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thenextchapter22 · 3 years

Text

Mail Order... Kitten Girl

Part 8: Aw Rats

Description: Satan accidentally orders a special type of ‘cat’ online after having a few too many drinks…

Tags: Pet Play, Cat Hybrids, Fluff, Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Tail Fucking

Pairing(s): Reader/Everyone (but Luke)

Link to my AO3: Click Here

In this chapter: Kitten and Barbatos spend time together!

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven

Authors Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARBATOS!! This one is for you :))

+++++ MINORS DNI +++++

It was an early morning on a weekday. You woke up slowly, snuggling into the demon body beside you in bed. Sleeping in Belphie’s room was always your top favorite spots to get a great nights sleep. Surrounded in his bed with all his blankets and pillows he stacked up plus his warm arms around you, that was the best.

You were shaken out of the slumber by Beel shaking his twin’s arm, saying, “Belphie, Kitten, get up and eat.”

Belphie groaned, squeezing your body to him, nuzzling the back of your neck with his heated breath caressing you. “Mmmm... ‘s early, Beel. Later...”

The temptation to stay was strong, but your stomach gurgled and you decided to get up.

Wiggling in Belphie’s strong hold until you faced him instead of the wall, he opened one eye just enough to stare at you questionably. “Cuddle me later?” you said through a yawn.

Your youngest demon Master sighed, but gave you one final squeeze around your waist, lingering just above your bottom with his fingers, and kissed you gently. “Fine... Go on,” he said, and opened his arms to free you.

Beel helped you climb over him. As soon as you were out of the bed, Belphie went right back to sleep.

With a smiling sigh, Beel shook his head. “C’mon, Kitten. I’ve made one of your favorites for breakfast so let’s get you dressed.”

You picked at the thin silk short set you had worn to bed. Sleeping with any of them, you liked to wear little to almost nothing. Firstly, because a lot of them ran hot, and secondly so that you could feel their bodies closer to you. That extra touch made your body feel good.

You sat on Beel’s bed, waiting for him to pick out an outfit for you. Almost all of your Master’s liked to dress you. And because you usually stayed in one of their rooms, sometimes a different demon each night so it was fair—they liked to fight a lot about that—they had clothes ready for the next day.

The redheaded demon chose a soft pair of leggings and a short-sleeved scoop neck shirt, also soft, probably fleece . You smiled at the plain underwear he helped you slip on. Asmo , Lucifer, and Satan all liked to give you lace undies and bras, but the others preferred comfort for you. Either way you didn’t mind, they were your owners after all and you liked them dressing you up. The fun of it was seeing the different styles.

After you were clothed, Beel took your hand and smiled. “Let’s go eat.”

You smiled right back and nodded, “Mmhm! ‘m hungry, Master.”

“Me too. I haven't eaten in minutes.”

Giggling, the both of you left Belphie to the room and went to eat.

Breakfast for you was perfect. Waffles soaked in syrup, piled high with berries and whipped cream. Sausages and eggs, too. The table was full, aside from Belphie. Your Masters all ate their weird demon foods. The day was looking to be a great one!

Once your belly was full, that was when your morning turned from sweet to just plain sour.

The worst news was given to you, and in anger you lashed out.

Which was why now, you sat dejectedly on the couch, arms crossed and tail swishing across your lap, the tip fuzzed out. You poked at your collar that was almost forced on you, a black leather collar that wasn’t uncomfortable but not your favorite, thick and ugly. A long leash was attached to it, and on the other end was Lucifer holding it. Usually you liked the leash, but not when it was a punishment.

Everyone was in the common room now, even Belphie who had gotten up after hearing the news. They either stood around you or sat on the furniture, but they all were looking at you with small smiles or smirks.

You were not amused. If you were an actual cat, your fur would be stuck up like the tip of your tail was.

The bad news that caused this problem... your Masters were leaving for the whole day to a RAD Student Council member only meeting that Lord Diavolo was holding.

You hated being alone. But because Barbatos was staying behind to make a feast for when they came back, he had volunteered to watch you.

When Lucifer went on and explained he was going to take you to Lord Diavolo’s castle for the hand off of yourself to the demon butler, you obviously did not want to go or for them to go and as such you had clawed at him, and thus the leash.

You didn’t draw blood, Lucifer was too fast for that, but the reaction was enough to be punished.

Huffing in your seat, you refused to not look angry. They were leaving you... again!

Lucifer sighed, and patted the top of your head a few times. “Bad kitty’s get punished, my dear,” he said matter of fact.

Your nose twitched. “I know...”

“You promise to behave for Barbatos?” Satan asked.

You nodded. “Yes, Master...”

“Don’t look so upset, it will only be for a few hours...”

“Why can’t I just be at home alone?” you asked, glancing at them all with wide eyes.

Asmo cooed. “Last time Simeon took too long, kitty cat, and you were upset with us. We’re just looking after you.”

You pouted.

Beel smiled. “Barbatos is excited to see you. And he said he wants you to taste test some of his bakes today. I’m jealous.” He drooled.

Your ears perked up. “R-really?” You licked your lips. Barbatos was the best baker you knew. His cakes and pies and basically everything he made was yummy.

“Kitten looks happy now!” Mammon said with a grin.

Satan agreed, “She looks like the cat who got the cream.”

Asmo giggled. “She probably will, too, and I mean to say Barbatos’~”

The others groaned or chuckled. You didn’t know what that meant, but you did love cream.

“We’re having a big feast later at Lord Diavolo’s castle, so be sure not to eat too much,” Lucifer said, and then announced it was time to go.

You stood as Lucifer started for the front door, the leash taught. Your Masters all said their respective goodbyes and ‘I love you’s’ and it made you very happy inside. You would miss them so much.

Maybe it was better to not be alone, so you wouldn’t be so sad and think about them until they came home.

Turning on your heel before the front door, you smiled. “I love you, too, my Masters.” And you meant that, truly.

They all cooed, or grinned, and you waved goodbye.

It was only for the day, right?

_+_

The walk to Lord Diavolo’s wasn't too long. Barbatos let you inside the main entrance where you waited to be handed off like a true pet.

“Welcome, Lucifer, Kitten. We are going to have a good time together today, hm?” the demon butler smiled at you kindly.

You peeked at him from behind Lucifer and nodded once. Still, something inside of you was a little peeved.

“I trust you will be good?” Lucifer asked you, a stern look in his red eyes.

“Yes, Master, I'll be good,” you said.

Lucifer handed the leash to Barbatos, who took it without a single question. You wondered if Lucifer told him what happened and why you had the leash at all.

“She will be well looked after, Lucifer.”

Lucifer nodded. He gave you a single kiss on your forehead. “Behave, Kitten,” he said, and then he was gone out the door. You watched as he transformed into his demon form and flew off, majestic and sexy. You did love his wings; they were so soft.

“Kitten? Let’s go.” Barbatos smiled at you again, and gestured with his hand for you to go ahead and step further in the Castle.

You frowned, but did, and you found yourself in the kitchen after a little bit of walking.

The room was a far cry from the House of Lamentation’s kitchen. First it was much larger, higher ceilings, and had several ovens and even more cooking equipment. There were tons of cabinets and a large black table off to the side. The floors were nicer on your shoes, less chance of tripping on wood floors than badly lain cement blocks.

While you glanced around, you felt a tug on your leash and a click, and Barbatos was hanging your leash on a hook on the wall before you knew what happened.

“Wha-?”

“It will be easier for the both of us. I won’t say anything if you won’t?”

You giggled. The collar was still on, but that was fine by you. “Okay!”

“Perfect. Over this way please.” He led you to a counter, and there was a ton of ingredients out. They smelled sweet, salty, bitter. Some of them looked good, others odd colored or shaped, but still had a good aroma. “Today you can help me prepare the meal for their return.”

Your ears fell. “I can’t cook...”

"That's not a problem. You have two hands, and so you can mix. And taste test for me as well.”

Now that you could do with great pleasure. “Yes, I want to help!”

He chuckled. “I assumed so. We are only preparing desserts now; I will finish the rest of the meal later so it's fresh. Let’s begin, shall we?”

Baking with Barbatos was fun. You got to eat so many tasty things. He let you lick the spoon with the frosting, and gave you little chocolate chips. Mixing dry ingredients for him was harder than it looked and you got some flour on yourself, but that was why you had the apron on.

Although, it was strange that he already had the perfect one for you. It certainly was not for one of the demon brothers or Diavolo (right?).

After cooking for a long time, eating and mixing and opening and closing the ovens, setting all the pretty treats under domes on counters or in the fridge, you were totally exhausted. All the hard work and eating had really wore you out.

You yawned a few times, and rubbed at your eyes.

“Is it time for a cat nap?” he teased.

“Barb, I’m tired.” You yawned again.

He softly laughed. “All right. Come with me, Kitten.” He put the palm of his hand on your lower back to lead you out of the kitchen. You were taken around a few doors and small hallways to a wide window with a bed seat cushion, and it faced a garden full of flowers and wildlife.

“So pretty...” you were in awe.

“I thought you might like the view. Rest for a while and I will wake you up once you’ve gotten the proper sleep.”

You curled up on the warm bedding and purred. The sun was shining in the spot, and you could fit yourself perfectly in a ball. “Thank you~”

Barbatos smiled down at you, and pet your head, his hand lingering on your neck to squeeze once. It gave you the shivers. “You’re very welcome, Kitten. Sweet dreams.”

You fell asleep watching the birds flutter around and chirp.

When you woke up it was still sunny, but not directly on you. And you watched the garden for a while, and then you saw it.

A rat, scurrying across the field.

You made a sound and bared your teeth at it.

The window had a latch, and you undid it and crawled out to step into the garden. You were quiet, stealthy, your prey was right there. You caught it in your claws and squeezed until it was dead.

This was the perfect present to say thank you!

Barbatos had not come for you yet, so you set the dead rat on the floor of the room, waiting for Barbatos to come fetch you.

And when he came inside, he froze up, and stared at your gift. “Kitten.”

“Barb~ I got you a gift, it’s right there.” Your tail flickered in happiness, and you grinned a fanged smile at him, proud and excited.

He tensed as he walked around it, but did not pick it up. “Did you touch that thing?” he asked instead.

“Yes, with my claws. I killed it for you!”

“I see...” He held out his arms, and frowned. “Let’s go wash your hands,” he said.

You pouted. “Are you not going to take my present?”

Barbatos’ brows furrowed. “Kitten, I appreciate the gift, however...”

Now you understood, and your eyes watered. “Y-you hate it, don’t you?”

“Not at all, kitty, not at all. I just want to take care of you first.” He grabbed you under your arms and you were taken back to the kitchen, legs wrapped around his waist. You felt like a toddler but the warmth of his body was nice. “You need to clean up before you touch anything else.”

He directed you to stand before the sink and place your hands inside. The water was hot on your hands and you cried out. He apologized, and quickly turned it down, and then poured soap on your hands, helping wash them, getting between your fingers and under your claws.

“Rats carry diseases, and Devildom rats even more. I want you to be more careful.”

You nodded. “Okay, I’m sorry.”

Barbatos gave you a soft smile. “It’s fine. There now, let’s dry them and then we can get back to baking together.”

You dried your hands and frowned down at the tiles. “I just wanted to thank you...”

He cupped your cheek and had you look at him. “I know, but you don’t need to thank me with that,” he said, not unkindly.

Oh, so that’s what he was getting at. Well, your Master’s did not say you couldn’t please Barbatos, and he did take care of you. This was the only other way you knew how to say you were grateful for him feeding you delicious snacks and letting you sleep in the cozy sun spot.

“I can thank you like this,” you said, and knelt down on the floor right in front of him, your face at his crotch.

There was one quick inhaled from the demon butler. His gloved finger lifted your head up for him to stare down at you with his pretty green eyes. There was a slight hue on his cheeks. “You don’t have to thank me at all.”

You licked your lips. “I want to. Please? Can I see your cock and suck it?”

He began thumbing your bottom lip. “If that’s what you want, I wouldn’t say no.” Then he made a concerned face. “Do you want something for your knees?”

You nodded, glad Barbatos was such a kind demon. “Please...” and he somehow had a throw pillow in his hands, and you lifted one knee at a time to get situated. “Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Quickly you helped him out of his pants, slipping them to the floor. As you did his hand caressed the top of your head, and you felt his dark gaze on you, watching every move you made. As his pants dropped to the floor, he stepped out of them, kicking them away. The mess was so unlike the butler from what you had seen.

Now he was just in his underwear, a silk dark green pair that outlined his cock and balls. You nuzzled his clothed dick. “Smells good, Barby.”

“Mmm, you like the smell of cock, Kitten?”

You nodded. “Yesss-”

His hand went to your hair at the back of your head to lightly tug. The pain mixed with his scent urged you on, and you had his boxers pulled down, and he was quicker in stepping out of those. His cock out inches from your mouth, half hard. Before you sucked it, you grabbed it to stroke it to life. You licked the tip once, he gasped. Then you swallowed him down and peeked up at him with a certain look, unmoving. Waiting for him to do something.

He got the idea and smiled. “Do you want me to use your mouth?”

You hummed, hopeful he understood it meant yes. And he understood because he began using your mouth. Filling it with his slicked head, hitting your tongue and roof of your mouth. Your lips were swelling up, and you suckled and slurped at his cock.

Clawed hands went to his waist, holding him steady as his fingers clutched your hair to do the same. The pain and scent surrounding you had your pussy wetting up, soaking your undies. But this was for him, about Barbatos’ pleasure. And a Kitten could please their Master, or their Master’s friends, and you would do a good job of it, too.

Breathing through your nose, you kept a firm hold on his hips, and your tail helped by wrapping around his thigh once to squeeze. His legs were bare, strong looking. You looked up at him, and met his dark eyes, flecks of black creeping in to those slate green iris’. It was sexy and you moaned.

“Ahh, Kitten,” he moaned. His hand not at your hair went to touch your tail, wrapped around a part of it and stroked like you had done to his dick. “Such a soft tail."

You moaned louder, vibrating around his cock, tonguing the underside with your flattened muscle, flexing. He tasted tangy and filled your mouth perfectly, and a little precum trickled onto your taste buds.

The demon butler tensed and grunted out a warning before he came in your mouth, and only then did you let him go. You held his spent cum in your mouth on your tongue, and showed it to him before swallowing. It was bitter, but you had worse.

“Such a naughty thing,” he commented, and pet your hair from your cheeks.

He smiled, and in his eyes was something new you hadn’t seen. He put his clothes back to right, and before you could react, he had you in his arms and then deposited you on the long kitchen table. The throw pillow was shoved under your body to lift you up at your lower half, and it helped keep your tail from being squished. But you were confused.

“Barb-”

“Hush now.” He stood at your feet, a demonic grin truly. “I shall return the favor,” he whispered. Barbatos’ appearance shifted, and he was in his demon form, his twin-tipped tails flickering behind him, his bat-like horns gleaming in the kitchen light.

His hands torn down your pants to your ankles, and you let him, him taking off your shoes next to leave you in socks and your top. Then you were spread open, panties glistening, socked feet flat on the table. He had you bend your legs so he could grasp your knees to keep you like that, but your pants hugged at your ankles like restraints.

Those eyes of his were basically neon green they were glowing, and he stared at your clothed core, and you tightened in response. Could he see the flex of your pussy?

“You got wet from sucking me, hm... How delightful.” His finger went to your waist, tugging under the band, and it snapped apart. He tore your underwear from you and exposed your vagina to the air, the coolness hitting your burning heat, wetness growing.

“Ahh, B-barb-"

His tails were hovering your vagina, twitching, and you leaned your head down to watch. You couldn’t see much past your belly as he lifted you up, but you knew what his intentions were.

You begged for it, “please, inside...”

He did not hesitate. His tail slowly went inside your pussy, thick, slimy, softly scaled. It was bigger than you figured, and you tightened down and wiggled your hips.

He tore his glove off with his teeth, and his bare finger circled your clit, the sparks of pleasure helping the stretch. “It’s okay, you can take it. Be a good kitty.”

You clenched down on him again and he winced for a second, but then his tail slithered deeper and flicked at the tip to hit that spot inside and you saw stars, clutching the table at each end with clawed hands.

“You’re damaging the wood,” he said with a bit of humor, but did nothing to stop you. His finger circled your clit faster and harder, and you were close but still felt like it wasn’t enough.

That was when his second tail spread your cheeks apart to press to your anus, slimy from the wetness leaking from your pussy. You were not ready for that, not now.

You cried, “nnngg, not there, please.” Your own tail swooshed in the air, a nervous twitch, and a warning that you did not like that.

Barbatos kissed your inner thigh, holding your knee wider with one hand as his tail fucked you, sloppy sounds echoing in the room along with your heavy panting. “I know, beautiful thing, I won’t.” He left the tail tip there, slipping over your hole to join the other at your pussy, pressing against its twin. “You can take two, can you not?”

You tensed and sobbed. “P-please,” you desperately wanted to be torn open.

He grinned, sharp teeth, and shoved his second tail in along with the other. You arched your back and tossed your head to the side and sobbed, burning and intense pleasure/pain encompassing you. “Ahhhgg~”

The pace he set was fast and rough, the double tails slipping in and out and scrapping at the best parts of you, no time to adjust. “You’re so sweet, yet so naughty. I want to feel your pussy on my cock someday.”

“Uhh, yes, yes, want that-”

“Hm, I know you do.”

He was so himself like this. Barbatos was commanding and sure in his movements, and it was perfection. His head went between your legs and his mouth found your clit and licked and kissed wet and sloppily. You wished you could watch as he did, but your position only let you see his head bobbing, and his tail motioning in and out between your thighs.

He kept his mouth on your clit, swishing his tongue back and forth. “Purr for me, kitty,” he pulled back to say, and then with insane speed he fucked you with his serpent tails and licked you, like a vibrator toy for your clit.

The heat was reaching your belly in a boiling point now. Your body was hot, tense, and your toes curled, and then with an arched back, your belly tightened up and you were finished. “Cumming, Barb, cummiinnnnggg~” you exclaimed, spurting all over.

It lasted a few moments, but felt like longer. You kept your eyes shut and felt the excess amount of your own juices dripping out. The sparks went with the beat of your heart as you calmed down, almost like an exposed wire feeling every single thing. Your shirt was sweaty. Your throat sore, from both screaming your pleasure and holding some back. There was a little bit of tears drying on your cheeks.

When you did open your eyes, Barbatos was hovering over your head, smiling that gentle smile, this time it reached his kind eyes. “So pretty for me,” Barbatos murmured, kissing your cheek. “I need to clean you up now.”

You hummed, shutting your eyes as fireworks popped up in your vision. “Mmm, clean up,” you copied.

He chuckled, and lifted you up in his arms, and you whined but allowed it. “Come on kitty, you can have another nap after.”

You sighed. “Love naps.”

“I gathered that. You may be a second Belphegor and we just don’t know it.”

You giggled. “Mmmm.” What a silly thing to say.

_+_

“She looks exhausted,” Lucifer commented. He had a slight smirk in his eyes and on his lips, but not enough for the average person to see.

Barbatos shared a similar look. “Oh yes, we had an eventful evening, didn’t we?” You flushed red, ignoring the question, and he went on, holding out a few containers. “Here. To take home with you. The feast will begin in a few hours, but I know Beel will like to have some extras.” Barbatos handed you the boxes. “Thank you for all your help today, Kitten. Anytime you want to stop by, feel free.” The green of his eyes shone, mischievous.

You held in the whine, because you did want to visit again. But the teasing was too much and you were exhausted mentally and physically. You didn’t even want to be standing right then.

You looked at Lucifer and asked, “Master, can we go home now?”

“Yes, we can.” He took the leash from Barbatos and you both left Lord Diavolo’s castle for the House of Lamentation.

And if Lucifer noticed the limp in your walk, he said nothing on it.

Thankfully you were not in trouble. Your Masters, it seemed, did not care if you shared yourself. But you had to wonder the limitations of that... you’d ask another time.

So, you went home to rest before the feast, but in the end you did not go. You actually stayed behind with Levi who had plans to be online that night (Diavolo played video games, you heard, so he excused the Envy demon).

Snuggled up with him on the beanbag you lazily watched him play, occasionally getting soft pets between battles. It was boring to just watch, but you had enough excitement. This was a perfect way to end a sweet day.

#obey me #obey me fanfic #fanfiction #reader fanfiction #female reader #cat hybrid #hybrids #hybrid reader #shall we date #shall we date obey me #obey me reader x barbatos #reader x barbatos #mail order kitten girl #my fics #ao3 link

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tallstars-rewrite · 3 years

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Chapter 46

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The Thunderpath was the last barrier between Talltail and home. It was dark, and there were no monsters in sight, but the steps across were the longest and most nerve wracking of his life. At last, with a nudge from Jake when he hesitated on the last tail-length of stone, his toes touched heather wet with dew from the late greenleaf rain. He stopped and breathed in, his jaws open to drink in the taste of the moor. The gorse, the bracken, the soil. Home. Relief and a sudden unexpected giddiness hit him all at once and Talltail found himself bounding forward, streaking across the grass as fast as he could just to remember what it felt like. He knew exactly where he was, coming down the farthest edge of Swift-Step Hills, the downward momentum letting him remember that feeling of flying. He remembered this trail, and the bramble patches and scattered stones he passed. After so long of unknown land, bewilderment, at last… He felt right. Whatever part of him had worried that maybe he would be too changed to ever feel as he once had so long ago was quickly swept up and blown away in an instant. He wanted to let out an excited yowl, and might have if he didn’t suddenly remember that he had no idea how a WindClan patrol would receive him if he accidentally barreled into one. In his mad dash, he’d also nearly forgotten that he needed to circle back so as to not leave Jake in the dirt. Jake was waiting with a fond gleam in his eyes as he trotted, a little more clumsy on the steeper slopes, down the hill after Talltail.

“I was worried you’d just take off entirely,” Jake said.

“Sorry. I just needed to...needed to...you know?” Jake headbutted his shoulder gently. “Yeah, I know.”

Talltail shook himself. He did need to get his head on straight. Tonight could go very badly, but he needed to allow himself that brief moment of joy before the intense fur prickling anxiety set back in. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for. A patrol? That would surely be better than waltzing into camp, but...how much better would depend heavily on who was on the patrol.

What he wasn’t expecting was a lone cat scouting the moor with no other patrol in sight. Whatever he’d been hoping for...it certainly was not what he saw.

Talltail froze mid step as he was suddenly aware of a shocked pair of sharp yellow eyes meeting his from within the heath, before the cat they belonged to slowly rose up. Shrewclaw stood alone half way down the hill, staring up at Talltail and seemingly just as frozen to the spot.

The stars clearly weren’t ready to forgive him just yet.

Talltail wasn’t sure how he expected Shrewclaw to react. Shrewclaw, who out of every living cat in the clan, he would have been the most certain unabashedly hated him. A warning snarl perhaps, or a taunting ‘so you think you can come crawling back, huh?’

What he didn’t expect was the expression on Shrewclaw’s face to shift from stunned shock to something that might have resembled...relief. Seeing a positive emotion on Shrewclaw’s face was odd enough on the best of days, but now, Talltail didn’t know what to make of it.

His old rival took several careful steps towards him. “Talltail? Is that...you?”

Talltail wasn’t sure how to reply, and then Shrewclaw was right in front of him.

“You’re alive,” Shrewclaw said stiffly. Talltail couldn’t make out what the tone of his voice meant. It was not quite aggressive, but not quite welcoming either. “We all thought...at least, most of us thought for sure you were dead, w-what--? Why--?”

“I, um,” Talltail stuttered. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how this must look to you, but I-I need to speak with the clan.”

To his further surprise, Shrewclaw stepped forward and touched his nose, hesitantly. Talltail realized with a start Shrewclaw had to lean up to do so. Have I really grown since I left? Or maybe he got shorter...

Shrewclaw took an awkward step back. “I thought you might be a ghost, just...checking.”

“You thought what?”

“I don’t know. I just can’t believe you’re here again I'm--I’m sorry.”

“Y...you’re sorry?”

“Yeah, I mean-- It wasn’t fair--I didn’t mean anything I said--Well...no, maybe I meant some of it, but not the worst stuff, you know? I thought it was my fault. It’s been such a mess since you left, and I thought I’d never get to...just...I’m sorry, ok?”

Talltail just stared. What was he looking at? Who was this cat and what had they done with Shrewclaw? Where was the unstable angry tom who would sooner drop dead than apologize for anything? What else has changed while I was gone?

Before he could ask Shrewclaw to elaborate, the tom perked up. “By StarClan! You need to get your stupid tail back to camp right now, everyone won’t believe it...Dawnstripe, and Woollycloud and--Ugh you have the worst possible timing, with everyone riled up about ShadowClan!”

“Weren’t we already riled up about ShadowClan?”

“Yes, but it got better for a bit, and then it got way way worse!” Shrewclaw growled. “And now you have the nerve to just pop back up!? We need to go, it’s not safe in this part of the territory without a full patrol right now.”

Talltail narrowed his eyes. “You’re out here without a full patrol?”

Shrewclaw glared. “Yeah, well, mind your own business.”

Well that sounded a bit more like the Shrewclaw he remembered.

Talltail looked over his shoulder at Jake, not far behind him, and gulped. This is what he got for not making a clear plan for this moment. “R-right, you’re right we should go, but I have uh. I have a... friend? He’s the reason I could come back, and I want him to stay with me.”

Shrewclaw looked behind him and his fur bristled a bit on sight at the orange kittypet, who gave him an awkward wave of the tail.

“Hello!” Jake called and promptly let out a huge sneeze when the grass he was hiding in went up his nose.

Shrewclaw blinked. “I… really don’t have time to argue with you about this. Whatever, fine, let's just go! I have to tell Briar.”

Talltail looked back at Jake and nodded, though he couldn’t hide his uncertainty about this situation. But no matter what, there was no going back now. He was being brought right back into camp...and he would have a lot of explaining to do. Jake stayed close beside as they ran at a steady pace through the eastern fields, up towards Outlook Hill overlooking WindClan’s camp. Talltail’s heart thudded louder than ever in his ears with each step closer to home.

They hadn’t run long when he spotted Briarpaw, bounding across the heather toward them. Had they already been seen? Shrewclaw scooted by him and said “I’ll let everyone know,” and kept going. The nervous bird fluttering in Talltail’s chest was now having a full-blown panicked fit, but his eyes were brought back to Briarpaw’s too quickly to think as the medicine cat reached him and headbutted into Talltail’s chest so hard he was almost knocked backward. Talltail was stunned for a moment while Briarpaw pressed his muzzle against his chin.

“Talltail! Talltail, you came home! You’re ok!”

Talltail, hesitantly at first, leaned into his old friend, and for a few moments just remained there remembering his familiar scent and gentle purr.

“You're really home…” Briarpaw breathed.

“Briarpaw I...I’m sorry I left so fast. I’ve missed you.”

There wasn’t a trace of anger on his face, he simply corrected. “Briarface.”

Talltail blinked in surprise “R-really? You already got your medicine cat name?”

Briarface ducked his head almost bashfully “I’ve had a lot of time to focus on honing my skills. It kept me busy. I only got it a quarter moon ago, actually.”

“That’s...great! Congratulations, really.” Talltail couldn’t help but feel the moment was bittersweet. Briarface had been so nervous about getting his name, afraid he wouldn’t get it at all at one point, unsure of his talent. I wanted to be there when he did… he thought sadly. He and Shrewclaw had planned a celebration for it once. It was one of the only things they agreed on. But then, that was before everything had gone so wrong. He shook the pangs of regret from his head. He couldn’t change what he’d done, he could only do better now. Briarface pressed his nose to Talltail’s.

“I’m glad you're here now,” he mewed, as if he knew Talltail’s worries. He probably did. Briarface’s golden eyes drifted past Talltail to rest on the bright ginger tabby sitting half crouched among the moor grass. Jake looked as if he couldn’t decide if he should hide, come forward, or simply wait, and was stuck in the middle of all three, awkwardly shuffling his paws as Talltail greeted his oldest friend. Talltail waved him forward with his tail and immediately Jake perked up at the invitation and trotted forward in the usually warm manner. He stopped short a tail length away and hastily dipped his head, clearly barely remembering the clan's custom greeting.

“Uh, ‘evening!” he mewed.

“You must be Jake?” Briarface purred. Talltail wondered briefly if he had told Briarface Jake’s name, but then, he had apparently seen Talltail with him moons ago when they were young. He felt a rush of relief at Briarface’s lack of suspicion. Jake surely still carried traces of twoleg scent, but Briarface didn’t recoil or comment on who this strange outsider Talltail traveled with was at all.

Talltail turned to Jake, “this is Briarface. He’s been a dear friend of mine since I was a kitten.” If only I had always treated him as such… he added silently.

Briarface dipped his head politely to the orange tom “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Jake lifted his head and blinked at the medicine cat. “You’re Briarface?” he mewed seeming in thought for a moment “Huh...Well, you are pretty.”

Briarface blinked. “Uhm...Thank you?”

Talltail cleared his throat loudly. “Anyway...Jake is my close...friend. A lot more than that really--er. W-We’ve been through a lot together and...”

“Yes, I can tell. Well any friend of yours will be welcome, I’m sure.” Briarface purred with amusement. “I’m sure you’ve come a long way, but I'm afraid there isn’t much time for rest. Come on, let's not keep anyone waiting.”

Briarface seemed so confident about the idea. Even so, Talltail expected some kind of anger when he got back, after the way he left. The more he thought about it, the more deeply ashamed he was for it. If they were furious, they had a right to be. He heard loud voices from over the crest of the camp's border, and Talltail followed Briarface down achingly familiar paths, his paws falling so naturally into pawprints he’d walked for so long. Like he’d never left at all. But I did, he reminded himself And I have no idea what will happen now.

Then they were there, cresting the slope leading into camp and there was no more time left to worry. Within a heartbeat, Dawnstripe had tackled him to the ground even harder than Briarface had, with Woollycloud at her heels. He saw the familiar forms of the siblings Fallowspring, Ryewhisker and Fawnleap. Shrewclaw followed behind, and Talltail was surrounded. He could hardly think through their purrs and questions as everyone tried to touch noses with him at once, some a little too hard in their haste.

“You’re alive!” Woollycloud sobbed

“Where have you been?” Dawnstripe cried,

“Are you hurt?” Ryewhisker asked

“I-I’m sorry,” was all Talltail could choke out. “I’ll try to explain as...as best I can.” Where would he start?

Fawnleap paused, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Hey...are you taller than me now?” he cried, almost sounding offended.

“What? I uh--? Don’t know?” Talltail stuttered. He couldn’t think of what else to say amidst all the chaos.

“You do look different. Your journey has changed you,” Briarface added with a glint in his eye.

“O shut up Fawnleap, you flea-brain,” Fallowspring said, “There are way more important matters here. Like who in StarClan is that?” She gestured over at Jake, who grinned sheepishly in return.

“He’s my er--companion, he helped me back home,” Talltail said quickly. He hardly knew what to do with himself or where to start. It was hard to imagine he’d gone so long alone, forgetting the feeling of having so many others around him. He didn’t realize how much he had missed the security, the feeling of surety of being surrounded with so many trusted cats. He wanted to answer everyone’s questions, they certainly had plenty, but his voice was failing him.

Dawnstripe was pressing her forehead into his. “I’m extremely cross with you, Talltail,” she said, although she didn’t sound particularly cross.

There really had been no way to know what he would find upon returning. He feared that he would be met with scorn, with the others turning their backs on him for his actions. And there certainly were a couple cats that looked genuinely cross, but... not necessarily hostile. Mostly, there were looks of amazement and relief--even joy. He could have toppled over in relief having that sudden fear swept away. Maybe they really did want him home as much as he wanted to be here.

“Everyone,” Talltail started, trying, and failing, to keep his voice from cracking. “I really wish could explain now, b-but I think I should speak to Heatherstar--”

“Yes, I think you should.” Heatherstar’s sharp commanding voice cutting through the crowd had everyone awkwardly shuffling back, parting for their leader as she strode towards Talltail with narrowed stormy eyes. Talltail dipped his head low at her approach.

“A convenient time for you to appear in our midst again,” Heatherstar said coldly. “You have very poor timing--or perhaps it’s lucky timing for you, considering we have no time to properly sort out what should be done about the desertion act you pulled.”

“You have every right to be angry with me Heatherstar,” Talltail began, still struggling to look her in the eye.

“I know I do. Your clan thought you were dead. I sent patrols out past the borders looking for you, only to find you’d simply left.” Then her voice softened, ever so slightly, to his surprise as she added, “but I am glad to see you are alive.”

Talltail stiffened as her eyes drifted behind him, surely resting on the strange orange kittypet sitting politely back a couple fox-lengths. Her face instantly hardened again, shifting her questioning glare back at Talltail. He cleared his throat and stumbled through the briefest, least awkward, explanation he could manage about meeting the kittypet, and how Jake helped him get home, and that he was very...important. She was still glaring when he finished, and Talltail felt flushing heat under his pelt while he went back to avoiding her gaze.

Eventually she let out a very slow, very exasperated sigh. “Talltail, for StarClan’s sake...” Talltail winced at how transparent he was being. Someone in the crowd snickered. Heatherstar closed her eyes in frustration, seemingly talking half to herself. “You are making your case harder by the second. You had to bring an outsider home with you now of all times?”

“He’s not just--I wouldn’t have made it home at all without him. He wanted to make sure I was ok. I-I promise we were very careful to give ShadowClan territory a wide berth.” Talltail stuttered.

“I almost wonder if you’ve planned this out. I wouldn’t feel comfortable kicking you out now when there's a chance you could be seen by them, even if I wanted to. We do not need to be seen with a kittypet on our land after all the ridiculous accusations we’ve been faced with these past moons!”

“T-that wasn’t my intent--” Talltail started.

She swished her tail dismissively. “What was your intent then? You disappeared for nearly two moons. Why have you returned now?

“I came because I was worried. And I...I am ashamed of how I left. I want to make it up to you. If you will let me. I heard trouble was coming and I couldn’t stand to be away any longer.”

She gave a curt nod. “Yes, well, I certainly wouldn’t say it’s been peaceful. We've dealt with multiple border skirmishes and a lot of unpleasant arguments and gatherings. I can’t understand how all of this lying and turmoil is worth a small spot of land for ShadowClan.”

“It's possible they aren't making up lies exactly,” Talltail said. “I think we’ve been set up. There’s a lot I learned that you might want to hear.”

After a long pause of consideration, Heatherstar waved the clan away. “You may speak to me privately. But your companion is going to remain under watch”

Talltail wanted to protest. Jake had never been in a place like this, surrounded by so many strange cats who were giving him sideways glances or wrinkling their noses at his collar.

Luckily, Briarface quickly stepped forward and whispered to him, “I’ll look after Jake, don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

Talltail gave one last look behind him before he followed Heatherstar, but Jake just blinked back at him with a small shrug before following Briarface away from the center of the staring crowd. Thank the stars Jake was so resilient.

Once in her den, Talltail told Heatherstar all he could of what he had found, that ShadowClan had discovered their abandoned tunneling project and saw it as a threat, and that since then a lone bunch of young ShadowClan cats had enlisted the help of a rogue through threats to purposely cause trouble between them. She seemed reluctant when he mentioned Sparrow, but something in his eyes must have convinced her he was not making wild accusations out of grief or anger this time.

“I spoke to Sparrow, and to ShadowClan’s medicine cat. Sparrow and the rest of his family are free from them now, and I doubt he intends to return to clan territory ever again. ShadowClan may intend to retaliate...soon, but only because they have been fed so much false information.”

He hesitated to say ShadowClan was possibly planning an attack on the new moon, two days from then. He desperately didn’t want Heatherstar to react by saying ‘then we must immediately launch an attack first’. There was a chance that Ratfang would succeed in talking her leader down from the idea. She wanted to prevent a battle, and she must have been desperate to put so much trust in a potential enemy. Talltail wanted to at least try making good on that trust. There could still be time.

Heatherstar furrowed her brow slightly. “I admit that would explain where the accusations came from. But even if what you say is true, that certain cats acting alone wanted to set our clans at each other...knowing that may not be enough to fix anything. I know at least one ShadowClan warrior has died from infected battle wounds as a result of these skirmishes, and the lot of them have been even more hostile since. Meanwhile, our clan has still been insulted and harassed on our border for moons, that is very real, and Brackenwing’s death is fresh in our minds. Even if these deaths were accidental casualties of battle, they happened all the same...Not to mention, if what you say is true, then ShadowClan was likely indirectly responsible for Sandstone’s death as well--and that particular invasion was under Cedarstar’s orders. Knowing that, you still want to see if we can resolve this?”

Talltail swallowed. “I do. If I thought retaliation would bring us peace, I would feel different. But I cannot in good conscience chase that drive for vengeance against them, especially when the cause will be playing into a treacherous cat's desires. You know this could spiral into an endless on and off war, and we are approaching the cold seasons. I just...I don’t want to lose anyone else. I will help defend us at all costs if we are left with no choice, but if we have a choice...”

Heatherstar regarded him quietly for a moment. “I would prefer to avoid seasons long hostilities as well. I will send a messenger and request a meeting, since there is reason to believe peace will not wait until the next gathering. But keep in mind, since this is happening on a night when the full moon doesn’t protect us, it may end in a battle if ShadowClan does not believe us, and especially if they refuse to give up their push to expand the borders. They may wish to protect the honor of their own, even if their own have broken the code, at any cost. If they agree to a meeting, I suspect Cedarstar will bring his warriors, and so will we. If it comes to violence despite our efforts, your first step in proving yourself to your clan again, if that is your goal, will be to fight beside us.”

“I will. Always.” Talltail hoped she heard the conviction in his voice. A meeting with a battle patrol worth of warriors wasn’t the most hopeful scenario. But it was the best he could do.

***

Heatherstar announced to the clan her intentions to mixed mutterings and confusion. WindClan would send their messenger, and knowing ShadowClan, they would have patrols waiting nearby the border. They would make one last attempt at peace, but go in prepared for a fight.

“Why are we talking at all?” Shrewclaw hissed, casting a fierce glare at Talltail. Talltail stubbornly flattened his ears. There was the old angry tom he remembered. Whatever may have changed about Shrewclaw, this topic made it clear that old resentment built seasons ago when Brackenwing died was still there, burning away hot as ever. “You haven’t been here to see what they’ve been doing. This is a waste of time, violence is the only language ShadowClan understands. We have to make them regret ever setting paws under the Thunderpath tunnel to ensure they won’t dare try again!”

“I just think if one decisive battle was enough to fix things, the clans would have stopped fighting ages ago.” Talltail said evenly.

It was torment waiting around to hear back from the messenger. More than anything, Talltail wanted to sit with his old friends and hear about their lives, what had changed, if they were doing well. But there wasn’t time for that yet. Additionally, many cats were still looking at Talltail and Jake curiously, some a bit suspiciously. Perhaps they thought Heatherstar was letting him back in too easily. Honestly, Talltail wondered that as well. Heatherstar had been vague about what she planned to do with him, and about the outsider he had brought back. It seemed she wanted to deal with one big problem at a time, and any cat could see Jake wasn’t the most important threat around at the moment.

Talltail was arguing with himself over whether it was a mistake to allow Jake to come into this mess. He didn’t think anyone would hurt Jake, but it was true that coming back with a kittypet really wasn't helping his case to be smoothly accepted back. Strong relationships with any outsider was frowned upon, and kittypets even more so than the average rogue. But Jake was worth that risk. Talltail wasn’t ashamed of him. Imagine how furious Sandstone would be if he were here to see it, some petty part of him whispered. The thought, surprisingly, was almost funny now.

Maybe bringing Jake here was for selfish reasons, as having him nearby made Talltail feel braver, and he needed all the bravery he could get right now. To Talltail’s relief, Jake was still just sitting around amiably, clearly not frightened at all. He didn’t let himself get ruffled, even by the occasional hostile glance. He grinned and nodded a greeting to everyone he saw.

“I know you care about these cats, so I may as well try to make a good impression,” he said to Talltail. A cat could get used to anything, Jake had said once. Even all this.

Eventually Cloudrunner returned with the message, and ShadowClan, to everyone’s surprise, accepted the meeting immediately. Talltail thought they might at least wait a while, he’d been hoping for more time to settle his nerves and just get used to being back in WindClan’s camp again after so long. But he couldn’t relax until this matter was solved. Many cats were suspicious, and they had a right to be. Heatherstar was clearly prepared for an ambush. He just hoped she was also prepared to sort this out without claws. If they could.

“Our medicine cats will be on standby in case.” Heatherstar announced, not even bothering to call a meeting as everyone was already anxiously gathered. “Reedfeather will put together the patrol. Only a select few will meet, while the rest of you will wait nearby and listen for the signal if things go wrong.”

As those chosen for the patrol were preparing to leave, Briarface nudged Talltail gently. “It will be alright. And no one will harm your friend here, he’ll be safe.” Although his words were reassuring, that old cloud of worry marred his expression. Perhaps the medicine cat was trying to convince himself. “Be careful tonight, Talltail. I hope you can help us. Whatever happens...have faith in yourself.”

Before Talltail could leave camp, Jake was running up behind him. “B-But...Are you really telling me to stay behind again?” he demanded.

“I know you don’t want to,” Talltail whispered to him, “But I have to insist this time. I can’t afford to disobey orders right now. Heatherstar is not happy as it is and you haven’t been trained to fight clan warriors in the event something happens with ShadowClan! If an outsider is seen in battle, the accusations could start all over again.”

“I’ll watch over your friend,” Fallowspring offered “I have to stay in camp. I’ll at least make sure Whitetooth doesn’t bite his nose off.”

“But--!” Jake protested.

Talltail pressed his nose to Jake’s cheek. “I’ll be back soon, I promise. Fallowspring’s a good cat, don’t worry.”

Fallowspring nodded, but she looked weary. Talltail could see she had remnants of cobweb on her hindleg covering a wound, probably from a more recent border skirmish that looked painful to walk on. Of course, there was nothing else that would keep her from joining the battle patrol. She looked after the patrol with some frustration, and worry. It wasn’t hard to guess she was probably looking after Shrewclaw, who was already about to run on ahead.

Fallowspring gave Talltail a long look, and said quietly, “as thanks...Try to make sure some cat keeps Shrewclaw from doing something mouse-brained. If you can.”

Talltail nodded slowly “I will but...I would have thought you’d be on board with him?”

“I don’t know...I might have been once. But now my siblings and mate are all on a battle patrol without me, and I can’t do anything to help. I just don’t want any more blood to be spilled on that border. I care so much about him, but I can’t make him listen.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Talltail said, before leaving to catch up to Heatherstar, feeling Jake and Fallowspring’s anxious eyes on his back as he went.

Talltail sent a silent prayer up to the stars peeking out in the pitch dark sky. He could only hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

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#FRU46 #chapter 46

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rolandtowen · 3 years

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Dumbass Romantics, the first part of a series exploring the ways in which Sokka and Zuko falling in love after the War.

Sokka and Zuko seem to keep “accidentally” flirting with each other with romantic gestures from their respective cultures. It takes a while for everyone else (and them!!) to catch on. Set a few months after the end of the war, featuring chronic pain and cultural flirting.

Read it under the cut!

The Fire Lord hated the cold. He supposed he should have commissioned a fur cloak before visiting Katara and Sokka, but where could his tailors find fur on such short notice? He couldn’t bring himself to slaughter dozens of squirrel-toads just for one coat. He had settled on a cloak woven with extra koala-sheep wool, but stepping out of his ship’s warmth now and into the crisp air of the Southern Water Tribe, Zuko knew he should have heeded Sokka’s advice to him to dress warm.

The cold was a bitch. But thankfully, he didn’t have to dwell on it long.

“Zuko!” Came Katara’s voice from somewhere below him. Zuko hurried down the rampart and came to meet his old friend. He went to bow formally, but she laughed and pulled him in for a hug. “Maybe save the bowing for when we have dinner with the old folks tonight.”

Zuko raised his eyebrow.

“Oh! It’s nothing big – just my Dad, Bato, Kanna, and Pakku. I do hope you’ve worked up an appetite for stewed sea prunes, that’s all my Dad can make without blowing the kitchen up – unless you’re allergic to sea prunes, of course, but I guess you wouldn’t know yet seeing as you’ve never tried them—”

“Katara,” Sokka’s voice startled Zuko a little bit, coming from his left side. Zuko shifted his head so he could hear him better. “You’re rambling again. Let the man breathe!” Zuko let out a low chuckle and turned to fully face Sokka.

“It’s good to see you too, Sokka.”

“And you, jerkbender! Spirits, aren’t you cold? I told you bring layers!”

The trio started to walk towards Katara and Sokka’s village. Zuko pondered what he should say: admit weakness and say he was, in fact, cold; or be miserable for the rest of his visit in silence?

“I’m okay, it’s just that the Fire Nation hasn’t ever had a need to make warm clothing. My tailors wouldn’t even know where to start on finding fur for a cloak.”

“Well then,” Sokka said, “it’s lucky for you that we have polar leopards!” And with that, Sokka unclipped the fur-lined cloak he was wearing and draped it over Zuko’s shoulders, fastening the metal clips with practiced ease. Zuko was shocked.

“Sokka, I can’t take your cloak!” He protested, stopping in his tracks.

“Relax, jerkbender, there’s more where that came from. When are you going to learn to dress up for your visits, dork?”

Katara chimed in. “The last time Zuko was here, his body temperature was elevated by his righteous search for the Avatar. I’m sure peace and love have probably cooled your hot head off quite a bit, huh?”

Zuko only hummed, looking down at the cloak that had been thrust upon him. It really was, quite warm. And quite intricate as well! He ran his fingers over the moon phases embroidered at the seams, a striking white against the deep blue of the cloak.

“Enjoying my handiwork?” Katara asked.

“Yeah, I am.” Zuko answered in a daze.

He wasn’t sure if he should tell them what it meant in Fire Nation culture, to place your own cloak on another’s shoulders, to literally and figuratively place another under your protection. Really, Zuko couldn’t remember the last time he had been given anything as a gift. Charity was not a concept Ozai was familiar with. Sokka couldn’t have possible known that what he just did was like the Fire Nation equivalent of a betrothal necklace. Still, it did leave Zuko touched that Sokka would so willingly give over such a valuable garment. He decided to leave the matter alone and revel in the warmth of the cloak.

“Sooooooooo, do you wanna go fishing together?”

Zuko sighed. He was a little bored. When they got back to the village, Katara had immediately ditched them to go help Kanna and Hakoda prep for the night’s family dinner. Leaving him and Sokka to do…. whatever until dinner time rolled around.

“Uh, I don’t really know how to fish—”

“That’s alright! I can teach you. Just grab your cloak!” Sokka leapt up and swept out the door. “You are coming, right?” Sokka called from afar.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Zuko hollered back. He fiddled with the clasp on Sokka’s – er, his cloak—and stepped back into the cold.

Sokka was at the edge of the village, spears in hand. “You ever been on a kayak before?”

Zuko chuckled. “No, the ships I’ve been tend to carry more than one person, I don’t suppose you’ve got one of those?”

Sokka punched him in the shoulder. “We can’t use one of the warrior’s boats, we’ll scare the fish!” Oh. That made sense. “Now I get it, you really don’t know anything about fishing, do you? What have you got to say for yourself?”

“Two things: one, prince; two, fire nation. We much prefer Komodo sausage to seal jerky.”

“Well, your hotness, let me show you how it’s done.” Sokka hopped into one kayak, patting the one next him. “I assume you at least know how to use a paddle?”

Zuko laughed. “I may have been an adrift refugee once or twice. I think I can handle a paddle.”

“Good,” Sokka smiled at him as he climbed into the one-seater kayak. Zuko took a few moments to adjust to the shift in his center of gravity, then nodded at Sokka.

“Let’s catch some fish.”

It turns out, Zuko is not a natural at spear-fishing. He watched closely the first few times Sokka threw his spear, bringing up fish each time. “Go on, try it,” Sokka encouraged him. Zuko looked into the depths and tried to aim for the blurry shadows he took to be fish. His spear came up empty. “That’s okay! It took me a few fishing trips before I really go the hang of it.” Sokka analyzed his form. “Make sure you extend your arm a bit before your release the spear, then you can change your angle more easily.”

Zuko nodded, mirroring the way Sokka was holding his spear. They waited in silence, kayaks knocking gently into each other on the waves. A fresh school of fish appeared underneath them, and they released their spears at the same time. This time, even Zuko had caught a fish! Only one, compared to Sokka’s two, but it was his first fish! Sokka smiled widely at him. “I knew you could do it.”

“I guess I should call you Sifu Sokka now, my fishbending master.” Zuko quipped.

Sokka blushed and he hoped the gathering snow hid it from Zuko. “I think we should probably get back; you don’t want to miss Dad’s stewed sea prunes.

“Definitely not.” Zuko replied. “What, what does one do with a fish once they’ve caught it?”

“It depends – I think it being your first fish, we should celebrate it! What do you say to making some boiled fish dumplings?”

“I think that if you’re teaching me, it’ll be wonderful.”

If it was even humanly possible, Sokka blushed harder.

When they docked their kayaks, Zuko noticed that Sokka was favoring one of his arms over the other. Normally, it wouldn’t be strange to see a person favoring a side, but Zuko knew Sokka was ambidextrous. He didn’t say anything, so Zuko kept his observations to himself. Kanna met them outside her home, and positively beamed when Sokka told her that Zuko had caught his first fish.

“Well, better a late bloomer than never, eh?” Zuko laughed but still bowed his head in deference.

“It is very nice to finally meet you, Lady Kanna. Sokka has told me much about you in your letters.”

“Oh, he has, has he?” Kanna gave a mean side-eye to Sokka, who was suddenly very interested in the icy ground. “He’s told me about you as well. You have my gratitude – I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t gone to the Boiling Rock.”

“It was my pleasure, Lady Kanna.”

“Just Kanna, just Kanna, my dear. Well, come in! I see Sokka has leant you a cloak, but you still must be freezing! In, in!” Kanna shooed them inside. “I will take special care of your first fish, Zuko. Anything you had in mind?”

“Uh, dumplings?”

“Excellent choice, dear. Fish dumplings coming right up!” She disappeared into the kitchen of the home.

Sokka sat down on floor, covered by blue fabrics and pelts. Zuko noticed how gingerly he set himself down, now obviously favoring his right side. Sokka’s lips were drawn tightly as he rubbed circles into his left shin. Zuko could have almost swore he heard Sokka whimper. Almost.

“Sokka,” Zuko knelt down next to his friend. “Talk to me.”

“Mmph,” Sokka scowled.

“Words, Sokka.”

“It’s mostly my leg—you know how I broke it on the day of the Comet?”

Zuko grimaced. He did remember. Even in his lightening-induced fever, Zuko remembered. He heard his physicians set Sokka’s leg and pop his shoulder back in place. He wanted to forget those sounds of Sokka in pain, but he couldn’t.

“Well,” Sokka continued. “Ever since then, it still… it still hurts. Katara’s tried everything, but I’m probably stuck with it forever. My leg hurts the worst, but my shoulder’s the most inconvenient. I’m old enough to start putting braids in my wolf tail, but I just—can’t. I can’t lift my arm above shoulder-level. And I know I’m wallowing to the guy who literally got half his face burned off but—”

“But nothing, Sokka. You’re allowed to be in pain. Here, you know what, pull up your pant leg—”

“Geez, buy a guy dinner first will you?”

Zuko blushed but Sokka did as he was told, exposing his left shin and ankle. Zuko focused a little bit of heat into the palms of his hands. He placed one on Sokka’s ankle, scanning his face for any pain. When Sokka relaxed into the touch, Zuko placed his other hand on Sokka’s shin, applying the slightest bit of pressure.

“You know, with those hands you could almost be a healer like Katara.”

Zuko snorted. “And you need to learn to let people help you.” After a few minutes, he pulled his hands away, fearing that if he kept them there too long he’d burn his friend. “If you want, I can help you braid your hair. I won’t even tell Katara.”

Sokka smiled shyly at him. He guessed Zuko didn’t know the importance of braiding another’s hair in water tribe culture—reserved for family members and, well, lovers. But Zuko was kneeling in front of him, in a water tribe cloak, offering to help him with a warrior tradition. After everything they’d been through, Zuko was family—and maybe, he could be open to being something more?

“Okay,” Sokka nodded. He pulled two beads from his pocket, both striking shades of blue, one carved by Kanna and one by Katara. “You know how my Dad wears his beads? It’s the same idea.”

“I caught my first fish today, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can’t do now.” Zuko settled himself closer to Sokka’s face. “I’m going to let your hair down now, is that okay?” Sokka nodded again.

Zuko took out the hair tie and separated two sections of hair thick enough to support the beads. For lack of another set of hands, he resorted to holding the sections in his mouth while he carded the rest of Sokka’s back into place and tied it into the wolf’s tail again. Sokka was suddenly very aware of how close Zuko was to him—more specifically how he never wanted him to leave. He loved the warmth that radiated from him, but furthermore, he couldn’t remember the last time someone helped him with his hair. He hadn’t asked anyone since he got back from the war, and while they were on the run… he was focused on more important things than his hair. Sokka risked a look at Zuko’s face: he was rewarded with Zuko’s adorable concentration face. Wait, adorable? Where had that come from?

“How do you know how to braid, anyway? I didn’t see a whole lot of braids in the Fire Nation.”

“My mother used to let me braid her hair when I was feeling anxious or overwhelmed. You know, it’s calming, repetitive, doesn’t involve fire—perfect for mess of emotional issues like me.”

“Hey, you’re not a mess.”

Zuko laughed darkly.

“Well, not anymore than the rest of us. We all already had our own issues and then a war happened on top of that. You were just lecturing me on letting people help me. You don’t have to be alone in this.”

Zuko’s fingers trembled as he finished the second braid. “I know. I’m still getting used to having people I can actually trust.”

Kanna suddenly called from the kitchen. “Are you two done lounging around or are you going to help an old woman with this fish?”

They looked at each other and laughed. They did kind of forget about everyone except each other.

“Hey, Zuko,” Sokka started as Zuko stood up and held out a hand for him.

“Yeah?”

“You can braid my hair anytime you want.”

Zuko resisted simultaneous urges to bow and to hug Sokka. He smiled instead.

“I’d like that.”

Bonus:

Kanna had heard everything of course. But she couldn’t bear to interrupt them sooner. Tui and La, if those two didn’t end up together she’d have a riot. In the few months since Sokka had been home with her, he hadn’t opened up to anyone about his pain. And he certainly hadn’t asked anyone for help with his braids.

Spirits, those two were good for each other. Dumbasses in love.

#my fic #mine #rolandtowen #zukka #fic #zuko #sokka #chronic pain #the dragon and the wolf #cloak sharing #avatar #atla #avatar: the last airbender #firelord zuko #ambassador sokka

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ultraintrovertedgryffindor · 4 years

Text

Turned - Dewdrop Ghoul (Ghost)

I had a thought...what if when Ghoul bites a human, they turn into a Ghoul like a vampire? Lmao, I am sleep deprived😅

Also, I suck at giving titles to my work ughhhh sorry

~~~~~~~~~~

You were born into the ministry, being the child of a Clergy member, so you grew up around the Ghouls.

Still being a child, you loved playing with the Ghouls. You always played a little rough for most human children to handle, so it was like a match made in Hell when you met the Ghouls.

At first, your parents were more than a little hesitant to let you play with the Ghoul children. But when they saw how happy you were with them, they started to chill out about it.

The little Ghouls adored you, not really having much interaction with creatures outside their own kind. They always thought of humans as fragile and soft, but they were pleasantly surprised when they met you.

Compared to how the Ghouls played with each other, you were a bit mild, but they didn’t mind. Although, they were still told to keep their sharp claws retracted and their teeth off of you while you played. Though, sometimes they’d headbutt you, thankfully their horns hadn’t grown in just yet.

You loved all the Ghouls, but surprisingly, Dewdrop was your favorite to play with. You liked how he wasn’t really afraid to accidentally hurt you. There have many moments when some Clergy members were biting their nails nervously watching how rough you both played, afraid that the fire Ghoul would be too rough and seriously hurt you.

You remembered one of Dew’s fellow Ghouls saying, “Oh man, there’s two of them.” Or something like that.

But he had never hurt you. Until today.

You and the Ghouls were play fighting as you guys usually did on the private playground of the abbey. All the Ghouls except Dewdrop had enough, starting to get a bit tired. But Dew seemed to have infinite stamina, which you appreciated since you were the same way.

Eventually, the Ghouls went inside the building, leaving you two outside being supervised by a couple Sisters of Sin. They weren’t doing a very good job though, as you and Dewdrop decided to sneak away from the Sisters.

You both giggled triumphantly as you rounded the corner of one of the halls of the ministry, both overjoyed that you were successful in avoiding the unwanted adult supervision.

You and Dewdrop tried to stifle your giggles as you heard the stomping footsteps of the Sisters trying to look to you both. “Those two are little menaces.” You heard, almost causing you to chortle but was stopped when Dew quickly placed his hand over your mouth.

As soon as you saw that the coast was clear, you decided to playfully bite Dew’s hand, causing him to mewl in pain. “Ow!” He whined.

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t be such a baby!” You teased, not knowing that you did actually bite too hard.

Dewdrop got angry really quick and started growling at you, showing his sharp teeth. “I’m gonna kill you!” He shouted, causing you to flinch.

Being a child, you didn’t really have a sense for danger and decided to goad him on. “Oh, really? Well, you’ll have to catch me first!” You giggled, starting to race down the empty halls.

Dewdrop immediately started chasing after you, his anger growing more fierce with every smug smirk you threw his way. Still, you were unaware he was actually mad. You just thought it was another game you two were playing.

As the seconds passed and sneaking some looks over your shoulder, you started to realize it wasn’t just a game. Dewdrop looked pissed. Seeing how his claws were out and his fangs peeking out through his little mask, you started to feel the panic set in.

You quickened your pace, not wanting to find out if your friend really wanted to kill you. He wouldn’t...right?

And in horror movie fashion, you managed to trip over your own feet and almost face-planted into the pristine marble flooring of the hallway.

You didn’t even have time to turn around before you felt Dew’s smaller body crash on top of you, wrestling you into a position where you couldn’t move or fight back.

You heard a clinking sound and you looked to the side to see Dewdrop’s mask was discarded on the floor, and you feared the worst.

You heard Dew growl before you felt a sharp, stinging pain in your shoulder. Again, being a child, you thought you were dying and let out a loud scream that echoed through the halls. So loud in fact, you let almost everyone in the building know exactly where you were.

After what felt like forever to you, the fresh stinging pain went away and you felt your friend get off of you. You slowly sat up, still in pain.

You looked up to see Dewdrop towering over you, his mask neatly placed back over his face. You noticed the visible part of his face, his chin, was coated in a red liquid. You furrowed your brows, innocently asking yourself when did he have time to eat red jello?

Looking to where your aching pain was, you finally realized you were bleeding and that the red liquid that was dripping off of Dew’s chin was blood.

“You bit me?!” You shouted.

Dewdrop’s mouth curled into a wicked grin, showing off his now blood coated fangs. “Now you know how it feels.” He said spitefully, wiping some blood off with the back of his hand.

Both you and Dew jumped when you heard loud gasps, him turned around and you slightly leaning to the side to see past.

It was the Sisters that were assigned to watch you, your mother, and Sister Imperator. Uh oh...

You were immediately taken to the infirmary by Sister with your worried mother by your side. Your wound really didn’t hurt that much when you arrived there, but you liked the attention that you received from the doctor and nurses.

In the end, you had to have a few stitches for the particularly deep teeth marks but other than that you were going to be fine. That’s what they assumed anyway.

You and your mother were about to exit the building until you heard your name being called out. You turned to see Dewdrop walking towards you, Sister Imperator keeping a firm hand on the back of the fire Ghoul’s neck. He was obviously not comfortable.

Your mother quickly pushed you behind her, ready to protect you from the Ghoul.

“Someone wants to apologize.” Sister said, glaring down at the small Ghoul. “Dew.”

Dewdrop’s ears were pushed back and his tail was thrashing back and forth, but he stepped forward and sighed. “...I’m sorry I bit you.” He mumbled.

“Speak clearly.” Sister’s authoritative voice boomed.

Dewdrop flinched. “I’m sorry I bit you, Y/N.”

You giggled, making Dew’s eyes light up hopefully. “It’s okay. I forgive you. I’m that I bit you too.”

After that, you were taken home to get some well needed rest.

Trying to get comfortable with your shoulder wound was difficult since you usually laid on your side when you slept, and you also started to feel unusually finicky as the sun went down. Your mom just wrote it off as the adrenaline from getting hurt that day, but you still worried about how you felt.

By the time midnight rolled around, it was way past your bedtime, you still felt strange. Your heart was racing and you felt your wound itch severely, but you weren’t able to scratch it due to the heavy bandage covering it.

You thought about removing the bandage, but didn’t want to be yelled at. But it was so itchy. Suddenly, your eyes started it itch too.

You got up out of bed with a huff and went into your bathroom. Turning on the light burned your eyes. It was normal for your eyes to burn when you turned on lights after being in the dark for so long, but you felt that it was worse than usual. It felt like your eyes were more sensitive than normal.

You wanted to remove your bandage just to see how it looked, but you saw something else when you looked in the mirror.

You gasped, noticing your eyes weren’t their natural color. One of your eyes were almost a bright yellow color, and the other eye was slowly turning the same. Slowly devouring up the normal color of your iris.

You didn’t know what to do, so you screamed for your mom.

Your mom quickly ran into your bathroom, fearing that you were hurt. But she immediately noticed your almost multicolored eyes. Those were not the eyes of the child she had raised for eight years.

She quickly saw that you were crying, you were scared. You didn’t know what was happening to you.

Suddenly, you felt a horrible pain in your mouth and yelped. Your mother screamed and you followed her gaze to the floor, where you saw teeth. Your teeth.

You reached up to your mouth to feel for your teeth, not believing that you had actually lost them. But you pulled away when you felt your fingers sting, they were cut.

You looked back into the mirror to see that your previous teeth were pushed out by new sharp teeth, a couple being fangs. “Mommy, what’s happening to me?!”

Your parents did what the only thing they thought they could do. They put you in the backseat of their car and started driving to the abbey.

On the way, you started crying again. The pain from your mouth ending, only to be replaced by what felt like a migraine on two sides of your head.

Your mother was sat on the passenger’s side, looking back at you from time to time with tears in her eyes. She almost let out a sob when she saw two stubby bone-like growths coming out of your head.

Your father didn’t even have time to park before your mom brought you inside the building, immediately shouting for help.

Sister Imperator came out in a robe with a scowl on her face, but once she saw you and your parents, her face contorted into a worried gaze. “What happened?” She asked.

“She just started losing teeth and her eyes changed colors! And now she’s growing horns!” Your mother cried.

All the commotion caught the attention of the Ghouls, the loud noises waking them up due to their sensitive hearing. They all gathered and peeked around the corner, curiously looking at each other. They all started pushing each other to try and see what was happening, ultimately falling on top of each other and catching the attention of Sister.

“You all are supposed to be in bed!” Sister Imperator scolded.

“Y/N?” Dewdrop said. “What are you doing here?” He asked, completely ignoring Sister.

“Keep that thing away from my child! He did this to them!” Your mother yelled, making Dewdrop turn his head in confusion.

“Now, now. Everyone calm down.” A heavy Italian accented voice echoed the room. Sister Imperator sighed when she saw Papa Nihil come into the room, oxygen tank trailing behind him. “I’ll take it from here, Sister.”

The old man led you and your parents into his office, pulling out a huge dusty book from a shelf. “Can you explain what’s going on, Papa?” Your father asked.

“I believe I can.” Papa Nihil said as he opened the book, dust flying everywhere as he turned the pages. “I’ve read about this before, hearing rumors of this sort of thing.”

Your parents motioned him to continue.

“It’s only really been recorded once in this book, but according to this section here,” Papa placed a shaky finger on a passage of the page, “it says that if a Ghoul bites a human, they have a five percent possibility of turning into a Ghoul themselves.”

“Five percent?!” Your father laughed. “Then how come my child is turning into one of those creatures?”

“Lower your voice. I know you’re upset, but this was an accident. We train our Ghouls from birth to never bite without cause.”

“Well, now, because of your Ghoul, our child will never life a normal life!”

You started to cry, not because you truly understood what that meant, but because you never liked when your parents raised their voice.

“This is not the time for raised voices. Think of the child.” Papa’s voice softened.

After some more grown up talk, your parents and Papa Nihil decided that you were to live at the abbey for now. They had no idea what the change from human to ghoul would be like, so they’d rather be safe than sorry.

At first, you really didn’t want to leave your home. But your parents convinced you that it was for the best, and you trusted your parents. You also liked the idea of being able to hang around the Ghouls more.

You spent the next morning packing your things, getting ready to live in the abbey from now on, until they decided you were safe. Your mother cried as you packed, which made you sad. But you tried to be strong for her.

A Sister of Sin and Papa Nihil escorted you out of your house and to the abbey, Papa trying to get you excited to be living there. You always liked Papa, he was a funny old man.

All the Ghouls, Papas, Sisters of Sin, and Sister Imperator greeted you at the front gate of the building. They tried to make you feel as welcome as possible to help you transition into Clergy life.

Dewdrop seemed especially excited, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He was nervous to see you, not entirely sure if you turning into a Ghoul was his fault. He didn’t want you to hate him.

Upon seeing you, Dew quickly noticed your eyes. They were almost like his, but one of your eyes hadn’t fully changed colors. And your horns were coming in slowly, just like the rest of the Ghouls. But what really intrigued Dewdrop was your scent. He no idea why you smelled so good to him, it almost made him gravitate toward you immediately. But he was forced to stay in line with his fellow Ghouls.

For you, it was a bit weird seeing Dew again. You were still kind of scared that he’d bite you again, you also were starting to feel things that weren’t familiar to you either. It scared you.

But seeing Dewdrop’s warm smile made you feel hopeful for the future.

~~~~~~~~~~

I am so tired lol. I kinda feel like if a ghoul turns someone into another ghoul, they’d have like a type of sire bond. Like in vampire diaries only they wouldn’t be under the original ghoul’s control, but like in a romantic way they’d be bonded. But hey, that’s just a theory. A fiiiiiiilm theory...sorry.

#ghost band fanfiction #the band ghost #dewdrop ghoul #ghost band #nameless ghouls

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your-average-weeb-dealer · 3 years

Note

Hey so it saids that you do requests can I request a death note oneshot Light x L’s sister reader were the reader discovers Light laughing and gloating at L’s funeral when the other people leave she stays behind and Light eventually catches her watching him and if you wanna add Lime or Lemon that’s also okay

(A/n: I had a lot of fun with this one)

Light x L’s sister

Anime: death note

Style: imagine/one shot

Genre: angst and a bit of spice

Warnings: making out, death of a loved one, swearing, tongue kissing, long post... (a/n: whoopsies)

Black. Black was one of the colors you had seen a lot lately, black sky, black eyes, black dress, black suit, black hair... Black hair, your brother had black hair, pale skin and dark eye bags almost gave him the appearance of something dead. Well, I guess he didn’t just look dead anymore. L Lawliet was your brother, he was the worlds greatest detective, and the worlds worst brother, he didn’t call, nor did he text, it was like one day he fell off the face of the earth and the only thing you heard about him was through news stories and pamphlets. But, hey, none of it mattered anymore, so that was good. Right?

Your dress was a nice black one, it had a white collar and was pleated at the ends. It reminded you of him, you used to play outside with him in a similar dress. You paired it with a black coat since the wind was blowing rather harshly. You wore a slight bit of makeup, waterproof of course and a small bag to carry extra just in case. A wide brimmed black hat, black moccasins and black thigh high socks.. Nothing provocative, you were at your brothers funeral for crying out loud.

You had received a letter from what you assumed to be L a few days ago. The truth is that L never planned on contacting you again but, him and Watari had come up with a plan that in case of his death, you would be invited to his funeral. Clever little bastard, he had found a way to avoid you and still make you mourn him.

The only face you knew in the crowd of what, ten people? Was Light Yagami. You knew he was under suspicion for being kira, but you also knew he was in contact with your brother, so you befriended him in confidence that you accidentally see him and Light and would be able to see him again, without seeming like a total idiot for searching for someone who didn’t want to be found. But it never happened.

You were about to talk at your brothers grave. You wanted to tell him how much you hated him for leaving you, damn it, he hadn’t even tried to reach out to you. Anger bubbled and boiled inside you, like an overflowing pot, ready to seethe.

“L...” you croaked, not realizing how dry your mouth was. Everyone looked at you, their gaze melting your skull. Clearing your mouth and trying your best to control yourself, you said. “You we’re the worst brother anyone could’ve asked for, but still, I hope Kira is found. That way I can look into the fuckers eyes as he dies on the electric chair,”

“Brother? L was your brother?” Light stammered.

“Yes,” you put your bag down, eyes beginning to water, voice even raspier then before, “excuse me,” And with that you left to go calm down.

Just before you left the funeral for good, you remembered your bag. You couldn’t just leave it at your brothers grave. You picked yourself up, shaking a little, you wobbled back over to the funeral. The other guys walked past you, maybe the funeral had already ended?

Then you say him, standing over the grave. Your beautiful blue bags cool colors contrasted wonderfully with the red in the sky. You assumed Light was just saying a few final things to L privately, so you sat down at another grave waiting for him to finish so you could say some things as well.

Lights laugh erupted out of nowhere, it frightened you to be honest. “Now everything that was in my way is gone, everyone else still believes in me,” everyone else? what was he talking about? “Its only a matter of time before i get rid of the police, whaddya think of that L? This is my perfect victory, that’s right! I WIN!” Oh god, now you were scared. Suddenly he turned towards you, as if someone had told him of your presents. “Y/n... how much did you hear?”

You just stared at him, the gears in your head turning. Then it hit you, Light was Kira, a murderous psychopath who killed your brother. I mean L was already suspicious of Light for being Kira, and after what you just saw... That means that Light had been faking everything this whole time. Every minute of everyday he spent telling you he was getting closer to convincing your brother to meet with you, helping you, pretending to be your friend. You ran. God, you ran as fast as you could, you HAD to tell the others. Light was in fact Kira, he would be the fucker whose eyes you’d be looking into.

(Warning!! spice begins here)

But before you got too far a hand reached onto your arm. Long, muscular fingers wrapped around your forearm. Too scared to turn around, your pulse dancing to the music of your heartbeat, you stood there.

“Y/n,” he seemed a mere centimeter from your nape. “Say something, please,” his voice sounded so gentle, like he was talking to a small child who was in need of comfort.

“W-why-- h-how?” Your tongue tripped over its self, twisting into a knot then sinking down to your throat. Gulping, to try and get the sensation away you said “You, k-killed L...” some would’ve said your voice was only a whisper, but to Light, it was as loud as church bells.

He flipped you around, in a way that you were looking right at him, somehow, someway, this vicious killers eyes, didn’t seem evil. No they seemed determined and polite. They were dark brown. tree coloured almost. Both your arms had relaxed by now, suddenly it was just you and your brothers killer. Maybe, deep down, you were thankful, if Light hadn’t killed L you’d still be chasing your tail. On a wild goose chase for as long as you would live.

Before you knew it, the distance between you and him got smaller and smaller. Perhaps you should kiss him, just to spite L. Dance on his grave a little.

Your lips met soft, sweet ones. Standing there you and light yagami kissed. It was soft and gentle, until Lights hands started moving. The tips of his fingers dragging up your skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind. From your wrist to your shoulders all the way to your neck, were it laid, lightly choking you. His other hand reached for the crick in your back, pulling you in closer. His tongue lightly brushed against your bottom lip and he began to focus on it. You could feel him through his clothes. Face burning with suspense you opened your mouth, allowing the kiss to take a step farther.

His tongue was soft, it swished and swirled around with yours. He tasted like mint mouthwash. Wanting to feel him closer, your hands sliping under his shirt, dancing along his torso then resting on his chest.

This was wrong wasn’t it... Making out with your brothers murderer, there was no doubt about it, at his own funeral too. But if this was so wrong, then how come it wanted to be right?

Suggestions are open if you have any requests

#light yamagi #light x reader #soft light #lime #spicy #anime #death note x reader #light spicy #L sister #Long #long post #death note

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delimeful · 4 years

Text

Wibar Extra: Patton’s Charms

A short WIBAR piece that takes place mostly before the first installment, commissioned by @kieraelieson ! Enjoy!

warnings: emotional distress, mentions of smugglers/trafficking, PTSD -

The first time Patton gave away his feathers, it was an impulse.

He’d been running errands for Logan at market; even with the extra limbs, that goof tried to take on more than he could handle. Patton figured that the least could do was lend a pair of hands, even if that meant ducking and weaving through the occasionally precarious crowd.

Still, his task wasn’t urgent enough that when a loud wail split the air, he couldn’t turn right around to investigate. He sidled along past a few clumps of bargaining patrons and came to a gap in the market’s flow, where people were putting space between them and the source of the racket: a Pataruan child in tears.

By the spiraling horns and left-folded robes, a little girl. By the hearts-wrenching cries and skin color shifting to the blue-grey of sea stones, a very upset little girl.

Patton offered the harried father a sympathetic trill as he approached, and was happy to see the man seemed relieved, rather than opposed to a stranger’s aid. Most species didn’t see him as a threat, since Ampens were small and as a whole rather friendly, but it was always better to get permission before interacting with others’ fledgelings.

“Hey, kiddo,” he greeted in Common, lowering his antenna to a friendly-safe angle. She probably wasn’t old enough to be familiar with Ampen body language, but it was the thought that counted.

Her sobbing slowed slightly as she looked down at him with slitted pupils, cheeks pinching inwards and skin turning to lemon-yellow confusion. “Huh?”

He let his eyes crinkle into an encouraging smile. “I’m Patton! What’s your name?”

After a few sniffles and a glance at her dad, who was rushing through a transaction with a textile merchant, she blinked slowly and answered in a small voice. “I… I’m Neri.”

Patton noted absently that she had the same type of translucent third eyelid as Logan, and nodded politely to her. “May the stars greet you, Neri! Now, I came over because you sounded a little upset. Is something wrong?”

Neri’s skin immediately darkened back to that dark ocean grey, and she reached up to grip her horns, probably a self-soothing gesture. “No, I don’t want to! I don’t want to see the seamster! She’s got sharp itty-bitty things and she yells at me when I move. I like my normal clothes! I don’t need new ones!”

“Whoa, hey, it’s okay, kiddo. Can you breathe with me?” Sensing an imminent breakdown, Patton held his hands out to her in an offer of comfort. Neri clutched at his hands with her own smooth, scaly ones, taking deep, shuddering breaths in time with Patton.

“You’re doing great! That sounds like a rough time, but you must be a very brave one, to have been to a fitting before.” Patton beckoned her closer, into a crouch. “Do you want to hear a secret?”

Neri shuffled close, pupils growing large and round with intrigue. “Mhmm.”

“I have a secret power, that keeps your darkest days all lit up. If you see it, you’re guaranteed to have a good day no matter what tries to get you down. I think having a little extra glow will help you keep on that tough face while you’re at the seamster, yeah?”

She seemed a bit doubtful, but leaned in anyhow, undeniably curious. “Yeah… I wanna see.”

Patton fluffed up the feathers along his arms slowly, and Neri gasped as they flushed a bright, luminescent blue. Patton’s cheeks started to hurt as his eyes squinched up happily at the astonished look on her face. “Pretty neat, huh?”

She ghosted her hand over the glowing feathers, careful even before Patton warned her that they were sensitive, her face slowly turning sun-warm orange. “You change colors like me?”

“Only a little,” Patton admitted, “but this color is for making people happy! Do you think it will help you be brave?”

Neri hesitated before blinking slowly, eyebrows furrowing in determination. “I’ll try really hard not to forget.”

Patton cast a glance at her father, still haggling, and made a quick decision. He ran his hands through the ruff of feathers around the back of his neck, until he found one that had come loose after his nap earlier. He offered it to her with a flourish Roman would have been proud of. “How about you keep a little feather? Whenever you start feeling upset, you can hold it in your hand and remember.”

It was as though he’d offered her the whole planet. She took the feather gingerly, and cradled it in her hands, flushed verdant green with happiness. “Thank you!”

By the time Patton got back to his crew, he had completely forgotten that he’d been in the middle of running an errand at all.

That was alright; Logan was only fondly exasperated when he explained.

The second time Patton gave away his feathers, it was to help a friend.

The lighting circuit had gone out on almost the entire ship, and while the flight and grav controls weren’t affected, it was still startling to suddenly be plunged into the darkness.

With how they’d all been doing different things at the time, it had taken them a little bit of stumbling around to find each other. Patton hadn’t been particularly concerned until they finally reached Roman.

Roman, who looked up at Patton’s glow with a desperate sort of hope. Roman, who’s tail had remained curled against his leg for what seemed like the rest of the cycle after the lights came back on. Roman, who had the worst darkvision of them all.

He hadn’t offered an explanation, and Patton hadn’t pushed. They knew more about Roman’s past than most, but there was still a lot that remained unshared. There were probably some things he’d never share with anyone else, and that was okay.

What wasn’t okay was the idea of ignoring the matter and leaving Roman to deal with it all on his own.

Patton sequestered himself in his room for a few cycles, reassuring Roman and Logan whenever they stopped by that he was okay, just working on something. It was a process, since he didn’t normally craft other than drawing. Things like this were more Roman’s area of expertise, but Patton was ready to do whatever it took to create it himself.

Several snapped feathers and a lot of trial and error later, he finally had a trinket he found acceptable. Another few tics, and he had two, ready to present to his friends.

“Just a little something for you guys to have that will remind you of me!” he claimed as he held out the somewhat clumsily-made necklaces, the feather charms glowing brightly. Roman’s grateful ear twitch told him that the Crav’on hadn’t missed Patton’s real motivation.

Even the slightly sore spots where he’d accidentally plucked out feathers that weren’t completely shed felt worth it when he saw the way Roman’s free hand fluttered happily as he strung the cord around his neck, the way Logan brushed his hand over the fluffy charm whenever he was attempting a particularly fiddly experiment, as though for good luck. The gifts were a complete success.

Patton spent the rest of the week feeling lighter than air, barely able to hold in an excited trill whenever he saw the feathers glowing on his friends.

The third time Patton gave away his feathers, it was for profit.

The first compliments and queries about the charms came at one of their usual markets, from strangers and regulars alike. The necklaces Patton had made were hard to miss, especially with how luminescent they were.

He’d been surprised at the outpouring of interest, but it was nearing molting season and he had plenty of discarded feathers to share. It was a little bit tiring to have the bioluminescence activated all the time, but nothing a little snack couldn’t fix.

The most motivating reason, however, was how excited his crewmates became at the idea. Roman would invite Patton to come sit with him in his quarters, showing him intricate knotwork that would hold the feathers more solidly, and Logan offered a preserve that would keep the feather’s glow maximized for longer.

Even after contributing to the new and improved version, his two closest friends stalwartly refused to replace Patton’s original gifts, which made his hearts flutter fondly. He was happy to be helping create revenue for their ship, too. Generally, they were able to get by with their exploratory services and material trading, but putting away a little extra credit took a weight off all of their shoulders.

He loved to run the booth at market, seeing the way people drew to the glow curiously and getting to greet them with his typical enthusiasm. Children were always the most excited, and he made sure to secretly undercharge any charms bought for them. He even got to implement a “tell a joke, get a discount” rule for a day, before Logan put his foot down after one too many puns.

Through the market cycles, a few visitors stood out. There was a Bal’t’n who had shyly inquired if it was alright to consume the light of the feather(Patton didn’t see why not!), or a fellow Ampen who had spent half her time at the booth asking after Patton’s moms (Luckily, he was always happy to gush about them), or Neri’s father, who had expressed profuse thanks to the Ampen and then requested materials to help his daughter make her feather into a proper necklace(Patton refused any sort of payment for helping out a dad).

There were also the less friendly visitors, like the Venefican stranger who had eyed his wares with a cold hunger, and then demanded he prove that he was the one the feathers originated from. He’d never felt so uncomfortable showing off his glow before. They didn’t even end up buying anything.

He saw that stranger only once after that, across the market square, speaking to a cloaked figure in a hushed voice. He only noticed them at all because of the feeling of another’s gaze on him, and he shivered and looked away when the hood of the cloak turned his direction.

It was a bit unsettling, but there didn’t seem to be any real harm done, and so he put it out of mind soon enough.

The fourth time Patton gave away his feathers, it wasn’t his choice.

(Lightspans away, his two best friends held the pendants they had encouraged Patton to make and sell, the ones that had drawn smuggler attention to their small friend.

They had never regretted anything more.)

The fifth time Patton gave his feathers away, it was for himself.

The need proved itself early on in their post-escape travels. His huge new friend moved so much quieter than Roman, and Patton’s darkvision wasn’t anywhere near as good as a Human’s.

Since they were trying to remain under the radar, they traveled by night fairly often, and recently they had gotten perilously close to losing each other in the fog of a particularly confusing patch of galthe vines. Patton could light up, sure, but Virgil would have to be the one to find and reach him. What if they got separated and Virgil was stuck or needed help? Giving his Human a feather charm was a good, sensible idea.

However, knowing it was a good idea and actually following through with it were two very different things. His feathers had grown back, thanks to Virgil, but the sensation of a slow death by starvation was still ever-present in his nightmares. Even though it wasn’t healthy, he hadn't preened any of his loose or ragged feathers, any attempts to remove them bringing back memories he'd much rather repress. He didn't know what he was going to do when he molted. The very thought of it sent a chill down his spine. He never wanted to feel that helpless and weak again.

It was like a mental barrier, a bubble of terror welling up in his throat whenever he thought of broaching the topic. It was silly. He knew that Virgil would understand if he ended up being unable to bring himself to actually implement the idea, but the very idea of speaking it aloud suddenly seemed so… frightening. It frustrated him! There was no reason to be so nervous about helping a friend!

It was while he was sitting at their latest camp, having one of these internal arguments with himself that Virgil approached, whistling a low greeting in Patton’s native tongue. Patton chirped back and released some of the tension in his body by shaking out his feathers, careful not to move too quickly. For a Human, Virgil was easily startled.

“Hey, Pat.” Virgil crouched down, settling into a sitting position with languid grace. “You alright?”

“Of course!” he replied, scooting over to press up against the Human’s side. “Are you?”

Virgil nodded once, and then hesitated for a heartbeat. “So, y’know how we almost got lost for a while on the planet with all the mist and little crab guys?”

Patton stilled, having spent more than enough time remembering the incident. “Y— yeah, on Hythag, right? With the vines? Lots of plants?” Please don’t ask me to give them up again. I’m scared.

“Um, yeah,” Virgil replied, gaze looking him over sharply. He’d picked up on Patton’s unease, but was too unsure of himself to press. “I… well, I was thinking about how stressful it was, and, uh…”

Patton’s antennae flattened against his skull, and he braced himself for the request.

“I made these.”

What?

He blinked, and saw that Virgil was holding two small lengths of thread— no, woven bracelets. Patton reached out and carefully picked up the smaller loop of twine, staring at the way the material was purposefully knotted in a pattern.

“Is this for me?” he asked, looking up at Virgil with unbridled curiosity. “How’d you make them?”

Virgil was staring off at a nearby flowering plant, avoiding eye contact the way he did when he was nervous. “Yeah, that one’s yours. They, uh, match. Back home, we call them friendship bracelets. A little childish, I know, but I don’t know any other patterns I can weave by hand...”

It didn’t escape Patton’s notice that he had dodged the other question, and he squinted at the threads again with a growing sense of familiarity. He peered over at Virgil’s pants, one leg of which seemed particularly more frayed than the other. His feathers puffed up a bit, unable to contain all that he was feeling as he looked at the bracelet made from the only clothes the Human had.

Oh, Virgil…

“... and right now, they won’t really solve our problem, but I figured we could find a source of pigment that glows and apply it? I would have done that part myself too, then it would have been a better surprise, but I wasn’t sure what pigments would be safe for your skin, so— oof!” Virgil’s rambling broke off as Patton launched himself directly at his chest, on the brink of crying as the Human carefully returned the hug. He always felt safest here.

“I take it this means you like it?” Virgil asked, his voice low and amused. Patton nodded into his hoodie, a few affectionate chitters escaping him.

“I love it. I’m wearing it forever.” He paused, swallowing thickly, and then set his chin stubbornly. “But, for the glow, I have something that might help…”

He might not be ready to deal with a molt, maybe not even when he was safe on the Mindscape again, but he could at least put some loose feathers to good use. He could start small, and work his way up to being okay again.

Until then, he knew that Virgil would be by his side with everything he had.

And that would be enough.

#sanders sides #ts patton #ts virgil #space au #WIBAR #watch it burn and rust #wibar extra #writing #my writing #ts roman #ts logan

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ishleep22 · 3 years

Text

Kereshus: The Argonian Water Mage

(Final Reedit I promise)

An Elder scrolls story by Branton Lawrence

On the 26th of Xeech (known to the rest of Tamriel as the 26th of Sun’s Dawn), out of a luminous blue egg came a little Saxhleel boy named Kereshus. Kereshus was a small, relatively skinny Argonian with a unique light blue glowing scale all over his body. These scales are the most prominent on his face with a unique pattern on his forehead. His mother and father were confused by his appearance since no one in their tribe have ever had glowing scales to this extent and with such vibrancy. They took him to the village Tree-Minder and asked him why the hist gave him such distinct details. The Tree-Minder informed the family that he was born with an extraordinarily strong connection to Aetherius. So strong that it had a noticeable impact on his physical appearance. His mother asked why he specifically was given this connection and not his sister. The Tree-Minder told her “The Hist works in ways we will never understand. We will never truly know why your boy here was given such power. All I can tell you is nurture and take care of him. When the time comes, I will send someone to train him in the ways of the different magical schools.” His family left the Tree-Minder to begin caring for the little boy still with many questions on their minds on how to take care of such a gifted child.

Kereshus was born into a family who prided themselves on their warrior skills. His father was a renowned warhero. A giant red Argonian, taller then most high elves and beefier then most orcs. He had tones of scars all over his body from the numerous battles he has been in. His code name was Tyranno, which is known throughout Black Marsh for his victories against Dunmer Slavers and rival tribes. He was extremely strict and to the point. He didn’t play around with anything or anyone no matter who they were. His mother might not have been as well-known as his father(mainly because she’s was a very good assassin/ scout), but she was in every way his equal. She was always there, watching his back from afar or sticking her axe into anyone who got too close to him. She also had a no-crap view of life, but she was a lot less strict and a lot less narrow-minded than he was. They were a perfect duo and anyone who trifled with them found themselves headless. They finally settled down and had 2 children over the many years they were married: One of them was Kereshus the other was his older egg-sister, Am-Lee.

Am-Lee was her birth name, but she very quickly picked up the title Loves-To-Wander. Am-Lee was also a skilled warrior but her true passion was exploring. She loved discovering new places and any chance she would wander off in whatever directions she was facing. This caused some conflict with her father because she would constantly wander off during his lessons. This at first aggravated him to no end because he could see the untapped potential she had as a warrior but instead, she wasted her time climbing trees and going into places she was not supposed to go. But one day he decided to follow her to see what it was she enjoyed about exploring. He found it hard to tail this spry little lizard as she went deeper into the swamp, but he also found it entertaining in a way. After a while climbing, sprinting, and swimming they found a little circular alcove with a cute little pond at the bottom. It was a very strange thing to see in the middle of such a dense portion of the swamp. Am-Lee sat down by the edge of the pond collecting all the odd things she could find. He went up to her and put his hand on her shoulder causing her to go into full defensive mode. She flipped him over her shoulders making him land face-first into the pond. She quickly jumped onto him baring her teeth and claws. Then she realized she had just flipped her dad making her quickly jump off. She expected for him to give her all the forces of oblivion for wandering off and attacking but instead, she got to see him laugh for the first time. “I’m half surprised you didn’t finish the job; Almost cracked my damm skull open,” he said as he stood up. “I see your claws are sharper the I originally thought.” “You aren’t mad at me?” She warily asked. “Mad? No, more like surprised that you are paying attention to me!” “Your head is always in the clouds that I was convinced you that you were too high to hear me!” He chuckled. “When did you find such a beautiful little place?” “I found it 2 weeks ago when we were out hunting.” She told him. “I don’t know why but this place is just so inviting.” “I feel what you mean, little one.” “This place breaths an aura of serenity that you rarely find in these swamps.” “Hey why did you-“ “Tail you from one side of black marsh to another?” “Well because you’re my daughter and I just have to know where in oblivion you wander off to.” “By the hist, you do know what’s out there, right? It’s not safe to tread in these dark waters by yourself especially for a youngling!” “Yes, father, I know of every danger in this swamp. I also know these waters like I know my own scales.” “These waters have swallowed up Saxhleel who thought the same way you do.” “Hmm could have sworn there was only one of me.” She replied.

She prepped herself for the worst of it but again he replied calmly and gently. “You’re right. There is only one of you. Only one Am-Lee, and that’s why I came out here with you. Because I would hate to see such uniqueness disappear into the swamps forever.” She lowered her head, unaware of what to say. “Look, Am-Lee, I know you adore being out here. And I also understand that nothing I do will stop you from coming out here. So, all I ask is that you stay safe and don’t take unnecessary risks. If you see anything that looks a bit off, dive out immediately; understood?” “Yes, sir.” She replied. “That’s my little hatchling. Now come, it’s your brother's hatching day! We finally get to figure out what’s going on with him.” Before they left, her father marked this place down on his map. So, he could easily return here since he wasn’t as good as tracking as Am-Lee was.

When Kereshus was born, Am-Lee became a bit protective of him. I mean he was so skinny, and the blue glow coming off his scales was so intriguing to her. And he’s a magic user, which she had never met before besides the Tree-Minder in her village. She spent every second of her free time just admiring Kereshus and taking care of him. She went from explorer to caretaker in seconds devoting all her time to taking care of him. For some reason, he had a little trouble learning jel, their native language but had an easier time learning basic Tamrielic. He did end up being fluent in both but still, his family took note of the struggle he had to connect with other Argonians in the beginning. When Kereshus got older, Am-Lee and he became close friends with each other who always liked to challenge each other. While Kereshus was still skinny, he could hold his own with a sword even being the only one in the village to go toe-to-toe with his sister. When their father wasn’t training them, she watched Kereshus train in the arts of magic from many mages from all over Tamriel. One of them even showed Kereshus the arts of music, teaching Kereshus how to play the lute. He already had knowledge and a love for drums and other Saxhleel instruments, but the lute quickly became his favorite. He played tunes for his family every now and then until he gained enough courage to play for the entire village. He was shy at first, but he quickly opened up to everyone, and soon, his whole village adored him. He was a quiet, yet charismatic Argonian who loved his family and friends. But he didn’t let this love for his sister make him any less a rival to her.

It was the Annual Village Brawl where Saxhleel tested each other in one round battle until one person yielded. It was Kereshus vs Am-Lee and the whole village was watching. They battled furiously against each other until Kereshus got the upper hand and accidentally slashed her eye. In a panic, he quickly ran to see if she was ok. Am-Lee took advantage of this flipping Kereshus to the ground putting her sword to his neck. “Yield?” She asked. “Yah yah, I yield. Hey, are you ok?” “Kereshus, you know I’m fine. I’ve taken bigger hits from people bigger than you.” “But did those hits leave a mark like that?” “Well, I’m not blind so again it really doesn’t matter.” “I know but- “What did I tell you about this? When I say I’m fine, I’m fine. You know if I wasn’t fine, you’d be the first one to know.” “but- ““By the hist, you worry too much. Come on I have something to show you.” Am-Lee leads Kereshus to that circular alcove that she hadn’t been to in so many years. “What is this place?” Kereshus asked. “A place I found a while ago. I used to come here every day before you were born. It’s still as peaceful as I remember it being.” So why did you bring me here?” “Well for 2 reasons: One I have a question for you and two I have a gift for you.” “Well let’s start with the question; What is it?” I was wondering if you’d like to be my traveling partner. I’ve always loved to explore as you know but I’ve never had anyone to watch my back out here. Father says it's unwise to explore out here by ourselves and I believe him. So, what do you say? You down for it?” Before Kereshus could answer they heard rustling bushes nearby. Whatever was coming wasn’t anything small, so they readied their weapons. Out came a half-naked Argonian, who looked like he was feral. “Are you ok, sir?” Kereshus asked. The man didn’t say a word, just stared at Am-Lee with his teeth bared at her. “Sir, I’m going to need you to calm down. And stop looking at me like that before those beautiful teeth disappear.” He still stood there, staring at Am-Lee. Kereshus whispered to Am-Lee, “Maybe we should just go. I don’t feel like dealing with this today.” “I can't just leave him here; this is my area!” “Well, then you can fight them.” “Them?” Kereshus pointed to the pond as another Argonian raised from it. “Wow Kereshus, never known you to be so thin-scaled.” “I’m not thin-scaled, these guys just make me feel uneasy is all.” “Fine, let’s go then, hatchling.” As they turned to leave, one of the feral Argonians started to bellow. The water rippled with the vibrations coming from him as the other one also began to bellow back. As they bellowed, they began to morph. Their bodies morphed into large creatures. With huge teeth, sharp claws, and eyes full of hate. “Kereshus don’t tell me they-““Turned into Werecrocs? No, why would I even suggest such a terrible thing?” Kereshus and Am-Lee began running back towards the village. Kereshus used his powers to try to slow the Lycan down as Am-Lee tried to get away. But no matter how many tons of water, no matter the electric currents he sent through those streams nothing would stop these 2. They just kept coming and coming like an unrelenting force through the damp swamps. Feeling like nothing he could do would stop them, he stopped running. “What in the hist are you doing, you egg sack?” “I’m holding them off so you can get help.” “But you’ll die, fool.” “I will if you don’t stop flapping your jaw; Go!” Am-Lee left Kereshus to deal with these lycanthropes by himself as she got help.

One of the Werecrocs dashed towards Kereshus, claws outstretched. Kereshus narrowly dodges before the other one rams him into a tree. Kereshus didn’t know if he was hit hard or if the one who rammed him was smiling at him. The croc who lunged at him was about to lung at him again before the other stopped him. While Kereshus was laying on the tree he got a good look at them. The one who rammed him had dark red scales, sprinkled with black dots all over his body. He was taller than the other one and appeared to be a little bit more muscular than him although not by much. The other Werecrocodile had a much more mosey, rugged, and devilish look to him. Scars all over his dark green scales with a gash on his head freakishly like the one he accidentally gave his sister being in almost the same spot. The red one appeared to be way calmer and more tactical while the green was all twitchy and jumpy. Like he would turn around and pounce on Kereshus at any second. After a monument, the red one walked towards Kereshus. He grabbed Kereshus by his arm and was about to bite it off when Kereshus shot a scalding hot water ball into his mouth with his free hand. In pain, it reeled back letting Kereshus go. Kereshus then attempted to stab him with his sword but was hit with a strong whack of the red one’s tail. Kereshus landed as the other one bolted towards him. Kereshus rolled backwards as the jagged claws of the Mossy Werecroc came crashing down. He then retaliated by throwing mud into its eye as he swung his sword to hit him. The mossy croc closed a translucent membrane over his eyes to block the mud and grabbed Kereshus by the head. He then started to squeeze and squeeze wanting to crush Kereshus head. Kereshus dropped his sword and then blasted the croc back with a mix of water and lightning. As he did this he saw out of the corner of his eye the other red croc’s jaws wide open. He fell backwards as the jaws went right by his head. Kereshus landed right next to his sword, jumping back onto his feet. As he did so the mossy croc had recovered and was again dashing towards Kereshus, this time much more telegraphed due to most likely being weakened water and fire. Kereshus saw an opening and sidestepped the croc shoving his blade deep one of the scars it had on its back. All this did though was get a loud hiss out of it as it appeared to barely be phased by it. Kereshus stumbled onto his feet as an idea pooped into his head. He conjured up a huge wave that sent the 2 Werecrocs flying back. As they came to, Kereshus was nowhere to be seen as he was in the trees. Part of him was tempted to run away but he didn’t want to risk them finding his village. He caught his breath and began trying to think of ways he could finish this fight; if he could at all. “Ok,” He thought to himself,” The green seems to be getting more and more tired. So, if I can separate them and knock them both out, even for a few seconds, I could grab my sword and kill the green one. Maybe then the other one would back off.” He wasn’t 100% down with this idea but it's all he had. He got up from the branch he was sitting on as the two of them began looking for him. Kereshus started to pelt them with high-speed water balls with the occasional lightning strike and fireball. Both Werecrocs took cover from the volley as Kereshus jumped from tree to tree pushing them to take cover in different positions until they were back in the alcove. Kereshus, still launching spells at them both even though they weren’t hitting, Maneuvered his way to the other side of the pound. While his glowing scales weren’t as bright as they were normally, they were still visible. He stood there, even though a little bloody and beaten, with his glowing scales shining and teeth bearing at them. Looking ready to continue fighting (Even though he knew he barely had any Magicka left in him). The mossy croc roared and ran toward him as the red croc realized that Kereshus had intentionally missed all those shots in the alcove. The mossy croc was an inch away from stepping on the line of runes placed by Kereshus. The red croc reached out to stop him from stepping on the runes, but it was already too late. A massive explosion of water and lightning erupted out of the swamp send both crocs flying. Kereshus took cover behind a tree to avoid the explosion and debris. The red croc went flying backwards into a random part of the swamps and the mossy croc smashed into a tree a yard away from Kereshus. “This is it!” Kereshus exclaimed as he ran over to the limp body of the Werecroc. He jumped on its back and began pulling and pulling trying to get it out. “For the love of the hist, COME ON!” he said straining himself trying to pull it out the blade. “Did he heal over it or something? I can’t be that tired.” “No,” said a deep voice from underneath his feet, “You’re just weak.” Before Kereshus could react the mossy green Werecroc grabbed his tail and launched him off his back. “Damm mages are always a pain to fight. Always hurling fire at your problems.” He said pulling the blade out of his back. He looked down at Kereshus. “My friend was wrong for trying to toy with you thinking we had 2 easy prey for our lord. At least killing you now would most definitely satisfy him.” He broke the sword with his mighty jaws and spit the piece at Kereshus. He grabbed Kereshus by his face neck lifting him off the ground. “Well before I do that…” he says as he punches Kereshus in the face sending him flying into a rock. “One last hit, for my partner.” He said in a deep, eerie voice as he smiled menacingly at him. He sat Kereshus up, getting ready to bite his head off. Kereshus had no fight left in him to resist so he waited for the end to happen. Before the jaws of death could close around his head, he heard the whistle of an arrow come flying through the swamp. Straight into the eyes of the Werecroc. He dropped Kereshus down roar out in pain as multiple more arrows rang out through the forest. Kereshus’ mother and the village hunting party had arrived and started pelting the croc with arrows. And out from overhead, his father came crashing down onto the croc slamming down onto it. He rolled back to his feet with his battle-axe in hand and charged at the Werecroc. Dodging all of the wild attacks of the now half-blind Werecroc, he got several gashes on the Werecroc before it finally fell to its knees out of exhaustion and pain. Kereshus’ father looked it in the eye before embedding his battle-axe into its skull. His father ran over to him wondering if he was too late. His mother and sister were right there behind him. “What happened to the other one?” Am-Lee asked. Kereshus was half-unconscious but was able to point in the direction the dark red Werecroc flew. His father let out a grunt as he led most of the hunting party in that direction. His mother order 2 members to stay and help her. “Get the stretcher, now!” She barked continuing to tend to Kereshus as much as she could. “Hist be praised, you're still alive!” Am-Lee said relieved that she didn’t leave her brother to die. Before he could respond, his mother stopped him. “Shushhh, little one. You’ll get all the time to brag to your sister about how much of a hero you are after you get healed. Right now, I need you to rest.” The other 2 Argonians came back with the stretcher and lifted Kereshus onto it. As they began to walk, Kereshus looked over to Am-Lee getting her to come closer to him. He whispered to her,” I’d be glad to be your traveling partner”, before falling unconscious.

A few months passed by since that entire situation. Although his father had no success in finding the red Werecrocs, they theorized that he was long gone since no one had gone missing nor had anyone seen him. Looking past that both Kereshus and his village were doing extremely well. He had fully recovered from the fight and was feeling better than he ever had. His father was training some of the best shock troopers in all black marsh while his mother became a merchant. She was a great aid to the village's economy but that didn’t stop her from training a squad of elite archers in her free time. While they were in aiding the village’s daily affairs, Kereshus and Am-Lee began exploring. Their adventures took them all over Black Marsh, meeting the different cultures and tribes that inhabited the land. They even started to make plans to explore outside of Black Marsh. Kereshus was keen on visiting Cyrodiil and Elsweyr while Am-Lee wanted to explore Skyrim and Hammerfell. They agreed upon Skyrim, both wanting to explore the ancient Nordic ruins. Kereshus planned on visiting the bard’s college and the College of Winterhold. Both to learn about the Nordic culture and to learn more about magic from the college. But they had to pass through Cyrodiil anyway to reach Skyrim. They said their goodbyes to friends and family (Which for Am-Lee also involved mostly passive-aggressive farewells to all the rivals she had made. Kereshus found the amount of pettiness coming from his sister incredibly hilarious which he predicted was intent.) but for some reason, they couldn’t find their father. “Come to think of it I haven’t seen him all day,” Their mother told them while preparing a meal for them. “Ever since that suspicious dry-skin came into town.” “What suspicious dry-skin?” Kereshus asked. “Some man, think he was imperial.” She replied. “Didn’t say a word or bought anything. Just walked around town and then left.” Was he scoping out our village?” Am-Lee asked with a bit of excitement in her voice that Kereshus knew meant “New adventure!?”. His mother also noticed it and quickly replied, “Hey don’t worry your father’s business when you 2 have business of your own. Isn’t today the day your hatchlings go on your big journey across this continent?” “Yes,” Kereshus responded. “But we were hoping to say goodbye to you and father before we departed.” “We can wait, Kereshus,” Am-Lee said. “Because I’m not leaving without saying anything to him.” They heard a chuckle from the door to their home. “That would be the first time in your life you said anything before wandering off.” Their father said as he came in. “Didn’t think id miss my young ones leaving over a thin-skinned land strider, did you?” “Father, you’re ok!” Am-Lee exclaimed, reaching to hug him but then hesitated instead giving him a salute. “I’m not your commander right now, Am-Lee.” He spoke in a voice that Kereshus hadn’t heard, ever. “I mean it’s not like you would listen to my commands anyway, you slithery salamander.” He joked hugging them both. “I could never be prouder of both of you. My finest warriors are ready to explore the world and make names for yourselves.” “Wow, I expected for you to rant to them about staying in the village.” Their mother joked preparing tonight’s meal. He then proceeded to say something to her in Jel that ruffly translates to something incredibly flirtatious (which Kereshus and Am-Lee both fully understood, making them gag at such thoughts). The 4 of them laughed and helped prepared what would most likely be their last meal together for a long while.

Their mother went all out on getting food for this meal. Kereshus’ Swamp Hen and Crayfish salad, Am-lee’s Swamp-eel broth, their father’s favorite giant wasp gizzard with a snail-gin. She even got them freshly sweet rolls from a traveler from Cyrodiil which Am-Lee had gotten Kereshus into eating when he was just learning to speak Tamrielic (being the first word he had said in the language) which became a sort of tradition between them 2 on their hatching days. Although finding a baker who is willing to come to the most dangerous provinces for non-natives for whatever reason is extremely rare even if their part of the swamp is hospitable enough for weekly trade with other cultures. They enjoyed their family moment for a few hours but then his father got the whole village involved in a celebration for his kids with lots of dancing and singing that even the foreigners got involved. But Kereshus felt off like his own essence was being sucked from him. Am-Lee noticed from the crowd she was in and went over to check on him. “What’s wrong? Couldn’t handle the Phlegmwine?” She laughed punching him in the shoulder. He didn’t respond to this as he fell into a pond behind him. Am-Lee was about to make another joke when she was gagged and turned invisible. Another invisible figure came towards Kereshus and dragged him into the marsh.

“Wake up!” Someone said harshly. Kereshus and Am-Lee woke up bound together. The boards around him slowly shaking from side to side and the sound of waves all around him indicated to Kereshus that they were on a boat. Where they were going was one thing he couldn't tell however. “Ah our 2 guests of honor are finally awake it seems.” Said cloaked figure standing in the shadows. “Hey, who are you and where have you taken us!” Am-Lee hissed. “Where you are doesn’t matter. I would be concerned with your lives.” “Why don’t you stop acting like a tuff guy from the shadows and show yourself?” Out of the shadows came a Dunmer, a dark elf. “Who are you?” Kereshus asked. “Someone you, or anyone you know, doesn’t even know. Someone who has a… slight problem with your father.” “Ok but how about you take your problem up with him,” Am-lee growled. “or are you afraid that he would tear you in half.” The elf chuckled at the comment “It would be like that monster to rip someone apart.” Kereshus tried to muster up power for a spell, but nothing seemed to work. “You think you could just blow your way out of here? Welp not with those cuffs on.” He said this while pointing to the cuffs Kereshus had on. “Only Mephala knows how hard it was to get you 2 n’wahs. Your mother is always checking for food that has been tampered with. But all we needed was a tiny amount of Magicka draining laced sweet rolls that only you, my glowing friend, could notice. Then getting your sister was just so trivial in comparison.” What do you want from us? Kereshus asked. “Oh, I just need you two as a message. For any scaly barbarians who think they can burn down my land! And take those who I loved from me.” He sat there staring at the dagger in his hands. “When our father finds out about- “Am-Lee started before getting cut off by a thump to the head by the pommel of his sword. “Silence, Lizard! Save your voice for what's about to happen next.” The Dunmer pulls out a coin that he had in his pocket. “You see this? Your fate rests in this septim. If it lands on its head, then the girl lives. If tails, then the boy lives. Since I only need one of you alive for this message to your father, let’s just see which one of you has miss fortune’s favor.” Kereshus begins to plead with the elf. “Please, sir! You don’t have to do-“” “There is no need for you to even try talking me out of this, n’wah. It won’t stop what’s coming.” Kereshus and Am-Lee Looked at each other into each other’s eyes. Both fearing what was going to happen to the other one. The elf flips the coin high into the air. As it flew, Kereshus prayed that the coin would land on its head. Am-Lee prayed the opposite, that the coin would land on its tail. Before the coin landed, the elf caught it midair. He unsheathed his sword saying the words: “Sorry, my dear. It seems that luck isn’t on your side.” As he walked up to her Kereshus started to plead with the mer, yet his words fell upon deaf ears. Am-lee calmy told Kereshus “Don’t let this dry skin stop our plans. Once you killed this thin-scaled fool, continue our journey to Skyrim. Explore a few dungeons, meet the locals, and practice more of that magical stuff even more for me, Egg-brother.” After she said this, the elf grabbed her by her horns and slowly slid his blade across her throat. Kereshus roared out gaining a surge of energy coming to him as he fries the cuffs into nothing more than just burnt leather, he charges at the mer tackling him into the ground, digging into his flesh with his bare claws. Other people from above the deck came down when they heard the yells from the hooded dark elf. They drew their weapons while the more magically inclined ones summoned hellish whips that they swung at Kereshus. Kereshus dodged those and proceeded to launch everyone back onto the deck in a large tidal wave coming from his finger tips. A few either snapped their backs from the force they were launched into the hull of the boat or just completely going overboard. He knew he was running on only his biological energy right now since the cuffs had kept him from regaining Magicka. So, with the little amount of energy, he had left in hobbled his way back to his sister who was limp on the ground. He fell next to it. He physically couldn’t move or walk anymore so he crawled toward her trying to heal her. But sadly, it was too late. All that he could bring out of her were a few words: “Keep wandering, for me, please?”

Kereshus woke in a cage. The only things that were in there were a bed and a bucket. Kereshus didn’t care that he was now a slave, he cared more about his sister he had lost. He grabbed his head and began to whimper. He had no other feelings but sadness. Not only did he lose his sister, but he had also lost his best friend. He failed to protect the only person he had to. He let his father, mother, and most importantly himself down. He sat there whimpering until someone knocked on his cell door. It was a young Dunmer woman who came with a tray of food. “Is everything alright, sera?” Kereshus said nothing, blocking his face with his legs. The women looked around to see if there were any guards around and then opened the cage. She sat down in front of Kereshus putting the tray on his bed. “Look you’ve been in here crying for a few hours now. The guard half wanted to knock you out again, but I stopped them. Those boneheads.” Kereshus still sat there saying absolutely nothing. “Alright, I understand we aren’t technically supposed to be having this conversation. I also understand that you don’t trust me for good reasons. But can you at least eat this so that you don’t starve to death?” She picks up the tray and places it in front of him. As she leaves, moves his knees from in front of his face. “Kereshus. My name is Kereshus.” “Well hello Kereshus, my name is Verlanna.”

Verlanna came to Kereshus multiple times a week to bring him food. With each visit, she sat down to have talks with Kereshus. He started to open up to her, teaching her about Argonian culture and his village. He told the story of how he took on 2 Werecrocodiles by himself, which he still was surprised that he had done. Over time, he opened up about his family and his sister. Even opened up about his sister’s death. Verlanna was horrified hearing and what happened. And disgusted that the man she considered a friend would ever do such a thing. She wanted to do something about it, she was sickened by the mistreatment of these people at the heads of slave masters. So, she and a group of like-minded Dunmer plotted a revolt. They would need a distraction to free the slaves. Verlanna suggested that they get Kereshus’ father involved. He's leading a group of elite Argonian shellbacks would be a perfect distraction allowing all the slaves to be freed. Also, his family would want revenge for their daughter’s death. So, she set out to visit Kereshus’ village to meet his father and plan Kereshus’ escape much to Kereshus’ worry that his father would do to her. Upon arrival, Verlanna was met with an incredibly angry Argonian and afraid-looking outsiders who he had kept at the village ever since that night. Kereshus’ father was not in the mood to deal with a Dunmer when she saw her until she told him about Kereshus which got his attention. At first, he almost killed her right there if it wasn’t for Kereshus’ mother intervening. Verlanna proved to him that Kereshus was alive by telling the stories he told her and that she planned to save him. He asked about Am-Lee’s fate which she reluctantly told him her fate which they began to sob. “So that voice we heard that day must have been our little hatchling. Her last words carried over the winds by the hist to us.” “I am truly sorry for your loss. And Id likes to help you in getting your son out of captivity.” Verlanna suggested. “How would you help us? Haven’t your people done enough to mine?” Kereshus’ mother said with a sobby growl. “I have a plan to getting him and other slaves out. There are those of us who think our traditions of slavery need to go. But I can only do that with your help.” They both whipped their tears off their faces and went full battle strategist mode. The plan was to distract the guards with a frontal assault while Verlanna’s people got the slaves and non-combatants out. While Verlanna wanted to avoid bloodshed entirely the only option was to minimize death that was already going to happen.

“We are under attack!” Verlanna yells as she runs into the compound. “By whom?” Her old friend asked. “Him.” He knew who she was referring to, so he quickly ordered his men to ready themselves for battle. He grabbed his blade out of his office and ran outside. Verlanna grabbed the key and ran down to Kereshus’ room. She opened the cage and released Kereshus from his cuffs. “Come on we have to go!” “Where is he! Where is that murder!” Kereshus hissed loudly. “He’s probably already been captured by your father’s troops. Now we have to go!” They left the building grouping up with his father and his mother. In front of them there he stood. Before anyone could say anything, Kereshus leaped onto the man tearing into him with his claws. He then proceeded to beat his face in with a rock. Verlanna pulled Kereshus away from him but all that was left was a mer that was unrecognizable. A bloody mess laying on the ground. This didn’t make Kereshus feel any better, however. His father walked up to him putting his hand on his shoulder. “That worthless piece of meat deserved more. “I couldn’t save her.” Kereshus sobbed. “No one could. Even with your being as gifted as you are. His father helped him to his feet. “Did you find her? Kereshus asked. “Yes, we did. We’re taking her back to be laid to rest in the marsh.” Kereshus feared her body was lost forever hearing that they found her body put some relief in his mind. “Come young one, you’ve been through a lot.”

And so there Kereshus was, watching his other half sink into the mud of the marsh. With the rumbles of the village singing in Jel, with low sounds resonating in their bodies, somberly moving their tails across the grass of the marsh. Afterward, Kereshus had a long talk with his father and mother about what to do next. The words Kereshus heard didn't come from Am-Lee, but instead come from her final thoughts as she passed on. Water magic was a rare skill that not only gave him power over water but also the power to control what was in water: memories. When a mortal dies, while their body decomposes into the earth and their soul goes to whatever god they believe in or demon that has enslaved him, Their memories flow into the rivers an oceans of Nirn. Kereshus had tried this skill before but was unsuccessful in all of his attempts to do it consciously. He doesn't know how he did it but he some how projected his sisters final words into the minds of his family so that they all could hear her one final time. While the words Am-Lee spoke still lurked in their minds they didn’t want to split up. Nor did they think it was a good idea for all of them to leave the village. They decided to let Kereshus go to Skyrim after having multiple hour-long prayer sessions with the hist for almost 2 more months. With the help of Verlanna, who got him a boat to Skyrim, they planned his journey in the name of Am-Lee. But before Kereshus sets of his father gave him something. “We had meant to give you these things before… that day.” “What are they?” Kereshus asked. “It’s a silver sword for when you run into any of those demon werecreatures.” It was a finely made sword, that looked like it was made by the same smith that made his. “Also, here your sister made this for you.” It was a drum, nicely made woven together by multiple bits from around the swamp. The sound it made when Kereshus hit it was so nice on his ears. He sat there staring at it for a minute before the boat arrived. He gave his mother and father a very long and loving hug. He also said his goodbyes and greatly thanked Verlanna for all her help and then set off to wander Tamriel in his sister’s name.

#The Elder Scrolls #Skyrim #the elder scrolls fanfic #eso

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winterysomnium · 4 years

Note

just realised i forgot the ship WangXian kiss print #18

slides in five months later hi hello I have answered the prompt even tho it took me like half a year I’m so sorry

it also wasn’t supposed to be this long but it sorta ran away from me and wherever your fic goes you gotta follow tbh lol. thank you so much for prompting! ♥ means so much to me.

AO3 link here

(tumblr kinda messed up the format so it might be easier to read on AO3 honestly)

—

the borders of you (untouched);WangXian; 5,900+ words;

Wei Ying creates a talisman that’s supposed to keep all the fierce corpses and beasts away. Problem is, it keeps away everyone, living people included. And worst of all? It’s not going away. (prompt 18:kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap)

—

It’s not that Wei Ying has messed up.

The ward works,works well, as it has kept Wen Ning about four feet away from him from everyangle and he hasn’t been able to break through the barrier, not even after theadded strain of several fierce corpses that have been roaming the remote villagefor days on end.

Therefore, his inscription can’t be incorrect in thatsense, no. It’s just … the ward works toowell, is the thing.

When the paper burned up and the hour mark has passed,Wen Ning is still unable to get anywhere nearer, bounced back against the invisiblebarrier like a stone, skipping across the surface of a lake. Not only that: noone else has been able to either. Notany of the villagers, their grateful bows directed towards the Lan juniors andtheir liquor bottles towards Wei Ying, not any of the juniors and not even LanShizui, increasingly worried the more the sun dips, low into the horizon.

At last, knowing that he must have made a mistake ortwo somewhere, Wei Ying watches as a birdcan’t sit on a branch when he stands underneath it, watches on as the curiouscat that has been sniffing at the robes of every unknown person, keeps pawing atthe barrier with a bit of irritation at the tip of her tail.

It isn’t trulyworrying Wei Ying yet. He can touch the liquor bottle and drink from it justfine, and some talismans were known to dissipate after half a night’s time at earliest.Maybe he added a stroke too many to his blueprint, strengthening and prolongingthe effect inadvertently.

He couldn’t have accidentally created a full on permanentbarrier, he knows that, because thereis no visible or spiritual writing anywhere on his clothes or his person andhis paper prototype has been ashes as soon as he surged his powers through itsform.

So he convinces the juniors to stay for dinner andsettle in for the night; it’s past everyone’s bedtime and the comforting scent ofsoup and roasting meat painfully flares the hunger in Wei Ying’s stomach,overriding any lasting thoughts of worry or anxious fears.

His mood doesdip slightly when he realizes he can’t truly share the table with anyone, thesweet taste of the sugar spun fruits souring in his mouth with every lonelybite. He’s gotten too used to this easy kind of company, to Lan Zhan’s quiet,steady presence, his fingers never too far from Wei Ying’s aid, from gettingtangled up with Wei Ying’s own. He’s gotten used to the bundle of juniors followinghim around during the classes he teaches (to Lan Qiren’s unending chagrin) andhe almost misses JingYi’s – a little tooloud – voice right next to his ear.

His exasperated huff must reach all the way across thetavern, because Lan Shizui stands as close as he can to his table now, hiseyebrows etched with something nervous and small. He pauses as he tests the wardonce more, with the tip of his shoe.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t head back right away,Senior Wei?” he asks, ever considerate and Wei Ying sees Lan WangJi’s teachingsfilling out A-Yuan’s shoulders, the chambers of his heart. It makes him missLan Zhan suddenly, with a pang of something sore, like swallowing a painfulgulp of water, feeling it travel all the way down his throat.

He rubs his sternum through his robes, the phantomfeeling making him feel silly (they’ve been gone for barely a day and a half) as he shakes his head.“There’s no point in leaving this late. We’ll arrive too late for breakfast ifwe do, anyway,” he reasons, but A-Yuan’s face stays cautious, eyebrows drawn. (He’stoo good of a child, honestly, Wei Ying thinks.)

“What if theward isn’t gone in the morning?” he asks and Wei Ying drinks another cup ofwine, just to dissipate the distant, cold restlessness stuck at the back of hisskull. There’s no need to be worried, yet.

But it must be a question that’s not just runningthrough Shizui’s mind, because the white robes of the juniors have gotten muchcloser now, JingYi’s questioning look clearly convicting him of eavesdropping,alongside with the others, craning their necks in a – fully inconspicuous –way.

Wei Ying feels a smile graze his face as he watchesthem quietly strain their ears, despite how obvious they are, how much he stillhas to teach them.

(Are they even trying to hide their curiosity at all?)

“Then it won’t matter if I find out here or in theJingshi,” he decides to come back to the question, answering it firmly, decisionmade.

(It’ll just worry Lan Zhan if they arrive and theeffects are not gone, he adds, for only his heart to hear.)

He gets up, brushing out his robes, stepping aroundthe table. Worrying Lan Zhan is one of the last things he ever wants to do.

Copying his movement, the juniors stand up from theirempty bowls and reserve a tired bow to the owner as they head up the stairs totheir bedrooms, quiet enough not to wake anyone else. Shizui and JingYi are thelast in line and they reluctantly look over at Wei Wuxian as he stands at theentrance of his own room, the dissatistified look on JingYi’s face so much morevisible than the slight crook of Shizui’s eyebrows, the corner of his lips.

JingYi opens his mouth, undoubtedly to argue Shizui’spoint again in a more, well, JingYiway, but Wei Ying is faster, interrupting him as soon as he takes in a slightlybigger breath.

“Go to bed. Worry about the report you’ll have towrite, if you want to think about something,” he tells them, with a smile thatis just a little bit too fond and after a moment of decision between arguingfurther and just letting it be for the night, they slowly step over thethreshold of their room, closing the door behind them, softly and slow. WeiYing lets himself collapse onto the single bed of his, a little too stiff underhis weight but clean and with thick covers and a pillow so soft it begs for himto stick his face in.

He really should take his own advice, he thinks as ayawn cracks through the bones of his jaw; his thoughts scattered across theheavy set of his mind. He thinks of Lan Zhan, of a symbol he might have torewrite on the talisman, of Lan Zhan’s chest rising and falling, the lullaby ofbeing there that he plays to Wei Yingevery night.

He doesn’t recall anything after that.

—

Wei Ying knows he’s stalling. He’s decided to stay inCaiyi Town for lunch, sending the juniors ahead and idling about the riverbank, picking all the deserted spots so as not to raise too much attention,twirling Chenqing and wondering just howhe’ll explain this to Lan Zhan so that his mouth and brows don’t curl into thatconcerned shape like they do whenever he does something detrimentally stupid,usually to himself.

He doesn’t get far beyond the edge of the town after hefinally starts up the journey up themountain when he spots him, the afternoon trailing across his robes, awakeningthe woven patterns as Lan WangJi walks towards him, regal and ethereal asalways; even more so with the sun gingerly touching his features between thetrees.

(The same sun feels suddenly way too warm on WeiYing’s own neck.)

“Lan Zhan!” He greets him, happily, despite theprevious moments of avoidance: something about this man just reassures him tothe deepest parts of his soul, calls him to be paid attention by.

Lan WangJi pauses, stands at the exact border of thecharm, tracing the unseen outlines with his eyes before he carefully extendshis fingers, the tips pressing against the ward.

“Wei Ying,” he answers, in a tone hard to describe:relief, concern, affection, each atthe tip of a different finger, a different note.

(Wei Ying’s heart is an instrument, lovingly played.)

“Don’t look so worried, Lan Zhan! My dearestHanGuangJun,” Wei Ying smiles and it’s never been so difficult to keep still,to keep away from that beautiful face in front of him, kissable and dear. “I’mperfectly fine, see? Aiya, the children must have been telling you all kinds ofgruesome stuff, haven’t they?” he twirls around just to show he can, thatthere’s nothing hurt or aching (besides his poor heart, trying to press itselfout of his ribcage, pulled towards Lan WangJi’s own).

Lan WangJi watches, a stern look slowly seeping intohis features, a sigh buried deep within his lungs. He’s not fooled and Wei Yingknows this, all too well.

“Shizui said no creature living or dead can get closeto you,” Lan WangJi answers and an aborted twitch of his arm belies the intentto hold, to try to defy the limits of whatever Wei Ying has created, despitethe impossibility of it all.

(It’s more painful than Wei Ying imagined it would be,if he’s honest with himself.)

(He’s not.)

He lets out a sigh, tracing the invention he’s stuckin through the air, each stroke a confident memory. “I must have strengthenedthe effect of the charm with a stroke too many somewhere. I already have a fewideas to try out,” he promises and while Lan WangJi still doesn’t look happy, probablythinking: how many have you tried already,unsuccessfully?, he nods anyway, aligns himself at Wei Ying’s side as closeas can be, always beside him, always a guardian of Wei Ying’s own.

“Let’s go back,” he says and the smile Wei Ying feelsblooming on his own face is positively hurting his cheeks. He grins, relieved. “Let’sgo home, Lan Zhan,” he agrees, pleased at the warm hue enveloping Lan WangJi’sears like little buds of flowers.

No touches needed for Lan Zhan’s ears to go warm, henotes, fondly amused.

(Thoroughly in love.)

—

Neither of them can sleep peacefully that night. LanWangJi forfeits his bed to sleep at the other side of the room, even when Wei Yinghimself protests profusely against it (to no avail).

If it’s the unfamiliar scenery of their empty bed orsimply being too far away from Lan WangJi himself he can’t tell, but not evenWei Ying’s usual bedtime can lull him to sleep. He misses the satisfied achesof a night well spent, of loving and being loved in Lan Zhan’s arms and feelingeach of his touches bitten into his skin; the only pain he’s currently feelingis the unpleasant twitch at his back as he slumps over the table, scribblingnonsense into his notes.

So maybe he hasmessed up. He’s studied every stroke’s direction and count on his blueprint,has corrected all the places he felt unsure about and yet, not one modificationhas worked one bit. He’s cast tens of reverse charms, trying to unweave the spellhe’s trapped himself in but nothing has changed: the space he’s isolated inhasn’t shrunk and not even one of the bunnies has been able to hop through tonibble at his robes (he’s been baiting them with carrots all evening so thatthey would actually get near enough to him, too).

Wei Ying doesn’t think he’s an impatient person. He’snot patient per se, either, but he’s able to withstand things. To persevere.He’s lived through enough to know that he’ll thrive in places others go to to becondemned and damned: he’ll root through the soil and he’ll rise like a lotusflower, crawling through to live, to resurface, to be plucked by Lan Zhan’skindness, by his heart.

Perhaps Wei Ying’s been spoiled. Spoiled by Lan Zhan’svery own hands and very own warmth: he simply doesn’t want to struggle anymore.He wants instead, yearns, he wantscomfort and softness and affection and he’s frustrated when it’s this close yetout of his reach altogether. It’s in the very room they share, in the robesthey store in the same place, in the kisses they wear on each other’s lips;they’re two strings bound together.

And now they’re like two parallel rivers, longing toget closer but held apart by earth itself, by soil and trees, the miles inbetween.

Wei Ying must have been worn down by Lan Zhan’s love,a stone sanded down to a grain, because he’s frustrated and unsettled, alonein a choice of his own making. But maybe it’s Lan Zhan’s fault too, just alittle bit, Wei Ying thinks, petulant. Just for all the ways he has indulgedWei Ying, spoiled him to pieces.

It’s completely unfair.

As if responding to his thoughts, Lan WangJi shiftsunder his blanket and his face turns towards Wei Ying’s, laid down on the table,the feeble cushion of own his arms. Lan WangJi’s still asleep and Wei Ying letsout a quiet huff, just to conquer the need to curse at his own stupid luck, thegrind of his frustration.

“Lan Zhan,” he whines, quietly, barely a sound underhis breath. “How unlucky is it of me to have you so near yet unable to touchyou at all? How miserable is this fate of ours, keeping us apart like this?Truly such rotten luck,” he complains, letting the childish words run theircourse, soothe the fear guarding the back of his throat.

He tiredly follows the slope of Lan WangJi’s nose withhis eyes, the bow of his mouth, the press of his chest, the dips and highs ofhis knuckles; falls asleep to the longing of a man dying at an empty well.

He wakes up confused and sleepy, thoughts still sunkenunder the syrupy pull of a dream, a blanket stolen from their bed slipping downhis shoulders as he raises his head and blinks: Lan WangJi is sits across fromhim, a cup of tea in hand.

“Lan Zhan, good morning,” Wei Ying, smiles, softly,but purses his lips upon noticing where he’s slept, confused. “Why am I sleepingon the table? And why are you sitting so far away and not right next to me?” heasks through a stretch and a yawn; what a strange morning it is. Usually Lan WangJinever lets him get away with falling asleep on the table or in the bathtub andalways carries him off, carries him right into their bed –

“Oh,” the memory falls on him like a bucket of water, cuttinghis stretch short. Lan WangJi simply pushes a steaming bowl across the table:the bowl inches closer over to where Wei Ying has pillowed his head on hisarms, but Lan WangJi’s own fingers cannot pass beyond the outer edge of hisnotes.

“Still here, huh,” Wei Ying comments and Lan WangJinods; pushes more insistently. It must be close to lunch time, the air insideof the Jingshi warm and fragrant, the afternoon outside inviting itself inwithin a soft breeze.

“Eat your breakfast,” Lan WangJi says, picking up hisown cup again, carefully adjusting his sleeve. Wei Ying accepts the hot bowl ofcongee, sipping at its contents and contemplates, grazing his lips across therim.

He vaguely feels fifteen again, waiting for Lan WangJito look his way, to pay attention to his whims.

“Lan Zhan. HanGuang-Jun. Did you throw this at me?” Hetouches the blanket after a moment between them stretches and laughs when LanWangJi nods, then looks at the papers strewn all over the table.

“Any progress?”

Wei Ying swallows another gulp of his congee and shakeshis head, supporting his chin with his palm. “There must be something I’m missing.Will you look at it as well for me?” He takes the papers and pushes them allthe way across and leans back, waits for Lan WangJi to accept them, follows hisface as he meticulously reads every line, studies every annotation and scribble.

His forehead ribbon is as immaculate as ever and WeiYing really wants to play with it, tug at the ends and mess up the linecrossing Lan WangJi’s forehead, hold it until all of its length is as warm asthe parts warmed by Lan WangJi’s skin.

It reminds him of the time he had a paper body,blowing Lan WangJi a kiss and crooking his ribbon, annoying Lan WangJi’s patience,when all of this between them was still unsure and hidden away.

“Lan Zhan, remember when I – wait,” Wei Ying stops, straighteningup, and Lan WangJi’s eyes flicker towards him, caught by the movement, sudden,a spring unleashed. “All this time, I’ve been trying to dispel the ward fromthe inside. But maybe it can only be reversed from the outside.” He taps his chin with a finger, already biting into histhumb. “I mean, this kind of thing doesn’t usually happen and therefore doesn’tneed to be specified, but I didspecify the outside protection so maybe I’ve only made it reversible from theoutside, as well.”

Lan WangJi opens his palm and waits for the freshlymade talisman to flutter his way, catching it smoothly between his fingers. “I’llcast it,” he nods.

“Mn, yeah. Thank you, Lan Zhan.” Wei Ying smiles andthe hope swells in him like a tidal wave, like the breath you take in afterbeing submerged for minutes on end. The sound he lets out when the paper burnsout and Lan WangJi is still unable to touch him is almost pained, like all theweight of the failure dragged his heart down to his feet.

He lets out a frustrated growl instead and his headthuds against the table, nearly knocking his finished bowl of congee over.

Lan WangJi sighs too, quietly, almost like he forgotto breathe for a moment as well and just remembered, willed his lungs to let go.

“Are there more?”

Wei Ying looks up. “More reverse spells?”

“Mn.”

“I’ve written down a few.”

“I will try them as well.” Lan WangJi gathers up WeiYing’s notes again, copies down all of the talismans, no matter how minisculethe correction and uses them one by one, always pausing to test if it worked,relentlessly, without a second of complaint or anger, without losing hope.

How he’s so composed, so seemingly calm ruffles WeiYing’s feathers – he wants to ruffle Lan Zhan’s instead, but not like this, not in ways that hurt underneath: hewants to watch him flick all of them back into its place, not render him unableto fly.

Yet there’s this undeniable, irrational annoyance whenthe last talisman is gone and instead of offering alternatives, Lan WangJi proposesWei Ying should take a bath, Wei Ying’s inner robes the ones that he’s arrivedin yesterday, his hair tangled up around his ribbon in stubborn knots.

“A bath won’t solve anything,” he protests but LanWangJi’s already gotten up, leaving to fetch their bathtub and hot water,silently preparing it like he always does, like nothing’s different, payinglittle attention to Wei Ying’s protests beyond a glance.

Wei Ying keep sitting down at the table, as aprinciple, because there are more pressing matters than a dirty robe, like whyhe’s still not figured this out and why his notes aren’t clear to his own mind, why Lan Zhan’s fine with all of this, why is he notvisibly upset, why isn’t he angry with him for causing this mess.

Why, instead, he stands as close (far, far) as he can, beckoning him into the water.“Wei Ying,” he says and just stands there and watches him like Wei Ying’s the unreasonable one, theneedlessly annoyed child.

“Fine,” WeiYing huffs, giving in after a two minute stare down, jerkily taking off hisclothes right there at the table, notstomping across the room naked, plopping into the water with an unnecessarysplash.

The water presses into all of his tensed up musclesand it does clear his head as hedunks it under, refreshes parts of him he didn’t realize were this tired as hescrubs the remnants of travel and uncomfortable sleep off, decidedly notlooking Lan WangJi’s way.

He’s slowly getting unwound by the soft suds slippingoff his shoulder, the weight of his body that just always lifts when he’s inthe water, when he’s brought back to being small and never cold anymore: he canalmost feel Shijie’s careful fingers combing through his hair.

(He can almost feel Lan Zhan’s, even gentler,somehow.)

Wei Ying sighs.

He’s not sulking and he’s not feeling guilty for being petulant, for making things harder forthe one person who’s chosen every hardship just to be by his side, just toprotect what he’s already lost once before.

When he looks up, embarrassed at his own meltdown, LanWangJi is at his work table, two stacks of papers neatly pressed against eachother, one pile decidedly bigger than the second and Wei Ying’s hit with hownormal, how routine this feels: Lan Zhan grading reports as Wei Ying bathes,Wei Ying reaching over and helping when his cheeks are already pink and hisskin all scrubbed, commenting on the wonky calligraphy of one student, praisingthe neatness and detailed work of another’s next.

It’s still a long way until evening but Wei Yingshifts in the tub until he’s at the other side, wet fingers tapping at the edgeof the desk. “Let me help, Lan Zhan,” he offers, drying his hands and eventhough there’s the everlasting unnatural gap between them, it calms his heart,this quiet time of togetherness, this little piece of normalcy.

His irritation dissipates fully, sinking to the bottomof the bathwater, forsaken and ashamed.

—

Lan WangJi collects Wei Ying’s discarded clothes to bewashed, pausing at the threshold, holding the inner robe close, enclosed withinhis arms, wrinkled and worn. He lifts the cloth to his lips, inhales shakilyagainst the tightness of his pulse, the emotions knotting up his heart.

He stalls, allows himself this minute of longing, thisminute outburst of missing a person who’s standing right in front of you, sofamiliar yet strange, unreachable.

(He makes sure that Wei Ying doesn’t – that no one –sees.)

—

Another two nights pass and Wei Ying decides to stophiding in the Jingshi and doesn’t cancelhis late afternoon class like they’ve planned: he’s bored out of his mind.

(And he’s not getting any new ideas either, anyway.)

Lan WangJiwanted for them to head to the Library Pavilion right after breakfast buttruthfully, Wei Ying is going stir crazy, stuck at the table and riflingthrough notes close to two days in a row now. He needs some movement and aslovely as watching Lan WangJi is, he needs a change of scenery, too – and eventhough it’s not night, he can still teach the juniors a thing or two,especially when the sun beckons so sweetly and the news of a lone ghoul findingits way into a pond halfway to Caiyi Town has reached Gusu just days before.

(It reminds him of Yunmeng summer days, sticky and hot,with a bundle of juniors at his heels and Jiang Cheng scowling right next tohis side.)

It barely stings anymore, memories like this, so helets them pass, focuses on the uniform footsteps that follow in his wake.

“Who can tell me where we’re headed?”he turns aroundas he asks, pausing when the juniors seem to be hesitating on the cuff of the crossroad,not one disciple trying to answer his question or meeting his eyes.

He frowns. “What’s wrong with you all? Did someonespill chili powder into your breakfast?” he asks again, teasing, but his eyesnarrow when even A-Yuan shifts nervously. “Come on, spit it out. What’s thematter?” He tries for a gentler tone and unsurprisingly, it’s JingYi that stepsforward, a stubborn air to his stride.

“Why wasn’t HanGuang-Jun seeing us off today?” heaccuses, quickly, and some of the juniors nod their head along.

Wei Ying gapes.

“Huh?”

“HanGuang-Jun wasn’t –”

“I heard you, I heard you!” he interrupts, indisbelief.

No one makes a single move for what feels like anhour, no one starts laughing telling him he’s fallen for this elaborate prank,this gaggle of teens frowning upon him for not letting his husband see him off.

Okay. What’s trulygoing on?

“HanGuang-Jun hasbetter things to do than standing around watching people leave,” Wei Yingcounters, arms crossed in front of his chest. He’s never been faced with thejuniors’ disapproval like this and he’s as taken aback as he’s slightlyannoyed.

(Isn’t there a rule that says not to question yourelders about their love life or something?)

“But he always sees us off when we leave with SeniorWei,” a disciple interjects, quietly piping up from among the crowd. Thedisciples around him nod, gravely, as if they’re judges of a severe crime,ready to profess him guilty as charged.

(Wei Ying feels like he’s living through a rathersurreal dream.)

“Senior Wei, did you tell HanGuang-Jun we were leavingCloud Recesses?” Shizui asks then, kindly, with the smallest hint of hesitationthat tells Wei Ying he’s worried about something, troubled by the possibleanswer Wei Ying will give.

It softens Wei Ying’s temper, just a little bit.

“Aren’t you guys being a little too much? HanGuang-Junknows perfectly well I am teaching a class.” He doesn’t quite know Wei Ying has left Gusu, per se, true, but they’re goingbarely halfway to Caiyi Town. It doesn’t even count as a field trip.

“HanGuang-Jun always tells Senior Wei goodbye, nomatter how far we go!”

“That’s right!”

“Yeah!”

The disciples chime in and for once, Wei Ying almostregrets how openly him and Lan Zhan operate. Now even the kids think they areprivy to the details of their relationship, is it?

“We believe you didn’t tell him we were leaving CloudRecesses at all! Because the ward is still there and HanGuang-Jun wouldn’t behappy with you leaving in such a condition!” JingYi finishes for everyone andWei Ying has a moment of thorough disbelief at how transparent both his and LanZhan’s motives seem to be.

(And here he used to believe his husband was an enigmato anyone but Zewu-Jun.)

“You kids –”

“HanGuang-Jun has been really worried for Senior Wei!”

“Maybe we should head back?”

“Yeah!”

Wei Ying subtly pinches himself, making sure he trulyis not, in fact, stuck in a fever dream.

“Am I still with the obedient, quiet, good Landisciples? Or have they all been possessed?”He shakes his head, uncrossing hisarms to put them on his hips, authoritatively (he hopes).

“Now, everybody, listen up. Of course I told everyonewho needed to know where we are going. While I am objectively the safest I canbe in this state, it is you juniors we are worried about. So of course there’ssomeone who knows where we are. And I have signal flares with me in case we runinto more trouble than we can handle.” Not that it’s likely, if there truly isonly one or a couple of water ghouls – they should be perfectly capable oftaking care of a situation like that, even withouta supervising elder.

There’s a hum that sweeps through the crowd at that and with distinct relief upon nofurther protests being received, Wei Ying deems the problem settled, returningto his first, original question, repeating it just a tad louder to overpowerthe remaining echoes of suspicion and his own rattling surprise:

“Now, does really noone know where we’re headed?”

—

Naturally, Wei Ying cannot keep the children’soutburst to himself.

He’s sprawled on the ground with a cup full of wine andwith his stomach all warmed up by dinner, just spicy enough to redden hischeeks a little, just red enough to quicken his pulse (or is that all Lan Zhan,watching him so intently?)

So, naturally,Wei Ying complains, shaking his head after taking a generous, alcoholic sip. “Canyou believe the children accused me of not telling you I was leaving with themtoday? They were saying I didn’t let you tell me goodbye!”

“You didn’t,” Lan WangJi retorts, not disapprovingly,but his lips might be just a littlebit tighter, pursed the tiniest amount.

(Wei Ying wishes he could kiss them, kiss all of itoff.

Alas -)

“I told your Uncle,” he defends himself, belatedly andLan WangJi pauses as he refills his own cup of tea, herbal and scented aftermedicine, the fragrance bittersweet.

Wei Ying quickly raises his own cup, chasing the heavyscent from his throat. “And we didn’t go far! Not even as far as Caiyi Town,”he adds.

Lan WangJi takes his time with his answer, but after amoment he sighs, voice soft. “I still wish to tell you goodbye, no matter whereyou go or how long you will be gone for.” He’s talking carefully, as if he’steaching this, as if he’s intent on not being misunderstood.

It’s endearing as hell.

“That’s what the juniors said too,” Wei Ying responds,grumbling, despite the pounding of his heart.

How can any man resist a confession this sincere?

“And, well – I’m back now. Will you tell me welcomeback?” He grins. He means it as a tease, a way to change the subject of beingguilty of exactly of what he wasaccused of: but Lan Zhan’s just too good of a person, too good of a man to notdo it anyway.

“Mn. Welcome back, Wei Ying.”

God. Wei Ying’s insides hurt with how much he wants to touch him, devour him on the spot.He hurts with how much he just wants and wantsand how every time he’s being kept apart, it’s by his own doing, his ownfaults, his own actions, keeping him stranded in empty fields, in places thateat him alive.

“Lan Zhan! Iwas clearly teasing you!” he yelps and hides his flushed face behind the cup ofwine he’s emptied two times over by now; peeks over the edge.

Lan Zhan’s never letting him go.

“Mn. But greetings are polite. Wei Ying should saygoodbye properly next time, as well,” Lan WangJi says, tucking in what’s trulybothered him in such an efficient way Wei Ying just can’t help but feeladmonished and endeared – again – at the same time.

“Your notes say so, as well,” Lan WangJi adds and it’sa strange enough remark to tilt the world right into its axis again, away fromLan WangJi and words that Wei Ying can’t possibly fit all in, can’t keep all ofthem without an overflow.

(Lan WangJi is always so helpful, he truly is.)

“My notes?” Wei Ying shuffles through the – lessmessy now that Lan WangJi’s organized them – papers on the table, trying tofind what Lan WangJi means. Has he mentioned anything like that on them?

“Mn. Here. ‘Don’t forget to say goodbye.’” Lan WangJi’sfinger points to a corner of Wei Ying’s final page, underneath the finishedlayout of the ward.

Wei Ying’s heart stutters.

“… Lan… Zhan. Lan Zhan! ”He laughs, and stumbles,hastily getting up with a sudden buoyancy of hope, of a memory gasping for air.

“Of course it’s this simple!” He laughs again and his reliefcould span the universe, it’s so vast and deep. He claps and perfectlypronouncing, says: “Goodbye.” and even though he doesn’t feel any difference, inhis gut he knows: it worked. He knows because he’s remembered, he’s finally remembered and he curses his badmemory, curses working late into the night, half delirious and halfway todrunk, because it has finally bit him in the ass.

God, he really should listen to Lan Zhan more.

With a leap that might have sent all his notes flying,Wei Ying jumps into Lan WangJi’s arms, somehow already open and prepared tocatch him as he crashes into Lan WangJi’s lap heavily, kissing every inch ofLan WangJi’s cheeks and nose and temples, pecking his lips and holding onto him,desperately, holding onto the one anchor he has in this world.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry,” he repeats after eachkiss, chanting the words into Lan WangJi’s skin and he knows, he knows there’s no I’m sorry’s and no thank you’s between them but he’s finewith breaking the rules; he’s kissing a thankyou right into Lan Zhan’s mouth.

Lan WangJi’s fingers tremble minutely against hisback, his heart is loud under Wei Ying’s palm and Wei Ying loves him too muchto just not kiss him some more, to press himself into every little space leftbetween them, no matter how small.

Of course he’duse something so simple to break the ward. Something anyone can do. It is a talisman meant for ordinary people in thefirst place, not for cultivators: the person can best decide themself whenthey’re safe. When they do, the talisman vanishes, without any other wards,without any spiritual energy necessary. Ofcourse he’d pick something he has felt so smart about only to forget aboutit right after.

Of course.

Lan WangJi’s palm slips under his outer robe, his lipsmessing all of Wei Ying’s thoughts up – they fall apart when Lan WangJi’sfingers cross his skin and push his hips forward, keeping Wei Ying incredibly –impossibly – close.

There’s a laughhe presses into Lan WangJi’s cheek, right next to his temple, there’s anotherone trapped in the crook of Lan WangJi’s neck, airy and soft.

I have missedyou, Lan WangJi says, in a crushingly gentle hold,bruising but tender; in a kiss tracing Wei Ying’s hair, his neck, the curl ofhis shoulder.

Wei Ying’s eyes sting.

He thinks he might never let Lan Zhan go.

(He thinks Lan Zhan wouldn’t mind it either, at all.)

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan.”His fingers cup Lan WangJi’s face and he can’t help himself but push againstLan WangJi’s cheeks, pressing his fingers against Lan WangJi’s perfectlyimpeccable features. “Tell me, Lan Zhan: would you have stayed even if I’venever remembered how to get rid of this? Would you have gotten sick of mehaving our bed all to myself? Would you have finally gotten angry at me forruining something good? Would you have told me to leave?Would you have saidgoodbye and found someone else to –”

“Wei Ying,” Lan WangJi interrupts him; face still alittle smushed, held fully between Wei Ying’s palms, a frown hidden deep in hisvoice. “Stop talking nonsense,” he tells him, seriously, sincere.

There are tears falling off the precipice of WeiYing’s jaw, dropping onto his arms like heated wax, a melting sob curling up inhis throat. Lan WangJi stays still under his fingertips but his thumb brushes atear away from Wei Ying’s cheek, rests underneath, waits for more sadness todispel.

“I want you, wherever you are,” he says, simply and WeiYing doesn’t know why he was crying in the first place, why he continues tofeel tears slip past his cheeks but soon after, Lan WangJi’s mouth replaces histhumb, replaces the air on Wei Ying’s own lips and they don’t quite tumble intobed: they don’t really make it that far.

For once, Wei Ying doesn’t complain about it, at all.

#Anonymous #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #mdzs #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #posting fic after half a year #wei ying has big dad energy #same as Lan WangJi #more tags on AO3 #long post

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mikauzoran · 4 years

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Marichat: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: Kiss Fifteen

Read it on AO3: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: ...passionately.

Marinette gasped. “You brought me a whole bolt of silk taffeta! Minou, you shouldn’t have! This is too expensive,” she insisted, even as she eagerly ran her fingers over the pastel pink fabric, envisaging the ballgown she would make with it.

Chat Noir shrugged, drinking in the sight of his breathlessly happy girlfriend. “What’s the use of being rich if I can’t supply the love of my life with high-end fabric?”

She looked up from the taffeta and frowned. “This feels like a bribe. What did you do that you’re trying to get me to forgive you for?”

Chat winced at how perceptive she was. Just like Ladybug. He definitely had a type.

“Nothing,” he lied. “It’s more that I was trying to butter you up.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him, propping the bolt of fabric against her desk by the sewing machine before coming over to sit on the chaise longue beside him. “I’m listening.”

He inhaled slowly. “So…we know each other.”

She blinked. “Um…yeah? Going on four years now.”

He shook his head, taking her hand in his. “Princess…I mean that…we know each other…when I’m not transformed.”

Her eyes flew wide, and she pulled back, opening her mouth to protest.

His fingertips went to her lips. “Shhh. It’s okay. I’m not giving away my identity without your permission—promise—I just… We know each other, Marinette, and it’s really hard for me when we see each other and you don’t know who I am.”

Her instinct was to look away, change the subject, not deal with the problem, hope that it would go away because she couldn’t handle even one more thing on top of the stack she was already precariously balancing, feeling like she would trip and drop it all at any second.

She didn’t look away, though. She forced herself to meet his gaze and see the hurt and longing in his eyes.

“It’s really hard not being able to be your boyfriend half the time,” he explained. “I’m not saying this to pressure you or try to guilt you into letting me reveal my identity. I’m just trying to be honest with you about my feelings. A friend told me that healthy couples are honest with one another, so…I’m trying to be as honest as I can, Marinette.”

She did avert her eyes then, studying the whorls in the floorboards.

A sharp dagger of guilt ripped through her insides as she thought of all the ways she wasn’t being honest with him. Ladybug and Adrien were only the tip of the iceberg.

“May I please tell you who I am?” he pleaded gently. “I just want us to be able to be together. I want to be your boyfriend on both sides of the mask.”

To her credit, she did think about it.

She thought about it for all of five seconds before her head was filled to bursting with nightmare scenarios of Papillon coming after her parents, Chat Noir dead, her identity exposed, all of Paris underwater, the world in ruins, and Tikki telling her “I told you so”.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Chat Noir. I want us to be together all the time too, but…it’s too dangerous with Papillon still at large. Your life, my life, the lives of our families and friends, the lives of all the inhabitants of Paris could depend on your identity staying safe. It would be irresponsible and selfish for us to disregard that kind of risk.”

“You sound like Ladybug,” Chat sighed, carding a hand through his hair in frustration. “Yes, there’s a slim chance that things could go sideways, but I can’t imagine it ever getting as bad as all that.”

She looked at him and tried not to see flashbacks of him in pure white. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t have to imagine the worst because she had already seen it in another future where something had gone wrong…. Only, she didn’t know what, so she didn’t know what to guard against. Wasn’t it better, then, to guard against everything?

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, feeling lost, not knowing what was right, just feeling the weight of her decision, how it could impact so many people. “Someday, Minou, but not today. I’m not ready.”

He blew out a long exhale, giving his hair a slight pull as he mentally growled at himself to be patient.

She hadn’t said no…just not yet. That was progress, wasn’t it?

He had to respect her feelings, her choice.

…But he didn’t think he could go on as they were much longer. More importantly, he didn’t think that she could go on.

He dropped his hands to the side and sighed. “Okay.”

“Okay?” she repeated, blinking at him in surprise.

He nodded, turning to give her a soft smile. He placed his hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze. “I love you. I would never pressure you on something big like this. If you’re not ready, I’ll deal until you are.”

“…I don’t deserve you,” she chuckled as tears slowly began to drip down her cheeks.

He rolled his eyes. “Princess, we one hundred percent deserve one another. Trust me.”

He wiped carefully at her face with his thumb, mindful of his claws, and then leaned in for a quick smooch.

“Let’s go snuggle,” he suggested as he pulled back, tipping his head towards her loft.

She nodded her assent, and they made for her bed, slipping off shoes and gloves and hair ties respectively along the way.

Snuggling became kissing, but before kissing could turn to making out, Chat disengaged, propping himself up on his elbow to gaze down at her, running a knuckle up and down her jaw.

“Why’d you stop?” she whined, eyes half-lidded.

“I finally got up the courage to say something I’ve been trying to tell you for a couple days now,” he admitted, lips wavering between a sheepish smile and a grimace.

Marinette’s eyebrows converged into a deep v of concern. “What is it, Chat Noir?”

He bit his lip, hesitating yet again. “Don’t freak out.”

“Too late,” she snorted dryly, her anxiety suddenly shooting through the skylight. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Everything is fine. There’s nothing to get worked up about, so don’t freak out.”

She pushed herself up to sitting, his words having no comforting effect. “Chat Noir, please just tell me.”

He sat up and took her hands in his. “I love you.”

“Chat,” she whined, voice tight and strained.

“Adrien told me,” he blurted out.

She stared at him, trying to derive meaning from his words.

Individually, they made sense, but she couldn’t make heads or tails of them when assembled in that configuration.

“I’m sorry,” he quickly spit out, words flowing from his lips too fast for Marinette to follow. “He only said something because he was worried about you. He’s afraid the guilt is making you physically ill, and he doesn’t want to be the reason you get akumatized, Marinette. He knows you were afraid about how I would react, but he couldn’t stay quiet anymore, so…he told me.”

“Oh.” Marinette tipped over, covering her face with her hands as she lay back down. “What…exactly…did he tell you?”

“That you two have been making out the past few months,” he clarified, wincing.

“Oh,” she whispered, the word a broken, wet sound as her tears began to fall in tandem with everything Chat Noir had ever been to her—partner, friend, soulmate—crashing down around her ears.

It was over.

She’d lost him.

One of the few people who had truly mattered in her life, and she’d messed it all up with her greed and indecision.

It felt like a chunk of her lung had broken off, leaving a sizeable hole.

She couldn’t breathe.

“Marinette, it’s okay,” he stressed, hands stroking her hair and hands and face frantically. “It’s okay. He told me everything. I know this is Adrien’s fault, not yours, so there’s no need to be upset. It’s okay.”

Marinette’s tears instantly dried, and she lowered her hands from her face to frown up at him in confused annoyance. “Chat Noir, it’s not like Adrien tied me up and forced me to kiss him. I don’t know what he said, but I betrayed you, plain and simple. Yes, in the beginning, it was a series of accidents with Adrien kissing me, but…that was just the first month or so. Yeah, I tried to stop, but…sometimes I didn’t try very hard. I chose to cheat on you…and I’m sorry.”

She forced herself to keep meeting his eyes even though all she wanted to do was shrivel up in shame and guilt. “I know those words are probably less than meaningless, but I am sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. That and not wanting to lose you were the main reasons I never said anything.”

She shook her head sadly. “Sorry I screwed up. You deserve better, and I would apologize a million times if I thought saying sorry would mean anything at this point, but I feel like it would just be a bunch of empty words after what I did. It’s not like I can ever make it better, make it up to you.”

“Marinette,” he sighed. “Oh, Marinette. Stop. Look. It’s fine. I’m not mad.”

She blinked up at him for a moment before her surprise gave way to indignation and she pushed herself back up to sitting. “What? Chat Noir, nothing about this is fine. You should be livid. I cheated on you.”

He shook his head, reaching out to capture her hands again.

She pulled them away.

“Marinette,” he groaned. “Seriously. It’s okay. I know this isn’t some random fling, and I know you wouldn’t cheat on me with just anyone. You told me from the very beginning that you had feelings for him. The day we started dating you told me that you’d almost let him kiss you just hours before. You could have so easily been his girlfriend instead of mine, so I understand the temptation when he’s throwing himself at you. A few years ago when I was trying to get over Ladybug, if she had started accidentally kissing me while I was dating my one friend, I don’t know that I would have been able to resist either, so I can kind of understand your dilemma. Can we please just blame Adrien for this and move on?”

Deep trenches plowed their way across Marinette’s brow as she tried to understand what was happening.

“You’re not mad,” she observed in confusion. “Why aren’t you mad?”

“Because I love you and want you to be happy,” Chat responded quickly in a minimal effort to keep his identity secret since she was so opposed to knowing.

“No.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not jealous at all.”

A twinge of hurt filtered into her expression.

“You don’t care that I cheated on you,” she deciphered.

“Marinette, of course I care,” he protested weakly, not entirely sure that he cared if this was how she figured him out. “I just don’t…” He bit his tongue. “I’m not angry.”

A troubled look settled upon her features. “But…don’t you love me? This doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’m not mad because I cheated on you too,” he blurted out before she could start to think that he didn’t really love her.

Marinette’s eyes went wide before a wounded expression took over, making her shrink slightly as her shoulders rose and she curled in on herself.

“I kissed Adrien too!” he hurriedly invented, falling back on the one person whom he had free reign to throw under the bus.

Marinette’s rapidly changing emotions instantly went back to bafflement as she gawked at her boyfriend. “You…what?”

“I kissed Adrien,” he asserted, deciding that that was his hill to die on now. “A couple times. He told you that we’re friends, right? That I visit him sometimes?”

She nodded, trying to piece things together so that they made sense. She wasn’t having much success getting the edges to line up.

“Well, I mean, he’s very attractive,” he tried to explain, fearing he was doing a poor job and making himself out to be fickle, “and I feel an emotional connection with him because we’re so similar,” he hastily added.

That was better.

“He gets things that other people don’t really understand, so I can talk to him about anything, and we’re both kind of going through a sexuality crisis, so…” He shrugged helplessly. “It just felt natural to experiment together.”

“O-Oh,” she choked, a red stain spreading over her cheeks not just from her earlier bout of tears.

“I think I’m bi,” his mouth confessed even as his brain panicked, screaming at him that there was too much truth coming out in this lie. “I’m kind of freaking out about it, honestly, because my father’s either going to not care or disown me. The first option hurts, and the second one is terrifying, and I didn’t tell you because, even though I know you have queer friends, I wasn’t so sure you’d want to keep dating a guy who likes other guys, and I am devastatingly in love with you, Marinette,” he laughed mirthlessly, choking as a hardy stream of tears broke free and rushed forth down his cheeks. “I don’t want to lose you, and I’m just so scared of being rejected. I know she didn’t mean to, but the whole thing with Ladybug really messed me up, and I was messed up to start with because of my parents, so—”

She didn’t hesitate any longer, pulling him into her arms and squeezing tight.

“Shhh,” she cut him off gently. “Shhh, Minou. It’s okay.”

She eased him down onto the bed with her, petting his hair, nuzzling his face, and making soothing shushing noises. “It’s okay, My Love. I would never push you away for being who you are. I love all of you. This doesn’t change anything.”

“It doesn’t?” he replied hoarsely.

She shook her head, nuzzling his temple as she did so. “No, Beloved. Nothing is ever going to make me stop loving you. You don’t have to be afraid to tell me something like that ever again. I will never reject you.”

“Oh,” he sniffled, feeling calmer as he listened to the steady thrum of her heartbeat and soaked up the warmth of her skin. “Then, I’m glad that I just blurted that out like that because I’ve kind of been struggling with this for…” He tried to think back and remember when he’d first started to notice that he was noticing other guys, but his memory came up blank. There was the almost-kiss with Luka at Christmas, but that was just when it had all come to a head. It had started even before that. “…it’s been a while,” he concluded with a sigh.

“Oh, Minou,” she whispered, a sick feeling rising up in her gut. “I wish I’d known. I wish I could have done something for you. It hurts to know that you were suffering on your own like that and didn’t feel like you could say anything.”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled meekly, cat ears drooping as if he’d been chastised. “I mean, I should have known that I could tell you, but I was afraid that—”

“—Chat Noir, no,” she interrupted, cupping his face in her hands. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. I understand. I just hope that you know now for next time that you can tell me anything and it won’t change how I feel about you.”

“Thanks,” he sniffled, a watery smile slowly forming on his lips. “I’m sorry. I just…I’m not used to the idea of not having to be afraid that someone’s going to stop loving me. I mean, I know you’re supposed to be able to count on your parents always loving you, but…that’s not true in my case, so if not even my parents love me, I don’t know how I’m supposed to trust that anyone else will.”

“And I’m not doing a good job of proving it to you either,” she sighed, the bottom dropping out of her stomach. “I’m sorry for failing you, Chat Noir.”

“You didn’t fail me, Marinette,” he protested wearily, nuzzling her collarbone. “You’re doing your best, and your best is pretty good. I mean, you and Ladybug are probably the two people who have been the most unwavering in your love for me, even when I was being an intolerable brat, so…you haven’t failed me, Princess.”

“Still,” she whispered. “I can do better. I promise I’m going to do better,” she swore resolutely. “I’ll make you believe you’re lovable.”

“Yeah?” he chuckled, blinking away tears. “That’s kind of a tall order. It’s going to take a lot of work.”

“I’ll manage,” she assured, closing the distance between them.

He was more than happy to sink into her kiss and lose himself in her lips.

It started out languid but quickly escalated as they both put all of their stress, fear, frustration, and the intensity of their feelings for one another into the kiss. One kiss became two, and two turned to a dozen until they both lost count, kissing each other breathless as the minutes blurred together.

Chat finally pulled back, and Marinette gave a lusty moan of protestation.

“Oh, were you enjoying yourself?” he chuckled as he propped himself up on his forearms, obviously proud of the effect he had on her.

She gave his arm a light smack. “You’re lucky that smug grin of yours is sexy. …I’m still thinking about kissing it clean off your face, though.”

“Maybe in a bit,” he laughed, dropping his head to nuzzle her shoulder. “I think I need to catch my breath first.”

Marinette took a deep inhale, trying not to squirm as she attempted to calm her raging hormones. A bit of a needy whimper escaped as she breathed out.

He raised an eyebrow in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Her entire face flushed as she gave him a plaintive look, willing him to understand without her having to say anything.

He continued to stare at her obliviously. “Marinette? Are you okay?”

“How are you not as worked up as I am right now?” she groaned bluntly.

His eyes grew to the size of spools of thread. “O-Oh,” he replied dumbly, internally panicking. “I…I’m sorry. I…”

His mind was racing. He didn’t know what to say, how to justify his lack of a physical response to her.

Marinette pursed her lips, trying not to grimace. “Are you…asexual too?”

How believable was it for Adrien and Chat Noir to both be biromantic asexual, he wondered.

“Minou,” she called gently, reaching out to stroke his cheek. “If you are, you can tell me. Or, if it’s something else, you can tell me that too. Whatever it is, it’s fine. It’s not going to make me love you any less, okay?”

He took a shuddering breath and blew it out. “Okay,” he whispered.

“Are you asexual?” she tentatively asked again.

He gulped and nodded.

She patted his cheek and gave him a bolstering smile. “Okay. Thank you for telling me.”

“Marinette, I know that sex is something you want in a relationship,” he rushed to assure her. “I know it’s a big deal, and I know it’s kind of a deal breaker, so I just want you to know that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy,” he stressed, desperate for her to know so that she wouldn’t dump him. “I promise I’ll find a way to make things work.”

“Chat Noir,” she breathed, a darker note of concern in her voice.

Her brow scrunched into a frown.

He tensed.

“I would never make you do something you didn’t want to do,” she explained slowly and solemnly, making sure that he understood. “And this isn’t something you have to figure out on your own. This is something we figure out together as a couple. We’re partners, Chat Noir. We’re in this together.”

He laid his head down on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight in gratitude. “Thank you,” he choked, trying not to let the tears of relief fall.

She nuzzled and pet his hair, shushing him gently. “You’re welcome, Beloved, but there’s no thanks necessary.”

He melted into her embrace, purring softly as she ran her fingers through his hair. He lay there for nearly a minute, soaking up her affection before a thought popped into his head, and he hastily pushed himself up to look at her.

She jumped, startled by his sudden movement.

“Sorry,” he rushed to explain. “It just occurred to me that you might still be…” A scarlet blush leaked out from under his mask. “…uh…uncomfortable. Sorry. It’s not like with guys where there’s a fairly clear physical indicator, so…” His cheeks turned redder. “What do you need?”

After setting aside how mortified she felt, Marinette decided that she was touched that he cared and had thought to ask.

She was still a little riled up, and the prospect of them doing something about that… She was completely in favour. But she could tell he wasn’t comfortable. He wasn’t ready.

“Sorry,” he added before she could reply, averting his eyes as his blush spread down his neck and disappeared under the collar of his suit. “I have literally zero experience with this. I don’t know how this works for girls. I mean, I’ve seen anatomy drawings before, but—”

“—You don’t have to apologize,” she assured, scratching behind his ear. “It’s okay. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Thank you for asking. That means a lot to me. I just…need to calm down,” she explained.

“Oh,” he sighed in relief, giving her a nervous smile. “Good.”

There was a beat, and then she gave into her curiosity and asked, “Your parents didn’t ever have ‘the talk’ with you, did they?”

He groaned, looking away as he replied in a resentful mutter, “When I was twelve, they pretty much just threw a book at me, and when I tried to ask questions, Maman told me to talk to my father, but Father was busy, so he kind of gave me the brush off, so…” He shook his head, looking miserable. “I kind of got the impression that sex was gross but you had to do it if you wanted to have children, so people went along with it. But then at school when everyone talked about it, it was clear that it was something they wanted and looked forward to and weren’t weirded out by, so…”

He rested his head on the pillow, his face against her arm, and she could feel his tears.

“I mean…I’ve always been different from other people my age thanks to my upbringing. This was just one more thing about me that was…b-broken.” His voice cracked, and the tears of humiliation and regret began to fall faster.

She wrapped her arms around him again, pulling him back in and just holding him.

“I just kept my mouth shut unless someone asked me why I wasn’t sleeping with anyone. I’ve used pretty much every excuse. I’ve said I was religious, I wanted to wait for marriage so it’d be special, that I’d been touched inappropriately by fans trying to rip my clothes off so I was traumatized, I hadn’t found the right person yet, I had found the right person but she wanted to wait, fears about getting someone pregnant, concern about scandal…I said whatever I had to say to make it socially acceptable for me to still be a virgin. Some people still gave me trouble and called me a prude, but…”

“…When did you find out about being asexual?” she inquired gently.

“About a year ago, I guess?” he mumbled against her skin. “You know Luka Couffaine?”

Marinette blinked in surprise. “Yeah?”

“We’re friends,” Chat explained. “We’ve grown closer over the past two years. You know how some people are, like, the ‘mom-friend’ of the group?”

She nodded.

“Luka’s totally a mom-friend,” he chuckled. “I don’t have people I can talk to at home, but I can talk to Luka. He’s kind of adopted me, so… So, I was telling Luka about something a coworker said about me being a virgin that bothered me, and Luka told me about asexual people…and it just clicked. Things made sense.”

Marinette gave him a squeeze. “I’m really glad you had Luka there for you and were able to figure things out.”

“Me too,” Chat hummed, tears drying. “…Thanks for listening to me talk.”

“Thank you for talking to me,” she countered. “Seriously, Minou. Even though I can’t know your identity, I still want to know everything I can about you. I want to know all the important things, so…please tell me. …If you feel comfortable, that is.”

Slowly, he began to nod. “Okay. I…I’m glad you want to know, that you’re interested in my life.”

“I’m definitely interested,” she laughed, and he chuckled along until they fell into a comfortable silence.

It was a while before Chat Noir spoke again. “…Hey. We’re okay, aren’t we? Things are all right between us?”

He lifted his head to study her face intently.

“Of course,” she hastened to assure, surprised that he’d had any doubt. “I love you, Chat Noir. I’m not upset about the Adrien thing, and it didn’t sound like you were mad at me either, so…I think we’re all right. Do you?”

“Yeah,” he sighed happily. “It’s like a weight off my back finally talking to you about the Adrien thing.”

She bit her lip and reluctantly asked, “So…what exactly are we going to do about the Adrien thing?”

Chat Noir shrugged. “Nothing?”

She blinked, repeating, “‘Nothing’?”

“I’m okay if you keep seeing him,” he clarified. “I know you really do have feelings for him, and I know that he’s crazy in love with you, so…”

Marinette stared at her boyfriend, waiting for his words to suddenly make sense. “You’re okay if I keep cheating on you?”

“It’s not cheating if I say it’s okay,” he rebutted. “Anyone else is off limits, but Adrien is okay.”

She kept staring, not comprehending. “You really don’t mind?”

He winced. “So…I mean…I know it’s not exactly orthodox, but…people can have feelings for more than one person at a time, and there’s nothing wrong with that so long as everyone agrees and keeps on the same page.”

Marinette pressed her lips together into a thin, tight line. “…Chat Noir, there’s a difference between having feelings for two people and making out with two people.”

He bit the inside of his cheek. “Have you ever heard of polyamory?”

“Vaguely?” She waited for him to go on.

“It’s when a group of people sit down and talk and decide to be in a committed relationship involving more than two people,” Chat tried his best to explain, trying to recall how Luka had described it to him. “You have to talk a lot and set ground rules so no one feels left out or neglected or jealous, but… It’s not cheating because everyone agrees about what they’re going to do and what they’re not going to do, so…”

“You’re…suggesting that I date both you and Adrien at the same time?” she summarized, still trying to wrap her head around the idea.

He nodded eagerly. “That way you never have to feel guilty about anything you do with him, and I won’t have to feel guilty either because he’ll be our boyfriend, so it’ll be okay.”

She gave a start. “You’re going to date him too?”

Chat shrugged. “Sure. If he’s interested. I mean, things between us aren’t exactly…you know…like that, but… Is that okay?”

She thought about it for a moment, reasoning that two asexual guys weren’t going to get up to too much she needed to be concerned with and that it wasn’t like Chat Noir was in love with Adrien or anything, so it wasn’t like he was going to leave her, so…

“Okay.” She started to nod. “Yeah. Okay. So…Adrien and I start dating for real, you and I keep dating, and…that’s it?”

“Yep,” he agreed. “Just don’t leave me for him, okay?”

“Oh, Chat Noir,” she cooed, pulling him in for a smooch. “The whole reason we’re in this mess in the first place is that I can’t imagine my life without either one of you. I couldn’t choose…and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.”

“Oh,” he hummed contentedly, savoring the cozy warmth of the moment and her words. “Good.”

“Besides,” she snickered. “I am ticked at him. I can’t believe he told you.”

“Princess,” Chat groaned. “Please don’t. He did it because he loves you and couldn’t bear to see you suffering anymore.”

“And that that slut seduced my boyfriend,” she giggled.

“…You’re joking, right?” He couldn’t quite be sure. “The last thing I wanted was to ruin your friendship with Adrien, Marinette.”

“Don’t worry,” she assured. “I’m mostly joking. I am upset with him, but…he’s too important to me to lose.”

Chat’s heart swelled with happiness at knowing that he was so special to her on both sides of the mask.

“I just need to yell at him, talk it out, get it out of my system,” she sighed, “…apologize, beg for forgiveness, make him hummingbird cake pops… Things between me and Adrien are going to be all right, Chat Noir, so don’t worry. I’m through screwing things up.”

“I love you,” he whispered, unable to contain the large grin of adoration that broke out on his lips.

“Love you too.” She punctuated the sentiment with a kiss.

#Marichat #Adrinette #Adrienette #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #Chat Noir #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Kissing #Writing Prompt #Mikau's Writings #Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses

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inawickedlittletown · 4 years

Text

I’m With You (10/?)

Summary:

Having a crush was nothing to be ashamed of...lying to the family and friends of said crush about being the guy’s boyfriend, that was a whole other problem. When Buck saves the life of Andrew Diaz and accidentally makes a nurse think that he’s Andrew’s boyfriend, Buck soon finds himself lying to Andrew’s firefighter friends/coworkers as well as Andrew’s family including Andrew’s very suspicious and attractive brother, Eddie.

Based on the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping.

Words: 5,512

Notes: A slightly longer chapter this time around. Enjoy.

Read on Ao3

Masterpost

Previous Chapter

Andrew was awake.

Buck almost panicked and ran away. He might have done it if he wasn’t just frozen on the spot. Eddie moved before him and glanced at him once as if expecting Buck to follow as he walked at a brisk pace back inside.

“Buck?” Chimney said.

“Fuck.”

“Come on, man, you have to go back in there.”

“Or I could just leave,” Buck said. “I — Chim, I’m just going to end up leaving anyway and this way I don’t have to—”

“Don’t be a coward.” Chimney grabbed his arm. “Maybe things won’t be all that bad. We can — Andrew is just coming out of it and maybe we can figure out a way to make this work out but that can’t happen if you just run off.”

Buck was just about to start arguing about how a clean break would be better and how it didn’t mean that him and Chimney didn’t need to ever be friends or talk, when Eddie was back.

“What’s the hold up?” Eddie asked. “Come on.”

Eddie looked a little strange and he wouldn’t meet Buck’s eyes and Buck knew that their conversation was far from over. Buck had been on the brink of telling him everything. And that moment was gone now and Buck had no idea what came next. Andrew was awake and he wouldn’t know Buck and it would be over. Maybe he and Eddie would never talk again. It hurt to think about that.

Buck took a breath and he let Chimney pull him towards Eddie and towards the hospital and towards what would likely be the worst thing that Buck ever had to deal with in his life. He still wanted to turn tail and run. Somehow, he didn’t.

When they arrived at the hospital room, a doctor was examining Andrew who was sitting up in his bed and wide awake. Abuela sat at his side with Ramon standing behind her. Christopher was sitting on Helena’s lap on the other side of the bed and Pepa stood off to the side. A nurse was helping the doctor and it seemed like everyone was waiting to hear from the doctor.

Eddie walked right in to stand by his mom, but Buck and Chimney hung back by the door and Buck was still fighting the urge to run.

It felt like an age before the doctor was done and then he stepped back and Andrew finally sat up and looked around. He looked confused and maybe even a little scared. He looked good, a little messy from being in a bed for so long, but still handsome. And he was awake.

“Who...who are you?” he asked. His voice was a bit hoarse from lack of use and his hands were bunching up the sheets.

He wasn’t looking at Buck, though, he was looking at everyone and then to the doctor and the nurse as if they had answers. Buck didn’t think he could breathe.

“Where am I?” Andrew asked.

“Honey, you’re at the hospital,” Helena was quick to say. “You had an accident and hit your head. You’re waking up from a coma, I’m sure it’s confusing.”

None of that seemed to reassure him and the doctor started checking on him again even as Andrew tried to ask him questions.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with him?” Ramon demanded.

“Papa, calm down. The doctor is checking him,” Eddie said.

Buck and Chimney shared a glance. Was this confusion normal after a coma? Or was it something more like actual amnesia? Buck hated the way that his hopes went up at the possibility that Andrew had forgotten things. He felt terrible for it even while relieved. It gave him more time. Maybe he could explain and...but, no, no matter how it came out Buck wouldn’t get to keep any of them. He had to come to terms with it.

“We have to do a few tests and more scans. He’s awake and that’s good but head injuries can be...they’re unpredictable,” the doctor said. “In the meanwhile it might be best not to overwhelm him.”

The doctor left the room and he was talking to the nurse, ordering whatever tests might be needed. They were all left with Andrew still in the bed looking more vulnerable and confused than ever.

“So you’re — you’re my family,” Andrew said eventually.

“Yes,” Helena said and she reached over and grabbed his hand.

“You’re my uncle,” Christopher said, stepping forward.

Andrew’s gaze fell on Christopher and then he looked away from him, his eyes going from one person to another and Buck could see it in his eyes how he just didn’t recognize any of them. He really did have amnesia. What were the odds of that? And what did it mean for Buck?

“We can introduce ourselves,” Helena said. “Maybe that will help?”

“Uh...okay.”

“Well I’m your mom,” Helena said. “Christopher is your nephew.”

Christopher waved at Andrew who nodded at him and then he looked to Pepa.

“Everyone calls me Pepa,” she said, “I’m your Tia Josephina. On your dad’s side.”

“I’m Christopher’s dad, Eddie. Your older brother,” Eddie said “It’s good to see you awake again.”

Andrew nodded again and then he looked towards the other side of the bed. So far Abuela hadn’t reacted to the news that Andrew didn’t remember any of them. She was taking it really well as far as Buck was concerned even if she’d been a bit on the quieter side.

“I’m your dad,” Ramon said, “and this is your abuela.”

“And the two of you?” Andrew asked, looking at Chimney and Buck.

“Howie,” Chimney said. “Well, no one calls me that. I work with you and your brother. Everyone calls me Chimney.”

Andrew looked like he was considering asking about what he did for work, but then he looked to Buck and Buck just completely froze. Was he supposed to just lie to Andrew? Andrew who remembered no one from his life and who was vulnerable and clearly confused. It might even hurt him to hear Buck’s lie and if and when he did remember everything he would know that Buck was lying and maybe that would make everything worse. And yet, the way that everyone was looking at him, it meant that Buck had to say something. Anything.

“Buck,” Buck said. “Well, Evan, but no one calls me that. I’m...I’m—” Buck couldn’t say it. He couldn’t lie.

“He’s your boyfriend, honey,” Helena said, she shot a smile at Buck.

Eddie was looking at him too, but his eyes fell away the moment that Buck looked at him. Eddie would probably feel triumphant when it all came out in the end. He’d been right all along.

“Boyfriend,” Andrew repeated.

“Yeah,” Buck said. He was a horrible person. He felt dirty confirming it.

Andrew didn’t say anything and then his mom was there touching his face and pushing his hair back and Buck felt like he was intruding. Chimney was looking at him and Buck didn’t know how to face him or anyone at all.

This...it wasn’t the time to come clean. Maybe he’d said that to himself a lot when he should have told them the truth but this was definitely not the time. Buck didn’t know what came next or what might happen if Andrew did remember or if he didn’t, but it felt like he’d fallen down another hole with different problems and repercussions and he still had no idea what to do.

Olivia the nurse entered then and because she wasn’t subtle at all, she widened her eyes at Buck and he just shook his head at her and ignored her as she walked over to Andrew. She was preparing him so they could take him to get scans.

“How does this work,” Pepa said, “the amnesia. Are we — do we tell him things about his life or do we leave it alone and let him remember on his own?”

Olivia looked startled. “I think the doctor will let you know after the scans. For now, I guess it’s better to let him rest and not overwhelm him with information.”

Andrew sat silently on the bed, letting his mom stay close while Olivia did a few more things and took her leave.

“Buck, what are we going to do?” Chimney whispered to him while everyone else was busy around Andrew’s bed.

“I have no idea,” Buck admitted.

Chimney snorted. “Yeah. I kinda got that.”

—-

Chimney hadn’t expected amnesia. And yet, while it both lessened the complications, it also made everything worse. Buck looked panicked and scared and like he wanted to take off and just run and not deal with the mess that admittedly wasn’t entirely of his creation but that he’d certainly made worse with not correcting the lie.

He wondered if it would have made things easier if Chimney had let him run when he’d gone to fetch them. Or if Chimney had taken it upon himself to tell everyone else about the lie when he first found out.

The whole time standing there watching as Andrew didn’t recognize any of them had been painful. The spell had been broken once Andrew was taken to get more scans done.

“I — I have to go,” Buck had said then and no one tried to stop him.

Chimney had almost expected Eddie to. Things were...well, they were weird between Buck and Eddie after Eddie had accused him earlier of cheating on Andrew of all things. Chimney couldn’t figure out if that had been Eddie being a protective older brother or if it was something else...something to do with Buck.

As soon as Buck started to walk out, Chimney grabbed his things and excused himself as well, going after him. He knew what Buck had been expecting when Chimney went out there to call him — hell, he’d been expecting the same. Somehow, it was worse, the limbo of not knowing what would happen next.

“So, that happened,” Chimney said.

“Yeah, what the hell,” Buck said. “I mean...am I just lucky that it didn’t blow up in my face in there just now? Or is this further punishment or something? I need to tell them All of them. This has gone on long enough...I can’t just keep—”

Buck was pacing a little, his movement frenetic and wild.

“What if he starts remembering and the one thing he doesn’t remember is me? I can’t lie to them? Not when he’s like that and when if his memory comes back he can’t even really say that I’m lying? I don’t know...I just don’t know.”

“One,” Chimney said, grabbing Buck by the shoulders, “you have to calm down. And two, I think you have to talk to Andrew and explain.”

Buck shook his head. His eyes were wild moving from one thing to another and not really seeing anything at all and Chimney had barely known him a full week, but he already considered this kid a friend. And he didn’t want him to end up hurt and alone.

The thing was that Chimney got it. He understood feeling lonely and how it felt to find people that made that loneliness disappear. The first day when he’d overheard Buck talking to Andrew, he’d known that he couldn’t blame Buck for what happened. At least, not entirely. And then Buck had said he would tell everyone but when he didn’t, Chimney had looked at it from Buck’s side and he figured he couldn’t blame Buck for not saying anything. The whole thing was complicated and could have been better if Buck had just spoken up from the start, but Chimney didn’t blame him for letting it go on. And now...now, maybe there was a way for them to fix the whole thing.

Chimney had worked with Andrew for a few years now, ever since Andrew was a probie and just a bit of a pain because he was so eager to be a hero. But Andrew had learned quickly and they’d all grown to care about him like their kid brother. So, Chimney knew with some certainty that Andrew would probably find the whole thing hilarious. Then again maybe he wouldn’t. It was different to deal with a version of his friend that had no memory, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t still himself. Deep down there were things that didn’t change. And if they played it right then it was possible that they could pull it off and explain it and maybe Buck wouldn’t end up on his own. Because if Andrew had managed to get all of them to care for him, Buck had done it too.

Chimney would just need a moment alone with Andrew. That was all.

Buck seemed too agitated and thrown by everything that had happened to listen to him, so Chimney let him go, but hopeful that Buck would at least know that he wouldn’t lose Chimney as a friend whatever happened.

—-

Hours later, Eddie was drinking a beer in his kitchen. It was late afternoon, but he was home alone since his parents had refused to leave Andrew for the time being and Christopher had a playdate with Denny. Andrew didn’t remember anything.

The doctor was sure that time would return his memories. So, even though he was doing well otherwise, Andrew was staying at the hospital for observation for another day or two. Maybe more. They suggested that while they could tell Andrew some things and try to jog his memory, it was better not to overwhelm him with information.

Andrew had mostly seemed confused and unsure about where to begin asking questions and Eddie had felt entirely helpless in the moment.

Buck hadn’t stuck around long after Andrew was taken for more tests and Eddie had felt a little bit guilty about that because he’d been completely out of line in accusing Buck of cheating on Andrew. Eddie just hadn’t had a chance to talk to Buck before he left but next time he saw him, he would apologize properly. What was worse was that Eddie had almost told Buck that his reaction to Josh almost had nothing to do with Andrew. It was about Eddie.

Eddie who liked Buck...had liked Buck from the moment he saw him. Eddie who had spent some time with Buck at his brother’s house with his kid and with Andrew’s dog and had let himself for a moment pretend that it could be a reality somehow. Him and Buck. He was so stupid to even consider it. To hope that somehow Buck and Andrew weren’t a thing so that he could what? Make a move on Buck?

And he’d almost told Buck. Andrew had woken up though, and maybe that was a good thing. He couldn’t put his feelings on Buck.

Eddie finished off his beer and got up to get another. He’d just grabbed the cold glass bottle from his fridge when his phone rang. It was his mom.

“Hey, mom,” Eddie said. “Everything okay?”

“Hi, honey, can you do me a favor and stop by Andrew’s place and pick up a few of his things. Maybe some pictures and other things of his. Might help him remember. The doctors say it will help to be around familiar things. Do you remember that photo album that I made him, I’m hoping he still has it and maybe that book he loves so much? Things like that. Like maybe—”

She listed a number of things that Eddie could pick up and bring and Eddie mostly didn’t listen. As far as he knew, it was his sisters that were sentimental. Not his brother. He likely did have the photo album and there were sure to be other things that meant something to Andrew to bring along, but Eddie didn’t expect to find all the random little things his mom was asking for. Some of them were probably even back in El Paso in their childhood home.

“Mom, I’ll go and see what I can find. How’s he doing?”

“The same. Slept for a little bit but he’s awake now. He’s been looking at all the cards and drawings from the kids. And, Eddie, have you spoken to Buck? He rushed out of here so fast and we’re a little worried.”

Eddie almost groaned. He pressed the cold glass bottle against his forehead. “I’m sure he’s fine, mom. Just overwhelmed by everything.”

“Well you didn’t help with that, did you? Accusing him of cheating. Eddie, what the hell?”

The disappointed tone in his mom’s voice brought him right back to when he was a kid and maybe even to all the fights they’d had over Christopher and Shannon and the whole giant mess that that had all turned into.

“I thought I saw something, okay? And you can’t say this hasn’t been fishy, right? And now we can’t even figure it out since Andrew remembers nothing.”

His mom sighed. “Look, Eddie, we’re all a little stressed. But just apologize to him, okay? And get that stuff from Andrew’s house.”

“Okay,” Eddie said and maybe he did feel a little like a child that had been chastised.

Eddie got off the phone, put the unopened beer bottle back in the fridge and then grabbed his keys, the spare key to Andrew’s house, and his wallet and then headed out. He was surprised when he saw Buck’s Jeep parked in front of the house and for a moment after parking, he just stayed inside his truck considering driving away and returning later. Did he want to see Buck again so soon? But he needed to get the stuff for his mom. And he needed to apologize and to start to come to terms with the fact that Buck was his brother’s guy. He took another minute to compose himself before he got out of the car and headed to the house.

The door was unlocked. He walked right in and heard Buck moving around in the kitchen so he headed that way. Buck was pouring out food for Legolas and he ran his hands down Legolas’ back once the plate was on the floor and Legolas got busy eating.

“Such a good boy, Legolas. And you know what? Andrew woke up. I’m sure you’ll be seeing him soon,” Buck was saying. “Not sure about—”

“Hey,” Eddie said.

Buck jumped a little. “Oh. Didn’t expect to see you here,” Buck said.

“My mom wanted me to come and pick up a few things to jog Andrew’s memory,” Eddie said. “They’re saying the amnesia should be temporary.”

Buck nodded. “Pepa called me,” he said.

It was a bit awkward between them and Eddie didn’t know how to fix it, but he knew he was the one that screwed up. He had to man up and apologize.

“Listen, Buck, I really should — I’m sorry about earlier. I was out of line and just...I don’t even know what came over me but I’m sorry. Truly.”

“It’s okay,” Buck said. “You don’t have to be sorry about caring about your brother. I admire that, actually. The way everyone in your family just cares so much.”

Eddie nodded and then he laughed. “You know, it’s because they like you. If they didn’t...well, you would know if they didn’t. My ex-wife...she really got the brunt of my mom’s passive aggressive side.”

“Oh.” Buck said.

Eddie still didn’t like talking about Shannon and the mess that it had all turned into, but he could acknowledge after the fact that maybe his family hadn’t made things easier for them. Or that maybe they had been right about her all along. Eddie had such mixed feelings that they changed from day to day when it came to her.

“What, um, what happened?” Buck asked and then a moment later. “Wait, no, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Eddie was surprised that he actually wanted to tell Buck. He didn’t know where that willingness to share came from, but talking with Buck was just easier somehow. So he told Buck about how he’d left Shannon with Christopher while he was in the Army and how her only support system had been Eddie’s family.

“I don’t think it was ever easy for her, but I made it worse by running away and not being around. We needed the money...but that was an excuse. And when she left me and Christopher it was...I guess I couldn’t blame her for it. But I hated her for a long time not on my behalf but on my son’s.”

Eddie didn’t know why it was all coming out all of a sudden. He didn’t usually talk about Shannon. He hated thinking about all their past mistakes and all the things that the two of them had done wrong. Right to the very end of their relationship they had been screwing up right and left and it hadn’t been just Shannon but him too. Eddie would never forget the day he woke up and she was just gone. And the worst part had been realizing that she didn’t just leave him but Christopher as well.

“I’m sorry,” Buck said. “Sounds like it was rough.”

“You know, I came to LA partly because of her, but along the way I realized I was doing it because I thought Christopher needed his mom and she didn’t want to be that.”

It hurt still, to think about how Shannon had abandoned Christopher, how she hadn’t even been capable of trying to find a way to reconnect with her son even if she wanted nothing to do with Eddie. Maybe it was that Eddie also hadn’t tried and that he’d used Andrew as some sort of buffer but in the end as Christopher’s mother she should have tried harder.

“And does Christopher remember her?” Buck asked.

“A little, but he knows she’s not around and even if he doesn’t get it, he accepts it. Just how kids are, I suppose.”

At least, it was Eddie’s hope that Christopher wasn’t damaged by it. He’d asked about her a lot right after she left, but eventually he’d stopped maybe because he knew that Eddie couldn’t tell him anything new or because he was getting used to her not being around.

“I, um, my last girlfriend...her mom died and I guess she spent a good chunk of time taking care of her — years, really. So when she died, she decided to travel like her mom always wanted to or did. I can’t remember. We didn’t break up or anything and we talked all the time while she was gone but then her trip kept getting extended and slowly we stopped talking all the time and then she stopped answering me or calling until one day I didn’t hear from her at all. So, I get it, Eddie.” Buck shifted on his feet, looking down at the floor for a long moment. “It’s not easy being left behind.”

Eddie could see the leftover pain on Buck and like Buck understood what Eddie had gone through, Eddie understood Buck too. A small petty part of him wondered how much of this Andrew already knew. Probably all of it, he realized.

“Buck, I’m—”

Buck waved his hand. “It’s the past, right? We move on and move forward. You’re doing it...and so am I.”

Eddie nodded. He didn’t know what he could say and Buck returned to Legolas.

It felt awkward to stand there watching him. “I should...I have to go find those things for my mom.”

“Right, yeah. I’ll come help,” Buck said.

Since Legolas seemed to have finished eating, he followed at Buck’s side.

—-

They looked through a few things in the living room. Andrew didn’t have a lot of books on the single bookshelf in the living room but he had plenty of movies and few pictures on display. One of them actually had Eddie and Andrew in their uniforms standing in front of the firestation and Buck lingered on that one for a moment. Another picture caught his eye of Andrew holding a baby that must have been Christopher. It was cute and Andrew was smiling, but he also clearly had no real idea how to hold a baby.

“That is the one and only time he held him as a baby,” Eddie said with a chuckle. “He was so uncomfortable. Gave him right back afterwards.”

They headed upstairs and Buck felt a little weird going into Andrew’s bedroom granted he’d already been in there the first time he went to Andrew’s house but he hadn’t stepped foot inside there again. It was still a big giant mess which Eddie seemed to find funny. Legolas ran straight to the bed and jumped up, wagging his tail and rolling around on the sheets.

“He’s always been messy,” Eddie said as he kicked some clothes out of his way.

Eddie went straight to Andrew’s closet but Buck hung back and watched him as he brought out a couple of cardboard boxes and dumped them on the unmade bed next to Legolas who immediately started to sniff at them. Buck moved over to help him and pulled out a High School yearbook and then a photo album.

“That’s it,” Eddie said.

Buck opened it partly out of curiosity than anything else. The first page had a message written out and signed by Helena Diaz. Buck didn’t bother to read it.

“My mom made it for him,” Eddie said in way of explanation. “She was always big on taking pictures of us.”

Buck flipped through a few pages. The first few were pictures from when Andrew was just a kid and then there were a few from his teenage years. Mixed in with the pictures were other mementos; a newspaper clipping, tickets to a concert, Prom pictures which Buck lingered on and Eddie laughed at. They found graduation pictures next and then pictures of Andrew at his Fire Academy graduation. One with him in all his gear looking much closer to the age he was now and that was the end of it.

“This is nice,” Buck said. “So, did she make you one too?”

Eddie nodded and then he started looking through the rest of the box. Buck looked through the photo album again.

“Hey, is there anything of yours — I mean, anything that might help Andrew remember you? Pictures of you guys or just anything memorable?”

Buck froze. “Uh, I don’t think so,” he said.

“Nothing at all?” Eddie asked, eyeing him.

“I can’t think of anything,” Buck said and shrugged. Legolas nudged him and Buck acquiesced and started to pet him.

Eddie found a battered old copy of The Catcher In The Rye on Andrew’s bedside table.

“His favorite book,” Eddie said and then he started looking around the bedroom for anything else to bring along but didn’t find anything other than a picture of the 118 crew on the dresser. “I really don’t think there’s anything else.”

For a while Eddie just stood in the middle of the room and then he seemed to remember something, because he dropped to the floor next to Andrew’s bed. Eddie looked under Andrew’s bed and brought out a couple of shoe boxes. One had a collection of comic books inside and Eddie flicked through them until he found the one he was looking for. The other box was full of CDs and again Eddie went through it until he pulled out one.

Eddie was holding the photo album, the book, the yearbook, the picture of the 118, a Sandman comic book, and a Green Day CD.

“So all of this...um, anything else you can think of? You can bring anything you want.”

“Thanks,” Buck said, but mostly it made him feel horrible.

It was all coming to an end. Buck had expected for it to happen quickly the moment that Andrew woke up and took a look at him and didn’t remember him. Instead, Andrew didn’t remember anyone. Anyone else would have been relieved at the reprieve, but Buck mostly just felt the weight of the guilt grow.

He’d left the hospital earlier as soon as he was able to do so and it was lucky that he had Chimney with him because Buck was sure he would have freaked out even more if Chim hadn’t been there to try and reason things out. Chimney was of the idea that they needed to explain things to Andrew even in the state that he was in and that hopefully Andrew would be understanding about the whole thing. Buck didn’t think that Andrew would take it well at all. His hands were still buried in Legolas’ fur and it was hard to face that one day soon, he would be seeing that dog again. He would miss him like crazy...just as much as he would miss everyone else.

Eddie gathered all the things, but he didn’t head out the door at once, instead he stopped at the door and looked back at him.

“Buck, are you okay?”

“I’m...I’m fine,” Buck said, a bit surprised that Eddie had even asked. The whole day had been a bit of a weird roller coaster with Eddie.

“Are you sure? I know it was a setback to not have him remember anything, but he’s awake and he’s going to remember and it’ll be okay. Things will get back to normal...well, I guess it’ll be different since we all know about you now. But...it will be okay.”

Buck nodded even while his insides twisted because it wasn’t going to be like what Eddie was describing. “I know,” he said, anyway.

Earlier when he’d wanted to actually tell Eddie everything, he’d been so sure that it was the right thing. It still was in some ways, but Buck couldn’t do it.

“Hey, do you want to come with me to the hospital to drop these off?”

Buck shook his head. He had no idea if he would be able to go back just yet and face Andrew. “I’ll be by tomorrow. I’ll give your family the time to be with him.”

“Buck,” Eddie said with a sigh, “you’re practically a part of the family. If you’re worried about intruding, you’re not. Alright?”

“I—”

“Come on,” Eddie said. “I’m sure you want to see him. I’m not taking a no for an answer. I know if I were in your shoes I wouldn’t want to leave my boyfriend’s side. So come on.”

He didn’t want to see him. The hospital was the last place he wanted to go to, but there was no getting out of it, not without making Eddie think that something was up. It was better to agree when Eddie looked like he was going to push until he got his way and the thing about it was that Buck would give Eddie anything he wanted.

Buck followed Eddie in his Jeep to the hospital. It felt like more than just a few hours had passed since he’d been at the hospital last. Things were so different.

He and Eddie walked in and Helena and Ramon were both still there. Andrew looked tired, but he was awake and looking through a phone.

“Oh, you’re here, Eddie. Did you find anything?” Helena said.

“Hi, Buck,” Ramon said.

“It’s good you’re back,” Helena said and she got up to give him a quick hug before she turned to Eddie.

Eddie handed the things over to his mom who looked through them and seemed satisfied enough even if Buck thought that she seemed to want more.

“Hey,” Eddie said to Andrew. “How are you feeling?”

Buck didn’t know what to say. He felt awkward and out of place — he was out of place. If he were less of a coward, he would have told all of them right then and there. Instead, he was just silent and sad and Eddie touched his arm and it felt like a nudge to do something or say something.

“Hi,” he managed, aiming it at Andrew.

“You’re my boyfriend,” Andrew said, brows a little furrowed like he was trying to understand a complicated problem.

“I’m—” Buck couldn’t say it.

“I don’t remember you at all,” Andrew said before Buck could finish. “But I don’t remember most things.”

“But you’ll remember, honey,” Helena said. “No one could forget this wonderful boy.” She beamed at Buck for a moment and then looked back at Andrew.

He wasn’t wonderful. He was horrid and a liar.

“And then you have to explain to me why and how you got a dog,” Eddie said with a chuckle and Buck could hear the other underlying question, Andrew would need to explain his latent interest in men — interest that was not at all true. He would have to explain Buck.

Next Chapter

Notes: So Andrew is awake, aren't you all happy to meet him?

Because I was kinda thrilled and we get more Andrew in the next chapter.

This chapter is also the first time I've written Chimney pov so that was fun.

The divergence here from the movie is that in the movie Peter wakes up and obviously doesn't know Lucy so they imply that he has selective amnesia and that's why he can't remember her while he does actually remember everyone and everything else. I decided to take it a step further and have Andrew remember basically nothing.

So...the secret is not out yet. But this will create an interesting dynamic. Thanks to everyone reading and let me know what you all thought. :)

And if anyone wants to be tagged in future chapters just let me know.

Tagging: @tranquility-or-chaos @diazbuckleysworld @stilesgivesmefeels

#911 fox #911 fic #buddie #buddie fic #buck x eddie #911 fox fic #fic #my fic #I'm With You

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themagiciian · 4 years

Text

Somebody That I Used To Know

Rating: General; trigger warnings for mentioned death and very mild violence Chapters: One-shot Word count: 3,079 Relationship: Diego Brando/Johnny Joestar Other characters: Nicholas Joestar (mentioned), George Joestar (mentioned)

Summary: It’s the anniversary of Nicholas’s death, and Johnny decides to visit the lake where Nick used to take him. However, he somehow crosses something- or rather, someone, a little... unlikely.

Author’s Notes:

Thank you ever so much for the request, @bluedrawin! I apologise, this one is kind of a mess, but I’m really clawing at my writing muse to do something and... Well, I finished this, and I’ll leave it at that. It’s all over the shot, if I’m being honest. I didn’t proofread anything. I just finished it and, kind of, “well, I finished something, so who cares?”.

So in short? It’s rushed, it’s not very good... But I like mermaids a lot! Diego is the mermaid in this one. I wouldn’t usually change pronouns for AUs and stuff, but Diego is referred to as ‘they/them’ in this. At first it was accidental, but then it stuck, so I ran with it.

I may or may not add more to this. But for now, I hope this is good enough? I left it open ended so I could tack other things onto... this... XD Thanks again for the request!

It had been five years since Nicholas had died, and Johnny felt a bitter sadness bubble in his chest knowing that he’d soon be the same age his elder brother would be when he passed. He huffed, gently patting at Slow Dancer’s neck as she settled beside him from where he sat besides the bank of the lake. He chose not to tell his father where he was going, which he knew would earn him an argument the second he arrived home, but right then he didn’t care. The mare snorted softly beside him, ears flicking back briefly, and Johnny withdrew his hand to lay down and bask in the sun.

Even if it had happened five years ago, he recalled the events so vividly in his head. They replayed like a broken record, and he closed his eyes with a harsh sigh. Nicholas wouldn’t want him to dwell on it, but his own father's disdain towards him served as a constant reminder that he would simply never be Nick. And whilst his father chose to shut himself off from the rest of the world, and his only other son, Johnny decided he wouldn’t do the same.

Not this time.

The lake was sacred to Nicholas. He always cherished how secluded it was, surrounded by thick forestry and brush, the sun peaking through the leaves and lightly warming the grass below. A small stream ran right into the lake, which acted as white noise as Johnny relaxed. It had been a struggle, getting over Nicholas’s death, and the date still haunted him. It didn’t even feel like he was truly ‘over it’. More like he was just getting used to the dull ache that grief left him with, a void that would never be filled.

A soft sigh escaped his lungs, eyes sliding closed as he bathed under the sun that filtered through the leaves. He always found himself wondering… why Nicholas enjoyed this place so much. It was pretty, sure. But not very interesting, or at least, Johnny didn’t think so. Nick had taken him there a handful of times, but they’d always end up heading back early because Johnny would quickly grow bored of just sitting around. Now he was older, he could understand a little better; he could see the beauty in nature, how nice it was to just lay down and forget about the rest of the world.

Johnny never really got it. He was kind to all the stable boys, he had a lot of friends at school, the maids liked him, but he always chose to… Come here. To be alone. Because, in Johnny’s experience, that was one of the worst things that could happen to him. To be left all alone. He couldn’t imagine why someone like Nick would want to escape what he had. Johnny didn’t really get along with anyone at school, in fact he’d go out of his way to avoid people, which only got worse after his elder brother’s passing.

His brow twitched a little, trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. He could feel his eyes sting under their lids as they watered, but he couldn’t bring himself to cry. Or, rather, he wouldn’t let himself cry. Nick wouldn’t want him to cry. And it wasn’t like anyone was there to comfort him, if he did. He focused on breathing, softly, his chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm.

He would have fallen asleep if he hadn’t heard Slow Dancer snort lightly beside him. His hand idly reached out to pet at her flank where she lay next to him, careful not to startle her. He didn’t open his eyes until he heard someone… Laughing? It was more like a strange trill. When she snorted again, making a noise that sounded annoyed, his eyes opened lazily. He assumed it was just a bug or something pestering her.

He wasn’t expecting to find a pair of eyes meeting his own.

Johnny jolted upright, which was enough to scare them back into the water. They moved so fast that he almost thought he was imagining it, a blur of gold and blue flashed before him. Slow Dancer’s ears were pinned back, now, in obvious annoyance, beginning to rise to her feet to step away from the lake’s edge. He was about to dismiss it as his mind playing tricks on him, or the mare just being irritable about something (as usual). But he couldn’t stop himself from edging closer to the water, as if his body was running on autopilot.

He peered over the edge, the mud forming a slight overhang, hands braced either side of him as he awkwardly crawled forward. He stared down into the water, only to find his reflection. But the surface wobbled lightly like something had disturbed it’s calmness. His ginger hair fell into his face when he stared down, squinting as if that would help him see further into the murky darkness of the lake.

He dismissed it as nothing after his brief investigation. But when an icy cold hand darted out and grappled his wrist, he couldn’t help but let out a shriek. A long string of curses that would surely get him a lashing if his father ever heard them escaped him as he fought, finally managing to yank himself back from where it had tried to get him under the water. He let out a few gasps for air as he shimmied away from the water’s edge, but whatever he had pissed off quickly clambered onto land right after him.

That’s when he finally got a good look at them. A mop of golden hair, with the most piercing blue eyes he’d ever seen staring right into his soul. Their facial features were all sharp, pointed, with deep blue spots dotting up and down their neck and ears fanning out. It took him another second to realise what he was staring at was inhuman, but another howl wrenched from his throat as their hand grabbed for his ankle now, trying to crawl away from their grasp. They let go after a brief struggle, letting Johnny shift himself back onto land, panting from exertion.

“W- What the hell? What the hell?!” Was all he could manage when he was freed, panic gripping his chest. They stared at him, wide-eyed, but didn’t move. That only struck a chord of annoyance in him. “H-Hey, aren’t you gonna answer me?!” He growled out, voice cracking a little.

Their expression was unreadable, and Johnny didn’t know how long they just stared one another down. It was tempting to throw something at them, to force them to do something, but he grit his teeth and held his gaze. After a while, they blinked, before shaking their head. They made a sound of annoyance, pushing themselves back towards the water.

“I thought you were someone else.” Their voice was hard to describe, but somehow their accent shone through as distinctly English. But it was as if they were struggling to speak, almost. Johnny’s eyes squinted into a questioning glare, which was quickly returned. They made a move as if they were going to dive back under the water, but they seemed to hesitate. There was another stare-down, this time Johnny was trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at, but the other growled which made him jump a little.

“Did anyone teach you any manners? It’s rude to stare.”

Johnny let out a noise of exasperation. “You just- just grabbed me!”

“I thought you were someone else.” They snarled, now, sharp claws digging into the bank they were propped up on. Johnny braced himself to reach for his knife just in case they made any sudden movements. “You smelt like him, I saw your horse, and I got ahead of myself.”

Their fanned out ears- now Johnny was realising they were probably fins, or something- lowered slightly. Before he could speak up again, they were army crawling onto land, to which Johnny quickly grabbed his knife to point at them in threat.

“What are you doing?!” He questioned, but only received a rumbled snarl back. He found himself distracted by their lack of legs, replaced by one long muscular tail that was so long that the end didn’t even poke out of the water. Before he could find himself too enraptured by this creature, they grabbed for his bag, sniffing at it, and Johnny waved his knife again. “H-Hey, you can’t just dig through my stuff--”

“You don’t have any food...” They muttered out, tossing it towards him. Johnny was dumbfounded by that, mouth hung open like a fish, before they were attempting to turn to slide back into the water. “I can’t believe I mistook you for him. Nick was never so impolite.”

“Nick?! Hey- Hey!” Johnny couldn’t stop himself from lunging himself forward, earning a loud hiss from them. But the mention of his brother’s name caused a surge of something inside him- anger, confidence, he didn’t know what, but the other was simply too fast. Just like that, they’d disappeared under the water’s surface, the bright blues and golds lost to the murkiness again.

This time, he growled in frustration. He moved towards the bank, grass and mud staining his jodhpurs, but he paid no mind to it as he reached into the water after them, like he could pull them out like a catfish. He felt nothing, however, just water rolled through his fingers as he waved his hand about under the surface.

That same trilling noise from earlier echoed through the empty air, his head snapping up towards it. The bastard’s head bobbed up out of the water nearer the middle of the lake, and whatever they were, they were certainly laughing, a lop-sided grin on their face. It was creepy, the way they smirked, all fangs and jagged teeth. But that only seemed to further rub salt in the wound that had been reopened that day.

“What the hell are you?” He yelled out at them, mostly in frustration. They dived down again, tail splashing out of the water as he presumed they were coming closer. He clenched his knife hard in his hands, darting his eyes over the surface of the lake to try and find them again. They resurfaced near him, shoulders out in the shallower depths, still grinning maniacally. How… How could something look so human, but so- so not human? How were they breathing beneath the water?

“You don’t know what a mermaid is?” They sounded mocking. Johnny pulled a somewhat confused look for a split second, which earned another weird laugh. “I shall take that as a no.”

“I never said- I never said I ain’t know what a mermaid is!”

“But you looked it. You do that face.” They mimicked him, exaggerating his confused expression, to which Johnny scoffed, which they also mimicked. “Humans make all sorts of funny faces and make funny sounds, too.”

“I don’t need this right now.” Johnny finally announced with another scoff. He clicked his tongue for Slow Dancer to come over, who was lightly chomping at the grass nearby, raising her head when she was called. If this thing wanted to make fun of him, well, he just wasn’t going to deal with it. He’d be the bigger man and just… Leave. As she slowly trotted over, he heard the water slosh a little, and they perched with their arms crossed onto the lip of the lake.

“What’s up with you?” Their brow raised, smirking still, hair stuck to their forehead. When Johnny didn’t answer and instead reached for his horse, they let out a long whine. “Hey, not yet! I was just messing with you. Hey! Come ooooon! Don’t leave me here! I was just starting to have fun!”

Johnny shot another glare their way, at this ‘mermaid’ thing, and their head tilted a little in response. Their eyes were so large, almost catlike in how their pupils dilated, it was… A bit entrancing. He let go of Slow Dancer, instead, rolling his eyes with a tut to himself. What was he going to do once he got home, anyway? Pretend his father wasn’t alone in his room wishing it was him that was dead, and not Nicholas? That caused a pang of pain to shoot through his chest.

“How did… How did you know Nick?” He brought himself to ask. Based on their interactions so far, he didn’t know whether or not he’d receive a genuine answer. Their smile disappeared, though, head lowering somewhat into their arms. They eventually shrugged, though.

“Somebody that I used to know.”

“How?” A feeling of desperation bubbled in the pit of his stomach. “Tell me how.”

“...He came here a lot, and he was nice to me, and he gave me food. Then I never saw him again.” They didn’t seem sad, moreso confused. But the way their head lowered pitifully made sympathy stab in his chest. At least that answers some of my questions, he supposed, but certainly didn’t make him feel much better. “Are you his friend?”

“I’m… H- His brother.” He glanced down to avoid their unblinking stare. He let out a hard sigh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. It felt almost wrong, to call himself his brother, guilt and shame ebbing away at him as feelings he hadn’t addressed since that day welled over inside of his chest. “N- Nick died, um, some… A while ago.”

“Oh.”

“...Mmm.”

It was a fight, to not start crying, hot tears brimming his eyes and sticking to his lashes. A cold hand reached out to touch his shoulder. He jolted at the sensation, eyes widening, glancing down at them, a few tears spilling out in surprise. The claws he’d seen earlier were gone, retracted into their skin, and despite grief coming to bite him like a snake in the grass, he found himself fascinated again. Their hand came to fully rest there, head tilting to gauge the reaction.

“What’s your name?” They finally asked. Johnny reached up to wipe away the stray tears, forcing down his emotions all over again. It didn’t even occur to him that they hadn’t even properly introduced themselves to one another in his emotional rollercoaster. He shrugged their hand away before answering, however.

“J… Johnny. Johnny Joestar.”

They nodded back. “My name is--” There was a weird noise that ruptured from the back of their throat, which Johnny thought sounded like a gurgled choking noise, only frowning in surprise at the sound. “But Nick used to call me ‘Diego’ though. Or ‘Dio’, for short. I don’t know where he got Diego from, but I like it.”

Johnny couldn’t help but give an awkward laugh. His brain hadn’t really come to terms with what was going on, but- but he couldn’t say he entirely disliked their weird company. And it was weird. Trust Nick to make friends with… a ‘mermaid’? He’d already forgotten what they said they were...

“So, since we’re friends now, I guess you won’t need this anymore.” Diego broke the silence by grabbing for the knife that had been discarded in the grass. Before he could make an argument, the knife had already been launched far into the lake, a gentle ‘plop’ following it.

Johnny quickly found himself in a state of dumbfoundedness again, glancing between the water and Diego. “W- W-- That was-- my knife! I need that!”

“For what, threatening to stab me again?” They purred, and their lips curled up playfully. Johnny felt a blush of embarrassment cloud his face. “I can get it back for you if you promise one thing.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position t’ be makin’ demands, but--”

“Come back tomorrow. Same time. But bring food. I’m hungry as all hell.” Diego spoke, as if they owned the world. Though Johnny wrinkled his nose, he could really only wish he had that kind of confidence. They took hold of his hand, as if to emphasise the promise he hadn’t even agreed to yet. “You will do this for me. Because, well, we are friends, aren’t we?”

He hesitated, and he found himself subject to those entrancing eyes again. This time he couldn’t find it in him to look away. Maybe he would have said no if he could have. Like he would let this guy walk all over him- they didn’t even have any legs to do so! But Johnny meekly grunted in response, and clearly that was taken as a yes answer, even if he hadn’t opened his mouth.

They grinned all over again, throwing their arms around him with a noise that could only be described as a squeal, and Johnny was almost tackled to the floor with the force of it. He was stunned briefly, even as Diego moved away, tail curled up near them, flicking up and down in… Excitement? Were mermaids like dogs? He was still too taken aback to really give any verbal response.

“I didn’t-- I didn’t even say yes--” He held a hand out to keep them at an arm’s distance away, all this sudden contact overwhelming him. But they were quick to shove his hand aside, moving far too close for comfort with those teeth he knew were in their mouth.

“Don’t keep me waiting.” Their voice lowered almost dangerously. He knew it was probably an empty threat, they definitely weren’t as agile on land, it seemed. But he only nodded back, out of fear or the need for company, he wasn’t entirely sure. Either way, they let out another purring sound.

“Good.” They spoke, softly, and there was a moment where they were both still. There was still an aura of unease, and he could feel it. Certainly not as much as before, perhaps, but Johnny was taken entirely off-guard when they suddenly leaned in and left a gentle peck on his cheek.

And- as it seemed, was tradition for them- they quickly disappeared all over again. Johnny stilled, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, before his brain finally caught onto what happened. Just like before, he shouted after them, and there was that noisy trilling mocking laughter that was becoming less and less insufferable by the second.

How did Nick put up with this? He had no idea... But he supposed he was going to find out.

#Diejoni #Diego Brando #Johnny Joestar #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #JJBA #Steel Ball Run #SBR #what was my writing tag again?!#Magic writes #I think?!#I'm sorry this is a mess. Don't look at me. lol #requests

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grayluforever · 4 years

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My Top 10 Worst Dumbest Anime Relationships (My Opinion)

1. Inuyasha and Kagome Higurashi (Inuyasha)

Kagome is nothing but a whiny, manipulative woman-child who really has to get everything her way and always has to be in the RIGHT especially when it comes to InuYasha who at some times would point out the obvious to her and instead of taking it in strides and realizing her mistake she would unfairly make him SIT with those stupid beads around his neck. Also, InuYasha at the time was going through some serious personal, emotional issues of his own and trying to face the ghosts of his past and dealing with his former lover Kikyo being resurrected against her will. Kagome always tried to make it about herself when it came to that scenario with them and was always able to get the others to feel sorry for her. So yeah, it's not only her attitude (and her uselessness) but her treatment towards InuYasha which is something else that I have come to notice when you go back to watch it again is that those two can't get along very well and they can't seem to go almost a single day or even a week without bickering with each other and most of the time it's over the same stupid stuff.

2. Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno (Naruto)

I love Sasuke and after all he's been through I think he deserves better. I think I would have been okay if he ended up with Ino. It still would have been bad but atleast it's better? I don't know. I just don't like the fact that in the beginning Sasuke hated Sakura and payed no attention to her whatsoever. But all of a sudden in Boruto (It autocorrected to burrito ) they get married. It just doesn't seem right. In Naruto The Last they showed him in the desert walking around and stuff while Naruto and Hinata were having the whole movie dedicated to their romance. It's no secret that Sakura has been in love with Sasuke for a long time. It was even a dream come true for Sakura when the two were put on the same team together, but from day one the romance between them has always been one-sided. Sasuke originally had little to no interest in Sakura. Even after she admitted her feelings in tears, Sasuke seemed to care very little about her.It continued this way even after Sasuke attempted to kill Sakura and yet despite that, the two eventually got married and had a child. Unfortunately for poor Sakura, Sasuke is a bit of a deadbeat who's rarely ever home to be around his wife or daughter. If their relationship has proven anything, it's that Sakura has the patience of a saint

3. Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail)

Juvia's attitude is also disgusting. During GMG, she fantasized about how good it would be if the Fairy Tail GMG Team had an injured member, that way she can be with Gray. Not funny. I didn't laugh and I didn't see anything funny. Then, Lucy did get injured at some point and she ran over and "acted" like she "could" help. Pathetic. She couldn't do anything and she acted as if she cared when she treated Lucy bad all the times that she has. Disgusting.....

4. Ichigo Kousaki and Orihime Inoue (Bleach)

Her feelings were never the slightest bit disturbing. Instead, her love was shown to be unconditional and incredibly selfless, to the point that Ichigo is the one to pursue Orihime in the end without her ever having to confess first. There was no pressure or obligation there; she was never “trying” to get Ichigo to fall in love with her—he just did. Just like that. People just tried to twist her feelings into something negative because they didn’t want her to have feelings for Ichigo, because she wasn’t the girl they shipped him with.

5. Goku and Chichi (Dragon Ball)

Maybe this one was doomed from the start, considering Goku thought marriage was a kind of food at first. Goku may be DBZ's most powerful warrior, but his skills as a husband and family man could use work. Goku's mind is focused solely on fighting and getting stronger, which leaves little time for things like spending time with his family or getting a job to support them. It's not that he doesn't care for them, it's more that he doesn't understand that they need him on a personal level. On the other side of things, Chichi's high expectations of Goku cause her to often lash out when she feels he's not doing his part. Between Goku's naïve, free spirit and Chichi's angry outbursts, it's clear they're just not compatible. It says something when even someone like Vegeta somehow makes it work with Bulma.

6. Kirino Kousaka and Kyousuke Kousaka (Oreimo)

There's absolutely no reason why these two should even be together. Kyousuke and Kirino have no chemistry. In fact, most of their interactions are just arguments and verbal abuse. Yet somehow, even though there were many girls that surrounded Kyousuke that would make for a better romantic interest, he ultimately chooses to be with Kirino for seemingly little reason. Already it's a bad Tsundere romance, but addressing the elephant in the room makes this go from uncomfortable to extremely icky. They're also brother and sister.

7. Yuki and Yuno (Future Diary)

Yuno is a token Yandere character, which means she can be sweet one second and then utterly psychopathic the next. She is obsessed with the anime's main character, Yuki. Yuki does not have the same feelings towards her but decides to manipulate her to his advantage since she is smarter and stronger than him in combat. Due to Yuki's fear and needing Yuna to protect him; he endures being drugged and kidnapped by Yuna and her attempts to kill his friends. He even continues to follow through after discovering that she killed her own parents.

8. Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail)

Natsu and Lucy are supposed to be the two main protagonists. Now, I’m not saying that the two main protagonists can’t be together! What I’m saying is after seeing it so much in different anime’s and manga... It just gets a little old, and kinda boring. Just because they’re the two main characters doesn’t mean they HAVE to be together. That really doesn’t make sense. Lucy has told Natsu many many many many many times to not invade her privacy. Not to touch her in certain places. And what does Natsu do? Exactly that. Every. Single. Time.Invasion of privacy, breaking and entering, unwanted touching. That is not romantic in the slightest. It’s more harassment if anything. Natsu does not respect Lucy. I see him respecting Lissanna, Erza, Juvia, Levy... But not Lucy.“Oh, but Gray has done it before!!1!2!” Yes, but he only did it once, Lucy told him not to, and he never did it again.Not only that, but Lucy yells and Lucy kicks him over and over again. You’d think it would’ve stopped the first time around. But no.You see... Lucy needs someone who is mature, someone who would respect her wishes, and someone she can handle being in a romantic relationship with... That someone’s not Natsu Dragneel.For Natsu, he needs someone who knows how to handle him, someone who understands him, and someone who accapts Natsu for who he is and doesn’t get at him for just being himself... That someone’s not Lucy Heartfillia.

9. Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga (Naruto)

I hate NaruHina for a number of reasons. I hate the idea that when there is a threesome of main characters that the main guy can’t be with the main girl! The same nonsense happened in Harry Potter and it is just utterly annoying. Then there is this big idea that NaruHina and SasuSaku are "canon" when they are not. Canon is defined, usually as something that happened, is it not? That makes the ONLY Naruto canon couplings Minato/Kushina and Asuma/Kurenai. Naruto and Hinata have nothing in common. Fans of the couple claim that she “loves” him. She even said so! *gasp* So did Sakura, and Sasuke proceeded to knock her ass out and leave Konoha forever. Have any of these fans ever read a shojo comic? How many love confessions are unrequited? Hell, even may shonen comics have many confessions of unrequited love; look at ANY harem-style comic like Love Hina or Gacha Gacha! Shonen or not, Naruto does not follow any type of formula where every confession of love, however rare, is returned. Naruto is a strong person, but a submissive personality. At least I think so. Hinata is much to tame for him. She would not be able to curb him. He needs a girl like Sakura or Temari who is rough and has no qualms about smacking him back into place. At least when Sakura is with Naruto, she acts like herself instead of a blubbering fangirl.

10. Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere And Saito Hiraga – The Familiar Of Zero

Louise and Saito are probably one of the most infamous examples of a Tsundere romance. After accidentally summoning Saito to her world from Japan, Louise makes the poor boy her familiar and proceeds to verbally and physically abuse him for any little thing.

Even though he's very clearly a human, Louise treats Saito more like an animal. Eventually, the two begin a relationship, even though nothing really changes in their relationship. Why they decide to stay together is a complete mystery, since their relationship feels both disingenuous and neither side does anything to earn the other's affection.

#anti inukag #anti gruvia #anti ichihime #anti sasusaku #pro healthy relationships #anime #anti oreimo #anti kirino kousaka #anti natsu x lucy #anti naruhina #anti kishimoto #anti nalu

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completelypeccable · 4 years

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Can I Have This Dance?

Chp 3. Dancing Queen

/In this house, we love and appreciate Duke Thomas./

Chp 2

Chp 1

“You are the Dancing Queen! Young and sweet, only seventeen!” Duke yelled along with Stephanie, leaning across the divider in the front seats of the car.

Tim kicked Steph’s chair, “Hey, pay attention!”

“Stop being jealous that Duke loves me more than you-“

“Steph?”

“Yeah, Duke?”

“Directions?”

“Oh yeah, take a left up here, then...” Steph rattled off. Cassandra snickered from the back seat.

“Feel that beat like a smooth machine!” Duke continued.

“That’s so not the-“

“YOU CAN DANCE-“

“Why did we let him drive,” Jason grumbled.

“Hey, mister spontaneously alive,” the car took a sharp left, but Steph turned completely around. “You don’t have a license, remember?”

“What are you, some goody two shoes piec-“

“Steph, what are you doing?! Buckle-“

Steph gently shushed Tim by smothering his face. He squawked indignantly.

“Licking won’t work on me, tweety bird.”

Duke eyed them through the rear view mirror.

“I am the only responsible person in this car,” he sighed.

Cass frowned.

“Besides Cassie, but she baby.”

“Oh she baby,” with a yelp, Steph’s arm was disengaged by a jab to the inside of her elbow.

“And babies can’t drive,” Tim wiped his mouth, “right Damian?”

Tim twisted around (still buckled) to face the glare, but Damian wasn’t listening. He was leaned against Cass, who lightly traced her nails across his skin with one hand. She winked, pressing a kiss to Damian’s forehead nestled at her collarbone. Damian held her other hand on her lap, splaying her fingers out, in with a barely-there smile. More of a content line, really. Tim felt relieved that the kid was doing as well as he was, all things considered.

The older two shared a smile. Cass could make anyone melt, but Damian was always uncharacteristically soft with her.

And she loved to coddle him.

Jason groaned. “How much farther?”

“Why are you so upset?” Tim poked his side.

“I just like to complain. But I am also too big for this car.”

“Oh, good shotgun?”

“Yes, fair driver?”

“For how long must we continue our travels?”

“Until dear Jason loses the will to live-“

“Steph!“

“Would someone please shut up my impulse control?”

Tim leaned his head onto her shoulder, hugging her around the seat. “You say the sweetest things.”

“You can dance, you can try~“

Jason flopped his head onto the seat behind him.

Duke smiled, singing along to the song in his head. The pulse in his mind was always calmer when he wasn’t alone. After everything that had been going on, he was happy to see his somehow-sibling-esque-figures doing alright. Being almost normal, even. They planned a family zoo trip! Granted it was partially because Damian was confiscated from his father a-la-angry vigilante style, and Steph and Cass immediately decided to make him act like a normal kid (who is a bit overly attached to animals) to distract them all from that sad reality, and they were all going along for the process because they were grieving something awful- but still! In some way, they were being normal. Normal-ish.

Whatever.

Today was going to be a good day, he decided.

...

The Gotham zoo was busy for a Monday, since it was beautiful weather and a day off from school.

Duke supposed they could all use the break.

“Hey guys,” Steph started as they stood in front of the narrow window of the bear enclosure. “So, we mostly own the night, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But Duke goes out during the day,”

“It’s the light thing,” he said.

“Yeah, the light thing,” Steph waved her hands. “So, anyways, I get that you’re the sunshine child- pun totally intended- but like, you’re strongest when the sun is strongest, right? That makes you-“

“Oh stop,” Tim cackled.

“-a fire bender! And these losers here are water benders!”

Duke gasped and began bending nothing, to Steph’s delight.

Swirling his arms, Jason engaged him in battle. Even though they turned heads, their moves became more elaborate than strictly necessary.

Well, Duke guessed none of this was -strictly- necessary.

Cass hummed thoughtfully, patting Damian’s head while he watched the bears lumber towards the water.

“Us yes. Baby, no.”

Tim considered this as Jason nearly sent Duke into a wayward couple.

“He’s an earth bender,” Steph decided, spinning in lazy circles.

“I have no idea what you people are talking about. Please let me watch the bears in peace.”

“Wait,” Steph practically launched herself against the boys.

“Don’t you mean the platypus bears?”

Duke backed away from the angry women. He scratched his chin and leaned over the plaque. “It just says bear here.”

“You mean skunk bear, then?” Tim grinned.

“Or armadillo bear?” Jason’s size was a gift sometimes, as he leaned back and squashed Damian against the window.

“What are you-“

“Gopher bear?” Steph giggled.

“Just says bear here,” Duke shrugged.

Cass’s spoke softly, but precisely, as if tasting each sound.

“Weird place.”

“Weird people,” Damian grumbled. Jason leaned farther back, further pancaking his cheek against the glass.

“Dancing queen, face as red as a tangerine!” Duke poked his nose.

“Oh, that reminds me, we need to get some fried Oreos-“

“How does that-“

“Shush, Tim. I need fried Oreos clogging my arteries as soon as humanly possible. Come on.”

“Heck yes,” Jason grinned, picking Damian up like a very angry yoga mat. “Steph is in charge now, sorry Duke.”

“As the only capable adult here, I say we need to eat an actual lunch, too.”

Tim took Damian, only to walk with him upside down over his shoulder. They all pretended not to notice his smile underneath the half-hearted promises of violence.

“Nuggets,” Cass prophesied.

Steph linked their arms and led the way to the food court.

...

Duke had been looking forward to this trip all week, and it didn’t disappoint. They saw all the animals, ate terrible food in a less than sanitary environment, then chased each other around and generally made themselves a nuisance to society.

It was great.

Some highlights? Cass dared Jason to eat half a hot dog in a single bite. He shoved the whole thing in his mouth, then walked into a pole. Tim fell asleep on top of Steph and mumbled about robot bunnies. Duke carried Damian around on his shoulders, accidentally walked him into some tree branches, and laughed so hard he dropped him.

Of course, it had been weird that the zoo hadn’t bumped up the number of workers to match crowd sizes, but it was fine. Just took a little longer to do things. And the place was a little messier.

They were just paranoid, is all.

Cass tossed the purple plush snake around her shoulders as they exited the gift shop to the center plaza. The tail hit Steph, who adjusted her peacock sunglasses with an upturned nose.

The crowd rushed around them like a steady stream of fish (“Only animal metaphors for the zoo, folks”). Their imposing shark, Jason, frowned as he pushed his way through the flow.

Damian offered Duke an animal cracker, and he happily picked out a zebra.

It had been a good day.

Tim had waited outside for them, citing important business. He smiled and lowered his phone from his ear as they got closer to his seat at the fountain.

“Hey, Dames, can I have one?” He asked.

Damian raised a single brow.

Tim could fake emotions with the worst of them. Oh, wait, animals. Dang it, Steph. Like a honey bee could take a casual stroll.

“And here I was going to offer you my phone to talk to Dick-“

Damian shoved the whole bag at him and grabbed the phone.

Tim laughed as Damian scurried a small distance away, plunking down just outside the bathrooms. Twin paintings- one a giraffe, the other a flamingo- labeled the two single person stalls.

“Any news from Dick?” Steph asked, settling against Tim’s side.

“Yeah,” he nodded, watching Damian smile into the receiver. “He said he was on his way back.”

It was funny how Jason thought with his face sometimes. Duke could feel the confusion.

“Wait, isn’t he undercover somewhere in Asia right now taking down Some MobTM with ties to the League of Assassins?”

“From the inside, yeah.”

“And he just, what, finished up early?”

“Pretty much.”

Jason threw up his hands, “I hate this family.”

Steph laughed, dragging Cass half onto her lap while Tim stared distracted at the crowd.

Just like that, Jason’s face hardened. Following his line of vision, Duke watched a teen scurry out of the bathroom to the main directory on the other side of the plaza. His hood was up and he looked neither right nor left.

“I’ll be right back,” Jason said, slipping into the crowd flow.

Probably nothing, Duke thought, watching Cass threaten to push Steph into the fountain.

“I’d take the quarters, so the joke’s on you.”

“Stealing,” Cass tutted.

“I’ll look good doing it.”

An eye roll.

Tim’s fingers rapidly tapped against the stone.

“Dames, wrap it up, we’re headed out,” he called.

Damian gave a thumbs up.

See, it was still a good day. Duke breathed deeply.

It was fine.

It was-

The fire alarm went off at the directory. The crowd turned to look.

Tim tensed, and Duke felt the shock shoot up his spine as yellow light pulsed and swarmed toward the bathrooms.

Oh no.

A high pitched whine.

“Get down!” Duke yelled.

The bathroom exploded. They threw themselves to the ground just in time to avoid the brunt of the heat and debris. Dirt and rock sprayed in his face. Smoke filled the air, dark and thick.

Tim scrambled to his feet, coughing.

“Damian!”

No, Duke thought.

There was so much smoke.

They all scrambled toward the bathroom, but the wall where Damian had stood was half rubble and the kid was nowhere to be found.

Duke stared where he last saw him, but the smoke obscured most of the light.

Why is there so much smoke?, he thought. It was hard to get a reading. Come on, Duke. The scene kept pulsing, then disappearing. His head hurt, he couldn’t breathe, but the static blur began to form. Come on.

Tim ran into the building.

Duke fought through the haze until the blue-tinged flecks obeyed and the scene spotted into focus. He saw Damian drop to the ground just as the wall flew apart. Stray debris littered his body, and a brick to the skull knocked him unconscious. The smoke poured through, but just before everything blacked out, a lumbering figure dragged the kid through the broken wall into complete darkness.

The present rushed back. Duke inhaled smoke, sinking to the ground. His chest felt like someone was de-stringing his muscles like spaghetti. Twist, twisting the fork.

“No!” Steph screamed. Tim came out alone and choking for air. Steph pushed her way in, but Duke knew it was useless.

Damian was gone.

#batfam #duke thomas #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #Tim Drake #jason todd #Damian Wayne

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