I’m doing really well.”

Before Vax could comment on her alcohol craving, she waved him off.

“Don’t worry, I am sticking to water.”

He nodded. “I’m proud of you, Vex.”

Before Vex could reply, Cassandra had materialized in front of the two of them. She was wearing a perfectly tailored suit and her eyes were glinting in excitement. Vax raised an eyebrow and Vex crossed her arms.

“It’s time for you two to give a toast.” Cassandra looked over her shoulder towards the front of the room. She glanced back, a little more tentative. “We also have the equipment if you would like to perform. Of course,” she cast Vax an extra glance, “I understand if you don’t feel up to it.”

Vax shook his head. “We’re here to celebrate our music, right? Might as well give them something of a show right, Stubby?”

Vex rolled her eyes. “I’ve got nothing, so you had better have an idea.”

Vax held out his arm, smirking. “Of course I have one.”

“Then let’s go,” she replied.

Vax guided Vex up to the front of the room, following Cassandra. Cassandra pulled two flutes of bubbling liquid off of a tray and offered them to the twins. Vax accepted his immediately, but Vex hesitated. Cassandra smiled kindly.

“They’re actually both cider since you’re performing, I don’t want to get you too drunk.”

Vex chuckled and accepted the glass. “Brilliant.”

Cassandra smiled in response and reached for her own glass, also picking up a slim metal stirring rod. She clicked the rod against the glass several times and waited for the crowd to come to attention. Finally, a relative silence fell over the room.

Cassandra smiled widely at the crowd. “Good evening everyone! On behalf of Whitestone Records, I would like to thank everyone for being here tonight in support of Vox Machina’s debut album. Now, I’m sure no one wants to hear me talk for hours, so I’ll pass it off to our guests of honour: Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan.”

Cassandra swept a hand towards the twins and Vax felt the eyes of every person in the room fall upon him. He froze momentarily, a sudden, uncontrollable fear stopping all possible words from leaving his mouth. Fortunately for him, Vex had always been better around crowds. She tugged on their still linked arms and gave the crowd a wide, open smile.

“Thank you to everyone for coming tonight. Vax and I have been working towards this for quite some time now and we’re honoured to see it come to fruition. I want to extend some thanks to Cassandra and the team here at Whitestone for believing we had it in us and for working tirelessly in the studio and the office to ensure that we received only the best,” Vex said, her gaze sweeping across the onlookers.

Vax steeled himself. “To all the supporters we’ve had since the beginning when we were just two kids with a YouTube channel and a dream, we’re grateful. Especially Shaun, Allura, and Kima―none of this would have ever existed without you. To the others who we met along the way, we are stronger with your support and we thank you for all you’ve done for us.” Vax’s eyes found Keyleth in the crowd and she gave him a bright smile. Any remaining nerves vanished entirely.

Vex nudged him. “To Vax, my brother,” she lifted her cider flute, “who’s heart is entirely too big for his chest.”

“And to Vex, my sister,” he replied, “who pushes us all to be better and bolder than ever before.”

“To Vox Machina!” Cassandra cheered, raising her glass in the final toast.

The crowd echoed her sentiment cheering loudly. Vax bumped his glass lightly against Vex’s and took a sip. The room was abuzz with energy and passion and warmth curled in his stomach. All these people were here to celebrate him and Vex’s passion project. A project which he hoped could be the first of many. If he’d ever thought that the side-project YouTube channel that Gilmore had insisted upon would have evolved into this, Vax would have thought himself entirely insane. Instead, he was proud and happier than he’d been in a long, long time.

“Come on, Vax, let’s give these people a show,” Vex said in his ear as she tugged him back to a makeshift stage with two microphones, two stools, and an acoustic guitar on a stand.

Vax instantly picked up the guitar, letting his fingers find the frets and strings like it was the most natural thing in the world. He positioned himself on his stool and glanced at Vex. She was staring at him expectantly and Vax realized that she needed his idea for the song they were going to sing.

“You and Me,” he said to her lowly.

Vex smiled. “Fitting.”

“I thought so.”

Cassandra cleared her throat from nearby, again catching the attention of the crowd. “The album is now live for purchase and I’m happy to present the indomitable Vox Machina!” She swept her arm aside, leaving the gaze of the room to fall upon the twins.

Vax strummed the intro, letting his eyes close and his fingers feel the music completely. They leapt into the song at the same point, harmonizing beautifully.

“You and me were always with each other,” they sang together.

The song was a return to the pop-folk music they’d started on and the music that they really wanted to make. It was simple and fitting. Vex had the main melody, but it was incomplete without Vax’s harmonies. The lyrics told a story that was touching and deeply personal and true to the twins’ relationship.

When they finished, the room burst into applause and Vax grinned widely. He looked around and spotted Keyleth, Percy, Pike, Scanlan, Grog, and the others looking happy and he even caught Keyleth wiping away a stray tear as she beamed at him. Giddy, Vax turned to look at Vex.

She was smiling widely as she looked out over the crowd, but Vax watched as her eyes landed on something in specific. Her smile dropped and the blood drained out of her face. For a moment he was afraid she would collapse, but she just stood up abruptly and painted on a forced smile. He stood next to her, reaching for her arm, but she pulled him into a brief bow before striding away to the edge of the room.

Vax stumbled, awkwardly placing the guitar back in the stand before he followed her quickly. He caught up to her and grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him. The colour had returned to her face and she was looking better already.

“Vex’ahlia, what’s wrong?” he asked concernedly.

She shook her head, exhaling deeply. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw something, but I didn’t. Everything is fine, Vax,” she replied, her tone calculated and even.

Vax furrowed his brow. He didn’t really believe her, but before he could push her on it, something covered his eyes and his vision went dark.

“Guess who!” Keyleth’s cheerful voice rang out.

Vax chuckled and pushed her hands out of the way, pulling her into a hug instead. When he pulled away from Keyleth he saw that Vex was embracing Percy and had taken the appearance of her kind-of-maybe-boyfriend as an excuse to flee from Vax’s scrutiny.

Vax frowned as she slipped away.

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mollymauk-tieflief · 5 years

Text

Man to Man

Percy was standing tall, his back straight as a rod, his hands clasped behind him. He was particularly formal, even more so than usual. If Grog and Vax had been there, they probably would have made jokes about something in his ass. They weren’t though there, in fact there was nobody there to make fun of him, not even Vex to smile to herself and admire him before cracking a joke to make him lighten up.

The only one there to see Percy more stiff than he had been in years was Trinket.

The large, brown bear was sitting down under the Sun Tree, sitting almost exactly where Vex had been sitting that morning. That thought alone set his heart racing all over again, but he focused back on the almost black eyes that watched Percy with an intelligence that took him a long time to get used to.

Percy was looking at Trinket as he would any equal, very few ever received such recognition and he hoped the bear understood that he meant it. “I know we don’t spend much one on one time together,” Percy realized that if anyone had told him years ago he would be talking to bear like this he would have assumed it was because he had a mental break. That was technically not wrong, but it was certainly not how he had expected his life to go. Which, he supposed, could be used to describe much of the last couple of years.

Trinket grunted and scratched at his stomach. Percy took it as a good sign, he had seen Trinket when he was not interested and that usually meant someone had to clean up after him. Percy straightened up even more, and took a single breath before he said, “I wanted to tall you that I asked your mother to marry me this morning.” He felt a rush go through him again.

You could marry me, he’d said with a laugh. It’d been a joke. It’d been a passing comment about how they didn’t want to be like Vax and Keyleth.

A slow smile formed on her lips, Don’t tease me, darling, I might say yes.

They were sitting under the Sun Tree, taking in their city, their home, their new life together. It was calm, they had come out to see the sunrise because Percy insisted that there were few places more beautiful than underneath the Sun Tree watching the sun crest the mountains. Vex had to admit, he was right.

If you think that scares me off you might want to think again, it was still a joke, but it wasn’t a lie. He had known for a long time, he could spend the rest of his life with her.

I’ll do it, I’ll say yes and then we’ll be engaged and you won’t be able to back out. A teasing threat, but her heart was pounding and she couldn’t imagine being the first to back down.

Engaged? You’re underestimating how quickly I can put together a wedding, dear. I can have us married by the end of the night. You could have people calling you Lady de Rolo before dinner if you’re not careful. It was true. And…well Percy hadn’t really thought about it much, he’d been so happy with the way things were that he hadn’t thought much about taking it farther. Now that it was out in the open…well it felt right.

Don’t make a promise you can’t keep, she bit her bottom lip, the smile only growing as she thought about it. Percy. Her husband. A wedding in her home with the man she loved.

All you have to do is say yes and I can get started right now.

Yes.

Both of them were silent, smiling at each other with bright eyes and a sudden swell of adrenaline. I’m going to do it. Right here at sunset there will be a wedding. It was still a warning, Percy was grinning and looking at her like he couldn’t believe that they were even talking about it.

Do it then. I’ll be here in a lovely dress waiting for you. They fell quiet for a moment, soft smiles gracing their lips. She reached up to touch his cheek and Percy instinctively leaned into her hand. I mean it, Percy.

We’re really doing this, aren’t we? He covered her hand with his and turned his head to kiss her palm.

She didn’t exactly answer that question so much as pose one of her own. Marry me?

Absolutely.

Trinket huffed and started to shift about, drawing Percy out of his memory. “It just sort of came out, if I had planned it I would have come to you first. Talked to you man to man,” man to bear technically, but Percy knew not to underestimate how human this bear truly was. “She wanted to tell you of course, but I asked her if I could.”

Trinket was standing at full height now, towering above even Percy, and looking down at him. Percy could see why so many people believed him to be a threat. Percy adjusted his shoulders and lifted his chin to look up at his fiancé’s bear. “I wanted to make sure that we were on the same page and I, well I know how important you are to Vex’ahlia and perhaps I could have been more upfront about it but you are important to me as well. I suppose I wanted to ask for your blessing. I love her,” his chest felt tight and full to bursting because gods he couldn’t think of her without being absolutely positive all of the love in the world was being contained inside of him, “I love her but I want you to know that—”

A long, rough, and disgustingly wet tongue went over the top of his head with a terrible slurping sound. Percy could feel the spit in his hair and knew that his hair had been flattened and slicked back at the top compared to the fluff over the rest of his head.

And then Trinket dropped back down to all fours and bumped his head into Percy’s chest. Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled and scratched him behind the ears, and then said. “Come on, we have a lot of work to do to get everything ready by sunset.”

Percy was standing under the Sun Tree, candles and ornate (though mismatched due to time constraints) torches lit up the square. Keeper Yennen was standing beside him, looking down at the pages in his hands and mumbling something under his breath, practicing or rewriting perhaps. It’s not like Percy had given him much time to prepare.

His sister was there, people who had been passing by and stopped to see what the Lord and Savior of Whitestone was doing with Keeper Yennen underneath the Sun Tree, dresses in his formal version of his dark blue travelling coat. It was obvious he was in the middle of something big and there were those who wanted to see what it was.

They had decided that this would be theirs, that it was for them and no one else and sure, one day they would tell their friends and the rest of their family, but at least for a little while…it was only theirs.

For a moment though, despite having asked her again a few hours ago, he wondered if she was going to show up. He had gone to her room, a sly grin on his lips, and he had told her once again that he was working on it and pretty soon she wouldn’t be able to back out. She had teasingly answered by telling him if he wasn’t ready he could just say so. And when he had assured her he was more than ready she shooed him out so that she could pick a dress and get ready.

Even so, as the sky began to shift to reds and oranges, Percy wondered if perhaps he had taken it too seriously. What if she really had meant it all as a joke?

Music began to play, nothing major just a few of the locals who could play. It was simple and anyone who had been walking by probably wouldn’t have assumed it was the wedding of two of the most important people of the city, but it filled the cooling air and Percy felt like he was on fire and frozen and above all like he was in love.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder and there she was, walking down the aisle with a huge brown bear at her side. She was wearing a navy dress, one he had always loved on her. The straps fell from her shoulders, the bodice had silver and gold moons, stars, and suns embroidered on it, and on this cool night she wore a cloak on her shoulders.

And she was breathtaking.

She smiled at him as she walked towards him, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and the other on Trinket. And he could see it in her eyes, the overwhelming weight of the love he felt for her that he was positive only he could ever feel? She knew it just as intimately.

Yennen said his words, Percy hoped that later he would remember them, but honestly the only thing in his entire world that night was Vex. Her face the only thing he could see, her perfume the only scent in the air, the sparks where her skin touched his the only thing he felt, the sound of her voice the only one he heard, and her lips the only thing he could taste.

They danced to the most beautiful music in the world, played by average musicians Percy had managed to scrap together last minute, and ate the most wonderful food the cooks had whipped together in record time, and they were married in the most beautiful place on earth, Whitestone at sunset.

---

Feel free to give me a kudos on ao3 if you want to show some love, username inadistantworld since I can’t link you guys to it anymore

#critfic #critical role #vex'ahlia #percival de rolo #perc'ahlia #trinket #sometimes i just think about how much i love them and i have to put it on a page

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maxbegone · 6 years

Note

Grog interacting with a gnome baby, while pike and scanlan are very supportive, as a prompt?

“Come on, Grog. You’re not going to hurt her.”

“But she’s so little.”

“Yeah, so are we, and you’ve had no problem holding us before!”

“But-“

The debate had been going on for at least ten minutes. Pike and Scanlan were encouraging Grog, who had been standing static in the corner of their bedroom, to hold their newborn daughter. His eyer were wide as he looked at the baby with fear and curiosity.

“Grog,” Pike urged gently. She was in bed with the pillows propped up behind her. “I’ve never seen you like this. It’s actually a little…”

“Adorable,” Scanlan finished.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “adorable.”

“What are you afraid of, big guy?” Scanlan walked over to Grog, reached up, and patted his arm. “That you’re going to hurt her?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t move his gaze from the baby in Pike’s arms.

Scanlan laughed. “Well that’s not going to happen. You care too much to ever hurt any part of your family.”

“Hey, Grog?”

He finally turned his attention to Pike.

“You’ve held babies before, right?”

He nodded. “Vex and Percy’s kids, yeh. But she’s, like, really NEW. Like right out of ya and everything!”

“Oh!” Pike suddenly started laughing, Scanlan echoing after her.

“What’s funny?”

“You’ve never held a newborn,” Scanlan exclaimed. “That’s why you’re nervous, isn’t it?”

Grog’s brows furrowed. “Newborn?”

“A new baby,” Pike clarified as she patted the bed. “Come sit next to me, I’ll show you how to hold her.”

“Vex and Percy’s kids weren’t this small,” Grog muttered, and Scanlan laughed again.

“That’s because we’re gnomes, and we’re much smaller than everyone else. So our kids will be much smaller, too!” He tugged on Grog’s wrist. “C’mon, she’s not going to hurt you, and you’re not going to hurt her. You could probably hold her in your hands, anyway!”

Grog let himself get pulled over to the bed that Pike had been sitting in for at least the past fifteen hours, on and off. The baby was born very early in the morning, hours before the sun had even begun to rise. Grog was there, of course, for most of it, but when it really started to pick up, he left the room. He waited outside the house nervously for hours until they called him back in. The rest of their family was scattered about, but Scanlan was planning on retrieving them later in the afternoon.

“Put out your hands,” Pike said as Scanlan helped him adjust into a less awkward position. “Just like that…There you go!”

Pike eased the baby into Grog’s waiting hands. He tried his best not to seize up when he suddenly realized how small she actually was. Even smaller than he’d thought she’d be in his hands, which could easily encase her. He suddenly felt the need to protect this new member of his family, just like everyone else.

“She’s so little,” he murmured.

“Because she’s a baby,” Scanlan replied.

“And wrinkly,” Grog added. “It looks like she was squished.”

“Well she was, uh…” Scanlan paused. “She was in a very small space for awhile. All babies look wrinkly when they’re born. It’s normal.”

“Oh.” Grog was content with that answer. “She’s really cute.” He turned to Pike. “You did good with this one. She looks just like you!”

He watched as Pike’s smile grew even wider than it already was. Scanlan stepped in and kissed her temple.

“She does, doesn’t she,” Scanlan agreed. “That’s a good thing.”

“But Kaylie looks like you,” Grog noted. “Is that a good thing?”

“Kaylie is much cuter than me, so that works out.”

They fell silent as Grog turned his attention back to the infant who was wriggling in his hold while she slept. She had dark tufts of hair and pink, wrinkly skin. Grog was enamored, to say the very least.

“Did it hurt?” Grog could feel himself going red as he asked.

“Yes,” Pike responded honestly. “but I knew it would. It’s inevitable, really. But it’s all worth it.” She leaned over, albeit slowly, and caressed the baby’s head. “Out of the pain, you get something beautiful. I’ve realized that over the years, and she’s the most beautiful thing I could ask for.”

Grog’s worry about his best friend melted away immediately when he saw her eyes light up.

He smiled at her. “You can handle pain, though. You’re a real monstah.”

A few moments passed as the three of them watched the baby sleep in Grog’s arms until he spoke up again.

“I just realized…What are you gonna call her?”

Scanlan cleared his throat, and it was then that Grog realized the bard’s eyes were shiny with tears. Pike gave his hand a squeeze encouragingly.

“Her name is Juniper,” he announced.

“After your mum.”

Scanlan nodded.

Grog looked back down at the baby. “Juniper, huh? Well, Juniper, you come to your Uncle Grog if you wanna fight a bit. Or do something Pike and Scanlan won’t let you do. I’ll teach you how to use an axe as big as you! But when you’re bigger, ‘cause I don’t want you gettin’ hurt.”

“Yeah, no roughhousing with my daughter until she can properly defend herself,” Scanlan mused.

“So what do you think, Grog,” Pike spoke up. “Do you like her?”

“Yeah! A lot! I’m gonna make sure no one hurts her and make sure she can rip ‘em in half if they do.” He bounced his head excitedly. “Can I keep holding her?”

“Of course!”

A sharp slap echoed through the bedroom as Scanlan comically palmed his face. “Ah, we’ve made a terrible mistake, Pikey. We’re never getting our daughter back.”

Grog smiled as wide as he possibly could and responded with a chime in his voice. “Nope!”

#critical role #my fic #fic #critfic #pikelan #pike #scanlan #pike trickfoot #Scanlan shorthalt #grog #grog strongjaw #my writing #my post #prompt fill #sidenote. i had way too much fun writing this

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sovinly · 6 years

Note

Vex and Vax, platonic coffee shop AU?

Oh man, thank you for the prompt! :D Here is a no-Thordak AU where some other fucking people get to deal with apocalyptic bullshit while the twins have some quiet in their late-teenage years.

“I’m leaving the pair of you the shop,” Samira says one day while they’re cleaning up. She says it while drawing the curtains, but she looks over to see their reactions.

Vax notes it out of the corner of his eye, because most of his attention has immediately and instinctively gone to Vex, looking at him with wide dark eyes from where she’d been carefully copying over the ledger. He grips the shaft of the broom a little tighter and looks back at Samira.

“You’re thinking of retiring?” Vex ventures, smooth as butter, neatly dodging all the questions that must be running through her mind.

Samira laughs. “I’m old enough, I want to go live with my son in peace. You’ll do well with it, I think.”

“Thank you,” Vax says, finding his voice in this strange and unexpected conversation. He’s still stunned at the idea of owning a business. “That’s...”

“Very kind of you,” Vex finishes, gingerly setting her quill down. She doesn’t reach up to adjust her braid or the feathers pinned there, and gives Samira a winning smile. “You’ve done a lot for us.”

“You’ve done a lot for me,” Samira replies. “I admit I had my doubts, but I’m glad I took you on. I’ll let you finish up here, take some time to get used to the idea. But so you know.”

She slips out the door, leaving it for them to lock.

“Fuck,” Vax says, stunned and clinging to the broom for dear life. This never could have happened in Byroden, but it’s a slim chance still in Westruun. With their own coffee shop, they could keep their mother in better comfort, keep their heads above water. It’s not what he expected six years ago, when Vex talked their way into doing odd jobs for pocket change.

Vex, agreeing, laughs a little brokenly.

Samira leaves them the rest of the house, too, if not the furnishings.

Vex takes the lead on supplying it and in tidying up the shop itself, with Vax contributing what he can, leaning on favors so they have to spend less money than they might have.

There’s not much to change in the shop itself, well-worn and quietly familiar in its little corner of Westruun, but Vex bargains down some fabric and Vax transforms it into new curtains with a quick and steady hand, embroiders new designs - feathers and flowers - on spots where the cushions are wearing thin. Vex sweet-talks her way into learning a few new recipes and Vax scopes out a new variety of tea, herbal and spicy, and they both spend a few days on hand and knee, scrubbing and polishing everything to like-new.

It’s not bad, Vax thinks, for a pair of slightly-less-shabby half-elves just at the cusp of adulthood. It feels very much like home.

Elaina, who has been tearily proud of them since they brought her the news, beams just about to breaking when Vax and Vex, each taking one of her arms, show her into their new home.

She’s still a seamstress, with slightly slower fingers and spectacles she didn’t used to need, with strands of grey in her long dark hair, but she’s still endlessly kind and still asks Vax to sit with her in the evenings, passing over things to be sewn when he offers to help.

There’s love in every inch of her, and Vax desperately wants to be his mother’s son.

They are very good at running a coffee shop.

Vex’s mind untangles finances like instinct, and Vax has a knack for finding things out. They’re both good with people, and sometimes Vax would be envious of Vex’s easy charm if he wasn’t so constantly surprised that people respond so well to just... being spoken with.

Vax has always liked working there, but there’s something different about it being theirs. There’s something comforting in waking up before dawn and doing his hair and then his sister’s, in sleepily stuffing leftover pastries or pasties in their mouths as they set up the shop and start up the fires. He likes the regulars, because anyone he or Vex thinks is an obnoxious fucker is someone they don’t have to tolerate the way they did working for someone else.

He likes the new customers too, even when they’re strange.

“What can I get you, big man?” Vax asks a goliath who takes up a good portion of the height of the room, and it would be more alarming if he wasn’t vaguely familiar with the fact there is a goliath who lives in the city.

“Uh,” says the goliath, with an anxious glance to the gnome at his side. “D’you have any ale?”

Vax taps his knuckles against the counter, considering what to offer. “No, but I’ve got a nice spiced coffee blend that I can put a kick of rum in.”

“Alright,” he agrees, still a little suspiciously, and the tiny gnome at his side beams up at Vax.

“The same for me,” she says, reaching into her coin purse. “Make it a double shot?”

“Sure thing,” Vax agrees, suddenly warm, and returns her smile.

Pike and Grog come back in from time to time after that, between little adventures that take them outside the city, for recreation or for Sarenrae. Wilhand, Pike’s grandfather, is never impressed by the alcoholic drinks Vax makes him, but he likes the tea and that Vax calls him grandfather.

Vex ruthlessly outmaneuvers everyone who tries to haggle down her prices, but she and Vax agree without a word to always offer a cup of something warm to those who look like they need it but can’t pay. She also plops down at a table with a shy dwarven woman apparently unfamiliar with everything but the most medicinal of tisanes, and introduces her to a whole swath of drink options, because Vex knows what it’s like to be made fun of for not knowing things.

She takes well to the ruthlessness of managing, but she’s still kind and giving and wants to help, and Vax adores her the way the stars adore the moon.

It’s nice, knowing that she’s happy, to be content, to know that they’re not a flu away from poverty, like they sometimes were, before and after leaving Byroden.

Vax serves coffee to Kima, who the first time she came in asked about a half-dozen places Vax knows closed years ago but now comes in for her doctored drinks, and to Kima’s friend, a tall blonde human with neat braids and a magical air, who has to be visiting the Cobalt Reserve.

He wonders if they’ll be here long enough that someday someone will have this shop and its dark-haired owners fixed in their minds like that, some childhood institution.

“I love you,” Vex mumbles, up late from hosting a wedding-party and still fussing over the books, leaning over into Vax’s shoulder. “I would have loved you anywhere we ended up, but I’m happy we ended up here.”

Vax smiles helplessly, feeling his face go soft at the edges, and kisses the side of her head before leaning in against her in return. He would do anything for her and she would do anything for him, and he doesn’t know how people can go through life without feeling this loved.

“Me too,” he whispers, and catches her hand in his, feels like all years in the world are sprawled like a tapestry at their feet. “I love you too, sister. So much.”

#sovin writes things #look i love them and want them to be happy #fix it aus with more moms are always a good plan #but yeah #everyone definitely shows up eventually #and things continue to be Good #trinket also shows up because c'mon #critical role #anyway!#thank you again!#and i hope this makes your day brighter <3 #radioactivepigeons

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agnesgoesadventuring-blog · 7 years

Text

Faith (Vaxleth canon divergent/AU fix it fic)

Last week on Talks Machina there was a question about whether Vax was starting to rethink which woman he’d placed his faith in (Keyleth and the Raven Queen) when he died after the trammel that was made from what the RQ gave him broke and Keyleth was the one to seal Vecna away. I don’t necessarily think that’s a fair or even accurate question, but it did make me think about how things would be different if he hadn’t accepted the Raven Queen’s offer, if he had waited for Keyleth to bring him back.

And then this idea got into my head and it just wouldn’t go away. I’m still writing Restoration, but this was taking up so much space in my head that I couldn’t write anything else until I got this written down. It’s not the best written thing and it’s probably pretty messy, but like I said, I needed to get it out so I could continue writing what I was already working on. Maybe once I finish Restoration I’ll come back to this and polish it up.

Vax'ildan considers the deal his queen has offered him, to return to his family with gifts to help him defeat Vecna, and to then come back to her once the task is finished. It's a difficult decision to make, having received an offer that would guarantee at least a bit more time with his family. Even knowing he would have to leave them soon, having that guarantee is very attractive.

He wants so badly to be back with his family, to defeat Vecna, and a part of him desperately wants to say yes, to grasp on to whatever chance he has to return to Keyleth, to his sister, to the rest of Vox Machina. There's something in him that screaming at him to take the deal, to accept whatever he can get.

But he can't get over the fact that once Vecna is finished he'll have to leave again, this time forever. He can't bear the thought of leaving his sister like that, and he'd made a promise to Keyleth that he'd return to Zephra with her. It was a promise he intended to keep.

And he knows the spells that Keyleth has learned over the past year. He knows what she is capable of, that she has the ability to bring him back even if his body was turned to dust. She's the most powerful person he knows, and he's sure that she can do this, that she will do it. He has more faith in her than anyone.

"I'm sorry, my queen. I can't," he says, his voice quiet and shaking, a tremor of fear running through him at the thought of what her reaction him be.

She stands before him in silence for several long moments. Vax dips his head down, looking at the floor, unable to look into her face. Her presence looms around him, the darkness of her form almost surrounding him, her eyes, hidden behind the pale mask of her face, studying him.

"You're turning down my offer?" she asks, her voice stoic and calm as always.

"Yes."

"Do you understand what you're doing? What you're refusing?" Her tone is becoming a bit more heated now, her voice growing tense even as it remains quiet.

"I do," he replies. "I just... I can't accept anything that would take me away from my family so soon. Not when I know there's another way to return to them."

"Another way? You think that someone can give you a better offer than the one I have given you?"

"I know what Keyleth can do. I know how powerful she is. I know that she has a spell to bring me back. I know she can do it. I have faith in her." His words are stronger now as he speaks with conviction. One thing he's never doubted is Keyleth's strength and power, and even now, standing in front of a god, being offered another brief chance at life, Vax feels how true his words are, how much he believes them.

The Raven Queen goes silent again as she stares at him, but now Vax watches her back, no longer scared after reminding himself of how strong Keyleth is and what she can do.

"Very well," his queen eventually says. "But understand, if your faith is misplaced, if your Keyleth is unable or unwilling to complete this task, there will be no second chance. You will remain here with me. Forever."

"I understand," he responds. "But I have faith in her. I know she can do this. I know she will do this."

"Then I suppose that, for now, the only thing you can do is wait," she says, and then she fades away, leaving him alone in the dark, waiting for Keyleth to do what he knows she can.

His eyes drift open slowly, vision blurred. The light is low, shadows floating above him as his eyes adjust. As his vision clears, he takes in the trees that are surrounding him. He recognizes these trees. He's in the forest outside of Whitestone.

The crunching sound of leaves draws his attention, and he turns his head toward the sound. Out of the trees and shadows come Galdric, walking toward him.

"Hey, old friend," Vax says, reaching out. The animal bumps his head into the offered hand, an acknowledgement of their connection. "You wouldn't happen to know how long I was gone, would you?"

Galdric just stares at him, moving back to sit down. Vax pushes himself up off the ground, groaning at his stiff muscles. "Yeah, didn't think so." His eyes sweep over the dog, noting how much stronger and healthier he looks than when they had originally sent him out on his task. "You do a good job protecting Whitestone, don't you?"

The dog responds by nudging at Vax's arm with his snout. "Thank you," Vax says as he scratches Galdric behind the ears. "Thank you so much." He sits there for a few more moments, before standing. "I have to go now."

At his words, Galdric stalks off back into the forest. Vax takes a deep breath, relishing the air in his lungs and his heart beating in his chest. Looking down, he sees that he's completely naked. "Well, this happens more often than I'd really like it to." And he sets off to find his way out of the woods, toward Whitestone.

He's not sure how long it takes him to reach the edge of the forest, but when he does he can make out several figures, far away. As he comes closer he sees his friend sitting in a spot a bit away from the castle. Vex'ahlia is leaning into Percy, her hands clenched together tightly, and Keyleth is pacing, back and forth, over and over, biting her thumbnail as she does.

She's the first one to spot him, and he can hear the joyful sob that escapes her as she runs toward him, throwing her arms around his neck when she reaches him, holding on tight. "It worked," she whispers. "It worked."

Vax responds by tightening his arms around her, holding her close and sliding his hand up to tangle in her hair. After a moment he pulls back to look into Keyleth's eyes. They're tired and swollen, filled with tears. But there's joy there, and the tears that streak down her cheeks are happy tears.

"You're amazing," he says to her, his voice low and intimate. "I knew you could do it. I never stopped believing in you."

She smiles at him as more tears escape her eyes. "I can't believe it worked," she whispers again. Vax doesn't know how to respond. He can only pull her into a kiss, putting all of the love and gratitude he feels into it.

They separate as Vex bounds toward them, her arms encircling him. "Thank the gods," she says quietly.

"Not the gods," Vax responds. "This was all Kiki."

"I know," she says, pulling back and turning toward the druid. "Keyleth, you're incredible." She wraps the other woman up in a hug. "Thank you so much."

Keyleth returns the hug, her eyes meeting Vax's over his sister's shoulder. She smiles, a warm, loving, happy smile that makes his heart flutter. He loves her so much, and he knew he was right to place his faith in her. He will never stop believing in her and what she can do.

Keyleth steps back, away from the crowd, her speech to the residents of Vasselheim finished. Vax takes her face in his hands and gives her a light kiss. "I am so proud of you."

"It was just a speech," she said, rolling her eyes in her embarrassment.

"It was a great speech," he replies.

"That really was an amazing speech, Keyleth," Vex says, patting her on the shoulder.

They all stand in silence for awhile, unsure of what to do next. Vax pulls Keyleth into his arms, letting her curl into him. He can't imagine letting this go, and he reminds himself of how right he was to put his faith and trust in Keyleth. He hasn't told his family about the deal the Raven Queen offered him, but he's spent so much of the time he's had since he was brought back trying to express how much he loves and appreciates all of them, silent thanks for what they did for him, bringing him back, giving him a chance to have the future he dreamed of.

"What now?" Pike eventually asks.

"I really don't know," Percy says, looking around, seeming to be a bit lost without some kind of task to complete.

"We have to go back to Zephra soon," Keyleth says to the group, but mostly to Vax. "We were only supposed to be away for a short vacation."

Scanlan lets out a laugh, "Like there would ever be such a thing as a 'short vacation' with us."

Vax presses a kiss to Keyleth's forehead. "Maybe there will be now."

They go to a tavern and drink for awhile before leaving to return home to Whitestone, with the promise to come back to Vasselheim soon to help rebuild.

When they step out of the Sun Tree and into Dawnfather Square, Percy immediately heads toward the castle to check on his sister, Vex at his side. Scanlan follows closely behind, eager to see his daughter and make sure she's okay. Grog and Pike trail behind him, chatting drunkenly.

"What do you want to do now?" Vax asks Keyleth, taking her hand in his.

"Can we just go to bed?" she asks. "All I want to do is climb into bed and have you hold me while we sleep."

A smile stretches across his face as his heart flutters once again. "That sounds perfect. There's nothing I'd rather do."

When they get to their room and close the door behind them, Vax notices how slow Keyleth is moving, how tired she looks. The fight was hard on all of them, but the magic she uses in battle so often leaves her drained and exhausted. He helps her remove her armor and then he pulls back the blankets for her, watching as she slides into the bed before he starts to take off his own armor.

"I can't believe we won," Keyleth says, her voice quiet and tired. "We won and none of us died." She's silent for a moment, a sort of heavy silence, before saying, "Well... nobody died... in this battle."

Vax knows that even though she succeeded in bringing him back that Keyleth will never forget what it felt like to see his body turned to dust. It still haunts her, and Vax worries that it always will.

"For once we planned very well," he says as he removes the last of his armor and gets into bed. She moves into his arms, placing her head in the curve where his neck and shoulder meet, her arm stretching across his chest so that her palm can rest over his heartbeat, strong and even. "You were amazing, Keyleth," he whispers into her hair. "You defeated a god."

"We all defeated a god."

"But you're the one who sealed him away."

She doesn't respond for a moment, as though she's turning the words over in her head. "Scanlan was the one who cast the spell to bring out the text and make it readable. All I did was recite it."

He doesn't press it, knowing how difficult Keyleth finds it to take credit for things she's done. Instead, he drops a kiss on her forehead, lingering there as he absorbs the moment, the simplicity of it all, and how happy he is.

Keyleth tilts her head up, bringing her lips to his. It's a slow, deep kiss, and Vax savors ever second of it, aware of how close he came to not having this.

Their eyes meet as they separate, and as tired as they both are, their expressions are filled with happiness, affection, and contentment. "I love you so much," he whispers, bringing his hand up to stroke his thumb over her cheekbone.

Her breath catches in her chest and the emotion overtakes her face. "I love you," she echoes. "I... I don't know what I would have done... if I lost you... if I hadn't been able to bring you back."

"You never have to worry about that," he says. "You did bring me back. You're so powerful and strong and I knew you could do it. I never doubted my faith in you."

She smiles at him, and they continue to gaze into each other's eyes as Vax strokes his hand through her hair and Keyleth keeps her palm firmly over his beating heart. Eventually, her eyes start to droop, and she returns her head to his shoulder, nuzzling her face into his neck. "I love you," she says again, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I love you, too," he says as they both drift off to sleep.

They've been back in Zephra for a few months, continuing to build the future they were making for themselves before they had to fight Vecna. They settle back into the home they share, creating a warm, lived in place where they can be together, just the two of them.

Every day Vax breathes in the air of the village, closing his eyes as he feels the light breeze on his skin and hears the voices of the people in Zephra, the people who have slowly become their neighbors and friends. He remembers how close he came to losing it, and each day he reminds himself how right he was to trust in Keyleth and her power, to always have faith in her. He holds her close every morning, kissing her with everything he has in him, an expression of his love and all the gratitude he feels for her, for bringing him back.

Zephra is home now, and Vax spends every second of his life he cherishes the fact that he's here with Keyleth, that they're actually getting to have that future he had dreamed of.

He walks through the village, searching for Keyleth. She's been anxious, nervous about what she has to do. A few of the children in Zephra have come down with what's developed into a very serious illness. The healers have used all the spells they have to cure them, but nothing has worked, so they've now asked the Voice of the Tempest to try.

The request had made her nervous and scared, and she'd taken off to think hours ago, and now Vax was getting worried.

He finds her sitting beneath a tree, several feet away from the edge of a cliff, gazing out into the distance.

"Hey," he says, his voice quiet as he carefully sits beside Keyleth, not wanting to startle her.

"Hey," she responds weakly.

"What's going on, Kiki?" he asks bluntly. They had always been so good at being honest with each other about how they felt, at talking to each other openly instead of pushing anything down they needed to say, so he doesn't try to skirt around the question, instead clearly asking what he needs to know.

She takes a deep, shakey breath. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Of course you can," Vax says, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "You're the Voice of the Tempest. You're so strong and powerful."

"That the problem," she says, finally turning to look at him, and he says the fear in her glassy eyes. "I'm supposed to be this powerful leader. Everyone expects me to be able to do this incredible things. But what if I can't? It's not like spells I've cast haven't failed before. What will they think of me if I let them down? I'm supposed to be their leader, but what happens if I can't do this? If I fail?"

He watches her as she talks, his heart breaking at how much she struggles with having faith in herself. She's done so many amazing things, so many powerful things, but she can't bring herself to believe in herself as much as he believes in her.

"I've never told you," he starts as he moves closer to Keyleth, pressing his forehead to hers and stroking over her cheek with his fingertips. "What happened when I died. After that first fight with Vecna.

She freezes, and he can feel the sharp breath she takes in as she's hit with the pain of the memory of his death. "What do you mean?"

"Before you brought me back... the Raven Queen came to me. She offered me a deal. She would send me back to you, to our friends, with gifts to help us defeat Vecna, but once Vecna was defeated I would die again. For good. I would have had to return to her."

Keyleth's brow furrows as she listens to him. "I don't understand. What... what are you saying?"

"She offered me this deal," he continues. "It would have guaranteed that I would return to you, that I'd get more time with you. I almost took it. But I couldn't accept something that would make our time together so short. Not when I knew that you could bring me back."

"Vax..." she says, bringing her hand up to his chest, her fingers clenching in his shirt.

"I knew that you could do. I knew that you would do it. Because you are so strong, and so powerful. I had so much faith in you, and I never doubted that faith. l have so much faith in you. I turned down a guarantee from a god because I believed in you and... I just knew."

Tears fall down her cheeks as Vax finishes, and he presses kisses all over her face, following the trails of her tears. She moves forward, burying her face in his neck as he wraps his arms around her, holding her close. "We have a future because of you. What we have right now is all thanks to you. You're incredible." He feels her breathing slow, the silent sobs evening out into more steady breaths.

He runs his finger soothingly through her hair for several minutes before pulling back to look at her, looking into her eyes and saying, "And if you ever doubt yourself, if you ever have trouble having faith in yourself, remember that. Remember what you did for me. For us. Remember how much faith I have in you. I have more than enough for the both of us."

Keyleth looks into her eyes, her face softening with affection. "You're right." She nods. "I can do this."

"I know you can."

She watches him for a few more minutes. "Thank you. For having faith in me. For believing I could bring you back. If you had taken that deal, if I'd had to say goodbye to you after we sealed Vecna away... I don't know what..." Her fingers clench tighter as she takes in a deep, calming breath. "Thank you so much for not taking it, for having faith that I could bring you home to me. For believing in me instead of taking something that was guaranteed. I can't tell you what it means to me."

Vax presses her lips to hers, a promise that he'll always believe in her, that he'll always have faith in her. She hold onto him, accepting his promise, his love, and his faith in her.

She stands up, brushing of her skirts, pulling her mantle around her shoulders and grabbing her staff. "I can do this," she says to herself before turning to look at Vax. "I love you so much."

His heart beats hard against his ribs, as it always does when she looks at him with so much open affection and love. "And I love you," he replies. "I'm the luckiest man in the world."

"And I'm the luckiest woman." They smile at each other for a long moment before she turns to walk away toward the quarantined tents, her head held high and her hair blowing in the breeze. She looks every inch like the force of nature she is, and Vax's breath catches in his chest at how beautiful she is, and how lucky he is that she loves him, that she chose him, and that she brought him back. He will love her until the day he dies, and beyond. And because of her, that day is a long way off.

#critical role #critfic #my fic #vaxleth

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peach-the-owl · 3 years

Note

I think I something you might going to like. 84 but with a twist. Reader is a sorcerer and a friend of Vox Machina, the last time they seen them was battle Mind Flayer thus sacrificed themselves to froze the gate to other dimensions and stop Mind Flayer. Only see Vox Machina one final look before froze themselves. Not until Mighty Nein broke the frozen sorcerer. Only hear familiar voices, once they open their eyes they realize it's not Vox Machina, but the group who saved them.

Kinda like Avatar The Last Airbender when Aang frozen in time. Hope this is too much for you.

Some friendships transcend lifetimes… I love The Last Airbender it’s such a good show, and I’ve defiantly watched it over a dozen times, but anyways onto the story

I know I’ve called stories long before but like I thing this one takes the cake so far… here’s hoping it’s a good one

Lost Time

Vox Machina/Mighty Nein & Sorcerer!Reader (Platonic)

84- Who are you?

Spells flew left and right as you and the rest of Vox Machina faced off against a rather troublesome Mind Flayer, your ultimate goal was to destroy the gateway this aberration had opened and stop any beasts from coming through from other dimensions. Having silver dragon blood running through your veins meant you specialized in ice magic, being able to freeze just about anything with enough time and effort put in. With the rest of the team keeping the Mind Flayer distracted while you tried to use your magic to freeze and shatter the gateway, but the problem was this gate was enormous. The Mind Flayer had caught on to what was happening and attacks you causing you to lose concentration on your task, thankfully you’d managed to deal enough damage to shatter the base of the gateway causing it to crumble to the ground, falling on the Mind Flayer effectively killing it. For a moment it looked like you’d won but as the dust settled some you see the portal was still open and extremely unstable, energy crackling every which way the cavern starting to collapse around you.

"We can’t stay here the whole place is coming down on top of us." Percy calls for a retreat.

"It didn’t close, we broke it but it didn’t close!" Grog shouts still in a rage. You look over at all of them then over at the portal, you knew what had to be done so with a shaky breath you start towards the broken gateway.

"(Y/n) what are you doing? We need to leave!" Vax calls for you with a panicked tone.

"If I don’t seal this thing, it could mean more trouble then even we could handle." You continue forward against the groups protests getting close enough in range to start using your magic to freeze the opening before anymore energy can release itself. The room grew drastically colder, frost appearing along the walls as you pushed yourself past your limits.

"We can’t just leave you here!" Pike cries.

"You have to, if you don’t you’ll be buried here as well!" You yell, urging them to go without you.

"But-"

"Just go!" You scream at them, by now you could feel the cold of your magic effecting your own body. With looks of sorrow you watch as they all make their way to the exit, Keyleth looks back and calls your name one more time before being dragged off by the others. "It'll be okay." You whisper to yourself, a single tear sliding down your cheek as the gateway lets loose a pulse of energy and you unleash all your magic at once to conceal it, making your vision go white…

Everything felt cold, shadows were moved around in front of you. Were you dead? You thought you might be but then you start hearing faint voices, albeit muffled hit your ears.

"… see that?" It kinda sounded like Vex but you don’t remember her having such a high pitched, bubbly voice.

"It… dangerous." That sounded like Keyleth except much deeper and gravely.

"Wait, I think… in there." Since when did Grog become so soft spoken and educated?

"Maybe… use fire… see what’s inside." You defiantly don’t remember Scanlan sounding so shrill before.

"… not a… perhaps… could be dead." Now when did Vax get such an odd accent?

"… they're alive. We need…" Percy also sounded much calmer and relaxed then you were used to. What was going on, and why did everyone sound so different? A glowing light shines through bringing a warm feeling with it, there’s a cracking sound followed by shattering as you fall to the ground, you figured Pike must’ve used some sorta healing or restoration spell to free you. After a slight pause you gasp in actual air for the first time in you weren’t sure how long, and look up at the people in front of you. Your vision was still a little blurry trying to adjust to your surroundings and for a brief moment you thought you were staring at your friends, but when you rub your eyes to clear them you see before you a group of complete strangers making you jump back in surprise.

"Who are you?" Your voice comes out chattering both from fear and from the cold that still lingered in your body.

"Could ask you the same question." The woman who looked to be a monk shoots back.

"Well I asked first." You rebuttal attempting to stand, your legs were still shaky causing you to trip only to be caught by the firbolg on one arm and the tiefling on the other.

"Hi! I’m Jester!" The tiefling says cheerfully, holding her hand out for you to shake.

"Uhh… pleasure to meet you." You greet slowly accepting the hand shake, you then look to your other side at the firbolg.

"Hi, I’m Caduceus, how are you?" He introduces himself.

"I’m doing quite alright, thank you." You then look to the others in the group.

"Hi I’m Nott, just Nott." The goblin gives an awkward little wave, you wave back.

"Name's Fjord." There was a minor shift in his voice that made him sound more western, but only for a moment. You just nod your head in acknowledgment.

"My name's Caleb Widogast." The red head says rather stiffly, you could easily tell he was a wizard due to the large spell book stripped to his persons.

"Beauregard." The monk woman simply says.

"It’s very nice to meet you all. My name's (y/n)." You finally introduce yourself, now feeling a little more comfortable around them. "You have my thanks for freeing me of my icy prison."

"How did you end up in there anyways?" Jester asks. You explain to them everything you could clearly recall from your adventure before somehow placing yourself into some kind of frozen stasis.

"You know, now that I’ve had a better look…" You trail off slightly, taking in your surroundings once more. "This looks nothing like the cavern I sealed myself in. Where exactly are we?"

"You're in the Happy Fun Ball!" Jester happily states, you give her a confused look.

"That’s only a nickname." Caleb quickly jumps in, giving you a quick explanation of the object you were inside.

"How strange, maybe the last pulse of energy from the gateway sent me here along with most of the ruins." You look over at the broken and thankfully inactive gate that was in shambles, defiantly no way to activate that thing anymore.

"So if I may ask, why go through the trouble of coming here a second time? I mean, you know how dangerous it was the first." You question.

"Well we're looking for someone, that wasn’t you, and hopefully find a way to stop this cult for something called the Angel of Irons." Fjord gave an explanation this time. You let out a large sigh, this was a lot of new information to take in such a short time.

"That’s interesting." You say absentmindedly, still taking in this new situation you were suddenly in. You shake your head a bit and look to the group. "Well, if you need any help I'll happily oblige, it’s the least I could do for freeing me."

"Why that’s very generous of you, honestly we could probably use all the help we can get." Caduceus gives you a kind smile.

"Of course, just tell me everything I need to know about your situation." With that they all started to explain everything that’s been happening, it being a little hard to follow along sometimes with them talking over each other but you get the picture eventually. "So your friend, Yasha right? She’s under this Obann's control and they also have a creature called the Laughing Hand at their disposal. Now your here looking for the wizard Yussa because he’s been missing in here for 3 weeks and time is really strange here too, did I get all that?" You question.

"That’s the basics of it." Nott says with nod.

"Looks like we got our work cut out for us. Especially with the strange time here." You place a finger under your chin in slight thought, you had a lot of questions running through your head but had to put them aside for now, there were more pressing matters to deal with first. Finally having regained enough strength to stand on your own you set off with this new group of adventurers…

Taking down the Permaheart had been no easy feat but with Beau downing it and yours and Caleb’s combined spells it was finally reduced to frozen ashes and you’d finally located Yussa, amongst other things that happened and were ready to leave this place once and for all. Throughout all this, as helpful as you were you could tell this group still didn’t fully trust you, whispering amongst each other and defiantly not telling you everything. Who were you to blame them though, they were as much of strangers to you as you were to them, even if they did save you, so you figured it best to just keep a slight distance when they talked quietly with each other, and if you were being honest you were exhausted. Having been frozen for who knows how long didn’t cancel out the effect of having used a lot of magic, plus the magic you used to help fight off the creatures and creations that lurked in this sphere. You located the exit and the second you all arrived inside of Yussa's tower you fell to your knees panting.

"Whoa, hey are you alright?" Fjord comes over to you and helps support your weight so you could still stand.

"Sorry, I’m just a little tired is all, I suppose after everything I still haven’t fully recovered from my icy sleep." As if to exaggerate your point you let out a yawn and start leaning your full weight into the half-orc.

"Do you think it would be alright if we left (y/n) here for the time being." Caleb asks Yussa who in turn looks over at your exhausted form.

"I juss need some proper rest, I’ll be out of yer hair and rejoin with them once I dooo." You slur through your words slightly.

"Very well." He says with a soft sigh, then turns to his assistant to get a room prepared for you. When your brought in you immediately collapse on the little makeshift bed and pass out, getting some much needed rest. You awaken feeling much more refreshed and walk your way up the tower to where you hoped to find Yussa, when you enter the room you see the mage as well as the Mighty Nein and a very familiar face who stared back at you with as much of a shocked look as your own.

"Allura?" You ask almost nervously, she looked much older then when you’d last seen her. You see her eyes gloss over a little as she holds back tears.

"(Y/n)?" There’s a slight silence that fills the room before the two of you embrace each other. "I was told you sacrificed yourself to save our everyone, we all thought you were dead!" Allura practically cries, breaking away from the formal appearance she’d put on in front of everyone until now.

"I thought I was as good as dead too, but these folks here saved me, pulled me out of my frozen tomb." You say gesturing towards the Nein.

"Wait wait wait, you two know each other?" Nott looks between the two of you confused.

"Of course we do, we're friends." You simply reply.

"You haven’t changed a bit." Allura says looking you over.

"And you…" You pause slightly. "You’ve certainly gotten wiser." Allura just gives you a look that says "yes, I know I’m old". After your little reunion you refocus your attention on the task at hand, collecting information on this Angel of Irons and learning that it was in fact the Chained Oblivion, Tharizdun. You listen intently to everything being said to get a better understanding of what was going on and the more you learned the more serious and dangerous the situation grew.

"I believe it best I return to Tal'Dorei and inform the council, will you be joining me?" Allura looks over to you for confirmation.

"As much as I’d love to go home, I promised these fine people I’d help them. It’s the least I could do for what they’ve done for me." You give your friend a smile, she returns it with a worried look then sighs and nods.

"Alright, just please be careful and don’t disappear again, I don’t know how I’d handle the knowledge of seeing you alive only to learn you’ve really died this time." She places a firm yet gently grip on your shoulders, you place your hands on top of hers and give them a reassuring squeeze.

"I can’t make any big promises here but I’ll do my best. Until then it may be best if you keep my status a secret to everyone, alright? You’ll even be the first person I visit once this is all over." You look her in the eyes and slowly release your grip, once again she nods as she slowly moves her hands back to her side and teleports out of the tower.

"Aww man, I wanted to know who was on this council she mentioned." Nott looks down disappointed.

"Me too." Jester pouts. "Unless you know!" The two of them give you expectant looks making you take a step away from them.

"I can’t say I’d know for sure, a lot is different now then what I remember." You hold up your hands in defence.

After getting everything sorted out, you left Yussa's tower thinking as long as you stay with this group you should be fine. Then they split up, the girls in one direction and the boys in the other which threw you for a loop but you were able to sort yourself out and enjoy a more casual rest of the day getting to better know some of the others. The following days weren’t as you’d expect however especially when you were shopping around a little shop know as the Invulnerable Vagrant, it was no Gilmore's Glorious Goods but it still nice and you had to admit the shopkeeper, Pumat, was a charming firbolg in his own right. What was really unexpected though was the surprise attack by the Inevitable End, dealing with them was tricky when they could phase through the floor but you managed to drive them off and check in on what was happening with Yasha. Your next stop was a visit with a sorta mafia? You were really starting to question the group's moral compass, sure you have done crazy things in the past too but the Nein seemed to find a way to make things even weirder, you decided to stay out of most of it when they told you the only way to get in was to share your blood. Meeting up the next day you made your way back to Pumat's shop, being both shocked a relieved when he decided to join and help the party on this fast approaching mission…

Never in your life had you thought that the steps to a cathedral of Pelor would feel so menacing and filled with unease and yet here you were. The battle was intense, rifts opening and bringing forth creatures of the abyss, Yasha and the Laughing Hand were proving to be tough opponents and everything seemed to be going downhill. With sights set on the mind-controlled barbarian you weighed your options, you couldnt be reckless with your spells seeing as Beau had fallen unconscious so an AoE spell might end up killing her, you settle for using a Ray of Frost spell seeing as your silver dragon blood made it stronger. It works, distracting Yasha away from Beau and giving Caduceus the opportunity to dispel the control over her and spare Beau from deaths grip. With that taken care of you switch your focus to an oddly familiar situation, going to close the rifts and stopping the creatures coming through, however this time it wasn’t a large gateway at least. You were very focused on your task you didn’t notice Obann escape to the deeper chambers of the cathedral until you heard one of the Nein call to you.

"Obann's escaping we need to move!" Caleb calls, you look back and forth between them and the creatures still coming through a few of the remaining rifts, Pumat was still dealing with the the creatures as well and by the looks of things, despite his word of reassurance, he was already having a difficult time.

"You go on ahead, I’ll stay back here and help fend these creatures off!" You call back.

"Are you-"

"Just go!" You shout at them feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. You shake off the feelings, this wasn’t going to end like last time. The Nein disappear after the devil and with Pumat to aid you the two of you worked to close the few rifts and finish off the remaining cultists and creatures. It had been a long and strenuous battle but you’d done it and you were still alive, you rest yourself against one of the supporting pillars to catch your breath. After a long pause that feels like hours had passed, you feel a feathery touch against your shoulder, looking over at Caduceus who uses a quick Cure Wounds on you, Fjord also makes his way over.

"We want to thank you for everything, we may not have managed as well as we had if not for you." Fjord thanks, handing you a healing potion.

"I suppose that makes us even then." You comment with a cheeky smile happily accepting the potion and putting it to use right away.

"You know, I feel we could really use someone like you on the team, if you’re interested that is." Caduceus offers.

"I appreciate the offer, and though in reality it has been a long time since my last adventure, it still feels like it was only a short time ago to me. I really miss home, and am in dire need for a break, but if you do ever require my assistance in the future I will happily lend my aid to you again. For now I just wish to go home and familiarize myself with the changes that've taken place." You decline the offer as politely as you can, he gives you a nod of understanding. With that you get up, bid them farewell and exit the cathedral, making your way towards an area that’s out of the way before getting to work on a Teleportation Circle, as you're setting it up you think back to your time with this crazy group of adventurers, and while it was short they still made you feel welcome in their own strange ways. In some ways they reminded you of your time with Vox Machina, perhaps that’s why you were able to work with them and come to form a trust with them as quickly as you did, who knew. You finish the last symbol for your spell and the portal opens to the familiar view from inside Allura's tower, it was time to go home so with a deep breath you step through the portal.

Bonus (2 for 1 story):

Reunion

"Are you alright? You're looking quite nervous." Allura asks with slight worry as you walk through the halls of Greyskull Keep.

"I haven’t been home in so long and so much has changed, I just don’t know what to expect or how they’ll react." You admit. She places a hand on your shoulder and gives you a reassuring smile.

"Trust me I don’t think they’ll be expecting this either." You walk up to a set of large double doors.

"And from everything you told me…" You trail off a bit.

"There’s more I missed, but I’m sure they’ll be more then happy to fill you in."

"Okay…" You take a breath and reach for the knob only to pause again. "Why don’t you go in first, and I’ll follow your lead." Allura just gives a soft chuckle and nod before opening the door and heading in. You step back and try to catch your breath wondering why you still felt so nervous. You had to wonder if this was even worth it, a lot had happened and changed since you’d been gone and there was a lingering doubt that your friends might not even care anymore.

"Come in and say hello." You hear Allura's voice muffled through the door. Moment of truth, you steel your nerves and make your way through the door. When you enter you have a look around the room seeing all eyes on you, at first their expressions were blank or shocked so you decide to lighten the mood and give a small smile.

"Hello everyone, it’s been awhile." You say in almost a whisper, already feeling the tears well up in your eyes. The next thing you know your tackled into a hug by a sobbing Keyleth.

"You’re not dead! You’re not dead!" Is all you hear her say through her sobbing. You now return the hug having been able to stabilize yourself and comfort the Archdruid.

"I missed you too Kiki. I’ve missed all of you." You release one arm from her seeing as she wasn't going to let go of you just yet, and feel a slight pressure rest on your shoulder once you do. Craning your neck over you see a raven perched itself on you, you raise your hand and give him a little scratch under his beak as he leans into the touch. You look to the others seeing Vex approach.

"My word darling, you haven’t aged a day since we last saw you. What’s your secret?" She tries to add some minor humour to the situation but you could tell she was holding back some tears, being just as overjoyed as Keyleth.

"Just freeze yourself for a good 20 years or so and it’ll shave off those wrinkles in no time." You lightly chuckle, using your free arm now to offer her a hug. She accepts giving a much shorter side hug to you while the others finally came to their senses and start bombarding you with questions. You do the best you can to answer all of them as well as properly greeting everyone again and exchanging welcoming hugs from them, being lifted off the ground when Grog brought you into an almost bone crushing grip. "As much as I missed you too, I’m still fragile." You wheeze at the goliath.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just been so long." He says, trying and failing to hold back his emotions.

"Right, which reminds me, you must have stories to tell me. I’d love to hear what you’ve all done over the years."

"Oh man, where do we begin? There’s so much to tell." Pike ponders aloud.

"How about we start with what happened after my… departure." You suggest, ready for the day to be filled with stories of their adventures and exploits.

#critical role #critical role & reader #vox machina #vox machina & reader #mighty nein #the mighty nein #mighty nein & reader #nothing romantic here

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esselley · 7 years

Text

For the pirate!au fans, 3k words of KageHina fluff~

“UWAAAAAH! Is that it?!”

Shouyou flings himself at the railing of the ship, throwing the whole top half of his body over it in his excitement. In the distance, he can see it—the seaside port town of Torono, bustling under the noise of gull calls and the cresting crash of the waves.

Kageyama passes by and grabs the back of his shirt, dragging him away from the rail, and potentially avoiding a man overboard situation.

“Why are you so excited?” he asks blandly. “Your town was the same.”

“This is a new one,” Shouyou says.

Kageyama stops so abruptly that Shouyou bumps into him. Before he can complain, Kageyama spins around, his captain’s coat billowing around him. Shouyou straightens up and pays attention.

“Before we go ashore, I’m setting a few ground rules. Follow them, or spend all of next week scrubbing the deck spotless. Aye?”

“Yes, captain!” Shouyou shouted.

“First: don’t draw any attention to yourself.”

Shouyou crosses his arms. “How would I do that?”

“You,” Kageyama says, “are orange and louder than an entire armada of parrots. You’re also easily recognizable to anyone looking for you.”

Shouyou huffs. “Well… fine.”

“Next order of business,” Kageyama continues. “You stay near the crew at all times. No running off. No exploring.”

“But—” Kageyama’s eyes flash, and Shouyou backtracks quickly. “Stay with the crew. Got it!”

“I’m serious as a dead man, Shouyou,” Kageyama tells him. “There’s a reason we make port in Torono. This isn’t a place for folk such as yourself.”

With that proclamation, he strides off, leaving Shouyou to gape at his retreating figure.

He has very little time to sulk over the perceived slight. Soon, the Invincible is sailing into port, and Shouyou can’t help but be awestruck by the sights surrounding the ship; gnarled, old boats, fishermen and smugglers, a wretched hive nestled within a paradise of white sandy shores and crystal blue waters.

The anchor drops and the gangplank lowers. Shouyou is swept out with the tide of bodies as the crew jostles and flows its way off the ship. And then, it’s land underfoot, solid and unmoving, which only seems to make it harder to stand, somehow. Shouyou’s legs wobble strangely.

Someone smacks him on the back nearly hard enough to send him sprawling, and a loud voice laughs.

“Sea legs givin’ you trouble, Shouyou?”

Towering over him, shadows cast and blotting out the sun, are the terrible trio—Koganegawa, Haiba, and Goshiki, ready to drink the day away, no doubt. Off they go, sauntering down the street, already singing bawdy shanties.

The three of them warmed up to him faster than anyone else on the ship—Shouyou could tag along, but he doesn’t fancy a day cooped up inside a stale tavern.

He glances around him. He’s got to stay with the crew, but most of them have dispersed.

He spots Kunimi and Kindaichi headed the way of the shops, and that might be more up his alley, seeing the whole town and the people in it; if only the two of them weren’t so chummy with each other and uncertain about him.

He turns the other way and just spies Tsukishima, slipping off alone and unnoticed down a dark alleyway, adjusting his emerald tinted glasses with a surreptitious glance before he disappears. Whatever the first mate of the Invincible is up to, it’s definitely shady, and Shouyou has no intention of trying to force his way into Tsukishima’s business when the man already clearly yearns to throw him to the sharks at the first available opportunity. Shouyou is dim, but not that dim.

Unfortunately, if he wants to follow the captain’s orders, he’s running out of time. He’ll have no one to stick near at this rate. And then he spots the captain himself, last off the ship.

Kageyama has changed out of his grand seafarer’s clothing, into a simple white shirt, faded blue pants rolled to his knee over a worn pair of boots. He looks like one of the simple fisherman like that, not the fearsome captain Shouyou has come to know him as (though he would never tell Kageyama this to his face). Moreover, he seems relaxed, almost; at peace.

And so, instead of following any of the crew to wherever they may frequent ashore, curiosity wins out. Shouyou follows Kageyama.

Kageyama does not leave the docks to head into town. Instead, he turns and walks along them, hands in his pockets, the sea breeze ruffling his hair that has been freed, for once, from his three pointed hat. Shouyou creeps along behind him at a slightly slower pace—darts around grizzled old men with pipes in their mouths, hides once or twice behind a crate or a large barrel, wonders where it is Kageyama is heading.

They reach the edge of the dock where the activity level is lower, and the ship bustle quieter. Shouyou edges closer as Kageyama finally stops, alongside a small, two masted brig ship. There’s a man on deck, with a sunburned nose and fair hair secured by a loose headband. He spots Kageyama and pulls the pipe out of his mouth to shout down at him, though Shouyou can’t hear what is said.

Shouyou squints as Kageyama exchanges words with (Shouyou can only assume) the brig’s captain. Then to his surprise, there is a changing of the guard; Kageyama walks up the gangway and the man down it, clapping Kageyama familiarly on the shoulder as they pass each other. Shouyou hides again, around the corner of a building, until the man has walked by, singing an old sailor’s tune in a voice rough hewn by smoke and salt air as he goes.

Shouyou chances a glance at the ship now, to see that Kageyama has disappeared onto the deck. Without stopping to think, Shouyou leaves his hiding place, to make his way up the gangway and onto the ship.

Kageyama doesn’t notice him—he’s too busy with storing the mooring ropes and pulling up anchor, and for awhile, Shouyou watches him as he works, trying to pick up some kind of knowledge in the observation. But Kageyama moves too swiftly for Shouyou to pick anything up aside from a vague sense of dizziness, and so he finally decides to announce himself.

“What are you doing?”

Kageyama gives a shout and whips around, hand automatically flying to his waist for his sword—but he’s not wearing it, and for a moment, his fingers grasp uselessly at air as he gapes at Shouyou. In the next breath, however, he realizes who it is, and rolls his eyes towards the heavens.

“Where the hell did you come from?” he demands.

“Did I scare you, captain?” Shouyou forgoes a proper reply and simply beams at him.

“What is it,” Kageyama tirades, “with you and sneaking onto boats?”

“I just happened to see you!” Shouyou says defensively. Kageyama tilts his head and frowns, and too late, Shouyou realizes the implication of his words. “This time! The first time I was just—it wasn’t because of you…”

This is not, in point of fact, entirely true. But, Shouyou has no intention of letting Kageyama find that out.

Kageyama either lets it slide or hasn’t caught on in the first place (the more likely scenario). Instead he continues to glare. “I gave you two conditions—only two, and—”

“And I followed them!” Shouyou counts them off on his fingers. “One—I haven’t drawn attention to myself! You didn’t even notice me. And two, I’m with the crew’s captain. What could be better?”

“I can think of many things,” Kageyama says.

“Mean,” Shouyou tells him. “I just wanted to see where you were going.”

“Nowhere in particular,” Kageyama replies.

“Then where are you taking this ship?” Shouyou asks curiously.

“Like I said,” Kageyama says stubbornly, “nowhere in particular.”

He doesn’t seem like he’s going to be any more forthcoming, and Shouyou deflates. He’s not sure why he followed Kageyama after all—what had made it seem like a good idea at the time, like Kageyama may be pleased to see him.

“Okay,” Shouyou says. “Well, maybe I’ll have a…” He wrinkles his nose. “I’ll drink some… grog… with Lev and—”

“You might as well come along, now.”

Shouyou freezes, mouth open in surprise. Kageyama looks frustrated, almost, that the words have come out of his mouth at all; Shouyou can hardly believe that they did.

“To where?” he asks.

Kageyama shakes his head. “Nowhere, looks like.”

Shouyou’s eyes and mouth open ever wider, before he’s nodding, and then jumping straight into the air in his excitement. “Yeah! Let’s go, Kageyama, let’s go nowhere!”

Kageyama tells Shouyou to point in any direction, as long as it’s facing the waves. Where Hinata points, Kageyama sails—out onto the ocean, until the town is no longer visible, until it’s only the water and sky, blue in all directions.

Shouyou isn’t sure what makes him finally stop, but the sun is well overhead by that time, blinding where it reflects off the waves. They haven’t spoken much on the voyage so far. Kageyama has looked too focused for that, sailing this ship all by himself. Shouyou wishes he could be of more use, but he still doesn’t know the first thing about ships or sailing; so he keeps watching.

He notices that though Kageyama looks focused, it’s not the kind of focus that comes from stressful concentration or overwrought thinking. Instead, Kageyama seems on the verge of something like happiness. His eyes are alert and alight, and his lips are pressed firmly together, like if he isn’t careful, he might smile. Shouyou would like to coax it out of him at some point, perhaps; but for now, considering Kageyama let him stay, he’s content to be a silent passenger, exploring the boundaries of the ship or else leaning against the forward railing to watch the water rush by. And eventually, they slow.

It’s not quite nowhere, but it feels as though it could be close to it, on a map. Kageyama heaves the vessel to, and they stall amidst the waves. There’s nothing out there but them.

“Now what?” Shouyou asks, turning just in time to catch Kageyama stripping off his shirt and boots. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“What’s it look like?” Kageyama asks, as he strides towards Shouyou purposefully, a length of rope in hand. But before Shouyou can shout anything about impropriety, he strides straight past, grabbing hold of the forestay rope to haul himself up onto the ship’s rail. He throws the rope overboard, first, and Shouyou realizes he has it tied securely around the mast. It reaches all the way to the water.

Without a pause, Kageyama executes a clean dive, kicking off the rail to cut straight down into the deep blue water below with barely a splash. Shouyou leans over the railing to gape at him.

“You’re leaving me up here?” he yells, when Kageyama surfaces.

“Water’s fine if you want to swim,” Kageyama calls back. He looks less like a pirate captain, currently, and more like the creatures fishermen talk of in their stories—beautiful, half human creatures that make their homes beneath the waves and lure sailors to their doom with the sound of their voice.

Shouyou does want to swim. However, coincidentally, if he were to follow the sound of Kageyama’s voice it truly would spell his doom.

“I can’t,” he says.

“What?” Kageyama asks. “Why not?”

“I mean, I actually can’t,” Shouyou confesses. “I don’t know how.”

Kageyama tosses his wet hair out of his face, the whole of which is squinted in confusion. Shouyou can make out the exact moment this new piece of information registers with him, with all its surrounding consequences.

“At all?” Kageyama shouts. “You can’t swim at all?!”

Shouyou shakes his head, glad that he is on deck and out of head-grab reach.

“You’re a fucking idiot!” Kageyama is now bellowing. “What kind of bilge swilling, gin-soaked deck rag tries to be a pirate without knowing how to fucking swim?!”

“ME, I guess!” Shouyou shouts back.

“This is why I didn’t want you to come!” Kageyama says furiously. “This was supposed to be—relaxing, now I have to be worried about you falling overboard and drowning—”

He falls silent, and Shouyou peers down at him curiously. “You’re worried about me?”

“I’m swimming now,” Kageyama says in response, before disappearing back below the waves.

The sun beating down on the deck of the ship gets hot before too long, hot enough that Shouyou eventually has to steal Kageyama’s shirt to use as shelter, holding it over his head as he lolls against the railing and watches Kageyama swim. The shirt smells like the sea and salty sweat, and mutes the bright rays of the sun, which shine through the white linen to turn it pale gold. It makes Shouyou sleepy, the warmth and the rocking of the boat.

Kageyama swims for a long time, until the sun is no longer as hot and the vibrant blue of the sky has started to mellow. Eventually, Shouyou is roused from the standing doze he’s fallen into as the captain scales the rope he threw into the water earlier, climbing swiftly up the side of the ship.

“Ready to head back?” Kageyama asks. If he thinks it’s odd, Shouyou blinking sleepily at him from under the shirt he’s re-purposed as some kind of veil, he doesn’t remark upon it.

Shouyou finds it odd himself, that Kageyama is asking him whether or not he’s ready. After all, no part of this venture was his idea. But then he looks out at the water, at the way the now late-afternoon sun tints it gold, too, like it had with the shirt, and reconsiders.

“Maybe we can stay out a little longer,” he mumbles, and Kageyama nods like he truly doesn’t mind.

He doesn’t ask for his shirt back, and Shouyou takes the opportunity to really watch him, while he’s occupied seemingly searching for something. He’s got a broad back, paler than his arms thanks to the coat he’s always wearing. His hair sweeps his shoulders, but he’s already in the process of pulling it back into a short tail at the nape of his neck, as he usually does. Shouyou watches him wind the leather band round and round with long, deft fingers before he knots it.

Kageyama’s fingers are scarred. Shouyou can’t see the marks from this far away, but he knows because he’s seen them up close. He has wondered which were accidents and which were inflicted purposefully; there are two horizontal slashes in the middle of Kageyama’s palms that are too perfectly even to be anything but deliberate. He wonders how Kageyama got those, but he hasn’t asked.

Now for the first time he sees more; the other scars on Kageyama’s body, the numerous reminders that he has a dangerous life and a wretched one. For all that he has earned himself a ship, and a title, and a reputation, his life is not a valued one as it would be for other men of society who possessed those things. Shouyou can see the old signs of beatings, burnings, blood drawn. And he wonders how it came to be that such a dreadful man decided, in the end, to let him stay.

“Ha,” Kageyama says, pulling something loose from a tall coil of rope near the aft of the ship. It’s a bottle, filled with dark amber liquid. He unstops it, absently noting, “Keishin will kill me when he realizes I went looking for this. We better move fast once we get back to shore, because it’s the first thing he’ll check.”

“Why’d you come out here?” Shouyou asks.

Kageyama blinks at him as he takes a long swig from the bottle. He wipes his mouth and holds it out to Shouyou, shrugging when Shouyou shakes his head. “I like it out here.”

“But you’re out here all the time,” Shouyou points out. “You don’t want to do something different?”

Kageyama frowns. “No. Why would I?”

Shouyou tilts his head, thinking about this, as Kageyama takes another deep drink from the bottle. Shouyou leans back and the shirt slides from his hair, so the sun hits his face again.

“It is different, being out here by myself,” Kageyama says. “I’ve only got to worry about me.”

“Oh…” Shouyou says. He recalls Kageyama’s earlier ire, upon learning he couldn’t swim. “Sorry. I'm…”

“You’re a nuisance,” Kageyama says, waving a hand.

Shouyou cringes. “I'm—”

“Annoying.”

“Well—”

“A burden on myself and my crew.”

“Okay,” Shouyou says loudly. Kageyama stares blankly at him, and truthfully, Shouyou can’t argue with any of what he’s said. “Why’d you even bring me aboard, then?”

Kageyama huffs irritably. He doesn’t answer at first, standing up, dusting off his pants. When he starts to ready the ship to sail again, Shouyou wonders if Kageyama will respond at all, if he has any reason for bringing Shouyou on board aside from pity.

“The sea called to you, didn’t it?” Kageyama asks him suddenly.

“Excuse me?” Shouyou asks, not sure he heard correctly.

“It called, and you listened,” Kageyama says, matter-of-fact. “I know. The same thing happened to me.”

Shouyou has nothing to say to these declarations; he doesn’t know whether Kageyama is right, because from his recollection, Shouyou simply recalls the lure—of freedom, excitement, adventure. He saw all that in Kageyama, and wanted the same for himself.

And then, he laughs.

“Yes,” Shouyou says. “I guess it did.”

“Next time,” Kageyama says, “next time, you’re going to learn to swim.”

He turns the vessel back toward town, though Shouyou knows they won’t stay there for long. A life on land is not the life for them.

Yes, I have given Tobio “Will turner hair”. More pirate!au is here!

#kagehina #hinata shouyou #kageyama tobio #haikyuuwriters #haikyuu!!#kagehina fanfiction #haikyuu!! fanfiction #esselle writes #tumblr fic #pirate au #rumrunners series #(is now the official tag for any fic for pirate au)#essie's hq fic

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